Monday night, June 5th, the Clay County Fair Speedway was back in action as they presented the Cole Millard Memorial Race, with a thousand dollar to win Hobby Stock main event the special attraction. Along with the Hobby Stocks, the Modifieds would also be racing for a grand to win and the other three classes would be in action as they raced for their normal amount.
It was a smokin' hot night here in northwestern Iowa and while a couple of pop up thunder showers did come quite close to the Fairgrounds during the afternoon, all was good at the track for racing.
The Hobby Stocks did not disappoint as they raced for the extra money and their feature was a very good race, won with a late charge by Mike Smith. Kelly Shryock had an interesting night as he got caught by the changing track conditions and saw a late pass by Brandon Beckendorf take an apparent win away from him in the Modifieds but interestingly, he did the same thing late in the Stock Car feature to add another victory to his large collection. John Klynsma pulled off the win in the Sport Mods and celebrated with one of the most awkward roof victory dances ever seen and Tyler Thompson dominated the Sport Compacts.
Once again it was a hazy night in northwestern Iowa as the smoke from the wild fires in Quebec mixed in with the humidity of June in Iowa to provide a spectacular sun set and one that Ben Shelton would have loved. On the track, the car count was surprisingly low although a late rush by competitors through the pit gate kept things at a reason level. My guess is that without many rainouts of late, a lot of teams are getting tired and just need a night off and while Monday night racing is great for some, it doesn't just work out so great for everyone. And let's be clear, if you want to race a lot and don't want to pull too far, northwestern Iowa is the place to be with weekly racing from Wednesday right through Sunday after single week and then throw in specials on the other nights at Spencer, Park Jeff, Britt and across the border in Minnesota, there are more races available than a stick can be thrown at and sometimes teams and families just need to take a night off.
One up side of having perhaps just a smaller field of cars on hand and a night that doesn't need a whole lot of B Features is that there are fewer races to run and an early finish, which is what Spencer had been able to accomplish before this year, would return once again. With only two yellow flags in the heats, all preliminaries were completed in just forty two minutes and with not much track prep needed following that, other than just a mist to the cushion, we were into feature racing well before sunset.
This would be a night that watching the track change lanes was very interesting. It started out to be a one lane track, quickly widened out with a distinct fast line right on both the top and bottom and then it was up to the drivers to figure out where they ran best and watch them change lanes more often than navigating the "Can of Worms" in Des Moines at rush hour.
Sport Mods would be up first and for this race the groove was still just a bit narrow. John Klynsma took the lead on lap one as he made a nice move to slip under Cory Hoogland for the front. Klynsma would pull out to a good lead as he took advantage of the battle behind him to lead those drivers in his wake.
Eventually it would be Alec Fett who would motor into second after starting sixth and he would set out after Klynsma who was running the very inside line. Fett would start to cut into that advantage as Klynsma slipped up the track a couple of times, opening the door for Fett. However, to John's credit, near the end of the race he put together some very solid laps without mistakes and as Fett pushed hard, he would be the one to slip up and lose ground and Klynsma would drive on for the win, nonstop from green to checkered with Matthew Looft coming from tenth to finish third.
Things got dicey in victory lane though for the veteran Klynsma, who's attempt to clamber up on the roof for a victory celebration broke bad when he lost his balance, slipped and came stomping down on the rear deck of his car, bending it in badly and then angling to the ground, where a nice save kept him from doing a nasty "digger." As was well though and he celebrated in one piece.
Tyler Thompson would take the lead on the opening lap of the Sport Compact feature and go just fast enough to keep the competition behind him but still make it look like a race as he would lead from start to finish in the nonstop race. Riley Paysen and Levi Volkert would trail.
Twenty cars would start the Hobby Stock feature for the extra bucks and this would be the race of the night. There would be five official lead changes among four drivers in what was a highly competitive event with eventual winner Mike Smith coming from tenth for the win.
Brandon Nielsen would lead the opening lap, slipping under Chris Krug to grab the point. Colby Christensen would move from the fourth starting spot to slip past Nielsen for the top spot on lap three but one lap later, Nielsen would return the favor to move back in front. Nielsen would continue to show the way to the halfway point with Christensen all over him while Cory Probst, Krug and Smith would move into the top five.
Then it really got hectic and both Probst and Smith move in on the leader and in the course of three laps, the lead was exchanged three times as Probst dived into the lead, then Nielsen took it back and finally, on lap fifteen, Smith showed as the leader for the first time as the three drivers thrilled the crowd with their clean give and take.
But once Smith finally got that top spot, he would pull away in the final five laps and there would be no catching him as he would drive on for the win over Probst and Nielsen in a race that saw only two yellow flags.
The Modified feature would be a seven yellow marathon with that last yellow probably costing Shryock a feature win. Jordan Rogotzke took the early lead as Shryock patiently moved up to challenge him. The yellow flew three times before a lap could be completed and each time, Shryock, who would not move off the bottom, would gain ground and eventually by lap eleven, was ready to take the lead.
Once in front, it appeared that Kelly would be home free until Rogotzke and Chris Abelsen got toghet and went for a wild slide off the back chute, triggering a last yellow with just five laps to go. This moved Brandon Beckendorf into second and he threw caution to the wind as he pounded the cushion and nearly knocked down the wall in turn three. But he made it work as he powered past Shryock, who was stuck on the bottom and not willing to move up, and Brandon would make the pass and then drive away for the win over Kelly and Cody Knecht.
However, the Stock Car feature would wrap up the night and in this race, the scenario would be the same, however the roles were reversed. David Smith had moved into the lead on lap two with a pass on Devin Tripp and then he would lead much of the contest. Shryock would start ninth and following his pattern, he would quietly and smoothly work his way to the front, slipping into second by the halfway point of the race ahead of Tripp and Jeffrey Larson.
However, just past the halfway point of the race, a yellow for a spin would bunch up the field, only the second slowdown of the race. Shryock went for broke, roaring to the cushion on the green and powering past Smith to take over the lead, after which he dove back to his lane of comfort on the inside. But he has good speed and Smith was not able to overtake him again for the point. Smith then tried the cushion himself and that was not beneficial as he started to get shuffled back into the pack, eventually finishing well back in the field.
Shryock continued his line of choice and he would drive on for the win with Larson coming on for second and with much shuffling in the final few laps, the son and father team of Austin and Randy Brands next in line, Austin from seventh and Randy from fifteenth.
The crowd was decent, especially for such a hot and steamy night and all racing was complete before 10 pm, a pattern that I hope can be continued here and one that the neighbors would likely vote for also. Thanks to Trent Chinn, a busy man as always here and everyone from Trent Chinn Promotions for their help.
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