Ah yes, now I remember why I pound up and down the highways, enduring the late nights, the dust and bugs and the expensive fuel prices. It's for nights like Wednesday, when I was lucky enough to be on hand for an absolutely great program of short track racing at the Stuart International Speedway in Stuart Iowa. Those of us that were in Stuart for the Dynamic Drivelines Dirt Duel special that was a part of the 2023 season opener at SIS got to see what will surely be one of the top five races of the entire year as quite frankly, I can't imagine seeing more that a handful of races all year that will top what we saw on Wednesday.
Everything about the night was spectacular and everything was right on point. From the drivers who moved when they spun and kept the show moving to the track officials who ran off a terrifically quick program to the track itself which had been prepared beautifully to provide great racing in all the classes. Just everything about the night was dynamic and when the final checkered flag flew at 10:15 pm, I turned to those folks around me in the grand stands and asked if it was just me or did they also think they had just seen a hell of a race program. They all agreed with me that we were oh so lucky to have been on hand on Wednesday and were treated to as entertaining a short track program as is possible.
Mike VanGenderen was positively aglow as he returned to the tower following the final checkered and well he should have been. These are "feel good" nights and he certainly should be allowed to bask in the glory of what he and his crew, along with some great driving performances, was able to spot light for we the fans. I'm not a "flowery" guy and have been accused over the years of being too blunt and honest some times, by I'm gushing right now as even the following morning when I look back on what I will always term as a spectacular night of racing and proof that the weekly show can still hold its water against any special concocted. This was a program for the ages.
And to top things off, what added to pleasure of the night was how quickly the show was completed, despite the large number of entries and races that would be held. This was a seven class program on Wednesday with the five core IMCA classes that race at Stuart along with the Dirt Trucks and the Bat Wings. Those that follow this blog now by now that I don't keep track of the Bat Wings as I also don't keep track of Legends, Mod Lites and other classes like that but I can tell you on Wednesday that there were fourteen of them and they raced in three events. So we had one hundred and forty race vehicles in total and they participated in a whopping twenty seven races that included seven main events. Sounds like about a five hour program if you were lucky, right? No. Try two hours and forty seven minutes! That's what it took to run off the whole show from start to finish which included a Bat Wing feature that saw a flip and way too many yellows for spinning vehicles. Still, with two other feature races going nonstop and two others having just a single yellow, we got done at what would be an acceptable time for a program having many less races and cars participating.
In order to do this, however, you need a race track that is in great shape and SIS was just that on Wednesday. It was black, top to bottom and icy slick while never even hinting at taking rubber. The drivers in all classes were able to race all over the track, do slide jobs until the cows came home, and drive incredibly hard. Yet there was very little dust(which was all blown the opposite direction by a convenient South breeze) and all this was accomplished with nearly no track prep at all. It was a blessing for us and the drivers had to be pleased as well. Even though I have now been here many times, when I walk into the grandstands I take a look at the track and think that it's going to be tough to do much side by side racing because it is a tight little quarter mile but then the racing begins and I am absolutely wowed how hard they can race, how they race side by side by side and still hardly ever wreck each other. It is a wonder.
And while all the racing deserved high mention, we must start with the Stock Car feature which was one for the ages. Twenty four cars going twenty laps and there was just a single yellow flag for a spinner. There was so much going on that it was impossible to keep up with all of it. You would assume that with Damon Murty on the pole that it might be a snoozer but you would be sadly mistaken. He would lead just the opening lap before being passed by Nick Roberts who would lead most of the contest.
As he led, the action behind him was furious and I'm not overexaggerating to say that at one time I saw four wide racing for a full lap with others three wide in front and behind this group. It was dynamic, spectacular and just what a race fan would want to see. A late yellow erased the lead that Roberts had and he was now shadowed by Dallon Murty, who had worked his way up from the twelfth starting spot.
On the last four laps they exchanged, sliders several times and if you have the video available, watch it for sure as some of the moves were just plain wild. . On the last corner Murty got a great run on the outside and Roberts failed to cover up the top groove all the way to the wall and somehow, Murty snuck between Roberts and and the concrete and nipped him by .030 seconds for the win in a great race.
Roberts may have been on suicide watch after this night was over as after the heartbreak of getting nipped in the Stock Car feature, darn near the same thing happened to him in the Modified main. In this race he started on the pole and again built up a decent sized lead while behind him it was crazy as drivers slid each other in spectacular fashion. Eventually it would be Tom Berry Jr, who started tenth, that would race into second and when a spin set up a three lap dash to the finish, expectations were that the Stock Car craziness would be repeated.
However, the Roberts heartbreak continued as on the green he got too hot into turn one and collected the concrete, turning the lead over to Berry Jr and pulling off with damage. However, Berry Jr was not out of the woods either as he had to fight off Tim Ward, who started twelfth, to hold on for the win in a great wrap up race for the evening.
Earlier in the Dirt Truck feature, ARCA driver Mason Mitchell, fresh off a start at Kansas Speedway last weekend, would lead from start to finish to take the win and show that he is figuring out how to race on dirt also.
The Sport Mod feature would see red hot Brayton Carter win once again after starting in the second row in this draw/redraw show. However, he had his hands full as first Garrett Nelson and then Taylor Kuehl would lead first and it took him nearly half the race to get past Kuehl, who was driving a determined race of her own. As Carter pulled away at the end, Cam Reimers and Kuehl battled it out for second.
The Sport Compacts even produced a thriller of their own, despite having a small field of entrants. Jeremiah Downing got a big jump(literally) at the start and built up a big lead in this nonstop race. However, he got hung up in traffic and Kolby Sabin went buzzing by him with just four laps to go to claim the win.
The Hobby Stock feature would be completed with just a single yellow flag and after "The Mayor", John Watson, led the opening lap, he was passed by Skyler Pruitt who would lead the rest of the race. However, it wasn't quite that simple as Pruitt was stalked by Luke Ramsey who was right on his tail and we waited for the inevitable last lap slide job but Ramsey couldn't get quite close enough to try it and Pruitt would drive on for the win.
And so it was that shortly after 10 pm, all racing was complete and we could all take a breath as the virtually nonstop racing in such spectacular fashion had us all worn out. So even though SIS would normally have a number of races completed by this time of the year, this very late opener for them made up for all the lost races so far with a night to be remembered. Folks will notice some subtle changes to the schedule this year with some Wednesday night, Monday night and even Sunday night races and not racing every single week. Also, note that every race is some kind of special as MVG believes that once the season starts to drone on, just having weekly shows just doesn't fly any more.
Thanks to everyone involved for producing what will be a night to be remembered for quite some time and special thanks to all the drivers who drove the Hell out of that little quarter mile and put on quite the show.
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