Simpson Goes Out On Top at Wheatland

 Saturday afternoon, Fred, Darryl, and I were joined by IMCA stock car driver Beau Taylor as we loaded up and headed to the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri for the final night of points racing for the MLRA late models, co sanctioned with the Comp Cams late model series and the B modified Clash of Champions. Originally scheduled as a two day event, the Friday portion was washed out during hot laps setting up a one show marathon with start times moved up two hours. We arrived at the 3/8 mile " Diamond of Dirt Tracks " just as hot laps were set to kick off at 4:30. A solid total of 66 B mods battling for a $3,000 top prize kicked things off followed by 44 super late models dueling for a $5,000 check along with a $500 bonus. In addition, the MLRA championship hung in the balance, with Chad Simpson leading Will Vaught by a scant margin.
 Racing began as advertised at 5:00. Somewhat to my surprise, the Friday format of two rounds of heat races for the B mods qualifying 14 cars to the feature followed by " alphabet " consolation features remained in place, making for a ton of laps on a racing surface which soon began to show the effects of steady rains on Friday followed by cool temps and little sun on Saturday.
 After round one of eight B mod eight lap heats, the late models were set to contest five ten lap qualifiers, with passing points also locking in 14 feature starters. The format yielded plenty of action in both divisions. Scott Crigler and Simpson picked up heat wins from the front row, while Vaught and Mason Oberkramer scored victories from row two, and Tony Jackson Jr. started sixth and won the final heat race. 
  Another round of B mod heats preceded a rather lengthy unofficial intermission, then the round of consys began for the mods. Up first was an "E" main, that was scheduled to advance the top eight to the next round. Only six cars came to the track, but oddly enough, they raced for eight laps anyway.
 B main number one for the late models ran next, with Matt Furman, now back in his home state of Iowa leading the three transfers to the main event.
 Now it was "D" main time, 14 laps scheduled with the top eight moving to the next round.
 Late model B number two came next, with Nebraska's Jake Neal victorious from row two after Iowa driver Todd Shute had his engine expire in turn three on the final lap while leading by a sizable margin.
  The modified "C" ran 18 laps as a few sprinkles began to fall.
  The late model feature then came to the track for 50 scheduled laps to determine the nights winner as well as the MLRA title, as Arkansas ace Jack Sullivan had the Comp Cams championship in hand. Jackson Jr. and Jesse Stovall sat on row one, while Vaught was joined by Oberkramer in row two. Simpson, meanwhile lined up outside MLRA rookie of the year Payton Looney in row four. Jackson jumped to the lap one lead, with Vaught climbing to second ahead of Stovall and Oberkramer. On lap five, Jackson caught a hole in the track off turn two, slowed and was tagged by Vaught. Vaught spun around and was hit hard by Logan Martin. Now it was Stovall out front, Simpson powered to fifth, and Jackson called it a night. Caution number two came on lap eight as Neal stopped in turn four. Crigler was now on the move, climbing to second followed by Sullivan, Simpson, and Looney. Vaught had restarted in 21st, but was up to twelfth when he rolled to a stop on lap ten, exiting the track with likely issues from his earlier crash. Looney charged to third on the restart, but it was Simpson now on the move. He took second on lap 13, but the red flag waved as Mitch McGrath, J C Wyman, and Jeremy Grady piled up off turn two. It was then announced the there would be a " helmet stop " on lap 25 for drivers to swap helmets or add tare offs. This actually came at lap 29 when the caution flew for a stopped Rickey Frankel. At this point, only nine of the 24 starters remained on the track, so following an extended delay it was announced that the drivers still running had agreed to cut the race to 40 laps as there was "weather" in the area. As the green flag waved, Stovall found a rut in turn one and was shuffled back to fourth, as first Sullivan, then Simpson grabbed the lead. At this point Martin, who had restarted in 23rd looked to have the fastest car, and he snatched the lead away on lap 32.  He was building his margin, looking like he would complete his comeback when he seemed to get sucked into the concrete wall between turns three and four, ending his night behind the wrecker. With four laps remaining, Simpson assumed the lead on the single file restart, racing to the win and the championship. It was a bittersweet celebration for the veteran Iowa pilot, who was for the final time racing for car owners Bud and Denise Brinkman. The team had announced earlier in the year that the Brinkmans would be dissolving the team after a 15 year run with Simpson, whose plans for next season are uncertain. Sullivan came home second, meaning the two series champs ran one, two on the night. Raymond Merrill came back from being put a lap down early to take third, followed by Terry Phillips and Looney. Aaron Marrant and B J Robinson both edged out Stovall, who slowed on the last lap, as only eight cars were around for the checkers.
  After the victory lane festivities, and with a light drizzle falling,  the B mod " B " main came to the track for 22 scheduled laps, with the top ten moving to the 24 car, 40 lap finale. A caution period with three laps to go was met with a now persistent light rain, and it seemed likely the circling cars would not be able to " save " the racing surface. We then headed to the warmth of the van, heading to the highway as the clock registered 10:20 P.M. As we headed north in a steady rain, it was no surprise to learn this morning that we had seen the last of the racing. The top ten in the B main when the race was stopped were added to the back of the feature lineup, and the purse was paid based upon the starting order. So pole sitter Andy Bryant, who earned his spot with a a pair of heat race wins collected the $3,000 check, while Kris Jackson, who also captured both his heats picked up $1,500 for second. Still, the drive of the night had to go to Tyler Brown, who muscled his battered #T10 machine through the D,C, and B mains and was set to lineup in the feature!
  While we certainly appreciated the fact that the late model headliner was completed, it was easy to feel badly for B mod drivers and their fans. It is not my place to Monday morning quarterback, but in hindsight, I doubt any of them would have objected to eliminating the second round of heat races, both of which had originally been set to run on Friday along with another complete late model program. Also, canceling the E main and shortening laps on the D,C, and B rounds, especially with rain on the way, might have made it possible to get at least some of the main event run.
  Never the less, it was another good night of racing, despite the chilly temps and occasional precipitation. There will be no racing for me next weekend, with a family outing planned, so I look forward to Shiverfest in two weeks at the Lee County Speedway in
Donnellson. For those of you looking to add to your racing adventures, however, the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. will host two nights of action next Friday and Saturday, as will Tri City Speedway in Granite City, Il.