8/27/2020
Magic Valley Speedway
Another track record sets the tone for the night!!
By DJ Everett
One of the biggest nights of the year was this past Saturday night featuring the visiting Speed Tour Wing Sprint Cars along with their counterparts, the Speed Tour Modifieds!! Also on the card were the Project Filter Bombers, Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers, and the third visit of the year by the Snake River Legends all on Idaho Central Credit Union Night!! The fans filed in for an exciting night of racing ahead of them!!
The first main event of the night was the Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers. Angel Newberry and Kaethyn Gilligan took to the track and when the green flag flew, Newberry was the early leader. The two ran nose to tail throughout the entire 10 lap affair with Gilligan at times closing in on Newberry’s rear bumper. Gilligan was right there the entire race but was never able to get by Newberry as Newberry picked up another win to add to her amazing win total this year.
Heat races for all of the classes took place with each one of them running smoothly. The R&A Trucking Big Wheelz race was next with Dominic Strickland taking home the hardware.
The second main event of the night for the Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers were next and this time it was Kaethyn Gilligan taking the lead at the drop of the green with Angel Newberry in tow. Similar to the first race but it was Newberry this time on Gilligan’s rear bumper. At times Newberry took a peek to the inside but could never complete the pass. When the checkers flew, it was Kaethyn Gilligan picking up his third main event of the year.
The Project Filter Bombers rolled onto the speedway for their main event and it was polesitter Beverly Meyers jumping out to the early lead when the green flag came out from Jr Flagger Caliopy. Behind her a lot of shuffling was going on with Craig McCann, Gracie Pehrson, and Robyn Finch all trading positions. Pehrson was able to move by Finch with McCann doing the same. Pehrson and McCann caught leader Meyers and it was a tight three car race. Pehrson tried multiple times to get by Meyers with McCann trying to do the same to Pehrson. At the white flag, the top 3 were nose to tail going into turn 1. Pehrson tried an inside move on Meyers but Grandma Bev was able to fend her off. At the checkers, Meyers was the first across the line with McCann getting by Pehrson on the final lap for second. The popular win was the second one for Meyers in 2020 with Jr Trophy Presenter Parker giving Meyers the winner’s trophy.
The Speed Tour Modifieds gridded on the front stretch for driver introductions that featured some of the best modified drivers in the northwest. The green flag flew for their 50-lap main event and it was polesitter Jason Quale taking command of the race early. Aubree Cristiani and Jesse Lawson ran side by side for second with Cristiani getting the best of that battle. Zach Webster was next to challenge Lawson for third with Lawson getting loose up high in turn 2 dropping a few positions. Up front, Cristiani started to close in on leader Quale and as the field entered turn 3, Cristiani’s car slowed. Cristiani tried her best to get her car to infield but the entire field behind her tried to take evasive action with cars scattering everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Shelby Stroebel was up against the wall and Jesse Lawson coming to a stop behind him. Unfortunately, Stroebel’s night ended on the back of a wrecker and Lawson was able to continue. When the race resumed, it was Quale back out in front but Webster and Eric Rhead were right there in the mix. At times the three traded some paint bringing the crowd to their feet. Behind them, quick qualifier Lynn Hardy started to pressure Dalton Cristiani for the fourth position. Rhead was able to get by Webster for second and automatically started to work on Quale for the lead. After a couple of laps of some great side by side action, Rhead was able to take Quale on the inside coming out of turn 2 for the lead. Webster stayed right in Rhead’s tire tracks and was on the inside of Quale for second. They came off of turn 4 and contact between Quale and Webster on the frontstrech sent Quale glancing off the wall. Quale kept going but lost multiple positions. This moved Cristiani and Hardy up into third and fourth. Webster was now hounding Rhead for the lead with the two making slight contact from time to time. Hardy closed in on the rear bumper of Cristiani as those two waged war for third. Hardy put his nose underneath Cristiani a few laps but was unable to make the pass. The two dove into turn one and Hardy again showed the nose down low underneath Cristiani which this time resulted in contact sending Cristiani into the spin cycle. The two rejoined the field at the back of pack for the restart. The green flew again and Rhead reassumed his lead with Webster falling back in line into second. Donovan Barr started to show some strength by getting by Quale for third. A good battle shaped up for fifth between the Latham Motorsports teammates of Lawson and Kyle Latham. Latham was able to get by Lawson for the spot as Latham found some speed late in the race. Up front, Rhead started to drive off into the sunset with Webster starting to fade. Latham’s charge continued as he was able to get by Quale for fourth with a nice inside pass in turns three and four and was closing in on Barr for third in a hurry. Rhead had it in cruise control and took the checkers in dominating fashion for the second week in a row at his home track and picking up his first Speed Tour Modified main event win this year. Webster brought it home in second and great runs turned in by Barr and Latham finishing third and fourth.
The Snake Rivers Legends third and final visit this year rolled out onto the track for their main event. Polesitter Ryan Martin jumped out to the early lead at the start of the race and as the field rounded turn 2 and headed down the backstretch, Dalton Allen in the middle of the pack climbed the backstretch wall sending his machine on two wheels. His car came back on all four but the pack behind went scrambling to avoid Allen’s car. Ken Frickey’s car went for a slide to the infield grass but both Allen and Frickey was able to continue and the field stayed green. The caution came out a lap later for debris and Allen took this opportunity to head to the pits to survey the damage. On the restart, Brok Kidd put it to the high side on Martin and the battle for the lead was on. They came off of turn 2 and Kidd was able to clear Martin and lead the race. Johnethan Davis followed through into second and quick qualifier, Brock Denney from Kalispell, MT up into third. Caution flew for a spinning Chance Davis on the frontstretch and when the green flag came back out, Johnethan Davis was able to get by Kidd to be the race’s third leader. Denney was able to get by Kidd for second and closed in on Davis for the lead quickly. It didn’t take long for Denney to get by Davis but shortly after, Kidd spun in turn four and Chance Davis did the same on the frontstretch again bringing out the caution once more. Green flag again and Denney started to march away from the field. Jesse Lawson after jumping out of his modified and right back into a legend car moved his way passed Johnethan Davis for second. As the laps started to wind down, a family battle was shaping up for third between Johnethan Davis, Jerry Davis, and Chance Davis with all three running in close formation. Up front, Denney had no issues driving it all the way to the checkers over Lawson. Johnethan Davis was able to finish third over father Jerry and brother Chance.
The final main event of the night was the lightning quick Speed Tour Wing Sprint Cars. During qualifying earlier in the day, Casey Tillman was able to reset his own track record turning a lap of 11.759 making him once again the fastest driver to ever turn a lap at Magic Valley Speedway. The field took the green flag for their 35-lap main event and it was Matt Elliott the early leader. Behind him, Hunter Stanley was able to make an outside pass on Kyle Bergener out of turn 4 for the second spot. Stanley was able to catch Elliott for the lead and started to search for different racing lines to get by. Bryan Warf and Casey Tillman were starting to make their way through the field from the back. Warf moved passed Colton Nelson for fourth and started to close in on Bergener for third when Bergener’s car slowed to a stop on frontstretch ending his great run. Bergener was able to fire the car back up and rejoin the field from the rear. Green came back out and Warf was able to get by Stanley for second. This left Stanley battling Nelson and Tillman for third. Tillman chose the high line and went up and around Nelson for fourth. Tillman caught Stanley a couple of laps later and moved passed into third. Tillman kept charging towards the front of the field and was able to catch the top two of Elliott and Warf. The top three ran nose to tail for a few laps and Tillman said it was go time. He first challenged Warf for second with a couple of attempted outside passes. He soon found the opening he needed and moved around Warf for second and was on the rear bumper of leader Elliott in no time. Heading through turns one and two, Tillman was able to get the nose underneath Elliott and took the lead heading into turn 3. He immediately started to check out and run away with it. Warf was next to challenge Elliott for second and with five laps to go, Warf put the move on Elliott on the inside and into the runner up spot. Tillman cruised the rest of the way to the checkers to his second consecutive main event win this year at Magic Valley Speedway. Great runs also turned in by second place Bryan Warf and Matt Elliott coming home in third.
Other winners on the night were Paul Bowman winning the free Shari’s pie and Stormi Spangler and Kristine Winters winning the Selfie Contest!! This Saturday Night is Cactus Petes Night featuring the ICCU Modifieds, Brennan’s Carpet Midgets, Denny's Minis, Valley Office Systems Hornets, Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers, and the Extreme Staffing Double Deckers! It’s another full night of racing so you will want to arrive early! Gates open at 5pm with McDonald’s Timed Trials at 6:30pm! Come join us this Saturday night at Idaho’s action track…………………Magic Valley Speedway!! Make sure you get and updated schedule we added three races in October also on September 12th & October 10th Super Late Models.