LAS VEGAS – Kyle Jacks had never won two races in the same night, until now.
Jacks had himself a night at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, emerging victorious in both the NASCAR Bombers and Super Stocks features during opening night.
“That’s the first time ever for me,” said Jacks, who now has 19 career Bullring wins. “It’s definitely really cool. It doesn’t happen very often.”
Jacks led all 25 laps of the NASCAR Bomber feature en route to a dominating victory. He was .812 seconds better than Adam Simon, who was his lone competition all race.
After battling mechanical issues throughout the 2019 season – and finishing third in points in Bombers – Jacks was happy to find the winner’s circle.
“I sure hope I got the monkey off my back; I worked really hard for this, and it’s a relief to be back here,” Jacks said. “I definitely was worried about the pressure from Adam. I love racing with him, and he’s always raced me clean.”
The closest call Jacks faced was on lap 23, when he nearly spun out after making contact with lap traffic.
In the Super Stocks race, Jacks started in the pole position and didn’t look back in the six-man competition. He was 2.109 seconds better than Bill Paddock and 2.733 ahead of Matt Cunningham.
Not to be outdone, Kyle’s brother Sam Jacks found his way to the winner’s circle in the main event of the evening – the NASCAR Modifieds 50-lap race.
Sam was on the pole and took advantage to grab his 26th career Bullring victory. But it was only after Justin Johnson – who had one of the fastest cars and led much of the race – spun out.
“Justin Johnson is pound-for-pound one of the best drivers at the Speedway,” Sam Jacks said. “I had so much fun with him, slicing and dicing, and if that wreck wouldn’t have happened I don’t think I would’ve gotten him.”
Sam Jacks, who’s the defending NASCAR Super Stocks season champ, finished .794 seconds ahead of Jason Kiser, while Johnson ended up sixth.
Tanner Reif didn’t let his age get in the way of a NASCAR Pro Late Models victory. The 14-year-old took on a field of 12 experienced drivers and came away at the top.
“It’s a great car and great place, and I love racing here,” Reif said. “I have a fast car, and it’s a good way to take a break from the Super Lates. I’m going to do both Super Lates and Open Lates, and I’m going to be here for every race.”
Chris Clyne, the 2019 Super Late Model champion, was the favorite to win the Pro Late race Saturday night after he gained the pole position. But early on Clyne had car trouble and finished sixth.
“At the beginning of the race (Chris) was doing really good and I knew it was going to be a good race,” Reif said. “But he spun out, and I don’t know what happened to him. He was definitely going to be the man to beat, and after he spun, I was pretty sure I had the race in the bag.”
Reif was 2.337 seconds faster than David Anderson and 2.465 ahead of Scott Gafforini – the all-time Bullring wins leader.
The path 12-year-old Jake Bollman took to the checkered flag in the USLCI Legends race wasn’t conventional, but it sure made for exciting racing.
Bollman and Brandon Giannini got together and both spun out on lap three, resulting in both being sent to the back of the 20-car pack.
However, Bollman was undeterred, making his way back to the front of the pack. During lap 21, the leader, Jonathan Mawhinney, was spun out by Jordan Holloway, and both were sent to the back of the pack. Tyler Reif was the new leader in lap 22, but Bollman used a perfect bump and run at the beginning of lap 24 to take the lead and the victory.
“I totally take the blame for Brandon and I getting sent back – I chopped him off a bit,” Bollman said. “But it was really fun coming from the back.”
Owen Romzek saved his best two laps for last in the USLCI Bandolero Outlaws feature.
Romzek, who started fourth, was able to move into winning position after Haylee Morris, Keller Meechudone and Zach Morris were involved in a wreck during Lap 10 which saw two of the cars towed off the track.
During the restart, with just two laps remaining, Romzek was able to pass Sabastian Lafia for his first lead of the race and he made it count, taking the checkered flag. It was a sprint to the finish line, with Romzek edging Lafia by .256 seconds.
“That was a lot of fun,” Romzek said. “I was able to use those restarts to my advantage, and got around him.”
The Jr. Late Models feature turned into a de facto match race early on, and Bradley Erickson took full advantage. The 13-year-old pulled away from Tyler Reif, earning the win 2.939 seconds clear of Reif.
After Hailey Liles and Aiden Murphy both dropped out of the race in lap five with car problems, the final 20 laps were a match race between just Erickson and Reif.
“I absolutely thought I had the car to beat, even before the restarts,” Erickson said. “The car was great and fired right away and was good for the rest of the race.”
Ashton Leonard led wire-to-wire to take the checkered flag in the USLCI Bandolero Bandits feature. Leonard, the defending champion in the division, absolutely dominated the field, as he was 3.818 seconds ahead of second place AJ Blackwill.
“I felt good, and I had the winning feeling,” Leonard said. “My car is handling very well, thanks to my dad. I really hope this leads to another championship.”
Ben Williams, who started in the fourth position out of eight, won the Skid Plate Cars division. The No. 6 car was 6.151 seconds ahead of second place Cindy Clark.