Every now and then, you just feel like taking a chance, and Saturday was one of those days. The weather has stood in the way of a fair portion of the 2011 racing season, but the nearly 400 mile rainout 11 days earlier was not going to influence our next road trip. So Keagan, Darryl, Fred and I loaded up early Saturday morning and headed to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where we met up with Bill Brown and headed off on yet another adventure. If the rain stayed away, it would be the first visit for all but Bill to the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood - think Omaha - Nebraska for the final night of the inaugural Silver Dollar Nationals. The Saturday lineup included a complete USMTS modified show for the second consecutive night, plus last chance races and the 80 lap feature for the MLRA late models. As none of us has the weather app on our cell phones, we made several calls along our journey across Iowa, as the rain began north of Oskaloosa and stayed with us off and on all the way to our destination. Thinking positively, we stopped in Omaha to get motel rooms, then headed to the speedway. Even with the clouds hanging over us, we bought tickets so that we could go to the pits before the 3:00 PM cut off. The late model count of 51 was a bit less than might have been expected, but that has been a recurring theme this season, but we knew what we had going in, and there were more than enough quality cars and stars to fill the 34 car starting field. Our first look at the Kosiski family owned 4/10 mile high banked facility confirmed what we had heard - that this was a top notch speed plant, wide and smooth with plenty of good seating, complete with backs for added comfort.
20 cars were already prequalified for the $25,000 to win finale, seven drivers would earn provisionals from various methods, the 34 th spot would be auctioned off, leaving slots 21 thru 26 to come from the two last chance events. Although we were not on hand on Friday, everyone we talked to - fan wise - thought the qualifying format of each car running two heat races, with the second heat lineups inverted against different cars and passing point totals used to line up the top 20 was a success. Apparently some of the drivers who had pre entered but did not show did so because of the format., preferring the time honored two lap time trials instead even thought he ten heat races each had a total purse of $500 split among the top three finishers. Another unique idea was to have the heats and last chance races total two more laps than the number of cars in the field, making the last chance races 17 laps each. The combination of six open spots, the provisionals from the MLRA, SLMR, and three previous I-80 late model specials, plus the auction spot kept 48 of the 51 cars on hand. In addition, Dave Conkright rolled in for night two only to try and make the field.
The first last chance event saw Kelly Boen, driving # 33x advance from a row three slot to lead pole sitter Al Humphrey and RC Whitwell for starting spots. The second 17 lapper rolled to the track with pole sitter Mike Collins missing. This moved UMP regular Jason McBride to the outside front row. Collins rolled out at the back of the field, starting in the 14th position. As McBride pulled out to a big lead, Dan Schleiper moved for row four to the runner up spot. Meanwhile, Collins worked his way all the way to third, only to lose the transfer spot to Denny Eckrich after a late caution.
With the modified field pared down to 24 from the 34 cars that signed in and the late model grid set except for one spot, intermission time came. In another unique move, the qualified drivers from both classes came to the grandstand side and mingled with the fans as they were introduced. It was at this time that the announcers called for any late model drivers that wanted to bid on the final late model starting spot to come to the flag stand. Three drivers made the call, including Collins, Mike Wallace, and Bill Koons. The auction rules, were as follows - it would take a minimum bid of $1,500 to buy in to the $1,000 to start race. All money bid over the $1,000 start money would be split amongst to last twenty finishing spots. The bidding started slowly until the announcer auctioneer invited the large crowd to offer up extra cash for the driver of their preference. The bidding came down to Collins and Koons, before Koons, the restauranteur sealed the deal with a bid of $2,700. When asked what had just happened, he replied, " I just did something really stupid! "
With all the hoopla dying down, the USMTS cars rolled out for 35 laps of action. Springfield, Missouri pilot Jeremy Payne left his late model at home and concentrated on his # 74 modified, earning an outside row one starting spot. Payne paced the field for thirty non stop green flag laps before Friday nights winner, Kelly Shryock was able to close a straightaway lead and make the pass to the front. Less than two laps later, as the leaders negotiated lapped traffic, there was a three car tussle in turns three and four that collected Shryock, and left Payne with minor damage. Kelly went pitside and changed a tire, came back out, but retired to the trailer before the green waved again. Jeremy inherited the lead back, and held on the final four circuits, as his teammate and mentor Terry Phillips came home second. Iowa ace Ryan Gustin had blown an engine on Friday night, stuck in a new one, and finished a strong third. Jason Hughes needed a B- main win to make the show from row seven, and had advanced to fourth on the restart, but faded back in the pack in the closing laps.
Phillips, Kyle Berck, and Chris Speiker all did double duty for the weekend, with Phillips driving the # 80 late model of Scott Koskovich. Of the three, only Speiker did not qualify in the late model finale, so Berck and Phillips would be running more than 100 laps on a muggy night - did I mention that the clouds almost magically drifted away after 5:30, prompting a somewhat nervous Ed Kosiski to jump back in the water truck!?!
Iowa driver Chris Simpson and Indiana hot shoe Don Oneal in the Freeport, Il based Moring Motorsports # 1 made up the front row for the finale. Simpson took off like a shot, with the first caution on lap eleven. On the restart, third starting Austin Hubbard, the young driver from Delaware, moved around Oneal for second. after a lap 20 stoppage, Billy Moyer the elder, who had been locked in a three wide duel with Oneal and Mars, took the fourth spot, with Oneal in third and Mars fifth. Oneal then took second from Hubbard, and after a lap 33 restart, he put a major league slide job on Simpson in turn two, clearing him with no problem for his first lead of the night. About this time, 20th starting Brian Birkhofer began to move after spending the first 30 laps outside the top ten. Brian moved to eighth on a lap 40 restart. Another yellow three laps later saw Hubbard take second, and fifth starting Dale McDowell renentered the top group in fourth. Throught the race, Moyer had been working the high side, where the cushion was nearly to the wall, and the footing was tricky. On lap 56, Moyer slowed in turn two, dropping about three spots, and one lap later he retired to the pits with apparent rear end or transmission issues. Birkhofer used Moyers misfortune to move to sixth as the field retook the green and Oneal continued to lead by a wide margin. On this, the final stoppage, McDowell moved to third/ Three laps later,Birky took fourth from Mars, and on lap 67 McDowell grabbed second from Hubbard. Two laps later, Birkhofer made the pass for third, but from the The Muscatine ace and the Georgia hot shoe could only watch Oneal, the " Real Deal " cruise to the $25,000 big check waiting in victory lane. McDowell was smooth and steady, taking the $12,000 runner up check, and Birky took home $7,000 for third. The rest of the top ten included Hubbard, Mars, Chris Simpson, New York standout Tim McCreadie, 18th starting Chad Simpson, Jesse Stovall, and 21 st starting Boen in tenth.
Even with a bit of a late start due in part to track prep, and all the festivities, the final checkers waved about 11:30, and no one seemed to mind. I would have to say that my long overdue first trip to this impressive speedplant will not be my last, and a big thank you to Ed and the entire Kosiski family for a well run show and a perfectly prepared track despite the weather. The field of late model drivers on hand was a fascinating mix, of World of Outlaw, Lucas Oil, MLRA, Mars, UMP,SLMR,CBC and independent racers, including some I had not had the pleasure of seeing race in several seasons, and some I had only read about and never seen. In addition, I finally got to see in action a late model # 62, the only
" regular " number I had never seen on a late model. In fact, " Lightning "
Leon Zeitner had possibly the best looking car in the pit area.
Ed Kosiski stated after the checkers flew, that he would have an announcement this week concerning the possibility of the Silver Dollar Nationals returning in 2012. If they do, I would certainly recommend attending!
We were able to make it back home in plenty of time to switch cars and head to Quincy,Il Raceways for weekly Sunday night racing. Helping up along was a starting time pushed back one hour to beat the heat. Despite several calls to the track and assurances that racing would go on as planned, we arrived to find a pit road and area so muddy that none of the
big rigs were allowed in, instead being directed to the east parking area. Track personnel, with help from the drivers attempted to make the racing surface rolled in, but the decision finally was made about 8:00 that the top side would not come in, and it would be too dangerous and too hard on equipment to race on. With that, the stands along with the regular and makeshift pits emptied out. There will be no midweek make up, with action resuming next Sunday night.
Check your calenders, the last weekend in July is upon us, lets go racing!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Heat Is On
As old as I am getting, you would think I would be used to contrary weather, but 2011 has been just flat irritating. One week ago tonight, Keagan, Fred and I decided to ignore the clouds and the so-so forecast and make the three hour drive to Independence, Iowa for the World Of Outlaw late model special. After all, Fred and I were burning vacation days, so nothing to do but go, right? the closer we got, the rainier it looked, and we arrived at the fairgrounds with intermittent showers falling. When the rain quit, we made our way to pit road to sneak a peek at who was already there and who was rolling in. As we stood under the big tree, the rain picked up, and as Chris Simpson rolled through the gate, a track official walked up to tell him that the race had been postponed to August 8. as much as i would like to support this big event, I will not be able to make it back, but best of luck to Cam Granger and Rick Hartzell in this ambitious venture.
Friday and Saturday nights were filled with family time, and Sunday, Keagan and I - with Keagan behind the wheel - headed for my weekly stop at Quincy Raceways. Once again, heat was the dominant word, and QR is obviously not alone in in seeing both fan and car count down a bit in the oppressive conditions. Still, the track was good, and so was the racing. The UMP modifieds were not on their best behavior, staging something of a marathon main event. When the checkers flew, second generation racer Steven Delonjay showed why he is a threat to assault some of his Dads impressive stats. Steven captured his fifth straight QR feature win, besting an 18 car field. Two more second generation drivers were in the top four. Jared Schlipman took second , and following Tony Dunker in third was the beat and battered # B1 of Vance Wilson in fourth. Before the races, Tonya Weitholder, wife of Dave told me not to get too close to their # 05 without a tetanus shot. She then said Dave told her the would hang a new body on the car after 50 races. When I asked how close they were, Dave said Sunday was night # 46, so it should happen in the next week. They are true racers, to say the least!
Abe Huls grabbed an entertaing IMCA stock car feature ahead of the pink # 40 of Aaron Brocksieck, while Jake Powers grabbed his first ever feature win in the hobby stocks in front of early leader Nathan Anders and point leader Steve Carlin.
Denny Woodworth assaulted the top side of the .29 mile oval to blast into the lead, looking like he would run away with the 30 lap IMCA late model finale. Soon, however, Justin Reed began closing the gap on the very bottom of the track as the cushion disappeared. Woodworth then moved down the track, but His # 45DW would not hold the bottom groove, and Reed slipped by for the lead. From there, Justin stretched it out over the late model lawyer, grabbing his second win of 2011 at QR. Joey Gower, Keith Pratt, son Matt and father Lonnie Bailey - all previous feature winners this season, completed the first six. The last car to check in for the late models was Justin Jennings, # 56J. Justin still had a big smile after a sucessful Saturday at Iowa Speedway. The 18 year old had put together a last minute deal to enter the ARCA 200 at Iowa Speedway, a natural progression of his budding asphalt ( as well as dirt ) career. Justin entered the race with two goals - finish the race, and do so in the top 20. Despite the intense heat, the diminutive teenager realized both goals when he took the checkered flag in 19th position. He hopes to perhaps make a couple more ARCA starts before he enrolls in NASCAR school this fall.
The final race of the night saw a bit of QR history. Like many tracks these days, QR has had a steady flow of " lady " racers. Unfortunately, none had seen victory lane before or since A modified driver Mary Kay Allen took a feature checkered flag at the age of 22 in 1993. Mary Kay finally gained some company on Sunday when " veteran " teenage racer Kimberly Abbott snagged a win in the 4 cylinder Wild Thing feature. Kimberly, who lives just a short distance from the speedway has been a regular for several seasons at Lee County Speedway, and started racing her # 71 at QR this season when the Wild Things were added to the card. A further bit of trivia, Mary Kay " retired " a couple seasons after her win to start a family, handing the driving chores to husband Ted. They now burn up the highways watching her " little " brother, Michael long, win races around the midwest.
As it stands now, this weekends plans are a Saturday visit to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska, for the final night of the $ 25,000 to win late model Silver Dollar Nationals along with the USMTS modifieds. Then it will be back to QR on Sunday - if Mother Nature will cut us some slack! Wherever you are, Dog Days are here early, so take in a race while the heat is on!
Friday and Saturday nights were filled with family time, and Sunday, Keagan and I - with Keagan behind the wheel - headed for my weekly stop at Quincy Raceways. Once again, heat was the dominant word, and QR is obviously not alone in in seeing both fan and car count down a bit in the oppressive conditions. Still, the track was good, and so was the racing. The UMP modifieds were not on their best behavior, staging something of a marathon main event. When the checkers flew, second generation racer Steven Delonjay showed why he is a threat to assault some of his Dads impressive stats. Steven captured his fifth straight QR feature win, besting an 18 car field. Two more second generation drivers were in the top four. Jared Schlipman took second , and following Tony Dunker in third was the beat and battered # B1 of Vance Wilson in fourth. Before the races, Tonya Weitholder, wife of Dave told me not to get too close to their # 05 without a tetanus shot. She then said Dave told her the would hang a new body on the car after 50 races. When I asked how close they were, Dave said Sunday was night # 46, so it should happen in the next week. They are true racers, to say the least!
Abe Huls grabbed an entertaing IMCA stock car feature ahead of the pink # 40 of Aaron Brocksieck, while Jake Powers grabbed his first ever feature win in the hobby stocks in front of early leader Nathan Anders and point leader Steve Carlin.
Denny Woodworth assaulted the top side of the .29 mile oval to blast into the lead, looking like he would run away with the 30 lap IMCA late model finale. Soon, however, Justin Reed began closing the gap on the very bottom of the track as the cushion disappeared. Woodworth then moved down the track, but His # 45DW would not hold the bottom groove, and Reed slipped by for the lead. From there, Justin stretched it out over the late model lawyer, grabbing his second win of 2011 at QR. Joey Gower, Keith Pratt, son Matt and father Lonnie Bailey - all previous feature winners this season, completed the first six. The last car to check in for the late models was Justin Jennings, # 56J. Justin still had a big smile after a sucessful Saturday at Iowa Speedway. The 18 year old had put together a last minute deal to enter the ARCA 200 at Iowa Speedway, a natural progression of his budding asphalt ( as well as dirt ) career. Justin entered the race with two goals - finish the race, and do so in the top 20. Despite the intense heat, the diminutive teenager realized both goals when he took the checkered flag in 19th position. He hopes to perhaps make a couple more ARCA starts before he enrolls in NASCAR school this fall.
The final race of the night saw a bit of QR history. Like many tracks these days, QR has had a steady flow of " lady " racers. Unfortunately, none had seen victory lane before or since A modified driver Mary Kay Allen took a feature checkered flag at the age of 22 in 1993. Mary Kay finally gained some company on Sunday when " veteran " teenage racer Kimberly Abbott snagged a win in the 4 cylinder Wild Thing feature. Kimberly, who lives just a short distance from the speedway has been a regular for several seasons at Lee County Speedway, and started racing her # 71 at QR this season when the Wild Things were added to the card. A further bit of trivia, Mary Kay " retired " a couple seasons after her win to start a family, handing the driving chores to husband Ted. They now burn up the highways watching her " little " brother, Michael long, win races around the midwest.
As it stands now, this weekends plans are a Saturday visit to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska, for the final night of the $ 25,000 to win late model Silver Dollar Nationals along with the USMTS modifieds. Then it will be back to QR on Sunday - if Mother Nature will cut us some slack! Wherever you are, Dog Days are here early, so take in a race while the heat is on!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Back in the Saddle
The good news is, the rains finally have eased up. The bad news is, between racing working, and other obligations, this blog has taken a bit of a back seat the last 10 days or so. since my last installment, I have been able to attend five races in a span of eight days. As some of those results are a bit old by now, i won't go into detail, but, but i will say i have seen some excellent racing. The run started with the second and final visit of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series to Quincy Raceways on Sunday, July 3. A stout if somewhat short field of 27 cars signed in, and the 42 minute 40 lap main event was part marathon, and part odyssey. Several early cautions - six in the first six laps - scrambled the field, and saw 14 time track champion Mark Burgtorf suffer front end damage that rendered him a non factor, and sent defending series champ Ray Guss Jr. pitside for a tire change. Mike Murphy Jr. paced the field until he broke a ball joint on one of the restarts. Things finally settled down, with Terry Neal pacing the field. Denny Woodworth was flying to the front before making contact with a lapped car. As the laps clicked off, Guss made a charge through the field. While Neal ran multiple lanes around the two groove track, Guss worked the bottom to perfection. At the checkers, he was on the heels of the 28c, but it was Neal picking up second QR series win, with the first coming in 2005. Series points leader Andy Eckrich rolled home third.
The following night Darryl and I bit the bullet and headed for the UMP Summernationals show at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, full well knowing that the alarm would go off early on Tuesday morning. Thankfully, track owners Amy and Jeff Laue seemed to be aware of this very dilemma, and had the enthusiastic crowd on the road well before 10:00. Some folks seemed surprised at the car count for the $5,000 to win show, but history tells us that the Summernationals drivers seem to have an aversion to crossing the Mississippi river, with Pevely, Mo. the lone exception. Still the 26 car field was more than enough to fill a 23 car starting grid, and there were plenty of big names on hand. Much to the delight of the crowd, " homegrown " favorite Brian Birkhofer brought his " A " game, sweeping time trials - 15.502 - his heat race, and the 40 lap feature. Arkansas driver Jack Sullivan, in the GRT house car made a couple of runs at Brian, but could not nmake a serious challenge. Dennis Erb Jr. had been in a bit of a slump, but came home third ahead of Michigans Jeep Van Wormer, and the " Highside Hustler, " Jason Feger, who started 13th. Central Illnois hotshoe Ryan Unzicker was scheduled to start fifth, but could not get his 24 ready in time. after the green flag flew, Ryan rolled out of the pits in Sullivans back up car, made a couple of laps, and pulled back in, I assume to secure his points and start money. In contrast to the previous night, the finale went caution free, taking just over 13 minutes to complete!
By now the time had come to pay some bills, so it was back to work on Tuesday. I had already promised to take my wife, daughter and two oldest grandsons to the St Louis Zoo on Friday, and had scheduled a vacation day to do so. When Simmons Promotions and IMCA made the decision to move the Deery Brothers Summer Series race at West Liberty, Iowa to Thursday, away from The World of Outlaw date at Independence, Iowa, I was able to beg out of the office a couple hours early. I had been waiting 21 years for another Summer Series race at " Lib, " and was thrilled I did not have to choose which race to attend. Grandson Keagan had been planning to join me in west Liberty, but the Justin Moore country music concert at the Lee County Fair in Donnellson, Iowa was too much of a lure. So Grandma stepped up and went to the concert, and I headed north by myself for some 1/2 mile racin'. Before I had driven 10 miles from home, the rain was coming down in buckets, so i made a call to buddy Bob Litton in Iowa City who assured me things looked good up his way. Sure enough, the closer I got, the more the skies cleared, and while Mary and Keagan waited out intermittent showers in Donnellson, I was high and dry in West Liberty.
A solid field of 38 cars signed in, and after four heats and two B-mains, we waited as the top 12 drew for their starting spots on the front stretch. When series points leader Andy Eckrich drew the outside pole position everyone knew he would be difficult to beat on his home track. Still, long time Liberty hotshoe Ray Guss Jr. drew the number three, so... From the start, Andy looked unstoppable. Just as the leaders encountered lapped traffic, a caution flag gave Eckrich an open track. Meanwhile, Guss was dealing with a challenge from Brian Harris. Brian was racing for the first time in a ride from the Diercks Motorsports stable, a black machine with a # 27H on the side. Although Guss regained the second spot on a lap 24 caution, Harris soon took the spot, but still Eckrich was in charge. In the closing laps, Harris cut in to Andys lead, and on the final lap, made a low side move in turn two, easing ahead and breaking the momentum of the # 56 just a bit. Still Eckrich led entering the final turns, but he took the high groove. Brian took the low side, and with the crowd on their feet, he took the win by half a car length stunning those in attendance. Guss took third, with Tyler Bruening fourth. Kevin Kile entered his first series race, at least in the spec motor era, and came from 17th to fifth. Mike Klinkhammer recovered from a lap 24 spin while running sixth to finish tenth.
The 19 car modified win went to Gus Hughes, who had quite a night. Hughes showed up well after the draw, started tenth in the second heat, and came through the field in both his heat and the feature. The win was not an easy one, as he and Bruce Hanford had a great duel for the top spot.
Six hours sleep, and off to a day at the zoo, where a nice breeze made the 90 degree temps mostly bearable, although the bears sure looked hot!
Saturday started with a stop back at the Donnellson fair, then Keagan and I convinced Grandma to visit the race track for the first time in 2011, with the Jake McVey concert at 34 Raceway in west Burlington the attraction.
The car count was down in the late models, with only eleven on hand, and with only four classes in competition again the races ended well before 10:00. The sport mods were an addition to the card, and Keokuk, Iowa Jim Gillenwater demolished the 16 car field. Jim Mueller was again the class of the IMCA stock cars. the race of the night was in the IMCA modifields with Dusty Kraklio, slipping past Darin Thye on the final lap for the win. Darin had led 19 laps in the # m50 machine.
" Superman " Sam Halstead has been enduring a challenging season, but finally put it all together Saturday, leading all 25 laps for his first feature win of the season. Tom Goble threatened early, but settled for second, while Joey Gower, Matt Bailey, and Jeff Guenferich in the Lynn Richard
# 15 rounded out the first five.
Thanks to the Laues for coming up with something to entice my wife to the track!
Another short night, and the weekend wrapped up with a weekly show at Quincy, Il. Raceways. Oppressive heat was a challenge for drivers and spectators alike, and track officials waited as long as they could before starting hot laps, then rolling them off quickly, with heats beginning about 10 minutes after the advertised start time. With a $2,000 to win UMP modified special 80 miles away in Moberly, Mo., the car count was down a bit, but track officials did a splendid job of offering up a two groove track, and the racing was quite good come feature time. The UMP mod feature turned in to a three car scrum, with Steven Delonjay picking up his fifth win of the nine race season. It was especially rewarding for the second generation driver, as his # 35 sustained heavy damage the night before at Macomb, Il. Another second generation ace, Jared Schlipman took second, with Dave Weitholder third. The IMCA stock cars staged the best race of the night, another three car battle. Kevin Tomlinson, Terry Houston, and Andrew Griffin raced three wide before Griffin spun on the final lap. Tomlinson took the win over Houston and Aaron Brocksieck. The 11 car IMCA feature ran next, with Denny Woodworth overtaking early leader Dustin Neese on lap seven, becoming the first repeat winner in nine nights at QR in 2011. Joey Gower, Justin Reed, point leader Lonnie Bailey, and Keith Pratt trailed Denny to the flag. Another second generation racer, Tanner Klingele took the hobby stock win over Brandon Symmonds, and Todd Nelson made it two in a row in the 4 cylinder Wild Things.
Late model driver Justin Jennings has secured sponsorship and will enter the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway next Saturday. The 2011 high school graduate is in his second season of racing both a dirt and asphalt late model, and just last week picked up a second place finish on the dirt at Memphis, Mo. on Thursday, and a second to Tony Jackson, Jr. on the Lebanon, Mo asphalt on Saturday. He finished off the week with an eighth place run on the dirt at QR. He will be in the LG Seeds # 23 in the ARCA event.
As I finish these ramblings, I have one eye on the 10:00 weather, as tomorrow is another vacation day, and Keagan and buddy Fred are set to join me as we head to the World of Outlaw late model/IMCA modified extravaganza at Independence, Iowa Speedway. There has been a lot of chatter on the message boards about this race, especially about the $30 ticket price. I can't help but think about how many seasons I perused the racing papers looking at results for series like Hav-A-Tampa, and later WoO and Lucas Oil, wishing these series would come close enough to the area that I could take in a show and sleep in my own bed. Well, people like the Laues at 34 Raceway have taken the leap to bring us the Lucas series, and now Cam Granger and Rick Hartzell are taking the gamble to bring in the outlaws. Will I pay the $30? You bet, I will, happily so. Weekly racing is very important to our area, but when the big dogs come around, we need to show up then, as well. If you see me at Indy, say " Hi! " Lets go racin'.
The following night Darryl and I bit the bullet and headed for the UMP Summernationals show at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, full well knowing that the alarm would go off early on Tuesday morning. Thankfully, track owners Amy and Jeff Laue seemed to be aware of this very dilemma, and had the enthusiastic crowd on the road well before 10:00. Some folks seemed surprised at the car count for the $5,000 to win show, but history tells us that the Summernationals drivers seem to have an aversion to crossing the Mississippi river, with Pevely, Mo. the lone exception. Still the 26 car field was more than enough to fill a 23 car starting grid, and there were plenty of big names on hand. Much to the delight of the crowd, " homegrown " favorite Brian Birkhofer brought his " A " game, sweeping time trials - 15.502 - his heat race, and the 40 lap feature. Arkansas driver Jack Sullivan, in the GRT house car made a couple of runs at Brian, but could not nmake a serious challenge. Dennis Erb Jr. had been in a bit of a slump, but came home third ahead of Michigans Jeep Van Wormer, and the " Highside Hustler, " Jason Feger, who started 13th. Central Illnois hotshoe Ryan Unzicker was scheduled to start fifth, but could not get his 24 ready in time. after the green flag flew, Ryan rolled out of the pits in Sullivans back up car, made a couple of laps, and pulled back in, I assume to secure his points and start money. In contrast to the previous night, the finale went caution free, taking just over 13 minutes to complete!
By now the time had come to pay some bills, so it was back to work on Tuesday. I had already promised to take my wife, daughter and two oldest grandsons to the St Louis Zoo on Friday, and had scheduled a vacation day to do so. When Simmons Promotions and IMCA made the decision to move the Deery Brothers Summer Series race at West Liberty, Iowa to Thursday, away from The World of Outlaw date at Independence, Iowa, I was able to beg out of the office a couple hours early. I had been waiting 21 years for another Summer Series race at " Lib, " and was thrilled I did not have to choose which race to attend. Grandson Keagan had been planning to join me in west Liberty, but the Justin Moore country music concert at the Lee County Fair in Donnellson, Iowa was too much of a lure. So Grandma stepped up and went to the concert, and I headed north by myself for some 1/2 mile racin'. Before I had driven 10 miles from home, the rain was coming down in buckets, so i made a call to buddy Bob Litton in Iowa City who assured me things looked good up his way. Sure enough, the closer I got, the more the skies cleared, and while Mary and Keagan waited out intermittent showers in Donnellson, I was high and dry in West Liberty.
A solid field of 38 cars signed in, and after four heats and two B-mains, we waited as the top 12 drew for their starting spots on the front stretch. When series points leader Andy Eckrich drew the outside pole position everyone knew he would be difficult to beat on his home track. Still, long time Liberty hotshoe Ray Guss Jr. drew the number three, so... From the start, Andy looked unstoppable. Just as the leaders encountered lapped traffic, a caution flag gave Eckrich an open track. Meanwhile, Guss was dealing with a challenge from Brian Harris. Brian was racing for the first time in a ride from the Diercks Motorsports stable, a black machine with a # 27H on the side. Although Guss regained the second spot on a lap 24 caution, Harris soon took the spot, but still Eckrich was in charge. In the closing laps, Harris cut in to Andys lead, and on the final lap, made a low side move in turn two, easing ahead and breaking the momentum of the # 56 just a bit. Still Eckrich led entering the final turns, but he took the high groove. Brian took the low side, and with the crowd on their feet, he took the win by half a car length stunning those in attendance. Guss took third, with Tyler Bruening fourth. Kevin Kile entered his first series race, at least in the spec motor era, and came from 17th to fifth. Mike Klinkhammer recovered from a lap 24 spin while running sixth to finish tenth.
The 19 car modified win went to Gus Hughes, who had quite a night. Hughes showed up well after the draw, started tenth in the second heat, and came through the field in both his heat and the feature. The win was not an easy one, as he and Bruce Hanford had a great duel for the top spot.
Six hours sleep, and off to a day at the zoo, where a nice breeze made the 90 degree temps mostly bearable, although the bears sure looked hot!
Saturday started with a stop back at the Donnellson fair, then Keagan and I convinced Grandma to visit the race track for the first time in 2011, with the Jake McVey concert at 34 Raceway in west Burlington the attraction.
The car count was down in the late models, with only eleven on hand, and with only four classes in competition again the races ended well before 10:00. The sport mods were an addition to the card, and Keokuk, Iowa Jim Gillenwater demolished the 16 car field. Jim Mueller was again the class of the IMCA stock cars. the race of the night was in the IMCA modifields with Dusty Kraklio, slipping past Darin Thye on the final lap for the win. Darin had led 19 laps in the # m50 machine.
" Superman " Sam Halstead has been enduring a challenging season, but finally put it all together Saturday, leading all 25 laps for his first feature win of the season. Tom Goble threatened early, but settled for second, while Joey Gower, Matt Bailey, and Jeff Guenferich in the Lynn Richard
# 15 rounded out the first five.
Thanks to the Laues for coming up with something to entice my wife to the track!
Another short night, and the weekend wrapped up with a weekly show at Quincy, Il. Raceways. Oppressive heat was a challenge for drivers and spectators alike, and track officials waited as long as they could before starting hot laps, then rolling them off quickly, with heats beginning about 10 minutes after the advertised start time. With a $2,000 to win UMP modified special 80 miles away in Moberly, Mo., the car count was down a bit, but track officials did a splendid job of offering up a two groove track, and the racing was quite good come feature time. The UMP mod feature turned in to a three car scrum, with Steven Delonjay picking up his fifth win of the nine race season. It was especially rewarding for the second generation driver, as his # 35 sustained heavy damage the night before at Macomb, Il. Another second generation ace, Jared Schlipman took second, with Dave Weitholder third. The IMCA stock cars staged the best race of the night, another three car battle. Kevin Tomlinson, Terry Houston, and Andrew Griffin raced three wide before Griffin spun on the final lap. Tomlinson took the win over Houston and Aaron Brocksieck. The 11 car IMCA feature ran next, with Denny Woodworth overtaking early leader Dustin Neese on lap seven, becoming the first repeat winner in nine nights at QR in 2011. Joey Gower, Justin Reed, point leader Lonnie Bailey, and Keith Pratt trailed Denny to the flag. Another second generation racer, Tanner Klingele took the hobby stock win over Brandon Symmonds, and Todd Nelson made it two in a row in the 4 cylinder Wild Things.
Late model driver Justin Jennings has secured sponsorship and will enter the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway next Saturday. The 2011 high school graduate is in his second season of racing both a dirt and asphalt late model, and just last week picked up a second place finish on the dirt at Memphis, Mo. on Thursday, and a second to Tony Jackson, Jr. on the Lebanon, Mo asphalt on Saturday. He finished off the week with an eighth place run on the dirt at QR. He will be in the LG Seeds # 23 in the ARCA event.
As I finish these ramblings, I have one eye on the 10:00 weather, as tomorrow is another vacation day, and Keagan and buddy Fred are set to join me as we head to the World of Outlaw late model/IMCA modified extravaganza at Independence, Iowa Speedway. There has been a lot of chatter on the message boards about this race, especially about the $30 ticket price. I can't help but think about how many seasons I perused the racing papers looking at results for series like Hav-A-Tampa, and later WoO and Lucas Oil, wishing these series would come close enough to the area that I could take in a show and sleep in my own bed. Well, people like the Laues at 34 Raceway have taken the leap to bring us the Lucas series, and now Cam Granger and Rick Hartzell are taking the gamble to bring in the outlaws. Will I pay the $30? You bet, I will, happily so. Weekly racing is very important to our area, but when the big dogs come around, we need to show up then, as well. If you see me at Indy, say " Hi! " Lets go racin'.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
And We're Off!
The holiday weekend got off to an early start Wednesday evening, as Quincy Raceways staged their mid season championship races, rescheduled from Sunday night. With severe storm damage throughout the Quincy area early Monday morning - many area folks still had no electricity - the car and crowd count was somewhat less than average, but the racing was top notch. Although IMCA had granted QR the option of awarding points to the late model and stock car classes on Tuesday night makeup nights, the decision was made to use Wednesday as the make up night when needed. So it was an unusual event with only three of the five classes racing for points on mid season night. To date QR has staged seven shows, but the late models and stock cars have raced for points only twice.
The week night show started several minutes early, with two heat races in the books by the 7:30 advertised time. Even better, there were no caution periods, save a false start or two until the final heat race, UMP modified heat number two, which saw the yellow wave three times, and the heats were complete by about 8:15.
The first feature of the night was the stock cars, with outside pole sitter and heat winner Beau Taylor taking the lead just ahead of Kevin Tomlinson. Kevin ran the bottom groove with Beau in the middle until Aaron Brocksieck moved under Tomlinson for second. He then crossed the line slightly ahead of Taylor on lap six, but the two ran side by side foe several laps before Brocksieck managed to open even a car length advantage. Aaron held on to pick up his fifth win of 2011, with Taylor a season best second and Tomlinson third. And the race went caution free.
The 20 lap hobby stock main event was next, with veteran Wes Mayfield shaking the monkey off his back after a disastrous first half that found him on his third engine. Wes was challenged early by Jake Powers before pulling away to his first win since 2007. And again, the race was caution free. Third on the card was the 30 lapper for late models. Because it was a non points event, veteran Gary Wilson, who brought his ULMA rules car out in hopes of getting some hot laps, was allowed to put IMCA tires on his # 55 and compete in the nights races. Gary moved up to third in his heat, but dropped out of the main event mid way through. Heat two winner Keith Pratt drew the pole position, with Joey Gower to his outside. Pratt won the drag race to turn one at the green, ducked to the now faster bottom groove, and drove a mistake free race. The driver known as " Kool Kat " became the seventh different winner of 2011, besting Gower and point leader Lonnie Bailey. And there were no cautions.
The six car 12 lap Wild Thing feature ran next, with Bill Michel making the long tow from Farmington, Iowa look good as he stretched out a big lead. As the white flag waved, a tire went down on the # 69, as Michel went backwards. Second running Kimberly Abbott slowed behind the leader, and first time visitor Robert Thompson from McComb charged from third to the top spot and the win. Abbott recovered for the runner up slot. Oh yeah, no cautions.
The final race of the night was the 25 lapper for the 14 car UMP modified field. And on lap two, you guessed it, the caution waved. A total of five stoppages marred the race, including a small fire in the Ryan Morrison ride. Through it all, front row starter Steven Delonjay, the second generation hot shoe hugged the lower groove, taking the win. Shawn Deering grabbed his fourth second place finish of the year, while visitor Danny Crane found some traction in the high groove to move to third. Crane is locked in a tight UMP regional points battle with QR regular Dave Weitholder, and made the trip from Columbia, Mo. for some head to head action. Crane got the better of Weitholder on this night, although Dave used a fifth place finish to take the track points lead from Jared Schlipman, who was out of town. The final checkers waved at 9:10.
As I write this on Saturday afternoon, things still look good for the second visit of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models to QR Sunday July 3. In addition to the regular classes, the IMCA sport mods have been added to the card - a possible audition for 2012 - with their feature paying $500.00 to win. Hot laps start at 5:45 on Sunday.
Last night Keagan and buddy Fred joined me for a visit to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Friday racing is always a challenge, as my workday ends at 5:00 PM only if things go well, and fortunately that was the case this week. Lee County was racing for the second consecutive night, having staged their annual Liberty Cup race on Thursday, so the IMCA stock cars and sport Mods were not on the Friday card, replaced by IMCA late models and 305 sprints. the sprints lead the way with 20 cars of the total 80 entries in five classes. 16 Wild Things were signed in, with 15 starting the 12 lap feature. David Helenthal led the distance in his sharp looking # 79.
The hobby stocks were next up, with 11 of 12 taking the green. Jim Lynch moved through the pack, catching race leader Dane Fenton on the final lap. Fenton was looking for his second win in a row, but left the inside line open for Lynch as the pair came out of turn four. The finish was so close that all eyes were on the scoreboard awaiting word from the tower as to who won. The victory went to a very excited Lynch, and he led the race for only the last couple of feet.
All 16 IMCA modifieds made the feature call, with Dustin Crear looking like the man to beat. But Wyatt Lantz had other ideas. Lantz had finished third the night before in the Liberty Cup, and had unfinished business to take care of. He took the lead in the caution free event, cruising to the win.
Tyler Cale, who finished second on Thursday slipped past Crear at the checkers to take the runner up spot again, with points leader Josh Foster being the first to drop out of the 20 lap finale.
The 16 car IMCA late models rolled out next, with a front row of Justin Reed and Jeff Aikey. Two nights earlier, Aikey had picked up the win in the 84 lap $5,004.00 to win Red Dralle Memorial Summer Series race at Independence, Iowa. And second place had went to Reed! This time it was Justin, who now calls Collinsville, Il home, taking the early lead, with the Waterloo, Ia veteran hot on his tail. On lap four, Camp Point, Il driver and Quincy Raceways regular Bill Genenbacher flipped his # 72 machine between turns one and two, landing on his wheels on top of the guardrail with most of the car outside the track. It took sometime to remove the uninjured veteran racer and his ride from the guardrail. When racing resumed, third starting Mark Burgtorf moved around Aikey and started to dog Reed. Burgtorf was able to get under Justin on one occasion, but Reed kept his momentum, eventually opening up a lead of several car lengths. Mark had one more shot as the leaders moved into lapped traffic with five to go, but Reed worked the slower cars flawlessly, cruising to the win. Burgtorf nabbed second, while Lonnie Bailey, driving a different # 25 than he competes at Quincy Raceways got by Aikey for third. Denny Woodworth the night late model sponsor finished fifth.
The final race of the evening was the 305 sprints, with the 20 lapper starting at 10:00 straight up.18 cars took the green, with Mark Widmar jumping to the lead. Several cautions slowed the proceedings, and at we agreed on a 10:30 curfew for ourselves after a long Friday. But things were heating up as Bobby Mincer had closed the gap on Widmar with three laps to go, and it looked like another shootout was coming. But entering turn three, Mincer tangled with a lapped car, ending his run. With a wreck to clean up, the clock reading 10:32 and only three laps remaining, we headed for the parking lot. Checking results, I see Widmar held on for a well deserved win. Fred commented that the 305 really get around the 3/8 mile LCS oval. As always, it was a top notch show in Donnellson, and even though things got started about 20 minutes late - a very unusual happening - time was made up, with no intermission between heats and features.
Tonight, I am off to enjoy some Whiteys ice cream and fireworks - legal to shoot'em here in Missouri, you know! Tomorrow it is back to racing, with Quincy Raceways on the docket. After that, we will see. Summer is here for sure, so wherever you are , take in some holiday racing. Maybe we'll meet up down the road.
The week night show started several minutes early, with two heat races in the books by the 7:30 advertised time. Even better, there were no caution periods, save a false start or two until the final heat race, UMP modified heat number two, which saw the yellow wave three times, and the heats were complete by about 8:15.
The first feature of the night was the stock cars, with outside pole sitter and heat winner Beau Taylor taking the lead just ahead of Kevin Tomlinson. Kevin ran the bottom groove with Beau in the middle until Aaron Brocksieck moved under Tomlinson for second. He then crossed the line slightly ahead of Taylor on lap six, but the two ran side by side foe several laps before Brocksieck managed to open even a car length advantage. Aaron held on to pick up his fifth win of 2011, with Taylor a season best second and Tomlinson third. And the race went caution free.
The 20 lap hobby stock main event was next, with veteran Wes Mayfield shaking the monkey off his back after a disastrous first half that found him on his third engine. Wes was challenged early by Jake Powers before pulling away to his first win since 2007. And again, the race was caution free. Third on the card was the 30 lapper for late models. Because it was a non points event, veteran Gary Wilson, who brought his ULMA rules car out in hopes of getting some hot laps, was allowed to put IMCA tires on his # 55 and compete in the nights races. Gary moved up to third in his heat, but dropped out of the main event mid way through. Heat two winner Keith Pratt drew the pole position, with Joey Gower to his outside. Pratt won the drag race to turn one at the green, ducked to the now faster bottom groove, and drove a mistake free race. The driver known as " Kool Kat " became the seventh different winner of 2011, besting Gower and point leader Lonnie Bailey. And there were no cautions.
The six car 12 lap Wild Thing feature ran next, with Bill Michel making the long tow from Farmington, Iowa look good as he stretched out a big lead. As the white flag waved, a tire went down on the # 69, as Michel went backwards. Second running Kimberly Abbott slowed behind the leader, and first time visitor Robert Thompson from McComb charged from third to the top spot and the win. Abbott recovered for the runner up slot. Oh yeah, no cautions.
The final race of the night was the 25 lapper for the 14 car UMP modified field. And on lap two, you guessed it, the caution waved. A total of five stoppages marred the race, including a small fire in the Ryan Morrison ride. Through it all, front row starter Steven Delonjay, the second generation hot shoe hugged the lower groove, taking the win. Shawn Deering grabbed his fourth second place finish of the year, while visitor Danny Crane found some traction in the high groove to move to third. Crane is locked in a tight UMP regional points battle with QR regular Dave Weitholder, and made the trip from Columbia, Mo. for some head to head action. Crane got the better of Weitholder on this night, although Dave used a fifth place finish to take the track points lead from Jared Schlipman, who was out of town. The final checkers waved at 9:10.
As I write this on Saturday afternoon, things still look good for the second visit of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models to QR Sunday July 3. In addition to the regular classes, the IMCA sport mods have been added to the card - a possible audition for 2012 - with their feature paying $500.00 to win. Hot laps start at 5:45 on Sunday.
Last night Keagan and buddy Fred joined me for a visit to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Friday racing is always a challenge, as my workday ends at 5:00 PM only if things go well, and fortunately that was the case this week. Lee County was racing for the second consecutive night, having staged their annual Liberty Cup race on Thursday, so the IMCA stock cars and sport Mods were not on the Friday card, replaced by IMCA late models and 305 sprints. the sprints lead the way with 20 cars of the total 80 entries in five classes. 16 Wild Things were signed in, with 15 starting the 12 lap feature. David Helenthal led the distance in his sharp looking # 79.
The hobby stocks were next up, with 11 of 12 taking the green. Jim Lynch moved through the pack, catching race leader Dane Fenton on the final lap. Fenton was looking for his second win in a row, but left the inside line open for Lynch as the pair came out of turn four. The finish was so close that all eyes were on the scoreboard awaiting word from the tower as to who won. The victory went to a very excited Lynch, and he led the race for only the last couple of feet.
All 16 IMCA modifieds made the feature call, with Dustin Crear looking like the man to beat. But Wyatt Lantz had other ideas. Lantz had finished third the night before in the Liberty Cup, and had unfinished business to take care of. He took the lead in the caution free event, cruising to the win.
Tyler Cale, who finished second on Thursday slipped past Crear at the checkers to take the runner up spot again, with points leader Josh Foster being the first to drop out of the 20 lap finale.
The 16 car IMCA late models rolled out next, with a front row of Justin Reed and Jeff Aikey. Two nights earlier, Aikey had picked up the win in the 84 lap $5,004.00 to win Red Dralle Memorial Summer Series race at Independence, Iowa. And second place had went to Reed! This time it was Justin, who now calls Collinsville, Il home, taking the early lead, with the Waterloo, Ia veteran hot on his tail. On lap four, Camp Point, Il driver and Quincy Raceways regular Bill Genenbacher flipped his # 72 machine between turns one and two, landing on his wheels on top of the guardrail with most of the car outside the track. It took sometime to remove the uninjured veteran racer and his ride from the guardrail. When racing resumed, third starting Mark Burgtorf moved around Aikey and started to dog Reed. Burgtorf was able to get under Justin on one occasion, but Reed kept his momentum, eventually opening up a lead of several car lengths. Mark had one more shot as the leaders moved into lapped traffic with five to go, but Reed worked the slower cars flawlessly, cruising to the win. Burgtorf nabbed second, while Lonnie Bailey, driving a different # 25 than he competes at Quincy Raceways got by Aikey for third. Denny Woodworth the night late model sponsor finished fifth.
The final race of the evening was the 305 sprints, with the 20 lapper starting at 10:00 straight up.18 cars took the green, with Mark Widmar jumping to the lead. Several cautions slowed the proceedings, and at we agreed on a 10:30 curfew for ourselves after a long Friday. But things were heating up as Bobby Mincer had closed the gap on Widmar with three laps to go, and it looked like another shootout was coming. But entering turn three, Mincer tangled with a lapped car, ending his run. With a wreck to clean up, the clock reading 10:32 and only three laps remaining, we headed for the parking lot. Checking results, I see Widmar held on for a well deserved win. Fred commented that the 305 really get around the 3/8 mile LCS oval. As always, it was a top notch show in Donnellson, and even though things got started about 20 minutes late - a very unusual happening - time was made up, with no intermission between heats and features.
Tonight, I am off to enjoy some Whiteys ice cream and fireworks - legal to shoot'em here in Missouri, you know! Tomorrow it is back to racing, with Quincy Raceways on the docket. After that, we will see. Summer is here for sure, so wherever you are , take in some holiday racing. Maybe we'll meet up down the road.
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