Motiva Motor Speedway Dirt Track 6-14-2014
Bob & Ray Ingram

On a very WINDY night on the Dirt Track at Motiva Motor Speedway a good field of cars in 6 divisions put on a very good show for a good crowd of hardy fans. There was good action in 5 divisions to give the fans their money's worth with lots of action in 2 and 3 wide racing on a fast track.

The NMMRA Sprints had 16 cars to run 2 heat races and their Main-Event. Heat #1 saw 3 wide racing for the first couple of laps and ran the entire race without a single yellow flag to slow the action. James Hatch in the #41 machine jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green but was challenged by several other drivers before pulling away from the crowd to leave the rest of the field to fight for the runnerup spot. Chasing Hatch to the finish was the #62 of Bill Mitchell and the #4X of Cody Mansfield. Heat #2 also went the distance without a single yellow. Youngster Austin Mansfield in the #57 had a race long battle with the #24 of Robert Marfia, #52NM Steve Nix in the Dave Burns car and the #7 of Jesse Baker in the Bill Richards ride. Marfia finally pulled away for the win with Mansfield, Burns and Baker finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th with a few feet of each other. The Main-Event had only 15 starters as the #11W of Dillon Tanner had already left the facility. The top 7 drivers in the event swapped positions numerous times throughout the race. There were only 2 yellow flags for fairly minor incidents to slow the action. At the checkered it was the #4X of Cody Mansfield taking the hard fought victory over a very hard charging Steve Nix 52NM followed by #7 Jesse Baker.

The A-Mods also had 16 cars on hand to do battle. There were 7 true A-Mods and 9 very competitive X-Mods making up the field. Heat #1 saw a race long battle for the win among 4 of the 8 cars in the field with first one then another taking turns at the point. At the checkered flag it was the #58 of Los Alamos driver Clint Miller taking the win over the #75 of Bloomfield driver Bob Harter and the Ghost Car of Cooter Frazier chasing him home. Frazier's car is solid white without any numbers or graphics of any kind on it. As in the Sprints there were 15 of the 16 cars on hand to take the green flag in the Main-Event as the #5X of Rick Boelter was unable to make the call. There were several yellow flags in this event but the action in between was fast and furious with a number of the X-Mods holding their own against the A-Mods. As has been the case all year the #3J of Josh Cain came from his 3rd row outside start to take the lead and never look back as he chalked up yet another win. Chasing Cain home was the Ghost Car of Cooter Frazier with the #75 of Bob Harter taking the final podium position.

The Street Stocks had another short field of only 7 cars but still put on a good show for the fans. The heat race saw the #53 of R.C. Combs and the #15 of Cheyenna Yates run virtually side by side for the first half of the race until Combs was able to pull out to a fairly comfortable win over Yates with the #99 of Joel Duke not far behind for the 3rd spot. The 20 lap Main-Event was slowed by 4 yellow flags for minor spins but there was good racing in between. Once again Combs and Yates had a battle at the front until Yates suffered a right rear tire going down with 2 laps to go. The #53 of R.C. Combs took the win in front of the #99 of Joel Duke who had done a great job of coming from the back after an earlier spin with the #15 of Cheyenna Yates able to limp across the stripe with the flat tire.

The Mini-Sprints had 9 cars in the pits to put on 2 heats and a Main-Event. Heat #1 saw only 2 of the original 5 starters take the checkered flag as 3 competitors left the track with mechanical problems. Eric Smith in the #9X took the win in front of rookie driver Tyler Grier in the #5JR. Heat #2 went green to checkered with no problems and all starters finishing the race. There was a good battle for the win between the #44 of visiting driver Devon Amos, who used to race here locally but is now racing Late Models in North Carolina, and the #72 of Mike Barnes. Barnes was able to hold off Amos for the win with the #14 of Alex Robinson keeping them honest coming home in the 3rd spot. The Main-Event saw only 8 of the 9 cars on hand make the call as the #74 of Ike Thompson who grenaded his engine in his heat race was not able to run. This race saw the top 4 drivers run bumper to bumper the entire race with the rest of the field hot on their heels. In the end the #44 of Devon Amos held off the very persistent #07 of Patrick Hurtado with the #72 of Mike Barnes within striking distance taking the 3rd position.

The number 16 must have been the number for the night as the Cruisers became the 3rd division to have 16 cars on hand. Heat #1 saw second row starters #33 Devon Gates and #7 Rob Moesley wage a race long battle for the lead with Moseley holding of Gates for the win with the #58 of Frank Payne coming home in 3rd. Heat #2 had the #00 of Leo Dennison taking off from his outside front row start to lead every lap and take the win by a full straightaway. Chasing Dennison home was the #50 of Todd Hendrixson in his Mustang and the #20 of John Morningstar in his 1978 Chrysler Cordoba. The Main-Event had 16 cars on hand make the call for a very entertaining race. Heat #2 winner #00 Leo Dennison jumped out to the early lead only to slam the backstretch wall ending his night early. There was a scary moment early in the race when the #8 of Cesar Giron lost a entire right rear wheel assembly that bounced higher than the fence, these parts could easily have made it into the concourse near the fence, that is way the announcer tell people to stay away from the fence at all times when the cars are racing. With the early exit of the Dennison car the battle was pretty much left to the #7 of Rob Moesley and the #33 of Devon Gates. At the end it was Gates taking the win with Moseley taking second. Frank Payne in the #58 stayed close behind the leaders and could have taken the win if Gates and Moseley had made even a small mistake, but had to settle for 3rd.

The Hornets have struggled all year with car counts and had only 3 cars on hand to race. The heat race was won by the #99 of Lena Duke with the #97B of Justin Morgan and the #98Y of Coulter Morgan chasing her home. The Main-Event a little change in the finish from the heat race as the #97B of Justin Morgan took the win with the #99 of Lena Duke 2nd and #98Y Coulter Morgan in 3rd s

Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody

Here are the full results for all divisions. These results are UNOFFICIAL and we apologize for any and all errors.

NMMRA Non-Winged Traditional Sprints

Heat #1 #41 James Hatch, #62 Bill Mitchell, #4X Cody Mansfield, #7 Jesse Baker, #4L Kristy Smith, #19 Ronnie Smith, #26 Randy Smith, #38 Michael Fanelli

Heat #2 #24 Robert Marfia, #57 Austin Mansfield, #52NM Steve Nix, #7M Matthew Cardenas, #55 David Dykes, #17 Steven Spiak, #8 Chris Perea, #11W Dillon Tanner DNS

Main-Event #4X Cody Mansfield, #52NM Steve Nix, #7 Jesse Baker, #57 Austin Mansfield, #62 Bill Mitchell, #17 Steven Spiak, #24 Robert Marfia, #4L Kristy Smith, #38 Michael Fanelli, #55 David Dykes, #8 Chris Perea, #19 Ronnie Smith DNF, #41 James Hatch DNF, #7M Matthew Cardenas DNF, #26 Randy Smith DNF, #11W Dillon Tanner DNS

A-Mods

Heat #1 #58 Clint Miller, #75 Bob Harter, #28 Cooter Frazier, #5X Rick Boelter, #95 Andrew Fowner, #34S Donald Scott, #43 Dan Glass DNF, #18 Kenny Ford DNF

Heat #2 #3J Josh Cain, #63 Justin Weber, #29 Mike O'Neal, #05 Donald Clinger, #73 Gerald Haste, #14 Jesse Lynch, #33 Wild Bill Lynch, #60 Tanner Higdon

Main-Event #3J Josh Cain, #28 Cooter Frazier, #75 Bob Harter, #05 Donald Clinger, #29 Mike O'Neal, #34S Donald Scott, #63 Justin Weber, #95 Andrew Fowner, #73 Gerald Haste, #43 Dan Glass, #60 Tanner Higdon DNF, #58 Clint Miller DNF, #18 Kenny Ford DNF, #33 Wild Bill Lynch DNF, #14 Jesse Lynch DNF, #5X Rick Boelter DNS

Street Stocks

Heat #1 #53 R.C. Combs, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #99 Joel Duke, #43 Dan Gross, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr., #40 John Cruickshank DNF, #11X Casey Gossett DNF

Main-Event #53 R.C. Combs, #99 Joel Duke, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #40 John Cruickshank, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr., #43 Dan Gross DNF, #11X Casey Gossett DNS

Mini-Sprints

Heat #1 #9X Eric Smith, #5JR Tyler Grier, #74 Ike Thompson DNF, #07 Patrick Hurtado DNF, #69X T. J. McHugh

Heat #2 #72 Mike Barnes, #44 Devon Amos, #14 Alex Robinson, #38 Duane Oldfield

Main-Event #44 Devon Amos, #07 Patrick Hurtado, #72 Mike Barnes, #14 Alex Robinson, #9X Eric Smith, #69X T. J. McHugh, #5JR Tyler Grier, #38 Duane Oldfield DNF, #74 Ike Thompson DNS

Cruisers

Heat #1 #7 Rob Moseley, #33 Devon Gates, #58 Frank Payne, #42 Mike Baca, #26 Scott Lynch, #80 Ernie Sandoval, #8 Cesar Giron, #18 Jim Kosinski

Heat #2 #00 Leo Dennison, #50 Todd Hendrixson, #20 John Morningstar, #76 Madison Conrad, #43 Art Hurley DNF, #11 Anthony Cordova DNF, #89 Shawn Maynard DNF, #79 Thomas Travis-Bateman DNS

Main-Event #33 Devon Gates, #7 Rob Moesley, #58 Frank Payne, #79 Thomas Travis-Bateman, #80 Ernie Sandoval, #18 Jim Kosinski, #76 Madison Conrad, #20 John Morningstar, #50 Todd Hendrixson, #42 Stephanie Sanchez, #26 Scott Lynch, #00 Leo Dennison DNF, #11 Anthony Cordova DNF, #43 Art Hurley DNF, #8 Cesar Giron DNF, #89 Shawn Maynard DNF

Hornets- Heat #1 and only #99 Lena Duke, #97B Justin Morgan, #98Y Coulter Morgan
Main-Event #97B Justin Morgan, #99 Lena Duke, #98Y Coulter Morgan