CORTEZ – Waylon Hale has been around the block – and the Cortez Speedway – more than once.
The veteran racer has won just about everything over his 14 years of racing – never mind the fact that he’s still in his teens. On his home track Saturday evening, Hale found himself in a familiar position – taking the checkered flag in the IMCA Modified division. The 19-year-old Mancos native turned in an impressive performance to edge out the top two drivers in the Cortez Speedway points standings, Aaron and Camron Spangler, who took runner-up and fourth place, respectively.
Camron Spangler still holds a comfortable margin for the season-ending track points title, leading Aaron by 18 points heading into the final weekend races of the Cortez Speedway circuit at the end of September. Hale climbed inside the top 10 in the Modified class, hoping to finish out the season with the same kind of bang when he took the adult divisions by storm six years ago.
In other action, Ignacio’s Katie Barthel broke through with a victory after several close calls this season, winning the Sport Compact class. While the win propelled Barthel into the top five in points, Dolores’ Clay Tillia took runner-up and moved seven points clear in the overall standings.
Dove Creek’s Brody Spangler added another win in Northern Sport Mod, expanding his points lead to eight over Cortez’ Jimmy Wilson, while Brantley Frans ensured his Junior Warriors points title as his winning streak in Cortez kept going.
Leon and Gabe Shim finished one-two in the Mod-lites, as the father-son tandem dueled each other again for the title. Gabe Shim extended his points lead in the process heading into the final two races of the Cortez Speedway season.
While New Mexico’s Dennis Spencer has locked up the Warriors track points title for the year, it was Farmington’s Eugene Felker picking up the win Saturday. Another New Mexican captured the Stock Car run, with Carlsbad native Jeramy Hughes taking top spot, giving Hughes a five-point cushion.
Steve Bitting Jr. captured the Hobby Stock race in the largest field of the night, making his trip from Phoenix worth the drive and setting up an interesting final weekend in the points standings, with Aztec’s Ryan Greenwood clinging to a three-point advantage over Bayfield’s Louis Valencia.
The final races of the season arrive Sept. 25 and 26 for the IMCA Championship Weekend. Not only will the events include the eight divisions that have raced all season at the Fairgrounds, but they will also include an AZ Mini Late Models division. Racing kicks off at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 and 6 p.m. Sept. 26.
