The H & H Tiling, Dozing and Excavating Frostbuster special was quite the way to open the 2024 racing season at the Marshalltown Speedway. Despite the fact that it was another cold and windy early April day, the Frostbuster drew a large crowd of tough race fans but what they saw would kept them warm throughout a long evening and into Saturday morning of racing.
A gigantic field of two hundred and twelve race cars signed in to race on Friday including a division high fifty six Hobby Stocks along with nearly at or above forty in the other four classes. They would see a total of thirty six races including one hundred and twenty two laps of feature racing alone. And at the end, it would be the Murty family that would have the largest bragging rights, having gone one, two in the Stock Car feature race. Other winners would include Brayton Carter, Tom Berry Jr, Bradly Graham and Mitchell Bunch.
When the race cars started rolling into the pits, they just didn't stop coming and virtually every inch of the Marshalltown Speedway pit area plus the South overall parking lot was packed with race cars from near and far. Just directing traffic into and out of the pit entrance was a job in itself as some of the racers were parked so far away from the track that they probably couldn't even hear the race noise with the winds sweeping the sound away from them. Nevertheless, everybody, including the drivers and crews plus all the hard working track officials did a great job of keeping the show moving and except for one delay when the ambulance was needed, there was hardly a break all night. Victory lane interviews and pictures were even delayed until the show was completed in the name of saving time on this cold night.
With B Features needed for all five classes, just making the mains was a task in of itself and many good drivers were left to spectate come feature time. The draw for the heats was critical and trying to race from the back of a heat into a qualifying position was a tall order. The running order Friday saw the big iron, wide tire cars start the program right off, perhaps a plan to keep the fresh dirt from rolling up. If that was the plan, it worked to a "T" as the track stayed smooth and wide all night. It got slick early but drivers were all over the surface, producing much spectacular racing. I swear, I can't think of any track anywhere that produces so much three and four wide racing yet keeps the wrecks to a minimum. Of course, the one spin rule continues to be a blessing for the fans, as it certainly helps keep the show moving and one strategy I wish I could convince my area tracks to try.
Racing would start about twenty minutes behind the posted schedule but that was primarily just because it took quite a length of time to hot lap all cars and for a special like this where many drivers were making their first starts of the year and quite a few their first trip ever to Marshalltown, it was almost a requirement. I continue to believe that hot laps are over rated but on this night they were almost a necessity.
Thirty one races later after the first green flag dropped, it was time to roll out the first feature race and we started right out with the Stock Cars. And the entire field put on a dazzling performance, going green to checkers for thirty two laps without a single yellow flag! The twenty four car field would take the green with Jimmy Gustin, in a Stock Car this year, moving into the early lead. However, it would not be many laps before he was challenged for that top spot by Damon Murty who had started in the second row. My report will not be too detailed tonight because, in one shortcoming, the scoreboard went dark before the program was half over and could not be fired back to life, so we were "winging it" when it came to counting laps.
Murty would stalk Gustin for a few laps before he would drive by on the back chute to take over the lead. And with no yellows to slow his march and bunch the field up, he would drive off to a full straightaway lead over the pack. However, that is not to say that there still weren't some great battles and drivers that made big advances through the field. Dallon Murty start tenth but he was on the move early and fought his way up to second by the two third mark of the feature but then he stalled as he could gain no more ground on his father.
Also putting on a great show was Iowa legend Kelly Shryock who started seventeenth and really picked up the pace as the event wore on. He was using the low groove as he mostly does these days, but near the end he was picking off a car a lap as he got to third in the late going and was pressing Gustin as the checkered flew. Garrett Corn would complete the top five.
It looks like it might be another banner year for Brayton Carter who has started off his racing season with several strong results including a weekend sweep in southern Iowa last weekend. On Friday he would start seventh in the Sport Mod main but would top several other strong running teams to get the win. Brayden Ahlers and Drake Bohlmeyer would battle in the early going of this race with Kyle and Tony Olson along with Carter moving toward the front. Carter would find a line around the track that allowed him to drive very deep into the corners and he would simply steal spots but beating other drivers back to the chutes.
Carter would use another turn three dive to take over the lead and once in front, he would pull away from a stout field. Tony Olson would move into second and try to chase down the leader but their margin would remain static until a late yellow would set up a five lap dash to the finish. This would be no problem for Carter who would again pull away but it proved problematic for Olson, who let Ahlers get back past him for second. They would have a tough battle for runner up honors but Ahlers would hold on for the spot. Tyler Nerud would come from fourteenth to finish fourth, ahead of Bohlmeyer.
Tom Berry Jr would be the only driver to win a main event while starting the race from the front row as he would start on the outside pole for the Modified main and lead all thirty laps for the win. Jake McBurnie and Jerry Flippo would chase early. Two contenders would have trouble with both Dylan Thornton and Todd Shute going to the tail but fighting their way back into contention before the race was over.
Berry Jr was comfortably out front but eyes were on Ethan Braaksma, who started eighth and worked his way into the runner up slot. He would then push for the lead to keep his hot streak going but Berry Jr was up to the task. There was even a late yellow when Trevor, who was having a good run, was dumped on the front chute, setting up a six lap dash. Braaksma gave it his all and did get close but then Berry Jr gradually pulled away again as he was clearly the class of the field on this night. Braaksma would have to settle for second with McBurnie third. Thornton came all the way back up to fourth from the rear and Tripp Gaylord would complete the top five.
It has been a great weekend for Bradly Graham as after winning at Stuart on Thursday night, he came right back to top a huge field of Hobby Stocks and win for the second night in a row. He would start eighth in the pack but move through the field quickly up to second. He might have had trouble with Calvin Dhondt who was the leader by a goodly margin except for the fact that Dhondt bobbled and then spun by himself in turn two seven laps into the race, handing the lead over to Graham.
From there, Bradly would lead the rest of the way, pulling out to a nice sized advantage until another of those late race yellows would fly with just two laps to go. It was a mad scramble after that, with Graham safely in front but going to the finish line, drivers were all over each other trying to gain positions and at least a couple went airborne over other cars in their haste to get to the front. Dillon Richards would top the scramble to claim second with Sean Butler coming from twelfth to get third.
Twenty two cars would take the green for the Sport Compact feature to complete a long evening of racing. Things would get wild on the first lap as cars came together and Curtin Masterson would battle roll over the property down the back chute. He was OK and the race would restart from the beginning. Jake Paysen, Anthony Clark, Oliver Monson and Mitchell Bunch would have an excellent four car battle for the lead, swapping spots and running tight in formation. Monson would take over the lead but the others were still close behind.
Bunch was able to get to the low side of the track and slide up in front of Monson to take over the lead as after the opening lap wreck, this race would also go nonstop. They were tight for the whole race but Bunch would hold off Monson and Clark to take the win.
By the time the final checkered flag would wave only the tough ones were left in the grandstand and it was just about 12:30 am in the morning with the temperatures having dropped into the forties. . It was a long night of racing for sure and we were very near that point when the car count was too much of a good thing but having too many cars is a nice problem for any promoter to have.
I have to make special mention of the race track on this night. It took a severe pounding from hundreds of race cars and who knows how many laps but it held up spectacularly. It remained smooth and fast, was wide and dust free. And with all that being said, once the first green flag dropped, they never touched the track after that point! That to me is bordering on amazing. Oh if I could only see that more often.
Thanks as always to JVan and his crew for a memorable night at the races, my first of what will likely be multiple trips to the Central Iowa Fairgrounds this year.
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