VADO, N.M. — Cale Riggs started thirteenth and reached the front. Jimmy Ray got there earlier and spent the closing laps keeping the challengers behind him.
Between those two victories, Jonathan Burton won a Stock Car contest that changed from one end of the racetrack to the other, Jaydon Barnes defended the bottom in the 305 Sprints and Caleb Smith drove the No. 02C to the Pure Stock win.
Those five feature stories shaped September 26 at Vado Speedway Park, a program that recorded 88 division entries and thirteen heats. Riggs and Daniel Blaeser also received their 2026 Legends and 305 Sprint championship recognition.
Before the racing, the speedway remembered Sunny Holden and Larry Flores. The Sprint program later included a missing-man tribute to Holden. Fans also took part in the Sprint redraw, helping put names, faces and starting positions together before the feature.
Riggs works from thirteenth to his nineteenth Legends win
Cale Riggs had a field to work through before he could go after Jerod Candelaria.
Following the opening reset in the Hulsey Racing INEX Legends feature, Riggs brought the No. 96 forward, made a two-for-one move and worked past Josh Jackson. The next challenge was Candelaria at the front.
Riggs closed the gap and changed his approach through the corners before taking the lead. Afterward, he explained that letting the car coast into the turn had helped him catch Candelaria.
At the finish, Riggs had the win from a posted thirteenth-place start. Candelaria finished second from ninth, with Dusty Riggs third from tenth. Angel Garcia and Jeremiah Duff completed the top five.
The win was Cale’s nineteenth Legends feature victory in the published 2026 standings. It followed his heat victory earlier in the program; Chase Collins won the other Legends heat.
Riggs also received his 2026 Legends championship recognition. His winner conversation moved from the corner-entry adjustment to the people behind his season and an upcoming Ohio racing trip—a reminder that the work continues even on a championship night.
Hulsey Racing INEX Legends — published top five
| Finish | Original start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 13 | Cale Riggs | 96 |
| 2 | 9 | Jerod Candelaria | 33 |
| 3 | 10 | Dusty Riggs | 01R |
| 4 | 11 | Angel Garcia | 6 |
| 5 | 5 | Jeremiah Duff | 89 |
Burton answers the corners in the Stock Cars
Dawnica Minks showed early speed on the higher line in the Extreme Landscaping Stock Car feature. Behind her, Jonathan Burton and Josh Cain were making progress through the field.
As the race developed, Burton and Cain found their advantages at different ends of the track. A strong run through one set of corners did not settle the contest; the other driver could answer through the next.
Burton brought the No. 00B home first from a posted ninth-place start. Francisco Knight finished second from eighth, with Cain third from tenth. Minks finished fourth and Jose De La Fuente fifth.
The winner described the race as physically demanding in his post-race conversation. He also praised Minks’s improvement and car control, giving a competitor’s effort its own place in the story.
Jason Josselyn, Robert Lewis and Knight won the three Stock Car heats. Knight also won a Sprint heat, giving him heat victories in two divisions on the same night.
Extreme Landscaping Stock Cars — published top five
| Finish | Original start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 9 | Jonathan Burton | 00B |
| 2 | 8 | Francisco Knight | 665 |
| 3 | 10 | Josh Cain | 3J |
| 4 | 4 | Dawnica Minks | 77 |
| 5 | 6 | Jose De La Fuente | C7 |
Barnes protects the bottom; Blaeser celebrates the season
The White Sands Federal Credit Union 305-Winged Sprint Car feature required patience through several interruptions before its closing run brought the battle back to traffic and line choice.
Jaydon Barnes kept the No. 29 at the front, with Aydan Saunders searching for a way around him and Wes Wofford remaining in the chase. In traffic, protecting the preferred line became another decision for the leader.
Barnes explained afterward that the bottom was the passing threat he needed to cover. He also explained that turns one and two had been harder for him than three and four.
Barnes won ahead of Saunders and Wofford. Derek DeMartino finished fourth from a posted twenty-first-place start, while Daniel Blaeser finished fifth from nineteenth.
DeMartino’s result was a seventeen-position improvement between the published start and finish. Listed as a nonstarter in his heat, the No. 97 driver finished the feature just behind the podium.
Barnes’s feature win followed a heat victory. Knight and Wofford won the other two Sprint heats.
The night’s Sprint victory and the season championship produced separate celebrations. Blaeser received his 2026 championship recognition and reflected on his first full-time season, the value of consistency and the work of preparing, maintaining and driving the car himself.
Barnes had the feature trophy. Blaeser had a season’s work to celebrate.
White Sands Federal Credit Union 305-Winged Sprint Cars — published top five
| Finish | Original start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 3 | Jaydon Barnes | 29 |
| 2 | 4 | Aydan Saunders | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | Wes Wofford | 39X |
| 4 | 21 | Derek DeMartino | 97 |
| 5 | 19 | Daniel Blaeser | 1I |
Smith finds the Pure Stock lead
Caleb Smith’s No. 02C worked forward from a posted seventh-place start in the fifteen-lap S.H. Automotive Pure Stock feature.
Jaxon Beyer was the driver to catch. Smith used his line through the corners to close in, challenge and move ahead during the closing run.
Smith took the feature win. The published classification places Kristen Denman second and Robert Dominguez third following Beyer’s disqualification. Rudy Ramirez and Alan Dominguez complete the top five.
The results below reflect that amended classification rather than the provisional podium presented immediately after the finish. Beyer’s earlier Heat 1 victory remains in the published heat results; Justin Allen won Heat 2.
In his own winner interview, Smith thanked his supporters and looked ahead to trying a Sprint car in hot laps before deciding what might follow. For September 26, the confirmed achievement was clear: a Pure Stock feature win for Caleb and the No. 02C team.
S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks — published top five
| Finish | Original start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 7 | Caleb Smith | 02C |
| 2 | 6 | Kristen Denman | 48 |
| 3 | 5 | Robert Dominguez | 67 |
| 4 | 9 | Rudy Ramirez | 2R |
| 5 | 10 | Alan Dominguez | 12 |
Ray keeps the X-Mod finale
Jimmy Ray made his move underneath Shane Krafka and found the speed he needed on the bottom in the Hacienda Carpet & Tile X-Mod feature.
Devon Jobin moved forward and began closing on the leader. A late caution brought the field back together, and an interrupted restart led to a single-file launch with five laps remaining.
Ray kept the No. 9 ahead. Behind him, Fito Gallardo worked past Jobin and turned his attention toward the leader. Gallardo tried to build the run he needed, but Ray kept putting laps together and reached the checkered flag first.
Ray won from a posted fourth-place start. Gallardo finished second from eleventh and Jobin third from eighth, followed by Greg Gorham and Deuce Teague.
In the winner interview, Ray’s explanation of the defense centered on continuing to run good laps. Gallardo later described changes to his car after practice and a better way through the rough spots. Those were two different accounts of the same final challenge.
Gallardo, Justin Allen and Gorham won the X-Mod heats. Allen also won a Pure Stock heat, joining Francisco Knight as a heat winner in two divisions.
Hacienda Carpet & Tile X-Mods — published top five
| Finish | Original start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 4 | Jimmy Ray | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | Fito Gallardo | 07X |
| 3 | 8 | Devon Jobin | 81 |
| 4 | 6 | Greg Gorham | 93 |
| 5 | 7 | Deuce Teague | 02 |
All thirteen heat winners
• Hulsey Racing INEX Legends: Chase Collins; Cale Riggs.
• Extreme Landscaping Stock Cars: Jason Josselyn; Robert Lewis; Francisco Knight.
• White Sands Federal Credit Union 305-Winged Sprint Cars: Francisco Knight; Jaydon Barnes; Wes Wofford.
• S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks: Jaxon Beyer; Justin Allen.
• Hacienda Carpet & Tile X-Mods: Fito Gallardo; Justin Allen; Greg Gorham.
Original starts in these tables are the positions published by MyRacePass, not a reconstruction of every amended grid or restart. Division entries are not a count of unique drivers or spectators. Complete classifications: https://www.myracepass.com/events/647520/races
Thank you—and keep October 16–18 open
Thank you to the fans, families, drivers, crews, partners and track team who made September 26 possible.
If you found a new favorite, keep following the story. If you brought someone to their first race, ask which car they remember—and why.
Vado is off October 3 and 10. The next scheduled racing is Fall Nationals, October 16–18, featuring A-Mods, X-Mods and Stock Cars. Open practice is listed for October 15.
Choose your racing day, bring your crew and check the official event details as you plan: https://vadospeedwaypark.com/upcoming-events/
