Conduff and Denton have historic nights at Yakima Speedway

YAKIMA, Washington — One of Yakima Speedway's championships has been decided with Cody Denton taking the inaugural Speedway Mini-Stock title after posting a top-3 finish in Saturday's racing while Naches youngster Kyler Conduff netted his first career Burger Ranch Sportsman victory in a wild night of action at the famed half-mile.

Denton used his run to third-place as a clincher for the championship on a weekend that began with motor issues potentially forcing him to run a limited amount of laps in an effort to clinch the title.

Stating that the motor was able to hold together, Denton went out to post a top-5 qualifying run and captured a third-place finish in his trophy dash prior to the top-3 run in the finale. The championship clinch is the first at the Speedway in 2012 and one of the earliest in recent years.

Jon Manka broke the track record in qualifying for the Speedway Mini-Stock division and used the top-speed in his car to earn a win in the trophy dash and a smooth run towards victory in the main event with Josh Parmentier trailing at the checkered flag.

Conduff, who cut his teeth in quarter midgets before moving to the Speedway's Youth Hornet and Pure Stock division's, has been close to a main event victory on the half-mile only to come up short in recent seasons. For Saturday night Conduff used everything his Burger Ranch Sportsman Chevrolet had to give in an effort to claim that elusive victory.

Lucas Valdez nabbed to the top spot in qualifying for the division then matched it with a victory in the night's A-Trophy Dash. Defending champion Buck Noel Jr., running a back-up motor in his car, battled speed in the race car earlier in the day but would be a factor later in the evening as he, Valdez and Conduff were setting the stage for a three-car sprint to the checkers.

Noel took an early lead in the finale with Conduff and Valdez squaring off for second-place through the race's first 15 laps. Conduff used a high line around the track to eventually clear Valdez. With distance between himself and Noel, the hard-charging Conduff closed the gap on the leader and put himself in contention for the lead at lap 20. Over the next three laps Noel used everything he had to keep Conduff at bay but it was not to be for the defending champion as Conduff moved to the lead at lap 23 and saw the checkers fly as a main event winner just two laps later.

Valdez nipped Noel in the final two laps for second place.

With two races left in the season the championship in the division is still up for grabs with Noel the leader followed by Conduff and Valdez.

Rob Allen earned another H&H Furniture Pure Stock victory in a caution-free main event for the division. Points leader Chris Marang ran second with Tim Hitchcock closing out the top-3 running order.

Each of the three is still alive for the championship heading into the Labor Day weekend shootout with Marang using the runner-up finish to his advantage as he extended his lead over Allen. Grabbing another solid the top-3 finish, Hitchcock continues to lead the Rookie of the Year points standings and is a solid bet to finish among the top-3 drivers at year's end. Allen can still edge Marang for the championship but will need a solid effort in the season's final two weekend's of competition and some racing luck to catch the points leader.

Ken Mullins picked up the main event victory in the CWI Security/EZ Credit Auto Sales Hornet class followed by John Fortenberry with points leader Jeff Ball rounding out the top-3. Ball's solid effort added to his lead in the chase for the 2012 championship and with a strong run over Labor Day weekend, the 7-Eleven driver should become the second driver of the season to lock-up a championship.

Thomas Benscoter is settling in nicely to his Sea Galley Bump-to-Pass race car as the Selah native earned his second consecutive victory in the class since joining earlier this month. Benscoter held off Josh Aguirre for the victory with Todd Nunn running third at the checkered flag. Aguirre continues to lead the title chase for the class with Nunn right on his heels heading into next week's racing action.

Yakima Speedway returns to action over the Labor Day weekend with two great nights featuring the Sun City 200 showcasing the top late model drivers in the region. Also racing Saturday and Sunday evening will be the Sportsman, Mini-Stocks, Hornets, Bump to Pass and Pure Stocks. For more information log onto yakimaspeedway.us or the tracks page on Facebook. For ticket and other information call the Speedway Hotline at (509) 248-0647.