Sander wins big for Bob
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In memory of the man. Robert Miller.
This race weekend started off a little differently than most race weekends here at El Paso Speedway Park. It started with heavy hearts and bowed heads as we all remember the life of the great man Robert Miller. Ask anyone who knew him and they will tell you he was an excellent driver, a fierce competitor, and a great man. The world really did lose someone special when it lost Robert and tonight we ran it all for him. We know you heard the noise we made for you tonight, all the way up in the heavens, Robert. Thank you for everything you gave us all over the years.
The night would take off with 15 USRA X-Mods challenging for the win. The 612 of Jose Saenz would only lead a few laps before Nick Rivera in the J17 would come barreling off turn two and take the lead down the backstretch after starting all the way back in 8th just two laps ago!
It’s becoming the Nick Rivera show as he pulled from the field after 5 laps but as things normally go in dirt track racing we would have a caution and they would start double file Delaware style with 15 laps to go. This is the first caution of the night and it comes from the 38 of Hector Prigione who spun leaving turn 3. He goes to the rear and here we go for green.
Rivera is leading Miles Widmer in 35 and Christy Georges-Barnett in 44 when Barnett gets loose into turn 1 and has to drive it all the way off track. We stay green but Christy Georges who had driven all the way from 7th to 3rd in 5 laps falls all the way to the back of the pack. She will definitely have her work cut out for her.
Only 2 laps after Christy Georges had her little miss hap she will get caught up in a much bigger problem with the 612 and 82. We are only 7 laps in and the red flag will wave as the 44 goes upside down on the backside berm of the backstretch. What seems to have happened is that the 612 of Saenz got loose, the 82 of Sherman Barnett had no where to go so they collected and then as the 44 comes by she catches a piece of them and takes a slow roll to the roof, bringing out the yellow then the red very quickly. All the drivers are ok and all three return to the racing surface! The 612 and the 44 will move to the rear for causing the caution but they aren’t out of it yet!
After all the mixing going on up front the J17 of Rivera still leads but now it’s the 47 of Mingo Jauregui in second and the 35 of Widmer in third. This is big shake up and things are looking up.
After the restart Rivera will lead them around a few circuits but its Christy Georges-Barnett who has the attention of the booth as she is already back to fifth after being on her roof less than 5 laps ago!! As hard charging as she has been Christy Georges needs a caution to bring the field back to her and with 9 laps to go that’s exactly what she will get as debris lingers in turn 3. Rivera still leads in the J17 machine.
As Rivera drags them to the green Paddy Rush is coming strong for the first position. Not going happen this time by for Paddy and the laps keep ticking. Only three laps remain as Paddy Rush closes out second with a solid move but Rivera is way out front! It’ll be the J17 of Nick Rivera who takes the white flag and that’s all he will need as caution comes out and that ends the race under a yellow checkered! Paddy Rush and Mingo Jauregui battle hard for second and Jimmy Ray in the 9 brings home a lone 4th place just behind them. With the top 5 position its Christy Georges-Barnett battling hard with the 20A of Alex Gonzalez but after that spill its seems Christy’s car is handling a little funny and Alex holds her off the last two laps for 5th.
Nick Rivera Ran an untouchable race as he led all but two laps in that USRA X-Mods main feature of the evening.
As the USRA street stocks roll onto the track tonight it is obvious that money talks! 23 racers showed up to showdown tonight because “The good guys at Casa Nissan” put up 50 BIG ONE$$ to anyone who drove over 50 miles tonight to race in the street stock and then Bio Fuels also matched Casa Nissan. Anyone who drove over 50 miles tonight to race in this class was automatically going to get 100$ just for towing out their car. NOW, if that isn’t enough the track is holding a dash for cash for these guys and the winner of that will also be receiving a crisp One-Hundred dollar bill! Racing like this never disappoints and tonight wouldn’t be any different.
At the start of the race it would be the A21 of Danny Rodriguez starting poll but 97 of Wyatt Loveland who led every lap in his heat race would jump to an early rocketing lead! Loveland is looking for his first win in the street stocks here tonight and he definitely proved himself a contender in the heats.
After Loveland jumped out early it would be the 3d Munoz, 74 Josselyn, and A21 Rodriguez battling for second three way all the way around! The winner from a few weekends ago, 44JT of Jaime Torres is also looking it make it a 4 way battle for second as he sits just behind those three.
It will be a few laps of good racing for second when Jason Josselyn is finally able to make the move on the others and take the definite position for second. He has a ways to catch Loveland in first but nothing is impossible for Jason Josselyn as we have seen many times before.
They all run hard for the next 5 laps as LaRose and Josselyn battle for second again while Loveland is just gapping out. 10 laps in and 15 to go when it looks like the 44x of LaRose has found another gear and slowly starts working in the 97 of Loveland. Loveland better not let out yet because here come George LaRose the man on a mission!!
If you blinked you missed it as LaRose somehow found the best groove possible and caught Loveland in a heartbeat! LaRose is right on his tail and looking all over the track for a way to make it stick. But it just isn’t there yet as Loveland is still the fastest man on track again.
LaRose starts pushing Loveland so hard that the two of them are caught by 44JT and Rick Boelter in 5X within just a matter of a lap or so. Its now virtually a 4-way battle for the lead and lappers are gong to play a factor here tonight!
Sure enough with just 13 laps to go the leader Wyatt Loveland is going to come in to turn 3 just as the 21 of Mariah Turnbow comes to almost a complete stop in the outside lane. Because of where she is on the track the top 3 are going to have to check up majorly and the 97 is going to completely rear end her off the track! Even though Turnbow was a lapper, it is the 97’s fault she wrecked and so he will be charged with the caution. This forces him from first to last and virtually end his night as there are only 13 laps remaining. Loveland did lead his heat flag to flag and was the absolute favorite coming into the main. Tough night for him but rubbing’s racing some nights and that’s just how it goes.
Because of the incident the 44X of LaRose now leads the field with 44JT of Torres second and 5x of Boelter in third. The 3H of Noah Hollingshead is running a solid fourth place as he has never even been to El Paso Speedway Park but is always dominate down at Southern New Mexico Speedway.
They are jostling for position all across the board when out of turn 2 and down the backstretch Rob Moseley will loose his motor in the 74M machine bringing out caution once again. As white smoke, oil and small motor parts are all settling across the track the 44X is still going to be your leader. It will be hard for any one to pass him on this restart, as he has been solid all night long.
Boelter and LaRose are going to battle all over the track for first as Torres and Hollingshead go at it for third. Boelter will dive inside of LaRose with 5 to go but it wont stick and LaRose is going to cover his line great! This is one of the best street stock battles of the year and the fans seem to know it. Nobody is sitting down for this finish.
The 5x goes inside of the 44x one more time into turn 3 but he wont have time to take the white. It’s the 44x taking the white flag and as the 5x crosses he will blow his motor into pieces just like his teammate a few laps earlier! It was a great run for the 5x team and Rick Boelter but tonight just was not their night.
Because LaRose had crossed the line receiving the white flag, just before the 5x blew his motor, it stands that we will have another yellow checkered and the way they crossed the stripe is the way they finish.
The 44X of George LaRose will win the main event for the USRA Street Stocks as Jaime Torres and Noah Hollingshead are a close second and third. It’s a tough night for the 5x who won his heat race and the Street Stock Dash for cash but we hope he makes it back because watching him race was definitely a show stopper.
Late Models lead to one of the craziest finishes of the year as 16 drivers and machines would battle for 25 laps on what is becoming a perfect track. Fito Gallardo is the man to watch from the stands tonight as he has won late models and modifieds over the last 2 weekends. Fito starts inside row 4 and is showing that he definitely has something for tonight.
Action starts early in this one as we are only 1 lap completed when Jeff Whyman slams the wall out of turn 3. Straight from Ruben Mireles himself, “He didn’t just kiss that wall. He married it!” For sure an accurate description of how hard Whyman hit the wall and we are glad he is OK off turn 1.
The 911 of Cliff Hansen leads them to the green flag drop but its Christy Georges-Barnett in the 44 who will take the outside and first place in one smooth movement. I hope Christy is looking back because here comes Fito Gallardo in G17 to the Inside of cliff for second. Fito is hard charging and on a mission tonight! He wont be easy to beat.
Christy is solid around the outside but 5 laps in Fito Gallardo has caught her and is looking low all the way around for the move. Just behind Fito is the 29 of Mercedes Abercrombie who always puts on a good show. Just as it looks like Mercedes is going to shoot around Fito to the inside of turn 1, she gets in way to hard and spins around doing more than one 360 degree spin. The caution will wave as she sits in turns 1&2, stalled out.
It’s now the Rocket Chassis show up in the front three positions as the G17 and 357 chase around Christy Georges in the 44. Fito is going to dive low into turn 1 but keeps it clean and cant make it stick! He will fall into line just behind Christy and off they go! The bottom seems to be working for Fito, he just doesn’t have enough drive out of turn 4 to make his hard work stick.
We have only made it only 9 laps when the caution waves for the 14 as he spins through turn 3 into the outside wall turn 4. This restart is going to be crazy, as Fito is looking anxious back there in second. These last two weekends he has been the man with a plan so don’t think this one is even close to over!
Fito and Christy go door to door, nose to nose all the way around until 10 to go when Scott Logston in the 7 shows up to add a little more excitement. Logston is too far back to make anything work for now but a small mistake from either driver up front and he will pounce.
Fito will switch grooves inside 7 to go and go nose to tail with Christy Georges. It seems Fito has the speed to win the race he just has to wait for the perfect timing to make it stick. Fito is on a rail and he isn’t coming off anytime soon. This is racing at its finest.
Fito waits patiently stalking Christy in her every move and with 3 laps to go they find lapped traffic. Neither driver seems too comfortable around the lapped traffic but they both get through cleanly.
They take the white still in the same positions they have been in for awhile but now Fito has to make a move or he wont get another chance. Christy Georges gets loose into turn 2 and Fito makes his move. The lead is his! On the last lap turn 2 Fito Gallardo has made the inside stick and is leading. However, turns 3&4 exist for a reason and this isn’t over just yet.
Christy Georges is going to drive down the backstretch and slam the inside of Fito into turn 3 hard! They are both going to get tangled up and she will limp away to take what appears to be a slow first just ahead of Scott Logston who was third for their whole slamming match. Fito Gallardo is still sideway in turn 4 where Christy Georges-Barnett left him but this isn’t over just because the checkered waved.
Yes they have crossed the finish line with the checkered but after further replay and inspection Christy Georges is black flagged for her last corner move and she will be sent to the rear of the field in 8th. Unfortunately for Fito Gallardo, who ran the best and cleanest race of the night, no matter what they do to Christy, he is still not gonna cross the finish line without assistance and he will finish only a 7th place after that great run.
All this bobbling and battling is great for Scott Logston who is the actual winner of the Southwest Late Models Feature Main. He was there in third most the night and takes home a well-deserved win. Greg Jelvik in 12 and Sean Bray in 14 round out the top 3 finishers.
Hornets had a tough job of competing just after those awesome Late Models and with only 3 cars it would be very hard to make this one as interesting as the other. However, the hornets always come threw and they figured out how to do it.
The excitement may have come in the form off Benny Pena in 13X losing a complete wheel exiting turn 4 but nonetheless it was still exciting. “Batman” Rudy Tarin Jr was, as always, the man to beat tonight and all competitors put up a fight but he was untouchable once again. Rudy Tarin JR would lead almost every lap to take the hornets win while the 9 of Chris Gonzalez was a solid second place. Alex Garcia in 212 was third while Benny Pena had no chance whatsoever to make it back to the racing surface. Batman Rudy Tarin JR has now won a dominating fashion three hornet weekends in a row.
The Border International Truck ASCS 305 Winged Sprint cars would end the night for us but like always, we have saved the best for last and this is sure to be a fiery race. The drivers are pushing themselves to the limit out there tonight for Robert Miller who we lost this last week. This is a packed house in the stands and a full house on the track.
The missing man is the most meaningful part of the night and with it we are a going to start the ASCS 305 Winged Sprint Car Robert Miller memorial Race! It’s the 20Z Rick Ziehl leading early with the 4 of Dylan Harris looking high to take the lead early.
Lorne Wofford is the winner from two weeks ago so he will automatically start 9th and it looks like he is loving that outside line early on. Royal Jones is also a fierce competitor here and has moved up to 9th after 1 lap.
It’s 5 laps in with 25 to go and Rick Ziehl is looking to check out of this one! Unfortunately for Ziehl it wont go down that way as the 65 of Richard Wilbee spins it off turn 2 and narrowly avoids getting creamed by the 27 of Cesar Fuentes who was absolutely moving his 27 machine around the inside. That smack would have hurt.
23 laps to go at the restart and The Real Deal Rick Ziehl leads the field to green! As the flag drops the yellow comes right back out as the drivers exit turn 2 because the 77 of CJ Hulsey losses control. 2 cautions on lap 23 now.
We have the same restart order as previous but now it’ll be the 00 who spins in turn 1 and we complete no more laps than two restarts ago.
Finally a restart goes good and Ziehl is able to lead that 8th lap. They are fighting 3 wide for 6th and it looks like if trouble is going to come from anywhere it’ll be there.
Now with 13 laps to go Sean Sanders in the 48 has caught up to Ziehl in true champion’s fashion and it looks like he means business. Sander definitely meant business for the win as coming down the backstretch it looks like he forces the 20Z to the way outside and makes his move. Hard to tell if they were all clean from the tower but we stay racing so now it’s all in the history books. Lorne Wofford is charging the field in fifth while Cesar Fuentes is fourth. The 21 of Aaron Reutzel is the highlight of the night as he has come down to drive the car of Robert Miller for the evenings show. He sits a solid fourth chasing down Dylan Harris in the 4.
Sean Sander is leading the 21 but just barely with 10 laps to go as the caution comes out for the 54 spinning in turn 1 and collecting a few track tires. Under the caution the 21 blows a right rear tire and his night will come to an end as he was running a solid second position. Tough finish for Reutzel who was giving it everything he had for his dear friend Robert Miller tonight. Valiant effort from him and nothing to be ashamed off there.
Coming to the restart Cesar Fuentes is looking for a win on his birthday from the second position while Lorne Wofford sits just to his outside in third. There are 7 laps to go and all three of the top drivers have the potential to make this a great race. Sean has led the last 8 laps but “its only the last lap that really matters” he would tell me after the race. He wasn’t wrong there.
Once the green flag drops its Wofford immediately to second using that outside line he has loved so much these last few races. As Wofford works on Sander, Cesar Fuentes is able to pull right back up to them and make this a three way battle for the lead!!
Sean Sander either looked back or just found another gear with 2 to go though because as Cesar Fuentes and Lorne Wofford pushed the entire track to fight each other, Sander is able to steal a few car lengths and make it work.
As they cross the white its Sean Sander in the 48 machine running 8 car lengths ahead of Lorne Wofford and 12 car lengths over Cesar Fuentes. Sean Sander will have smooth sailing for the last lap but Cesar Fuentes is still remembering that absolutely perfect slide job that Lorne Wofford put on him two weeks ago and he wants this bad!
Sean Sander will cross the finish just as Cesar Fuentes gives it a last ditch effort in turn 3 to the inside of Wofford but that wont stick. They go door to door out of turn 4 but Wofford is pulling way to much traction from the middle and he will take home the hard fought second place while Cesar Fuentes earns a respectable third by what appears to be a single hair. Fuentes and Wofford win the battle of the night award as they both kept it clean all the way around for the entire 30 laps.
After the Race Sean Sanders and Lorne Wofford both had quite a bit to say about the race but with so much excitement in the air it is hard it sum it down.
Lorne Wofford on what he saw from Sean Sander up front tonight.
“The Track was tough and rough tonight. I was missing my marks and started getting tired and lazy. It was a hard drive but it was fun as well. Sean ran a heck of race and was just so smooth tonight. It was crazy to watch from behind him how smooth all the way around he could be. We all ran great tonight and I’m already ready for tomorrow”.
When asked how he was so smooth tonight this was Sean Sanders only explanation. It was the only one needed.
“I did this for the 21 tonight. Robert was a great friend of mine and this was all for him. The car was on a rail up top and I just knew I couldn’t loose this one. His car is parked right there next to mine and it just feels amazing to get this win.”
If you missed us tonight at The Park join us tomorrow in Las Cruces at Southern New Mexico Speedway as the Border International Trucks 305 Winged Sprints cars are once again joined by the Southwest Late Models, X-Mods, USRA Street stocks and hornets. Gates open at 5:30. Racing starts at 7:45. Come hungry for some good racing and you won’t leave empty handed!
See you there!!