LAS VEGAS – To say Chris Clyne had a full day Saturday would be a severe understatement.
The NASCAR Super Late Models points leader spent the first part of his day helping organize the South Point Car & Truck Show at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, then rushed to The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and drove to victory on Back to School Night presented by Whelen Engineering.
Clyne – a board member for the car show’s beneficiary, Speedway Children’s Charities – overtook six-time track champion Scott Gafforini down the stretch in the 50-lap feature to win for the eighth time this season and 21st time overall at the LVMS short track.
“This is the most physically exhausted I’ve ever been driving to a race track,” said Clyne, who is closing in on his first career track championship. “We raised a lot of money for children in need today at the South Point, and I’m a very proud board member. Hat’s off to my team, it was fun racing Scott (Gafforini) there, and I’m looking forward to coming back next weekend.”
Five-time track champion and NASCAR 602 Modifieds points leader Doug Hamm had to fight hard to earn his 56th career Bullring victory. He held off a hard-charging Dylan Cappello by .315 of a second to punch his ticket to the Winner’s Circle for the fifth time this season.
“It feels real good, and I’ve got to thank my crew because they’re always standing behind me,” Hamm said. “This race is for Mike Crisp, who’s having a hard time right now. I love my family and my whole crew, because they stand behind me 100 percent.”
NASCAR Bombers points leader Vinny Raucci Jr. stayed hot with his fifth win of the season, crossing the line .306 of a second ahead of Anthony Mann after a late-race restart. It was Raucci’s 18th Bullring victory, and the checkered flag couldn’t have come at a better time for the division’s reigning champion.
“On the last restart, we lost power steering and the motor started laying down, so we’ve got to go back to the shop and figure out why,” said Raucci, who led early before finishing sixth in the Modifieds race later in the night. “I’ve got to thank everyone who helps me out to get this car here.”
Sam Jacks rebounded from having his eight-race winning streak snapped at the July 3 Night of Fire by taking the NASCAR Super Stocks 25-lap feature. The division’s points leader took the checkered flag 2.315 seconds ahead of Camden Larsen for his seventh win of 2019 and 24th overall.
“This feels good,” Jacks said. “The last race sucked because it’s the Night of Fire and is the biggest race for us, but we had some fueling issues and the car wasn’t running too hot. We fixed those, and the car’s running real good.”
Branden Giannini survived a pair of late-race re-starts to hold off his brother, Jaron, by .186 of a second and take the USLCI Legends 25-lap feature to open the night’s action. It was the first Bullring victory for the elder Giannini brother since 2008, when he won the Late Models track title.
“This is amazing,” said Branden Giannini, who now has seven career Bullring wins. “It feels good to beat those guys, because they’re so fast. (The re-starts) added a little bit of excitement, and my brother gave me a pretty good push on that last re-start.”
Hank Hall appeared to have resumed his winning ways in the USLCI Bandolero Bandits division after cruising to a 6.890-second triumph over Gage Jarvis, but was disqualified after failing tech inspection. The DQ erased Hall’s fifth victory of the season and gave Jarvis his first career Bullring win, and in a classy display of sportsmanship, Hall personally delivered the winner’s trophy to Jarvis after being informed about his disqualification.
In the USLCI Bandolero Outlaws division, Brendan Tracy won for the second consecutive time after holding off Haylee Morris by .254 of a second, while Racer X earned a trip to the Winner’s Circle after taking the 12-lap Skid Plate Cars feature.