- Late Model winner Robby Minten
- IMCA Modified winner Steven Whiteaker Jr
- Limited Modified winner Johnny Torres
- Factory Stock winner Dillon Gaither
- Fireball winner Brandon Spreen
By JM Hallas
Pleasanton, TX.,(March 8th, 2025) RIP Hurricane
After an open pizza party practice Friday night it was time for some racing action. I-37 Speedway hosted the Jamie Campbell Memorial on the ¼ mile, semi-banked, clay oval just outside Pleasanton. The night honored a long-time central Texas racer, Jamie Campbell, tragically killed in a highway auto accident last year. On hand were his widow and daughter, family and friends to celebrate his memory. The race paid $1029 with $129 to start the 29-lap A-main event. Several drivers related their stories of Campbell who could be quite a character at times.
Now to something a bit more light-hearted, Saturday night dirt track racing.
On the nights racing slate were the Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Limited Modifieds, Factory Stocks and Fireballs. The Late Models and Factory Stocks both had some track time the previous week as support classes for the Elite Outlaw Sprint Series. Marcus Mikulencak outran, literally, the Late Model field for the win, while Dillon Gaither easily outdistanced the Factory Stocks on hand. Marcus Thomas got by local driver, Preston Perlmutter(San Antonio) just past halfway on a restart to take those checkers.
***Sport Compacts begin their season on March 29th when points begin for all classes.
Late Model Money to Minten
As the Late Model feature fired off it was Robby Minten with a good launch getting to turn 1 first. Brother, Talon Minten, Kody Hardage, Ryan Doyon and Ray Doyon fell in line. Lap 3 saw Ra. Doyon spin and get drilled by AJ Dancer for a yellow. On the restart it was three wide for second between T. Minten, Hardage and Ry. Doyon. T. Minten spun collecting Hardage and Dancer.
Once back to green, Ry. Doyon took a look inside R. Minten for the lead while T. Minten made his way back towards the front. Ry. Doyon gave R. Minten another look before R. Minten started to pull away. At halfway it was R. Minten, Ry. Doyon, Hardage, T. Minten and Landon Sowder in the top five before T. Minten had his second spin, ending his night.
The final half of the 20-lapper the field spread out giving R. Minten the chance to increase his margin over Ry. Doyon up to a half straightaway. R. Minten(LaCoste) would cruise unchallenged to the win in his 3-D Landscaping, Site One, Alamo Truck Accessories, 3G Irrigation, Rainbird, (borrowed)crate powered, Back Diamond Chassis.
“A lot of work in the off season paid off,” exclaimed Minten. “I took it to Cade Dillard and he went through it and it helped out. I was hoping for a better turn out tonight. I was surprised to see how few cars we had show up. But, I got to race with, and beat my family, so it's cool racing with them. I hugged the tires this week. I have a lot of fun running the high line, but figured I'd take it easy on the car this weekend. Race smarter!”
“Once I got out there I was looking for Ryan(Doyon) and I didn't know how Talon would do tonight back in that car. Kody(Hardage) was fast in the heat so I knew he'd probably be right on me. I think he went to the back early in the race though. I didn't have any bets with the family, but I did with some co-workers, if I finished the race, I'd win the race. Me and Talon will banter a bit.”
Late Models by Nogalitos Gear
24 Robby Minten, 5r Ryan Doyon, 12 Kody Hardage, 52 AJ Dancer, 14 Ty Walley, 14rm Talon Minten, 9 Ray Doyon III, 08 Landon Sowder---dq(did not go to tech)
Late Model heat
Heat 1; 24r Robby Minten, 12 Kody Hardage, 14rm Talon Minten, 5r Ryan Doyon, 9r Ray Doyon, 08 Landon Sowder, 52 AJ Dancer, 14 Ty Walley---dns
Whiteaker Wins a Wild One
The start of the 29-lap IMCA Modified main was an indication of how the race would go. Steven Whiteaker jr. and Chris Carroll ran door to door, literally, through turns 1-2. As they came to the line, Cameron Starry got crossed up off turn 4 making contact with Robert Liese jr. and Brian Harbison. On the next start Whiteaker and Carroll again stayed tied at the rub rails before Whiteaker got the spot. Carroll fell in line ahead of Harbison, Starry and Liese.
Ryan Doyon got into turn 3 a bit too hard clipping Rick Green sending him around for a lap 3 yellow. Back to green, Whiteaker got away leaving Starry and Carroll side by side. As Whiteaker started to ease away, Harbison caught and got past Starry for third. David Gibson would loop it on lap 8 for a quick yellow. As the race resumed Carroll and Harbison were now exchanging vinyl giving Starry an opening to blast past both for second.
Two spins and a debris caution kept the action to a minimum until they finally got going coming to the crossed flags with Whiteaker, Starry, Talon Minten, Marcus Mikulencak and Raymond McSpadden now in the top five. As Whiteaker started to motor away, Doyon, from the tail, made it back up front getting by McSpadden for fifth. Doyon then ran down Mikulencak for fourth going three wide around lapped traffic twice.
Arian Gassman, Gilbert Amezquita, McSpadden and Gibson all tangled in turn 3 for a lap 23 yellow. The leader, Whiteaker, now had a door panel dragging after early race contact with Carroll. As a safety concern, officials removed the panel without penalty or being forced to pit. Whiteaker(Robstown) quickly got away from Starry going on to the victory in the On Demand Shirts, DS&S Construction, Supreme Vinyl Works, Mike Terry Motorsports, Rush Racegear by Austin Witt, WW Bodies, Wehrs, 8T1 Construction, SRC Carburators, FK Rod Ends, AT21 Components, Tru-Form, Nasty Cookers, 4S Starry Ranch, Best Engines, CDR by 89 Motorsports Chassis.
“Chris Carroll needed a couple lanes out there.” stated Whiteaker. “Nah, we were just tight racing there. I was trying to crowd him a little. I think he a little more but he got too low and locked up the tires and he had no where to go but into the side of me. I had no clue it was hanging off that far until they told me to stop under that caution. I was appreciative that the track does that. A lot of tracks they throw a debris caution and send you to the back. 90% of the time it's probably not the drivers fault.”
“I really never saw Cameron(Starry). He told me he could get there beside but he struggled going into (turn) 1. I didn't feel good(with the car) at all. Because it didn't feel good and I had nothing to go by, I'd just kind of park it on the bottom. I was going slow and the slower you got the worse it got. Once we got rolling I was able to put a bit of distance on him, but it didn't feel good at all. I was doing everything I could to park it on the bottom.”
“I thought I broke something in the heat race. It started shaking worse and worse. The last three laps it was really bad. When I took the white I just about spun it out. I was surprised no one went around me since I ran that whole lap on a flat.”
“I talked my wife into letting me do whatever I wanted this year racing. I want to run as much as I can. I got tired being a mediocre driver. I'm on a mission to make my car faster and be as dominant as I was at home and be competitive out of town. Then I'll probably see my way out and let Steven III take over.”
IMCA Modifieds by Rush Racegear by AW
89 Steven Whiteaker jr., 8js Cameron Starry, 9m Marcus Mikulencak 5r Ryan Doyon, 77 Robert Liese jr., 366 David Gibson, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 77x Gilbert Amezquita, 88 Arian Gassman, 11x Brian Harbison, 15 Chris Carroll, 82 Rick Green, 55 Rick Talley, 22z Talon Minten----dq(light)
IMCA Modified Heats
Heat 1; 11x Brian Harbison, 15 Chris Carroll, 77 Robert Liese jr., 48r Raymond McSpadden, 5r Ryan Doyon, 88 Arian Gassman, 22z Talon Minten
Heat 2; 89 Steven Whiteaker jr., 8js Cameron Starry, 82 Rick Green, 9m Marcus Mikulencak, 366 David Gibson, 55 Rick Talley,x77 Gilbert Amezquita
Torres Tallies for Terry
It was Johnny Torres beating Trent Beaver into turn 1 at the start of the 20-lap Limited Modified feature. Beaver got a better run off turn 2 and alongside J. Torres on the back stretch and led back to the line. Allen Torres got by his brother for second with Bobby Smith and Joe Aramendia fourth and fifth. J. Torres quickly took second back and began looking low on Beaver for the lead.
It appeared Beaver had trouble getting the car rotated mid-corner giving J. Torres the bottom coming off turn 4. J. Torres used the opening to take the point on lap 4 while Tom Grothues, Logan Densman and Roly Rodriguez were three wide for sixth. Grothues and Densman would both go around from that scrap for a lap 9 caution. On the restart coming to halfway it was J. Torres, Beaver, with Smith and Aramendia getting by A. Torres.
A. Torres retook fourth while Beaver exited the track from second. A. Torres then got second from Smith but was a half straight behind his brother. Aramendia slipped in turn 2 giving Tom Grothues the chance to close as the top three spread out and pulled away. Smith would pull off from third with two to go.
As the white flag waved J. Torres(San Antonio) had increased his advantage over his brother in second to almost a straightaway going on to snag the victory in the Mike Terry owned, Comanche Concrete, TexMix, Western Concrete Pumping, SWL Inc Concrete Clean up, Supreme Graphics, Head Racing, Mike Terry Motorsports, Rerher and Morrison powered IRP Chassis.
“Trent(Beaver) was a bit tight in the middle,” explained Torres. “We kind of got backed up a little after he thought he was clear and we made some contact. Allen got by me during that. I just regrouped and was able to turn in better than them. Once we got going I was faster. If push comes to shove, I'll push back in anything I drive. We'll fix it. I thought if I didn't get off the bottom I'd be hard to get around. So the only way would be knock me out of the way. If they knock me out of the way, we both lose.”
“I set this car up for Mike(Terry) during the off season. It's a brand new IRP. So we've been talking about set ups and stuff. Different things we want to try. This weekend he was going on a cruise, knew I had nothing to drive, so he offered up his car. It's ready for him to go win a race in it now.”
“I got the I-Stock so I could travel around this year. Take some racing vacations. Just get to do things I've never done. I won a lot of races last year, but didn't have as much fun as usual. So, I thought I'd change it up and see if I could have more fun again.”
Limited Modifieds
15t Johnny Torres, 94 Allen Torres, 14t Joe Aramendia, 11t Tom Grothues, 12r Roly Rodriguez, 26 Logan Densman, 822 Clint Everage, 9s Bobby Smith, 14 Trent Beaver
Limited Modified Heat
Heat 1; 14 Trent Beaver, 15t Johnny Torres, 9s Bobby Smith, 94 Allen Torres, 14t Joe Aramendia, 26 Logan Densman, 12r Roly Rodriguez, 11t Tom Grothues, 822 Clint Everage
Gaither Goes for Green Again
The Factory Stock feature saw Dillon Gaither jump out front chased by Hunter Peterson, Trey Heald, Johnny Walker Brown and Danny Dear. Peterson would loop it in turn 1 with Brown getting by Heald for second, before a debris caution would slow the pace on lap 4. Brown would spin on the restart with Dear getting by Heald and Peterson in the back up. Peterson would retake second from Dear who would then give up third to Heald.
At halfway it was Gaither, Peterson, Heald, Dear and Brown. Stephanie Green would have her first of two spins for a lap 11 caution, re-bunching the field. On the restart, Peterson got sideways and got finished off by Heald in turn 4. On the next restart, Brown got second from Peterson while Heald quickly made his way back up getting past Dear for fourth, then Peterson for third.
Another Green spin on lap 15 set up a five lap shootout for the win. Gaither and Brown left Heald and Peterson side by side for third, with Peterson getting the spot. Peterson then worked on Brown for second briefly taking the spot before sliding high and spinning off turn 4. This left Gaither(San Antonio) with a half straightaway margin easily taking another checkers in his Paul Horelka owned, Opiela Mechanical, SABFI Transportation, All in Designs, Gaither Motorsports, Chevy.
“It was good to be the first feature out,” said Gaither. “That counted for a lot. I was a little tight but I managed to get there. The Late Models out there putting rubber down didn't matter much tonight since we were the first class out. It started getting slick, but had patches of tacky spots. If we would have run later in the show, it would be a whole different set up.”
“I give the credit to Paul(Horelka) he works on this car time after time. We may make a few changes here at the track. I don't know if its motor, or driving it. I've got a lot of laps around this track. That helps out for sure. It could be the car, we have it dialed in. We can be better. I know it doesn't show it, but the past couple weeks we've actually struggled a bit. It's tight in the center. If we could just get it to rotate a bit better in the center we'd be a lot better.
“We 're running the grooved tires since Corpus is. As long as they allow it, we'll stick with them. They do give some more grip on entry. It just helps all the way around. I think it's going to help the class a lot more.”
Factory Stocks by All in Designs
41 Dillon Gaither, 7 Johnny Walker Brown, 14t Trey Heald, 64 Danny Dear, 19 Hunter Peterson, 757 Stephanie Green, 82 Treyler Caulfield
Factory Stock Heat
Heat 1; 41 Dillon Gaither, 14t Trey Heald, 7 Johnny Walker Brown, 19 Hunter Peterson, 64 Danny Dear, 82 Treyler Caulfield,757 Stephanie Green
Green for Spreen in Fireball Feature
The front row of Michael Keylich and Blaine Markgraf wasted little time swapping paint coming to green at the start of the 20-lap feature. The young Markgraf beat the veteran, Keylich back to the line to lead lap 1. Keylich fell in second trailed by Brandon Spreen and Cody Earnhardt. Shane Stonebraker did a half spin collecting Joseph Montemayor for a lap 1 caution.
On the restart, Spreen took second leaving Keylich door to door with Co. Earnhardt for third. Spreen quickly pressured Markgraf for the lead with the duo side by side until Spreen secured the spot. Co. Earnhardt got third from Keylich leaving him battling with Clint Montanio. Coming to halfway it was Spreen, Markgraf, Co. Earnhardt as Keylich and Montanio continued to swap the spot.
Markgraf began to apply pressure on Spreen for the lead back while Keylich and Montanio swapped fourth corner for corner. Jeffrey Walker brought out a late caution on lap 18 going over the turn 3 hill. This set up a two-lap shootout for the win. As Spreen crept ahead, Co. Earnhardt took second from Markgraf and was now looking high on Spreen. Markgraf would slide into the infield as the white waved. A regular Dwarf Car racer, Spreen(Boerne) would grab his first Fireball win in the Swenson Shocks and Chassis, Spreen Carburators and Race Engines, Chevy.
“It's fun to come back every now and then to run the big cars,” commented Spreen. “It's a different challenge. I think it hones your skills running a big car and little cars. Kelly(Marbach) asked me to drive it. He owns it, wrenches on it, I just get to have fun. We had some transmission problems last time we were out. Got a new one in and it seemed to work good.”
“That young (Blaine) Markgraf boy definitely has this track figured out. He slipped a bit off turn 2 one time and I was able to capitalize on his mistake. I don't do much different than driving my Dwarf Car. Kelly told me to drive it like it's mine. I'm obviously cautious around people I don't know. I just drive it like I own it.”
Fireballs by Johnson HVAC Supply
6 Brandon Spreen, 33 Cody Earnhardt, 44 Michael Keylich, 8s Charles Earnhardt III, 93 Clint Montanio, 56 Jeffrey Walker, h2s Shane Stonebraker, 41 Blaine Markgraf, 5 Jeff Wills, 37 Justin Henley, 98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 329fa Marcus Buckley---dns
Fireball Heats
Heat 1; 44 Michael Keylich, h2s Shane Stonebraker, 33 Cody Earnhardt, 37 Justin Henley, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 5 Jeff Wills, 329af Marcus Buckley
Heat 2; 41 Blaine Markgraf, 6 Brandon Spreen, 56 Jeffrey Walker,93 Clint Montanio ,98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 8s Charles Earnhardt III
The regular points season kicks off March 29th with the “Spring Green” event featuring the Late Models, Limited Modifieds, Factory Stocks, Fireballs and Sport Compacts, plus the first of two appearances by the STIMS(South Texas IMCA Modified Series)