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Gallardo, Burton Storm to Victory on Armed Forces Day at Vado Speedway Park

VADO, N.M. (May 16, 2026) — Armed Forces Day brought exciting racing action to the Vado Speedway Park in Vado, New Mexico on Saturday night as track officials honored the men and women of the United States military with a thrilling night of USRA competition.

Fans packed the speedway to witness two strong divisions in action as the Edelbrock USRA Stock Cars and Mel Hambelton Ford USRA Modifieds delivered side-by-side racing and plenty of passing throughout the evening.

The Edelbrock USRA Stock Cars kicked off the feature racing action, and it was Jonathan Burton charging from the 12th starting position to capture an impressive victory. Burton sliced his way through the field in dominant fashion to secure the win over Justin Allen, who finished second. Loren East advanced from 10th to finish third while Matthew Machen drove from 14th to fourth. Justin Garrett rounded out the top five finishers.

The Mel Hambelton Ford USRA Modified feature proved to be one of the most exciting races of the night with passing throughout the entire 25-lap A-Main. Veteran standout Fito Gallardo powered his way to victory lane while his son, Jake Gallardo, stormed from the 10th starting spot to finish second and complete a memorable family one-two finish.

Carlos Ahumada Jr. crossed the line in third after starting eighth while Christy Barnett put together one of the biggest charges of the night, driving from 18th to fourth. Nick Rivera completed the top five finishers.

Vado Speedway Park will return to action during Memorial Day Weekend with a two-day racing special. Teams will have an opportunity to shake down on Thursday, May 21 with practice before racing action takes place Friday and Saturday, May 22-23.

For more information, follow Vado Speedway Park on Facebook or visit Vado Speedway Park.

MEL HAMBELTON FORD USRA MODIFIEDS A-MAIN

1. G17-Fito Gallardo[6];
2. J17-Jake Gallardo[10];
3. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[8];
4. 44-Christy Barnett[18];
5. 8N-Nick Rivera[2];
6. 11-Lucas Ward[16];
7. M16-Rocko Gallardo[3];
8. 85-Austin Adams[22];
9. 522-Kohl McCutcheon[15];
10. 12-Jay Rosales[5];
11. 24R-Rick Ortega[1];
12. 131-Royal Jones[13];
13. 49-Duane Murphy[21];
14. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[20];
15. 17-Peyton Gallardo[19];
16. 12S-Hunter Sandy[4];
17. 50-Robert Adams[7];
18. 5A-Ralph Adams Jr[17];
19. 18JR-Ricardo Olague Jr[14];
20. 37-John Neal Reid[11];
21. 9-Jimmy Ray[9];
22. 81-Devon Jobin[12];
23. 24-Diego Alvarado[23]

EDELBROCK USRA STOCK CARS A-MAIN

1. 00B-Jonathan Burton[12];
2. 25-Justin Allen[1];
3. 86-Loren East[10];
4. 26-Matthew Machen[14];
5. 7J-Justin Garrett[8];
6. 62-Nathan Machen[13];
7. 77-Dawnica Minks[6];
8. (DNF) UNO-Brian Kleine[3];
9. (DNF) 00-Shawn McCarty[4];
10. (DNF) 86S-Luis Salazar[15];
11. (DNF) 665-Francisco Knight[11];
12. (DNF) C7-Jose De La Fuente[7];
13. (DNF) 12-Jerrett Newton[5];
14. (DNF) 82-Sherman Barnett[9];
15. (DNS) 99-Angel Gonzalez;
16. (DQ) 74-Jason Josselyn[2]

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