VADO, N.M. — Some race nights are measured by five trophies. Doña Ana County Night became a race to make every green-flag lap count before a fast-changing Borderland sky made it impossible to safely finish the program.
Seventy-seven cars filled the pits across five divisions Saturday, August 1. Doña Ana County residents came through the gates for $5, all 12 heat races were completed, and two 15-lap features reached official results.
Both feature winners came from deep enough in the field to make the starting grid part of the story.
Walton Kyle Jr. won the Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series feature from sixth. Alan Dominguez started 11th and became the official S.H. Automotive Pure Stock winner after a post-race review changed the initial order.
Then high wind made it unsafe to send the White Sands Federal Credit Union 305 Winged Sprint Cars onto the track. With lightning moving through the area, the speedway placed the program on weather standby. The 305 Winged Sprint Car, Extreme Landscaping Stock Car, and Hacienda Carpet & Tile X-Mod features were not completed.
The weather shortened the night, but it did not erase the racing that reached an official answer.
Kyle keeps the No. 250 moving forward
Walton Kyle Jr. established his speed early by winning the second Super Truck heat from the outside of the front row.
The feature asked him to do more. Kyle started sixth while Ben Ives and Scott Sullivan brought the field to green. By the closing laps, the race had produced an entire podium from outside the first five starting positions.
Kyle carried his momentum around the high side while Christy Barnett and Luis Esquivel charged toward him from the fifth and sixth rows. Barnett briefly found herself three-wide in the fight before taking over second. With three laps remaining, she tried the bottom beneath Kyle through Turns 1 and 2, but the No. 44 lost speed as it drove off the corner.
Kyle stayed committed to the high side. Esquivel threatened Barnett for second at the white flag, but neither challenger could take the race away from the No. 250.
Kyle won from sixth for his first Vado feature victory of 2026. Barnett advanced eight positions from 10th to second, and Esquivel climbed nine positions from 12th to third.
Barnett’s charge also tightened the championship race. Scott Kinney remains the Super Truck points leader with 1,033 points, but Barnett reduced the gap from 25 points to 17. Sherman Barnett sits third, 51 points behind Kinney.
Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series — Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Truck |
| 1 | 6 | Walton Kyle Jr. | 250 |
| 2 | 10 | Christy Barnett | 44 |
| 3 | 12 | Luis Esquivel | 7 |
| 4 | 8 | Scott Kinney | 13 |
| 5 | 3 | Jeremy DuBois | 9 |
Three starts, one final lap, and a changed official order
The S.H. Automotive Pure Stock feature refused to settle into a normal rhythm.
The opening attempt ended under yellow for debris on the front straightaway, producing a complete restart. The second attempt also failed to record a lap after Kristen Denman ended up facing the wrong direction. The third attempt produced one completed lap before Alan Dominguez spun the No. 12 in Turn 2.
Jaxon Beyer controlled the ensuing restart before Caleb Smith emerged as the leader. Joseph Lenger worked past Beyer for second, and the late order settled into Smith, Lenger, and Beyer as the wind intensified around the speedway.
Smith still held the lead when the white flag flew. His race ended on the final lap, and Lenger was initially announced as the first car across the line.
That call was not the final result.
Following post-race review, official scoring listed Lenger, Beyer, and Damien Saenz as disqualified and awarded the victory to Dominguez. MyRacePass does not publish a cause for the disqualifications, so none is assigned here.
Dominguez had started 11th, spun after the first completed lap, and stayed in the race long enough to reach its official answer. The result gave him his first Vado Pure Stock feature victory and first top-five finish of 2026.
Robert Dominguez retained the Pure Stock points lead. He now has 1,174 points, 23 more than Kristen Denman.
S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks — Official Top 5
Finish | Start | Driver | Car | Official status
| 1 | 11 | Alan Dominguez | 12 | — |
| 2 | 4 | Caleb Smith | 02C | DNF |
| 3 | 3 | Robert Dominguez | 67 | DNF |
| 4 | 1 | Landan Milo | 63 | DNF |
| 5 | 8 | Rudy Ramirez | 2R | DNF |
Heat-race winners
Before the weather shortened feature racing, all five divisions completed their heat programs.
– Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series:** Ben Ives, Walton Kyle Jr.
– S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks:** Jaxon Beyer, Caleb Smith
– White Sands FCU 305 Winged Sprint Cars:** Daniel Blaeser, Caleb Saiz, Lorne Wofford
– Extreme Landscaping Stock Cars:** Devan Smith, Jonathan Burton
– Hacienda Carpet & Tile X-Mods:** Dickie Gorham, Christy Barnett, Shane McNutt
Those heat victories are official. No feature winners are assigned in the three divisions whose main events were not completed.
A safety decision, not a missing story
Race teams had prepared for five features. Fans had stayed through changing wind and visible lightning. Track workers continued monitoring the conditions while the 305 Winged Sprint Cars waited for their opportunity.
The wings that make a Sprint Car spectacular also give strong wind a large surface to catch. Once the gusts became too severe to safely place those cars on the track, the correct decision was to stop and evaluate the night.
The remaining program never received a safe opportunity to resume.
Vado Speedway Park thanks every driver and crew member who brought a car, every fan who represented Doña Ana County in the grandstands, and every official, safety worker, and staff member who adjusted as conditions changed.
Two features reached the record book. Two drivers earned their first Vado victories of 2026. Seventy-seven entries helped build the night.
That work still counts.
## Next: Weekly Racing on August 8
Vado Speedway Park returns Saturday, August 8, with five divisions on the card:
– Mendoza Law Firm A-Mods
– Hulsey Racing INEX Legends
– Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models
– Extreme Landscaping Stock Cars
– S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks
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.
Bring somebody who has not chosen a favorite yet. The next green flag gives all of us another chance.
