1/16/2022
Garrett Alberson inches to Wild West Shootout victory at Vado Speedway Park
Garrett Alberson and Roberts Motorsports hit the ground running during their season-opening Wild West Shootout at FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway park. (Mike Ruefer photo)
In fact, Alberson piloted the Ken & Beth Roberts-owned No. 58 Nutrien Ag Solutions / Roemer Machine & Welding / Mesilla Valley Transportation / Black Diamond Chassis / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model to his first-career Wild West Shootout victory on Wednesday.
Garrett’s first event win was worth $5,000.
“We’ve been trying for so long to get one of these (Wild West Shootout win), so to be able to get one of these in front of my hometown crowd… it just means more than I can begin to describe,” Alberson said. “The Roberts family and all of my great supporters are allowing me to live my dreams, and I could never begin to thank them enough for that.
“We honestly had a great car all week, and probably should’ve had more than one win, but we’ll take what we accomplished and get ready for Speedweeks.”
Taking part in the 16th annual Wild West Shootout in his home-state of New Mexico, Garrett Alberson visited Vado Speedway Park (Vado, New Mexico) on Saturday, January 8 to pilot the Roberts Motorsports No. 58 Late Model. With 31 Late Models entered, Garrett edged his way into the opening night feature with the fourth-and-final transfer spot in his heat race. Carrying a steady pace throughout the 40-lap affair, Alberson recorded a 16th-place outing.
For another $5,000-to-win A-Main on Sunday, January 9, Alberson topped the 34-car field in time trials before dashing to an eight-lap heat race win. After pacing the field early from the pole in the 40-lap feature, Garrett came up short in a late-race battle with Brandon Sheppard to place third. He followed Sheppard and Tyler Erb across the line with Mike Marlar and Jake Timm rounding out the Top-5.
For the third round of the Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly on Wednesday at Vado Speedway Park (Vado, NM), Garrett Alberson's 14.665-second lap in time trials earned him the fast time honors. Outdueling Jason Papich in his heat race, Alberson locked into the second-starting position for the 30-lap feature. After fading back to third early in the race, Garrett stayed within striking distance as polesitter Mike Marlar paced the field amid lapped-traffic. Sneaking from third-to-first on the final corner, Alberson soared to his first win of the season, which came ahead 0.101 seconds ahead of Mike Marlar, with Tyler Erb, Earl Pearson Jr., and Brandon Sheppard rounding out the Top-5. He claimed $5,000 for the late-race triumph.
On Friday, Garrett followed up the fastest time in his group with a heat race win. Slipping four spots in the 30-lap feature, Alberson recorded an eighth-place finish.
With $5,000 on the line again in Saturday night’s main event, Alberson’s second-place finish in his heat race positioned him eighth on the starting grid for the feature. Closing in on race-leader Mike Marlar late in the race, Garrett came 0.369 seconds short at the line in the 40-lapper to finish second. Earl Pearson Jr., Ricky Weiss, and Tyler Erb completed the Top-5 finishers.
To wrap up the 16th annual Wild West Shootout on Sunday, Garrett secured his spot into the $25,000-to-win finale with a second-place finish in his heat. Starting in fifth, Alberson ran in the top-five the majority of the race but was collected in a multi-car tangle in the final 10 circuits that resulted in an early exit. He was credited with a 15th-place finish.
