Sunday night, August 30th, a last minute decision based on weather issues and other factors saw me headed South to the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Dubuque Iowa for their Season Championship night which was also their finale for the 2020 racing season. I was glad to be able to attend Dubuque at least once this year, as a late afternoon thunderstorm had spoiled my other opportunity to be here for racing and Dubuque has long been near the top of my list of favorite tracks to attend. In my opinion the track is just about the right size for good racing across the board in many classes and I have seen some dandy races here over the years.
This year Dubuque is running four classes under IMCA sanction with their own version of the Four Cylinder cars. On this final night of the season, they had also added the Mini Late Models and the AIRS cars too so it would be a full night of racing as the kids would also get their crack at entering the track with trick or treat going on during the short intermission.
It was Season Championship night here and I've discovered that Season Championship night is interpreted just about as many different ways as there are tracks in America. At Dubuque, they simply add up the points accumulated over the course of the season and declare Season Champions at the end of the final night. No true Championship Race is held as some tracks do, but as long as everyone is on the same page, it really doesn't matter.
However, they did have a different way of lining up the feature races from normal though. They did their typical point invert for the heats and then set the lineup for the feature based on those heat results. However, the point leader in each class then drew a chip between one and six and that would determine how many cars from that set lineup would be inverted for the feature. I believe the lowest drawn was two and the highest five so that was their exception to how they normally set the lineup.
I always forget just how late both the racers and fans are for a Sunday night show and for the longest time after they opened the pits up, I was thinking that this was going to be a debacle, with no cars and me having driven four plus hours to see little. However, at the last second everyone arrived and we had both a nice field of cars and a good crowd in the stands although it's always hard to gauge at Dubuque because people are spread out over such a wide area.
They made some big heat races but the set all five classes with a pair of heats, did the redraw and then moved into feature race action. The Mini Lates and AIRS cars would get to run their features first and that proved to not be the best of ideas.
I must admit that I'm not sure whether the AIRS cars are actually racing or just putting on a demonstration event. Here in my area, we have a similar group that visits area tracks but their racing is just a demonstration and they don't get paid. Perhaps it is different with the AIRS cars but their feature was test of the tolerance and patience of all with multiple spins, yellows and a feature that seemed to last forever and one that I would have been tempted to checkered a bit before they did.
Sadly the Hobby Stocks must have been studying the driving style of the AIRS racers as their feature race was just as bad. Seven yellow flags and it got so bad that track officials starting deducting laps from their contest as the yellows mounted. It almost got so bad that the race ran out of laps before they could even complete another go round, there were so many stoppages. Brandon White would lead the first few laps before he was passed by Dakota Simonsen who then led the rest of the way through the many slow downs to take the win. He would also be crowned track champion. Kodey Miles and David Crimmins would trail Simonsen across the line.
At this point after two straight "stinker" races and the clock ticking, I was thinking that I made a bad mistake on this night but then order was restored, the drivers got their heads screwed on straight and the night ended up with four very good feature races. The track was abnormally dry on this night and perhaps that accounted for part of the early troubles, but the racers in the final four classes did a great job of battling and we saw some tremendous charges from back in the pack as a part of the final four events.
The Sport Mod feature started off badly with outside pole starter Jerry Miles spinning after cars got tied up in front of him. He went to the back but wait for later in the race for Miles to appear once again.
Troy Bauer took the lead but he was receiving heavy pressure from Scott Busch, Matt Fulton and Grant Manthe until all three got together and crashed which sent all three to the back. This gave Bauer an open track and it looked like an easy win. But not so fast. Suddenly Miles who had been working his way back up through the field, made an appearance in the top five and he was then on a charge. Making the track nearly a half mile as he raced all the way around the track right against the wall, he was making time on the leader and as the laps ran down, he had a legitimate shot at the win. On the final lap, he had the momentum down the back chute but just then a lapped car drifted right up the track and into his way. He had to lift just enough that Bauer was able to edge out the win in what was a great finish. Miles had shown that even though the track was bone dry, there was an outside groove and from then on, it was typical Dubuque racing with cars all over the wide racing surface. Gage Neal, who finished third, would be crowned the track champion.
The Modified feature was also a great race, with a surprise finish that stunned us all. Jason Schueller was the early leader, leading the first ten laps of the twenty lapper. He had to use a little road blocking during that time as eventual track champion Matt Gansen was all over him and Schueller had to block the outside lane a few times to keep from getting passed. Tyler Madigan, Jed Freiburger and Bryce Garnhart were also in the lead group.
A lap ten yellow bunched things up and suddenly on lap thirteen, Garnhart made a push and slid into the lead. However, one lap later Schueller retook the top spot but he was then passed by Gansen as the wild slide jobs were flying at both ends of the track in spectacular action.
A yellow with three laps to go set up a wild conclusion and that's what we had. Gansen was the leader but with two to go, Garnhart three a big slider at him and took over the lead. Schueller moved in to challenge as Gansen faded slightly and the wild finish saw Garnhart hold off Schueller and Madigan for the thrilling win. It was a great race by the Modifieds. Gansen would be crowned track champion.
Although small in numbers in numbers, the Four Cylinders did their part to keep the momentum flowing. Although it was strictly a two car battle, they had a fight for the lead that lasted right to the checkered flag. John Campbell led from the pole but he was soon challenged by Josh Starr who took over the lead on lap three. However, one lap later Campbell regained the top spot as the Four Cylinders pulled slide jobs on each other, or as much as a front wheel drive car can pull a slide job!
Starr stayed after Campbell however, and on lap nine he retook the lead and would hold on to it for the final three laps. The finish was in question through the final corner and Campbell tried one last time to cut across the front of Starr but couldn't quite make it. Jacob Wetter finished third and that was good enough for him to edge out Campbell as track champion. Starr races an odd combination of cars as along with his Four Cylinder, he also races a Modified which he stated he hopes to have back on the track soon.
It was left for the Late Models to hold up their end of the deal as our momentum of excellent feature racing was on the line and they did more than that, they set the bar just as high with a great closing event to the 2020 season at the track.
Dalton Simonsen led the first six laps of the Late Model feature with heavy pressure from Ron Klein, Eric Pollard, Logan Duffy and Joel Callahan. A spin bunched the field at that point and again on the next lap, keeping the lead group in a wad. Justin Kay started twelfth but by the second restart was up to sixth.
Following the resumption of the race, it took Pollard only a lap to get past Simonsen and take over the lead as he chased both a win and the track title, as he had to distance himself from Duffy who was the point leader. Meanwhile, with surgical precision, Kay was on the move, going both high and low to pass drivers and soon he found himself in second and closing on Pollard.
We then were treated to some great racing action in the dozen great flag laps to follow as Kay tried everything he could to slide under Pollard for the lead but Pollard would have just enough off the corners to fight him off lap after lap. It was great entertainment and skillful driving to be sure.
A stalled car set up a seven lap dash to the finish with Pollard holding the Delaware point and Kay just behind him and on the low side of the track. Pollard must have figured that he needed to block the low side where Kay must race so on the green, instead of racing to the outside banking, he stayed low in turn one. However, he slid up just high enough to allow Kay to have a lane under him and Kay pulled up beside him down the back chute. They raced side by side, very hard into turn three and Kay would edge past. Down the front chute Kay would beat Pollard to the top banking and the race was over as Kay would then extend his lead on the final laps. having tricked Pollard to give up his top side advantage that was ultimately the fastest way around the track.
Simonsen would finish third with Duffy's fifth place finish allowing him to hold off Pollard for the track title by just six points. Whether or not that late pass by Kay made the difference in the point race, only someone who knows IMCA points better than I could answer. What I do know was that it was a very good way to conclude the racing season at Dubuque. It was announced that racing would return on Sunday night's in 2021 with the same management team on board for next year so obviously the Fair Board was happy with things at the track this year.
Earlier in the evening I got the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Ricky Kay and I learned some very interesting things about how a Fairgrounds race track operates, and also something about how some of the big time race series do things. Kay was very satisfied with how things went at Davenport in 2020 and he will return to the track next year. I believe he said that he must still share the track with another promoter for a couple more years in what has to be one of the strangest setups in racing that I am aware of.
It was a very unconventional track to what I remember most nights on Sundays at Dubuque but at the end of the night it still provided the great side by side action and close finishes that are hard to top anywhere. Thanks to the folks at Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway for their help on this night.
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