Motiva Motor Speedway Dirt Track 3-29-14
Bob & Ray Ingram

Opening day at Motiva Motor Speedway Dirt Track got of to a good start with great racing in 6 divisions. The new clay that was added to the racing surface during the off season held up well and was very racy right to the last checkered flag.

The NMMRA Non-Wing Sprints brought out a very strong field of 24 cars to run 3 heats, a B-Main and the big A-Main. With several cars not yet ready and already 24 cars we could easily see a 30 car field in the new future. Heat #1 saw a great side by side battle throughout the field with the #24 of Robert Marfia taking the win over the #45 of Jason Grady with the #7 of Jesse Baker coming home in 3rd. Heat #2 had a race long fight for the win with brother Austin #57 and Cody#4X Mansfield swapping the top spot on several occasions with Cody taking a very close win over Austin who is a rookie this year and the #26 of Randy Smith taking 3rd position. Heat #3 saw the #74X of Josh Hodges take the win over the #62 of Bill Mitchell with the #12J of Josh Grady taking 3rd. With the top 16 drivers earning a starting spot in the A-Main the other 8 drivers ran a B-Main with the top 4 making the rear of the A-Main. The B-Main saw the #148 of El Paso, Texas racer Don Grable take the win with the #6 of Robert Marfia in 2nd #19 Ronnie Smith in 3rd and the #55 of David Dykes taking the final transfer spot. The A-Main saw all 20 drivers make the call but on lap 2 or 3 there was a big pile up of 4 cars that eliminated 3 drivers who were involved and another that fell out due to mechanical problems. Knocked out in the crash was the #45 of Jason Grady, #5J Jeff Brumfield and the #19 of Ronnie Smith. Also involved in the crash was the #52NM of Steve Nix ( driving the Dave Burns car ) who was able to continue the race. The #7 of Jesse Baker went out at this time due to mechanical issues not the crash. When the race restarted there were at least 6-8 cars fighting for the win. Young Josh Hodges #74X looked to have the lead well in hand but the #148 of Don Grable coming out of the B-Main and starting deep in the field charged through the traffic to catch up to and run side by side with Hodges. At the checkered flag it was Hodges taking the hard fought win over Grable with the #22B of Bo Baker just a few lengths back finishing in the last podium position.

The A-Mods had a short field of 5 cars but were joined by 8 X-Mods who did more than a good job of staying close or even to the A-Mods. Heat #1 saw the beautiful #58 of Clint Miller take the win over the #45X of Todd Budlong with the #62 of X-Mod driver Tom Melloy #62. Heat #2 saw the #1 X-Mod of Mychal Lucero take the win over the hard charging #13 of Luigi Truden taking 3rd spot. The A-Main saw 11 of the 13 cars on hand take the green flag as the #71 of Deral Meek who was damaged in his heat race and the #60 of Tanner Higdon who had mechanical problems were unable to make the call. The action was fast and furious from the get-go as there was a good mix of A-Mods and X-Mods throughout the field, unlike in the past where all X-Mods started behind all of the A-Mods. The early going saw a great battle between Budlong and Miller with the #1 of X-Mod Mychal Lucero hounding their heels. Miller was involved in a spin and went to the back of the field and worked his way back to the front. With Budlong leading the way Lucero was close enough to keep him honest and Miller getting by with 2 laps to go. Coming out of turn 4 for the checkered flag Budlong and Miller were nearly side by side as they came up on 2 lapped cars. Budlong went low and Miller went high fighting for the lead, unfortunately they tried to get 4 wide in a space only wide enough for 3 wide and Miller scraped the wall and falling behind Budlong. Chasing Budlong and Miller to the checkered flag was Mychal Lucero.

The Street Stocks had only 8 cars on hand but boy did they put on some good racing. This class has dropped off in car count do to several drivers moving up to X or A Mods. The heat race saw youngster #53 R.C. Combs take the win over #15 Cheyenna Yates and #73 Ric Valdes. Cheyenna Yates was in a Cruiser last year and was making her first start in a Street Stock and ran very close to Combs the entire way. The A-Main looked pretty much like a replay of the heat race with Combs and Yates taking 1st and 2nd with the #40 of John Cruickshank coming home 3rd.

The Cruisers had 13 cars on hand to run some very entertaining races with LOTS of action. Heat #1 saw 2 of the biggest cars in the field come home in the first 2 spots. Cody Sanchez #26 took the win over #20 John Morningstar with #43 Art Hurley taking 3rd. Heat #2 saw the very quick #33 of Devin Gates take the win over the beautiful #76 of Madison Conrad with the #96 of newcomer Jake Brenhold doing a great job of finishing 3rd in his first race. The Main Event had only 11 starters as the #8 of another newcomer Brenda Parra was involved in a HARD hit on the frontstrech wall in her heat race and the #49 of Brandon Caldwell who had mechanical problems could not make the call. After lots of action and several spins the #33 of Gates took yet another win with the #96 of newcomer Brenholdt doing a fantastic job of finishing 2nd with the #43 of Hurley taking the 3rd spot.

The Mini-Sprints had 9 cars to run their single heat race and a main event. These smaller cars run on the small track inside the big track and put on some very exciting side by side action. The heat race saw a heated battle between the #07 of Patrick Hurtado and the #17 of Jacob Johnston with Hurtado taking the win with Johnston 2nd and the #72 of Mike Barnes taking home the 3rd spot. The Main Event was a thriller as Hurtado and Johnston ran bumper to bumper or side by side the entire way as they fought their way through slower traffic. At the end it was Hurtado again holding of the persistent Johnston to take the win with Barnes again coming home in 3rd.

Somewhat surprisingly the 4cyl. Hornet Class, the least expensive class to race had the shortest field of the night with only 4 cars on hand. This is another class that has lost several drivers to move up to another division. The heat race saw a duel between the #99 of Lena Duke and the #97B of Justin Morgan with the #77 of Fred Anaya taking 3rd. The Main Event was a virtual replay of the heat race as Duke and Morgan again fought wheel to wheel for the win with Anaya again taking 3rd and the #98Y of Coulter Morgan taking the final spot.

Here are the complete results for the night. As always these results ARE NOT OFFICIAL and we apologize for any errors.

NMMRA Non-Wing Sprints

Heat #1 - #24 Robert Marfia, #45 Jason Grady, #7 Jesse Baker, #11W Dillon Tanner, #52NM Steve Nix, #22B Bo Baker, #38 Michael Fanelli and #17 Steven Spiak.

Heat #2 - #4X Cody Mansfield, #57 Austin Mansfield, #26 Randy Smith, #5J Jeff Brumfield Jr., #40X Jerill Higgenbotham, #41 James Hatch, #7M Matthew Cardenas adn #19R Ronnie Smith DNF

Heat #3 - #74X Josh Hodges, #62 Bill Mitchell, #12J Josh Grady, #23 Jason Tanner, #148 Don Grable, #4L Kristi Smith, #6 Michael Marfia and #55 David Dykes

B-Main - #148 Don Grable, #6 Michael Marfia, #19R Ronnie Smith, #55 David Dykes, #4L Kristi Smith, #17 Steven Spiak, #41 James Hatch and #38 Michael Fanelli DNF

Main Event - #74X Josh Hodges, #148 Don Grable, #22B Bo Baker, #4X Cody Mansfield, #12J Josh Grady, #62 Bill Mitchell, #40X Jerill Higgenbotham, #11W Dillon Tanner, #7M Matthew Cardenas, #57 Austin Mansfield DNF, #55 David Dykes DNF, #52NM Steve Nix DNF, #23 Jason Tanner DNF, #26 Randy Smith DNF, #24 Robert Marfia DNF, #41 James Hatch DNF, #5J Jeff Brumfield Jr. DNF, #19R Ronnie Smith DNF, #7 Jesse Baker DNF and #45 Jason Grady DNF

A-Mods

Heat #1 - #58 Clint Miller, #45X Todd Budlong, #62 Tom Melloy, #18 Kevin Hibdon, #73 Gerald Haste and #71 Deral Meek DNF

Heat #2 - #1 Mychal Lucero, #13 Luigi Truden, #7 Steven Bertetto, #29 Mike O'Neal, #3 Kenneth Payne, #3J Josh Cain DNF and #60 Tanner Higdon

Main-Event - #45X Todd Budlong, #58 Clint Miller, #1 Mychal Lucero, #62 Tom Melloy, #13 Luigi Truden, #3 Kenneth Payne, #29 Mike O'Neal, #7 Steven Bertetto, #73 Gerald Haste DNF, #18 Kevin Hibdon DNF, #3J Josh Cain DNF, #60 Tanner Higdon DNS and #71 Deral Meek DNS

Street Stock

Heat #1 and only - #53 R.C. Combs, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #73 Ric Valdes, #40 John Cruickshank, #99 Joel Duke, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr. DNF, #143 Danny Gross Jr. DNF and #48 John Glass DNS

Main-Event - #53 R. C. Combs, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #40 John Cruickshank, #73 Ric Valdes, #48 John Glass DNF, #99 Joel Duke DNF, #11 driver unknown DNF, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr. DNS and #143 Danny Gross Jr. DNS

Cruisers

Heat #1 - #26 Cody Sanchez, #20 John Morningstar, #43 Art Hurley, #00 Leo Dennison, #42 Stephanie Sanchez, #58 Frank Payne and #11 Anthony Cordova DNS

Heat #2 - #33 Devin Gates, #76 Madison Conrad, #96 Jake Brenholdt, #18 Jim Kosinski, #8 Brenda Parra DNF and #49 Brandon Caldwell DNS

Main-Event - #33 Devin Gates, #96 Jake Brenholdt, #43 Art Hurley, #42 Stephanie Sanchez, #76 Madison Conrad, #18 Jim Kosinski, #20 John Morningstar DNF, #00 Leo Dennison DNF, #26 Cody Sanchez DNF, #11 Anthony Cordova DNF, #58 Frank Payne DNF, #49 Brandon Caldwell DNS and #8 Brenda Parra DNS

Mini-Sprints

Heat #1 and only - #07 Patrick Hurtado, #17 Jacob Johnston, #72 Mike Barnes, #2 David Gay, #9X Eric Smith, #14 Alex Robinson, #69X T.J. McHugh, #19X Crystal Garrison and #5JR Tyler Grier

Main-Event - #07 Patrick Hurtado, #17 Jacob Johnston, #72 Mike Barnes, #14 Alex Robinson, #9X Eric Smith, #69X T.J. McHugh, #5JR Tyler Grier, #19X Crystal Garrison adn #2 David Gay DNF

Hornets

Heat #1 and only - #99 Lena Duke, #97B Justin Morgan, #77 Fred Anaya and #98Y Coulter Morgan

Main-Event - #99 Lena Duke, #97B Justin Morgan, #77 Fred Anaya and #98Y Coulter Morgan.

Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody