Posted by Ray & Bob Ingram on September 28, 2014, 12:36 pm
Motiva Motor Speedway Dirt Track 9-27-2014 Ray Ingram
You know me, I am a cheerleader for Motiva Motor Speedway, but with out fear of contradiction the racing surface was the best we have seen all year. No less than Jason Grady #45 the NMMRA 2014 Champion told the fans after the main that it was a FAST and great surface to race on. We had 20 sprints take heat race green. Heat #1 saw Jason Tanner take the win over #11 of his brother Dillon Tanner, bringing up third was #52NM of Steve Nix who was your NMMRA second place finisher in championship points. The #2 hear has Josh Grady #12 win over a hard charging Josh Hodges #74, third was brother Jason Grady #45. The #3 heat had #26 Randy Smith the winner over Michael Fanelli #38 and bringing up third was #57 Austin Mansfield. In the main it was a hotly contested event with eventual winner #74 of Josh Hodges taking the checkered his second in two weeks and his third this season. Most of Josh's racing this year was on the road, or he may have had a lot more in the win column. The Mansfield boys were in the fight for more main event wins as usual, but just could not get to Hodges. There were two minor roll overs, #8 of Chris Perea in turn one and on the checkered flag lap, #38 of Michael Fanelli did a slow roll in mid-turn 3. Thankfully no one was injured. We saw Rick Johnson #65 who did the worst roll of the year last week in the stands and other than being a little sore he was ok, not so much for his sprinter, brother Don told me they were looking for a new frame to start the build for next year. If you missed the NMMRA sprint races this year, you have one more chance on Oct 11th at 3PM. Note the earlier starting time for this event.
Now for the Modifieds, we had a strong field with 15 cars competing. The three heat race winners, second, and thirds were Heat 1 saw Cooter Frazier #28 CF take the win over #15 of Dee Yates and #3j of Josh Cain. Heat 2 had Mike Oneal win (note Mike competed in EVERY X and A Mod race this season. Talk about tenacity, great job Mike. The third heat had previous A Mod champ Todd Budlong #45 with a strong win over hard charger Donald Clinger #05, Donald runs the only Ford engine in the mod division. Farmington driver Bob Harter took third. Bob has one of the best looking cars competing in the modified division. The Modified main was one of the best this year. Lots of cars, fast track and great driving. The top five swapped positions many times before the final winner was Josh Cain #3j. Two of the standouts in the main were Xmods of J R Bonesteel #0 and Dee Yates #15. This is a new car for Dee and he has really found the controls. Bonesteel finished second and #45 of Todd Budlong third, passing Dee with just two laps to go. One of the funnier happenings was about 5 laps from the end when Skimmer Latham slowed going into turn one (appeared he was having mechanical problems) and the #45x of Budlong hit him in what looked like an attempt to give us a litter of puppies. Todd did get loose and started to charge back up to the front but time ran out before he could contest Bonesteel and Cain. Great racing in the Modified division, if you haven't seen these guys, make a point to come out next Saturday Oct. 4 at 3PM for the very last Modified race at Motiva Motor Speedway this year.
Street Stock division had enough cars for two heats this week. Heat 1 had R C Combs start on the pole, do I really need to tell you how that ended? Second place was a hard charging Rick Boelter #94 in his newly acquired Street Stock. Word is he sold the X Mod #5x, wonder what his plans are for next season? Can't see ole Rick leaving the X Mod ranks. Third in heat 1 was a new car/driver Cesar Giron #57 in a Camero bodied car. He looked good and should make a good showing in the Street Stock division. The second heat had #15 of Cheyanna Yeats take the win with Joel Duke #99 following third was Danny Gross #143 who had moments of brilliance and moments of struggles. The Street Stock main event had R C Combs #53 doing what comes naturally to him, WINNING. But not to be dismissed, Rick Boelter #94 gave a good showing in his #94. Cheyanna Yates #15 ran third and young Mr Gross #143 fourth.
The Cruisers fielded enough cars for two heats. Heat one had Leo Dennison in #00 win, with #43 of Art Hurley finishing second after leading for several laps. Heat two had #80 Ernie Sandoval taking the win over ole veteran Phil York #1. Madison Conrad #76 in third. Madison and Frank Payne #56 got together, sending both to the rear of the pack. Madison and Leo Dennison were both fighting for the division championship. Their main event had Cody Sanchez #26 take the lead at the five lap mark and never look back. Second was Phil York #1 and #76 of Madison Conrad take the third post. The battle between Leo Dennison and Madison Conrad for the title did not end until about the next to last lap, when Leo spun following Madison. Ms Conrad has been a division favorite with the fans, and they went wild when it was announced that she had captured the Cruiser division championship. Great job for this 17 year old.
Hornets had a small field with four cars. The heat winner was also the division champ Justin Morgan #97b. The main was won by Lena Duke #99 after Justin fell out with mechanical troubles.
The Mini Sprints had the same three cars this week as last, and the results were the same. #07 Patrick Hurtado winning heat and main, with Mike Barnes #72 taking second in both.
This was the last week of the regular shows this year. Next week will be the Modified Madness featuring X-Mods, A-mods and Street Stocks. Racetrack opens at 12 noon and racing starts at 3PM don't miss this one.
Then on Oct 4th will be the Sprint car finale with the Sprint Car Stampede with the NMMRA Non-Wing Sprints, 305 Winged Sprints and the Mini-Sprints, also starting at 3PM.
steve nix won the championship by 2 points. an error in counting was discovered after the announcement to the fans. you can see the point results at speed net direct.
on September 28, 2014, 12:36 pm