Wrapping Up 2024

 Merry Christmas to all and a happy New Year to boot! Another racing season has been completed with 2025 looming on the horizon. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were afraid that when the calendar turned that all our electronics and everything else technical in the world might fail and there would be epic problems. Unbelievably, that is now a quarter century removed in our rear view mirror as time marches on at an increasingly fast pace. Accepting that and adjusting to that is sometimes tough to do. 

2024 was an interesting year and in many ways, a frustrating one also. The changing landscape that finds tracks changing nights of operation, classes being run and the management of the tracks at the drop of a hat is sometimes hard to keep up with. I don't believe we've ever seen a year before when so many tracks changed, dropped or added events at a moment's notice and for that we can thank, or blame, social media. A few years ago we would never have seen last minute changes to track schedules such as has become common place today and while some tracks have had great success using this formula, others have suffered mightily. For sure, things will likely never be like they used to be and old dinosaurs like myself had better learn to adjust on the fly or be left in the dust. 

Many folks would say that I am extremely lucky, or perhaps nuts, to attend one hundred and ninety three racing events during a calendar year. And believe me, I know how fortunate I am to be able to go to that many races if I so choose. If it weren't for an extremely tolerant wife, friends  and many great promoters, track owners and management teams, I wouldn't be able to get to near that many races. 

However, when the total number of races drops as significantly as it did in 2024, I still feel just a bit melancholy about it. Not since 2017 have my total races attended dropped as much as it did in 2024 when I attended sixteen less races than the previous year. Granted, 2023 was a year that I would not likely ever be able to match again when I saw two hundred and nine races. Every opportunity worked out that year, the weather never misbehaved and fortuitous track scheduling allowed me to see races at places I likely wouldn't have had the chance to do so otherwise. 

2024 was more a return to reality and perhaps a little more sensibility that kicked in.  Rain was a big factor in 2024 with more rainouts than perhaps the last few years combined. And somewhere along the line I lost that "magic touch" where I could predict just where and when it was going to rain and point my race chasing in another successful direction. 2024 found me making some bad decisions that cost me races along with futile drives. 

And probably for the first time, I seriously applied a strategy that would cost me a few races too. Using a strategy given to me by my brother the accountant, I applied the "Cost-Benefit Analysis" certain times during the year. I considered what it would cost to attend certain events and whether the entertainment benefits would off set the cost in time and race related expenses and decide whether or not the trip was actually worth what I would see. About a half dozen times in 2024 I ended up not being able to justify the trips and I stayed home instead of heading to certain events. Some of them rained out but some also raced and I missed out. 

Of the one hundred and ninety three races attended, I saw action at sixty different tracks in fourteen states and one Canadian Province. I did not see racing at a single new track for me in 2024 but unlike some race chasers that target certain tracks to attend just to add a new track, I instead go to racing events that interest me and if they happen to be a new track for me, so much the better. 

On the positive side, 2024 marked the forty fourth consecutive year that I have attended at least one hundred nights of racing and I have now been to three hundred and thirty four tracks in twenty nine states and three Canadian Provinces.  

At this point, 2025 does not look like it will be any better unless things change soon. One midweek track that I attended five times for weekly shows last year has dropped their weekly programs in favor of several weekend specials on nights when I have plenty of tracks to choose from. Another track that I attended six times last year for another midweek program has decided to switch nights for 2025 to a weekend night and it will be very hard to replace the lost shows at either track. And poor car counts at a number of the midweek tracks make attending them at all somewhat questionable. 

However, with any kind of luck, while Winter is still being celebrated in these parts, I hope to be seeing racing in three different warm weather states with large car counts and drivers from many different states on hand. The plan is to start out at the Wild West Shootout at Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico for six nights of racing at a truly great facility with Late Models, Modifieds and X Mods all in action. 

Then it will be on to central Arizona where for three straight weeks, Brad Whitfield puts on racing at the Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande with IMCA and WISSOTA divisions in action along with Late Models. 

Then, after a short drive to Florida, the hope is to see two weeks of intense racing at Ocala Speedway for the Lucas Oil Late Models following by a week of racing at Volusia Speedway Park where USAC Sprints, UMP and World of Outlaws Late Models and Big Block Modifieds will all be in action. 

Best wishes to all during the off season and with any luck, an early Spring will find me running into a number of familiar faces as we meet somewhere at a dirt track in the Midwest. 

 

Sheppard Repeats at The Dome while Neville Surprising in the Modifieds

 The Gateway Dirt Nationals were completed on Saturday night, December 7th at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis with a spectacular night of racing with Brandon Sheppard winning the Late Model feature for the second straight year while Trevor Neville surprised a very tough field of Modified drivers by leading from start to finish to win the open wheel main. 

The Saturday finale is a grind with lots of racing and many hours spent butt to butt in the packed spectator seating which this year was opened up even to the 400 section(nose bleed section) because the crowd was so gigantic. Say what you will about some of the draw backs of this event but each year the crowds keep getting bigger and bigger with many wondering just how much bigger can they get?

All drivers in both classes are invited back on Saturday, no matter how poorly they ran earlier in the week with everyone getting once chance to move up and perhaps work their way into a feature starting spot. No hot laps are held on Saturday, the exception being those few cars that were already qualified from earlier action and the racing started right out shortly after 3 pm. 

Starting positions are so critical for success here, perhaps even more so than your average time trial event. I did the calculating and of the forty seven races run off over the three nights, forty two of them were won from the front row with the biggest charger being Thornton Jr. when he won the opening night Modified feature from fifth. 

Non Qualifier races for the Late Models started out the afternoon and with twenty or more cars battling for a pair of finishing positions to move up to the Qualifier races, you should be able to predict just what kind of races these turned out to be. Bombastic was the adjective that came to mind to me. Two of the three races were cut off by the time limit and in both those, not a single green flag lap could be completed before the gong sounded as it was multi car crash after crash in both. The third one did get two laps completed before the gong sounded in that one also. The Late Model qualifiers were not much better to start off but gradually things settled down just a bit although to say that the racing was smooth would be stretching things just a bit. 

Darin Weisinger's record of getting partially out of the ball park was quickly topped by Logan Veloz as the Quad City Modified driver managed to go all the way through the fence and end up wheels up on the pavement outside turn four. He was OK but the whole turn fence had to be rebuilt, one of at least three times during the Saturday show that the fence had to be patched and repaired. I'm sure over the last couple nights there was at least two and a half hours of down time due to fence repairs. I'm not sure what the answer is but something must be done in this regard. 

Two Last Chance races with only the winner moving into the feature completed the qualifying events and finally twenty drivers were determined in each class to run the main events. The driver introductions were interesting although they didn't seem to meet the expectations of some years but another Bloomer/Rico moment is never likely to happen once again. The fireworks and light show are always spectacular and finally we were ready for some Late Model feature racing somewhere past 10 pm.

Despite starting on the pole, Sheppard got beat to the first turn by Gordy Gundaker and he took the early lead. Sheppard would slip into second with Ashton Winger, Ricky Thornton Jr and Nick Hoffman filling out the top five early. 

Sheppard was wasting little time, pushing for the lead on every lap as he tried to slip under Gundaker and take over the top spot. Following a spin by Jonathan Davenport and Steve Sheppard, Brandon put real heat on Gundaker and one lap later slipped under him down the back chute and took over the lead. Sheppard would be scored the leader the rest of the race, during much of which he would maintain a comfortable lead if such a thing is possible in this race inside a barrel. 

Thornton Jr was on the move, taking over second and while pushing hard, not seemingly able to cut into Sheppard's lead. Bobby Pierce was also on the move after starting twelfth and by the halfway point he had moved up to second. He continued to hustle, getting by both Hoffman and Winger into third, after which Winger had motor problems and pulled into the infield

As Sheppard cruised, Pierce was all over Thornton Jr, and finally got to the second spot with twelve laps to go. Bobby was really pushing and soon it was clear he was the fastest on the track and cutting into the lead of Sheppard. Lapped cars loomed ahead of Sheppard but they all moved over so the top two could race. Pierce got within a car length as the final lap started and folks were bracing for a "Hail Mary" slider perhaps on the last corner but just then Pierce slowed with drive shaft problems, Sheppard pulled away for a comfortable win and Pierce barely eased across the line for second. Thornton Jr settled for third with Mike Spatola and Hoffman completing the top five. 

Sheppard is always a popular winner here with his fan base just across the river and they celebrated long and hard in victory lane. And this is certainly the type of track that best fits Brandon's skill set and back round. Fifteen cars would still be running at the conclusion with three a lap down. There were five yellow flags but no big wrecks as this was one of the smoother features for the Late Models in several years. 

Not many people probably had Trevor Neville on the score card for the win in the Modifieds, but he ran very well all week, took advantage of any breaks and never made a mistake, driving to the win. He started on the pole and led the entire race although he was challenged hard a couple of times. 

First it was Carlos Ahumada Jr that pressured him with Trent Young, Ricky Thornton Jr and Jordan Grabouski then following him tightly. Grabouski went out early with problems but Young and Thornton Jr had a dandy battle for second with them swapping the spot several times. Four yellow in the first half of the race kept the field bunched but each time, Neville would pull away. 

Finally things got sorted out and the last fourteen laps of the race would go green to checkers. Young moved into second when Thornton Jr broke and he moved in to challenge the leader. Thornton Jr had the best chance to make a pass and was beside Neville but was saved by the yellow flag. Thornton Jr dropped out and  the advantage shrunk as Young was a challenger right up to the finish. Neville did a good job of moving around on the track and keeping Young guessing as Trent just couldn't muster a full run at the leader. Several times Young went sliding dangerously close to the rear end of Neville but each time he washed up the track and Neville would again pull away. 

Neville never made a slip however, and he would drive home for the win with Young a few car lengths behind. Mike Harrison and Tyler Peterson made nice runs up from the fifth and fourth rows respectively to finish behind those two with Ahumada Jr. completing the top five. The final checkered flag of the night flew just at Midnight. 

Previous to the Saturday night finale, promoter Cody Sommer made some big announcements at the driver's meeting. The purse will receive around an extra $120,000 added to it in 2025 with the winner's share of the Late Model feature being raised to fifty grand but more importantly, more money to start and to the other finishing positions also. 

A Late Model pool will be developed next year and all drivers that enter by the time limit will not necessarily be allowed to run the race as they try to limit the number of entries and establish some sort of pecking order as to who will be allowed to race. In my opinion, this was overdue and shown in this year's event when there simply were some drivers trying to race that just weren't qualified to be racing and didn't even have cars appropriate to try and race. The Modifieds will still be by invitation only with the number apparently similar to this year.

This is certainly quite the unique event with probably nothing quite like it in the work of dirt track racing. There are some parts of it that I like and some not so much. It was very dirt all three nights this year and the air quality got more than bad a few times. The shows do get very long sometimes and there seemed to be more down time than ever this year, possibly because there was so much fence repair to be done. 

When the racing was good, it could be spectacular but it seemed to me that the track overall just wasn't quite up to par this year as it started out so dry and it seemed like it was a struggle to develop two lane racing. However, it must be said that probably the best overall racing of the week was the last two main events with there being more passing, racing and consistent green flag laps than at any other time all week. At its best, this event is about one part racing and an equal measure of Barnum and Bailey sideshow. And it should also be pointed out that with over thirty thousand tickets sold on Saturday night alone, this might be the best attended short track event, dirt or otherwise, in the entire country. Perhaps only Eldora could compare. In any event, this event seems to be continuing on an upward trend and I'm sure that there are literally thousands of folks that watched on tv but have now vowed that they will be there live in 2025. As an example of the crowd size, the 50/50 drawing, with half the total going to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, was $91,006!

Putting on this event must be a tremendous under taking so thanks to promoter Cody Sommers, his staff and the staff at America's Dome for their tireless work. And we can't forget the track prep crew that put in endless hours building this track and prepping for the race. Now they get the thankless job of tearing everything back apart and stock piling it for 2025. 

Thornton Jr. Contines to Roll at Gateway; Neville Wins Mods

 The Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome at America's Center continued on Friday night, December 6th. A fresh set of faces were on hand to do battle as the second half of the entered drivers in the Modified and Late Model classes would take to the track to try and qualify for the big show on Saturday night. Sixty three Late Model drivers from literally all over the country plus another thirty one Modified drivers were on hand for the Friday night show, making it a round two hundred drivers that raced here this weekend. Consider that all two hundred cars, their crews plus their trailers(not the haulers) are all parked under one roof in the pit area of this facility and that will give you an idea of the immense size of this building, located right in downtown St. Louis. And they are actually just completed an addition to this building, something that I found just a little surprising since they no longer have a prime tenant  any more after the Rams fled the Midwest for California. But the fueling area for the cars, which used to require them to drive out on the street beside the building which, by the way, did make for a real interesting visual for the town, is now done inside in a new bay cargo area just constructed. 

The on camera crew working this race and well as informing the crowd has not changed as they are about the best at what they do. Dustin Jarrett and Ben Shelton are the play by play announcers while Iowa's own Jerry Van Sickel is the expert announcer for the Modified class. Blake Anderson works the infield while Trenton Berry roams the stands and VIP suites looking for people to interview. 

Blake usually manages to bring up "Crazy Martin", the mayor of Ogden Iowa at least once during every broadcast while Berry generally interviews everyone from south Missouri and oh, did that mention of the Heartland Modified Tour slip out, which by the way, Berry owns. But other than that, they do a good job although only Shelton of the announcers doesn't interject a bit of his own agenda into the broadcast if you know what to listen for. 

For the second straight night, racing would get started just a bit late as time trials have not gone smoothly either day so far with quite a large group of the Late Model drivers just not able to keep their cars going the proper direction without spinning a time or two. The down side to having open registration for that class is that a lot of drivers manage to ease their way on to the entry list for this event that quite frankly, have no business being here. Listening to the introductions, I was struck by the number of drivers racing here that aren't even using open Late Models but 602 and 604 cars, Super Stocks and there were even several making their first starts in Late Models. This in not the venue to be making one's debut. 

Thornton Jr and Freddie Carpenter were the quick qualifiers in the Late Model class while the last car to hit the track for the night, Trevor Neville, would top the mark for the Modifieds. 

While managing in large part to avoid the "big" wrecks on Thursday night, Friday would see at least a pair of spectacular events. Unfortunately, here when there is a big wreck, it generally involved getting into and sometimes tearing down the wheel fence surrounding the track. While prepared to make repairs, these things take time and I would estimate that around ninety minutes was needed to fix the two big fence wreckers that occurred on Friday night. 

If he couldn't be fast, at least Darin Weisinger Jr managed to be spectacular as he put his almost totally through the fence in turn three with the front end falling to the pavement floor while the rear end was hung up and hanging from the fence. It was quite a visual and fortunately, no injuries resulted. 

And of course there was the expected blow up after one of the big crashes on the front stretch. After the hit, a good ole boy from Louisiana sprinted the length of the front stretch  to try to remove the helmet and have words with another good ole boy from Mississippi. It was difficult because the helmet was still buckled but he gave it is all, trying to rip off the helmet repeatedly. Track officials eventually meandered on to the scene at their own pace to break things up as while they say that this kind of behavior is frowned on, the truth is that they not only want it to happen but cultivate such activity. This is the "WWE" part of this whole event that I frown on but the reality is that it makes for great tv. Let's face  the facts, this event is one part race and an equal part  circus side show and that balance is needed to put thirty thousand folks into the seats which might happen on Saturday night. 

Highlights of heat race action included the sterling drive of Austin Howes who was able to fight off Hudson O'Neal and make the  feature race and the drive of fourteen year old Carter Schlenk who won a heat race. On the other side of the coin, Rusty Schlenk made a horse's you know what of himself after he repeatedly tried to rough up a seventeen year old female driver who's only apparent injustice was to pass him and make him look slow. 

After six heat races and a pair of B Features, there would be eighteen cars left to run the Late Model main. Thornton Jr, who has been on a roll so far here this weekend, continued his hot streak as he would lead the feature race from start to finish and really not be seriously challenged. Nick Hoffman would quickly move into the second spot and he would ride there throughout the race. Occasionally when the leaders got into lapped traffic, Hoffman would shorten up the lead but Thornton Jr was working good enough that he could move out and pass the slower cars which made him nearly untouchable. 

The track quickly went low groove dominant, despite attempts to water and bring the top side to life but truly, the racing has been dominated through the first two nights by a lot of one groove racing, making the action something less than expected, at least to this point of the weekend. 

One yellow bunched the field with just four laps to go but Thornton Jr got a good restart and he and Hoffman escaped challenge. There was a good battle for the last locked in position but Gordy Gundaker managed to hold off Myles Moos and Carpenter and take that important position. 

Neville, after setting fast time in the Mods, was just as dominant in their main event. He took the lead immediately and built up a sizable  advantage as Trent Young and Jordan Grabouski battled it out for second. Kenny Wallace and the spectacular Dylan Thornton kept the crowd entertained as they tried to hang with the top three. 

A mid race yellow slowed the action when Bone Larson shortened up his front end considerably on the concrete but Neville again pulled away and would drive on unhindered to take the win. The battle for second continued to entertain with several slide jobs breaking out and in the end, it was Grabouski that managed to fight off Young for second. Everyone else will have to race again on Saturday night. 

Saturday night will feature a series of "ladder" events until the field is cut down to feature race size and two champions will be crowned. Racing and tv action start at 3 pm. 

Spotola and Thornton Jr. Top Gateway Opener

Started in 2016, the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis kicked off it's three night run on Thursday night, December 5th. As it has been in recent years, this event is a three night spectacular featuring the Late Models and the Modifieds. While not sanctioned by any of the racing bodies, the rules used during this event are generally those of UMP when it comes to tires, spoilers and such. 

As in recent years, the entered drivers drivers are split into two groups with half qualifying on Thursday night and the other half on Friday night. Come Saturday, everyone will be racing in Last Chance events to join those that already qualified and would be in wait for the two main events. 

The Late Model field is made up of open enrollments with racing teams waiting for that moment when the registrations are open to get their entry in. This year, one hundred and thirty two different Late Model teams will take a green flat on either Thursday or Friday with the entry list for this event being filled within mere moments of its being opened. 

This being a Late Model event primarily, the Modified field has to be limited and for the Modifieds, they send in their names and hope that they are rewarded by being accepted as an entry. This year, sixty three Modified teams will be taking a green flag for this event. And while no one is excluded from Late Model entry if they get their names in soon enough, the Modified field does have a stronger entry list from top to bottom as quite frankly, there are some Late Models on hand that just shouldn't be running this event and it is reflected in the relatively smooth racing that takes place in the Modifieds while some of the Late Model events are plagued by yellow flags and some entrants repeatedly getting themselves in trouble. 

Every year that Gateway Nationals seems to get bigger and bigger. Ticket sales are up again this year and there was a notice that unless tickets had been obtained in advance, there is a possibility that the Saturday night finale might be a complete sell out and all the seats in the dome aren't used with the top tier covered and not accessible. Last year they were forced to open up the second tier because there were so many fans and I assume that will be done again this year. 

This really has become the "last hurrah" for a lot of the racing fans and teams throughout the country and both come from a wide distance to be a part of this event. For many drivers this is one race they all want to scratch off their bucket list before they retire from driving. Excess amounts of money are spent on tickets, accommodations, food and beverage and entertainment on this weekend in one last "blowout" for 2024. 

The fifth mile dirt oval was once again laid down on the floor of America's Center and this year they really had it pounded down hard in an effort to eliminate some of the bumps that have been a part of the track in certain years. They had it probably as smooth as it has ever been for this race, particularly the opening night but that did come at a price and that price was dust which was among the worst ever seen here before. Literally everything and everyone body was covered in a thick layer of dust by the end of the evening. This is definitely an event for the hard core race fan as you surely wouldn't have wanted to take a race fan to this event if they had never seen one before. While the excitement level is high and the atmosphere can be electric, most people don't want to leave at the end of the night carrying with them enough dirt to till for crops come Spring. 

Each year more and more of the race teams do special wraps on their cars for this event with some being holiday inspired , some politically motivated and some others in tribute to a person, event or other special thing. There were some real beauties this year and the smart teams often have matching apparel which not surprisingly, is available for sale. The entire arena this year was surrounded by various vendors in the hallways, most of which were selling either team or event apparel and their sales must just be staggering. It appears that many folks come to this race to do their Christmas shopping. This is much more than just a race, it is an event with the promoters happily going along with that thinking. In fact, there is so much going on that sometimes the racing itself becomes almost secondary in importance. 

The format is pretty simple. Both classes qualify with heat races being started straight up. A certain number qualify directly to the main with farther back positions running a B Feature. Not everyone gets to run a B however, as there are too many cars in the Late Model field for everyone to run twice so there are actually some drivers that will run eight laps and then will be done until Saturday when they have one last chance. 

With the smaller field in the Modifieds, everyone in that class does get to run a B Feature but only eighteen in each class get to run the night's main event. 

Brandon Overton made a nice debut as the Longhorn factory driver for 2025 as he was quickest qualifier overall at 12.399 seconds. However, things went downhill for him quickly as he broke a front end while battling for the lead in the first Late Model heat and he failed to finish. Now he will be mired at the back of a Last Chance race on Saturday and we may not even see him race the rest of the weekend. Tyler Carpenter was quickest in the second half of the Late Models as he continues to shine at The Dome. 

While the Late Models get hot laps before they turn around and qualify, the first time the Modifieds see the track is for their time trials as they get no practice so they are really under "the gun" right from the start. Not too surprisingly, it was Ricky Thornton Jr that topped the Mods with a lap of 12.855 seconds. The first time Thornton Jr sees the car in a year, puts his seat in it and then just comes out and tops the field. Amazing. 

The Late Model drivers were a bit "wound up" in the early going of their qualifiers with the first two plagued with multiple yellow flags and they tore up a lot of equipment. However, after the first three Late Model events were done, there was not a single race all night with more than two yellows and that seems much smoother than for many years. Of course, spoilers and quarter panels don't count as they get destroyed at will and often, but there were no roll overs and the fence only had to be patched a couple of times so overall it was a smooth night. 

While not too many people would have had Mike Spatola on their scorecards as the Late Model feature winner, He did indeed lead all twenty five laps to take the win in that division. Spatola took the early lead with Ashton Winger, who many thought might get the win, running second in the early going. Ryan Gustin was another favorite as he battled with Jadon Frame for third. 

Drivers were trying different lines early but eventually settled in for running the high side up against the wall. This action tore off a few spoilers but proved to be the fastest way around the track. Brandon Sheppard appeared to possibly be the fastest car on the track but he was having a tough time getting past Frame for position. 

The only yellow flew with sixteen laps in the book for debris on the track. On the green, Spatola again pulled away from Winger, who had provided drama under the yellow when steam rolled from his engine compartment but he opted to keep running. Sheppard got past Frame and then Gustin as he moved to third but he ran out of laps to move up any farther. 

Spatola would cross the line unchallenged for the win and despite steam again pouring from his engine, Winger was able to hold off Sheppard for third and those three are now locked in for the Saturday finale. Only one car in the starting field failed to finish the race and all were on the lead lap. 

Thornton Jr proved that no matter what kind of car he is driving, he is a tough one to beat as he dominated the Modified feature to get the win in the open wheel class. And he did some passing, starting in the third row but quickly moving to the front. 

Michael Long got the jump on defending champion Drake Troutman to lead the first few laps but Thornton Jr was on the move quickly, using the extreme inside line of the track. Interestingly, the Late Models found that banging the outside wall was the fastest way for them while the Modified drivers that succeeded used just exactly the opposite tactic, instead hugging the inside wall. 

No one could hold the bottom line like Thornton Jr and on lap five he drove past Long to take over the lead and once in front, he calmly pulled away from the field. Carlos Ahumada Jr also made some moves of his own from the third row, driving past Long for second by the halfway point and staying there the rest of the event. 

One yellow for debris set up a two lap sprint to the finish but Thornton Jr was up to the task as he pulled away for the win over Ahumada Jr and Long. Those three are now locked in for Saturday night. Troutman and Mike Harrison completed the top five. Thirteen drivers were around at the finish with the rest in the infield with various issues. And while it was a relatively calm pair of main events, rest assured that things will be more contentious as the week progresses. Everything about this track breeds action and controversy. 

One nice thing about this event is that while they start early, they also complete the racing generally early also with everything done on Thursday well before 10 pm. This allows the local hospitality industry to be ready for hordes of thirsty and hungry race fans to sweep into downtown St. Louis. 

One nice thing about 

Jake

 Now that the 2024 racing season has slowed down to a crawl, I have been having some time to check on speedway face book pages and websites about off season news and schedule announcements for 2025. 

In doing so on the Clay County Fairgrounds Speedway face book page, I made the sad discovery that Jerene "Jake" Long from Spencer had passed away on September 8th and I was totally unaware of it. 

It is ironic that I was in Spencer that following week for the Fair race but did not think anything about the fact that she was not at the pit gate like normal during the season as I recall that she wasn't working the pit gate when I was at the Fair race the previous your. 

For those that did not know her, Jake Long always worked the pit gate at Spencer and Algona every week and previously also worked at places like Alta, Britt, Jackson and Fairmont before promotional changes and her health started to cut down on her travels. 

She was about the most friendly and pleasant person I had ever ran into at the pit booth at almost any track I can ever think of. The first time I met her, I was trying to explain how I had contacted the track promoter and that I should be on the media list and she was so patient and understanding as we worked through that miscommunication issue. After that, she always remembered me and we would spend time, depending on how busy she was, just talking racing and anything in general. I have a penchant for arriving early at race tracks and often times she wasn't too busy then and we would talk about lots of things and I learned from her how deep her roots were in racing and how much she loved the sport. She lived for dirt track racing and she knew everyone at the track, and they knew her. And even though she didn't know me that well, she would go out of her way to be helpful, even offering to save me a parking spot for my vehicle during the Fair so I didn't have to walk so far. That's the kind of person she was. 

One night early this Summer she talked about some of her health issues which were considerable, but she didn't complain about them and continued to work here tracks, even though the last time I saw her at Spencer she needed help just getting from her car to the ticket window. 

Regulars at her tracks will certainly miss seeing her face when the 2025 racing season rolls around and I for one will certainly miss her greeting every time I walked up to the pit booth at Spencer and Algona. Jerene "Jake" Long was sixty one years old. 

McCowan Tops List of Saturday Night Winners at Springfield

 Turkey Bowl eighteen concluded on Saturday night, October 16th at the Springfield Raceway. It was another Sunny day but windy and that wind was blowing right into the main grandstands. This made for a quite miserable night and folks were bundled up against the cold like it was a Winter event. And unlike the first two nights were the crowds were on the light side, there was a full house of folks on hand for the last night of feature racing along with a full show of Late Models that were there on a one night shot. 

Only the Late Models would get hot laps on this night to expedite things, but the track also opted to move back the starting time by an hour(no explanation given) so the first green flag would fly right at 6 pm. Thankfully the Late Models didn't qualify and they went on to prove that they can put on a fine night of racing without qualifying and starting the fast cars right on the pin while for the other class racing on Saturday, the Midwest Modz A, the B Mods and the Mods (Legend Cars also ran), it would be last chance qualifying for them and then feature race action. 

Lots of track prep was done on this night at it was interesting to note that the prime equipment used was the Heavy Hitch made by Dustin Sorensen in Rochester Minnesota. This is the same Dustin Sorensen that raced to World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year in 2024. A number of tracks in my home area also use this same piece of equipment successfully. 

The Late Model field was a good one with forty nine cars signing in to race from several different states. They ran heats, B features plus their main event and it was another night of many, many races. In fact, twenty three races(many more than most tracks run as a full show) were completed before the first feature races hit the track. If you sense another long night than you would be correct. 

The MIdwest Modz A feature would start off the evening's main events. This race dominated by Missouri veteran driver Mike Striegel who would take the Scott Campbell owner car to victory lane after starting on the pole and he would lead all twenty laps. 

Striegel took the early lead with Ben Newell and Mark Simon chasing him. Striegel was running right on the tight inside of the track and with their being plenty of traction, he didn't need to move up the banking as he pulled away from the field. Pete Richardson was making as much progress and anyone as after starting ninth, he was up to fourth by the halfway point. 

One lap past halfway, the only yellow of the race would occur when Simon rolled to a halt and was done. Back on green, Stiegel again pulled away but there was plenty of shuffling behind him as Richardson moved to second and Daniel Anders, not in the top five at halfway, roared all the way up to third. There were no more serious challenges for position after that and Stiegel drove home for the win. 

Over his career, Striegel has raced in just about every class available and even put in a tour of duty as flagman at Lucas Oil Speedway. Ben Newell would finish fourth and after a disqualification, J.C. Newell rounded out the top five. 

No one would bet against Terry Phillips when it comes to racing Modifieds at Springfield but I did on this night and I lost. I saw Kyle Steffens as the winner and in truth, he did the first twenty three laps of the Modified main but Phillips eventually got past him and then pulled away at the end. 

Steffens battled with Zack VanderBeek in the opening laps but then it was Zack and Phillips going at it as they exchanged the second position three times in the first half of the race. Only two minor yellows slowed things in the early going and by the halfway point, Steffens had Phillips and VanderBeek pushing him hard. 

Phillips is a master of this track with probably as many laps around it as anyone and once he got situated on where he wanted to run, he was able to work under Steffens and then drive into the lead, after which there would be no challenging him. 

Steffens held off VanderBeek for second, but perhaps the drive of the race was carried on by Darin Duffy. Duffy took off fast and was challenging for a top five spot early, until he spun on lap six and went to the trail. However, he didn't quit and drove his way  back to the front, getting past Trevor Fitz and Kenny Wallace for finish fourth. All this was accomplished using his IMCA crate motor with just a big spoiler attached. 

Twenty cars started the Late Model feature and only two drivers would hold down the top spot. Daniel Hilsabeck took the early lead from the pole with Dillon McCowan and Tony Jackson Jr doing the early chasing. Two quick yellows slowed the action with the second being the end for Ryan Gustin. He had worked his way up to fourth and looked to be a challenger until he suffered a flat tire and opted to call it a night. 

Hilsabeck continued to lead as Logan Martin moved into third and put heat on McCowan for the second spot. Justin Zeitner and Sawyer Crigler moved into the top five by the halfway point. 

Lap twenty proved to be the downfall for Hilsabeck as he slowed with a flat tire and turned over the lead to McCowan. Dillon was immediately challenged by Martin who very nearly got past him for the lead, only to have the yellow flag wave. 

However, McCowan altered his line following that lap twenty three yellow and he then managed to pull away on the last seven laps and scored a pretty comfortable win over Martin. Clay Stuckey, the short track specialist from Louisiana, really came on strong at the end of the race and he moved up to third as he got past Zeitner with Dustin Hodges completing the top five. McCowan scored the win in a car he had not driven for some time, pulling it out from the back of the shop to race on this November Saturday. 

The biggest passing performance to get the win was executed by Brayton Carter who came from the fourth row to win the B Mod feature. This was also saw the most different leaders as four different drivers would hold the point at some time during the race. 

Ryan Gillmore, the local favorite, took the early lead for the first two laps but Gillmore was just a bit off on this night and he was quickly overtaken by Canadian driver Glenn Styres for the top spot. Meanwhile, the two Iowa drivers, Carter and Logan Anderson, were both hustling toward the front with Carter up to fifth by the first yellow with Anderson close behind. 

Styres could only hold the lead for a single lap before Colson Kirk, who started fourth, passed for the lead.  Talin Willis was also in the mix of the top five with much dicing continuing. Anderson would find his way up to third and then second following a yellow but he then blew the cushion with Carter getting past him and moving into second by the halfway point of the race as Gillmore and Styres trailed them. 

However, just as he did in his heat race on Friday night, Carter would find a line right through the middle of the track that served him well and he was able to stay hard on the gas without sliding up the track and on lap seventeen, he drove under Kirk to take over the lead. 

The last eight laps of the race would go nonstop and Carter just extended his advantage with no one able to provide any challenges. Kirk would hold on for second with Anderson, Gillmore and Logan Hickerson completing the top five. 

Carter has been one of the dominating drivers in the Hawkeye state this year and this open competition win would provide the icing on a great year for him. Some were skeptical whether the IMCA type cars would keep up with the USRA B Mods but the southern Iowa drivers proved that they had what it took to do so. 

A lot of work by the track prep crew kept the racing surface good basically through three nights of racing, despite the huge number of laps put on it by all the various classes. It was another long night of racing with the final checkered once again waving after 1 am. That would be the only down side to the weekend but providing ample opportunities for all the drivers to race just takes time, no matter how fast you try to move the show along. Anyone planning on coming to this event should understand that you will see a large amount of racing but that it will take some time. You will also probably see nearly every open wheel class known to man. 

Thanks to promoter Jerry Hoffman and his staff or workers who are probably the real heroes of this weekend, working some very long hours in a variety of tasks to keep the program rolling and everyone satisfied. As Jerry would say, " Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!" 

Simon And Ellis Night Two Turkey Bowl Winners

 Night number two of the eighteenth annual Turkey Bowl at the Springfield Raceway was a busy night indeed. Not only were there multiple B Features for both the Pure Stocks and Midwest Modz B prior to their main events, there was also qualifying heats for three more divisions that started out their weekend of racing on Friday. Not only that, but the Modifieds ran double heat races so if it was lots of racing you were hankering for, the Springfield Raceway should have been your "go to" place on Friday night. 

So somewhere in the neighborhood of two hundred and thirty open wheel cars, all looking very similar if not exactly alike, along with the Pure Stocks raced a total of thirty two racing events which lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the open wheel cars even ran their same cars in multiple divisions as apparently they just couldn't get enough racing on this November weekend. 

And not only were the scorers, lineup folks and the flagman busy almost beyond belief, the tech folks kept busy also. Although it was not noted by the announcers, the feature race lineup looked somewhat different than those that apparently qualified out of the B Features as six Midwest Modz B cars got disqualified in those races, many of which had qualified for the mains and then were replaced. Just to keep the Pure Stock drivers on their toes also, three of them got DQ'd in their B mains also. However, not a single driver in the other three classes which ran their heat races on Friday fell victim to the tech axe. 

The gloves seemed to come off on Friday, likely I suppose because there was more on the line on Friday with multiple big wrecks, plenty of drivers mad at their fellow drivers and two drivers that rolled over during the night also. No injuries were reported but plenty of hurt feelings for sure. 

With Midwest Modz A, B Mods and Mods all running their B Features on Saturday, along with a full show of Late Models, some of which have been here since Wednesday to catch all the practice sessions allowed, the Pure Stocks and Midwest Modz B were center stage on Friday night as two more great turkey trophies were handed out. 

And these two main events were as dissimilar as was possible with the Midwest Modz B running a very clean race while the Pure Stocks were wrecking and crashing at an alarming rate with barely enough left running to complete their main. 

The Midwest Modz B feature was dominated by Blake Ellis who started on the pole after a very successful run on Thursday night. He took the lead immediately but was challenged hard by Jordan Bryant. In the early going, they would swap lanes as it seemed like Ellis was moving around on the track so as to break any run that Bryant might produce. 

The only yellow occurred with four laps complete as Jordan Holloway flew off the turn one corner and into the concrete wall. He was able to drive away from the scene but his evening was complete. 

Once the green came back out, Ellis seemed to pick up the pace and he then pulled away from Bryant who now had his hands full with Carter Harrison. While Ellis did a great job of moving through the traffic and maintaining his lead. Bryant and Harrison had a great battle for second, culminated when Harrison made the pass for second with just a couple of laps left. 

Ellis, however, was far in front and there would be no catching him as he drove home for the finish. The axe fell on second place Harrison however, as in tech he was found to be illegal, was DQ'd and Bryant was moved back up to second. Cody Arnett, Jordan Cater and James Lee would then complete the top five. 

The Pure Stock feature was a slam, bang event that saw the yellow wave six times during the twenty lap main. No more than six laps could be strung together at any one time and that was too bad as there were some great battles that just seemed to develop and then the yellow would spoil the fun. 

Chris Tonoli took the early lead from the outside pole and led the first lap but then the first multi car wreck eliminated front runner Bobby Brown. Mark Simon was very fast and he challenged Tonoli for the lead, only to be joined by Michael McKnight in the fight for the lead. Things really started to get heated up front as Tonoli continued to show the way but he was under constant pressure by McKnight who slipped past Simon for second. 

Things really got wild for that second spot as Simon threw a wicked slider on McKnight to take the spot. McKnight was obviously upset and he tried to return the favor in spades but it back fired when after he threw his return slider, he clipped the berm and went spinning across the track, drawing the yellow and sending him to the tail. 

Simon was really getting strong as on the lap nine restart, drove around Tonoli to take over the lead and he then began to put just a little distance on the field before the yellows started to accumulate with a couple more spins and grinders coming soon afterward. 

And while Simon had just a little distance on the field, the battle behind him was great with Tonoli trying to fight off Derek Lampe in his "grocery getter" along with Aaron Gustin and Scotty Carter. Unfortunately, they couldn't keep the race from one more yellow as a grinding crash on  the back chute with just four laps to go eliminated two of those three and really shuffled the running order.

Simon would pull away following the last yellow and drive on unchallenged for the win with Tonoli second and Carter third. James Redus and Blake Billean, back from a first lap crash, completed the top five. 

It was well after 1 am when the final checkers waved but a tough core of fans held on to see the completion of the program which started on a comfortable evening but ended up with it being quite cool and breezy. 

B Features and main events for three classes are on the agenda on Saturday night plus a full show of Late Models as the Turkey Bowl is completed.