Tuesday night, May 6th was a day and date that many folks, particularly those from Illinois and surrounding areas, had been long waiting for. For on Tuesday, the LaSalle Speedway and Event Center would reopen for the first time in four years and their first race would be a dandy, the 2025 opener for the FLORacing Night in America Series.
Now it its fifth year, FLORacing and the midweek series of made for tv specials have certainly revolutionized racing promotion and particularly so for the Late Model division. And as big an event as it is when they announce their annual schedule, it was made even bigger this year when it was tied in with the return of racing to the Illinois valley and the LaSalle Speedway. Owned by the Izzo family who have long been a part of Late Model racing in Illinois, it took the combined efforts of Tony Izzo and new partner Justin McCoy to return the speedway to its glory years when Late Model racing at LaSalle was king and every driver and fan wanted to be a part of the shows being presented.
And as much as it good that the speedway was reopened, it was a "new look" speedway with many needed changes and upgrades that were necessary after the track sat vacant for years and after many years of use before that. Some of the improvements were easily noticeable, including the new track entrance off turn two and the closing of the old entrance off turn four. Much work was done with the seating including moving of sections of grandstands and many boards replaced in the main grandstand along with improved aisle work. Food trucks were spread out around the grounds and the area behind the main grandstand was a great vendors row for the race teams' apparel and others.
Even though it was the same speedway, it had a new look and feel to it and even the track employees seemed rejuvenated as they carried out their duties. For everyone, it was good to be back. This track has always been one of the best ones in the state for providing good, close and action packed racing and as soon as the first cars hit the track for hot laps, it was clear that nothing had changed in this regard. The cars were storming around the track, using different lines and spraying Illinois dirt and it was if nothing had ever changed. The surface here and the shape and size of the track plus the track prep that is done just make this an excellent track for Late Model racing in particular.
And when the FLORacing Series hits town, they bring the best of everything. They have the most qualified people in the business working for them and a list of the folks on hand working tonight that included Ben Shelton, Dustin Jarrett, Mike Norris and Tyson Graves calling the action, along with Kelly Carlton, Jonathan Clayton and Matt Curl behind the scenes and you would be hard pressed to find a better group of people to put on a great show.
And this FLO Series always attracts the best drivers around for their excellent paying events plus the attractive point fund for such a short series of events. Forty nine drivers signed in to race in the Late Model division and you would be hard pressed to come up with a stronger field, even if you could hand pick who showed up. Very, very few of the best drivers in the country weren't on hand on Tuesday and the jam packed stands, full of racing fans from near and far, were more than excited to see the first cars hit the track. There was a "vibe" on Tuesday that doesn't often happen any more.
Along with the Late Models, the UMP Modified division would also be in action and a strong field of thirty two of them signed in that included drivers from all parts of the country as it was amazing that so many travelers from far away were on hand for a Tuesday night show in May.
Both classes would qualify on Tuesday night in what really is the most important part of the program for the drivers, even though many of the fans snooze during this part of the program. For no matter how fast you might be, if you don't qualify well and start up toward the front in a heat race, you might as well load the car after qualifying. The large Late Model group was divided into halves with Ricky Thornton Jr being quickest overall and Tyler Erb topping the second group. The Modifieds qualified by groups of which their were four for their heats with David Stremme being the quickest overall.
I don't know how the racing could possibly be more intense than it was for the six Late Model heats, Taking only three drivers out of each heat and then only three out of a pair of B Features, everyone was up on the wheel to make the show and this track is one that allows that kind of action as the drivers were running from right on the inside tires to some pounding the walls all the way around the track. And with no provisional starters available until the fourth race of the series, either you raced your way into the show or you parked early. And check out a partial list of drivers that failed to make the main. Jason Feger, Chris Simpson, Billy Moyer, Ryan Unzicker, Shannon Babb, Clay Stuckey and both Gundakers were just a few that watched the feature from the pits.
Ryan Gustin led the opening lap of the fifty lap main for the Late Models. But he could only hold off the high side charges of Drake Troutman for three laps before Troutman drove past him. And right behind these two, Mike Marlar, Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce and Ricky Thornton Jr were all fighting for position. Quite a group, yes?
Troutman continued to lead but he was constantly challenged for that top spot as there were two significant lines, right on the inside tires and up against the wall and drivers were varying their lines, depending on which end of the track they were working. But as strong as the field was, it soon became clear that Pierce was the fastest as he gradually and smoothly worked his way to the front, gaining positions steadily. By the halfway point of the race, he was up to second with Thornton Jr, Gustin and Sheppard next in line.
Continuing his charge, he was able to drive around Troutman on the outside on lap twenty eight to take over the lead. Soon after, the first yellow waved for a flat tire for Cody Overton. It was a timely yellow as just at that time, a couple of the drivers had knocked the marker tires in turns three and four into the infield and then started running lower on the track and soon, half the field was racing through the infield and raising a cloud of dust. The yellow allowed the track crew to move the tires back out and get the drivers back on the track.
Pierce continued as the leader with Thornton Jr moving into second as Troutman started to fade. One more yellow on lap forty two when Kyle Bronson hammered the wall and left material all over the track slowed the action. Thornton Jr attempted to stay with Pierce on the restart but that was futile on this night as Pierce once again pulled away for the win with Thornton Jr settling for second.
Nick Hoffman made a nice charge to drive up to thirt ahead of Sheppard and Jonathan Davenport who also came up strong at the end. Gustin lost a good spot when he had to change a flat tire on the lap forty two yellow. Only five cars in the starting field failed to finish and all were on the lead lap.
It was odd that while the Late Models were able to race all over the track, the Modifieds had to settle for hugging the inside rail when they concluded the night with their twenty five lap feature. The move that won the race was determined on the first lap when Michael Ledford was able to drive harder into the first turn, roll through the corner and then edge ahead of Chase Holland to take the lead.
And once in front, Ledford just gradually pulled away as he clearly had the perfect set up for the track conditions. Holland tried to stay with the leader and he experimented with the middle lane and then up against the wall but neither would work for him and he eventually faded back to fifth at the finish.
This race ran off nonstop so as Ledford pulled away, a good battle developed late in the contest for the second through fifth positions. A strong late burst saw Kyle Hammer move up to second with Dillon Nusbaum a close third. Stremme and Holland completed the top five in the nonstop race that saw only two drivers not finish the contest and all on the lead lap.
It was a dust free night in the stands and an action packed night of viewing for the fans and I can't imagine that anyone could have gone home disappointed. Even the flow out of the parking lot, long a challenge here, seemed to be smooth and quick. Overall, just a top notch night of racing and a great premier presentation by McCoy, Izzo and FLO. Congratulations and thanks to all those folks for a job well done.
Perhaps the only adjustments needed are on the time line for the show. While the actual program took just two and a half hours to complete all racing, the first race didn't get started until 8 pm, just a little late. Likely much of this was caused by the fact that both classes qualified which is not normally the case for FLO races and that might have to be revisited at some point.
The FLORacing Night in America series moves on to the Spoon River Speedway on Wednesday night while fans should check the LaSalle Speedway and Event Center website to see when their next racing and other events are scheduled as they plan on making this a multi purpose facility and not just a dirt track.
No comments:
Post a Comment