Fans of the Madera Speedway got an eye full of open wheel, and some stock car, racing action July 16th when the speedway, known as the fastest one third mile in the west, presented the first annual Summertime Horsepower Nationals. The variety of racing classes included the 410/360 super modifieds, the BCRA, Bay Cities Racing Association, midgets and vintage sprints, the four bangers division, hobby stocks and a very exciting 75 lap feature by the Lucas Oil Modified Racing Series.
One of the major highlights of the evening was a 50 lap feature presented by the high flying 410/360 super modifieds. These open wheel, open cockpit, alcohol burning winged warriors have the horsepower to literally take off and fly which is why the exotic wings are required to keep them on the ground. Commenting on the sheer performance of these cars, Madera Speedway promoter Kenny Shepherd noted "these car can turn a lap on our one third mile oval in the 12 second range. In the past we've clocked them, with a radar gun, at 140 MPH by the time they reach the end of the straightaway."
If the exotic cars from Formula One Racing ever decided to race on a short track oval they would greatly resemble the super modifieds at Madera Speedway. A perfect example of the power of these cars came during qualifying when Lonnie Adamson set the fast time by blistering the speedway with a lap of 12.741 seconds which translates to 94.090 MPH. Adamson also won the division's heat race as well.
In the division's 50 lap feature event Kyle Vanderpool came off of the front row of starters to take the initial lead. But within a matter of laps Jim Birges began to put the pressure on the leader and the duo treated the fans to a few laps of side by side racing. On lap eight Birges made, what would become the race winning move, a low groove maneuver going into turn three to take the lead. There was a red flag at lap 25 to allow teams to refuel and change tires if needed. It seems these powerful cars work on the theory of gallons to the mile and not miles to the gallon.
With the race under green again Birges continued to click off the laps while Adamson did everything he could to find a way to become the new race leader. Adamson effectively ran down the race leader but passing him was a different matter. They crossed under the checkers nose to tail. Vanderpool followed them across the line to take third while Lance Tatro and Ray Stebbins completed the top five.
The Bay Cities Racing Association, BCRA, also treated the Madera Speedways to some open wheel action with their midget and vintage midget/sprint divisions. In the BCRA midget class Chad Nichols had an excellent night and scored a grand slam meaning he won everything he did while on the track. He started his excellent Madera Speedway evening by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 14.058 seconds/85.275 MPH. He next won the division's first heat race with Nick Chivello taking heat two.
In the 30 lap A feature Floyd Alvis came off of the front row to lead the first lap and David Prickett led the next two circuits. After that it was all Nichols who led the field to the checkers. Chivello followed him across the line to take second, Prickett took third while Dillion Silverman and Nick Foster Jr completed the top five.
The BCRA's vintage midget/sprint series is a wonderful moving museum of motorsports history reflecting the glory days of open wheel racing in America. Their main event was won by Jim DeJong who was followed by Tom Belifore, Paul Ferreira and Paul Farajian.
Also seeing action on this evening were the Madera Speedway's hobby stock division which was also completely dominated by one driver serving up a grand slam. Lloyd Bambing began his Madera evening by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 18.320 seconds/65.437 MPH. He made quick work of winning the division's heat race and then dominated the 20 lap feature. He was followed under the checkers by Chuck Aguirre, Marshall Weaver and Don Selsor.
In the speedway's four banger division, Tyler Johnson set the fast qualifying time with a lap of 19.624 seconds/61.088 MPH. Mitch Pasquale won the heat race and then completely dominated the A feature. Billy Congdon and Sheldon Coper provided some exciting moments racing side by side for second and third while Johnson finished fourth.
The Madera Speedway's first annual Summertime Horsepower Nationals was highlighted by an appearance from the Lucas Oil Modified Racing Series, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, who thrilled the fans with their 75 lap feature. The event was billed as the Dart Macinery LTD North-South Shootout and pitted modified teams from the northern section of the western states against their southern counterparts. In the preliminary action southern California driver Austin Barnes won the Budweiser Fast Time bonus award after turning a quick lap of 15.238 seconds/78.672 MPH. Las Vegas driver Aaron McMorran won the Dart Machinery trophy dash.
The pre race inversion ceremony placed Sacramento's Rich Lindgren and McMorran on the front row for the start of the race. Lindgren made quick work of jumping into the lead following the initial green flag and led all 75 laps. But he had his hands, and rear view mirror, full with the hard charging Jim Mardis and Scott Winters. On the final lap of this race, Winters was riding second and made a last ditch effort on the outside to overtake Lindgren to steal the race. The two drivers were side by side coming into turn four with the checkers in visible sight. Lindgren made a defensive move to keep Winters from passing him during the final one hundred feet of the race. Winters refused to budge and actually grazed the wall trying to take the win. Mardis and Barnes took third and fourth while northern California driver Mike Regalman completed the top five. Many of the Madera Speedway fans were seeing the Lucas Oil Modified Racing Series for the very first time and their response and appreciation for these drivers was tremendous. Many of them stood up during all 75 laps of the race.
Racing returns to the Madera Speedway Saturday night, July 23d, featuring red hot action from the Lunker Daddy late models, hobby stocks, four bangers, MST and the Toyota sedan divisions. Dial up www.racemadera.com for all of the exciting details.
