A Review of the ASCS and Tri- State Late Models at Spencer

 After a ton of various things conspired to keep from reporting on this event more promptly, it was still necessary and appropriate that the ASCS National Sprint Car Series and the Tri-State Late Model Series get their due after their appearance on Tuesday night, September 10th at the Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer Iowa. 

The biggest and best county fair in Iowa and perhaps even farther was in full swing on Tuesday. This Fairgrounds is gigantic compared to most county fairgrounds and in fact, I have been to at least two state fairs that would not even compare to this fair. 

It was a warm and windy day for September but the track prep crew did a good job of getting moisture into the racing surface and the wind was self cleaning in that any dust produced flew across the road and not into the grandstand. 

Along with the ASCS Sprints and the finale for the Tri-State Late Models, Sport Mods and Stock Cars would also be running as a prelude to their big final event of 2024 to be contested on Wednesday night. 

A very good field of Sprint Cars was on hand with thirty four signing in to race. The to thirteen in the current point standings would be on hand racing and the field was benefitted by a nice turnout of cars that race at Jackson and Huset along with even a couple 305 Sprints. 

The Tri-State Series field was not quite as strong. They race most of their races in South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota and rather than professional racers as many of the Sprint Racers are, a Tuesday night show for forty hour a week racers on the side many miles from home is much tougher and this was their final point race of the year with leader Blair Nothdurft so far in front he may not have to even be here, but he was. The field was fortified by several new Late Model drivers from north Iowa who are new to the class, having driven until recently in other classes like the Palsroks, Eric Faber, Dyllan Ricks Cory Bosma and Luke Sathoff. 

There would be twenty one Stock Cars and sixteen Sport Mods also a part of the racing action. I was just a bit hesitant about a four division program on a Tuesday night and I would prove to be correct, but only to a point. 

There was quite a difference in style between the two premier classes with the ASCS having a full field of staffers to run the show and announce their program with support trucks etc. while the Tri-State group had just a couple staffers with both the pre race and post race publicity considerably different. 

Both groups qualify their groups for racing action so we were treated to not just one but two sets of time trials. Aaron Reutzel was the quick qualifier for the Sprints at 14.039 seconds while Tad Pospisil was quick in the Late Models at 16.472. A difference in philosophy would see the Late Models straight up for their heats while the Sprints inverted four but then took four for the main. Only the Sprints would need a Last Chance race and once that was completed, they moved right into the Stock Car feature which was the first main. 

Kelly Shryock started on the outside pole for the Stock Car main and took the initial lead. After a lap two spin, this race would go green to checkers with Shryock maintaining the lead for several laps until he was passed by Jake Masters. 

However, Colby Fett was really flying and he closed in on both leaders and one lap past the halfway point, he drove into the lead and he would never be challenged after that point. Masters would finish second with Shryock holding on for third. 

Hank Davis took the initial lead in the ASCS feature after starting on the pole after Sam Hafertepe Jr slid up briefly over the banking in turn two but fighting his way back to the track without losing significant time. Reutzel was on the move as he took over second and began to put the heat on Davis. a yellow for a stalled car slowed the action on lap seven. 

The restart was interesting with Davis and Reutzel sharing slide jobs on each other with Reutzel's giving him the lead. Hafertepe then rejoined the top two battling for the lead and as Reutzel put a little distance on them, Hafertepe and Davis went at it for second. The leaders began to battle through traffic as the number of green flag laps increased with Reutzel advancing a little during this time. 

A potential battle at the end was snuffed when Hafertepe suffered a flat tire with just two laps to go and stalled on the track. There was no challenge for Reutzel the last two laps as he drove home for the win over Davis. Seth Bergman, in a tight point battle with Hafertepe, benefitted from that flat tire as he drove to a conservative third but was most helpful with Hafertepe's late issues. Nineteen of the twenty five starters were still on the track at the end. 

A late yellow provided a stunning change in the Late Model feature where Tad Pospisil had led from the drop of the green flag. He had pulled away from the field, running the low line that most were using as the Sprints had polished up the track. For much of the race, Justin Zeitner and Shane DeMey had battled for second with DeMey running the low side and Zeitner slamming off the cushion where ever he could find it and managing to hold on to second but not really gaining on Pospisil who was the better part of a straightaway ahead. 

However, when DeMey spun with just two laps to go, the field was bunched and when Pospisil had a terrible restart and missed his line totally, Zeitner took advantage with a "Hail Mary" move into corner one that saw him take over the lead. 

As Zeitner started to pull away, things went from bad to worse for Pospisil who suddenly was challenged for second by Corey Zeitner. As Justin pulled away for the win. Pospisil continued to struggle and Corey would pass him for second. Ricks and Chase Alves completed the top five with fifteen of seventeen starters taking the checkers. 

Sport Mods wrapped up the evening with Jared Boumeester taking the initial lead in what would be a nonstop main. Boumeester led a few laps but couldn't hold off the speeding Jake Sachau who drove by him and started to pull away. 

By the halfway point of the race, Matthew Looft had moved up from ninth to move into the second spot and the final eight laps would see the two outstanding drivers in this class race for the win. On this night, Sachau had a good line and a fast race car and despite trying his best, Looft was not able to close up on the leader and Sachau drove home for the win by a comfortable margin. Justin Klynsma would round out the top three. 

Once they dropped the first green flag, it was a tightly run program that would last for just under three hours. However, because the time trails took some time, the first race didn't see the green until almost 8 pm. Oh well, it was Fair time and no one was worried about the time anyway, right? Except perhaps those race fans that had to go to work on Wednesday before coming back for the second night show. 

As usual, thanks go out to Trent Chinn and the folks from Chinn Racing Promotions who always treat me right. But as is also usual, because Trent does much watering on race night, he is a hard person to connect to so his plans and the plans for Clay County for 2025 will have to wait for another day. 

Ward Wins Challenge Series Finale at Park Jeff; Brands Tops Green Stock Car Tribute

 It was a very special Monday night of racing on August 19th at the Park Jefferson International Speedway in North Jefferson South Dakota. With midweek special events soon to be history with school starting or already having started for some, this night would be the wrap up event for the Farley's Modified Summer Challenge Series as well as the Don Green Stock Car Spectacular. Fifteen hundred dollars was on the line for the Modified feature winner and a grand for the Stock Cars. The Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts would also be racing with all three having extra money on the line for the winners. 

It was about as perfect a night for racing as one could ever imagine as far as the temperature was concerned. The only draw back, as such, was that the breeze was just a bit out of the Northeast, giving us a sample of the track as a bit of dust was flying. It wasn't near enough to be uncomfortable and a small price to pay if that was what they needed to do in preparing a race track where drivers could run all over it and race side by side, which was exactly what we saw. 

Representing the Farley's Mod Tour and functioning as Race Directors for the Mods was the tandem of Mike VanGenderen and Trent Chinn. VanGenderen is in the midst of a month long break before his services will be needed again at Bloomfield and Independence along with another trip to Batesville Arkansas. 

Chinn still has a few races left on his plate also with Season Championships this coming Wednesday at Alta and then the great Clay County Fair in Spencer. But on Monday there were kind of on a busman's holiday, having to worry about just one class and none of the track prep. This was the first chance I had to talk to Trent since the 500 year flood in Spencer and he reported that about half his house was damaged on the lower level by floodwaters and that many of the businesses South of the river in Spencer still haven't reopened and that some may never reopen as the face of the town has been changed forever by the flood. He said it's pretty tough to look at right now with some of the long term damage still not having been addressed as yet. 

Over eighty cars signed in to race on Monday with multiple heats for all classes with the Stock Cars and Modifieds having the largest number, which makes sense since they were also racing for the most money. 

The first part of the program was almost flawless as they dropped the first green flag right at the advertised time with the twelve heat races being stopped just three times by the yellow flag, making it a quick first half of the racing. The Modifieds were using passing points on Monday while the other four IMCA classes were using the draw/redraw plan. 

Things didn't go quite as smoothly in the five main events with a couple of them having their share of issues but the two biggest events on the card did go very smoothly. And most importantly, all mains with the possible exception of the Sport Compact finale came right down to the wire. 

The Modifieds certainly didn't let anyone down as they put on a fine feature race to close out the night. Twenty cars started the main event and all but one finished the race and most importantly, they ran green to checkers at a thirty lap distance without a single yellow flag. 

It seemed the for most of the features, the top side seemed to be the preferred line for the start and it was again in the Mods as Cody Laney grabbed an early lead using that top side. However, Joel Rust, who started inside Laney, then picked up some speed on the low side and drove into the lead just one lap later. Rust would then hold the top spot for the next twenty laps, at one point opening up quite a comfortable lead that was gradually eaten into. 

Cody Thompson, Kyle Brown Bob Moore fought for the next spots but the driver really on the move was Tim Ward. He had started eighth on the grid and while most of the drivers were rim riding, Ward chose to work the low side and it eventually paid dividends for him. By the halfway point of the race, Ward was up to second as Rust was now forced to move all over the track to pass the slower cars. A great battle for third saw Thompson and Brown joined by Chris Abelsen who had really picked up the pace. 

Ward continued to gain chunks of territory as he continued to work the bottom and on lap twenty two, he was able to drive under Rust and take over the lead. Rust did fight back and keep it close but in the last few laps, Ward started to pull away. At this point, Rust was more worried about protecting second as Abelson had finally gotten past Thompson for third and was reeling in the leaders at a remarkable pace. He caught Rust on the final lap but Joel managed to hold him off but it was a good thing that the race was not any longer as Abelson was clearly the fastest driver on the track at the end. 

As for Ward, he used most of the track to find success and he drove home for the win, having lapped eight cars with only eleven on the lead lap at the finish. 

The Green Stock Car Tribute race was also a nail biter with Austin Brands holding off some severe challenges to take the win. The Stock did a good job of racing too, with only two yellow flags to slow their race and both of them coming in the first four laps. 

Greg Peck took the early lead which he would hold for the first three laps. Brands made great strides early, coming from seventh on the grid to drive past Peck and take the lead on lap three. Brian Seibold and Sid Mosher were battling with Peck for second following that lap four yellow while Brands started pulling away from the pack. 

The "One Thousand Pound Gorilla in the Room" and the driver that everyone keeps an eye on, Mike Nichols was also on the move. Nichols started way back in tenth but by the halfway point of the race, he moved up to second and as the laps started to wind down, Nichols kept shortening up the gap on Brands. Austin changed up his line a few times to protect the low groove on turns three and four and that might have saved him as this cut an open path for Nichols. 

Nichols would keep the pressure up but Brands would not falter and he drove across the line as the winner over Nichols and Jackson Mulder. 

The Sport Mods had a difficult time keeping their machines pointed in the proper direction and the yellow got quite a work out, waving five times during their sixteen lap main. Jonah Chinn had started on the pole and maintained the lead through all the yellows. By the halfway point of the race though, he was under the gun as Willy Kirk was putting much heat on him for the top spot and then Justin Klynsma also working his way forward after starting in the fifth row. 

In fact, the lap fourteen yellow saved Chinn's hide as Klynsma had made the pass for the lead but was not able to hold that spot for a full lap before the yellow waved again and Chinn was restored to the lead. 

There were only two laps left in the race but Chinn had both Klynsma and Kirk to worry about. He chose to work the top side which blocked Klynsma but it also left the inside line open and as they raced to the white flag, Kirk was able to drive into the lead and then extend it on the final lap to claim the win. Chinn was able to hold off Klynsma for second. 

Paul Dagel started on the pole for the Hobby Stock feature and despite tons of pressure on him by a variety of drivers, he managed to hold the lead for the first four laps and through the first four yellows as a variety of issues slowed this race. Cory Probst started tenth on the grid but using lots of speed combined with the bunching field due to the yellows, he was able to drive past Dagel  on lap five and take over the top spot. 

After that, all eyes were on Kaylb Brunssen as he made a monumental charge through the field after he started twelfth in he feature. By the halfway point of the race, he was up to fourth and he just kept right on charging with the later yellows helping his cause. By the time the final yellow waved on lap ten, he was up to second and knocking on the rear bumper of Probst and one lap later he was able to make the pass to take over the lead. 

Probst didn't give up however, and he pulled back beside the leader as they raced off turn two. The two touched at least twice down the back chute and on the second incident, Probst lost control and went sliding off the third turn. He chose to keep racing however, and the yellow flag was not displayed. Brunssen continued on to drive home the winner and the late scrambling allowed Dagel to regain second at the line ahead of Tyler Smith while a no doubt deflated Probst finished ninth. 

One of the larger fields of Sport Compacts that I have seen of late, fourteen, took the green flag for their main event and after one faltered attempt, the race then would go nonstop for twelve laps. 

Mike Vogt started on the pole and it would be Mike Vogt that would lead all laps and take the win. He was never seriously challenged during the race and hold hold a narrow but consistent lead over Tyler Thompson to take the win. Johnny Thomas came home third followed by Anthony Clark who had to come from the back after he missed his heat race. 

An interesting comment was made by track owner Wayne Becker when asked by a fan while Wayne happened to have the microphone in his hand. When asked, he replied that racing would likely take place on Friday nights in 2025 which is a change since they have been racing the majority of their events on Thursday nights this year. 

Thanks to everyone at Park Jeff and special thanks for their help and understanding to the best ladies in the business at their job, Amy and Raegan. 

Thornton Edges Berry Jr at Spencer "Clash"

 Wednesday, August 7th proved to be an interesting sort of day, one that found me finally finding a race to attend after my third attempt of the day. Originally, I was scheduled to attend a Northern Storm special for WISSOTA Late Models, Modifieds and Midwest Modifieds at a track on Minnesota's Iron Range. However, a less than favorable weather forecast for that region saw that race cancelled by mid morning. 

Up against the clock for travel time, my next option was for a rescheduled Stock Car special at the Arlington Speedway Southwest of the Twin Cities. This race was rained out last Wednesday during the Sibley County Fair and rescheduled for Wednesday. However, the weather was not quite done pulling my chain yet, as I hit rain upon heading through the Twin Cities and it continued on to Arlington. Just as I literally got within a few city blocks of the track, I got a phone call that this race too had been rained out. 

So now I'm three hours from home and seemingly out of options for the night. However, my friend on the phone reminded me of the race at Spencer but I thought that I would never be able to get there in time. A quick calculation proved my theory inaccurate so I continued South, seeing some new territory as a bonus to the trip. 

I arrived in Spencer just before 6 pm, giving me time to make one quick lap of the pits before heading to the grandstand as hot laps were about to commence. I thank my friend for the suggestion and help with directions, but now would find my trip home after the races to be about doubled. But let's worry about that later. 

Five divisions of IMCA racing were on the card for the Clay County Fair Speedway on this Wednesday  for "The Clay County Clash", the last regular season race of 2024 for the speedway. The Modifieds were at center stage on this night, racing for twenty five hundred dollars to win as a follow up to the Harris Clash held the night before with two more special events coming the next two nights at tracks in North Iowa. 

A nice field of Modifieds was on hand Wednesday, mixed between track regulars and a considerable number of travelers from a broad region of the country, migrating to Iowa for all the special events upcoming that lead into the Super Nationals right after Labor Day. The car count in the other classes was down some, possibly due to either the fact that this race didn't pay those classes as much as some of the earlier season races did here or perhaps, there has just been too much racing and drivers have to take nights off occasionally, especially when they fall midweek. The northern third of Iowa has an incredible number of races available over the course of the Summer with weekly racing available five nights per week without even counting all the special events and Fair races, of which there are many. 

The track was prepared about as wet as I have seen it here all year and quite a bit of extra packing laps were needed before and between races early on, and the racing surface formed about the biggest cushion on this night that I have seen here. But despite the extra wheel packing needed, they still managed to start right on schedule at 7 pm. This was to be one of the quickest shows put on here all year and of course it probably helped that the car count allowed them to scrape any B Features and it was strictly a heat and feature night but for a week night, that's OK with me. In fact, all qualifying heat races were completed in fifty seven minutes with the main events to follow then shortly. 

The features were run off in order on this night, with the slowest to the fastest class run in that order. The Sport Compacts had another teeny, tiny field of drivers, reduced by two even before the main event was run. Five drivers on this big track was not exactly what one would hope for, but they managed to exchange the lead for times during their eight lap main. Some times I wonder in this class if things might be "staged" just a bit as it seems that cars that are non competitive in the heats suddenly find lots of speed come feature time. This race saw Jake Paysen and Gilbert Aldape race side by side for eight laps, jockeying the lead back and forth between them. 

On the final lap, Paysen drove deep into the corners, kind of moving Aldape out a bit and then driving home for the win, the trophy and the victory lane interview with J Van along with a nice check for three hundred dollars. 

But Aldape would have the final lap as Paysen failed tech inspection and was DQ'd so while Gilbert didn't get to do the interview, he did get the check. 

After the Sport Compacts ran off their main event nonstop, the Hobby Stocks would do the same thing in what was a real race. John Briggs got the jump in the Hobby Stock feature but before a lap could be completed, Justin Frederick had made a pass and took over the top spot. As Frederick continued to hold the top spot, a great battle behind him saw Blake Luinenberg, Brandon Nielsen and Briggs battle for second. Also on the move was Mike Smith who started ninth on the grid. 

Frederick continued to hold the top spot through the halfway point of the race with Luinenberg up to second and Nielsen right behind him while Smith had charged up to fourth. With only three laps to go, Luinenberg got under Frederick to take over the lead and shortly after that, Frederick rolled a tire off the rim and was done. Smith continued picking off positions and got up to second and the last couple of laps saw Smith all over Luinenberg with them banging doors once down the back chute as they fought for the win. 

Smith had one last burst to offer and on the final corner he threw a slider on Luinenberg, cleanly got by as they exited the final corner and then fought off the cross over attempt by Luinenberg to take the win by .080 seconds! Nielsen would settle for third while Cory Probst came from thirteenth to fourth without the aid of a single yellow. 

When it comes to Sport Mod racing at this track, Matthew Looft is mighty hard to beat and such was the case again on this Wednesday. He started fourth on the grid and quickly closed in on early leader North Dakota's Gabriel Deschamp. A yellow flag bunched the field and on the green, Looft did a two for one, passing both Brady Joynt and Deschamp to come from third and take over the lead. 

Deschamp held Looft close for a few laps but then Matthew gradually pulled away and there was no doubt who would win the contest. He had a comfortable lead and cruised home first over Deschamp who had a nice run of his own for second. The family Klynsma battled for third with Justin edging out John for that spot. 

Another almost guarantee when racing takes place at Spencer is that Kelly Shryock will win a feature race too and once again, the script held as this night it was the Stock Cars that were dominated by the legend of Iowa racing. He would let Mike Albertsen lead the opening round after Mike came from the second row with a quick burst to grad the lead as Jake Masters got way too high and jumped the bern. But one lap was all Kelly was going to allow as he drove past Albertsen on lap two and then led the rest of the race. 

Masters rebounded from his early gaff and fought his way back up to second and he made life miserable for Shryock, trying several times to get past for the lead but Shryock refused to make a mistake, hitting his marks on the heavy berm but not slipping up as Masters tried everything he could to find a way past but there would be none and he had to settle for second. Albertsen finished third in the seventeen car field. 

Twenty six Modifieds took the green for their thirty lap main event, with only Jayden Schmidt missing after he blew a motor at the finish line of his heat. Dylan Thornton would be scored the leader of all thirty laps but that makes it sound easier than it was. 

He was under the gun throughout the race with Tim Ward and Tom Berry Jr taking turns harassing him for the top spot. Thornton had gotten the jump on David Stremme to take the initial lead as Ward moved to second as Brandon Beckendorf and Berry Jr also joined in. 

Beckendorf lost a few spots when he bicycled in turn one but somehow saved his car from going for a wilder ride. As Thornton continued to hold the lead, Ward and Berry Jr put on a show as they battled for second with Berry Jr finally getting past in the late going. 

A debris yellow just as the white flag was ready to be waved set up a wild finish. Berry Jr sized up the leader and on the final tour, threw a slider at Thornton Jr in turn three, edging past for the lead. However, Thornton wasn't ready to give up easily and he crossed back over Berry Jr as they left the corner, pulling back into the lead and maintaining that small margin to the line for the win. 

Ethan Braaksma, who quietly moved to the front after starting fifteenth, drove past Ward on the final lap to get third and Tripp Gaylord did the same thing to Beckendorf to round out the top five. Only five drivers didn't finish and everyone was on the lead lap. 

The final checkers waved at just about 9:40 pm so it was both a good and quick night of racing. It's hard to believe but only the two Fair races in September remain on the Clay County Fair Speedway schedule for 2024. Where has the Summer gone?

I arrived quite late into town on Wednesday and didn't have time to do any "scouting around" to see what Spencer looked like but the huge pile of debris across the street in a parking lot attests to the damage done to the folks of this city. 

Early on, it was hard to focus on the racing action as there was a crop duster zooming around in front of us and dropping to tree top level to deposit some kind of chemical, I assume, on the crop planted just North of the fairgrounds. They always make me nervous. 

They did something tonight that I really appreciated. One gripe I've always had about Spencer is that the grandstand is so dark that it's almost impossible to see once the sun sets and I have to take a flashlight into the grandstand with me to see to write once it gets dark. But tonight, for some reason, they turned on the overhead lights in the grandstand and while they didn't seem to bother the vision of the track at all, I could see to write without using the flashlight while the folks moving around the grandstand could also do so without falling over their neighbors! It was great. Thanks for doing that and I hope it continues and my question is, why did it take so many years for this to happen?

Although I didn't get to say hello, thanks as always to Trent Chinn and Chinn Promotions, along with all his staff for their help and for putting on a good midweek show. Here's hoping the weather for the Clay County Fair is spectacular. 

Klein Holds On For Late Model Win at Dubuque As County Fair Opens

 Ah, it is Fair season in full swing with counties all across the Midwest holding their annual events with this week and the coming few weeks being the height of the Fair season. And with that comes also the annual Fair races for those counties lucky enough to have race tracks as a part of their Fairs. Where I live, there aren't many race tracks at fairgrounds any more with the majority of tracks being privately owned on private land. 

Not so the case in other parts of the Midwest, with Iowa being one of those states where it seems like most of the tracks are at fairgrounds and when the annual Fairs come up, so to also do the Fair races. Many of them have a long and historic legacy and there is nothing quite like the annual Fair races. Such was the case on Wednesday night, July 24th as the annual Dubuque County Fair was in full swing with the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway getting their shot to race on Wednesday night. 

Full disclosure would reveal that I was originally in Davenport and set to cover "The Davenport Deal" finale on Wednesday night but the only deal there was torrential downpours that ended that show before lunch time. But with the strangeness of Midwestern weather, while it drowned out one fairgrounds, another one directly North of them by one hour received no rain at all. So I was more than happy to be able to motor up highway 61 to Dubuque with time to spare. 

But talk about your crowded racing and Fair schedule. Not only were Dubuque and Davenport(where their Fair starts next week but minus any racing activity) racing on this night, but Maquoketa also had their Fair race going on Wednesday too. That's three races within an hour of each other and all on the same night! Wow, talk about choices but also it's never a good idea to split the racing fan pie into that many pieces. However, if there is going to be a conflict, better on Fair night than any other all year because there are lots of folks that attend Fair races that never come any other time of the year.

And all this competition produced a bit of a turf war between tracks. Did you even hear of a track that added a class to their racing program on Noon of the race day? Me neither but that's what happened on Wednesday when, after the Davenport rainout, where Stock Cars were scheduled to race on Wednesday, Dubuque decided to all the class with the announcement coming around Noon. Paying a grand to win, it was a very nice purse that was put together on short notice with some sponsors to help out. However, Maquoketa didn't take this lying down as they then announced that they had raised their winning share of the Stock Car feature to two grand, up from a grand also. In the end, both tracks had enough cars for a show although Dubuque, not surprisingly on such short notice, was shorter on cars for this class and both tracks would have had more cars if they weren't racing against each other. Just saying. 

Here's an interesting item. One of the drivers on hand at Dubuque was Wisconsin racer Cole Czarneski who is usually one of the first drivers in the pits. However, they were running later than normal on this night. The reason was that they were actually on their way to the track when they found out that Stock Cars had been added to the program so they turned around, headed back to their shop and picked up their Stock Car so they could run that class also, along with the Modified they brought! The side trip paid off when Czarneski finished second in the Stock Car feature after he had early trouble with the Mod. 

Fair night, when the Fair Board is always anxious for the races to get done early so folks hit the midway and food stands, is not a night to over water the track but unfortunately, that's what they did on this night and it took a long time and help from the racers to roll in the track into some shape that could be raced on. It still wasn't ideal for the heats but some more work following those races made for a good track for the mains with drivers all over the surface and racing off the big berm that still did build up but we sacrificed a lot of time and an early conclusion to the night to get to this point which was unfortunate. 

When the feature races did start however, they were action packed from start to finish and a couple drivers must have been wearing their lucky horseshoes around their neck for the breaks that happened to come their way. It all made for some interesting racing and left plenty to hash over before Sunday night's Julian Dubuque Classis wraps up racing here this week. 

The Four Cylinder feature was up first and this race saw three different leaders before Cyle Hawkins made the pass for the win as they were coming to see the white flag. Jake Benischek took the early lead and he built up a big advantage and seemed to be just riding along. A yellow bunched the field just at the halfway point but Benischek still seemed to be in control.

However, his car suddenly lost power while in the top spot and he slowed dramatically with Josh Chambers using the break to shoot into the lead. However, Hawkins, who started fifth, put late pressure on Chambers and was able to squeeze past just before the final lap started. He pulled away on the final tour for the win with Jeff Allendorf nipping Chambers for second.

The Hobby Stock feature was next and with five Bennett's racing in this event, it would be a safe bet for the announcer to call any position a Bennett one and be ahead on the odds. 

However, it was Dalton Weepie that took the early lead from the pole and as he maintained the top spot, there was plenty of action behind him with spins and collisions marking the contest. Through all the crazy things happening behind him and all the yellows that kept bunching the field. Weepie would maintain control and eventually take the checkered flag. A big battle for second saw Jimmy Doescher edge out David Crimmins for the spot with a wild last lap scramble finding Kyler Hefty take the fourth spot after starting fifteenth. 

And talk about crazy, Hefty had raced this night at Maquoketa and with their program apparently moving at a much quicker speed than that of Dubuque, Hefty raced and finished seventh at Maquoketa, loaded up his car and arrived in time here at Dubuque to tail the back of the pack for our feature race. And then he moved all the way to fourth at the finish! What a story he will have to tell in one of the quirkiest happenings of 2024 for sure. 

The Modified feature was a wild one but it was also a long one. The yellow waved seven times in this race and eventual winner Ryan DeShaw must be considered one of the luckiest guys at the track on this night. Not once, but twice, he was passed for the lead but before a lap could be scored, the yellow waved both times and he was saved by the bell. To his credit though, when the green returned following each of these incidents, he didn't make the same mistake again. 

Early on, DeShaw had Jed Freiburger challenging him as the race suffered through three yellows in the first six laps. Dave Eckrich started fifth but was on the move and by lap six, he had raced his way up to second spot. And in fact, on lap six, Echrich was able to power around DeShaw on the high side to take over the lead but they yellow waved once again and the pass was negated. 

This time, DeShaw didn't leave that opening for Eckrich but shockingly, as he was going for the lead a second time, Eckrich spun all by himself, sending him to the back and ending his chances for a win. Moving back in to challenge again was Freiburger and with just three laps to go, Jed would make a pass for the lead, but again, the yellow, number six, would negate that change of leaders once again. 

After one more yellow, it was a two lap sprint to the finish with Freiburger closely following DeShaw. Coming for the white flag, DeShaw would wonder up the track and get in the heavy cushion but inexplicably, Freiburger would follow the leader right up into the mud and Troy Cordes would steal second and indeed, had a good chance to take the win but for a door slam by DeShaw on the final corner that allowed him to claim the victory. Freiburger had to settle for third. 

The Late Models had the largest field of drivers at twenty three and they would race thirty laps for the three grand top prize. Their race would in many ways resemble the Modified main in that there were way too many yellows, lots of wild scrambling going on and three different leaders before the score was settled. 

Ron Klein started on the pole but driving with, as might be kindly said, a very erratic style, he nearly spun out several times in the first few laps and dropped back to fourth quickly as Nick Marolf took the lead. Eric Pollard took second and they were running close together as they battled for the lead. 

The leaders quickly hit lapped traffic and the problems developed soon after. Marolf was under the gun from Pollard and while trying to squeeze through the traffic in turn one, he flat out spun and Pollard made some contact with him, triggering the yellow. 

Marolf went to the back and Pollard apparently made enough contact to damage his car as he pulled off and suddenly, Zach Less, running third, inherited the lead. He could only maintain the spot for a lap until Klein, now settled down, drove past him to take over the lead. 

as Ron pulled away, Tom Berry Jr., Less and Matt Ryan battled behind him with the later two really getting aggressive with each other, including a slam fest under the yellow flag. Less had to have part of the nose of his car removed and he had to go to the tail which ended his run for the win. 

While the yellow waved a mind boggling seven times in the first half of the race, the last sixteen laps went green , so figure that out. Klein then pulled away for the win with Berry Jr holding off Ryan for second but there was never a dull moment in this one as with most of the mains all night. 

The Stock Cars wrapped up the night and their main was relatively calm compared to the other features and in fact, went green to checkers. Dakota Sellers took the early when he got the jump on Czarneski but it was Bone Larson, in the Kinsella car, that quickly charged up and passed Sellers just a lap later. B

Bone led the rest of the race with Czarneski recovering to move up to second and he actually closed on Larson a couple times, only to jump the big and tricky berm and lose time. Larson continued on for the win over Cole with Leah Wroten beating Scott Busch in a big battle for third. 

Eric Huenefeld was calling the action as announcer on this night with "Big Boy" previously committed to calling the special race elsewhere that got rained out. 

I always get a very nice welcome by the folks at the pit gate here at Dubuque and I again thank them for their help as well as the offer for a ride from promoter Kevin Kotz. There was a very good Thursday night crowd both at the races and at the Fair in general on what was a nice night, not too hot, for Fair going. 

Erb and Dillard Win "The Davenport Deal" Openers

 Monday night, July 22nd, "The Davenport Deal" produced and directed by XR for their Super Series Late Models and ONUM Dirt Modifieds, raced for their first of three consecutive nights at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport Iowa. For the Late Models, it was their first of two consecutive nights of racing here with each night seeing the Late Models racing for a top prize of fifteen grand. For the Modifieds, it was their first night of racing also, but they will be running here through Wednesday when they race their big finale that will bring the winner a big prize of twenty thousand dollar.s 

Monday night's racing would be action packed from start to finish in both classes with lots of spectacular racing that led to Tyler Erb claiming the Late Model win while Cade Dillard, who raced in both classes, came out of top of the Modified thirty lap feature race. 

It was a hot and steamy night in mid America with only a spotty chance of seeing a pop up thunderstorm. However, that slight chance materialized right over the fairgrounds in the late afternoon  hours. Things got very ominous looking nearly right overhead and off to the East and race teams and fans alike were stopping in their tracks and looking to the skies. The racers were trying to decide whether to load up their cars and beat the rain and fans deciding whether they should buy a ticket or wait to see what would happen. 

It was a very near miss with rain reported a very short distance away but nothing fell at the track and slowly those clouds drifted off to the East, producing quite the rainbow. Later, however, just as hot laps wrapped up and with the sun now shining again, a small cloud drifted over the track and it then did rain for a few minutes, backing up the program as the track crew reworked the track once the shower stopped minutes later. It was a hindrance but nothing like the main event we just missed that surely would have ended the night of racing. 

Thirty five XR Late Models signed in to race on Monday night with this number much exceeding the expectations that I had as along with the number of cars, the quality of the competition was also very high and we would be seeing many of the top drivers in the country right now in action on the Davenport quarter mile. 

The track would be lightning fast on this night with the track crew having gotten plenty of moisture into the track prior to it raining and with the humidity high to keep that moisture in the surface, the track would produce high speeds while also being a handful for the drivers. The field was split into two groups with Erb being the quickest in group one and Mike Marlar quickest overall at 13.772 seconds. 

There was quite a bit of drama early as Iowa favorite Ryan Gustin had to borrow the car of Carey Umbarger when his own ride developed problems during qualifying and Chris Simpson, Gustin, Garrett Alberson, Curt Stewart, Tim McCreadie and Bobby Pierce all had to run B Features after they either had car problems in the heats or just didn't run well enough. 

There was plenty of wild goings on during the feature race with drivers charging and then fading and lots of shuffling throughout the pack but the one constant was Tyler Erb.

Erb started on the pole for the forty lap feature race and he would be scored the leader for all forty laps. The race, however, was not boring as that statistic would indicate.  Erb received several challenges over the course of the event with Mike Marlar early, Max Blair and Hudson O'Neal late, but each time he would repel their advance, leading up to some hard feelings at the end of the race between himself and Blair. And the track was such that one misstep in a corner and the win could easily have been out the window.

The race got off to a rocky start with a big pileup in turn one on the opening lap that eliminated Matt Cosner, Daulton Wilson, Matt Ryan and Trey Mills. Erb then grabbed the lead but he had Marlar and Cade Dillard close behind and challenging him along with a charging Logan Seavey who was looking good and Max Blair who was also moving up. 

They raced seventeen green flag laps until Dillard slipped over the cushion in turn two and triggered a yellow flag. The top side was the fast line around the track but with a big lip and a jagged line of clay on that top side, it was very easy to either jump that cushion or get hung up in it which was just as bad. 

Marlar would later learn that as he got bogged down twice off turn two and he finally called it a night after losing many spots. After Marlar's bad luck just past the halfway point, Blair and O'Neal would become the chief challengers for Erb with Blair especially putting on the heat. Late yellows for Pierce's problems and a spin by Seavey set up a five lap dash for the win. 

But there would be one last burst of fireworks and Blair went for it, trying to pass Erb on the high side off turn two. Whether or not Blair got too high, Erb moved up and blocked his line or a combination of the above, but Blair ran out of racing room and slipped over the cushion and off the track. He, however, kept moving and the race continued with Erb holding off a late charge from O'Neal to take the win with Piece coming back for his troubles to drive through the reduced field for third ahead of Nick Hoffman and Cody Overton. Fourteen starters were still on the track at the end with all on the lead lap. There should be plenty of incentive for some of the drivers to be extra fired up for Tuesday night's show, if you know what I mean. 

And just as exciting and eventual as the Late Model program was the Modified portion of the event. This class saw the entered field split into two groups with half qualifying tonight and the other half on Tuesday although some of the Tuesday night drivers were already on hand to hot lap. Thirty one drivers were entered in the Monday night portion of the program with eight not showing and Drake Troutman added to the list, so there were twenty three that raced on Monday. 

They would draw for their starting positions and then run double heat races with passing and finishing points determining their lineup for their two grand to win, thirty lap qualifying feature race. Feature points were also given with everyone trying to earn enough points so that they automatically moved into Wednesday night's main directly without having to race the dreaded step ladder. 

Many very strong teams were on hand here for this Modified show with no doubt a number of highly regarded drivers that had probably never been seen before racing here at Davenport. It was like a USMTS show with also a sprinkling of some of UMP's best stars too. The ONUM rules allow each to race with each other but the comparison is one to watch as the week progresses. 

The number of cars was such that no B Feature was needed so all twenty three started the main event. This race was also a wild one with lots happening and three different leaders during its thirty laps. 

Eventual winner Dillard started in the sixth row so that means he made quite a charge which he started almost immediately, passing at least four cars on the high side of the track in the first two laps before the yellow flew when Tyler Nicely went flying off the track. 

Will Krup had taken the early lead over Brian Ruhlman and Austin Holcombe with Dan Ebert and Troutman close behind. Ruhlman was all over Krup in the early going but there was much changing of position directly behind them. 

Holcombe would bow out with mechanical difficulties, shuffling things but on lap twelve, things got even wilder when leader Krup went into turn one, spun and then a wheel came flying off the car. Whether the loose wheel caused the spin or was a by product of the spin, either way Krup was done for the event with Troutman inheriting the lead. And also by this time, Dillard had driven up to second. 

The green was dropped again and Dillard drove right past Troutman to take over the lead and that was it as he led the final eighteen laps for the win. Granted, it was not easy as he still had some strong challengers and the yellow flew twice more to slow the action and bunch the field, but Dillard was up to the challenge and would retain the lead each time. 

Ruhlman drove a consistent race, always lurking in the top five and he drove home for the second place finish. Troutman lost much ground when he clobbered a corner marker tire and bashed in his front end as Jim Chisholm came home third ahead of Austen Becerra and Rodney Sanders. The score for opening night was USMTS three and UMP two in the top five. Just over half the starting field was on the track at the end as attrition was high on the demanding track.

After the rain delay, the program was run through at a very speedy pace and all racing was done by 11 pm, even with the lengthy delay for rain and repacking. It was a very spirted program put on by both classes and the coming days should see more of the same. 

Thornton Jr and Shryock Top Silver Dollar Opener at Huset's

 Wednesday night, July 17th, the Silver Dollar Nationals began its four night run at Huset's Speedway on the South side of Brandon South Dakota. The Silver Dollar Nationals, long held at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood Nebraska, was moved to this venue last year after I-80 was shut down, sold and eventually dismantled. The event was so successful last year that it again returned to Huset's this year with the Lucas Oil Late Model drivers running for fifty three thousand dollars to win in their feature race on Saturday night. 

But before that race, there would be three other nights of racing including Wednesday's opener which would give a whole different set of drivers and car types the chance to race as a part of this event. Wednesday night the Tri-State Late Model Series would run perhaps their highest paying event of the year and the IMCA Stock Cars raced as a series event for the Dirt Crown East Summer Series where they were on the third night of a three night swing of tracks in western Minnesota and then across the border here to South Dakota. Huset's offered them a very nice purse with three thousand dollars going to the winner of the Stock Car show while the Late Models were racing in the annual Ben Nothdurft  Memorial race which offered six thousand dollars to the race winner, a Tri-State high for 2024. 

Perhaps most importantly, it was good to see Huset's Speedway back in action and all dried out following their devastating flood right in the middle of one of their highest profile Sprint races, an event that has been rescheduled to later this year. Things looked pretty dry, the campers had returned but I was told by a track employee that there were still several campers sitting right where they were abandoned as the owners wait on action from insurance companies. What a mess that must have been. 

This is one of the biggest events on the Tri-State schedule, a traveling series that races at tracks primarily in South  Dakota but also have a few events in both Iowa and western Minnesota. Their rules are a blended set of rules, not unlike the SLMR which allow open motors, spec engines and even crate engines to race with rules attempting to equalize the horsepower different with weight. However, no matter how they attempt to do it, my observation has been that the open motor cars still have the advantage and do the majority of the winning. 

With this race being a big one for them, they had a fine field of forty five drivers sign in that included their own traveling drivers, some SLMR drivers from Iowa  and Nebraska and a number of WISSOTA  spec engine drivers from South Dakota and Minnesota. 

Tri-State qualifies the drivers for their shows and then starts the heat races straight up. The winners of the heats redraw against each other while the second place finishers also redraw against each other. The others are filled in as they finish with their series often not having enough entrants to require a B Feature . However, on this night, there would be two B's that followed six heat races where the rules of driving etiquette often went out the window in an attempt to make the thirty five lap main. Billy Leighton Jr. was quick qualifier at 13.111 seconds.

Early on, we found out that Ricky Thornton Jr was going to drive a car for Justin Zeitner in this race, an arrangement that was cemented months ago before the recent drama that swept the dirt Late Model world. In fact, Zeitner was doing everything he could to down play the whole experience, scoffing at the idea that they should have had t shirts made or basically anything that would have brought extra attention to the #62 pit. Justin had two identical cars on hand and was going to let Ricky pick whichever one he wanted to drive, after which they would plaster a #20RT on it and Justin would drive the other car. If nothing else, the ride sharing would bring a little extra notoriety to the event and as it turned out, it would be a huge move by the Zeitner team. 

Twenty five drivers would start the thirty five lap main event for the Late Models on the quarter mile oval(don't believe anything that says it's any bigger than that) and this is not a wide track for Late Models. Everything is tight here and thus, under speed, there would be plenty of contact between drivers as the race progressed. However, almost unbelievably, this race would go nonstop for thirty five laps with a great showing of driving skills by the drivers. Not only that, there would be only one driver that didn't finish the race so you can imagine just how heavy the lapped traffic was. Honestly, it was quite a bit like Macon Speedway in that regard. 

Leighton Jr, who redrew the outside pole, would get the jump on Thornton Jr and take the early lead. The outside was the place to be and   Thornton Jr. struggled to keep up in the early going. However, we then got to see what has made Thornton Jr such a star and he started to move around the track, found a line right in the middle of the track where no one else was running, and then started to catch Leighton Jr for the lead. 

Leighton Jr. was already in lapped traffic and starting to fight, as the slower cars were running that same high line that he was and he was getting bottled up. Thornton Jr, however, was a lane lower and showing great skill in traffic, in a car he had never sat in before, he was able to drive under Leighton Jr down the front chute on laps sixteen and take over the lead. 

Then we got to see even greater skills from Thornton Jr as he made some moves in traffic that were quite remarkable, shooting between lapped cars and going both high and low, as needed, to keep his speed up. The traffic was worse than "The Can of Worms" in Des Moines at 5 pm on Friday but Ricky just kept pulling away and never backing off. 

The list of lapped cars continued to grow and as those other racers kept at it, he just lapped deeper into the field was the green flag stayed out. At the finish, there were only eight cars on the lead lap and he was right on the tail of eighth place Corey Zeitner. Thornton Jr had five lapped cars between himself and second place Leighton Jr with Tad Pospisil making a big charge that saw him move up to third at the finish. Justin Zeitner and Josh Leonard completed the top five as SLMR cars dominated. The first spec engine across the line was sixth place finisher Scott Ward. 

And while the Late Model feature was a smooth running event, the Stock Car main was just exactly the opposite kind of race. The Stock Cars drew for their starting positions in the heats and then redrew for the main event after running four heats and one big B Feature. Twenty four of them would start their thirty lap main and my pencil nearly went dull as there were seven yellow flags in this race and many more drivers that failed to finish then those that did. 

However, through all the yellows and the mayhem, the racing up front was excellent with much trading of positions and some severe battling going on. Chanse Hollatz would be scored the leader of the first twenty eight laps of the race but that statistic was a bit misleading as while he led, he had several different drivers on his rear bumper at various times of the race. 

First it was Dylan Fitzgerald( a later flip victim) and then Kelly Shryock was his most persistent challenger but right next to them were Derek Green, Damon Murty, Kyle Vanover and the Larsons, all battling and swapping spots as the race was run at a fitful pace, with much starting and stopping due to all the yellows. 

There was a point near the middle of the race when ten consecutive laps were achieved but then things got bogged down again. However, there was so much drama with the battling that it didn't feel tedious like it could have. 

Hollatz was running right in the "ditch" and he seemed like he didn't ever want to leave that lane. Shryock was right behind him literally but had no room to maneuver. Vanover was the story though, as he came from fourteenth to gradually become a part of the action and he began to press Shryock for second. Kelly made a mistake and came off the bottom and was replaced by Vanover and with no where else to go, Kelly moved to the high side of the track, a place he often doesn't venture to any more in his career. 

To his surprise and perhaps the rest of us too, that line was fast for him and soon he was beside Hollatz and challenging for the lead. On lap twenty eight, he drove past Hollatz on the high side on the front chute to take over the lead with Vanover pushing Hollatz. 

The red then flew when Fitzpatrick hooked the berm and flipped and on the restart, Hollatz pushed too hard to try and get the lead back, spun and was blasted by Mike Nichols with both cars done for the night. The two lap sprint to the finish saw Shryock take control and grab perhaps the biggest lead of the race as he took the checkers over Vanover, Jeffrey Larson, Dustin Larson and Green. 

For Shryock, it was his first win at Huset's since a Modified win way back in 2011 when the USMTS visited on occasion to the track. Only eleven cars from the original starting field were still running at the end as the wreckers got a work out and lots of damaged equipment to be fixed before next weekend's racing commences. The Stock Cars were literally throwing their weight around on each other on this night on a fast and heavy race track. 

One comment about the Stock Car field. I hope that the IMCA Stock Cars are not going in the way that the  Elijah Zevenbergen car appeared as that might have been the ugliest looking Stock Car I ever saw and a look that I hope no other team goes to or the novelty of the class might be lost. 

The Stock Car feature was a long, long race but with the Late Models going nonstop, the race schedule was helped a great deal and the final checkers waved before 11 pm. on this preliminary night. It was a highly entertaining night of racing and a good start to what will likely be a big weekend of action.

Thanks to all the folks at the pit shack at Huset's as well as the rest of the employees. I particularly enjoyed the work of track announcer Shawn Neisteadt  who was very knowledgeable about the various types of cars in action on Wednesday. 

Hudson Edges Ricky In Lucas Oil Harlan Shootout

 The Lucas Oil Late Model Series rolled across the state line on Tuesday night, passing from Nebraska to Iowa and making their first ever visit to the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan. And likely Harlan's most famous race car driver, the late Tiny Lund, would have liked what he saw on Tuesday night. A great three car duel between Hudson O'Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr and Garret Alberson on a well prepared race track on a lovely July night in front of a packed house of vocal and enthusiastic race fans would have been something that warmed the heart of the gentle giant. 

This night was a winner all the way around and the Lucas Oil folks on hand had to be impressed both with the racing and with the size of the crowd in this rather remote western Iowa community. Even the so called support class, the IMCA Late Models, engaged in a shootout of a feature race with Zach Zeitner making an aggressive slider on Jesse Sobbing in the final corner to win a somewhat controversial main event. 

The entire night of racing was dedicated to the Kosiski family who were on hand including the race distance which was set at 53 laps. Family patriarch Bob spoke with James Essex before the feature race and the two shared some stories about racing, particularly the Late Model brand, before the main event started. The Kosiski family even have their own grandstand section named after them, a section of bleachers that was purchased from the auction of the I-80 assets when that speedway was closed two years ago. With the addition of that section of bleachers with some on the back chute that I don't think were there when I was last at this track, they can seat a lot of people here now, even though the center piece section of bleachers, the old covered ones, must date back to the turn of the century. The great Dan Patch may have raced in front of those bleachers, for all I know. 

Twenty eight Lucas Oil and twenty one IMCA Late Models signed in to race on Tuesday night with the twenty eight just hitting the cut off point that allowed four heats and a B Feature before the main while the IMCA cars ran three heats before their twenty lap main. 

While visiting the pits before the show began, I happened to run into a pair of pretty good promoters in their own right in ex Humboldt promoter Ryan Whitworth and Arrowhead promoter Bryce Hall, who were visiting for a couple days and had also witnessed the racing at Eagle on Monday night. The track promoter here Doug Batz is doing a whale of a job and they were doing all the right touches on this night to make it a great experience for all including making sure they had extra concession stands going and using the local fire department to help park cars and get the maximum use out of their fairground space. These are the kind of volunteer things that you note happen in small town America. 

Devin Moran was the last car to take time trials and under a blazing Iowa sun, you would have thought the track would have slowed down slightly by then, but that was not the case as he turned quick time at 13.499 seconds. Thornton Jr, as the first driver out, turned the quick time for the first group of drivers but Moran was quickest overall. 

 I never witnessed racing on the old half mile here but I can not imagine that it raced near as well as the new third mile does and the shortening and reconfiguring of this track probably kept this track alive, with former racer Gary Hopp given much of the credit for moving the dirt and making the change happen. I do remember the last time I was here and there were people still pining for the old half mile, but I bet most of them have been won over to the new track by now. 

The seven heat races were run off at a blazing pace with just one yellow flag to slow things down, the Lucas Oil B Feature went just as smooth and before you knew it , it was feature time. But first they did some farming and when they farm here, they don't mess around. They had some huge equipment to handle the task quickly and they dug plenty deep and applied plenty of water on this hot night. When they were done, the track was again blazing fast, just as it had been for the start of the program. 

Things were moving so quickly, they decided to run the IMCA feature first, something that Lucas does not always do. I believe the IMCA program was a draw/redraw show and it appeared that two drivers were dominant over the rest, that being Zeitner and Sobbing and who drew the better redraw pill would have a distinct advantage. Well, it was Zeitner and he drew third in the starting order while Sobbing would have to start way back in tenth. 

Jordan Krug led the opening lap but it took just that one lap for Zeitner to move up and make the pass for the lead. Once in front, he started to pull away from the pack while Sobbing was charging up through the field. 

The track was very fast at this point and with a lack of big horsepower in the IMCA cars, there was not riding the cushion at this point with all passing having to be done with inside moves. How Sobbing was able to gain as many positions as he did, I'm not sure other than to say that he drove deeper into the corners than anyone and his car stuck great to the bottom of the track. 

Yellows on lap six and seven repacked the field and helped Sobbing's charge and by lap seven he was up to second. He then chased Zeitner for the rest of the race, trying repeatedly to get past on the inside but Zach would close the door each time. 

Nearing the end of the race, lapped traffic would come into play. Zeitner hit the traffic wrong and got blocked and Sobbing was able to edge past him as the white flag waved. However, Sobbing then had his own issue on that final lap with another slower car that ran him up the track down the back chute. Zeitner used that chance to drive very hard into turn three, run the lapped car up the track and into Sobbing with both temporarily slowed, and Zeitner dove under them both to regain the lead. There was a wild scramble to the line with Zeitner holding on by a car length for the win. Kale Kosiski made a late charge to get third. I imagine there was some discussion in the pits upon the completion of the race because it was not exactly a classic last lap pass by any means. Anthony Roth and Jack Hearty completed the top five. 

Then it was time for the Lucas Oil fifty three lap main. The track was not touched before this race and it did slow down just a bit for the Lucas drivers but it was still very fast and there were two distinct lines that could be used. 

These days, it seems like no matter what the situation, Hudson O'Neal and Ricky Thornton Jr can't seem to avoid being right in the middle of things and that would be the case again here at Harlan as they were the two main players in the feature race. 

Thornton Jr started on the pole and led the first fourteen laps with Devin Moran, then O'Neal and Garrett Alberson providing the challenges. The first yellow saw a big change in the leadership as Alberson went for broke using the outside line and passed both his competitors, moving from third to first. That would only stick for four laps though as Thornton Jr would get under him and retake the lead. 

O'Neal had found the bottom lane to his liking now and he moved right back in to challenge and when Thornton Jr slipped off the bottom, he dove in  and made it three wide as they came down the front chute. It was wild. O'Neal took the lead over at this point and never would relinquish it again. O'Neal gained some time when Alberson got crossed up in front of Thornton Jr, they nearly wrecked each other while O'Neal drove away. 

There were two lap yellows that packed the field once again but on each one, O'Neal drove away from Thornton Jr, despite Ricky nearly knocking down the outside walls as he repeatedly tried to make the high side work. It was spectacular but gained him no ground as O'Neal putted around the inside like a granny but it was the fast line for him and he pulled away for the win. Alberson, Moran and Jonathan Davenport completed the top five. 

There were only three minor yellows to slow the action and only two drivers that did not complete the race. Everything went so smoothly that the whole show was done well before 10 pm and many in the crowd took the advantage of this to head to the pits and check things out. 

This event had a nice vibe from start to finish. The folks running the show were excited to have the Lucas drivers in the house and they went the extra mile to make them and all the fans, feel welcomed. Lots of little extra touches were done that all scored points both with the spectators and I would assume, the sanctioning body folks. And the crowd was monstrously huge, a good thing for everyone. 

Perhaps Lucas learned something this week. In going to two tracks that are not known nationally for Late Models and bringing their product to a different market, they hit a home run both nights with great racing and large crowds, even despite the heat that was an issue both nights. Perhaps this is something that the other sanctioning bodies will pick up on too and that is to perhaps spread their product around to different markets and introduce their racing to folks that normally don't get the chance to see it live. 

I want to thank Doug Batz and all the folks at Harlan for their welcome. It was quite different in a positive way from my greeting at another track earlier in the week and appreciated.