VanderWal Tops List of Impressive Winners at Osky Opener

 Once delayed by cold and wet conditions, the 2021 season opener at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa took place on Wednesday night, April 28th. And it proved to be a challenging endeavor to get this program in also as a couple of showers hit the Osky area during the day and there was even another delay during the program but when all was said and done, the program was completed and  it was not a real late night either, even with that delay. 

If I had checked the weather forecast more thoroughly, I might have not even been down in southern Iowa of this night as I was assuming that the chance of showers was only later in the night. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the radar midmorning as I was traveling as saw bright red heading apparently directly toward Osky! Well, they survived that onslaught with the worst missing the Fairgrounds, and yet another later in the afternoon which saw it really rain up toward Pella but just a few drops in Osky. I was told later that South of town it really came down too but fortunately for those of us wanting to see racing, the area of Osky was mostly missed. 

The "Mahaska County Monster half mile" at the Fairgrounds in Osky was in great shape for the opener with it being smooth and fast. And the little spritz of rain during the heats, not even worthy of being called a shower; while it delayed things by about a half hour, it made for an even better track on this cool but humid night. 

Five classes are racing again here this year at Osky, all unsanctioned, with a tops of sixteen in the Sport Compacts to a low of seven in the nonwinged Sprints with only that class running a single heat. All others had two heats and a feature as a part of the overall program. 

Two legs of the three legged stool that work many of the races in Iowa were on hand for the opening night show. Jerry Mackey was calling the action again here as he has done at so many Iowa tracks over the years. Jerry is a little hobbled up these days with a bad back and it was painful to watch him clamber down from the tower to interview the feature winners. Perhaps you'll have to have them come up to the tower to visit you until you're back up to speed. Jerry is working Osky and CJ this year with plans to get out and visit other tracks after being tied done to the same tracks for so many years. 

Kevin Feller is again the Head Scorer as he continues his hectic schedule that sees him working CJ, Osky and East Moline as well as running the show at Maquoketa on Saturday nights. 

The third leg of the stool, Doug Haack, was out sick on this opening night and was replaced by veteran stick waver Ronnie Potts. I believe Doug is working Dubuque, Maquoketa, CJ and Osky this year. And for those that attend Osky regularly, the "Junior Flagman" who always stations himself in the front row just to the right of the flagman was back again. I believe he's been there as long as most of the other officials and certainly through several different promoters!

Qualifying heats were completed very quickly minus the rain delay and in fact there was not a single yellow flag waved during all the heat races and in total just five for the whole program! With this show being the only midweek attraction, the Positively Racing.com crew was on board in full force with the Eisele's , Jeff and Barry Johnson all in the house so rather than repeat the blow by blow account of the features, I'll just summarize the action. 

While three of the five feature races were led wire to wire, only the Sprint feature was a true runaway as the other two still saw some close racing action. While Billy Cain led from start to finish in the Sport Compact main, a late yellow really bunched up the field and gave him much to worry about. Clayton Webster, who started in the fourth row in his very plain looking #15, raced up to third and when Lewie Winkleman spun exiting turn two on the final lap, a yellow waved and it was decided that the last two laps would be repeated. Webster was very slow on the restarts but once he got going he was very fast and he nearly caught Cain who held on for the win. A good case could have been made for checkering the race when the yellow waved as it seemed all cars had taken the white flag, but unlike many tracks down here that operate that way, they instead dialed it back to rerun the last two laps which nearly caused a pickle for Cain but he was able to hold on. 

Rick VanDusseldorp also led from start to finish in the Hobby Stock feature but this also was anything but a runaway. He had Keaton Gordon literally beating on his rear quarter panel on several occasions as Gordon tried disparately to make a pass for the lead. But Gordon was just a part of a three headed monster of Dustin Griffiths and Brad Stephens that were all trading positions as they tried to take over the lead. 

That tricky spot off turn two changed things up on lap eleven when Gordon got loose and Stephens got into the grass and spun, triggering a yellow. Stephens went to the back and Gordon pitted with a hot engine which left Griffiths to try and take down VanDusseldorp but the "flying Dutchman", one of many that race at this track, held on for the win. 

The third green to checkered winner was in the nonwinged Sprints where Jonathan Hughes ran away from the pack, just as he has almost since the beginning that this class was added here. While his top speed, as measured by the Mahaska County Sherriff's Department at 118 mph was impressive, the level of the competition was not and hasn't been on those occasions that I have been at Osky as runaway wins seem to be the norm here. Granted, the Sprints get paid the same as the Sport Compacts which probably doesn't stir many to come, but the nearness of Osky to the Sprint Car capital of the county in Knoxville hasn't seemed to translate to success for this class. 

Without a doubt, the most impressive run of the night was made by defending Sport Mod track champion Curtis VanderWal who came from the third row to score a late race win over Logan Anderson. Anderson made a lap two pass on leader Blaine Webster and built up a fairly sizable lead in the race that ran off nonstop. 

However, VanderWal showed great speed as he caught and passed Webster and then began to close on Anderson with Webster hanging right with him. Anderson is no slouch but VanderWal reeled in the leader and with a scintillating move down the front chute on lap thirteen, blew to the inside of the leader and somehow kept his car off the outer barrier and then pulled away for a spectacular win while Anderson held off Webster for second. 

Griffiths, running double duty as usual, was the early leader of the Stock Car feature and setting a good pace until he got caught by Derrick Agee. They had a great battle for the lead with Agee finally getting to the inside of Griffiths down the back chute and then running him up into the slop where he took over the lead. 

Griffiths seemed inspired by that move as he seemed to pick up the pace and rather than Agee pulling away, Griffiths was right back knocking on his door looking for the lead. Griffiths tried very hard the rest of the way, throwing his car hard into the corners and while he got close, he just couldn't quite get back around Agee for the lead. And to his credit, while he was driving very, very hard, I did not see any contact in the late race battle. Donnie Pearson would finish third. 

While we would like to see a few more cars in action on Wednesday and who knows, the weather certainly could have scared off a few, we did see some very good racing action on a high speed but smooth track with zero dust. The program was run off efficiently, as it needs to be to make a successful midweek show and the folks on hand spectating seemed more than pleased with the show, as was I.  Lots of very friendly folks in charge of putting on this program and thanks to all of them for their efforts.  

 

Wauters, Larson and Ryan Complete Mammoth Weekends at East Moline Speedway

 After early morning weather forecasts misled me, I came out of a restaurant in Waterloo Iowa just after the Noon hour to find it raining with a few ice balls mixed in for fun. Suddenly my plans, that previously were etched in stone, or so I thought, suddenly turned into the consistency of "silly putty" and I was in scrambling mode to check the weather radar and forecasts and try to figure out just which way I should be heading if I wanted to see racing on Sunday night, April 25th. 

Based on my largely unscientific method and a gut feeling, my decision was to head to the East Moline Speedway for their opening night program for the 2021 racing season. As it turned out, one of my other options did indeed race and I was happy for them but I was also happy for my decision as I saw a good show at a track that I haven't been to for awhile while getting to visit briefly with a Hall of Famer and a few other drivers and workers at this track. 

This would be the sixty second opener for East Moline that has raced under several different names over the years as the promoters have changed. My first recollections of this track are in the days when Bobby Toland was running the show here and this was a wild, brawling, packed house,  Sunday night beer fest that always made me wonder how do all these hungover people get to work on Monday morning?

Now for 2021, Jeff Peterson, part of the former promotional team here, is the promoter of record with Bret Sievertson the Track Manager. They are running seven classes of cars if you count the Mod Lites but for my purposes It was a six class show. IMCA sanctioned Late Models, Modifieds, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks race weekly long with Sport Compacts that I believe to not be sanctioned and a Street Stock class which is a combination of the local Street class that has raced in the Quad Cities for years and UMP Street Stocks as there were a couple of them racing with the Streets along with a couple cars that appeared to be IMCA Stock Cars. I am every happy they went back to the old name for the track, East Moline Speedway. 

And if Benton County Speedway is called "The Bullring", which I think is a fair description of that track, then East Moline should be called "the place where fighter planes come to race inside a gymnasium" as everything is tight and action packed with walls all the way around the track that are frequently used as bank boards, the big grandstand dwarfing over the track and everything up close and personal. It's a fun track to attend and a challenge for the drivers. 

This would be a chance for me to visit briefly with Gary Webb, who has been frequenting this track for most of the fifty years that he has been in racing. He would be debuting a new Kryptonite Late Model on this night and would later lead some laps of the feature and finish a strong second. He is very pleased with the video tribute that is circulating the internet that was done for him by his son William and daughter-in-law and proud of the job they did on it. 

I also talked briefly with Andy Nezworski who is originally from my part of the world and will be racing in both the Late Model and Modified class here at East Moline. 

I've gotten to know Daniel Wauters over the years by visiting with him at various tracks after we first spoke a number of years ago at Maquoketa after I asked him some questions on his Hobby Stock. That was when he was just getting started in the sport and now he has grown into one of the best around in that class. In fact, he told me he was going for a weekend sweep at East Moline, having won features on both Friday and Saturday night at other tracks. Later he would get that clean sweep. Kevin Feller from Maquoketa and Peterson have instituted some bonuses for drivers if they do well back to back at neighboring tracks Maquoketa and East Moline and Wauters would be one that would dip into the extra cash later. 

Eighty six cars would be in competition in the six classes on this night and to help move things along, greatly important on a Sunday, the one spin rule would be in effect and with few slowdowns in the heats, all fourteen of them would be done by 7:30 and then shortly after, the feature events would roll out. They also did a fine job getting the show started on time which is always a trick on opening night but they were within a scant few minutes of matching their advertised time. 

It was interesting to watch the track on Sunday as it changed several times. Early on it seemed to be fastest right up on the cushion but then after some water was applied post heats, the inside line appeared to be the way to go. It would be up to Bone Larson, who hammers the cushion whether there is one or not, to find the high side for the second time and then the drivers were working the whole track after that. 

Street Stocks ran their feature first and it would be Indiana visitor Michael Clark who would lead from start to finish in this race, he apparently running his UMP Street. He was hugging the inside line and would hold off Zach Zuberbier to take the win. One time, Zuberbier got by but a yellow nullified the pass and after that, Clark hugged the bottom and made no mistakes. Zuberbier deserves credit for racing the leader clean as he has several opportunities to put the NASCAR "horn" on Clark but he chose not to do so. Kyle Anderson, another UMP car, finished third. 

The Hobby Stock field, a relatively new class to this track, was small on opening night which disappointed Wauters but not so much so that he didn't still want the win. Andrew Burk would lead lap one but Wauters blew past him on the outside one lap later and would lead the rest of the race which went green to checkered after an opening lap spin. Wauters would get the win and give him three for the weekend which was the first time he has ever accomplished such a feat. 

The Sport Mods had a nice field of cars and visitor Cam Reimers, who I have seen race many times in central Iowa, would lead from start to finish to get the win. This race would only be stopped twice for the yellow and Reimers had his hands full with about four other drivers that were swarming around him. The most persistent challengers were Trey Grimm and C.J. Durbin however Ben Chapman, on hand after Benton County rained out, moved into the top five and was still moving forward when he and Durbin got together with Chapman the loser with a flat tire. 

Reimers would go on to hold off the challenges with Cody Calam, who loved racing up against the wall, making a late run for second while the big charger was young Logan Veloz who came from twelfth to finish third. 

The biggest field of car was in the Modified class but it was all Bone Larson for this win. The Mods were tending to hug the bottom lane early but Larson would have none of that as he went to the cushion, just like he had done in the heat race and despite showering the place with sparks off his right rear from time to time, he quickly marched to the front. Brandt Cole took the early lead off the pole with Tim Hamburg chasing him while Larson started his march to the front after starting eighth. Four laps of working the high side and the lead would be his. 

The biggest grinder of the night saw Hamburg get turned in turn one and several other cars piled into him ending the evening for Hamburg, Doug Lenth and Chris Lawrence. Meanwhile, following every yellow Larson would head for the cushion once again and there would be no challenging him as he drove on for the win. It was also his third win of the weekend with victories secured in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois by Larson. A late charge saw Eric Barnes edge Durbin for second at the line. 

Gary Webb would use the high side to take the early lead in the Late Model feature race but Matt Ryan quickly moved up after starting in the third row. Webb couldn't hold off Ryan who was working the low side of the track. Eventually Webb gave up on the top and joined Ryan racing the low side and while he could stay with Matt, he couldn't challenge him. Ryan wrapped up a nice weekend too as he won at 34 Raceway on Saturday night. Chuck Hanna would finish third. 

The Sport Compacts really get around this banked track and with a large field, they put on an entertaining main event. Norm Marcov would lead the first two laps before Cyle Hawkins would come flying up from the third row to take the lead. Hawkins had plenty of company as Nick Johnson and then Dustin Begyn challenged him. Begyn was particularly quick and he got to the rear bumper of Hawkins but just couldn't quite get by.

Begyn tried both high and low but he just couldn't make the pass. He also played it clean as with a well placed bump he easily could have displaced the front runner but he , while looking for an opening, was satisfied to settle for second when he couldn't find a hole to make a pass. Tommy Skaggs would come from tenth to finish third. 

All racing was finished before 10 pm and it was a good opening night for the track. The crowd was decent on a night that still was plenty cold as the darn wind just won't settle down. The track, perhaps benefiting from the practice sessions they have been able to have, stayed good throughout the night with no big bumps or ruts and little dust too. Thanks to everyone at East Moline for providing an entertaining night of racing and keeping the rain away too!

Chris Simpson Dominates at Independence

 When the temperature is only in the thirties and snow flurries are swirling around outside, it is definitely not a good day for dirt track racing. That was the situation I was contending with at home and virtually every race track was calling off their shows for Saturday April 24th  after many others were rained out on Friday. 

So, I had to go to plan B which was a good alternative for me anyway. In the Hawkeye state, most tracks were racing even though it was going to be a cold, cold night and likely none would make any money as they knew that only the hearty fans would come out on a miserable night like what was on tap. But this gave me the chance to attend the races at the Independence Motor Speedway at the Buchanan County Fairgrounds in Independence, a double bonus for me as not only would I get to see a race on Saturday but it would be at one of the tracks that has always been a personal favorite for me. 

I like just about everything about Independence. The grandstand gives one of the best views of the racing of any venue around, the lighting is spectacular, I like the size and shape of the track and it always seems to race well. In short, there is nothing about the track that keeps me from coming every chance that I get. 

So I made a quick phone call to Justin Temeyer just to confirm that everything was on and set off on my approximately five hour drive on two lane highways, winding my way down toward Northeast Iowa. The pits were open and the first race cars had just arrived when I got there and son of a gun, who would pull in right next to me in the parking lot but the famous Ryan Clark, making a rare visit for him to Independence himself. We have been running into each other quite often this Spring and that is a good thing. Plus Ryan knows everyone at every track and that is always helpful. 

On tap for Saturday was a full show in all the classes that race at Independence plus it was a special for the Modifieds with bonus money from fine supporters raising the top prize to twelve hundred bucks to win, nice money for a twenty lap main event. 

Full fields of cars were on hand in all classes except for the Late Models which so far have really been hurting with there not being enough of them to field two heat races. Obviously this is not a good situation with hopefully more cars in this class getting on the track soon as short fields like this tend to force promoters to make some hard decisions. With Independence having a long history of producing some of the best Late Model racers around, it would be a shame to see that all go away. 

Stock Cars, Mods and Sport Compacts needed three heats on this night along with duo heats for the other classes before it was time to go feature racing. A short break was taken after the heats to work on the three and four corner which was a little bit choppy with that work seeming to help quite a bit. It was interesting how the fast lane changed after the heats to. Early on their was quite a cushion and everyone was running around the bowl but come feature time the track really slicked up from top to bottom and the drivers were all over the track with the low groove really coming alive. 

The Modifieds were the featured event on this night and twenty five of them would take the green flag for their main event. But it was a Late Model stalwart that would dominate the show on this night. Chris Simpson would redraw the pole and that was bad news for the rest of the field as he would lead this race from start to finish for the win. 

Early on he was chased by Jordan Hicks, Mark Schulte, Jeff Aikey and Troy Cordes. That group would hang close together and swap spots behind Simpson but no one was getting close enough to put a challenge on him. Three restarts for minor spins kept the field bunched but each time it would be Simpson and Hicks leading the way with the others behind dicing for position. Near the end of the race Kelly Shryock would make an appearance in the top five after starting nineteenth after a bad heat race. 

There was quite a shakeup near the end as Spencer Diercks raced into the top five and Hicks lost a great finish when he spun with just three laps to go, triggering the last yellow while Aikey dropped out at the same time.  Simpson would power away from the field to take the win but Diercks' charge continued as he raced up to second at the finish with Cordes next in line. 

Shryock would finish fourth and get the "Hard Charger" award but that was thanks to Ronn Lauritzen. Near the halfway mark of the race, Shryock spun and was headed to the back until Lauritzen "tapped out" and Shryock got his spot back and Ronn went to the tail with a show of sportsmanship. 

The Stock Car feature saw Jason Hocken lead the first lap after starting on the pole. However, he was quickly overtaken by Cole Mather who stormed past him on the top side. Tom Schmidt moved into second but there was nothing he could do with Mather. This race ran green to checkered and Mather was untouchable running the rim as he pulled to nearly a full straightaway lead in a dominating performance. Schmidt settled for second while Jay Schmidt weaved his way up from twelfth to finish third.  

The Sport Mod feature saw a battle among the Olson's with Tony coming out as the winner. Kyle took the lead from the start and led the first nine laps after coming from fifth on the grid to lead by lap one. Meanwhile, Tony was on the charge after starting seventh and the two Olson's basically followed each other to the front. 

They continued their battle with Kyle repelling all efforts by Tony to get by. However, the lone yellow of the race was the turning point as on the green, Kyle wasn't able to fight off Tony who blew past him to take over the lead and then stretch it as he drove home to another win this weekend. Nate Albrant with Brandon Tharp next in line. 

Perhaps the most dominating performance of the evening was turned in by Kaden Reynolds in the Hobby Stock feature. Somehow, he found himself second after one lap of the main after starting ninth to Tyler Ball. One more lap and he was in the lead and once in front, he was gone. This race also ran off nonstop and Reynolds had most of a straightaway over the field. There was a good battle for second though as four cars fought and swapped the position. At the finish, it was Billy Rhoades over Shawn Kuennen, Luke Schuetter and Justin Hanson.

The Sport Compact main would see Cristan Grady lead from start to finish in the twelve lapper but it would be a battle from start to finish. He was closely followed by Lukas Rick, Jacob Morris and last week's winner Zeke Wheeler. A late yellow when Rick lost a wheel set up a four lap dash to the finish. 

The top three were in a close scramble and they came off the final corner in tight formation but Grady was able to hold on to the win by a car length over Wheeler and Logan Clausen.

Shawn Johnson rounded out the evening by leading from start to finish to win the Late Model feature. He used the high side to drive past Curt Martin and once in front, was able to power away both times following yellow flags to take a relatively easy win. Martin would finish second with Eric Pollard in third. By the time the Late Models hit the track the grandstand was relatively empty as many of the fans had frozen out by then on a cold, windswept night. 

I was sorry to see that the track scoreboard, which is probably one of the oldest around in this part of the country, wasn't working but Jeremy Fox, who is announcing here this year, did a good job of notifying us what the lap count was during yellow flag situations. 

All racing was complete before 10 pm at which time I limped to my car on frozen toes, happy to have seen racing but wondering how long it would be before I could feel my feet again. Thanks to Justin and Mick Trier for pushing on through less than ideal circumstances to put on the show. 

Clausen, Reynolds and Carter Repeat at "The Bullring"

 After a one week break after the Frostbuster, the Benton County Speedway, aka "The Bullring" was back  in action for the first weekly point show of the 2021 racing season. 

The promoters and track employees had been busy in the off week as several changes and improvements had been made to the facility in that brief time. A new inside pit wall was added on the front chute to protect the workers and tower in the infield. Made of Jersey type barriers set one by another, the infield will now be a much safer place to be. To get more people out of the infield during the races and cut down on the amount of foot traffic across the track, a new work area was also developed. Located off turn two, this allows the pit folks to get to their cars and replace tires etc. under yellow flag conditions without having all the pit crews cross the track before their race and then exit between races after their particular race is completed. The less people crossing the track, the less likely that an accident takes place.

And finally, for those long suffering pit folks having trouble seeing the races from the infield, a container storage unit was placed just behind the fence between turns one and two. With stairs, a platform for standing and hand rails, it makes a great viewing stand for those folks that h ang out in the pits. Plus the bottom part can be locked up and makes a great storage facility. While not particularly esthetically pleasing, I am surprised that more tracks haven't used these units for this combo purpose

Eighty three cars signed in on a cool April Sunday night to race which is just about the right number of cars for this track. Nice sized heats, no B Features and full features are just the ticket for a Sunday night track that thrives on running off a fast show and getting both fans and participants on the road early with Monday morning work looming for most. 

I am awestruck what a smooth and quick show they are producing these days at Vinton. Despite having haulers lined up all the way to the city street on the West side of the fairgrounds when the driver's meeting was called, they still somehow got everyone signed in, lineups produced and hot laps completed so that they started the first heat race at 6:03 p.m., a mere three minutes past the advertised time. I was told their goal was to have all qualifying done in one hour and then easily topped that, finishing up the last of the heats in forty five minutes. Some quick track prep and it was feature time. 

Despite a lot of different drivers on hand than had run two weeks previously, three of the feature winners on this night would be repeat winners. But the racing itself was excellent and two of the features were decided by last corner passed  that had the crowd on their feet  and really fired up. 

The two really close feature races were in the Sport Mods and the Hobby Stocks. Brian. Kauffman started on the outside pole of the Sport Mod feature and took the early lead with Kyle Olson and Ben Chapman challenging him. Olson continued to drive past Kauffman but Brian had the low groove working and Olson just wasn't able to get by. Brayton Carter started sixth and was only able to get to the fourth position by the halfway point of the race. However he then really began to pick up the pace, moving to third and challenging the leaders as he worked higher on the track. 

Kauffman nearly got passed at one point by Olson when he got stuck in traffic but Kauffman dumped a lapped car triggering a yellow and since Olson hadn't completed the lap, Kauffman resumed in front. 

One more late yellow set up a two lap sprint to the finish and Carter was set on the outside. When the green dropped, he worked the higher line and took second and then edged up on Kauffman. Gaining inches at a time, he was nearly side by side as they took the white flag and remained close down the back chute. Coming through the final corner, Carter used the cushion to gain momentum and he edged out Kauffman by mere inches to take the win in what was a clean and dandy race. Olson suffered a flat and didn't finish with Tony Olson edging Chapman for third. 

The Hobby Stock feature was the other wild one but this one was not quite so clean. Nathan Ballard started on the outside pole and took an immediate lead. With only one minor yellow to slow things, he would lead for most of the race, continuing to ride the high side. 

Gradually working his way forward was Kaden Reynolds, opening night winner, as he moved into second and a classic battle for the lead would develop near the end of the race. Ballard worked the high side and Reynolds tried to get under him without success. Coming for the white flag, Reynolds would move up the track making some contact but both would race on without issue. However, in the final corner of the race, Reynolds would again go high up into Ballard's lane and would slap Ballard's car at least twice, slowing his efforts as Reynolds would edge out to a victory of less than a car length as the crowd was on their feet cheering. 

In post race victory lane, Reynolds would indicate that the two have had other issues this year already and not having seen them race each other at other tracks, I can't speak to that. However, on this night it was clearly Reynolds that was doing the banging and pushing and if this now evens things up or perhaps puts Ballard in the position of "I owe you one", that remains to be seen. The crowd clearly loved the action if not the final result. 

Also winning back to back was Sport Compact driver Logan Clausen. The the nonstop main event, he came from the second row and passed Blake Driscol on the third lap and then pulled away for the win.  The regular at Hawkeye Downs has really taken to the dirt tracks, particularly here in Vinton. 

Leading from start to finish was Modified driver Troy Cordes, a long time veteran at this track who proved he could still get the job done. Despite Tim Ward and and a charging Dylan Thornton pushing as hard as they could, Cordes worked the low line and never was seriously challenged. According to Ryan Clark, who knows all when it comes to numbers, the win was Cordes' fifty seventh regular season win at Vinton and the nineteenth different year when he has won at least one feature race at "The Bullring." 

Reece Norton would lead the opening lap of the Stock Car feature but after that it was all Dallon Murty who would pass him and then drive away to an easy victory. Jay Schmidt would come up one spot short of a follow up win to his opening night victory but he was significantly back of the winner with Leah Wroten in third. 

The final checkered flag of the night waved at 8:15 pm. That meant that sixteen races were completed in two hours and twelve minutes! WOW. This is great for the track and remarkable work done by all involved including the drivers who cooperate, move when they spin and are ready to race when asked to stage. This is the perfect formula for a successful Sunday night operation and one that I will long for when I start to attend Sunday night shows in my home area. Congrats to all.  

Moyer Upholds "Mr. Smooth" Moniker In Davenport MLRA Victory

 The traveling troop of the MLRA headed down Interstate 80 East bound from Stuart on Thursday as they all headed to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport for round three of this challenging five night year opening swing to kick off the 2021 season.

Once again it was a cool day and evening for mid April in Iowa, a fact that certainly has stunted the crowd size at all three venues so far this week but perhaps sent pay-per-view sales through the roof. It would be another cold one on Thursday night but the saving grace was that the wind would finally lay down after three days of howling gusts and the expansive closed grandstand at Davenport, on this night cleverly placed so what wind there was came from out backs, all helped to make this the most tolerable night of the swing so far. I even got so bold as to leave the long handles in the suitcase and brave the conditions like a man!

As the series gets closer to the weekend and closer to the hotbed of open motor Late Model racing in Illinois and the purses also go, the car count has increased. On Thursday it rose to forty Late Models all fighting to get into the main event with seven Illinois and four Iowa drivers new to the swing on this night and with those new drivers including such names as Pierce, Shirley, Babb, Erb, Feger and Breuning, obviously the level of competition has stepped up greatly. 

Much of the pre race talk still centered around the post race disqualification of Ryan Gustin after he had made a fine drive using the top side of the Stuart bullring to take what was an apparent win on Wednesday night. The Gustin crew made no bones about hiding what was the offending part. Ryan's team was one of the first ones parked in the pits where everyone had to walk by his spot to move farther down the line, and jammed into the dirt right in front of his pit was the bent four bar rod that was the offending part. 

It was definitely bent and the bend didn't appear to be jagged or irregular such as might be caused by getting hit in a wreck or something of that sort but instead appeared to be smooth as if it was done on purpose by someone. I am told that all the major sanctioning bodies have a rule that both four bar rods must be straight and not bent as that gives a traction advantage if it is curved. So it appears that the DQ was legitimate if also disappointing. However, it still feels to me like a "nit picky" thing and with all the things that major league dirt Late Model racing has to worry about and all the likely illegal activities going on with tires that are missed, wouldn't it be just easier to let everyone bend these rods and then there would be one less thing to worry about?

Frankly, I was mildly surprised that Gustin was still around to race as I figured he might be disgusted with the whole situation and needed some space but he told a friend of mine that he is not a quitter but a fighter and he wasn't about to lay over following this deal. 

It however, would not be a good night for redemption for Gustin as after qualifying for the outside pole for a heat, he slid over the banking and lot a lot of positions in that race and finally pulled off and would fail to return to the track and attempt to qualify through a B Feature. 

Speaking of qualifying, it would be the third straight night of drama involving the whole time trial process. In the case of Friday night, the scoring and timing loop buried under the track at Davenport was damaged and wouldn't allow electronic timing to take place. So an emergency driver's meeting was held and the drivers were given the option of either using passing points or being hand timed. Based on the drivers' vote, we would later get the thrill of again seeing time trials, this time with only a car at a time under the hand scoring of MLRA's Ernie L. Clearly, drivers' wishes and fan desires are two streets that are never going to meet at an intersection. 

The two quickest group qualifiers were Jason Papich and Billy Moyer and ironically, these two would provide the show in the forty lap main event with five grand on the line to the winner.  

Feature time would find two distinct fast lanes around the track and drivers would quickly pick whether or not they wanted to run the inside line or ride the cushion up against the berm. Drivers would also execute well as we would see seventy five laps of main event action between the three classes on hand and the yellow would only wave two times in total. 

Sport Mods would go nonstop for their main and Tyler Soppe would find a fine hole on the first lap as he went from the number five starting spot to the lead after one. After that it would be up to Tony Olson to find a way past him. Soppe would hug the bottom for fifteen laps with Olson trying both high and low to get past but he just couldn't get the run he needed to make a pass. Soppe had the field covered and despite Olson's attempts, it would be Tyler from start to finish with Shane Paris coming from ninth to finish third. 

The MLRA would then take to the track for forty laps and we would be witness to a  great two car battle for the lead from start to finish. Jason Papich would start on the inside pole and that would be the lane he would run through the race. Billy Moyer would start on the outside and despite the fact that Moyer generally works the low side of the track, he opted for the cushion for this race.

The leaders would trade the top spot back and forth several times with Papich scored the leader on at least three different occasions and when he would falter, it would be Moyer that would ease past and take over the top spot. Papich would be scored the leader when the final(of two) yellows would wave with twenty two laps recorded. 

On that final green, Moyer would again take the lead and this time, despite Papich's best efforts, Moyer would gradually ease away until he had opened up a small lead. Moyer would impress with the fact that he would balance the tight rope along the top side of the track and maintain his best speed without slipping over the edge a some of his competitors did. Moyer would take the win as the Hall of Famer proved he can still race with the best. Papich would finish a solid second and Brian Shirley would follow both home. 

The Mods would wrap up the evening with a nonstop twenty lap finale. Spencer Diercks, who didn't have things go his way with his Late Model(he finished one spot shy of making the main) made up for it somewhat with a start to finish win in the open wheel cars. He used the outside pole to take the early lead and he hammered the cushion for twenty laps with no one getting anywhere close to a challenge. Tim Ward and Bone Larson tried hard but they would have to settle with finishing behind Diercks. 

This was a well run program on a week night and they made sure that they got everyone on the road home before 10 pm. Thanks to everyone at DTR TRAK Racing Inc and especially Carrie at the pit gate for her help.

Gustin DQ'd, Stovall Inherits MLRA Win at Stuart

 The MLRA series moved on from I-80 Speedway on Tuesday night East on that same freeway across the border in Iowa and to the Stuart International Speedway in Stuart. Going from one end of the spectrum to the other, the drivers would instead of racing on a big track with long chutes and high banked corners, they would instead be racing on the tight confines of the Stuart bullring, barely a quarter mile if measured around the outside line on the wall, where some would indeed be racing there later.

For many of the Late Model drivers, it was their first chance to race at Stuart and most looked at it before hand as a fun looking, rather cool little facility and the track would later race just like that. Slick from top to bottom, there would definitely be two distinct lines around the track and it would be to each driver to search out and fine the line that would be most comfortable for them and produce their best results, just as it should be. 

There was much activity in the Late Model pits during the afternoon as several teams had to do some serious work. The Jake Timm team discovered that their motor had some questionable metal deposits as residue from Tuesday night so to be on the safe side, they swapped out their motors and went to their back up engine. "Not the thing you want to do on the first night of a five night swing and when you're running for points," team owner Bob Timm told me. However, they felt it the safest thing to do. 

Fellow Minnesota racer Jordan Yaggy, who pulled off Tuesday night in a cloud of smoke, was also working on their engine. They had better news as it appeared they just had a bad oil leak and after they got that repaired, it appeared that their Pro Power was OK and they would later go on to race without any after affects. 

Jason Papich and Jesse Stovall would both switch race cars for Wednesday night and the move would later be confirmed when Stovall would win the main event, even though he backed into the win in some regard. And while it was reported that he was driving a Black Diamond chassis to the win, I believe I saw a Rocket notice on the roll cage of the black car that he raced to the win. 

Thirty one Late Models would sign in to race at Stuart with most of the I-80 local participants staying West of the Iowa border on Wednesday but the race did gain five new entrants for Wednesday included strong runners Ryan Gustin, Mitch McGrath and Frankie Heckenast. Gustin would later be right in the midst of the race night controversy at night's end. 

Along with the Late Models, track promoter Mike Van Genderen would also race all five of the classes that make up a part of his weekly show. And while I understand why he raced all his classes on this night to help swell his pit area count on a brutally cold April night when even though he had a great special attraction to offer the spectator crowd was not good, it just might have been a little bit too much as evidenced by the fact that the curfew caught them and two feature races had to be postponed until next week. 

For the second straight night MLRA had issues with their timing as they had trouble recording laps for a number of the cars and finally ended up having to move to single car qualifying to get the job done. You would think that they would test everything out during hot laps to make sure all systems are go but I am no expert on this so I don't know all the issues involved. What I do know is that as a fan it is frustrating to have to sit though any longer than necessary time trials and the only important part of them, the results, can't seem to be reported due to technical problems. They have one more chance on Thursday at Davenport to hopefully get it right. Wrestling with this problem, the show started nearly forty five minutes late, something a MVG produced race never does. 

MVG also spent more time than usual working on the track between events but quickly as he always does. Perhaps it was the finicky nature of the Late Models or the strong wind that was blowing right across the track all day but he spent much more time on the track as usual and unfortunately, much like opening night, we had to eat a little dust until he got everything just as he wanted.

However, it was more than worth the inconvenience as the track was great for the Late Model feature which is the ultimate goal. It was black and slick, top to bottom and produced a great feature race that was unfortunately tainted by post race activity. Heckenast, Stovall and Gustin were the prime contenders and they went back and forth for the lead throughout the race. A couple times they made their cars fit through holes that didn't seem possible and they worked every inch of the track. Stovall made a great run for the lead but then Gustin did him one better late in the race when he went to the top side in earnest and was able to drive past Jesse  and then hold off a late charge for an exciting win. 

The spectators all left the track thinking that Gustin was the winner and with track officials hustling the program along due to the cold and the late hour, there were no post race interviews to clue us in on what was actually happening. 

I would imagine that many fans are not learning until this am that Gustin was indeed disqualified and Stovall was the winner. I am by no means a tech wizard and don't understand all the inner workings of suspension parts etc. on race cars but it was reported that some suspension part on his chassis was bent and it was supposed to be straight. I must admit that other than tires and weight, I didn't know that there was much that couldn't be done to a Late Model to the point that it would be disqualified. Gustin has been running a national tour and national events all Spring and I can't imagine that he put on a special part just for a five grand to win race in central Iowa so I must assume that he has been running the part in question for some time. So my feeling is that he either never got caught under some other sanctioning body or MLRA rules are different than other groups. And I find that hard to believe given that MLRA seems to be trying to emulate their "big brothers" at Lucas Oil. This whole area is one that has always frustrated me about rules enforcement in racing and yet never seems to change.

In any event, it was a great win for Stovall and after all the bad luck he has had so far this year, he as much as anyone in the pits has needed a win to get him going. Perhaps this will be the thing that turns his season around. The top five in the adjusted finish would showcase good runs by both Garrett Alberson and Chris Simpson who both needed to get their seasons going in a better direction and Timm would  get a top five finish he was looking for. 

Part of the problem at trying to get the whole show in on Wednesday was that the Sport Mods and Stock Cars, both of which usually run nonstop or with very few yellow flags in their main events, both were yellow flag plagued on this night. A variety of spins kept the yellow one five times during the Sport Mod feature and led to a single file restart procedure. The winner was no surprise as Brayton Carter moved from the second row quickly and cruised to an easy win as he and his brother are both very hard to beat at this track. Brett Vanderheiden would get a solid run to finish second with Cam Reimers third. 

There was no surprise either in the Stock Car main when Dallon Murty crossed the line as the winner. What was a surprise as this class, frequently green to checkered in their mains, was slowed six times by spins and crashes. And it was truly a heart break adventure for Bob Daniels who led for seventeen of the twenty laps. 

Most of the race, he hugged the low groove and kept the Murty family occupied as they tried different lines to pass him but just couldn't quite get the job done. Time after time, following yet another yellow, Daniels would take off hugging the bottom and either Dallon or Damon would try to race around him but just couldn't quite get past but would keep trying, lap after lap. 

However, everything changed following a lap seventeen yellow when Daniels tried to take off and he lost power immediately, dumping fluid all over the track and ending his night after a great run. Dallon would inherit the lead and drive off in the final three laps for the win. Jeremy Gettler was the story of he race though, as he started sixteenth and drove to the front, still passing cars on the last lap to get second over Buck Schafroth. 

A strangely small Modified field was also able to get their main in and this race did run off nonstop. California invader Shane Devolder would start on the outside pole and would drive away from the field, never being challenged as he drove to the win in impressive fashion. At the end, Tim Ward was starting to catch him but never got close enough to provide a stiff challenge. Cayden Carter started too far back to get to the front but he did manage to drive from ninth to third at the end. 

The Sport Compacts tried to run their feature race after the Late Models were done. Most folks had already left the stands and those left were likely frozen to their aluminum seats and couldn't move!

In any event, the event took the green and pole sitter Clayton Portwood spun broadside in turn one and got nailed very hard right in the driver's door by another car, triggering an immediate red flag. Emergency vehicles raced to the scene to aid the driver and with the hour being late, and some time needed to attend to the driver and clean up the accident and with curfew approaching, it was decided to call it a night and run double features for this class and the Hobby Stocks, who didn't get to race their main either. As I left the grandstand I ran into MVG who said he believed the driver to be OK but that the decision to halt things at this point a good one for all. An update later found that both drivers involved in this grinding wreck were taken to area hospitals and while both did suffer some injuries, thankfully neither had serious injuries as indeed it was a very hard hit at a most vulnerable point in a race car.  

It was a good night of racing and the Late Model feature itself was very good, and it was unfortunate that things played out as they did, but that's racing, as they say. Thanks to MVG and his crew as usual and we hope he had a strong pay-per-view for this race as with the brutal weather conditions he knew that his at the track crowd was not going to be good yet he still went on with the show, thus not disappointed the traveling drivers and die hard fans like myself. 

Jackson Impressive In Topping MLRA Opener at I-80

 On Tuesday night, April 13th, the Midwest Late Model Racing Ass'n would begin their 2021 point season at the Kosiski family I-80 Speedway near Greenwood Nebraska. It is rare to hold a weekend night show so early in the racing season and this race was a fairly recent addition to the opening swing of the MLRA and made this into a five night journey into Nebraska and Iowa for the traveling Late Model drivers. It also made the opening week of MLRA racing very important to those racing for points in this series. 

Along with the Super Late Models, also racing were the Modifieds and the Bragging Rights Late Models which are really 604 Crates and truly just IMCA Late Models without the sanction. In fact, Todd Cooney would run his IMCA Late Model with this group on Tuesday giving Cooney a busy night with cars in both Late Model classes. Where the name Bragging Rights Late Models came from I do not know and that is a question I should have asked but failed to. Also I should have asked who gave this event the name the "Tuesday Tickler"? Perhaps the same person that named BRLM which does little to identify just what the class is. In any event, the Mods would also be racing for a grand to win while the BRLM would go for a eight hundred dollar top prize. 

Ernie from MLRA was hoping for a full field of cars would I took to mean that he was hoping for at least twenty four. If that was the case, he had to be ecstatic when thirty four car signed in to race, buoyed by a good contingent of local cars that run at I-80 weekly. 

The format for the Late Models would include time trials(drat, I just can't seem to escape them this year) followed by straight up heats with the top finishers then lined straight up for the main event with the non qualifiers  running a B Feature taking six and then adding a couple of provisional starters to set the twenty four car starting grid (not much imagination compared to the "old days" when MLRA would just draw and use passing points.) The other two classes would just draw and then redraw for their main events. 

It was a sunny but very windy day of the prairie here and despite trying to soak down the track as much as they could, it was clearly going to be a drier track than what I saw on my last visit here. However, as this track seems to be prone to provide, it was still just as racy as ever and the Late Models would be all over the track during their thirty five lap main event. In fact, it might have been one of the better Late Model races I have seen for quite some time. 

There were three different leaders during the race, much side by side battling, several strong runs from mid pack to the front and not a single yellow in thirty five laps. Actually, it doesn't get much better than that. 

Mason Oberkramer led the first lap of the feature but it was Billy Moyer who then blew past him and opened up quite a good sized lead. Tony Jackson Jr and Justin Duty were both on the move as they raced into second and third and as the race neared the halfway point, Jackson Jr in particular was really reeling in Moyer for the lead. They battled hard until Tony got a good run and drove past into the top spot. 

While this was happening, it was hard not to miss the charges being put on by Chase Junghans and Ashton Winger with them coming from the fourth and sixth rows respectively to move toward the front as drivers were experimenting with different lines around the track. 

The leaders had actually slowed themselves as they battled for the top spot and suddenly there were five cars within close proximity for the lead. I truly thought that Junghans looked the quickest at this point and I thought he might drive right to the front. 

The big move was made by Jackson Jr when he was able to split two slower cars about to be lapped racing off turn four. The rest of the challengers got hung up behind them and this gave Tony the opportunity to put some distance on the field; a gap that Junghans would never be able to shorten. At  the finish, Jackson Jr had about half a straightaway on the Kansas driver. Winger would wind up third with Oberkramer and Moyer completing the top five. 

Interestingly, the top three finishers had all started on the World of Outlaws Late Model tour this year and all three had dropped off for various reasons and are now doing a "pick and choose" schedule for the year which is likely good news for the midwestern based MLRA. Defending champion Jerimiah Hurst struggled all night to a sixteenth place finish. What a variety these drivers will face this week, particularly tomorrow when they go from the big track at I-80 to the tiny and "elbows up" bullring at Stuart International Speedway. But that's what makes them good, the ability to adapt to whatever the track will offer in terms of challenges. 

The other two classes also provided interesting racing action. Robbie Jorgensen would lead the first five laps of their eighteen lap main before he was passed by last year's runner up in points, Jake Bridge. I had a nice conversation with Bridge before the races as he was one of the drivers that participated in the Bristol race recently and it was interesting to get his comments on that whole adventure. He found the facility awe inspiring, the track challenging but manageable, the days long, the whole adventure one that was extremely pricey, and while he probably won't go back again, he was very glad he did it once. 

In any event, once he got the lead following a lap six yellow, he would not be caught on this night as he opened up a comfortable lead which he maintained. However, there were a couple very nice battles for position as Jacob Brown and Cooney would battle back and forth for second, trading the position several times before Brown secured it at the finish. Also, Andrew Tilley and Jorgensen would battle for fourth before Andrew got it just before the finish. There would be only one yellow in this race and only one car not to make the finish. 

As luck would have it, who would draw the pole for the Modified feature but Jordan Grabouski! This would spell bad news for the competition and Grabouski would go on to win his second straight here to start the 2021 racing season. He did have to work a bit harder than he did for the opener as Ryan Jenkins would hang with him for a few laps and not let him slip away. However, eventually Grabo would stretch his lead and race home for the win. 

A late yellow set up a two lap dash but Jordan would take off strong and there would be no catching him. Jenkins would settle for second.  A couple of nice charges through the field would allow Cody Thompson and Chase Rudolf to finish next in the order with Justin Gregg completing the top five. Only two minor yellows and two cars didn't' finish as another smooth feature was put in the books. 

They got started about fifteen minutes late ( a common theme when time trials are involved as even the Kosiski crew couldn't overcome the plague of time trials) but once the first green flag waved, it was high octane racing in fast fashion as there were seldom any breaks after that which was great on a brutally cold night and the whole program was completed in just about two hours. 

It was a tough night for the promoters as with the weather being so cold and windy, it was very predictable that even a great racing community like this would produce a very light crowd. I believe that even as late as early this week, MLRA officials had offered them the chance to reschedule to a later date this year but both I-80 and Stuart had both opted to "go on with the show" in true professional manner, even if it bit them in the pocket book. 

Thanks to the entire I-80 crew for another fine night of racing at this tip notch facility( a friendlier group of employees would be hard to find anywhere) and their consideration for the fans by eliminating a lot of the pomp until after the last checkered flag on such a cool night.