Friday night we stayed with the MARS late model mini tour with the next stop the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Threatening skies dominated the evening, and the forecast was ominous. However with the late afternoon sun baking the 3/8 mile, the track crew used a heavy dose of water to hopefully keep the dust down and the track fast. So of course the clouds rolled in and suddenly the racing surface was something of a quagmire. Getting the moisture packed in set things back a half hour or so, but with lightning in the distance, hot laps for the four classes on hand got the show started.
Series officials worked the bugs out of the timing loop, so the seventeen super late models checked in rolled through time trial qualifying, two cars at a time for two laps each. Thursday winner Frank Heckenast Jr. was fastest in group one, and Brian Shirley paced group two with what I believe was the fastest overall lap, and the heat lineups were set for the MARS cars, while the IMCA late models, modifieds, and sport mods used a draw, redraw lineup format.
Not surprisingly, the top qualifiers both picked up heat race wins from the pole position, with Heckenast leading Ryan Unzicker, Chris Simpson and Daryn Klein in the first ten lapper while Shirley topped Bobby Pierce, Rich Bell and Steve Stultz in heat two.
With heat race action complete for the sixty seven cars signed in, and reports of torrential downpours twenty miles to the north, the decision was made to move the $5,000 to win headliner ahead of the previously scheduled modified feature. Also it was announced that the race would be cut from thirty to forty laps.
Shirley took command at the drop of the green from the outside pole with Heckenast, Unzicker, Pierce, and Simpson in tow. As the race stayed caution free, the leader caught the back of the pack about lap eleven, and Heckenast began to whittle away at Shirleys' big lead. But Pierce was the man on the move, and as lap fourteen was scored, he charged past Heckenast for second. A half dozen laps later, and he was racing alongside Shirley in turns one and two, but lap after lap Brian used his high side momentum to take command down the back stretch. With four circuits to go, the leaders came up on four cars racing side by side and nose to tail. With the skill of a veteran racer, Shirley was able to weave his way through, holding on to earn a flag to flag, caution free victory. But before I could put it in the book, the #3s was circling around for a second trip across the scales. And soon the announcement came that he was too light - by fifty pounds as it turns out. Already across the scales and back at his trailer, Pierce was then brought back to victory lane and declared the winner. While a bit subdued to win by default, Bobby still took time to offer a special thanks to former late model racer Sam Harroun, who had made a quick trip to Pierce headquarters near Danville, Il. to pick up an engine for the #32 team after they blew up their primary power plant in hot laps Thursday - they then competed in their " back up " car, - and to another former late model and mod pilot Steve Boley for offering up his shop to make necessary changes on Friday. Heckenast and Unzicker also recorded podium finishes, with Simpson and Klein completing the top five. Spencer Diercks ran sixth ahead of Tim Manville, Jason Feger, super late model rookie Brandon Queen, and Rich Bell.
Daniel Fellows charged to the front of the modified twenty lap main event, with Jeff Waterman in tow, while Dennis Laveine, Bill Roberts Jr., and Michael Long battled behind the front duo. Fellows and Long were pounding the cushion, as the two #71s, Waterman and Laveine drove the inside line, racing side by side at lap thirteen. One lap later, they made it a three car battle with Fellows as Long fell back in fourth. With three circuits remaining, Laveine powered to the front and began to put distance on his challengers. But as the white flag was displayed, steam or smoke erupted from the #18L of Long, and he spun high in turn three, ending his run and setting up a green, white, checkers shootout. It proved only a temporary delay for Laveine, who cruised to the win. Waterman came home second and Fellows crossed in third only to also fall victim to the scales. This moved John Oliver Jr. who was subbing for Mark Burgtorf in the Bill Baker # 03B to third, with Roberts and Levi Smith recording top five runs.
The eighteen lap IMCA sport mod feature was up next. Twenty one of the twenty five cars signed in came to the track. Heat race number two had seen Jim Powell, Jim Gillenwater, and Adam Birck racing hard into turn one with Gillenwater squezzed out of racing room on the bottom, spinning up the track where he was hit hard by Austen Beccera, who had no where to go. The grinding crash ended the night for the two top contenders. As the green flag waved for the main event, the pace of the evening nearly ground to a halt. A multi car pile up on lap one created a lengthy delay, only to be outdone two laps later when Powell rolled his #48 machine. Birck moved around early leader Barry Taft ahead of another major pile up on lap four, and apparently to fill the down time, an altercation broke out in the grandstands which eventually required the attention of several track officials. At that point I decided it would be best to quit counting caution periods, but to call the race a marathon would be charitable. Birck topped the nine cars still running at the end, besting Blaine Webster, Brandon Dale, Tanner Klingele, and Taft.
Nick Marolf redrew the pole position for the twenty five lap IMCA " Drive for Five " late model finale, jumping to the lead with third starting Dustin Griffin close behind. Outside row one starter Andy Nezworski, the heat one winner, charged to the runner up spot at lap six, just as the race was halted for a medical emergency in the grandstands. Following a short delay, Marolf again went to the top of the track while Nezworski was busy with challenges from heat two winner Griffin. Andy was finally able to complete the pass at the halfway mark, but Marolf remained in charge. Slower traffic became a factor with five laps to go, but the veteran Marolf was up to the challenge, holding on to collect the $1,000 top prize. Nezworski was second followed by Griffin, wheeling a Denny Woodworth entry. Tommy Elston finished fourth, and Sam Halstead, who suspended his " retirement " the night before in Davenport, notched a top five slot. Matt Ryan started ninth and rode the high line to sixth. Woodworth started last after missing his heat race and advanced to seventh at the checkers in front of Matt Strassheim in the Barton Racing #7B, Ron Boyse, and Jay Johnson.
Quite a few of the nice sized crowd stayed around for the final checkers, which waved about 11:00, and while folks headed north were cautioned about more heavy showers, our trip south remained dry.
The MARS series wraps up their three night swing tonight at the Peoria Speedway, but I will take the night off for R and R. Thanks go out to Tony Izzo and the MARS folks as well as Brian and Marcie Gaylord for their hospitality and for giving us late model fans a top quality show close to home!
We now set our sights on the rescheduled Slocum Fifty next Friday night at 34 Raceway, with the MLRA late model starts vying for top honors and a $10,555 payday. Don't miss it!
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Friday, June 26, 2020
HeckenastJr. Claims MARS Opener; Kay Doubles Up
The MARS racing series, now owned by former standout late model driver Tony Izzo Jr. was originally scheduled to kick off the 2020 season here in the midwest with a two night show at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa the last weekend in March. Little did we know what a dramatic effect that rained out weekend would mean in relation to the early racing season. But this week, Izzo rolled up his sleeves and reentered the racing scene with a three race mini series featuring $5,000 to win shows in Davenport and Donnellson, Iowa followed by a Saturday night event in Peoria, Il.
Encouraged by a beautiful day weather wise, we headed to the Davenport Speedway for Thursday night super late model racing backed by an appearance by the IMCA late models. And to sweeten the pot even more, the Kay family decided to also offer up the rained out late model feature from last Friday night, with any extra competitors allowed to " buy in " and tag the tail of that event, giving us three late model features on the always racy 1/4 mile bullring nestled inside the historic 1/2 mile track.
A field split evenly with twenty one entrants in each of the late model classes signed in to do battle.
Things got off to a bit of a rocky start when series officials could not get the timing loop operational, with the decision made to scrap time trials and go to a draw format for the super late models.
So the IMCA make up feature was now first on the card. All but two of the sixteen drivers qualified from last Fridays' rain out were on hand, with the seven " new " drivers lining up behind those fourteen for twenty five laps. Veteran Gary Webb shot to the lead from the pole position ahead of a lap two caution for Dave Stichter. Following the Delaware restart, Webb again assumed the lead, and defending track champion Matt Ryan powered to third after starting in row four. Ryan advanced to second just ahead of a lap seven caution, and took over the lead one lap later, only to have the caution giving the lead back to Webb. Meanwhile, row eight starter Justin Kay was on the move to fourth. Ryan again grabbed the lead as lap eleven was scored, and Kay charged to third. Kay took over the runner up spot at lap fifteen, while Andy Nezworski followed in third. With no more cautions, the leaders caught slower traffic about lap twenty, and Kay began to reel in the leader. With Ryan pounding the cushion, Kay raced around the bottom, taking over the top spot as the white flag waved. At the line, it was Kay with the win while Ryan settled for second. Nezworski was third, followed by Chuck Hanna and Webb. Division rookie Mitch Manternach led the second five, besting Joe Zrostlik, Brian Harris, Logan Duffy, and Brian Webb.
MARS heat races were up next, with Allen Weisser picking up the first ten lapper over Brian Birkhofer, Myles Moos, and Jason Feger. Bobby Pierce lost an engine during hot laps, but wheeled his back up #32 from row three to claim heat two in front of Jon Brauns, Daryn Klein, and Brian Shirley. The final qualifier went to Spencer Diercks ahead of Chris Simpson, Frank Heckenast Jr., and Bob Gardner.
From row three Ryan topped IMCA late model heat one followed by Nick Marolf, Nezworski, and Joe Ross. Kay was victorious in heat two over Manternach, Don Pataska, and Harris. Zrostlik claimed heat three in front of Hanna, Gary Webb, and Duffy.
With no B mains needed, track officials took time to put some water on the 1/4 mile as the IMCA guys prepared for their twenty five lap $1,000 to win feature. Drawing the outside pole start, Ryan quickly assumed the top spot, stretching his lead even as he worked slower traffic by lap eight. The only caution of the event came at lap seventeen, when third running Zrostlik spun on the front stretch, possibly with a little help? As the field reset, Kay, who started eleventh and stayed there for the first part of the race, was now up to sixth. Five circuits later, he had made his way to second, although the high flying Ryan still had a several car length lead. But again the #15K was methodically working the inside line, and in a deja vu move, he snared the lead as the white flag flew. The move gave him a clean sweep with two feature wins along with a heat race victory. For Ryan it was another runner up finish. Marolf was third ahead of Harris in the Lynn Richard #15R, and the youngster Duffy ( not B J Jackson as the announcer mistakenly called him! ) Nezworski rode home sixth, then came Manternach, Pataska, Zrostlik, and Gary Webb.
The headline event was the forty lap $5,000 to win feature for the MARS stars. Brauns and Pierce sat in row one, with Pierce jumping to the lead. Simpson took second one lap later, but Heckenast was the man on the move, starting ninth and claiming third on lap six. A three car battle for second about lap eleven saw Simpson, Heckenast, and Birkhofer in tight formation. The first caution came at lap twelve for Matt Furman, then again two laps later as the cone was knocked on the track. Pierce was pounding the cushion, Simpson working the bottom, as a hard charging Weisser grabbed third at lap seventeen. Suddenly Simpson faded to sixth even as Heckenast moved to second and began to close on Pierce, who temporarily moved down the track. Not to be denied, Frankie put his # 99Jr. in front , encountering slower traffic at lap twenty eight. One lap later, as turn four became treacherously slick, Birkhofer slid over the top, falling to sixth. Pierce was now making up ground on the leader, but on lap thirty three, he fell victim to the turn four challenge. From there it was smooth sailing for Heckenast Jr., as he picked up the win. Weisser finished strong in second, chased by Shirley, Simpson, and Birkhofer. Pierce was sixth followed by Chad Holladay, Klein in the Gerstner Racing # 6, Rich Bell, and Kay, who did double duty on the night along with Joel Callahan.
The final checkers waved before 10:00, sending the large crowd home still buzzing about three excellent features. Thanks to Tony Izzo and the Kay family for their hospitality and a great night of racing!
Tonight the MARS mini tour moves to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for another $5,000 to win extravaganza. The IMCA late models will also be on the card, racing for a $1,000 as part of their " Drive for Five " promotion which will culminate with a September event offering a $5,000 to win prize. IMCA modifieds and IMCA sport mods will fill out the card tonight, with hot laps at 7:00 and racing to follow. Hope to see you there!
Encouraged by a beautiful day weather wise, we headed to the Davenport Speedway for Thursday night super late model racing backed by an appearance by the IMCA late models. And to sweeten the pot even more, the Kay family decided to also offer up the rained out late model feature from last Friday night, with any extra competitors allowed to " buy in " and tag the tail of that event, giving us three late model features on the always racy 1/4 mile bullring nestled inside the historic 1/2 mile track.
A field split evenly with twenty one entrants in each of the late model classes signed in to do battle.
Things got off to a bit of a rocky start when series officials could not get the timing loop operational, with the decision made to scrap time trials and go to a draw format for the super late models.
So the IMCA make up feature was now first on the card. All but two of the sixteen drivers qualified from last Fridays' rain out were on hand, with the seven " new " drivers lining up behind those fourteen for twenty five laps. Veteran Gary Webb shot to the lead from the pole position ahead of a lap two caution for Dave Stichter. Following the Delaware restart, Webb again assumed the lead, and defending track champion Matt Ryan powered to third after starting in row four. Ryan advanced to second just ahead of a lap seven caution, and took over the lead one lap later, only to have the caution giving the lead back to Webb. Meanwhile, row eight starter Justin Kay was on the move to fourth. Ryan again grabbed the lead as lap eleven was scored, and Kay charged to third. Kay took over the runner up spot at lap fifteen, while Andy Nezworski followed in third. With no more cautions, the leaders caught slower traffic about lap twenty, and Kay began to reel in the leader. With Ryan pounding the cushion, Kay raced around the bottom, taking over the top spot as the white flag waved. At the line, it was Kay with the win while Ryan settled for second. Nezworski was third, followed by Chuck Hanna and Webb. Division rookie Mitch Manternach led the second five, besting Joe Zrostlik, Brian Harris, Logan Duffy, and Brian Webb.
MARS heat races were up next, with Allen Weisser picking up the first ten lapper over Brian Birkhofer, Myles Moos, and Jason Feger. Bobby Pierce lost an engine during hot laps, but wheeled his back up #32 from row three to claim heat two in front of Jon Brauns, Daryn Klein, and Brian Shirley. The final qualifier went to Spencer Diercks ahead of Chris Simpson, Frank Heckenast Jr., and Bob Gardner.
From row three Ryan topped IMCA late model heat one followed by Nick Marolf, Nezworski, and Joe Ross. Kay was victorious in heat two over Manternach, Don Pataska, and Harris. Zrostlik claimed heat three in front of Hanna, Gary Webb, and Duffy.
With no B mains needed, track officials took time to put some water on the 1/4 mile as the IMCA guys prepared for their twenty five lap $1,000 to win feature. Drawing the outside pole start, Ryan quickly assumed the top spot, stretching his lead even as he worked slower traffic by lap eight. The only caution of the event came at lap seventeen, when third running Zrostlik spun on the front stretch, possibly with a little help? As the field reset, Kay, who started eleventh and stayed there for the first part of the race, was now up to sixth. Five circuits later, he had made his way to second, although the high flying Ryan still had a several car length lead. But again the #15K was methodically working the inside line, and in a deja vu move, he snared the lead as the white flag flew. The move gave him a clean sweep with two feature wins along with a heat race victory. For Ryan it was another runner up finish. Marolf was third ahead of Harris in the Lynn Richard #15R, and the youngster Duffy ( not B J Jackson as the announcer mistakenly called him! ) Nezworski rode home sixth, then came Manternach, Pataska, Zrostlik, and Gary Webb.
The headline event was the forty lap $5,000 to win feature for the MARS stars. Brauns and Pierce sat in row one, with Pierce jumping to the lead. Simpson took second one lap later, but Heckenast was the man on the move, starting ninth and claiming third on lap six. A three car battle for second about lap eleven saw Simpson, Heckenast, and Birkhofer in tight formation. The first caution came at lap twelve for Matt Furman, then again two laps later as the cone was knocked on the track. Pierce was pounding the cushion, Simpson working the bottom, as a hard charging Weisser grabbed third at lap seventeen. Suddenly Simpson faded to sixth even as Heckenast moved to second and began to close on Pierce, who temporarily moved down the track. Not to be denied, Frankie put his # 99Jr. in front , encountering slower traffic at lap twenty eight. One lap later, as turn four became treacherously slick, Birkhofer slid over the top, falling to sixth. Pierce was now making up ground on the leader, but on lap thirty three, he fell victim to the turn four challenge. From there it was smooth sailing for Heckenast Jr., as he picked up the win. Weisser finished strong in second, chased by Shirley, Simpson, and Birkhofer. Pierce was sixth followed by Chad Holladay, Klein in the Gerstner Racing # 6, Rich Bell, and Kay, who did double duty on the night along with Joel Callahan.
The final checkers waved before 10:00, sending the large crowd home still buzzing about three excellent features. Thanks to Tony Izzo and the Kay family for their hospitality and a great night of racing!
Tonight the MARS mini tour moves to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for another $5,000 to win extravaganza. The IMCA late models will also be on the card, racing for a $1,000 as part of their " Drive for Five " promotion which will culminate with a September event offering a $5,000 to win prize. IMCA modifieds and IMCA sport mods will fill out the card tonight, with hot laps at 7:00 and racing to follow. Hope to see you there!
Friday, June 19, 2020
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Hoping the forecast was wrong, Friday night we headed to C J Raceway in Columbus Junction, Iowa. On the card was the long awaited Hoker Trucking SLMR east division season opener. The regular Friday night four classes of modifieds, sport mods, stock cars and sport compacts would also be in action in support of the late models.
Despite the threat of rain, the pits were filling up nicely with something close to ninety cars in the pits including by my count twenty four late models counting at least one waiting outside the gate.
As it became clear that the rain was imminent, the drivers meeting was called, and shortly thereafter announcer Jerry Mackey made the announcement that the races would not be taking place. Even though not a drop had yet fallen, there was no grumbling from the large crowd assembled. And sure enough, sprinkles began to fall as we waited in line to leave the fairgrounds, and a steady shower greeted us just a few miles to the west.
Promoter Larry Robertson offered the paying customers a pair of attractive options for ticket use in addition to offering a full refund on site. Mackey also announced that officials would attempt to find a reschedule date in August for what would be the only visit of the traveling late model series to the big 4/10 mile oval.
Thanks go out to Larry and crew for their hospitality, and we will eagerly await the possible reschedule. In the meantime, we will hope for better weather tomorrow as the SLMR stars head southwest to 34 Raceway in West Burlington for another shot at a season opener and a $3,000 top prize. IMCA modifieds will also be in competition for a $1,000 payday, with stock cars and sport compacts filling out the card. Hope to see you there!
Despite the threat of rain, the pits were filling up nicely with something close to ninety cars in the pits including by my count twenty four late models counting at least one waiting outside the gate.
As it became clear that the rain was imminent, the drivers meeting was called, and shortly thereafter announcer Jerry Mackey made the announcement that the races would not be taking place. Even though not a drop had yet fallen, there was no grumbling from the large crowd assembled. And sure enough, sprinkles began to fall as we waited in line to leave the fairgrounds, and a steady shower greeted us just a few miles to the west.
Promoter Larry Robertson offered the paying customers a pair of attractive options for ticket use in addition to offering a full refund on site. Mackey also announced that officials would attempt to find a reschedule date in August for what would be the only visit of the traveling late model series to the big 4/10 mile oval.
Thanks go out to Larry and crew for their hospitality, and we will eagerly await the possible reschedule. In the meantime, we will hope for better weather tomorrow as the SLMR stars head southwest to 34 Raceway in West Burlington for another shot at a season opener and a $3,000 top prize. IMCA modifieds will also be in competition for a $1,000 payday, with stock cars and sport compacts filling out the card. Hope to see you there!
Monday, June 15, 2020
Moyer Tops MLRA at West Liberty
After a day away from the track to recover, Sunday afternoon we rejoined the MLRA mini tour at the West Liberty, Iowa Raceway for some high speed half mile action.
The early evening season opener at the 1/2 mile fairgrounds facility drew a solid field of eighty cars in four classes and a whole bunch of enthusiastic race fans eager for some dirt track action.
The MLRA late models were the featured class, as they completed their season opening three night swing following events at Moberly, Mo. and Maquoketa, Ia. Evidence of the fact that racers are just as eager to be at the track as the fans showed as there was almost no drop in car counts as the weekend wore on - thirty seven at Moberly, thirty six at Maquoketa, and thirty five for the $5,000 to win finale.
The series has moved away from passing points in 2020, going to a time trial format, with the field split into two groups. The track was fast at the beginning of qualifying, as Chad Holladay paced the opening group with what proved to be the overall quick lap of 18.463 seconds, while local legend Brian Birkhofer was fastest in group " B."
Four ten lap heat races saw the top four in each transfer to the thirty lap feature. Fifth starting Dirt Hall of Famer Billy Moyer charged to the front of heat one, outgunning Holladay, Californian Tony Toste, and Jeremiah Hurst. Tyler Bruening led the distance in heat two, besting row three starter Jonathon Brauns, Chris Simpson, and Spencer Diercks. Birkhofer paced heat three ahead of Tony Jackson Jr., Mike Spatola, and Chad Simpson. Polesitter Bobby Pierce captured the final ten lapper in front of Ryan Gustin, Mitch McGrath, and Jason Papich.
A pair of B mains also sent three drivers each to the main event, Peyton Looney topped Matt Furman, and Oregonian Justin Duty in the first, while defending series champ Will Vaught out dueled Garrett Alberson and Andy Eckrich in the second. Jeremy Grady and Jeremy Conaway were added as provisional starters. The competition was extreme to the point that national standout Dennis Erb Jr. was forced to sit out the feature race.
First on the feature docket was a ten lap event for the American Iron Racing Series ( A.I.R.S. ) cars, a collection of original and fabricated bodies from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. As you might expect from someone in my age group, I could watch these cars race all day and night! Robin Atkins drove away from the field to the win in a 1972 Ford Torino, while Bart Miller made a late charge to second in his 1961 Ford. Bruce Yoerger followed in a 1957 Ford, then came Scott Fridley in a 1966 Chevy Impala. Dan Kessler completed the top five in what looked to be a 70s vintage Camaro.
The program, which began with hot laps at 4:30 PM was moving at lightning speed, and now the track crew took a few moments to try and widen the racing surface, as the preferred line was now along the bottom groove.
Soon, twenty four high powered late models came to the track for thirty laps and a $5,000 prize. Moyer and Birkhofer sat on row one, with Bruening and Pierce right behind. Moyer shot to the lead, taking Bruening along in second ahead of a caution on lap three for Alberson. A single file restart was used, and soon the leaders were again all hugging the inside line. Moyer began to open a sizable lead as the cars freight trained around the low line. At lap eighteen, the leader caught the back of the pack, and as he sized up the cars in front, Bruening began to close the gap. But just as things got interesting, the yellow waved as Grady slowed with a flat tire. On the restart, the fourth running Pierce suddenly slowed on the backstretch, his right rear tire down. He quickly changed it in the infield work area during the brief caution period, but then headed to the trailer, his night over. Back under green and with a clear track in front, Moyer stretched his lead over Bruening, who also built a wide margin over Birkhofer. Lap twenty one saw both Birky and fourth running Holladay head to the pits under yellow. The green waved again, but was followed by an immediate yellow, when a flat tire ended Spatolas' top ten effort. The laps clicked off when with only two to go, heartbreak hit Brauns, as his third place run came to an end with yet another flat tire. In victory lane, the veteran Moyer said he knew tire wear would be an issue in the feature, but he was able to get all thirty laps out of his, as he added to a victory total that has now surpassed 840. Bruening ran a smooth race in second, while Jackson Jr. was also on the podium. Toste started ninth and finished fourth, while McGrath came from twelfth to fifth. Chris Simpson led the second five ahead of Gustin, Papich, Diercks, and Looney.
The sport mod feature was next, and it was Tim Plummer taking the win. Brayton Carter grabbed runner up honors, followed by Ryan Walker, Colton Livezey, and James Roose.
Racing wrapped up before dark as Cayden Carter used a lap eight pass of Terry Renfro to take the win in the IMCA modified division. Renfro bested Kurt Kile, Denny Eckrich, and Jarrett Brown with top five runs.
A special thanks to Drt Trak Racing, Robert and Carrie for their hospitality, I look forward as always to my next trip to the legendary facility.
Next weekend I hope to pay a visit to C J Speedway on Friday and then finally head to 34 Raceway on Saturday, with both tracks hosting the Hoker Trucking SLMR eastern series. It looks like Iowa is joining Missouri in throwing the green flag and some Illinois tracks are testing the waters, so get to a track near you soon!
The early evening season opener at the 1/2 mile fairgrounds facility drew a solid field of eighty cars in four classes and a whole bunch of enthusiastic race fans eager for some dirt track action.
The MLRA late models were the featured class, as they completed their season opening three night swing following events at Moberly, Mo. and Maquoketa, Ia. Evidence of the fact that racers are just as eager to be at the track as the fans showed as there was almost no drop in car counts as the weekend wore on - thirty seven at Moberly, thirty six at Maquoketa, and thirty five for the $5,000 to win finale.
The series has moved away from passing points in 2020, going to a time trial format, with the field split into two groups. The track was fast at the beginning of qualifying, as Chad Holladay paced the opening group with what proved to be the overall quick lap of 18.463 seconds, while local legend Brian Birkhofer was fastest in group " B."
Four ten lap heat races saw the top four in each transfer to the thirty lap feature. Fifth starting Dirt Hall of Famer Billy Moyer charged to the front of heat one, outgunning Holladay, Californian Tony Toste, and Jeremiah Hurst. Tyler Bruening led the distance in heat two, besting row three starter Jonathon Brauns, Chris Simpson, and Spencer Diercks. Birkhofer paced heat three ahead of Tony Jackson Jr., Mike Spatola, and Chad Simpson. Polesitter Bobby Pierce captured the final ten lapper in front of Ryan Gustin, Mitch McGrath, and Jason Papich.
A pair of B mains also sent three drivers each to the main event, Peyton Looney topped Matt Furman, and Oregonian Justin Duty in the first, while defending series champ Will Vaught out dueled Garrett Alberson and Andy Eckrich in the second. Jeremy Grady and Jeremy Conaway were added as provisional starters. The competition was extreme to the point that national standout Dennis Erb Jr. was forced to sit out the feature race.
First on the feature docket was a ten lap event for the American Iron Racing Series ( A.I.R.S. ) cars, a collection of original and fabricated bodies from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. As you might expect from someone in my age group, I could watch these cars race all day and night! Robin Atkins drove away from the field to the win in a 1972 Ford Torino, while Bart Miller made a late charge to second in his 1961 Ford. Bruce Yoerger followed in a 1957 Ford, then came Scott Fridley in a 1966 Chevy Impala. Dan Kessler completed the top five in what looked to be a 70s vintage Camaro.
The program, which began with hot laps at 4:30 PM was moving at lightning speed, and now the track crew took a few moments to try and widen the racing surface, as the preferred line was now along the bottom groove.
Soon, twenty four high powered late models came to the track for thirty laps and a $5,000 prize. Moyer and Birkhofer sat on row one, with Bruening and Pierce right behind. Moyer shot to the lead, taking Bruening along in second ahead of a caution on lap three for Alberson. A single file restart was used, and soon the leaders were again all hugging the inside line. Moyer began to open a sizable lead as the cars freight trained around the low line. At lap eighteen, the leader caught the back of the pack, and as he sized up the cars in front, Bruening began to close the gap. But just as things got interesting, the yellow waved as Grady slowed with a flat tire. On the restart, the fourth running Pierce suddenly slowed on the backstretch, his right rear tire down. He quickly changed it in the infield work area during the brief caution period, but then headed to the trailer, his night over. Back under green and with a clear track in front, Moyer stretched his lead over Bruening, who also built a wide margin over Birkhofer. Lap twenty one saw both Birky and fourth running Holladay head to the pits under yellow. The green waved again, but was followed by an immediate yellow, when a flat tire ended Spatolas' top ten effort. The laps clicked off when with only two to go, heartbreak hit Brauns, as his third place run came to an end with yet another flat tire. In victory lane, the veteran Moyer said he knew tire wear would be an issue in the feature, but he was able to get all thirty laps out of his, as he added to a victory total that has now surpassed 840. Bruening ran a smooth race in second, while Jackson Jr. was also on the podium. Toste started ninth and finished fourth, while McGrath came from twelfth to fifth. Chris Simpson led the second five ahead of Gustin, Papich, Diercks, and Looney.
The sport mod feature was next, and it was Tim Plummer taking the win. Brayton Carter grabbed runner up honors, followed by Ryan Walker, Colton Livezey, and James Roose.
Racing wrapped up before dark as Cayden Carter used a lap eight pass of Terry Renfro to take the win in the IMCA modified division. Renfro bested Kurt Kile, Denny Eckrich, and Jarrett Brown with top five runs.
A special thanks to Drt Trak Racing, Robert and Carrie for their hospitality, I look forward as always to my next trip to the legendary facility.
Next weekend I hope to pay a visit to C J Speedway on Friday and then finally head to 34 Raceway on Saturday, with both tracks hosting the Hoker Trucking SLMR eastern series. It looks like Iowa is joining Missouri in throwing the green flag and some Illinois tracks are testing the waters, so get to a track near you soon!
Saturday, June 13, 2020
MLRA Invades Randolph County Raceway
After being sidelined with a health issue for about two weeks ( hasn't 2020 just been a treat? ), I was more than ready to get back to the race track for only the fourth time this season. With an assist from my racing buddies Fred and Darryl, it was off to the Randolph County Raceway near Moberly, Missouri on Friday night. The high banked 3/8 mile oval had set idle for two plus seasons, but after running out of patience waiting for Illinois to allow tracks to open, Quincy Raceways owner/promoter Jason Goble struck a deal with track owners David and Janelle Claypoole to basically move his operation eighty five miles south. Goble will be staging events on Sunday nights at least until Quincy Raceways is allowed to open, but this would be a Friday night special featuring the MLRA late models paying $3,000 to win, with sport mods and sport compacts also on the card.
As with any facility that had not seen action for a while, RCR was in need of some TLC, and Goble and his team set to work cleaning, painting and most importantly working the high banks into racing shape. They held their season opener last Sunday in front of a nice sized crowd, and both drivers and fans I spoke with gave the event good grades, particularly considering the amount of time the track had been idled. The five division program drew seventy three race teams with sixteen races that saw the final checkers wave at 8:45 PM.
Unfortunately, things would not go quite as smoothly this night. When we arrived at the track, early as always, the parking lot was jammed with haulers waiting to roll through the pit gate to the infield pit area. However the Dennis Erb Jr. rig had apparently hesitated for a moment as it started across the backstretch, and became stuck, high centered on the berm. After a considerable amount of work, a wrecker was finally able to get the trailer freed and officials then used machinery to knock down the offending berm. A hot sun and stiff northwesterly breeze continued to bake the racing surface, so copious amounts of water were applied to the oval, and necessarily so. However the result was a slimy surface that required a lot of packing, and it took quite a bit of time and urging to convince the thirty seven MLRA late models on hand to join the twenty B mods and dozen compacts to lend a hand.
As things developed. I decided not to look at the clock, however it was well past 8:00 when hot laps finally hit the track.
The MLRA has scrapped the passing points qualifying format in favor of time trials followed by straight up starts in the heat races. Qualifying was split into two groups, with Shannon Babb the fastest in Group A , while Chad Simpson had the overall top time of 17.178 seconds in Group B. Bobby Pierce was on his way to a pair of fast laps when his #32 went up in smoke in turn three, with a blown rear end possibly the culprit. His crew went to work preparing his back up car, and he would now be starting at the tail of his heat race. Garrett Alberson was driving the second car of the Ken Roberts/Jeremiah Hurst team, with strategically placed tape turning it into a #59. He was late to staging for qualifying, but still turned in a solid time on his one allowed lap. Joe Godsey parked his #14G after hot laps, done for the night.
The heat races clicked off in timely fashion. By the late model heats it was obvious that the pesky breeze mentioned earlier was going to be an issue for the large throng in the grandstands. The track, however, was holding up well, except for a ripple in the preferred lower line coming off turn four. As you might expect, all but one of the late model ten lappers was won from the front row, with Tony Jackson Jr. coming from row two to grab heat three, passing polesitter Chad Simpson with a pair of laps remaining, followed by Californian Tony Toste and Erb Jr. After going to his back up car, Pierce started ninth in heat two, wowing the crowd as he used the high line to jump to fifth, one spot away from a transfer with a pair of laps left. As luck would have it, third running Kolby Vandenbergh slowed on the backstretch to bring out the yellow. But on the Delaware restart, Pierce was shuffled back to sixth, sending him to the first of two B mains. Peyton Looney was victorious over Chris Simpson, Billy Moyer, and Jeremy Conaway. Babb captured the first heat, besting Aaron Marrant, Jason Papich, and Gordy Gundaker. Opening night feature winner Justin Reed suddenly pulled away from heat four staging, heading back to his trailer with some kind of issue. Will Vaught took top honors in this one in front of Ryan Gustin, Jeremiah Hurst, and Daryn Klien, wheeling the Circle 7 machine.
Three cars qualified out of each of the two B mains, with Mitch McGrath topping Tim Manville and Pierce in the first contest. With rookie of the year contender Justin Duty, who calls the state of Oregon home, leading the second B, a five car skirmish in turn two saw only Trevor Gundaker and Brennon Willard, who came to the track three laps down, not stopping ahead of the yellow flag. In command for the restart, the younger of the racing Gundaker brothers held on for the win in this, his first full season in a super late model. Alberson and Jordon Yaggy also qualified. Provisionals then went to Jeremy Grady and Joe Gorby.
The B mods ran the first main event, and it was nothing short of a marathon with both yellow and red flags galore. Finally the eighteen laps were scored, with Cole Campbell avoiding the mayhem behind him to lead each lap for the win. Earl Pryor applied pressure in the closing laps, but settled for runner up honors. Terry Wilson, David Snyder, and Trevor Gladbach followed.
Kyle Burton took command of the compact feature. Jeffrey Delonjay, the final car to the track, was challenging for the lead when his car got sideways coming down the front chute. As the crowd rose to their feet expecting a barrel roll or worse, the young driver somehow saved his #32D, only dropping to fifth in the process. As the laps clicked off, he charged back to second, again challenging for the win, but coming up short at the checkers. Following Burton and Delonjay, it was Alvin Cooney, Austin Parks, and Matt Barnett.
Now it was late model feature time, with the scheduled forty laps cut to thirty. Polesitter Babb jumped to the lead in front of Jackson Jr. and Vaught. With a comfortable lead, Babb began to close in on slower traffic, and now Jackson was gaining fast. Just as things got interesting, Marrant stopped on the track, bringing out the yellow. Back under green, however, Jackson powered to the lead even as all eyes were also on eighth starting Gustin who was using a diamond move off the high banks of turn two, moving to third at the halfway mark. Jackson had his #56 well out front when another caution came about lap eighteen for Manville. Jackson remained in charge, even as he hit slower traffic, as they were not racing the leader, but heading to the pits as they were being lapped. On the restart, Babb returned the favor, snatching the lead back, and as the pack raced out of turn four to complete lap nineteen, Klein, Hurst, and Alberson stacked up, bringing out the final yellow. With the green waving again, Chad Simpson drove from fourth to the runner up spot with Jackson trading him spots. Over the closing circuits, Babb stretched his margin, cruising to the win and the $3,000 payday. With two laps to score, Gustin was able to clear Simpson for second. Simpson, Jackson, and Vaught completed the top five, followed by Looney, Chris Simpson, Erb, Moyer, and McGrath in the top ten. Toste and Conaway were the final two cars running at the checkers.
The series picks back up tonight, Saturday, with a $5,000 to win event at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa, Iowa, and we plan to be on hand for the finale of the three night swing Sunday, as the mini tour moves to the West Liberty Raceway for another $5,000 to win show, backed up by A mods, sport mods, and the always entertaining A.I.R.S. cars and stars.
Meanwhile Randolph County Raceway will be back in action Sunday hosting the Sprint Invaders on the high speed 3/8 mile.
Thanks to Jason Goble and his team for their hospitality and for bringing RCR back to life and staging some great late model action. As Illinois begins to allow racing again, we will see what Gobles' plans are for both RCR and Quincy Raceways.
As with any facility that had not seen action for a while, RCR was in need of some TLC, and Goble and his team set to work cleaning, painting and most importantly working the high banks into racing shape. They held their season opener last Sunday in front of a nice sized crowd, and both drivers and fans I spoke with gave the event good grades, particularly considering the amount of time the track had been idled. The five division program drew seventy three race teams with sixteen races that saw the final checkers wave at 8:45 PM.
Unfortunately, things would not go quite as smoothly this night. When we arrived at the track, early as always, the parking lot was jammed with haulers waiting to roll through the pit gate to the infield pit area. However the Dennis Erb Jr. rig had apparently hesitated for a moment as it started across the backstretch, and became stuck, high centered on the berm. After a considerable amount of work, a wrecker was finally able to get the trailer freed and officials then used machinery to knock down the offending berm. A hot sun and stiff northwesterly breeze continued to bake the racing surface, so copious amounts of water were applied to the oval, and necessarily so. However the result was a slimy surface that required a lot of packing, and it took quite a bit of time and urging to convince the thirty seven MLRA late models on hand to join the twenty B mods and dozen compacts to lend a hand.
As things developed. I decided not to look at the clock, however it was well past 8:00 when hot laps finally hit the track.
The MLRA has scrapped the passing points qualifying format in favor of time trials followed by straight up starts in the heat races. Qualifying was split into two groups, with Shannon Babb the fastest in Group A , while Chad Simpson had the overall top time of 17.178 seconds in Group B. Bobby Pierce was on his way to a pair of fast laps when his #32 went up in smoke in turn three, with a blown rear end possibly the culprit. His crew went to work preparing his back up car, and he would now be starting at the tail of his heat race. Garrett Alberson was driving the second car of the Ken Roberts/Jeremiah Hurst team, with strategically placed tape turning it into a #59. He was late to staging for qualifying, but still turned in a solid time on his one allowed lap. Joe Godsey parked his #14G after hot laps, done for the night.
The heat races clicked off in timely fashion. By the late model heats it was obvious that the pesky breeze mentioned earlier was going to be an issue for the large throng in the grandstands. The track, however, was holding up well, except for a ripple in the preferred lower line coming off turn four. As you might expect, all but one of the late model ten lappers was won from the front row, with Tony Jackson Jr. coming from row two to grab heat three, passing polesitter Chad Simpson with a pair of laps remaining, followed by Californian Tony Toste and Erb Jr. After going to his back up car, Pierce started ninth in heat two, wowing the crowd as he used the high line to jump to fifth, one spot away from a transfer with a pair of laps left. As luck would have it, third running Kolby Vandenbergh slowed on the backstretch to bring out the yellow. But on the Delaware restart, Pierce was shuffled back to sixth, sending him to the first of two B mains. Peyton Looney was victorious over Chris Simpson, Billy Moyer, and Jeremy Conaway. Babb captured the first heat, besting Aaron Marrant, Jason Papich, and Gordy Gundaker. Opening night feature winner Justin Reed suddenly pulled away from heat four staging, heading back to his trailer with some kind of issue. Will Vaught took top honors in this one in front of Ryan Gustin, Jeremiah Hurst, and Daryn Klien, wheeling the Circle 7 machine.
Three cars qualified out of each of the two B mains, with Mitch McGrath topping Tim Manville and Pierce in the first contest. With rookie of the year contender Justin Duty, who calls the state of Oregon home, leading the second B, a five car skirmish in turn two saw only Trevor Gundaker and Brennon Willard, who came to the track three laps down, not stopping ahead of the yellow flag. In command for the restart, the younger of the racing Gundaker brothers held on for the win in this, his first full season in a super late model. Alberson and Jordon Yaggy also qualified. Provisionals then went to Jeremy Grady and Joe Gorby.
The B mods ran the first main event, and it was nothing short of a marathon with both yellow and red flags galore. Finally the eighteen laps were scored, with Cole Campbell avoiding the mayhem behind him to lead each lap for the win. Earl Pryor applied pressure in the closing laps, but settled for runner up honors. Terry Wilson, David Snyder, and Trevor Gladbach followed.
Kyle Burton took command of the compact feature. Jeffrey Delonjay, the final car to the track, was challenging for the lead when his car got sideways coming down the front chute. As the crowd rose to their feet expecting a barrel roll or worse, the young driver somehow saved his #32D, only dropping to fifth in the process. As the laps clicked off, he charged back to second, again challenging for the win, but coming up short at the checkers. Following Burton and Delonjay, it was Alvin Cooney, Austin Parks, and Matt Barnett.
Now it was late model feature time, with the scheduled forty laps cut to thirty. Polesitter Babb jumped to the lead in front of Jackson Jr. and Vaught. With a comfortable lead, Babb began to close in on slower traffic, and now Jackson was gaining fast. Just as things got interesting, Marrant stopped on the track, bringing out the yellow. Back under green, however, Jackson powered to the lead even as all eyes were also on eighth starting Gustin who was using a diamond move off the high banks of turn two, moving to third at the halfway mark. Jackson had his #56 well out front when another caution came about lap eighteen for Manville. Jackson remained in charge, even as he hit slower traffic, as they were not racing the leader, but heading to the pits as they were being lapped. On the restart, Babb returned the favor, snatching the lead back, and as the pack raced out of turn four to complete lap nineteen, Klein, Hurst, and Alberson stacked up, bringing out the final yellow. With the green waving again, Chad Simpson drove from fourth to the runner up spot with Jackson trading him spots. Over the closing circuits, Babb stretched his margin, cruising to the win and the $3,000 payday. With two laps to score, Gustin was able to clear Simpson for second. Simpson, Jackson, and Vaught completed the top five, followed by Looney, Chris Simpson, Erb, Moyer, and McGrath in the top ten. Toste and Conaway were the final two cars running at the checkers.
The series picks back up tonight, Saturday, with a $5,000 to win event at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa, Iowa, and we plan to be on hand for the finale of the three night swing Sunday, as the mini tour moves to the West Liberty Raceway for another $5,000 to win show, backed up by A mods, sport mods, and the always entertaining A.I.R.S. cars and stars.
Meanwhile Randolph County Raceway will be back in action Sunday hosting the Sprint Invaders on the high speed 3/8 mile.
Thanks to Jason Goble and his team for their hospitality and for bringing RCR back to life and staging some great late model action. As Illinois begins to allow racing again, we will see what Gobles' plans are for both RCR and Quincy Raceways.
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