5/10/2021
Meridian Speedway
Smash O’ Rama Sees Sell Out Crowd
It was a tight squeeze Saturday, May 8, as Meridian Speedway welcomed its first sell-out crowd since 2019 for Smash O’ Rama. The Bud Light NASCAR Modifieds, Project Filter Pro-4s, Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornets, and Firehouse Pub and Grill Bombers provided the racing thrills, while Mr. Dizzy, Australian stunt rider David Russell, and a host of brave Demolition Derby and Boat Race pilots rounded out an explosive night in the Concrete Jungle.
A full field of Bud Light NASCAR Modifieds charged into Smash O’ Rama set for two main events. The green flag dropped and chaos broke out almost immediately as contact sent fifth-place Tommy Harrod spinning in front of the field. In the ensuing jam up, Scott Murri was forced into the turn three wall.
No sooner was this wreck cleared than another multi-car crash broke out on the back stretch, this time involving Rus Ward, Chuck Youngblood’s PBT Auto Sales machine, and Josh Fanopoulos’ Allan Marsh Travel Center, Certified Services racer.
With the field thinned the race restarted with Joe Thuss and Mike Davis on the front row. Davis got the jump on Thuss to take the lead, which brought Joe Daily, Brendon Fries, and Colton Nelson into the top five.
By the halfway point, Fries and Nelson held the top two spots. As Nelson worked on Fries’ rear bumper, a spin in turn three drew the caution flag and bunched the field for a restart. Nelson got to the gas pedal first and zipped to the lead in his Bud Light, Division Construction modified. Fries wheeled his ATS Inland Northwest, Jackson Group Peterbuilt racer hard to keep pace, but could only muster a second-place finish as Nelson cruised to the first main event win of Smash O’ Rama.
“I’m ready to see some destruction that’s not in my race,” Nelson joked as he collected his Idaho CDL Training Feature Flag.
In the Bud Light NASCAR Modifieds’ second main event Kyle Latham piloted his Conrad and Bischoff, Knott Hott Ceramic Coatings machine to the top of the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard and never looked back as he stormed to the victory.
The Project Filter Pro-4s brought eight speedsters to bear on their 25-lap feature. On the break Ryan Bailey moved his racer to the top spot, with Matt Melby and defending division champion Jordan Harris in tow. Melby dove beneath Bailey to take the lead on lap ten, then fended off a furious charge from Harris to claim victory.
The Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornets settled the tortoise and hare debate with a 25-lap main event. Slower qualifier Gabe Inglis clawed his way to the front of the pack early, while Kevin Matuska fought his way forward from the quick-qualifier ranks. By the final lap Matuska had his Neil Alan Fine Jewelry, Top Wrench Repair racer on Inglis’ rear bumper. But it was Inglis who dashed across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe first to take home the Idaho CDL Training Feature Flag.
Kedrick Preston made the most of his long haul from Hermiston, Oregon and collected the Firehouse Pub and Grill main event win.
It took Jeff Atamian’s jet dragster The Beast just two minutes and thirteen second to burn a hapless Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornet to the ground.
World-famous stuntman Mike Buse, better known as Mr. Dizzy, toppled three cars, then incinerated a minivan around himself to wild applause in two death-defying stunts. Australian motorcycle stunt rider David Russell not only jumped over Mr. Dizzy’s burning minivan, but also rode three laps around the quarter-mile standing atop a ladder as The Star-Spangled Banner played.
Travis Pavlacky out-smashed the competition to emerge victorious in the Demolition Derby. In a Boat Race of Destruction that saw fifteen competitors take the green flag, it was Jett Nelson at the controls of Pick Up Man who powered his way to victory. The YMC Van, piloted by Kodiak Effington, scored Master of Disaster honors, due in large part to a spectacular boat jump at the end of the backstretch late in the event.
This Saturday, May 15, Meridian Speedway invites military members past and present to the Concrete Jungle for a jam-packed Project Filter Military Appreciation Night. Show us your military ID and you and the family get in free! General admission tickets are also available for $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, $7 for kids 7-11, and free for kids 6 and under. Gates open at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, with the first green flag at 6:30 p.m. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com to purchase your advance tickets now, and get exclusive updates via our text club by sending ‘Speed2021’ to 84483. Can’t make it to the Concrete Jungle? Stream Project Filter Military Appreciation Night live on SpeedCast.tv. We’ll see you this Saturday under the big, yellow water tower at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Clint Doll