PHILPOTT BECOMES FOURTH DIFFERENT WINNER IN SIX RACES ON MAVTV

• DRIVERS & CREW MEMBERS ARE SUSPENDED

(September 9, 2020 from Madera Speedway / Kenny Shepherd) – The Madera Speedway has gained a reputation for high quality racing with some of the toughest competition in country and that tough competition was on full display this past Saturday night.

Ryan Philpott was the early race leader in the scheduled 100 lap Race 2B Drug Free Big3 round two event until an early restart took place where Philpott picked the inside lane and Buddy Shepherd took the lead on the outside groove and then took control of the race.

The battle was intense from that first restart until the last restart on lap 81 with Jeremy Doss taking shots at the lead, then Carlos Vieira who ran the fastest lap of the race took shots at the lead and appearing as though he had a winning race car, then it was Trevor Huddleston that positioned himself into the second spot to challenge for the lead.

That brings us to lap 81 and the final restart where we had a busted start, a wreck with the four leaders at the moment we hit curfew.

The final restart on lap 81 was called a jumped start by the flagman as the leaders went past the flag stand, in the past the green flag would have never came out but due to feedback from race teams we now put the green flag and green light out for safety reasons and then put the yellow lights on when it is safe to do so to call the start back.

As the leaders were in turn two they wrecked while under a safety green flag and race control and scoring determined the finish of the race as if the last start never happened due the green flag only being out for safety reasons.

On Sunday Ryan Philpott filed a protest in regards to the finish of the race, the full protest can be read at www.racemadera.com/penalty-box.html and the protest was turned over to the race committee for review.

The race committee had a focus on two areas since this was a new situation they had not seen before with a race ending on a blown start, with the leaders wrecking just as the clock strikes a firm curfew time.

The areas of focus were;
1. Did the drivers know they were under a safety green or where they racing?
2. What would the lineup for the restart have been if we had been allowed to complete the remaining laps of the 100 lap scheduled race?
After much debate by the members of the race committee it was determined that even though it was a safety green flag the drivers were racing and those involved in the accident would have gone to the rear of the field for the next restart. The 81 would have gone to the rear with the 50 for spinning him, and the 75 and 51 would have gone to the rear for being in the wreck if they could have continued.

Ryan Philpott has won the protest and the race finish will now reflect the 52 car as the race winner with Joey Iest in second, Seth Wise in third, Eric Nascimento fourth, Shelden Cooper fifth. The updated race finish will be posted this evening on MyLaps.

On the fines and penalties side of the night, we saw a record number of nine individuals suspended and three drivers disqualified.

“Many of the individuals that were suspended are among our top pro teams and we regret that they will not race with us for the balance of the season, but our focus is on a family friendly program featuring the best competition in the nation in the Nut Up Pro series with an emphasis on developing the top youth drivers in the country in our 51FIFTY Jr Series. The poor example set by several of the pro late model teams this past Saturday is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the group that operates Madera” Kenny Shepherd.

To read the entire list of penalties from this past Saturday night please visit the Madera Speedway Penalty Box at www.racemadera.com/penalty-box.html

The Nut Up Pro Late Models and 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models will compete in their seventh race of the nine-race campaign on September 19th. Due to no fans being allowed in our grandstands the events will be streamed live to Short Track TV on YouTube as we are filming the MAVTV production, free of charge thanks to Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY and Mission Foods. To say thank you to Nut Up for providing the sponsorship that allows us to provide a free livestream, please visit www.nutup.com and place an order today. Use the code MAVTV20 at checkout and receive a 20% discount.

For information about Madera Speedway, visit www.RaceMadera.com The 2020 season would not be possible without the support of Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY, Mission Foods, Franks Radio, Competition Carburetion, Hoosier Tires, and Sunoco Race Fuel.