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.
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