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Gottula Captures HOTWOOD & NASCAR Track Championships at Madera Speedway
Madera Speedway Media Release - September 26, 2009
Dale Bosowski - Media Relations

The Madera Speedway closed out its 2009 regular season
NASCAR schedule on Saturday, September 26th, with the
round #3 of the "HotWood 333" Series for the Western Late
Models. Saturday's huge seven division NASCAR
Championship Night program also included the American
Limited Stock Cars, Modified Super Toyotas, Toyota Sedans,
Hornets and Western States Racing Association (WSRA) Mini
Cup and Baby Grands.

The 111-lap "HotWood 333" feature doubled as the final round
of this very special three .race series for the NASCAR Whelen
All American Western Late Models and the final of four races in
the "Chase for the Championship" to determine the 2009
Madera Speedway track champion. In addition to regular
season prize money, the special "HotWood 333" Series has
an end of Season Series Points Fund payout to the top 12
drivers of $19,500 plus a separate Qualifying Points Fund
payout to the top five drivers of $1,500 for a guaranteed series
payout of $21,000 and an overall payout grand total of
$50.000! The "HotWood 333" Series prize fund will be
distributed along with the regular season prize money at the
Madera Speedway championship awards banquet on
November 7.

"Young Gun" Kyle Gottula, age 23 of Modesto, entered the
night holding narrow leads in both the "HotWood 333" Series
and the Western Late Model "Chase for the Championship"
points. Starting the 111-lap feature from the seventh, Gottula
methodically began to work his way towards the front as former
track champion Rick Thompson, of Clovis, grabbed the early
race lead.

Thompson would eventually surrender the lead to Stockton's
Ross Strmiska on lap 16. Gottula would move into second 20
laps later but seemed unable to challenge Strmiska until a
yellow caution came out on lap 71. Gottula seized the
opportunity to vault into the lead on the restart and he stayed
there for the remainder of the event to capture his eighth win of
the season and both the HotWood and track championships.
Strmiska held on for second and Fremont's Glen Cook was
third.

"I was running as hard as I could and I was searching for a way
to find something that would work. The car finally started
coming to me and I was able to get by Ross on that restart,"
said Gottula, who celebrated his pair of championships with a
crowd pleasing burnout. "Two years in a row on the HotWood
deal is tremendous. That is really special. Awesome!"

Atwater's Jason Aguirre stormed to the early lead in the
American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) feature as Coulterville's
Matt Erickson desperately gave chase. Much like the Western
Late Model feature Erickson used a caution restart on lap 18 to
take over the top spot where he remained to the checkers for
his fifth win of the season. Aguirre followed him across the line
in second well ahead of Modesto's Garland Tyler, which was
good enough to clinch the 2009 ALSC championship.

"That was tough race, especially starting from the back," said
Erickson. "I want to thank my whole crew and family for coming
out and helping us all year."

Next to Erickson Jason Aguirre celebrated his championship
along with his family and crew.

"This feels really good. I wish we could have gotten up there to
try and knock that 42 car (Erickson) around a little bit, but I will
take the 2009 championship," said a happy Aguirre.

Fresno veteran Donnie Large started the night trailing
Chowchilla's John Bowersox by a mere five points in the
Modified Super Toyota (MST) season standings and all the
momentum after posting wins in eight of the previous nine
races. He narrowed the gap even further by setting fast time in
qualifying and taking the win in the trophy dash before lining up
next to Bowersox in the sixth row for the 30 lap MST feature.

The complexion of the championship changed dramatically on
lap three of the main when Bowersox, Large and Fresno's
Allen Woodward tangled in turn #3. Though damaged, Large
and Woodward were able to continue, but Bowersox was done
after crunching the concrete wall and was taken to the infield on
the hook much to his disappointment.

When the race resumed, Large charged through the field and
finally slipped into the lead with just four laps to go, ironically
following a long side by side battle with John's son Jason
Bowersox, to capture his 10th win of the season and the 2009
MST division championship. It was the third track
championship in Large's 20 year career at Madera.

"I didn't want to see that happen to him (Bowersox) but I was
racing clean and it just happened that way," said Large. " I
worked my butt off and my team worked their butts off and now
lets party!"

Fresno's Jason Kerns started the night with a slim 13-point
lead over Sanger's Chris Lewis in the always competitive
Toyota Sedan division. The two topped qualifying and thus
started the main well back in the sixth row due to the night's 12
car invert. Several different drivers took turns leading the pack
including DJ Landers, Fresno's Steve Trusner and Jarrad
Tickel before Madera's Del McIntosh would claim it on lap 12.

While McIntosh cruised to his third win of the season ahead of
defending class champion Stan Hankins of Fresno and Cody
Stout of Clovis, Kerns and Lewis fought a race long battle
trying to make their way through the dense pack. The two
contenders would go nose to tail for virtually the entire race.
Lewis would win the battle by edging Kerns for fourth, but
Kerns won the war as his fifth place finish was good enough to
claim the 2009 title.

"We ran a late model the last three years and I wanted to take
a little step back this year and the Sedans have really been a
lot of fun," said McIntosh. "My wife and I built this car in about a
month and a half and I think this winter we will work on a new
one for her."

It was the second Toyota Sedan season championship for
Kerns who also won at Madera in 2005.

"I am kind of speechless. We were not running for points this
year. We just came out to have some fun and with good luck
and good fortune we ended up battling Chris for the
championship. I could not ask for a better opponent and I would
like to congratulate him for a great season," said the gracious
Kerns. "I also have to thank my wife for putting up with this all
year."

Dean Davison, a 67-year old rookie driver out of Kingsburg,
started the evening trailing two time defending champion Miles
Humphreys, of Clovis, in the points for the Hornets, before
narrowing the gap with wins in the Hornet heat and trophy dash.

In the 20-lap main, Davison executed a daring three wide pass
in the early going of the Hornet feature to take the lead and he
never looked back as he easily captured his fifth win of the
season over Mike Congdon and Stockton's Rick Roberts Jr.
His clean sweep of the Hornet events was enough to take over
the lead in the points and claim the 2009 Hornet championship.

"In my wildest dreams I never thought I would be in this position
at the start of the season. I was just hoping that maybe I would
have a chance for rookie of the year. This is unbelievable,"
said an ecstatic Davison. "I am going to celebrate this with all
my family and six grand kids. This is the best summer of my
life."

Also joining the NASCAR All American Racing Series
program on Saturday for the sixth time this season were the
WSRA Mini Cup and Baby Grands which are 1/2 and 2/3rds
scale stock car replicas for young drivers.

Tyler Johnson of Dos Palos earned the pole for the Mini Cup
feature after capturing his career first win in the six car dash,
but would be forced to relinquish the spot before the green flag
fell due to a broken throttle linkage cable. Hanford's Eric
Hamilton inherited the pole and took the early lead before
giving way to Mountain View's Tommy McCarthy on lap seven.
McCarthy never looked back as he captured the checkered
flag ahead of Hamilton and Lincoln's Danny Allen.

"It was tough getting around those guys tonight so I was glad to
be out front," explained McCarthy. "I want to thank my dad and
grandpa for helping me set up the car and my mom and
grandma for cheering me on."

Although Brentwood's Patrick Hill finished fourth, it was good
enough for him to secure his second Mini Cup season
championship. Hill won an amazing 11 races in 14 starts in
2009 and also earned he honor of being named the Miniature
Motorsports Racing Association's Future Star Western
National champion!

Manteca's Josh Gomes had a perfect night setting fast time in
qualifying, winning the heat race and then going wire to wire in
the 30-lap feature to sweep all of Baby Grand proceedings.
Baby Grand season champion Dillon Hutchison, of Citrus
Heights, settled for second place while Modesto's Michael Ray
completed the main event podium.

"I want to thank everybody coming out and my whole family for
helping me out this season. Unfortunately we couldn't get the
championship, but we did get second so it is good," said
Gomes afterward.

Although the 2009 NASCAR racing season has concluded at
the "Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" be sure to mark your
calendars for Saturday, October 24th when Madera Speedway
will draw the curtains on the 2009 season with the 3rd Annual
Pumpkin Smash Halloween Crash, Bash and Blow Up!!! This
wild show will include the powerful USAC Sprint Cars, USAC
Focus Midgets, a 200-lap Enduro, a Demolition Derby, an
Open Comp race for the American Limited Stock Cars, the
Drag Boat Nationals and a spectacular end of the season
FIREWORKS show!

The Madera Speedway is conveniently located at the Madera
County Fairgrounds just off to the west side of Highway 99 at
the Cleveland Avenue exit. For more Madera Speedway
information visit the track's website at www.racemadera.com
or call the Info/Race Line phone number at (559) 673-RACE.