Burned methanol washed over Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s “Bullring” oval track as the 2024 Bitnile Open Wheel Showdown blew into town, November 14 – 16. And methanol wasn’t the only atmospheric change. Not even the jets from nearby Nellis Air Force Base ripped the air like dozens of Modified, Supermodified, and Winged Sprint cars at full throttle. 

Competitors came from as far as New York, Florida, and British Columbia to vie for large purses. And plenty of Utah racers showed. 

Changes for 2024

This was the second running of the OWS, promoted by Davey Hamilton Jr., and there were changes. First, the event was moved from December to November, in hopes of warmer weather. It did feel slightly warmer than last year. Second, qualifying and main-events were earlier. Davey got the message that teams wanted to finish sooner and experience more Vegas nightlife, and responded accordingly. 

Perhaps the biggest change was dropping one racing class and adding another. Davy explained that only a few Midget teams responded to early invitations—way too few for a decent feature race—so that class was dropped and the event opened to Modified teams. Modified drivers jumped at the chance to be part of the Showdown, with 36 entries. 

Modified Results

Of those Modified-class competitors, five were Utah teams. All five made the cut for the 75-lap Modified feature event. None finished on the winners podium but all had a blast being there. 

With 26 furious competitors on a small 3/8-mile oval, it took multiple attempts just to complete the first lap. The mayhem was real by turn two on the initial start, with Utah driver Zach Webster, driving #29w, tangled up with Idaho driver Jason Quale, in #12. Unfortunately, #29w was into the wall just past turn two and had to retire without completing even one lap. 

Utah driver Chris Cook, in #2, also got caught up in the initial melee but was able to continue. Chris had been having some trouble with #2 all weekend, but managed to bounce back and finish the A-Main race in 14th place. 

Bountiful driver Eric Rhead also had some struggles. HIs #66 was running fast, but Eric pushed a bit too hard and the front end wasn’t stronger than the wall. Fortunately, his newly-acquired backup car was running well. That car survived an incident during one of multiple lap-zero restarts. Eric had to move to the back but it was a lot of fun watching him pick off the carnage survivors one car at a time. He had worked his way well into the pack and was in a long battle with #24 when he just exited the track on lap 70. Apparently the backup #66’s fuel cell was too small to go the distance in a 75 lap race and it was out of gas. Still, holding on that long merited 15th-place. 

West Jordan’s Lynn Hardy was holding his own nicely, and even worked his way up to 7th place. Eventually, he got snagged in some mid-race havoc that bent #4’s rear bodywork. The damage ruined the spoiler’s downforce, forcing Lynn to take turns slower. He still finished in 12th place.

Lehi driver Jeff Longman, in the yellow #11, was the top Utah finisher in the Modified class. #11’s main motor blew during an earlier heat race and the replacement wasn’t quite as strong. Still, Jeff drove well, managed to stay clear of the pandemonium, and finished 10th. 

Aaron McMorran, a Las Vegas resident driving #22, took the top of the podium, worth $5000 for Modified racers. He was followed by Sam Jacks (#29; Las Vegas) and Stephen Bruker (#2B; Alpine, California).  

Supermodified Results

Most Supermodifieds are decades old, but several diehards keep these unique cars relevant. Unique because some push over 1000 horsepower, because their big V-8 engines are mounted low and left, and because most are capable of speeds over 200 mph with the right aero! 

One of those diehard Supermod teams is Bryan Shafer Racing (BSR), based out of the St. George-Hurricane area. BSR was responsible for five of around 26 Supermodified entries. Salt Lake’s Dave Adamson added another. 

BSR’s #4u had a low speed engine failure early in the week and did not race Saturday. In fact, less than 16 Supermods lasted long enough to start in the 40-lap feature event. Attrition was also crazy high in that race, with only four cars completing it. None were from Utah.  

Dave Adamson, in #5, was the first Utah competitor to retire after a driveline failed and he hit the wall hard enough to do a bit of front-end damage. 

Bryan Shafer drove the late Kenny Truscott’s #3, to honor his friend. During the 10th lap, #3 got snarled up with Rich Castor’s #2, #95, driven by teammate Cris Muhler, and the #98 Pink Lady, driven by 83-year old hall-of-famer Kenny Hamilton. #3 and #2 had to be towed off the track under a red flag. It turns out that #3’s left-front hub had completely failed, a few laps prior, and the wheel assembly was only being held in place by the brake caliper. 

BSR’s #3u, driven by Rocky Mountain Raceway sprint car lap record holder Eric “Redline Rick” Pardee, started trailing smoke on lap 30 and had to take the infield. The engine cowl was covered with a mixture of oil and water, so it experienced some kind of serious engine failure. 

Similarly, BSR’s #6u, driven by Utahn Jeff Hillock, rolled into the infield on lap 32 after it kicked out of gear and he couldn’t restart it. Failures notwithstanding, attrition was so high in that race that Rick and Jeff earned 7th and 6th place finishes, respectively. 

BSR’s #95, piloted by Colorado driver Cris Muhler, finished on the podium last year. This year wasn’t as smooth. Cris spun off the track on the sixth lap. He re-entered and was fighting his way back through the pack when he got caught up in the previously-mentioned snafu. It didn’t look like there was any real damage. However, the oil reservoir got a slight puncture and was spraying a mist onto the exhaust header. So, when officials saw it trailing smoke, #95 was black-flagged and Cris’s night was over.  

New York driver, Otto Sitterley, who’d traveled a long way to race his #7, earned 1st place and $5000. He had one of the few entries, if not the only car, with a new chassis. Davey Hamilton Sr., of Boise, Idaho, fought his way into 2nd with his much-older 1996 chassis. He finished just one second ahead of 3rd place winner Frankie Volz Jr. from Washington state. 

Winged Sprint Results

The Winged Sprint class had some seriously large purses, with podium winners taking home $50,000, $20,000, and $10,000. It was by far the largest class, with 70-plus entries from all over the U.S. and British Columbia. They included three Utah-based teams, all of which found themselves needing to finish 6th or better in the 20-lap B-main to transfer to the A-Main feature. 

Monty Bergener, from Sarasota Springs, reported that his #12B car felt good and was faster than last year. He and his car were enough to finish 5th of the 23 cars starting the B-Main. That won Monty a spot in the feature race. 

Grantsville’s Natalie Waters struggled with overheating and driveline issues last year. This year her #1 was running great and was faster, but felt too “tight” to maneuver well. During the B-Main, #1 would give Natalie a couple of good laps before getting “squirrely,” and her on-the-fly wing adjustments weren’t helping. After a yellow flag she’d get a couple of good laps and then handling would degrade again, forcing her off her preferred pace. She was able to finish, but 7th place was just short of allowing her to transfer.  

Utahn Jimmy Waters entered his #02, driven by Randy Dubois from Washington state. #02 was struggling with high idle and occasional popping during the last practice but that was cured in time for the B-Main. However, a 9th place finish meant their night was over.

So Bergener Racing was the only Utah team to make the 26-car field for the 100-lap A-Main. That race went quicker and smoother than last year, but the energy stayed high and there were still incidents. Monty managed to stay clear of those tangles. However, he disappeared from the track during the first half of the race. Apparently a punctured water line caused him to retire #12B before it overheated.

Kody Swanson and #50M, from California, ran consistently near the front and took home the $50,000 1st-place check. Bobby Santos III and #22A came all the way from Maine to take 2nd place and $20,000. Last year’s winner, British Columbia’s Aaron Willison, driving #14W, managed to podium again in 3rd place. The competition was absolutely fierce all night, and only 1.4 seconds separated the three top finishers. 

Another Spectacular Event

Davey Hamilton Jr. and his team, once again, did an amazing job of bringing together some top cars and drivers. They ensured a large, high-quality, adrenaline-filled event that, in some respects, was even better than last year. 

And while things didn’t go as well as the Utah teams had hoped, they battled furiously on the track, helped put on a great show, and had a blast doing it!

© RBairett, 2024