Woodworth, Long, Cook, Becerra, Reu Take Lee County Openers

    After Lee County Speedway in Donnellson saw their 2021 opening late model special fall to rain two weeks prior, they were faced with a less than desirable forecast for their first night of points racing. Chilly temps and cloudy skies with a fifty percent chance of rain would have made it easy to postpone the lid lifter for one more week. And preparing a racing surface with a threat of rain turns science into a crap shoot as well. But it was time to go racing, and the staff did a bang up job of presenting a fun night of racing in front of a hearty group of die hard fans. The 3/8 mile oval was manicured to perfection, dust free with multi groove side by side racing. 

    The action kicked off about fifteen minutes past start time, but the ten heat races clicked off quickly with zero yellow flags to slow the pace. A quick intermission to distribute prizes to the youngsters and fire off some Frisbees to the crowd, and we were soon feature racing. 

    IMCA sport compacts were up first, with all but two of the fourteen drivers on hand taking the green flag. Brandon Reu redrew the number one pill, and he took off from the pole position to open a commanding lead. While outside pole sitter Jared Heule and fourth starting Kimberly Abbott battled for the runner up spot, it was Chance Bailey charging through the field. He had lined up in row six after issues in his heat race, but as the crossed flags signaled the halfway mark, he had climbed to fourth, and was closing on the race for second. With about four laps to go Bailey made the move of the race, driving under both Heule and Abbott for second in turns one and two. But with no cautions to interrupt  his momentum, Reu cruised to the win. Bailey crossed the line in second followed by Abbott, Heule, and Luke Fraise.

    The IMCA late models lined up next, minus rookie Grant Corzatt, whose night ended with mechanical issues in hot laps. Denny Woodworth managed only a fourth place finish in his heat race, but redrew the pole for the twenty lap feature, with Tommy Elston alongside. Woodworth set a quick pace with Elston in pursuit until Dustin Griffin drove to second in his sharp looking #20 machine. While Griffin, Elston, and Mark Burgtorf battled for second, Woodworth checked out. Nick Marolf rebounded to join the pack racing for second, as Jay Johnson worked from row five to sixth and closed on the front runners. About lap thirteen Jay dove to the infield, his night over. Again there were no cautions to slow the pace, and after a few tense moments as Woodworth sat on the scales, he emerged with his first win of the season. Griffin came home second, with Burgtorf in third. Apparently my eyes decieved me as Marolf   edged Elson for fourth. Matt Strassheim led the second five ahead of Ray Raker, Darin Weisinger Jr., and Blair Barton. Johnson was credited with tenth. 

    All but one of the nineteen IMCA sport mods lined up for their main event. Jim Gillenwater jumped to the early lead from the outside pole position taking fourth starting Austen Becerra along in second. The pair of veteran drivers were already separating from the pack when the first yellow flag of the night came at lap two as Logan Cumby got crossed up in turn two. With Cumby tagging the tail, Gillenwater and Becerra ran side by side before Austen edged ahead on lap four. Barry Taft and A J Tournear had lined up in row five and they were locked in a duel for third, with Taft gaining the advantage at the lap four mark. The caution came again one lap later, but back to green Becerra had opened a sizable lead as the crossed flags were displayed at lap nine. A final yellow came with about three laps to go and although Becerra had a nice lead at the time, he was battling heavy lapped traffic. With clean air on the restart, he cruised to the win. Gillenwater ran second, with Taft in third. Cumby fought his way back to fourth and Tournear was impressive in fifth. 

    The IMCA stock cars were short in numbers, but as always they put on the race of the night. Chad Krogmeier led the first two laps before Jason Cook took over. John Oliver Jr. moved to second on lap six, and now the first five ran in tight formation. With Cook running the low line and Oliver pounding the cushion, they ran side by side for the lead, even as Krogmeier and Chris Wibbell did the same for third. Oliver could pull alongside in the corners, but Cook was in front down the straightaways. Another race with no cautions saw Cook take the win. Oliver Jr., Wibbell, Krogmeier, Jeremy Pundt, and Jerry Jansen followed in that order.

    The final feature saw eleven IMCA modifieds in competition. Outside row one starter Chad Giberson took the initial lead with the caution coming out as lap one was scored for modified rookie Cody Bowman. On the restart, Michael Long charged to the lead, quickly driving away from the field. Kory Meyer made the trip to Donnellson from Dixon, Iowa and managed only a fifth place run in his heat. But starting in row three in the feature, he had powered to second by lap five. Long had opened a half track lead at the half way mark, Meyer ran alone in second, and there were intense battles going on for third on back. At the midway mark, Jeff Waterman brought out a final yellow as he looped his #71W. Mark Burgtorf put the #03B in second on the restart, but Long was soon in another time zone. At the checkers, Burgtorf scored runner up honors in front of Meyer, Bill Roberts Jr., and Brandon Dale, up from the sport mod ranks. Waterman fought back to run sixth. 

    The final checkers waved just about 10 PM., putting a cap on an entertaining opening night. It was about fifteen miles south of the track where we found the predicted rain showers! Thanks to Brian, Marcie, and the staff for their hospitality and for forging ahead in the face of less than ideal conditions!

Papich Wows the Crowd at the Slocum 50

   Jason Papich has not been a household name in the world of midwest late model racing, but that is about to change. Shuttling back and forth from his California home to his Missouri race shop, he along with teammate Tony Toste has been trying to find his niche in the super late model ranks. And Saturday night he took a big step forward, adding his name to a stellar list of Slocum 50 winners at the MLRA sanctioned "crown jewel" at 34 Raceway outside West Burlington, Iowa. Papich had been flirting with victory lane throughout the five day mini tour including a runner up finish to Billy Moyer Sr. Thursday in Davenport following an intense back and forth battle. On Saturday, he found the front on about lap thirty three, eventually pulling away to record his biggest payday to date. He collected a cool $10,555 for his efforts.

    The marquee event, staged in honor of a great racer and friend to all drew a quality field of thirty nine cars (plus the #50 of twelve year old Kaeden Clatt, who was not racing, but hung out in the pit area.) Illinois hot shoe Mike "Opie" Spatola joined the lineup of returnees from Friday, while defending series champion Jeremiah Hurst, Spencer Diercks, and Rich Bell were absent from the line up.While the rebuilt 3/8 mile oval was challenging on Friday night, constant grooming by the track crew left us with a very racy surface on Saturday.

   The fast time in qualifying actually came in just over one second slower than Friday, with previous Slocum winner Ryan Unzicker topping the charts at 16.257 seconds. Four heat races qualified sixteen cars for the main event, with Garrett Alberson, Papich, and Bobby Pierce claiming wins from the front row while veteran Terry Phillips nabbed the final ten lapper after starting in row two. World of Outlaw competitor Tyler Bruening and central Illinois hard charger Bob Gardner topped a pair of B mains which transferred the top three finishers in each. Four provisional starters were then added to round out the twenty six car field for the Big Dance. 

   Lining up on the outside pole position, Pierce shot to the early lead amidst a mixed chorus of cheers and boos! The caution came three laps in as Phillips saw his chances dwindle when he slowed with a flat tire. On the restart, Unzicker looped his ride between turns one and two, and with the field baring down on him, Mason Oberkramer made hard contact, ending Unzickers' night and effectively ending Oberkramers' shot at a good finish. Back under green, Pierce stretched his lead, while catching slower traffic a dozen laps in. He was slicing his way through with few issues when the yellow flag waved again for debris at lap nineteen. Again Pierce pulled away as Papich and Alberson battled for the second spot. Finally Papich was able to distance himself in second, and as the crossed flags signaled the half way mark of the race, he was closing quickly on the leader. Meanwhile seventh starting Tony Jackson Jr., the current series points leader had taken command of the third spot. Pierce had been running the low line in turns one and two and running the high line at the other end. Now he moved to the inside groove in three and four also, and Papich followed closely in his tracks. By lap thirty Jackson Jr. had caught the lead duo, giving us a three car race. When Pierce drifted a bit from the low line Papich drove to the front on the thirty third circuit. Two laps later lapped traffic again came into play, with cars running in packs all over the speedway. Jackson Jr. jumped to the top of the oval and powered to second on lap thirty eight, then dropped to the low line in hot pursuit of the leader. Pierce went back to the cushion hoping to find some magic, but with eight laps to go he slipped too high coming through turn two and lost several spots before he could regain his momentum. Working slower traffic like an old pro, Papich was able to keep distance over Jackson Jr., as he navigated the final laps for the win. Jackson Jr., who came within a few laps of winning this race in 2020 before mechanical issues ended that run, finished second on this night., while Alberson seemed pleased with his third place showing. Moyer Sr. was steady in fourth and Chris Simpson led the Iowa boys in fifth. Ryan Gustin found a small bit of redemption after a disappointing week finishing in sixth ahead of Friday Prelude winner Brian Shirley. Pierce crossed the line in eighth followed by Shannon Babb and row nine starter Bruening.

   There remained two feature races on the card, but after four straight nights chasing the MLRA stars and cars our driver for tonight was ready to head for home. Congratulations go out to Corey Strothman in the IMCA stock cars and Cody Wehrle in the 305 sprint division on their victories.

   Again a big thanks to Brad and Jessi for their hospitality and for starting and maintaining the great tradition of the Slocum 50 for these past thirteen seasons. It goes without saying that this event is always at the top of my "can't miss" list!

   We will regroup, watch the weather and hopefully be back at the track somewhere next weekend.

Shirley Sweeps Inagural Prelude to the Slocum 50

   Night number four of the MLRA late model mini tour found forty one high powered late models checked in at 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa. The legendary 3/8 mile facility saw numerous upgrades during the off season including the addition of many truckloads of dirt and the reshaping of the corners of the high banked oval. With inclement weather washing out two weekends of racing, the first ever Prelude to the Slocum 50 would also serve as opening night of the 2021 campaign. As might be expected with a revamped track, there were some issues that came up throughout the night. Things got off to a bit of a late start, as it took some time to get the track in racing shape. 

    After multiple hot lap sessions, the late models began their time trial session, and tonight there would be no issues with the transponders, with the drivers taking their two laps in groups of three. Veteran Illinois racer Brian Shirley was in the first timing group, and he was the lone driver to break the fifteen second barrier, posting a quick lap at 14.981 seconds. The night ended early for Jefferson City, Missouri pilot Reid Millard, who smacked the front stretch wall, heavily damaging his #14 machine.

   The field was split into four ten lap heat races, with again all four winners coming from the front row, courtesy of straight up starts. Shirley, Ryan Gustin, Thursday night winner Billy Moyer Sr., and Frank Heckenast Jr. all took checkered flags. 

    Daniel Bergquist and Tanner Gebhardt picked up heat race wins in the 305 sprint class, while first time racer Ryan Barton and Brian Tipps topped the Mini Hauler truck qualifiers. 

    The late models contested a pair of B main, with wins going to Dennis Erb Jr. and Kolby Vandenbergh. Two provisional starters would be added to the starting field, including for the second night in a row former series champion Chad Simpson.

    Track workers then attempted to smooth out some wrinkles in the surface during a longer than usual intermission, and finally it was time to go feature racing.

    The 305 sprint cars would line up first, sixteen cars for twenty laps. It may have been early season jitters, but the sprinters struggled to complete laps in the first half of the race. Andy Huston shot to the lead from the pole position, hanging on through the first three of what became six stoppages in the first nine laps for various spins and rollovers. He turned the point over to Cody Wehrle following a lap three restart, and retired to the pits soon after. The eighth starting Wehrle then survived the remaining three stops, and seemed to be in control. Dan Keltner had lined up one row behind Wehrle and methodically worked his way into the second position. As lap eighteen was scored, he powered around the leader and picked up the win two circuits later. Wehrle came home in second, followed by Bergquist, Dugan Thye, and Noah Samuel.

     With the radar showing rain approaching the Burlington area, the late models lined up next for forty laps. Shirley and Moyer filled out the front row, and ran in that order as lap one was scored. They soon separated from the pack in a two car battle. Eventually Shirley put some distance on the Dirt Hall of Famer, but slower traffic became a factor at lap ten. At this point, third starting Gustin was holding that spot, while Bobby Pierce and Tony Jackson Jr. wrestled for fourth. The first caution came for a Jake Timm spin at lap thirteen, and on the restart Shirley pulled away from Moyer, who also put distance between himself and Gustin. Pierce was now on the move, taking third on lap eighteen. Five more circuits and lapped traffic again came into play. With ten to go, Moyer was closing quickly on the leader, but the yellow waved as Mason Oberkramer and Erb Jr. got together. Pierce drove past Moyer for second on the restart, but one lap later the caution came again for a multi car scrum in turn one. Back under green, Moyer faded to fourth and Gustin was now the man on the move. As he pounded the cushion in turns three and four looking for second, Pierce executed a slide job in an attempt to hold the second spot. Gustin made contact with Pierce resulting in him rolling his #19R machine. With five laps left the field was reset single file, and Shirley remained in command, picking up the $5,000 payday. Pierce took the runner up spot followed by Moyer Sr., Jackson, and Heckenast Jr. Ryan Unzicker joined the tour and finished sixth ahead of Ashton Winger, and Tyler Bruening. Garrett Alberson slipped past Justin Reed late with those two completing the top ten. 

    With the clock now closing in on 11 PM we headed for the car as the Mini Haulers lined up for their twelve lap feature. Reports say Tim Wagner took the win, with the rookie Ryan Barton second.

     Social media is abuzz with opinions on the incident with Pierce and Gustin. One thing is certain, it has been a forgettable week for Ryan. On Wednesday he had a feature win taken away due to a suspension issue, on Thursday his night ended with a heat race problem, and a likely top three ended on Friday with a damaged race car. 

   Tonight we will conclude our four consecutive nights of chasing the MLRA cars and stars as 34 Raceway hosts the Slocum 50. In honor of the late Brent Slocum, the race will again pay a whopping $10,555 to the victor. Bobby Pierce topped the Covid-19 delayed 2020 event. 34 Raceway will be rockin' tonight, so come early and dress warm!

One More Win For The Old Pro

    Thursday night the MLRA late models continued their five race mini tour across the Heartland with stop number three at the historic Davenport Speedway. An outstanding field of forty high powered late models checked in on another brisk evening to do battle on the 1/4 mile oval. The track crew had done their job well, and things kicked off right on time. Series officials have been having apparent transponder issues with regard to multiple car time trial qualifications, so on Thursday they simply timed the forty cars one at a time. While this ate up more than thirty minutes, it did give the nice sized gathering of fans an opportunity to get a good look at each of the colorful machines. And any extra time spent on qualifying would be made up later in the fast paced program.

     California driver Jason Papich, who maintains a race shop in Camdenton, Missouri with teammate Tony Toste (pronounced toast) set the overall fast time with a lap of 13.77 seconds. Papich sat on the pole position for heat one, collecting the win to secure the pole position for the forty lap finale. Not surprisingly, the other three ten lap heats were also won from the front row, as Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer Sr., and Toste were also victorious. 

     A pair of twelve lap B mains transferred three cars each to the money race, with Mitch McGrath and Chris Simpson scoring wins. MLRA officials then added four series provisionals to the field, giving us a whopping twenty six cars to start the main event.

     Modifieds and sport mods, boasting boasting fields in the mid twenties, along with about fifteen of the American Iron Racing Series vintage cars filled out the field. Between all four of these divisions, only twice did the yellow flag fly in preliminary action, a tribute to both the drivers and the well prepared racing surface!

     With only a brief moments delay, the A.I.R.S. cars lined up for their feature race. R.J. Lank lined up his 1959 Edsel in the front row and paced the field through only one caution period to pick up the win. Probably the only time I have seen an Edsel win a race!

    Next up it was sport mod action. Tyler Soppe paced the field for all fifteen circuits, holding off Tony Olson for the win. Shane Paris battled Ben Chapman to grab third while Logan Veloz charged from mid pack to complete the top five. The race went green to checkers, caution free!

    It was now late model time with $5,000 on the line for the victor. Papich shot to the early lead as he ran the very bottom of the track. Meanwhile, his row one mate Moyer Sr. elected to take the long way around, as he grabbed moisture from the high side of the oval. Lap after lap they would go, Moyer gaining an advantage off of turn two but Papich perfectly squaring up off turn four to lead at the flag stand. Meanwhile Shirley was peddling in Moyers' tracks looking for a mistake from the leaders. While Moyer finally gained a slight advantage, Papich retook the spot as the leaders caught the back of the pack at lap fifteen. Two circuits later fourth running Bobby Pierce slowed with a flat tire, bringing out the first caution. Pierce changed rubber and rejoined the tail of the field, and I was shocked to count all twenty six cars still on the track as we neared the halfway mark. On the restart it was Moyer scored in front of the Delaware style lineup, but Papich again briefly moved to the point. The second and final caution came at lap twenty three when Jordon Yaggy spun off of turn two. Now in front, Moyer began to stretch his advantage as the low groove appeared to be "going away." In the closing laps Shirley was hot on the heels of Papich, so the #91P finally moved up the track, with he and Shirley appearing to make contact at one point on the backstretch. At the checkers it was the Hall of Famer Moyer scoring a popular win for his many long time fans. Papich took the runner up spot, with Shirley also gaining a podium finish. Georgia racer Ashton Winger started tenth and finished fourth, veteran Terry Phillips was steady in fifth. Tyler Bruening made the trip down from Decorah to claim sixth, and Toste added to the good night for the California boys in seventh. Tony Jackson Jr. drove from row twelve up to eighth followed by Jason Feger and twenty first starting Dennis Erb Jr. to round out the top ten. 

     Following a bit of pomp and circumstance, mostly for the benefit of those watching from the warmth of their living rooms, the modified feature took to the track for twenty laps. While Spencer Diercks had a forgettable night in his late model, he had his #29 on the front row for the final feature, and he converted that start into a $1,000 payday, leading from start to finish. Tim Ward came from row three to the second spot, but could go no further. Jeff Larson fought through a gaggle of hard runners to slip into third late in the event, while Eric Barnes was hot on his heels in fourth. Brandt Cole had a good run in fifth. Again, a caution free race. By my count that made only five yellow flags all night long and we were in the car ahead of the 10 PM chimes!

    A big thanks to Bob, Carrie, and the Drt Trak team for their hospitality and an outstanding night of racing.

   A quick tour of the grocery store, and we will get back at it tonight for the Prelude to the Slocum at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, where the party is already under way! MLRA late models again top the card tonight with $5,000 on the line ahead of the Slocum 50 tomorrow in honor of a great racer and good friend. That will conclude the MLRA mini tour with someone collecting the $10,555 check. Bundle up and we will see you there!

Stovall Finishes Second, Takes Win at Stuart

    On Wednesday, we joined the MLRA late models for what we hope will be four consecutive nights of racing across Iowa. The mini tour opened on Tuesday with thirty four race teams doing battle at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska, where Tony Jackson Jr. picked up the win. Last night the series moved east to Mike Van Genderens' Stuart International Speedway, with the high powered late models added to his regular card of Wednesday night racing. Thirty one of the open late models warriors checked in, swelling the entries to one hundred and eighteen across five divisions.

     A glitch during time trial qualifications for the late models slowed things a bit, with the second group of cars forced to make their runs one at a time. Garrett Alberson emerged with the fastest lap at 13.072 seconds around the quick quarter mile. Fortunately they were the only class to use time trials, and I would be lying if I said I preferred this to their old style of pill draws and passing points, but I digress.

     Seventeen heat races helped set the feature lineups, with only the late models needing a B main to bring us to feature time, and all the preliminaries clicked off in a timely fashion. 

     As has been the case anytime I have been to Stuart, any during the night track prep occurs in the short time it takes to conclude one race and green flag the next, so we moved directly into the main events. Still the "farming" that was done kept the track smooth and multi grooved, producing side by side racing all night long. It was noticeable how the track seemed to change throughout the night, with the fastest way around changing multiple times between the top and bottom grooves.

    While the heat races ran off with very minimal cautions, things took a turn for the worse in the features. The IMCA Northern Sport Mods ran first, originally announced as eighteen laps, but shortened to sixteen. A rash of spin outs slowed the momentum considerably, often involving the same drivers who seemed to have issues at both ends of the track. But at the checkers it was fourth starting Brayton Carter picking up his second win in as many tries at the track in 2021. Brett Vanderheiden worked his way from row four to keep Carter in his sights, eventually settling for runner up honors. Cam Reimers advanced from sixth to third, followed by row six starter Dusty Masolini and Garrett Nelson to complete the top five.

   Surprisingly, the IMCA stock cars struggled as well in their twenty lap headliner. Miciah Hidelbaugh and Todd VanEaton paced the field to green, but it was third starting Bob Daniels who quickly assumed control. Daniels led through yet another rash of cautions as intense battles raged behind him. Soon it was young Dallon Murty applying the pressure, but he was also having to contend with his father Damon, row eight starter Jeremy Gettler, Buck Schafroth, and others. With three laps remaining, one more yellow flag set the Delaware restart, and as Daniels hit the gas, the engine appeared to expire in his #25 machine. Dallon would then lead the field to a final green flag, and he picked up the win ahead of Gettler, Schafroth, Lamesa, Texas driver Michael Sheen, and Damon Murty.

    MLRA late models then lined up, twenty four cars for forty laps. Heat one winner Frank Heckenast Jr. sat on the pole flanked by rookie of the year contender Jake Timm, who topped heat three. Heats two and four victors Chad Simpson and Jesse Stovall filled row two, and so on, no redraw here! Stovall had shown considerable speed in his heat race, and he powered to the front as lap one was scored, with Timm in second. Heckenast took over second on lap two, as Stovall began to pull away from the pack. With the race staying green, Stovall began his march through slower traffic at lap eight, and Heckenast began to reel him in a bit. The first caution came for a spin by Blair Nothdurft at lap eleven. Following the restart, a rare spin by sixth running Billy Moyer Sr. brought out the caution again, with Moyer heading to the trailer. The driver on the move at this point was row four starter Ryan Gustin, as he took over the third position. Traffic again became an issue at the halfway mark, and again Stovall saw his lead dwindle. But even as Heckenast began to reel in the leader, he was now in a dog fight with Gustin for second. While Frankie rolled around the bottom of the track, Ryan was pounding the cushion, and by lap twenty six we had a three car tussle for the top spot. The final caution came one lap later, with Stovall pacing the restart. Three circuits later, Gustin used a crossover move going into turn one to grab the lead as Stovall tried to fight back. The final ten laps became a battle between those two, with Gustin again taking the long way around and Stovall working the low line. As the checkers waved, it was Gustin out front, followed by Stovall and a sneaky fast Alberson. Heckenast crossed in fourth in front of B main winner Chris Simpson. We were miles down the road before learning that Gustin had been disqualified in post race tech for a suspension issue, turning the win and the $5,000 top prize over to Stovall. So the top ten rundown became Stovall, Alberson, Heckenast, Chris Simpson, Timm, Chad Simpson, Ashton Winger, Mason Oberkramer, Terry Phillips, and Jason Papich. 

    It would be no exaggeration to say that this was one of the coldest race nights I have sat through in a while, especially when the north wind restarted during the night. So with three features still on the docket and a long drive home, we headed for the car as the IMCA modifieds came to the track. Perhaps we should have hung around another few minutes, as Shane DeVolder was taking the checkered flag before we were out of the parking lot. It was now on the wrong side of 10:30, the track apparently had an 11:00 curfew, and it seems there was an issue early in the sport compact feature that resulted in that race and the hobby stock main event being moved to next Wednesday night when those classes will run double features. 

    Thanks go out to Mike VanGenderen and his staff for their hospitality for myself and others from our Positively Racing crew. If you have not been to this gem of a dirt track, I highly recommend a visit to one of their specials or just a regular Wednesday night show. Were it not about four hours away, it would be a regular stop for me. 

   Continuing our early season marathon, we will bundle up again tonight and rejoin the MLRA tour as Drt Trak Promotions offers up another $5,000 prize on the 1/4 mile at the historic Davenport Speedway. Modifieds, Sport Mods, and the A.I.R.S. group will fill out the card. Hope to see you there.

Back in Business at Lincoln

    After inclement weather wiped out several early season "close to home" races, we were excited to get back at it in this first full week of April. But Mother Nature had other plans, and again the dominoes began to fall. Early cancellations wiped out visits to Davenport Speedway as well as Lee County, so we set our sites on the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland and the season opener for the MLRA late models. Unfortunately an ominous forecast caused officials there to pull the plug on the weekend as well, leaving us (almost) high and dry. But somehow the very worst of the spring rains had missed the Lincoln, Illinois area, and the UMP Fall Nationals, rescheduled from October 2020 were still on! So off we went to the 1/4 mile race plant highlighting the Logan County Fairgrounds about thirty minutes north of Springfield off I-55. This would be my first time there since 2010, and hopefully this time I would get to see a full night of racing, something weather and circumstance had prevented in my two previous visits.

    Seventy race teams checked in throughout the four divisions including a somewhat disappointing fifteen super late models, as a $3,000 top prize was on the line. Still it was a stacked field, the temperature hovered in the seventies, the breeze was at our back, and we were racing!

    Time trial qualifying was used to set the lineups for the late models and both the open and Pro Modified divisions on a track that had plenty of moisture and sported a few early season ripples, making the surface both fast and treacherous. Tanner English paced the late models with a fast lap of 12.549 seconds. Michael Long flirted with the modified track record by besting the twenty two car field with a lap at 14.414 ticks, while Tommy Gaither topped the limited thirteen limited mods at 15.574.

   The heat races were lined straight up from qualifying in all but the Hornet class, and as expected, the results were front row dominate (sigh). And the main events would then line up straight up from the heat finishes.

    After a short break of about twenty minutes for track prep, the Pro Mods rolled out for their twenty lap feature. It took one false start to get things going, but the yellow flag would wave only one more time.Front row starters Kyle Helmick and Kevin Crowder battled early before Crowder took over for good. He was a very excited victory lane participant. Helmick ran a strong second, followed by Ryan Hamilton.

   Late arrival Brian Diveley saw his night end early with a burst of smoke during his modified heat, but the other twenty one drivers came to the track for their main event. Including a start that was called back, the caution would wave six times during the twenty five laps. The worst of these came following a lap thirteen restart when second running Michael Long suddenly slowed on the backstretch, apparently the victim of a broken rear end. The resulting pile up saw top five runners Kenny Wallace and Jeff Leka with no where to go, and Leka climbed the backstretch wall. All three drivers were done for the event. Outside pole sitter Ray Bollinger had been holding off the charges of his row one mate Long before the accident, and he now fairly cruised to the win, surviving one more stoppage with three laps to go. The veteran collected $1,500 for his trouble. Rick Conoyer held off a late charge by Tommy Sheppard Jr. with some rubbin' involved to claim second. Brandon Roberts and Chris Morefield also turned in top five finishes.

    The late model headliner rolled off next, with fast qualifier and heat one winner English on the pole flanked by heat two victor Brian Shirley. Shirley won the race to turn one, and as the field crossed the line, Jeb Simmons got crossed up, ending up upside down atop the turn one concrete wall. I did not see what caused him to crash, and although he walked to the ambulance under his own power to be checked out, his #86 suffered heavy damage. Back under green, Shirley continued to set a blistering pace, with English staying close in what became a two car race. The caution waved again at lap ten, as hometown favorite Myles Moos came to a stop off turn four after apparently contacting the turn four wall. Attrition was high as the thirty laps clicked off, with eight cars taking the checkered flag. Shirley led the distance for his first win of 2021, with English grabbing second. Ryan Unzicker drove a steady race to take third. With the washout at Wheatland, Bobby Pierce was on hand. However he struggled in qualifying, pulled out of his heat race, and was scheduled to start last in the feature. With Georgia hot shoe Ashton Winger and a couple others apparently having issues and electing to start at the tail, Pierce moved up a bit in the lineup, then used a late race charge to cross the stripe in fourth. Minnesota driver Jake Timm completed the top five. Jason Feger ran sixth ahead of Cody Maguire and Jake Little. Kolby Vandenbergh was credited with ninth and Moos with tenth.

   As the Hornets came to the track, we decided to begin the two hour plus drive home. I see this morning that pole sitter Kenneth Butterfield took the win ahead of third starting Erik Vanapeldoorn. Josh Starr made the long tow from Tipton, Iowa, started outside row one, and finished third.

   All in all, it was a good night of racing in Lincoln, hopefully it will not take us so long to return! Now, let's hope for some dryer weather to follow this mornings' downpour so we can kick the season into high gear!