7/30/2020
Magic Valley Speedway
Street Stock 99 produces 3 different winners!
By DJ Everett
The Cactus Petes Streets took center stage on Extreme Staffing & Payroll Night as the drivers were ready to take on the 1/3-mile oval in 3 different main events for 33 laps each! Along with them were the visiting Snake River Legends, Project Filter Bombers, Valley Office Systems Hornets, and the Extreme Staffing Double Deckers! Many fans got to the track early and settled in for some exciting racing!
The night kicked off with the first of 3 main events for the Cactus Petes Streets! At the drop of the green, Roy Boots Jr took command of the race from his pole sitting starting position. Behind Boots, Mitch Pehrson and Ronn McClimans had a good side by side battle for second until Pehrson suffered mechanical woes and pulled it into the pit area. That left Boise’s Josh Fanopoulos to battle with McClimans for the second spot. Fanopoulos was able to get by McClimans and set sail for leader Boots. Once Fanopoulos caught Boots, the two put on an amazing side by side battle for the lead for many laps that had the crowd on their feet. Fanopoulos was eventually able to clear Boots for the top spot and held it all the way to the checkers picking up his second main event win of the year at Magic Valley Speedway. Unfortunately the victory would come with some bad news as Fanopoulos suffered some engine problems that sidelined him for the rest of the night. In a post-race discussion, Fanopoulos said to look for him to visit MVS again before the year is over.
The R&A Trucking Big Wheelz race took place for our young racers that thrilled the fans! Congratulations to Jackson Chandler for being the first under the checkers!
The always popular Extreme Staffing Double Deckers were next out for their race. This race had a combination of race car drivers and some employees from Extreme Staffing & Payroll. The green flag was thrown by our Jr Flagger of the night, CJ Everett and after much side by side racing throughout the entire field, it was the team of Christopher Kehrer and Donovan Pierson that took the win! Our Jr Trophy Presenter on the evening, Kiley Rogers-Acosta was happy to hand over the hardware to our winning drivers.
The Project Filter Bombers were the next group to come out onto the track for their main event. When the green flag flew, Robyn Finch made a great move for the top spot from deep in the field but that would last a lap as Beverly Meyers stopped in turn 1 bringing out the caution. Back under green, it was still Finch in front but he was under heavy pressure from Brandon Adams, Craig McCann, and Gracie Pehrson. Adams put it to the high side of Finch for the lead and behind them McCann and Pehrson were running side by side for third. The top 4 at this point you could cover them with a blanket! The four of them ran this way for 3 exciting laps!! Adams was able to clear Finch for the lead with Pehrson getting out of shape and running through the infield grass off of turn 2 while running third. This would allow McCann to get around Finch for second and started chasing after Adams for the lead. McCann caught Adams and put it on the high side. The two ran this way for many laps for the top spot. McCann cleared Adams for the lead but the caution would fly immediately after that for a spinning Pehrson again in turn 2. Back under green, McCann started to stretch his lead out over the rest of the field. The caution came out again from Pehrson and Finch making contact in turn 1 sending Finch for a spin. McCann again was the leader when the field was back under green and it would stay this way all the way to the checkered flag giving McCann his second main event win of the year.
The Cactus Petes Streets were on the track again for their second 33-lap main event of the night. The green was out and it was the front row of Shawn Lester and first-time visitor from Boise, Josh Peterson running side by side on lap 1. Lester was able to get sole possession of the lead clearing Peterson bringing Ronn McClimans into second place. Willie Dalton started showing some strength by joining the top 2 making it a three-car race for the lead. McClimans was able to put it up and around Lester for the lead leaving Lester and Dalton battling it out for the second spot. Dalton got loose coming out of turn 2 dropping back to 5th. Roy Boots Jr now was battling Lester for second with Lester now sticking his nose underneath McClimans for the lead. Coming off turn 2, Boots tried the low side on Lester and the two made contact sending Boots spinning on the backstretch. Boots’ night came to an end with his transmission suffering damage. Back under green it was still McClimans out in front and now Jeff Peck started to make his presence known as he clawed his way into second. Peck dove underneath McClimans and the two ran side by side for multiple laps and at times trading some paint. McClimans was able to use the outside momentum to put his machine back out in front and hold off Peck at the checkers giving McClimans his first main event win of the year.
The Snake River Legends rolled out next with a good field of 12 legends cars. The green flag was out and the front row of Dalton Allen and Mike Soiseth visiting from Stockton, CA raced side by side for the first two laps. Soiseth was able to eventually wrestle the lead away from Allen allowing Ryan Martin to clear Allen as well and put himself into second. Martin now was starting to close in on leader Soiseth. Martin put a daring inside move on Soiseth going into turn 1 and was now the leader. Soon after that, a four-car tangle occurred in turn 1 involving Jerry Davis, Ken Frickey, Dalton Allen, and Ryan Allen. The field was put under a red flag to clear the scene in turn 1. Green was out again and this time it was Ryan Martin as the new leader. As the field rounded turns 3 & 4, contact in the middle of the pack between Brok Kidd and Joe Daily sent both cars into the wall bringing out the caution. Kidd was able to drive away but Joe Daily needed assistance from a wrecker. On the restart, Martin was still leading the way but Jerry Davis was able to get around Martin to be the race’s next leader. Chad Barker started making some noise as he was able to get by Martin for the second spot and now pressured Davis for the lead. Barker took it to the high side on Davis and it was now a side by side battle for the lead. They ran this way for a few laps and as the two entered turn 3, Barker and Davis made slight contact sending Barker for a spin bringing out the caution again. Barker had a great run going on this night after struggling all year long with mechanical issues to his car. As a result of the contact, Jerry Davis would be relegated to the back handing the lead over to Johnethan Davis. Under green again and Johnethan Davis had heavy pressure from Brok Kidd for the number one spot. As this was happening, Jerry Davis was slowing making his way back up through the field. Another yellow for Chad Barker coming to a stop at the track’s exit in turn 1. On the restart, leader Johnethan Davis’ car slowed on the backstretch and coming to a stop bringing out the caution again. This handed the lead back to Jerry Davis again. One last restart and Jerry Davis would hang on to his lead all the way to the checkered flag going 2 for 2 in legends competition this year at MVS.
The Valley Office Systems Hornets were up next for a very interesting race. The field had to race in reverse for 5 laps on both the Jr Stinger track and 5 laps on the ¼ mile track that used the infield and the big track and can be done in any order they want. Needless to say, this would be a scorer’s nightmare but a fun race for the fans to watch! The green flag flew and polesitter Wally Pierson was the race’s early leader as he did his 5 laps on the Jr Stinger track right away as others were following him or on the ¼ mile track. During the race, Scott Gilligan was able to grab the lead away from Pierson. The race came down to the last lap with Gilligan on the ¼ mile track and Donovan Pierson on the Jr Stinger track. As the two met where the two tracks come together racing to the checkers, Pierson was the leader but slid high in the final turn allowing Gilligan to sneak by for his 5th win a row!
The Cactus Petes Streets came out for the final race of the night for their third main event. Green flag was out and it was Willie Dalton the early leader. First timer Josh Peterson from Boise was doing a great job holding off the field for second but it only lasted a couple of laps as Jeff Peck was able to get by for second. Peck started to close in on Dalton for the top spot and was soon on Dalton’s rear bumper. Peck did everything he could to try to get by Dalton for the lead as he looked high and low for many laps but still couldn’t get it done. Peck’s car started to slow and eventually pulled it back to the pit area ending his great run. Dalton was now alone out in front and drove it to the checkers making him the third different winner on the night in the Cactus Petes Streets.
Other winners we would like to congratulate are Charles Yocum winning the Shari’s Pie and also Lorna West, Sherry Peterson, and Jessica Benningfield for being our Selfie Winners!! This Saturday night is Magic Valley Pipe Night!! The ICCU Modifieds will be back along with the Denny’s Minis, Project Filter Bombers, Quale’s Electronics Jr Stingers, and the Extreme Staffing Double Deckers for an exciting night of racing! Gates open at 5pm and McDonalds Racing at 7pm! It’s going to be another huge party this Saturday night and we look forward to seeing everyone at the entertainment capital of the valley…………………Magic Valley Speedway!!