After a one week break after the Frostbuster, the Benton County Speedway, aka "The Bullring" was back in action for the first weekly point show of the 2021 racing season.
The promoters and track employees had been busy in the off week as several changes and improvements had been made to the facility in that brief time. A new inside pit wall was added on the front chute to protect the workers and tower in the infield. Made of Jersey type barriers set one by another, the infield will now be a much safer place to be. To get more people out of the infield during the races and cut down on the amount of foot traffic across the track, a new work area was also developed. Located off turn two, this allows the pit folks to get to their cars and replace tires etc. under yellow flag conditions without having all the pit crews cross the track before their race and then exit between races after their particular race is completed. The less people crossing the track, the less likely that an accident takes place.
And finally, for those long suffering pit folks having trouble seeing the races from the infield, a container storage unit was placed just behind the fence between turns one and two. With stairs, a platform for standing and hand rails, it makes a great viewing stand for those folks that h ang out in the pits. Plus the bottom part can be locked up and makes a great storage facility. While not particularly esthetically pleasing, I am surprised that more tracks haven't used these units for this combo purpose
Eighty three cars signed in on a cool April Sunday night to race which is just about the right number of cars for this track. Nice sized heats, no B Features and full features are just the ticket for a Sunday night track that thrives on running off a fast show and getting both fans and participants on the road early with Monday morning work looming for most.
I am awestruck what a smooth and quick show they are producing these days at Vinton. Despite having haulers lined up all the way to the city street on the West side of the fairgrounds when the driver's meeting was called, they still somehow got everyone signed in, lineups produced and hot laps completed so that they started the first heat race at 6:03 p.m., a mere three minutes past the advertised time. I was told their goal was to have all qualifying done in one hour and then easily topped that, finishing up the last of the heats in forty five minutes. Some quick track prep and it was feature time.
Despite a lot of different drivers on hand than had run two weeks previously, three of the feature winners on this night would be repeat winners. But the racing itself was excellent and two of the features were decided by last corner passed that had the crowd on their feet and really fired up.
The two really close feature races were in the Sport Mods and the Hobby Stocks. Brian. Kauffman started on the outside pole of the Sport Mod feature and took the early lead with Kyle Olson and Ben Chapman challenging him. Olson continued to drive past Kauffman but Brian had the low groove working and Olson just wasn't able to get by. Brayton Carter started sixth and was only able to get to the fourth position by the halfway point of the race. However he then really began to pick up the pace, moving to third and challenging the leaders as he worked higher on the track.
Kauffman nearly got passed at one point by Olson when he got stuck in traffic but Kauffman dumped a lapped car triggering a yellow and since Olson hadn't completed the lap, Kauffman resumed in front.
One more late yellow set up a two lap sprint to the finish and Carter was set on the outside. When the green dropped, he worked the higher line and took second and then edged up on Kauffman. Gaining inches at a time, he was nearly side by side as they took the white flag and remained close down the back chute. Coming through the final corner, Carter used the cushion to gain momentum and he edged out Kauffman by mere inches to take the win in what was a clean and dandy race. Olson suffered a flat and didn't finish with Tony Olson edging Chapman for third.
The Hobby Stock feature was the other wild one but this one was not quite so clean. Nathan Ballard started on the outside pole and took an immediate lead. With only one minor yellow to slow things, he would lead for most of the race, continuing to ride the high side.
Gradually working his way forward was Kaden Reynolds, opening night winner, as he moved into second and a classic battle for the lead would develop near the end of the race. Ballard worked the high side and Reynolds tried to get under him without success. Coming for the white flag, Reynolds would move up the track making some contact but both would race on without issue. However, in the final corner of the race, Reynolds would again go high up into Ballard's lane and would slap Ballard's car at least twice, slowing his efforts as Reynolds would edge out to a victory of less than a car length as the crowd was on their feet cheering.
In post race victory lane, Reynolds would indicate that the two have had other issues this year already and not having seen them race each other at other tracks, I can't speak to that. However, on this night it was clearly Reynolds that was doing the banging and pushing and if this now evens things up or perhaps puts Ballard in the position of "I owe you one", that remains to be seen. The crowd clearly loved the action if not the final result.
Also winning back to back was Sport Compact driver Logan Clausen. The the nonstop main event, he came from the second row and passed Blake Driscol on the third lap and then pulled away for the win. The regular at Hawkeye Downs has really taken to the dirt tracks, particularly here in Vinton.
Leading from start to finish was Modified driver Troy Cordes, a long time veteran at this track who proved he could still get the job done. Despite Tim Ward and and a charging Dylan Thornton pushing as hard as they could, Cordes worked the low line and never was seriously challenged. According to Ryan Clark, who knows all when it comes to numbers, the win was Cordes' fifty seventh regular season win at Vinton and the nineteenth different year when he has won at least one feature race at "The Bullring."
Reece Norton would lead the opening lap of the Stock Car feature but after that it was all Dallon Murty who would pass him and then drive away to an easy victory. Jay Schmidt would come up one spot short of a follow up win to his opening night victory but he was significantly back of the winner with Leah Wroten in third.
The final checkered flag of the night waved at 8:15 pm. That meant that sixteen races were completed in two hours and twelve minutes! WOW. This is great for the track and remarkable work done by all involved including the drivers who cooperate, move when they spin and are ready to race when asked to stage. This is the perfect formula for a successful Sunday night operation and one that I will long for when I start to attend Sunday night shows in my home area. Congrats to all.
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