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.
No comments:
Post a Comment