RIVER RUNS WILD; MERRILL WINS FIRST AT MAGIC VALLEY
Twin Falls, Idaho (August 12, 2023)………Just less than two months after her sister’s first career USAC Rocky Mountain Radical Focus Midget feature victory, River Merrill did just the same on Saturday night at Twin Falls, Idaho’s Magic Valley Speedway.
The Salt Lake City, Utah racer charged into the lead by passing point leader Devin Westover on lap seven of the feature of the 20-lap feature before narrowly defeating fast qualifier A.J. Luttmer (West Jordan, Utah) by a half car length with River just 0.060 sec. ahead at the finish line in the closest series finish of the season.
River’s winning performance came after younger sister Cheyenne Merrill scored a victory at the same at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway on June 17 of this year. Cheyenne did not compete in Saturday’s feature due to mechanical troubles.
In doing so, the Merrill sisters became just the second pair of sisters to win in the 68-year history of USAC competition. Toni and Annie Breidinger are the only other sisters to accomplish the feat.
William Ginn (Twin Falls, Idaho) grabbed a third-place feature finish in his first series start of the season after also winning his heat race. Aiden Parker (Salt Lake City, Utah) took fourth while Devin Westover (Saratoga Springs, Utah) rounded out the top-five after leading the initial six laps of the feature.
Westover maintains a 23-point lead in the season championship standings over Luttmer.
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USAC ROCKY MOUNTAIN RADICAL FOCUS MIDGET RESULTS: August 12, 2023 – Magic Valley Speedway – Twin Falls, Idaho
QUALIFYING: 1. A.J. Luttmer, 31, Groat-14.185; 2. River Merrill, 9, Merrill-14.231; 3. William Ginn, 14, Groat-14.239; 4. Devin Westover, 13, Groat-14.292; 5. Cheyenne Merrill, 8, Merrill-14.324; 6. Aiden Parker, 30, Parker-14.500; 7. Nick Escobedo, 05, Escobedo-14.562.
FIRST HEAT: (7 laps) 1. Devin Westover, 2. River Merrill, 3. Aiden Parker. NT
SECOND HEAT: (7 laps) 1. William Ginn, 2. A.J. Luttmer, 3. Cheyenne Merrill, 4. Nick Escobedo. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. River Merrill, 2. A.J. Luttmer, 3. William Ginn, 4. Aiden Parker, 5. Devin Westover. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Devin Westover, Laps 7-20 River Merrill.
USAC ROCKY MOUNTAIN RADICAL FOCUS MIDGET POINTS: 1-Devin Westover-774, 2-A.J. Luttmer-751, 3-River Merrill-730, 4-Cheyenne Merrill-506, 5-Anthony Quintana-434, 6-Nick Escobedo-262, 7-Aiden Parker-235, 8-Ashlyn Powell-135, 9-Keith Davidson-117, 10-Chuck Groat-69.
NEXT USAC ROCKY MOUNTAIN RADICAL FOCUS MIDGET RACE: September 9, 2023 – Magic Valley Speedway – Twin Falls, Idaho