Fall Bash Scores an " A " Plus

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