English and Hoffman Go Flag to Flag at Tri City

    As the afternoon temperatures climbed into triple digits, we climbed in the van for our second visit of the season to Tammy and Kevin Gundakers Tri City Speedway. UMP Summernational night number four for the super late models along with the Summit modifieds and UMP B mods would be on the card and it would be a $10,000 payday for the winner of the forty lap late model headliner.

   A very solid field of thirty eight late models, twenty six modifieds, and twenty five B mods filled the pit area, and a sizable if late arriving crowd came to watch. The good news is that a stiff breeze all evening helped negate the oppressive heat. The bad news is that we consequently brought home quite a bit of the race track in the form of dust. But, hey, it's dirt track racing!

   The program began with late model hot laps, then the modifieds did the combined hot lap/qualifying deal. It was no surprise when Mike Harrison paced the field with a lap of 16.562 seconds around the 3/8 mile oval. Late models then qualified with between two and five cars on the track at a time. Tanner English was among the first cars out and his fast lap of 15.566 seconds held up as the track began to take rubber and become slick as it usually does during time trials. Following B mod hot laps, the late models came to the track to contest four heat races. The straight up by time lineups produced four front row winners, although there was quite a bit of movement deeper in the pack. English topped heat one followed by Shannon Babb, Devin Moran, and Ryan Unzicker. Ashton Winger was due to sit on the pole of heat two, but broke a transmission at the end of his qualifying round and set about cobbling together a replacement from his "back up" car. This moved Billy Moyer Jr. to the front row, and he triumphed over Frank Heckenast Jr., Brent McKinnon, and Tim Lance. Brian Shirley eased past early leader Jeff Herzog who was the group two fast timer, to take heat three, besting Jason Feger, Gordy Gundaker, and Dewayne Kiefer. Heat four went to Bobby Pierce in front of Allen Murray, Kolby Vandenbergh, and Mitch McGrath. The late models would later come back with a "C" main which advanced four drivers to the Last Chance ( read "B" main.) Out of that sixteen car field, only two would move on to the feature. Winger made repairs in time to line up sixth in the C, then took the win. He then started in row seven in the Last Chance and charged to another win, edging out Paul Kuper, with both moving to the main event. Four provisional starts were awarded for various accomplishments on the tour, nationally and at the local track, with Joe Godsey, Bob Gardner, Billy Laycock, and third generation driver Brandon Lance moving on in the advertised twenty two car field. Iowa driver Chris Simpson missed a transfer from the B by inches, but then found his way to the feature lineup with a past winners provisional, giving us twenty three starters. 

   Sandwiched in among the late model action were three heats each for the modified divisions, plus a last chance for the Summit mods.

   A brief intermission accompanied by some top side watering preceded the late models lining up for forty laps of racing. 

   The heat winners redraw put Moyer Jr. on the pole flanked by English, who charged to the lead. The first caution came at lap three as Gordy Gundaker slowed with a flat tire, which his crew was unable to get changed in time for him to rejoin the field. Back under green, Shirley cleared Moyer Jr. for second as Feger and Pierce began an entertaining back and forth behind them. English was solid rolling through the middle of the track ahead of a lap eight spin by Brandon Lance. On this restart, Feger went to the bottom of the track and Pierce began his trademark cushion pounding, wall scraping charge. Lap thirteen saw the yellow fly as the younger Lance again looped his #248 on what was now a very slick surface. Through all this the seventeenth starting Winger was also pounding the cushion, moving into the top ten by lap fifteen. McGrath slowed to bring out the caution one lap later, his top ten effort over, while Unzicker ducked to the hot pit area for some attention. By lap nineteen, Babb was back in the top five behind English, Shirley, Feger, and Pierce, when the caution came as Murray smacked the turn three wall. He apparently thought the hard charging Winger may have contributed to his misfortune, and his night was through. There was no doubt that Winger was on a mission, and the body on his #12 showed his enthusiasm as he continued to bank off the concrete barrier. The laps continued to click off and English built a nice lead, but a final pair of cautions started for debris with three laps to go. On the single file restart, Winger, now running about seventh, smacked the wall one final time, bringing out one more yellow flag and ending his impressive run. It was now go time for Pierce as he went to the very top of the track, first driving around Shirley, then setting his sights on the leader. When he showed his nose on the final lap, English  moved to successfully slow his momentum just enough. In his victory lane interview, he stated something to that effect, that after leading thirty nine laps he was not wanting to give up the win! Pierce took runner up honors, while Shirley was third. Feger and Babb also turned in top five runs, followed by Moyer Jr., Heckenast Jr., Moran, Simpson coming from twenty third, and Vandenbergh. 

   Twenty two modifieds then came to the black, slick track for twenty five laps. Nick Hoffman got the jump on row one mate Tyler Nicely but debris in turn three brought a complete restart. Amazingly, that would be the only stoppage of the race. Hoffman again shot to the lead, finally entering slower traffic about lap twelve. Fortunately for him, most of the field was running in single file order, and he had no trouble negotiating lapped traffic. He slowly built a commanding lead as Nicely tried to keep him in his sights. The only drama in the race came late, as third running Dave Weitholder came upon a pair of lapped cars running side by side. Harrison was closing on him quickly before Weitholder was able to split the slower cars entering turn one. The skillful move was enough for him to lock down a third place finish. Hunt Gossum made a late charge to record a top five behind Harrison. Rick Conoyer also climbed to sixth ahead of a fading Kenny Wallace, while Lucas Lee, Dean Hoffman, and Tommy Sheppard Jr. completed the top ten. It was nearly time to change the day on the calendar, and we headed to the parking lot as the B mods prepared to close out the action. On the long ride home, I found that Matthew Edler had turned an outside row one start into a victory. 

   Tri City always delivers full fields of cars and lots of action, but also plenty of late nights! With another track cancelling their Summernationals date, Tri City will be hosting a second series event in July along with a slew of other special events throughout the summer and fall, so hopefully we will make it back to the fine St. Louis area speed plant. This will wrap up our racing for this week, so Happy Fathers Day, guys, hope to see all of you at the track next weekend!

Holladay, McDaniel, and Brown Tops at Eldon

    It is true that time gets away, especially as the years go by, so I was not surprised when a trip through my "results" books confirmed my last trip to the Eldon, Iowa Raceway was in September of 2004! For several years in the early 1970's Eldon was our Saturday night destination as many of my legendary hometown "Keokuk Komets" made the seventy mile trek to challenge the best late model drivers in the state of Iowa. Sadly, the big half mile later suffered through some lean years, as half mile racing fell out of favor with many of the high powered fender car pilots. The last few seasons have seen a resurgence of interest in the track, and finally things lined up for us to get back to the high speed facility. The occasion was a visit by the Hoker Trucking SLMR east series late models with the annual Wapello County Fair as the back drop. This would be the first of a three night swing for the Kosiski family owned series. Stock cars and hobby stocks would fill out the card for a warm Thursday night of racing.

   After harness racing filled the afternoon card, the track crew went to work and had the super half mile in racing shape soon after 7:00. Hot lap and heat race action clicked off quickly, with the yellow flag displayed only one time. Following a short intermission, the late models raced a B main which transferred six of eight cars to the main event and it was now time to go feature racing.

   Hobby stocks were first in the feature running order with all nine cars lining up for fourteen laps. Jared Miller paced the field for the early laps as Craig Brown worked his way into the runner up spot. As the leaders crossed the line to complete lap five, Brown was ahead by a bumper. The top five cars ran side by side and nose to tail as the laps clicked off. Dustin Griffiths eased past Miller at the stripe as lap eleven went in the books, but Miller quickly regained the spot. With no cautions to slow the action, Brown was able to stretch his lead and take the win in front of a cheering hometown crowd. Miller held on to the second spot, besting Griffiths, Rick Van Dusseldorp, and Aaron Martin.

   If I counted correctly, fifteen laps was the distance for the ten stock car main event. The second yellow flag of the night waved as the starter was not happy with a "jumper" coming to the green. On the second try, Jason McDaniel took off from the pole position, with double duty Griffiths in hot pursuit. The front duo quickly separated themselves from the pack as Griffith opened his bag of tricks to try and overtake McDaniel. He followed in the leaders' tracks down the straightaways, then threw his #10G into the corners, trying to slide by on the inside. McDaniel was strong in the middle groove, and was able to withstand the pressure. Coming to the line on lap eight, Griffiths suddenly slowed and drove into the infield, his challenge ended. From that point, McDaniel steadily increased his lead to a full straightaway, and with no yellow flags to slow his momentum, he cruised to the win. The racing behind him was tight, however, as Howard Gordon Jr. held off Brett Lowery in a #4M machine for second, and Corey Strothman edged Pat Rachels for fourth.

   The headliner on this night was thirty laps of late model action with a $3,000 check awaiting the victor. Twenty two cars took the green flag, with Matt Ryan and Chad Holladay the top performers in the passing points format. Holladay jumped to the lead, but the yellow came out as Spencer Diercks spun in turn four resulting in a complete restart. Holladay again assumed the lead, while Charlie McKenna jumped from fourth into the runner up slot. Ryan fought back to second on lap two, but again the caution waved for a multi car crash between turns three and four as Jay Johnson smacked the concrete wall.  The melee took considerable time to clean up and eliminated Johnson, Luke Pestka, and Kyle Krampe. McKenna again took second following the Delaware style restart, and this time it was Ryan spinning between three and four to again bring out the caution. He collected Luke Goedert and Joel Callahan, who suffered significant body damage. All three restarted at the tail of the field. Now it was Jason Hahne joining the leaders as he briefly took second from "Chargin' Charlie." As Hahne retired from the race, Holladay and McKenna continued to battle and Justin Kay began to work his way into the top five after lining up in twelfth. The race stayed green until three laps to go when Dave Eckrich rolled to a stop off turn two with a flat tire. As Eckrich changed rubber, McKenna came to a stop on the backstretch, then was pushed to the pits, his strong run over. Jeff Aikey would assume the second spot, but was soon overtaken by Kay. Holladay though would remain in control as he posted the flag to flag win. It was the first eastern series victory for the veteran Muscatine pilot, to go along with a western division win earlier this year in Warrensburg, Missouri. Kay continued his strong season with the runner up finish, topping Aikey, Todd Cooney, and Richie Gustin in the first five. Andy Eckrich was steady in sixth, while Goedert recovered from his early troubles for seventh. Gary Webb advanced from row nine to eighth followed by nineteenth starting Darrel Defrance. Dave Eckrich completed the top ten, with Curt Schroeder the last of the starters around at the checkers. 

   The clocked had ticked just past 10:00 PM as Holladay did his post race interview, wrapping up an entertaining night of racing in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. Thanks go out to the Wapello County folks, especially to track announcer Jeff Kropf for the shout out for Positively Racing as well as for yours truly. And congratulations to the mother and sister of hobby stock feature winner Craig Brown who we enjoyed watching celebrate his victory on a special night at the fair!

   Happy anniversary to Mary, my wife of fifty one years, who is turning me loose tonight as we change things up and head to Tri City Speedway near Granite City, Illinois for the first of two stops for the UMP Summernational late models. There is a wealth of racing action around the area on what promises to be another toasty evening, so drink lots of water, and head to the track!

Eight Different Drivers Take Donnellson Checkers

    Friday night we were back at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for the third  installment of the seven "Drive for Five" series races for IMCA late models and IMCA modifieds. In addition, make up features from May 14 were on the card for the modifieds, IMCA stock cars, and IMCA sport compacts. The modified make up would  be the second "Drive for Five" qualifier. 

   Taking into consideration the intense heat, track officials toyed with the idea of pushing back the starting time, but ultimately delayed it by only about fifteen minutes, noting the extra three features on the docket. With hot laps out of the way, racing action started just before 7:45. Those in charge did a fine job of keeping things moving, with only one feature event dragging down the program. Can you guess which class? The twenty race program wrapped up before 11:00!

   The make up features started with fifteen laps for the sport compacts. Chevy Barnes and Dylan Bonk battled side by side early as Josh Barnes worked his way forward from row four. Josh moved to second with six laps remaining, then powered past Bonk down the backstretch coming to the white flag, holding on for the win. Chevy rolled home third while Chance Bailey came from deep in the pack to claim fourth ahead of Kimberly Abbott. The race ran non stop. 

   Sixteen laps was the distance for the stock car make up. Outside pole sitter Chad Krogmeier was shadowed by fifth starting Chris Wibbell throughout the first half of the race. Chad ran a fast middle groove while Chris challenged one line lower. Meanwhile Abe Huls was moving through the pack. As the white flag waved for the leaders, contact in turn four between fourth place Jake Powers and David Brandies sent Jake for a spin, bringing out the caution flag. On the first attempt at a green, white, checkers, finish, the yellow waved again as a skirmish in turn two resulted in Brandies and Wibbell being sent to the back of the field. The final restart saw Huls grab the lead and the win followed by Krogmeier, Jason Cook, Jeremy Pundt, and Brandies.

   Twenty two cars lined up for twenty two laps in the modified make up, after Austin Howes had to be pushed to the infield when his sharp looking #17A would not stay running. Although I am not certain, it looks as though the track may have allowed cars that were not on hand for the May 14 event to "buy in" and start at the tail of the make up. Cayden Carter, who I believe already had one "Drive for Five" win under his belt, shot from row one to the early lead with Chris Zogg in tow. The "Gas Man" opened a big lead as tenth starting Michael Long began a charge through the field, entering the top five on lap six. The leader caught the back of the pack at about the halfway mark, fortunately for him, they were mostly racing single file. The only stoppage came with six laps remaining, as Bill Roberts Jr. spun out of his fifth place run. The caution wiped out Carters' big lead, and on the Delaware style restart, Long jumped from fourth to second. There would however be no catching Carter, as he took the $1,000 top prize. Long settled for runner up honors, with Dennis Laveine in third. Zogg was running fourth on the final lap when he suddenly slowed coming off turn two. Ethan Braaksma took the spot, and his row six mate Mark Burgtorf was fifth.

   With no delay we moved into heat race action for the regular portion of the program, and soon it was feature time!

   Unfortunately, although hardly unusual, this is when the show bogged down. Twenty sport mods lined up for what was scheduled to be eighteen laps on a smooth, lightning fast track. Logan Cumby and seventh starting Jim Gillenwater were in a high powered duel before the first caution flag came with five laps in the books. Four laps, seven yellow flags and two single file restarts later, officials mercifully invoked the time limit. Tanner Klingele had impressively  worked his way to the front from a row six start, and he picked up the win. Brandon Lambert drove a solid race to claim second followed by Gillenwater, Adam Birck, and Austen Becerra. I sure don't know what the answer is, but this class can sure be frustrating to watch on too many occasions...

   Getting things back on track, the late models clicked off twenty five caution free laps. Tommy Elston drew the pole position and jumped to the lead, soon finding himself hounded by sixth starting Nick Marolf. Slowly Tommy extended his advantage, as Mark Burgtorf, who would run two heat races and three features on this scorching night, moved to the rear bumper of Marolf for second. Nick survived the challenge, opening a gap between himself and Mark. Elston caught the tail of the field with three laps to go, but was having trouble putting cars a lap down, and Marolf and Burgtorf quickly closed the gap. Catching the leader and making a pass was two different propositions however, as Elston rolled to the win and the $1,000 payday. Marolf and Burgtorf followed, with Jay Johnson and Matt Strassheim, who had their own intense battle, completing the top five. Gary Webb came from a twelfth place start to sixth, and former "Drive for Five" winner Joel Callahan lined up last in fourteenth and finished seventh. Sam Halstead, Ron Boyse, and Ben Seemann rounded out the top ten.

   Fourteen of the sixteen sport compacts that checked in lined up for their regular fifteen lap feature. Tim Schnathorst started outside row one and took the early advantage. The only caution period came with two laps in the books. Kimberly Abbott grabbed the lead on the restart, and was cruising as her row four mate Brandon Reu had a more difficult time working through the field. Five laps in, Reu made his way to second and the two leaders pulled away from what was an entertaining back and forth for positions three through six. Brandon waited until the final lap to pull alongside Kimberly, hugging the inside line as she drifted too high coming off turn four. Reu won the drag race to the checkers by inches, the only time he led the race. Schnathorst survived the scrum to finish third, besting Luke Fraise, and Josh Barnes. Barnes had smacked the turn two guardrail in his heat, made quick repairs and came from the tail to the top five in this main event.

   Beau Taylor was forced to scratch out of a row one starting spot in the thirteen car stock car sixteen lap regular feature. Brandon Setzer passed up hometown racing in Davenport and earned the pole position. He put his #77X out front as the stock cars ran nose to tail around the tire boundary on the bottom of the 3/8 mile oval. Huls soon realized that moving ahead from row five was not working, so he moved up the track and began a march forward. With three laps to go, he had powered to second and was zeroing in on the leader. But Setzer was not to be denied, claiming a flag to flag win in the non stop feature. Huls fell just short of a double victory, settling for the runner up spot. Jerry Jansen was strong in third, leading Krogmeier and Cook with top five runs.

   Modifieds wrapped up the night with a second $1,000 to win twenty two lapper. All but one of the twenty four cars on hand took the green flag in what turned out to be the best race of the night! Drew Jansen shot to the front ahead of row one mate Steve Picou, who came all the way from High Ridge, Missouri to race at LCS. Sport mod graduate Brandon Dale charged to second, then took the top spot as lap two went in the books. The next circuit saw sixth starting Carter grab second. Long, who started on Carters' bumper, entered the top five. With five laps down, it was Dale, Carter, Burgtorf and Long up front, and one lap later Long was in third. The yellow waved at lap six as Chad Giberson pounded the front stretch guard rail, and back under green, the front three put distance on the field. As we neared the halfway point, Dale got too high in turns three and four, briefly climbing the guard rail, nearly collecting Carter who was running in his tire tracks. All cars kept moving, but it was now Long, who had been running down low, in second behind Carter. For the next several laps, Carter and Long put on a clinic, trading slide jobs in each set of turns, swapping the lead back and forth. Carter was working the high line, forcing Long to search for moisture and a bite down low. With five laps to go, Carter for some reason, went to the bottom groove, perhaps worried about blocking Long. Michael wasted no time moving to his preferred top side, charging to the lead. As he was scored the leader with three laps to go, the caution flag waved, setting up a Delaware restart. Carter took the outside line for the restart, but saw Dale outrun him to turn one. Fortunately for him, the yellow waved one more time before the lap was completed, and this time he chose to line up on the inside of the row. With a clear track ahead, Long quickly pulled away, and holding on to second was the best Carter could muster. Dale wrestled his damaged car home in third, ahead of Burgtorf and Braaksma. 

   The track was definitely a "motor track" with passing at a premium, but as I hope I was able to describe, there was still plenty of movement. With the one blemish, it was an excellent night of racing at a premier venue. Thanks to Marcie and both Brians for keeping things moving under sultry conditions, and thanks to Dan and Mel for a fun ride through the pits. (Happy birthday, Mel!)

   We will be taking the rest of the weekend off, and plan to make a long awaited visit to the Eldon Raceway on Thursday as the SLMR late models take on the big 1/2 mile. Maybe we will see you there!

  

Kay Tops SLMR Thriller at 34 Raceway

    Saturday night, the Hoker Trucking SLMR east series was finally able to complete a two race weekend. 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa was the venue, and four IMCA classes were also in competition.

   Twenty three late models led a field of seventy six entries on a beautiful Saturday night at the southeast Iowa speed plant. The action kicked off with hot laps and late model time trials completed by 7:05! "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna topped the leader board with a quick lap of 16.061 seconds. Again, the SLMR utilizes two lap qualifying and a six car invert for the heat races, with passing points accumulated in the heats determining the feature line up. Richie "G Money" Gustin came from outside row two to claim the first eight lapper, while veteran hot shoes Mark Burgtorf and Gary Webb plucked the other two heat wins from the outside pole position. All heat race action was complete in just under an hour.

   Track workers then used what was about a twenty minute break to groom the racing surface as the sun finally disappeared in the western sky. 

   IMCA sport mods lined up for fifteen laps to kick off the feature action. Ron Kibbe took off from outside row one, with the first yellow flag coming with two laps in the books. By now, Barry Taft had climbed to second. Austen Becerra had needed a push to start the race, and during the caution he ducked to the pits for some attention. Row four starter Sean Wyett took the second spot on the Delaware style restart. Two more laps and he attempted a slide job on Kibbe for the lead, but he got crossed up in front of the pack and fell to sixth in the running order. Logan Anderson had started in the seventh position, and he charged to the front on lap five, quickly opening a sizable lead. Adam Birck lined up in row five, moving to second on the ninth lap, and two circuits later the caution flag waved for Wyett, bringing Anderson back to the field. With one more lap scored, the yellow flew one final time, but Anderson remained in control, taking the win. Birck, finished second, while A. J. Tournear came on strong late in third. Becerra and Kibbe completed the top five.

   All but one of the seventeen IMCA sport compacts took the green flag for a dozen laps. Justin Stevenson paced the opening circuit and Larry Miller took over on lap two. Row four starter Jason Ash was on the move, grabbing the runner up spot by lap three, but two laps later he lost power, slowly falling back through the field. Tim Schnathorst then took up the chase, but Miller was first to the checkers. Schnathorst, Noah Kayser, Robert Sturms, and Dylan Bonk followed in the caution free event.

   Late models racing for thirty laps and a $3,000 payday came next, and what a wild affair it turned out to be! Outside pole sitter Dave Eckrich led Gustin and McKenna early, while fourth starting Matt Ryan was shuffled back through the field. Gustin took the point on lap two as top contender Jeff Aikey headed to the trailer. Gustin built a commanding lead ahead of a caution flag ten laps in when Ryan went off the top of turn two. With the field now bunched, Todd Cooney powered to second on the restart. Gustin was committed to the inside line, while Cooney operated at the top of the high banked oval. At the halfway mark, Cooney also switched to the low line as row six starter Justin Kay caught fire pounding the cushion. Kay jumped to fourth at lap sixteen, third one lap later, and then to second with ten to go. Gustin was running on the inside tires in turns three and four then driving through the middle of turns one and two while Kay quickly closed the gap using his high line. With eight laps remaining, Luke Goedert brought out a yellow when he contacted a tire barrier in turn four, and on the Delaware restart Kay bobbled, loosing several spots and Cooney charged into second. Todd then used his momentum to slide job Gustin at each end of the track. Gustin held him off for a pair of circuits, but it was Cooney finally grabbing the lead with six left on the scoreboard. At the same time, Dave Eckrich emerged from the scramble in second as Gustin slid to the top of the track, fading to fifth. Recovering quickly, Kay cleared Eckrich for second with three laps to go and powered past Cooney for his first lead of the race. An out of breath Kay recounted his ordeal in victory lane, mentioning that he usually struggled at 34, this being his first late model win at the 3/8 mile track. Cooney had looked like a sure winner, but took runner up honors for the second night in a row. Dave Eckrich was third followed by brother Andy, the Friday night winner, in fourth, while Gustin finished in fifth. Webb started in eighth and completed a strong run in sixth ahead of McKenna, Jonathon Brauns, Jason Hahne, and Burgtorf.

   IMCA stock cars fielded thirteen cars for twenty laps of action. Ray Raker led his row one mate Jake Powers around the bottom of the track as tenth starting David Brandies drove his way to third by lap two using the cushion. John Oliver Jr. was also moving towards the front as Brandies became trapped behind a lapped car with contact resulting as he made the pass in turn two., bringing out the yellow flag. As racing resumed, Abe Huls moved to the lead ahead of two more caution periods, the second of which saw Brandies slowed with a flat tire. Oliver Jr. was now in the runner up spot, and with everyone running the inside line, he tried unsuccessfully to put the nose of the #05 inside of Huls machine. At the finish, it was Huls with the win, besting Oliver Jr., a persistent Brandon Setser, Jeremy Pundt, and Chad Krogmeier. 

   As eleven cars lined up for the twenty lap IMCA modified finale, the track was black and slick. Dalton Simonsen left his late model at home, choosing to enter his modified, and he shot to the early lead. By the time the second caution came with seven laps to go, ninth starting Dennis Laveine had advanced to second and was putting pressure on the leader as everyone raced the inside groove.  Mark Burgtorf, doing double duty in the Baker Racing #03B had been languishing well outside the top five, so on the restart he moved up to the middle line and began to pass cars at a steady clip, soon finding himself ready to challenge Laveine for second. But with just two more trips around the oval, Dennis also moved up the track, and now found himself beside the leader. In a too close to call finish, Laveine crossed the line out front by inches to take the win. Simonsen, who lead nineteen and 15/16 laps, settled for second. Burgtorf made it a pair of top tens in third, while Jason Pershy and Jeff Waterman also scored top fives.

   Action wrapped up several minutes ahead of the 10:00 hour, completing an outstanding night of racing!  Thanks as always to Jessi and Brad for their hospitality. 34 Raceway has several more special events coming up in the near future, including World of Outlaw sprint cars, MLRA late models and the rescheduled Lucas Oil late model series. Meanwhile next Saturday night will be Fan Appreciation night with $5.00 adult admission. Summer is finally here, if you haven't been to the races, now is the time!

Eckrich Noses Cooney for SLMR Checkers

    After being rained out more times than they or I care to count, the Hoker Trucking east division SLMR late model series came calling at the Davenport Speedway on Friday night. This would be only the second event for the east series, although the Malvern Bank west division has multiple nights in the books. 

   IMCA modifieds, IMCA sport mods, street stocks and compacts would fill out the card as the 1/4 mile came to life, with Rick and Brenda Kay at the helm on this night. 

   Leaving the pits to head to the massive covered grandstands, I had twenty two late models written down, but after talking to our friend and Darrel Defrance super fan Loren, he informed us that their were at least four more race teams, including Defrance, held up behind a wreck on interstate 80. They had called ahead to be placed in the position draw for time trials and eventually the count grew to twenty eight. So as a nod to those drivers, following hot laps, the fifteen street stocks came to the track for a pair of heat races ahead of late model qualifying. Although both eight lap heats went caution free, this allowed all but Defrance who was the last to arrive, the chance to line up for two lap qualifying. Track regular Matt Ryan posted the fastest time in Group A and overall at 14.858 seconds. Thankfully the bug that had plagued the timing mechanism on our two previous trip to the track had been fixed and the cars were able to qualifying in groups of up to four, which saved considerable time.

   Four heat races followed for the thirty seven IMCA sport mods, three for the twenty five IMCA modifieds, and one for the ten four cylinder compacts before the late models lined up to contest four eight lap events. A six car invert from time trials determined the starting lineups with the top sixteen in passing points moving on to the thirty five lap finale. The procedure is a bit confusing to some, but it does at least lend itself to more passing in the heat races. 

   Darin Duffy came from row two to capture the first heat, with Jeff Tharp, Ryan, Charlie McKenna, and Brian Harris in the Curless #99 also moving on. Luke Goedert was the quick timer in heat two, and he advanced to take the win, while Jon Brauns, Chad Holliday, and Richie Gustin also qualified. Justin Kay came from fourth to win heat three, taking along Jeff Aikey, Joel Callahan, and sixth running Dave Eckrich. Finally, Todd Cooney jumped from row three to win heat four with Jason Hahne and Andy Eckrich joining him in transfer spots. 

   A pair of B mains set the twenty four starters for the sport mods, before a quick turnaround for the late model consolation. To the delight of the large crowd, National Dirt Hall of Famer Gary Webb charged from row three to win the ten lap race, qualifying for the feature ahead of Fred Remley, Luke Pestka, Jay Johnson, Mark Burgtorf, and Bryan Moreland. Behind the eight ball all night after missing time trials, Defrance and Curt Schroeder picked up provisional starts to fill out the twenty four car grid.

   Aided by temps in the 80's and a steady breeze, the racing surface was now more like a skating rink, so the track crew went to work, quickly grooming the surface. The result was an overwhelming success, resulting in two distinct grooves - one high, one low, - for the features, and minimal caution periods.

   The street stocks lined up first, fourteen cars for fifteen laps. Rick Schriner charged from row two to lead the first two circuits before fifth starting Jesse Owen took over the top spot. The only yellow flag of the race came at lap five, and following the Delaware restart, seventh starting Tony Von Dresky powered to second. He then hounded the leader, and they crossed the stripe nearly side by side to complete lap nine. Von Dresky then pulled away while row five starter Nick Hixson began to reel in Owen. The veteran Von Dresky cruised to the win, while Owen held off Hixson for second. Jake Lund came home fourth and Von Dresky teammate Jeff Struck Jr. completed the top five.

   Next up it was IMCA sport mods going for fifteen laps. No one is more critical of this class than I, but Friday night was a reminder of how good they can be! Doug Burkhead shot from his pole position around the bottom of the track to lead the first nine laps. Brandon Jewell found the high line to his liking and hounded the leader lap after lap. Just after the halfway mark, ninth starting Ben Chapman joined the party in third, chasing Burkhead around the inside line. Jewwll finally rode his top side momentum to the lead with six circuits left to go, and three laps later Chapman was able to nose under Burkhead for second. The only yellow flag of the race came with two laps remaining for a spinner in turn three, but during the stoppage, Burkhead left the track with a flat tire, ending his strong run. The field was reset Delaware style, and Hixson found a bite around the bottom, driving to the win while Jewell settled for second. Kevin Goben drove a steady race in third, topping Perry Gellerstedt and Logan Veloz.

   Another quick turn around saw the late models up next, racing for thirty five laps and a winners' check of $3,000. Andy Eckrich and Cooney lined up in row one, and if you only saw the results showing they finished in that order, you would not realize what a great race this was! Track officials had pushed the boundary tires in closer to the infield before this race began, and Andy quickly found that to his liking. He put his #56 inches from the markers each lap as Cooney ventured to the high side. Third starting Ryan followed in Eckrichs' footsteps as seventh starting Kay and sixth starting Duffy reeled in the leaders. Soon it was Eckrich around the bottom, with Cooney, Ryan, and Duffy running nose to tail around the high side. Cooney was ahead by inches as lap ten was scored although there was never as much as a car length between the front duo. Eckrich was ahead at lap fourteen, and slower traffic became a factor one lap later. Cooney went back to the front as Eckrich searched for a way around Moreland who was also running around the tires. As traffic continued to be a factor, Kay and Aikey caught the front pack, and for a time the top six could have been covered by a circus tent. With Cooney now hung up by slower cars, Eckrich regained the lead as lap twenty two went in the books, and Kay charged to third. With five laps to go, it was Duffy with the hot hand, rolling to third on the high side. In doubt until the checkers, Eckrich scored the win in what was a caution free race. Cooney came up short in second, followed by Duffy, Kay, and Ryan. Aikey paced the second five, besting Gustin, Goedert, Holliday, and Dave Eckrich.

   Next all twenty five IMCA modifieds lined up for twenty laps. Ryan Duhme came all the way from row four to lead pole sitter Jason Pershy as lap one was scored. Ninth starting Travis Denning was also on the move, and he grabbed the runner up spot on lap two. It quickly became a two car race between Duhme and Denning and they caught the back of the pack just ahead of the crossed flags signalling the half way mark. With both drivers working the low line, Duhme was able to gain some separation before the only caution came with eleven laps down. Following the restart, Chris Zogg joined the party running around the top, and the those three pulled away from the pack. In the closing laps, Denning was able to narrow the margin, but could not get close enough for a serious challenge for the lead. Duhme took the win in front of Denning and Zogg. A pair of #1cars, Mike Goben and Eric Barnes completed the top five.

   With the compacts still in staging, we headed for the parking lot. Reports have Cyle Hawkins taking the twelve lap win over Josh Starr, Todd Sibley, Tim Sibley, and Brad McDermott. 

   Kudos to the staff for a truly excellent night of racing at the storied fairgrounds, and thanks to the Kays for their hospitality. Tonight we will stay on the SLMR train, as the series moves south to 34 Raceway in West Burlington for another $3,000 to win show. Four IMCA classes, mods, sport mods, stock cars, and sport compacts will fill out the card. If you see the old guy in the Positively Racing shirt, stop and say "Hi!"