Roger Diez: Natenstedt tops locals at Fernley 95A

In local racing news, last Saturday’s season opener at Fernley 95A Speedway was well-attended by drivers and fans. Approximately 50 cars were on hand, with the IMCA A Modifieds fielding enough cars to run six heats and a B main. Shawn Natenstedt of Fernley topped local drivers with a third place in the A main behind California racers Alex Stanford and Randy McDaniel. Gardnerville’s Robert Miller was eighth. Two Dayton drivers topped the Hobby Stock A main with Royce Goetz taking the win over Randy Boyd. Goetz’s brother Rocky came home third. Brian Cooper bested the B Modified A main competitors, with Craig Nieman second. And Katie Robinson took the Pure Stock win with Mikki Beauchat second and Jesse Showe third. The next race is a daytime event on June 13, with racing to begin at 11 a.m. This weekend Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon is back in action with at two-day event that started Friday. They are racing all track classes plus the second annual I-80 Challenge. All other Octanefest events have been rescheduled for Sept. 4-5.

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Also this weekend the NTT IndyCar series is on track for the first time this season, racing at Texas Motor Speedway in the Genesys 300. Race coverage on NBC begins Saturday evening at 4 p.m. Qualifying will air at 2 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon leads active drivers with three Texas wins, while Team Penske pilot Will Power has two. Josef Newgarden is the defending champ, scoring his single Texas victory for Team Penske last season.

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Last weekend’s Bristol finish was one for the books, with Chase Elliott sliding up into Joey Logano on a restart with a lap to go. The move put both into the wall and Brad Keselowski won in overtime, his second checkered flag of the season. The stare that Logano leveled at Elliott in pit lane after the race was one that all married men will recognize… the infamous “death stare.” A serious discussion ensued, but no punches were thrown.

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All three of NASCAR’s top divisions are racing at Atlanta this weekend, maintaining the pattern of no practice, no qualifying, no spectators. The Gander Trucks race will air on FOX Sports 1 at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the Xfinity series at 1:30 p.m. on FOX. FOX will also air the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 NASCAR Cup race Sunday at noon. No spectator tickets are being sold for any NASCAR events until the July 16 All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As reported here earlier, there will be no race at Sonoma this season, so the closest live event to us here will be the second Las Vegas Cup race on Sept. 27.

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Six active drivers have won at Atlanta, and Jimmie Johnson leads the pack with five. His most recent win was in 2016. Keselowski is the defending winner at Atlanta, and also won in 2017. Kurt Busch has posted three wins, but the most recent was in 2010. Brother Kyle won in 2013, the most recent of his pair of wins. Kevin Harvick has also won twice, most recently in 2018. Denny Hamlin posted a single Atlanta victory in 2012.

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Finally, Formula 1 has released a tentative schedule for their first eight post-quarantine races. The first two races will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria July 5 and July 12, with race number three on July 18 at the Hungaroring. After a weekend off, another back to back pair of races at Silverstone in England. No word yet on when spectators will be allowed. More news when it’s available.