Wrapping Up The 2025 Racing Season

 The 2025 racing season is now complete for me so it is time to do a quick wrap on the season as we now get ready to turn the calendar to 2026 and see what new fun, disappointment, joy and sadness await us in the new year. 

In 2025 I attended one hundred and ninety one race events. That marked the third highest number of yearly races that I have attended but continued the slow but steady drop from 2023 when I reached my highest number of two hundred and nine. 

In 2025 my total was affected considerably by rainouts, a few poor decisions and by a slightly less amount of enthusiasm to drive many hours to a race that just might not be worth the effort. 

With all the rain of April, May and June, I was actually surprised to see that my total was as close to 2024 was it was, only dipping by a pair of shows. The early part of this year was very difficult  with all the rainouts, both for weekly shows and special events. It didn't help matters that about a half dozen times I opted to go in one direction, thinking that I had out foxed the weather, only to have that decision bite me later in the back side when I got rained out and the other planned event raced on. 

There were also about a  half dozen shows when I just frankly decided not to attend, using the "cost-benefit" analysis to determine that what I was going to see just couldn't be justified by the time and expense it was going to cost me. 

July and August were much better months with very few weather issues as I saw twenty eight and twenty seven races respectively during those two months. I did see racing in all twelve months, starting in New Mexico in in January and wrapping up the season indoors in Missouri in December. 

Of the one hundred and ninety one races, ninety one were under the WISSOTA sanction as that is the predominant body in my area and the group that just about all the tracks belong to. The other one hundred plus shows were under a variety of different sanctioning bodies. 

2025 marked the forty fifth year in a row that I have attended at least one hundred nights of racing and forty eight out of the last fifty years that I have been doing this insanity. 

I attended races at sixty two tracks in twelve different states and one Canadian Province and for the first time in a couple years, actually got to a track for the first time ever, with three new ones recorded this year. One was in Wisconsin, one in Arizona and one in Texas. 

Interestingly, I actually attended races at more tracks in Minnesota than I did in my home state and also nearly as many so as in Iowa. Marshalltown and Spencer were the run away leaders in the Hawkeye State but I also got to nine other tracks in that state. 

I am now at three hundred and thirty seven attended in twenty nine states and three Canadian Provinces. 

Unfortunately, for the first time in a long time, I was witness to a fatality at a track when a track official got hit by a speeding car on the track. I also saw two photographers get hit in the infield by out of control race cars and both are lucky to still be with us. It had been many years since I had last seen this in person and it still leaves a sickening feeling in my gut when I think about those three instances. We all know there is a degree of danger involved in this sport but when something bad happens, it provides a real slap across the face of reality striking, especially when you know all three individuals involved. 

I also made the initial entry in a new category for me. I have been rained out, sleeted out, hailed out, stormed out, froze out, winded out, tornadoed out, fogged out, overheated out, no powered out, waterlines broke out and just about every other kind of "out" that you can imagine, but for the first time in 2025 I was "fired" out!

I was in Thunder Bay Ontario and Thunder City Speedway when it happened. Some wild fires were triggered by a passing train and with the tinder dry conditions the fires  built, threatened houses, businesses and unfortunately, the Thunder City Speedway which was in their path. 

When the decision was made by Provincial officials that they would fight the fire using large planes dropping water on the flames, we had to evacuate the area and the races were cancelled, despite it being a beautiful June night. They came back the next night to race on their "rain date" but I didn't stick around. 

The 2026 racing season is scheduled to begin for me in just a few short weeks in Arizona with a hoped for trip following that to Florida for some Speed Week action. While my enthusiasm for the start of a new season is not what it might have been in the past, I will still be excited to see the cars hit the track for the first time and see what is new for 2026. I will take you along as best I can to see as much of that journey as I can. 

Pierce and Thornton Jr Dominate In Dome Finale

 There was no doubt in either class that competed in the Gateway Dirt Nationals finale on Saturday night, December 6th as to who had the best car. Both Bobby Pierce in the Late Models and Ricky Thornton Jr in the Modified left absolutely no doubt that they were the best team in each division and the results showed just that. 

Both Pierce and Thornton Jr led from start to finish in their respective feature races, eliminating any drama while also showing that they were the best by far, no matter how strong and talented the competition. 

The three night extravaganza was capped off on Saturday night with Last Chance racing that filled the feature fields with many of the sports best runners left sitting on the sidelines come feature time. Probably some of the best racing of the weekend saw the majority of the field fight it out to become one of the few drivers still standing when feature race time came. 

A huge crowd, announced as the largest ever to attend a night of this ninth annual event, packed the arena and hallways and produced a fantastically profitable weekend for the race promoters and all those vendors selling everything from shirts and hoodies to headache curing potions. 

Right at 3 pm the first of a series of Last Chance races  rolled off with both the Late Models and Modified working to cut their entry lists down to about twenty cars per class that would race the feature race event. The track had the most moisture in it of any of the three nights which made for some very fast racing. Just showing how finicky this track is though was the fact that as soon as more moisture was worked into the track, it started to get bouncy and we also saw more bouncing around by the cars on Saturday than for any of the preceding nights. 

When the fifteen qualifying events were completed about four hours later, twenty drivers had made their way into the main events. There was one provisional entry in both classes with the top drivers drawing for their starting positions in the main event and no tire changing competition. 

When all was set, the only drivers that qualified for both feature races were Thornton Jr and Mike Harrison and both would earn first and second row starting spots in the two features, thus showing that not only were they good enough to get in both features, they were especially good to start right up front. 

Opening ceremonies are always special and spectacular for this race and the indoor fireworks are always stunning. Driver introductions were above average this year with several especially clever ones including Kyle Bronson's body slam on a table of Ashton Winger and Brian Shirley's Evel Knievel motor cycle antics after which "Superman" Davenport retook his cape. Still, my highlight of the weekend was Tanner English's fast laps with a Christmas tree strapped on the roof. 

I was thinking that we might get through the weekend without a single flip but that thought was dashed in the second Modified qualifier when Dave Hess took a wild ride down the back chute. Fortunately he was OK.

The 50/50 drawing, benefitting the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, was record breaking also. The split was $135,000 and change and the lucky winner was from Iowa. 

Twenty one drivers would start the Late Model forty lap feature race with the provisional being Dylan Thornton as promoter Cody Sommer put his own car in as is his prerogative.

The race got off to a shaky start when outside pole starter Brenden Smith got sideways on the first lap and stacked up a bunch of drivers. Mark Whitener got eliminated in that one. Then Davenport got a piece of Shirley, sending him spinning into the infield where he saw for a couple laps before he was finally spotted and the yellow came out. Davenport, with a flat, and Shirley were both done. 

Meanwhile, Bobby Pierce had gotten the jump on the field and immediately put distance on the pack with no one seemingly able to stay with him. The battle for second was good as Thornton Jr and Jason Feger battled hard for that spot. Feger would get past and would hold that spot for the first half of the race. 

However, shortly after that, Thornton Jr made a move and took over second but they still remained far behind Pierce and no matter that the yellow flew several times, each time the green again waved, Pierce would pull away. 

The last yellow, with thirty two laps complete, packed up the field once again but Pierce again pulled away and Thornton Jr never could get close enough to attend some kind of move. Late in the contest, Feger nosed into the wall enough that Brandon Sheppard was able to get past and claim the third spot with Feger and Nick Hoffman rounding out the top five. Only ten drivers were still on the track at the finish as attrition was high. 

The win was Pierce's thirty second of 2025 and he became the first three time winner of this race. On a fun, no pressure weekend he still managed to drive home with a cool $80,000 in winnings and probably twice that in t-shirt sales.

Thornton Jr managed to shake off the disappointment of the Late Model race nicely by leading from start to finish to win the Modified feature and the twenty grand that went to that winner. Just like Pierce, despite a few yellows that packed the field, every time the green flew Ricky just drove away from the field. 

Harrison tried his hardest but just like Ricky in the previous race, he was no match for the winner. Carlos Ahumada Jr had a nice run to take third and the driver on the move at the end was Tyler Peterson as the former winner of this event passed Ryan Ayers on the last lap to grab fourth after starting tenth. 

It was quite the event and the enormity of this entire weekend is quite astounding. I won't ever say that the Dome is my favorite event of the year and some of the goings on are not what I think our sport should be all about but there can be no doubt that it is a race that can not be duplicated anywhere for its unique aspects. For many folks it is their most memorable race of the year and as long as they keep coming back each year, I see no reason why this race doesn't just get bigger and bigger for the foreseeable future. How all the moving parts of this event come together in such a smooth manner is a tribute to Sommer and both his crew and the folks that work at the Dome.  

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The Circus Arrives at the Dome, Thornton Jr. and Harrison Ride the Biggest Elephants

 While some will try to tell you that the Gateway Dirt Nationals is just a race, albeit inside in a dome, the truth is that this event is more spectacle than anything and the racing itself is more of a sideshow attraction than the main focus. 

This race is much more entertainment and illusion than it is real racing and that was highlighted once again on Friday night, December 5th when round two of the ninth annual event here at the Dome at America's Center was held. 

The second group of both Late Models and Modifieds were racing for position in Saturday night's main event that pays seventy grand to the winner but the events of the evening, primarily in the Late Model class, would have one checking to see if by accident they  purchased a ticket for the WWE Smackdown rather than the dirt track races. 

Of course, even though they won't say so, this is exactly the atmosphere that Cody Sommer and the rest of the promotional group for this event want to happen and indeed they pray for it. The end result is just what they want, spectators foaming at the mouth in their indignation, more alcohol purchased while they "discuss" the situation with other fans in the stands and the drivers swearing revenge on each other while the announcing team prods on the participants with a mic jammed into their faces almost before they can get unbuckled from their race cars. It is much more farce than reality and those few drivers on hand just to race learn to understand that this is just part of the show and if they want to be remembered they should consider driving over a few other drivers or at least doing something spectacular to sell an extra shirt or two. 

Getting back to reality for a moment, some things were much better on Friday than they had been on Thursday. The track had some moisture in it, raced much better and didn't produce near as much dust as had been the case on Thursday night.  The air quality was much better too as the whole team putting on the show seemed to have rediscovered their focus from last year with the delays being shorter and less frequent. 

Sixty one Late Models and thirty two Modifieds comprised the second half of the entries and they would be performing exactly the same show as was presented on Thursday night with the top three in each class at the end of the night locking themselves into Saturday night's main event. 

Tanner English was the highlight of the early evening's entertainment. We've seen just about everything in the form of race car graphics design, colors etc. but when English pulled on to the track with his Late Model and had a Christmas tree strapped to the roof of the car in his tribute to Clark Griswald, it about brought down the house. It was so darn clever even I had to laugh. I guess in the name of safety he was not allowed to run in competition with the tree still on board, but he still recorded quick time in his group  minus the evergreen.  Josh Rice also dazzled as he recorded the quickest time overall even though he was one of the last out in his group at 11.523 seconds, showing that a little more moisture in the track would be a good thing. Ryan Ayers was quickest of the Modifieds at 12.631 seconds. 

The time trial sessions were quite damaging for a number of teams as drivers, recognizing just how important qualifying was, were pushing very hard. Both Garrett Alberson and Mike Marlar badly damaged their cars in time trials with two of the most unique cars being wrecked early. Alberson's team managed to put their car back together, only to see it torn apart once again later. 

Marlar hit the fence so hard that he knocked the fuel cell right out of the car but they also managed to get that car going again, even as Mike had to borrow his brother's car to run a heat race before switching back over to his car to run a B Feature as there are no rules about such things at this event. 

The weekend was done in qualifying for both Hunt the Front's Joseph Joiner and Myles Moos with a motor blowing for Joiner and a driveshaft spitting out for Moos. 

A few drivers managed to put themselves on the "watch list" after their slam bam antics in the heat races but it was the main events, particularly the Late Models, that had the drivers, crews and fans frothing from the mouth. But just before that, we saw what the priorities were when the Modified B Feature was cut to three laps so more time could be used for something much more important, the tire changing contest to determine the front row starting positions for the Late Model feature!

There was much action and drama in the Late Model feature when the slide jobs broke out in full force and some of them proved to be ruthless, setting off the other drivers and the crowd like dropping a match in a can of gasoline. 

Mark Whitener got the jump on Hudson O'Neal to take the early lead but O'Neal was soon throwing nasty sliders at the Florida driver as he tried to take the lead. After one particularly aggressive exchange. O'Neal slowed on the back chute with a flat tire triggering a yellow flag. 

O'Neal was upset but in my view he dished out as much at he took but again, everyone's perception is different. Later during a break he took to the mic to express his displeasure but it appeared to be more theatrics than anything. 

However, I'm not so sure about Kyle Bronson. He and Brenden Smith were really working each other over for second and after Bronson moved over Smith, Brenden responded by "parking" Bronson on a fence post in turn one where Bronson came to an abrupt halt and was then clipped by another driver. Bronson stomped the whole length of the straightaway while under red to fix the fence to poke his head in Smith's car and exchange holiday greetings. Meanwhile, track officials walked with him but made no attempt to stop him as this was all part of the "script." As Sommer would want, if you're going to fight, do it on the front chute where the crowd can see it, not in the pits. 

Meanwhile, a couple fights broke out in the stands near us, but no punches were thrown because most importantly, the combatants didn't want to set down their beer cans, which was their top priority. Let's be honest here, this is no event to bring your kid to. 

Drake Troutman, also in the top five, dropped out at this point too as he had a flat tire as he may have been the one that clipped Bronson. 

While all this activity was going on, Ricky Thornton Jr, who had started in the fifth row, was ready to spring. He had been sitting back watching all the wild goings on in front of him but like a cobra, when he saw his opening, he sprung into action. Making a couple passes, he was up to second by lap sixteen and then following another slowdown, he slid past Whitener on the restart to grab the lead and then he was gone. 

He led the rest of the way while Whitener held on for second and Smith brought a third place finish home in his first ride with his new team for 2026. A dozen drivers finished the race but nearly all looked like they had been in a war, even though they still were running. 

Compared to the Late Models, the Modified feature was like a gathering of the Tuesday afternoon Canasta club. There was only one yellow flag in the race, only two drivers failed to finish and there were zero fights, either on the track or in the stands!

Tim Ward, driving the Eckrich ride as he has been for the later part of the outdoor season, led the first ten laps of the feature and was comfortably out front. Local favorite Mike Harrison moved into second and tried to track down the leader but Ward appeared to be unstoppable. 

That is, until his car started to smoke which got heavier and heavier until suddenly, on lap eleven, he dived into the infield. Afterward, it was said that the car got hot but to me it looked much worse like the motor blew but I guess we will have to see on that Saturday. 

Harrison was the beneficiary, taking over the lead and without a single yellow to bunch the field, driving away for the win. An excellent and clean battle for second saw Ayers hold off Carlos Ahmuda Jr and Alex Williamson, the driver who gets more of out what he has than any driver I know off. 

Racing wrapped up around 10 pm after which literally thousands of folks headed for the pits to rubber neck and buy stuff. The crowd was again gigantic and most everyone expects a record crowd to be on hand for Saturday's finale. God only knows what will happen to highlight that show.  

Pierce and Thorton Jr. top Thursday night opener at Gateway

 The ninth annual Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals rolled off on Thursday night, December 4th at the Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis Missouri. For the first time ever I believe, there was snow on the ground all the way from northern Wisconsin right up and into St. Louis, an indicator of the early Winter that we have had so far. And not only was there snow, but the temperatures were bitterly cold, even for those of us that have to endure that kind of weather for months. You can imagine how the folks from the southern regions were taking things. Much whining took place about this. 

The years have flown by and this event(I can't really call it a race anymore because much of what goes on doesn't qualify as a race), continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It seemed that there was much hype before this years event, much of that created by the teams that would be racing in the Dome. You see, many have now figured out that their main source of income from this race, and what allows them to continue to attend on what is a very expensive week for them, depends on how many t-shirts and hoodies they sell while there are down here. 

So many of the teams, both Mods and Late Models, put different wraps on their cars to make them distinctive and eye catching, with the hopes that will help them sell more shirts. Tribute cars to events and drivers of the past, holiday festive wraps and unfortunately, there are even a few political type wraps as some dolts just can't keep their political views to themselves and allow us to have a quiet and peaceful weekend of racing, minus the political crap that is swallowing us all up these days. 

In any event, so far it seems to be working as when the concourse was opened up to the fans, they charged in mass toward the many vendors selling items with fire in their eyes and cash and plastic in their hands. It is really quite amazing the number of folks that have to buy, buy, buy at this race, perhaps for themselves or maybe Christmas presents for others. Either way, the goose that laid the golden egg is alive and well. One does wonder, however, that when the reality sets in at some point that it really isn't necessary to spend down the national debt at the t-shirt stand and sales start to dwindle, how many of these race teams will decide that their time is better spent at home rather than in St. Louis right before Christmas. 

Two classes were again in action on Thursday as the format that sees both Late Models and Modifieds teams split in half with two qualifying sessions the first two nights and then everyone racing on Saturday. The Modifieds continue to be an invitation only affair with must over thirty racing each night. This was mostly done because there simply wasn't the room and time to run everyone that would like to attend this event and this format provides a qualify field of drivers with numbers easier to work with. 

The Late Models saw a change in their entry procedure this year. Previously, it was "first come, first served" with the Late Models and when they reached their limit in terms of cars that could race, it was cut off. However, that left a number of good teams off the entry list and also saw a considerable number of teams that quite frankly, weren't of the level that should have been racing at this event for either experience or talent reasons. 

This year, everyone that wanted to race submitted their name of the cut off point, and then event officials did a "draft", selecting those teams they felt worthy of racing in the Dome. There are always going to be a few that race that you wonder how in the world they talked or paid their way into the race, but for the most part, those that raced were of top caliber, thus offering 2025 as perhaps the strongest top to bottom field of Late Model teams. 

Each year the track ends up being just a bit different than previous years, just by the engineering done to get the dirt into the dome and the track built. This year an aerial view reveled that the track is more like a "D", than an oval with the area off turn two the tight spot on the track. It was claimed that the track had more banking this year but that was hard to see from the  stands. It was also claimed that the fence was put in at a different angle to try and keep cars from getting up into the fence. 

What we did learn early was that the wall wasn't high enough and with most of the drivers clipping the outside wall as they negotiated the track, they kept getting their right side spoilers into the fence, tearing the spoilers either loose or off entirely and during the early going, yellows were very frequent to pick up spoiler pieces or signs foolishly attached to the walls. More cars than not tore spoilers off during qualifying. 

As for the track itself, it was smooth but it was also perhaps the driest that I have ever seen it with it getting black and super slippery very early into the proceedings. The air quality was very bad with numerous breaks needed to clear the air and I think the dust was also the worst ever with at several points being so heavy that it was hard to see the back chute from the front stretch grandstands. The announcers were lauding the track for being so racy, which frankly I didn't see but not much mention of the other issues and folks walked out of the races looking much the worst for wear. It would be nice to be able to watch the show but not have to wear the whole track home at the end of the night. 

The track gave out quickly when time trials started and with qualifying positions being so important, the draw for time trial order was probably the most important element of the entire night. The Late Model field was divided into two groups with Michael Leach, the fifth driver out, topping the first group and turning the fastest lap of the night at 11.794 seconds. Bobby Pierce, sixth out in the second group, topped that group with a 12.010 seconds as the track slowed down even more. 

Tyler Erb, always one that can be counted on for entertainment value at this race, disappointed his fans when after turning a quick lap, he blew the motor in his car on the second trip around the fifth mile oval and was done for the weekend. 

Six Late Model heat races and three B Features were held to set the, as it turned out, nineteen car field for the main event. Due to some kind of clerical error, Scott Bell wasn't in the lineup for a B Feature when he should have been to so appease him, he was allowed to start the feature as a provisional starter. Not all drivers were guaranteed two races so if you didn't finish near the front of a heat race, you were done for the night. Imagine towing all the way across the country only to get to run eight laps!

In another wrinkle, the six heat winners, instead of redrawing for their starting positions, participated in a tire changing contest to determine who would start where in the first three rows of the feature. With starting position being so important, it seemed like an odd way to to set the field but one must remember that this event is short on actual race and long on spectacle and race organizers apparently felt that this would provide even more entertainment value. The announcers were all over this and seemed to be having a jolly old time with it, but many in the crowd where just anxious to get the race going. Pierce's team, by the way, won the contest which gave him the pole. 

The only surprise in the feature was that Pierce didn't lead from start to finish. Mike Harrison actually got the jump on him and led the opening four laps until Bobby built up some speed and then slid Harrison in turn one for the lead. 

The race was then over, with Pierce leading the rest of the way and never being challenged. Only two yellows slowed the event, both for debris(spoiler parts) on the track with Harrison doing a good job and holding on to second. The best race was watching Brandon Sheppard move forward and late in the race he passed Brian Shirley for third, that being important as only the top three are guaranteed starting spots on Saturday. Only two drivers failed to finish and Pierce was just catching the tail of the field when the checkers waved. 

The Modifieds were much the same. Four heats and a B Feature set their order for their twenty lap main event. The difference was that the Modified winners redrew for their starting positions instead of a tire changing, or motor changing or some other form of contest. 

Thornton Jr. led from start to finish in the Modified main with Dallon Murty slipping into second by the halfway point and staying fairly close to the leader. Tanner Mullens ran second early but slipped back a bit as Trent Young came from the sixth row to move into the third spot. 

The only yellow occurred with just a lap completed but it was a big one right on the front stretch that eliminated several cars and put others to the back. Tyler Nicely, outside pole starter was the big loser while Young saw the ocean open in front of him as he gained a number of spots. 

The crowd was believed to be the biggest Thursday night crowd yet and I'm sure the tv crowd was humongous also. Plan for a whole day in the dome if you're going to this race as the first green flag for competition flew sometime after 5 pm and it was about 5 hours later when the last checkers flew. 

Sawyer Crigler and Chisholm Star as Turkey Bowl Concludes

 For all those years when the Turkey Bowl was run in forty degree temperatures with the wind howling and the skies spitting rain, ice and even a few snow flurries in our faces, 2025 will be remembered as the year when the Weather Man evened up the playing field here in Springfield. For the third straight day the weather was fantastic with sunny skies, no threat of rain and temperatures at or above eighty degrees.  And certainly the great weather played a strong part in the fact that the pits were packed and on Saturday November 15th for the concluding night of the XIX edition of the Turkey Bowl, the grandstands were also packed with fans. This would certainly big the biggest day ever for the Turkey Bowl event and one that everyone will gauge against for success in upcoming years. 

For on Saturday the concluding feature races would be held for three divisions that did their qualifying on Friday night as well as adding the last two divisions that would be doing their full show on Saturday. Once again we were looking at a tremendous amount of racing and if there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, I believe that Saturday would fit that definition. 

But first we must soak in the sheer enormity that this year's race was. I have lost count of exactly how many race teams pulled into the pits for this year's event. My rigid guidelines don't allow for the counting of Legend Cars, just as I don't acknowledge Mod Lites, Dwarf Cars, Bat Wings and all the other such forms of motorized racing. Still, for the promoter and fans watching, they race just like all the other classes do and there must have been fifty or so of them, some coming all the way from North Dakota just to race this weekend. There were extra drivers that came just to start in the back of B Features for some reason that I lost count of and who could have predicted that there would be seventy Late Models that would sign in for six grand to win!!! That was just crazy stupid wild. We didn't have enough cars last year apparently so the Super Stocks were invited for a one night stand also and there were nearly thirty of them on hand. The number 529 was mentioned as the total car count for the weekend and I'll go along with that which is amazing. It is also a logistical nightmare that was handled just about as well as could be expected. Nevertheless, it made for a long final day of racing, one that quite a few spectators didn't stick it out to the end  for. 

Let's talk about those seventy Late Models for a second. Isn't that crazy? It is true that this area does have an abundance of Late Models compared to other parts of the country and quite a few different series with which to participate in. However, one would not expect that many to still be racing in mid November but there they were from all parts of Missouri and near by states and even a drivers that pulled all the way from South Dakota and Tennessee. 

Despite having to deal with such huge fields of drivers and the logistics of organizing them when they were parked over many acres of land and no pa system for much of them, the show would again start right at the advertised time for the third straight night. With racing beginning at 5 pm, it took five hours just to get the qualifying and Last Chance events concluded. Everybody deserves one last chance to make the features but it felt like the qualifying events could have contained more cars and run a few less laps. In any event, the thirty seven qualifying races were done just after 10 pm and then it was time to start the main events. 

Track watering was interspersed among all those races with a complete ripping of the track before the Modifieds made their appearance for the main event. This produced a track that despite all the laps was still racy and with no rubber although it was blindingly dirty for the fans for much of the main events. I guess we could call it the price of doing business. 

In any event, the Midwest Modz A were the first ones out for their main event. Trenton Brookshire started on the outside pole and took the early lead. A good battle for second saw Andy Aust and Michael Maggard fighting for position while Mark Simon was on the move from the third row. James Lee then put on charge of his own, moving from the fourth row into second by the halfway point of the race. 

Lee would fade back a bit near the end but no one had anything for Brookshire would crossed the line as the apparent winner. Simon, Aust, Caden Bolin and Lee finished off the top five. 

Young Brookshire was thrilled to be the winner and did a nice interview in front of the crowd as the pa system wouldn't work in victory lane and all the winning drivers had to cross the track to be interviewed in front of the crowd, which actually was quite nice. 

But reality slapped Brookshire hard across the face when he went for tech inspection and the result was that he was disqualified, along with fifth place finisher Lee which awarded the win to Simon and added Cory Johnson and Maggard to the official top five. 

Thus, both Midwest Modz classes this weekend saw the apparent feature winner disqualified. That tells me that something is amiss somewhere either in the tech inspection this weekend or perhaps the lack of inspections throughout the racing season. Either way, Houston, we have a problem that clearly needs fixing. 

While the track was "juiced up" for the Modified feature race, one of the announcers, the omnipresent Jerry Vansickle, who seems to show up at every special event in the Midwest when Marshalltown is not racing, held a contest for the Modified and Late Model drivers to determine who would start in the front rows, based on their skill level at throwing a football in a garbage can. I'm not sure how one talent equates to the other but while some will claim that race car drivers are indeed athletes, no one would claim that they are football quarterbacks from what they showed!

In any event, two of the younger drivers in Reese Solander and Jim Chisholm did the best at football tossing and that proved to be important as the track was blinding fast of the feature race due to the sped up surface. With twenty one very fast drivers in the main representing both USRA and UMP and a very fast surface to race on, passing would be hard. 

Chisholm got the jump using the preferred outside line with Solander tucking in behind him. These two then set the pace for thirty very fast laps of racing and while it was spectacular, there was little in the way of passing.

Chisholm successfully negotiated the few lapped cars that he caught which was Solander's only hope, and the Iowa driver raced on for the win. Solander finished second with Tanner Mullens, Kyle Steffens and Chris Spaulding next in line. 

Only four drivers were lapped in the nonstop race and only a single driver was not on the track at the finish. 

The Late Models also saw a quick track for their thirty lapper and again the outside pole was the place to be. Sawyer Crigler got the jump on Shane DeMey to take the early lead and he pulled away to a comfortable lead in the early going. DeMay was receiving pressure from Eli Ross and Myles Moos as the laps clicked by. 

Just past the halfway point, Tony Jackson Jr, who was making a nice charge to the front, spun in turn one and the lone yellow of the race flew. Ross had to pit at this time and lost his position with Moos up to third, Tennessee driver Matt Cooper and Dillon McCowan completing the top five. 

Crigler took off again on the restart and built up a good sized lead again. Moos was making a run and he went for it but jumped the cushion in turn one and lost considerable time. The driver really moving up was Springfield's own Terry Phillips as while he wasn't in the top five with twelve laps to go, suddenly he was battling for third with Moos. 

Crigler continued his excellent run, wasn't challenged and drove home for the win, his second Turkey Bowl trophy to collect. DeMey had a great run in his spec engine car, holding off Phillips for second while Moos and McCowan completed the top five. Only two drivers didn't finish the race. 

With J.C. Morton starting on the outside pole, it seemed like he might be the one to beat in the B Mod feature race. And he did take the lead initially and hold the top spot for the first six laps. However, in a bit of a surprise, Waylon Dimmett, who started in the second row, got a good run going and was able to drive past Morton and take over the lead just  before the lone yellow of the race flew for a spin in turn four. 

Dimmett then pulled away from the the pack but on the move was defending winner of this race, Brayton Carter. The last thirteen laps ran off nonstop and slowly but surely, Carter started to cut into the lead of Dimmett. Dimmett was pushing the cushion while Carter was working the short way around the track and slowly creeping closer and closer. 

The last few laps gave us the closest finish of the night. Carter may have had a chance for a late race pass but a lapped car loomed ahead that was running the low line which caused him to adjust his line to get past the slower car and that was all the edge that Dimmett needed as he crossed under the finish line with a few car lengths on the Iowa driver. Indeed, Dimmett was the only winner of the feature races staged on Saturday that didn't lead from start to finish. 

There was a pounding duo that was closing on both the leaders but ran out of time as Kris Jackson, who started in the sixth row, was coming hard but settled for third with Morton and another hard charger in Ryan Gillmore next in line. 

The last feature race of the very early morning(it was now Sunday), was the Super Stock main event. Big developments in this race happened even before the green flag flew when pole sitter John Coats, considered a favorite to win the race, had his car quit during the pace laps and he was pushed to the pits which shuffled the starting order. 

This gave Donnie Miller the outside pole and he used it to his full advantage, leading from start to finish for twenty laps to get the win. This was a clean race that went green to checkers and with Miller having good momentum, he was impossible to catch. 

Making a nice drive forward and using the low line was Oklahoma driver Michael Muskrat who started seventh and drove up to the second spot in the late going. Eighth to third was Aaron Poe with this class seemingly being able to move forward more but perhaps that was because the track had started to dry out some which made passing a bit easier. Bobby Ratterree and Kevin Brown completed the top five with the final checkers waving at just about 1 am. 

This completed what was quite the colossal event. Now one of the biggest events in the country in terms of entries, it was three days of racing action and more. If this event continues to grow and that is always hard to predict as uncertain November weather can always put a damper on things, some adjustments might have to be made. It is almost to the point of being too big for the facility and having too many races to be manageable comfortably. But we will see what 2026 brings. 

In the meantime, thanks go out to Jerry Hoffman and his staff. Hoffman is the "Energizer Bunny" for this event, seemingly with boundless energy as he races from one task to another. His hard working crew is not far behind as the number of hours all them put in this weekend was large indeed. Putting on such a show is a monumental task and for the most part, it went off seamlessly. Anyone who came all three nights and felt they didn't see enough races must have been sleeping! Speaking of that, I'm guessing the whole Springfield crew slept in on Sunday morning!

 

Clay and Cater Win as Turkey Bowl Gobbles On

 Friday night, November 14th brought much more racing action to the Springfield Raceway as Turkey XIX continued with its second night of racing action. On a spectacular November night, a total of thirty seven races would be held as three additional classes made their first appearance of the week while two other classes wrapped up their racing with feature races after having qualified on Thursday night. 

The pit area appeared to be plenty crowded by Thursday night but add another two hundred and six entrants for Friday night's racing and they were nearly to the point of having to close I-44 and park race teams on the highway! A slight exaggeration to be sure, but even with the large turnouts from previous years, there is no comparison to what the pit area has extended to in 2025. Certainly the spectacular weather has something to do with that, along with the increased purses and the fact that this race has really gained a footing as a must attend race for drivers and teams from not only this area but from far and wide. 

The Friday night program saw qualifying heats for the three arriving classes which were the Modifieds, B Mods and Midwest Modz A class. The Midwest Modz B class along with the Pure Stocks(or full bodied class or whatever they are calling them this year), ran B Features and then finished off their week here with two feature races. 

Car counts are up across the board from last year's event with only the MMA being equal to last year while the B Mods and Mods showed significant growth in 2025. Especially strong was the Modified field with seventy three entries and many of the top Midwest drivers on hand with USRA, IMCA and UMP type cars all sharing the track. 

All classes would be qualifying using passing points with the Modifieds running two heat races with their starting order shuffled for the second round of heats plus they would be racing against different drivers than in the first round, the only fair way of doing this.  

Racing action began right at the advertised time and except for one break to dig the track and re water it, it was nonstop racing action. There were a few brief pauses also to spritz the racing surface but they took minimal time so there was plenty of racing for even the most particular of fan. 

Both the Midwest Modz B and Pure Stocks raced their B Features and then ran the only main events of the night. While the tech area has been quite quiet so far this week with only a pair of disqualifications to report following night one, they loomed large in the two feature races completed on Friday as you will see. 

Twenty one drivers would start the Midwest Modz B feature race with Clayton Ward starting on the pole and leading in the early going. The pace was fast and no yellow flags slowed the contest. Young Karter Jackson was on the move after starting in the second row and by the halfway point of the race had moved into second and was closing on the leader. 

Ward was running the middle line while Jackson was pounding the cushion and was making time using that line. He caught Ward just past the halfway point of the race and made his move. He pulled to the outside of Ward down the back chute but just as he went to make the pass, the two leaders encountered a  slower car which tightened things up considerable. As they pounded down the front chute, things just got too tight and there was contact between Jackson, in the middle, and the slower car up against the wall. 

Jackson was launched off the first turn and slammed hard into the concrete wall surrounding the track. He hit very hard but was fortunately uninjured. However, his car suffered heavy damage and was out of the race. It was very bad luck for Jackson who looked like he might just grab the win but it was just one of those bad deals that truly was just a racing accident with really no one at fault. 

The restart saw there to to be just eight laps remaining in the contest. Jordan Cater inherited the second spot and he began to challenge Ward as racing resumed. However, Ward was sharp enough to realize the top side was faster and he moved up into that groove, blocking any advance by Cater who followed closely over the final laps but couldn't must a serious charge. 

Ward was the winner over Cater, Braxton Rupp, Gavin Buckley and Keegan Brookshire with only three drivers not finishing the race. Ward was quite pointed in his post race comments, mentioning that he had won the biggest race of the year after having been told before the season started that he couldn't do it. 

However, post race tech was still to be passed, and while no official announcement was made as to the particulars, Ward was disqualified in tech for some irregularity with the rules. Cater was then moved up as the new winner with Cody Arnett now a part of the top five finishers. 

Twenty one drivers would also start the twenty lap feature race for the Pure Stocks, a race that would not quite as smoothly as the previous feature race had. Chase Galvan got the jump on the station wagon of Allen Thompson to take the initial lead. Point champion at the track in 2025 Eric Clay started in the second row and quickly moved in to challenge Galvan for the lead. Using the high side of the track, Clay took over the lead with three laps complete, just before the first yellow of the race slowed the action. 

Galvan, Thompson and Kolby Rathbone all challenged Clay with the top four drivers running in a tight pack. Clay continued to hold the lead but those behind him were swapping spots, with Rathbone up to second when the second yellow of the race flew when Mason Beck and Eddy Noll got tangled on the back chute, with it taking several minutes to pull the two apart. Beck was able to continue but most of the body on the car was torn off or pulled off by the wrecker crew and he was racing a highly altered looking car. 

The last ten laps of the race ran off nonstop and Clay started to pull away from the pack. Most were focused on the huge charge then being put on by Beck who went to the back of the pack following his tangle but came charging forward in an epic run. 

Clay was comfortably out front but lap after lap, Beck continued to pick off competitors, finally passing Thompson for second with just a couple laps left. He had nothing for Clay who drove home for the win but Beck's run from the back, minus body, was impressive. 

However, for the second time of the night, tech inspection spoke loud and clear when second place finisher Beck was disqualified. No official word was given but there certainly was the possibility that he didn't make weight, given the condition of the car after the race. In any event, Thompson was moved up to second with Scotty Carter, Tyler Schoen, up from eighteenth and Rathbone completing the top five. 

That track stayed in good condition and a nice sized Friday night crowd was on hand. Saturday night the Late Models move in for a full show. Their number appears to be very good also with around thirty just practicing on Friday night and the Super Stocks, making their first start in the Turkey Bowl, will also be joining the action. Feature races following B Features will also be held for the Midwest Modz A, B Mods and Mods. Quite confusing, don't you think?

Turkey Bowl XIX Begins, Alex Boyden Opening Night Winner

 Opening night racing action began on Thursday night, November 13th for the XIX Edition of the Turkey Bowl at Jerry Hoffman's Springfield Raceway near the airport in Springfield Missouri. 

Begun  on a whim as a way to wrap up the racing season and not really knowing whether such a late season event would be supported by both the drivers and the public, this race has turned into one of the largest late season gatherings of racers and fans in the Midwest. Huge fields of race cars in a multitude of classes and a packed house for the Saturday night finale have marked this event in recent years. 

It has now grown to three  full nights of racing with an additional night for loading the racing field into the pits and for practice. As the popularity of this race has grown, so also has the pit area to park the hundreds of racers. Over the years, Jerry has moved a considerable amount of of earth and now uses every single inch of his property to park race teams and in recent years has even expanded to the East behind where the pits used to end to use a hay field that butts right up to I-44. This event has turned into one of the largest races in the Ozarks and drivers now come from a number of states to race, both to get that one last race of the year in and also because the prize money has also increased by leaps in recent years for the drivers. 

Thursday night's opening action featured racing in three classes plus the Legend Cars while drivers in all other classes also got the chance to hot lap, both before the racing and for a period of time after the night's racing was concluded. 

Thursday night the Midwest Modz B class, the Pure Stocks or full bodied class as some were calling it plus the Front Wheel Drive cars. The first two classes ran heats only on Thursday with their B Features and main event coming on Friday night. The Front Wheel Drive cars, however, would run their full program on Thursday with the winner getting the first prized Turkey trophy to take home. 

The pit area was already jam packed on Thursday with the Front Wheel Drive cars signing in forty two drivers, the Pure Stocks fifty eight and the MMB fifty four. Throw in about another fifty Legend cars and over two hundred drivers would be racing on Thursday with five more classes yet to run over the next two nights as Super Stocks have also been added to this year's show, their event being a one night stand on Saturday when the Late Models race. Surprisingly though, even though the Lates don't race until Saturday ,there were a goodly number of them already on hand two days early just to practice. 

Passing points were used to set the running order for the main events heat races for all classes racing on Thursday with more practice mixed in between B Features for the Front Wheel Drive cars and then again after their main event. 

Twenty three drivers would start the twenty three lap Front Wheel Drive feature racing for $1023 to the winner. Alex Boyden would start on the pole after earning the most passing points in the heats and he would then go on to lead the entire race and collect the big money. 

Two yellow flags would slow the contest in the first two laps with a couple cars flying off the back chute followed by a debris yellow but after that, the racing would be clean and hard with just one more stoppage near the mid point of the race. 

Boyden moved to a comfortable lead but the battle for second was a good one as Jason Weber and Jordan Goddard battled back and forth for that spot. Goddard held the spot early but by the halfway point, Weber had passed him for position. 

The midrace yellow saw Weber challenge Boyden the most that any had all night, but after staying close for a couple laps, Boyden again pulled away. 

The driver on the move was Amadeus Keepper who started twelfth and by the midpoint of the race still had not raced into the top five. But he used the higher lane on the track and once he got his momentum going, he was driving by other racers at a quick rate. Continuing his charge, he passed Weber for second in the late going but was not able to get any closer to the leader, but a yellow late could have been problematic for Boyden. 

However, that didn't happen and Boyden drove home without a severe challenge to take the win. Behind Keepper and Weber, Tyrel Jones and Dylan Whitney completed the top five. Fifteen drivers completed the distance with all on the lead lap. 

With the racing completed, practice then took over and the parade of drivers to get laps was still going strong when I called it a night, with all racing done around 9:30 pm. On Friday night, the MMB and Pure Stocks will run their B Features and main events while the Modifieds, B Mods and MMA hit the track for the first time, running their qualifying heats. It will be a big night night of open wheel racing as we span the alphabet in classes.