Easter Sunday, April 4th. What a magnificent day it was. The weather was unbelievable for such an early date in the year and due to some changing circumstances that developed during the week, there would also be dirt track racing for those of us looking for one last fix before the week was over.
The Frostbuster event scheduled for Wednesday night at the Benton County Speedway was postponed due to cold weather and a race track that had not as yet been fully prepped for racing. However, seeing the upcoming forecast and with the realization that Vinton has raced on Easter Sunday in the past, all depending on how the calendar fell, the race was rescheduled for Sunday at 5 pm. And what a boost promotors Rick and Corey Dripps received in the form of a spectacular day. Granted, the extremely strong wind did give them some grief, but on balance, they were likely more happy to see the day they received then have to deal with the weather earlier in the week.
So the Frostbuster was held on Sunday and as a very nice bonus to the drivers, the Modified top spot was raised from a grant and doubled for one lucky winner. A number of the travelers from out of state remained to race and with the loyal regulars that race the Benton County "Bullring" every week, just under one hundred cars signed in to race on Sunday.
Following a pattern that had been set earlier over the weekend, this would be another show that was run off at a blistering pace with both the competitors and fans having to be on their toes for fear of missing something as once the first green flag was dropped, it was almost nonstop action except for a couple of very short breaks to give the track a drink or notch up the number one corner; one the result of the relentless winds and the other the result of it being the first race of the year.
In fact, the first heat race actually took the green flag four minutes before the advertised starting time and how often does that happen? Using Wisconsin math, by my calculations, nineteen races were run off and it took a grand total of two hours and forty one minutes to complete the entire program. Wow! There were only four yellow flags from the start of the first heat through all the qualifying races and those offending drivers were sent to the pit on the one spin rule. And the drivers also helped by completing three of the five main events nonstop without a single yellow flag. Only the Sport Compact feature got bogged down and that was a minor annoyance after the blistering pace that most of the program maintained. The message was sent out early by the track starter that they would not be stopping for every little issue and a couple of the races saw cars spinning right through the checkered flag lap but the race continued. However, this is a must when you are dealing with Sunday night racing which is the most crucial night to get done promptly. I applaud them on their extra efforts at keeping the show moving along.
Twenty four cars would start the premier event of the night, the IMCA Modified feature race scheduled for twenty five laps. Wisconsin visitor Lucas Lamberies would lead the first lap off the pole but it only took Jeff "Bone" Larson one lap to build up a head of steam and blow past Lamberies on the high side of the track.
Larson would lead the rest of the race, although it wasn't an easy victory as Cayden Carter put plenty of pressure on Larson. Carter would work the low side of the track and try to nose under the leader but Larson is a master at blasting the cushion and on this night the high side was the place to be. After trying several times, Carter finally gave up and moved top side too but Larson would have to error to lose the lead and he made no mistakes.
Despite a late yellow on lap eighteen that bunched the field, Larson would not slip up and he drove on for the victory with Carter and Richie Gustin next in line. Ethan Braaksma would come from eleventh to finish in fourth ahead of Joel Rust.
The closest finish of the night came in the Sport Mod feature where Carter's brother Brayton would make a last lap pass on Brandon Tharp to get the win. Tony Olson came from the second row to grab the lead on lap one of the event but just a lap later Tharp would duck under Olson and take over the top spot. Shortly after, Carter would move up from the third row and grab second and the battle was on.
This was one of those nonstop mains and up until the last lap, there was no traffic to worry about. Carter continued to follow Tharp, waiting for an error so he could duck underneath and take over the point. However, Tharp was working well on the bottom and as the laps ran down, Carter realized his only chance was to move up the track. He did start to close the lead and nearly drew beside Tharp as the end of the race was in sight.
Then the leaders caught the back of the pack and Tharp, believed to be going for his first ever win here, got a little too conservative and stayed on the bottom, following the slower car. Carter used the back marker as a pick and drove around both cars down the back chute on the final lap and then drove home for the win.
Brayton admitted in victory lane that if not for the slower car, he would have been a second place finisher but to his credit he seized the opportunity when it was there. A chagrined Tharp had to settle for second with Olson and Ben Chapman next in line.
The Stock Car feature also was a nonstop race and that too ended up being a two car battle for the win. Kevin Rose used the pole position to take the early lead but when he slid off the bottom, a stalking Jay Schmidt was able to drive under him and take over the lead.
Schmidt built up a rather comfortable lead by the half way point over Rose, Shawn Ritter and Dallon Murty. However, when Murty finally moved up the track, he began to see immediate dividends. He was able to drive around the third and second place cars and start to close on Schmidt. Ever so slowly he gained on the leader and by the final lap had cut the disadvantage down to a couple of car lengths. He gave it a big shot on the final lap but Schmidt was just a bit too strong coming off the bottom for him and Jay went on to take the win in a close finish over Dallon and Rose.
The Hobby Stocks continued the pattern with their main also running off nonstop and it also was a two car battle to the wire. Despite starting in the second row, by the end of lap one Kaden Reynolds had shot into the lead and by the halfway point Luke Ramsey was glued to his rear bumper and challenging.
And that was the pattern that continued through the rest of the fifteen laps. Ramsey remained tight behind Reynolds and sought out a mistake. However, to Reynolds' credit and Ramsey's dismay, that mistake never happened and they crossed the finish line in that same order with Kaden having Luke glued to his rear bumper but taking the win. Aaron Martin settled for third.
A large field of Sport Compacts took to the track for their main event which quickly turned into a marathon of sorts with five yellow flags needed to complete the first five laps as spins, stalls and collisions were rampant all over the track.
However, after starting on the pole, Logan Clausen would maintain the lead through all that was going on around him including the first flip of the year that saw Tyler Haring tear up his nice looking and well performing when he barrel rolled through the bumpy stretch in turn one.
This produced the sixth yellow of the event which evidently set off the time limit as the race finished green, white and checkered from that point. Despite pressure from behind, Clausen would maintain a nice line on the inside and drive on for the win. As reported in victory lane, the asphalt track regular would get his first dirt feature win in only his second time on the dirt. Ashley Reuman would use the high side of the track to make a strong charge up from tenth to finish second with James Haring completing the podium finishers.
It was a fine way of starting out the season at the "Bullring" and likely set a pattern of prompt and competitive racing that will endue all Summer. Thanks to Rick and Corey Dripps for putting on the show and taking the chance of rescheduling on such short notice. They didn't pack the stands but a nice size crowd was on hand. With Larry Bontz(sorry I missed him), Mr. and Mrs. Broeg, Gary Lee, Crazy Martin, Bob Litton, Kevin Feller and Doug Haack along with the tag team duo of Ryan Clark and Jerry V. all on hand, it was clearly a special night at the track so let's officially declare it Spring and let the racing begin!
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