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!
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