Peterson Wins on Autism Speaks Night at Deming Speedway

5/3/19

Jared Peterson had to pass for the lead for separate times before he finally secured the top spot and the win on Autism Speaks night at Deming Speedway, presented by Doyle Guffie’s Rallye Auto Sales and KAFE 104.1. The five class show finished at 9:21pm with Jared Gundersen, Shane Smith, Malachi Gemmer and Levi Hillier winning the other divisions.

It took Jared Peterson four different passes for the lead for the pass to actually stick as he won his first main of the year in the Speedmart 600 Open class. On four different occasions, Peterson passed race leader Skyler Jennings but on the first three, caution flags came out with the whole field not having made the entire lap and the lineup reverted. On the fourth try, Peterson threw a massive slider on Jennings through turns three and four that stuck, and the entire field made the lap, giving Peterson the lead for good and the victory. Ryley Mayer and Kyle Johnson were second and third. The heats were won by Peterson, Jennings and Colin Mackey.

A late race restart proved beneficial for Shane Smith on his way to his first win with the Wicked Energy Gum Focus Midget Series. The focus midgets do Delaware style restarts with the leader by himself and rows doubled up behind him. Race leader Matt Loving swung wide on the restart at the exit of corner four and did not get good forward drive, allowing Smith to power through the middle and take the lead by the first turn. Loving would battle with Nick Evans for third, allowing Smith to run away to his first victory in the series by a comfortable margin. Loving would take second and Evans third. Chance Crum and Ross Rankine won the heats.

The first win of the year for Jared Gundersen came via the same veteran guile and patience he showed in winning the 2018 track championship for the Shots 2 Go Espresso 1200 class. Gundersen stayed to the bottom of the speedway as he closed on race leader Tyson Lemley with the pair approaching slower cars. With only nine laps to go, Gundersen pulled even with Lemley on the bottom of the fourth turn and led the lap as the pair stayed side by side into the ensuing corners. With a slow car moving to the high groove, Gundersen stayed low and secured the top spot, then cut his way through the rest of the slower traffic to grab the victory. Steven Hendrickson took the second spot from Lemley late. Heat wins went to Hendrickson, Cal Herdson and Terry Lewis.

Slower traffic played a huge factor in Malachi Gemmer’s win in the Mytrafficman.NET 600 Restricted class. Levi Klatt had set a torrid pace but Gemmer had kept him within striking distance when the pair entered traffic. With slower traffic occupying both the high and low grooves, Gemmer made his way inside Klatt off turn then split the slow cars right down the middle on the back straightaway to secure the lead. Klatt would close back in on Gemmer on the final lap, but Gemmer used the heavy slower traffic to impede Klatt and take the victory. Blaine Granberg rounded out the podium. Carson Guffie, Seth Anderlini and Carson Borden won the heat races.

Four races into 2019 and it’s been the Levi and Levi show in the Clean Crawls Junior Sprints. For the second straight week, Levi Hillier was the winner, leading from lap 2 all the way through 20 in front of Levi Kuntz in taking the victory. Kuntz and Hiller are the only two feature winners thus far on the season. Taking third on the night was Peyton Drake. Heat winners were Kane Van Sickle and Hillier.

Speedmart 600 Open

Heat 1 – Skyler Jennings, Tyler McLeod, Kaitlyn Hammer, Derek Torkelson, Tanner Reid, Ryan Holz, Levi Klatt

Heat 2 – Jared Peterson, Brock Lemley, Devon Borden, Kyle Johnson, Reece Wickard, Rachel Westmoreland, Jason Schapansky

Heat 3 – Colin Mackey, Dylan Resch, Ryley Mayer, Cody Hogarth, Jeremy Holz, Dakota Drake, Austin Edson

Main – Jared Peterson, Mayer, Johnson, Resch, Hammer, J Holz, Hogarth, Borden, McLeod, Wickard, Drake, Westmoreland, Schapansky, Lemley, Mackey, Torkelson, Edson, Reid, Jennings, R Holz

Lap Leaders – Jennings 1-9 Peterson 10-25

Hard Charger –

Shots 2 Go Espresso 1200

Heat 1 – Cal Herdson, Clennon Holloway, Jared Gundersen, Nate Vaughn, Tanner Reid, Chad Reid, Seth Hespe

Heat 2 – Steven Hendrickson, Alex Lewis, Chance Crum, Frosty Metcalfe, Alan Lindquist, Tanner Schoonover

Heat 3 – Terry Lewis, Dakota Drake, Tyson Lemley, Derek Holmwood, Dick Williams, Bryce Bogardus

Main – Jared Gundersen, Hendrickson, Lemley, A Lewis, T Lewis, Metcalfe, Holloway, Vaughn, Holmwood, Drake, Herdson, Crum, Schoonover, C Reid, Williams, Hespe, Lindquist, Bogardus, T Reid

Lap Leaders – Lemley 1-15 Gundersen 16-25

Hard Charger –

Wicked Energy Gum Focus Midgets

Heat 1 – Chance Crum, Matt Loving, Shane Smith, Nick Evans, Greg Thornhill, Brian Hayes

Heat 2 – Ross Rankine, Riley Vaillant, Alden Ostrom, Jeremiah Franklin, Ray Stebbins

Main – Shane Smith, Loving, Evans, Crum, Franklin, Vaillant, Thornhill, Rankine, Stebbins, Hayes, Ostrom

Lap Leaders – Loving 1-13 Smith 14-25

Hard Charger –

Mytrafficman.NET 600 Restricted

Heat 1 – Carson Guffie, Brody Ferguson, Jesson Jacobson, Axel Oudman, Rylee Kentch, Diane Knutzen

Heat 2 – Seth Anderlini, Malachi Gemmer, Haylee Bloodgood, Levi Klatt, Tank Chorney, Tyler Conley

Heat 3 – Carson Borden, Jordi Meese, Blaine Granberg, Baker Fagerlie, Mitchell Helsel, Catherine Fagerlie

Main – Malachi Gemmer, Klatt, Granberg, Meese, Jacobson, Borden, Ferguson, Anderlini, Chorney, Guffie, Zylstra, Kentch, Bloodgood, Conley, Knutzen, Oudman, B Fagerlie, C Fagerlie, Helsel

Lap Leaders – Klatt 1-13 Gemmer 14-25

Hard Charger –

Clean Crawls Junior Sprints

Heat 1 – Kane Van Sickle, Levi Kuntz, Orin Biggs, Peyton Drake, Avery Askvig, Olivia Laurimore, Conner Sagmoen, Cruz Kentch

Heat 2 – Levi Hillier, McKenna Morgan, Jayden Huppert, Chase Whitney, Karma Fagerlie, Jonathan Bright, Realee Bourdon

Main – Levi Hillier, Kuntz, Drake, Van Sickle, Morgan, Askvig, Whitney, Laurimore, Sagmoen, Kentch, Fagerlie, Bright, Bourdon, Biggs

Lap Leaders – Biggs 1 Hillier 2-20

Hard Charger –