Inside Track (#116) June/July 2020

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IMCA Modifieds help open season at Cottage Grove Speedway
Ramsey had other plans. With
multiple restarts held over the
25-lap A Main, Ramsey went to
school and found a hole in Adkins’
defense on the low side of
turn.
With a restart coming at the
start of lap 21, Ramsey found
great forward drive and pushed
past Adkins low, starting a chain
reaction that saw Corbin gap the
field for his first Deming Speedway
win and saw Adkins drop
out of the top three, as Jesson
Jacobson and Levi Kuntz both
got by in the last few laps.
JUNIOR SPRINTS
Drake Hadlock scored win
number one on the year in the
Junior Sprints. Hadlock assumed
the lead on lap nine after
race leader Avery Askvig
flipped in turn two. Hadlock
would go on the rest of the way
to grab the victory, followed by
Cooper Anderson and Karma
Fagerlie, who earned career best
finishes respectively.
July 10, 2020
If there was a week for Jared
Peterson to get his Deming
Speedway program on track, it
was this one as the defending
Clay Cup Champion in the 600
Open division not only won his
first race of the year in the class,
but backed it up with a win in
the NW Focus Midgets too.
Chance Crum, Dominic Carter
and Avery Askvig were the
other division winners.
600 SPRINTS
Jared had to work hard for
both victories on the night, with
the second of the wins coming
on the final main event of the
evening. Ryley Mayer set to the
early lead in the 600 main and
proved to be a tough challenge,
holding strong on the inside of
the track.
Patiently working the outside
of the track, Peterson eventually
built his momentum up enough
to pull even down the front
stretch with Mayer on the completion
of lap 17, then used the
high side to nose ahead for good
on lap 18.
Once he had Mayer cleared,
Jared dropped to the bottom of
turns three and four and pulled
slightly away in securing the
victory. Mayer had his best finish
of the year in second and
Tanner Holm took third.
1200 SPRINTS
The 1200 main event was a
battle of team cars, as Cal Herdson
and Chance Crum from the
DLH Racing stable went after it
for the win.
Herdson led the first 11 laps
before Crum got him in lapped
traffic, using the outside groove
in turn three and four to make
the race winning pass and securing
the win.
Herdson would run afoul of
traffic again late, seeing teammate
Derek Holmwood end up
second and Brock Lemley third.
MIDGETS
In the NW Focus Midgets,
Shane Smith and Jared Peterson
engaged in a very spirited battle
for the race lead over the first 15
Paul Culp (42c) and Tyson Blood (97) were among the field for the IMCA Modifieds division during the season opener July 4 at Cottage Grove Speedway.
laps of the 25-lap feature, Smith
held serve, using a low entrance
to turn one and three and exiting
off the middle groove of turn
two and four that kept Peterson
at bay for a long while.
Peterson ran the high groove,
eventually widening out the exit
of the fourth corner to keep his
momentum up and using it,
pulled even with Smith and
passed him on lap 15.
Peterson would cruise to victory
from there, leading the final
ten laps with little challenge,
followed by Smith and Nick
Evans.
600 RESTRICTED
Dominic Carter dominated
the 600 Restricted Main Event
for his first victory in the class.
He led all 25 laps without challenge
despite multiple race stoppages.
Levi Kuntz and Jayden Whitney
raced hard in second and
third, with Kuntz eventually
coming out on top.
JUNIOR SPRINTS
In the Jr Sprints, Avery
Askvig led every lap of the A
Main for her first win of the
year.
Askvig was challenged over
most of the race by Kane Van
Sickle who took the runner-up
spot. Dustin Ramsey rallied late
to secure third.
MERIDIAN
SPEEDWAY
MERIDIAN, IDAHO
By Tyler Schild
June 20, 2020
There may not have been a
full moon over Meridian Speedway,
but that didn’t stop the action
from being as wild as it
gets.
The Street Stocks, Pro-4s,
Mini Stocks, Hornets, and Junior
Stingers battled to survive
twin main events as they battled
for the checkered flag.
STREET STOCKS
A strong field of 13 Street
Stocks rumbled to green for the
wildest 25 laps of the night. In
just over six miles of race action
point leader Kendra Occhipinti
lost power steering, Josh
Fanopoulos was black flagged
for a fuel leak, Kendra’s
younger brother Taylor Occhipinti
got tangled up with Le
Grande, Oregon racer Jeff
Stremcha on the front stretch,
and returning Meridian Speedway
star Terry Lydell’s car inexplicably
caught fire.
T-Roy Evans picked his way
through the chaos to park his
machine in the winner’s circle.
Pat Young, Chad Atnip, Josh Peterson,
and Shane Barron
rounded out the top five.
With chaos in their rearview
mirror, the 13 brave Street
Stocks once again sped to green.
This time Taylor Occhipinti and
Lydell battled door-to-door for
the top spot.
Lydell proved too strong for
Occhipinti’s machine and the
Kennewick, Washington racer
stormed to the early lead.
As Occhipinti’s attention
turned to Fanopoulos’ machine,
the full moon feeling struck
Young as his window net fell.
Despite a valiant effort to reaffix
it on track, Young was
forced to take his machine to the
pits for assistance.
With the fastest car now off
the track Lydell could focus on
Fanopoulos. As the lead pair dueled
for the win the battle for
third heated up as Stremcha
searched the track for a way
around Occhipinti. On lap 16
Stremcha pushed his machine
too far and bounced off the
backstretch wall.
Without brakes, the Le
Grande, Oregon racer hurtled
into the turn three water barrels
at nearly full speed, hitting hard
enough to fuse a water barrel to
the right front corner of his
racecar.
The race went back green
after extensive track drying efforts,
with Lydell and Fanopoulos
on the front row.
Fanopoulos didn’t waste his
opportunity and powered to the
lead, but Lydell worked the low
line to perfection and with a
quick door check Lydell put
himself back out front, where
he would cruise to the checkers.
In keeping with the night’s
theme of chaos, Lydell’s car
reignited at the victory stripe
and Atnip’s car expired in the
entrance to the pit area.
JUNIOR STINGERS
The Junior Stingers raced
their way through a pair of 18-
lap features. The first race was
marred by a spectacular rollover
courtesy of Payton Weller.
When the green flag flew once
again Dylan Wardle sped to the
front of the pack to score both
victories in his racer.
MINI STOCKS
The Mini Stocks had two 25-
lap tries at the concrete jungle.
Point leader Don Trafford
tracked down early leader Luke
Wolverton to score the division’s
first flag in his car. In the
second main event, Jason
Sanders fought hard to fend off
a furious late race charge from
Trafford and Travis Pavlacky as
the veteran Caldwell, Idaho
racer parked his car in the winner’s
circle for the first time this
season.
PRO-4 LATE MODELS
Pro-4 action was dominated
by the infield in race one as both
Ray Bolinger and Kenny Chandler
found themselves sliding
through the grass in the classification’s
first 25-lap feature.
Brendon Fries took advantage of
Chandler’s misfortunes and piloted
his machine to the top of
the scoreboard in feature one.
Fries looked to repeat in the second
feature, but couldn’t overcome
point leader Jordan Harris.
HORNETS
The Hornets took on the new
infield chicane for the first of
their two features. James Pahl
continued his dominance of the
future family feud between himself
and Josh Parkkila as he took
home the night’s first flag in his
machine.
In the second feature Neil
Wassmuth mastered the don’tlead-two-consecutive-laps
strategy
as he drove his racer across
the victory stripe.
June 26, 2020
Summer finally made an appearance
as Meridian Speedway
hosted Friday night races. The
Modifieds, Street Stocks, High
School Tuners, Super Stocks,
and Crate and Sprint Cars
rounded out the cars for an endof-week
rumble.
MODIFIEDS
The Modifieds kicked off
main event action with the first
of their two 25-lap features behind
front row starters Joe
Thuss and Jerry Green. On the
break Thuss hooked the low line
in his entry to sweep past Green
for the early lead. But Green
charged back to Thuss’ outside
until contact on lap four sent the
Kuna, Idaho racer headlong into
the turn three concrete.
The race resumed as Mike
Davis led Chase Hanish to the
restart with Brendon Fries and
Travis Pavlacky in row two.
Davis piloted his modified to
the lead on the low side, but was
overcome by Fries’ machine
three short laps later.
This left Davis to fend off
Payette, Idaho’s Pavlacky,
which the Boise, Idaho racer did
until the race’s halfway point.
Once in clear track Pavlacky put
the pedal down in his racer and
motored toward the top spot.
As the laps wound down
Pavlacky cut into Fries’ lead
until, with the white flag in the
air, Fries caught side-by-side
lapped traffic.
Pavlacky muscled his way
into the low line, which trapped
Fries behind Josh Jackson’s ailing
racer. Contact was made,
cars slid sideways, and when the
dust settled Pavlacky held the
lead and sped across the victory
stripe first.
STREET STOCKS
A strong contingent of Street
Stocks were next onto the quarter
mile for a 30-lap main event
of their own. Young Taylor Occhipinti
navigated his machine
through the field and into the
lead early as quick-qualifier Lee
Hackney worked to track him
down.
But lapped traffic was on Occhipinti’s
side, and the Nampa,
Idaho racer roared into the winner’s
circle. With his win Occhipinti
became the division’s
first two-time winner this season.
HIGH SCHOOL TUNERS
Dylan Wardle continued his
dominance of the High School
Tuner division in his car, topping
Riley Bradford and Gavin
Keller to remain the division’s
only main-event winner.
SUPER STOCKS
Patriarch of the racing Wurtz
family Dennis Wurtz Senior was
honored with a 25-lap memorial
race featuring the Super Stocks.
After an intense battle with Pat
Tully and Wurtz Senior’s granddaughter
Daytona, Melissa
Weaver raced her way to the top
of the scoreboard and onto the
traveling Dennis Wurtz Senior
memorial trophy.
SPRINT CARS
The Crate Cars and Sprint
Cars combined to bring 14 competitors
to green for a 30-lap
main event. The action was fast
and physical throughout the
Josh Ryan / JRP Racing Photos
JUNE/JULY 2020 I N S I D E 20 T R A C K WWW.INSIDETRACKMAGAZINE.COM