Thornton Jr. Earns Twenty G's at Nippy 50

 Saturday night, March 30th, the Nippy 50 was held at the Maquoketa Speedway in Maquoketa Iowa. In a spirited fifty lap main event for the Late Models, it would be Ricky Thornton Jr that would step forward to stop the march of Bobby Pierce and take home the check for twenty thousand dollars in this high paying event presented by Hoker Promotions and Darkside Promotions at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. 

The IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods would also race on Saturday night with Dylan Thornton and Jarett Franzen topping those main events. Both of these races were also extra money paying events with Thorton taking home twenty five hundred dollars for his thirty lap run and Franzen earning sixteen hundred dollars for his Sport Mod win. 

The second night of this two race weekend would produce another good night of racing with the track being in excellent shape to provide side by side racing. Overnight storms on Friday were said to have delivered around a half inch of moisture to the area and required the track prep crew to put in more hours and time than perhaps would have been otherwise necessary and I know that they were working the track constantly from the time I got there with many hours prior to that in addition. The track responded differently than it did the night before with the groove an ever changing thing but that is good, not bad, for a dirt track and that just adds to the show the drivers can put on. 

One thing that I noted from the Friday night show but somehow failed to mention was the unusual restart procedure used by the Late Models this weekend. For all restarts in all races this weekend run by the Late Models, the restarts were all side by side with the front two cars lining up beside each other with the leader selecting either the inside or outside. This is obviously different than the normal "Delaware" restarts we have grown used to seeing and it took until after the races on Saturday to get some clarity on why this was being done. 

According to Dustin Jarrett of Flo Racing and one of the track announcers this weekend, they were told prior to the event that restarts would be done in this manner by the track promoters for the event as they were apparently trying to duplicate what is done for racing events at Eldora where this method is also used. There was no other explanation given and I didn't really see where it made any difference in the action proceedings of the race. Interesting though was the fact that this was done just for the Late Models with the Modifieds and Sport Mods using the procedures that we are more accustomed to seeing employed. 

Twenty five of the twenty six Late Models that raced on Friday night returned for the Saturday night show. Daniel Adam switched motors as a precaution after his engine fire on Friday night and Joel Callahan failed to return on Saturday. Because there were only twenty five cars, track management opted to start all cars in the main event and thus paid out another two grand so everyone that was on hand would get to run the main. 

It still remains quite the puzzle that with a twenty thousand dollar to win and two grand just to start race that only twenty five cars would be on hand to race when it was easy to identify at least a dozen more car within a couple hours drive of this track that weren't here for whatever reason. The promoters especially put together a large paying show that wasn't too top heavy just to appeal to these racers and then they largely turned their back on the show. They truly had every right to be upset with the turnout and say they wouldn't stick their neck out again but luckily for the fans that would get to enjoy this show and the racers on hand, they announced that this race would return again in 2025, to be held on March 28-29 with hopefully better support from the racers. I would wager that for at least half the field racing tonight, the two thousand dollar just to start money might be more than they might earn for any other race for the rest of the season! So for those that chose to stay home, they were the ones missing out. 

Pierce was again quick timer, using the big cushion early in the time trial session to turn a lap three tenth of a second quicker than anyone else and early on it appeared that he would dominate once again but on this night he didn't race quite as well as he qualified and there were others that would be able to beat him.

After beating Pierce in the first heat race, Thornton Jr would start on the pole and he would get the early with Pierce and Ryan Gustin battling for the second spot. The race was a clean one with only two yellow flags, the first of which flew with just four laps completed. Thornton Jr. would pull away slightly with Gustin and Pierce still fighting for second. Pierce would take that spot and then pull in on Thornton Jr and the best racing of this event would see these two throw big sliders at each other as they swapped the lead back and forth several times, even though Thornton Jr would continue to lead as they crossed the finish line. 

The second stoppage would come just at the halfway point when Ryan Unzicker got a flat tire and stalled. Thornton Jr would then begin to show his dominance as he would put some distance on the field with Gustin coming back to pass Pierce for second and then trying to track down the leader. Thornton Jr was running an interesting line as he was moving around on the track, trying to find the most speed while apparently not totally comfortable with his groove. And although Gustin pushed hard, he was never able to narrow up the distance significantly, even as Thornton Jr. fought through traffic as the last twenty five laps of the race would spin off nonstop. 

At the finish, Thornton Jr would have a pair of lapped cars between himself and second place Gustin. Interesting that Thornton Jr would report that he switched cars for the Saturday show in a search for more speed after Friday night's somewhat lackluster performance. Speaking of lackluster early performances, Brandon Sheppard timed in terrible on Saturday and spent the rest of the night trying to dig out of the hole he had created for himself but he was much better in the feature working the low groove and on the last corner, snuck under Pierce to finish third and keep Bobby off the podium. 

A very nice field of thirty IMCA Modifieds would sign in for the Saturday night show and their main was a good one. Friday night winner Spencer Diercks would draw the pole and early on it seemed likely that he might sweep the weekend as he took the initial lead with Brandon Schmitt and Jeremiah Hurst chasing him. Dylan Thornton started eighth and he was one of the few to use the top side of the track and he immediately made it work, pulling into the fourth spot by the time the first yellow waved with eight laps complete. 

Schmitt suffered bad luck as his car stalled under that yellow and the second place running car was done which allowed everyone to move up. Following the restart, Thornton was again able to get back up on the cushion and he would blow past Diercks on lap eleven to take over the lead. By the halfway point, Thornton had built up a few car lengths on Diercks and Scott Lemke who was having a great run in third. 

The second and final yellow on lap eighteen would be dramatic. Thornton, seemingly comfortably in front, would completely blow the first corner on the green, flying high and nearly going over the banking. Suddenly the race was a three wide battle for the lead with Diercks and Cody Laney, who had moved up from the eleventh starting spot, a player. As Thornton fought to get his spot back, Laney would take over the lead and for the next three laps, these two would battle side by side for the top spot. 

Thornton was really strong on the cushion though, and gradually he would ease his way back past Laney using the banking and would move back in front  on lap twenty one. Laney would continue to press but Thornton would not shoot himself in the foot again, keeping his car on the cushion but not over it and he would drive on for the win over Laney and Lemke. 

Sport Mods were a late addition to the program this week, and I wasn't even aware they were racing until I found out on Friday night. However, sixteen drivers knew what I didn't and they signed in on Saturday with sponsors boosting the purse and making it sixteen hundred bucks to win, a very nice top prize. Before the race there was drama as outside row one starter Justin Becker had problems and pulled off the track before the green even waved. This was significant as it moved hometown driver Jarett Franzen to the outside pole , a position that he used to take the early lead and then go on for the win. 

Track officials made their one mistake of the weekend in this race, the first after significant track work following the preliminaries. They sent the field off under the green when the track wasn't ready and the resulting slippery conditions triggered a multi car pileup before a lap could be completed. 

With some more laps under yellow, things were better for the second attempt and Franzen would blast into the lead with Logan Veloz chasing. Franzen was quick though, and Veloz wasn't able to cut into his margin. 

The event got stuck with thirteen laps completed when a minor spin slowed things but then it got worse on the next attempted restart. There was a great battle for third going on but on the restart, Austin Stamm got sideways and collected Bob Silaggi and Colton See. See got a push from the pack behind him and actually shoved him over into a slow rollover, if there is such a thing. All three cars were eliminated which changed things up considerably. 

The wreck clean up also took much time and with the race curfew hitting, there would be a green, white and checkered finish. Again Franzen was not to be challenged and he pulled away for an easy win while Veloz and Shane Paris had a spirited fight for second. Paris almost found himself off the back chute on the final lap and he was lucky to salvage the third spot behind Veloz and they did a bit of bumping and grinding after the checkered as clearly not all were pleased. 

It was another smooth production from Darkside with the whole program being completed in three hours and the final checkered waving at just about 9:30 pm. A much larger crowd was on hand on Saturday which had to have pleased them and I believe both the racers and fans were happy with what they saw. 

Thanks to Darkside and Hoker Promotions for their help with this race which has the makings to be in the future one of the looked forward to events in the state of Iowa. Darkside has little time to relax and they are promoting a two night show this coming weekend at the Cedar County Speedway in Tipton, another favorite track for short track fans in Iowa. 

Pierce and Diercks Top Friday Night Maquoketa Opener

 Rio Grande Waste Services Inc, along with Hoker Promotions and Darkside Promotions and with Ricky Kay Promotions doing much of the track work, all came together in concert to promote the Nippy 50 for Super Late Models at the Maquoketa Speedway right in town in Maquoketa Iowa. Friday night would be the preliminary event to the Nippy 50 but it was certainly more than just a "chump change" event as the Friday night event for the Late Models would pay ten grand to win with a thousand bucks just to start. The biggest money would come on Saturday night when the top prize, along with the start money, would be doubled. 

And after some fine weather of late, if the Saturday night show should be called the Nippy 50, than the Friday night show should be called the "More than Nippy 40" as it was a cold night in eastern Iowa. Particularly the wind made it miserable with it howling at high speed right out of the East, in preparation for the storms that would later threaten the proceedings. 

This program was designed for efficiency with just two classes in action as the Late Models would be joined by the IMCA Modifieds in a full program also but with just the two classes racing, it should have been a quick show and indeed, that is just what happened. That was a good thing too, as the racing action would be able to be completed even as the skies flickered and the clouds grumbled around us. 

An all start team was on hand to call the action with Ben Shelton and Dustin Jarrett calling the races along with Iowa's own "Big Boy" reporting from the infield while also doing the Modified call. Unfortunately, opening night gremlins struck the sound system which cut out just as the National Anthem was about to be played and that part of the program had to be eliminated. Big Boy would call the opening races while they got the sound back working for the other duo, situated on the roof. 

The Maquoketa Speedway certainly has undergone quite a revival in recent years, thanks to the Jackson County Fair Board as it certainly looks nothing like the facility I remember from my first visit here quite a few years ago. In fact, the last time I was here, they were literally assembling the new grandstand in turn one even as the racing took place that night. Now they have plenty of seating to host big races like this and with the pits moved to the back chute, good lighting and sound(when it works) along with a nice stage for music and such, it certainly meets all the criteria needed to hold big events, such as this weekend's show. 

While I did not get to speak to either of the Darkside gentlemen, I did speak with both Shelton and Jarrett who did much of the legwork in lining up the Super Late Model drivers for this event and they were both extremely disappointed in the car count as only twenty six drivers signed in to race for the twenty grand that will be on the line Saturday. Of course, with this being two separate events, it would still be possible for someone to roll in and race Saturday without penalty but the likelihood of that happening is small. They were as disappointed as anyone and some of the adjectives they used to describe some of the Late Model drivers can't be repeated here. However, we were all in agreement that while the number of drivers on hand wasn't up to par, there were still plenty of top not drivers on hand that would put on a good show. But still, in this day and age, we want not only quality but quantity as well. 

Much of the talk through the afternoon was about the weather and folks were continuously checking their phones for updates and radar. The chance of storms would increase dramatically as the evening would wear on and track officials were keen to this and promised a fast show. Darkside normally puts on some of the quickest shows that I have been to so I was not worried that they would do their best. 

The program was altered to get the Late Models on the track first and both the driver's meeting and hot laps were moved up. Qualifying went quickly and the first heat hit the track at 6:57 pm. It was just one group for qualifying with Brian Shirley, who qualified right in the middle of the field, turning the best lap at 13.382 seconds. With only twenty six cars, the program was altered to just three heats and a B Feature and ultimately, there were only two drivers that didn't make the main. 

The Late Model feature would be first with drivers starting straight up off the heats. Shirley would start on the pole and get the early lead over Cody Overton with the first yellow waving after just four laps when Brian Harris looped in turn two. Bobby Pierce would be up to third with Ryan Gustin and Tyler Erb next in line. Shirley would continue to lead as the green returned with Overton under the gun from Pierce for second with Gustin close behind. 

A second yellow would slow the field as Erb broke and was out of the show, moving Ricky Thornton Jr into the top five. Another short burst of racing would see the field complete another four laps before Todd Cooney went for a spin with Pierce and Gustin now putting Overton behind them. 

The final twenty seven laps would go nonstop, as the lightning flickered with the storm just skirting by on the North side of the Fairgrounds. Pierce was all over Shirley for the lead as Bobby turned up the heat and on lap sixteen , Pierce would drive around the outside of Shirley in turn four to take over the top spot. 

Pierce would then steadily pull away with lapped traffic not a problem for him as he would lengthen his advantage to most of a straightaway. As the laps ground off, Shirley would start to slow a bit with Gustin and a charging Brandon Sheppard closing on him. Then Garrett Alberson would pick up the pace and get into the mix too with both Sheppard and Thornton Jr starting to slide back. Pierce would have no issues nor challenges as he would drive on for the win easily. Gustin would make a late race pass for second with Shirley holding on for third with Alberson challenging while Sheppard would round out the top five. Ten cars would finish on the lead lap with nine not around at the finish of the twenty four car field where you had to race your way into the show with no provisional starters granted. 

The IMCA Modified field would number twenty eight for this event with several "Cheese heads" joining the field along with several Illinois drivers and Mitchell Hunt who came all the way from Michigan to race with the Iowa drivers. The Modified format would be the same as the Late Models with three heats with the biggest difference being the Modifieds would draw for their starting positions and redraw for the feature, thus making the result much harder to predict. 

We would see an excellent Modified feature with the final result not determined until the final lap with the race itself would have only a single yellow flag to slow the action. Jacob Snyder would start on the pole but it would be Spencer Diercks, jumping out of his Late Model and into the Modified, that would be the early leader. The two Darkside cars of Bone Larson and Jacob Hobscheidt would be in chase of the leader. 

The lone yellow would fly with eight laps complete when Jayden Schmidt would fly off turn four and the field would be bunched with Jeremy Mills cracking the top five at this point. Diercks would be working the high side of the track and he would continue to lead with the two #12t cars really battling each other for second. Hobscheidt would eventually get the better of Larson, taking second and then gradually moving in on Diercks. 

Hobscheidt would make the low lane work and he would pull up beside Diercks, edging past on lap seventeen to be scored the leader. However, Diercks would not give up and would continue to pound the cushion, running side by side with Hobscheidt in a pleasing battle for the lead. On lap twenty two, Diercks would get a great run off turn four and would edge back in front but Hobscheidt would continue to run right with him. 

Hobscheidt would run the low side while Diercks would peddle up top and it would come right down to the finish. They were still side by side on the final lap but Hobscheidt was held up as two slower cars at the back of the pack were both running in the lower groove and he lad to lift. Diercks would find room up on the banking and would drive through the cluster, gaining time and coming home the winner. Hobscheidt would settle for second with Larson third. Consistent runs would net Mills and Snyder top five finishes. Only three cars would fail to finish the race. 

As the lightning continued to flicker, the final checkered flag waved at 8:53 pm. In response to the threatening weather and cold night, all the track officials did a fantastic job of running off a very quick program with the cooperation of the drivers. The whole show, from first green to final checkers, was completed in one hour and fifty six minutes! With very quick shows having been run the last two weekends, I'm going to get spoiled and the next time I run into one of the normal style, drag 'em out events that are too common, it will really seem like a stinker. The crowd was a very late arriving one, which I suppose is expected on a threatening looking Friday night, but hopefully there will be many more in the stands on Saturday for the finale. 

Ballard, Jackson and Braaksma All Repeat at Memphis

 Spring Nationals, part two, was held on Saturday, March 23rd at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis Missouri. Finally, Saturday would give all of us that attended both nights of racing some reprieve, as while it wasn't as nice as it has been throughout the Midwest for weeks of late, it was still much nicer than it had been on Friday night. Some of us were still trying to thaw out some of our extremities but by race time, we were ready to do it once again.

The Saturday show would be much nicer in many ways in that while the air temps were better, the wind didn't have quite the bite and strength that it had on Friday and that made a difference in several regards. The crowd attendance was much higher than it had been on Friday and thirty two additional drivers signed in to race on Saturday which gave us a better field of competitors, yet still not quite to that magic figure where time consuming B Features are necessary, all of which sap valuable time when a quick show is coveted. 

Most everyone returned to race on Saturday that had raced on Friday night and there were new entries in all classes. The one bad crash in the Modified feature did come at a price though on Friday as all three cars involved were too damaged to return for the second half of the doubleheader. 

Even the track officials up in the booth didn't get much reprieve from the conditions with "super scorer" Kevin Feller telling me that he couldn't remember any night colder when he was working. Announcer Tony Paris and starter Kevin Eggleston  both reportedly had to be helped out of the booth afterward as both were frozen in place!

Feller still manages to remain busy as a scorer in this day of transponder scoring where much of the work has been removed from human action. Kevin will still be working three nights a week in 2024 and has more tracks wanting his services than he is willing to work. However, he tells me that he might move over the "dark side", so to speak, getting himself trained in the transponder systems where I'm sure his services would still be in much demand as he is just too knowledgeable about the sport to not be an asset to tracks. 

The track seemed just a bit heavier for the Saturday show and that made for some interesting racing as some drivers always prefer the cushion while others like to "catfish" around the bottom and on Saturday, the groove seemed to be moving around quite a bit, particularly from class to class which made it even more interesting. 

However, three drivers had the track figured out, no matter just what the racing conditions were. For the second straight night, Nathan Ballard, Kris Jackson and Ethan Braaksma would come home as the feature winners. And all three would lead their respective feature races from start to finish, although the margin of their victories and the difficulty factor in gaining victory lane would vary widely. And amazingly so, all three would not only be fast but lucky as all three would redraw the front rows for their feature races. 

Ballard would start on the pole with the Hobby Stock only making two laps before the red flag was waved when Jeremy Dooley got off the back chute, dug in and went for a wild tumble that was out of the vision line of many in the grandstands, including yours truly who apparently had his blinders on at that moment. In any event, Dooley was OK and the restart would see Ballard again pull away. 

His margin of victory would be nearly a full straightaway as he was went virtually unchallenged for a full weekend. Dustin Griffiths would come from eighth to finish second with Tom Killen Jr. next across the line. 

Jackson would start on the outside pole for the B Mod feature and take the early lead with Brandon Dale and Chris Spaulding battling for second. However, the driver on the move was Brayton Carter who would start ninth in the race but would find his car working excellently on the inside line and despite a long stretch of green flag racing in the first half of the race, he was able to make hay, passing car after car by driving under them in the corners. 

By the halfway point of the race, he was up to second, getting past Spaulding for that spot. Carter moved in on the leader and put a heavy challenge on Jackson, nearly getting past him on a couple occasions and was looking very much like it was just a matter of time until he made the pass. That was, however, until he cut turn one just a bit tight and clipped one of the substantial dreaded infield tractor tires every hard, breaking the left front on his car and turning it into a useless flopping appendage. He tried to keep racing in that state, but it started to dig in on the turns and he shut down and pulled into the infield.

After that, it was easy going for Jackson would drive on for his second win of the weekend. Shadren Turner and Jake Smith would make nice runs from seventh and fifth to round out the top three as for the second straight night, the B Mods would put a whipping on the Sport Mods. 

A very easy win would be recorded by Braaksma in the Modified feature as he would start on the pole and leave the competition to battle  for second. This nonstop race would see him pull out to a full straightaway lead over the field and the only thing that could have messed him up would be either a mechanical failure and a slower car. Fortunately, neither was a factor and he would drive on for an impressive win, sending out word that he will be a driver to be watched as the other early season specials come to fruition. However, the best driving performance of this race would be perhaps carried out by Chase Rudolf who would have to start in the third row and under green, pass driver after driver as he worked his way up to second at the finish. A late race battle for that spot with Jarrett Brown was a good one that he would win. 

The biggest field of the night would take the green for the Sport Compact feature but this race would stop under the red almost before it got started when Rachel Kile would go head on into the guard rail in turn one at high speed in a frightening crash that would take out a couple of other cars as well. She would walk away from the incident but her car, yet to even get a paint scheme and lettering, might be toast. 

Three different drivers would lead this fourteen lapper with Brad Mick holding sway for the first lap before he was overtaken one lap later by Brandon Reu. But Reu could only keep Barry Taft behind him for a short time before Taft would power right by and then drive away from the pack. At the finish, he would have a considerable advantage over Reu and Dyllan Bonk. 

Michael Jaennette would lead from start to finish to score the win in the Stock Cars but it was a tough go for him as at the finish, the top five were running nose to tail. Jaennette would hold the lead early with David Brandies, Friday night winner John Oliver Jr and Presley Harrington running close behind. 

As the battle for second would get intense, Jaennette would be able to put some distance on the field but as the laps started to wind down, Brandies was able to drive back up to Michael's rear bumper. Either the track changed for the Stock Cars and they weren't able to make the outside work or no one would try that line, but they leaders all lined up in nose to tail fashion and Jaennette was clearly blocking the low line as Brandies was nearly running up his rear bumper but still couldn't make a passing move. Near the end, positions three through five were so much faster that they too, caught the lead duo. 

The top five were nose to tail on the last lap and credit to Brandies as he didn't try to "dirty" the leader with some kind of unethical move and instead rode Jaennette's rear bumper in the final corner, looking for a mistake. However, Michael would make none and would cross the finish line with Brandies tight behind him. Oliver Jr. would settle for third. 

It was another good night of racing that even with some track work during the program, was somewhere in the two and a half hour time slot for completion. Thanks go out to MVG and his crew for a job well done as well as thanks to the folks from the Scotland County Fair Race Committee who were helpful and friendly and clearly have much enthusiasm to make racing succeed at this track. Check their face book page for a list of upcoming events during the rest of 2024. 

Regrets for the slight lateness of this report but I headed home nonstop, trying to beat an incoming Winter storm with much snow in the forecast and unfortunately, it beat me to northern Iowa and southern Minnesota where I encountered a challenging drive. Many cars and trucks in the ditch and some slow and challenging road conditions made the trip one "for the books" and one I would just as soon avoid again. Thus it was a very late return which translated into a delayed report. Nevertheless, late is better than not at all, right?

 

Braaksma Tops Memphis Spring???? Nationals, Part One

 Racing returned to northern Missouri for the first time in 2024 on Friday night, March 22nd as the Memphis Spring Nationals kicked off at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis. Five divisions were racing on this opening night with the big winner being Ethan Braaksma although, as I look at the purse structure, the Stock Cars and B Mods were paid the same as the Modifieds so John Oliver Jr. and Kris Jackson should then get equal billing. Other winners on this opening night would include Josh Barnes and Nathan Ballard. 

While this event was billed as the Spring Nationals, it was anything but that. Temperatures that never budged out of the mid thirties and a brutally strong North wind made it one of the coldest nights I have ever spent at the race track. I awoke in Des Moines on Friday a.m. to find several inches of snow on my car and drove in the remnants of snow and rain nearly to Memphis where it stopped just miles North of the race track. While the track got just a very few sprinkles and ice balls, the awful conditions certainly did much to both hold down the crowd and limit the number of participants. 

Quite frankly, after I got out into the weather and sampled just how miserable it was, I was a bit surprised that they actually opted to race. There was some discussion but the Scotland County Fair Race Committee opted to go ahead with the program and of course, driving such a distance, I was happy that they did so. Race Promoter Mike VanGenderen told me that he had no idea just how many racers would show up. "It could be fifty and then again, it could be one hundred and fifty", he said. The former was much closer as sixty nine drivers signed in to race for a program that was started by a practice session that lasted until 3 pm, at which point the track was again prepped for the evening program. The track, by the way, was in excellent shape for the opener and raced well, being smooth and dust free. 

The track had a different look with large billboards rimming around turns one and two and I understand that more will be added as the track has received very fine support from a number of local and area businesses. This track has received a number of nice improvements in recent years including a new roof on the grandstand and nice improvements to the concessions, restrooms and ticketing area at the main entrance. It does not look nearly as rough as it did just a few years ago. The p.a system is a strong one and track announcer Tony Paris can be clearly heard all around the facility. I sure wish that something could be done though, to reposition the flagman so that the crowd could see what flag was being waved and know when the race is about to end as we can't even see him from the grandstands. 

Blended rules were used for this event with the most crossover seen in the two Modified classes. I think all the Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars and Compacts were running IMCA but the B Mods and Modifieds are a blend of IMCA and USRA rules. The USRA classes must run the American Racer tires and the spoilers must come off, particularly the "big blades" that the Modifieds run. 

An interesting experiment in track procedures was used on Friday with no explanation of whether this would be used again, and if so, where. But on restarts, instead of using the so called "Delaware Restart" where the leader is by himself, instead the first two cars were running side by side for the restart with the leader having lane choice. I'm not sure if MVG has been watching too many Sprint Car races where this is how they always do it, or what, but this was the format used on this night. We will see if it continues on Saturday for part two. 

When we need him to do so on brutal nights like Friday, MVG always steps up to run off a very quick program and that was again the case. With an advertised start time of 7:30 pm, the first race took the green at 7:26 pm and it was none stop racing from that point. In fact, a couple of times, following heat races, the next event was already rolling on to the track even before the previous race was completed. There was no break after the heats before the first feature hit the track and the drivers cooperated by causing few yellows and with a one spin rule, they didn't want to do so anyway. 

Barely an hour after the first race took the green, the Sport Compacts were on the track for their main event. This race would see three different leaders before the checkered flag would fly. Brandon Reu would move up from row two to take the initial lead but he could only hold the top spot for one lap before Barry Taft would make one of the very few outside passes of the night to take over the lead. 

However, he soon was challenged by Josh Barnes who had started tenth but was third before one lap was done and then continued to charge. He blew by Taft on lap seven to take over the lead and then would lead the rest of the nonstop contest. Taft was able to stay fairly close to the leader but was not able to generate a serious challenge as he settled for second with Reu ending up third. 

As well as having the biggest field of cars, I think the B Mod group was also the strongest. It is usually not the case that some of the strongest USRA B Mods run this event but with Kris Jackson and Shadren Turner on hand, they would constitute two of USRA's finest. And when Jackson redrew the outside pole, it was bad news for the rest of the field as he would pull away and lead from wire to wire to get the win. 

Early on though, it was Turner that put on the show as he charged up from sixth to pull into the second spot with Tyler Inman having a good run in the #7v car as he pulled into third by the halfway point followed by Jake Smith and Brayton Carter. A yellow for debris just at the halfway point slowed the action and when Jackson took off again on the green, Turner blew the cushion and fell back a number of spots which caused him to have to fight his way back into contention. 

"Speedy Bray" was on the move as he picked his way up to the front, getting past Inman in a good battle to take second as Turner was also clawing his way back into contention. A late yellow produced a two lap dash to the finish but it didn't matter to Jackson who pulled away from Carter to take the win with Turner racing back up to third. 

The Stock Car feature produced the closest finish and as we expect from the Stock Cars, much battling within the pack for position. There were three different leaders in this twenty lap race with Cayden Carter, driving the #1x car, taking the lead from the pole. Wisconsin visitor Presley Harrington started right behind Carter and dogged him, taking the lead on lap three. One lap later Carter returned the favor but then Harrington again did the same as the leaders swapped the front spot back and forth. 

And while all this was happening, Michael Jaennette and Todd Reitzler were also racing with the leaders. Reitzler looked like he might be the fastest until he jumped the cushion and lost a number of spots and was no longer a challenger. Harrington continued to lead but Jaennette was inside him in each corner, trying to get past. Suddenly, John Oliver Jr, who started ninth, became a player as he moved to Jaennette's rear bumper and pushed for position. 

Things went South on lap fourteen when Jaennette slowed with a flat tire and was done but this gave Oliver Jr the opening he desired. From then on, in each corner he would dive under Harrington but Presley was doing a nice job of racing one lane up the track and getting good bite. 

However, with just two laps to go, Oliver Jr dove very hard into turn one and the leaders were side by side down the back chute and through turn four. They were rubbing just a bit but Oliver Jr was able to edge in front as the white flag waved and on the final lap he was able to extend slightly as he would take the close win over Harrington and Rowdie VanGenderen who moved back up through the field near the finish. 

The Hobby Stock field was a small one and no match for Nathan Ballard. He would start in row two but would have the lead before one lap was completed and in this nonstop race, he would extend his lead to a full straightaway as he would drive on uncontested for the win. Corey VanDerwilt  would finish second and Tom Killen third. 

A dozen Modifieds would wrap up the show with a twenty lap main event. Preston Dawson would start on the pole and take the early lead through the first three laps. The biggest wreck of the evening would occur in turn one on that lap as second place runner Jadin Fuller would spin in heavy traffic, Austen Becerra, with no where to go would slam into Fuller and then Jon Melloway, with again no room to maneuver, would climb the guard rail trying to escape and would then flip over on his roof. There were no injuries but all three would be eliminated from the race. 

Following the red, Ethan Braaksma would waste no time as he would blow past Dawson on the high side to take the lead and once in front, with the green staying out, he would pull away. Chris Spaulding, who has shown good speed early on, would try to catch Braaksma but the difference would stay pretty much the same through the rest of the contest with Braaksma in control as he drove on for the win. Ken Schrader would come from ninth to finish in the third spot with Chase Rudolf and Dawson completing the top five. 

The final checkered would wave and a check on the watch would show that yes, the whole program would be completed in just under a shade of two hours! This is just what the doctor ordered on so bitter a night. Thanks to MVG for cranking off a quick show and the Scotland County Race Committee for going ahead and running the program. Saturday's show has seen the times moved up with a 4 pm start which should get the whole show done before the sun sets in the western Missouri sky. 

Stuckey From Nineteenth For "March Madness" Win at Springfield, Schrader Also A Winner

 After Friday night action at Arrowhead Speedway in Oklahoma, most of the Late Model racers  made the two and a half hour pull North into Missouri and to Jerry Hoffman's Springfield Raceway for "March Madness", another Comp Cams series points race. Along with the Late Models, Hoffman would be serving up five other classes of fast break action that likely might extend into overtime before the final outcomes would be determined. There would also be plenty of traveling calls, a few illegal picks and even a couple of technical fouls in a spirited night of racing action. This would be the first race of the year at Springfield and there were plenty of drivers eager to make their first runs of the year with right at one hundred and thirty signing in to race. The Late Model division would be tops with thirty five of them on hand including five that didn't make the trip to Arrowhead on Friday night. 

Among the headlines for this night's race would be the fact that Late Model feature winner Clayton Stuckey, while winning his first ever Comp Cams feature race would come from the nineteenth starting position although to be fair that statistic might be slightly misleading based on events that happened during that main. We also got to see the venerable Missouri hero, Ken Schrader, who was the most popular driver of the night based on fan reaction, would win his fourth feature race of the season in various classes across the country already and it is not yet even April first and I also witnessed a couple of events that I can never remember seeing at a race track before. More on that later. 

It was a pleasant but very windy race day in southern Missouri and Hoffman and the rest of his track prep  crew get high marks for providing a racy and wide racing surface without any dust on top of that. We did have to sacrifice some time to keep that happening from start to finish but on balance it was probably a fair trade off. 

Thirty five Late Models would sign in to race with the normal format of qualifying, four heats and a pair of B Features to set the field for the main event. Tristan Chamberlain, the first car out to qualify, would set the fast time at 11.980 seconds as the track would slick up and slow down rapidly. Scott Crigler would be quick in group two. 

The heat races would provide sliders from start to finish and the Comp Cams boys were playing hard for the second straight night with a couple of instances of finger pointing and waving and noncompleted dive bombs on each other as contact was carried out on the action packed quarter mile. 

Hoffman sent quite a bit of time prepping the track for the Late Model main so the drivers would see the whole gamut from hammer down , to quickly slicking off and then the fast cushion with sliders and dive bombs again breaking out. The drivers were using many lines and despite the fact that the leaders were pounding the cushion, there were some, including Stuckey that were marching forward hugging the low side of the track. 

The first half of the race would be a two car battle with Chamberlain leading and Logan Martin in his tire tracks as they both pounded the cushion. There was a gap behind them but a good battle for third between Sawyer Crigler, Daniel Hilsabeck and Tony Jackson Jr. They exchanged spots and Martin continued to press for the lead. 

Stuckey had yet to crack the top five by the halfway point but would move into fifth one lap later when second place driver Martin would fly off the third corner and over the hill. He would return to the back of the pack. On the restart, Hilsabeck would get dumped and he was hot but he retired to the pits. Stuckey was now up to fourth and minding his own business as others were getting tangled with each other. 

Amazingly, one lap later leader Chamberlain would get too hot into turn three and he would spin himself right out of the lead. This would put Crigler into the lead but Stuckey had surged up to second and on the green, the two young drivers would run wheel to wheel down the back chute with Stuckey surging into the lead on lap twenty eight and he would pull away from the field over the last dozen laps to score a resounding win. Jackson Jr made a late charge to take second from Crigler with Kyle Beard and Jace Parmley taking advantage of all that was going on in front of them to complete the top five. It was an interesting race and it appears that the Comp Cams series has a lot of balance this year with many drivers having a reasonable chance of success every week. 

Schrader had one of the many race  cars he owns on hand Saturday to race in the B Mod division. And while Schrader in recent years has turned into mostly a "catfish", running the low line at most tracks, for some reason he feels comfortable up on the cushion here at Springfield and he does really well using that line. The feature race would see a surprise before the green flag even waved as prohibitive favorite Kris Jackson stalled on the track before the green even waved and he left on the wrong end of the wrecker instead of starting on the pole. 

Terry Schultz would take the early lead but would only hold the top spot for two laps as he left the cushion uncovered and Schrader blew right by him down the front chute to take over the lead. Kenny was clearly on his game on this night as he pulled away from the field. Despite two yellows in the first seven laps, each time he would pull away and while Ryan Gillmore would close up some on him, Schrader was never really challenged as he drove on for the win. Jon Sheets would come from twelfth to finish third. 

We had all kinds of Modifieds on hand Saturday as not only were there B Mods, there were also Midwest Modifieds and Midwest Modifieds B class, divided by which ones should be in the top class and the others in the B class. I'm still not sure who makes the call on who races where and when they have to move up if they get too good, but I'll let the track sort that out. Interestingly, these two classes did provide the closest finishes of the night. 

The Midwest B class had their share of troubles with six yellows and half the field eliminated but there was a very good battle for the lead between Braxton Rupp and Blake Ellis. Ellis spent the whole race trying to get a nose inside of Rupp but Braxton had just enough to hold him off every lap and right to the finish. 

The Midwest A class saw Sundance Keepper make a lap three pass on "Downtown" Jerry Brown and then hold off the field to get the win. Jerad McIntire and Pete Richardson were both challenging for the lead until McIntire tried too hard and spun with just three laps to go. Richardson then put on a charge on the low side with Keepper just holding him off by mere thousandth of a second for the win. 

Apparently the difference between the Midwest Mod A class and the B Mod class is pretty minimal as Friday night at Arrowhead, Keepper led many laps of the B Mod feature before he was finally passed and he still finished in the top five. This looks like another of the many cases where a "bargain" class is started to save money but soon the teams outspend themselves and the lines between classes blur. 

Pure Stocks would also be on the card with thirteen of them racing on Saturday. Michael McKnight would lead the first six laps until he was passed by Mark Simon for the point. McKnight would eventually get "walled" by another competitor and be done for the night. A late rush was put on by Jody Tillman and Simon made his car very wide, as his "mirror" driving was very good. Tillman took the high road and tried to make a clean pass which saw him settle for second then with Simon the winner with Karla Lampe third. 

Rounding out the evening would be the Front Wheel Drives or Mini Stocks as both names were used interchangeably during the evening by the announcing duo. Robert Tosh and Tyrel Jones trading the lead back and forth before Tosh secured the front spot with only three laps to go.  

Now for the two interesting situations that occurred. Somehow a dispute broke out between one of the Late Model teams and management on where this team could park. There seemed to be plenty of room in the pits and I have no idea what exactly the problem was and what happened, but the next thing I knew one of the large transporters went roaring out of the pits at high speed and did not return. First time I've seen that. 

Also, when was the last time you saw a collision between a Late Model and the water truck? Well, it happened Saturday. Hoffman likes to apply water while the cars are already rolling in the track and during one of these times, Hoffman was zig zagging between cars when he cut it a bit tight and there was contact. Fortunately, no damage was done to either vehicle and everyone carried on. 

It was a long show and there are times that I would like the number of classes to be limited just a bit more than it was on this night, but there are also arguments why all the classes are needed. It was good that the Late Models were run as the third feature so if folks wanted to leave early and still catch the premier division on this night, they could. The entire program lasted just at five hours. 

Thanks to all the officials from the Comp Cams Series for a very nice weekend of racing and also to track promoters Bryce Hall at Arrowhead and Jerry Hoffman here at Springfield.  

Logan Martin Tops "Triple Threat", Wolff and Slader Also Winners

 The Comp Cams Super Dirt Series Late Models visited the Arrowhead Speedway near West Siloam Springs Oklahoma on Friday night, March 15th for the second race in their long point season. Along with the CCSDS Late Models,  the USRA Modifieds and B Mods would also be in action with a full racing program. 

This would be my first visit to Arrowhead Speedway since its complete makeover before the 2023 racing season began. I had been at the track a few times "back in the day" when it was known as the West Siloam Speedway and perhaps a couple of other names under various promoters but about the only thing that ties those tracks to this one is that they all resided in the same location. 

The Arrowhead Speedway, as it stands now, is certainly one of the nicer facilities in the entire Midwest and a well planned out racing facility. It would appear that track owner and part time racer Willie Gammill spared no coin when he built this track as it features top notch planning and quality construction from top to bottom. I was told that Jason Hughes, who's racing shop is just miles from the track, was consulted for much of the planning and with folks like Gammill and track promoter Bryce Hall involved, all have been around the block and know what is good and what isn't at a race track and how things should be laid out to provide the best experience for both the racers and fans. 

Quite frankly, to me it looks like they relied on Lucas Oil Speedway as a blue print with much of the facility laid out just as Lucas is. It might not be quite as fancy as Lucas, but it could be a younger brother to that track. 

The racing surface is about a quarter mile in distance and while I have heard it described as both a quarter and a third, it looks closer to the former to me. It is covered in rich black dirt, a vein of which was found in the local area and the black dirt sure sticks out from the bright red clay that this area has for a base everywhere else. It has grandstands on both the front and back chute of the track, just like Wheatland and VIP booths top the grandstand all the way around the track. Each booth has its own bathroom, with a luxury couch and good sight lines. There is nothing in the middle of the track to obstruct viewing and on this night, I chose to sit on the back stretch with the wind at my back, just as I play the wind at Wheatland. 

The pit area provides cement slabs for the racers to pit on and while not every inch of ground is paved, the driveways and walkways are all concrete and rainy weather should not make the pits a mess like most tracks. They have a large tech shed and plenty of buildings to shore equipment and there is a separate driveway for the spectators and competitors to get off highway 412 where traffic  is screaming by at 70 mph. 

There are fine restrooms on both the front and back chute and concession stands also. Interestingly, the track concession stand is rather spartan in that it offers only a few items and the reason being that there are a number of food trucks on the grounds for all racers and the fans enjoy having the wide variety of items to chose from. This is an interesting concept but not a bad one. 

The track lighting is spectacular and amongst the best seen anywhere and they even have the ability to dim, darken and change colors on the lights, such as they do at Knoxville and 81 Speedway. There were a lot of fine looking speakers all the way around the track but I can't comment on how well they work because I didn't get to the front stretch and none of the speakers were working on the back chute. We were left in the dark, so to speak, as we couldn't hear anything all night and the opening night problem was never solved which was a bit of a disappointment. The only glaring need I saw was that the track had no scoreboard, which I thought off but perhaps that is still in the plan for the future. Without a scoreboard and no pa system to rely on, we, on the back chute, were left to guess on many things all night. 

The track has a concrete wall all the way around the track and there is only one entrance/exit, that off turn four which meant that all cars had to both come and return through that space. That can create a bit of a slowdown but they had it well organized so it wasn't much of an issue. 

I had known Bryce Hall for a number of years through USMTS, USRA and his days as the promoter at the highbanks of Salina but I also ran into someone else that I knew very unexpectedly. Chris Loberg used to live in the Eau Claire and Rochester areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota and used to race Modifieds where I saw him in action from time to time. Imagine my surprise as I was walking the pits and I heard someone yell out my name, only to discover that it was Chris. Seems that he know lives in this area, works down here and would be the flagman for the evening's events. He was also kind enough to take me on a quick tour of the grounds so I got to see just about everything the track had to offer. It's strange how you run into people at the least expected times. 

The Comp Cams series brought in a great field of forty Late Models for the show on Friday, everyone looking to make the thirty five lap feature race that paid five grand to the winner. It would be a short night for Kylan Garner however, as he would blow up an engine in hot laps and be done for the night. 

The usual Comp Cams format was used with the field split in two and qualifying setting the running order for the four heat races. Quickest time of the night would be Scott Crigler at 13.052 seconds while Daniel Hilsabeck would be just behind , topping group two. UMP's Sam Driggers was again on hand to help administer the program. 

Four heats and a pair of B Features would set the running order for the main event and with provisional starters, there would be twenty six drivers taking the green flag for the main. Tony Jackson Jr would get the jump on Crigler to take the early lead with Crigler getting shuffled back right away by Tristan Chamberlain who moved into second. The first thirteen laps would go nonstop and there was some wild goings on in the pack while the battle for second was harsh with Jackson Jr stepping away from the field just a bit. While Chamberlain and Tyler Stevens engaged in war, Jackson Jr would catch the back of the pack within a few laps and the heavy traffic made navigating tough. 

Following a minor yellow, there were some more wicked slide jobs thrown with Stevens getting the front end of his car bashed in that would eventually see him slow and then call it a night. Chamberlain would continue to hold second but Logan Martin was on the move after starting eighth and he was up to third by the halfway point of the contest with Hilsabeck following him. 

Martin was getting a great run off turn four and he dipped under first Chamberlain and then leader Jackson Jr to  take over the top spot just one lap later. Stevens dropped out and then third running Chamberlain also had issues and slowed, ending his night. 

A late race yellow set up a three lap sprint to the finish but Martin pulled away and didn't let anyone challenge him. Jackson Jr had slipped to third but Morgan Bagley, who had passed him, seemed to be slowing just a bit himself and Jackson Jr would get back around him for second with Bagley settling for third. Consistent runs by Kyle Beard and B.J. Robinson would see them complete the top five as twenty three of the starters were still on the track at the finish. 

Twenty two USRA Modifieds would sign in to race which meant three heats and their twenty lap main event. It would be an easy go of it for Tyler Wolff who would start on the pole and run away from the field for a strong win. 

After a first lap yellow when Steve McLaughlin would hammer the first turn wall, this race would go non stop, green to checkers. Wolff would pull away and at the end would have a full straightaway lead on Trevor Hughes. Wolff's biggest issue was lapped traffic, of which there was much, but he handled it well and at the end, had seven slower cars between himself and Hughes for the dominating victory. 

Hughes did much passing himself, starting fifth on the grid and moving up to third by the halfway point of the race. He then had a good battle with Paden Phillips before making a late race pass on him to secure second. Brendon Gemmill also was able to get past Phillips for third with Chad Davis completing the top five. 

Arrowhead Speedway has one of the highest weekly counts of B Mods of any USRA sanctioned track and typically runs double feature races because they have so many cars. Such was the case again on Friday with thirty nine signing in to race. However, on this night they ran just the one feature and the top twenty four would start the main. Three different leaders would hold the top spot in the twenty lapper before Kyle Slader took command late and drove on for the win.

Kyle Ledford would take the lead at the start with outside front row starter Dalton Ragsdale having to drop out of the contest before the green was even displayed. Ledford would lead for only a single lap before Sundance Keepper would drive past him on the outside to take over the top spot. Slader would be on the move and would drive up into second and then put the heat on Keepper. 

Also flying forward was J.C. Morton who started ninth but using the top side of the track, was soon up to third and still pushing. He got by Slader and moved in on the leader, trying several times to get past but not quite pulling off the move. 

Things changed following another yellow though as Slader used the top side on a restart to drive past Morton into second and then when Keepper pushed up the track, Kyle was able to drive past and take over the lead. Morton would then move into second as Keepper was starting to lose his edge. 

A third and final yellow would bunch the field once more but Slader got away well and despite Morton pushing for all he had, he wasn't able to cut into the lead of Slader who would drive on for the win. Mason Day would come on strong at the end to finish third ahead of Kort Morgan and Keepper. Lots of mechanical issues would shelve nearly half the field by the time the race was completed. 

The track held up well for opening night and particularly following the storms of Thursday. They did tickle and water it before the main events and I'm not sure if it made much difference as it seemed to be racing well before they stopped. However, the track remained smooth and fast with a nice cushion and good side by side racing along with little dust. 

It was a big eighteen event program and they did a fine job of moving it along, with one race right after the other and not a lot of yellow flags, aided by the one spin rule in effect. In fact, the whole show was completed in just over three hours. The one curious fact though, was that they didn't start hot lapping until 7:30 pm and the first race wasn't scheduled until 8 pm, seemingly very late for a Friday night but there must be some reason for that. Of course, with time trials the program never gets started on time and it was 8:42 pm before the first green flag waved. Thus, while they ran off a quick three hour program, it was still Midnight before the final checkered waved, just a bit late for my taste. 

Thanks to Chris Sullivan and all the folks from Comp Cams. It looks like they are off to a strong start to their season. Thanks to Bryce Hall and Willie Gammill for the chance to see racing at one of the up and coming tracks certainly in the Midwest and a real show place. They have a big two day event for Stock Cars coming up this coming weekend that should be quite the show also. 

Pierce Visits Louisiana For First Time, Wins There Too

 The weekend was a wet one throughout most of the country but the Boothill Speedway near Shreveport Louisiana was able to get a show in on Saturday night, March 9th. They really wanted to get in both of their scheduled weekend events, but severe thunderstorms that swept over the area on Friday morning would make things just too wet for racing on Friday but there were able to salvage the weekend when they raced on Saturday night. 

It took a lot of work by the management all day on Saturday but they got both the race track and pits in surprisingly good shape, especially given the amount of rain that had fallen. The parking lots, on the other hand, as they are frequently here especially in the Spring, were quite the sea of mud and most spectators either got their feet muddy or wet or both as they traveled to the grandstand with their lawn chairs, a necessary item at this track. However, they came in large numbers despite it being a very cool early March night in the Ark-La-Tex and they came to watch the Comp Cams Late Model Series begin their 2024 campaign. Along with the Late Models, several other local classes would also be in action, making for a big night of racing that would also turn quite late before the final checkered flag waved. 

Chris Sullivan and the other officials of Comp Cams really wanted to get in both nights of racing that would have offered a five grand to win show on Friday night and Saturday night which was the Ronnie Adams Memorial event that paid ten grand with both nights kicked off the 2024 Comp Cams point season. However, it was not to be on Friday night and the fact that only one night of racing was offered may have held down the car count just a bit. 

Comp Cams officials were very excited to talk about their new deal arranged just this week that saw them now develop their own platform for showing races through Race On, the newly rebranded service that they are now exclusively offering. And of course, the series remains grateful to Comp Cams for their continuing sponsorship of their series. 

Boothill Speedway was looking good too for the new season as the management has finished the retaining concrete wall and the track is now surrounded all the way by a wall with no more gaps to cause problems for the drivers. And while finishing the wall on the back chute, they also took the time to widen out the back chute and make this bull ring even racier. Whether it was the Friday rains, lots of attention by the management or perhaps a combination, I believe that the track was in perhaps the finest shape I have ever seen for a race here with drivers running all over the track and using many grooves while the surface remained smooth as silk and blew very little in the way of dust. And once the cars hit the track to start packing it in, no track work was done except to scrape the walls of mud so the drivers could see better. One thing that Boothill doesn't have and certainly could use and that would be a scoreboard. 

In the interest of fair reporting, I must point out that along with the Late Models, they chose to run five other divisions of racing on Saturday night, an almost guaranteed formula that would produce a long night of racing. They were originally planning on splitting the local divisions over the two nights but somehow got talked into running all on Saturday since they didn't get to race on Friday. With this being the track opener and with no other racing in the area, this guaranteed a packed pit area for the support classes. To be fair, track management and the Comp Cams folks did a great job of running off as fast a program as could be expected, utilizing the one spin rule for the support classes and taking no breaks all night. They also ran the Late Model feature first which was a great decision on their part and for those fans that came to see the Late Models only, they were on the road just after 10 pm but for those die hard fans that have to watch all the classes, it was well after Midnight before the final checkered flew on a night when we were going to get robbed of an hour's sleep as it was!

With the Comp Cams Series tied in with the World Racing Group and DIRTcar, a large number of officials were on hand including Steve Francis of the WoO Late Models and Sam Driggers from UMP, both on hand to observe and help as needed. 

Thirty one Late Models would sign in to race in their program of qualifying, four heats and a pair of B Features with a forty lap main to complete their show. Cade Dillard and Bobby Pierce would top their respective groups with Dillard quickest overall at 13.850 seconds. I must say that the heats were among the most action packed I have seen for Late Models in quite some time with plenty of slamming and banging as you would have thought it to be the last race of the year, not the first. There were several cases of hurt feelings even before the main event started. 

Twenty three cars would start the forty lap Late Model main and it would be a two car battle from start to finish. Dillard got the jump on Pierce to take the early lead and those two would pull away from the pack as a good battle for second would see B.J. Robinson, Kyle Beard and Logan Martin battling. But they were quite a distance behind the two leaders who were flying. 

The track seemed to be a bit top side dominant for the feature as only Beard seemed to be making any hay down on the low side. Both Dillard and Pierce were banging off the outside walls all the way around the track and lapped traffic proved very bothersome to both. Several times Dillard almost got trapped by the traffic but was able to squeeze through and hold off Pierce. 

After an early spin, the race would see eighteen green flag laps and this would allow the two leaders to have much lapped traffic to worry about. In fact, the next yellow was produced when Pierce dumped Brent Couch right on the front chute after the slower car held up his progress. 

The restart would see the two leaders pull away again with Beard working into third. The heat was on Dillard and it was clear that he was struggling a bit as his line was a bit erratic, and he got into the concrete on several occasions but Pierce was never positioned quite right to take advantage. It felt like Pierce was setting up Dillard for a slide job but that wasn't necessary when Cade way overshot turn one and slammed extremely hard into the concrete, nearly tearing the rear end out of his car and ending his evening. 

The five lap dash to the finish saw Pierce pull away for the win and add another new track to his list of accomplishments, this being his first time at Boothill and in fact, at any Louisiana dirt track. There were a few other visitors on hand also, likely checking things out for the WoO race scheduled here this Fall. Beard would finish a solid second and Robinson would come home third. 

The Factory Stocks and Limited Mods/B Mods are both popular classes in this area and both would be in action on Saturday night. There were thirty nine of each in action which would produce four heats, a pair of B Features and a twenty lap main for each. 

The Factory Stock feature would see C.J. Howell lead all but the last three laps when things would get wild. Howell started on the pole and took the initial lead with Justin Whitehead, a very successful driver from Texarkana in this class, moving into second. They had a nice battle with Whitehead trying both high and low to make a pass but Howell would fight him off. 

With just three laps to go, a spin would slow the action and for the "Texas" style double file restart, as they refer to it down here, third place driver T.J. Evans, who started eighth, would take the inside as Whitehead wanted to try the outside again. They dropped the green and Evans would flat out dump  Howell in turn one, spinning him out and when there was contact with another driver, Howell would get a flat tire and be done. Now the flagman, who black flagged a driver for rough riding in the very first heat race, chose to use blinders in this case and Evans was given his position back for the final restart. 

Whitehead received the gift and he would go on for the win, while Evans would be allowed to race home second before he would surely face some deserved heat in the pits afterward. Chase Hatton, a busy driver who would race in three support classes, would finish third. 

The Limited Modified feature would be a bit tamer. There would be just a single yellow flag in this event and no one got dumped with Ethan Bailes leading from start to finish and holding off a heavy challenge from Joel Couvillion for the win. Whitehead, who also races this class, would come from eleventh to finish a strong third and ran out of laps at the end. 

USRA Tuners were also in action with Michael McEachern leading from start to finish to take the win. Bailey Taylor, who started eighth, would charge up at the end to finish a strong second. However, while she was not able to pass the leader, she was also not able to pass the tech shed as a rules violation would see her get disqualified and second go to Luke Dupont. 

Two other very distinct classes to this area were also in action and would round out a long night of racing. The Pro Mods reportedly use older Modified chassis without some of the more technical items and run on the wide, asphalt pull off tires that the Factory Stocks use. They use big spoilers and also run top less, apparently to give them a different look than the many other Modified classes in the area. Spins and crashes would be the manta for this class but Chase Hatton, in his third class of the night, would lead from start to finish to score an easy win over Mike Washburn. 

The Sportsters would round out the evening. These are a Bomber type class using full size cars with wide tires, and mostly stock components and I' m told that while there weren't any in action on this night, Pickup Trucks also race in this class. And they did actually produce the closest main event of the night as John McCune and Blake Hickman would race side by side for many laps, not touching or banging on each other before Hickman would edge in front with just a single lap to go to take the win. 

Thanks go out to Chris Sullivan and all the folks from Comp Cams for a good night of racing and also to the management of Boothill for staying the course and putting on the show which seemed to have drawn a very nice crowd and made it worth their while. 

Apologies for the twenty four lateness of this report. I had one done yesterday at this time but as I traveled through the hills of Arkansas, I lost my internet at the most inopportune time and the whole report disappeared into "The Cloud", never to be seen again. Vile words were then cast at anyone that would listen and it was a shame as that report seemed a whole lot better than this one!

Ebert Dominates Fifty Lap Finale at Rocket Raceway Park

 Saturday night, March 2nd, The USMTS wrapped up their two week stay in Texas with the fifty lap finale for the Modifieds at Rocket Raceway Park. With a tough field of sixty seven drivers signing in to race, the outcome would see everyone chasing Minnesota's Dan Ebert who dominated the race to take the five thousand dollar top prize. 

Along with the USMTS series, also in action were the USRA Stock Cars, Factory Stocks and Limited/B Mods in full racing programs. Jeffrey Abbey, Neil Kemp and Cody King would be the winners in those divisions. 

It was a busy pit area before the races on Saturday as with all the wild action on Friday night, there was much equipment to be either fixed or replaced. In the case of the three Modifieds that rolled over on Friday night, all three, Jason Hughes, Kyle Brown and Carlos Ahumada, rolled out back up cars for Saturday night racing. Does anyone remember when Modified racing used to be a "budget" sport?  Trevor Hughes, after blowing a motor in spectacular fashion on Friday, would replace that power plant and in a stroke of incredibly bad luck, he would also blow the second engine during heat race action on Saturday. 

In pre race action, promoter Kevin Sustaire and the staff from Rocket would hold a ceremony as they named the race tower the "Cecil Farris Tower" in honor of a long time racing fixture in north Texas racing. After the ceremony was completed, it was time to go racing. 

The program would mirror the one from Friday night except there would be one more Factory Stock heat due to increased numbers and the Limited Mods had their B Feature split into two smaller, non Jeff Broeg sized events in an effort to minimize the carnage that took place in that race on Friday night. Once again the Modifieds did not qualify but I still didn't get an answer on why this was taking place in 2024, but I still liked it this way with some different winners emerging for the second straight night. But to be fair, there are so many good cars racing that position is still key with four of the six heat race winners coming off the front row. However, those drivers that promised to hold their breath and not race again if the time trials were eliminated as was talked about last year still seemed to be racing this season, as the bottom line is that if the money is there, racers will race no matter what the format is. 

How many times over the years when you see a heavy race track that forms some humps on ruts on the first night of a multiple night show then see the track crew over react and give the drivers a bone dry surface the next night? Well, add one more to that total. 

After a tacky and extremely fast track on Friday night, the track crew pounded the snot out of the track all day on Saturday and in combination with the warm day, bright sun and high winds, give the drivers a surface that was dry, slick and dusty.  Fortunately, the wind was in such a direction that the dust wasn't a bother for the fans. 

But the track was taking rubber by the time the Modifieds were running heat races so instead we got treated to two long track prep sessions during the evening with watering, "tickling" with equipment and then track packing. To be fair, it did make the track better for the Modified feature but I would estimate we also had nearly two hours of down time, largely resulting in a final checkered that waved at 12;30 am with many of the fans on the road and heading home long before the show was completed. The wildly changing racing conditions over the two days are what make dirt track racing such a challenge for the drivers but also can make the sport so maddening at the same time. 

The running order of the race events was changed up on Saturday to get the wide tires from the Factory Stocks out on the track first but it really didn't matter since the track was so pounded down that there was no way it was going to roll up like it did on Friday. And they also ran the Modifieds last, which meant it was after the Midnight hour before their main event got on the track. 

Twenty seven drivers would take the green for the fifty lap Modified finale with Tyler Wolff getting the jump on Ebert to take the early lead. Wolff would put some distance on the field in the early going as a number of green flag laps were run right from the start. Behind Ebert in third, Jake Timm moved into that spot with Terry Phillips also on the move. 

As the leaders started to catch the back of the pack, of which there was a huge gaggle of cars, Ebert and Timm would start to close in on Wolff and soon we had three cars running tight for the lead. Wolff got hung up behind a slower car as he chose the low line and Ebert shot around him to take over the point on lap fifteen and from then on, it was a chase to try and stay with him. 

Shortly after this, Phillips shockingly spun on his own in turn three and the yellow waved. After a short burst of racing, Jim Chisholm, who was making a charge into the top five. would spin also in that same corner and get clobbered by another car, ending his night. 

Rodney Sanders and Tanner Mullens were both moving up as they cracked the top five. Also on the move was Kyle Brown and by the halfway point of the race, it was Ebert with Wolff, Mullens, Brown and Timm completing  the top five. After each yellow flag, Ebert would simply pull away from the field as there was no one that had anything for him. 

Mullens and Wolff got involved in a physical battle for second as after a fourth yellow for Carlos Ahumada's stalled car, they got together and peeled most of the sides off each other's car. Wolff would then jump the cushion in turn one, lose several spots and then spin in turn three and exit the track in a huff. 

Brown had now moved into second and he tried to stay with Ebert but Dan would just start to pull away again, building a lead that would cover most of a straightaway as his car was so smooth off the bottom of the track that no one could stay with him. The last few laps would see him just increase his lead as he would drive home unchallenged. Brown would make a great come back from Friday night's flip as his old car would bring him home second with Timm fighting his way back up to third ahead of Mullens and Dereck Ramirez. Only seven cars wouldn't complete the distance in contrast to Friday night. 

An exciting Limited Mod/B Mod feature would see a late race pass for the win and another of the wild wrecks that have marked this weekend. Jimmy Day would take the early lead with Logan Smith and Kort Murphy chasing him. Five laps into the race, a spin would slow the action and bunch the field. 

On the restart, the tightly packed field would come together seconds after taking the green flag and suddenly cars were flying into the air and into each other and the wall. Bobby Williams took a very violent barrel roll flip into the fence and ended up sitting on top of the overturned car of Nik Morgan. Several other cars were all crashed together too in what was a very bad accident but fortunately, all drivers were OK. 

After a big clean up, Day would continue to lead but Kort Morgan was tracking him down and one lap short of halfway, he would drive around Day and take over the top spot. Cody King was running fourth at this point but he would get by Smith for third and a yellow with eight laps to go would change things vastly. 

While Morgan and Day were guarding the low side, King went high and was able to build up some speed and he first got by Morgan and then closed in on the leader. With a continued high side run, he would get beside the leader and as they came to the white flag, King would burst into the lead. He would just pull away on the final lap to pull off the surprising win over Morgan, Day, Boone Adams and Cody Smith.

A dominating run by Neil Kemp would see him lead from start to finish to claim the Factory Stock main event. He would start on the pole and pull away right from the green and with only two yellows in this event, both in the first two laps, he had clear sailing to run away from the field. Chase Hatton would maintain the runner up slot through the first half of the race until Ty Abernathy and Austin Waters would move past him. 

With a long green flag run in the second half of the race, Kemp would successfully move through lapped traffic and remain unchallenged for the lead. Abernathy would push hard but he was not able to close up on the leader. Friday night winner Kyle Blanton would make some progress during the second half of the race as he would move into the third position and finish ahead of Waters and Dallas Bourland. 

The second full bodied class racing would also feature a dominating performance as Jeffrey Abbey would start on the outside pole and lead all laps to take the Stock Car win. He would again work the outside lane on the track and make it click as he pulled away from the field in a race that would only be stopped once and that was with just two laps to go. 

That yellow was heart break for Neil Kemp who was poised for a nice double after winning the Factory Stock feature but with just two laps to go and a comfortable second place run going his motor let go and he stalled in turn four. 

The last two lap sprint would see Abbey again pull away with Mason Martin coming through for second. The Williams battle for third would see Gary top Shelby for that spot with Brent New completing the top five. 

After a disappointingly small crowd on Friday night, a good sized crowd was on hand for Saturday night's action although many didn't get to see it all with them on the road home before things concluded. Thanks to Sustaire and his crew at Rocket Raceway Park, a very fine facility, and of course Todd and Janet and all the crew from the USMTS. Their road warriors on now heading North to Kansas for another big week of racing. 

Sartain Tops Wild Night of Racing at Rocket Raceway Park

 The second weekend of racing for the USMTS Modified Series would take place starting March 1st at the Rocket Raceway Park in northeastern Texas about half way between Paris and Bonham. Always a popular stop for the USMTS group, a big field of cars from a wide varied area would pull into Rocket for two nights of intense Modified racing with five grand to the race winner each night.

It would be a wild night of Modified racing with many unsuspecting twists and turns of fate as the night would progress with three cars getting upside down in racing incidents but when the final checkered flag flew, it would be local driver Jack Sartain that would find the fast line and drive all the way up from thirteenth starting spot to take the win. Sartain's win was wildly popular with the local crowd as Jack is a regular racer at the track, having placed eighth in track points for the 2023 season and he would be the one to find a fast lane around the track while all the traveling stars continued to grope for that preferred line. 

Also racing on Friday night would be the Limited/B Mods, the Factory Stocks and the USRA Stock Cars. The Limited/B feature would be just as wild as the USMTS race that followed with lots of attrition, several leaders that dropped out for various reasons and Louisiana's Jake Haddox would take the win, having made the winning pass with just three laps to go. Kyle Blanton would top the Factory Stock feature and Iowa's Blake Adams would take the Stock Car feature to wrap up the evening. 

A steady rain on Thursday would wipe out the practice night and lead to some of the drama on Friday. Despite much work by the track crew, a cloudy Friday allowed the moisture to sit in the race track and while it would provide a lightning quick and dust free surface for Friday racing, it was also almost too fast as the cars were all making blazing fast laps and with everyone going so fast, it was a recipe for racing accidents and we saw plenty of them. And when the corners started to roll up from the excess moisture, that made things even more challenging. 

A great field of sixty five Modifieds would sign in to race along with thirty seven Limited/B Mods, fifteen Factory Stocks and thirteen Stock Cars which provided plenty of racing action on a night when the temperatures dropped quickly and with a stiff wind blowing, The "Spring Nationals" felt anything but. 

Perhaps my greatest news going into the event was my discovery that USMTS is no longer qualifying the cars and then inverting six for heat race action before they then calculate passing points to determine further lineups. They have gone back to their original method where each driver just draws a number for a heat and then passing points determine what follows. I was so stunned to see this great development(at least for me anyway) that I wasn't able to find out if this plan was just for this event or for the season, but I intend to find out quickly. 

This allowed the show to get started right on time and  objectively speaking, provide some of the most entertaining heat races that I had seen in quite some time. A coincidence, I think not. 

In any event, six heats and three large, Jeff Broeg sized B Features would set the running order for the main event. Throw in a few provisional starters and the twenty eight car, forty lap feature would be set. 

And it would be a wild one. Kale Westover started on the pole and he would get the early lead over Jake Timm and Casey Fowler. Only three laps could be completed before the first wild wreck occurred as several cars got together down the back chute and the end result was USMTS point leader Jason Hughes taking a wild barrel roll up against the back stretch wall. He was hot as all the flipping drivers would be but all seemed to be just racing accidents where the offended car was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. 

Westover would continue to lead over what would be a grueling period of the race as the field was then able to race twenty nine laps straight without a yellow. Westover was weaving through traffic with Timm continuing to chase him along with Fowler, Carlos Ahumada and Mark Smith. 

However, as the race neared the halfway point, Sartain suddenly found a line that suited him well and he came tearing to the front after starting thirteenth. He was running extremely low in the corners but was getting great grip and he drove by racers battling for top five spots like they were standing still. It was an awesome run by Sartain and by the halfway point of the race, he had moved up to second behind Westover and ahead of Timm, Terry Phillips and Gary Christian. 

Sartain continued to charge and when Westover got hung up in traffic, Sartain was there to drive under him and take over the lead. Westover lost several spots in that mess with Phillips and Christian engaging in a wheel banging battle for second. 

With eight laps to go, debris slowed the action and then on the restart, Ahumada bicycled in turn one and flipped, triggering another red flag. Sartain continued to lead and it looked like the race would be his but then, just as the yellow flag was ready to be waved, Westover broke in turn one and Joe Duvall hammered him, slowing the action once again. 

The two lap sprint to the finish would find Sartain protecting his line and he would drive home the winner, much to the crowd's approval. Christian would win the wheel banging contest for second over Phillips with Dan Ebert keeping the wheels on his car to come from twentieth to finish fourth ahead of Tanner Mullens as only a dozen cars were still upright and running at the finish. 

The Limited Modified/B Mod feature was just as crazy. Twenty four cars would start this race and only fourteen would finish. However, unlike the USMTS feature, there was only one yellow flag during this race as all the crazy happenings involved cars breaking and colliding with each other but not causing the race to be delayed because of it. 

Colby Williams would take the early lead with Kort Morgan and Conner Williams chasing him. Colby would lead the first ten laps of the race until he suddenly slowed and dived into the infield, giving the race lead over to Conner who was being chased hard by Jake Haddox and a charging Dean Abbey. 

Then things would get even crazier. Haddox was all over Conner for the lead, sticking a nose under him on several occasions. However, the leader got bogged down by traffic and the track and Haddox would get hard into the rear end of his car. Suddenly Conner Williams slowed with a flat tire but Haddox got caught up with him and also slowed with Abbey driving by both of them for the top spot.

However, that didn't last long as Abbey apparently blew a motor before another lap could be completed and he dived off the track, handing the lead back to Haddox. With just three laps to go, the first yellow appeared for debris on the track, despite all the action before that point that hadn't triggered a single yellow. 

Haddox would find Morgan all over him for the final three lap dash but he would hold him off to take the win after starting fourth in the running order. Matt Riskey would finish third with Bobby Williams and Daniel Tarkington following as four of the first five finishers were B Mods. 

After all the wild action from the open wheel cars, the full bodied Factory Stocks and Stock Cars ran off much tamer races. The Factory Stock feature had only a single yellow flag slow down and the Stock Cars ran off their main event nonstop. 

While both classes ran off smoother events, there was still plenty of action. The first four laps of the Factory Stock feature would provide three different leaders with Deacon Redmon leading the opening lap, only to get passed by Rodney White for the lead. 

White was only able to hold that spot for two laps though, before he was overtaken by Kyle Blanton. Blanton would then go on to lead the final eleven laps and take the win. He was, however, severely challenged by Brandon Stowell who could get a wheel up under Blanton but never complete the pass. White would hold of for third over Chad Hatton and Neil Kemp. 

The Stock Car feature would also see three different leaders during its fifteen laps. Brent Fielder would show good speed as he took the early lead but he struggled to keep his car in the groove and he was passed by Jackson Vsetecka for the top spot. 

However, Jackson was also struggling and when Adams came up from the third row, he was able to race under the leader just at the halfway point to claim the top spot. From there, he was able to pull away and build up the biggest lead of any driver all night. This nonstop race would allow him to pull away and drive home for the win. 

Mason Martin, who started seventh, would make a late rush and drive up to second ahead of Jeffrey Abbey who worked the top side of the track throughout the race, Neil Kemp and Vsetecka. 

The show was run off at a rapid pace with one race directly following the other so no complaints there. However, the frequent yellows and reds did, however, slow the eventual pace. The last two features did, however, help to complete the show by a decent hour and it would have been even better if the Texas wind had not decided to blow stronger as the evening progressed. Nevertheless, it was a very entertaining and dramatic evening of racing and all four classes, at least those that are able to cobble their race cars back together, will be at it again on Saturday night.