Nothing Stayed Put: Five Vado Winners Gain 31 Positions on August 8

Nothing Stayed Put: Five Vado Winners Gain 31 Positions on August 8

VADO, N.M. — Five official feature winners advanced 31 combined positions Saturday, August 8, but that number only begins to explain how little stayed settled at Vado Speedway Park.

Joseph Lenger became the official S.H. Automotive Pure Stock winner after post-race inspection changed the order. Cale Riggs drove from 12th to first in the Hulsey Racing INEX Legends. Jonathan Burton came from 11th to win an Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Car fight once separated by one thousandth of a second. Keko Perez completed a heat-and-feature sweep for his first Vado Late Model win of 2026. Hunter Sandy decided the Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modified feature on the first lap of a final three-lap sprint.

Seventy-six division entries filled the five-class program. Every feature reached an official answer. None took the same road there.

Lenger receives the official Pure Stock call

Hayden Dunlop and Joseph Lenger established the two opening Pure Stock stories in the heat races. Dunlop charged from sixth to win the first. Lenger controlled the second while Jimmy Marta closed late.

The 15-lap feature belonged on the track to Bobby Sandy. He established the bottom on the opening lap and maintained the lead while Robert Dominguez applied pressure. Marta and Lenger continued their fight behind them, and the running order changed again when Dominguez spun on the final lap.

Sandy crossed first, with Lenger second at the stripe.

Following post-race technical inspection, Sandy was disqualified and the official order changed. Lenger was elevated to his first Vado Pure Stock feature win of 2026. Marta finished second, and Dunlop completed another deep charge by racing from 10th to third.

S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks — Official Top 5

Riggs changes lanes and comes from Row 6

Josh Jackson started fifth and controlled the opening half of the 15-lap Legends feature. Riggs began 12th, moved through the center of the field, and reached second with enough time to study the leader.

Jackson protected the bottom. Riggs changed the shape of his entry.

The No. 96 widened its approach, carried momentum around the outside of Turns 3 and 4, and completed the winning pass cleanly down the backstretch with eight laps remaining. A caution with three to go erased his lead and gave Jackson one final opportunity, but Riggs controlled the restart.

The 11-position charge produced Riggs’s 12th Vado Legends victory in 14 feature starts this season. Jackson finished second, with Steven Arellano third from eighth.

Hulsey Racing INEX Legends — Top 5

One thousandth becomes Burton’s opening

Dawnica Minks launched from third to lead the opening Stock Car lap before Francisco Knight took control around the upper groove.

Burton started 11th and moved forward one decision at a time. He reached Knight while the No. 665 remained committed to the cushion and placed the No. 00 one lane lower. On one green-flag lap, Knight ran 18.649 seconds and Burton ran 18.650.

One thousandth of a second separated two different routes around the speedway.

The final eight-lap run decided which route would last. Burton put his nose ahead exiting Turn 2. Knight tried to answer around the rough upper groove, but the cushion took away his momentum, and Burton completed the pass.

The victory was Burton’s fourth at Vado in 2026 and expanded his championship lead to 81 points. Rob Moseley came from 10th to second, and Josh Cain advanced from sixth to third. The three podium drivers gained 21 combined positions.

Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars — Top 5

Keko Perez finishes the climb

Keko Perez finished second when the Late Models last raced at Vado on July 25. Saturday began with a heat victory and placed the No. 3 outside the front row for the 15-lap feature.

Perez took the lead at the green. Early contact sent Luke Vargas around and collected points leader Brandon Cruse, but both continued. Luke Solis later entered the fight near the front before his race ended at the rough upper edge of the speedway.

Each caution removed Perez’s advantage. None changed his response.

As the upper groove became choppier, Perez kept the car composed and pointed toward the straightaway earlier than the challengers behind him. Arturo Ordonez used upper-lane momentum to advance from sixth to second in the No. 8XJR. Oscar Perez searched the lower line and completed the podium.

Keko Perez’s heat-and-feature sweep delivered his first Vado Late Model feature victory of 2026.

Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models — Top 5

Three laps give Sandy one final route

Royal Jones used the upper groove and the exit of Turn 4 to control the opening half of the 25-lap USRA Modified feature. Christy Barnett found the shorter bottom, cleared Jones with roughly 10 laps remaining, and carried the lead into traffic.

A caution with three to go erased the margin Barnett had built. The first restart attempt produced no completed lap, and officials reset the field single file.

Barnett led. Sandy restarted second.

On the first completed lap of the final run, Sandy carried the high side through Turns 3 and 4, kept his momentum after briefly climbing beyond the cushion, and drove past Barnett exiting Turn 4. He pulled away over the final two laps to win from sixth.

Sandy’s third Vado A-Mod victory of 2026 was also his third win in his last four Vado A-Mod starts. Barnett finished second and moved to second in the standings, 47 points behind Carlos Ahumada Jr. Fito Gallardo advanced from eighth to third, Jones finished fourth, and Stormy Scott came from 10th to fifth.

Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds — Top 5

Five different answers

Lenger’s result required the official inspection process to finish. Riggs changed lanes. Burton waited for one thousandth of a second to become an opening. Perez kept answering the same question on every restart. Sandy used three remaining laps to find one route Barnett could not cover.

Five official winners gained 31 combined positions.

Nothing stayed where it started at the Diamond in the Desert.

Next: Weekly Racing on August 15

Vado Speedway Park returns Saturday, August 15, with five divisions:

• White Sands FCU 305-Winged Sprint Cars
• S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks
• Hacienda Carpet and Tile X-Mods
• Hulsey Racing INEX Legends
• Vado Speedway Super Truck Series

Pit gates open at 4:00 p.m., front gates open at 5:00 p.m., and racing begins at 7:30 p.m.

General admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, military members, and students, $5 for youth ages 5–16, and free for children 4 and under.

Buy tickets · August 15 event details

Five new fields. Five new reasons to choose somebody and stay with them all the way to the checkered flag.