Jesse Dennis On Top of Battle at the Park, Night One at Park Jeff

 Jesse Dennis was the winner of the IMCA Modified feature on opening night of the Battle at the Park, the lid lifting doubleheader for racing at Park Jefferson International Speedway near Jefferson South Dakota on Friday night, March 20th. 

What a strange Spring this has been of late. With temperatures in the 80's today and it being predicted to be perhaps at least ten degrees warmer yet tomorrow, one has to slap one's self in the face to remember that this is only the middle of March and the first official day of Spring! When this race was first advertised on the 2026 schedule, how many folks actually believed that it would be held at all, and certainly not like this where we roam the pits in t-shirts, and yet, here we are. 

Of course, one person's pleasure is often another person's problem and while we are basking in the fantastic sunny weather. across the Missouri River in Nebraska they are worried about the whole state going up in flames with many wild fires burning out of control and already crops and cattle lost in great number. We are in a unique geographical part of the USA where the Big Sioux River meets the Missouri and we can have drivers on hand from three states but yet none drove more than ten miles to get here!

The Battle at the Park marks the official debut of Trent Chinn as Promoter and Race Director at Park, having been named to that post over the Winter by track owner Wayne Becker. It did seem a bit strange seeing Trent up in the tower instead of working the track like he does at  both Spencer and Alta, tracks where he also runs the show. 

The Battle at the Park saw all five classes that routinely race at Park on hand, minus the Late Models which I believe race here on a every other week basis. The Sport Compacts and Modifieds were IMCA sanctioned while the Hobby Stocks and Stock Cars were allowing both USRA and IMCA rules to be run although the number of non IMCA cars was very small. Interestingly though, several of the USRA B Mods converted their cars over so as to run with the IMCA Mods. 

Where the biggest mix occurred was in the Sport Mod/B Mod where there were a considerable number of both USRA B Mods, most from the Sioux Falls area and also some WISSOTA Midwest Mods, anxious to get some racing in while the tracks up North still dry out. Those three groups proved to be very compatible and also produced a dandy feature race. 

Improvements continue at Park Jeff with the suite area, which is a left over from the old dog track indoor seating, having been renovated and shown off for the first time. Many new bleacher boards were put in to replace the old rotten ones, track lighting was updated and a new p.a. system produced among the clearest sound of any track around. I am also overlooking perhaps some other improvements but the point is, money is being spent to upgrade the facility on a continuous basis. 

Kudos to Trent and everyone that had anything to do with track prep as the high banked third mile was a smooth as could be and it ended up racing just as slick as some of the drivers told me that it would be as it turned into a veritable ice skating rink where horsepower was not the key ingredient. 

One hundred and eleven drivers signed in to race on night one, a number that I thought might be just a bit higher but the biggest money comes with Saturday's show so we will likely see a number of additional drivers tomorrow. The biggest car count was in the SM/BM where there were enough to warrant a B Feature with all drivers qualifying for the main in the other four classes. Draw/redraw, a formula favored by IMCA tracks since time started, was in effect. 

I thought there might be a few more drivers on hand Friday but when I looked at a few other tracks that I was monitoring this weekend, I saw that Park Jeff was actually sitting pretty good compared to them. So I'm assuming that many teams just aren't ready yet and thought these races would never take place. 

Cars were racing by 6:40 pm and the heats went quite smoothly, helped by the one spin rule. Track prep took place then followed by the SM/BM Semi and then it was feature race time. The feature races turned out to be a mixed bag, with three that were not settled until the very end, one where a mechanical failure made all the difference and one that had a terrible time staying under the green. And the tech shed spoke also, with a pair of top five finishers not meeting specs in their classes. 

Hobby Stocks were up first and this main event was the only one to go nonstop green to checkers. This was also the race where a mechanical failure played the biggest role in the outcome of the race. Cody Malasek started on the pole and he immediately pulled away from the pack of twenty. He built up a lead of nearly a full straightaway over Steve Taylor and Travis Landauer by the halfway point of the contest. 

Malasek was in complete control and had no challenges, that is until his right rear tire decided to go flat on him and and just that fast, he was out of the race and Taylor inherited the lead. Taylor would then fight off a late challenge from Kalyb Brunssen in a borrowed ride to take the win. Landauer, Wyatt Johnson and Zach Frye completed the top five after Eric Clab failed to pass inspection and lost fourth spot. 

Perhaps the best race of the night was the SM/BM feature that saw some great racing action and plenty of excitement. Caleb Woodard started on the pole and led every lap of the feature but that says so little about what really happened. Woodard built up a little lead in the first half of the race that ran off nonstop as Jake Smith and Chris Abelsen battled for second, Abelsen in a second car for Rusty Montague. 

Several time Abelsen got to the inside of Smith but just couldn't complete the pass. The first yellow flew for debris at the halfway point and then after, three more times in the next three laps which kept the pack bunched. 

After that, Woodard and Smith pulled away from the pack and engaged in a great and entertaining battle. Smith threw sliders once and sometimes twice a lap at Woodard but each time, Caleb would cross him over and hold on to the lead. They did this lap after lap and I don't think they ever touched on a track that was prime for "slide job city" type of action. 

Smith did everything he could do under the laws of the land to get past but just couldn't get enough bite off the corners after he slid Woodard and tried to pick up speed again. On the last lap Woodard stayed low in the corners and Smith tried to drive around him but came up a car length short in a highly entertaining race. Abelsen was the third car across the line but was then the second to fail tech for the night, losing the spot as Brayden Ahlers, Hunter Poston and Brayden Shepherd completed the top five. 

The Stock Car feature produced a great finish after Curt Lund and Kaden Reynolds battled it out for virtually the entire race with also Mike Albertsen being a part of the action until the end when he fell back a bit. 

Lund used the outside pole to get the early lead with Reynolds and Albertsen falling in line behind them as the three pulled away from the pack. They ran in tight formation for most of the race after Lund gapped the field early but several yellow flags brought the field back to him after which the battle raged. 

There were two distinctive fast lanes, right on the bottom and right on the top and Curt would vary his line on almost every lap, depending on what each line produced for him and how far the competition was behind him. One late yellow set up a four lap finish and while Albertsen slipped back just a bit, it was up to Lund and Reynolds to settle things. Reynolds made a strong run off the bottom of turn four to lead the "two to go" flag but then Lund raced off the banking on the white flag lap to edge back in front. 

They raced side by side down the back chute on the final lap and it was Reynolds that edged out Lund by about a half car length to claim the win. Albertsen settled for third and after a great battle of their own, Jason Fisher edged out Ryan Harris for fourth. 

Other than the win by Jesse Dennis, the Modified feature was not one to be remembered except in perhaps the wrong way. There was not much good that happened in this race which seemed to last forever. 

Matt Bonine started on the pole and he was saved several times as the leader in the first few laps with the yellow waving six times in the first three laps as no one seemed capable of handling the slick conditions. 

During these yellows, communications problems caused by bad radios kept the field circling the track for what seemed like forever before officials were able to sort things out realign the cars  and get the race going again. Track officials even resorted to single file restarts in an effort to keep the race moving. 

Dennis, who started sixth, was finally able to pass Bonine on lap five and after they actually were able to get some racing in, things clicked off fairly smoothly but the running order didn't change much over the rest of the way. 

Dennis maintained his lead over Tyler Iverson, who had worked into second by the halfway point of the race, and then drove on for the win. Bonine held on for third with Shane DeMey coming from seventeenth to finish fourth ahead of R.J. Merchant who had come from the back after spinning once. 

The Sport Compacts had the smallest field of drivers but they put on a good race. Gilbert Aldape was scored the leader of all fourteen laps but that was a bit misleading as he was challenged on virtually every lap by Brooke Osler. Aldape was hugging the inside line but Brooke was challenging on nearly every corner, pulling up to the outside of Gilbert but not quite being able to make the winning pass.

She was also able to get inside Aldape at one point but again, Gilbert had just enough to hold her off. The final lap saw Brooke try one more time on the outside but again Aldape held her off, winning by a half car length. Mike Vogt finished third with Alyssa Thies and Jackson Black next in line. 

In his victory lane interview, Aldape was asked when he would have his Sport Mod, which he has, on the track but he said only when he was more comfortable in the car. He then admitted that he enjoyed winning and that is what keeps many successful drivers from moving up when they should, the knowledge that they probably won't win as much as they are used to. We see this time and again. 

All racing was completed by about 10:30 pm and there was a very nice Friday night crowd on hand for the opening night action. 

Stigge Repeats In Beatrice Spring Nationals

 It was a windy but beautiful Saturday as the thirty third annual  Spring Nationals wrapped up on March 14th at the Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice Nebraska. Another full show was held in all five IMCA classes competing with nearly two hundred teams on hand to compete. 

The only driver to score a clean sweep of the weekend's activities was Hobby Stock driver Brandon Stigge who charged up from the fifth row and made a late race pass, seemingly coming from no where to take the lead and win. Other winners including Jason Saathoff who drove a stellar race to come from the fifth row to win the Modified feature and Cole Wayman who wired the Sport Mod main event. The Stock Car feature was another brawl, just like Friday, with a surprising turn of events deciding the winner as Kyle Vanover and  Kiowa Higdon who crossed the line second but was awarded the Sport Compact win when the apparent winner failed technical inspection. 

With a planned early start on Saturday moved up even further to beat an incoming storm packed with wind and moisture, it was a race day that saw a changing and challenging track provided to the drivers and much of their challenge was to race the track provided for their mains, even as the track changed for nearly every race. 

Fourteen additional drivers signed in to race on Saturday with a total of two hundred and thirteen different teams racing over the course of the two nights. And one of the Saturday night winners turned out to be a driver that wasn't on hand for Friday night action. Saturday's program saw the stakes raised in all but the Sport Compacts and five additional laps for the main events. 

Despite winning on Friday night I don't think many had Stigge on their card as the winner of the Hobby Stock feature, especially after he started the main from the ninth position. Trent Matson, who started from the pole position, led the first three laps of the race but he was passed on lap four by Tyler Huss, who had started in the second row. 

The first yellow flew with ten laps complete and by that time, Friday night runner up Nick Ronnebaum had moved into the second spot. Huss and Ronnebaum then engaged in a hard fought battle for the lead with Huss continuing to hold the top spot but under heavy pressure. Two more yellow on following laps kept the field bunched and when racing resumed, the two leaders got tangled together while they were battling for the top spot and Stigge, who had worked his way up to third, shot past both of them on the high side to suddenly appear as the leader. 

Once Stigge got in his groove, he would prove to be uncatchable and despite Ronnebaum pushing to try and catch Stigge, the scenario from Friday night would continue to play out, however on Saturday Stigge was able to keep just a bit more of an advantage as he drove on for the win. Huss would settle for third ahead of Dan Nelson and Austin Jahnz. 

Saathoff drove perhaps the race of the night as after starting ninth on the grid, he gradually worked  his way to the front and when his opportunity appeared, he jumped on it to make a pair of decisive passes to take the win. 

Early on there was a battle for the lead with Bryson Yeager, who started on the inside of row two, slipping to the inside of Shawn Harker to take the initial lead. Adam Wasserman and Harker put the pressure on Yeager and on lap seven, Yeager slipped up the track and Harker dove under him to take over the lead. 

Harker continued to hold the lead with most of the front runners settling in on the low groove of the track. However, Saathoff and Jason Grabouski both moved to the second line and both made headway, with Saathoff particularly finding the second lane to be an advantage. He quickly  moved to the fourth position by the halfway point of the race and as the pack ran in tight formation, he really began to advantage. 

While the top three drivers continued to hug the bottom, Saathoff made the second lane work and he was spectacular as he drove past Troy Morris III, Yeager and then Harker to take over the lead. Grabouski was also close behind and he would eventually drive up to second. 

A late yellow set up a two lap dash but Saathoff was up to the challenge and he kept Grabouski behind him to take the win after coming from the fifth row. Grabouski really passed drivers as he started sixteenth. Completing the top five were Harker, Jeremy Mills up from eleventh and Yeager. 

It was another wild Stock Car feature, perhaps even more explosive than the Friday night race had been. However, the main characters in the race were the same as it was Jesse Sobbing and Grabouski that once again went at it for the win. 

Sobbing drew the pole position and took the early lead but he slipped up the track on lap three and Grabo was right there to take over the top spot. After that, it was a lap by lap battle with Sobbing trying both high and low to get past but being unsuccessful. However, there was a third player as Kyle Vanover, who started eighth, moved into contention. 

He and Sobbing exchanged the second spot on multiple occasions while they ran right on Grabouski's rear bumper. Multiple yellow flags kept the field bunched and on each green, the top three would again go at it, with plenty of close racing and a bit of rubbing perhaps also. 

Things got explosive following a lap twenty one yellow that immediately followed a two race battle where Grabo and Sobbing had exchanged the top spot. On the green, things got very tight in turn one with the three leaders packed together. Grabo found himself spinning in front of the pack with perhaps some help causing the spin. The yellow flew, Sobbing left the track with a flat front tire and Grabo also left the track in a snit after he was told he would have to go to the tail. This prompted some off track activity with much foot traffic and officials heading for the "hot spot." 

Vanover inherited the lead and he held off a charging Damon Murty for the win. The rest of the top five really got shuffled at the end with Lance Borgman third ahead of Doug Holzmeister and Zach Bohlmeyer. 

Perhaps the most dominant performance of the weekend was pulled off by Sport Mod driver Cole Wayman. He started on the outside pole and simply drove away from the pack in his "plain Jane" looking X car and while it looked a fancy look, it definitely had plenty of speed. The first twenty laps of this race went green with Wayman ahead of Tyler Nerud, Cam Reimers, Adam Armstrong and Brayton Carter. The top five managed to stay in the same running order until Nerud, pushing to catch the leader, spun by himself and triggered the first yellow. 

Wayman didn't let the slow down bother him and he pulled away from the pack again as he drove on for the win. Armstrong, Reimers, Carter and Trevor Noonan finished behind him. 

I had been thinking that it had been a quiet weekend in the tech area. There was only one disqualification going into the last race of the weekend and typically, with this many drivers and lots of new cars, there generally are a few slip ups that are caught by the tech folks. Well, unfortunately for the apparent winner of the Sport Compact feature, there was a problem with his winning car.

Twenty seven Sport Compacts, all that were still running, started their fifteen lap feature race. Kaden Murray, who started on the outside pole, took off strong at the beginning and took the early lead. Only four laps were completed before a violent crash on the back chute saw Josh Lamreau flip wildly. Fortunately, he was uninjured. 

The restart saw Murray again pull away from the field, opening up nearly  a full straightaway lead over Kiowa Higdon. Tobey VanLaningham ran in second at the halfway point. The field got strung out with a number of slower cars presenting a traffic situation that Murray was able to handle. A three legged car, missing a rear wheel, even made a few laps before finally pulling off. 

The last thirteen laps of the race went nonstop and Murray crossed the line as the winner by a considerable distance over Higdon. However, the tech folks stay had to have their "look see" and they apparently didn't like what they saw,  as the post race finish shows Murray being disqualified and Higdon inheriting the win. Brandon Carmichael, Gilbert Aldape, Jackson Black and VanLaningham completed the adjusted top five. 

An excellent crowd was on hand on Saturday for a well run show and with local and area drivers dominating the action, the local fans went home happy. I did also, having finally broke my string of back luck, weather wise, at this track. Thanks to J Van, the Beatrice Race Committee and all the track workers . 

This evening would find me trying to outrun a blizzard to get back home before the weather exploded. This is not the first time I have had to do this for early Spring races, but the first time in quite a few years. However, this time I didn't quite make it and had to "hang out" for a few hours in north Iowa until the plows came through. That is my explanation for the late report. The final score, by the way, was twenty four cars and twelve semis in the ditches between Clear Lake Iowa and my mail box including one that spun out right in front of me just five miles from my house. Wow, you just never know. 

Grabouski Tops Beatrice Spring Nationals Opener

 On March 13th and 14th, the thirty third annual Spring Nationals was held at the Beatrice Speedway at the Gage County Fairgrounds in Beatrice Nebraska. I had been trying to attend this race for at least the last couple years but they have been plagued by bad Spring weather, having to reschedule the race seemingly every year and that has not worked to my benefit. 

However, 2026 would break the mold on that difficulty as relatively great weather would be the case in the weeks and days leading up to the event and there would be no question this year that the race would be held. 

A reverse problem was in effect this year with a "red flag" warning for the entire area as bone dry conditions and of course, the strong Spring winds in Nebraska have left a very serious fire threat to most of the state. In fact, folks arriving from the North on Thursday for practice night had to be detoured because a large grass fire very near Beatrice caused highway 77, the route off the interstate to Beatrice, to be closed. The blackened remnants of the fire could be seen on Friday but no such repeat occurrences happened, even though it was another breezy day with the wind finally abating after sunset. 

One hundred and ninety seven drivers signed in to race on the opening night in the standard five classes that IMCA typically offers. One nice thing for me is that this race brings a mix of familiar names and teams plus many from the Nebraska and Kansas area that I don't regularly get to see in action. Plus there are always some early season drivers anxious to travel with other drivers on hand from North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin plus a few other areas also. 

J VAN is the promoter for this race and that provides the comforting feeling that this show will be moved along as fast as humanly possible. This year the Race Committee at Beatrice, along with Jerry, have set up two full shows of racing and while that is the fairest and most attractive way of attracting drivers, it is also a strain to get two big shows completed in a reasonable length of time and not be racing until the wee hours of the morning. 

The format used was a bit different for the area drivers but one that was used by Brad Whitfield at the IMCA TV Winter Nationals in Casa Grande in January and is the most fair way of administering the program with such large fields of drivers in each class. Passing points, a rare commodity for IMCA racing, was used plus all heat winners were guaranteed starting spots in the main. The heat winners redrew for their starting spots with the rest of the sixteen from the heats using passing points to line up their starting spots. B Features filled out the rest of the fields and twenty four drivers started each feature. The one spin rule was used for the heats and it would have helped move things along if it were used for the B Features also as they were the trouble spot all night. Still, the show moved along at a brisk clip all night and there were no complaints in that regard. 

With any event at Beatrice, Jordan Grabouski is always the favorite to win one and perhaps two of the feature races. After having bad luck end his challenging run in the Stock Cars, he came back to make a late race pass and win the Modified feature which was the final event on the program. Other winners included Jesse Sobbing in the Stock Cars, Tyler Nerud in the Sport Mods, Branden Stigge in the Hobby Stocks and Carson Black in the Sport Compacts as local competitors did very well indeed in all divisions. 

The only class that didn't require at least one B Feature was the Sport Compacts with all entering the main event. Other classes saw a pair of B Features to determine the twenty four starters for each main with no provisional starters on this night as everyone had to race their way into the show. 

The Modified feature  was very close to providing the biggest upset of the night in what was the only nonstop main to be run. And even though Grabouski started on the pole, he got beat into the first corner by Kaylin Lopez who then took the early lead. 

Lopez was very fast, pulling away from Grabo and the rest of the field and for the longest time it appeared that he might pull off the win. However, the hot pace that he set might have been his undoing though, as he was running the middle groove and we had not seen that line work much for the features with the majority of the drivers running right on the hub against the inside wall while a few were still pounding the cushion against the outside wall. 

By the halfway point of the race, Grabouski was starting to reel in Lopez, who had built up a nice sized lead. Tyler Inman was having a great run in third with Jeremy Mills and Shawn Harker next in line. Lopez started to visibly slow in the corners as the higher line was likely burning off his tires and Grabo knew how to save his rubber. 

Lopez started to slip higher and higher and on lap twelve, Grabouski drove under him in turn four and took over the lead. After that,  Jordan gradually pulled away as Lopez struggled to stay with him. The icy slick track threw many of the drivers off but not Grabouski who drove home for the win with room to spare. Lopez did wrap up a fine run in second nevertheless and Inman, who I believe is a Modified rookie, drove a smooth race to finish third ahead of Mills and Harker. 

Grabouski was also a favorite to win the Stock Car feature until some late race bad luck ended his run during an event that saw some wild goings on. Jesse Sobbing started on the pole and took the early lead as of course, Sobbing was one of the few pounding the cushion as he likes to do and he was making it work. Grabouski had started fourth and by the halfway point of the race that saw the first yellow for a spin, he had moved up to second. Kyle Vanover had moved into fourth behind Damon Murty with Kolby Stegman rounding out the top five. 

As often happens, the restart proved to have a big effect on the race. Grabouski jumped into the lead as the cushion slowed down Sobbing for the restart and Murty tried to get a run off the top side in turn four and that cost him several positions. Sobbing continued to try the outside but it wasn't working and he had to settle back in line behind Grabo with Dillon Richards, who started ninth, showing much speed as he cracked the top five. 

Sobbing went for broke after a lap twelve yellow for a spinner, pounding off the cushion in turns one and two and then diving to the low side in three and four where there was nothing up top to work off of. He was able to gain some momentum using that line and he got a great run down the back chute on lap sixteen and squeezed inside of Grabouski. They were very tight together in turn three but Sobbing got the edge and moved into the lead. 

One lap later Grabouski had a right front tire go flat and he pulled off. A late yellow set up a two lap sprint to conclude the race and things got mighty physical at this point. While Sobbing was able to slip away as the leader, Vanover, Richards, Murty and others were all over each other for position with lots of banging and squeezing going on. 

Richards was the big loser as he got shuffled to the back with Vanover taking second and Murty climbing back up to third ahead of Johnny Yutterman and Doug Holzmeister  as things really got shuffled up at the end. 

The Sport Mod field was the largest of the five divisions with forty eight of them on hand. Their main event saw Tyler Nerud make the move of the race on the opening lap and then establish that he was indeed the fastest car on this night. 

Nerud started on the outside of row two, but he used the cushion in turns one and two to blow past front row starters Taylor Metz and Steve Swartout and take the lead down the back chute on lap one. And after that, he would lead the final nineteen laps to score the win. 

This race had only one yellow flag and that was just before the halfway point. Brayton Carter, still in the Six car, had worked his way up to second after a good battle with Metz and on the restart, he tried to get a big run on the outside of turn four but his fate was much like that of Murty in the following race as he lost much ground and dropped out of the top five. 

that moved Cam Reimers into second but he had nothing for the leader as Nerud pulled away from him and drove away from the field, not being challenged the rest of the event. Reimers settled for second with Cole Wayman moving up from the fourth row to get third. Carter fought his way back up to fourth and Adam Armstrong came from the seventh row to round out the top five. Only two drivers failed to finish this race and all were still on the lead lap at the checkers. 

The Hobby Stock feature was a tight contest with the top four drivers running in tight formation. Brandon Stigge led from start to finish in the twenty lapper but he was pursued closely the whole event. Stigge started in row two but was able to squeeze past both Anthony Davis and Nick Ronnebaum to take the top spot and he then guarded the inside line for the rest of the race. 

Hobby Stock drivers were not able to make the outside work so they lined up in formation, working the inside line and Stigge was smart in not giving any inside openings. By the halfway point of the race, Austin Jahnz had worked his way up to third as he seemed to be one of the few drivers able to make the second lane work.  Yellow flags, back to back with eleven laps complete, bunched the field and Jahnz tried to steal away the race by moving up the track. He was ever so close to doing so as he raced side by side with Ronnebaum for a couple laps but the second lane just didn't work for him and he got shuffled back in the pack. 

Stigge was very careful at the end, shutting down early in the corners to not give anyone a shot at the inside and to his credit, on a night when many were using the "chrome horn" aggressively, Ronnebaum played it clean. He rode the rear bumper of Stigge but didn't do any banging and at the finish, he was glued to it to finish second with Stigge taking the win. 

Dan Nelson had as much success as anyone using the second lane as late in the race he drove up to third one lane above the pack. Tyler Huss finished fourth with Jahnz salvaging fifth. 

The Sport Compact feature was a patience tester for many, including me. All twenty eight drivers on hand started the feature and that was trouble right from the start. In all, the yellow flew seven times and the race was cut short by one lap after the second flip of the event on the final tour. 

When they were racing, there was an excellent battle for the lead but there was not nearly as much racing as there was circling the track under caution. Brooke Osler started on the outside pole and she took the early lead. She was battling with Brandon Carmichael, Carson and Jackson Black and Gilbert Aldape early. 

The race started crazy with Gage Barton going over the wall in turn three and then returning to the track as if nothing had happened. It occurred so fast that I and many in the crowd totally missed it but the yellow was required. 

While Osler was scored the leader of the first seven laps, she was engaged in a real battle with Carmichael and the Blacks. On lap eight, Carson Black got past Osler, but she returned the favor one lap later. The yellow flew again and on the restart she got too high in turn one and Jackson Black got past her for the lead and after that, things would go downhill for her. 

A hard flip on the front chute by Konnor Moore stopped the action with twelve laps completed with Jackson still in front with Johnny Thomas and Carson trailing as Carmichael had retired to the pit with front end damage. 

The final restart saw another scrum take place as Carson got a very good restart, perhaps a bit too good, but in any case, he was able to pass both Thomas and Jackson Black to take over the lead. On the back chute, Justin Best went for a flip of his own and the race was checkered at this point, rather than backing up to run the final two laps. 

Carson Black was awarded the win over his brother Jackson, Tobey VanLaningham, Thomas and Levi Volkert. Exactly half the starting field was still running at the finish and there will be many with some substantial repair work necessary to return on Saturday. The win was Carson Black's first ever feature win and he picked a big race to accomplish this feat. 

Thirty three races were run off on Friday night in five and a third hours and it would have been even quicker if a little more restraint had been shown by a few of the competitors. With impending weather expected, the start time for Saturday's show has been moved up by an hour with brief hot laps scheduled for 3:20 pm and racing to follow immediately. 

Dillard Wins Revival Series Opener at Boothill

 Our trip to Arizona and Florida ended up with a side bar trip to Louisiana and one more race as we attended the 2026 opener for the Revival  Super Dirt Series for Late Models at historic Boothill Speedway near Shreveport on Friday night, March 6th. Along with the Nutrien Ag sponsored series, all the divisions that race at Boothill would be in action also for their season opener at the track. 

How we got to "The Hill" was a bit of a roundabout journey as our original plan was to head to Texas this week, do some family stuff and, oh by the way, the USMTS was scheduled to begin their 2026 season at the Kennedale Raceway Park this weekend. And while our weather for most of our trip has been good to great, this was a week of rain, storms and threatening weather. 

The USMTS went down the drain early this week with a stormy forecast so an intriguing back up plan was to instead head to Shreveport for the doubleheader weekend scheduled for the Revival Series for the Ronny Adams Memorial opener. However, that plan was also altered by a bad forecast for Shreveport but to the credit of the track promoters and the series, they reduced the weekend to just a one night show on Friday but at the higher purse that they had planned on offering for the Saturday show which was cancelled. 

So, on a hot and steamy Friday night, the fifth annual Adams Memorial was carried out at Boothill featuring the Revival Late Models plus all the classes that race at Boothill weekly. The competitors were late arriving on a Friday night, but when everyone had signed in, there were one hundred and forty drivers ready to race in a packed pit area in the six classes offered. They actually combined two classes into one as the Sportster division normally races as two classes with one for rookies and another for all other drivers but to expedite things on Friday, they all raced as one. We'll get into Sportsters later. 

The Revival Series is going through a bit of a change this year. They recently announced that they would no longer be affiliated with POWRi and would instead be running their own series with both a North and South division with point funds for both plus an overall point fund too.  Tyler and Jacob Magee out of Kansas are still running the series but  their flagman Chris Loberg, who by the way is originally from Wisconsin and used to drive Modifieds at many of my local tracks, told me that their series is expanding into a number of new tracks for 2026. 

They had nineteen drivers sign in for their first show, likely a disappointment but understandable due to the weather that was even a threat on Friday and hard to justify for some to make a very long tow for just one night of racing. However, the combined point fund clearly didn't excite too many as nine of the top ten in points last year, all of them from the Northern Region, failed to appear with just Chris Bragg on hand. Clearly the overall point champion will come from the Southern region. Thirty drivers had made commitments but various reasons kept some home. 

Some interesting rules for Revival include the fact that both Hoosier and American Racer tires are allowed. There were two drivers on AM including winner Cade Dillard but I wouldn't consider his win revealing since I believe he could have easily been the winner here even if he used solid rubber bicycle tires! That's how fast he is and how well he knows this track. Morgan Bagley did make it interesting though. 

Revival Series qualifies their cars just like most traveling series this day but the fastest six then run a dash to set the running order for the first three rows and they don't have to run a heat. All others run a heat and with Friday night's field, no B Feature was necessary. 

Dillard won the dash so he started on the pole for the feature race and he took and immediate lead. Three yellows slowed the action in the first few laps but then they had a long green flag period of racing. Morgan Bagley and Clay Stuckey had a good battle for second with several slide jobs thrown as they crossed each other over. Then the track started taking rubber rather dramatically and everyone lined up as a speed context broke out. 

By the halfway point of the race, Jon Mitchell had moved into third while Dillard had most of a straightaway lead over the field. During that long green flag run however, Dillard started to get hung up badly behind some slower cars and with the rubber situation,, he was afraid to try and pass them . This gave Bagley a big opportunity and he was able to close up right on Dillard and Morgan even tried to pull off a slider or two but he couldn't quite get the job done. 

With only five laps to go, things changed dramatically when Stuckey clobbered the turn one wall and rolled to a halt. This lined the field up single file, there was no traffic to deal with and Dillard pulled away to take the win with room to spare. Bagley finished second and Mitchell third. Eli Ross and Bragg completed the top five. Dillard is a local boy here and his win was well received. 

The other five classes were a mixture of USRA rules classes and local rules classes. The Factory Stocks are a wildly popular class in this area of the country with seemingly every track having lots of cars and the competition keen. For this regular Friday night of racing, forty of them signed in to race. They look much like Stock Cars with the majority of them nice in appearance and they race hard with a number of big money shows for them at tracks throughout the southern states as it seems that every track has a Factory Stock class. 

Four heats and a B Feature set their twenty car starting field for the main as Boothill doesn't run more than twenty cars in their support classes for mains on the quarter mile. Justin Whitehead is a well known figure in this class and after starting on the outside pole, he went on to win the fifteen lap feature race. Most of the support classes were scheduled for twenty lap features but with weather threatening, the distance on the features was reduced. 

As Whitehead continued to lead, Jace Reid and Daulton Faulkner had a dandy battle for second with several slide jobs breaking out. Three yellow flags in the first five laps kept things interesting with the third eliminating Faulkner. 

Neil Kemp, in one of many Twin City Towing cars on hand, started seventh and kept his nose clean and with others eliminating themselves, he found himself in second and putting the pressure on Whitehead for the lead. 

For the vast majority of the race, those team ran in tandem fashion, with Kemp occasionally tapping the rear bumper of Whitehead but nothing malicious, unlike several of the moves seen in other classes. That's the way they raced to the finish, with Kemp glued to the rear bumper of Whitehead, who refused to make a mistake and took the win. 

The B Mods and Limited Mods were running under USRA rules with good fields in both classes. The B Mods needed a B Feature and other than Dillard's win in the Lates, this was the only class that saw the winner lead from start to finish. In the B Mod case, it was Colby Williams who surprisingly got the jump on local legend Jeremy Haddox and then would lead from start to finish in the fifteen lapper. 

The B Mods behaved themselves with only a single yellow flag that stopped the action before the first lap could be completed. After that, it was Williams who led the rest of the way. Haddox and Chance Haddox moved into second and third but had nothing for the leader. The track was very technical and one slip in the corners would have meant disaster with everyone running the inside line but Williams had the field covered. 

The Limited Mods are USRA's version of the Southern Sport Mods and many race both, just changing tires as required.   Conner Mewhorn led the opening lap of the Limited Mod feature but then Derick Grigsby, the biggest winner at the track in recent years, was able to slip under Mewhorn one lap later and he led the rest of the way for the win. 

He had a late scare when on the last lap and the race seemingly over, the yellow flew for a spinner and they had to redo the last two laps. It was, however, no problem for Grigsby who pulled away again for the win. Steven Guidry moved into second on lap five and he chased Grigsby the rest of the way but had to settle for second with Dustin Henigan third. 

There were fireworks during the Tuner feature. Things got off to a shaky start as on the first corner of the first lap, Jonathan Rodriquez, starting on the outside pole, had a wheel shear off, he slammed into the outside wall and flipped on to his roof. He was OK and was actually out of the car before rescue workers could even get to him. 

The race then turned into a two car battle with some questionable tactics used to get the win. Greyson Wooten moved into the lead on the restart with Tyler Ellis chasing him closely. On lap four, Ellis just nailed Wooten in the rear bumper down the back chute, turning Wooten sideways as he drove by for the lead. Actually Wooten did a great job to not spin out and did indeed retain the second spot. 

There were no more yellows during the race which was unfortunate for Wooten as he likely had revenge on his mind. Not being too good at taking other drivers out, he tried twice on the final lap to return the favor to Ellis but he missed both times and Ellis drove on for the win. I'm guessing the post race fun in the pits was spirted. Actually I was surprised all night by the amount of "fire" between drivers as there were numerous post race bumps and threats displayed and this was just the opening night! I can't imagine what things are like come the hot and humid nights of August!

In the wee hours of the morning, the Sportsters rounded out the racing action. The Sportster class is one that runs at a number of tracks in this area and they are basically tanks on wheels. Full frame cars with plenty of pipe in them, asphalt tire "take offs" from Wisconsin tracks and no front ends, they don't hesitate to nerf and bang and the looks of many reflect that. There were even a couple that had co-pilots in the passenger seats!. 

However, their feature was also the most contested of the night and had a great two car battle for the win between John Tuggle and Jarrett Stricklin. By my unofficial count, the lead changed hands at the line six times in their fifteen lap race between the two as they swapped the top spot time and again and while everyone else was using the "crown horn" plenty, I don't believe these two touched once. 

A couple of big pileups took out several cars and ignited feelings with Stricklin last grabbing the lead on lap nine. However, one lap later Tuggle again got past and held on then for the win. Stricklin finished second and   Brentley Smith, who started twentieth and avoided the wrecks, finished third. 

The final checkers waved at 1 a.m. a downside that I have encountered several times before, unfortunately at this track. A five hour racing program is not unreasonable given the number of events and laps to be run but when hot laps take forever and the first race doesn't hit the track until 8 pm, that is too late on a Friday night. 

Thanks to Loberg for introducing me to the Magee Brothers and Ralo Pilkington, half of the promoter ship team with Bubba Jones of Boothill, and for their help on this night. Boothill has a number of special events coming up on their schedule including a thirty thousand dollar to win Limited Mod race while Revival's next race in the last weekend of March when they pair with Comp Cams, something they will do often this year, for a special at Arrowhead Speedway in Oklahoma. 

And now it is time to head back to Wisconsin. However, J VAN please get the gizzards ready at Beatrice  as the plan is to sample them next weekend! 

 

Bike Week Finale All Anthony Macri

 Monday night, March 2nd, the World Of Outlaws completed a rare Sunday and Monday doubleheader prompted by Bike Week activities in Daytona Beach and it was Anthony Macri that took the WoO regulars to task as he dominated the final half of the feature race to claim his second WoO feature race of the season. 

Monday night saw thirty one drivers again sign in to race, in fact the exact same drivers that raced on Sunday night. The track was considerably slower on Monday with the racing groove slicker but also wider which the drivers liked and it made passing a much more manageable thing than on Sunday night. Instead of flirting with the existing track record, Sheldon Haudenschild, as the third driver out for qualifying, turned a lap just about a full second slower than the track record. 

The program would be the exact same as on Sunday with three heats, the dash, B Feature and then another twenty five lap main for the Sprint Cars. Haudenschild won the dash over David Gravel and he would start on the pole for the feature as he looked for his second straight win. 

However, things would not go nearly as well for him as both he and Gravel got passed on the opening lap by Carson Macedo for the lead and things would just go downhill from that point for Haudenschild with him slipping back to eighth at the finish. 

Macedo held off Gravel until lap ten when David passed him, however Macedo didn't give up and showing lots of speed, one lap later he raced past Gravel to retake the lead. Meanwhile, Macri had started fourth, dropped back just a bit but then the track came to him and he started to march to the front. By the halfway point of the race, he had passed Gravel for second and was closing on Macedo for the lead. Ashton Torgerson and Scotty Thiel, having a good run, were also in the top five at the halfway point. 

Macri continued to press and on lap fourteen he drove past Macedo to take over the lead, but the yellow flew just four laps later and bunched the pack with Macedo and Gravel right behind him. 

However, Macri's car seemed to get stronger as the race  went on and after that last yellow he pulled away from both his challengers and remained in the clear for the last seven laps. Gravel tried to move to the outside to gain some speed but in the last five laps or so the track started to take rubber and the inside line was the place to be. 

Torgerson found the changing track conditions to his liking as he got past Macedo for third and when Gravel continued to try the outside, he was also able to drive past him for second. Finally, Gravel dropped to the inside, cut his loses and settled for third ahead of Macedo and Daryn Pittman. 

Both Torgerson and Pittman's car came alive as the track changed with them moving up from  the third and fifth rows respectively. Only four drivers failed to finish the race but with the well timed yellows,WoO regulars. Donny Schatz was leading a heat race when his car quit and he had to run a B Feature. Bill Balog broke in the B Feature after a poor heat race and he had to rely on a provisional to start the feature. But the worst luck was endured by Buddy Kofoid who broke in both a heat and the B Feature and then, after surrendering one of his provisional starts to race the feature, he couldn't get his back up car to run and sat on pit road as the green flag waved. Running the WoO is not a poor man's game as at least four motors were changed by teams in the last two nights at a monumental expense. 

As they did on Sunday night, the Factory Stocks ran as the support class for the WoO. Sunday was a tough night for them mechanically with a number not returning on Monday and they had only twelve cars to race. 

However, that didn't stop them from putting on their second straight entertaining feature race and proving they deserved to be a part of the show. The lead changed hands officially three times during their twenty lap feature race, much of which was highlighted by a four car pack battling for the lead. 

Tanner Thomas started on the outside pole and he got the early jump on his father Patrick to lead lap one. However, Patrick would have none of that and on the next lap he passed his son to take over the top spot. But neither one of them could hold off Rich Pratt who passed both and took the lead on lap four. 

By the halfway point of the race, Pratt continued to lead over Tanner Thomas, Mikey Kopka, Patruck Thomas and Ron Adams. 

Most of the front runners were now hugging the low line in the corners but Tanner Thomas made the decision to try to move up the track and it worked great for him. He was able to keep his momentum up as he climbed high in the corners and on lap eleven he passed Pratt to retake the lead, the first time he had led since lap one. 

He then pulled away from the field, not hindered by the lone yellow of the race that flew with thirteen laps complete. Tanner would continue to charge and he drove on for the win. Father Patrick made a late race charge and got by Pratt for second with Jason Garver and Sunday night winner Dustin Turnage Sr completing the top five. Ten of the twelve starters were still on the track at the finish. 

Because of the Monday night show, the race schedule was flopped for this night with the Sprint feature coming first and about 90% of the crowd was gone by the time the checkers flew for the Factory Stocks. 

With the conclusion of the show on Monday, this will very likely conclude my appearances at Volusia Speedway Park for 2026 and although the "World's Fastest Half Mile" track is not really the fastest and indeed, not a true half mile either for that matter, the World Racing Group has put on some excellent racing in the month's of January and February for fans from throughout the country. Thanks to all the officials from the World Racing Group's many branches and all the employees of Volusia Speedway Park. 

With things quieting down now at the speedway, the gators have returned to their pond with a nice six footer or so seen swimming serenely as the Sprint Cars made their runs. 

Haudenschild Mows Down Bike Week WoO Competitors

 It is "Bike Week" in Daytona Beach and for the last two years that has brought the World Of Outlaws Sprint Cars back to Florida for a quick second appearance before the long grind of their season takes them across the country. 

And their Sunday night, March 1st appearance at Volusia Speedway Park gave Sheldon Haudenschild the opportunity  to shake off some early season stumbles when they last appeared here as he dominated the field, leading from start to finish in the twenty five lap feature race and never being challenged for the top spot. 

Thirty one drivers signed in to race on Sunday night including all the drivers that routinely run the WoO series along with some Pennsylvania stars that made the early season pull down to Florida. Heavy rain on Friday night had thoroughly saturated the track and when I walked it during the afternoon, it looked untouched from when they finished up after the Late Models a couple of weeks ago. They put just a sprinkling of water on it late in the afternoon and then rolled it in and the track turned out to be blinding fast while still remaining smooth. 

Time trials was a speed fest with driver after driver lowering the quick mark with David Gravel, the twenty second driver to take time, settling the standard with a near track record 12.673 and if you are familiar with Volusia, you know that is a mighty fast time for the size of that track. 

The WoO program would consist of three heats, a dash and B Feature and the twenty five lap main. Six drivers would move up out of the three heats, with everyone else running the B Feature which would move up another six. All three heats were won from the front row, but that was not a surprise. 

The redraw and then running of the Dash was key as with passing tough, track position was everything. Haudenschild redrew the outside pole and then beat Carson Macedo for the win in the dash which gave him the pole for the feature race. 

Haudenschild got the jump on the green and led early over Macedo and Gravel. A flip by Kerry Madsen, while he was running fourth stopped the action with ten laps completed and then Haudenschild caught a big break, the kind you sometimes need to win no matter how fast you are. 

On the restart, Macedo got the jump on Haud, squeezed past him in turn one and looked to be the new leader. However, fourth running Logan Schuchart spun before that lap was completed and Haud got a "do over." 

But not only was it significant in that he got the top spot back, because it was a yellow after a yellow and no laps had been completed, under WoO rules the restart was single file and Haud didn't need Macedo beside him again. This time he didn't bobble and he moved back into the lead.

Gravel was on the move and by the halfway point had moved past Macedo for second with Ashton Torgerson and Tanner Holmes in the top five. 

The final laps saw Gravel try to cut into Haud's lead but Sheldon played the slower traffic just right and didn't allow Gravel to close up on him. He crossed the finish line comfortably in front in winning his first feature of 2026. Late rushes by Buddy Kofoid, up from twelfth and Daison Pursley saw them complete the top five. Only two drivers failed to finish the race while Daryn Pittman, scheduled to start sixteenth, scratched out of the event. 

Running with the Outlaws were the local Factory Stocks and twenty Factory Stock drivers signed in to race. They were split into two heats and a twenty lap main event and their feature was actually very good. 

For much of the contest, it was a side by side battle for the top spot. Early on, Willy Cuddy took the lead from the outside pole while Mike Tovet and Dustin Turnage Sr battled for second. There were three yellows in the first six laps which kept the field bunched and while Cuddy continued to lead, Tovet and Turnage Sr went back and forth for second. 

Finally, on lap seven Turnage Sr secured second and he pulled in to challenge Cuddy for the lead. For a number of laps, they put on an entertaining battle with Cuddy riding the cushion while Turnage Sr tried lap after lap to get under him for the lead, even as yellows slowed the action. Once the green flew again, they went right back after it with each other. 

Lap thirteen saw Turnage Sr finally edge under Cuddy for the lead and after that, he pulled away slightly and with no more slow downs, drove on for the win. Tovet settled for third with Justin Reynolds and Bud Chancey completing the top five. The heavy track that pulled hard took its toll on the Factory Stocks with only about half the field finishing as overheating engines and worse struck several of the competitors. 

I was surprised that track officials chose to run the Factory Stock feature first and as the number of yellows began to rise, the Sprint Car fans on hand probably started to get a bit anxious. However, the overall time was quite early so they didn't grumble and mutter too much. Just as the final checkered flag waved at 10:06 pm for the WoO feature, announcer Johnny Gibson alerted us that the rocket launch from The Cape could be seen and as we looked to the Southeast over the grandstands, there it was in full view! What a spectacular conclusion to the evening! I had known but forgot that there was a launch scheduled for Sunday night but thanks to Johnny, we all got to see it. 

I was very surprised to see just how many spectators were on hand Sunday. I seem to remember watching last year's race on tv and not seeing very many people in the stands but Sunday night's crowd would rival any that were on hand for last month's Speed Weeks races. It also seemed the concession planning was a bit underwhelming as there weren't nearly as many stations open on Sunday and the lines for food and drink were long, long, long. 

O'Neal Inherits Lead, Motors On For Twenty Five Grand Victory in Ocala Finale

 After the rainout of Friday night, February 27th for round four of the Winter Nationals at Ocala Speedway, everyone was chomping at the bit to race on Saturday for the finale. However, it proved to not be quite that easy. 

Anywhere from two to third inches of rain had fallen on Friday afternoon and evening, turning the race track and pit area into a sea of mud. There was very little in the way of drying conditions on Saturday either as it remained cloudy and damp most of the day. It was not until after Lunch that the track officials determined that they would be able to get the track in proper racing shape and they gave the "go ahead" to start advertising for the program and start making refunds to those folks that had bought multi day armbands and needed a refund for the non show of Friday. 

In the final analysis, they did a great job getting the track into racing shape. It had just a bit of "character" but nothing unforeseen and it really had no bearing on the racing. What the track was however, was "hammer down" and there was not much they could do about that. It made everybody fast and made it hard to pass but that was certainly better than the alternative and that was to send everyone home disappointed. 

There were several drivers that did bail out after the rainout on Friday though as a mixture of the rain, anticipated racing conditions and poor performance on the part of  some saw seven less drivers on hand for the Saturday night finale and only thirty four on hand, which is quite small given that the Saturday night show paid twenty five grand to win. Car counts have been smaller all week compared to last year and the finale was a full Baker's Dozen less competitors. 

With the number of competitors on hand Saturday, the program was identical to that of the rest of the week with the lone exception that the main event would go fifty laps. Brandon Overton and Drake Troutman were the quickest drivers in their two groups, with Overton quickest overall at 14.338 seconds. As per normal, all six qualifying events saw the winner come off the front row. However, two nasty crashes in the first heat race saw Justin Weaver, Daulton Wilson and Cody Hedgecock all done for the night with major damage. 

With three provisional starters, there would be twenty five drivers to take the green for the start of the fifty lapper. Quite often on Saturday, the inside row has been a bit slower, probably because the moisture bubbling up made the low groove just a big slick. Thus it was that Overton jumped into the early lead from the outside row. O'Neal started fourth but quickly picked off both Brandon Sheppard and Drake Troutman and the battle was on. 

Two spaced out yellow on laps ten and twenty one broke up the race and allowed the number of back markers to be limited, although Overton was having some difficulty that allowed O'Neal to challenge him on two occasions. 

The halfway point saw Troutman still running third with Brandon Sheppard and Devin Moran next in line. Brian Shirley slowed with a flat tire with thirty six laps complete when a shocking development changed the course of the race. Overton developed a flat rear tire and he was forced to pit under yellow, turning the lead over to O'Neal. Sheppard and Moran had worked their way up to second at this point. 

A lap thirty eight yellow for a slowing car bunched the field once again with Moran pushing Sheppard for second as Tim McCreadie slipped into the top five. 

A huge development occurred after just five more green flag laps were completed. Sheppard, still running second, slowed with a flat tire of his own and the running order was shuffled once again. This moved Moran up to second and it was up to O'Neal to hold him off. 

O'Neal was plenty quick and he had no trouble keeping Moran behind him as he led the final fourteen laps to score the victory. McCreadie drove the smoothest of races, taking advantage of the opportunities offered him as he ended up with a podium finish. Jonathan Davenport came from ninth to finish fourth and Troutman completed the top five. The race did take its toll on the equipment and there were nine drivers that dropped out before the finish of the race.  

Continuing a week of very promptly run racing programs, the final checkered once again flew before 9 pm and I believe the fans totally enjoyed the one division program that got done at an early hour. Again, I heard no one that complained that the races got done so early even as they were paying a rather premium price for their tickets. Clearly they came to see Late Models and nothing else, at least this week. 

Despite a really gloomy day and evening, a very large crowd was on hand for the program and with the Ocala fan parking lot shrinking more each year, fans found some very inventive ways of parking their vehicles. 

Thanks to the officials of the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series for all their help as well as Bubba and his crew of employees who put in some long hours working at the track. The LOLMS now moves up to Georgia for four more nights of racing next week before they finally get to take some time off.