Last weekend’s two-day event at Fernley 95A Speedway was bittersweet. The race was a memorial to David Richardson and Leroy Kay, who lost their lives at the track last summer. It was also a national race for the Western States Dwarf Car Association, and Reno racer Joe Frock spanked a field of 24 drivers from Nevada, California, and Oregon with a wire-to-wire victory. The track will hold its ninth points race of the season tonight, with IMCA Modifieds, Sport Mods, Pro Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Super Stock 4s, and Pure Stocks on the program. Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. and racing starts at 6. Next weekend the track hosts Monster Trucks and chain car racing, with a Sprint Car versus Monster Truck wheelie contest. It will be a two-day show, Saturday and Sunday.
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If classic cars and hot rods are your thing, head over to Mills Park for the Silver Dollar Car Classic. It’s a much more relaxed and intimate show than Hot August Nights, with some of the same great cars. Start out the day with a pancake breakfast at the park, served up from 8 until 10:30 a.m. by the Dayton Kiwanis Club, then wander through the park and feast your eyes on some beautiful machinery.
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Carson City’s Mackena Bell just can’t seem to catch a break this season. In last Saturday’s race at Columbus Motor Speedway she had not one, but two flat tires early in the race. This put her at the back of the pack, and then the sway bar broke and sidelined her. It has not been the season Bell was hoping for.
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The IndyCar doubleheader at Toronto brought up an interesting question: when is a red flag not a red flag? While officials tried to get Saturday’s race started on a rain-slick track, Will Power spun and hit the wall coming to the green flag, causing the start to be aborted. As the rain worsened, the red flag was thrown, but Power’s Penske crew was allowed to work on the car, much to the consternation of notables such as A.J. Foyt and Michael Andretti, who thought the situation was favoritism toward Penske. Subsequently, race officials allowed everyone to work on their cars. Derrick Walker later explained since the race had not officially started, working on the cars was allowed, even though the track was under red. In any case, both races of the doubleheader were run on Sunday; the first on a dry track and the second in mixed wet/dry conditions. Sebastian Bourdais won his first IndyCar race since 2007 in the first event, and Mike Conway scored a victory in the second race for Ed Carpenter’s team.
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To no one’s surprise, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won his home grand prix from the pole at the Nurburgring in Germany last Sunday. But his teammate Lewis Hamilton staged the drive of the race, starting 20th after crashing in qualifying and finishing in third place while challenging Valtteri Bottas for second. It was an amazing display of tire management, skill, and controlled aggression on Hamilton’s part. Rosberg’s victory extended his point lead, so Hamilton is highly motivated to win Sunday in Hungary before the series goes on its four-week summer hiatus.
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This weekend promises to be super-busy for race fans. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is just over the hill at Sonoma this weekend, drawing lots of fans from our area. It’s also the Super Weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, starting with the United Sports Car series on the road course Friday, and featuring the NASCAR Nationwide series on the oval today, and Sprint Cup series Sunday, back on ESPN/ABC. The Camping World Trucks ran on Wednesday night on the dirt at Eldora Speedway, the second year for the event. Bubba Wallace won after a spirited late-race duel with Kyle Larson. Unfortunately Larson smacked the wall once too often and broke the front suspension, ending his challenge.