Saturday night we capped off three nights of holiday weekend racing, reaching the unofficial halfway point of the 2021 season. Race night number twenty six was my fifth visit of the year to Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatts' 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. The MLRA late model series made their third visit of 2021 to the 3/8 mile facility, with $5,000 awaiting the winner. Three IMCA classes, modifieds, stock cars, and sport compacts all battled for extra money in support of the open late models.
Twenty four late models signed in on the second night of the series swing through the Hawkeye state, matching the Friday turnout at 300 Raceway in Farley. For the second night in a row, Billy Moyer Jr., from Batesville, Arkansas, turned in the quick time, earning the pole position in heat number one. The third generation driver was able to win that heat, thus claiming the pole start in the feature later on. Missouri UMP regular Jeff Herzog chased Moyer to the checkers, followed by Iowas' Chad Simpson and Mason Oberkramer. Series points leader Tony Jackson Jr. charged to the heat two win from inside row one, topping 2020 champion Jeremiah Hurst, South Dakota pilot Blair Nothdurft, and Nebraskan Tad Pospisil. Garrett Alberson from the state of New Mexico but racing out of the Quad Cities, came from outside row two to capture the final heat over Daniel Hilsabeck, Oregonian Justin Duty, and California driver Jason Papich. Add in a handful of Illinois hot shoes, and that makes nine states represented in the twenty four car field!
With preliminary action and a brief intermission in the books, it was time to go feature racing.
IMCA stock cars were up first for twenty laps. It was a total shock to see John Oliver Jr. tag the tail of the thirteen cars still running. On the first lap of the first heat race of the night, John found his #05 pushed into the backstretch fence by the #3T of Robert Thompson. The force of the impact sent the third generation driver upside down and over multiple times. His mangled machine was towed to the trailer, while Thompson was "retired" for the evening. When the feature lineup rolled out, the #05 rolled out minus both front fenders and the hood, but apparently still somewhat driveable. Chris Wibbell paced lap one from the pole position, but as the field exited turn four to complete lap two, David Brandies powered out of a four wide pack and took the lead. The caution came one lap later for Matt Krieger, and back under green Corey Strothman set his sights on the leader. Brandies, racing mostly on three wheels, had the advantage in turns one and two, while Strothman was better in three and four. A final caution came at lap fifteen as Cody Washburne nailed the big tractor tire blocking the opening on the backstretch. Wibbell used the Delaware style restart to challenge Strothman for the runner up position, with Brandies now able to cruise to the win. Strothman crossed the line in second, but was apparently disqualified in tech, giving second to Wibbell. Jeremy Pundt, Jason Cook, and Jake Wenig completed the top five. Oliver muscled his damaged ride to sixth.
All but one of the fifteen modifieds then lined up for twenty laps. Mitch Morris fired off a bit too early on the start, and he was sent back one row ahead of the next waving of the green flag. Outside row one starter Bill Roberts Jr. paced the opening circuit, with Jason Pershy close behind. Dennis Laveine came from sixth to grab second place on lap three, but Roberts was building a commanding lead ahead of a lap seven yellow flag for a multi car mix up in turn three. Debris on the track brought the yellow back out on the restart, and on the next attempt, Laveine came through turn four a bit too "hot," pushing up the track and dropping to fourth. Once more the caution came with eight laps remaining, and now it was Michael Long taking up the chase in second. Long was looking for a $500 bonus after a Friday night win at Lee County, but he soon had his hands full with Troy Cordes on the charge. The checkers came for Roberts in a flag to flag effort, while Cordes edged Long for second. Jordan Hicks and Laveine rounded out the first five finishers.
William Michel and Bobby Douglas paced the thirteen sport compacts in their twelve lap money race. Following a lap one restart, Douglas led Michel to the stripe. As Douglas continued to lead, Michel found himself in a fight for second with Larry Miller, tenth starting Jason Ash, and Robert Sturms. Douglas saw his night come to an unhappy end when a slower car blocked his path out of turn two, with contact sending Douglas to the trailer. When racing resumed, Miller inherited the lead, but Ash had other ideas. After a tight battle, Ash grabbed the top spot and the victory. Miller held off Michel but was also DQ'ed post race. Michel, Sturms, Noah Kayser, and Alex Hayes then filled out the top five.
Forty laps would be the distance for the late models, with Moyer Jr. and Jackson Jr. sitting in row one. Moyer held the top spot until lap three, when Jackson took over. Alberson followed Jackson to the front and that pair soon found separation as they battled for the lead. Alberson moved ahead on lap six, and was stretching his advantage until catching slower traffic at lap eleven. As Jackson began to cut into the lead, the caution came for a Tim Simpson spin. Jackson drifted high out of line on the restart, falling back several positions. Alberson again pulled away from the pack as Hurst now took up the battle with Moyer for second. They battled through slower traffic, with Hurst finally taking the spot on lap twenty seven. He immediately began to reel in his Roberts Racing teammate, briefly taking over the lead on lap thirty seven. Hurst appeared to be faster running around the very bottom of the track while Alberson did business one groove higher. Meanwhile, Nothdurft was also running the inside line, and Hurst could not make the needed pass. To his credit, Nothdurft was holding his line, as all good racers do, it was simply, unfortunate for Hurst that the #76 was there. Alberson was able to retake the lead and hold on for his first MLRA win. Hurst settled for second, giving his teammate a good natured handshake. Moyer finished third, besting Pospisil and Jackson. Duty paced the second five in front of Chad Simpson, Oberkramer, Chris Simpson, and Tony Toste in the one yellow flag event.
The final checkers came about 10:00, with a fireworks display offered next. But after three straight nights, I was ready to head for the parking lot and home! Saturday was a special night for yours truly, as in addition to meeting up with my regular companions, I was able to spend time with good friends Steve Slocum and Mike Hopkins. Many thanks, as always to Brad and Jessi for their hospitality, and especially to Jess for the visit, the photo, and the kind words! We will for sure be back at 34 in eleven days for the Lucas Oil late model series make up date on Thursday, July 15. Grandson Keagan has us set up for a visit to Knoxville Raceway next Friday for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and with racing around the area all next week, who knows where we may wind up! Thanks for reading, and we will see you at the track!
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