Sunday, March 3, 2024

A Successful Lid Lifter in South Dakota

    My 2024 race season took off earlier than expected as I hitched a ride to a new to me venue, Park Jefferson International Speedway just across the Iowa border in Jefferson, South Dakota. With an early forecast of temps in the upper sixties, track officials two weeks ago made the unlikely decision to present a Saturday afternoon event dubbed the Spring Kickoff Classic. With the addition just last week of 305 Sprint Cars, six classes of cars would be in action,also including Modifieds, Sport Mods, Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks and Compacts. Hot laps were scheduled to hit the three eighths mile dirt oval at 12:30, with heat races beginning at 1:00. Officials were rewarded with a whopping 136 cars through the pit gate along with an announced crowd of 900! Surely this number could have been even larger were it not for the strong south east wind which blew into the open grandstands all afternoon. Fortunately this was not an issue for Jeff, Barry and myself, as we arrived just in time to secure chairs inside the "clubhouse," a leftover from the days when Park Jeff was a dog track with para mutual betting!

   Hobby Stocks led the way with thirty two entries, which required four heats and a pair of B mains to set the feature field. The other divisions ranged between nineteen and twenty three cars, with three heat races in each, giving us twenty one preliminary events. With the one spin rule in effect, the qualifying action moved along fairly quickly once racing began, and it was about 3:13 when a fifteen minute intermission was announced. During the break, track officials decided to dump several loads of water on the black dirt surface even though there was multi groove racing and despite the sun and wind, dust never seemed to be an issue. As a result, it was about fifty minutes before the next green flag, and with our five and six hour drive back home, this put us dangerously close to our self imposed 5:00 PM curfew. Once the features kicked off, however the action again moved at a fairly brisk pace. Part of the delay was due to the unlikely front stretch flip of the #22T car of Tyler Smith as he helped to roll in the surface.

   Hobbies would be up first, battling for fourteen laps. Four caution flags slowed the event, with Bo Lundquist using his pole start to lead the first four circuits before a flat tire ended his run. His row one mate Carter Davis then took over, fending off challenges from first seventh starting Matt Rezac, then outside third row starter Corey Black. At the checkers it was Davis, Black, and Rezac.

   Sport Mods would be next, racing for sixteen trips around. Outside pole sitter Willy Kirk, who I believe is a third generation hot shoe powered to the lead followed closely by Brayton Carter in the Carter Vandenberg #7V through an early caution. Back to racing following a final lap seven yellow flag, pole sitter John Rebstock used the Delaware double file restart to beat Carter to turn one. As Kirk opened a comfortable lead, Rebstock and Carter followed to the checkers. 

   Now it would be Stock Cars dueling twenty laps. Daniel Eckblad took off from the pole to lead ahead of a lap two caution. Back under green, row eight starter Levi Feltman methodically worked his way through traffic, moving to the runner up slot at the halfway mark, then used an outside pass to grab the lead with just six laps to go. As the pack migrated to the inside line, Feltman stretched his margin, soon catching the back of the field, with Eckblad and Jason Fisher soon cutting into his lead. With only two circuits remaining, a car spun in front of the leader, bringing a final caution. When racing resumed, Feltman drove on to the hard fought victory chased by Eckblad and Fisher. 

   We were still a few minutes ahead of our curfew, which we decided to extend as Modifieds rolled to the speedway for their twenty lap finale. Following a first lap restart, third starting Jeremy Mills shot to the front, trailed by his row two mate Cody Thompson, and pole sitter Jerry King. Sixth starting Shane Demay climbed to third after a lap five caution, while Nebraska late model standout Justin Zeitner began a march forward to fourth. Just past the halfway mark, Zeitner suddenly rolled to a stop on the front stretch, bringing out a yellow before then driving to the pits. Troy Cordes had lined up ninth in his #71C, but used this last restart to charge to third. That was where he would stay, as Mills cruised to the win while Thompson came home the runner up. 

   As always, it took a while for the Sprint Cars to go through the process of getting to the green flag, but by now we were hooked, and soon they took the green for twenty laps. There would be four yellow flag periods during the race, but fortunately zero reds. Andrew Sullivan would shoot from the pole, and lead throughout. The track appeared to be a "tire eater," as several front runners fell by the wayside with flats during the event. Things were getting interesting up front as the lead pack caught the tail of the field, staying in formation for several trips around before a spin by third running Brandon Bosma reset the field seven laps from the checkers. There was yet one more stoppage with just two laps left, but Sullivan was up to the challenge, taking a flag to flag win. Dusty Ballenger advanced from row three to claim second while Trefer Waller powered all the way from row eight to fill out the podium. 

   We were now nearly one hour past our original curfew, so it was time to hit the road as Sport Compacts prepared to close out the program. A check of the results shows that Kaytee DeVries, a standout performer in the Compacts, took the win over Tyler Thompson and Kaylee Richards.

   It was for this reporter a most enjoyable and unique experience. I cannot remember the last time I attended a scheduled afternoon race, but it quite possibly goes back to the 1970's? Also the diverse field included drivers from eight different states competing, one of the reasons that we so enjoy the early spring and late fall specials. 

   Thanks to the operators of Park Jefferson International Speedway for taking a chance on what appeared to be a successful idea. I would expect to see this on the calendar again in 2025, weather permitting, of course. And who knows, maybe we will be there to cover it once again! In the meantime, where the road takes us next will depend a lot on the forecasts, so stayed tuned. Race season has begun!

   Edit: For whatever reason, Andrew Sullivan was a DQ in the Sprint feature, turning the win over to Dusty Ballenger and moving Lee Goos Jr. to third.

  

Friday, February 23, 2024

Racing is Just Around the Corner

    If you are like me, the sunshine and warm weather brings thought of racing in the mid west, in my case more specifically, the Tri State area of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. Perhaps more so in 2024 than previous years, many changes are afoot. New promoters and changing race nights will make for interesting scenarios playing out at several tracks. For purposes of this blog, I will mostly be highlighting tracks within a three hour drive of my home base in Canton, Missouri, however there are a few notable updates on the fringes of  that region.

   Beginning in southeast Iowa, it is somewhat remarkable that the longest tenured weekly program will be at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, where owner/operators Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt will kick off their seventh season with 410 sprint shows on April 5 and 6 followed by the MLRA Late Model sanctioned Slocum 50 weekend on April 19 and 20 before settling in to their weekly Saturday night racing. There will be a healthy dose of Sprint specials during the season as well as the annual visit by the Lucas Oil Late Models.

   Thirty plus miles down the road, veteran racers Neal Kohlmorgan and Patrick Profeta will assume the reigns at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Opening weekend at the three eighths mile facility will be April 19 and 20 with the Spring Hooray event featuring five classes lead by UMP Crate Late Models. Due to some previous commitments at the fairgrounds, the early season will see a mix of Friday and Saturday race nights before the program shifts to regular Saturday night racing. Hobby Stocks will also be making a comeback at LCS as a weekly division. 

   C J Speedway in Columbus Junction will also have new leadership in 2024. After eight and a half seasons during which he built a thriving program, Larry Richardson has stepped away with former racer Dan Keltner becoming Race Director. C J will continue with weekly Friday racing beginning on April 26. Also kicking off in June, there will be a four division combo points challenge with Lee County Speedway. 

   Moving on north, the Kile family will no longer be in charge at the legendary West Liberty Raceway. At this time, the only event on the schedule will be July 17 during the Muscatine County Fair, with the Darkside Promotions team of Ryan Duhme and Timmy Current leading the program. 

   The Darkside group will be quite busy, however, as they will be hosting several events at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton. The fairgrounds quarter mile will come to life with a two day special on April 5 and 6 followed by a visit by the MLRA Late Models on Thursday, April 18 in advance of the Slocum 50 weekend in West Burlington. 

   Also Darkside will be in charge at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa. Although this is one of the tracks a bit out of range, I would be remiss to not mention the Nippy 50 event on March 29 and 30. As of now, this open Late Model show will feature a $10,000 to win preliminary on Friday followed by a whopping $20,000 finale on Saturday. With well known folks like Jeff Hoker of Hoker Trucking and promoter Ricky Kay also heavily involved, this looks to be a top notch program. 

   Following the departure of Kay Promotions, well known Street Stock racer Jeff Struck will don the promoters cap at Davenport Speedway. As of today, I have not seen a final schedule for the quarter mile facility, so stay tuned.

   The Dripps family will continue their top flight action at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Racing will start with an April 7 special followed by regular Sunday events on April 28.

   Moving west, the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa will begin Wednesday racing on April 24, and Sprint Car fans likely already have April 20 penciled in for opening night at Knoxville, while Eldon, Iowa will again host several events beginning on May 18.

   Mike VanGenderen is well known not only in the mid west, but is fast becoming much in demand around the country for his expertise in track prep as well as promotion. Still, in addition to his self owned track in Stuart, he will be expanding the race program at Bloomfield Speedway starting off with a pair of dates on March 29 and 30. VanGenderen is also part of team at Independence Motor Speedway where in addition to Saturday night racing they will again host a series of Monday Madness programs following an April 3 Frostbuster.

   Crossing the border into Missouri, MVG will again be the point man at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis. Racing at this popular facility is set to kick off the Tri State season with two nights of action on March 22 and 23. Down the road at Moberly Motorsports Park, owner (and Super Late Model driver) Reid Millard along with Race Director Galen Hassler will fire off season two of their unique but successful Trophy Tuesday racing on May 28, leading up to another one of a kind event, the MLRA sanctioned "Weiner Nationals" on Labor Day weekend.

  Callaway Raceway outside Fulton will open the gates on April 5and will host a visit by MLRA on April 26. The MLRA series will then open the season for Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon the following night.

   I also want to mention that the Bethany Fairgrounds Speedway will reopen after a few seasons of inactivity with Saturday night racing. A firm schedule has not yet been released. 

   On the Illinois side of the mighty Mississippi, there remains a pair of long time promoters. Kevin and Tammy Gundaker will begin their twentieth season as owner/operators at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach. MLRA will kick things off there on April 5 and 6. 

   Kenny Dobson has been at the helm of Jacksonville Speedway for many years, and his 410 Sprint Car heavy schedule will begin on April 19.

   The track closest to my front door in terms of miles is the Adams County ,Il. Speedway east of Quincy. After two dormant seasons, long time track employee Jim Lieurance and his wife Tammy took over the former Quincy Raceways as J T Promotions. This will be their third season, with an agressive schedule starting on April 28. The exciting news from the track is the formation of a Crown Vic division. Extremely popular "down South", this will be a stock class consisting of Ford Crown Victorias, Mercury Marquis, and Lincoln Continentals from bygone days.

   Another Quincy businessman, Cloyed Barden will head up a very aggressive program at Spoon River Speedway near Banner. Switching from the traditional Saturday to a Friday program, Barden will bring back Super Late Models vying for a $2,000 top prize while Modifieds will compete for $1,500. Barden will open the gates on April 19, with the first SLM show one week later. 

   The change at Spoon River will open things up for a strong season at Peoria Speedway, and they will pay Super Late Models $5,000 as part of their April 6 opener. 

   Lincoln, Il.Speedway will hit the ground running with a diverse schedule on April 5.

   IMCA Late Model hot shoe Chuck Hanna will be the man in charge for his second season at East Moline Speedway. Chuck and his team made numerous improvements ahead of his 2023 debut at the always exciting quarter mile. Opening night will be Sunday, April 7. 

   As mentioned, I have tried to cover the tracks within an evenings drive of home, and I apologize for anyone I may have missed. And of course, always check with the track for any changes before leaving home. For more complete schedules, I encourage you to check the calendar offered here at Positively Racing. As always, we will also plan trips outside the region, as we continue to be blessed with many great tracks and programs in the mid west. My wish for all promoters, race teams, and fans is for a fun and enjoyable 2024 that leaves everyone with a little jingle in the pockets. See you at the races!

 

 

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Closing the Books on Another Season

    With the conclusion of Dirt in December at the Dome in St. Louis, another mid western racing season has come to an end. Before I offer up my modest stats for 2023, I feel a need to comment on the Dome extravaganza. First of all, I will concede that the apparent record crowds this year put me in the minority. But I have been asked countless times this fall if I was going to the event, and often given incredulous looks when I said "No." I will admit to having attended the Saturday night portion for three years running before my change of heart. And it would seem that the promoters have since solved the issue of nine and ten hour championship night marathons. Perhaps I have simply reached the "get off my lawn" stage of life, but the (mostly) unscripted weekend seems to me to more closely resemble an All Star Wrestling spectacle than a legitimate racing event. Torn up cars by the dozens, bruised egos (drivers apparently told to settle their issues on the track!?!), over the top concession and parking prices for me just does not make up for the possibility of a couple of  decent features to wrap things up. I will admit that it is an opportunity to see drivers in action  that only come around once a year ( a treat for me), as well as plenty of time to visit with old and new friends along the concourse. So for those of you who look forward to it each year, good for you, and enjoy! And perhaps after a few seasons at home, I will try it again. If you have not heard, the 2024 dates will be December 5-7. It would seem after this many years the promoters would be able to secure the same weekend each year, but I realize that bookings for a venue like this are stretched out years in advance... *( For those of you who think they should spend more time building the track, or add an extra weekend featuring your favorite class!)

   Now to the matters at hand. In 2023, I was able to attend sixty events at eighteen different venues. Adams County Il. Speedway in Quincy led the way with eighteen nights, followed by Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Ia. with fourteen. There were four trips to Davenport, Ia. Speedway, and three to Moberly, Mo. Motorsports Park. Two visits each were recorded at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, West Liberty Raceway, Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Marshalltown Speedway, all in Iowa, and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, and Springfield Raceway in Missouri. It was one night each at CJ Raceway in Columbus Junction, Knoxville Raceway, Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, all in Iowa, and Jacksonville, Il Raceway, and finally Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. 

   As always, we tried for a nice mix of series and sanctions, and personally I was able to add two new venues this season, an April visit to Harlan and an October trip to Webster City, bringing my total to seventy three different tracks during my sixty eight years of chasin' racin'. I am in awe of my racing friends whose totals far eclipse my own, and it is fun to be able to continue to wander to new tracks every so often. 

   As we speed towards the New Year, I am excited for the many changes taking place at area tracks and eagerly await all the schedules to fall into place so we can begin to plot our 2024 adventures. To this point I am also in the minority as far as joining the streaming crowd, but never say never, right?

  Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year, thanks for reading, and we look forward to seeing everyone in the Spring!

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Turkey Bowl XVII Headliners to Stevens, Berry Jr., and Jackson

    This weekend I was fortunate to feed my desire for November racing with nights two and three of the Larry Phillips Memorial Turkey Bowl at Jerry Hoffmans' Springfield, Missouri Raceway. A change in format this year drew us to the extra night, with A Modified double heat races determining passing points for the first few rows of the Saturday main event. However, along with five heats for the fifty one late models on Saturday, it seems a bit less than charitable to only advance eight drivers to their respective "money race." As an example, Iowa racer Ryan Gustin and Missouri hot shoe Logan Martin started in row one and captured their ten lap late model heat, but were forced to a B main. I guess I can challenge the process, but a three night total of 350 plus race cars and a big Saturday night crowd perhaps puts me in the minority. 

   If you followed this special weekend of racing, you are likely well informed concerning the issues with the safety crew, if not my Positively Racing and travel mate Jeff Broeg detailed it elsewhere on this blog site. But with all this being said, it was a solid two nights of racing which serve as a great season ender, and I will once again be marking it on my personal list of events to attend in 2024. 

   Seven total classes participated over the three nights with all but the late models running heat races one night, B mains and Turkey Bowl features another. For all but the Legends, those nights came back to back, and with the one day gap in their program, three extra Legend racers rolled in on Saturday and were allowed to tag the tail of their twenty lap finale, swelling the starting field to twenty seven. For all other divisions, it was twenty car mains, plenty on the quick quarter mile.  

   Allen Thompson claimed the unique Turkey Bowl trophy for the Pure Stocks on Friday, and as the evening progressed and the temperatures plummeted through the forties, we made the decision to head for our hotel ahead of the Midwest B Modified headliner, which went to Tyler Pearish. 

   Although the Saturday program was set to kick off  near 4:00 PM, about two hours earlier than Friday, the 248 race teams combined with fireworks during intermission, multiple cars wanting hot laps, end of season B main action, etc., produced another marathon evening. 

   The tone may have been set in the first late model heat when outside pole sitter Carl Murphy got crossed up at the exit of turn two and collected a fair portion of the field. The contact resulted in Murphy getting upside down, with top contender Tony Jackson Jr. also nearly toppling over before coming down atop the Murphy #X2M. The result left both drivers sidelined for the night. 

   Young Sawyer Crigler was racing his #11 with a 525CT crate engine, which allowed him to employ a spoiler about twice as tall as his competitors. He was running a strong second in the first of three B mains when a cloud of smoke ended his run.

   Austin Vincent was out front in the final B when he suddenly ducked to the pit area. 

   Legend cars would kick off feature racing, and it quickly devolved into a three car battle. The first half of the twenty lapper clicked off caution free, then three more yellows came in the next four circuits. But through it all, it was Jay Reynolds out front, and he took home the hardware, besting Tyler Garretson and Trenton Simon. 

   B Mods would line up for twenty five laps. Second generation driver Damien Kiefer and wily veteran Ken Schrader would fill the front row. That duo would swap the lead early before the hottest B Modder around, Kris Jackson arrived from row three to join the party. Pulling away from the field, the front three battled ahead of a lap eleven caution. On the restart Jackson powered to the lead, and from there stayed in command. Schrader stayed in range but failed to score his second Turkey. Ryan Gilmore charged all the way from row six to third, followed by Kiefer and Dalton Keith. 

   In another unique sideshow, as Hoffman reworked the racing surface, a decorated barrel was set up in front of the bleachers and the top eight A Mod qualifiers were trotted out and challenged to toss a football into the barrel from several feet away. The first to sink the shot would start on the feature pole, and the rotation would continue until the lineup was determined. While Schrader elected to not participate and start in eighth in his second main event, another double duty driver, Sawyer Crigler  grabbed the pole on the opening toss. The veteran standout from my neck of the woods, Mark Burgtorf would line up alongside Crigler. Even with his somewhat under powered IMCA engine on the regroomed surface, Burgtorf paced the first seven laps before giving way to Crigler. Meanwhile, sixth starting Terry Phillips, top contender son of the honored driver, drove to the runner up slot on lap ten. Following a caution flag, Iowa standout Tom Berry Jr. worked his way to second on lap fifteen after lining up seventh. Berry then grabbed the lead on lap twenty two. As the halfway point of the fifty lapper was scored, a slowing Dakota Sproul caused Berry to check up and as he made contact with that car, Crigler eased to the front to be scored the leader for the restart. Unfazed, Berry quickly moved back to the front as racing resumed, setting a quick pace as he "catfished" around the bottom of the oval. One more caution came thirty eight laps in, but Berry remained in control. He collected the Turkey and the $7,575 payday in his first ever trip to the facility. Crigler took the runner up spot, but failed post race tech, turning second over to tenth starting Dylan Thornton. Phillips would be scored third, followed by Schrader and row seven starter Shawn Knuckles. Sixth through tenth went to Anthony Roth, Austin Rettig, Darron Fuqua, Ohio star Rusty Schlenk, and Burgtorf.

   Thirty laps would be the distance for the $5,075 to win Late Model main event. Up and coming Arkansas racer Tyler Stevens and MLRA Rookie of the Year Dillon McCowan would fill out row one, pulling out in a two car breakaway. Meanwhile tenth starting Logan Martin was on the move, entering the top five on lap six. Slower traffic became a factor about lap ten, as Stevens was able to pull away a bit and Martin advanced to fourth. Now it was Nebraska ace Justin Zeitner moving in to challenge for second, followed closely by Martin. Continuing his charge, Martin then drove around Zeitner for third. Gustin, who started alongside Martin after their heat race debacle, came to fifth on lap eighteen, then fourth two laps later. But by now Stevens was cruising, and with zero cautions during the thirty laps, the #2 drove off to the win. McCowan gained some separation in second, while Martin, Gustin, and Zeitner crossed the line nose to tail. Scott Crigler led the second five in front of Caney, Kansas driver Jacob Magee, Jace Parmley, Dustin Hodges, and Jim Greenway. 

   There was one race remaining when we elected to call it a night and a season. Reporting shows Anthony Ferrara topping the Midwest A Mod finale. 

    On track racing in this area is down to the Gateway Dirt Nationals in December which will go on without me the season. But I will still be manning the keyboard with an end of season wrap up to come, and it seems as if this off season may be legendary for "news!" So stayed tuned and be sure and keep up with all of us here at Positively Racing as we navigate all the changes. Happy Thanksgiving, and we will be back soon!

Monday, October 23, 2023

Pospisil Tops Night Number Two Fall Futurity Winners

    After a weekend of no racing, we were able to get back on track at a new to me venue, Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa. The occasion was night number two of the Your Life Iowa Fall Futurity, originally scheduled for the weekend prior featuring the Hoker Trucking SLMR east series championship. With inclement weather postponing the event, SLMR series officials elected to call it a season, and the headline Late Model class would now run under a rules package allowing SLMR, IMCA, and Wissota cars to compete. The purse on this Sunday night would pay $2,000 to the Late Model winner, while Modifieds, B Mods, Stock Cars, and Hobby Stocks would race for a $1,000 top prize, all under the USRA banner. The event was held in conjunction with Friday night racing in Mason City, and Hamilton County followed with Saturday and Sunday shows. Sunday racing was set to kick off at 4:30 P.M.

   The half mile track has recently undergone some changes, with the reworked racing surface now measuring three eighths mile around the inside. 

   Although there was a threat of rain rolling in in a few short hours, eighty cars showed up to race before a sparse crowd on  this chilly, breezy late Sunday afternoon. There would be no hot laps, and racing would kick off close to the advertised time. From that point, officials did an excellent job of moving the show along, and the final checkers waved at approximately 7:30 P.M, beating the rain and sending everyone home in a timely manner. The drivers did a credible job of trying to keep the show moving by attempting to restart their cars after a spin, and the flagman did an excellent job of giving them time to do so. And after an interview and photo op with the first feature winner, it was decided to hold off on victory lane festivities until the end of the night!

 Eleven heat races and five feature events in three hours on a three eighths mile track, perfect for a work/school night!

   With heat races complete and following a brief intermission, Late Models hit the track first, racing for twenty laps. Only Jenna Johnson, whose #7 seemed to give up on the final lap of her heat race, failed to take the green flag. Nebraska driver Tad Pospisil shot to the lead from outside row one, leading pole sitter Jason Hahne. Pospisil slowly increased his advantage until the lone caution came for debris just past the halfway mark. Davenport, Iowa racer Brian Harris had picked up wins on both Friday and Saturday night, but he would start this event from outside row four. He entered the top five on lap nine, then gained one more position as the caution came. Back under green, Pospisil continued to lead while Harris moved to fourth on lap sixteen, then third the following lap. As he moved in to battle with Hahne for second, Pospisil wheeled his #04 to a flag to flag win. Harris took runner up honors over Hahne. Darrel Defrance started and finished fourth followed by Shane DeMay in fifth. Minnesota veteran Lance Mathees led the second five in front of Curt Schroeder, Wisconsins' Gavin Tarras, South Dakota driver Ryan Engels, Rusty Patterson, and Michael Trulson. So five states were represented in the twelve car field!

   Hobby Stocks had the largest car count at twenty one, and they also had the most difficulty completing their feature. There would be five yellow flags in the first ten laps before the final eight clicked off in non stop fashion. Sioux Falls, South Dakota pilot Dustin Gulbrandson would jump to the lead from the outside pole and survive all the restarts for a flag to flag win. Pole sitter Scott Dobel and fourth starting Chris Hovden had an entertaining battle for second, with Hovden eventually securing the position. Dylan Clinton advanced four spots to fourth after Friday and Saturday wins, while Bruce Sommerfeld came from tenth to complete the first five. 

   The race of the night came in the Modified division. Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minnesota ( small town?) charged from the pole to open a big lead over fellow Minnesotan J.T. Wasmund. Former IMCA hot shoe Kyle Brown lined up in fifth and had moved to the runner up spot before a lap three caution sent him back to third. He then secured the runner up position following the Delaware restart. It now became a two car war between Davis and Brown. Lap after lap Brown would attempt the dive under Davis for the lead, but each time Davis would power out of the corner in first. Searching for his best line, Davis would sometimes switch up and move to the inside, sending Brown up the track in his pursuit. At about the half way mark of the twenty lapper, Davis had opened a bit of a lead, but slower traffic became a factor on lap fourteen, and it was edge of your seat racing as the duo sliced their way through heavy traffic. Davis would prevail in this tie breaker, Davis sweeping the weekend at Webster City while Brown took the win at Mason City. Veteran racer Ron Ver Beek quietly worked his way from row four to third in his oddly numbered(?) "R" machine, followed by Wasmund and Bakersfield, California driver Kyle Heckman. Iowa racing legend Kelly Shryock would come home in sixth. 

   All seventeen B Mods took the feature green for twenty laps of action. Minnesotas' Harley Dais topped lap one from position two ahead of the first caution. Back to racing, Joe Chisholm would drive around Doug McCollough for second. Just prior to a final caution with six in the books, hometown driver Ty Griffith would advance to second during a battle with Dais and Chisholm. Back under green, Griffith grabbed the lead and began to put distance on the field. St. Joseph, Missouri driver Shadren Turner was now the man on the move, charging all the way to second on lap twelve after starting in eighth. However there would be no catching Griffith, who cruised to a convincing win. Turner made it #56 in both first and second, while Saturday winner Chisholm settled for third. McCollough and Dais would round out the top five. 

   Stock Cars would put a wrap on the night. All but one of the seventeen signed in would do battle for twenty laps. Front row starters Austin Meiners and Nate Whitehurst would duel side by side as Meiners paced lap one while Whitehurst took the top spot on lap two. As the duo put distance on the pack, Meiners retook the lead one lap before half way. He then opened a sizable lead and was cruising towards the finish when the only caution came three laps from the end. On the restart hard charging Bill Crimmins powered to second after lining up in row four. But the Fort Dodge driver had nothing for Meiners, who picked up the final checkers of the season at the storied fairgrounds facility. Following Meiners in order it was Crimmins, Whitehurst, track promoter Todd Staley, who started in row seven, and Jesse Brown. 

   All in all it was a fun night of racing, and the timely show made the four hour trip home seem much shorter! Thanks to Todd and crew for the opportunity to add one more track and race night to  a quickly passing 2023 season.

   Despite a somewhat iffy forecast, we are making plans for a big racing weekend much closer to home, with a highly anticipated five division program featuring a return of  Late Models Friday night at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. followed by an all time favorite, Shiverfest Saturday at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. I hope you are making plans for these special events as well!

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Elston,Carter Double Up at Harvest Hustle Night Two

    Saturday night we were right back at Lee County Speedway for night number two of the Harvest Hustle. While still quite chilly, weather conditions were much better overall as the sun was out and the wind had calmed considerably. Remarkably car counts were up, one hundred fifty three in all, even allowing for a seventh class - American Iron Racing Series - joining the field. The program kicked off one hour earlier with hot laps rolling as advertised at 6:15. 

   Eighteen qualifying heat races, again with zero B mains set the main event line ups, and with only an eight minute break we were feature racing. 

   Stock Cars would lead things off, and after being the race of the night on Friday, this twenty lapper would be less than stellar. A whopping seven yellow flags would mar what was otherwise a very competitive affair. All twenty seven cars would take then green flag, with Kaden Reynolds setting the pace early. The youngster from Cedar Rapids would survive five of those caution periods, holding off first Jason Bahrs, then fellow C. R. veteran Johnny Spaw. With just six laps to go, Kaden suddenly slowed after jumping the turn four cushion, then drove to the pits , perhaps with a tire down. Spaw would assume the lead as racing resumed, and he would need to withstand one more yellow flag two laps from the finish. During this final slowdown, John Oliver Jr. would give up a top five run, heading for the pit area. Spaw would hold on for the win and his second top five of the weekend. Dustin Vis would gain six positions to finish as the runner up chased by Bahrs, twelfth starting Abe Huls, and row five starter David Brandies. 

   Sixteen A.I.R.S. cars checked in, with all but one coming to the track for fifteen laps of action. It took a pair of yellow flags to get lap one in the books, but then Doak Allen Jr. and Bart Miller ran side by side for several laps until just after the half way point when Miller put his 1962 Ford out front to stay. Allen came home second in his black Chevy Nova. 

   The Sport Mods cleaned things up a bit, with two dozen of the twenty eight signed in lining up for twenty laps. Pole sitter Carter VanDenBerg shot to the front with Jim Gillenwater on his heels. Soon Friday winner Brayton Carter arrived from row three to join the front runners. VanDenBerg and Gillenwater raced side by side as Carter moved around behind the duo, looking for an opening. On about lap six, Carter was able to split the leaders in turn four, and from there it was no looking back. As Carter caught the back of the pack on lap seven, he began to put distance on his challengers. Once again, cars were fighting for position all around the three eighths mile oval. The first caution came with six laps to go as Jim Powell climbed the turn one guardrail, riding it for several yards before coming to a stop on the track. Before the yellow, all eyes were on a great battle for third through sixth between Dylan VanWyk, VanDenBerg, Shane Paris, and track regular Sean Wyett. One more stoppage saw VanWyk charge to second, and along with leader Carter the front pair drove off from the pack in nose to tail fashion. The checkers would wave over "Speedy Bray," his second win of the weekend. VanWyk, VanDenBerg, Paris, and Wyett would round out the top five. 

   Jay Johnson pulled his #93 Late Model to the pit area during hot laps and was soon loaded and on the way home leaving us with twenty four cars for the twenty five lap feature. Tommy Elston topped his outside row one redraw of Friday by pulling the number one pole position on Saturday with first year Late Model driver Jesse Bodin alongside. The front pair shot out front joined by sixth starting Matt Jones. Following a lap three caution, Elston and Bodin put distance on the pack while tenth starting Jeremy Pundt charged through the field to third. By the halfway point the leaders were in lapped traffic and Bodin was nipping at the heels of the #54. Elston gained a bit of breathing room as he put worked the slower cars, but with five laps to go Bodin had pulled alongside. Jesse was working high on the track while Tommy ran a low line through turns one and two and a higher groove at the other end. With just two laps remaining, Bodin executed a slide job in turn three, but Elston was able to cross him over to regain the lead. Elston then led the final laps, completing a weekend sweep of heat races and features. Bodin settled for runner up honors while Pundt scored his second third place run of the weekend. C.J. Horn came from row six to finish fourth while Vance Wilson came on strong, starting in row ten and charging all the way to fifth. Late Model rookie Josh Foster advanced ten positions to six ahead of Jason Oenning, teenager Kayden Clatt, Nick Marolf, and Andy Nezworski. 

   Modifieds would be up next for twenty laps, all but one of the twenty four signed in lining up. It took three tries to get lap one in the books, with a five car tangle in turn three eliminating top contender Denny Eckrich. Bill Roberts Jr. grabbed the early lead from the pole position with fifth starting Kurt Kile in tow. Ethan Braaksma was behind the wheel of the #12J, and with four laps scored he had powered from row six to second. Two more laps and Braaksma moved to the front, quickly distancing himself from the field. Seemingly on a rail, by the mid point of the race he had opened a full straightaway advantage. Meanwhile the battle behind him was on going, and with ten in the books eighth starting Matt Werner drove to the runner up spot. With the race staying green, Ethan pulled ahead even more, racing a full half lap in front of second place Werner as the laps wound down. At the checkers it was Braaksma, Werner, Roberts Jr. , Eric Barnes, and Missouri USRA competitor Robby Reed. For both Braaksma and Werner it was two Harvest Hustle top fives.

   There were still a pair of features remaining, but early calls persuaded our driver to head for the parking lot as the clock read about 10:20. The results show Daniel Wauters capturing the eleven car Hobby Stock main event over Tom Killen Jr., Bradly Graham, Calvin Dhondt, and Eric Knutson. For all but Knutson, who made his first appearance of the weekend,  it was back to back top fives for the others. 

   While the Hobby Stock count dropped by six, the Sport Compacts gained six cars from Friday. with twenty starting the finale. Double duty Jeffrey Delonjay crawled from his Late Model and captured the Compact main in his only visit of the weekend. Kimberly Abbott and Barry Taft made it a pair of top fives, while first timers Chuck Fullenkamp and Dyllan Bonk completed the top five. 

   Although we needed to check out early, it was a solid night of enjoyable, competitive racing, with a bit larger crowd, no doubt aided by better weather and no high school football.

   Thanks again to Brian and Marcie Gaylord as they wind down their tenure as outstanding stewards of the speedway. Before they go from promoters back to fans however, there is still one more race on the docket, the immensely popular and highly anticipated Shiverfest on Saturday, October 28. It is much an event as a race, so check the track website for times and attractions. And to those wondering, things sound positive for continued racing at Lee County for the 2024 season, hopefully there will be news on that front before long!

   The next Racin' Down the Road is scheduled for Friday night  as the MLRA Late Models begin their championship weekend at Kevin and Tammy Gundakers' Tri City Speedway near Granite City, Illinois. 

   There is still time to find a race near you, so get out and enjoy!

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Elston, Burgtorf, Reitzler, Carter, Taft, and Griffiths Top Harvest Hustle Night One

    Racing resumed at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson with night number one of the Harvest Hustle on Friday. The event lived up to its' name as Fall weather made its' debut, a crisp evening enjoyed by those in attendance. 

   The original five division program was supplemented by the addition of Hobby Stocks thanks to a  sponsor coming on board late who wished to include the class. With the rules opened up to allow for certain non IMCA legal cars to participate, the pit area swelled to one hundred thirty three cars on a blustery night! Still track officials did an amazing job. Hot laps started right at the advertised time of 7:15 and just a ten minute break separated the sixteen qualifying heats from the six feature events, with the entire show wrapping up at 11:00, the races clicking off in rapid fire fashion. Even so, there was but a hearty few still in the stands when that final checkers waved.

   Kudos to the promoters for giving all drivers the opportunity to start their respective feature, as a couple of classes might otherwise have used a B main. As it turned out, natural attrition eliminated a few competitors along the way.

   Sport Mods would roll out first for twenty laps. All twenty five cars lined up although John Oliver Jr. retired to the pits before the green flag flew. Logan Anderson shot to the lead from outside row one ahead of pole sitter Braden Richards. The first caution came with just one lap scored and back under green fourth starting Tanner Klingele charged to second taking along fifth starting Brayton Carter in third. Carter soon powered to second as he and Anderson pulled ahead of the pack. On lap eight Carter used a fourth turn slide job to take the lead. One lap before the halfway mark, as Carter caught the tail of the field, the yellow flag waved for a second and final time. Klingele again took advantage of the Delaware style restart to move to second while Carter VanDenBerg powered to third. Again "Speedy Bray" pulled away from his challengers, with slower traffic coming in to play on lap sixteen. He smoothly moved through the back of the pack, cruising to the win. Klingele held the runner up spot, while Shane Paris showed speed late, advancing from his row four start to third. VanDenBerg and Anderson completed the top five.

   Sport Compacts would be up next with all but two of the sixteen checked in racing for fifteen laps. Barry Taft lined up outside row one and charged to the lead followed by third starting Travis Demint. Outside row two starter Jake Benischek came up to battle Demint for second, finally taking the spot just ahead of the lone caution on lap seven, but the field then reverted back to six laps scored. As racing resumed, Jake temporarily rolled to the lead but was soon overtaken by Taft. The three front runners raced side by side and nose to tail while Kimberly Abbott and Rick DeFord ran close behind looking for room to move up. As he entered turn three for the final time, DeFord looped his #00, but the checkers was already out for Taft, who picked up the hard fought win. Demint came in second, followed by Benischek, Abbott, and Corey Crispin.

   All but one of the twenty six Stock Cars took the green flag for twenty laps. Derrick Agee charged from row two to pace the opening circuit in front of pole Sitter Dustin Vis. By now the super racy three eighths mile had multiple grooves, and the normally bottom hugging Stockers were using all lines with varying degrees of success. The caution came with six laps scored, and Dustin Griffiths put his #10G in second on the restart. Todd Reitzler had taken the green from outside row four, but he now moved to third with seven laps scored. Agee was driving around the inside boundary tires while Griffiths and Reitzler pounded the cushion. With the crossed flags indicating the halfway mark, they were replaced with a second yellow, and back to racing Reitzler jumped to second. Three more trips around and Todd was able to use his top side momentum to clear Agee for the lead. He then put considerable distance on the pack, but with the white flag displayed it was replaced by the yellow setting up a green, white, checkers finish. (Personally, I am in favor of a one lap shootout in these cases, but I digress.) Reitzler was never the less up to the challenge, scoring the victory. John Oliver Jr. was the beneficiary of the late caution, powering to runner up honors, trailed by Agee, Griffiths, and tenth starting Johnny Spaw. 

   Wayne Kniffen was the lone Modified of the twenty two on hand not showing for the twenty lap feature. Dustin Kroening and Mark Burgtorf brought the field to green, and the veteran Burgtorf quickly shot to the lead. Matt Werner drove to second on lap two as row three starters Jarrett Brown and Denny Eckrich raced side by side for third. Meanwhile Burgtorf opened a nearly straightaway lead as the race hit the mid point. By now Mark was in heavy slower traffic, but he was skillfully picking his way through. At the same time, an intense battle was going on behind him between Werner, Brown, Eckrich, and twelfth starting Ethan Braaksma. Finally Brown was able to clear that group and he began to run down the leader. As the laps clicked off in the non stop event, Brown was shaving off seconds each trip past the flag stand. When the checkers waved, he was close to showing his nose to the leader, but it was Burgtorf with the flag to flag win. Braaksma claimed third followed by Werner and Eckrich. 

   Again, all but one of the seventeen Hobby Stocks - a great count considering they were a late addition, came trackside for sixteen laps. Double duty Dustin Griffiths came from outside row two to lead Daniel Wauters on lap one and an early caution, while Bradly Graham powered from sixth to second on the next trip around. Billy Stanford was racing hard for second when he brought out the second caution, spinning with two laps scored. There was another stop on the restart, then Griffiths took off running the top of the track while Graham raced around the low line, both gaining separation. A fourth and final caution at the halfway mark reset the field single file while bringing the front duo back to the pack. It proved only a temporary inconvenience, however, as Griffiths cruised to the win with Graham in second. Calvin Dhondt came from row four to third, followed by ninth starting Des Moines driver Tom Killen Jr.. Wauters completed the first five. 

   Closing out the night would be twenty five laps of Late Model action. No shows Frank Mason and Kyle Hollenbeck in the #39 normally piloted by Ed, left us with twenty five starters! A pair of veterans, Chuck Hanna and Tommy Elston sat on row one. Tommy shot quickly to the lead while fourth starting Nick Marolf took over second on lap two. With four laps scored, the only yellow came as long time Modified ace Scott Boles had problems with his shiny new #4B Late Model. On the restart Elston went to another time zone as C.J. Horn moved to third after starting in row three. Elston built a straightaway lead before catching the back of the pack around the mid point of the race. Although the traffic was heavy as cars raced for positions, Elston navigated his way through with no issues. Meanwhile, Marolf, who we last saw at LCS behind a wrecker with a heavily damaged machine, gained separation in second. Suddenly it was eleventh starting Jeremy Pundt capturing every ones attention as seemingly from nowhere he entered the top five, then continued to pick off cars, charging to third as the laps wound down. Elston cruised to his first feature win at LCS this season. Marolf  took runner up honors with Pundt in third. After that, I am not sure what happened, as by my eyes and the original scoring it was Horn in fourth. However the official results show Denny Woodworth and Hanna rounding out the top five, with Horn in sixth, so I am guessing there may have been some sort of penalty imposed? In any event, seventh through tenth went to Vance Wilson, Bobby Hansen, Darin Weisinger Jr., and Andy Nezworski. 

   This brought an end to a great night of racing on an immaculately prepared track. I also want to offer up props to flagman Rodney Bleisner and his capable assistant who did an awesome job of keeping the show moving, especially by allowing out of shape cars to right themselves and not throwing a hair trigger caution. This alone shaved several minutes off what could have been a much longer evening!

   Thanks as always to Brian and Marcie Gaylord, as their tenure as capable stewards of the famed fairgrounds oval winds down. But in the meantime, we will do it all again tonight, with action kicking off an hour earlier with hot laps at 6:15. Due to the solid car count, Hobby Stocks have again been added to the card, and the always entertaining American Iron Racing Series cars will be on hand as well. So dress warm and join us, won't you please?