Motiva Motor Speedway Dirt Track 8-2-2014 
Bob & Ray Ingram 

On a nearly perfect night for racing the Dirt Track @ Motiva Motor Speedway was in excellent shape for Hammer Down, ground pounding action. It might have been nice to have a few more cars in some classes but boy did the racers that were on hand put on a very good show.

As always the X-Mods had the best field with 18 very competitive cars to run 3 heats and a main event. Heat #1 looked like a family party as the father/daughter duo of Andrew Fowner and Patricia Gallegos on the front row with the father/son duo of Steve Bonesteel and J.R. Bonesteel in the second row. This race saw the #19 of Patricia Gallegos jump out to the early lead and hold off the very fast #0 of J.R. Bonesteel for several laps. Once Bonesteel took the lead it was all over as he went on for the win with Gallegos holding on for a very solid second place and the #00 of Steve Bonesteel taking 3rd spot. Heat #2 also was somewhat of a family affair as brothers Derek and Ryan Dietz started one behind the other in the first two rows. This race had a great side by side battle for the win between the #34S of Donald Scott and the #7 of Shorty Steven Bertetto with the #54D of Shawn Dutcher nipping at their heals. At the checkered flag it was Bertetto holding on for the win with Scott finishing in second and Dutcher coming home in 3rd. Heat #3 was the only race without family members racing against each other. This race saw the #1 of Mychal Lucero, who has been FAST all year take off from the outside front row to take the win over the #29 of Mike O'Neal in second and the #62 of another fan favorite Tom Melloy taking the 3rd position. As was done last week and will continue the rest of the year the drivers who finished 5th & 6th in their heats were in the Dash-for-Cash with the winner taking home an extra $100.00 and 2nd place taking home an extra $50.00. Long time racer Wild Bill Lynch in the #33 took off in the early lead with the rest of the field hot in pursuit. At about the half way point the #15 of Dee Yates got by Lynch to take the win with Lynch in 2nd and the #18 of rookie driver Kevin Hibdon take home 3rd place. The Main-Event saw 16 of the original 18 cars on hand take the green flag as only the #63 of Justin Weber and the #34S of Donald Scott were unable to make the call. This was one of the best races of the year as their were only 2 DNF's due to mechanical failures and all of the 14 remaining cars finished on the lead lap. There were 6-8 cars with an honest chance to win this race and it was very close until the last lap or two. The #0 of J.R. Bonesteel elected to give up his original starting spot near the front and start on the outside of the back row instead. With a gaggle of cars fighting for the top spot at the front Bonesteel began his methodical march to the front picking off one car after another. With the laps running down Bonesteel seemed to be stuck in about 5th place but managed to find exactly the right groove to move forward and take over the top spot. At the checkered flag it was #0 J.R. Bonesteel taking a very hard earned win over a bunch of very hard chargers. Chasing Bonesteel home were the #1 of Mychal Lucero, #54D Shawn Duther, #00 Steve Bonesteel and the #54 of Perry Held.

The Cruisers came out with 11 cars to put on a very good show. Heat #1 had LONG time racer Phil York ( well into his 70's ) take the early lead and hold that spot for several laps but the always fast #33 of Devon Gates got by on the outside and took the lead and the win with York holding on for 2nd place and the #76 of Madison Conrad coming home in 3rd place. Heat #2 saw a face long battle between the #00 of Leo Dennison and the #50 of Todd Hendrickson. At times these two drivers looked like the were hooked together. At the end it was Dennison inching out Hendrickson for the win. Not to be out done the #58 of Frank Payne and the #42 of Stephanie Sanchez crossed the finish line in 3rd and 4th with Payne taking 3rd spot by inches. The Main-Event saw all 11 cars on hand make the call for a very good race. There were no yellow flags but 5 of the starters had to retire early due to mechanical problems or flat tires. As in the heat race the #1 of Phil York took the early lead but proved to be no match for the #33 of Devon Gates and the #50 of Todd Hendrickson who again waged a fierce dual to the end with Gates holding on for the win with Hendrickson who had won the last time out having to settle for 2nd place this week. Chasing Gates and Hendrickson to the finish line were the #00 of Leo Dennison, #76 Madison Conrad and the #43 of Ar Hurley.

The Street Stock again had a short field of only 7 cars but these guys and gal put on a terrific show all night. The heat race saw the #15 of Cheyenna Yates take the lead from the git-go but soon had a challenge from the #53 of R.C. Combs with the #99 of Joel Duke on their rear bumpers. As the laps ran down Yates and Combs were side by side completely around the track and keeping the fans on their feet. At the checkered it was young lady driver Cheyenna Yates take her first Street Stock win over Combs with Duke close behind in 3rd. Duke always stays close enough to Yates and Combs that even a small miscue and Duke will take a well deserved win. Not surprisingly the Main-Event looked a lot like the heat race with Yates and Combs running side by side for many laps until Combs took the lead for good with Yates and Duke again chasing him to the checkered flag. Young Mr. Combs has won all but 1 heat race and ALL of the Main-Events this year at Motiva Motor Speedway.

The Hornets had 5 cars to run a very good heat race and main event. The heat race saw Lena Duke in her #99 take the early lead but have to fight off serious challenges from the #06 of Jolene Fowner and the #97B Justin Morgan getting side by side with Lena at times. In the end Duke was able to hold off Fowner and Morgan to take the win. The main-event again saw Duke, Morgan and Fowner have a race long battle for the win but this time the #06 of Jolene Fowner was able to stave off the challengers and take the win in front of #97B Justin Morgan in 2nd and the #99 of Lena Duke in 3rd place.

The 305 Winged-Sprints had only 2 cars as a couple of drivers were out of town and another driver ( Colt Treharn ) was unable to get his car and trailer out of the standing water south of Albuquerque. The heat race saw a very close race between James Hatch driving the #52 of Dave Burns and Colt Treharn driving the #99 of Chuck Jackson. After running close to each other the enter race Hatch was able to take the win in front of Treharn. The Main-Event was the reverse of the heat race as the #99 of Colt Treharn was able to take a fairly comfortable win over the #52 of James Hatch. The track was in excellent racing condition and both of these drivers were able to make complete laps without ever lifting off the loud pedal.

All in all a very entertaining night of racing on a great dirt track at Motiva Motor Speedway. Here are the full results as we think we saw them. These results are UNOFFICIAL and we apologize for any errors.

Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody

X-Mods
Heat #1 #0 J.R. Bonesteel, #19 Patricia Gallegos, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #95 Andrew Fowner, #15 Dee Yates, #63 Justin Weber DNF

Heat #2 #7 Steven Bertetto, #34S Donald Scott, #54D Shawn Dutcher, #25 Derek Dietz, #18 Kevin Hibdon, #26 Ryan Dietz

Heat #3 #1 Mychal Lucero, #29 Mike O'Neal, #62 Tom Melloy, #54 Perry Held, #60 Tanner Higdon, #33 Wild Bill Lynch

Dash for Cash #15 Dee Yates, #33 Wild Bill Lynch, #18 Kevin Hibdon, #26 Ryan Dietz, #60 Tanner Higdon, #95 Andrew Fowner

Main-Event #0 J.R. Bonesteel, #1 Mychal Lucero, #54D Shawn Dutcher, #00 Steve Bonesteel, #54 Perry Held, #29 Mike O'Neal, #62 Tom Melloy, #19 Patricia Gallegos, #60 Tanner Higdon, #25 Derek Dietz, #33 Wild Bill Lynch, #95 Andrew Fowner, #26 Ryan Dietz, #18 Kevin Hibdon DNF, #15 Dee Yates DNF, #34S Donald Scott DNS, #63 Justin Weber DNS

Cruisers
Heat #1 #33 Devon Gates, #1 Phil York, #76 Madison Conrad, #43 Art Hurley, #02 Suezanna Bonesteel, #26 Cody Sanchez

Heat #2 #00 Leo Dennison, #50 Todd Hendrickson, #58 Frank Payne, #42 Stephanie Sanchez, #65 Fransisco Baca

Main-Event #33 Devon Gates, #50 Todd Hendrickson, #00 Leo Dennison, #76 Madison Conrad, #43 Art Hurley, #1 Phil York, #02 Suezanna Bonesteel DNF, #58 Frank Payne DNF, #42 Mike Baca DNF, #65 Fransisco Baca DNF, #26 Cody Sanchez DNF

Street Stocks
Heat #1 and only #15 Cheyenna Yates, #53 R.C. Combs, #99 Joel Duke, #18 Don Goss, #48 Dan Glass, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr., #82 Gerald Haste DNS

Main-Event #53 R.C. Combs, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #99 Joel Duke, #82 Gerald Haste, #18 Don Goss, #48 Dan Glass, #54 Shawn Dutcher Jr. DNS

Hornets
Heat #1 and only #99 Lena Duke, #06 Jolene Fowner, #97B Justin Morgan, #74 Lindsey Varga, #98Y Coulter Morgan

Main-Event #06 Jolene Fowner #97B Justin Morgan, #99 Lena Duke, #98Y Coulter Morgan, #74 Sophia Hagen DNF

305 Winged-Sprints
Heat #1 and only #52 James Hatch, #99 Colt Treharn

Main-Event #99 Colt Treharn, #52 James Hatch