Winger is Quincy Hell Tour Winner, Becerra and Kiefer Also On Top

   With power restored on this wild Thursday morning, we will take a shot at filing this report! 

   The UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour rolls on, and Wednesday night we anchored down in our familiar seat in turn one at Adams County, Il. Speedway east of Quincy. Summit Modified Nationals and the Hart Limited Modified Series served as the under card for the $5,000 to win Late Model headliner. The track took last Sunday night off to prepare for this night, one of several Late Model specials promoters Jim and Tammy Lieurence are hosting in 2023. Bobby Pierce took the checkers at the 2022 event, topping a strong thirty seven car field.

   With Pierce as well as other top contenders from years past concentrating on the World of Outlaw series, it would be a different and certainly diverse group of twenty five Super Late Model pilots signing in to do battle on a scorching hot Wednesday. 

   Steve Grotz and his track prep team were in high gear, and when I arrived at the track just after 1:30 P.M., he told me non stop watering had begun at 5:05 in the morning, as the track received only a few drops of the light rain that passed through the area. Even though it seemed a long shot to avoid a dusty track with a stiff Southeastern breeze blowing into the spectator grandstands, they were able to put down enough moisture to create a nearly dust free, lightning fast racing surface!

   In fact, such a masterful job was done that the 14 year old track record was shattered not once, but twice in Late Model qualifying. After Florida driver Tyler Clem set a new mark at 12.196 seconds, eighteen year old Pennsylvania phenom Drake Troutman turned the first ever sub twelve second lap, setting a new mark of 11.898 seconds around the .29 mile oval. Incredibly, it was the first visit ever to the track for both of these young drivers. In case you were wondering, Missourian Will Vaught was the previous record holder.

   Not so fortunate was Michigan racer Cody Bauer, who got upside down in his #19x after catching the cushion wrong out of turn two. It was the second time off his wheels for Bauer on the Tour! Sharing in the bad luck, was Keokuk, Iowa driver Brandon Queen who encountered problems, and was loaded up and headed home before qualifying ended. Also, after searching the pits for entered driver Bob Gardner, we saw him roll through the pit gate after time trials, as he apparently broke down on the way to the track, putting him behind the eight ball in heat race number one. 

   The field was split into three heats lined straight up by time, with the first two captured from the pole by Clem and Troutman. Former track regular Justin Reed then charged from inside row two to claim the final qualifier. 

   Both Modified classes had car counts smaller than I expected, with still enough for two heats in each. NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace paced the Summit Mods with a quick lap of 13.369 seconds, and the heats went to fourth starting defending track champion Austen Becerra, and from outside row one former track champ Michael Long. 

   The Limited Mods used a draw format, with second generation hot shoe Damian Kiefer and Savage, Minnesota visitor Dan Wheeler collecting wins, Kiefer from row two and Wheeler from the pole.

   The "short" intermission turned into anything but, as the ambulance was called away and it took a considerable amount of time for another to arrive at the track. Fortunately, for me, at least, there was a long list of folks to visit with, several I had not seen for quite some time, including former standout racers Jim Swank, Terry Schlipman, and Jerry Poor, among others. Also 34 Raceway owner/promoters Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt were kind enough to look me up to catch up a bit. 

   Finally it was feature time, with Late Models up first for forty laps. All but Queen lined up, as Bauer was able to make enough repairs to do a "start and park" for points and money. One of the two Australian drivers in the field (along with one from New Zealand!), Kye Blight, was forced into a back up car, moving him to the tail for the start. 

   Troutman shot to the lead from his pole start ahead of a first lap caution for New Zealander Mick Quin and Blight. Back to racing, Troutman opened a considerable lead, catching the back of the pack on lap six. Several cars did battle behind him, with Billy Moyer Jr. moving to second in traffic on lap nine, only to fall to fourth ahead of a lap eleven yellow for David Payne. Ashton Winger was now in second for the Delaware restart, and as Troutman again pulled well ahead, Winger also drove off from the scramble behind him. Eighth starting Jason Feger was now beginning to show some muscle as the leaders again caught slower traffic on lap sixteen. Just ahead of the halfway mark, the caution waved for Johnathan Huston, with Feger now up to third. Troutman bobbled on the cushion out of turn two on the restart, falling temporarily to fourth. As Winger now took command, Troutman and Feger waged a side by side battle for second. The inside line was proving the faster way around, and as Feger secured the position, he began to close on Winger, and slower traffic again came into play on lap twenty eight. Three laps from the checkers, Winger entered turn one behind a pack of four slower cars who suddenly began to spin and slide in front of him. Somehow he found an opening, never stopping, and avoiding disaster. The field now reset single file, and the young Georgia driver motored on to victory lane for his second win on the Tour. Feger, who was the weekly Tour champ last week, cruised home in second, while Texan Morgan Bagley advanced eleven positions to round out the podium. Shannon Babb drove home in fourth, while Troutman faded late to fifth, likely using up whatever tire he had left! Clem hung around in sixth ahead of Moyer Jr. and Reed. Home track hero Mark Burgtorf was ninth, while Marine, Illinois hot shoe Mark Voigt advanced five spots to tenth. 

   Top contender Tyler Nicely had issues in his heat race and was unable to get his car ready for the feature, so Rick Stevenson gave up his #77, allowing Nicely to tag the tail of the now sixteen car twenty lapper. Becerra and Long lined up in row one, with Becerra on the inside inches ahead in the early laps while Wallace stayed close in third. Four laps in the first stoppage came, with Shawn Deering and Ohio driver Zachary Hawk involved. A second caution came three laps later as Deering slowed with a flat, perhaps the result of the earlier skirmish. Back to green, Long took a shot on the high line as Becerra was locked on the bottom. Just after halfway, the yellow waved again, and although I did not see what happened, the #36 of Wallace was apparently accordianed, with damage both front and back, but kept rolling and retained his third position. Following this restart, Long dropped to the low groove, and now it was former track champ Dave Weiholder looking for speed on the high line. Long took one last shot up top on the final lap, but could not catch Becerra, who is now two for two in Summit starts. Wallace nursed his damaged ride home in third, followed by Rick Conoyer and Weitholder. Kyle Steffens led the second five, ahead of Mike Vanderiet Jr., Chris Spalding, Siloam Springs, Arkansas driver Willie Gammill, and Nicely in the borrowed ride. 

   Hart Limited Mods would round out the action, with fourteen cars taking the green. Defending track champion Adam Birck was set to start in row two, but his #112 would not fire and he was pushed to the pits from staging. Kiefer powered to the early lead, driving away from his front row mate, James Hileman. The first caution came with seven in the books, when Justin Presnell, went for a spin. Back to racing, Kiefer again checked out on the field before Presnell again brought out the yellow six laps from the finish. One final yellow came two laps later for an Austin McClean spin, but these were only momentary delays for Kiefer, who scored the flag to flag win. Hileman took runner up honors, followed by Wheeler, T.J. Jackson, and local hot shoe A.J. Tournear. Six through tenth went to A.J. Cline, Dawson David, Brandon Lennox, Vance Wilson, and Austin Seets. 

    Thanks to Jim, Tammy and the staff for a neat midweek show in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.

     The speedway will be right back in action this Sunday with another "big money" Late Model show as the stars and cars of the MLRA follow up visits to Columbus Junction, Iowa on Friday and I-70 Speedway near Odessa, Mo. on Saturday with a stop at the "Broadway Bullring." IMCA Northern Sport Mods and 4 Cylinders will fill out the program. In the meantime, we have some family activities, so we shall see what the weekend brings!

Winger Tops Summer Nats Thriller, Beal and Chapman Also Winners

    Wednesday night we visited one of our favorite venues as the UMP Late Model Summernationals moved to Davenport Speedway. On this night, IMCA Late Models and IMCA Sport Mods would complete a fast paced week night of action. 

   The weather was almost perfect on this first official night of summer, and a nice sized crowd was on hand to enjoy the festivities.

   The drivers were also ready to go, as thirty one UMP competitors were joined by a solid twenty four IMCA Late Models and eighteen IMCA Northern Sport Mods. 

   The first Super Late Model heat was the highlight of the preliminary action. After multiple yellow flags in the opening laps, an outstanding three car, three wide epic battle developed for the top spot. First it was Bob Gardner leading the charge before Frank Heckenast Jr. nosed ahead. Then as the three cars powered out of turn four to the checkers, it was Drake Troutman in front at the line! With the Iowa home crowd approving, the Simpson brothers, Chad and Chris scored wins in the other two Super ten lappers. This followed Chad setting overall quick time with a lap of 13.503 seconds around the quick quarter mile. 

   IMCA Late Model heats went to defending track champion Justin Kay, Joe Beal, and Joel Callahan. Ben Chapman and Logan Veloz claimed Sport Mod wins.

  Michigan driver Cody Bauer picked up the Super Late consy, and quickly it was feature time.

  IMCA Late Models would take to the track first, racing for twenty five laps. With Mack Mulvany and Keith Haislip unable to answer the bell, twenty two cars took the green flag. South Dakota transplant Evan Miller and new East Moline Speedway promoter Chuck Hanna sat on row one, with Miller grabbing the early lead. Miller was using the inside line around the oval and it appeared to be a bit quicker, although the high flying Hanna was able to nose ahead as lap four was scored. Miller retook the spot ahead of a lap five caution. . The restart seemed a bit ragged as the field bunched out of turn four, and Hanna moved to the lead with Joe Beal now in second. As Hanna continued to do business in the high line, Beal slipped around him while hugging the inside tire barriers. Callahan joined the front pair and those three pulled away from the pack as the race neared the halfway mark. As they were catching the back of the pack, another caution would come, and on the Delaware restart, Callahan moved to second. Two more cautions slowed the action, and following the final restart Hanna retook the lead. Callahan faded a bit before Beal drove back to the front with just six laps to go. Once again slower traffic came into play, but Joe was able to navigate the traffic, holding on to pick up his first Late Model feature win. Callahan rebounded to ease past Hanna as they negotiated lapped traffic coming to the checkers. Kay was on the move late, finishing fourth after starting eleventh, while Miller completed the top five. Andy Nezworski started in row six and finished sixth, besting Mike Goben, Bryan Klein, sixteenth starting Chris Lawrence, and Don Pataska. 

   It was now intermission time, with a tickling of the racing surface along with watering in preparation for the headline event. 

   Forty laps would be the distance for the eighteen qualifiers and always too generous four provisional starters. Again to the delight of the crowd, the Simpsons lined up in row one, with Chad taking the early lead. He quickly began to build an advantage over Chris, while sixth starting Ashton Winger charged to third on lap six. Chad caught the back of the pack one lap later, but remained in control even as Winger used a turn four slide job to move to second ahead of the first stoppage with ten in the books. The yellow waved again on the restart, with Logan Nickerson heading to the trailer with damage to his #21N. Back under green, Chad pounded the cushion, again stretching his lead while Winger operated on the low line. Just before the mid point, the caution waved for a Doug Tye spin, and back to racing Winger pulled a slider to clear Chad for the top spot. A side by side battle now developed between the Simpsons for second allowing Winger to open a bit of a lead. With a dozen laps to go, Dirt Hall of Famer Billy Moyer brought out a final caution as he did a 360 degree spin before driving to the pits. Now Chris was able to clear Winger for the lead as Chad faded to fifth on the restart. But Winger was not done yet, and as Chris changed his line in an attempt to block the charge, Winger used the absolute top edge of the track to drive around the #32 out of turn two for the lead. From there Ashton gradually pulled away to take the win and the $5,000 top prize. Chris would settle for runner up honors while a late charge by ninth starting Jason Feger netted him his second podium finish of the week, a third added to a second at Moberly. Chad Simpson nosed out Heckenast Jr, to round out the top five. Gardner would come home sixth, while Billy Moyer Jr. followed up his win on Tuesday with a seventh place showing at Davenport. Third starting Troutman again suffered tire problems, restarted at the tail after the lap ten caution, and rebounded to finish eighth. Australian Kye Blight and Texan Morgan Bagley completed the top ten. 

   It was now just passed the 10:00 hour and with an early Thursday call, we decided to head for the gates. Congratulations to Ben Chapman on his Sport Mod win over Veloz. David Engelkins, Trey Grimm, and Rayce Mullen also colected top fives. 

   Thanks to Ricky and Brenda Kay and their staff for yet another exciting night of action in Davenport! They will be back in action on Friday with the weekly Late Models replaced by the Sprint Invaders. Meanwhile, it was announced after the races that Spoon River Speedway was forced to cancel their UMP Summer Nationals stop for Thursday, due to a breakdown of  all three of their water trucks. So the tour will take a night off before heading to Brownstown, Illinois on Friday. 

  I will also being switching gears on Friday to catch a Quad Cities River Bandits vs. Peoria Chiefs baseball game, with the rest of the weekend plans up in the air at this time. Hopefully the glitch in the presentation of my Moberly entry is fixed, apologies to those folks. If not somewhere before, we will be on hand at Adams County, Illinois Speedway in Quincy next Wednesday as the "Hell Tour" comes to town. Thanks for reading!

 

Moyer Jr. Captures Moberly Hell Tour, Becerra Tops Mods

    Along with Darryl, Tuesday I wandered south for my second visit of the season to the Reid Millard owned, Galen Hassler operated Moberly Motorsports Park. This would be our first check in with the UMP Summernationals, 2023 edition. In its second week of this years' series, the Summit Modifieds would also be on the card at the four tenths mile high banked high speed facility. With just two classes, we were anticipating a quick show. 

   Special guests Ken Schrader and Scott Bloomquist were scheduled to be on hand to do some "commentating, " however an unexpected health issue at the last minute unfortunately resulted in Scott having to cancel his appearance, although Kenny was still on the grounds for an interview, autographs, and I assume plenty of T.V. time.

   A solid field of thirty two Super Late Models checked in, but a shockingly low number of Modifieds were on hand. The last man through the gate, Chris Spalding upped the total to just seven!

   After we were on the road, it was decided to push hot laps back one hour to 7:00P.M., and after those warm ups were complete, the track was rewatered in turns one and two, with several minutes spent repacking as what turned out to be a huge week night crowd settled into their seats. 

   Micheal Long topped the Mods in their hot lap/qualifying format with a time of 18.593, before Billy Moyer Jr. paced the Late Models, at a fast 17.093 seconds.

   Four Late Model eight lap heats came next with the top four in each moving on to the thirty lap finale. As might be expected with the time 'em and start the fast ones up front procedure, all four winners came from the front row. Moyer Jr., Ashton Winger, and Australian Kye Blight all took wins from the pole position, with Texan Morgan Bagley victorious from outside row one. 

 Long then cruised to the six lap Modified win before the Late Model Last Chance Showdown. The remaining sixteen cars were scheduled for ten laps, with only the top two moving on. With four teams done for the night, an even dozen lined up for the final qualifier. MLRA regular, Iowan Daniel Hilsabeck was the show in this one, charging from deep in the pack to fly by track regular David Melloway and eventual runner up Forrest Trent to take the win. 

  As is their custom and with an eye towards series loyalty, four provisional starters were then added to the eighteen qualified cars for the feature race. Doug Tye, Mark Voigt, and Thomas Hunziker picked up starting slots along with Melloway who recieved the track provisional. For Hunziker, who comes east from his home in Bend, Oregon to run the tour, it helped turn his night around. Following time trials, while setting in his pit, the radiator exploded on his #38, sending water and coolant several feet in the air! While he missed his heat race, quick work from his crew and an assist from Winger got him back out for the consy. 

  Some track work and more music from the "permanent" stage was followed with the call for the Late Model headliner. Bagley and Moyer Jr. would fill out row one, with Billy grabbing the early lead. The third generation pilot was racing in the middle groove around the super high banked oval while "MoBags" operated down low. Winger quickly closed on those two, looking for an opening. The first caution came at the end of lap three for a Kayden Clatt spin, and during the slow down, Winger headed for the trailer with apparent engine woes. Pennsylvania ace Drake Troutman then used the Delaware style restart to overtake Bagley for second, and along with Moyer Jr., drove off from the pack. Billy stayed in his middle line while Troutman powered his #7 high on the track in turns one and two, then hugged the bottom groove in three and four. Slower traffic became at factor about lap nine ( a scoreboard sure would help this facility!), but Moyer Jr. remained in control, as he dominated turns one and two while Troutman would close the gap at the other end. Somewhere around the halfway mark, Troutman picked up enough momentum for a high side pass, then began to open a comfortable lead. Jason Feger had started in seventh and was now closing quickly on Moyer Jr. when suddenly the right rear tire on the Troutman car came violently apart, ripping into his quarter panel and bringing out the yellow flag just eight laps from the finish. Back to racing Feger made a brief bid for the lead before new front runner Moyer Jr. began to pull away. One more caution came four laps from the end when Bagley lost his top five run , tagging the concrete outside wall off turn two. Moyer Jr. had no issues with the single file restart, cruising to the win. Feger took yet another Summer Nats runner up finish, while Blight captured a series high third. Michigans' Chad Finley advanced five positions to fourth, easing past Frank Heckenast Jr. on the final lap. Clayton Stuckey led the second five, besting Tyler Clem and Bob Gardner. Hilsabeck spun out of turn four coming to the checkers, perhaps with  a flat tire, collecting Johnathan Huston, however those two were awarded ninth and tenth, possible because the leaders had already taken the checkers?

   With post race festivities concluded, the Mods lined up for fifteen laps. After a pair of false starts, the front row of Long and Austen Becerra were penalized one row. Then on a lap two restart, Long appeared to get loose, collecting Dave Weitholder, ending his bid for a sweep. Becerra soon drove around Spalding for the lead, then powered off for an easy win. Only Spalding remained with him on the lead lap as the checkers waved. Preston Dawson was third, followed by Charlie Baker, while Weitholder was credited with fifth. 

  The final checkers came a few minutes after the 10 P.M. hour. Thanks to Reid, Galen, the Gundakers, and all involved for a fun night of mid week racing. While Moberly Motorsports Park will continue their Trophy Tuesday series, another big event will come Labor Day weekend with the third running of the popular Weiner Nationls. MLRA Late Models and B Mods will be on the card. 

   Tonight I plan to follow the Late Model Summernationals tour as they head north to Davenport, Iowa Speedway, where IMCA Late Models and IMCA Northern Sport Mods will fill out the card. With week one tour champ Brian Shirley, as well as several other top contenders shifting their focus to World of Outlaw and Lucas Oil Late Model events, the it will be interesting to see who might pick up the $10,000 weekly Summer Nats bonus this time.  If you see me in Davenport, be sure and say "Hi!"

 

Quincy Midseason Crowns to Perry, Becerra, Klingele, Powers, and Delonjay

   The Quincy, Illinois area continues in a severe drought, and even with a promise of rain on Sunday, Adams County, Illinois Speedway was able to host mid season championship racing. With car counts a bit low, it is likely the forecast did keep a few travelers at home, but enough competitors showed to give us a pair of heat races in all except the long suffering Street Stock division. Late Model drivers were also vying for a $1,000 King of the Crates winners check in addition to the mid season crown. 

   Defending UMP Modified track champion Austen Becerra scorched the .29 mile oval with a qualifying lap of 13.647 seconds, and with heat racing wrapped up by 7:00, the first main event hit the track about 7:20. 

   Crate Lates would lead things off, with heat winners Jason Perry and Tommy Elston sitting on row one. Elston jumped to the lead as those two drove off from the pack. Tommy was running the middle line around the track while Jason continued to stick the nose of his #27 to the inside. On the fifth of the twenty laps, Perry completed his low line pass, then gradually  increased his margin. The real battle to watch was for fourth through sixth, as last weeks' winner Sam Halstead was busy holding off a side by side duel between Jason Oenning, and Darin Weisinger Jr. With no yellow flags to break up the action, Perry cruised to his second win of the season. Elston outdistanced Jamie Wilson, while Halstead, Oenning, and Weisinger Jr. crossed the line in that order. Defending champion Denny Woodworth, Christian Miles, Derek Hollenstine, Austin Poage, and Darren Cawthon would round out the field. 

   Becerra and Kenny Wallace collected heat race wins, and they would bring the UMP Modified eighteen lapper to green. The lone caution came on the start as Jadin Fuller was the victim of a brake check. Following the restart, this race also went caution free. Becerra rocketed to a big lead as he worked around the inside tire barriers where there was still a nice line of moisture. As the laps clicked off, Austen encountered slower traffic, but he was able to maintain his near straightaway lead as he walked off to the sweep of his events. Wallace was solid in second, while Jacob Rexing eased around Dave Weitholder mid race to claim third. Mike Vanderiet Jr. held off Mark Burgtorf and Shawn Deering to complete the top five. 

   With rain outs to the north, the 4 Cylinders class grew with Cyle Hawkins from Durant, Iowa, Joshua Muse and Josh Starr from Tipton, Iowa, and Thomas Adams from Moline, Il. all making a long pull to race on Sunday night. Hawkins and Spencer Coats topped the heat races and paced the fifteen lap feature. Coats got the jump before Hawkins emerged from a three wide battle to lead lap three. 2022 champ Jeffery Delonjay followed in second. Hawkins worked the inside line, with his #28 familiarly lifting the left rear tire as he negotiated the tight corners, while Delonjay looked for a bite running the high line. With eight laps in the books, Adams clipped the tire between turns three and four, bringing the only caution of the race. The restart was what Delonjay needed to use his high side momentum to power to the front, leading Hawkins and Peoria ace Jimmy Dutlinger in a three car pull away. They would drive under the checkers in that order, with Jaden Delonjay advancing from row six to finish fourth,while Landon Neisen gained nine positions to nip Kimberly Abbott for fifth. 

   Logan Cumby came from row two to pace the IMCA Northern Sport Mod field as Tanner Klingele charged from ninth to the runner up spot on lap three. One lap later eighth starting Adam Birck drove to third. Meanwhile Cumby was cruising in front before the first of two cautions came with eight laps in the books for a Dakota Girard spin. Birck used the Delaware style restart to grab second as he pounded the cushion on the following circuit before the final caution, again for Girard. Back to racing Klingele now slipped around Birck on the inside line. Klingele then moved up the track as he set sail for the leader, while Birck searched multiple grooves looking for more speed. With just a pair of laps to go, Klingele pulled to the back bumper of the leader, and on the final lap Tanner completed the pass, picking up his second win in a row. Cumby settled for second ahead of Birck and Reed Wolfmeyer. Michael Goodwin edged A.J. Tournear for fifth. 

   The struggling Street Stock class had only five cars sign in, and they would close out the night going for twelve laps. Rudy Zaragoza would take the early lead before Jake Powers used the low line to move to the front on lap three. From there Jake pulled out to a big lead. A lone caution came for debris with just three laps to go, but Jake remained in control, picking up a convincing win.  Zaragoza held off a mid race challenge from Pete Stodgell to finish second. Kale Foster slipped around Stodgell for third, while Brandon Boden would be scored fifth. 

   The final checkers waved at about 8:20, well before darkness descended on the speedway, a Sunday night delight! Adams County,Il Speedway will take next Sunday night off as they prepare for a visit from the UMP Summernationals Late Model series on Wednesday, June 28. Check the track website for details. Thanks to Jim, Tammy, and the crew for another fun night at the track.

   Our plan is to join that UMP Summernationals tour Tuesday, June 20 at Moberly (Mo.) Motorsports Park, where the Summit Dirtcar Modifieds will also be on the card. Then on Wednesday, June 21 we will journey to Davenport (Ia.) Speedway where the UMP Summernational Late Models will be joined by IMCA Late Models and IMCA Sport Mods. Racing season is in high gear, so take in a show when and where you can!

Oenning, Becerra, Mather, Gillenwater, Reu, Brockett Take Extra Lee County Cash

    Friday was a special night at Lee County Speedway. On hand to entertain the fans was the 1970 Dodge Charger driven by legendary IMCA champion Ernie Derr. Although he won twelve IMCA national championships in several different makes of cars, the late pilot from my hometown of Keokuk is most remembered for his time in the Hemi powered Dodges. The last known car still around that was raced by Derr is owned by Todd Schneider and has thankfully been kept in the condition it was in when last in competition. Fans were treated to the unmistakable roar of the 426 cubic inch Hemi as it was driven several laps around Derrs' "home" track while several of Ernies' sons and grandsons offered up info on the car and Derrs' great career.

   The regular five divisions were on the card in addition to the Mini Hauler truck class and Kohlmorgan Hauling out of Keokuk kicked in $200 cash for each division. 

   Sixty six race teams checked in to race with a nice sized crowd on hand. Nine heat races clicked off in about forty minutes, with a brief ten minute break before the first feature. 

   Sport Compacts kicked things off, with all but Chandler Fullenkamp lining up for fifteen laps. Chevy Barnes charged from row two to the early lead, but as the race reached the halfway mark, Brandon Reu moved in to challenge for the top spot. On lap nine, Reu used an inside move to grab the lead, then drove off for the win. Barnes was second, followed by Barry Taft, Kimberly Abbott, and Luke Fraise.

   It was the first night out for Austin Schulte, but he dove to the infield before the green flag flew in the eighteen lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Beau Taylor jumped to the front with cars racing three wide for second. Colt Mather grabbed the runner up spot on lap two, and with three in the books, we saw the first yellow flag of the night as Kevin Koontz spun and stopped in turns one and two. The restart saw another three wide battle behind Taylor before John Oliver Jr. powered from fifth to second. Oliver was in front by inches as lap six was scored, and three more circuits saw Mather move again to second. With nine down, the red flag came out as Koontz rolled his #43 up against the turn two guardrail. It took considerable time to clear the accident, and during the clean up, third running Taylor went to the work area, giving up his position on the track. The yellow came again on the restart, then Mather was able to sneak by Oliver for the lead. A final caution came for a tire kicked out on the track with six laps to go. Back to racing, Oliver, who had been hugging the inside line, tried to gain ground on the turns three and four cushion, but the race belonged to Mather, his second win of the season at LCS. Derrick Agee and Jeremy Pundt waged a close battle behind Oliver, with Agee claiming third, while Chad Krogmeier completed the top five. 

   Only eight IMCA Modifieds were on hand, and they did battle for sixteen laps. Heat winner Daniel Fellows set the pace early ahead of a lap two caution as the same tire was kicked to the racing surface. Following the Delaware style restart, Austen Becerra charged to second before a final caution for Bill Roberts Jr., who came to rest against the turn four guardrail. With Becerra bearing down on him, Fellows switched his line in three and four from bottom to top, but Austen used the vacated line to drive to the front. From there is was smooth sailing as Becerra walked away building more than a straightaway advantage. Fellows was locked in a battle With Dennis Laveine for second before Laveine faded in third with possible suspension issues. Jadin Fuller and Fisher Reese rounded out the top five.  

   Fourteen IMCA Late Models came to the track for twenty five laps of action. Veteran Ed Hollenbeck set a quick pace  with Ray Raker breathing down his neck. Hollenbeck slowly opened his lead as Independence, Iowa hot shoe Sean Johnson cleared a gaggle of cars to take second on lap six. Eleven laps in, Jason Oenning was racing in third when he got ahold of the track in turns one and two, powering to the lead running one lane higher than the front pair. As Oenning began to build a lead, Mark Burgtorf brought the Lynn Richard #15R from a row four start to challenge Johnson for second. Four laps from the finish, Dekota Job looped his car in turn three in front of the leader, who was barely able to take evasive action. Now Oenning had the field on his bumper, but he held the lead as Johnson was shuffled back through the pack. As the laps wound down, Burgtorf pulled a slide job in turn four, but Oenning kept his cool, crossing him back over to maintain the top spot. Jeremy Pundt, who started alongside Burgtorf in row four now charged in to second, as the front two repeated their one -two finish on their shared birthday two weeks ago! It was the second career win for Oenning. Burgtorf held third, while Oennings' car owner, Denny Woodworth was fourth in front of Tommy Elston. Johnson ran sixth, topping Chris Horn, rookie Christian Miles, Hollenbeck, and Darin Weisinger Jr. 

   Fifteen IMCA Sport Mods would battle for eighteen caution free laps! Jim Gillenwater sat on the pole position and liked it so well, he stayed there throughout. Doing double duty, John Oliver Jr. moved to the runner up spot on lap two. Doing his "catfishing" best, Gillenwater opened a comfortable lead, while Oliver also pulled ahead of the pack using the same line around the inside tire barrier. Ninth starting Adam Birck was the man on the move running the top of the three eighths mile. He gradually closed on Oliver, catching him with just three laps to go. But John was up to the task, holding second behind the cruising Gillenwater. Brandon Dale worked the whole track to advance to fourth, and Nicholas Profeta drove a steady race to score a top five finish. 

   With an early call on Saturday, we headed out as the clock read just 9:38! Reports show Roger Brockett topped the nine truck Mini Hauler field. 

   Thanks as always to Brian and Marcie Gaylord and Brian Neal for a swiftly run, efficient show on a perfectly prepared track. And thank you, for reading!

  

  

Dripps Is First Pro Late Model Tour Winner

    Sunday night we hit the road, venturing north for the first time in 2023 to the Benton County Speedway, AKA "The Bullring" in Vinton, Iowa. In addition to the five regular IMCA classes, the three times rained out  Pro Late Model Tour would host their inaugural event. Conceived by Late Model racer Brandon Davis, the fledgling east central Iowa tour features a hybrid rules package somewhat similar to the SLMR, but on this night at least dominated somewhat by IMCA regular competitors. The car count was likely less than hoped for, but with Dubuque an hour and a half away racing in the middle of their points season and an SLMR race in Stuart combined with an already full weekend of action, perhaps it might have been expected, especially being a rescheduled event. 

   In total, however, a full field of ninety nine cars made for a solid evening of racing on the constantly refurbished Benton County Fairgrounds. Since our last visit, a safety wall has been constructed to protect pit area spectators and a scoreboard has been added in the infield. Also, the shiny new aluminum bleachers create added comfort. 

   The weather in Vinton was markedly different on Sunday than here in Canton, Mo., as bright sunshine greeted us as we neared the track. However with a stiff breeze and lower than predicted temps both a jacket and a sweatshirt from the racing bag were put to use!

   Regular "farming" of the black dirt quarter mile took place during the program, but despite best efforts, for the most part the inside line was the fast way around the track for the majority of the racing. Still there was plenty of three wide action, and indeed much of the passing was done from the top groove.

   One thing that really stood out was the number of cars in each qualifying race. While it seems many tracks are content with six (or sometimes less!) cars in qualifying heats, we were treated to nine and ten car heats, running between six and eight laps, with only the ten Late Models going ten laps. 

   Following those qualifiers and a massive candy dash for the Little Racer Car Club, it was time to go feature racing. 

   Again the number of laps in the main events were somewhat less than other tracks, but still enough to separate the contenders from the pretenders. 

   Up first it was fourteen cars lining up for a dozen laps in the Sport Compact division. Steven Schmitz paced the opening laps with Spencer Roggentien in his tracks. Lukas Rick came from row five to join the party, and he was ahead by a nose as lap four was scored. The only caution of the race came with five laps in the books, and as racing resumed, Rick drove off from the field to record his third points night win in a row and fourth overall in 2023. Schmitz and Roggentien were next followed by Nolan Tuttle and Robert Rundle.

   Fifteen laps would be the distance for the sixteen Sport Mods able to make the call. Logan Anderson would jump to the first lap lead and hold it throughout for his first ever victory in Vinton. Sam Wieben would drive from sixth to challenge Anderson early, but with no caution flags to slow the action, Logan cruised to the win. Trailing Wieben in second was Joe Docekal, Tony Olson, and Ben Chapman.

   All sixteen Modifieds lined up for twenty laps, with pole sitter Jerry Dedrick pacing the field early. Troy Cordes, Ryan Maitland, and Kip Siems raced in dramatic three wide fashion before Cordes broke free, grabbing the lead on lap five. He then tucked in around the tire barriers while Maitland and eighth starting Joel Rust tried to keep up. A caution for debris just after the mid point brought Cordes back to the pack, and Rust used the Delaware restart to power to second using the high line. By lap sixteen, Cordes and Rust were in a dead heat, and it was Joel taking the point out of turn four as lap eighteen was scored. He then held on for the win, topping Cordes, Maitland, Brint Hartwick, and Mike Burbridge.

   With three features remaining, the quick pace began to slow as sixteen Hobby Stocks came to the track for fifteen laps. Scott Siems led the first trip around, giving way to Justin Wacha on lap two. Following a lap three caution, a five car melee on the back stretch saw the car of David McCalla taking a hard roll through the air, bringing out the red flag. Following a lengthy delay for removal of several cars and clean up of a fluid spill, Wacha took off hugging the low groove around the tires. Meanwhile an entertaining five car side by side and back and forth battle developed behind him. A final caution came with four circuits remaining, and back under green it was Jacob Floyd moving in to challenge the leader. Again, four cars raced in tight formation for third position, and it is probably a good thing that transponders could sort out that finish. The biggest cheers of the night came for the victorious Wacha while Floyd settled for second. The gaggle behind those two had Siems in third followed by Bradly Graham and Corey VanDerwilt. 

 Now is when the wheels really came off the fast moving program. The usually well behaved Stock Cars were racing for a $1,000 top prize, but you might have thought it was a great deal more by all the out of control action. While the green flag was out, the nineteen participants gave us twenty laps of good racing, but oh those cautions! Eight times the race was delayed, including following a lap two restart when Greg Sweerin got upside down in turn one. Leah Wroten and Brett Vanous both took turns up front before seventh starting teenage Dallon Murty and his fifth row starting father Damon joined the lead pack. Dallon was a part of the low riding "catfishers" while Damon was doing business up top. About lap fourteen Damon had managed to move to the front, but as he traded paint with Gage Neal, Dallon powered to the lead.  Dallon was now in command and was headed to the checkers when another hard charging youngster, Kaden Reynolds disappeared over the banking in turn three to bring out another yellow flag. The official ruling charged Damon Murty with the caution, and Reynolds retained his position. One final caution gave us a single file green, white, checkers finish, and even as the checkers waved, two cars were sitting cross ways in turn two! Dallon Murty collected the big check ahead of Neal, Vanous, Reynolds, and Jeff Wollam. 

   Pro Late Models wound round out the program, and in marked contrast they ran a caution free twenty five laps for their shot at $1,000. Chase Brunscheen and Logan Duffy paced the field to green, with Duffy powering to the lead. Track promoter Corey Dripps  lined up in fourth, and set sail after Duffy. Just before the halfway mark, Dripps eased his #31 into the lead while hard charging Nick Marolf moved to third. Duffy was not giving up without a fight, and by lap sixteen, he was alongside the leader. With those two duking it out, Marolf and fourth running T. J. Fortmann were able to stay in the mix. In the closing laps, Dripps was able to open a bit of an advantage, racing to the checkers in this first ever event. Duffy came home in the runner up slot, while Fortmann was impressive in passing Marolf for third. Bobby Hansen drove a stead race to complete the top five. Gabe Umbarger was next, besting Brunscheen, veterans Greg Kastli and Rusty Patterson, and Jenna Johnson. 

   Thanks go out to Corey and Rick Dripps for their hospitality, and a big thanks to announcer Ryan Clark for providing the interesting stats listed here as well as multiple shout outs to Positively Racing, Jeff Broeg, and yours truly. It was also a fun visit in the stands with multi track announcer Jerry Mackey and the legendary late model champion Curt Hansen! All in all, a great night of racing in Vinton!

McKenna Cashes the Big Check at West Liberty

    Saturday night we made our first trip of the season to the Kile Motorsports promoted West Liberty Raceway on the Muscatine County Fairgrounds. Topping the card it was the Hoker Trucking SLMR (Super Late model Racing) series. Filling out the card it was non sanctioned Modifieds, Sport Mods, and Compacts competing on the wide, fast half mile oval. The Late Model headliner came with a $3,000 first place payday.   

   Before I tell you that "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna led the main event flag to flag, you need to know that hardly describes what we saw! The racer from Ames, Iowa earned enough points to start on the pole position alongside Matt Ryan.  Those two veteran drivers raced at the front before fourth starting National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Jeff Aikey moved to second on lap three. Soon McKenna and Aikey had put considerable distance on the remainder of the twenty two car starting field. Ten laps in slower traffic came into play, and as the duo negotiated lapped traffic, Chad Holladay had recovered from a poor start to join the party up front. Holladay cleared Aikey on lap fourteen, then set his sights on the leader as Aikey fell a bit off the pace. While McKenna ran mostly in the middle of the track, Holladay constantly moved around, searching for a way to the front. With just a couple circuits left in the  twenty five lap race, Chad appeared to have a run on the inside of turns three and four, but Charlie held his line and kept his momentum down the front chute to maintain the lead. While a rejuvenated Aikey closed in on the top two, Holladay made one last charge coming to the checkers, but with the considerable crowd on their feet, he came up about one car length short. Trailing the three leaders it was tenth starting Derrick Stewart and Jason Hahne. Brian Harris again climbed in the #25B and advanced three positions to sixth, followed by Ryan, Andy Eckrich, Luke Goedert, and Dave Eckrich.

   Earlier in the evening, Holladay set quick time with a lap of 18.677 seconds, and with the six car invert, it was Luke Pestka, Justin Kay, and Ryan with heat race wins. Only local racer Scott Strauss failed to answer the feature call.

   Support class car counts were a bit light, but Mods and Sport Mods had enough for a pair of heats each, while all nine Compacts lined up for one five lap qualifier. 

   Ten cars made the call for the fifteen lap Sport Mod main, with Curtis VanDerWal jumping out to a huge early lead. Top contender Maguire DeJong exited the track ahead of a lap three caution flag. Tim Plummer had lined up in eighth, but now used the Delaware style restart to move to second. Following a second and final caution five laps in, VanDerWal and Plummer drove off from the field. On lap eleven Plummer was able to use his momentum off turn two to take the lead, and then stretch it by several car lengths to pick up the win. VanDerWal ran second while Ryan Walker nosed out Shaun Slaughter by a length to claim third. Justin Schroeder and Nick Aupperle waged an entertaining back and forth battle for fifth, with Schroeder ahead at the checkers.

   Heavy attrition in the Compact heat left us with only five cars for the twelve lap feature. Trent Labarge paced the opening circuit before Darin Smith moved to the front. Meanwhile Cyle Hawkins was caught behind a couple of cars early, but by lap seven he had pulled alongside Smith, then taking the lead. Gradually Hawkins pulled away to pick up his fifty second all time 4 cylinder victory. Smith took the runner up spot with Cristian Grady in third.

   Twenty laps was the Modified finale with ten cars taking the green. Chris Zogg jumped out to a big lead, with Kurt Kile charging to second one lap later. Zogg maintained his lead, while Kile worked ahead of DeJong in third with a tight battle for fourth between Denny Eckrich and Mitch Way. Eckrich was the man on the move, and while Zogg opened a straightaway lead, Eckrich was soon in a fight with with DeJong, then with about three to go, he had closed the gap on Kile for second. With no yellow flags to slow the action, Zogg cruised to the win. Eckrich took runner up honors trailed by Kile, DeJong, Way, and Minot North Dakota visitor Spencer Wilson. 

   With a short intermission, a well prepared track, and an early start, the final checkers waved at 8:40!

   With cloudy, rainy conditions this morning here in northeast Missouri, we have made the decision to head north tonight to Benton County Speedway in Vinton for the inaugural Pro Late Model Tour event along with their regular classes. Perhaps we will see you there!

"Superman" Sam is a Drive For Five Winner

    Friday at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson it was another edition of the IMCA Late Model Drive for Five mini series paying $1,000 to the feature winner. Three other IMCA classes would also be on the card, Modifieds, Stock Cars, and Sport Mods, as well as the non sanctioned Sport Compact division. 

    The track surface was in absolutely perfect condition, with three racing grooves for the sixty eight cars signed in and the result was breathtaking side by side racing all night long.

   Partly because of the smooth track, ten heat races and a brief (but long enough!) intermission took right at one hour, and the Sport Compact feature rolled out at 8:30. Twelve of the thirteen on hand lined up for fifteen laps. Once again, gremlins knocked out top contender Josh Barnes who suddenly lost power while battling his son Chevy for the lead in their heat race. Meanwhile, Chevy charged all the way from row five to lead lap one of the feature. With five in the books, his row five mate Brandon Reu had moved in to challenge for the lead. The two car race became a back and forth event, with Reu out front by a half car length as lap nine was scored. At the same time, Barry Taft, Luke Fraise, and Chandler Fullenkamp raced side by side and nose to tail behind them, while Kimberly Abbott looked to join the party. As the laps wound down in non stop fashion, Reu gradually opened a bit of breathing room. The checkers flew over Reu, Barnes, Taft, Fraise, Fullenkamp, and Abbott in that order.

   Eleven IMCA Stock Cars took the green flag for eighteen laps. The first of what would be only four feature yellows for the entire night came on the first attempt at a start. Back under green, Beau Taylor shot to the lead. Two more trips around, and sixth starting John Oliver Jr. moved to the front. It was lap six when Derrick Agee was scored the leader as he ran in tight formation with Oliver Jr. and tenth starting David Brandies. In fact as they crossed under the flag stand of Rodney Bleisner for lap eight, they were three wide for the lead. Oliver Jr. was glued to the inside line, as Brandies edged ahead running the middle groove in turns one and two while pounding the cushion at the other end. Agee dropped back slightly with Brandies barely ahead as the laps wound down. Oliver Jr. came charging back on the inside as the duo exited turn two on the final trip around, and the pair exited turn four in a dead heat. Only the scoring loop could tell that Brandies took the top spot. Oliver Jr. was second, trailed by Agee, Jeremy Pundt, Dakota Simonsen, and Taylor.

   All thirteen IMCA Modifieds would be up next for eighteen laps. Blaine Webster shot well ahead as racing began, while row four starter Bill Roberts Jr. charged to the runner up spot on lap two. Also on the move was ninth starting Austen Becerra, climbing to fourth on lap three, then third one lap later. A quick yellow came at lap five as rookie Brian Reed got out of shape on the front stretch. The restart saw Becerra getting too high in turns one and two and being shuffled back to sixth as Roberts Jr. powered to the front. Eighth starting Daniel Fellows moved to second on lap eight before the hard charging Becerra cleared a three wide battle to take the runner up spot at the halfway mark. By now Roberts Jr. had opened a nice advantage, but with clear track ahead, Austen began to run him down. Becerra actually took the lead but a second caution put the #5R of Roberts back out front. As the green waved again, Roberts was working a high line while Becerra switched to the low groove. Fifteen circuits in Becerra snatched the top spot coming out of turn two, and he then marched off to another win. Roberts Jr. took runner up honors while Jadin Fuller edged Fellows for third. Dennis Laveine and Webster came next. 

   IMCA Late Models would race the second non stop feature, with the green flag waving before darkness had settled in! Matt Jones was the only one of the sixteen cars not coming to the track for the twenty five lapper. Sam Halstead has struggled a bit of late, but after a heat race win, he redrew the front row for the main event. He took the early lead with two time winner Nick Marolf nipping at his heels. Halstead remained true to the low line while Marolf searched multiple grooves in what quickly became a two car pull away. After pulling even on lap eleven, Nick drove the high line to the lead one lap later. But Halstead was not done, and was back in front as lap thirteen was scored. The low line was working to perfection for Sam, so once again Marolf went searching for a faster groove. Gradually Halstead increased his margin even as slower traffic became a challenge. "Superman" cruised to his first win of the season with Marolf unchallenged in second. Jay Johnson advanced four positions to run a strong third while Denny Woodworth started and finished in fourth. Mark Burgtorf was the pilot of the Lynn Richard #15R on this night, collecting a top five. Another two time winner, C.J. Horn finished where he began in sixth ahead of twelfth starting Tommy Elston, Jeremy Pundt, Dalton Simonsen, and rookie Christian Miles.

   All fifteen IMCA Northern Sport Mods would race eighteen laps to wrap things up. As the pack exited turn two on the opening lap, Cole Gillenwater saw his night go from the penthouse to the outhouse. After picking up a heat race win, the second generation driver spun in front of the pack, and while several cars avoided his #10C sitting in the middle of the track, Brandt Ames made heavy contact, sending his own #57 bouncing high in the air. Although both drivers were okay, both cars headed to the pits behind wreckers. During the delay, Jim Gillenwater, who had tagged the tail of the field also went pitside, as did Nicholas Profeta who suffered apparent ignition problems all night. The remaining eleven cars then battled non stop for the eighteen circuits. Matt Tucker paced the first seven laps as first Adam Birck then Brandon Dale searched for a way around the #00. Birck was seemingly set up for the inside line, thus following Tucker in his tracks as he tried to get his nose inside the leader. Dale instead hit the cushion, finally gaining the momentum to take the lead on lap eight. From that point he methodically increased his lead. Birck then followed Dale in the top line, but was losing ground, and was soon in a battle with Logan Cumby for third. As Dale drove off from the pack, Tucker, Cumby, Birck, and twelfth starting John Oliver Jr. raced in a tight pack behind him. With Dale cruising to the win, Birck was able to clear Tucker on the final lap for second. OliverJr. Was fourth ahead of Cumby and Reed Wolfmeyer. 

   The final checkers delightfully waved at 9:43!

   Sadly it was announced in the drivers meeting that 2023 would be the final season at LCS for promoters Brian and Marcie Gaylord. Of course it is too early to know what the future holds for the fairgrounds speedway, but with the recent purchase of some 4,000 bleachers seats from the shuttered I-80 Speedway in Nebraska, we can only hope that someone as capable as the Gaylords will be next in line to guide the program. In the mean time, there is plenty of exciting racing ahead at the three eighths mile track this season! 

   With one eye on the skies, we are making plans for our first visit of 2023 to the West Liberty Raceway tonight as the SLMR Late Models competing for a $3,000 prize top a four division program. Maybe we will see you there!

Perry, Weitholder, Wolfmeyer, Cottom, and Delonjay Tops at Quincy

    The third installment of the UMP King of the Bullring series at Adams County, Il. Speedway east of Quincy was the featured attraction for Quincy Auto Supply Night on Sunday. $1,000 would be on the line for the Modified winner. The other four regular classes, Pro Crate Late Models, IMCA Sport Mods, Street Stocks, and 4 Cylinders filled out the program.

   Seventy five race teams checked in on a hot, muggy afternoon that gave way to threatening skies as the evening wore on. Despite a few flashes of lightning and sprinkles, nothing of consequence came of it, as our little corner of the world remains frightfully dry.

   Hot laps were pushed back thirty minutes due to the heat, and we welcomed back announcer Doug Mealy after medical issues had kept him on the sidelines for about three weeks. Finally under way, Austen Becerra topped qualifying for the UMP Modifieds at 14.240 seconds. This would be the high point of the night for the defending track champion, who pulled out of his heat race after a pole start, began the feature in sixteenth, but managed to advance to fifth at the checkers.

   Heat race action was plagued with a slew of yellow flags , but after intermission, it was finally feature time. 

   Late Models were first in the running order, with all thirteen cars lining up for twenty laps. Yellow flags continued to be in abundance, with an unusual number of five slowing the event. Jason Perry used his pole position to grab the early lead, and on lap two points leader Denny Woodworth brought out the caution with apparent steering issues, ending his second place run. I could not tell if there was any contact involved. Now it was third starting Tommy Elston in pursuit of the leader, but on lap four, Mark Burgtorf brought out the caution as he looped the Lynn Richard #15R in turns three and four. Back to racing, Elston cleared Perry for the top spot as those two drove off from the field. Lapped traffic came into play on lap twelve, but two laps later the yellow flew again. On this restart, Perry held to the inside line while Elston worked the middle and top, and on about lap fifteen, Jason retook the lead. Following a final caution, Elston was shuffled back several positions, allowing Perry to cruise to his first win after several seasons on the sidelines. Elston recovered to take second ahead of Braden Bilger. Burgtorf rebounded to run fourth, while thirteenth starting Darin Weisinger Jr., another heat race casualty, clawed his way to fifth. Cody Maguire, came home sixth in front of Friday Lee County winner Jason Oenning, Derek Hollenstine, Austin Poage, and James Dickerson. 

   UMP Modifieds were next, seventeen strong for eighteen laps. Damien Kiefer and Dave Weitholder sat on row one, with Kiefer getting the jump. Weitholder took over on lap three ahead of a hair trigger yellow. By the halfway point, Dave was well ahead when Rick Conoyer moved to the runner up spot. About lap sixteen (no working scoreboard tonight) a lapped car got out of shape in front of the leader in turn four. Weitholder appeared to stop to avoid hard contact, but in a controversial move, he was allowed to restart at the front of the field. On the Delaware restart, Rick Stevenson pulled alongside Weitholder, and the two put on the show of the night. As the checkers waved, they were side by side, and only the transponders could decide this, with Weitholder the winner by 0.10 seconds! In fact, both drivers stopped in victory lane! Conoyer was third, chased by Mike Vanderiet Jr. and Becerra.

   During post race festivities, the lights went out in turn one, and while we were assured they would be back up soon, the track crew instead moved some portable lights to the infield so that racing could resume. During this delay, track promoter Jim Lieurence became ill, and after being checked over by the EMS crew, he went to the local hospital by private vehicle to be checked out. As of this writing, I have seen no update, our prayers are with Jim and his family. 

   But the show must go on, so now it was IMCA Sport Mods. Eighteen took the green flag, with front row starter Michael Goodwin leading the charge. Last weeks' winner Reed Wolfmeyer came from row three to lead lap two, and we were able to see seven caution free laps ahead of a spate of four yellows. During the restarts, Dakota Girard took up the chase after starting in seventh, but Wolfmeyer checked out in the last nine caution free laps to score the win. Following Girard was defending champion Adam Birck, Goodwin, and Kyler Girard, younger sibling to Dakota. 

Only nine Street Stocks signed in, and they would run fifteen laps with only one caution to slow things down. Robert Cottom would lead flag to flag in front of a great battle for second between Sage Martin, visiting Terry Reed, and Jake Powers. Cottom walked off with the win, while Powers won the race for second followed by Reed, Martin, and Troy Grotz.

 4 Cylinders would wrap the action, eighteen strong for a dozen laps. Following an original restart for the only caution, Travis Demint took the lead chased by Jimmy Dutlinger. Soon secind starting Jeffery Delonjay rebounded to join the hunt, taking over on lap three. He would then check out on the field to collect the win. Dutlinger rolled home second ahead of sixth starting Kimberly Abbott, Demint, and the younger Delonjay, Jaden. 

   The marathon night of action came to a close shortly after 10 P.M.

   Thanks to the gang at Adams County, and again best wishes to Jimmy on a speedy recovery.

Derrick Stewart Takes First SLMR Checkers

    Friday we journeyed north to C.J. Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa for the 2nd annual Tony Stewart Tribute race featuring the Hoker Trucking SLMR (Super Late Model Racing) cars and stars. The brain child of National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Joe Kosiski, the series was born from the ashes of the long running IMCA Summer Series which was purchased by the oldest of the three racing brothers from Omaha, Nebraska. Unlike the Summer Series, the rules package for SLMR is such that weight and engine adjustments are used to make both the spec engine and open power plants competitive. Although there is both an East and West series - the West sponsored by Malvern Bank - several events are in effect co sanctioned by both divisions. For stand alone races, Webster City would seem to be something of an arbitrary dividing line. 

   This night would be a points paying event for the East division, with a $3,000 top prize to the winner of the main event. The regular five Friday night IMCA classes would fill out the card, making for a busy night of racing under the knowledgeable and experienced guidance of promoter Larry Richardson, flagman Doug Haack and announcer Jerry "Hello Race Fans!" Mackey.

   C.J. Speedway was whittled down many years ago from a half mile track to a racy four tenths mile. It sits on the Louisa County Fairgrounds on the southeast side of town. A grassy levee beginning in turn one and extending the length of the backstretch is the only protection from the sometimes rising waters of the Iowa River. Both on purpose and accidentally, the levee often serves as something of a launching pad for out of shape or "squeezed" drivers charging down the back chute!

   Eighty two race teams signed in on a hot and steamy night in front of a huge Friday night crowd. As forecast, there were some heavy rain showers here and there, but the area around the speedway remained dry. Still the high humidity, cloudy conditions, and changing winds added to the puzzle of race track prep, and the cars made several laps ahead of each heat race in an attempt to widen out the racing groove. 

   Derrick Stewart, from nearby Ainsworth, in his second year in a Late Model after a successful Modified career topped qualifying at his home track with a lap of 18.923 seconds. SLMR uses a fast six invert from time trials to line up heat races which made the eight lap qualifiers more interesting. Never the less, all three heats were won from the front row, with Luke Pestka, Brian Harris, and Jonathon Brauns first across the line. 

   The car count in the regular five divisions was a bit light, but each class had enough cars for a pair of heat races. 

   IMCA Sport Compacts kicked off feature racing, with eight of the ten on hand battling for ten laps. Darin Smith grabbed the early lead, giving way to Caleb Geise on lap three. Kolby Sabin made the trip from Des Moines, started in eighth and soon moved up to challenge Geise in what became a two car chase in the non stop event. As the leaders entered the final turns, there was some contact, and Sabin won the drag race to the checkers, leading only a few yards, but enough to take the win. Geise was second followed by Smith, Cristian Grady, and Alex Hayes. 

   There was then a brief intermission for some track prep before all twenty four Late Models came to the track for thirty laps of racing. Stewart and another National Dirt Hall of Famer, Jeff Aikey filled out row one, and they lead the field through the first nine laps. Building a sizable lead, Stewart caught the back of the pack on lap seven, and by lap eight he was dealing with a gaggle of slower cars. However by the time Luke Goedert cleared Aikey for second, Stewart had checked out on the field. As the race reached the mid point, Goedert, Aikey, and 2022 winner Chad Holladay were in a tight battle for second, with series points leader Andy Eckrich lurking close behind in fifth. Stewart saw his lead evaporate at lap nineteen when the only caution of the race stopped the action. Although I am not sure what happened, there were sparks around Goederts' #44 and he wound up nosed against the embankment at the end of the front straightaway, his run over. Following the Delaware style restart, Stewart went to the cushion with Holladay in pursuit. But soon the leader had built another nice advantage. Holladay made a late charge as Stewart caught slower traffic about lap twenty seven, but he could not get close enough to challenge the #43 as Stewart scored a flag to flag victory. Holladay took second ahead of Aikey, Eckrich, and Jason Hahne. Matt Ryan rode home sixth in front of Jeff Larson, Charlie McKenna, Jason Rauen, and Pestka.

   Following a lengthy presentation of awards, all ten IMCA Hobby Stocks lined up for a dozen laps. Two yellow flags, one on the first attempt at a start, slowed the racing, but it only delayed the inevitable, as Luke Phillips easily had the dominate car on this night. Starting in sixth, he was in front as lap one was scored and never looked back. Only that second caution as he was coming to the white flag, slowed his run, but he again pulled away during the green, white, checkers finish. Randy LaMar took the runner up honors, but Tucker Richardson saw his third place effort evaporate when he spun in turns one and two on the final lap. Billy Stanford then took the spot, followed by Jason Schutterle, and Preston McDonald. A man of few words, when asked in victory lane who he would like to thank, Luke simply said " Team Wapello!"

   IMCA Stock Cars were up next  for sixteen laps. The yellow flag waved on the start for a spinner in turn two, and top contender Johnny Spaw ducked to the pits for a tire change. Norman Bean took the lead as racing resumed, with Adam Bell in pursuit. Those two exchanged the top spot back and forth ahead of a lap seven yellow. Again Spaw took a quick pit stop to remove his hood, which was obviously missing a pin and had been flopping in the breeze. As Bell led at the halfway point, Spaw was already back to fifth, and he continued to pick off the front runners. The top five continued to battle in close formation, and Spaw moved to second with just three laps to go. That would be as close as he could get, as Bell was first to the checkers. Dustin Griffiths advanced six positions to third, trailed by Bean, and tenth starting Nathan Ballard.

   Fourteen IMCA Modifieds lined up to go eighteen laps. Late Model driver Tim Simpson put his new #17 on the pole and paced the field ahead of a lap two caution during which he ducked pitside for service. With a new side by side front row on the restart, Kurt Kile stormed to the lead followed by Dakota Simmons. Jarrett Brown had started in row four, but moved to third with five laps scored. Two more trips around and Brown drove to second, and as Kile was temporarily caught in slower traffic, Brown moved in to challenge at lap nine. Clearing lapped traffic, Kile opened a bit of breathing room, and along with Brown and Simmons they drove off from the field. Traffic again became a factor by lap fourteen allowing Brown to stay close, and coming to the white flag, he executed a slide job in turns three and four. Kile was able to cross over and maintain the lead. But as the front pair entered those same turns on the final lap, Kile drifted high, leaving the door open for Brown, who like Sabin earlier, led only a few feet to pick up the win. Kile was second, Simmons third, then it was Shane Richardson and Cedar Fall driver Kip Siems in fifth. 

   IMCA Sport Mods rounded out the long night of racing, but they certainly did their part to help out, running sixteen caution free laps. Todd Hansen was the early leader as three cars raced three wide for second. It was Carter VanDenBerg who won that battle and by lap three he had charged to the front. Sixth starting Justin Becker now moved in to challenge, taking the lead at lap five. Dylan VanWyk joined the party as we moved past the halfway mark. On lap eleven, VanWyk pulled a slider in turn two, not quite clearing Becker, who made contact, slowing his momentum. VanDenBerg attempted to stay close, but VanWyk drove off to the win. Becker held on for third, topping Trey Rock, and Hansen.

   The final checkers came as we closed in on 11:30 after a full night of racing. Thanks to Larry for his hospitality and to Jerry for the shout out for our Positively Racing crew. 

   Saturday will be a night of R and R, then it will be another $1,000 to win King of the Bullring special for UMP Mods at Adams County,Il. Speedway! Hope to see you there.