Desert Thunder Raceway back in action

Desert Thunder Raceway (DTR) hosted its fan appeal evening this weekend. Fans were allowed onto the track, meet the drivers and take photos.

“Thank you to Desert Thunder for hosting the fan appeal night and allowing us drivers to meet all the kids who look up to us. Seeing their smiles is the most important thing,” said driver Jacob Vasquez. The race track had taken a temporary break while Shane Weybright, a beloved member of the Desert Thunder community, was injured and is recovering in the hospital.

Shane has been transferred to LTACH, which means he requires advanced hospital care, which includes daily medical monitoring and complex nursing and therapy.

“Thank you for all the prayers, they are working! His weight is staying stable, his blood pressure is under control and healing is progressing! Specific prayer requests are: strength for continued healing, a smooth transition to the new facility, pain and frustration at a tolerable level,” shared Shane’s wife Erin Weybright.

A message from Mason Gallegos to the local racing community: “We want to continue to pray for Shane and Erin, their family and the DTR family. We have missed you and can’t wait to see you back on the track. We will continue to keep you positive and continue to pray for you! Good luck!”

Fans were in the stands and drivers were ready and waiting for the flag to be waved on their home turf. Kicking off Friday’s event in the IMCA Northern SportMod, Kenny Parish and his son Shawn Parish finished second and third in Heat 1. Jacob Vasquez took first place in Heat 2, with David Madill third. In Heat 3, Kade Dimick finished first, followed by Dillion Thomas in second. Heading into the main event, Feature 1, Kade Dimick earned his ninth win of the season, moving up nine spots during the race. He was followed by Shawn Parish in the second place car, who gained six spots during the race. Dillion Thomas finished sixth, Jacob Vasquez seventh, David Madill ninth, and Devin Wilson moved up four spots to finish tenth.

In IMCA Hobby Stock, Jeremy Birch finished second in Heat 1, followed by Race Vasquez in fourth. Mark Merlen finished first in Heat 2, followed by Payce Herrera in third. In the main race, Payce Herrera finished second overall in a closely fought race, followed by Jeremy Birch in fourth, Glen Johansen in fifth, Mark Merlen in sixth, and Race Herrera in seventh.

In the IMCA Mod Lite class, Jaydun Thomas finished second in Heat 1 while preparing for the main race. His preparation paid off as he moved up eight spots in the main race to secure the win on the first night. Following Thomas was John Erickson who finished second overall and Jeff Wood finished fifth. In the Young Guns Sport Compacts, Chaz Jensen finished second.

In IMCA Sport Compact, Baelie Erickson won Heat 1, Jackson Shiew took first place in Heat 2 followed by Cassie Johansen in second. In Main Race 1, Jackson Shiew drove a good race to take the win and move up four spots over the course of the race. Cassie Johansen took second place followed by Austin Vigil in third. In the Open Class event, Mason Gallagos took second place overall, finishing the races on Friday night.

On Saturday, with the sun heating up, the driver stayed focused on the task at hand. In IMCA Modified, Wyatt Howard was able to ride and finished third overall in the class while preparing to compete in DTR Late Models later that night. Howard won both the Heat race and Feature 1 in the Late Models, with Bobby Cook coming in third.

In the IMCA Northern SportMod, Kate Dimick took his third consecutive win in moto one to remain undefeated on the weekend. He was followed by Scott Hardman in fourth, Devin Wilson in fifth, and Dave Madill in sixth. In moto two, Shawn Parish took a win, Andy Nelson was second, Dillion Thomas third, and Jacob Vasquez fifth. In the main race, Dimick took the win and continued his dominance, moving up nine spots in the race to take his tenth win of the season. Shawn Parish drove a great race to finish second as he gained seven spots in the race. Dillion Thomas took third, followed by Jacob Vasquez in sixth, Dave Madill in seventh, Andy Nelson in eighth, Scott Hardman in ninth, and Devin Wilson in tenth.

Before the Hobby Stock, Payce Herrera was able to gain five places, securing the win in Heat 1. Glen Johansen followed in third place and Jeremy Birch was fifth. Before the main race, Herrera was in fourth place, followed by Mark Merlen in sixth. Race Vasquez and Cam Shiner were able to gain positions, finishing in tenth and eleventh place.

In the IMCA Mod Lite class, Jaydun Thoms finished third in Heat 1, followed by Jeff Wood in fifth. In the Main Race, Thomas secured second place, moving up three spots. John Erickson finished fourth and Jeff Wood took fifth. In the Young Guns Sport Compacts, Chaz Jensen took second place in Feature 1.

Switching to IMCA Sport Compact, Jackson Shiew took another win in the High Heat, followed by Cassie Johansen in second. Baelie Erickson also took second in Heat 2. In the Main Race, Jackson Shiew became the second local driver to take the weekend win as he was able to move up seven positions to take the win. Cassie Johansen followed in fourth and Baelie Erickson took fifth.

In the Open Class, Mason Gallegos took first place in Heat 1, followed by Cam Shiner in third, Ryland Parker in fourth, and Kolton Thomas in fifth. Kolton Thomas finished fourth in Heat 2 heading into the main race. Mason Gallegos took his fifth win of the season, finishing off a tough race with Derrick Robinson claiming second place. Kolton Thomas took fifth, and Cam Shiner finished the evening with a sixth place finish. This capped off a fantastic weekend of a very close-knit community that showed a lot of love and appreciation for each other and the sport.