As one of the first tracks in the state of Iowa to open for the 2020 racing season, Stuart, along with Oskaloosa, were also the first midweek tracks to get their season kicked off. With lots of anticipation and many big shows planned for this year, the delay at opening the season has weighed heavy on promoter Mike VanGenderen along with all his fellow race organizers across the Midwest.
But on a misty, windy and cool May night, Stuart was finally able to get their racing season underway and they did so with a bang. While Wednesday night's show was one of the first weekly events for this season, it will also probably be remembered by many as one of the top races they saw all year, it was that good.
I had a few minutes early in the evening to spend with MVG and I had a few questions to ask. A number of track improvements had been done to the facility during the off season but none were more noticeable than the huge new cat walk that runs behind the grandstand from the exit of turn four and at least half the way down the front chute. It is a very well constructed addition to the track and provides the pit crew members a very good place to watch the races as Stuart is one of the very few facilities with the pits on the same side of the track as the spectator grandstands and one would certainly not want to lose grandstand seating just for the sake of pit area seating.
This structure cost many thousands of dollars to build but in a reoccurring theme for this place, much of the financing of materials and labor was done by sponsors. Good businessmen from the region have paired up with MVG on many projects with the benefits to both groups obviously easy to see. The sponsors get a good "bang" for their buck, MVG gets the benefits of their assistance and the fans benefit by seeing races, events and drivers that they would not otherwise get the opportunity to.
Some other changes not so obvious but key the providing a big entertainment boost were the reshaping of the corners with some extra banking added in spots and some low spots filled in so as to allow the drivers to run many grooves and be able to carry their speed all the way around this small quarter mile oval. This would be quite obvious later when we would witness some spectacular racing in all divisions with more side by side and three wide racing than perhaps any where else around.
my second question had to do with the recent run double header at the Scotland County Speedway, one of MVG's other tracks. When rain it just as the first feature race got started on the second night, the event was canceled but I was never clear on how they settled up with the drivers.
Turns out that all drivers were paid. The B Features obviously paid as they finished while in the main events, the drivers that made the redraw, twelve I believe in each class, split evenly the purse money for the top twelve places while the rest of the starters split the rest of the money equally. This seems like absolutely the fairest way of dealing with an unfortunate situation and while I don't remember the exact numbers, both the Stock Car and Modified drivers that made the main event went home with well over three hundred dollars, not bad money for an eight lap heat race! The other divisions obviously were less based on their smaller purse.
Later on this evening, the only unsettling part of this entire Wednesday night race was that the spectator seating was completely empty except for an occasionally wandering MVG as he passed through while working the Raceceiver with the drivers during the mains. While we were witness to some spectator heat race action and wild slide job trading passes in the mains, the grandstands were as quiet as a mouse and that just did not seem right. I will never get used to that and I can only hope that something happens soon to stop this madness.
MVG roped off the entire grandstand and did not let even the crews or media sit in the stands as he wanted the folks watching to know that he was following the rules to "the letter" but the empty stands looked very strange indeed on the videos.
My question was, how was MVG affording to be able to put on three shows this week, including a Late Model special followed up by a Memorial Day special for the Mods while still having an empty grandstand? And once again, here is where his sponsors have come through for him. While he will certainly obtain some revenue for pit passes, of which there was probably a goodly amount on this night with the overflowing pits, and he would also get some income from the pay per view, that still likely wouldn't cover the "nugget" he will be required to pay, particularly when the Late Models come to town.
The answer is, his sponsors take came of the rest so that the race is financially sound and the events can go forward. Sponsors abound at Stuart as the list of supporters is long indeed and all have played a part in getting the racing going and keeping it strong. Where Stuart Speedway was just over one year ago and where it is now is like night and day. The renaissance has been an amazing thing to watch and is certainly worthy of some national attention by racing media, and I hope they see how this place has been turned around completely. Sure, the track could still use a scoreboard and a fire hydrant on the property would be a nice thing, but the reversal this place has made is truly special and can not be ignored.
MVG, despite only having promoted one weekend of racing so far this year, has been a busy guy indeed. He early on hit on the idea of private practice sessions at Stuart and he told me that he estimated that around one hundred and fifty different race cars had practiced at his track prior to opening night! Folks that is a nice revenue stream to start your season off while supplying a service that many drivers requested. Also, all those laps on the track did nothing but helping to get the track ready for racing and on this cool and moist night, the only water he needed to apply was just before hot laps. And the track proved to be great, as it cleaned of nicely and slicked up black and provided racing grooves all over while not throwing a bit of dust. It could not have been any better.
As far as the racing itself, it was great too. We saw battles for the lead in most events with some classic slide job action particularly in the Sport Mod and Stock Car features. The drivers were obviously ready to go also with by my count, one hundred and twenty two race cars plus the Mini Mods with twenty four races on the card.
Perhaps even more impressive that all the other parts of MVG's program is the marvelous way that he runs off his races. Functioning as his own Race Director, he commands a group of dedicated workers that are running their butts off for him and they put on a show that is as quickly run off as any around. It is impressive and also begs the question, why can't other places do the same? But that is a discussion for another time.
Despite the fact that he had race cars pitted all over the property and hot lapped all six of the classes, the first green flag actually waved a few seconds ahead of the advertised starting time, a wonder that not many others could duplicate. The Boss, Jeff Broeg was on hand and I'm sure that he will provide a much more detailed race report than I can, so I will suffice to say that all the main events were great. After leader Brayton Carter spun out in the Sport Mod feature, we then got to see a classic slide job battle between Tyler Inman and Cam Reimers with Reimers throwing the last shot that got him the win. A strong third place finish was executed by Sport Mod rookie Cory Madden. A "shout out" to fifth place finisher Matt Sanders who towed all the way from Oregon to race in Iowa this week.
And just when you thought you'd seen the best back and forth racing likely for awhile, the Stock Cars came out and duplicated, if not exceeded the Sport Mods. In this one it was Buck Schafroth and Damon Murty who went at it as they thrilled the non existent crowd before Murty came home the winner.
The Modifieds went nonstop and it was a dominating performance by Ethan Braaksma that saw him take home the win. We kept waiting for Clay Money or Ricky Thornton Jr or someone to challenge but no one could keep up with Ethan on this night. He was particularly brilliant as he worked lapped traffic and built up a huge lead as he worked through the lapped cars with all twenty four starters still on the track at the finish. New announcer Tony Paris pointed out that just in the Modifieds alone there were drivers on hand from seven states.
The Sport Compacts continued the format with another tight finish. It appeared that Mitchell Bunch, defending point champion at Stuart, would hold on for the win, but a restart with only three laps to go proved to be his downfall. He slid high in turn one on the green and that allowed Bryan Vannausdle to get under him as the Nebraska driver drove on for the win
The Hobby Stocks wrapped up the evening in fine fashion too. Chuck Madden Jr started on the pole and led the early laps of the race while being pressured by several cars. Jeff Ware had moved up the banking and seemed to be ready to pounce as he had built momentum up but then he clobbered the wall in turn one and was done and Madden was free to drive home for the win over Jason Kohl and Brandon Cox.
The final checkered flag waved just before 10:30 pm so we saw a full sized, action packed racing program executed in just a sliver over three hours and there were a couple of longer delays when a couple of big wrecks had to be cleared too. It was a racing event of its finest order, one that you could take a casual fan and know that they would have been entertained while not ending the night either "flat bottomed" from sitting too long or covered in dust. Hopefully we will be able to take those folks to the races before too long.
MVG gave himself and his workers an "A" grade on the evening and he is normally a tougher grader than Mrs. Twinning, my third grade teacher. However, I would have given out the same grade and would have rewarded him with an apple if I had one!
You get two more opportunities this weekend to see Stuart in action as they are racing Late Models on Sunday night and they have the Bill Davis Memorial for Modifieds on Memorial Day. Do yourself a treat and watch it on TV or buy a pit pass and check out the new cat walk.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Monday, May 18, 2020
Jake Timm Takes Dad's Money at MTS
On Wednesday, May 13th, The Wisconsin State Supreme Court announced the decision that they had overturned Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers "Stay at Home Order" on a four to three vote, thus basically eliminating all restrictions on citizens in the state except for those countries that had passed their own restrictive laws or ordinances that were still in effect in their counties.
Suddenly the state of Wisconsin turned into the "Wild, Wild West" with bars ope ning at 8 am the following morning along with restaurants and many other kinds of businesses that had been closed. Many folks were just as giddy as if it were Christmas morning. Being cooped up for weeks, this was their response.
Shortly after the announcement was made on Wednesday, Bob Timm, owner of Mississippi Thunder Speedway and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter, made the announcement that they would be racing on Friday night. Two weeks earlier MTS also raced in the well publicized "Race to be Essential" event that broke ground as the first event held in Wisconsin in 2020. So it was not a surprise when MTS quickly organized a race even though they had only two days of preparation time. In this new era, people are checking face book pages and websites almost continuously for the latest information and it definitely doesn't take long to get the word out to both participants and spectators.
Proof of that is clear in what the turnout was on Friday night. One hundred and fifty cars were on hand to race in what turned out to be a six class program after Timm decided to all the Open Late Models for the second time this year to his five USRA classes. However, once again this was not a sanctioned show but used the USRA basic rules while allowing the WISSOTA and IMCA racers to run with only minor changes needed to their cars. Late Models pulled from as far away as central Iowa while even the Hornet drivers came all the way from Iowa and central Minnesota to compete as their are many racers very anxious indeed to turn their first laps of the season.
A surprise entrant was young Drake Troutman from Pennsylvania who was on hand to race both Mods and Late Models after just picking up a new MB Customs Mod at Mars shop only about an hour North of MTS. And as crazy as it might sound, they were headed back home with a sixteen or so hour pull for a race in their home state on Saturday night after they got done at MTS!
The management didn't really have a sense of how many spectators would come out under such short notice and with some people still having qualms about being in public. But they were pleasantly surprised when a very large crowd, spread out "socially" as they were advised to do, was on hand for the show on Friday. Some masks were worn but not too many in the crowd chose to do so.
Solid fields of cars were on hand in five of the six classes with only the USRA Late Models appearing to be a little slow getting their numbers up so far. They were dropped from the first show because their pre entry list was so low and they still managed to only marshal eleven cars two weeks later for this show. However, that number is expected to grow in the coming weeks and it is surprising that even at this late date in the year for race openers, there are always those teams that just can not get ready for the opener, no matter what time of year it might finally occur.
Running lots of cars in their main events, only the B Mods and Mods needed B Features so after lots of smoothly run heat races with few yellow flags, it was time for the main events. The Hornet field was big with thirty two of them signing in to race. They were divided up into two huge sixteen car heat races and everyone went to the main event. Twenty nine were still running to start the feature race and this event was also a smooth one with only a couple yellows for detached wheels that were bouncing around the track, a situation that does seem to happen quite often in the Hornet class.
Armond Love led all the way to win the Hornet main but it was a close contest all the way. There were about five cars that ran away from the field and engaged in their own battle for the win but Love led every lap to get the victory.
His biggest challenge came from Jeremy Johnson who was close until the final lap when his car broke and he failed to finish. Love brought his brand new car home for the win with Cole Alberts taking advantage of Johnson's problem to finish second. They were trailed by Chad Prissel, Grayson Pratt and Jesse Lutz. Pratt came all the way from central Minnesota to race on this night.
The Hobby Stock feature was one that was not decided until the top five checked in for tech and most people went home not knowing the the apparent winner failed in his inspection.
Steve Dwyer started on the outside pole and led all eighteen laps to apparently win the main. He was chased by Chris Hovden as those two pulled away from the field. Dwyer held off the challenges of Hovden to take the win, the trophy and the winner's interview but he wasn't able to get through tech quite as smoothly. As it turns out, the apparent third place finisher, Levi Sand, was also DQ'd so the finishing order was certainly scrambled.
Hovden got the official win with Tim Helle, Chris Dahl, Kevin Hager and Jake James completing the top five as tough Northeastern Iowa drivers finished first and second.
The USRA Late Model feature got off to a crazy start as challenger Joe Provinzino got into the wall in a tangle with another car and nearly went over while setting off quite a show of sparks as he rode the concrete right down the front stretch. Joe Provo was OK but his car was done for the event.
Bob Fort, a long time competitor at the track, took the lead and led most of the way. However, he was challenged hard by Lance Hofer and with just a couple of laps left, Hofer was able to drive by on the outside and take the lead which he held the rest of the way. Fort finished a strong second with defending USRA national point champion Lucas Peterson in third and Derek Nelson and Michael Bruggeman following.
Thirty seven B Mods whittled their way down to the best twenty four for their twenty lap feature event. And they did themselves up proud with twenty one finishing the main and the race went green to checkered, a rarity for this class. Taylor Skauge was the early leader but then Shaun Walski found the top side of the track and he then took off like a rocket. He blew past Skauge and pulled away, stretching his lead to nearly a straightaway over the field.
Lapped traffic was a concern but he handled it well and gave himself plenty of wiggle space with five lapped cars between himself and Skauge at the finish. Ben Moudry finished third with opening night winner Ryan Olson settling for fourth ahead of Parker Hale.
Open Late Models were up next with the field again represented by open motor cars plus a few of the spec engined cars also competing. Jake Timm has been on a roll lately with some strong performances on tv national races as he has been really fast with his MB using a motor that the Timm's build themselves, a rarity in this day.
Jake started on the pole, moved to the cushion and decimated the field, winning by a full straightaway over Jimmy Mars. Mars had his hands full with Chad Simpson, who was a surprise entrant along with Jeremy Grady, also from Iowa. Simpson dogged Mars the second half of the race, trying to get under Jimmy several times before settling for third. Jeremiah Hurst finished fourth ahead of James Giossi, opening night winner and the first spec motor across the line.
The evening wrapped up with the Modifieds going non stop for twenty five laps, the third straight feature race to go green to checkers. Dan Ebert made the tow over from central Minnesota and in a rare appearance, he led from start to finish to take the win. He was very dominant with only Dustin Sorensen able to stay close to him. Ebert was also working the top side of the track and while Sorensen was able to get close, he never really provided a stiff challenge.
Ebert was excellent in lapped traffic and when he put six cars a lap down on him, he was able to buy some valuable space that kept Sorensen from challenging at the end. Jacob Bleess ran a strong third while Timm, who started eleventh, ran out of time as he was the one driver really moving up through the field and likely would have gained even more positions in a longer race. Tony Schill had a fine run to complete the top five.
Except for starting just a bit late, the program really moved along at a rapid pace and while it did get a bit late before the final checkered flag waved, there is no fast way to run off a program with that many race cars and races to complete. Timm had to have been thrilled with the size of the crowd, particularly for a program thrown together at the last minute.
Bob is taking advantage of the fact that he is one of the few tracks in the tri-state area able to race right now. His scheduled USMTS show next Friday has been "doubled down" as the USMTS Mods will now be in town for two straight nights of racing. With them also will be the first race of the Dirt Kings Late Model tour based out of eastern Wisconsin and there were rumblings also that they might extent their show to be a two night event also so I would check to see on that also. It is going to be that kind of year with tracks changing schedules and adding extra events at the last minute and social media being the primary source of obtaining this information as most other media sources just can't respond quickly enough to the fast breaking changes.
It was a good show and well attended, so it appears that his efforts earlier this year to get the season going that probably cost him some money are now starting to bear fruit.
Suddenly the state of Wisconsin turned into the "Wild, Wild West" with bars ope ning at 8 am the following morning along with restaurants and many other kinds of businesses that had been closed. Many folks were just as giddy as if it were Christmas morning. Being cooped up for weeks, this was their response.
Shortly after the announcement was made on Wednesday, Bob Timm, owner of Mississippi Thunder Speedway and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter, made the announcement that they would be racing on Friday night. Two weeks earlier MTS also raced in the well publicized "Race to be Essential" event that broke ground as the first event held in Wisconsin in 2020. So it was not a surprise when MTS quickly organized a race even though they had only two days of preparation time. In this new era, people are checking face book pages and websites almost continuously for the latest information and it definitely doesn't take long to get the word out to both participants and spectators.
Proof of that is clear in what the turnout was on Friday night. One hundred and fifty cars were on hand to race in what turned out to be a six class program after Timm decided to all the Open Late Models for the second time this year to his five USRA classes. However, once again this was not a sanctioned show but used the USRA basic rules while allowing the WISSOTA and IMCA racers to run with only minor changes needed to their cars. Late Models pulled from as far away as central Iowa while even the Hornet drivers came all the way from Iowa and central Minnesota to compete as their are many racers very anxious indeed to turn their first laps of the season.
A surprise entrant was young Drake Troutman from Pennsylvania who was on hand to race both Mods and Late Models after just picking up a new MB Customs Mod at Mars shop only about an hour North of MTS. And as crazy as it might sound, they were headed back home with a sixteen or so hour pull for a race in their home state on Saturday night after they got done at MTS!
The management didn't really have a sense of how many spectators would come out under such short notice and with some people still having qualms about being in public. But they were pleasantly surprised when a very large crowd, spread out "socially" as they were advised to do, was on hand for the show on Friday. Some masks were worn but not too many in the crowd chose to do so.
Solid fields of cars were on hand in five of the six classes with only the USRA Late Models appearing to be a little slow getting their numbers up so far. They were dropped from the first show because their pre entry list was so low and they still managed to only marshal eleven cars two weeks later for this show. However, that number is expected to grow in the coming weeks and it is surprising that even at this late date in the year for race openers, there are always those teams that just can not get ready for the opener, no matter what time of year it might finally occur.
Running lots of cars in their main events, only the B Mods and Mods needed B Features so after lots of smoothly run heat races with few yellow flags, it was time for the main events. The Hornet field was big with thirty two of them signing in to race. They were divided up into two huge sixteen car heat races and everyone went to the main event. Twenty nine were still running to start the feature race and this event was also a smooth one with only a couple yellows for detached wheels that were bouncing around the track, a situation that does seem to happen quite often in the Hornet class.
Armond Love led all the way to win the Hornet main but it was a close contest all the way. There were about five cars that ran away from the field and engaged in their own battle for the win but Love led every lap to get the victory.
His biggest challenge came from Jeremy Johnson who was close until the final lap when his car broke and he failed to finish. Love brought his brand new car home for the win with Cole Alberts taking advantage of Johnson's problem to finish second. They were trailed by Chad Prissel, Grayson Pratt and Jesse Lutz. Pratt came all the way from central Minnesota to race on this night.
The Hobby Stock feature was one that was not decided until the top five checked in for tech and most people went home not knowing the the apparent winner failed in his inspection.
Steve Dwyer started on the outside pole and led all eighteen laps to apparently win the main. He was chased by Chris Hovden as those two pulled away from the field. Dwyer held off the challenges of Hovden to take the win, the trophy and the winner's interview but he wasn't able to get through tech quite as smoothly. As it turns out, the apparent third place finisher, Levi Sand, was also DQ'd so the finishing order was certainly scrambled.
Hovden got the official win with Tim Helle, Chris Dahl, Kevin Hager and Jake James completing the top five as tough Northeastern Iowa drivers finished first and second.
The USRA Late Model feature got off to a crazy start as challenger Joe Provinzino got into the wall in a tangle with another car and nearly went over while setting off quite a show of sparks as he rode the concrete right down the front stretch. Joe Provo was OK but his car was done for the event.
Bob Fort, a long time competitor at the track, took the lead and led most of the way. However, he was challenged hard by Lance Hofer and with just a couple of laps left, Hofer was able to drive by on the outside and take the lead which he held the rest of the way. Fort finished a strong second with defending USRA national point champion Lucas Peterson in third and Derek Nelson and Michael Bruggeman following.
Thirty seven B Mods whittled their way down to the best twenty four for their twenty lap feature event. And they did themselves up proud with twenty one finishing the main and the race went green to checkered, a rarity for this class. Taylor Skauge was the early leader but then Shaun Walski found the top side of the track and he then took off like a rocket. He blew past Skauge and pulled away, stretching his lead to nearly a straightaway over the field.
Lapped traffic was a concern but he handled it well and gave himself plenty of wiggle space with five lapped cars between himself and Skauge at the finish. Ben Moudry finished third with opening night winner Ryan Olson settling for fourth ahead of Parker Hale.
Open Late Models were up next with the field again represented by open motor cars plus a few of the spec engined cars also competing. Jake Timm has been on a roll lately with some strong performances on tv national races as he has been really fast with his MB using a motor that the Timm's build themselves, a rarity in this day.
Jake started on the pole, moved to the cushion and decimated the field, winning by a full straightaway over Jimmy Mars. Mars had his hands full with Chad Simpson, who was a surprise entrant along with Jeremy Grady, also from Iowa. Simpson dogged Mars the second half of the race, trying to get under Jimmy several times before settling for third. Jeremiah Hurst finished fourth ahead of James Giossi, opening night winner and the first spec motor across the line.
The evening wrapped up with the Modifieds going non stop for twenty five laps, the third straight feature race to go green to checkers. Dan Ebert made the tow over from central Minnesota and in a rare appearance, he led from start to finish to take the win. He was very dominant with only Dustin Sorensen able to stay close to him. Ebert was also working the top side of the track and while Sorensen was able to get close, he never really provided a stiff challenge.
Ebert was excellent in lapped traffic and when he put six cars a lap down on him, he was able to buy some valuable space that kept Sorensen from challenging at the end. Jacob Bleess ran a strong third while Timm, who started eleventh, ran out of time as he was the one driver really moving up through the field and likely would have gained even more positions in a longer race. Tony Schill had a fine run to complete the top five.
Except for starting just a bit late, the program really moved along at a rapid pace and while it did get a bit late before the final checkered flag waved, there is no fast way to run off a program with that many race cars and races to complete. Timm had to have been thrilled with the size of the crowd, particularly for a program thrown together at the last minute.
Bob is taking advantage of the fact that he is one of the few tracks in the tri-state area able to race right now. His scheduled USMTS show next Friday has been "doubled down" as the USMTS Mods will now be in town for two straight nights of racing. With them also will be the first race of the Dirt Kings Late Model tour based out of eastern Wisconsin and there were rumblings also that they might extent their show to be a two night event also so I would check to see on that also. It is going to be that kind of year with tracks changing schedules and adding extra events at the last minute and social media being the primary source of obtaining this information as most other media sources just can't respond quickly enough to the fast breaking changes.
It was a good show and well attended, so it appears that his efforts earlier this year to get the season going that probably cost him some money are now starting to bear fruit.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Zeitners Zizzle in Raceway Park Late Modelz
It was night number two for South Dakota's Church in the Dirt, otherwise known at The New Raceway Park near Jefferson South Dakota. Two weeks ago they held their first race of the year under tight health restrictions and close scrutiny from South Dakota officials. No spectators were allowed and it was crews only in the grandstands.
After taking a week off following the opener, they were back at it again on Sunday night, May 10th and even though they still weren't allowing spectators and benefiting from that revenue stream, they added the Tri-State Late Model Series to the program, thus running six classes of cars. However, the other five classes were required to pre-register for the evening, thus they limited the number of cars racing in the other classes. And with the track across the street running a double header the previous two nights and with the inevitable breakdowns and wrecks, the other five classes didn't have full fields on this night. The field of Late Models however, was very impressive as they limited their number for this event also to thirty and that was filled quickly by teams racing from four states. This was not a point night for the Tri-State Series as this event was added to the schedule recently.
Once again health restrictions were in play with temperatures taken and while some of the other health restrictions weren't harped on quite so strongly, most everyone seemed to be complying without drama. And a lot of the worries that seemed to be dominant on opening night just didn't seem to be a big deal for night number two.
It was draw-redraw for all six classes on Sunday and only the Late Models needed a B Feature as they started twenty four cars for their twenty five lap main event. It was a nice mix of Late Models with the WISSOTA cars from northern South Dakota on hand to race with the Tri-State regulars along with a number of cars that call I-80 Speedway home and except for Casey Skyberg and Blair Nothdurft, who have traveled extensively in this early season, it was the first race for just about everyone else.
With Justin and Corey Zeitner redrawing to the front row, it was a two car duel of the Zeitners in the main event. Justin took and early lead but was soon overtaken by Corey, who then pulled out to a considerable lead. The race was stopped twice by yellow flags with the second one turning into a red.
A car slowed on the front stretch in heavy traffic, they started stacking up and heavy contact was made by several with Iowa's Todd Cooney going over on his lid. While all drivers were OK, there were several cars badly damaged; not the way anyone would like to see the season start.
When racing resumed, Corey Zeitner pulled away again and with the last eighteen laps going green, his only worries were with lapped traffic but he showed good patience on the tight quarter mile and drove home for the win. Justin finished second and Skyberg was impressive, coming from fourteenth to finish third. Nothdurft and Tad Pospisil completed the top five.
The five regular classes that run routinely at Raceway Park also ran a full show. The Modified feature went to Chris Mills after he shot into the lead from the second row on the opening lap and was scored the leader for all laps. However, it wasn't quite that easy as he had heavy pressure from Tyler Frye and Shane DeMey for much of the contest. Frye particularly offered a strong challenge until he broke and was out of the event. Bob Moore showed good patience as he waited for his opportunities and drove past DeMey and into second late in the race. Shane DeVolder from California and Jim Thies completed the top five.
Chanse Hollatz showed up at the last minute and he ended up winning the Stock Car main after a good battle with Travis Barker and Randy Brands. Hollatz was running up the track and both Barker and Brands took turns trying to drive under him for the lead but they couldn't quite pull it off. They also swapped positions numerous times with Brands getting the nod for second at the line. Shane Stutzman Greg Taylor trailed.
Put Cody Thompson on the pole for any Sport Mod feature and it's pretty easy to guess the finish. Despite Robbie Thome giving Thompson a pretty good challenge, it was Thompson that drove home for the win. Joey Haase, Rusty Montague and Mike Kramer finished next in line with Kramer getting a good finish despite climbing the front stretch wall during the race and just driving on.
The Hobby Stock feature saw a good three way battle for the lead for most of the race with Kansas driver Brady Bencken holding off all challenges for the win. He received plenty of heat from both Andy Hoffman and Zach Ankrum during the race as the top three ran in a tight pack. A late race yellow bunched the field for one last shot but at the line Brady fought off the other two to take the win. The #77's of Craig Clift and Cody Willams completed the top five.
At least four of the Sport Compacts on hand towed five hours plus from Memphis Missouri overnight to race at Park Jeff on Sunday and it was one of the travelers, Jaedon Erickson, who took the win. He came from the third row and raced his way past Taylor Brown to take the lead and then hold off the competition to take the win. With only one yellow flag, this race got over in a quick hurry and Erickson held off a late challenge from Danny Vanderveen for the win. Brown, Anthony Clark and Justin Myre were next in line.
Other than the one big wreck in the Late Model feature, it was a smooth running program that flew by quickly and without a break after the heats, was run to a conclusion briskly on a night that could also be described as brisk, with the South Dakota winds howling over the prairie and directly into the grandstand. Despite the conditions, the track stayed nice and smooth and while slick, it was one where drivers were able to try and succeed running different grooves.
It appears they have now settled into the 2020 racing schedule as next week they will welcome the IMCA Sprints who should provide an action packed addition to the program. As always, check the speedway face book page for late announcements and information.
Thanks to everyone again at Raceway Park for a nice night of racing and an always welcoming atmosphere. It is a fun Sunday night track.
After taking a week off following the opener, they were back at it again on Sunday night, May 10th and even though they still weren't allowing spectators and benefiting from that revenue stream, they added the Tri-State Late Model Series to the program, thus running six classes of cars. However, the other five classes were required to pre-register for the evening, thus they limited the number of cars racing in the other classes. And with the track across the street running a double header the previous two nights and with the inevitable breakdowns and wrecks, the other five classes didn't have full fields on this night. The field of Late Models however, was very impressive as they limited their number for this event also to thirty and that was filled quickly by teams racing from four states. This was not a point night for the Tri-State Series as this event was added to the schedule recently.
Once again health restrictions were in play with temperatures taken and while some of the other health restrictions weren't harped on quite so strongly, most everyone seemed to be complying without drama. And a lot of the worries that seemed to be dominant on opening night just didn't seem to be a big deal for night number two.
It was draw-redraw for all six classes on Sunday and only the Late Models needed a B Feature as they started twenty four cars for their twenty five lap main event. It was a nice mix of Late Models with the WISSOTA cars from northern South Dakota on hand to race with the Tri-State regulars along with a number of cars that call I-80 Speedway home and except for Casey Skyberg and Blair Nothdurft, who have traveled extensively in this early season, it was the first race for just about everyone else.
With Justin and Corey Zeitner redrawing to the front row, it was a two car duel of the Zeitners in the main event. Justin took and early lead but was soon overtaken by Corey, who then pulled out to a considerable lead. The race was stopped twice by yellow flags with the second one turning into a red.
A car slowed on the front stretch in heavy traffic, they started stacking up and heavy contact was made by several with Iowa's Todd Cooney going over on his lid. While all drivers were OK, there were several cars badly damaged; not the way anyone would like to see the season start.
When racing resumed, Corey Zeitner pulled away again and with the last eighteen laps going green, his only worries were with lapped traffic but he showed good patience on the tight quarter mile and drove home for the win. Justin finished second and Skyberg was impressive, coming from fourteenth to finish third. Nothdurft and Tad Pospisil completed the top five.
The five regular classes that run routinely at Raceway Park also ran a full show. The Modified feature went to Chris Mills after he shot into the lead from the second row on the opening lap and was scored the leader for all laps. However, it wasn't quite that easy as he had heavy pressure from Tyler Frye and Shane DeMey for much of the contest. Frye particularly offered a strong challenge until he broke and was out of the event. Bob Moore showed good patience as he waited for his opportunities and drove past DeMey and into second late in the race. Shane DeVolder from California and Jim Thies completed the top five.
Chanse Hollatz showed up at the last minute and he ended up winning the Stock Car main after a good battle with Travis Barker and Randy Brands. Hollatz was running up the track and both Barker and Brands took turns trying to drive under him for the lead but they couldn't quite pull it off. They also swapped positions numerous times with Brands getting the nod for second at the line. Shane Stutzman Greg Taylor trailed.
Put Cody Thompson on the pole for any Sport Mod feature and it's pretty easy to guess the finish. Despite Robbie Thome giving Thompson a pretty good challenge, it was Thompson that drove home for the win. Joey Haase, Rusty Montague and Mike Kramer finished next in line with Kramer getting a good finish despite climbing the front stretch wall during the race and just driving on.
The Hobby Stock feature saw a good three way battle for the lead for most of the race with Kansas driver Brady Bencken holding off all challenges for the win. He received plenty of heat from both Andy Hoffman and Zach Ankrum during the race as the top three ran in a tight pack. A late race yellow bunched the field for one last shot but at the line Brady fought off the other two to take the win. The #77's of Craig Clift and Cody Willams completed the top five.
At least four of the Sport Compacts on hand towed five hours plus from Memphis Missouri overnight to race at Park Jeff on Sunday and it was one of the travelers, Jaedon Erickson, who took the win. He came from the third row and raced his way past Taylor Brown to take the lead and then hold off the competition to take the win. With only one yellow flag, this race got over in a quick hurry and Erickson held off a late challenge from Danny Vanderveen for the win. Brown, Anthony Clark and Justin Myre were next in line.
Other than the one big wreck in the Late Model feature, it was a smooth running program that flew by quickly and without a break after the heats, was run to a conclusion briskly on a night that could also be described as brisk, with the South Dakota winds howling over the prairie and directly into the grandstand. Despite the conditions, the track stayed nice and smooth and while slick, it was one where drivers were able to try and succeed running different grooves.
It appears they have now settled into the 2020 racing schedule as next week they will welcome the IMCA Sprints who should provide an action packed addition to the program. As always, check the speedway face book page for late announcements and information.
Thanks to everyone again at Raceway Park for a nice night of racing and an always welcoming atmosphere. It is a fun Sunday night track.
Summing Things Up at the Scotland County Speedway
The previously postponed Memphis Spring Nationals were held on Friday night, May 8th and Saturday night, May 9th at the Pepsi Scotland County Speedway in Memphis Missouri. And for one of the very few times in my racing history, I was overwhelmed by a huge field of cars and long lasting racing events that quite frankly just ran me out of time to do my regular race report. Between a very long trip down to Missouri on Friday from the wee hours of the morning to a very late conclusion to the Friday night show caused by the huge field of cars, the turn around time to be back at the track was simply too short for me to do a reasonable race report and also get just a bit of shut eye so I could make it through the show on Saturday.
Fortunately, Jeff Broeg was on hand also and his race report does a fine job or reporting the action from Friday night so switch over to his site to get a full report of the first night action. And unfortunately, a surprise weather front(at least to me) came sweeping into the northern Missouri area late on Saturday night, just after the first main event had received the green flag and the rest of the show was washed out, thus wrapping up the evening and weekend in a disappointing manner.
So what I will try to do is give a brief summation of the weekend and a few of my thoughts on the racing overall.
Of course the obvious thing was the huge fields of race cars that were on hand. And quite frankly, if there is such a thing as there being too much of a good thing(except for the promoter obviously), this was it. With two hundred and six cars signed in to race on Friday night and another two hundred (approximately) on hand for Saturday, it was a tremendously large field of competitors on hand. Many states were represented and some drivers drove a long way to be part of the action including drivers hauling Sport Compacts all the way from Minnesota and Kansas.
But the down side to this is that no matter how quickly the show is run off, going through a full program with that many cars just takes a long time and not wrapping up the show until 1:30 am from Friday and just getting the features started around 11 pm on Saturday makes for a long weekend of racing.
And unlike most shows put on by MVG and his crew, these two tended to stretch out quite a bit. It's not that the shows themselves weren't run off in a quick and speedy manner, it's just that they didn't start anywhere near when they were supposed to and a considerable amount of time that was required for track prep both nights dragged things out. Especially on Saturday night, with the first race not really hitting the track until nearly 6:45 pm after hot laps were advertised for 5 pm, that time could have allowed certainly at least several of the main events to be completed before the surprise rain hit. And while it was great that so many drivers were feeling the need to get out and race, I'm not sure that sixty Sport Compacts is on everyone's wish list.
I get the fact that this was the first race of the year on the track surface and this track doesn't see a whole lot of racing even under the best of circumstances so I fully understand that track prep was necessary but recognizing this circumstance, perhaps the best thing would be to plan a much earlier start time for both nights, as the fans and drivers always seem to find a way to get to the track when it is required.
There was quite a mix of cars on hand with of course the majority of them being IMCA cars in this part of the country. However, there were also several USRA cars running in both the B Mods and Mods and a couple of WISSOTA drivers that made the long pull to race in the Mods, B Mods and Hornets too.
The Stock Cars were absolutely phenomenal in the show that they put on. No wonder many people will say that the Stock Cars are their favorite class after the kind of action that we saw from them all weekend. It didn't matter whether it was heats or features, their side by side racing and swapping of positions was just spectacular. And of course the wild finish on Friday night left the fans thirsting for more, just the thing any good promoter wants to see.
Perhaps the cure for many of the ills being felt by dirt tracks across the country would be to go to just a two class program such as what was done back in the fifties and sixties. Just run one class of open wheel cars and Stock Cars and I don't see how you could go wrong. Just don't mess up the Stock Car rules and leave them just as they are as they put on a good show at every track they are running at.
The racing was much better on Friday than it was on Saturday even though the track was quite rough on Friday night. Granted, we didn't get to see the features on Saturday but much of the moisture had been scrapped off the track on Saturday in an effort to smooth it out but it didn't clean up very well and the groove was limited.
On Friday night the cars were bouncing through the holes but they were all over the track and despite the conditions, there were few yellow flags. Consider this, in the twenty two qualifying heats on Friday night, there were only a grand total of three yellow flags and there was only one race all night that had more than two yellows and that was the Sport Compact feature. That is remarkable, given the speed the track carried on Friday and the fact that the cars were airborne nearly as much as they were contacting the track.
Saturday night's abbreviated show saw several more wild wrecks and a nod show go out to Bobby Six, who flipped wildly on the front chute at the start of a heat yet still got the car back on to the track for his B Feature when he unfortunately got involved in another "dinger."
Even with the huge field of cars Friday, another twenty two new ones showed up on Saturday night including a Sport Compact that towed all the way from the Minneapolis MN area on an open trailer, only to get shoved into a ute tire on the green for a heat, effectively ending her night before it was hardly started. Hopefully they enjoyed the ride down!
It was a shame that the ticket sales had to be limited as I suspect they could have filled the joint if the tickets would have been available. The few that were offered on race day were snatched up quickly and I don't remember seeing people lined up to buy tickets like that for quite some time. I also witnessed a couple people who couldn't get tickets due to them all being sold old and their dumbfounded looks when they learned they couldn't get into the grandstand, even though there were plenty of seats to be had. Virtually no one was wearing masks and most social distancing measures went by the way side as ticket and concession lines were snugger than they were supposed to be and I'm feeling we might as well give up this whole charade and just go back to normal as the laws and regulations are so inconsistent from area and state to state and are being enforced even more inconsistently.
Everyone is so used to now being able to pull up lineups and driver's lists and results on their phone or electronic devise that it really feels wield not to have them available as was the case in Memphis. It is now three days after the fact and official results of the weekend don't seen to be available anywhere yet.
Lance Schill had never seen the Scotland County Speedway before Friday night but it didn't take the Langdon North Dakota driver long to figure it out as he came from ninth to second in his heat and then led the entire distance for the B Mod win on Friday night. Schill is one of those drivers that races a lot during the course of a year, he was chomping at the bit to get out and run, thus the long trip to Missouri. Schill, who is a top competitor in WISSOTA, has raced in both Mods and Midwest Mods and also has done very well racing in Arizona in January. He will join the ranks of the Late Model drivers soon as he has a new MB Custom ready to go for the season opener at his home track, the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks N.D.
It was a spectacular weekend of racing and you could tell that the fans on hand had been waiting for this night to take place so they could get out and see the drivers and watch the cars go in circles once again. Thanks to MVG for a fine double header at a track that while not fancy by any means, always seems to provide some great racing action.
Fortunately, Jeff Broeg was on hand also and his race report does a fine job or reporting the action from Friday night so switch over to his site to get a full report of the first night action. And unfortunately, a surprise weather front(at least to me) came sweeping into the northern Missouri area late on Saturday night, just after the first main event had received the green flag and the rest of the show was washed out, thus wrapping up the evening and weekend in a disappointing manner.
So what I will try to do is give a brief summation of the weekend and a few of my thoughts on the racing overall.
Of course the obvious thing was the huge fields of race cars that were on hand. And quite frankly, if there is such a thing as there being too much of a good thing(except for the promoter obviously), this was it. With two hundred and six cars signed in to race on Friday night and another two hundred (approximately) on hand for Saturday, it was a tremendously large field of competitors on hand. Many states were represented and some drivers drove a long way to be part of the action including drivers hauling Sport Compacts all the way from Minnesota and Kansas.
But the down side to this is that no matter how quickly the show is run off, going through a full program with that many cars just takes a long time and not wrapping up the show until 1:30 am from Friday and just getting the features started around 11 pm on Saturday makes for a long weekend of racing.
And unlike most shows put on by MVG and his crew, these two tended to stretch out quite a bit. It's not that the shows themselves weren't run off in a quick and speedy manner, it's just that they didn't start anywhere near when they were supposed to and a considerable amount of time that was required for track prep both nights dragged things out. Especially on Saturday night, with the first race not really hitting the track until nearly 6:45 pm after hot laps were advertised for 5 pm, that time could have allowed certainly at least several of the main events to be completed before the surprise rain hit. And while it was great that so many drivers were feeling the need to get out and race, I'm not sure that sixty Sport Compacts is on everyone's wish list.
I get the fact that this was the first race of the year on the track surface and this track doesn't see a whole lot of racing even under the best of circumstances so I fully understand that track prep was necessary but recognizing this circumstance, perhaps the best thing would be to plan a much earlier start time for both nights, as the fans and drivers always seem to find a way to get to the track when it is required.
There was quite a mix of cars on hand with of course the majority of them being IMCA cars in this part of the country. However, there were also several USRA cars running in both the B Mods and Mods and a couple of WISSOTA drivers that made the long pull to race in the Mods, B Mods and Hornets too.
The Stock Cars were absolutely phenomenal in the show that they put on. No wonder many people will say that the Stock Cars are their favorite class after the kind of action that we saw from them all weekend. It didn't matter whether it was heats or features, their side by side racing and swapping of positions was just spectacular. And of course the wild finish on Friday night left the fans thirsting for more, just the thing any good promoter wants to see.
Perhaps the cure for many of the ills being felt by dirt tracks across the country would be to go to just a two class program such as what was done back in the fifties and sixties. Just run one class of open wheel cars and Stock Cars and I don't see how you could go wrong. Just don't mess up the Stock Car rules and leave them just as they are as they put on a good show at every track they are running at.
The racing was much better on Friday than it was on Saturday even though the track was quite rough on Friday night. Granted, we didn't get to see the features on Saturday but much of the moisture had been scrapped off the track on Saturday in an effort to smooth it out but it didn't clean up very well and the groove was limited.
On Friday night the cars were bouncing through the holes but they were all over the track and despite the conditions, there were few yellow flags. Consider this, in the twenty two qualifying heats on Friday night, there were only a grand total of three yellow flags and there was only one race all night that had more than two yellows and that was the Sport Compact feature. That is remarkable, given the speed the track carried on Friday and the fact that the cars were airborne nearly as much as they were contacting the track.
Saturday night's abbreviated show saw several more wild wrecks and a nod show go out to Bobby Six, who flipped wildly on the front chute at the start of a heat yet still got the car back on to the track for his B Feature when he unfortunately got involved in another "dinger."
Even with the huge field of cars Friday, another twenty two new ones showed up on Saturday night including a Sport Compact that towed all the way from the Minneapolis MN area on an open trailer, only to get shoved into a ute tire on the green for a heat, effectively ending her night before it was hardly started. Hopefully they enjoyed the ride down!
It was a shame that the ticket sales had to be limited as I suspect they could have filled the joint if the tickets would have been available. The few that were offered on race day were snatched up quickly and I don't remember seeing people lined up to buy tickets like that for quite some time. I also witnessed a couple people who couldn't get tickets due to them all being sold old and their dumbfounded looks when they learned they couldn't get into the grandstand, even though there were plenty of seats to be had. Virtually no one was wearing masks and most social distancing measures went by the way side as ticket and concession lines were snugger than they were supposed to be and I'm feeling we might as well give up this whole charade and just go back to normal as the laws and regulations are so inconsistent from area and state to state and are being enforced even more inconsistently.
Everyone is so used to now being able to pull up lineups and driver's lists and results on their phone or electronic devise that it really feels wield not to have them available as was the case in Memphis. It is now three days after the fact and official results of the weekend don't seen to be available anywhere yet.
Lance Schill had never seen the Scotland County Speedway before Friday night but it didn't take the Langdon North Dakota driver long to figure it out as he came from ninth to second in his heat and then led the entire distance for the B Mod win on Friday night. Schill is one of those drivers that races a lot during the course of a year, he was chomping at the bit to get out and run, thus the long trip to Missouri. Schill, who is a top competitor in WISSOTA, has raced in both Mods and Midwest Mods and also has done very well racing in Arizona in January. He will join the ranks of the Late Model drivers soon as he has a new MB Custom ready to go for the season opener at his home track, the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks N.D.
It was a spectacular weekend of racing and you could tell that the fans on hand had been waiting for this night to take place so they could get out and see the drivers and watch the cars go in circles once again. Thanks to MVG for a fine double header at a track that while not fancy by any means, always seems to provide some great racing action.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Giossi Sparkles as Wisconsin Opens Up
Short track racing and specifically dirt track racing returned to the state of Wisconsin for the first time in 2020 on Friday night, May 1st as Bob Timm presented "The Race To Be Essential" at his Mississippi Thunder Speedway near Fountain City Wisconsin.
A race that took a tremendous amount of work to organize and execute , it was Timm's statement to the public and governmental officials from many various agencies that short track racing could be presented in a safe manner that protected the health of the participants and observers while still giving all us "motorheads" a chance to get outdoors and witness dirt track racing up close and personal.
First announced just one week ago, the race plan still had to be submitted for approval through various governmental agencies and meetings also took place before they could officially announce that, yes indeed, the race would be held on Friday night. In four short days they signed up drivers and made all the many arrangements to ensure that a smooth and safe program would be presented to public officials for their inspection. Sadly, spectators were not allowed to attend this event and that was probably the only "downer" of the night as all those dedicated fans of the sport deserve to be on hard to watch as much as anyone but there was no way that the event would have been allowed to proceed if spectators were in attendance.
I can not stress enough how much work was put into this event by Timm and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter to make sure that every possible contingency was taken care off and that no loose ends would trip them up at the last minute. We have seen a few attempts to race be "shot down" at the last minute by well meaning authorities so the task for Timm and Lingenfelter was to make sure that there would be no last minute surprises and as far as I could tell, everything seems to operate smoothly from the first moment that the competitors entered the grounds until such time when the final checkered flag flew. The ironic part was that with all this work in preparation that will probably exceed any event they will present this year, without spectators in attendance there is no chance that Timm could have even broken even on the event. So he basically put his blood and sweat on the line just so other tracks could show their local officials that yes, this can be done in a safe manner and hopefully open up the door so that all tracks can begin to operate in our state soon with restrictions on fans lifted so that the tracks, all small businesses themselves, can hopefully open and make a buck and keep their facilities in "the black." The race was originally called "The Protest Race on Private Property" but they wisely toned down the rhetoric on that so as not to be antagonistic.
Even more bold was the decision of Timm to include open Late Models in the initial program when they normally run the USRA Late Models weekly along with other USRA classes which required them to pay out more money than they normally might. So the top class received two grand to win on a night when not a single spectator admission was collected. Timm really put himself "out there" for the competitors and fans on this night.
The Late Models ran under Dirt Kings rules while Modifieds and B Mods ran under a mix of USRA and WISSOTA rules along with the USRA rules for the Hobby Stocks. Interestingly, USRA Late Models were scheduled to be the fifth class on this night but were canceled when only a handful of them signed up to race and those were allowed to run with the open Late Models.
The number or racers was restricted so that they weren't overwhelmed with competitors in a show that would last all night. As it turned out, I don't think they got as much interest from racers as they might have expected with ninety six cars on hand being a fine field but except for the B Mods, there were still open places in the order for the other classes.
Safety measures were exceptional and it seemed to me that many more safeguards were put in place then for the races I attended last weekend in South Dakota. At the gate, all entering were met by security guards who verified on a list that you were allowed to be on the grounds. Individual packets were then picked up at the pit gate where the workers didn't have to interact with the arrivals. Each packet had a instructions sheet and armband(s) depending whether it was an individual or a team. Included in the packet was a Communicable Disease form, a Tracing form and a Release. All had to be filled out and signed and the put back in the sealed bag and returned to track officials that all was in order.
Also in the bag was a copy of the running order of events and MTS rules related to COVID-19. The pit meeting was done over the pa system, all teams were to remain in the pit area except when on the track, the teams were all spread out and masks were required when out of the team stall. The grandstand was open so people could spread out and social distancing was practiced all night with security on hand to remind folks to spread out and "keep those masks on." Frankly, I don't know what else they could realistically do to protect everyone and as has been the case lately, I felt much safer at the track than at the big box stores or grocery stores! But again, that is a discussion for another time.
And now, without further ado, let's talk about the racing action which was the whole point of us being in Fountain City Wisconsin on a beautiful and comfortable Friday night.
Sixteen Hobby Stocks were on hand with all but one taking the green for their main event. Six of the top fifteen in track points took advantage of the right to race on Friday with the rest of the field being primarily local entrants along with a few starters from Northeast Iowa that frequently attend special events here.
Starting on the pole and leading all eighteen laps was Sioux Fall's Dustin Gulbrandson. This was an odd race in that many of the strongest challengers to Gulbrandson had trouble early. Chris Hovden had a flat tire while B.J. Dahl, Cody Rollinger and Levi Sand all dropped out.
Kevin Hager, driving probably the oldest race car on the grounds, ran a strong second for a number of laps as he battled with Steve Holthaus for position.
While Gulbrandson remained comfortably in front, Hovden made a huge charge from the back of the pack, going high and low on the track to pass a gaggle of cars and he raced his way all the way back to second at the finish. Holthaus , Scott Kunda and Hager completed the top five. Of note was the fact that 2019 defending USRA Stinger champion Seth Scholl has moved up to Hobby Stocks and finished sixth in his first outing.
Nine of the top fifteen in track points were entered in the B Mod class on Friday which amounted to thirty four in total. About a third of the remaining field was WISSOTA drivers taking advantage of the chance to get out and race with the others being USRA racers from other points. Some of the toughest B Mod drivers around were on hand but none could handle defending MTS track champion Ryan Olson.
With national champion Kris Jackson on the pole, it would have seemed that everyone else was racing for second and that's the way it started early with Jackson leading the first eight laps. However, Olson and Shaun Walski were putting plenty of pressure on Jackson for the lead.
Following the first restart, Jackson got a little wide in turn two and both Olson and Walski split him and dropped him back to third. Olson took the lead but Walski was working the top side, one of few to do so, and he was making it work as he pulled up beside Olson.
However, Olson was strong and fought off that challenge and after that point, maintained a small but steady lead over the field. The driver on the charge was Parker Hale who had started seventh and it took him some time to fight his way to the front. But eventually he was able to work under Walski and take the third.spot but no one had anything for "Flyin' Ryan" as he drove on for the win with Jackson in second. Taylor Skauge completed the top five.
Seven of the top fifteen in track points were on hand in the Modified class along with a number of other USRA drivers and several WISSOTA drivers that were allowed to run their own rules package. Jake Timm led all twenty five laps of the main event to get the win, although he was pressured near the end following a couple of restarts. Early on he had a nice sized lead and Michael Truscott, Alex Williamson and John Doelle put the pressure on. Moving up steadily was Jacob Bleess and after a good battle he was able to pass Truscott to take over second. Also on the move were Cory Crapser and Lucas Schott who both started in the seventh row.
A couple of yellows for spins and debris bunched the field and on each green flag, Timm received plenty of pressure from Bleess. Timm was running the cushion as opposed to much of the field and his starts were a bit shaky but once he got smoothed out and his momentum going, he was able to draw away gradually.
One last yellow with five laps to go didn't hurt Timm but Crapser, forced to the outside on the lineup, found that he liked the top side too and he exploded, passing a whole row of cars and racing into second at the finish as he edged past Bleess for that spot. Williamson hung in there for the whole race to finish fourth and Schott came from fourteenth to fifth.
Twenty Late Models signed in to race but only four of the top fifteen in Dirt Kings points who were granted immediate entry. The rest of the field was an eclectic group, with a number of WISSOTA drivers, some other Dirt Kings members, a couple travelers like Ryan Gustin and Tony Jackson Jr and even a couple of USRA drivers who brought a knife to a gun fight on this night. Gustin would be the only driver not to start the main after he had some motor problems in his heat.
A spin on the opening lap drew the yellow and the race was changed when pole sitter Taylor Scheffler had problems and needed to be pushed off the track which shuffled the entire field. It was James Giassi, who was impressive in his heat driving right around Jimmy Mars, who took the early lead and quite frankly, there would be no slowing down Giassi on this night.
He was running the top side of the track and was extremely fast as he quickly pulled away from the field. Justin Ritchie moved into second and also put some distance on the pack while a big battle saw A. J. Diemel, Jeremiah Hurst, Brett Swedberg and Mars all battling for position.
Giassi was absolutely flying as he opened up nearly a full straightaway lead on Ritchie and expertly picked his way through traffic.
However, a yellow flag with ten laps to go cost him his big lead and bunched the field. While Giassi once again took off smartly, Ritchie was under the gun as Jake Timm, who had started eleventh, was exciting the crowd as he pounded the high side of the track. Continuing his rush, he was able to drive around Ritchie and take over second in the last laps but Giassi was long gone for an impressive win for the youngster from Western Wisconsin. Mars and Diemel had a battle for fourth with Jimmy taking the spot.
Run under Dirt Kings rules, which gives and advantage to the open motors, surprisingly, three of the top five finishers were running WISSOTA spec engines including Giassi, Ritchie and Diemel.
It was a fine opening night, irregardless of the circumstances, and quite frankly, all three of COVID changed races I have seen have all been good ones.
Much thanks goes out to Bob and Tyrone and everyone else that worked so hard at MTS to get this show done. They do not know when their next race will be, depending on what happens next with the authorities, but they are very good about providing information on their face book page so check there to see when they next race. And hopefully for the rest of the tracks in Wisconsin, this night opened some eyes to the fact that, yes, a crowd can gather and still be safe, and I'm all good with wearing a mask and providing social distancing for as long as is necessary, but we need to get our fans back in the stands so they can have some fun too and help our promoters and track owners keep their noses above water too.
A race that took a tremendous amount of work to organize and execute , it was Timm's statement to the public and governmental officials from many various agencies that short track racing could be presented in a safe manner that protected the health of the participants and observers while still giving all us "motorheads" a chance to get outdoors and witness dirt track racing up close and personal.
First announced just one week ago, the race plan still had to be submitted for approval through various governmental agencies and meetings also took place before they could officially announce that, yes indeed, the race would be held on Friday night. In four short days they signed up drivers and made all the many arrangements to ensure that a smooth and safe program would be presented to public officials for their inspection. Sadly, spectators were not allowed to attend this event and that was probably the only "downer" of the night as all those dedicated fans of the sport deserve to be on hard to watch as much as anyone but there was no way that the event would have been allowed to proceed if spectators were in attendance.
I can not stress enough how much work was put into this event by Timm and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter to make sure that every possible contingency was taken care off and that no loose ends would trip them up at the last minute. We have seen a few attempts to race be "shot down" at the last minute by well meaning authorities so the task for Timm and Lingenfelter was to make sure that there would be no last minute surprises and as far as I could tell, everything seems to operate smoothly from the first moment that the competitors entered the grounds until such time when the final checkered flag flew. The ironic part was that with all this work in preparation that will probably exceed any event they will present this year, without spectators in attendance there is no chance that Timm could have even broken even on the event. So he basically put his blood and sweat on the line just so other tracks could show their local officials that yes, this can be done in a safe manner and hopefully open up the door so that all tracks can begin to operate in our state soon with restrictions on fans lifted so that the tracks, all small businesses themselves, can hopefully open and make a buck and keep their facilities in "the black." The race was originally called "The Protest Race on Private Property" but they wisely toned down the rhetoric on that so as not to be antagonistic.
Even more bold was the decision of Timm to include open Late Models in the initial program when they normally run the USRA Late Models weekly along with other USRA classes which required them to pay out more money than they normally might. So the top class received two grand to win on a night when not a single spectator admission was collected. Timm really put himself "out there" for the competitors and fans on this night.
The Late Models ran under Dirt Kings rules while Modifieds and B Mods ran under a mix of USRA and WISSOTA rules along with the USRA rules for the Hobby Stocks. Interestingly, USRA Late Models were scheduled to be the fifth class on this night but were canceled when only a handful of them signed up to race and those were allowed to run with the open Late Models.
The number or racers was restricted so that they weren't overwhelmed with competitors in a show that would last all night. As it turned out, I don't think they got as much interest from racers as they might have expected with ninety six cars on hand being a fine field but except for the B Mods, there were still open places in the order for the other classes.
Safety measures were exceptional and it seemed to me that many more safeguards were put in place then for the races I attended last weekend in South Dakota. At the gate, all entering were met by security guards who verified on a list that you were allowed to be on the grounds. Individual packets were then picked up at the pit gate where the workers didn't have to interact with the arrivals. Each packet had a instructions sheet and armband(s) depending whether it was an individual or a team. Included in the packet was a Communicable Disease form, a Tracing form and a Release. All had to be filled out and signed and the put back in the sealed bag and returned to track officials that all was in order.
Also in the bag was a copy of the running order of events and MTS rules related to COVID-19. The pit meeting was done over the pa system, all teams were to remain in the pit area except when on the track, the teams were all spread out and masks were required when out of the team stall. The grandstand was open so people could spread out and social distancing was practiced all night with security on hand to remind folks to spread out and "keep those masks on." Frankly, I don't know what else they could realistically do to protect everyone and as has been the case lately, I felt much safer at the track than at the big box stores or grocery stores! But again, that is a discussion for another time.
And now, without further ado, let's talk about the racing action which was the whole point of us being in Fountain City Wisconsin on a beautiful and comfortable Friday night.
Sixteen Hobby Stocks were on hand with all but one taking the green for their main event. Six of the top fifteen in track points took advantage of the right to race on Friday with the rest of the field being primarily local entrants along with a few starters from Northeast Iowa that frequently attend special events here.
Starting on the pole and leading all eighteen laps was Sioux Fall's Dustin Gulbrandson. This was an odd race in that many of the strongest challengers to Gulbrandson had trouble early. Chris Hovden had a flat tire while B.J. Dahl, Cody Rollinger and Levi Sand all dropped out.
Kevin Hager, driving probably the oldest race car on the grounds, ran a strong second for a number of laps as he battled with Steve Holthaus for position.
While Gulbrandson remained comfortably in front, Hovden made a huge charge from the back of the pack, going high and low on the track to pass a gaggle of cars and he raced his way all the way back to second at the finish. Holthaus , Scott Kunda and Hager completed the top five. Of note was the fact that 2019 defending USRA Stinger champion Seth Scholl has moved up to Hobby Stocks and finished sixth in his first outing.
Nine of the top fifteen in track points were entered in the B Mod class on Friday which amounted to thirty four in total. About a third of the remaining field was WISSOTA drivers taking advantage of the chance to get out and race with the others being USRA racers from other points. Some of the toughest B Mod drivers around were on hand but none could handle defending MTS track champion Ryan Olson.
With national champion Kris Jackson on the pole, it would have seemed that everyone else was racing for second and that's the way it started early with Jackson leading the first eight laps. However, Olson and Shaun Walski were putting plenty of pressure on Jackson for the lead.
Following the first restart, Jackson got a little wide in turn two and both Olson and Walski split him and dropped him back to third. Olson took the lead but Walski was working the top side, one of few to do so, and he was making it work as he pulled up beside Olson.
However, Olson was strong and fought off that challenge and after that point, maintained a small but steady lead over the field. The driver on the charge was Parker Hale who had started seventh and it took him some time to fight his way to the front. But eventually he was able to work under Walski and take the third.spot but no one had anything for "Flyin' Ryan" as he drove on for the win with Jackson in second. Taylor Skauge completed the top five.
Seven of the top fifteen in track points were on hand in the Modified class along with a number of other USRA drivers and several WISSOTA drivers that were allowed to run their own rules package. Jake Timm led all twenty five laps of the main event to get the win, although he was pressured near the end following a couple of restarts. Early on he had a nice sized lead and Michael Truscott, Alex Williamson and John Doelle put the pressure on. Moving up steadily was Jacob Bleess and after a good battle he was able to pass Truscott to take over second. Also on the move were Cory Crapser and Lucas Schott who both started in the seventh row.
A couple of yellows for spins and debris bunched the field and on each green flag, Timm received plenty of pressure from Bleess. Timm was running the cushion as opposed to much of the field and his starts were a bit shaky but once he got smoothed out and his momentum going, he was able to draw away gradually.
One last yellow with five laps to go didn't hurt Timm but Crapser, forced to the outside on the lineup, found that he liked the top side too and he exploded, passing a whole row of cars and racing into second at the finish as he edged past Bleess for that spot. Williamson hung in there for the whole race to finish fourth and Schott came from fourteenth to fifth.
Twenty Late Models signed in to race but only four of the top fifteen in Dirt Kings points who were granted immediate entry. The rest of the field was an eclectic group, with a number of WISSOTA drivers, some other Dirt Kings members, a couple travelers like Ryan Gustin and Tony Jackson Jr and even a couple of USRA drivers who brought a knife to a gun fight on this night. Gustin would be the only driver not to start the main after he had some motor problems in his heat.
A spin on the opening lap drew the yellow and the race was changed when pole sitter Taylor Scheffler had problems and needed to be pushed off the track which shuffled the entire field. It was James Giassi, who was impressive in his heat driving right around Jimmy Mars, who took the early lead and quite frankly, there would be no slowing down Giassi on this night.
He was running the top side of the track and was extremely fast as he quickly pulled away from the field. Justin Ritchie moved into second and also put some distance on the pack while a big battle saw A. J. Diemel, Jeremiah Hurst, Brett Swedberg and Mars all battling for position.
Giassi was absolutely flying as he opened up nearly a full straightaway lead on Ritchie and expertly picked his way through traffic.
However, a yellow flag with ten laps to go cost him his big lead and bunched the field. While Giassi once again took off smartly, Ritchie was under the gun as Jake Timm, who had started eleventh, was exciting the crowd as he pounded the high side of the track. Continuing his rush, he was able to drive around Ritchie and take over second in the last laps but Giassi was long gone for an impressive win for the youngster from Western Wisconsin. Mars and Diemel had a battle for fourth with Jimmy taking the spot.
Run under Dirt Kings rules, which gives and advantage to the open motors, surprisingly, three of the top five finishers were running WISSOTA spec engines including Giassi, Ritchie and Diemel.
It was a fine opening night, irregardless of the circumstances, and quite frankly, all three of COVID changed races I have seen have all been good ones.
Much thanks goes out to Bob and Tyrone and everyone else that worked so hard at MTS to get this show done. They do not know when their next race will be, depending on what happens next with the authorities, but they are very good about providing information on their face book page so check there to see when they next race. And hopefully for the rest of the tracks in Wisconsin, this night opened some eyes to the fact that, yes, a crowd can gather and still be safe, and I'm all good with wearing a mask and providing social distancing for as long as is necessary, but we need to get our fans back in the stands so they can have some fun too and help our promoters and track owners keep their noses above water too.
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