DAVEY HAMILTON AND THE NSRA RAP UP THE SEASON AT ASA MEMBER TRACK MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY

Source: Meridian Speedway Media Relations/pc
Date: 09/29/2008

MERIDIAN, Idaho — The Dominoes Pizza Bandoleros season came to an end Friday night at ASA member track Meridian Speedway. Guest flagman, eight and half year old Riley Roberts, took the stand and put the field of seven on one to go. As the field came around turn four Riley dropped the green and Collin Parker, sitting on the outside front row jumped to the lead.

Flagman duties were turned over to Meridian's regular flagger, Brandon, as the race unfolded. Parker maintained his lead with Brok Kidd in second, Chase Gilbertson in third and Aly Clark in fourth. Andrew Clark, Cameron Cotta and Blade Ince completed the field.

In lap seven, Aly Clark, making a hard charge to the front spun in turn two. Those behind had to think fast to avoid the spinning Clark. The race continued as Clark got the car under control and pointed in the right direction. While Clark was getting turned around the leaders were fighting for position. Kidd moved to the inside of Parker, but there was no track. Parker was pushed up the track and collected Gilbertson along the way. Parker bounced off the turn four wall and back on to the track. Andrew Clark had nowhere to go and clipped Parker as Parker was coming back down to the infield. Clark got turned sideways and Ince was right on his tail, literately, and drove up and over the back end of Clark removing the back section of the car. Parker's and Clark's car were in pieces. Aly Clark had enough time from her earlier spin to avoid the carnage and came around as leader of the race.

Parker, Cotta, and Gilbertson all sustained damaged to their cars and were out of the race. The back end of Andrew Clark's car was snapped back on and he was able to continue. When the race restarted Aly Clark was in first with Andrew Clark in second, Kidd third and Blade Ince fourth. Riley Roberts was called back up to give the field the white flag, with one lap to go. Flagman Riley dropped the checkered for winners Aly Clark, Andrew Clark, Brok Kidd and Blade Ince.

The legends brought eighteen cars to the track to wrap up the season. Lloyd Bigler had the pole with Jay Cook on the outside. Bigler jumped to an early lead and Cook slid in behind him. With only one lap completed Jason Tilden spun on the back stretch bringing out a caution.

The field was lined back up with Bigler in front, followed by Cook, Mark Zirschky, Ed Sonius, and Rod Stiller the top five. Bigler held on to the lead as drivers raced from the back to the front to try the clean air up front. Don Milbourn moved from sixth to fourth in two laps behind Bigler, Stiller and Cook. Milbourn moved into second in lap seven but had the pass taken away when Jamie Ransom spun in turn two. On the restart Bigler still had the lead with Stiller in second. At the drop of the green Stiller went high as Ben Matheson from Portland OR went low around Bigler. Matheson came out the winner in the three wide pass to claim the first spot and taking the checkered flag with Milbourn, Camron Madsen, Cook and Zirschky rounding out the top five.

With twenty-seven cars ready to go the NSRA Winged Sprints sent fourteen cars to a fifteen lap B Main. Only the top eight finishers would transfer to the A main to be raced later in the evening.

The "Pink Lady", driven by IRL driver Davey Hamilton, had the pole, with Andy Alberding from Roseburg OR, on the outside. Hamilton and Alberding quickly jumped ahead at the drop of the green followed by Tyler Monroe, Brandon Johnson, Jim Todd, Steve Freeman, Austin Hager and Dave Quick. The field stayed the same from start to finish with the eight transferring to the main event.

The Grand American Modifieds finished the season bringing fifteen cars to the track. Bob Wood had the pole with Tracy Lankford on the outside. As the green dropped, Lankford jumped ahead bringing the outside row with him. Darrell Dolling and Charlie Hamm Jr. slipped in ahead of Wood with Jeff Hill rounding out the top five. In lap five Wood and Hamm switched positions as Steve Fisher from Twin Falls moved around Hill to claim fifth. In lap nine Travis Milburn was loose all the way around the track and ended up backward in the turn one water barrels. Track officials discovered fluid on the entire track and the race was red flagged to start the massive clean up.

The field was lined up according to track position at the last complete lap, then with two till green the commit cone was placed in turn three. The drivers chose whether to take the high side or the low side as they came around to the start/ finish line. Lankford chose low, Dolling high. Wood chose low while Hill took his chances on the outside. As the leaders came around, Lankford and Dolling got together in turn one sending cars all over the place. Wood ended up in the melee backward in turn two loosing all kinds of car parts. Caution laps were counted as the field was lined back up. The race restarted on lap nineteen with Shelby Stroebel in the lead, but in turn four Dolling spun bringing out the caution one more time. The field stacked back up with Stroebel and Chris Fenton on the front row. Hamm Jr. and Milburn were in the second row. The green dropped on lap twenty-four for a green white checkered finish with Stroebel taking home the hardware.

The NSRA Winged Sprints main event featured father and son Kenny and Davey Hamilton; Kenny behind the wheel of the 01, and Davey driving the "Pink Lady". During qualifying Davey drove an 11.429 almost breaking dad Kenny's track record of 11.410 set earlier in the year. No one came close to Davey's time until Kenny got some heat in his tires and crossed the line with a blazing 11.315 breaking his own record. With seventeen cars under twelve seconds the fans were primed for the main event.

The push trucks began getting the cars fired. Cory Lockwood had no fire and had to sit this one out in the pits. As the cars lined up, ready to take the green Jim Todd drove his car into the infield with mechanical problems and had to watch the race from the infield. Stuart Birkinbine had the pole with Austin Hager on the outside. At the drop of the green, Hager shot to the front and kept going. Birkinbine pulled in for second with Justin Mack from Benton City, WA in third. Mike Cullum and Chris Rattarree rounded out the top five.

In a heart breaker for the Davey Hamilton and the "Pink Lady" fans smoke started coming out of the back end of the car and Davey was forced to take the car to the pits in lap seven. Hager continued his dominating lead putting cars a lap down until lap eighteen when Todd Coleman from Lynnwood WA spun in turn two bringing out the first and only caution of the evening. Hager restarted the race in first with Matt Hein from Roseburg OR and NSRA points leader right behind. Hein jumped out to the front of Hager who developed mechanical troubles and had to pit as he came around to pit entrance. Hein continued his lead followed by Mack, Cullum, Birkinbine and Rattarree in the top five. Sierra Jackson was sixth, but quickly made her way to the front. She moved past Rattarree and set her sights on Cullum, Mack and the leader Hein. By lap thirty-four she'd moved into third and was looking at the backend of Mack and a way around him. That came quickly as she grabbed the second spot but ran out of time to catch the leader. Hein took the trophy with Jackson, Mack, Rattarree, and Cullum rounding out the top five.

The Idaho Center for Professional Truck Driving Street Stocks season came to a close on Friday night. Rod Cummings had the pole with Steve Hansen Jr. on the outside. Hansen Jr. took an early lead, but Cummings kept at him until he had the pass and first place for himself. Hansen Jr. and Brian Williams battled back and forth for second until Hansen Jr. took over and held on until lap eight when Shawn Hansen spun in turn tow bringing out the first and the only caution.

The Street Stocks taking a page from the Grand American Modifieds book set out the commit come in turn three for the restart. Drivers were allowed to choose the line they wanted on the restart. Cummings chose the inside. Hansen Jr. also chose the inside behind Cummings. Casey Hart came high on the outside front row, followed by points leader Darrell Lankford. At the drop of the green Cummings jumped out ahead of the field retaining his lead. Hart slipped into second with Dave Harris third. Hart and Harris battled for second until Harris spun in turn two. Harris was able to gather it back up before a caution was thrown. David Short and Lankford took advantage of the spin and slid into second and third behind Cummings. Lankford made quick work of Short and grabbed second setting his sights on the leader. Lankford moved to the outside of Cummings in lap twenty-one and completed the pass in lap twenty-two. Short set his sights on Cummings as well and moved around him to snatch second place. The checkered flag waved for Lankford with Short, Cummings, Hart and Hansen rounding out the top five.

The Debt Reduction Inc. Hornets came close to their second green- white -checkered race of the season. Only once did the red flag wave. The field stacked up with Art Heath on the pole, with Jim Anderson and points leader Tyler Burlingame right behind him. At the drop of the green flag the inside line shot past the outside line to take first, second, and third. David Haslam shot in from the outside line to take fourth with Chet Thorson rounding out the top five. It was a typical Hornet race with three wide passes, some bumping, but Heath managed to keep the lead with Anderson in second. Miguel Lequerica moved from sixth to third by lap five. Heath and Anderson maintained their positions until lap thirteen when Lequerica moved around Anderson to take away second. He was looking for the win and went to work on Heath.

The only red flag came in lap twenty-nine when Deni Lequerica spun on the front stretch bringing the field to a stand still. The track was cleared, the green dropped and the drivers went from stop to go. Miguel Lequerica was in the lead with Heath second. Heath lost his second place to Haslam and was freight trained to sixth place by Burlingame, Kyle Burrill and Tony Johns. Lequerica took the checkered flag and took home the hardware.

On the second night of the racing action at the ASA track Meridian Speedway, the Larry Miller Subaru Mini Stocks set out to determine the season champion. Twenty-three cars came out to see who would survive. Everett Meeks had the pole and took the early lead as flagman Brandon dropped the green on the final race of the season. Jamey Frostrom moved in behind him for second. In lap four Scott Shoecraft got loose on the front stretch and spun into the infield. He shot back out toward the track but stopped just before reaching the asphalt and the field of on coming cars. The caution flew to get Shoecraft turned around and back on the track. On the restart Frostrom shot around Meeks for the lead with Scott Wilcox Jr. in third. Quentin Ward and Monte Mitchell rounded out the top five.

With twenty-three cars on the track, chaos ensued as Mitchell got sideways in turn two Jeff Hasson tried to move around to the outside but got shoved up and into the wall coming to a rest on top. Jason Lampman tried to stop in time but ended up sliding into Hasson. Eddie Ables hit the wall hard and second in points Ray Bolinger slid in to complete the foursome. Jason Sanders points leader, and shooting for a three-peat, miraculously made it through the carnage unscathed. The only casualty was Ables who had to be taken off on the hook. Hasson's car was lowered to the track and refired to take his place in the back of the field with Lampman and Bolinger. Lampman was racing hard for his twelve-year-old optimist football team the "Big Creek Badgers" from Middleton who had come to see his final race of the year.

The restart put Frostrom, Meeks Wilcox Ward and Donivan Parker the top five with father and son duo Kirk Sanders sixth and Jason seventh. Caution laps counted as the field was lined back up to take the green. As the green dropped Jason Sanders moved around his dad, Kirk, to claim sixth position. The leaders remained the same until the checkered flag flew five laps later with Frostrom claiming the hardware and Jason Sanders crossed the finish line ensured of a three-peat championship.

The season wrapped up the Pacific Steel and Recycling Super Stocks with fifteen cars coming out for the event Saturday night. Rick Baldwin had the pole with Steve Gilbert on the outside front row. Baldwin jumped out to an early lead taking Gayle Carter with him to claim second. As the field came around Dustin Stephenson and Phyllip Zubizaretta battled it out until the battle came to an end in turn two and Stephenson sent Zubizaretta spinning into the wall. Stephenson went for a ride as well but was able to refire and drive around to rejoin the field. Flagman Brandon and race control had other ideas. Brandon jumped off his flag stand to black-flag Stephenson coming around turn four. The field lined back up for the restart with Baldwin and Carter still in the lead. Ted Link was third with Charlie Stout fourth and Charlie Hamm Jr. rounding out the top five. By lap nine Hamm Jr. began making his way to the front by moving around Stout for fourth and Link a lap later for third. He moved to the outside of Carter in lap eleven and took over second in lap twelve. Lap thirteen showed him in front of Baldwin. Hamm Jr. extended his lead finishing several car lengths ahead of second place Baldwin, with Carter, Link and Stout rounding out the top five.

The Debt Reduction Inc. Hornets concluded the season with twenty-two cars out to take the green. Pole sitter, Karrissa Wood, took the early lead with points leader, Tyler Burlingame, right behind her. Ken Cannington moved into third with Jim Anderson fourth and David Haslam fifth. Anderson moved around Cannington for the third spot and Wood Burlingame and Anderson began to pull away from the field. Wood maintained the lead until lap eighteen when Burlingame moved around her to take over the top spot Miguel Lequerica moved up through the field to claim third in lap twenty-two. He took over second from Wood in lap twenty-six and three laps later moved around Burlingame when Burlingame got loose in turn four to claim first. Lequerica held on to first to capture the hardware for the night and his second win for the weekend.

The final night of Winged Sprint racing for the NSRA and Meridian Speedway of the 2008 season was a combination of predictable finishes and upsets. Justin Mack won the 50 lap main event from the pole with Mike Cullum in second place. Their one-two start translated to a one-two finish after 50 laps of position changes.

Both the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association and American Speed Association's Meridian Speedway were completing their season championships on Saturday night. The Winged Sprints came out in full force with well over 20 cars for the night pared down to 21 for the start of the main. In Meridian Speedway points Kenny Hamilton had a small lead of 19 points at the start of the weekend over last years champ, Brandon Johnson, and in NSRA points it was Matt Hein ahead of Andy Alberding by 41 points before Friday's race but a first place finish for Hein on Friday increased that lead.

When Alberding was not able to start the main on Saturday it looked like the championship was already decided but on lap 27 Hein and Brandon Johnson got together on turn one and both ended up in the wall. After some repair time while crews cleaned up the mess on the track Johnson came back out with a new front axle and with out his front wing. Hein did not come back out at all. A few laps earlier, NSRA third in points, Sierra Jackson had bumped Mile Cullum while trying to pass for second and turned into the infield which required a push to restart.

After restarting at the back of the pack Jackson had been working her way back through the field and was now one position behind Kenny Hamilton. Jackson was set to gain a lot of ground in the last points battle of the season for the NSRA but there was not quite enough race left for a championship upset. Jackson got loose one more time and had to restart in the rear again but by the time the race wound down she had moved back up to sixth. Her big grab at points on Saturday night put her really close to Andy Alberding in NSRA points and she may have finished the season in second place. Hein had locked in the championship by this time even though he finished the night several laps down.

Davey Hamilton, current IRL driver, returned to his home track for two nights of racing in the famous "Pink Lady" winged sprint car and came close to winning the 50 lap race on Saturday night. On lap 46 as he passed for the lead on the outside of Justin Mack the yellow flag flew for another winged sprint car stuck in the front stretch wall. At the restart Hamilton was back behind Mack for another shot but this time his momentum was lost. Another caution two laps later set up the race for a green-white-checkered finish but on the back stretch on the last lap Hamilton's "Pink Lady" lost power and slowed to an agonizing crawl across the finish line in seventh place; the last car on the lead lap.

At the checkered the finish order almost resembled the start with Justin Mack in the lead followed by Mike Cullum. Cory Lockwood had moved from fourth to third while Brandon Johnson, third at the start, lost two positions during the race due to a wreck and a last place restart and ended up in fifth. Kenny Hamilton moved up nine positions to fourth and Sierra Jackson passed more cars than any body else in the night but ended up right back where she started in sixth. Jackson and her number 25 winged sprint car were the fastest combination of the night with a new track record in qualifying. Her 11.297 was .018 seconds faster than Kenny Hamilton's new track record on Friday and this record will last at least until the season opener next April. Kenny Hamilton took home the Meridian Speedway championship just 30 points ahead of last years champ, Brandon Johnson.

The regular season of Meridian Speedway came to an end with a trailer race. Six cars came out pulling an odd assortment of boats, house trailers, and trailers hauling stuff. The green flag dropped on the field and they went from stop to go and didn't stop until all cars were dead or twenty-five laps were completed, whichever came first. Trailers flipped, came unhooked and got smashed. One axle even landed on the hood of the car driven by Travis Pavlacky. Dan Tyler lost his trailer and the right front tire, finishing the race on the rim. John Peterson donated the use of his Smoke Free 83 for the Whitney Fuller-Dow benefit raffle. The winner of the raffle was given the opportunity to drive the car in the trailer race. The lucky winner was Ron Rattarree who turned the driving privileges over to David Broome. Broome drove hard and fast right into the turn one wall and on top of the water barrels. But that didn't stop him. Broome gunned the engine and was able to move the car and trailer across the track to the infield with only the use of his back tires. But that was all the smoke free 83 had as it came to rest on the edge of the track there to stay. Broome climbed out of the car to get out of harms way and moved farther infield.

Verlin Wright decked out his trailers with numerous stuffed animals to the delight of the fans at the end of the race that were able to scavenge a souvenir. Verlin lost his trailers in turn two and continued reeking havoc on the other drivers. The race ended on lap twenty-five. Travis Pavlacky was declared the winner by the race fans who stayed to watch.

The remainder of the Meridian Speedway championship standings can be found on www.merdianspeedway.com as they are posted over the next few days. The next race is the annual Halloween Hornet Enduro on October 26th. As the race draws near contact the speedway office or log on to the website for more information.

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