DWARF CARS REGIONAL HONORS FALLEN DRIVERS

 

FERNLEY (May 1-2) – 95A Speedway hosted the annual Western States Dwarf Car Regional this weekend. Once again the race honored the memory of Dave Richardson and Leroy Kay, who both perished in a wreck racing accident two years ago.

The event is two evenings of hard racing and some strong emotions. In fact the Dwarf Car drivers, after Saturday’s meet-and-greet intermission, did a couple of four-wide laps to honor their fallen comrades.

After winning the final pro race for the second time in as many years Joe Frock climbed out of his car and celebrated, then the emotions came out when he said, “The important part is just doing this for our friends Dave and Leroy and to have Leroy’s family here really means a lot. I thought the first meant a lot but the second time means even more and it was a little bit harder.”

 

Before the main began, Frock and Derek Rosse, both friends of Richardson and Kay, lead two parade laps in tribute to their friends. Then it was time to race.

 

After two attempts and a tangle in Turn 2 everyone lined up and finally took the green. Shawn Jones led the charge until the first turn when Frock used an inside line to take the point.

From then the chase was on. Behind the leaders there was a battle for third between Kalvin Morton, Bobby Brown Jr. and Cameron Diatte.

 

But up front the duel was between Frock and a determined Jones. Eventually Frock pulled a gap over Jones but after the halfway point of the 30-lap event it closed.

Asked when he knew Jones was behind him Frock said, “I’d say just after probably midway through the race. He gave me a little shove going into 3 and I was like, ‘OK definitely time to pick it up.’ I knew he entered faster than me but I knew I could get him coming off and that’s what counts. So I just focused, determined and kept doing what I knew I could do.”

Late in the race both leaders caught slower traffic and that’s where Jones thought he might have a chance.

“We got in lap traffic and I thought we were going to get by him maybe but he got through really well. And I just kind of had to follow him,” Jones said later.

In the final laps Jones began to challenge Frock and at one point pulled almost beside him as they exited Turn 4. On the last lap Jones tried but to pull off a pass he expected to make.

“The last turn on the last lap I set him up what I thought was pretty perfect but he just didn’t get off the bottom so there as no room for me,” Jones said.

After winning, Frock was greeted by Gene Kay, one of Leroy’s relatives.

Then Frock said, “It was rough Shawn Jones is one of the best drivers around, he races sprint cars, dwarf cars and is quite a talented driver to go toe-to-toe with so I felt pretty good about it but he definitely made me earn it tonight.”

Then he thanked his sponsors, HRT Racing, Wild Island, Excell Sports, DRI and his family for letting him do what he loves to do.

Back in the pits both drivers congratulated each other on a good race.

Three classes of Dwarf Cars raced at the event. These little speedsters are 5/8th replicas of cars that were built in the late 1930’s and 1940’s with various body styles.

All are powered by motorcycle engines and actually post lap times up to a couple of tenths of a second faster than the IMCA Modifieds.

The Veterans were another class and Kevin Bender, from Rocklin, California, came with a mission in mind; to sweep all this events. And he did.

 

Before their event began they too saluted both of their fallen comrades. Prior to the start Glen Sciarni, a friend of both Richardson and Kay, led a four-wide salute to both drivers.

When then as the green waved Kevin Bender, who earlier won the division’s fast dash, took off with Kevin Miraglio and Dan Zuger giving chase.

While Miraglio tried he couldn’t really mount a challenge and fell into a four-way duel for second with Eric Weisler. Miraglio and Igor Gadzjuk. Lap after lap they battled for the position while Bender kept extending his lead.

At the end Bender completed his sweep and in his celebration he climbed onto of his war to salute the fans.

Then he said, “It’s good to do this for Dave and Leroy and I’m kind of speechless and choked up about it but this one was for them.”

Then, after regaining his composure he added, “You know these old farts like me at 51 don’t get to win too many often any more so it’s cool.”

Then he thanked sponsors Edwards Collision Studios, PM Specalities, Pursuit Dynamics and Plastic Custom Cabinets.

Only six Sportsmen showed up and after their three-wide salute they formed up and took the green. On point was John Hogue with Jeff Foster in hot pursuit.

Then Foster spun out of contention while Chris Kenner was closing on the leader. One the gap disappeared Kenner kept the pressure on but Hogue still held the lead.

Over the next several laps the gap between leader Hogue and Kenner either expanded or shrunk to where they were running nose-to-tail.

However with less than two to go Hogue spun out of the lead and caused a caution. Once the green waved again Kenner charged off to claim the victory while Hogue had to settle for fifth.

 

“It was a good race and I was trying to set him (Hogue) up slowly but surely. I was happy he spun and the car and track were awesome. And I need to thank my lovely lady Danielle as well as sponsor Quality Glass Incorporated.”

Both the Pure Stocks and Super Stock 4 divisions supported Saturday’s show. Only three Pure Stocks took the green, which was won by Rich Innis.

In Super Stock 4, once the green waved the race was between Dennis Crook and Justin Busch. And in the end they finished in that order.

 

• Friday was an all Dwarf Car show at the track with heat and main races for those present.

When the Sportsmen main began John Hogue, from Vernal, Utah jumped into the lead and was never headed. Two cautions slowed the pace but in the end Hogue took the victory followed by Rob Gergel and Roy Peterson.

 

“That was good, but I couldn’t tell, don’t know how far they were or how close they were. The car handled good and the track’s great. And this is my first win in a regional,” Hogue said.

 

Kevin Bender threw down the gauntlet when the Vet main began by jumping into the lead. Close behind were Dan Zuger and Kevin Miraglio.

Two cautions slowed the race but at every restart Bender led the charge to the green. Miraglio eventually took second dropping Hogue to third while Bender was untouchable as he streaked to the victory.

“The race was good cause I won it and the track was perfect,” Bender said later. “My hat’s off to Fred Hayes for showing me the fast line around the racetrack when he almost passed me. So I stuck to the bottom and pulled it off.”

Only 16 pros took the green as one pulled off during the parade lap. Up front David “Catfish” Taft was on point with Ryan Winter and Joe Frock giving chase.

 

Behind the leader a three-way duel for second was happening when Ryan Winter joined the fray. This would soon turn into a four-way battle when Shawn Jones joined the fun.

A pair of cautions slowed the pace and one of them caused the race to be stopped so officials could get everyone in their proper order.

 

When the green waved again Frock jumped into second with Cameron Diatte and Winter close behind. One very late caution set up a sprint to the finish.

At the checkered Taft scored the victory followed by Frock, Jones and Diatte. For the drivers this was an important one as the top 10 transferred into Saturday’s main event.

 

Back in the pits Taft, who came all the way from San Diego, said, “It was fun, the car handled great. And everybody out here is really fast so I figured they’d be right there. I was getting a pretty good hook up and it was dialed in.”

Each evening ended with a barbecue and some bench racing. Everyone seemed to have a good time and the Frock, at Friday’s drivers meeting, thanked everyone for making some long tows to be part of this event.

• Lovelock Speedway opened its season on Friday night and Malen Gonzalez won the IMCA Modified main. Loren Cooney topped the 360 Sprint Cars while Tony Taylor was the Hobby Stock winner.

OTHER RACING NEWS

• This Saturday Fernley 95A Speedway returns to its regular schedule with the cars and Outlaw Karts. Racing for the cars begins around 6 p.m. Saturday. Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville, Calif. will also be in action with racing starting at 7 p.m.

• For those motocross racers wanting to get in some track time the Livfast Exit 28 track will be hosting sessions from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• NASCAR visited Talladega this weekend and only two Nevada drivers were in action. In Saturday’s Xfinity event Brendan Gaughan lost a good position when he was caught up in an accident he couldn’t avoid.

He impacted the pit wall, where some crewmembers were hurt by flying debris and that ended Gaughan’s day. He was credited with a 39th place finish.

In Sunday’s Sprint Cup event Kurt Busch started 19th, avoided the big wreck, and finished 12th. However Gaughan’s bad luck continued as he was caught up in another wreck and ended up 40th after starting 33rd.

If all goes well Kyle Busch might return to action this weekend. He has been recovering from injuries suffered in the Daytona 500.

RESULTS

WSDCA Dwarf Car Regional – Fernley 95A Speedway

• Saturday, May 2

Sportsmen:

+ Fast Dash: 1. Jeff Foster, 2. Chris Kenner, 3.Roy Peterson, 4. Rob Gergel, 5.Sam Rants

+ Main (19-Laps) – 1. Chris Kenner, 2. Rob Gergel, 3. Jeff Foster, 4. Roy Peterson, 5. John Hogue, 6 Sam Rants

Veterans:

+Qualifier: 1. Fred Hay, 2. Shane Simper, 3. Dan Mortensen, 4. Glen Sciarani, 5. Dan Geil, 6. Carl  Draper

+Fast Dash: 1. Kevin Bender, 2. Dan Zuger, 3. Kevin Miraglio, 4. Jimmy Hogue, 5. Eric Weisler, 6. Allen Hacking, 7.Igor Gadzjuk

+Main (31-Laps): 1. Kevin Bender, 2. Eric Weisler, 3. Kevin Miraglio, 4. Igor Gadzjuk, 5. Fred Hay, 6. Jimmy Hogue, 7. Shane Simper, 8. Dan Zuger, 9. Dan Mortensen, 10. Dan Geil, 11. Glen Scirani, 12. Allen Hacking, 13. Carl Draper – DNR

Pros:

+Qualifier: 1. Bobby Wilson, 2. Derek Rosse, 3. Rory Mortenson, 4. Gene Pires Jr., 5. Rodney Sweet, 6. Calvin Ryle

+Fast Dash: 1. Shawn Jones, 2. Joe Frock, 3. Kalvin Morton, 4. Josh King, 5. Bobby Brown Jr., 6.Chas Hansen, 7. Cameron Diatte, 8. Ronnie Williams

+Main (30-Laps) – 1. Joe Frock, 2. Shawn Jones, 3. Kalvin Morton, 4. Bobby Brown, Jr., 5. Cameron Diatte, 6. Josh King, 7. Ronnie Williams, 8. David Taft, 9. Rodney Sweet, 10. Chase Hansen, 11. Ryan Winter, 12. Bobby Wilson, 13. Gene Winters, 14. Rory Mortensen, 15. Calfin Ryle, 16. Gene Pries Jr., 17. Derek Rosse

Super Stock 4:

+Heat #1: 1. Kenny Schmitt, 2. Kenny Mrtin, 3. Aaron McIlvain, 4. Danielle Pain, 5. Will Ritchy

+Heat #2: 1. Dennis Crook, 2. Justin Busch, 3. Steve Crook Sr., 4. Jake Fernandes

+Main (21-Laps) – 1. Dennis Crook, 2. Justin Busch, 3. Kenny Martin, 4. Danielle Paine, 5. Aaron McIlvain, 6. Steve Crook, Sr., 7 Jake Fernandes, 8. Will Ritchey, 9. Kenny Schmitt

Pure Stock:

+Heat: 1. Rich Innis, 2. Jim Paulk, 3. Trevor Quell

+Main (12-Laps) – 1. Rich Innis, 2. Jim Paulk, 3. Trevor Quell

• Friday, May 1

Sportsman:

+ Heat: 1. John Rogue, 2. Rob Gergel, 3. Jeff Foster, 4. Roy Peterson, 5. Sam Rants

+Main (15-Laps): 1. John Rogue, 2. Rob Bergel, 3. Roy Peterson, 4. Jeff Foster, 5. Sam Rants, 6. Chris Kenner

Veterans:

+ Heat #1: 1. Dan Zuger, 2. Allen Hacking, 3. Fred Hay, 4. Glen Sciarani, 5. Jimmy Hogue, 6. Dan Mortesen

+Heat #2: 1. Kevin Bender, 2. Kevin Miraglio, 3. Eric Weisler, 4. Shane Simper, 5. Igor Gandzjuk, 6. Mark Biscardi, 7. Carl Draper

+ Main (30-Laps): 1. Kevin Bender, 2. Kevin Miraglio, 3. Dan Zuger, 4. Jimmy Hogue, 5. Eric Weisler, 6. Igor Gadzjuk, 7. Allen Hacking, 8. Shane Simper, 9. Dan Mortensen, 10. Glen Sciarani, 11. Carl Draper, 12. Mark Biscardi, 13. Fred Hay

Pros:

+ Heat #1: 1. Cameron Diatte, 2. Joe Frock, 3. Shawn Jones, 4. Bobby Brown Jr., 5. Gene Pires Jr., 6. Kalvin Morton, 7. Derek Rosse, 8. Calvin Ryle

+Heat #2: 1. David Taft, 2. Ryan Winter, 3. Rodney Sweet, 4. Bobby Wilson, 5. Rory Mortensen, 6. Josh King, 7. Gene Winter, 8. Ronnie Williams, 9. Chase Hansen

+ Main (30-Laps): 1. David “Catfish” Taft, 2. Joe Frock, 3. Shawn Jones, 4. Cameron Diatte, 5. Ronnie Williams, 6. Ryan Winter, 7. Josh King, 8. Bobby Brown Jr., 9. Kalvin Morten, 10. Chase Hansen, 11. Calvin Ryle, 12. Rory Mortensen, 13. Gene Pires Jr., 14. Gene Winter, 15. Bobby Wilson, 16. Rodney Sweet, 17. Derek Rosse

• Lovelock Speedway – May 1

IMCA Modifieds:

+Heat #1: 1. Malen Gonzalez, 2. Robert Miller, 3. Jeff Macedo, 4. William Fryckman, 5. Vince Evenson

+ Heat #2: 1. Joel Myers, 2. James Thibodeaux, 3. Paris Archie, 4. Zach Cail, 5. Steve Evenson*

+Heat #3: 1. J.D. Jurad, 2. Ross Cazier, 3. Travis White, 4. Darrin Manning

+ Main (25-Laps) – 1. Malen Gonzalez, 2. Joel Myers, 3. Travis White, 4. J.D. Jurad, 5. James Thibodeaux, 6. Robert Miller, 7. Paris Archie, 8. Vince Evenson, 9. Zach Cail*, 10. Jeff Macedo*, 11. Steve Evenson*, 12. Russ Cazier*, 13. Darrin Maning*, 14. William Fryckman*

360 Sprints:

+Heat Race: 1. Loren Cooney, 2. Wade Lumsden, 3. Keith Mikaelsen, 4. Jeff Macedo*, 5. Robert      Cooney**

+ Main (20-Laps) – 1. Loren Cooney, 2. Keith Mikaelsen, 3. Wade Lumsden, 4. Robert Cooney*, 5.      Jeff Macedo**

Hobby Stocks:

+Heat Race: 1. Tony Taylor, 2. Tim Wearin

+ Main (20-Laps) – 1. Tony Taylor, 2. Dennis Buehn, 3. Shirley Reeves, 4. Tim Wearin**

* – Did Not Finish

** – Did Not Start

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