The Malvern Bank Super Late Model Series made their first ever appearance at the Stuart International Speedway on Wednesday night, June 4th along with a full program of four IMCA sanctioned divisions.
It was another gorgeous night for racing in central Iowa and perhaps all of us across the Midwest are finally going to see some warm, dry weather for a change. Another big crowd was on hand for Wednesday night's show as promoter Mike VanGenderen continues to dish up special events on a regular basis for central Iowa fans, something this facility has probably not ever seen before. But so far the fans have responded in a big way and as long as they continue to do so, MVG will continue to book these special events.
Twenty eight of the MBLM were in attendance for this midweek show as the drivers of this series do a great job of supporting its events, which of course then makes it more attractive to a prospective promoter considering booking such an event and also more attractive to the fans that might be considering making a trip to see them race. Nine of the top ten in series points currently(only missing Tyler Breuning who was likely on his way to Eldora) and sixteen of the top twenty found their way to the Stuart quarter mile on this night.
The field was split into four heat races through which the drivers earned passing points(there that passing points format is popping up again!) with the top twelve moving directly into the feature. The rest of the field was split into two B Features with the top two in each also moving on. Throw in two provisionals and the twenty car field was set.
While the Late Model main might not have reaches epic proportions in interest on this night, it was still a good race. There was not a lot of movement through the field as everyone seemed fairly even on this night and the super slick track made everyone bide their time but jump when opportunities opened up.
O'Brien did start on the pole and did the entire race but he was heavily challenged by Billy Leighton Jr who did his best to get past into the lead. with the race going nonstop, it wasn't too long into the race before the leaders hit lapped traffic and that provided the most entertainment of the event as the top two tried to wind their way through the heavy traffic.
In fact, at one point O'Brien got himself caught on the inside going down the back chute, realized his problem and shot up the track abruptly but Leighton Jr was already there and they made some contact with Leighton Jr kind up shoved up toward the rail. After that, O'Brien was able to maintain his small lead to the finish and on the cool off lap, Leighton Jr let the winner know that he didn't necessarily appreciate the tactics that were used against him. However, it is a long racing season and things do happen and the worm does turn often over the course of a long racing season.
Corey Zeitner finished third with Charlie McKenna and Ben Schaller completing the top five. McKenna had all kinds of problems keeping his car running Tuesday night in Marshalltown but whatever the issue, he had it worked out Wednesday as he looked perhaps the most competitive that I have seen in quite some time. He also rolled out his back up car and Modified driver Nick Roberts of Des Moines took his first Late Model ride. And he didn't mess around, driving hard and aggressive and finishing in the top ten in his first attempt behind the wheel of the wide tired cars. Nineteen of the twenty starters completed the race and if I had to lodge a complaint about anything, it was that the race was probably too short. Twenty five laps for two grand to win seems like it should be more like forty laps, particularly on this tiny oval where the laps clip by so far anyway.
The four classes that are the staples of this track, the Modifieds, Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks also ran a full program too. Two of the features were won with dominating performances while two came right down to the wire, literally.
The two open wheel classes saw strong individual performances control their main events. After some good early battling, Garrett Nelson moved up from the third row to take the lead, an advantage that he would maintain the rest of the race. Kody Havens gradually came up after starting eleventh and it looked as he closed in on the leader that a battle might take place for the lead.
However, a late race yellow didn't help Havens as he got away poorly on the restart and Nelson stretched his lead out and drove home for the win. Hunter Longnecker started tenth and drove home third so there was definitely plenty of passing going on, as the ice slick track made strategy and driving in traffic rather than all out horsepower the keys to success.
In the Modifieds, it was all Matthew Meinecke as he started on the pole, drove away from the field and maintained a comfortable margin all the way to take the win. Things got off to a bad start in this race as a first corner spin on the opening lap triggered a multi car pileup and the two longest travelers for this race, Austin Kuehl and Kollin Hibdon, were both eliminated. And to make matters worse, the car that caused the yellow, because he didn't stop, was allowed to restart the race from the front row. Where is the justice?
In any event, Happy Gilman finished second while Kyle Brown, who was involved in the first lap wreck, came all the way from the tail to finish third, despite the fact that his right front tire was pointed toward Montezuma from the contact.
Earlier, the first car in the pits on this night was Kansas driver Clay Money. He was on his way to Justin Kay's shop to get some new updates on his Modified so he stopped in to race and meet up with Kay at the track. His plan is if all works well, to get back as far as Beatrice Nebraska to race on Friday night. Just like most others, he reported that rain has made his schedule of racing spotty so far this year but he does have three feature wins so far to date.
The fendered cars put on the show on Wednesday with both the Stock Car and Hobby Stock features being dandies. With only one yellow on lap two to slow the action, the Stock Cars were all over the track in their main as they jockeyed for position and sought out a line that would work for them and perhaps free them from some of the traffic which was rush hour heavy.
As the race progressed, Brandon Pruitt found himself in the lead as he hugged the low groove with Buck Schafroth dogging his every move. Buck was riding the rear bumper of Pruitt, hoping for a mistake that as the laps ran down, didn't appear like it was going to happen. Suddenly, Shawn Ritter, who had been hammering the high side without particular success, found the groove to be picking up in speed and he came thundering to the front. He was just about to pass Schafroth when Buck decided he better do something and he moved up the track slightly and suddenly we had a three wide battle for the lead.
When the white flag came out, it was anyone's race but when Pruitt slid just off the bottom coming off the final corner, Buck shot low and it was a rush to the finish with Schafroth scoring the win by inches in what was a thriller. Ritter came up short but needs to be complimented for his diligence in making the high side work.
Those that walked out early before the final event of the night, the Hobby Stock feature, was waged should be kicking themselves in the butt this am as the final race of night left the crowd wowed and was a great way to send them home.
Frankly, I have no idea how Shannon Anderson won this race. He was mired at the back of the pack and seemed to be going no where when little by little, he started to pick up the pace and moved to the top five , as there was a group of about eight cars racing for position that was dynamite. They continued to scramble for position but it was Anderson and John Watson that were making the most progress.
And this race came right down to the wire too, with the gates opening on the final lap in turn one and Anderson dove to the bottom and by the time the field hit the back chute, he was in front. It was an amazing display of patience and taking advantage of the opportunities when they appeared. Watson had to settle for second with Brandon Cox third. What a great way to end the night!
And then, to top things off, I glanced at my watch and it was three minutes past ten pm.! Wow, the second night in a row where I saw a full multi class program, topped by an extra distance feature race and the show was still done early. Congrats to MVG and his crew for doing just as good a job as Toby's crew the night before in moving through the program. Gosh, I which I could clone these two gentlemen and spread them around throughout the Midwest. They really do get it and fans should make them aware of just how much they appreciate it when they can snap off such a fast paced and entertaining show.
MVG and his crew are right back at it next week, with a two night show for the Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars and Sport Mods paying big money on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Modifieds also joining the action on Wednesday. With what we saw on this night, that show has to potential to be a wowzer too.
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