2018 in Review

 With the running of the Junior Knepper 55 indoor midget race at Duquoin, Illinois two weekends ago, the midwest dirt track season came to a close. As it happens, 2018 turned out to be a surprising season for yours truly. Leading up to retirement, I had every intention of scaling back my race chasing, but wound up with my most nights since the 2000 season, with 56. I also set a personal record for tracks attended in a season, visiting 21 different venues.
  Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota was my only first time track for the year, and it is a stop I would definitely recommend.
  My original home state of Iowa led the way, with 14 stops at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, along with visits to Davenport, 34 Raceway, Knoxville, Columbus Junction, Marshalltown, Vinton, and Tipton, 28 nights total.
  Illinois came next, with eleven trips to Quincy Raceways in addition to trips to Tri City Speedway, Jacksonville, Quad City Speedway, Peoria, and La Salle for 20 nights.
  My home state of Missouri produced seven nights, including Wheatland, Pevely, Lake Ozark, Scotland County, Springfield, and the Dome in St. Louis.
  Fortunately I only experienced a pair of rain outs after leaving home. Stubborn showers wiped out a night at Scotland County before any cars hit the track, and the first try for the UMP Summernational race at Jacksonville was washed out after the late model heats.
  Regular readers know that I am first and foremost a late model fan, and I was fortunate in 2018 to take in late model events featuring Lucas Oil late models, World of Outlaw lates, MLRA, SLMR, MARS, UMP weekly and Summernationals, IMCA, including Deery Brothers Summer Series, Lee County crates, and a hybrid set of rules at Springfield.
  I also was able to enjoy a variety of 410, 360, and 305 sprints, a handful of midgets shows, and regular doses of modifieds, stock cars, and 4 cylinders - yes, if the racing is close, I like 'em all!
  After watching late model racing decline in recent years, we may be seeing a bit of a revival for 2019. As previously reported, 34 Raceway will be adding late models on a semi regular basis under the IMCA banner, with Lee County also being IMCA sanctioned. Independence, Iowa will return to IMCA, and it was recently announced that four tracks in Nebraska will also run IMCA lates weekly, including US 30, Off Road, Boone County, and Junction Motor speedways. And US 30 appears to race on Thursday nights.... I can only assume that the addition of the 604 crate engine package to the IMCA rules is partially aiding this revival. I have heard a couple names mentioned as returning to IMCA, but as of now, only Todd Malmstrom has made it official.
  Names also continue to be bandied about for the Fairbury, Illinois area after new majority owner Matt Curl announced his aggressive payout at the legendary UMP Saturday night track.
  At least one race is scheduled for West Liberty Raceway for next season, and I am hoping for more. Unable to make the single event there last season, I am anxious to hear to roar of the engines on the big 1/2 mile. Meanwhile, as we wait patiently for the release of the Deery Brothers schedule it is now only eleven weeks until the first green flag is set to fly at Memphis!
  Happy New Year, and thanks for reading!
 

Another Day, More Shockers

 During the height of the racing season, it seems sometimes that I am offering a new blog entry every day. And during the off season, it is often a struggle to report anything of consequence once a month. But as we march through December, we could almost go back to daily entries! 
  Since Jeff updated several goings on yesterday on the Backstretch, at least two major announcements have been made.
  First was a report from Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, that Brian and Marcia Gaylord will take over promoting duties for 2019. Brian and Marcia have been key figures in the weekly operation of the track for several years, and this should be seen as a positive development for the historic fairgrounds track. Seemingly almost as an afterthought in the release was the not totally unexpected announcement that the late model class would be IMCA sanctioned beginning with the upcoming season. The late models have struggled with low car counts since being reintroduced in 2016 as a crate engine class. However, with IMCA adding the GM 604 crate engine option to their weekly rules for next season, along with some changes in the spec engine program, it seems like a positive step for the program. Of course, the return of IMCA late models on a more or less every other Saturday night about 35 miles away at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa gives the Lee County drivers another opportunity during the weekend, while still allowing the crate cars to travel to Quincy Raceways on Sundays to race against the UMP Pro Crate late models!
  Meanwhile, former Lee County race director Mike Van Genderen, who recently purchased the Stuart, Iowa Speedway has big news of his own. Always the gambler, MVG is offering a free 2020 chassis for drivers with perfect attendance in his four class program during the upcoming season. Drivers not lucky enough to win the free chassis will also be eligible for 1/2 off  a new chassis. This could easily turn in to a six figure commitment for Mike and his sponsors. And then at the end of the release was the real bombshell. Stuart will be abandoning their Friday night program in favor of Wednesday night racing. Apparently the car count at Stuart, particularly in their headline IMCA modified class has lagged behind, and Mike is hoping to jump start things with a mid week IMCA option. As might be expected, there is both excitement and hand wringing on Facebook over the plan. As far as I can tell, the only other Wednesday night option is in Alta, Iowa, some 130 miles away. And of course, there is non sanctioned Wednesday racing at Oskaloosa, Iowa, a track that Van Genderen directed through the 2017 season. Osky does not run " regular " modifieds weekly.
  On a personal note, I am now awaiting the release of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series schedule as well as the Lee County schedule, both of which are due in the next few days. Then I will begin to put together a rough schedule of my own for 2019.
 It has been previously reported, but congratulations to Joe Hayes on his newly created position overseeing the IMCA late models - with three " new " tracks including the return of Independence, Iowa - Joe is in a position to really help revive the class. Also kudos to Jeff Curl on his ambitious plans for Fairbury American Legion Speedway, with a $2500 to win, $300 to start weekly UMP late model payout along with $1500 to win UMP mods paying $175 to start. And for those questioning the hobby mod payout of $60 from first to last, I understand that the class was started as a true " learner " class, and all drivers at the original meeting agreed on this purse structure. These are not B mods or sport mods, but older chassis - engine machines.
  I am still planning a " year in review " entry, perhaps we will wait until this crazy silly season calms down.
  Thanks for reading.

2018 Season Wraps at the Dome

 Friday morning, we loaded up the car and headed for The Dome at Americas Center for the middle night of the Dirt in December Gateway Dirt Nationals. Although tonight, Saturday is the big dollar night for the super late models, modifieds, and for the first time in the three year history of the event, the midgets, Friday night offers up a ton of races, and the opportunity to see mostly everyone entered for the weekend before a few decide to throw in the towel. So the night number two show makes sense for someone like me, who enjoys watching drivers I rarely if ever get to see otherwise. I skipped this indoor event on the 1/5 mile the first year, partly because I was a bit skeptical, but mostly because a dreadful weather forecast that indeed delivered an ice storm made the drive north treacherous on Saturday night. But the lure of 94 late models and about an equal number of modifieds changed my mind in 2017, and even a seven hour show left a mostly good impression.
  So with a chance to ride shotgun this season and make a return visit to Sugarfire for some outstanding barbeque, I was all in.
  The addition of the all star field of midgets, 54 strong, meant the modifieds would be cut to 54 also, by invitation. The late model pre entry sheet came in at 110, with 93 actually making the trip. I am guessing that possibly three of the late models headed home after Thursday night qualifying, but we were still blessed(?) with something close to 200 race cars. With the format used, this meant a total of 32 races, starting after midget qualifying, which was scheduled at I believe 2:30.
   We should have realized the time it would take to complete a show of this magnitude, although I must say that an apparent lack of urgency added an hour or more to the program. But, hey, we were racing 2 plus hours from home in comfortable conditions at a time of the year when the alternative was being home on the sofa, so...
   As expected on the tight 1/5 mile track, it was the midgets that offered up the best racing, with Christopher Bell and Tyler Courtney taking home $3,000 each for their 20 lap efforts capping a complete program of heats and B mains ahead of the twin features. The six modified heats had run on Thursday, so a pair of B's set the remainder of the 20 car fields for their dual 20 lap $3,000 to win main events. Josh Harris and hometown hero Kenny Wallace scored the wins.
  A pair of 20 lap 20 car $5,000 to win features capped a late model night of a dozen heat races, followed by two C mains and two B mains. Polesitter Brandon Sheppard in his family owned #B5 held off early pressure from Jason Welshan, then Tim McCreadie to score the win in the first feature. Veteran Billy Moyer looked like he had something for Sheppard before a lap twelve caution got Sheppard out of traffic. Moyer then settled into fourth, holding off a persistant Jonathon Davenport. Ironically, it was Billy Moyer Jr. who brought out the caution when he slammed the turn three outside barrier.
  Chad Zobrist led the opening three laps of the finale before sixth starting Shannon Babb and fourth starting Bobby Pierce overtook him running high and low off turn two at the same time.  A bobble by Babb allowed Zobrist to briefly regain the lead, but Shannon continued to wow the post midnight large crowd by retaking the spot before he plowed the turn two barrier with 13 laps to go. It was now Pierce out front, and Don Oneal in son Hudsons' #71 jumped to the runner up spot after starting eighth. Zobrist and Oneal swapped the spot, and with two laps remaining, the last of many cautions waved for a multi car pileup in turns three and four following a restart. One last green flag saw Pierce hold on for the win. Oneal held off Zobrist for third, followed by Jeff Herzog and Cameron Marlar. Babb, who had restarted in 16th after his lap eight troubles, made it back to sixth at the checkers. The top four from each of these features will make up the first four rows on Saturday, with last chance races filling out the field.
  There was much to like about the night of racing, and honestly quite a bit on the other side, but by the time the 2019 version comes along, the good will likely outweigh the bad.
  On a non racing related note, while waiting in line at Sugarfire, Jeff Broeg struck up a conversation with up and coming country music star and dirt late model fan Dylan Scott. He was more than gracious with photo ops, and even took a selfie with this old man as we stood in line to enter the Dome, and he made some new fans along the way!
  With my 2018 season likely over, I will take a look back at my travels and offer up some 2019 thoughts soon. In the mean time, the news keeps coming. 34 Raceway owners Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt confirmed the rumor last night that the track would be going back to weekly late model racing in 2019, with IMCA sanctioning being a mild surprise. And today, the MLRA has released a more or less complete schedule for 2019, with several dates that look favorable for Racin' Down the Road! So now, we will set the clocks for March... Thanks for reading.
 
 

Comings and Goings

 As more and more races are scheduled during the winter months, the formerly recognized " off season " lines have become blurred. Even as we make plans for our final race of 2018 - for us, the Friday night action during the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome in St. Louis, the 2019 landscape of dirt late model racing is beginning to take shape.
  The local scene has been chugging along with the somewhat early release of some track and series schedules, including some new and exciting events at both Quincy Raceways and34 Raceway. Even so, the biggest news to date may be the purchase of the Stuart Speedway just west of Des Moines by well known promoter/ race director Mike VanGenderen. MVG, as he is known has shown himself to be aggressive with regard to his shows, and he has wasted no time reaffirming that trait. Along with the purchase announcement came word that Stuart would open the 2019 season on Wednesday, April 3 with night number one of the IMCA Frostbuster series. And on Monday a Thursday May 2 stop by the MLRA late models was added. Of course, Mike has worked closely with MLRA over the last few seasons, as he was the point man for events at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo., and Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. In fact, the first Thursday in May date has been on the Lee County schedule the last couple of seasons, although it was postponed by rain in 2018. With Quincy Raceways having a Sunday, May 5 date with the traveling series, I would expect the addition of Friday and Saturday races in the area, making for a four day swing. VanGenderen has confirmed that Stuart will host regular Friday night racing, so it will be interesting to see what will happen with the handful of Friday night shows he had previously announced at Scotland County. Either way, Stuart is a track that,even though close to four hours away, is now high on my bucket list of new venues to visit.
  Also, congratulations to Matt Curl, who is adding to his duties as World of Outlaw late model series director by purchasing controlling interest in the famed Fairbury,Il. American Legion Speedway where he was formerly employed.
  On the national scene, dirt track racing has begun to resemble NASCAR with regard to driver changes. Within the last few days we have learned that Benton, Kentucky youngster Tanner English will be wheeling the #116 SWR ride with veteran Randy Weaver at the helm. The team will debut at Speedweeks and race a pick and choose schedule.  At various points during the season English will also appear in a companion car fielded by Tommy Pope.
  Meanwhile, the Best Motorsports team has parted ways with Josh Richards and will now have young Texas pilot Tyler Erb behind the wheel. At nearly the same time it was announced the Richards will take over the Clint Bowyer #14 previously driven by Darrell Lanigan. Richards will apparently team with Don Oneal in the Bowyer two car stable.
  Lucas Oil champion Mike Marlar will move to the Rumley #6, while Brandon Overton will take over the #2 formerly driven by Joey Coulter. Still we await the announcement from the Dunn Benson team as to who will replace Bobby Pierce, who is moving back to a family operation. I have probably missed some moves and I am sure there are more to come, as the PRI show, December 6-8 this year is typically the time for major announcements, so stay tuned.
  Hopefully I will be back with a recap from racing at the Dome this weekend, and if you see me there, say " Hi! " Thanks for reading.
 

Crigler and Gustin Highlight Turkey Bowl Winners

 Just shy of one year ago, Jeff Broeg offered a ride to the twice rescheduled 11th annual Turkey Bowl at the Springfield Raceway. Having never been to the southeast Missouri 1/4 mile facility, I jumped at the chance to take in a race on what was now the Sunday after Thanksgiving. 166 cars in five classes turned out on a chilly late Sunday afternoon with a 3:00 PM start time. Unfortunately, there were a few hiccups in the program, and with three members of our group due to show up for work on Monday, we made the decision to head towards home before seeing any feature racing. Of course, this left a bit of unfinished business, so when Jeff offered a return trip for this Saturday, I was all in. Tracking the forecast at least twice per day - you can do that when you are retired! - it looked like deja vu all over again. But as the week progressed, the predictions of temps in the 40's and possible precipitation dissolved, and by Saturday morning, the forecast was for temps in the upper 50's and no rain. So five of us piled in for the trip south, watching as the thermometer climbed to a balmy 67 degrees as we rolled into the speedway.
  Something close to 170 cars signed in, even though the late model count shrunk slightly from 26 last year to a still solid 20, possibly due in part to a shock rule designed to accommodate a variety of competitors. Even though we had no need for a self imposed curfew, it did not matter, as the program rolled along quickly. The only problem for yours truly was that the computer system at the track had issues, and announcer Ronnie Williams was apparently left mostly on his own as far as driver information. As to be expected,  many of the entrants were unfamiliar to him and me, as well as the normal late season shuffling of different drivers wheeling different rides, which left us doing a lot of guessing as to who and what we were seeing. Compiling points for many of the mid western states came in handy for Jeff, and he has a detailed summary of the action on the Backstretch here at Positively Racing.com.
  Early in the evening I decided to segue from reporter to fan, watching as Iowa hot shoe Ryan Gustin, a driver I am very familiar with charged to the front of the non stop 25 lap modified feature, picking up the $2,000 check and the unique Turkey Bowl trophy.
 When the late models hit the track, however, old habits kicked in, and I found myself taking notes while watching another driver I see weekly, Sam Halstead, work his way from row six to fifth at the finish, racing five plus hours from home. Scott Crigler claimed the trophy and the $2,000 payday after starting fourth, besting sixth starting Joe Gorby. Jake Davis and Kaeden Cornell followed the first two. Dylan Hoover, former IMCA champion Justin Wells, veteran Raymond Merrill, Jace Parmley, and Shawn Strong completed the top ten.
  Following the late model finale, the legend cars came to the track for their feature, while the unscheduled mini late models lined up. When the 22 car legend field suffered their first caution, we headed for the car, just after 8:00.
  The racing surface was in tip top shape throughout the night, the light watering and grading ahead of each feature may or may not have contributed, but especially for November racing, it was a near perfect track. Slide jobs and crossovers were in abundance, making for a great late afternoon/evening of racing, and the 2019 Turkey Bowl XIII is a race I can highly recommend. The only change I would offer up is to implement the " spin and your in " rule in the heats, but that might be nit picking...
 Even as I am starting to put together my 2019 schedule - see Quincy Raceways, 34 Raceway, Benton County Speedway, Marshalltown Speedway, - there is ONE MORE event for this season, the St Louis Dome race November 29,30, and December 1. If the stars align, just maybe... stay tuned, and thanks for reading.
 
 

Rain Prevails at Columbus Junction

 Trying to ignore the " elephant in the room, " the ominous weather forecast, we headed out at the noon hour Saturday for C J Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa in search of one more racing adventure. The drive was done mostly in a light drizzle, although the skies cleared a bit as we ventured north of Mt. Pleasant. With the forecast calling for as much as a 90% chance of afternoon showers, we were not sure what to expect, but the 75 or 80 cars in the pits seemed like enough for a solid racing program.
 After signing in, I made my way across the track to the infield pit area, quickly realizing that the 4/10 mile oval had already received a fair amount of moisture, and could likely not absorb much more. The starting time had been moved up two hours to try and get ahead of the Friday forecast, and everything was going well as hot laps clicked off in timely fashion on the still greasy surface. The original running order had been changed after only a pair of hobby stocks signed in, so after the national anthem, the first IMCA sport compact heat race was called to the track. Unfortunately, that is when things went awry. A light but persistent drizzle began to fall before the green flag waved, with the cars circling the track to try and minimize the effects of the rain. Soon more compacts joined the group of seven, and then the call came out for some of the wider tired machines to help out. It was not long until the race cars were sent pitside, with track packing vehicles along with promoter Larry Richardson in his street car continuing to turn laps.
  While the radar looked somewhat promising, the showers intensified a bit, and after a half hour or so, it became obvious that the track was " lost, " and would need to be torn up and repacked if there was to be any chance of racing, a process that would take at least a couple of hours, provided the rain would stop. So the decision was made to pull the plug on the 2nd annual Turkey Dash.
  I have no idea how long the rain continued at the track, but as so often happens, we had traveled only a few miles south on highway 27 when the showers stopped. Still I don't think anyone could question the decision to cancel given the track and pit conditions.
  And all four of us agreed that the trip was well worth the gamble for a shot at November racing, and hopefully the Turkey Dash will be back on the schedule in 2019 - perhaps minus the hobby stocks!?!
  Thanks to Larry and the CJ Speedway gang for going the extra mile while trying to get the show in.
  I believe the curtain is down on racing in Iowa for 2018, but for those unwilling to call it a year, there is still action to be had in Missouri, including the Turkey Bowl in Springfield on November 17, and of the course the race at the Dome in St. Louis November 29,30, and December 1.
  Meanwhile the 2019 schedules are beginning to trickle in, and of course around here, the buzz is about the Lucas Oil late model show at 34 Raceway in West Burlington on Thursday, May 16. There are always a few " can't miss " shows on my racing calendar, and this is one of them, for sure. Keep an eye on the calendar tab at Positively Racing as we look forward to the 2019 season, and check back here at Racin' Down the Road for updates.
  Thanks for reading.

Long Doubles Up at Donnellson

 Saturday night found us back at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for the 20th edition of Shiverfest. The Friday night Fall Extravaganza car count of 102 increased by twenty, making for another full night of racing, although it was surely well below normal counts for the popular event.
 Things got off to a bit of a ragged start time wise, but following on track trick or treating for the youngsters, racing got underway. The hobby stocks were added from the Friday night show, with only a disappointing turnout of seven, but they led off the 15 heat races, which clicked off in good time, aided by the " spin and you're in " rule. Box car races for the kids filled intermission, and it was now time for the six feature races.
  The yellow flag waved two laps into the event, with Matt Petrzelka holding the top spot. Back under green, however, Kaden Reynolds put his #1K out front, and was never seriously challenged the rest of the way. The youngster from Cedar Rapids had strapped on the bigger tires on Friday and competed with the stock cars, with the experience paying off on Saturday. Veteran Mike Kincaid came home second following a spirited battle, followed by Brok Hopwood and Gene Nicklas.
  All 26 drivers lined up for the IMCA sport mod feature. Outside pole sitter Logan Anderson paced lap one by a nose ahead of fellow front row starter Brandon Dale. The first caution came at lap five, and on the restart, Friday winner Brayton Carter, who started tenth, entered the top five. With the field strung out, the leaders were already in slower traffic by lap six. One lap later, Anderson suddenly lost the handle on his ride, taking a trip through the infield, turning the lead over to Dale. The top four of Dale, Tony Olson, Carter, and Colton Livesey began to put distance on the field when the yellow waved just after halfway. Olson edged ahead briefly as the leaders went three wide on the restart, but Dale was soon back out front. Now it was Dale, Carter, and Olson on a breakaway before a final caution with eight laps remaining. When racing resumed, Dale assumed control, taking the checkers one night after breaking an engine. Carter followed his Friday win with a runner up finish, followed by Olson, Brandon Setzer, and Tyler Soppe.
 IMCA stock cars were third on the card, 23 cars for 22 laps. Abe Huls drew the pole position, quickly assuming the lead ahead of John Oliver Jr. and Friday winner Johnny Spaw. The front runners moved to the low line around the slickening track, except for Spaw, who tried the high line in turns three and four which he rode to victory the night before. As Spaw dropped back to the inside line, Oliver Jr. took a shot up top without success. Cayden Carter was able to ride the high line to move into the top five at the halfway point after starting ninth. Although heavy slower traffic remained a issue, the leaders were able to move along smoothly, with the race going caution free. Huls stood in victory lane at the end, with Oliver Jr., Spaw, Carter, and Todd Reitzler next in line.
  As much as the stock cars were efficient, the IMCA sport compact 14 lapper was a marathon. A four car pile up off turn two on the opening lap took  quite a while to clean up, with fluid spilled on the racing surface. When racing resumed, Jason Ash, who originally lined up fifth, charged to the lead, with Josh Barnes in tow. Friday winner Chuck Fullenkamp rebounded to second on lap three. The lap clicked off until six circuits remained, when the caution came out for Barry Taft. Barnes had driven to the infield, but used the opportunity to pull back onto the track, restarting in third. Barnes then moved to second on the Delaware restart, with the next caution period coming four laps from the checkers. Again there was a lengthy delay, as transmission fluid was spilled all the way around the 3/8 mile oval. As the green flag waved again, the yellow flag waved a final time as Barnes car finally gave up. The field was then lined up single file for the remaining laps. Fullenkamp stalked Ash all the way to the checkers, falling a half car length short of back to back wins. Jacob Houston came from deep in the pack to finish third, followed by Darin Weisinger Jr. and Brandon Ruffcorn in the Jake Dietrich #63.
  The late model car count increased by three, to 13 for the Saturday show. Sam Halstead had the lucky hand this night, drawing the pole position for both his heat race and the feature. After winning his heat, " Superman " jumped to the early lead in the main event, with row two starter Andy Nezworski tagging along in second. However a first lap spin by Chuck Lewis brought out the caution. The complete restart saw sixth starting Nick Marolf charge through the middle to second behind Halstead. One lap in, Lewis again looped his #00Q, ending his run. By lap six, Friday winner Chuck Hanna and double duty Cayden Carter were locked in a battle behind Halstead and Marolf. Halstead began to stretch his lead, encountering slower traffic with eights circuits left. By now he had a straightaway lead, and cruised to
the win in his crate late model. The IMCA spec engine cars of Marolf, Hanna, Carter, and Nezworski followed. Track champion Tommy Elston led the second five over Matt Mickelson, Terry Gallaher, Brandon Queen, and first time visitor Mike Klein. Matt Strassheim was the fourth driver to wheel the Lynn Richard #15R, but had engine woes that ended his night, even experiencing a small fire as he sat just off the track. Aric Becker made contact with the backstretch guardrail in his heat race, and called it a night one lap into the main event.
  The finale for the night and the season was the IMCA modified 22 lapper. All but one of the 27 entrants, inside row two starter Derrick Stewart,  took the green flag. Larry Herring shot to the lead from his pole position start with Jeff Waterman in second. A lap two yellow slowed the action, and on lap four, outside row one starter Levi Smith rebounded to second running his familiar high line around the oval. Two circuits later, Jarrett Brown raced to third, with tenth starting Michael Long taking fourth. Long, the Friday winner, advanced to third one lap later, as he searched multiple grooves around the track, his car seeming to stick in whatever line he chose. Michael emerged from a three way battle with Smith and Brown to grab the runner up spot just after the halfway point, this time with a low side move. Slower traffic came into play by lap 13, and two more trips around, Long now used the top side to shoot to the lead while negotiating the lapped cars. As he began to open a lead, Herring began to fade back into the pack, with Brown and Waterman now occupying second and third. Following a pair of cautions, the final six laps stayed green. Long powered to a commanding lead over those closing laps, while the battle raged on well behind the #18L. Brown came home in second, with Waterman third. Logan Anderson came on late to grab fourth, and Bruce Hanford nipped Smith at the line for fifth. As a result, Long became the only repeat winner of the weekend, although his Saturday victory came much tougher that his flag to flag win on Friday.
  As though it had been scripted, a few raindrops began to fall as we gathered up our belongings to head for home.
  Thanks to Brian Neal and the Lee County Fairboard for their hospitality and an enjoyable late October racing weekend. At this time of year, we think of each race as possibly the last of the season, but unlike years past, there is still some racing to be had, weather permitting, and we are not ready to call it a season just yet. So stay tuned, and we shall see. Thanks for reading!

Lee County Speedway Roars to Action

 The annual Fall Extravaganza weekend was washed out two weeks ago, so one night of racing was added Friday night ahead of the annual Shiverfest. Cool temps greeted the hearty group of fans and the 102 competitors in five divisions. Following a quick run through of 14 heat races and the briefest of intermissions, it was feature time.
  First on tap was the 14 lapper for the IMCA sport compacts, with 20 cars taking the green flag. Track point champion Barry Taft raced a #2 machine in his heat race, but started the main event in the David Prim back up #01. But it was Alyssa Steele charging from outside row one to grab the lead on the second circuit. She opened a big lead as a four car battle developed behind her. Near the halfway point, Kimberly Abbott broke free from that group and began to run down the leader. As the pair of young ladies powered down the backstretch headed to the white flag, Abbott contacted the back of the Steele car, sending the leader spinning. Abbott then assumed the lead followed by Chuck Fullenkamp, while Steele amazingly righted her machine in time to hold third. Abbott took the checkers one lap later, but Steele ran her down on the backstretch and expressed her displeasure. After a period of silence ( confusion?), it was announced that Fullenkamp would be awarded the win. But Abbott was docked one spot, scored second in the running order, with Steele disqualified. A curious bit of scoring, but....
   All but one of the 26 IMCA sport mods lined up for 18 laps. A Reed Wolfmeyer spin on the opening circuit resulted in a massive pile up, ending the night for among others, Tyler Soppe and Tony Olson. Brayton Carter had dominated his heat race, redrew a twelve for the feature, but now found himself even deeper in the restart field after a trip to the work area. Following a yellow on the restart for a Colton Livesey spin, Austin Heacock took the early lead. By lap two, Carter was already inside the top ten, and he charged to fifth one lap later. Two more laps and the youngster was in a three car scrum for the lead with Heacock and Tony Olson. The group entered slower traffic on lap ten, and were three wide at the line when the caution came out. When racing resumed, Carter wasted no time completing his run to the front, taking the win ahead of Heacock, Olson, Logan Anderson, and a hard charging Livesey.
  Jeff Mueller was the lone IMCA stock car driver not starting the twenty lap feature, with 23 drivers taking the green. Todd Reitzler powered from outside row one to the early lead, as Jason Cook slipped around Jeremy Pundt for second. As the laps clicked off, slower traffic came into play around lap ten. With eight circuits left, fourth running Jason See found himself out of the groove heading into turn one, spinning his ride to bring out the only yellow of the race. Sixth starting Johnny Spaw was working hard on the leader, and he used the high line to take the lead as the white flag waved.  A small blanket could have covered the top four on the final lap, while John Oliver Jr., who started in row ten due to a rare heat race spin, was looking to join the party. Coming through the final set of turns, it was Abe Huls who hooked up on the inside line, but Spaw held on for a narrow victory. Huls, Reitzler, Cook, and Oliver followed in tight formation. A still charged up Spaw heaped praise on the " hammer down " racing surface in his victory lane interview.
  The late model field was a bit disappointing with only ten cars checked in. Veteran Brian Harris has been wheeling the Lynn Richard #15R this " postseason," and he jumped to the lead from his pole position, followed closely by his front row mate, Chuck Hanna. The front duo found some separation from the pack, and on lap seven, Hanna put his IMCA spec engine #65 out front. Hanna then pulled out to a sizable lead before the yellow waved with three lap to go for a slowing Terry Gallaher, who was piloting the Cliff Powell #6. With Harris electing the high side on the Delaware restart, Tommy Elston took the runner up spot as action resumed. At the line, it was Hanna on top, followed by Elston, Harris, Nick Marolf, and Sam Halstead. Aric Becker led the second five over Brandon Queen, Charles Vanzandt, and Matt Michaelson, back on the track after a long time away. Gallaher would be scored in tenth.
  The final  event was the twenty lapper for a loaded IMCA modified 21 car field. Michael Long had the pole position, and he quickly jumped out front. But a lap two caution involving Derek Stewart and Matt Bodman slowed the action. Back under green, Long began to stretch his margin, as an entertaining battle for second featured Bruce Hanford, Donovan Lodge and Mark Schulte. Long worked slower traffic flawlessly until the caution came out with four laps remaining. It proved just a momentary distraction for Michael, who cruised to the win. Hanford started seventh and completed a strong run in second, while  Logan Anderson charged from fifth to third after the restart, falling to fourth behind Lodge at the checkers. Schulte completed the top five.
  Today, Saturday, the track will host Shiverfest, complete with hay rack rides, box car races, and on track trick or treating for the youngsters beginning at 3:00. Racing kicks off with hot laps at 4:30 and racing at 5:00.
Hope to see you there for one more night of action. Dress warm!

Simpson Goes Out On Top at Wheatland

 Saturday afternoon, Fred, Darryl, and I were joined by IMCA stock car driver Beau Taylor as we loaded up and headed to the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri for the final night of points racing for the MLRA late models, co sanctioned with the Comp Cams late model series and the B modified Clash of Champions. Originally scheduled as a two day event, the Friday portion was washed out during hot laps setting up a one show marathon with start times moved up two hours. We arrived at the 3/8 mile " Diamond of Dirt Tracks " just as hot laps were set to kick off at 4:30. A solid total of 66 B mods battling for a $3,000 top prize kicked things off followed by 44 super late models dueling for a $5,000 check along with a $500 bonus. In addition, the MLRA championship hung in the balance, with Chad Simpson leading Will Vaught by a scant margin.
 Racing began as advertised at 5:00. Somewhat to my surprise, the Friday format of two rounds of heat races for the B mods qualifying 14 cars to the feature followed by " alphabet " consolation features remained in place, making for a ton of laps on a racing surface which soon began to show the effects of steady rains on Friday followed by cool temps and little sun on Saturday.
 After round one of eight B mod eight lap heats, the late models were set to contest five ten lap qualifiers, with passing points also locking in 14 feature starters. The format yielded plenty of action in both divisions. Scott Crigler and Simpson picked up heat wins from the front row, while Vaught and Mason Oberkramer scored victories from row two, and Tony Jackson Jr. started sixth and won the final heat race. 
  Another round of B mod heats preceded a rather lengthy unofficial intermission, then the round of consys began for the mods. Up first was an "E" main, that was scheduled to advance the top eight to the next round. Only six cars came to the track, but oddly enough, they raced for eight laps anyway.
 B main number one for the late models ran next, with Matt Furman, now back in his home state of Iowa leading the three transfers to the main event.
 Now it was "D" main time, 14 laps scheduled with the top eight moving to the next round.
 Late model B number two came next, with Nebraska's Jake Neal victorious from row two after Iowa driver Todd Shute had his engine expire in turn three on the final lap while leading by a sizable margin.
  The modified "C" ran 18 laps as a few sprinkles began to fall.
  The late model feature then came to the track for 50 scheduled laps to determine the nights winner as well as the MLRA title, as Arkansas ace Jack Sullivan had the Comp Cams championship in hand. Jackson Jr. and Jesse Stovall sat on row one, while Vaught was joined by Oberkramer in row two. Simpson, meanwhile lined up outside MLRA rookie of the year Payton Looney in row four. Jackson jumped to the lap one lead, with Vaught climbing to second ahead of Stovall and Oberkramer. On lap five, Jackson caught a hole in the track off turn two, slowed and was tagged by Vaught. Vaught spun around and was hit hard by Logan Martin. Now it was Stovall out front, Simpson powered to fifth, and Jackson called it a night. Caution number two came on lap eight as Neal stopped in turn four. Crigler was now on the move, climbing to second followed by Sullivan, Simpson, and Looney. Vaught had restarted in 21st, but was up to twelfth when he rolled to a stop on lap ten, exiting the track with likely issues from his earlier crash. Looney charged to third on the restart, but it was Simpson now on the move. He took second on lap 13, but the red flag waved as Mitch McGrath, J C Wyman, and Jeremy Grady piled up off turn two. It was then announced the there would be a " helmet stop " on lap 25 for drivers to swap helmets or add tare offs. This actually came at lap 29 when the caution flew for a stopped Rickey Frankel. At this point, only nine of the 24 starters remained on the track, so following an extended delay it was announced that the drivers still running had agreed to cut the race to 40 laps as there was "weather" in the area. As the green flag waved, Stovall found a rut in turn one and was shuffled back to fourth, as first Sullivan, then Simpson grabbed the lead. At this point Martin, who had restarted in 23rd looked to have the fastest car, and he snatched the lead away on lap 32.  He was building his margin, looking like he would complete his comeback when he seemed to get sucked into the concrete wall between turns three and four, ending his night behind the wrecker. With four laps remaining, Simpson assumed the lead on the single file restart, racing to the win and the championship. It was a bittersweet celebration for the veteran Iowa pilot, who was for the final time racing for car owners Bud and Denise Brinkman. The team had announced earlier in the year that the Brinkmans would be dissolving the team after a 15 year run with Simpson, whose plans for next season are uncertain. Sullivan came home second, meaning the two series champs ran one, two on the night. Raymond Merrill came back from being put a lap down early to take third, followed by Terry Phillips and Looney. Aaron Marrant and B J Robinson both edged out Stovall, who slowed on the last lap, as only eight cars were around for the checkers.
  After the victory lane festivities, and with a light drizzle falling,  the B mod " B " main came to the track for 22 scheduled laps, with the top ten moving to the 24 car, 40 lap finale. A caution period with three laps to go was met with a now persistent light rain, and it seemed likely the circling cars would not be able to " save " the racing surface. We then headed to the warmth of the van, heading to the highway as the clock registered 10:20 P.M. As we headed north in a steady rain, it was no surprise to learn this morning that we had seen the last of the racing. The top ten in the B main when the race was stopped were added to the back of the feature lineup, and the purse was paid based upon the starting order. So pole sitter Andy Bryant, who earned his spot with a a pair of heat race wins collected the $3,000 check, while Kris Jackson, who also captured both his heats picked up $1,500 for second. Still, the drive of the night had to go to Tyler Brown, who muscled his battered #T10 machine through the D,C, and B mains and was set to lineup in the feature!
  While we certainly appreciated the fact that the late model headliner was completed, it was easy to feel badly for B mod drivers and their fans. It is not my place to Monday morning quarterback, but in hindsight, I doubt any of them would have objected to eliminating the second round of heat races, both of which had originally been set to run on Friday along with another complete late model program. Also, canceling the E main and shortening laps on the D,C, and B rounds, especially with rain on the way, might have made it possible to get at least some of the main event run.
  Never the less, it was another good night of racing, despite the chilly temps and occasional precipitation. There will be no racing for me next weekend, with a family outing planned, so I look forward to Shiverfest in two weeks at the Lee County Speedway in
Donnellson. For those of you looking to add to your racing adventures, however, the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. will host two nights of action next Friday and Saturday, as will Tri City Speedway in Granite City, Il.
 

Fall Bash Scores an " A " Plus

 A less than optimistic forecast early in the week gave way to sunny skies and October temps as Darryl, Fred, and I headed for night one of Ryan Duhme and Timmy Currents' Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. Fred and I had made this trip last year only to have the plug pulled due to wet conditions even as the massive pit area filled with hopeful participants. Although there was a threat of rain arriving after midnight, it was apparent that we would see plenty of racing this time. As we trudged through the pits it became obvious that the cool temperatures would not hold down the car count, but I have to admit that I was amazed when the total count at the lineup board came in just over 200! In fact, the 36 late models that matched last years total before the cancellation came in as the fourth highest total of the six divisions! Having seen on Facebook that a curfew might be in place for the Thursday night portion of the show, I now wondered how much of the show would be completed. I need not have worried, however, as the races clicked off at a dizzying pace, and the drivers took the " bring out a caution, go to the pits " rule as gospel.
  By my count, it took 36 preliminary events to set the feature fields, with an adjustment made in the running order of the heat races and consolations to accommodate car counts, then one change in the feature order.
  Jeff has a rundown of the action in his " Backstretch " column here at Positively Racing, which is fortunate. Even though announcer Jerry Mackey did an absolutely amazing job of giving lineups and hometowns as the rapid fire events took place, I would have spent more time writing than watching, as I do not pretend to be as familiar with many of the Iowa and especially Wisconsin drivers as my colleague.
  As a late model fan, I was a bit surprised that more of the Lee County late model crate engine cars did not try their luck against the IMCA cars. In fact, the only Lee County crate entry was the Lynn Richard #15R driven on this night by Brian Harris. Lynn seemed to correctly think that if Harris could qualify for the feature that track conditions would not be as much of a handicap in the thirty lap finale. Harris did indeed make the show, starting fifth in the third heat, then advancing to second behind Andy Eckrich, as the top three in each of four heats moved on. Brian then drew an eight for the feature, and finished seventh as the 1/4 mile was black slick and smooth by feature time.  In contrast, there were I believe three Darlington Raceway limited late models entered. The limiteds will be a part of the Saturday night card, and one driver told me he was just looking to " turn some laps " on Thursday.
  In the end, no one had anything for Justin Kay, as he started in row two, took the lead on lap nine, one circuit after the only caution of the race, and collected the $1,500 top prize, ahead of a persistent Tyler Bruening.  Justin also captured the American Iron Racing Series main, and competed in his modified as well as trying his luck in a 4 stock ride! And if that did not keep him busy enough,  Matt Ryan wheeled his backup modified in addition to running third in his #07 late model.
  Thursday night was my first time to see the AIRS cars in action, and for a few minutes it was like the 1970s all over again. If you are not familiar with these cars, they are mostly full bodied machines from the fifties, sixties, and seventies, with some Mustangs and Camaros thrown in. Unlike some of the vintage cars, these folks are equipped with racing engines, many apparently built by Gade Race Engines, racing tires, and a serious dose of competitive spirit. Although I think of myself as a Bowtie fan, the 1957 and 1958 Fords really took me back to younger days....
  Anticipating the cool temps, we dressed accordingly, but when the late model feature took the checkers just ahead of the 11:00 hour, we made the decision to head for the warmth of the car to begin the 2 and a half hour plus trip home.
  So how do you pull off a racing program with over 200 cars in what I am going to guess was about 5 and a half hours from hot laps to final checkers when events with smaller car counts often last until well past midnight? Well, I have already mentioned a couple of things, including the solo spin rule and bringing out the next race as soon as the previous one is concluded. No intermission was also a major factor, apparently announcers, scorers, and a flagman can actually survive such conditions. A perfectly prepared racing surface that needed no rework before the features was a major factor. But the one big thing that separates a show like Thursday from the many UMP type races we attend, is NO TIME TRIALS. No burning up the track before heat races. No straight up starts with the fastest cars on the front row all night long.
  Thanks to Darkside for their hospitality, we are already looking forward to attending this race again in 2019.
  Meanwhile, we are keeping an eye on the ever changing forecasts for Saturday as we look for more October racing!
 

Champions Crowned at Quincy Raceways

  Sunday night was the final points racing event of 2018 at Quincy Raceways. With the sun shining when we arrived home from Keagan and Megans wedding weekend, I decided to fit in one night of action.
  The six "regular " classes were on the card, with all but the IMCA stock car title already determined.
  UMP modified qualifying led things off with champion Dave Weitholder posting quick time. Heat races were moving along nicely until the UMP Pro Crate late model ten lapper. Melvin Linder in the Woodworth backup #45DW was out front when he made hard contact with the front stretch wall, ripping the back right quarter from the car. Then in the stock car heat, point leader Jake Powers clipped the backstretch guardrail, spun around and rolled his car 1 3/4 times, landing on his roof, compromising his shot at the title.
  Finally it was feature time, with all 14 IMCA sport mods taking the green for 18 laps. Pole sitter and class champion Adam Birck jumped out front ahead of a lap two caution. On the restart, row four starter Austen Becerra and row six starter Daniel Fellows took up the chase, with Becerra second on lap four and Fellows third one lap later. The three leaders hit slower traffic at the halfway mark. With Becerra pulling nearly even with Birck as lap twelve was scored, John Renier clipped the inside boundary tire on turn one while about to be lapped, and he became airborne, flipping twice before landing on his wheels. When racing resumed, Becerra followed Birck in the high line, while Fellows looked for traction down low. Soon after Becerra tried the inside move on the leader, Fellows was able to make it stick in turn two on lap 16, taking over the runner up slot. While Daniel and Austen continued to battle, Birck was able to put a bit of distance on his pursuers, picking up his fifth feature checkers of the season. Fellows rolled home second ahead of Becerra and Tanner Klingele.
   Normally last on the card, the two person cruisers were up next, with only four cars checked in. The duo of Logan Cumby and Matt Wentura grabbed the win, while the #99 Boden car topped the point sheet.
  The late model field was also short on their final race night, five strong. Denny Woodworth went flag to flag to win the twenty lap event by 1/2 lap, also collecting championship honors. Laine Vanzandt out ran father Charles for second, with Cliff Powell in fourth.
  Weitholder led the 13 car modified field throughout their twenty lap distance. Kevin Blackburn was beginning to apply pressure to second place Josh Newman  even as his power plant developed a miss when the yellow waved for first time visitor Tony Walker. During the caution period, fourth running Steve Grotz also headed to the trailer. Back under green, Blackburn raced to second, taking along Frankie Wellman in third. Blackburn stayed close to the leader, while Wellman put distance on the remainder of the pack, running by himself in third. Blackburn began to fade ahead of a lap eleven caution, and he eventually retired two laps later. Weitholder cruised to his eleventh win of 2018, topping Wellman, Newman, Dugan Thye, and late arriving Mark Enk.
  Surprisingly, Powers was able to make the feature call, lining up at the back of the eight car field. Michael Larsen was six points behind in the title chase, and he grabbed the early lead, while you could have thrown a blanket over the next six cars. Dean Kratzer emerged from the pack to lead lap two, with a five car battle behind him using all three lanes around the .29 mile oval. Brandon Lambert held the runner up spot until Abe Huls moved around him on lap twelve. One lap later the caution came out as Beau Taylor stopped in turn four. Huls pulled alongside Kratzer on laps 15 and 16, but the Fort Madison, Iowa veteran was up to the challenge, picking up his second win of the year. Huls claimed second in front of Larsen, Brandon Savage, and Taylor. Powers hung around to claim the championship by two points over Larsen.
 The final race of the night saw eight cars line up in the IMCA sport compact feature. Darin Weisinger Jr. lined up in row one outside point champ Barry Taft, charging to the lead even as Taft began to fade. Fourth starting Alyssa Steele powered to second, staying close to the leader as Kimberly Abbott gained ground in third. As the race stayed green throughout the twelve laps, Abbott moved up to challenge Steele, allowing Weisinger to cruise to the win. Steele came home ahead of Abbott in the battle of the ladies, with Craig Bangert in fourth.
  A bit of a late start, intermission, and driver introductions for all six classes pushed the final checkered flag to just past 10:00.
  There is one more racing event scheduled at the track, next Sunday night. Extra money is being offered up for the stock car, modified, sport mod, and sport compact classes based on a minimum of 15 cars in each class, with the stock car winner taking home a cool $1,000. There are also a couple non circle track events in the following weeks, with details on the track website.
  At this time, I am looking at night one of the Darkside Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa on Thursday night, highlighted by a $1500 to win feature for the IMCA/Lee County late models. After that....?

If It's September,This Must Be La Salle

 
Sunday afternoon, I rode shotgun with fellow blogger Jeff Broeg and super fan Gary Lee as we made our second annual trip to what was the eighth annual Gary Waite Jr. Memorial at the 1/4 mile La Salle,Il. Speedway. A large gathering of like minded folks turned out on a beautiful late afternoon to witness IRA/Mowa 410 sprint cars and UMP super late models vying for a $6,000 and $5,000 big check respectively. The 2018 addition also included the Wisconsin Wingless sprint cars.
  Jeff has the details on the "Backstretch" at Positively Racing, I will just add a few thoughts on the full night of racing.
  My home base in northeast Missouri puts me solidly in the middle of several different sanctioning bodies for both late models and sprints and while I do not claim a favorite, the contrasts are sometimes striking. This weekend magnified this for me, as Friday night the IMCA program at Davenport Speedway hosted 138 cars in four classes with the program complete in just over four hours. Sunday night the three classes at La Salle saw 103 teams sign in to a program coming in just shy of six hours. While two classes of sprint cars which needed to be push started obviously added time, the overriding factor was time trial qualifying used on the east side of the Mighty Mississippi. One at a time time trials of two laps for the 35 IRA sprints followed by 37 UMP late models qualifying two cars at a time for two laps resulted in heat race action coming about 1 1/2 hours after the advertised start time for hot laps. I am not looking to debate the pros and cons of qualifying, straight up starts
( late models), qualifying with partial inverts ( sprints), versus draw for starting spots with passing points or redraws, but the older I get, the more I can appreciate less seat time in the bleachers. Rapidly falling temperatures along with being four hours from home may have clouded my judgement a bit, as well.
 That being said, there was plenty of action around the smooth, well lit oval. Unfortunately, the track was not at its raciest as hot laps and qualifying " used up " the track somewhat, leaving a narrow and treacherous cushion inches from the concrete wall.
  The wingless cars spent most of their twenty lap main event - five laps less than our announcer had advertised - playing follow the leader around the bottom of the track. Alan Hafford led flag to flag, trailed all the way by Craig Compton, with the only caution of the race coming at an opportune time on lap 13, just as the leader caught slower traffic.
  The thirty lap sprint main was the highlight of the night, both as the headliner class and in terms of racing. The open wheel warriors used the entire track, with the top line the preferred way around, Pole sitter Parker Price-Miller shot to the lead as the green waved, with teammate Gio Scelzi advancing quickly from row three to the runner up slot, the duo in nearly identical #71 machines. Fast qualifier Kerry Madsen was caught up in an early accident, ending his run as he was headed to the front, the first of only two times the action was interrupted. No doubt there were folks in the crowd who paid their money to witness Tony Stewart in his #14 put on a show. While the NASCAR superstar made his way to third, he could not run down the front pair, but held off Scotty Thiel and Brandon Wimmer in the top five spots.
   For this late model fan, the best was saved for last, although the forty lap feature was mostly settled by the first turn. Fresh off a $5,000 win Saturday at Peoria Speedway, Brian Shirley set quick time at 14.299 seconds, putting him on the pole of heat number one, which he led flag to flag, earning the pole for the money race. " Squirrel " bested heat two winner, outside row one starter Chris Simpson into turn one, then negotiated slower traffic masterfully in a flag to flag win. But before I decide to trump the advantages of draw - redraw, it was basically the same scenario Friday for Andy Nezworski, who drew the front row for his heat, picked up the win, drew the pole for the feature and led from start to finish. So...
  Only a lap two caution for a Paul Parker spin slowed the event, with Simpson coming home second. Third starting Billy Drake was shuffled back on the start, but moved to third on lap five, holding the position until the checkers, Allan Weisser gained six spots to take fourth ahead of Jason Feger. Rich Bell, Shannon Babb, Kevin Weaver, Scott Schmitt, and Mike Spatola completed the top ten.
  There will be no racing for me this weekend, as grandson Keagan, my racing companion since about age seven, will tie the knot with his lovely fiancee Megan! Talk about feeling old...
  There are lots of excellent choices to feed your racing fix this weekend, so make plans and head to the track!

Nezworski Nabs Governors Cup

 A whopping 138 race teams, lead by a surprising 43 IMCA late models piled into the pits Friday night at Davenport Speedway for the running of the Governors Cup. The event was also the 2018 finale for the IMCA late model Deery Brothers Summer Series, with their points championship on the line, as well.
 Despite the late jam up at the pit gate as folks hustled to get off from work and make their way to the track, hot laps around the 1/4 mile oval started close to the 5:30 advertised time, concluding by 6:00.
  Fifteen heat races were contested first, with the 38 IMCA sport mods leading things off with four eight lap qualifiers. Tyler Soppe, Jacob Elithorpe, Keith Blum, and Tony Olson all picked up wins. Next it was 41 IMCA mods in four ten lap events. Tony VonDresky, Joel Callahan, Austin Moyer, and Justin Kay went to victory lane, with Callahan and Kay then preparing to do battle in their late models.
  Despite the announcement I am thought I heard that the top three in late model heats would go to the feature - or did I just assume since the top three went to the scales? - the top twelve in passing points from the five heats locked into the 40 lap headliner.
  Luke Goedert, Chuck Hanna, Andy Nezworski, Richie Gustin, and Chad Holladay took heat wins, with sixth starting Gustin the only qualifier out of heat four.
  A pair of heat races for the 16 street stocks went to Joe Bonney and Rob Nylin.
  The action then shifted immediately to B mains, with Justin Becker and Aaron Mitchell topping the sport mods, and Chris Zogg and veteran Steve Johnson topping the mods.
  The top five from each of the two twelve lap late model consys transferred to the main event. Tyler Bruening crossed the line second in heat five, started on the pole of the first B main and scored a flag to flag win. Andy Eckrich worked his way from fifth to capture the final qualifier. Todd Cooney did not make the call for the B after  running fourth in his heat, but was awarded a feature provisional along with Chad Coyne.
  With a curfew to contend with at the fairgrounds track, the sport mods lined up with no sign of an intermission , 24 cars for 15 laps. Gage Neal sat on the pole, leading as lap one was scored, then the caution flag waved. Incredibly, this would turn out to be the only caution of the race, aided, I am sure by the single file realignment. Soppe pulled alongside Neal at the line as lap two was complete, then put some distance on the #12N. Olson had started in row three, and he took over the runner up spot on lap nine. Austen Beccera made the long haul from Carthage,Illinois to Davenport, started in the sixth row and entered the top five four laps from the finish. The leader caught slower traffic at lap 13, but he expertly weaved his way through the back of the field over the final laps to grab the win. Olson settled for second, followed by Neal, Jared Frantzen, and Beccera.
  The top two dozen modifieds were next for twenty laps. Brandon Durbin charged to the lead from the pole position, with Moyer running the high line and Kelly Meyers hugging the bottom in hot pursuit. As the laps clicked off, Kay, Darin Duffy, and Callahan, who started seventh, sixth, and tenth respectively began to run down the leaders while battling among themselves. At the lap twelve mark, Duffy muscled his way to third, and Kay followed him to fourth. One lap later, Duffy put his #19D in second as Kay and Moyer dueled for third. Kay took the spot at lap 16, just as the only yellow of the race was shown for a stalled Bob Dominacki. Following the single file restart, Kay powered to second, pulling alongside Durbin with two circuits remaining, then taking command as the white flag was set to fly. Justin grabbed the hard fought win, while Duffy found his way to second at the end. Durbin came home third, Moyer and Meyer scored top five finishes.
  Kay was excused from a post race interview, as he along with Duffy and Callahan jumped from their mods into late models for the main event - Duffy in the #35 I believe normally driven by Ryan Claeys. Goedert and Nezworski lined up in row one, and they crossed the line side by side as the opening lap was scored. Nezworski assumed the top spot on the next lap, immediately opening up a significant lead on the wide, smooth, and slickening track. Gustin came from row two to second on lap four, and by now Andy held a nearly full straightaway lead. As the race stayed green, which it would do for all 40 laps, the leader caught slower traffic at lap eleven. Hanna began to work on Gustin for second, taking the spot at the halfway mark. It was now Kay on the move again, taking third on lap 24 after starting seventh. Gustin retook the spot on the next lap, but found lapped traffic blocking his low groove as Kay blew past again. As the laps wound down, Nezworski was tucked in behind Joe Zrostlik, with neither willing to move out of the preferred low line. This allowed first Hanna, then also Kay to erase the comfortable margin Nezworski had established. The leader finally eased around Zrostlik at lap 34. Hanna made a last lap attempt to overtake the leader, and it cost him two spots, as both Kay and tenth starting Ryan Dolan slipped around the #65. Bruening came from row seven to take fifth.
  As a jubilant Nezworski prepared for his post race interview and the street stock feature sat in staging, we made our way to the car, hoping to beat much of the nice sized crowd out of the parking lot. With the clock still minutes shy of 9:30, it looked like the curfew would not be a factor. Considering the huge car count and the 25 scheduled races, I cannot say enough about the performance of the officials, track crew, including the often under appreciated wrecker crews. Not to be overlooked in this also is the cooperation of the drivers and crews to be ready in staging and driving smart to keep caution periods to a minimum.
  Thanks to Carrie Rouse and the Davenport Speedway staff for their hospitality. There is one more race night on the speedway schedule, with a $2,000 to win street stock special the highlight of the season ending " Cheaters Night" and trailer races which will take place next Saturday, September 29.
  Although fall is officially here, there is still lots of racing to be had, so get to a track near - or far - and I might see you there!

Miller Wins Sprint Shootout at Quincy

 The 360 cubic inch Sprint Invader series made their annual stop at Quincy Raceways on Sunday night. A solid field of 22 drivers, including a handful of first timers signed in to do battle on the .29 mile oval. The three regular weekly IMCA classes, sport modifieds, stock cars, and sport compacts along with the two person cruisers were also on the car as well while the UMP Pro Crate late models and UMP modifieds took the night off. The midgets made an appearance, also.
 The first feature of the night was a twelve lap event for the midgets. Mitchell Davis shot to the lead on the opening lap and held off an early charge by Andy Baugh before eventually cruising to the win. Baugh took runner up honors as the race went green to checkers non stop. Bart Andrews emerged from a race long four car battle to finish third, and Jeremy Hull and Jeff Sparks completed the top five.
  Getting cars to staging in a timely manner has been an on going issue at the track, something that has been addressed in the drivers meetings by the new race director. On Sunday he followed through on his warnings, penalizing several sport mod drivers for being tardy to the lineup area. The shake up found Austin Howes and Tanner Klingele lining up in row one for the 16 car 18 lap feature. Klingele took advantage to lead lap one, and Howes was out front as the next lap was scored. Howes then drove to the infield, his night over just ahead of a lap four caution. Austen Becerra took up the chase as racing resumed, with tenth starting Nathan Bringer and point leader Adam Birck now in the top four. Birck moved to third on lap eight as Becerra worked high and low for a line around the leader. The final caution came at lap eleven, and Becerra charged to the front as the green flag waved. Birck also cleared Klingele to take over second, but was not able to mount a serious challenge for the win. Becerra cruised to the checkers followed by Birck. Bringer slipped past Klingele late for fourth, and Brandyn Ryan raced home in fifth.
  Sport compacts were next on the card, another twelve lap contest. Outside pole starter Kimberly Abbott and fourth starting point leader Barry Taft ran side by side for the first two circuits before Taft took command on lap three. Again the race went caution free, with Taft scoring the win. Darin Weisinger Jr. stalked Abbott, but settled for third, while David Prim and Alyssa Steele scored top five finishes.
  The headline event, the 22 car, 25 lap Invader showdown was next. Paul Nienhiser, who has become something of a QR favorite lined up on the pole flanked by series point leader Cody Wehrle, thanks to Shake Up Dash winner Dustin Adams drawing the number six pill to set the first three rows. Driving the #50 car on this night instead of his familiar #9, Nienhiser led lap one ahead of Wehrle, Josh Schneiderman, and Justin Bucholtz. The first caution came on lap three, and following the single file realignment used by the series, the yellow waved again on the restart. Nienhiser shot out to a nice lead as racing resumed, but the third and final caution came just one lap later. It was now apparent that ninth starting Joe B Miller was the man on the move, as he entered the top four. The leaders caught slower traffic on lap nine, and Miller powered to third. It took another eleven laps of intense green flag action before Miller found his way around Wehrle. With only five trips past the flag stand remaining, Miller cut the margin between himself and Nienhiser just a bit each lap. The pair took the white flag side by side, and Miller was out front as they drove through turns one and two. Nienhiser took command again in turn three, but Miller was not to be denied and he charged ahead as the duo exited turn four, winning the drag race to the line before a roaring crowd. Wehrle held on for third in front of the Schneidermans, Josh and Jared.
  Although it would have been a thrilling climax to the evening, there remained a pair of features to be run. The stock cars came to the track for 18 laps of action. Polesitter Brandon Lambert was a nose in front of Beau Taylor as lap one was scored, and Beau returned the favor on lap two. From there, however, it was Taylor in command. Michael Larsen had the rear end of his #48 knocked loose in a heat race crash, but made quick repairs with the help of his crew to make the feature call. On lap seven, he took over the second spot, and began to chase down the leader while running the inside line of the track, even as Taylor, who usually prefers the low groove, ran just below the narrow cushion. Larsen could never get close enough to challenge for the lead, and Taylor cruised to the victory in the third non stop race of the night. Larsen was pleased with his runner up finish, while Jerry Jansen came out ahead in a spirited three car battle for third over Jake Powers and Lambert.
  The two person class continues to struggle with car counts, so the four in attendance finished things off with a six lap feature that saw only two finish. The win went to the team of Hatfield and Hinkamper.
  The final checkers waved just past the 9:00 hour, completing an entertaining night of racing on what may have been the raciest surface of the season at QR.
  Next Sunday night will be regular racing at the Raceways, with the late models and modifieds back on the card. Then season championships on September 29. At a time on the calendar when racing was hard to find not so many years ago, there are still lots of events going on around the area, so make plans to attend as many as you can. I know I am!
 

Owens a First Timer Winner at Knoxville

 Saturday morning Keagan and I made our annual trip to Knoxville, Iowa for day three of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. This day is almost as much about the pomp and circumstance as the racing itself, taking in the atmosphere, visiting with old friends, and getting a healthy dose of bench racing. However with almost no exceptions, the racing never disappoints, and the 2018 version was as good as it gets. The SLMR late model " invitational " addition to the program was icing on the cake for late model fans. The Nebraska based organization which I believe has its roots at I-80 Speedway under the direction of legendary driver Joe Kosiski, and branched out into Iowa this season to a handful of weekly tracks used some combination of driver and owner points for weekly venues and special events to arrive at a group of thirty who were eligible to compete for the $4,000 top prize. Of that group, only Todd Shute did not field an entry, and the 29 cars on hand time trialed, five at a time, competed in three heat races, then staged a 22 lap feature event with 27 cars answering the bell. Their events were interspersed with hot laps and C and B mains for the Lucas Oil drivers, all coming ahead of the $40,000 to win 100 lap headliner.
  Veteran racer Paul Glendenning set quick time for the SLMR cars with a lap of 18.776 seconds, and their three eight lap heats clicked off in good time, with Tad Pospisil, Josh Krug, and Allan Hopp picking up wins. Pospisil moved quickly from row two to the lead in the feature, with the only caution coming at lap 14. As the laps wound down, polesitter Kyle Berck began to close the gap on the leader, with contact between the two in the final lap. Both drivers had to fight to maintain control, with Pospisil taking the win by about 1/2 car length. Berck gave the winner a parting shot following the checkers. A pair of second generation drivers with with a familiar last name and car numbers finished in the top five. Andrew Kosiski wheeled his #53 home in third, while Iowan Chad Holladay was fourth. Completing the top five was Brian Kosiski in #52. Krug finished sixth ahead of Jason Hahne, Matt Buller in a Car from the Cooney racing team, Denny Eckrich in the #1 formerly driven by Buller , and Ryan Griffith.
  The SLMR turns out good car counts at the western Iowa, eastern Nebraska tracks, and offered up close competitive racing at Knoxville. Hopefully they continue to grow and spread their wings in 2019.
   All but three of the original 57 Lucas Oil entries raced on Saturday night, with the 24 who accumulated the highest point totals from either their Thursday or Friday night runs already locked into the first twelve rows of the feature. Twelve cars started the 15 lap C main, with the top four moving on to the B. Polesitter Scott James held off charges by Gregg Satterlee and Morgan Bagley to score the win. Bagley ran second, and Satterlee and Brent Larson also advanced to the B main.
  Twenty laps was the distance for the B main, with Jeremiah Hurst and former 100 lap winner Brian Shirley in row one. But it was Ricky Thornton Jr. make a dramatic charge from row seven to lead the six cars that would move on to the finale. Jared Landers, Dennis Erb Jr., and Shirley took the top four spots. James rolled off from 19th after his C main win and finished fifth to move on, and Darrell Lanigan also picked up a transfer spot. Satterlee was the only Lucas Oil regular to not qualify, and he was awarded the first provisional. Jason Feger had finished one spot out of a transfer slot, so the second and final provisional was his. Jesse Stovall was scheduled to start in row twelve but had his engine expire in hot laps, so he  borrowed the Rob Toland #39 and tagged the tail of the 32 car starting field.
   The green flag for the feature waved about 9:30 in front of one of the largest Saturday night crowds in the 15 years of the event. With solid qualifying times and a Friday night feature win after starting nineteenth, Brandon Sheppard earned enough points to start on the pole, with Earl Pearson Jr. along side. The two shared the lead before Sheppard used a low side move on lap seven to take command. Stovall made a quick exit, and crowd favorite Brian Birkhofer appeared to lose an engine in the early laps. Sheppard caught slower traffic on lap ten, and two laps later the first caution came for Thornton. At this point Bobby Pierce had gained ten positions after starting 22nd. Back under green, third starting Scott Bloomquist moved to second, and the leaders had again caught the tail of the pack when Mason Zeigler brought on the caution 22 laps in. It was at this juncture that the race was red flagged for a five minute fuel stop that was instituted last season to address driver concerns with regards to possibly running out of fuel. It then took several pace laps to run through oil dry used to soak up spilled fuel, and Zeigler was able to make repairs during the down time. Row three starter Jimmy Owens slipped around Pearson as racing resumed while row eight starter Jimmy Mars and Pierce marched towards the front, riding sixth and seventh with 33 laps scored. Caution period three came with 62 laps to go, and the Delaware restart saw Owens take second, Don Oneal fourth, and Pierce enter the top five. Two circuits later, Owens took the lead while Pierce claimed fourth. Landers brought out another yellow one lap later as he smacked the guardrail. It was Oneal second and Pierce third as the green waved. Caution number five came at lap 47 for a slowing Tyler Bruening. Pierce powered to second on the restart as Oneal and Bloomquist battled for third. Oneal then used a debris caution at lap 51 to regain second. Now it was Owens opening a big lead as Oneal, Pierce, Bloomquist, and Sheppard raced hard behind him, but three more laps saw a three car pile up on the backstretch involving Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson, and Satterlee. Josh Richards entered the fray as the green waved, coming from tenth to sixth, Shane Clanton was charged with another yellow at lap 56, and back to green Oneal, Pierce, and Bloomquist raced three wide. Bloomquist cleared the others at lap 58, as Owens opened a huge lead and Bloomquist began to distance himself from the pack as well. But Pierce again went on the move, taking third on lap 66 and driving around a slowing Bloomquist two laps later. Sheppard found his way to third as Bloomquist was now apparently racing on only seven cylinders. By lap 80, Pierce had caught the leader, then nosed ahead before stumbling on the backstretch and Owens again pulled away. Sheppard slowed with a flat to create a yellow at lap 81. Richards was fourth at the restart, and followed Oneal as both eased around Pierce. Again Pierce took third and was pressuring Oneal. With 13 laps remaining, Oneal jumped the cushion out of turn four and Pierce tried to drive past when Oneal suddenly slid sideways, sending Pierce for a 360 degree spin down the front straightaway, bringing out the tenth and final caution. Pierce rejoined the tail of the field after a quick pass through the work area, picking off cars at a frantic pace. As the checkers waved just ahead of the 11:00 hour, it was Owens with his first Nationals win. Oneal took runner up honors, with Richards, Bloomquist, and Shirley, who started 28th, rounding out the first five. Sheppard rebounded to sixth and Pierce to seventh, while Tyler Erb, Chad Simpson, and Pearson scored top ten finishes.
  Half mile racing may not be everyones cup of tea, but we always leave Knoxville already thinking about going back the next year!
  Tonight I will be back "home," as the Sprint Invaders headline the card at Quincy Raceways backed up by sport mods, stock cars, sport compacts, two person cars, and maybe even some midgets.
The weather is perfect, hope to see you there!
 

Tyler Erb Tops Night One at Knoxville

 Every year except one since its inception, I have been on hand for the 100 lap Knoxville Nationals late model finale. My only miss was in 2009 when Scott Bloomquist won for the second time as the feature was moved to Sunday after it was decided that the track was too fast for safe racing - think about that for a minute! However I had never been to a preliminary qualifying night, a situation I determined to remedy now that I have the benefit of retirement. Thursday night turned out to be the perfect time to make the three hour trip to the legendary 1/2 mile on the Marion County Fairgrounds.
  A solid group of 57 entrants - one more than in 2017 - signed in to do battle. The format for Thursday, which will be repeated on Friday consisted of time trial qualifying, four cars at a time for two laps, with the field split into two groups, then six twelve lap heat races, three for each group. The top eight qualifiers for each heat race are inverted, group one fast timer outside row four of heat one, second fastest outside row two of heat two, and so on. The carrot to go along with this stick is that drivers are awarded points based on their qualifying times with enough emphasis that a quick time can carry more weight than a top finish in the evenings heat race and feature. Following the heat races, a twelve lap C main is run with cars finishing seventh on back in their heat race, top four to the B main. Drivers finishing fourth through sixth in the heats line up ahead of those four in the 15 lap B main, with the top six advancing to the nights A feature event. The C main and B main lineups are also determined by times trials among the qualifying cars. Along the way, points are awarded based on finishes, so the fact that each position matters makes for hard racing all night long.
  And by the way, in addition to the points awarded, the 25 lap A feature both nights pays a cool $7,000 to win. Drivers can keep their point total from Thursday and set out on Friday, or race again and try to improve their standing, as the Saturday lineups are determined by each racers best nights total. And for those who may not know, the Saturday night headliner pays $40,000 to win and I believe $2,500 to start.
  As the evening began, Brandon Sheppard set quick time in the first group with a lap of 17.739 seconds, and that continued to be the mark to beat until the last of the group two cars when Scott Bloomquist absolutely stuck his #0 on his first lap with a time of 17.231 seconds, over 1/2 second faster than Sheppard!
  Heats one through three may have been won from the front row, but there was plenty of action behind the leaders. Jesse Stovall, Chase Junghans, and Dave Eckrich claimed victories while Chris Simpson came from sixth to second in heat two and Earl Pearson Jr. gained five spots to finish third in heat three.
  Bobby Pierce moved up five spots to grab heat four checkers while Bloomquist continued his hot streak, coming from eighth to second and Tyler Erb started sixth and finished third. Local favorite Brian Birkhofer, who recently came out of semi retirement to wheel the Jason Rauen owned #30 lined up third and took the heat five checkers in front of seventh starting Shane Clanton and sixth starter Jimmy Owens. Jared Landers scored the heat six win from outside row one over Jonathon Davenport, while Chad Simpson gained four spots to make the feature lineup.
  Another Iowa hot shoe, Tyler Bruening took C main honors, while Sheppard earned a row ten feature spot with the B main win slipping past Kyle Bronson on the white flag lap.
  Billy Moyer was the loan scratch in C main action after losing an engine in his heat race.
  The feature lineup saw Mason Zeigler and Tyler Erb setting on row one. Zeigler shot to the lead with Erb in tow. Fourth starting Chad Simpson powered around Erb on lap four, but a yellow flag negated the pass. Jeremiah Hurst had finished second in heat one, but trailed smoke for the last several laps, and now his engine appeared to let go. Simpson and Erb battled behind the leader until the caution came out on lap 17 as Bronson saw his night end in a cloud of smoke. Erb had been challenging hard for the lead, and he was able to complete the pass as racing resumed and Zeigler jumped the cushion in turn four, falling to third. The final yellow came two laps later as Pierce slowed, also with looked like engine woes. Pearson was the man on the move as the green flag waved, but there was no catching Erb, who powered to his first ever Knoxville win. Pearson, who started seventh, made a daring move around Simpson in turn four of the final lap, with Chad doing a fantastic job to keep his #25 headed the right direction and come home third. Owens and Frank Heckenast Jr. completed the top five. Bloomquist had moved quickly from eighth into the top five, but then faded a bit to sixth, while Sheppard was the hard charger, starting nineteenth and finishing seventh. Junghans, Chris Simpson and Zeigler rounded out the top ten.
  Certainly things can and will change tonight, but as of Friday morning, Pearson holds the points lead ahead of Bloomquist, Erb, Chad Simpson, and Sheppard. Owens is sixth followed by Heckenast, Chris Simpson, Brandon Overton, and Shane Clanton. Overton finished twelfth in the feature and Clanton sixteenth, so that shows how much a good qualifying lap can help.
  As is almost always the case, the big 1/2 mile was fast and smooth, with excellent racing, plenty of passing, and minimal yellow flags. The final checkers fell around 10:15.
  I will be taking tonight, Friday, off, but Keagan and I hope to be back Saturday morning to enjoy the festivities and witness another Knoxville Late Model Nationals. And don't forget, as an added bonus, the SLMR late models will also be on the card. 30 of the top SLMR drivers have been invited to battle 22 laps for a $4,000 top prize.
  There is still lots going on, so find a race that suits your fancy, head to the track and take advantage of the great fall weather!

Vaught Goes Two For Two

  Saturday afternoon, I picked up grandson Keagan and his fiancee Megan, turned the driving chores over to Keagan and headed for the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland,Mo. It has been several years since our last visit to this amazing facility, but with their home base now in Holts Summit, the prospect of splitting up the four plus hour trip home made a return visit an attractive one.
 We made the trip to take in the MLRA late model Larry Phillips Memorial paying $5075 to win, with the USRA B modifieds also in competition for  a $750 winners payday. Arriving early, as is our custom, we were able to catch the end of the boat drag races, reminding us that we had not been there since that part of the facility was opened.
  A nice field of 28 super late models checked in - 29 counting Joe Godsey - * see my write up for Lee County Speedway, - * along with 43 B mods. Hot lap action began just after the 6:30 advertised start time as the front stretch grandstands began to fill. The B mods qualified through four heat races, and it was refreshing to see ten and eleven car heats that placed racing at a premium. There were a few cautions in the eight lap heats, as the track was still a bit greasy. The late models then lined up four seven car heats, with the top 16 in passing points combined securing spots in the first eight rows of the 50 lap headliner. Will Vaught was fresh off a win Friday night at Lee County, and the Crane, Missouri ace charged from the sixth starting spot to capture heat one ahead of Louisiana driver Cade Dillard, Wisconsin hot shoe Mitch McGrath, and Jake Davis. This was good enough to earn the feature pole for Vaught. Series point leader, Iowa driver Chad Simpson raced from outside row one to win heat two, besting Payton Looney, Logan Martin, and Quincy,Illinois' Mark Burgtorf. The third ten lapper went to row two starter, Nebraska driver Jake Neal, followed by Tony Jackson, Jr., Jeremy Grady, and Jeff Roth. However Jackson came up 20 pounds light at the scale, putting Mason Oberkramer in the main event. Second generation driver from Oklahoma, Joe Gorby, was on top of heat four ahead of Dave Eckrich, J C Wyman, and Austin Siebert.
  A pair of twelve lap B mains for the B mods ran next to set the 24 car field, then the late models came out for one twelve lapper, with the top six slated to line up in rows nine through eleven. There was a bit of confusion, as McGrath had scratched his #74 from the feature, but he later joined the A main as a 23rd entrant in the #14 borrowed from non qualifier Reid Millard. His initial scratch moved Jon Driskell, who finished fifth in heat two in the Roth Racing #14R into the feature lineup instead of starting on the pole of the B main. When the green flag dropped, Jesse Stovall took off from the pole, leading all the way, trailed by Scott Crigler, Brad Looney, Jackson Jr., ULMA track champion Johnny Fennewald, and Chris Spieker.
  Following intermission, the B -mods lined up 24 cars for 30 laps. It would be an understatement to say we were amazed, as they ran green to checkers caution free, with all but one of the starters still running when the checkers waved! Andy Bryant was a master in traffic, leading all thirty laps to pick up the win. Kris Jackson staged a great run from deep in the pack to finish second, with J C Morton, Taylor Moore, and Mitchell Franklin completing the top five. I only wish 75 year old Ferris Collier, whom it seems has been racing forever, could have made the show!
  With driver introductions out of the way, it was now time for the headline event. As the leader crossed the start finish line to complete the opening lap, a major pile up occurred coming out of turn four. The #14G of Roth got the worst of the deal, leaving on the hook, but Dillard and Davis also retired for the night. The first complete restart was waved off, but when things finally got underway, outside polesitter Eckrich paced lap one ahead of Vaught and fourth starting Simpson. The man on the move was Stovall, who fired off from inside row nine, but was all the way to sixth by the end of the third circuit, and in the top five one lap later. Up front it was Eckrich being dogged by Vaught, who took the lead at lap ten. Simpson cleared Eckrich on lap eleven, and Payton Looney moved to third two laps later. As a noticeable dip appeared on the low side between turns one and two, Stovall cleared Eckrich for fourth at lap 16. With  the race nearing the halfway mark, Vaught and Simpson had pulled well out front, with Chad trying to find a way to the front on the inside line of the 3/8 mile oval. Even as Looney closed on the leaders, Simpson was able to pull alongside Vaught, and was out front on lap 26. Vaught then executed a semi slide job to retake the lead, and Simpson soon had Looney to contend with. Looney, the leader in series rookie points charged to the runner up spot on lap 31 and was still there when the caution came out at lap 35 as Spieker slowed with a flat tire. Looney tried the low side on the restart allowing Simpson to reclaim second using the high line. Two laps later the leaders were locked in a three wide, side by side by side battle, when a collective groan went through the big crowd as the yellow waved for a slowing Jackson. He rejoined the pack at the tail end of the lead lap, and when the green flag waved once again for the final Delaware restart, Simpson shot to the lead and Stovall charged to third. But again Vaught used a crossover move to the front, and now it was Vaught, Simpson, and Stovall in tight formation. In the closing circuits, Vaught put some distance on the dueling pair, and he took the checkers for his fourth MLRA win of 2018. Simpson scored the runner up finish, while Stovall advanced 14 positions to take third. Looney ran fourth, followed by Logan Martin. Oberkramer made a late pass of 20th starting Fennewald for sixth, with Wyman, Crigler and Jackson rounding out the top ten. Racing was complete before 10:30.
  Random musings: This was my fourth visit to Wheatland, and while I am in awe of the facilities in this town of 300 plus, the racing has not always been the greatest. However Saturday nights action was probably the best I have seen in 42 nights this season, and Keagan and I both agreed that we cannot wait to get back to the Diamond of dirt tracks.
  I am not totally up to speed on the current ULMA late model rules, but if I am not wrong, Johnny Fennewald would have been running a steel block engine against the aluminum power plants of the MLRA regulars, making his run from 20th to sixth with a seventh place finish very impressive. Of course, the combination of his familiarity with the track and the dry slick conditions no doubt played a part in his success. I am also guessing that the USRA rules allow a " better " tire for the B mods, and if so, I only wish IMCA would follow suit for the sport mods. In addition to the caution free feature, the second B main also ran caution free!
  The five drivers who failed to qualify for the main event on Saturday, were Justin Zeitner, Larry Jones, Iowan Skip Frey, Curt Acker, and Reid Millard. Zeitner and Millard were involved in a heat one incident, with Millard eventually loaning his car to McGrath for the feature. McGrath had been running a close second to Payton Looney for series rookie of the year, but missed the rescheduled Friday night race at Lee County, as there was a race in his home state in honor of a family member.
  Prior commitments will likely keep me away from the tracks next weekend, but for those of you not going to the World 100, Jacksonville,Il. Speedway will be hosting 410 sprint cars, non winged midgets, and UMP Pro Crate late models next Friday night. Darryl and I attended this show in 2017 when the Big Ten late models ran with the sprints and midgets, and it was a top notch show, so check it out if you get a chance. For now, I will look ahead to the Lucas Oil Knoxville Nationals in two weeks.
  Thanks for reading!

Vaught Hot at Donnellson

  Friday night the MLRA late models made a long awaited appearance at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, a make up event after being rained out in May. A late arriving Skip Frey grew the field to nineteen, split into three ten lap heat races.
  The MLRA uses a draw for starting spots in the heat races and a passing points system for the feature lineup, and this creates good competition in the preliminary events. Tony Jackson Jr. earned the main event pole by coming from inside row two to capture the first heat, followed by sixth starting Justin Zeitner. Polesitter  Dave Eckrich led flag to flag in heat two over row two starter Mason Oberkramer, and surprise visitor Matt Furman lined up third in the final heat and charged past Will Vaught to take the checkers, earning the outside pole for the feature.
  The show had opened with a pair of sport compact heat races during which a brief rain shower brought racing to a halt. With the help of the racers, the surface was quickly rolled back in, making for a lightning fast track, with a couple of dips forming in the corners.
  305 sprint cars and sport mods were also on the card, contesting a pair of heats each, and with the nine heat races in the books, it was time to go feature racing.
  A dozen of the four cylinder sport compacts lined up for sixteen laps. Josh Barnes had finished second in his heat, but he elected to switch to a different car for the feature, meaning he would start at the tail. Regular season points champ Barry Taft jumped out front from the pole position, while Barnes gained six spots on the opening circuit. As Taft and Jake Dietrich battled for the lead, Barnes worked his way to fourth on lap two, third two laps later, catching the front duo on the fifth lap. As lap nine was scored, it was three wide across the line, then Barnes claimed the lead. Now in command, he stretched his advantage, and with the race going caution free, he pulled out to a comfortable win. Taft came home second, followed by Dietrich and Alyssa Steele. Brandon Reu jumped in the #14B car for the night and finished fifth.
  The late models were up next, forty laps for $3,000 to win. Jackson was on a rail, charging to the lead with Furman in tow, but the first caution came as Jeff Roth got sideways and was collected by Brian Harris in the Lynn Richard crate engine #15R. With lap one scored, Vaught used the Delaware restart to take third, and he joined Jackson and Furman as they put some distance on the pack. With Jackson in command the yellow flew on lap six for a slowing Jay Johnson. Unfazed, the front three again pulled away as racing resumed, with the next caution coming for Eckrich, who headed to the pits. The move of the race came on the restart, as Vaught split the leaders down the front stretch, now leading out of turn two.  A couple laps later, it was another caution as Jackson slowed with a flat tire. Series point leader Chad Simpson had suffered a flat after starting outside row one in his heat, relegating him to a fourth place finish and a row six spot in the feature, however he was now up to fifth with twenty five laps still to be run. Simpson gained another spot on the restart, and was now in contention behind Vaught, Furman, and Payton Looney. Four more laps, another yellow for J C Wyman, and back under green, both Looney and Simpson cleared Furman. Just after halfway, it was another caution, as Jackson exploded his drive shaft, scattering parts down the front stretch, with some even clearing the fence and landing in the stands. Jeremy Grady spun just past the flag stand with a flat as the green waved for yet another stoppage. Vaught stretched his margin ahead of one final caution, as Mark Burgtorf slowed, ducking to the pits. As the laps clicked off, Looney began to close the gap, but Vaught had something left in the tank, and he turned back the late  charge to score the win. Looney was happy with his runner up finish, as Simpson shook off three recent DNF's to take third. Furman had a strong run in fourth ahead of Zeitner. Logan Martin led the second five, followed by Oberkramer, Wyman, and Grady, as only nine cars took the checkers. Roth was credited with tenth.
  While some folks headed to the parking lot, those who stayed saw another pair of good features. All but one of the sixteen 305 sprints came to the track next for twenty laps. Jarrod Schneiderman took the top spot from the pole, surviving a pair of early cautions as outside pole starter Dan Keltner stayed glued to his bumper in what was becoming a two car race, The pair came past the flag stand side by side to complete lap seven, then Keltner jumped to the top side of the 3/8 mile to snare the lead one lap later. Keltner and Schneiderman caught slower traffic around the halfway mark, working smoothly through the cars while staying in tight formation. The final sixteen laps went caution free before a jubilant Keltner parked in victory lane. Schneiderman claimed second ahead of Tanner Gebhardt, Brayden Gaylord, and Harold Pohren.
  The final race of the night involved the fourteen  sport mods competing for twenty laps and a cool $1,000 top prize. Daniel Fellows and visiting Tim Plummer lined up in row one, and they led Nathan Bringer, sixth starting Austen Becerra, Austin Howes, and Adam Birck, as lap one was scored. Bringer moved to second on lap two, but it was Beceera in the runner up spot one lap later. Fellows and Beceera put some distance on the pack, with Becerra trying a bump and run before abandoning his high line to power under Fellows to take over just before half way. He then opened a sizable lead even as Fellows stayed well ahead of the four car third place battle. Amazingly, the race went caution free, with Becerra taking the win. Fellows held second, while Brayton Carter made a late move to third after starting eighth. Bringer and Birck completed the top five.
  Racing concluded around 10:30.
  With several high paying races around the midwest, the nineteen car late model field met or exceeded most expectations. Those in the stands may have come up with different numbers. Joe Godsey was announced in the lineups even though he was not racing. The teammate of Jeff Roth was given " show up " points, as I was told he was injured earlier in the season and is not currently racing. In fact, Roth was wheeling the #14G that Godsey drove earlier in the year. Also, Muscatine, Iowa driver Jonathon Brauns was in the pits with his #22B, but never came to the speedway. Another Iowa hot shoe, Spencer Diercks, was unable to start the main event after exiting the track during his heat race, then making a one lap appearance during a break in the action in which he did not get up to speed. Harris, in the Richard car was the only Lee County crate car in the field. He was mostly there to " shake the rust off, " as they have plans to enter the car Sunday in the crate special as part of the Ron Marks Memorial race at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline,Il. QCS is testing the waters before possibly adding the crate class to their 2019 lineup.
  Meanwhile, the MLRA moves to their " home track " today, the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri for the Larry Phillips Memorial race paying $5.075 to win, a tribute to the southern Missouri legend, who campaigned his #75 for many successful seasons. As the sun peeks through here in Canton, I am preparing to pick up grandson Keagan and his fiancee Megan and make the drive to Wheatland, where the B mods will also be on the card. This third race in three nights will likely put the wraps on my holiday racing, as it has been announced that Quincy Raceways is cancelling what was to be an abbreviated  Sunday night program. With Monster Trucks on tap next weekend, QR will not host circle track racing again until September 16, when the Sprint Invaders come calling. If you have not had your racing fix yet, there is still lots of weekend racing to be had, including $5.00 admission tonight at 34 Raceway, and $3,000 to win modifieds along with Big Ten UMP late models at Spoon River Speedway tomorrow ahead of day one of the IMCA Super Nationals at the Boone, Iowa Speedway beginning on Monday. The AMS modifieds will be at Fairbury, Illinois tonight and Brownstown, Il. tomorrow, and I am sure I have missed a few more events, so get out and support dirt track racing!