Ricky Weiss has scored four top-5 finishes at Vado
It’s hard not to get caught up in the domination by Longhorn Chassis during the Wild West Shootout being held this week at New Mexico’s Vado Speedway Park. That chassis brand not only has the competition outnumbered among those who would have been considered serious contenders before the start of the mini-series but has won each of the four features contested so far. Qualifying and heat races have also been dominated by the North Carolina-based race car builder.
However, there have been bright spots apart from Longhorn.
In particular, Sniper Chassis driver Ricky Weiss and Black Diamond Race Cars pilot Garrett Alberson have been competitive in each of the first four of the six scheduled WWS races.
Weiss has recorded finishes of 3rd, 5th, 4th and 5th respectively in those main events. The Headingly, Manitoba racer credits the hard work of his crew during the off season for his early season success.
“We were just kind of watching them and trying to learn a little bit,” the Canadian told FloRacing.com following his third-place effort last Saturday night. “It’s not really my style to go up and tear the fence down. We learned a lot tonight and I’m proud of my guys for working their butts off and getting this thing fast. I hope we can get a couple of spots better and keep thanking our sponsors.”
Weiss has been fast throughout the night during each show. He qualified third and fourth in his group on the first two nights then time-trialed seventh and tenth in the most recent two events. The No. 7w has been strong during heat races as well with three second places along with a third.
Garrett Alberson has three heat race wins at Vado
Alberson has also been impressive in these four races held on what would be considered his home track. The winner of a Wild West Shootout feature in 2022 has not necessarily threatened to win a main event but has started up front due to solid preliminary performances. He has won three heat races including on Friday night.
His heat race win and the redraw placed Alberson on the pole for the Friday feature. The No. 58 responded with a highly competitive third-place finish at the checkered flag. That effort followed three consecutive top-10 runs.
“It’s really awesome. After last year, you like, what do you expect?” Alberson asked rhetorically in his post-race interview. “You try not to get your hopes up but this field is so stout. It feels really cool to be right there kind of in sight of those guys. I think I kind of showed Bobby(Pierce) the line over there and he’s smart enough to run with it. I should have just made hay while I had it. I’m excited. It was a big step forward and at least we didn’t fall back too far. Starting on the pole is tough.”
Certainly, Longhorn drivers have been the story of the Wild West Shootout. At the same time, Ricky Weiss and Garrett Alberson have done their part to put themselves in the mix. With two races remaining, these drivers will be looking to break up the early season domination by the ‘Horns Up’ crowd.
Please consider also reading:
Bobby Pierce ends Davenport’s Wild West Shootout streak with Friday win
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