Super Late Models
John Hunter Nemechek Interested in Short Track Comeback
Mar 3, 2022
Event: The “JM Environmental Inc. Wild West Showdown Back in Business 127” is Round #2 for the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series and will take place at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA on March 5th. It is the first round of the Wild West Shootout’s sponsored by John Moore and JM Environmental. Each of the three events will pay $10,000 to the winner, with Round #2 at Kern County Raceway on June 18 and Round #3 at Stockton 99 Speedway on July 16th. Derek Thorn swept each of the three rounds in 2021, but will not be at Roseville to defend his title. The Super Late Models will be joined by the SPEARS Pro Late Models presented by Sigma Performance Services and the SPEARS Modified Series. Local Divisions include the Mini Cup / Bandolero Division, F4 Division and Super Stocks.
Previous Winners: Jeremy Doss is the only previous winner, in 11 series visits for the Super Late Models, entered this weekend. Derek Thorn had dominated with the last four wins in-a-row and seven overall. Bobby Hodges, M.K. Kanke, and Eric Holmes were the other previous winners. In the Pro Late Models, Dylan Zampa was a winner in 2021 and will look to add to his win total. Travis McCullough was a winner in 2021 in the SPEARS Modified Series and will look to pick up his third career win in the series.
Championship Battle: Cale Kanke leads the championship standings for the teams headed to Roseville. He sits five points ahead of 2018 SRL champion Jeremy Doss. Two-Time Mesa Marin Super Late Model champion Dan Holtz is third followed by Colorado star Jace Hansen and 2015 SRL champion Jacob Gomes. 2006 series champion Eric Schmidt is also entered, after missing the first event due to unforeseen circumstances.
Returning Champion: John Moore was the 2021 NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series Champion at All American Speedway. Moore has been a regular in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series since 2018, but missed one event in 2021, to secure the track championship with five wins. He will be back in his Super Late Model this weekend, participating with Linny White Racing in a Hamke Racecars hotrod. Moore, who was the 2015 Pacific Challenge Series champion, scored a career high three top-five efforts in 2021. His best effort was a third at All American Speedway in September. Moore’s company JM Environmental Inc. is the sponsor of this weekend’s $10,000-to-win event.
Championship Contender: Dustin Ash is making his first full-time effort in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series in 2022. He is driving for the Sigma Performance Services team of Joe Farre’ after serving as a Crew Chief for the team in 2021. Ash is a four-time champion at the Bullring at LVMS, with two Super Late Model titles. He sits second in all-time wins at the facility with 66, while winning the prestigious Fall Classic Open Comp three times, twice in a Super Late Model, with a Pro Late Model win in 2021. He will be making his first start at All American Speedway this weekend, as serving as a Crew Chief in multiple efforts. He is looking forward to his first time behind the wheel at the 1/3-mile.
“I’ll be honest, I’m extremely excited”, Ash exclaimed! “I’ve been going there for years with the K&N (now ARCA Menards Pro Series West) stuff or the Late Model, SRL stuff. So, I get to drive around that place. Everybody I’ve tended to work with says they like it, so I think it will suit my driving style pretty well. I am looking forward to it.”
Ash had a difficult start to the season, finishing 29th, due to a mechanical DNF at the “All-Star Showdown 200 at Irwindale Speedway. But he still feels a championship is achievable at the end of the 10-race schedule.
“It definitely hurts a little bit”, Ash recalled. “I felt we were a lot better than what we showed on paper. I think if we get our stuff together and have some good runs it will put us right back in it. We definitely need to win a couple.”
Front Runners: There will be plenty of teams competing for the victory on Saturday night, but if the 2021 season dictates this weekend’s results, 2015 SRL champion Jacob Gomes and 2021 Rookie-of-the-Year Buddy Shepherd will both need to be watched closely. Shepherd finished second in both 2021 efforts, leading a race high 73 laps at last year’s Wild West Shootout event. Contact with Thorn, while leading, sent the Bakersfield, CA driver to the pits late in the event, where he recovered to finish second. Jacob Gomes led 39 laps and was poised to seal the victory when a flat tire with four laps to go sealed his fate. Both will be tough this weekend.
High Point Racing: The Racecar Factory / High Point Racing team will bring two cars to Roseville. ARCA Menards Pro Series West star Trevor Huddleston will compete with the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series Super Late Models, looking for a victory in his 21st series start. Huddleston was the victim of a stuck throttle in his last All American Speedway start, sending him hard into the Turn #3 wall. “Malcom in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz will be in the team’s Pro Late Model, looking for a championship effort. Muniz has competed in the last two series events, finishing 17th at the October Classic at Kern County Raceway and 10th at the season opening All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway.
Pro Late Models: 22 Pro Late Models are expected for this weekend’s “Sigma Performance Services 75”. For teams who attended the season opener at Irwindale Speedway, Sigma Performance Services will offer an extra $2,500 for the victory, making it a $5,000-to-win event for those teams. In addition, each team at the opener will receive $400 to start. 2021 championship runner-up Dylan Zampa won at All American Speedway last year and will be looking to rebound after a 29th-place finish at Irwindale He also scored five NASCAR weekly racing victories in Roseville, making him a favorite. Seth Wise leads the standings for drivers entered in this weekend’s event followed by Tyler Reif, Logan Zampa, Frankie Muniz and Travis McCullough.
Modifieds: 19 SPEARS Modified Series teams are entered as of March 2nd, for the "California Tank & Pnuematic's 75". $2,000 will go to the winner. Jaron Giannini leads the championship standings over Andrew Anderson, who will miss this event. Jimmy Sloan sits third with Sam Jacks fourth, Brice Bonnett fifth and William Guevara sixth. Chris Dalton, Kyle Jacks, Jeff Longman and Ray Mros round out the top-10, with all entered this weekend. Former SRL winner Brandon White will make his series debut this weekend with California Central Valley star Jason Philpott also looking to make his series start. Philpott is a seven-time winner in the North State Modified Series and the champion of the North State Challenge Series Modifieds in 2011. Irwindale “All-Star Showdown” winner Travis Thirkettle will also make the trip from Southern California to participate this weekend. Holly Clark, Jeff Longman and Nick Gibson will travel from Colorado, Utah, and Idaho for this weekend’s event.
Fan Schedule: Admission Gates for the $10,000-to-win “JM Environmental Inc. Wild West Shootout Back in Business 127” will open at 4:00 PM. The three “Spears” series will be joined by the local Mini Cup / Bandolero Division, F4 Division and Super Stocks. Qualifying will begin at 3:55 PM with Opening Ceremonies scheduled at 5:00 PM. The Feature events will begin shortly thereafter with the SPEARS Modified Series closing out the evenings action.
Coverage: For those unable to attend the event in person, all the action can be seen LIVE at www.SpearsRacing.TV or on a delayed basis on MAVTV.
Celebrating its twenty-second season in 2022, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.
-SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series Press Release and Photo
