2021 in Review Plus...

    With the conclusion of the Gateway Dirt Nationals indoor extravaganza in St. Louis this past weekend, the 2021 race season has come to a close in our neck of the woods. After attending a night at the Dome each year from 2017 through 2019 ( the race was cancelled in 2020), I sat out this season. My main reason, not that it matters, was that the late models were split into two groups this year which took some of the luster from the event for me. Still, it seemed from reports that the sessions ran incredibly long, with hot laps each day at 3:00 and features concluding well past 10:00. Hard for an "old man" to sit through!

    But to the business at hand: after the pandemic shortened 2020 season, I was more than ready for a full schedule, and with help from Mother Nature, this turned out to be one of my busiest years. I was able to take in fifty four nights of racing, with Lee County Speedway in Donnellson topping the list at eleven. Eight times we visited the Davenport Speedway, while 34 Raceway in West Burlington was next at five. Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois was the destination for three events. It was a pair of nights on the dirt at Bristol, Tn. Motor Speedway, as well as Lincoln and Highland Speedways in Illinois, CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, 300 Raceway in Farley, and Knoxville Raceway, all in Iowa, and Springfield Raceway in Missouri. Single events came at West Liberty, Tipton, Dubuque, Independence, Vinton, Marshalltown, Stuart, and Eldon Iowa, East Moline and Banner (Spoon River), in Illinois, and Memphis, Moberly, and Pevely in Missouri.

    The twenty four tracks was a personal best for one season, and I was able to add one new venue, that being Bristol. Amazingly, I did  not have any shows shortened by rain, nor did I have a show cancelled or postponed while I was on the road! 

    While I am looking to potentially add several new tracks next season, I am also hoping to add some nights closer to home. After being idle for the past two seasons, the former Quincy Raceways is set to reopen as the Adams County, Illinois Speedway in 2022. I was able to attend their well attended informational meeting a few days ago, hosted by long time track employee Jim Lieurance, who will serve as promoter of the facility. Lieurance was the promoter at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, and will now bring his years of experience back to his "home track." The Sunday night lineup will feature crate/spec late models, UMP sanctioned modifieds, a combo stock car/street stock class, and front wheel drive four cylinder cars. When I left the meeting, rules were still being discussed for the limited modified class, with attendees split between an IMCA sanction, and a hybrid rules situation. Lieurance also indicated he will have open, 360 C.I. and possibly 305 C.I. sprint cars on occasion, vintage cars, a modified special,  and he is working on a couple of touring late model shows. A work day was held in early November, with three dozen or so volunteers sprucing up the grounds, and a group headed by veteran racer Steve Grotz  has been hard at work with heavy equipment preparing the .29 mile racing surface for the winter months. Look for the track to open in early April.

    If plans work out, I hope to have a few shows in by then, with an earlier than usual start to the season, but we shall see! In the meantime, thanks for reading!

   

Second Generation Shines at Turkey Bowl Fifteen

     Saturday morning I climbed in with Jeff as we headed for Springfield, Missouri for the fifteenth annual Turkey Bowl at Jerry Hoffmans' Springfield Raceway. With seven divisions on the docket, the event was divided into two nights of action. Racing kicked off on Friday night with heat races for USRA B mods, Midwest A Modz, Midwest B Modz, and Legend cars, plus a full show for Pure Stocks. Two hundred and thirty cars checked in for the night. The Saturday program saw B mains and features for the other four classes, plus a full show for open late models and a combined A mod class using IMCA/UMP/USRA rules. What greeted us was a thirty nine race program featuring two hundred and ninety eight race teams!

    The action kicked off with hot laps at 3:30, and we witnessed mostly non stop action before checking out around 11:15 with the Midwest B mod twenty lap finale preparing to close out the season at the quarter mile facility.

    Although the temperature eased past sixty degrees by race time, things cooled down rather quickly, but what was the largest Turkey Bowl crowd in the few years I have been going stayed around to cheer on their local favorites as well as competitors from sixteen different states. Not only were most of the mid western states represented, but drivers ( and fans ) from as far away as California and North Carolina braved the chilly temps.

    Springfield Raceway has seen many improvements since my first visit there in 2017, including upgraded lighting and a much appreciated ten position scoreboard off turn two. Hopefully next can come an improvement to the P.A. system, as it is difficult to hear the announcers from the main grandstand. And if I could humbly offer one more suggestion for this show in particular, it would be to implement the one spin rule for heat races and B mains. I can only recall one instance where a spinning car downshifted and rejoined the field without the benefit of the yellow flag waving. But we were racing in November, and darned happy to be there!

    The giant turkey shaped trophies and the " big " check going to the feature winners is always a source of pride to the drivers, and Saturday was made special when two members of the younger generation were able to join their fathers in collecting those momentos. Sawyer Crigler captured the A modified $2,000 to win twenty five lap feature to join father Scott, a previous victor in the late model division. Moments later, after thirty hard fought laps, Cole Wells took home the $5,000 late model win much to the delight of father Justin, who had himself dropped out of the race on the opening lap.

    For numbers nerds like myself, B mods topped the Saturday entry list with a whopping seventy six cars. Cole Campbell took the feature win after a back and forth battle with Kris Jackson and Ryan Gilmore in what was probably the best race of the night. 

    Sixty nine A mods signed in, with Shane DeMay and Steve Picou chasing Crigler to the checkers.

    The Midwest Modz turned out thirty eight A class and forty two B class drivers. Anthony Ferrara bested Casey Burnett and Pete Richardson in the A's. As stated previously, we left ahead of the B class feature, and I have not been able to find any results as of now.

    Drew Papke towed from Bismarck, North Dakota to top the thirty seven Legend car group in front of Dave Comer, and Daniel Adam from Hillsborough, North Carolina.

    Four heats and two B mains whittled the thirty six car late model field down to twenty for their feature. Following a first lap caution and a false restart, Matt Becker led the first four laps of the  headliner before Scott Crigler took over. Trevor Gundaker brought out the caution flag on lap fourteen, and back under green, fifth starting Justin Zeitner, eighth starting Cole Wells, and eleventh starting Will Vaught moved in to challenge the leader with a pile up in turns three and four bringing another quick yellow. When the green flag waved again, Wells charged from the Delaware style restart to the lead, and Payton Looney joined the party in fourth. Joe Godsey brought out a lap twenty one yellow, and now Vaught moved to the runner up spot as racing resumed. He began to run down the leader as the duo caught slower traffic two laps from the checkers. But as the white flag waved they were forced to avoid a two car mix up in turn two that brought a final caution and set up a green, white, checkers shootout. Wells was up to the task, taking the win over Vaught, Zeitner, Looney, and Godsey. Kylan Garner led the second five in front of Becker, Joey Smith, Crigler, and Gundaker.

    Big thanks to Jerry and the crew for another great Turkey Bowl!

   There is still one more racing event for the season in our part of the world, and that is the three day Gateway Dirt Nationals at the America's Center Dome in St. Louis December 2-4. As of now, I do not have plans to attend this year, but I will hold off with my "season in review" until after that time ( just in case! ).

Turkey Dash Wins to Watson, Anderson, Fullenkamp, Kile, and Spaw

    CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction put a wrap on their 2021 season with the 5th annual Turkey Dash on Saturday. It was a warm, sunny, but breezy day that made challenging conditions for a race program that kicked off with hot laps at 2:00 P.M. One hundred and twenty nine cars were on hand in the five divisions set to do battle on the four tenths mile oval. 

    Fourteen heat races helped to set the starting grids for the features, but this year the track added top six dashes in all classes to determine the starting order of the first three rows. Sport mods and sport compacts also contested a pair of B main each, with attrition limiting the fields to between six and nine cars transferring the top six in each to fill out the line ups.

    The sun and wind along with many laps of racing contributed to the track turning black slick early in the program, and several drivers had trouble keeping their rides going the proper direction. With the sun disappearing over the horizon, promoter Larry Richardson climbed in the water truck and dropped moisture on the very top and bottom lines. Combined with the cooler evening temps, which seemed to bring a bit of moisture to the surface, the racing surfaced widened out with extra grip as well, creating a smooth, racy track for the main events.

    Hobby stocks led things off, with all but one of the seventeen cars signed in lining up for twenty laps. Quad City driver Andrew Burk made hard contact with the front stretch concrete in the dash resulting in heavy damage to his ride, so he took over the #10 car of Brandon Schneider, tagging the tail of the event. John Watson took off from the pole position, taking along third starting Travis Bunnell. With Watson running the high line and Bunnell set up down low, it quickly became a two car race before the caution flag came at lap five for a car on fire in the pits. A four car battle for second developed after racing resumed allowing Watson to pull away from the pack. Cody Staley soon emerged from the pack of four with a lot of ground to make up on the leader. With Watson in control at the white flag, the final caution came for a bumper on the track in turn two. This set up a green, white, checkers finish, but the Des Moines driver Watson was up to the challenge. Dustin Griffiths used the Delaware style restart to climb from fourth to second, trailed by Staley, row eight starter Solomon Bennett, and Mike Kincaid.

    Thirty sport mods saw their field whittled down to twenty four for their twenty lap feature. Logan Anderson shot to the early lead while his row one mate Tyler Soppe settled into second. With Anderson running around the inside tire barrier and Soppe flirting with the outside levee in turns one and two then dropping down at the other end, the veteran duo distanced themselves from the pack. Just before the halfway mark, slower traffic came into play, but Anderson was flawless moving through the back of the pack. The lone yellow flag came thirteen laps in for a slowing car. Back to racing Anderson used the clear track to race to the flag to flag win. Soppe spent all twenty laps in the runner up position, while Austin Paul advanced ten spots to third. Tom Bowling Jr. and Nick Aupperle completed the top five.

    At thirty one, the sport compacts produced the largest turnout and again that was pared to twenty four to contest the fifteen lap feature. For the third feature in a row, the pole sitter took command at the drop of the green, as Chuck Fullenkamp outgunned Cody Van Dusen to lead lap one. Row four starter Nathan Chandler powered to second just ahead of a red flag situation with seven laps down when Dustin Munn clipped a tire barrier and rolled his #630. During the cleanup, Chandler rolled to the infield with apparent ignition problems. While he attempted to rejoin the field, his run to the front was over. Meanwhile, Darin Smith moved in to challenge VanDusen for second, and as they battled side by side, Fullenkamp opened a sizable lead. As Fullenkamp, the hottest driver in the area of late cruised to the win, a last lap mixup knocked hard charging Barry Taft from the top five. VanDusen took runner up honors followed by Jason Staley. Davenport Speedway regular Cyle Hawkins borrowed a #89 IMCA car to come home fourth and pull ahead in the All Iowa Points chase, while Corey Crispin edged Taft for fifth.

    Officials decided to start all twenty eight modifieds in their twenty lap headliner. Once more, the pole sitter, Kurt Kile jumped to the front with third starting Dylan Thornton in second ahead of a lap one caution. Yellow fever slowed the momentum for this hotly contested event. Six times the yellow flag brought things to a halt even as several drivers charged into and out of the top five. Following the next yellow three laps in, track regular Jarrett Brown charged from fifth to third, and one more circuit was scored before Jeff Aikey made a rare mistake, spinning his #77 while running in fourth. Back to racing, Kile made a dandy move, bouncing off the levee to split the cars of Thornton and Brown to hold the lead going down the backstretch. As Thornton switched lines looking to overtake the leader, another caution period was followed by Spencer Diercks joining the fray in third. Diercks quickly cleared Thornton for second, trading lines with the leader at each end of the speedway in search of the front. With eleven laps in the books, and another caution, Diercks now faded on the restart with Thornton rebounding to second. Four more laps were scored when Diercks may have been squeezed at the top of turn four, bringing out the yellow flag yet again, ending his run. Once more, Kile split the side by side duo of Thornton and Brown, then began to stretch his lead as the green stayed out for final five laps. On the final circuit, Brown closed the gap a bit, but fell short. Kile took the hard fought win trailed by Brown, Thornton, Dakota Simmons, and Aikey, who rebounded from the tail of the field back to fifth.

   Stock cars would wrap things up, with only Joe Schmit failing to make the call, leaving us with twenty two cars for twenty laps. Continuing the theme of the night, pole sitter Jason See paced lap one ahead of double duty Dylan Thornton. The two car race up front saw Thornton take over the top spot on lap six., with the yellow flag coming as that circuit was scored. Ninth starting Johnny Spaw drove to third on the restart as the top three separated from the field even as they were strung out themselves. Thornton was on cruise control with the laps winding down, but as flagman Doug Haack prepared to wave the white flag, he had to switch to the yellow for a three car mix up in turn one. The race reverted to a three lap finish, but the yellow waved again on the restart. Spaw jumped to second as the green waved, but with two to go, another scrum in turns one and two brought a final caution. As the yellow waved, Thornton suddenly slowed on the backstretch apparently the victim of an expired engine. Spaw and See then restarted side by side, with Spaw electing the outside line for a green, white, checkers finish. At the final checkers, it was Spaw taking the win followed by See, and Dustin Griffiths with his second top five. Row six starters Adam Bell and Jason Cook rounded out the first five.

    The large crowd filed out as this brought an end to another successful season at C.J. Thanks to promoter Larry Richardson for his hospitality and to announcer Jerry Mackey for his kind words for this racing site. Hopefully we have one more race ahead before calling it a season. November 20 is the reschedule date for Shiverfest at the Lee county Speedway in Donnellson, and also night number two for the annual Turkey Bowl at the Springfield, Missouri quarter mile, so we will see what Mother Nature has in store!

Body III Tops Cash Money Late Models at Springfield

    Heavy and persistent rains throughout the middle part of the week played havoc with racing schedules in the mid west. A planned week day trip to the Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Missouri saw their USMTS championship series race washed out, and wet grounds also forced cancellation - which later became postponement - of Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. So with Jeff at the wheel and Darryl along, we literally headed across northern Missouri on Saturday with three possible destinations. At about 12:30, promoter Jerry Hoffman announced that the Cash Money late model season championship event at the Springfield Raceway was a go, so we backtracked a bit then headed south to the quarter mile facility tucked in the south west Missouri countryside. 

    We arrived minutes ahead of the advertised 4:30 hot laps to a bustling pit area with a few late comers still lining pit road. Seven local classes would run in support of the twenty seven late models, making a total of one hundred eighteen cars on hand in front of a sparse crowd on this sunny but chilly early fall evening. 

    Racing kicked off right at 5:00. The late models, racing for $1,200 to win and an impressive $450 to start the thirty lap feature, were divided into four heat races. The series used a draw for starting spots in the eight lap qualifiers, with the top fourteen in passing points moving to the A main. As a result, we saw plenty of passing in the four heats. Isaac Keeper came from row two to capture heat one over fifth starting Austin Vincent, Jace Parmley, and Brett Testerman, with those two starting fourth and sixth, respectively. Brandon Baldridge turned a pole start into a heat two win ahead of seventh starting Jim Body III, and fourth starter Aaron Scroggins. Heat three was captured by fourth starting Cole Wells in front of seventh starting Jim Body, row twos' Justin Wells, and pole sitter Bobby Maggard. Finally Mitch Keeter gained four spots to win heat four, topping row three mate Dustin Mooneyham, and out side row one starter Chuck Comer. With fourteen more heat races in the books, the remaining thirteen late models lined up for a twelve lap B main qualifying the top four for the big dance. Chris Hawkins came all the way from tenth to take the win in front of Justin Pearish, Scott Fry, and Jaxon Ertel. Point provisionals would go to Tim Petty and Jimmy Vanzandt, rounding out the twenty car lineup for the feature. 

    Nine Pure Stocks then lined up for their feature race. Pole sitter Karla Lampe followed up her heat one win by leading early before Grayson McKiney drove his #05G to the front to claim the win. Scotty Carter, Kolby Rathbone, and heat two winner Chris Countryman completed the top five.

    Intermission came next, and it turned into a long one, as the children in attendance were turned loose in the pit area to trick or treat while the track crew put a dose of water on the track.

    Finally we were back to racing. Legends cars were up next, nine strong. Heat winners Jay Reynolds and Trenton Simon shared row one, and it was Simon picking up the win with Reynolds in second. Steve Harshbarger, Steven Harshbarger Jr., and Matthew Bowen rounded out the first five.

   The late models were the headline class on this night, and they came to the track next. Mooneyham and Vincent shared row one, with Mooneyham getting the jump. However first the yellow, then the red flag would fly before lap one was scored for a pair of two car collisions in turn three. Ertel would be the only car unable to continue. Mooneyham again took the lead on the restart, and on lap two fourth starting Body III charged to second. Mooneyham had a bit of distance on Body III as they caught slower traffic on lap ten, but the yellow came out again for something that I apparently missed. Keeter moved to second following the Delaware restart ahead of a final caution. With twelve laps in the books, Body III powered around Mooneyham for the lead. Now the first four separated from the pack, with Body III and fourth running Cole Wells using the low line, and second and third place Mooneyham and Keeter on the high side. As the laps clicked off quickly, the younger Body opened a nice advantage, but with eight circuits remaining, Wells jumped to second, preparing to challenge the leader. Body III however remained in control, and four laps later it was Keeter charging to second. At the checkers, it was Body III with the win, followed by Keeter, Wells, Mooneyham, and Body. Parmley topped the next five ahead of Justin Wells, Keeper, Vincent, and Comer. 

    Along with the winner, points champion Cole Wells, and Rookie of the Year Keeter came to victory lane for their honors as we made our way to the car for the long drive home, regretfully missing another five features! 

   Up next on the calendar is the annual Turkey Dash at Larry Richardsons' C J Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa next Saturday, November 6.  Five classes of IMCA rules cars will be in action, with hot laps tentatively set for 2:00. Check their website for more info. And as previously mentioned, Shiverfest, at the Lee County Speedway was canceled only to be revived for a weather dependent date of November 20. Again, keep an eye on their website or on Facebook for more info. November 20 will also be the date of the annual Turkey Bowl race at Springfield Raceway. So there is still lots of potential for Racin' Down the Road!

Ramsey, Spaw, Carter, Fullenkamp, Carter Tops at Scotland County

    After a trip to visit the great grandson, it was back to racing on Saturday night. It would be night number two of the Calvin Meyer Memorial at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. Calvin was a dedicated race fan and friend to many who lost his life in 2020, leaving behind his wife and young daughter. This first annual racing weekend was washed out last fall at the historic fairgrounds facility, which now hosts events about four times per season.

    With heavy rain predicted before midnight, race director Mike Van Genderen moved up hot laps to 5:00 P.M., a welcome change for these crisp fall evenings. Just over one hundred race teams signed in to do battle on the smooth, wide, semi banked dirt oval, perhaps 4/10 mile in length. On this night the racing surface was in pristine condition, fast all night and black slick when the final checkers fell.

    It took thirteen heat races and a pair of B mains to set the feature fields. Between the "spin and you're in" rule and the fact that one race followed the next so quickly that announcer Tony Paris could barely recap the qualified cars and give the line up for the next race, folks were still coming in at feature time!

   In fact, the hobby stock main event actually ran between the sport mod and modifieds B mains. All sixteen cars took the green for fifteen laps. Dustin Griffiths lined up on the pole and grabbed the lead ahead of a lap two caution. On the restart, Friday winner Luke Ramsey charged to the front, followed in second two circuits later by Mike Kincaid. Soon a three car scrum for the position developed between Griffiths, Kincaid, and Clint Nelson. Ramsey had opened a sizable lead by the time a second and final caution came for debris with five laps to go. Nelson used the Delaware restart to move to second, and at the checkers it was Ramsey, Nelson, Kincaid, Griffiths, and Solomon Bennett.

    Eighteen cars took the twenty lap feature green flag in the stock car division. Following a yellow flag on the start, Tom Berry shot to the front from the pole position in the #99D normally driven by Damon Murty. As Berry stretched his lead, ninth starting Johnny Spaw began to charge through the pack, claiming the second spot on lap six. Spaw then began to close on the leader ahead of a caution flag at the half way mark. Spaw put his #00 out front as racing resumed, then pulled away from the field until a final yellow came with four laps remaining. It was no problem, however for Spaw, who repeated his night one victory. Miciah Hidlebaugh out dueled Berry and Abe Huls for second. David Brandies had issues in his heat race and was forced to start in row nine for the feature. He then advanced all the way to fifth at the checkers. 

    Twenty two laps would be the distance for the twenty four car sport mod field. Austen Becerra was doing double duty in both modified classes, and he powered from row two to lead the first lap, taking his row two mate Brayton Carter along in second. A pair of cautions at laps four and five saw Austen stay out front, however Curtis Van Der Wal now took over the runner up spot and began to work on the leader. As lap eleven was scored, Curtis was ahead by the slimmest of margins. Lapped traffic became the focus at lap thirteen, and when Van Der Wal and Becerra got caught behind slower cars, Carter used the high line to charge to the front. Two more cautions came with five laps to go, and now it was Brayton in front and Becerra using everything he had to try and grab the lead. In the final set of turns, Becerra went full bore but his #22 got out of shape, dropping him to fifth at the stripe. Cayden Carter in the Maguire Dejong #30M took runner up honors to " Speedy Bray", chased by Dylan Van Wyk, and Van Der Wall. 

    Fifteen sport compacts lined up for fifteen laps of action. Barry Taft started up front and put his #2 in the lap one lead. Chuck Fullenkamp and Kimberly Abbott raced three wide with Taft as the next circuit was scored, and by lap three Fullenkamp had secured the top spot. Jeffrey Delonjay charged through the pack to second place on lap four, and it quickly became a two car battle with Fullenkamp out front and Delonjay nipping at his heels. Friday winner Brandon Reu advanced to third at lap ten, but could not close on the leaders. As the laps wound down, Fullenkamp stretched his lead and cruised to the win in the non stop event. Delonjay recorded the runner up finish, with Reu, Isaiah Penton, and Michael Grossman completing the top five. 

    Modifieds racing, twenty four strong for twenty five laps would close out the evening. Chris Spaulding was wheeling a #00, and he paced the opening circuit with double duty Cayden Carter in tow. Cayden took over on the next lap, and from there the race would be for second on back. Becerra came to the runner up spot on lap five, but Carter continued to build his lead. Kurt Kile started in row four and moved to third on lap nine. Just past the crossed flags of starter Doug Haack to signal the half way mark, Carter caught the back of the pack, but he skillfully negotiated the slower cars with little problem. With no cautions to slow his momentum, Carter repeated his Friday victory in dominating fashion. Becerra held on to the second spot this time, while Mark Burgtorf cleared Kile late to claim third. Kile and Spaulding rounded out the top five. 

    The final checkers had us in the car headed home by 8:45! A big thanks to Mike Van Genderen for his hospitality and to him and his outstanding crew for a well prepared track, and a lightning fast show on a chilly Saturday night. 

    Weather permitting, we are looking at one more midweek show at the Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Missouri on Wednesday as part of the USMTS championship week, and of course next Saturday is the highly anticipated Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. 

   I also want to give a shout out to Randolph County Raceway promoters Jim and Tammy Lieurance on the exciting news that they will be reopening the former Quincy Raceways in 2022. Stay tuned here and at the Adams County (Illinois) Speedway website for updates.

Shirley Takes Tri City Dollars

    Tri City Speedway near Granite City, Illinois was the setting for race night number fifty of my 2021 season. This would mark championship night for the MLRA late model series. Originally scheduled as a two night grand finale, the Friday portion as well as the Thursday practice were cancelled due to rain and wet conditions. The Saturday show would pay a tidy $7,000 to the feature winner, with UMP modifieds racing for $2,000 and B mods filling out the card chasing $1,000 at the top. Lebanon, Missouri driver Tony Jackson Jr. came into the weekend with a healthy points advantage over second place Garrett Alberson. Unofficially, it looked as though Jackson need only to qualify for the main event to lock up the title, which would would be his second overall, the first coming in 2013. While Jackson looked for the $15,000 championship check, fourth place Mason Oberkramer had secured headed for Rookie of the Year honors for the series.

    Having just a single day of racing no doubt had an affect on car counts, but still fields of twenty five late models, twenty five modifieds, and thirty three B mods made for plenty of action. Following late model hot laps, the modifieds did a combo hot lap/qualifying round, with Mike Harrison fastest overall at 16.406 seconds. Late models then came back with two qualifying laps.  Alberson was one of the last to make his run, and he was tops at 14.622 seconds, nipping Shannon Babb by .002 ticks. B mods then hot lapped ahead of heat race action. 

    In typical "time 'em and start 'em up front" fashion, the pole sitter topped all three mod heats, with Timmy Hill, Rick Conoyer, and Harrison taking wins. Late model ten lappers all went to the outside row one starter, with Jeff Herzog, Gordy Gundaker, and Brian Shirley claiming wins. B mods were draw and go. John Stanton, Curt Young, and Cole Cygan came from row two for wins, while Shad Prescott advanced seven spots to capture the final heat. 

   A ten minute break turned into nearly thirty as track workers decided to try and smooth out a couple of rough spots on the track caused no doubt by the obviously heavy rains the track had received. The B mods then completed qualifying with a B main where Rob Neubauer gained six positions to take the win. 

    The late model forty lap headliner would be first on the feature docket. All twenty five drivers made the call. Oberkramer was forced to start at the tail after unloading his back up car for his heat race. Herzog paced the opening pair of laps ahead of the first caution for a Tim Simpson spin. Back to racing, Jackson Jr. moved to third after starting in seventh, and Gordy Gundaker rebounded to fourth after falling to sixth from the outside pole. Shirley took over the lead on lap five and began to pull away from the field. Alberson got up in the crumbs in turns one and two, falling well back in the top ten. Slower traffic was in play by lap nine, with cars running side by side and nose to tail. Jackson used the opportunity to jump to second and as he did, the yellow waved, with Brennon Willard looping his car in turns one and two, nearly collecting the #56 of Jackson. As racing resumed thirteen laps in, the leaders all ducked to the inside line, while row six starter Bobby Pierce moved to the cushion. But now it was Shannon Babb on the move, taking fifth on lap fifteen as Gundaker charged to third. Shirley was again running away from the pack as Alberson climbed back in the hunt and Pierce began to fade. But with traffic again in play at the halfway mark, Pierce again charged to fifth. Following another caution with twenty eight laps scored, Pierce rolled to a stop on the backstretch. Debris had hit his air cleaner, exposing the engine, and after officials confirmed the issue, he elected to call it a night. Gundaker took over the runner up spot on the restart as Frank Heckenast Jr. powered to third and Jackson dropped to fourth. With Shirley again on cruise control, a final yellow came with four laps to go for sixth running Chad Simpson, who retired to the trailer. This final restart was single file. Two more laps and Heckenast cleared Gundaker for second and began to run down the leader. As the white flag waved, Shirley stayed low on the track while Heckenast moved to his outside. It was a drag race out of turn four to the checkers, with Shirley out front and Heckenast on his bumper. Gundaker was pleased to come home third. Alberson finished fourth, one spot in front of Jackson Jr., securing the runner up spot in the championship standings. Herzog led the second five, followed by a strong run from row seven starter Aaron Marrant. Daniel Hilsabeck was eighth, while Babb faded to ninth. Justin Duty advanced eight spots to finish tenth.

   After considerable post race hoopla by MLRA officials, all but one of the modifieds lined up for thirty laps of racing. Conoyer and Hill ran side by side for the first pair of laps before Hill settled in front. Slower traffic was already in play by lap four, and when one got out of shape, Conoyer made contact, ending his night. Two more quick yellows eliminated top challengers Dean Hoffman and Michael Long. By the time five laps had been scored we were down to fourteen cars on the track, and frustrated officials went with a single file restart. Harrison moved to second before another caution two laps later. Delaware style restarts resumed, Trey Harris took over second, two more laps down and another caution. We were at six cautions before things finally settled down, At the fifteen lap mark, Hill was driving away from the field, Harris was in second, and Dylan Sharp had charged from twentieth to third! As Hill worked efficiently through lapped traffic, Harrison was able to nose past Sharp for third before the next caution at lap twenty one. Back under green Harris mounted a challenge for the lead, but drifted into the crumbs in turns one and two, turning second over to Harrison. Hill was hugging the low line with Harrison working the top. But now it was Harrisons turn to get too close to the wall and Harris reclaimed the spot. With all this going on behind, Hill was stretching his advantage, until a spin by Harris with just three circuits remaining brought out a final caution flag. Sixth starting Danny Ems entered the picture, snatching second away on the restart, and coming to the white flag, Hill suddenly began to fall off the pace. In the right place at the right time, the veteran Ems grabbed the lead and the win. Harrison came home in second while Brandon Bollinger, hung around all race and finished in third. Hill was able to limp to a disappointing fourth, followed by nineteenth starting Jake Trebilcock. Dave Weitholder drove an unfamiliar #27 to a sixth place finish, topping Harris, T.J.Eilers, and Rayce Baker, the only cars remaining on the track. Sharp was credited with tenth. 

    Well chilled, we headed for the car ahead of the B mod finale which was captured by Clint Young over Tommy Seets Jr., Dustin Bosson, Prescott, and Treb Jacoby.

    Thanks to Kevin, Tammy, and crew for staging an entertaining night of racing under very challenging conditions. The week ahead looks busy, but I hope to catch a night of racing next weekend in Memphis, Missouri at the Calvin Meyer Memorial. This first annual event, postponed from 2020 will offer racing on both Friday and Saturday. Hope to see you there!

   

Aikey, Burgtorf, Murty, Anderson, Fullenkamp Tops at Lee County

    Saturday was night number two of the tenth annual Harvest Hustle at the Lee County Speedway on the fairgrounds in Donnellson, Iowa. After a Friday turnout of one hundred and thirty three race teams, one hundred forty six signed in for the finale. Outstanding payouts were on the line, with late models, modifieds, and sport compacts all vying for a $3,000 top prize, while the stock cars and sport mods competed for $2,000 winners' checks.

   Racing kicked off one hour earlier with cloudy, but warm conditions. It took twenty three qualifying events to get ready for feature racing, with the twenty five lap stock car finale rolling off first, fifteen of the seventeen on hand taking the green flag. This race turned into an unusually caution filled, drawn out affair. The red flag came on the opening circuit, when Pete Stodgel rolled his #82 in turn four. A fluid spill, possibly fuel, created a long clean up procedure. That was just the beginning, as six more caution periods marred some great racing. Scooter Dulin paced lap one, with Kirk Kinsley taking over from there. Following a lap two restart, Johnny Spaw split the leaders, and by lap six he had Abe Huls and Friday winner Dallon Murty on his heels. About lap ten, Murty used another restart to grab the lead, but Spaw fought back to the front. At the halfway mark, the pair swapped slide jobs and crossover moves before Murty finally claimed the position. Meanwhile Huls, Jeff Mueller, and David Brandies staged an epic battle for third before getting into a tangle six laps from the checkers that sent Huls to the pits. Murty pulled away to the $2,000 winners' share in the closing laps, while Spaw held off Mueller for second. La Mesa, Texas driver Michael Sheen ran fourth. Last lap contact between Brandies and Kinsley saw Brandies cross the line in fifth, but he was penalized for the altercation, turning fifth over to Shane Richardson. Murty and Huls claimed heat race wins.

    The late models turned out a disappointing fifteen entries for $3,000 to win. Season point champion Tommy Elston and Darrel Defrance lined up in row one for the thirty five lap feature. Elston set the pace early, with fourth starting Jeff Aikey moving to second on lap two. The pair of veterans quickly broke from the pack as Jeff Larson moved to third and Mark Burgtorf used a power move to come from sixth to fourth about lap ten. Andy Nezworski soon joined the battle for third, and on lap fifteen Elston suddenly slowed out of turn two, his run over. Aikey was now in command and two laps later Burgtorf cleared Larson for second, taking Nezworski along in third. The duo swapped the runner up spot before Andy took it for good with five laps remaining. At the checkers, it was Aikey, the newest member of the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame taking the win. Nezworski, Burgtorf, Larson, and Defrance filled out the first five. Chuck Hanna, Gary Webb, Jay Johnson, Friday winner Darin Duffy, and third generation driver C.J. Horn completed the top ten. The race went caution free. Nezworski and Burgtorf topped the qualifiers.

    Sport mods were up next with the thirty two car field trimmed to twenty four. Following a first lap caution, outside pole sitter Logan Anderson led his front row mate, Jim Gillenwater, pulling well out front before a lap four yellow. Tanner Klingele took over the second spot on the restart, with seventh starting Brayton Carter jumping to third, then clearing Klingele for second. As the race neared the halfway mark, heavy traffic became a factor, and with ten laps left on the scoreboard, Anderson and Carter were neck and neck for the lead. One more trip around and again the yellow flag waved.  The restart saw another yellow, then on the next attempt Carter got shuffled well back in the pack. Twelfth starting Tony Olson was now in the runner up spot with an intense four car battle for third behind him. One more caution came with five laps to go, and back to racing Anderson stretched his advantage, cruising to the win. Olson held second, topping Klingele, who survived a challenge from young Dylan VanWyk. Carter worked his way back to round out the top five. Heat wins went to Tyler Titus, Gillenwater, Tyler Soppe, and Anderson, with Austin Poage and A.J. Tournear claiming the B mains.

    $3,000 would be on the line for the modifieds, with twenty four of the thirty seven on hand scheduled to take the green. However, Denny Eckrich was unable to make the call. Burgtorf, doing double duty in the Baker Racing #03B charged to the front from outside row one ahead of Kyle Brown and pole sitter Dave Weitholder. As Mark stretched his margin, Austen Becerra came roaring to third behind Brown. Burgtorf sat a torrid pace on the now smooth, black slick three eighths mile track, with nearly a straightaway lead as the mid point of the thirty lapper approached. Heavy slower traffic became a factor at the twenty lap mark, and with six laps to go, Burgtorf and Brown raced side by side. Kyle led briefly on lap twenty seven, but Burgtorf recovered to be scored the leader as the lap was complete. Brown made one final charge coming to the checkers, but it was Burgtorf by a car length at the flag stand. Two more double duty drivers, Larson and Aikey trailed, with Cayden Carter advancing fourteen positions to run fifth. It was another caution free event. Heat winners were Friday victor Dustin Smith, Burgtorf, Larson, and Becerra. B mains went to Travis Denning and Dakota Simmons. 

    The grand finale of the weekend was the forty lap $3,000 to win battle for the sport compacts. Forty five race teams from as far away as Ohio battled through five heats and two B mains, with twenty six qualifying for the big dance. Ironically, Friday winner Jake Benischek, scheduled to start in row five, failed to make the feature call. Following a lap one caution and a complete restart, it was Jason Ash blasting off from the outside pole while Chuck Fullenkamp came all the way from eighth to second by lap two. Fullenkamp drove to the front on lap five, even as three and four wide battles continued behind his #48. The next caution came at lap nine when track champion Brandon Reu, with a little help, spun and was hit in turn four, ending his night. On the restart, Ash had issues and was shuffled to nearly the back of the field. Nathan Chandler and Derrick DeFord now dueled side by side for second. Following a pair of yellows, row six starter Jeff Delonjay took over third, then second seventeen laps in, taking along Brady Reed in third. One lap before the half way mark, contact on the front stretch sent Josh Barnes into the guardrail and into a hard flip. With the red flag displayed, Josh emerged apparently uninjured, but with a badly damaged race car. The field was now down to eleven cars, as Fullenkamp and Delonjay pulled away from the pack in a furious two car scrum. As the laps wound down, however, Chuck began to increase his lead. He took the checkers with a several car length advantage over Delonjay in second. Jay Mariuzza, and Jimmy Dutlinger traveled from Pekin and Peorisa, Illinois respectively to finish third and fourth, with Jacob Houston taking fifth. Dutlinger, DeFord, Chandler, Erik Vanapeldoorn, and Fullenkamp captured heat wins, with Dry Ridge , Kentucky driver Chevy Gibson and Jarrett Hellweg topping B mains.

    Again racing concluded just after 11:00 P.M. Thanks as always to the LCS staff for their hospitality and a full weekend of racing action on a beautifully groomed track. Lee County Speedway has one more event on the 2021 racing calendar, the ever popular Shiverfest on October 30. 

   There is still plenty of racing to be had throughout the three state area not only this month, but November, and even the first weekend in December. So dig out the warm clothes, and do like we will be doing, find a race and head to the track!

   

Duffy, Smith, Murty, Carter, Benischek Tops at Lee County

    Friday would be the opening night of the tenth annual Harvest Hustle at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. Each installment of  the two day event would be complete shows, featuring late models, modifieds, stock cars, sport mods and sport compacts. All but the compacts would race for a winning share of $1,000 on Friday, with dramatic increases on night number two. $200 would be tops for the compacts this night. A total of one hundred thirty three cars from six states signed in with thirty six modifieds and thirty four sport mods leading the way on an absolutely beautiful fall evening.

   It took sixteen heat races and four B mains to whittle the field down for feature racing on a surface that was smooth as glass and lightning fast. With a starting time a bit later than normal and extra races taking place, we moved directly into the feature events with zero down time. 

   Stock cars came first to the speedway, with fifteen of the seventeen on hand set to due battle for twenty laps. Co announcer for the night Jerry Mackey called Dallon Murty the luckiest person he knows, as the youngster who has dominated the stock car ranks this season pulled the number one pill for the redraw. Dallon would then lead each lap, although it was far from an easy win. Veteran racer and car builder Johnny Spaw started alongside the #99x and dogged Murty the entire race. With Abe Huls and David Brandies also in the hunt, the first yellow flag came with four in the books for a spinning Pete Stodgell. Back to racing, eighth starting Jeff Mueller charged to fifth using the high line around the three eighths mile oval. The first five then pulled away from the rest of the pack, running in nose to tail formation. Just after the halfway mark, Mueller, now up to third, slowed with a flat tire, bringing out the final caution flag, ending his run. Over the final laps, Murty and Spaw made it a two car race. Spaw made a final charge, pulling alongside Dallon with three laps to go, but he could not complete the pass. At the checkers it was Murty, Spaw, Huls, Brandies, and Chris Wibbell. Jason Cook and Brandies were heat race winners.

   Twenty six sport compacts signed in, and all were eligible for the main event, with a pair of scratches leaving two dozen lined up for fifteen laps. Track champion Brandon Reu set the early pace from the outside pole. On lap two Josh Barnes, wheeling an unfamiliar #21 slipped around Nathan Chandler for second. Fifth starting Jake Benischeck joined the four car tussle on lap five, and two laps later he was out front. With Reu ducking to the infield to end his night, it was Jake and Josh in a two car battle. Two laps from the finish, Jaden Delonjay also pulled off, ending his top five charge. With the field heading to the checkers, a stalled car in turn three brought out the only yellow, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. It was just a momentary set back for Benischeck, who claimed victory over Barnes, Chandler, Chuck Fullenkamp, and twelfth starting Jimmy Dutlinger, over from Peoria, Illinois. Heat wins went to Barnes, Chandler, and Fullenkamp.

   A smaller than anticipated field of twenty late models were on hand, with only Brian Webb failing to make the call for the twenty five lap feature. Kirby Schultz and Darin Duffy sat on the front row, with Duffy rocketing to the lead as the green flag waved. The caution came out with sixteen laps left on the scoreboard as Brandon Rothzen nailed the same turn three guardrail that had ended his heat race run. Duffy stretched his advantage on the restart, while second running Jeff Aikey - a recent inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame - did the same over the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, Shultz, Hall of Famer Gary Webb, and eighth starting Andy Nezworski dueled for third. With seven circuits remaining, Nezworski broke free to take the spot. As the race stayed green, Duffy cruised to the win, while his "teammate" for the night, Aikey claimed second. Nezworski was third and Jeff Larson in the Doug Curless #99 outgunned Webb for fourth. Andy Eckrich made a late charge to sixth after lining up fourteenth, topping C.J. Horn, Mark Burgtorf, Tommy Elston, and Schultz to round out the top ten. Chuck Hanna, driving the #32 he recently purchased from Chris Simpson, Horn, and Elston were heat race winners.

   Four heats, captured by Sean Wyett, Logan Anderson, Tanner Klingele, and Tyler Soppe, and B mains won by Dennis Laveine and Tim Plummer, set the twenty four car sport mod feature field, racing for twenty laps. Things began slowly, with a pair of cautions in the first two laps sandwiched around a false start. From there, pole sitter Brayton Carter stretched his lead, first over Klingele, then onrushing Carter VanDenBerg in a car formerly driven by "A" mod graduate Austen Becerra. VanDenBerg was reeling in "Speedy Bray" as the race hit the halfway point, but lost ground as slower traffic came into play. Now the focus was a four car scrum for third between Klingele, Wyett, Anderson, and Brandon Savage. Following a final caution with six laps to go, Anderson powered to fourth, then third, as Carter cruised to the win. VanDenBerg held second over Anderson, Klingele and Wyett. 

   Modifieds wrapped up the long night of racing. Three Illinois hot shoes, Travis Denning, Dave Weitholder, and Matt Werner, along with Davenport Speedway regular Dustin Smith took heat race wins. Eric Barnes, Colona, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowas' Tyler Madigan captured B mains, giving us two dozen survivors racing for twenty two circuits. It was pole sitter Dustin Kroening, Hebron, Illinois, leading lap one ahead of a mixup that sent both Weitholder and Werner to the trailer with damage. Back under green, sixth starting Smith powered to the front using the top side of the track. The pair of Smith and Kroening paced the field, while fourteenth starting Becerra, another of the Illinois Boys, moved in to challenge Laveine for third. Two more circuits, and he claimed the position as the leaders worked through heavy lapped traffic. With a pair of laps left, Becerra pulled a successful slide job in turn two to take second, then Kroening did the same at the other end. The white flag waved, and Becerra gained the advantage again coming off turn two. This battle was all Smith needed to drive to the win. Becerra took runner up honors, with Kroening scored in third. Laveine held on to fourth, while Denning made a late charge to round out the top five. 

   The final checkers waved a few minutes after 11:00 P.M., wrapping up a superb night of action, and leaving everyone eager for night number two. We can expect more cars in the pits, and more folks in the stands, with top prizes of $3,000 for late models, modifieds, and compacts, and $2,000 for the stock cars and sport mods. Also the action kicks off one hour earlier tonight, with hot laps set for 6:00 P.M. The weather looks to be even better tonight, so don't miss out!

  

UMP Fall Nationals Close the Season at Lincoln

    Saturday was night number two of the UMP Fall Nationals at the Lincoln, Illinois fairgrounds speedway. This end of year event originated at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, moved to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri and for the past two seasons has found a home in Lincoln. A complete show for the DirtCar divisions on Friday featured Pro Crate late models, modifieds, Pro modifieds, and street stocks. For Saturday, the super late models and Hornets joined the show, with street stocks moving on down the road, as the UMP points season came to a close. 

   This would be our second visit of 2021 to the quarter mile bullring after part of the 2020 finale was moved to early April of this season and for the first time in quite a while rainy conditions threatened to disrupt our racing. In fact three other tracks within one to three hours of Lincoln pulled the plug due to rain, and as it turned out created the most compelling story of our evening.

   The car count, like the crowd was likely less than promoters would have preferred, again with the drizzly conditions almost up to race time no doubt a major factor. With the super late model count hovering close to single digits, several of the crate late model teams decided to "double dip." The final count had eighteen super lates, fourteen crates, seventeen modifieds, twenty six crate mods, and only five hornets.

   All five divisions did combined hot lap/qualifying sessions, but with as many as four cars at a time on the track, it was over in a flash. Mike Chasteen Jr. and Jose Parga topped the late model classes with times of 13.310 and 14.318 seconds. Kenny Wallace at 14.465 and Kyle Helmick at 15.320 paced the modified divisions, while the top hornet time was set by Allan Harris at 17.555 seconds.

   Super late model heats ran first, with the UMP style lineups of fast qualifiers up front. But things got interesting when a black toter trailer rolled in as Ryan Unzicker, a refugee from Sycamore, completed the two hour twenty minute haul south. As Chasteen lead flag to flag in heat one, defeating Michigan driver Steve Fairbanks, Wisconsin's Jayme Zider, and local favorite Myles Moos, Unzicker quickly lined up at the back of heat two. When lap one was scored, he was in third, ahead of a caution flag. Back under green, Unzicker charged to the lead, outgunning pole sitter Jake Little, Jose Parga, and Greg Kimmons in the nine car, eight lap race.

   Wallace topped Mike Harrison, Rick Conoyer, and Brandon Roberts in mod heat one, while Friday winner sixteen year old Hunt Gossum went flag to flag in heat two over Jake Griffin, Trevor Neville, and Dave Weitholder.

   Pro Crate late model heat one saw double duty Parga take the win in front of Billy Knippenberg, Blaise Baker, and Cody Maguire. Outside front row starter Brandon Eskew was leading the second eight lapper when he suddenly slowed in turn three, collecting second running Aaron Heck. It was the end of the night for Eskew, while Heck rejoined the tail of the field. Heck then charged back to the front, winning over Brandon Sweitzer, Colby Sheppard, and Chuck Mitchell.

    Pro mod heats went to Ryan Hamilton, Brian Vinson, and B.J. Deal, then Harris topped the hornet six lapper. 

    A quick ten minute intermission followed as the eighteen car super late model twenty five lap feature lined up. Unzicker shot to the point from outside row one, leading Chasteen and Little. Chasteen and Little staged a back and forth and side by side battle for second while Unzicker opened a straightaway lead. He caught the back of the pack about lap eight, and one lap later Chasteen finally secured the runner up spot. As Unzicker moved smoothly through slower traffic, the only caution flag came with three laps remaining for a Phil Taylor spin. By this time, Ryan had lapped up to seventh position, but the lapped cars were placed at the tail of the field, with the Delaware restart putting Chasteen and Little on his back bumper. Parga was running fourth, and he charged to second as the green flag waved. Unzicker again stretched his lead while Chasteen was able to work back around Parga for second at the checkers. Little came home fourth ahead of Blaise Baker. Moos crossed the line in sixth, besting Maguire, Kimmons, Colby Sheppard, and Chuck Mitchell. The win netted Unzicker a cool $3,000.

    Fifteen modifieds lined up for twenty five laps, with Wallace and Gossum in row one. Gossum quickly pulled away from Wallace, even as the former NASCAR ace put distance on the battle for third. Evan Fink slowed to bring out the yellow with seven laps down, and on the restart Brandon Bollinger climbed from eighth into the top five. By the half way mark, Gossum was again well out front as Bollinger rode the inside line to fourth. The second generation driver slipped around Harrison for third on lap fifteen, then cleared Wallace three laps later. Harrison also drove past Wallace with three circuits to go, but the race belonged to Gossum. The youngster made the trip from his home in Mayfield, Kentucky a profitable one, as he picked up the win on both Friday and Saturday. Bollinger, Harrison, Wallace, and Neville completed the top five, followed by Weitholder, Conoyer, Fink, Roberts, and Griffin.

    Pro Crate late models would be next, with all but one (Eskew) of the fourteen cars making the call for twenty trips around the quarter mile. Heck and Parga soon put distance on the field, as a four car scrum developed for third between Sweitzer, Baker, Knippenberg, and Sheppard. The caution flag waved seven laps in for a mix up between Michael Maestos and Eric Doran. The yellow waved again on the restart, with Baker exiting the track and Sheppard relegated to the back of the pack. Again the top two pulled out to an advantage, and as they caught slower traffic, the caution came a final time for a four car pile up with three laps to go. Following the single file restart, Heck secured the win over Parga, Knippenberg, Mitchell, and Roben Huffman. Ryan Miller led the second five in front of Sheppard, Maguire, Rockett Bennett, and Doran.

   Crate modifieds would be next, and all twenty six cars made the call. Ryan Hamilton powered to the early lead ahead of a lap seven caution. Back under green, an unidentified car smacked one of the large tractor tires protecting the outside wall, sending it on to the track and creating a four car pile up. With the red flag displayed, cleanup was fairly swift, and we were soon back to racing. Another caution at lap thirteen was only a momentary obstacle for Hamilton, who picked up the win. Vinson out dueled Deal for third, followed by Owen Steinkoenig and Deece Schwartz. James Hileman, double duty Conoyer, Jake Montgomery, Tommy Gaither, and Billy Knebel filled out the top ten.

    We were on the road as only four hornets lined up for the ten lap finale. Nick Johnson prevented a sweep by Harris, who ran second ahead of Brandy Burgett, and Cook Crawford. 

   The well run show had us in the car about 9:00. Thanks to the Lincoln Speedway staff for not only their hospitality, but for persevering on a night it would have been easy to pull the plug. 

   Next weekend we hope to stay close to home and take in complete shows on Friday and Saturday as Lee County Speedway presents the tenth annual Harvest Hustle. Check their ad on Facebook for details!

Kay Stays Hot at Tipton

    Thursday night, it was off to one of my favorite events of the season, night one of the Darkside Promotions Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. The three night extravaganza usually turns out an interesting mix of drivers, mostly from Iowa and Wisconsin and Illinois. The opening night is our pick night, with late models topping the card. In past years, the late models have battled for a $1,500 top prize, however in 2020 the family of the late Brad Coin, a well known competitor in and supporter of IMCA late models, upped that number to $2,800 in memory of Brad's car Number 28C. This season, the Coin family elected to add $1,000 to positions two through ten. While the "to win" money dropped to $1,000, the add on made for an attractive purse down the line. The modified winner would also collect a cool $1,000 for their effort.

    We arrived to a bustling pit area, and when the final tally came in, there were 203 race cars signed in. Still, hot laps fired off about 6:15, and officials did a good job of filling the track for each green, white, checkers session. Twenty five heat races and eight B mains later, it was finally feature time. 

   The advertised running order was then adjusted as the late models would run their twenty eight lap (in honor of Brad Coin) feature first. All but two of the nineteen drivers on hand lined up. Dave Hammond had issues in his heat race, while Kevin Miller was a no show in his heat as well. Jeff "Bone" Larson was behind the wheel of the Doug Curless #99 normally driven by Brian Harris, and he drew the pole position following his opening heat race win, also from the pole. Luke Pestka climbed in the #63 for the night and started outside of the front row. But it was second heat winner and inside row two starter Justin Kay who charged to the lap one lead ahead of Larson and fifth starting Spencer Diercks. This event is often a showcase of substitute drivers, and tonight was no exception, In addition to Larson, Diercks was filling in for Matt Ryan. With his car en route to the track, Matt found himself "under the weather." Diercks was on hand with his modified, but not his late model, so he took over duties in the #07.

   Kay immediately checked out to a commanding lead over Larson, while row four starter Andy Nezworski moved up to do battle with Diercks for third. As Kay found the back of the pack about lap eight, Fred Remley charged from fifth to third while the first caution flag waved for third heat winner Gary Webb. Back under green, it was Nezworski jumping to the cushion to claim third. Another yellow two laps later saw the night end for Kelly Pestka, and Nezworski used the Delaware restart to power to the runner up spot. As Kay pulled out to a nearly half lap lead, Larson rebounded to nose ahead of Nezworski for second. With the race staying green for the final fifteen circuits, Kay cruised to the win. Larson and Remley filled out the podium, while Nezworski and tenth starting Joe Zrostlik recorded top fives. Jeff Aikey came home sixth ahead of Diercks, Joel Callahan, Gage Neal, and John Emerson.

   What had been a smooth, quickly run show then came completely off the rails. All but two of the twenty five hobby stocks would line up next for fifteen laps. Jake Benischek would share the front row with Ryan Havel, but it would be third starting Manny Bennett trailing Benischek ahead of a lap one caution. As racing resumed, Cody Staley caught the berm coming out of turn four, possibly with a flat right rear tire,  and flipped his #55 machine wildly on the front stretch, bringing out the red flag. After a bit of a delay getting the accident cleaned up, it was announced that Benischek had not stopped in a timely fashion and would be sent to the tail of the field for the restart. After mildly showing his displeasure, he retired to the pits. Bennett and Havel lined up side by side for the restart, but the yellow soon flew again as Bennett slowed with a flat tire and Jared Miller spun while working inside the top five. A total of five more caution periods came in the final ten laps, mostly for spins, with the double file restart used each time as well as no mention of a time limit. No more than two laps at a time were scored before we mercifully saw a checkered flag. Milan, Illinois pilot Andrew Burk dominated the late stages of the race to take the win. Kody Miles, Matt Bennett, Chad Rigby, and Justin Ginther completed the top five. Manny Bennett was in the top five mix, but was disqualified for what I am not sure. 

    We had set an 11:00 curfew ahead of our two and a half hour drive home, and although it was now about 10:45, we hoped to see the 4 stock feature and maybe "cheat a little" should they run a quick twelve laps. However, the water truck was brought out for several rounds and then the 4 stocks began the task of repacking the quarter mile surface, so we decided to head for the parking lot with four features still on the docket.

   I can report that Joe Zrostlik followed up his fifth place run in the late models with the 4 stock win over Canton, Indiana driver Robert Deford. Dallon Murty started third and topped twelfth starting Jeff Mueller in the stock cars. Brayton Carter was the best of fifty five sport mods, beating his row one mate Shane Paris, and it was Chris Zogg besting the modifieds over eighth starting Brandon Schmitt, from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. 

   Racing continues for the next two nights in Tipton, with Mod Lites replacing the late models tonight, then two person cruisers and the American Iron Racing Series filling out a seven division card on Saturday. Thanks to Timmy Current, Ryan Duhme, and the entire team for their hospitality as well as their hard work in putting on such a challenging event. The addition of the new grandstands has greatly enhanced the racing experience at the Cedar County Raceway! 

   We are hoping the weatherman cooperates with our planned second visit of the season to the Lincoln, Illinois fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday for the final night of the UMP DirtCar Fall Nationals, as six divisions battle for feature wins and championship honors. Although we have turned the calendar to October, there are still many good options for top notch racing, so check the Positively Racing calendar and maybe we will see you at the track!

Hahne is Governers Cup Winner

     With twenty seven late model teams in the pits, the Friday event for the SLMR triple header was rained out at West Liberty Raceway. We caught back up with the mini tour at the Davenport Speedway on Saturday. This would be the annual Governors Cup race, with the late model headliner offering up a $5,000 check to the winner. Modifieds, sport mods, street stocks, 4 stocks and the A.I.R.S. cars would fill out the card, with an early start time helping things along.

    Somewhere close to 125 race teams signed in, with twenty eight late models leading the way. With hot laps complete, the late models split in to Group A and Group B for time trials. Omaha, Nebraska driver Jake Neal paced the first group, while World of Outlaw regular Tyler Bruening took overall honors with a lap of 14.230 seconds around the fairgrounds quarter mile oval. Michael Haines did not take qualifying laps, while Fred Remley had issues on his first trip around, and was done for the night.

   With a six car invert for the eight lap late model heat races, there was plenty of action. Neal came from row three to win heat one over fifth starting Andy Eckrich and row two starters Nick Marolf and Jay Johnson. Joel Callahan lined up in row one, outgunning Justin Kay,  Luke Goedert, and Joel Callahan in the second qualifier. Heat three went to sixth starting Bruening in front of David Webster, Dave Eckrich, and Jeff Tharp. Matt Ryan advanced from row two to grab the final heat, besting Charlie McKenna, Logan Duffy, and Jason Hahne. Because of the passing points format used to transfer to the main event, several drivers with top four finishes in the heats were forced to try their luck in the ten lap B main. Curt Schroeder led flag to flag to pick up that win, followed by Darrel Defrance, Brian Harris, and Gary Webb. Provisional starting spots went to Kirby Schultz and Ron Klein, giving us a twenty two car feature lineup.

   After a short intermission, the A.I.R.S. cars lined up, twenty out of  the twenty three signed in, for a dozen laps. Surprisingly, they were plagued with caution flags, a total of four in the first eight laps. Dennis Etten and his Mopar machine was scored the leader for all twelve laps to take the win. He was hounded in the closing circuits by Jake Hayes in his 1950s Packard #11. Robin Atkins, Steve Johnson, and R.J. Lank and his Edsel completed the top five. The low groove seemed to be the fast way around for the older style cars, but that would not necessarily be the case later on. A pair of sport mod B mains ran next ahead of the modified main. 

    All twenty three mods came to the track for twenty laps, with a $1,000 check awaiting the victor. Jordon Hicks charged from the outside pole to the lead, holding on until he spun coming through turn four on lap five. Travis Denning assumed the point for the restart, working the inside line. Meanwhile, sixth starting Chris Zogg was pounding the cushion, moving to the top spot on lap seven. Denning moved to the high line in turns one and two while working down low at the other end. Slower traffic became a factor by lap twelve and Denning began to eat into Zogg's advantage. Soon though Travis found himself caught behind a pair of lapped cars running side by side. Zogg then cruised to the win. Denning held off Eric Barnes for second, followed by Mark Schulte and Derrick Stewart.

   It was now late model time, with forty laps the scheduled distance. Hahne and McKenna sat on row one, with "Chargin' Charlie" taking the early lead over Neal, Hahne, and the Eckrich brothers, Dave and Andy. As the leaders worked the high side, Hahne cleared Neal for second on lap three. Meanwhile, Andy Eckrich and seventh starting series points leader Justin Kay searched the low line. Soon Kay changed to the high side, entering the top five on lap nine. One more trip past the flag stand and he jumped to fourth, third on lap twelve, and the runner up spot on lap fourteen. At the halfway mark, it was McKenna out front as he ran the cushion while Hahne in the middle line and Kay on the bottom gave chase. Slower traffic became heavy and about lap twenty four McKenna found himself shuffled back to fifth. Two laps later Kay took the lead from Hahne who now had to deal with the fast closing cars of Bruening and Neal. With twenty eight laps in the books, Bruening powered to second, but Hahne was also back on the move, clearing Kay for the lead one lap later. Hahne then began to stretch his margin as Bruening and Kay battled for second. Hahne, from Webster City, Ia. grabbed his first SLMR east division checkers and the $5,000 prize in the caution free race. Kay upped his points lead with a second place finish, while the Thursday night winner, Bruening, took third. Neal and McKenna rounded out the top five. Dave Eckrich outgunned brother Andy for sixth, with eighth through tenth going to Marolf, Ryan, and Duffy.

    With a trio of features yet to go, we headed for the parking lot while the street stocks took the green flag. Congratulations to Joe Bonney on his win in that division. Morning reports indicate that Aaron Hitt picked up a pair of wins in the 4 stock and sport mod classes.

   Thanks to Bob, Carrie, and the Drt Trak Racing,Inc. group for their hospitality at the several venues where they hosted events in 2021. The racing surface at Davenport proved to be top notch once again, with the late model feature a real "barn burner."

   Next up will be another of our favorite events, night one of the Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. Among the six divisions,  IMCA type late models and modifieds will run for a $1,000 prize at the Darkside Promotions three day extravaganza. Grab a jacket and join us there!

   

Bruening Grabs First SLMR Win

   Thursday was the opening night of the SLMR east division three night mini tour presented by Drt Trak Racing Inc.  The three eighths mile oval at the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway was the venue. Six classes would be in action, with the late model headliner offering a $3,000 top prize to the winner of the thirty lap feature.

   Thirty late models topped a contingent of ninety four cars as a good sized September week night crowd filed in on a cool evening. 

   Hot laps were completed in good time, then the late models quickly moved through time trials, three and four cars at a time. Andy Eckrich was the fastest in group one, but World of Outlaw regular Tyler Bruening set the overall mark in group two with a lap of 15.133 seconds. 

We were then on to heat race action. Kodey Miles and Jimmy Doescher topped the thirteen hobby stockers, while Mark Schulte and Chris Zogg grab modified wins. 

   The late models split into four eight lap heats with the a top six invert by time in each one. The highest sixteen in passing points would move on to the main event. Matt Ryan came from row two to grab the first heat over row three starters Jason Rauen and Andy Eckrich, while Ron Klein came across the line in fifth but gained enough points to make the transfer. Heat two went to fifth starter Jake Neal, topping third starting Charlie McKenna, then Dave Eckrich and Justin Kay, who lined up sixth and fourth, respectively. Spencer Diercks came from fourth to capture heat three, besting sixth starting Bruening and his row three mate Chad Holladay as the only transfers. The final qualifier sent five to the feature, with Chad Simpson leading flag to flag in David Websters #44W. Jeff Tharp, Luke Goedert, Jason Hahne, and Nick Marolf followed. 

   Troy Bauer and Ryan Schilling were sport mod victors, the Midwest Jalopies heat went to Kile Vohringer, and Ray Guss Jr. topped the Nostalgia heat. Guss Jr. did double duty on this night, also wheeling the Rick Dralle late model normally driven by Jeff Aikey. 

   The briefest of breaks was followed by a pair of seven car, seven lap B mains taking the top two late models from each one to the feature. Gary Webb drove past his front row mate Bobby Hansen in the first "B", then pole sitter Joel Callahan held off Darrel Defrance in the second last chance race. Provisional starters Curt Schroeder and Luke Pestka would complete the twenty two car starting lineup. A total, I believe, of only three yellow flags slowed the preliminary races on the smooth, well prepared track!

   Hobby Stocks would run a twelve lap feature, with a pair of Wisconsinites, Matt Bennett and Corey Cullen on row one. But it would be Hollandale, Wisconsin driver Jimmy Doescher coming quickly from row three to battle with Kodey Miles for the early lead. Eventually, Doescher would open a comfortable lead, as he easily worked through slower traffic in the non stop event. Meanwhile, Miles had his hands full of Scott Wetter in the closing laps, narrowly holding him off for second, as three Wisconsin pilots, Wetter, Bennett, and Mark Neis recorded top five finishes. 

    Sixteen modifieds lined up for twenty laps. Tyler Madigan lead the opening laps ahead of a lap three caution. Following the restart, sixth starting Matt Gansen charged from the second row of the Delaware style restart to the lead. From then on, the racing would occur back in the pack, as Gansen opened a straightaway plus lead cruising in the low groove. Meanwhile Madigan ran up against the outside wall, temporarily putting distance on the rest of the field. With no more stops, Gansen picked up a dominant win. Madigan took second ahead of an entertaining four car battle for third. In the closing laps, Mike Burbridge broke away from the race for third and moved in to challenge Madigan, but could not make the pass. Bill Roberts Jr. and Schulte rounded out the first five.

   The late models would be up next, with Andy Eckrich and Goedert on the front row. Andy powered to the front, with Bruening coming from fourth to set up a two car duel. Eckrich hugged the low line while Bruening set up shop on the high line. Five laps in, Tyler grabbed the lead. Soon, the front duo found the back of the pack, and Eckrich regained the point in traffic on about lap twelve. One circuit after the halfway mark, Bruening was back in front and pulling away, but the first caution for a spinning Hahne brought him back to the pack. At this point, all twenty two starters were still on the track! Rauen came charging through the field on the restart, all the way to third as the second and final caution came with eleven laps to go. Simpson, who was running with the leaders, spun low in turn two. Rauen briefly moved to second on this final restart, but two laps later in was again Eckrich in the runner up spot. As the laps wound down, eighth starting Diercks was able to drive to third, even as Bruening pulled away to a relatively easy win. The Decorah, Iowa pilot would collect the checkers in his first SLMR start of the year. Rauen settled into fourth, followed by Goedert. Tharp lead the second five, ahead of Dave Eckrich, Neal, Ryan, and McKenna. 

   At this point we headed for the car, with three features still to run. Congrats to Tony Olson, who took sport mod honors over Tyler Soppe. Austin Honts topped the Jalopies, and Guss Jr. was the Nostalgia winner. 

   Special thanks to Bob and Carrie, as always, for their hospitality and a good night of racing. Regular readers know that I am a fan of passing points, and last night was a perfect example of why I feel this way, as only one of the four late model heat winners came from the front row. I will always choose "racing" over "follow the leader."

   Drt Trak and the SLMR will head to the big half mile at West Liberty tonight, Friday, and I hope to catch back up on Saturday as they move to the Davenport Speedway for the Governors Cup event  with both of these shows paying the late model winner a cool $5,000!

  

Kay Tops Webb Tribute Feature

    Gary Webb for many years has been and continues to be a force in late model racing in the midwest. And no where has his dominance been more on display than at the Rock Island county fairgrounds in East Moline, Illinois. Now racing into his seventies, Webb has garnered more than a dozen track titles at his "home track" alone, with many of his five hundred plus victories recorded on the tight quarter mile, the most recent coming one week ago. So it seemed only right that we would make the nearly three hour journey for Gary Webb Tribute Night, a chance to honor the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer. The highlight of the six division program would be a fifty six lap IMCA late model main event, the number reflective of his long time car number, which for the last several years has been prefaced with a large "W."

   Ninety eight cars signed in, including twenty three late models, in front of a solid Sunday night crowd. Joe Zrostlik, Justin Kay, and Matt Ryan picked up late model heat race wins. Following all preliminary events, the track did their Hall of Fame inductions during an extended intermission.

   Back to racing, the first feature was a twelve lapper for the thirteen  Nostalgic Auto Racing Club entries. They had a difficult time getting laps in before finally settling in, with Ben Hamburg edging Ray Guss Jr. by about a half car length at the checkers.

   The late model headliner ran next, with all but David Norton making the call. The drivers exited their cars for a group photo op and driver introductions before firing off.  With Kay redrawing the pole position, he immediately became the favorite to collect the $2,000 top prize. True to form, he jumped to the early lead, and by the time lap number two was scored, he had opened a sizable advantage over fourth starting track champion Andy Nezworski. Kay was ready to tackle slower traffic when the first yellow flag came with five laps in the books for a stopped Jacob Waterman. Webb ducked to the pits for service at this time, then tagged the tail for the restart. Following the Delaware style realignment, Nezworski now had his hands full with B J Jackson, who was driving another of Webbs' #W56 machines. A multi car mix up on lap nine brought a second caution period, then the yellow came out a final time one lap later. This incident proved to be the end of the night for Webb, who retired to the pits with a seventeenth place finish. It was another thirteen laps before Kay found himself back in lapped traffic, but the veteran had little trouble moving through the slower cars. As the laps wound down, Brian Harris gave up a top five run as he ducked quickly to the infield, and just six circuits from the checkers, third running Jackson also saw his strong run come to an end. At the checkers, it was Kay lapping all the way to fifth position in his flag to flag victory. Nezworski trailed in second, with Fred Remley, Ryan, and Waterman also on the lead lap. Zrostlik came home sixth, leading Shawn Mulvany, Gage Neal, Darrel Defrance, and Bobby Hansen to complete the top ten. 

   At this point we decided to call it a night. Congratulations to Troy Cordes ( IMCA modifieds,) Tony Olson ( IMCA sport mods,) Jeffrey Delonjay ( sport compacts,) and Mike Zemo Jr. ( IMCA mod lites) on their feature wins.

   There are several good options for racing in the area this coming weekend. As of now, we have our eye on the opening night of the three night SLMR Iowa mini series, Thursday night at the Dubuque Speedway. After that, ? What ever your choice, grab your jacket, and lets go racing!

  

Erb Tops Night Number One at Knoxville

    Thursday it was off to night one of the 17th annual Knoxville Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. This event has grown in stature over the years - particularly with the Lucas Oil sanction - even as car counts have fallen. In the inaugural year of 2004 the Extreme Late Model Nationals drew a field of ninety eight cars. In 2019, (there was no race in 2020 due to the pandemic), fifty five drivers competed on the opening night. While the Saturday night 100 lap winner has collected a cool $40,000 for several seasons, that figure was bumped up to $50,000 for 2021, partially in response, I imagine to the nearly week long competing event at the Texas Dirt Track. Along with the Texas race siphoning off several super late model race teams, a nationwide parts and tire shortage figured to further shrink the entry list this season. Still anticipation was high for this first of two night qualifying events paying $7,000 to the feature winner. The late entry of current national sensation Kyle Larson for the Thursday show was certainly another feather in the cap for Knoxville. 

   Still forty eight race teams signed in on Thursday, a solid mix of national stars and mid western hot shoes. The weather could not have been more perfect, and as always, the track surface was well manicured and racy. Mooresville, North Carolina driver Kyle Strickler was the first car out for time trials, and his lap of 17.878 seconds held up as the best of the night. With the field split into two qualifying groups, Kyle Larson paced the "B" group with a lap of 18.041 seconds.

   Heat race action came next, with six twelve lap events qualifying the top three for the twenty five lap feature. A six car invert based off of time trials set the lineups and created lots of action. Kansas racer Chase Junghans captured heat one from the outside pole over his row one mate Garrett Alberson, while Strickler came from row three to third. New York pilot Tim McCreadie started sixth and picked up the heat two win over his row three mate, Decorah, Iowas Tyler Bruening and fourth starting Mike Marlar. Minnesota's Rickey Weiss came from fifth for the heat three victory ahead of Mt. Vernon Iowa driver Chad Simpson and Brandon Sheppard who lined up side by side in row two. 

   Texan Tyler Erb kicked off the second set of heats, racing from fourth to the front, topping sixth starting Larson and outside pole sitter Tony Jackson Jr. Hudson Oneal, Martinsville, Indiana, timed poorly, started on the pole, and cruised to the win in heat five ahead of sixth starting Earl Pearson Jr. and row two starter Spencer Hughes, who used a final corner pass to take the spot from Farley, Iowas' Jason Rauen. Finally, it was West Virginia ace Josh Richards driving from second to the victory in heat six over fourth starting Frank Heckenast Jr., while fifth starting Jonathon Davenport grabbed the third spot from Shane Clanton at the line. 

   Something important to understand about the Knoxville format is that they place a huge importance on time trials, using a points system which is used to determine lineups for the big money dance on Saturday, so while Oneal and Richards had advantageous starting spots in winning their heats, the points gained there may well lag behind other top three finishers who had better qualifying times. Also of note, drivers are able to use their best points night from the Thursday or Friday show for the Saturday lineups. 

   A pair of fifteen lap B mains would fill out the twenty four car starting grid, with no provisional spots available tonight. Pole sitter Ricky Thornton Jr. paced the first of these, topping Kyle Bronson and Tad Pospisil. It was not until midway in this race that the first yellow flag of the night was shown, for a slowing Daniel Hilsabeck. Shane Clanton advanced from row three to snag B main number two ahead of Logan Martin and Chris Simpson, from Oxford, Iowa.

   With barely enough time for everyone to catch their breath, the feature rolled to the grid. The lineup reverted to qualifying times, with the fastest eight inverted. This put Weiss and Erb in row one, and Weiss edged in front to lead the opening circuit. Erb used the high line to take over on lap two, and had soon opened a commanding lead. As the race stayed green, the leader found himself in slower traffic around lap twelve. He was having little issues working his way through when the first caution period came with sixteen laps scored, as Chris Simpson slowed on the track. Erb paced the restart with Davenport, Weiss, McCreadie, and Larson next in the Delaware style lineup. Three more laps were in the books when the yellow waved for Marlar, who smacked the guardrail. The only change in the top five at this point saw Larson slipping around McCreadie. As the green flag flew, Davenport executed a slide job in turn two to briefly take the lead before Erb moved back to the front. Larson had picked his way to third and was closing on Davenport when the red flag came out with just two laps remaining. Oneal appeared to move too close to the rail between turns three and four and was sucked in, turning him sideways. With no chance to react, he was hit hard by Martin, badly damaging both cars. The final restart was single file. There would be no challenge for Erb this time, as he drove to the win and the $7,000 prize. Davenport held off Larson for second, followed by Weiss and Strickler. ( Cars numbers six, seven, and eight in order!) McCreadie was sixth besting Pearson Jr. in his brand new ride with his original #46, Bruening, Chad Simpson in the Moring Motorsports #1, and Sheppard. 

   The final checkers came before 10:00 P.M. Many thanks to former late model standout Boone McLaughlin and family for their hospitality and the awesome seats! Local festivities will keep me occupied this evening and as I have only missed one of the Knoxville 100 lappers ( a Sunday rain date,) I am still thinking about a return on Saturday. For sure I plan to make my first visit of the season to East Moline Speedway on Sunday for the $2,000 to win Gary Webb Tribute race honoring the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer and all around good guy! There are also multiple options in the area this weekend, the forecast looks great, so get off the couch, and to the track!

Kay Doubles Drive For Five, Fisher Tops Invaders

    After ten days away from the track, we found ourselves back in familiar surroundings at the Lee County Speedway. The circumstances were a bit different, however, with the action moving to Saturday night. This would be the "Drive for Five" finale for the late models, with a bakers dozen drivers eligible to compete for a $5,000 top prize while the remainder of the field would collect $2,000 for a win in the fifty lap main event. Also the class lineup saw changes, with the 360 C.I. Sprint Invaders sharing top billing in a $2,000 to win showdown.  Two other regular divisions, sport mods and sport compacts would be on the bill with the Mini Hauler trucks rounding out the card. The sprints and trucks replaced the regular classes of modifieds and stock cars as those divisions would be involved in the final night of the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa.

   With everything moved up one hour, the pits were a bit late filling up, but eventually a nice group of  ninety two cars would be signed in. Things got off to a rough start in hot laps. Veteran Mike Benjamin was attempting to pass rookie Brenna Phillips when his car spun into the backstretch guardrail, badly damaging the tail portion of his IMCA sport mod. Seconds later, the car of Phillips vaulted over the guardrail between turns three and four, landing wheels up on the road coming from the pits. 

   Sprints ran the first set of heats, and the first one was a tight duel between Wyatt Wilkerson and Noah Samuel. With the white flag in the air, Wilkerson clipped the tire in the first set of turns, caught air, brought the car back down, then flipped his #29W hard, ending his night. 

   The late models would run two sets of heat races, with total points gained determining the feature line up. In the third and final heat of round one, Darin Weisinger Jr. appeared to get crossed up exiting turn two collecting Sam Halstead and Dustin Griffin. The result sent Griffin into a series of three and a half hard rolls, landing upside down. Though the driver was uninjured, it took perhaps close to thirty minutes for crews to get his #20 flipped over, pulled from the scene, and the track cleared. Both Weisinger and Griffin were done for the night. 

   The sprinters contested three heat races, a B main as well as their Shake Up Dash to whittle the solid twenty five car field down to twenty for the first feature of the night. Series points leader Jonathon Cornell and Colton Fisher sat on row one, with Cornell grabbing the early lead. By lap five of the twenty five lapper, the leaders were approaching the back of the pack when the yellow flag waved for a slowing Samuel. The Invaders use a single file restart system, and back under green, the leaders all ran the high side of the oval. A second and final caution came four laps later after Ryan Jamison had run over one of the orange cones and eventually dropped it from underneath his car onto the racing surface. Kaley Gharst, the all time wins leader for the series and also tops in the fifty series events at Lee County, now joined the front pack in third. Five more circuits and slower traffic again came into play. About lap twenty, Cornell became trapped behind a slower car, and Fisher slid his way to the lead exiting turn four. Cornell fought back in turns one and two, but Fisher used his momentum to retake the lead down the back stretch. He was then able to extend his advantage as Gharst moved in to challenge Cornell for second. At the checkers it was an emotional Fisher celebrating his first ever Sprint Invaders feature win. Cornell won the battle for second, followed by Gharst, eighth starting Paul Nienhiser, and Tanner Gebhardt.

   Intermission was next, with the track crew spending quite a bit of time grooming the 3/8 mile. Finally the IMCA late models lined up for their main event with all but two of the twenty four cars on hand taking the green flag. Track regular Nick Marolf was the only driver eligible for the $5,000 check not in attendance, but it was two "visitors," Justin Kay and Darin Duffy earning front row honors. Kay grabbed the early lead, trailed by Duffy, Matt Ryan, and the first two bonus eligible drivers, Tommy Elston and Denny Woodworth. The first caution came at lap nine as Preston Stoecker spun his #26 in front of Elston. Having stopped to avoid the spinning car, Elston was able to line back up his position near the front. On the Delaware style restart, Dave Eckrich slowed on the backstretch and was tagged by Jeremy Pundt, who then bounced into the backstretch guardrail, his night over. Elston moved to second as racing resumed, with a third stoppage coming two laps later as Stoecker slapped the turn one guardrail. On this restart, Sam Halstead slowed in turn one, causing Bryan Moreland and Jay Johnson to stack up behind him. It was Duffy back to second ahead of a final yellow flag two laps later as Matt Strassheim spun in turn two, his night over. Elston regained the runner up spot back under green, and the final twelve laps of segment one ran caution free. In these closing laps, with most of the field running the inside line, thirteenth starting Mark Burgtorf moved up the track, advancing to sixth at the break. The cars were then stopped on the front stretch for ten minutes and allowed to make changes, except for changing tires which would have cost them their position. The final twenty five lap segment saw fourteen cars line up, and they clicked off caution free for twenty one circuits. Kay stretched his lead again running the low groove. With four laps to go, seventh running Gary Webb was attempting to lap the #22 of Jill George when she made contact in turn one, pushing him towards the guardrail and bringing out a final caution. Webb was able to rejoin the single file realignment. Kay cruised to the win, leading all fifty laps. For the driver from Wheatland, Iowa, it made him a cool $2,000, and two for two in Drive for Five finale wins after taking the title last season as well. Elston ran second followed by Duffy, Andy Nezworski, Burgtorf, and Ryan. Halstead ran seventh chased by Eckrich, Fred Remley, Chuck Hanna, Joel Callahan, Ron Boyse, and Webb. Interestingly,  a look back at the the 2020 rundown found Kay, Ryan, Elston, Nezworski, and Burgtorf the top five. 

   The trucks were next on the grid, eleven strong for a dozen laps. A pile up on the start saw three drivers quickly eliminated. On the restart, outside pole sitter Tucker Richardson drove away from the field. As the laps wound down, Tim Wagner came from row three to second, but could not close on the leader. At the checkers, those two were followed by Ryan White, Matt Barton, and Don Wood.

   Features for the sport compacts and sport mods remained, but it was now well on the wrong side of 11:00, so we regretfully took our leave. Congratulations to Jason Ash for his compact win, and to Tanner Klingele for topping the sport mods. Also a big "atta boy" to Lee County speedway track champion Austen Becerra on his sport mod victory at the Super Nationals!

   Next up for me will be one or more nights at Knoxville Raceway for the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. It may be mid September, but there is still a lot of racing to be had in our region, so pack the jackets and find a race close by!

Farley Crowns Season Champs

    Wednesday night 300 Raceway in Farley, Iowa staged their rescheduled season championship races. The track ran a part time slate of points races sandwiched around an aggressive schedule of special events. This Wednesday night show was the opener of four nights of action, followed by an open practice on Thursday, then two nights of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic featuring the SLMR late models racing for $3,000 to win on Friday and $10,000 on Saturday. Track officials made the decision to only allow drivers would had raced on at least one points night to be eligible to compete in the season championship events, which no doubt contributed to the low car counts. Four IMCA divisions were on the card, late models, modifieds, stock cars, and sport mods.

   Moving quickly through heat race action and a short intermission, stock cars were up first for fifteen laps of feature racing. Chase Zaruba paced lap one, with three cars in a tangle coming to the line. His row one mate Tom Schmitt then grabbed the lead. Johnny Spaw moved from row three to third on lap two and was soon dogging Zaruba for second. As starter Doug Haack displayed the crossed flags indicating seven laps complete, he switched to the yellow flag for a spinning Timmy Current. On the restart Spaw powered to second with the yellow flag out once again as Zaruba slowed, sparks shooting from underneath his #27 machine. The race stayed green the final seven circuits. Spaw was able to stick the nose of his #00 inside Schmitt, taking his best look with three laps to go, but to no avail. Schmitt took the win over Spaw, Philip Holtz, Jason Doyle, and Current. Spaw took the stock car championship title.

   A dozen modifieds lined up for twenty laps, with Jeff Aikey a no show after he exited his heat race in a plume of smoke. After the initial start was waved off, Eric Pollard set the pace from the outside pole position. Timmy Current, one of a handful of drivers doing double duty, slipped past second running Tyler Madigan for second on lap seven. By the halfway mark, Current was out front and pulling away from Pollard. The only caution of the race came with thirteen laps in the books, but back under green Current again stretched his lead. Jeff Larson started in row five, then slowly worked his way forward, taking the runner up spot after a tight battle with Pollard. At the finish it was Current cruising to the win while the track champion Larson took second. Mark Schulte started in third and wound up there, while Pollard dropped to fourth ahead of Brennen Chipp.

   Sport mods would battle for fifteen laps in what turned out to be a non stop event. Justin Becker opened a sizable advantage in the early laps before row four starter Troy Bauer made it a two car race as the race passed the halfway mark. That duo ran side by side as lap nine was scored before Bauer took control. Becker stayed on his bumper until the final couple of circuits when he came upon a lapped car which momentarily broke his momentum. Bauer then cruised to the win and the championship. Becker was runner up, topping Jason Roth, Tyler Soppe, and Rusty Deshaw.

   Late models put a cap on the evening, duking it out for twenty five trips around the 3/8 mile oval. Eight cars took the green flag, with Kevin Miller on the trailer after he tagged the turn two wall in his heat race. Ron Klein was also listed in the line up, but was a no show in both his heat and the feature. Rookie Bryan Moreland jumped out front with double duty Pollard in second. Point leader Matt Ryan and Justin Kay filled out row three, with Ryan taking third on lap two. One lap later Kay powered to fourth. Pollard pulled even with Moreland on lap thirteen, then suddenly slowed, belching heavy smoke from his #P7, ending his run and bringing out the only caution flag of the race. Ryan chose the high line behind Moreland on the Delaware restart, and he charged to the lead. Kay followed in second one lap later. The final five laps saw a two car battle between Ryan and Kay, a familiar sight in IMCA land. Kay first looked to take the lead on the high side with no luck, then stuck his nose inside the #07. Coming through turns three and four to the checkers, Kay was able to build enough momentum to make the pass, taking the checkers by less than a car length. This was a deja vu moment, as I have seen this scenario played out twice before this season between these two. Ryan settled for second place, but still picked up the track championship. Joel Callahan raced to a third place finish in his heat race, then turned driving duties over to Aikey, who piloted the #40 to third in the feature. Colton Leal and Steve Schueller also picked up top fives. Moreland rolled to a stop in turn one on the final lap,and was scored sixth, while Steve Hunter was the last car running in seventh. Pollard was credited with eighth.

   The final checkers waved just before 9:00 P.M.! As mentioned, the stage is now set for the forty fourth running of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic on Friday and Saturday. As for me, I will be watching the weather before deciding where next to go, and I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend at a race track near you!