Chad Simpson Motors to Easy Cresco Win

Thursday night, June 20th, I returned to the Cresco Speedway located at the "mighty" Howard County Fairgrounds in Cresco Iowa for the first time in a number of years. I can't say for sure when the last time I was in Cresco for a race, but it was likely a Late Model race or perhaps a USMTS show and either way, it would have been more than a handful of years. The big event that brought me and lots of other people to the fairgrounds on this night was the first ever appearance of the Late Models sanctioned by MLRA. This was the first night of a two night swing for this Missouri based group as they head for western Iowa and Rapids Speedway in Rock Rapids on Friday night.

I loved the vibe I got as soon as I arrived in Cresco and stopped for lunch. It was kind of a throw back to an earlier era of racing and while I'm not calling the good folks of northeast Iowa stuck in time, on this day that's what it felt like to be on hand here. Billboards with signs pointed to the track and announcing that there was races in town on Thursday were part of it, but the best part of the day was the remote broadcast by the local radio station at the Casey's General Store located on the main highway and just down the road from the fairgrounds. The broadcast announcer was doing a remote for several hours in the afternoon at Casey's and he was "talking" up the races big time while giving a "blow by blow" account as he stood in the parking lot and watched the big race haulers roll by and head for the track. Turns out the remote broadcast was done by the gentleman who would later be the track announcer for the evening at Cresco(I'm sorry but I'm drawing a blank on his name) but he is also the announcer at Decorah. He was taking up to the minute weather reports from folks scattered around the Cresco area and giving listeners the word that while it was drizzling and dripping just a bit, it wasn't enough to rain out the races, which was totally true. The whole atmosphere was very much like a blast back into time, and a pleasant memory to boot. Later I would observe folks gathering in the stands and chatting away between events while perhaps sharing a "cold one" and it dawned on me that this was more than just a race night, this was a social event for the folks in town and the general area. There are still pockets of race tracks in the country that sport this atmosphere but they are much less fewer in number than they used to be, and that is a loss for the sport.

As I recall, the first time I ever came to the races in Cresco, the man in charge was Tom Barnes. Tom still is in charge of the action in Cresco so my memories are probably pretty accurate. Especially when Tom confirmed that this is his thirty sixth year at the helm at the Howard County Fairgrounds, a very tidy looking rural fairgrounds that is ready for the annual fair next week, perhaps one of the earliest in the whole state of Iowa. I also can remember coming to the fair races at Cresco and standing  in long lines waiting to get into the grandstand as the fair races were strongly supported by the folks of the county. While they don't race weekly anymore at Cresco, the races that they do have seem to be strongly supported. The Fairboard, by the way, is putting on the show on this night. The Fair races, by the way, will be next Thursday night.

My thought is that the MLRA, once a great regional series, has reached a point where it has,quite frankly, overextended itself. A few years ago, this series was a terrific one that more often than not sported forty or more cars for all their shows as they raced primarily in Missouri and close by, adjoining states. Then other promoters got interested in booking shows, because they were presenting a great attraction with plenty of cars and some strong regional names that would occasionally be joined by some national driving stars. However, after a while this got to be a problem, as many of the drivers that supported this series were racing "stiffs" who had to work a regular job and take vacation to hit their close by shows. Now they have booked the majority of their races a long way from home and they have lost many of the drivers, like Tony Jackson Jr, Peyton Looney and many others that just can't chase the wide ranging series any longer. And when they travel to areas where there aren't a lot of local open motors drivers around, they wind up with fifteen to twenty car fields, which frankly just doesn't cut it for me. I think they need to rethink their business plan, and go back to one that was originally designed to meet the needs of their drivers from Missouri and the surrounding area. Just my thoughts on that. By the way, they had sixteen cars on hand for Thursday night's show, so they ran two heats and a forty lap feature. Also, they have gotten away from one of the more enduring parts of their program which was no time trials and using passing points to set the feature lineup. Thursday, it was announced that they voted at the driver's meeting whether to time trial or not, a mistake because you never let the drivers decide, because their interests are in sharp contrast to those of the fans, the ones paying the bills and expecting to be entertained. So they time trialed, lined the heat races straight up from times and in the two heats and forty lap feature, we saw zero passes for the lead of any of the three races they presented. Hum, perhaps something quite short of putting on a show, don't you think?

The way the track set up Thursday, being on the outside pole was the place to be for the Late Models as all three races were won from that spot. Chad Simpson started the forty lap main from there and got the jump on Will Vaught and led all forty laps. There were two yellow flags during the race as as the Late Models burned a fast lane around the track, you had better be in that lane or you were going backward, which made passing an even tougher chore than normal.

Vaught lost second when he made a mistake on the first restart and picked the inside lane and Tyler Bruening drove right around him for second. Bruening pushed as hard as he could but Chad paced himself and had plenty of tire left for the end of the race as he pulled away after getting past a nasty backmarker that simply wouldn't yield the fast lane. Simpson was finally able to "strong arm" his way past the slower car and then it was Bruening's turn. The most excitement of the race was when Tyler got tired of messing with the slow car as Simpson got away and he gave the backmarker a good "body slam" and moved him out of the way, which caused his fans to stand and cheer. And I applauded the move too. Why does someone a lap behind feel they must race with the leader and when he finally gets by, not realize that there might be another contender chasing the leader? Or was this just a case of being stubborn and not yielding to the obvious? Vaught settled for third with Chris Simpson and Logan Martin rounding out the top five as it appears that there are only six drivers chasing MLRA points here in June and one of them, Jake Neal, broke a motor in his heat and was done for the night.

Late Model race fans might be interested to learn that Jordan Yaggy, racer from Rochester Minnesota and one that would normally attend races such as this venue, has not yet been cleared by his doctor to return to racing following his horrendous accident in West Liberty as he is still having some night vision problems. There probably isn't a great rush to return anyway, as they do not yet have a car to replace the one that was wrecked in that accident. 

You knew that Late Models were a rarity in northeast Iowa when the Head Starter and his assistant were spotted taking pictures of the four wide formation before the green flag flew from their unique perspective on the flag stand.

Support classes for the night included USRA Stock Cars, B Mods and Hobby Stocks. Included in Thursday night's field was USRA and USMTS heat Todd Staley who towed his Stock Car to Cresco before he heads out for a three night weekend series with his Modifieds.

The best race of the night was the B Mod feature, by far. High school student Keagen Einck took the early lead from the prized outside pole spot but when he jumped the cushion in turn one, Ben Moudry drove under him to take over the top spot. However, unlike the rest of the competition on this night, Einck would not settle for just falling in line and he attacked to get the lead back. Using a very daring high side move in turn three on the cushion, he drove back beside Moudry and they raced side by side down the front chute before Einck was able to get the lead back. It was a high risk move on this night the way the track was racing, but Einck pulled it off to the appreciation of the crowd. Moudry should also be congratulated for racing clean, as he had plenty of opportunity to move out and run Einck either into the wall or over the cushion. Moudry instead raced hard but had to settle for second with Taylor Skauge finishing third.

The Hobby Stock feature saw Steve Larson start in front and wind up there at the end, as he pulled away for an easy win, lapping cars and putting much distance between himself and the field. Joshua Ludeking held off the competition to finish second with Chris Hovden third as the loose material blowing around caused some overheating problems for the racers Thursday.

Mitch Hovden was the only winner not to start on the front row as he took the Stock Car feature race. Lynn Panos was the early leader until overtaken by Hovden, who was then challenged by Kyle Falck for the lead. Falck was putting heavy pressure on and it appeared that he was ready to make a pass, when he got hung up in turn three, the car dug into the track and he got up on two wheels before spinning to a half. He did restart the main and work his way back up to fifth as he appeared to be the fastest car on the track, but Hovden would collect the big paycheck with Panos and Dillon Anderson next in line.

It was a tough day for track prep as rain was in the forecast and it looked very threatening. In fact, it did sprinkle on and off for about two hours before race time but never hard enough to threaten the show and folks continued to arrive, despite having the windshield wipers on "delay" for most of their trip. The track did roll in hard but there was lots of loose material blowing around as the surface never did clean off too well and it did get quite dusty in the grandstands, thanks to a ill East wind blowing. It was also annoying that the two speakers in front of us in the open grandstand were not working all night either, so we missed a little of what was going on because of that.

The crowd was a big one for the return of the Late Models and the indication was that this will now be an annual event which seems a wise choice by the Fair Board. However, they might want to investigate what other racing series are out there and available to see if they can perhaps find someone that could put on a better show and bring a few more cars into town. The last race ended around 10:30 and a large amount of the crowd headed for the pits to see these cars up close and also visit with their "Saturday" night heroes.

Gilman is "Happy" at SIS

One must always be flexible in their plans and it never hurts to have a plan "B" or sometimes it's even necessary to resort to plan "C" and beyond. Plan "A" for Wednesday, June 19th was to continue to follow the Deery Brothers IMCA Late Model swing and head on to Independence Iowa for their next race following the Maquoketa event on Tuesday.

However, the environment had it own plans for Wednesday which included lots of rain for Northeastern Iowa including the Independence area which started on Tuesday night and it was still raining there on Wednesday morning. So it didn't come as much of a shocker when the plug was pulled by mid morning on the event at Inde.

So it was time to move on to the next item on the agenda and based on the weather and my location, it looked like a trip back into central Iowa was the most logical choice. There was a weekly show scheduled for the Stuart International Speedway and even though I had been there for two nights of racing last week, there was nothing that said that I couldn't enjoy another night of racing at their little bullring for a weekly show. I would drive through some light rain before I hit Des Moines but the rest of the trip was uneventful, except for the usual insanity that accompanies any trip on I-80.

Things were looking good at Stuart and I had time to kill but just as I got ready to head out to the track, a line of thunderstorms blew up literally in the backyard of the race track. Towering black clouds billowed just to the East of the race track but there were headed directly South and there was clearing to the West so that while it was reported to me that folks drove in rain and saw wet pavement nearly up the limits of the city of Stuart, there was no rain at the track with improving conditions then on through the rest of the evening.

Seventy cars in the five IMCA sanctioned classes were on hand for the show on Wednesday with two heat races in each class. There was also a left over feature race to be contested for the Sport Compacts from last week's two night show when rain shortened up the first night. The Bat Wing cars were also on hand Wednesday with fourteen of them to compete and I was surprised to discover that there were four drivers all the way from Northeastern Minnesota on hand along with one from Emo Ontario to compete including WISSOTA Modified drivers Tyler Jonson and Blake Ferris. This was quite a surprise to me to see them here and quite a surprise to them to find someone so far from home in central Iowa at the races. We're all just a bit loony. A small handful of Cruisers were also on hand to perform before the IMCA TV crowd as Bucky Doren, also scheduled to appear at Independence, had also found his way down to Stuart. Sadly for him, he thinks like I do. The crowd was a small one as MVG predicted with the vast majority of fans either driving through heavy rain on their way to the track or checking the skies and pre determining that there would be no racing. Also, the fact that two days of extra admission tickets had been asked for the previous week probably found some people with their racing budgets slightly stretched.

The track was in excellent shape for the show on Wednesday with it being smooth, wide and having multiple grooves and not a hint of dust. MVG reported that in preparation for this event, it was the first time he had never put any water on the track before, and just wheel packed the moisture provided by the heavens this week. Later in the afternoon, he did mist on some water and had the race cars help wheel pack and the result was an excellent track.

Before the races, I had the opportunity to speak with Ramsey Meyer and his father in a rather general conversation that opened up my eyes. You see, I'm not a student of the all particulars of IMCA racing and I did not realize that I was speaking to the defending IMCA National Sport Compact champion when I made a comment about all the "win stickers" on the side of their cars. Seems that nineteen and counting is the current feature win total for the Nebraska driver, who reported that he races four or five times per week, depending on track's schedules. There were on hand because of the rain out the previous week and the fact that it would be double feature races. We talked about the idea of him moving up to a "taller" division and they reported that they had considered it, yet it only cost them a fraction of what it would be to build a Hobby Stock for them to race a multi night season in their Sport Compact. So, for now, they will remain where they are at. Later, Ramsey would win the make up feature race but not be able to catch Mitchell Bunch for the second win. One thing I did not ask them that occurs to me is why the defending Sport Mod National Champion drives a car that looks like it has been through a war? His car has a taped on number and no graphics of any kind and looks, quite frankly, like a "beater", not a car to be feared. Perhaps that is the plan. How many remember when Nate Coopman from southern Minnesota won year after year in the Sport Compacts and racked up obscene win totals while driving a car that looks terrible and in fact always sported taped on numbers that blew off mid race. Perhaps that is a requirement for the class, but I jest.

Josh "Happy" Gilman scored a dominating win in the Modified class, getting to the front early after starting seventh and then fighting off a late challenge from Jesse Dennis. The two district lines on the track were highlighted in this race as Gilman hugged the tires all the way around the track while Dennis was "wall pounding" but both lines seem to be just about equal which is just what one might hope for.

As mentioned, Meyer would dominate the Sport Compact make up while Bunch would come from seventh to lead the second main, and his lead was such that Meyer couldn't catch him after starting tenth on the grid.

Brayden Carter, who showed up at Stuart after Oskaloosa rained out, took no prisoners in the Sport Mod feature. He started tenth but tore to the front quickly and by the halfway point had already commandeered the lead . He then  continued to build on it as he won by a full chute over Hunter Longnecker, who had a good battle for second with Colton Nelson.

The Stock Car feature was a dandy race, as it usually is here. Chris Pruitt got to the front quickly from the second row and led most of the event but he was eventually caught by Josh Daniels who tried lap after lap to get past for the lead. Digging on the bottom, he got beside Pruitt on several occasions but just could never quite get the lead. A late yellow set up a four lap sprint to the finish and this time, Daniels was able to nose under Pruitt and with just over a lap to go, take the lead in turn one. He would go on for an exciting win with Pruitt and Jeremy Gettler next in line.

The Hobby Stock feature was also a close one, with some banging and an odd finish to the race. Brandon Cox came from the second row to take the top spot and he ran there for a number of laps. Charging up from ninth was Cory Madden, who waited until mid race to make his move but when he started coming to the front, he really made rapid progress. There was some banging bumping in the field but Cox continued to hold the lead. However, Madden caught him for the top spot and a little more "body work" between the two saw Madden shoe horn his way into the lead. However, Cox wasn't done and with a big run down the back chute, he dove to the inside of Madden and forced his way back into the lead. The next volley from Madden was then expected when we were all surprised to see Madden slow and pull up to the top of the track with some apparent mechanical issue. Cox drove on for the race, Madden, at slow pace, settled for ninth and we were all left a little disappointed, wanting to see more between these two.

I always marvel that with such tight but hard racing an this bull ring that there aren't more yellow flags but once again Wednesday, the show clicked off quickly with very few slow downs and whilte there is plenty of body contact and fever pitched racing, there is not a lot of slowdowns. Even with the extra races, extra divisions and the rides for the kids on the race cars before the show started, the final checkered flag still dropped before 10 pm, just the way it should be on a weeknight. MVG is one of those few promoters that truly "gets it."

Aikey Tops Deery Bros at Maquoketa

Well, they finally got this show in!!! I have been trying multiple times to get to the Maquoketa Speedway this year and have been thwarted by the weather each time. Just as the promotional team at Maquoketa has been trying to get in their special events and has been fighting the weather in the same manner, along with their other track at Dubuque. Well, the stars were finally in alignment on Tuesday, June 18th and the Deery Brothers Summer Series was able to get their second show of 2019 in the records books, as this series has been struggling with the weather just as much as everyone else.

That's not to say that it was a perfect night for racing as I drove in a considerable amount of precipitation on the way to the track and the weather folks were talking about showers possibly moving into the area by evening but nothing materialized and other than a humid night, it was indeed finally a good night for dirt track racing.

Along with the Deery Brothers show on this night, also featured was a full program of Modifieds, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and unsanctioned Four Cylinders. All IMCA classes were racing for points except for track points and remarkably, those darn track points would keep some racers home in their garages rather than at the track as for some people, points are still more important than cash, a concept that I have never been able to understand. However, they did have a very nice field of Modifieds and enough Sport Mods for two heats while the other two classes, which struggle here on a regular basis to get cars, continued that trend on this night.

New to me, they were pitted on what they call the "back forty" which is a new pit area that sits behind the back chute on the North side of the grounds in a field of lush grass. I was told that they use this pit area only when they have special shows with lots of large haulers which all can't be fitted comfortably in their regular pit area on the South side of the track behind the main grandstands. There are advantages and disadvantages to using the North pits. It is quite a hike around the track back there and for those of us working both sides, it gave us a chance to get some exercise. There definitely is much more room on the "back forty" and more room for workers and pit people to park their personal vehicles. The knats and bugs were atrocious back there, but that may have been the case everywhere as is that been a great Spring for hatching just about any kind of flying pest. However, by far the biggest problem is when they forget to haul the portable satellites in and everyone is left scrambling to find a tree or hedge line to hide behind! It was indeed a long time to hold it, if you catch my drift!

But on to the racing itself. I took the chance to meet up with some folks racing here tonight that I have either make acquaintances with  in my travels in this area or have known over the years but don't get to see race much.

Daniel Wauters is a Hobby Stock driver who I first met right here at Maquoketa a number of years ago. He was a rookie driver then, full of enthusiasm and "wide eyed" about the sport as he was just getting started. We talked that day and ever since when we meet at the track, we say hello again. He is now a top notch driver in the Hobby Stocks, has two race cars and has won his share of feature races which he had never done when we first met. He is currently breaking in a new Rev Chassis car and has been having some good runs. Daniel works for the Iowa City School District in the maintenance department, and likes his job. Right now they are doing one of the grimier jobs following the school year as all the kitchen facilities at the schools have to be cleaned and all the tables cleaned, and if you remember your days as a youth, you'll remember all the stuff you stuck under the tables at lunch!!!

On this night, Daniel ended up second in the Hobby Stock main but it was a tough battle getting there as first he was spun out and given a flat tire which he pitted and changed, then he had to go to the back a second time when he stopped to avoid a spinning car. He got up on the wheel the last four laps of the race, however, and drove back up to second.

Andy Nezworski, Late Model driver from Buffalo Iowa, is originally from Ironwood Michigan and I used to watch him race Street Stock and Super Stocks under the WISSOTA banner before he got a job working in the Hawkeye State and then eventually moved South and worked his way up to a Late Model. We spent a few minutes talking about some of his friends from the UP and northern Wisconsin and how they were doing in their racing as he keeps a close eye on the results from his old home track, the ABC Raceway in Ashland Wisconsin.
 He is having a good year this year so far, with two feature wins. He has moved to a crate engine this year, telling me that both his spec engines were "tired" and needed to be replaced and with the option of the crate and price of it in comparison, he decided to make the switch. He said that so far, the crate was OK.

Old friend Gary Webb was debuting a new Kryptonite chassis Late Model on this night. He said that he actually had it on Sunday at East Moline but then took it home in favor of the old blue car after he saw how muddy the track was. And you could say that Hell has now officially frozen over as I was stunned to learn that Webb also has a crate motor in his new car. I never thought that I would see that day, but the times they are a changin'.

Gary said that IMCA is pushing toward the "all crate" concept for the Late Models so he decided to move in that direction also and that the cost differential was certainly a factor. Webb had some first night issues to sort out on the new car which is brand new from stem to stern and spots an engine from Friesen in Nebraska. he did make the show but dropped out early after he got lapped.

Interestingly, a couple of other Late Model drivers that I talked to told me that the new IMCA rules which require a plate on the spec engines dropped their horsepower by at least 125 horse which is a huge amount and thus makes then pretty equal to the crates. They also said that you could buy a used spec engine for perhaps half the cost of a new crate, simply because there is such a limited market for them now. This was all interesting stuff to me.

Thirty Late Models signed in to race on Tuesday and their fifty lap main event was one of the better races that I have seen so far this year. Twenty four cars started the main event and they raced forty six laps before the first, and only yellow flag of the race, came out! and only five cars failed to finish also.

It took Jeff Aikey only four laps to come up from the second row and pass Andy Eckrich for the lead and after that Aikey drove away from the field. Aikey is now driving the #77 as Rick Dralle has changed the number on the car for Aikey.

Aikey was able to pull away for a number of laps as the green stayed out and he worked lapped traffic well but on the move was Joel Callahan who started in the third row and by the thirty lap mark was definitely starting to cut into Aikey's lead. After the top side of the track was dominant early, some of the drivers were working the lower groove and that was where Callahan was doing"business". However, even though he race that same groove, perhaps to work through traffic, Aikey was not nearly as fast there.

Callahan continued to close on Aikey, and with seven laps to go he drove past and took over the lead. You could see that Aikey realized he needed to get up on the wheel and he stormed to the cushion and drove past Callahan to retake the lead. Just seconds later, the only yellow flew when Johnny Emerson flew off turn four.

Aikey sealed off Callahan, on the bottom for the double file restart, on the green and then returned to pounding the cushion for the final four laps and he pulled away to win his first Deery show since 2016, which is about the time he generally stopped racing Late Models and started to focus on the Modifieds. As the all time leader in Deery feature wins, his reuniting with Dralle has been a blessing for both of them as well as Late Model fans who have been missing the #77 at the track.

Other drivers who had strong runs included Matt Ryan, up from seventh for a strong third, Terry Neal and DD(DeFrance) who completed the top five. Justin Kay, who looked, quite frankly, slow in both his heat and B Feature, really picked up the pace in the main as he came from twenty third to sixth with only that one yellow flag to aid him. And it is particularly tough with all those nonstop green flag laps to not get lapped as the field gets strung out.

The Late Model feature was run as the third feature of the five scheduled, thus ensuring an early completion for those fans wishing to head home early and also guaranteeing a good race track for their main. Certainly they were helped by the humid conditions that always help a track hold up, it was a very racy track indeed with a solid cushion to work off of but also a low groove that seemed to be good too, for those that knew how to set up for it.

Bryce Garnhart seemed to be the man to beat in the Modified feature after he showed great speed in coming from the back in his heat race to the front and he was starting in the second row on the draw/redraw night. He quickly took the lead and seemed in control.

However, on this night there would be no stopping Jeff "Bone" Larson who was on a mission. He started way back in the sixth row, but while others were running the middle of the track, he was hammering the cushion and was extremely fast as he flew to the front. He caught leader Garnhart and blew past him down the back chute and after that, he was gone.

Several yellow flags slowed the action, including one for a driveshaft off Jaden Fryer's car that ended a good run, but each time Larson pulled away as he scored a dominating win. Garnhart did hold on for second, with Greg Durbin, Steve Johnson and Jarett Franzen trailing. Franzen came all the way from fifteenth to the top five.

The Hobby Stocks had only nine cars but they still managed to put on an exciting main event. Randy Lamar led for most of the race but he got caught for the lead by Kyle Vohringer with his Mopar near the end. Lamar was trying to work his way past a stubborn back marker that wouldn't get out of the way to let the leaders race out for the win and Lamar caught a piece of the rear end of the slower car and turned him around.

The call, from the officials, was to put the slower car, Lamar and poor Wauters, who stopped to avoid the wreck, all to the back. This gave a clear path for Vohringer who drove on the last four laps for the win. Wauters charged back up to second ahead of Jake Benischek.

The evening was completed when Nick Proehl ran away from a small field of Four Cylinders with both the Hobby Stock and Four Cylinder mains running after the Late Model feature was completed. The final checkered wave at 9:47 pm with the Late Models being done earlier yet for those "clock watchers" that had to get on the road. The entire program was completed in under three hours with old friends Doug Haack and Kevin Feller very much involved in making that happen.

It was a very well run and organized show and it clicked off at a quick pace, perfect for midweek racing to be successful. The folks at the back gate were very friendly and accommodating and it was a good night for racing at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. Speaking of the Fairgrounds, new aluminum sections of bleachers are being constructed on both ends of the grandstands which should increase the capacity of the facility considerably, perhaps making even bigger shows a possibility. In fact, crews were working on the assembly of the new grandstands all through the racing program on Tuesday, stopping only for the National Anthem. 

Brown Jr Takes Rare Late Model Win at Spencer

The Late Models had not made an appearance at the Clay County Fairgrounds Speedway in Spencer Iowa since 2009. That absence ended on Thursday night, June 13th as the Tri State Late Model group made an appearance at the historic fairgrounds oval on a special Thursday night of racing.

The Tri State Late Model group is a group of drivers from the eastern South Dakota and eastern Nebraska area, that without a lot of tracks to race at locally and with Late Models that they wish to keep racing, have gotten together to put a series in motion that will visit a number of tracks, many that don't run Late Models, as a traveling series that can provide a solid field of cars to a promoter.

Let by Marty Myers from the Sioux Falls area, they are now starting to get more bookings for their series but this night would be their first ever visit to Spencer. They often race at I-90 in South Dakota along with tracks like Jackson MN, Aberdeen  and Miller South Dakota, Rock Rapids Iowa and Minnesota tracks in Jackson, Fairmont and Montevideo. They run a mixture of rules that I believe pretty much match up with  the SLMR rules which allows open motors, WISSOTA spec engines and I believe crate engines also although I can't be certain on that so If you have a desire to race this series, check on their website. They do also run a hard Hoosier 55 tire.

The drivers do seem very supportive of the series as I believe they understand that their racing opportunities could be severely limited without this series to help them find dates. For instance, Rich Thomas pulled over 250 miles from Aberdeen South Dakota to race for a grand on this night and many of the drivers that regularly support this series come from the Sioux Falls area and from eastern Nebraska. For the first time ever, one of the Kosiski brothers was on hand for a series race as Andrew brought his #53 car from Omaha. This would be the first night of an attractive three night stand that also takes them to Jackson Minnesota and then I-90 Speedway in Hartford S.D.

A solid field of twenty two Late Models signed in to race on this night with the majority of the drivers from South Dakota and Nebraska but there were also a few drivers from Iowa and also Minnesota. Along with the Late Models, three other divisions of racing were also on hand but we'll leave mention of them until later.

The Late Model drivers drew for their heat races with the finishing order setting up the main event with the top two drivers in each heat redrawing for the main. All twenty two drivers would start the feature after Blair Nothdurft and Thomas fixed mechanical problems that had developed for them earlier. In fact, Blair was scheduled to start on the pole of a heat but missed that race after he had problems in hot laps. He would later put on a show as he charged up through the field during the twenty five lap main.

Normally the track in Spencer gets very slick top to bottom and slows down quite a bit but whether it was the cool temperatures, an extra dose of water or the lack of support class tires racing the track, on this night the track had a healthy cushion and while it did start to dry out in the groove as the feature progressed, the track remained very fast all night.

The cushion was also a bit treacherous as Doug Tomka found out. Nine laps into the main, while racing in heavy traffic, he hooked the cushion, the car dug in and he went for a wild ride, flipping high out into the air and going over several times. He was OK but the same couldn't be said for the car.

Tad Pospisil had dominated the opening event for the series and after drawing the pole for Thursday night's race, it looked for all the world that he was going to run off with another victory. He was able to maintain a comfortable margin over Jordan Heiman for the first twenty laps of the race until a stalled car triggered a yellow flag with just five laps to go.

No sooner had the series announcer reminded us of the fact that Pospisil was on his way to leading start to finish in both races so far when all hell broke loose. Pospisil took the field to the green, only to sever a left rear wheel off the car and roll to a halt in a stunning development. This gave Heiman the lead but on the restart he badly buzzed his tires when the flag fell and he dropped back as cars went tearing by him on both sides.

Brown Jr and Kosiski then went back and forth for the lead and while Brown Jr was scored the leader of each remaining lap, Kosiski was actually in front just as much as Brown Jr was. But Andrew got just a bit high in turn two with a couple laps to go, Brown Jr jumped him to pull into a slight lead and he held off Kosiski by a couple car lengths for the win. Nate Beyenhof surged up to third at the end ahead of a disappointed Heiman and Nick Beyenhof. It was a surprise finish to what had been a pretty staid race up to that point. The Late Models put on a good show at Spencer and it seems reasonable to assume that it won't be ten years before they make their next appearance. In fact, with the huge facility that Spencer offers and the fact that  the World Of Outlaws Sprint Cars have raced here a number of times, I am surprised that the WoO Late Models haven't dropped in here as of yet. In fact, they have missed the boat on this one for years.

Now let's talk about the three support classes. Earlier in the week I saw a face book post that stated that there would be no points for the other divisions on this night and that the rules would be transitional USRA rules. Now, being stupid, I never even gave it a thought until I reached the track that this was an IMCA track and what were they doing running USRA rules on this night? And in fact, head tech man for USRA Darlo Mulder was on hand to do the tech work on this night and the starter and all other key officials were wearing USRA shirts, not IMCA shirts. Is there a revolution going on behind the scenes here? I just assumed that the no points night was because it being a Thursday, that Algona was also racing their regular night and they were too close to allow Spencer to run for track points. But maybe that wasn't all of it. I did talk to a USRA official earlier in the year about their weekly series, and he told me that several tracks in northeast Iowa were not happy with the way things were going this year with car counts and other issues they were having with IMCA. Of course, this was just one side of the story and I'm far too far away from these tracks to know what kind of political issues are going on behind the scenes, nor do I  really want to know.

But if this was a test of the waters, so to speak, I'm afraid that a failing grade would be the final answer on this night. Only eleven Hobby Stocks, five Sport Mods(or should I correctly be calling them B Mods this night) and one poor lone Sport Compact(or Stinger) made up the field. This was not the show that I'm sure the fans were looking for although I didn't hear any outright complaints from the grandstand, the spectators couldn't have been too happy.

So whether it was just that drivers stayed home because no points were offered, or they didn't want to run under the opposing sanctioning body or what, but many of the weekly racers were not to be found, even though the Sport Mod(or B Mod) feature was advertised to pay $600 and additional money was being offered to the Hobby Stocks too.I did not, however, see that many of the locals that normally race at Spencer had instead gone to Algona, even though they were paying a grand to win the Hobby Stock main there on this night. 

In fact, the car counts were so small that I was slightly afraid that track officials, upon seeing just how small the car count was, might cancel the show but since the Late Models were the premier division and they had a full field, the show would go on with no hesitation.

As far as their actual races go, they didn't do a bad job of putting on a show despite their small fields. The Hobby Stock main found Drew Barglof and Daniel Smith(always at least one Smith no matter what), battling it out and they did more than a little leaning on each other before Barglof drove past Smith into the lead and held off all challenges.

Brady Joynt lead from start to finish in the Sport Mod(B Mod) feature although once Colby Fett broke free into second, he closed on the leader at a dramatic rate and if the race had been just a couple of laps longer, we might have seen a change of leadership. Both mains went nonstop and took just a few minutes to run. In fact, the entire program clicked off at a quick pace and all racing was done well before 9:30 pm which is always a good thing on a week night.

Rod Olson and the staff at Clay County Fairgrounds Speedway were  accommodating and helpful as usual and it was an enjoyable night of racing with the Late Models far overcoming any short comings produced by the light fields in the other classes. Clay County remains one of the finest facilities for racing in the entire state and for those fans who have never been there before, a trip should be on your list of things to do.

Thornton Jr Tops Dirt Duel at SIS

Wednesday, June 12th was night number two for the Dirt Duel at the Stuart International Speedway with all the feature races to be contested after Mother Nature brought the proceedings to a slightly premature conclusion on Tuesday night.

To be decided on Wednesday night would be big money winners in the Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks while the Modifieds would also be a part of the program running a complete show of their own also with a little extra money on the line for them also.

After a relatively smooth night of racing on Tuesday, not a lot of the teams faced major repairs as the crashing level was low on Tuesday. For the record, every single Hobby Stock and Sport Mod that raced on Tuesday returned to compete on Wednesday night while three Stock Cars did not return but one new entry, in a leap of faith, paid the additional entry fee and tried to make the main while starting in the back of a heat race. It didn't work, by the way.

While gale like winds buffeted the facility on Tuesday night before the rains hit, the wind was blowing even stronger on Wednesday, but it was from the North and that was problematic as the wind was screaming right into the main grandstand from the track itself. Later on, it would lay down but by then the damage had been done as the track prep crew found it very difficult to get moisture into the track and that resulted in what was quite a dusty night or race watching. It didn't seem to affect the racing surface as much as it did those of us blinking in the stands.

After a few races where the track was quite heavy and the racing "hammer down", the track dried out and we went through a period where everyone was right on the bottom hugging the tires through some of the heat races. But the drivers gradually widened the track out and soon we were back to the wide, multiple groove racing we has seen on Tuesday. It is a dirt track after all, and seldom is a track perfect throughout the entire night. It changes and the groove moves and that is one of the beauties of dirt track racing as opposed to the "tar" variety. Mike VanGenderen and his crew did "rip" the track twice and rewater it at strategic times during the night to try and "reinvigorate" the track but the combination of many laps of racing and the high winds did take a toll as we would see at the end of the night.

And we did have plenty of racing on Wednesday night. The six races left over from Tuesday night were spun off quickly and we got into Wednesday night's program. However, there were still plenty of races to be had as the Stock Cars and Sport Mods still had one more round of heat races for those eight not already in the show by Tuesday night points plus Last Chance races in both classes.

Don't forget that we also had two mini Features for the Manufacturer's race to cut that field to twenty four cars plus the main for that title which was the same length as a regular night feature race so there was a ton of racing and a ton of laps to be put on the track on Wednesday night. In a perfect world and without Tuesday night's rain, all the Manufacturer's events would have been done already and would have helped both save the track and make the show a bit shorter as it did get pretty long.

And there was indeed a risk to the Stock Car drivers getting involved with the Manufacturer's race. If it would have been on Tuesday, they would have had a  full day to repair any possible damage but with everything being on Wednesday, they were running a risk damaging their cars in that race and not being able to run the higher paying feature race, with scant minutes between the events to fix any damage. I'm not aware of anyone impacted in such manner on Wednesday, but it was a real danger. It would have been nice to eliminate the entire event as it took a little away from the main show, but with drivers having paid entry fees and manufacturers the same, it did have to be completed.

So, after eighteen qualifying events of various lengths, we were ready to go feature racing and the Modifieds were up first. After a first lap spin, the Modified feature would go nonstop and it was Josh"Happy" Gilman who would dominate the race and take the win. He got out in front early and pulled away from the field. He built up a big lead and Kyle Brown, who finished second, was unable to cut into his advantage. California driver Cody Laney finished third.

An interesting addition to the Modified field on this night was Oklahoma's Joe"Big Daddy" Duvall who was a late arrival at the track and it took a while to try and squeeze him into a pit slot. He was on his way to Wisconsin for a big race there next week and dropped in to test out his IMCA car. Josh Most rounded out the top five and he arrived even later than Duvall and had to park his rig out on the highway as there was no room at "the inn."

Hobby Stocks were up next and they did a wonderful job of racing in their main as with twenty one of them on the track going for a grand to win, only two yellow flags slowed the action. Cory Madden did dominate this race as after starting on the outside pole, he ran away and hid from the field. A late spin with only two laps to go made things interesting but on the final green, he pulled away to score a fairly comfortable win. His biggest challenge was the lapped traffic of which there was a lot and with the only other yellow being just at the halfway point, he had to deal with many of the slower cars a couple of times before the final checkered waved.

There was plenty of passing behind him however with Dylan Nelson coming from seventh to finish second and Solomon Bennett from thirteenth to third. A late charge saw Chuck Madden Jr up to fourth and Eric Knutson completed the top five.

The Stock Car Manufacturer's race was next and since twenty cars started it (four opted not to risk it starting from the back), and it was for twenty laps with a grand to the winner, it was for all intent and purposes a feature race too. Cayden rode the high side to get the win in this race and he looked like a stout pick for what would be coming up shortly after this event.

It was quite a productive and busy night for Carter as he won four races over the course of the night! He won a left over heat race from Tuesday, a heat race from Wednesday night's show, a Manufacturer's race qualifier and the Manufacturer's race itself. His car was probably panting for air by the time they got to the "big show" which was the last race of the night. Unfortunately, he was not able to win race number five of the night, which might have been some kind of world record,  as he got caught to the outside when the track changed and he dropped back, finishing out of the top ten.
There were also many other drivers that ran in that many races on Wednesday within a show that was a challenge to both man and machine as well as to us in the grandstand suffering from "butt numbness."

While it was a productive night from Cayden Carter, it didn't turn out so bad for his brother Brayden who won the Sport Mod feature and doubled up on the cash earnings of his brother, topping the thirty lap finale and earning two grand for his efforts.

The Sport Mod feature was the best race of the night in my mind, with a tremendous amount of dicing for positions and more twists and turns than a cheap soap opera. The track played a part in this as well. Before both this race and the finale, the Stock Car feature, the high side was misted to try and speed up that groove. While it helped, it was also treacherous as if you ran the high side you got a big boost of speed, but get just a few inches too high and you would hit a wet spot and either slide back dramatically or perhaps, spin out.

During this race we saw that happen to several drivers including early leader Josh Foster. Carter himself, following a restart, got too high in turn one and dropped all the way back to fifth but with a tremendous effort, fought his way back into the lead and then held off the severe challenge of Johnathon Logue Jr to take the win. The top five cars races very close together for much of the race and at certain times, it appeared that any one of them had a legitimate chance to take the win. Chase Rudolf ended up third with Carter VandenBerg and Tyler Inman completing the top five. Only three cars of the starting field failed to go the distance.

Another track misting and it was time for the finale which was the whopping fifty lapper for the Stock Cars with three grand to the winner. This race saw pole sitter Abe Huls lead for nearly the first half of the race with several other drivers putting pressure on him. The tricky upper lip of the track also tripped up a few drivers in this race including Joe Zrostlik, Elijah Zevenbergen,  Luke Lemmens and Buck Schafroth who all spun at one time or another in the top lane with them triggering yellows for the loops. Those, by the way, were the only yellows of the event which otherwise went very smoothly.

Thornton Jr started eighth on the grid and gradually worked his way forward as the first half of he race saw drivers dicing for position and trying to work themselves into challenging positions without taking unnecessary risks.

While Huls worked the low groove, Thornton Jr was up the track, using the middle line and sometimes even higher in turn four to make moved and gradually work his way into a challenging spot. He gradually built up momentum and just before the halfway point of the race, he eased past Huls down the front chute and took over the lead.

It was right about this time that the track finally said "I'm pooped out and tired of all the laps on me", and started to take rubber. Thornton Jr quickly realized this and dropped to the bottom of the track with most others following him and those that tried to still work the high side found themselves charging backward. For awhile Thornton Jr was able to build up a lead using this line but his car was very tight on the bottom and he had to start really slowing down in the corners to keep it planted there and soon Huls and Johnny Spaw were catching him at a quick pace.

A key moment for Thornton Jr was after he got stuck behind a slower Shawn Ritter and the second and third place cars were knocking on his rear bumper and just about ready to try and pin him behind the slower car, that Ritter slid up the track and all three were able to get past him.

The last few laps saw Huls dogging Thornton Jr as he got right to his rear bumper and hoped for a mistake. To Abe's credit, he had the opportunity to "plant" Thornton Jr several times as Ricky was slow in the corners but even the temptation of three grand wouldn't allow Huls to break the "driver's code" of ethics and while he rode the rear bumper of Thornton Jr on the last lap, he didn't try and knock him out of the way, as many of today's NASCAR "punks" would have done. Instead, he settled for second and was able to hold his head high after the finish. Spaw was a close third with Kyle Brown and Josh Daniels completing the top five. Daniels came from sixteenth to finish in the top five.

For Thornton Jr, it was just another incredible win for the Arizona native as he just keeps on a roll, both in his Stock Car and his Modified. He reported in victory lane that the win on Wednesday was his twenty fifth of the season so far, an incredible total since we are not yet at the halfway point of the racing season with many of his wins being of the special, higher paying variety. I'm sure that next week he will be at 141 going for the ten grand there with his Modified and who knows, perhaps take the Stock Car as well if he can find someone to pull it there.

It was a very good two nights of racing at Stuart, despite the weather issues. As usual MVG and his crew were "on the money" with their organization and execution of the races and while it was a late one on Wednesday, I see no way that it could have been done any sooner, given the circumstances and number of events that they had to complete. The crowd size seemed to indicate that it was a successful event and likely will continue next year. Many people have indicated to me that they never thought that they would see the Stuart track back to the level that it is now and hosting as many special events as they have already this year. Next on the agenda of specials is the Ron Little Memorial race on July 2nd. Perhaps I will see you there. 

Dirt Duel Diverted by Damp and Dreary Circumstances

Tuesday night, June 11th, the Dynamic Drivelines Dirt Duel Stock Car Stampede kicked off at the Stuart International Speedway in Stuart Iowa. This event, featuring high purse offerings for Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks, also saw the Sport Compacts and Cruisers in action on this night.

For a number of days leading up to this race, the weather forecast was grim and did remain so as race time approached. I ran through several small showers on the way to Stuart but never any substantial rain and there was none in Stuart when I arrived. The forecasts were bouncing around more than a young child anxiously a waiting for his first appointment at the Dentist but the one that seemed most reliable indicated that we had until around 9 pm before any scattered rain would get more intense and longer lasting. And son of a gun, for once they were right as that's exactly what happened!

On the schedule for Tuesday night would be double rounds of qualifying heats for Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks and Sport Mods with passing points being harvested in each round and the totals would set the line ups for Wednesday night's action. The Sport Compacts and Cruisers were set to run a complete program also.

Despite the gloomy conditions, the race cars arrived in large numbers with the final field of cars including forty five Stock Cars, twenty nine Sport Mods, twenty one Hobby Stocks, fifteen Sport Compacts and four Cruisers. Drivers were on hand from Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri along with Hawkeye State drivers.

Holding tight to their planned schedule, hot laps started at 7 pm and just past 7:30 pm the first heat race took the green flag with the Hobby Stocks starting off the action. Despite several times when it was necessary to take a few extra laps to roll in the track, the heat races proceeded off smoothly. It would sprinkle on and off but each time they would wheel pack a little bit more and then resume the racing. They would complete the first entire round of qualifying and the Hobby Stocks would also get their second round in.

One Sport Mod heat in the second round was completed before it started to rain harder and more intense this time than at any other time during the evening. It only took a few minutes to determine that this time we wouldn't win out as the radar showed this batch of rain would last much longer and was heavier. The event was then called at this point, with the rest of second round qualifying to be completed on Wednesday, followed by the regularly scheduled Wednesday program which will also include a full program for the Modifieds. The Manufacturer's Race for the Stock Cars will also be run on Wednesday and that race looks to have two qualifiers as thirty three drivers have entered that event, which will be much like having one more feature race.

Despite the on and off sprinkles that fell throughout the heat races, the track remained in good shape and was lightning fast, resulting in some very hard fought events. The cushion was down a little lower than normal and in fact, there was a cushion which wasn't the case the last time I was here as the track held much more moisture on this night.

With passing points being paramount, the racing was very hard and there was plenty of sliding each other and more than a few "strong arm" moves to gain positions. Despite what a was large amount of action in a short period of time, there were very few cars that didn't finish their heat races and less than five yellow flags in the fifteen races completed. I must single out the Stock Cars as being especially intense with a first heat race that saw a pack of eight cars bunched up and swapping positions that saw Josh Daniels squeeze past Nick Strobbe on the high side for the win in a terrific qualifying race.

Especially intense was heat race number four that saw Ricky Thornton Jr and Luke Lemmens slam and slide each other both during the race and afterward during the "cool down" lap which was anything but cool as they took turns cutting each other off and rubbing as they headed to the pits. I can hardly wait for round two to begin.

I was shocked at how big they made the heat races for this event. Perhaps part of this was to try and get the show in and perhaps part was that they just run that many cars in each qualifying event but we saw the Hobby Stocks divided into just two heat races, the Sport Mods three and the Stock Cars were crammed into four heats, with eleven or twelve cars in each race. Put them on the tiny quarter mile at Stuart and make passing points the order of the night and you could expect nothing less than a lot of action!

The show will continue on Wednesday and while it is far too early to even establish favorites, the one thing that can be guaranteed is that there will be plenty of action and more than a few ruffled feathers before the evening is over! The Sport Compacts and Cruisers will run double features at their next regularly scheduled program to make up for their lost events on Tuesday.

Jason O'Brien On Top at Stuart

The Malvern Bank Super Late Model Series made their first ever appearance at the Stuart International Speedway on Wednesday night, June 4th along with a full program of four IMCA sanctioned divisions.

It was another gorgeous night for racing in central Iowa and perhaps all of us across the Midwest are finally going to see some warm, dry weather for a change. Another big crowd was on hand for Wednesday night's show as promoter Mike VanGenderen continues to dish up special events on a regular basis for central Iowa fans, something this facility has probably not ever seen before. But so far the fans have responded in a big way and as long as they continue to do so, MVG will continue to book these special events.

Twenty eight of the MBLM were in attendance for this midweek show as the drivers of this series do a great job of supporting its events, which of course then makes it more attractive to a prospective promoter considering booking such an event and also more attractive to the fans that might be considering making a trip to see them race. Nine of the top ten in series points currently(only missing Tyler Breuning who was likely on his way to Eldora) and sixteen of the top twenty found their way to the Stuart quarter mile on this night.

The field was split into four heat races through which the drivers earned passing points(there that passing points format is popping up again!) with the top twelve moving directly into the feature. The rest of the field was split into two B Features with the top two in each also moving on. Throw in two provisionals and the twenty car field was set.

While the Late Model main might not have reaches epic proportions in interest on this night, it was still a good race. There was not a lot of movement through the field as everyone seemed fairly even on this night and the super slick track made everyone bide their time but jump when opportunities opened up.

O'Brien did start on the pole and did the entire race but he was heavily challenged by Billy Leighton Jr who did his best to get past into the lead. with the race going nonstop, it wasn't too long into the race before the leaders hit lapped traffic and that provided the most entertainment of the event as the top two tried to wind their way through the heavy traffic.

In fact, at one point O'Brien got himself caught on the inside going down the back chute, realized his problem and shot up the track abruptly but Leighton Jr was already there and they made some contact with Leighton Jr kind up shoved up toward the rail. After that, O'Brien was able to maintain his small lead to the finish and on the cool off lap, Leighton Jr let the winner know that he didn't necessarily appreciate the tactics that were used against him. However, it is a long racing season and things do happen and the worm does turn often over the course of a long racing season.

Corey Zeitner finished third with Charlie McKenna and Ben Schaller completing the top five. McKenna had all kinds of problems keeping his car running Tuesday night in Marshalltown but whatever the issue, he had it worked out Wednesday as he looked perhaps the most competitive that I have seen in quite some time. He also rolled out his back up car and Modified driver Nick Roberts of Des Moines took his first Late Model ride. And he didn't mess around, driving hard and aggressive and finishing in the top ten in his first attempt behind the wheel of the wide tired cars. Nineteen of the twenty starters completed the race and if I had to lodge a complaint about anything, it was that the race was probably too short. Twenty five laps for two grand to win seems like it should be more like forty laps, particularly on this tiny oval where the laps clip by so far anyway.

The four classes that are the staples of this track, the Modifieds, Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks also ran a full program too. Two of the features were won with dominating performances while two came right down to the wire, literally.

The two open wheel classes saw strong individual performances control their main events. After some good early battling, Garrett Nelson moved up from the third  row to take the lead, an advantage that he would maintain the rest of the race. Kody Havens gradually came up after starting eleventh and it looked as he closed in on the leader that a battle might take place for the lead.

However, a late race yellow didn't help Havens as he got away poorly on the restart and Nelson stretched his lead out and drove home for the win. Hunter Longnecker started tenth and drove home third so there was definitely plenty of passing going on, as the ice slick track made strategy and driving in traffic rather than all out horsepower the keys to success.

In the Modifieds, it was all Matthew Meinecke as he started on the pole, drove away from the field and maintained a comfortable margin all the way to take the win. Things got off to a bad start in this race as a first corner spin on the opening lap triggered a multi car pileup and the two longest travelers for this race, Austin Kuehl and Kollin Hibdon, were both eliminated. And to make matters worse, the car that caused the yellow, because he didn't stop, was allowed to restart the race from the front row. Where is the justice?

In any event, Happy Gilman finished second while Kyle Brown, who was involved in the first lap wreck, came all the way from the tail to finish third, despite the fact that his right front tire was pointed toward Montezuma from the contact.

Earlier, the first car in the pits on this night was Kansas driver Clay Money. He was on his way to Justin Kay's shop to get some new updates on his Modified so he stopped in to race and meet up with Kay at the track. His plan is if all works well, to get back as far as Beatrice Nebraska to race on Friday night. Just like most others, he reported that rain has made his schedule of racing spotty so far this year but he does have three feature wins so far to date.

The fendered cars put on the show on Wednesday with both the Stock Car and Hobby Stock features being dandies. With only one yellow on lap two to slow the action, the Stock Cars were all over the track in their main as they jockeyed for position and sought out a line that would work for them and perhaps free them from some of the traffic which was rush hour heavy.

As the race progressed, Brandon Pruitt found himself in the lead as he hugged the low groove with Buck Schafroth dogging his every move. Buck was riding the rear bumper of Pruitt, hoping for a mistake that as the laps ran down, didn't appear like it was going to happen. Suddenly, Shawn Ritter, who had been hammering the high side without particular success, found the groove to be picking up in speed and he came thundering to the front. He was just about to pass Schafroth when Buck decided he better do something and he moved up the track slightly and suddenly we had a three wide battle for the lead.

When the white flag came out, it was anyone's race but when Pruitt slid just off the bottom coming off the final corner, Buck shot low and it was a rush to the finish with Schafroth scoring the win by inches in what was a thriller. Ritter came up short but needs to be complimented for his diligence in making the high side work.

Those that walked out early before the final event of the night, the Hobby Stock feature, was waged should be kicking themselves in the butt this am as the final race of night left the crowd wowed and was a great way to send them home.

Frankly, I have no idea how Shannon Anderson won this race. He was mired at the back of the pack and seemed to be going no where when little by little, he started to pick up the pace and moved to the top five , as there was a group of about eight cars racing for position that was dynamite. They continued to scramble for position but it was Anderson and John Watson that were making the most progress.

And this race came right down to the wire too, with the gates opening on the final lap in turn one and Anderson dove to the bottom and by the time the field hit the back chute, he was in front. It was an amazing display of patience and taking advantage of the opportunities when they appeared. Watson had to settle for second with Brandon Cox third. What a great way to end the night!

And then, to top things off, I glanced at my watch and it was three minutes past ten pm.! Wow, the second night in a row where I saw a full multi class program, topped by an extra distance feature race and the show was still done early. Congrats to MVG and his crew for doing just as good a job as Toby's crew the night before in moving through the program. Gosh, I which I could clone these two gentlemen and spread them around throughout the Midwest. They really do get it and fans should make them aware of just how much they appreciate it when they can snap off such a fast paced and entertaining show.

MVG and his crew are right back at it next week, with a two night show for the Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars and Sport Mods paying big money on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Modifieds also joining the action on Wednesday. With what we saw on this night, that show has to potential to be a wowzer too.