Rudeen Racing sweeps Skagit Speedway opener

ALGER — Rudeen Racing swept the top two divisions Saturday at Skagit Speedway’s season-opening night.

Travis Rutz held off former champion Barry Martinez to win the Outlaw 410 Sprints division main and Tayler Malsam recorded his first 360 division main victory.

Rutz slid past Martinez on lap 14 of the 25-lap 410 feature. Rutz and Martinez battled for the lead the rest of the way, while also holding off former World of Outlaws driver Jason Solwold and Seth Bergman.

Bergman finished second, Martinez was third, Jared Ridge came in fourth and Aaron Fell rounded out the top five.

Malsam, the other member of the Rudeen Racing team, passed returning veteran Alan Munn on lap nine en route to claiming his first Budweiser 360 Sprints division victory.

Munn and Brock Lemley battled for second toward the end of the race, with Munn getting past Lemley on the final corner to take the runner-up spot. Lemley was third, Brian Kirkpatrick finished fourth and Eddie Evans rounded out the top five.

Kelsey Carpenter passed Todd Rork for the lead on lap four of the sportsman sprint main, then held off Devin Madonia the rest of the way en route to the victory. Madonia was finished second, Jarrid Zimmerman was third, Rork came in fourth and Steve James was fifth.

The Wilson Auto Brokers Outlaw Hornets main event winner was Cory Swatzina, who got by Tyler Ketchum on lap 13 when Ketchum’s motor quit. It was Swatzina’s second victory in a row, going back to last season’s hornet nationals. Ben Gunderson was second, Rick Young third, Wendy Johnson finished fourth and Brett Paulk was fifth.

All four classes will return to the speedway next Saturday, with racing set to begin at 7 p.m. For more information or advance ticket sales for the Dirt Cup, 360 Nationals, or World of Outlaws, visit www.skagitspeedway.com

Skagit Speedway Results

Saturday, April 26 at Alger

Outlaw 410 Sprints

Fast Time – Travis Rutz 11.727

Heat 1 – Travis Rutz, Chris Schmelze, Colton Heath, Nick Enberg, Kevin Smith, Jason Bloodgood, Cam Smith

Heat 2 – Jared Ridge, Seth Bergman, Barry Martinez, Josh Dewitt, Jesse Whitney, Derek Holmwood

Heat 3 – Jason Solwold, Josh Edson, Steve Kilcup, Eric Fisher, Alec Covert, Aaron Fell

Main – Rutz, Bergman, Martinez, Ridge, Fell, Solwold, Schmelze, Heath, Edson, Enberg, Dewitt, Whitney, Bloodgood, Holmwood, Fisher, Kilcup, C.Smith, K.Smith, Covert

Budweiser 360 Sprints

Fast Time – Taylor Malsam – 12.278

Heat 1 – Danielle Huson, Tayler Malsam, Trevor Turnbull, Jason Cocking, Brian Kirkpatrick, Danny Kirkpatrick, Steve Parker, Mike Sather, Shane Broers

Heat 2 – Rod Perkins, Brock Lemley, Alan Munn, Michael Harris, Eddie Evans, Jason Solwold, Blake Cook, Mack Brown, Jay Follman

Main – Malsam, Munn, Lemley, B.Kirkpatrick, Evans, Cocking, Huson, Sather, Parker, Perkins, Cook, Broers, Brown, D.Kirkpatrick, Harris, Turnbull, Follman

Cook Road Shell Sportsman Sprints

Heat 1 – Kelsey Carpenter, Todd Rork, Kelleigh Johnson, Kyle Oman, Steve James, Wes Tyra, Dave Mead, Mark Richmond, Cale Brooke

Heat 2 – Marc Schutte, Jarrid Zimmerman, Devin Madonia, Ryan Nootenboom, Bill Rude, Paul Burdick, Devin Barnes

Main – Carpenter, Madonia, Zimmerman, Rork, James, Schutte, Oman, Glen Reinstra, Rude, Burdick, Barnes, Mead, Richmond, Brooke, Johnson, Tyra, Nootenboom

Wilson Auto Brokers Outlaw Hornets

Heat 1 – Tyler Ketchum, Ben Gunderson, Rick Young, Ken Higby, Freddy Vela, Jon Edwards, Dean Ruddle, Brett Paulk, Larry Kwik, Howard Vos

Heat 2 – Cory Swatzina, Karl Dahl, Ashley Lewellen, Scott Naylor, Wendy Johnson, Tom Warner, Bobby Collins, Alan Holtzheimer, Rhonda Eszlinger, Pascal Warner

Main – Swatzina, Gunderson, Young, Johnson, Paulk, Collins, Higby, Ruddle, Vos, Dahl, Vela, Lewellen, Ketchum, Naylor, Holtzheimer, Stacey Day, Kwik, Eszlinger, James Sims, T.Warner, James Bundy

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