From Ricardo Cano
The wins weren’t pretty for Audra Sasseli and Chad Nichols, who both made skids in efforts to secure the lead that sent to the bottom half of the pack.
But this was the Vukovich Classic we’re talking about, where fans at the LoanMart Madera Speedway on Saturday were on the edge of their seats and drivers put out all the stops to win on one of the local racing community’s most prestigious nights.
Sasseli took the checkered in the NCMA/PBR Sprints main event and Nichols won the BCRA/USAC Midgets main event race – both in thrilling comebacks – and Jim Birges returned from a one-year racing hiatus to win Round 2 of the Super Modifieds vs. Winged Sprints, this year’s Vukovich Classic headliner.
The Vukovich Classic honors one of the Valley’s most prolific racing families.
Sasseli, who received a standing ovation after her race, had to overcome two mishaps to win the 30-lap race. Sasseli tried to take the lead away from Denny Burrell entering the fourth turn of Lap 9, but forced it too hard and skidded out of the track into the infield.
She tried to take the lead from Burrell again in Lap 24 heading into the second turn. But, again, the turn was too tight and she lost her position at the front of the race.
The third time was the charm.
Sasseli, keeping to her aggressive style of racing, booked it on the straightaways and made tight turns to grab a sizable lead with two laps to go.
“I was kind of sitting back to let things kind of play out. I was going to let [Burrell] kind of wear himself out. I saw some holes opening up, and I thought I’d stick it in there. Didn’t work out. So I knew when I went to the back I had to really work it.”
That same kind of persistence helped Nichols win his race, as well.
Nichols won after taking the lead in Lap 20 – after skidding out of control in a battle with Darrin Snyder for first during a turn in the eighth lap.
“I was right on [Snyder],” said Nichols, who has taken home wins at the Vukovich Classic four of the last five years. “Last week at Stockton, we ran wheel to wheel and I couldn’t pass him.”
Nichols is a part of Vukovich Classic history. He won last year’s headliner that paired racers with fans for a $1,000 prize. Nichols won the prize for fan Britanny Dellanini, who returned this year as a trophy presenter.
This year, Mariah Woods, 17, a Madera native attending the Madera County Independent Academy, won a $500 prize from the Billy Vukovich Scholarship Foundation, a fund that creates college scholarships for high school students in honor of Billy Vukovich III who was killed in a Bakersfield sprint car race in 1990.
Birges also made a comeback of his own. Birges, who returned to racing Saturday night after taking a year off due to personal reasons, came back to upset favorite Kyle Vanderpool.
Birges, who raced in a borrowed car after selling his, won the 50-lap race, showing “how the old guys do it.”
“At the beginning, I was somewhat frustrated,” Birges said. “[Vanderpool] cleared the pack, and normally that spells doom, but I guess he missed the setup a little bit. But I couldn’t get around these sprint cars for the longest time because they were facing their own battle.”
Janet King, niece of Billy Vukovich Sr., raced three honorary laps during the opening ceremony in a “clone car that Billy III drove.”
King, daughter of Eli Vukovich, said her dad and Bill Sr. first got into racing as teenagers in the 1930s as a means to support their mother. Then a racing dynasty was born.
Bill Vukovich won two Indianapolis 500 events in 1953 and 1954 before being killed in the 1955 Indy 500.
“That was fantastic,” King said of the crowd’s reception. “A lot of people in the crowd knew I was coming out to do that. A lot of people were up there, the friends and family that know the Vukovich name and they wanted to see the car run again.”
King said she’d never gotten behind the wheel of racecar – until now.
The Vukovich Classic carries much weight among local racers – its significance and the history of the Vukovich name make the Classic a must-win.
Said Sasseli: “The fact that it was the Vukovich Classic” was what made the race thrilling. “I wanted that trophy.”
Said Nicholls, who grew up watching Billy III race against his father: “It means a lot to win this race, especially because our families have had so much history.”
And, said Birges, who added to his “several” wins at the Vukovich Classic: “The Vukovich is always special � we always try to win those. It was just a special night.”
Other main event winners included Mike Regelman in the Twisted Tea Open Modified, a 60-lap race split into two parts. Regelman finished the first 30 laps at the top, as well. Dylan Nobile won the USAC HPD Midgets main event.
Action returns next weekend as the Speedway hosts its annual Mothers Day Special. Races on that night will include LunkerDaddy Limited Late Models, SouthWest Tour Trucks, Hobby Stocks, MST, Toyota Sedans, 4-Bangers, 18 Second Bracket Race and the Enduro Championship 100 lap Sprint Race. All women receive free admission.
For information, visit www.racemadera.com and like the Speedway’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/MaderaSpeedway.
MAIN EVENTS
TWISTED TEA OPEN MODIFIEDS (60 Laps)
Mike Regelman
Victor Machado – 0.775
Dave Campbell – 1.741
Brian Collins – 2.384
Steve Alves – 4.555
Robbie Knittel – 6.209
Joel Couage – 9.628
Eddie Wilcox – 14.349
Rodney Tripp – 14.692
Paul Pedroncelli – 1 Lap
Randy Hannah – 6 Laps
Kevin Nichols – 31 Laps
John Manula – 47 Laps
Elliot St. Jerne – 53 Laps
NCMA/PBRA SPRINTS (30 Laps)
Audra Sasseli
David Goodwill – 1.749
Jerry Kobza – 2.218
Denny Burrell – 2.602
Steve Amador – 1 Lap
David Burcett – 1 Lap
Don Arriaz – 7 Laps
USAC HPD MIDGETS (30 Laps)
Dylan Nobile
Cody Jessop – 2.509
Christine Breckenridge – 5.238
Toni Bredangar – 7.269
Shawn Buckley – 11.110
Tom Patterson – 13.800
Ashley Hazelton – 14.386
Annie Breidinger – 1 Lap
Joey Rayborne – 3 Laps
BCRA/USAC MIDGETS (30 Laps)
Chad Nichols
Darrin Snyder
Nick Chivello – 2.060
Cody Gerhardt – 5.679
Travis Berryhill – 6.623
David Goodwill – 11.241
Floyd Alvis
JR Williams – 1 Lap
Rick Holbrook – 20 Laps
Gary Conterno – 27 Laps
Mark Maliepaard
360 / 410 SUPER MODIFIEDS (50 Laps)
Jim Birges
Kyle Vanderpool – 1.789
Tim Skoglund – 7.755
Cody Gerhardt – 8.047
Ken Hamilton – 12.134
Marvin Mitchell – 5 Laps
Alan Beck – 6 Laps
Jeff Collins – 18 Laps
Brandon Smith – 19 Laps
Steve Johns – 45 Laps
***
QUALIFYING (2 Laps)
TWISTED TEA OPEN MODIFIED SERIES
Scott Alves – 15.485
Mike Regelman – 15.499
Robbie Knittel – 15.521
John Manulla – 15.664
Dave Campbell – 15.712
Elliot St. Jerne – 15.720
Eddie Wilcox – 15.734
Paul Pedroncelli – 15.736
Victor Machado – 15.748
Rodney Tripp – 15.801
Brian Collins – 15.988
Joel Couage – 16.064
Kevin Nichols – 16.890
Randy Hannah – 17.304
BCRA/USAC MIDGETS
Chad Nichols – 13.845
Darrin Snider – 14.050
David Goodwill – 14.374
Nick Chivello – 14.384
Cody Gerhardt – 14.394
Travis Berryhill – 14.544
Mark Maliepaard – 14.874
JR Williams – 15.217
Floyd Alvis – 15.257
Gary Conterno – 17.725
Rick Holbrook – 2:41.702
NCMA/PBRA SPRINTS
Denny Burrell – 14.622
Audra Sasseli – 14.724
David Goodwill – 14.735
Jerry Kobza – 15.057
David Burcett – 15.134
Steve Amador – 15.975
Don Arriaz – 16.134
USAC HPD MIDGETS
Dylan Nobile – 15.036
Cody Jessop – 15.121
Shawn Buckley – 15.137
Christine Breckenridge – 15.187
Ashley Hazelton – 15.393
Tom Patterson – 15.418
Toni Bredangar – 15.439
Annie Bredangar – 15.493
Joey Rayborne – 16.367
360 / 410 SUPER MODIFIEDS
Jeff Collins – 12.669
Jim Birges – 12.714
Kyle Vanderpool – 12.824
Tim Skoglund – 12.874
Cody Gerhardt – 13.096
Ken Hamilton – 13.115
Brandon Smith – 13.119
Steve Johns – 14.156
Alan Beack – 14.169
***
HEAT RACES
BCRA/USAC MIDGETS (Heat 1; 8 Laps)
Chad Nichols
David Goodwill – 1.940
Cody Gerhardt – 3.997
Floyd Alvis – 7.609
Rick Holbrook – 9.394
Mark Maliepaard – 6 Laps
Heat 2
Nick Chivello
Darrin Snyder – 0.460
Travis Berryhill – 1.541
JR Williams – 8.594
Gary Conterno – 7 Laps
NCMA/PBRA SPRINTS (Heat 1; 8 Laps
David Burcett
Steve Amador – 3.770
Don Arriaz – 5.759
Heat 2
Audra Sasseli
Jerry Kobza – 0.804
Denny Burell – 1.141
David Goodwill – 4.950
USAC HPD MIDGETS (Heat 1; 8 Laps)
Dylan Nobile
Shawn Buckley – 0.738
Ashley Hazelton – 3.649
Toni Bredangar – 3.908
Joey Rayborne – 11.196
Heat 2
Cody Jessop
Tom Patterson – 0.365
Annie Breidingar – 3.829
Christine Breckenridge – 1 Lap
360 / 410 SUPER MODIFIEDS (Heat 1; 6 Laps)
Jim Birges
Tim Skoglund – 2.224
Jeff Collins – 3.220
Kyle Vanderpool – 3.560
Ken Hamilton – 7.035
Heat 2
Cody Gerhardt
Brandon Smith – 0.519
Steve Johns – 4.548
Alan Back – 7.792
Marvin Mitchell – 10.994