Saturday Night Racing - With Fans!

  For racing fanatics like myself, the first two months of the 2020 season can be described in one word: disappointing. On  Saturday, my wife and I made the three hour drive to grandson Keagan and wife Megans' house for a visit and hopefully Keagans' first race of the season. Despite a bright sunny day, clouds began to form in the afternoon, with a few sprinkles falling. But on this day the stars finally aligned, and Keagan and I headed out for the nearly one hour drive to the Central Missouri Speedway in Warrensburg, Missouri. This would be a new track for both of us.
   In addition to four of the regular classes at the track, the featured attraction on this night was the official opening race for the SLMR west series. The second year series had gathered at the Stuart, Iowa Speedway to race without fans last Sunday, but rain wiped out the program.
   It was good to finally join hungry race fans in the grandstand, as my home state has been a leader in allowing fan participation, while still recommending social distancing and other guidelines.
   Warrensburg is as far south as the Super Late Model Racing group will venture in 2020, and with a scheduled companion event at Lakeside, Kansas Speedway the night before having canceled, we were unsure how many drivers would make the trip to the track that does not have a weekly late model class. As it turned out, a solid field of twenty six drivers signed in as part of the 102 cars in the large pit area.
   Central Missouri Speedway is advertised as a 3/8 mile facility, but it seems to me that may be a liberal measurement, perhaps something closer to a 1/3 mile in my estimation. Also, the racing surface is a bit on the narrow side for the wide bodied late models. With all that being said, it is a well manicured and updated facility, with a full straightaway of aluminum bleachers and adequate lighting. The PA system is also functional, however the speakers are mounted on light poles in the infield, rendering it mostly useless with cars on the track, and there is no scoreboard. For one thin dollar, however, the track sells a weekly program with driver rosters, a worthwhile investment for those wishing to keep track of driver names and hometowns.
    Hot laps began just before the advertised 7:00 start time, and the first heat race was on the track a few ticks ahead of 7:30. CMS did a  good job of transitioning from one race to the next. The intermission however, was a long one, as after a few minutes it was decided to attempt to smooth out a couple of waves in the corners, no doubt the result of persistent heavy rains in the area.
   The late models had contested four heat races, with wins going to Jake Neal, Jason Obrien, Bill Leighton, and Tad Pospisil, with passing points used to set the first eight rows of the feature grid. Pospisil was looking at the back bumper of Corey Zeitner until Charlie McKenna jumped over the bank on the final lap of heat four, and Pospisil grabbed the lead on the restart. Following the break, a B main, which was actually a position dash, was captured by Zach Zeitner. Only JC Wyman, who fell out of his heat race while leading failed to transfer to the thirty lap main event.
   Three heat races and a B main whittled the twenty seven car field down to twenty three for the feature for the B mods. The twenty lap race was plagued by three early cautions before settling in for the second half of the event. Patrick Royalty appears to be a dominant car in this class, as he led each lap to make it two wins in a row at the speedway. Steve Clancy pushed Royalty in the final laps of the race, as the duo gained separation on the field, even while negotiating lapped traffic. Jacob Ebert came home third ahead of Earl Roark. Fifth place went to a driver with a racers name, Sturgis Streeter.
   Up next it was mod lites, with all twenty cars making the call. Dillon Raffurty and Ed Griggs sat on row one, crossing the stripe in a dead heat as lap one was scored. Contact then saw Griggs relegated to the back of the pack on a restart. Numerous caution periods saw the field finally reset in single file order, with the decision made to cut the race from twenty to fifteen laps. Raffurty held on for the win in what was apparently a family affair. David Rafferty outlasted Michael Raffurty for second, while Garrett Stonum broke up the reunion in fourth ahead of Justin Raffurty in fifth. For his part, Griggs passed a dozen cars under green to come all the way back to seventh at the checkers.
   The stage was now set for thirty laps of late model action. Leighton and Pospisil lined up in row one, with Tad pacing the first circuit. The yellow waved on lap three as Corey Zeitner jumped the cushion in turn two, ending his run. Third starting Aaron Marrant cleared Leighton for second just ahead of a lap four caution. One lap later, long distance traveler Darrell Defrance came to a stop on the front straight, his night over. Following another stoppage on lap seven, the pack ran caution free until lap twenty eight. Meanwhile, Leighton and Marrant began to pull away from the field, encountering slower traffic just past the halfway mark. Leighton appeared to gain a big advantage when he split the cars of Chris Spieker and Brett Hopp, but Marrant soon closed the gap, charging to the lead on lap twenty. With five circuits left, Marrant looked to be on his way to a win, but a multi car pile up with a pair of laps to go reset the field in single file formation. But Marrant, the driver from just up the road in Richmond, held on for the first ever SLMR win by a Missouri racer. Leighton took runner up honors, besting Pospisil, tenth starting Kyle Berck, and Neal. Row nine starter Cory Dumpert wheeled the # 6 car to lead the second five in front of row eleven starter McKenna, Brad Perdue, sisteenth starting Jacob Hobscheidt, and row twelve starter Josh Leonard.
   The clock was nearing 10:30 as we headed for the gate with a pair of features still to run. Reports show heat winners Brett Wood and Jay Prevete topping the street stocks, while surprise entrant Rodney Sanders out dueled Tim Karrick in the A mod finale.
   It was a fun night of racing at a new track, especially as we are able to interact with some enthusiastic fans!
   Plans for the week ahead are up in the air, but perhaps I will see you at a track ( in Iowa or Missouri!) this weekend.