Rick Boelter of Los Lunas showed he’s still got it, winning the main event in the Hobby Stock division at Duke City Raceway last Saturday night.
Boelter, a veteran driver who has been racing infrequently this season, held off a field of 23 cars to take the checkered flag.
Ronnie Bell placed 11th but returned to the top of the point standings in the division, moving ahead of fellow-Los Lunas-driver Ron Leathem Jr. after last Saturday’s action. Leathem, who experienced problems with the rear end of his car a week earlier, continued to have troubles and finished 17th.
Bell led the standings through the first half of the season but was overtaken by Leathem last month. Bell has rung up 442 points thus far, while Leathem has tallied 432.
The father-son combination of Steve and J.R. Bonesteel of Albuquerque occupy the third spot in the standings, tied with 704 points. Steve Bonesteel placed second behind Bell. Robert Kapinski was third, and Kenny Wheeler of Los Lunas was fourth.
In the Street Stock division, Jay Pape of Bosque Farms extended his lead in the point standings to an even 100 by winning the main event. The win gives him 750 points. Belen’s Jim Willis and Thomas Winters of Los Lunas placed second and third respectively in the race. They are also second and third in the standings with 650 and 638 points.
Jeff Davis of Aztec won the main event in the Modified division. Richard Johnson of Los Lunas was second and Bobby Bachechi, also of Los Lunas, was third.
Johnson still leads the point standings by a wide margin, 688-552, over Tyrone Yazzie. Bachechi moved up from sixth to fifth in the standings with 494.
On the slate for this Saturday night are the Modifieds, Street Stock, Late Models and Sprint Cars. Racing gets started at 6:30 p.m.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.
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April 19, 2024
