LOVELOCK - Almost perfect racing weather greeted fans and drivers alike at this bullring for Saturday's races. And those in the stands as the racers staged a fast, furious evening of action.

For one Modified driver, it was a case of overcoming a hurt car.

"The car got damaged quite a bit in the heat race," Shawn Natenstedt said. "We fixed her, the front end, rear end and brakes were all missed up but the little pony kept running so it's good to go."

When the green waved Bob Cooney held the point but Natenstedt dove to the inside and grabbed the lead as they roared through the first turn. Sweeping through on the outside James Jurad then took the lead as they dove onto the back straight.

Three laps later, Natenstedt took the lead when he made the winning pass.

"I pushed a little bit as I had to make my move otherwise it wasn't going to get done," he said.

Coming from deep in the pack Malen Gonzalez soon held second followed by Jeff Mancedo and Bill Pearson.

With six to go Tony Lewis tried to avoid a slower car only to be hit and sent onto the infield. This ended his night and brought out a late-race caution. This erased Natenstedt's advantage and put Gonzalez and Macedo right behind him on the restart.

When the green waved again Natenstedt took off while Gonzalez found his car lost grip and fell back. In the final run to the checkered Macedo, who got close, wasn't able to get beside the flying Natenstedt.

Coming home third to fifth was Pearson, Bill Smith and Jesse Gonzalez, who got past his brother Malen in the final yards of the race.

After the dust settled Natenstedt said, "I was on cruise control then we got that caution and I knew Malen was going to start on the inside but didn't know where he was going to run. I do need to thank Silverado Casino, Samco Fabrication and Jake's Gas."

Asked about his runner-up finish, Macedo said, "Getting through traffic was awesome and I might have caught Shawn in a couple of more laps."

Before the sprint car main began the drivers formed the traditional four-wide salute to the fans as they passed along the front straight.

Unfortunately the fifth car of Wayne Walsh fell out with mechanical issues.

Jumping into the lead was Galen Reese with Mike White and Tony Taylor giving chase. After several laps, Taylor's car gave out and he pulled onto the infield.

Back on the track White wasn't going to let Reese get away with an easy win as they tore around the track. In the final laps Dan Edgington was beginning to close on the leaders but had to settle for third.

Up front White couldn't seal the deal and wound up second while the delighted Reese claimed the victory. Rather than a victory lap, Reese stopped and did a victory dance in front of the cheering fans.

"It was a lot of fun and I had a blast," he said. "I knew White was back there as I could hear him and saw him out of the corner of my eye a couple of times, so I tried to pick a line where I could hold him off. This is my first sprint car win, at my home track and I've been in the seat seven times."

Since some of the classes suffer from low car counts the Speedway will combine them in interesting combinations. On this night the two Pro Stocks raced with the Hobby Stocks.

When the green waved Kevin Kentopp took off in his pro stock car and just ran away from the competition. Behind him however, Jimmy Berhorst wasn't going to go quietly and started a battle with Adam Watson for second overall.

In the end, Berhorst ended up second, first in the Hobby Stock class, while Watson was third but the second Pro Stock. Further back Remi Lopez was fourth while the only women in the field, Katie Spriggs, finished third in the Hobby Stocks and fifth overall.

"It's my first year and seventh race," she said. "They beat me up being the only girl but I'm learning to fight back. The car ran really well and I need to thank Jeff Wilson for getting me into it, building and fixing my car numerous time and JMS Motorsports for their support."

She mentioned her goal is to be as good as Missy Natenstedt, who is always a contender when she races at Fallon.

Chris Oberman dominated the "Mixed Breed," race where cars from at least three divisons are grouped together.

The Dwarf Car feature was slowed twice by cautions but up front Dalton Smith had his work cut out for him holding off both Rodney Sweet and Frank Hinds. Lap after lap this trio tore around the oval in a high-speed train.

In the end, the 13-year-old Smith, a new student at Shaw Middle School, prevailed but it was still close at the checkered flag.

"The race was pretty good," he said. "Right on the white flag lap, Ronnie Sweet got next to me but I pulled it off. I need to thank my dad, Bill Smith, my pit crew and my mom Debbie."

The Outlaw Karts division is for the youngest drivers and their ages run from as young as 5 to 13 years old. They race on an oval, inside the speedway.

Even though the kart track has been lengthened having 16 of these winged racers, with drivers of various skill levels, makes for a wild feature event.

First on point was Trey Walters, who soon had control problems that dropped him from contention. Taking up the battle for the lead was 11-year-old Vincent Evenson and 13-year-old Dylan Garretson.

Lap after lap, they swerved through traffic and sometimes wound off the racing surface due to a spin or being caught up in a group of cars going off the track.

In these races, the drivers really don't slow down much for cautions so the action is hot and heavy from green to checkered. With his rivals all having problems, and second place Eric Taylor being caught in traffic, Dylan Garretson reached the finish first.

"It was hard to get past Evenson," Garretson said. "And the traffic was bad."

Asked about his finish runner-up Taylor said, "The race was awesome but getting through traffic was painful and I went off the track sometimes."

•This week's racing action begins Friday as Top Gun Raceway has it's "$5 Friday," with Import Drags and Quick 16 races. On Saturday the action begins at 7 p.m. with the next round of its Summit ET series.

On Saturday afternoon, beginning around 3 p.m., the Northern Nevada Kart Club hosts its annual Rick Jerome Night Race, one of the club's founders. Featured will be a rare appearance of the 125 Shifter Karts as well as the regular classes.

Later that evening, at 6 p.m., Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon hosts another of its regular shows featuring all the regular classes.

The weekend ends in Quincy, Calif. on Sunday, as the American Valley Speedway stages its traditional Fair Races. The action begins at 5:30 p.m. and on the racing card are Mini and Pro Stocks, Modifieds and Dwarf Cars.

OTHER RACING NEWS

•NASCAR'S Sprint Cup event from Watkins Glen was postponed due to rain until today with a 9 a.m. PDT start. In Saturday's Nationwide event Kyle Busch ended up second after a dramatic pass by winner Marcos Ambrose while fellow Nevadan Brendan Gaughan wound up 22nd.

RESULTS

Lovelock Speedway - Aug. 8

IMCA Modifieds:

Heat Winners - #1 Bill Smith, #2 Jeff Macedo

Main (25-Laps) - 1. Shawn Natenstedt, 2. Jeff Macedo, 3. Bill Pearson, 4. Bill Smith, 5. Jesse Gonzalez, 6. Malen Gonzalez, 7. Don Hall, 8. Jeff Elerick Jr., 9. Don Childs, 10. Bob Cooney

360 Sprints:

Heat Winner - Mike White

Main (15-Laps) - 1. Galen Reese, 2. Mike White, 3.Dan Edgington, 4. Tony Taylor, 5. Wayne Walsh

Hobby Stocks/Pro Stocks:

Heat Winners - #1 Adam Watson (PS), Jimmy Berhorst (HS) #2 Kevin Kentopp (PS), Jeff Wilson (HS)

Main (20-Laps) - 1. Kevin Kentopp (PS), 2. Jimmy Berhorst (HS), 3. Adam Watson (PS), 4. Remi Lopez (HS), 5. Katie Spriggs (HS), 6. Joe Millican (HS), 7. Gordon Richardson (HS)

Dwarf Cars:

Heat Winner - Rodney Sweets

Main (12-Laps) - 1. Dalton Smith, 2. Rodney Sweet, 3. Frank Hinds, 4. Bobby Gibson, 5. Bobby Niles

Mixed Breed Class:

Heat Winner - Chris Oberman

Main (12-Laps) - 1. Chris Oberman, 2. Loren Bianchi, 3. Jenny Greathouse, 4. Paul Rogers, 5. Ken Knight

Outlaw Karts:

Heat Winners - #1 Danneeka Garretson, #2 Dylan Garretson

Main (20-Laps)- 1. Dylan Garretson, 2 Eric Taylor, 3. Danner Barrick, 4. Vincent Evenson, 5. Matt Yenne, 6. Shay Smith, 7. Angelica Lopez, 8. Axel Smith, 10. Danneeka Garretson, 11. Aliyah Garretson, 12. Dominique Mace, 13. Trey Walters, 14. Zachary Cail, 15. Kolbie Mace, 16. Mary-Kate Millica.