It was night number two for South Dakota's Church in the Dirt, otherwise known at The New Raceway Park near Jefferson South Dakota. Two weeks ago they held their first race of the year under tight health restrictions and close scrutiny from South Dakota officials. No spectators were allowed and it was crews only in the grandstands.
After taking a week off following the opener, they were back at it again on Sunday night, May 10th and even though they still weren't allowing spectators and benefiting from that revenue stream, they added the Tri-State Late Model Series to the program, thus running six classes of cars. However, the other five classes were required to pre-register for the evening, thus they limited the number of cars racing in the other classes. And with the track across the street running a double header the previous two nights and with the inevitable breakdowns and wrecks, the other five classes didn't have full fields on this night. The field of Late Models however, was very impressive as they limited their number for this event also to thirty and that was filled quickly by teams racing from four states. This was not a point night for the Tri-State Series as this event was added to the schedule recently.
Once again health restrictions were in play with temperatures taken and while some of the other health restrictions weren't harped on quite so strongly, most everyone seemed to be complying without drama. And a lot of the worries that seemed to be dominant on opening night just didn't seem to be a big deal for night number two.
It was draw-redraw for all six classes on Sunday and only the Late Models needed a B Feature as they started twenty four cars for their twenty five lap main event. It was a nice mix of Late Models with the WISSOTA cars from northern South Dakota on hand to race with the Tri-State regulars along with a number of cars that call I-80 Speedway home and except for Casey Skyberg and Blair Nothdurft, who have traveled extensively in this early season, it was the first race for just about everyone else.
With Justin and Corey Zeitner redrawing to the front row, it was a two car duel of the Zeitners in the main event. Justin took and early lead but was soon overtaken by Corey, who then pulled out to a considerable lead. The race was stopped twice by yellow flags with the second one turning into a red.
A car slowed on the front stretch in heavy traffic, they started stacking up and heavy contact was made by several with Iowa's Todd Cooney going over on his lid. While all drivers were OK, there were several cars badly damaged; not the way anyone would like to see the season start.
When racing resumed, Corey Zeitner pulled away again and with the last eighteen laps going green, his only worries were with lapped traffic but he showed good patience on the tight quarter mile and drove home for the win. Justin finished second and Skyberg was impressive, coming from fourteenth to finish third. Nothdurft and Tad Pospisil completed the top five.
The five regular classes that run routinely at Raceway Park also ran a full show. The Modified feature went to Chris Mills after he shot into the lead from the second row on the opening lap and was scored the leader for all laps. However, it wasn't quite that easy as he had heavy pressure from Tyler Frye and Shane DeMey for much of the contest. Frye particularly offered a strong challenge until he broke and was out of the event. Bob Moore showed good patience as he waited for his opportunities and drove past DeMey and into second late in the race. Shane DeVolder from California and Jim Thies completed the top five.
Chanse Hollatz showed up at the last minute and he ended up winning the Stock Car main after a good battle with Travis Barker and Randy Brands. Hollatz was running up the track and both Barker and Brands took turns trying to drive under him for the lead but they couldn't quite pull it off. They also swapped positions numerous times with Brands getting the nod for second at the line. Shane Stutzman Greg Taylor trailed.
Put Cody Thompson on the pole for any Sport Mod feature and it's pretty easy to guess the finish. Despite Robbie Thome giving Thompson a pretty good challenge, it was Thompson that drove home for the win. Joey Haase, Rusty Montague and Mike Kramer finished next in line with Kramer getting a good finish despite climbing the front stretch wall during the race and just driving on.
The Hobby Stock feature saw a good three way battle for the lead for most of the race with Kansas driver Brady Bencken holding off all challenges for the win. He received plenty of heat from both Andy Hoffman and Zach Ankrum during the race as the top three ran in a tight pack. A late race yellow bunched the field for one last shot but at the line Brady fought off the other two to take the win. The #77's of Craig Clift and Cody Willams completed the top five.
At least four of the Sport Compacts on hand towed five hours plus from Memphis Missouri overnight to race at Park Jeff on Sunday and it was one of the travelers, Jaedon Erickson, who took the win. He came from the third row and raced his way past Taylor Brown to take the lead and then hold off the competition to take the win. With only one yellow flag, this race got over in a quick hurry and Erickson held off a late challenge from Danny Vanderveen for the win. Brown, Anthony Clark and Justin Myre were next in line.
Other than the one big wreck in the Late Model feature, it was a smooth running program that flew by quickly and without a break after the heats, was run to a conclusion briskly on a night that could also be described as brisk, with the South Dakota winds howling over the prairie and directly into the grandstand. Despite the conditions, the track stayed nice and smooth and while slick, it was one where drivers were able to try and succeed running different grooves.
It appears they have now settled into the 2020 racing schedule as next week they will welcome the IMCA Sprints who should provide an action packed addition to the program. As always, check the speedway face book page for late announcements and information.
Thanks to everyone again at Raceway Park for a nice night of racing and an always welcoming atmosphere. It is a fun Sunday night track.
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