6/19/2023
Meridian Speedway
Washington's Margeson Races to First Diamond Cup Win
The thunder of Speed Tour Sprint Cars powered by Pit Stop USA rolled around Meridian Speedway on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, as a full field of fire-breathing open wheelers competed for the Ninja Kitty Fireworks Diamond Cup presented by Neil Alan Fine Jewelry. A packed grandstand was treated to two nights of excitement as the fastest short track racers from across the country went to war for the weekend’s ultimate prize, a custom-made diamond ring.
Twenty-three Speed Tour Sprint Cars powered by Pit Stop USA roared to green Friday for the Rick Brown Super Shoe race, the first round of the 2023 Ninja Kitty Fireworks Diamond Cup presented by Neil Alan Fine Jewelry. Troy DeCaire made the most of his trip from Tampa, Florida and jumped to the early lead in his Busch Light machine. Behind DeCaire was two and three-wide chaos as the field jockeyed for position.
DeCaire looked to have the victory in hand as the race crossed the halfway point, but a tangle with lapped traffic and resulting yellow flag would see him relegated to the back of the pack for the restart. This handed the lead to Riley Rogers and his Boise Bath and Kitchen Company, Pro Source sprinter. But the lap 28 leader jinx continued as under caution Rogers’ engine rattled to a halt on the back stretch.
Next to the point was Kyle Tellstrom, who survived to take the green flag and pilot his Hunziker Racing, Blue Heart Home Furnishings entry to his first sprint car victory. Mike Anderson finished in second place while Tacoma, Washington’s Evan Margeson brought his Frankie’s Pizza, Signature Texturing sprinter home third, up fourteen positions from his starting spot.
Once points from Friday’s Stinker Family Pass Night were tabulated, Margeson held the Diamond Cup championship lead, three points ahead of Winston, Oregon’s Kyle Alberding, and six markers ahead of a tie for third place between Ukiah, California’s Tellstrom and hometown racer Colton Nelson.
On Saturday Alberding wasted no time putting his Holte Drilling Tools machine atop the weekend standings with a quick time run of 11.263 seconds, backed up with a fourth place finish in his heat race. This put Alberding seven points ahead of Margeson and ten points up on Nelson entering the weekend’s final fifty-lap feature.
The green flag flew and Anderson jumped to the lap one lead, but came under heavy attack from DeCaire, who took over the top spot on the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard four short laps later. DeCaire pulled away from the field as Margeson marched his way into the top five and the pack stacked up behind Anderson. The tension built until Ron Larson was shuffled into the high groove and slid hard into the turn three barriers. Quesnel, British Columbia’s Larson climbed from his sprinter dejected, but okay.
This left DeCaire and Eric Humphries on the front row for the restart. Humphries got to the gas pedal first and piloted his Harvest Supply, Inc, Royals Welding racer to the front, but DeCaire fought back and cut underneath Humphries in traffic to take back the lead.
First in DeCaire’s crosshairs was a struggling Alberding, whose chase for the diamond ring would end with a thirteenth-place finish, one lap down to the leaders. After this DeCaire hit open race track and sped across the Caleb’s Chop Shop Victory Stripe for his first win in the Concrete Jungle. Nampa, Idaho’s Cory Lockwood dispatched Humphries late in the going.
“I was just worried about getting this car home in one piece,” DeCaire said. “Adam says it’s got to go to Albertson’s, and the last three or four times I’ve been here I’ve tore his [equipment] up pretty good.”
With Alberding neutralized and Nelson suffering the ill effects of mid-race wall contact, Margeson was able to settle into fifth-place behind Mike Murgoitio and cruise to the Ninja Kitty Fireworks Diamond Cup presented by Neil Alan Fine Jewelry championship.
“To even add my name to that list is an honor,” Margeson said. “It’s pretty dang cool.”
For more coverage from Ninja Kitty Fireworks Diamond Cup presented by Neil Alan Fine Jewelry weekend, log on to www.meridianspeedway.com. The Idaho CDL Training Dairy Days Races are next up on the Meridian Speedway schedule. Gates open at 5:45 p.m. this Friday, June 23, with racing at 7:30 p.m. The Bud Light NASCAR Modifieds, Zamp Pro-Late Models, and Boise Bath and Kitchen Company Mini Stocks battle wheel-to-wheel until the cows come home in pursuit of the night’s Trammel Construction trophies. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower this Friday, June 23, for the Idaho CDL Training Dairy Days Races at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild