6/21/2024
Meridian Speedway
Phipps, Palmer Duel for Dairy Days Feature
With livestock looking on from the Dairy Barn, Meridian Speedway hosted the Idaho CDL Training Dairy Days Races. The NASCAR Modifieds, Zamp NASCAR Latemodels, and Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks traded paint and burned rubber in pursuit of the night’s Trammel Construction feature flags.
The Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks got warmed up for their Saturday night tussle in Twin Falls with a forty lap feature. Courtney Green overpowered Blaine Waller to take the early lead, but on the hunt was Morgan Trammel, who worked his winged Trammel Construction, Durbin Towing machine high and low to make up ground. After just five laps Trammel sat third with Green and new leader Don Trafford in his sights.
In seven short circuits Trammel blasted past both Green and Trafford to take the lead. Try as Trafford might, his American Tire, The Joint Chiropractic racer couldn’t compete with Trammel, who set his cruise control and took the win handily. Chase Parker passed Green to bring his car home third while Craig Taylor capped the top five runners.
The Zamp NASCAR Latemodels strapped themselves in for a physical fifty lap feature Thursday. Niko Heinzel blasted to the lead while Scott Murri and Tate Elquist bounced off each other and the wall on lap two.
Andrew Palmer and Ryan Phipps were the main beneficiaries of this early action as they found a hole on the high side and shot into third and fourth positions in just a handful of laps. But Palmer and Phipps weren’t done yet, and by lap fifteen Phipps held the lead with Palmer second and division point leader Melissa Weaver third.
The caution flag flew for the first time on lap twenty for Murri’s machine. This allowed Palmer to pull even with Phipps on the restart. Palmer didn’t waste the opportunity and fired his Bobby’s Transmission racer into turn one to take the lead.
At the race’s halfway point Palmer began to pull away from Phipps and his PMT, Western Mountain, Inc. racer. But lapped traffic loomed in front of Palmer and Phipps used this obstacle to catch back up to and then challenge the leader. As Phipps planned his move another caution flag flew, which set up a five lap dash to the checkers.
Palmer chose the low side with Phipps to his outside. When the green flag waved Palmer again dove hard into turn one to maintain the lead, but Phipps hung tough and stayed perfectly in line with Palmer. Just as Phipps looked to make his move the caution flag flew again as Tate Elquist’s entry pirouetted down the back stretch.
With one shot at the win left Phipps exploded out of the blocks and muscled his way around Palmer to the top of the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard. Palmer ran out of time to mount a counterattack and could only watch as Phipps roared across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe first.
After a dominant performance in the night’s first NASCAR Modified feature Kyle Latham started last on the field as the green flag flew for the night’s 35-lap main event. Early in the running Mike Davis and Nick Durbin dueled for the top spot. Durbin got the best of this battle in his Durbin’s Towing, Mountain Metal machine, but soon came under fire from Alex Duda. Duda wasted no time as he dispatched Durbin to take the lead. Josh Jackson followed a few laps later, with Latham and Brendon Fries in tow.
Once in clean air Latham threw his Conrad and Bischoff, Ridgeline Lubricants machine to the inside of Jackson. These two racers battled back and forth for a dozen laps, while Duda piloted his HD Concrete, Idaho Dairy Pro LLC modified to a massive lead. Latham eventually got the better of the runner up battle, but ran out of time to track down Duda, who steamed his way to the Idaho CDL Training Dairy Days feature victory.
Things get a little wacky in the Concrete Jungle next Saturday, June 29, as Meridian Speedway hosts the Beacon Plumbing Outhouse Grand Prix. The Zamp NASCAR Latemodels, Pepsi Sprintcars, Project Filter Pro-4s, Firehouse Pub and Grill Bombers, Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets, and Trammel Construction Stingers crowd the quarter-mile for their shot at the night’s H&H Auto Sales trophies. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com for further information and to purchase your advance tickets. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower on Saturday, June 29, for the Beacon Plumbing Outhouse Grand Prix at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild