Fernley 95A Speedway Season Opens
By Roger Diez
Fernley 95A Speedway opened its 2012 season on Saturday, April 14 with a full racing program on the 3/8 mile clay oval. The track is under new management headed up by Vuki Wilson and Matt Ramthun with the slogan “A Racers’ Track Run by Racers”. Six racing divisions were on hand, plus a contingent of Box Stock Outlaw Karts driven by kids 5-10 years old.
The Pure Stock Minis were first up, with Reno’s Travis Barr taking the lead at the green flag. Fallon’s Alfred Bishop soon passed Barr and held the lead until a caution for the stalled car of Shawn Burton of Fernley. Bishop took off on the restart while Justin Schilling of Stagecoach and Dayton’s Loghan Cologna battled for second. Barr passed both of them for the spot and was closing in on Bishop when the checkered flag flew. The finishing order was Bishop, Barr, Cologna, and Schilling. Earlier heat race wins went to Bishop and Schilling
Next were the Dwarf cars, scaled-down replicas of 1930s jalopies powered by motorcycle engines. Shane Ramthun of Carson City took the early lead and held it to the halfway point, when Dayton’s Race Wilson took over. The pair swapped the lead a couple of times while Roy Peterson of Yerington ran third. At the checker it was Wilson, Peterson, Ramthun, and Chase Nieman of Quincy, California. Wilson and Peterson each took a heat race win.
Stephen Crook of Sparks ran off and hid at the green flag in the Modified Mini main, until he slowed with an apparent blown engine in the final turn of the last lap. Reno’s Kenny Martin inherited the win, with Fernley’s Steve Crook coming home second. Mechanical woes also sidelined Justin Mcilvain of Sparks. Although he came up short in the main, Stephen Crook won the heat race handily.
The Hobby Stock division fielded 17 cars. Fallon’s Chris Neal led the early laps with Carl Barlow of Silver Springs, Fernley’s Brian Moore, Dean Clark of Silver Springs, and Reno’s Rick Miller all jockeying for position behind him. Barlow took the lead several laps later, and was never headed. There was lots of action as the leaders worked their way through lapped traffic, and Moore got by Neal for second while Dayton’s Royce Goetz passed Clark and Miller to take a top five spot. At the finish it was Barlow, Moore, Neal, Goetz, and a distant Clark. Heat race winners were Barlow, Richard Italiano of Sparks, and Reno’s Jake Baker.
Jesse Gonzales of Fallon had a flag-to-flag run in the Pro Stock division. Gonzales pulled out a huge lead with Reno’s Craig Nieman running all by himself in second. Behind him, Carson City’s Gary Nevers, Rob Grace of Fallon, and Mound House’s Dean Cichowicz battled over third place. David Rauscher of Reno spun and the caution flag bunched the field, then Reno’s Jack Randall spun on the restart and caused another caution, while Grace’s car stalled with a mechanical problem. Cichowicz hit Nieman in turn four on the next restart, causing yet another caution. Nieman chased down Cichowicz and rammed him under caution to express his displeasure. Both drivers were sent to the pits for rough driving. When the green flag flew again, Gonzales led the field to the checker, followed by Josh Ogg of Reno, Nevers, Reno’s Scott Doich, and Dwight Bolton of Gardnerville. Grace took the heat race victory.
The IMCA Modified division was the last to run, with the largest field of the night at 19 cars. Will Zinn of Litchfield, California took the lead from pole and held it until Yerington’s Gene Kay blasted by him on the restart after a caution. Kay and Janesville, California’s Wade Kennemore battled nose to tail while Zinn came under pressure from Fernley’s Shawn Natenstedt. Zinn spun, bringing out the second caution, and Natenstedt dive-bombed Kay in turn one on the restart to take the lead. Natenstedt pulled out a big lead while Kay had his hands full Kennemore and Gardnerville’s Russ Cazier advanced to fourth. Kennemore hit Kay and was black-flagged, but refused to pit, so the caution came out to remove him from the track. Cazier took second behind Natenstedt on the final restart and the race ended with Natenstedt taking the win followed by Cazier, Zinn, Lovelock’s Alec Childs, and Wade Lumsden of Reno. Natenstedt and Kay won their respective heat races.
Racing returns to Fernley 95A Speedway on April 28. Spectator gates open at 3 pm, racing starts at 6 pm. General admission is $8, with $5 tickets for kids 8-14 and seniors. Kids under 8, military in uniform and disabled persons are free. Visit fernley95Aspeedway.com for more information.