Underclassmen Bring the Heat at 2017 Ultra4 Fallon 250 [Gallery]
The sun was barely waking up when the sound of 4600 Stock class engines broke the calm of the desert morning for the Ultra4 Fallon 250. Starting off at 6 a.m., 11 Stock class competitors lined up to battle it out over the same six laps as the big boys in the 4400 Unlimited class would later in the day. Starting an hour behind them to allow the Stock class to get some separation from the pack, the Ultra4 Legends and Modified class — mixed in with VORRA class featuring a pair of Class 10 trucks and a host of Group T cars and the 4900 UTV class — would begin to fill the air with sound and fury… and more than a little dust. Five of the 10 Stock class drivers completed all six laps in time, with all 10 completing at least one lap.
4600 Class
Michael Lee continues to show that talent and a well built, well prepped cars are always a danger, bringing the Savvy #4688 car across the line in first place. Veteran 4600 class driver and 2017 EMC class winner Ben Varozza brought home 2nd and locked up the West Championship. Nathan Creer powered it through for 3rd-place finish, rounding out the podium.
4800 Class
Back to back to back race winner Bailey Cole had the pole and was looking to make it four in a row. Already qualified for KOH in the 4400 class and already in possession of the 4800 Legends East Championship trophy, Bailey was looking to add a West Championship to his growing trophy collection. Anticipation was high. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not as high on Bailey. After an incredibly strong year, his luck took the day off and after only two laps, Bailey was out. This left the door wide open for Jason Bunch to take the wild West.
Jason charged hard in the desert all day long, laying down fast laps and moved from his 13th position starting spot, all the way up to a final finishing position of 4th. Will it be enough to win the West? As of this writing… we don’t know! Points from Fallon have not been posted yet on www.ultra4racing.com, so it’s too close to call.
That being said, only 29 points separated Jason and Bailey heading into this event. Jason finished all six laps and came home 4th, while Bailey finished two laps and came in 14th. While nothing is posted as of yet, we’re going to give some unofficial congratulations to Jason for (potentially) winning the West Series in the Legends class. (Writer’s note: If I’m wrong, I’ll owe Bailey a dinner as I don’t think he’s old enough to drink yet…)
The Legends class saw a new face on the top spot this event with Eric Brinker bringing home the victory in 4800s. James Hubbard finished 2nd, with hard battling brothers Kyle and Jade Wickham tuning up for Nationals and delivering a hard fought 3rd-place finish, only three minutes behind James. As to the question of which of the Underclassmen classes is fastest? On this day, it was the warriors in the 4500 Modified class.
4500 Class
Killer driver and all-around great guy Jordan Pellegrino sent another warning shot to the field that he’s due for an EMC victory in February by taking 1st place in the 4500 class. Jordan won the class by over 26 minutes and beat the Legends class winner by 10 minutes. Dustyn Friesen and Shawn Rants mixed it up hard, coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively, and separated by only two and a half minutes after 250 miles of racing. With the strong podium finish, West Series points leader Shawn Rants locked up the West Championship and will add more hardware to his collection at the awards banquet in Reno.
There's a whole lot more where that came from... See more Underclassmen in action in the photo gallery at the top!
The Fallon 250 was a dusty, hot and long day that ended in smiles, high fives and tired bodies that can’t wait for Nationals. Up next is the last race of the season, the Nitto National Championship Series Finale in Reno, Nevada, at the Wild West Motorsports Park. An incredibly spectator friendly venue close to Reno, the Ultra4 Nationals never disappoint. If you haven’t attended an Ultra4 event, this is a great place to start. It’ll get you hooked for the 2018 King of The Hammers. Promise.
If you missed any of the Ultra4 season series action, be sure to tune into NBC Sports Network on Thursday nights for the “Journey to the Hammers” series.
