Despite threatening skies, rain, and storms in the area, the Lee County Speedway crew persevered to present weekly racing on Friday night. Sixty five cars in five classes signed in to race in front of a more than decent crowd considering the uncertainty of the weather.
With the 3/8 mile oval having received excess moisture, it took the track crew along with packing help from the drivers extra time to get the surface in racing shape. The heat races clicked off in timely fashion, then feature racing began with no intermission.
IMCA sport mods kicked off the five main events, fifteen cars for eighteen laps. Brandon Lambert paced the opening pair of laps before eighth starting Austen Becerra moved to the lead. Tenth starting Daniel Fellows was also on the move, advancing to third, then snatching the runner up spot on lap four. The yellow flag technically sent Fellows back to third, but he used the Delaware restart to again take second and pulled alongside Becerra as lap five was scored. As the front duo continued to battle side by side, they began to put distance on the field. Fellows finally nosed ahead on lap nine, then began to stretch his advantage. Just as he moved in on slower traffic, with six laps remaining on the scoreboard, the caution waved again. Two more restarts, one following a hard crash by Steven Berry, and Adam Birck cracked the top three with two laps to go. But it was all Fellows on this night, as he scored another win over Becerra, Birck, Ron Kibbe, and Brandon Dale.
The twenty lap IMCA late model main event was next, with fifteen cars taking the green flag. The draw, redraw format in effect for the night saw Stacy Griffis and Brian Harris lined up in row one. Harris shot to the lead, quickly pulling away from Jay Johnson and Matt Strassheim, who came from sixth in the Barton Racing #7. The yellow came out when one of the traffic cones was knocked on the track, not once, but twice! Tegan Evans retired to the pits as Harris again grabbed the lead. On lap three, seventh starting Tommy Elston nudged his way under Griffis in turns three and four, but ran into the mud on the low line and spun, collecting Sam Halstead. After the two contenders recovered, their cars were literally covered with mud, to the point that Halstead quite possibly could not see or grip the steering wheel! With those two restarting at the tail, fifth starting Nick Marolf charged to second. By lap six, he was challenging Harris as the two broke away from the pack. Soon Harris pulled ahead, but by the mid point of the race, Marolf was once again closing in. The leaders caught slower traffic with seven laps to go, and Harris found Griffis and Halstead in a side by side battle for position. He was able to clear both cars and looked to be on his way to an easy win. However, more traffic on the final lap allowed Marolf one final shot as they came to the checkers. Harris used momentum off the high line to beat Marolf to the line. It was the first win of 2019 for Harris and the Richard Racing #15R. Marolf came home second over Johnson, with Strassheim easing past Ron Boyse for fourth on the final lap. Elston recovered to run sixth, besting Dalton Simonsen, Brandon Queen, Ray Raker, and Jared Miller. Simonsen and Miller are rookies in the late model division, making their first appearances in the late model class at LCS.
Twelve stock cars lined up for eighteen laps. A six car melee in turn one as the green flag waved created a very lengthy delay for clean up. Polesitter Les Blakely, Abe Huls, and Todd Reitzler pulled away in a three car pack before a caution on lap three saw Brandon Savage and Pete Stodgell exchange pleasantries. Back under green, Cody McClure and Craig Bangert got together in turn four, with Bangerts' #66 winding up on its top. With only six cars still on the track, David Brandies joined the top three as they ran under a blanket. Brandies was second on lap five, then took the top spot two circuits later. As he opened a sizable lead, Reitzler eventually won his side by side duel with Blakely, taking second with six laps to go. By now, Brandies had nearly a straightaway lead, and he cruised to his second win of the season at LCS. Reitzler followed, ahead of Blakely, Jeremy Pundt, and Dean Kratzer. Huls, the last car running, fell to sixth as he broke a spring on his #30C machine.
The IMCA modified count was a bit short, with nine cars on hand after Dean McGee suddenly left the pit area before hot laps began. Marolf was doing double duty in his #33 modified, and he jumped out from his pole start before Craig Spegal lost a wheel coming through turns three and four on lap one. Back to racing, Marolf was off like a shot, ahead of Bill Roberts Jr. and Jeff Waterman. Meanwhile, John Oliver Jr. and Dennis Laveine wowed the crowd running side by side, lap after lap in a battle for fourth. With no more cautions, Marolf secured his first mod win at the track in 2019 to go along with a late model win a few weeks back. At the checkers, he topped Roberts Jr., Waterman, Oliver Jr., and Laveine.
Finally, it was fourteen sport compacts for fifteen laps as the finale. Dylan Schantz started in row two, and led the opening laps. Jason Ash and Trent Orwig were on the move, Ash coming from row four to second, and Orwig from fifth to third on lap four. As the top three battled, Orwig moved from third to first on lap seven. As he gained control, Chuck Fullenkamp joined Schantz and Ash in a battle for second. The only caution of the event came for a slowing Kody Bowman with six circuits left. On the final restart, Barry Taft came from fifth to third, and two laps later, he was challenging Fullenkamp for the runner up spot. At the checkers, Orwig collected win number two at the track this season, followed by Fullenkamp, Taft, Schantz, and Ash.
With fireworks still to be viewed, we headed to the car, as the clock had ticked past 11:00. On a personal note, I was surprised to be entertained by nine of my wifes' cousins who came to watch late model driver Brandon Queen, whose wife Denise is one of those cousins. And a special shout out to cousin Danny and wife Sally, who were on hand from Pensacola, Florida. Not only is Danny one of my readers, he and Sally are awesome hosts during family vacations!
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Friday, June 28, 2019
Callahan Grabs Deery Dollars
Amid sunny skies and sweltering temps, we headed to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa Thursday for the Deery Brothers Summer Series late model headliner during the Benton County fair. As we headed north, increasing cloudiness was accompanied by storm warnings east of Vinton. But as the evening wore on, more of the seemingly never ending rain possibilities popped up around the area, dramatically dropping the temperature with a brief shower also creating a brief delay during the late model feature. The upside of the threatening weather was that the always vigilant team of Mick Trier and Mike VanGenderen went from running a quick, efficient program into hyper drive. As soon as the checkered flag waved on one race, the next was rolling to the track and taking the green flag. The announcing duo of Jeff Kropf and Ryan Clark were on their " A " game, as well, managing to get lineups and results out in addition to a running commentary of information and humor.
Hot laps began at the appointed time of 6:45, with heat race action starting just a couple minutes past 7:00. It took just under an hour to click off fourteen heat races for the six class field of just over 100 cars. A pair of B mains for the twenty seven late model race teams were then scrapped when David Webster and Kyle Krampe scratched before the heat races, leaving twenty five starters, one more than originally scheduled.
Moving quickly into feature racing, the six micro mods came to the track. Cole McNeal took a hard fought victory, then the late models were moved up in the running order to try and beat the rain.
Fourth heat winner Jeff Aikey and heat two winner John Emerson lined up in row one, with Aikey charging to the lead ahead of Emerson and row two starters Brian Harris and Paul Nagle as lap one of forty was scored. Emerson slid high in the somewhat treacherous turns three and four on the third circuit, with Harris moving to second. Aikey had opened a sizable lead, and was about to catch the back of the pack when the caution waved at lap seven for the stopped car of Charlie McKenna. Back to racing, sixth starting Todd Malmstrom powered to fourth and Aikey again pulled away while Harris and Emerson battled side by side for second. Running a high line beside Emerson, Harris ran out of real estate in turn four, falling to seventh. Malmstrom was now on the move, grabbing the second spot, with ninth starting Joel Callahan entering the top five, taking along Matt Ryan in sixth. Caution came again with a dozen laps down for a spinning Joe Zrostlik. Back to green, Emerson regained second over Malmstrom, Callahan took fourth and Ryan moved to fifth. Two laps later, the yellow waved again for Tyler Bruening as the aforementioned sprinkles delayed the action. Fortunately, the cars were able to continue to roll in the 1/4 mile surface, and we were soon back to racing. Again Aikey built a lead, and Callahan found his way to third just ahead of a caution for Harris, who went over the top of turn three. The restart came with twenty three laps remaining, and Callahan took advantage of the Delaware restart to claim second. For the first time, Aikey now had pressure from behind. Callahan soon pulled alongside the leader as slower traffic became a factor, and he was able to take the lead ahead of a final yellow for a Nagle spin. The last fourteen circuits went caution free. Callahan gained separation in first, while Aikey was also able to pull away from the intense battles behind him. As the checkers waved, it was Callahan taking the win, trailed by Aikey. Emerson outlasted Eric Pollard and Jeremiah Hurst to complete the top five. Bruening recovered from the trip to the back at lap fourteen to lead the second five over Ryan and row eight starter Justin Kay. Malmstrom was shuffled back to ninth in the closing laps, with Andy Eckrich rounding out the top ten.
An original restart for the eighteen stock cars found front row starter Dallon Murty leading the way over dad Damon and Scott Rice. John Oliver Jr. started in the final row after suffering damage in his heat race, and he was up to sixth as the caution waved on lap five. One lap later, Damon Murty took over the lead, Jay Schmidt advanced to third, and Oliver grabbed fourth. As the elder Murty stretched his lead, Oliver moved to third, while Dan Trimble took second. As Oliver made a high side move for second, he went over the top of turn three, bringing out another caution. Another pair of yellows found Schmidt in second and pushing the leader. However it was Murty holding on for the win, with Schmidt settling for runner up honors.
The hobby stocks avoided the yellow flag, with Brett Vanous slipping around Kaden Reynolds, then powering to the win.
Tony Olson took off from row one to pace the sport mods, with Dan Dvorak and Joe Docekal making runs at the top spot. But everything changed following a restart with four laps to go. Suddenly Ben Chapman was the man on the move, powering to the second spot. With the white flag displayed, he pulled alongside Olson down the back chute. He then found a line below the leader coming through the final set of turns, then won the drag race to the line for a stunning victory.
The final race of the night found fifteen sport compacts lined up for fifteen laps. Andrew Steepleton led the opening lap before Adam Gates took over. With no cautions and lapped traffic in play, Cody Van Dusen snatched the lead with four circuits remaining, hanging on for the win.
It was a couple minutes past the 9:30 mark when the final checkers waved, once again an absolute clinic on how to run a race program. On top of that, the pork tenderloins at the Pork Producers booth were top notch, while my cohorts gave rave reviews about the fare from the Beef Producers!
Thanks to Mick, Mike, and everyone at Benton County Speedway for an A plus night of racing!
Our weekend plans are a bit uncertain, but it's a safe bet that it will involve some dirt track action, so say " Hi " if you see me "Racin' Down the Road."
Hot laps began at the appointed time of 6:45, with heat race action starting just a couple minutes past 7:00. It took just under an hour to click off fourteen heat races for the six class field of just over 100 cars. A pair of B mains for the twenty seven late model race teams were then scrapped when David Webster and Kyle Krampe scratched before the heat races, leaving twenty five starters, one more than originally scheduled.
Moving quickly into feature racing, the six micro mods came to the track. Cole McNeal took a hard fought victory, then the late models were moved up in the running order to try and beat the rain.
Fourth heat winner Jeff Aikey and heat two winner John Emerson lined up in row one, with Aikey charging to the lead ahead of Emerson and row two starters Brian Harris and Paul Nagle as lap one of forty was scored. Emerson slid high in the somewhat treacherous turns three and four on the third circuit, with Harris moving to second. Aikey had opened a sizable lead, and was about to catch the back of the pack when the caution waved at lap seven for the stopped car of Charlie McKenna. Back to racing, sixth starting Todd Malmstrom powered to fourth and Aikey again pulled away while Harris and Emerson battled side by side for second. Running a high line beside Emerson, Harris ran out of real estate in turn four, falling to seventh. Malmstrom was now on the move, grabbing the second spot, with ninth starting Joel Callahan entering the top five, taking along Matt Ryan in sixth. Caution came again with a dozen laps down for a spinning Joe Zrostlik. Back to green, Emerson regained second over Malmstrom, Callahan took fourth and Ryan moved to fifth. Two laps later, the yellow waved again for Tyler Bruening as the aforementioned sprinkles delayed the action. Fortunately, the cars were able to continue to roll in the 1/4 mile surface, and we were soon back to racing. Again Aikey built a lead, and Callahan found his way to third just ahead of a caution for Harris, who went over the top of turn three. The restart came with twenty three laps remaining, and Callahan took advantage of the Delaware restart to claim second. For the first time, Aikey now had pressure from behind. Callahan soon pulled alongside the leader as slower traffic became a factor, and he was able to take the lead ahead of a final yellow for a Nagle spin. The last fourteen circuits went caution free. Callahan gained separation in first, while Aikey was also able to pull away from the intense battles behind him. As the checkers waved, it was Callahan taking the win, trailed by Aikey. Emerson outlasted Eric Pollard and Jeremiah Hurst to complete the top five. Bruening recovered from the trip to the back at lap fourteen to lead the second five over Ryan and row eight starter Justin Kay. Malmstrom was shuffled back to ninth in the closing laps, with Andy Eckrich rounding out the top ten.
An original restart for the eighteen stock cars found front row starter Dallon Murty leading the way over dad Damon and Scott Rice. John Oliver Jr. started in the final row after suffering damage in his heat race, and he was up to sixth as the caution waved on lap five. One lap later, Damon Murty took over the lead, Jay Schmidt advanced to third, and Oliver grabbed fourth. As the elder Murty stretched his lead, Oliver moved to third, while Dan Trimble took second. As Oliver made a high side move for second, he went over the top of turn three, bringing out another caution. Another pair of yellows found Schmidt in second and pushing the leader. However it was Murty holding on for the win, with Schmidt settling for runner up honors.
The hobby stocks avoided the yellow flag, with Brett Vanous slipping around Kaden Reynolds, then powering to the win.
Tony Olson took off from row one to pace the sport mods, with Dan Dvorak and Joe Docekal making runs at the top spot. But everything changed following a restart with four laps to go. Suddenly Ben Chapman was the man on the move, powering to the second spot. With the white flag displayed, he pulled alongside Olson down the back chute. He then found a line below the leader coming through the final set of turns, then won the drag race to the line for a stunning victory.
The final race of the night found fifteen sport compacts lined up for fifteen laps. Andrew Steepleton led the opening lap before Adam Gates took over. With no cautions and lapped traffic in play, Cody Van Dusen snatched the lead with four circuits remaining, hanging on for the win.
It was a couple minutes past the 9:30 mark when the final checkers waved, once again an absolute clinic on how to run a race program. On top of that, the pork tenderloins at the Pork Producers booth were top notch, while my cohorts gave rave reviews about the fare from the Beef Producers!
Thanks to Mick, Mike, and everyone at Benton County Speedway for an A plus night of racing!
Our weekend plans are a bit uncertain, but it's a safe bet that it will involve some dirt track action, so say " Hi " if you see me "Racin' Down the Road."
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Erb Watches as Bronson Wins
Tuesday night we were able to rejoin the UMP Summernationals tour at Kevin and Tammy Gundakers' Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. The annual event was scheduled for last Friday, and Darryl, Fred, and I made it about twenty miles down the road in a light rain before the plugged was pulled and the Gundakers were given a quick reschedule date. Unfortunately, the inclement weather also washed out the remainder of our weekend options, so we were more than ready for yet another week night race. The winners' purse was trimmed from $10,000 to $7,500 and the UMP Pro Crate late models were dropped from the card which also featured Summit modifieds and B mods both competing for $1,000 to win. The ticket price was also lowered by a couple of Washingtons, all due to the switch to the work night program. Tri City typically draw above average car counts, particularly for specials while also having a reputation for late night shows. To help combat this, they often advertise that they will run the late model feature first, and for this night stated that they will " make every effort " to have the late models on the track by 9:30.
119 cars signed in, including 37 late models, 39 modifieds, and 43 B mods, a whopping total for a week night race.
Billy Moyer Jr. set quick time with a lap of 15.246 seconds to top the late models, while Rick Stevenson topped the mods at 16.118 on a track that developed a treacherous ridge in turn one while becoming slick at the opposite end. Track officials attempted to correct the turn one issue following heat race action, but it was soon back as the late model and B mains were contested.
With the fields set for the late models and mods, the late models lined up for forty laps. All four heat races had been won from the pole, and Chris Simpson and Moyer Jr. lined up in row one with Tyler Erb and Kyle Bronson in row two. Moyer was followed in heat one by Tanner English, Dennis Erb, Jr., and Rusty Schlenk. Simpson led Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, and Rodney Melvin. Bronson bested Billy Moyer Sr., Ryan Unzicker, and Jason Feger, while Erb topped Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr., and Tim Manville in the Rick Salter #1S. Chase Junghans had made the cut with the B main win over Cade Dillard. Point leader Brian Shirley was in as a point provisional along with Allen Weisser, and Mike Hammerle, Michael Kloos, and Gordy Gundaker were announced as track provisionals. However Hammerle failed to make the feature call, replaced by Rusty Griffaw. Meanwhile, a loud " pop " from the Junghans #18 at the end of his B main win proved to be terminal, ending his night, as well. Weisser ducked to the infield during parade laps, his night over. Simpson shot to the lead as the green flag waved. He suddenly slowed going down the back chute on lap three, bringing out the caution. He limped to the infield work area, but after a quick look by his crew, his night was also done. Erb charged to the lead, passing Bronson on the Delaware restart as the field headed down the back stretch. Soon Erb, Bronson, and Moyer Jr. gained separation from the field. To try and circumvent the turn one issue, all three were doing a diamond move in turns one and two. Erb and Bronson ran the top line in three and four, while Moyer Jr. tried to gain ground using the middle line. Seventh starting Pierce joined the party in fourth on lap seventeen, and two laps later Bronson retook the lead coming through turn four. On lap twenty two, Pierce took advantage of a brief bobble by Moyer Jr. to power to third. The second caution came for debris on lap twenty five. By now, row nine starter Shirley was up to eighth, picking off cars in a steady fashion. Back to green, Erb elected the high line behind Bronson, won the battle to turn one with Pierce, then used a crossover move in turn one to regain the lead as Bronson hit the ridge wrong, bouncing his #40B. Three more circuits and English saw his top five run dissolve as he came spinning out of turn four, bringing out the third caution. On the next restart, Pierce charged around Bronson for second, and the now fifth running Shirley jumped up one more spot to fourth. As the laps clicked off, Erb was moving around the track searching for the best line, and the cushion pounding Pierce closed in on his bumper with ten to go. Erb then found his sweet spot, and began to pull away, seemingly in command as lap thirty five was scored. Two more trips past the flag stand, and Bronson found a burst of speed, clearing Pierce and moving to the rear bumper of the leader. The white flag waved, and Bronson pulled alongside the rear quarter of Erb out of turn two. As everyone came to their feet, Bronson pulled a slider coming through the final set of turns, failing to completely clear the #1, and suddenly Erb was climbing the concrete, coming to a stop after nearly rolling his ride. The yellow came out as the wrecker hooked to the Erb machine, dragging him to the infield as the field reset for a green and white one lap single file finish. From the outside row behind the now leading Bronson, Pierce tried to use momentum off the top to move to the front, but the restart was called back. On the next attempt, he tucked in behind the leader, and the final lap proved uneventful. Bronson picked up the hard fought win, with Pierce in second. Shirley turned his provisional start into a third place finish, followed by Sheppard and Schlenk. Babb gained five spots to sixth, ahead of Moyer Jr., Erb Jr., and Griffaw. T. Erb was credited with tenth, with the lapped car of Feger the final car running at the checkers.
There would be a final qualifying race for the B mods as well as features for the mods and B mods still to be contested as we headed for the parking lot, with plenty of fodder for conversation on the ride home.
I am now watching the weather as I hope to finally catch my first IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series event of 2019 at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa on Thursday (yay, no time trials!).
Oh, in case you were wondering, the late model feature hit the track at 10:20.
Thanks for reading!
119 cars signed in, including 37 late models, 39 modifieds, and 43 B mods, a whopping total for a week night race.
Billy Moyer Jr. set quick time with a lap of 15.246 seconds to top the late models, while Rick Stevenson topped the mods at 16.118 on a track that developed a treacherous ridge in turn one while becoming slick at the opposite end. Track officials attempted to correct the turn one issue following heat race action, but it was soon back as the late model and B mains were contested.
With the fields set for the late models and mods, the late models lined up for forty laps. All four heat races had been won from the pole, and Chris Simpson and Moyer Jr. lined up in row one with Tyler Erb and Kyle Bronson in row two. Moyer was followed in heat one by Tanner English, Dennis Erb, Jr., and Rusty Schlenk. Simpson led Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, and Rodney Melvin. Bronson bested Billy Moyer Sr., Ryan Unzicker, and Jason Feger, while Erb topped Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr., and Tim Manville in the Rick Salter #1S. Chase Junghans had made the cut with the B main win over Cade Dillard. Point leader Brian Shirley was in as a point provisional along with Allen Weisser, and Mike Hammerle, Michael Kloos, and Gordy Gundaker were announced as track provisionals. However Hammerle failed to make the feature call, replaced by Rusty Griffaw. Meanwhile, a loud " pop " from the Junghans #18 at the end of his B main win proved to be terminal, ending his night, as well. Weisser ducked to the infield during parade laps, his night over. Simpson shot to the lead as the green flag waved. He suddenly slowed going down the back chute on lap three, bringing out the caution. He limped to the infield work area, but after a quick look by his crew, his night was also done. Erb charged to the lead, passing Bronson on the Delaware restart as the field headed down the back stretch. Soon Erb, Bronson, and Moyer Jr. gained separation from the field. To try and circumvent the turn one issue, all three were doing a diamond move in turns one and two. Erb and Bronson ran the top line in three and four, while Moyer Jr. tried to gain ground using the middle line. Seventh starting Pierce joined the party in fourth on lap seventeen, and two laps later Bronson retook the lead coming through turn four. On lap twenty two, Pierce took advantage of a brief bobble by Moyer Jr. to power to third. The second caution came for debris on lap twenty five. By now, row nine starter Shirley was up to eighth, picking off cars in a steady fashion. Back to green, Erb elected the high line behind Bronson, won the battle to turn one with Pierce, then used a crossover move in turn one to regain the lead as Bronson hit the ridge wrong, bouncing his #40B. Three more circuits and English saw his top five run dissolve as he came spinning out of turn four, bringing out the third caution. On the next restart, Pierce charged around Bronson for second, and the now fifth running Shirley jumped up one more spot to fourth. As the laps clicked off, Erb was moving around the track searching for the best line, and the cushion pounding Pierce closed in on his bumper with ten to go. Erb then found his sweet spot, and began to pull away, seemingly in command as lap thirty five was scored. Two more trips past the flag stand, and Bronson found a burst of speed, clearing Pierce and moving to the rear bumper of the leader. The white flag waved, and Bronson pulled alongside the rear quarter of Erb out of turn two. As everyone came to their feet, Bronson pulled a slider coming through the final set of turns, failing to completely clear the #1, and suddenly Erb was climbing the concrete, coming to a stop after nearly rolling his ride. The yellow came out as the wrecker hooked to the Erb machine, dragging him to the infield as the field reset for a green and white one lap single file finish. From the outside row behind the now leading Bronson, Pierce tried to use momentum off the top to move to the front, but the restart was called back. On the next attempt, he tucked in behind the leader, and the final lap proved uneventful. Bronson picked up the hard fought win, with Pierce in second. Shirley turned his provisional start into a third place finish, followed by Sheppard and Schlenk. Babb gained five spots to sixth, ahead of Moyer Jr., Erb Jr., and Griffaw. T. Erb was credited with tenth, with the lapped car of Feger the final car running at the checkers.
There would be a final qualifying race for the B mods as well as features for the mods and B mods still to be contested as we headed for the parking lot, with plenty of fodder for conversation on the ride home.
I am now watching the weather as I hope to finally catch my first IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series event of 2019 at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa on Thursday (yay, no time trials!).
Oh, in case you were wondering, the late model feature hit the track at 10:20.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, June 21, 2019
Shirley Takes Spoon River Dollars
With the weather forecast for today ( Friday ) a bit on the iffy side, we decided to make an addition to our schedule and headed for Spoon River Speedway on Thursday. The 3/8 mile clay oval is always one of the most popular stops on the UMP Summernationals circuit and this year was no exception. With no rain in the area - although they received two inches on Wednesday - a total of 110 race teams in three classes swelled the somewhat soft pit area. By race time there was also a very nice week night crowd on hand.
One issue with the facility is a P.A. system in need of an upgrade, thankfully mobile phone access to the UMP website comes in very handy for lineups, etc.
Despite all the rain the previous day, the warm sunshine helped to dry out the track, and officials needed to add a considerable amount of water ahead of race time. The result was a multi groove, though high side dominant surface that wound up taking a fair amount of rubber by feature time. Indeed, Tyler Erb broke the track record in time trial qualifying, topping the thirty five late models with a lap of 12.955 seconds.
Four heat races qualified the top eight rows for the $5,000 to win forty lap headliner. Polesitter Brian Shirley topped Allen Weisser, sixth starting Ryan Unzicker, and Billy Moyer in the first ten lapper. Outside row one starter Shannon Babb bested Rodney Melvin, Rusty Schlenk, and Kolby Vandenbergh in heat two. Erb captured heat three ahead of Frank Heckenast Jr., Kyle Bronson, and Kevin Weaver in the Jay Morris #77M. Tanner English took the final heat from the pole over Jason Feger, Billy Drake, and Walker Arthur.
Following four heat races for the fifty one Summit Modifieds and twenty four Hornets, it was back to late model action. Although there seemed to be confusion in the tower, what in essence amounted to a " C " feature took three of six starters to the back of the Last Chance Showdown ( read B main. ) From the Showdown, top two finishers Bobby Pierce and Bob Gardner moved on to the feature. Provisional starters Paul Stubber, Rusty Griffaw, Mike Glascock, and Chuck Hummer filled out the twenty two car field.
A brief intermission was followed by the Hornet feature. The twenty cars making the call went non stop, with David Lauritson setting a fast pace, taking the win over Matt Mackey and Jake Momper.
The late models then lined up for forty quick laps. Aside from a ripple between turns three and four, the track was smooth and fast. Babb and Shirley made up the front row, and Shirley jumped ahead before a yellow flag for contact between Bronson and Unzicker created a complete restart. Although both were able to rejoin the pack, Moyer suffered rear end damage. His crew attempted some quick repairs and he rejoined the field as the green waved, but he retired to the pits after only a couple of laps. Once again, Shirley vaulted to the lead, followed by Babb, English, and Erb. Pierce was the man on the move, and by lap three he had advanced from his row nine start to eleventh. Up front, Shirley opened a big lead even as slower traffic came into play. Just before the halfway mark, lap nineteen, Babb slowed going down the back chute with a flat tire, bringing out the second and final caution of the race. With clean air in front, Shirley again opened a sizable advantage as the Delaware restart created lots of action behind him. It was now Erb and Heckenast Jr. in a side by side battle for second as Pierce continued to charge around the very top of the oval, picking off cars in steady fashion. By lap twenty nine, he was in the top five and closing on fourth running English. Before he could make a move on English, he found himself trying to hold off the #33 of Melvin who seemed to be getting faster as the laps wound down. Erb was finally able to shake loose from Heckenast Jr., but the checkers flew with Shirley well out front of his nearest challengers. English drove to a steady fourth, and Pierce nosed ahead of Melvin for fifth. Weisser came home in seventh ahead of Schlenk, while Weaver won a close duel with Unzicker to complete the top ten. Shirley sits at the top of the points chase, with a pair of wins as the Hell Tour has now completed three main events.
The clock now read 11:00 and we regretfully headed to the parking lot ahead of the modified finale. Reports on the way home show that pole sitter Nick Hoffman picked up the win over series points leader Tyler Nicely and Kenny Wallace.
We are now keeping an eye on the weather, with a visit to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois for more Summernationals action the main focus for today. Summer officially begins today, let's go racing!
One issue with the facility is a P.A. system in need of an upgrade, thankfully mobile phone access to the UMP website comes in very handy for lineups, etc.
Despite all the rain the previous day, the warm sunshine helped to dry out the track, and officials needed to add a considerable amount of water ahead of race time. The result was a multi groove, though high side dominant surface that wound up taking a fair amount of rubber by feature time. Indeed, Tyler Erb broke the track record in time trial qualifying, topping the thirty five late models with a lap of 12.955 seconds.
Four heat races qualified the top eight rows for the $5,000 to win forty lap headliner. Polesitter Brian Shirley topped Allen Weisser, sixth starting Ryan Unzicker, and Billy Moyer in the first ten lapper. Outside row one starter Shannon Babb bested Rodney Melvin, Rusty Schlenk, and Kolby Vandenbergh in heat two. Erb captured heat three ahead of Frank Heckenast Jr., Kyle Bronson, and Kevin Weaver in the Jay Morris #77M. Tanner English took the final heat from the pole over Jason Feger, Billy Drake, and Walker Arthur.
Following four heat races for the fifty one Summit Modifieds and twenty four Hornets, it was back to late model action. Although there seemed to be confusion in the tower, what in essence amounted to a " C " feature took three of six starters to the back of the Last Chance Showdown ( read B main. ) From the Showdown, top two finishers Bobby Pierce and Bob Gardner moved on to the feature. Provisional starters Paul Stubber, Rusty Griffaw, Mike Glascock, and Chuck Hummer filled out the twenty two car field.
A brief intermission was followed by the Hornet feature. The twenty cars making the call went non stop, with David Lauritson setting a fast pace, taking the win over Matt Mackey and Jake Momper.
The late models then lined up for forty quick laps. Aside from a ripple between turns three and four, the track was smooth and fast. Babb and Shirley made up the front row, and Shirley jumped ahead before a yellow flag for contact between Bronson and Unzicker created a complete restart. Although both were able to rejoin the pack, Moyer suffered rear end damage. His crew attempted some quick repairs and he rejoined the field as the green waved, but he retired to the pits after only a couple of laps. Once again, Shirley vaulted to the lead, followed by Babb, English, and Erb. Pierce was the man on the move, and by lap three he had advanced from his row nine start to eleventh. Up front, Shirley opened a big lead even as slower traffic came into play. Just before the halfway mark, lap nineteen, Babb slowed going down the back chute with a flat tire, bringing out the second and final caution of the race. With clean air in front, Shirley again opened a sizable advantage as the Delaware restart created lots of action behind him. It was now Erb and Heckenast Jr. in a side by side battle for second as Pierce continued to charge around the very top of the oval, picking off cars in steady fashion. By lap twenty nine, he was in the top five and closing on fourth running English. Before he could make a move on English, he found himself trying to hold off the #33 of Melvin who seemed to be getting faster as the laps wound down. Erb was finally able to shake loose from Heckenast Jr., but the checkers flew with Shirley well out front of his nearest challengers. English drove to a steady fourth, and Pierce nosed ahead of Melvin for fifth. Weisser came home in seventh ahead of Schlenk, while Weaver won a close duel with Unzicker to complete the top ten. Shirley sits at the top of the points chase, with a pair of wins as the Hell Tour has now completed three main events.
The clock now read 11:00 and we regretfully headed to the parking lot ahead of the modified finale. Reports on the way home show that pole sitter Nick Hoffman picked up the win over series points leader Tyler Nicely and Kenny Wallace.
We are now keeping an eye on the weather, with a visit to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois for more Summernationals action the main focus for today. Summer officially begins today, let's go racing!
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Sheppard Wows the Hometown Crowd
The forecast for Tuesday was looking good for a change, and we headed to the Jacksonville,Illinois Speedway for the Wildman Kelly Memorial event featuring the UMP late model Summernationals, Summit Racing Summernational UMP modifieds and the local UMP street stocks. The Summernationals, also billed as the Hell Tour is off to a miserable start in 2019, having only completed one full show in the first five attempts, that being at Kankakee Speedway. In addition, the features fell to rain at the Sycamore Speedway, while Peoria, Joliet, and Brownstown, Il.were washed out completely. Also, early in the program at Jacksonville, it was announced that the Wednesday night show in Belleville, Il. was off due to the rain that had fallen there and the forecast for more! But on this night, the sky was clear, and by race time the grandstands were filled to overflowing.
A solid if not spectacular field of twenty five late models were vying for a $5,000 top prize, while the modified entries stopped at thirty seven. Fifteen street stocks brought the three division total to seventy seven.
After a short delay waiting for an ambulance to arrive, late model hot laps began on the banked, 1/4 mile bullring. Next it was hot lap - time trial qualifying for the mods. The five at a time process created some " do overs, " but surely sped things along, none the less. St Louis area hot shoe Rick Conoyer bested a truly all star field of open wheelers with a time of 12.981 seconds.
The late models qualified in pairs, with only Jimmy Miller failing to take his turn, as he lost a transmission in hot laps. The late models timed in their heat race group, with Rusty Schlenk tops in group one and overall with a lap of 12.266 seconds. Fresh off his victory at the Dream, Brandon Sheppard drove his family owned #B5 to the best lap in group two, while veteran Billy Moyer paced group three.
Following street stock hot laps, it was time for late model heats. As is most often the case with lineups determined by timed qualifying, the passing was minimal in the ten lappers. Bobby Pierce used his outside pole start to capture heat one ahead of pole sitter Schlenk. Sheppard led flag to flag in heat two over his row one mate Shannon Babb. And Moyer held off third starting Brian Shirley in the final heat. Matt Bailey charged from the pole to top outside row one starter Cody Maguire in the B main. In the end, only Miller and Dan Jacober, who smacked the turn two wall in the B main, failed to take the green in the forty lap finale.
Four modified heats along with a pair of B mains - with only the winners moving on - qualified eighteen cars for their twenty five lap feature, with four provisionals added. One of those was Dave Weitholder, who found himself upside down in his B main as he attempted to drive past eventual winner Michael Long. It did not seem likely that Weitholder would be a factor in the main event, provided he could even get his car race ready, but...
With preliminaries out of the way and some track work complete, the late model feature lined up first. By virtue of their heat race wins, Pierce and Moyer lined up in row one, with Sheppard and Schlenk in row two. Moyer won the race back to the line as lap one appeared complete, but a caution at the back of the field brought a full restart. Back to green, Pierce now jumped ahead, with Moyer, Schlenk, Sheppard, and Shirley trailing. On lap eight, as the leaders closed in on the back of the pack, Bailey and Jason Suhre got together in turn one. Pierce was able to avoid the stopped cars, but Moyer made heavy contact with Bailey, and Schlenk was also involved. Bailey left on the hook, while Moyer ducked to the pits for repairs, eventually rejoining at the tail. After some discussion, Schlenk was allowed to restart in the runner up spot. Shirley powered to second on the restart, but a three car pile up involving Suhre, Maguire, and Chuck Hummer stopped the action one lap later. Back to green, Schlenk used the Delaware start to move to second, while eighth starting Tanner English, in his family #96, charged to fourth. Meanwhile, Pierce began to open a lead until Schlenk slowed with a flat tire on lap eighteen. He was able to tag the tail as racing resumed, with Sheppard now second and Shirley dropping to third. Pierce was riding the concrete wall on the outside of the track, his rear spoiler showing the effects, while Sheppard did business a 1/2 line lower on the oval. One more caution slowed the action on lap twenty three, but Pierce continued to dominate. With the laps clicking off, Pierce moved through slower traffic and Sheppard stayed within striking distance. But a handful of laps ahead of pay dirt, Pierce came upon Paul Stubber and Mark Voight racing side by side for positions outside the top ten. With Sheppard breathing down his neck, and three laps to go, Pierce went all in for a high side pass in turn one. At the same time, Sheppard dove to the bottom and cleared both cars ahead of the now second running Pierce. From that point, Brandon was able to pull away, crossing the line several car lengths in front. Having grown up and still living in New Berlin, about fifteen miles from Jacksonville, " B Shepp " is the hometown hero, and the capacity crowd stood and roared from the late race pass through the post race celebration. No doubt a bit frustrated, but still with a podium finish, Pierce took runner up honors ahead of Shirley, ninth starting Frank Heckenast Jr., and English. Babb came home sixth, besting Jason Feger, Allen Weisser, Rusty Griffaw, and Rodney Melvin wheeling a #33 machine. Griffaw was the hard charger of the race, moving up six spots from his row eight starting spot.
Weisser then jumped out of his late model and into his modified for another twenty five laps of action.
Levi Kissinger and Conoyer lined up in row one of the modified feature, but Conoyer brushed the turn two concrete at the start, with fourth starting Weisser slipping around him for second. On lap three, Weisser took command, while Tyler Nicely cleared Ray Bollinger and Conoyer for third. Weisser was able to open a sizable lead as Kissinger running the inside line and Nicely in the middle ran side by side, lap after lap for second. The yellow waved for the first time on lap eleven as Long stopped in turn four, his night over. The caution came again at lap twelve, and for a spinning Conoyer at lap fourteen. By now Nicely was in control of the second spot and was applying pressure to the leader as the pair worked the low and middle grooves. Suddenly it was Tommy Sheppard Jr. who found the very top of the track to his liking, powering to second as lap sixteen was scored. Following a lap nineteen yellow, Nicely regained the runner up spot, and Sheppard Jr. pulled to the infield one lap later, his run from row four over. Weisser held on for the win, with Nicely in second. Bollinger ran a steady third, topping Kissinger and Jeffrey Ledford. The run of the race was turned in by Weitholder, who not only recovered from the B main rollover to start in row ten, but worked his way all the way to sixth at the checkers. Mike Harrison started in row six and came home seventh, followed by Hunt Gossum, B main #2 winner Will Krup, and Chris Smith.
The clock had now ticked past 10:30, and we headed for the car as the street stock finale came to the track.
Thanks to Kenny Dobson for a fun night of racing at Jacksonville. Early on it looked like the track might develop some trouble spots, certainly understandable with the seemingly non stop rain, but it quickly smoothed out and produced top notch, multi grooved racing.
With both Belleville and the Independence, Iowa IMCA Summer Series shows washed out today, we will keep an eye on the forecast before deciding where our next racing adventure will be!
A solid if not spectacular field of twenty five late models were vying for a $5,000 top prize, while the modified entries stopped at thirty seven. Fifteen street stocks brought the three division total to seventy seven.
After a short delay waiting for an ambulance to arrive, late model hot laps began on the banked, 1/4 mile bullring. Next it was hot lap - time trial qualifying for the mods. The five at a time process created some " do overs, " but surely sped things along, none the less. St Louis area hot shoe Rick Conoyer bested a truly all star field of open wheelers with a time of 12.981 seconds.
The late models qualified in pairs, with only Jimmy Miller failing to take his turn, as he lost a transmission in hot laps. The late models timed in their heat race group, with Rusty Schlenk tops in group one and overall with a lap of 12.266 seconds. Fresh off his victory at the Dream, Brandon Sheppard drove his family owned #B5 to the best lap in group two, while veteran Billy Moyer paced group three.
Following street stock hot laps, it was time for late model heats. As is most often the case with lineups determined by timed qualifying, the passing was minimal in the ten lappers. Bobby Pierce used his outside pole start to capture heat one ahead of pole sitter Schlenk. Sheppard led flag to flag in heat two over his row one mate Shannon Babb. And Moyer held off third starting Brian Shirley in the final heat. Matt Bailey charged from the pole to top outside row one starter Cody Maguire in the B main. In the end, only Miller and Dan Jacober, who smacked the turn two wall in the B main, failed to take the green in the forty lap finale.
Four modified heats along with a pair of B mains - with only the winners moving on - qualified eighteen cars for their twenty five lap feature, with four provisionals added. One of those was Dave Weitholder, who found himself upside down in his B main as he attempted to drive past eventual winner Michael Long. It did not seem likely that Weitholder would be a factor in the main event, provided he could even get his car race ready, but...
With preliminaries out of the way and some track work complete, the late model feature lined up first. By virtue of their heat race wins, Pierce and Moyer lined up in row one, with Sheppard and Schlenk in row two. Moyer won the race back to the line as lap one appeared complete, but a caution at the back of the field brought a full restart. Back to green, Pierce now jumped ahead, with Moyer, Schlenk, Sheppard, and Shirley trailing. On lap eight, as the leaders closed in on the back of the pack, Bailey and Jason Suhre got together in turn one. Pierce was able to avoid the stopped cars, but Moyer made heavy contact with Bailey, and Schlenk was also involved. Bailey left on the hook, while Moyer ducked to the pits for repairs, eventually rejoining at the tail. After some discussion, Schlenk was allowed to restart in the runner up spot. Shirley powered to second on the restart, but a three car pile up involving Suhre, Maguire, and Chuck Hummer stopped the action one lap later. Back to green, Schlenk used the Delaware start to move to second, while eighth starting Tanner English, in his family #96, charged to fourth. Meanwhile, Pierce began to open a lead until Schlenk slowed with a flat tire on lap eighteen. He was able to tag the tail as racing resumed, with Sheppard now second and Shirley dropping to third. Pierce was riding the concrete wall on the outside of the track, his rear spoiler showing the effects, while Sheppard did business a 1/2 line lower on the oval. One more caution slowed the action on lap twenty three, but Pierce continued to dominate. With the laps clicking off, Pierce moved through slower traffic and Sheppard stayed within striking distance. But a handful of laps ahead of pay dirt, Pierce came upon Paul Stubber and Mark Voight racing side by side for positions outside the top ten. With Sheppard breathing down his neck, and three laps to go, Pierce went all in for a high side pass in turn one. At the same time, Sheppard dove to the bottom and cleared both cars ahead of the now second running Pierce. From that point, Brandon was able to pull away, crossing the line several car lengths in front. Having grown up and still living in New Berlin, about fifteen miles from Jacksonville, " B Shepp " is the hometown hero, and the capacity crowd stood and roared from the late race pass through the post race celebration. No doubt a bit frustrated, but still with a podium finish, Pierce took runner up honors ahead of Shirley, ninth starting Frank Heckenast Jr., and English. Babb came home sixth, besting Jason Feger, Allen Weisser, Rusty Griffaw, and Rodney Melvin wheeling a #33 machine. Griffaw was the hard charger of the race, moving up six spots from his row eight starting spot.
Weisser then jumped out of his late model and into his modified for another twenty five laps of action.
Levi Kissinger and Conoyer lined up in row one of the modified feature, but Conoyer brushed the turn two concrete at the start, with fourth starting Weisser slipping around him for second. On lap three, Weisser took command, while Tyler Nicely cleared Ray Bollinger and Conoyer for third. Weisser was able to open a sizable lead as Kissinger running the inside line and Nicely in the middle ran side by side, lap after lap for second. The yellow waved for the first time on lap eleven as Long stopped in turn four, his night over. The caution came again at lap twelve, and for a spinning Conoyer at lap fourteen. By now Nicely was in control of the second spot and was applying pressure to the leader as the pair worked the low and middle grooves. Suddenly it was Tommy Sheppard Jr. who found the very top of the track to his liking, powering to second as lap sixteen was scored. Following a lap nineteen yellow, Nicely regained the runner up spot, and Sheppard Jr. pulled to the infield one lap later, his run from row four over. Weisser held on for the win, with Nicely in second. Bollinger ran a steady third, topping Kissinger and Jeffrey Ledford. The run of the race was turned in by Weitholder, who not only recovered from the B main rollover to start in row ten, but worked his way all the way to sixth at the checkers. Mike Harrison started in row six and came home seventh, followed by Hunt Gossum, B main #2 winner Will Krup, and Chris Smith.
The clock had now ticked past 10:30, and we headed for the car as the street stock finale came to the track.
Thanks to Kenny Dobson for a fun night of racing at Jacksonville. Early on it looked like the track might develop some trouble spots, certainly understandable with the seemingly non stop rain, but it quickly smoothed out and produced top notch, multi grooved racing.
With both Belleville and the Independence, Iowa IMCA Summer Series shows washed out today, we will keep an eye on the forecast before deciding where our next racing adventure will be!
Monday, June 17, 2019
Back on the Trail at Vinton
After rain and family time kept me on the sidelines for eleven days, it was time to head back to the track on Sunday. Wet weather again claimed the UMP Summernationals at Brownstown, Illinois, and the Iowa Sprint League event at Quincy Raceways, but racing was still on at the Benton County Fairgrounds Speedway in Vinton, Iowa. The action would be billed as Fisher Towing mid season championship night, and it does seem like BCS has been able to run a few more races than most other tracks in this rainy 2019 season. Perhaps partly because of the excessive cancellations around the mid west, the pit area swelled into the infield to accommodate the 129 teams that signed in to compete in the seven divisions on the card. Before I move on to recap the action, I have to offer a shout out to promoter Mick Trier, race director Mike Van Genderen, the track wrecker drivers, announcer Jeff Kropf, the flagman who's name I did not catch, and the rest of the BCS crew on an incredible job! And this includes the drivers, who willingly helped to roll in the track ahead of hot laps. I am not sure exactly how close to the advertised 5:45 time hot laps began, but the first heat race hit the 1/4 mile at 6:05. Eighteen heat races, perhaps a five minute intermission for track prep, and feature racing began about 7:25. When we headed to the car at 9:00, the final feature was heading to the track. The promotion crew at Vinton should hire themselves out as consultants on how to run a racing program!
The first feature of the night was twelve laps for the nine micro mods. Heat winner ( one heat, not two!) Russ Olson was a flag to flag winner. The second place car of Matt Post began bellowing smoke mid race, but he held on for runner up honors.
IMCA stock cars lined up next for twenty laps. Fellow Positively Racing blogger Jeff Broeg commented that several of the nights features should be action packed, as several front runners failed to qualify for the invert ( redraw? ) for the money race. The stock car finale was an obvious example, as Damon Murty pulled out of his heat race, meaning he lined up in row ten of the feature. Cory Brown jumped to the front from his row two starting spot, leading Jerry Luloff until lap four, when Luloff claimed the top spot. At the same time, Les Blakely powered to second, and one lap later, Blakely took the lead. Lap nine saw Murty enter the top five, but the first caution of the race sent him back to sixth for the restart. It took two more green flag laps for Murty to reenter the top five, he grabbed fourth on lap twelve, then used a top side move to take second one lap later. Sticking with the high line, he charged to the lead out of turn four as lap fourteen was scored. Three caution periods in the final five laps slowed the action, with the second running Blakely getting sideways in turn two on lap eighteen, jamming up the field, with Brown and Dallon Murty suffering race ending damage, Blakely then stopped in turn three, his good run over, and it appeared front end issues with his ride had been the culprit. Damon Murty pulled away on the final restart, collecting his one hundredth career win at Vinton. Luloff took runner up honors ahead of Jay Schmidt, Scooter Dulin, and Neil Miller.
IMCA mods led the way with twenty four entrants, and they all came to the track next for twenty laps. Following a lap one caution, John Oliver Jr. charged to the lead after restarting inside row two. Racing his first season in the modified class, Oliver stayed out front through yellows on laps five and eight. Up front he was engaged in a battle with fifteen year old Kollin Hibdon, The youngster from Pahrump, Nevada, who is spending his summer staying in the Jeff Aikey household while he perfects his craft was following in the tire tracks of the #05. Meanwhile, row six, seven and eight starters Joel Rust, Aikey, and Justin Kay were picking their way through the field. Seemingly in command, Oliver suddenly slowed going down the backstretch on lap eighteen, his run over due to losing a fuel pump belt. Hibdon inherited the lead for the three lap shootout, holding off Rust, Aikey, Mike Burbridge, and Kay, who came from eighth to fifth after the final caution. It was the second ever modified win for the youngster, in marked contrast to the accomplishment moments earlier of the veteran Murty.
As Hibdon celebrated in victory lane, the IMCA sport mods hit the oval for sixteen laps. Daniel Fellows snatched the lead from his row two start as the field hit the first set of turns. The Keokuk, Iowa hot shoe stayed out front through caution periods on laps four, six, ten, and twelve. Meanwhile Ben Chapman and Danny Dvorak staged an entertaining side by side duel for the second spot. Following a final yellow with three laps remaining, the field was realigned single file. In the closing laps, the top four separated themselves from the pack, but Fellows was never seriously challenged, picking up his seventh feature win of the season. Chapman took runner up honors ahead of Dvorak and Tony Olson.
All eighteen sport compacts now took the spotlight. Andrew Steepleton was the early leader, with a couple early cautions slowing the action. Twelfth starting Barry Taft, a force wherever he goes, was slowly picking his way to the front, joining the back of a hot four car battle by lap four. Adam Gates put his #007 out front on lap six, with Taft following him through in second. With Taft looking for a way around Gates, he now had to contend with third running Korey Lana. Taft for the most part stayed in the tire tracks of the leader, reluctant to move out of line with Lana breathing down his neck. The leaders came upon a slower car in the final set of turns, but Gates was able to negotiate the lapped machine, claiming the win. Taft ran second, with Lana settling for third.
Continuing the rapid fire action, all seventeen IMCA late models came to the track. Jill George had come one lap short of a heat race win, and she lined up on the pole of the late model headliner. She jumped to the early lead ahead of row two starters Curtis Glover and late model rookie Dalton Simonsen. Eighth starting Jeff Aikey, with his Rick Dralle owned machine now sporting his familiar #77, powered to third on lap three, while his row four mate Nick Marolf entered the top five. One more lap saw the two heat winners advance to second and fourth, with Aikey taking the lead five laps in. Around the eighth circuit, Marolf moved to second, but by now Aikey had a sizable lead. Meanwhile, Marolf had his hands full with Darren Ackerman challenging for the second spot. Finally able to clear Ackerman, Marolf began to quickly run down the leader as lapped cars began to factor in. Just as a race for the lead was taking shape, Marolf went too high off turn two, slipping off the track, bringing out the first yellow with four laps to go. Ninth starting Justin Kay was now in the runner up spot, and Todd Cooney was now on the move, charging to third. Luke Pestka brought out a final caution as he went over the top of turns three and four, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. Aikey was not to be denied, however, picking up the win ahead of Kay, Cooney, Glover, and Ben Seeman. Ackerman led the second five, besting Simonsen, George, Mark Hurst, and Marolf.
As the hobby stocks prepared to run the final race of the evening, with the sun setting in the west, we decided to head for the car. The clock read 9:05 as we exited the fairgrounds, putting me home just ahead of the midnight hour.
Thanks to Mick, Mike and the gang for a great Sunday night of racing!
We hope to catch up with the three times postponed Summer nationals tour this week, and then return to Vinton next Thursday, July 27 as the IMCA Deery Brothers late models invade the quick 1/4 mile.
The first feature of the night was twelve laps for the nine micro mods. Heat winner ( one heat, not two!) Russ Olson was a flag to flag winner. The second place car of Matt Post began bellowing smoke mid race, but he held on for runner up honors.
IMCA stock cars lined up next for twenty laps. Fellow Positively Racing blogger Jeff Broeg commented that several of the nights features should be action packed, as several front runners failed to qualify for the invert ( redraw? ) for the money race. The stock car finale was an obvious example, as Damon Murty pulled out of his heat race, meaning he lined up in row ten of the feature. Cory Brown jumped to the front from his row two starting spot, leading Jerry Luloff until lap four, when Luloff claimed the top spot. At the same time, Les Blakely powered to second, and one lap later, Blakely took the lead. Lap nine saw Murty enter the top five, but the first caution of the race sent him back to sixth for the restart. It took two more green flag laps for Murty to reenter the top five, he grabbed fourth on lap twelve, then used a top side move to take second one lap later. Sticking with the high line, he charged to the lead out of turn four as lap fourteen was scored. Three caution periods in the final five laps slowed the action, with the second running Blakely getting sideways in turn two on lap eighteen, jamming up the field, with Brown and Dallon Murty suffering race ending damage, Blakely then stopped in turn three, his good run over, and it appeared front end issues with his ride had been the culprit. Damon Murty pulled away on the final restart, collecting his one hundredth career win at Vinton. Luloff took runner up honors ahead of Jay Schmidt, Scooter Dulin, and Neil Miller.
IMCA mods led the way with twenty four entrants, and they all came to the track next for twenty laps. Following a lap one caution, John Oliver Jr. charged to the lead after restarting inside row two. Racing his first season in the modified class, Oliver stayed out front through yellows on laps five and eight. Up front he was engaged in a battle with fifteen year old Kollin Hibdon, The youngster from Pahrump, Nevada, who is spending his summer staying in the Jeff Aikey household while he perfects his craft was following in the tire tracks of the #05. Meanwhile, row six, seven and eight starters Joel Rust, Aikey, and Justin Kay were picking their way through the field. Seemingly in command, Oliver suddenly slowed going down the backstretch on lap eighteen, his run over due to losing a fuel pump belt. Hibdon inherited the lead for the three lap shootout, holding off Rust, Aikey, Mike Burbridge, and Kay, who came from eighth to fifth after the final caution. It was the second ever modified win for the youngster, in marked contrast to the accomplishment moments earlier of the veteran Murty.
As Hibdon celebrated in victory lane, the IMCA sport mods hit the oval for sixteen laps. Daniel Fellows snatched the lead from his row two start as the field hit the first set of turns. The Keokuk, Iowa hot shoe stayed out front through caution periods on laps four, six, ten, and twelve. Meanwhile Ben Chapman and Danny Dvorak staged an entertaining side by side duel for the second spot. Following a final yellow with three laps remaining, the field was realigned single file. In the closing laps, the top four separated themselves from the pack, but Fellows was never seriously challenged, picking up his seventh feature win of the season. Chapman took runner up honors ahead of Dvorak and Tony Olson.
All eighteen sport compacts now took the spotlight. Andrew Steepleton was the early leader, with a couple early cautions slowing the action. Twelfth starting Barry Taft, a force wherever he goes, was slowly picking his way to the front, joining the back of a hot four car battle by lap four. Adam Gates put his #007 out front on lap six, with Taft following him through in second. With Taft looking for a way around Gates, he now had to contend with third running Korey Lana. Taft for the most part stayed in the tire tracks of the leader, reluctant to move out of line with Lana breathing down his neck. The leaders came upon a slower car in the final set of turns, but Gates was able to negotiate the lapped machine, claiming the win. Taft ran second, with Lana settling for third.
Continuing the rapid fire action, all seventeen IMCA late models came to the track. Jill George had come one lap short of a heat race win, and she lined up on the pole of the late model headliner. She jumped to the early lead ahead of row two starters Curtis Glover and late model rookie Dalton Simonsen. Eighth starting Jeff Aikey, with his Rick Dralle owned machine now sporting his familiar #77, powered to third on lap three, while his row four mate Nick Marolf entered the top five. One more lap saw the two heat winners advance to second and fourth, with Aikey taking the lead five laps in. Around the eighth circuit, Marolf moved to second, but by now Aikey had a sizable lead. Meanwhile, Marolf had his hands full with Darren Ackerman challenging for the second spot. Finally able to clear Ackerman, Marolf began to quickly run down the leader as lapped cars began to factor in. Just as a race for the lead was taking shape, Marolf went too high off turn two, slipping off the track, bringing out the first yellow with four laps to go. Ninth starting Justin Kay was now in the runner up spot, and Todd Cooney was now on the move, charging to third. Luke Pestka brought out a final caution as he went over the top of turns three and four, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. Aikey was not to be denied, however, picking up the win ahead of Kay, Cooney, Glover, and Ben Seeman. Ackerman led the second five, besting Simonsen, George, Mark Hurst, and Marolf.
As the hobby stocks prepared to run the final race of the evening, with the sun setting in the west, we decided to head for the car. The clock read 9:05 as we exited the fairgrounds, putting me home just ahead of the midnight hour.
Thanks to Mick, Mike and the gang for a great Sunday night of racing!
We hope to catch up with the three times postponed Summer nationals tour this week, and then return to Vinton next Thursday, July 27 as the IMCA Deery Brothers late models invade the quick 1/4 mile.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Weeknight Racing in Iowa - Part Deux
My original plans for this week did not involve any racing adventures, but I could not pass up the invitation to tag along first to Marshalltown on Tuesday, then to the Stuart International Speedway on Wednesday. It would be my second ever visit to Stuart, both this season. New owner/promoter Mike VanGenderen has presented an awesome program both times, however there is one big problem that MVG cannot fix. The 1/4 mile speed plant is a long way from Canton, Missouri! But with the checkered flag waving on the headline late model feature about 9:45, the four hour trip home did not seem so long!
We arrived just ahead of hot lap time to a pit area hosting a solid field of ninety three cars in five divisions, highlighted by the Nebraska based SLMR late model series, the brainchild of former late model standout, Joe Kosiski. The series has a rules package that is also friendly to the IMCA late models, and has consistently turned out solid car counts, including twenty eight at Stuart.
The format for the evening involved my favorite qualifying procedure for the late models, passing points, with the top fourteen locked into the twenty five lap main event. Four heat races determined those fourteen. Ben Schaller topped the first eight lapper over Curt Schroeder, Andrew Kosiski, and Tad Pospisil. Corey Zeitner gabbed heat two ahead of Charlie McKenna and Kyle Berck. Heat three went to Curtis Glover followed by Bill Leighton Jr., and Nick Roberts in a McKenna team car. Jason Obrien earned the feature pole, besting series points leader Nick Deal, Josh Leonard, and Todd Cooney in the final heat. A pair of B mains strategically placed after the IMCA stock car feature saw Jason Hahne and Brad Perdue make the feature lineup in the first ten lapper, and IMCA regulars Darrell Defrance and Justin Kay qualify from the second " B." Brian Kosiski and Paul Conrad claimed the final two spots as series provisionals.
The stock cars had already provided us with a thrilling feature event. Early leader Brandon Pruitt had somehow held off intense pressure from Buck Schafroth and Shawn Ritter, with those three nearly side by side as the white flag waved. Schafroth and Pruitt came to the checkers side by side, with the win going to the #92 of Schafroth by inches. Ritter settled for third, with Josh Daniels advancing to fourth from row eight. Eighteen stock cars signed in for the nights' action.
The IMCA sport mods were nineteen strong, and after some troubles early, they hit their stride. Garrett Nelson was fast working high on the banked track, while Kody Havens matched his laps running a low line that found him flirting with the infield boundary tires as he exited turn four. Nelson was not to be denied, and he was able to open a bit of a lead following a final caution four laps from the end. Havens took runner up honors, while Hunter Longnecker and Dusty Masolini found their way around third Running Tyler Inman following the caution.
Fifteen IMCA modifieds took the feature green, but a first lap melee disabled the cars of Arizona driver Austin Kuehl and the youngster from Nevada, Kollin Hibdon. Cory Sauerman and Kyle Brown were able to return and tag the tail after a trip to the hot pit. Back under green, it was Matt Meinecke out front with his hands full of Josh Gilman. Meinecke had no intention of giving up the lead, taking the twenty lap victory. Gilman was second, with Brown coming from the rear of the field all the way to third. One of the best names in racing, Clay Money, was fourth, and Sauerman fought back to grab a top five finish.
Next up was the twenty five lap late model $2,000 to win headliner. Obrien jumped out front from the pole, taking along third starting Leighton Jr. Obrien soon began to stretch his lead over Leighton, who did the same over third running Corey Zeitner and the rest of the pack. With no caution periods, the leader caught the back of the field just after the half way mark, which allowed Leighton to close to his rear bumper. Leighton was able to find a fast line one groove higher than Obrien, but he appeared to be blocked by a slower car. The leader was patient, then made the move of the race, splitting two cars, creating some breathing room for himself. Although Leighton was able to clear the lapped cars one circuit later, he could not mount a serious challenge in the closing laps. Obrien scored the flag to flag victory, with Leighton in second. Zeitner hung around in third, holding off McKenna and Schaller. Andrew Kosiski came home sixth, while Deal faded three spots in the late stages to claim seventh. Berck, Roberts, and fifteenth starting Hahne completed the top ten.
As the thirteen IMCA hobby stocks came to the track, we decided to call it a night and begin the long drive home. It was no surprise to see that Shannon Anderson, who was to start ninth, picked up the win.
Thanks go out to MVG and his staff for giving us an efficiently run show on a well prepared surface. Also thanks to my P.R. colleagues, Jeff Broeg for doing the hard work, and Barry Johnson for the late evening sustenance.
At this point, I am not sure when I will make it back to the track, especially with Quincy Raceways idle this Sunday. But the marathon known as the UMP Summernationals begins next week, so there will be lots to talk and write about in the days ahead! Stay tuned!
We arrived just ahead of hot lap time to a pit area hosting a solid field of ninety three cars in five divisions, highlighted by the Nebraska based SLMR late model series, the brainchild of former late model standout, Joe Kosiski. The series has a rules package that is also friendly to the IMCA late models, and has consistently turned out solid car counts, including twenty eight at Stuart.
The format for the evening involved my favorite qualifying procedure for the late models, passing points, with the top fourteen locked into the twenty five lap main event. Four heat races determined those fourteen. Ben Schaller topped the first eight lapper over Curt Schroeder, Andrew Kosiski, and Tad Pospisil. Corey Zeitner gabbed heat two ahead of Charlie McKenna and Kyle Berck. Heat three went to Curtis Glover followed by Bill Leighton Jr., and Nick Roberts in a McKenna team car. Jason Obrien earned the feature pole, besting series points leader Nick Deal, Josh Leonard, and Todd Cooney in the final heat. A pair of B mains strategically placed after the IMCA stock car feature saw Jason Hahne and Brad Perdue make the feature lineup in the first ten lapper, and IMCA regulars Darrell Defrance and Justin Kay qualify from the second " B." Brian Kosiski and Paul Conrad claimed the final two spots as series provisionals.
The stock cars had already provided us with a thrilling feature event. Early leader Brandon Pruitt had somehow held off intense pressure from Buck Schafroth and Shawn Ritter, with those three nearly side by side as the white flag waved. Schafroth and Pruitt came to the checkers side by side, with the win going to the #92 of Schafroth by inches. Ritter settled for third, with Josh Daniels advancing to fourth from row eight. Eighteen stock cars signed in for the nights' action.
The IMCA sport mods were nineteen strong, and after some troubles early, they hit their stride. Garrett Nelson was fast working high on the banked track, while Kody Havens matched his laps running a low line that found him flirting with the infield boundary tires as he exited turn four. Nelson was not to be denied, and he was able to open a bit of a lead following a final caution four laps from the end. Havens took runner up honors, while Hunter Longnecker and Dusty Masolini found their way around third Running Tyler Inman following the caution.
Fifteen IMCA modifieds took the feature green, but a first lap melee disabled the cars of Arizona driver Austin Kuehl and the youngster from Nevada, Kollin Hibdon. Cory Sauerman and Kyle Brown were able to return and tag the tail after a trip to the hot pit. Back under green, it was Matt Meinecke out front with his hands full of Josh Gilman. Meinecke had no intention of giving up the lead, taking the twenty lap victory. Gilman was second, with Brown coming from the rear of the field all the way to third. One of the best names in racing, Clay Money, was fourth, and Sauerman fought back to grab a top five finish.
Next up was the twenty five lap late model $2,000 to win headliner. Obrien jumped out front from the pole, taking along third starting Leighton Jr. Obrien soon began to stretch his lead over Leighton, who did the same over third running Corey Zeitner and the rest of the pack. With no caution periods, the leader caught the back of the field just after the half way mark, which allowed Leighton to close to his rear bumper. Leighton was able to find a fast line one groove higher than Obrien, but he appeared to be blocked by a slower car. The leader was patient, then made the move of the race, splitting two cars, creating some breathing room for himself. Although Leighton was able to clear the lapped cars one circuit later, he could not mount a serious challenge in the closing laps. Obrien scored the flag to flag victory, with Leighton in second. Zeitner hung around in third, holding off McKenna and Schaller. Andrew Kosiski came home sixth, while Deal faded three spots in the late stages to claim seventh. Berck, Roberts, and fifteenth starting Hahne completed the top ten.
As the thirteen IMCA hobby stocks came to the track, we decided to call it a night and begin the long drive home. It was no surprise to see that Shannon Anderson, who was to start ninth, picked up the win.
Thanks go out to MVG and his staff for giving us an efficiently run show on a well prepared surface. Also thanks to my P.R. colleagues, Jeff Broeg for doing the hard work, and Barry Johnson for the late evening sustenance.
At this point, I am not sure when I will make it back to the track, especially with Quincy Raceways idle this Sunday. But the marathon known as the UMP Summernationals begins next week, so there will be lots to talk and write about in the days ahead! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Weeknight Racing in Iowa - Part One
Tuesday night I accepted an invitation to tag along to the Marshalltown, Iowa Speedway as the Dirt Knights modified tour finally staged their season opener after weather derailed previous attempts. With four correspondents from Positively Racing on hand, you may refer to the 4D Fan Report, the Backstretch, or One Fans' Travels for a rundown of the nights racing.
And even though I had planned to just " be a fan " on Tuesday, I find myself with some random notes to share. Although it was only my fourth visit to the famed 1/4 mile, Marshalltown is quickly becoming one of my very favorite tracks for a host of reasons. Granted, the threat of a pop up shower or storm no doubt created a sense of urgency for promoter Toby Kruse and his crew to speed through the program, but the fact is they did it, and in a non chaotic fashion! Ninety three cars in five divisions - highlighted by thirty six tour modifieds - clicked off fourteen heat races, two B mains and five features in just under two and a half hours! There were a number of contributing factors, including a smooth, fast racetrack. But equally impressive to me was the man in the flag stand. He did not waste laps once the cars were lined up, and he was not at all in love with his yellow flag, giving spinning drivers until the last possible safe minute to restart the race. I suspect the locals are used to this, and it was probably a factor in the first eleven heat races running caution free. Only once did I question his call, when he green flagged a start that looked very much like what he waved off on the first attempt. But again, a judgement call.
Announcer Jerry Vansickel was also at the top of his game, managing to get lineups and hometowns in with very little time between races. I wonder how he travels from the crows' nest to the front stretch for interviews with the winners without being completely out of breath? Jerry is also a " call 'em as I see 'em " old school type, adding in a bit of humor and commentary along the way.
As far as on track action, there was plenty of three and four wide racing in the features, and except for what may have been a couple of grudge matches, the slide jobs and side by side duels were clean.
Congratulations go out to the feature winners, including Richie Gustin who picked up the big check in the thirty lap modified finale to round out the action that put us in the car by 10:00 P.M. and me in my driveway just after 1:00 A.M.
Momentarily I will be heading out to again bum a ride to Mike Van Genderens' Stuart Speedway for my second visit of 2019. The featured attraction tonight will be the Nebraska based SLMR late models, I am anticipating ( hoping for! ) more good weather, another good show, and one more night with minimal sleep.
Thanks for reading!
And even though I had planned to just " be a fan " on Tuesday, I find myself with some random notes to share. Although it was only my fourth visit to the famed 1/4 mile, Marshalltown is quickly becoming one of my very favorite tracks for a host of reasons. Granted, the threat of a pop up shower or storm no doubt created a sense of urgency for promoter Toby Kruse and his crew to speed through the program, but the fact is they did it, and in a non chaotic fashion! Ninety three cars in five divisions - highlighted by thirty six tour modifieds - clicked off fourteen heat races, two B mains and five features in just under two and a half hours! There were a number of contributing factors, including a smooth, fast racetrack. But equally impressive to me was the man in the flag stand. He did not waste laps once the cars were lined up, and he was not at all in love with his yellow flag, giving spinning drivers until the last possible safe minute to restart the race. I suspect the locals are used to this, and it was probably a factor in the first eleven heat races running caution free. Only once did I question his call, when he green flagged a start that looked very much like what he waved off on the first attempt. But again, a judgement call.
Announcer Jerry Vansickel was also at the top of his game, managing to get lineups and hometowns in with very little time between races. I wonder how he travels from the crows' nest to the front stretch for interviews with the winners without being completely out of breath? Jerry is also a " call 'em as I see 'em " old school type, adding in a bit of humor and commentary along the way.
As far as on track action, there was plenty of three and four wide racing in the features, and except for what may have been a couple of grudge matches, the slide jobs and side by side duels were clean.
Congratulations go out to the feature winners, including Richie Gustin who picked up the big check in the thirty lap modified finale to round out the action that put us in the car by 10:00 P.M. and me in my driveway just after 1:00 A.M.
Momentarily I will be heading out to again bum a ride to Mike Van Genderens' Stuart Speedway for my second visit of 2019. The featured attraction tonight will be the Nebraska based SLMR late models, I am anticipating ( hoping for! ) more good weather, another good show, and one more night with minimal sleep.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Birck Scores the Hat Trick at Quincy
Back on April 28, the IMCA sport mod feature at Quincy Raceways was halted by rain with ten laps left to go. With the MLRA late model special on tap for the following week, track officials decided to finish the race as part of the Sunday, May 12 program. But that show was rained out. And so was May 19. And so was May 26. Finally tonight, June 2, it was dry enough to go racing. So the final ten laps from five weeks prior was first on the card. Adam Birck was out front of the thirteen cars that returned from that show, and he held on for the win. Bobby Six was in the runner up spot when he spun with six laps to go, with Tanner Klingele coming home in second. Justin Ebbing, Terry Wilson, and A J Tournear completed the top five. Following a re watering of the very dusty track and the make up feature for the two person cruisers, it was time to begin the regular program.
A season high sixty four cars signed in, and it took eleven heat races to set the feature fields for the six divisions.
The UMP Pro Crate late models were up first. Eight cars lined up for twenty laps, but Darin Weisinger Jr. had transmission woes, and exited the track following a lap one caution. Tommy Elston shot to the front from inside row two, leading Sam Halstead and Denny Woodworth as lap one was scored. Woodworth cleared Halstead for second on lap five and set out to catch the leader. Elston caught the back of the pack on the twelfth circuit, giving Woodworth a chance to move to his rear bumper. But that was as far as the late model lawyer could go, and Elston led all twenty laps for his second win of 2019 at QR. Woodworth settled for second ahead of Halstead, Andy Minnet, Melvin Linder, Graham Fate, and Cliff Powell.
All but one of the ten IMCA sport compacts lined up next for twelve laps of action. David Prim, who now pilots the #11 car formerly driven by Darin Weisinger Jr., grabbed the early lead over Isaiah Penton. By lap five, Barry Taft, wheeling a Jacob Houston #72 machine was closing on the leaders. The only caution came when Penton slowed on lap eight, exiting the track. On the restart, both Taft and Jeffrey Delonjay powered around Prim in turn four. Taft held on for the win. Jeffrey Delonjay ran second, while Jaden Delonjay slipped around Prim for third. Jason Ash completed the top five.
Ten stock cars were up next for eighteen laps. Rudy Zaragoza, driving a UMP street stock in what is now a hybrid class at QR, took off from the pole, with Beau Taylor trailing in his IMCA stock car after starting in row two. The front pair began to put distance on the pack when Taylor used an inside move to grab the lead on lap six. As Beau began to stretch his advantage, Zaragoza went too hot into turn one on lap ten, spinning to bring out the caution flag. Shane Richardson used the Delaware restart to drive around Michael Larsen for second, and once again Taylor pulled away. A mixup in turn four stopped the action even as as the leaders were taking the white flag. With the green and white waving together, Zaragoza tried to go four wide into turn one, bringing out a final yellow. On the final try, Taylor came first to the checkers, followed by Larsen. Brian Gaines also cleared Richardson, who fell two spots on the final lap. Steve Dieckmann was fifth.
Fast qualifier and heat one winner Dave Weitholder sat on the pole of the UMP modified twenty lapper, with heat two winner Rick Stevenson on his outside. Weitholder jumped to the lead, trailed by Vance Wilson and Josh Newman, while Stevenson was shuffled back to sixth. But just as quickly, Stevenson, making his first visit of 2019, found the bottom groove of the track to his liking, powering to second as lap five was scored, and putting a nose ahead of Weitholder at the line for lap six. The first of two yellows came one lap later, and on the restart, veteran Steve Grotz moved to third. The final stoppage came for a Newman spin on lap eight. Back under green, Grotz also hugged the low line to take second, while Vance Wilson pounded the cushion in taking third. Stevenson continued to run the now faster low line, with Grotz in his footprints, and Wilson searching up top. At the checkers, Stevenson made the trip from Ofallon, Missouri worth the effort, scoring the victory. Grotz ran a season best second, Wilson was third, and Weitholder held off Frankie Wellman, making his season debut in fifth.
The IMCA sport mods now came to the track. sixteen strong, for eighteen laps. Tournear charged to the front from row two to lead lap one, while Birck came from row two to second one lap later. The first of five cautions on lap three found Klingele third after starting in row four. Birck took the point as racing resumed, while Tournear and Klingele battled behind him. Following a lap five caution, Ebbing moved to third.Birck and Klingele began to put distance on the field, but now all eyes were on Six. His hard luck from the first feature carried over to his heat race, but he was now on the move. On lap seven, he had come from a row eight start to the top five. The next lap saw contact send the third running Ebbing for a spin. The yellow waved for debris on the restart, and now the field was lined up single file. One more stoppage, and it was back to racing. Six took third following the green flag. Birck was spending his energy on the top side of the oval, while Klingele testing multiple grooves in his pursuit. Soon Six was challenging for the runner up spot, and Birck was able to stretch his margin. The checkers waved for Birck, giving him two features wins, plus a heat victory, racings' version of the Hat Trick. Klingele scored his second runner up finish, with Six taking third. As they had in the make up event, Terry Wilson and Tournear ran forth and fifth.
With six of the seven cars scheduled to go in the two person cruiser finale, and the clock clicking past 10:00 PM, I headed to the car knowing I had a full plate lined up for Monday.
As always, thanks to Jason Goble and his staff for their hospitality. Quincy Raceways will be off next Sunday as the go karts will be racing in the park in Quincy. And in two weeks, the fledgling Iowa Sprint League non wing cars will be the featured attraction at the .29 mile QR oval. I am not sure where my next racing adventure will be, but wherever it is, I will offer my insights here at Racin' Down the Road. Thanks for reading!
A season high sixty four cars signed in, and it took eleven heat races to set the feature fields for the six divisions.
The UMP Pro Crate late models were up first. Eight cars lined up for twenty laps, but Darin Weisinger Jr. had transmission woes, and exited the track following a lap one caution. Tommy Elston shot to the front from inside row two, leading Sam Halstead and Denny Woodworth as lap one was scored. Woodworth cleared Halstead for second on lap five and set out to catch the leader. Elston caught the back of the pack on the twelfth circuit, giving Woodworth a chance to move to his rear bumper. But that was as far as the late model lawyer could go, and Elston led all twenty laps for his second win of 2019 at QR. Woodworth settled for second ahead of Halstead, Andy Minnet, Melvin Linder, Graham Fate, and Cliff Powell.
All but one of the ten IMCA sport compacts lined up next for twelve laps of action. David Prim, who now pilots the #11 car formerly driven by Darin Weisinger Jr., grabbed the early lead over Isaiah Penton. By lap five, Barry Taft, wheeling a Jacob Houston #72 machine was closing on the leaders. The only caution came when Penton slowed on lap eight, exiting the track. On the restart, both Taft and Jeffrey Delonjay powered around Prim in turn four. Taft held on for the win. Jeffrey Delonjay ran second, while Jaden Delonjay slipped around Prim for third. Jason Ash completed the top five.
Ten stock cars were up next for eighteen laps. Rudy Zaragoza, driving a UMP street stock in what is now a hybrid class at QR, took off from the pole, with Beau Taylor trailing in his IMCA stock car after starting in row two. The front pair began to put distance on the pack when Taylor used an inside move to grab the lead on lap six. As Beau began to stretch his advantage, Zaragoza went too hot into turn one on lap ten, spinning to bring out the caution flag. Shane Richardson used the Delaware restart to drive around Michael Larsen for second, and once again Taylor pulled away. A mixup in turn four stopped the action even as as the leaders were taking the white flag. With the green and white waving together, Zaragoza tried to go four wide into turn one, bringing out a final yellow. On the final try, Taylor came first to the checkers, followed by Larsen. Brian Gaines also cleared Richardson, who fell two spots on the final lap. Steve Dieckmann was fifth.
Fast qualifier and heat one winner Dave Weitholder sat on the pole of the UMP modified twenty lapper, with heat two winner Rick Stevenson on his outside. Weitholder jumped to the lead, trailed by Vance Wilson and Josh Newman, while Stevenson was shuffled back to sixth. But just as quickly, Stevenson, making his first visit of 2019, found the bottom groove of the track to his liking, powering to second as lap five was scored, and putting a nose ahead of Weitholder at the line for lap six. The first of two yellows came one lap later, and on the restart, veteran Steve Grotz moved to third. The final stoppage came for a Newman spin on lap eight. Back under green, Grotz also hugged the low line to take second, while Vance Wilson pounded the cushion in taking third. Stevenson continued to run the now faster low line, with Grotz in his footprints, and Wilson searching up top. At the checkers, Stevenson made the trip from Ofallon, Missouri worth the effort, scoring the victory. Grotz ran a season best second, Wilson was third, and Weitholder held off Frankie Wellman, making his season debut in fifth.
The IMCA sport mods now came to the track. sixteen strong, for eighteen laps. Tournear charged to the front from row two to lead lap one, while Birck came from row two to second one lap later. The first of five cautions on lap three found Klingele third after starting in row four. Birck took the point as racing resumed, while Tournear and Klingele battled behind him. Following a lap five caution, Ebbing moved to third.Birck and Klingele began to put distance on the field, but now all eyes were on Six. His hard luck from the first feature carried over to his heat race, but he was now on the move. On lap seven, he had come from a row eight start to the top five. The next lap saw contact send the third running Ebbing for a spin. The yellow waved for debris on the restart, and now the field was lined up single file. One more stoppage, and it was back to racing. Six took third following the green flag. Birck was spending his energy on the top side of the oval, while Klingele testing multiple grooves in his pursuit. Soon Six was challenging for the runner up spot, and Birck was able to stretch his margin. The checkers waved for Birck, giving him two features wins, plus a heat victory, racings' version of the Hat Trick. Klingele scored his second runner up finish, with Six taking third. As they had in the make up event, Terry Wilson and Tournear ran forth and fifth.
With six of the seven cars scheduled to go in the two person cruiser finale, and the clock clicking past 10:00 PM, I headed to the car knowing I had a full plate lined up for Monday.
As always, thanks to Jason Goble and his staff for their hospitality. Quincy Raceways will be off next Sunday as the go karts will be racing in the park in Quincy. And in two weeks, the fledgling Iowa Sprint League non wing cars will be the featured attraction at the .29 mile QR oval. I am not sure where my next racing adventure will be, but wherever it is, I will offer my insights here at Racin' Down the Road. Thanks for reading!
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