Roger Diez: Exciting finishes last Saturday at Fernley 95A

Two of the five A mains at Fernley 95A Speedway last Saturday night were settled by a pass on the last turn of the last lap.

Mark Serchio Jr. pulled it off in the Pure Stock main, diving underneath Shaun Burton in turn four to take the win. In Hobby Stock, points leader and defending champion Carl Barlow tried everything in his bag of tricks to get by Tom Haxall, finally shouldering his way past in turn four to end a two-race losing streak.

The finish of the Super Stock 4 main wasn’t quite so exciting, as Justin Busch had the field covered after early leader Justin McIlvain faded to third, allowing Jesse James by for second. Rob Grace led the Pro Stocks wire to wire, with Malen Gonzalez keeping him honest. And Cory Sample worked his way from mid-pack to take the win in IMCA Modified while Tom Purcell advanced from 12th to third in his first outing at Fernley this season. Jeff Olschowka was second. Tonight is the second night of the first annual David Richardson and Leroy Kay Memorial Race, featuring a Western States Dwarf Car Association National event. Up to 100 cars are expected to participate. Racing will start at 6 p.m., and regular admission prices apply.

•••

If you like classic cars, check out next weekend’s Silver Dollar Car Classic. The event kicks off Thursday night at the Plaza, moves to the parking lot across from the Nugget Friday night, and on to Mills Park Saturday and Sunday.

•••

Mackena Bell continues to search for good luck in the K&N Pro Series East. She was caught up in another accident in New Hampshire last Friday night, finishing eight laps down in 27th place. Bell is looking for a better result today at Columbus Motor Speedway, where she finished 11th last season.

•••

Bell had something in common with Penske driver Joey Logano, whose race ended in a collision with 72-year-old Morgan Shepherd in Sunday’s Sprint Cup contest. The incident raised some questions about senior drivers and whether keys should be taken away at some point. Shepherd was 15 laps down at the time of the accident, coping with an ill-handling car, and some drivers questioned whether he was even making minimum speed. Jeff Gordon opined perhaps minimum speed regulations should be revisited, so we might see some changes in regulations for 2015 or sooner. Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski went on to victory, joining Jimmie Johnson as a three-time winner on the season. Johnson’s blown tire put him out early with a 42nd place finish. The Cup drivers have a rare weekend off this week, but expect to see several of them driving in the Nationwide race at Chicagoland Speedway.

•••

The NASCAR Camping World Truck series makes its second annual trip to Eldora Speedway this Wednesday night for their one and only dirt track race. Last year’s event was quite entertaining, with Kyle Larson dominating, but not winning. Watch Larson Wednesday evening, as he’s the driver on the entry list with the most recent dirt racing experience, and he’s as aggressive as they come.

•••

The IndyCar race at Iowa proved the only lap that counts is the last one. Ganassi driver Tony Kanaan dominated the race, but a late caution and new tires allowed 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay to charge to the front of the field in the closing laps and take the checkers. Coincidentally, Hunter-Reay was also voted the ESPY Award winner in the Driver of the Year category. The series moves north to Toronto this weekend for the third and final doubleheader race of the season.

•••

The Formula One circus moves to Germany this weekend for the German GP at Hockenheim. There are five Germans in the field vying to win their home race: Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil for Sauber, and Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg. None of the four have ever won at the Hockenheim circuit. Although Vettel won last year’s German round at the Nurburgring, Rosberg is as close to a sure thing this weekend as you’ll ever find in racing.