BUZZ SODEMAN The Buzzman HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Joe Rogers Jr. won the feature in the Mini-Stock Nationals Saturday night at the Pahrump Valley Speedway. Advertisement

In what track announcer Ray Elam called, "their Superbowl," the mini stocks made the most of their time in the limelight.

The feature had all the tension of a seventh game of a championship series without all the hype; it was a race within a race.

Twenty-five mini stocks took to the track for the main event with a Nationals title and track championship on the line.

"Rapid Rick" VanBuytene, who has held the lofty position of first in points throughout the season, came into the final a mere two points out of first place based on heat results.

With 24 laps gone in the 30-lap feature, VanBuytene saw his chances for becoming a champion in two divisions within the same season evaporate following a four- car pileup exiting turn two.

Ironically, one of the other drivers involved in the incident was the new points leader, Rick Gast. Gast and VanBuytene locked bumpers and in an amazing display of sportsmanship, Gast, who could have taken VanBuytene out, wrecked into John Burch Jr. and Tony Martin.

Martin walked away from what could have proven a serious flip, especially when you consider that he pilots a pickup.

Despite severe damage to the front of his car, Gast was able to continue as VanBuytene was unceremoniously towed off the track to a chorus of appreciative applause, hardly the exit a championship contender had envisioned.

Gast finished in fourth place. Once the championship had been decided, it was up to the other racers to decide who would wear the crown, "mini national champion."

Several drivers had the opportunity to stake their claim.

Eric Slusher saw a huge lead go by the wayside when he experienced a mechanical breakdown following a yellow flag halfway through the race.

Burch Jr. led some laps before the accident that took him out. It would come down to a couple of drivers who started deep in the pack to battle for the title.

Joe Rogers Jr. and the crowd favorite, Terri Little, used patience and yellow flags to their advantage and soon found themselves discussing what would be a great battle when the red flag was displayed for the Martin aerial show. The six-lap shoot-out found Rogers capturing the checkered flag, with Little in hot pursuit to take second.

Frankie England gave Little all that she could handle, but settled for third on the podium. While the results here are considered "unofficial," it appeared to this writer that Chad Broadhead and Keith Young rounded out positions five and six.

Heat winners were Little, Gast and Burch Jr.

If action in the super stock division was any indication of what spectators can expect during the Shoot Out Nov.10-11, it will be wild and furious.

The heat races held few surprises, with VanBuytene taking heat one and Frank Bridwell winning the second. What was surprising was the effort exhibited by Milo Petaros to finish a comparatively close second to Bridwell.

If Bridwell set the bar at the last race, "Flyin' Bryan" Wulfenstein raised it a couple of degrees. The youngster, who spends the week going to classes at Dixie College, brought out a new body and a freshened powerplant.

He withstood several challenges from the formidable Bridwell to record his second feature win this season, his first in racing.

Dan Snowden rounded out the top three, followed by VanBuytene and Petaros. Three more drivers were checking out the racing surface, obviously preparing for the Shoot Out, Steve Taylor, Jim McCoy, and Dee Ray Bruce.

With the Shoot Out taking place during the afternoon, I expect track conditions to be totally different than what they experienced Saturday evening.

In other action, Pro-4 track champion Marty McLaughlin proved that he could win with his 4-cylinder, as well as with his old 6- cylinder, sweeping the heat and the feature.

Terri Little made the feature a challenge for McLaughlin, but settled for second, perhaps an omen for later in the evening. Cory Little rounded out the top three, driving a borrowed ride (Terry Crawford) after his mount suffered a fatal mechanical breakdown last race.

Teenagers aspiring to earn their driving licenses should be required to participate in what has become a popular class at the track -- the bombers.

They listen to "heavy metal" ... maybe they should sit behind the wheel of Detroit's heavy metal. If there is any doubt about the popularity of this class, consider that two drivers made the trek down from Utah to run their behemoths.

Bill Delahunte and Phil Goodwin claimed heat wins. Goodwin was deprived of a sweep by the smallest of margins, perhaps nothing more than the depth of the chrome coating of a front bumper.

The Bomber feature came down to a door handle-to-door handle, tradin' paint finish that found Wade Pearson edging out Goodwin. Early leader Vinny Raucci settled for third, obviously enjoying the action that was taking place ahead of him.

The Sharron family brought out their micro sprints and as usual, Eddie Sharron was the class of the field, sweeping the heat and the feature. Eddie runs a larger engine and always starts at the back of the pack.

He usually laps almost the entire field. Pahrump's Bobby Clark had a feature that could be best described as a "yahoo run." Several times as he exited turn four, he was on the two right wheels.

His banzai run ended with overheated brake pads that were aglow around the quarter-mile oval. With Clark's night over, second place fell into the lap of Errol Sharron. Erin Sharron took third.

The other diminutive race division, the dwarf cars, were on hand. These road rockets produce exceptionally high speeds with their 1200-cc motorcycle engines.

Ryan Cotrell not only was the star of the show but also brought along a broom, sweeping the heat and the feature.

Ryan upstaged his older sister, Renee, in the feature and relegated her to the runner-up position. It was a wild main event that found Pahrumpian Bobby Meek leaving via the hook after contact with another driver in turn three.

Justin Kimsey and Mark Dillie became involved in an incident, which almost sent Dillie cartwheeling out of turn two.

The subsequent restart saw Renee Cotrell rear-ending Mark Ramey, thus ending what appeared to be a sure second-place finish. Ramey left the same way Meek did, allowing Dillie to round out the podium.

Also on hand was IMCA Western Region Champion Dan Fitzgerald. He was working out the bugs on his BMS chassis Modified prior to competing at the Duel in the Desert.