4/25/2023
Meridian Speedway
Latham, Ward Score NASCAR Modified Victories
Meridian Speedway celebrated the memory of Northwest racing icon Dan Breach before the green flag waved over Saturday, April 22’s Boise Spa Movers Night. All seventy-five cars from The Bud Light NASCAR Modified, Zamp Pro-Late Model, Domino’s Legend, Idaho CDL Training Street Stock, Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornet, and Trammel Construction Stinger divisions joined a two-by-two procession that fully filled the quarter-mile asphalt oval.
Fifteen Bud Light NASCAR Modifieds rolled in missing man formation to green for the first of their two Boise Spa Movers Night features. Defending division champion Neal Latham survived a close call halfway through the race when contact sent second place runner Caity Miller’s Kustom Fab, Insidious Designs modified spinning in front of the field. Latham’s Impact Motorz, Conrad and Bischoff modified was forced high but bounced off Brendon Fries’ ATS Inland Northwest, Horizon Credit Union machine instead of the concrete barrier, which limited the damage.
On the restart Latham knifed his way to second place on the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard, then used a late race restart to motor around Chuck Youngblood for the lead and the win. Andrew Richardson held off a hard-charging Rus Ward for second, while Youngblood fell to fifth behind Rusty Houpt.
Post race, Latham was quick to thank his wife for letting him race on their one-year wedding anniversary. “She told me I better bring one home to make it worth it,” Latham nodded to his Trammel Construction Feature Flag.
Rus Ward was on a mission from the drop of the night’s final green flag. Ward piloted his Boise Sprint Works, Tackle Tom’s modified through the pack and to the lead just after the race’s halfway point. Once out-front Ward cruised to the checkers ahead of Fries, Latham, Houpt, and Richardson.
Coleman Green and Makayla Trafford dueled for the Trammel Construction Stinger feature win. Green controlled much of the race in his Greens Custom Haying car, but Trafford came on strong late in her Pollo y Mariscos, American Tire racer and made the pass for the victory with five laps left. Green held onto second ahead of Alannah Trammel, Ryat Gorringe, and Michael Trammel.
Scott Groom and Kyle Tellstrom battled hard to take home the Idaho CDL Training victory. Groom got to the lead early in his Specialty Stainless Installations, BBG Racing machine, but Tellstrom tracked down the Nampa, Idaho racer and put his QuickCar Racing Products, Carbon Designs Racing Vinyl entry out front for the final three laps in route to the victory. Groom held onto second place with Dakota Allen, Samantha Raymond, and Kane Thomasson in tow.
The Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornet division’s feature started out with a bang as half of the eighteen car field was collected in a turn three melee on lap one. Gabe Inglis vaulted over the pile before he crashed back to earth and into the wall. Unbelievably, Inglis not only drove off from the accident scene, but he and his crew were able to beat his bent-up machine back to racing shape before the restart.
Once the green flag waved again Kurt Weimer dispatched the Herbie-themed machine of Marleis Bolinger to take the lead. But week one winner Greyson Patton and former division champion Jeff Matuska were on the move, and soon the pair found themselves dueling for the victory. Patton pushed the L2 Excavation, Rick Lane Construction number 99 hard to catch Matuska’s Neil Alan Fine Jewelry, BC Mobile Repair entry. But in the end Patton couldn’t muster enough speed to track down Matuska, who took the checkered flag with two fingers--a tribute to Dan Breach--held high out his driver’s side window.
Payton Weller took control of the Domino’s Legends feature early Saturday night, but quickly came under fire from Andrew Tuttle and Roxali Kamper. Weller kept her Idaho State Towing, Garrett Doyle Performance car out front through the race’s halfway point, but Tuttle and Kamper proved too strong and the duo dispatched Weller on lap fourteen.
Kamper searched high and low for a way around Tuttle’s Coastline Equipment, Gearhead Coffee racer, but came up empty until a late race caution flew. This allowed Kamper to cool her tires for another run at the top spot, but also pulled first week feature winner Leon Tridle into the lead battle.
The green flag waved and Kamper blasted around Tuttle, with Tridle in close pursuit. It took Tridle two laps, but the Boise, Idaho racer was able to slingshot around Kamper and speed to the win. Canyon Ashley came home third, followed by Tuttle and AJ Martinson.
Ten Zamp Pro-Late Models rumbled to the start of their thirty-lap feature. Riley Bradford showed the way early, but Johvan Dillon powered past Bradford’s A&E Sharpening, Thomasson Racing machine to take the lead. The revolving door up front continued to turn as Dillon’s Dillon Toyota Lift entry was dispatched by week one winner Josh Fanopoulos three short laps later.
Next around Dillon was Dylan Caldwell, the Nampa, Idaho racer last seen on fire at the end of the back stretch in the division’s last outing. Caldwell pushed his Hotbox Farms, National Coatings racer hard to catch Fanopoulos, and with the help of lapped traffic he pulled to the leader’s bumper as the white flag flew. But there wasn’t enough racetrack to make a move, and Fanopoulos held on to take the checkers. Behind Fanopoulos and Caldwell, Dillon finished third ahead of Daniel Johnson and Dylan Wardle.
Meridian Speedway takes a breather this Saturday, April 29, as it prepares for the return of Speed Tour Super Late Models on May 6 for the Grace Assisted Living 75. The Pepsi Crate Sprintcars, Vintage Sprintcars, Big Daddy’s Barbecue Hornets, Firehouse Pub and Grill Bombers, and Bandoleros do battle in the Concrete Jungle. Stay up to speed with all the latest from around the quarter-mile at www.meridianspeedway.com and be sure to text ‘meridianspeed’ to 84483 for exclusive text club updates. We’ll see you Saturday, May 6, for the Grace Assisted Living 75 under the big, yellow water tower at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild