Friday, June 23, 2023

Aikey A Come From Behind Winner at Cresco

 Another "Full Circle" trip was completed on Thursday night, June 22nd to the north Iowa town of Cresco. On the schedule for this night was a visit to what is now called the Cresco Speedway at the Mighty Howard County Fairgrounds here at Cresco's West side. The 129th Mighty Howard County Fair was in full swing on Thursday and the special grandstand attraction was the Hoker Trucking SLMR Late Models in a three thousand dollar to win East point race. Along with the Late Models, the Winged Sprints of the UMSS would be racing with USRA Modifieds being the third division to take to the track on Thursday. 

It has been a number of years since I was last at a race at Cresco but I couldn't help but think as I drove the street that runs parallel to the track to enter by the pit gate back to those days of long past when Howard Mellinger put on some very big races in the day here and how that old wooden covered grandstand used to be packed to the bursting point. It kind of brought me back full circle with the Late Models racing here and lots of people looking to watch the show on Thursday. I find myself more often reflecting back to the days of the past as the years lengthen and while the experiences broaden, some actually return to a time and place from long ago.

This would be an interesting mix of classes on this night as the Hoker Trucking series would deliver twenty one cars for racing on Thursday, a number sufficient to put on a good show at this four tenth mile oval that used to be a full half mile back in the day. The UMSS is a new series for this area but I am very familiar with them as they race at many tracks in my home area and I have followed the development of this series for many years since Ron Bernhagen started it. In fact, I saw many of the drivers racing here on this night just a few days previously when they raced at my home track in Wisconsin last Saturday night. They have both a winged and what they call traditional (non winged) divisions and both raced with us in Wisconsin last Saturday and they put on a nice show. 

Ron has been on a mission the last couple of years to develop a new Sprint Car that is more affordable for beginner drivers and for those veterans that don't want to spend their way to the poor house. He continues to work on development of a motor package that is affordable while still giving the "kick" that Sprint Cars need. His Traditional Sprints are powered by B Mod motors and they are also entertaining to watch. They were down here in Iowa to put on a demonstration and see if they can generate some interest here to help the division grow. They called their program on this night an "exhibition" race with no points awarded but they were running for money and the drivers treated it as a race. 

The third division on the card was the USRA Modifieds, which seemed to me to be an odd pick for a class to be racing since there are virtually zero USRA Mods in this general area with the closest point of them being across the border North in Minnesota near Deer Creek. Unfortunately, with both MTS and Deer Creek having specials for this same class this weekend, it appeared that no one dared to race on Thursday for fear of not having a car to race this weekend. Thus, they were left with a painfully short field of just five cars for their part of the program but I  heard not a word from the grandstand in complaint and most of the crowd stuck around to watch their race, which was last on the program. 

This was a small town and small county activity that clearly was a highlight for folks here for perhaps the whole Summer and the Fairgrounds was packed with people on this very steamy Thursday night. The midway was jammed, the grandstands were jammed and this was clearly a very big deal for the folks from this county and part of the state. They were receptive, positive and also were eating and drinking at perhaps a record rate. The Mighty Howard County Fair was lots better than I expected, quite frankly, and might have had one of the better food item choices of any Fair I have been to in quite some time. I was more than impressed with the whole Fair in general and fortunately for me, the racing also met and exceeded my expectations. 

When I looked at the track before the action began, I didn't have a whole lot of "warm fuzzy" expectations but once again I am pleased to announce that I was wrong and the track raced very well and the Late Model drivers in particular put on a very good show. The track looked loose to me, like it would be rough and also that it would be dirty. Those observations were mostly wrong and with a nice berm that built up, there was solid two groove racing throughout the Late Model feature. 

The usual Malvern Bank, Hoker Trucking rules would be in effect as the drivers would qualify, they would then invert six in each of the three heats and passing points would determine the feature lineup. I have heard rumblings that the time trial points weigh too much in the lineups and it was apparent Thursday that this might be the case as Charlie McKenna would be quick qualifier, then start sixth and only pass two cars but that would earn him the outside pole for the feature. However, Joe Kosiski, just like MVG, is big enough to break me in half so I won't protest too loudly. 

The Late Model feature, at thirty laps, was both entertaining and smoothly run. McKenna would use the outside line to drive past pole starter Jeff Aikey and take the early lead. There was quite the battle for second with Aikey fighting with Chad Halliday, Derrick Stewart , Andy Eckrich and Jason Hahne among others for position. They were really going at it and using much of the track as they tried to pass each other. 

The only yellow was a significant one as third running Eckrich would get high in turn one and then slow as he had mechanical issues and headed for the pits. And as more and more often seems to be happening in racing these days, the passes for position happen more and more on the restarts as passing under speed seems to be a tougher thing each year. 

 Until the yellow, it seemed that McKenna would be home free but that slowdown changed everything for the leaders. Aikey would get a great run on the restart and drive past McKenna for the lead. After that, Jeff would gradually pull away but the battle for second would be a dandy one. McKenna was running up on the cushion and really getting his car sideways and it seemed inevitable that someone would pass him. However, there would be a four car wad that would jockey back and forth the rest of the race but "Chargin' Charlie" would hold on for second with Stewart, Hahne and Halliday all right there with him. 

There would be just the one yellow and only two cars that weren't on the lead lap with five that failed to finish. And I must say, the track raced well throughout the contest. There was some dust in the air, but it wasn't bad, didn't seem to affect the racing and I wasn't wearing it in the grandstand either so all was well. 

Among those that failed to finish was Carson Brown, the only driver that raced at Davenport and then hauled up to Cresco when their Summer National date on Thursday was cancelled. They really must have wanted to get laps for Brown to haul three and a half hours North just to race for three grand to win. And interestingly, Mike Marlar, who had been attending with Brown in Davenport was still with the team so he must be very serious about this new venture of their to forfeit a race of his own to help out this rookie driver. 

The crowd seemed to be entertained by the Sprints who raced well and had just one yellow flag in their main. Chase Viebrock, who won last Saturday up in Wisconsin, would win the feature once again on this night. A bold and risky last lap pass on the high side saw Luke Nellis edge out Mark Chevalier for the second spot as seven of the ten starters were still running at the end. 

Alex Williamson managed to hold off Rodney Sanders for two laps in the Modified feature until Rodney drove past exiting turn four and once he was in front, the crowd started to head for the exits, knowing that unless something weird happened, the Rodney would bank the grand for the winner. And that's the way things turned out. Yet the five car field didn't seem to do anything to discourage the fans who seemed to lap up and enjoy the entire show from start to finish. Their enthusiasm was refreshing for this jaded old race fan, who has perhaps seen one too many small field programs over the years. 

It was also nice to complete the whole show by 10 pm and man, did the folks then head for the midway and the beer tent! This turned out to be a very big deal and I'm glad I returned to see it. Thanks to Executive Secretary of the Fair Ag Society, Tom Barnes for his help. This was a fun night and kind of a blast from the past sort of thing. This night felt like big time racing with importance for the drivers while at the same time providing some of the pleasant innocence that has slipped away from our sport. I was glad to be here and enjoy. 

 

 

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