LOCAL DRIVERS TAKE THREE OF THE TOP FOUR SPOTS IN INTERMOUNTAIN LATE MODEL RACE AT MAGIC VALLEY SPEE

Source: Randy J Kerr
Date: 05/21/2000

Warm weather made for great racing as Mel Quale's Electronics brought the Cactus Petes Intermountain Late Model series for their first of three appearances to Magic Valley Speedway in the 2000 season. Boise based driver, Kenny Rich, set the early pace with the fast time in Mc Donald's time trials with a blistering lap of 14.336 seconds around the third mile oval. With over eight years experience at Magic Valley Speedway, former Street Stock champion Joe Hood made his way into the top 5 by the end of the second lap and took the lead from the #16 of Brett Housekeeper on lap 9. Lap 10 saw the power of the #88 driven by Clint Kidd make his way into the top 5. Rich's main event effort came to an early end on lap 14 as the #95 car of Art Smith burst into flames on the backstretch. Smith brought the car to a stop in turn three and quickly exited the car as the NAPA Auto Parts Safety Crew extinguished the flames. The red flag brought Kenny Rich to a stop near the track entrance in turn 1 where his engine also caught fire. Corner Flagman Woody Cullen quickly extinguished the fire, but both cars were out of the race bringing the 18-car field down to 16. By lap 21 Kidd found himself on the back bumper of leader Joe Hood. The excitement continued as the two home track drivers battled for the lead against some of the best drivers in the West. On lap 40, as the two exited turn four, Hood went to the low side to pass lapped traffic as Kidd went to the high and used the momentum to take over the first spot. Lap 45 saw local Mountain Dew Modified driver Brett Thompson move into the fourth position where he finished in his series debut at Magic Valley Speedway. The checkered flag fell as the crowd stood on their feet cheering for Kidd, displayed with the third caution of the race as rookie driver Bob Nation lost control of his #28 going into turn four. Veteran driver Jeff Hillock finished third and Wellsville Utah driver Zan Sharp rounded out the top five.

"My goal was to win for the fans at my home track just once and give them back just a little of what they have given me over the years" (in overwhelming support), said winner Clint Kidd. After finishing a respectable third in the B- Heat race Clint and his crew chief knew to improve in the 50 lap main some changes to the car were necessary. Bruce Quale recommended a spring change in the right front to soften the car and let it roll into the corner a little easier. It was a drastic change for a car with this much horsepower and weight, but Kidd's crew chief agreed it made sense and it proved to be the right one as Kidd took home the win and his ultimate goal.

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