Robert Miller chalked up another IMCA Modified win at Fernley 95A Speedway last Saturday night, his sixth at that track and 14th feature win of the season, counting victories at Fallon and Lovelock. Jake Holland, second in track points, followed Miller to the checker, with Royce Goetz, Paris Archie, and Shawn Natenstedt finishing third through fifth. Rob Grace scored his third consecutive Pro Stock win, with Gary Nevers second, Craig Neiman third, David Rauscher fourth, and James Gonzalez fifth. Rick Miller got the lead at the green flag of the Street Stock main, and led all the way to the checker. Dwight Bolton finished second, with Jake Baker, Michael Burns, and Jim Erie rounding out the top five. Joe Frock once again demolished the Dwarf car field, starting at the back and charging to the lead almost immediately. Bobby Wilson came home in second, with Calvin Ryle third, Glenn Sciaranni fourth, and Billy Canham fifth. In the Super Stock 4 main, Danielle Paine grabbed the lead at the green flag, dropped to third, and came back to finish second behind winner Justin Busch. It was Busch’s sixth win at Fernley this season. Dennis Crook took third, Kenny Schmitt fourth, and Steven Crook Sr. was fifth. Rich Innis has won every Pure Stock main event but one this season, and Saturday night was no exception as he took his 11th checkered flag of 2015. Jim Paulk led briefly, but had to settle for second ahead of Trevor Quell and Tony Boguski. The 3/8 mile clay oval at Fernley is back in action tonight, with spectator gates open at 3 p.m. and racing starting at 6.
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In other locally-oriented racing news, Carson City’s Mackena Bell has a chance to get back in a race car next season, but she needs your help. Obaika Racing and Vroom Brands are looking for a driver for their Xfinity Series entry for 2016, and Bell is in the running. All you have to do is go to the VroomBrands Facebook page, like the page, and type in Mackena’s name in the comments section. Take a minute to do that, and we have a chance to be able to cheer on a local racing hero in NASCAR next season.
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The IndyCar finale at Sonoma last Sunday began with a poignant tribute to Justin Wilson, who lost his life in a freak accident at Pocono the week before. The championship was on the line, and the smart money was on Juan Pablo Montoya of Team Penske, who had led the point standings the whole season. But the race goes to the swift, and on this particular day the racing gods bestowed the speed on Ganassi Racing veteran Scott Dixon. At the checker, Dixon and Montoya were tied in points, but the win gave Dixon the championship based on three wins to Montoya’s two. It doesn’t get any closer than that!
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With IndyCar finished for the season, there’s still lots of racing coming up. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has just two more races to go to determine which 16 drivers are going to make the Chase for the Championship, NASCAR’s version of a playoff. This weekend the Sprint Cup series, along with the Xfinity series, is racing at the historic Darlington track, called “The Lady in Black” for good reason. In addition to the serious business of making the Chase, there’s been some fun added this weekend, with throwback paint schemes recalling famous bygone teams and drivers, and Goodyear is even supplying a throwback tire sidewall design. Some of us have been around long enough to remember the originals!
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The Formula One circus visits the historic Monza track this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix, with Ferrari and their fans hoping the Prancing Horse can overtake the Silver Arrows to win their home race. Friday practice wasn’t kind to those hopes, with Sebastian Vettel unable to run faster than three-quarters of a second behind the Mercedes team. Qualifying was scheduled for 5 a.m. this morning, but I’m going on record ahead of time to predict another Lewis Hamilton pole and win.
