Bryan Bullard won a hard fought Main Event this evening, beating 33 of the best Sprint Cars on the West Coast. Ryan Flynn set Fast Time with a 13.035, while Bullard was seventh quick. The supporting division, the Bombers, saw Larry Williams drive possibly the best race of his life as he took the top spot. Marv Weaver once again out qualified the Bomber field turning in a 16.502.
Tonight’s events began with temperature in the 90’s and the sun blazingly hot. However, about halfway through qualifying the sky began clouding over. The difference in the track’s surface temperature began to show in the qualifying times. Times began to drop giving the latter cars probably three tenths better qualifying runs. By the time the first USAC Heat race started, the winds were blowing and thunderstorms were moving in. The first Heat was actually delayed after Derrick Alan and two other cars tangled in turn four drawing out the Yellow flag with two laps remaining. Rain started falling. The wind was blowing and the temps dropped from the 90’s to the 70’s in about 20 minutes. About an hour later the final two laps of Heat one were completed. Kevin Kierce took home the win. The three other Heats were won by Bobby McMahan, Ryan Burdett, and Bobby Bankson.
The 18 car, 15 lap USAC Semi-Main was a dog fight for the fourth position and the final transfer spot to the Main. The race had some of the best drivers in attendance. Jeff Gardner, the USAC Western States series points leader, Shauna Hogg, Ryan Flynn, Troy Cline and Amy Barnes, are just some of those USAC stars. The winner of the “A” Main Bryan Bullard even got his transfer from the Semi. Some of Meridian Speedway’s best were also in the Semi, such as Shawn Smith, Jerry Hupp, Darren Spiers, and Jimmy Hamilton. The Semi-Main was a short but hard fought race. There was a lot of wheel banging and nerfing going on but things went nuts on lap 12. With three laps to go, five cars were in position to battle for the Main Event final transfer spot, position number four. All five cars seemingly dove into turn one together. You could tell this was a Yellow Flag in the making. Sure enough, cars began going in the wrong direction with the cars of John Ryals and Damian Gardner crashing together on the infield grass. A huge oil fire burst up the side of John Ryals car. The terrifying looking flames went at least eight feet in the air. The Meridian Speedway fire crew was on the spot immediately. Since this was an oil fire, the fire quickly abated and no one was hurt. When the Checkered Flag finally fell, the transferees were Ryan Flynn, Troy Cline, Shauna Hogg, and Bryan Bullard. Meridian Speedway’s Shawn Smith took away the alternate transfer spot from Jeff Gardner coming out of turn four on the final lap, grabbing away the fifth spot. Smith should have started in the Main because Gene Godepski scratched. Unfortunately, Smith himself had to scratch making way Gardner.
The 20 car USAC Western States Main Event, had the local fans cheering for Kenny Hamilton who was starting in the second row. The problem for Hamilton was few of the other drivers shared this sentiment, especially Bobby McMahan and Troy Cline. These two, when they got their chance, blasted past Hamilton moving him back to fifth place in three laps. The early leaders were Bryan Bullard and Shauna Hogg. Bullard, right from the start, had Hogg all over him. Once McMahan took over third place, Hogg had to be careful, which seemed to take some pressure off of Bullard, though not much. Hogg fought off Bobby McMahan for six laps until she slipped in Turn 4 on lap seven. Now McMahan was after Bullard and Cline went for Hogg. Hamilton, still in fifth trailed Cline by inches. On lap 16, Cline dove under Hogg going into Turn 1. While moving through Turn 2, the two cars banged together, causing Hogg’s car to break. She kept her car off of the wall, coming to stop next to it on the back stretch. At this point in the race, the top six were Bullard, McMahan, Cline, Hamilton, Ryan Flynn, and Tony Hunt. The rest of the race had McMahan punching and hammering Bullard’s rear nurf bar or had McMahan trying to do slide jobs under or around Bullard. Cline was inches from McMahan waiting for an opportunity to move up. For all the efforts of trying to get first from Bullard, McMahan never gave Cline an opening he could not slam shut. Hamilton continued to stalk Cline waiting for a mistake that never happened. Bullard did not give an inch and forced McMahan to take chances that almost cost him second place a few times. The only change of position in the top six at the end of the race was Hunt, who got around Flynn in the closing laps.
The Bomber’s Main Event had only one Yellow Flag, and that was on the first lap causing a restart. Dave Gardner had the lead for the first 3 laps. On lap 4, Williams was “da man”. Starting on the inside second row, Larry Williams set a pace that could not be beat. By lap 10 he had built up a full turn lead on the field. His lead would disappear in just six laps as some of this divisions fastest drivers moved into second and third place. Tim Elam and Leonard Reed had been passing cars on the outside all race. When they caught Williams on lap 16 we thought the duo would just blow on by using the same high side passing move. We were wrong. Williams picked up the pace and ran a line that neither Elam nor “Uncle” Reed could beat. In the middle of the pack, most eyes were on Ron Weaver as he tried to move up from the 14th position. Weaver had already won both of his earlier races, the Trophy Dash and the Fast Heat. With no Yellow flags, he just flat could not make up the distance. Weaver had gotten up to seventh position at one point, only to finish in eight place, one position ahead of his dad Marv Weaver. The top six finishers were Williams, Elam, Reed, Mike Henson, Tyler Nelson, and Darrell Lankford.
