Racin' Down the Road

There is no question that race fans - make that fanatics - will do things in the early spring and late fall that they likely would not consider in say, mid July. This past Saturday was a prime example. I spent the morning hours setting up and serving food for my church at a farm auction outside of town. As we were set up in an open shed, I was more than aware that temps were unable to get past 40 and the wind was howling. But when I left home at 7:30, I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. had not yet canceled racing for the evening. So at 11:00, as my shift neared its end, I made the call and got the answer I was looking for - racing was still on. So even though the forecast showed a 70% chance of rain at race time, I called two of my faithful companions from Quincy, and at 2:15 we met up in Taylor,Mo. for the
2 1/2 hour trip to the super fast 1/3 mile south of St.Louis. A rain shower along the way generated one more phone call, but as we cruised on south, the rain stopped and the temperature eased a bit higher. Things got even better as we arrived at the track, and before the sun went down, it made a surprise appearance. We fully expected a soft, rough track - with all the moisture we have seen, how could it not be? Amazingly, however, the track was tacky and fast, and the racing was three wide much of the night. With a sparse crowd, a threatening forecast, and the river which often floods the only way in and out of the facility on the rise, Ray Marler and crew wasted no time. Indeed, the first late model heat rolled off ten minutes before scheduled race time, and the action went non stop from there. 27 UMP late models checked in, to go along with an unusually small count of 18 UMP modifieds, 30 AARA sportsmen, and 12 Pro 4's. The regular position dashes were eliminated, as a roll of the die determined the feature inverts after the heats were completed. The three late model heats went to Tim Rataczyk
( pronounced Rattacheck ), Craig Smith, and Mark Miner. Dewayne Kiefer nabbed the consy, and the 24 car field was set for the 25 lap feature. The Pro 4 feature complete, the late models rolled out second, much to our delight! With defending track champion Brian Collins on the pole, common opinion had the battle being for second. Collins seemed to have missed on his set up, and began falling back gradually. Meanwhile Rataczyk was on a rail, and looked like the man to beat in his # 112. Coming from the third row, however, Mark Voigt soon had his # 30 pointed to the front, and as lap 20 approached, the veteran racer starting his 30th season took the top spot. It was his second victory of the weekend, as he came out on top the night before in Belleville, Il. Rataczyk held on to second, followed by Tim Manville, Smith. and Michael Kloos fifth. The second five consisted of Miner, Dave Jumper, Jeff Beyers, Collins and Brandon Sheppard. The modifieds came quickly to the speedway, but with the temps dropping and the rain coming, we headed for the car after the second caution period. Reports had Bobby Bittle and Rusty Griffaw in a race long battle with Bittle grabbing the win, in a reverse of the finish at Belleville. We were happy to be in the car at 9:07 for the rainy drive home, and as we learned Sunday, the rains hit the track ten minutes after the conclusion of the Sportsman feature at 9:40. As I mentioned last time, Pevely is an outstanding facility, easily worth tackling the St Louis area traffic, and I hope to make two or three more visits in 2010. With some obligations this Saturday, my next scheduled race is the opener at Quincy Raceways this Sunday, April 4. IMCA late models, UMP modifieds, IMCA stock cars and hobby stocks are on the card, with hot laps at 5:00 and racing at 5:30. As of this writing, there are still some soft spots on the track and in the pits, so Tuesday nights practice has been postponed. Plans are now to have three consecutive nights of test and tune beginning on Wednesday. The following weekend. April 10 and 11 is set up as a great racing weekend in this part of the world, with IMCA late model Summer Series races at 34 Raceway in West Burlington and Quincy. Should the weather man interfere, the third annual Illini 100 at Farmer City, Il. will be an option. This has been a favorite of ours the first two years it has run, but will take a back seat to the Summer Series shows. Be sure and mark the opening weekend of IMCA late model points on your schedule. Lee County Speedway will begin their second year of " Drive for Five, " on Friday,April 23 and the following night 34 Raceway has announced it will be free admission for all! Then you can visit Quincy Raceways to cap off a racin' weekend. Wherever you are, take in some racing this weekend, spring is finally here!