Race number 46 of my 2012 season was race number one of the year at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. The fall special at the 3/8 mile track has become something of a tradition, so even though the fairgrounds oval hosted no circle track action during the summer, the fairboard found a way to get October racing scheduled. Part time racer Mike Van Genderen was recruited to direct what became the third and final installment of what became known as the Fall Extravaganza. Van Genderen just completed his rookie season directing the action at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, concluding the season there with the Fall Extravaganza. He was subsequently hired on as the new race director at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, and last weekend hosted part two of the series. Originally scheduled as a two day show on Friday and Saturday with a Thursday practice day at Memphis, plans changed early last week due to the unfavorable forecast. Instead, Friday became the practice night, with Saturday and Sunday racing as two separate one day shows, with the purse broken down into two paydays, the Sunday portion paying more than Saturday. In addition, start times were moved up, with hot laps set for 2:30 and racing for 3:00. The changes proved to be the right move, as mid week rains would have wiped out any Thursday practice. And the forecast for cool temps was correct as well. As Fred and I rolled through Memphis about 2:20 on Saturday, the bank registered 42 degrees!
Six classes of cars were set to do battle, and hot laps clicked off on good time, wrapping up about 3:00, with a drivers meeting following before a somewhat sparse, but hearty crowd. By my count, 106 cars participated in the 14 heat races, led by 23 sport mods, 23 stock cars, and 22 modifieds, all using IMCA rules.
Sportmod heat race number one saw Quincy Raceways regular Dave Weitholder, who was competing in two classes after converting one of his # 05 machines, start deep in the field and finish third while racing with a broken left front suspension. In stock car heat two, Jason Cook came from eighth to pick up the win. The night ended quickly for Memphis native Eric Glass, who rolled his IMCA type hobby stock hard in turn four in the first heat for his class.
During what became a lengthy intermission, the track crew worked to improve a hole in turn one. Indeed, the work continued throughout the features, and the condition of the turn did indeed get better. Ironically, the drivers had little trouble in that turn, with most of the problems elsewhere on the oval.
The sport compact feature ran first, with Trent Orwig leading the first nine laps of the ten lap finale. On the final circuit, Keokuk, Iowa racer Mike Hornung Jr. charged past Orwig, taking his first feature win by inches.
Next up came the outlaw hobby stocks, a weekly class in 2012 at Quincy and 34 Raceway in West Burlington. Within days of each other, both tracks announced they were dropping the class for 2012 due to low car counts. As if to drive the point home, only seven cars signed in to do battle, five from QR and two from 34. Based on the count, the feature was cut from twelve laps to ten, but that was still enough for Jake Wenig to overtake his father Dan to grab the win. Brandon Symmonds also eased by the senior Wenig late for second, with Brian Hoener recovering from a mid race flat to cross the line in fourth.
The sport mods were up next for 18 laps. Curtis Vanderwal opened a big lead, but saw it disappear following an early caution, the only one of the race. On the restart, Vanderwal again pulled away, catching slower traffic at the halfway point. But not even the lapped traffice could slow the # 1V, as he recorded the mose dominant win of the evening. Bill Gibson charged through to finish second, while Carter Vandenberg and Jim Gillenwater staged a great side by side duel for third, with Carter winning that battle. Derek St Clair came home fifth.
The 20 lap stock car main event was up next. Jason Cook quickly moved to the top spot, before the red flag waved on lap nine. Howard Gordon Jr. made contact with the backstretch guard rail, rolling his # 409 machine. On the second attempt at a restart, second running Nathan Wood clipped the turn four tractor tire, sending him airborne. His # 52 snapped rolled about four times, somehow the field bearing down on him was able to avoid contact. Still the machine that announcer Tony Paris said had been purchased about four weeks ago received heavy damage. From that point the race stayed green, and Cook cruised to the win. Michael Jannett - hope I spelled that correctly! - ran second, while Jim Lynch came from deep in the field to nab third. Mike Harward and Todd Phillips also turned in top five runs.
The IMCA type hobbys saw 15 of the 18 cars on hand take the green for twelve laps of action. Missouri hot shoe Tim Dawson drew the number five pill on the redraw, but numbers one and three both failed to make the call, giving Dawson the pole. As he held the lead, Dustin Griffiths powered his way to second, only to go pitside during a caution with a flat. With three laps to go, Mike Hughes put his badly beaten # 18 into the lead, and picked up the win. Dawson settled for second over AJ Johnson and Jason Gruebel.
The final event on the card was the 20 lap modified main event. Lonnie Heap paced the first circuit before yielding the top spot to Josh Foster. Matt Gilbertson, from Montevideo, Mn. made the tow last weekend to Lakeside, Kansas Speedway where we saw him race. On Saturday, he was hooked up at Memphis, and was running second with six laps to go. But Quincy point champ Steven Delonjay, who converted his UMP car to the IMCA specs moved to the runner up spot at that point. He then began to run down Foster, and the two ran the final laps side by side. In fact, Delonjay had the lead as the two took the white flag, but Foster had the better line through turns three and four, taking the checkersand the night one win. And so we found ourselves on our feet for what is likely our final lap of racing for 2012! Gilbertson held on to third, with Mike Schulte and Cayden Carter recording top five finishes. As we visited afterwards with Foster, he said he had no idea Delonjay had caught him until the # 35 pulled alongside.
The final checkers waved around 8:00, about 30-60 minutes past the target time, but nonetheless a good effort considering the extra track prep. In fact the downtime gave us a chance to do some bench racing with old friends. Kudos also to flagman Ryan Burgerson who moved the show along quickly, wasting no time on the silly
" next lap we will start " concept, and giving competitors until the last second to get restarted following a spin before throwing the yellow. All in all, it was a very good show for what looks to be our final race of 2012. Usually at that point we spend the drive home discussing maybe looking for one more race, but the 36 degree reading on the bank left us more interested in a hot cup of coffee than another night of racing. At least for now...
The silly season has already begun, and I think their will be enough off season fodder to keep this blog active, so check back often for news, notes, and a season recap to come later. If you can find another race or two, like my buddy Bob Litton,keep the fire burning. As for me, I anxiously await the 2013 schedules!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
A Lirttle Dirt, A Little Asphalt
With a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature, we were able to enjoy one more full weekend of racing as October winds down.
Saturday, Darryl, Fred and I set sail for Kansas City, as I looked forward to my first visit to Lakeside Speedway, which would also be my first race in the state of Kansas. After settling in our motel, we headed for the track, arriving in time to tour the pits before the call came to vacate so they could sell pit passes for the second night of the Clyde Ellis Memorial Showdown. As it turned out, it would also be the final MLRA late model event staged under the direction of Alan " Cowboy " and Harriet Chancellor, as the announcement was made mid week that the association had been sold the the Lucas Oil group. On this, the final night of racing for 2012 at Lakeside, 51 open modfieds signed in for a $2,000 top prize, and the late model count was 45 for a shot at a $5,000 check. Two late models from the Friday night show, Randy Reynolds, and Iowa driver Kevin Sather, did not return, but newcomers Junior Coover, Scotty Phillips, and Jason Rauen joined the fray.
As mentioned, it was my first time at the black dirt 1/2 mile speedplant just inside the Kansas border, and while the facility looked a bit rag tag from the outside, once through the gate, my opinion changed. Everything was bright and clean, the lighting was good, and much to my delight, the PA system worked quite well. It was announced the hot laps would begin at 6:45, and the clock on the scoreboard would not lie. Sure enough, the first of three groups of mods hit the track at 6:45, followed by the late models. With hot laps over before 7:10, there was some downtime, but sure enough, at 7:27 the invocation and national anthem began, and the first mod heat rolled out at 7:30. NASCAR veterans Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace captured the first two of the six mod heats, and after a yellow flag for a false start to begin heat two, we stayed green until a caution debris during heat five. Kerry Davis, Kelly Shryock, Nick Bidinger, and Mark Dotson were the other heat winners.Six eight lap heats in exactly 30 minutes, with two yellows - if only our " local " mods could pull that off!
The MLRA late models then contested five ten lap qualifiers, with the first three going caution free. Justin Asplin outdueled young Grant Junghans in heat one, Eric Turner topped Kyle Berck in heat two, and Brad Looney led the distance in heat three to defeat series point champion John Anderson. Polesitter Kevin Coyne brought out the first yellow in heat four, but it was no problem for Tony Jackson Jr., who edged Iowan Chris Simpson for the win. Missouri ace Will Vaught drew the highest number on the night, and started ninth in the final heat. He was up to fifth when he was involved in a three car altercation, sending him again to the back of the pack. But he was able to again charge through to take the win over the double duty driver,Mark Dotson. With the late models using my favorite qualifying format of passing points, the win earned Vaught the pole for the 40 lap finale that would end the nights racing.
Next up was a C-Main for the mods, with the top two moving on to make a 20 car B-Main. Don Crnkovich and Cody Agler took the spots in a caution plagued event. Following an intermission, the 15 lap mod B-main took to the track. Amazingly the final qualifier went flag to flag, with the top six moving on to the 24 car finale. Local racer Jake Richards took the win, while Ron Jones, who made the trip south from Minnesota, earned a third pace finish. Another double duty driver, Iowan Ryan Gustin had collected the $1500 win on Friday, but nearly missed the cut on Saturday. Ryan ran seventh and eighth throughout most of the " B " charging to fifth on the white flag lap.
Two twelve lap late model B-main were up next. Nebraska pilot Bill Leighton survived a challenge for Davenport, Iowa youngster Spencer Diercks and fellow Nebraskan Tommy Weder Jr, to take the first win, while Iowacitian Rob Moss came from row two to take the lead on the white flag lap of a caution free race to
claim a victory over Jason Bodenhammer and Sonny Findling to round out the feature field.
When the green flag waved for the mods, Shryock charged from row three to the lead, but by lap four, Dotson had moved in to challenge. The two then ran a great side by side duel, Kelly up top and Mark down low, as the pulled away from the pack. By lap twelve the track was slicking up, and the leaders began to catch slower traffic. Schrader used his experience to ease into third on lap 18, but gave it up to USMTS ace Jason Hughes. On lap 23, disaster dtruck Shryock, as his fule pump belt failed, and he slowed on the top side, never stopping, and allowing the race to stay green as he ducked into the outside pits. From there, it was Dotsons race. Zack Vanderbeek chased Hughes, but settled for third, while Gustin came from 23rd to fourth on the white flag lap. Schrader completed the top five in the caution free 30 lapper.
The final race of the night was the 40 lap late model showdown, with Vaught and Dotson setting on the front row. Vaught shot to the front, and the caution waved on lap three. By then Looney had powered from row four to third, and he grabbed the runnerup slot on the restart., with Dotson falling to fifth. The yellow waved again on lap six, as Chad Simpson, who was involved in the first caution, ducked to the pits with a flat tire. During the caution, Anderson came to a stop on the front stretch as the drive shaft failed on his # 2J. With the extra time, Chad was able to rejoin the field. On the restart, brother Chris Simpson nabbed fourth, and by lap ten, he was third, with Berck on his heels. The leaders found themselves in traffic on lap 15, and Gustin, who started 14th, entered the top five on lap 17. On lap 26, Berck eased around Simpson for third, the last pass inside the top five. At the checkers, it was Vaught in a flag to flag win, ahead of Looney, Berck, Chris Simpson, and Gustin. Eric Turner led the second five ahead of David Turner, Weder Jr., Jesse Stovall, and Chad Simpson. By edging out Dotson by three positions, Stovall finished second to Anderson in the season points chase.
The final checkers waved on the 96 car field at 10:35, leaving me more than eager to return to the track in the near future.
As a retirement gift, Darryl had received tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, so we three dirt trackers were off to see what gets our pavement brethren so excited. It had been more than 30 years since I had watched the big boys of NASCAR duel in person, and were it not for having three grandsons who deserve and want an up close look, I could likely be happy sticking to the dirt. I don't know if the unusually warm weather, or the repaving of the 1.5 mile track created issues, but a speedway record 14 cautions dampened my enthusiasm. I know time is passing me by, but the price of concessions, as it does at all major sporting events, also puts a dent in my enjoyment of the product. After surveying the situation as to how long it would likely take to get back to the interstate after the race ended, and with a long drive home, we made the decision to leave early. When we did, Matt Kenseth was leading and he did pick up the victory, so I guess we did not miss too much!
There are still a handful of races throughout the midwest, and the Fall Extravaganza set for next weekend as the only event in 2012 at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. looks appealing as I look outside now at 70 plus degree temps. Unfortunately, the forecast for the weekend does not look too promising, so we will see if we can add to 2012 memories, or if a season recap is up next.
The off season is already in high gear at Quincy Raceways, as the owners have announced that the hobby stock class will be dropped for 2012 and the IMCA stock cars will return, a decision that caught many in both divisions off guard. The awards banquet will be on January 12, the Quincy Mall car show on March 16 and 17, and opening night 2012 on Sunday, April 14.
The former 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. has been sold and plans are to open in 2012 as Randolph County Raceway. The new owners intend to remove the dirt surface, then remove the asphalt racing surface below it and replace the dirt, hopefully before the snow flies. Unconfirmed reports have them leaning towards a USRA affiliation, with A mods as their top class, but nothing is official at this time.
Congratulations to both Morgan and Kyle Broeg on their recent engagements, Jeff will be getting off the hook easy with a couple of rehearsal dinners to pony up for.
Now if he can just get the weddings scheduled away from racing season...
Saturday, Darryl, Fred and I set sail for Kansas City, as I looked forward to my first visit to Lakeside Speedway, which would also be my first race in the state of Kansas. After settling in our motel, we headed for the track, arriving in time to tour the pits before the call came to vacate so they could sell pit passes for the second night of the Clyde Ellis Memorial Showdown. As it turned out, it would also be the final MLRA late model event staged under the direction of Alan " Cowboy " and Harriet Chancellor, as the announcement was made mid week that the association had been sold the the Lucas Oil group. On this, the final night of racing for 2012 at Lakeside, 51 open modfieds signed in for a $2,000 top prize, and the late model count was 45 for a shot at a $5,000 check. Two late models from the Friday night show, Randy Reynolds, and Iowa driver Kevin Sather, did not return, but newcomers Junior Coover, Scotty Phillips, and Jason Rauen joined the fray.
As mentioned, it was my first time at the black dirt 1/2 mile speedplant just inside the Kansas border, and while the facility looked a bit rag tag from the outside, once through the gate, my opinion changed. Everything was bright and clean, the lighting was good, and much to my delight, the PA system worked quite well. It was announced the hot laps would begin at 6:45, and the clock on the scoreboard would not lie. Sure enough, the first of three groups of mods hit the track at 6:45, followed by the late models. With hot laps over before 7:10, there was some downtime, but sure enough, at 7:27 the invocation and national anthem began, and the first mod heat rolled out at 7:30. NASCAR veterans Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace captured the first two of the six mod heats, and after a yellow flag for a false start to begin heat two, we stayed green until a caution debris during heat five. Kerry Davis, Kelly Shryock, Nick Bidinger, and Mark Dotson were the other heat winners.Six eight lap heats in exactly 30 minutes, with two yellows - if only our " local " mods could pull that off!
The MLRA late models then contested five ten lap qualifiers, with the first three going caution free. Justin Asplin outdueled young Grant Junghans in heat one, Eric Turner topped Kyle Berck in heat two, and Brad Looney led the distance in heat three to defeat series point champion John Anderson. Polesitter Kevin Coyne brought out the first yellow in heat four, but it was no problem for Tony Jackson Jr., who edged Iowan Chris Simpson for the win. Missouri ace Will Vaught drew the highest number on the night, and started ninth in the final heat. He was up to fifth when he was involved in a three car altercation, sending him again to the back of the pack. But he was able to again charge through to take the win over the double duty driver,Mark Dotson. With the late models using my favorite qualifying format of passing points, the win earned Vaught the pole for the 40 lap finale that would end the nights racing.
Next up was a C-Main for the mods, with the top two moving on to make a 20 car B-Main. Don Crnkovich and Cody Agler took the spots in a caution plagued event. Following an intermission, the 15 lap mod B-main took to the track. Amazingly the final qualifier went flag to flag, with the top six moving on to the 24 car finale. Local racer Jake Richards took the win, while Ron Jones, who made the trip south from Minnesota, earned a third pace finish. Another double duty driver, Iowan Ryan Gustin had collected the $1500 win on Friday, but nearly missed the cut on Saturday. Ryan ran seventh and eighth throughout most of the " B " charging to fifth on the white flag lap.
Two twelve lap late model B-main were up next. Nebraska pilot Bill Leighton survived a challenge for Davenport, Iowa youngster Spencer Diercks and fellow Nebraskan Tommy Weder Jr, to take the first win, while Iowacitian Rob Moss came from row two to take the lead on the white flag lap of a caution free race to
claim a victory over Jason Bodenhammer and Sonny Findling to round out the feature field.
When the green flag waved for the mods, Shryock charged from row three to the lead, but by lap four, Dotson had moved in to challenge. The two then ran a great side by side duel, Kelly up top and Mark down low, as the pulled away from the pack. By lap twelve the track was slicking up, and the leaders began to catch slower traffic. Schrader used his experience to ease into third on lap 18, but gave it up to USMTS ace Jason Hughes. On lap 23, disaster dtruck Shryock, as his fule pump belt failed, and he slowed on the top side, never stopping, and allowing the race to stay green as he ducked into the outside pits. From there, it was Dotsons race. Zack Vanderbeek chased Hughes, but settled for third, while Gustin came from 23rd to fourth on the white flag lap. Schrader completed the top five in the caution free 30 lapper.
The final race of the night was the 40 lap late model showdown, with Vaught and Dotson setting on the front row. Vaught shot to the front, and the caution waved on lap three. By then Looney had powered from row four to third, and he grabbed the runnerup slot on the restart., with Dotson falling to fifth. The yellow waved again on lap six, as Chad Simpson, who was involved in the first caution, ducked to the pits with a flat tire. During the caution, Anderson came to a stop on the front stretch as the drive shaft failed on his # 2J. With the extra time, Chad was able to rejoin the field. On the restart, brother Chris Simpson nabbed fourth, and by lap ten, he was third, with Berck on his heels. The leaders found themselves in traffic on lap 15, and Gustin, who started 14th, entered the top five on lap 17. On lap 26, Berck eased around Simpson for third, the last pass inside the top five. At the checkers, it was Vaught in a flag to flag win, ahead of Looney, Berck, Chris Simpson, and Gustin. Eric Turner led the second five ahead of David Turner, Weder Jr., Jesse Stovall, and Chad Simpson. By edging out Dotson by three positions, Stovall finished second to Anderson in the season points chase.
The final checkers waved on the 96 car field at 10:35, leaving me more than eager to return to the track in the near future.
As a retirement gift, Darryl had received tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, so we three dirt trackers were off to see what gets our pavement brethren so excited. It had been more than 30 years since I had watched the big boys of NASCAR duel in person, and were it not for having three grandsons who deserve and want an up close look, I could likely be happy sticking to the dirt. I don't know if the unusually warm weather, or the repaving of the 1.5 mile track created issues, but a speedway record 14 cautions dampened my enthusiasm. I know time is passing me by, but the price of concessions, as it does at all major sporting events, also puts a dent in my enjoyment of the product. After surveying the situation as to how long it would likely take to get back to the interstate after the race ended, and with a long drive home, we made the decision to leave early. When we did, Matt Kenseth was leading and he did pick up the victory, so I guess we did not miss too much!
There are still a handful of races throughout the midwest, and the Fall Extravaganza set for next weekend as the only event in 2012 at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. looks appealing as I look outside now at 70 plus degree temps. Unfortunately, the forecast for the weekend does not look too promising, so we will see if we can add to 2012 memories, or if a season recap is up next.
The off season is already in high gear at Quincy Raceways, as the owners have announced that the hobby stock class will be dropped for 2012 and the IMCA stock cars will return, a decision that caught many in both divisions off guard. The awards banquet will be on January 12, the Quincy Mall car show on March 16 and 17, and opening night 2012 on Sunday, April 14.
The former 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. has been sold and plans are to open in 2012 as Randolph County Raceway. The new owners intend to remove the dirt surface, then remove the asphalt racing surface below it and replace the dirt, hopefully before the snow flies. Unconfirmed reports have them leaning towards a USRA affiliation, with A mods as their top class, but nothing is official at this time.
Congratulations to both Morgan and Kyle Broeg on their recent engagements, Jeff will be getting off the hook easy with a couple of rehearsal dinners to pony up for.
Now if he can just get the weddings scheduled away from racing season...
Monday, October 8, 2012
Two For the Price of One
The forecast for Saturday was less than ideal, and unfortunately the weatherman was right on. But after all, it is October, and if Simmons Promotions was willing to go on with the Liberty 100 at the West Liberty Raceway, I was pretty sure I could find enough clothes to at least keep semi warm. So Darryl and I headed out for night two of one of my favorite events of the racing season. 50 laps of open late models and 50 laps of IMCA late models, each paying a cool $3500 to win.
On top of that, the open modifieds dueled for 25 laps, the IMCA mods and the stock cars contested 18 laps, and the IMCA sport compacts ran 12 laps on the big half mile.
The night began with the only B-mains needed to complete the field, two ten lappers for the IMCA late models, as they were the only class with more than 22 entries. B main one went to polesitter Nate Beuseling, while Nick Marolf charged for seventh to the runnerup slot. The second consy saw Brett Diercks and Doug Yates make hard contact on lap two, ending Diercks night. Third starting Spencer Diercks took the win ahead of Darrell Defrance. With four cars on the trailer following the consys, it was time for the six pole dashes. Ray Guss Jr, captured the open late model dash ahead of Chad Simpson, and Kevin Kile outran Brian Harris in the IMCA six lapper. In that race, fifth starting Denny Eckrich appeared to lose an engine, knocking him out of the big show. Denny was one of seven drivers competing in both late model classes , while 13 year old Jake Griffin entered both the open late model and open mod events. The late model drivers had to enter separate cars in each class.
The officials were committed to moving the show along, and the six features began at 7:02 as the stock cars hit the oval. David Brandies checked out on the field in a borrowed # 44 machine. One caution period mid race bunched the field, but when the green waved, Brandies again ran away from the pack. Andrew Burk and Mark Massey dueled side by side for the second spot, with Burk winning that duel.
Nate Chandler took an early lead, then held on for the win in the sport compact division, surviving the only caution in that 12 lapper.
Next up was the IMCA modifieds, and they ran a caution free 18 laps. Mark Schulte took off from the front row, and seemed to have things under control. Schulte was masterful in traffic, but with just four laps to go, Bobby Moyer powered by for the lead and the win. Ray Cox turned in a solid performance for third.
The open lates were then set for 50 laps, with Guss and Chad Simpson setting the pace. Simpson checked out early, stretching his lead following cautions on lap three and lap seven, both for Kurt Kile, who seemed to have engine woes. As Chad led brother Chris, he suddenly went pitside on lap 18. With Andy Eckrich moving to the front, our attention was focused on Jake Griffin. We had been told that the youngster had struggled on night one with a loose race car in his first visit to the big half mile. The Saturday adjustments were working however, as Jake started in row eight and used the high side of the track to charge to fourth behind Eckrich, Chris Simpson, and Dave Eckrich by lap 28, when the yellow waved again. On the restart, Guss charged to second, and Brian Harris, making his first open start in the Lynn Richard # 15R, rolled to third. Griffin faded to sixth, as his tires seemed to be going away. The yellow waved ten laps later, just after sixth running Dan Schleiper, out all of 2012, went to the trailer, and Chris simpsons third place run ended with a flat. Andy Eckrich then led the parade to the checkersm followed by Guss, Harris, 15th starting Skip Frey, and Dave Eckrich. Justin Mitchell eased by Griffin on the final lap for sixth, and Spencer Diercks, Nick Marolf, and Rob Moss completed the lead lap cars, and the top ten.
The open mods were next on the grid, and Griffin had to climb out of the late model and into the mod for another 25 laps. After a first lap caution, Dean Mahlstadt jumped to the lead from his row one start. The yellow waved on lap eleven, then again on lap 17, by which time Brad Diercks had moved from row eleven to fifth, the restarted fourth as Ryan Dolan headed to the trailer. On the restart, veteran Bruce Hanford seemed to come from nowhere to overtake the leader. Hanford saw his lead evaporate with two laps to go when the final caution flew, but he held off Mahlstadt for the win. Diercks advance 19 spots to third, Johnny spaw took fourth, and eighth starting Griffin climbed as high as fourth before crossing the stripe in fifth.
The final race of the night and of the season at West Liberty was the 50 lap IMCA late model main. Harris, in his second night in the Richard # 15R spec engine ride, took off from the outside pole, and the race was for second. The caution waved on lap 21 for Jay Chenoweth, and on the second attempt at a restart, a major pileup in turn four damaged the cars of Mike Klinhammer, Jay Johnson, Matt Ryan and Matt Strassheim. When racing resumed, Harris again checked out, but the racing for spots four through nine was thrilling to watch. A battle for second soon developed between veteran Jeff Aikey and dirt racing rookie Kyle Hinrich. Hinrich took the second spot on lap 35 , but Aikey reclaimed it for good four laps later. Harris was a happy guy in victory lane, as he led Aikey, Hinrich, Andy Eckrich, and Guss to top five finishes. Jason Utter nabbed sixth ahead of Kevin Kile,Defrance, and Beuseling, the final car on the lead lap. Jeremiah Hurst completed the top ten.
So A. Eckrich, Guss, and Harris all scored top fives in both classes.
The final checkers waved at exactly 10:00, and what I would think was a better than expected crowd all stayed until the end! Darryl said it was easily one of our best nights of racing of the season, and I had to agree. 47 late models in two divisions on a cold night in October! Thanks to SPI for a fun night at one of my favorite tracks!
Racing for 2012 is winding down quickly, and the forecast in these parts is not too promising for this weekend. However there are still races to see, and we will be looking to outfox Mother Nature one more time! So grab the hat and gloves, and let's go racin'!
On top of that, the open modifieds dueled for 25 laps, the IMCA mods and the stock cars contested 18 laps, and the IMCA sport compacts ran 12 laps on the big half mile.
The night began with the only B-mains needed to complete the field, two ten lappers for the IMCA late models, as they were the only class with more than 22 entries. B main one went to polesitter Nate Beuseling, while Nick Marolf charged for seventh to the runnerup slot. The second consy saw Brett Diercks and Doug Yates make hard contact on lap two, ending Diercks night. Third starting Spencer Diercks took the win ahead of Darrell Defrance. With four cars on the trailer following the consys, it was time for the six pole dashes. Ray Guss Jr, captured the open late model dash ahead of Chad Simpson, and Kevin Kile outran Brian Harris in the IMCA six lapper. In that race, fifth starting Denny Eckrich appeared to lose an engine, knocking him out of the big show. Denny was one of seven drivers competing in both late model classes , while 13 year old Jake Griffin entered both the open late model and open mod events. The late model drivers had to enter separate cars in each class.
The officials were committed to moving the show along, and the six features began at 7:02 as the stock cars hit the oval. David Brandies checked out on the field in a borrowed # 44 machine. One caution period mid race bunched the field, but when the green waved, Brandies again ran away from the pack. Andrew Burk and Mark Massey dueled side by side for the second spot, with Burk winning that duel.
Nate Chandler took an early lead, then held on for the win in the sport compact division, surviving the only caution in that 12 lapper.
Next up was the IMCA modifieds, and they ran a caution free 18 laps. Mark Schulte took off from the front row, and seemed to have things under control. Schulte was masterful in traffic, but with just four laps to go, Bobby Moyer powered by for the lead and the win. Ray Cox turned in a solid performance for third.
The open lates were then set for 50 laps, with Guss and Chad Simpson setting the pace. Simpson checked out early, stretching his lead following cautions on lap three and lap seven, both for Kurt Kile, who seemed to have engine woes. As Chad led brother Chris, he suddenly went pitside on lap 18. With Andy Eckrich moving to the front, our attention was focused on Jake Griffin. We had been told that the youngster had struggled on night one with a loose race car in his first visit to the big half mile. The Saturday adjustments were working however, as Jake started in row eight and used the high side of the track to charge to fourth behind Eckrich, Chris Simpson, and Dave Eckrich by lap 28, when the yellow waved again. On the restart, Guss charged to second, and Brian Harris, making his first open start in the Lynn Richard # 15R, rolled to third. Griffin faded to sixth, as his tires seemed to be going away. The yellow waved ten laps later, just after sixth running Dan Schleiper, out all of 2012, went to the trailer, and Chris simpsons third place run ended with a flat. Andy Eckrich then led the parade to the checkersm followed by Guss, Harris, 15th starting Skip Frey, and Dave Eckrich. Justin Mitchell eased by Griffin on the final lap for sixth, and Spencer Diercks, Nick Marolf, and Rob Moss completed the lead lap cars, and the top ten.
The open mods were next on the grid, and Griffin had to climb out of the late model and into the mod for another 25 laps. After a first lap caution, Dean Mahlstadt jumped to the lead from his row one start. The yellow waved on lap eleven, then again on lap 17, by which time Brad Diercks had moved from row eleven to fifth, the restarted fourth as Ryan Dolan headed to the trailer. On the restart, veteran Bruce Hanford seemed to come from nowhere to overtake the leader. Hanford saw his lead evaporate with two laps to go when the final caution flew, but he held off Mahlstadt for the win. Diercks advance 19 spots to third, Johnny spaw took fourth, and eighth starting Griffin climbed as high as fourth before crossing the stripe in fifth.
The final race of the night and of the season at West Liberty was the 50 lap IMCA late model main. Harris, in his second night in the Richard # 15R spec engine ride, took off from the outside pole, and the race was for second. The caution waved on lap 21 for Jay Chenoweth, and on the second attempt at a restart, a major pileup in turn four damaged the cars of Mike Klinhammer, Jay Johnson, Matt Ryan and Matt Strassheim. When racing resumed, Harris again checked out, but the racing for spots four through nine was thrilling to watch. A battle for second soon developed between veteran Jeff Aikey and dirt racing rookie Kyle Hinrich. Hinrich took the second spot on lap 35 , but Aikey reclaimed it for good four laps later. Harris was a happy guy in victory lane, as he led Aikey, Hinrich, Andy Eckrich, and Guss to top five finishes. Jason Utter nabbed sixth ahead of Kevin Kile,Defrance, and Beuseling, the final car on the lead lap. Jeremiah Hurst completed the top ten.
So A. Eckrich, Guss, and Harris all scored top fives in both classes.
The final checkers waved at exactly 10:00, and what I would think was a better than expected crowd all stayed until the end! Darryl said it was easily one of our best nights of racing of the season, and I had to agree. 47 late models in two divisions on a cold night in October! Thanks to SPI for a fun night at one of my favorite tracks!
Racing for 2012 is winding down quickly, and the forecast in these parts is not too promising for this weekend. However there are still races to see, and we will be looking to outfox Mother Nature one more time! So grab the hat and gloves, and let's go racin'!
Monday, October 1, 2012
A Doubleheader Weekend to Close September
For the first time in the history of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, I found myself heading up the road alone for the Saturday night finale. Along with the internet updates, buddies Darryl and Fred had been there for the two preliminary nights, so I had a good feel for what had been going on when I pulled into the fairgrounds about noon. The open pit area until 3:00 PM always gets me there early, and with only myself to entertain, I even worked in a mid afternoon nap!
Even with the guys saving me a row 19 seat, the lure of the storied 1/2 mile drew me inside a full hour before hot lap time. After all, there is always old friends to see and new ones to meet at Knoxville!
There were still 71 entrants on hand from the 80 that signed in on Thursday night, with the 66 car cap of the last several seasons being lifted, and no support classes competing. So that meant there would be four events on the card, and I did not hear much complaining.
With 24 drivers already locked in to the 100 lap $40,000 to win main event, we were left with 47 cars vying for six remaining spots, and whatever provisionals the Lucas Oil series deemed necessary.
First up was the 12 lap D main, with ten of the scheduled 16 starters still on hand. The plan was to advance the top four to the C Main, but with three C Main qualifiers not racing, the top seven moved up. On lap one, Colorado standout Scott Lewis pounded the turn four guardrail after contact from another car, ending his run. While central Illinois ace Steve Lance Jr, and Ohios' John Mason dueled up front, ninth starting Chad Chenoweth from Huron, SD, was on the move. He was going for fourth on lap five when he looped his # 7. Lance took off agin on the restart, leading all 12 laps for the win. Mason, local favorite Darrell Defrance, and Skip Frey followed. Chenoweth, Curt Schroeder, and Alonzo Grosse also moved on.
A false start plagued the C, and on the restart, Chenoweth again spun his ride. New father Chris Simpson jumped to the lead form the pole position, with the top four in the 15 lapper headed to the B-Main. Eighth starting Tyler Breuning was on the move, rolling past outside pole starter Tim Lance for fourth on lap six. Four laps later, Tyler took over third. With three to go, fourth running Jason Utter stopped on the track, with another false start on the Delaware restart. Illinoian Mike Spatola faded out of the top four in those closing laps, with Simpson leading the distance. Breuning came home second, Lance rebounded for third, and Ryan Unzicker, in his first nationals appearance, barely edged Rob Moss for the final transfer spot.
Donnie Moran took the early lead in the 20 lap B-Main, with Dennis Erb alongside, and Erb led lap two. With 14 to go, the yellow waved for Jesse Stovall, who had a flat tire. On the restart, Erb opened a big lead, with ninth starting Don Oneal charging to fifth. Austin hubbard moved around John Blankenship for the sixth and final transfer spot, while Jared Landers faded from contention. Eric Wells moved up to challenge Hubbard, but fell short. Erb outlasted Moran, Tim McCreadie, Chad Simpson, Oneal, and Hubbard to move to the big dance.
With the race now being sanctioned by the Lucas Oil series, Blankenship, Landers, and Wells were all awarded provisionals, giving us a 33 car starting field.
After on track introductions, Earl Pearson Jr. could not get his # 44 to fire, and was pushed to the hot pit area. Pearson would rejoin the field 13 laps later following a caution period. it had been a bad battery that betrayed Pearson. Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens held the front row, and Owens took the early lead. Bloomer led lap three following a nifty slide job, and Brady Smith and Brian Shirley grabbed the next two spots. Before ten laps were down, Steve Francis moved to third, and Brian Birkhofer to fifth. But it was now Smith on the move, as he took the lead. The yellow on lap 13 was for Shirley, who lost an engine. Mark Burgtorf also retired with suspension damage at the same time,ending his time in the Lynn Richard # 15R On the restart, Birkhofer jumped to second. Friday night winner Mike Marlar was on the move, taking fith with 80 to go. A restart five laps later saw Birky lead one lap, before Smith took back the top spot, and Francis moved back in to third. The caution waved with 66 to go for McCreadie, and on the restart, Francis took second, Marlar moved to fourth, and 29 th starting Oneal put the Moring Motorsports # 71 in to the top ten. As Smith opened a sizable lead, Birky and Francis raced side by side, lap after lap. Several more cautions slowed the action, but each time, Smith opened a comfortable margin. As is often the case, several drivers made runs into the top ten, only to fade back. The top three had things in hand, and with 40 to go, Smith contacted Austin Hubbard as he tried to put him a lap down. That may have been Bradys downfall, as his lead began to shrink, and ten laps later, Francis turned up the wick, and took the lead. The leaders battled in traffic, before the Kentucky Colonel pulled away for his first Nationals win. Smith was a bit disappointed, but picked up a nice check for second. Birkhofer held third, Bloomquist took fourth, and Owens rebounded to fifth. Marlar drove a steady race to grab sixth, and Oneal moved to seventh with 16 to go, advancing 22 spots! Billy Moyer came home eighth, Chad Simpson moved up 19 spots to ninth, and Will Vaught completed the top ten.
The 100 laps took about one hour to run, with the final checkers at a very respectable 10:30. Some Nationals features are better than others, but I have yet to leave disappointed, and when Francis called this his biggest and best win, calling Knoxville the premier track in the country for late models, I could not disagree!
After bunking in Knoxville, we all headed back on Sunday for the season finale at Quincy Raceways. QR had added an extra night of racing, in part to aid the UMP late model championship chasers. That battle never developed, as Kevin Weaver had a disappointing weekend, and Shirley lost an engine. So the final determination for national UMP late model champ will happen in October at Eldora, but it looks like Shirley will capture the title.
77 total cars checked in at Quincy, with 19 UMP modifieds the largest class. The non UMP classes were given a " cheaters night, " and stock car driver Terry Houston set the standard with a sprint car wing on his # 97. The point champion started things off with a flag to flag feature win over Michael Larsen and Jacksonville Raceway driver Brian Gaines. Tony Dunker continued his sport mod dominance, outlasting former track regular Joe Hooper in Bobby Anders car, and Lee County hotshoe Rick Barlow,Jr.
The late model field was 12 strong, and fast qualifier Dustin griffin notched his fifth late model win of 2012 in a non stop 30 lapper. Denny Woodworth, rejuvenated since moving to a Griffin car, took second, followed by Burgtorf in his # 7B. Jerry Lierly took fourth in his first run since breaking his arm in a crash in July, while Jim Moon took fifth. Modified ace Jared Schlipman took a ride in Woodworths # 45DW, and stock car pilot Michael Larsen took his first latr model tour in Kevin Tomlinsons # 49. the surprise visitor on the final night was Michigan hot shoe Rusty Schlenk, who dropped out while running fourth.
Jeff Delonjay picked up his first hobby stock win of 2012 edging out Jim Brown and point champ Jake Powers. The UMP mods took five tries to complete one lap, and suffered through eight caution flags in 25 laps. Despite the stoppages, vastly improved Craig Spegal recoded his first QR feature win. Burgtorf moved to second in the Mark Van Winkel # 24V, while point champ Steven Delonjay held off Jake Griffin for third.
For the final race of 2012, track officials decided to run the sport compacts 40 laps, 40 minutes, or three cars ledt on the track. To be fair, there was some extra cash on the line. 13 of the 14 cars signed in took the feature green, and when the final checkers flew, four cars remained on the track. Austen Becerra took another win, although Laine VanZandt pushed him hard. Kimberly Abbott and Bryce Baker followed.
There is still a month of racing in the area, so pull out the sweatshirt, and we will see you somewhere down the road.
Even with the guys saving me a row 19 seat, the lure of the storied 1/2 mile drew me inside a full hour before hot lap time. After all, there is always old friends to see and new ones to meet at Knoxville!
There were still 71 entrants on hand from the 80 that signed in on Thursday night, with the 66 car cap of the last several seasons being lifted, and no support classes competing. So that meant there would be four events on the card, and I did not hear much complaining.
With 24 drivers already locked in to the 100 lap $40,000 to win main event, we were left with 47 cars vying for six remaining spots, and whatever provisionals the Lucas Oil series deemed necessary.
First up was the 12 lap D main, with ten of the scheduled 16 starters still on hand. The plan was to advance the top four to the C Main, but with three C Main qualifiers not racing, the top seven moved up. On lap one, Colorado standout Scott Lewis pounded the turn four guardrail after contact from another car, ending his run. While central Illinois ace Steve Lance Jr, and Ohios' John Mason dueled up front, ninth starting Chad Chenoweth from Huron, SD, was on the move. He was going for fourth on lap five when he looped his # 7. Lance took off agin on the restart, leading all 12 laps for the win. Mason, local favorite Darrell Defrance, and Skip Frey followed. Chenoweth, Curt Schroeder, and Alonzo Grosse also moved on.
A false start plagued the C, and on the restart, Chenoweth again spun his ride. New father Chris Simpson jumped to the lead form the pole position, with the top four in the 15 lapper headed to the B-Main. Eighth starting Tyler Breuning was on the move, rolling past outside pole starter Tim Lance for fourth on lap six. Four laps later, Tyler took over third. With three to go, fourth running Jason Utter stopped on the track, with another false start on the Delaware restart. Illinoian Mike Spatola faded out of the top four in those closing laps, with Simpson leading the distance. Breuning came home second, Lance rebounded for third, and Ryan Unzicker, in his first nationals appearance, barely edged Rob Moss for the final transfer spot.
Donnie Moran took the early lead in the 20 lap B-Main, with Dennis Erb alongside, and Erb led lap two. With 14 to go, the yellow waved for Jesse Stovall, who had a flat tire. On the restart, Erb opened a big lead, with ninth starting Don Oneal charging to fifth. Austin hubbard moved around John Blankenship for the sixth and final transfer spot, while Jared Landers faded from contention. Eric Wells moved up to challenge Hubbard, but fell short. Erb outlasted Moran, Tim McCreadie, Chad Simpson, Oneal, and Hubbard to move to the big dance.
With the race now being sanctioned by the Lucas Oil series, Blankenship, Landers, and Wells were all awarded provisionals, giving us a 33 car starting field.
After on track introductions, Earl Pearson Jr. could not get his # 44 to fire, and was pushed to the hot pit area. Pearson would rejoin the field 13 laps later following a caution period. it had been a bad battery that betrayed Pearson. Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens held the front row, and Owens took the early lead. Bloomer led lap three following a nifty slide job, and Brady Smith and Brian Shirley grabbed the next two spots. Before ten laps were down, Steve Francis moved to third, and Brian Birkhofer to fifth. But it was now Smith on the move, as he took the lead. The yellow on lap 13 was for Shirley, who lost an engine. Mark Burgtorf also retired with suspension damage at the same time,ending his time in the Lynn Richard # 15R On the restart, Birkhofer jumped to second. Friday night winner Mike Marlar was on the move, taking fith with 80 to go. A restart five laps later saw Birky lead one lap, before Smith took back the top spot, and Francis moved back in to third. The caution waved with 66 to go for McCreadie, and on the restart, Francis took second, Marlar moved to fourth, and 29 th starting Oneal put the Moring Motorsports # 71 in to the top ten. As Smith opened a sizable lead, Birky and Francis raced side by side, lap after lap. Several more cautions slowed the action, but each time, Smith opened a comfortable margin. As is often the case, several drivers made runs into the top ten, only to fade back. The top three had things in hand, and with 40 to go, Smith contacted Austin Hubbard as he tried to put him a lap down. That may have been Bradys downfall, as his lead began to shrink, and ten laps later, Francis turned up the wick, and took the lead. The leaders battled in traffic, before the Kentucky Colonel pulled away for his first Nationals win. Smith was a bit disappointed, but picked up a nice check for second. Birkhofer held third, Bloomquist took fourth, and Owens rebounded to fifth. Marlar drove a steady race to grab sixth, and Oneal moved to seventh with 16 to go, advancing 22 spots! Billy Moyer came home eighth, Chad Simpson moved up 19 spots to ninth, and Will Vaught completed the top ten.
The 100 laps took about one hour to run, with the final checkers at a very respectable 10:30. Some Nationals features are better than others, but I have yet to leave disappointed, and when Francis called this his biggest and best win, calling Knoxville the premier track in the country for late models, I could not disagree!
After bunking in Knoxville, we all headed back on Sunday for the season finale at Quincy Raceways. QR had added an extra night of racing, in part to aid the UMP late model championship chasers. That battle never developed, as Kevin Weaver had a disappointing weekend, and Shirley lost an engine. So the final determination for national UMP late model champ will happen in October at Eldora, but it looks like Shirley will capture the title.
77 total cars checked in at Quincy, with 19 UMP modifieds the largest class. The non UMP classes were given a " cheaters night, " and stock car driver Terry Houston set the standard with a sprint car wing on his # 97. The point champion started things off with a flag to flag feature win over Michael Larsen and Jacksonville Raceway driver Brian Gaines. Tony Dunker continued his sport mod dominance, outlasting former track regular Joe Hooper in Bobby Anders car, and Lee County hotshoe Rick Barlow,Jr.
The late model field was 12 strong, and fast qualifier Dustin griffin notched his fifth late model win of 2012 in a non stop 30 lapper. Denny Woodworth, rejuvenated since moving to a Griffin car, took second, followed by Burgtorf in his # 7B. Jerry Lierly took fourth in his first run since breaking his arm in a crash in July, while Jim Moon took fifth. Modified ace Jared Schlipman took a ride in Woodworths # 45DW, and stock car pilot Michael Larsen took his first latr model tour in Kevin Tomlinsons # 49. the surprise visitor on the final night was Michigan hot shoe Rusty Schlenk, who dropped out while running fourth.
Jeff Delonjay picked up his first hobby stock win of 2012 edging out Jim Brown and point champ Jake Powers. The UMP mods took five tries to complete one lap, and suffered through eight caution flags in 25 laps. Despite the stoppages, vastly improved Craig Spegal recoded his first QR feature win. Burgtorf moved to second in the Mark Van Winkel # 24V, while point champ Steven Delonjay held off Jake Griffin for third.
For the final race of 2012, track officials decided to run the sport compacts 40 laps, 40 minutes, or three cars ledt on the track. To be fair, there was some extra cash on the line. 13 of the 14 cars signed in took the feature green, and when the final checkers flew, four cars remained on the track. Austen Becerra took another win, although Laine VanZandt pushed him hard. Kimberly Abbott and Bryce Baker followed.
There is still a month of racing in the area, so pull out the sweatshirt, and we will see you somewhere down the road.
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