BUZZ SODEMAN The Buzzman HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Jason Pike earned his 100th IMCA modified feature victory Saturday at the Pahrump Valley Speedway. Advertisement

A smaller than usual crowd, probably due to the onset of the Fall chill, witnessed history being made at the Pahrump Valley Speedway Saturday night.

As most of you know, the premier division of racing at the Speedway is the IMCA modifieds, a class that combines speed with the ability to negotiate what essentially is a three-wheeled missile around the dirt oval.

"Racin' Jason" Pike has been piloting one of these volatile projectiles for 14 years against some of the best IMCA drivers on the West Coast and Southwest.

With this level of competition, winning 100 feature events is a major accomplishment. Saturday, Pike reached that enviable plateau, and while feature wins 98 and 99 might have been easier than most, win No. 100 certainly wasn't a "romp through the rose garden."

Indications of a "fast track" were realized during the heat race and Levi Kiefer made a statement by winning, as he and Pike provided some of the best side-by-side racing ever seen at the Speedway --plus they raced "clean."

With the ground rules established, anticipation was running high. The intensity was as thick as a "testosterone convention on steroids." Kiefer was determined that No. 100 "wouldn't be on his watch." Rounding out the podium was Leland Hibdon, who was instrumental in setting up Kiefer's' BMS chassis.

The feature played out like a championship chess match, Pike stalking Kiefer's tailgate waiting for an opportunity to make a pass.

That opportunity came when Kiefer made a bobble exiting turn two, then a drag race down the backstretch. Pike dove low into three and four while Kiefer was relegated to the high groove. A drag race ensued to the flagstand with Pike making what would turn out to be a historic pass.

As the other competitors began to fall off the pace, it became a "two horse race." Kiefer would settle for second, with rookie Fred White surviving for third.

The jubilant Pike, in true NASCAR style, lit up the infield with a series of donuts as a 100^th feature banner and a bottle of champagne awaited at the flagstand. During the driver's meeting, Jason and I, as well as, Rick VanBuytene joked that the recliner was getting closer.

Congratulations, Jason ... you have joined an elite group, drivers with 100 feature wins.

In other action, current points leader Rick VanBuytene, who took the first heat (by an entire straightaway) and then settled for second in the feature, extended a gauntlet in the super stock division.

"Rapid Rick" had his chariot tuned and ready for the "Super Stock Shoot-out" but was bested by first time feature winner, Daniel Katzer. Katzer was piloting the same car that Frank Bridwell had wheeled into victory circle on Aug. 26. "Flyin' Bryan" Wulfenstein rounded out the top three. The other heat winner was "newly wed" Stacy Stinson, who started on the pole, led flag-to-flag and also carried a straightaway lead to victory.

The Cory Little "freight train," which suffered a slight derailment (in an attempt for a feature 3-peat) at the last race swept the Pro-4 class.

In an ironic twist, Cory and his wife, Terri started next to each other, on the front row in the heat. Eventual Pro-4 track champion Marty Mclaugh finished second in the main. Eric Sheinberg claimed third as Terri Little again suffered a mechanical detonation, ending her evening early.

The quest for the title in this division would certainly be much closer if Cory had appeared in the same amount of races as Mclaugh.

It's a family affair in the Nevada cam coupes. On one hand, there are the Stringers (father Sam and son, Steve), and on the other hand are the Clark and Grey tandem (stepfather Bob and stepson, Mike). The "elders" proved that track savvy cancels out youthful exuberance as the heat and feature each ended in exactly the same order -- Sam Stringer sweeping the division, followed by Bob Clark and the podium being filled by Brett Iverson. Steve Stringer and his dad had a spirited battle in the heat before the "old man ruled."

Twenty mini stocks raced for the right of calling themselves a feature winner, and after the dust had cleared, it was Frankie England prevailing over Joe Rogers Jr., and Keith Young.

It wasn't, however, as cut and dried as I have made it sound. It was as spirited a race as was the IMCA battle. England and Rogers both fought their way from mid pack for the right to race door handle-to-door handle.

Rogers negotiated the turns better and England was his equal on the straight-aways.

The margin of victory appeared to be by less than a yardstick. Kudos extended to both for a clean but hard fought battle. Heat winners were Terri Little (apparently the fuel pump problem has been rectified -- she went from last to first before turn two), John Burch Sr., Bubba Ray, and Tom Buckwater, who duplicated the same move made by Little in the first heat.

Austin Kiefer bested the next generation of the Wulfenstein clan, Brad Wulfenstein, in the outlaw karts. Obviously, the racing gene is very dominant within the Wulfenstein DNA chain, can we say "dynasty?"

Corrections and updates commonly referred to as eating crow.

In the race article, which ran in last Friday's paper, the caption under Bob Clark's picture had him leading the Pro-4 division. The article itself was correct; Bob Clark is leading the Nevada cam coupe division. I can honestly say that this error can be directly attributed to a "senior moment."

According to the information that I was privy to, I was led to believe that Las Vegan Dan Fitzgerald was the IMCA national champion -- not true.

This is the statement that Fitzgerald issued on his Website. "I'm bummed to report that our 27-win (to date) and possible three-track championship season won't measure up under the new car-count enhanced bonus point structure this season. Under the old bonus system we would be sitting pretty, however this season we won't measure up. A Wisconsin driver with 11 wins and 2 track titles will have us covered as his 40 or so car count average will more than make up the difference once bonus points are added in."

Negotiations for extending the three-day "Duel in the Desert" to a fourth day here in Pahrump have faded into the sunset. With no guarantee of $5,000 to win, regardless of car count, chances of drawing the cornucopia of track champions and ex-National champions to the Pahrump Valley Speedway is nil.

Lastly, with IMCA points being accumulated until Saturday, it is very possible that Jason Pike not only earned his 100-feature win but also could have quite possibly vaulted himself into another track championship.

Racing resumes in two weeks with the celebration of the Fall Festival; on tap for the Fall Classic are all classes plus vintage Sprints and Midgets.