Lights out at El Paso Speedway Park

Southwest Region ASCS 360 Winged Sprint’s go racing at El Paso Speedway the Park and 18 drivers from Pennsylvania, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Indiana all go toe-to-toe for title of fastest of the fast and baddest of the bad!! The 360 Sprints are joined by numerous other drivers in the 4 supporting classes of USRA X-Mods, USRA Street Stocks, Southwest Late Models and the Hornets. All the drivers in all the classes are here for the showdown and it was a guaranteed night of action from the first drop of green flag racing to the last wave of the checkered flag.

 

X-Mods are going to start the night with 13 cars running 15 laps. The 14 of Sergio Chao Sr will start on the pole with 612 Jose Saenz outside row 1 with him. On the restart it’s the 14 trying to pull away early but the 47 of Mingo Jauregui is up to second after starting fifth and wont let him get away that quickly!

 

They run the next 5 laps just like that and with 10 to go the 47 is right on the bumper of Sergio. They are way ahead of the rest of the pack! Paddy Rush has slid into the top 4 with a textbook move under Jimmy Ray in 9. Five more laps of action in this one when the 14 will loose it out of turn 2, handing second place to the 52 who is a freight train tonight! We stay green as we are 10 laps in with 5 to go and the 14 gets it going again.

 

The 47 is doing everything he can to get away from the 52 at this point but nothing is working and he still sits only 5 car lengths ahead but its never that easy to win in Dirt track racing and we have a caution with 4 circuits still remaining! This caution waves for the 38 who has spun in turn 4 and come to a stand still.

 

On the restart it’s the 47 taking the Delaware style lead with the 52 of Paddy Rush taking the low side. These two are looking to duke it out in these last four laps and not a butt in the house is on a seat. Its so good not even mine is touching and I have to type this stuff!!

 

They restart and keep it clean for one lap but with 3 laps remaining the J17 of Nick Rivera has made his way to third and as they come to the line Paddy Rush will rocket off turn 4 and lead at the line with 2 laps remaining! Before Paddy Rush can get back around to take the white flag and end the race, another caution flag flies! Its turn 4 troubles again but this time it will be the 9 of Jimmy Ray, the 612 of Saenz and the 38 of Hector Prigione. Our great track crew pulls them apart and we have a GREEN, WHITE, CHECKERED on our hands!

 

They run 52 up front with the 47 taking the high line! The J17 is down low row 2 but the real shocker here is that John Carney Sr. in 7C has moved into fourth after starting last for not running a single lap in the heats!

 

They restart and Mr. Consistent, Paddy Rush, is going to have a bumper full of Nick Rivera who jumped out in front of Mingo and stole the show. They take the white flag after a bumper to bumper lap but Nick Rivera is going to be too far back out of turn 4 and Paddy Rush will win this one by a mere length! Nick Rivera was close in J17 but no cigar tonight. Mingo Jauregui finishes out the top 3 in the 47 machine.

 

Street Stocks never cease to disappoint and tonight was definitely going to be a showstopper! The 10 of Jesus Chacon Jr. wont start this race at the first green because of car problems but we will go green with 8 cars roaring too the flag stand. The 42 of Brent Dryer will start on the pole.

 

George Jauregui in 47 looks to the lead for lap 1 but he looses it out of turn 4 and we have a mess on our hands now! The 96 of Victor Barraza will smack the 47 hard and both drivers go spinning in to the infield. They get the easiest piece of the caution however, because the 74 of Jason Josselyn will slam the turn 4 wall hard and completely crush the front end of that car! It looks like the 74 collected the 5 of Roberto Tovar too as his frontend looks like a crushed beer can as well! Both the 74 and the 5 are done for the night and possibly the weekend but the 96 and the 47 will return to the raceway at the rear of the field.

 

This restart has Todd Froats in L750 jumping to life and taking the lead early but just as he crosses the line we have one of the craziest sights of the ENTIRE season!

 

The 47 gets loose coming out of turn 4 again but this time things will NOT end so smoothly for him as he will make contact with Jaime Montelongo in the 777 and both drivers go barreling into the infield. The 47 goes around and around down the front stretch infield and makes it all the way to inside turn 1 where he is abruptly stopped by the light pole! He hit that thing so hard the heavy-duty light fixture at the top is going to break off and go flying! The lights go off in a cloud of dust and parts and the 47 car sits motionless slammed against the pole.

 

The track goes immediately red flag as there is not a single light in turn 1 and George Jaureque sits smashed to the broken light pole. We have to sit red flag, which means no cars moving at all around the track, for almost 25 minutes as the track crew separates the 47 from the pole he just married and then gets the lights working again. Because of such a long red flag the race is cut down to only five laps remaining meaning this will be the longest race of the night but only have six laps. Crazy is a understatement!

 

Lucky enough for Todd Froats, he had led that last lap just barely when the 47 had his trouble and with the 10 of Chacon JR has now rejoining the field the L750 leads six cars back to green for 5 laps. Froats will jump out early and lead the lap with only 4 to go but caution again as a giant piece of someone’s bumper is sitting in turn 3!

 

This last restart proves to be catastrophic for the L750 as at the line for the white flag it will be the 327 of Robert Vega who has finally made the high line stick around Todd into turn 1 and he will hold off the L750 and take home his third win of the season. The 42 of Brent Dryer will finish out with a third and the 10 of Jesus Chacon Jr. will bring up the rear in 4th after not even starting at the first drop of green flag racing in this main!

 

After that crazy long but insanely short lengthed race we bust out 15 Southwest late models good to go for 20 laps! The 57 of Billy Roy Harris was on fire in his heat and will start on the pole in this feature. After the green flag drops it’s the 357 of Oscar Perez coming in hard for the lead from second but in third and catching the 57 and 357 quickly, is the G17 of Fito Gallardo!

 

It’s the fifth lap and down the back stretch the G17 and the 357 will blow the doors off the 57 taking first place away in a breeze. Something has happened to the 57 and it will only be a few more laps before he has to pull from the speedway. With the 57 out of the way we are 5 laps in with 15 to go and Perez is leading Gallardo consistently of about 4 lengths but neither one of those drivers better get complacent because here comes Mercedes Abercrombie in the 29 up to fourth! She is on an absolute rail around that outside and once she clears Scott Logston in 7 she will have a straight shot at the leaders. Logston is a force to be reckoned with as well and those two drivers will go toe to toe for the next few laps.

 

Meanwhile, back up front Fito Gallardo is going to “double down” around Perez and make it stick coming off turn 4! Fito had been trying that for the last three laps but this time by with 10 to go he made it work and we have anew leader! After Gallardo makes the move for first, Oscar Perez is going to get stuck behind lapped traffic and here comes Abercrombie for second. The 29 is going to make quick work of the 357 down the backstretch and she has moved to second!

 

After that perfect pass for second Mercedes Abercrombie has moved her 29 machine into second and with 6 laps to go she has plenty of time to catch Fito. That’s exactly what she is going to do! 15 laps in with 5 to go and Abercrombie has all but bumped Fito in the bumper. One lapper separates the two but not much distance.

 

They run a few circuits and Fito has found the low line while Abercrombie runs high. She only has 4 laps left to make her move for the lead but its looking like Fito saw her in his rearview and has grabbed a little more speed. At the wave of the white flag, one to go, Abercrombie is still trying to make it stick on Fito and she is faster by almost 3/10ths of a second!

 

Abercrombie may be faster but that last lap will do her no good and Fito Gallardo will lead the most laps in this one and take home a Fito Fashion win in the G17! Abercrombie was charging hard that entire race but will settle for second here tonight. Oscar Perez finished out the podium in 357 and Scott Logston brought home a hard fought 4th place in the 7 machine.

 

After that insane few races we will give you a little break from the intense high action and bring you some Hornets racing. Only 3 of these cars have checked in tonight and Batman Rudy Tarin Jr is on a 3 week winning streak in these main event features. Tarin Jr will start his 28T in the second/last row in this main and Benny Penna in 13X who has been right there fighting with Tarin for the lead in every race this season finally has a little advantage as he starts on the pole. The 13X will jump to the lead early and both drivers are going to jet away from the 9 of Chris Gonzalez. Benny Penna will gradually pull away and lead every single lap in this race finally putting a stop to the Rudy Tarin Jr show. Penna not only won that race but he did so without any hesitancy or fight from Rudy Tarin Jr who will finish second for the first time in a long time. Chris Gonzalez had a bit of a hard time out there tonight but keeps it on track for a third place.

 

After that very tame Hornets race, its time for some gold! Get off your seats, and on your feet because we always save the best for last and its Southwest Region ASCS 360 Winged Sprint Car time!! 17 drivers from 5 different states are going to run 25 circuits around the Park tonight and boy oh boy are these babies fast!

 

The 9 of Ryan Linder will lead them to the green and we have blast off! That blast off can sometimes lead to smackdown however, and tonight will be no different than that. Turn 1 off the start and three cars are going to go spinning around near the middle of the pack and the 8 car of Rob Ream Jr will do some summersaults through turn 2 finally coming to a stop at the exit but sitting on his roof! Rime will be ok and we are going to have a complete restart.

 

Dr. Jesse McGuire is the honorary starter in this feature and will be waving the green flag as we take it back to racing!

 

Linder will lead laps 1 and 2 but the 22 of Jesse Baker is closing fast. Rick Ziehl in 20Z has also moved his way into the top 4 and is a force to be reckoned with. 5 laps complete and the 9 is still leading the 22 by a few lengths but we have a caution and things are about to get interesting as the 131 of Royal Jones is now in third with rick Ziehl still pushing him from fourth. Lorne Wofford is also on the move after a rough start and this caution gives him a great chance at the lead.

 

ASCS rules for these sprint cars is a little different than normal as they restart single file until the start line with lappers staying in the same positions they where in. IF all drivers clear the start line without passing another or hitting the orange cone in the front straight then we stay green but if one of those things happen then that driver will go to the rear of the field.

 

This restart goes textbook smooth and it’s Baker and Jones who will rocket by the 9 into turn 1 sending him back to third in just a matter of seconds!

 

They run another 3 laps before the 19 of Wes Wofford will come to a complete stop in the entrance to turn 3 after railing the wall in turn 3, sliding through the pits and then reentering the track just one lap ago! After the race Wes was joking with me and said he “just needed to make a pit stop”. The best response there was “is it really a pit stop if you don’t even stop”? Wes was in good spirits and still going to have a good shot at finishing this one after that very close call.

 

Jesse Baker was smoking the rest of the field in 22 and will lead the field back to green with 17 laps remaining. On the restart John Carney II is coming hard for second place over Royal Jones in 131 but Baker is pulling away up front again.

 

Baker will lead the next three laps smooth as silk but 11 laps in and 14 to go John Carney and Royal Jones have made their lines and are on the bumper of the 22 while they still battle hard for position.

 

Pressure from the 131 into turn 1 and Jesse Baker is going to take it way to high into turn 2! Open door for Royal Jones and there he goes to the lead with 11 laps remaining! Jones will try and gap up front but Carney makes quick work of Jesse Baker as well and here he comes pushing for the lead. Rick Ziehl runs 4th behind the 22 and its Lorne Wofford who has made his way all they way to fifth after bobbing and weaving like Ricky Bobby back there!

 

Only 7 circuits remain for Royal Jones in 131 to take home the victory but John Carney II has driven the 74B machine right onto the bumper of the 131 and this one isn’t going to be easy to win tonight! The 74B is going low, going high, doing both in one turn but the next six laps he just can’t make anything stick! Turn 2 looks to be his best bet as they come to the white flag but he has more issues to worry about as yellow flag waves just before they cross the line!

 

ASCS rules say we have to have a GREEN, WHITE, CHECKERED finish in this ASCS southwest region 360 winged sprint car feature main event! The 131 is still leading at the stripe before the yellow came out but it was an absolute brawl with the 74B and now he has to hold him off for another 2 laps!

 

The restart will have Carney II diving low into turn 1 and Royal just going a bit to high. Carney will take the lead as they exit turn 2 and he will not be looking back anytime soon.

John Carney II takes the win by leading from the restart but the 131 put in one heck of a fight by leading more than half the laps and he will finish with a valiant second in this main. Rick Ziehl and Lorne Wofford will pass the 22 of Jesse Baker on the last lap. Baker will finish 5th as Ziehl brings his 20Z machine home in 3rd and Lorne Wofford cannot be disappointed with that 4th place finish after starting 11th and having big troubles on the start. Wofford is definitely the hard charger on the night after we call this one to an end.

 

After the race John Carney II took some time amidst signing autographs and taking pictures with loyal fans to give us a quick look at how he felt the night went for him and taking that big win.

 

How was the car?

“Well it was tight in the main even though we had loosened it up from the heat. Luckily it got better as we went on and I could really drive it to do what I had to do.”

 

The track looked pretty groovy, how did you feel driving it?

“The track was rough. I really had to drive the car a lot out there. It was a good track it will just wear you out. The low line was working great for me and Jones kept running the middle off of turn 2 so I knew I could get him there if I had time.”

 

What is it going to take to get the win tomorrow again so that you can pick up the 500$ bonus from Rajin Racewear?

“Just gotta drive it like I know how. No real secret to it, I just need to be smooth and finish the race. These guys are all fast but I’m pretty confident with the right amount of luck and skill we will get the win again tomorrow night.”