Friday Night Fun

Determination was the theme for the week, and it has paid off twice for me so far this week. Way back in January I scheduled two vacation days from work for Thursday and Friday to take in a St Louis Cardinals game on Thursday and the Lucas Oil race at 34 Raceway on Friday. Of course things began to " go south " last weekend with the ominous forecast for what else but rain. Still Thursday morning, my wife and I took off in the rain for the
2 1/2 hour drive to Busch Stadium, hoping to root my beloved Redbirds back in to first place. Despite a persistent drizzle throughout, the game came off as scheduled, and the Birds rewarded us with a win and a return to the top spot. One down, one to go. While my wife went to work on Friday, I parked in front of the computer and as happened on my last Friday off, I watched the cancellations come up on the websites, with 34 Raceway pulling the plug as I drank my first pot of coffee. But enough is enough, I was going to find a race for my grandson and myself, and so I began poking keys on the computer and the cell phone, and came up with three possibilities, one each in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Considering my grandson did not get out of school until 3:15, Davenport,Iowa Speedway looked like our best bet, but it just did not look like the weather might cooperate. The lady at the office in Maquoketa let me know that they were going to race if at all possible, so that was good enough for me, and at 3:40 we rolled out of Canton, Mo. with just enough time to make 6:00 hot laps. Three more calls along the way made by us of little faith were answered in the affirmative, and we exited the car in the fairgrounds parking lot just as announcer Katie summoned the 4 stock cars for hot laps.
As expected, the track was very wet, and was a handful for the drivers in hot laps, which less than half the cars came out for, and the 13 heat races.
Track officials brought the grader to the oval during intermission, and the result was a somewhat smoother surface and a wider area for racing for the six features. One of the negative aspects of the speedway is the quality of the sound system, and while the announcing duo did a fair job of giving lineups, it is very difficult to make out what is being said. As this was my first visit since 2008, I was at a disadvantage trying to figure out who was who, particularly in the " local " classes. I do follow the weekly results from the track to a degree, so the names in victory circle were at least familiar ones, and it was Mike Morrow taking the 4 stock win. The Dwarf car winner was someone I have watched for many years, as late model veteran Ron Boyse climbed in the # 77 and came from the back of the pack to third at the white flag. When the top two cars came together on the final lap with the leader spinning, both were charged with the caution, and Boyse found himself in victory lane. The IMCA modifieds went flag to flag with Jacob Waterman taking the win. Matt Werner survived a couple of cautions to take the street stock main event. The Pro Mods stacked up quickly on the start, and when three cars entered turn three side by side, contact was made, and heat race winner Bob Dominacki found himself upside down. While the veteran was apparently uninjured, his # 5D machine showed signs of heavy damage. The 20 lapper became a test of endurance, as only seven cars were around at the checkers. Doug Crampton collected his second win of the young season, with John Bull in second. I was unsure what the curfew situation was, and as it was after 9:30 when the late models hit the track, I was relived that the portable microphone was not working and on track interviews of the feature winners were not done. Lets be serious, how many times can you hear what the driver says, anyway?
19 IMCA late models rolled to the track, with Ray Guss Jr. in a car borrowed for the night from Duane Christisen. Not sure if the Roberts Racing crew damage the # 58 at the track, or if it was home in the shop, as I never did see the familiar red machine. Bret Diercks was the opening night winner in his # 29, and he drew the pole on Friday. Lady Luck abandoned him though, as he went pitside while leading on a lap seven caution for Jeff Stevens # 11, who stopped up against the tires in turn three. The man on the move was sixth starting Brian Harris. I was surprised to see Brian, who has been racing an open late model out of Peoria,Il., back in a # 21H IMCA late model. While it has been a while since Harris was a regular at his hometown track, he showed that he still knows his way around the 1/4 mile. He held off the challenges of Cory Goldbeck, before Kevin Blum took over the second slot. The Wildman was a rocket after clearing traffic, and came to the checkers less than half a car length behind Harris, as everyone came to their feet. Goldbeck held on to third ahead of Guss and Mark Preston. Doug Nigh recovered from a last place heat finish to gain 11 spots and finish sixth, ahead of Matt Ryan. Jeremy Gustaf, Eric Sanders, and Mike Garland rounded out the top ten.
The cars counts were less than what one would expect at Davenport, with 19 late models the most of any class, leading a total of about 86 cars. I am sure the threatening weather and the prospect of less than ideal track and pit conditions kept some guys at home. Those who did show up definitely came to race, and I was happy I took the chance and made the 300 mile round trip. While I am a believer in supporting your local tracks, it is a special treat for me to visit different tracks and see cars and drivers I do not normally get to watch race. Thanks to track officials for holding off on the kids bicycle races until after the late model feature, avoiding the curfew and getting us on the road home just after 10:00.
I will not be attending the rescheduled Lucas Oil event at 34 Raceway, now set for Sunday night. I will be in my usual spot at Quincy Raceway for IMCA late models and stock cars, UMP modifieds and track rules hobby stocks, with hot laps scheduled for 5:00PM. Due to wet grounds, Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. was once again forced to postpone their opening night from Saturday May 22, and they are going to try again on Sunday night, as well. There should be plenty of cars for all three venues, I just hope there are plenty of fans, as well. See you at the races!