4/18/2022
Meridian Speedway
Lyons Roars to Victory on Rough and Tumble Saturday
The hits came early and often Saturday, April 16, as the Speed Tour Season Opener turned into a night of rough and tumble racing. The Speed Tour Sprint Cars powered by Pit Stop USA brought eight quick winged sprinters to bear, while full Zamp Pro-Late Model, Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stock, and Domino’s Legends fields battled for their The Ranch in Caldwell feature flags.
The Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks kicked off main event action with eighteen cars contesting 25 laps. Tyler Palmer and Josh Lucero enjoyed the early lead, but defending division champ Travis Pavlacky was on the move, and parked his Modern Auto Service, FVC Construction pickup truck up front on lap nine.
Top qualifier Ryan McCaul suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure on lap eleven as his Performance Signs and Graphics, David’s Racing Products car burst into flames on the back stretch and spun into turn three. McCaul was okay, but was forced to retire from the event.
Trouble continued on the next restart when Jason Sanders first lost his hood on the front stretch, then hopped Brandal Glenn’s right side wheels and rolled into the backstretch barrier. Sanders climbed from his battered Valley Property Management, Excel Concrete machine under his own power.
A pileup on the ensuing restart again slowed the action for the last time as lap eleven proved to be the most difficult of the night. As the dust settled and the smoke cleared from a physical first feature of 2022, it was Pavlacky in the Caleb’s Chop Shop Winner’s Circle.
“Opening night is always the scariest,” said Pavlacky. “It’s like we all forget how to ride a bike sometimes.”
Keith Gonzales made the most of his first Firehouse Pub and Grill Bomber start. At the wheel of the number 911, Gonzales took home his first The Ranch in Caldwell Feature Flag.
A full field of Zamp Pro-Late Models rumbled onto the quarter-mile for a 30-lap feature. On the break Baker City, Oregon’s Cody McCue lost the handle on his racer, which allowed Neil Wassmuth to take the early lead. But on Wassmuth’s bumper, literally, was Kyle Latham. An early caution brought Latham’s Impact Motorz, Conrad and Bischoff machine even with Wassmuth, and when the green flag waved Latham shot to the lead with Josh Fanopoulos and Kyle Tellstrom in tow.
Tellstrom, at the controls of his radical QuickCar Racing Products, Carbon Designs Racing Vinyl racer, easily dispatched Fanopoulos on lap six, then rocketed around Latham to the lead on lap nine. This was the last time anyone in the top five would see Tellstrom as the Ukiah, California driver put the pedal down and opened a half-track lead on second-place Latham en route to the feature victory.
As a full moon rose over the backstretch seventeen Domino’s Legends swarmed to green. Outside polesitter Randy Copeland was quick out of the blocks and took the early lead as the pack scrambled for position. Copeland was committed to the high lane, where one slip allowed Andrew Tuttle, Brok Kidd, and several others to race their way by.
A caution at the race’s halfway point bunched the field and set Kidd and Tuttle on the front row for the restart. Quarters got close halfway down the back chute between the leaders, which caused Jerry Davis and Roxali Kamper to come together entering turn three.
Kamper, much like Sanders 60-minutes earlier, hopped Davis’ wheels and somersaulted into the protective water barrels. Kamper emerged from her battered racer unscathed and waved to the crowd as she walked to the pit area.
With the track cleaned up the race restarted, and it took just two laps for leaders Mike Soiseth and AJ Martinson to make contact and spin in front of the field. This handed the lead to Johnethan Davis, who sped to the feature victory in his GCAT, Interstate Batteries racer.
The Speed Tour Sprint Cars powered by Pit Stop USA kicked their season off with a 25-lap dash to the checkers. On the break Brent Collins overpowered Marlon Pense to lead lap one, but was quickly under fire from DJ Lyons. At the controls of his Stinker-Sinclair Stores, Eloy and Sons Landscaping sprinter, Lyons ripped around Collins on the outside to take the lead on lap two.
On the move early were quick-qualifier Cory Lockwood. The Nampa, Idaho racer hooked the inside line and raced his way around Colton Nelson to fifth on the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard on lap six. Next, Lockwood dispatched Riley Rogers for third, then dueled with Matt Elliott for the runner up spot.
With eight laps to go Lockwood reached open track and unleashed his Eloy and Sons Landscaping, Nampa Paving machine. Lockwood closed on Lyons, but could only halve his lead as Lyons roared across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe.
The short track thrills continue this Saturday, April 23, as the Speed Tour Super Late Models powered by Pit Stop USA do battle in the NAPA Auto Parts Treasure Valley 125 presented by Boise Spa Movers. The Speed Tour Modifieds, Pepsi Sprintcars, Trammel Construction Stingers, and All-Star Club Series round out a full night of side-by-side racing action. General admission for the Treasure Valley 125 is just $14 for adults, $12 for seniors 60 and over and military members, $8 for kids 7-11, and free for kids 6 and under. Skip the line at the ticket window and purchase your advance tickets at www.meridianspeedway.com. For exclusive news and notes from around the quarter-mile, text ‘meridianspeed’ to 84483 and join our text club. We’ll see you this Saturday, April 23, for the NAPA Auto Parts Treasure Valley 125 under the big yellow water tower in downtown Meridian at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild