REVEREND RON SPENCER RED, WHITE, AND BLUE CLASSIC UP NEXT FOR MADERA SPEEDWAY
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (June 20, 2023) – Madera Speedway roars back to MAVTV-televised stock car action this Saturday night with the Reverend Ron Spencer Red, White, and Blue Classic at the fastest one-third mile in the west. Drivers will be motivated to race for victory in honor of Ron Spencer and to battle for the spectacular trophies up for grabs in the 80-lap Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Model and 70-lap 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series events. Photo by Ethan Smith
INEX Legends Tour and INEX Bandolero action is also scheduled for an exciting night of motorsports at the Madera Fairgrounds.
All tickets will be sold at the track ticket booth. Adult tickets are $25, seniors are $20, youth ages 6-12 are $15 and kids five and under are free. Race fans can “Join” www.YouTube.com/ShortTrackTV for $19.99 per month for a members-only live stream as well. Opening ceremonies are slated for 5:50pm.
The Lunkderdaddy Pro Late Models are led by Tyler Herzog of Fresno but his lead is a precarious one. Herzog leads Eagle, Idaho’s Jacob Smith by just six points in the standings. Herzog’s season has been bolstered by three podium finishes through the first four races. His most recent podium was a runner-up performance on May 20 behind Smith’s breakthrough Pro Late Model win.
2022 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series runner-up Robbie Kennealy of Madera is only nine points out of the lead in the standings. Kennealy has been unable to score any qualifying or halfway break points in the last three rounds of the series, after winning fast-time and the feature in the season opener in March. Loomis’ Kenna Mitchell continues her quest to be the first female Pro Late Model winner at Madera from fourth in the championship. She recently won a NASCAR Late Model race in Roseville. Shelden Cooper of Clovis rounds out the tight top-five, himself only 17-points outside of the lead.
Saturday’s Red, White, and Blue Classic will be an 80-lap race split across a 50-lap opening segment and a 30-lap run to the finish.
Vito Cancilla of Martinez leads the 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model championship for drivers ages 10-16 years old on the strength of three victories. Cancilla has led 223 laps out of the first 280 laps of the season.
The 11-year-old’s lead in the series is a scant eight points, however, as Wilton’s Chase Hand has used four consecutive second-place finishes to place second in the championship. Taylor Mayhew of Bakersfield is third in his rookie season. Cameron Carraway of Discovery Bay and Texan Trista Pena make up the rest of the top-five.
The 70-lap feature for the Jr. Late Models sees them race for 40-laps before the scheduled Mission Racing Style Tortilla Chips halfway break. A 30-lap race to the finish determines the winner.
No series in California is more red-hot than the INEX Legends Tour, fresh off of a Northern California-record 42 car field in Roseville in May. The series has not had a repeat winner in 2023 with 16-year-old Ethan Nascimento winning in March at Madera followed by Bakersfield’s Logan Chambers at Irwindale and Jeremy Doss of Upper Lake at Roseville. Series regular contenders such as 2022 champion Cody Winchel of Sebastopol, Brendan Ruzbarsky of Tracy, and Kayci Phillips of Stockton will be hungry for a win in Saturday night’s 40-lap nightcap.
A pair of siblings from Lincoln, Calif. will debut at Madera this weekend, with 13-year-old Kylie Glick taking to the Jr. Late Models while Cody will compete in the INEX Bandoleros. Cody joins a battle between Kaine Betancourt and Andrew Williams in the series for Madera’s youngest drivers. Betancourt leads the points by eight markers with a 20-lap race scheduled.
Action gets underway on Friday with practice from 5pm until 8:30pm with pit gates opening at 3pm. On Saturday, pit gates open at noon with practice at 2:20pm. Qualifying hits the track at 4:05pm. Heat races will follow, followed by opening ceremonies at 5:50 pm.
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 2023 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 in primetime at 5:00pm Pacific and 8:00pm Eastern.
2023 MADERA MAVTV LATE MODEL SCHEDULE
March 18 – $5,000-to-win
April 8
April 29
May 20 – Vukovich Classic
June 24 – Reverend Ron Spencer Red, White Blue Classic
July 22 – $5,000-to-win
August 26
September 16
October 7 – $10,000-to-win Short Track Shootout