Good Times at a New Track

 Monday was a scheduled vacation day, so with the early postponement of the Quincy Raceways UMP Summernational event to Monday night due to wet grounds.I began looking for  a place to take in some racing on Sunday where the rain might hold off for a few hours.
 With a Facebook assist from late model driver Bobby Hansen, Darryl and I rolled out for a first time visit to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Canton,Mo.
 We were immediately impressed with the fairgrounds facility, and the 1/4 mile black dirt track looked to be in decent shape considering the two plus inches of rain that apparently fell there on Saturday. The total car count of 89 in six divisions also was a plus, but the thing that realy caught our attention was the large crowd that pretty much packed the grandstands!
 Hot laps were set to go a 6:00, but announcer and fellow Positively Racing columnist Ryan Clark informed the throng that due to the wet track conditions, only the IMCA late models would be hot lapping. This was later amended to allow several first time drivers to also get in a few laps. Even with this, racing began shortly after 6:00.
 It was our first time to see Iowas version of Micro Mods, and before one lap was complete in heat one, the # 71 of young Mr Cordes was upside down on the front stretch!
 The running order for the night was adjusted, with the late models making their second of five visits to the track in 2015, and a desire to keep the narrow hobby stock tires off the oval for as long as possible.
 So after 11 heat races in five of the classes, the micro mods came back for their 12 lap feature. All 13 started, but again, a lap one mixup involving three cars found young Mr Murty upside down. when things got rolling, the 6E machine opened up a big lead, winning by nearly 1/2 a track. I apologize for the lack of correct names, but the PA was a bit hard to understand, however, I believe the winning drivers name was something like Don Ehbert.
 Next up came the IMCA sport mods, with 13 starters of the 15 cars signed in. Again, a lap one rollover by Dave McCalla, who put his ride on its side in turn four, slowed the action, But when racing resumed, Tony Olson showed why he has now captured four straight feature wins, putting his # 23T in victory lane.
 Following the sport mod main, the IMCA hobby stocks ran two quick heats featuring 14 cars, then it was back to feature time.
 Two IMCA stock cars failed to make the call, giving us 12 starters. By the time the caution waved on lap six, row five starter Damon Murty had his # 99D in the runnerup spot. Contact on the restart saw Murty fall to fourth, and for several laps he remained there as the leaders ran side by side in front of him. Patience finally paid off, and he grabbed the lead on lap 12, holding on for the win.
 All 16 IMCA modifieds took the green, with point leader Troy Corders losing a front wheel on the start, ending his run. The yellow waved again on the restart for an incident involving for track champion Corey Dripps, who had apparently not been to Vinton for some time. Many eyes were on the USMTS standout, but it was Mike Burbridge who opened a commanding lead. Meanwhile, Scott Hogan and Dripps began to work their way forward. When the caution flag flew on lap ten of the 20 lapper, both were now in the top five. Still it was Burbridge out front, and a three car battle for third on lap 17 saw former late model pilot Jerry Dedrick squeezed over the bank off turn two. When racing resumed, it was Burbridge, Hogan, and Dripps in the top three spots in a single file formation. Hogan made the winning pass on the white flag lap, and Dripps eventful run came to an end with a last lap spin. The win gave Hogan the point lead, while Burbridge settled for second.
 There was a nice field of 17 IMCA late models on hand, with heat wins going to Dirk Hamilton, Jon Passick, and Jerry King. Hamilton and Passick lined up on row one for the 25 lap finale. with Passick jumping to the early lead. The caution came out on lap four for Mark Hurst, and at the same time, Todd Cooney was pushed to the pit road apron for a tire change. Ryan Dolan, the feature winner on the first visit of the late models to Vinton in 2015, had now advanced from row four to fourth on the Delaware restart. Dolan would take over third, but head pitside three laps later, with heavy smoke rolling from his # 51 machine. Hansen also retired at this time with handling problems. IMCA national point leader Paul Nagle had started rown four also, and now challenged Passick for the top spot. With restarts now single file, the race stayed green for the nest dozen or so laps,with Nagle in charge. But just as it looked as if the # 05 would be in victory lane, his ride also quit with a puff of smoke. The final caution came with two circuits remaining, with Ben Seemann coming to a stop, and it was now row seven starter Chargin' Charley McKenna challenging Passick for the lead. But Passick was able to hold the low groove, and keep Mckenna at bay, picking up the win. Sean Johnson ran a steady third, with King and John Emerson rounding out the top five. Curtis Glover led the second five ahead of Hamilton, Cooney, Scotty Welsh, and Seemann.
 With one feature left to go, Darryl and I took our leave at about 9:10 for the long drive home.
 It is not often I get to venture to far away tracks on Sunday nights, but a trip back to Vinton sometime would be something I would look forward to.
 It is time to wrap this column up and head to Quincy Raceways. Hopefully the rain holds off long enough to get in our first night of UMP Summernationals action!