After battling weather issues recently that saw their last race canceled due to rain, the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa got race number two of their season completed on Wednesday night, May 11th. On the first NCN(no coated needed) night of 2022, and in fact the weather was so drastic that I broke out the shorts which possibly could have hurt attendance, the racing action would provide a mixed bag of entertainment.
Three of the five feature races contested saw last lap or nearly lap lap passes for the feature wins. One other main offered a dominating performance by one driver and the final race of the night was a good old fashioned battle amongst the Hobby Stock drivers with lead changes and close competition.
As stated earlier, it was a very hot May night at the "Mahaska Monster" with a cool and dismal Spring suddenly transitioning very quickly into a typical Summer's night here in Southern Iowa. Two months later and it would one of those nights when you could say you could hear the corn growing in the fields at night, but on this night it would more likely that you were hearing the tractors in the fields instead. It would be a challenging night to keep moisture in the race track and it did slick up quickly and while the groove might have been a little narrower than on some nights, as always, the fast guys found a way to make it work.
An even sixty cars were on hand in the five classes that race at Osky, so you can do the Math with two heats and a feature race for each class. Actually, those following the Sprints were quite happy as they reached the double digit plateau for the first time in quite a while. A tour of the pits before the races found me loving the Stock Car of Andrew Schroeder. He has put together a beautiful throw back scheme for his car, using an older style and somewhat unusual body on the car and no wrap for this car, the lettering is all old school style. And for some reason, it always seems like there is at least one car racing at Osky along these lines.
This is a track that has survived for decades running a midweek show, something that most promoters would not even attempt these days. They make it work by running a speedy show and getting the drivers and fans in and out of the track in a prompt manner. Yes, they have to sacrifice a few things that other tracks can do with weekend shows, but just the fact that they are still around after all these years is testament that what they do works and that the local people and businesses that support the track continue to have an appetite for half mile racing at this historic venue.
Heat races started right at the 7:30 pm hour and less than an hour later, all qualifying was done. They took a break for about five minutes to get the lineups done for the mains and then the Sprints were called to push off for their main event.
Some of us have some feeling of angst with the non winged Sprints racing on this big track where many of the drivers are inexperienced and the speeds are high, even in this restricted class. Only a half lap of the first heat had started when one car dumped it on the back chute which resulted in a "dust up" requiring security being summoned to the wreck site. However, everything got worked out and the Sprint feature would be the first of three straight that came right down to the wire.
Doug Sylvester would take the early lead and in fact would lead all the way to the white flag. He was chased by Ben Woods to a yellow when Robert Bell bounced off the first turn rail and stopped. Sylvester would continue to lead in a close race with Woods and opening night winner Jonathan Hughes.
As the leaders took the white flag, they came up on a slower car who did as he should have by moving low on the track. However, Sylvester caught him just as he hit turn one and in trying to move around the slower car, he got out of the groove, way up into the loose dirt and both Woods and Hughes would drive under him.
Woods would hold off a last corner charge by Hughes to take the win while a chagrined Sylvester would have to settle for third.
The Stock Cars would click off sixteen nonstop laps of action, resulting in yet another late race pass for the win. Nathan Wood started off on the pole and he would quickly disappear into the Iowa haze as he built nearly a full straightaway lead over the field. It took Derrick Agee a few laps to finally get past Dustin Griffiths and take over second.
Wood has what seemed to be a comfortable lead of nearly a full chute but Agee put the "wood" to the floor(bad pun) and gradually caught the leader. In the last few laps he reeled in the Iowa educator, and made a serious bid for the lead when it seemed earlier there was no way he could have caught up.
Wood got just slightly high going into turn three with under two laps to go and Agee made a bold move to the inside, squeezing between Wood and the dreaded "Infield Tractor Tire" that are so prominent here and he would take over the lead and then stretch it on the final tour for an impressive win indeed. Agee has been the man to beat in this class here for the last couple of years and it appears that will remain the case. Jason McDaniel would complete the top three.
The Sport Compacts would continue the pattern with a nonstop main event and a last lap pass for the win. Louie Winkleman would lead the opening lap before being passed by Matt Moore for the lead. Moore would then lead all laps except the one that pays cash, as opening night winner Terry Bickford would come from the third row, catch Moore on the final lap and blow past him on the high side for the win. Moore had to be wondering what just happened when his comfortable lead suddenly became just a second place finish with Bickford blowing past him for the victory. Winkleman would settle for third.
With a front three rows of DeJong, Carter, Anderson, VandenBerg, Vanderwal and VanWyk, the Southern Iowa Speedway may be slightly short on numbers in the Sport Mod class but definitely not short on talent. What, on paper, looked like the toughest and most competitive feature race of the night instead turned into a blow out win as Maguire DeJong destroyed this strong group of drivers, winning by a full straightaway, even after his big early lead was taken away by a yellow.
DeJong pulled away from Carter in the early going with Logan Anderson eventually moving into second. Meanwhile, DeJong was in another league as he moved to a full straightaway lead over the pack in the first eight laps of the race.
A yellow for a spin bunched the field and gave everyone one more shot but it made no difference as DeJong once again pulled away from the field like he was in a different gear. He won by nearly a full straightaway( and believe me the straightaways are plenty long here), with Anderson ending up second and Vanderwal third.
Rounding out the night were the Hobby Stocks with a close and competitive main event. Rick VanDusseldorp would lead the opening lap before Arron Martin would get past him for the top spot. Martin would lead the rest of the race but he had a close run with Keaton Gordon and then joined late by Dustin Griffiths. Several yellows for spins and mechanical issues kept this race close and Martin on his toes for challenges.
The race ended up with a two lap shootout for the win and while Martin maintained his edge, the battle for second came down to the wire with the call for Griffiths by inches over Gordon, one too close for me to get correctly.
A trip to Osky is always a sentimental journey for me as this place was one of the first tracks in Iowa that I ever visited and I remember those nights of forty or more Stock Cars, the place just packed with fans and the atmosphere being just electric with flagman Engel DeKock waving the sticks in his unique "short arm" manner.
It still is a cool reminder of the past with "old timers" Jerry Mackey, Kevin Feller and Doug Haack running the show. All racing was done by 10pm, perfect for a midweek show. Thanks to everyone on the Race Committee and the Fairboard here at Osky for their help and for keeping this Wednesday night tradition going.
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