VADO, N.M. — The front straightaway belonged to the fans at intermission.
Families walked onto the clay with cameras and markers. Children stood beside the cars they had watched through the heat races. Drivers passed out hero cards, candy, gift bags, and cold Dr Peppers. Fans met the people inside the helmets and chose who they would care about when feature racing began.
At center track, the No. 82 became the heart of the party.
Sherman Barnett was celebrating his 91st birthday, but nobody treated him like a former racer making a ceremonial appearance. His Super Truck was parked beside Christy Barnett’s No. 44 because both still had a feature to run.
Royal Jones spoke about what it meant to have Sherman competing at Vado. Sherman answered with a story from roughly 40 years earlier, when Royal responded to an intake-manifold rule by fastening the required part to the rear bumper instead of installing it on the engine.
Curt Barnett traced a family life built around speed—from boats and three-wheelers to the stock cars Sherman began racing at age 50. The entire speedway sang “Happy Birthday.” Sherman thanked the friends, neighbors, customers, and fans who had become part of his life.
Then the front straightaway cleared. The helmets went back on.
The celebration had finished.
Sherman’s answer was still coming.
Riggs turns Row 6 into a fifth straight win
Cale Riggs began the 20-lap Hulsey Racing Legends feature in 12th and immediately started moving.
Jerod Candelaria controlled the race from the front while Riggs changed lanes and worked through traffic. The No. 96 reached second before the complexion of the race changed with six laps remaining.
Candelaria attempted the shorter route beneath lapped traffic, spun, and absorbed additional contact on the front straightaway. Race officials reviewed the incident and reset the order with Riggs at the point.
The lead did not make the remaining laps automatic. A later caution gave the field two more opportunities to take the race away.
Riggs answered both restarts and completed an 11-position charge.
The victory made Riggs five-for-five in his last five Vado feature starts across two divisions: Legends wins on June 20, July 11, and July 25, with Stock Car victories on July 4 and July 18.
Steven Arellano advanced from eighth to second. Kyle Burnette produced the largest charge behind the winner, driving from 17th to third.
Hulsey Racing Legends — Top Five
Finish, Start, Driver, Car
1, 12, Cale Riggs, 96
2, 8, Steven Arellano, 237
3, 17, Kyle Burnette, 32
4, 15, Angel Garcia, 6
5, 9, Daniel Dean, 7
Kinney gets his win; Sherman supplies the proof
The Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series supplied the clearest answer to the entire birthday celebration.
Sherman started sixth and drove directly into the fight. He reached second, challenged points leader Scott Kinney, and remained close enough to attack through a sequence of late cautions.
With four laps remaining, live timing showed Sherman’s previous lap was 0.052 seconds faster than Kinney’s.
This was no ceremonial drive.
Christy Barnett was charging from 12th behind them. On one restart, she gave Sherman’s rear bumper a brief push down the front straightaway. A later called-back restart and jump ruling rearranged the order behind Kinney, placing Luis Esquivel second for the final two-lap run.
Kinney never surrendered the lead.
The No. 13 took the checkered flag from seventh for Kinney’s first Vado Super Truck feature victory of 2026. Esquivel advanced from eighth to second. Sherman finished third.
At 91 years old, Sherman had not merely participated in his birthday feature. He had raced in second and earned a podium.
“You can put them on notice right now,” Sherman said afterward. “I’m going to get them before the season is over.”
Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series — Top Five
Finish, Start, Driver, Truck
1, 7, Scott Kinney, 13
2, 8, Luis Esquivel, 7
3, 6, Sherman Barnett, 82
4, 12, Christy Barnett, 44
5, 9, Devan Smith, 6T
Grable masters the narrowest margin
The Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars produced the night’s most demanding feature.
The race stopped twice for rollovers involving Matt Ziehl and Wayne Siddle. Both drivers were reported out of their cars and okay before racing resumed.
During the second incident, Don Grable’s No. 45X completed a full rotation but remained moving and stayed in the race.
Once the field returned to green, Grable committed to the only answer the surface consistently offered: a narrow strip of grip along the bottom.
The line looked simple from the grandstands. Driving it repeatedly was not.
Grable had to rotate the car without over-rotating, straighten it early enough to use the horsepower, and place the right rear in the same small piece of clay lap after lap.
One missed mark could surrender the lead.
He did not miss.
Grable won from fifth for his second consecutive Vado Non-Wing feature victory. Robert Herrera charged from eighth to second, and Jeff Brumfield III advanced from sixth to third.
Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars — Top Five
Finish, Start, Driver, Car
1, 5, Don Grable, 45X
2, 8, Robert Herrera, 9
3, 6, Jeff Brumfield III, 5J
4, 7, Darwin Smith, 12
5, 9, Roby Knight, 665
Perez takes the shortest way home
Before the Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Model feature, Oscar Perez said he planned to try the bottom.
He never needed to leave it.
Perez launched from the pole and controlled the race while Keko Perez, Mercedes Abercrombie, and Arturo Ordonez searched for another answer.
Ordonez demonstrated that speed existed above the preferred line before he was forced to the infield, while Abercrombie began closing on Keko for second.
A caution with seven laps remaining erased Oscar’s advantage and placed every challenger directly behind him.
Perez executed the restart, returned to the same precise marks, and completed a wire-to-wire drive for his first Vado Late Model feature victory of 2026.
Keko Perez finished second. Mercedes Abercrombie completed the podium.
Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models — Top Five
Finish, Start, Driver, Car
1, 1, Oscar Perez, 8XJR
2, 2, Keko Perez, 3
3, 4, Mercedes Abercrombie, 29
4, 3, Luke Solis, 99
5, 5, Luke Vargas, 777X
The people who earned the ending
By the time the Modified feature stopped under a long red flag, the night had asked plenty from everyone.
Parents were sitting with tired children. Crews still faced long drives home. Some fans had work waiting the next morning. They had remained through the Meet the Drivers session, Sherman’s celebration, two feature red flags, and every restart.
They stayed again.
The engines eventually refired in front of grandstands that were still occupied because the people inside them understood something important:
The final feature had not stopped mattering simply because it had taken longer to reach its answer.
Gallardo waits for the one opening he needs
Lucas Ward controlled the opening half of the 25-lap Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modified feature from the pole.
Robert Adams steadily reduced Ward’s advantage, while Carlos Ahumada Jr. recorded the fastest lap before a caution compressed the field.
Ahumada used the choose cone to take the outside and briefly moved into second before a three-car incident stopped the race with 11 laps remaining.
When racing resumed, Jake Gallardo moved into position behind Ward.
Gallardo did not throw a desperate slider on a bottom-dominant surface. He followed the leader’s line, matched his rhythm, and kept showing the nose of the J17.
Ward eventually opened half a lane exiting Turn 4.
Gallardo was already there.
He took the lead with six laps remaining and controlled the final restart to win from fifth. It was Gallardo’s fourth Vado A-Mod feature victory of 2026 and his second in succession.
Mark Smith found speed away from the preferred bottom and advanced from eighth to second. Robert Adams finished third.
Twenty-four Modifieds had arrived for one trophy.
Long after the handshakes ended, Gallardo waited until the racetrack gave him exactly what he needed—and took it.
Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds — Top Five
Finish, Start, Driver, Car
1, 5, Jake Gallardo, J17
2, 8, Mark Smith, 2SS
3, 4, Robert Adams, 50
4, 6, Carlos Ahumada Jr., 65X
5, 3, Christy Barnett, 44
Heat race winners
Hulsey Racing Legends: Chase Collins, Steven Arellano, Cale Riggs
Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series: Ben Ives, Luis Esquivel
Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars: Wayne Siddle, Wes Wofford
Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models: Brandon Cruse
Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds: Fito Gallardo, Robert Adams, Carlos Ahumada Jr.
Next: Doña Ana County Night
Vado Speedway Park returns Saturday, August 1, for Doña Ana County Night.
Doña Ana County residents receive $5 general admission with a valid Doña Ana County ID.
Pit gates open at 4:00 p.m., front gates open at 5:00 p.m., and racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
The program includes:
White Sands FCU 305-Winged Sprint Cars
Hacienda Carpet and Tile X-Mods
Extreme Landscaping Stock Cars
S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks
Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series
Come back for five more divisions—and bring somebody who has not chosen a favorite driver yet.
