Family fun at the races is the perfect description for tonight as we have family battles on the track and family feuds in the stands! If last night at El Paso Speedway Park is any indicator of tonight, then you better buckle up because things are about to get Rowdy!
Street Stocks are going to get things rollin for us tonight and it is Bryan Bennett in the 10 starting on the front row and leading lap 1 of the evening. He wont lead but that one lap as here come the 51 Kenny McCoy to the lead. Kenny leads for 3 laps but George LaRose in 44x doesn’t plan on allowing that for long because at the line, leading lap 4, George LaRose by a nose!! LaRose is taking the lead and running as we look to 5 laps later her comes Noah Hollingshead in 3H. 10 in and 10 to go at the line it is another lead change!! The 3H took that cleanly and clearly. The top 2 will be running clean but laps have ticked off and the 44x is pushing hard but into turn 1 he has to get on the brakes hard and around he goes! We will stay green but now it’s the 3H way up over the 44JT of Jaime Torres. Only 4 laps remain now and the 44JT is on the move. 44Jt is moving around the speedway and is three-tenths faster a lap but is he going to have time to get there is the real question. Fortunately for the 44JT we have caution #1 on the evening and we will have to bunch them back together with 3 to go. On the restart the 44JT is going high and they are door to door for the entire second to last lap! Jaime Torres will slip just a bit into turn 2 on the last lap no room now as the 3H capitalizes and away he goes! Noah Hollingshead in 3H is going to win this 20 lap main event for the USRA Street Stocks, with ease! Jaime Torres holds onto second and Jason Josselyn rounds out the top 3.
Casa Nissan Legends cars are up second and you better believe this race will be fire and on the gas tonight. 13 cars are set for 15 laps around and we will have 2 leaders in 2 laps! The Ak-47 of Jesse Esquivel will lead early but lap 2 is all the 237 Steven “Scuba” Arellano show. Mike Zuloaga in 902 is going to push hard but all the real action is coming from the 54 of Gunner Harris whom is all the way up to third after starting 10th! Only 5 circuits remain and the 902 has caught the 237 and they will go door to door at the line. Zuloaga will get a little whiskey coming out of 4 and he leads at the line with 3 to go! Harris is catching the top 2 but he is going to need a caution to have a chance. Just as the leaders exit turn 4 to take the white flag we have a CAUTION! This is a miracle for Harris on this Green, White, Checkered. Zuloaga to the lead on the restart and he will lead to the white but Gunner Harris has moved outside still in third. Harris doesn’t get the usual drive off turn 2 and it will be the 902 taking the win tonight! Mike Zuloaga in 902 gets his first main event win in the Legend cars and tonight was an easy night to do it! Steven Arellano in 237 holds off Gunner Harris for second. A better starting place for the 11 year old Gunner Harris and he is going to be the man to beat in these Casa Nissan Legends cars.
Check your watches because it is Southwest Late Model time!! The Bad Beasts of Dirt have joined us tonight and they are sure to bring the heat. Scott Logston is starting in row 4 after winning from the same position last night, so be prepared for him to make this a heater! Mercedes Abercrombie laid down some of the fastest times of the night in her heat and she doesn’t start too far back either. The 22 of Jonathon Ortega was second last night and he starts on the pole in this one. 1 lap complete and caution already as the full moon peaks out from behind the clouds. Under caution the 22 is going to have to go to the hot pits with a flat tire after being involved in that caution. The 24X Xavier Ortega leads as the 22 and 3K go to the rear for being the reason the caution came out. Abercrombie is now inside row 3 with Logston just behind her. 2 more laps complete and the 29 and 22N Nita Deetz are going at it like their lives are on the line! The 22N will spin turn 4 after overdriving and the field is on the binders! Scott Logston barely misses the 22N with his 744 machine we will go back to green with 17 to go. The 24 takes us back to green again with the 29 and 744 inside row 2&3. No laps complete and just as they restart our great announcer, Ruben Mireles, tells us to check out the 12 of Greg Jelvik and around he goes! Commentators curse and we go back to green with 17 still on the board. The 24 finally leads another lap but here comes Mercedes Abercrombie on the charge in that 29! Turn 4 trouble once again but this time it’s the leader going around all alone! Mercedes will now inherit the lead with the 89 of James Laing in second and Scott Logston in third hard charging. 15 to go and the 29 and 744 are trying to step out over the field but James Laing isn’t letting that happen so easy as he hangs on strong in third now. Finally completing laps and with 4 more down the 29 is putting a stretch on Logston, as she is 10 lengths ahead. But it aint that easy on dirt and CAUTION #6 for this Late Models main. This caution is for 12 again and that is his second of the night so he is done. On the restart they get two more laps complete as the 29 is pulling away but the 89 has cleared Logston clean and into second he goes! Xavier Ortega is running faster than the 29 but he is pretty far back and only has 5 laps left to get there! Logston is also running faster than Mercedes as he and the 89 switch positions again and again. The high line seems to be faster and with 2 to go the top 3 are running close but the 29 will take the white flag. Logston and Ortega where faster but not tonight!! We have a yellow checkered and its Mercedes Abercrombie winning by a length over Scott Logston! Logston darted off turn 4 and beat out Ortega by a hair and that will finish out your podium in the Southwest Late Models. Mercedes Abercrombie after the races was as happy as ever but this win meant a lot and this is what she had to say: “We have been having issues with the steering and tonight we got that fixed and it was just our night. The track had some really slick spots but it was so smooth and I love it. The car went wherever I needed it to be and that always helps a lot. I personally felt really good in the car so hopefully there are more just like it soon.” Congratulations Mercedes on the great run and the best race of the night award.
Bombers give us a nice break from the highflying action and here they come. Only 15 laps for these 11 drivers tonight. The 12 of Larry Maag won his heat race and he will dominate the first 6 laps of this one until the 777 spins turn 3 and we go yellow. The 13RLT of Dane Boerger and 7 of Sean Privette where hard charging and looking strong before that caution. Only 7 circuits left and the Sean Privette is about to put this race in his bag! The 13RLT has made his way into second but down to 4 laps and it doesn’t look like his night tonight. Lapper for the 7 and Boom there is the 13RLT is there for the lead! To the bottom goes the Dane and at the line for 2 to go he has taken the lead!! Privette will slam the 13RLT coming into turn 4 to take the white flag and out of nowhere it’s the 44x of George LaRose going to the lead!!! LaRose will lead the only lap that matters and this race of the bombers is his! The 7 of Sean Privette manages to hold onto second and after that slam he gave the 13RLT he should be glad he held onto that. Larry Maag finishes in a happy third and a probably very angry Dane Boerger finishes fourth after that accidental hit from Privette.
Now, here come the modifieds! We will have a Gallardo front row with Fito in G17 and Rocko in M16 showing us how to get things done. Rocko Gallardo leads lap 1 but Fito has lap 2 in the books and they will gap the field. Fito will lead the next two laps but CAUTION #1 for these modifieds as the 22, 38, and 20 are all sitting over the berm in turn 2. Fito drags us to the line with his Brother Rocko just behind for the rest of these 21 laps. Jake Gallardo, Fito’s son, is also in row 3 looking to pounce on his uncle and dad. The Gallardo clan will go 1,2,3 on the restart and off we go! Fito and Jacob, Father and son go 1&2! J17 dives low on his dad but the traction just isn’t there and we are down to 15 circuits remaining! As the top 3 pull away Jimmy Ray in 9 and Royal Jones in 131 will take it 3-wide for fourth with Duane Murphy in 49! Jimmy Ray wins that battle but the top 3 have absolutely blitzed away from him. Jake is running his dad down with 8 to go but trouble for the J17 down the backstretch as he spins into turn 3!! The J17 definitely had something break there as he goes on the hook ending his night. Fito Gallardo doesn’t have his son pushing him anymore but now its Rocko, his brother, back to challenge on this restart. The top 4 are cutting in close on this restart and Royal Jones is looking low for third over Jimmy Ray! Fireball Donovan Flores has come all the way from the rear and is now in 5th place. Awesome run for him. Only 3 laps remain on the night and Fito Gallardo has gapped the field again but now the battle is between Rocko, Jimmy, and Royal who are nose-to-nose, door-to-door for second! Fito must have been looking back and seen that battle because he coasts the last two laps and takes another win tonight! Rocko Gallardo will hold off a hard charging Royal Jones for second and Jimmy Ray will finish a good fourth place for him. Fireball Flores rounds out the top after starting dead last in this main. Fito Gallardo swept the weekend in the modifieds and Boy oh boy did he keep things fun tonight! He was signing autographs and snapping pictures but still grinning ear to ear he had this to say about his weekend:
“I like winning so winning two in a row is really fun too. I could see Jake coming on the bottom so I decided I better go a little lower. I was making a circle out of an oval out there so it was fun.”
How was the car tonight?
“The car setup was on tonight. The track was absolutely beautiful plain and simple so with the car running almost perfect, it was just meant to be. The car actually has a small miss in it so after we get that fixed hopefully it is even faster than before.”
If you missed these drivers in action tonight make sure you join us next week for some NMRA 360 Sprint Car Racing!!
Gates open at 5:30
Racing Starts at 7:45
Come hungry for some adrenaline and leave with a rush of a lifetime.
Signing off and see you there!