The second half of the Thaw Brawl took place on Saturday night, March 26th at the LaSalle Speedway. All three classes that raced on Friday night were back in action with the Late Models again the main attraction supported by strong fields of both Modifieds and Street Stocks.
The Late Model field was increased by one car to forty four with only Roger Markham not returning from Friday night's field while new to the pits was Michigan driver Nick Kurtz along with local driver Mike Mataragas. The Modifieds had quite a bit of turnover with several not returning from Friday while a half dozen different drivers pulled into the pits and thirty three open wheel cars signed in. The Street Stocks had their best field of the weekend with two dozen on hand.
With all the talent on display, it turned out to be quite shocking when in both the Late Model and Modified classes, the winners turned out to be the same drivers who won on Friday. Namely, Brian Shirley and Mike Harrison while Quad Cities driver Rob Henry surprised the Street Stock field.
Shirley is making quite an early season statement for himself as it appears that a couple of years where he has struggled will be things of the past as with good equipment and a well funded operation, Brian seems to be on the way to a big season.
Jason Feger led the first forty nine laps of the race with Chris Simpson, Bobby Pierce, Frank Heckenast Jr and Shannon Babb along with Shirley close behind and jockeying furiously for position. Shirley eventually worked his way into second after starting seventh and then worked on Feger for a number of laps before he finally passed him for the lead. Feger then started to fade back into the field until he was forced to pit for a flat tire which pretty much spoiled what was a strong run for him to that point.
Pierce, who was quick qualifier for the second straight night, was again spectacular as he hammered his car off the big berm and pretty much tore the body off of it. Eventually he would have to pit too as he had a rear wheel fill with mud that put the car out of balance. Pierce then put on a show of his own as he tore his way back up through the field to the front. Calling him the "Smooth Operator" seems like a slight misnomer as he is spectacular and relentless but to call his moves through the pack smooth seems not a proper description.
The Illinois drivers as a group must be one of the toughest local delegations anywhere in the country and coming in and beating them at one of their local tracks is a big stretch. Jared Landers was making an impressive move as he started fourteenth and at the two thirds mark of the race seemed to be as fast as anyone. Then he got in a big battle with Pierce as they swapped tin and Landers ended up backwards in turn one. Opinion seemed divided whether Pierce may have given him an assist, but Landers pulled off after the lap sixty six spin.
Pierce made a frenzied charge after the last caution on lap sixty seven and he made things interesting as he nearly snuck by Shirley on the last corner of the event. Heckenast and Babb hung around to finish third and fourth and Rusty Schlenk made a strong drive to round out the top five. Cudos to local driver Rich Bell who finished a strong sixth. Only six drivers failed to finish the seventy five lap distance.
I also have to give a pat on the back to northern Minnesota driver Jeff Massingill. Driving in his first weekend ever of open motor racing, having rented a motor from J.R. Haley, he made the main event against what was a strong field of drivers on the first time he had seen the LaSalle track.
The Modifieds ran their main event after the Late Models had abused the track for seventy five laps and while Harrison was stalked by Jeff Leka for thirty laps, the track had gone one groove for the Modifieds on the bottom and as long as Harrison protected the bottom, Leka was not going to be able to drive around him. The Modifieds did a good job of negotiating the slick oval as they had only one yellow flag in their thirty laps finale.
Henry, who runs at Davenport and East Moline, did a nice job of working the outside line as he came from the fourth row to take the Street Stock feature event.
Saturday night the weather was much warmer than on Friday, and while you still had to dress for the conditions, it was much more tolerable. This no doubt helped the crowd which was huge, by the way. Tony Jr, interviewed after the Late Model main, stated that it was the biggest crowd he had hosted since he took over the track from the folks and certainly reinforced the fact that if a promoter is willing to go out on the limb and push the weather in the northern regions, the spectators will indeed turn out.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
LaSalle Overcomes Weather Obstacles
Friday, March 25th, night one of the Spring Thaw Brawl was held at the Izzo family's LaSalle Speedway. Despite some very resent nasty weather that knocked off some of the other weekend programs, LaSalle was able to get in their early Spring special. The parking lots and pits were soft and the track was heavy and rolled up into some serious berms but everyone adapted and compensated and a good sized crowd was on hand despite a night that got very brisk before the last checkered flag waved.
The classes were racing with the featured Late Models being sanctioned by ALMS, MARS, Corn Belt and UMP in a hodge-podge shared event that required there to be nearly as many provisionals as there were drivers that raced their way into the show!
A strong field of forty three Late Models signed in with an interesting variety of drivers on hand. As expected, many of the stout drivers from Illinois were on hand but there were also a number of Indiana and Michigan drivers on hand too. Then there were the surprise entrants like Tim McCreadie, Billy Moyer Jr, Jared Landers, Paul Wilmoth and Hunter Rasdon that gave the field a cosmopolitan look.
I was never a huge Brian Birkhofer fan(heresy uttered on an Iowa based site I suppose), and while I have long recognized his large skill set and acknowledged his many great wins, he was never one of my "special interests" drivers. So, for me, it was not a huge deal that he would be coming out of his self imposed retirement this weekend driving a car for Ricky Kay.
However, for many, it was a huge deal and there were a goodly number of people in the grandstands that rose to their feet to give him a welcome when he first hit the track and there were many cameras and phones focused on him as he rolled around the track for the first time. Many seemed particularly pleased they had retained his standard number and color scheme.
His return was far less than scintillating as he qualified poorly and started near the back of his heat race. Ten, fighting an ill handling car, he over corrected and drove himself hard into the front stretch wall, heavily damaging the car and ending his evening.
For me, the Midwestern debut of Ricky Thornton Jr in a Late Model was a much more significant occurrence. Thornton Jr, driving a car for Minnesota owner J.R. Haley, drove the LaSalle track like he had been a regular here for years, rather than someone who was getting eyes on the track for the first time ever. He started the evening by being quick qualifier in his group and then won heat race number one. He started on the pole and ran with the leaders for fifty laps, finally finishing third after Frankie Heckenast was D.Q.'d for being light.
The Haley car is good equipment but nothing that everyone else doesn't have either. Folks, the bottom line is that Thornton Jr is a great talent and not one that comes along too often. If Ricky plays his cards smart, he should be able to write his own "meal ticket" in whatever way he wants his race program to further itself.
The Late Model feature was an endurance affair as the heavy track and bumpy conditions took their toll on the field. Brian Shirley was the class of the field and once he got past Landers, he was in control of the event. Perhaps his two biggest challengers both went out of the event on the back of a wrecker. Shannon Babb was spectacular but when he took too much air he flipped in turn four while Bobby Pierce expelled a lot of smoke out of his car before the motor finally gasped its last.
Mike Harrison held off Ray Bollinger Jr. to beat a good field of Modifieds and Josh Frye came from eighth to win the Street Stock feature after several of the leaders expired.
This report was purposely written in a somewhat sketchy manner after press credential issues came into play with the management of LaSalle Speedway. They certainly have the right as a private party to deny press credentials at their whim, but when they only offer half way media access they only receive a half way report.
The classes were racing with the featured Late Models being sanctioned by ALMS, MARS, Corn Belt and UMP in a hodge-podge shared event that required there to be nearly as many provisionals as there were drivers that raced their way into the show!
A strong field of forty three Late Models signed in with an interesting variety of drivers on hand. As expected, many of the stout drivers from Illinois were on hand but there were also a number of Indiana and Michigan drivers on hand too. Then there were the surprise entrants like Tim McCreadie, Billy Moyer Jr, Jared Landers, Paul Wilmoth and Hunter Rasdon that gave the field a cosmopolitan look.
I was never a huge Brian Birkhofer fan(heresy uttered on an Iowa based site I suppose), and while I have long recognized his large skill set and acknowledged his many great wins, he was never one of my "special interests" drivers. So, for me, it was not a huge deal that he would be coming out of his self imposed retirement this weekend driving a car for Ricky Kay.
However, for many, it was a huge deal and there were a goodly number of people in the grandstands that rose to their feet to give him a welcome when he first hit the track and there were many cameras and phones focused on him as he rolled around the track for the first time. Many seemed particularly pleased they had retained his standard number and color scheme.
His return was far less than scintillating as he qualified poorly and started near the back of his heat race. Ten, fighting an ill handling car, he over corrected and drove himself hard into the front stretch wall, heavily damaging the car and ending his evening.
For me, the Midwestern debut of Ricky Thornton Jr in a Late Model was a much more significant occurrence. Thornton Jr, driving a car for Minnesota owner J.R. Haley, drove the LaSalle track like he had been a regular here for years, rather than someone who was getting eyes on the track for the first time ever. He started the evening by being quick qualifier in his group and then won heat race number one. He started on the pole and ran with the leaders for fifty laps, finally finishing third after Frankie Heckenast was D.Q.'d for being light.
The Haley car is good equipment but nothing that everyone else doesn't have either. Folks, the bottom line is that Thornton Jr is a great talent and not one that comes along too often. If Ricky plays his cards smart, he should be able to write his own "meal ticket" in whatever way he wants his race program to further itself.
The Late Model feature was an endurance affair as the heavy track and bumpy conditions took their toll on the field. Brian Shirley was the class of the field and once he got past Landers, he was in control of the event. Perhaps his two biggest challengers both went out of the event on the back of a wrecker. Shannon Babb was spectacular but when he took too much air he flipped in turn four while Bobby Pierce expelled a lot of smoke out of his car before the motor finally gasped its last.
Mike Harrison held off Ray Bollinger Jr. to beat a good field of Modifieds and Josh Frye came from eighth to win the Street Stock feature after several of the leaders expired.
This report was purposely written in a somewhat sketchy manner after press credential issues came into play with the management of LaSalle Speedway. They certainly have the right as a private party to deny press credentials at their whim, but when they only offer half way media access they only receive a half way report.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
I Hear the Train A Comin'
When most race tracks over the Midwest postponed or canceled their events for Saturday, March 19th, the Humboldt Speedway and USMTS flew in the face of that and ran off their scheduled MSD Central Region opener at the Southeast Kansas oval. And it was a cool night for racing in March, no doubt about that. In fact, reinsert COLD for cool as it was down right miserable with the stiff breezes making the temperatures feel even cooler. But the racers proveiled and the hearty fans saw a racing program marked by a strong field of Modifieds and B Mods along with USRA Stock Cars and the local Pure Stocks.
Humboldt is well known for completing race programs in some pretty harsh conditions and the USMTS the same also. Many times I think Todd Staley runs off shows in marginal conditions like this just as a reward for his traveling drivers who come out and support him. The worst thing the race teams can have happen to them is to tow a long distance and then not get to race, so he usually tries if at all possible to reward them with a show even when he knows its not going to be an overwhelming success at the front gate. In fact, it was so miserable on Friday night that even Staley and Humboldt threw in the towel on that show, thus making it even more important that they try and get Saturday's event in the books.
A solid field of thirty nine USMTS Modifieds was on hand for the show, but there was no question that there would have been a number more if the Friday portion of the weekend had not been cancelled. Even so, most of the big names of the series were on hand with a solid contingent of area and regional racers and even on such a poor weather weekend, there were still cars on hand from as far away as North Dakota.
An interesting addition to the field was IMCA star Hunter Marriott, making his first USMTS start since 2012. I think the win by Mike Hanson last week with his crate motor against the big and powerful USMTS spec engines has opened up a lot of people's eyes, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more drivers that are not regular runners show up for USMTS events. After all, USMTS pays good money and if a driver is able to just bolt on a bigger spoiler and run this series, why not give it a try? This could make for some interesting racing as the summer progresses and especially when the tracks start to really slick off. Some new rivalries could be in the offing. As it turned out, Marriott ran a strong fourth in the main event and was one of the few drivers able to pass on a track that went one lane very fast.
The track was surprising on Saturday and not in a pleasant way. Probably due to all the rain lately, but the track was left open to dry most of the afternoon and the wind did what it was supposed to do, and that was to dry out the track. They didn't put much water on it, and it was noticeably drier than the normal here right from the start. They must have sensed that what happened was going to take place, as a rare farming session was scheduled before the feature races took to the track. On such a cold night, this was a rather peculiar decision but one they must have felt was necessary. As it turned out, while it made the first three feature races OK, the track took rubber almost immediately in the Modified feature and it was a one groove, hang in the rubber type of track which made passing almost impossible. It was kind of disappointing, especially when it was such a miserable night for the strong will fans that stuck it out. Jason Hughes jumped right off the pole and led the whole race, and while Ryan Gustin followed closely, unless Hughes pulled a "boner" there would be not change of leadership. The race went an extra two laps in honor of Grant Junghans.
The much anticipated debut of Arizona's Ricky Thornton Jr. was plagued by mechanical problems all night. Thornton Jr. took an early lead in his heat race, only to suddenly dive into the infield with problems and leave the track on the wrecker. Mike Jergens then took over the lead in the heat, only to have the same thing happen to him. Jergens would eventually qualify through a B while Thornton Jr. was again in the show during the B, only to make the infield dive once again and return to the trailer. Hopefully better days are ahead for him.
The USRA Ironman B Mods had a nice field of thirty three, which of course looked tiny compared to what they had on hand last week. A good three car battle for the lead between Mike Streigel, Brian McGowan and Andy Bryant kept getting ruined by the yellow flag which flew an ungodly eight times for various spins and other shenanigans. The most nonstop racing they got was the last three laps of the event where Streigel held off McGowan for the win. Southern Iowa fans probably couldn't help but note that Andrew Schroeder was running a B Mod Saturday. Schroeder is always one of the top racers in the Modifieds at Oskaloosa when I go there. When I asked them about their change in plans for 2016, it seems this was their older car, and while they had thoughts of selling it, they came up with plan B which was to turn it into a B Mod and race the Ironman Series. Osky fans shouldn't worry however, they have another car at home with a crate to run IMCA events.
Stock Cars aren't big at Humboldt and the few they have generally stay home when the Ironman Series comes to the track. Such was the case again Saturday, so that left it to about a dozen Stock Cars from central and northeast Iowa to battle it out for the win. Kyle Falck started on the pole and ran away with the event.
Fourteen Pure Stocks finished off the action with their event going off smoothly and Devin Phillips winning the main.
Other than the break to farm the track after the heats, it was a smoothly run off program as would be expected at Humboldt. An early starting time was called for due to the anticipated cold weather, however they were quite a bit behind on that for whatever reason with the first green flag actually flying about forty minutes last. Still, the show was completed by about nine fifteen at which time my car thermometer said it was thirty four degrees. Factor in the wind chill and we're talking mid twenties. Lovely.
Humboldt is well known for completing race programs in some pretty harsh conditions and the USMTS the same also. Many times I think Todd Staley runs off shows in marginal conditions like this just as a reward for his traveling drivers who come out and support him. The worst thing the race teams can have happen to them is to tow a long distance and then not get to race, so he usually tries if at all possible to reward them with a show even when he knows its not going to be an overwhelming success at the front gate. In fact, it was so miserable on Friday night that even Staley and Humboldt threw in the towel on that show, thus making it even more important that they try and get Saturday's event in the books.
A solid field of thirty nine USMTS Modifieds was on hand for the show, but there was no question that there would have been a number more if the Friday portion of the weekend had not been cancelled. Even so, most of the big names of the series were on hand with a solid contingent of area and regional racers and even on such a poor weather weekend, there were still cars on hand from as far away as North Dakota.
An interesting addition to the field was IMCA star Hunter Marriott, making his first USMTS start since 2012. I think the win by Mike Hanson last week with his crate motor against the big and powerful USMTS spec engines has opened up a lot of people's eyes, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more drivers that are not regular runners show up for USMTS events. After all, USMTS pays good money and if a driver is able to just bolt on a bigger spoiler and run this series, why not give it a try? This could make for some interesting racing as the summer progresses and especially when the tracks start to really slick off. Some new rivalries could be in the offing. As it turned out, Marriott ran a strong fourth in the main event and was one of the few drivers able to pass on a track that went one lane very fast.
The track was surprising on Saturday and not in a pleasant way. Probably due to all the rain lately, but the track was left open to dry most of the afternoon and the wind did what it was supposed to do, and that was to dry out the track. They didn't put much water on it, and it was noticeably drier than the normal here right from the start. They must have sensed that what happened was going to take place, as a rare farming session was scheduled before the feature races took to the track. On such a cold night, this was a rather peculiar decision but one they must have felt was necessary. As it turned out, while it made the first three feature races OK, the track took rubber almost immediately in the Modified feature and it was a one groove, hang in the rubber type of track which made passing almost impossible. It was kind of disappointing, especially when it was such a miserable night for the strong will fans that stuck it out. Jason Hughes jumped right off the pole and led the whole race, and while Ryan Gustin followed closely, unless Hughes pulled a "boner" there would be not change of leadership. The race went an extra two laps in honor of Grant Junghans.
The much anticipated debut of Arizona's Ricky Thornton Jr. was plagued by mechanical problems all night. Thornton Jr. took an early lead in his heat race, only to suddenly dive into the infield with problems and leave the track on the wrecker. Mike Jergens then took over the lead in the heat, only to have the same thing happen to him. Jergens would eventually qualify through a B while Thornton Jr. was again in the show during the B, only to make the infield dive once again and return to the trailer. Hopefully better days are ahead for him.
The USRA Ironman B Mods had a nice field of thirty three, which of course looked tiny compared to what they had on hand last week. A good three car battle for the lead between Mike Streigel, Brian McGowan and Andy Bryant kept getting ruined by the yellow flag which flew an ungodly eight times for various spins and other shenanigans. The most nonstop racing they got was the last three laps of the event where Streigel held off McGowan for the win. Southern Iowa fans probably couldn't help but note that Andrew Schroeder was running a B Mod Saturday. Schroeder is always one of the top racers in the Modifieds at Oskaloosa when I go there. When I asked them about their change in plans for 2016, it seems this was their older car, and while they had thoughts of selling it, they came up with plan B which was to turn it into a B Mod and race the Ironman Series. Osky fans shouldn't worry however, they have another car at home with a crate to run IMCA events.
Stock Cars aren't big at Humboldt and the few they have generally stay home when the Ironman Series comes to the track. Such was the case again Saturday, so that left it to about a dozen Stock Cars from central and northeast Iowa to battle it out for the win. Kyle Falck started on the pole and ran away with the event.
Fourteen Pure Stocks finished off the action with their event going off smoothly and Devin Phillips winning the main.
Other than the break to farm the track after the heats, it was a smoothly run off program as would be expected at Humboldt. An early starting time was called for due to the anticipated cold weather, however they were quite a bit behind on that for whatever reason with the first green flag actually flying about forty minutes last. Still, the show was completed by about nine fifteen at which time my car thermometer said it was thirty four degrees. Factor in the wind chill and we're talking mid twenties. Lovely.
Monday, March 14, 2016
A Shortage of Race Cars; NOT!!!
If there was ever a case of me perhaps biting off more than I could chew, the weekend of March 10-12 could be the prime example of such foolishness. First of all, I need to apologize to my faithful readers(both of you) for being so slow with this report. For while this weekend of racing produced almost more race cars than imaginable, spare time and sleep were in short supply and when I got called in to work on Monday, my chances of preparing a report that was anywhere near being done in a timely manner went out the window.
As I have discovered in the relatively short time that I have been presenting my racing thoughts to you and sharing my travels, I have found that a blog has much in the way of advantages over the columns that appeared in the various race papers. For one thing, I don't have to count words like I did when I was strictly monitored by Hawkeye. I also have a little more flexibility to cover what I think is important at the track. The big bonus is the timeliness that a blog can bring as opposed to the papers when by the time people got to read a column, it was old news. However, if one doesn't do their blog within a reasonable time limit, the oldness of it is again apparent. So in the future I will attempt to maintain my self imposed regulation of getting this blog out within twenty four hours at the latest and not make it old news once again.
The first night of my three night excursion started on Thursday, March 10th with a visit to the "Hummer"; the Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. One the schedule was their second annual B Mod Nationals, a race that in its first year last year was a smash hit and was quickly put on their schedule for a repeat performance for 2016. Humboldt Speedway has a great reputation as being a smooth and racy track and the Whitworth family that runs the track are on good terms with the drivers as promoters that care about their drivers and are constantly working to make things better for the racers and continuing to upgrade their facility. For that reason, they never seem to have trouble drawing cars to their track for specials and while other tracks have tried to jump on the band wagon and schedule mega specials for the B Mods or Midwest Mods or Sport Mods(whatever you prefer to call them), many of them have fizzled due to lack of cars. That hasn't been a problem at Humboldt and this year one hundred and twenty seven B Mods from literally, all over the place were on hand for night one. Along with the B Mods, USRA Mods were running a full program and for a Thursday race paying only $750 to win, a great field of forty two of them were on hand.
Speaking of improvements, the latest addition to the facilities at Humboldt was a new catwalk for the pit goers that extended diagonally from turn four toward the front straightaway grandstands and ran over the top of the pit exit in turn four. Much like those at Boone and Beatrice, it was set up so that the pit personal could climb up in it and get a great view of the racing. We often forget that at many tracks the people that pay the most to get in, the pit crowd, get treated with the worst grandstands at the tracks, often no decent bathroom facilities and track lights that often shine right in their eyes.
At this point, I must take a moment to honk my horn for the drivers from my WISSOTA area that were on hand. The drivers from the Northern tier have always been known to travel well, whether it was to Arizona in January, Florida in February or Kansas and Missouri in March. Once again they more than held up their end of the deal, as I counted forty three racers from the WISSOTA area on hand. Imagine that, over a third of the B Mod field pulled down from WISSOTA county and we're talking a long distance here as they came from central and northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and South and North Dakota along with one Canadian entrant. The chance to race for big money, rules that seem to balance the three big sanctioning bodies that send cars to this event along with the chance to race before the northern season open up are all great calling cards and each year, more and more drivers take advantage of these early season specials. Walking through the pits, I felt like I might have been at some local track as I knew so many of the racers on hand.
Under the format used for the B Mod three day show, the first two race nights featured just double heat races for the class, with the total points accumulated setting the fields for championship night on Saturday. However, with each heat being of utmost importance, they were all like mini features and the racing was intense.
The only true feature race I saw on Thursday was the Modified feature but that was a dandy race that featured a great three car battle for the top spot. Missouri's Terry Schultz led for much of the race but he was hounded by North Dakota's Ryan Mikkelson and area racer Darren Fuqua. However, charging up on the outside, the eventual winner was former Iowa and now North Dakota racer Mike Hansen. While I knew that several racers were running crate motors in the Modifieds, it wasn't until after the main event that I learned that Hansen was also running a crate motor in his car. Somehow for me, that news was depressing. While I recognize that crate motors more than have their place in racing and it seems more and more likely that they are here for good, I still appreciate the open motored cars and the distinctive sound that they make. I felt that if there was any safe place in Modified racing for the open motors, it was with the USRA and USMTS but now that appears to be an incorrect assumption too. I guess I must just resign myself to the fact that racing motors and motor builders will soon be a thing from the past and that pickup truck motors will soon rule the short track racing world.
While I opted not to stick around for the rest of the weekend, it turned out to be a glorious one for the northern cars as Sketter Estey from Minnesota won the big feature on Saturday night and the $7,500 top prize. Because they had more than one hundred cars, two non qualifier features were run on Saturday too and both of those races saw northern drivers in Michael Truscott from Wisconsin and Jason VandeKamp from Minnesota win.
It was a late night at Humboldt with thirty five races on the program. The one thing that might be done in the future to help expedite things a little would be to consider a one spin rule. I saw this used later on in my travels this weekend and if not for that rule, they might still be racing in Nebraska on Monday!
Thanks to everyone at Humboldt and to host Ryan Whitworth for his help. I expect to return to "The Hummer" for some more Modified racing yet this Spring.
After a short nap(and that was about all there was time for) I was off again, this time heading north to another colossus event across the border in Nebraska. It was time once again for the Beatrice Speedway Spring Nationals, part twenty three. My gosh, it doesn't seem like it could be that many years as I was one that was at part one of this event and while I haven't been to all the Spring Nationals, I've been to a goodly number of them. This is one race that just seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year and particularly, the last few years seems to have really shot upward in interest.
With good weather and warm temperatures in the forecast, it appeared that records could be broken and all predictions were correct in that regard as they had cars coming out of their ears. The pits area was jammed and every available inch of space at the Gage County Fairgrounds was swelled to overflowing with either race cars or campers. I spent literally hours roaming the pits, trying to ascertain who all the drivers were(I'm more than a bit anal in that regard) and taking as many pictures as I could, but it was almost overwhelming. I thought I heard somewhere that Beatrice was now the third biggest IMCA event overall, trailing only Boone and Vegas and after this weekend, I couldn't argue that fact.
There were fields of nearly sixty in both the Stock Cars and Hobbies and over seventy Sport Mods but the wowzer was the Modifieds, where my count showed one hundred and eighteen cars on hand for Friday night racing. Ten heat races with only the winner advancing made for some incredible competition and the other classes found equally tough fields to crack. The field of cars, which numbered three hundred and three(you've got to be kidding me!) ran in a total of fifty two races on Friday night with more laps on the track than I care to count!
But for me, the most amazing statistic of the weekend was this. Despite the huge field of cars and all the hubbub of registering that huge amount of drivers and the accompanying issues and running off hot laps etc., the first heat race on Friday rolled off just seven minutes after the scheduled starting time! And despite all the laps on the track, the racing surface held up very well under the strain, as I might say that Humboldt did also the night before. The crowd was huge on Friday, one of the biggest I've ever seen at Beatrice with about half of them still on hand seven hours later as Terry Phillips showed once again why he is considered one of the finest Modified drivers around as well as being a much accomplished Late Model driver.
It rained for a couple of hours near the Midday on Saturday and while it never seemed to really threaten the racing that night, in reality it was a Godsend as it helped the track immensely. It was the perfect kind of a rain, light and steady and one that could soak into the track. And we all know that Mother Nature can water a track better than the best track prep guy around. The only "speed bump" with the rain was that it took longer than planned to roll in the track and therefore, the racing got started about forty five minutes behind schedule. But we knew it was going to be a long night anyway so what was a few more minutes?
Not feeling they had enough cars on Friday, the Sport Compacts joined the field on Saturday and they fielded over forty of them, adding to the fun. Not many of the other drivers failed to return and the car count was up to three hundred and twenty three for Saturday with fifty nine races scheduled. Yet, even with all the racing, the track again held up and the Modified feature, for those that stuck it out, was more than a reward for our patience.
It will no doubt go down as one of the best races of the year as the Modified feature was incredible with passing and wild slide jobs and more twists and turns than a cheap novel. While the four yellow flags helped bunch the field and allow some racers to move up, one only needs to look at the starting vs. finishing positions to see that a lot happened. Winner Jay Noteboom came from fifteenth for the win, runner up Dylan Smith came from thirteenth and Phillips came from twenty third for third! Wow!
It was a dandy and what a great way to end a great weekend. The folks at Beatrice hit a home run no doubt and topping this event next year is going to be a major challenge. Every once in a while, a race turns into an event and Beatrice was certainly that this weekend.
There was talk about it getting bigger and better next year and frankly, I don't see how that is possible. While the car counts were incredible, they were also stretching the point of endurance for both the fans and the track. A solid seven hours of racing(there was absolutely no monkeying around of any kind) and 2 a.m. finishes was taxing for all. Frankly, I'm good if they can only draw this many cars next year and no more. However, the Modified field was absolutely out of sight.
My thanks go out to all the folks that were involved with running the show at Beatrice this weekend as it was first class in all regards. Special thanks go out to Toby Kruse for his help and I'd be remiss if I didn't give my biggest thanks to the ladies in the booth scoring and registering all the drivers. The Speednet lineups that they supplied me were a life saver.
Oh, and one Beatrice tradition was upheld as I made sure I had my fair share of gizzards too.
As I have discovered in the relatively short time that I have been presenting my racing thoughts to you and sharing my travels, I have found that a blog has much in the way of advantages over the columns that appeared in the various race papers. For one thing, I don't have to count words like I did when I was strictly monitored by Hawkeye. I also have a little more flexibility to cover what I think is important at the track. The big bonus is the timeliness that a blog can bring as opposed to the papers when by the time people got to read a column, it was old news. However, if one doesn't do their blog within a reasonable time limit, the oldness of it is again apparent. So in the future I will attempt to maintain my self imposed regulation of getting this blog out within twenty four hours at the latest and not make it old news once again.
The first night of my three night excursion started on Thursday, March 10th with a visit to the "Hummer"; the Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. One the schedule was their second annual B Mod Nationals, a race that in its first year last year was a smash hit and was quickly put on their schedule for a repeat performance for 2016. Humboldt Speedway has a great reputation as being a smooth and racy track and the Whitworth family that runs the track are on good terms with the drivers as promoters that care about their drivers and are constantly working to make things better for the racers and continuing to upgrade their facility. For that reason, they never seem to have trouble drawing cars to their track for specials and while other tracks have tried to jump on the band wagon and schedule mega specials for the B Mods or Midwest Mods or Sport Mods(whatever you prefer to call them), many of them have fizzled due to lack of cars. That hasn't been a problem at Humboldt and this year one hundred and twenty seven B Mods from literally, all over the place were on hand for night one. Along with the B Mods, USRA Mods were running a full program and for a Thursday race paying only $750 to win, a great field of forty two of them were on hand.
Speaking of improvements, the latest addition to the facilities at Humboldt was a new catwalk for the pit goers that extended diagonally from turn four toward the front straightaway grandstands and ran over the top of the pit exit in turn four. Much like those at Boone and Beatrice, it was set up so that the pit personal could climb up in it and get a great view of the racing. We often forget that at many tracks the people that pay the most to get in, the pit crowd, get treated with the worst grandstands at the tracks, often no decent bathroom facilities and track lights that often shine right in their eyes.
At this point, I must take a moment to honk my horn for the drivers from my WISSOTA area that were on hand. The drivers from the Northern tier have always been known to travel well, whether it was to Arizona in January, Florida in February or Kansas and Missouri in March. Once again they more than held up their end of the deal, as I counted forty three racers from the WISSOTA area on hand. Imagine that, over a third of the B Mod field pulled down from WISSOTA county and we're talking a long distance here as they came from central and northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and South and North Dakota along with one Canadian entrant. The chance to race for big money, rules that seem to balance the three big sanctioning bodies that send cars to this event along with the chance to race before the northern season open up are all great calling cards and each year, more and more drivers take advantage of these early season specials. Walking through the pits, I felt like I might have been at some local track as I knew so many of the racers on hand.
Under the format used for the B Mod three day show, the first two race nights featured just double heat races for the class, with the total points accumulated setting the fields for championship night on Saturday. However, with each heat being of utmost importance, they were all like mini features and the racing was intense.
The only true feature race I saw on Thursday was the Modified feature but that was a dandy race that featured a great three car battle for the top spot. Missouri's Terry Schultz led for much of the race but he was hounded by North Dakota's Ryan Mikkelson and area racer Darren Fuqua. However, charging up on the outside, the eventual winner was former Iowa and now North Dakota racer Mike Hansen. While I knew that several racers were running crate motors in the Modifieds, it wasn't until after the main event that I learned that Hansen was also running a crate motor in his car. Somehow for me, that news was depressing. While I recognize that crate motors more than have their place in racing and it seems more and more likely that they are here for good, I still appreciate the open motored cars and the distinctive sound that they make. I felt that if there was any safe place in Modified racing for the open motors, it was with the USRA and USMTS but now that appears to be an incorrect assumption too. I guess I must just resign myself to the fact that racing motors and motor builders will soon be a thing from the past and that pickup truck motors will soon rule the short track racing world.
While I opted not to stick around for the rest of the weekend, it turned out to be a glorious one for the northern cars as Sketter Estey from Minnesota won the big feature on Saturday night and the $7,500 top prize. Because they had more than one hundred cars, two non qualifier features were run on Saturday too and both of those races saw northern drivers in Michael Truscott from Wisconsin and Jason VandeKamp from Minnesota win.
It was a late night at Humboldt with thirty five races on the program. The one thing that might be done in the future to help expedite things a little would be to consider a one spin rule. I saw this used later on in my travels this weekend and if not for that rule, they might still be racing in Nebraska on Monday!
Thanks to everyone at Humboldt and to host Ryan Whitworth for his help. I expect to return to "The Hummer" for some more Modified racing yet this Spring.
After a short nap(and that was about all there was time for) I was off again, this time heading north to another colossus event across the border in Nebraska. It was time once again for the Beatrice Speedway Spring Nationals, part twenty three. My gosh, it doesn't seem like it could be that many years as I was one that was at part one of this event and while I haven't been to all the Spring Nationals, I've been to a goodly number of them. This is one race that just seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year and particularly, the last few years seems to have really shot upward in interest.
With good weather and warm temperatures in the forecast, it appeared that records could be broken and all predictions were correct in that regard as they had cars coming out of their ears. The pits area was jammed and every available inch of space at the Gage County Fairgrounds was swelled to overflowing with either race cars or campers. I spent literally hours roaming the pits, trying to ascertain who all the drivers were(I'm more than a bit anal in that regard) and taking as many pictures as I could, but it was almost overwhelming. I thought I heard somewhere that Beatrice was now the third biggest IMCA event overall, trailing only Boone and Vegas and after this weekend, I couldn't argue that fact.
There were fields of nearly sixty in both the Stock Cars and Hobbies and over seventy Sport Mods but the wowzer was the Modifieds, where my count showed one hundred and eighteen cars on hand for Friday night racing. Ten heat races with only the winner advancing made for some incredible competition and the other classes found equally tough fields to crack. The field of cars, which numbered three hundred and three(you've got to be kidding me!) ran in a total of fifty two races on Friday night with more laps on the track than I care to count!
But for me, the most amazing statistic of the weekend was this. Despite the huge field of cars and all the hubbub of registering that huge amount of drivers and the accompanying issues and running off hot laps etc., the first heat race on Friday rolled off just seven minutes after the scheduled starting time! And despite all the laps on the track, the racing surface held up very well under the strain, as I might say that Humboldt did also the night before. The crowd was huge on Friday, one of the biggest I've ever seen at Beatrice with about half of them still on hand seven hours later as Terry Phillips showed once again why he is considered one of the finest Modified drivers around as well as being a much accomplished Late Model driver.
It rained for a couple of hours near the Midday on Saturday and while it never seemed to really threaten the racing that night, in reality it was a Godsend as it helped the track immensely. It was the perfect kind of a rain, light and steady and one that could soak into the track. And we all know that Mother Nature can water a track better than the best track prep guy around. The only "speed bump" with the rain was that it took longer than planned to roll in the track and therefore, the racing got started about forty five minutes behind schedule. But we knew it was going to be a long night anyway so what was a few more minutes?
Not feeling they had enough cars on Friday, the Sport Compacts joined the field on Saturday and they fielded over forty of them, adding to the fun. Not many of the other drivers failed to return and the car count was up to three hundred and twenty three for Saturday with fifty nine races scheduled. Yet, even with all the racing, the track again held up and the Modified feature, for those that stuck it out, was more than a reward for our patience.
It will no doubt go down as one of the best races of the year as the Modified feature was incredible with passing and wild slide jobs and more twists and turns than a cheap novel. While the four yellow flags helped bunch the field and allow some racers to move up, one only needs to look at the starting vs. finishing positions to see that a lot happened. Winner Jay Noteboom came from fifteenth for the win, runner up Dylan Smith came from thirteenth and Phillips came from twenty third for third! Wow!
It was a dandy and what a great way to end a great weekend. The folks at Beatrice hit a home run no doubt and topping this event next year is going to be a major challenge. Every once in a while, a race turns into an event and Beatrice was certainly that this weekend.
There was talk about it getting bigger and better next year and frankly, I don't see how that is possible. While the car counts were incredible, they were also stretching the point of endurance for both the fans and the track. A solid seven hours of racing(there was absolutely no monkeying around of any kind) and 2 a.m. finishes was taxing for all. Frankly, I'm good if they can only draw this many cars next year and no more. However, the Modified field was absolutely out of sight.
My thanks go out to all the folks that were involved with running the show at Beatrice this weekend as it was first class in all regards. Special thanks go out to Toby Kruse for his help and I'd be remiss if I didn't give my biggest thanks to the ladies in the booth scoring and registering all the drivers. The Speednet lineups that they supplied me were a life saver.
Oh, and one Beatrice tradition was upheld as I made sure I had my fair share of gizzards too.
Monday, March 7, 2016
SOS To Sanders, "Slow Down"
The third night of the event at Southern Oklahoma Speedway and the wrap up of Winter Speedweeks found the same driver in victory lane that had prevailed on Friday night. Once again it was Rodney Sanders getting to the front early, cruising for awhile before having to fight off a challenge and then ultimately pulling away again for another win.
The evening began with some trepidation for USMTS officials as well as the racers themselves. On Friday night the track locked down hard and quickly in the last half of the feature event for the Modifieds. No one seemed to see it coming and most were surprised that it happened so quickly and so dramatically. The end result was a lot of totally worn out right rear tires after the forty lapper with no more than a few laps left in any of them. With the Saturday night finale scheduled for fifty laps and it being even more sunny and hotter on Saturday, lots of people were more than a little worried.
Among the solutions taken were to make a big attempt to get more moisture into the racing surface and run the Modified feature ahead of the Limited Mods in the hopes that less laps on the track would make it hold up longer. Whether the things they did were the ticket, who knows, but the track didn't rubber up on Saturday and while the high groove ending up once again being the fast way around, there was no hint that it was a one lane race track.
For the first time all week, a "scratcher" was used to dig up the surface and then more water was applied. However, they waited until nearly hot lap time to do this and with it being a lengthy process, the races got a much later than advertised start. Announced to the crowd as a 6 p.m. start but told to the pit folk as being 6:30 p.m., the first race didn't hit the track until almost an hour after that. With the first two nights having small crowds in attendance, it was unfortunate that on Saturday when a big throng was on hand that they made everyone sit around for an extended time before they started. However, with the final checkered flag still waving before 10:30 p.m., the late start fortunately became a non factor overall.
The biggest field of cars for the week was on hand in all three classes with the Modifieds fielding fifty eight cars for their finale. The intensity level seemed to have gone up just as the purse did each night. It wasn't long before USMTS regulars Austin Arneson and Jesse Sobbing got into it in a heat race when Sobbing unceremoniously "dumped" Arneson right on the front chute. Both had to then qualify through B features, that was, after they separated them when a "ruckus" broke out as both returned to their pit stalls. Apparently it wasn't bad enough to park them for the night though, and Sobbing actually passed a large number of cars in the main, coming from twenty fifth to seventh.
There were several drivers who qualifies for hard luck awards. Todd Shute won a heat race but then was disqualified for running an incorrect "chip" in his motor and he had to battle through a B feature. Lance Town was leading a heat race when his motor went "South" and he had to go to a back up car for a B feature and wasn't able to make the show.
Then there was Paul Jones. The driver came all the way from Casper Wyoming to race on Friday, but just as he rolled on to the track for his heat, he had issues and pulled off, not to turn a lap in competition the rest of the night. And to make matters worse, his problems were so severe he didn't even return to the track on Saturday.
Sanders showed superiority right from the git-go in the main event. Starting in the third row, he weaved inside and out to pass cars and move into second behind Kyle Strickler. It took him awhile to make the bottom work enough to pass Strickler but after he did, he was able to pull away.
However, much like Friday, the low side started to slow down and Jason Hughes was reeling him in at a rapid rate when Rodney made the decision to get back up on the side. And much like Friday, he didn't seem to be the fastest car on the top, but he had the ultimately important lead spot, and he just needed to protect it.
Hughes was seemingly the fastest but when he went for broke and tried to pull a big slider on Sanders in turn one, he went too high, hit the wall and nearly launched himself off the track. Making a great save, Hughes went from the aggressor to the protector though, and the rest of the race he spent fighting off Cade Dilland and Johnny Scott, rather than challenging Sanders. Only two yellow flags slowed the fifty lap finale and only eleven cars were on the lead lap at the end.
Even with their biggest field of the week, the Limited Mods achieved the nearly impossible as they ran off their third straight feature race nonstop! They deserved much congratulations for their fine work as did the track starter, who laid down the law early that if you spun or slowed, you need to get going again. There were enough instances during the week of drivers spinning and moving on a regular basis that I was beginning to think I was at Boone!
Curtis Allen, who had challenged for a win in the two previous shows, used the high side to score a dominant victory. And in the Hobby Stocks it was Bo Day who showed that whether there were two people in the race car or one, he was tough to beat. By the way, for the second straight night he ran solo.
The USMTS has a new traveling announcer as Lon Oelke and USMTS have parted ways. The new announcer never did introduce himself and I never did run into him to say hello but I was told he previously announced at the Salina Highbanks Speedway. He was very informative and his voice could be clearly heard through the p.a. system. However, he was all business as his announcing style was very much different from that of Oelke.
Thanks go out to track owners John and Nicki Webb for their hard work during this three day run as well as all their staff workers. A multi day show like this is a huge undertaking and they seemed to have things under control in all aspects of the show. My first time ever at SOS was a very positive experience and I certainly wouldn't hesitate about making a return trip.
The evening began with some trepidation for USMTS officials as well as the racers themselves. On Friday night the track locked down hard and quickly in the last half of the feature event for the Modifieds. No one seemed to see it coming and most were surprised that it happened so quickly and so dramatically. The end result was a lot of totally worn out right rear tires after the forty lapper with no more than a few laps left in any of them. With the Saturday night finale scheduled for fifty laps and it being even more sunny and hotter on Saturday, lots of people were more than a little worried.
Among the solutions taken were to make a big attempt to get more moisture into the racing surface and run the Modified feature ahead of the Limited Mods in the hopes that less laps on the track would make it hold up longer. Whether the things they did were the ticket, who knows, but the track didn't rubber up on Saturday and while the high groove ending up once again being the fast way around, there was no hint that it was a one lane race track.
For the first time all week, a "scratcher" was used to dig up the surface and then more water was applied. However, they waited until nearly hot lap time to do this and with it being a lengthy process, the races got a much later than advertised start. Announced to the crowd as a 6 p.m. start but told to the pit folk as being 6:30 p.m., the first race didn't hit the track until almost an hour after that. With the first two nights having small crowds in attendance, it was unfortunate that on Saturday when a big throng was on hand that they made everyone sit around for an extended time before they started. However, with the final checkered flag still waving before 10:30 p.m., the late start fortunately became a non factor overall.
The biggest field of cars for the week was on hand in all three classes with the Modifieds fielding fifty eight cars for their finale. The intensity level seemed to have gone up just as the purse did each night. It wasn't long before USMTS regulars Austin Arneson and Jesse Sobbing got into it in a heat race when Sobbing unceremoniously "dumped" Arneson right on the front chute. Both had to then qualify through B features, that was, after they separated them when a "ruckus" broke out as both returned to their pit stalls. Apparently it wasn't bad enough to park them for the night though, and Sobbing actually passed a large number of cars in the main, coming from twenty fifth to seventh.
There were several drivers who qualifies for hard luck awards. Todd Shute won a heat race but then was disqualified for running an incorrect "chip" in his motor and he had to battle through a B feature. Lance Town was leading a heat race when his motor went "South" and he had to go to a back up car for a B feature and wasn't able to make the show.
Then there was Paul Jones. The driver came all the way from Casper Wyoming to race on Friday, but just as he rolled on to the track for his heat, he had issues and pulled off, not to turn a lap in competition the rest of the night. And to make matters worse, his problems were so severe he didn't even return to the track on Saturday.
Sanders showed superiority right from the git-go in the main event. Starting in the third row, he weaved inside and out to pass cars and move into second behind Kyle Strickler. It took him awhile to make the bottom work enough to pass Strickler but after he did, he was able to pull away.
However, much like Friday, the low side started to slow down and Jason Hughes was reeling him in at a rapid rate when Rodney made the decision to get back up on the side. And much like Friday, he didn't seem to be the fastest car on the top, but he had the ultimately important lead spot, and he just needed to protect it.
Hughes was seemingly the fastest but when he went for broke and tried to pull a big slider on Sanders in turn one, he went too high, hit the wall and nearly launched himself off the track. Making a great save, Hughes went from the aggressor to the protector though, and the rest of the race he spent fighting off Cade Dilland and Johnny Scott, rather than challenging Sanders. Only two yellow flags slowed the fifty lap finale and only eleven cars were on the lead lap at the end.
Even with their biggest field of the week, the Limited Mods achieved the nearly impossible as they ran off their third straight feature race nonstop! They deserved much congratulations for their fine work as did the track starter, who laid down the law early that if you spun or slowed, you need to get going again. There were enough instances during the week of drivers spinning and moving on a regular basis that I was beginning to think I was at Boone!
Curtis Allen, who had challenged for a win in the two previous shows, used the high side to score a dominant victory. And in the Hobby Stocks it was Bo Day who showed that whether there were two people in the race car or one, he was tough to beat. By the way, for the second straight night he ran solo.
The USMTS has a new traveling announcer as Lon Oelke and USMTS have parted ways. The new announcer never did introduce himself and I never did run into him to say hello but I was told he previously announced at the Salina Highbanks Speedway. He was very informative and his voice could be clearly heard through the p.a. system. However, he was all business as his announcing style was very much different from that of Oelke.
Thanks go out to track owners John and Nicki Webb for their hard work during this three day run as well as all their staff workers. A multi day show like this is a huge undertaking and they seemed to have things under control in all aspects of the show. My first time ever at SOS was a very positive experience and I certainly wouldn't hesitate about making a return trip.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Sanders Outmaneuvers SOS Modifieds
Friday saw night number two of the USMTS three race event at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore. Once again a big and strong field of Modifieds was on hand with fifty six drivers again signing in to race, although there were a half dozen new drivers on hand while a like number were missing, either to fix their machines or to go home and lick their wounds. Limited Modifieds again joined the show and for the first time, Hobby Stocks also raced to make it a three division program.
The pit activity was much more frenzied than one day earlier as many crews were repairing opening night damage or making changes to try and make their cars faster. Illinois racer Cody Bauman and crew were busy in the tech building changing a motor, an activity that would be rewarded later when he would race his way into the main event.
Minnesota's Jason Thoennes made one of the longer tows to this race and his crew was very busy as they got their car all torn up in a B feature tangle on Thursday night. They would get their tasks completed and Thoennes would again try to qualify for the main event. Unfortunately, the B feature bit him once again and for the second straight night he watched the main from the pits. He drew a pole position for his heat but starting right up front can be a curse with passing points as he lost just one spot in the heat , but that was enough to send him B feature racing.
Things were aggressive right from the start in the heat races with top runners Sanders and Jason Hughes perhaps guilty of laying on their competitors pretty hard in the corners as they tried to move forward. After their races there were some evil stares and revving of motors as they completed their cool down laps.
Part of the problem was that the track had made a complete change from the previous night, a change that apparently some of the drivers didn't see coming. Instead of being a power track all the way around on the high side, the first and second corner dried out very early in the evening with absolutely nothing to be found on the high side on that end of the track. This caused drivers to alter their racing strategy on the fly and the congestion on that end of the track was apparent.
By B feature time everyone was racing right around the bottom of the track and these last chance qualifiers were tedious, with more yellow flags than the rest of the week all told so far.
By feature time for the Modifieds, the best of the best had made the show and these guys had the track figured out, as the forty lap main event saw just a single yellow flag. Everyone was still scratching for traction and those that were able to hold their cars to the bottom groove were moving the best. Sanders had the door open for his early on the bottom coming off the second corner and he dove from the fourth row to the lead. Once in front, he opened up nearly a straightaway lead on the field while the battle behind was fierce for position. Jason Hughes moved into second but he had Dereck Ramirez, Austin Arneson, Stormy Scott and several others all racing in a big group.
The lone yellow with thirteen laps complete bunched the field but Sanders again pulled away with the battle for second raging. Lapped traffic was a major concern and Sanders had his work cut out for him as he tried to move through them while not giving up his preferred line.
As the race wore on, something interesting happened though, and the track started to change. Drivers like Arneson and Scott love the top side and they pound the cushion, even if it sometimes doesn't work the best for them. However, slowly at first and then at increasing rates, the top side of the track started to get faster and rubber began to be laid down. Sanders found the lapped cars harder to get past and in fact, a couple that he had just passed went buzzing past him again as they moved up the track. Whether he got a hand signal or the lapped cars proved to be the key, Rodney moved up the track just in the nick of time as a three car train was baring down on him and any further delay moving up the track would have cost him the lead.
The last ten laps saw the top four running in train fashion, with lapped cars also running the top side proving to be a major hazard. Several times Sanders had to slow quite dramatically to keep from running up the back of the lapped cars, yet not wanting to move down the track and fear getting "freight trained". As he slowed, the contenders behind had to make a choice and several times they dived lower into turn one, only to get shuffled back as they got hung out to dry. Hughes was the first, then Scott but when Arneson tried the same move, Scott got him back. Most of the top four runners had less than complementary things to saw about the cars that saw Ryne Staley's lay over flag multiple times but failed to move. About the only one who got out of the way was Jimmy Owens.
The last few laps looked a high speed game of checkers with drivers jumping and then re jumping positions. The top four crossed the line nose to tail and for the second straight night Zack VanderBeek proved to be a big charger, starting thirteenth and racing up to fifth.
The support divisions proved to be a big night for the Day's, if that makes any sense. The Hobby Stock feature went to Bo Day while the Limited Mod feature was won by Roudy Day. I'm not sure how they're related, but they pit next to each other so there must be some connection. Along with winning the Hobby Stock feature, Bo Day finished third in the Limited Mod main, after a runner up finish on Thursday night. Bo told me that he is not related to the Day Motorsports group, although he said he wished he was, as it would probably make racing a little cheaper for him!
The support divisions have done just exactly was would be hoped for them in a perfect world. For the second straight night the Limited Mods ran their feature nonstop while the Hobby Stocks had just a lone yellow flag, while also providing some entertaining feature events.
Interesting to me, when I looked over Bo Day's Hobby Stock on Thursday, I noticed that the car has two racing seats. He told me that in Texas, where he is from, the car is called a Factory Stock and that some of the tracks allow a passenger to ride along when they're racing! He indicated to me that his fiancee was planning to ride along with him on Friday. However, in checking the car tonight, I noticed that no passenger was on board. Perhaps the track wouldn't allow it.
I mentioned to Bo that I rode along in a race car once but that it was an ice racer in Wisconsin where most of the racers have passengers when they race. Racing on ice! He looked at me like I was nuts! Then I remembered that I am from a different world from most of these folks.
The pit activity was much more frenzied than one day earlier as many crews were repairing opening night damage or making changes to try and make their cars faster. Illinois racer Cody Bauman and crew were busy in the tech building changing a motor, an activity that would be rewarded later when he would race his way into the main event.
Minnesota's Jason Thoennes made one of the longer tows to this race and his crew was very busy as they got their car all torn up in a B feature tangle on Thursday night. They would get their tasks completed and Thoennes would again try to qualify for the main event. Unfortunately, the B feature bit him once again and for the second straight night he watched the main from the pits. He drew a pole position for his heat but starting right up front can be a curse with passing points as he lost just one spot in the heat , but that was enough to send him B feature racing.
Things were aggressive right from the start in the heat races with top runners Sanders and Jason Hughes perhaps guilty of laying on their competitors pretty hard in the corners as they tried to move forward. After their races there were some evil stares and revving of motors as they completed their cool down laps.
Part of the problem was that the track had made a complete change from the previous night, a change that apparently some of the drivers didn't see coming. Instead of being a power track all the way around on the high side, the first and second corner dried out very early in the evening with absolutely nothing to be found on the high side on that end of the track. This caused drivers to alter their racing strategy on the fly and the congestion on that end of the track was apparent.
By B feature time everyone was racing right around the bottom of the track and these last chance qualifiers were tedious, with more yellow flags than the rest of the week all told so far.
By feature time for the Modifieds, the best of the best had made the show and these guys had the track figured out, as the forty lap main event saw just a single yellow flag. Everyone was still scratching for traction and those that were able to hold their cars to the bottom groove were moving the best. Sanders had the door open for his early on the bottom coming off the second corner and he dove from the fourth row to the lead. Once in front, he opened up nearly a straightaway lead on the field while the battle behind was fierce for position. Jason Hughes moved into second but he had Dereck Ramirez, Austin Arneson, Stormy Scott and several others all racing in a big group.
The lone yellow with thirteen laps complete bunched the field but Sanders again pulled away with the battle for second raging. Lapped traffic was a major concern and Sanders had his work cut out for him as he tried to move through them while not giving up his preferred line.
As the race wore on, something interesting happened though, and the track started to change. Drivers like Arneson and Scott love the top side and they pound the cushion, even if it sometimes doesn't work the best for them. However, slowly at first and then at increasing rates, the top side of the track started to get faster and rubber began to be laid down. Sanders found the lapped cars harder to get past and in fact, a couple that he had just passed went buzzing past him again as they moved up the track. Whether he got a hand signal or the lapped cars proved to be the key, Rodney moved up the track just in the nick of time as a three car train was baring down on him and any further delay moving up the track would have cost him the lead.
The last ten laps saw the top four running in train fashion, with lapped cars also running the top side proving to be a major hazard. Several times Sanders had to slow quite dramatically to keep from running up the back of the lapped cars, yet not wanting to move down the track and fear getting "freight trained". As he slowed, the contenders behind had to make a choice and several times they dived lower into turn one, only to get shuffled back as they got hung out to dry. Hughes was the first, then Scott but when Arneson tried the same move, Scott got him back. Most of the top four runners had less than complementary things to saw about the cars that saw Ryne Staley's lay over flag multiple times but failed to move. About the only one who got out of the way was Jimmy Owens.
The last few laps looked a high speed game of checkers with drivers jumping and then re jumping positions. The top four crossed the line nose to tail and for the second straight night Zack VanderBeek proved to be a big charger, starting thirteenth and racing up to fifth.
The support divisions proved to be a big night for the Day's, if that makes any sense. The Hobby Stock feature went to Bo Day while the Limited Mod feature was won by Roudy Day. I'm not sure how they're related, but they pit next to each other so there must be some connection. Along with winning the Hobby Stock feature, Bo Day finished third in the Limited Mod main, after a runner up finish on Thursday night. Bo told me that he is not related to the Day Motorsports group, although he said he wished he was, as it would probably make racing a little cheaper for him!
The support divisions have done just exactly was would be hoped for them in a perfect world. For the second straight night the Limited Mods ran their feature nonstop while the Hobby Stocks had just a lone yellow flag, while also providing some entertaining feature events.
Interesting to me, when I looked over Bo Day's Hobby Stock on Thursday, I noticed that the car has two racing seats. He told me that in Texas, where he is from, the car is called a Factory Stock and that some of the tracks allow a passenger to ride along when they're racing! He indicated to me that his fiancee was planning to ride along with him on Friday. However, in checking the car tonight, I noticed that no passenger was on board. Perhaps the track wouldn't allow it.
I mentioned to Bo that I rode along in a race car once but that it was an ice racer in Wisconsin where most of the racers have passengers when they race. Racing on ice! He looked at me like I was nuts! Then I remembered that I am from a different world from most of these folks.
Friday, March 4, 2016
USMTS in Oklahoma
There were at least a couple interesting options for racing this weekend across the extended Midwest. With the weather looking favorable, their fields for recent events having been impressive and at a location not having been seen before by me, my choice was to join the USMTS Modifieds in their fourth and final week of Winter Nationals racing at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore.
The SOS in located a couple miles South of the city of Ardmore, an old looking town that reminded me very much of Chanute Kansas in many ways. Get off the main street by a block or two and it looks like time might have stopped a number of decades ago.
Having not really done much investigating before I arrived at the track, I was imaging a track that was bigger than SOS turned out to be. Not that turned out to be a bad thing as the track turned out to be just the right sized and raced very well all night. I'd guess it to be between a third and three eighth mile in length, with long chutes and tight but high banked corners. (I see in National Speedway Directory that they list the track as being a three eighth mile but that might be around the very high side.) The cars really flew around the track and they were able to race side by side all night. Two grooves developed after the track was very much "hammer down" early and drivers had the choice of running right up on the edge of the track or taking a low line through the wide corners. As the evening progresses, it did slick off but the racing surface still provided a couple of lanes. Because the berm got so big early, they quickly knocked it down with the grades and while it didn't take away the outside lane like sometimes happens when the berm is removed, it removed the dangerous element of the heavy cushion.
The track has no outside wall around it, but unlike at home where it seems like tracks without walls have drivers flying off the ends all night, I recall only one instance when a driver went over the edge and that was Mike Jergens in the feature and they just raced on without him, with no yellow triggered because of it.
The track is pretty well lit with just a couple of dark spots and the pit area is huge with the rigs on hand Thursday barely scratching the available space for pitting. The sound system for the spectators was good and the only thing I could see that was missing was a scoreboard, something more and more tracks are now getting and truly, something that every track should have.
I never thought I would see another set of bleachers quite like those at the "Hummer" in Humboldt and if you've ever been to Humboldt, you know exactly what I'm talking about. However, I was wrong, as the bleachers at SOS are just like those at Humboldt. They are uniquely wide like Humboldt's, made out of the same material and just as hard to scale. However, once you get up into them, the view of the track is outstanding and you don't have to worry about the folks in front of you getting in your way. They are very steep and even from the top row, you feel like you are hovering right over the track. It's close by viewing without a doubt.
A power packed field of USMTS's best was on hand with fifty six Modifieds from thirteen different states on hand to race. Many of the drivers on hand I was seeing for the first time this year and some for the first time ever. When you race with the USMTS you better have your "big boy pants" on as these guys don't mess around. From the first green flag for hot laps until the final checkered of the night, it is high speed, intense racing action. The drivers give no quarter and ask for none in return but yet their racing is remarkably clean, with very few collisions and drivers notably giving their competitors room to race. I guess that is one of the reasons why the USMTS is so popular across the wide regions these "road warriors" roam.
One of the interesting, big news items Thursday was the news that national driving star Jimmy Owens from Tennessee would be joining the field for Thursday night action. Some might have forgotten that before Jimmy became a national driving star in the Late Models, he was a multi time champion racing UMP Modifieds and he still builds Modifieds as a side line business that is very lucrative to him, so he definitely knows his way around the cockpit of the open wheel cars.
However, with the quality of the cars on hand, earning passing points is a tough deal and Owens, who drew the back of a stacked heat, was forced to run a B feature. However, in the B, you could see that he was starting to get more comfortable in his car and he found the cushion to score a thrilling win over Randy Timms. It would have been fun to watch Owens' progress in the main, but he was an early mechanical dropout and was scored last.
Owens was brought in to drive a second Modified for Dereck Ramirez so apparently there were no hard feelings about the split between Leon Ramirez and Owens that left Jimmy scrambling to find a ride for this year's Late Model tour.
Being from the "North" country and located only about an hour and a half from the Mars Brothers shop in Menomonie, I always seem to notice the MB Customs chassis and how many more drivers seem to be getting them. Thursday night there were a bunch of different drivers from the Oklahoma-Texas area that now have gotten MB's and I continue to be amazed just how much their Modified business has boomed in the last couple of years. Seeing their cars at the track used to be rare and now they are all over the country. Among the newest to have one is Oklahoma's Randy Timms. However, after having a bright yellow car for so many years, one that was especially favored by me for its colors, he is now in a rather understated two tone blue and white car. Disappointing.
The feature race was a dandy, especially for the first twenty laps or so as the battling up front was breath taking. Drivers were sliding each other and jumping lanes so fast and often, it was hard to keep up. Eventually it seemed the top side got stronger as an early run from eleventh to second by Ramirez saw him start to fade back in the pack.
The track turned into an "elbows up", blast the high side kind of race and who else but Ryan Gustin would prevail on a track like that? There can be no better driver around when it comes to tempting fate and dancing the edge of the track than the Marshalltown Iowa driver. Seldom do you see Rodney Sanders and Jason Hughes blown past, but when both hung out too long on the low side, Gustin roared past both of them.
Cade Dillard came from thirteenth to fourth and looked very fast at the end of the race and almost without fanfare, Zach VanderBeek came from eighteenth to seventh with a steady drive on the low side.
Lucas Schott almost was the story of the night as the young Chatfield MN driver started out strong and looked like he might steal the victory. Driving a plain looking, unsponsored black #69 Hughes chassis that they put together for this weekend(he's waiting for his new car, a guess what, MB!), he took the early lead and looked strong but a couple of early yellows brought the field back to him and he eventually started to lose ground and dropped out near the end of the race.
Fans had no more than settled into their seats when the fireworks began as the first Modified heat, and first race of the night, was more than worth the price of admission alone as Johnny Scott and Kyle Strickler engaged in a fantastic battle for the lead with both coming daringly close to the other, yet I don't think they touched once during the race. It was a portent of what we were going to see all evening.
The support division for the evening deserves some "love" too. They were billed as the Limited Mods on this night and were a combination of the local class along with some visiting cars that I believe were mostly IMCA Southern Sport Mods. In any event, they ran off some entertaining races with a lack of yellow flags, something always appreciated by the support class at such events. Their feature race ran nonstop with Bobby Ruffin edging Bo Day for the win.
The support class racing was announced by the local track announcer, Bubba Ross. Somehow I just knew that once I was South of the Mason-Dixon line that at least one of the track officials would be named "Bubba."
My first night impressions of SOS were very good with good racing and a well run show, once they got started. They did get quite a late start, nearly forty five minutes, but once they got rolling the show went off pretty much nonstop and they were done just after 10 p.m. One must remember too that USMTS has as much control of the running of the show as the local track does for this type of event. Of course, it helped that they ran only two classes and there were a distinct lack of yellows in both classes. The crowd was small on the opening night of the three night run but not surprising considering it was a Thursday night on a cool early March night.
The SOS in located a couple miles South of the city of Ardmore, an old looking town that reminded me very much of Chanute Kansas in many ways. Get off the main street by a block or two and it looks like time might have stopped a number of decades ago.
Having not really done much investigating before I arrived at the track, I was imaging a track that was bigger than SOS turned out to be. Not that turned out to be a bad thing as the track turned out to be just the right sized and raced very well all night. I'd guess it to be between a third and three eighth mile in length, with long chutes and tight but high banked corners. (I see in National Speedway Directory that they list the track as being a three eighth mile but that might be around the very high side.) The cars really flew around the track and they were able to race side by side all night. Two grooves developed after the track was very much "hammer down" early and drivers had the choice of running right up on the edge of the track or taking a low line through the wide corners. As the evening progresses, it did slick off but the racing surface still provided a couple of lanes. Because the berm got so big early, they quickly knocked it down with the grades and while it didn't take away the outside lane like sometimes happens when the berm is removed, it removed the dangerous element of the heavy cushion.
The track has no outside wall around it, but unlike at home where it seems like tracks without walls have drivers flying off the ends all night, I recall only one instance when a driver went over the edge and that was Mike Jergens in the feature and they just raced on without him, with no yellow triggered because of it.
The track is pretty well lit with just a couple of dark spots and the pit area is huge with the rigs on hand Thursday barely scratching the available space for pitting. The sound system for the spectators was good and the only thing I could see that was missing was a scoreboard, something more and more tracks are now getting and truly, something that every track should have.
I never thought I would see another set of bleachers quite like those at the "Hummer" in Humboldt and if you've ever been to Humboldt, you know exactly what I'm talking about. However, I was wrong, as the bleachers at SOS are just like those at Humboldt. They are uniquely wide like Humboldt's, made out of the same material and just as hard to scale. However, once you get up into them, the view of the track is outstanding and you don't have to worry about the folks in front of you getting in your way. They are very steep and even from the top row, you feel like you are hovering right over the track. It's close by viewing without a doubt.
A power packed field of USMTS's best was on hand with fifty six Modifieds from thirteen different states on hand to race. Many of the drivers on hand I was seeing for the first time this year and some for the first time ever. When you race with the USMTS you better have your "big boy pants" on as these guys don't mess around. From the first green flag for hot laps until the final checkered of the night, it is high speed, intense racing action. The drivers give no quarter and ask for none in return but yet their racing is remarkably clean, with very few collisions and drivers notably giving their competitors room to race. I guess that is one of the reasons why the USMTS is so popular across the wide regions these "road warriors" roam.
One of the interesting, big news items Thursday was the news that national driving star Jimmy Owens from Tennessee would be joining the field for Thursday night action. Some might have forgotten that before Jimmy became a national driving star in the Late Models, he was a multi time champion racing UMP Modifieds and he still builds Modifieds as a side line business that is very lucrative to him, so he definitely knows his way around the cockpit of the open wheel cars.
However, with the quality of the cars on hand, earning passing points is a tough deal and Owens, who drew the back of a stacked heat, was forced to run a B feature. However, in the B, you could see that he was starting to get more comfortable in his car and he found the cushion to score a thrilling win over Randy Timms. It would have been fun to watch Owens' progress in the main, but he was an early mechanical dropout and was scored last.
Owens was brought in to drive a second Modified for Dereck Ramirez so apparently there were no hard feelings about the split between Leon Ramirez and Owens that left Jimmy scrambling to find a ride for this year's Late Model tour.
Being from the "North" country and located only about an hour and a half from the Mars Brothers shop in Menomonie, I always seem to notice the MB Customs chassis and how many more drivers seem to be getting them. Thursday night there were a bunch of different drivers from the Oklahoma-Texas area that now have gotten MB's and I continue to be amazed just how much their Modified business has boomed in the last couple of years. Seeing their cars at the track used to be rare and now they are all over the country. Among the newest to have one is Oklahoma's Randy Timms. However, after having a bright yellow car for so many years, one that was especially favored by me for its colors, he is now in a rather understated two tone blue and white car. Disappointing.
The feature race was a dandy, especially for the first twenty laps or so as the battling up front was breath taking. Drivers were sliding each other and jumping lanes so fast and often, it was hard to keep up. Eventually it seemed the top side got stronger as an early run from eleventh to second by Ramirez saw him start to fade back in the pack.
The track turned into an "elbows up", blast the high side kind of race and who else but Ryan Gustin would prevail on a track like that? There can be no better driver around when it comes to tempting fate and dancing the edge of the track than the Marshalltown Iowa driver. Seldom do you see Rodney Sanders and Jason Hughes blown past, but when both hung out too long on the low side, Gustin roared past both of them.
Cade Dillard came from thirteenth to fourth and looked very fast at the end of the race and almost without fanfare, Zach VanderBeek came from eighteenth to seventh with a steady drive on the low side.
Lucas Schott almost was the story of the night as the young Chatfield MN driver started out strong and looked like he might steal the victory. Driving a plain looking, unsponsored black #69 Hughes chassis that they put together for this weekend(he's waiting for his new car, a guess what, MB!), he took the early lead and looked strong but a couple of early yellows brought the field back to him and he eventually started to lose ground and dropped out near the end of the race.
Fans had no more than settled into their seats when the fireworks began as the first Modified heat, and first race of the night, was more than worth the price of admission alone as Johnny Scott and Kyle Strickler engaged in a fantastic battle for the lead with both coming daringly close to the other, yet I don't think they touched once during the race. It was a portent of what we were going to see all evening.
The support division for the evening deserves some "love" too. They were billed as the Limited Mods on this night and were a combination of the local class along with some visiting cars that I believe were mostly IMCA Southern Sport Mods. In any event, they ran off some entertaining races with a lack of yellow flags, something always appreciated by the support class at such events. Their feature race ran nonstop with Bobby Ruffin edging Bo Day for the win.
The support class racing was announced by the local track announcer, Bubba Ross. Somehow I just knew that once I was South of the Mason-Dixon line that at least one of the track officials would be named "Bubba."
My first night impressions of SOS were very good with good racing and a well run show, once they got started. They did get quite a late start, nearly forty five minutes, but once they got rolling the show went off pretty much nonstop and they were done just after 10 p.m. One must remember too that USMTS has as much control of the running of the show as the local track does for this type of event. Of course, it helped that they ran only two classes and there were a distinct lack of yellows in both classes. The crowd was small on the opening night of the three night run but not surprising considering it was a Thursday night on a cool early March night.
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