MERCED, Calif. — Ryan Delisle won the 25-lap IMCA Western RaceSaver sprint car feature at the Merced Speedway on Saturday night. The race was part of the Wayne Albright Memorial Night featuring four different divisions.
Gordon Rodgers and Brooklyn Holland made up the front row with Holland jumping to an early lead. She would build up a 10-car-length advantage until the race’s first caution came out for Tyler Gray. Holland was leading Rodgers, Michael Pombo, Brendan Warmerdam and Delisle.
The race slowed again when Warmerdam attempted to pass Rodgers in the first turn in heavy traffic but ran over his right rear tire, sending Warmerdam off track in the second turn and to a stop. He would be the race’s first retiree.
On the restart, Rodgers would begin to fade back, losing positions while Lane Taylor and Kyle Rasmussen raced side by side in their battle for the fourth spot.
Bryson Berna would bring out the caution when he stopped on track on lap 11. The restart set up a fight for the lead between Holland and Michael Pombo. Holland continued to run her high line around the fairgrounds track while Pombo picked the low groove and won out with a successful pass on the 14th lap. One lap later, it would be Delisle who would pass Holland.
This would set up a Pombo-Delisle duel with Pombo once again taking the bottom way around the track but it was Delisle who was able to make the winning pass on lap 18
There was one final caution when Taylor who was running fifth, but sailing over the first turn banking. His race night was over.
A determined Delisle led the final laps on a tire eating track. Pombo held on for second ahead of Rasmussen.
Delisle did a series of victory donuts on the front stretch and completed his celebration with a wing mount salute to the in person California fans who are slowly being allowed to return to the grandstands.
Rasmussen set fast time with a lap of 11.852 seconds and was only one of two cars to crack the 11-second barrier.
The finish:
Ryan Delisle, Michael Pombo, Kyle Rasmussen, Brooklyn Holland, Phil Heynen, Davey Pombo Jr., Gordon Rodgers, Sean Quinn, Tyler Gray, Lane Taylor, Bryson Berna, Brendan Warmerdam