Grady, Cain and Combs Take Wins @ Sandia Speedway
Bob & Ray Ingram
9-19-2015

With the racing season winding down there was a good field of cars to put on some very good racing on a cool evening on the Dirt Track @ Sandia Speedway.

The NMMRA Sprints brought out a nice field of 16 cars to run two heat races and their main-event. The first heat got off to a rough start as the #6 of Robert Marfia got tangled up in heavy traffic on the first lap and did several hard roll overs in turns three and four. Marfia's car was heavily damaged and done for the night but thankfully Marfia was uninjured and able to walk away from his wrecked ride. Once the race got going it went green to checkered with a terrific battle at the front among the top four drivers. Jesse Baker in his yellow #7 took off into the lead with the #12J of Josh Grady, #38 Michael Fanelli and #4X Cody Mansfield fighting each other for second and trying to run down Baker. At the finish is was Baker taking the win in front of Grady with Fanelli holding down the third position. Heat #2 went much smoother as it went the entire way without any caution periods and a very good battle at the front for the win. Matthew Cardenas in his #7M ( 37 Strong ) jumped out from his outside front row start and lead wire to wire with several challenges from the next 3 drivers behind him. At the stripe it was the #57 of Austin Mansfield taking second with the #45 of Jason Grady coming up from his last spot start taking a very close third position. The 25 lap main had 2 yellow flags for minor spins before finally getting a good start then going the entire race with no caution periods. Jason Grady #45 took off from the front row and drove off into the sunset as he led every lap and took the win by half a lap. Grady lapped all the way up to 5th place as he had his car on rails and never made even a slight bobble the entire race. Chasing Grady home was the #7 of Jesse Bake taking 2nd and the #57 of Austin Mansfield coming home in third. Mansfield did a terrific job of coming from the back of the field after having to give up a good up front start as he spun on the second restart.

The A-Mods had 12 true A-Mods and one X-Mod of the #29 of Mike O'Neal to run their 2 heats and main-event. O'neal does a great job of being competitive in his older X-Mod running with some really tough A-Mod competition. Heat #1 was a very fast and close race that was slowed once as the #11X of Clay Gossett who was running well in the third spot when he got too high in turns 3 and 4 and made very hard contact with the the wall, bringing his evening of racing to an end. Justin Weber in his #63 took off from outside the front row and never looked back as he took the win in front of the hard charging #09 of Bill Waltman who started dead last on the field. Chasing Weber and Waltman home was the #29 of Mike O'Neal taking the third position. Heat #2 was an extremely fast race that went caution free. Clint Miller in his #58 took off to the lead and led all the way but not without a close challenge from the #2 of Kenneth Payne, Payne has only made a couple of starts this year but looked like a seasoned veteran as he ran very close to some FAST cars. Chasing Miller and Payne home was the #75 of Bob Harter. The main-event was short a couple of cars as the #11X of Gossett was not able to make repairs from his contact with the wall in heat #1 and the #97 of Jeremy Warren who was out with mechanical problems. This race was loaded with some very fast cars looking for the win. Heat race winner Miller took off from out side the front row and looked as if he might take the win with a flag to flag run but a couple of other drivers had different ideas. There was a great battle behind Miller among 5 or 6 drivers. Josh Cain in his newly painted red #3J took over the lead from Miller and went on to the win over Miller. Chasing Cain and Miller home was last weeks main-event winner #63 Justin Weber who nipped the #09 of Bill Waltman by about 1 foot at the finish line.

The Street Stock had 13 cars for their 2 heats and main-event. Heat #1 was another race that went the entire way without a caution period. This race had the top 5 drivers in the hunt for the win until the final turn. Cameron Martin in his #M77 took off in the lead at the drop of the green with several other drivers close behind. Martin held onto the lead until the final 2 laps as the #43 of Dan Gross made this pass and held on for the win in front of Martin with the #15 of Cheyenna Yates coming home in third place. Heat #2 saw a race long battle at the front between the #5X of Rick Boelter and the #53 of R.C. Combs running side by side and bumper to bumper the entire race with Combs holding on for the win in front of Boelter with the #74M of Rob Moesley taking third spot. The main-event again saw a good duel between the Boelter and Combs with the #15 of Cheyenna Yates staying close enough behind that a mistake by the two leaders and she would be able to sneak by for the lead. At the finish is was Combs again holding off Boelter with Yates taking home 3rd position.

Here are the complete UNOFFICIAL results.

NMMRA Sprints
Heat #1 #7 Jesse Baker, #12J Josh Grady, #38 Michael Fanelli, #4X Cody Mansfield, #37 Dave Burns, #52NM Steven Spiak, #48 Larry Kesterson, #6 Robert Marfia DNF

Heat #2 #7M Matthew Cardenas, #57 Austin Mansfield, #45X Jason Grady, #11W Dillon Tanner, #21P Rick Johnson, #19 Randy Smith, #2D David Gay, #29 Ted Schlote

Main-Event #45X Jason Grady, #7 Jesse Baker, #57 Austin Mansfield, #38 Michael Fanelli, #4X Cody Mansfield, #7M Matthew Cardenas, #12J Josh Grady, #19 Randy Smith, #11W Dillon Tanner, #29 Ted Schlote, #2D David Gay, #52NM Steven Spiak, #48 Larry Kesterson DNF, #37 Dave Burns DNF, #6 Robert Marfia DNS

A-Mods
Heat #1 #63 Justin Weber, #09 Bill Waltman, #29 Mike O'Neal, #28C Cooter Frazier, #62 Tom Melloy, #73 Gerald Haste, #11X Clay Gossett DNF

Heat #2 #58 Clint Miller, #2 Kenneth Payne, #75 Bob Harter, #3J Josh Cain, #97 Jeremy Warren, #41 Ralph Dutcher, #77 Deral Meek Jr. DNF

Main-Event #3J Josh Cain, #58 Clint Miller, #63 Justin Weber, #09 Bill Waltman, #75 Bob Harter, #28C Cooter Frazier, #2 Kenneth Payne, #73 Gerald Haste, #29 Mike O'Neal, #62 Tom Melloy, #41 Ralph Dutcher DNF, #77 Deral Meek Jr. DNF, #97 Jeremy Warren DNS, #11X Clay Gossett DNS

Street Stock
Heat #1 #43 Dan Gross, #M77 Cameron Martin, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #143 Danny Gross Jr., #11X Casey Gossett, #18 Jim Kosinski, #13 Jason Gallegos

Heat #2 #53 R.C. Combs, #5X Rick Boelter, #74M Rob Moesley, #99 Joel Duke, #76 Madison Conrad, #26 Cody Sanchez DNF

Main-Event #53 R.C. Combs, #5X Rick Boelter, #15 Cheyenna Yates, #M77 Cameron Martin, #99 Joel Duke, #11X Casey Gossett, #18 Jim Kosinski, #43 Dan Gross DNF, #74M Rob Moesley DNF, #13 Jason Gallegos DNF, #143 Danny Gross Jr. DNF, #26 Cody Sanchez DNF, #76 Madison Conrad DNS

Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody