Friday night was episode two in the Hoker Trucking SLMR east series late model weekend tour through eastern Iowa. The historic half mile fairgrounds oval in West Liberty, Iowa was the setting. Once a regular Saturday night destination, the track now sees action only a handful of times each season. The half miles are seemingly no longer preferred by drivers and perhaps fans as the cars sometimes get a bit strung out, but for pure speed, West Liberty is hard to beat. Strung out cars was certainly not an issue this night!
Four divisions of regular racers filled the card on Friday, with a pair of exhibition classes, the American Iron Racing Series and Midwest Jalopies also on hand.
SLMR uses a lineup system beginning with time trials followed by a six car invert in the heat races which would seem to put the fast timers at a disadvantage on the "hammer down" tracks we have seen the past two events. For the second night in a row, Chad Holladay topped the two lap qualifying with a lap of 19.221 seconds. Starting sixth in the first heat was only a minor set back however as he blasted to the front to pick up the win. Heats two and three went to the outside pole sitters, Brian Harris in the Lynn Richard #15R normally driven by Mark Burgtorf, and series points leader Justin Kay. In the second heat, pole sitter Curt Schroeder lost the handle entering turn one, spun in front of the field and pinned Andy Eckrich against the concrete wall. Although his crew thrashed on the #56, Andy was unable to make the feature call.
With heat races in the books, the track crew took about twenty minutes to work on the corners and it was soon feature time. The 4 stock ten lapper was first on the card. Unfortunately only four cars checked in for the night, and Cody Montgomery could only watch the feature from the trailer, leaving us three starters. On lap two Cody VanDusen smacked the wall between turns one and two, ending his run. Alex Hayes then stretched his lead over Dylan Welsch to pick up the win.
IMCA type modifieds were next, with fourteen scheduled starters for twenty laps. Derrick Stewart lined up on the pole and opened up a sizable lead over third starting Dakota Simmons. Soon row three starter Denny Eckrich was hounding Simmons for second, with seventh starting Jeff Aikey joining the party. As lap nine was scored, Eckrich tried a slide job on Simmons, and the three competitors raced down the front chute three wide behind Stewart. Eckrich took the runner up spot, and at the crossed flags signaling the half way mark, he was closing fast, while Aikey moved to third. Eckrich held the lead into turn one on lap thirteen, but Stewart retook the point down the back stretch. With six laps to go, Aikey suddenly slowed down the front chute, his run over. And on the restart it was Eckrich coming to a stop out of turn two, his charge over, as well. Now it was Kurt Kile using the Delaware restart to advance to second, taking up pursuit of the leader. Stewart was streaking through the high line while Kile followed him through turns one and two, then dove low at the other end of the track. He was unable to make the pass, and Stewart picked up a hard fought win. Kile held off Simmons for second, with Jarrett Brown and Brandon Banks rounding out the top five.
Thirty five trips around would be the goal for the late models. I am not sure what the lineup procedure is for their main event, but it was Nick Marolf and Spencer Diercks leading the remaining twenty three cars to the green flag. With Diercks leading and Holladay coming from row two to third, they gained a bit of separation before catching slower traffic on lap seven. Two laps later, the yellow flag waved for Jim Cruise, who smacked the turn one wall, wiping out a nice lead for Diercks. With Cruise finally removed from the track, the race stayed green and the leaders again caught the back of the pack just past the halfway mark. At this point, several of the lapped cars headed for the infield, creating plenty of racing room for the front runners. On lap twenty two, fourth running Chris Simpson rolled to a stop after belching smoke from his #32. Marolf used a strong restart to grab the lead, slowly stretching his margin until he suddenly came to a stop out of turn two with ignition troubles seven laps from the checkers, a heartbreaking end to his run. Diercks restarted in front, with now second running Dave Eckrich choosing the inside line behind him. Holladay lined up outside Eckrich and charged to second, but the caution came out for debris. So on the next attempt, Dave switched to the outside line and held second as racing resumed. Eckrich was able to stay close to Diercks, but not close enough to make a move as the laps clicked off. It was a thrilled Diercks who put his #29 in victory lane. Eckrich followed up his Thursday win with a runner up finish as he moves ever closer to the points lead. Holladay made it two thirds in two nights, and Jason Hahne advanced six positions to fourth. Charlie McKenna recorded his second top five of the weekend. Chad Simpson wheeled the Jay Johnson #93 to a sixth place finish, followed by Justin Kay, Jeff Tharp, Darrel Defrance, and J.C. Wyman to round out the top ten.
The first of the exhibition classes was next on the card ahead of the twenty four car sport mod main, so we headed to the parking lot for the two hour plus drive home. Thanks to Robert, Carrie, and the Drt Trak gang for their hospitality. They will move on to Maquoketa Speedway tonight for the wrap up of the SLMR mini tour as part of the Brit Montgomery Memorial, and will be back at West Liberty as stop two of another three race SLMR weekend on Friday, September 24. Mark it on your calender, as I have!
I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of racing legend Ramo Stott. Ramo was a boyhood hero on the track and someone I was proud to get to know off the track as well. His racing legacy has stretched through generations, with sons Corrie and Lance and now grandson Brandon Savage carrying the checkered flag. R.I.P., Ramo.
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