On Saturday, May 14th I was perplexed. Having returned home at 3 a.m. from Fergus Falls Minnesota the tank on my energy level was a little low. I was looking for a race close to home if possible, but nothing seemed to be working out. Just about everybody had cancelled due to the cold and wind and cloudy and general crappiness of the day. So I was looking for a race that would be worth the trip but one not so far away that I wouldn't have the energy to get back home in one piece!
Fortunately, Joe Ringsdorf and the Hancock County Speedway came to my rescue. Joe generally races unless things are really bad and I can usually count on them to run off a quick show, especially when it isn't the kindest of nights. And they would be spot on in both regards on this night.
They were racing, and despite some strong winds that just wouldn't settle down, the racing was on. I even hit some sun on my way down into the northern fringe of Iowa. It would be a regular night of racing at Hancock County after Joe and his crew got rained out on Friday in Spencer. Five classes, all IMCA sanctioned, would be on the card at the black dirt four tenth mile facility located at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in the burg of Britt. No hobos were spotted as I drove into town(perhaps too windy for them) but Joe was on the track with the water truck and racing as definitely on.
For the longest time I was nervous, as it didn't seem that any race cars were coming through the pit gate. However, they all came at the same time which created a late rush to sign everyone in but the racing started as scheduled.
Car counts were more than acceptable with eighty eight cars signing in to race which required multiple heat races (in total fourteen) and some strong competitors were on hand to battle it out. The track was heavy and the speeds in practice were impressive and despite all the wet weather recently, the track seemed to be holding together well.
The racing started at 6:50 p.m. after warm ups were completed and once they started racing, it was absolutely nonstop with no breaks whatsoever. In fact, the racing was coming so hot and heavy that one member of my group complained that there was no time for a personal "pit stop".
The heat races were no more than completed until the first feature rolled on to the track and once each race was done, they just moved on to the next one. All the trophy presentations were held until the program was completed.
Sport Compacts were first on the agenda and Brad Cagle won a pretty easy main, leading most of the distance. A field of thirteen of the Sport Compacts was on had, which I thought was pretty good and Cagle beat some strong contenders including the husband and wife DeVries Racing Team. Sport Compacts went nonstop in their main.
The Hobby Stock feature saw an amazing performance by Cody Nielsen. Even though he started tenth on the grid, at the end of one lap he was in the lead! He wasn't racing against slouches either, but he put his car on the extreme outside of the track and shot to the front, executing a "hair on fire" three wide pass on the front chute to take the lead. Once he gained the lead, he simply cruised after that. If he runs anything like this next Tuesday at Spencer, he could be in line for a nice two grand payday.
The Sport Mods started the cry to block the freeway South of Albert Lea and keep the Minnesota invaders out as Gopher State drivers won both the Sport Mod and Stock Car features. Jared Boumeester was nearly as dominant as Nielsen as he took just a few laps longer to drive into the lead in the Sport Mod main. To be fair, he started even deeper in the field(twelfth) but he was able to work the low side and drive his way to the front. Boumeester doesn't seem to mind the sanctioning body as he runs very well in this class, whether the letters at the start of the sanctioning body begin in I, U. or W. He's just that good.
The Stock Cars had the only big red flag producing incident of the night when Eric Barglof bicycled off turn four and flipped over early in the event. The corners started to chop out as the evening progresses as they were soft and despite some packing chores before the start of each main, they did get a little bouncy which led to several wild two wheel endeavors with only Barglof going shinny side down.
When the Stock Car feature continued, it was Minnesota invader Matt Speckman who schooled the field. He came from eighth to drive by Dan Hanselman for the win.
In the final event, the Modified feature, the smart money was on Todd Stinehart, only because he looked fast in his heat and he was from Minnesota. But before he could make his move, he got beat to the punch by Josh Ruby who came charging to the front from the third row and pulled away from the field. He built up a half straightaway lead as he was flying with drivers like Stinehart, Shryock , Swearingen and the Mills brothers having nothing for him. Interestingly, Ruby was one of the very few in the field not running a crate motor. Boumeester was also not running a crate in his Sport Mod with possibly every other car of the opposite variety. Stinehart did, by the way, work his way up to second before the feature ended.
But here was the most impressive part of the whole show. Nineteen races were contested which included five main events. The total time of racing, from green flag in the first Sport Compact to checkered in the Modified main, two hours and one minute! At eight fifty one the fans could head for their cars and get home. So despite the fact it was a cold night, most people were on their way home before they could truly get too cold. Maybe they'll remember that the next time the weather is threatening as to be honest, the crowd on Saturday was the smallest by far that I have ever seen for a race at Hancock County. But to be fair, it was also the first time I've ever been there for a regular Saturday night show.
Joe had to know when he opened the gates on Saturday that with the weather, he wasn't going to have a winner of a crowd before he even started but sometimes, that's what you have to do when you're in this crazy business. I was told that the three Iowa tracks that are lined up North to South and race on Saturday kind of operate in lock step. No one wants to blink so if one races, they all race.
Whenever I attend a Ringsdorf promotion I enjoy having a few moments to chat with track announcer Chad Meyer who knows what's happening behind the scenes in this part of the state. I also had the pleasure of sitting with Jim Ward, stalwart race fan from Cresco and Todd Narveson, the voice of the Deer Creek Speedway who was on a bus man's holiday tonight. I will not reveal which one was the one needing the "pit stop."
Thanks to Joe and his staff for realizing the weather situation and moving the show along. Thanks also to the drivers for providing plenty of racing action without a lot of yellow flags. And thanks to everyone who got out of my way on the freeway as I flew home!
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