Shiverfest Lives Up To Its Name

Trying to ignore temps in the 30's accompinied by a brisk breeze, Darryl and I headed out Saturday for one more trip to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for the 19th edition of what is now known as Shiverfest. It was a marked difference from last years warm temps, but even though it sounds silly, the weather is part of the allure of this show. As a concession to the cold, promoter Mike VanGenderen moved the start times up a bit, with hot laps rolling off at 3:00 for the 117 car field. Again, this was far from a record turn out for the six class program, but many folks do not care to fight the cold, and others think it is simply too hard on engines, etc. But there were more than enough competitors on hand to make an entertaining show, with 33 sport mods topping the bill! A total of 15 heat races were staged along with a pair of B mains for the sport mods which came after the sport compact feature and a few hot laps for a KIDZ MODZ car on hand. All but four of the 29 four cylinder cars on hand took the feature green. for 15 laps. A multi car pile up on the opening circuit eliminated three cars, and back under green, pole sitter Josh Barnes powered to a big lead as a battle developed behind him between Darin ( DJ ) Weisinger Jr., Barry Taft, and Bandon Reu. Taft made contact on lap seven as he moved around Weisinger for second, and just as Weisinger was charging back on lap eight, Michael Hamilton drilled the guardrail between turns three and four. It appeared his throttle may have stuck, and he actually split the steel rail, narrowly avoiding a scary outcome. He appeared uninjured, and track workers went to work to make temporary repairs. The delay added up to about 25 minutes when it surely could have taken much longer. Back to racing, Barnes again pulled out to a big advantage. With five laps to go, Reu took over the third spot and tried to challenge Taft for second. As the checkers waved, it was Barnes scoring a flag to flag win ahead of Taft, Reu. Trent Orwig and Chuck Fullenkamp. A dozen hobby stocks were up next, with Gene Nicklas leading lap one. Dustin Griffiths moved up to challenge on the next trip around, and the duo raced side by side for several laps, with Nicklas using the preferred high line while Griffiths fought down low. With about six laps remaining, Griffiths, who also competed in the stock car division in a different car, took command, then moved to the higher line around the 3/8 mile oval. From there he scored the win, followed by Nicklas, Mike Kincaid, Aaron Martin, and Randy Byerly. The late models were up next, and although only eight cars signed in, it was an interesting mix of UMP crate cars, IMCA spec engines, and I believe one steel block powered machine. Derek Liles and heat race winner Gunner Frank lined up in row one for the 20 lap main event, but it was Tommy Elston powering to the lead as the first lap was scored. The yellow waved for first time late model pilot Aric Becker as he spun in turn four, and on the Delaware restart, Port Byron,Il. driver Chuck Hanna took second from Frank. A yellow for debris came on lap five, then the final stoppage came near the halfway mark when Frank encountered a mechanical problem, possibly clipping the front stretch fence, sliding down into Liles, then coming to a stop on the infield apron. From that point it was green flag racing, with Elston picking up another win. Hanna drove to an impressive runner up finish, holding off a hard charging Liles. Lee Hoover, a new name for me, came home fourth in the #1 machine Kevin Blackburn had raced at Memphis,Mo. earlier this month, and Becker scored a top five in his first late model action. Kelly Pestka ran sixth, with Frank scored seventh. IMCA racer Eric Sanders mave have lost an engine in the heat race, as he pulled to the infield with smoke trailing his #95. It was now stock car time, 15 cars strong. Todd Reitzler used a front row start to lead lap one, with Abe Huls charging to second. Johnny Spaw joined the lead pack on the second go around, and the front trio began to pull away. Huls used the inside line to grab the lead on lap six, and a side by side battle developed for the runner up spot between Reitzler and Spaw. The veteran Spaw took the spot two laps later, and now it was Huls running the bottom, Spaw using a high on corner entry, dive to the bottom move in second, and Reitzler running the high line. The caution waved on lap tweleve, when John Oliver Jr appeared to have a tire go down, and he contacted the fence in turn one. Back under green, Reitzler moved down the track, but there was no catching Huls. Spaw held second ahead of Reitzler, Mike Hughes, back in the stock car ranks after dropping to hobbys for a few weeks, came home fourth and Griffiths was fifth. The sport mod field had been whittled down to 24 cars for the main event. Tanner Klingele bolted to the lead from his pole start, with a three wide battle behind him for second. Austen Becerra took command of the spot on lap two, with row four starter Brandon Lennox moving to fifth. The caution waved on lap three, and I apparently missed a pass, as Becerra was lined up in the top spot for the restart. As he stretched his advantage, Klingele and Sean Wyatt battled behind him. Tenth starting Brayton Carter was on the move, entering the top five as Lennox spun between turns three and four with 13 laps remaining. Carter jumped from fourth to second on the restart, with another caution one lap later. Back to racing, Becerra took the high line and Carter hugged the bottom, but the yellow waved again one lap later. On this restart, Becerra seemed to not take off, jamming up the field, bringing out the yellow. As the cars circled the track, Becerra was pointed to the back of the reallignment. After a bit of discussion, he fell in about three rows from the tail. This put Klingele back out front, ahead of Logan Anderson and Tony Olson. One lap later, Anderson powered to the lead, and one more lap saw Becerra reenter the top five. With seven circuits remaining, Anderson had opened a sizable lead, and Becerra moved to fourth. Five laps left saw Becerra in a three car battle for second with Olson and Tim Warner. Austen secured the runner up spot with four laps left to run down the leader, but Anderson was up to the task. At the checkers it was Anderson, Becerra, Olson, Warner, and Lennox. The final event on the card was the 20 car, 22 lap modified feature. 18 competitors took the green, with Milo Veloz jumping to a big lead from his outside row one start. By lap four, tenth starting Cayden Carter had advanced to fourth, and the yellow flew for debris. On the restart, Carter charged to second, then raced past Veloz for the lead. It had developed into a two car scrum when the caution waved at the halfway mark. Veteran Bruce Hanford had lined up in row six, but now jumped from sixth to third. Hanford, Tyler Madigan, and Kyle Brown battled behind the leaders, when Veloz began trailing smoke out of his machine. Carter opened a straightaway lead as he worked through slower traffic, cruising to the win. Veloz finished second, still trailing smoke, and Hanford, Madigan, and Brown filled out the top five. The action concluded somewhere around 7:30, another efficiently run program. This afternoon, Sunday, I will be heading to Quincy Raceways for what may be my final race of 2017. The Gobles are staging an afternoon program featuring open competition modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, sport compacts and D II midgets, with the purse tied to car counts, and the modifieds possibly racing for a $1,000 to win. Hot laps are scheduled for 2:30, when the temperature is supposed to be in the fifties, so come on out for one more show!