MERIDIAN, Idaho — He had to give up his racecar, but Art Heath rode the ebb and flow of a 100-mile race to a significant cash flow Saturday night.
The Nampa, Idaho driver pocketed $2,700 to win the Smoke, Steam and Cash Enduro 250 at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway.
The former Tates Rents Hornets season champion, won $2,000 for his victory in the 250-lap race, and then he picked up another $700 when race track officials claimed his winning Ford Escort. If Heath had turned down the track’s claim on the winning racecar, he would have lost the $2,000 and the championship trophy.
The decision was a little tough for Heath. After all, the racecar wasn’t his, but his sponsors gave the OK, and he was able to pull in one of the biggest amateur purses awarded in the 60th anniversary season of the racetrack. Heath showed profuse gratitude to his sponsors, which included Nampa Gusher, VHR Photography, Karcher Mall and Wood River Painting.
Work Force, driven by James DeMello of Boise, Idaho, was a first-time winner as the Thunder Dogs ran their 2011 championship race.
“I sat here in the stands for half a season until Adam Nelson explained that anybody could drive in this,” DeMello said. “Yeah, I’ll be back next year. I’ll definitely be back next year.”
Catfish (John Pinkston of Meridian), which came into the night with a 357-point series lead over Sledgehammer (Dave Jolley, Nampa, Idaho), struggled to stay on the track through several flat tires.
Catfish managed a fourth-place finish and solidified the season championship. IP Freely (Bryan Duvall, Kuna, Idaho), which was third in the points, finished second in the 30-lap finale.
Heath finished the first 50-lap segment of the Enduro as the third-place car.
Segment No. 1 winner Jeff Pohlman, a championship driver from Twin Falls, Idaho, looked to have one of the strongest cars, but he quickly found himself in third place when the final 200-lap section of racing began and Larry Hull III and Heath passed him within the first nine laps.
With 50 cars on the track, lapped traffic became a factor quickly in the Enduro.
Hull got in front of the congestion and put eight cars between himself and Pohlman, who had wiggled back into second place by Lap 103. Hull fell out of contention, though, a few laps later after spinning out and cutting a tire.
Pohlman grabbed the advantage and held onto it through a harrowing four-wide ride through Turn 2 that actually saw him on the outside. He checked up to avoid disaster, and Heath grabbed the lead – for about a second. By the time the crowd had cleared Turn 2, Pohlman was back in the lead.
With 92 laps left, Pohlman left the track while leading because he was dragging parts of his suspension.
Heath moved into the lead and never looked back.
By the end, The Animal had the entire field a lap down.
Boise’s Rod Marcum finished second after completing 249 laps. He was sent a lap down early in the race after starting the night in the second row of the 50-car field.
Next week, the historic speedway gets back to its roots in a way with Al Russell’s The Dirty Cup.
High-banked Outlaw Kart dirt track racing will take place Friday and Saturday with divisions for Pee Wee, Box Stock, Hot Rod, Jr. 500cc, 125cc, Open Flat, Desperados (500cc for drivers 30 and older), 250cc Midgets and 500cc Open.
The track is a 1/9th-mile oval carved out of the north end of the racetrack infield.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and children ages 7-11, and children 6 and younger get in free.
Access to the event will be through the pit gate. The main entrance will not be open.
For more information, visit www.meridianspeedway.com.
