Week number two for the IMCA TV Winter Nationals at the Central Arizona Raceway rolled off the grid on Wednesday night, January 15th. This week the program would remain much as it had been in week one with the only change being that the IMCA Mod Lites would be racing this week to replace the Sport Compacts who had just a one week run. Two hundred and twenty cars in the five classes signed in to race, counting about two dozen Mod Lites who came out in much bigger numbers than the Sport Compacts had last week. About fifty new drivers that weren't racing the end of last week signed in to race on Wednesday, replacing some that either took the night off or headed home. Once again the Modified car count was the largest with sixty nine of them set to race on Wednesday.
It was a sunny day in the desert but when the sun set later, it turned quite cold and with the wind blowing stubbornly hard and not laying down once the sun did set, it made for a challenging night for both the race fans and also the track prep crew and they were forced to "rip" the track several times and water to keep the surface from rubbering up.
It was the typically large racing program for this event with twenty three heat races along with seven B Features before the main events began. Passing points are being used this year which does give those that draw poor numbers a slightly better fighting chance but heat race winners are automatically locked into the mains so it still ends up being a lot of drivers fighting for a very few qualifying spots.
Afternoon racing is always a very difficult task for the drivers and for the track prep crew but with such a large field of competitors and a 10 pm curfew, it is necessary to start as early as they do in order to get done in time and avoid promoter Brad Whitfield having to pay a fine and perhaps more importantly, piss off the neighbors who have been a source of difficulties to him sense he got CAR back up and racing. They were about fifteen minutes late getting started as the track needed just a bit more wheel packing since the track crew and gotten it good and wet but after that point, other than track prep time, it was nonstop racing for the next eight hours!
The running order would find the Sport Mods up first throughout the race day and so also their feature would be the first to hit the track. A full field of twenty eight drivers took the green flag for their twenty lap event which saw Dustin White from the tiny northern Wisconsin burg of Eagle River take the early lead. Disaster struck just two laps into the race when in heavy traffic down the front stretch a driver was turned and a giant collision was the result with drivers piling into each other, right the wall and ending up strewn all over the track. Nearly ten cars were involved in the pileup and at least seven done for the event, some with major damage.
Under the yellow flag, Jake Smith, who was running second to White, slowed and pulled off the track with some kind of mechanical issues and that turned second over to Robbie Thorne with Taylor Kuehl next in line.
The green returned and White continued to lead but he had Thorne closely following him with Kuehl, Rich Pavlicek and Ryan Peery next in line with the top five pulling away from the pack. Steven Luecht was on the move and he displaced Peery for a top five spot as the halfway signal was given.
White continued to hold the groove and despite the pressure from Thorne, he didn't make any mistakes and held his line. The race took a turn with just five laps to go when Kuehl suddenly slowed on the front chute with what looked like an overheating problem and drew the final yellow.
The five lap sprint to the finish saw White race a solid line, never faltering or giving Thorne an opening as he drove on for the win. Luecht showed speed the final half of the race as he moved into third with Peery making a nice comeback for fourth ahead of Pavlicek. All cars were on the lead lap at the finish but eleven didn't finish the contest, most with plenty of work to do before Thursday's show.
Twenty eight drivers would see the green flag for the twenty lap Stock Car feature and this race saw the first and second place drivers run a tight contest for that full twenty laps. Chase Berkeley took the early lead with William Gould and Cameron Starry battling hard for second before Starry took the spot. Chaz Baca took a ride in the Ferguson car on Wednesday and he moved into a challenge for second when the motor in the car let go in spectacular fashion and triggered the first yellow as he slid into the infield to avoid a major pileup.
Berkeley continued to lead with Starry poking a nose under him in nearly every corner as Mike Albertsen got past Gould for third by the halfway point.
The top four raced in tight fashion using the high line around the track with everyone waiting for Starry to make his move. He raced tight on the rear bumper of Berkeley but Chase refused to be harassed into making a mistake. It came down to the last lap when Starry dropped low in turn four but he didn't have the speed or momentum to make a pass and Berkeley held his line and drove on for the win. Albertsen finished a close third with Gould and Shelby Williams completing the top five.
The Modified feature was probably the most entertaining of the night as it would produce an event filled with slide jobs, daring moves and drivers running right up against the wall in multiple packs of cars.
Kollin Hibdon from the outside lane got the jump on Dylan Thornton to lead the opening lap but Thornton wasted no time getting him right back as with a slider in turn four, he took over the lead. Those two would continue to go at it, trading sliders at nearly every turn of the track as they swapped lanes and provided an entertaining but risky event.
Close behind the leaders, Ricky Alvarado and Brandon Beckendorf battled for position with Bryson Yeager and Reece Solander also fighting for position. Just before the halfway point of the race, Hibdon hammered the wall and damaged his car and as Kellen Chadwick triggered the first yellow with a flat tire, Hibdon retired to the pits with damage.
Beckendorf inherited the runner up spot and Solander's charge had brought him up to third as he got past Alvarado. Back on green, Solander's great run ended with mechanical issues that saw him slow on the front chute and the race was no more than restarted when opening night winner Luke Silber hammered the fourth turn wall and his night was over too.
A five lap dash to the finish as Beckendorf all over Thornton but Dylan would make no mistakes and Beckendorf didn't have the speed to drive past him as the California turned Iowa racer drove home for the win. Alvarado finished a solid third with Ethan Braaksma the charger of the event, coming from seventeenth to fourth in front of Troy Morris III.
The Hobby Stocks finished up the evening and it was no surprise when Dillon Richards, who started on the pole, drove on for the win. The same scenario that has played out most of the week continued as Richards and Dillon Thompson, who started side by side in the front row, would battle it out for the win. Richards got the early jump and despite a shot in the shorts by Thompson, he managed to keep his car straight and drive into the lead. Blake Luinenburg broke up the two car battle as he slipped past Thompson for second and tried to chase down Richards.
Morgan Olmstead, running a solid fourth, saw his night end with a flat tire just as a three car grinder in turn three stopped the action with just three laps to go. Richards took off strong on the restart and would not be challenged as he drove home for yet another win this week. Luinenburg and Thompson completed the top three. Joel Magee and Bingston Rogers filled up the rest of the top five.
Racing will continue on Thursday night with the first green flag to drop at 2 pm. IMCA TV is available for those that can't be on hand for the event.
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