Cody Thompson threw a lap nineteen "slider" on Shane DeMey in turn two to grab a late lead and then held on for the Modified win to wrap up the 2024 racing season at the Park Jefferson International Speedway in Jefferson South Dakota on Saturday afternoon, November 2nd.
It seems crazy to be talking racing in South Dakota in November but the folks at Park Jeff are having such a good time with their newly reconfigured oval and wanting to show case the new track to as many fans and drivers as possible, decided to schedule one last race after their last special which was supposed to wrap up their season.
Keeping an eye of the weather this week, when a cold front was supposed to slam into the area on Saturday night, they opted to move up the starting time of the event by two hours in the hopes of beating the rain and they were able to accomplish that. While the temperature was claimed to be almost sixty degrees, a raw and strong wind was blowing and those of us in the stands were wearing our Winter weather gear anyway. But surprisingly, despite the fact it was a Saturday afternoon and none to pleasant out side, a pretty decent sized crowd was on hand to wave good bye to racing until 2025.
The biggest topic of discussion continues to be the whole sale changes made to Park Jeff since I was last at the track in early August. My goodness, it hardly looks like the same track, and in actuality, it isn't. Only the front chute is in the same place at it was previously but the entire rest of the track has been pulled in, making what was close to a half mile track now somewhere in the neighborhood of a big quarter or perhaps third mile. Both ends of the track have been drawn and the radius of the corners tightened plus lots of banking was added. The back chute is much closer than it used to be, making the infield smaller and where the back chute used to run, there is now a row of pit parking there as they have gained considerable pit space.
Boone was used as the guide when the new track was laid in recently, but to my untrained eye, it seems like the straights might be just a tad bit longer than Boone. No matter, you get the idea on what a considerable change they made, and in such a short time that they were back and racing in just a few weeks. Someone not paying attention during the break in their season must have been shocked when they walked into the grandstand and saw a whole new track had been laid out. With the high banking in the corner, it also reminded me a bit of the new Mason City track too.
I was told that things had not been going good at Park Jeff with lots of complaints about the track and they felt it was either make a drastic change or close the gates forever. Well, I think they made the correct decision as the track now seems like a real keeper for the long run.
A few more refinements are yet to be completed and the wall in turn four scares me with its blunt end but those are fixable. The scoreboard was moved and I'm just not sure the new location is going to be the best as the odds are now being placed just when the first car goes out of control on the back chute and hits it. I'm hoping they might reconsider its location. A new observation tower has been built on the back chute with a spectacular view of the track for the pit folks but wow, that stairway is steep, steep, steep. I believe a spotted the capital building in Lincoln from there before it started to cloud up!
A lot of rain earlier in the week made the track quite bumpy for practice and while they pounded it hard afterward, there were still a few "character" points on the track and it was also the first afternoon race on the new surface but overall, I thought the racing to be very good later.
One hundred and twenty four drivers signed in to race in the five division program that was offered on Saturday afternoon. Not a sanctioned event, they made a couple of class decisions to better the event. The Stock Cars from USRA were also allowed to race and I saw a couple cars using American Racer tires for this day. Also, USRA B Mods were allowed to race with the Sport Mods and there were a considerable number of drivers that took advantage of the opportunity as there is quite a large number of B Mod drivers from the Sioux Falls area. The best of them though, Corbin Erickson, finished ninth in the main event.
Racing would be begin right at the advertised time of 2 pm and there were enough drivers on hand that B Features were needed for both the Hobby Stocks and Sport Mods/B Mods. A short break was taken to get the main events lined up and then it was time for feature racing. Of note, other than for the racers to roll in the high groove a bit before their race, no track prep work was done once the first green flag dropped.
The Sport Compact feature would be first to run and eighteen drivers started this event. It was bad news for the opposition when Dillon Richards drew the outside pole to start the race as he would grab an immediate lead and then never be seriously challenged as he drove on to victory.
Nathan Wahlstrom would hold the second spot for just one lap before Gilbert Aldape took over and he then provided the stiffest challenge to Richards. It was tough to get much rhythm to this race early as the yellow waved six times in the first three laps for a multitude of reasons including spins, cars traveling over the end of the banking and several debris yellows.
However, once everyone got squared away, the last nine laps ran off green to checkers and under a longer green flat period, Richards would pull away from the pack and there were enough cars eliminated by this time that lapped traffic was never an issue. The winner last week at Marshalltown backed up that win with another at Park Jeff with Aldape second and Wahlstrom third.
Twenty five drivers started the Sport Mod feature and although Justin Klynsna was scored the leader of all eighteen laps, there were a number of times when he was behind as much as he was in the lead. For he was having a great battle with Chris Abelsen who was driving a second car for Rusty Montague. Klynsma took the immediate lead with Abelson quickly into second and they then produced an exiting race as they took turns slide jobbing each other and pulling even with each other as they raced for the lead.
This race was also broken up by a number of yellows but everything the green would wave, the two front runners would go at it again. However, it was refreshing as while they battled hard, each left the other driver with racing room and all slide jobs were of the "clean" variety with no one taking each other's nose off. All the yellows and restarts seemed to have taken their toll on Abelson's car however, as following restart number five, he didn't fire as good and several drivers were able to get past him as he struggled for traction. Matthew Looft started ninth on the grid and had moved up to third by the halfway point of the race and then took second and he pushed Klynsma to the finish but just couldn't produce a passing effort while settling for runner up honors. Connor VandeWeert started twelfth and would work his way up to third at the finish.
Twenty five drivers started the Hobby Stock feature but it was Bo Lundquist that they all chased as he started on the outside pole and was the leader for the entire race. Zach Ankrum and Dillon Richards fought back and forth for second, with Richards finally securing the spot on lap six. After that, he chased Lundquist for the duration of the race but Bo neither made a mistake nor let Richards get close. The last half of this race ran off green to checkers and Lundquist maintained a comfortable lead as the top three kept their respective positions throughout the race.
Jeffrey Larson made one of the most impressive drives of the day, only to have it all end with mechanical failure. While Josh Kelderman would take the early lead in the Stock Car feature, it took only five laps for Larson to move up from his eighth starting spot and challenge as he was picking off drivers with ease as he advanced to the front.
On lap six, the lead was his as he pulled away from the field. As Larson continued to dominate, Elijah Zevenbergen, also charging hard, moved into second after starting twelfth as yellow flags allowed him to pick off drivers each time the race resumed. Zevenbergen grabbed the second spot but Larson still looked to be the star of the field.
However, following a yellow on lap eleven for a spinning car, Larson, instead of pulling away from the pack again, went straight off the first turn when he suffered a right front suspension failure and was lucky to have avoided the wall and instead sailed into the shut off area. However, his effort for the day was done and he was removed to the pits by a wrecker and Zevenbergen then inherited the lead.
Showing the speed that saw him work up to second, he then pulled away from the field to earn the victory. The battle for second was a good one with veteran Hans Houfek holding off Kelderman for the spot. What an unusual situation resulted from this finish. I doubt that anywhere in the country this year in the Stock Car class have two cars finished back to back in front sporting 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle sheet metal but that was the case here on Saturday.
The Modifieds would wrap up the afternoon race and they ran clean to the checkers, twenty laps without a yellow flag. From the outside pole, it was Shane DeMey that took the lead as he sprinted out to a healthy early advantage. Working their way through the busy field were both Cody Thompson and Chris Abelson, coming from the third and fourth rows respectively. It took some time for them to work their way through but by the halfway point of the race, they had moved into second and third and started shortening up DeMey's lead.
Shane, however, still looked to be in command until he caught a wad of slower cars and trying to get past them cost him dearly as he lost a considerable amount of time but still couldn't clear the four cars that were in front of him.
Thompson smelled blood and he quickly closed on DeMey with Abelson close behind. Thompson caught DeMey, set him up perfectly and coming out of turn two with just less than two laps to go, pulled off a slide job to take over the lead. Thompson was then able to navigate through the traffic and pulled away on the final lap. Abelson used the same move to get past DeMey on the final lap and he would finish second with a frustrated DeMey having to settle for third. Fifteen of the seventeen starters will still racing when the checkers flew.
The final checkers of the day flew right at 6 pm. Thanks to everyone at Park Jeff for a fine way to conclude the Midwestern racing season. Folks at Park Jeff and their fans must be going into the off season feeling mighty good about what 2025 will bring. With time yet this Fall to complete some of the landscaping work and finish off the new pit area etc., everyone must be really excited to see what 2025 holds in store for the track.
