5/11/2021
NMMRA-New Mexico Motor Racing Association
Ziehl Tops Treharn in Mother’s Day Weekend Thriller
Vado, NM (5/11/21) – The Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Car Series returned to the gorgeous Vado Speedway Park on Saturday for the second time in the 2021 season for a special Mother’s Day Weekend celebration. With the points battle tight, every driver had their eyes on a solid performance for the second trip to New Mexico’s most southern speedway.
Action around the notoriously wide 3/8ths mile track would kick off for drivers with a pair of qualifying heat races to determine the starting lineup for the 25-lap feature event.
In heat 1, it was all Los Lunas, New Mexico’s Colt Treharn who took a demanding win over Albuquerque’s Spencer Hill and Caleb Saiz. Heat 2 offered fans some excitement as well, as the veteran Rick Ziehl brought his No. 20z across the line first, ahead of defending Vado feature winner, Devon Amos, and rookie, Caleb Stelzig.
With heat race competition in the books, it was time for 25 laps around the Vado Speedway Park to see who the next winner would be with the Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Car Series. Treharn and Stelzig would bring the field under fire in turn four and the battle was immediately on. The top spot would go to Amos early as he rolled the bottom with Treharn in tow and Hill working the topside of the track in search for grip in 3rd.
The field came to a stop on lap five for a flip in turn four for JR Bonesteel after contact with the No. 2 of Michael Fanelli. Bonesteel was okay but understandably upset after his shortened feature. Upon the restart, all eyes moved toward Rick Ziehl as he jetted to the cushion and grabbed the lead from Amos on lap 12. Treharn followed Ziehl through, and the race for the win was on as the two leaders began to catch lap traffic. The crowd rose to their feet watching the two tango on the track side-by-side for the final ten laps, separated by less than 0.2 seconds. On the final lap, Treharn closed the gap to Ziehl more than ever, but was bested in a photo finish at the line by a mere 0.0017 seconds. Ziehl’s win was identified as the closest finish in the history of the Vado Speedway Park. Rounding out the top five was Amos, Saiz, and Travis Oldfield. Ziehl was also credited as the hard charger of the night, advancing seven spots in route to his first Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA victory of the season.
The Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Cars will return to action this Saturday night for the “Spring Fling” at Sandia Speedway.
Results:
# Name Hometown +/-
- 20z Rick Ziehl Las Cruces, NM +7
- 77 Colt Treharn Los Lunas, NM -1
- 41 Devon Amos Rio Rancho, NM +1
- 1HA Caleb Saiz Albuquerque, NM +2
- 11w Travis Oldfield Albuquerque, NM -
- 97 Derek DeMartino Las Cruces, NM +3
- 2 Michael Fanelli Rio Rancho, NM +3
- 21 Caleb Stelzig Albuquerque, NM -6
- 24 Robert Marfia Rio Rancho, NM +3
- 7D7 Spencer Hill Albuquerque, NM -7
- 7x Troy Treharn Peralta, NM +2
- 45x Don Grable El Paso, TX +3
- 9 Robert Herrera Las Cruces, NM +1
- 52NM James Hatch Rio Rancho, NM -3
DNF 0 JR Bonesteel Albuquerque, NM -8
Heat 1 (Results): 1-Treharn.C 2-Hill.S 3-Saiz.C 4-Bonesteel.J 5-Oldfield.T 6-Hatch.J 7-Treharn.T 8-Grable.D
Heat 2 (Results): 1-Ziehl.R 2-Amos.D 3-Stelzig.C 4-DeMartino.D 5-Fanelli.M 6-Marfia.R 7-Herrera.R
