Turkey Bowl Racing Puts a Wrap on 2020

    Saturday night, Fred and I wrapped up our 2020 season with a trip to the Springfield, Missouri Raceway for night number two of the 14th annual Turkey Bowl. This was the first time the event was contested over two nights, and it was probably a good thing. In 2019 what was deemed a record field of 201 cars checked in. But even though the race was postponed one week this year due to weather, the two nights saw roughly 280 cars in competition! The Midwest B mods hosted a complete show on Friday with thirty six cars in action, while the Midwest B mods, mini late models, legend cars, and USRA B mods ran heat races. Those four classes ran B mains and features on Saturday, joined by sixty two IMCA modifieds and thirty late models. ( We were pretty certain that Larry Adams did not have a #711 late model to go along with his #711 modified!)  

   The quarter mile semi banked bullring saw something over fifty races over the two nights, yet the track held up extremely well. It was dust free on Saturday, and only a small ripple at the entrance of turn one gave the drivers any reason to get off the loud pedal. The first green flag from a very animated flagman waved just after 3:00 following a handful of hot laps for the first Midwest A mod B main cars. We headed for the gate and the warmth of the van six hours later with a pair of features still to hit the track. 

   Interspersed among the qualifying events, the legend car feature saw a host of lead changes before Joplin, Missouri driver Dave Comer took the win ahead of Drew Papke who hauled his #43 all the way from Bismarck, North Dakota!

   Another Joplin racer, Jerad McIntire took home the unique turkey trophy in the Midwest A's over double duty Steven Bowers Jr. from Topeka, Kansas.

   Bowers Jr. would later come back to capture the IMCA mod twenty five lap $2,000 to win event over another Kansas competitor, Darron Fuqua, from Mayetta. Newton, Iowa hot shoe Ethan Braaksma had to fight through the sixty two car field. After falling out of his heat race, Braaksma started in row six of his B main, racing to a second place finish. He then lined up fourteenth in the feature and came home third. William Gould, from Calera, Oklahoma, started just in front of Braaksma and brought his white and gold #60 home in fourth followed by Shawn Knuckles, from across the state in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. 

   It was now time for the headliner, with  $4,000 on the line for the  late models. If you had told me at the start of the night that previous two time Turkey Bowl winner Logan Martin would land in victory lane, I would not have been surprised, as he drew the pole start for heat number one. But it was the route he took to the podium that made for great racing. Martin was the first car to fall from his eight car heat, landing him at the back of B main number two. From there he gained six spots to follow Sterling, Illinois standout Travis Denning to the checkers, giving him a row seven start in the feature. Heat two winner Cole Wells redrew the number four spot on the grid among the ten passing points qualifiers and shot to the early lead, building an advantage as a four car duel erupted behind him. Ninth  starting Jesse Stovall was on the move, entering the top five on lap two, then jumping to fourth one lap later. But Martin, who calls West Plains, Missouri home, was up to fifth by lap five and running down the leaders. Meanwhile Stovall was in the runner up spot by lap nine and closing the gap to Wells with Martin in the hunt also. Logan then used slower traffic to grab the lead just ahead of the first caution flag. Back under green, Stovall and Wells were in a battle for second as Martin stretched his lead. A second caution came just after the halfway mark, and on the restart there was contact between the #91 of Chris Jones and Stovall, sending the fifth running Jones for a spin. This would also ultimately prove to be Jesse's undoing, as he now had sheet metal rubbing on a rear tire. From that point, the race would stay green following a single file restart. The leaders were now mostly locked in the bottom groove except for Stovall, who was searching the high line in hopes of improving his third place standing. Row four starter Kaeden Cornell found something in the closing laps, clearing Wells for second. As the laps wound down, the smoking tire on the Stovall #00 gave up, dropping him just outside the top ten. Martin cruised to the victory, while Cornell grabbed the $1,500 runner up check. Wells took home a solid third followed by another two time Turkey champ, Scott Crigler. Denning gained seven spots to record a top five. Dewayne Kiefer recovered from a heat race incident to advance ten spots to sixth in front of Mike Collins, who now calls New Orleans, Louisiana home. Jason Wagner made the long tow from Deer Creek, Illinois to run eighth, besting front row starters Jace Parmley and Doug Tye. 

   Although we started the four hour plus journey home at that point, we apparently missed a heck of a good B mod feature, as Ryan Gilmore recovered from early problems to nose out Kris Jackson. And I see this morning that Scott Busch made the long haul from Cuba City, Wisconsin pay off with a win in the mini late models.

  Jerry Hoffman and his crew again put on a quality show at this rustic facility just outside Springfield, it is an event I would not hesitate to recommend, especially for twenty bucks to watch late November racing. It has become a staple of our racing calendar. 

  Again, this will conclude a most trying and unusual racing season, so let us all stay safe and hope for something close to normal - whatever that is - in 2021. Check back soon for my 2020 summary, and as always, thanks for reading!

A Sneak Peek at 2021 And More

    As I sit here (im)patiently waiting to see if I can squeeze in one more race this season, those eager to put 2020 in the rear view mirror have begun offering teasers for what lies ahead. 

    Perhaps the most dramatic news thus far, at least for those of us in the Iowa, Illinois, Missouri Tri State area is the announcement that Jim Lieurance, the former race director at Quincy Raceways and in 2020 at the Randolph County Raceway has, along with his wife Tammy, signed a two year lease to promote the high banked track near Moberly, Missouri from owners David and Janelle Claypoole. The Lieurance family are familiar figures to racers and fans around the area, as Jimmy has worn many hats at QR over the years while Tammy and their daughter Michelle operated the pit shack at both facilities. Jim was often seen cruising the pit and parking area on his 4 wheeler with a grandkid or two in tow, visiting with drivers and fans alike. The family will be hosting an informational meeting on Sunday, November 29 after which details for 2021 will be announced. One major change, however, will see the track move back to Friday night racing after a season of Sunday action. As of now, there has been no word on the status of Quincy Raceways for next season with Illinois currently in heavy lockdown mode.

   Meanwhile, 34 Raceway owners Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt shared big news as well, with the announcement that the Slocum 50 will expand to a two race weekend. Racing under the MLRA sanction, the late models will run two separate shows, with $5,000 up for grabs on Friday, April 16 followed by the fifty lap $10,555 headliner on Saturday. These races are scheduled to be part of a four night series swing through the state of Iowa. Although they are waiting to firm up some other dates before releasing a full schedule, it looks like the Lucas Oil late models will hit the high banks on Saturday, May 22, with the MLRA making another appearance on Saturday July 3. And as always, we can expect multiple visits by the sprint cars to the legendary 3/8 mile. In addition, Brad and Jessi are in the process of extensive track work while also reworking the infield alignment.

   Not to be outdone, Brian and Marcie Gaylord have released a tentative schedule for the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, with a kick off date of  Friday, April 2. They will hit the ground running, with the Sprint Invaders featured along with the first of seven Drive for Five events. After a successful first season for the IMCA late model Drive for Five, IMCA modifieds will also be participating in the special mini series in 2021. As of press time, sponsors were being sought to add to the modified purse. The modified finale is set for August 20 with the late model showdown on September 11. The LCS season finale will once again be the highly anticipated Shiverfest on October 30.

   As things stand now, the first racing of 2021in the Tri State area  will take place the final weekend in March when Mike VanGenderen brings his expertise to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. So keep an eye peeled for more info.

   One other note of interest is the scheduling of the NASCAR truck series at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday July 9. While the heavier trucks will fall well short of the sprint cars or even the late models in speed and handling, this event will no doubt capture the attention of the dirt and pavement crowd alike. 

   As mentioned, I still have hopes of adding one more race to the book this season, and that would be the now rescheduled Turkey Bowl at the Springfield, Missouri quarter mile. Weather permitting, what is now a two night show will host partial qualifying events this Friday, November 27, and I hope to join the action on Saturday, with a $4,000 to win late model shootout topping the bill. We shall see...

  

  

   

   

   

Benischek Wins Two, Kile, Spaw, VanWyk Tops at Columbus Junction

    After a late start our 2020 racing season continued into November with our second visit of the year to the C.J. Speedway in Columbus Junction on Saturday evening.  We were hoping to not bring along our apparent hex on the 4/10 mile fairgrounds track as our last three attempts to catch a show here have been interrupted by or completely wiped out by inclement weather. The occasion this time would be the Turkey Dash, which rolled off in fine fashion in 2017, but was wiped out by the weatherman the last two years. There would be no such issues this time, with sunny skies and temps topping 70 degrees! The four classes of cars that run weekly at the track would be in competition, including modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, and compacts as well as hobby stocks. In addition to the advertised purse, bonus money was on the line for the feature winners courtesy of LR Trucking and the head guru here at Positively Racing, Jeff Broeg. The potential extra cash is based on a drivers standing in the All Iowa Points, a bragging rights competition developed and promoted by Jeff "since Heck was a pup." Also a couple of local sponsors stepped up to sweeten the hobby stock payout. 

   One hundred and forty six cars overwhelmed the pit area, but track officials planned ahead and used some of the outside pit parking area to avoid having any race cars or haulers in the infield. In addition, while there were empty seats to be found, there was an excellent crowd on hand on what could not have been a better night, weather wise. Add that to a multi groove fast and smooth racing surface, a show that started close to the advertised time while wrapping up just after 8:30, and we had one fine night of racing! To top things off, once I settled in my seat after a quick tour of the pits, I noticed what appears to be the beginnings of a scoreboard that would be a welcome addition to the fairgrounds facility.

   It took eighteen heat races and three B mains, all in the sport mod class, to set the grid for feature racing. The hobby stocks were up first, battling for a dozen trips around the 4/10 mile oval. All but one of the twenty one cars took the green flag, with Randy LaMar pacing the opening circuit. Fifth starting Jake Benischek took over on lap two, LaMar fought back on lap three, but it was again Benischek out front on lap four. By lap seven Daniel Wauters had moved to the runner up spot, and by lap nine he was side by side with the leader. Following the only caution of the race with three laps remaining, ninth starting Dustin Griffiths joined the battle up front. Kaeden Reynolds made it a four car scrum as the laps wound down, but it was the top two side by side coming to the checkers. Wauters appeared to have the edge at the line, but much to the disbelief of many in attendance, scoring gave the win to Benischek. Wauters was credited with second, followed by Griffiths, Reynolds, and Slater, Iowa driver Eric Knutson.

   The fifty one car sport mod field was whittled down to twenty four starters racing for twenty laps. Polesitter Jared Boumeester, from Waseca, Mn. jumped to the lead, with Tyler Soppe in tow. As Boumeester stretched his margin, Dylan VanWyk rebounded from his outside row one starting spot to move to second. The first of two cautions came just before halfway, and back to racing Soppe regained the runner up spot. We now had a three car breakaway, with VanWyk powering to the lead on lap twelve. Meanwhile, Brayton Carter had redrawn the eleventh starting slot, lined up seventh after the caution and climbed to fourth as the yellow waved with eight laps to go. Following the restart, Carter charged to second with Boumeester third and Soppe dropping to fourth. Van Wyk began to open his lead even as Carter put distance on the third place car. At the checkers it was VanWyk, Carter, Soppe, Boumeester, and Ryan Walker. 

   Twelve laps would be the distance for the sport compacts. Double duty Jake Benischek would line up on the pole, take the early lead, and hold it to the checkers. Cody Staley came from row two to second on lap two, and appeared poised to make a move to the front on lap six when a slower car caused him to momentarily check up. From there, Benischek remained in control, expertly negotiating lapped traffic to pick up win number two for the night. Chuck Fullenkamp joined the party just past the halfway mark, crossing the stripe in third. Mitchell Bunch and Quincy, Il. driver Jeffrey Delonjay completed the top five. 

   Jason Cook sat on the pole for the twenty lap stock car main event, grabbing the early lead while another double duty driver, Dustin Griffiths took up the chase. A multi car mix up in turn four brought out starter Doug Haacks yellow flag on lap five. While Cook continued to lead, a pair of veteran hot shoes were now on the move. John Oliver Jr. started in row six, was seventh when the caution came, and now moved to third. Johnny Spaw followed him through, jumping from eighth to fourth. As Cook hugged the inside groove, Griffiths was working the top of the track, as was Spaw, who took over third about the ten lap mark. The front four separated from the pack, with Spaw claiming second with eleven laps down, Now it was Cook running the bottom, Griffiths up high, Spaw in the middle, and Oliver looking for racing room. While Griffiths led for a moment, Cook regained the spot when Dustin went a bit too high, and the #3D was stretching his lead when the yellow flew for a final time four laps from the finish. As the field came to the two to go sign, Spaw used his higher line momentum to grab the top spot, edging Cook at the checkers. Griffiths took third in front of Oliver Jr. and a fast closing Blaine Doplar. 

   The final event on the card was twenty laps of modified action. Kurt Kile flanked Derek Walker on row one, and quickly charged to the lead. Jeff Aikey, who has been on fire in both his modified and his late model, started eighth, and was in second by lap three. By this time, Kile had a sizable lead, but as the race reached midway, slower traffic came into play. The many laps turned to this point had left the corners a bit treacherous, and as Aikey was poised to challenge for the lead, he slipped in turn two, giving the leader some breathing room. However on the next lap it was Kile who bobbled in the same spot. With seven circuits left, Aikey was again breathing down the neck of the leader, but the next time through turns three and four he lost the handle, with only a brilliant save keeping him going in the right direction while still holding the runner up spot. It was four more times around before the two #77s were again nose to tail, but Kile was strong, leading flag to flag in the non stop finale. Aikey settled for second. Another pair of late model pilots came next, with Chris Simpson bringing home Timmy Currents #7 in third followed by Spencer Diercks. Derrick Stewart rounded out the top five. 

    This was the final curtain for Iowa Racing in 2020, as far as I can tell. We are not yet ready to call it a season, however, and have identified a couple more possibilities down for the next two weekends. Weather permitting, of course! So keep checking back, and if things work out, there may be a bit more reporting from Racin' Down the Road!

  

Aikey, Long, Murty, Paul, and Ash Top Shiverfest

    After a weekend of no racing due to uncomfortable temps, we got back to the track on Saturday for Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. This would be year twenty two for the often aptly named season ending event or its predecessor, and while it seems as if we are either blessed with warm conditions or the weather lives up to its name, this year we experienced some of both. Clear skies and temps in the 60's eventually gave way to a stiff northwesterly breeze as the evening wound down. But we will take it to log one more night of outstanding racing!

    Some of the usual festivities, like hay rack rides and box car races fell victim to virus concerns, but on track trick for treating for the youngsters went on as normal, getting off to a bit of a late start as track officials were busy checking in the 140 plus drivers, many of whom were still lining pit road as the clock ticked past 4:00. Following hot laps, the national anthem recorded by the talented Lee Ann ( Weisinger ) Lambert played as the local 6:00 whistle blew, and four hours and twenty eight races later, another five Shiverfest champions had been crowned.

    Both  modified divisions turned out nearly forty cars each, requiring a pair of B mains, so the stock cars were the first to hit the track for their final feature of 2020. All but one of the twenty three cars on hand lined up for twenty laps of action. Erick Knutsen and Jason Cook sat on row one, but it was Todd Reitzler coming from row two to lead lap one. While he paced the early laps hugging the rail in his #22R, Dustin Griffith, John Oliver Jr., and Dallon Murty all lined up on the high side of the 3/8 mile oval in hot pursuit. Griffith was scored the leader by a nose on lap four, with Oliver and Murty soon following him into the top three spots. Reitzler then joined the front pack up top to retake fourth. As the race hit the halfway mark, Murty moved down the track and grabbed the lead as lapped traffic came into play. Oliver Jr. soon followed in second and began to put pressure on the leader. With just four laps left on the Avis scoreboard, Murty was forced to momentarily check up for a slower car in turn two. Oliver also backed out of the throttle, with Griffith getting into the back of the #05, sending him for a spin. Oliver was clearly not pleased , and waited for the #10G to come around, giving him a shot to the rear before driving to the pits. Griffith elected to follow and a crowd quickly gathered around the two veteran drivers. With the situation soon diffused, it was back to racing. A second and final caution came on the restart before the final four laps clicked off. Murty now went unchallenged to pick up the win, with Reitzler coming home second. Eric Arneson made the tow from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin pay off with a third place run, followed by Cook and the Cedar Rapids driver, Knutsen. 

   All twenty six sport compacts lined up for what turned out to be a marathon fifteen laps of action. Jason Ash came from outside row two to nose ahead of Darin Smith on the opening lap. The first three circuits clicked off in fine fashion before yellow fever took over. Following six caution periods, the final two of which saw the field reset in single file order, and a warning that caution number seven would bring out the checkers, the final six or so laps went caution free. Through it all, Ash maintained his advantage, holding off a late charge from row six starter Chuck Fullenkamp. Cody Staley started right behind Fullenkamp and also came on strong in the closing laps to take third. Craig Bangert advanced from row five to fourth, while Jeffrey Delonjay came from twenty third to edge out Kimberly Abbott for fifth at the line. 

   The twenty four car modified field saw pole sitter Daniel Fellows and row two starter Ethan Braaksma cross the stripe side by side as lap one was scored before Ethan gained the advantage on lap two. He began to stretch his lead while Michael Long was working from row four to the runner up spot on lap six. Sixth starting Jeff Aikey joined the fray one lap later, even as Long began to narrow the gap to the #111. Eleven circuits into the twenty lap affair, Long caught Braaksma as slower traffic became a factor. With seven to go, Long attempted a slide job in turns three and four, but Braaksma executed the crossover move to hang onto the lead. However he left the high side door open as the pair entered turn one, and Michael shot to the lead, quickly pulling away. He continued to increase his margin, leaning hard on the cushion and even making contact with the guardrail. The lone yellow flag came with five laps left as Josh Most and Travis Denning, wheeling a #27 car, made contact as they contested positions in the top five. Greetings were exchanged between the two before racing resumed. On the restart, Aikey powered to second, but Long pulled away to a convincing win. Braaksma raced home in third in front of twelfth starting Kelly Shryock. Mark Burgtorf started in row four, fell back, then rebounded to round out the top five. 

   Tyler Soppe and Austin Schrage paced the sport mod twenty lapper, crossing the lap one stripe in that order. Austin Paul lined up in fourth, moving to second on lap five. With Soppe riding the cushion, Paul searched the low line, pulling even with Tyler on lap seven before driving to the point. As the race stayed green, Brayton Carter joined the party in third. Austen Becerra came from row five to the top five as starter Jake Croxton displayed the crossed flags to signal ten down, ten to go. Slower traffic came into play, and Paul opened a sizable lead. Sean Wyett powered past Carter for third with just six circuits remaining, and now Soppe began to make up ground as the leaders suddenly had clear track ahead. Traffic again became a factor in the final two laps, and Paul appeared to have a tire going flat at the same time. But he was able to close out the non stop win, beating Soppe to the line. Wyett was strong in third, topping Carter and Schrage. Had there been a longest tow award, it would have easily went to the sport mod #9 of Torey Fischer. The young lady made the 600 plus mile haul from West Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately she brought bad luck along. She lost a drive shaft while running in a top four transfer spot in her heat race, then came home one spot out of a B main transfer. She did however, line up for the feature ( provisional?), and was credited with eighteenth position.

   Most of the folks stuck around for the final green flag of the season, the twenty five lap, $1,000 to win late model shootout. All nineteen cars made the call, with former track regular Gunner Frank and the " Ironman " Darrel Defrance drawing the front row. Darrel was quick on the throttle, and the first attempt was called back. Gunner shot to the lead on the second try, with double duty Aikey following in second ahead of Defrance and track champion Tommy Elston. The caution was displayed for a Frank Mason spin on lap two. Aikey was now in command, with Defrance and Elston in pursuit. Matt Strassheim started eighth and jumped to fourth on lap eight, even as Aikey enjoyed a big lead. The second and final yellow came with fourteen laps left as Jill George shredded a tire, leaving debris in her trail. Elston cleared Defrance on the restart, but Aikey was well out front even as Tommy opened a sizable lead over Defrance for second. Elston found something in the final pair of laps, closing the margin, but not enough to make a serious challenge for the lead. Aikey picked up the win, with Elston, Defrance, Strassheim, and Gunner Frank scoring top fives. Ninth starting Burgtorf, also doing double duty, shot to sixth on the final restart, besting Chuck Hanna, Donnie Pataska, Kelly Pestka, and Joel Bennett in a third Frank Racing entry to complete the top ten. 

   As we are accustomed to, the 3/8 mile D shaped track was smooth and fast all night long. Thanks go out to Brian and Marcie Gaylord, Brian Neal, and the entire LCS staff for their hospitality throughout the 2020 season. As the calendar turns to November, we still have a couple of races in sight starting with the Turkey Dash next Saturday at C. J. Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa. The four class program is set to kick off at 2:00 P.M., promoter Larry Richardson always runs a quick show, and hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate this time around! Hope to see you there!