Just when you thought the deal down south couldn't get any better...they raise the bar (again). Las Cruces last night was just flat out great. Huge fireworks show at Intermission. Followed by fireworks on the racetrack...following by a surprise 2nd fireworks show at the end of the night. The place was SRO by 7:00...people kept coming in knowing all seats were taken.Place was bursting at the seams. The racing was typical Cruces & the track was spot on perfect. Full fields,3/4 wide racing, no crashing,no banging. Few highlights... X mods...20 cars, not a dog in the field.Every car rolled stout.How stout was the field? Greg Gorham, Jimmy Ray, John Carney, Justin Allen have all won features this year. They finished 10th,11th,12th & 15th respectively...and they were all flying& hooked up til the end.Those guys race unbelievably hard&clean.We were running 4 wide thru the corners &no one was leaning on anybody. The Top Cruces X mods would spank our (Sandia) A mods...they're that fast. Track was hammer down, sticky&smooth. I started 18th, got up to 11th, made the fatal mistake of actually lifting for a split second & got freight trained. IN Cruces They Don't lift...lesson learned.
Christy Barnett won. She was chased by her husband Sherman for 24 laps til his car developed a miss.The kid wound up 5th.The lat we model feature was won by Scott Logston. Scott's been racing for decades, every body loves Scott, he's always been my racing heto....he's a great ambassador for the sport.Chalk one up for the good guys. Mercedes Harris was flying on the rim.She was coming & spun with just few laps to go.That little girl is fearless. The street stocks started 18 cars &put on their usual 3/4 wide war.Watching Lloyd Turner come thru the pack in his flying, leaf spring 57 chevy is worth the price of admission. He ended up 3rd...backing it in sprint car style every lap.The huge crowd was on it's feet every lap in appreciation of his run. The ASCS 360's were the final feature&the were all set on kill. Lorne Wofford bolted out to a big lead, rim riding the absolute top. Grants New Mexico driver Jesse Baker ran Wofford down from the bottom & took the hard earned win...killer side by side racing throughout the pack. All in all...just an awesome night of hard core racing. Thanks to Royal & all the people from Snmspeedway for such a fun filled night.
Re: Cruces...fireworks, fireworks & more fireworks.
Bob couldn't go so I went with Mychal Lucero and his two X Mods.
As always Southern New Mexico Speedway was ready for a great night of racing. The National Anthem was played by a local doctor on his trumpet (sorry didn't get his name). What a great job he did, it was wonderful to see such American spirit.
The racing was fast, the fans supportive, the concessions tasty. There was standing room only.
There were several stand outs in each division. First was the awesome Christy Georges-Barnett. This gal is the real deal. She drove in the X Mod and Late Model division. Scott Logsdon looks like he has the Late Model division handled, although there is an upcoming star in Mercedes Harris #22. Both she and Christy were fast but spins cost them higher finishes.
The 360 Winged Sprints returning after a run at El Paso Speedway Friday. #74 of John Carney II won there so they put an added $500 on him if he could win SNMS night. John spun in his heat so he had to start scratch in main, he got to seventh but there were lots of very fast cars starting in front of him. Jesse Baker of Grants, NM won the main in his dad Bo's #22. Jesse was able to run low and after taking the lead at half way mark, no one could put a glove on him. The Wolfords were fast but car set up forced them to run the rim and I mean rim, several laps Loren never lifted and put on a heck of a show for the fans. The Gradys who usually do well here were competing in Aztec. Rick Zeal #20z was fast but smoked an engine (didn't get to talk to him so I don't know how bad it was hurt but he didn't finish) Penn. driver Kalee Brizille #01 was a strong second with #131 Royal Jones a close third.
The Late Model race was fast on a slick track. Scott Logston won the main in his Budlong Motorsports sponsored #7. Second was #3 (unknown driver to me) and #14 third.
The X Mods had a very strong field with Georges-Barnett, Carneys, Flores, Rush, Budlong and the usual suspect from Cruces. The X Mods were the first event of the night so the track was slippery which gave the front starters an advantage. Heats were won by #33, #j17 and third and final heat by Christy Georges-Barnett #44, she is the real deal whether in A Mod, X Mod or Late Model. In the main Christy took early lead with hubby Sherm Barnett following for 24 laps. Sherm had sparking issues and two cars got past on last lap. For the Albuquerque fans, Mychal Lucero took his two cars #1 and #1x down. Since those cars had no points they started at the back. Todd in 18th and Mychal in 20th. Mychal moved up to a hard fought 14th finish. I think Todd passed the most cars coming from 18th to an 8th place finish and moving up when the checkered flag flew.
The Street Stocks showed well and the fan favorite of Lloyd Turner #0 with his 1957 Chevy body (look to see more vintage bodies next year) I have seen a 1955 Chevy body on facebook, so they are gonna make a comeback. Lloyd finished third in the main, but the 3H of Hollingswoth had the field covered winning his heat and the main.
As always a great night of racing for the fans and racer alike. Royal and his crew do such a fantastic event it is no wonder racers from all over the country want to race at Southern New Mexico Speedway. Do yourself a favor, make at least one event in Las Cruces before the season is over and I will bet you too will become a SNMS fan.
Love for all the racers, thanks for making life interesting. Ray and Bob Ingram
Ray was trying to get the names correct by listening to the announcer ( Ruben ), but Ruben could talk faster than Ray could write so here are a couple of corrections.
Late Model driver Mercedes Harris should be Mercedes Harris-Abercrombie and her correct car # is 29 not 22.
#01 Sprinter is Kaylene Verville not Kaylee Brazille. Kaylene did a fantastic job finishing 2nd in a tough field of drivers.
#3H Street Stock is Noah Hollingshead not Hollingsworth.
on June 28, 2015, 3:45 pm