Monday, Memorial Day, May 30th found me at the Mason City Motor Speedway for the rescheduled 8th annual Double Down Showdown which is part of the USMTS schedule. This race was originally scheduled to be run on Thursday of this week but was moved back in the schedule due to a day of rain in northern Iowa.
But here is the most remarkable part of the rescheduling. Labor Day Monday was predicted to be a day of bad storms with the heavy weather moving in around mid evening. In the old days, we would just have gathered at the track(the brave ones or foolhardy) and hoped that the show got completed before all Hell broke loose. There would be no thought to moving up the time because there would be no way to get ahold of everyone(spectators, competitors and track employees) to let them know.
Fast forward to 2022. Todd Staley and the folks at USMTS and Mason City Motor Speedway realized that they had a window to get the show in but in order to do so, they needed to start earlier and try to beat the storms. So they simply got on social media, face book and all the other social media platforms that I know zip about and the problem was solved. All times were moved up by a couple hours and the race cars all made it on time and the crowd was a real nice one for a rescheduled program on a holiday. Even yours truly, as ignorant as I am about social media etc. , managed to find out in time to make the four hour drive and still get there with time to roam the pits a bit. This, I guess, would be one time that social media and all it entails, was a possible thing and may have been the only thing that saved us from a rainout along with possibly being caught in a serious weather situation.
Twenty eight Modifieds would sign in to race, considerably lower than the car counts for previous races this week. Likely some teams already had Memorial Day plans that didn't involve racing while others were using this day to make a long drive home for which they needed to be back on the job on Tuesday am. However, the top ten and twenty one of the top twenty five in USMTS points were on hand so I guess it is now pretty clear who will be traveling with them the rest of this year. Still, with a lot of cars available from just across the border, I would have thought a few more Deer Creek regulars would have made the pull for five grand to win.
Along with the Modifieds, a full program would be held for three USRA classes, the Hobby Stocks, B Mods and Stock Cars. There were enough cars in each class for two heats and a main, perfect on a night when everything needed to click and click quickly to get the show done.
More and more upgrades are showing up here at Mason City where anyone that has been out of the loop for the last year and a half would be shocked to see how this place has changed, and for the positive in my opinion. Not being a big half mile fan, this high banked third mile that they now have is worlds better and a very fast track it is. I still have not seen a race here in the evening but for afternoon shows, both events I saw here provided good racing and particularly so considering the weather conditions. The new lights are now up but weren't even turned on for this race as they weren't needed. We were done that early. I understand a scoreboard will be showing up at some time but it hasn't been erected just yet.
I have no idea how they got any moisture into the track today with race time temperature at ninety one degrees , mostly sunny skies and a wind howling out of the South somewhere between 30 and 300 miles per hour, and it might have been both at certain times. But they did. There was no dust in the stands and the racing was quite good, even when the track started to take rubber near the end of the Modified feature. And yet, following that event the Stock Cars raced and put on the best event of the night.
This was one night where you dared not take an extra breath as you would miss something for sure. That's how fast the pace was on this night to beat the weather and anyone not paying attention in the pits would be left behind. Todd Staley and his crew used to do this on occasion when needed and they used to be one of the best at cracking off quick programs and it was good to see that they still had it in themselves to do so once more.
The first green flag flew at 5:28 pm following group qualifying for the Modifieds. Three heats and two B Features would set their running order for a twenty four car, forty lap main event. And not letting any time go to waste, while the B Feature cars were prepping for the main event, track officials snuck in the Hobby Stock feature so there was no wasted time.
Twelve cars would start the Hobby main, which was stopped just one for a spinning car. Scott Gobel, current track point leader, would start on the pole. However, he didn't lead a single lap as Troy Hovey, now in a Hobby Stock, threw a "dirty Slider" at Gobel in turn four and took the lead on the opening lap. Later, under the single caution, Gobel would let Hovey know what he thought about his move.
However he got the lead, Hovey would hold the front spot for most of the race. But back in the pack, after starting tenth, Dylan Clinton would be on the charge using the high side of the track. By the halfway point of the race, he would be up to third and still moving forward. His high side racing was working supremely, and on lap twelve he went buzzing by Hovey to take over the lead. He would extend that margin and drive home for the win over Hovey and Gobel.
Two surprising developments in the Modified class saw Carlos Ahumada Jr, who drew the pole for a heat, scratch out of that event and the rest of the night after qualifying. And Darren Fuqua, who was scheduled to start fourth in the main, scratched out of the big show.
For Dustin Sorensen who is making a serious run at the national title, it was a dominating victory for him as he started on the pole and would lead all forty laps, mostly without any challenge of any kind. There were two early cautions that kept the field bunched but Sorensen was always able to maintain his lead and then start to build on it during a long green flag stretch. Cayden Carter and Zach VanderBeek did some battling back and forth for second early, with them swapping that position a couple of times. But eventually, the biggest challenge to Sorensen would come from Dereck Ramirez who had started eighth after Fuqua scratched out.
By the halfway point of the race, Ramirez was up to second, albeit a second place quite a bit is distance to the leader. However, Sorensen did run into issues the second half of the race when he hit quite a bit of lapped traffic and the groove had narrowed up as rubber was being taken by the track. Sorensen was having difficulties getting by the slower cars as he slipped out of the rubber trying to pass them and Ramirez smelled blood in the water and he closed to about four or five car lengths.
However, the race was turned with about five laps to go when Ramirez blew the fourth corner, going very high in the loose dirt and losing a considerable amount of real estate. After that Sorensen just needed to put together solid laps and make no big mistakes and he drove home for the win with a comfortable lead. Ramirez, VanderBeek, Carter and Tanner Mullins would complete the top five.
The B Mod feature would be rather straight forward as Ben Moudry would start on the pole and lead all eighteen laps and not really be challenged. Brandon Hare and Zach Davis would battle for second but then they were joined by Josh Roney and Joe Chisholm in a fight for that spot and with a late charge, Roney would take second with Chisholm third.
The Stock Car feature would wrap up the night and it was one that would leave the crowd talking on their way to the exits. And it's never a bad thing when a home town driver makes the show of the night. Myles Michehl would start on the pole and lead the first lap before Pat Graham would slide past him one lap later to take over the point.
Graham would soon be challenged by Andrew Borchardt for the lead as lap after lap, Borchardt would get a good run off turn four, only to have Graham slide out and hold him off as the #1G Stock Car suddenly became about forty feet wide!
As this fight continued, Kevin Donlan moved in to make it a three car fight when suddenly attention shifted farther back in the pack to Josh Zieman. Zieman had started in the second row but had been sent to the back following the first yellow for contact but he was making a spirited run back to the front, using the high side of the track to move up. By the halfway point of the race, he was up to fourth and and still moving.
As Graham continued to lead, Zieman displaced Donlan and then Borchardt to take over the second spot as the laps ran down. With the crowd making the most noise of the day, Zieman continued to roar and with a crossover move off turn four as the two to go signal was given, Zieman blasted into the lead. He would extend that on the final lap and would be a happy winner with the crowd's approval. Graham would have to settle for second with Borchardt third.
The final checkered flag waved at 7:30 pm, two hours after the whole show started and we beat the weather. As to whether or not it ever did rain, I don't know but the chance was high and measures taken to beat any storms and get the show in were greatly appreciated by all. The Mason City Motor Speedway certainly seems to be a track on the rise and I look forward to seeing a night show some time when there is more bite in the track and I suspect it will be very fast and racy with its high banking.
Thanks to everyone at MCMS and the USMTS for their help.
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