Vaught Hot at Donnellson

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