Whitman "Hits" for Ten Grand at 141

Thursday night, June 17th, the thirteenth annual Clash at the Creek was concluded at the 141 Speedway near Francis Creek Wisconsin. After two nights of practice and qualifying efforts, the IMCA Modifieds would be racing for a top prize of $10,000 for their fifty lap main event scheduled on Thursday. Also racing would be the IMCA Stock Cars and Sport Mods who would be running full shows again for the second straight night. 

Two straight beautiful days would be followed on Thursday by one that offered plenty of questions. Thunderstorms were the prediction for Thursday and various prognosticating agencies were predicting from anywhere from 6 pm to 9 pm for the first bursts to hit the eastern Wisconsin area. Previous to that, it would be a challenging day to prepare a race track with high temperatures, plenty of sun and very strong winds out of the South, all making it a challenge to present a race track that would be one that actual racing could take place on. 

I must give much credit to the management at 141 for their awareness of the situation and their willingness to make changes in order to provide the best opportunity for the racing to take place. Aware that Friday night was not an option should they get rained out on Thursday and the likelihood of gathering all the drivers back together at some point in the season to conclude the show a remote possibility also, they took the next best step in that they moved up the starting time of the racing and also rearranged the running order for the evening so as to provide the best chance that the "big show", the Modified feature could take place. 

As time grew near to the new starting time, the clouds began to build in the western skies and the blue skies turned an ominous gray, signaling that weather was approaching. They started the show right at 6 pm and ran the Modified qualifiers first and then slipped in a few heats of Sport Mods so they could be ready for the Last Chance race for the Mods. Stock Car heats followed by the skies were starting to leak and sprinkles grew just a bit more intense and the action was called to a halt with two Stock Car heats yet to be run. 

We caught a break when the first line of rain proved to mostly miss the track and the sprinkles let up after a short break, track prep crews were able to whip the track back into shape very quickly and the Stock Car heats immediately continued. Following this, it was right into the big race for the Modifieds with pomp and circumstance cut to a minimum in order to ensure that the feature race could be completed. 

Most of the afternoon there was much talk about what kind of shape the track would be in for the Modified feature. The track had taken much rubber during the last two nights with most of the Wednesday night heat races being conducted on "rubbered up" tracks which is not always the best for racing. Most felt that the Modified feature at extra distance would be dealing with the same issue. 

Now whether it was the cloud cover that cooled things in the late afternoon or the sprinkles that wet  the surface just two races before the main event but for whatever reason the track did not lock down for the Modified feature like many had feared. I was also told that the track prep crew did some things differently on Thursday and whether it was their efforts or a combination of circumstances, who cares but the track was good for the big show event. 

The Modified drivers that made the fifty lapper did a remarkable job as there was only one yellow flag during the fifty lap contest and that was for a slowing Peyton Taylor nine laps into the race. Other than that, it was green flag racing the rest of the way. 

There were three different leaders during the race as Jeremy Thorton got the initial jump from the outside pole and took the early lead over high point car Josh Long who had also redrawn the pole position. Thornton would only lead until lap five when Long would take over the top spot. Right behind those two, it was Johnny Whitman and Mike Mullin that were putting on the pressure. 

The whole course of the race changed following the lone yellow as on the gren, Mullen got into the rear bumper of Long and slowed his progress which gave Whitman the chance to go flying by on the outside and take over the lead. Mullin would then move into second and the race was on. 

Those two would be the story as they would have their own private battle for the lead and while Whitman would be scored the leader of every lap after, he was under the gun constantly from Mullin. At one point they exchanged slide jobs with Mullin passing but then being repassed by Whitman as they roared around the track. Both found the high side to be best in turns three and four and both would dive low in turn one, scratch for traction and then take off down the back chute and that is where the sliders took place.

Behind them, Thornton, Long and Cody Laney kind of settled in as the rest of the top five but the lead was in challenge on nearly every lap. Mullin gave it his best shot around lap forty and closed again to the rear bumper of Whitman but "The Hitman" held him off and then started to stretch his lead through the final few laps. 

Thornton had back luck on lap forty when he got sideways and nearly spun and then pulled into the infield, the victim of some sort of mechanical failure which elevated those behind him by one spot. Despite the twenty four cars on this small track, there was only one lapped car at the finish and not much traffic for the leaders to deal with as drivers seemed to pull off at the point where they were about to be lapped with the only lapped car being Justin O'Brien that Whitman successfully got past and then widened his lead. 

There would be no late race charge as Whitman was in control and he would go on to take the win with Mullin several car lengths behind at the checkered. Long would be elevated to third with the Thornton failure and Laney and Terry Phillips would complete the top five. Thirteen cars would complete the race with only one a lap in arrears. It was one of the stronger performances by the eastern Wisconsin regulars with the top three spots grabbed by local drivers. 

Once the victory lane ceremonies and the traditional "dip in the pond" in the infield at 141 was completed, the rest of the program was run off. Two B Features for both the Sport Mods and Stock Cars were quickly run off but by the time the Sport Mods took to the track for their main, it started to rain again and this time with more force. It didn't take long for the track to get too slick to run on and after waiting for a few minutes and seeing that the storm seemed to be intensifying, the program was called at this point with the feature cars in each class splitting the money. 

In retrospect, that half hour earlier starting time plus moving along rapidly the rest of the show and changing the running order may have been the salvation that allowed the main event to be completed and folks to go home satisfied rather than disappointed. The main event was more than worth the three days invested in the program and it was especially good that it would be run on a good track for racing, rather than a follow the leader type of event that some feared. 

Thanks to everyone at 141 for three good days of racing. All the track employees and the management of the track should take a bow for a job well done and the concluding night crowd was a very good one, especially so with many that left for the track being cognizant of what kind of weather conditions they might be facing but still attending. 

Anyone considering a visit to 141 should check their website for special events upcoming which do include big money specials for both the Stock Cars(that do put on a spectacular show here) and the Sport Mods.  

Gabe Zellner and Mahlik Top Qualifying Night Features at "The Clash"

 Wednesday night, June 16th brought forth the key qualifying night for the IMCA Modifieds that would be fighting it out for the ten grand top prize at the Clash at the Creek XIII at the 141 Speedway near Francis Creek Wisconsin. Along with the qualifying heats for the Modifieds, the IMCA Stock Cars and Sport Mods would both be running a full program of heats, B Features and a main event with the Stock Cars racing for fifteen hundred dollars to win and the Sport Mods a grand to the winner. 

First an update on last night's Street Stock racing event which was held along with practice for the other three classes. Unlike for a normal weekly Saturday night show where the teching of the race cars is done in the middle of the track right after the event is completed, for this special the top three cars were run up to the garage on the property and a more thorough inspection of the cars was done. This was announced at the driver's meeting so it should not have been a surprise to anyone expect I suppose, to someone too busy to attend that meeting. 

In any event, they tore the cars apart pretty good and did a lot of measuring and inspecting that isn't done on a weekly basis. And they did find gold, so to speak as both the second place cars of Cody Potter and third place finisher Shanon Guelette were found to be illegal, one for suspension issues and the other for issues that have escaped me. Winner Jesse Krahn and new second and third place finishes Eddie Anschutz and David Hoerning all passed with flying colors. And the reaction of most competitors was positive to the more thorough inspections as they felt this would "clean things up" a bit in this class. 

Now on to Wednesday night's show. The program on this night would be full shows for two classes of cars that race weekly at "The Creek" and double heat races for the Modifieds. Passing points would be tallied for the two heats and the top ten in points would automatically move on to Thursday night's fifty lap main event with everyone else going into Last Chance events. The drivers would draw for their heat race assignments in the Modifieds and then the lineup for the heats would be flipped for the second go round with the drivers racing against exactly the same cars they raced against in the first heat. There are various ways of doing this, but I think running against the same cars is probably the most fair. A couple of luminaries were among the large crowd that showed up on Wednesday including Kevin Yoder from the IMCA home office in Vinton and Joe Verdegan of Joe Verdegan.com who is doing very well with his new enterprise which involves on line blogging about various aspects of racing in the north east Wisconsin area as well as also announcing at Eagle River and WIR plus Norway Michigan on a regular basis.  

Car counts were strong in all three classes with one hundred and fifty three cars signing in to race in just the three classes. Modifieds led the way with seventy five of them on hand as a number of additional drivers showed up after not practicing the previous night. Sport Mods had forty one entrants and there were also thirty seven Stock Cars on hand with both of the later two classes fighting to be in the top twenty four that would race the main. 

Qualifying for the two support classes would be first and would go smoothly. With the one spin rule in effect, drivers knew that no matter how badly things were going, to stop on the track would mean being sent to the pits so the races progressed mostly without the yellow flag being waved as twelve full events for these two classes were completed with only four yellow flags being waved and that was for cars that were either damaged to the point they couldn't run or just would not start after a spin or other incident. 

The two feature races for the support classes would be run between the two sets of Modified heats with the Sport Mods going first. Gabe Zellner would lead all twenty laps of the main for the Sport Mods in a race that was stopped just twice with both yellows falling between laps ten and fifteen. Zellner would battle with defending track champion Randy LeMieux Jr. before pulling away as LeMieux tried the high side of the track to make a pass and that lane went away on him and he fell back and eventually would finish fourth. Gabe Zellner would be challenged by Jacob Zellner in the second half of the race but would have more than enough to hold him off for the win. Matthew Radke moved up from the third row into third position but could never make a strong run on either of the Zellners and settled for third ahead of LeMieux and Justin Green. Twenty of the starters would still be on the track at the finish. 

The Stock Car feature would go nonstop for twenty laps and pole starter Eric Mahlik would lead from start to finish. However, it would not be quite that easy as things got wild in the last couple of laps. Mahlike built up a big lead in the early going while Benji LaCrosse, who did by far the best job of passing cars in the race, worked his way up into second which was a struggle on the rubbered up, single lane track. It took him a long time to get by into second but once he did, he began to reel in Mahlik at a rapid pace. 

Meanwhile, Eric Arneson also broke free of the traffic and once he got to third, he too began to move into contention. With the track being narrow, it was also hard for the leader who caught the back of the pack with just a couple laps to go. Trying to work around a lapped car was tough with that car also hugging the lower lane where all the passing and racing was going on. 

Arneson caught the top two who were being slowed up drastically but couldn't get by the slower car. Mahlik chose to try and squeeze by on the low side as the white flag waved while LaCrosse trying to go around both the leader and slower car on the high side but got shoved up to the wall with Arneson filling the hole left by LaCrosse. At the finish Mahlik hung on for the win with Arneson edging out LaCrosse for second. Hot Rod Snellenberger and Trent Nolan would complete the top five with only two starters not on the track at the finish. 

The Modifieds would compete in fourteen heat races(each driver ran twice) with combined passing points setting the lineups for the Thursday night finale. As a rule, the races went smoothly with few yellows and even fewer crashes as there were only two cars that had to scratch out of their second go around heat. The track was showing a lot of rubber despite the efforts of the prep crew to keep moisture in it as the heat and low humidity and lack of rain in this area is showing on a track that typically is very smooth and slick to begin with and not a track to have much of a berm no matter what the circumstances. 

Each position was hard to gain and fought very hard over with local driver Josh Long being the high point accumulator for the two heats. To give an example of how hard it was to move much, he garnered the highest point total with runs of fourth to second and seventh to third in his two heats. Normally they would not be outstanding enough to gain such a lofty award but on this night they were good enough. LaCrosse made up for his disappointment in the Stock Car run by garnering second in overall points with local drivers doing very well. Others from the area that made the top ten included Shawn Kilgore, Lucas Lamberies, Johnny Whitman and Mike Mullen. The "invaders" to make the top ten were Jeremy Thorton, Cody Laney, Ethan Dotson and Kyle Brown. Everyone else in the seventy five car field must fight their way into the show on Thursday night during a Last Chance race. 

The crowd was solid on this night and they saw almost nonstop racing from just before 6:30 pm to just before 10:30 pm as the racing beat the "hard curfew" that 141 has to contend with. 

One thing I applaud 141 for is for running their biggest races as midweek special events, rather than insisting as way too many tracks do no that specials must be run on weekends and that they can't draw a crowd for a midweek special. But real promoters prove that idea wrong time after time and this way it allows drivers from far and near to race if they please and still not have to give up their home tracks and either leave them in a lurch for a week or instead miss a special event by racing for track points and the local sponsors. More tracks need to get back to the way it used to be and that was for specials to be truly special and that was by running them on nights when no one else was racing, not on weekends where they either have to "pirate" drivers away from their home tracks or run a "special" that is not so special after all. 

Krahn Takes Opening Volley at "The Clash"

 Tuesday night, June 15th was the opening night for the Clash at the Creek XIII at the 141 Speedway near Maribel and Francis Creek Wisconsin. Tuesday night's action would feature a full show for the United Street Stocks along with practice for the IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars and Sport Mods in preparation for their program which begins on Wednesday night. A surprisingly large crowd of spectators would be on hand for this opening night of three with many curious to see just who would be on hand to race for the $10,000 top prize that will be doled out to the fifty lap Modified winner on Thursday night. The Stock Cars and Sport Mods will run full programs on both Wednesday and Thursday night with the top prize raised to fifteen hundred bucks for the Stock Cars each night thanks to a local sponsor that just came on board early this week. 

This would be my first visit of the year to an eastern Wisconsin track, having spend most of the early racing season on the western side of the state along with my occasional adventures South and West to Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, the Dakotas etc. I'm hearing that racing is off to a strong start on this side of the state with good crowds in the stands and good racing across the board on both dirt and tar tracks. However, there is some indication that this might start to change shortly though as many are worried about short fields of cars being a problem as soon as the end of this month.

Something that I was not totally aware of and was brought to my attention upon arriving here is an increasingly worrisome problem about their being a tire shortage of racing tires and wheels. I'm told it truly is a concern on this side of the state and not just some trumped up issue as teams are reporting that they are having trouble getting tires and wheels, dealers are either short or totally out of stock and that there is a genuine concern that some racers are going to have to cut back on the nights they race, simply because they haven't enough tires to go around. Who would have ever thought this would be an issue but apparently despite utterances by the tire companies that they are meeting demand, something else would be much closer to the reality according to the racers. 

However, the Clash at the Creek is a very big race for the eastern Wisconsin teams and apparently so for many other drivers as the number of out of state drivers is large for this race and certainly Toby Kruse, one of the partners in 141 Speedway and of course the promoter at Marshalltown Speedway, has much to do with that. Several of the hot laps sessions conducted on Tuesday looked more like a session at a central or eastern Iowa track, not in the heart of the Dairyland. 

Tuesday night's program would consist of practice sessions that were fit around a full show of the Street Stocks so there was practice, then heat races for the Street Stocks, then more practice, then Street Stock B Features, then practice, the Street feature and then, guess what, yes, more practice. Apparently the concern about burning up tires doesn't apply to this week!

The Unified Street Stocks race at about eight tracks on the eastern and southern side of the state of Wisconsin and would fall somewhere between the Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks in the speed spectrum. They are very hard to tell from the Stock Cars although most do run a spoiler which tips them off but all run on Hoosier racing tires so they look much like the Stock Cars. This is a very popular class on this side of the state with some younger drivers looking to get experience before they move up while others are veterans of the class, racing for many years and staying right in this class. This race would be the first of their "Red, White and Blue" series for the year and the winner would pocket a grand for a twenty five lap win. 

Qualifying for the Streets would be quite aggressive but with the hard, one spin rule employed at 141, while there was plenty of banging and pushing in the six qualifying races, the yellow flag waved only once. 

However, the twenty four car (make that twenty three cars when veteran Gary Kasperek blew his motor while securing a transfer spot in a B) would get even rougher with what I would call some rather ruthless driving for the cash.

The track was quite used up by the time the Street Stocks saw it for the main event and this uniquely shaped oval generally sees the lower horsepower cars pretty much hug the lower groove of the track so most passing is by either slipping inside someone's mistake or forcing the issue and making them get off the bottom. On this night there was plenty of the later as there was so much "rooting people off the bottom" that any dentist would have been thrilled!

And it started right up front soon after pole sitter Jesse Krahn took the early lead. He was soon pushed off the bottom by Cody Potter, driving a unique looking 57 Chevy with a substantially reinforced front bumper that he knew how to use. He forced the issue and took the lead with Krahn closely following. That means in layman's terms that he was beating the heck out of Potter's rear bumper in each corner. 

Behind these two, the same kind of thing was going on repeatedly as cars were being pushed into the infield, huge ute tires were forced onto the track and the race more resembled a roller derby contest than anything else. 

Mid race Krahn paid back Potter with a blast(literally) of his own down the back chute that allowed him to shoehorn his way back into the lead. Potter tried to return the favor but Krahn drove him into one of the ute tires which rolled on to the track and triggered yellow number four. The tire was blamed for the slow down and all kept their positions. 

The last few laps saw Krahn sprint away from the field and Potter couldn't catch up to tattoo the rear bumper of Krahn, so Jesse drove on for the win with Potter settling for second with both likely promising to strap on steel plate before their next encounter. Shanon Guelette would finish third and surprisingly, despite all the goings on during the race, the low speeds of the cars keep the big crashes from happening and only three cars out of the starting field didn't see the checkered. 

Approximately twenty two Sport Mods and a dozen Stock Cars also took practice laps on Tuesday with full fields expected in both classes for their double shows upcoming this week. 

As far as the Modifieds were concerned, at least sixty cars took practice laps so it appears that Wednesday nights double heat races, where the top ten in points will lock into the fifty lapper on Thursday night, will be highly competitive. 

A sampling of who was on hand would see Iowa drivers O'Brien, Rust, Snyder, Ward, Thume, McDonald, Current, Bonine, Demey, Brown, Berry Jr and Dotson all taking laps on this night with more expected to show up on Wednesday. Also working out were P. Taylor, K. Wallace, Phillips, Hobscheid, Grabouski, Bone Larson and Jeremy Thornton among drivers from out of state so it will be a real battle between the "Cheeseheads" and the invaders when they start counting points for real on Wednesday night.  

Renegade Rains "86" 300, 141 Next

 Drivers and fans were just getting settled in for a hot night of racing on Wednesday, June 9th at the 300 Raceway near Farley Iowa when the unthinkable happened. 

Even though there was no chance of rain for the evening, a renegade rain shower of considerable force settled right over the speedway just a hot laps were starting and cut loose with full strength. With individual rain drops the size of silver dollars, the rain pelted the speedway and quickly turned the race track into  a soupy mixture and sent the water running like a river through the parking lot. 

Needless to say, the race program was cancelled due to the condition of the track and the impossibility of being able to get it into racing shape again on this night. Sadly, less than a mile East of the track, highway 20 was bone dry and never received a drop of rain and by the time I reached Peosta the sun was back out and the temperature soared. 

It was very unfortunate for the speedway to be hit with such bad luck as the car count was up from the previous Wednesday and fans were still arriving to battle the 416 degree temperatures of the evening, as "Big Boy" described them. 

The next dirt track event at the speedway will be on June 30th while a show of considerable interest will be held this coming weekend at the track when the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling Series will be on hand both June 11th and 12th. See the speedway website for more details. 

Next up on my traveling schedule is a visit to eastern Wisconsin for the Clash at the Creek XIII at the 141 Speedway near Maribel Wisconsin. $10,000 will be on the line for the IMCA Modifieds in their main event on Thursday night, preceded on Tuesday night by practice and a Street Stock feature. Modified qualifying will be held on Wednesday and a full program for both IMCA Sport Mods and Stock Cars will be held on both Wednesday and Thursday. 

A large field of Modifieds is guaranteed for this event which always draws one of the biggest fields anywhere all year and for Iowa racing fans, a chance to see many of their best drivers take on the best from America's Dairyland and other states too. Also, many Iowa drivers in the Stock Cars and Sport Mods also attend this race to get tuned up for big money races at 141 later this Summer for those two classes. More information on this event is available on the 141 Speedway website. 

Larson Holds Off Stock Car Field at Jackson Motorplex

 Tuesday night, June 8th was round number two of the Bank Midwest IMCA Series at the Jackson Motorplex in Jackson Minnesota. This would be the second of three appearances in Jackson this year for the five division IMCA program and the way the schedules worked out, they would be running rounds one and two on back to back Tuesday nights. 

The heat still raged on with race time temperature at 90 degrees under a blazing hot June Southern Minnesota sky but the hearty racers and fans were on hand to catch the racing action in all five divisions. 

The race on this night would not be the huge endeavor that opening night was last Tuesday for a couple of reasons. There is always an extra "kick" for the first time for everything as there was last week for the first midweek show at a great facility that the IMCA cars don't get the opportunity to race at very often. There has been an awful lot of racing going on over the last couple of weeks with not many tracks getting rained out and thus able to get all their shows in and even this week, it is only Tuesday night and already the drivers have had one opportunity to race this week and it looks like there will be racing every night of the week this week for those that wish to partake. However, that does put a strain on the available racers to run on any one given night and eventually everyone needs to take a night off and getting to midweek races does make it difficult for some. 

And it can't be underestimated what factor the heat wave plays in both competitor and fan participation. It is tough to work all day, especially if your job involves being out in the heat and then going back out in it all night too. Sometimes folks, whether racers or fans, just need to take a night off. 

So, last week's large field of about one hundred and thirty race cars was just around ninety on this night and the large grandstand crowd was somewhat more modest on this night but racing would still take place, there were still plenty of good cars to put on a show and as the night played out, four of the five contested main events saw either late race passed for the wins or other lead changes right at the end. 

This week the special emphasis was put on the Stock Car class as the featured division. Above and beyond the basis purse, a number of businesses contributed money in a "Back Row" bonus fund for this class with anyone making the redraw, which on this night would be the top twelve in heat races, would be eligible for the "Back Row" bonus. No up to $2,100 , there were still no takers on this night as the fund continues to grow with hopefully someone to try it for the last Summer Series race to be held next month. 

Sport Compacts ran one heat race, Hobby Stocks three , Sport Mods and Mods two heats and the Stock Cars ran off four qualifying events. With one event taking the green almost before the previous one could leave the track and only four yellows in total, the sixteen qualifying races would be run off in sixty two minutes flat. After a very brief break to work on the track, the first feature race of the night would take to the oval.

One wonders why they even bother racing the Sport Compacts in this area. Just about every track that I go to in this general area, whether either North of South of the Minnesota Iowa border has just a hanful of cars and never it seems even enough for more than one heat race. The cars that do race seem like they run eight nights per week but there never seem to be any new additions or the number never seems to grow so whatever the basis for having this class seems to have gotten lost long ago. 

On this night there were seven of them with Kaytee DeVries taking the lead at the start and staying up front throughout the event. However, a lost wheel in turn four by Jaedon Erickson brought out the yellow and even though all the cars had taken the white flag and were coming around for the checkered, the race was restarted and two more laps would be run. Frankly, I think the checkered flag should have been waved and there are a number of tracks that would have done just that. 

The restart proved fatal for Kaytee as she got a very poor start and fell back to third as Marschall Robinson took over the lead and would take the win. DeVries fought her way back up to second but couldn't catch the leader and Nate Coopman made a last lap charge up to third. 

Eighteen Hobby Stocks would take the green for their main event with Keeran Sampson coming right off the pole to take the early lead. However, at least the top five and perhaps more were running in a wild clump of cars and going three or more wide as they battled for the lead. Blake Arends, running strongly for the second straight night, would take over the lead at this point but all eyes were on Cory Probst who had started tenth but was moving up quickly. 

A spin on lap four bunched up the field and when Josh Sidles jumped the start and triggered another yellow that saw him moved back a row for the restart, this moved Probst up to the second row where he would ride the rear bumper of Arends. Lap after lap he would make a passing attempt, only to see Arends fight him off.

Finally, coming off turn four on lap eleven, Probst would move to the outside of the leader and make a great power move as he passed on the high side and once out in front, pulled away the last couple of laps. Probst would drive on for the win with Arends finishing second and Sidles clawing his way back up to third at the finish. 

Seventeen Sport Mods would take the green flag for their feature with Jacob Tacheny taking the early lead. As he continued to show the way, there was some mad scrambling going on behind him with Matt Looft finding the openings to move up from the third row to second by lap five when the first yellow flew for a minor spin. Looft would then put the pressure on and two laps later he would drive into the lead. Once in front, he pulled away and this race seemed to be settled. 

However, things turn suddenly on a race track and on lap twelve, with a seemingly comfortable lead, suddenly Looft saw a bright red light on his dashboard, he lost all power and he was dead in the water coming down the front chute. There were several near misses but everyone was able to avoid the slowing leader as the yellow flew once again. 

Colby Fett, who had put on his own drive from seventh up to second, inherited the lead at this point as Looft was done and he would go on to take the win, leading the last four laps and holding off Christian Sylvester and Nick Johansen for the win. 

The only feature race to not either see a late race pass or exchange of the top spot was the Modified class. However, with Brandon Beckendorf on the outside pole, this race would end predictably with the Danube racer comfortably out in front and no surprise change of positions late. Beckendorf would pull away early as Don Gerritsen, Dan Menk and Dalton Magers would fight hard for positions behind him. Bob Moore was also on the move as he pulled in to battle Zack Dockter for a top five spot too. 

A late yellow for a Chris Abelsen spin bunched the field but the final three lap dash saw no great change of positions as Beckendorf would drive on for the win with Gerritsen, Moore, Magers and Dockter rounding out the top five. 

The Stock Car feature was billed as the main event and they would battle it out all the way for the win, although this race was riddled with twice the yellow flags as any of the other mains and even included a red flag when Kevin Luebben went for a flip in turn three on lap seventeen. Fortunately he was OK but three cars were pretty torn up in this incident. 

Jeff Larson would lead the opening lap and indeed, would also be leading when the checkered flag flew but a lot happened during those twenty laps that made the win much harder than it would appear. In the early going he was receiving heavy pressure from McCain Jennings, Ryan Bjerkset, Austin Jahnz and Kelly Shryock. Colton Arends slowed early with a flat tire and that bunched the field.

Larson would still lead as he guarded the low groove but coming up was Shryock until the crowd's interest was redirected to Derek Green as the Granada driver moved to the cushion and really started to gain ground. The one two corner was excellent for gaining speed while the other end of the track was just for maintaining but Green was making it work as he drove forward. 

He was particularly scintillating when he dove under Shryock, crossed him over and then went high into turn one to attack Larson. On lap eleven he completed his charge as he drove past Larson to take over the lead and got the biggest cheers of the night from the crowd after his hard work and daring was rewarded. 

However, the outside line was tenuous and between that groove starting to wear out and perhaps Green overheating his tires, his lead lasted only one lap before Larson made a strong push on the inside again and edged back into the lead. 

The Luebben flip set up a three lap sprint to the finish and surprisingly, Green opted to follow Larson on the inside of the track, trying to sneak under him but Larson had the lower line nailed. Finally, on the final lap Green would again shoot to the outside but the magic wouldn't be there a second time and Larson would continue to drive on for the win with Green settling for second and Shryock third. With a few less yellows to break the momentum this race would have been a classic but was very good nevertheless. 

With no dust and a raceable track, this was a good night of racing despite the very warm temperatures. They do not have a great sense of urgency to start the programs here, I have noticed. They take their time waiting to run in the track and then hot lap all classes which probably could be done without , particularly when keeping the track in shape is a challenge for sure. However, when they start racing there are few tracks that can say they run off a quicker program than here at Jackson. Tonight the final checkered flag flew before 10:30 pm and would have been even earlier if not for a rather lengthy Stock Car feature caused by the red flag. 

Thanks to event promoter Jon McCorkell, the Jackson Motorplex staff and all the officials and a special "shout out" to starter Nate Peterson who does an admirable job waving the flags and directing the show.   

Chris Abelson Tops Clay County Fair Speedway Opener

 Monday night, June 7th marked the opening race for the 2021 season for the Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer Iowa. Nestled on the  grounds of what is known as the biggest county fair in the state of Iowa(and I might say also much larger than many of the state fair grounds I have seen) Spencer will again in 2021 operate under a specials only format. With so many race tracks compressed in a relatively small area, the folks here have found that running a relatively short season that is filled with special events only works much better for them. And perhaps surprisingly so, they have found that Mondays work well for them although this year they will be running two Monday night shows, one Tuesday and one Wednesday and then on Tuesday and Wednesday during the Clay County Fair in September. The first four shows feature the five popular classes that run at virtually every track in this area while in September they bring in Sprint Cars and Late Models for one show before wrapping up the season with their basic five class show once again. 

Since they first experimented with Monday night shows several years ago amid a time of struggle when they were having trouble getting fans and racers on a regular basis, the Monday night approach has worked well for them and again on this night, despite us being in the middle of the year's first heat wave, a fine field of racers and a good crowd of spectators(albeit noticed that more were sitting under the roof and not in the open bleachers on this night), were on hand for the opener here. 

One hundred and nine race cars and fine group of fans were on hand for the opener. Racing on Mondays(or for that matter on any week night) does provide some extra challenges. Being a Monday, many of the spectators arrive at about the same time after they get off work and most arrive hungry so the concessions area has to be ready for them and they have to serve their customers in a quick fashion.

Much the same way, the vast majority of the racers all arrive at the same time so track officials must be ready to get them signed in and to their parking spots quickly to keep a long line from forming and allow them to start on time. Hot laps must be a little bit later than for a normal show to make sure everyone is allowed time to get to the track but the show must be run off at perhaps an even quicker pace than for most weekly programs because it is essential, perhaps the most important part of the whole evening, to get the show done early and quickly so everyone can get home and ready for work on Tuesday. This item, if it slips away from them, will be the one thing that will keep more racers and fans from attending than anything else. So, once they start, it is a race within a race to get the show moving, keep it moving and get it done at a reasonable time. 

And for the most part, they do a really good job of doing that here at Spencer. They do hot lap all classes which is something I might consider changing, if for no other reason than to allow the show to begin a bit sooner and in this heat to save the race track a bit. However, on this night the first heat took the green at 7:35 pm and all fifteen qualifying events were completed in just sixty one minutes. Race time temperature, by the way, was 91 degrees with a blazing sun beating down. 

Most significant of the events during the qualifying heats were the wild rides taken by Stock Car driver Elijah Zevenbergen and Sport Compact driver Dan Chinn. Chinn was directed off the first turn where he flew over the banking and hit the wall that borders the facility on the East end of the grounds. He would be done for the night. Elijah would be redirected off the other end of the track during his heat and he flew past the barns and into the pit area at high speed, fortunately not hitting anything(at least that is the assumption as the race wasn't stopped and we couldn't see where he ended up). He did return to start twenty seventh in the Stock Car feature but was a DNF in that event. 

Except for the Sport Compacts, all the other features pay exactly the same purse to each class, something that they started during here several years ago and has been highly popular and certainly has in part led to the large fields of cars they get for their midweek shows. This trick has been now used by other tracks and to come up with a new concept that others copy is always a strong form of flattery. 

A very brief break to do some track prep was taken but it was very short and soon the /Sport Mod feature was being lined up. With no B Features, some large fields of cars would take the green for their main events. The one down side to Spencer is that they have no scoreboard so it is impossible to know during races just how many laps are being run and just where they are in each event. I suppose that track announcer Chad Meyer does mention that but in another down side for Spencer, under the roof where I sit it is impossible to hear Mr. Meyer too so whatever nuggets of humor or wisdom he imparts are lost on most of us. 

Twenty eight Sport Mods would take the green for their main event with it being a two car race between Jared Boumeester and Alec Fett. Boumeester would lead from the pole and would be in front for most of the event. However, he had to pause when he came up on a couple of lapped cars and he lost his momentum and Fett blew past him to take over the lead. 

With momentum being such a big item on this big track and the two front runners being so equal, once in front it was impossible for Boumeester to return the favor and he had to settle for second behind Fett. Geoff Olson ran a strong third in a race that had only two yellows. 

The Modified feature was a "walk over" for Chris Abelson who started on the front row and led the entire distance. With this race going green to checkered, there would be no challenges against Abelson who would win by nearly a full straightaway over the field. Cody Thompson would get past Brandon Beckendorf late in the race for second and Kelly Shryock would come from eleventh to finish fourth. 

A huge field of twenty nine Stock Cars would take the green flag for their main event but this would be the one race that had its issues as the yellow flew six times during this race as they found it tough to make many consecutive laps in a row without the yellow being waved. Through this all, it would be veteran racer Randy Brands that would hold the point. He made a strong move up from the third to get past Justin Luinenburg and Colton Arends to take the lead and once in front, despite heavy pressure he refused to yield the lead. 

There was quite a battle for second with much swapping of positions before Jeff Larson secured second and he would be the one that would continually challenge Brands for the top spot but although he was right with Brands, he couldn't find a way by. 

Special notice should go out to Derek Green who triggered the first yellow of the race with a rare spin and went to the back of the field. On the final corner of the feature, he would go to the top side of the track and pass David Smith and Shryock to get the third place awards. 

As is usually the case here, the Sport Compacts always have a teeny field of cars and thus run a teeny length feature race. Monday night the seven on hand went six laps and it was Jaedon Erickson who held off the challenges of Jade Lange and Kaytee Devries. At least that's what is seemed as Erickson took the trophy and the winner's interview. 

However, as the show was completed, Lange would return to get an interview after the fact and My Race Pass would show that Erickson got disqualified for some sort of malfeasance that was not identified to us. 

Twenty four Hobby Stocks would wrap up the evening  and this would also prove to be a two car battle all the way for the win. Josh Sidles would take the lead right from the pole and lead the early laps. He was guarding the bottom lane of the track and after Cory Probst moved into second, he would do more of the same. 

The track was getting tired and the inside lane was the place to be so the leaders lined up single file, hoping for a mistake. And that would happen, although not the fault of the leader. A car near the back of the pack blew a radiator hose, watering down a lane on the track as it headed to the infield. The race stayed under the green but unfortunately, Sidles got his right side tires in the water and slid up the track, opening the door for Probst who said "thank you" as he drove by on the bottom to take the lead. 

Sidles then tucked in behind the leader but Probst was able to put some distance on him as he pulled away for the win. A sterling drive was made by Blake Arends who started nineteenth and drove past Drew Barglof in the late laps to take third with only two yellows to help him out. 

The final checkered flag waved before 10:30 pm and it would have been even earlier if the Stock Cars hadn't had such a tough time of it Monday. They very much succeeded in their efforts to run off a quick show and get everyone on their way home early. Thanks go out to race promoter Trent Chinn and all the workers at the track and employees of the Clay County Fair. It was another hot night and a tough one to keep moisture in the track but they worked hard and for the first race of the year under difficult conditions, I thought they did a fine job.   

Spaw and Bauer Post Late Race Passes for 300 Speedway Wins

 Exit 300 was the place to be on Wednesday night, June 2. Not just the exit but more specifically at the 300 Speedway located at exit 300 off highway 20 in Farley Iowa. It was the second of their Wide Open Wednesday series for the IMCA classes and featured once again on this night were the Late Models, Modifieds, Stock Cars and Sport Mods. The four class program is designed to knock off a quick program and get folks on their way home at an early hour and for the second straight time in this series, that's exactly what they did. 

On a spectacular night for racing, the first heat would start just a few minutes after 7 pm and the final checkered would wave well before 9 pm, making the whole show a less than two hour entertainment event. 

The race track was significantly different than when I was here for the opener a couple of weeks ago. At least three hard days worth of work were put into the track to fix things up after the weather fighting Lucas Oil race was held here recently. Instead of a heavy, "hammer down", high speed track, they had produced a smooth and slick, top to bottom track that put a premium on handling and driving skills and not so much on raw horsepower and nerve and reminded me much more of the tracks that I see back at home. 

The drivers seemed to like the change although we only heard from the winners on their views and after a victory the winning driver likely wouldn't care if the track surface was composed of 90% horse manure! However, to my untrained eyes, it seemed to race better Wednesday rather than the heavy track did and was probably not as hard on the racing equipment although those drivers that took a ride into the concrete may have begged to differ. After just a little dust during hot laps, they sprinkled the surface a couple of times and it was fine after that . 

The most obvious and startling development noted early was the disappointing turnout of race cars for Wide Open Wednesday, part two. Two of the classes needed only a single heat race while the other two two ran two heats. A total of thirty six race cars were on hand in the four classes. I must admit I don't remember the last time I was down to a race in the Hawkeye state and ran into a field of cars that was so small. As the time got closer to the scheduled starting time and just no more race cars were showing up, I got more and more nervous. When they called for the driver's meeting I was half expecting an announcement that they were going to call the show, given the fact that there weren't many more fans in the stands than there were cars in the pits. Fortunately, this did not happen thanks to management and the show proceeded on just as scheduled. And also to their credit they resisted the inclination to make the show feel bigger by dragging things out and instead ran off a very crisp program that saw the heats completed in thirty two minutes, followed by a very brief break before Big Boy was calling for the Stock Cars to line up for their feature event. 

My thought was that despite the fact that it was a beautiful night for racing, the fact that this was a Wednesday right after a long holiday weekend probably made it not the best of dates, something management will probably look at when they set next year's schedule. 

However, despite a short field of cars, the drivers went about their business just fine thank you, and put on four good feature races. Interestingly, three of the winners on this night were also winners on opening night with only the Modified class producing a new victor. That doesn't mean, however, that all the wins came easy. In fact, two of the mains were locked up with late race passes including one that saw the decision swayed on a daring last lap pass. 

The Stock Cars would run their main first. Scheduled for twelve laps, a decision was made at some point to up the laps to fifteen for their main event which I thought was a very good move. I thought their twelve lap main for Wide Open Wednesday number one was too short and it would have been tonight too, so the increase in laps was a good choice. 

Tom Schmitt was the early leader of the race while opening night winner Johnny Spaw was moving forward after starting fifth on the grid. He moved up behind Schmitt and looked for a way past the leader. A yellow at the halfway point set up the winning pass. Spaw dogged Schmitt following the restart and showing great speed, beat him down the front chute and pulled up past him into turn one. After that Spaw sped away and opened up his lead over the last few laps. Jason Doyle would finish third. 

It would be a tough night for Stock Car driver  Chase Zaruba. He would hammer the wall in the heat race but through some hard work they got the car ready for the main event. However, things went from bad to worse when he would contact the concrete even harder in the main and end his night. 

The Modified feature would find the first new winner of the night as Timmy Current would lead all twenty laps of the feature after starting on the outside pole. After Current took the early lead, a great three wide battle for second saw Eric Pollard, Bone Larson and Jeff Aikey fight for position with them exchanging lanes on the track as they fought it out. Eventually Larson would secure the spot and take off after Current with Aikey moving into third. 

A lap twelve yellow would bunch the field and on the green, Aikey would take over second and take off after Current. However, the co-promoter with Ryan Duhme of special events would be up to the challenge. I'm not sure if Current is "Dark" or "Side" but on this night he was definitely "gone" as Aikey couldn't close the gap at all and Current drove on for the win. 

The race of the night would be the Sport Modified feature where a last lap, very bold outside pass would secure the win for Troy Bauer. Justin Becker would lead the opening lap of the main before being passed by Jason Roth. However, one lap later and Becker was back in front. 

He continued to lead as Bauer moving into second and started to put the pressure on. Troy tried both high and low and while he was able to get close, he couldn't quite get past Becker for the lead. A lap ten yellow for a spin set up a five lap sprint to the finish. 

Again Bauer would try low and high but Becker was in the groove and not anxious to yield the lead. As they came off turn four to receive the white flag Bauer tried a very daring move as he went high up against the wall near "no man's land." The dust went flying but somehow Bauer kept his car off the wall and the momentum up and he squeezed past Becker up against the concrete and would extent his advantage on the last lap for the win. And in fact, Becker would try so hard to get the lead back that he would slip out of the groove and Roth would sneak past him for second. Bauer, who seems to have more fans here than anyone, as a rightfully so very happy winner. He became another of the back to back winners and in victory lane pointed out the fine shape the track was in and implored more drivers to join the field for the next event. 

The finale was the Late Model feature and the nonstop twenty five lapper would be all Matt Ryan. He starred on the outside pole as the Late Models were still using the draw/redraw for their starting positions on this week and he benefitted, despite the fact that he won the last  race here. Ryan built up a big lead and when Justin Kay got past Pollard for second, he was about twenty car lengths behind with less than five laps to go. However, the track was taking rubber at this point and while Ryan was struggling in the corners, Kay was bolted and he cut the lead to two car lengths when Ryan took the checkered. However, catching some one and passing them are two different things and Ryan remains unbeaten. 

The next Wide Open Wednesday event at 300 Raceway comes up quickly as they will again be racing next Wednesday night at 7 pm. Hopefully the word will get out this week and both the car count and folks in the stands will be increased over this night. 

Thanks to the folks at 300 for a good night of racing that was conducted in a very prompt manner, something appreciated by myself and all those others that sees Thursday morning come up quickly.