4/21/2025
Meridian Speedway
Murphy Tops 20-Plus Legends in Crowded Opener
Domino’s Legends crowded Meridian Speedway Saturday, April 19, for Toyota Dealer Night at the Races. The NASCAR Modifieds, NASCAR Trucks, Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks, Firehouse Pub and Grill Thunderdogs, and the Speedway Bandoleros rounded out the night’s action as they went wheel-to-wheel for the night’s Trammel Construction trophies.
Paxton Guiles and Brian Molloy led a heaping helping of 22 Domino’s Legends to green for a tumultuous 35-lap main event. Guiles got to the gas pedal first and blasted into the lead while the high line stacked up and forced several rows into three-wide formation in turn one. Despite the scramble the field came back together in an orderly fashion and all 22 drivers raced on.
Austin Murphy was the first racer to maneuver his Phoenix Fire Games, Ace of Fades machine through the pack and overtake Guiles for the lead. Ryan Phipps, defending champion Leon Tridle III, and Mason Nelson followed Murphy through and raced to catch up before the leader caught lapped traffic.
No one made it to Murphy before he made it to the back of the pack and began to weave his way through. Phipps didn’t have the luck that Murphy had, and he tangled with a slower car on lap ten. This lined Nelson up outside of Murphy for the restart with Tridle III and TJ Monroe in row two.
On the green Murphy erupted down the frontstretch and blasted back into the top spot while Nelson did everything he could to keep Tridle III’s Knife River, Stradley Industry racer behind him. With a dozen laps left Nelson got held up and fell to fourth place. The caution flag flew a short time later and set up an eleven-lap dash to the checkers.
The green flag waved again and again Murphy shot to the point while outside front row starter Nelson found himself in a battle with Tridle III, Monroe and Tim Neumeyer. All three drivers would battle their way around Nelson’s TriMev Ambulance, Elevate Racing Media machine in the closing laps. But up front nobody had a challenge for Murphy and he coasted across the finish line to win the Toyota Dealer Night at the Races feature.
Fourteen NASCAR Modifieds rumbled to the green flag of their 35-lap feature. Veteran campaigner Dan Doan piloted his CBH Homes, Gary Amoth Trucking mount to the early lead with Tommy Harrod, Mike Davis and Titus Clancy in tow. On lap ten Harrod made his move and hooked the inside line to dispatch Doan to second on the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard.
Deep in the field sparks and bumpers flew as the rest of the field jockeyed for position. Long-time rivals Larry Hull and Kyle Latham came together in turn four at the race’s one-third mark, but both drivers were able to gather their machines and continue. A handful of laps later Latham found himself once again tangled up, this time with Rusty Houpt and his Crown Utilities, Catapult 3 modified in turns one and two.
On the restart Harrod raced his way back to the lead when a bump from Doan turned him sideways in front of the field. Harrod somehow regained control of his PBT Auto Sales machine before meaningful contact was made with any other car. Once resettled, Harrod skated away from the field to collect the Toyota Dealer Night at the Races victory.
A baker’s dozen of Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks joined forces for a chaotic 25-lap feature. Josh Lucero and Michael Capps took turns with the early lead, but Chase Parker and Travis Pavlacky showed their muscle as they tore through pack and arrived on Capps’ Boise Bath and Kitchen Company, ProSource rear bumper after just ten laps.
Parker was first to move his entry past Capps, then used a mid-race restart to rocket to a comfortable advantage while Capps dueled with Pavlacky, Craig Taylor, Tyler Palmer, and Morgan Trammel. With ten laps to go this dam broke, but it looked as through Pavlacky’s 208 Towing, Crushin’ It pickup was too far behind Parker to catch up. Then the yellow flag waved again for a spin in the South turns and brought Pavlacky even with Parker for the restart.
When the green flag waved the inside line came apart as Parker, Taylor, and Capps inexplicably spun to the infield. Now Pavlacky found himself in the lead with Trammel’s Trammel Construction mount to his outside. Pavlacky dug hard around the inside on the restart, but Trammel’s winged machine was too fast to overcome, and he cruised to the feature win. Jason Sanders came home third ahead of Scott Heap and Capps.
The early-season blues struck the NASCAR Truck ranks hard as an expected nine competitors became five at the first green flag of the night. Nevertheless, Lonnie Jesser, Tanner Wong and his father John, Jeff Wade, and Jesse James Lawson put on a pair of hard-fought features.
Lawson and Wade waged an epic battle for the first feature flag of the night. Wade got his D.L. Evans Bank, Graphx Signs pickup out front early, but Lawson’s borrowed Lissa’s Learning Ladder, Pinnacle Appraisal machine was faster, and with fourteen laps left Lawson worked his way to the lead via the inside line. Next past Wade was Tanner Wong, who used his Champion Produce, Wong Farms, Inc. truck’s right rear quarter panel to rearrange Wade’s nose and left front fender. But Tanner Wong had nothing for Lawson, who flashed across the finish line to take the win.
In the division’s second feature Jesser got out of the blocks quick to take the early lead, but after just three laps came under heavy attack from Wade. As Jesser and Wade focused on each other, Lawson saw an opportunity and jumped to the outside for a three-wide pass. Wade backed out of the gas, Jesser kept his truck pinned to the middle groove, and Lawson powered around the high line to take the lead.
Once out front Lawson cruised to the victory while Wade fought past Tanner Wong and Jesser to come home second. John Wong and Jesser finished fourth and fifth.
The Speedway Bandolero race came down to a last lap pass. Tayton Monroe dominated the early and middle stages of the 20-lap feature but came under fire from Jhett Phipps in the closing laps. Phipps pushed his Western Mountain Inc. machine hard to catch Monroe, which he did with two laps left. With the pressure on Monroe pushed his Torch Towing and Transport, Idaho Wrecker Sales racer hard into turns one and two, but lost grip and slid up the track, which allowed Phipps to take the lead. Monroe gave one last effort on the white flag lap but spun out in turn two and Phipps sped across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe.
The Firehouse Pub and Grill Thunderdogs made their return to the Concrete Jungle for Toyota Dealer Night at the Races. After twenty-some laps of zany beating, banging, slicing, dicing, and overall chicanery, the Burrito Racer overpowered the Eagle Stone Trucking, This ‘N That Auto Sales Eagle’s Nest to the win.
The Speed Tour Winged Sprint Cars kick off their season at Meridian Speedway next Saturday night, April 26, with the Race to End Bullying Sprint Car Opener presented by Create Spaces. The Zamp NASCAR Latemodels, Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks, Pepsi Sprintcars, Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks, and Trammel Construction Stingers take the track in pursuit of the night’s Western Cargo Services trophies. Plus, don’t miss the just-added Boat Race of Destruction nightcap! General admission is just $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and military members, $9 for kids 7-11, and free for kids 6 and under. Gates open at 4:45 p.m. Saturday with the night’s first green flag at 6:30 p.m. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com now to purchase your advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower this Saturday, April 26, for the Race to End Bullying Speed Tour Sprint Car Opener presented by Create Spaces featuring a Boat Race of Destruction at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild