This indeed was an Easter Sunday when I missed out on activities at home. On a three day pass when bad weather in the Upper Midwest saw me migrate down to the Hawkeye State for three nights of excellent racing and great weather, I wrapped up the weekend on Sunday night at Mick Trier's Benton County Speedway in Vinton.
And as great as the first part of the weekend was, Sunday was even more spectacular and certainly one of the nicest Easter Sundays that I can recall for many years. Topping off at over eighty degrees with bright sunshine, the only problem was the strong wind blowing from the South that made track preparation certainly a challenge. However, the folks in charge of that came through with flying colors, as we will discuss shortly.
This would be the opening night of racing for the 2019 season at Benton County as they lost their Frostbuster to the weather much earlier this month. And to open up the racing season on an Easter Sunday must be a challenge on many fronts, but everything seemed to be in mid season working order and I saw nary a "hiccup" by anyone all night.
The five regular classes that race at Vinton would be on hand for the opener along with the Bat Wings which also race their every week and the Legend Cars would join the show on this night also, with many of them coming all the way from North Dakota and Wisconsin to race. Late Models join the weekly fun starting in May.
It was looking quite grim in the pits for the longest time as it just seemed like no race cars were arriving. However, probably due to it being a holiday, many were running a little bit late with family activities to take care of first because when the cars started to arrive, they came rolling in all at once in droves. They ended up with eighty three cars in the five classes I count which was just a perfect number. That allowed full heats and no B Features, excellent for clock watchers like myself on Sunday nights facing a five and a half hour tote home.
Things started out on a rocky note when the first green flag for hot laps was still being waved in the starter's hand when Sport Mod driver Kyle Roose went cart wheeling off the third turn, ending up with a thud in the field. He was OK but the car was not. After that things settled down
The heat races were completed in very quick fashion and before you knew it, it was time for the first feature race to roll off. Since it was opening night, the draw/redraw format was in play and sometimes that helps the racing and sometimes not. I see the same thing in the tracks I frequent here in "Cheeseland" and in the "Gopher" state on opening night when they use the same qualifying procedure. Sometimes a fast car draws the pole with some blockers behind them and the racing is always the most exciting.
That seemed to prevail on Sunday in some of the early main events. In the Hobby Stock feature, Brett Vanous ran away for a dominating win. However, he didn't start right in front but actually in the fourth row but he was so much faster than the rest of the field that he just blew past everyone and ran away. Jacob Floyd finished a distant second with Bill Bonnett next in line.
The Sport Compact feature was much the same way. Luke Benischek started in the second row, found his way into the lead quickly and then drove away from the field, leading by almost half a lap in a race that was stopped just once by the yellow flag. Adam Gates would settle for second with Mitchell Bunch third.
Attrition in the heats would cut the Sport Mod field to a dozen cars for the main event and with Tony Olson elevated to the pole when Brady Hilmer failed to show, the drama in this race was little. Olson led from start to finish and only a late yellow flag that allowed Kyle Olson to move in behind him kept things close. Ben Chapman finished third.
By this time the wind was drying out the track and with the small tired, low horsepower cars on the track, everyone had migrated to the bottom groove and not a lot of racing was taking place. Fortunately, it was then time for the Stock Cars and Modifieds to take to the track. They quickly blew the "crumbs" off the track, widened the groove and we were then in for two excellent feature races to wrap up the night. The timing was perfect as everyone in the stands went home remarking about the great final two feature races and likely completely forgetting that the ones before that were a bit of "snoozers."
The Stock Car feature was a classic and was stopped only once by yellow flags. Jay Schmidt sat on the pole and while he may have been officially scored the leader of all eighteen laps, that statistic doesn't begin to tell the story of the race.
Schmidt was guarding the low groove and he was constantly being challenged by several different drivers at various points of the race. John Oliver Jr moved up from the third row to become his primary challenger when Damon Murty caught fire and after moving up from the fifth row, made it a three car battle for the lead.
The lone yellow set up a five lap sprint to the finish and it turned out to be a dandy. Murty was able to get past Oliver Jr for second and he began to put heavy pressure on Schmidt. After the yellow, Schmidt's car seemed to tighten up and he was really struggling to get it to turn in the corners as it was hiking up on him and he was opening the door for challenges. Murty stuck his nose under Schmidt as they took the white flag with Schmidt slamming the door shut in turn one.
However, Schmidt again struggled to get through that turn and Murty shot to the high side to try and pass. He got beside Schmidt when out of no where Oliver Jr. materialized and he shot to the middle between the two challengers. They went barreling into turn three side by side by side and no one giving an inch. Oliver Jr's momentum saw him slide up the track and with no where to go, he pretty much forced Murty over the top of the corner. Meanwhile, Schmidt stayed low and with the other two fully engaged, he snuck past both and drove home for the win. Oliver Jr did manage second ahead of Scooter Dulin with Murty unofficially nipping Brian Mahlstedt. It was a really exciting race and had the crowd in a state of ecstasy afterward as they were fully engaged, if you know what I mean.
The Modified feature was nearly as good with Kyle Brown and Troy Cordes battling for the lead along with Cory Dripps and Joel Rust. Jeff Aikey started way back in row five after he mistook the white flag for the checkered flag in his heat and dropped way back on the final tour.
He was making up for his mistake though, as he came charging up to challenge for the lead within a few laps. He moved in on Dripps, who was leading, and they began throwing slide jobs at each other and it was highly entertaining. They exchanged the lead several times while other drivers lurked close behind as the top five was in a big heap.
A yellow with five to go saw Aikey on Dripps' tail and it seemed that the leader was at a disadvantage as Aikey built up a head of steam down the back chute and blew past Dripps on the high side after Cory had opted to run the low line. Brown then made a charge , getting by Dripps for second and finishing a close second in what was another very entertaining main event and a great way to wrap up the evening.
A couple comments: Despite the challenging weather conditions with the sun and wind on a race track that had not seen any action to that point, I thought the track prep crew did a great job of offering up a nice, racy track for the drivers. Two water trucks were working constantly before the show, wetting down both the track and pits constantly and it paid dividends. Except for that short time when the narrow tire cars allowed the "crumbs" to build up and narrow up the groove, the racing was good all night and there were a variety of different lines to race on. Congrats to them for a job well done.
Sunday night race tracks in my area all need to pack up their bags, join me for an evening at Vinton and see how it is done to complete a seven class program at an early hour. Vinton had got it down to a science, making sure they start on time, use a one spin rule to keep the heats moving, take no breaks and shoot one race out on to the track just as the last one ends. It was beautiful to watch and a must if you want to keep fans coming on a Sunday night. In my area, things often drone on until almost 10 pm on a Sunday and then they wonder why the stands are so empty. It's not rocket science but it is just smart business sense. Congrats again to Mick, Race Director MVG and the rest of the staff on a job well done. I was on the road home before 8 pm and in my own personal "Happy Place."
It was good to see my old editor at Hawkeye, Jim Morrison, in the infield taking pictures. Somehow I missed him in the pits before the race and am sorry I did but it was good to see him still active and at the races. Sunday nights at Vinton. It's a good place to be if you're a race fan that likes action.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Persistent Pierce Tops Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway
Finally, one track was able catch a break in the weather and it helped to make the evening's racing both pleasant to watch and very successful for all, particularly winner Bobby Pierce.
The eleventh annual Slocum Memorial, honoring the memory of Brent Slocum, was held Saturday night, April 20th at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington Iowa. It was an absolutely beautiful day and evening for dirt track racing with even the hardened veterans in the pits commenting on what a great day it was. And since the weather is the one variable that no race track can control but also one of the most powerful factors in determining the success of an event, all things were playing into the hands of the folks that put on the Slocum each year. The end result was an excellent night of racing under the most pleasant of circumstances and a great crowd was on hand to enjoy the event.
The Slocum race has become far more than just a race. It is an event in the best meaning of that word. Folks come out early and spend the whole day at the track, partying and visiting and eating and drinking and just having fun and what a great day to do just that. The whole event has that "special" feeling to it that races strive to find but sometimes miss on. For me, it reminds me of an event that I am familiar with at home and that is the Street Stock "Little Dream" race in Rice Lake Wisconsin that will be celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary this July. The crowd for that event is very much the same kind of fun loving, partying kind of crowd that is especially enjoyable to be a part of.
MLRA Late Models were the featured attraction with 305 Sprint Cars and IMCA Stock Cars providing the support for the wide bodied cars. The Late Model field was a large and very strong one for this event with thirty seven cars signing in to race with many of the best drivers from the Tri State area on hand along with quite a few traveling stars from all parts of the country as the pre Easter holiday weekend is a little short on major events, thus the Slocum benefits from the presence of some "big name" drivers to take on the best from the area.
Rivalries ran high as the "Kings" of Iowa, the Simpson brothers were both on hand to defend their turf in front of a huge number of their supporters. The "King" of Illinois, Pierce was also on hand for his many supporters to cheer and let's not forget the other "King", retired from his throne but back to make a curtain call, Brian Birkhofer was debuting a new car on this night in one of his rare appearances.
Birkhofer was driving a plain black car with the strange number of OU812 on it, which was a puzzlement to me, along with most other people. Here is the story that I got for an explanation. Birkhofer is a big Sammy Hagar fan. The rock singer's picture, in fact, was on the race car. Hagar's eighth studio album, OU812(pronounced Oh, You Ate One Too), is a special favorite of the Steelers fan, thus the number on the car. Comprehend ?
The one disappoint to me, after the MLRA troops had draw for position and just raced passing points at Davenport the night before, decided instead to time trial on Saturday night. Being such a big fan of time trials, this sent me into a near state of ecstasy but I somehow managed to keep it together when I received the news.
As usual, the time trials managed to accomplish a couple things. They produced four heads up heat races that thus limited any passing, and they kept the program from starting at its scheduled time. The first race didn't hit the track until 7:45 pm but a tight program after that and top notch driving from all divisions that kept the yellow flags to a minimum allowed the speedway to keep their schedule rolling and the evening to conclude at a very reasonable time.
Four tough heat races set the field for the Late Model main event. By the way, all four heats were won off the pole. The biggest surprise was that Birkhofer failed to show for his heat after tagging the wall during qualifying and he did not race the rest of the night, surely a big disappointment with his home base being so close to this track. Poor Joseph Gorby towed all the way from Oklahoma, only to blow up in qualifying and see his night done before it even started. A couple of B Features, throw in a couple provisionals and the field was set.
However, the feature field got tossed before the green even flew. Third row starter Payton Looney opted for the back after he hurt his motor finishing second in his heat and the other third row starter, Rickey Frankel, failed to show so that whole row was gone. J. C. Wyman, who flipped in his heat, came back to run the feature as a provisional and he lasted the entire event.
The feature itself was a three car battle with Shannon Babb, Chad Simpson and Pierce battling it out, three of the drivers with the most vocal fan following. It was wild to watch the crowd as first one than the other would advance and all their fans would leap to their feet and cheer on their man. It was one of the most exuberant crowds I had seen at a race in a long time. This was good to see but I was glad that I was sitting in the top row while all this was going on!
Babb led early as he pounded the cushion while Simpson took his familiar low line and Pierce seemed to be feeling things out, running high but not as aggressive as he often can be. The race was slowed three times by yellows in the first eighteen laps but the last thirty two went non stop.
Eventually the tricky cushion in turn three tripped up Babb as twice he hooked the berm and went for a ride, losing but the lead and second with those missteps. Simpson took over the top spot and looked for all the world like he had things in control but then it appeared that Pierce went for broke as he really started pounding the cushion. As he seemed to pick up the pace, Simpson got into lapped traffic and that hurt him as he seemed to lose momentum coming off the corners. Perhaps he also spun his tires just once too often on the harder low side. In any event, coming off turn four with seven laps to go, Pierce blew by on the high side and then pulled away for the win. If nothing else, Pierce absolutely refused to give up and his persistence beating the cushion allowed him to take yet another big main event. Chris Simpson drove a determined race also and was just nipped by Babb for third while Ryan Unzicker was also consistent, running in the top five throughout the race.
The support classes did just exactly what they were supposed to do on this night. They provided a nice break from the main division, had enough cars for a couple heats and feature, provided some exciting racing of their own and didn't take too much time up for any of their races. And to top it off, both their mains were also good ones for those who watched.
The 305 Sprints had a "ringer" in Paul Nienhiser, who normally races everything from a winged 410 to a winged 360 and a Midget on occasion. He races with the Outlaws and just about every sanctioning body that supports open wheel racing. Saturday night he was in a borrowed ride and he was the winner of the 305 feature. Perhaps it was just me but it seemed like he just rode around for the first half of the race and when he saw the halfway signal, he picked up the pace, drove past Harold Pohren and then ran away for the win, carefully negotiating lapped traffic which got heavy at the end. Pohren edged Tanner Gebhardt in a wheel banging finish for second, one that saw Tanner more than peeved following the finish. One one yellow slowed the Sprint main.
Many "headed for the hills" when the Late Models were done but those that stayed saw a good Stock Car feature also. David Brandies led the majority of the race but he was constantly under the gun from several other drivers as the battle for second through fifth was a good one. With only one yellow flag to help him, John Oliver Jr did a masterful job coming from the fifth row to move into contention. Near the end, when Brandies slipped up the track, Oliver Jr drove past him to take over the lead and he held off a severe challenge from Abe Huls to take the win. Brandies settled for third ahead of Dustin Griffiths. It was an excellent way to wrap up the night, with fireworks to follow for those that hung around.
Not knowing a lot about the Slocum Foundation, I was very impressed to hear about all the good things they are doing for the community and its kids and doing a very good job of making a good thing out as a result of one very terrible night here at 34. Congratulations to them for their hard work as this event just seems to get bigger and better every year.
Thanks to all the staff and management at 34 for their help and generosity. It was a great night of racing for all the right reasons.
The eleventh annual Slocum Memorial, honoring the memory of Brent Slocum, was held Saturday night, April 20th at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington Iowa. It was an absolutely beautiful day and evening for dirt track racing with even the hardened veterans in the pits commenting on what a great day it was. And since the weather is the one variable that no race track can control but also one of the most powerful factors in determining the success of an event, all things were playing into the hands of the folks that put on the Slocum each year. The end result was an excellent night of racing under the most pleasant of circumstances and a great crowd was on hand to enjoy the event.
The Slocum race has become far more than just a race. It is an event in the best meaning of that word. Folks come out early and spend the whole day at the track, partying and visiting and eating and drinking and just having fun and what a great day to do just that. The whole event has that "special" feeling to it that races strive to find but sometimes miss on. For me, it reminds me of an event that I am familiar with at home and that is the Street Stock "Little Dream" race in Rice Lake Wisconsin that will be celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary this July. The crowd for that event is very much the same kind of fun loving, partying kind of crowd that is especially enjoyable to be a part of.
MLRA Late Models were the featured attraction with 305 Sprint Cars and IMCA Stock Cars providing the support for the wide bodied cars. The Late Model field was a large and very strong one for this event with thirty seven cars signing in to race with many of the best drivers from the Tri State area on hand along with quite a few traveling stars from all parts of the country as the pre Easter holiday weekend is a little short on major events, thus the Slocum benefits from the presence of some "big name" drivers to take on the best from the area.
Rivalries ran high as the "Kings" of Iowa, the Simpson brothers were both on hand to defend their turf in front of a huge number of their supporters. The "King" of Illinois, Pierce was also on hand for his many supporters to cheer and let's not forget the other "King", retired from his throne but back to make a curtain call, Brian Birkhofer was debuting a new car on this night in one of his rare appearances.
Birkhofer was driving a plain black car with the strange number of OU812 on it, which was a puzzlement to me, along with most other people. Here is the story that I got for an explanation. Birkhofer is a big Sammy Hagar fan. The rock singer's picture, in fact, was on the race car. Hagar's eighth studio album, OU812(pronounced Oh, You Ate One Too), is a special favorite of the Steelers fan, thus the number on the car. Comprehend ?
The one disappoint to me, after the MLRA troops had draw for position and just raced passing points at Davenport the night before, decided instead to time trial on Saturday night. Being such a big fan of time trials, this sent me into a near state of ecstasy but I somehow managed to keep it together when I received the news.
As usual, the time trials managed to accomplish a couple things. They produced four heads up heat races that thus limited any passing, and they kept the program from starting at its scheduled time. The first race didn't hit the track until 7:45 pm but a tight program after that and top notch driving from all divisions that kept the yellow flags to a minimum allowed the speedway to keep their schedule rolling and the evening to conclude at a very reasonable time.
Four tough heat races set the field for the Late Model main event. By the way, all four heats were won off the pole. The biggest surprise was that Birkhofer failed to show for his heat after tagging the wall during qualifying and he did not race the rest of the night, surely a big disappointment with his home base being so close to this track. Poor Joseph Gorby towed all the way from Oklahoma, only to blow up in qualifying and see his night done before it even started. A couple of B Features, throw in a couple provisionals and the field was set.
However, the feature field got tossed before the green even flew. Third row starter Payton Looney opted for the back after he hurt his motor finishing second in his heat and the other third row starter, Rickey Frankel, failed to show so that whole row was gone. J. C. Wyman, who flipped in his heat, came back to run the feature as a provisional and he lasted the entire event.
The feature itself was a three car battle with Shannon Babb, Chad Simpson and Pierce battling it out, three of the drivers with the most vocal fan following. It was wild to watch the crowd as first one than the other would advance and all their fans would leap to their feet and cheer on their man. It was one of the most exuberant crowds I had seen at a race in a long time. This was good to see but I was glad that I was sitting in the top row while all this was going on!
Babb led early as he pounded the cushion while Simpson took his familiar low line and Pierce seemed to be feeling things out, running high but not as aggressive as he often can be. The race was slowed three times by yellows in the first eighteen laps but the last thirty two went non stop.
Eventually the tricky cushion in turn three tripped up Babb as twice he hooked the berm and went for a ride, losing but the lead and second with those missteps. Simpson took over the top spot and looked for all the world like he had things in control but then it appeared that Pierce went for broke as he really started pounding the cushion. As he seemed to pick up the pace, Simpson got into lapped traffic and that hurt him as he seemed to lose momentum coming off the corners. Perhaps he also spun his tires just once too often on the harder low side. In any event, coming off turn four with seven laps to go, Pierce blew by on the high side and then pulled away for the win. If nothing else, Pierce absolutely refused to give up and his persistence beating the cushion allowed him to take yet another big main event. Chris Simpson drove a determined race also and was just nipped by Babb for third while Ryan Unzicker was also consistent, running in the top five throughout the race.
The support classes did just exactly what they were supposed to do on this night. They provided a nice break from the main division, had enough cars for a couple heats and feature, provided some exciting racing of their own and didn't take too much time up for any of their races. And to top it off, both their mains were also good ones for those who watched.
The 305 Sprints had a "ringer" in Paul Nienhiser, who normally races everything from a winged 410 to a winged 360 and a Midget on occasion. He races with the Outlaws and just about every sanctioning body that supports open wheel racing. Saturday night he was in a borrowed ride and he was the winner of the 305 feature. Perhaps it was just me but it seemed like he just rode around for the first half of the race and when he saw the halfway signal, he picked up the pace, drove past Harold Pohren and then ran away for the win, carefully negotiating lapped traffic which got heavy at the end. Pohren edged Tanner Gebhardt in a wheel banging finish for second, one that saw Tanner more than peeved following the finish. One one yellow slowed the Sprint main.
Many "headed for the hills" when the Late Models were done but those that stayed saw a good Stock Car feature also. David Brandies led the majority of the race but he was constantly under the gun from several other drivers as the battle for second through fifth was a good one. With only one yellow flag to help him, John Oliver Jr did a masterful job coming from the fifth row to move into contention. Near the end, when Brandies slipped up the track, Oliver Jr drove past him to take over the lead and he held off a severe challenge from Abe Huls to take the win. Brandies settled for third ahead of Dustin Griffiths. It was an excellent way to wrap up the night, with fireworks to follow for those that hung around.
Not knowing a lot about the Slocum Foundation, I was very impressed to hear about all the good things they are doing for the community and its kids and doing a very good job of making a good thing out as a result of one very terrible night here at 34. Congratulations to them for their hard work as this event just seems to get bigger and better every year.
Thanks to all the staff and management at 34 for their help and generosity. It was a great night of racing for all the right reasons.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Bruening Grinds Out Marshalltown Win
Friday night, April 19th, I was at the Marshalltown Speedway for the first time in 2019. The special event on tap for Friday was the first ever appearance of the SLMR Late Model Series along with a full program of racing in the six(counting Mod Lites) that race weekly at the high banked quarter mile oval. And Perhaps finally, the weather may have finally broke for all those water logged promoters across the Hawkeye State and beyond. Although it was winds(and again it was right in our faces in the main grandstand), it was not as brutal a night as it has been of late. In fact, despite not having been forecast to lie down, that is exactly what the wind did after dark and that made things much more tolerable if you were dressed for the occasion. And trust me, I had enough coats along on this evening to cloth the entire crowd!
This was the first time ever at Marshalltown for the SLMR Series and they provided a whole new set of racing faces for the spectators, many of whom had never seen many of the stars of this series, which is primarily supported by drivers from the state of Nebraska, which automatically sets up a nice rivalry series. I'm still trying to figure out all the different motor combinations that are available to the drivers and just who is running what, just to get a comparison to find out if the various spec engines and crate motors are competitive against the open motor cars which I would think would be key to this series fully developing any "legs" in an area dominated by spec motored cars.
The Late Model car turnout was impressive for their first visit ever to Marshalltown with thirty nine drivers signing in to race which included eight out of the top ten in SLMR points. A nice turnout of local and area IMCA drivers was on hand also to help pad the field and the show they put on would rival any of the other series that I have seen race at Marshalltown. I have only two comments of a negative nature. When I was at I-80 a few weeks ago and they ran time trials for the Late Models I thought it was an anomaly because of the two day show offered there. It turns out I was wrong once again and apparently, time trials are now a part of their regular race format, unfortunately. I am deadly averse to time trials and try to avoid places and series that run them like the plague. My arguments against time trials are as old as racing itself. Namely that it puts lots of extra laps on tracks that normally can't handle the extra laps and just about assures that the racing will never get started on time because TT never go as smooth as promised. Even a place as prompt as Marshalltown didn't see the first race hit the track until 8:15 pm and that is much too late. At least they didn't start the heats straight up, inverting six, but that doesn't make much sense either since the rest of the show's starting order was based on passing points and that would seem to penalize someone who qualified very quick.
The other just surprising thing is that when they are paying two grand to win, they only run twenty five laps which seems just a bit short to me. The Deery Brothers or most other series, paying that amount of money, would likely go forty or fifty which I think gives the drivers who don't start right up front more of a chance. But now back to positive racing.
Four heats f or the Late Models provided some surprise winners in Ryan Griffith and Curtis Glover and also established that Richie Gustin, Tyler Bruening and Nick Deal were very quick and eventually that's just the way it played out in the Late Model main.
With Kyle Berck on the pole, much was expected of him but so far this year he has appeared to be just a "tick" off with his program and the year's early season sensation, Nick Deal, took the early lead. Bruening and Gustin were quickly factors with Bruening closing in on Deal who had opened up a slight lead but seemed to be slipping a bit on the slippery corners as Bruening closed.
The night's controversy then erupted as in corner one Deal seemed to slip up and come down the track slightly and at the same time Bruening had a head of steam going into the corner. Tyler clipped Nick and around Deal went, triggering the only yellow flag of the event. There was then a moment of indecision as we all waited for the call. Deal tried to go back to the front but was stopped and sent to the rear with Bruening allowed to hold the lead. Calls like this are all based on what the rules for your series happen to be and they tend to vary as much as the weather. Personally, I would have liked to see both sent to the back but that is just me.
In any event, Bruening retained the lead but was soon under the gun from Gustin, who was pounding the high banks mercilessly. He was able to drive around Bruening and take the lead briefly but then Bruening seemed to pick up the pace in the low groove and Gustin had nothing to offer in response. Bruening led the rest of the way as Gustin slipped back several car lengths. The story at the end was the charge of Billy Leighton who started thirteenth and on the final corner slipped past Berck for third in a stirring drive while Andy Eckrich ran a solid fifth. Only two cars failed to go the distance.
Earlier we all got a major fright when Tad Pospisal flew off the turn three banking during time trials and barrel rolled numerous times before coming to a halt. He was reported to be OK and the car heavily damaged but we didn't get to see much of the car since it was right in the area of the edge of the pits by the catwalk and was taken directly to the pits. But it was one of the hardest flips seen in quite some time for those that managed to spot it.
And while the Late Models were the featured attraction, the other classes also put on a good show with nice car counts in the other classes too for their weekly racing event.
The Modified feature saw Tim Ward move up from the third row to take the win in a race that was stopped twice after one lap was complete and then ran the rest of the way unfettered. Ward used the inside to drive under Troy Cordes, the early leader and then he had to fend off Jimmy Gustin for the win. However, Ward was strong and Gustin could never get close enough to provide a serious challenge. Cayden Carter and Joel Rust followed.
The Stock Car feature was a three car battle all the way in a nonstop main event. After Todd Reitzler took the early lead, Steve Meyer drove around him to take the top spot. But Jeff Mueller was working well on the bottom and drove under Meyer to take over the lead. Meyer refused to give up the banking though, and stayed within striking distance. Meanwhile, Ricky Thornton Jr, who was strangely driving a Stock Car on this night but not his Modified, moved up from the third row to challenge, driving his Stock Car just as he does his Mod and moving all over the track to make passes.
Mueller started to get a bit slower on the bottom lane and Meyer gradually caught back up to him with Thornton Jr running on Meyer's bumper. Meyer completed the pass and took over the lead and then it was Thornton Jr's chance as he pulled a couple of sliders to try and squeeze by Meyer but each time Meyer timed it perfectly and crossed back over to regain the lead. On the final corner Thornton Jr tried to stay low but it didn't work and Meyer drove home for a well deserved win.
Cory VanZante and Austin Schrage battled for the lead early in the Sport Mod main but it was Jake McBurnie that flexed his muscle as he came from the third row to take over the top spot and once in front, he dominated the race. There were a couple of yellow flags to bunch the field including one with just two laps to go, but he controlled the restart to pull away and take the win. Thomas Egenberger drove a great race to finish second with the battle for third going to Austin Kaplan who edged out Cory Rose at the line for third.
A big field of twenty five Hobby Stocks took the green flag for their main and this race was yellow flagged quite often. Things started with a bang on the opening lap when prohibitive favorite Jeff Anderson had a car spin and end up right in his grill but he somehow avoided getting caught up in the mess and despite the fact that his hood was buckled, he was able to keep racing. And it didn't take him long to get to the front from the fourth row as he made a couple of bold dives from the low side and before long had the top spot.
He just continues to amaze as he racked up yet another feature win as he held off a tough challenge from David Rieks for the win with pole starter Mike Kinkaid third.
It was an entertaining night of racing and a good crowd was on hand despite the cool temperatures. As usual Toby Kruse and his stout crew did a good job of moving things along as they have indoctrinated the drivers in the fact that when they spin or stall, they must either move or leave the track and this helps immensely in keeping the show moving. It was a long show and it did get a bit late with all the classes but I think everyone left satisfied in what they had seen.
This was the first time ever at Marshalltown for the SLMR Series and they provided a whole new set of racing faces for the spectators, many of whom had never seen many of the stars of this series, which is primarily supported by drivers from the state of Nebraska, which automatically sets up a nice rivalry series. I'm still trying to figure out all the different motor combinations that are available to the drivers and just who is running what, just to get a comparison to find out if the various spec engines and crate motors are competitive against the open motor cars which I would think would be key to this series fully developing any "legs" in an area dominated by spec motored cars.
The Late Model car turnout was impressive for their first visit ever to Marshalltown with thirty nine drivers signing in to race which included eight out of the top ten in SLMR points. A nice turnout of local and area IMCA drivers was on hand also to help pad the field and the show they put on would rival any of the other series that I have seen race at Marshalltown. I have only two comments of a negative nature. When I was at I-80 a few weeks ago and they ran time trials for the Late Models I thought it was an anomaly because of the two day show offered there. It turns out I was wrong once again and apparently, time trials are now a part of their regular race format, unfortunately. I am deadly averse to time trials and try to avoid places and series that run them like the plague. My arguments against time trials are as old as racing itself. Namely that it puts lots of extra laps on tracks that normally can't handle the extra laps and just about assures that the racing will never get started on time because TT never go as smooth as promised. Even a place as prompt as Marshalltown didn't see the first race hit the track until 8:15 pm and that is much too late. At least they didn't start the heats straight up, inverting six, but that doesn't make much sense either since the rest of the show's starting order was based on passing points and that would seem to penalize someone who qualified very quick.
The other just surprising thing is that when they are paying two grand to win, they only run twenty five laps which seems just a bit short to me. The Deery Brothers or most other series, paying that amount of money, would likely go forty or fifty which I think gives the drivers who don't start right up front more of a chance. But now back to positive racing.
Four heats f or the Late Models provided some surprise winners in Ryan Griffith and Curtis Glover and also established that Richie Gustin, Tyler Bruening and Nick Deal were very quick and eventually that's just the way it played out in the Late Model main.
With Kyle Berck on the pole, much was expected of him but so far this year he has appeared to be just a "tick" off with his program and the year's early season sensation, Nick Deal, took the early lead. Bruening and Gustin were quickly factors with Bruening closing in on Deal who had opened up a slight lead but seemed to be slipping a bit on the slippery corners as Bruening closed.
The night's controversy then erupted as in corner one Deal seemed to slip up and come down the track slightly and at the same time Bruening had a head of steam going into the corner. Tyler clipped Nick and around Deal went, triggering the only yellow flag of the event. There was then a moment of indecision as we all waited for the call. Deal tried to go back to the front but was stopped and sent to the rear with Bruening allowed to hold the lead. Calls like this are all based on what the rules for your series happen to be and they tend to vary as much as the weather. Personally, I would have liked to see both sent to the back but that is just me.
In any event, Bruening retained the lead but was soon under the gun from Gustin, who was pounding the high banks mercilessly. He was able to drive around Bruening and take the lead briefly but then Bruening seemed to pick up the pace in the low groove and Gustin had nothing to offer in response. Bruening led the rest of the way as Gustin slipped back several car lengths. The story at the end was the charge of Billy Leighton who started thirteenth and on the final corner slipped past Berck for third in a stirring drive while Andy Eckrich ran a solid fifth. Only two cars failed to go the distance.
Earlier we all got a major fright when Tad Pospisal flew off the turn three banking during time trials and barrel rolled numerous times before coming to a halt. He was reported to be OK and the car heavily damaged but we didn't get to see much of the car since it was right in the area of the edge of the pits by the catwalk and was taken directly to the pits. But it was one of the hardest flips seen in quite some time for those that managed to spot it.
And while the Late Models were the featured attraction, the other classes also put on a good show with nice car counts in the other classes too for their weekly racing event.
The Modified feature saw Tim Ward move up from the third row to take the win in a race that was stopped twice after one lap was complete and then ran the rest of the way unfettered. Ward used the inside to drive under Troy Cordes, the early leader and then he had to fend off Jimmy Gustin for the win. However, Ward was strong and Gustin could never get close enough to provide a serious challenge. Cayden Carter and Joel Rust followed.
The Stock Car feature was a three car battle all the way in a nonstop main event. After Todd Reitzler took the early lead, Steve Meyer drove around him to take the top spot. But Jeff Mueller was working well on the bottom and drove under Meyer to take over the lead. Meyer refused to give up the banking though, and stayed within striking distance. Meanwhile, Ricky Thornton Jr, who was strangely driving a Stock Car on this night but not his Modified, moved up from the third row to challenge, driving his Stock Car just as he does his Mod and moving all over the track to make passes.
Mueller started to get a bit slower on the bottom lane and Meyer gradually caught back up to him with Thornton Jr running on Meyer's bumper. Meyer completed the pass and took over the lead and then it was Thornton Jr's chance as he pulled a couple of sliders to try and squeeze by Meyer but each time Meyer timed it perfectly and crossed back over to regain the lead. On the final corner Thornton Jr tried to stay low but it didn't work and Meyer drove home for a well deserved win.
Cory VanZante and Austin Schrage battled for the lead early in the Sport Mod main but it was Jake McBurnie that flexed his muscle as he came from the third row to take over the top spot and once in front, he dominated the race. There were a couple of yellow flags to bunch the field including one with just two laps to go, but he controlled the restart to pull away and take the win. Thomas Egenberger drove a great race to finish second with the battle for third going to Austin Kaplan who edged out Cory Rose at the line for third.
A big field of twenty five Hobby Stocks took the green flag for their main and this race was yellow flagged quite often. Things started with a bang on the opening lap when prohibitive favorite Jeff Anderson had a car spin and end up right in his grill but he somehow avoided getting caught up in the mess and despite the fact that his hood was buckled, he was able to keep racing. And it didn't take him long to get to the front from the fourth row as he made a couple of bold dives from the low side and before long had the top spot.
He just continues to amaze as he racked up yet another feature win as he held off a tough challenge from David Rieks for the win with pole starter Mike Kinkaid third.
It was an entertaining night of racing and a good crowd was on hand despite the cool temperatures. As usual Toby Kruse and his stout crew did a good job of moving things along as they have indoctrinated the drivers in the fact that when they spin or stall, they must either move or leave the track and this helps immensely in keeping the show moving. It was a long show and it did get a bit late with all the classes but I think everyone left satisfied in what they had seen.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
The Weather "Blows" (both literally and figuratively) But MVG Gets Stuart Going
Water fell from the sky Wednesday afternoon and water didn't flow in the powder rooms. These were just two of the challenges facing Mike VanGenderen and his staff as they tried to open the Stuart International Speedway for the first time under his guidance on Wednesday but everyone stayed the course and racing took place at the high banked quarter mile for the first time under his watch.
Seventy nine cars in my five countable classes showed up and they put on a good opening night program despite all the things working against them from mid afternoon on.
The potential was there for some explosive weather as a cold front swept through the area in the mid afternoon hours. I felt like a fool when I jumped out of my car with a sweatshirt on, only to be greeted by temperatures in the mid seventies and a hot wind blowing from the Southwest. Most of the storms blew up to the North of Stuart but there was one small line that came through, depositing just a light shower for a few minutes before it moved on and out of the area with blue skies to replace it soon after. However, then the winds increased and shifted directions and the temperatures plummeted, making for quite a miserable evening from that standpoint.
And wouldn't you think a veteran race fan would not venture off to a track over five hours away and forget to bring a coat? Well, that's the situation I put myself in and before the evening was over I would pay the consequences for my lapse in judgement. I also forgot the power cord for my phone so soon I had a dead phone and nearly some dead body parts before the final checkered flag waved. But I digress.
Mike VG was a nervous before a race as I have ever seen him before. But this was a new deal for him. This was his track alone and he was not just running the show for someone else. Plus, he did have some issues that he was fighting back against. He still has no water as the water lines are either frozen or broken. He brought in a flotilla of "portables" to take care of the needs of his fans but he had no running water to either take care of the track of for cooking. Where he got the water for that I do not know and perhaps, don't want to know. The bottom line is that the pits and track got watered and the food got prepared. Concessions are a huge item at any track as well as a giant headache and when Mike lost his concession manager, fortunately his sister stepped in to fill the void.
Mike had everything painted and spruced up that could be and the whole facility looked as nice as I have ever seen it before. He is a stickler about that and I was impressed how nice everything looked. That might not be a huge deal to some people but I always think that a place that is painted up and looking sharp makes me think they care just that little extra. But again I digress.
The problem with a midweek race track is that everyone shows up at the same time, when they get home from work and pile in the car to head to the track, whether to race or spectate. For that reason, the pits remained quite empty until just after 6 pm and then all heck broke loose as the cars were lined up all the way over the hill as everyone tried to get into the pits at the same time. This produced a little back up and resulted in the first green flag being about fifteen minutes late. However, after that point it was smooth running all the way, as most MVG promoted shows are. And much of the delays will have been taken care of with most of the drivers having now completed their essential paperwork.
It was the Tim Stevens Memorial race and over three thousand dollars was added to the purse in donations going to a variety of finishing spots in all the mains. Good fields of cars were on hand in all classes with only the Modifieds not showing in the numbers perhaps I would have hoped for. They ran themselves out of Osky by not showing up in acceptable numbers. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen here in Stuart.
The track was a bit heavy early in the show as MVG had given the track a good splash of water to try and keep the winds, gusting at approximately 430 mph and blowing right into the stands, from dusting out the fans. This held until the heats were completed and then the track quickly changed character as it went dry and slick with drivers searching for the best line around the track. There was plenty of pack style racing in the heats and only two yellows in eleven preliminary events, so we were quickly back on schedule.
A quick break was held for a challenge race with all heat race winners in all classes, save the Sport Compacts, spread out around the track to race against each other. Richie Gustin came from nine tenth of a lap down to pass Hobby Stock driver Corey Madden on the last lap and collect the cash.
Then it was feature time. We led right off with perhaps the best feature of the night first and that was the Hobby Stocks. Shannon Anderson started in the second row and he was able to "strong arm" his way into the lead on the opening lap. However, as opposed to most times when he gets in front, he wasn't able to run away from the field on this night. Madden and Adam Ayers were battling hard for second as they swapped the spot back and forth and then both caught Anderson. A three way battle for the spot broke out with Anderson and Madden exchanging clean but exciting slide jobs for the lead. Anderson was searching around the track, trying to find the best line and he was vulnerable. They battled hard right down to the end with some contact on the final lap as Anderson slipped inside Madden in turn two and held him off by inches for a great finish. Almost not noticed was John Watson who had started thirteenth and had caught the top three, only to run out of laps.
All twenty one Sport Mods started the main and that created quite the track jam. However, everyone did a great job and only a couple of yellows slowed the action. Pole sitter Kody Havens was dominant as he led from start to finish and managed to keep some distance from the rest of the field. His main challenger was Doug Smith who came from the fourth row to finish second.
The Sport Compacts went nonstop with another pole sitter Denny Berghahn Jr leading all the way. However, the win was not an easy one for the driver that pulled over from Nebraska. Mitchell Bunch was all over him and they battled throughout the race. Meanwhile, Jake Benischek came from the fifth row for third and may have been the fastest car at the end.
Josh Daniels led from start to finish to win the Stock Car feature, a race that wasn't up to the standards that I normally expect from the Stock Cars. The track started to dry out and most of the cars were hugging the low groove by this point as the 431 mph winds (it had picked up in intensity) pretty much dried out the track. Daniels guarded the low groove and kept everyone behind him. Mike Nichols was the show as he started in the fifth row(bad redraw) and used most of what was left of the track to get up to second, but he ran out of laps to put a heavy challenge on Daniels. Things got explosive early in the race when Buck Schafroth cut corner four too tight, clipped an infield tire and caused him to barrel roll hard twice right in the middle of the track. He was fortunately OK.
As well as Ricky Thornton Jr is running these days, he doesn't really need any special breaks. But he caught one for the start of the Modified feature when pole sitter Bob Daniels opted for the tail. This moved Thornton Jr to the pole and it was just a matter of him not screwing up for twenty laps as Gustin and Happy Gilman gave chase. Most ended up riding the banking in turns one and two and hugging the tires on the West end of the track.
The thing that separates man from the apes is our appose able thumbs so that we can write. However, as I look back on my notes, they gradually went downhill as the evening progressed and my thumb started locking up. By the end of the Modifieds, J Fred Mugs could have made better notes than I! It got so bad and I looked so pathetic that even "Crazy Martin" shared his blanket with me.
The final checkered flag waved just after 10 pm with wind gusts reported as having dropped to 429 mph by the end of things. I'm guessing that MVG is shooting for a time just a little bit earlier than that in weeks to come, but that might be hard to accomplish with the six class program that he is presenting. Thanks to him and all his staff for a warm welcome. Oh, and can you calm that wind down for the MLRA show upcoming?
Seventy nine cars in my five countable classes showed up and they put on a good opening night program despite all the things working against them from mid afternoon on.
The potential was there for some explosive weather as a cold front swept through the area in the mid afternoon hours. I felt like a fool when I jumped out of my car with a sweatshirt on, only to be greeted by temperatures in the mid seventies and a hot wind blowing from the Southwest. Most of the storms blew up to the North of Stuart but there was one small line that came through, depositing just a light shower for a few minutes before it moved on and out of the area with blue skies to replace it soon after. However, then the winds increased and shifted directions and the temperatures plummeted, making for quite a miserable evening from that standpoint.
And wouldn't you think a veteran race fan would not venture off to a track over five hours away and forget to bring a coat? Well, that's the situation I put myself in and before the evening was over I would pay the consequences for my lapse in judgement. I also forgot the power cord for my phone so soon I had a dead phone and nearly some dead body parts before the final checkered flag waved. But I digress.
Mike VG was a nervous before a race as I have ever seen him before. But this was a new deal for him. This was his track alone and he was not just running the show for someone else. Plus, he did have some issues that he was fighting back against. He still has no water as the water lines are either frozen or broken. He brought in a flotilla of "portables" to take care of the needs of his fans but he had no running water to either take care of the track of for cooking. Where he got the water for that I do not know and perhaps, don't want to know. The bottom line is that the pits and track got watered and the food got prepared. Concessions are a huge item at any track as well as a giant headache and when Mike lost his concession manager, fortunately his sister stepped in to fill the void.
Mike had everything painted and spruced up that could be and the whole facility looked as nice as I have ever seen it before. He is a stickler about that and I was impressed how nice everything looked. That might not be a huge deal to some people but I always think that a place that is painted up and looking sharp makes me think they care just that little extra. But again I digress.
The problem with a midweek race track is that everyone shows up at the same time, when they get home from work and pile in the car to head to the track, whether to race or spectate. For that reason, the pits remained quite empty until just after 6 pm and then all heck broke loose as the cars were lined up all the way over the hill as everyone tried to get into the pits at the same time. This produced a little back up and resulted in the first green flag being about fifteen minutes late. However, after that point it was smooth running all the way, as most MVG promoted shows are. And much of the delays will have been taken care of with most of the drivers having now completed their essential paperwork.
It was the Tim Stevens Memorial race and over three thousand dollars was added to the purse in donations going to a variety of finishing spots in all the mains. Good fields of cars were on hand in all classes with only the Modifieds not showing in the numbers perhaps I would have hoped for. They ran themselves out of Osky by not showing up in acceptable numbers. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen here in Stuart.
The track was a bit heavy early in the show as MVG had given the track a good splash of water to try and keep the winds, gusting at approximately 430 mph and blowing right into the stands, from dusting out the fans. This held until the heats were completed and then the track quickly changed character as it went dry and slick with drivers searching for the best line around the track. There was plenty of pack style racing in the heats and only two yellows in eleven preliminary events, so we were quickly back on schedule.
A quick break was held for a challenge race with all heat race winners in all classes, save the Sport Compacts, spread out around the track to race against each other. Richie Gustin came from nine tenth of a lap down to pass Hobby Stock driver Corey Madden on the last lap and collect the cash.
Then it was feature time. We led right off with perhaps the best feature of the night first and that was the Hobby Stocks. Shannon Anderson started in the second row and he was able to "strong arm" his way into the lead on the opening lap. However, as opposed to most times when he gets in front, he wasn't able to run away from the field on this night. Madden and Adam Ayers were battling hard for second as they swapped the spot back and forth and then both caught Anderson. A three way battle for the spot broke out with Anderson and Madden exchanging clean but exciting slide jobs for the lead. Anderson was searching around the track, trying to find the best line and he was vulnerable. They battled hard right down to the end with some contact on the final lap as Anderson slipped inside Madden in turn two and held him off by inches for a great finish. Almost not noticed was John Watson who had started thirteenth and had caught the top three, only to run out of laps.
All twenty one Sport Mods started the main and that created quite the track jam. However, everyone did a great job and only a couple of yellows slowed the action. Pole sitter Kody Havens was dominant as he led from start to finish and managed to keep some distance from the rest of the field. His main challenger was Doug Smith who came from the fourth row to finish second.
The Sport Compacts went nonstop with another pole sitter Denny Berghahn Jr leading all the way. However, the win was not an easy one for the driver that pulled over from Nebraska. Mitchell Bunch was all over him and they battled throughout the race. Meanwhile, Jake Benischek came from the fifth row for third and may have been the fastest car at the end.
Josh Daniels led from start to finish to win the Stock Car feature, a race that wasn't up to the standards that I normally expect from the Stock Cars. The track started to dry out and most of the cars were hugging the low groove by this point as the 431 mph winds (it had picked up in intensity) pretty much dried out the track. Daniels guarded the low groove and kept everyone behind him. Mike Nichols was the show as he started in the fifth row(bad redraw) and used most of what was left of the track to get up to second, but he ran out of laps to put a heavy challenge on Daniels. Things got explosive early in the race when Buck Schafroth cut corner four too tight, clipped an infield tire and caused him to barrel roll hard twice right in the middle of the track. He was fortunately OK.
As well as Ricky Thornton Jr is running these days, he doesn't really need any special breaks. But he caught one for the start of the Modified feature when pole sitter Bob Daniels opted for the tail. This moved Thornton Jr to the pole and it was just a matter of him not screwing up for twenty laps as Gustin and Happy Gilman gave chase. Most ended up riding the banking in turns one and two and hugging the tires on the West end of the track.
The thing that separates man from the apes is our appose able thumbs so that we can write. However, as I look back on my notes, they gradually went downhill as the evening progressed and my thumb started locking up. By the end of the Modifieds, J Fred Mugs could have made better notes than I! It got so bad and I looked so pathetic that even "Crazy Martin" shared his blanket with me.
The final checkered flag waved just after 10 pm with wind gusts reported as having dropped to 429 mph by the end of things. I'm guessing that MVG is shooting for a time just a little bit earlier than that in weeks to come, but that might be hard to accomplish with the six class program that he is presenting. Thanks to him and all his staff for a warm welcome. Oh, and can you calm that wind down for the MLRA show upcoming?
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Carter Tops List of Winners on Osky's Opening Night
Wednesday night, April 10th, the Southern Iowa Speedway opened their season on a cool and very breezy night.
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't really have any plans to attend this race and in fact, wasn't really aware that Oskaloosa was racing on this night until the last moment. Somehow, I got my dates confused and I believed that after having their special Tuesday night opener canceled that they weren't scheduled to start their season until next week. Frankly, the only reason that I was in the state this early in the week was because of the local weather in my area. While not being in the blizzard warned area, I was in the Winter Storm area and with a combination of wet snow and ice, I knew that there would be no racing in the Wisconsin/Minnesota area this weekend and if I wanted to see any racing this week at all, I better "get out of Dodge" before I got weathered in.
For that reason, I left home early on Wednesday morning and even leaving at that early hour, I had to drive through some heavy snow and ice before I crossed the Minnesota border into Iowa. But the good news was that I took the time to double check race schedules and discovered that Oskaloosa was indeed scheduled to race on this night and despite it being a cloudy, cool and windy day, the race was still on as scheduled.
Upon arriving at the Mahaska County Fairgrounds and jumping out of the car, I realized the full effect of the very strong winds and how much they were affecting the temperatures. They made it a rather uncomfortable night and only the hard core fans would be in the stands on this night. Also, it was the hard core racers that also showed up on this night too.
This is the start of the second year of the new format that the Southern Iowa Speedway has operated under. Under the direction of the Race Committee of the Fair Board, the track now runs a four division program with an eight dollar admission price for the fans. Race procedures include a draw/redraw format with the previous week's feature winner starting at the back of the qualified cars and while basic IMCA rules are followed, there are some exceptions including one Stock Car I noticed running American Racer tires.
To keep the show moving this year and in an effort to wrap up race programs at an early hour, a one spin rule will be used in all heat races and after hot laps at 7:05 pm, racing will then start immediately and not wait until last year's announced 7:30 pm start. Later on Wednesday, with the cooperation of the drivers, track officials would demonstrate just how fast they could complete a program.
Forty eight drivers signed in to race on opening night with the highest turnout being in the Sport Mods. With the top five in each heat making the redraw, there was not a lot of drama in the qualifying events as just about everyone in each heat made the draw.
As soon as the heats were completed, the feature races began to line up as announcer Jerry Mackey put out the word to the pits and this was going to be one quick show and everyone should be prepared to go quickly. As windy as it was in the stands, it was probably worse in the Tower, and the wind got to the veteran announcer as his papers got blown all over and the frustration was evident in his voice. Finally, he actually lost is line up for the Hobby Stock feature when it was swept away by the wind and posted likely somewhere in downtown Pella!
The redraw was not helpful to the racing fans on this Wednesday as strong favorites started right up front in most of the features and the main events did not have a lot of drama or late race heroics on this night. The closest thing to a big upset was in the Sport Mod class. Austin Paul started on the pole and took the early lead. However, on the move early was defending track champion Curtis Vanderwal as she quickly moved from fifth to second. Curtis then closed on the leader and the battle was on. A couple of times Vanderwal tried to make a move but each time Paul held him off. As the laps ran off, Paul seemed to stabilize his lead and no matter what Vanderwal tried, he wasn't able to shorten up the lead held by the #A5 car. A last lap attempt came up short and Vanderwal had to settle for second as Paul drove a strong race for the win. Logan Anderson finished third and for some time he looked like he might have something for the top two before settling for third.
The Stock Car feature was a total domination by Cayden Carter. He also started on the pole and after grabbing a slight early lead, he continued to build on it gradually until he was comfortably in front. This race ran off nonstop and that made matters even harder for the field to catch him. At the finish, he had a very nice margin of victory as he drove to the win in his Spaw chassis. Derrick Agee finished second with Michael Peterson next in line.
Brandon Housley started on the pole and led all the way for the Sport Compact feature win. Another defending champion, Housley was in control for most of the contest and while Trent Orwig pushed his car very hard in the corners to try and close the gap, Housley had plenty to hold him off for the win. A late yellow flag set up a two lap sprint to the finish and considerably scrambled the runner order behind the top two when third place Mitchell Bunch didn't come up to speed on the green and there was quite a scramble for position then with Billy Cain winding up third.
Nick Ulin grabbed the lead in the Hobby Stock feature but that didn't last long after he hammered the third turn Armco barrier and limped to the pits. Derek Kirkland inherited the lead at this point but only briefly before Dustin Griffiths drove past him for the top spot. Once in front, he opened a comfortable lead and with another nonstop main, he drove to an easy win. Kirkland held on for second over Clint Nelson.
With only three yellow flags during the entire racing program and none during the qualifying heats, the eleven race program took a grand total of eighty seven minutes to complete. This was greatly appreciated by those in the stands with likely those in the pits just as happy to have made it a short night.
So, the Committee fought the elements and won and while they probably didn't make a small fortune on this night, at least they let the drivers and the fans know that if it's at all possible, they will race as scheduled and also made the point to the fans that their Wednesday night entertainment will be a quick show for those that need to get home for the inevitable Thursday morning. Thanks to all at the track for providing a good opening night with even better(and warmer) nights to come.
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't really have any plans to attend this race and in fact, wasn't really aware that Oskaloosa was racing on this night until the last moment. Somehow, I got my dates confused and I believed that after having their special Tuesday night opener canceled that they weren't scheduled to start their season until next week. Frankly, the only reason that I was in the state this early in the week was because of the local weather in my area. While not being in the blizzard warned area, I was in the Winter Storm area and with a combination of wet snow and ice, I knew that there would be no racing in the Wisconsin/Minnesota area this weekend and if I wanted to see any racing this week at all, I better "get out of Dodge" before I got weathered in.
For that reason, I left home early on Wednesday morning and even leaving at that early hour, I had to drive through some heavy snow and ice before I crossed the Minnesota border into Iowa. But the good news was that I took the time to double check race schedules and discovered that Oskaloosa was indeed scheduled to race on this night and despite it being a cloudy, cool and windy day, the race was still on as scheduled.
Upon arriving at the Mahaska County Fairgrounds and jumping out of the car, I realized the full effect of the very strong winds and how much they were affecting the temperatures. They made it a rather uncomfortable night and only the hard core fans would be in the stands on this night. Also, it was the hard core racers that also showed up on this night too.
This is the start of the second year of the new format that the Southern Iowa Speedway has operated under. Under the direction of the Race Committee of the Fair Board, the track now runs a four division program with an eight dollar admission price for the fans. Race procedures include a draw/redraw format with the previous week's feature winner starting at the back of the qualified cars and while basic IMCA rules are followed, there are some exceptions including one Stock Car I noticed running American Racer tires.
To keep the show moving this year and in an effort to wrap up race programs at an early hour, a one spin rule will be used in all heat races and after hot laps at 7:05 pm, racing will then start immediately and not wait until last year's announced 7:30 pm start. Later on Wednesday, with the cooperation of the drivers, track officials would demonstrate just how fast they could complete a program.
Forty eight drivers signed in to race on opening night with the highest turnout being in the Sport Mods. With the top five in each heat making the redraw, there was not a lot of drama in the qualifying events as just about everyone in each heat made the draw.
As soon as the heats were completed, the feature races began to line up as announcer Jerry Mackey put out the word to the pits and this was going to be one quick show and everyone should be prepared to go quickly. As windy as it was in the stands, it was probably worse in the Tower, and the wind got to the veteran announcer as his papers got blown all over and the frustration was evident in his voice. Finally, he actually lost is line up for the Hobby Stock feature when it was swept away by the wind and posted likely somewhere in downtown Pella!
The redraw was not helpful to the racing fans on this Wednesday as strong favorites started right up front in most of the features and the main events did not have a lot of drama or late race heroics on this night. The closest thing to a big upset was in the Sport Mod class. Austin Paul started on the pole and took the early lead. However, on the move early was defending track champion Curtis Vanderwal as she quickly moved from fifth to second. Curtis then closed on the leader and the battle was on. A couple of times Vanderwal tried to make a move but each time Paul held him off. As the laps ran off, Paul seemed to stabilize his lead and no matter what Vanderwal tried, he wasn't able to shorten up the lead held by the #A5 car. A last lap attempt came up short and Vanderwal had to settle for second as Paul drove a strong race for the win. Logan Anderson finished third and for some time he looked like he might have something for the top two before settling for third.
The Stock Car feature was a total domination by Cayden Carter. He also started on the pole and after grabbing a slight early lead, he continued to build on it gradually until he was comfortably in front. This race ran off nonstop and that made matters even harder for the field to catch him. At the finish, he had a very nice margin of victory as he drove to the win in his Spaw chassis. Derrick Agee finished second with Michael Peterson next in line.
Brandon Housley started on the pole and led all the way for the Sport Compact feature win. Another defending champion, Housley was in control for most of the contest and while Trent Orwig pushed his car very hard in the corners to try and close the gap, Housley had plenty to hold him off for the win. A late yellow flag set up a two lap sprint to the finish and considerably scrambled the runner order behind the top two when third place Mitchell Bunch didn't come up to speed on the green and there was quite a scramble for position then with Billy Cain winding up third.
Nick Ulin grabbed the lead in the Hobby Stock feature but that didn't last long after he hammered the third turn Armco barrier and limped to the pits. Derek Kirkland inherited the lead at this point but only briefly before Dustin Griffiths drove past him for the top spot. Once in front, he opened a comfortable lead and with another nonstop main, he drove to an easy win. Kirkland held on for second over Clint Nelson.
With only three yellow flags during the entire racing program and none during the qualifying heats, the eleven race program took a grand total of eighty seven minutes to complete. This was greatly appreciated by those in the stands with likely those in the pits just as happy to have made it a short night.
So, the Committee fought the elements and won and while they probably didn't make a small fortune on this night, at least they let the drivers and the fans know that if it's at all possible, they will race as scheduled and also made the point to the fans that their Wednesday night entertainment will be a quick show for those that need to get home for the inevitable Thursday morning. Thanks to all at the track for providing a good opening night with even better(and warmer) nights to come.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Nick Is A "Big" Deal at I-80; Dover Not Bending For Anyone
Night number two of the annual Spring Meltdown was held as scheduled on Saturday night, April 6th at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood Nebraska. However, it took a lot of work, great cooperation from the drivers and just a pinch of good luck to get the full program completed before the promised rains hit the speedway.
For several days most weather prediction agencies were calling for rain on Saturday evening and night in the eastern Nebraska area. However, the amount and when it would actually hit was a fact that was bounced all around with just about as many different predictions as there were agencies trying to make a prediction. Most that I looked to were calling for the rains to hit between 8 pm and 10 pm so that was the time frame track officials were using to try and squeeze a show in. And it was important as the 360 Sprints were racing for $2,500 to win and the Late Models had been working for two nights trying to get into their main event, which was paying a very healthy four grand to the winner. Hobby Stocks were also on hand and they were hoping to get their first chance to race the four tenth mile in 2019 also.
The day started out beautifully with bright sunshine and temperatures over eighty degrees. That was the first time I had seen temps like that since last season as it wasn't even that warm in Arizona in January. When crossing into the pit area on Saturday, I noted that a large area outside turn three had been leveled and it looked like the top layer of material skimmed off. I thought that perhaps they were looking to expand the pit area while someone else wondered in they were getting ready to put in a cash crop. As it turns out, the material from that area was put on the track as new dirt this year. I can only wish that we could do something like that in our home area, but the only thing you would find is rocks and sand, not the fine quality dirt that they have here.
I took some time to check out a couple of the burning questions that remained from Friday night's show. The reason that Dylan Smith was disqualified after winning the feature on Friday night was that he had the wrong size throttle restricter plate on his car for the size of the motor. The SLMR has quite a few different sized plates that they use for all the different motor options that are running their series and it no doubt can get quite confusing, especially early in the season when some technical changes have been made for the new year. In any event, Smith would make a nice comeback on Saturday and finally finish sixth in the Late Model feature.
The other interesting thing I learned was when Gary Brown Jr unloaded his car to race after seemingly blowing his motor to kingdom come on Friday night. But looks can often be deceiving and in this case, instead of a blown motor he actually broke an oil line. His motor was fine but what a mess they had to clean up! In fact, he said the car wash they stopped at couldn't do the job fully and they will have to take the car home and dismember the body to clean it properly.
About 4:30 pm things went downhill rapidly. A storm, which after consulting the radar actually formed virtually right over the race track, dumped some rain for a period of time. It didn't rain hard but with the pits in the middle of the track here, it doesn't take too much moisture to send things to a screaming halt. Fortunately, the drops stopped falling and while it didn't clear up, the sky did brighten and it appeared that if the track could be run in that racing might actually take place.
Track owner Joe Kosiski took the bull by the horns, sending out all his packing equipment and just as soon as the track was OK for cars to run on, he ordered the Late Models to start wheel packing. The shocking thing was that virtually every single car in the pits cooperated and helped pack and before you know it, the track was starting to come back into form.
It did take a while to get the track in final shape and then hot laps had to take place so the first green flag finally flew at 7:22 pm, just a tad over and hour late from the scheduled 6 pm start, right after the track singing announcer Stan Cisar, led off the ceremonies. But then Joe got back on the pit pa and started directing the order of events around and strongly urging everyone to be ready to roll on the track when called and the program sped along at a high speed. With a second round of rain coming from the West, everyone was racing to get the complete show in so that everyone would have a chance at a check.
The order of events was changed and the Sprint Cars ran their twenty five lap feature first. The only significant addition for either of the featured classes was when Terry McCarl came high balling into the pit area with his 360 Sprint. He was a winner at 81 Speedway in Park City Kansas on Friday night but Saturday's show was rained out in the morning and he barreled up to I-80 to run. Given the fact that he beat a tough field of cars in Kansas, he was immediately considered a major threat to win in Greenwood too.
However, track champion Jack Dover had other thoughts. It also didn't hurt that he redrew the pole for the feature race. Although not related to Ben Dover, the legendary driver from the Tunis Speedway days, Dover has had quite a name for himself in recent years and he was on his game on this night. He sprinted away from the field and negotiated the heavy traffic beautifully. McCarl could not get past Seth Brahmer for second until later in the race and by that time, Justin Henderson had made a fine charge from the sixth row to blow by McCarl and take over second.
Dover had a full straightaway on the field when Brahmer hammered the third turn wall with just two laps to go which bunched up the field. Henderson went for broke on the start and slid under Dover for the lead temporarily but he couldn't hold it in turn two and Dover blew back past him and stretched his advantage to the finish. McCarl settled for third ahead of Matt Juhl and Clint Garner.
Then it was time for the Late Model main with Corey Zeitner leading a twenty six car field to the line. Billy Leighton Jr and Zeitner battled for the lead on the opening lap before Zeitner grabbed the spot. As he maintained the advantage, he was quickly challenged by Nick Deal who had started in the third row. Deal had his car working great on the low side and he quickly drove to the front and after a few laps, he powered under Zeitner to take over the lead.
Lapped traffic was a constant worry but Deal did a great job of weaving through the back markers and he soon had built a lead of a full straightaway. Meanwhile, the battle for second was a good one as Leighton Jr battled it out with Josh Leonard. They swapped the spot back and forth before Leonard finally secured the position with just a few laps left. Also charging was Brian Kosiski who got by Leighton Jr for third.
Deal drove a wonderful race and had most of a straightaway and several lapped cars between himself and Leonard. Andrew Kosiski rounded out the top five in a race that went nonstop and saw only one driver not finish the event.
The Hobby Stocks finished up the night as the first drops of rain started to fall. Their field was small with only thirteen of them on hand but they put on a hard race with a surprise finish and again, went green to checkered.
After leading the first lap, Hunter Wergin was passed by Kevin Bruck who then pulled away from the field. Running the very low groove, he was driving away from the pack while a good battle raged for second. Jason Fusselman moved to the high side of the track and pulled into second but it seemed that no one had anything for Bruck. Suddenly, with just a couple laps left, Bruck slowed going into turn three and then went shooting up the track as if he couldn't steer his car. Something was clearly wrong as he was quickly overtaken by several cars, nearly tagged the first turn wall and then pulled off.
The race had dropped into Fusselman's lap and he just had to hold off Roy Armstrong to get the win. Roy was banging on his rear bumper on the last tour, but couldn't make a move as Fusselman held on for the win. Jacob Harms, Wergin and Tom Myers completed the top five.
The final checkered flag flew at 9:15 pm and all their hard word was rewarded with a complete program. The drivers certainly helped themselves with the final two feature races going nonstop which obviously helped move things along. The entire operation was keyed to get the show in and they even skipped post race ceremonies so that all the competitors could get their rigs out of the infield before the rain cut loose. When everything works out and things are able to be done so that the elements can be overcome it is a very satisfying feeling for everyone and despite the dire forecasts, there was another fine crowd on hand. Congratulations to Joe and his entire staff for putting on two nights of excellent racing at one of the best facilities around.
For several days most weather prediction agencies were calling for rain on Saturday evening and night in the eastern Nebraska area. However, the amount and when it would actually hit was a fact that was bounced all around with just about as many different predictions as there were agencies trying to make a prediction. Most that I looked to were calling for the rains to hit between 8 pm and 10 pm so that was the time frame track officials were using to try and squeeze a show in. And it was important as the 360 Sprints were racing for $2,500 to win and the Late Models had been working for two nights trying to get into their main event, which was paying a very healthy four grand to the winner. Hobby Stocks were also on hand and they were hoping to get their first chance to race the four tenth mile in 2019 also.
The day started out beautifully with bright sunshine and temperatures over eighty degrees. That was the first time I had seen temps like that since last season as it wasn't even that warm in Arizona in January. When crossing into the pit area on Saturday, I noted that a large area outside turn three had been leveled and it looked like the top layer of material skimmed off. I thought that perhaps they were looking to expand the pit area while someone else wondered in they were getting ready to put in a cash crop. As it turns out, the material from that area was put on the track as new dirt this year. I can only wish that we could do something like that in our home area, but the only thing you would find is rocks and sand, not the fine quality dirt that they have here.
I took some time to check out a couple of the burning questions that remained from Friday night's show. The reason that Dylan Smith was disqualified after winning the feature on Friday night was that he had the wrong size throttle restricter plate on his car for the size of the motor. The SLMR has quite a few different sized plates that they use for all the different motor options that are running their series and it no doubt can get quite confusing, especially early in the season when some technical changes have been made for the new year. In any event, Smith would make a nice comeback on Saturday and finally finish sixth in the Late Model feature.
The other interesting thing I learned was when Gary Brown Jr unloaded his car to race after seemingly blowing his motor to kingdom come on Friday night. But looks can often be deceiving and in this case, instead of a blown motor he actually broke an oil line. His motor was fine but what a mess they had to clean up! In fact, he said the car wash they stopped at couldn't do the job fully and they will have to take the car home and dismember the body to clean it properly.
About 4:30 pm things went downhill rapidly. A storm, which after consulting the radar actually formed virtually right over the race track, dumped some rain for a period of time. It didn't rain hard but with the pits in the middle of the track here, it doesn't take too much moisture to send things to a screaming halt. Fortunately, the drops stopped falling and while it didn't clear up, the sky did brighten and it appeared that if the track could be run in that racing might actually take place.
Track owner Joe Kosiski took the bull by the horns, sending out all his packing equipment and just as soon as the track was OK for cars to run on, he ordered the Late Models to start wheel packing. The shocking thing was that virtually every single car in the pits cooperated and helped pack and before you know it, the track was starting to come back into form.
It did take a while to get the track in final shape and then hot laps had to take place so the first green flag finally flew at 7:22 pm, just a tad over and hour late from the scheduled 6 pm start, right after the track singing announcer Stan Cisar, led off the ceremonies. But then Joe got back on the pit pa and started directing the order of events around and strongly urging everyone to be ready to roll on the track when called and the program sped along at a high speed. With a second round of rain coming from the West, everyone was racing to get the complete show in so that everyone would have a chance at a check.
The order of events was changed and the Sprint Cars ran their twenty five lap feature first. The only significant addition for either of the featured classes was when Terry McCarl came high balling into the pit area with his 360 Sprint. He was a winner at 81 Speedway in Park City Kansas on Friday night but Saturday's show was rained out in the morning and he barreled up to I-80 to run. Given the fact that he beat a tough field of cars in Kansas, he was immediately considered a major threat to win in Greenwood too.
However, track champion Jack Dover had other thoughts. It also didn't hurt that he redrew the pole for the feature race. Although not related to Ben Dover, the legendary driver from the Tunis Speedway days, Dover has had quite a name for himself in recent years and he was on his game on this night. He sprinted away from the field and negotiated the heavy traffic beautifully. McCarl could not get past Seth Brahmer for second until later in the race and by that time, Justin Henderson had made a fine charge from the sixth row to blow by McCarl and take over second.
Dover had a full straightaway on the field when Brahmer hammered the third turn wall with just two laps to go which bunched up the field. Henderson went for broke on the start and slid under Dover for the lead temporarily but he couldn't hold it in turn two and Dover blew back past him and stretched his advantage to the finish. McCarl settled for third ahead of Matt Juhl and Clint Garner.
Then it was time for the Late Model main with Corey Zeitner leading a twenty six car field to the line. Billy Leighton Jr and Zeitner battled for the lead on the opening lap before Zeitner grabbed the spot. As he maintained the advantage, he was quickly challenged by Nick Deal who had started in the third row. Deal had his car working great on the low side and he quickly drove to the front and after a few laps, he powered under Zeitner to take over the lead.
Lapped traffic was a constant worry but Deal did a great job of weaving through the back markers and he soon had built a lead of a full straightaway. Meanwhile, the battle for second was a good one as Leighton Jr battled it out with Josh Leonard. They swapped the spot back and forth before Leonard finally secured the position with just a few laps left. Also charging was Brian Kosiski who got by Leighton Jr for third.
Deal drove a wonderful race and had most of a straightaway and several lapped cars between himself and Leonard. Andrew Kosiski rounded out the top five in a race that went nonstop and saw only one driver not finish the event.
The Hobby Stocks finished up the night as the first drops of rain started to fall. Their field was small with only thirteen of them on hand but they put on a hard race with a surprise finish and again, went green to checkered.
After leading the first lap, Hunter Wergin was passed by Kevin Bruck who then pulled away from the field. Running the very low groove, he was driving away from the pack while a good battle raged for second. Jason Fusselman moved to the high side of the track and pulled into second but it seemed that no one had anything for Bruck. Suddenly, with just a couple laps left, Bruck slowed going into turn three and then went shooting up the track as if he couldn't steer his car. Something was clearly wrong as he was quickly overtaken by several cars, nearly tagged the first turn wall and then pulled off.
The race had dropped into Fusselman's lap and he just had to hold off Roy Armstrong to get the win. Roy was banging on his rear bumper on the last tour, but couldn't make a move as Fusselman held on for the win. Jacob Harms, Wergin and Tom Myers completed the top five.
The final checkered flag flew at 9:15 pm and all their hard word was rewarded with a complete program. The drivers certainly helped themselves with the final two feature races going nonstop which obviously helped move things along. The entire operation was keyed to get the show in and they even skipped post race ceremonies so that all the competitors could get their rigs out of the infield before the rain cut loose. When everything works out and things are able to be done so that the elements can be overcome it is a very satisfying feeling for everyone and despite the dire forecasts, there was another fine crowd on hand. Congratulations to Joe and his entire staff for putting on two nights of excellent racing at one of the best facilities around.
Deal and A. Kosiski Split I-80 Prelims; Juhl and Oaks Also Winners
Under sunny and warm but extremely windy conditions, the 2019 racing season in the state of Nebraska kicked off on Friday night, April 5th with the annual "Spring Thaw" at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood.
This year the Spring Thaw featured the Nebraska 360 Sprints in a full show of heats and features along with the full show for the Sport Compacts. The Late Models participated in a pair of qualifying feature races with all cars getting to run a main event and the top four from each main automatically locked in for Saturday night's big finale.
I was a little concerned early when the race cars seemed quite slow in arriving and I was wondering if there would be enough of them on hand to put on a decent show. However, when they finally started to arrive, they rolled in at a quick pace and the final count showed forty one Late Models, twenty eight Sprints and twenty nine Sport Compacts. Drivers from at least five states were on hand for the show and except for another big Sprint Car show in Kansas, they reported that there would have been a number more in that class also.
Late Model racing looks to be in a healthy position in Nebraska with lots of local cars ready to go for opening night and surely a few that weren't ready for opening night. There were also some fresh faces in the class, something that is hard to find in many regions with this class. Dylan Smith was one of those as it was reported that he had last been in a Late Model in 2014 but he would be a strong competitor on this night in Al Humphrey's car. Scott Carlson and Nick Deal are both former Modified drivers now racing Late Models and Deal would also be prominent before the night was over. Some visitors on hand to race with the SLMR regulars included Curt Schroeder, Jeremy Grady and Paul Conrad(with a new Black Diamond chassis) from Iowa and Scott Ward and Gary Brown Jr from South Dakota.
I talked to Ward before the show who tipped that his daughter Morgan is going to race a few Late Model shows before this season is over and then race for WISSOTA national Rookie of the Year in 2020 using a Rocket chassis while Scott is running his WISSOTA motor with a plate in his new Club 29 car that previously was used for open motor racing.
The Late Model format was a different one on Friday with cars group qualifying in batches of five. They would be receiving points for their qualifying efforts much like Knoxville does in September. The cars then ran heat races with the top four in each heat inverted by their times. Points were also given for heat race efforts and the totals were used to line up the twin features, straight up by points. Along with racing for purse money, the top four in each feature would also be locked into the main event on Saturday night.
The time trial portion of the program proved to be the only Achilles Heel of the night as the transponders from several of the cars weren't working and a few cars had to make multiple attempts before they finally got an official qualifying time, which really slowed things down. In fact, Kyle Berck, the defending champion of this series, never did achieve a qualifying time and had to start tail back in a heat race. It was a tough night for Berck who was a late arrival(as he is most of the time), and he was chasing his set up most of the night.
The twin Late Model features couldn't have been more different. The first one had only one yellow and every single car finished the race while the second one saw crash after crash including one right on the front chute just at the drop of the green.
The first qualifying feature saw a great early battle between Smith and Tad Pospicil with them trading slide jobs on each end of the track. Then Deal moved up to challenge them and we had a great three car battle for the lead. The only slow down of the race was when Brown Jr lost a motor on lap six. On the restart, Smith started to assert his superiority and began to pull away. Meanwhile the race for second remained a good one right to the finish. The big surprise was in post race tech where Smith was disqualified for an undisclosed violation which I will attempt to ascertain on Saturday. This elevated Deal to the win over Pospicil with Cory Zeitner and Brian Kosiski also locked in.
The second qualifying feature got off to a terrible start when the second and third row started rubbing on each other just as they took the green. A big clog developed on the front chute with car after car plowing into the wad and two cars going over. Poor Conrad had his brand new car upside down along with the car of Jim Johnson with both appearing to have received significant damage. A couple other cars also suffered damage, made pit stops and returned to the contest. This race would be stopped three more times for spins, the most significant of which saw Ben Schaller, in a qualifying spot, spin his way out of the show. A dominating performance was put on by Andrew Kosiski in his new MB Customs as he ran away from the field. Also qualifying were Josh Leonard, Bill Leighton Jr and Jason O'Brien. Everyone else will try to qualify on Saturday.
Four heats and a B Feature set the field for the twenty five lap Sprint main. Fifteen year old Brendan Mullen from Grand Forks sat on the pole and while he faded back in this race, he showed plenty of "moxie" earlier and will be driver to be paid attention to. With Jack Dover on the outside pole, it would have seemed that this was his race to lose.
However, after battling Mullen and then taking the lead, he was soon challenged by Matt Juhl. Juhl found a fast line around the track and blew past Dover to take over the lead and then Dover suddenly shut down and pulled into the infield. Justin Henderson worked his way up from the fourth row and with several yellows, was able to close on Juhl but on every restart, Matt would pull away despite Justin's best efforts.
Juhl crossed the line with a comfortable margin of victory over Henderson, Jason Martin, Seth Brahmer and Chris Martin.
The Sport Compacts wrapped up the evening and would have to say they did a great job. Twenty of them started the main and there were only two minor spins to slow the action. Steffen Oaks started in the front row and pulled away from the field as there seemed to be no challenge for the lead, but behind him, there was a great battle of about a half dozen cars battling hard and swapping positions on every lap. They did a great job of racing back and forth and putting on a fine show, even on this big four tenth mile oval.
Oaks ran away for the win and was followed by Drake Bohlmeyer, Terry Tritt, Dustin Grant and Curtis Miller.
The final checkered flag waved just at 11 pm with the show running just over three hours after the transponder snafus were ironed out and qualifying completed. The track was in great shape for opening night and the drivers were racing all over the banking. The crowd, by the way, looked very large for the opening night of action. I would expect even more to be on hand for Saturday night's finale.
This year the Spring Thaw featured the Nebraska 360 Sprints in a full show of heats and features along with the full show for the Sport Compacts. The Late Models participated in a pair of qualifying feature races with all cars getting to run a main event and the top four from each main automatically locked in for Saturday night's big finale.
I was a little concerned early when the race cars seemed quite slow in arriving and I was wondering if there would be enough of them on hand to put on a decent show. However, when they finally started to arrive, they rolled in at a quick pace and the final count showed forty one Late Models, twenty eight Sprints and twenty nine Sport Compacts. Drivers from at least five states were on hand for the show and except for another big Sprint Car show in Kansas, they reported that there would have been a number more in that class also.
Late Model racing looks to be in a healthy position in Nebraska with lots of local cars ready to go for opening night and surely a few that weren't ready for opening night. There were also some fresh faces in the class, something that is hard to find in many regions with this class. Dylan Smith was one of those as it was reported that he had last been in a Late Model in 2014 but he would be a strong competitor on this night in Al Humphrey's car. Scott Carlson and Nick Deal are both former Modified drivers now racing Late Models and Deal would also be prominent before the night was over. Some visitors on hand to race with the SLMR regulars included Curt Schroeder, Jeremy Grady and Paul Conrad(with a new Black Diamond chassis) from Iowa and Scott Ward and Gary Brown Jr from South Dakota.
I talked to Ward before the show who tipped that his daughter Morgan is going to race a few Late Model shows before this season is over and then race for WISSOTA national Rookie of the Year in 2020 using a Rocket chassis while Scott is running his WISSOTA motor with a plate in his new Club 29 car that previously was used for open motor racing.
The Late Model format was a different one on Friday with cars group qualifying in batches of five. They would be receiving points for their qualifying efforts much like Knoxville does in September. The cars then ran heat races with the top four in each heat inverted by their times. Points were also given for heat race efforts and the totals were used to line up the twin features, straight up by points. Along with racing for purse money, the top four in each feature would also be locked into the main event on Saturday night.
The time trial portion of the program proved to be the only Achilles Heel of the night as the transponders from several of the cars weren't working and a few cars had to make multiple attempts before they finally got an official qualifying time, which really slowed things down. In fact, Kyle Berck, the defending champion of this series, never did achieve a qualifying time and had to start tail back in a heat race. It was a tough night for Berck who was a late arrival(as he is most of the time), and he was chasing his set up most of the night.
The twin Late Model features couldn't have been more different. The first one had only one yellow and every single car finished the race while the second one saw crash after crash including one right on the front chute just at the drop of the green.
The first qualifying feature saw a great early battle between Smith and Tad Pospicil with them trading slide jobs on each end of the track. Then Deal moved up to challenge them and we had a great three car battle for the lead. The only slow down of the race was when Brown Jr lost a motor on lap six. On the restart, Smith started to assert his superiority and began to pull away. Meanwhile the race for second remained a good one right to the finish. The big surprise was in post race tech where Smith was disqualified for an undisclosed violation which I will attempt to ascertain on Saturday. This elevated Deal to the win over Pospicil with Cory Zeitner and Brian Kosiski also locked in.
The second qualifying feature got off to a terrible start when the second and third row started rubbing on each other just as they took the green. A big clog developed on the front chute with car after car plowing into the wad and two cars going over. Poor Conrad had his brand new car upside down along with the car of Jim Johnson with both appearing to have received significant damage. A couple other cars also suffered damage, made pit stops and returned to the contest. This race would be stopped three more times for spins, the most significant of which saw Ben Schaller, in a qualifying spot, spin his way out of the show. A dominating performance was put on by Andrew Kosiski in his new MB Customs as he ran away from the field. Also qualifying were Josh Leonard, Bill Leighton Jr and Jason O'Brien. Everyone else will try to qualify on Saturday.
Four heats and a B Feature set the field for the twenty five lap Sprint main. Fifteen year old Brendan Mullen from Grand Forks sat on the pole and while he faded back in this race, he showed plenty of "moxie" earlier and will be driver to be paid attention to. With Jack Dover on the outside pole, it would have seemed that this was his race to lose.
However, after battling Mullen and then taking the lead, he was soon challenged by Matt Juhl. Juhl found a fast line around the track and blew past Dover to take over the lead and then Dover suddenly shut down and pulled into the infield. Justin Henderson worked his way up from the fourth row and with several yellows, was able to close on Juhl but on every restart, Matt would pull away despite Justin's best efforts.
Juhl crossed the line with a comfortable margin of victory over Henderson, Jason Martin, Seth Brahmer and Chris Martin.
The Sport Compacts wrapped up the evening and would have to say they did a great job. Twenty of them started the main and there were only two minor spins to slow the action. Steffen Oaks started in the front row and pulled away from the field as there seemed to be no challenge for the lead, but behind him, there was a great battle of about a half dozen cars battling hard and swapping positions on every lap. They did a great job of racing back and forth and putting on a fine show, even on this big four tenth mile oval.
Oaks ran away for the win and was followed by Drake Bohlmeyer, Terry Tritt, Dustin Grant and Curtis Miller.
The final checkered flag waved just at 11 pm with the show running just over three hours after the transponder snafus were ironed out and qualifying completed. The track was in great shape for opening night and the drivers were racing all over the banking. The crowd, by the way, looked very large for the opening night of action. I would expect even more to be on hand for Saturday night's finale.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Tyler Erb Takes LaSalle Speedway Bucks
A long and somewhat trying weekend ended on a positive note late Sunday afternoon with some outstanding feature events that highlighted the Thaw Brawl at the LaSalle Speedway in northern Illinois.
What was a scheduled doubleheader of racing for the Late Models, Ethanol Modifieds, IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods was condensed into one Sunday afternoon show after rain overnight Friday turned the LaSalle Speedway into a mud bowl, something that the racers and fans had to deal with the rest of the weekend.
Sunday was no bargain either, with the cold temperatures and a strong biting wind that made it feel a good ten degrees colder than the low forties high that was finally manufactured. It truly was not a pleasant day to be sitting outside at the races. But a surprisingly large contingent of dirt fans, anxious to start a new season, was on hand to see the four classes in action.
Car counts showed thirty two Late Models on hand along with twenty one Ethanol(UMP) Modifieds, nineteen IMCA Mods and only six Sport Mods(one of which never did get on the track either). The two Ethanol classes qualified while the other two classes drew pills and the first race hit the track shortly after 3 pm. Qualifying saw Bobby Pierce and Frank Marshall set quick times but with the three car invert, they would not be finding themselves on the pole for their heats, unlike normal UMP events.
The qualifying heats moved by fairly smooth, the Late Models were all thrown into one sixteen car B Feature that took five, and just like that we were ready for the Late Model seventy five lap main after some track prep work.
Speaking of the track, the surface had been brutalized all weekend by the rain and wind, and now on Sunday we threw a lot of sun at it too for an afternoon show and given all those factors, I thought that the track held up pretty darn well. Sure, there were some ruts and dips but the drivers in all four classes were able to adjust and race well and there were certainly multiple grooves to race on. Keep in mind that this was also the first race of 2019 at the track and many race tracks have to deal with some opening issues with their surface, no matter how ideal the pre race conditions had been and on this weekend they had certainly been far less than ideal.
But we had a top notch field of highly decorated Late Model drivers on hand and they usually find a way to race and put on a show no matter what the conditions and that was certainly the case here on Sunday as the Late Model feature was a dandy, with much passing, side by side racing and plenty of drama that played out right until the end of the event.
There were five different leaders during the seventy five lapper, that was slowed six times by yellow but saw the last twenty nine laps go green to checkererd. Kyle Bronson led early as he pounded the cushion with Brian Shirley then taking over the top spot. Gradually working their way to the front were T. Erb, Pierce and Chris Simpson who never got off the bottom but gradually took spots as other, perhaps more flashy drivers made surges and then fell either back or out of the race.
The last thirty or so laps were a slugfest after Simpson inherited the lead when Shirley suffered a flat tire. Erb and Pierce were all over him. Simpson caught the back of the pack and then things really started getting interesting. Simpson got repeatedly hung up running low and Erb was able to shoot by him. However, Erb then jumped the cushion and Pierce took advantage to take over the lead. But then he had his share of trouble as the lower risk low side of the track also produced another back marker that slowed up Pierce with Erb blowing by him on the top side.
Erb then tucked back low for the last couple of laps and Pierce wasn't able to mount a charge on him. It turned out to be an excellent feature race with many drivers showing up some exciting moves, some which also caused them to head for the pits including Bronson and Jason Feger. Simpson ended up a close third with Dennis Erb and a steady Ricky Weiss completing the top five in a race that could have ended up with a lot of different conclusions, just depending on how things broke during the race. To this point I have not been a huge Tyler Erb fan, feeling that he was just a "throttle jockey" who wrecked more than he won but he showed some good patience and "smarts" in this race, not just a heavy right foot.
Following up the Late Model feature was a tough act but the other three features had some good moments of their own. The Ethanol main saw Frank Marshall and Allen Weisser battle it out during the opening laps until Weisser was able to take control. Once in front, he led the rest of the way in a race that was slowed six times early but they managed to race the final half of the race nonstop. Weisser, who I thought would have been a strong choice in the Late Models too, given the strong runs he had early this season but struggled with car problems and missed his heat which buried his efforts for the day, also continued his strong early season runs in the Modified too, becoming another successful Lethal chassis driver. Tommy Sheppard Jr came from mid pack to finish third ahead of John McClure and Bob Pohlman Jr. My Wisconsin friend, Paul Niznik, pulled all the way down from Medford Wisconsin for the one day show and finished sixth.
Can there be a hotter open wheel Modified driver in the country than Ricky Thornton Jr. It doesn't seem to matter what the sanctioning body and what type of motor he has under the hood, he just goes out and wins. And I most like the fact that he works the race track for everything it can give him, moving where ever on the track he can gain an advantage, whether it be high or low on the track surface.
Travis Denning was the early leader of the race while Thornton Jr moved up steadily from the third row. He settled on the high side to gain an edge and then he closed in on the leader. Just as he was ready to make the pass on the high side in turn four on lap ten, Denning pushed too hard and spun out, which pretty much ended his effort.
Thornton Jr was taking some pressure from Jeff "Bone" Larson near the end but a good move in lapped traffic gave him the advantage he needed to take yet another feature win. Justin Kay was next in line sporting a car with a roof line that the IMCA inspectors will be salivating over, I suspect.
It sounds impressive that there were drivers from three states on hand for the Sport Mod feature but then when it becomes known that there were only five of them, perhaps not so much. However, this race produced the biggest upset of the night in my mind anyway.
Tyler Soppe is a former national champion and when he came from the second row to take the lead before the field hit turn one, the rest of the race seemed to be just a mere formality. He did build up a substantial lead in a race that saw the last seventeen laps go green. However, Skyler Woods started to pick up the pace and cut into Soppe's lead gradually.
I thought maybe Soppe was cruising but soon Woods was just a few car lengths behind and still no response from Soppe to pick up the pace. Woods was soon challenging and he blew right by Soppe to take over the lead. I thought at this point, there would be a response from Tyler, but Skyler pulled away in the final laps and I can only assume that Soppe was having a mechanical issue that was holding him back.
Nevertheless, Woods drove the wheels off his car and never gave up, even when the lead was a big one and he was fully deserving of the win. Brad Salisberry finished third of the five, all of which made the full twenty laps.
So, racing was completed about 7:30 pm and those of us still around lumbered back to our vehicles, wondering among other things why our limbs weren't operating as they should. Several minutes later I finally was able to ascertain that yes indeed, I did still have feet but the number of toes was still uncertain. I was a cold, cold day and those fans that braved the cold deserve a lot of credit.
But the most credit should go to the track crew that spent the better part of three days riding graders and packing vehicles and slogging around in the cold mud, dealing with all the problems associated with the rain and yet still putting on a show on Sunday, and as a bonus for everyone that was on hand, one that will be remembered for quite some time and perhaps one of the most competitive and entertaining races of the year.
What was a scheduled doubleheader of racing for the Late Models, Ethanol Modifieds, IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods was condensed into one Sunday afternoon show after rain overnight Friday turned the LaSalle Speedway into a mud bowl, something that the racers and fans had to deal with the rest of the weekend.
Sunday was no bargain either, with the cold temperatures and a strong biting wind that made it feel a good ten degrees colder than the low forties high that was finally manufactured. It truly was not a pleasant day to be sitting outside at the races. But a surprisingly large contingent of dirt fans, anxious to start a new season, was on hand to see the four classes in action.
Car counts showed thirty two Late Models on hand along with twenty one Ethanol(UMP) Modifieds, nineteen IMCA Mods and only six Sport Mods(one of which never did get on the track either). The two Ethanol classes qualified while the other two classes drew pills and the first race hit the track shortly after 3 pm. Qualifying saw Bobby Pierce and Frank Marshall set quick times but with the three car invert, they would not be finding themselves on the pole for their heats, unlike normal UMP events.
The qualifying heats moved by fairly smooth, the Late Models were all thrown into one sixteen car B Feature that took five, and just like that we were ready for the Late Model seventy five lap main after some track prep work.
Speaking of the track, the surface had been brutalized all weekend by the rain and wind, and now on Sunday we threw a lot of sun at it too for an afternoon show and given all those factors, I thought that the track held up pretty darn well. Sure, there were some ruts and dips but the drivers in all four classes were able to adjust and race well and there were certainly multiple grooves to race on. Keep in mind that this was also the first race of 2019 at the track and many race tracks have to deal with some opening issues with their surface, no matter how ideal the pre race conditions had been and on this weekend they had certainly been far less than ideal.
But we had a top notch field of highly decorated Late Model drivers on hand and they usually find a way to race and put on a show no matter what the conditions and that was certainly the case here on Sunday as the Late Model feature was a dandy, with much passing, side by side racing and plenty of drama that played out right until the end of the event.
There were five different leaders during the seventy five lapper, that was slowed six times by yellow but saw the last twenty nine laps go green to checkererd. Kyle Bronson led early as he pounded the cushion with Brian Shirley then taking over the top spot. Gradually working their way to the front were T. Erb, Pierce and Chris Simpson who never got off the bottom but gradually took spots as other, perhaps more flashy drivers made surges and then fell either back or out of the race.
The last thirty or so laps were a slugfest after Simpson inherited the lead when Shirley suffered a flat tire. Erb and Pierce were all over him. Simpson caught the back of the pack and then things really started getting interesting. Simpson got repeatedly hung up running low and Erb was able to shoot by him. However, Erb then jumped the cushion and Pierce took advantage to take over the lead. But then he had his share of trouble as the lower risk low side of the track also produced another back marker that slowed up Pierce with Erb blowing by him on the top side.
Erb then tucked back low for the last couple of laps and Pierce wasn't able to mount a charge on him. It turned out to be an excellent feature race with many drivers showing up some exciting moves, some which also caused them to head for the pits including Bronson and Jason Feger. Simpson ended up a close third with Dennis Erb and a steady Ricky Weiss completing the top five in a race that could have ended up with a lot of different conclusions, just depending on how things broke during the race. To this point I have not been a huge Tyler Erb fan, feeling that he was just a "throttle jockey" who wrecked more than he won but he showed some good patience and "smarts" in this race, not just a heavy right foot.
Following up the Late Model feature was a tough act but the other three features had some good moments of their own. The Ethanol main saw Frank Marshall and Allen Weisser battle it out during the opening laps until Weisser was able to take control. Once in front, he led the rest of the way in a race that was slowed six times early but they managed to race the final half of the race nonstop. Weisser, who I thought would have been a strong choice in the Late Models too, given the strong runs he had early this season but struggled with car problems and missed his heat which buried his efforts for the day, also continued his strong early season runs in the Modified too, becoming another successful Lethal chassis driver. Tommy Sheppard Jr came from mid pack to finish third ahead of John McClure and Bob Pohlman Jr. My Wisconsin friend, Paul Niznik, pulled all the way down from Medford Wisconsin for the one day show and finished sixth.
Can there be a hotter open wheel Modified driver in the country than Ricky Thornton Jr. It doesn't seem to matter what the sanctioning body and what type of motor he has under the hood, he just goes out and wins. And I most like the fact that he works the race track for everything it can give him, moving where ever on the track he can gain an advantage, whether it be high or low on the track surface.
Travis Denning was the early leader of the race while Thornton Jr moved up steadily from the third row. He settled on the high side to gain an edge and then he closed in on the leader. Just as he was ready to make the pass on the high side in turn four on lap ten, Denning pushed too hard and spun out, which pretty much ended his effort.
Thornton Jr was taking some pressure from Jeff "Bone" Larson near the end but a good move in lapped traffic gave him the advantage he needed to take yet another feature win. Justin Kay was next in line sporting a car with a roof line that the IMCA inspectors will be salivating over, I suspect.
It sounds impressive that there were drivers from three states on hand for the Sport Mod feature but then when it becomes known that there were only five of them, perhaps not so much. However, this race produced the biggest upset of the night in my mind anyway.
Tyler Soppe is a former national champion and when he came from the second row to take the lead before the field hit turn one, the rest of the race seemed to be just a mere formality. He did build up a substantial lead in a race that saw the last seventeen laps go green. However, Skyler Woods started to pick up the pace and cut into Soppe's lead gradually.
I thought maybe Soppe was cruising but soon Woods was just a few car lengths behind and still no response from Soppe to pick up the pace. Woods was soon challenging and he blew right by Soppe to take over the lead. I thought at this point, there would be a response from Tyler, but Skyler pulled away in the final laps and I can only assume that Soppe was having a mechanical issue that was holding him back.
Nevertheless, Woods drove the wheels off his car and never gave up, even when the lead was a big one and he was fully deserving of the win. Brad Salisberry finished third of the five, all of which made the full twenty laps.
So, racing was completed about 7:30 pm and those of us still around lumbered back to our vehicles, wondering among other things why our limbs weren't operating as they should. Several minutes later I finally was able to ascertain that yes indeed, I did still have feet but the number of toes was still uncertain. I was a cold, cold day and those fans that braved the cold deserve a lot of credit.
But the most credit should go to the track crew that spent the better part of three days riding graders and packing vehicles and slogging around in the cold mud, dealing with all the problems associated with the rain and yet still putting on a show on Sunday, and as a bonus for everyone that was on hand, one that will be remembered for quite some time and perhaps one of the most competitive and entertaining races of the year.
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