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Treharn and Grady Victorious in Aztec Return

Aztec, NM (7/31/21) – For the first time in over five years, the Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Car Series made their return to Aztec Speedway for the first two-day show of the 2021 season where veteran drivers Colt Treharn and Josh Grady found themselves back in victory lane on Friday and Saturday night.

Night 1
The return to northern New Mexico kicked off with wet skies in the four corners region on Friday evening as teams waited out a quick storm before rolling on to the speedway for hot laps and heat races. With a competitive field containing 18 drivers from three different states, three qualifying heat races would help to determine who gathered the most passing points to earn the pole for the A-Main.

Heat 1 would go to Albuquerque, New Mexico’s JR Bonesteel who drove to the win from the 4th starting position, which was enough points to make him high point man for the night. Caleb Saiz and Clint Miller would finish out the top three in the opening heat. Heat 2 would see the hometown driver, Josh Grady, drive his No. 12J to the win, followed by Robert Marfia and Troy Treharn. The final heat race of the night included a bit of drama on the initial start as the No. 13 of Glen Brace would take a wild ride in turn one off the right-rear tire of Waddell, Arizona’s Shon Deskins. Brace would walk away from the incident unharmed. When action resumed, it was Los Lunas’ Colt Treharn taking the win in dominating fashion. Spencer Hill would cross the line in 2nd but was credited with 4th after a restart penalty, moving Caleb Stelzig to the 2nd position, followed by Shon Deskins.

Finally, after a short intermission, it was time for the wingless warriors to tackle Aztec Speedway for 25 laps in the first feature event since 2015. Polesitter, JR Bonesteel, would make it to turn one first, but a slide job in turn three would allow Farmington’s Josh Grady to lead the opening lap. A narrow racing groove made for some tight quarters racing early, as multiple drivers would make contact on both ends of the speedway. As Grady began to pull away to an early lead, the first caution would come out on lap seven for a spin by the No. 18 of Asa Kesterson in turn four. The single file restart again belonged to Grady, but all eyes were on Treharn as he moved around Bonesteel for the runner up position and made his march towards the leader. By lap 12, the two would be side-by-side for the top spot as they moved in toward lapped traffic. Everything would change though on lap 17 when Grady would make contact with Arizona’s Eugene Thomas and the two went flipping into the wall in turn two. Both drivers were okay, but Grady would end his night on the hook back to the pits after leading the entirety of the race, moving Treharn to the top spot. Treharn would work the cushion to perfection in route to his second Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Car Series win of the season and become only the fourth driver to collect multiple wins in 2021. JR Bonesteel finished 2nd in his best finish of the season, with Deskins, Saiz and Travis Oldfield rounding out the top five from the 14th starting spot, earning the hard charger award.

Night 2
In similar fashion from the previous night, steady rain came down as teams worked to unload their cars in the pit area. Luckily, the Aztec Speedway track prep crew was prepared, and the racing surface was ready to go after a short mud packing session with teams. Once again, drivers were split into three qualifying heat races to determine the starting lineup for the feature, and the driver with the most combined passing points would be awarded the pole.
With a very fresh track, making room to pass would be the greatest hurdle for drivers in heat race action as the racing groove was fast but narrow. Heat 1 was controlled by Caleb Saiz who took the win over Josh Grady and Troy Treharn. In dominating fashion, Travis Oldfield drove his SEH Motorsports No. 11w to the win in Heat 2, followed by Clint Miller and Shon Deskins. Perhaps the most passing took place in Heat 3, with JR Bonesteel taking the win over Devon Amos and Caleb Stelzig.

Earning the most passing points and the pole was Caleb Saiz, who would see Travis Oldfield to his outside as they brought the field to the green flag for 25 action-packed laps around Aztec Speedway. Saiz would get the early jump and lead lap one, with Oldfield and the very fast Josh Grady in hot pursuit. Much like night one, it seemed as if the cushion would be the preferred groove early on until a few drivers were able to work the bottom in. With 10 laps in the books, Saiz was still your leader, but Grady was beginning to close the gap as he worked the topside in his No. 12J. The first caution would wave at the halfway point of the race for the No. 24 of Robert Marfia, as he came to a halt at the topside of turn two. The race restarted but would see one more caution with eight laps to go for the No. 5* of Cameron Spangler whose motor expired on the backstretch. Multiple drivers threw all they had to take the top spot from Grady, but ultimately nobody was able to take away night two of the Sunset Showcase away from the hometown hero. Grady would go on to win his fourth feature event of the year, with JR Bonesteel matching his best finish of 2nd from the night before followed by Caleb Saiz, Colt Treharn, and Shon Deskins. Treharn would also earn the hard charger award after advancing eight positions in the A-Main.

It was a successful return to northern New Mexico over the weekend, and every driver and team are looking forward to more racing at Aztec Speedway in the future. As we congratulate both Colt Treharn and Josh Grady on their victories, teams are already getting prepared for another weekend on the road as the Lucas Oil POWRi NMMRA Sprint Car Series will head west to the Vado Speedway Park on Saturday, August 7th for their Hot City Nights event.

Results: Night 1
# Name Hometown +/-

1. 77 Colt Treharn Los Lunas, NM +2
2. 0 JR Bonesteel Albuquerque, NM -1
3. 20 Shon Deskins Waddell, AZ +2
4. 1HA Caleb Saiz Albuquerque, NM +4
5. 11w Travis Oldfield Albuquerque, NM +9
6. 7D7 Spencer Hill Albuquerque, NM +6
7. 24 Robert Marfia Rio Rancho, NM +2
8. 2 Michael Fanelli Rio Rancho, NM +3
9. 58 Clint Miller Los Lunas, NM -2
10. 41 Devon Amos Rio Rancho, NM +3
11. 18 Asa Kesterson Phoenix, AZ -1
12. 5* Cameron Spangler Dove Creek, CO +4
13. 21 Caleb Stelzig Albuquerque, NM -7
    DNF 12J Josh Grady Farmington, NM -12
    DNF 10 Eugene Thomas Gilbert, AZ +2
    DNF 7x Tory Treharn Peralta, NM -12
    DNS 13 Glen Brace Cortez, CO -
    DNF 51 Ronald Webster Gilbert, AZ -

Heat 1 (Results): 1-Bonesteel.JR 2-Saiz.C 3-Miller.C 4-Kesterson.A 5-Spangler.C 6-Webster.R
Heat 2 (Results): 1-Grady.J 2-Marfia.R 3-Treharn.T 4-Fanelli.M 5-Amos.D 6-Thomas.E
Heat 3 (Results): 1-Treharn.C 2-Stelzig.C 3-Deskins.S 4-Hill.S 5-Oldfield.T 6-Brace.G

Results: Night 2
# Name Hometown +/-

1. 12J Josh Grady Farmington, NM +4
2. 0 JR Bonesteel Albuquerque, NM +1
3. 1HA Caleb Saiz Albuquerque, NM -2
4. 77 Colt Treharn Los Lunas, NM +8
5. 20 Shon Deskins Waddell, AZ +2
6. 21 Caleb Stelzig Albuquerque, NM +2
7. 7D7 Spencer Hill Albuquerque, NM +6
8. 11w Travis Oldfield Albuquerque, NM -6
9. 2 Michael Fanelli Rio Rancho, NM -
10. 41 Devon Amos Rio Rancho, NM -6
11. 18 Asa Kesterson Phoenix, AZ +4
12. 58 Clint Miller Los Alamos, NM +4
    DNF 5* Cameron Spangler Dove Creek, CO +1
    DNF 24 Robert Marfia Rio Rancho, NM -3
    DNF 7x Tory Treharn Peralta, NM -5

Heat 1 (Results): 1-Saiz.C 2-Grady.J 3-Treharn.T 4-Marfia.R 5-Hill.S
Heat 2 (Results): 1-Oldfield.T 2-Miller.C 3-Deskins.S 4-Treharn.C 5-Spangler.C
Heat 3 (Results): 1-Bonesteel.JR 2-Amos.D 3-Stelzig.C 4-Fanelli.M 5-Kesterson.A

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