The 2024 outdoor racing season concluded on Saturday night, October 26th. While a goodly number of drivers were finishing out 2024 in Southeast Iowa at the Shiverfest in Donnellson, a packed pit area of racers from several states were on hand in Marshalltown as the Fast Shafts Harvest Hustle was concluded at the Marshalltown Speedway.
Drivers in five IMCA divisions along with the Mod Lites ran off a series of heat races and Last Chance events to determine just who of the many competitors would get the opportunity to race in the main events. In the early afternoon, the kids had a chance to do some trick or treating in the expanded pit area that included all the field to the South of the regular pit area before the 4 pm start time for the scheduled heat races.
It certainly can't be said that the drivers didn't get enough opportunities to make the various feature races. The top ten in each class were locked in after the double heat races on Friday night with everyone else coming back to try again on Saturday. Heat races, lined up by points earned on Friday, would qualify some more cars for the main events and then everyone else that didn't get in by that method would still have one more chance as everyone could run the Last Chance race. Finally, the twenty four car fields were determined for each of the classes and it was time to do some feature racing.
Some serious track prep work was done after the heat races were completed, the first time we had seen this all weekend but then, once that was completed, the track was never touched again after that. And as is the norm at Marshalltown, the racing surface would be wide, fast and smooth and as seems to be a trade mark here, drivers are racing three and four wide throughout the fields, no matter the class.
We were wishing that the Last Chance races would have utilized the one spin rule that had been used for the earlier heats because these were the only races of the weekend that got a bit bogged down, with more yellow flags seen in these few races than the rest of the weekend put together. We kept our patience and eventually it was time to go feature racing.
The main events would be marked by long periods of green flag racing with few yellow flags and the vast majority of the starters still around at the conclusion of their mains. Big crashes were not seen with the exception being a wild two car flip in the Hobby Stock feature but we'll get to that soon.
The running order was consistent throughout the weekend and the Sport Mods would be always up first for their events, with their feature following that same pattern. All the feature races were loaded with talent and this race was no exception with some of the hottest drivers in this class starting right in the front two rows after having much success on Friday. In fact, the top three were tied in total points after two rounds of heat races on Friday with their starting order determined by the number that they drew for the heats.
This put Logan Anderson on the pole and he would take the early lead with Brayton Carter quickly moving into second. The first few laps were very interesting as Carter tested different grooves to likely get Anderson moving around on the track while Carter figured out where his car worked the best. These two drivers have both had exceptional years and "head games" they were playing on each other early was fun to watch if you knew what to look for.
It is clear that Carter has supreme confidence in his new car right now and he was like a shark, waiting for the proper moment to spring. On lap eleven he spotted his chance and he quickly moved past Anderson, who couldn't block him quick enough, to take over the lead. After that, the pack was left to chase him. He put some distance on Anderson who has having his issues with Tyler Nerud to hold on to second. Carter lapped a series of cars as this race continued under the green, only being stopped once with just four laps left in it.
Carter got away clean on the one restart and drove away again, as he claimed the victory. The restart benefitted Nerud, who got past Anderson for second and would hold him off to claim that spot at the finish. Only one car in the starting field of twenty four failed to complete the contest.
The Stock Car feature would see another dominant driver of this year, Dallon Murty, take the win. Murty caught a nice break on the opening lap when as he field pounded into turn one for the first time, pole starter Jim Horejsi pushed very badly up the track, bogging down the whole outside line. Murty, who started on the inside of row tow, said thanks and quickly drove into the lead, taking the point on lap one and never giving it away in the following twenty nine laps. That first lap scramble allowed Jimmy Gustin to quickly move into second after starting seventh and he did his best to track down Murty.
A lap thirteen yellow when Jay Schmidt, having a good run slowed and triggered the caution. Murty continued to lead with Gustin and Jeff Mueller close behind. Jake McBurnie was up to fourth after starting twelfth and he continued to charge until a flat tire later would end his run.
Up front though, it continued to be Murty showing the way as Gustin would get close, then lose a bit of ground in his attempt to challenge, but always it was Murty in the lead. The entire field was running fast and close and even though the final eighteen laps would go green, there was not a single car that Murty had to deal with in terms of slower running drivers.
Dallon would extend the lead late and he would drive home for the win with Gustin and Mueller holding on to their spots the rest of the way.
Trip Gaylord had a great season at Marshalltown, claiming the point title in the Modified class and after winning a pair of heats on Friday night, he would start on the pole for the forty lap finale. Murty started beside him in the front row as he looked for a double win but it was Gaylord that took the early lead.
Murty, however, would struggle a bit as his car pushed up the track a few times and other drivers were able to scoot past him. Following a yellow when Austin Kuehl flew off the end of the track, Zach VanderBeek was able to move into second with Cody Laney grabbing third.
The last twenty seven laps of this race would go green to checkers and for the only time all night, the track started to take some rubber and most of the drivers lined up in the top side lane with passing at a premium. VanderBeek was closing following Gaylord and would stick his nose inside the leader on occasion but each time Gaylord would cover the grove and continue up front.
Right near the end of the race, just as the last few laps were being completed, Gaylord caught the back of the pack. We were expected perhaps an attempted slide job by VanderBeek with Gaylord trying to fend off the slower cars while staying in the preferred groove. However, VanderBeek chose to respect the leader and while he closely followed Gaylord right to the checkers, he didn't try any wild or crazy last lap moves. Laney, Tom Berry Jr and Murty completed the top five.
One of two Nebraska feature winners would make a strong statement in the Hobby Stock feature. When Nathan Ballard has the lead, he generally is pretty tough to beat. And after he took the initial lead from the outside pole over Dylan Nelson, he seemed to be in pretty good shape to take the win.
This race was the lone feature to get a bit bogged down with yellows as three plus a red flag would slow this contest. Adam Wasserman started fifth on the grid but quickly found his way up to third. He would battle through the first few laps with Nelson before claiming the second spot.
Running in very heavy traffic, which it seemed was the norm for the Hobby Stocks all weekend, Bradly Graham was clipped by another car and as he slid toward the infield, he in turn clipped the car of Brandon Bombardo. Both cars then proceeded to flip wildly down the front chute, with Bombardo's spill particularly violent. Fortunately, both drivers were OK but both cars looked severely damaged but the crowd was just happy to see both drivers up and walking as they were checked out by promoter Jerry VanSickel.
The restart found Ballard still in the lead but Wasserman was making his presence felt, as he moved right in on the leader. Wasserman tried several times to get under the leader and in fact, on two occasions he actually cleared the leader, only to find the yellow flag waving and his passes nixed.
But as the laps ran down, he continued to press, nosing ahead out of turn two a few times and when he finally got the whole car past Ballard to take over the lead, he was greeted with the white flag being waved. He pulled away on the last lap to take the win over Ballard with John Watson claiming third.
The black smooth track made the Sport Compacts lightning fast and they were literally using just about the entire track as they breathtakingly raced around the high banks. Another "Cornhusker" would claim victory as Dillon Richards, running this class this weekend, led the race from start to finish to claim victory. There was a swarm of cars chasing him and they were swapping spots often. This race was stopped only once for the yellow for a stalled car with team car Johnny Thomas running second at that point.
While Richards continued to lead and pull away from the pack, it was Luke Fraise who put on the move, coming from fourth at the halfway point to pass Thomas and claim second. Thomas, Caine Mahlberg and Devin Jones finished off the top five. Remarkably, all twenty four cars that started the feature were still running at the finish with only a single car a lap behind. That's how competitively the entire field ran.
It was amazing how hard the fields in all the features ran, with the position and lane swapping almost constant yet they did this without wrecking each other or even triggering yellow flags. Certainly the track conditions at Marshalltown make that just a bit easier to do with the track being very forgiving, that is except for the guard rail in turn three which looks just a bit scary from the grandstands as it appears that there just isn't room for all the cars to squeeze together and get down the back chute without incident but they did it time after time.
It was a cool night in central Iowa but despite that a very nice sized crowd was on hand for the season finale. They saw a good show that was concluded just about 11 pm. I have been to Marshalltown multiple times this year and always get a great reception from the staff, led by J VAN himself.
There was quite a bit of interesting talk in the pits before the races as teams were discussing 2025 rules for IMCA that would impact the Sport Mods and Modifieds specifically but not surprisingly, it depended who you were talking to whether or not they liked the proposed changes. Look for announcements on these changes in the coming days. In the meantime, thanks to all the Hawkeye tracks that I visited this year for showing me a good time. Now if the football team will just lay a dud next Saturday, I would be even happier!
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