Oberkramer and Pierce Top Tri City Action

  The MLRA series kicked off a three race championship weekend on Friday with a $5,000 to win show at Kevin and Tammy Gundakers' Tri City Speedway near Granite City, Illinois. UMP modifieds were also on the card, battling for a $2,000 top prize. The series would be right back at Tri City on Saturday with $7,000 on the line, backed by both mods and B mods. The 2020 season would then wrap up on Sunday at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri, making their third stop of the season at the high banks, supported by B mods and hornets. Dubuque, Iowa veteran racer Jeremiah Hurst made the decision last off season to run for rookie of the year honors, but after strong finishes in a pair of races the weekend prior at the Lucas Oil Speedway, he found himself not only leading the rookie points, but also with a ten point lead over Payton Looney in the championship standings. Former series champion Chad Simpson entered the weekend in third place, thirty points behind with fourth place Tony Jackson Jr. still in the running trailing by one hundred and ten points. So with two hundred points awarded for a feature win, plus points earned in qualifying, all four still had a legitimate shot at the prestigious title. 

   Even with a stiff breeze and chilly temps, we were hoping for a solid field of cars, but we were pleased and surprised when a whopping forty seven late models checked in representing by my count thirteen different states! Twenty nine modifieds also came through the pit gate, with many of the top drivers in the area on hand.

      The action kicked off with late model hot laps followed by hot laps combined with  time trial qualifying for the modifieds. Kyle Steffens paced the mods, eclipsing the seventeen second mark by nearly a half second. With the track starting to come around, the late models were next to qualify. First Chris Simpson, then Mason Oberkramer sat atop the leader board before Ryan Gustin broke through the fifteen second barrier with a lap of 14.961 seconds around the 3/8 mile oval.

   Each class was split into four heat races, with the top four from each moving to their main event. One B main for the mods taking the top six, and a pair of B's for the late models taking the top three were next. A pair of point provisionals were added to the late model lineup while Brennon Willard used an emergency provisional to swell the field to twenty five.

    Following a brief intermission, the late models lined up for thirty laps. The four heat winners occupied the first two rows, with Oberkramer and Tim Manville in row one, and Simpson and Jason Papich in row two. Things got off to a rocky start, as the first two attempts were called back when the front duo alternated getting the jump on each other. Finally they came to the green side by side, and we were racing! Oberkramer paced the early laps hugging the inside line while Manville went to work up top. Finding a bite on the cushion, Manville put his #33 out front on lap four, but three laps later Oberkramer regained the point. Simpson began to close in and he took the runner up spot from Manville on lap eleven. Two more trips past the flag stand and Oberkramer had caught the back of the pack. Simpson was now poised to make a move for the lead, but Oberkramer was able to clear Willard and put some distance between himself and Simpson. By lap twenty, Simpson was back in the hunt and we now had a two car race in heavy traffic. While Chris rode the bumper of the #93, the caution waved with just five laps left. As he was being lapped, Hurst tried to duck into the pits and slammed the concrete barrier at the pit exit entering turn three. As the field was reset, surprisingly Hurst was able to restart at the tail of the field and still chase some valuable points. The clear track ahead proved to be all Oberkramer needed, as the excited young man stretched his lead and captured his second MLRA feature of the season. Simpson crossed the line in second, trailed by Manville, Shannon Babb, and Bobby Pierce. Pierce had started in the tenth position and spent a good deal of the race running around tenth before a late charge vaulted him to fifth. Billy Moyer led the next five in front of Papich, Frank Heckenast Jr., Jackson Jr. wheeling a #21 car, and Rusty Schlenk. Gustin lost a top five finish when he appeared to have a tire go down at the end, dropping him to twenty first in the order. Looney skipped his B main, took a provisional and raced his way from row twelve to fifteenth. With Hurst credited with twentieth, Payton regained the point lead heading into Saturday night. 

   With post race festivities complete, twenty two modifieds lined up for twenty five laps.  Heat winners Rick Stevenson and Steffens sat on row one, with Will Krup and Rick Conoyer in the #9W in row two. Steffens drove his #8S to the high side of the smooth, slick track, leaving the low line for Stevenson. Krup powered to second just ahead of a lap five caution. Steffens and Krup drove away from the pack as racing resumed while seventh starting Mike McKinney moved to third on lap eight. Krup was using the inside groove to challenge for the lead as the caution came again with eleven laps in the books. During the caution, top contenders Mike Harrison and Dean Hoffman went to the infield, their night over. As the Delaware realignment formed, double duty Bobby Pierce, who had started fifteenth, now lined up in seventh. He won his race to turn one as the green flag waved, then split the cars of Stevenson and Jeff Leka on the backstretch to climb to fourth. As the race passed the halfway point, Krup pulled alongside the leader and drove to the front. With seven circuits remaining, Pierce used a crossover move to clear McKinney for third, and began searching high and low for some grip on the black slick surface. He found a bite on the low line, clearing Steffens for second with five laps left on the scoreboard. Stalking the #19 of Krup, he was able to pull a slide job coming off turn four to the white flag and take over the lead. He then held on for the checkers and the $2,000 win. Krup took runner up honors, while Steffens, McKinney, and Stevenson also scored top fives. Leka ran sixth ahead of Michael Long who picked up the B main win, then started in row nine of the feature. Steve Meyer, Josh Harris, and Conoyer filled out the top ten.

    The final checkers waved just after 10:30 in front of a decent sized crowd considering the chilly and breezy conditions. The MLRA stars will finish up their championship drive tonight at Tri City with a $7,000 top prize on the line, while the mods will again race for $2,000 and the B mods join the card competing for $1,000. It had been our plan to catch the MLRA finale on Sunday at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo., but the forecast of rain and chilly conditions has persuaded promoter Jason Goble to pull the plug on the show. 

   As of now, we have our sights set on next Saturday for night number two of the Calvin Meyer Memorial at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. Late models have been added to the Saturday card with modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, hobby stocks, and sport compacts in action on both Friday and Saturday. The season is winding down, so grab your sweatshirt and head to the track!

Benischek Tops Donnellson Headliner ; " Speedy Bray " Doubles Up

   Saturday it was back to the Pepsi Lee County Speedway for night number two of the Fall Extravaganza. Action was scheduled to begin one hour earlier, with the $3,000 to win sport compact feature front and center. 

   I can't help but think how far the class has come at LCS since then owner/promoter Terry Hoenig introduced the 4 cylinders as " Wild Things, " with the rules stating that a driver could not lead consecutive laps until the white flag had been displayed. Another class of cars that started out with simple rules and turned into a spending contest! Eight states were represented in the forty four car field of compacts on Saturday.

   Before handing out the big check, twenty heat races and seven B mains were needed to whittle the one hundred and sixty seven car field into five feature line ups. 

    Stock cars kicked off the main event action, with all twenty seven cars eligible for the twenty laps of racing. With John Oliver Jr. drawing the pole position, the smart bet would have been on a flag to flag win, but this would not be the track champs night. The usually well behaved stock cars had a rash of early cautions, including five in the first four laps. By this time, third starting Jeff Mueller, who lasted only four laps on Friday, was out front, strong challenger Abe Huls was in the pits, and Oliver Jr. was at the tail of the field after a mishap with Huls. Meanwhile, Friday winner Michael Jaenette had lined up outside row six and was now restarting in third. One more caution at lap four and the field went single file. Two more laps were scored and Jaenette was now in second, and we had a two car battle, with Mueller hugging the low groove and Jaenette working up top. With Jaenette closing in, Jeff temporarily changed lines to move in front of the #93 in turns three and four. The Avis scoreboard read seven to go when Mueller caught the back of the pack, and he was able to pull away in traffic to take the win. Jaenette capped off a strong weekend in second, followed by Dustin Griffiths, who scored his second consecutive third place finish. Oliver Jr. fought his way back to fourth with a late pass of Beau Taylor.

   Modifieds were up next, the thirty seven car field reduced to twenty four starters for twenty two laps. Spencer Diercks, with a  Davey Allison throwback wrap on his #29, took off from the pole position with fourth starting Kurt Stewart matching his early pace. The yellow came quickly for Troy Cordes, and back under green it was seventh starting Jeff Aikey taking up the chase. As the race reached the halfway mark the leaders caught slower traffic, and row five starter Cayden Carter entered the top four. With fifteen laps in the books Carter climbed to third, and with heavy traffic for the leaders, Aikey and Cater were knocking on the door of the leader Diercks. When the white flag signaled one to go, Aikey was side by side with Diercks, and he used high side momentum to cross the finish line in first. Diercks had led the distance until the final corner, but settled for runner up honors. Aikey collected the win to go along with a second to Michael Long on Friday. Carter matched his third place finish from the night before, and Mark Burgtorf did the same in fourth. Long came from outside row eight to squeeze into fifth.

   A dozen sport mods stayed at the trailer as twenty four lined up for twenty laps. Clint Morehouse brought out a first lap yellow, with polesitter Kyle Olson leading fourth starting Tyler Soppe by inches as lap one was scored. The next stop came for a Matt Tucker spin at lap five, with Olson continuing to lead as we went back to green. Eight circuits in and tenth starting Austin Paul and twelfth starting Brayton Carter were able to get by Soppe for second and third. One lap later Carter jumped to second and began to run down Olson. With seven laps to go, the caution again came out for a spinning Tucker, and that was the break Carter needed. He rode the cushion to the lead, then pulled away to make it a clean sweep for the weekend. Olson came home the runner up to Carter for the second consecutive night, with Logan Anderson steady in third. Paul took fourth, while the drive of the night may have been Sean Wyett, who started in row eleven after qualifying through a B main, then charged all the way to fifth. 

   All twenty three late models lined up for twenty five laps with Mark Burgtorf and first heat winner Don Pataska in row one. Burgtorf shot to the early lead followed by Pataska and row two starters Darin Duffy and Friday winner Jay Johnson. One lap in, sixth starting Gary Webb cleared Johnson for fourth. With the race staying green, the leader was in slower traffic by lap eight. For the savvy veteran Burgtorf, this worked out well, and he was able to increase his lead as the laps clicked off. A battle developed for the runner up spot between Pataska and Duffy, with Darin finally taking the position on the final lap of the non stop event, beating his third place run the night prior. Burgtorf followed up his Friday runner up finish with the win. Webb ran a low line to fourth while Dustin Griffin completed the top five. Aikey advanced seven spots to sixth followed by Tommy Elston, Sam Halstead, Johnson, and Ray Raker.

   With much of the nice sized crowd hanging around, Twenty four qualifiers plus two provisional starters lined up for forty laps of sport compact racing and a $3,000 payday at the end.A first lap yellow saw two of the top contenders, third heat winner Brad Chandler, and the hot shoe from Cincinnati, Ohio, Jack Pflum retire to the pits. Kentucky driver Blaine Ellis and Chuck Fullenkamp from just up the road in West Point, paced the field for lap one. Track champion and Friday winner Brandon Reu and seventh starting Durant, Iowa standout Jake Benischek battled for third. Lap four saw Benischek claim the spot, and following a caution, he jumped to the lead. The yellow flew again at lap seven for debris, and Fullenkamp used the Delaware restart to move to second. Hard running Jason Ash had to qualify with a win in the third B main, started eighteenth, and was up to sixth by lap ten. Two laps later he was fifth , then fourth on the eighteenth circuit. Lapped traffic came into play just past the halfway point, as Ash took third with sixteen laps to go. The next caution came with thirty in the books, as provisional starter Josh Barnes, in a back up car, slowed while running about sixth. Benischek powered away on the restart, while Fullenkamp and Ash dueled side by side, wheel to wheel, lap after lap for second. A caution came with only four laps remaining as Adam Gates and Alex Hayes got together. Ash took the inside line on the restart, and was mounting a challenge for the lead when Kaycee McGregor and Chance Bailey got together, creating a final stoppage with three to go. With an excited supporter urging him on from the stands, Benischek held on for the win and the big check. Ash took runner up honors, followed by Fullenkamp and Ellis. Another Cincinnati driver, Joe Pflum camd from row eight to take fifth, matching his Friday finish. The rest of the top ten in order was Reu, Barry Taft, Indiana driver Shannon Welp, Trent Orwig, and Michael Grossman.

  Stats and stuff: By my very unofficial count, there were 309 entries over the two nights, with 58 races being run for a total of 619 laps, plus hot laps both nights. The racing surface started out wet both nights, but came around beautifully, smooth, fast, and free of holes. The Friday program eclipsed the midnight hour while Saturday came in just a few minutes before the date changed. There were drivers entered from nine states on hand, with six represented in the compact headliner. The unofficial longest tow went to Trever Cornick, from Vulcan, Michigan, at over nine hours! There is one more race night on the schedule at LCS, Shiverfest, which will run on Halloween, October 31. Watch the track website or Facebook for more details.

Johnson, Long, Jaenette, Carter, and Reu Score Opening Night Wins

   Friday would be the opening night of the 9th annual Fall Extravaganza at the Pepsi Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The two night show would feature the five regular weekly classes with expansion of the rules to accommodate cars outside of the IMCA rules package, including UMP, USRA, and others. All classes would be running for extra money each night, with bonuses available for drivers racing both nights. The Saturday headliner will be a $3,000 to win feature event for the 4 cylinder cars.

   Led by thirty seven sport mods, a total of one hundred and forty two cars signed in to race on a beautiful evening which felt like an August day and a cool but pleasant September night. As might be expected, things got off to a bit of a late start, with cars coming from far and wide on a "work" day. Extra hot laps were also ran, as many of those in the pits had not previously tackled the 3/8 mile D shaped oval. Soon, however, we were racing, and it took eighteen qualifying heats and three B mains, to set the feature fields. Those preliminary events ran off in quick time, as the well prepared surface yielded only a couple of caution periods until the always challenging sport mod B mains.

   Stock cars lined up first for a twenty lap feature. Three of the twenty five cars signed in did not make the call. Jeff Mueller and Beau Taylor, with his recently minted #122 sat on row one, and it was Taylor leading lap one, with fourth starting track champion John Oliver Jr. in tow. That pair swapped positions on the next circuit, with Abe Huls in third. Huntsville, Missouri hot shoe Derrick Agee started eighth and jumped to third on lap three. Mueller, who had issues from the start, fell out on the next lap, and the first caution came at lap five for a spinning Brock Haines. It was Agee now restarting in  second, having grabbed the spot just ahead of the caution, and as lap six registered on the new infield scoreboard, he was on top. Oliver Jr. charged back to lead lap seven as the duo raced side by side. A final yellow flag came at lap eight as a tractor tire was kicked out on the racing surface. Michael Jaenette had fired off from row five, and he now made it a three car race for the lead. Dustin Griffiths was late to the party, but was running with the leaders by lap twelve. Jaenette nosed ahead one lap later, as he ran the inside line around the track, while Oliver Jr. pounded the cushion, trying to regain the top spot. Jaenette continued to hit his marks, becoming the first feature winner of the weekend, collecting a cool $1,000. Oliver Jr. settled for second. Agee jumped the cushion as the pack came through the final set of turns, turning third place over to Griffiths, and Jason Cook rounded out the top five.

   Sport compacts would be racing fifteen laps on this night in preparation for the big prize on Saturday. Twenty four of the thirty car field made the show, with Josh Barnes and Brandon Crawley pacing the field. Barnes pulled out to a big lead, with the first caution at lap five involving row nine starter Shannon Welp, who made the long trip from North Vernon, Indiana to LCS. Back to racing, there was a tight three car battle for second between Chuck Fullenkamp, track champion Brandon Reu, and co winner of the long haul award, Jack Pflum, all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio. But Barnes had the field covered until five laps to go when the all too familiar mechanical gremlins struck the #13B, ending his run and bringing out the caution. Fullenkamp was now in front, but he ducked to the infield on the restart with an apparent flat tire. Kimberly Abbott had started ninth and was challenging in third when the engine let go in her #71, exploding in a ball of flames. The fire was out quickly, as Kimberly exited the car with the red flag displayed. Meanwhile, it was Reu out front, and he was able to withstand a strong challenge from Pflum, who came from row eight to finish second and put himself in the conversation for the big check on Saturday. Just as remarkable, Welp, recovered from the early spin to claim third. Billy Cain rolled off in row ten and finished fourth, and the second Cincinnati entry, Joe Pflum came from seventeenth to fifth at the checkers. The stage is set for a classic barnburner on night two!

  All twenty three late models made the call for twenty five laps and a chance at a $1,000 prize. Wisconsin driver Darren Mish and track runner up Denny Woodworth redrew the front row, with Mish jumping out to lead lap one. Third starting Darin Duffy took over on the next circuit, dragging along fifth starting Joel Callahan. The yellow waved as Sam Halstead was forced to the infield, then stopped at the turn one apron. Back under green, Duffy and Callahan battled up front before Duffy began to pull away. A classic five car scrum developed behind the top two, as Jay Johnson, Mish, Mark Burgtorf, Jeff Aikey, and track champ Tommy Elston ran side by side and nose to tail. The next stop came just before halfway, as Ron Klein sat facing the wrong way on the backstretch. As the green flag waved, it was Johnson on the move, pounding the cushion, taking over the second spot with ten laps to go. Meanwhile Burgtorf used the inside line to grab the third slot. Johnson continued to power around the high line, and with just five circuits left, he charged around Duffy for the lead. The veteran rolled his #93 into victory lane for the first time this season at LCS. Burgtorf took the bridesmaid spot and Duffy held off Callahan and Woodworth for third. Elston had challenged mid race, but was forced to a hard brake, finally rebounding to sixth. Aikey, Gary Webb, Dustin Griffin, and Chuck Hanna completed the top ten.

   Some folks headed to the exits as the sport mods had a tough time getting going. The caution flag waved three times before a lap was scored, then Blaine Webster paced the first completed lap. Brayton Carter had drawn the number ten pill, but by the time racing started he was lined up fourth. He was in the runner up spot by lap three, then charged to the point one lap later. Immediately he began to stretch his advantage. The only other yellow came at lap eight for a mishap involving Sean Wyett. Again Carter pulled away as eleventh starting Kyle Olson and Webster fought for the runner up position. Olson won that battle, and track champion Adam Birck soon took over third. Carter spent the second half of the race in heavy traffic, where he was flawless, cruising to the $1,000 payday. Olson and Birck followed, while Tyler Soppe edged Webster for fourth on the final half lap.

   Before the modified twenty two lapper was finished, the clock struck midnight, but at this point, what is a few more minutes? The caution waved at the start as row seven starter Kory Meyer was slow on the gas. Pole sitter Burgtorf put his Bill Baker #03B out front at the green, with row one mate Jarrett Brown in second. Burgtorf missed his mark on lap four, with Brown grabbing the lead. However the yellow flag came out putting Burgtorf  back out front. Brown regained the point on lap seven with another double duty driver, Aikey moving to the runner up spot. Aikey then snagged the lead at lap nine while Burgtorf, Brown, and seventh starting Michael Long battled hard for second. Cayden Carter joined the festivities up front as Brown faded back a bit. Derrick Stewart clipped a tire barrier at lap ten, bringing out the caution. On the restart, Carter used the high line to take second, and Long followed in third two laps later. The yellow waved at this point for a slowing Mitch Boles. Long went back to his preferred high line on the restart, powering to the lead with six laps to go, while Carter followed along. A final stoppage came with only four laps left when Daniel Fellows gave up a hard fought fifth place run, his night over. Aikey had seemed to be out of contention, but as the green waved a final time, he used the bottom of the track to move back to second. But there would be no catching Long, who held on for the early morning win. Aikey, Carter, Burgtorf, and Ryan Maitland in a #71C made up the top five.

  The track prep was top notch, giving us smooth, fast action all night long. If you missed Friday, don't make that mistake again, as it is a great chance to see cars from all over the mid west in side by side battles. Hope to see you tonight, with hot laps kicking off one hour earlier, at 6:00 PM.

  

Rain Spoils Moberly Features

   The Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri was scheduled to host the final race of the Malvern Bank Hoker Trucking SLMR east division in this, their inaugural season.  Non sanctioned B mods and 4 cylinders, two of the weekly classes promoter Jason Goble featured in 2020 would also be in competition backing up the super late models. With the entire Quincy Raceways schedule moved to the high banked facility just outside Moberly, this would be the only Saturday night circle track race on the RCR schedule. The race would also be the final one to decide the series champion.

  After watching dreary skies mixed with intermittent rain showers throughout the morning and early afternoon, we headed for the speedway hoping for the best. Although the radar showed most of the rain had exited the area, a light mist began to fall soon after our arrival. The threatening weather as well as very cool temperatures did nothing to aid the car or fan count, but the show must go on!

   Hot laps began just before the advertised time of 6:00, with late model qualifying immediately following. The B mods then lined up for a pair of heat races, with Cale Turner and Dalton Keith picking up wins. Keith had made the two plus hour tow from Lebanon, Missouri. Next up it was four cylinders for a pair of six lap heats. Jeremy Bell and Isaiah Penton took the wins.

   The late models then came to the track for a pair of eight lap qualifiers. Andy Eckrich sat on the pole of heat one, got the jump on his row one mate Charlie McKenna, and raced to the win. Jeff Tharp and Tad Pospisil came next ahead of Jason Hahne, Zach Zeitner, Brandon Queen, and Curt Schroeder. Polesitter Darrel Defrance led the distance in heat two, winning by a large margin. Joel Callahan held off the persistent challenge of Cory Dumpert for third, while Dave Eckrich cleared Justin Kay late for fourth. Matt Ryan and track regular Chase Breid completed the running order. 

   During the intermission, the mist turned to drizzle, then to a steady shower. The B mods had been called to staging for their feature, but they were soon sent back to their trailers. While track officials and the heartiest of fans waited, the rain refused to let up, and the haulers began to file through the back gate. With the track likely lost, the plug was pulled on the show, a disappointing end to a fine first season for the SLMR eastern division.  

   Randolph County Raceway has two more events on their 2020 schedule. Next Saturday night they will host a Demolition Derby. Then on Sunday, October 18, the MLRA super late models will wrap up their season as well as that of RCR. This will cap a three race weekend for the series, following two nights of action at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. This will be the third stop at Moberly for the MLRA this season, with Shannon Babb victorious in June and Ryan Gustin picking up a win in September.

   Looking ahead to next weekend, our plans are to attend both Friday and Saturday nights of the Fall Extravaganza at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa where the 4 cylinder sport compacts will be featured in a $3,000 to win showdown on Saturday. The clock is ticking on 2020 racing, don't miss out!

 

Six Winners Open the 2020 Fall Bash at Tipton

   Thursday we made what has become an annual trip to the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa for night number one of the three night Hoker Trucking Darkside Promotions Fall Bash. Six classes of cars made up the lineup, with this being the only night for the late models, and they were racing for $2,800 to win a twenty eight lap feature in honor of long time racer, race supporter Brad Coin. Brad and another former late model hot shoe, Chuck Mayerhofer were honored in pre race ceremonies. Both have passed away in recent weeks. Terry Neal had redrawn the front row of the main event in the familiar Coin #28C, while Kelly Meyer was behind the wheel of a Mayerhofer  #8 machine. In addition, modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, 4 stocks and the rarely seen 2 person cruisers were on the card this night. 

  It was no surprise to see the pit area well stocked when we arrived, and the car count eventually swelled to 212. The only difference from previous years was the dry conditions, as Mother Nature held off on the race day precipitation that often seems to complicate things for this much anticipated weekend. She did. however replace the rain with a brisk wind and temps in the low 50's. Thanks to Bob Litton for saving us seats complete with a windbreaker tarp in the portable aluminum bleachers which were brought in to replace the covered wooden grandstands that met their Waterloo in the derecho a few weeks ago.

   But on to the racing. Hot laps fired up close to the advertised 6:00 start and were completed as quickly as possible with a green, white checkers format, and a healthy dose of cars in each session. In fact, I counted twenty nine 4 stocks hot lapping in a group on the high banked quarter mile. Good job to the race directors! Highlighted by fifty four IMCA sport mods and fifty two IMCA modifieds, it took a total of thirty two preliminary events to set the feature fields, including twenty four heat races and eight B mains. Utilizing the "spin and your in" rule kept the yellow flags to a minimum, which kept the program moving along at a steady pace.

  Two person cruisers were up first in the feature order. Sixteen cars signed in, what I would consider a healthy turnout for a nearly extinct class, with all but three taking the feature green. It took eight laps and a handful of cautions for the team of Wayne Hora and Keith Keltner to work their way from a row five starting spot to claim the checkers in the ten lap event, much to the delight of the group of fans seated near us. I was struck by both the speed and skill of the two person cars, remembering the total lack of coordination between the drivers and their gas person when the class first started back in the 1990's.

   The late models were up next, with all but one, Ryan Claeys,  of the twenty five cars on hand lining up. Andy Eckrich, who gave up the lead to Justin Kay on the final lap of heat two, shared the front row with Neal. Andy shot to the lead in front of Neal and Kay as lap one was scored. The trio of veterans ran three wide through turns three and four on lap two with Kay emerging as the new leader. He immediately began to open a comfortable lead, encountering his first slower car on lap seven. Two more circuits found him in heavy traffic, but he worked effortlessly through the drivers as they fought each other for position. By the halfway mark he had built more than a straightaway lead over Eckrich. The first yellow flag came at lap nineteen as rookie Preston Stoecker spun his #26. Back under green, third running Joe Zrostlik took advantage of the Delaware restart to clear Eckrich for second, then began to run down the leader. Dave Wada brought out a caution as he rolled to a stop on lap twenty four, and one more lap was scored before a final yellow for a spin by Jacob Waterman. As the final three laps began, it was tenth starting youngster Logan Duffy, and his row five mate Jeff Aikey who turned up the heat. Duffy charged to the second spot, while Aikey, who spent the middle part of the race rolling around in seventh, jumped to fifth, then third on the final restart. At the checkers, it was Kay leading all but the opening lap, followed by Duffy, Aikey, Zrostlik, and Eckrich. Neal held on for sixth, topping Matt Ryan, Chuck Hanna, Eric Pollard, and Kelly Pestka. Corey Dripps made a rare late model start in a sharp looking #31 and lost a sixth place finish at the end when he went off the top of the backstretch. For the second week in a row, Hall of Famer Ray Guss Jr. was behind the wheel of the Lynn Richard #15R. Ray moved up six spots to twelfth before getting shuffled back two spots following the last restart. Ryan, Kay, and Zrostlik were heat race winners.

   Kay mentioned in his victory lane interview that the inside groove around the quarter mile oval was fast, and when Jeff Mueller lined up on the pole for the twenty lap IMCA stock car feature, he became an immediate favorite to win over the twenty four car field. Ironically, we had to wait just a bit for Kay, who now has a #15K stock car, to join Jeff for a front row start. Mueller wasted no time putting his #77M on that low line, scoring the lap one lead ahead of the row two starters, Dallon and Damon Murty, and Kay. By the end of the next lap, Mueller was "catfishing" to perfection, already well out front. First heat winner Johnny Spaw had started from the five spot, and soon cleared Damon for third. Much like the late models, the stock cars stayed green in the early laps, and it was Mueller catching the back of the pack at lap eight before entering a maze of traffic three laps later. The only caution came for Matt Picray with twelve laps in the books. Dallon Murty, the heat two winner, elected to take the high side for the restart, with Spaw then lining up on the bottom. As the duo battled side by side behind the leader, the younger Murty missed his mark and drove off the top of turn one, ending his run. With the race staying green, Mueller cruised to a flag to flag victory. Spaw claimed runner up honors, with Jay Schmidt capping a strong run in third. Third heat winner Damon Murty, and Kay completed the top five. The night would not be over for Kay, who also piloted a #8 modified on the night in place of his normal #15K. 

    The time was now approaching 11:00, so as the 4 stock feature lineup was announced we decided to pack up and head out for the two and a half hour drive home. I can report this morning that double duty Zrostlik capped his night with a win in the 4 stock main. Also Brayton Carter came from row two to top the sport mods, while Joel Rust did the same in the modified finale. Rust was wheeling one of several cars with NASCAR " throwback " wraps as part of a judging contest that will be held as the weekend show progresses. 

   Action will continue tonight,and Saturday as well, with hobby stocks and mod lites replacing the late models and two person cars tonight, then hobbys, outlaw street stocks and A.I.R.S. cars joining mods, sport mods, and stock cars for the finale on Saturday. Thanks to Timmy Current, Ryan Duhme, and the ladies at the pit gate for their help and hospitality. This awesome race night has become a fixture on our events calendar. 

  As of this time, our plan is to head for the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri Saturday night for the Kenny Pratt Memorial, Hoker Trucking SLMR late model east division series finale. B mods and 4 cylinders will fill out the card at RCR. If Mother Nature intervenes, there are several other options available, so check the schedules, bundle up and maybe we will see you at the races!