CARSON CITY, Nevada -- On a picture perfect evening, the race fans arrived in style as Hot August Nites came to a climatic conclusion at the Champion Motor Speedway.
The special occasion was Crazy Tie Nite presented by Fun Jumpers and Economy Speed Press featuring the ground-pounding Western Modifieds on the high-banked 1/3-mile asphalt oval.
The fans in the stands certaintly got their money's worth, as the 'Mod Squad' put on a fantastic show, thrilling the crowd throughout the 25-lap feature main event.
As Fun Jumpers representatives Kristy Mitchell gave the command to start your engines," and Josh Kemp threw the green flag, the pack thundered off into turn one.
Right from the start, it was clear that #29 Dan Jinkerson and #33 Johnny Vega, had the two fastest cars on the track. The duo went door-to-door, lap after lap, as they raced each other for the lead.
Neither could pull away from the other, as they faught for the fastest line around the lapped cars and searched back and forth for available track position. After 25 laps of high-speed action, Jinkerson was finally able to hold off Vega by a nose to earn the Ponderosa Stamp & Engraving main event trophy, as #24 Ryan Baumgartner rounded out the top three places.
Points leader Shane Kline, who started from the pole, struggled throughout and had to settle for a hard fought, forth place finish. It was discovered after the main that one of the spark plug wires has been left off, leaving Kline with only seven cylinders to work with.
"We twisted on the chassis all night long and finally found a combination that worked," said Jinkerson after the race. "I'd like to thank Suburban Propane, Kragen Auto Parts, Borello Racing Engines and Air Point Precision for their support"
Vega took the trophy dash. #7 Shane Kline won the heat race ahead of Vega and Jinkerson in some very close racing earlier in the night.
The Limited LateModel trophy dash was won by #00 Stuart Moon. #3 'Big' Al Goss took home the win in the heat race followed closely by #2 Dave Sciarroni and #9 Joel Worley.
In the main it was Worley, Moon and Goss fighting it out for the lead when Moon scrapped the wall in front of the grandstands and blew out the right rear tire on lap 22 to bring out the yellow flag.
Worley and Goss stayed first and second the rest of the way to finish the race and Sciarroni placed third. In a post race interview Worley thanked Slot World, Auto Marine Machines, Ponderosa Plumbing, Sierra Furnace Works, Quick Silver Racing and his crew for the win.
Legends trophy dash number one was won by #54 Terry Madjeski. The second trophy dash was taken by #12 Jim Klopp. The final trophy went to #9 Denny Hadler Jr. Heat race number one win went to #64 Rich Wirtz and #111 Bill Brown and Madjeski followed for second and third. Heat race two was won by #21 John Burritt, #74 Wayne Estes took second and Hadler Jr. was third.
Another strong field of Legends took the green flag for the 25-lap main, but not all finished the entire race. The red flag was brought out on lap 2, when Madjeski got together on the front straight with #19 Robert Humphreys in a hard collision, resulting in both cars being heavily damaged and unable to continue. When the race was restarted, Burritt took the lead followed by Estes and Hadler Jr.
On lap-14, #4 Nick Parmelee passed Hadler Jr. as Estes managed to move into second. On lap 21, Hadler Jr. ran into the back of #8 Katie Crome while trying to pass Estes on the high side in traffic bringing out the yellow and both retiring to the pits. When the race went green again Burritt was able to keep the lead and took the checkered flag with Parmelee in second and Estes in third.
It was an all in the family Hodges Hat Trick as the Bandoleros returned to action tonight. Early on it was #88 Bobby Hodges taking the trophy dash win.
In the 10 lap main, Hodges started from the back of the pack and took five laps to pass his father #83 Henry Hodges Jr., with a strong outside move. The younger Hodges kept his lead over Dad and grabbed the gold. #70 Kelley Hodges came in third to complete the Hodges hat trick.
The Hustlin' Hornets trophy dash was won by #3 Corey Hauck. The heat race win went to #6 Jason Coleman, as #28 Rebecca Parmelee took second and Hauck was third.
The 20 lap main event resembled an overcrowded hive of crazed racers, as the pack searched high and low for track position as the charged into turn one.
On lap 6, Parmelee managed to grab the lead from Hauck and stayed in command until contact with lapped traffic caused her to fall back to second. However the determined Parmelee charged her way around Hauck once again on lap 14 and held on to take the victory. Hauck finished second, with #49 Adam Beaty coming in third.
Parmelee pulled into the Long's Jewelers winners circle and showed off her tee shirt, which read 'You just got PASSED by a girl' to the crowd. Later she said, "This is all I wanted to do, win one more main before the end of the season."
The Ponderosa Stamp & Engraving kids bicycle races were won by Caleb Price for the 5-9 year olds and Anthony Delgado for the 10-13 year old races.
Next weekend Fischer Chiropractic will present the Faster Pastor Charity Challenge featuring twelve pastors from various churches will compete in Hustlin Hornets. The first-ever event will pay $1000.00 winner takes all.
Also on tap, the Western Modifieds, Limited LateModels, Les Schwab Street Stocks, Blazin Bandoleros, Hustlin Hornets, and the Ponderosa Stamp & Engraving kids bicycle races.
Fun Jumpers Earnhardt Memorial Park will feature the Ponderosa Stamp & Engraving kids bicycle races, the bounce house pavilion, and much-much more.
Showing LIVE at all five Thunder Theater locations will be the NASCAR Winston Cup race from Richmond International Raceway.
The pits open @ 3pm, front gates open @ 5pm, and the show starts @ 7PM.
Adults are $9.00, Seniors (55 and over) and Military (with photo ID) are $7.00, Teens (18 to13) are $5.00, Juniors (12 to 6) are $3.00 and Kids (5 & under) are free. Event parking is also free.
For more information, please call the CMS business office @ (775) 267-0505 or log on @ www.ChampionMotorSpeedway.com.
Cya @ the first-ever Faster Pastor Charity Challenge presented by Fischer Chiropractic this Saturday
