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!
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