The wait was well worth it for Chris Clyne.
Clyne, the son of Las Vegas Motor Speedway founder Richie Clyne, ended a nearly four-year winless draught by winning the 76-lap "Spirit of '76" in front of a sold-out Night of Fire crowd at The Bullring on Monday night. It was Clyne's first victory since Oct. 6, 2012, and his 11th career win at the short track.
"It's been four years since I won a race, and this is pretty special," said Clyne, who finished .808 of a second ahead of Dezel West for the win. "We were way off all day long, and I was texting different friends and telling them we'd be lucky to have a fifth-place car tonight. Everything went our way, and I've got to thank everybody involved."
The special night also included the track's first-ever Figure 8 Trailer Race, which was won by Wade Pearson, who earned $1,250. Bryce Wolfe also won a bonus for best-decorated trailer, while Dallas Simonette picked up the "Master of Disaster" check for causing the most damage. The one-of-a-kind evening was capped by one of the city's best fireworks shows, a fitting exclamation point on a great night.
Reigning NASCAR Bombers track champion Sam Jacks appeared to have earned his second win of the year in a wreck-filled 25-lap feature, but failed tech inspection following the race and was disqualified along with his brother, Kyle, who finished third. Second-place McMorran was deemed the official race winner, his 25th triumph at The Bullring.
McMorran added career win No. 24 to his resume after crossing the line 3.153 seconds ahead of Doug Hamm in the NASCAR Grand American Modifieds 30-lap feature. The two-time track champion was thrilled to finally earn his first Night of Fire triumph.
"I've won 20-something races here, and I'd never won on the Night of Fire, so it finally happened and I'm pretty stoked," McMorran said. "I was in Tucson two nights ago, so we've driven about 1,000 miles the last two days. I'd like to thank everybody at Vegas Made Racing, because we've put three cars together in about a week-and-a-half to make this weekend happen."
Matt Larsen became the first two-time winner in the NASCAR Super Stocks class this season after holding off a charging Court Connell by just .135 of a second. Larsen said the win was even better than his Night of Fire triumph from 2015.
"This one feels even better, because my boy (Camden) also won tonight," Larsen said. "I'd like to thank all my family and friends, and a bunch of them are here tonight."
Ian Anderson's return to The Bullring was a successful one, as the college student picked up his 30th career win by taking the USLCI Thunder Cars 20-lap feature. The two-time track champion was happy to get back at the track and knock the rust off on the special night.
"I don't know if anyone noticed, but I felt really, really rusty," Anderson said. "I haven't had that much time to race, sadly, and this actually might be one of my last races. The start was a little bit of a mess, but overall we negotiated it all pretty well."
Donny St. Ours exchanged the race lead with Bronson Butcher in the closing laps before taking the checkered flag .088 of a second ahead of Tyler Fabozzi in the USLCI Legends 25-lap race. It was his first Bullring win since April 2009.
"To win a race like this on a night like this and see everybody out here, it was awesome," St. Ours said. "I saw those guys in the mirror coming pretty hard there those last few laps, and it was crazy. I think they started racing hard behind me, and that gave me enough of a gap to get out there and take the win."
In the USLCI Bandolero Bandits division, Cody Kiemele won his third race of the season, while Camden Larsen joined his father in the Winner's Circle by earning his fifth USLCI Bandolero Outlaws victory in the last six races. Robert Smotherman returned to the Winner's Circle in the Skid Plate Cars division, winning his second feature of the season after taking the divisional title last year.
NEXT RACE: After a seven-week break to avoid the summer heat wave, action returns to The Bullring for Back to School Night on Saturday, Aug. 26. All area students, teachers and school personnel will be admitted free with their school IDs on the special evening.
Night of Fire
Complete results
USLCI Bandolero Bandits 12-lap feature
1. Cody Kiemele; 2. Amilleo Thomson (-1.809 seconds); 3. Sabastian Lafia (-2.105); 4. Braden Connor (-3.174); 5. Tuscan Nuccitelli (-4.263); 6. Landon Gresser (-4.773); 7. Owen Romzek (-1 lap); 8. Alexis Bjork (-2 laps); 9. Levi Johnson (-2 laps).
USLCI Bandolero Outlaws 12-lap feature
1. Camden Larsen; 2. R.J. Smotherman (-1.162 seconds); 3. Kaden Crouch (-3.095); 4. Matthew Cunningham (-1 lap); 5. Ethan Deguevara (-5 laps); 6. Tia Guy (-5 laps); 7. Jaron Giannini (-10 laps); 8. Cody Brown (-10 laps).
USLCI Thunder Cars 20-lap feature
1. Ian Anderson; 2. Ron Reed (-4.065 seconds); 3. Nick D'Egidio (-14.272); 4. Matt Cunningham (-1 lap); 5. Doug Germano (-1 lap); 6. Travis Boyle (-20 laps); 7. Darin Callaway (-20 laps); 8. Ed Hohman (-20 laps).
NASCAR Super Stocks 25-lap feature
1. Matt Larsen; 2. Court Connell (-.135 of a second); 3. Fred Kiser Jr. (-.606); 4. Mason Sargent (-2.290); 5. Dylin Smotherman (-3.061); 6. Johnny Spilotro (-4.116); 7. Scott Larsen (-7.721); 8. Jeremy Orozco (-3 laps); 9. Robert Negrete (-4 laps); 10. Vince Bianchi (-21 laps).
NASCAR Grand American Modifieds 30-lap feature
1. Aaron McMorran; 2. Doug Hamm (-3.153 seconds); 3. Cameron Morga (-8.840); 4. Pat Petrie (-13.336); 5. Brian Reed (-14.094); 6. Scott Osborne (-1 lap); 7. Tom Pfundstein (-1 lap).
NASCAR Bombers 25-lap feature
1. Aaron McMorran; 2. Adam Simon; 3. Anthony Mann; 4. Kirk Hance; 5. Nick Nuccitelli; 6. Jim Merlino; 7. Mark Skinner; 8. Scott Bradbury; 9. Billy Grasser; 10. Zachery Nicholls; 11. Anthony Riegert; 12. Scott Crane; 13. Carl Duryee; 14. Martin Sullins; 15. Bradley Thompson; 16. Gary Griffiths Jr.; 17. Robert Schumacher; 18. Cody Maserang; 19. Sam Jacks (DQ); 20. Kyle Jacks (DQ).
USLCI Legends 25-lap feature
1. Donny St. Ours; 2. Tyler Fabozzi (-.088 of a second); 3. Bronson Butcher (-.314); 4. Michael Todd Glazier (-3.037); 5. Ricky Schlick (-3.541); 6. T.J. Clark (-4.841); 7. Devin Lane (-6.884); 8. Brian Williams (-7.759); 9. Gary Scheurell (-8.824); 10. Dylan Fabozzi (-11.639); 11. Michael Anderson (-11.785); 12. Brian Lane (-16.634); 13. Matthew Cunningham (-1 lap); 14. Jason Cowie (-1 lap); 15. Donna Gunther (-1 lap); 16. Ray Hoffman (-3 laps); 17. Wayne Jacks (-19 laps).
NASCAR Super Late Models "Spirit of '76" 76-lap feature
1. Chris Clyne; 2. Dezel West (-.808 of a second); 3. Stan Mullis (-.964); 4. Brandon Farrington (-1.428); 5. Warren Knipper (-1.792); 6. Peyton Saxton (-2.973); 7. Steve Anderson (-3.464); 8. David Anderson (-4.032); 9. Tyler Fabozzi (-4.441); 10. Gary Clift (-4.778); 11. Charlie Pike (-6.359); 12. Kayli Barker (-17 laps); 13. Dennis Rock Jr. (-28 laps); 14. Scott Gafforini (-60 laps); 15. Justin Johnson (-63 laps).
Skid Plate Cars 15-lap feature
1. Robert Smotherman; 2. Racer X; 3. Billy Paddack Jr.; 4. James Brazzeal; 5. Cindy Clark; 6. Billy Paddack Sr.; 7. Jeff Bargerhuff; 8. Marcus Allen.
Figure 8 Trailer Race (10 laps)
1. Wade Pearson; 2. Dallas Simonette; 3. Bryce Wolfe; 4. Rob Leany.