Short track racing and specifically dirt track racing returned to the state of Wisconsin for the first time in 2020 on Friday night, May 1st as Bob Timm presented "The Race To Be Essential" at his Mississippi Thunder Speedway near Fountain City Wisconsin.
A race that took a tremendous amount of work to organize and execute , it was Timm's statement to the public and governmental officials from many various agencies that short track racing could be presented in a safe manner that protected the health of the participants and observers while still giving all us "motorheads" a chance to get outdoors and witness dirt track racing up close and personal.
First announced just one week ago, the race plan still had to be submitted for approval through various governmental agencies and meetings also took place before they could officially announce that, yes indeed, the race would be held on Friday night. In four short days they signed up drivers and made all the many arrangements to ensure that a smooth and safe program would be presented to public officials for their inspection. Sadly, spectators were not allowed to attend this event and that was probably the only "downer" of the night as all those dedicated fans of the sport deserve to be on hard to watch as much as anyone but there was no way that the event would have been allowed to proceed if spectators were in attendance.
I can not stress enough how much work was put into this event by Timm and his promoter Tyrone Lingenfelter to make sure that every possible contingency was taken care off and that no loose ends would trip them up at the last minute. We have seen a few attempts to race be "shot down" at the last minute by well meaning authorities so the task for Timm and Lingenfelter was to make sure that there would be no last minute surprises and as far as I could tell, everything seems to operate smoothly from the first moment that the competitors entered the grounds until such time when the final checkered flag flew. The ironic part was that with all this work in preparation that will probably exceed any event they will present this year, without spectators in attendance there is no chance that Timm could have even broken even on the event. So he basically put his blood and sweat on the line just so other tracks could show their local officials that yes, this can be done in a safe manner and hopefully open up the door so that all tracks can begin to operate in our state soon with restrictions on fans lifted so that the tracks, all small businesses themselves, can hopefully open and make a buck and keep their facilities in "the black." The race was originally called "The Protest Race on Private Property" but they wisely toned down the rhetoric on that so as not to be antagonistic.
Even more bold was the decision of Timm to include open Late Models in the initial program when they normally run the USRA Late Models weekly along with other USRA classes which required them to pay out more money than they normally might. So the top class received two grand to win on a night when not a single spectator admission was collected. Timm really put himself "out there" for the competitors and fans on this night.
The Late Models ran under Dirt Kings rules while Modifieds and B Mods ran under a mix of USRA and WISSOTA rules along with the USRA rules for the Hobby Stocks. Interestingly, USRA Late Models were scheduled to be the fifth class on this night but were canceled when only a handful of them signed up to race and those were allowed to run with the open Late Models.
The number or racers was restricted so that they weren't overwhelmed with competitors in a show that would last all night. As it turned out, I don't think they got as much interest from racers as they might have expected with ninety six cars on hand being a fine field but except for the B Mods, there were still open places in the order for the other classes.
Safety measures were exceptional and it seemed to me that many more safeguards were put in place then for the races I attended last weekend in South Dakota. At the gate, all entering were met by security guards who verified on a list that you were allowed to be on the grounds. Individual packets were then picked up at the pit gate where the workers didn't have to interact with the arrivals. Each packet had a instructions sheet and armband(s) depending whether it was an individual or a team. Included in the packet was a Communicable Disease form, a Tracing form and a Release. All had to be filled out and signed and the put back in the sealed bag and returned to track officials that all was in order.
Also in the bag was a copy of the running order of events and MTS rules related to COVID-19. The pit meeting was done over the pa system, all teams were to remain in the pit area except when on the track, the teams were all spread out and masks were required when out of the team stall. The grandstand was open so people could spread out and social distancing was practiced all night with security on hand to remind folks to spread out and "keep those masks on." Frankly, I don't know what else they could realistically do to protect everyone and as has been the case lately, I felt much safer at the track than at the big box stores or grocery stores! But again, that is a discussion for another time.
And now, without further ado, let's talk about the racing action which was the whole point of us being in Fountain City Wisconsin on a beautiful and comfortable Friday night.
Sixteen Hobby Stocks were on hand with all but one taking the green for their main event. Six of the top fifteen in track points took advantage of the right to race on Friday with the rest of the field being primarily local entrants along with a few starters from Northeast Iowa that frequently attend special events here.
Starting on the pole and leading all eighteen laps was Sioux Fall's Dustin Gulbrandson. This was an odd race in that many of the strongest challengers to Gulbrandson had trouble early. Chris Hovden had a flat tire while B.J. Dahl, Cody Rollinger and Levi Sand all dropped out.
Kevin Hager, driving probably the oldest race car on the grounds, ran a strong second for a number of laps as he battled with Steve Holthaus for position.
While Gulbrandson remained comfortably in front, Hovden made a huge charge from the back of the pack, going high and low on the track to pass a gaggle of cars and he raced his way all the way back to second at the finish. Holthaus , Scott Kunda and Hager completed the top five. Of note was the fact that 2019 defending USRA Stinger champion Seth Scholl has moved up to Hobby Stocks and finished sixth in his first outing.
Nine of the top fifteen in track points were entered in the B Mod class on Friday which amounted to thirty four in total. About a third of the remaining field was WISSOTA drivers taking advantage of the chance to get out and race with the others being USRA racers from other points. Some of the toughest B Mod drivers around were on hand but none could handle defending MTS track champion Ryan Olson.
With national champion Kris Jackson on the pole, it would have seemed that everyone else was racing for second and that's the way it started early with Jackson leading the first eight laps. However, Olson and Shaun Walski were putting plenty of pressure on Jackson for the lead.
Following the first restart, Jackson got a little wide in turn two and both Olson and Walski split him and dropped him back to third. Olson took the lead but Walski was working the top side, one of few to do so, and he was making it work as he pulled up beside Olson.
However, Olson was strong and fought off that challenge and after that point, maintained a small but steady lead over the field. The driver on the charge was Parker Hale who had started seventh and it took him some time to fight his way to the front. But eventually he was able to work under Walski and take the third.spot but no one had anything for "Flyin' Ryan" as he drove on for the win with Jackson in second. Taylor Skauge completed the top five.
Seven of the top fifteen in track points were on hand in the Modified class along with a number of other USRA drivers and several WISSOTA drivers that were allowed to run their own rules package. Jake Timm led all twenty five laps of the main event to get the win, although he was pressured near the end following a couple of restarts. Early on he had a nice sized lead and Michael Truscott, Alex Williamson and John Doelle put the pressure on. Moving up steadily was Jacob Bleess and after a good battle he was able to pass Truscott to take over second. Also on the move were Cory Crapser and Lucas Schott who both started in the seventh row.
A couple of yellows for spins and debris bunched the field and on each green flag, Timm received plenty of pressure from Bleess. Timm was running the cushion as opposed to much of the field and his starts were a bit shaky but once he got smoothed out and his momentum going, he was able to draw away gradually.
One last yellow with five laps to go didn't hurt Timm but Crapser, forced to the outside on the lineup, found that he liked the top side too and he exploded, passing a whole row of cars and racing into second at the finish as he edged past Bleess for that spot. Williamson hung in there for the whole race to finish fourth and Schott came from fourteenth to fifth.
Twenty Late Models signed in to race but only four of the top fifteen in Dirt Kings points who were granted immediate entry. The rest of the field was an eclectic group, with a number of WISSOTA drivers, some other Dirt Kings members, a couple travelers like Ryan Gustin and Tony Jackson Jr and even a couple of USRA drivers who brought a knife to a gun fight on this night. Gustin would be the only driver not to start the main after he had some motor problems in his heat.
A spin on the opening lap drew the yellow and the race was changed when pole sitter Taylor Scheffler had problems and needed to be pushed off the track which shuffled the entire field. It was James Giassi, who was impressive in his heat driving right around Jimmy Mars, who took the early lead and quite frankly, there would be no slowing down Giassi on this night.
He was running the top side of the track and was extremely fast as he quickly pulled away from the field. Justin Ritchie moved into second and also put some distance on the pack while a big battle saw A. J. Diemel, Jeremiah Hurst, Brett Swedberg and Mars all battling for position.
Giassi was absolutely flying as he opened up nearly a full straightaway lead on Ritchie and expertly picked his way through traffic.
However, a yellow flag with ten laps to go cost him his big lead and bunched the field. While Giassi once again took off smartly, Ritchie was under the gun as Jake Timm, who had started eleventh, was exciting the crowd as he pounded the high side of the track. Continuing his rush, he was able to drive around Ritchie and take over second in the last laps but Giassi was long gone for an impressive win for the youngster from Western Wisconsin. Mars and Diemel had a battle for fourth with Jimmy taking the spot.
Run under Dirt Kings rules, which gives and advantage to the open motors, surprisingly, three of the top five finishers were running WISSOTA spec engines including Giassi, Ritchie and Diemel.
It was a fine opening night, irregardless of the circumstances, and quite frankly, all three of COVID changed races I have seen have all been good ones.
Much thanks goes out to Bob and Tyrone and everyone else that worked so hard at MTS to get this show done. They do not know when their next race will be, depending on what happens next with the authorities, but they are very good about providing information on their face book page so check there to see when they next race. And hopefully for the rest of the tracks in Wisconsin, this night opened some eyes to the fact that, yes, a crowd can gather and still be safe, and I'm all good with wearing a mask and providing social distancing for as long as is necessary, but we need to get our fans back in the stands so they can have some fun too and help our promoters and track owners keep their noses above water too.
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