Madera Speedway Media Release May 24,
2008
Media Relations - Dale Bosowski
Kyle Gottula Triumphs in Tri Holiday Classic
at Madera Speedway on Saturday
The Madera Speedway was back in action on
Saturday, May 24 for the first of three
special Tri-Holiday Classic events with
Whelen Engineering Night The seven-division
Memorial holiday program included the
Western Late Models (WLM), American Limited
Stock Cars (ALSC), Modified Super Toyotas,
Toyota Sedans, WSRA Minicup and Baby Grands
and the always wild and crazy Hornets.
Although some very unseasonable Memorial
holiday weekend weather drenched the
"Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" in the
morning, the skies cleared enough in the
afternoon allowing track officials to
complete the big seven-division program in
its entirety.
Taking advantage of his front row starting
position due to an invert draw of six,
Stockton's Joey Stearns pounced into the
lead over fellow front row starter Vito
Ranuio, also of Stockton, at the wave of the
green flag to start the 50-lap WLM main.
Kyle Gottula, age 21 of Modesto, quickly
moved up to fill Stearns' rear view mirror
as the pack sorted itself out in the opening
laps. Gottula eventually moved to the
outside of Stearns on lap eight and took
over the top spot.
In an exciting battle for second place
Stearns, defending track champion Mark
Holeman, of Los Altos, and Salida�s Jeff
Belletto went into turn three
side-by-side-by-side on lap 12 and as could
be expected they did not make it to turn
four as they tangled up. Belletto was able
to hold his position while the other two
drivers spun, putting them in the back of
the 11-car pack for the restart.
Despite several other early race yellow
caution flags, Gottula was in complete
control of the race from that point on as he
cruised to his second main event win of the
2008 season. Belletto was able to close in
on Gottula in the closing laps, but his late
race efforts were in vain as he settled for
second place and Ranuio continued his strong
rookie campaign by completing the evening�s
WLM podium.
"There were a lot of restarts at first and
it kind of worried me a little bit and then
I saw Belletto coming hard. Luckily there
weren�t anymore yellows," said Gottula, son
of former Stockton Speedway regular Kevin
Gottula. "It feels good to get our second
win this year."
Belletto was pleased to take second place,
his best finish of the 2008 season.
"We tore the car up a little bit, but that
is what we have a body shop sponsor for,"
laughed Belletto after the race. "We are
finally getting this car figured out and we
are gaining on it one position at a time."
Ranuio, who started the night sixth in the
tight WLM season points fight, was also
happy with his result.
"We have been putting a lot of time into the
car and we came down yesterday to test and
made a whole lot of changes," said Ranuio on
the front straight as he waved to his family
and friends cheering him on from the
grandstands. "It was still a little bit
loose, but we had a good time out there
tonight."
As a thank you to the fans, drivers and
teams who braved the less than ideal
conditions Kenny Shepherd, President of the
Madera Speedway, fans and even some racers
chipped in $1,000 at the end of the night
for an seven-car, eight-lap trophy dash for
the Western Late Models.
The impromptu mini All-Star Shoot Out had
the crowd on their feet the entire distance
even though the dash got off to an
auspicious beginning when Ranuio collected
Stockton�s John Henry right in front of the
starter as he threw the green flag.
Gottula grabbed the lead on the restart and
one lap later Harry Belletto clipped the
wall with a little help by Rick Thompson of
Clovis, but the 64-year-old racing legend
was able to return. Belletto drove like a
man possessed for the remainder of the dash,
going wheel to wheel with Gottula as the
veteran took his young rival to school,
diving to the inside, then outside, finally
forcing Gottula to spin on the back straight
in the final lap for the win as the crowd
roared its approval.
"All I can say is �show me the money!� That
was a wild race and everybody was hard at
it. That was a little bit of the old
Stockton stuff," exclaimed Belletto, a
former three-time Stockton 99 Speedway
champion. "I want to thank the fans that
came out tonight for their support."
You could throw a small blanket over the
lead pack of cars in the first half of the
ALSC 30-lap feature as Howard Holden of
Clovis, Brian Vosburg of Stockton, Jason
Aguirre of Atwater, Matt Erickson of
Coulterville and Modesto�s Dennis Saunders
Jr. all went at it in a pitched battle that
had more action than a WWE cage match.
Holden, who entered the night with the
season ALSC points lead, eventually emerged
from the metal dog pile to earn his third
win of the season. Vosburg, Aguirre and
Erickson followed him across the finish line
while Saunders finished the night in the
infield after he left the fray with a blown
engine on lap 16.
"Starting back in sixth I knew we were going
to have to find a way through and I just
followed Brian (Vosburg) to the front,"
explained Holden about his third victory of
the year. "I was able to then get Brian on a
restart and the rest was history."
Third generation driver Nic Belletto, the
grandson of the legendary Harry Belletto and
son of Steve Belletto, finished the ALSC
main in sixth, just behind Lloyd Bamping of
Clovis, in his racing debut.
Hometown pilot Randy Fleming Jr. started
from mid pack of the 25-lap Modified Super
Toyota feature and quickly worked his way
into second behind Mark Segal. Fleming
patiently waited behind Segal for an opening
and when he got it on lap seven he never
looked back.
Fresno pilots Jason Kerns and Stan Haskins
started the night in a flat-footed tie for
the lead in the Toyota Sedans with 54 points
each. Kerns was the night�s fast qualifier,
but Hankins, the defending division
champion, got the best of his hometown rival
in Saturday�s race for his second win of the
young season. Stockton�s John McCollum Jr.
rounded out the top three of the 12-car
Toyota Sedan feature.
Miles Humphreys, of Clovis, started the
evening with a miniscule two point lead in
the season standings over rookie Jeff
Dizney, of Madera, in the Hornets, but
Dizney had a little too much for the racing
grandpa on Saturday as he drove to his first
ever career win.
"It has been a up and down day with the
rain, but for me to get my very first win
makes it pretty exciting," said the smiling
Dizney. "Everyone was running hard out there
rubbing a little paint even though we are
not supposed to in this class. This is
really a kick. I am having a blast."
To no ones surprise Jake Gomes, age 15 of
Manteca, jumped to the lead in the 25-lap
WSRA Baby Grands feature to earn his fourth
straight win in four regular season starts
this year. Younger brother Josh Gomes and
Dillon Hutchison, of Citrus Heights,
followed Jake to the checkered flag.
"The car ran real good all day," stated Jake
Gomes, who also earned fast time in
qualifying and won the trophy dash. "Coming
out of the corners it would get a little
loose sometimes off the bumps, but I was
able to straighten it out."
The invert put Antioch�s Brent Curran,
Rocklin�s John Bowman and Woodland�s William
Camara in the front of the grid for the
16-car WSRA Minicup feature, a class for
young drivers age eight to sixteen in half
scale stock cars. Despite numerous yellow
cautions throughout the 25-lap race that
involved virtually everyone else in the pack
behind them, the front trio stayed put the
entire distance for a 1-2-3 finish.
"The car was awesome. My dad does it all for
me. He never stops working on the car," said
Curran. "I love him very much for doing this
for me."
Madera Speedway will be back in action next
Saturday evening, May 31st for Hog Run Bike
Night featuring twin 75-lap Hotwood 750
Series mains for the Western Late Models.
This great NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing
Series show will also include ALSC, Modified
Super Toyotas, Toyota Sedans, Spectator
Racing Series, Hornets, Vintage Sprints and
Vintage Midgets.
The Madera Speedway is conveniently located
at the Madera County Fairgrounds just off to
the west side of Highway 99 at the Cleveland
Avenue exit.
For more Madera Speedway information visit
the track�s website at
www.racemadera.com or call the Info/Race
Line phone number at (559) 673-RACE and for
information on the Madera
call (209) 476-8123.
Madera Speedway
Media Release � Results for 5-24-08
Media Relations � Dale J Bosowski (209)
818-1731
Western Late Models
Fast Time � Jeff Belletto (Modesto) �
15.015 seconds
Dash � Harry Belletto (Modesto), Rick
Thompson (Clovis), Jeff Belletto
(Modesto), Kyle Gottula (Modesto), Joey
Stearns (Stockton), Vito Ranuio
(Stockton), John Henry (Stockton)
A Main �50 Laps
Kyle Gottula (Modesto)
Jeff Belletto (Modesto)
Vito Ranuio (Stockton)
Joey Stearns (Stockton)
Rick Thompson (Clovis)
Trevor Schlundt (Clovis)
Del McIntosh (Madera)
John Henry (Stockton)
Harry Belletto (Modesto)
Mark Holeman (Los Altos)
Ross Strmiska (Stockton)
American Limited Stock Car (ALSC)
Fast Time -- Howard Holden (Clovis) �
16.183 seconds
Dash � Brian Vosburg (Stockton) , Howard
Holden (Clovis), Jason Aguirre
(Atwater), Nic Belletto (Modesto)
A Main � 30 Laps
Howard Holden (Clovis)
Brian Vosburg (Stockton)
Jason Aguirre (Atwater)
Matt Erickson (Coulterville)
Lloyd Bamping (Clovis)
Nic Belletto (Modesto)
Garland Taylor (Modesto)
Thomas Vosburg (Stockton)
Dennis Saunders Jr. (Modesto)
Larry Pasquale (Fresno)
Mike Graham (Ceres)
Toyota Sedans
Fast Time � Jason Kerns (Fresno) �
18.065 seconds
Dash � Steve Trusner (Fresno), Justin
Dukes (Fresno), Stan Hankins (Fresno),
Jason Kerns (Fresno)
A Main � 20 laps
Stan Hankins (Fresno)
Jason Kerns (Fresno)
John McCollum Jr. (Stockton)
Randy Fleming Sr. (Madera)
Candee McIntosh (Madera)
Tim Kammerer (Fresno)
Ronnie Roberts (Fresno)
Steve Trusner (Fresno)
Don Davey (Clovis)
Justin Dukes (Fresno)
Jim Kennedy ()
Justin Kawahata (Clovis)
Hornets
Fast Time � Dawn Darter (Manteca) �
19.671 seconds
Dash �Jeff Dizney (Madera), Miles
Humphreys (Clovis), Nolon Doss IV, Dawn
Darter (Manteca)
A Main � 20 laps
Jeff Dizney (Madera)
Miles Humphreys (Clovis)
Justin Petz (Fresno)
Dillion Jackson (Madera)
Nolon Doss IV ()
Kathy Evans (Madera)
Dawn Darter (Manteca)
Modified Super Toyotas (MSTs)
Fast Time � Randy Fleming Jr. (Madera) �
17.055 seconds
Dash � Donnie Large Jr. (Fresno), Randy
Fleming Jr. (Madera), John Bowersox
(Chowchilla), Casey Nydahl
A Main - 25 Laps
Randy Fleming Jr. (Madera)
Mark Segal
Casey Nydahl
CJ Dizney (Madera)
John Bowersox (Chowchilla)
Rian Bowman (Madera)
Donnie Large Jr. (Fresno)
Chuck Ratcliff (Fresno)
Jason Bowersox (Chowchilla)
Gene Adams (Fresno)
Baby Grands
Fast Time � Jake Gomes (Manteca) �
16.121 seconds
Dash � Dillon Hutchison (Citrus
Heights), Michael Ray (Modesto), Michael
Sandoval (Manteca), Jarret Kelly
(Lincoln), Charlotte Wood (Pacifica)
A Main - 25 Laps
Jake Gomes (Manteca)
Josh Gomes (Manteca)
Dillon Hutchison (Citrus Heights)
Michael Ray (Modesto)
Michael Sandoval (Manteca)
Charlotte Wood (Pacifica)
Robert Denison (Woodland)
Jarret Kelly (Lincoln)
Mychal Tripoli (Brentwood)
Mini Cup
Fast Time � Chase Grigsby (Rio Linda) �
18.147 seconds
Dash � Patrick Hill (Brentwood), William
Camara (Woodland), Shane Lawrence
(Galt), Taylor Hill (Brentwood)
A Main - 25 Laps
Brent Curran (Antioch)
John Bowman (Rocklin)
William Camara (Woodland)
Chase Grigsby (Rio Linda)
Robbie Roy (Sacramento)
Taylor Hill (Brentwood)
Max Unterbach (Danville)
Shane Lawrence (Galt)
Sam Unterbach (Danville)
Taylor Fields (Vacaville)
Patrick Hill (Brentwood)
Tyler Johnson (Rocklin)
Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael)
Hunter Anderson (Stockton)
Michael Bettencourt (Modesto)
Garrett Hubanks (Brentwood)