LAS VEGAS (January 21, 2022) — Ridge Abbott came from the back to the front and claimed victory in the Dwarf Car feature during Night 2 of the inaugural Las Vegas Dirt Nationals.
On a blustery Friday night at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, four feature winners blew past the competition as Abbott, Kollin Hibdon in Open Modified, Seth Christian in West Coast Sport Compacts and Luke Ramsey in Hobby Stocks all took home checkered flags.
Due to high winds, the Bandits Outlaw Sprint Series feature scheduled for Friday will be moved to Saturday and will be run as part of Night 3’s show. There will be a full BOSS program on Saturday along with that extra feature.
For a full rundown on Friday night’s results click HERE.
After mechanical issues in his heat race, Abbott – who’s from nearby Henderson – started last in a field of 24 cars and maneuvered his No. 4X into the 15-lap, $500-to-win feature’s Top 5 in just a handful of laps. As Dillon Coyne, Dylan Budnik, John Foster and David Teves swapped the lead, Abbott methodically drove past them all, took the top spot with seven laps to go and went on to victory. Before Abbott joined the party, those four took turns at the front, with Teves leading when Abbott came to call.
Teves finished second, Budnik third, Coyne fourth and Stacy Woods finished fifth.
Thursday night’s winner Dalton Hatten spun out in Turn 4 on Lap 1 and collected several others, ending his night.
In Open Modifieds, Hibdon (Pahrump, Nev.) battled through stiff competition to claim the 25-lap, $2,500-to-win feature. Austin Holcombe and Ricky Alvarado swapped the lead early, trading sliders before Holcombe prevailed and lengthened his advantage on the field. As Holcombe struggled in lapped traffic, Alvarado and Hibdon’s No. A machine closed in, with Hibdon getting second spot from Alvarado, then finally taking the lead with a slider on Holcombe with six laps to go.
The Las Vegas Dirt Nationals is Hibdon’s first chance at driving an Open Mod, as he usually runs under IMCA rules. His Modified was converted to fit the USRA rule set this week.
Holcombe barely beat Alvarado – who’s running a crate engine – for second. Thursday night’s winner, Rodney Sanders, finished fourth and Travis Mosley was fifth.
Luke Ramsey grabbed his second feature in two nights, fending off charges from John Watson and Solomon Bennett in the 15-lap, $500-to-win Hobby Stock main event. Ramsey (Bedford, Iowa) started on pole, but relinquished the lead on the break, as Watson snuck by on the bottom. It took just a handful of laps for Ramsey to re-take the lead, though, and Ramsey’s No. 17 held serve through two caution periods. After a lap-8 incident Solomon Bennett tried to snatch the lead away with an aggressive dive to Ramsey’s inside. He wouldn’t succeed, however, and Ramsey drove away over the final seven laps.
Watson finished second, Bennett third, Brent Ricker finished fourth and Adam Tiscareno fifth.
Seth Christian held off a proverbial hornet’s nest of challengers to win the 15-lap West Coast Sport Compact $500-to-win feature. Christian (Roseburg, Ore.) beat Greg Baronian by 0.072 as Baronian rolled the top and nearly nipped Christian at the line. Christian got the lead on lap 7 by jumping underneath pole sitter Ryan Doglione. Christian held serve through a handful of cautions and led as the field went green with three to go and Baronian and Doglione battling for second. Christian had just enough to take the checkered flag in front.
Doglione, Jeff Durant and Dan Myrick rounded out the Top 5.
Foster, Hatten, Tommy Velasquez and Woods won their Dwarf Car heat races. Gene Glover, Jeff Durant, Dennis Cosens and Scott Beaudoin won their West Coast Sport Compact heat races. Brian Ruhlman, Logan Drake and Hibdon won their Open Modifed heat races and
Ramsey won the won the only Hobby Stock heat race.
Joel Myers Jr. won the lone Bandits Outlaw Sprint Series heat race. Myers flipped his Sprint Car on Thursday night and came back strong on Friday.
The inaugural Las Vegas Dirt Nationals will come to a close Saturday night with all five classes running features as part of a similar show to the first two nights. Open Modifies will close out the Las Vegas Dirt Nationals with a $5,000-to-win feature. The Bandits Outlaw Sprint Series will race both the $5,000-to-win Saturday features and the $2,500-to-win Friday feature while the Hobby Stocks, West Coast Sport Compacts and Dwarf Cars will race $750-to-win features on Saturday.
Ticket and race information for the Las Vegas Dirt Nationals can be found at www.lasvegasdirttrack.com.
ABOUT THE DIRT TRACK AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the hidden gems on the speedway’s 1,000-acre property. The half-mile oval hosts a variety of races, including the Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert and has become a fan-favorite among dirt track racing enthusiasts. The world-class half-mile groomed clay oval is banked at approximately 10 degrees. The infield measures 780feet by 375 feet and is available for excavation up to six feet deep. The facility includes two enclosed suites accessible by elevator and permanent restroom facilities. The adjacent paddock area is lighted and measures 500,000 square feet.
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