Stuart International Speedway closed out the weather shortened IMCA Frostbuster Series in Iowa on Sunday afternoon, April 10th. With only two shows of the five scheduled able to be run due to rain, cold and wet grounds, Boone and Stuart turned out to be the lucky ones with the weekend improving just enough that races could be held both days. Five IMCA classes would be racing on Sunday, a day that would turn out to be memorable in several ways and certainly one filled with variety, changing events and some damn good feature racing.
The biggest problem promoter Mike VanGenderen faces is that he just doesn't have enough room at his facility and most of the area he has is more fit for billygoats than anything else. I'm actually surprised that when this track was built they were able to find enough room to put in a flat quarter mile oval as the track itself is about the only level piece of land on the property. For the racers their first memory that they form is the unusual pit parking that finds many of the visitors parked up and down the hills bordering the track on the South. Later the actual racing on the track is a much more positive and memorable experience than trying to park a big rig on a side hill.
On this day I was quickly whisked away from my normal parking spot to a spot by the employee lot, a mvre that had me wondering early what was going on. Later I would see that where I normally park would be reserved for racers with the spectators parking on an adjacent field where I hadn't seen them park before. Pit space gets swallowed up quickly now as the haulers get bigger and bigger and with nearly one hundred forty racers on hand, every inch is needed. I'm waiting for MVG to get a variance so he can close the dirt road next to the track and turn that into temporary pits on race nights. It's actually not a bad idea.
While the water was froze up and the bathrooms at the track nonfunctional, fortunately the pond on the property was pumping water and MVG had multiple water trucks working the grounds, constantly watering either the track, driveways or pits as once again, the Midwestern winds were a'howling and keeping water in the soil was a very tough job. This wind would later get really sneaky as it would change direction just at race time, and then things would really get miserable for the spectators.
Stick around the sport long enough and eventually you will see just about everything take place at the track. Today the early entertainment was provided by Dallon Murty, who along with his lady, were having prom pictures taken in the pits after he missed that with his racing on Saturday at Boone. They took pictures by the race car, out on the dirt road and even in the adjoining corn field. It is Iowa after all. However, Dallon saved something for later too, as he and his father Damon were involved in another Stock Car war later in the evening.
While roaming the pits, I ran into a driver from my area as Aaron Johnson from the Lakes country of Brainerd MN was on hand with his Modified. He told me they were sporting their first ever brand new car which had debuted the night previous at Boone. They were smart about it though, saving their new body for the home opener and instead putting on their "used" body from Arizona on their new Lethal chassis.
It was a very rare late start for an MVG promotion as problems with the transponders and getting all the cars registered drove the first green flag for the Sport Mods back to 5:37 pm. After that however, it was just about nonstop racing to its conclusion about four and a half hours later.
Clearly the sunny skies and strong winds had done their job on the dry soil of the racing surface and the dirt flew early and often, and unfortunately, because of the shifting wind, right into our faces in the grandstand. However, it was completely understandable and I bore no ill will as all the circumstances had aligned themselves against the track and I was just happy to be seeing racing, even if it was dirty and the track was pretty one grooved down on the inside.
However, MVG was not happy and he stormed out of the tower on a couple of occasions, bringing out all the farming equipment and ripping the stuffings out of the track. Myself, I thought it a useless exercise as I felt what we had is what we were getting for the night. Fortunately, MVG is in charge and not I.
After a couple of farming sessions and a few races laid down on the track, the racing surface made one of the most remarkable change overs of any track that I can recall. Suddenly we went from a single file, hug the bottom type of track to a racy surface where drivers were racing all over the track and I kid you not. one time during the Stock Car feature the drivers were a legitimate five wide down the front chute! I schmidt you not.
So with this makeover in place, instead of some pedestrian racing under which I would still have been happy to see racing, we were treating to some excellent feature races topped by a Murty show for the ages.
Twenty five cars started the Stock Car feature with Johnathan Logue Jr taking the initial lead. However, he was no match for Damon Murty who quickly moved up from fifth and passed him to take over the lead. However, son was close behind and despite the fact that he started ninth, by the halfway point he was up to second. Thus started the battle for family domination as they would battle back and forth, lap after lap. Dallon would blast up off the bottom but each lap Damon would run the cushion and hold him off.
They kept this up for the second half of the feature but Dallon was making just a bit of time working the low groove. With two to go, he edged into the lead for the first time but Damon came right back strong and they started the last lap side by side. I thought Dallon had a strong run off the final corner and when they crossed the line(uncertain exactly where the official line is), I thought Dallon was the winner. Fortunately for all, the transponders were working and unlike me, they correctly indicated that Damon was the winner by .007 seconds. Wow! It was a dandy and worth every granule of dirt I ate or inhaled. Troy Jerovetz made a strong late run to get third.
The Sport Mod feature provided a real upset on a couple of levels. Quite frankly, I had never heard of Jace Whitt. However, the Missouri driver moved to the lead on the opening lap from the second row and he would lead all twenty laps to take the win. Despite the fact that he had strong runners like Logan Anderson, Brayton Carter and Jake Sachau chasing him, he never faltered and would drive on for a very impressive win. He was fortunate too in that just as he got to the back of the pack, which was extensive, the race was over and he didn't have to try and pass any of the slower cars.
And to top it off, he revealed in victory lane that it was his first feature win ever in the Sport Mods! He picked a good time to break through for sure .Anderson finished second and Minnesota driver Tim Bergerson would finish a strong third, backing up some strong runs in Arizona.
And who would have bet money that the Sport Mods would go twenty laps nonstop and that all twenty four starters would still be on the track at the finish with not a single one lapped! MVG would not have bit on those odds.
The Sport Compact feature would also go nonstop and after Michael Hotze took the early lead, Kaden Murray would drive past him and then lead the rest of the way for the win. Track champion Kolby Sabin would charge up to second with "The Beard", Mitchell Bunch next in line.
Arkansas visitor Brent Harkwick would start on the pole for the Modified feature and he would lead for the first half of the race. However, there was no holding off Tom Berry Jr who had started tenth but was noticeably faster than anyone in the field. He made some spectacular moves as he drove deep into the corners and just as the halfway sign came out, he blew past Hartwick to take over the lead.
About the only driver who could provide a challenge was Cayden Carter who came from ninth to second. Berry had nearly a full straightaway lead over the field when a late yellow, one that I thought should not have been called, slowed the field and put the pressure on Berry.
However, Berry Jr was up to the task as he pulled away on the last two laps to take the win over Carter and Tm Ward as the Modifieds were flying around the track on this night.
Whitewall tires may be the newest speed secret in the Hobby Stock pits as Dylan Nelson sported them on his car as he drove away from the field for an impressive win in the Hobby Stocks. He started fourth but had the lead before one lap was completed and after that, he drove away from the field. Brandon Cox held second for many laps until he was passed by Luke Ramsey and they would finish in that order.
So it ended up being quite a day and night of racing. Was it dirty? Yes, very much so. Was that an anomaly? Yes again. Normally you don't get a hurricane wind blowing in your face here and normally conditions make it easier to get moisture into the racing surface. But as I dug the layers of dirt out of my eyes and ears, I was grinning because I know that it won't be this dirty the next time I'm here and I saw a dandy racing program on a track that was as racy as any I will probably see all year. It was a tough day for the Stuart crew, but they pulled it together and made some very delicious chicken salad out of chicken schmidt. And that's all one can ask for.
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