The extended holiday season got off to a roaring start Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson as the track hosted current and former armed forces members, offering free admission. Also, the Iowa National Guard was on hand, offering rides to the youngsters and serving as " flag catchers " as long time parachuter Bobby Reed delivered the American flag from above as Lee Ann Lambert, nee Weisinger, performed her usual excellent rendition of the national anthem. At the same time, the American Legion presented the flag before the hearty gathering on a toasty evening.
With the prerace festivities complete, it was time for on track action. The five regular classes were in competition as well as an appearance by the vintage sprint cars. I enjoyed seeing the replica semi super modified #96 that raced in the late 1960s at 34 Raceway Park in West Burlington. Unfortunately, driver Bobby Ensminger found himself upside down during the heat race for the nine entrants.
Following heat race action, intermission and a " feature " for the vintage racers, it was time for the IMCA sport compacts to take over the track.
Mike Reu paced the first lap of the twelve lap finale, racing side by side with his son Brandon. Two circuits later it was Brandon out front and he held the spot until point leader Barry Taft took over at the halfway mark. Brandon Reu did not give up the spot easily, and was in front by a nose as lap seven was scored. The front duo ran side by side until lap nine, when Taft was able to open a little breathing room. Meanwhile, Mike Reu and Kimberly Abbott battled side by side for third until the elder Reu drove to the infield about lap nine. At the checkers, it was Taft, Brandon Reu, Abbott, Jacob Houston, and Kenny Smith leading the nine car field.
The IMCA sport mods were up next for 18 laps. Austen Becerra charged to the lead from his row two starting spot, taking along row three starter Daniel Fellows ahead of a lap two caution period. Following the restart, Becerra, Fellows, and row four starter Brandon Dale battled up front, and Austin Howes powered to fourth. Dale took over the runner up spot on lap seven, and back row starter,visiting Jason McDaniel moved to fourth. The yellow flag waved on lap eleven, and McDaniel retired to the infield on the restart. As Becerra set the pace, the battle was for second. and Dale was squeezed out of racing room, falling several spots. Brandon Lennox had been on the outside looking in before the final caution, but he found himself in second with five laps remaining. Two laps later Howes moved to third, Dale had rebounded to fourth, and Fellows, who seemed to have the handling on his ride going away, fell to fifth. This was the final running order, with Becerra going flag to flag, taking the checkers with a nice advantage.
The IMCA stock cars had extra money on the line offered up by the Oliver family business in memory of grandpa Jim. Hometown driver Jeremy Pundt took the early lead, with John Oliver Jr. following. The caution came out for a lap two spin, and the restart was aborted for the same spinning car. When action resumed, Pundt, Oliver, and Abe Huls pulled away in a three car duel. Huls cleared a three wide battle to take the lead on the fourth circuit. With no more stoppages, the field began to spread out a bit. As the final of the twenty laps counted down, Pundt mounted a challenge for second, but the finish found Huls with the win, Oliver second, and Pundt in third. Jason Cook and Scott Jordon completed the top five.
Heat winner Dennis Laveine paced the early laps of the IMCA modified twenty lapper. Larry Herring drove around Mitch Boles for second on lap two, and Boles got sideways in front of Jeff Waterman, sending Waterman for a spin to bring out the yellow.
With the pair restarting at the tail, Dakota Simmons took over the runner up slot following the Delaware realignment. By the fourth lap, Waterman was back inside the top five. One lap later, Waterman was fourth as Herring retook second. Waterman was third on lap seven, and at the crossed flags signaling the halfway point, he was second. Laveine had opened a sizable lead, but Waterman was on a mission. Lap eleven saw them running side by side, and the lead changed hands one lap later. From that point Waterman pulled away, picking up the hard fought win. Laveine, Herring, Bill Roberts Jr., and Dean McGee rounded out the first five.
The final race of the night was the crate late model twenty lapper. Chase Frank had dropped a drive shaft in his heat race, but the other nine entrants took the green flag, with Darin Weisinger Jr. giving up his front row start to tag the tail. Gunner Frank moved to the front row, leading Aric Becker and Todd Frank as lap one was scored. Veteran Ron Boyse started in row three and cleared Todd Frank for second on lap three. Frank was pounding the cushion as Boyse used the inside line. Last weeks winner Tommy Elston came from row four to fourth on lap six before a lap seven caution flag. Sam Halstead was battling up front when the cars jammed up in front of him. Halstead had to check up, but he was deep into the turn four corner and spun his #84. As the green came back out, Todd Frank followed his son in second, with Boyse falling to third. Elston used the high line to take third just before the halfway mark. By lap eleven, it was a three wide scrum for second, with Elston clearing the pack to take the spot. The veteran was using both lanes of the 3/8 mile oval, finally clearing Gunner Frank with a top side power move in turns one and two on lap 16. Elston then cruised to his third win this season at LCS. Boyse was able to clear Gunner for second, Todd Frank was fourth, and Halstead came back to fifth. Jeff Guengerich, Becker, and Weisinger Jr. completed the running order, with Brandon Queen watching from the infield.
A fireworks display completed the evening, with racing ending about 10:15.
The Lee County Speedway will be dark next Friday as preparations begin for the county fair. Many of the LCS drivers will journey to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. for a special night of racing. Lee County will be in action the next week on Thursday July 12 as part of the fair, with Friday night racing resuming on July 20.
I will be heading out soon for a third straight night of racing, making my first visit in two seasons to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. for the UMP Summernationals/World of Outlaw duel sanction event. July is almost here, so get to a track somewhere, stay hydrated, and enjoy the races!
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
Hurst Tops Deery Field
When I was drawing up my potential racing schedule for 2018, the first visit in 14 years by the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton was on the list. Sometime later, a trip to Colorado came up for this week, and my second ever visit to the Benton County Fairgrounds 1/4 mile appeared to be an unfortunate casualty of the trip. So when the trip west was cancelled, Vinton was quickly added back to the schedule. As with most of the midwest, the weather here in northeast Missouri is hot, hot, hot, but several checks of the radar indicated that at least Thursday would be dry. But as early afternoon rolled around, a severe storm warning was issued for my part of the world, and at the same time the radar showed rain heading towards Vinton. Under darkening skies, Darryl and I headed out to meet Jeff in Mt Pleasant to catch a ride north while still watching the radar. For sure we drove through a pretty good line of storms, arriving in Mt Pleasant under gloomy skies. But that line of showers headed for Vinton seemed to have dissipated, so off we went.
On my only prior visit to the track, there had been a near capacity crowd, and with Thursday being the opening night of the county fair, we thought seating might be an issue. Surprisingly, although there was a decent crowd, there was plenty of good seating available, even as racing began. The modifieds had the night off as they prepare for the prestigious Hogan Memorial race on Tuesday, July 3, but still there were five track regular classes of cars in action along with the late models.
The posted running order had the late models last on the card, but with rather surprisingly low car counts for an advertised points night, and Vintons reputation for quick, efficiently run shows, we settled in for the action.
The track was plenty wet as the evening began, and lap times during the early heat races were hardly record setting. Still the track began to come in by late model time. Following the eleven heat races, track officials took about a 30 minute intermission and graded the top layer off the black dirt surface, and the result was outstanding multi groove feature events. During the break, the four late model heat winners, Chad Coyne, John Emerson, Todd Cooney, and Andy Eckrich took part in a modified pizza box drawing for starting spots in the front two rows of the 50 lap finale. It is a process whereby each driver has to give away the spot he has drawn, and, well, anyway....
The micro mods were up first for twelve laps. 14 year old Dallon Murty, took the lead on lap two and picked up an easy win to start things off.
The 4 cylinder cars, which are unsanctioned at the track, lined up for a dozen laps. Travis Losenicky led the early laps before Jake Benischek took over on lap seven. Jake gradually stretched his lead, taking the win ahead of Losenicky, Bill Whelen, Barry Taft, and Luke Benischek.
Next came a pair of late model B mains to add ten cars to the feature field, which would then be supplemented by two provisional starters. Jeff Aikey in the Scott Fitzpatrick #24 and Darren Ackerman picked up the wins. The Summer Series has switched to a modified passing points system, with a designated number of cars behind the heat winners filling the next spots via the passing points. With a first lap scramble in the fourth heat allowing some deep in the field starters to finish up front, Ackerman was relegated to a B main after finishing third in his heat race!
All 15 cars started the hobby stock feature, which may have been closer to a WWF match. Leah Wroten has been tough to beat of late, and she gained the lead on lap five, setting up a battle with Nathan Ballard. With five laps remaining, the yellow flag waved, and the Delaware lineup saw Ballard and Brett Vanous line up behind Wroten. Vanous took over the runner up spot until another caution period came as the white flag was being displayed, setting up a green, white, checkers finish, Wroten still out front. Ballard appeared to get a bit over aggressive in turn one, and Wroten and Vanous found themselves in trouble. Officials quickly gave Ballard the black flag to the delight of the crowd. Wroten, unfortunately, incurred a flat tire, and ducked to the pits to change it. Vanous was lined up out front, and Wroten rejoined in what was now the tenth and final spot. Vanous held on for the final pair of laps and the win ahead of Matt Brown, while Wroten charged back to fifth at the checkers.
The sport mods came out next, 14 strong for 16 laps. Tony Olson grabbed the top spot on the fifth circuit, built a big lead, and took home top honors in the non stop race. Joe Docekal, Tyler Soppe, and Danny Dvorak completed the top four.
A disappointing field of ten stock cars signed in, with all making the call for 16 laps. Scooter Dulin led early before a lap five yellow. Damon Murty had issues in the heat race, and was forced to start at the back of the pack for the feature. However, he was already up to fourth for the restart. John Oliver Jr. powered to the front as racing resumed, and at the halfway mark, Murty took second. The hard charging duo ran side by side before Murty took over for good on lap ten. One more yellow on lap 13 did nothing to change the outcome. Murty thanked the second running Oliver in victory lane for helping him diagnose a loose wire as what had plagued him the last two nights! Norman Chesmore ran third, and Dulin was fourth.
At last it was late model feature time. Coyne and Emerson sat on row one, and Emerson shot to the early lead. Cooney took up the chase from Coyne on lap two. It soon became a two car battle, Emerson and Cooney, and on lap twelve the pair swapped the lead, with a little contact thrown in. The caution came out one lap later, and Coyne lost power, ending his top five run. It now looked like Jeremiah Hurst had the hot hand, as he had started in row six, but was now fourth. Tyler Bruening used the Delaware restart to take over second, and Hurst moved to third on lap 14. When the yellow came out for a spin, Bruening was moved back two spots for the restart. Officials determined he had jumped the start, although he may have been victimized by a little cat and mouse action between Emerson and Cooney. At any rate, Hurst charged to second, battling with Cooney before taking the lead from Emerson just before the halfway mark. Cooney went off the top of the track on lap 24, losing several spots but keeping the wheels turning. Series point leader Justin Kay began a second half charge, taking fourth on lap 27 and third five circuits later. Slower traffic was becoming an issue, and indeed Kay had his momentum slowed as he picked his way through. Emerson had fallen back a bit, but went off the backstretch line while running fifth, dropping several positions. Eighth starting Curt Martin had quietly worked his way to the runner up spot, running the high groove, and as the laps wound down he began to reel in the leader, who was running the low line around the speedway. However the slower traffic that had impeded Hurst now moved out of the way only to slow the forward momentum for Martin. With the race staying green for the final 35 or so laps, Hurst picked up the win in the Roberts Racing #58, his first series win since 2002! Martin followed up his series win at Boone with a runner up finish. Kay held off Bruening for third, and Andy Eckrich was fifth. Charlie McKenna gained six spots to finish sixth, while Cayden Carter was the hard charger, starting 22nd and finishing seventh. Aikey, Ryan Dolan, and Emerson completed the top ten.
It was by all accounts a very good night of racing, lots of action, and the final checkers waving before 10:30. Thanks to Mick and Mike for the hospitality and to whoever was responsible for the relief from the hot temps!
Thursday began what looks like a full weekend and more of racing for yours truly, but one day at a time! Tonight, we will perhaps ignore the heat index and head for the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for racing and fireworks.
Thanks for reading.
On my only prior visit to the track, there had been a near capacity crowd, and with Thursday being the opening night of the county fair, we thought seating might be an issue. Surprisingly, although there was a decent crowd, there was plenty of good seating available, even as racing began. The modifieds had the night off as they prepare for the prestigious Hogan Memorial race on Tuesday, July 3, but still there were five track regular classes of cars in action along with the late models.
The posted running order had the late models last on the card, but with rather surprisingly low car counts for an advertised points night, and Vintons reputation for quick, efficiently run shows, we settled in for the action.
The track was plenty wet as the evening began, and lap times during the early heat races were hardly record setting. Still the track began to come in by late model time. Following the eleven heat races, track officials took about a 30 minute intermission and graded the top layer off the black dirt surface, and the result was outstanding multi groove feature events. During the break, the four late model heat winners, Chad Coyne, John Emerson, Todd Cooney, and Andy Eckrich took part in a modified pizza box drawing for starting spots in the front two rows of the 50 lap finale. It is a process whereby each driver has to give away the spot he has drawn, and, well, anyway....
The micro mods were up first for twelve laps. 14 year old Dallon Murty, took the lead on lap two and picked up an easy win to start things off.
The 4 cylinder cars, which are unsanctioned at the track, lined up for a dozen laps. Travis Losenicky led the early laps before Jake Benischek took over on lap seven. Jake gradually stretched his lead, taking the win ahead of Losenicky, Bill Whelen, Barry Taft, and Luke Benischek.
Next came a pair of late model B mains to add ten cars to the feature field, which would then be supplemented by two provisional starters. Jeff Aikey in the Scott Fitzpatrick #24 and Darren Ackerman picked up the wins. The Summer Series has switched to a modified passing points system, with a designated number of cars behind the heat winners filling the next spots via the passing points. With a first lap scramble in the fourth heat allowing some deep in the field starters to finish up front, Ackerman was relegated to a B main after finishing third in his heat race!
All 15 cars started the hobby stock feature, which may have been closer to a WWF match. Leah Wroten has been tough to beat of late, and she gained the lead on lap five, setting up a battle with Nathan Ballard. With five laps remaining, the yellow flag waved, and the Delaware lineup saw Ballard and Brett Vanous line up behind Wroten. Vanous took over the runner up spot until another caution period came as the white flag was being displayed, setting up a green, white, checkers finish, Wroten still out front. Ballard appeared to get a bit over aggressive in turn one, and Wroten and Vanous found themselves in trouble. Officials quickly gave Ballard the black flag to the delight of the crowd. Wroten, unfortunately, incurred a flat tire, and ducked to the pits to change it. Vanous was lined up out front, and Wroten rejoined in what was now the tenth and final spot. Vanous held on for the final pair of laps and the win ahead of Matt Brown, while Wroten charged back to fifth at the checkers.
The sport mods came out next, 14 strong for 16 laps. Tony Olson grabbed the top spot on the fifth circuit, built a big lead, and took home top honors in the non stop race. Joe Docekal, Tyler Soppe, and Danny Dvorak completed the top four.
A disappointing field of ten stock cars signed in, with all making the call for 16 laps. Scooter Dulin led early before a lap five yellow. Damon Murty had issues in the heat race, and was forced to start at the back of the pack for the feature. However, he was already up to fourth for the restart. John Oliver Jr. powered to the front as racing resumed, and at the halfway mark, Murty took second. The hard charging duo ran side by side before Murty took over for good on lap ten. One more yellow on lap 13 did nothing to change the outcome. Murty thanked the second running Oliver in victory lane for helping him diagnose a loose wire as what had plagued him the last two nights! Norman Chesmore ran third, and Dulin was fourth.
At last it was late model feature time. Coyne and Emerson sat on row one, and Emerson shot to the early lead. Cooney took up the chase from Coyne on lap two. It soon became a two car battle, Emerson and Cooney, and on lap twelve the pair swapped the lead, with a little contact thrown in. The caution came out one lap later, and Coyne lost power, ending his top five run. It now looked like Jeremiah Hurst had the hot hand, as he had started in row six, but was now fourth. Tyler Bruening used the Delaware restart to take over second, and Hurst moved to third on lap 14. When the yellow came out for a spin, Bruening was moved back two spots for the restart. Officials determined he had jumped the start, although he may have been victimized by a little cat and mouse action between Emerson and Cooney. At any rate, Hurst charged to second, battling with Cooney before taking the lead from Emerson just before the halfway mark. Cooney went off the top of the track on lap 24, losing several spots but keeping the wheels turning. Series point leader Justin Kay began a second half charge, taking fourth on lap 27 and third five circuits later. Slower traffic was becoming an issue, and indeed Kay had his momentum slowed as he picked his way through. Emerson had fallen back a bit, but went off the backstretch line while running fifth, dropping several positions. Eighth starting Curt Martin had quietly worked his way to the runner up spot, running the high groove, and as the laps wound down he began to reel in the leader, who was running the low line around the speedway. However the slower traffic that had impeded Hurst now moved out of the way only to slow the forward momentum for Martin. With the race staying green for the final 35 or so laps, Hurst picked up the win in the Roberts Racing #58, his first series win since 2002! Martin followed up his series win at Boone with a runner up finish. Kay held off Bruening for third, and Andy Eckrich was fifth. Charlie McKenna gained six spots to finish sixth, while Cayden Carter was the hard charger, starting 22nd and finishing seventh. Aikey, Ryan Dolan, and Emerson completed the top ten.
It was by all accounts a very good night of racing, lots of action, and the final checkers waving before 10:30. Thanks to Mick and Mike for the hospitality and to whoever was responsible for the relief from the hot temps!
Thursday began what looks like a full weekend and more of racing for yours truly, but one day at a time! Tonight, we will perhaps ignore the heat index and head for the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for racing and fireworks.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Quincy Dodges the Raindrops on Sunday
Race night number four in five days found me at Quincy Raceways for Sunday night action. Rain clouds swirled around the area, with heavy showers reported to the north and south, but the race track stayed dry. Six classes of cars were in action, with the UMP Pro Crate late models now on the card every week except for a pair of special events, and the 305 sprint experiment cancelled.
It took a while to get the track rolled in, but when things got under way, UMP modified qualifying got the show started. Dave Weitholder set the quick time with a lap of 14.721 seconds, pacing the twelve car field.
With eight heat races and intermission in the books, the IMCA stock cars headed up the feature parade. Beau Taylor jumped to the early lead by a comfortable margin before a lap five caution for debris brought him back to the pack. When racing resumed, Taylor again pulled away from the field, cruising to his second win in a row at the track. Point leader Michael Larsen battled Steve Mast before finally claiming the second spot. Jake Powers got by Mast late for third. Jerry Jansen came home in fifth, followed by Austen Becerra taking a turn behind the wheel of the Brandon Lambert machine.
Darin Weisinger Jr. also led flag to flag in the six car IMCA sport compact main event. As the yellow flag flew on lap two, heavy smoke spewed from under the hood of the Kimberly Abbott #71, ending her night. From there the race stayed green, and although point leader Barry Taft found his way to second and applied pressure, Weisinger held on for his second win of the year. Jake Dietrich ran third, followed by Alyssa Steele and Taylor Vandermaiden. It was announced that their were " mystery drivers" in the two young ladies cars, but the official finish gave credit to Alyssa and Taylor.
Dugan Thye unloaded his #11 modified, but never made it to the track and Josh Newman appeared to lose an engine during his heat race, so ten UMP mods took the feature green for 20 laps. Fast timer and heat one winner Weitholder jumped from the pole to the early lead. Joined by Spencer Havermale and Kevin Blackburn, the front three surged to a big lead, with Blackburn taking second on lap six. Two circuits later, Steve Grotz and Craig Roden went for a spin in turn three, with both cars leaving on the hook. As the leaders rolled around, Weitholder had a flat right rear tire. He was able to get it changed during the clean up, restarting in the eighth and final spot in the running order. When the green waved, the cars went four wide on the backstretch, and Charlie Baker ran out of room, tagging the guardrail, ending his run. On the next attempt, Shaun Deering was able to wrestle the runner up spot from Havermale. Meanwhile, Weitholder was on a mission, executing slide jobs to take fourth on lap ten and third two laps later. By this time, Blackburn had a big lead, and he cruised to victory lane in the Mike Begley #B4. Deering held off pressure from Weitholder to score the runner up finish, while Havermale and Joey Gower completed the top five.
All 14 IMCA sport mods lined up for 18 laps of feature racing. John Renier paced the opening lap before the caution came out for a slowing Justin Ebbing. Tanner Klingele used the restart to grab the lead, followed by Brandon Lennox, Adam Birck, and Daniel Fellows. The front four soon broke away from the pack, as Birck and Fellows staged a back and fourth battle for third. The yellow came out for an Adam Niekamp spin on lap nine, and back to racing it was now a three car battle for second behind Klingele, Birck running the high line, Lennox down low, and Fellows looking for an opening. A final caution came on lap 13 as a pair of cars went for a spin. Lennox took control of second on the Delaware restart, going to work on the leader. As the pair took the white flag, Lennox had a nose in front, and he and Klingele raced side by side for the final lap. It was a photo finish at the checkers, and even announcer Doug Mealy was uncertain who had the advantage for a few seconds. It was then determined that Klingele was the victor. The race for third was nearly as close, with Birck edging Fellows for the spot. Renier came home in fifth. This finish mirrored the modified main at Tri City Speedway, but did not take nearly as long to determine the winner, and as nearly as I could tell, there was no controversy!
A disappointing count of six UMP Pro Crate late models signed in to do battle, and Cliff Powell saw his night end in hot laps with possible engine woes. Point leader Denny Woodworth started on the pole of the main event, and promptly moved to a different time zone. Only Clint Kirkham remained on the lead lap as the race went 20 laps non stop. Charles Vanzandt was third, while first time visitor Graham Fate made the trip from Peoria and ran fourth. Melvin Linder wheeled the Woodworth back up car to a fifth place finish. With owner/promoter Jason Goble now committed to the late models on a full time basis, I would hope drivers in the area would respond to at least get the count into double figures. We shall see.
The two person cruisers wrapped up the night, with the #88 taking the win.
Quincy Raceways will be back in action next Sunday, July 1 for a regular night of racing. The following Sunday will be the highlight of 2018 for QR fans, as the UMP Summernationals comes to town. The super late models will be joined by the Summernational Summit racing UMP modifieds and the sport mods. At this time, it looks like my next adventure will be at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa this Thursday, as the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models headline the show.
Thanks for reading!
It took a while to get the track rolled in, but when things got under way, UMP modified qualifying got the show started. Dave Weitholder set the quick time with a lap of 14.721 seconds, pacing the twelve car field.
With eight heat races and intermission in the books, the IMCA stock cars headed up the feature parade. Beau Taylor jumped to the early lead by a comfortable margin before a lap five caution for debris brought him back to the pack. When racing resumed, Taylor again pulled away from the field, cruising to his second win in a row at the track. Point leader Michael Larsen battled Steve Mast before finally claiming the second spot. Jake Powers got by Mast late for third. Jerry Jansen came home in fifth, followed by Austen Becerra taking a turn behind the wheel of the Brandon Lambert machine.
Darin Weisinger Jr. also led flag to flag in the six car IMCA sport compact main event. As the yellow flag flew on lap two, heavy smoke spewed from under the hood of the Kimberly Abbott #71, ending her night. From there the race stayed green, and although point leader Barry Taft found his way to second and applied pressure, Weisinger held on for his second win of the year. Jake Dietrich ran third, followed by Alyssa Steele and Taylor Vandermaiden. It was announced that their were " mystery drivers" in the two young ladies cars, but the official finish gave credit to Alyssa and Taylor.
Dugan Thye unloaded his #11 modified, but never made it to the track and Josh Newman appeared to lose an engine during his heat race, so ten UMP mods took the feature green for 20 laps. Fast timer and heat one winner Weitholder jumped from the pole to the early lead. Joined by Spencer Havermale and Kevin Blackburn, the front three surged to a big lead, with Blackburn taking second on lap six. Two circuits later, Steve Grotz and Craig Roden went for a spin in turn three, with both cars leaving on the hook. As the leaders rolled around, Weitholder had a flat right rear tire. He was able to get it changed during the clean up, restarting in the eighth and final spot in the running order. When the green waved, the cars went four wide on the backstretch, and Charlie Baker ran out of room, tagging the guardrail, ending his run. On the next attempt, Shaun Deering was able to wrestle the runner up spot from Havermale. Meanwhile, Weitholder was on a mission, executing slide jobs to take fourth on lap ten and third two laps later. By this time, Blackburn had a big lead, and he cruised to victory lane in the Mike Begley #B4. Deering held off pressure from Weitholder to score the runner up finish, while Havermale and Joey Gower completed the top five.
All 14 IMCA sport mods lined up for 18 laps of feature racing. John Renier paced the opening lap before the caution came out for a slowing Justin Ebbing. Tanner Klingele used the restart to grab the lead, followed by Brandon Lennox, Adam Birck, and Daniel Fellows. The front four soon broke away from the pack, as Birck and Fellows staged a back and fourth battle for third. The yellow came out for an Adam Niekamp spin on lap nine, and back to racing it was now a three car battle for second behind Klingele, Birck running the high line, Lennox down low, and Fellows looking for an opening. A final caution came on lap 13 as a pair of cars went for a spin. Lennox took control of second on the Delaware restart, going to work on the leader. As the pair took the white flag, Lennox had a nose in front, and he and Klingele raced side by side for the final lap. It was a photo finish at the checkers, and even announcer Doug Mealy was uncertain who had the advantage for a few seconds. It was then determined that Klingele was the victor. The race for third was nearly as close, with Birck edging Fellows for the spot. Renier came home in fifth. This finish mirrored the modified main at Tri City Speedway, but did not take nearly as long to determine the winner, and as nearly as I could tell, there was no controversy!
A disappointing count of six UMP Pro Crate late models signed in to do battle, and Cliff Powell saw his night end in hot laps with possible engine woes. Point leader Denny Woodworth started on the pole of the main event, and promptly moved to a different time zone. Only Clint Kirkham remained on the lead lap as the race went 20 laps non stop. Charles Vanzandt was third, while first time visitor Graham Fate made the trip from Peoria and ran fourth. Melvin Linder wheeled the Woodworth back up car to a fifth place finish. With owner/promoter Jason Goble now committed to the late models on a full time basis, I would hope drivers in the area would respond to at least get the count into double figures. We shall see.
The two person cruisers wrapped up the night, with the #88 taking the win.
Quincy Raceways will be back in action next Sunday, July 1 for a regular night of racing. The following Sunday will be the highlight of 2018 for QR fans, as the UMP Summernationals comes to town. The super late models will be joined by the Summernational Summit racing UMP modifieds and the sport mods. At this time, it looks like my next adventure will be at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa this Thursday, as the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models headline the show.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Saturday Night Racing in Donnellson
Heavy rains throughout Iowa cancelled racing just about everywhere in the state on Friday night. In fact, there was so much rain that 34 Raceway in West Burlington pulled the plug on their Saturday night show on Friday afternoon. So the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson took the bold step of moving their 305 sprint car special to Saturday night. Also in action were the five regular classes, although they were run as non point events due to the change in race nights. The decision turned out to be a good one, with the pits packed with just under 100 race cars, and one of the best crowds of the 2018 season on hand. Due to all the rain, track conditions were not the best, but the crew worked hard all night to keep the surface as smooth as possible.
Hot laps rolled off right on time at 7:00, and we actually had a few minutes of down time waiting to get close to the advertised race time of 7:30.
Following heat race action and a dash for the sprints, the track took a rare intermission to continue to work on the track.
It was soon feature time, and the IMCA sport mods were up first, with all but one of the 19 on hand taking the green flag for 16 laps of action. Ron Kibbe took the early lead, with pressure from visiting Levi Layman. Layman took over the top spot as the duo crossed the line to complete lap five. One lap later, Daniel Fellows charged to second. The caution flag flew on lap eight for debris, and fifth running Brandon Lennox headed to the pits. Fellows powered to the lead on the restart and opened a big lead before one more yellow waved with two laps to go. Contact on the restart saw Layman lose several spots. When the checkers flew, it was Fellows with the win ahead of Austen Becerra, Brandon Dale, and Kibbe.
Again, all but one of the 13 IMCA stock cars lined up for 16 laps of racing. David Brandies rolled off from the pole to pace the opening lap, with Dean Kratzer and John Oliver Jr. in pursuit. Kratzer jumped out front on the next lap, holding on as Oliver moved to second on lap five, pulling Jason Cook along in third. Those two raced side by side until Oliver took command of second, then took the lead on the low side on lap eight, Cook taking second. As Oliver and Cook ran side by side for the lead, the yellow came out with three laps remaining. Kratzer had been running several laps with a broken left front, and his car finally gave up in a cloud of smoke. On the restart, Oliver pulled away from the pack. Brandies third place run ended as he slowed on the final circuit. It was Oliver with the win over Cook, Jeremy Pundt, and Corey Strothman.
IMCA modifieds, 15 strong, were up next for 18 laps. A first corner mixup sent second row starter Bill Roberts Jr. home early. Polesitter Bruce Hanford jumped to the early lead, as Jeff Waterman followed in second. Joined by race director Mike VanGenderen, who brought his #57V to the track on this non points night, it became a three car scramble. Meanwhile, Steve Stewart was looking to enter the fray, advancing to third on lap ten and second three laps later. As he began to work on the leader, Stewart spun in turn four, bringing out the caution. Back under green, Van Genderen took over second, and when Waterman got crossed up, he was tagged by fourth place Colby Springsteen, ending the night for both drivers. As Hanford opened a big lead, Stewart charged back to fourth before suddenly ducking into the infield. It was the veteran Hanford leading all 18 laps in front of VanGenderen, Dakota Simmons, and Mitch Boles.
All 17 305 sprint cars took the green flag for 20 laps of action. John Schulz led the first go around, but it was Ryan Jamison out front when lap two was scored, courtesy of a turn four slide job. Tanner Gebhardt was in second as the yellow came out on lap four.
With the sprints restarting single file, Jamison opened a commanding lead, working smoothly and efficiently through lapped traffic. One more caution period came with eight laps to go when the nose wing came off the Gebhardt ride. Still he was able to keep all four wheels on the ground, as he finished a distant second to Jamison. Schulz and Harold Pohren rounded out the top four. Jamison collected a cool $1,000 for the win while celebrating his 50th birthday!
One dozen crate late models signed in, and they were out next for 20 laps. Sam Halstead was the polesitter, and he led third starting Todd Frank for lap one. On the next circuit, the yellow waved for debris. Back to action, Tommy Elston slipped past Frank for the runner up spot, and he took the high line around Halstead on lap four. As Elston began to widen his margin, Jay Johnson entered the top three on lap seven, and next time by the flag stand you could have thrown a blanket over Halstead, Johnson, Frank, and Jeff Guengerich. Johnson won the race for second just after the halfway mark. As Jay tried to make up ground, Elston opened a straightaway lead. At the same time, there was an intense battle for third. Guengerich took the spot on lap 18. At the checkers, it was Elston with his second feature win at LCS this season. Johnson took runner up honors, followed by Guengerich, Halstead, and Frank. Tim Simpson made his LCS debut in sixth, leading last weeks winner Ron Boyse, Clint Kirkham, Darrin Weisinger Jr., and Brandon Queen. Two time winner Gunner Frank and Aric Becker, who was involved in a heat race collision with Kirkham, retired early.
Getting the races done early is a trademark of the Lee County Speedway. However, with the abundance of cars and all the extra track work necessary to keep the heavy surface raceable, it was now almost 11:00. Having hit the pillow at 3:00 AM Saturday morning, we two old timers decided to head for the parking lot as the 21 car IMCA sport compact finale was getting set to run. I can report that Barry Taft topped Kimberly Abbott for the win.
It was in many ways like old times at Donnellson, Saturday night racing with lots of cars and lots of fans. There has been a lot of talk lately about the future of weekly racing in general, but for at least one time, the sport we love looked healthy, indeed.
I am now preparing for race night number four in five days as I head for Sunday night racing at Quincy Raceways. A reminder to late model fans that 305 sprints will no longer be in the rotation at Quincy, with UMP Pro Crate late models topping the bill every week, except for July 8 when the UMP Summernational super late models come to town, and during the September 16 visit by the Sprint Invaders.
Thanks for reading!
Hot laps rolled off right on time at 7:00, and we actually had a few minutes of down time waiting to get close to the advertised race time of 7:30.
Following heat race action and a dash for the sprints, the track took a rare intermission to continue to work on the track.
It was soon feature time, and the IMCA sport mods were up first, with all but one of the 19 on hand taking the green flag for 16 laps of action. Ron Kibbe took the early lead, with pressure from visiting Levi Layman. Layman took over the top spot as the duo crossed the line to complete lap five. One lap later, Daniel Fellows charged to second. The caution flag flew on lap eight for debris, and fifth running Brandon Lennox headed to the pits. Fellows powered to the lead on the restart and opened a big lead before one more yellow waved with two laps to go. Contact on the restart saw Layman lose several spots. When the checkers flew, it was Fellows with the win ahead of Austen Becerra, Brandon Dale, and Kibbe.
Again, all but one of the 13 IMCA stock cars lined up for 16 laps of racing. David Brandies rolled off from the pole to pace the opening lap, with Dean Kratzer and John Oliver Jr. in pursuit. Kratzer jumped out front on the next lap, holding on as Oliver moved to second on lap five, pulling Jason Cook along in third. Those two raced side by side until Oliver took command of second, then took the lead on the low side on lap eight, Cook taking second. As Oliver and Cook ran side by side for the lead, the yellow came out with three laps remaining. Kratzer had been running several laps with a broken left front, and his car finally gave up in a cloud of smoke. On the restart, Oliver pulled away from the pack. Brandies third place run ended as he slowed on the final circuit. It was Oliver with the win over Cook, Jeremy Pundt, and Corey Strothman.
IMCA modifieds, 15 strong, were up next for 18 laps. A first corner mixup sent second row starter Bill Roberts Jr. home early. Polesitter Bruce Hanford jumped to the early lead, as Jeff Waterman followed in second. Joined by race director Mike VanGenderen, who brought his #57V to the track on this non points night, it became a three car scramble. Meanwhile, Steve Stewart was looking to enter the fray, advancing to third on lap ten and second three laps later. As he began to work on the leader, Stewart spun in turn four, bringing out the caution. Back under green, Van Genderen took over second, and when Waterman got crossed up, he was tagged by fourth place Colby Springsteen, ending the night for both drivers. As Hanford opened a big lead, Stewart charged back to fourth before suddenly ducking into the infield. It was the veteran Hanford leading all 18 laps in front of VanGenderen, Dakota Simmons, and Mitch Boles.
All 17 305 sprint cars took the green flag for 20 laps of action. John Schulz led the first go around, but it was Ryan Jamison out front when lap two was scored, courtesy of a turn four slide job. Tanner Gebhardt was in second as the yellow came out on lap four.
With the sprints restarting single file, Jamison opened a commanding lead, working smoothly and efficiently through lapped traffic. One more caution period came with eight laps to go when the nose wing came off the Gebhardt ride. Still he was able to keep all four wheels on the ground, as he finished a distant second to Jamison. Schulz and Harold Pohren rounded out the top four. Jamison collected a cool $1,000 for the win while celebrating his 50th birthday!
One dozen crate late models signed in, and they were out next for 20 laps. Sam Halstead was the polesitter, and he led third starting Todd Frank for lap one. On the next circuit, the yellow waved for debris. Back to action, Tommy Elston slipped past Frank for the runner up spot, and he took the high line around Halstead on lap four. As Elston began to widen his margin, Jay Johnson entered the top three on lap seven, and next time by the flag stand you could have thrown a blanket over Halstead, Johnson, Frank, and Jeff Guengerich. Johnson won the race for second just after the halfway mark. As Jay tried to make up ground, Elston opened a straightaway lead. At the same time, there was an intense battle for third. Guengerich took the spot on lap 18. At the checkers, it was Elston with his second feature win at LCS this season. Johnson took runner up honors, followed by Guengerich, Halstead, and Frank. Tim Simpson made his LCS debut in sixth, leading last weeks winner Ron Boyse, Clint Kirkham, Darrin Weisinger Jr., and Brandon Queen. Two time winner Gunner Frank and Aric Becker, who was involved in a heat race collision with Kirkham, retired early.
Getting the races done early is a trademark of the Lee County Speedway. However, with the abundance of cars and all the extra track work necessary to keep the heavy surface raceable, it was now almost 11:00. Having hit the pillow at 3:00 AM Saturday morning, we two old timers decided to head for the parking lot as the 21 car IMCA sport compact finale was getting set to run. I can report that Barry Taft topped Kimberly Abbott for the win.
It was in many ways like old times at Donnellson, Saturday night racing with lots of cars and lots of fans. There has been a lot of talk lately about the future of weekly racing in general, but for at least one time, the sport we love looked healthy, indeed.
I am now preparing for race night number four in five days as I head for Sunday night racing at Quincy Raceways. A reminder to late model fans that 305 sprints will no longer be in the rotation at Quincy, with UMP Pro Crate late models topping the bill every week, except for July 8 when the UMP Summernational super late models come to town, and during the September 16 visit by the Sprint Invaders.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Illinois Drivers on Top at Tri City
Although we gambled and lost out to the weatherman on Wednesday, we decided to roll the dice again on Friday. So with good friend Lane along, Fred, Darryl and I headed south to Kevin and Tammy Gundakers Tri City Speedway for another eddition of the UMP Summernationals for super late models and modifieds.
Despite gloomy skies punctuated by occasional showers, a solid field of cars signed in, including 35 late models, 28 modifieds, and 32 B-mods. The 3/8 mile track took some extra rolling in, with hot laps starting a few minutes after 7:00. The modifieds hot lapped and qualified in the same set of laps, with the late models up next. Florida hot shoe Kyle Bronson was among the first group of three cars to time, and his lap of 14.406 held up until the final two cars hit the track. Then Tony Jackson Jr. turned a lap at 14.314 seconds to set overall quick time on the wet, heavy track.
Following three modified heats, the late models were up for four ten lap qualifiers. Bronson shot to the lead from the pole in the first heat, with third starting Bobby Pierce charging to second. On lap four Pierce lost the drive shaft in his #32, bringing out the caution. Outside row one starter Brian Shirley had fallen to fourth, but he rebounded to the runner up spot, crossing the line behind Bronson. Kevin Gundaker started seventh and finished third, with Jason Feger the final qualifier. Ryan Unzicker led the distance in heat two ahead of Dennis Erb Jr., Rusty Schlenk, and Tanner English. As the night wore on, the wet track turn bumpy, making a treacherous combination of fast and rough. On the opening lap of heat three, series point leader Shannon Babb caught a rut in turn one, slamming into the concrete wall in turn two. Babb was unhurt, but was forced to go to a backup car for the B main. Later in the event, Joe Godsey met a similar fate in turn four. Jackson won a duel with Tim Manville for the victory, with Timothy Culp and Paul Stubber taking transfer spots. Nick Hoffman captured the final ten lapper, with Bob Gardner Jr. coming from sixth starting slot to second. Frank Heckenast Jr. and Chris Simpson were next in line.
Although Tammy had announced at the drivers meeting there would be no intermission, following four B mod heats the decision was made to try and " farm " the track to try and smooth out the racing surface. With that complete, the modifieds came out for their C main. It soon became obvious that the work was mostly for naught when Mark Enk got sideways in turn three, rolling two times and landing wheels down. Enk was shaken and checked out by the ambulance crew.
With seven late models scratched for the night, their C main was cancelled, and twelve cars took to the track for a twelve lap B main. Only two cars would transfer to the 40 lap, $10,000 to win main event. Mark Burgtorf shot to a big lead from his outside row one starting spot, with polesitter Jeff Herzog in pursuit. An early caution brought the veteran from Quincy back to the pack, and following the Delaware restart, fifth starting Billy Moyer advanced to second. Unless my eyes deceived me, there seemed to be some confusion, as I did not see the white flag displayed, before the checkers waved, with Burgtorf and Moyer set to move on.
The B mod B main was up next, with six cars scheduled to transfer. With the clock ticking, when only ten cars reported to the lineup, it was decided to scrap the race and move all ten to the feature, a classy move by the Gundakers for more reasons than one.
Several changes in the original running order were made throughout the night, and now the modifieds were called to the track for their 25 lap $1,000 to win main event. Unfortunately, with the scrapping of the previous race, there was some delay in getting the 22 cars to staging. When the green flag did fly, front row starters Evan Taylor and Kenny Wallace ran side by side for the first lap, with Wallace gaining the advantage on lap two and Allen Weisser jumping to second. The second confusing event of the night came on lap four. Running third, Taylor got sideways in turns three and four, and fourth running Mike Harrison appeared to help him complete the spin, bringing out the caution. But when the cars were realigned, Taylor and Harrison were back where they were running before the caution. From my vantage point, I did not hear an explanation as to why. After a false start, we were back to racing. Lucas Lee, who started outside row eight entered the top five. Three circuits later he moved to fourth, and on lap eight he was third. Weisser took over the lead from Wallace on lap ten, and one lap later Lee also got around Wallace for second. It quickly became a two car race, and as the laps clicked off, the lead duo encountered slower traffic on lap 20. Contact between the front runners came on lap 22, with Lee taking the lead. But as the white flag waved, it was Weisser out front by a nose. The pair split a lapped car coming to the checkers, and it looked as though Weisser held the advantage. As Lee crossed the scales, with Weisser waiting behind him, the checkered flag was handed to Lee. Just as quickly it was taken away and handed to Weisser. A prolonged discussion involving the two drivers and track officials followed, and I am guessing at least ten minutes transpired. The track announcer, waiting on the victory stage for post race festivities was unable to provide an explanation of what the issue was, speculating it may have had to do with the placement of the scoring transponders on the cars.
Finally Weisser emerged with the checkers. Lee had to be content with runner up honors. Wallace held off Harrison for third, and row seven starter Michael Long got around Taylor for fifth. It was definitely one of the weirder races I have seen in a while.
At long last, the late models were set to roll off, 22 cars for 40 laps. Provisional starting slots were given to Babb, Pierce, Brian Diveley, and Mike Hammerle. Other than Babb as the series points leader, I am not sure exactly who filled what spot among the other three.
Fourth starting Ryan Unzicker charged to the first lap lead, with third starting Nick Hoffman in second. Both front row starters, Bronson and Jackson, retired on lap three. By the time Shirley took over the runner up spot on lap five, Unzicker held a commanding lead. But Shirley quickly ran him down, vaulting to the top spot on lap eight. He found himself in slower traffic by lap ten, but the yellow flag waved one lap later. With the rough track no doubt a factor, only 13 cars remained when racing resumed. Lap 15 saw the Hoffman car spewing what may have been tire smoke in the corners, but he jumped to third and began to pressure Unzicker. With Simpson starting at the back of the pack, Pierce took the green from outside row nine, but he entered the first five on lap 17. As the race reached the halfway mark, Shirley bobbled in turn four, falling to third. Pierce was now in third at lap 21, three circuits later Unzicker was again building a sizable lead as Pierce rolled to second, taking Heckenast along in third. The caution came out on lap 25, as sixth running Culp slowed on the track. Back under green, Shirley pounded the backstretch wall with ten laps to go, ending his run. Unzicker and Pierce made it a two car race until the caution waved again on lap 34. Stubber and English heading pitside, leaving nine on the track. One final caution for Hoffman set up a green, white checkers dash for cash. While Pierce could stay close, Unzicker remained in control, and the El Paso, Il. driver collected the big check. Pierce led Heckenast, 16th starting Babb, and Schlenk to complete the top five. Feger held off Gundaker and Gardner, as only eight cars took the checkers. Hoffman and English were credited with the ninth and tenth spots.
The clock was now signaling the end of Freds birthday, so we dashed to the parking lot ahead of the B mod finale.
The cool temps seem like a good chance to catch up on sleep, but on the way to Tri City, I received notification that our Friday night hangout, the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson had too much rain to host their 305 sprint car special. However, 34 Raceway had already pulled the plug on Saturday night action due to wet grounds, so race director Mike Van Genderen decided to stage a rare Saturday night event in Donnellson. Maybe time for a nap before heading out?
Thanks for reading.
Despite gloomy skies punctuated by occasional showers, a solid field of cars signed in, including 35 late models, 28 modifieds, and 32 B-mods. The 3/8 mile track took some extra rolling in, with hot laps starting a few minutes after 7:00. The modifieds hot lapped and qualified in the same set of laps, with the late models up next. Florida hot shoe Kyle Bronson was among the first group of three cars to time, and his lap of 14.406 held up until the final two cars hit the track. Then Tony Jackson Jr. turned a lap at 14.314 seconds to set overall quick time on the wet, heavy track.
Following three modified heats, the late models were up for four ten lap qualifiers. Bronson shot to the lead from the pole in the first heat, with third starting Bobby Pierce charging to second. On lap four Pierce lost the drive shaft in his #32, bringing out the caution. Outside row one starter Brian Shirley had fallen to fourth, but he rebounded to the runner up spot, crossing the line behind Bronson. Kevin Gundaker started seventh and finished third, with Jason Feger the final qualifier. Ryan Unzicker led the distance in heat two ahead of Dennis Erb Jr., Rusty Schlenk, and Tanner English. As the night wore on, the wet track turn bumpy, making a treacherous combination of fast and rough. On the opening lap of heat three, series point leader Shannon Babb caught a rut in turn one, slamming into the concrete wall in turn two. Babb was unhurt, but was forced to go to a backup car for the B main. Later in the event, Joe Godsey met a similar fate in turn four. Jackson won a duel with Tim Manville for the victory, with Timothy Culp and Paul Stubber taking transfer spots. Nick Hoffman captured the final ten lapper, with Bob Gardner Jr. coming from sixth starting slot to second. Frank Heckenast Jr. and Chris Simpson were next in line.
Although Tammy had announced at the drivers meeting there would be no intermission, following four B mod heats the decision was made to try and " farm " the track to try and smooth out the racing surface. With that complete, the modifieds came out for their C main. It soon became obvious that the work was mostly for naught when Mark Enk got sideways in turn three, rolling two times and landing wheels down. Enk was shaken and checked out by the ambulance crew.
With seven late models scratched for the night, their C main was cancelled, and twelve cars took to the track for a twelve lap B main. Only two cars would transfer to the 40 lap, $10,000 to win main event. Mark Burgtorf shot to a big lead from his outside row one starting spot, with polesitter Jeff Herzog in pursuit. An early caution brought the veteran from Quincy back to the pack, and following the Delaware restart, fifth starting Billy Moyer advanced to second. Unless my eyes deceived me, there seemed to be some confusion, as I did not see the white flag displayed, before the checkers waved, with Burgtorf and Moyer set to move on.
The B mod B main was up next, with six cars scheduled to transfer. With the clock ticking, when only ten cars reported to the lineup, it was decided to scrap the race and move all ten to the feature, a classy move by the Gundakers for more reasons than one.
Several changes in the original running order were made throughout the night, and now the modifieds were called to the track for their 25 lap $1,000 to win main event. Unfortunately, with the scrapping of the previous race, there was some delay in getting the 22 cars to staging. When the green flag did fly, front row starters Evan Taylor and Kenny Wallace ran side by side for the first lap, with Wallace gaining the advantage on lap two and Allen Weisser jumping to second. The second confusing event of the night came on lap four. Running third, Taylor got sideways in turns three and four, and fourth running Mike Harrison appeared to help him complete the spin, bringing out the caution. But when the cars were realigned, Taylor and Harrison were back where they were running before the caution. From my vantage point, I did not hear an explanation as to why. After a false start, we were back to racing. Lucas Lee, who started outside row eight entered the top five. Three circuits later he moved to fourth, and on lap eight he was third. Weisser took over the lead from Wallace on lap ten, and one lap later Lee also got around Wallace for second. It quickly became a two car race, and as the laps clicked off, the lead duo encountered slower traffic on lap 20. Contact between the front runners came on lap 22, with Lee taking the lead. But as the white flag waved, it was Weisser out front by a nose. The pair split a lapped car coming to the checkers, and it looked as though Weisser held the advantage. As Lee crossed the scales, with Weisser waiting behind him, the checkered flag was handed to Lee. Just as quickly it was taken away and handed to Weisser. A prolonged discussion involving the two drivers and track officials followed, and I am guessing at least ten minutes transpired. The track announcer, waiting on the victory stage for post race festivities was unable to provide an explanation of what the issue was, speculating it may have had to do with the placement of the scoring transponders on the cars.
Finally Weisser emerged with the checkers. Lee had to be content with runner up honors. Wallace held off Harrison for third, and row seven starter Michael Long got around Taylor for fifth. It was definitely one of the weirder races I have seen in a while.
At long last, the late models were set to roll off, 22 cars for 40 laps. Provisional starting slots were given to Babb, Pierce, Brian Diveley, and Mike Hammerle. Other than Babb as the series points leader, I am not sure exactly who filled what spot among the other three.
Fourth starting Ryan Unzicker charged to the first lap lead, with third starting Nick Hoffman in second. Both front row starters, Bronson and Jackson, retired on lap three. By the time Shirley took over the runner up spot on lap five, Unzicker held a commanding lead. But Shirley quickly ran him down, vaulting to the top spot on lap eight. He found himself in slower traffic by lap ten, but the yellow flag waved one lap later. With the rough track no doubt a factor, only 13 cars remained when racing resumed. Lap 15 saw the Hoffman car spewing what may have been tire smoke in the corners, but he jumped to third and began to pressure Unzicker. With Simpson starting at the back of the pack, Pierce took the green from outside row nine, but he entered the first five on lap 17. As the race reached the halfway mark, Shirley bobbled in turn four, falling to third. Pierce was now in third at lap 21, three circuits later Unzicker was again building a sizable lead as Pierce rolled to second, taking Heckenast along in third. The caution came out on lap 25, as sixth running Culp slowed on the track. Back under green, Shirley pounded the backstretch wall with ten laps to go, ending his run. Unzicker and Pierce made it a two car race until the caution waved again on lap 34. Stubber and English heading pitside, leaving nine on the track. One final caution for Hoffman set up a green, white checkers dash for cash. While Pierce could stay close, Unzicker remained in control, and the El Paso, Il. driver collected the big check. Pierce led Heckenast, 16th starting Babb, and Schlenk to complete the top five. Feger held off Gundaker and Gardner, as only eight cars took the checkers. Hoffman and English were credited with the ninth and tenth spots.
The clock was now signaling the end of Freds birthday, so we dashed to the parking lot ahead of the B mod finale.
The cool temps seem like a good chance to catch up on sleep, but on the way to Tri City, I received notification that our Friday night hangout, the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson had too much rain to host their 305 sprint car special. However, 34 Raceway had already pulled the plug on Saturday night action due to wet grounds, so race director Mike Van Genderen decided to stage a rare Saturday night event in Donnellson. Maybe time for a nap before heading out?
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Rain Stops Jacksonville Summernationals
We headed for the Jacksonville,Il. Speedway Wednesday afternoon knowing we were taking a chance of seeing more rain than racing. When we arrived at the 1/4 mile fairgrounds speedway, the sun was out and temps were holding in the nineties. The pits were filling up with UMP late models, UMP modifieds, and UMP street stocks. The previous nights edition of the " Hell Tour " at Belleville,Il. was rained out during heat race action, so drivers, officials, and fans alike were anxious to get what would now be night number one of " Legends Week " under way. Before we even arrived at the track, the message came that Spoon River Speedway had already postponed the Thursday night stop on the tour, with a reschedule date of Monday, June 25.
Promoter Ken Dobson was working hard to make sure the show started as scheduled, no small task for a week night show. Hot laps started right on time at 6:15, with 27 late models, 31 modifieds, and somewhere around ten street stocks in the pits.
Following late model hot laps, the modifieds had a combined hot lap/time trial session, with four cars at a time on the track. Overall quick time went to Rick Conoyer.
The late models then qualified, two cars at a time for two laps. Bobby Pierce was fastest in the first of three groups, but it was Billy Moyer in group two turning the fastest lap overall at 12.220 seconds. Daniel Flesner paced the nine cars in group three.
A quick hot lap session for street stocks set the stage for three modified heats. Conoyer led the distance from his pole start to capture heat number one. From outside row one, Brian Lynn got the jump on Ray Bollinger to pick up the heat two checkers. On the final lap, the second running Bollinger suffered a flat tire, creating a logjam out of turn two. The result saw Dave Weitholder slamming into Bollinger, damaging both of the contenders. Michael Long took the green from the outside pole, won the drag race with polesitter Mike Harrison to turn one, then pulled away to win the eight lapper by a comfortable margin.
The skies began to darken to the south as the late models lined up for three ten lap qualifiers. By this time, the preferred racing groove in turns three and four had the cars scraping the rear spoiler on the concrete wall. Timothy Culp started outside row one and led the early laps before briefly losing the handle in those treacherous turns. Pierce took advantage to grab the top spot and open a sizable lead. As the laps clicked off, a tight four car battle developed behind the front runners. With the top five moving on to the feature, one of that group would be headed to the C main. Brian Shirley, Michael Kloos, Rusty Schlenk, and Shannon Babb were running in a tight pack. I am not sure what happened, but suddenly the fourth running Kloos slammed the turn one wall on the drivers side of his ride. Kloos sat in his car for several minutes as emergency personnel talked to him. He eventually exited his #6K, but was placed in the ambulance on a backboard and was transported to the hospital which is just down the street. The word this morning is that the veteran racer has been released, no doubt still feeling some effects. We wish the personable Kloos a speedy recovery. Back under green, Schlenk was now running fourth when he slowed, heading to the pits. As the checkers waved, it was Pierce, Culp, Babb, Shirley, and Nick Hoffman in transfer positions.
Moyer outran his son to turn one in heat two, then pulled away to take an easy win. Moyer Jr. ran second ahead of Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, and Kevin Gundaker.
The final heat saw outside row one starter Frank Heckenast Jr. power to the lead, and like Moyer, he opened a big lead and cruised to the victory. Flesner and Kolby Vandenburgh took the checkers side by side, with Flesner apparently scored second. Australian Paul Stubber and former IMCA late model hot shoe Luke Goedert took the final transfer spots. There was some confusion as the #44 of Goedert was listed as another driver on the lineup sheet.
During the down time for the Kloos incident, promoter Kenny Dobson crossed the track to inform officials that the street stock heats would be scrapped and only a feature would be run as the non qualified late models prepared for their C main.. However, as the clocked neared 8:00PM and with the modifieds lined up for their consolation qualifier, a strong wind picked up, blowing papers from the scoring tower and creating a dust storm. With Dobson on the portable mic urging everyone to take cover under the grandstands while we waited 20 minutes or so to see if the disturbance would blow over, we headed for the car. This turned out to be a wise move, as the rain drops were pelting down by the time we climbed in. We then sat through a deluge of rain as the pits quickly emptied. Even had the rain subsided quickly, a curfew of I believe 10:00 PM would have made completing the program near impossible.
Dobson had assured the large gathering that if rain stopped the action, the event would be completed at some point. Of course, Spoon River had already rescheduled, and Belleville has requested the open date of June 27, made available by the track closure and subsequent cancellation of Paducah Raceway, so no make up date has been set at this time. And at this time, things look iffy for the next tour race, Friday night at Tri City Speedway in Granite City,Il. If the weatherman cooperates, I will hopefully have a report from Tri City, so stay tuned.
Thanks to Dobson and the Jacksonville staff for their hospitality, if possible we will be back for the completion of the show.
Promoter Ken Dobson was working hard to make sure the show started as scheduled, no small task for a week night show. Hot laps started right on time at 6:15, with 27 late models, 31 modifieds, and somewhere around ten street stocks in the pits.
Following late model hot laps, the modifieds had a combined hot lap/time trial session, with four cars at a time on the track. Overall quick time went to Rick Conoyer.
The late models then qualified, two cars at a time for two laps. Bobby Pierce was fastest in the first of three groups, but it was Billy Moyer in group two turning the fastest lap overall at 12.220 seconds. Daniel Flesner paced the nine cars in group three.
A quick hot lap session for street stocks set the stage for three modified heats. Conoyer led the distance from his pole start to capture heat number one. From outside row one, Brian Lynn got the jump on Ray Bollinger to pick up the heat two checkers. On the final lap, the second running Bollinger suffered a flat tire, creating a logjam out of turn two. The result saw Dave Weitholder slamming into Bollinger, damaging both of the contenders. Michael Long took the green from the outside pole, won the drag race with polesitter Mike Harrison to turn one, then pulled away to win the eight lapper by a comfortable margin.
The skies began to darken to the south as the late models lined up for three ten lap qualifiers. By this time, the preferred racing groove in turns three and four had the cars scraping the rear spoiler on the concrete wall. Timothy Culp started outside row one and led the early laps before briefly losing the handle in those treacherous turns. Pierce took advantage to grab the top spot and open a sizable lead. As the laps clicked off, a tight four car battle developed behind the front runners. With the top five moving on to the feature, one of that group would be headed to the C main. Brian Shirley, Michael Kloos, Rusty Schlenk, and Shannon Babb were running in a tight pack. I am not sure what happened, but suddenly the fourth running Kloos slammed the turn one wall on the drivers side of his ride. Kloos sat in his car for several minutes as emergency personnel talked to him. He eventually exited his #6K, but was placed in the ambulance on a backboard and was transported to the hospital which is just down the street. The word this morning is that the veteran racer has been released, no doubt still feeling some effects. We wish the personable Kloos a speedy recovery. Back under green, Schlenk was now running fourth when he slowed, heading to the pits. As the checkers waved, it was Pierce, Culp, Babb, Shirley, and Nick Hoffman in transfer positions.
Moyer outran his son to turn one in heat two, then pulled away to take an easy win. Moyer Jr. ran second ahead of Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, and Kevin Gundaker.
The final heat saw outside row one starter Frank Heckenast Jr. power to the lead, and like Moyer, he opened a big lead and cruised to the victory. Flesner and Kolby Vandenburgh took the checkers side by side, with Flesner apparently scored second. Australian Paul Stubber and former IMCA late model hot shoe Luke Goedert took the final transfer spots. There was some confusion as the #44 of Goedert was listed as another driver on the lineup sheet.
During the down time for the Kloos incident, promoter Kenny Dobson crossed the track to inform officials that the street stock heats would be scrapped and only a feature would be run as the non qualified late models prepared for their C main.. However, as the clocked neared 8:00PM and with the modifieds lined up for their consolation qualifier, a strong wind picked up, blowing papers from the scoring tower and creating a dust storm. With Dobson on the portable mic urging everyone to take cover under the grandstands while we waited 20 minutes or so to see if the disturbance would blow over, we headed for the car. This turned out to be a wise move, as the rain drops were pelting down by the time we climbed in. We then sat through a deluge of rain as the pits quickly emptied. Even had the rain subsided quickly, a curfew of I believe 10:00 PM would have made completing the program near impossible.
Dobson had assured the large gathering that if rain stopped the action, the event would be completed at some point. Of course, Spoon River had already rescheduled, and Belleville has requested the open date of June 27, made available by the track closure and subsequent cancellation of Paducah Raceway, so no make up date has been set at this time. And at this time, things look iffy for the next tour race, Friday night at Tri City Speedway in Granite City,Il. If the weatherman cooperates, I will hopefully have a report from Tri City, so stay tuned.
Thanks to Dobson and the Jacksonville staff for their hospitality, if possible we will be back for the completion of the show.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Weitholder Borrows and Wins at Quincy
With temperatures in the 90's and a southerly breeze blowing, Quincy Raceways officials spent a good part of the evening trying to keep enough water on the .29 mile oval Sunday night. A special MWDET four wheeler event on Saturday left the track in less than desirable condition, as the surface was very uneven during modified qualifying and the heat races. Seven classes were on the card, with the UMP crate late models added to make up for the cancellation the previous week. However, only one 305 sprint car signed in, so it was in effect a six division program. The heat combined with Fathers Day activities made for a sparse crowd as the action got under way, but there was a decent gathering as things moved along. Unfortunately, the car count remained on the light side, again with the heat no doubt a factor.
UMP modified time trials opened the program, with point leader Dave Weitholder setting the pace with a lap of 14.86 seconds. Spencer Havermale did not make the call for qualifying, and was loaded up and gone by heat race time.
The IMCA sport mods were up first for heat races. In the first eight lap qualifier, Gary Stephenson climbed the backstretch guardrail, rolling his car one and a half time, landing on his roof. Gary appeared to be uninjured, but his #24S suffered what looked like heavy damage.
In UMP modified action, Weitholder was leading his heat race when he came to a sudden stop in turn three with what was perhaps a locked rear end.
The IMCA sport compacts elected not to run their heat race, so with the feature fields set, track owner/promoter Jason Goble brought out the grader in a successful attempt to improve the racing surface for the features. The remaking of the track approached the one hour mark, but allowed for plenty of bench racing for the remarkably patient gathering. For my part, I enjoyed an informative conversation with Lance Getz. Lance is a former schoolmate of my son, a former late model racer, and owner of Quincy Auto Supply, who now resides in Troy.Mo.
The sport mods kicked off the feature races, with only Stephenson missing from the 15 car field. A jam up on the backstretch on lap one saw Austin Howes go for a spin. Adam Birck ducked to the hot pit for repairs, but both cars were able to rejoin the tail of the pack. Michael Goodwin led the opening circuit, with row three starter Tanner Klingele in tow. Austen Becerra rocketed from the fifth row to third on lap two, while row six starter and point leader Brandon Lennox entered the top five. Following a lap three caution, Klingele took the lead, and one lap later, Lennox was in second. Becerra slipped past Lennox on lap five, and the two veterans ran side by side and nose to tail for several laps behind Klingele. Becerra finally broke free, and on lap 13 he took the lead. Klingele appeared to go into turn two a little too hot, spinning to bring out the yellow. Back under green, Daniel Fellows charged to the runner up spot, while Birck moved to third. A lap 14 caution saw fourth running Lennox head to the work area. He was able to rejoin the pack, which now lined up single file with less that five laps remaining in the 18 lapper. One more time the yellow waved on lap 15. For the final three circuits, Fellows pushed Becerra, but Austen held on for the win. Birck ran third, and Lennox rebounded to come home fourth.
The IMCA stock cars were up next, five cars for 18 laps. Beau Taylor shot to the lead as the green flag waved, and stayed there for all 18 laps. Jake Powers grabbed the second spot on lap four. Taylor held a commanding lead when the caution came out on lap five for Michael Larsen. Back to racing, Taylor again opened a sizable advantage as Powers and Jerry Jansen staged a spirited battle for second. Taylor cruised to the win, followed by Powers, Jansen, and Larsen.
With Weitholders #05 out of action, it seemed that the UMP modified 20 lapper was up for grabs. But Dave was able to call in a favor. Veteran driver Ben Huff had spent a few nights piloting Weitholders back up car before debuting his new ride on this night. So he handed over his #1 machine to Weitholder, who lined up at the tail of the field. Kevin Blackburn was out front as lap one was scored, with visiting Steve Meyer Jr. in second. When the third lap was scored, Meyer was out front, while Weitholder had powered to third. The caution came out for debris on lap three, and Weitholder charged to first on the restart. Blackburn and Meyer staged a fierce battle for the runner up spot before another debris caution on lap eight. As the laps wound down, Blackburn put the heat on Weitholder, but could not make the pass. Meyer stayed close in third, with Kevin Morrow finishing fourth. Seven of the ten cars signed in took the feature green.
The late models were up next, six cars for 20 laps. Denny Woodworth parlayed his pole start to pace lap one ahead of Vance Wilson. Tommy Elston cleared Wilson on the second circuit, and the race quickly became a two car battle. Elston took command on lap six and slowly stretched his lead. As the race approached the halfway mark, Wilson and Sam Halstead were in a tight battle for third. With Halstead taking the spot on lap twelve, Wilson looped his ride in turn one. Back under green, Wilson again lost the handle in turn three on lap 14. The final six circuits clicked off incident free. The two dominant drivers from 2017, Elston picked up the win, followed by Woodworth. Halstead took third place honors, Wilson was fourth, and Cliff Powell came home fifth. Melvin Linder wheeled the backup Woodworth car, going pitside with a couple laps left, and was credited with sixth.
Darin Weisinger Jr. paced lap one of the 4 car IMCA sport compact feature, with Alyssa Steele in second. Weisinger suddenly slowed coming out of turn two on lap four, with Steele nearly colliding with his #11. Alyssa then took over the top spot on the restart, with Kimberly Abbott on her bumper. Barry Taft made his move to second on the seventh circuit, and one lap later he grabbed the lead out of turn four. Taft then opened up a lead as the ladies battled behind him. At the checkers, it was Taft taking the win, while Steele edged Abbott by inches for second.
The final race was the five car Double Trouble two person cruiser feature. In a nod to the glory days of the class, following a mid race caution, Goble turned the cars around, making them run several laps backwards. From the grandstands, it looks like the cars are actually faster making the right hand turns, but perhaps it just seems that way. The team of Kevin Tomlinson and Brandon Lennox took the win in their gold Mustang. The car count is slowly building in the novelty class, it is now a matter of getting everyone there on the same night!
The crate late models will be the featured class again next Sunday, and the car count should improve, as it will be a regularly scheduled night for them. It is only three weeks until the much anticipated UMP Summernationals Hell Tour invades the Broadway Bullring. As for me, I hope to check back in with the Summernationals Wednesday night at the Jacksonville,Il. 1/4 mile.
Shannon Babb dominated week one of the tour, winning three of five races. The series will take today, Monday, off before kicking off week two at the Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il. on Tuesday ahead of the Wild Man Kelly memorial Wednesday at Ken Dobsons' Jacksonville speedplant.
Thanks for reading!
UMP modified time trials opened the program, with point leader Dave Weitholder setting the pace with a lap of 14.86 seconds. Spencer Havermale did not make the call for qualifying, and was loaded up and gone by heat race time.
The IMCA sport mods were up first for heat races. In the first eight lap qualifier, Gary Stephenson climbed the backstretch guardrail, rolling his car one and a half time, landing on his roof. Gary appeared to be uninjured, but his #24S suffered what looked like heavy damage.
In UMP modified action, Weitholder was leading his heat race when he came to a sudden stop in turn three with what was perhaps a locked rear end.
The IMCA sport compacts elected not to run their heat race, so with the feature fields set, track owner/promoter Jason Goble brought out the grader in a successful attempt to improve the racing surface for the features. The remaking of the track approached the one hour mark, but allowed for plenty of bench racing for the remarkably patient gathering. For my part, I enjoyed an informative conversation with Lance Getz. Lance is a former schoolmate of my son, a former late model racer, and owner of Quincy Auto Supply, who now resides in Troy.Mo.
The sport mods kicked off the feature races, with only Stephenson missing from the 15 car field. A jam up on the backstretch on lap one saw Austin Howes go for a spin. Adam Birck ducked to the hot pit for repairs, but both cars were able to rejoin the tail of the pack. Michael Goodwin led the opening circuit, with row three starter Tanner Klingele in tow. Austen Becerra rocketed from the fifth row to third on lap two, while row six starter and point leader Brandon Lennox entered the top five. Following a lap three caution, Klingele took the lead, and one lap later, Lennox was in second. Becerra slipped past Lennox on lap five, and the two veterans ran side by side and nose to tail for several laps behind Klingele. Becerra finally broke free, and on lap 13 he took the lead. Klingele appeared to go into turn two a little too hot, spinning to bring out the yellow. Back under green, Daniel Fellows charged to the runner up spot, while Birck moved to third. A lap 14 caution saw fourth running Lennox head to the work area. He was able to rejoin the pack, which now lined up single file with less that five laps remaining in the 18 lapper. One more time the yellow waved on lap 15. For the final three circuits, Fellows pushed Becerra, but Austen held on for the win. Birck ran third, and Lennox rebounded to come home fourth.
The IMCA stock cars were up next, five cars for 18 laps. Beau Taylor shot to the lead as the green flag waved, and stayed there for all 18 laps. Jake Powers grabbed the second spot on lap four. Taylor held a commanding lead when the caution came out on lap five for Michael Larsen. Back to racing, Taylor again opened a sizable advantage as Powers and Jerry Jansen staged a spirited battle for second. Taylor cruised to the win, followed by Powers, Jansen, and Larsen.
With Weitholders #05 out of action, it seemed that the UMP modified 20 lapper was up for grabs. But Dave was able to call in a favor. Veteran driver Ben Huff had spent a few nights piloting Weitholders back up car before debuting his new ride on this night. So he handed over his #1 machine to Weitholder, who lined up at the tail of the field. Kevin Blackburn was out front as lap one was scored, with visiting Steve Meyer Jr. in second. When the third lap was scored, Meyer was out front, while Weitholder had powered to third. The caution came out for debris on lap three, and Weitholder charged to first on the restart. Blackburn and Meyer staged a fierce battle for the runner up spot before another debris caution on lap eight. As the laps wound down, Blackburn put the heat on Weitholder, but could not make the pass. Meyer stayed close in third, with Kevin Morrow finishing fourth. Seven of the ten cars signed in took the feature green.
The late models were up next, six cars for 20 laps. Denny Woodworth parlayed his pole start to pace lap one ahead of Vance Wilson. Tommy Elston cleared Wilson on the second circuit, and the race quickly became a two car battle. Elston took command on lap six and slowly stretched his lead. As the race approached the halfway mark, Wilson and Sam Halstead were in a tight battle for third. With Halstead taking the spot on lap twelve, Wilson looped his ride in turn one. Back under green, Wilson again lost the handle in turn three on lap 14. The final six circuits clicked off incident free. The two dominant drivers from 2017, Elston picked up the win, followed by Woodworth. Halstead took third place honors, Wilson was fourth, and Cliff Powell came home fifth. Melvin Linder wheeled the backup Woodworth car, going pitside with a couple laps left, and was credited with sixth.
Darin Weisinger Jr. paced lap one of the 4 car IMCA sport compact feature, with Alyssa Steele in second. Weisinger suddenly slowed coming out of turn two on lap four, with Steele nearly colliding with his #11. Alyssa then took over the top spot on the restart, with Kimberly Abbott on her bumper. Barry Taft made his move to second on the seventh circuit, and one lap later he grabbed the lead out of turn four. Taft then opened up a lead as the ladies battled behind him. At the checkers, it was Taft taking the win, while Steele edged Abbott by inches for second.
The final race was the five car Double Trouble two person cruiser feature. In a nod to the glory days of the class, following a mid race caution, Goble turned the cars around, making them run several laps backwards. From the grandstands, it looks like the cars are actually faster making the right hand turns, but perhaps it just seems that way. The team of Kevin Tomlinson and Brandon Lennox took the win in their gold Mustang. The car count is slowly building in the novelty class, it is now a matter of getting everyone there on the same night!
The crate late models will be the featured class again next Sunday, and the car count should improve, as it will be a regularly scheduled night for them. It is only three weeks until the much anticipated UMP Summernationals Hell Tour invades the Broadway Bullring. As for me, I hope to check back in with the Summernationals Wednesday night at the Jacksonville,Il. 1/4 mile.
Shannon Babb dominated week one of the tour, winning three of five races. The series will take today, Monday, off before kicking off week two at the Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il. on Tuesday ahead of the Wild Man Kelly memorial Wednesday at Ken Dobsons' Jacksonville speedplant.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Summernationals Kick Off at Peoria
Cross something else off my " bucket list," as race night number 16 was the opening race of the UMP Summernationals. Historically the series has opened in Indiana, but the 2018 edition kicked off at the storied Peoria Speedway, " only " a three hour drive from home. We were anticipating a stellar field of super late models vying for the $5,000 top prize as well as a solid group of modifieds looking to open the companion series.
Veteran racer Billy Drake, a local favorite, topped the 38 late models with a fast lap of 13.505 seconds, while Mike Harrison, arguably the most successful mod driver in the midwest, paced the 32 cars signing in.
Unfortunately, hot laps and qualifying for the two featured classes, plus the local crate mods and hornets " used up " the track to a great extent, and passing was at a premium throughout the night. Of course, the UMP practice of fastest cars starting in the front generally results in limited passing, anyway.
Only one of the four late model heat winners did not come from the front row. Drake and Billy Moyer Jr. won their heats from the pole position, Brian Shirley topped heat two from outside row one, and Jason Feger powered from outside row two to capture heat three. Likewise, the C main winner, Matt Shannon started outside row one, and the loaded B main went to polesitter Shannon Babb.
The night ended early for three competitors, as area racers Jeff Riddell, Glen Thompson, and Jay Sparks were all parked before the heat races began.
Following all preliminary events and a 22 minute intermission, the first feature came to the track around 9:40 before an excellent week night crowd. It took a few laps for the hornets to get going, as the watering of the 1/4 mile during intermission made things a bit greasy. David Lauritson prevailed to take the win.
The modifieds ran second, and with the clock ticking toward what we thought was a 10:30 curfew, the open wheelers clicked off 25 caution free laps! Harrison added to his trophy case, negotiating lapped traffic with skill to easily outdistance Tyler Nicely. Harrison stated in victory lane that he was undefeated in this new car, with a winning streak of five or six.
It was now late model time. Drake jumped from outside row one to lead the first circuit, with Feger, Moyer Jr., and Shirley in hot pursuit. Shirley slipped past Moyer Jr. on lap two, and by the third trip past the flagstand, Drake was stretching his lead. The first caution came on lap four for Allen Weisser, who ducked to the hot pit before restarting on the tail. Drake was beginning to work slower traffic when the yellow waved again on lap eleven. A seven car pile up in turn one negated the restart, but when racing resumed, Drake again powered to big advantage. The # 75 was again in lapped traffic before the halfway point of the 40 lapper. Lap 32 saw Shannon stop on the front stretch to bring out the caution. Three more laps clicked off with the final caution on lap 35, as Gordy Gundaker jammed his # 11 under the rear of the # 89 of Mike Spatola. After a lengthy delay to get the cars separated, the final five circuits saw Drake cruise to the flag to flag win. Feger kept the leader in his sights, but could not mount a challenge, as the leaders mostly stayed glued to the inside line. Shirley crossed the line in third, followed by Moyer Jr. and Michigan driver Brandon Thirlby. Billy Moyer Sr. gained three spots to finish sixth, followed by Bob Gardner and Nick Hoffman. Ryan Unzicker was the big mover of the race, as he was the first UMP provisional starter, lining up nineteenth and finishing ninth. Rusty Schlenk completed the top ten.
The crate mods were heading to the track around 10:45 as we headed to the car, so perhaps our information about the curfew was wrong. I see this morning that Matt Parrott topped the crate main.
While we were rubbernecking outside the pit area, driver Phil
Dixon came over to visit. We learned that he calls Crosby, Texas home, and traveled north to try his luck on the modified portion of the Summernationals tour. Dixon says that he often has to pull four or more hours to race around home, reminding us again how fortunate we are to have so many choices to satisfy our racing craving. Dixon was running mid pack in the mod main before spinning on the last lap. Good luck to the # A1 on his racin' vacation.
The series is heading to Kankakee, Il. on Thursday. Hopefully we can pick up a few more nights of the 28 race schedule starting next week. Next up for me will be weekly racing at Quincy Raceways this Sunday night, with UMP crate late models the featured class.
Thanks for reading.
Veteran racer Billy Drake, a local favorite, topped the 38 late models with a fast lap of 13.505 seconds, while Mike Harrison, arguably the most successful mod driver in the midwest, paced the 32 cars signing in.
Unfortunately, hot laps and qualifying for the two featured classes, plus the local crate mods and hornets " used up " the track to a great extent, and passing was at a premium throughout the night. Of course, the UMP practice of fastest cars starting in the front generally results in limited passing, anyway.
Only one of the four late model heat winners did not come from the front row. Drake and Billy Moyer Jr. won their heats from the pole position, Brian Shirley topped heat two from outside row one, and Jason Feger powered from outside row two to capture heat three. Likewise, the C main winner, Matt Shannon started outside row one, and the loaded B main went to polesitter Shannon Babb.
The night ended early for three competitors, as area racers Jeff Riddell, Glen Thompson, and Jay Sparks were all parked before the heat races began.
Following all preliminary events and a 22 minute intermission, the first feature came to the track around 9:40 before an excellent week night crowd. It took a few laps for the hornets to get going, as the watering of the 1/4 mile during intermission made things a bit greasy. David Lauritson prevailed to take the win.
The modifieds ran second, and with the clock ticking toward what we thought was a 10:30 curfew, the open wheelers clicked off 25 caution free laps! Harrison added to his trophy case, negotiating lapped traffic with skill to easily outdistance Tyler Nicely. Harrison stated in victory lane that he was undefeated in this new car, with a winning streak of five or six.
It was now late model time. Drake jumped from outside row one to lead the first circuit, with Feger, Moyer Jr., and Shirley in hot pursuit. Shirley slipped past Moyer Jr. on lap two, and by the third trip past the flagstand, Drake was stretching his lead. The first caution came on lap four for Allen Weisser, who ducked to the hot pit before restarting on the tail. Drake was beginning to work slower traffic when the yellow waved again on lap eleven. A seven car pile up in turn one negated the restart, but when racing resumed, Drake again powered to big advantage. The # 75 was again in lapped traffic before the halfway point of the 40 lapper. Lap 32 saw Shannon stop on the front stretch to bring out the caution. Three more laps clicked off with the final caution on lap 35, as Gordy Gundaker jammed his # 11 under the rear of the # 89 of Mike Spatola. After a lengthy delay to get the cars separated, the final five circuits saw Drake cruise to the flag to flag win. Feger kept the leader in his sights, but could not mount a challenge, as the leaders mostly stayed glued to the inside line. Shirley crossed the line in third, followed by Moyer Jr. and Michigan driver Brandon Thirlby. Billy Moyer Sr. gained three spots to finish sixth, followed by Bob Gardner and Nick Hoffman. Ryan Unzicker was the big mover of the race, as he was the first UMP provisional starter, lining up nineteenth and finishing ninth. Rusty Schlenk completed the top ten.
The crate mods were heading to the track around 10:45 as we headed to the car, so perhaps our information about the curfew was wrong. I see this morning that Matt Parrott topped the crate main.
While we were rubbernecking outside the pit area, driver Phil
Dixon came over to visit. We learned that he calls Crosby, Texas home, and traveled north to try his luck on the modified portion of the Summernationals tour. Dixon says that he often has to pull four or more hours to race around home, reminding us again how fortunate we are to have so many choices to satisfy our racing craving. Dixon was running mid pack in the mod main before spinning on the last lap. Good luck to the # A1 on his racin' vacation.
The series is heading to Kankakee, Il. on Thursday. Hopefully we can pick up a few more nights of the 28 race schedule starting next week. Next up for me will be weekly racing at Quincy Raceways this Sunday night, with UMP crate late models the featured class.
Thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Boyse Tops at Donnellson
After a long awaited vacation where I acquired a first class sunburn, we made it home in time for me to hitch a ride to the Lee County Speedway for Friday night racing action.
Mercifully, the hobby stocks have been dropped from the weekly card, but the remaining five classes turned out 59 cars and delivered excellent racing action.
Nine heat races clicked off in about 40 minutes with zero caution periods on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile D shaped track.
The IMCA sport compacts then lined up for their 14 lap main event. The first caution of the night was on the opening lap for debris. Jake Dietrich set the pace early, but heat one winner Josh Barnes came from row two to the front on lap two. Meanwhile, a second Barnes entry driven by former late model pilot Brandon Ruffcorn, was on the move from the back of the pack. Following a heat race win of his own, Ruffcorn charged to third on lap four, then took the runner up slot two laps later. Just after the halfway mark, Kimberly Abbott slowed with a flat tire. Fortunately for her, she shed debris from her #71, bringing out the caution flag, which gave her a chance to rejoin the field. Back to racing, Ruffcorn and Barnes made it a two car race for first. Barnes held off the charge, picking up the win, with Ruffcorn settling for second. Brandon Reu held off Barry Taft for third, and Dietrich came home in fifth. Abbott was able to recover to finish sixth.
The IMCA sport mods got off to a rough start, as contact at the green sent Sean Wyatt for a spin. Back to action, Ron Kibbe led Daniel Fellows as the duo put some distance on the field. Brandon Lennox advanced from row four to claim third on lap six, and one circuit later Austin Howes moved up to challenge Lennox. On lap ten, Kibbe drifted a bit high in turn one, and Fellows took advantage to grab the lead. Lennox found his way around Kibbe on the next circuit, just before the yellow flag was displayed. When racing resumed, Fellows and Lennox made it a two car scrum. On laps 14 and 15, Lennox tried the low line under Fellows, each time pulling within a half car length. At the two to go wave of the flag, Lennox tried the high line, but still could not make the pass. Fellows scored a half car length victory over Lennox. Howes took third, last weeks winner Brandon Dale was fourth, and Kibbe completed the top five.
The IMCA stock car count was light, with eight entries, but they clearly offered up the race of the night. Jeremy Pundt held the pole position, flanked by John Oliver Jr. Twice the start was called back, as Pundt was on the gas too early for starter Kevin Eggleston. On the third try, Pundt still grabbed the lead, with Oliver in tow. Heat winner David Brandies crossed the line fourth, then moved to third on lap three. Lap four saw Pundt and Oliver side by side, with Brandies and Abe Huls also side by side for third. Oliver powered to first on the fifth lap, and three circuits later Brandies was scored second, although Pundt and Huls made it three wide for the runner up spot. One more lap, and Brandies used the high line to take the lead, taking Huls along in second, with Pundt shuffled back to fifth behind Oliver and Jason Cook. Huls moved to the high line, pressuring Brandies for laps eleven and twelve, and Oliver made it three wide on lap 13. Huls gained the top spot on lap 14, but Oliver crossed the stripe in first as the lap was scored. Lap 15, it was again three wide for first, Huls now running the high line. On the next trip around, Brandies went high to take second, and with three laps remaining, it was Huls on the inside, Oliver in the middle, and Brandies up top. Huls was out front with two to go, but Brandies used a turn one move on the final lap to take the lead for good. Huls came in second and Cook was third. Oliver held off Pundt for fourth, and even after 20 laps, you could have covered the top five with a homemade quilt!
Before we could digest the action, 14 IMCA modifieds were lined up for 20 laps of racing. Third starting Dean McGee paced lap one, with seventh starting Jeff Waterman already in second. Waterman then took the lead on lap three. Colby Springsteen paid a visit to Lee County on Friday, starting tenth in the feature, but entering the top five on lap five. By then, however, Waterman had a commanding lead. Logan Anderson charged to second just prior to halfway, and Springsteen took third as the crossed flags signaled ten laps to go. With Waterman holding a straightaway advantage, Springsteen began to stalk Anderson in the closing laps. As the white flag waved, the two ran side by side across the line. Anderson held the spot as the duo entered turn three for the final time, but he slipped out of the groove in turn four, giving Springsteen the runner up slot to Waterman in the non stop event. McGee had a solid run in fourth, while Bill Roberts Jr. rounded out the first five.
Once again, the crate late models were the final race on the card, with ten cars entered. Pole sitter Todd Frank led lap one followed by veteran Ron Boyse and Brandon Savage. Boyse found his way to the lead on lap two as fifth starting Tommy Elston powered to fourth. Elston gained a spot each of the next two laps, setting sail after Boyse. Darin Weisinger Jr. looped his ride on lap six, bringing out the only caution of the race. Frank took advantage of the Delaware restart to grab second, and Sam Halstead moved to fourth. Elston retook second on the next lap, and Halstead charged to third on lap eight. Elston pressured Boyse throughout the remaining laps, but never got close enough to mount a challenge. He would close the gap in turns three and four, but Boyse had a clear advantage coming off turn two. Boyse held on for his first win of the season at LCS, becoming I believe the sixth different late model winner of 2018. Elston took runner up honors, followed by Halstead, Todd Frank, and the only two time winner of the season, Gunner Frank. Savage may have made contact with the guardrail, losing a spot to run sixth. Aric Becker was back and ran seventh, while Chris Richard made an appearance in the Lynn Richard # 15R in eighth. Weisinger was ninth, and first time visitor for 2018, Russ Schoonover was tenth.
There is rarely a late night at Lee County, but running 14 races and being done at 9:23 could be a record that was much appreciated by this weary traveler!
A few notes of interest, Brandon Savage has put his #47S up for sale. Although it is a good car and Brandon has a feature win this season, he has a lot of irons in the fire, and not enough time for late model racing right now. So if you are looking to go late model racing, contact him on Facebook. Also, Quincy Raceways has cancelled their race program for this Sunday, June 10. The return of the Grand Prix of Karting to Quincy has created some scheduling conflicts, but racing will return on Sunday, June 17, with the UMP crate late models added to the card in a make up from this Sunday. Also, there will be no racing next Friday at Lee County, as Mike and his team will be at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. It is my understanding that the Sprint Invaders will top the card, along with modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, and sport compacts. More info should be available on Facebook in the coming days. As I type, it seems as though Mother Nature is taking the checkers at several Saturday night tracks, so be sure and call or check websites before heading out tonight.
We are hoping to take in night number one of the UMP late model Summernationals this Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, as there should be a nice field of the open lates on hand. Until next time, thanks for reading.
Mercifully, the hobby stocks have been dropped from the weekly card, but the remaining five classes turned out 59 cars and delivered excellent racing action.
Nine heat races clicked off in about 40 minutes with zero caution periods on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile D shaped track.
The IMCA sport compacts then lined up for their 14 lap main event. The first caution of the night was on the opening lap for debris. Jake Dietrich set the pace early, but heat one winner Josh Barnes came from row two to the front on lap two. Meanwhile, a second Barnes entry driven by former late model pilot Brandon Ruffcorn, was on the move from the back of the pack. Following a heat race win of his own, Ruffcorn charged to third on lap four, then took the runner up slot two laps later. Just after the halfway mark, Kimberly Abbott slowed with a flat tire. Fortunately for her, she shed debris from her #71, bringing out the caution flag, which gave her a chance to rejoin the field. Back to racing, Ruffcorn and Barnes made it a two car race for first. Barnes held off the charge, picking up the win, with Ruffcorn settling for second. Brandon Reu held off Barry Taft for third, and Dietrich came home in fifth. Abbott was able to recover to finish sixth.
The IMCA sport mods got off to a rough start, as contact at the green sent Sean Wyatt for a spin. Back to action, Ron Kibbe led Daniel Fellows as the duo put some distance on the field. Brandon Lennox advanced from row four to claim third on lap six, and one circuit later Austin Howes moved up to challenge Lennox. On lap ten, Kibbe drifted a bit high in turn one, and Fellows took advantage to grab the lead. Lennox found his way around Kibbe on the next circuit, just before the yellow flag was displayed. When racing resumed, Fellows and Lennox made it a two car scrum. On laps 14 and 15, Lennox tried the low line under Fellows, each time pulling within a half car length. At the two to go wave of the flag, Lennox tried the high line, but still could not make the pass. Fellows scored a half car length victory over Lennox. Howes took third, last weeks winner Brandon Dale was fourth, and Kibbe completed the top five.
The IMCA stock car count was light, with eight entries, but they clearly offered up the race of the night. Jeremy Pundt held the pole position, flanked by John Oliver Jr. Twice the start was called back, as Pundt was on the gas too early for starter Kevin Eggleston. On the third try, Pundt still grabbed the lead, with Oliver in tow. Heat winner David Brandies crossed the line fourth, then moved to third on lap three. Lap four saw Pundt and Oliver side by side, with Brandies and Abe Huls also side by side for third. Oliver powered to first on the fifth lap, and three circuits later Brandies was scored second, although Pundt and Huls made it three wide for the runner up spot. One more lap, and Brandies used the high line to take the lead, taking Huls along in second, with Pundt shuffled back to fifth behind Oliver and Jason Cook. Huls moved to the high line, pressuring Brandies for laps eleven and twelve, and Oliver made it three wide on lap 13. Huls gained the top spot on lap 14, but Oliver crossed the stripe in first as the lap was scored. Lap 15, it was again three wide for first, Huls now running the high line. On the next trip around, Brandies went high to take second, and with three laps remaining, it was Huls on the inside, Oliver in the middle, and Brandies up top. Huls was out front with two to go, but Brandies used a turn one move on the final lap to take the lead for good. Huls came in second and Cook was third. Oliver held off Pundt for fourth, and even after 20 laps, you could have covered the top five with a homemade quilt!
Before we could digest the action, 14 IMCA modifieds were lined up for 20 laps of racing. Third starting Dean McGee paced lap one, with seventh starting Jeff Waterman already in second. Waterman then took the lead on lap three. Colby Springsteen paid a visit to Lee County on Friday, starting tenth in the feature, but entering the top five on lap five. By then, however, Waterman had a commanding lead. Logan Anderson charged to second just prior to halfway, and Springsteen took third as the crossed flags signaled ten laps to go. With Waterman holding a straightaway advantage, Springsteen began to stalk Anderson in the closing laps. As the white flag waved, the two ran side by side across the line. Anderson held the spot as the duo entered turn three for the final time, but he slipped out of the groove in turn four, giving Springsteen the runner up slot to Waterman in the non stop event. McGee had a solid run in fourth, while Bill Roberts Jr. rounded out the first five.
Once again, the crate late models were the final race on the card, with ten cars entered. Pole sitter Todd Frank led lap one followed by veteran Ron Boyse and Brandon Savage. Boyse found his way to the lead on lap two as fifth starting Tommy Elston powered to fourth. Elston gained a spot each of the next two laps, setting sail after Boyse. Darin Weisinger Jr. looped his ride on lap six, bringing out the only caution of the race. Frank took advantage of the Delaware restart to grab second, and Sam Halstead moved to fourth. Elston retook second on the next lap, and Halstead charged to third on lap eight. Elston pressured Boyse throughout the remaining laps, but never got close enough to mount a challenge. He would close the gap in turns three and four, but Boyse had a clear advantage coming off turn two. Boyse held on for his first win of the season at LCS, becoming I believe the sixth different late model winner of 2018. Elston took runner up honors, followed by Halstead, Todd Frank, and the only two time winner of the season, Gunner Frank. Savage may have made contact with the guardrail, losing a spot to run sixth. Aric Becker was back and ran seventh, while Chris Richard made an appearance in the Lynn Richard # 15R in eighth. Weisinger was ninth, and first time visitor for 2018, Russ Schoonover was tenth.
There is rarely a late night at Lee County, but running 14 races and being done at 9:23 could be a record that was much appreciated by this weary traveler!
A few notes of interest, Brandon Savage has put his #47S up for sale. Although it is a good car and Brandon has a feature win this season, he has a lot of irons in the fire, and not enough time for late model racing right now. So if you are looking to go late model racing, contact him on Facebook. Also, Quincy Raceways has cancelled their race program for this Sunday, June 10. The return of the Grand Prix of Karting to Quincy has created some scheduling conflicts, but racing will return on Sunday, June 17, with the UMP crate late models added to the card in a make up from this Sunday. Also, there will be no racing next Friday at Lee County, as Mike and his team will be at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. It is my understanding that the Sprint Invaders will top the card, along with modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, and sport compacts. More info should be available on Facebook in the coming days. As I type, it seems as though Mother Nature is taking the checkers at several Saturday night tracks, so be sure and call or check websites before heading out tonight.
We are hoping to take in night number one of the UMP late model Summernationals this Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, as there should be a nice field of the open lates on hand. Until next time, thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Dale Steals the Show at Donnellson
Friday night I made my fourth visit of the season to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The readout in Freds truck read 97 degrees when we arrived at the 3/8 mile fairgrounds facility. Even though the heat was not nearly as oppressive as that might indicate, it was no doubt a major factor as relates to the somewhat sparse crowd and smaller than hoped for car count. I do know that graduation ceremonies at Quincy,Il. high school also kept some cars and fans from the track.
I was surprised when LCS added the hobby stocks to the race lineup in 2018 after the small car counts in previous years, and unfortunately the turnout last night did nothing to make me change my opinion. After two weeks off being replaced with traveling classes, the hobbys had three cars sign in. When they ran first on the card, I was hoping there were no first time fans on hand. Aaron Martin was the final car running when the checkers fell to start off the main event lineup.
David Prim was done for the night after issues in hot laps, but the remaining 13 IMCA sport compacts lined up for their feature. Josh Barnes easily won his heat race, and seemed to have run off the gremlins that had plagued his #13B the week before. However when the green flag waved, he seemed to lose power and coasted to the infield. Kenny Smith paced the opening lap, but it was row four starter Kimberly Abbott charging to the top spot on lap two. Her fellow row four starter, Brandon Reu moved to second one lap later. The only caution of the race came on lap five, and the restart was also waved off. Mike Reu powered to second following the restart, with Barry Taft jumping to third. Taft dogged Reu until finally taking the runner up spot as the pair came to the white flag. By then Abbott had a nice lead, and she cruised to her second victory in as many weeks. Taft held off Reu for second, followed by Jake Dietrich and Brandon Reu.
The race of the night was the 18 lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. All but one of the 17 cars signed in took the green flag. Three cars had scratched from the pair of heat races, including Brandon Dale, who lined up at the back of the pack. Rookie Adam Niekamp held the top spot as lap one was scored, with Ron Kibbe ahead for lap two. Daniel Fellows was first at the end of the third circuit as row four starter Brandon Lennox moved to second. With Lennox edging past Fellows at the completion of lap four, the caution came out. Lennox pulled away on the restart, with a five car battle behind him catching everyones attention. Dale was tenth for the restart, but quickly moved to seventh as racing resumed. On the sixth lap, Adam Birck and Fellows were locked in a side by side duel for second, with another caution one lap later. Back to racing, Lennox again pulled away and Austen Becerra joined to battle for second. Suddenly Birck spun in turn two, staying on the throttle, but losing several spots back to eighth. As the lap was completed, Becerra suddenly slowed, again bringing out the yellow flag. As the cars realligned, Birck indicated his displeasure with Fellows concerning his spin. Five laps remained, with Austin Howes now in the runnerup slot, and one more lap saw Dale charge past Fellows for third. Again the caution waved, and back to racing, Dale took second from Howes. Through all this Lennox had been dominate. One more time the caution came out, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. The field was lined up single file, and with no one along side, Dale went to work on the leader. As the white flag was displayed, Dale used the high side off turn four to overtake the leader, then held on for the thrilling victory. Lennox settled for second. Howes, Fellows, and Brett Lowry completed the top five, with Birck rebounding to finish sixth.
Jeremy Pundt came from row two to pace the opening lap of the nine car IMCA stock car 20 lap feature. Fifth starting Abe Huls grabbed second and began to pressure the leader on lap two. Huls charged to the lead on lap three. John Oliver Jr. joined the fray, but contact with an infield tire appeared to hurt his set up somewhat even though he took second from Pundt on lap five. The first caution of the race came on lap six, with Pundt retaking second on the restart. With Huls in command, Jason See moved around Oliver for third just before the halfway mark, but as lap 13 was scored, See slowed on the front stretch, dropping oil on the racing surface, as his engine apparently expired. In the closing laps, with Huls holding a sizable lead as he and Pundt ran low on the track, Oliver tried the top side, without success. The checkers waved for Huls, Pundt, Oliver, Jason Cook, and Chad Krogmeier, in that order.
Dakota Simmons scratched from the IMCA modified action after hot laps, but the other nine competitors took the feature green. Outside pole sitter Jeff Waterman took the early lead, with the previous weeks winner, Bill Roberts Jr. in hot pursuit. Waterman slowly stretched his advantage, in the non stop event. When the checkers waved, Waterman held nearly a straightaway lead. Roberts crossed the stripe in second over Larry Herring, Mitch Boles, and Levi Smith. Dirt Knights competitor Cody Bauman made the trip to LCS from Eureka,Il. to test out his #4, heading to the pits on lap nine while running in fourth.
The crate late models wrapped up the action, racing for 20 laps. Heat winner Gunner Frank took the lead from his pole position, with outside row one starter Jeff Guengerich glued to his bumper. Veteran Ron Boyse stayed close in third before Tommy Elston went to the high side of the oval to charge to third on the fourth circuit. The race stayed green from start to finish, and Frank negotiated the slickening track to perfection. He became the first repeat winner in six nights of late model action at the speedway in 2018, as he and his father Todd have captured the last three main events. Guengerich ran a steady race in second ahead of Elston, Boyse, and Sam Halstead. Todd Frank fell out of the heat race in a cloud of smoke, but returned to run sixth in the feature ahead of Darin Weisinger Jr. Chase Frank was the only driver not finishing the 20 laps.
Thanks to Mike Van Genderen and Dave Sapp for another smooth, fast, dust free track after such a hot midwestern day, and to the entire LCS crew for an enjoyable night of racing that concluded about 9:30!
It looks as though this will conclude my racing for this weekend, as other activities await, but if you can dodge the raindrops, find a track close by today and Sunday and enjoy some racing!
I was surprised when LCS added the hobby stocks to the race lineup in 2018 after the small car counts in previous years, and unfortunately the turnout last night did nothing to make me change my opinion. After two weeks off being replaced with traveling classes, the hobbys had three cars sign in. When they ran first on the card, I was hoping there were no first time fans on hand. Aaron Martin was the final car running when the checkers fell to start off the main event lineup.
David Prim was done for the night after issues in hot laps, but the remaining 13 IMCA sport compacts lined up for their feature. Josh Barnes easily won his heat race, and seemed to have run off the gremlins that had plagued his #13B the week before. However when the green flag waved, he seemed to lose power and coasted to the infield. Kenny Smith paced the opening lap, but it was row four starter Kimberly Abbott charging to the top spot on lap two. Her fellow row four starter, Brandon Reu moved to second one lap later. The only caution of the race came on lap five, and the restart was also waved off. Mike Reu powered to second following the restart, with Barry Taft jumping to third. Taft dogged Reu until finally taking the runner up spot as the pair came to the white flag. By then Abbott had a nice lead, and she cruised to her second victory in as many weeks. Taft held off Reu for second, followed by Jake Dietrich and Brandon Reu.
The race of the night was the 18 lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. All but one of the 17 cars signed in took the green flag. Three cars had scratched from the pair of heat races, including Brandon Dale, who lined up at the back of the pack. Rookie Adam Niekamp held the top spot as lap one was scored, with Ron Kibbe ahead for lap two. Daniel Fellows was first at the end of the third circuit as row four starter Brandon Lennox moved to second. With Lennox edging past Fellows at the completion of lap four, the caution came out. Lennox pulled away on the restart, with a five car battle behind him catching everyones attention. Dale was tenth for the restart, but quickly moved to seventh as racing resumed. On the sixth lap, Adam Birck and Fellows were locked in a side by side duel for second, with another caution one lap later. Back to racing, Lennox again pulled away and Austen Becerra joined to battle for second. Suddenly Birck spun in turn two, staying on the throttle, but losing several spots back to eighth. As the lap was completed, Becerra suddenly slowed, again bringing out the yellow flag. As the cars realligned, Birck indicated his displeasure with Fellows concerning his spin. Five laps remained, with Austin Howes now in the runnerup slot, and one more lap saw Dale charge past Fellows for third. Again the caution waved, and back to racing, Dale took second from Howes. Through all this Lennox had been dominate. One more time the caution came out, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. The field was lined up single file, and with no one along side, Dale went to work on the leader. As the white flag was displayed, Dale used the high side off turn four to overtake the leader, then held on for the thrilling victory. Lennox settled for second. Howes, Fellows, and Brett Lowry completed the top five, with Birck rebounding to finish sixth.
Jeremy Pundt came from row two to pace the opening lap of the nine car IMCA stock car 20 lap feature. Fifth starting Abe Huls grabbed second and began to pressure the leader on lap two. Huls charged to the lead on lap three. John Oliver Jr. joined the fray, but contact with an infield tire appeared to hurt his set up somewhat even though he took second from Pundt on lap five. The first caution of the race came on lap six, with Pundt retaking second on the restart. With Huls in command, Jason See moved around Oliver for third just before the halfway mark, but as lap 13 was scored, See slowed on the front stretch, dropping oil on the racing surface, as his engine apparently expired. In the closing laps, with Huls holding a sizable lead as he and Pundt ran low on the track, Oliver tried the top side, without success. The checkers waved for Huls, Pundt, Oliver, Jason Cook, and Chad Krogmeier, in that order.
Dakota Simmons scratched from the IMCA modified action after hot laps, but the other nine competitors took the feature green. Outside pole sitter Jeff Waterman took the early lead, with the previous weeks winner, Bill Roberts Jr. in hot pursuit. Waterman slowly stretched his advantage, in the non stop event. When the checkers waved, Waterman held nearly a straightaway lead. Roberts crossed the stripe in second over Larry Herring, Mitch Boles, and Levi Smith. Dirt Knights competitor Cody Bauman made the trip to LCS from Eureka,Il. to test out his #4, heading to the pits on lap nine while running in fourth.
The crate late models wrapped up the action, racing for 20 laps. Heat winner Gunner Frank took the lead from his pole position, with outside row one starter Jeff Guengerich glued to his bumper. Veteran Ron Boyse stayed close in third before Tommy Elston went to the high side of the oval to charge to third on the fourth circuit. The race stayed green from start to finish, and Frank negotiated the slickening track to perfection. He became the first repeat winner in six nights of late model action at the speedway in 2018, as he and his father Todd have captured the last three main events. Guengerich ran a steady race in second ahead of Elston, Boyse, and Sam Halstead. Todd Frank fell out of the heat race in a cloud of smoke, but returned to run sixth in the feature ahead of Darin Weisinger Jr. Chase Frank was the only driver not finishing the 20 laps.
Thanks to Mike Van Genderen and Dave Sapp for another smooth, fast, dust free track after such a hot midwestern day, and to the entire LCS crew for an enjoyable night of racing that concluded about 9:30!
It looks as though this will conclude my racing for this weekend, as other activities await, but if you can dodge the raindrops, find a track close by today and Sunday and enjoy some racing!
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