Foss "The Boss" at MTS

 According to track announcer Dan Bailey, Friday night, April 24th was the eighteenth opener for the Mississippi Thunder Speedway under track owner Bob Timm with Tyrone Lingenfelter in recent years added on as track promoter. Weather circumstances, which seem to be affecting the racing schedules of a lot of folks right now, saw us end up at MTS but we were glad they were one of the very few tracks in this area that were able to survive a heavy bout of rain on Thursday. 

MTS runs five divisions on Friday nights with four of them being USRA sanctioned plus an E Mod class that they added in recent years to try and fill the gap for those racers interested in open wheel racing but not able or perhaps ready to spend the money needed to be competitive in the B Mod or full Modified classes. On this night, eighty seven drivers signed in to race with that B Mod class having the highest numbers at twenty six. The numbers were such that nice sized heat races could be presented without the hassle of running B Features which always seem to take up extra time for a variety of reasons. 

MTS has a different look this year and that is because of the addition of a new Kart track that has been built in the parking lot of the "big" track. The Lightning Speedway used to be in the middle of the dirt track but was removed several years ago when that track saw the infield remodeled and leveled out. 

Now, a new high banked fifth mile track is just being completed with its scheduled opening coming up very soon. It as a nice wall around it and fencing plus lights but the thing that separates it from most Kart tracks is the high banking that it has. Something about high banking that appeals to Timm as he now has two tracks with very steep banking. In any event, with the fencing around it, it gives the entire facility a new look as MTS tries to develop the next generation of racers. 

This was the first race of the year for MTS and much like Independence that I visited on Tuesday, getting a race in before next week was very important as MTS will host the World of Outlaws Late Models in a huge three night show next week and getting some laps on the track each Spring before hosting a big event is critical. And the track did need the laps as it developed a bit of a chop in the corners but all the racing on Friday plus no doubt a lot of time to be spent on the track by Timm in the next week and things should be good to go for the Outlaws. 

There were some interesting races that took place on Friday with a variety of ways found to get to victory lane in main events. Two of the five features provided winning passes in the last two laps of the mains, two were dominated from start to finish by one driver and one was a hybrid of the average variety. 

Veteran racer Keith Foss had control for most of the Modified twenty five lap feature, a race that would run off from green to checkers. Foss started on the pole and pulled away from the pack immediately, building up a considerable lead over the field. The race for second saw Nick Murgic and Jacob Bleess fight for position before Bleess took over second by the halfway point of the race. 

Foss continued to motor on but Bleess was not about to give up, even though he had quite a distance to make up. He was really pounding the corners and gradually he began to reel in Foss and in the last ten laps he made up a considerable amount of the lead that Foss had held. 

In fact, Bleess got close enough that he could throw a slider into the turns and try to steak away the win but he was just far enough behind that he couldn't quite catch Foss. Keith, by the way, drove a smooth race and never faltered as just one error might have cost him but he drove on for the opening night win over the defending track champion. Murgic settled for third ahead of Michael Truscott and Landon Volkman. 

An even larger domination of his feature race was accomplished by Stock Car driver Brayden Gjere. He started on the outside pole and grabbed the lead immediately from Kyle Falck and then proceeded to leave the field in his wake. He never missed a beat as he built up a large lead over the pack, with even a lap eight yellow for a spinning car not allowing the field to catch up. 

Once the green came back out, he simply motored away again, building up nearly a full straightaway over the field. The best race was for second where Levi Sand and Jason Schlangen swapped the spot back and forth several times before Sand took control. However, the sands in the hour glass ran out on him and he was forced to settle for second as Gjere paced the pack. 

Caden Neisius came from the fourth row to claim fourth ahead of Brody Williamson with all but one starter finishing the race. 

The Hobby Stock feature produced an early battle between Oliver Monson and Kolby Goepel for the lead as they swapped the top spot three times in the first seven laps of their feature event. Goepel inherited the lead for the last time on lap seven after Monson lost control and spun his car into the infield while running in the lead and he then called it a night. 

Goepel was not totally out of the woods yet, however, as after a battle for second, Dakota Koenig claimed the spot and then proceeded to challenge for the lead. A late yellow with just four laps to go bunched the field one last time and while Koenig could get to  the rear bumper of Goepel, Kolby held his line and drove on for the win. Gavin Bartel  finished third ahead of Travis Krause and Dan Svee. 

Both the B Mod and E Mod features came right down to the finish before a winner was decided. The winning pass in the B Mods came with just two laps remaining and a final corner pass settled the E Mod feature. 

Twenty six drivers took the green for the B Mod main with Jayme Hiller taking the early lead. However, only a single lap was completed before the yellow waved. On the restart, Jake Smith made a spectacular move, coming from the inside line to pass both the driver beside him and the leader and take over the top spot. 

The race then became a two car battle between Smith and Harley Dais, who was driving in both the B Mod and Mod class. Close behind the top two were Ben Moudry and Jett Sorensen as they battled for position. 

Smith would continue to hold the lead with Dais sometimes right on his rear bumper and other times slipping back a few car lengths. Dais moved up the track in the corners and that seemed to give him a better run and he came close to passing Smith several times with Jake just holding him back in turn four. 

When Sorensen spun out of position with just three laps to go, it gave Dais one last chance and he took advantage of that, getting a great run off turn two edging past Smith down the back chute and then slamming the door on him which prevented a cross over attempt. Dais then put a couple car lengths on Smith who wasn't able to mount a charge back and had to settle for second. 

Moudry controlled the third spot with Mason Stockhausen and Hiller completing the top five in the twenty lapper. 

The winning pass came even later in the E Mod feature when Josh Wiemer got past Tony Bloom coming off the final corner to take the fifteen lap win. Collin Rain led the opening seven laps with first Alex Colsch challenging until Bloom gradually worked his way forward after starting eighth. 

By the halfway point, Bloom was up to second and then just one lap later he would make a pass for the lead. Rain continued to fall behind Bloom but now charging forward was Wiemer who had fallen back early after starting fourth but when the final yellow waved on lap fourteen, he had worked his way up to second. 

Bloom was guarding the low side of the track while Wiemer worked higher on the banking which was fast but a big tricky. Josh made a couple attempts and got close  but could not quite pull past Bloom. However, on the final lap he got a great run down the back chute and as Bloom moved slightly up the track, he dived under him to the low groove and in a race to the line, was the winner. 

There was briefly a little confusion when Bloom went to victory lane as it appeared the outcome was clear, but track officials quickly sorted things out and Wiemer rightfully went to victory lane. Behind Bloom it was Caylee Kjos, Brent Schwark and Rain across the line. 

The first green flag dropped at 7:10 pm and the final checkers at about 10:30 pm so it was a well paced program. The crowd at MTS is one of the latest arriving of any track I have seen as shortly before race time things always look bleak, but by the time everyone had found their seat, there was a nice opening night delegation of fans on hand on what turned out to be a cool night but fortunately the winds dropped as the sun set. 

Thanks to Tyrone and Bob Timm and their staff as for an opening night program things seemed to move very smoothly. Next week should be a wild three nights for them. 

Oliver Jr. Steals A Win, Hibdon Dominates as Indee Opens

 The farmers are out in the fields in force and the temperatures are in the eighties. Can it be that Spring has finally arrived in full force in the Heartland? Lets hope so as the last few weeks have been brutal. 

With this as a back round, welcome to midweek racing in Iowa in April. When Independence Motor Speedway has their opener cancelled last weekend due to the brutal cold and rain, they were looking at a possible scenario where their first race of the 2026 racing season would feature the World of Outlaws Late Models in a special Tuesday night show on April 28th. To me, that would send up caution flags as I would never want to have my first race of the year feature one of the national touring groups where they tend to be rather particular about things like track conditions and being a tv show, the whole world will be watching to see how the racing is and how the track is. 

Apparently promoters Mike VanGenderen and Dana Benning felt the same way as I did, as in a rather surprising and bold move, they scheduled a special Tuesday night show on April 21st to get racers on the track before the Outlaws came to town. I call this race a social media event, as something like this could not be accomplished even a scant few years ago because there would not have been the mechanism to contract drivers, teams and fans on such short notice and put on a race three days later that was not even listed on the schedule. However, times have changed and I grudgingly admit that things are much different now with something like this fully able to be accomplished, as several other tracks in the country have already shown. 

So, on short notice, a six division program of racing with five IMCA classes among them, ran a full show on Tuesday  night, April 21st. I didn't have any idea what to expect in terms of both racer and fan support so I was a bit overwhelmed when one hundred and thirty seven drivers signed in to race including thirty one Modified drivers. There was also a nice sized crowd on hand, even though it was a school night and there were plenty of folks in the fields. Once again I underestimated the power of social media  to spur interest and the over riding desire of racers to get out and race, even as many of the season openers have been delayed by the weather. It takes guts to try something like this and that's one thing that MVG has plenty of but the reward of it working is that it just fuels his fire to try more inventive things, and that's one thing that short track racing could use a boost of. 

And along those lines, MVG came up with a twist to pique the driver's interest and that was group qualifying for the Stock Cars and Modifieds with those times used to line up the heat races and if the drivers made the invert, to benefit them with up front starting positions in the main events. With timing and scoring down during the qualifying, it was a little hard to follow just what was happening but it would appear at first glance that some of those drivers that qualified quick benefitted with up front starting positions in the main events. While the other classes used the more familiar draw/redraw format, we likely won't see this format again for awhile as I don't think it's an option under IMCA rules and I'm not sure that I'm ready to fully endorse it either. And for me, any format that involves qualifying is not my cut of tea. 

Laps on the track, which were an important part of tonight's racing, showed that the track stayed quite smooth and racy. It is a bit loose in the corners still, and did produce quite a big berm that they worked several times to smooth out and cut down. There was quite the nasty ridge going into turn one and the Outlaws will likely howl about that but MVG has a week to get that ship shape. 

Racing was good on the first night of 2026 and there were a couple of very exciting feature races. Certainly the one that should be most highlighted is the Stock Car feature  where John Oliver Jr stole a win after Kodey Miles led the opening sixteen laps until a late red flag totally changed things. 

Miles took the lead at the green with Casey Shelliam chasing him. However, both Oliver Jr and Tom Schmitt moved into contention quickly. Miles caught a break early as after just a lap he lost control on the back chute but the yellow flag saved him  and after that, he settled down and continued to lead. 

While his lead remained small, right behind him Oliver Jr and Schmitt really went at for second as they swapped that spot several times. As the laps ran down, the running order stayed the same until a late yellow set up a three lap race to the finish. 

Miles had been running the cushion the whole race and while it threw him around a bit several times, he was able to keep speed up using that line. However, he may well have out thought the last restart as he completely changed his line for the late push, running right on the tires and protecting the low side. Schmitt opted for the low side for the double file restart and that left the middle and top side wide open for Oliver Jr. He hammered that line, passing Schmitt and then closing up on Miles on the final lap. Oliver Jr got a great run off the final corner and in a finish too close to call, he edged out Miles by .051 seconds for a thrilling win. Miles settled for second with Schmitt right in the hunt to the finish also. 

This race saw two flips including a hard tumble by Vern Jackson off the first turn that triggered the late red flag. No injuries were reported and Adam Streeter, who was the other driver to flip, was able to drive his car to the pits. No such luck for Jackson however. 

Odd developments during the late stages of the Sport Mod feature completely changed the course of this race also. Will Wolf used the outside line to get the jump on Ben Chapman and lead the majority of the feature race. Chapman got close several times as they fought through lapped traffic including one cross over attempt that nearly worked but Wolf still led Chapman, Cole Suckow, Tony Olson and Jackson Carey at the midpoint of the race. 

Wolf looked to have things under control when the yellow waved with thirteen laps completed for debris when suddenly, at the same time, Wolf suddenly slowed and dove into the infield where a track worker hosed down the front end of his car with water. Wolf would return to the race at the back but never was a factor again. 

This turned the lead over to Chapman and he seemed in control but it took Suckow just one lap to wheel to the high side of the track and blast into the lead. After that he pulled away for the win over Chapman while Austin Kemp, who got disqualified from his heat, came from the back of the pack to finish third. 

Zach McNeese led the first half of the Hobby Stock feature, despite the fact that he was under heavy pressure from the team of Karter Miles and Carson Butt who while battling each other, were also pushing McNeese heavily. McNeese was running the cushion and the heavy berm sent him skittering several times but each time, he was able to save his car just enough to hold off Miles. 

With ten laps complete, McNeese finally jumped the cushion so significantly in turn four that Miles was able to drive past him and take over the lead. Shortly after, McNeese rolled a tire off the rim and was done. 

A late yellow, the first of the contest, set up a three lap sprint to the finish and while the two similar looking cars battled it out, Miles held off Butt to take the win. Putting on a show late was Briar Kriegel who came from twelfth to finish third but he was outdone by Jaren Fisher, who after getting a flat in his heat, came from twenty first to finish fourth. 

Dyllan Bonk, who made one of the longer pulls of the night from Hannibel Mo, made it worthwhile by topping the Sport Compact feature race. Tyler Fiebelkorn led the first lap but could not hold off Bonk after that, and he would lead the rest of the way for the win. 

An impressive charge was put on by Drew Stanek who started twelfth and was only up to fifth when the lone caution flag flew with four laps left. However, he really turned it on at this point and drove up to second, nipping Fielbelkorn at the wire for the spot. 

Kollin Hibdon was one of those Modified drivers that had a quick qualifying effort and he used that to start on the pole for the Modified main event. He was scored the lead of all twenty laps but it was not an easy win. First of all, he was challenged hard by Joel Rust who  started in the second row and he was also earning his money as there was considerable lapped traffic in a race that saw the last sixteen laps go non stop. 

Several times Hibdon was forced to make some daring moves in traffic to keep Rust behind him and one time near the halfway point, Rust actually cleared for the lead, only to see Hibdon cross him over and maintain the top spot. .

Near the ned, Hibdon hit a gaggle of four cars and it was his ability to worm his way past them that gave him the edge to drive on for the win. Rust got caught up by that same group and a hard charging Ethan Braaksma nipped him for second on the final lap . Spencer Diercks and and Tory Morris III completed the top five. 

It was also an historic night in that the Crown Vics raced as a part of the program for the first time at Indee. With a nice turn out of drivers from the Dubuque area where they have been racing this class, there were thirteen of them for their debut race. Derrick Dean took the lead on the opening lap and led from start to finish in a race that went green to checkers. There were only five cars running on the lead lap at the finish but all but two saw the checkers. 

As usual, while it might have been an opening night, MVG and his crew ran off a quick program. While they started a little later than I and perhaps others would have hoped for at 7:30 pm, they ran off the whole show in three hours and eight minutes, thus still making it a fairly early evening for those that didn't have to drive five hours home. 

Could someone please encourage the Fair Board and perhaps start a fund or find a sponsor willing to foot the bill for a scoreboard? That item is grossly missing and a working scoreboard hasn't been seen here for years. Even before that, the one that they had was unreadable from even the first row of the grandstands. Just saying. 

A couple of Late Models were on hand to get some hot laps but for veteran driver Jeff Aikey things couldn't have gone worse. He only made a couple laps before his car blew up in a cloud of smoke, steam and much flames. Let's hope it wasn't as bad as it looked, as he has races coming up soon. 

Thanks to MVG, Dana and their crew. 

Martin Tops ASCS Midwest/Sprint Invaders Show at Stuart

 It was a sunny but brisk Sunday April 19th at the Stuart Speedway with a nasty wind blowing right into the grandstands. However, a fine crowd braved the elements for the first special event of the year at Stuart as the ASCS Midwest Series and the Sprint Invaders co-sanctioned a rare open wheel event at the Stuart quarter mile. With the Sprint drivers being frustrated by the weather with cancellations and postponements a plenty, a rare chance to race brought a great field of forty one drivers to the track and it was Ankeny Iowa driver Chris Martin that took the checkered flag and returned to the Capital district with an extra four grand in his pocket. 

The top five IMCA classes that normally race at Stuart were also on hand to provide a complete program and many drivers that normally don't race at Stuart took advantage of the rare Sunday show to further stack the field, providing stiff competition in all five classes. Those winners included Colbin Funke, Braden Gifford, Buck Schafroth, Jake Sachau and Todd Shute. 

One hundred and fifty seven drivers signed in to race on Sunday and if you're familiar with the Stuart facility, you know that there isn't room for that many race cars in their pit area, particularly when the Sprint Car rigs are over sized to begin with. It made for kind of a circus atmosphere as late arriving entrants had to part where ever they could find a flat space, and that is also a challenge at the Stuart facility where the pits and spectator parking is done on a rather rolling area. Race cars were all over the parking lot with the spectator parking thus forced to share space with the racers. I wouldn't call it a "cluster" as everyone seemed to work through it and I didn't hear of any racers that missed their events because they couldn't get to the track, but it was definitely an interesting visual for sure. 

Forty one Sprint Cars was a terrific turnout and that alone made for a big show. Group qualifying started out the show but then later some sort of a scoring gaff forced officials to nullify the time trials with them then using the pill draw number for qualifying to line up the heat races with passing points then used to line up the feature races. 

They also had another activity for the Sprint drivers called the "Top Dog Challenge" where if a driver put one hundred dollars in a separate pot and then won the feature, the extra bonus money would be his. It turned out that winner Martin did exactly that and thus doubled his winnings. 

They do this activity at a lot of big races on the East Coast where they call it "The Gamblers Pot" but it serves the same purpose and is kind of an interesting addition. 

Twenty drivers qualified for the Sprint Car feature which would be a very quick twenty five lap blast on the Stuart quarter mile. There would actually be three different leaders of the race and just one slow down to pause the action. 

Colton Fisher got the jump on Chase Brown to lead the early going with Chris Martin battling with Austin McCarl for third. Fisher controlled the early laps with Brown not able to cut into his lead. As the leaders got to lapped traffic however, Brown was able to close in and made an attempt to pass but Fisher fought him off and continued to hold the top spot. 

However, shockingly, with nine laps complete, Fisher suddenly slowed in turn one with serious issues and the yellow flag waved. The leader was done with Brown inheriting the top spot followed by Martin, McCarl, Seth Bergman and Garrett Benson. 

This was Martin's opportunity and when the green reappeared, he challenged Brown for the lead hard. For a number of laps, Brown would hold off Martin but he started getting just a bit higher in the corners and that was slowing him down the chutes. On lap nineteen, Martin got a great run off turn four, threw a slider in turn one and took  over the lead from Brown. Martin would then pull away over the last six laps and drive home unchallenged for the win. 

McCarl would also get past Brown to take over the second spot but he didn't have time to challenge Martin for the win. Bergman finished fourth and brother Cam Martin raced his way into the top five at the end. It was a very smooth program by the Sprint drivers despite the fact that many hadn't seen this track before. There were no flips or serious wrecks with a couple of blown motors being the biggest set backs of the night. 

It was not hard to find some other feature races that were dandy events either. The evening's finale, the Modified main, was a great two driver battle between Tyler Inman and Tom Berry Jr that unfortunately, didn't work out the best for either at the end. 

Inman took the initial lead but Berry Jr, who started in the fourth row, wasted little time getting to the front and within a half dozen laps, was all over Inman for the lead. Berry Jr threw a slider and was first scored the leader on lap eight but Inman, despite being a Modified rookie, didn't back down and the result was some thrilling action as the top two drivers swapped the lead on virtually every corner for the next several laps with a series of wild slide jobs. 

Berry Jr kept serving up "sliders" but Inman returned everything he had been dished out with him finally regaining the lead on lap twelve. However, one lap later on the back chute things were wrong and Berry Jr spun while Inman got sideways but saved his car. I thought it to be just the product of some great hard driving but Berry Jr, perhaps among others, didn't agree and after the yellow waved, He made hard contact with Inman's car before leaving the track. He should have been disqualified for hitting a car under the yellow but for some reason that wasn't done. 

Inman was restored as the leader but when he hit a bump wrong in turn one and lost time, Todd Shute, who was stalking both the leaders, went barreling past and took over the lead. Inman was never able to regain a change and settled for second while Shute seemingly came from no where to garner the win. Chase Weimer, Jesse Dennis and Troy Morris III completed the top five. 

The Stock Car feature was also an excellent race with the winning pass not completed until lap seventeen of the twenty lapper. For most of the race, it was Miciah Hildebaugh that showed the way but he was under intense pressure on every lap. 

Both Dillon Richards and Buck Schafroth were all over the leader and often times, it was both of them challenging at the same time with one working the cushion and one looking to nose under Miciah. And early on, Owen Barnhill might have been the strongest of the challengers until he dumped fluid all over the track and called it a night. 

A late yellow with just four laps to go when Brad Derry lost a top five spot by spinning on the front chute set up one last banzai run by the pack. Schafroth was determined to make the outside line work and when Hildebaugh pushed going into turn one, Buck was able to drive by and take over the lead. He was then able to fight off a last lap attempt by Hildebaugh to get the lead back and drove home the winner. Richards settled for a very close third as Austin Meiners and Wahoo Albertsen completed the top five. 

A big field of Hobby Stocks, as it seems that every track is getting so far this year, was on hand Sunday with twenty four of them starting the feature race. They put on a great battle with tons of "pack" style racing in three and four wide fashion. And even better, they raced hard without causing yellows as only two minor issues slowed the race. 

Shane Butler grabbed the early lead with Braden Gifford, Rusty Bates, Kale Hemsley and Solomon Bennett all tight behind the leader. Each lap they were swapping positions on the track but no one was able to get past Butler. 

Finally, on lap eight, Gifford got a great run off turn four and edged into the lead down the front chute.  He was then able to hold off the pack for the rest of the race but never had a moment when he wasn't challenged. Late in the race, Tom Killen Jr and Keith Burg put on a show as after advancing from the fifth and six rows respectively, they moved to the front and put the most pressure on Gifford. Killen Jr held on by inches to second with him only less than a car length behind Gifford as they finished up. Briar Kriegel from eighth and Adam Hensel from fourteenth, completed the top five. 

Colbin Funke surprised many when after others battled for the win in the Sport Compact feature, he kind of snuck up from the fourth row and made the winning pass on lap nine. Early on it was Michael Gardner who led the field with Tyler Fiebelkorn along with Carson and Rece Hayes that were putting heavy pressure on Gardner. 

On lap five, Carson took over the lead from Gardner but Fiebelkorn was still challenging on every lap. Funke had worked his way up to third by the halfway point and using the higher line on the track, he continued to advance. 

On lap nine, he was able to get past Carson and take over the lead and then pulled away to record the win. Fiebelkorn battled with the third different driver to be in front of him, but he settled for second at the finish with Carson third. There was only a single yellow and all but one starter finished the Sport Compact main. 

Everything was in place for an excellent Sport Mod feature with some of the heavy hitters back a few rows and it looking like we would see some great charges through the pack. And while many of the top runners did eventually get to the front, they didn't get to race it out for the win because the yellow flag kept flying and slowing down the race. 

It was a shame because I think we were really set up to see a great three car battle for the win but spinning drivers kept that from happening. Joselyn Elmquist lead the first four laps and was doing an excellent job of fighting off some spirited challenges. 

Of the front runners, Jake Sachau was the first to get to the front after starting in the fifth row and using the top side to gain speed, he drove past Elmquist on lap five for the lead. However, by that time, the yellow had already flown three times with many more to come. Dylan VanWyk and Brayton Carter were having a great battle for second, swapping lanes on the track with each yellow causing a "choose cone" decision that I love as it adds another aspect to the race strategy. 

We really wanted to see those top three battle it out but that never was possible because the yellow kept flying, with eight times in all slowing the action and finally management cut some laps and with another yellow pausing the race, they called the event complete two laps earlier even. 

Sachau took the win with VanWyk second and Carter scored third. Elmquist hung on for fourth with Will Wolf rounding out the top five. 

The only down side to the program was that it did get a bit long with the final checkered waving at just before 11 pm, which is much too late on a Sunday. Tempering that though is the fact that obviously with so many cars there is a lot of racing to be done. And the Sprint show is a special for many of the fans and they understand that and with their feature done relatively early, the fans who came to see them could leave along with drivers that may have pulled a great distance. A Sunday show that late weekly could not be tolerated but once a year and for a special, we get it. Glad to see a big crowd on hand to support the event. 

Mills and VanWyk Open Wheel Stars at Boone

 In what seems to be the normal situation so far in 2026, about the only track in Iowa and likely also the whole Midwest to be able to race these days and especially on Saturday has been the Boone Speedway. 

For the second straight Saturday, virtually every other track for a considerable distance has been either rained out or cancelled due to the unfavorable forecasts. Meanwhile, Boone races no matter what the conditions are, draws a huge field of racers while having virtually no spectators in the stands, puts on an excellent and speedy show and manages to do so on a smooth and racy track. Even the car count was almost an exact clone of what the numbers were last week. 

While it was drier this Saturday, it was also colder and a very brisk wind made watching the show less than pleasant, likely the fact that even though the sun was shining the crowd was made up of mostly the hardcore and well prepared race fans. Again, the four divisions of IMCA racing featured here every week drew well over one hundred and sixty drivers and with the Mod Lites also having nearly thirty drivers, the total field was pushing the two hundred mark again, nearly the exact number for last week's opener. All classes but the Modifieds were forced to run multiple B Features due to high car counts and nearly thirty races were run in total with the whole show lasting about four and a half hours. 

As usual, they started right at the advertised time and with the one spin rule in effect and drivers understanding that they better move if they spin, the nineteen heat races were completed with the yellow being used just five times. I think this is be biggest part of the program that I see different down here than in many locations, and that is that they get the preliminaries out of the way quickly whereas at many places by the time the heats have been slogged through, you feel like you've seen a full show already and let's not even consider those many places that feel they must qualify one or perhaps multiple classes of cars where by the time the time trials are done, you are ready to find the exits. 

With rain just before the program not an issue like last Saturday, the track was quite a bit different this week but still raced well. It was drier, there was no big cushion but it raced wide and there was plenty of side by side racing in all divisions. The crews were happy because there was not near the amount of mud to be scrapped off the cars afterward however, and the speedway didn't lose nearly the amount of race surface that they did last week. 

The program was the same with the Mod Lites proceeding the Sport Mods and Mods, followed by the Stock Cars and the Hobby Stocks. Once again, while all classes were full, the Hobby Stocks continued to come "out of the weeds" with fifty four of them on hand, racing for just twenty four spots. 

I'm not fully certain but it appeared that the heat races were lined up by point average with the lower average toward the front and new arrivals this week starting in the back. It then also looked like those that were in the top twelve that made the redraw were then inverted again for the mains. In part because of this and also likely due to track able to race on, only one of the four feature winners started in the front row with other winners coming from the second, fourth and sixth rows of their mains to victory. 

The driver that made the biggest advance was Dylan VanWyk who started the Sport Mod feature in the eleventh spot. But he didn't stay there long as he quickly moved into contention. Will Wolf was the early leader with Gage Hilgenberg and Ryan Leeman pressuring him. Meanwhile, VanWyk was on the move, passing drivers on both the low and top side of the track as he quickly worked his way into the top five. 

He was knocking off a position a lap as he moved to the front and just as the halfway point of the race came, he made a spectacular move, going from third to first just as Logan Kelly signaled the halfway point of the race. Cam Reimers had also climbed into the top five and was also heading to the front. Also putting on a show was last week's winner Jake Sachau who had spun out by himself early on and had to go to the tail of the field. 

One late yellow bunched the field for the second time but it caused no problem for VanWyk who again pulled away from the pack and raced home for the win. Reimers continued his charge, moving up to second in the late going while Sachau also continued to hustle, getting up to third at the finish. Hunter Poston and Tyler Heckart completed the top five.

Jeremy Mills was the driver to beat in the Modified class on Saturday as he started seventh and drove up to the front for the win, but only after a good three driver battle with Chaz Baca Jr and Jake McBirnie. Brandon Leeman led the opening lap before Baca Jr got past him with both McBirnie and Mills also moving up in the running order. 

For several laps there was a close three car battle for the lead with Mills trying the top side of the track while McBirnie worked right on the tires hoping to sneak past Baca Jr. One lap before the halfway point, both got a good run and blew past Baca Jr on either side, dropping him quickly to third. 

There were a pair of late yellows in the last five laps that bunched the field and while McBirnie continued to try and slip past on the low side of the track, Mills worked the cushion and kept his speed up and drove home for the win. Baca Jr settled for third with Todd Shute and Corey Sauerman also finishing in the top five. 

While the Stock Car feature saw Jimmy Gustin become the only winner from the front row, that doesn't convey the message of what a tough battle it was for him to take the win, along with the fact that he didn't make the winning pass until lap seventeen of the twenty lapper. 

Garrett Corn rode the cushion to take the lead on lap one but he was quickly passed by Josh Daniels who was running the extreme inside line. The track was changing at this point with more and more drivers heading to the low side of the track. Gustin moved into second as he got by Corn and then began the task of finding an opening to get past Daniels for the lead. 

Jimmy tried high on one end and low on the other but each time came up just short of making the pass for the top spot. By the halfway point of the race, he had settled in behind Daniels, stalking his every move and trying to nose under him on each lap. Troy Jerovetz had moved into third, ahead of Corn and Matt Meineke. 

Daniels was really blocking the low line as the race went into its second half. He was quite slow coming out of the corners but no one seemed able to get a run on the top side of him and he was keeping the door closed on the low side. Finally, an opening occurred on lap sixteen as Daniels slipped off the bottom just a bit exiting turn four. Gustin was right there to poke a nose under him and they raced side by side down the back stretch with Gustin edging out into the lead. 

Jimmy quickly pulled away then over the last four laps and had a comfortable lead as he took the checkered flag. Daniels managed to hold off Jerovetz for second with last week's winner Braden Richards making a big charge from twelfth to fourth, ahead of Corn. This race went green to checkered and only one driver failed to finish with all twenty three still on the lead lap. 

The Hobby Stocks completed the evening's entertainment and there was plenty of slicing, dicing and a bit of banging in their fifteen lap main, even though they did have only a single yellow flag and just three drivers that didn't finish the race. 

Joey Young led the opening lap before he was overtaken by Will Smith who was using the high side around the track. The lone yellow flew with five laps complete and on the restart Smith was challenged by Young and Seth Butler, still running his replacement car for the one he wrecked. 

Smith continued to work the cushion as he maintained the lead with Alex Yoerger having a strong run as he moved up to second by the halfway point of the race with about the top six to eight drivers running in a tight pack. 

Coming on strong in the second half of the race were the Gifford's along with Corey VanDerwilt as they all raced their way into contention with the running order changing often and a few quarter panels thrown at each other. 

Braden Gifford made the strong effort as he got past Yoerger for second and closed on Smith, but Will had the cushion figured out and while Gifford closed to within several car lengths, he couldn't made a serious run as the race remained under the green the rest of the way. Yoerger settled for third with VanDerwilt and Young completing the top five. After the race, starter Kelly was headed for the pits to "consult" with at least a driver or two. 

It was another solid night of racing done in a very efficient manner. The cold and wind made it miserable for the fans on hand but they did see a good show with temps dipping into the thirties before the final checkered waved. Drivers that either didn't make a main or as soon as their race was completed didn't hang around tonight to shoot the breeze but instead headed out of the pits, no doubt seeking heat and shelter from the wind. 

Thanks again to everyone that works or puts on the show at Boone for their efforts. Now if we can just start to warm up and dry off, it would be appreciated by many. 

Boone Refuses To Lose, Snyder Upset Modified Winner

 A lot of race tracks were struggling with the weather on Saturday, April 11th with the vast majority of them getting rained out. Across the entire Midwest region, finding a race track that was running on Saturday was difficult. 

And then there is Boone. They probably lucked out to a certain degree, not getting the very heavy rain that some places did. But they were also resilient in that they didn't pull the plug as soon as the first showers hit. They posted, and then did wait until after the rain stopped to check their track conditions and then announce that they were still racing. It was not a nice night and it would have been very easy to just call it a wash out and come back next Saturday. 

But instead they chose to fight the elements, bringing out their  arsenal of equipment and working the track with no less than eight tractors with dragging equipment behind each one. 

But they weren't done with the weather battle yet. Around 5 pm, with the pits full of racers and then nearing time for hot laps, they got hit with another round of rain, and it did come down fairly hard for a few minutes. At this point, virtually every other track that I can think of would have then called it a night, congratulated themselves on giving it their best effort, and calling it a night. 

However, those others aren't Boone. The tractors kept circling the track, even in the rain and they just kept on working the surface after the the rain stopped. They got some great help from the racers with a large number of them willing to come out and finish off the packing and that is not often seen any more either. I'm guessing that part of this was due to the fact there were so many out of towners that didn't drive a long way to race just to load up and go home. By 8:15 pm the hot laps were completed and it was time to go racing. I would never have thought it possible but then again, I don't get to Boone too often to see their resolve in action. Thank you from a pair of goofs hundreds of miles away from home that don't know any better than to try and get a race in on a Saturday night. 

The car count was gigantic with one hundred and sixty six drivers signing in to race in the four IMCA core classes. Throw in over two dozen Mod Lites and you have a very impressive field on hand. Obviously the threatening weather didn't scare of the drivers with virtually all parts of Iowa represented by racers on Saturday. 

Interestingly though, even though there was a monster field of competitors on hand, there were barely enough Modified drivers on hand to fill out a full field. This would seem to indicate that even in this area, Modified car counts are going to be an area of concern at many tracks in 2026. 

This would be a huge night of racing with multiple B Features needed in three of the competing classes. There were nineteen heat races alone not counting the Mod Lites and twenty nine races in total. And not a whisper of dust all night as the black dirt stayed heavy and was throwing mud up through the final laps on the track. The track work that needed doing was done during two breaks to simply pack the cushion and try and widen out the groove as much as possible. 

The secret that Boone knows only too well about running off a quick program is to have the races lined up and move through them quickly while also laying down the law that yellow flags simply aren't allowed! How about this statistic. They went through fifteen heat races before the first yellow flag was waved and as it turned out that was the only yellow in all the heat races! Total!

That is a mind blower, especially on what was a wet track with many drivers on hand running new cars making their first runs of the year and certainly a number that had never raced at Boone before. I wish there was a way to send this message out to a number of other tracks that shoot themselves in the feet weekly by running a dragged out program that is peppered by yellow flag slowdowns. In the meantime, I will just enjoy my visits to places like Boone, Marshalltown and Stuart that dazzle with their quick shows. I love to watch starter Logan Kelly stare down drivers and make them move, no matter where they are sitting on the track wanting a yellow. 

Before we go into the race results , I must give a "shout out" to Hobby Stock driver Seth Butler. On Wednesday night at Stuart we all saw him take the wildest of flips with his car disintegrating before our eyes. The machine looked to be a write off and I had to wonder if that was his season done hardly before it even started. 

But then, in the surprise of the night, Butler shows up tonight with a different Hobby Stock and racing at Boone just three days after his wild ride. Granted, the car looks a little rough but he was racing and that was the big thing. An apparent overheating issue in his heat put him behind the eight ball early and he couldn't fight his way out of a B Feature to make the main, but the most important thing on this night was that he was back at it and didn't let the racing Gods beat him. Way to go Mr. Butler. 

The feature race action saw a variety of outcomes. Half of the features were won by drivers that had to gain four or five rows to get to the front and two of the features were won by drivers that started right in the front row. The track remained heavy and a cushion started to build up but there were certainly some drivers that were able to move forward a considerable amount. 

The were some familiar faces up front in victory lane and some upsets and I thought perhaps the biggest surprise was in the Modified feature where Jacob Snyder drove an excellent race to take the win. Even though he started on the pole, it was not an easy win by any means and he actually didn't take the lead until the fourteenth lap. 

Before that, the race lead was controlled by the western Iowa veteran Jay Noteboom who used momentum from the outside starting position to jump into the early lead. And after a first lap yellow for a spinning car, the race would go remarkably well with many laps of green flag racing. 

Snyder was all over Noteboom, looking to the outside and inside lanes and trying to get past but each time, Noteboom had just enough to fight him off. Russ Dickerson, Izac Mallicoat and Owen Barnhill were having a good battle for third that stretched past the halfway point. 

On lap fourteen, Snyder got a good run off the top side in turn four and powering down the front chute, he squeezed between Noteboom and the wall to take over the lead, after which he put some distance on the field. A late yellow caused by a driver needlessly stopping on the track while running a lap down at the back of the pack shouldn't have happened, but it did and that bunched up the field. 

Snyder got away cleanly at the start and put some distance on Noteboom as he drove on through the final three laps for the win. Noteboom fought off Mallicoat for third while the big loser was Barnhill who got moved up into the mud and lost a bunch of spots. Dickerson finished fourth with Cory Sauerman completing the top five. 

The deepest drive from back in the pack was performed by Jake Sachau who started on the outside of row five in the Sport Mod feature. Rocky Caudle had gotten the jump on the start but then his car conked out on him, stacking up the pack and creating quite a wild mess. 

The restart saw veteran Randy Havlik take the lead with Sachau flying to the front and up to third by lap eight when the yellow flew for the second time for a spinner. Sachau then put the pressure on Havlik who was able to hold him off for a few laps but just at the halfway point Sachau blew past to take over the lead and from that point, he stepped away from the field. 

As Ben Chapman moved into third, Brett Thomas lost a good top five run when his car slowed and he headed for  the infield. Sachau was long gone by this time as he stretched his advantage to a full straightaway and with no stoppages the last half of the race, he drove home in the clear for the win. Havlik was able to hold off Chapman for second while the driver on the move the last half of the race was Mike Smith. He came from twentieth on the grid to race up to fourth and was still coming when he ran out of laps. 

Braden Richards came from the fourth row to win the Stock Car feature, a race that saw a long three car battle for the lead until Richards finally asserted his dominance. 

David Smith used the outside pole to take the early lead but he was soon joined by Buck Schafroth and Richards in a battle for the lead. The only yellow of the race came from a lap six tangle that saw several cars strewn down the front stretch. However, the same three continued to fight it out after racing resumed with Smith having his hands full as both Schafroth and Richards were all over him as they jockeyed for position. 

Richards was finally able to get into second and then he quickly challenged Smith for the top spot. Using that same high line in turn four that others found successful, he blew past Smith who was guarding the low line and roared into the lead on lap twelve. After that, he pulled away as Smith now had Schafroth challenging him again. 

Ultimately, Schafroth was successful as he took over second but no one had anything for Richards as she drove on for the win. Hunter Smith and Tyler Pickett completed the top five. 

A first lap tangle on the front chute was Eric Knutson go off on the hook in the Hobby Stock feature which was then followed by the most dominant performance of the night. Joren Fisher used the outside line to jump into the lead and simply power away from the field. 

It didn't hurt that the rest of the race went off nonstop and the field got spread out, but Fisher was so much faster than his competition, pulling to nearly a half lap advantage over the competition. 

Most of his time was spent working through lapped traffic which he did expertly and at the finish, he had a comfortable lead over the field to garner the win. Matt McDonald started in the second row and fought his way into second  but he was quite a distance behind the winner. Jamie Coady finished third while Braden Gifford started dead last on the grid and drove all the way up to fourth at the checkers. A huge field of fifty three Hobby Stocks made just making the feature a challenge. 

Jerry VanSickel reported that the final checkers of the night waved at 12:29 am and while that is late, it was still much better than it could have been. We were looking at a program that lasted just over four hours and when you consider the number of races run, it was done in a pretty efficient manner. Thanks to the track officials and the vast majority of the drivers for their work and cooperation. I doubt the track made much money on Saturday. There was a small crowd on hand with the cool and threatening weather and that's part of what could have made it so simple to just cancel. But they proved to the drivers and kept their reputation going that if there is any way in creation that races can be held, Boone will find a way. And that's what keeps everyone coming back. 

Sobbing Wins Late Model Thriller, Mackenthun a Stock Car Charger at Park Jeff

 While many tracks fell to bad weather on Friday night, April 10th, the Siouxland opener was achieved as Park Jefferson International Speedway was able to start their regular season on Friday under partly cloudy skies but with a cool breeze chilling the fans and participants. 

Highlights of the opening night program saw Jesse Sobbing edge out Zach Zeitner in a wild Late Model feature that was not decided until the final straightaway and a charge by Dan Mackenthun from the sixth row late to top the Stock Car feature. Zach Ankrum did his own charge from the fifth row to win the Hobby Stock feature while other winners included Brandon Beckendorf and Levi Volkert. 

It was an all IMCA program on Friday night with the six staple classes that dominate IMCA racing being presented. A very fine field of one hundred and twenty six drivers from four states signed in for opening night racing on a smooth and very fast track in the early going. Actually, the track was a little on the muddy start for the opening heat races but did work in quickly and by the late feature races, started to dry out some and then opened up the bottom lane which was largely absent earlier. 

Park, being a Friday night track, sees a late rush of entrants after they have gotten off work and it was especially so on this Friday for some reason as activity at the back gate was crazy for the last half hour before hot laps were scheduled. However, track workers did a fine job getting everyone signed in and lineups prepared so that racing could begin at 7:15 pm. 

One of the late arrivals was Anthony Ainsley who was scheduled to work the SLMR program in Davenport, one of many tracks to fall to the wrath of the weather, but he turned around in Des Moines and became the co-announcer here in a last minute change of plans. 

It was one of those nights when the heat races go oh so smooth and it looks like its going to be an early and tidy night of racing. Then the features come out and all, you know what, breaks loose and the frustration mounts among everyone. 

Actually it was just the first two features that had such a terrible time staying under the green but they threw such a monkey wrench into things that the lost time was never able to be made up and it turned into an "after eleven" show which many fans bailed on early due to the unpleasant coldness that the nasty breeze blew in. 

And while it was a noble idea to let all the Hobby Stocks and Sport Mods run the feature race, in hindsight a B Feature in each class might have been the  better option. When you have twenty eight and twenty seven drivers respectively in each feature with skill and seasoning widely divergent, that is like asking for trouble, and that's what we got, not so much with big wrecks but with spin out after spin out. 

The Hobby Stock feature rolled off first and they were one of the classes to struggle with four yellows in the first eight laps. Steven Taylor took the lead off the pole with Tony Fetterman applying pressure and Taylor not able to build up much advantage with the yellow nixing his gain. 

Dalton Young and Carter Davis were also in the running early with Zach Ankrum gradually working his way forward after starting ninth on the grid. Ankrum didn't appear in the top five until the halfway point of the race when he vaulted up to third and then quickly second and then one lap later made a move for the lead, only to see the last yellow negate that move. 

However, Taylor could only hold him off for one more lap before Ankrum dove under him to take the lead and then began to pull away as he was one of the few able to make the low side work. He continued to extend his lead as the final half of the race went nonstop. Taylor hung on for second with Young, Davis and Travis Landauer, from twenty fourth to round out the field. 

The Sport Mods had an even tougher time keeping their race going as the yellow waved six times with management even cutting a couple of laps off their event. Mary Hahn took the lead for a single lap before she was overpowered by Caleb Woodard, a winner here last month. And once Woodard took the lead, he was able to hold it the rest of the way, despite all the yellows and slowdowns. 

Each time the green would reappear, he would again pull away from the field and was not seriously challenged for the entire race. It was just a matter of him not making any mistakes with the frequent stoppages. Hahn hung in there in second despite a challenge from Kirk Beatty who later would spin and get clobbered, ending his night. 

While the top two remained constant, there was considerable shuffling behind them due to the many yellows and some of the spins that took out contenders. At the end, it was Jake Newsom who moved up to third with Alec Fett and Riley Osantowski completing the top five. 

The Stock Car feature saw a surprise finish as a late run by Mackenthun saw him eat up much distance and make a late race pass for the win. Early on it was Mike Vondrak holding the lead despite constant pressure from Travis Barker who was riding close behind the leader. The front cars were riding the cushion and right up against the edge of the track. 

Mackenthun started to make big headway near the halfway point of the race as he gradually edged forward after starting in the sixth row and when he  found the low groove, he began passing drivers in rapid fashion. While he was only up to fifth at the halfway point, shortly after that he really began to advance. 

The race saw a big change when on lap fourteen, Vandrak got too high in turn two and slipped over the banking while at the same time, Mackenthun ducked under Barker and when the yellow flew, he found himself to be the new leader. 

One more late yellow set up a four lap sprint but Mackenthun continued to work the low line and he pulled away for the win over Barker. Ryan Harris moved up to  third while late charges by Greg Peck and Jordan Rogotzke got them into the top five. 

The Late Model feature was a dandy with the issue not resolved until the leaders crossed the line and saw the checkered flag. Jordan Krug shot from the inside of row two to pass both Jesse Sobbing and Jody Krug on the opening lap to take the early lead. Sobbing then moved up and began to challenge Jordan for the lead. 

They went at it hard with Sobbing taking over the lead on lap five. Jordan Krug stayed close and then began to battle with Zach Zeitner for second with the top three breaking away from the pack as they continued to jockey for position. 

Zeitner was able to move into second and the last several laps of the race saw he and Sobbing battling for the win. Zach would try moves both inside and up against the cushion but each time Jesse would fight him off. The race was culminated on the final lap when Zeitner threw a huge slider on Sobbing in turn four. He briefly held the lead but his huge move then forced him to slide up the track. Sobbing made a left hand turn to cut under Zeitner, was able to avoid a collision between the two and beat Zeitner to the line by less than a car length in a brand new car making its first run. 

Jordan Krug settled for third with Landan Rojewski and Cody Thompson completing the top five in what was an exciting race. 

The Modified feature was a two car battle from start to finish. Brandon Beckendorf started on the pole and actually would be the leader for all twenty laps of the main event. However, ever step was challenged by Cody Laney who followed his tire tracks for most of the race. 

Laney, who thrilled the crowd when he came from the back to win a heat race, quickly moved up from fifth to second and then began to chase Beckendorf. They had a tight contest with no more than a couple car lengths separating them for most of the race. However, Beckendorf made no mistakes and when he changed up to a lower line late in the race, Laney was still unable to get past him. 

Beckendorf then drove on for the win and revealed in victory lane that he was running a spec engine in his car that he was experimenting with. Laney finished a close second with Shawn Harker, Izac Mallicoat and Shane DeMey  completing the top five. 

The Sport Compacts rounded out the night with Levi Volkert taking the win in that class. Justice Limoges grabbed the lead from the pole and led the first half of the race as Volkert battled with Gilbert Aldape for second. By the halfway point of the race, which was stopped only once and that with just a lap done, Volkert had moved into second and then, with a sweeping move in turn three, drove around Limoges to take over the top spot. 

After that, Volkert pulled away for the win. A late rush saw Lennie Anders move forward for second with Limoges fading back to fifth as both Aldape and Tyler Thompson passed him late. 

It was a nice track all night and the racing was for the most part good. Just a few too many yellow flags bogged things down from time to time but overall, a good night of racing. Thanks to Trent Chinn and his staff and they will next be in action on April 17th with another six class program. 

Berry Tops "Swell Night" of Racing at Stuart

 I suppose that a "swell night" of racing is not often used in the headline for a blog report of a night of racing. However, when I thought of a clever headline for this night's report, the first thing that popped into my brain was that it was a "swell night" of racing and a great way to start the season at Stuart. 

What made it "swell?" Just about everything I guess. If cooperating weather, a great field of drivers in all classes, a spectacularly fast race track that still provided side by side racing, many interesting races that also provided more than it's share of surprises and for those so inclined, a few spectacular wrecks and a very quick program are your definition of a "swell night", that Stuart delivered in spades. 

Wednesday night, April 8th marked the debut for 2026 for IMCA racing, and indeed, for racing in general on the dirt tracks of Iowa. It was long overdue with a number of races within the last week all washed or frozen out and there was clearly much anticipation for the first wheels to turn and unlike other years, there was not even a chance for a practice session at Stuart so everyone was going into the night just not sure of what they had. 

And Wednesday almost didn't happen either but the rains proved to be light and the showers scheduled for evening turned into just a few sprinkles that the track could handle. However, I was not very far down the road heading home before I hit wet pavement that could have caused a short night if it had steered just a bit more South. 

There was plenty of anticipation in the pits on Wednesday with many folks just ready to get the new season started. For Stuart, it would be their sixty fifth year of racing at the little bowl located on the North side of Stuart. 

One highlight of opening night is the opportunity to just stroll through the pits, check out the new machines, see what everyone has come up with over the course of the long Winter and talk with a few familiar people and meet new ones. I had the chance to speak briefly with Anthony Davis, who I recognized from his recent article on the IMCA page writing by Ben Deatherage. I also had the chance to speak with track announcer Tony Paris, a familiar voice at this track and others in Iowa. And of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Iowa without running into "Crazy Martin", the mayor of Ogden. 

Many of the racers arrive at the last minute at Stuart, simply because some people have to work on Wednesdays. Yet, with the long line running down the road into the pits, some great work by track officials got them all signed in and lineups posted so there would be no delays, something that frequently happens on opening nights. 

One hundred and twenty drivers signed in to race on opening night plus the Mini Mods and for the first time ever, the Crown Vics are now a part of the racing program at Stuart. They are pushing their limit running seven classes on a week night and while it was done smoothly on this night, not every night will proceed smoothly and I worry about the shows starting to try to cram ten pounds in a five pound bag. 

The track may have been as good as I have ever seen it here. Certainly it was the fastest I can ever remember in my trips here. The cars were blinding fast in all classes and while the speeds were blistering, they were still able to race side by side. I felt that the entry speeds into the corners were almost scary and  I predicted to myself that we would see some wild flips during the night, something that unfortunately did come true. 

I was pleased to see that they were using the "choose cone" for the feature action. A number of sanctioning bodies have given the OK for tracks to use this as a restart option but not many have, famously the USMTS that has dropped the option. I still like the drama and strategy the "choose cone" provides and we later saw that strategy used on several occasions. 

One of the things that helps move the show along here is the one spin rule and the gumption to hold off throwing the yellow until the last second. Wednesday night they ran off fifteen heat races and the yellow had to be waved only twice. That is even more impressive given that it was opening night, many drivers were racing new cars and most hadn't had any practice sessions. Congratulations to both management and the drivers for doing their best to make the show move right along. 

B Features were needed for both the Hobby Stocks and Sport Mods with both classes having both large and strong fields of entrants. With only the briefest of pauses to pack the cushion for a few minutes, after these two races were over it was time for the seven feature races. 

The Crown Vics had six entrants for their first ever appearance at the track. Tate Haffner led the opening lap before being passed by Marty Pelzer who then went on to lead the rest of the twelve laps to take the win. This was by far the most sedate of the features with the action ramping up quickly after they were done. 

The Sport Mods had one of the fastest and deepest fields of quality drivers that I can remember at this track and they raced like that and while it will be officially listed as Mike Smith leading from start to finish, that would hardly describe how the race actually progressed. 

Smith did pull out to a big lead  immediately, extending it to nearly a full straightaway and finding himself catching the back of the field quickly. Then things got interesting as Jake Sachau, who started sixth, got into second and then, as Smith got slowed in traffic, quickly caught him for the lead. 

By the halfway point, he was to the rear bumper of Smith who was fighting to get past some of the two wide traffic and having a tough time of it. With Cam Reimers, Dylan VanWyk and Devyn Peterson closing, they quickly got very exciting. Sachau went for the lead, trying to get around Smith while both were fighting through the slower cars. This created a big collision off turn two that saw the slower cars spinning and Jeremiah Reed going for a flip down the back chute. 

With six laps left, Smith was able to fight off VanWyk who had turned into the primary challenger and they raced right down to the finish before it was decided. Colton Livezey got up to third with a late pass on Sachau. 

The action and surprise level didn't fade when the Stock Cars hit the track. With Mike Albertsen and Damon Murty on the front row, there couldn't have been much better quality up front. Murty got the jump on the green and just as things seemed to be settling in, a shocking turn of events completely changed the course of the race. 

Murty was running blistering laps, reported to be under fifteen seconds and much under the track record, but when he flew into turn four, his car kind of "stuck" against the tacky track, the car reared up and he barrel rolled about two or three times. What a shocking development!

Damon was OK but the car, not so much. Albertsen inherited the lead with Rowdy VanGenderen then taking second and showing plenty of speed. These two put on a show with Rowdy trying lap after lap to get a nose under Albertsen who refused to be moved out of his line. Several times VanGenderen had to pull up for fear of getting into the side of Albertsen's car. 

A lap thirteen yellow slowed the field and after racing resumed, Albertsen was able to edge out in front by a slightly more comfortable margin. In fact, Rowdy had to go on the defensive at the end to protect second from the charge of Buck Schafroth. Albertsen never missed a mark once as he drove on to victory. Cudos also to VanGenderen who drove a clean race when it would have been very easy to just let his car move up the track and displace the leader but he chose to race "Wahoo" cleanly, even though I'm sure there was much desire to win opening night at his dad's track. 

Things didn't any less intense when the Hobby Stocks hit the track for their main event. This was one race where track conditions paid a part in the race's outcome. Not that there was anything wrong with the track. It was just that it still remained blistering fast and with the skinny tires and no bead locks on the Hobby Stocks, when they stuck their cars into the corners, there were a few that had rubber roll off the rim, ending their races. This tripped up a few of the top runners and in particular, race leader Braden Gifford. 

Briar Kriegel and Gifford had battled in the opening laps with them trading the lead back and forth. The action was interrupted by a horrendous flip by Seth Butler when he barrel rolled multiple times in turn one with most of the body being hurled off the car. It was indeed a scary looking wreck and certainly what will probably be one of the most violent crashes of the entire year. Fortunately, Butler was OK.

Gifford continued to hold the lead while being challenged by Kriegel and Justin Ahrenholtz. Later, Ahrenholtz and another contender, Phil Castellano, would both be felled by flat tires coming off the rims. 

On lap eleven, while Gifford looked to be in good shape for a win, suddenly he was befallen with the same problem with his right rear rolling off the rim and handing over the lead to Joey Young. Young, who had started fifth, worked his way to the front smoothly and he was there to take advantage of the break offered. 

In the late going, he was challenged by both Tom Killen and Eric Stanton but held off both for the win. It was an emotional moment for Young, marking his first ever victory on dirt in a Stock Car, having been a veteran racer in the figure eight division. 

Johnny Thomas and Michael Gardner traded the lead back and forth in the Sport Compact feature with each leading on two separate occasions. Thomas finally claimed the lead for good on lap five and with Gardner breaking down shortly thereafter, Thomas then led the rest of the race for the win. 

His margin was not a big one however, as both Tyler Fiebelkorn and Gilbert Aldape were close behind as they battled with each other for the second spot. 

The Modified feature was a nonstop twenty lap contest and Jeremy Mills used the outside pole to take the early lead. He opened up a good sized lead over the pack with Todd Shute and Trevor Fitz battling for second. 

Berry had started eighth and early on got crossed up in turn one and was a considerable distance behind the front runners. However, when he got going he was more than fast, quickly catching the pack and dispatching driver after driver in his march to the front. 

He drove up to second and then started to close on Mills, who suddenly didn't look as dominating as he had early in the race. In one power move, Berry drove right around Mills just at the halfway point to take the lead and then he was gone. 

With no yellows to give the field a chance to catch up, he extended his lead to nearly a full straightaway and drove on for the win. Mills and Shute followed. Berry is one of the few Modified drivers in IMCA using the Lethal chassis and he praised builder David Stremme in victory lane. 

There was great racing from start to finish and everything you would expect and hope for in an opening night. And here's the best part. Despite twenty three races plus the Mini Mods and three red flags for flips, the entire show was completed in two hours and fifty nine minutes with the final checkered waving at 10:18 pm. That is impressive and a testament to a good working staff, opening night or not. 

And while I pulled into my driveway at 4:37 am, I did so with the knowledge that I had seen a program that was worth my time. Thanks to MVG, Tony and everyone else on the staff at Stuart for putting on a dandy opener.