After a rainout on Tuesday night that was missing just one key ingredient, RAIN!, the Sniper Speed Lone Star Stock Car tour moved South to the Heart O' Texas Speedway located near Elm Mott, or just North of Waco, for the first of what is scheduled to be the final two rounds of this Stock Car series.
Having lost one night and also having to readjust the schedule due to another rain out, this series has been struggling just a bit with the Spring weather here in Texas. However, that would not be a problem here on Wednesday night, March 8th as the sun broke out despite it being a somewhat cooler day than it has been so far this week.
This night marked my first ever visit to the Heart O' Texas Speedway, reportedly one of the longest running track here in the state of Texas. Ho'T is a quarter mile black dirt oval with wide corners and a wall around all but the third and fourth turn. It has a series of large grandstands that could seat a very good sized crowd if needed. There is also a nice pit grandstand plus they have a catwalk in the pits that sits over the exit from the track and all the way down wrapping around the first turn. Although a bit shorter, it seemed to me like the track raced very much like Iowa's Marshalltown Speedway as the first laps of the Stock Car feature had that four and five wide look that Marshalltown produces.
There is a nice, readable scoreboard in the infield that faces the main grandstand and the track lighting was adequate if not overwhelming. Later we would have a few minute delay when one of the lights popped off during a race but that can happen anywhere. The pit area is off the first and second corner and all seats have an unobstructed view of the entire track. The sound system was a good one with no problems hearing J Van in action. The track started out the night smooth but did start to roll up some ruts later, likely the product of early season racing and still soft ground and while the conditions produced some "character" racing, I thought the track raced very well overall.
Although the track has been at its present location for quite some time, it is located in probably the perfect area for a race track with I-35 just to the West of the track and a very busy railroad line just behind the East side of the track. Thus, noise issues should be nonexistent compared to the roar of the trains and the constant drone of the freeway.
We were back to a regular home for IMCA Stock Car racing at Ho'T Speedway and the car count shot back up with forty seven drivers signing in to race on this night including thirty seven of thirty eight that participated at the Devil's Bowl and that marks support of the series. The IMCA Southern Sport Mods and Factory Stocks would be the support classes on this night, a correct number of classes for a week night show.
Five heats and two Jeff Broeg sized B Features would set the field for the thirty lap Stock Car main, paying three grand to win for those drivers that had pre entered this event. Twenty one cars would start the main after Shawn Graham from Louisiana would buy his way in as the provisional starter. The preliminary events, despite their importance with only two out of the heats and five out of the B Features, were highly contested races but with very few yellow flags. This pattern would continue also for most of the main event until a big grinding wreck would slow things down near the end.
The field must be wondering what is Cody Smith's secret as he won for the second time on the tour, coming from the seventh position to lead the last eighteen laps and get the win. Paul White would take the early lead with heavy pressure being applied by Raymond McSpadden and Matt Boucher while Jesse Sobbing, Smith and Travis Hatcher moved forward.
Smith and Sobbing found success running the low side of the track and staying out of the ruts and they moved up to second and third respectively. The first yellow flew with ten laps complete when Boucher had a flat tire and stalled.
Disaster for White on the restart occurred when he hooked one of the ruts in the first turn and did his best impression of Joey Chitwood as he rode on two wheels all the way through the turn. How he didn't turn over, I do not know but he lost many positions before he returned the car to the earth. This gave Smith his chance and he forged into the lead. Smith then began to pull away slightly while the battle for the rest of the top five was even more intense if that is possible.
Sobbing and William Gould were battling for that spot with Gould up from fifteenth as the halfway point of the race hit. Also in that mix were Hatcher, Benji Kirkpatrick and Jeffrey Abbey. They were fighting on each lap for spots as body panels, fenders and other car parts started to get ripped off and bend as the track roughness plus the physical racing took its toll.
With Smith just far enough in front to avoid all the shenanigan's, things came to a head from all the slamming when Hatcher and Gould came together hard coming off turn four on lap twenty six. They both spun into the wall right under the flag stand and as the yellow flew, cars were still three wide racing off the corner. Whether he couldn't see the yellow or couldn't turn to avoid the wreck, Michael Dabney Jr came full speed down the front chute and never seemed to back off as he slammed nose to nose with Gould, who was pointing the wrong direction on the track. It was a most violent collision but fortunately all drivers were OK. Gould wanted a piece of Hatcher, and I couldn't disagree with his feelings but fortunately William was held off by enough folks that the former wrestler couldn't put Hatcher in a "sleeper" hold.
The last three laps went off smoothly with Smith again pulling away to get the win with Sobbing holding off G.W. Egbert who's car body was mostly missing by the end of the race. Kirkpatrick got fourth and White, after his two wheeling and also changing a flat tire, somehow managed to get back up to fifth. Less than half the starting field was around for the checkered.
As strong as Smith has been in the Stock Cars, he's been even that much better in the Sport Mods. Wednesday night marked his fourth straight win in the Sport Mod feature during this series and the two I saw him win were not even close. Wednesday night he started third and it took him six laps to drive under Jeff Hauser to take over the lead and once in front, he was gone.
This race was stopped only once for a yellow flag and with the final half green to checkered, Smith would win by a full straightaway over Dean Abbey with Kyle Wilkins completing the podium.
The Factory Stock feature was an entertaining event that would go green to checkered for twenty laps. Cameron Cook would start on the pole and would build up a nice sized early lead as there was much fighting for position behind him as he motored away from the field. Despite some wild activity going on behind him, the cars would always manage to move and the green remained out.
By the halfway point of the race, Michael Bowles has worked his way up into second after starting seventh and had Michael Dabney trailing him. Leader Cook got into lapped traffic and this broke his momentum to a point with both Bowles and Dabney starting to reel him in. Bowles saw his chance and with just two laps to go he dove under Cook and took over the lead.
Cook couldn't fight back as Bowles pulled away for the win and in fact, Dabney was able to duck under Cook, who's car started to push the last half of the race, and get second after starting thirteenth.
My first visit to Heart O' Texas Speedway left me very impressed with the track, along with the track and series officials that ran off the show. The action started right at the advertised time and they really pushed the program along. Despite a few minute delay when the lights went out and the long clean up for the grinding Stock Car wreck, the final checkered waved at 9:35 pm. The track raced very well and I'm sure that the ruts that eventually developed due to the soft Spring ground, are not something seem every week. The early race action when the track was still smooth was excellent with lots of side by side action and I would definitely give this track a strong recommendation.
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