VADO, N.M. — Josh Cain had the Stock Car lead entering the final lap. Francisco Knight had one more winning run left in the No. 665.
Knight reached the checkered flag ahead of Cain to claim Saturday’s Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Car feature, giving Vado Speedway Park’s Labor Day Weekend Double Header a finish worth watching to the very end.
Cale Riggs and Fito Gallardo each completed a two-night feature sweep. Caleb Saiz won the Gaerte Engines 360 Winged Sprint feature after a decisive pass in traffic and a final two-lap restart. Jonathon Ortega converted his pole start into the $1,000 Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Model victory.
The five routes to Rio Grande Waste Services Victory Lane ranged from a pole-position defense to charges from the fifth row. Knight, Cain, and Jonathan Burton supplied a striking result of their own: the Stock Car podium started ninth, tenth, and eleventh, and each driver gained eight positions.
Riggs gets the feature rematch
Jerod Candelaria held off Riggs to win their Legends heat earlier in the evening. In the 20-lap feature, Riggs had to reach him again from ninth on the grid.
Douglas Collins led the opening lap, Mike Money joined the fight at the front, and Candelaria worked into the lead. Riggs continued advancing and reached second before a caution with 11 laps remaining.
Candelaria chose the inside lane for the restart. Riggs lined up outside, found an opening underneath as they resumed, and completed the pass with ten laps remaining. Candelaria kept him under pressure before Riggs stretched the advantage over the closing laps.
Riggs won from ninth after winning Friday from tenth. Candelaria finished second from fifth, followed by Kyle Burnette, Mike Money, and Brandon Williams.
Across the two features, Riggs gained 17 positions and collected both winners’ trophies.
Hulsey Racing INEX Legends — official top five
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 9 | Cale Riggs | 96 |
| 2 | 5 | Jerod Candelaria | 33 |
| 3 | 8 | Kyle Burnette | 32 |
| 4 | 4 | Mike Money | 65 |
| 5 | 6 | Brandon Williams | 82 |
Knight changes the result on the final lap
The 20-lap Stock Car feature opened with four-wide action and several eventual contenders moving through the field. Knight continued forward after contact with the backstretch wall in the opening exchanges.
Shane McNutt and Rob Moseley fought at the front, with Moseley taking the lead before pulling to the infield during the caution with 12 laps remaining. McNutt led the next restart while Knight and Cain worked for position behind him.
Cain found speed on the lower lane and took the lead in the closing laps. Knight remained in pursuit and produced the winning run on the final lap, taking the checkered flag ahead of the previous night’s winner.
Burton finished third, followed by McNutt and Riggs. Knight’s ninth-to-first result, Cain’s tenth-to-second run, and Burton’s eleventh-to-third finish gave the podium 24 combined positions gained.
Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars — official top five
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 9 | Francisco Knight | 665 |
| 2 | 10 | Josh Cain | 3J |
| 3 | 11 | Jonathan Burton | 00B |
| 4 | 5 | Shane McNutt | 5 |
| 5 | 7 | Cale Riggs | 777R |
Saiz earns the lead, then earns the finish
Daniel Blaeser set the pace during the 25-lap Wing Sprint feature while Saiz worked into the chase from fourth. Slower traffic brought the leaders into a sequence of changing lanes and narrowing openings.
Saiz stayed close and committed to a slider in turn two with ten laps remaining. The No. 42 cleared Blaeser and began building an advantage while Parker and Saunders exchanged attacks behind him.
The race included red-flag stoppages, and the last reset reduced Saiz’s remaining task to a single-file, green-white-checkered finish. His earlier separation was gone; the position still had to be defended.
Saiz held it through the final two laps. Parker finished second from sixth and Saunders third from fifth. Lorne Wofford advanced from ninth to fourth, while Jesse Baker moved from twelfth to fifth.
After a third-place finish Friday, Saiz ended the weekend on the top step. Saunders’ three-win run in his first three Vado Wing Sprint feature appearances of 2026 ended with Saturday’s third-place finish.
Gaerte Engines 360 Winged Sprint Series — official top five
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 4 | Caleb Saiz | 42 |
| 2 | 6 | Nick Parker | 01 |
| 3 | 5 | Aydan Saunders | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Lorne Wofford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Jesse Baker | 22B |
Ortega protects the $1,000 opportunity
Jonathon Ortega started from pole in the 20-lap Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Model feature and set the pace while Luke Vargas moved into contention behind him.
Ortega built separation during the green-flag run, but a caution with five laps remaining brought the field back together. A subsequent incident produced a red flag with three laps remaining.
Ortega chose the inside when the field reset and delivered the final three laps to secure the $1,000 win. Arturo Ordonez advanced from seventh to second; Brandon Cruse drove from eighth to third. Arturo Ordonez Jr. and Vargas completed the top five.
Grindell & Romero Insurance and Pit Pros provided additional Late Model purse support for both Labor Day Weekend nights.
Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models — official top five
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 1 | Jonathon Ortega | 22 |
| 2 | 7 | Arturo Ordonez | 8X |
| 3 | 8 | Brandon Cruse | 151 |
| 4 | 2 | Arturo Ordonez Jr. | 8XJR |
| 5 | 5 | Luke Vargas | 777X |
Gallardo closes with another tenth-to-first run
All 26 cars on the official X-Mod feature sheet received a starting position for the 25-lap finale. Aiden Frazier led early while Jobin advanced from seventh and Fito Gallardo moved quickly from tenth into the lead group.
After the caution five laps into the race, Jobin used the outside to take the lead. Fito and Rocko Gallardo followed into the chase, with Rocko having started eleventh.
Another caution with 13 laps remaining brought the contenders back together. Fito challenged Jobin on the restart, cleared the battle, and began pulling away. Rocko moved into second, while Jobin and McNutt fought behind the leading pair.
Fito negotiated the closing traffic and took the final checkered flag of the weekend. Rocko finished second, Jobin third, McNutt fourth, and Christy Barnett fifth from twelfth.
Fito won from tenth on both nights and won a heat each evening. Saturday’s Gallardo one–two added two nine-position advances to the official results.
Hacienda Carpet and Tile X-Mods — official top five
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
|—:|—:|—|—|
| 1 | 10 | Fito Gallardo | 07X |
| 2 | 11 | Rocko Gallardo | G3 |
| 3 | 7 | Devon Jobin | 81 |
| 4 | 9 | Shane McNutt | 5M |
| 5 | 12 | Christy Barnett | 44 |
Saturday heat winners
– Hulsey Racing INEX Legends: Douglas Collins and Jerod Candelaria.
– Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars: Ronnie Leathem Jr., Shane McNutt, and Rob Moseley.
– Gaerte Engines 360 Winged Sprint Series: Rick Ziehl, Daniel Blaeser, and Aydan Saunders.
– Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models: Arturo Ordonez.
– Hacienda Carpet and Tile X-Mods: Fito Gallardo, Aiden Frazier, Mike Rosales, and Chris Hooper.
Two nights, different answers
Riggs and Gallardo repeated their Friday feature wins. Knight, Saiz, and Ortega joined the weekend’s feature-winner list on Saturday.
From Candelaria and Riggs meeting again after their heat battle to Knight changing the Stock Car result on the last lap, Night 2 gave the opening night’s stories new endings.
Thank you to the fans, teams, track crew, and partners who spent Labor Day Weekend with Vado Speedway Park.
Official September 5 results: https://www.myracepass.com/events/647511/races
