10/9/2024
Meridian Speedway
Last Lap Pass Settles NASCAR Latemodel Title
Race fans packed the Meridian Speedway grandstands on Saturday, October 5, as the quarter-mile asphalt oval hosted the Boat Races of Destruction Finale presented by Ryan Shelby at Guild Mortgage. Before a whopping 35 boats and their tow rigs were beaten and battered to cap the night, the NASCAR Modifieds, Zamp NASCAR Latemodels, Pepsi Sprintcars, Project Filter Pro-4s, and Firehouse Pub and Grill Bombers crowned their season champions while the Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets traded paint for the night’s YMC Mechanical trophies.
NASCAR Modified competitor Brendon Fries led Josh Jackson by 34 markers as the duo entered their final event of the year. Fries took care of business early in the night as he posted the division’s fastest qualifying time. Jackson closed the gap some when he piloted his Ray’s Diesel and Auto Repair, Lestarjette Painting machine to a second-place finish in the heat race, while Fries could only make his way to fourth.
Mike Davis and Dan Doan led the NASCAR Modified field to green Saturday. Doan motored around Davis to take the early lead, but soon had Jackson in his rearview mirror. An early caution flag lined Jackson up outside of Doan’s modified, and when the green flag waved Jackson sprinted to the lead.
Fries followed Jackson past Doan and immediately applied pressure to the leader. A handful of laps later Jackson lost the handle on his machine and spun from the lead into the infield. Once out front, Fries set sail and opened a sizeable margin over Davis and Doan as they battled for second place. Doan would eventually get past Davis, though his time in the runner up spot was cut short as Jackson powered past him in a desperate bid to catch Fries and his ATS Inland, Ryan Shelby at Guild Mortgage modified.
Jackson closed on Fries in the race’s late stages but ran out of time to mount a challenge and was forced to settle for second behind race winner and season champion Brendon Fries.
Though Jackson came up short on the Meridian Speedway track championship hunt, his seven feature victories were enough to award him the NASCAR State Championship for Idaho.
The closest title fight on the quarter-mile Saturday was between Zamp NASCAR Latemodel competitors Andrew Palmer and Melissa Weaver. Entering the night Palmer led Weaver by five points, an advantage that Weaver all but erased with a quick qualifying lap and strong heat race run.
Disaster nearly struck early in the feature as contact sent Dustin Millard’s machine spinning right in front of Weaver and Palmer. Both title contenders stopped short of contact, but Jake Altman couldn’t get his Outlaw Excavation and Construction, All Pro Air machine stopped fast enough and piled into Millard.
Heat race rivals Neil Wassmuth and Dave Tomasson led the field to the restart. Tomasson got the better of this battle as he rolled around Wassmuth on the outside, but soon came under attack from Tate Elquist.
Elquist hooked the high line in his machine and steamed around Tomasson to the lead. Weaver led Palmer past Tomasson as well to move the title fighters into second and third spots.
Try as she might Weaver wasn’t going to catch Elquist, so instead turned her full attention to outrunning Palmer. Palmer looked high and low for a place to move his Freedom Payments, Bobby’s Transmission machine, and finally snuck beneath Weaver as the pair rumbled to the white flag.
But Weaver wouldn’t give up that easily and the thirteen-time class champion threw her Marv’s Tire Service, Sonic of Nampa racer hard into turns one and two. The move kept Weaver just far enough alongside Palmer that he couldn’t complete the pass, drew both herself and Palmer up to Elquist’s rear bumper, and left Weaver one last shot at the title.
Weaver drove into turn three deep to draw alongside Palmer, who now found himself hemmed in behind Elquist. As the lead trio exited the North turns Weaver surged ahead of Palmer to cross the line in second place behind first time feature winner Elquist.
With her last lap pass of Palmer, Weaver secured her fourteenth career division championship.
Jordan Harris and Carson Ackerland led the Pepsi Sprintcars to green on their final feature of the season. Harris got to the gas pedal first in his Kim’s Kars, H&H Auto entry and jumped to the lead while Ackerland fell through the field.
On the move early was championship point leader Casey Tillman, who looked to pass Ackerland on lap three. During the exchange contact shot Tillman‘s YMC Inc., TS Fuel and Oil sprinter into the front stretch wall and flattened his left front tire. Despite the damage Tillman soldiered on and set his sights on fourth place runner Kate Jackson.
Tillman launched an assault on Jackson’s Jackson Custom Machining, Pisca Trucking machine, but despite a healthy dose of beating and banging he wouldn’t be able to find a way around Jackson and was forced to settle for a fifth place finish.
Up front Harris had his hands full with second place runner Tony Ackerland. For the final ten laps Ackerland hunted high and low for a way around Harris, but ultimately found none and brought his Dick’s Chevron machine home second behind first time division winner Harris.
It took Project Filter Pro-4s point leader Jordan Harris just three laps to work his Allan Marsh Travel Center, Kim’s Kars machine to the top of the Pepsi-Cola scoreboard. As Harris sailed to his eighth division victory of the season, Sam Harris and Justin Gilbert fought hard for the second spot. After a hard-fought battle Harris took the runner-up position and turned his sights on the leader. Though Sam Harris was able to keep pace with leader Jordan Harris, he was never able to mount a challenge and could only watch as Jordan Harris took the feature win and the class championship.
The fight for the season’s final feature win got physical as championship hopeful Keith Gonzales tangled with Marleis Bolinger in the final corner. Though Gonzales won the feature, Corbin Black won the overall season title in his Kaveman Trailers, Claiborne Sprinkling machine.
The Idaho Asphalt Services Hornets weren’t racing for a championship Saturday, but that didn’t stop them from racing hard for the feature win. Through a combination of back stretch chicanery and timely use of shortcuts Stefano Meeks charged his way into the Caleb’s Chop Shop Winner’s Circle.
Of the 35 entrants in Saturday’s Boat Race of Destruction Finale presented by Ryan Shelby at Guild Mortgage, Chris Cowger brought his military-themed Bad Company rig home with the victory.
One event remains on the 2024 Meridian Speedway schedule, the Trunk or Treat Championship Races on Saturday, October 26. The pre-race Trunk or Treat is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Grandstand admission begins at 2:30 p.m. with the first green flag waved at 3 p.m. Log on to www.meridianspeedway.com for more information about the Trunk or Treat event and to purchase your advance tickets. We’ll see you under the big, yellow water tower Saturday, October 26, for the Trunk or Treat Championship Races at your NASCAR Home Track, Meridian Speedway.
Submitted By: Tyler Schild