"Superman" Sam Halstead turned an outside row one start into a flag to flag win in the 20 lap late model finale Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. Halstead is always at his best on a dry slick track, and he was able to hold off the persistent challenges of Tommy Elston to pick up his second win of the season. The only caution period of the race came at the end of lap one, when Chase Frank, Todd Frank, and Darin Weisinger Jr. were involved in a turn four tangle, ending the night for Todd Frank. For most of the 20 laps, Halstead ran a middle groove, while Elston tried to use the inside line . Several times Tommy was able to show his nose coming through turns three and four, but Sam was better in turns one and two. Jeff Guengerich picked up the heat race win, then won a battle with Ron Boyse to come home a distant third in the feature. Vance Wilson completed the top five, followed by Brandon Queen and Weisinger Jr., as Chase and Todd Frank sat in their disabled rides in the infield.
Feature racing began with a 14 lap IMCA sport compact event. All but one of the ten cars on hand took the feature green. Outside pole sitter Mike Reu and Kimberly Abbott, who started outside row two ran side by side for the first two laps before Abbott put her #71 out front on the third circuit. Point leader Barry Taft moved up to challenge Reu by lap five, taking over the second spot one lap later. By now Abbott had a sizable lead, and the battle on the track was between visiting Darin Smith and Brandon Reu for fourth. With no yellow flags to stop the action, Kimberly cruised to the win, leading Taft and Mike Reu, with Smith narrowly edging out Brandon Reu for the fourth position.
The IMCA sport mods turned out the largest car count, with 20 entries, and all but one lined up for 18 laps of action. Austen Becerra jumped to the early lead ahead of Austin Howes, but the caution came out as third starting Daniel Fellows made contact with the tractor tire in turn four, resulting in a complete restart with Fellows now at the tail. On the second try, Becerra was followed by Adam Birck when the caution again came out for John Renier, also in turn four. Surprisingly, another complete restart was ordered. Attempt number three saw Becerra lead Bob Cowman across the stripe as yellow number three waved for Kyle Hamilton. This time, the lap was scored complete. So one lap, three cautions... Becerra again powered to the lead, and Birck charged to the runner up spot. Fellows had managed to gain a couple rows off the tail, and began to move through the pack. A half dozen laps clicked off before another yellow slowed the action, but Becerra kept his new hot rod out front. With only a pair of laps remaining, Howes and Brandon Dale made contact while battling for third, with both retiring to the pits. Birck took one final shot at the leader, but could not make the pass, as Becerra scored a marathon ( 22 minute ) flag to flag win. Sean Wyett took third place honors, while Brandyn Ryan was strong in fourth. Fellows came back to score a top five finish.
Beau Taylor started inside row two and led the opening lap of the IMCA stock car 20 lapper. Jeremy Pundt came from row three to second on lap two and began to work on Taylor. One lap later, seventh starting John Oliver Jr. entered the top three. The leaders continued to "catfish" around the inside line of the slickening track. Meanwhile, fourth running Jason Cook jumped out of line to try a higher line in turns three and four, but soon fell back in line after failing to overtake Oliver. With seven laps remaining, Oliver was able to stick his nose under Pundt, taking over the second spot. Five laps later, as Taylor began to push up a bit off turn four, Oliver used the same move to take the lead. As the white flag waved, Taylor and Pundt were side by side, but again the handling seemed to be going away for Beau, and Jeremy took command of the runner up spot. Cook and Chad Krogmeier completed the top five in the non stop event.
305 sprint cars were a mid week addition to the card and a dozen signed in for the action. Daniel Bergquist was unable to take the green flag, pulling off on the parade lap. Joe Simbro paced the opening circuit, with Brayden Gaylord in second. Joe Laue took over the second spot on lap two, then moved to the front one lap later. Laue pulled out to a nice lead, but soon Mason Campbell and Harold Pohren began to run down the leader. Suddenly, as the leaders came through turn four, Campbell appeared to lose power and attempted to pull to the infield. At the same time, Pohren tried to duck under the #11C, resulting in a collision, with Pohren taking a soft roll. Both challengers were done for the night. On the restart, Gaylord took the top spot. One more stoppage came just before the halfway mark of the 20 lapper, but Gaylord had no issues the rest of the way, racing out to a comfortable margin. Bailey Goldesberry, the up and coming teenage female competitor from Springfield,Il. used a late race pass to score runner up honors. Laue settled for third, besting Jarrod Schneiderman and Dave Getchell.
The IMCA modifieds had a nice turnout of 17 cars, with all but one starting the 20 lap main event. Mitch Boles paced lap one ahead of Jeff Waterman, with the caution coming out for Dustin Crear. Waterman grabbed the lead on the restart, taking along Dean McGee. Jarrett Brown made the trip to LCS on Friday, started in the eighth slot and rolled past McGee for second on lap six. As the crossed flags waved to mark halfway, Colby Springsteen entered the top three. Brown began to make up ground on the leader, especially in turns three and four on the now very slick surface. With five trips past the flag stand remaining, Brown got a nose under Waterman, setting up a two car shootout. As the "two to go" signal was given, Brown used a diamond move in turns three and four to overtake the leader. He then held on for his first win at the 3/8 mile speedway. Waterman came home second ahead of Springsteen and McGee. John Oliver Jr. scored a ride in the Dennis Laveine #71, drove a conservative race, and crossed the line in fifth.
With the late models again running last, the final checkers waved just after 10:30. Next Friday night at the track will be the rescheduled Fan Appreciation Night, with $5.00 adult admission.
The forecast looks a bit iffy, but I am hoping to spend Sunday night at Quincy Raceways for a regular night of racing.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Iowa Drivers Dominate at Davenport
In the days leading up to the World of Outlaw late models invading the Davenport Speedway, much of the chatter centered around semi retired Brian Birkhofer, who was slated to appear in the #30 machine he piloted earlier in the month at Dubuque and Deer Creek Speedways. But when the final checkers waved, it was indeed an Iowa driver taking top honors, but it was not the popular driver from Muscatine. Instead, it was the Mount Vernon hot shoe, Chad Simpson in victory lane as the partisan Iowa crowd roared their approval. Adding icing to the cake was brother Chris Simpson working his way methodically from mid pack in the 23 car field to finish third.
The evening began with each driver taking two qualifying laps around the big half mile. Young Devin Moran, son of Donnie, set quick time early with a lap of 20.756 seconds. Hot laps times were in the 20.5 range, as the track slowed a bit as the show moved along. Birkhofer was the only driver with no qualifying time, as his car rolled to a stop as he entered off turn three to begin his effort. Whatever issues he had were resolved, and he was able to line up last in the second of the three ten lap heat races.
A pair of heat races were next for the only support class, the IMCA sport modifieds. Even with the sport mods racing just up the road at Dubuque, a nice field of 17 still came out to tackle the 1/2 mile for a shot at a $750.00 top prize.
Three late model heats came next. Moran sat on the pole of the first eight lapper, and he led flag to flag. Outside pole sitter Brandon Sheppard ran second ahead of Chris Madden and Shane Clanton.
Series point leader Mike Marlar rolled from the pole of heat two, but it was outside row one starter Tyler Bruening from Decorah, Iowa leading for 7 3/4 laps. Then Marlar, with momentum off turn three, dove under Bruening and won the drag race to the finish line. Texan Tyler Erb, and Bobby Pierce in his family owned ride ran third and fourth.
Chad Simpson grabbed the lead as the green flag waved on heat three, holding back fifth starting Rick Eckert, David Breazeale, and Chris Simpson for the victory.
The top two from each heat came to the front stretch to redraw for starting spots in the 40 lap $10,000.00 to win headliner, heat winners drawing among spots one through three, and the runners up for slots four, five, and six. After Eckert, Bruening, and Sheppard drew fourth, fifth, and sixth in that order, it was announced that Moran had suffered engine trouble at the end of his heat and would be going to a back up car. That meant he would be starting in the 23rd and final spot, so it was now Chad Simpson and Marlar drawing to decide the front row lineup, and it would be Chad on the pole.
As intermission continued, the largest crowd I have seen at Davenport since I was a teenager was still filing in. Indeed, from my perch, I think the beer concession alone could have funded my racing for this season and next!
It was still daylight as the 20 lap sport mod feature lined up. Keith Blum and Tony Olson sat on row one, as all 17 cars took the green flag. Blum jumped to the early lead, but he and Olson crossed the stripe side by side ending lap one. Blum was in command as lap two was scored, followed by Olson and fifth starting Dalton Simonsen. On lap three, Olson suddenly slowed, bringing out the caution, ending his run. As racing resumed, Shane Paris used the Delaware restart to vault from third to first. Lap five saw Simonsen grab the lead, and a three car pile up in turns three and four brought out another yellow. Back under green, Simonsen began to stretch his lead, and a three car battle developed for second, with Jared Waterman joining Blum and Paris. With the leader now holding a straightaway lead, Waterman had taken third on lap twelve, and second one lap later. Simonsen had a full 1/2 lap lead when the yellow waved again with six laps to go. On the restart, fifth running Dustin Schram smacked the turn two wall, bringing out one final caution. Simonsen again pulled away as Blum moved to a runner up finish. Waterman came home third, Kevin Goben ran a steady race and finished fourth, with Paris fifth.
There was a bit more downtime before the 40 lap feature lineup was complete, but soon all 23 cars were ready to go.Chad Simpson put his #25 out front at the drop of the green followed by Marlar, Bruening, Eckert, and Madden. The 2017 series champ Sheppard was on the move early taking fifth on lap two, then using a high line to grab fourth on lap four and third one lap later. Simpson had a sizable load early, but Marlar began to narrow the gap by the tenth circuit. The leaders caught slower traffic by lap twelve as the front three gained separation on the pack. With the laps clicking off, Sheppard saw his night end in a cloud of smoke on lap 27 as he dove to the infield with all the looks of a blown engine. The lone caution of the race came at lap 32, as Bruening stopped on the front stretch while running sixth. The field was now reset single file as it was less than ten laps from the finish. After challenging for three quarters of the race, Marlar made one last move to overtake the leader, then fell off the pace at bit. Madden and Chris Simpson found their way into the top three. Madden made a strong high side move in turn three on the final lap, but Chad held his line, scoring a flag to flag win. Madden took runner up honors, followed by Chris Simpson, Marlar, and Eckert. Frank Heckenast Jr. headed up the second five leading Clanton, Chase Junghans, Erb, and Brent Larson to top ten finishes. Birkhofer was credited with a 13th place finish.
The final checkers waved about 9:15.
Special thanks to Matt Curl and the World Racing Group folks for their hospitality.
Next on the Racin' Down the Road schedule will be Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, where they are considering the late addition of 305 sprint cars for this week. Check the track website or Facebook for more info, and thanks for reading!
The evening began with each driver taking two qualifying laps around the big half mile. Young Devin Moran, son of Donnie, set quick time early with a lap of 20.756 seconds. Hot laps times were in the 20.5 range, as the track slowed a bit as the show moved along. Birkhofer was the only driver with no qualifying time, as his car rolled to a stop as he entered off turn three to begin his effort. Whatever issues he had were resolved, and he was able to line up last in the second of the three ten lap heat races.
A pair of heat races were next for the only support class, the IMCA sport modifieds. Even with the sport mods racing just up the road at Dubuque, a nice field of 17 still came out to tackle the 1/2 mile for a shot at a $750.00 top prize.
Three late model heats came next. Moran sat on the pole of the first eight lapper, and he led flag to flag. Outside pole sitter Brandon Sheppard ran second ahead of Chris Madden and Shane Clanton.
Series point leader Mike Marlar rolled from the pole of heat two, but it was outside row one starter Tyler Bruening from Decorah, Iowa leading for 7 3/4 laps. Then Marlar, with momentum off turn three, dove under Bruening and won the drag race to the finish line. Texan Tyler Erb, and Bobby Pierce in his family owned ride ran third and fourth.
Chad Simpson grabbed the lead as the green flag waved on heat three, holding back fifth starting Rick Eckert, David Breazeale, and Chris Simpson for the victory.
The top two from each heat came to the front stretch to redraw for starting spots in the 40 lap $10,000.00 to win headliner, heat winners drawing among spots one through three, and the runners up for slots four, five, and six. After Eckert, Bruening, and Sheppard drew fourth, fifth, and sixth in that order, it was announced that Moran had suffered engine trouble at the end of his heat and would be going to a back up car. That meant he would be starting in the 23rd and final spot, so it was now Chad Simpson and Marlar drawing to decide the front row lineup, and it would be Chad on the pole.
As intermission continued, the largest crowd I have seen at Davenport since I was a teenager was still filing in. Indeed, from my perch, I think the beer concession alone could have funded my racing for this season and next!
It was still daylight as the 20 lap sport mod feature lined up. Keith Blum and Tony Olson sat on row one, as all 17 cars took the green flag. Blum jumped to the early lead, but he and Olson crossed the stripe side by side ending lap one. Blum was in command as lap two was scored, followed by Olson and fifth starting Dalton Simonsen. On lap three, Olson suddenly slowed, bringing out the caution, ending his run. As racing resumed, Shane Paris used the Delaware restart to vault from third to first. Lap five saw Simonsen grab the lead, and a three car pile up in turns three and four brought out another yellow. Back under green, Simonsen began to stretch his lead, and a three car battle developed for second, with Jared Waterman joining Blum and Paris. With the leader now holding a straightaway lead, Waterman had taken third on lap twelve, and second one lap later. Simonsen had a full 1/2 lap lead when the yellow waved again with six laps to go. On the restart, fifth running Dustin Schram smacked the turn two wall, bringing out one final caution. Simonsen again pulled away as Blum moved to a runner up finish. Waterman came home third, Kevin Goben ran a steady race and finished fourth, with Paris fifth.
There was a bit more downtime before the 40 lap feature lineup was complete, but soon all 23 cars were ready to go.Chad Simpson put his #25 out front at the drop of the green followed by Marlar, Bruening, Eckert, and Madden. The 2017 series champ Sheppard was on the move early taking fifth on lap two, then using a high line to grab fourth on lap four and third one lap later. Simpson had a sizable load early, but Marlar began to narrow the gap by the tenth circuit. The leaders caught slower traffic by lap twelve as the front three gained separation on the pack. With the laps clicking off, Sheppard saw his night end in a cloud of smoke on lap 27 as he dove to the infield with all the looks of a blown engine. The lone caution of the race came at lap 32, as Bruening stopped on the front stretch while running sixth. The field was now reset single file as it was less than ten laps from the finish. After challenging for three quarters of the race, Marlar made one last move to overtake the leader, then fell off the pace at bit. Madden and Chris Simpson found their way into the top three. Madden made a strong high side move in turn three on the final lap, but Chad held his line, scoring a flag to flag win. Madden took runner up honors, followed by Chris Simpson, Marlar, and Eckert. Frank Heckenast Jr. headed up the second five leading Clanton, Chase Junghans, Erb, and Brent Larson to top ten finishes. Birkhofer was credited with a 13th place finish.
The final checkers waved about 9:15.
Special thanks to Matt Curl and the World Racing Group folks for their hospitality.
Next on the Racin' Down the Road schedule will be Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, where they are considering the late addition of 305 sprint cars for this week. Check the track website or Facebook for more info, and thanks for reading!
Monday, July 23, 2018
Familiar Faces in Victory Lane at Quincy
After a week off due to wet grounds, Quincy Raceways got back to action Sunday night. Six divisions of cars were on the docket plus a pair of vintage car classes on an unusually cool July evening.
Hot laps began on time at 6:15, followed by qualifying for the UMP modifieds. St Louis area racer Trey Harris set quick time in the car driven previously by Rick Conoyer. A dozen heat races took the green flag at 7:00 on Christmas in July night sponsored by Sherwin Williams and On The Rail.
The track had become a bit dry slick during the qualifying races, with turns one and two particularly prone to spins, so the track crew did a bit of maintenance during intermission, giving us a racy feature surface.
First up was 18 laps for the dozen IMCA sport mods. A J Tournear grabbed the early lead, pacing the field until a lap five caution. Adam Birck powered to the lead on the restart and stretched his advantage before the yellow waved again with eight laps complete. This began a spate of yellows, with four more stoppages and only one lap scored. It was then announced that the time limit had expired, and the next caution would be yellow checkers, and the field was restarted single file. Amazingly the final nine of the scheduled laps clicked off caution free. Birck checked out for his third win of the season. Jeffrey Delonjay wrestled the runner up spot from Tournear. Tanner Klingele recovered for a spin to rebound to fourth ahead of Brandyn Ryan. Birck took over the points lead with the win.
The vintage car groups ran a pair of twelve lap features next. Kevin Buckley wheeled a green AMC Gremlin to the modified win over four time track champion Terry Gallaher and Tim Rose captured the open wheel event ahead of former sprint car driver Gary Bonar.
IMCA sport compacts were next on the card. Alyssa Steele led the pack down the back stretch, but point leader Barry Taft eased ahead as the opening lap was scored. Darin Weisinger Jr. moved up to pressure Taft, and the duo passed the flag stand side by side completing the second circuit. The next time around, Taft was in control, and he captured the non stop event. Weisinger Jr. ran second, and Kimberly Abbott debuted a new car in third, slipping past Steele mid race. David Prim also brought out a new ride and came home in fifth. It was I believe the sixth win of 2018 for Taft.
Heat winner Vance Wilson and point leader Denny Woodworth lined up in the front row of the 20 lap UMP Pro Crate late model main event. Wilson grabbed the lead, then jumped to the preferred high line with Woodworth in hot pursuit. The front pair separated from an intense three car battle for third. With no cautions, the leaders caught slower traffic on lap 14, with Tucker Finch and Cliff Powell running side by side for position. As the two veterans looked for racing room, Denny was nosing ahead down the backstretch while Vance continued to win the battle off turn four. Wilson was the first to clear the slower cars, but a spin by Finch brought out the yellow with three laps to go. Wilson was up to the task, however, taking what announcer Doug said was his second win of the season. Woodworth settled for second, followed by Powell, Charles Vanzandt, Finch, and Jason Oenning in sixth.
Beau Taylor started in row two and charged to the front of the IMCA stock car headliner on the first lap. A caution stopped the action on lap two, with Taylor maintaining the lead on the restart. As Beau opened a nice lead, point leader Michael Larsen moved to second on lap four, and the caution came out one lap later. When racing resumed, Jerry Jansen used the high groove to drive past Larsen for second, and again Taylor pulled away. Larsen dropped off the top of turn three, falling to fifth mid race. As the race stayed green, Taylor won by a straightaway, his third win in the last four stock car features. Jansen followed in second, besting Jake Powers, Brandon Lambert, and Larsen.
The UMP mods lined up for 20 laps with Harris and Kevin Blackburn on the front row. Blackburn shot to the lead, taking along outside row two starter Dave Weitholder in second. Blackburn was running the very top of turns one and two, and he slipped ever so slightly off turn two on lap three, with Weitholder charging to the lead. With the race staying green, Blackburn rebounded and moved to the rear bumper of the leader. Harris had fallen off the pace a bit at the start, but he was now closing quickly on the front pair. Slower traffic became a factor on lap 14, and one lap late Harris cleared Blackburn for second. As Harris and Blackburn battled, Weitholder opened some breathing room, but the yellow waved at lap16. On the restart, Blackburn down low and Harris up top continued their duel, losing ground to the leader. The checkers waved for the point leader Weitholder, Harris won the battle for second in what I believe was his first trip to QR. Blackburn was third, followed by Steve Grotz and Dugan Thye.
With the clock now hitting the 10:00 mark, I headed for the car as the final race of the night for the two person cruisers lined up.
Thanks to Jason Goble and crew for a show that began on time and kept moving in a timely manner. Next Sunday QR will be featuring a six class program with a buy one, get one free grandstand ticket.
Next up for me is the World of Outlaw late model and IMCA sport mod special on the Davenport, Iowa Speedway 1/2 mile oval on Tuesday, July 24. Area fans might be interested to know that in addition to the WoO cars and stars, Lucas Oil late model regular Bobby Pierce, and semi retired Iowa favorite Brian Birkhofer are scheduled to be in action at Davenport! Hope to see you there!
Hot laps began on time at 6:15, followed by qualifying for the UMP modifieds. St Louis area racer Trey Harris set quick time in the car driven previously by Rick Conoyer. A dozen heat races took the green flag at 7:00 on Christmas in July night sponsored by Sherwin Williams and On The Rail.
The track had become a bit dry slick during the qualifying races, with turns one and two particularly prone to spins, so the track crew did a bit of maintenance during intermission, giving us a racy feature surface.
First up was 18 laps for the dozen IMCA sport mods. A J Tournear grabbed the early lead, pacing the field until a lap five caution. Adam Birck powered to the lead on the restart and stretched his advantage before the yellow waved again with eight laps complete. This began a spate of yellows, with four more stoppages and only one lap scored. It was then announced that the time limit had expired, and the next caution would be yellow checkers, and the field was restarted single file. Amazingly the final nine of the scheduled laps clicked off caution free. Birck checked out for his third win of the season. Jeffrey Delonjay wrestled the runner up spot from Tournear. Tanner Klingele recovered for a spin to rebound to fourth ahead of Brandyn Ryan. Birck took over the points lead with the win.
The vintage car groups ran a pair of twelve lap features next. Kevin Buckley wheeled a green AMC Gremlin to the modified win over four time track champion Terry Gallaher and Tim Rose captured the open wheel event ahead of former sprint car driver Gary Bonar.
IMCA sport compacts were next on the card. Alyssa Steele led the pack down the back stretch, but point leader Barry Taft eased ahead as the opening lap was scored. Darin Weisinger Jr. moved up to pressure Taft, and the duo passed the flag stand side by side completing the second circuit. The next time around, Taft was in control, and he captured the non stop event. Weisinger Jr. ran second, and Kimberly Abbott debuted a new car in third, slipping past Steele mid race. David Prim also brought out a new ride and came home in fifth. It was I believe the sixth win of 2018 for Taft.
Heat winner Vance Wilson and point leader Denny Woodworth lined up in the front row of the 20 lap UMP Pro Crate late model main event. Wilson grabbed the lead, then jumped to the preferred high line with Woodworth in hot pursuit. The front pair separated from an intense three car battle for third. With no cautions, the leaders caught slower traffic on lap 14, with Tucker Finch and Cliff Powell running side by side for position. As the two veterans looked for racing room, Denny was nosing ahead down the backstretch while Vance continued to win the battle off turn four. Wilson was the first to clear the slower cars, but a spin by Finch brought out the yellow with three laps to go. Wilson was up to the task, however, taking what announcer Doug said was his second win of the season. Woodworth settled for second, followed by Powell, Charles Vanzandt, Finch, and Jason Oenning in sixth.
Beau Taylor started in row two and charged to the front of the IMCA stock car headliner on the first lap. A caution stopped the action on lap two, with Taylor maintaining the lead on the restart. As Beau opened a nice lead, point leader Michael Larsen moved to second on lap four, and the caution came out one lap later. When racing resumed, Jerry Jansen used the high groove to drive past Larsen for second, and again Taylor pulled away. Larsen dropped off the top of turn three, falling to fifth mid race. As the race stayed green, Taylor won by a straightaway, his third win in the last four stock car features. Jansen followed in second, besting Jake Powers, Brandon Lambert, and Larsen.
The UMP mods lined up for 20 laps with Harris and Kevin Blackburn on the front row. Blackburn shot to the lead, taking along outside row two starter Dave Weitholder in second. Blackburn was running the very top of turns one and two, and he slipped ever so slightly off turn two on lap three, with Weitholder charging to the lead. With the race staying green, Blackburn rebounded and moved to the rear bumper of the leader. Harris had fallen off the pace a bit at the start, but he was now closing quickly on the front pair. Slower traffic became a factor on lap 14, and one lap late Harris cleared Blackburn for second. As Harris and Blackburn battled, Weitholder opened some breathing room, but the yellow waved at lap16. On the restart, Blackburn down low and Harris up top continued their duel, losing ground to the leader. The checkers waved for the point leader Weitholder, Harris won the battle for second in what I believe was his first trip to QR. Blackburn was third, followed by Steve Grotz and Dugan Thye.
With the clock now hitting the 10:00 mark, I headed for the car as the final race of the night for the two person cruisers lined up.
Thanks to Jason Goble and crew for a show that began on time and kept moving in a timely manner. Next Sunday QR will be featuring a six class program with a buy one, get one free grandstand ticket.
Next up for me is the World of Outlaw late model and IMCA sport mod special on the Davenport, Iowa Speedway 1/2 mile oval on Tuesday, July 24. Area fans might be interested to know that in addition to the WoO cars and stars, Lucas Oil late model regular Bobby Pierce, and semi retired Iowa favorite Brian Birkhofer are scheduled to be in action at Davenport! Hope to see you there!
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Holladay, Kile, Murty Take CJ Dollars
No one is enjoying the county fair circuit in 2018 more than yours truly. I have been taking full advantage in this my first full summer of retirement to take in several of the week night special races. Wednesday night, IMCA stock car driver Beau Taylor, also a Canton, Mo. resident, joined my posse of old timers as we journeyed to the Louisa County Fairgrounds in Columbus Junction, Iowa for a visit by the Deery Brothers Summer Series IMCA late models backed up by IMCA modifieds and IMCA stock cars. It was my first visit of 2018 to CJ Speedway, and the 4/10 mile facility appeared to have had some upgrades since my last visit. There may not have been a capacity crowd, however there were many groups of folks searching our part of the covered grandstands for seats.
Besides being impressed with our surroundings, we were also pleased when hot laps started promptly at 7:00 as advertised, and in fact the first heat race rolled off a couple minutes before 7:30. A solid group of 21 IMCA stock cars signed in, and they started things off with three entertaining heat races. There was a whopping 30 IMCA modifieds, and they clicked off four eight lappers in good time.
The late model turnout of 28 was just about what I expected, and they lined up for four ten lap qualifiers. In the first heat, Rob Toland appeared to get into the back of Rob Moss, sending the #1M flying into the caution light pole. Rob seemed to be unhurt, but his car left the track with the assistance of two wreckers. By late model time, the track was already starting to slicken up, and there was plenty of passing going on. Veteran Denny Eckrich captured heat one from the outside pole, followed by fourth starting Chuck Hanna. Curt Martin started seventh and charged to third, earning enough passing points to qualify for a third row slot in the 40 lap headliner.
As a reminder, the series switched gears for 2018. The heat winners do a pizza box draw/giveaway procedure to set the first two rows for the feature with the next spots up to twelfth aligned by passing points.
Chad Holladay came all the way from row four to win heat two and Andy Nezworski ran second. Joe Zrostlik crossed the finish line in third, but while he did not make the top twelve, fourth place Andy Eckrich did after starting sixth. Holladay was aided a bit by an altercation with Justin Kay making contact with Todd Cooney in which Cooney went for a spin and both drivers had to restart from the tail.
Ryan Dolan duplicated Holladays feat, coming from the tail to grab heat three. Terry Neal and Jeremiah Hurst also punched their feature ticket.
Darrell Defrance kept his series perfect attendance streak in tact, and celebrated with a late race pass of Kyle Hinrichs to win heat four. Hinrichs and Nick Marolf also transferred.
A pair of modified B-mains set the 24 car lineup for their feature, as I checked on the lineups for two late model B's.
The stock cars then lined up for a 25 lap feature, with all drivers taking the green flag. Chad Krogmeier led the pack into turn three, but looped his ride in front of the pack. Everyone did a nice job of missing the #12, and the field lined back up with Chad at the tail. Brandon Jay now took the top spot for the opening circuits. Damon Murty had drawn a six after winning his heat, but following the Krogmeier spin, he restarted outside row two. He was second by a nose as lap three was scored ahead of another caution flag. After one more quick yellow, Murty grabbed the lead and began to pull away. Meanwhile, twelfth starting Jason See was on the move, taking third on lap six, and moving to the runner up spot two laps later. By now, Murty had a commanding lead over See, who also had separation from the battle for third. A yellow flag on lap 17 bunched the pack, but Murty again pulled well ahead on the restart. Murty appeared to be playing it safe in turns three and four on the slickening oval, and See was making up a bit of ground even as third running Kirk Kinsley slowed and exited the track. Murty cruised to the win, with See in second. Adam Bell lined up 17th and finished third, Jason Cook ran fourth, and John Hemstead edged Jay for fifth.
The modified feature was also set for 25 laps. Kurt Kile charged to the early lead from row one, while one of the three double duty mod and late model drivers, ( Toland, Marolf) Justin Kay took second from row two. The front duo drove away from the field ahead of a lap eight yellow. Derrick Stewart mounted a challenge to Kay on the restart, but Kay held the spot. Meanwhile, hot shoe Jason Wolla had moved from row six to enter the top five on lap 15. As flagman Doug Haack gave the " five to go " sign, Kay was closing on the leader and Wolla took over fourth. Lap 22 saw Kay within three car lengths and Kay used the low line to nose ahead in turn one before Kile used a crossover high to low move to retake the top spot. As the white flag waved, a car spun to the inside of turns three and four, but we stayed green, and Kile dealt with that as well as slower traffic, taking a hard fought win. Kay settled for second, followed by Stewart, Wolla, and Steve Stewart.
We may have missed the announcement, but it was now obvious that the late model B -mains had been scrapped. Moss, Joel Callahan, and Ron Boyse had scratched, leaving only one more than the 24 car starting field in competition, so the decision was made to start the remaining 25 cars in the 40 lap finale.
While the track had been racey all night, it now appeared to be mostly " used up, " and the prediction made by a long time car owner at the start of the night that the winner would come from the front two rows looked like a solid possibility. Defrance and Holladay had wound up on the front row, with Denny Eckrich and Dolan in row two. Holladay jumped to the lead, but a spin by Tim Simpson on the first lap slowed the action. Eckrich overtook Defrance for second on the restart, with Holladay pulling out to a big lead. With everyone now hugging the low line, the leader caught slower traffic on lap ten. As Chad worked skillfully through the slower cars, the yellow came out on lap twelve, and Neal headed to the pits. Another stoppage came three laps later as Sam Halstead slowed on the backstretch, ending his run. Andy Eckrich also checked out ahead of another caution on lap 16. A crash involving Gary Webb and Simpson left the Rookie of the Year contender Simpson with heavy damage. As the laps wound down, one more caution period came with four laps remaining, as Curt Schroeder got crossways and slid up the backstretch levee.Nothing, however could stop Holladay on this night, as he picked up the $2,000 check. Denny Eckrich ran second ahead of Defrance, Dolan, and Marolf. Hurst came home sixth, followed by Martin, Hanna, 25th starting Cooney, and 22nd starting Kay.
It was my fourth Summer Series race of the season, and fourth different winner! Racing ended a few minutes before 11:00.
Thanks to promoter Larry Richardson and the CJ staff for their hospitality. I would like to apologize to them for being late with this blog entry. I spent the day helping my mother in law move to a new residence , and while I was putting this together Thursday evening, the storm that came through Canton knocked out power for several hours! Had I finished before the outage, I would have listed Lee County Speedway in Donnellson as my next race night on Friday, but I have since shared the post that they have cancelled due to storm damage in Donnellson. We had also considered the UMP Big Ten late model special at the Jacksonville,Il. Speedway, but promoter Ken Dobson postponed earlier in the week stating they were unable to adequately prepare after the county fair ended last Sunday. So we will see what the weekend brings, with an eye towards Quincy Raceways on Sunday and a return trip to the Davenport Speedway for World of Outlaw racing on the big 1/2 mile next Tuesday. I hope all our friends in the Pella and Marshalltown, Iowa areas are safe after the tornadoes that ripped through their areas today. Apparently the bad weather skirted around Bloomfield and Knoxville, as I have been seeing results from racing tonight on my phone. Welcome to the midwest!
Thanks for reading.
Besides being impressed with our surroundings, we were also pleased when hot laps started promptly at 7:00 as advertised, and in fact the first heat race rolled off a couple minutes before 7:30. A solid group of 21 IMCA stock cars signed in, and they started things off with three entertaining heat races. There was a whopping 30 IMCA modifieds, and they clicked off four eight lappers in good time.
The late model turnout of 28 was just about what I expected, and they lined up for four ten lap qualifiers. In the first heat, Rob Toland appeared to get into the back of Rob Moss, sending the #1M flying into the caution light pole. Rob seemed to be unhurt, but his car left the track with the assistance of two wreckers. By late model time, the track was already starting to slicken up, and there was plenty of passing going on. Veteran Denny Eckrich captured heat one from the outside pole, followed by fourth starting Chuck Hanna. Curt Martin started seventh and charged to third, earning enough passing points to qualify for a third row slot in the 40 lap headliner.
As a reminder, the series switched gears for 2018. The heat winners do a pizza box draw/giveaway procedure to set the first two rows for the feature with the next spots up to twelfth aligned by passing points.
Chad Holladay came all the way from row four to win heat two and Andy Nezworski ran second. Joe Zrostlik crossed the finish line in third, but while he did not make the top twelve, fourth place Andy Eckrich did after starting sixth. Holladay was aided a bit by an altercation with Justin Kay making contact with Todd Cooney in which Cooney went for a spin and both drivers had to restart from the tail.
Ryan Dolan duplicated Holladays feat, coming from the tail to grab heat three. Terry Neal and Jeremiah Hurst also punched their feature ticket.
Darrell Defrance kept his series perfect attendance streak in tact, and celebrated with a late race pass of Kyle Hinrichs to win heat four. Hinrichs and Nick Marolf also transferred.
A pair of modified B-mains set the 24 car lineup for their feature, as I checked on the lineups for two late model B's.
The stock cars then lined up for a 25 lap feature, with all drivers taking the green flag. Chad Krogmeier led the pack into turn three, but looped his ride in front of the pack. Everyone did a nice job of missing the #12, and the field lined back up with Chad at the tail. Brandon Jay now took the top spot for the opening circuits. Damon Murty had drawn a six after winning his heat, but following the Krogmeier spin, he restarted outside row two. He was second by a nose as lap three was scored ahead of another caution flag. After one more quick yellow, Murty grabbed the lead and began to pull away. Meanwhile, twelfth starting Jason See was on the move, taking third on lap six, and moving to the runner up spot two laps later. By now, Murty had a commanding lead over See, who also had separation from the battle for third. A yellow flag on lap 17 bunched the pack, but Murty again pulled well ahead on the restart. Murty appeared to be playing it safe in turns three and four on the slickening oval, and See was making up a bit of ground even as third running Kirk Kinsley slowed and exited the track. Murty cruised to the win, with See in second. Adam Bell lined up 17th and finished third, Jason Cook ran fourth, and John Hemstead edged Jay for fifth.
The modified feature was also set for 25 laps. Kurt Kile charged to the early lead from row one, while one of the three double duty mod and late model drivers, ( Toland, Marolf) Justin Kay took second from row two. The front duo drove away from the field ahead of a lap eight yellow. Derrick Stewart mounted a challenge to Kay on the restart, but Kay held the spot. Meanwhile, hot shoe Jason Wolla had moved from row six to enter the top five on lap 15. As flagman Doug Haack gave the " five to go " sign, Kay was closing on the leader and Wolla took over fourth. Lap 22 saw Kay within three car lengths and Kay used the low line to nose ahead in turn one before Kile used a crossover high to low move to retake the top spot. As the white flag waved, a car spun to the inside of turns three and four, but we stayed green, and Kile dealt with that as well as slower traffic, taking a hard fought win. Kay settled for second, followed by Stewart, Wolla, and Steve Stewart.
We may have missed the announcement, but it was now obvious that the late model B -mains had been scrapped. Moss, Joel Callahan, and Ron Boyse had scratched, leaving only one more than the 24 car starting field in competition, so the decision was made to start the remaining 25 cars in the 40 lap finale.
While the track had been racey all night, it now appeared to be mostly " used up, " and the prediction made by a long time car owner at the start of the night that the winner would come from the front two rows looked like a solid possibility. Defrance and Holladay had wound up on the front row, with Denny Eckrich and Dolan in row two. Holladay jumped to the lead, but a spin by Tim Simpson on the first lap slowed the action. Eckrich overtook Defrance for second on the restart, with Holladay pulling out to a big lead. With everyone now hugging the low line, the leader caught slower traffic on lap ten. As Chad worked skillfully through the slower cars, the yellow came out on lap twelve, and Neal headed to the pits. Another stoppage came three laps later as Sam Halstead slowed on the backstretch, ending his run. Andy Eckrich also checked out ahead of another caution on lap 16. A crash involving Gary Webb and Simpson left the Rookie of the Year contender Simpson with heavy damage. As the laps wound down, one more caution period came with four laps remaining, as Curt Schroeder got crossways and slid up the backstretch levee.Nothing, however could stop Holladay on this night, as he picked up the $2,000 check. Denny Eckrich ran second ahead of Defrance, Dolan, and Marolf. Hurst came home sixth, followed by Martin, Hanna, 25th starting Cooney, and 22nd starting Kay.
It was my fourth Summer Series race of the season, and fourth different winner! Racing ended a few minutes before 11:00.
Thanks to promoter Larry Richardson and the CJ staff for their hospitality. I would like to apologize to them for being late with this blog entry. I spent the day helping my mother in law move to a new residence , and while I was putting this together Thursday evening, the storm that came through Canton knocked out power for several hours! Had I finished before the outage, I would have listed Lee County Speedway in Donnellson as my next race night on Friday, but I have since shared the post that they have cancelled due to storm damage in Donnellson. We had also considered the UMP Big Ten late model special at the Jacksonville,Il. Speedway, but promoter Ken Dobson postponed earlier in the week stating they were unable to adequately prepare after the county fair ended last Sunday. So we will see what the weekend brings, with an eye towards Quincy Raceways on Sunday and a return trip to the Davenport Speedway for World of Outlaw racing on the big 1/2 mile next Tuesday. I hope all our friends in the Pella and Marshalltown, Iowa areas are safe after the tornadoes that ripped through their areas today. Apparently the bad weather skirted around Bloomfield and Knoxville, as I have been seeing results from racing tonight on my phone. Welcome to the midwest!
Thanks for reading.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Rain Stops Scotland County
With shower preparations complete, I looked at the radar and made the decision to head for the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. for their county fair racing special. Even though there were some dark clouds overhead, I made the one hour trip minus any precipitation. Unlike the Lee county fair the night before, where admission to the fairgrounds was free, and a ticket to the races was required, Scotland County was charging admission at the fairgrounds entrance with admission free to the speedway. With a wrist band purchased, it did not take long for me to realize my mistake. Sometime between the Facebook post I saw before leaving home that no rain had fallen and my arrival in the grandstands, obviously there had been rain. Still there were wheels on the track, the pits were beginning to fill, and my best guess was that the start time may be delayed. However, about 6:20, the skies opened, and nothing short of a downpour eliminated any chance of racing. After a few minutes during which promoter Mike Van Genderen likely communicated with fair officials, the announcement came over the pit P.A. that racing was cancelled, and rain checks would be honored for a show next Saturday night, pending any further issues. I am not sure if that will work out for me, but tonight was my first complete washout after arriving at the track in 2018, so I cannot complain. Hopefully I can get back to Memphis at some point, as it truly is one of the raciest tracks around.
Quincy Raceways may be a Sunday night destination, depending on how the rest of the weekend goes, and the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series event at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa next Wednesday is in our plans.
Quincy Raceways may be a Sunday night destination, depending on how the rest of the weekend goes, and the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series event at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa next Wednesday is in our plans.
Fair Racing in Donnellson
Thursday was race night at Lee County Speedway during Iowas' oldest county fair. The regular weekly five classes were featured, with extra money up for grabs in all divisions, with a draw/redraw format used to determine lineups. There were new faces competing in each class, but a few regulars were missing, likely due to the event being on Thursday. A total of 57 cars offered up some quality racing in front of a solid crowd. The sun was bearing down as hot laps began about 7:05, but as dusk arrived, the southerly breeze made for pleasant conditions.
The nine heat races clicked off in timely fashion, and the brief intermission barely left Fred enough time to hunt down a funnel cake before the first feature hit the track.
All but one of the eleven IMCA sport compacts lined up for 14 laps. It took two tries to get started, as Mike Hornung Jr. looped his ride on the the opening lap. Mike Reu jumped to the early lead, with Josh Barnes taking over on lap three. Soon the front six cars pulled away, with an intense battle for second between Reu, Kimberly Abbott, and Barry Taft. Abbott took command of the runner up spot on lap eight, only to give it up to Taft the next time around. As the laps clicked off, Taft ran down the leader and was set to mount a challenge when Barnes suddenly slowed and pulled to the infield with two laps to go. The same fate had befallen the driver of the 13B in his heat race. The eighth starting Taft then picked up the win over Abbott, Reu, Jake Dietrich, and Brandon Reu.
The IMCA sport mod class had the largest turnout with 14 cars, and all but one took the feature green for 18 laps. Brandon Dale used an outside front row start to pace the first lap. The caution flag waved on lap two for a spinning Daniel Campbell. Dale maintained the lead as racing resumed , however Brandon Lennox edged ahead on lap four. Before the lap was scored, the caution waved again, and Dale was lined up in the top spot. Dale then opened a comfortable lead, but the action was intense behind him. On the ninth circuit, third running Austen Beccerra slid high in what was a treacherous turn two, losing two spots, pulling to the infield soon after. Dale held his lead, but on the final lap he also slid to the top of turn two as he attempted to put Kyle Hamilton a lap down, allowing Lennox to close the gap. Lennox dove low in the final set of turns, and was less than a car length behind the leader as the checkers waved. Adam Birck held off visiting Blaine Webster for third, with Daniel Fellows completing the top five.
A disappointing total of nine IMCA stock cars checked in, but as usual, the racing was tight. Jeremy Pundt and John Oliver Jr. drew the front row spots for the twenty lapper, with Oliver getting the jump at the line. Abe Huls cleared Pundt for second, and began to apply pressure to the leader. Oliver hugged the inside line, so Huls went to the top side, powering to the lead on lap four. As Abe opened a sizable lead, Pundt was glued to the bumper of Olivers #05. Around the seventh circuit, Pundt moved up one line, hounding Oliver for six more laps before finally grabbing the second spot at the 13 lap mark. By now Huls had a full straightaway lead, Pundt held second, and Oliver was dealing with Jason Cook in a battle for third. Huls completed his heat and feature sweep, followed by Pundt, Oliver, and Cook. Chad Krogmeier won an entertaining three car battle with Corey Strothman and Tom Bowling Jr. to finish fifth.
All eleven IMCA modifieds came to the track for twenty laps. Outside row one starter Colby Springsteen took command early. On lap three, polesitter Mitch Boles and Steve Stewart made contact, with Boles winding up facing the wrong way in front of the grandstand, his night finished. Springsteen used the clear track to pull away from the pack as a half dozen cars jockeyed for position behind him. Dakota Simmons, David Brown, Bill Roberts Jr., Jeff Waterman, Bruce Hanford and Stewart battled for several laps before Waterman began to move forward. By lap seven he was fourth, and with the cars in front of him running the low line, he moved to the middle groove. Brown, a surprise visitor, took the runner up position at the half way mark, with Waterman following in third. Waterman nosed ahead of Brown as they passed the flag stand, but Brown had his #21D back out front as the pair entered turns one and two. Brown then began to pull away from Waterman, and was closing on the leader as the laps ran out. At the checkers, it was a flag to flag win for Springsteen, his first in a modified at LCS. Brown settled for second after starting sixth, while Waterman came from ninth to third. Simmons and Hanford turned in top five finishes.
The final event of the night was the $1,000 to win twenty lap late model feature. An even dozen cars signed in for the night, with all making the feature call. There were some surprise entrants, including IMCA veteran Rob Toland, Quincy Raceways regular Cliff Powell, and Michael Hynes, the California driver who has been making the rounds the last few days in his plain white # 05.
Toland and Tommy Elston were heat winners, but it was veteran Ron Boyse and youngster Dayton Lynch setting on the front row as we went green. The inside line got the jump early, with Boyse out front, followed by Toland from inside row two, Elston from inside row three, outside row three starter Todd Frank, and inside row four starter Sam Halstead forming the top five down the backstretch of the opening circuit. Elston cleared Toland for second one lap later, but Toland did not go away, continuing to challenge Elston for the spot. By lap six, Elston had shaken off Toland and was pressuring Boyse for the lead. He completed the pass the next time around, quickly opening a comfortable margin. Now all eyes were on a side by side duel between the father and son duo of Todd and Gunner Frank for fifth. The race went caution free, as Elston claimed I believe his fourth checkers of the season at the speedway. Boyse held the runner up position, with Toland in third. Halstead held off a challenge from the Franks to finish fourth, while Todd outlasted Gunner for fifth. Jeff Guengerich ran seventh ahead of Brandon Queen, Darrin Weisinger Jr., Lynch, and Powell. Hynes run ended early, as he spun into the infield off the still tricky turn two, electing to call it a race.
It was vintage Donnellson, as the final checkers waved at 9:40, giving those who chose to do so plenty of time to enjoy the midway, which boasted a variety of rides and games.
This weekend will be spent helping to host a couples wedding shower for grandson Keagan and his lovely fiance Megan, but there still may be a chance I can sneak out this evening and make the hour drive to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. for more county fair racing. Then again....
Thanks for reading!
The nine heat races clicked off in timely fashion, and the brief intermission barely left Fred enough time to hunt down a funnel cake before the first feature hit the track.
All but one of the eleven IMCA sport compacts lined up for 14 laps. It took two tries to get started, as Mike Hornung Jr. looped his ride on the the opening lap. Mike Reu jumped to the early lead, with Josh Barnes taking over on lap three. Soon the front six cars pulled away, with an intense battle for second between Reu, Kimberly Abbott, and Barry Taft. Abbott took command of the runner up spot on lap eight, only to give it up to Taft the next time around. As the laps clicked off, Taft ran down the leader and was set to mount a challenge when Barnes suddenly slowed and pulled to the infield with two laps to go. The same fate had befallen the driver of the 13B in his heat race. The eighth starting Taft then picked up the win over Abbott, Reu, Jake Dietrich, and Brandon Reu.
The IMCA sport mod class had the largest turnout with 14 cars, and all but one took the feature green for 18 laps. Brandon Dale used an outside front row start to pace the first lap. The caution flag waved on lap two for a spinning Daniel Campbell. Dale maintained the lead as racing resumed , however Brandon Lennox edged ahead on lap four. Before the lap was scored, the caution waved again, and Dale was lined up in the top spot. Dale then opened a comfortable lead, but the action was intense behind him. On the ninth circuit, third running Austen Beccerra slid high in what was a treacherous turn two, losing two spots, pulling to the infield soon after. Dale held his lead, but on the final lap he also slid to the top of turn two as he attempted to put Kyle Hamilton a lap down, allowing Lennox to close the gap. Lennox dove low in the final set of turns, and was less than a car length behind the leader as the checkers waved. Adam Birck held off visiting Blaine Webster for third, with Daniel Fellows completing the top five.
A disappointing total of nine IMCA stock cars checked in, but as usual, the racing was tight. Jeremy Pundt and John Oliver Jr. drew the front row spots for the twenty lapper, with Oliver getting the jump at the line. Abe Huls cleared Pundt for second, and began to apply pressure to the leader. Oliver hugged the inside line, so Huls went to the top side, powering to the lead on lap four. As Abe opened a sizable lead, Pundt was glued to the bumper of Olivers #05. Around the seventh circuit, Pundt moved up one line, hounding Oliver for six more laps before finally grabbing the second spot at the 13 lap mark. By now Huls had a full straightaway lead, Pundt held second, and Oliver was dealing with Jason Cook in a battle for third. Huls completed his heat and feature sweep, followed by Pundt, Oliver, and Cook. Chad Krogmeier won an entertaining three car battle with Corey Strothman and Tom Bowling Jr. to finish fifth.
All eleven IMCA modifieds came to the track for twenty laps. Outside row one starter Colby Springsteen took command early. On lap three, polesitter Mitch Boles and Steve Stewart made contact, with Boles winding up facing the wrong way in front of the grandstand, his night finished. Springsteen used the clear track to pull away from the pack as a half dozen cars jockeyed for position behind him. Dakota Simmons, David Brown, Bill Roberts Jr., Jeff Waterman, Bruce Hanford and Stewart battled for several laps before Waterman began to move forward. By lap seven he was fourth, and with the cars in front of him running the low line, he moved to the middle groove. Brown, a surprise visitor, took the runner up position at the half way mark, with Waterman following in third. Waterman nosed ahead of Brown as they passed the flag stand, but Brown had his #21D back out front as the pair entered turns one and two. Brown then began to pull away from Waterman, and was closing on the leader as the laps ran out. At the checkers, it was a flag to flag win for Springsteen, his first in a modified at LCS. Brown settled for second after starting sixth, while Waterman came from ninth to third. Simmons and Hanford turned in top five finishes.
The final event of the night was the $1,000 to win twenty lap late model feature. An even dozen cars signed in for the night, with all making the feature call. There were some surprise entrants, including IMCA veteran Rob Toland, Quincy Raceways regular Cliff Powell, and Michael Hynes, the California driver who has been making the rounds the last few days in his plain white # 05.
Toland and Tommy Elston were heat winners, but it was veteran Ron Boyse and youngster Dayton Lynch setting on the front row as we went green. The inside line got the jump early, with Boyse out front, followed by Toland from inside row two, Elston from inside row three, outside row three starter Todd Frank, and inside row four starter Sam Halstead forming the top five down the backstretch of the opening circuit. Elston cleared Toland for second one lap later, but Toland did not go away, continuing to challenge Elston for the spot. By lap six, Elston had shaken off Toland and was pressuring Boyse for the lead. He completed the pass the next time around, quickly opening a comfortable margin. Now all eyes were on a side by side duel between the father and son duo of Todd and Gunner Frank for fifth. The race went caution free, as Elston claimed I believe his fourth checkers of the season at the speedway. Boyse held the runner up position, with Toland in third. Halstead held off a challenge from the Franks to finish fourth, while Todd outlasted Gunner for fifth. Jeff Guengerich ran seventh ahead of Brandon Queen, Darrin Weisinger Jr., Lynch, and Powell. Hynes run ended early, as he spun into the infield off the still tricky turn two, electing to call it a race.
It was vintage Donnellson, as the final checkers waved at 9:40, giving those who chose to do so plenty of time to enjoy the midway, which boasted a variety of rides and games.
This weekend will be spent helping to host a couples wedding shower for grandson Keagan and his lovely fiance Megan, but there still may be a chance I can sneak out this evening and make the hour drive to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. for more county fair racing. Then again....
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Shirley Extendes Summernationals Lead
Sunday night, the UMP Summernationals late model tour rolled into Quincy Raceways along with the Summit modified drivers. In addition, the local IMCA sport mod class was in action, and with the help of some sponsors, their feature was set to pay a whopping $2,000 to win. The normal starting time had been pushed back , with hot laps scheduled to start at 6:30, racing at 7:00. With the influx of out of town cars due in, I arrived at the track in the late afternoon. The sun was bearing down, however there was a nice breeze, and it looked as though there was enough moisture on the track to keep the dust away. The car counts were a bit on the low side, but we are in the fourth week of the tour, and it is Sunday night, so that was not a big surprise. The late model count stalled at twenty, although in the end a full field of 22 started the 40 lap feature. 19 modifieds signed in, and the sport mod count was 16.
A huge crowd was filing in, but it soon became obvious that we would not be starting on time. The track crew was trying to roll the surface into shape, but there seemed to be excess moisture and a shortage of packing vehicles. Finally about 7:30, sport mod hot laps began, and the late models were called to the track next. For whatever reason, the drivers seemed to have little interest in moving the show along, as they mostly ignored the multiple calls to staging. Finally a group of late models and modifieds came to the track and proceeded to do more packing, and late model hot laps finally began about 7:45.
Modified hot laps/time trials came next, with Ray Bollinger setting quick time at 14.668 seconds. The late models were paced by Frank Heckenast Jr. with a lap of 12.911 seconds.
Three modified heats were followed by three for the late models. Crate late model driver Trevor Gundaker was along with brother Gordy, and when he saw that the late model count was twenty while the Summernationals normally start 22 cars in the feature, he decided to unload his #11, qualify, and run the show.
All three late model heats were won from the pole. Heckenast topped series point leader Brian Shirley, Gordy Gundaker, and Wisconsin driver David Jaeger in heat one. Shannon Babb nabbed heat two ahead of Jason Feger, Jay Johnson, and Mark Voigt. The final ten lapper went to Rusty Schlenk over Steven Roberts, Mark Burgtorf, and Brian Diveley.
Following a pair of sport mod heats, it was intermission time. During the twenty minute break, late model driver Derek Fetter pulled in to the pit area. The Troy, Mo. driver had been in a parade earlier, but found out that the car count was around twenty, so he loaded up and made the 1 1/2 hour tow to the track. He was in hurry up mode, as the late model feature was scheduled to go first, but with somewhat rough track conditions, some of the late model drivers asked if the modifieds could run first and perhaps, " blow off " the track a bit.
So the mods lined up for 25 laps of action. Dave Weitholder jumped out front from his pole position, with Mike Harrison coming from row two to second. Those two, along with Mike McKinney, Michael Long, and Bollinger set the early pace ahead of a lap four caution. McKinney used the Delaware restart to power to second, and Bollinger went over the backstretch cushion, exiting the track during a lap six yellow. The field then restarted single file, and the leaders mostly worked the high line around the .29 mile oval. Soon it was a three car battle between Weitholder, McKinney, and Harrison, with Long lurking close behind. On lap 19, McKinney went too high on the backstretch, with Harrison slipping to second. Harrison took over the lead on lap 22. Then one lap later, disaster struck. The leaders came upon the slower car of Russ Coultas, Weitholder was clipped by McKinney, spun his #05, and crashed into Long, sending him hard into the front stretch wall. Long was upset and showed his displeasure with Weitholder. His night ended behind the wrecker, with heavy damage to his ride. Although I am not at all sure why, both McKinney and Weitholder were given their spots back. However Weitholder had damage to his car, and he fell back in the green, white, checkers finish. Harrison picked up the $1,000 win in only his third visit ever to QR. Rick Stephenson ran a steady race and took runner up honors, followed by McKinney, Texas driver Phil Dixon, and Kevin Blackburn.
It was now time for the late model $5,000 to win headliner.
Schlenk and Heckenast sat on row one, with Babb and Shirley in row two. Heckenast took the early lead, followed by Schlenk. Babb powered to second on lap two, and Shirley cleared Schlenk on the third circuit. The first caution came on lap twelve, as Burgtorf slowed with smoke coming from his #5, ending his top ten run. Back under green, Shirley cleared Babb for second on lap 15, then another caution came three laps later as Gordy Gundaker came to a stop. Shirley began to pressure Heckenast, and the pair ran side by side past the flag stand with the caution coming on lap 21. The scoring loop had Shirley ahead by a nose, and he lined up out front. A debris caution came at lap 30, and five laps later Babb used a power move out of turn four to grab the second spot. On lap 37, Babb suddenly slowed, as he appeared to have broken something in his suspension, and he fell off the pace. As the white flag waved, Fetter, who started 22nd and was now in ninth, stopped in turn two, needing a wrecker to exit the track. At the same time, Heckenast headed to the trailer. The green and white waved together signaling one more lap. Shirley held on for the win, and now Roberts found himself with a runner up finish. Schlenk, Feger, and Diveley completed the top five. In his victory lane interview, Shirley said this was the first night out for the car, and he was hesitant to race with the condition of the track. However certain unnamed drivers called him a p***y, so he decided to show them!
There was still the sport mod feature to run, and the big money had brought out the local hot shoes and even lured Brayton Carter all the way from Oskaloosa, Iowa. All 16 car started for 18 laps. Keokuk, Iowa driver Daniel Fellows took off from the pole, setting a torrid pace, and surviving a lap six yellow. Brandon Lennox was looking for racing room in the top five, when he spun in turn two on lap nine. The resulting crash eliminated contenders Adam Birck and Austin Howes. Two more yellows came by lap 15, and it was then that announcer Doug Mealy apologized t o the remaining fans that he had gotten it wrong and the race was 30 laps, not 18. Unfortunately, the clock was now on the wrong side of 11:00, and having early commitments on Monday, I decided to head for home and file this report before grabbing a few hours sleep. I see on Facebook that Fellows held on for the win.
Thanks to Jason Goble and his staff for their hospitality.
Next up for me will be racing action this Thursday night in Donnellson, Iowa, during the Lee County fair.
Thanks for reading, and good night!
A huge crowd was filing in, but it soon became obvious that we would not be starting on time. The track crew was trying to roll the surface into shape, but there seemed to be excess moisture and a shortage of packing vehicles. Finally about 7:30, sport mod hot laps began, and the late models were called to the track next. For whatever reason, the drivers seemed to have little interest in moving the show along, as they mostly ignored the multiple calls to staging. Finally a group of late models and modifieds came to the track and proceeded to do more packing, and late model hot laps finally began about 7:45.
Modified hot laps/time trials came next, with Ray Bollinger setting quick time at 14.668 seconds. The late models were paced by Frank Heckenast Jr. with a lap of 12.911 seconds.
Three modified heats were followed by three for the late models. Crate late model driver Trevor Gundaker was along with brother Gordy, and when he saw that the late model count was twenty while the Summernationals normally start 22 cars in the feature, he decided to unload his #11, qualify, and run the show.
All three late model heats were won from the pole. Heckenast topped series point leader Brian Shirley, Gordy Gundaker, and Wisconsin driver David Jaeger in heat one. Shannon Babb nabbed heat two ahead of Jason Feger, Jay Johnson, and Mark Voigt. The final ten lapper went to Rusty Schlenk over Steven Roberts, Mark Burgtorf, and Brian Diveley.
Following a pair of sport mod heats, it was intermission time. During the twenty minute break, late model driver Derek Fetter pulled in to the pit area. The Troy, Mo. driver had been in a parade earlier, but found out that the car count was around twenty, so he loaded up and made the 1 1/2 hour tow to the track. He was in hurry up mode, as the late model feature was scheduled to go first, but with somewhat rough track conditions, some of the late model drivers asked if the modifieds could run first and perhaps, " blow off " the track a bit.
So the mods lined up for 25 laps of action. Dave Weitholder jumped out front from his pole position, with Mike Harrison coming from row two to second. Those two, along with Mike McKinney, Michael Long, and Bollinger set the early pace ahead of a lap four caution. McKinney used the Delaware restart to power to second, and Bollinger went over the backstretch cushion, exiting the track during a lap six yellow. The field then restarted single file, and the leaders mostly worked the high line around the .29 mile oval. Soon it was a three car battle between Weitholder, McKinney, and Harrison, with Long lurking close behind. On lap 19, McKinney went too high on the backstretch, with Harrison slipping to second. Harrison took over the lead on lap 22. Then one lap later, disaster struck. The leaders came upon the slower car of Russ Coultas, Weitholder was clipped by McKinney, spun his #05, and crashed into Long, sending him hard into the front stretch wall. Long was upset and showed his displeasure with Weitholder. His night ended behind the wrecker, with heavy damage to his ride. Although I am not at all sure why, both McKinney and Weitholder were given their spots back. However Weitholder had damage to his car, and he fell back in the green, white, checkers finish. Harrison picked up the $1,000 win in only his third visit ever to QR. Rick Stephenson ran a steady race and took runner up honors, followed by McKinney, Texas driver Phil Dixon, and Kevin Blackburn.
It was now time for the late model $5,000 to win headliner.
Schlenk and Heckenast sat on row one, with Babb and Shirley in row two. Heckenast took the early lead, followed by Schlenk. Babb powered to second on lap two, and Shirley cleared Schlenk on the third circuit. The first caution came on lap twelve, as Burgtorf slowed with smoke coming from his #5, ending his top ten run. Back under green, Shirley cleared Babb for second on lap 15, then another caution came three laps later as Gordy Gundaker came to a stop. Shirley began to pressure Heckenast, and the pair ran side by side past the flag stand with the caution coming on lap 21. The scoring loop had Shirley ahead by a nose, and he lined up out front. A debris caution came at lap 30, and five laps later Babb used a power move out of turn four to grab the second spot. On lap 37, Babb suddenly slowed, as he appeared to have broken something in his suspension, and he fell off the pace. As the white flag waved, Fetter, who started 22nd and was now in ninth, stopped in turn two, needing a wrecker to exit the track. At the same time, Heckenast headed to the trailer. The green and white waved together signaling one more lap. Shirley held on for the win, and now Roberts found himself with a runner up finish. Schlenk, Feger, and Diveley completed the top five. In his victory lane interview, Shirley said this was the first night out for the car, and he was hesitant to race with the condition of the track. However certain unnamed drivers called him a p***y, so he decided to show them!
There was still the sport mod feature to run, and the big money had brought out the local hot shoes and even lured Brayton Carter all the way from Oskaloosa, Iowa. All 16 car started for 18 laps. Keokuk, Iowa driver Daniel Fellows took off from the pole, setting a torrid pace, and surviving a lap six yellow. Brandon Lennox was looking for racing room in the top five, when he spun in turn two on lap nine. The resulting crash eliminated contenders Adam Birck and Austin Howes. Two more yellows came by lap 15, and it was then that announcer Doug Mealy apologized t o the remaining fans that he had gotten it wrong and the race was 30 laps, not 18. Unfortunately, the clock was now on the wrong side of 11:00, and having early commitments on Monday, I decided to head for home and file this report before grabbing a few hours sleep. I see on Facebook that Fellows held on for the win.
Thanks to Jason Goble and his staff for their hospitality.
Next up for me will be racing action this Thursday night in Donnellson, Iowa, during the Lee County fair.
Thanks for reading, and good night!
Vaught Doubles Up at the Lake
It had been several years since my last visit to Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri, so Saturday night we made the three hour drive south for night number two of the MLRA late model weekend special. Checking the results for the Friday night $3,000 to win event, it was a bit disappointing to see only 19 cars were on hand. Our hope was that a $5,000 top prize on Saturday night might bring in a few more cars, but it soon became obvious that for whatever reason the count would again be a bit low. Still it was a talent filled field of 21, and with only the local street stocks running in support, and only twelve strong, we looked for an early evening.
Apparently the track owner/promoter decided to try and beef up the offering, announcing that the street stocks would run double features, the first for points and money and the second for cash only, with the lineup inverted from the finish of the first feature. It was also decided that both features would run ahead of the late models.
Things got rolling about 40 minutes late, with a pair of street stock heat races. Then the late models took on the high banked 1/3 mile oval for three ten lap qualifiers. Friday night feature winner Will Vaught drew the inside row three slot for the first heat, but powered his way to the win. With the MLRA using a passing points system, Vaught looked like a good bet to start on the pole for the feature. Austin Siebert started second and finished there, while local ULMA racer Jason Russell held off Kolby Vandenbergh for third. It was announced that Russells #2J machine did not meet all MLRA specs, but his fellow racers jumped in to help get him race ready. Rookie of the year contender Mitch McGrath made the long tow from Waukesha, Wisconsin and captured heat two, besting Jesse Stovall, series point leader Chad Simpson, and Cole Wells. Veteran Terry Phillips has concentrated on USMTS modified racing in 2018, but with that series having a weekend off, he rolled out his #75 late model for the first time this weekend, capturing the final heat race from the pole position. Payton Looney ran second ahead of Tony Jackson Jr. and Mason Oberkramer.
The first street stock main event rolled off next for 15 laps. All but one of the dozen cars took the feature green, with Dale Berry done for the night. Derek Henson led lap one, with Jimmy Meyers taking over on lap two. Lap six saw David Hendricks move to the runner up spot, and he began to pressure the leader following a lap seven caution. Henson suffered a flat on the white flag lap, falling to seventh, while Meyers held on for the win over Hendricks.
A lengthy intermission followed before the street stocks were again called to the speedway for their second feature, with several on track interviews offered to keep the locals entertained.
Henson started in row three in the second 15 lapper, vaulting to the first lap lead. As he stretched his advantage, Hendricks charged from the back to second, closing in on the leader ahead of a lap six yellow. A final caution for debris came one lap later. As the laps wound down, Henson held the preferred inside line, while Hendricks ran one line higher. He could pull alongside in the corners, but Henson was able to pull ahead down the straights. At the checkers it was Henson, Hendricks, and Meyers.
Finally twenty late models came to the front stretch. The #14G of Joe Godsey was listed in the starting grid for both a heat and the feature, but the car was never unloaded, I am not sure what that was about. With the cars lined up, the drivers exited their rides for driver introductions.
At last it was main event time. The scheduled distance was 41 laps, a tribute to fallen racer Jason Johnson who was honored several times throughout the night, including missing man formations during the four wide parade laps.
Vaught had indeed earned the pole starting spot with McGrath alongside. But it was Vaught leading as lap one was scored, followed by McGrath,Stovall, Looney, and Phillips. Vaught had a nearly straightaway lead and was approaching the back of the field when the caution came out on lap eight for a spin by Reid Millard. Stovall took advantage of the Delaware restart to move to second, and Phillips nabbed fourth. Phillips and Simpson were working the top side of the track as a cushion began to form, meanwhile Stovall was using a high line in turns one and two but following Vaught on the inside of turns three and four. Jeremy Grady brought out a lap twelve caution, collecting Millard as well. Back under green, it was Simpson on the move, advancing from ninth to sixth. As Vaught again built a near straightaway lead, Simpson entered the top five on lap 14. Three more rounds and Simpson was fourth, and it was lap 23 when the leader again found himself in traffic. Although Vaught was forced to change his line to lap a couple of slower cars, he was able to maintain his healthy margin. As Vaught took the white flag, Simpson had moved to third and tried to stick his nose under Stovall in turn three. In a cloud of dust, Simpson disappeared into the infield as the caution came out. As the field reformed, Chad showed his considerable displeasure with Stovall before exiting the track. Fifth running Looney also went to the pits under caution, shuffling the field for the final lap restart. The green and white waved together, giving us a one lap shootout. Vaught was up to the task, holding on for a flag to flag win, sweeping the weekend and collecting a cool $8,000. Stovall came home second, ahead of Phillips. Oberkramer grabbed the fourth spot, with McGrath completing the top five. Siebert ran sixth, ahead of Jackson Jr., row seven starter Logan Martin, Wells, and Rickey Frankel.
As the post race fireworks display began, we headed for the car, rolling out of the speedway at about 10:15.
It had been about six or seven years since I had been to LOS and it seemed there had been several amenities added, although my memory is not what it once was. Certainly though, it is a top notch fan friendly facility, with an accommodating staff. Special thanks to the Trimble family for their hospitality and to announcer Doug Mealy for the shout out for Positively Racing!
Today, Sunday, I will soon be off to Quincy Raceways for another installment of the UMP Summernationals. The late models will be after a $5,000 check, while the Summit modifieds will be vying for a $1,000 prize. Meanwhile, thanks to several local sponsors, the sport mod winner will collect a whopping $2,000! The weather is prefect, so if you are close, hot laps will be at 6:30 with racing to follow. This is the biggest event of 2018 at QR, hopefully I will see you there!
Apparently the track owner/promoter decided to try and beef up the offering, announcing that the street stocks would run double features, the first for points and money and the second for cash only, with the lineup inverted from the finish of the first feature. It was also decided that both features would run ahead of the late models.
Things got rolling about 40 minutes late, with a pair of street stock heat races. Then the late models took on the high banked 1/3 mile oval for three ten lap qualifiers. Friday night feature winner Will Vaught drew the inside row three slot for the first heat, but powered his way to the win. With the MLRA using a passing points system, Vaught looked like a good bet to start on the pole for the feature. Austin Siebert started second and finished there, while local ULMA racer Jason Russell held off Kolby Vandenbergh for third. It was announced that Russells #2J machine did not meet all MLRA specs, but his fellow racers jumped in to help get him race ready. Rookie of the year contender Mitch McGrath made the long tow from Waukesha, Wisconsin and captured heat two, besting Jesse Stovall, series point leader Chad Simpson, and Cole Wells. Veteran Terry Phillips has concentrated on USMTS modified racing in 2018, but with that series having a weekend off, he rolled out his #75 late model for the first time this weekend, capturing the final heat race from the pole position. Payton Looney ran second ahead of Tony Jackson Jr. and Mason Oberkramer.
The first street stock main event rolled off next for 15 laps. All but one of the dozen cars took the feature green, with Dale Berry done for the night. Derek Henson led lap one, with Jimmy Meyers taking over on lap two. Lap six saw David Hendricks move to the runner up spot, and he began to pressure the leader following a lap seven caution. Henson suffered a flat on the white flag lap, falling to seventh, while Meyers held on for the win over Hendricks.
A lengthy intermission followed before the street stocks were again called to the speedway for their second feature, with several on track interviews offered to keep the locals entertained.
Henson started in row three in the second 15 lapper, vaulting to the first lap lead. As he stretched his advantage, Hendricks charged from the back to second, closing in on the leader ahead of a lap six yellow. A final caution for debris came one lap later. As the laps wound down, Henson held the preferred inside line, while Hendricks ran one line higher. He could pull alongside in the corners, but Henson was able to pull ahead down the straights. At the checkers it was Henson, Hendricks, and Meyers.
Finally twenty late models came to the front stretch. The #14G of Joe Godsey was listed in the starting grid for both a heat and the feature, but the car was never unloaded, I am not sure what that was about. With the cars lined up, the drivers exited their rides for driver introductions.
At last it was main event time. The scheduled distance was 41 laps, a tribute to fallen racer Jason Johnson who was honored several times throughout the night, including missing man formations during the four wide parade laps.
Vaught had indeed earned the pole starting spot with McGrath alongside. But it was Vaught leading as lap one was scored, followed by McGrath,Stovall, Looney, and Phillips. Vaught had a nearly straightaway lead and was approaching the back of the field when the caution came out on lap eight for a spin by Reid Millard. Stovall took advantage of the Delaware restart to move to second, and Phillips nabbed fourth. Phillips and Simpson were working the top side of the track as a cushion began to form, meanwhile Stovall was using a high line in turns one and two but following Vaught on the inside of turns three and four. Jeremy Grady brought out a lap twelve caution, collecting Millard as well. Back under green, it was Simpson on the move, advancing from ninth to sixth. As Vaught again built a near straightaway lead, Simpson entered the top five on lap 14. Three more rounds and Simpson was fourth, and it was lap 23 when the leader again found himself in traffic. Although Vaught was forced to change his line to lap a couple of slower cars, he was able to maintain his healthy margin. As Vaught took the white flag, Simpson had moved to third and tried to stick his nose under Stovall in turn three. In a cloud of dust, Simpson disappeared into the infield as the caution came out. As the field reformed, Chad showed his considerable displeasure with Stovall before exiting the track. Fifth running Looney also went to the pits under caution, shuffling the field for the final lap restart. The green and white waved together, giving us a one lap shootout. Vaught was up to the task, holding on for a flag to flag win, sweeping the weekend and collecting a cool $8,000. Stovall came home second, ahead of Phillips. Oberkramer grabbed the fourth spot, with McGrath completing the top five. Siebert ran sixth, ahead of Jackson Jr., row seven starter Logan Martin, Wells, and Rickey Frankel.
As the post race fireworks display began, we headed for the car, rolling out of the speedway at about 10:15.
It had been about six or seven years since I had been to LOS and it seemed there had been several amenities added, although my memory is not what it once was. Certainly though, it is a top notch fan friendly facility, with an accommodating staff. Special thanks to the Trimble family for their hospitality and to announcer Doug Mealy for the shout out for Positively Racing!
Today, Sunday, I will soon be off to Quincy Raceways for another installment of the UMP Summernationals. The late models will be after a $5,000 check, while the Summit modifieds will be vying for a $1,000 prize. Meanwhile, thanks to several local sponsors, the sport mod winner will collect a whopping $2,000! The weather is prefect, so if you are close, hot laps will be at 6:30 with racing to follow. This is the biggest event of 2018 at QR, hopefully I will see you there!
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Second Generation Driver Tops 34
Tuesday night we paid a visit to one of my favorite tracks, 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, catching up with the Deery Brothers IMCA late model Summer Series for the third time in 2018. We were pleased with the 33 car count last Thursday at Vinton, but were shocked when it was announced that 37 drivers had checked in at 34. This is especially surprising considering that the Quad City area is the closest place to find IMCA late models. However, central Iowa was also well represented, and there was even one driver who gave a hometown in the state of California, Michael Hynes, driving a #05 that had me writing down "Paul Nagle" in the book before it was announced as Hynes.
The IMCA stock cars were also in action with a car count of around 15 racing for the $500.00 top prize. No doubt the Hogan Memorial in Vinton took a bite out of the count, but as is nearly always the case, the stock cars staged a twenty lap feature that was worth the price of admission. The INEX Legend cars also turned out a solid field of more than twenty, racing to benefit the C.O.P.S. organization.
With the sun bearing down, racing began close to the 7:00 advertised time, with nine heat races and a pair of late model B- mains setting the feature fields. I cannot remember the last time I visited a track that there was not an intermission to rework the surface during the program, but with the exception of adding a bit of water, we raced with the track we were given. To the delight of most of the drivers, I am sure, the high banked 3/8 mile slicked off and stayed smooth throughout the night.
Even though the Deery Series uses a draw system for heat race lineups, all four ten lappers were won from the front row, with Tyler Bruening, Ryan Dolan, Rob Toland, and Darrell Defrance coming to the front stretch to do the pizza box redraw, whereby each driver opens their box revealing a starting position in the first two rows of the feature, then must give that spot to one of the other four. This somewhat silly exercise became a crucial moment as it turned out. But we would have to wait to see how it played out, as the stock cars were up first for twenty laps.
It took three tries to get the main event started, as first Brandon Rothzen and then Jim Lynch went for a spin, courtesy of three wide racing. When we finally got going, it was Jason Cook out front, with Chad Krogmeier nipping at his heels. The caution waved again on lap four as Ray Raker went off the top of turns one and two, and following the Delaware restart, Tom Bowling Jr. powered to the runner up spot. Bowling then took over the lead one lap later, as our attention shifted to David Brandies and Abe Huls, who were coming to the front racing side by side. Around the halfway mark, there were five cars in a tight battle for the second spot, with Cook, Huls, Brandies, Krogmeier, and Rothzen in a tight pack, while Jason See was closing in, looking to join the fray. See retired to the pits during a lap twelve caution, but on the restart cars went four wide, and Brandies ran out of real estate, going for a spin. Track officials attempted to clean up his damaged car, successfully removing the front bumper and hood, but unable to rip a damaged side panel from his #71. Brandies restarted at the tail, but soon pulled to the infield. Huls cleared Krogmeier for second as racing resumed, although Chad kept a nose under the #30C. With four laps to go, Abe was in command of second, and one lap later when Bowling slid high, Huls used his familiar low line to grab the lead. He then moved to the middle groove, holding back Bowling, who kept up his momentum on the top side of the track. At the checkers, it was Huls, Bowling Jr., Krogmeier, Rothzen, and Cook.
The 25 lap legend feature was entertaining as well, with former IMCA and super late model racer Jason Utter using a lap 16 single file restart to surge from third to the lead, then pulling away for the win.
Vinton winner Jeremiah Hurst and Lee County Speedway regular Sam Halstead, driving his IMCA car had topped the B- mains, which qualified five cars each, and with the addition of two series points provisionals, 24 cars were set to compete for 50 laps. However, B-main qualifier Curtis Glover did not make the call, giving us 23 starters. The veteran Defrance, who has yet to miss any of the I believe 485 series events, had drawn the outside pole position in the pizza box deal, and as he had to give it up, he elected Dolan as the lucky recipient. Defrance wound up with the inside row one spot, and led the field into turn one. However Dolan took advantage of the faster high line, powering to the lead off turn two. The second generation pilot opened a commanding lead before hitting slower traffic eleven laps in. Meanwhile, fourth starting Tyler Bruening was hounding Defrance for second, with the duo running side by side for several laps before Bruening took the spot on lap 17. Dolan eased around the first pair of lapped cars, then again opened a big lead as he raced with a clear track in front of him. Sixth starting Matt Ryan had fallen back a bit early, but came charging into the top five on lap 21. Bruening began to cut into the lead, and as we reached halfway, he was challenging Dolan for the top spot, just a couple of car lengths back. Again Dolan was able to pull away, and again Bruening closed the gap around lap 30. Dolan stayed patient, working the heavy traffic to perfection, leaving Bruening scrambling to keep up. Each time the leader found a clear track, he would pull well ahead, only to lose his cushion in traffic. Bruening was back within striking distance for the final six circuits, but the race belonged to Dolan, as we went 50 laps without a caution! As Ryan celebrated his $2,000 win in victory lane, it was neat to see his legendary father Roger, camera in hand on the grandstand side of the flag stand! Defrance was well back in third at the checkers, followed by Toland and Ryan. Point leader Justin Kay spent many laps stalking the Eckrichs brothers,Andy and Denny, finally moving up from twelfth to sixth, with Andy next. Terry Neal came home eighth, Denny was ninth, and " Chargin' " Charlie McKenna started tenth and finish in the same spot.
A big thanks to Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt for a good night of racing under less than ideal conditions. With fireworks following the main event, we were still on the road around the 10:00 PM hour. It is always great to see old friends at 34, and lots of bench racing took place!
The Deery Series will next visit the Columbus Junction, Iowa track on Wednesday, July 18. Meanwhile, 34 Raceway will see action resuming this Saturday night, and they are making plans for the Tony Stewart owned All Star Circuit of Champion 410 sprint cars event on Sunday, July 29. Our " old guys " tour is set to resume Saturday night with a visit to Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri for the second of weekend shows featuring the MLRA late models., along with the local street stocks. The high powered late models are racing Friday for a $3,000 top prize and Saturday for $5,000.
Thanks for checking in.
The IMCA stock cars were also in action with a car count of around 15 racing for the $500.00 top prize. No doubt the Hogan Memorial in Vinton took a bite out of the count, but as is nearly always the case, the stock cars staged a twenty lap feature that was worth the price of admission. The INEX Legend cars also turned out a solid field of more than twenty, racing to benefit the C.O.P.S. organization.
With the sun bearing down, racing began close to the 7:00 advertised time, with nine heat races and a pair of late model B- mains setting the feature fields. I cannot remember the last time I visited a track that there was not an intermission to rework the surface during the program, but with the exception of adding a bit of water, we raced with the track we were given. To the delight of most of the drivers, I am sure, the high banked 3/8 mile slicked off and stayed smooth throughout the night.
Even though the Deery Series uses a draw system for heat race lineups, all four ten lappers were won from the front row, with Tyler Bruening, Ryan Dolan, Rob Toland, and Darrell Defrance coming to the front stretch to do the pizza box redraw, whereby each driver opens their box revealing a starting position in the first two rows of the feature, then must give that spot to one of the other four. This somewhat silly exercise became a crucial moment as it turned out. But we would have to wait to see how it played out, as the stock cars were up first for twenty laps.
It took three tries to get the main event started, as first Brandon Rothzen and then Jim Lynch went for a spin, courtesy of three wide racing. When we finally got going, it was Jason Cook out front, with Chad Krogmeier nipping at his heels. The caution waved again on lap four as Ray Raker went off the top of turns one and two, and following the Delaware restart, Tom Bowling Jr. powered to the runner up spot. Bowling then took over the lead one lap later, as our attention shifted to David Brandies and Abe Huls, who were coming to the front racing side by side. Around the halfway mark, there were five cars in a tight battle for the second spot, with Cook, Huls, Brandies, Krogmeier, and Rothzen in a tight pack, while Jason See was closing in, looking to join the fray. See retired to the pits during a lap twelve caution, but on the restart cars went four wide, and Brandies ran out of real estate, going for a spin. Track officials attempted to clean up his damaged car, successfully removing the front bumper and hood, but unable to rip a damaged side panel from his #71. Brandies restarted at the tail, but soon pulled to the infield. Huls cleared Krogmeier for second as racing resumed, although Chad kept a nose under the #30C. With four laps to go, Abe was in command of second, and one lap later when Bowling slid high, Huls used his familiar low line to grab the lead. He then moved to the middle groove, holding back Bowling, who kept up his momentum on the top side of the track. At the checkers, it was Huls, Bowling Jr., Krogmeier, Rothzen, and Cook.
The 25 lap legend feature was entertaining as well, with former IMCA and super late model racer Jason Utter using a lap 16 single file restart to surge from third to the lead, then pulling away for the win.
Vinton winner Jeremiah Hurst and Lee County Speedway regular Sam Halstead, driving his IMCA car had topped the B- mains, which qualified five cars each, and with the addition of two series points provisionals, 24 cars were set to compete for 50 laps. However, B-main qualifier Curtis Glover did not make the call, giving us 23 starters. The veteran Defrance, who has yet to miss any of the I believe 485 series events, had drawn the outside pole position in the pizza box deal, and as he had to give it up, he elected Dolan as the lucky recipient. Defrance wound up with the inside row one spot, and led the field into turn one. However Dolan took advantage of the faster high line, powering to the lead off turn two. The second generation pilot opened a commanding lead before hitting slower traffic eleven laps in. Meanwhile, fourth starting Tyler Bruening was hounding Defrance for second, with the duo running side by side for several laps before Bruening took the spot on lap 17. Dolan eased around the first pair of lapped cars, then again opened a big lead as he raced with a clear track in front of him. Sixth starting Matt Ryan had fallen back a bit early, but came charging into the top five on lap 21. Bruening began to cut into the lead, and as we reached halfway, he was challenging Dolan for the top spot, just a couple of car lengths back. Again Dolan was able to pull away, and again Bruening closed the gap around lap 30. Dolan stayed patient, working the heavy traffic to perfection, leaving Bruening scrambling to keep up. Each time the leader found a clear track, he would pull well ahead, only to lose his cushion in traffic. Bruening was back within striking distance for the final six circuits, but the race belonged to Dolan, as we went 50 laps without a caution! As Ryan celebrated his $2,000 win in victory lane, it was neat to see his legendary father Roger, camera in hand on the grandstand side of the flag stand! Defrance was well back in third at the checkers, followed by Toland and Ryan. Point leader Justin Kay spent many laps stalking the Eckrichs brothers,Andy and Denny, finally moving up from twelfth to sixth, with Andy next. Terry Neal came home eighth, Denny was ninth, and " Chargin' " Charlie McKenna started tenth and finish in the same spot.
A big thanks to Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt for a good night of racing under less than ideal conditions. With fireworks following the main event, we were still on the road around the 10:00 PM hour. It is always great to see old friends at 34, and lots of bench racing took place!
The Deery Series will next visit the Columbus Junction, Iowa track on Wednesday, July 18. Meanwhile, 34 Raceway will see action resuming this Saturday night, and they are making plans for the Tony Stewart owned All Star Circuit of Champion 410 sprint cars event on Sunday, July 29. Our " old guys " tour is set to resume Saturday night with a visit to Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri for the second of weekend shows featuring the MLRA late models., along with the local street stocks. The high powered late models are racing Friday for a $3,000 top prize and Saturday for $5,000.
Thanks for checking in.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Sheppard Edges Moran at Pevely
Saturday night we jumped back on the UMP Summernationals wagon as we made the three hour trip to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. In tandem with a Friday night show in Terre Haute,In., the I-55 show featured a co sanction with the World of Outlaw late models. This format was popular with the fans, but not as much with the drivers, with some saying they would stay away if the outlaws were added in. Still a solid field of 33 super late models - about average for a " big " show at I-55, signed in for a shot at the $10,000 top prize. The UMP Summit modified portion of the tour turned out 37 competitors vying for a $1,000 check, and the local Pro Mod division produced somewhere close to 35 entries.
Local favorite Rick Conoyer got the evening started with the quickest overall qualifying time for the mods. The late models were paced by Devin Moran, who turned in a lap of 12.709 seconds around the high banked 1/3 mile oval.
Before actual racing began, the track crew tore up the speedway, a process that took some time, but offered up multi groove racing for the remainder of the night. We took the time to visit with old friends Tracey and Kim Westling, who have at least temporarily suspended their late model racing program.
Four modified heat wins went to Conoyer, Rick Stevenson, Mike Harrison, and Timmy Hill. It was then late model time, and the first pair of ten lap qualifiers went to Moran over Brandon Sheppard, Tim Manville, and Brent Larson, then series point leader Shannon Babb bested Chase Junghans, Mike Marlar, and WoO point leader Chris Madden. Frank Heckenast Jr. topped heat three ahead of Rick Eckert, Shane Clanton, and Kent Robinson, while Brian Shirley captured the final heat over Gordy Gundaker, Nick Hoffman, and Jason Feger.
The pro mods ran four eight lap heats, while the mods completed their starting field with a consolation event won by Michael Long.
All but two of the 17 non qualified late models came to the track for twelve laps to determine the row nine starters in the 50 lap main event. I-55 point leader Jeff Herzog led the distance followed by David Breazeale. Between the Summernational, World of Outlaw, track choice and " emergency " provisionals, a ridiculous number of seven cars were added to the show, giving us a 25 car starting grid.
The 25 lap modified feature ran first. Conoyer started on the pole position and quickly established himself as the man to beat. Harrison came from row two to the runner up spot, with Hill and Jim Black following. After a lap two caution, fifth row starter Kenny Wallace charged into the top five., and he gained another position following a lap five yellow. Meanwhile Long was on the move, working his way up eight spots to ninth by lap eight. Long charged to sixth on lap ten, and just before halfway, Wallace entered the top three. Conoyer held a sizable lead as he encountered slower traffic on lap 21. He worked his way through the lapped cars with ease, as Long and Hill staged an entertaining duel for fifth. Long took the spot on lap 23, only to give it up to Dean Hoffman on the final trip around. At the checkers, it was Conoyer with the time trial, heat race, and feature sweep. Harrison rode home second, ahead of Wallace, Black, Hoffman, and Long.
It was now late model feature time. Moran and Babb redrew the front row starting spots among the four heat winners. Moran, son of legendary father Donnie, led the first trip past the flag stand, but it was Babb out front as lap two was scored. Feger came to a stop on lap four, ending his night behind the wrecker. Back under green, Moran ran the inside line while Babb worked the top of the track. Behind the lead pair, Sheppard worked the low groove and Shirley tried the high line. Shirley then used an inside move to take second on lap eight, and one lap later Sheppard also cleared Moran for third. It was now a two car battle between Babb and Shirley, the top point men on the Summernationals tour. Shirley grabbed the lead on lap 14, with Sheppard closing fast. Brandon moved to second on lap 17. With slower traffic in play by lap twenty, Shirley stretched his lead. Sheppard again closed on the leader by lap 28, and the two traded lines as they circled the crowded oval. Then it was Babb back on the move, powering to second on lap 33. But disaster struck, as contact left Babb with a flat tire on lap 35. He ducked to the hot pit under the yellow, eventually rejoining the pack at the back of the lead lap cars in 19th. At this point, row five starters Mike Marlar and Tim Manville sat third and fourth, both having overtaken Moran. Back to racing, Shirley hugged the bottom groove, while Sheppard elected the higher line. Brandon used the top side momentum to grab the lead on lap 38, and the caution came out two circuits later. By this point, Moran had charged back to third, and Manville had fallen back. Sheppard shot out to a nice lead on the restart, while Moran got a nose ahead of Shirley. One final caution with four laps to go set up a dramatic finish. Third generation driver Sheppard in the Mark Richards Rocket house car and Moran waged a side by side battle. As the pair exited turn four for the final time, everyone was standing. After 50 hard fought laps, Sheppard won by a nose! Moran took runner up honors, with Shirley third. Eckert came on strong in the late stages, slipping past Marlar for fourth. Heckenast led the second five followed by Gundaker, Madden, provisional starter Tyler Erb, and Hoffman.
With the post race interviews in progress and the Pro Mods lining up, we headed for the car, as it was now on the wrong side of 11:00 PM. Although there was a fair amount of down time, the four of us agreed that the trip was well worth the time and money, with great racing all night long. Special thanks to Fayette County Speedway racer Kate Smith, who helped keep us entertained and informed on a warm, muggy evening. Fayette County has been on our " bucket list " for some time, and we hope to plan a trip there soon.
For now though, it looks like the IMCA late model Deery Brothers Summer Series race at 34 Raceway in West Burlington will take us to the Independence Day holiday. Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt will host the traveling late models along with IMCA stock cars and Inex Legend cars on Tuesday, July 3 at the high banked 3/8 mile speed plant.
Thanks for reading!
Local favorite Rick Conoyer got the evening started with the quickest overall qualifying time for the mods. The late models were paced by Devin Moran, who turned in a lap of 12.709 seconds around the high banked 1/3 mile oval.
Before actual racing began, the track crew tore up the speedway, a process that took some time, but offered up multi groove racing for the remainder of the night. We took the time to visit with old friends Tracey and Kim Westling, who have at least temporarily suspended their late model racing program.
Four modified heat wins went to Conoyer, Rick Stevenson, Mike Harrison, and Timmy Hill. It was then late model time, and the first pair of ten lap qualifiers went to Moran over Brandon Sheppard, Tim Manville, and Brent Larson, then series point leader Shannon Babb bested Chase Junghans, Mike Marlar, and WoO point leader Chris Madden. Frank Heckenast Jr. topped heat three ahead of Rick Eckert, Shane Clanton, and Kent Robinson, while Brian Shirley captured the final heat over Gordy Gundaker, Nick Hoffman, and Jason Feger.
The pro mods ran four eight lap heats, while the mods completed their starting field with a consolation event won by Michael Long.
All but two of the 17 non qualified late models came to the track for twelve laps to determine the row nine starters in the 50 lap main event. I-55 point leader Jeff Herzog led the distance followed by David Breazeale. Between the Summernational, World of Outlaw, track choice and " emergency " provisionals, a ridiculous number of seven cars were added to the show, giving us a 25 car starting grid.
The 25 lap modified feature ran first. Conoyer started on the pole position and quickly established himself as the man to beat. Harrison came from row two to the runner up spot, with Hill and Jim Black following. After a lap two caution, fifth row starter Kenny Wallace charged into the top five., and he gained another position following a lap five yellow. Meanwhile Long was on the move, working his way up eight spots to ninth by lap eight. Long charged to sixth on lap ten, and just before halfway, Wallace entered the top three. Conoyer held a sizable lead as he encountered slower traffic on lap 21. He worked his way through the lapped cars with ease, as Long and Hill staged an entertaining duel for fifth. Long took the spot on lap 23, only to give it up to Dean Hoffman on the final trip around. At the checkers, it was Conoyer with the time trial, heat race, and feature sweep. Harrison rode home second, ahead of Wallace, Black, Hoffman, and Long.
It was now late model feature time. Moran and Babb redrew the front row starting spots among the four heat winners. Moran, son of legendary father Donnie, led the first trip past the flag stand, but it was Babb out front as lap two was scored. Feger came to a stop on lap four, ending his night behind the wrecker. Back under green, Moran ran the inside line while Babb worked the top of the track. Behind the lead pair, Sheppard worked the low groove and Shirley tried the high line. Shirley then used an inside move to take second on lap eight, and one lap later Sheppard also cleared Moran for third. It was now a two car battle between Babb and Shirley, the top point men on the Summernationals tour. Shirley grabbed the lead on lap 14, with Sheppard closing fast. Brandon moved to second on lap 17. With slower traffic in play by lap twenty, Shirley stretched his lead. Sheppard again closed on the leader by lap 28, and the two traded lines as they circled the crowded oval. Then it was Babb back on the move, powering to second on lap 33. But disaster struck, as contact left Babb with a flat tire on lap 35. He ducked to the hot pit under the yellow, eventually rejoining the pack at the back of the lead lap cars in 19th. At this point, row five starters Mike Marlar and Tim Manville sat third and fourth, both having overtaken Moran. Back to racing, Shirley hugged the bottom groove, while Sheppard elected the higher line. Brandon used the top side momentum to grab the lead on lap 38, and the caution came out two circuits later. By this point, Moran had charged back to third, and Manville had fallen back. Sheppard shot out to a nice lead on the restart, while Moran got a nose ahead of Shirley. One final caution with four laps to go set up a dramatic finish. Third generation driver Sheppard in the Mark Richards Rocket house car and Moran waged a side by side battle. As the pair exited turn four for the final time, everyone was standing. After 50 hard fought laps, Sheppard won by a nose! Moran took runner up honors, with Shirley third. Eckert came on strong in the late stages, slipping past Marlar for fourth. Heckenast led the second five followed by Gundaker, Madden, provisional starter Tyler Erb, and Hoffman.
With the post race interviews in progress and the Pro Mods lining up, we headed for the car, as it was now on the wrong side of 11:00 PM. Although there was a fair amount of down time, the four of us agreed that the trip was well worth the time and money, with great racing all night long. Special thanks to Fayette County Speedway racer Kate Smith, who helped keep us entertained and informed on a warm, muggy evening. Fayette County has been on our " bucket list " for some time, and we hope to plan a trip there soon.
For now though, it looks like the IMCA late model Deery Brothers Summer Series race at 34 Raceway in West Burlington will take us to the Independence Day holiday. Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt will host the traveling late models along with IMCA stock cars and Inex Legend cars on Tuesday, July 3 at the high banked 3/8 mile speed plant.
Thanks for reading!
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