Madera Speedway Media Release – September 27, 2008

Dale Bosowski – Media Relations

Belletto and Gottula Capture Western Late Model and HotWood 750 Series Championships at Madera Speedway

The Madera Speedway concluded the 2008 NASCAR regular season on Saturday, September 27th, with the 2^nd Annual "Bent Fender" Classic. The exciting NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series program featured the Western Late Models in a 100-lap race that counted as the final points paying event for in the popular HotWood 750 Series. Also finishing up their 2008 campaigns were the American Limited Stock Cars, Modified Super Toyotas, Toyota Sedans and Hornets plus the Western States Racing Association (WSRA) Mini Cup and Baby Grands.

Modesto’s Jeff Belletto entered the evening down by just two points to Stockton’s Joey Stearns in the battle for the Western Late Model season championship, but picked up two points on Stearns with the night’s second quickest qualifying time. As a result the two drivers took the green flag to start the 100-lap main in a dead lock tie for the title.

The Western Late Model race also marked the season conclusion of the HotWood 750 Series championship, which consists of ten specially designated Western Late Model races held on six different dates throughout the 2008 season at Madera. Third generation driver Ross Strmiska, age 22 of Stockton, held a slight three point lead on second generation driver Kyle Gottula, age 21 of Modesto, entering the night and added an additional three points to his lead with his third place qualifying effort.

Rick Thompson, the 2006 track champion from nearby Clovis, jumped into the lead over the rest of the 19 car field at the start of the race only to loss the spot on lap four when Strmiska swooped under him. Behind him Stearns and Belletto were battling for fifth place when Stearns was tapped from behind and spun out.

Desperate to catch back up with Belletto after returning to restart the race from the back of the field, Stearns drove high and low on the track to get around other cars. He deftly used a backmarker as a pick to work his way past the stubborn Dave Byrd, of Seaside, on one occasion.

On lap 46 Gottula slipped past Strmiska to take the race lead.

On lap 68 Stearns finally reached the number four position putting him directly behind Belletto, who had settled into the third spot for much of the event. Unfortunately, Stearns had used up his tires in his bid to get back to the front and he slowly began to drift backwards as Byrd and Modesto’s Harry Belletto, Jeff father, made their way by him.

A crash involving Modesto’s Bret Hughes and Madera’s Del McIntosh on the front straight brought out the caution flag and set the stage for a dramatic and exciting eight-lap shootout to the finish. On the restart Strmiska got the drop on Gottula to retake the lead while Stearns moved past Harry Belletto to once again get behind Jeff Belletto.

Stearns bid to catch Jeff Belletto along with his dreams of the championship would disappear on lap 95. Trying frantically to catch Belletto on his badly worn tires, Stearns drifted up and smacked the concrete wall heading into turn three. With his front suspension damaged he was done for the night.

Strmiska once again took the lead while Gottula jostled him from behind as the laps quickly dwindled down. Strmiska got just loose enough to allow Gottula to slip by for the win. Byrd took a hard earned third place finish while Jeff Belletto cruised home in fourth to claim the 2008 track championship by a 1066 to 1048 margin.

"That was very nerve wracking. We have been trying to do this for so long. It sure feels good," said a relieved Belletto, who never led in the points until the end of the final race. "I also have to thank my sponsor Les Scott of HotWood. He has always been a big supporter for me."

After the race Belletto parked his car against the front straight wall and did a smoking celebratory burnout much to the delight of the large crowd standing against the front straight fence. As he climbed out of his car a gracious Joey Stearns was one of the first people to offer his congratulations.

"I also want to congratulate Joey. He raced so hard and I hated to see what happened to him. I really wanted to race him door handle to handle at the end," said Belletto of Stearns. "He is a champion too and did one heck of a job himself."

Stearns felt that he did everything he could to salvage the title.

"We had a really good car at the start. It was just tight racing when I got turned around and I used everything I had in the car trying to make it back to the front, but I burned the tires up," said a dejected Stearns. "We had a restart with just a few laps to go and it was win or crash and I crashed."

Only a few feet from Belletto, Kyle Gottula celebrated winning the race along with his crew and family. In addition, by finishing one spot ahead of Strmiska and picking up five bonus points for winning the race, Gottula earned the HotWood 750 Series title by a single point 266 to 265 margin over Strmiska.

"I had to really work for that one. It didn’t come easy. Ross is a good friend and I raced hard just like he does me. It got a little rough, but it was fun," exclaimed Gottula. "I think we made it pretty exciting for the fans."

"I was racing him hard, but clean and he used me up at the end," said a disappointed Strmiska. "It isn’t worth a thousand bucks to try something and wreck my car."

Byrd, who was in the middle of both championship battles all race long, did his best to run his own race without getting in the way of the contenders.

"We were trying to be very aware of their positions, race as hard as we could and not touch anybody," said the veteran Byrd, who finished in third earlier in the day in the SRL Southwest race at Altamont. "The crew did a excellent job setting up the car and it was great even without getting in any practice laps. It felt like it was a part of me."

As is almost always the case, the American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) division drivers put on another fantastic race for the fans.

Fresno’s Larry Pasquale snatched the early race lead from Modesto’s Nic Belletto and appeared to be on his way to his second win of the season when he spun himself out following a caution restart on lap 21. Modesto’s Tony Schmitz took over the lead but was soon challenged by Clovis’ Richard Herzog.

With only a few laps to go Herzog charged for the front and traded paint with Schmitz all the way down the front straight. The two battled on the way into turn one before Herzog went airborne and tagged the unlucky Pasquale.

Schmitz would survive the close encounter to go on to take his first victory of the year and become the tenth different driver to win in the ultra competitive division this season.

"We are both racers. He (Herzog) didn’t let off the throttle and neither did I. There are probably some unhappy people back in the pits but so be it. I gone back to the pits mad before too," said Schmitz. "I had a bad wreck here early in the season and we basically had to rebuild this car from the seat forward and I thank everyone who helped me put it back together."

Modesto’s Mary Saunders, the wife of Dennis Saunders Jr., ably filled in for her husband with a second place finish just ahead of Clovis’ Lloyd Bamping.

"It has been a year since I have been in the car and I didn’t think I could get back to the front," said Mary Saunders, who drove in the class at Stockton 99 Speedway. "That was wild. An amazing night."

"I am probably going to loss my job," laughed Mary’s husband Dennis Saunders Jr., who finished second behind Clovis’ Howard Holden in the final Madera ALSC season points standings. "It was a little nerve wracking to watch form the infield. She hasn’t raced in a year and I am really proud of her."

With the 2008 ALSC champion already locked up Howard Holden also sat out the race in favor of his wife Jillian Holden. After the race he reflected on his 2008 season and what lies ahead.

"It has been a fun year, a fast year and a long year all at the same time. It has been great and I couldn’t ask for much more," said Holden, who went on to explain his future plans. "I think I will sit out a while. My wife has been part of this for 12 years and she can drive when she wants to and other than that maybe we will take the kids and go camping."

Fresno’s Justin Dukes held the early lead in the Toyota Sedan feature until he was tapped from behind and spun by Fresno’s Steve Trusner. Trusner was sent to the back for his error giving division points leader Stan Hankins, also of Fresno, the lead from which he cruised home for his eighth win of the season.

"I feel great. This has been an incredible season. I don’t think it can get much better than this," exclaimed Hankins on capturing his second consecutive Toyota Sedan title. "We started six years ago and we never even won until last year. It took us four years to figure it out, but has been fun ever since."

Chowchilla’s John Bowersox moved past CJ Dizney on lap 18 of the 25-lap Modified Super Toyota (MST) main, after Dizney got sideways, to pick up a very improbable win over his son John Bowersox. Earlier in practice Bowersox blew his engine, raced home with the car to replace it and returned to unload just before the start of the main in which he was forced to start from the back of the field.

"This was a very satisfying way to end the year, especially to finish one-two with my son," said Bowersox. "It was great moment that I will remember for the rest of my life."

MST champion also sat out the final race after selling the car to his good friend John McCollum Jr., of Stockton, who drove it to a third place finish.

"I was kind of weird, but it was blast to watch at the same time. In fact, I think I had as much fun watching as if I was in the car," explained Fleming. "I plan on finding a Legends car and racing there next season."

Miles Humphreys. the 68-year-old racing great grandpa out of Clovis, fought side by side for several laps with Justin Petz, age 17 of Fresno, before breaking away to capture his 10^th win of the season in the Hornet division feature.

"It is always exciting and it has been tough out there all year," said Humphreys of his second straight Hornet championship. "I am going to do a very limited schedule next year. I don’t want to go through the heat of the summer again."

The WSRA Mini Cup and Baby Grands, 1/2 and 2/3rds scale stock car replicas for drivers as young as eight years of age, made their sixth appearance of the year at Madera.

Antioch’s Brent Curran made a late race pass to take the win in the Mini Cup feature over Sacramento’s Robbie Roy. Manteca’s Michael Sandoval pulled the upset of the night by earning the victory over Citrus Heights’ Dillon Hutchison in the Baby Grand main, snapping the winning streak of Jake Gomes, of Manteca, who had taken the previous five Baby Grand races at Madera this year.

Although the regular season is now in the books and all of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series championships have been decided there is still some unfinished business at Madera Speedway.

On Saturday, October 25^th Madera Speedway will close out its 2008 calendar with the 2nd Annual Pumpkin Smash Halloween Crash, Bash and Blow Up!!! This fantastic show will include the third and final rounds of the Enduro and Demolition Derby championships plus the Drag Boat Nationals, an Open Comp twin 50-lap show for the American Limited Stock Cars, an Open Comp 4 Banger 50-lap race, the USAC Sprint Cars, Spectator racing Series and a spectacular end of the season FIREWORKS show!

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.
 

Madera Speedway – 2^nd Annual Bent Fender Classic

Media Release – Results for September 27, 2008

Media Relations – Dale J Bosowski (209) 818-1731

Western Late Models – Hotwood 750 Series

Fast Time – Harry Belletto (Modesto) – 15.074 seconds

Dash – Rick Thompson (Clovis), Joey Stearns (Stockton), Jeff Belletto (Modesto), Harry Belletto (Modesto)

Main – 100 Laps

Kyle Gottula (Modesto)

Ross Strmiska (Stockton)

Dave Byrd (Seaside)

Jeff Belletto (Modesto)

Harry Belletto (Modesto)

Rick Thompson (Clovis)

Doff Cooksey (Brentwood)

Trevor Schlundt (Clovis)

Brock Monroe (Escalon)

Bret Hughes (Modesto)

Carl Pierce (Modesto)

Lisa Riordan (Scotts Valley)

Joey Stearns (Stockton)

Todd Corral (Oakdale)

Del McIntosh (Madera)

Bryan Herzog (Clovis)

Sam Solari (Salida)

Nic Belletto (Modesto)

Bobby Burks

Jeff Lee

American Limited Stock Car

Fast Time – Jason Aguirre (Atwater) – 16.356 seconds

Dash – Tony Schmitz (Modesto), Jason Aguirre (Atwater), Mary Saunders (Modesto), Richard Herzog (Clovis)

Main – 30 Laps

Tony Schmitz (Modesto)

Mary Saunders (Modesto)

Lloyd Bamping (Clovis)

Joe Morganstein (Livermore)

Larry Pasquale (Fresno)

Donald Selsor (Selma)

Richard Herzog (Clovis)

Roger Selsor (Fresno)

Jillian Holden (Clovis)

Jory Canepa (Lodi)

Nic Belletto (Modesto)

Phillip Connolly (Clovis)

Jason Aguirre (Atwater)

Toyota Sedans

Fast Time – Stan Hankins (Fresno) - 18.071 seconds

Dash – Steve Trusner (Fresno), Stan Hankins (Fresno), John McCollum Jr. (Stockton), Larry Kerns (Fresno)

Main – 25 laps

Stan Hankins (Fresno)

John McCollum Jr. (Stockton)

Steve Trusner (Fresno)

Tim Kammerer (Fresno)

Candee McIntosh (Madera)

Larry Kerns (Fresno)

John McCollum Sr. (Stockton)

Justin Kawahata (Clovis)

Don Davey (Clovis)

Justin Dukes (Fresno)

Modified Super Toyotas

Fast Time – John McCollum Jr.(Stockton) – 17.166 seconds

Dash – Donnie Large (Fresno), Casey Nydal (Oakdale), CJ Dizney (Clovis), John McCollum Jr. (Stockton)

Main - 25 Laps

John Bowersox (Chowchilla)

Jason Bowersox (Chowchilla)

John McCollum Jr. (Stockton)

CJ Dizney (Clovis)

Casey Nydal (Oakdale)

Gene Adams (Fresno)

Jeff Doran (Madera)

Rian Bowman (Madera)

Donnie Large Jr. (Fresno)

Donnie Large (Fresno)

Hornets

Fast Time – none

Dash - Miles Humphreys (Clovis), Justin Petz (Fresno), Dan Miller (Ripon), Dan Evans (Madera)

Heat 1 - 8 Laps

Miles Humphreys (Clovis)

Dan Evans (Madera)

Jim Lowe (Fresno)

Kathy Evans (Madera)

Jamie Sickler (Clovis)

Heat 2 - 8 Laps

Justin Petz (Fresno)

Dan Miller (Ripon)

Kenny McGlashan (Clovis)

Stephannie Doran (Madera)

Main – 20 laps

Miles Humphreys (Clovis)

Justin Petz (Fresno)

Jim Harr (Fresno)

Dan Miller (Ripon)

Kathy Evans (Madera)

Jim Lowe (Fresno)

Kenny McGlashan (Clovis)

Stephannie Doran (Madera)

Jamie Sickler (Clovis)

Baby Grands

Fast Time – Jake Gomes (Manteca) – 15.932

Dash –Jarret Kelly (Lincoln), Michael Sandoval (Manteca), Michael Ray (Modesto), Dillon Hutchison (Citrus Heights), Josh Gomes (Manteca), Mychal Tripoli (Brentwood)

Main - 25 Laps

Michael Sandoval (Manteca)

Dillon Hutchison (Citrus Heights)

Jarret Kelly (Lincoln)

Charlotte Wood (Pacifica)

Jake Gomes (Manteca)

Michael Ray (Modesto)

Josh Gomes (Manteca)

Robert Denison (Woodland)

Mychal Tripoli (Brentwood)

William Camara (Fremont)

Mini Cup

Fast Time – Brent Curran (Antioch) – 17.897 (new track record)

Dash – Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael), Robbie Roy (Sacramento), Patrick Hill (Brentwood), Taylor Hill (Brentwood), Garrett Hubanks (Brentwood), John Bowman (Rocklin)

Main - 25 Laps

Brent Curran (Antioch)

Robbie Roy (Sacramento)

Chase Grigsby (Rio Linda)

Garrett Hubanks (Brentwood)

Patrick Hill (Brentwood)

John Bowman (Rocklin)

Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael)

Taylor Hill (Brentwood)

Tyler Johnson (Dos Palos)

Hunter Anderson (Stockton)

Shane Lawrence (Galt)

Eric Hamilton (Hanford)

Sam Unterbach (Danville)

Max Unterbach (Danville)

 

Pat Patnaude
Track Operator &
General Manager
Madera Speedway
Office 209-983-1689Fax 209-983-0967
Cell 209-479-0056
ppatnaude@racemadera.com