Ward, Wyatt, King maintain Pahrump Valley Speedway points leads

Gary Wyatt and Jared Ward extended their points lead in their divisions with victories June 23 at Pahrump Valley Speedway.

Wyatt took a 12-point lead over Arlie Daniel into the night, and his first-place finish in the Bomber class combined with Daniel’s third-place showing gave him a little more breathing room. Michael Reaper, who placed second, was not among the top 10 in points, while Steve Dinerstein, who finished fourth, maintained his hold on third place.

The top three Bomber drivers are well ahead of the rest of the division.

As for Ward, he will take an expanded lead into the next night of racing. He was 53 points ahead of Aaron Smith and more than 100 points ahead of the rest of the Hobby Stock division, and while he finished first, sixth-place driver Robert Gannon took second and Doug Murphy, who started the night in 13th place, finished third.

Clifton King and Scott Brady went into the night locked in a tight battle atop the Sport Mod division, with Brady Gladd and Alex Murphy close behind. King and Brady helped themselves by placing first and second, respectively.

Jason Pike’s third-place showing in the Modifieds was enough to enlarge his lead. Austin Kiefer won his second consecutive feature in the division and will move up from 13th place, but he started the night 252 points behind Pike. Second-place finisher Rick Durica was tied for 10th going in.

Pike’s son, Jake, finished well back in ninth, but he was solidly in second, only 13 points behind his father, and will go into this Saturday’s racing program in the same position.

Derek Rosse helped himself in a big way in the Dwarf division. He had trailed Evan Moentenich by 20 points but he won the June 23 race while Moentenich finished fifth.

R.J. Smotherman’s win in Mini Stocks helped his position in the standings. He went into the evening tied for third, 97 points behind leader Aiden Murphy. He won’t gain too much ground on Murphy, who finished second, but he will gain ground on second-place Haylee Little, who finished fourth.

Natasha Pooler will hold on to her lead in the Coupe division after finishing second, one spot ahead of Michael DeCroft, who is also right behind Pooler in the season standings.

The next racing night will be Saturday, July 7, with racing starting at 7 p.m.