It was another eventful evening at Madera Speedway on Saturday, August 4 as the "Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" hosted its 1^st Annual KISS Country "Boots and Bikini Night" celebration.

The Western Late Models, racing in round #2 of the "Chase for the Championship" competition, highlighted the NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series program with in a 75-lap, $1,500 to win feature.

With 25 late models crowding the pits, a B Main was required to determine the field for the 20 car feature. Fresno's Dallas Glenn earned the win in that 15-lap race while Dale Kascht, of Raymond, Rick Thompson, of Clovis and Jason Wright, of Modesto, completed the four driver contingent that transferred to the A Main.

Fremont's Glen Cook held the lead at the opening flag of the A Main, but his time at the front didn't last long before he was replaced by Trevor Schlundt, age 17 of Clovis, following a yellow-caution on lap six.

For the next 42 laps Schlundt and veteran driver Dave Philpott, of Tracy slugged it out for the top spot as the two traded the top spot on several occasions. Unfortunately their battle came to a premature conclusion when Philpott was forced to the pits with mechanical problems on lap 48.

"The motor just went bad all of a sudden. It was disappointing, but at least we are finally getting a handle on things," said Philpott afterward. "We will get one of these yet."

With Philpott on the sidelines, Schlundt quickly pulled away from the pack only to see his huge lead evaporate when the caution came out after Matt Erickson, of Lake Don Pedro, crunched the back straight wall. When the green came back out following a long cleanup, Schlundt was just able to hold off a hard charging Mark Holeman, the track points leader out of Los Altos and Cook, to earn his first ever late model victory

"Man this feels great. I can't believe I got my first late model win," exclaimed Schlundt as he celebrated the victory with his family at the start/finish line. "We really had our hands full out there all night and seeing that late yellow was terrible. I did everything I could to hold off Holeman on the last restart."

The day did not start out promising for Schlundt, who experienced engine woes in practice.

"Earlier this morning we had the engine apart and I wasn't even sure we would make the main event," explained Schlundt. "We didn't really did get to practice, but my crew did an awesome job of fixing it to get me out there."

Holeman, who entered the night with a narrow points lead over Stockton's Ross Stmriska and Schlundt, was satisfied with a runner up finish. Last week he crashed hard while racing Modesto's Harry Belletto for the lead late in the race and there was some doubt as to whether he would even have his car repaired in time to race on Saturday.

"We didn't have a second place car in practice, but we made a last minute adjustment just before the race. We lucked out and it worked," said Holeman, who will retain his points lead heading into round #3 of the "Chase to the Championship" next Saturday. "We had nothing for Schlundt at the end so a second feels pretty good."

There were no surprises in the American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) division as Stockton's Donny Darter pulled off another clean sweep of qualifying, the dash his heat and the main to earn his 10th win in 11 starts this season.

A full field invert made the 11 car main interesting. Unfortunately, a potential late race battle with leader Joe Allen (a.k.a. Joe Racer) of Stockton never materialized when Allen was ordered to the pits by officials due to an oil leak on lap 18.

Fellow Stockton drivers Pete Anderson Sr. and Brian Vosburg followed Darter to the finish. Allen was able to return to the race, but he was no longer a factor and finished ninth. Manteca's Boyd Camper, who completed the main in sixth, captured the win in the other ALSC heat.

"The engine was running hot and missing so we had to put our old engine in it before the race," said Darter, who is looking to sell the car in preparation for a move to the late models. "It had me worried a bit, but we got the bugs out and made it to the front."

Was Darter relieved to see Allen, his old friend and nemesis from the Stockton 99 Speedway, head for the pits? 

"I wasn't happy to see Allen drop out. I was looking forward to passing him," said Darter with a smile.

John Bowersox, of Chowchilla, took over the race lead from pole sitter Chuck Ratcliff, of Caruthers, in the early stages of the 9 car Modified Super Toyotas division 20-lap feature. He was cruising to the finish until he suddenly began to slow a bit in the final laps of the race. Hometown driver Jeff Doran, who had won the MST heat earlier in the evening, closed fast on Bowersox, but was nipped by a nose in an exciting side-by-side finish.

"I saw him coming and I knew it was on. It was a real drag race to the finish and boy it was close," said Bowersox. "We raced each other hard, but clean. It was a lot of fun and good for the fans."

Madera's Lance Tatro held a comfortable lead in the 360 Modifieds 30-lap feature until a caution came out on lap 22 allowing his teammate and car owner David Tuey, of Bakersfield, to line up behind him. Tatro was able to hold off Tuey at the finish and take a narrow points lead in the class after the two had entered the night tied.

"We made some late adjustments and the car really came alive in the trophy dash," said Tatro. "When the car is handling right, like it was tonight, it is really a lot of fun. Last week it wasn't and I really had my hands full."

Tuey was the night's fast qualifier while Tatro took the dash.

The racing stars of the future were also showcased on Saturday as the WSRA MiniCup/Young Guns made their Madera Speedway debut.

The young drivers, age 8 to 16, put on a wild and entertaining show in their 20-lap feature. When the dust settled Rocklin's John Bowerman had a very hard earned, first ever victory over Lincoln's Jarret Kelly and Fremont's William Camara. The race contained multiple lead changes and had almost half of the 15 car starting field parked in the infield before the finish due to an array of accidents or mechanical failures.

Bowerman also grabbed the victory in the Young Guns heat race while Manteca's Joshua Gomes took top honors in qualifying and the dash.

When the final flag fell the action shifted to the other side of the bleachers where a $500 to win bikini contest took place and bands performed long into the evening.

Next Saturday, August 11 will be the 1^st Annual "Kids Night" at the Madera Speedway. All kids ages 2-10 who enter the Big Wheel race will receive a free hot dog and soft drink of Joe's Grill. There is no entry fee and signups are now being accepted.

Next Saturday's NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series will feature the Western Late Models in round #3 of the "Chase for the Championship" with a 50-lap, $1,000 to win main event. Also racing at the "Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" will be the American Limited Stock Cars, 360 Super Modifieds and the Toyota/Hornets.

The Madera Speedway is located at the Madera County Fairgrounds just off the west side of Highway 99 at the West Cleveland Avenue exit.

Fast Time – Harry Belletto (Modesto) –15.307 seconds

Dash – 1) Harry Belletto (Modesto), 2) Ross Strmiska Jr. (Stockton), 3) Mark Holeman (Los Altos), 4) David Philpott (Tracy)

Heat 1 - 8 Laps

Pete Anderson Jr. (Stockton)

David Philpott (Tracy)

Trevor Schlundt (Clovis)

Joey Stearns (Stockton)

Ross Strmiska (Stockton)

Mark Holeman (Los Altos)

Harry Belletto (Modesto)

Chris Monez (Turlock)

Heat 2 – 8 Laps

Carlos Vieira (Merced)

Justin Philpott (Tracy)

Matt Erickson (Lake Don Pedro)

Mike Garcia (Lodi)

B Main – 15 Laps

Dallas Glenn (Fresno)

Dale Kascht (Raymond)

Rick Thompson (Clovis)

Jason Wright (Modesto)

Brian Liles (Dinuba)

Amy Rotella-Roberts (Fresno)

Del McIntosh (Madera)

Lisa Riordan (Scotts Valley)

Dash – 1) Donny Darter (Stockton), 2) Howard Holden (Clovis), 3) Pete Anderson Sr. (Stockton), 4) Brian Vosburg ( Stockton)

Heat 1 – 8 Laps

Boyd Camper (Manteca)

Jason Aguirre (Atwater)

Chris Hultquist

Donald Selsor (Fresno)

Ray Gerdes (Oakdale)

Brandon Dean (Clovis)

Chuck Aguirre (Atwater)

Heat 2 – 8 Laps

Donny Darter (Stockton)

Dennis Saunders Jr. (Modesto)

Brian Vosburg (Stockton)

Pete Anderson Sr. (Stockton)

Howard Holden (Clovis)

Roger Selsor (Fresno)

Joe "Racer" Allen (Stockton)

Fast Time – Shon Woods (Madera) – 16.989 seconds

Dash – 1) John Bowersox (Chowchilla), 2) Jeff Doran (Madera), 3) Randy Fleming Jr. (Madera), 4) Shon Woods (Madera),

Heat 1 – 8 Laps

Jeff Doran (Madera)

Jason Bowersox (Chowchilla)

John Bowersox (Chowchilla)

Randy Fleming Jr. (Madera)

Candie McIntosh (Madera)

Casey Nydahl

Tom Cook (Madera)

Chuck Ratcliff (Caruthers)

Gene Adams (Fresno)

Fast Time – David Tuey (Bakersfield) – 13.561 seconds

Dash – 1) Lance Tatro (Madera), 2) Kenny Kinchen (Madera) 3)David Tuey (Bakersfield), 4) Kenny White (Fresno),

Fast Time – Joshua Gomes (Manteca) – 18.410 seconds

Dash – 1) Joshua Gomes (Manteca), 2) Tyler Thomas (Penryn), 3) Jarret Kelly (Lincoln), 4) Dylan Hutchinson (Citrus Heights), 5) Shane Lawrence (Galt), 6) Robbie Roy (Sacramento)

B Main – 15 Laps

John Bowerman (Rocklin)

William Camara (Fremont)

Taylor Fields (Vacaville)

Charlotte Wood (Pacifica)

Chase Grigsby

Max Unterbach (Danville)

Tyler Thomas (Penryn)

Sam Unterbach (Danville)

Michael Bettencourt (Modesto)