Before the trophies, there were handshakes.
Families stepped onto the front straightaway at Vado Speedway Park on Saturday, July 18, and entered the world they normally watch from the grandstands. Kids collected autographs. Drivers posed beside their machines. Race cars became favorite cars, numbers became names, and the people inside the helmets stopped being strangers.
Then the fans returned to their seats.
The drivers climbed back through the windows, pulled their belts tight and prepared for 95 feature laps across five divisions. Suddenly, every pass carried more meaning. The driver who had just signed a shirt was fighting for position. The car parked beside a family photograph was chasing a trophy.
By the end of Meet the Drivers Night #1, the people celebrating in Victory Lane were not strangers anymore.
Barnett turns three starts into three victories
Christy Barnett began the evening by winning her Vado Speedway Super Truck heat. She followed it by winning her Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mod heat.
Then she started sixth in the 15-lap Super Truck feature.
A brake problem removed polesitter Ben Ives before the green flag and moved Sherman Barnett to the front. Sherman controlled the opening lap, but Christy immediately began searching through traffic.
The No. 44 threaded between contenders, found the usable grip and drove past Sherman to take command. Once she reached clean air, Barnett stopped wasting movement. She controlled her corner exits, managed traffic and completed the Super Truck sweep.
Three starts. Three checkered flags.
Post-race technical procedures changed the order behind Barnett. Luis Esquivel and Jeremy DuBois were disqualified after missing post-race tech. Official scoring moved Scott Kinney into second and Billy Roy Harris—who advanced from 12th—to third.
Vado Speedway Super Trucks official top three:
- Christy Barnett — No. 44 — started sixth
- Scott Kinney — No. 13 — started third
- Billy Roy Harris — No. 57 — started 12th
Dominguez makes his move when the laps disappear
Only three points separated Kristen Denman and Robert Dominguez entering the S.H. Automotive Pure Stock feature.
Miguel Rincon attacked the opening and led early. Caleb Smith moved forward from ninth, while Walton Kyle Jr. came charging from tenth and appeared ready to complete another late theft after winning his heat on the final lap.
Dominguez remained within striking distance.
As the laps disappeared, the No. 67 found the opening underneath Kyle. Dominguez pulled ahead at the line, protected the lane through the final circuit and converted patience into a feature victory.
Kyle’s eight-position charge earned him second, while Smith completed the podium. Denman finished fourth, giving the result major championship implications—but updated official points will determine exactly what it means.
S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks official top three:
- Robert Dominguez — No. 67 — started sixth
- Walton Kyle Jr. — No. 24XXX — started tenth
- Caleb Smith — No. 02C — started ninth
Fifteen-year-old Barnes turns start No. 6 into victory No. 1
Jaydon Barnes began the White Sands Federal Credit Union POWRi 305 Winged Sprint Car feature from the pole.
He drove like he intended to keep it.
Barnes controlled the opening five laps before a caution erased his early advantage and placed the field directly behind him. With Justin Lasiter waiting and experienced Sprint Car winners throughout the field, the 15-year-old had to win the race again from the restart.
He did.
Barnes controlled the launch, kept the No. 29 underneath him and entered traffic without surrendering the lead. Lasiter remained close enough to punish a mistake, but Barnes never gave him one.
In only his sixth Vado feature start, Jaydon Barnes earned his first feature victory at the Diamond in the Desert.
White Sands Federal Credit Union POWRi 305 Winged official top three:
- Jaydon Barnes — No. 29 — started first
- Justin Lasiter — No. 40X — started third
- Derek DeMartino — No. 97 — started fifth
Riggs answers every challenger for 20 laps
Cale Riggs swept the Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Car program from the pole, but the feature was anything but comfortable.
Jonathan Burton charged from tenth. Rob Moseley advanced from 11th into second before a caution ruling sent him to the rear. Francisco Knight, still carrying unfinished business from the feature that escaped him one week earlier, worked forward from eighth.
Every restart brought another challenger to Riggs.
Burton became the final one.
In the closing laps, Riggs protected his corner exits while Burton worked the upper lane and searched for enough momentum to draw alongside. Late traffic added one final decision, but Riggs cleared it without leaving the door open.
The No. 777R led all 20 laps and answered everything the largest Stock Car field of the night placed in front of it.
Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars official top three:
- Cale Riggs — No. 777R — started first
- Jonathan Burton — No. 00 — started tenth
- Francisco Knight — No. 665 — started eighth
Fito goes ninth to first—again
The largest field and longest feature of the night belonged to the Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mods: 23 cars and 25 laps.
Dickie Gorham controlled the early lead while Mel Romero and Fito Gallardo fought behind him. Fito first threatened Romero with a slider, forcing the hesitation he needed to complete the pass. He then drove underneath Gorham, took control and immediately produced one of his fastest laps of the race.
A caution with ten remaining erased Fito’s advantage.
His brother Rocko Gallardo had already advanced from 11th to second, placing the Gallardos together on the front row for the restart. Fito controlled the launch, but Rocko continued looking for a way around the No. 07X.
None appeared.
For the second consecutive Vado B-Mod feature, Fito Gallardo drove from ninth to first. Rocko finished second, and Donavon Flores completed the podium.
Behind them, Deuce Teague advanced from 17th to fourth, while Israel Ortega produced the largest charge of the feature by climbing from 22nd to sixth.
Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mods official top three:
- Fito Gallardo — No. 07X — started ninth
- Rocko Gallardo — No. G3 — started 11th
- Donavon Flores — No. 07 — started seventh
Heat-race winners
The July 18 heat winners were:
- Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars: Cale Riggs, Chris Dewald and Francisco Knight
- Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mods: Rocko Gallardo, Christy Barnett and Justin Allen
- White Sands Federal Credit Union POWRi 305 Winged: Daniel Blaeser, Robert Herrera and Lorne Wofford
- Vado Speedway Super Trucks: Ben Ives and Christy Barnett
- S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks: Walton Kyle Jr. and Kristen Denman
They met them—and then they had someone to pull for
That is the power of Meet the Drivers Night.
An autograph became a number to find. A photograph became a reason to stand. The person who shook a child’s hand became the driver that family watched when the green flag appeared.
Christy Barnett, Robert Dominguez, Jaydon Barnes, Cale Riggs and Fito Gallardo took five different routes to Victory Lane. The fans met them on the clay—and then those five drivers showed everyone exactly why they race.
Next up: Meet the Drivers Night #2
Vado Speedway Park does it again Saturday, July 25, with Meet the Drivers Night #2 featuring:
- Mendoza Law Firm A-Mods
- Vado Speedway Super Trucks
- Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models
- Hulsey Racing INEX Legends
- Sunset Grill 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars
Pit gates open at 4:00 p.m., front gates open at 5:00 p.m., and racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
If your family found a favorite driver last Saturday, come back and make sure they hear you.
If you did not—your next opportunity is waiting on the front straightaway.
