VADO, N.M. — Kids Bike Night was built around 100 free bicycles and a racing community willing to put the next generation first.
On the racetrack, moving forward required five entirely different solutions.
Christy Barnett used the bottom to take the Super Truck lead and the top to protect it. Mercedes Abercrombie committed to the Late Model cushion before the opening lap was complete. Colt Treharn reached the upper lane first in a three-car Non-Winged Sprint fight. Mingo Jauregui waited for the Stock Car bottom to open. Robert Adams found the shorter Modified route and then took it away from the challenger behind him.
The five winners were officially credited with starting ninth, third, fourth, ninth and sixth. None held an official front-row starting position. Together, they advanced 26 positions.
The bicycles created the opportunity away from the competition. The features showed five different ways to claim it.
Barnett changes lanes—and changes the championship lead
Ben Ives controlled the opening phase of the 15-lap Vado Speedway Super Truck feature from the pole. The upper lane carried his momentum, while Barnett worked forward from ninth and studied the dry, technical center beneath him.
The No. 44 eventually found enough bite through Turn 2 to drive underneath Ives and complete the pass. A caution with six laps remaining removed Barnett’s advantage and placed Ives, Russell Allen and the rest of the field directly behind her.
Barnett changed the answer on the restart. She launched around the top, Allen followed from 10th and Ives settled into third. The leader never gave the position back.
The victory was Barnett’s fifth in 13 Vado Truck feature starts this season. More importantly for the championship, she entered the night 14 points behind Scott Kinney and leaves 14 ahead, 1,200–1,186.
Barnett’s Kids Bike Night contribution extended beyond Victory Lane. Barnett Harley-Davidson helped sponsor the giveaway, and Barnett invited young fans to visit the Nos. 44 and 82 pits after the racing program.
Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series — Official Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 9 | Christy Barnett | 44 |
| 2 | 10 | Russell Allen | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Ben Ives | 74 |
| 4 | 4 | Cliff Evrage | 11 |
| 5 | 6 | Sherman Barnett | 82 |
Abercrombie makes the opening commitment last 15 laps
Mercedes Abercrombie was officially credited with third in the Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Model starting order and refused to wait for the race to come to her. When front-row starter Sam Alonso did not take the green, the No. 29 moved to the outside front row.
Oscar Perez led the field from the pole, but Abercrombie committed the No. 29 to the upper lane and swept around him before Lap 1 was complete. From there, she lowered the called benchmark to 15.676 seconds and converted clean air into control.
Perez remained second, and Arturo Ordonez advanced into the podium. Slower traffic eventually entered the leader’s path, but Abercrombie cleared it without giving the cars behind her a usable opening.
The 15-lap drive delivered her first Vado Late Model feature victory of 2026. In Victory Lane, Abercrombie credited the work her team had performed in the shop and the setup that made the car easy to drive. She also remembered her late father and shared how much she wished he could have been there for the breakthrough.
Abercrombie now has one win, six top-five finishes and eight top-10s in eight Vado Late Model feature starts this season.
Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models — Official Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 3 | Mercedes Abercrombie | 29 |
| 2 | 1 | Oscar Perez | 51 |
| 3 | 5 | Arturo Ordonez | 8X |
| 4 | 4 | Luke Vargas | 777X |
| 5 | 7 | Mark Smith | 777 |
Treharn reaches the top first—and twice rebuilds the lead
Robert Herrera controlled the bottom at the start of the 20-lap Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Car feature. Don Grable occupied the middle, and Treharn spent the opening laps searching from fourth.
The No. 77 eventually committed to the upper lane, turned a three-car fight into the winning move and cleared both contenders. Treharn built his advantage into traffic before a caution with seven laps remaining returned the field to his bumper.
He rebuilt the gap. A second yellow with three to go erased it again.
Neither restart changed the answer. Treharn controlled the final launch over Grable and earned his third victory in only four Vado Non-Winged feature starts this season. The result moves him to fourth in the standings, 103 points behind Grable.
Treharn also carried the community story into his interview, thanking the team that prepared the car and reminding families that two donated bicycles for young girls were waiting in his trailer.
Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars — Official Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 4 | Colt Treharn | 77 |
| 2 | 3 | Don Grable | 45X |
| 3 | 12 | Shon Deskins | 20 |
| 4 | 6 | Bryan Ledbetter Jr. | 7OH |
| 5 | 1 | Robert Herrera | 9 |
Jauregui waits for the bottom and takes the lead under green
Jonathan Burton produced the first remarkable charge of the 20-lap Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Car feature. The championship leader started 12th and reached first in only six laps.
Jauregui followed him through the field from ninth. Francisco Knight came from 11th and joined them, placing three deep-starting cars at the front.
The No. 47 remained patient until six laps were left. Jauregui then planted his nose beneath Burton through Turns 1 and 2, completed a clean pass under green and took command.
A final caution with three laps remaining gave Burton and Knight one more opportunity. Jauregui controlled the restart and finished the move he had created.
The victory was Jauregui’s first at Vado in 2026. Burton finished second and Knight third, giving the podium 26 combined positions gained. Brian Kleine supplied the feature’s largest charge, advancing from 16th to fourth.
Burton leaves the night with a 1,222–1,137 championship lead over Knight. Jauregui moves to 10th with one win, three top-five finishes and five top-10s in seven starts.
Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars — Official Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 9 | Mingo Jauregui | 47 |
| 2 | 12 | Jonathan Burton | 00B |
| 3 | 11 | Francisco Knight | 665 |
| 4 | 16 | Brian Kleine | UNO |
| 5 | 8 | Justin Garrett | 7J |
Adams learns the bottom and protects the final answer
Twenty-six Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds entered Kids Bike Night. Twenty-four reached the 25-lap feature.
Lucas Ward controlled the first completed lap, but Robert Adams moved quickly from sixth. He shortened the corner beneath Ward, rotated the No. 50 early and drove straight off the bottom to take the lead.
Repeated cautions forced Adams to win the same launch again. Josh Cain found speed around the upper lane and briefly crossed the stripe ahead, but a yellow before the lap was completed returned the field to its previous order.
Adams used the reprieve. He controlled the next restart, while Barnett advanced from seventh and eventually took second. Their long shared racing history helped Adams anticipate the lane Barnett wanted. He protected the bottom, reached the exit cushion and left the No. 44 without a complete path to the lead.
Adams drove from sixth to his first Vado Modified victory of 2026. Barnett finished second after already winning the Truck feature, and points leader Carlos Ahumada Jr. charged from 14th to third.
The championship remains compressed. Ahumada leads with 988 points, Barnett is 43 behind and Adams is 61 back.
Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds — Official Top 5
| Finish | Start | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 6 | Robert Adams | 50 |
| 2 | 7 | Christy Barnett | 44 |
| 3 | 14 | Carlos Ahumada Jr. | 65X |
| 4 | 8 | Josh Cain | 3J |
| 5 | 5 | Lucas Ward | 11 |
One hundred bikes and a community behind them
The racing supplied five winners. Kids Bike Night’s larger victory came from the people and businesses that made 100 free bicycles available to young fans.
After the features, ticket numbers continued to be called and families were directed to the pickup area. Drivers, teams and sponsors made the giveaway part of the racing program rather than a separate promotion.
Vado Speedway Park thanks Jared and Marcy Teague; Kellie Harris; Wanda Bowman; Sound and Signal; Aire Serv of Southern New Mexico; MVD Express; McCutcheon Racing; Border International; Barnett Harley-Davidson; Pete Vargas; American Documents; the Super Trucks; Casey Minks; A Royal Flush; Austin Adams; Carlos Ahumada; Mike Archuleta; Solar Scrub LLC; Jed Smith; Robert Abercrombie; Dwayne Murphy; Jeremy DuBois; Fito Gallardo; Pepsi; Lyle’s Farm; Roger Guzman; Martin Robinson; Terrance, the tow-truck driver; and Scott Sullivan.
One hundred bicycles do more than complete one Saturday night. They give the next generation a reason to remember the racetrack, the drivers and a community that chose to invest in them.
Heat and B Feature winners
– Vado Speedway Super Trucks: Ben Ives and Dawson Manicki
– Anthony Sosa Roofing Late Models: Arturo Ordonez
– Sunset Grill POWRi 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars: Randy Smith and Don Grable
– Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars: Shawn McCarty, Cale Riggs and Francisco Knight
– Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds: Ricardo Olague Jr., Todd Harper and Josh Cain
– Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modified B Feature: Devon Jobin
Five ways forward
Barnett changed lanes. Abercrombie trusted the cushion. Treharn reached the top first. Jauregui waited for the bottom. Adams learned the shorter route and then protected it.
The winning paths were different, but the night connected them: all five drivers were officially credited with starts beyond the front row, advanced 26 combined positions and reached Rio Grande Waste Services Victory Lane.
Off the track, 100 bicycles gave young fans their own path forward.
That was Kids Bike Night at the Diamond in the Desert.
Next at Vado Speedway Park
Vado Speedway Park opens for practice on Thursday, August 27. Pits open at 5:00 p.m., with practice scheduled from 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Weekly Racing returns Saturday, August 29, with:
– Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars
– Mendoza Law Firm USRA Modifieds
– Hulsey Racing Legends
– Vado Speedway Super Trucks Series
– S.H. Automotive Pure Stocks
Pit gates open at 4:00 p.m., front gates open at 5:00 p.m., and racing starts at 7:30 p.m.
Extreme Landscaping has increased the August 29 Stock Car feature purse:
– 1st: $1,000
– 2nd: $500
– 3rd: $350
– 4th: $250
– 5th: $200
– 6th: $150
– 7th: $140
– 8th–24th: $125
Complete event information and official results are available through Vado Speedway Park and MyRacePass.
