FERNLEY (Oct. 4) The end of a track’s season is when class championships are finally secured. Even if the title has been secured that final points race is when a driver can improve their standings or make darn sure a title is their’s.
Racing for the IMCA title Cory Sample (00) and Josh Ogg (68J) were nose-to-tail for several laps.
After narrowly winning the IMCA main, and securing his track championship at Fernley 95A Speedway, Cory Sample takes a victory lap.
Malen Gonzalez takes a victory lap after winning the Pro Stock main.
Rob Grace is about to do more donuts as he celebrates his championship in the Pro Stock class.
Carl Barlow (27N) makes the winning pass as he gets past Jake Baker during the Hobby Stock feature.
After scoring his fifth Hobby Stock title at Fernley 95A Speedway, Carl Barlow takes a victory lap.
Dennis Crook takes a victory lap after winning the season’s final Super Stock 4 main.
Rich Innis celebrates after winning the Pure Stock race that secured second place in the points for this rookie driver.
Saturday was Fernley 95A Speedway’s title night was where the class champions capped their year with an evening of hard racing. But the race of the night was the one that ended the season.
After narrowly winning the IMCA main the winner and class champion Cory Sample said, “You know we didn’t even have to show up tonight. I mean if Josh (Ogg) had won his heat and the feature we would have won by one point.”
After the 4-wide salute to the fans the 16-car field took the green with Riley Simmons and Shawn Natenstedt leading the charge.
Things came to a halt due to a quick caution then that was followed by another caution. Next time an outlaw start was used.
Around this time Jim Klopp visited the pits and on the fourth lap so did Vince Evenson. The next caution came onl lay seven when a car wound up sideways in Turn 4.
By now Sample had moved into sixth place. On the restart Ogg briefly got past him then began chasing him as they worked through traffic.
The next caution came when Keith Walsh spun and Galen Hainline avoided being collected when he managed to just stop in time. By now there had been five cautions in the first nine laps.
Up front the leaders Simmons and Natenstedt were still in charge although Sample was slowly working his way toward them.
Three more cautions would slow the pace and bunch the cars. Each time there was a restart Sample improved his position as he had the leaders in sight.
Just before the final caution about five laps to go Sample was in second and chasing Simmons. With two to go they were nose-to-tail.
Whipping through the final turn Sample got the inside line and the drag race was on. At the checkered he edged Simmons by a foot or less.
After the dust settled Simmons, who led all but the last turn said, “That’s about how the year’s gone, ‘almost had it.’ Went into Turn 1, kind of missed the corner, oh well. Three and four I wasn’t going to pinch him off, he was the faster car so he won.”
After accepting the congratulation Sample said, “When you can start dead last here, work all the way to the front and have a car to race for the lead in the last five laps that says something about the track. The track was phenomenal, you could race high, you could race low and we passed people all over the place. And when we got to second I didn’t know if we were going to have enough for Riley, or enough time.
“And working that hard through traffic we got to second and there was a caution. I knew that we had a few laps to go, he got a good run on the restart, white flag popped up and I knew I had to do something. When we drove into Turn 3 I thought, ‘this could get a little hairy,’ we come off four, I see him there, I knew it was a drag race. I just pushed the gas pedal on the floor and it took off. It definitely worked out for us it the way to go out for the year when you win the last race.”
The Pro Stock feature was all Malen Gonzalez, who drives B.J. Pearson’s Nuclear Banana car. When the green waved he took off with Rob Grace in pursuit.
Early in the event James Gonzalez, driving his uncle Jesse’s car spun. Points leader David Rauscher couldn’t avoid him and both had conctact.
Gonzalez had to be towed to the pits while Rauscher was able to continue. Gonzalez spun later and that ended his race.
Up front it was all Gonzalez as he streaked across the finish well ahead of Grace.
Right after that Grace, knowing he had won the class championship, did a series of donuts while Gonzalez took his victory lap.
After the dust settled Grace said, “Malen got on me and I just couldn’t reel him in. He was right out there, I tried different spots and the track really dry slicked up so I couldn’t get any more forward bite. But I knew if I finished ahead of Rauscher I had her won.”
Then he thanked supporters Deb and Bill Agard, Rob Malson, his brother Lonnie, who builds the motors, Jason and Judy as well as sponsors, TJ’s DJ’s, Boomers, Century 21, Skips Market, Parson’s Drilling Inc. and Frank’s Automotive.
Once again only five Hobby Stocks were on hand but before the race started Tom Haxall was sent to the pits as the cap on his fuel cell had fallen off. Once he found one it was back to the track.
On the green Jake Baker was on point followed by Rick Miller and Carl Barlow. After a short duel Barlow got around Miller and set his sights on Baker.
Although Barlow was able to take the lead the top three ran almost nose-to-tail for the remainder of the race. But in the end Barlow scored the victory and sewed up his fifth Hobby Stock championship.
“The race was tough but after the 188 slammed me in the side that was it, I just got with the program and went for it,” Barlow said. “This one here I worked for.”
Then he gave thanks to his wife Shirley, Don and Sharon Bailey as well as sponsors, Pro Tech RV and the Outdoor Toy Store.
Only two Dwarf Cars were on hand and Glen Sciarani bested Roy Peterson in their heat race as well as the main.
Once again the Super Stock 4s and Pure Stocks ran a combined event.
Super Stock 4 points leader Kenny Martin was first on point followed by Dennis Crook and his father Steve Crook Sr. Behind them, Pure Stock driver Rich Innis brought out a caution after he spun in Turn 4.
Then Martin’s car stalled in Turn 3 but the rest of the field stopped where he did. His night was finished and the others formed up.
Now attrition began to make the race an exercise in survival. One by one competitors fell out including Pure Stock class champion Mark Serchio Jr.
At the end Crook and Innis, the only two drivers left, took the checkered flag. Then they both did separate victory laps.
It was kind of those, ‘last one standing events,’ but the car was running pretty good,” Crook said later. Had a little bit of flutter in the carburetor but it was a lot better than it’s been in the last few races. And I’ve got to thank my girl friend Kim Gray, who won the Powder Puff race.”
Asked about his problem Martin, who clinched the SS4 championship said, “I threw the cap off the distributor but I think I won it over all. Jesse (James) only took the green flag so I think I as about four or five points ahead overall.”
Pure Stock winner, and only other driver to actually finish the race, Rich Innis then said, “It was a lot of fun, last points race of the season, glad to see Junior made it back out as I always love racing with him. We just had a great night and that should lock me into second place for season points. Junior had such a good run at the beginning of the year I just couldn’t catch him, so I was playing catch up half the season, he did a great job this year and for my rookie year I did all right.”
Then he thanks sponsors IBEW Local 401, Affordable Electrical Services, Bayshore Truck and Ames Machine.
Mark Serchio Jr. wasn’t able to finish the race but still capped the championship. He arrived at the victory celebration with his car on the trailer.
“We had some motor problems at the end of it. It was a sad thing to hear but it was a fun season after all, one of my last seasons here for a while until I get back as I’m going to the NASCAR Technical Institute in Moorseville, North Carolina. This will give me the championship, a good way to end it after three years of trying. Me and my dad, Mark Sr., have been trying hard building cars and he builds the motors and everything else.”
Then he thanked his parents as well as those that have helped him including sponsors Dayton Valley Tire, Maverick Adventure First Stop and Family Landscape.
The points situation was a bit different this year and Sample explained it.
“With the way the track points are this year they allowed you to drop your two worst finishes, we missed one and another one was probably 29 points,” he said.
In his case once Ogg dropped his two worst finishes for the year that put Sample in the lead. So at the end of the night all the drivers were figuring out how they would stack up under this new rule.
One driver not happy with the situation was Pro Stock competitor David Rauscher as he had to drop over 80 points while Grace used the two races he wasn’t able to compete in as his throw aways. But all in all most were satisfied with the way things turned out.
Now that the season has ended and there’s one more racing weekend; the two-day shootout on October 11 and 12. Racing begins at 6 p.m. Saturday and resumes at noon on Sunday.
After that the track goes dark until next spring.
RESULTS
Fernley 95A Speedway — Oct. 4
Pure Stock:
Heat Winner — Mark Serchio Jr.
Main (12-Laps) — 1. Rich Innis, 2. Mark Serchio Jr.*
Super Stock 4:
Heat Winner — Dennis Crook
Main ( 12-Laps) — 1. Dennis Crook, 2. Kenny Martin*, 3. Steve Crook Sr.*, 4. Jesse James*
Dwarf Cars:
Heat Winner — Glen Sciarani
Main (10-Laps) — 1. Glen Sciarani, 2. Roy Peterson
Hobby Stock:
Heat Winner — Carl Barlow
Main (20-laps) — 1. Carl Barlow, 2. Jake Baker, 3. Rick Miller, 4. Tom Haxall, 5. J.T. Stark
Pro Stock:
Heat Winners — #1 David Rauscher, 2. Rob Grace
Main (20-Laps) — 1. Malen Gonzalez, 2. Rob Grace, 3. Gary Nevers, 4. David Rauscher, 5. Conner Tatum, 6. Paul Stephens
IMCA:
Heat Winners — #1 Riley Simons, #2 Shaun Natensedt, #3. Mark Skender
Main (30-Laps) — 1. Cory Sample, 2. Riley Simmons, 3. Shawn Natenstedt, 4. Steve Boucher, 5. Josh Ogg, 6 Jeff Olschowka, 7. Royce Goetz, 8. Mark Skender, 9. Joel Meyers, 10. Paris Archie, 11. Galen Hainline,12., Travis White, 13. Melissa Natensdete,12. Jim Klopp, 13.Keith Walsh, 14. Vincent Evenson
* — Did Not Finish
