10/2/2021
Magic Valley Speedway
More champions are crowned and a trailer race to end the year!!
By DJ Everett
09/18/2021
The final race of the year was upon us on Quale’s Electronics Night featuring the ICCU Modifieds, Cactus Pete’s Streets, McClimans Racing Engines Minis, Project Filter Bombers, Magic Valley Pipe Hornets, and we ended the night with the ever popular Quale’s Trailer Race of Destruction!! Almost a full house packed the grandstands to close out 2021 and the action didn’t disappoint!
The first main event of the evening was the McClimans Racing Engines Minis that had a tight points battle between Cecil Miles and Chad Everett to determine this year’s champion. The first of two main events took the green flag and Roy Boots Jr, who set a new track record during McDonald’s qualifying earlier in the day, led the field early on lap one but as the field rounded turn 4, Boots Jr spun with everyone behind him taking evasive action to miss him. The caution flew and when the field went back to green flag racing, Brendan Watt was the leader. Chad Everett and Zaine Newberry were running close behind and as they entered turn three, a three wide battle ensued between Everett, Newberry, and Watt with Everett coming out on top with the lead. The caution flew again for Angel Newberry spinning in turn 4 with the field lining back up for another restart. When the green came back out, Everett resumed the lead with Watt, Zaine Newberry, Cecil Miles, Zach Rydalch, and Roy Boots Jr all running nose to tail. Rydalch was the next to spin but got it pointed straight and kept going. Soon after that, Miles spun off turn four and brought out the next yellow. Seemed like turn 4 was the trouble spot in this race. Roy Boots Jr was back in front when the green flew for the restart but Zaine Newberry was hot on his heels for the lead. Newberry peeked to the inside at one point but Boots Jr did a great job to defend his spot. As the white flag flew, the race was between Boots Jr, Newberry, and Everett. They entered turn 3 with Newberry giving it one last ditch effort by poking his nose to the inside of Boots Jr but got loose and went to the infield grass. Everett tried Boots Jr coming out of turn four as they headed for the checkered flag but fell a half car length short giving the win to Roy Boots Jr.
The ICCU Modifieds were next for the first of two main events. Polesitter Natalie Waters led the field at the drop of the green with Justin Westmoreland taking the second spot away from Devin Burdette. Patrick Gold got by Burdette for third as the side-by-side racing was incredible throughout the pack in the opening laps. Waters opened a five-car length lead on Westmoreland when the yellow flag flew for Eddy Cole taking it for a spin in turn 1. On the restart, Westmoreland from the outside front row slid up high in turns 1 and 2 and as he exited turn 2 trying to blend back in with the pack, he got together with Dan Root Jr which in turn clipped Eric Rhead in the right rear as Rhead was attempting to pass both on the backstretch. This sent Rhead airborne and on his roof. His car slid on its roof backwards into the turn 3 wall and started to roll over one more time before landing on all 4 wheels with a fire that erupted in the engine compartment which was extinguished quickly. Rhead sat in his car for a few minutes before exiting under his own power to the cheers of the crowd. A very frightening crash that Rhead was able to walk away from. The red flag was put out to clean up the scene in turn 3 but when the field was back to racing, Waters was still out in front with Gold now running second giving chase. Waters, putting in a great run, started to open up some daylight between herself and Gold. Those two started to check out with Zach Webster, Tim Fahrner, and Morgan Rasmussen battling for third. Waters continued to pull away and proved to be too much for the rest of the field by taking the checkered flag and earning her first career modified win. A very popular victory lane as Waters has come close a few times this year but was finally able to close the deal and become the 8th different ICCU Modified winner this year at MVS.
The R&A Trucking Big Wheelz race took place for the final time this year and Julian Bautista took home the winner’s trophy. We would like to congratulate all of our big wheelz winners this year as they put on a great show for the fans!
The Project Filer Bombers rolled out next for their main event with our Jr Flagger, Barry Crow, waving the green flag to get this one going. Adam Roth and Jonathan Rich staged a side-by-side battle for the lead on lap 1 with Rich grabbing the top spot. Misty Gilliam and Mike Miller were close behind making it a great three car race. Miller was able to get by both on the high side to be the race’s next leader. Miller started to check out leaving Gilliam, Robin Finch, Rich, and Brandon Adams to race for second. Miller was in cruise control as he was able to take the checkered flag for his fourth win of the year. Brandon Adams is the 2021 Project Filter Bomber champion! Trophy Presenter, Yana Cantu, delivered the winner’s trophies and took part in the victory lane photos along with Jr Flagger Barry Crow.
The McClimans Racing Engines Minis came out for their second main event and Zach Rydalch got the nod as the early leader but the caution flew right away for Roy Boots Jr spinning in turn 2. When the green came back out, Rydalch was still leading with Cecil Miles getting by Mike Fullmer for second. Miles wasted no time getting by Rydalch for the lead with Everett eventually getting by Rydalch as well for second. The top two in points were now occupying the top two positions on the racetrack. Everett made an inside move on Miles to take the lead with Brendan Watt closing in on the top two running third. Watt looking very fast made up a half of a straightaway deficit to catch Everett and Miles as the white flag flew. Everett was still leading but Watt made the move down low on Miles on the backstretch for second and as they rounded turn 4, Everett took the win with Watt bringing it home in second. Not only did Chad Everett win but was also crowned the 2021 McClimans Racing Engines Minis champion by the slimmest of margins.
The Cactus Pete’s Streets came out next with another tight points battle between Steven Edens Sr and Willie Dalton. Jeff Peck was the early leader when the green flag flew with Steve Edens Sr and Willie Dalton splitting Josh Cuff heading into turn 3 moving into second and third. Edens Sr wasn’t done as he made quick work of Peck for the lead bringing Shawn Lester with him into second. Dalton and Ronn McClimans was able to get by Peck to occupy third and fourth. Lester was able to stay with Edens Sr for a few laps but Edens Sr eventually was able to start pulling away. McClimans put a move on Dalton for third as the laps started clicking away. It was good to see Rich, Micky, and Scott Lawson joining us this evening from Marsing Idaho and are regulars at Meridian Speedway. Edens Sr was too strong for everyone as he drove under the checkered flag for the sixth time this year and is also our 2021 Cactus Pete’s Streets champion at MVS!!
The final ICCU Modified main event of the year was next with Eric Rhead, after taking a horrendous ride in the first main event, in a backup car as the polesitter. The green flag was out and Rhead with a stuck throttle went straight into the turn 1 wall and eventually coming to a rest. For the second time this evening, we all held our breath as Rhead was able to climb out to the applause of the crowd. A very tough night for Rhead as he’s most likely feeling very lucky to walk away from two scary wrecks. The green was back out and Dan Root Jr was now the leader. Mitch Pehrson and Zach Webster battled very close for second as Pehrson was looking mighty fast this evening. Root Jr started to drive away from the field as he was looking for his first win at MVS. Webster eventually got by Pehrson for second with Patrick Gold following into third. Gold wanted more as he was able to move by Webster for second and had a full straightaway to makeup if he wanted to catch the leader Root Jr. The deficit didn’t seem to bother Gold as he was able to close in on Root Jr for the lead when the yellow flew for Jason Quale and Troy Gardner coming together in turn 3 and both going into the wall. Once the scene was cleaned up, we were back to green flag racing with leader Root Jr getting sideways coming out of turn 4 which bottlenecked the field. Root Jr and Webster made contact during the mayhem and sent Root Jr into the turn 1 wall. Behind them, Gold and Natalie Waters got together with Waters’ car climbing the left rear of Gold’s car putting Waters up on two wheels and eventually back on all four. The red flag came out to tow some damaged machines off the track and clean up the area. Once the race resumed, Webster was now the leader with Fahrner and Quale running close behind. Fahrner started to work over Webster for the lead where he dropped to the inside and made the winning pass on Webster. Quale was able to get by Webster for second but once Fahrner was out in front, nobody could catch him as he earned his third win of the year. Besides having the toughest night of his career, Eric Rhead was crowned the 2021 ICCU Modified champion at MVS in addition to the Idaho State Championship and the West Region Championship for Division 1 under the Nascar Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series banner.
The Magic Valley Pipe Hornets made their final appearance of the year. Danny Beem led it early but a fast closing Zach Rydalch and Brayden Sweatfield started to make it exciting. Sweatfield made an outside pass on Beem that brought the crowd to its feet and grabbed the number one spot. Rydalch also got by Beem for second and tried to hunt down Sweatfield for the lead. Sweatfield wasn’t going to be denied as he took the win and Zach Rydalch crowned as your 2021 Magic Valley Pipe Hornet champion!
The annual season ending Quale’s Electronics Trailer Race of Destruction took place next that featured some campers, boats, and a hot tub. The fans were entertained to some smashing of many boats and campers disintegrating on the race track. The hot tub came off its trailer and stayed intact on the inside of turn 3. The fans went wild cheering for more destruction but in the end John Hankle was the last man standing with his trailer and was the 2021 Quale’s Electronics Trailer Race of Destruction winner!
We would like to congratulate our selfie winner this evening, Miranda Edison. That brings the 2021 racing season at Magic Valley Speedway to a close. The 2021 MVS awards banquet will be held at Cactus Petes in Jackpot on November 13th. For details and ticket information, please visit magicvalleyspeedway.com. We want to congratulate all of our champions and also want to thank our loyal fans and staff for making this year a successful one. Keep up to date during the off season by visiting our website or Facebook page. We look forward to seeing everyone in April of 2022 when we open the gates once again for another exciting racing season at the entertainment capital of the valley……….Magic Valley Speedway!!