Sanders Back On Top At Deer Creek USMTS Opener

 The traveling stars took on the local heroes for the first night of the Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge on Thursday night, May 25th at the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley Minnesota. For Rodney Sanders, it would be his first win in the series since last August as he shook off a long dry spell with his first win of 2023 and moved himself into a close second in the year long point standings behind Jake O'Neal. 

Along with the USMTS, the local B Mods also ran a full program with the winners of the twin eighteen lap main events being Dan Hovden and Gavin Shaw.

Forty six Modifieds and forty three B Mods would sign in to race on Thursday night on another beautiful night for racing in southern Minnesota. The usual USMTS format would be in effect with the drivers split into five groups for qualifying with the top six in each group being inverted for the heat races and then passing points used after that to determine who would make the main and who would have to slug it out in one of two Jeff Broeg sized B Features. And not unusual to the work of time trials, the first driver to hit the track, Tom Berry Jr, would be the quickest overall at 16.225 seconds as the track quickly slowed down once qualifying began with the other groups' fastest qualifier being between four and six tenths slower. And this is why qualifying is divided into groups and not run as one large group. 

Five heats and a pair of B Features would set the running order for the main. As usual, the drivers who follow this series came in full force as the top twenty in points and twenty four of the top twenty five were in attendance. However, unlike some years, it seemed like more of the local drivers took at least Thursday night off but they could still show for the weekend when two more full shows are on tap and the money just gets bigger. 

Things got off to a spicy start when in Modified heat three there was a tangle between race leader Al Hejna and Brandon Davis, the local driver that everyone was fearing after he came from nineteenth on the grid to win the track opener last Saturday. The drivers had differing opinions as to who was the guilty party but the bottom line was the Davis went off on the hook and Hejna was signaled the "one finger" tribute by Davis before he left, followed by some tough talk by Hejna. 

Davis would make an epic comeback through the night, making the main event from sixteenth in a B Feature only because the apparent winner was disqualified for a technical issue. Davis would then drive up from twenty third to fifth in the main as he really has the competition buzzing here at this track as he runs a chassis that he built himself and runs a smaller motor than most on alcohol rather than racing gas. 

With the provisional starters that included former national champion Dereck Ramirez, twenty eight drivers would take the green for the thirty lap main that highlighted the Thursday show. And admittedly, to this point it had been a rather staid program by Deer Creek standards with most drivers hugging the low side of the track and not a lot of passing going on as the surface just didn't seem to want to clean up on this night. However, the last trip by the prep crew before the Modified feature turned things around and there was an immediate change as the feature race would turn wild and wooly with drivers all over the track, some ridiculous slide jobs hurled and a crazy thirty lap main with several plot twists. 

Dan Ebert would lead the first lap but he was quickly overtaken by veteran Terry Phillips for the top spot with Ebert and a charging Tyler Wolff coming into the picture after Wolff started seventh. Slide jobs were the rule and there were some doozies being thrown during the first half of the event as drivers charged forward. Hejna and the consistent Alex Williamson were also running in the top five. 

Wolff was really on the march and just past the halfway point he moved in to challenge Phillips for the lead. He threw a slider on Phillips that may or may not have been clean to take the lead but Phillips clearly didn't think so as he returned the favor as the leaders racing into turn one. Phillips was on the inside and pinched Wolff up the track, neither backed off and both ended up crashing into each other and the concrete. Wolff got the worst of things as he car was heavily damaged and went off on the hook. Phillips changed a tire and went to the rear while innocent victim Ebert, running third, crashed into the mess and also had to change a tire. 

Suddenly, Hejna found himself in the lead with Williamson in second. Meanwhile, Sanders, who started sixteenth and hadn't shown up in the top five yet by the halfway point, made a tear and he was up to third for the lap nineteen restart. Sanders went to the high side of the track and blew past Hejna to take over the lead. He then pulled away but he wasn't out of the woods quite yet as Jim Chisholm used the low side of the track to drive into second and he began to pull in on Sanders. 

It got quite close in the last few laps but Chisholm didn't have time to establish a forceful challenge and he settled for second as Sanders drove on for his one hundred and thirteenth USMTS feature win. The steady Williamson would finish third ahead of O'Neal who started twenty second and Davis. Twenty four cars were still on the track at the finish and all on the lead lap. 

The Deer Creek Speedway has established a new policy for 2023 and that is if a class has more than forty entrants they split the field in half and run two feature races, both paying the same. Of course for most tracks this isn't even a factor as not many places get forty of any one class and some struggling to get forty total!

This is not the case at Deer Creek when it comes to B Mods as they had over forty for their opener last Saturday and used this new format and once again on this night, with forty three of them and truly not any travelers from far away as most are local or area racers, two features were run. Actually, this is kind of nice as everyone is then guaranteed to race a feature race and everyone gets a feature check. Some don't like the fact that a single "best driver" of the night isn't established but overall is seems good to me and actually makes it feel like the show moves faster without those dreaded B Features. 

The first feature for the B Mods would see Hunter Kennedy take the early lead and hold on to the top spot for sixteen of the eighteen laps. Dan Hovden, veteran Iowa racer, would start eleventh and gradually work his way up. When he passed Colby Mann for second, he really picked up the pace and began to reel in Kennedy, who had a nice sized lead. There wasn't much lapped traffic but the one car Kennedy needed to pass gave him trouble and when he hesitated on where to pass that car, Hovden jumped on the opportunity, blowing past Kennedy and taking the white flag as the leader. He would pull away from Kennedy on the last lap to take the win. The apparent third place finisher was disqualified so Joe Chisholm ended up third. This race had a lone yellow flag and all but one of the twenty two starters finished. 

The second B Mod feature would start the other half of the field, with the drivers selected for each race alternatively based on their heat race passing point totals. Ben Moudry would take the early lead and expand on it as he pulled to nearly a full straightaway on the field. But suddenly, just one lap after the halfway point, he suddenly slowed and pulled into the infield. 

Gavin Shaw would then inherit the lead and drive on for the victory with Spencer Stock coming from thirteenth to finish second. The win would be a nice present for Shaw who stated that he was graduating from High School on Friday night and wouldn't be racing on that night. The tech team apparently had their pencils sharpened on this night at two more drivers that finished, or so they thought, in the top five were disqualified with the official finish finding Dennis Dunbar third. 

An interesting side note to the evening's action was the news that track majority owner Mike Sorensen is working on a new racing tool to be used for track prep. He designed and built the machine himself and it is used to "tickle" the track surface but they claim it works much better than a "lay lay" and that it doesn't have all the moving parts of that piece of equipment that frequently breaks down. They used it during the program on this night and it sure seemed to help pep the track up. I'm told that Sorensen has sold four of the new machines so far and was seen recently in talks with Joe Kosiski and Ricky Kay about the tool.  

As usual, the track staff and management are always friendly and accommodating here. Special thanks to Campground Manager Bill Nelson for allowing me to sit in his booth and also thanks to minority owner Cole Queensland and Randy Queensland for their hospitality. There is a reason that this track is so highly thought of by many.  

Smith's Rule at "The Beaver"

 Wednesday night, May 24th, would mark the opening night for one of the longest standing tracks in Northwestern Iowa as the Buena Vista Speedway, more commonly known as "The Beaver", would, would start their racing season off on a spectacularly beautiful late May night. 

Under the direction of Trent Chinn Promotions once again in 2023, "The Beaver" would present a six division program with five IMCA sanctioned classes along with the local Bomber class, one of what are only a couple of tracks still running their own Bombers along with two other full bodied classes of cars. 

It has been a busy week for Chinn with a two night show just completed at Spencer, then the opener here and then back up to Britt for their second night of the season. He is one busy guy, very much following in the footsteps of his mentor shall we say, in Mike VanGenderen. 

When I spoke to Trent early in the evening, he was hoping that the wind would lay down as it was blowing in the wrong direction and making watering difficult. I could see exactly that as I crossed the track as it was quite dry for that time of the night plus he had a soft and powder like infield at this point of the year along with that. Two water trucks were working constantly doing the track, driveways and infield though and they were working as hard as they could to handle the dust problem before it got worse. Come race time, the track was quite dry on this night and for some reason it never did clean off with drivers racing very low in the corners throwing up the loose material on to the track and never allowing it to clean off and widen out the groove and quite frankly, it was not their best track by any means on this night. The wind did lay down but by the time it did, they probably could have used just a bit of it as during the last couple of events, the dust hung heavy in turns three and four and while he in the stands weren't eating it, it did make visibility a but on the tough side. 

Fifty four cars in six classes signed in to race on Wednesday with the Hobby Stocks having the largest number at fourteen. The open wheel cars were concerning with last than enough for two heats in either class. . While it is still too early to press any panic buttons, it would be tough to maintain a creditable program all Summer with these kinds of numbers and I must assume that all the racing earlier this week already would have put a crimp in the number of drivers racing on this night. There has already been three nights of racing in the local area and with the Memorial Day weekend upon us, certainly many more nights yet this week and sometimes drivers have to make a choice how many nights they can race in a single week. 

Racing started before 7:30 pm and they moved right through the program, as they always do here. With reasonable length heats since the heat races on this night with the number of cars were more a formality for most than any kind or real qualifying, it took only thirty three minutes to complete the ten qualifying events. More water was then poured on the track and it would be feature time. 

The extensive Smith family and the multiple divisions that they race in are always the drivers to beat here at what they consider their home track. Generally there is a full field of them on hand here with four racing on this night. They would produce two feature wins plus two second place finishes but it was the race that Mike Smith lost that was the race of the night. 

This was the Hobby Stock feature where Mike Smith started in the second row but with a strong opening lap move, he shot under the front row cars and would be leading by the completion of lap one. After that, he would lead all laps except the most important one, the final one. Justin Frederick had started seventh on the grid but had gradually moved to the front and by the halfway point of the race was up to fourth. He continued his charge and drove up to second and began putting the pressure on Smith for the lead. 

Frederick was stalking Smith who had slowed his pace and was protecting the bottom as the conditions had deteriorated  by the last race of the night with the track being pretty slick and dusty. Frederick was getting a good run on Smith off the corners and tailgating him through the turns. Then came the fatal final lap. Going into turn one, Frederick gave Smith a solid rap on the rear bumper at just the right time and moved him up the track just a bit. Frederick would then dive to the inside of Smith and they raced side by side into dusty turn three. Smith came down the track to try and block, there was plenty of contact out there but it was hard to see exactly what was happening. 

Out of the dust in turn four, Frederick would appear as the leader with Smith racing to catch back up but he came up a half length short and Frederick would take the win. Was it a sporting move? I guess there would be varying opinions on that, but when NASCAR encourages it, it's tough not to emulate what you see on tv. James Johnson would recover from an early spin to work back up to third. 

The youngest Smith, Will, would win the Bomber feature as he would take the lead on the opening lap and not be challenged, topping Corbin White and Max Pogeler. 

The class that they often dominate would see then pick up their other win with Devin Smith leading from start to finish for the Stock Car victory. A dandy battle for second would see David Smith and Tim Rupp exchange the second spot on several occasions before Smith would hold on at the line for second. 

The other three feature races would see dominating runs by drivers that would earn easy victories. In the Sport Mods, Dustin West would lead the first two laps before Rusty Montague would blow by him to take over the lead. He would prevail through two yellow flags and then drive away to a full straightaway win  over West and Jake Simpson. 

With only a five car Modified field and Chris Abelson on the outside pole, if you would have guessed Abelson the winner, you would have won a chicken dinner. He was on cruise control as he built a big lead over Dyllan Ricks and Matt Bonine to take the win. 

Kaytee DeVries would lead lap one of the Sport Compact feature race before she was overtaken by Levi Volkert as the front row starters dueled in the early going. After that though, Volkert would pull away for the win over Caine Mahlberg and Corey Namanny. 

All racing was complete before 9:30 pm and a good sized crowd was on hand for opening night at the fairgrounds oval and I must admit that while the car count was a bit concerning to me, I heard no complaints from the audience where this is as much a social event for the week as it is to see a race and sometimes I think here that the racing actually comes secondary to the visiting and quaffing of a few cold ones on a midweek night on the town. 

Thanks to Trent Chinn and the workers of Trent Chinn Promotions for their help as I suspect this midweek show will be a target visit again at some point this season. 

Jared Siefert Surprise Winner At Jackson In Wild Stock Car Show

 The Jackson Motorplex in Jackson Minnesota opened up for their seventieth year of dirt track racing on Tuesday night, May 23th with a two class special for IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks and on a night when just about anything could and would happen, Wisconsin's Jared Siefert was the beneficiary of some late race antics that saw him inherit the lead in the Stock Car feature, hold on for the win and take five grand back to the Badger state. Doug Wickman would win seven hundred and fifty bucks for topping a much more staid and cleanly raced Hobby Stock main. 

In 2015 Todd Quiring, of Big Game Tree Stands fame, bought the fairgrounds facility in Jackson and through the next few yeas, performed one of the most stunning turn arounds done to any dirt track in the entire country. What they have now doesn't even resemble the old flat half mile and except for being on the same property, nothing even hints at what the old track looked like. 

The new four tenth mile oval is one of the sharpest facilities in the country and I would say that the grandstands, with their steep pitch offer some of the best sight lines for the fans of any track around. It is a pleasure visiting this track which seems to be strangely under used in my opinion. The total schedule for this track for 2023 is booked at just ten nights of racing, all being specials while the main focus of the ownership group remains the Huset's Speedway to the West across the border in South Dakota. And make no bones about it, this whole place as well as Huset's is focused on Sprint Car racing and any other form of racing is strictly in the back seat, even including the Silver Dollar Nationals that will move to Huset's in 2023 from its former home at the late I-80 Speedway in Greenwood Nebraska. 

Among the ten races on the schedule for this year are three Tuesday night specials for the IMCA cars which proliferate at a number of tracks around this area but seldom get the opportunity to race at Jackson. Tonight's event was sponsored by Andy Altenburg and Altenburg Construction, a long time racer in the Stock Car class. Somewhat strangely, this event would be just a two class program with only Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks on the schedule tonight with fans actually surprised when they arrived to find out that there would be just the two classes in action, having assumed incorrectly that all the Tuesday night shows would feature all five of the IMCA classes which is the norm here. 

However, on this night it would be just the two, a formula for a quick night of racing on a May midweek night with school, work and likely for many, graduations upcoming. Big money would be on the line with the Stock Cars racing for five grand to win and the Hobby Stocks also having a nice pay night. Especially tied in with the big race just concluded at Spencer, one would assume that a large field of cars would be on hand. And while there were a number of traveling high powered Stock Car teams, I'm thinking that both tracks were disappointed in the total car count they got as there were thirty one Stock Cars here and less than fifty at Spencer, with a format obviously designed with many more expected. 

Now that we have established what a fine facility this is and all the great things about a visit here, let's be honest and say that while it might be a multi million dollar facility, it was operated in a two dollar and fifty cent manner on this night. Just about everything that could be done negatively and in a way to enrage both the drivers and fans was done tonight. To say that they weren't on their "A" game would be to tread lightly on what happened on this night. 

They got everyone upset right off the bat when they went nuts watering the race track and made the last pass of the night before the cars hit the track a deluge of epic proportions and turned the track into a mud hole with just a couple vehicles to pack. It was clear that with a small pit area of cars to help that racing wasn't going to be starting on time. As it turned out, the 8 pm scheduled start time, which was much too late to begin with, was exceeded by nearly a full hour and it was just a few minutes short of 9 pm before the first race hit the track.

As you might guess, this did not go over big with either the drivers, who were asked to come out and pack the mud and then race on less than great conditions for most of the night, or the fans patiently waiting for racing to begin and then not so patiently. This got everyone on edge before the first green flag was dropped and I think that was reflected on some of the racing action we saw later. 

In fact, the track conditions saw several drivers load up and not race, even for the big bucks with fan favorite and likely challenger Kelly Shryock load up and barrel out of the grounds on his way back home. This was an unfortunate way to start the racing season. 

To compound the late starting issue, for some reason this race was using a format that I had never seen before for determining the lineups as for the first time in memory, the Stock Cars qualified with their time trial results lining up the heat races. Supposedly, they were using a method that compiled points for  time trials and heats and that determined the starting positions for the main events. But there was confusion on that too. First of all, the time trials used up valuable time on a night when they were starting much too late to begin with as Matt Olson set quick time with an hour glass slow lap of 20.402 seconds. 

More confusion reigned as the first Stock Car heat came to the track and started with the front two rows inverted. The second heat was nearly started in this manner also until a quick change was made and this heat and the other two were started straight up so I don't know how they adjusted things with heats not all running under the same format. A B Feature was run to fill out the twenty four car starting field but then it looked like the top eight for the main were redrawn so it was very confusing and far more tedious than it needed to be which likely just got the drivers more riled up. 

And that's the way they drove when the twenty five lap main started as there was slamming and banging galore. The groove was narrow and passing was hard which just made matters worse and with the drivers already ticked off, it was an explosive situation that saw much take place during those twenty five laps. 

A race starting Dallon Murty on the pole would normally be over as he would be expected to lead from start to finish but on this crazy night, that was not the case. He did get the early lead but only three laps into the race, Jared Siefert drove past him to take over the top spot with Matt Olson, Murty, Dusty Vis and Derek Green all in contention. 

And who would expect Murty, of all people, to loop it in turn one in heavy traffic but that's what happened with the grinding collision eliminating Murty, Olson and Jesse Sobbing. That would give the lead to Siefert but Green was on the move as he clearly was the fastest car on the track, having started eighth and one of the few able to pass. On lap nine he blew past Siefert to take over the lead and then marched away from the field as the race remained under green for an extended period. Green would build up nearly a full straightaway lead over the field as he cruised. Behind him, Siefert, Vis, Justin Luinenburg and Chanse Hollatz battled for position. Everything looked like money in the bank for Green until a slowing Damon Murty brought out the yellow with just three laps to go. 

The double file restart saw Green with Vis on his inside and Siefert to the outside. As they came through turn three, Green properly held back firing until he hit the white chalk line on the track, signaling the fire zone. However, Vis, apparently trying to time his start perfectly and get a big run, misfired and took off way too soon, smashing into the back of Green and jumping up on the back of his car as the other drivers scrambled in various directions to avoid the mess. 

It was bad news for Green who got a flat rear tire and had to duck into the infield for a replacement. You almost knew what was going to happen next as under yellow, while the field was circling the track slowly, Green found Vis on the back chute, made a right turn and slammed into his car and shoved it into the wall. This earned Green a DQ for the event as well as a second flat tire but his efforts weren't enough as Vis was able to continue racing. 

Siefert would again inherit the lead and he would hold off a charging Jeffrey Larson to get the win. Trevor Holm would also charge forward to get third as Vis was shuffled back to sixth at the checkered. It was a crazy race from start to finish and certainly one that will be talked about for quite some time. By the time the final checkered waved, the track was just coming into the shape it should have been to start the program. 

On the other hand, the Hobby Stocks behaved themselves quite well in their main which proceeded the Stock Cars. There were seventeen of them and their two heat races were wild affairs with much slamming and banging and their main seemed to be set up for more of the same. However, the drivers decided to behave instead and their finale saw just two yellow flags and only four cars that didn't finish  as opposed to the Stock Car feature where more didn't finish than those that crossed the line. 

A first lap crash did take care of the front row drivers and for the restart, Doug Wickman would move into the lead, an advantage that he would maintain for all fifteen laps. However, he was stalked the whole race by Malik Sampson who would repeatedly try both high and low to get past Wickman but Wickman is a veteran and knew to anticipate the moves and was there to block any efforts for a lead change. 

Sampson would continue to try right to the checkered but he didn't pull any shenanigans and Wickman would keep his car in front and drive on for the win. And as much as Wickman should be congratulated for the win, Sampson deserves equal praise for racing his clean on a night when there was very little of that form of racing taking place. Chad Volk would finish up third. 

Track officials proved that once they got going, they could run off a very fast program as they repeatedly screamed to the drivers to stage as they tried to make off for their earlier shortcomings. In fact, the whole actual race program took just ninety minutes to run with the final checkered waving at 10:30 pm. 

The Mayor stayed home on Tuesday as he made this a "recliner" race but the rest of the traveling experts were on hand for one more night before everyone splits on their various racing adventures. 

Thanks to all the folks at the pit gate for their help on this night. Let's face it, everyone has their bad nights, especially so some times on opening night when perhaps new people are working or the old veteran workers have forgotten their routine. Jackson Motorplex remains a very nice facility. Let's just take the keys out of the water truck a bit sooner next time, OK? 

Shryock Doubles Up At Spencer

Except for a rare few tracks, Monday night races are not a thing frequently seen. Especially so in May when school is still in session and I would assume that farmers are still in the fields completing the 2023 planting season. However, the Clay County Fair Speedway would look at those possible negatives and spit in their eye, as on Monday night, May 22nd they presented the second half of The Clay County Classic, a five division program with the featured event being the Stock Car thirty five lap feature that was paying a whopping five grand to win as a part of the DIRT CROWN EAST series. Along with the Stock Cars, the Modifieds, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts would all be in action for a full program and as a bonus treat, two feature races from the rain shortened May 8th program would also be held so we were looking at a full night of racing. 

And not only was this a Monday night race in May, it was actually part of a doubleheader program with racing also on Sunday night, an event I could not attend. However, on Sunday night they ran a full program for Hobby Stocks and Sport Mods as well as double qualifying heat races for the Stock Cars and two other make up features from that May 8th program that was stopped by lightning and then a surprise rain shower. 

One hundred and eight drivers signed in to race on Monday night in the five classes including a high count of forty two Stock Cars, minus three from Sunday night that did not return likely due to mechanical issues. 

Monday night's program would include a full show of heats and features for four classes, plus a series of Last Chance and B Features for the Stock Cars to fill out their twenty four car field. But first we had to make up two last feature races from May 8th. 

The Sport Compact feature saw a small group of cars return but they had plenty of excitement in their short, ten lap main. Logan Kelly, who doubles as a Sport Compact drivers while also being the flagman at a couple of northern Iowa speedways, took the early lead. However, he was soon challenged by Kaytee DeVries for the lead. They had a close side by side duel until they rubbed together, Kelly got a flat tire and flying off the first turn while DeVries would go on to win the main over Riley Paysen and Levi Volkert. 

The other make up was for the Modifieds and eighteen drivers would return to race that event. Here is where the nights biggest winner, Kelly Shryock, would pick up the first of two feature wins on the night. He would start on the outside pole and lead all laps but it would get tight at the finish. Tim Ward, looking to fatten up on his feature win totals of the year to date, would charge up from tenth to challenge Shryock for the lead and they would have a great battle, racing side by side and exchanging slide jobs on the two lane track. It would come right down to the wire but Shryock would hold off Ward and go on for the win with Brandon Beckendorf finishing third in what was an exciting way to start off the evening. 

Tossing the normal running order, perhaps because of the Monday night and the large number of races on the schedule, after all the qualifying was done, the Modifieds would be first up for their main event. And what a show Beckendorf would put on! 

He would start thirteenth on the grid but would immediately charge toward the front, clearly being the fastest driver on the track as he would be able to drive several car lengths deeper into the corners than others and yet still be able to carry his speed through the turns. The groove was high by this time and h was right up against the concrete but he continued to move forward. 

Jesse Dennis had taken the early lead and while their was much infighting going on behind him, he was able to put quite a bit of distance between himself and the field as the race remained under the green. When Beckendorf finally moved into second, he was nearly a full straightaway behind Dennis and the lead seemed impossible to make up, especially if the race remained under green. 

However, that is just what it did but no matter for Beckendorf as he reeled in Dennis at a rapid pace and on lap eleven he blew past Dennis on the high side and never looked back as he pulled to his own half straightaway lead as the race remained under green and he drove to a most impressive win. Dennis would settle for second and Paul Nagle would complete the top five. 

Then it would be feature time and time for Shryock to harvest more Clay County cash. He would start on the inside of row two in the twenty four car field that was going thirty five laps but he was able to drop to the extreme inside lane on lap one and beat both Jim Horejci and Jeremy Thornton back to the line and lead lap one. The records will show that he would then lead all laps but it wasn't quite as simple as that may sound.

At one point he was under heavy pressure as while Shryock was hugging the inside line, Thornton went to the cushion for momentum and closed in on Kelly. Thornton was one of the few to make that line work but he found himself in a great battle with Shryock at the halfway point of the race and the leaders raced nearly the whole lap side by side. However, Thornton would break traction and spin sideways and nearly come to a stop before getting going again. The yellow flag flew at this point and it seemed like a quick yellow would send Thornton to the back but the ruling(puzzling to some including me), was that there was debris on the track at the same time and Thornton would retain second so he and Horejci would continue their chase of the leader. 

However, Thornton could never again find that magic that he briefly had and he would struggle to hold second. In fact, a later yellow saw both Thornton and Horejci fall back in the pack after bad restarts and Dusty Vis would move into second. 

The last half of the race would go nonstop and while Vis would follow fairly closely to the leader, He was never able to offer a challenge and Shryock would drive on for the win, completing a nice six grand Monday night exercise. Jesse Sobbing would come from tenth to get third while Devin Snellenberger was on fire the second half of the race as he drove from nineteenth to finish right behind Sobbing. 

A great three car battle would highlight the Hobby Stock feature. Travis VandenTop would be the early leader until he was overtaken by Brandon Nielsen for the point. Quickly moving in behind him, after starting eleventh was Mike Smith and by the halfway point of the race, it was Nielsen, Smith and Cory Probst running nose to tail, hugging the inside and waited for a mistake by the other. 

Nielsen was pushing in the turns but Smith just couldn't get quite a big enough run at him to take over the top spot. Finally, on lap thirteen he nosed under Nielsen and took over the lead which he would hold to the checkers. Probst would also pass on the final lap to take second. 

The team cars of Justin Klynsma and John Foreman would lead the early laps of the Sport Mod feature before Matthew Looft would move up from tenth to move into third and bring Colby Fett with him as the two would challenge the OK 1 Stop team. 

Just past the halfway point, Looft and Fett would move into second and third and put the heat on Klynsma who was now in defensive mode, trying to hold off the duo of strong runners. He was able to hold on until turn one on the final lap when he went way high and both Looft, who never seems to lose here, and Fett would both go past him for the top spots and Klynsma, in an effort to charge back and take the lead, would again go high with his other team mate, John Klynsma, also passing him at the line for third. 

Tyler Thompson would move up from the second row on the opening lap to grab the lead in the Sport Compact feature and he would then cruise home for the win from that point, never being challenged. Paysen would again get second and Kelly would manage third in this race. 

All racing was complete just before the 11 pm hour, a bit late for a Monday night in May but there was much racing done in the three and a half hours of the show. They must have done something with the sound system as I was able to hear J VAN much better than ever before so that was appreciated. It was an all star crowd on hand for this race as "Super Dave" from Minnesota was in attendance, along with DJ from Ohio and the mayou of Ogden Iowa, "Crazy Martin." 

Thanks to Trent Chinn of Trent Chinn Promotions along with all the staff and employees of the Clay County Fair Speedway for a nice night of racing on what was one of the most pleasant weather nights of 2023 to date. 

Krug Pilots "Landshark" To Kossuth Co. Victory

 Thursday night, May 18th, the Kossuth County Speedway at the fairgrounds in Algona Iowa was back in action with their second Thursday night race of 2023. They got their opener in two weeks ago but then lost last week's race due to rain, a repeating theme for this track located in Northwestern Iowa on highway 169. 

On tap Thursday would be their regular five class program of IMCA racing plus the two man Cruisers, a staple here for as long as I can remember and one of the very few tracks in the state still running Cruisers after they went through a period of extreme popularity across the Midwest. 

It was another strange weather day as a number have been lately and the strange thing was again those hazy skies with at times, even the faintest aroma of burning wood, the result of some huge forest fires in Canada that with the winds have sent their smoke hundreds of miles South. How awful it must be up there. I guess that is one weather occurrence that folks in Iowa don't have to cope with very often. 

Fifty three cars would sign in to race in the five IMCA classes with the field being a little light in the two open wheel classes. However, most of the local fan favorites were on hand and that is an important thing for this primarily local crowd. 

However, the name Sam Hoffman from Montana keeps popping up as racing in the local area and I had to find out if he was on vacation, racing the Midwest this Summer or what. Turns out that Sam felt like he was getting crowded out of his part of Montana and that it was getting too expensive to live there. So last Winter, he drove back to Iowa spent time hunting around for jobs and a place to  live and found both of what he wanted in Spencer where he now lives and has purchased a home. He is in the aircraft maintenance field right now but is also a crop duster pilot by trade too. I turns out that he knows the two crop duster pilots I know that are also race car drivers, one from North Dakota and one from Minnesota. So far he is very pleased with the move and has had no problems getting adjusted to Iowa. He is however, looking for a bigger shop to keep and work on his Modified. 

I always look forward to visit to either Algona or Britt so that I can visit with the voice of both tracks, Chad Meyer. Chad is one of the best at his craft with a dry sense of humor and a great resume of big races that he has worked at. He knows his stuff and is also not afraid to call a spade a spade if need be. It is also refreshing to here a race call without a huge litany of sponsors being constantly referred to. 

A fast track would greet the drivers on Thursday night, the result of much rain in the area recently and they would be flying through the early events. However, the program would go off quickly with the first yellow flag on the entire night not needed until the Sport Compact feature, the tenth race of the night. 

The track did start to build up some humps in the corners by this time as that wet soil started to roll up some and for the last race of the night they moved out the dreaded infield tractor tires so the racers would run above the humps and that seemed to help. From start to finish, all the qualifying heats were completed in just forty three minutes and with a break short enough to just about have a swig of pop, the Cruiser feature was on the track. 

For me, the highlight of the night was the Hobby Stock feature, won by Chris Krug in a car older than quite a few of the fans! Krug would make a thrilling last lap pass on Brandon Nielsen to get the win and put the crowd on their feet. The biggest field of the night, eighteen cars, would take the green for the Hobby Stock main and Nielsen would lead every lap except the money one. 

Early on he was chased by Dan Hanselman but after Hanselman and Seth Butler both rolled tires off the rims of their car, it was up to Mike Smith and Krug to try and track down Nielsen. Smith was putting plenty of pressure on Nielsen but after a lap eleven yellow, Krug suddenly burst forward, passing Smith for second and applying heavy pressure on Nielsen for the lead, with Brandon appearing to suffer from a right race car that wasn't turning as it should. 

Coming out of turn one on the final lap, Nielsen pushed up the track, Krug dove to the inside and made the pass for the lead and made it stick as he then pulled away for the win. 

In victory lane, Krug's car, which frankly looks like a tank, was told to Meyer to be a 1999 Landshark chassis, a brand and year that I hardly remember. He also said that he was going to break out a new car on Friday but would put this beauty in the shed to break out for specials! When asked by Meyer how he managed to make that last lap pass, Krug replied that he "had a horseshoe up his a**," something I'm willing to take as fact since he's way to big to argue with. Nielsen and Smith would complete the top three. 

Two other class features would be determined by late race passes also. The Modified feature would see Nick Meyer lead for much of the contest after starting on the pole but he would be constantly challenged by Jeremy Mills for the top spot. Several times Mills, who appeared to have the quicker car, would try to get past but each time Meyer would somehow hold him off. 

Finally, on lap fifteen, Mills would find a hole on the low side of the track and squeeze past to take over the lead which  he would build to the checkered. Meyer would settle for second with Cody Knecht third. Chad Meyer stated that the win was Mills' eightieth feature win at Algona over the years, one of the tops in track history.. 

Also making a late race pass for the win was Oliver Monson who drove pass Lucas Parsons with just two laps to go to win the Sport Compact feature. They had a small field of cars but their feature remained in doubt until the very end. Monson is plagued by the  fact that he wins too often as his win was met by resounding boos from the crowd. 

Two drivers dominated their main events. Jake Simpson led from green to checkered to win the Sport Mod feature and was never really challenged in a race that was stopped only once. He had a comfortable margin over Colby Fett and Charlie Stevens at the finish. The feature win  was reported to be the fifty first at Algona for Simpson. 

A shocking development occurred in the Stock Car feature when Kevin Opheim rolled out a new race car for Thursday night's action after having raced the same Stock Car for about as long as Krug raced his  Hobby Stock.  Although it looked as cobbled together as his cars always do, it was a new car with good equipment from Chanse Hollatz. and Opheim would race it to a third place finish in its first outing. As for the winner, Derek Green would drive past  Gary Pesicka on the third lap and would then pull away from the field for an easy win., his thirtieth feature win at Algona. These feature win stats were provided by Chad Meyer from his research. 

The final checkered flag waved at 9:29 pm to conclude a smooth, two hour and ten minute program, just what is needed for a midweek show to be successful. Thanks to track promoter Ron Reefer, Meyer, Logan Kelly for officiating a quick program and to the rest of the staff at Kossuth County Speedway. 

Erb Digs "The Ditch" For Twenty Three Grand at Davenport

 If a race track goes one groove and becomes a "bottom feeder," there is one driver that excels on that kind of racing surface more than any one else. Dennis Erb Jr, the ultimate "catfish", would be extremely pleased the way the racing surface would turn out on Wednesday at the Davenport Speedway and the Illinois veteran, who has made a career out of never leaving the low groove at any dirt track, would dominate the FLPRACING Night in America visit on Wednesday night, May 17th to the Davenport Speedway in Davenport Iowa, taking home $23,023 for his fifty lap main event win. The companion IMCA Modified main event would go to Tim Ward and would earn him a grand for his efforts. 

The stars of the FLORACING Series, after a successful run on Tuesday night in Marshalltown, would move East to the state line for another fifty lap event at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds quarter mile in Davenport. The top fifteen in series points to date would head the field along with many other dirt track stars and a fine field of forty drivers would take time trials on Wednesday. Among that group were a total of eleven drivers that had not participated in the Marshalltown event on Tuesday including such stars as Kyle Bronson, Mason Zegler, Ross Robinson and Brent Larson. It would be a very good field of drivers set to perform in another of the quick shows that FLORACING specializes in and tracks like Marshalltown and Davenport are eager to provide. 

It was a comfortable if hazy May night for racing with the wildfires burning in Canada providing an unusual looking sky and horizon at sunset. A note on one of the new arrivals on Wednesday night. Mason Zeigler was debuting a new Rocket chassis which for its first night provided a positive experience for the Pennsylvania driver as he led some laps of the feature before fading. However, his graphics package would lead much to desire. He did have on some specially designed graphics that while they don't show during the day, are supposed to pick up the night light and the light from cameras flashing to provide and unusual look. However, they were a total flop as not once during the night were they even visible and for most people that hadn't gotten the opportunity to see the car up close in the pits before the races, they probably believed that there were no sponsors or numbers on the car. This is one idea that needs to be revisited as his sponsors must have been just thrilled to see his car on tv while leading the race yet none of the hard earned money was being made available for viewing because of his donkey graphics. 

Another interesting thing I noted tonight as the program started. This is one of the very few race tracks in the entire country that has a flag stand on both the inside and outside of the track and both are used during the season. The last time I was here for a Late Model show earlier this Spring, the starter utilized the outside flag stand but tonight the starter was on the inside of the track. I'm wondering if this was a promoter decision, a series decision or the choice of the starter or perhaps none of the above. In any event, it is a unique thing. 

Well, we might as well admit it up front. The racing on Wednesday was disappointing. For one of the few times that I have been at Davenport, Ricky Kay and "Dr. Al", just missed on their set up for the track. Race drivers miss the setup from time to time and so do the track prep guys. Granted, the guys here at Davenport seldom do so and that is why Davenport is such a favorite place for both drivers and fans but on this night, a rare one indeed, the track dried out early and went one groove and despite their best efforts to resuscitate it, after a few laps it went back to a low side dominate track and the feature cars pretty much lined up and putted around the bottom. Everyone is entitled to an off night, and Wednesday would be that night here at Davenport. It should also be noted that I miss the setup on these reports more often than not too. 

To be fair, the track was blinding fast as qualifying started, with Mike Marlar setting a new track record at 13.321 seconds as the fourth driver out to qualify. But very quickly, the track dried out and the qualifying attempts fell by over a second. The track crew really went at the surface following qualifying and it would widen out some for the heats but it went back to a bottom track for the B Features and despite another lengthy session before the feature, less than twenty laps into it everyone went to the bottom and Erb licked his chops as  the tack came to him as it left most everyone else. 

The format would be unchanged for the Late Models with the field split for qualifying, followed by four heats and a pair of B Features with two provisional starters added to set the field at twenty two for fifty laps. The racing was incredibly caution free on this night as in one hundred and two green flag laps for the Late Models, there was a total of just one yellow flag! I've noticed this to be the case at many of these Late Model events as when you get the best drivers together, they race hard but often without incident and such was the case on Wednesday. 

The Late Models ran their events first tonight, a curtesy to the fans that traveled to be here as well as the tv audience. Zeigler would start on the outside pole and take the early lead as the rejuvenated surface would hold moisture for a few laps. Marlar was right there to challenge him along with Bobby Pierce while Erb had already planted his flag in the ditch and was starting to polish up that lane. 

Ziegler was losing just a bit of speed and Marlar was all over him for the lead. However, just as Marlar moved to the top side down the front stretch, Zeigler decided he wanted that same piece of real estate, running Marlar up and over the banking. Mike tried to fight his way back on the track and would have done so and only lost about four positions but the starter got over anxious and threw the yellow and with apparently no "blend rule", Marlar had to go to the back. What a disaster the last two days have been for the Tennessee driver. Coming into this week with the points lead, first he it the dirt bank last night at Marshalltown and dropped to sixth in points and not tonight's bad luck has cost him any chance at being the points champion. 

Between last sixteen and the halfway point, the race heated up as Erb pressured on the bottom while Zeigler tried to fight him off using the top line but there was no berm to race off of and that lane had dried out and Zeigler slid back in the field as Erb raced around the bottom. Hudson O'Neal would move into the runner up spot and he would try a multitude of grooves to try and catch Erb but nothing seemed to work and with no lapped traffic or yellows to bother Erb, he was left to roam free as he plowed the ditch line. He would drive on for an unchallenged win with O'Neal settling for second and Pierce third with everyone pretty much lining up on the inside and not much passing taking place in the last twenty laps. 

Fifteen cars would be on the lead lap at the end with one more a laps down and six that would not finish including Marlar. 

The Modifieds would finish up the evening with a twenty lap main event with everyone on hand starting. There would be three different leaders in the first half of the race with Brian Harris taking the lead from the start as he hugged the inside line. However, Jeff Aikey would step to the middle groove and make that work as he built up some momentum and would gradually drive by Harris to take over the lead on lap six. Two laps later the lone yellow would fly for a two car spin in turn one with Aikey challenged on the green by Harris and Mitch Morris. 

However, after starting seventh, Tim Ward was on the move as the lone visitor was taking the track regulars to task. He moved into the runner up slot with some bold inside lane driving and when Aikey chose to run the middle line just a bit too long, Ward would drive under him and take over the lead. Shortly after this Aikey would slow with problems and drop out and that left Dylan Thornton, in one of the Current cars, to take over the second spot. And despite a constant smoking condition, the Thornton car would continue to run just fine. 

However, there would be no stopping Ward who pulled away to a comfortable lead and again, with no lapped traffic that might cause him to have to leave the bottom, Ward was home free for a very impressive win. Thornton would get second and  Eric Barnes would round out the top five. 

With just the two classes racing and a smoothly run off show, all racing was done at a very early hour which likely was appreciated by everyone that had to get to work on Thursday morning. This is the kind of race management that encourages folks to come again to a midweek event, knowing that they won't have to have breakfast at the track before driving directly to work and makes the possibility of a successful midweek show possible. 

Thanks to everyone from Kay Promotions for their help and also to all the folks from FLORACING who are among the most approachable of all the major racing series. It may not have been the most scintillating night of racing ever, but I will certainly be back to Davenport whenever possible. 

Big Night at Marshalltown Finds FLO Dollars to O'Neal

 A race long awaited on the Castrol FLO Racing Night in America schedule since it was announced took place on Tuesday night, May 16th at the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown Iowa. For the second straight year the national touring stars from the Late Model ranks would be racing at the high banked Marshalltown Iowa Speedway in a race anticipated by both the fans and drivers themselves. And it did not disappoint as the action was intense in a fifty lap feature race won by Indiana's Hudson O'Neal. 

And while the Late Models were the main course on this night, the Stock Cars and Modifieds from IMCA also were on hand in force and both these classes ran off a fine program with Troy Jerovetz and Tom Berry Jr being the winners of these two divisions. 

It was a beautiful May night for auto racing or quite frankly, for any other activity outdoors as perhaps Spring had finally arrived for the Midwest. This race would be one of the first early big races here in the Heartland and dirt track Late Model fans from all over were on hand to catch this rare glimpse of the national touring stars here in Iowa. On hand, beating the drum for the NAPA Gopher 50 to be held at the Deer Creek Speedway in July which will pay fifty thousand dollars to win was Jerry Ingvalson from Blooming Prairie Minnesota. Jerry was one of the original organizers of the first Gopher 50 held at the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna, which by the way was held the first two years of its existence at the Chateau Raceway just North of Austin Minnesota, a track that is sitting idle this year. It was then moved to Owatonna when it outgrew its digs at Chateau and this race has been going ever since with the race this year being the forty fourth consecutive. 

The car counts on this beautiful Tuesday would be thirty three Late Models, of which only twenty two would make the main event, a somewhat smaller than expected seventeen Stock Cars and a very impressive thirty nine IMCA Modifieds with only twenty four of them to start the main. 

The first car out for Late Model time trials would set the fast time, a situation that happens quite often when qualifying is involved. On this night it was Dennis Erb Jr who was the only driver in the thirteen second bracket at 13.937 seconds while group two would be topped by Bobby Pierce. 

Before the heat race action however, we would be treated to quite an interesting presentation of the National Anthem as while Jackie Schmillan, the significant other of promoter Jerry VanSickle sang the anthem, the flag was carried by a rider on horseback and when coming down the front chute, the top of the staff holding the flag shot off fireworks into the air. It was unique and the fans loved it. 

Then it was time to start the rapid paced program. Four heats and a pair of B Features would set the field for the Late Model field. For some reason, even though FLO races draw some large and powerful fields of cars, they are one of the smallest when it comes to starting fields as they always only start twenty two cars in their mains. Tyler Erb and Daulton Wilson would get the two provisional starts and there were a ton of local fans disappointed when the local hero Ryan Gustin didn't make the main but he quite frankly just didn't show the speed to make the show. 

The statistics would show that winner Hudson O'Neal would lead forty eight of the fifty laps of the main but that wouldn't tell the true story of how intense the action was. There was much moving up and then fading back by some of the drivers, including Max Blair who came shooting up to pass O'Neal early and for all the world looked like he might win. However, after his few moments of glory he pulled the chute and ended up way back in eighth at the checkered. 

After the brief lead by Blair, O'Neal retook the top spot but he had Pierce all over him for the rest of the race, which was stopped just one for a slowing car due to a flat tire. Pierce would try and try to get past O'Neal but each time Hudson would fight him off. Dennis Erb Jr would be part of the lead group for awhile and then Brandon Overton, running right on the bottom, would move up. In fact, from the halfway point until the only yellow, Overton would take over second and seem to be the main challenger.  O'Neal was experimenting all over the track and running different lines through the turns as the drivers were really working the track, top to bottom to find their own "sweet spot." Pierce nearly snuck past O'Neal in turn four once with both sliding to the guard rail and for all the world looking like they would both crash but somehow they just continued on like nothing had happened. 

O'Neal would get into lapped traffic near the end and Pierce and a charging Overton would both close up on him. O'Neal threw a wild slider on Tyler Breuning to get past him as they came to the white flag, a move that nearly cost O'Neal as he got into the turn four rail but he just proceeded on and would drive home for the win with Pierce and Overton trailing. Two of the twenty two starters were still on the track at the finish and one costly non finisher was Mike Marlar as the point leader going into the race slammed into the dirt bank exiting turn two during the race, incurring damage that saw him limp to the pits and forfeit his point lead to O'Neal. While the Longhorn chassis have been gathering much ink this year, O'Neal is one Rocket chassis that still has plenty of thrust. 

It was quite shocking to see, particularly at the track where racing is the attraction, but both the support class features on this night were led by one driver from green to checkered. New to the Stock Cars on this night was Sport Mod star Jake Sachau and Hobby Stock stalwart Brent Vanous as everyone wants to race a Stock Car now with all their big money shows that just seem bot be expanding by leaps and bounds. And one of the reasons is that there are a lot of Stock Cars so promoters know that if they have a special they will have lots of cars, something that was shrinking for the Modified fields. 

Troy Jerovetz, "The General", would start on the pole for the Stock Car feature and he would not leave the bottom lane and on this night, that worked as perhaps the Late Models, who ran first, had worn out the top line. In any event, Jerovetz found the low groove to work for him and with just a single yellow with five laps complete to slow the race, he kept his momentum up and never was seriously challenged. 

Tom Berry Jr would be the only driver working the high side of the track and he made it work but he was never able to close on Jerovetz. Jay Schmidt nearly got by Berry Jr several times for second but then slipped back slightly as the last fifteen laps ran green to checkered. Jerovetz would drive on for the win with Berry Jr second but apparent third place finisher Schmidt was disqualified which allowed Dallon Murty to claim that spot. 

The Modifieds would see a couple changes on this night as USMTS star Cayden Carter would drive the Maguire DeJong ride and Tripp Gaylord from Colorado would be a part of the field. I'm told that Gaylord has relocated to southern Iowa and will be working on the assembly of Vanderbuilt chassis for Zach VanderBeek. Also, the long tow award went to John Webb who is the owner of the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore as well as being a Modified driver. 

Berry Jr. missed out on a double win but he would control the Modified feature from start to finish as he dominated the twenty four car field. Slowed only once by a yellow on lap three, Berry Jr would be challenged only by Todd Shute who would continuously try to duck under Berry Jr in the corners, several times nearly doing so in turn one. 

After nearly giving away the farm several straight laps, Berry Jr adjusted his line, running low in turns one and two and sweeping through the middle of turns three and four and that seemed to suit his car just right as he then gradually, under the repeated green flag laps, would ease away from Shute. 

Berry Jr would take the checkered without a big challenge while Shute would gather second. Johnathan Logue, who would cross the line third, was apparently set back a couple of spots for some sort of violation, perhaps a jump start, but whatever, he would be scored fifth behind both Tim Ward and Cody Laney as the Modified field was both large and talented. Only four drivers failed to finish the feature and two were lapped. 

The show was a fast paced one and all racing was over by just about the 10 pm hour. Interestingly as compared to some of the FLO races where the crowd bails as soon as the Late Models are done, at this track the Late Models are the special attraction but folks also want to see their staple divisions and just about everyone stayed around to watch the last two features. 

A large crowd was on hand and as you might guess, seats were at a premium so I need to thank Joyce and Dick Eisele for saving us seats, among the best too in the house I might add. Also thanks to promoter Toby Kruse and General Manager Jerry VanSickle who took time to say hello even though their nights were hectic and to FLO announcers Ben Shelton and Dustin Jarrett, probably the best combination in dirt track racing these days. A question was raised whether or not the fans of Marshalltown wanted to see another FLO race in 2024 and the answer was a resounding yes. so it there is a series next year, I'm sure Marshalltown will be awarded a race. 

Fantastic Night at Stuart Topped by Murty Last Corner Pass

 Ah yes, now I remember why I pound up and down the highways, enduring the late nights, the dust and bugs and the expensive fuel prices. It's for nights like Wednesday, when I was lucky enough to be on hand for an absolutely great program of short track racing at the Stuart International Speedway in Stuart Iowa. Those of us that were in Stuart for the Dynamic Drivelines Dirt Duel special that was a part of the 2023 season opener at SIS got to see what will surely be one of the top five races of the entire year as quite frankly, I can't imagine seeing more that a handful of races all year that will top what we saw on Wednesday. 

Everything about the night was spectacular and everything was right on point. From the drivers who moved when they spun and kept the show moving to the track officials who ran off a terrifically quick program to the track itself which had been prepared beautifully to provide great racing in all the classes. Just everything about the night was dynamic and when the final checkered flag flew at 10:15 pm, I turned to those folks around me in the grand stands and asked if it was just me or did they also think they had just seen a hell of a race program. They all agreed with me that we were oh so lucky to have been on hand on Wednesday and were treated to as entertaining a short track program as is possible. 

Mike VanGenderen was positively  aglow as he returned to the tower following the final checkered and well he should have been. These are "feel good" nights and he certainly should be allowed to bask in the glory of what he and his crew, along with some great driving performances, was able to spot light for we the fans. I'm not a "flowery" guy and have been accused over the years of being too blunt and honest some times, by I'm gushing right now as even the following morning when I look back on what I will always term as a spectacular night of racing and proof that the weekly show can still hold its water against any special concocted. This was a program for the ages. 

And to top things off, what added to pleasure of the night was how quickly the show was completed, despite the large number of entries and races that would be held. This was a seven class program on Wednesday with the five core IMCA classes that race at Stuart along with the Dirt Trucks and the Bat Wings. Those that follow this blog now by now that I don't keep track of the Bat Wings as I also don't keep track of Legends, Mod Lites and other classes like that but I can tell you on Wednesday that there were fourteen of them and they raced in three events. So we had one hundred and forty race vehicles in total and they participated in a whopping twenty seven races that included seven main events. Sounds like about a five hour program if you were lucky, right? No. Try two hours and forty seven minutes! That's what it took to run off the whole show from start to finish which included a Bat Wing feature that saw a flip and way too many yellows for spinning vehicles. Still, with two other feature races going nonstop and two others having just a single yellow, we got done at what would be an acceptable time for a program having many less races and cars participating. 

In order to do this, however, you need a race track that is in great shape and SIS was just that on Wednesday. It was black, top to bottom and icy slick while never even hinting at taking rubber. The drivers in all classes were able to race all over the track, do slide jobs until the cows came home, and drive incredibly hard. Yet there was very little dust(which was all blown the opposite direction by a convenient South breeze) and all this was accomplished with nearly no track prep at all. It was a blessing for us and the drivers had to be pleased as well. Even though I have now been here many times, when I walk into the grandstands I take a look at the track and think that it's going to be tough to do much side by side racing because it is a tight little quarter mile but then the racing begins and I am absolutely wowed how hard they can race, how they race side by side by side and still hardly ever wreck each other. It is a wonder. 

And while all the racing deserved high mention, we must start with the Stock Car feature which was one for the ages. Twenty four cars going twenty laps and there was just a single yellow flag for a spinner. There was so much going on that it was impossible to keep up with all of it. You would assume that with Damon Murty on the pole that it might be a snoozer but you would be sadly mistaken. He would lead just the opening lap before being passed by Nick Roberts who would lead most of the contest. 

As he led, the action behind him was furious and I'm not overexaggerating to say that at one time I saw four wide racing for a full lap with others three wide in front and behind this group. It was dynamic, spectacular and just what a race fan would want to see. A late yellow erased the lead that Roberts had and he was now shadowed by Dallon Murty, who had worked his way up from the twelfth starting spot. 

On the last four laps they exchanged,  sliders several times and if you have the video available, watch it for sure as some of the moves were just plain wild. . On the last corner Murty got a great run on the outside and Roberts failed to cover up the top groove all the way to the wall and somehow, Murty snuck between Roberts and and the concrete and nipped him by .030 seconds for the win in a great race. 

Roberts may have been on suicide watch after this night was over as after the heartbreak of getting nipped in the Stock Car feature, darn near the same thing happened to him in the Modified main. In this race he started on the pole and again built up a decent sized lead while behind him it was crazy as drivers slid each other in spectacular fashion. Eventually it would be Tom Berry Jr, who started tenth, that would race into second and when a spin set up a three lap dash to the finish, expectations were that the Stock Car craziness would be repeated. 

However, the Roberts heartbreak continued as on the green he got too hot into turn one and collected the concrete, turning the lead over to Berry Jr and pulling off with damage. However, Berry Jr was not out of the woods either as he had to fight off Tim Ward, who started twelfth, to hold on for the win in a great wrap up race for the evening. 

Earlier in the Dirt Truck feature, ARCA driver Mason Mitchell, fresh off a start at Kansas Speedway last weekend, would lead from start to finish to take the win and show that he is figuring out how to race on dirt also. 

The Sport Mod feature would see red hot Brayton Carter win once again after starting in the second row in this draw/redraw show. However, he had his hands full as first Garrett Nelson and then Taylor Kuehl would lead first and it took him nearly half the race to get past Kuehl, who was driving a determined race of her own. As Carter pulled away at the end, Cam Reimers and Kuehl battled it out for second. 

The Sport Compacts even produced a thriller of their own, despite having a small field of entrants. Jeremiah Downing got a big jump(literally) at the start and built up a big lead in this nonstop race. However, he got hung up in traffic and Kolby Sabin went buzzing by him with just four laps to go to claim the win. 

The Hobby Stock feature would be completed with just a single yellow flag and after "The Mayor", John Watson, led the opening lap, he was passed by Skyler Pruitt who would lead the rest of the race. However, it wasn't quite that simple as Pruitt was stalked by Luke Ramsey who was right on his tail and we waited for the inevitable last lap slide job but Ramsey couldn't get quite close enough to try it and Pruitt would drive on for the win.

And so it was that shortly after 10 pm, all racing was complete and we could all take a breath as the virtually nonstop racing in such spectacular fashion had us all worn out. So even though SIS would normally have a number of races completed by this time of the year, this very late opener for them made up for all the lost races so far with a night to be remembered. Folks will notice some subtle changes to the schedule this year with some Wednesday night, Monday night and even Sunday night races and not racing every single week. Also, note that every race is some kind of special as MVG believes that once the season starts to drone on, just having weekly shows just doesn't fly any more. 

Thanks to everyone involved for producing what will be a night to be remembered for quite some time and special thanks to all the drivers who drove the Hell out of that little quarter mile and put on quite the show. 

Looft Tops Short Spencer Show

 Monday night, May 8th was the opening night of racing for the 2023 racing season at the Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer Iowa. Struggling as they have with the weather along with many other race tracks in the Midwest, their earlier attempts at opening up their season had been foiled and Monday night would feature a rescheduled Stock Car special as a part of a two series show along with Stuart International in Stuart where they plan on running their rescheduled portion of this two night show this coming Wednesday night. 

It was a beautiful night for racing in Northwestern Iowa, at least that's what it seemed through the afternoon and into the evening with just the slightest chance of a passing t-storm. However, that would come back to bite us later. 

The beautiful facility here at Spencer, certainly one of the most impressive County Fair facilities in the entire country, was sporting one more improvement this year as one thing that was never offered here before and that was a decent viewing place for the crews and others that were in the pits, other than to walk all the way around to the main grandstands. A large cargo container has been placed outside turn three just behind the exit from the track that will be a viewing area for the pit folks. Unfortunately, the safety raining is not quite yet done and while I snuck up early and checked out the view, it won't be available for use until the next race after they get it finished off. It won't hold everyone in the pits but it certainly is a nice starting point and one that will probably be done at a nominal price. However, I'm still waiting for a scoreboard that any facility this nice should have for sure. 

Five classes would be in action on this Monday night including IMCA Sport Compacts, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and Modifieds with the Stock Cars as the featured class, racing for two grand to win. And that is get the driver's attention as forty three of the Stock Cars would sign in to race. 

As always, it is a wild last minute scramble here on a Monday as the majority of the racers check in at the last minute with for many, work keeping them from arriving until the last minute. However, they got everyone signed in and hot laps started at five minutes to seven. I have been slightly critical at times of the this place because it seems like it takes forever to get the hot laps done and while they run off a quick show, their late start due to the extended time it takes to get hot laps completed puts them behind, time wise. I think on this night they did their best job so far but it was still 7;23 before the first green flag waved And on this night, every minute would matter as what had been a nice day to this point suddenly started looking stormy.

They did an even better job than normal rushing through the heats as the pace was frantic. The Stock Car drivers were particularly under the gun as they barely got their heats in before it was time for the two B Features. 

The heat races in the Stock Car class were outstanding and some of the best seen all year to date. There were multiple passes for the lead of heats, great dicing back and forth and a slew of slide jobs as the track was very racy and it looked like we might be in for a memorable night. It was also heart break for the many Kelly Shryock fans on hand as after drawing the pole for a heat, he blew up as the green flag dropped and was done for the night. With only four cars making the show out of ten or eleven in the heats, it was great racing and we were all looking forward to the main event. 

But alas and alack, it was not to be. 

By this time it was a question of not whether it would storm or not but how much and when as the skies to the West grew very angry looking as the sun set. 

Track management continued to push as hard as they could with the Sport Mod feature pushed on to the track first. And no matter where he starts here and how many cars he has to pass, Matthew Looft always seems to find a way to win at this track. On Monday he would start eleventh in the fifteen lapper but he still made a shambles of the field. 

Branden Ahlers was the early leader as he was followed by Justin Klynsma and Willy Kirk as Looft started to work his way through the field. When the first yellow flew for a spin, he was still not yet in the top five but when Ahlers pushed up the track, Kirk was right there to take over the point. Looft was working the inside line and driving by cars at will and by the time the second yellow flew for another spin, he was up to second. 

When they dropped the green again, Looft drove inside Kirk, took over the lead and this race was history. In the last six laps following yet another spin, he pulled to nearly a full straightaway over the field as just a few sprinkles started to fall. Colby Fett would make his own charge as he came from twelfth to finish second ahead of Ahlers who fought his way back up to third. 

At this point, Clay Co. Emergency Management ordered the race management to clear the grandstand due to the lightning in the area, much as they do not at other sporting events from high school all the way up to the pros when lightning is a danger. This gave all of us a running start toward our vehicles as while J VAN, doing the announcing on this night, painted a pretty picture that after the lightning passed, we would go back to racing, the plain truth was that within a few minutes it was raining hard as the cell clipped us enough to end racing for this night, just at about the 9 pm hour. The remaining four features will be made up but at this time, I am not yet aware what management's plan in on when to do so. It was a disappointing end to the night but sometimes things like this just happen. 

While he was busy all night and I never got to speak to him, thanks go out to Trent Chinn, promoter here, and all the staff who worked like possessed men and women to try and get this show completed. They did their best and that's all that anyone can fairly ask of them. I have plans to return again here this year as they have a number of big shows on their schedule this year.  

Benson Holds Off Rodney As MCMS Finally Opens

 The good Lord taketh and the good Lord also giveth. After a miserable Saturday when I made all the wrong moves and ended up on the couch watching the Lucas Oil Late Model feature from Florence through a scowl, knowing that I should have been at a race somewhere except for my blunders, only twenty four hours later I caught the good end of the stick when I was able to attend the opening night of the 2023 racing season at the Mason City Motor Speedway while many other people had been rained and/or stormed out from attending their selected shows. 

And we at the North Iowa Fairgrounds facility were mighty lucky as we did have to hang tight through some mid afternoon showers but in the end it was more than worth it. When I arrived it looked to be a nice day but soon some very threatening looking dark clouds rolled into the area on a day when they were not in the forecast. It rained lightly for a period not never really cut loose like it appeared it would. And to the credit of the management at the track, they continued to work on the track right through the rain with the one armed man, Todd Staley, driving the Terragator around the track right through the showers. And despite what looked to be a very bad scenario, the monsoon never came and soon the skies began to brighten and the sun popped back out and remarkably, it turned into a top three weather night for being outside and watching racing for the whole year so far. 

And the drivers arrived and the spectators came, as Ryne Staley had worried about,  although as is often the case for Sunday night tracks, the spectators arrive when they can with often times just as many coming after the first green flag drops as previous to that. 

Five classes of USRA cars would be racing on this night plus the Bat Wings but if you need a report of their part of the show, you'll have to check elsewhere because the Bat Wings are my concession and bathroom break time. I do know that there were over twenty of them on hand, to go along with nearly ninety cars in the other classes, including a twenty eight car B Mod field that required a B Feature. 

After having lost several shows early this year like many tracks in this fickle Spring, this would be the 2023 season opener for the Mason City Motor Speedway. And even now, almost a year since its great transformation, the changes to the track still remain stunning. And for me, very positive. I know that there are still some half mile fans out there, just as there still are at Davenport, but for me, the positive things that the new track brings are so much better than just the display of raw speed that the half mile could bring. 

And the changes and improvements continue here. A large number of big billboards now surround the third turn, giving good exposure for the sponsors while helping block the sun as the drivers pound down the back chute. The uphill driveway up to the track from the pits has been paved to help traction. Five new light poles will soon be erected to help with the dark spots, which there area few, on the track. New caution lights will also soon go up as they are without them at the moment which is just a bit scary to me as track officials are relying on the Raceceivers to slow the drivers down and warn them. Hand rails have been put up in what can be very slippery grandstands in bad weather and a new handicapped viewing area in available in turn four. I also thought I heard some talk about a cat walk in the works but what I really want to see in a scoreboard or at the minimum, a lap board so we can follow the progress of the races. But all in all, this place and its former self don't even compare and that is a good thing. Shelby County Speedway and here have, in my opinion, made the biggest positive moves with their race tracks of any in the state of Iowa that last couple of years. 

And they really do fly around this high banked third mile now, again, much like they do in Harlan. And despite the weather trying to throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings, the racing started very near the advertised time and as we would expect from a Staley promoted show, the pace was fast with little in the way of breaks, particularly so for a Sunday night venue. 

While there was plenty of side by side racing and passing throughout the night, one odd statistic of the night found the race leader of each of the five charted feature races still leading at the checkered. That might make the racing sound boring, but it wasn't with plenty of action but that strange fact does still remain. 

There are not a lot of Tuners in North Iowa and only eight would take the green for their feature race, the first of the night. Oliver Monson would draw the pole and as one of the fastest cars in this region, it would make for easy money for him as he pulled away immediately and no one would challenge him in the nonstop feature. Ryan Bryant was running a strong second until he broke with Max Heimbuch ending up second and Dalton Fels third. 

The Hobby Stock feature would be the Chris Hovden show as from the outside pole, he would lead from start to finish, surviving three yellow flags that would bunch the field. The final lap would prove difficult for the Koop family as Carter would get too high in turn two and give up second to Scott Dobel while Weston would have troubles and lose a number of spots, falling out of the top five. Every single car that started the Hobby feature would still be running at the end. 

All B Mods still running at feature time made the show with twenty three taking the green flag and it would be Northeast Iowa veteran Brandon Hare that would get the jump on Noah Grinstead and the chase would be on. For twenty laps Grinstead would dog the leader but Hare would fail to make even a single error as he rode the high banks and proved to be unflappable as Grinstead tried to pressure him. 

With only three minor yellows for spins, this race would be completed very quickly too and Hare would drive on for the win with Grinstead settling for second ahead of Josh Roney, Dan Hovden and George Nordman. 

Andrew Eischens would get the jump on Paul Conrad and lead the first two laps of the Stock Car feature when it was stopped by a spin. After that, the race would go green to checkers with Eischens fighting off some stiff challenges, first from Conrad and then later from Nate Whitehurst. Nate started fifth and was one of the few able to make the low groove work and he gradually eased his way forward, finally getting past Conrad near the end and closing quickly on Eischens. Andrew nearly gave away the farm on the final corner when he went high but he was able to straighten out his car and nip Whitehurst as the line for the win with Conrad third. 

Chanse Hollatz put on a show as he started fourteenth and worked his way up to fourth, also using the low line and he would likely have gained more spots but ran out of time. 

Aaron Benson had looked very fast in his heat race and when he drew the outside pole, he continued his fast pace in the Modified feature , leading from green to checkered to get the win. This race ran off nonstop and Rodney Sanders was probably hoping for a yellow flag or two, as he worked his way up from ninth into second but with no slowdowns, by the time he got past Al Hejna for second, Benson had a good sized lead. 

It did get dicey near the end as Benson had some difficulty with one of the slower cars and Rodney pulled to within a couple of car lengths. However, Benson saved the day with a bold inside pass down the front stretch that gave him a bit of breathing room and he would go on for the win with Rodney and Hejna next in line. 

This smoothly run show lasted just over three hours and the final checkered waved just at 9 pm, perfect for those folks needing to go to work on Monday morning. Management here really wanted to get this first race in but they were leery that with the threatening conditions that they might not have neither competitors or fans on hand but it appeared that both worries weren't creditable as the had both a nice pit and a good grandstand. Thanks to Ryne, Todd, Janet and the rest of the MCMS crew for their efforts and with many big events on their schedule this year, it should be a big year for the North Iowa facility. 

Sheppard and Dillard Top Opener of Dairyland Showdown at MTS

 The opening night of the third annual Dairyland Showdown took place on Thursday night, May 4th at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway near Fountain City Wisconsin. With nearly a third of a million dollars on the line this weekend, including fifty thousand dollars to the winner of Saturday night's finale, the opening night was of more importance than most five thousand dollar to win shows are. 

Using the unique format that just a few of the bigger races have used in recent years, both Thursday and Friday night's shows would present double feature races with everyone on hand getting to run in a feature race, which WoO has dubbed "Semi Features". Points are tabulated from the first two night's finishes and those points establish the heat race starting lineups for the Saturday night finale. So what the program consists of is WoO qualifying and then two feature races with the drivers lined straight up off qualifying times. There are no heat races or last chance events and certainly no Jeff Broeg B Features, big or small. Everyone gets to race one of the two twenty five lappers and that's the show. For thirty bucks to get in tonight, race fans were treated to a six event program which included three USRA Modified heats and their twenty five lap main plus the two Late Model events. Is that enough to warrant the thirty buck ticket? I guess the fans will answer that when they either keep coming or stop coming to the preliminary nights. For me, I felt shorted but that's just me talking. 

Forty three drivers signed in to race on Thursday night including sixteen of the top twenty current point leaders in the series. The rest of the field was filled in by regional drivers but since there are not many area drivers that run open motor programs, there were a few of the WISSOTA spec engine drivers also on hand with none of their tracks yet open in this late arriving Spring. 

This entire program was still a bit of a question mark as recently as just a week ago as serious flooding of the Mississippi River had the roads through Fountain City blocked by high water and until they were reopened just days ago, no semi truck traffic was allowed through town which would have required all the big rigs to participate in a lengthy detour to higher ground. Fortunately the water receded and the highway was able to be reopened. 

One would certainly hope that for fifty thousand dollars, more that forty three Late Models would be on hand but in the reality that is dirt track Late Model racing these days, mere dollar numbers alone doesn't ensure big car counts with other factors like scheduling and location probably just as big a consideration. However, I did hear no complaints from the spectators and that is always a positive. 

Bob Timm likes to keep his track fast and he is willing to spend as much time as necessary to keep the track blazing fast. Thus, with only six races on the schedule we saw the Teragator on the track for four different track prep sessions. A lightning quick track saw Bob's son Jake almost break the track record as he recorded fast time at 13.480 seconds for his group with Cade Dillard quickest in group B. 

Feature race time came early as only three Modified heats preceded the first main event. At only twenty five laps each, they really seemed just too short to me for anyone to do much of an advance through the field but their shortness may also have precipitated some extra hard driving and both races were full of drama. 

Jake Timm would start on the pole for the first feature and would lead the majority of the event. In was odd that he and Dustin Sorensen, both local drivers and both graduated from the Modified class, would share the front row. Sorensen would have a good run going early on until he got squeezed into the first turn wall on a shaky slide job and then would loose several spots. 

Timm, meanwhile, would be under the gun from both Brandon Sheppard and Stormy Scott who took turns battling each other and then challenging Timm. Terry Casey's return to racing was a short one as he piled into the third turn wall early on and was out of the event. Sheppard finally put away Scott for second and would close in on Timm for the lead. Things would get tense for the leader and on the last lap things went just awful for him. 

Trying to fend off Sheppard while dealing with lapped traffic, Timm and a slower car got together in turn three and Jake would up sliding up to the wall. The yellow waved and a two lap sprint to the finish was the call, with Timm going to the tail. Sheppard would hold off Scott and a charging Shannon Babb to get the win and harvest the points, most important on this night. 

The second Late Model main would have a brew ha also and again it involved the leader. Brent Larson, trying to win a race in front of a crowd of his people, would get the jump on Dillard and lead the early laps. Larson would do a good job of pulling away from the pack as Dillard and Bobby Pierce battled it out for second. They traded that spot back and forth with first Pierce and then Dillard challenging for the lead. 

But just past the halfway point of the race, Larson was starting to lose his edge and it was apparent he was trying to use up the track and make his car wide. He ran Pierce up to the wall in turn four but on the next lap Dillard got a good run on him off turn one and creeped up beside Larson down the back chute. Depending on who you believe or what you thought you saw, either Dillard had the outside covered and Larson tried to move up and block him, or Larson had the spot and Dillard tried to ram his way through. 

The bottom line is that they got together down the back chute with Larson getting spun into the wall and Dillard able to keep rolling. Larson went to the back with nose damage and Dillard retained the lead. From then on he was able to hold off Pierce and collect his first win in a brand new car. Nick Hoffman was able to race up to third. After the race, Larson pulled up beside Dillard and offered him a one finger salute, a rather unchristian like move by Larson. Only a handful of cars were unable to finish either feature so it would appear that everyone would be ready to race again on Friday night as with the points format, certainly no new cars will appear after night one. 

The companion class, as it will be all weekend, was the USRA Modifieds and twenty five of them signed in to race on Thursday. Three heat races using passing points following the draw for starting positions would set the field for this event. 

Hayfield Minnesota's Brandon Davis would dominate this race, leading from start to finish and never being seriously challenged. He took the lead from the outside pole and pulled away and with only a single yellow to slow the action and bunch the field, he was uncatchable. 

Early on rookie Modified driver Shaun Walski would run second with J.T. Wasmund battling him but eventually Jacob Bleess, Keith Foss and Jake Timm, doing double duty, would form a bunch all battling for second. The late yellow, with just six laps to go, would be just what Bleess was looking for as he advanced a whole row and moved into second but he didn't have anything for Davis either, who pulled away once again and drove on for the victory. Bleess would settle for second and Timm drove up from eighth to finish third ahead of Foss and Lucas Schott as a strong field of drivers were on hand, perhaps not numbers wise but certainly talent wise. 

It was a tough night for watching as a strong wind blew in from the North and right into the grandstand and it made for an eyeball irritating kind of night. However, given the format, it also made for a quick show with all racing done well before 10 pm and with this weekend sizing up as a large party weekend, it gave the participants  an early head start on the frivolity and merry making. The same format show with the same classes will continue again on Friday night. There was a large crowd on hand, perhaps the biggest I have seen so for for the Thursday night version of these multi day shows, but in the spacious grandstands here at MTS, there was still plenty of seats available. 

Riggins Tops A Breezy Interstate Sprint Field

 Sunday night, April 30th, it would be night number two for the new promotional team of the Alves' as they would bring in the first special event of the season as the IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprints would join the regular five division program of IMCA racing at the Interstate Speedway in Jefferson South Dakota.

With most race programs falling to the inclement weather conditions on Sunday as well as most of the rest of the weekend, Interstate was one of the few shows to be completed anywhere on Sunday. And quite frankly, it was a brutal day to be outside racing as while the temperatures struggled to get to fifty, the wind was the big story as it was blowing at 30 mph steady and gusting over 40 mph and as luck would have it, the wind was blowing directly in the spectator grandstand with the pit cat walk no better off.  

However, eighty seven drivers signed in to race in the five divisions with another thirteen Sprints to produce a triple digit entry list. And a decent sized group of plenty tough spectators were bundled up against the breezes but were on hand also. There were no wind breaks available and everyone had to grit their teeth and endure. Trust me, there were no "buttercups" in attendance on this night. 

Speaking of "Buttercups", J Van was over for the second straight week serving as a consultant to the new promoters as he made the three hour drive from central Iowa. He too had stories to tell about the awful weather this weekend and how the front passing through turned his Friday night show at Marshalltown into a survival of the fittest against the same Northwesterly wind we would battle on Sunday. 

Track improvements continue as weather and time allows with some painting done this week and the infield scoreboard now shows the time so hopefully it won't be too long before it is showing the lap count and leaders too. The Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts continue to show the highest car counts with four and three heats needed for each while double heats would set the grid for the other four main events. 

As you might imagine, with the wind it was tough getting moisture into the track surface and it quickly slicked up. There was also some dust but not as mad as one might imagine but the racing surface quickly started to take rubber and that was a significant part of the feature racing. They tried to put some water on as they could between races but it was largely ineffective due to the extreme conditions they were dealing with and on this night it was simply grin and bear it as there was not a whole lot they could do. 

Interstate is dealing with a situation that many track do and while it might be maddening, they aren't alone in this problem. The heat races roll through very smoothly and it looks like it's going to be a quick night and then the feature races hit the track and all heck breaks loose and what had a promise of being a quick night at the track turns into a 10 pm finish, far too late for a Sunday night, to say nothing of a Wintery Sunday night in the end of April. 

With only one B Feature in the Hobby Stocks, the Sport Mods would take to the track first for their main event. For the second straight week, it would be the Willy Kirk show in this class as he took the lead on lap four from Geoff Olson and after that ran away from the field for the win. The last thirteen laps would go nonstop with only two yellows for the race and Kirk would finish easily in front of Olson and Tommy Tanner. 

Two things the Sport Compacts seldom have, a non stop main event and a run away winner, both happened simultaneously on Sunday. It was Tyler Thompson who did the deed as he started on the outside pole, got the jump on Taylor Brown and then pulled away gradually as the race continued. 

He extended his lead to nearly a full straightaway at the end as Levi Volkert tried to vain to catch him with Danny Vanderveen using his "rent a ride" to take third. 

By Sprint feature tire the track was seriously rubbered up and the wide tired Sprints would only add to the issue. In fact, tire wear caused by the rubbered condition proved to be the deciding factor in this race. Veteran driver Dusty Ballenger would take the early lead but it was only temporary as by lap three, Trevor Serbus blew past Ballenger when Dusty pushed up  the track. Once in front, Serbus powered away from the field but by midrace he was starting to smoke his right rear tire as he came off the corners. He could have "cooled it" as he had a substantial lead but he continued to roar, smoke billowing off that right rear until finally, with just three laps to go, it would blow spectacularly on the front chute and Serbus would be done. 

Nebraska driver Josh Riggins, who had been running a steady pace in second, then stepped in as the leader and would drive on for the win with Ballenger second and Trevor Smith third. 

Without question, Jaxon Saathoff would make the racing move on the night during the Modified feature. He would be in second and trailing leader Ricky Stephan for a number of laps after Stephan got past early leader Sean Barragan on lap three. 

Saathoff appeared faster but veteran racer Stephan knew how to block the track and while Saathoff could get a nose under "Ricky the Racer", he could never complete the pass. 

Then, with only four laps to go, Saathoff pulled off a shocking move as he drove to the outside of Stephan in turn four, somehow found the bite to accelerate and drove past Ricky to take over the lead. It was a most surprising move but once he got in front, he pulled rapidly away from Stephan and would drive on for the win in his first ever appearance at Interstate. . Jim Thies would finish third. 

Minnesota visitor Tim Gonska would lead the opening lap of the Stock Car feature before veteran Greg Taylor would drive under him and take over the top spot. Taylor would then hold on through three yellow flags and fight off the field to get the win. Several times various drivers would get a nose under him but each time he would keep them behind him. 

Late in the race, Travis Barker, who had gone to the back early after a wreck that saw the entire right side of his car bashed in, would provide the stiffest challenge but Taylor would hold off his strong last lap challenge to get the win with a consistent run by Hans Houfek giving him third. 

The Hobby Stock drivers got a stern lecture Sunday after the craziness of last week's main event and they seemed to take it to heart, at least to some measure. The race was still yellow flag plagued with five and the event was shortened by three laps due to the time limit but at least some of the blatant rough driving of last week was eliminated. 

John Cain would take the early lead and while he was under the gun for most of the race, he would hold on through the multiple yellows for the win. In fact, the yellow became his best friend when he slipped up the track and Tyler Smith passed him for the point, but the yellow waved and saved Cain who got the top spot back. 

Cain rode a higher line than most of the drivers on the track which gave the bottom side an appeal to his challengers but he was able to maintain his momentum and fight off Smith to take the win. David Miller came from twentieth to complete the top three as only half the starting field was around at the finish with spins and wrecks moving a lot of the starters to the infield early. 

Interstate will continue next week with a five class program sanctioned by IMCA,