They came, they raced, they won championships.
After a dozen hard-fought racing weekends, The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has crowned its 2018 season champions. Regular-season racing concluded for nine of the short track's 10 divisions on Championship Night over the weekend, with six drivers officially claiming their first track titles and three others adding to their Las Vegas racing legacies.
Jimmy Parker Jr. (NASCAR Super Late Models), Doug Hamm (NASCAR Modifieds) and Landon Gresser (USLCI Bandolero Bandits) clinched their championships on Sept. 22, but officially celebrated on Saturday night along with six other drivers who battled tough competition until the very end. Parker and Gresser hoisted their first career Bullring championship trophies, while Hamm was anointed for his fifth title since the track was reconfigured in 2000. He also won the division in 1999.
Joining Parker and Gresser as first-time champions were: Vinny Raucci Jr. (NASCAR Bombers); Jaron Giannini (USLCI Legends); Kaden Crouch (USLCI Bandolero Outlaws); and Cindy Clark (Skid Plate Cars). Raucci out-dueled Kyle Jacks by just two points, while Giannini topped his brother, Branden, by two points after contenders Jason Irwin and Michael Todd Glazier wrecked on the final night.
Chris Bosley edged Doug Germano by four points in the USLCI Thunder Cars division to claim his third career track title, while Crouch topped Amilleo Thomson and Clark bested 2017 champion James Brazzeal for the hardware.
The Junior Late Models did not compete on Championship Night, and Kyle Keller leads R.J. Smotherman by nine points heading into a two-race finale at the Senator's Cup Fall Classic Oct. 19-20. The final night of that event will feature a $15,000-to-win NASCAR Super Late Models feature.
Spectators can save money by buying tickets in advance through the LVMS Ticket Office at 800-644-4444 or online at LVMS.com, and all children 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult. The Bullring concession stand offers great prices, including $2 hot dogs and Coca-Cola products and $3 Budweiser beers.
Final points standings for The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
(Through Oct. 6 races)
NASCAR Super Late Models
1. Jimmy Parker Jr. 345*; 2. Scott Gafforini 304; 3. (tie) Dennis Rock and Kayli Barker 260; 5. Tyler Fabozzi 223; 6. Johnny Spilotro 212; 7. David Anderson 196; 8. Dezel West 188; 9. Stan Mullis 179; 10. Charlie Pike 149; 11. Steve Anderson 128; 12. Chris Clyne 105; 13. Ray Hoffman 74; 14. Dustin Ash 58; 15. Toni Breidinger 43; 16. Donny St. Ours 39; 17. Kayla Eshleman 36; 18. Chris Trickle 28; 19. Billy Mitchell 26; 20. Justin Johnson 25; 21. Dee Cable 23; 22. (tie) Luke Hall and Alex Malycke 22; 24. Donna Gunther 21; 25. Warren Knipper 20; 26. Brandon Farrington 19; 27. Gary Clift 18; 28. (tie) Darin Calloway and Ron Searle Jr. 13; 30. Gary Lavoie 11.
NASCAR Bombers
1. Vinny Raucci Jr. 282*; 2. Kyle Jacks 280; 3. Adam Simon 263; 4. Tim Maserang 202; 5. Zachery Nicholls 188; 6. Jim Merlino 183; 7. Michael Miller 149; 8. Anthony Mann 139; 9. Joseph Bradbury 136; 10. Mark Skinner 113; 11. Carl Duryee 108; 12. Robert Schumacher 95; 13. Tia Guy 90; 14. Court Connell 89; 15. Bradley Thompson 86; 16. Steve Danko 66; 17. Kirk Hance 51; 18. Matthew Cunningham 34; 19. Anthony Riegert 32; 20. James Menasco 31; 21. Aaron McMorran 25; 22. (tie) Billy Grasser and Cody Schumacher 20; 24. (tie) Steve Dewey and Vinny Raucci Sr. 19; 26. Billy Hern 18; 27. Pete Meyer 17; 28. Gary Griffiths 16; 29. Steve Durbin 12; 30. (tie) Arlie Daniel and Joe Wright 9; 32. Jason Merlino 3.
NASCAR Modifieds
1. Doug Hamm 252*; 2. Pat Petrie 194; 3. Mason Sargent 174; 4. Cameron Morga 171; 5. Ron Reed 167; 6. Brian Reed 138; 7. Justin Miller 134; 8. Tom Pfundstein 113; 9. Payton Garofalo 107; 10. Steve Durbin 81; 11. Tadd Burns 75; 12. Zachery Nicholls 59; 13. Joe DeGuevara 55; 14. Vinny Raucci Jr. 38; 15. Justin Johnson 27; 16. Chris Bray 26; 17. (tie) Ian Anderson and Lynn Hardy 25; 19. Sam Jacks 24; 20. Barry Egolf 12; 21. Jason Irwin 9.
NASCAR Super Stocks
1. Sam Jacks 319*; 2. Mason Sargent 288; 3. Matt Cunningham 233; 4. Chad Mattos 182; 5. Matt Larsen 181; 6. Billy Paddack Jr. 133; 7. Chuck DeGuevara 130; 8. Jim Merlino 98; 9. Ethan DeGuevara 93; 10. Camden Larsen 83; 11. Wayne Jacks 42; 12. Eric Martin 34; 13. Robert Negrete 20; 14. Don Zoll 14.
USLCI Legend Cars
1. Jaron Giannini 264*; 2. Branden Giannini 262; 3. Jason Irwin 250; 4. Michael Todd Glazier 249; 5. Dylan Fabozzi 245; 6. Jace Jones 153; 7. Gary Wegener 138; 8. Brian Williams 137; 9. Jordon Holloway 130; 10. Devin Lane 119; 11. Cameron Morga 98; 12. Parker Steele 89; 13. John Hans 79; 14. DeShawn Skinner 56; 15. Cody Brown 54; 16. T.J. Clark 50; 17. Bruce Silver 47; 18. Zachary Telford 46; 19. Tanner Reif 44; 20. Braden Rogers 43; 21. Doug Petsco 42; 22. Kayla Eshleman 39; 23. Tyler Fabozzi 34; 24. Jovan Fox 31; 25. Ryan Rackley 30; 26. Mike Alcaro 28; 27. Gary Scheurell 27; 28. (tie) Darren Amidon and Brent Scheidemantle 26; 30. D.J. Canipe 25; 31. Colton Page 24; 32. (tie) Ricky De Lee Ree and Ricky Leigh 22; 34. (tie) Wayne Barlock and Drew Dollar 21; 36. (tie) Sammy Smith and Darrell R. Stewart 20; 38. Michael Anderson 19; 39. (tie) Darrell J. Stewart, Derek Debbis, Jason Hulvey and Travis Roe 17; 43. (tie) Cole Kaetts, Cody Dempster and Doug Sheldon 14; 46. (tie) Matt Winfrey and Andy Hulcy 12; 48. Jadon Fisher 11; 49. (tie) Chase Catania, Donna Gunther and Krystal Faulkingham 10; 52. (tie) Cheyenne Schindler and Gary Luck 9; 54. (tie) Kyle Cottrell, Eddie Garone and Scott Anderson 8; 57. Josh Ayers 7; 58. (tie) Sheldon Crouse, Ryan McIntosh and Tanner Bennett 6; 61. Brian Lane 1.
USLCI Thunder Cars
1. Chris Bosley 225*; 2. Doug Germano 220; 3. Ed Hohman 172; 4. Darin Calloway 62; 5. Roger Hocking 45; 6. Bobby Rupert 44.
USLCI Bandolero Outlaws
1. Kaden Crouch 315*; 2. Amilleo Thomson 296; 3. Chloe Lynch 282; 4. Cameron Guy 260; 5. Brendan Tracy 202; 6. Cody Brown 152; 7. Skyler Meisenbach 93; 8. Ethan DeGuevara 76; 9. Haylee Morris 68; 10. Cody Kiemele 67; 11. Dezel West 57; 12. Camden Larsen 50; 13. Tyler Reif 22; 14. Riley Massey 21; 15. Adam Farr 17; 16. (tie) Rob Street and Katelyn Maserang 16.
USLCI Bandolero Bandits
1. Landon Gresser 358*; 2. Sabastian Lafia 312; 3. Ashton Leonard 223; 4. Tuscan Nuccitelli 220; 5. Alexis Bjork 206; 6. Owen Romzek 199; 7. A.J. Blackwill 175; 8. Levi Barral 171; 9. Branch Danko 91; 10. Jake Bollman 85; 11. Eliana Danko 72; 12. Trayc Walker-Scott 44; 13. Tyler Reif 43; 14. Brody Moore 38; 15. James Starcher 19; 16. Siena Nuccitelli 13; 17. Mekena Mitchell 12; 18. Aedyn Sawyer 10.
Skid Plate Cars
1. Cindy Clark 164*; 2. James Brazzeal 150; 3. Dennis Dowell 147; 4. Ben Williams 131; 5. Racer X 129; 6. William Good 123; 7. Jeff Bargerhuff 117; 8. Scott Stockwell 96; 9. John Petsco 90; 10. Matt Esposito 86; 11. Larry Dowell 67; 12. Robert Leahy 58; 13. Rowdy Rob 40; 14. Blake Greenwood 29; 15. Fred Droegemueller 21; 16. Billy Paddack 12; 17. Tyler Christensen 11; 18. (tie) Derick Utley and Nick Nuccitelli 9.
*Champions for the 2018 season.
Jr. Late Models (To be decided Oct. 19-20)
1. Kyle Keller 136; 2. R.J. Smotherman 127; 3. Austin Edwards 99; 4. Cody Kiemele 58; 5. Tanner Reif 30; 6. Braden Conner 24.