The MaxYield Northern Sport Mod Nationals was held on Tuesday night, June 25th at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt Iowa. This race, the eleventh annual edition of this event, was rained out previously one week earlier and rescheduled to this date, which made possible for me to attend. And while Johnathon Logue took home the big check for the win in the Sport Mod feature, it was a couple of the other feature races that made this night memorable.
Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars and Modifieds also ran at this event and it was the finishes in those events, particularly the Hobbies and Modifieds, that set this evening apart from many of the others of the Summer.
Forty eight Northern Sport Mods signed in to race on this night, a very good number especially considering the fact that this was a rescheduled date from one week ago and surely there must have been some drivers that had planned on attending that could not be available for the rescheduled date. Drivers from Nebraska and Minnesota joined a big contingent of drivers from northern and central Iowa to fight it out for the twenty five hundred to win event that also saw a good purse for the non winning positions.
Six heat races and two B Features set the twenty four car starting grid for the main event, going for thirty laps and the slick four tenth mile track at Britt. And while Logue started on the pole for the event after having won the dash that set the top three rows, the win was not near as easy as it might sound, based on his starting position.
The first few laps saw Logue and Nate Whitehurst trade the lead back and forth as three quick yellows in the first ten laps kept the field bunched. Logue, then Whitehurst and then Logue again would take the top spot following the slow downs for minor spins and stalls.
Finally, racing settled in and the last twenty laps of the race ran off nonstop. Logue continued to lead with Whitehurst challenging until some other drivers started to move up. Brayton Carter and Josh McBirnie moved into the top three positions with Jared Boumeester also moving up as Whitehurst started to lose the handle on his car and began to fade back in the field.
Logue began to settle in, and the top five cars pretty much lined up in their running order and stayed there as the wild scrambling of the early going ceased and everyone kind of stayed in the same positions. At times, the distance between some of the top five positions would vary, and in the last ten laps or so, Carter and Boumeester began to close in on Logue just a bit. Johnathon was catching a couple of lapped cars, and he was trying to balance his lead with also not having to deal with the slower traffic if possible.
The lead got down to a couple of car lengths but then Logue had to go and he made a dazzling move down the back chute, passing both of the back markers and putting a cushion between them and his competition. He crossed the finish line comfortably in front and backed up his 2016 win in this event with his second title. Carter, Boumeester, McBirnie and Jim Chisholm completing the top five.
It was a frustrating night for the only three time winner of this event, Nate Chodur. He dropped out in his heat race and failed to grid for a B Feature, thus ending his chances at a race that everyone has to earn their way intro as no provisions are doled out.
And while the Sport Mod feature was a pretty good one, it was a couple of the other events contested that made this a night that people will remember for much of the Summer. Specifically, the Hobby Stock feature will rank as one of the top five races seen so far this year as the Hobby Stock drivers put on a great show with a surprising finish.
It was a three car race all the way, with the last twelve laps going nonstop. Malik Sampson had the lead and Cody Nielsen was showing great speed as he drove past Drew Barglof to take second and then close on Sampson. While Barglof rode a couple of car lengths behind the top two, he remained in position to challenge if something should happen, which of course, it did.
On each lap, Nielsen would get a good run on the top side of turn four and try to squeeze past Sampson on the high side but he couldn't quite pull off the move. Finally, he got a special strong run off of turn four and was to the outside of Sampson. However, Sampson appeared to move up the track at the same time and the two leaders hooked into each other and then slammed the front stretch wall right under the flagstand. They remained locked together with Nielsen almost climbing the wall. They slowed dramatically but just as the yellow was going to be waved, they separated and kept going! Barglof saw the opening from third, and he dived to the low side of the track in turn one but just then the two leaders started to pick up speed again and they both turned down toward the bottom of turn one, and both crashed into Barglof!
However, all three were able to keep going with Barglof now battling with Nielsen for the lead with Sampson just behind them. They grinded on each other down the back chute and through the final corner and at the line, it was Barglof the narrow winner over Nielsen and Sampson in what was one of the wilder races of the year to date. The crowd went wild and Barglof was a stunned winner, having already settled in his own mind for third until things went nuts at the end. Shame on anyone that headed for the concession stand and missed out on this race, which got the crowd reffed up for what followed, and that was a very good Modified feature with another surprising finish.
Ben Schultze was the early leader of the Modified feature but Kelly Shryock started in the second row and quickly got by Al Hejna and then Schultze to take over the lead, which he built upon as the race progressed. After two quick yellows, the last eighteen laps went green and Shryock used that long green flag to build up a lead.
However, gradually working his way up through the field, after starting ninth, was Austin Wolf, who gradually picked up positions until he found himself in third behind Hejna. Suddenly, Wolf looked to be the fastest car in the field and when he finally slipped past Hejna, he was in the clear to take a run at the leader.
However, Shryock still had a fairly comfortable lead and the laps were running down, so he still looked to be in control. However, Wolf began cutting the lead at an alarming pace, particularly to Shryock and his fans. Within just a few laps, the difference in speed was noticeable and it appeared that Shryock tried to pick the pace if he was just cruising. He was able to create more distance but only temporarily as Wold caught him again. Shryock slid up out of turn four and Wolf blew past him with authority and Shryock had nothing for him in return as Wold accelerated away from Kelly with a stunning and remarkable display of speed. The crowd was stunned that Wolf could have had his way so strongly and he continued to pull away as he drove to victory over Shryock, Hejna, Jeremy Mills, who came from tenth and Schultze.
While the remarkable run by Wolf ended Shryock's chances for a daily double, he did win the Stock Car feature held previously to the Modified main. Shryock drew well for that race, starting the Stock Car main from the front row and leading all the way in a rare Stock Car main that wasn't right down to the wire.
Derek Green did move up considerably and made a challenge at the end to Shryock but Kelly held on for the win. It seems strange to me to be seeing Shryock running a Stock Car but he apparently likes the class as he has been running this car quite a few times with success and with all the big playing Stock Car events now held, there is a market for both him to earn some good cash and also to sell some more race cars. Heath Tulp finished third with Randy Brands and Kevin Opheim completing the top five. Opheim may have had the fastest car on the track at the end as he moved up from eleventh to fifth and was still gaining ground when he ran out of laps.
Chad Myers and Jeremy "Foxman" Fox were calling the action on Tuesday and they were kept busy keeping up as the pace of the racing was very quick, with race after race rolling to the track. I had a chance to talk to Myers for a few minutes in the pits before the show, as he is one of the few announcers left that actually visit the pits before the show to talk to drivers and find out the "inside scoop", which I appreciate. Chad is kept busy announcing three nights per week as north Iowa tracks and we compared notes as to how the first few months of the racing seasons were going for this area's tracks.
Twenty two races, including eighty laps of feature racing were held on this night with the track holding up well under the pounding. Also, all this racing was completed in just a tick over three hours which is something to be proud of. That is one way to keep the crowd coming back for midweek shows, and that is to keep the action moving and let folks get home at a reasonable hour.
Thanks to everyone at 4 Wide Promotions for their help on this night. Tuesday night proved to be a great example that racing can be spectacularly exciting with the "support"classes as the prime show and that the biggest names in the sport don't have to be on hand to see a good show and be entertained.
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