2018 has not been kind to Bobby Pierce, at least on the race track as he took over the Dunn Bensen Ford late model driving duties and set out on the Lucas Oil tour. After driving the family house car running an independent schedule, the 21 year old suddenly found himself with a new chassis, new crew, and visiting a bunch of race tracks that he had not competed on. The early results have not been as positive as the young up and comer is used to, and the naysayers have been quick to criticize his performance. So this weekend loomed large, as the #32 team was coming to Illinois, where Pierce would finally get the chance to race on a pair of tracks where he has had success. Friday night marked a return to the Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Illinois for the $12,000 to win Busch beer 50 at the 3/8 mile Kevin and Tammy Gundaker owned facility.
A solid field of 34 open late models checked in supported by 24 UMP modifieds and 42 UMP B modifieds.
The late models and mods qualified using the group format, with the mods actually hot lapping and qualifying at the same time. Rick Conoyer paced the mods with a lap of 16.342 seconds, while Pierce topped the late models at 14.810 seconds.
Lucas Lee was second fast in the mods, but suffered rear end issues at the end of qualifying, going pitside on the hook and missing his chance to start pole in heat two.
Following three modified heats, the late models took the stage for four ten lap qualifying events. Pierce led the distance in heat one, with Brian Shirley coming from row two to finish second ahead of Chris Simpson and Josh Richards. Mason Ziegler came from the outside pole in heat two, leading all the way to turn four of the final lap when he spun his #25z. He actually recovered to cross the finish line in the fourth and final transfer spot, but the yellow flag had waved and the field was lined up for a green white checkers finish with Ziegler in the back. Jimmy Owens then took the win over Tim Manville, Darrell Lanigan, and Dennis Erb Jr., leaving Ziegler headed for a B main.Scott Bloomquist took off from the pole to lead in heat three, but seemed to be fighting a push in his ride, going high several times in turns three and four. On the white flag lap, Nick Hoffman slipped around Bloomer, taking the win. Michael Kloos and Jonathon Davenport completed the top four. Kyle Bronson led the distance in heat four, finishing ahead of Tim McCreadie, Don Oneal, and Billy Drake.
A whopping six B mod heats clicked off in good time ahead of a pair of late model B- mains. The top three in each of the twelve lappers would move to the feature. 17 year old Hudson Oneal outran Earl Pearson Jr. and Frank Heckenast Jr. in the first consy, with Kolby Vandenbergh running away from the field in the final qualifier. Tanner English finished second and Austin Rettig used a jack rabbit start to secure the third spot. A pair of Lucas Oil provisionals were awarded to Ziegler for fastest time trial not qualified and Gregg Satterlee on highest series point driver not qualified. Tri City then awarded two track provisionals to Gordy Gundaker and Billy Laycock.
A couple of B-mains for the mods and B mods set the feature fields, and we were ready for feature racing. The very best thing the Gundakers do on the nights when Lucas Oil comes to town is to run the late model feature first.
When the 26 cars came to the track, Bloomquist was not lined up in his outside row three slot. It was then announced that he had changed both rear tires, and it had been announced in the drivers meeting that only the left rear could be changed. Still, he was allowed to line up at the tail of the field.
Pierce and outside pole sitter Hoffman came to the line as lap one was scored in a dead heat, with Bobby taking command the next lap. The only caution of the race came on lap four, with a multi car scrum in turn three that resulted from Manville getting turned around. While he was able to continue, English was done for the night, and Hudson Oneal suffered front end damage.Back to green, Bronson used the Delaware restart to take second, with McCreadie slipping around Shirley for fourth. One lap later, TMac moved to third, and on the sixth time around, third starting Owens rebounded to fourth. Pierce began to pull away from the field, and soon the leaders were all hugging the low line. Anyone trying a higher groove was not finding any bite, unusual for the Tri City oval. By lap 15, Pierce had caught slower traffic, and he had to move up the track to get around the limping Hudson Oneal. Meanwhile Bronson was closing in, and by lap 21 he was on the back bumper of Pierce. For his part, Bobby was looking to get around Satterlee, knowing that a move up the track would likely cost him the lead. But Satterlee was not giving up the low groove. As the laps clicked off, Pierce continued to stick his nose inside the #22 to no avail. McCreadie took a look up top, but quickly fell back in line, and then it was Bronson attempting to take a higher line around Pierce and Satterlee. The result was him falling to fourth before he could get back in line. Pierce finally managed to clear Satterlee on lap 33, but the second running McCreadie followed him around. What the leader then found was side by side traffic racing for position. With McCreadie literally on his rear bumper, Pierce showed amazing patience, holding his line all the way to the checkers to the delight of the large crowd. McCreadie was obviously disappointed in his second place finish, indicating there was no line to get around the leader. Owens ran a steady race in third, followed by Bronson and Shirley. Davenport came from 14th to finish sixth followed by Lanigan, Simpson, Don Oneal, and 16th starting Drake.
Following the rather lengthy interviews for the television and internet viewers, who clearly hold more importance to the series announcer than the paying customers in the stands, the B mods lined up for 15 laps of action. The smaller tires on the open wheel machines were actually able to widen the track a bit, although Chuck Goodman was dominant early in his #327. Veteran St Louis metro driver Jeff LaBaube stayed within striking distance in the non stop race, and when the checkers waved, the two were in a dead heat as they passed the flag stand. In fact, Goodman drove to victory land even as LaBaube was handed the checkered flag. But the transponders gave the win to Goodman. Tommy Seets grabbed the third spot.
The final event on the card was the UMP modified feature. Conoyer and Brian Shaw sat on row one, with Tyler Nicely and Mike Harrison in row two. The opening lap saw Conoyer get hit from behind, and he went pitside with a flat tire. From where we sat, I could not tell if he slowed because of the flat and was tapped, or the contact flattened the tire, but the result was the same. With Nicely now out front, the action came to a halt for a multi car mess in turn one. With the clock having ticked past 11:00, we headed for the car. Later reports show that Nicely picked up the win over sixth starting Michael Long and Harrison.
With two nights of racing in the books this week, I will now set my sights on the Lee County Speedway this coming Thursday, as the MLRA late models make their only 2018 appearance at the 3/8 fairgrounds facility. Hopefully Mother Nature changes what this far out looks like a possibility of rain on Thursday.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
" New " Track, Still No Spring
I was able to join Jeff Broeg for a rare Thursday night show at the Marshalltown Speedway. I had only been to the historic 1/4 mile facility one time several years ago for a Deery Brothers Summer Series late model show. Unfortunately on an overcast evening with a steady drizzle and with four late models in the pits, promoter Toby Kruse had pulled the plug on the show before any cars hit the track. With a work schedule that would not afford me the chance to travel that far for their weekly Friday night show and needing two vacation days to visit during the week, I put Marshalltown on my bucket list for retirement. So when Jeff offered his shotgun seat for Thursday, I was more than ready.
Joining him in Mt. Pleasant, we set sail about 4:30 PM after he finished his work day,for the two plus hour drive, knowing that fellow bloggers Joyce and Dick Eisele of the 4D Fan Race Report would have room for us alongside their top row seats near the middle of the front straightaway. In my earlier visit to the track, Darryl and I had checked out the facilities as well as the site lines, and had decided that it would be a good place to watch a race, and with cars now on the track, that observation was confirmed.
The line up for this special show, which had been postponed the week prior had the tracks regular five classes on the card racing for extra money. I have to admit that many of the locals were unfamiliar to me, but there was also a healthy mix of travelers on hand, with drivers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, California, Arizona, and even Canada. With their thorough and expert reporting, I decided that I would leave the " hard " reporting to Dick and Joyce, and at Jeffs suggestion, I am just going to offer up some random observations from this first night.
It was a beautiful spring day when we left Mt. Pleasant and the temperature still hovered around 70 degrees when we arrived in Marshalltown. We noticed on the drive that there was a brisk breeze, and when we took our seats, we realized quickly that more than a breeze, it was a cold wind that did not subside even as the sun went down. Fortunately this spring, if you can call it that, has prepared us for such things, and the winter coats, gloves, etc. came out quickly.
The show started about 15 minutes past the advertised 7:30 start time, and perhaps the fact that it was opening night is the reason the 119 cars in attendance were given extended hot laps.
The 15 heat races and three B-mains clicked off with a minimum of caution periods, as the track stayed smooth and fast, although the top side was clearly the fast way around the banked oval.
The IMCA Northern sport mod feature field had been pared down from 27 to a starting field of 24, and the 20 laps clicked off with only one caution period, and made me wonder why that does not happen at my local tracks. Jered Vandeest scored the win by a good margin over Brayton Carter, while Austin Luellen came from row eleven to third ahead of Dusty Masolini.
The hobby stock main proved to be the problem child of the night, taking four tries to get one lap in. Shannon Anderson had originally lined up sixth, but by the fourth green flag try he was in row two, and he jumped to the lead on lap one, leading all the way despite heavy pressure from Eric Stanton.
Damon Murty worked to the lead in the IMCA stock car main event on lap eight and cruised to the win. A great three car battle for second saw Jeff Mueller take the spot ahead of Jay Schmidt and Paul Shepard in a caution free 20 laps.
An amazing 43 IMCA modifieds had checked in for a shot at the $1,000 winners check. Jeff had commented that the star studded 24 car field might pull off another non stop race, and in fact only one yellow flag period on the 16th lap slowed the action! Joel Rust jumped out to the early lead, and with the cars battling hard for position behind him, he stayed in control. Missouri hot shoe Hunter Marriott won the spirited duel for second over a hard charging Tyler Droste and Tim Ward.
Although the track hosts IMCA late models weekly, it was obvious that we were in modified country by the number of folks who headed for the parking lot as the late model feature lined up. As a late model fan, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed by the fact that only eleven cars signed in for a chance at a $750 pay day. As local legend Darrell Defrance shot to the lead from the pole position, things took a turn for the worse on the second lap when Joe Zrostlik got crossed up on the backstretch after possible contact from another car. Ninth starting Todd Cooney had no where to go, flying off the track near the turn three entrance, rolling his #30 machine. Curtis Glover also crashed into the melee, and his # 32 wound up upside down. With what looked like a lengthy cleanup ahead and the clock having ticked well past 10:30, two chilled travelers elected to head for the parking lot . Checking results this Friday morning, I see that Defrance picked up the win, with Chad Holladay, Rob Toland, Curt Schroeder, and Luke Pestka recording top fives. As several of the eleven cars on hand would be expected to be spending Friday nights at the Davenport Speedway, it will be interesting to see what the late model count at Marshalltown will be tonight and going forward. Of course a week night show is not always an effective gauge of car counts for weekly shows, on both sides of the ledger.
For such an uncomfortable evening with school and work in play, the crowd was I thought acceptable.
All things considered, I certainly enjoyed my visit to Marshalltown, and now that I am retired, I look for to going back in the near future. Thanks to Jeff for the ride, to Dick and Joyce for the hospitality, and to Toby for being brave enough to host a weekday show.
This afternoon, I am joining Fred and Darryl for a trip to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Illinois for the Lucas Oil late models, along with UMP modifieds and B mods. And even though we are headed south, you can bet I will be dressing warm!
Joining him in Mt. Pleasant, we set sail about 4:30 PM after he finished his work day,for the two plus hour drive, knowing that fellow bloggers Joyce and Dick Eisele of the 4D Fan Race Report would have room for us alongside their top row seats near the middle of the front straightaway. In my earlier visit to the track, Darryl and I had checked out the facilities as well as the site lines, and had decided that it would be a good place to watch a race, and with cars now on the track, that observation was confirmed.
The line up for this special show, which had been postponed the week prior had the tracks regular five classes on the card racing for extra money. I have to admit that many of the locals were unfamiliar to me, but there was also a healthy mix of travelers on hand, with drivers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, California, Arizona, and even Canada. With their thorough and expert reporting, I decided that I would leave the " hard " reporting to Dick and Joyce, and at Jeffs suggestion, I am just going to offer up some random observations from this first night.
It was a beautiful spring day when we left Mt. Pleasant and the temperature still hovered around 70 degrees when we arrived in Marshalltown. We noticed on the drive that there was a brisk breeze, and when we took our seats, we realized quickly that more than a breeze, it was a cold wind that did not subside even as the sun went down. Fortunately this spring, if you can call it that, has prepared us for such things, and the winter coats, gloves, etc. came out quickly.
The show started about 15 minutes past the advertised 7:30 start time, and perhaps the fact that it was opening night is the reason the 119 cars in attendance were given extended hot laps.
The 15 heat races and three B-mains clicked off with a minimum of caution periods, as the track stayed smooth and fast, although the top side was clearly the fast way around the banked oval.
The IMCA Northern sport mod feature field had been pared down from 27 to a starting field of 24, and the 20 laps clicked off with only one caution period, and made me wonder why that does not happen at my local tracks. Jered Vandeest scored the win by a good margin over Brayton Carter, while Austin Luellen came from row eleven to third ahead of Dusty Masolini.
The hobby stock main proved to be the problem child of the night, taking four tries to get one lap in. Shannon Anderson had originally lined up sixth, but by the fourth green flag try he was in row two, and he jumped to the lead on lap one, leading all the way despite heavy pressure from Eric Stanton.
Damon Murty worked to the lead in the IMCA stock car main event on lap eight and cruised to the win. A great three car battle for second saw Jeff Mueller take the spot ahead of Jay Schmidt and Paul Shepard in a caution free 20 laps.
An amazing 43 IMCA modifieds had checked in for a shot at the $1,000 winners check. Jeff had commented that the star studded 24 car field might pull off another non stop race, and in fact only one yellow flag period on the 16th lap slowed the action! Joel Rust jumped out to the early lead, and with the cars battling hard for position behind him, he stayed in control. Missouri hot shoe Hunter Marriott won the spirited duel for second over a hard charging Tyler Droste and Tim Ward.
Although the track hosts IMCA late models weekly, it was obvious that we were in modified country by the number of folks who headed for the parking lot as the late model feature lined up. As a late model fan, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed by the fact that only eleven cars signed in for a chance at a $750 pay day. As local legend Darrell Defrance shot to the lead from the pole position, things took a turn for the worse on the second lap when Joe Zrostlik got crossed up on the backstretch after possible contact from another car. Ninth starting Todd Cooney had no where to go, flying off the track near the turn three entrance, rolling his #30 machine. Curtis Glover also crashed into the melee, and his # 32 wound up upside down. With what looked like a lengthy cleanup ahead and the clock having ticked well past 10:30, two chilled travelers elected to head for the parking lot . Checking results this Friday morning, I see that Defrance picked up the win, with Chad Holladay, Rob Toland, Curt Schroeder, and Luke Pestka recording top fives. As several of the eleven cars on hand would be expected to be spending Friday nights at the Davenport Speedway, it will be interesting to see what the late model count at Marshalltown will be tonight and going forward. Of course a week night show is not always an effective gauge of car counts for weekly shows, on both sides of the ledger.
For such an uncomfortable evening with school and work in play, the crowd was I thought acceptable.
All things considered, I certainly enjoyed my visit to Marshalltown, and now that I am retired, I look for to going back in the near future. Thanks to Jeff for the ride, to Dick and Joyce for the hospitality, and to Toby for being brave enough to host a weekday show.
This afternoon, I am joining Fred and Darryl for a trip to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Illinois for the Lucas Oil late models, along with UMP modifieds and B mods. And even though we are headed south, you can bet I will be dressing warm!
Monday, April 23, 2018
Quincy Raceways Says " Let's Go Racing!"
The weatherman finally smiled on Quincy Raceways, at least enough to get the 2018 lid lifter in the books. New owner/promoter Jason Goble is entering his first full season at QR, and it is obvious that he has been busy during the off season. The most notable change - read "improvement" - was burying tires in the turns. I would like to have a dollar for every yellow flag at QR over the years for a tractor tire kicked out on the racing surface! Jason also moved the tires much lower in the corners, creating a wider surface for racing, and creating a different look, with the inside line flat before a gradual increase in the banking, which looks to have perhaps been cut down a bit. Another change that most folks would not notice is the creation of a brush free path behind the pit road barriers. This is most appreciated for those of us who make trips back and forth from grandstands to pits during the night.
The unfortunate part of opening night was a stiff breeze that created a lot of dust for the drivers. The easterly direction of the wind kept the dust out of the grandstands, although the cars sometimes disappeared in turns one and two, and one driver told me he just raced around the turns hoping no one stopped in front of him. This also created a somewhat slippery surface, but surprisingly there were minimal caution periods throughout the night. Track workers did do some extra watering during intermission, and the nice sized opening night crowd seemed to be having a good time on this cool April evening.
As Goble looks for what classes will create the most interest, excitement, and car counts, he will be rotating about nine classes in 2018 with a count of six on most nights. With the extra class added, start times have been moved up, and hot laps on Sunday began close to 5:15 as advertised.
The UMP modifieds were the only class to time trial, with Ray Bollinger setting quick time to open the season. The eleven heat races clicked off in good time, and as it turned out only five classes raced, as there was only one entrant in the reincarnated two person cruiser class. I had no idea what to expect for the class that once drew close to 100 cars for a stand alone Thursday night show 20 plus years ago. So we will see if there is indeed enough interest in the cars going forward.
After a candy dash for the large group of youngsters in attendance and some track prep, it was feature time.
First on the card was 305 sprint cars, eight entrants for 20 laps. The top two from the Saturday night show at 34 Raceway, Brayden Gaylord and Tanner Gebhardt sat on row one. Tanner got the early lead, and quickly moved to the inside line around the oval. Gaylord stayed within striking distance, but with zero caution periods, Gebhardt maintained his advantage all the way to the checkers, as the front duo swapped their finishing spots from the night before. Ben Wagner came home third ahead of Daniel Bergquist and Dillon Tuxhorn.
The UMP mods were up next, ten cars strong for 20 laps. The car count was a bit light, but some of the best UMP drivers around were ready to do battle. Local hot shoe Michael Long and Bollinger sat on row one, and they crossed the stripe to score lap one in that order, with defending track champion Dave Weitholder in third. Michael quickly opened a comfortable lead as Bollinger and Weitholder slugged it out behind him. On lap eight Weitholder was able to get his nose under Bollinger and grab the runner up spot. He then tried to run down the leader, but again the race went caution free, and he could never get close enough to challenge for the win. Bollinger came home third ahead of Todd Bates and Dugan Thye.
Next to the oval came the USAC/IMRA SpeeD2 midgets. Nine cars ran the pair of heat races, but when the green flag finally waved for the feature, only six remained, with 18 laps to be contested. Chase McDermond put his #40 out front as the green waved, although he had a strong challenge early from Andy Baugh. As the laps clicked down, McDermond stretched his lead, with Baugh settling comfortably in second. For the third straight feature there were zero cautions, and McDermond held serve for the win. Baugh held the runner up spot ahead of Bart Andrews, Mark Billings, and Derek Goble.
As might be expected, the yellow flag got some use in the 18 lap IMCA sport mod finale. All 19 competitors made the call, and it was a star studded field. Adam Birck, who has raced late models, two person cruisers, and pretty much everything in between sat on row one alongside former track champ Nathan Bringer. The caution waved on lap one for debris. When the first lap was scored, Birck held the top spot with row two starter Daniel Fellows in second. Caution periods came again on laps four and five, and the Delaware restarts created some excitement. As Birck continued to lead, a battle developed between top runners Brandon Lennox and Austen Becerra, while they contested the fourth and fifth positions. The yellow came out again on lap eight, and then two laps later came one more caution as Becerra went for a spin out of turn two. After some discussion, Lennox was asked to join Becerra at the back of the pack. When racing resumed, Austen ducked to the pits, but Brandon began to pick off cars. Tanner Klingele had been running a strong third, but got shuffled back on the twelfth circuit, with Bringer grabbing third and Jeffrey Delonjay following in fourth. Austin Howes had started seventh, and he entered the top five with three laps to go. But no one had anything for Birck, who led flag to flag for the win. Fellows had a strong run in second followed by Bringer, Howes, and Delonjay. Lennox worked his way back to sixth at the checkers.
The last race on the card was the 15 lap IMCA sport compact battle. With the help of the unique three car open trailer of Girard Racing from central Missouri, eleven drivers checked in for the action. Unfortunately, Alyssa Steele lost an engine in hot laps. and the same appeared to be the case for David Prim in his heat race. So nine cars lined up for feature racing. Darin Weisinger Jr. and defending All Iowa point champ Barry Taft lined up in row one. Taft held the top spot by inches as lap one was scored, but Weisinger took the lead on lap two. A pair of yellow flags on laps eight and eleven kept things close, but Weisinger remained in control. On the final couple of laps, he slipped ever so slightly off the inside line, and going down the backstretch on the final circuit Taft was able to stick the nose of his #57 inside of the leader, completing the winning pass out of turn four. Weisinger collected runner up honors, with Kimberly Abbott picking her way to third. Jayden Delonjay and veteran Rick Girard scored the next two spots.
While I neglected to check the time as I headed to the pits, the action concluded well before 10:00.
Next Sunday, Quincy Raceways will feature mods, sport mods, sport compacts, the return of the IMCA stock cars, mod lites, and hopefully the two person cruisers will see a few more teams ready to go. The track will also host a Night of Destruction next Saturday, April 28. The first night for the UMP crate late models will be May 13.
Thanks to Jason Goble and the QR staff for a fun Sunday night of racing.
The unfortunate part of opening night was a stiff breeze that created a lot of dust for the drivers. The easterly direction of the wind kept the dust out of the grandstands, although the cars sometimes disappeared in turns one and two, and one driver told me he just raced around the turns hoping no one stopped in front of him. This also created a somewhat slippery surface, but surprisingly there were minimal caution periods throughout the night. Track workers did do some extra watering during intermission, and the nice sized opening night crowd seemed to be having a good time on this cool April evening.
As Goble looks for what classes will create the most interest, excitement, and car counts, he will be rotating about nine classes in 2018 with a count of six on most nights. With the extra class added, start times have been moved up, and hot laps on Sunday began close to 5:15 as advertised.
The UMP modifieds were the only class to time trial, with Ray Bollinger setting quick time to open the season. The eleven heat races clicked off in good time, and as it turned out only five classes raced, as there was only one entrant in the reincarnated two person cruiser class. I had no idea what to expect for the class that once drew close to 100 cars for a stand alone Thursday night show 20 plus years ago. So we will see if there is indeed enough interest in the cars going forward.
After a candy dash for the large group of youngsters in attendance and some track prep, it was feature time.
First on the card was 305 sprint cars, eight entrants for 20 laps. The top two from the Saturday night show at 34 Raceway, Brayden Gaylord and Tanner Gebhardt sat on row one. Tanner got the early lead, and quickly moved to the inside line around the oval. Gaylord stayed within striking distance, but with zero caution periods, Gebhardt maintained his advantage all the way to the checkers, as the front duo swapped their finishing spots from the night before. Ben Wagner came home third ahead of Daniel Bergquist and Dillon Tuxhorn.
The UMP mods were up next, ten cars strong for 20 laps. The car count was a bit light, but some of the best UMP drivers around were ready to do battle. Local hot shoe Michael Long and Bollinger sat on row one, and they crossed the stripe to score lap one in that order, with defending track champion Dave Weitholder in third. Michael quickly opened a comfortable lead as Bollinger and Weitholder slugged it out behind him. On lap eight Weitholder was able to get his nose under Bollinger and grab the runner up spot. He then tried to run down the leader, but again the race went caution free, and he could never get close enough to challenge for the win. Bollinger came home third ahead of Todd Bates and Dugan Thye.
Next to the oval came the USAC/IMRA SpeeD2 midgets. Nine cars ran the pair of heat races, but when the green flag finally waved for the feature, only six remained, with 18 laps to be contested. Chase McDermond put his #40 out front as the green waved, although he had a strong challenge early from Andy Baugh. As the laps clicked down, McDermond stretched his lead, with Baugh settling comfortably in second. For the third straight feature there were zero cautions, and McDermond held serve for the win. Baugh held the runner up spot ahead of Bart Andrews, Mark Billings, and Derek Goble.
As might be expected, the yellow flag got some use in the 18 lap IMCA sport mod finale. All 19 competitors made the call, and it was a star studded field. Adam Birck, who has raced late models, two person cruisers, and pretty much everything in between sat on row one alongside former track champ Nathan Bringer. The caution waved on lap one for debris. When the first lap was scored, Birck held the top spot with row two starter Daniel Fellows in second. Caution periods came again on laps four and five, and the Delaware restarts created some excitement. As Birck continued to lead, a battle developed between top runners Brandon Lennox and Austen Becerra, while they contested the fourth and fifth positions. The yellow came out again on lap eight, and then two laps later came one more caution as Becerra went for a spin out of turn two. After some discussion, Lennox was asked to join Becerra at the back of the pack. When racing resumed, Austen ducked to the pits, but Brandon began to pick off cars. Tanner Klingele had been running a strong third, but got shuffled back on the twelfth circuit, with Bringer grabbing third and Jeffrey Delonjay following in fourth. Austin Howes had started seventh, and he entered the top five with three laps to go. But no one had anything for Birck, who led flag to flag for the win. Fellows had a strong run in second followed by Bringer, Howes, and Delonjay. Lennox worked his way back to sixth at the checkers.
The last race on the card was the 15 lap IMCA sport compact battle. With the help of the unique three car open trailer of Girard Racing from central Missouri, eleven drivers checked in for the action. Unfortunately, Alyssa Steele lost an engine in hot laps. and the same appeared to be the case for David Prim in his heat race. So nine cars lined up for feature racing. Darin Weisinger Jr. and defending All Iowa point champ Barry Taft lined up in row one. Taft held the top spot by inches as lap one was scored, but Weisinger took the lead on lap two. A pair of yellow flags on laps eight and eleven kept things close, but Weisinger remained in control. On the final couple of laps, he slipped ever so slightly off the inside line, and going down the backstretch on the final circuit Taft was able to stick the nose of his #57 inside of the leader, completing the winning pass out of turn four. Weisinger collected runner up honors, with Kimberly Abbott picking her way to third. Jayden Delonjay and veteran Rick Girard scored the next two spots.
While I neglected to check the time as I headed to the pits, the action concluded well before 10:00.
Next Sunday, Quincy Raceways will feature mods, sport mods, sport compacts, the return of the IMCA stock cars, mod lites, and hopefully the two person cruisers will see a few more teams ready to go. The track will also host a Night of Destruction next Saturday, April 28. The first night for the UMP crate late models will be May 13.
Thanks to Jason Goble and the QR staff for a fun Sunday night of racing.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Babb Tops at the Slocum 50
It was a cool, grey sky Saturday evening at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, but that did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding the tenth running of the Slocum 50. For the first nine years of the race honoring the late Brent Slocum, Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt had presided over the event as the leaders of the charitable Slocum Foundation. But this year the long time couple changed hats as the new owner/promoter team of the historic 3/8 mile facility, now in its sixth decade of operation. The race was moved to the third Saturday of April this season to facilitate the first year of sanctioning by the Midwest Late Model Racing Association, familiarly known as the MLRA. And based on the excellent turnout of 37 super late models, it will hopefully be the beginning of a yearly partnership with the southern Missouri based organization. The late models were racing for a cool $10,555.00 to win, a nod to the #5 that Slocum carried on his late models. Also on the card were two weekly classes at 34, the 305 sprints vying for a $1,000.00 winners check, and the IMCA stock cars battling for a top prize of $555.00.
Following hot lap action, the late models qualified two at a time for two timed laps, with each driver scored by his best lap. Chad Simpson was the overall fast qualifier with a lap of 15.715 seconds around the high banked oval.
The 305 sprints then ran a pair of heat races for the 17 cars on hand, with Ryan Jamison and Harold Pohren taking the wins.
Up next was four ten lap late model heats, lined up by time trials, fast cars on the front. As a result, all four winners came from the inside pole position. Chad Simpson bested row two starter Will Vaught in heat one, while Dave Eckrich outran row two starter Mitch McGrath in heat two. Shannon Babb got the jump on outside row one starter Billy Drake to capture heat three, and Chris Simpson did the same to Ryan Unzicker in the final heat, both of those drivers former Slocum winners.
Three stock car heats set the 19 car starting grid for their main event later in the evening. Tom Bowling Jr., Jeff Mueller, and Kurt Kinsley took the heat race checkers.
With the top four in each late model heat moving on to the feature, the remaining 21 drivers were lined up for a pair of 12 lap B mains, with the top three from each heading to the main event. Brian Shirley, who finished second to Chris Simpson the night before at the Davenport Speedway topped Joe Godsey and Jake Neal in the first consy, and Spencer Diercks grabbed the final qualifier over Rob Toland, and Kolby Vandenbergh. Kolby had just missed transferring out of the B main at Davenport. A host of series provisional starters, plus a couple of MLRA regulars using emergency provisionals swelled the starting grid for the finale to 27 cars.
Following a quick presentation of the Slocum Foundation scholarship award, the 305 sprints lined up for 20 laps of feature racing.
The first caution came on the opening lap, as Jamison got turned around between turns three and four. Back to racing, an altercation at the backstretch exit saw the cars of Pohren and Dave Getchell get upside down, with Pohren flipping multiple times. Nick Guernsey was also forced to take evasive action. The resulting red flag delay gave Jamison a chance to make repairs and rejoin the field without missing any laps. Getchell and Guernsey also made it back out, while Pohren was done for the night. On the third try, row two starter Brayden Gaylord wheeled his # 13 to the front, with pole sitter Jared Schneiderman and Daniel Berquist battling for second. Schneiderman saw his run end on lap eight, and one circuit later Tanner Gebhardt moved to the runner up spot. The yellow waved one more time on lap ten, but Gaylord was dialed in, and he negotiated slower traffic for the final three laps to grab the win. Gebhardt took second followed by Ben Wagner, Berquist, and Guernsey.
Track officials then decided the racing surface was locking down, so it was decided to do some " farming " to create the opportunity for the final two features to be competitive. While it created a bit of a delay, it did make for exciting racing for the stock cars and late models.
Kinsley vaulted to the early lead in the stock car feature, with David Brandies taking over on lap two. Following a lap six caution, John Oliver Jr. used the Delaware restart to take second. The red flag halted the action on lap eleven as Doplar flipped his mount between turns three and four. With cleanup complete, the green waved, and now it was Abe Huls on the move. He jumped to the third spot, then took second as the yellow waved on lap 15. The tightly bunched pack saw several cars get shuffled out of contention on the restart, and as the leaders prepared to take the white flag, once more the yellow flew instead. This set up a two lap dash for cash, With Brandies hanging on for the win. Huls ran second, with Oliver third. Brandon Rothzen was piloting a #33 stock car, and came all the way from the last starting spot to take fourth. Kinsley completed the top five. With the West Liberty Raceway idle this year, Brandies will be searching for a new Saturday night track, and should give 34 strong consideration after his victory.
It was now time for the 50 lap headliner. Chad Simpson and Babb lined up on row one, but it was outside row two starter Chris Simpson powering to the first lap lead. After his dominant performance the night before at Davenport, it looked like the race might have a back to back winner for the first time. But as the large crowd in unison held up five fingers on lap five, a yearly tradition, Babb used a high side move to take the lead. As the leaders caught slower traffic on lap nine, several cars got in a scrum, bringing out the yellow. Back under green, it was now eighth starting Unzicker on the move, as he took fourth, and one lap later he slipped past Chad Simpson for third. Unzicker and Chad then battled back and forth before Simpson regained the advantage. By the 15th circuit, Billy Drake was on the move, challenging Unzicker for fourth. Babb once again found himself in traffic on lap 18, and Chris Simpson quickly closed in. One lap after the crossed flags signaled the halfway point of the 50 laps. Drake powered to fourth, taking Dave Eckrich along in fifth. The elder statesman of the racing Eckrich brothers had lined up in row two, faded early, but was now on the move. The race stayed green as the laps clicked off, and there were cars all over the track with little attrition. This resulted in constant traffic concerns for the leader, but the veteran Babb skillfully picked his way through the still competitive back of the pack. The Simpson brothers were able to keep the #18 in sight even as they waged a sometimes side by side battle for the runner up spot until the closing laps when Babb was able to gain a cushion of a couple of lapped cars. In those final laps the track had once again slicked off, making passing a tough chore. A jubilant Babb picked up the big check, announcing in victory lane that his nervous wife was waiting at home, expecting the birth of their child in the coming days! Chris held off Chad for second, and was quick to thank his brother for racing him clean for the runner up spot. Chris now has two wins and a second in MLRA events so far this season. Drake was impessive in fourth, while Eckrich was solid in fifth. Unzicker led the second five, followed by Vaught, Jesse Stovall, Payton Looney, and Mason Oberkramer. Shirley and Tyler Bruening finished second and third respectively Friday night, but could managed only eleventh and twelfth on Saturday.
34 Raceway will be back next week with regular season action, while the MLRA will return to the region in two weeks, with a Thursday night, May 3 date at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson followed by a return trip the next night to Davenport where they will tackle the 1/4 mile.
The new team at 34 has already made several improvements, including a new spectator entrance/ exit road which improved traffic flow considerably. And in my two trips so far in 2018, the racing surface has been smooth and fast! Thanks to Jessi and Brad for their hospitality, be sure to check out 34 Raceway for a solid Saturday night race program.
Tonight, Sunday, I plan to make it a triple header weekend as the sun is shining and new owner.promoter Jason Goble should be able to finally lift the lid on the 2018 season at Quincy Raceways.
Following hot lap action, the late models qualified two at a time for two timed laps, with each driver scored by his best lap. Chad Simpson was the overall fast qualifier with a lap of 15.715 seconds around the high banked oval.
The 305 sprints then ran a pair of heat races for the 17 cars on hand, with Ryan Jamison and Harold Pohren taking the wins.
Up next was four ten lap late model heats, lined up by time trials, fast cars on the front. As a result, all four winners came from the inside pole position. Chad Simpson bested row two starter Will Vaught in heat one, while Dave Eckrich outran row two starter Mitch McGrath in heat two. Shannon Babb got the jump on outside row one starter Billy Drake to capture heat three, and Chris Simpson did the same to Ryan Unzicker in the final heat, both of those drivers former Slocum winners.
Three stock car heats set the 19 car starting grid for their main event later in the evening. Tom Bowling Jr., Jeff Mueller, and Kurt Kinsley took the heat race checkers.
With the top four in each late model heat moving on to the feature, the remaining 21 drivers were lined up for a pair of 12 lap B mains, with the top three from each heading to the main event. Brian Shirley, who finished second to Chris Simpson the night before at the Davenport Speedway topped Joe Godsey and Jake Neal in the first consy, and Spencer Diercks grabbed the final qualifier over Rob Toland, and Kolby Vandenbergh. Kolby had just missed transferring out of the B main at Davenport. A host of series provisional starters, plus a couple of MLRA regulars using emergency provisionals swelled the starting grid for the finale to 27 cars.
Following a quick presentation of the Slocum Foundation scholarship award, the 305 sprints lined up for 20 laps of feature racing.
The first caution came on the opening lap, as Jamison got turned around between turns three and four. Back to racing, an altercation at the backstretch exit saw the cars of Pohren and Dave Getchell get upside down, with Pohren flipping multiple times. Nick Guernsey was also forced to take evasive action. The resulting red flag delay gave Jamison a chance to make repairs and rejoin the field without missing any laps. Getchell and Guernsey also made it back out, while Pohren was done for the night. On the third try, row two starter Brayden Gaylord wheeled his # 13 to the front, with pole sitter Jared Schneiderman and Daniel Berquist battling for second. Schneiderman saw his run end on lap eight, and one circuit later Tanner Gebhardt moved to the runner up spot. The yellow waved one more time on lap ten, but Gaylord was dialed in, and he negotiated slower traffic for the final three laps to grab the win. Gebhardt took second followed by Ben Wagner, Berquist, and Guernsey.
Track officials then decided the racing surface was locking down, so it was decided to do some " farming " to create the opportunity for the final two features to be competitive. While it created a bit of a delay, it did make for exciting racing for the stock cars and late models.
Kinsley vaulted to the early lead in the stock car feature, with David Brandies taking over on lap two. Following a lap six caution, John Oliver Jr. used the Delaware restart to take second. The red flag halted the action on lap eleven as Doplar flipped his mount between turns three and four. With cleanup complete, the green waved, and now it was Abe Huls on the move. He jumped to the third spot, then took second as the yellow waved on lap 15. The tightly bunched pack saw several cars get shuffled out of contention on the restart, and as the leaders prepared to take the white flag, once more the yellow flew instead. This set up a two lap dash for cash, With Brandies hanging on for the win. Huls ran second, with Oliver third. Brandon Rothzen was piloting a #33 stock car, and came all the way from the last starting spot to take fourth. Kinsley completed the top five. With the West Liberty Raceway idle this year, Brandies will be searching for a new Saturday night track, and should give 34 strong consideration after his victory.
It was now time for the 50 lap headliner. Chad Simpson and Babb lined up on row one, but it was outside row two starter Chris Simpson powering to the first lap lead. After his dominant performance the night before at Davenport, it looked like the race might have a back to back winner for the first time. But as the large crowd in unison held up five fingers on lap five, a yearly tradition, Babb used a high side move to take the lead. As the leaders caught slower traffic on lap nine, several cars got in a scrum, bringing out the yellow. Back under green, it was now eighth starting Unzicker on the move, as he took fourth, and one lap later he slipped past Chad Simpson for third. Unzicker and Chad then battled back and forth before Simpson regained the advantage. By the 15th circuit, Billy Drake was on the move, challenging Unzicker for fourth. Babb once again found himself in traffic on lap 18, and Chris Simpson quickly closed in. One lap after the crossed flags signaled the halfway point of the 50 laps. Drake powered to fourth, taking Dave Eckrich along in fifth. The elder statesman of the racing Eckrich brothers had lined up in row two, faded early, but was now on the move. The race stayed green as the laps clicked off, and there were cars all over the track with little attrition. This resulted in constant traffic concerns for the leader, but the veteran Babb skillfully picked his way through the still competitive back of the pack. The Simpson brothers were able to keep the #18 in sight even as they waged a sometimes side by side battle for the runner up spot until the closing laps when Babb was able to gain a cushion of a couple of lapped cars. In those final laps the track had once again slicked off, making passing a tough chore. A jubilant Babb picked up the big check, announcing in victory lane that his nervous wife was waiting at home, expecting the birth of their child in the coming days! Chris held off Chad for second, and was quick to thank his brother for racing him clean for the runner up spot. Chris now has two wins and a second in MLRA events so far this season. Drake was impessive in fourth, while Eckrich was solid in fifth. Unzicker led the second five, followed by Vaught, Jesse Stovall, Payton Looney, and Mason Oberkramer. Shirley and Tyler Bruening finished second and third respectively Friday night, but could managed only eleventh and twelfth on Saturday.
34 Raceway will be back next week with regular season action, while the MLRA will return to the region in two weeks, with a Thursday night, May 3 date at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson followed by a return trip the next night to Davenport where they will tackle the 1/4 mile.
The new team at 34 has already made several improvements, including a new spectator entrance/ exit road which improved traffic flow considerably. And in my two trips so far in 2018, the racing surface has been smooth and fast! Thanks to Jessi and Brad for their hospitality, be sure to check out 34 Raceway for a solid Saturday night race program.
Tonight, Sunday, I plan to make it a triple header weekend as the sun is shining and new owner.promoter Jason Goble should be able to finally lift the lid on the 2018 season at Quincy Raceways.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Chris Simpson Nabs Davenport Dollars
The only MLRA race I witnessed in 2017 that Oxford, Iowa driver Chris Simpson did not win was one he did not attend. So it was no surprise that he grabbed the $5,000 top prize Friday night at the Rebel 5K contested on the historic monster 1/2 mile at the Davenport Speedway.
Although it had only been three weeks since our first ( and only ) race of the season, it seemed like another mini off season, so we arrived in Davenport early and just enjoyed bench racing as the haulers pulled in to the pit area.
The 1/2 mile track is brought to life usually only once or twice per season and is not a favorite of most of the drivers, especially the " locals." It is blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective, with long straightaways conducive to high speeds, and tight narrow corners, and reminds me of a shortened version of the Springfield,Il. one mile fairgrounds track in that way. That combined with an early start time - apparently the city of Davenport is getting serious about a 10:15 curfew - no track points, and a regular purse for the local classes perhaps persuaded more than a handful of the local IMCA modified, IMCA sport mod and local street stock drivers to set out on this night and wait for regular season action next week on the 1/4 mile. So just over half of the field belonged to the high powered late models, with a solid group of 35 signed in.
My favorite qualifying method, draw for heats and passing points was used for the late models on this night, with the top 16 in passing points in the heats locked into the feature, and just by chance, it happened that the top four in each of the four heats raced their way in, something that does not always happen. Rickey Frankel drew a number three to start the night, started pole in the first heat and although somewhat under powered with a " small " engine, held off Nebraskan Tad Pospisil to capture the opening eight lapper. Chris Simpson gave us a taste of what was to come by coming from row four to overtake race long leader Rob Toland in the final turn to grab the second heat, with brother Chad Simpson also clearing Rocket Rob for runner up honors. Frank Heckenast Jr.went flag to flag in heat three, with Brian Shirley moving up four spots to claim second. Tony Jackson Jr, bested pole sitter Jonathon Brauns in the final heat.
With all heats in the books, the late models dumped the remaining 19 cars into one twelve lap B main, with the top six heading to the feature. Four cars remained on the sidelines, as Jordon Yaggy came from row two to lead Payton Looney to the checkers, and J C Wyman made a late race move around Kolby Vandenbergh following a caution to take the last transfer spot. A pair of series provisionals were added to the starting field, and Mason Oberkramer used an emergency provisional, setting a 25 car starting grid for the 30 lap finale.
Following a late race pass of Jeremy Gustaf, Jeff Struck Jr. captured the street stock heat, then survived a side by side battle with Jesse Owens to nab the twelve lap feature event.
After a bit of a delay due to a change in the running order, the modifieds came to the track for 20 laps, with 14 starters. A pair of cautions in the first two laps saw double duty Toland fall to the tail of the field. Back to green, all eyes quickly went to Justin Kay. The 15K machine started well back in the field, but as the race stayed green, he used a perfectly handling car and a ton of corner speed to over take leader Eric Barnes at the midway point. Kay then pulled away to victory by a comfortable margin over Barnes, a rebounding Toland, and Jeff " Bone " Larson.
If was now late model time. Rewarded by the passing points for their solid heat race performances, Chris Simpson and Shirley sat on row one. Shirley, fresh off a win in a rare Tuesday night event in Brownstown, Illinois, got the jump at the drop of the green, but the yellow waved as the pack crossed the line for lap one, with Jesse Stovall coming to a stop in turn four. Earlier in the evening, a lap was scored under similar circumstances, but this time we went back to a complete restart. A second try was waved off, and on the third try, Simpson was ready, grabbing the advantage into turn one. Chris opened up a lead of several car lengths, but caught slower traffic on lap nine, allowing Shirley to close to his rear bumper. But another yellow left the #32 with a clear track, and he shot ahead as Shirley contended with Jackson on the Delaware restart. Lapped traffic again came into play on lap 17, but Simpson remained in charge. Meanwhile, brother Chad Simpson had closed the gap on Shirley. The pair split a slower car going into turn one on lap 23, and with Chad on the high side, something seemed to go awry with his #25, and he smacked the concrete wall, ending his run. The final eight laps clicked off with Chris in charge, but there was movement behind him. While Shirley held second, Tyler Bruening powered through the field, starting in row six and climbing to third at the finish. Jackson scored the fourth spot, while a pair off B-main cars came next, with Looney and Jason Feger both making strong runs, with Looney taking to fifth spot late. Yaggy also came from the consy to run seventh ahead of another pair of B- mainers, Rich Bell and Wyman. Heckenast completed the top ten. As one would expect, there was a fair amount of attrition on the big ole half mile, but still 15 cars were running at the checkers. Interestingly, Looney, Feger, Bell and Wyman all advanced 13 spots in the feature.
A red flag situation for a fire during the sport mod finale sent us to the exits, but I see this morning that Tony Olson held on to his lead to score the win over Keith Blum and Dustin Schram.
The track and MLRA officials put on an efficient and well run show, with time to spare. Thanks to Bob Wagner and crew, with a special thanks to Carrie Rouse for the hospitality shown to me, and I anxiously await the return of the MLRA to the racy 1/4 mile at Davenport in two weeks! Meanwhile, I shall start preparations for a return trip to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa tonight as new owners/promoters Brad and Jessi and the Slocum Foundation present the tenth annual Slocum 50. For the first time, these same MLRA hot shoes will compete for the $10,555 to win, $750 to start purse. I do not think it unreasonable to guess that the field will grow to more than 40 entrants for tonight. The 305 sprint cars will battle for a $1,000 check and the always entertaining IMCA stock cars will shoot for $555. Hot laps at 6:00, the weather looks good, so come out, support the new owners, honor the memory of a special man and racer, and take in some great racing action. Hope to see you there!
Although it had only been three weeks since our first ( and only ) race of the season, it seemed like another mini off season, so we arrived in Davenport early and just enjoyed bench racing as the haulers pulled in to the pit area.
The 1/2 mile track is brought to life usually only once or twice per season and is not a favorite of most of the drivers, especially the " locals." It is blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective, with long straightaways conducive to high speeds, and tight narrow corners, and reminds me of a shortened version of the Springfield,Il. one mile fairgrounds track in that way. That combined with an early start time - apparently the city of Davenport is getting serious about a 10:15 curfew - no track points, and a regular purse for the local classes perhaps persuaded more than a handful of the local IMCA modified, IMCA sport mod and local street stock drivers to set out on this night and wait for regular season action next week on the 1/4 mile. So just over half of the field belonged to the high powered late models, with a solid group of 35 signed in.
My favorite qualifying method, draw for heats and passing points was used for the late models on this night, with the top 16 in passing points in the heats locked into the feature, and just by chance, it happened that the top four in each of the four heats raced their way in, something that does not always happen. Rickey Frankel drew a number three to start the night, started pole in the first heat and although somewhat under powered with a " small " engine, held off Nebraskan Tad Pospisil to capture the opening eight lapper. Chris Simpson gave us a taste of what was to come by coming from row four to overtake race long leader Rob Toland in the final turn to grab the second heat, with brother Chad Simpson also clearing Rocket Rob for runner up honors. Frank Heckenast Jr.went flag to flag in heat three, with Brian Shirley moving up four spots to claim second. Tony Jackson Jr, bested pole sitter Jonathon Brauns in the final heat.
With all heats in the books, the late models dumped the remaining 19 cars into one twelve lap B main, with the top six heading to the feature. Four cars remained on the sidelines, as Jordon Yaggy came from row two to lead Payton Looney to the checkers, and J C Wyman made a late race move around Kolby Vandenbergh following a caution to take the last transfer spot. A pair of series provisionals were added to the starting field, and Mason Oberkramer used an emergency provisional, setting a 25 car starting grid for the 30 lap finale.
Following a late race pass of Jeremy Gustaf, Jeff Struck Jr. captured the street stock heat, then survived a side by side battle with Jesse Owens to nab the twelve lap feature event.
After a bit of a delay due to a change in the running order, the modifieds came to the track for 20 laps, with 14 starters. A pair of cautions in the first two laps saw double duty Toland fall to the tail of the field. Back to green, all eyes quickly went to Justin Kay. The 15K machine started well back in the field, but as the race stayed green, he used a perfectly handling car and a ton of corner speed to over take leader Eric Barnes at the midway point. Kay then pulled away to victory by a comfortable margin over Barnes, a rebounding Toland, and Jeff " Bone " Larson.
If was now late model time. Rewarded by the passing points for their solid heat race performances, Chris Simpson and Shirley sat on row one. Shirley, fresh off a win in a rare Tuesday night event in Brownstown, Illinois, got the jump at the drop of the green, but the yellow waved as the pack crossed the line for lap one, with Jesse Stovall coming to a stop in turn four. Earlier in the evening, a lap was scored under similar circumstances, but this time we went back to a complete restart. A second try was waved off, and on the third try, Simpson was ready, grabbing the advantage into turn one. Chris opened up a lead of several car lengths, but caught slower traffic on lap nine, allowing Shirley to close to his rear bumper. But another yellow left the #32 with a clear track, and he shot ahead as Shirley contended with Jackson on the Delaware restart. Lapped traffic again came into play on lap 17, but Simpson remained in charge. Meanwhile, brother Chad Simpson had closed the gap on Shirley. The pair split a slower car going into turn one on lap 23, and with Chad on the high side, something seemed to go awry with his #25, and he smacked the concrete wall, ending his run. The final eight laps clicked off with Chris in charge, but there was movement behind him. While Shirley held second, Tyler Bruening powered through the field, starting in row six and climbing to third at the finish. Jackson scored the fourth spot, while a pair off B-main cars came next, with Looney and Jason Feger both making strong runs, with Looney taking to fifth spot late. Yaggy also came from the consy to run seventh ahead of another pair of B- mainers, Rich Bell and Wyman. Heckenast completed the top ten. As one would expect, there was a fair amount of attrition on the big ole half mile, but still 15 cars were running at the checkers. Interestingly, Looney, Feger, Bell and Wyman all advanced 13 spots in the feature.
A red flag situation for a fire during the sport mod finale sent us to the exits, but I see this morning that Tony Olson held on to his lead to score the win over Keith Blum and Dustin Schram.
The track and MLRA officials put on an efficient and well run show, with time to spare. Thanks to Bob Wagner and crew, with a special thanks to Carrie Rouse for the hospitality shown to me, and I anxiously await the return of the MLRA to the racy 1/4 mile at Davenport in two weeks! Meanwhile, I shall start preparations for a return trip to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa tonight as new owners/promoters Brad and Jessi and the Slocum Foundation present the tenth annual Slocum 50. For the first time, these same MLRA hot shoes will compete for the $10,555 to win, $750 to start purse. I do not think it unreasonable to guess that the field will grow to more than 40 entrants for tonight. The 305 sprint cars will battle for a $1,000 check and the always entertaining IMCA stock cars will shoot for $555. Hot laps at 6:00, the weather looks good, so come out, support the new owners, honor the memory of a special man and racer, and take in some great racing action. Hope to see you there!
Sunday, April 1, 2018
One Race Night in the Books
A capacity crowd enjoyed balmy conditions Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Now that we have the April fools joke out of the way...The thermometer registered 68 degrees when my ride left Quincy Saturday afternoon, and 46 degrees accompanied by a stiff breeze when we arrived at the 3/8 mile facility. The new owner/promoter team of Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt were well prepared for their first night of racing, the track was in excellent condition, and the coffee was hot! With the less than favorable weather forecast in mind, the program had been moved up one hour, with hot laps set for 5:15 and racing at 6:00.
With only two classes in action on this opening night, warmups for the 23 360-cubic-inch Sprint Invaders and eleven UMP Pro Crate late models went off without a hitch, and we actually had a few minutes of down time waiting for race time. By this time, what I would consider a nice size crowd considering the far from ideal conditions had settled in for the action.
First on the card was a pair of late model heats, with Chuck Hanna in what I believe was an IMCA spec engine car with a restrictor plate leading flag to flag to capture heat one, with Tommy Elston wheeling his crate engine machine to the win in heat two. The top three from each heat would redraw for their starting spot in the 20-lap feature.
The Sprint Invaders are using a passing points system for the first time in 2018, with the top six from the heats, in this case the top two from each of the three heats, running a dash to set the first three rows of their 25-lap feature. Due to the rapidly falling temperatures, Stevens decided there would be no B-main, and all cars would be qualified for the main event. Daniel Bergquist topped heat one, with Jon Agan scoring heat two, and Jake Blackhurst capturing the final eight-lapper. Agan also won the dash, but drew a number three pill to start inside row two, putting Blackhurst on the feature pole.
A brief intermission followed the third sprint heat as the top two prepared for the dash, and with that event in the books, the late models came trackside for their feature. Hanna had drawn the pole position, and shot to the lead in his #65 at the drop of the green, with Jay Johnson in pursuit. The only late model caution of the night came on lap two, involving Chris Richard and Gunner Frank, with Frank retiring to the pits. On the Delaware style restart, sixth-starting Elston vaulted to fourth, and third-starting Tim Simpson powered to second. Lap seven saw Elston slip past Johnson for third, and two laps later Denny Woodworth and eighth-starting Vance Wilson took fourth and fifth. Woodworth mounted a challenge for third on lap eleven, with Wilson joining the fray on the 13th circuit. Neither could overtake Elston, but now it was eleventh starting Andy Nezworski moving through the pack. With the race staying green, Hanna cruised to the win with a comfortable lead over second running Simpson. Elston, Woodworth, and Wilson completed the top five, followed by Nezworski, Johnson, Sam Halstead, Richard, and Todd Frank.
Although I did not go pitside to talk to the drivers after the races, based on last year's set-ups, I believe there were seven crate cars in the field, with Hanna, Simpson, Nezworski, and Johnson using the spec engine package.
All but one of the 23 entries lined up for the Invaders main event, with Colton Fisher not making the call. Blackhurst shot to the early lead, with Agan in hot pursuit. The leaders caught slower traffic by lap six, and Blackhurst was able to stretch his advantage. The first yellow came on lap nine. The single file restart gave Blackhurst a clear track, as he lead Agan, John Schultz and Chris Martin. Agan found a line around Blackhurst one lap later, but another caution flag for a spinning car negated the pass. This proved to be a double whammy for Agan, who was penalized one spot on the restart, I believe for driving inside the restart cone.
Back under green, the second-running Schultz began applying pressure, but Blackhurst regained his momentum, and was in lapped traffic again by the 15th circuit. He had a commanding lead when the yellow waved again on lap 17. Following the restart, the #4 car of Agan, now running fifth, went up in smoke, ending his run. After a lap 19 caution, Cody Wehrle jumped to the runner up spot. One final stoppage came on lap 21, but again Blackhurst stretched his lead. While Wehrle and Schultz exchanged slide jobs in turns three and four, Joe B Miller found his way around both to claim the second spot. At the checkers, it was Blackhurst with the win over Miller, Schultz, Wehrle, and Chris Martin.
The temperature was a brisk 36 degrees and the wind chill registering 29 when we headed for the car, somewhere close to 7:45! It was solid first night for the new team, if there were any glitches, it was not apparent to the hearty and brave crowd, and they should be commended for being big enough race fans to even go ahead with this show in such adverse conditions.
As of now, the forecast for next weekend looks just as bad, or worse, and the snow is piling up outside my window here in Northeast Missouri. Hopefully, spring will show its head, and we can get back to the track soon.
The calendar is filling up, with many of the postponed early season specials piggybacking the already many attractive offerings on the April docket. The IRA and MOWA 410 sprint cars are on tap next Saturday at 34 Raceway, with the Slocum 50 for MLRA late models three weeks away on April 21. Meanwhile, Quincy Raceways will open the 2018 next Sunday night, April 8, and the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., will try again next Friday and Saturday nights. Check the specials calendar at Positively Racing.com, and make plans to get to a track near you.
Here's remembering Brent Slocum on his birthday, and Happy Easter to all.
With only two classes in action on this opening night, warmups for the 23 360-cubic-inch Sprint Invaders and eleven UMP Pro Crate late models went off without a hitch, and we actually had a few minutes of down time waiting for race time. By this time, what I would consider a nice size crowd considering the far from ideal conditions had settled in for the action.
First on the card was a pair of late model heats, with Chuck Hanna in what I believe was an IMCA spec engine car with a restrictor plate leading flag to flag to capture heat one, with Tommy Elston wheeling his crate engine machine to the win in heat two. The top three from each heat would redraw for their starting spot in the 20-lap feature.
The Sprint Invaders are using a passing points system for the first time in 2018, with the top six from the heats, in this case the top two from each of the three heats, running a dash to set the first three rows of their 25-lap feature. Due to the rapidly falling temperatures, Stevens decided there would be no B-main, and all cars would be qualified for the main event. Daniel Bergquist topped heat one, with Jon Agan scoring heat two, and Jake Blackhurst capturing the final eight-lapper. Agan also won the dash, but drew a number three pill to start inside row two, putting Blackhurst on the feature pole.
A brief intermission followed the third sprint heat as the top two prepared for the dash, and with that event in the books, the late models came trackside for their feature. Hanna had drawn the pole position, and shot to the lead in his #65 at the drop of the green, with Jay Johnson in pursuit. The only late model caution of the night came on lap two, involving Chris Richard and Gunner Frank, with Frank retiring to the pits. On the Delaware style restart, sixth-starting Elston vaulted to fourth, and third-starting Tim Simpson powered to second. Lap seven saw Elston slip past Johnson for third, and two laps later Denny Woodworth and eighth-starting Vance Wilson took fourth and fifth. Woodworth mounted a challenge for third on lap eleven, with Wilson joining the fray on the 13th circuit. Neither could overtake Elston, but now it was eleventh starting Andy Nezworski moving through the pack. With the race staying green, Hanna cruised to the win with a comfortable lead over second running Simpson. Elston, Woodworth, and Wilson completed the top five, followed by Nezworski, Johnson, Sam Halstead, Richard, and Todd Frank.
Although I did not go pitside to talk to the drivers after the races, based on last year's set-ups, I believe there were seven crate cars in the field, with Hanna, Simpson, Nezworski, and Johnson using the spec engine package.
All but one of the 23 entries lined up for the Invaders main event, with Colton Fisher not making the call. Blackhurst shot to the early lead, with Agan in hot pursuit. The leaders caught slower traffic by lap six, and Blackhurst was able to stretch his advantage. The first yellow came on lap nine. The single file restart gave Blackhurst a clear track, as he lead Agan, John Schultz and Chris Martin. Agan found a line around Blackhurst one lap later, but another caution flag for a spinning car negated the pass. This proved to be a double whammy for Agan, who was penalized one spot on the restart, I believe for driving inside the restart cone.
Back under green, the second-running Schultz began applying pressure, but Blackhurst regained his momentum, and was in lapped traffic again by the 15th circuit. He had a commanding lead when the yellow waved again on lap 17. Following the restart, the #4 car of Agan, now running fifth, went up in smoke, ending his run. After a lap 19 caution, Cody Wehrle jumped to the runner up spot. One final stoppage came on lap 21, but again Blackhurst stretched his lead. While Wehrle and Schultz exchanged slide jobs in turns three and four, Joe B Miller found his way around both to claim the second spot. At the checkers, it was Blackhurst with the win over Miller, Schultz, Wehrle, and Chris Martin.
The temperature was a brisk 36 degrees and the wind chill registering 29 when we headed for the car, somewhere close to 7:45! It was solid first night for the new team, if there were any glitches, it was not apparent to the hearty and brave crowd, and they should be commended for being big enough race fans to even go ahead with this show in such adverse conditions.
As of now, the forecast for next weekend looks just as bad, or worse, and the snow is piling up outside my window here in Northeast Missouri. Hopefully, spring will show its head, and we can get back to the track soon.
The calendar is filling up, with many of the postponed early season specials piggybacking the already many attractive offerings on the April docket. The IRA and MOWA 410 sprint cars are on tap next Saturday at 34 Raceway, with the Slocum 50 for MLRA late models three weeks away on April 21. Meanwhile, Quincy Raceways will open the 2018 next Sunday night, April 8, and the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., will try again next Friday and Saturday nights. Check the specials calendar at Positively Racing.com, and make plans to get to a track near you.
Here's remembering Brent Slocum on his birthday, and Happy Easter to all.
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