4/7/2026
Meridian Speedway
Houpt Capitalizes on Chaos for NASCAR Modified Win
Speedway season started off with a bang (or two) Saturday, April 4, as six speedy divisions took part in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Season Opener powered by YMC Mechanical. The NASCAR Division 1 Modifieds headlined the night’s action, joined by the NASCAR Trucks, Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks, Pepsi Sprintcars, Allied Fence Mini Stocks, and Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets in pursuit of the night’s Allied Fence-sponsored trophies.
Saturday night’ main event saw the NASCAR Modifieds battle nerf bar to nerf bar for the victory. PBT Auto Sales teammates Tommy Harrod and Chuck Youngblood blasted into the top two spots early in the event, but couldn’t pull away from James Strikwerda, Caity Miller, and the rest of the field. Harrod’s fortunes turned just before the race’s halfway point when smoke began to billow from his machine. Harrod lost power and slowed, which handed the lead to Youngblood, who came under immediate attack from Miller.
Miller’s siege ended as contact among back markers drew a caution flag with a dozen laps left and lined Miller up alongside Youngblood for the restart. Miller’s Joe’s Race Products modified was strong, but Youngblood rolled the outside to keep his momentum up and stay in the lead. This lack of movement stymied third place runner Kyle Latham, who tried to make a gap for himself on lap 25, but instead body slammed quick-qualifier Titus Clancy as the pair passed the flag stand.
The youngster popped the frontstretch wall, skewed sideways, then hooked back to the right and blasted the turn one wall head-on. The impact shot his Radiator Xperts, 5J Electric machine up in the air before it came to rest upside down in front of the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard. Despite the hard hit, Clancy emerged unscathed from his destroyed modified. It was a bitter end for the night’s fastest car and a pre-season championship favorite.
The green flag waved again with ten laps left and Miller went back to work on Youngblood. Lap after lap Miller tried the low line, and lap after lap Youngblood wrestled his modified back out front. With the white flag in the air Miller again dove low into turn one, where the front runners made contact. Tangled up, neither Youngblood nor Miller could break free and both slid to a stop in turn two. This left Latham with the lead and a mirror full of Rusty Houpt.
Houpt had momentum and committed to the inside line, but Latham moved to block the run and these two also made contact. This time Latham was the one who caromed into the wall and could only watch as Houpt motored to the checkered flag in disbelief. After a heated exchange with Latham, Houpt crawled from his Crown Utilities, Catapult 3 racer with a thumbs up.
“That last lap, I couldn’t believe it,” Houpt said. “Going through the corner it was still green, so I put my foot in it.”
John Newhouse did everything he could to make himself the story of the NASCAR Truck division’s opening night, but his double feature race sweep was overshadowed by a shattering crash endured by Tanner Wong. Just a handful of laps into the division’s second feature the throttle on Wong’s Champion Produce, Wong Farms machine hung wide open at the end of the backstretch. This sent the Parma, Idaho racer hard into the turn three barriers. The hit shot Wong’s truck up into the catch fence, which tore the rear half of the frame free from the rest of the truck just behind the driver’s compartment. Due to new safety equipment and tight scrutiny of vehicle construction, Wong was uninjured and, once he caught his breath, able to climb from the remnants of his truck under his own power.
“You never think it’ll happen,” Wong said post race. “But all of I sudden I realized, ‘oh, this is what [a hung throttle] feels like.’ And then I just watched it.”
Back on track, Newhouse toyed with fellow long-time NASCAR Truck racer Jeff Wade for a handful of laps before he took the top spot. Once out in front, Newhouse set the cruise control on his Mountain West Auto Group, RaceCals pickup and took his second feature win of the night.
“First of all, I hope Tanner is okay,” said Newhouse in the Zamp Winner’s Circle. “I’ve had that happen...and it’s scary when the throttle sticks.”
The Pepsi Sprintcars saw new father Riley Rogers open his 2026 campaign with a feature victory. Rogers diced his way through traffic to put his YMC Mechanical, Boise Bath and Kitchen Company machine up front after ten quick laps. Behind Rogers, Jamo Stephenson wheeled his Neil Alan Fine Jewelry, Restoration Rods sprinter to a second place finish ahead of Daytona Wurtz, Jordan Harris, and Jett Nelson.
Rogers nearly went two-for-two in his feature races on O’Reilly Auto Parts Season Opener Saturday. In the Allied Fence Mini Stock ranks Rogers battled past Travis Pavlacky’s legendary Ray’s Auto and Diesel, 208 Towing pickup to take the lead with fourteen laps to go. Rogers took the white flag first but was also first to reach a freshly laid oil slick in turns three and four. Rogers did well to spin his Performance Signs, YMC, Inc. racer away from the barriers, but he could only watch as Pavlacky and the rest of the field streamed past. Rogers would end up scored sixth, the last car on the lead lap.
“I guess luck was on our side tonight,” said Pavlacky as he collected his Allied Fence trophy. ‘It sucks for the double-zero car. He deserved that win, honestly.”
The Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks kicked off their season with a wild thirty-lap feature. While Joey Latham and Wyatt Nelson beat and banged at the back of the pack, Scott Groom, Andrew Palmer, and Josh Fanopoulos dueled for the lead. Just before the race’s halfway point this battle went bad for Groom and Palmer as they came together and spun in turn four.
Once the green flag waved again, Fanopoulos roared to the lead while Jake Altman and Kendra Occhipinti fought over the runner up spot. Altman got the best of this battle and set his sights on the lead. Just as Altman began to gain on Fanopoulos the leader’s machine began to leak fluid and was subsequently black flagged. This left Altman and his Outlaw Excavation, All-Pro Air racer with the lead and nine laps to defend it. Altman did, and celebrated his second feature win with a thunderous Zamp Winner’s Circle celebration.
“This is the second time I’ve done this,” Altman joked about his O’Reilly Auto Parts Season Opener victory. “I don’t even know half the words.”
An early crash swatted a swarm of Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets during the division’s 2026 debut. But through the chaos charged Alannah Trammel, who zipped around the outside of early leader Kevin Morand to take the lead and, eventually, the victory. Kyla Vanderpool brought her PBT Auto Sales entry home second ahead of John Southworth, Joey Volm, and Matt Meadows.
The excitement continues next Saturday, April 11, with the Project Filter Twin 35’s powered by Meridian Lanes. The NASCAR Latemodels, Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Vintage Sprintcars, Tates Rents Stingers, Speedway Midgets, and Firehouse Thunderdogs make their 2026 debuts, while the Idaho CDL Training Street Stocks and NASCAR Trucks return to battle for the second-straight week. Plus, Saturday sees the first Bike Race 4 Kids of the year. Kids, bring a bike and a helmet and meet announcer Brent Arte at the turn four gate after qualifying to take your own flying lap around the Concrete Jungle! General admission to the Project Filter Twin 35’s powered by Meridian Lanes is just $15 for adults, $13 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 first green flag waved at 6:30 p.m. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com and save $2 on your advance tickets and keep up to speed with all the latest news and notes from around the quarter-mile. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower Saturday, April 11, for the Project Filter Twin 35’s powered by Meridian Lanes at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild