On Tuesday night, April 13th, the Midwest Late Model Racing Ass'n would begin their 2021 point season at the Kosiski family I-80 Speedway near Greenwood Nebraska. It is rare to hold a weekend night show so early in the racing season and this race was a fairly recent addition to the opening swing of the MLRA and made this into a five night journey into Nebraska and Iowa for the traveling Late Model drivers. It also made the opening week of MLRA racing very important to those racing for points in this series.
Along with the Super Late Models, also racing were the Modifieds and the Bragging Rights Late Models which are really 604 Crates and truly just IMCA Late Models without the sanction. In fact, Todd Cooney would run his IMCA Late Model with this group on Tuesday giving Cooney a busy night with cars in both Late Model classes. Where the name Bragging Rights Late Models came from I do not know and that is a question I should have asked but failed to. Also I should have asked who gave this event the name the "Tuesday Tickler"? Perhaps the same person that named BRLM which does little to identify just what the class is. In any event, the Mods would also be racing for a grand to win while the BRLM would go for a eight hundred dollar top prize.
Ernie from MLRA was hoping for a full field of cars would I took to mean that he was hoping for at least twenty four. If that was the case, he had to be ecstatic when thirty four car signed in to race, buoyed by a good contingent of local cars that run at I-80 weekly.
The format for the Late Models would include time trials(drat, I just can't seem to escape them this year) followed by straight up heats with the top finishers then lined straight up for the main event with the non qualifiers running a B Feature taking six and then adding a couple of provisional starters to set the twenty four car starting grid (not much imagination compared to the "old days" when MLRA would just draw and use passing points.) The other two classes would just draw and then redraw for their main events.
It was a sunny but very windy day of the prairie here and despite trying to soak down the track as much as they could, it was clearly going to be a drier track than what I saw on my last visit here. However, as this track seems to be prone to provide, it was still just as racy as ever and the Late Models would be all over the track during their thirty five lap main event. In fact, it might have been one of the better Late Model races I have seen for quite some time.
There were three different leaders during the race, much side by side battling, several strong runs from mid pack to the front and not a single yellow in thirty five laps. Actually, it doesn't get much better than that.
Mason Oberkramer led the first lap of the feature but it was Billy Moyer who then blew past him and opened up quite a good sized lead. Tony Jackson Jr and Justin Duty were both on the move as they raced into second and third and as the race neared the halfway point, Jackson Jr in particular was really reeling in Moyer for the lead. They battled hard until Tony got a good run and drove past into the top spot.
While this was happening, it was hard not to miss the charges being put on by Chase Junghans and Ashton Winger with them coming from the fourth and sixth rows respectively to move toward the front as drivers were experimenting with different lines around the track.
The leaders had actually slowed themselves as they battled for the top spot and suddenly there were five cars within close proximity for the lead. I truly thought that Junghans looked the quickest at this point and I thought he might drive right to the front.
The big move was made by Jackson Jr when he was able to split two slower cars about to be lapped racing off turn four. The rest of the challengers got hung up behind them and this gave Tony the opportunity to put some distance on the field; a gap that Junghans would never be able to shorten. At the finish, Jackson Jr had about half a straightaway on the Kansas driver. Winger would wind up third with Oberkramer and Moyer completing the top five.
Interestingly, the top three finishers had all started on the World of Outlaws Late Model tour this year and all three had dropped off for various reasons and are now doing a "pick and choose" schedule for the year which is likely good news for the midwestern based MLRA. Defending champion Jerimiah Hurst struggled all night to a sixteenth place finish. What a variety these drivers will face this week, particularly tomorrow when they go from the big track at I-80 to the tiny and "elbows up" bullring at Stuart International Speedway. But that's what makes them good, the ability to adapt to whatever the track will offer in terms of challenges.
The other two classes also provided interesting racing action. Robbie Jorgensen would lead the first five laps of their eighteen lap main before he was passed by last year's runner up in points, Jake Bridge. I had a nice conversation with Bridge before the races as he was one of the drivers that participated in the Bristol race recently and it was interesting to get his comments on that whole adventure. He found the facility awe inspiring, the track challenging but manageable, the days long, the whole adventure one that was extremely pricey, and while he probably won't go back again, he was very glad he did it once.
In any event, once he got the lead following a lap six yellow, he would not be caught on this night as he opened up a comfortable lead which he maintained. However, there were a couple very nice battles for position as Jacob Brown and Cooney would battle back and forth for second, trading the position several times before Brown secured it at the finish. Also, Andrew Tilley and Jorgensen would battle for fourth before Andrew got it just before the finish. There would be only one yellow in this race and only one car not to make the finish.
As luck would have it, who would draw the pole for the Modified feature but Jordan Grabouski! This would spell bad news for the competition and Grabouski would go on to win his second straight here to start the 2021 racing season. He did have to work a bit harder than he did for the opener as Ryan Jenkins would hang with him for a few laps and not let him slip away. However, eventually Grabo would stretch his lead and race home for the win.
A late yellow set up a two lap dash but Jordan would take off strong and there would be no catching him. Jenkins would settle for second. A couple of nice charges through the field would allow Cody Thompson and Chase Rudolf to finish next in the order with Justin Gregg completing the top five. Only two minor yellows and two cars didn't' finish as another smooth feature was put in the books.
They got started about fifteen minutes late ( a common theme when time trials are involved as even the Kosiski crew couldn't overcome the plague of time trials) but once the first green flag waved, it was high octane racing in fast fashion as there were seldom any breaks after that which was great on a brutally cold night and the whole program was completed in just about two hours.
It was a tough night for the promoters as with the weather being so cold and windy, it was very predictable that even a great racing community like this would produce a very light crowd. I believe that even as late as early this week, MLRA officials had offered them the chance to reschedule to a later date this year but both I-80 and Stuart had both opted to "go on with the show" in true professional manner, even if it bit them in the pocket book.
Thanks to the entire I-80 crew for another fine night of racing at this tip notch facility( a friendlier group of employees would be hard to find anywhere) and their consideration for the fans by eliminating a lot of the pomp until after the last checkered flag on such a cool night.
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