On the way back from Greenwood Nebraska I stopped in on Wednesday, May 24th for the program at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Having been stopped by rain two straight Wednesdays, Osky was looking to finally get a program of racing in. And as race time approached, what had been a cloudy and sometimes drippy day turned into a fine evening for auto racing.
All the postponements due to the rain outs had really jammed up the race schedule at Osky so for perhaps the first time that I can ever remember, we found ourselves looking at a huge seven division program, all on a Wednesday night. The Karl Trucks were already on the race schedule for this Wednesday and the Sprint Invaders, after having been postponed twice in a row, were added when promoter Mike VanGenderen opted to take them on himself after the Fair Board indicated that didn't want to take on that part of the show.
Once the racing started, it was virtually non stop racing for about three and a half hours as the track management cranked through the program about as quickly as possible. Probably the only misstep of the night was that the amount of time needed to hot lap all seven classes was under estimated and by the time all that was accomplished, it was nearly 7:45 pm, later than normal after an earlier starting time was planned, before the first race hit the track. If such a marathon undertaking would be attempted again, I would advise that most classes skip hot laps and perhaps just warm up the Sprints and then go racing.
One of the stars of Wednesday night's show was Osky's own Cayden Carter who earned two feature wins, both of which were hard fought victories. The Stock Car feature win was probably the most difficult as it was done with a last lap pass of Nathan Wood. Earlier, the Stock Cars do what they always do here and that is battle it out, often three and four wide, for laps at a time. Even though they only started twelve cars in their main, the racing was intense and no more cars were really needed. Carter is to be congratulated for having the presence of mind to move where he needed to on the track to make the winning pass. Way too many drivers would have tail gated Wood around the oval on the final lap and settled for second but Carter sensed that Wood was slowing and did what he had to do.
The Modified win wasn't an easy one either as an early battle with Jason Murray and Andrew Schroeder had to be settled before Carter could take the lead. And once in front, he was nearly tracked down by a high side running Derrick Stewart. Stewart was very impressive running up against the wall and passed a number of cars, and it looked like he might have something for Carter, but Cayden fought off his challenges for the win. I believe this was the first night out for Carter in a new Modified from the shop of Zack VanderBeek and the car really "sucked down" in the corners and gave him terrific corner speed.
The Sprint Invaders fielded twenty nine entries which I thought was quite an impressive number. According to Bill Wright, that was the most in Invader history to ever have raced at Osky. And the Sprints put on an almost flawless show, as in their six races they ran, there was only a single lone yellow in the B Feature for a minor spin, otherwise their part of the program was completed without the yellow flag waving. The twenty five lap main obviously went nonstop also and the key to winning for Ian Madsen was the terrific way he got through lapped traffic, of which there was a huge amount. In fact, only six cars finished up on the lead lead which would indicate just how much traffic there was on the track. The McCarl family tried to stay with Madsen but he drove by both of them without much trouble as he was clearly the "class" of the field Wednesday.
My only quibble with the Invaders would be their choice of running four heats as six and seven car heats on the big half mile tended to get pretty spread out quickly.
Strong individual performances marked the winning efforts in the other four classes that raced. It must be comforting to know how strong your equipment is and that is a luxury that Shannon Anderson has right now. The Hobby Stock feature got off to a great start with spectacular three and four wide racing going on. Anderson, who started tenth, just kind of sat back and let everyone get sorted out and then he motored to the front. While we were watching the wild scramble at the lead of the field, suddenly out of no where, there is Anderson and he promptly just motors past everyone and then disappears into the Iowa evening for another feature win.
Perhaps the only other car as strong as Anderson is the Sport Mod of Curtis VanDerWal. In another nonstop main event, Curtis started eighth and just decimated the field as he tore to the front and then ran away from everyone. Carter VandenBerg seemed to be setting a very fast pace but when Curtis caught him, he blew by so fast it seemed like Carter was in another gear. Once in front, he opened up nearly a full straightaway on the rest of the field.
I don't get to see the Trucks in action much and I must confess that I like them better on a shorter track, but Steve Jackson gave a great performance on how to work the top side of the track. While most of the rest of the field tried the low groove, Jackson was cranking on his Truck next to the fence and he made it work to take over the lead, and even in front, he never dropped back to the safe side but continued to work up against the rail.
Daniel Fellows is another driver that was unknown before this racing season but in the early part of the year has already let his name be known with a series of wins at southern Iowa speedways. He won the Sport Compact feature again on Wednesday, starting eighth and quickly driving by the competition in what turned out to be an easy win.
A word about the track surface on Wednesday. It was amongst the finest tracks I have seen at Osky in quite some time with the groove being wide and smooth and drivers literally able to race all over the track. This, of course, flies against all logic with so many laps and so many divisions racing, one would think that the surface would get worn out early, especially with the Sprint feature being the third of the seven mains contested. However, this was not the case at all and while the track was black top to bottom, drivers seemed to be able to race all over and multiple grooves were used. Perhaps the big wide tires of the Sprints so early on actually helped. Who knows, as there are more variables in getting the track surface right than there are days in the month? All I know is that it was good on Wednesday.
Other than the late hour which was hard to avoid given the circumstances, it was a very good show by all classes on Wednesday. It was a looong ride home however, but it made me realize just how early it does get light before the sun comes up!
Friday, May 26, 2017
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Bloomquist Continues to Roll in the Heartland
Tuesday, May 23rd, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series arrived at the Kosiski family's I-80 Speedway for a highly anticipated event along with a two grand to win non sanctioned Modified contest.
On a night when by most measures we really shouldn't have even had the pleasure of seeing a race held, somehow the I-80 crew pulled together, fought off the unfavorable weather conditions, made the track much more than just raceable and still got the show completed at a very reasonable hour.
After rain on Monday night, the facility was pretty well soaked by Tuesday and an non cooperative weather system that kept spinning back showers at us from the Northeast didn't make things any easier. They were late opening the pits as they waited to see what the weather might deliver and twice after the cars started unloading and making themselves ready to race, it showered again. The second time it came down pretty hard and for more than just a minute or two. The pit lane was a mess with Modifieds as they were arriving needing to be pulled down pit lane as they were getting stuck in the mud. The track looked wet but no one had even ventured out on the racing surface at this point.
I think many at this point were assuming the worst and getting ready for the inevitable announcement. I happened to be standing near the Lucas Oil command trailer on pit lane just around 5 pm when Joe Kosiski came out of their trailer after an apparent meeting. Joe was carrying a microphone and was walking down pit lane as he prepared to make an announcement. This looked bad in my estimation, as all I could assume was that he was getting ready to "pull the plug" and send us home.
So, I, along with many others on pit lane were stunned when he asked the drivers for their help as much as possible, and stated that the races were still on and that they would be preparing the track for racing action as soon as they could. He also stated, however, that if they got hit by any more showers that they would be done. With that the heavy equipment moved on to the track while other vehicles continued to work making pit lane as passable as possible. Lucas Oil announcer James Essex then took the microphone to announce that the driver's meetings would be held as per the schedule and that everyone better either unload their cars, uncover them or in general, get ready to race as planned. This produced a wild scramble of activity for many of the Modifieds especially who had not unloaded their cars.
I saw several of the Lucas folks kind of shaking their heads and rolling their eyes and several of the teams were seen pleading their case to the Lucas officials but it appeared that Kosiski had "laid down the law" and that racing would be held unless they had a very good reason not to.
I have to admit that I was as "dumbstruck" as many others but since I drove seven and a half hours to see racing, I was tickled pink. And you know that it was the very same people that made the decision to race that would likely later be the ones to take it "in the shorts." With the very threatening weather, wind and cold conditions, it was not a "chamber of commerce" night and likely would hold the crowd down. If fact, at this time there were only a handful of people in the grandstands and while it would fill in later, it still was not the kind of crowd that one would expect for such an event. And certainly, the weather was the sole reason why. So I applaud the Kosiski family for their efforts and their "gumption" to pull this one off and I hope everyone else that benefited from or enjoyed the night makes sure to tell them thanks.
Just as amazing was how quickly the track came back into shape for them and before you knew it, they were hot lapping the Modifieds. They actually got the show started only about twenty minutes after the original advertised time and I'll be darned if I know just how they were able to get the track whipped back into shape that quickly. It was a minor miracle as far as I'm concerned.
Thirty two Lucas Oil Late Models signed in for the show including their top twelve in points. Other entrants included several regional traveling stars and a few of the local competitors, a couple of which ran very well and acquitted themselves well. Budding IMCA Late Model star Jesse Sobbing was on hand to debut a new Black Diamond car but his choice of power was a 525 crate motor and on this night, that simply wasn't enough horses to be competitive.
Surprise entrants included Pennsylvania's Mason Zeigler and Chase Junghans, now running an independent schedule. Also on hand was Rodney Sanders and the Duty family from Oregon along with the latest driver of the Gressell rig, Wichita's Tanner Mullins.
Four heats and two B features set the field for the fifty lapper with Don O'Neal having to take a provisional and pulling out his back up car. The feature event was a grueling event as the track was blinding fast and as such, very hard on the equipment with nearly as many drivers dropping out as those that finished. Many of those starting near the back just pulled off to save their equipment while there were a couple of wild wrecks as well.
One of Iowa's favorite sons, Chris Simpson, took a wild ride on the back chute after contact between himself and Hudson O'Neal. Simpson's car went high in the air as it cart wheeled down the back chute and after everyone exhaled, Chris scrambled out unhurt. I have to confess that I didn't see how the accident developed but Simpson appeared to have made up his mind, as he headed for the O' Neal car which was also damaged and gave young Hudson and earful. Just for good measure, he stopped by Don's car and spoke to him to before stomping off to the pits. Not knowing what Simpson's status is in terms of equipment, this was a very bad time to be majorly tearing up a race car with some huge races on tap this coming weekend.
Bloomquist took his second win out of the last three races held as he had the dominant car all night. The only driver who appeared to have the speed and fortitude necessary to keep up with "Bloomer" on this night was Mike Marlar who was all over Bloomquist until a strange occurrence on lap twelve when he suddenly pulled over and bailed out of the car quickly and appeared to be stunned and in pain. He apparently got hit with some kind of debris and while he was able to walk away, his race was over and he did later seek medical treatment. Every once in a while you see this happen and then you wonder why these cars don't have a better setup in the windshields to protect the drivers. Somewhere out there, there must be someone smart enough to come up with some kind of clear material that could be put over the windshield, on perhaps a roller so that it could be rotated when it gets dirty or covered with mud. I'm "spit balling" here but these cars now use twenty first century technology in so many areas yet the protection of the driver's heads and eyes from objects is about as "old school" as it can get.
Once Marlar was done, Bloomquist was on cruise control with only three more yellow flags that compacted the field to give him worry. Zeigler had a solid run for second and Earl Pearson Jr both passed a number of cars and took advantage of the attrition rate to finish third. Gregg Satterlee came from fourteenth to four with Tim McCreadie completing the top five.
The Modified field was a strong one as well with thirty six drivers signing in to race for the two grand top prize including a number of Hawkeye state drivers. Their format was identical with four heats and two B features setting the field and the Modified heats were just as entertaining as the Late Models.
In fact, the way the two feature races played out was very similiar with Jordan Grabouski playing the part of Bloomquist in the Modifieds, except that Jordan didn't wait as long as Bloomquist to take over the lead. He came from the second row to grab the lead on the opening lap and he led the rest of the way. There was an excellent battle for the spots right behind him with much swapping of positions but no one had anything for "Grabo."
Justin Kay moved into second, then fell back some and rallied a second time to move back into second. He made a brief challenge at Grabouski late in the race but simply didn't have enough to make a pass. Clint Homan, Jared Hoefelman and Shane Hiatt crossed the line next and they spent much of the race trading positions on the track in what was a very entertaining race, minus the drama for the lead.
Chris Abelson and Justin Zeitner were both strong contenders who failed to finish. Abelson was running second when he lost a wheel going into turn one, hit the wall and then pirouetted on the top of the wall before returning to earth. Much damage was unfortunately done to his car. At just the same instant, Zeitner, who had been running strong as he worked his way up from the back after also having trouble in his heat, suddenly shut his car down with problems.
A two class field with a full group in each class was just about the perfect number of cars for such a midweek special. Hint, hint to other tracks with upcoming special events. Management and the track crew did a great job getting the racing surface in proper shape and after that the drivers should be commended also, for quickly lining up so that a prompt show could be put on and racing their hearts out to put on a good show. I felt like we were very blessed to be able to see racing Tuesday night and want to thank the Kosiski family, the I-80 employees and especially Lee Ackerman for his help. They have their second big special of the week coming up this Sunday with the Charlie Clark Memorial race where the Modifieds get their night in the spotlight.
On a night when by most measures we really shouldn't have even had the pleasure of seeing a race held, somehow the I-80 crew pulled together, fought off the unfavorable weather conditions, made the track much more than just raceable and still got the show completed at a very reasonable hour.
After rain on Monday night, the facility was pretty well soaked by Tuesday and an non cooperative weather system that kept spinning back showers at us from the Northeast didn't make things any easier. They were late opening the pits as they waited to see what the weather might deliver and twice after the cars started unloading and making themselves ready to race, it showered again. The second time it came down pretty hard and for more than just a minute or two. The pit lane was a mess with Modifieds as they were arriving needing to be pulled down pit lane as they were getting stuck in the mud. The track looked wet but no one had even ventured out on the racing surface at this point.
I think many at this point were assuming the worst and getting ready for the inevitable announcement. I happened to be standing near the Lucas Oil command trailer on pit lane just around 5 pm when Joe Kosiski came out of their trailer after an apparent meeting. Joe was carrying a microphone and was walking down pit lane as he prepared to make an announcement. This looked bad in my estimation, as all I could assume was that he was getting ready to "pull the plug" and send us home.
So, I, along with many others on pit lane were stunned when he asked the drivers for their help as much as possible, and stated that the races were still on and that they would be preparing the track for racing action as soon as they could. He also stated, however, that if they got hit by any more showers that they would be done. With that the heavy equipment moved on to the track while other vehicles continued to work making pit lane as passable as possible. Lucas Oil announcer James Essex then took the microphone to announce that the driver's meetings would be held as per the schedule and that everyone better either unload their cars, uncover them or in general, get ready to race as planned. This produced a wild scramble of activity for many of the Modifieds especially who had not unloaded their cars.
I saw several of the Lucas folks kind of shaking their heads and rolling their eyes and several of the teams were seen pleading their case to the Lucas officials but it appeared that Kosiski had "laid down the law" and that racing would be held unless they had a very good reason not to.
I have to admit that I was as "dumbstruck" as many others but since I drove seven and a half hours to see racing, I was tickled pink. And you know that it was the very same people that made the decision to race that would likely later be the ones to take it "in the shorts." With the very threatening weather, wind and cold conditions, it was not a "chamber of commerce" night and likely would hold the crowd down. If fact, at this time there were only a handful of people in the grandstands and while it would fill in later, it still was not the kind of crowd that one would expect for such an event. And certainly, the weather was the sole reason why. So I applaud the Kosiski family for their efforts and their "gumption" to pull this one off and I hope everyone else that benefited from or enjoyed the night makes sure to tell them thanks.
Just as amazing was how quickly the track came back into shape for them and before you knew it, they were hot lapping the Modifieds. They actually got the show started only about twenty minutes after the original advertised time and I'll be darned if I know just how they were able to get the track whipped back into shape that quickly. It was a minor miracle as far as I'm concerned.
Thirty two Lucas Oil Late Models signed in for the show including their top twelve in points. Other entrants included several regional traveling stars and a few of the local competitors, a couple of which ran very well and acquitted themselves well. Budding IMCA Late Model star Jesse Sobbing was on hand to debut a new Black Diamond car but his choice of power was a 525 crate motor and on this night, that simply wasn't enough horses to be competitive.
Surprise entrants included Pennsylvania's Mason Zeigler and Chase Junghans, now running an independent schedule. Also on hand was Rodney Sanders and the Duty family from Oregon along with the latest driver of the Gressell rig, Wichita's Tanner Mullins.
Four heats and two B features set the field for the fifty lapper with Don O'Neal having to take a provisional and pulling out his back up car. The feature event was a grueling event as the track was blinding fast and as such, very hard on the equipment with nearly as many drivers dropping out as those that finished. Many of those starting near the back just pulled off to save their equipment while there were a couple of wild wrecks as well.
One of Iowa's favorite sons, Chris Simpson, took a wild ride on the back chute after contact between himself and Hudson O'Neal. Simpson's car went high in the air as it cart wheeled down the back chute and after everyone exhaled, Chris scrambled out unhurt. I have to confess that I didn't see how the accident developed but Simpson appeared to have made up his mind, as he headed for the O' Neal car which was also damaged and gave young Hudson and earful. Just for good measure, he stopped by Don's car and spoke to him to before stomping off to the pits. Not knowing what Simpson's status is in terms of equipment, this was a very bad time to be majorly tearing up a race car with some huge races on tap this coming weekend.
Bloomquist took his second win out of the last three races held as he had the dominant car all night. The only driver who appeared to have the speed and fortitude necessary to keep up with "Bloomer" on this night was Mike Marlar who was all over Bloomquist until a strange occurrence on lap twelve when he suddenly pulled over and bailed out of the car quickly and appeared to be stunned and in pain. He apparently got hit with some kind of debris and while he was able to walk away, his race was over and he did later seek medical treatment. Every once in a while you see this happen and then you wonder why these cars don't have a better setup in the windshields to protect the drivers. Somewhere out there, there must be someone smart enough to come up with some kind of clear material that could be put over the windshield, on perhaps a roller so that it could be rotated when it gets dirty or covered with mud. I'm "spit balling" here but these cars now use twenty first century technology in so many areas yet the protection of the driver's heads and eyes from objects is about as "old school" as it can get.
Once Marlar was done, Bloomquist was on cruise control with only three more yellow flags that compacted the field to give him worry. Zeigler had a solid run for second and Earl Pearson Jr both passed a number of cars and took advantage of the attrition rate to finish third. Gregg Satterlee came from fourteenth to four with Tim McCreadie completing the top five.
The Modified field was a strong one as well with thirty six drivers signing in to race for the two grand top prize including a number of Hawkeye state drivers. Their format was identical with four heats and two B features setting the field and the Modified heats were just as entertaining as the Late Models.
In fact, the way the two feature races played out was very similiar with Jordan Grabouski playing the part of Bloomquist in the Modifieds, except that Jordan didn't wait as long as Bloomquist to take over the lead. He came from the second row to grab the lead on the opening lap and he led the rest of the way. There was an excellent battle for the spots right behind him with much swapping of positions but no one had anything for "Grabo."
Justin Kay moved into second, then fell back some and rallied a second time to move back into second. He made a brief challenge at Grabouski late in the race but simply didn't have enough to make a pass. Clint Homan, Jared Hoefelman and Shane Hiatt crossed the line next and they spent much of the race trading positions on the track in what was a very entertaining race, minus the drama for the lead.
Chris Abelson and Justin Zeitner were both strong contenders who failed to finish. Abelson was running second when he lost a wheel going into turn one, hit the wall and then pirouetted on the top of the wall before returning to earth. Much damage was unfortunately done to his car. At just the same instant, Zeitner, who had been running strong as he worked his way up from the back after also having trouble in his heat, suddenly shut his car down with problems.
A two class field with a full group in each class was just about the perfect number of cars for such a midweek special. Hint, hint to other tracks with upcoming special events. Management and the track crew did a great job getting the racing surface in proper shape and after that the drivers should be commended also, for quickly lining up so that a prompt show could be put on and racing their hearts out to put on a good show. I felt like we were very blessed to be able to see racing Tuesday night and want to thank the Kosiski family, the I-80 employees and especially Lee Ackerman for his help. They have their second big special of the week coming up this Sunday with the Charlie Clark Memorial race where the Modifieds get their night in the spotlight.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Murty Beats "His Shadow" for Webster City Two Grand
This blog begins with a question. Who, in their right mind, would drive five hours on a Tuesday night in May to watch just Hobby Stocks and Stock Cars, albeit in a high paying special event? Since this is a rhetorical question, the obvious answer is, no one.
The only person I know crazy enough to do such a thing is currently typing this, while starting at the screen on the computer. However, putting things in context, the reality is I've done a lot of goofier things in my lifetime, but I just didn't blog about them!
Tuesday, May 9th the Hamilton County Speedway held the Central Iowa Stock Car Shootout featuring a two grand to win Stock Car feature along with Hobby Stocks racing for a top prize of a grand. It was about the nicest night so far of the entire racing season so what better way to spend it than to take in a race, even if I did have to drive a distance to do so.
Thirty five Stock Cars and twenty four Hobby Stocks signed in to race on Tuesday, a number that I and most of the people in the pits thought would be higher but midweek shows, especially while school is still in session, can be difficult for some. However, there was no disputed the quality of the cars racing in both classes and there were some interesting additions to the regular lineup of Stock Car drivers in attendance.
I was surprised to find the "Flying Dutchman", Mike VanGenderen , in attendance since I didn't think he had any Stock Car stuff anymore. It turns out that he doesn't and that he was driving the #98B for the Bilyeu Racing Team. Eventual winner Damon Murty brought both his cars and Modified driver Kyle Brown drove the second car. Ricky Thornton Jr, on his way to Farley for this weekend's Modified spectacular, had found a ride in the car of Missouri's Mike Tanner. Both would be right up front throughout the majority of the race, proving that a good driver can find the fast way around a race track no matter what he's driving.
Several race cars pulled all the way from central Nebraska for the event along with a few of the tougher cars from southern Minnesota so it was a strong field that would go for the high dollars.
Much of the pre race speculation on who would be tough to beat centered in the Stock Cars on Devin Smith who had been running very strong at Webster City so far this year. What I did not know until Tuesday that is perhaps old news to some but hopefully not all is that Smith runs a Chrysler motor in his car. I was not aware that this was the case and is somewhat surprising given the Chrysler powered cars are seldom seen at the track anymore, and particularly ones that are as fast as his.
In the Hobby Stocks, defending track champion and current point leader Myles Michehl was deemed as the driver to beat. Later we would find out that while Michehl particularly of the two would be a factor at the end, neither would see victory lane on this night.
A car that has always been a favorite of mine for years, the #3W Stock Car of Jeff Wollam, has changed things up a bit this year. One of the things I always remember about his car is that his sponsor has always been Dairy Queen and their logo has always been emblazoned in huge letters on the side of his car. This year, he changed things up a bit and while DQ is still on the car, another fine dining establishment in the form of Taco John's has the honored spot on the passenger's door.
After a quick set of preliminary heats that went off in rapid order and a lone B Feature for the Stock Cars, it was time for feature race action. The Boss, Jeff Broeg, would have liked this show because not only were there only two classes of cars for the midweek event, they ran just a single B Feature for the Stock Cars which started nineteen of them and felt more like a mini feature rather than just a qualifying event. Jeff has a real "thing" for small and multiple Last Chance races.
The format for Tuesday's features was thirty laps for the Hobby Stocks and forty laps for the Stock Cars. Both races had a provision for a "pit stop" at the halfway point. The break was very well managed by track personal and was strictly kept to just five minutes which was excellent because I feared a long drawn out "mini intermission." Still, if I would have had my "druthers", I'd just as soon keep the green out and let them run the full distance without a break. They were allowed to change one tire during the break and keep their position and several chose to do exactly that while many were just anxious to "race on."
The Hobby Stocks went first and while their official score would show only two different leaders during the race, it actually was much closer than that would indicate. David Rieks would be the early leader of the race until his car went straight into the wall in turn three on lap three and he would be done with heavy damage. Andrew Borchardt would then take over and lead the rest of the race but as the contest went on, the lead grew more tenuous
The first fifteen laps saw the yellows more yellows including the halfway stop which kept the field bunched. However, after a quick yellow in segment two, the last thirteen laps would go green and Michehl, who started tenth, would gradually work his way into contention. To the ringing of cowbells in the stands by spectators as he passed car after car (shades of Larry Phillips and his fans revisited), Michehl worked his way into second and the battle was on. Borchardt was running the cushion high up against the wall and Michehl was trimming the grass in the infield as they couldn't have been running more diverse lines but lap after lap, as they came down the chutes, it was Borchardt who maintained a car length lead. Michehl gave it one last shot on the final turn but Borchardt got a good run off the cushion and held on for the win. Eric Stanton, who was in the top five all during the race, finished third with Nebraska drivers Damon Richards and Jeff Ware next in line.
The Stock Car feature was a dandy until the very end when Murty entended his lead to its biggest point all night after the lead group ran in a pack for most of the event. The first twenty laps ran nonstop until the break and it was a frantic twenty laps with cars all over the track and much swapping of positions up front. Brown started on the pole and actually was scored the leader for the first twenty laps but he had Dan Mackenthun, Jake Master, Murty, Thornton Jr, Luke Saathoff, Derek Green and Elijah Zevenberger all challenging him at various times. .
Brown was hugging the bottom lane and most were tucking in behind him, waiting for an opening but Thorton Jr and Zevenberger was experimenting with the high side and Elijah nearly stole the lead just before halfway until he slipped up and fell to fourth.
In a remarkably clean race, the second twenty laps only had a single yellow right at the halfway point for a minor spin. Brown continued to hug the low side and the field stacked up behind him but as various drivers got restless and tried to work the outside line, they just couldn't make it work and the wall became the enemy of some. Masters dropped out after hitting the concrete and so did Zevenberger while Thornton Jr also had a bout with the back chute concrete and cost him several positions.
Murty continued to tail gate his back up car until Brown finally left him a hole and Damon was able to squeeze by and take over the lead. Once the flood gates opened, Brown started to drop back and he would go on to finish up the race running the last few laps with a flat right rear tire and his left front towed out after a bout with a ute tire. His sixteenth place finish was not indicative of how he ran.
A driver that probably passed more cars than anyone was Cedar Rapids' veteran Johnny Spaw. He had to win a B Feature to make the show and started seventeenth on the grid. However, he was in the top ten by halfway and right after the restart he made "hay", passing several cars and eventually working his way up to second. However, as the race wrapped up, Murty got stronger and he opened up the biggest lead of the night in the last five laps. Green, driving a rare Pro Chassis Stock Car, would come home third with Mackenthun and Thornton Jr trailing.
As you might guess, the crowd was not overwhelming for this event, even though the racing from start to finish was first class and this event would likely be a pit revenue generated race. The gate admission price of $17 might have been just a bit pricey for some folks tastes too. Before the show, I heard some disquieting reports of last year's event that started an hour late and ran until Midnight. Well, I'm pleased to report that we had none of that on Tuesday and in fact, it was one of the smoothest run, well organized and quickest moving races of the year to date. The cars hit the track promptly for warm ups, the first race started just a few minutes after 7 pm and the final checkered flew before 10 pm. I don't care what classes were racing, it was entertaining racing that we saw.
Thanks to all the folks at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City for their help on Tuesday. I look forward to getting back to the historic oval for another race yet this year and perhaps also to their sister track, the Hancock County Speedway in Britt.
The only person I know crazy enough to do such a thing is currently typing this, while starting at the screen on the computer. However, putting things in context, the reality is I've done a lot of goofier things in my lifetime, but I just didn't blog about them!
Tuesday, May 9th the Hamilton County Speedway held the Central Iowa Stock Car Shootout featuring a two grand to win Stock Car feature along with Hobby Stocks racing for a top prize of a grand. It was about the nicest night so far of the entire racing season so what better way to spend it than to take in a race, even if I did have to drive a distance to do so.
Thirty five Stock Cars and twenty four Hobby Stocks signed in to race on Tuesday, a number that I and most of the people in the pits thought would be higher but midweek shows, especially while school is still in session, can be difficult for some. However, there was no disputed the quality of the cars racing in both classes and there were some interesting additions to the regular lineup of Stock Car drivers in attendance.
I was surprised to find the "Flying Dutchman", Mike VanGenderen , in attendance since I didn't think he had any Stock Car stuff anymore. It turns out that he doesn't and that he was driving the #98B for the Bilyeu Racing Team. Eventual winner Damon Murty brought both his cars and Modified driver Kyle Brown drove the second car. Ricky Thornton Jr, on his way to Farley for this weekend's Modified spectacular, had found a ride in the car of Missouri's Mike Tanner. Both would be right up front throughout the majority of the race, proving that a good driver can find the fast way around a race track no matter what he's driving.
Several race cars pulled all the way from central Nebraska for the event along with a few of the tougher cars from southern Minnesota so it was a strong field that would go for the high dollars.
Much of the pre race speculation on who would be tough to beat centered in the Stock Cars on Devin Smith who had been running very strong at Webster City so far this year. What I did not know until Tuesday that is perhaps old news to some but hopefully not all is that Smith runs a Chrysler motor in his car. I was not aware that this was the case and is somewhat surprising given the Chrysler powered cars are seldom seen at the track anymore, and particularly ones that are as fast as his.
In the Hobby Stocks, defending track champion and current point leader Myles Michehl was deemed as the driver to beat. Later we would find out that while Michehl particularly of the two would be a factor at the end, neither would see victory lane on this night.
A car that has always been a favorite of mine for years, the #3W Stock Car of Jeff Wollam, has changed things up a bit this year. One of the things I always remember about his car is that his sponsor has always been Dairy Queen and their logo has always been emblazoned in huge letters on the side of his car. This year, he changed things up a bit and while DQ is still on the car, another fine dining establishment in the form of Taco John's has the honored spot on the passenger's door.
After a quick set of preliminary heats that went off in rapid order and a lone B Feature for the Stock Cars, it was time for feature race action. The Boss, Jeff Broeg, would have liked this show because not only were there only two classes of cars for the midweek event, they ran just a single B Feature for the Stock Cars which started nineteen of them and felt more like a mini feature rather than just a qualifying event. Jeff has a real "thing" for small and multiple Last Chance races.
The format for Tuesday's features was thirty laps for the Hobby Stocks and forty laps for the Stock Cars. Both races had a provision for a "pit stop" at the halfway point. The break was very well managed by track personal and was strictly kept to just five minutes which was excellent because I feared a long drawn out "mini intermission." Still, if I would have had my "druthers", I'd just as soon keep the green out and let them run the full distance without a break. They were allowed to change one tire during the break and keep their position and several chose to do exactly that while many were just anxious to "race on."
The Hobby Stocks went first and while their official score would show only two different leaders during the race, it actually was much closer than that would indicate. David Rieks would be the early leader of the race until his car went straight into the wall in turn three on lap three and he would be done with heavy damage. Andrew Borchardt would then take over and lead the rest of the race but as the contest went on, the lead grew more tenuous
The first fifteen laps saw the yellows more yellows including the halfway stop which kept the field bunched. However, after a quick yellow in segment two, the last thirteen laps would go green and Michehl, who started tenth, would gradually work his way into contention. To the ringing of cowbells in the stands by spectators as he passed car after car (shades of Larry Phillips and his fans revisited), Michehl worked his way into second and the battle was on. Borchardt was running the cushion high up against the wall and Michehl was trimming the grass in the infield as they couldn't have been running more diverse lines but lap after lap, as they came down the chutes, it was Borchardt who maintained a car length lead. Michehl gave it one last shot on the final turn but Borchardt got a good run off the cushion and held on for the win. Eric Stanton, who was in the top five all during the race, finished third with Nebraska drivers Damon Richards and Jeff Ware next in line.
The Stock Car feature was a dandy until the very end when Murty entended his lead to its biggest point all night after the lead group ran in a pack for most of the event. The first twenty laps ran nonstop until the break and it was a frantic twenty laps with cars all over the track and much swapping of positions up front. Brown started on the pole and actually was scored the leader for the first twenty laps but he had Dan Mackenthun, Jake Master, Murty, Thornton Jr, Luke Saathoff, Derek Green and Elijah Zevenberger all challenging him at various times. .
Brown was hugging the bottom lane and most were tucking in behind him, waiting for an opening but Thorton Jr and Zevenberger was experimenting with the high side and Elijah nearly stole the lead just before halfway until he slipped up and fell to fourth.
In a remarkably clean race, the second twenty laps only had a single yellow right at the halfway point for a minor spin. Brown continued to hug the low side and the field stacked up behind him but as various drivers got restless and tried to work the outside line, they just couldn't make it work and the wall became the enemy of some. Masters dropped out after hitting the concrete and so did Zevenberger while Thornton Jr also had a bout with the back chute concrete and cost him several positions.
Murty continued to tail gate his back up car until Brown finally left him a hole and Damon was able to squeeze by and take over the lead. Once the flood gates opened, Brown started to drop back and he would go on to finish up the race running the last few laps with a flat right rear tire and his left front towed out after a bout with a ute tire. His sixteenth place finish was not indicative of how he ran.
A driver that probably passed more cars than anyone was Cedar Rapids' veteran Johnny Spaw. He had to win a B Feature to make the show and started seventeenth on the grid. However, he was in the top ten by halfway and right after the restart he made "hay", passing several cars and eventually working his way up to second. However, as the race wrapped up, Murty got stronger and he opened up the biggest lead of the night in the last five laps. Green, driving a rare Pro Chassis Stock Car, would come home third with Mackenthun and Thornton Jr trailing.
As you might guess, the crowd was not overwhelming for this event, even though the racing from start to finish was first class and this event would likely be a pit revenue generated race. The gate admission price of $17 might have been just a bit pricey for some folks tastes too. Before the show, I heard some disquieting reports of last year's event that started an hour late and ran until Midnight. Well, I'm pleased to report that we had none of that on Tuesday and in fact, it was one of the smoothest run, well organized and quickest moving races of the year to date. The cars hit the track promptly for warm ups, the first race started just a few minutes after 7 pm and the final checkered flew before 10 pm. I don't care what classes were racing, it was entertaining racing that we saw.
Thanks to all the folks at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City for their help on Tuesday. I look forward to getting back to the historic oval for another race yet this year and perhaps also to their sister track, the Hancock County Speedway in Britt.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Lee County Speedway Delivers The Goods To Race Fans
Thursday, May 4th brought one of the first mid week special events of the 2017 racing season. And as it turned out, what we as fans saw may have set the bar for the rest of the racing season to follow. On the card Thursday were the MLRA Late Models, racing at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson Iowa along with the IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Sport Compacts. Normally one might say that this is too many support classes for a Thursday night show in early May, but the "support" classes were hardly that on this night as their feature races made the Late Model main, although certainly not bad in its own right, pale in comparison. One does not generally see three feature events that were as close as the ones we saw on Thursday and even many of the qualifying heats were nail biters decided right at the line with a couple so close they were hard to call.
One hundred and twenty four cars signed in to race led by the Late Models who fielded thirty three cars which included several "big name" drivers. Before the show Thursday, I had the chance to talk to one of the national driving stars on hand in the person of Jimmy Mars. While I live only about ninety minutes from his home, such is the way that things work that we both have to travel seven hours South to find the time to say hello. Mars would be debuting a brand new car on Thursday, one that he has been trying to get assembled for quite some time but with the high volume of business at MB Customs, the customer cars come first and their Modifieds particularly are very much in demand right now. And as Jimmy said, auto racing is a strange business, given to peaks and valleys and when a customer wants an item, it this case a new car, they want it NOW or else they'll go elsewhere. Right now they have six full time employees helping Jimmy, Chris and A.J. Diemel assemble cars plus do repairs and updates on cars along with a number of other part time employees.
Jimmy has been racing in local WISSOTA competition for his father-in-law Paul Gilberts and said that he is enjoying that very much. Also on the front burner are preparations for a car for Jimmy's son Sam. Sam has been tearing up the track at Thunder Hill Raceway in Menomonie Wisconsin, racing karts for the past several years. But no more karts as Jimmy is preparing a Limited Late Model for Sam to drive in local races for this division that is just starting to spring up in the area. Sam is, I believe, around twelve years old. Later in the night, Jimmy would be fairly satisfied with a third place finish in the feature for his first time out with this particular car.
Another top Iowa Late Model driver was running a Modified on this night as Luke Merfeld was getting laps in before next weekend's huge race in Farley. With all these Late Model drivers running Modifieds right now, one wonders what will happen after these big money events are over. Will all these Mods just get shoved back into the far corner of the garage until next year or perhaps there will be a "fire sale" for top quality Modifieds with low laps on them.
It was a rocky night for a couple of the Late Model drivers. Justin Asplin was debuting a new car but during his heat race he made violent contact with the fourth turn guard rail and tore the nose right off the car and almost stood the machine upright. he returned for the B feature and then made the main as a provisional.
Jordan Yaggy was about the last car in the pits, having hustled down from Rochester Minnesota. He also made the main through the B feature but then, on the first lap of the feature, the two Arnie Ranta Motor Sports cars got together and Yaggy was done before completing a lap. Interestingly, that yellow was the only one of the Late Model feature and Yaggy and Chase Junghans, the other car caught up in the tangle, were the only two cars not to go the distance in the forty lapper.
Chris Simpson led all the way in the Late Model main event after starting on the pole. Terry Phillips tried the outside line but that wasn't working for the Late Models and most had to cozy up to the ute tires on the inside of the track. Tony Jackson Jr made a nice charge into second and several times got close to Simpson, who was having his hands full fighting through some heavy lapped traffic. Jackson Jr. got his closest with about ten laps to go and it looked dire for Simpson until he made a great move in traffic, going high to split two cars and from that point on, he was able to build up a cushion that he would carry on to the win. Billy Moyer would also have a good run,starting eleventh and working his way into the top five at the end.
While the Late Model feature was decent, what made the evening memorable were the Modifieds, Stock Cars and even the Sport Compacts with all three classes providing dynamite main events. While the Late Models sucked down to the bottom of the track, these three classes were racing all over the track, using many different lines and showing much side by side action. The track was black from ute tire to guard rail, smooth and slick and it providing some excellent racing action. It truly would be hard to pick one of the features above the others as all were dandy.
The Modifieds went nonstop for twenty five laps and just like Wednesday night, at the end it was Kelly Shryock and Hunter Marriott battling it out for the win. The margin was even less than Wednesday as they went into the final corner side by side, intermixed in with about three lapped cars that were cutting them no slack.
The Stock Car feature might have even been closer as while John Oliver Jr led most of the laps and seemed to have a fairly comfortable lead, there was a huge battle for other positions behind him. Suddenly, things changed as the pack started to catch the leader and as the laps ran down, things got very tight. Jeff Mueller put on a tremendous charge on the final tour, stuck his nose under Oliver Jr on the last corner and they drove to the line side by side, with Oliver Jr holding on by inches for the win.
The Sport Compacts ran last and many had exited the grounds by them but for those who stuck around, they got to see a last lap nail biter in that class also. Kimberly Abbott had used the "chrome horn" to move Josh Barnes out of the way to take over the lead and she appeared to be in control until Barry Taft came charging up at the end. They too went side by side into the last corner with both on the edge of traction and Abbott hung on by inches for the win.
While not to the level of the other three IMCA divisions on this night, the Sport Mods also had a good , clean race with Tony Dunker holding off the charge of Logan Anderson to get the win.
A few random thoughts: There was a very good Thursday night crowd on hand and after the show they saw, the drivers did a great job of selling the next special that Mike VanGenderen puts on here. There can be no one in their right mind that would have anything to complain about Thursday. Yes, it was a little bit dirty from time to time with the nasty strong North wind blowing, but that is out of everyone's hands. Other than that, everything clicked off just as it should from green flag to checkered.
The Stock Cars set the tone for the night in their very first heat race when Mike Hughes came from dead last in his heat race to nip Jake Wenig at the line with a last corner pass. From there on, it was "Katy bar the door!"
Running the Late Model feature second in the order surely had to have pleased some who had traveled a distance and wanted to scamper out as soon as they saw the Lates run. Most people stuck around for the rest of the mains, but for those that left early, they had to have been thanking Mike VG for the bonus and you can bet, they'll remember that and be back again.
A one spin rule was in affect for the qualifiers and it had a positive effect on keeping the action moving. I wish a few promoters in my area would buy into this fair and simple method of keeping the racing action moving along in this era of "three hours and I'm out of here, done or not."
How can anyone argue that the Stock Car class isn't the greatest class ever conceived? Virtually every time I see them race the action goes right down to the wire and if they don't cross the finish line three wide, it feels like the race didn't hold up to expectations.
It was a twenty three race program with the vast majority of the races either going nonstop or slowed a single time for a yellow and not a single race run all night that dragged on for time.
I have to apologize for an ill conceived observation from Wednesday night's show. I thought that Carter VandenBerg's Sport Mod was having some suspension issues the way it was all "hiked up" but after watching him race again Thursday, it's clear that the appearances this car makes are just because it is so lifted up on its suspension and that nothing was broken on Wednesday night, making Curtis VanDerWal's run even more impressive. Carter had bad luck Thursday when he was battling for the lead and got a flat tire, ending his run with only four laps to go.
MLRA announcer Trenten Berry is climbing rapidly to the front of the traveling series announcers in my estimation. He is good as giving out the facts and keeping the fans informed while at the same time not getting too "flowery", a condition prevalent among some of the "voices" for other series.
The excellent show was done something just after 10:30 pm and then I hit the road for my six hour and forty five minute drive to my back step. Quite a distance but not so far when you consider that is less that half the distance that Mike and Les Stadel drove from Rapid City to race this weekend!
One hundred and twenty four cars signed in to race led by the Late Models who fielded thirty three cars which included several "big name" drivers. Before the show Thursday, I had the chance to talk to one of the national driving stars on hand in the person of Jimmy Mars. While I live only about ninety minutes from his home, such is the way that things work that we both have to travel seven hours South to find the time to say hello. Mars would be debuting a brand new car on Thursday, one that he has been trying to get assembled for quite some time but with the high volume of business at MB Customs, the customer cars come first and their Modifieds particularly are very much in demand right now. And as Jimmy said, auto racing is a strange business, given to peaks and valleys and when a customer wants an item, it this case a new car, they want it NOW or else they'll go elsewhere. Right now they have six full time employees helping Jimmy, Chris and A.J. Diemel assemble cars plus do repairs and updates on cars along with a number of other part time employees.
Jimmy has been racing in local WISSOTA competition for his father-in-law Paul Gilberts and said that he is enjoying that very much. Also on the front burner are preparations for a car for Jimmy's son Sam. Sam has been tearing up the track at Thunder Hill Raceway in Menomonie Wisconsin, racing karts for the past several years. But no more karts as Jimmy is preparing a Limited Late Model for Sam to drive in local races for this division that is just starting to spring up in the area. Sam is, I believe, around twelve years old. Later in the night, Jimmy would be fairly satisfied with a third place finish in the feature for his first time out with this particular car.
Another top Iowa Late Model driver was running a Modified on this night as Luke Merfeld was getting laps in before next weekend's huge race in Farley. With all these Late Model drivers running Modifieds right now, one wonders what will happen after these big money events are over. Will all these Mods just get shoved back into the far corner of the garage until next year or perhaps there will be a "fire sale" for top quality Modifieds with low laps on them.
It was a rocky night for a couple of the Late Model drivers. Justin Asplin was debuting a new car but during his heat race he made violent contact with the fourth turn guard rail and tore the nose right off the car and almost stood the machine upright. he returned for the B feature and then made the main as a provisional.
Jordan Yaggy was about the last car in the pits, having hustled down from Rochester Minnesota. He also made the main through the B feature but then, on the first lap of the feature, the two Arnie Ranta Motor Sports cars got together and Yaggy was done before completing a lap. Interestingly, that yellow was the only one of the Late Model feature and Yaggy and Chase Junghans, the other car caught up in the tangle, were the only two cars not to go the distance in the forty lapper.
Chris Simpson led all the way in the Late Model main event after starting on the pole. Terry Phillips tried the outside line but that wasn't working for the Late Models and most had to cozy up to the ute tires on the inside of the track. Tony Jackson Jr made a nice charge into second and several times got close to Simpson, who was having his hands full fighting through some heavy lapped traffic. Jackson Jr. got his closest with about ten laps to go and it looked dire for Simpson until he made a great move in traffic, going high to split two cars and from that point on, he was able to build up a cushion that he would carry on to the win. Billy Moyer would also have a good run,starting eleventh and working his way into the top five at the end.
While the Late Model feature was decent, what made the evening memorable were the Modifieds, Stock Cars and even the Sport Compacts with all three classes providing dynamite main events. While the Late Models sucked down to the bottom of the track, these three classes were racing all over the track, using many different lines and showing much side by side action. The track was black from ute tire to guard rail, smooth and slick and it providing some excellent racing action. It truly would be hard to pick one of the features above the others as all were dandy.
The Modifieds went nonstop for twenty five laps and just like Wednesday night, at the end it was Kelly Shryock and Hunter Marriott battling it out for the win. The margin was even less than Wednesday as they went into the final corner side by side, intermixed in with about three lapped cars that were cutting them no slack.
The Stock Car feature might have even been closer as while John Oliver Jr led most of the laps and seemed to have a fairly comfortable lead, there was a huge battle for other positions behind him. Suddenly, things changed as the pack started to catch the leader and as the laps ran down, things got very tight. Jeff Mueller put on a tremendous charge on the final tour, stuck his nose under Oliver Jr on the last corner and they drove to the line side by side, with Oliver Jr holding on by inches for the win.
The Sport Compacts ran last and many had exited the grounds by them but for those who stuck around, they got to see a last lap nail biter in that class also. Kimberly Abbott had used the "chrome horn" to move Josh Barnes out of the way to take over the lead and she appeared to be in control until Barry Taft came charging up at the end. They too went side by side into the last corner with both on the edge of traction and Abbott hung on by inches for the win.
While not to the level of the other three IMCA divisions on this night, the Sport Mods also had a good , clean race with Tony Dunker holding off the charge of Logan Anderson to get the win.
A few random thoughts: There was a very good Thursday night crowd on hand and after the show they saw, the drivers did a great job of selling the next special that Mike VanGenderen puts on here. There can be no one in their right mind that would have anything to complain about Thursday. Yes, it was a little bit dirty from time to time with the nasty strong North wind blowing, but that is out of everyone's hands. Other than that, everything clicked off just as it should from green flag to checkered.
The Stock Cars set the tone for the night in their very first heat race when Mike Hughes came from dead last in his heat race to nip Jake Wenig at the line with a last corner pass. From there on, it was "Katy bar the door!"
Running the Late Model feature second in the order surely had to have pleased some who had traveled a distance and wanted to scamper out as soon as they saw the Lates run. Most people stuck around for the rest of the mains, but for those that left early, they had to have been thanking Mike VG for the bonus and you can bet, they'll remember that and be back again.
A one spin rule was in affect for the qualifiers and it had a positive effect on keeping the action moving. I wish a few promoters in my area would buy into this fair and simple method of keeping the racing action moving along in this era of "three hours and I'm out of here, done or not."
How can anyone argue that the Stock Car class isn't the greatest class ever conceived? Virtually every time I see them race the action goes right down to the wire and if they don't cross the finish line three wide, it feels like the race didn't hold up to expectations.
It was a twenty three race program with the vast majority of the races either going nonstop or slowed a single time for a yellow and not a single race run all night that dragged on for time.
I have to apologize for an ill conceived observation from Wednesday night's show. I thought that Carter VandenBerg's Sport Mod was having some suspension issues the way it was all "hiked up" but after watching him race again Thursday, it's clear that the appearances this car makes are just because it is so lifted up on its suspension and that nothing was broken on Wednesday night, making Curtis VanDerWal's run even more impressive. Carter had bad luck Thursday when he was battling for the lead and got a flat tire, ending his run with only four laps to go.
MLRA announcer Trenten Berry is climbing rapidly to the front of the traveling series announcers in my estimation. He is good as giving out the facts and keeping the fans informed while at the same time not getting too "flowery", a condition prevalent among some of the "voices" for other series.
The excellent show was done something just after 10:30 pm and then I hit the road for my six hour and forty five minute drive to my back step. Quite a distance but not so far when you consider that is less that half the distance that Mike and Les Stadel drove from Rapid City to race this weekend!
Thursday, May 4, 2017
"King Pins Rule at Osky"
There were no upsets at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday, May 3rd as the big half mile oval was able to complete week number two of their 2017 racing season. On what was a cool but comfortable night for dirt track racing, feature winners included Kelly Shryock, Nathan Wood, Curtis VanDerWal, Shannon Anderson and Daniel Fellows.
While I am unfamiliar with Fellows, his early season record speaks for itself as a winner at area tracks while the other four winners all carry a boatload of point titles, national championships and big race prizes earned over the years.
Wednesday night's racing was sponsored by Shawn Ritter and family and his business, Shawn's Hay Grinding. While being a small town but not farm boy, I had no idea what a hay grinding business entailed so it was a learning experience for me to see one of the hay grinding machines pace the feature fields. Now I have seen a lot of things pace feature fields over the years, but I am quite certain that I had never seen a hay grinding machine pace a feature field line up before!
We did a quick google search in the grandstand(when I say we I mean not me as my flip phone doesn't search too well!) but we ascertained that the pace vehicle which was a hay grinding machine mounted on a three axle truck was probably worth well over a quarter million dollars. Those kind of numbers catch my attention. In any event, it was good of Ritter to help support the track in the fashion that he did.
The speedway bonus offered if there were twenty or more cars in any class wasn't quite reached but both the Sport Compacts and Hobby Stocks were close. In all, eighty two cars signed in to race in the five division program which was probably just about right as no B features were required and the heats were just about the right size to provide both competition yet keep the action moving at a good pace.
The Oskaloosa area has received a lot of rain recently, as has most of Iowa I guess, and the main item of track preparation Wednesday was to make sure the races were held and that hopefully the track wouldn't come apart. So, not much water was added to the track and it was actually quite dry on the surface with the outside lane somewhat "crummy." Water was added a few times to the high side and packed in, but the outside lane never really came in on Wednesday, making the bottom lane the place to be. The track did stay fairly smooth until late in the program when some ripples developed in turns one and two but it was never to the point where it negatively affected the racing.
The heats were torn through at break neck speed with only a single yellow during all the qualifying to slow the show. It took less than one hour to settle all the qualifying. Two of the five mains also went nonstop with only the last race of the night, the Hobby Stock feature, needing more than two yellow flags.
The disparity of speeds in the Sport Compacts is really accentuated on the big track at Osky and the haves and have nots are quickly separated into groups. Former kart and motorcycle racer Fellows has become the toast of southeast Iowa and western Illinois with his big streak of wins in the early part of the 2017 racing season. Expect the other drivers and tech people to be giving this car the "extra treatment" in the coming weeks if he keeps up his current pace. Wednesday he started in the third row and was battling for the lead within one lap. His only competition was Denny Bergenhahn Jr who did close on several occasions but could never complete a pass. Both he and fourth place finisher Dylan Richards both towed all the way from Nebraska to race.
Jason Breuklander must live close to the track as after his Sport Compact failed to finish a heat race, he took the car presumably home and brought back his last year's car to run the feature. He started fifteenth in the main and finished seventh.
Wood got to the front early in the Stock Car feature and then had to fight off several challenges. There was plenty of body contact behind him but fortunately for him, it never carried as far forward as for a fight for the lead. Several drivers were swapping spots behind Wood and at the end, it was Todd Reitzler who came the closest to stealing the win but Wood kept his car nailed to the low side for the win.
VanDerWal probably put on the most dominating and eye opening performance of the night. Normally a dominating character at Osky, early in the race he bobbled and ended up in the infield in turn four. Smartly, he kept going rather than parking his car and while he lost two positions and found himself nearly a straightaway behind, he didn't have to go to the back of the pack like he would have if he would have anchored the brakes like so many others do.
After that, Curtis put on a awesome performance as he displayed speed that no one else could come close to matching. The way he blazed his way back to the front was extremely impressive and it became clear why he is so hard to beat here. I'm not positive but his effort might have been aided somewhat by the fact that it appeared that leader Carter VanderBerg might have experienced some kind of rear suspension issues in the race. His right rear wheel seemed to have shifted back in the wheel well and it did not appear just right but he still seemed to be setting a good pace out front. However, VanDerWal caught him with a few laps left and blew right past him for the win and perhaps setting the pace for the rest of the season.
The Modified field was not a huge one but it contained plenty of strong running cars. Shryock got the jump on Jason Murray to take the early lead and Murray lost a good run when mechanical issues put him in the pits early. After some jockeying, Hunter Marriott was able to pass Todd Shute for second and he closed on the leader as the laps ran down. It seemed like Marriott had a reasonable chance to make the winning pass but Shryock seemed to pick up the pace when Marriott got close.
Hunter made a couple charges, going for the lead, but Shryock held his groove to bring home what he reported to be his third win of 2017.
The Hobby Stocks wrapped up the evening and Shannon Anderson appears just about as dominating in this class as VanDerWal in in the Sport Mods. Mike Kinkaid did everything he could to fight off Anderson but Shannon literally blew right past him down the front chute and once in front, there would be no catching him on this night. Brad Stephens made a nice charge from tenth to finish a fast closing third. It was reported that Ryan Wells, who finished ninth in the main, came all the way from Alberta to race.
As an extra bonus, Late Model drivers Billy Moyer, Ricky Thornton Jr and Rodney Sanders who are all in the area for MLRA racing this week, made some hot laps at various times during the program. Sanders surprised when he unloaded a black race car after having raced a white car earlier this year. Since he was one of the last to arrive, I didn't get to find out if it was just new tin or perhaps a new car but I will find out.
Racing was completed shortly after 10 pm, making it just the right kind of program for a week night. Because it is the "only show in town" on Wednesdays, promoter Mike Van Genderen gets a "full blast" of people wanting to write, blog and video his races and I appreciate the fact that even though I am far from the home town boy here, he still allows me to "do my thing."
While I am unfamiliar with Fellows, his early season record speaks for itself as a winner at area tracks while the other four winners all carry a boatload of point titles, national championships and big race prizes earned over the years.
Wednesday night's racing was sponsored by Shawn Ritter and family and his business, Shawn's Hay Grinding. While being a small town but not farm boy, I had no idea what a hay grinding business entailed so it was a learning experience for me to see one of the hay grinding machines pace the feature fields. Now I have seen a lot of things pace feature fields over the years, but I am quite certain that I had never seen a hay grinding machine pace a feature field line up before!
We did a quick google search in the grandstand(when I say we I mean not me as my flip phone doesn't search too well!) but we ascertained that the pace vehicle which was a hay grinding machine mounted on a three axle truck was probably worth well over a quarter million dollars. Those kind of numbers catch my attention. In any event, it was good of Ritter to help support the track in the fashion that he did.
The speedway bonus offered if there were twenty or more cars in any class wasn't quite reached but both the Sport Compacts and Hobby Stocks were close. In all, eighty two cars signed in to race in the five division program which was probably just about right as no B features were required and the heats were just about the right size to provide both competition yet keep the action moving at a good pace.
The Oskaloosa area has received a lot of rain recently, as has most of Iowa I guess, and the main item of track preparation Wednesday was to make sure the races were held and that hopefully the track wouldn't come apart. So, not much water was added to the track and it was actually quite dry on the surface with the outside lane somewhat "crummy." Water was added a few times to the high side and packed in, but the outside lane never really came in on Wednesday, making the bottom lane the place to be. The track did stay fairly smooth until late in the program when some ripples developed in turns one and two but it was never to the point where it negatively affected the racing.
The heats were torn through at break neck speed with only a single yellow during all the qualifying to slow the show. It took less than one hour to settle all the qualifying. Two of the five mains also went nonstop with only the last race of the night, the Hobby Stock feature, needing more than two yellow flags.
The disparity of speeds in the Sport Compacts is really accentuated on the big track at Osky and the haves and have nots are quickly separated into groups. Former kart and motorcycle racer Fellows has become the toast of southeast Iowa and western Illinois with his big streak of wins in the early part of the 2017 racing season. Expect the other drivers and tech people to be giving this car the "extra treatment" in the coming weeks if he keeps up his current pace. Wednesday he started in the third row and was battling for the lead within one lap. His only competition was Denny Bergenhahn Jr who did close on several occasions but could never complete a pass. Both he and fourth place finisher Dylan Richards both towed all the way from Nebraska to race.
Jason Breuklander must live close to the track as after his Sport Compact failed to finish a heat race, he took the car presumably home and brought back his last year's car to run the feature. He started fifteenth in the main and finished seventh.
Wood got to the front early in the Stock Car feature and then had to fight off several challenges. There was plenty of body contact behind him but fortunately for him, it never carried as far forward as for a fight for the lead. Several drivers were swapping spots behind Wood and at the end, it was Todd Reitzler who came the closest to stealing the win but Wood kept his car nailed to the low side for the win.
VanDerWal probably put on the most dominating and eye opening performance of the night. Normally a dominating character at Osky, early in the race he bobbled and ended up in the infield in turn four. Smartly, he kept going rather than parking his car and while he lost two positions and found himself nearly a straightaway behind, he didn't have to go to the back of the pack like he would have if he would have anchored the brakes like so many others do.
After that, Curtis put on a awesome performance as he displayed speed that no one else could come close to matching. The way he blazed his way back to the front was extremely impressive and it became clear why he is so hard to beat here. I'm not positive but his effort might have been aided somewhat by the fact that it appeared that leader Carter VanderBerg might have experienced some kind of rear suspension issues in the race. His right rear wheel seemed to have shifted back in the wheel well and it did not appear just right but he still seemed to be setting a good pace out front. However, VanDerWal caught him with a few laps left and blew right past him for the win and perhaps setting the pace for the rest of the season.
The Modified field was not a huge one but it contained plenty of strong running cars. Shryock got the jump on Jason Murray to take the early lead and Murray lost a good run when mechanical issues put him in the pits early. After some jockeying, Hunter Marriott was able to pass Todd Shute for second and he closed on the leader as the laps ran down. It seemed like Marriott had a reasonable chance to make the winning pass but Shryock seemed to pick up the pace when Marriott got close.
Hunter made a couple charges, going for the lead, but Shryock held his groove to bring home what he reported to be his third win of 2017.
The Hobby Stocks wrapped up the evening and Shannon Anderson appears just about as dominating in this class as VanDerWal in in the Sport Mods. Mike Kinkaid did everything he could to fight off Anderson but Shannon literally blew right past him down the front chute and once in front, there would be no catching him on this night. Brad Stephens made a nice charge from tenth to finish a fast closing third. It was reported that Ryan Wells, who finished ninth in the main, came all the way from Alberta to race.
As an extra bonus, Late Model drivers Billy Moyer, Ricky Thornton Jr and Rodney Sanders who are all in the area for MLRA racing this week, made some hot laps at various times during the program. Sanders surprised when he unloaded a black race car after having raced a white car earlier this year. Since he was one of the last to arrive, I didn't get to find out if it was just new tin or perhaps a new car but I will find out.
Racing was completed shortly after 10 pm, making it just the right kind of program for a week night. Because it is the "only show in town" on Wednesdays, promoter Mike Van Genderen gets a "full blast" of people wanting to write, blog and video his races and I appreciate the fact that even though I am far from the home town boy here, he still allows me to "do my thing."
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