From El Paso Speedway Park
El Paso, TX — As the pits were busy with activity, the fans of the El Paso Speedway Park were filling the grandstands this past Friday for the return of the Renegade Sprint Car Series, MSD Ignition Limited X-Mods, Legends, and West Texas Street Stocks to the 3/8 mile clay oval just east of El Paso.
To the drop of the green flag for the nights 30 laps Renegade Sprint Car Series A-Main and it would be a rough start as the 43 of Curt Barnett and the 18 of Lorne Wofford made contact into the first turns of racing; ending their night in a cloud of dust. To the restart, the 52 of Art Quijano would take full advantage of his pole starting position as he pulled away to a half straight-a-way advantage. Fighting into second, the 5 of Kyle McCutcheon would begin running down the 52 but the caution waving on lap four would prompt Speedway Park Co-Owner Royal Jones to stop the race as the track was becoming so dusty, it was blanketing the fans and killing the show. Pulling the car into the infield, the water truck was summoned to the track where Dave Snyder would soak the newly re-clayed surface. After a short break, the cars would be re-fired, and the track rolled in and the race would resume with no dust to cover the fans. Holding the race lead on the restart was the 52 of Quijano as the battle for second shaped up between Joe Alvarado and Kyle McCutcheon. Working side by side, the 36 of Alvarado would hold strong over the 5 of McCutcheon but nine laps in, things would get ugly as the 36 and the 5 raced three wide with the slower car of Ozzie Noder. Making contact the 36 of Alvarado and the 88 of Noder began flipping in tandem through turn two. Out of their cars, both drivers walked away unharmed as the race resumed with twenty-one laps to go. Back to green, the 52 of Quijano would again pull to a good advantage but on the move, the 8 of John Carney II would run down the 52 to get the pass done on the high line. From the sixteenth starting position to show the way, the 8 would soon be joined by the 5 of Kyle McCutcheon. Into slower traffic with fifteen laps left to run, McCutcheon would use the slower cars to his advantage to take the race lead but it would only last a couple of laps as Carney returned the favor to complete the pass and walk away to over a straight-a-way advantage. Less than seven laps to run, the battle on the racetrack was now for third as eleventh starting Wes Wofford worked on Royal Jones in the closing laps as the 8 of Carney ran away with the win. Kyle McCutcheon, Wes Wofford, Royal Jones, and Cesar Fuentes rounded out the top five.
The Renegade Sprint Car Series heat races went to Robert Herrera, Art Quijano, and Curt Barnett.
1st (-) John Carney II 8
2nd (-) Kyle McCutcheon 5
3rd (-) Wes Wofford 19
4th (-) Royal Jones 131
5th (-) Cesar Fuentes 27
6th (-) Colt Treharn 77
7th (-) JR Patton 86
8th (-) Josh Baughman 17
9th (-) Art Quijano 52
10th (-) Robert Herrera 9
11th (-) John Carney 7C
12th (-) Don Grable 148
13th (-) Jerry Gonzalez 98
14th (-) Cody Gill 21
15th (-) Ernie Simmons, Jr. 12
16th (-) Bobby Yarbrough 66
17th (-) Chuck Jackson 99
18th (-) Lorne Wofford 18
19th (-) Joe Alvarado 36
20th (-) Ozzie Noder 88
21st (-) Curt Barnett 43
22nd (-) Dylan Harris 1M