NASCIMENTO BROTHERS SWEEP MADERA MAVTV LATE MODEL ACTION
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (August 27, 2022) – Manteca brothers Eric and Ethan Nascimento each visited victory lane during Saturday’s MAVTV-televised Late Model action at the Madera Speedway. Eric Nascimento won a dramatic and exciting Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Model 80-lap feature while Ethan Nascimento led all but the opening lap to take the 70-lap 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model triumph. Photos by Ethan Smith
Eric Nascimento led the 20 starters to the green flag in the Pro feature. Outside pole sitter Jay Juleson of San Jose fell backwards in the early laps. Incoming points leader Jadan Walbridge ran as low as ninth in the first ten laps as well. The first caution flew on lap nine for Monty Tipton of Mill Valley stalling on the backstretch in his series debut.
Napa’s Dylan Zampa charged from fifth to second on the restart while three-wide action took place around the seventh position. The top-six cars ran bumper to bumper in a narrow line around the bottom of the one-third mile speedway. Tyler Herzog of Fresno and Atwater’s Jason Aguirre made contact on the backstretch which led to Aguirre stopping in turn four for a caution on lap 29.
Nascimento chose the inside on the restart and led lap 30 by a nose over Zampa. Zampa then cleared Nascimento on lap 31 around the outside for the lead. Las Vegas’ Kyle Keller peeked inside Nascimento for second to kick off many laps of battling between the pair. Zampa led Nascimento, Keller, Sean Hingorani, and Ethan Nascimento into the lap 50 break for adjustments. All three Nascimento Motorsports cars required attention to their front brakes. Ethan Nascimento had to give up fifth and restart 18th after entering the pits again for additional repairs before the green flag flew.
Zampa chose the outside over Eric Nascimento to hold the lead on the restart. Hingorani drove past Nascimento for second on lap 56. Ethan Nascimento’s went up in sparks with apparent brake issues, slamming the turn three wall for a caution on lap 66.
This restart saw Zampa choose the inside against Hingorani. Hingorani had a big run off turn two and tried to cross to the inside on the backstretch to no avail. They collided on lap 70 into turn one, sending Zampa spinning and relegating both drivers to the rear of the field.
Utilizing an open motor combination against the GM 602 crate engines, Eric Nascimento inherited the lead and picked the outside to fully capitalize on the power under the hood. Juleson and Washington’s Kasey Kleyn crashed in turn three on lap 72 while battling for seventh. Their caution led to a series of brief and minor cautions on lap 72.
The race finally got underway with an eight lap run with Keller attempting to drive underneath Nascimento for the win. They went side-by-side down the backstretch on the final circuit. Keller dove inside and got up alongside Nascimento exiting the final corner.
They never touched and Nascimento cleanly topped Keller by a scant .191 second margin at the checkered flag. Walbridge preserved his points lead by outfoxing Eagle, Idaho’s Jacob Smith for third. Herzog came back to snare fifth from Bakersfield’s Kercie Jung over the final run as well. Walbridge will enjoy a small lead of roughly five points over Keller with two rounds to go in the series.
Manteca’s Ethan Nascimento won his third consecutive 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series feature, tightening the championship fight with Washington’s Kasey Kleyn and points leader Robbie Kennealy of Madera.
Kenna Mitchell of Loomis drove around the outside of Nascimento to lead lap one by .003 seconds before a little bit of backstretch contact between the two of them. Nascimento led lap two while Mitchell drifted backwards to sixth on the outside line. Drivers in positions third through sixth ran on top of each other throughout the first 40-lap segment. Joey Kennealy drove away from the quartet in the final ten laps of the opening stage. Nascimento led Kleyn, Joey Kennealy, Monty Tipton of Mill Valley, and incoming points leader Robbie Kennealy into the break.
Emerging from the break for adjustments and MAVTV interviews, Nascimento charged ahead with the lead. Joey Kennealy got sideways in turn two and fell back to sixth. His brother Robbie Kennealy used the close battling to advance past Tipton for third.
Mitchell followed suit and the race was on between Mitchell and Robbie Kennealy for the third position. Mitchell used the front bumper to lean her way past Kennealy with two laps to go. Kennealy answered back with hard contact into turn one on the final lap. Both drivers were relegated to the end of the lead lap in the final finishing order. Tipton avoided the fracas to finish third for his career-best finish.
Nascimento topped Kleyn by nearly four seconds. Tipton, Joey Kennealy, and a career-best fifth place finish for Bakersfield’s Caden Cordova were the balance of the top-five.
Lincoln’s Brody Manning avoided a collision between Kellen Keller of Las Vegas and Madera’s Skyler Schoppe to win the INEX Bandolero 20-lap feature. Manning’s win came in his debut at the speedway. Schoppe was scored second over Keller.
Ten NCMA Sprint Cars put on a ground-pounding battle. David Dias led the first four laps before Folsom’s Jerry Kobza took over in his LS-powered machine. August 6 winner Justin Kawahata tried a few attempts to pass Kobza. A caution flew on lap 16 for Dr. David Goodwill of Napa stopping in turn three. Kawahata seized the lead on the restart with the decisive maneuver for the win. Pat Goodwill drove past Kobza on the 30th and final lap for second. Tracy’s David Burchett finished fourth followed by series president Mark Amador.
Madera Speedway resumes on September 17 with the MAVTV televised race #8 of the Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Model Series plus the 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series 70 laps, INEX Bandoleros, and Challenge Cup.
For more information about the Madera Speedway including how to advertise with a race team on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or call the race office at 209-356-1968.
The 2022 season would not be possible without the support of Lunkerdaddy Fishing Lures, 51FIFTY LTM, Mission Foods, 805 Beer, Race 2B Drug Free, Competition Carburetion, Hoosier Tires, and Sunoco Race Fuel.
Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Monday nights at 3:00pm Pacific and 6:00pm Eastern.
2022 MADERA MAVTV LATE MODEL SCHEDULE
March 5 – $5,000-to-win
April 2
April 30
May 21 – Military Tribute Night
June 25 – Reverend Ron Spencer Red, White Blue Classic
July 30 – $5,000-to-win Summer SpeedFest
August 27
September 17
October 15 – $10,000-to-win Short Track Shootout
October 29 – Pumpkin Cup Open (Non-Points)
