Thursday, May 19, 2022

Things were "Floing" In Marshalltown as O'Neal Tops Late Models

 Wednesday night, May 18th, was a very special night at the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown Iowa. This was a night much anticipated by racing fans familiar with Marshalltown and also certainly the many Late Model fans that Iowa and neighboring states harbor. Open motored Late Models would be making their first appearance at Marshalltown since the 2013 racing season. And this wouldn't be just any open motor show. Marshalltown was lucky enough to get on the schedule for the Castrol Flo Racing Night in America series, featuring a top prize of over twenty two thousand dollars, an amount unheard of for Marshalltown to be offering, given the limited seating available at this quarter mile track. The Flo series is providing many of the biggest names in the sport so the guarantee would be that a top notch field of drivers would be on hand. 

Everything was in place for a spectacular night of racing and the night did not disappoint. The racing would be spectacular, not only in the Late Models but also the other two classes that are featured at Marshalltown, the IMCA Modifieds and the Stock Cars. 

There has been a few rumblings that the Marshalltown track was slipping just a bit and wasn't quite as racy as it had been in years past. But I am here to tell you that on this night, it would have been hard for any track in the country to provide a better racing surface and more spectacular action. The track was wide, smooth, fast and with no dust. It didn't give up, even with the pounding of soft tired Late Models for fifty laps and was still great for the Stock Cars and Mods that followed. 

Certainly this night was special for the folks at Marshalltown and they probably spent a little more time prepping the track on this night than they might for all shows. They had less classes racing and weren't under the time crunch that normal Friday night racing brings which were positive things. They did a little more misting of the track than I remember for some regular shows and even though that didn't take much time at all, it provided great benefits in terms  of the racing. But all I can say for sure was that the track was in mint condition on this night and provided for some great racing, and all those that had a part in this should take a bow. 

The field of cars was of the perfect number with enough Late Models to provide a B Feature while the other two classes were just perfect with twenty four in each which allowed three nice sized heat races but didn't require any B Features. 

Qualifying would provide a new track record with Mike Marlar storming around the oval in 13.758 seconds as qualifying is always important for these open Late Model shows where everything is started straight up. Six of the top ten in Flo point standings were on hand with some of the WoO regulars having to take a pass on this race as they were required to be Pennsylvania by Thursday night. However, that wouldn't stop home state driver Ryan Gustin who would refuse to miss this race in his old hometown and then "book it" down the highway as soon as the Late Model feature was over. The best open motor drivers in Iowa were on hand to take on the invaders while defending IMCA National Modified champion Bone Larson got a nice opportunity to race in the Jeff Curless car out of the Quad Cities. Iowa driver Tegan Evans would have mechanical issues early and would not participate.

Thee heats and a B Feature would set the twenty two car field for the Late Model feature which was first on the schedule, both for tv considerations and also to give the drivers the best track available. Two of the Iowa drivers were eliminated on the first lap when Chad Simpson and Spencer Diercks collided. 

However, Gustin would please the state wide fans when he got the jump off the outside pole and would lead the first thirty laps of the feature. Riding the cushion, he would fight off challenges from Mike Marlar and Hudson O'Neal. Meanwhile, there was plenty of hard racing going on behind him and plenty of position swapping as well. 

Another driver with Iowa connections in Ricky Thornton Jr would be challenging until he slipped over the banking in turn two and turned over on his roof. He was fine but done for the night 

Eventually  O'Neal would close in as Gustin seemed to be struggling just a bit in the corners and Hudson would drive past Gustin to take over the lead. There was still a swarm of drivers close behind though with Brandon Sheppard using the bottom lane to work his way into second. 

Sheppard seemed like he was ready to challenge but then O'Neal picked up the pace the last ten laps or so and pulled out to a more comfortable lead, one he would hold to the finish. Gustin fell to fourth behind Marlar with Tyler Erb coming from sixteenth to round out the top five. There were only two yellows, the last forty two laps ran off green and there was only one lapped car. Pretty impressive, right?

And of course the local fans and many other familiar with how racy the support classes can be, stuck around to watch the last two mains. David Atcher would lead the first two laps of the Stock Car feature before being passed by Chanse Hollatz. Hollatz would lead the rest of the race but it was much more exciting than just that, as the battle for second was spectacular. Kaden Reynolds, Dallon Murty and a low riding Jeff Mueller would make for a great battle as they fought for that spot. Reynolds would eventually hold on for second and what an impressive rookie driver he is. Showing no fear, he put his cars in tight holes that it didn't look like there was room, but he made it work off  the top of corner four lap after lap and held off Murty which is something to brag over. The Stock Car feature had only one yellow  flag and only one driver that didn't finish the contest as all night we would see intense racing with plenty of passing but not a lot of smashing, crashing and yellow flags waving. 

One of the Stock Car entrants was a surprise as Justin Whitehead, who  I had seen race Stock Cars and Factory Stocks in Texas, pulled all the way up from Texarkana TX. just to race this one night. They had no other races on their schedule up North other than this race and running here checked one item off their "bucket list." There aren't many tracks running Stock Cars near them and they are new to this class, being very successful in the Factory Stock class in Texas which is very popular. 

The Modified feature would complete the night's action and it was another local favorite in Richie Gustin that would lead for much of this race. While he rode the cushion, he was pressured by Josh McBurnie as Tom Berry Jr and Cayden Carter also moved up to challenge. 

With only five laps left, Carter found an opening and drove into the lead but Berry Jr then picked up the pace and made a pass for the lead with only three laps remaining. Carter tried to come back but Berry Jr was rolling and he would take the win while Gustin had to settle for third. The support classes were great on this night as they did just what was expected of them. They gave the Late Models time to prepared for their races and also provided plenty of spectacular racing of their own as well as attracting their fans out to the track too. 

Co-owner of this website, Barry Johnson was on hand for this race and I spoke to him briefly. He doesn't get to many races with his busy schedule but like many others, had this event earmarked on his schedule as a "must see" event. 

Reserved seats were offered for this event, and I was pleased to see that management had done this correctly, having ushers on hand to make sure that folks got their correct seats and offering advise to all those that had purchased general admission tickets to make sure that everyone got seated without any hassles. I didn't catch the name of the gentleman that was assisting me but he did a great job, being patient and helping me find the best seat that was available. 

Waving the sticks on this night was track General Manager Jerry VanSickle. Not having to be Race Director on this night with Flo officials, including Kelly Carlton handling those duties, VanSickle went back to one of the many jobs he has done at tracks across the state, and that is flagging. A man of many talents, he is as good a flagman and any around and also is preferred by many people for his announcing skills. Perhaps one day, for a hoot, he will be race director, flagman and announcer all at once, only after watering the track too!

Certainly the racing was dynamic on Wednesday and depending on what the world of Late Model racing looks like in 2023, I would certainly expect to see Marshalltown on someone's schedule or perhaps even more than one as everyone may want to put on a show here, now that they have seen what this joint can offer. Thanks to J Van, Toby Kruse and all the folks at Marshalltown for a great night of racing.

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