FALLON - Temperatures close to the century mark greeted fans at Rattlesnake Raceway on Saturday. And the air temperature was as hot as some of the racing would be on the oval.

It was a long show due to problems that delayed the start for about an hour. When the dust settled on the IMCA feature, a returning veteran showed he's still the one to beat.

"That was good, the track was pretty slick, a little bit rough but everything just came together," Gene Kay said after winning the race. "I was just figuring out the other guys and waiting for them to make a mistake. When they did, I just drove by."

Unlike previous IMCA features this one wasn't a wreck fest and only one caution, for debris, slowed the field. First on point was Don Childs while behind him Kay was using the outside line as he charged toward the front.

After the caution Kay used an outside move to claim the lead and roar off the victory. Behind him Childs and Shawn Natenstedt engaged in a many lap duel for second.

With about five to go Natenstedt took second but was out of time so had to settle for the runner up spot ahead of third-place Childs.

When the Pro Stock feature began Chris Coclich grabbed the lead while Jesse Gonzalez took to the high line and was moving toward the front. Just a few laps later Coclich spun out of the lead and had to sit there while the field narrowly missed his car.

Gonzalez was untouchable from that point but he was careful when passing people. Behind him Josh Ogg and Gary Nevers were disputing second place.

Seconds after Gonzalez took the checkered flag Nevers claimed second place by a nose over Ogg at the line.

The 360 Sprint Car class has the making of a high school rivalry as a Adam Walters from North Valleys and Spanish Springs freshman Dalton Smith are two of the division's fastest drivers.

Unfortunately Smith's car has suffered from motor problems over the past few weeks and this night was no exception. Things were just the opposite for Walters as he took off and dominated the race.

But it wasn't easy as it appeared, as Walters had to adjust his car during the race.

"Towards the beginning of the race it felt a little bit loose so I wanted to move the wing back and tighten up the car a bit," he said. "Then the car started getting a little bit tight towards the end so I moved the wing forward but it was hooked up the whole time and working good. I also need to thank A-1 Auto Body and Slayer Graphics for their support."

As usual the Hobby Stock feature had the largest field of the night and the wildest finish. It took three attempts to get the race going but the result was the same as Rusty Baglin, driving his injured brother's car, led the charge.

Further back Chris Neal, a former division champion and handicapped racer, was moving forward and soon had Baglin in his sights.

The race was slowed by a caution for debris and later Baglin made a mistake that spun him out of the lead and handed the point to Neal.

Three laps from the end there was a final caution that set the stage for a dramatic finish. Neal led the charge until the final corner when Mike Carpenter made a last ditch dive into Turn 4 to try and win the race.

The resulting contact put Neal into the front straight wall - fortunately he wasn't injured - and set off a wild scramble. Dean Clark found an opening and reached the finish first head of Brian Moore and Richard Italiano, who was sent onto the infield and over a berm where essentially he flew into third place.

In the end Carpenter earned the ire of the official was disqualified for rough driving. However due to the scramble all the results are provisional and will be under review at the track's board meeting this week.

Duncan Lee was the Rat Mod victory in a race of attrition while the Bomber feature had an interesting look.

During the heat race Alex Pettit's car began to lose its roof so he took it off, giving the car the look of a vintage NASCAR convertible racer. So during the race the battle for the win was between winner Chris Jimenez, in his "tow truck," being chased by eventual runner up Pettit's topless racer.

First on point when the GenX race began was Devan Oberman then Justin Schilling grabbed the lead. Soon after that Shawn Hartzell, also known as Mr. Rabbit for the car he races, took the lead.

After laps of pressure a delighted Hartzell, who is a rookie, scored his first feature win.

"It was a lot of work as I was just trying to keep track of everything going on at the same time," he said. "I also need to thank Edgington Motors, Mad Metal Guys, Robert Pope, CMC Fabrication and Bruce's Mufflers for their support."

The Mod Minis put on their usual display of high speed racing as they little cars get up and go on the oval. Scott Hammond was the first leader but thing quickly slowed when he hit the outside wall on the backstretch.

Once that car was towed away racing resumed in earnest with Dennis Crook holding the lead. While his brother Stephen tried to challenge his car was plagued with a problem that slowed it occasionally.

Eventually leader Crook extended his advantage but got a fright going to through the final corner on his way to the checkered when he came across the sideways car of Zack Barchi but managed to just miss him.

"It was basically 'stomp on the gas and hope to heck he doesn't hit me, because I was making it to the checkered flag no matter what." Crook said later.

Back in the pits, after calming down from that last second scare, he said, "It was exciting as I knew those guys were back there. So I was running the line that would be the hardest for anybody to pass and tried to stay out of the holes so my car didn't bounce up the track."

One special guest at Fallon on Saturday was Chad Christiansen, back home after being burned in a crash three weeks ago at Lovelock. He's got a way to go but the news was good about his recovery and people are still donating money to help the family with their medical bills.

OTHER RACING NEWS

•This week the action moves to the Lovelock Speedway that hosts a two-day show highlighting the town's annual Frontier Days celebration. And the oval will have a very different look as the Nile Valley Racing Association has brought in about 90 trucks loads of clay for the racing surface.

The action begins at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It's a double points night for the 360 sprint cars on Friday plus two classes, I believe IMCA and Hobby Stocks, have additional purse money.

Saturday's show has additional purse money for the Pro Stocks and the Outlaw Karts race on both days while the Dwarf Cars Sport Mods race only on Saturday.

•Brendan Gaughan was the only Nevadan competing in the upper leagues of NASCAR this weekend. In Saturday night's Nationwide event at Gateway Speedway he qualified fourth but ended up 17th.

RESULTS

•Rattlesnake Raceway - July 17

IMCA Modifieds:

Heat Winners - #1 Shawn Natenstedt, #2 Gene Kay

Main

Pro Stocks:

Heat Winners - #1 Jesse Gonzalez, #2 Steve McKellip

Main (25 Laps) - 1. Jesse Gonzalez, 2. Gary Nevers, 3. Josh Ogg, 4. Steve McKellip, 5. Larry Oliveria

Hobby Stocks:**

Heat Winners - #1 unlisted, #2 Jeff Wilson, #3 Steve McGee

Main (30 Laps) - 1. Dean Clark, 2. Brian Moore, 3. Richard Italiano, 4. Dwight Bolton, 5. Steve McGee

Bombers:

Heat Winner - Brandon Thunder

Main (20 Laps) - 1. Chris Jimenez, 2. Alex Pettit, 3. Bryan Kaster, 4. Annette Rinehart, 5. Michael Zolyniak

360 Sprint Cars:

Heat Winner - Tony Taylor

Main (20 Laps) - 1. Adam Walters, 2. Tony Taylor, 3. Jeff Macedo, 4. Mike White, 5. Bob Cooney

Rat Mods:

Heat Winner - Duncan Lee

Main (20 Laps) - 1. Duncan Lee, #2 Sean Renfro, #3 Barry Napps, 4. Steve Young

Mod Minis:

Heat Winner - Will Ritchey

Main (20 Laps) - 1. Dennis Crook, 2. Will Ritchey, 3. Stephen Crook, 4. Justin McLLvain, 5. Justin Busch

GenX:

Heat Winners - #1 Shawn Hartzell, #2 Steve Foster

Main (25 Laps) - 1. Shawn Hartzell, #2 Cody Thunder, 3. John Schilling, 4. Aaron Benham, 5. Jesse James

** - Hobby Stock finish was ruled unofficial and the final results will be subject to revision when the track's board meets this week.