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Marlar, Sanders, and Bryant Snare Wild West Shootout Finale Victories

Marlar, Sanders, and Bryant Snare Wild West Shootout Finale Victories
Marlar, Sanders, and Blacklance Crowned Miniseries Champions

VADO, N.M. (01/16/22) — Mike Marlar chased and chased the upset-minded Jake Timm around FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway Park in Sunday’s Rio Grande Waste Service 50 presented by Shaw Trucking, but he couldn’t seem to make headway on the fresh-faced driver in the Dirt Track Bank Super Late Model feature presented by Black Diamond Race Cars.

“I really didn’t have anything for him,� Marlar said of the 25-year-old Super Late Model upstart from Winona, Minn. “Man, that kid done a heck of a job.�

But not quite good enough to defeat Marlar, who took advantage of a lap-40 restart to end Timm’s race-long run in the lead and march on to victory in the Rio Grande Waste Services 50 presented by Shaw Trucking finale of the 16th annual Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.

Marlar, 43, of Winfield, Tenn., paced the final 10 circuits to take the checkered flag 2.260 seconds ahead of Jacksonville, Fla.’s Earl Pearson Jr., who slipped past Timm on lap 43 but never threatened to steal the $25,000 top prize. Timm settled for third place after starting from the pole position and leading laps 1-40 while Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., placed fourth and Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., registered a miniseries-best fifth-place finish.

The lone top-five finisher not driving a Longhorn Chassis was Pierce, who drove a machine built by his father Bob.

The triumph was Marlar’s second straight to end the Wild West Shootout — putting him alongside Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., as a repeat winner — and earned him the miniseries points title. The championship added $3,000 to his hefty take.

Marlar conceded, though, that he needed some breaks to down Timm, an open-wheel modified standout who is breaking into the Dirt Late Model ranks. He started from the outside pole but couldn’t stick with Timm early in the race as he fell back to third by lap five, and he couldn’t find the speed to draw close enough to challenge the fleet pacesetter after he regained the runner-up spot from Ricky Weiss on lap 18.

While Marlar said his Ronnie Delk-owned car “came on for some reason� as the race’s long stretch of uninterrupted racing rolled on, catching Timm still proved to be a difficult proposition.

“I thought I had a setup before the race, and when they wetted it (reworked the surface for the feature) I was like, ‘We gotta go change a bunch of stuff,’� Marlar said. “So we changed a lot of stuff on the car and freed back up. Early I was a little too free, but as the night went on it got better and better.

“I’d love to say we had a plan there, but it just worked out.�

The key moments for Marlar proved to be the feature’s only two caution flags, which came back-to-back on laps 40 and 41.

The first, on lap 40 when the lapped Kent Rosevear bounced off Marlar’s car, slapped the turn-one wall and collected Johnny Scott and fourth-running Garrett Alberson, erased Timm’s edge of just under 1 second. It also allowed Marlar to use a lane he had just discovered and bolt past Timm for the lead as lap 41 was scored.

“I had found that middle down there in traffic just before that caution,� Marlar said. “Under caution I tried to pack it down where it was good and then took back off and went in there and stuck right through it.�

Timm fought back, though, and actually surged ahead of Marlar on the backstretch working lap 41. But another caution flag — this one for Weiss and Tyler Erb, who spun together in turn four as they battled for third and swept up Brandon Sheppard and Rusty Schlenk — kept Marlar in front.

“I caught a break because he was probably in a good position to come out on top with that deal (if lap 42 had been completed),� Marlar said. “But when them boys wrecked down there the caution came out just for me at the right time.

“It just played out for us, but he done a wonderful job. We got in that traffic and he’s a young kid, and I thought, He might make a mistake here. But he was just doing an excellent job with all the lapped cars.�

Marlar left Vado satisfied with his week of action, which included a $5,000 victory on Saturday and finishes of third, fourth, second and fifth leading into the final two nights of competition.

“The racetrack’s just awesome,� said Marlar, who previously won the Wild West Shootout championship in 2022 when it was held at Arizona Speedway outside Phoenix. “It’s such a nice facility, and I’m glad that we come out here and got this kicked off. I don’t know what the future holds, but if we come back here, do this deal annually here, it’s one heck of a racetrack. It’s the best track out west we’ve been to for sure.

“It’s been a good week. I’ve had a lot of fun. Win, lose or draw, the people treat us awesome out here and it’s a lot of fun.�

Pearson, who celebrates his 50th birthday Jan. 29, started third in his Jason Papich-owned car but was running sixth at the race’s lap-40 caution period. He took advantage of the Weiss-Erb tangle to emerge with his second runner-up and third podium finish of the miniseries.

“I think we had a little bit of luck right there,� Pearson said. “Our car wasn’t quite where it needed to be, but they got a couple wrecks going on there … I didn’t think the track would turn out that good when they plowed it up and wet it (before the feature), but we could move all over it. Pretty good racing there.�

Marlar picked up $3,000 for his second-career Wild West Shootout Dirt Track Bank Super Late Model point’s title. He also claimed the championship in 2018. Tyler Erb, Bobby Pierce, Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Weiss, Garrett Alberson, Jake Timm, Kyle Beard, and Stormy Scott.

Timm, meanwhile, held his head high after settling for a third-place finish in a new Longhorn fielded by his father Bob, who owns and promotes Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis.

“I was excited to get the lead right away,� said Timm, who previous best finish of the miniseries was a fifth on Jan. 9. “I knew if I got the lead I could maybe sustain it for awhile. I was just trying to run my own race and not worry about anybody behind me.

“I was counting the laps down. I think the last time I looked at the board I saw lap 39 and I was like, ‘Man, I might get a chance to win this race.’ And then the yellow came out.

“I think, with experience, I maybe would’ve known better than to leave the top open coming in right away on the restart (to give Marlar a lane). But hat’s off to Mikey. He was fast all weekend. And Earl, too. But I’m happy with third.�

A wild-and-closely contested RHRSwag.com X-Mod feature presented by Barnett Harley Davidson saw Aaron Blacklance and Andy Bryant battling side-by-side for the first half of the race before Bryant surged to the lead.

Late in the race Kris Jackson, who was in contention for the $2,500 Arizona Differential Four-Or-More Bonus, challenged Bryant for the lead. The duo battled into turn four on the final lap with Bryant inching back ahead before Jackson spun exiting turn 4. Bryant went on to claim the $1,000 victory, which was his first of the week.

Meanwhile, Jackson made contact with Bryant after the checkered flag resulting in Jackson’s disqualification. Blacklance finished second to clinch the $1,000 miniseries point’s title with Reece Solander, Jake Smith, and Aasa Flores completing the Top-5 finishers.

Behind Blacklance in the final series points were Gabriel Hodges, Jake Smith, Aasa Flores, and Cole Campbell.

Rodney Sanders continued his domination of Mesilla Valley Transportation / Border Tire Modified action presented by Rancho Milagro with his fourth-straight victory. Not only did he claim the $2,000 feature win, but he also claimed the $10,000 Four-Or-More Rio Grande Waste Services Bonus as well as the $1,000 Modified point’s title for the second-straight year.

Early leader Brandon Sheppard finished a close second with Dereck Ramirez, Brandon Givens, and Fito Gallardo rounding out the Top-5 finishers in the 25-lap feature.

Meanwhile in miniseries points Ramirez, Tanner Mullens, Tyler Wolff, and Bumper Jones rounded out the Top 5.

In total 172 drivers entered at least one event during the 2022 Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.

For more information on the event, please visit www.WildWestShootout.net .

The Wild West Shootout is made possible by O’Reilly Auto Parts, FK Rod Ends, Dirt Track Bank, Black Diamond Race Cars, Rio Grande Waste Services, Penske Racing Shocks, Shaw Trucking, Schaeffer Oil, SportTruck RV, Nissan of Las Cruces, Rancho Milagro Racing, Eagle Moon Hemp, Top of the World Ranch, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Border Tire, RHR Racing Swag, Barnett Harley Davidson, Dirt Pro Grading & Padwork, Contractors & Developers (C&D) Bonding, Shocks by Hammer, Hoker Trucking, Midwest Sheet Metal, Speedway Motors, VP Racing Fuel, Hoosier Racing Tires, Pro Power Engines, Beaver Stripes, Arizona Differential, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Toste Construction, Sipes Tractor & Transport Service, Merry’s Home Furnishings, The Joie of Seating, Screven Motor Speedway, DirtDraft.com, and FloRacing.com.

Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts
FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway Park
Jan. 16, 2022

Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 3. 49-Jake Timm[1]; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce[12]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[9]; 6. 75-Terry Phillips[7]; 7. 93-Mason Oberkramer[14]; 8. 32B-Cody Laney[17]; 9. 86-Kyle Beard[20]; 10. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]; 11. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 12. 7-Ricky Weiss[6]; 13. B5-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 14. 1CJ-Rusty Schlenk[15]; 15. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 16. 42S-Don Shaw[11]; 17. 1ST-Johnny Scott[18]; 18. 02-Kent Rosevear[21]; 19. 28W-Jim Whistler[19]; 20. 91P-Jason Papich[16]; 21. 37-Rob Mayea[13]; 22. 20-Rodney Sanders[10]; 23. 26R-Cole Farmer[22]; 24. 78S-Steve Stultz[24]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 32B-Cody Laney[2]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 3. 28W-Jim Whistler[3]; 4. 86-Kyle Beard[4]; 5. 02-Kent Rosevear[8]; 6. 26R-Cole Farmer[5]; 7. 14W-Dustin Walker[9]; 8. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 9. 503-Jason Miles[1]; 10. 18-Deven Brown[11]; 11. 19-Jeff Schildmeyer[16]; 12. 16-Matthew Ratzlaff[13]; 13. 42-John David Duffie[15]; 14. 38-Thomas Hunziker[12]; 15. 6T-Terry Carter[7]; 16. 01-Devan Smith[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 4. 37-Rob Mayea[5]; 5. 503-Jason Miles[4]; 6. 26R-Cole Farmer[6]; 7. 14W-Dustin Walker[7]; 8. 16-Matthew Ratzlaff[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Jake Timm[1]; 2. 75-Terry Phillips[3]; 3. 42S-Don Shaw[2]; 4. 1CJ-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 5. 28W-Jim Whistler[6]; 6. 6T-Terry Carter[5]; 7. 18-Deven Brown[7]; 8. 42-John David Duffie[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss[2]; 3. 20-Rodney Sanders[3]; 4. 93-Mason Oberkramer[4]; 5. 32B-Cody Laney[6]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 7. 78S-Steve Stultz[8]; 8. 01-Devan Smith[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 4. 91P-Jason Papich[4]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 6. 02-Kent Rosevear[7]; 7. 38-Thomas Hunziker[6]; 8. 19-Jeff Schildmeyer[8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 58-Garrett Alberson, 00:15.421[10]; 2. 49-Jake Timm, 00:15.501[4]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr, 00:15.513[8]; 4. 42S-Don Shaw, 00:15.547[7]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott, 00:15.577[5]; 6. 75-Terry Phillips, 00:15.660[3]; 7. 503-Jason Miles, 00:15.882[2]; 8. 1CJ-Rusty Schlenk, 00:15.893[11]; 9. 37-Rob Mayea, 00:15.985[13]; 10. 6T-Terry Carter, 00:16.192[6]; 11. 26R-Cole Farmer, 00:16.223[9]; 12. 28W-Jim Whistler, 00:16.340[14]; 13. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:16.643[12]; 14. 18-Deven Brown, 00:16.669[15]; 15. 16-Matthew Ratzlaff, 00:16.810[1]; 16. 42-John David Duffie, 00:17.361[16]

Qualifying 2: 1. 1-Tyler Erb, 00:15.130[13]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:15.632[10]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss, 00:15.738[1]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:15.808[3]; 5. 20-Rodney Sanders, 00:15.837[15]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:15.865[2]; 7. 93-Mason Oberkramer, 00:15.872[7]; 8. 91P-Jason Papich, 00:15.927[11]; 9. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 00:15.979[12]; 10. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:15.989[4]; 11. 32B-Cody Laney, 00:16.066[6]; 12. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 00:16.309[14]; 13. 01-Devan Smith, 00:16.415[5]; 14. 02-Kent Rosevear, 00:16.485[16]; 15. 78S-Steve Stultz, 00:16.607[9]; 16. 19-Jeff Schildmeyer, 00:16.642[8]

Mesilla Valley Transportation / Border Tire Modifieds presented by Rancho Milagro
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders[5]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 4R-Dereck Ramirez[6]; 4. 10BG-Brandon Givens[2]; 5. G17-Fito Gallardo[8]; 6. 02-Tanner Mullens[13]; 7. J17-Jake Gallardo[3]; 8. 88-Nathan Smith[4]; 9. 111-Bumper Jones[17]; 10. 21-Jacob Bleess[10]; 11. 4W-Tyler Wolff[18]; 12. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[7]; 13. 24X-Xavier Ortega[11]; 14. 8-Dillon McCowan[14]; 15. 4RX-Jared Russell[21]; 16. 10-Dustin Robinson[19]; 17. 127-Paden Phillips[23]; 18. 16B-Randy Brown[15]; 19. 17-Brent Holman[22]; 20. 88C-Matt Crafton[12]; 21. 13-Troy Hovey[16]; 22. 32-DJ Shannon[9]; 23. 18JR-Chase Sigg[24]; 24. 71-Philip Houston[20]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 111-Bumper Jones[1]; 2. 10-Dustin Robinson[2]; 3. 4RX-Jared Russell[3]; 4. 127-Paden Phillips[4]; 5. 22J-Jonathon Ortega[5]; 6. 22-Adam Bohlman[9]; 7. 57-Duke Erickson[6]; 8. 64S-Jay Sale[10]; 9. 18R-Ricardo Olague Jr[7]; 10. 08-Glen Maga[8]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff[2]; 2. 71-Philip Houston[3]; 3. 17-Brent Holman[7]; 4. 18JR-Chase Sigg[1]; 5. 131-Royal Jones[5]; 6. 28X-Tom Georges[8]; 7. J7-Jake Boles[6]; 8. 39-David Gonzales Jr[9]; 9. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10BG-Brandon Givens[3]; 2. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[1]; 3. G17-Fito Gallardo[4]; 4. 32-DJ Shannon[6]; 5. 18JR-Chase Sigg[2]; 6. 16B-Randy Brown[8]; 7. 71-Philip Houston[7]; 8. 13-Troy Hovey[12]; 9. 131-Royal Jones[9]; 10. 57-Duke Erickson[10]; 11. 17-Brent Holman[11]; 12. 64S-Jay Sale[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Nathan Smith[2]; 2. 4R-Dereck Ramirez[4]; 3. 24X-Xavier Ortega[1]; 4. 21-Jacob Bleess[6]; 5. 02-Tanner Mullens[7]; 6. 8-Dillon McCowan[9]; 7. 4W-Tyler Wolff[8]; 8. 22J-Jonathon Ortega[5]; 9. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[11]; 10. J7-Jake Boles[12]; 11. 39-David Gonzales Jr[3]; 12. 22-Adam Bohlman[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders[2]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 3. 88C-Matt Crafton[1]; 4. J17-Jake Gallardo[10]; 5. 111-Bumper Jones[4]; 6. 10-Dustin Robinson[6]; 7. 4RX-Jared Russell[8]; 8. 127-Paden Phillips[9]; 9. 18R-Ricardo Olague Jr[3]; 10. 28X-Tom Georges[5]; 11. 08-Glen Maga[11]

RHRSwag.com X-Mods presented by Barnett Harley-Davidson
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 28-Andy Bryant[3]; 2. 5BA-Aaron Blacklance[2]; 3. 5-Reece Solander[6]; 4. 21-Jake Smith[1]; 5. 05-Aasa Flores[12]; 6. 44-Christy Barnett[4]; 7. 7G-Gabriel Hodges[15]; 8. G3-Brian Craighead[16]; 9. 12-Justin Allen[18]; 10. 71-Nate Reinke[19]; 11. 11-Lucas Ward[14]; 12. 28K-Krew Walburn[8]; 13. 13B-Jess Brekke[20]; 14. 1S-Scott Bintz[7]; 15. 8X-Josh Roney[17]; 16. 1P-Parker Anderson[9]; 17. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[11]; 18. 47-Mingo Jauregui[22]; 19. 717-Roy Long[24]; 20. 15C-Chris Edmonds[23]; 21. M17-Rob Moseley[13]; 22. 14J-Jacob Hodges[5]; 23. 82-Sherman Barnett[21]; 24. (DQ) J2-Kris Jackson[10]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 8X-Josh Roney[2]; 2. 71-Nate Reinke[11]; 3. 82-Sherman Barnett[6]; 4. 15C-Chris Edmonds[9]; 5. 36-Joe Alvarado[3]; 6. 25-Kenny McDonald Jr[5]; 7. 66-Sam Alanzo[1]; 8. 3S-Sal Gomez[8]; 9. 96V-Victor Barraza[10]; 10. 44D-Troy Philllips[4]; 11. X44-Mark Maga[12]; 12. 1C-Chris Deaton[7]

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 12-Justin Allen[2]; 2. 13B-Jess Brekke[1]; 3. 47-Mingo Jauregui[3]; 4. 717-Roy Long[7]; 5. 4-Jackson Mulder[9]; 6. 7D-Davis Givens[6]; 7. 27T-Tim Edens[5]; 8. 14JG-Justin Garrett[8]; 9. 64P-Robert Pierce[12]; 10. 23H-Hector Barraza[10]; 11. 15-Ronnie Leathem Jr[4]; 12. 23B-Israel Ortega[11]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1S-Scott Bintz[2]; 2. 14J-Jacob Hodges[5]; 3. 7G-Gabriel Hodges[4]; 4. J2-Kris Jackson[8]; 5. G3-Brian Craighead[6]; 6. 7D-Davis Givens[1]; 7. 44D-Troy Philllips[9]; 8. 1C-Chris Deaton[7]; 9. 717-Roy Long[10]; 10. 23B-Israel Ortega[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28K-Krew Walburn[2]; 2. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[3]; 3. 11-Lucas Ward[5]; 4. 1P-Parker Anderson[9]; 5. 66-Sam Alanzo[6]; 6. 25-Kenny McDonald Jr[4]; 7. 82-Sherman Barnett[7]; 8. 96V-Victor Barraza[1]; 9. 14JG-Justin Garrett[8]; 10. (DNS) 64P-Robert Pierce

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5BA-Aaron Blacklance[4]; 2. 05-Aasa Flores[3]; 3. 44-Christy Barnett[8]; 4. 12-Justin Allen[1]; 5. M17-Rob Moseley[10]; 6. 27T-Tim Edens[2]; 7. 15-Ronnie Leathem Jr[9]; 8. 3S-Sal Gomez[5]; 9. 23H-Hector Barraza[6]; 10. 71-Nate Reinke[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Andy Bryant[4]; 2. 5-Reece Solander[5]; 3. 21-Jake Smith[9]; 4. 36-Joe Alvarado[1]; 5. 13B-Jess Brekke[6]; 6. 8X-Josh Roney[8]; 7. 47-Mingo Jauregui[10]; 8. 15C-Chris Edmonds[2]; 9. 4-Jackson Mulder[7]; 10. X44-Mark Maga[3]

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