5/2/2021
Magic Valley Speedway
Super Lates rip out 100 laps!!
Cristiani Racing Night proved to be a memorable one with the Gibson Diesel Super Late Models making their first visit of the year to Magic Valley Speedway for a 100 lapper! Also on the card were the ICCU Modifieds, Cactus Pete’s Streets, Project Filter Bombers, and the Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers! The fans packed the house for an exciting night of racing!
The first main event of the night was the ICCU Modifieds and when the green flew, it was Mitch Pehrson taking early command of the race for the first couple of laps before rookie Natalie Waters was the next to lead the race. Waters started to pull away from the rest of the field as Pehrson had a great side by side battle with Tim Fahrner for second. As those two battled, that allowed Waters to continue to pull away. Great battles were going on throughout the pack and as it seemed like Waters would win her first modified main event, Zach Webster spun in turn 2 with 6 laps to go to bring out the caution. That erased the huge lead that Waters had and that bunched the field for the restart. The green flew again and that was the break that Eric Rhead needed to get by Waters for the lead. The caution flew again for Dan Root Jr spinning off of turn 2 and collecting Mitch Pehrson and Natalie Waters. Pehrson needed to make a visit to the pit area resulting from the contact. The final restart saw Rhead drive away from the field and picked up his 3rd win of the year. A heartbreak for Waters but good things are in the future for the young driver.
The Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers were next up and as the green flag was waving for Trey Boots and Kaili McKean, both drivers circled the Jr Stinger track together for a lap before McKean made an outside move on Boots to take the lead and never looked back. The young drivers did a great job having no issues and finished the race.
The R&A Trucking Big Wheelz race took place during intermission and Emersynn Edens took home the trophy over some tough competition.
The Project Filter Bombers rolled out onto the speedway for their main event and when Jr Flagger Emersynn Edens waved the green flag, Misty Gilliam was the first one out front. That would be short lived as Jonathan Rich brought his machine to the front of the pack. During the race Gilliam found the wall twice before retiring from the race. Rich looked like he was going to pickup his first win of the year before the rear of his car came around on him. Brandon Adams would be the benefactor to pickup up his second consecutive win as the Redneck Racing crew celebrated in victory lane and was joined by Trophy Presenter Kiley Acosta.
The ICCU Modifieds were out again for their second main event of the night. Patrick Gold led this one early with Tim Fahrner running closely behind in second. The caution flew resulting in contact between Natalie Waters and Dan Root Jr in turn 3 sending Waters for a spin and Root into the wall. Root needed a wrecker to bring his car back to the pit area. On the restart, Gold was still the leader doing an excellent job out front but he had Zach Webster on his rear bumper. Near the halfway point, Gold and Webster made contact in turns 1 and 2 sending Gold for a spin and the caution flew again. On the restart, Eric Rhead found himself out front again and drove it all the way to the checkers for his second win of the night.
The Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers made their way to the track for their second main event of the night and at the drop of the green, Trey Boots led Kaili McKean on the first lap, McKean settled in and overtook Boots for the lead and drove it to the checkers for her second win of the night. Boots looked impressive gaining some valuable experience. Look for him to be a threat to win soon.
The Cactus Pete’s Streets rolled out onto the track and Shawn Lester led the field when the green flew. Lester looked good out front with a three wide battle going on behind him between Steve Edens Sr, Willie Dalton, and Ronn McClimans. McClimans was able to free himself from that battle and chase after Lester for the lead in which he was able to overtake Lester for the top spot. Steve Edens Sr was impressive in this one but was blacked flag for leaking fuel onto the racing surface. Dalton started to make his move and became the race’s next leader after getting by McClimans. Dalton set it on cruise control after that to pickup his second consecutive main event of the young season.
The final race of the night was the Gibson Diesel Performance Late Models ready to tackle the 1/3 mile oval for the Cristiani Racing 100. Nick Gibson led the first 15 laps of the race and looked good out front before quick qualifier Zach Telford started to put heat on him for the lead. After a couple of laps of being on Gibson’s rear bumper, Telford pulled the trigger and went by for the lead. That brought Eddy McKean up into second. The race was on between the top two qualifiers. Telford started to stretch his lead out over McKean until his car started to slow. Telford pulled off into the pit area with an ailing motor ending his great drive. That turned the lead over to Eddy McKean which he put considerable distance on the rest of the field. Gibson had a challenge from Tyler Bailey but was able to fend off Bailey for the spot. Aubree Cristiani looked very impressive in her first super late model start after qualifying 4th earlier in the day and ran in the top 5 for most of the race before she found the wall and had to make a visit to the pit area. John Newhouse put the afterburners on in the last half of the race and started to make his way through the field. Newhouse started to close in on Gibson at the end but fell a car length short on Gibson at the checkers. McKean made this one look easy after troubles with Telford as he had a half of a track lead on Gibson when the checkered flag flew. This race ran 100 green flag laps without any caution flags which is a testament to the skill and talent that all of these drivers exhibited.
This Saturday night is Middlekauff Ford Night featuring the Cactus Pete’s Streets, McClimans Racing Engines Minis, Project Filter Bombers, Magic Valley Pipe Hornets, Quale’s Electronic Jr Stingers, and the Double Deckers. The forecast is calling for warmer temperatures which in turn will produce some great racing! Gates open at 5pm with McDonalds Racing at 6pm! We will see all of you at the most exciting short track in America………….Magic Valley Speedway!!