Jake Pike claims second straight Pahrump Valley Speedway victory

With the checkered flag waving on another exciting night of close racing action Saturday at Pahrump Valley Speedway, 14-year-old Jake Pike picked up his second consecutive Modified feature event.

Pike, who started the feature on the outside of row 2 after winning the heat race, managed to get the lead early and never looked back. Justin Miller, Rick Durica, Brad Hopkins, Shaun Moore and Mike Wells also were in contention.

RJ Smotherman picked up another win in the Mini Stock division, outrunning Aiden Murphy and Haylee Little to claim the top spot. Ryan Howard, Courtney Murphy and Remmington Nicosia finished fourth through sixth, respectively.

Robert Smotherman was victorious again in the Coupe division, beating Allen Lokey, Chris Hansen, Michael Decroff and Natasha Pooler to the checkered flag.

Derek Rosse brought home the hardware in the Dwarf division after outrunning Scott Halloway and Ritchie Abbot to the podium. Mark Hammill, Jeremiah Tatum and Ryan Parker rounded out the field.

A new face celebrated in Victory Lane in the Bomber division, which was won by Michael Rifler. Rifler, who is always a strong competitor at the track, managed to get it done by besting Anthony Mann, Arlie Daniel, Gary Wyatt and Steve Dinerstein.

Dominant Hobby Stock driver Jared Ward finally was handed his first loss in the division in quite some time, and Jeff Murphy was the man to take him down. Murphy, who started the feature inside of row 2, took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back. After a late caution forced the field back together, it looked as if Jared Ward had the break he needed, starting the restart right behind Murphy, but it was too late. The crowd erupted in cheers as Murphy pulled into Victory Lane. Ward managed to settle into second place, followed by Doug Murphy and Aaron Smith.

Brady Gladd dominated the Sport Mod feature event, outracing Clifton King in a fierce battle to the line. Scott Brady, Tyler Murphy, Joel Dean, Rafael Flores, Alex Murphy and Nick Heilman also competed in the feature.

Dan Snowden was victorious in the Super Stock division, even after having car trouble about halfway into the main event. Snowden outraced Dale Daffer, Donald Curtis, Brandon Madan and Franklin Madan.

Racing returns to Pahrump Valley Speedway at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1. Gates open at 6 p.m. For more information, visit the Pahrump Valley Speedway Facebook page or pahrumpvalleyspeedway.weebly.com