(Jason Wedehase Photo)

Via Madera Speedway MediaMADERA, Calif. (June 6, 2020) – Two-time Nut Up Pro Late Model champion Buddy Shepherd had a perfect Madera Speedway season opener on Saturday afternoon, sweeping qualifying, the heat race, and leading all 40-laps of the feature. The 2020 season opener attracted 15 non-televised Madera Late Models to the one-third mile asphalt oval at the Madera fairgrounds.

(Jason Wedehase photo)

Via Madera Speedway Media

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (September 21, 2019) – Upper Lake’s Jeremy Doss scored his third win of the year in the Nut Up Pro Late Model Series on Saturday night, outfoxing 17 year-old Austin Herzog of Clovis for the $2,000 win. The MAVTV-televised night was a big one for the third-generation Herzog, however, as he takes over the points lead with just one round remaining in the prestigious series.

Jeremy Doss won his second consecutive Madera Pro Late Model race (Jason Wedehase photo)

Via Madera Speedway Media

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (July 27, 2019) – A $5,000 check and a polish victory lap capped a challenging Summer Speedfest 100 on Saturday night at Madera Speedway, with Jeremy Doss winning the sixth round of the MAVTV-televised Nut Up Pro Late Model Series. Doss emerged as the first repeat winner of the year after starting tenth on a red-hot evening at the one-third mile asphalt oval.

#51 Racin Vernon won his third career Pro Late Model race on Saturday (Jason Wedehase photo)

Via Madera Speedway Media

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (April 27, 2019) – After a disappointing start to the season with two blown engines, Bakersfield’s Racin Vernon won round #3 of the Nut Up Pro Late Model Series at Madera Speedway, Saturday night. Vernon led twice including the final 14 laps of the 80 lap feature that paid $2,000 to win. In other action, Las Vegas’ Tanner Reif won his third career 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model 70 lap feature to extend his points lead as well.

Both series are televised for MAVTV with a total of 25 Pro Late Models and 15 Jr. Late Models in action on the one-third mile speedway.

Vernon drew the pole position and led the first three laps before a big incident slowed proceedings. Christian Roche had contact with Matt Erickson coming out of turn two that resulted in Roche sliding nose first into the turn three wall. Three-time $10,000 to win Short Track Shootout champion Eric Holmes spun to avoid but suffered damage that ended his night as well.

On the following restart, 2018 non-televised Madera Late Model champion Jason Aguirre and Carlos Vieira began their torrid side-by-side battle for the fourth position. The battle would stretch throughout the entire opening 50 lap segment. Jr. Late Model winner Tanner Reif, 13, made his Pro Late Model debut from 11th on the grid and promptly charged past fellow Jr. graduates Austin Herzog and Dylan Zampa to crack the top-ten by lap 15.

Vernon’s strong lead on the field diminished when he was mired in lapped traffic and by lap 25, 2018 Short Track Shootout winner Logan Zampa was hot on his trail. Erickson closed in as well, and ended up snookering Zampa for second on lap 28. The battle for fourth between Aguirre and Vieira grew to six cars deep in side-by-side fashion. The battle slowed when a caution flew for Tim Furin spun in turn two. Erickson apparently suffered damage to his right rear wheel trying to avoid.

Vernon charged past Erickson from the outside on the restart and fast-time qualifier Herzog knifed through to move into sixth. A lap 39 caution saw Herzog advance to third while Erickson drifted to seventh. The race went into the lap 50 break with Vernon leading Zampa, Herzog, Vieira, and Aguirre.

The restart from the break was significant as Zampa took the lead from Vernon off the line. The inside line all stumbled, which forced Aguirre back to tenth position in the process. Sheldon Cooper suffered serious damage to his car to force a lap 54 caution in turn one. Zampa maintained the top position from Vernon while Herzog peeked his nose inside of Vieira for third.

Vernon tracked down Zampa methodically, and then used lapped traffic to take the lead down the backstretch on lap 67. Herzog then cleared Vieira on lap 71 using lapped traffic to his advantage as well.

Both Logan Zampa and Austin Herzog were unable to close down on Racin Vernon, with the Bakersfield driver taking a 1.895 second win over Zampa, Herzog, Vieira, and Ross Strmiska.

Tanner Reif’s Jr. Late Model victory in the 70 lap contest for drivers ages 10-16 had plenty of excitement. Reif drew the pole alongside his younger brother Tyler. Each successive restart for an incident saw a brief battle before Tanner managed to slide in front of Tyler.

Round two winner Joey Iest tried to get around Tyler Reif off a lap 30 restart. The duo made contact which caused concern for Reif’s left rear tire. Meanwhile third in points Seth Wise was engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Jay Juleson with Juleson moving into fourth after some contact.

A caution on lap 38 brought the scheduled break to fruition two laps early. When things resumed, Tyler Reif used the outside line to take the lead from his brother on lap 39. After a lap 41 caution, Tanner took over for lap 42, before surrendering the lead back on lap 43 to Tyler. Tanner then appeared to take the lead for good on lap 44. Two laps later, Tyler Reif attempted to move up the inside of Tanner into turn one. They nearly made contact, with Tyler spinning the car through the grass to bring out the caution and force him to restart at the rear.

Seth Wise had moved up from fifth to second in just eight laps and restarted inside Tanner Reif. He was unable to challenge and fell into the clutches of Juleson. They ran side-by-side for ten laps until lap 59, when Wise spun off the door of Juleson exiting turn four. The caution flew and Wise restarted at the rear.

Tyler Reif had moved up to sixth at that point and entered into a furious battle between Kabe McClenny and Kyler Berry for fourth. The trio went three-wide down the backstretch, ending with Berry and McClenny making contact into the corner. The contact ended Berry’s race while McClenny lost three positions getting back into line.

Tanner Reif cruised home to victory ahead of Juleson, Iest, Tyler Reif, and eighth starting Jake Bollman.

The youngest drivers at Madera Speedway compete in the Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros with their race producing a first-time winner. Dylan Baptista won in just his second Bandolero start ever and did so in thrilling fashion ahead of 2018 champion Riley Massey.

Nathaniel Edwards led the first two laps before Massey led lap three and brought Baptista with her. Many of the cars in the pack slid around the track for much of the race in sideways fashion. Baptista took the lead on lap five before a caution on lap six brought the field together. Massey tried to crossover Baptista several times but he held onto the lead to take the victory. Trenton Eurto finished third while Joey Kennealy was the Mini Cup winner.

Mikala Stearns of Stockton won an electrifying 25 lap Hobby Stock race where three of the five starters led laps in the feature. Stearns and 2018 champion Steve Schermerhorn made contact on lap 21 exiting turn four that rewarded Stearns with the lead and knocked Schermerhorn back to third. Stearns led Triston Hansen and Schermerhorn across the stripe as the top-three finishers.

Jason Lawton has had the recent hot hand in Toyota Sedans and that trend continued, despite the presence of prior champion Jillaun Holden. Lawton managed to take a three second victory with JJ Brandsen finishing third.

Up next for Madera Speedway is the MAVTV televised North American Challenge Cup for 100 laps, the Vukovich Classic for MAVTV televised BCRA/POWRi Midget Series, USAC Western US Midgets, Legends of Kearney Bowl, California Hard Tops, Legends of the Pacific, and Southwest Tour Trucks.

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on Nut Up Industries please visit www.nutupindustries.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, McCallister Precision Marketing, and StopTech Brakes.

Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week. The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app. 2018 episodes will continue airing until the late spring, before 2019 episodes hit the airwaves on June 6th

Via Madera Speedway Media

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (April 2, 2019) – A pair of talented teenagers will try to defend their opening night victories when the MAVTV-televised Late Model divisions continue on Saturday at Madera Speedway. 15 year-old Dylan Zampa of Napa won his Nut Up Pro Late Model debut in March while Las Vegas’ Tanner Reif, 13, scored the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model series victory. Both victories were rain shortened affairs on the one-third mile asphalt oval, with drivers staring down full length action this weekend.

80 laps are scheduled for the Pro Late Models while the Jr. Late Models will be in action for 70 laps. They are joined by Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros, Modified Super Toyotas, and Toyota Sedans for a full evening of motorsports entertainment.

Zampa’s triumph to open the year was a narrow one over his older brother Logan. They swapped the lead multiple times during a side-by-side battle that lasted more than ten laps. Dylan cleared Logan on lap 49 before the caution fell and the race ended prematurely due to weather.

A trio of top contenders in 2019 were waiting in the wings when the race ended. Defending champion Matt Erickson, 2018 Madera Late Model champion Jason Aguirre, and six-time Jr. Late Model winner Austin Herzog will be among those trying to improve their fortunes to challenge the Zampas at the front of the pack. The Zampa brothers will look to add Saturday’s $2,000 feature to their recent haul of $16,500, including Logan’s win in last October’s Short Track Shootout.

The 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models for drivers ages 10-16 years old attracted a strong 20 car field for their opener. Early action was dominated by new drivers such as Riverside’s Cody Kiemele and Bakersfield’s Seth Wise.

Las Vegas’ Tanner Reif, who finished third in the 2018 championship, found his way to the front for the opening victory with Madera’s hometown driver Joey Iest running second. Both drivers have established themselves as championship favorites while Bakersfield’s Kabe McClenny had a strong start with a fourth place finish. Wise led all rookies from third with fellow Bakersfield driver Kercie Jung finishing sixth.

Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros will open their 2019 season on Saturday after they were unable to race on opening night. The Bandolero portion of the field has grown substantially to include a mix of Northern California and Southern California drivers. The Mini Cup side also features several rookie drivers. Madera’s youngest drivers race for 20 laps in a “race within a race” format where points and trophies are decided separately by class.

Both of Madera’s regular entry level divisions, the Modified Super Toyotas and Toyota Sedans have two points races in the books in 2019. Jason Lawton has claimed victory in both Sedan races so far by comfortable margins. Andrew Davidson and Greg Tyler round out the top-three in the points.

In Modified Super Toyotas, Shaun Reynolds has a win and a second place finish to lead the points over former track champions Ryan Reynolds and Bert Stephens. Both Toyota divisions will stage 25 lap features this weekend.

Action gets started on Friday evening with practice from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday’s program begins with pit gates opening at 11:00 a.m. Practices run from 1:15 – 2:55 p.m. with qualifying and heat races to follow. The first set of main events starts at 5:00 p.m. including the Mini Cup feature and the Late Model B Main. Opening ceremonies are at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets for this great night of racing are just $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $7 for youth ages 6-12, and kids five and under are free!
For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on Nut Up Industries please visit www.nutupindustries.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, McAllister Precision Marketing, and StopTech Brakes.

Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week. The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app. 2018 episodes will continue airing until the late spring, when 2019 episodes will hit the airwaves.

Logan Zampa stood tall after winning the Short Track Shootout (Photo Courtesy Jason Wedehase)

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (October 6, 2018) – Napa’s Logan Zampa cashed in the biggest win of his career, scoring the 6th Annual $10,000 to win Nut Up Industries Short Track Shootout on Saturday night at Madera Speedway. Zampa’s unlikely victory was his first in nearly 18 months and came from 11th starting position. More than 40 RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models from across the Western United States competed at the one-third mile asphalt oval.

Saturday’s MAVTV-televised races also crowned the 2018 series champions as well with Matt Erickson emerging with his second series title.

Erickson led qualifying but it was Bakersfield’s Racin Vernon who drew the pole position for the start of the 150 lap contest. Second in points Austin Herzog dove inside Randy Hedrick for fourth in turn three on lap six before Herzog spun, sending them both around. Both drivers had to restart at the rear with front end damage in a costly incident.

Vernon picked the outside on the restart against Shepherd and they ran side-by-side while Erickson and Zampa closed down for a four car lead pack. Shepherd tucked in on the high line behind Zampa, allowing Erickson to take second. Erickson then applied pressure on Vernon for the lead.

Lapped traffic bottled up the leaders a bit and the caution flew when lapped car Rick Thompson and fifth place running Ross Strmiska crashed hard in turn one. When racing resumed, Zampa used the outside to charge past Erickson for second on lap 42. Nick Grossi had a blown transmission for a spectacular red flag on the following lap, with the fluid sending both Adam Lemke and Jagger Jones around. All three were done for the evening.

A lap 50 caution allowed Buddy Shepherd to take the lead away from Vernon on lap 51.

Dillon Tucker drove from 23rd up to eighth as he avoided all the melees. Meanwhile, three-time Short Track Shootout champion Eric Holmes started to make his presence felt after starting eighth. Holmes went past Zampa for third and then challenged Vernon for second. Vernon had a slide coming into turn three that dropped him back to fifth. A top four lead pack emerged in lapped traffic of Shepherd, Holmes, Zampa, and 13 year-old Jesse Love all running nose to tail on the high side.

Holmes went for it, going three wide in and out of traffic to take the lead from Shepherd on lap 96 in a thrilling move. Holmes led the field into the lap 100 break ahead of Shepherd, Zampa, Love, and Herzog who had recovered from the earlier spin to fifth.

Coming out of the break, Shepherd challenged Holmes before tucking up behind him on lap 108. Carlos Vieira had a mechanical failure that sparked a serious crash in turn one that ended Cole Moore’s race as well.

Zampa went outside of Holmes on lap 114 and took over the lead on lap 115. Shepherd tried to go inside of Holmes into turn three and they made some contact for second as well. Herzog hopped into the fray as he looked outside Shepherd not long after. The furious battling at the front got a break when Christian Roche hit the turn three wall on lap 129.

The following restart was the maddest scramble of them all with Holmes eventually spinning down the backstretch. He lost a lap in the infield, but was saved when Jarrett Gilmer hit the turn three wall for a caution that gave Holmes the free pass and his lap back.

Zampa restarted outside Shepherd but drove away easily while Herzog fell out with a rear end issue to end his possible championship hopes. Shepherd slid into turn two on lap 136 and fell back to fourth as a result. Erickson emerged in second but had to watch Zampa drive away to a five car length advantage.

Erickson ended up having a great duel with Love but it was for a distant second place. Zampa went on for a 1.5 second victory over Erickson, Love, Shepherd, and 26th starting Blaine Rocha. Travis Milburn of Eagle, ID won the 40 lap B Main event worth $1,000 as well.

Love’s third place finish in the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series was just one part of his night, as he added his ninth 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model win and second consecutive series championship. The ninth and final round for the series had 15 drivers ages 10-16 years old racing for 70 laps.

The Jr. Late Model feature had almost an immeasurable number of lead changes. Love led the opening ten circuits before things intensified. Anthony Guiamano from Basking Ridge, NJ and Las Vegas’ Tyler Reif, 11, had some contact coming out of turn two. In Reif’s attempt to save the car, he spun exiting turn four and clipped both Joey Iest and the turn four wall. Reif and Iest were both out of the race prematurely.

Reif’s brother Tanner put up the challenge to Love and led lap 11, before Love led lap 12. Tanner Reif then led laps 13-16 and did all of his bidding from the outside line in a seemingly endless side-by-side affair. Reif bobbled and yielded the lead back to Love for lap 17.

Reif was undeterred, using the outside to come back at Love and take the lead on lap 22. Love fought back and took over laps 30 and 31, before Reif took over yet again! Meanwhile second in points Dylan Zampa had a front row view of all of it from third. Reif brought Love, Zampa, Guiamano, and Kabe McClenny across the line for the lap 40 break.

After adjustments on the front stretch and MAVTV interviews, Love and Reif continued to trade the lead back-and-forth. Reif seemed to have the edge by lap 51 and that allowed Love and Zampa to go into their own back-and-forth affair for second.

With four laps to go, Zampa was up to second and challenging inside Reif for a move that would have likely won him both the championship and the race. They went nearly three-wide in traffic coming to lap 68 in turn four, before making contact down the front stretch. Reif went spinning and the caution flag flew. Zampa and Reif were both relegated to the rear for their involvement.

The incident gave Love a clear path to sail to victory and to the championship, leading the final two laps ahead of Guiamano, McClenny, Jesse Burks, and Jay Juleson.

Nevada’s Justin Johnson kept his slim championship hopes alive as he won his first career Lucas Oil Modified race, topping the 22 starters of the 75 lap event. Taylor Miinch had a chance to close out the title fight but was only able to muster sixth in the series’ penultimate round. Kyle Tellstrom followed Johnson closely over a long final green flag run to settle for second by just .398 seconds ahead of Cody Kay, former Madera track champion Scott Winters, and former series champion Dylan Cappello.

Kale McClenny and Riley Massey each wrapped up championships in the Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros division. Their 20 lap feature was won by the Bandolero of Kercie Jung who also unofficially won the California state championship with the effort. Seth Wise finished second while Massey was third. McClenny won the Mini Cup portion of the field by narrowly topping a late move by Madera’s Joseph Holliday. Aiden Phillips rounded out the Mini Cup top-three.

Racing continues at Madera Speedway on October 20th with the iPulluPull 11th Annual Pumpkin Smash Halloween Bash and Blow Up!, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, $2,000 to Win 200 lap Enduro, the Extreme Barrel Racing Series, a Trick or Treat thru the Pits and on Track PUMPKIN SMASH for the KIDS!

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on RPM Mortgage and to obtain loan information please visit www.rpmwins.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

Madera Speedway is presented by major partners RPM Mortgage, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, Nut Up Industries, NICERIDE, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries.

Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week. The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app. The fifth round of the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model Series airs on October 11th!

Madera Speedway 2018 Schedule Celebrating 47 years of Racing!

October 20th - 11th Annual iPull-uPull Pumpkin Smash Halloween Bash and Blow Up and Monster Trucks!, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, $2,000 to Win 200 lap Enduro, the Extreme Barrel Racing Series, a Trick or Treat thru the Pits and on Track PUMPKIN SMASH for the KIDS!

October 27th - Closed

November 10th - 2018 Championship Awards Banquet

Austin Herzog interviewed in Victory Lane for the Jr. Late Models (Photo Courtesy Jason Wedehase)

Via Madera Speedway Media

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (June 17, 2017) – The theme of Saturday night's round fours of the televised RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models and 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models was change. Change was in the air for a pair of second-generation drivers who rewarded their fathers with big Father's Day Weekend wins with Logan Zampa and Austin Herzog grabbing wins at Madera Speedway. For Zampa, the win marked his first career televised victory while Herzog, a four-time winner in 2016, broke the three-in-a-row Jr. LM streak of Jesse Love IV.

Zampa had finished on the podium multiple times this season along a few wins in the non-televised Madera Late Model series, and entered the night third in the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series.

The Pro Late Model race was a 100 lap back-and-forth duel between Austin Herzog running double duty and 2015 champion Buddy Shepherd who himself had won two consecutive series races. Lengthy red flags within the first 12 laps for fluid from Thomas Suarez and Mark Squadrito slowed the action for the 25 car field considerably. Zampa spun in the fluid and went all the way to the back of the field, with his comeback earning him the Fluidyne Cool Move Under Pressure honors for the night.

Kyle Gottula spun and Rick Thompson had hard contact with the wall with both cars out of the event on lap 12. Bakersfield's Racin Vernon again suffered mechanical woes to end his night on lap 28. The young Austin Herzog paced the first quarter of the race before Shepherd used the inside line to take over the lead. Coming out of the lap 50 break for adjustments and interviews with the MAVTV cameras, Del McIntosh fell out of the race with a swaybar mount problem while all-time winningest driver Matt Erickson, the 2016 champion, had a brake bleeder issue bounce him from the race on lap 78.

Herzog kept up the intensity on Shepherd all the way into the final corner when the duo made contact causing Shepherd to spin. Several cars crashed including Ryan Hart hitting the wall significantly. Herzog scooted away to cross the finish line first but was penalized to the end of the lead lap for his involvement in the incident. Zampa was moved into the first position and celebrated a big victory that puts him squarely in the championship hunt. Modesto's Garland Tyler was second for another top three with Mariposa's Glen Cook third. Dillon Tucker and Howard Holden rounded out the top-five.

On the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model side, the season had been all about rookie driver Jesse Love IV with the 12 year old winning the first three races. But 2016 season runner-up Austin Herzog had different plans on Saturday night as he led all 75 laps in the feature. The talented field of drivers ages 10-16 years old was first narrowed down by a B Main event before 15 cars accepted the green flag for the feature.

The feature was relatively fast-paced and incident free with Herzog leading from the pole position while the battling ensued behind him. One of the larger incidents of the night occurred on lap 43 when the #43 of Tyler Reif of Las Vegas hit the wall. While Herzog led the full distance with some challenges from Love, the overall battle was for second between Love and Eric Nascimento, Jr.

Love bounced off the front stretch wall coming to the finish for the second spot and missed out by a scant .087 seconds to Nascimento in a thrilling conclusion to the battle. Middleton, Idaho's Zachary Telford had his career best performance with a solid fourth place finish ahead of Las Vegas' RJ Smothermon. Kolby Berry once again set quick time but was unable to capitalize and finished seventh while B Main winner Kabe McClenny of Bakersfield drove through the pack for an eighth place finish. Nine lead lap cars served as a testament to the strong performance by these young drivers.

The Modified Super Toyotas and Toyota Sedans entertained the crowd with a combined feature event with the faster MSTs won by points leader "Dirt" Bert Stephens while Jason Kearns won the Toyota Sedans portion with points leader Mike Marley in second.

Madera Speedway goes dark June 24th before continuing July 1st for the BIG FIREWORKS SHOW! Grass Roots Racer Classic (Double Points all divisions including the Enduro Series), Madera Late Models, Race #5 of the Super Hobby Stock Series 50 laps, MSTs (48 lap main, split 24's) , Toyota Sedans (48 lap main, split 24's), F4's (24 lap main), Firecracker 40 lap Race #3 of the Enduro Extreme Series Barrel race & an Enduro Sprint Race (40 laps), and Jr. Late Model 25 lap exhibition race.

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information about RPM Mortgage and to obtain loan information please visit www.rpmwins.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

Madera Racing on MAVTV continues Thursday June 29th with coverage of the April 29th round two for the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series. The broadcast beings at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific. Madera Speedway racing is also available on the LucasOilRacing.TV app

Jesse Love IV in victory lane after his third Jr. LM victory (Photo Courtesy Jason Wedehase)

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (May 27, 2017) – 12 year-old rookie Jesse Love IV of Menlo Park continued his incredible start to his Madera Speedway Jr. Late Model career, taking Saturday night's 75 lap 51FIFTY Energy Drink feature as part of Military Tribute Night. Love's third win highlighted a busy night that included Logan Zampa getting his first career RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model win, Tyler Reif taking the Mini Cup feature, and Mike Marley grabbing the Toyota Sedans.

Both round threes of the Late Model divisions on the one-third mile were televised for later broadcast on MAVTV.

The 20 car Jr. Late Model field struggled to get the race underway as Watsonville's Lilly Mead stalled on the initial attempt at a start with fuel pump issues. On the following attempt, pole sitter Kyle Keller of Las Vegas spun in turn four and Mentone's Austin Edwards spun in turn two as well.

12 year-old Zachary Telford of Middleton, ID assumed the lead position for a single file restart with Love restarting in second.

Fast-time qualifier Kolby Berry of Redwood Valley restarted third but faced pressure from 2016 season runner-up Austin Herzog. RJ Smothermon of Las Vegas spun in turn one for the next caution on lap five. Herzog cleared Berry for third before that caution flag flew.

Telford slid up the hill coming off of turn four before concluding lap 11 and tagged the wall. He fell back to third with Love assuming the lead. Jaden Rocha spun in turn four to bring out another caution on lap 13. This caution fell as Jarrett Gilmer began peeking inside Hailie Deegan for fifth.

The battle for fifth continued after the restart when they got side-by-side before the conclusion of lap 20. Gilmer cleared Deegan down the backstretch. 2016 champion Dezel West and Eric Nascimento, Jr. also went past Deegan.

Berry slowed with engine trouble from the fourth position on lap 25 and stopped at the end of the backstretch. West and Gilmer tangled on the ensuing restart with Gilmer spinning and West sent to the rear for his involvement. Several spins and incidents slowed the pace of the race for the next seven laps with three different cautions.

Deegan got past Telford for the fourth spot and Bakersfield's Kabe McClenny followed her through for fifth. A major multi-car crash on the backstretch involved both Madison and Alison Gay with Madison's car suffering heavy front end damage when she hit the back of Gilmer. On the lap 35 restart Herzog began to hound Love for the top spot.

Telford got overhauled by Edwards dropping the early race leader to seventh just before the lap 50 break. Herzog continued the intensity on Love with five laps to the break. Herzog ran out of gas to bring out a lap 46 caution and had to be pushed back to the infield. He never was able to re-fire which ended his evening. McClenny inherited second with Edwards up into third in a remarkable comeback.

Edwards ran out of gas as well as the race reached lap 50 for the break but he managed to stay on the lead lap.

The race reached lap 50 with Love leading McClenny, Deegan, Telford, and Las Vegas' Tanner Reif. Reif used the restart to get around Telford to take over fourth. Madison Gay's night ended in sparks on lap 60. Anthony Guiamano retired to the pits under that caution as well.

The final 15 laps were paced by Love while McClenny fought off a torrid charge from Hailie Deegan. Deegan gave McClenny several bumps in turn three over the final five laps but was unsuccessful. Love dashed away for a .780 victory ahead of McClenny, Deegan, Reif, and Keller.

In RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model competition, 25 cars took to the track for the 100 lap feature for the third race of 2017. Logan Zampa of Napa was credited with his first career series win after an exciting main event.

14 year-old Austin Herzog led the field to the green flag alongside Modesto's Garland Tyler. Tyler ran side-by-side on the outside of Herzog for the first two laps of the race before Herzog started to edge forward with the lead. The pair jumped out to a sizeable lead over fifth starting Zampa who immediately climbed into third.

The early battle was for fourth as Ryan Hart tried to fend off fast-time qualifier Buddy Shepherd. Shepherd got past him in turn two on lap eight. Hart fell back into a battle with Dillon Tucker but successfully held him off in heavy lapped traffic.

Herzog encountered early lapped traffic on lap nine but maintained a five car length advantage. Tyler Herzog spun for the race's first caution on lap 18. Herzog picked the outside for the restart and managed to get ahead of Tyler but Shepherd snaked into second in the process.

Tucker rolled around Hart for the fifth spot but Hart battled back at lap 25 in a very good battle. Glen Cook won a battle with Matt Erickson that thrust Erickson back to Rick Thompson. Thompson got around Erickson for eighth on lap 27.

The top four cars of Herzog, Shepherd, Tyler, and Zampa hooked up nose to tail on the outside in a way unseen so far in 2017. Shepherd dove inside Herzog in turn four and took over the lead at lap 32. The lead pack continued to run the top side of the race track although turn three was very loose for several competitors.

Lapped traffic ran side-by-side right in front of the Tucker and Hart battle within the final ten laps of the first half. Herzog used lapped traffic to climb back on top of Shepherd with five to go.

At the lap 50 break it was Shepherd leading Herzog, Tyler, Zampa, and Tucker. Hart challenged Tucker yet again for fifth coming out of the break and took over the position. Shepherd rocketed out to a ten car length lead over the trio of Herzog, Zampa, and Tyler. Hart managed to close in on the trio on lap 61. Zampa worked his way past Herzog on lap 66 in lapped traffic to nab second place.

The battling for the fifth position was nearly non-stop throughout the feature and eventually grew to a five car battle involving Hart, Tucker, Rick Thompson, Erickson, and Howard Holden.

A caution on lap 77 for Del McIntosh spinning in turn four changed the race as Glen Cook was hit hard by Tyler Herzog with Quintin Harris also getting involved. The caution also evaporated the comfortable lead that Shepherd had built up over Zampa.

Herzog had a slow restart from third that allowed Tyler to jump to his outside. Tyler swooped past him to take the position in turn two on lap 78. Tucker tried to duplicate the move outside Hart in that continuing exciting battle. Tucker completed the deal in the same corner on lap 80. The battle for third picked up as Herzog used the long green flag run to make up ground on Tyler.

Shepherd drove away for a 1.449 second win over Zampa, Tyler, Herzog, and Tucker. Hart settled for sixth ahead of a hard-charging Howard Holden in seventh.

Shepherd's victory was nullified in post-race inspection, however, with an illegal engine setback. That gave Logan Zampa his first career RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model victory in what will be a tightening points battle when the series continues on June 17th.

Points leader Mike Marley led on two different occasions en route to the 25 lap Toyota Sedan victory. Marley led the first six laps of the Toyota Sedan feature before a hungry pack of Sedans pounced on him. Jason Lawton took over the lead with Tim Curtis going by for second a few laps later. A mix up on lap 11 saw Erik Woods spin in turn two and Curtis fall out of the race with front bumper damage. After an incident between Woods and Thomas Magray, Marley made a big move on the outside to take the lead on lap 21.

Marley took the victory with Wood and Dukes crashing hard at the start finish line at the conclusion of the race. The top-five were credited as Marley, Lawton, Kyle Fortney, Woods, and Dukes.

Nine year-old Tyler Reif of Las Vegas is now a perfect two-for-two in Mini Cup competition as he won a solid 20 lap feature against the challenges of Stockton's JoJo Stearns. Bakersfield's Kale McClenny ran third ahead of Joseph Holliday and Aiden Phillips.

Madera Speedway goes dark June 3rd before continuing June 10th for the Lucas Oil Summertime Horsepower Nationals. It will feature the Lucas Oil Modifieds in the Protect the Harvest 75 MAVTV show, North State Modified Tour, Race #4 of the Super Hobby Stock Open Series 50 laps, USAC HPD Midgets, Legends of Kearney Bowl, and CSS 360 Super Mods.

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information about RPM Mortgage and to obtain loan information please visit www.rpmwins.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

Madera Racing on MAVTV begins Thursday June 1st with coverage of the season opener from March 11th for the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series. The broadcast beings at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific. Madera Speedway racing is also available on the LucasOilRacing.TV app