Racing Under The New Lights At NAPA Speedway Dirt Track
Bob & Ray Ingram

Albuquerque, New Mexico 4-27-13. Saturday night was the first night under the new permanent lighting system at NAPA Speedway Dirt Track and went very well. Maybe a couple of minor adjustments to brighten up some dim areas and life will be grand. The track was in great shape and ready to race at the 6:30 start time. There was plenty of action in all classes with 2 wide racing being the norm and 3 wide on several occasions. The X-Mod main was one of the best races ever at NAPA Speedway ( or anywhere else for that matter ). Car count was down by 4 from opening day but there were a few new cars, so once everyone gets their cars done the car count is sure to grow. The next race date of 5-11-13 will see 8 divisions in action as the NMMRA Non-Wing Traditional Sprints join the show for the first of their 9 appearances.

The A-Mods had a light turnout of cars but boy were they flying. The one and only heat saw Los Alamos driver Clint Miller in the #58 take the lead on lap one and hold off the very hard charging #3J of Josh Cain and the #09 of Bill Waltman. Cain has pretty much dominated this class but Miller and Waltman have been keeping him honest and could steal a main event win soon. The main event had a heated battle among the top 5 drivers with the #3J of Josh Cain again taking the win over the #31 of Gallup race Doug Goodenough close on his heels for the runner-up spot with the #58 of Clint Miller taking the last podium finish.

The X-Mods again had the largest car count of the night. This class has really taken off and if all of the drivers that have started the last two years show up at the same time we will be seeing the first B-Main in a long time. Heat #1 was a thriller with 3 wide racing most of the way. The real battle was for the 2nd place spot as the #K3 of Kevin McDonald took off from his pole position start and never looked back for the win. But the battle behind him was fierce with 4, 5 or 6 cars trying to take command of the 2nd position. In the end the #62 of Tom Melloy held off a very persistent #0 Steve Bonesteel. Melloy and Bonesteel had a difference of opinion last week with some angry words exchanged. But being the true gentlemen that they are they raced each other side by side and clean the entire race. Heat #2 saw the #78 of Gary Guinn take the win over the #76 of Mike Ford Jr. in 2nd and the #37 of Rob Haaland coming home 3rd. The main event saw only 17 of the 19 cars on hand make the call as the #29 of Mike O’Neal and the #68 of Kenny Wheeler were not able to make repairs suffered in the heat races. This race was one of the most exciting races ever as the K3 of Kevin McDonald and the #0 of J.R. Bonesteel raced side by side for about 10 laps before encountering lapped traffic. Once Bonesteel and McDonald hit the traffic it was GAME ON as they lapped cars side by side with first one and then the other taking the high side of the track and changing up for the next pass. Unfortunately Bonesteel suffered mechanical problems and didn’t finish but the #62 of Tom Melloy pressured McDonald with J.R.’s dad Steve Bonesteel putting pressure on both of them. In the end McDonald finished his clean sweep of the night with Melloy finishing his night with two second place runs and Steve Bonesteel taking the show position.

The Street Stocks had 15 cars on hand to run two heats and their main event. Heat race #1 was extremely fast with the M777 of Cameron Martin coming from inside the 3rd row to take the win over the #99 of Joel Duke and the #3D of Nathan Medina. This race went green to checkered and saw the top 6 cars close enough to take the win on the last lap. Heat #2 had last weeks big winner Mario Truden Jr. in the #8X take a close win over the #43 of Dan Gross with the #73J of Gerald Haste taking home 3rd spot. The Street Stock Main Event was a wild and wooly affair with some really fast cars spinning and coming back into the mix a lap down and a couple of cars taking the scenic route through the infield and off the end of the track, making it all but impossible to tell where everyone finished (so the results at the end of this story may be WAY off ????? ). When all was said and done the #M777 of Cameron Martin took the win over the #43 of Dan Gross and the #98 of Toy Fisher. Martin became the 2nd double winner of the night joining Kevin McDonald in the X-Mods. Not a bad night first first time out this year. Martin should certainly be in the hunt for the Street Stock Championship at the end of the year but is sure to have some tough challenges along the way.

The Cruisers as usual put on a very entertaining show. These basically entry levels racers put on some of the closest races of the night. Last weeks hero (or is it heroess ) Cheyanna Yates in the #15 took the only heat race win over the #43 of Mopar driver Art Hurley with the #20 of another Mopar driver #20 John Morningstar. Hurley drives the Petty Blue #43 65 Plymouth and Morningstar runs the black #20 1978 Chrysler Cordoba (when was the last time you saw a Chrysler Cordoba on the dirt track ). The main event saw the #15 of Yates take off to a nice lead but the #33 of Devin Gates set sail on the high side of the track and come from his inside 5th row start to wrestle the lead away from Yates. Gates put on a clinic for the Cruiser drivers as he used EVERY INCH of the track to charge into the lead. At the checkered flag it was Gates being chase home by the #15 of Yates and the #26 of Cody Sanchez. Sanchez did a very good job on his first night out. Look for the battle for the Championship in this division to be between Yates and Gates with several others in hot pursuit.

The Hornets, also an entry-level type class always put on some exciting races. The one and only heat race saw all 11 cars on hand take the green flag. As USUAL the #06 of Patricia Gallegos took the win over the #97B of Justin Morgan with the #95 of Andrew Fowner coming in 3rd. The main event had the #06 of Patricia Gallegos take off to a HUGE lead and the win with the #99 of Lena Duke coming home 3rd with the #97B of Justin Morgan taking the show position. Gallegos as been on fire this year as she is 100% so far with clean sweeps on the dirt track twice and a clean sweep on the Asphalt a couple of weeks ago.

The Mini-Sprints brought out 13 cars to run 2 heats and their main event on the smaller ¼ mile track. These cars seemed to have a hairy night under the full moon as there were lots of spins ( one under the yellow flag ) and 1 rollover as Patrick Hurtado in the #07 became the second rollover of the year joining the #98Y of Coulter Morgan in the Hornets to get up-side down. Heat #1 saw Cody Dons in the #5 take the win over a hard charging #2 of David Gay with the #24K of female driver Kaylee Dons (sister to Cody) coming home 3rd. Heat #2 saw newcomer Robert Turner take the win over Grants racer Keith Gatewood in the #84X and the #4L of full sized Sprint Car driver Kristi Smith taking 3rd. The main event took MANY tries to get completed as the full moon seemed to be in charge of this race with LOTS of action all over the track. In the end the #2 of David Gay took a close win over the #4S of Spencer Hill ( Hill won the main event on opening day ), and the #5 of Cody Dons after some exciting adventures during the race finished 3rd.

The Dwarfs once again brought a small number of cars to put on a couple of good racer cars to show the fans what they are all about. The Dwarfs are looking to get several more cars to NAPA by the next show on May 11th. The heat race saw the #28 of Farmington driver Kenny Clugston take the win over the #11M John McCormich and the #66 David Hand from Los Alamos. The main event saw the #28 of Clugston become the 3rd double winner of the night joining Street Stock Driver #M777 Cameron Martin and X-Mod driver #K3 Kevin McDonald. Chasing Clugston to the stripe was the #66 of David Hand and the # 11M of John McCormick.

Here are the final results for all races. These results are UNOFFICIAL and we apologize for any and all errors. The Street Stock Main could be especially incorrect due to the exciting action throughout the event.

A-Mods
Heat #1- #58 Clint Miller, #3J Josh Cain, #09 Bill Waltman, #31 Doug Goodenough, #1 Mychal Lucero, #75 Bob Harter, #8 John Marrs, #28 Rob Haaland.
Main-Event - #3J Josh Cain, #31 Doug Goodenough, #58 Clint Miller, #28 Rob Haaland, #75 Bob Harter DNF, #09 Bill Waltman DNF, #1 Mychal Lucero DNF, #8 John Mars DNF.

X-Mods
Heat #1 - #K3 Kevin McDonald, #62 Tom Melloy, #0 J.R. Bonesteel, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #54 Tim Hooper, #34S Donald Scott, #33 Wild Bill Lynch.
Heat #2 - #78 Gary Guinn, #76 Mike Ford Jr., #37 Rob Haaland, #87 Eric Ford, #14C Bennie Chavez, #21III Avie Chavez III, #14 Andrew Fowner, #28 Skimmer Leathem, #68 Kenny Wheeler, #43 Dan Glass, #29 Mike O’Neal DNF, #5X Rick Boelter DNF.
Main Event – K3 Kevin McDonald, #62 Tom Melloy, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #87 Eric Ford, #14C Bennie Chavez, #54 Tim Hooper, #37 Rob Haaland, #33 Wild Bill Lynch, #14 Andrew Fowner, #34S Donald Scott, #78 Gary DNF, #43 Dan Glass DNF, #21III Avie Chavez III DNF, #76 Mike Ford Jr. DNF, #29 Mike O’Neal DNS, #5X Rick Boelter DNS, #68 Kenny Wheeler DNS.

Street Stock
Heat #1 – M777 Cameron Martin, #99 Joel Duke, #3D Nathan Medina, #53 R. C. Combs, #73 Ric Valdes, #98 Toy Fisher, #3 Mario Truden Sr., #40 John Cruickshank DNF.
Heat #2 - #8X Mario Truden Jr., #43 Danny Gross, #73J Gerald Haste, #20 Britany Bell, #54 Sean Dutcher Jr., #44 Dillon Tanner DNF, #143 Danny Gross Jr. DNF.
Main Event - #M777 Cameron Martin, #43 Danny Gross, #98 Toy Fisher, #73 Ric Valdes, #3 Mario Truden Sr., #99 Joel Duke, #143 Danny Gross Jr., #8X Mario Truden Jr. DNF, #54 Sean Dutcher Jr. DNF, #53 R.C. Combs DNF, #20 Britany Bell DNF, #40 John Cruickshank DNF, #44 Dillon Tanner DNS, #73J Gerald Haste DNS

Cruisers
Heat #1 and only - #15 Cheyanna Yates, #43 Art Hurley, #20 John Morningstar, #0 Gary Smith, #76 Madison Conrad, #02 Susanna Bonesteel, #26 Cody Sanchez, #78 Anthony Sandoval, #57 Steve Ashley, #49 Driver Unknown DNF, #33 Devin Gates
Main Event - #33 Devin Gates, #15 Cheyanna Yates, #26 Cody Sanchez, #02 Susanna Bonesteel, #76 Madison Conrad, #20 John Morningstar, #0 Gary Smith, #57 Steve Ashley, #49 Driver Unknown DNF, #78 Anthony Sandoval DNF, #43 Art Hurley DNF.

Hornets
Heat #1 and only - #06 Patricia Gallegos, #97B Justin Morgan, #95 Andrew Fowner, #99 Lena Duke, #58 Frank Payne, #94 Richard Garcia, #7 Daysha Boelter, #17 Mike ( Woody ) Ford Jr., #9 Jolene Fowner, #11 Whitley Chavez, #98Y Coulter Morgan.
Main Event - #06 Patricia Gallegos, #99 Lena Duke, #97B Justin Morgan, #94 Richard Garcia, #17 Donette Ford, #7 Daysha Boelter, #58 Frank Payne, #9 Jolene Fowner, #11 Whitley Chavez, #98Y Coulter Morgan, #95 Andrew Fowner DNF.

Mini-Sprints
Heat #1 - #5 Cody Dons, #2 David Gay, #24K Kaylee Dons, #17 Jacob Johnston, #34 Ann Gatewood, #11K Tyler Congelton, #4S Spencer Hill.
Heat #2 - #22 Robert Turner, #84X Keith Gatewood, #4L Kristi Smith, #1 Duane Oldfield DNF, #69K T.J. McHugh DNF, #07 Patrick Hurtado DNF.
Main Event - #2 David Gay, #4S Spencer Hill, #5 Cody Dons, #84X Keith Gatewood, #22 Robert Turner, #07 Patrick Hurtado, #4L Kristi Smith, #24K Kaylee Dons, #11K Tyler Congelton, #1 Duane Oldfield, #69X T.J. McHugh DNF, #34 Ann Gatewood DNF, #17 Jacob Johnston DNF.

Dwarfs
Heat #1 and only - #28 Kenny Clugston, #11M John McCormich, #66 David Hand, #17 Ken Walker, #70 Sean Apgar, #42 Rick McCormick DNF.
Main Event - #28 Kenny Clugston, #66 David Hand, #11m John McCormich, #42 Rick McCormick, #70 Sean Apgar, #17 Ken Walker DNF.

Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody