BRANDON JOHNSON AND CHASE GILBERTSON WIN WITH DRAMATIC PASSES

Source: Brian Calkins
Date: 09/16/2007

MERIDIAN, Idaho - – Brandon Johnson not only gave an exhibition during intermission but displayed his nerve and skills during the 35 lap main too. Johnson brought two cars to ASA sanctioned Meridian Speedway on Saturday, September 15, one was his Winged Sprint for racing and the other was his 410 Outlaw Sprint car with asphalt tires installed. Johnson came out at intermission promising to burn off a right rear tire for the fans in his outlaw which he did. Later during the 35 lap main event he put on another even more amazing show.

The Bandoleros had their final race night of the season on Saturday night with Sharde Bement so far ahead in the points that she could have stayed home if she wanted to but staying home is not what she does. With six cars on the track Bement led for the first eight laps of the ten lap race with Alyson Clark and Chase Gilbertson battling for position. Gilbertson made a brilliant pass on the inside when Bement caught lapped traffic with less than two laps to go and stayed in front to the checkered flag. Gilbertson qualified second, came in second in the trophy dash and finished first in the heat race. It was a good night of points for Gilbertson but not even a miracle would have helped him make up the 230 points deficit for first place in the season championship.

The Non Wing Sprints came out for a 30 lap race to help decide the season championship. Johnny Giesler had a nine point lead going in to Saturday night but even though he qualified first and had a good finish in the heat race he lost several points in the main event and probably will have to make up some lost points in two weeks when the Non Wing Sprints return for their final race of the season. Cameron Sinsel led the 11 cars to the green flag and held on to the lead for eight laps until Rob Grice work his way up from a fifth place start to take the lead on the outside. Giesler followed Grice and put the pressure on him but when Giesler spun into the dirt on turn four and attempted to make a full throttle return to the track in the center of the self made dust cloud he caused a wreck that put Kelly Perkins on foot and his car on the hook. Giesler got black flagged for the rest of the race and finished two laps down in ninth place which probably put championship rival Cory Lockwood in the lead after the nights racing. Rob Grice finished first in the 30 lap main with Tyler Bailey, Cameron Sinsel, Cory Lockwood and Wyatt King following. Bailey failed to weigh in after the race and was disqualified putting Sinsel in second and Jerry Sullivan in fifth place behind King.

The Mini Stocks brought out 21 cars for the 30 lap event. Jason Sanders came into the night with an 85 point lead over his father Kirk Sanders while Kirk had a 209 point advantage over third place Casey Hart. Kenny Snyder started on the pole with Eddie Ables on the outside. On the first lap they stayed side by side until Ables fell back and Ernest Dodson moved to the outside to pass Snyder. After six laps of side by side racing Dodson took the lead and began to pull away from the pack. Richard Brees caught Dodson half way through the 30 lap race but Ray Bolinger move to the high line outside Brees. Brees and Bolinger ran side by side for several laps until lapped traffic put them single file again but with Bolinger now in the lead. On lap 20 a wreck on turn four wadded up the field but all the cars returned for the restart. Three more restarts were called for because of miscues and wrecks before the lap was completed. On the fourth restart Bolinger got to the outside of Dodson and passed him on the backstretch to take the lead. Richard Brees followed Bolinger around Dodson for second. Bolinger took the checkered flag followed by Brees, Kirk Sanders, Jeff Hasson, and Ernest Dodson.

The Grand American Modifieds returned after having a weekend off. The 35 lap race started with Bob Wood and AL Colwell on the front row. At the start Colwell could not keep the pace on the outside which left Travis Milburn to take second. Colwell held on to third while still on the outside for a few laps until Chris Fenton made him take fourth place. Travis Milburn passed Bob Wood for first place on lap seven and a few laps later took off. Two cautions and restarts allowed Wood to catch up but Milburn repeatedly left everyone behind. Al Colwell caught up with Bob Wood in the later laps but could not get around on the outside. Milburn took the checkered with his grandfather, Bob Wood, a full four seconds behind. Al Colwell, Chris Fenton, and Jeff Wurtz were close behind Wood in third through fifth place.

The Winged Sprints are nearing the end of the season but still have two more nights of racing after Saturday night. Brandon Johnson has a clear lead over second place Ken Hamilton but second through seventh place are still close enough to allow some changes any where in the lineup. If Johnson were to get a DNF it could be a changeup in the points. A conservative driver may hold back and race for the points and guard his lead by staying out of trouble but Johnson, not a conservative driver, again posted the quick time of the night in his one lap and one lap only qualifying and came out in the main starting near the end of the 12 car field to make a determined run to the front. Steve Freeman and Matt Elliott started on the front row with Elliott around Freeman on the first lap. With clean air and freedom to run his lines Elliott took off with a quarter lap lead over second place Jimmy Hamilton Jr., by lap six. Jimmy Hamilton Jr. also had a quarter lap lead over third place Dave Parrie.

Ten more laps of racing had no lead changes but things were being stirred up farther back in the pack. Austin Hager, Jimmy Hamilton Sr., and Sierra Jackson were running third through fifth with Brandon Johnson closing in. Hager had a flat tire and pitted on lap 14 which left more room in the top five. On lap 22 Johnson passed Jackson on the inside of the backstretch to take fourth then one lap later passed Hamilton Sr. for third. When Jackson tried to follow Johnson inside of Hamilton Sr. contact sent Hamilton Sr. to the wall. Jackson went to the pits to repair some minor damage and was back out for the restart. With runaway Elliott and Jimmy Hamilton Jr. pushed back with the rest of the pack Johnson could see the lead from where he sat. A half lap after the restart Brandon Johnson bumped a tire of a lapped car and got airborne but recovered and closed on the leaders. With seven to go Johnson passed Jimmy Hamilton Jr. for second and then had to close on Matt Elliott with a quarter lap lead. With three to go Johnson was right on Elliott's tail and when Elliott caught up with lapped traffic as he approached the front stretch he had a decision to make; high or low. He chose high. Johnson, by default, chose low, gunned it and had a good position to force Elliott high when they cleared the lapped car and entered turn one. The next lap Johnson had a solid lead when he took the white flag and the race was essentially over. One lap later, Brandon Johnson took the checkered flag with Matt Elliott in second place. Jimmy Hamilton Jr., Sierra Jackson and Ken Hamilton rounded out the top five.

The Hornets ran a 20 lap main event on Saturday night. Josh Jackson had a commanding lead going in to the evening with the DNF Travis Pavlacky had the previous time out. Jackson took an early lead and left second place, Mike Davis, to deal with the rest of the field. Pavlacky running in third place got caught in a head on collision when a lapped car spun on turn four. Pavlacky got his second DNF in a row while Josh Jackson held on for the win. Josh Jackson was followed across the finish line by Mike Davis, David Tankersley, Verlon Wright, and Ronny Tipton.

Next week at Meridian Speedway on Saturday September 22 the Late Models, Super Stocks, Late Model Lites, and the Legends take to the track to decide the season championship points for 2007 while the Street Stocks have one more race on September 28. On September 28 and 29 the NSRA Winged Sprints come to Meridian Speedway for a two day show and season finale.

Correction: On September 1st and 2nd it was reported that the sponsor for the weekend's racing at Meridian Speedway was Tom Scott Honda. While Tom Scott Honda has supported Meridian Speedway and been the sponsor in the past the sponsor for September 1 st and 2nd was Tates Rents. Tates Rents is an equipment and party rental business with nine locations in Boise and the surrounding area. We regret this oversight and apologize to Tates Rents and all those who may have been inconvenienced by this error.

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