7/8/2024
Meridian Speedway
Tillman Tops in Debut of Wingless Speed Tour Sprinters
The Speed Tour Sprint Cars powered by Pit Stop USA went wingless on Thursday, July 4, for the Stinker Firecracker 50. Alongside the non-winged sprinters, the NASCAR Modifieds, NASCAR Trucks, Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks, and Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets chased the night’s DataTel trophies before the skies lit up with the annual Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular.
Speed Tour Sprint Car powered by Pit Stop USA competitor Connor Elliott bolted out of the blocks on lap one of Thursday’s Stinker Firecracker 50 to take the early lead. But all was not well under the hood of Elliott’s machine and after seven dominant laps his sprinter shut off and coasted to a stop on the backstretch.
This left the lead with Casey Tillman and his YMC Inc., All Phase Painting sprinter with Josh Fanopoulos second, Colton Nelson third, and Nate Little fourth on the restart. Once the green flag waved Tillman shot to the top spot while Fanopoulos and Nelson battled for the runner up spot. Nelson would get the better of this battle in his Busch Light, PBT Auto Sales entry and set his sights on leader Tillman.
Nelson worked to reel Tillman in, but every time he closed within striking distance Tillman got on the gas pedal and scooted away. This pattern held through the rest of the race and allowed Tillman to navigate his way to the win.
“I really hope this is an event that continues to grow and gain traction,” Tillman said. “Anybody can put a wing on and go drive a winged sprint car...a Speed Tour Sprint Car with no wing on it is a hell of a lot harder to drive than that.”
Josh Jackson and Larry Hull battled mano-a-mano for the night’s first NASCAR Modified feature. Jackson got his Ray’s Diesel and Auto Repair, Lestarjette Painting machine to the point first, but Hull used a late race restart to move his Diversified Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning entry to the top of the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard. Once out front, Hull pulled away from Jackson and cruised into the Caleb’s Chop Shop Winner’s Circle to collect the DataTel hardware.
Tensions ran high in the NASCAR Modifieds’ second feature as Nick Durbin, Caity Miller, and Josh Jackson fought for the top spot. With just a handful of laps remaining Miller muscled her Joe’s Race Products modified beneath Durbin’s in turn one as she fought her way to the lead. The hard racing carried on to turn three where contact between the lead trio sent Miller backwards into the wall and out of the race. Durbin’s Durbin’s Towing, Mountain Metal entry was relegated to the back of the pack and Jackson assumed the lead. Jackson got the drop on Brendon Fries on the final restart and sped to the checkers.
NASCAR Truck veteran John Newhouse went door-to-door with Andrew Prince for Thursday night’s second feature victory. Newhouse was keen to score the Thursday night sweep after his win in the division’s first feature, and it didn’t take long for the veteran NASCAR Truck racer to carve his way through traffic and into the leader Prince’s rearview mirror.
Once Newhouse got Prince in his sights, he pinned his The Car Store of Twin Falls truck to the inside line and went to work. Lap after lap Newhouse dove deep into the corners, but Prince used the high groove’s momentum to stay out front. Something had to give, and with a dozen laps left, that something was traction as Newhouse slid up the track and into Prince’s door.
Prince wrestled his Highline Power Sports, High Mountain Logistics truck back under control, but surrendered both first and second places in the process. An ensuing caution flag lined Prince up behind Newhouse and Ellis for the restart.
Newhouse beat everyone out of the blocks on the restart and left Prince and Ellis to battle for the runner up spot. Ellis worked the outside line in his GlasSmith, Curtis Clean Sweep truck and made it around Prince on the final lap to take second.
“I got into [Prince] a little bit and I apologize,” Newhouse said as he collected his DataTel feature flag. “He actually pretty much saved me on that entry...I just drove it in too hard.”
Attrition was high in the Idaho CDL Training Street Stock ranks Thursday. On lap two points leader Scott Groom was sidelined due to heavy smoke coming out of the back of his car. A few laps later the field jammed up in turn three with Pat Tully, Andrew Palmer, among others collected. During that caution flag period the brakes on young Aiden Fanopoulos’ Certified Services machine caught fire.
Once the green flag waved again Tully shook off the damage to his Lissa’s Learning Ladder, 1st Step Auto Reconditioning and Fabrication mount and roared through the field toward race leader Taylor Occhipinti. It appeared Tully would run out of time to catch the leader, but a spin with four laps left allowed him to line up abreast of Occhipinti’s Marv’s Tire Service, Sonic Crush racer for one last dash to the checkers. Occhipinti wheeled his car around the inside line to keep the lead, but Tully’s machine was too strong on the outside, and with three laps left Tully eked out an advantage, but Occhipinti battled back. Contact on the white flag lap sent both cars sliding through turns three and four, but Tully gathered his racer and sped across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe first.
Idaho Asphalt Services Hornet racer Ben Sommerfeld piloted his PBT Auto Sales, Mountain Steel car to victory in a rough-and-tumble feature. Sommerfeld also raced his way to victory in the night’s final race, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
With the Stinker Firecracker 50 in the books, race fans prepare to see double at Meridian Speedway’s next event, the American Staffing Twin 25’s. The Zamp NASCAR Latemodels, Domino’s Legends, Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks, Trammel Construction Stingers, and Bandoleros come together Saturday, July 13, for a full night of action in pursuit of the Performance Signs and Graphics trophies. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com to purchase your advance tickets and skip the line at the gate. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower this Saturday, July 13, for the American Staffing Twin 25’s at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild