Wednesday night, June 20th was night number two of the Clash at the Creek X at the 141 Speedway between Francis Creek and Maribel Wisconsin near Lake Michigan's shore. Gone were the Late Models who had their night on Tuesday and the program on Wednesday night included a full show of IMCA Sport Mods and Stock Cars plus double qualifying heats for the Modifieds in preparation for their ten grand to win main event on Thursday night.
While sixty eight cars had practiced on Wednesday night, a number more arrived to race on Thursday eschewing hot laps on Wednesday for a number of reasons. Some had work issues to contend with while others were regulars that felt they didn't need to spend another night practicing. When everyone got signed in and drew, the final count of Modifieds was eighty three cars including the last car through the gate, North Dakota's Casey Arneson who arrived just a half hour before the cut off occurred.
Everyone drew a number to establish starting positions for the first round of heat races and the second set of heats was simply the line up of the first set, but inverted. This way you raced against the same cars twice which seems the fairest way of running things. Passing points were used for both twelve lap heat races and the total points earned would set the running order for the races on Thursday. The top ten would automatically be locked in for Thursday night's feature race.
The field of cars was an outstanding one with the best of the best travelers on hand plus many from Toby's connections in Iowa in both the Mods and Sport Mods plus just about everyone from the eastern side of Wisconsin. The biggest names missing from the lineup locally were the Wilinski's and the Muensters.
The twelve lap heat races were much like main events with, as you might guess, some very intense racing. While there were not a bunch of yellow flag slowdowns and wrecks, there was plenty of hard racing action with each position so important to each driver. The Sport Mods and Stock Cars ran their heats before the Modifieds took to the track so the groove had already been moved out and the track mostly cleaned off for the Modifieds.
Two distinct race lanes opened up quickly with some choosing to hug the low groove, which, quite frankly, just looking at this tight and small oval, looks to be the best way around the track, but there was a second school of thought that believed that running the high side was the way to go. For most of the top runners that made the top ten, moving around on the track and using the high side was very beneficial. For Thursdays long distance finale however, the track might change enough that the high side would perhaps give up, but that remains to be seen.
The cream rose to the top, so to speak, in the heat races and there was not a single driver of the top ten that could be considered even a remote surprise. Four traveling stars, three Iowa drivers and three area Wisconsin drivers made up the ten that are locked into the show.
The top point earner was Ricky Thornton Jr, trying to come back from last week's roll over at another track while racing another big money show. He won both heats he started, coming from fifth and sixth positions to do so and thus earned many passing points for doing so. The other travelers that made the main included Hunter Marriott, Dylan Smith and defending champion Kyle Strickler.
The three Iowa drivers that made the show included Joel Rust, Cayden Carter and Kelly Shryock while the Wisconsin drivers that will start up front Thursday included Benji LaCrosse, Mike Mullen and Jason Czarapata with LaCrosse and Mullen scoring the second and third highest point totals. Shryock snuck in when Terry Phillips, who was in good position to make the top ten as the second round of heat races took place, accidentally got into the back of another car and had to tail his heat and while he finished up that race fairly strong, he put him just short of what he needed to gain a "locked in " position.
There were a total of four DQ's over the course of the night in all divisions but the most damaging occurred in the first Modified heat after Russ Reinwald was DQ'd after winning his heat race while starting seventh. Later he would win his second round heat and with the two wins would have surely made the show but his "no points" first race now requires him to race Thursday just to try and get in the field.
But the "hard luck" award of the night and probably the whole week would likely go to Lance Mari. The California racer, who is staying and racing throughout the Midwest this Summer, had to scratch out of both of his heat races on Wednesday night. But the reason he had to do so was the most frustrating part of the whole deal. What happened was that the lift gate on his trailer failed to operate and quite simply, he couldn't get his race car out of the trailer to race!
He had practiced on Tuesday night and reported that the car was the best ever and that he was very confident going into Wednesday night's show. However, in putting the car away the lift gate got stuck part way up and they could neither get it to move up or down. It was stuck. They worked on it late into the night on Tuesday, finally giving up and then going back to it on Wednesday morning. They went for parts to Green Bay and worked all day on the darn thing but just couldn't get it to budge.
Much later, well after the races were over on Wednesday night, they were finally able to cobble things together to the point that they could get the lift all the way up and lock the back door. They were then heading out to find a place where they could get repairs done to the motor that they believe failed, causing the whole mess. But they would be forced to miss the whole racing event with their next show planned for Saturday night in Minnesota.
As mentioned, Sport Mods and Stock Cars ran a full show on Wednesday night and will do so again on Thursday night. Thirty five Sport Mods and thirty three Stock Cars helped fill the rather small pit area to overflowing on Wednesday night. The Sport Mod field saw a number of Iowa drivers come up and join the action while the Stock Car field was mainly area competitors except for Texan Ronnie Christopher who always pulls up to this race.
Four heats and two B Features set the field for the Sport Mod main and Iowa visitor Ethan Braaksma humbled the local contingent, starting on the outside pole and running away from the field. In the rare, nonstop main event, Braaksma had no competition as he won by nearly a full straightaway with his only challenges being fighting his way through the lapped traffic as only two cars failed to finish the event.
At the finish, Braaksma had plenty of track space and three lapped cars between himself and runner up Kevin Bethke. The rest of the top five included Lucas Lamberies, Cody Schroeder and Justin Green. The second most damaging DQ of the night saw apparent third place finisher Bruce Belland removed from that spot for a post race technical issue.
The Stock Car feature was not the compelling kind of event that I am used to seeing the Stock Cars run either. It was a smooth race after we got the first lap grinding crash out of the way but Kyle Frederick started on the pole, led all the way and was never seriously challenged for the lead. A couple of mid race yellows for spins bunched the field but each time he pulled away from the pack and was never under any serious pressure and there were enough yellows that kept the field bunched that lapped cars, always a real battle on this tight track, never came into play either.
The race for second, though, was a good one with four cars trading spots on the track on each yellow. Jeremy Christians came from the third row to score the second place as he found the low groove to be his best line and he was trailed by John Heinz, Aaron Stolp and Hot Rod Snellenberger.
Eric Arneson came from twentieth to finish sixth and the top placing Iowa driver was Jay Schmidt who finished twelfth.
Jerry Van Sickel was brought in by Kruse to do the announcing on Wednesday and I got a chance to talk to him as he worked the pits before the show, meeting drivers and updating information. He gave me crap for not saying hello to him at Marshalltown when I've been there but I reminded him that I hadn't seen him in the pits there and that was the only way to find me before the races start. Jerry is announcing at Boone and Marshalltown again this year but not regularly on Wednesdays except as a fill in and sometimes for his brother at Fort Dodge as needed on Sundays. Still sounds like a lot to me.
Ken Schrader was scheduled to be the special guest at this event but I guess he got a better offer elsewhere as he was not to be seen and no mention was made of him during the week to date.
One thing Toby has brought with him to 141 from Iowa is the ability to run off a quick race program, something that so many other promoters continue to struggle to figure out how to execute. Wednesday night, with just a brief hot lap session before racing started, the first green flag waved five minutes after the scheduled starting time and after that, it was non stop racing. The Sport Mod drivers and Stock Car drivers had to be "on the stick" because as soon as their B Features were over, they turned right around and ran off their main events.
When all was said and done, twenty nine races were held and three hundred and thirty eight laps were put on the track and the final checkered flag waved before 10 pm! But Toby is a smart guy. He knows that his Left Turn Lounge on the property is a huge money maker, particularly for all the people camping and staying in the haulers on the grounds and the sooner he can get the races done, the sooner all those folks will probably want to eat and drink, all through the night. Plus, I believe he is operating under a 10:30 curfew and with things a bit testy between the track and the local township authorities, it's always a good idea not to "push their buttons" if not needed. It was a top notch show from start to finish and more is likely in store for Thursday.
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