Racin' Down the Road

With a couple of vacation days lined up, I was planning once again for my first
three race weekend of 2010. Things got of to an ominous start on Friday, however, as I stayed close to the computer and watched my Friday night options decrease quickly, as track after track canceled due to the weather. Finally my original first choice, Lee County Speedway, pulled the plug, and that meant a night at home watching the St. Louis Cardinals on tv. My traveling companions and I had already determined that our planned Saturday jaunt to Paducah, Ky. for the Lucas Oil event was off for the same reason, so it then became a choice between the " free " show at 34 Raceway, or the May Day classic at West Liberty Raceway, with the opener at Independence, Iowa as a fall back option. Heading north towards the Iowa border, the call came that 34 had canceled, and we continued to watch the sky as we headed towards West Liberty. For a change, Mother Nature eased up, and what followed was a fun night of racing. West Liberty has been one of my favorite venues since my first visit there in the early 70's, and I was not disappointed on Saturday. The track was well prepared, and the two class show reminded me of the " good old days. " 40 late models and 26 ( or 27? ) modifieds made for a full night of racing without burning up the track before feature time. Since we did not purchase pit passes, having a dozen or so late models pitted in the spectator parking lot was an added bonus, as we
were able to do some looking and visiting before the show started. the 40 car field was only three less than last years' total, and the quality was very good for a non sanctioned show. Kudos to Lucas Oil rookie of the year candidate Will Vaught, and GRT house car pilot Jack Sullivan for making the grueling drive all the way from Paducah after the rainout Saturday morning! One thing I really like about this non sanctioned race is that it brings together a mix of drivers that don't necessarily race together all that often, and while Birkhofer, Moyer, Babb, etc. help fill the seats, it is fun to see how the locals stack up against them on familiar ground. Certainly the Eckrichs and Simpsons more thanh held their own on this night. Having the " Real Deal " Don Oneal in the field was a bit of a last minute thing, as the Indiana driver who sits in the top five in Lucas Oil points had just taken over the Moring Motorsports ride, replacing Ohio ace Matt Miller, who picked up a full time ride just in the last few days. Normally whoever whelles the Moring car displays his own car number, but Oneal was sporting a # 1 instead of his trademark # 71. In the end, the race was what most had predicted, another notch in the belt for local legend Brian Birkhofer. It seems like Birky all but owns the track where he grew up. but certainly he has to work for every win he gets there. Also, it is not as if he cannot win anywhere else, as he is a contender anywhere he unloads his # 15B. Popular as he is around the country, he surely loves coming to West Liberty, where he receives a heroes welcome from the fans. Babb, Moyer, and Missouri legend Terry Phillips had just enough to keep Birkhofer on the gas, but none of them could mount a serious challenge once Brian wrestled the lead for Denny Eckrich early in the 50 lap finale. It was special to see another local legend, Steve Boley back wheeling a late model at the big 1/2 mile. Unfortunately Boley was a bit short on power, and could not make the cut to the A feature. Freeport, Il. driver Jeff Larson fell one spot short of making the finale as well, but then climbed in to his # B1 mod and covered the field from start to finish in a 25 lap race that had more action than a flag to flag win might indicate. Brad Diercks was flying towards the front from a row six start, but had to settle for the runner up spot. Two drivers from my immediate area were on hand, with Quincy,Il racer Rickey Frankel making the money race from the second B main, while Mendon, Il ace Denny Woodworth cam up short in the same qualifier. The usually strong Woodworth was off a bit in time trials, and simply has too muchy ground to make up from that point. With the final checkers waving just after 10:00 PM, I was home by 12:30, plenty of time to rest up for what was supposed to be a clear and dry Sunday.
The rain that was falling as we made our way home Saturday night was a clear warning sign, and it was before noon on Sunday when the e-mail came the my Sunday night home, Quincy Raceways was washed out for the third time in five tries. Even before that, Steve Shepard Jr. had postponed the Northern All Stars late model event at Shepps Speedway, the Sunday night venue 100 miles to the east that I have yet been able to visit. With another vacation day on monday, I was not ready to give up so easily, so after a couple of conversations with Jeff Broeg, I headed to Mt. Pleasnt, Iowa to hitch a ride to the opening night of the newly refurbished Quad City Speedway. Much like the day before, cloud watching became our preoccupation, and although neither the radar nor the sky looked good, we soldiered on. Word soon came that night two of the May Day classic at Farley Speedway was off, not surprising given the nasty looking radar. With probably a combined 90 plus years of race chasing experience between us and no idea when we could make a return trip to the East Moline speedplant, we decided to wait until race time to head to the grandstand. Soon the sprinkles began, followed by a stead drizzle, and as heat number one headed to the track, the rain began in earnest. With announcement that the show was off, we headed across the river in what was now a steady rain. So whats new about that?!? Having caught a glimpse of what looked to be a healthy field of cars, plus a couple of drivers I have yet to witness wheeling a late model, I am going to have to figure a way to get back to the fairgrounds oval this season. Thanks to Jeff for letting me tag along.
Despite another call for rain, I am planning to make the opening points night for late models this Friday at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Saturday night may have to be reserved for some Mothers Day activity, and on Sunday we will try for the opening night of IMCA late model points racing at Quincy. Don't let the weather get ya down, and maybe I will see you all down the road!