34 Raceway Crowns Season Champs

 Saturday night we paid a visit to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. It would be season championship night for six classes of cars, with a draw/redraw format for lineups. Additionally, the late models would have a $1,000 payday for the winner thanks to Denny Woodworth, Attorney at Law, and adult admission was only $5.00.    Eighty two race teams signed in to do battle on the high banked 3/8 mile oval. Following a medical call to the parking lot, the action began at 7:05, and the thirteen heat races clicked off in about sixty five minutes. There was a quick fifteen minute intermission and we were feature racing.                                                                     IMCA sport mods turned out nineteen cars, and they kicked off the main event action. A pair of caution flags were displayed before lap one was scored, with a crash on the second attempt taking out the #24 of Ryan Moore. Joe Roller was out front when the first lap finally went in the books, but eighth starting Austen Becerra was challenging for the spot one lap later. Becerra took over and row six starter Adam Birck moved to second. On lap six, Birck spun his #112 in turn two and took a hit, ending the night for both himself and Roller. Back to racing, Barry Taft and Adam Shelman staged a side by side battle for the runner up spot, Ron Kibbe and Sean Wyett jockeyed for fourth while Becerra went on cruise control. The field realigned single file after a final caution at lap ten, but there was no catching Becerra. He captured the main event, with Taft in second. Wyett slipped past Shelman at the line for third while Kibbe completed the top five.                                                                    Thirteen IMCA late models then lined up for twenty laps. Darin Weisinger Jr. and Matt Ryan drew the front row, with Weisinger leading laps one and two. Ryan then pulled off a slider to take the lead for good, with Denny Woodworth soon moving into second. Ryan opened about a five car length lead as the front pair separated from the pack. Ray Raker spun with eight laps to go, bringing out the lone caution. Row four starter Justin Kay charged from sixth to third on the Delaware restart while Weisinger got caught in a traffic jam and was shuffled back to sixth. Ryan quickly reestablished his lead, cruising to the checkers. Woodworth was runner up, leading Kay, Andy Nezworski, and Jay Johnson in the top five. Weisinger Jr. completed a strong weekend in sixth, topping Mark Burgtorf, Dustin Griffin, Gary Webb, and Matt Strassheim.                                          The IMCA sport compacts went green to checkers for a dozen laps. Jason Ash grabbed the top spot on lap two, then held off Larry Miller and Jared Heule for the win. Chris Cousan and David Prim also recorded top five finishes.                                                                  Travis Pence gave way to Noah Samuel on lap two of the 305 sprint feature ahead of a lap four caution. On the restart, Pence tried to make a low side pass for the lead, tangled with Samuel and flipped his #01 on the front stretch, ending his run and sending Samuel to the tail. Daniel Bergquist inherited the lead, with first Devon Rouse, then Cody Wehrle in pursuit. Wehrle snagged the point on lap eight, while Dan Keltner powered to third two circuits later. Slower traffic came into play on lap thirteen, but the caution came out as that lap was scored. Keltner then jumped to second as the caution again waved when Joey Laue smacked the tire barriers on the backstretch. As the white flag flew, Keltner pulled alongside Wehrle in a last ditch attempt at the win and the track title, but he appeared to run out of room as they raced out of turn two and made hard contact with that backstretch wall. His run ended on the back of the wrecker. Wehrle then led the final lap to pick up the win, besting Nathan Murders. Dugan Thye had restarted at the tail after an early caution, but charged back to third, while Samuel also bounced back from his altercation to take fourth. Jeff Wilke completed the top five.            With the cushion now up against the turns three and four wall, the IMCA mods came to the track. The first of two yellows came on the start, as Apple Valley, California driver Joe Haresky spun in turn four. Dennis Laveine then took off from outside row one in what would be a flag to flag win. There were epic battles behind him as Jeff Waterman, Dalton Simonsen, Darin Duffy, and Michael Long ran in a pack lap after lap vying for second through fifth. A final caution for Jardin Fuller on lap eight wiped out what was a big lead for Laveine. Back to racing however, he again stretched his advantage as Long found enough bite at the top of turn three to move to third on lap twelve and second three laps later. At the finish, it was Laveine out front, followed by Long, Duffy, Simonsen, and Waterman.                                                                                            After a lap one caution, Les Blakley paced the IMCA stock cars until Jason Cook pushed ahead by the slimmest of margins on lap three. John Oliver Jr. lined up in row four and worked the high groove to take third on lap four. Blakley was hugging the low line, as he retook the lead on lap six, Cook was running one lane higher, and Oliver was sailing around the top. Cook was scored first on the seventh time around, but Oliver nosed ahead in a three wide battle on lap eight. Slower traffic kept Cook in contention before the last caution with three laps to go. There would be no catching Oliver, however, as Cook settled for second over Blakley and Shane Richardson. Chad Krogmeier lost his bid for a top five when he slowed on the final lap, and Jake Powers was there to take the fifth position.                         Notes from 34: The discounted admission resulted in a nice sized gathering, and there appeared to be a large contingent of families, with the many children benefiting from numerous giveaways.    There was a disconnect between the announcer and the flag stand as the number of laps announced for at least two of the features did not match what was actually run. The added laps had an impact on the final running order in the modified class.                                     While the track champion was not to my knowledge announced for the sport mods, research this morning indicates that it went to Sean Wyett. Heule hung on in the compacts,  Ryan stayed atop the late models, and Oliver Jr. did the same in the stock car class. Wehrle jumped ahead of Keltner for the sprint title, and Laveine overtook Waterman in the mods.                                                                          I consider myself fortunate to have made many friends in the racing community and am able to find enjoyment in watching just about anyone celebrate a sucessful run. I must admit however, to a special feeling when it comes to the accomplishments of John Oliver Jr. My writing career began in the early 1970s in Keokuk and Donnellson, and at the time I was covering three members of the Oliver family. Two others have come along since, and although John Jr. is the only one still active, I hope I can be forgiven for this attachment to the past.                                                                                                  Hopefully we will be able to make more visits to 34 in 2021, as we certainly enjoyed the nineteen race program which saw the final checkers fly about 10:15. Thanks as always to Brad, Jessi, and the gang for their hospitality.                                                                  We now enter the " postseason " of specials events and there are lots of choices to be made. Our next destination is unclear due to some outside forces, although plans are in place for a visit to Randolph County Raceway near Moberly, missouri next Sunday, September 6 as the MLRA makes their second visit of the season for the               " Scottie 46 " paying a cool $5,000 to win. Enjoy the Labor Day holiday, and make a visit to a race track near you!