Benton County Speedway "The Bullring" Crowns Season Champions

    Sunday night we traveled to the Benton County Speedway "the Bullring" in Vinton, Iowa as the first year Pro Late Model series crowned their season champion. In addition, six other classes competing at the fairgrounds quarter mile contested their championship features. The Late Models would race a full program, while the other classes would run features only. In place of heat races there were front stretch driver introductions for the remaining six classes. With a goal of still getting the program completed in a timely manner, hot laps kicked off one hour earlier than normal. A solid field of one hundred and nine race teams rolled through the pit gate and following hot laps the first green flag for three Late Model heats waved at 5:30 sharp. 

   Passing points were tabulated for the Late Models, and after charging from the seventh starting spot to the front in heat three, popular veteran Curt Martin topped the leader board. Adding a twist to the proceedings, he then pulled a number four to set up a four car invert for the thirty lap feature, putting Bryan Klein and heat two winner Corey Dripps on row one, while Martin shared row two with heat one winner and series points leader Logan Duffy

   Before their main event however, there were six other features to be staged. Although the track was in excellent racing condition, with crews continually tickling and watering the surface during post race interviews and driver introductions, there were an over abundance of stoppages during the seven features. By my unofficial count, twenty three  times the yellow flag flew during the features for everything from over driving to score settling perhaps taking place!

   Inex Legend Cars would kick things off, sixteen cars battling for fifteen laps. The first of those cautions came with one lap in the books, as Cohen Henze lost a wheel on the front stretch. Back to racing, it was Griffin McGrath and Kevin Korsmo locked in a tight two car duel up front. A second and final yellow came with just two laps remaining, but the green, white, checkers Delaware restart only delayed things for McGrath, who pulled away to take the win. Korsmo held second, while Danny Lehmkuhl slipped around points champion Michael Weber on the final circuit for third. Cole O'Brien completed the top five. 

   IMCA Northern Sport Mods would be next, seventeen strong for fifteen trips around the fairgrounds quarter mile. It was a rocky start, as an IMCA Modified looking for some extra hot laps lined up well behind the starting grid, but spun out on the first lap, causing a yellow flag situation. Well, there is a first time for everything, I guess! Josh Barnes was the early leader with Robert Patava in pursuit. Soon Brady Hilmer and Tony Olson took up the chase behind Barnes. The leaders were locked in the low line when the next caution came with eight laps down. On the restart, Olson decided to try a higher line, but almost as soon as he took off, he slowed and headed for the pits. With most eyes watching to see if he was able to clear the track, something happened up front that saw the leader suddenly sitting in the infield off the backstretch. Climbing from his car, Barnes showed his displeasure with another competitor, although neither our group nor announcer Ryan Clark were sure what happened. It was now Brady Hilmer on the point, and following a lap twelve caution, he was pulling well ahead. As the leader was exiting turn four looking for the checkers, he saw the yellow flag instead, as a car had spun in turn two. I will insert a personal opinion here, as it seems to me in this day of drivers wearing Raceivers, that a checkered flag along with a warning of a stalled car in turn two would be a better way to do business, but then I was not in charge... as a side note, this would happen a second time later on. At any rate, this set up a two lap finish rather than a green and white one lap dash. Still Hilmer was up to the challenge, taking the delayed victory. Sam Wieben took runner up honors ahead of Joe Docekal, Kyle Olson, and Patava. 

   IMCA Sport Compacts would show sixteen cars for sixteen laps of action. Steven Randall would pace the field ahead of a lap two caution. Things were plenty entertaining, with lots of good old fashioned bumpin' and bangin' ahead of a final caution on lap five. Back to racing, Nolan Tuttle grabbed the lead, taking Cristian Grady along in second. The duo then pulled away in a tight two car scrum, running nose to tail before Grady pulled alongside down the backstretch on the final circuit. Grady took his first lead as the cars came through the last set of turns and snatched away the victory. Tuttle ran second, trailed by Randall, Colton Stewart, and Robert Rundle. 

   A short field of ten IMCA Stock Cars would next go fifteen laps to a checkered flag. Kaden Reynolds lined up in the sixth starting spot, but quickly powered his #1 machine to the lead on the opening lap ahead of a lap two caution. Kyle Olson was subbing in the #49 car, and he came charging back through the field after restarting on the tail. He had worked his way to third before a lap seven caution would have moved him back to fourth, but a two position penalty for jumping the start saw him now back to sixth. Leah Wroten had rolled off in row four, and she held a slim points lead over Reynolds, needing to stay withing two positions of him to claim the championship. She was locked in a tight battle with Norman Chesmore with Olson again on the move while Reynolds was cruising up front. She was finally able to secure the runner up spot, then once again the caution waved on the final lap for a car setting low on the backstretch. But Reynolds remained in command, winning the battle while Wroten won the war. Chesmore, Olson, and Logan Clausen completed the top five. 

   Fifteen laps would be the distance for fourteen IMCA Hobby Stocks. Following a lap one restart for a spinning car, the field nearly stacked up in turn four as pole sitter Bradly Graham got out of shape temporarily, making a great save. However the bottle neck allowed Dalton Weepie to shoot to a big lead as the pack scrambled down the front stretch. Two more yellow flags would halt the action, but there would be no stopping the high riding Weepie. He cruised to the win over eighth starting Matt Brown, row six starter Joren Fisher, a rebounding Graham, and Michael Kimm. 

   Rolling along, it was a dozen IMCA Mods for twenty laps of action. Following a lap one caution, Chase Weimer and Jacob Snyder paced the field. Sixth starting Troy Cordes was on the move, taking over the lead following a caution on lap two ( or was it three?, the scoring seemed a bit off!). At any rate, he battled with Snyder, swapping the spot back and forth before Joel Rust joined the party after lining up in row four. Cordes held the top spot until a restart with eleven laps scored, when Rust took over. From there, the #26 was never headed, as Rust became the only points leader to also claim the feature win. Cordes topped Brennen Chipp, Patrick Flannagan, and Snyder in the fast paced event. 

   Pro Late Models would wrap things up, with all twenty two competitors lining up for thirty laps and a $3,500 top prize. The Late Models were hardly exempt from the yellow fever, with the race stopped five times, although the first three came before one lap was scored! The front row of Klein and Dripps drove off from the pack in a great two car duel, Klein tucked in the low groove while Dripps pounded the cushion. Martin tried to make it a three car battle, but could not maintain the pace of the front runners. Multiple lead changes occurred between the front pair, and if not for the electronic timing, it would have been difficult to tell who was on top as they continued to race side by side. On lap thirteen, they caught the back of the pack, and just to keep things interesting, each had a car racing for position directly in their line. The log jam was broken four laps later when the yellow waved for Chase Brunscheen. As the green flag again waved, ninth running Bobby Hansen lost power in turn three, his night over. On the restart, it was twelfth starting J.D. Auringer, filling in for Brandon Davis behind the wheel of the #62  joining the front runners. Dripps took the lead on lap twenty one, with Auringer rolling in second one lap later. Now those two were locked in a tight battle, with Auringer finally grabbing the lead five laps from the finish. Finding speed late, eighth starting Nick Marolf took third one lap later, and as J.D. opened a bit of a cushion, Marolf drove around Dripps for second in the final laps. The official finish was Auringer with the win, followed by Marolf, Dripps, Klein, and C. J. Horn. Martin came home sixth, followed by Greg Kastli, Gabe Umbarger, Sean Johnson, and Duffy. Dripps would be the first ever series champion.

   It was a long but fun and exciting night of racing for our party of four! Thanks to Rick and Corey for their hospitality and to Ryan for the shout outs for Positively Racing and the All Iowa Points. The track will be back in action next Sunday with Sprint Invaders and Legends Cars topping the bill. Next for us will be the rescheduled season championships and IMCA Late Model Drive for Five finale this Thursday, August 31 at Lee County Speedway. Admission is only $5.00, courtesy of U.S. Cellular! Hope to see you there!

Nienhiser, Elston, Cottom, Klingele, Delonjay Winners at Adams County

    Hot, muggy conditions greeted the racing faithful Sunday night at Adams County, Il. Speedway. Sixty seven hearty competitors signed in, with shady pit spots at a premium! UMP Modifieds had the night off, replaced with a visit by the traveling 360C.I. Sprint Invaders, seventeen strong. 

   Drawing for starting positions, the open wheel gladiators staged a pair of heat races, a Shake Up Dash, and finished off with a twenty five lap high speed feature. 

   Before that action, however, the Crate Late Models time trial qualified for the second time since dropping the draw format. Tommy Elston topped the fourteen signed in with a lap of 13.510 seconds, earning him the pole position in the first heat race, in which he was victorious., along with second fastest qualifier and heat two pole sitter Jason Perry. 

   Also in preliminary action, Tasker Phillips picked up a weekend ride in the #IE Sprint and advanced four positions to win heat one while Colton Fisher drove off from the pole to take heat two. Tyler Burton and Quinton Shelton were IMCA Northern Sport Mod heat winners. Robert Cottom was a familiar winner in Street Stock heat one, while the second eight lapper went to a Modified regular, Jacob Rexing, who showed up with a #59R wrapped identically to his UMP Mod. Only nine Dirtcar 4 Cylinders signed in, with Jaden Delonjay grabbing the checkers. The Shake Up Dash consisted of the heat winners plus the next highest four in passing points. Phillips used a pole start to nab the win, then pulled a five for the feature invert, placing him in row three.

   Following intermission while some extra water was added to what was an almost perfect track - kudos to Steve Grotz and his crew for a splendid racing surface! - Sport Mods lined up for their eighteen lap feature. As the green flag waved, Shelton spun in turn two collecting multiple cars and creating a lengthy delay to sort things out. When racing resumed, only twelve of the fifteen starters were still in action. Josh Holtman grabbed the lead ahead of Logan Cumby. With five laps complete, Burton spun in turn two and with no way to avoid the #51, Pete Stodgel drove over Burtons' car, eliminating both from the race. On the Delaware restart, Austin Howes, out for the first time this season in a Sport Mod charged from third to first, while Tanner Klingele jumped from fifth to second. Tanner had originally lined up in row five, but was relegated to the back after getting caught up in an earlier mix up. The two front runners battled side by side for several laps with Klingele holding a slight advantage when Austin McClean brought out the caution with six laps remaining. The time limit was now up meaning the next yellow flag would set up a green, white, checkers finish, so of course the final laps went caution free! Adam Birck drove around Howes for second, but there would be no catching a fired up Klingele. Howes held third in front of Reed Wolfmeyer and A.J. Tournear. 

   It was now time for the Sprinters to shine. As it turned out, the Shake Up Dash had little effect, as sixth starting Paul Nienhiser - a Quincy favorite, it seems - blasted from outside row three to the front on the opening lap ahead of second starting Fisher. Series points leader Ryan Bunton moved to second on lap three, but Nienhiser was quickly headed for another Zip Code. Two more trips around the .29 mile semi banked oval brought the first caution as a visibly upset Cody Wehrle rolled to a stop at the end of the front stretch after contact from another car. Fisher moved back to second on the restart, but again Nienhiser checked out on the field. One more caution came with nine in the books as top contender Joey Moughan came to a stop. About lap fourteen Nienhiser caught slower traffic and had to occasionally switch from his cushion pounding line, but it made no difference as he easily negotiated the lapped traffic. Only once, with about six to go did he seem to nearly lose his grip on the lightning fast track, but he stayed under control and crossed the finish line nearly a half track ahead of the second place car. That spot went to Fisher, with Bunton in third. Chase Porter started and finished fourth, likewise for fifth place Phillips. Sixth through tenth went to Luke Verardi, Steven Russell, Tyler Lee, veteran Randy Martin, and Bret Tripplett. 

   Many of the Sprint car followers stayed around as the Late Models lined up for twenty laps of racing. Perry and Elston shared row one, with Tommy taking the initial lead. Jason moved to the front on lap two as that duo put distance on the field. Elston continued to move around the racing surface looking for a way around the leader. Finally, with six laps remaining they came upon a slower car and while Perry appeared to hesitate just a bit, Elston dove to the inside and exited turn four with the lead. From that point he was able to separate himself from the #27, taking the win by several car lengths in the non stop event. It was the fourth win for the Keokuk, Iowa veteran at the Bullring this season. Following Perry across the line it was Denny Woodworth, Braden Bilger, and Keith Pratt again subbing for Derek Hollenstine in the #21. Jamie Wilson started and finished sixth, topping rookie Christian Miles, Darin Weisinger Jr - still in his back up #11 - Jason Oenning, and Cody Maguire. 

   Ten Street Stocks battled for fifteen laps. Cottom and Rexing filled out row one, and for the first four circuits they ran side by side in a nearly dead head! But as they raced out of turn four to complete lap five, Rexing rolled to a stop, his strong run over. Back to green, Cottom now pulled well in front of an intense duel for second between Rudy Zaragoza and Sage Martin. A second yellow came with eight laps scored, then back to racing contact between Rickey Frankel III and Ryan Aden sent Aden cross ways on the track where he was hit hard by Dustin Smith, fracturing the radiator on the Aden #53 and necessitating a red flag for clean up. As the leaders headed to the white flag, the caution came one more time, setting up a one lap dash. The delay did nothing to slow Cottom, who cruised to the win ahead of Zaragoza, Martin, Jake Powers tonight driving the Kale Foster #11, and Frankel III. 

   4 Cylinders would race the finale, nine competitors for fifteen laps. Jaden Delonjay and Spencer Coats filled out row one, and they battled side by side with first Jaden, then Spencer crossing the line in front. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Delonjay and Landon Neisen looked for a way around the front pair. Soon it was the Delonjay brothers locked in a side by side duel behind Coats. Just after the halfway mark,it was three wide down the front chute. Jaden then nosed ahead only to be overtaken by Jeffrey with five to go. Jeffrey picked up I believe his ninth win in a row at the track! Jaden came home second, chased by Coats, Neisen, and Dyllan Bonk. 

   The final checkers waved about 9:55, capping a long but exciting night of action. Thanks to Jim, Tammy, and the gang for giving us Sunday night racing, heat be darned!

    After three nights in a row and two in the oppressive heat and humidity, it is time for a break! Next up looks like a Friday visit to Lee County Speedway which should be headlined by the Drive for Five finale with a possible $5,000 on the line for the Late Model winner! Hope to see you there!

Chad Simpson Doubles Up at West Liberty

    Saturday we followed the Hoker Trucking SLMR eastern division series as they invaded the West Liberty Raceway for the second time in 2023. It was also our second visit of the season to the historic half mile. Five other divisions, Modifieds, Stock Cars, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, and Compacts would fill out the card, all non sanctioned but utilizing IMCA rules. In our previous visit here in June Charlie McKenna topped a twenty three car field of the Joe Kosiski led SLMR Super Late Models.

   The car counts have been on the upswing for Kile Motorsports, and officially eighty teams checked in on Saturday. And to the delight of the very large crowd, twenty nine SLMR Late Models topped the card. For stats geeks like myself, apparently actually thirty cars came through the gate, but upon unloading one team discovered problems with their ride and headed down the road before checking in.

   As mentioned in my previous column, SLMR uses a somewhat complicated system of time trial qualifying, heat race six car inverts, and passing points to determine feature lineups, with the top sixteen in points earning starting positions for the main event.  The Late Models timed in two groups, but it was series points leader Chad Holladay with the fastest overall lap of 18.802 seconds around the big half mile. (As an aside, this old timer can remember back forty years or so when quick times at West Liberty ran in the twenty six second bracket!) 

   Heat race winners automatically earn feature starting spots, and tonight those victories went to Nick Marolf, Chad Simpson, Brian Harris, and Matt Ryan. Unlike the night before, only Marolf would win from the front row. With a pair of scratches from Jerry Johnson, and C.J. Horn, whose engine appeared to expire during time trials, the scheduled thirteen car B main was cancelled, with the remaining eleven going directly to the twenty five lap feature. As it turned out, twenty six took the green flag, as Justin Kay, who was involved in a heat race mix up but still earned the sixteenth starting slot discovered issues that would keep him off the starting grid. 

   First after intermission though would be the Stock Car fifteen lapper. All ten entrants took the green flag. Dustin Vis shot to the lead from the pole position, but by about lap three fifth starting Nathan Ballard moved in to challenge for the lead. Ballard took over on lap five, and two laps later the first caution came as Vis spun in turn one stacking up several cars. The yellow flew again on the restart following which Ballard checked out on second running Johnny Spaw. The leader was exiting turn four headed for the white flag when the yellow waved instead setting up a green, white, checkers finish. Ballard was up to the challenge, taking a somewhat easy win. Spaw ran second followed by Greg Gill, and a tight battle between Tanner Allen, and Keegan Wells for fourth and fifth. 

   Next would be twelve of the thirteen Sport Mods for again fifteen trips around the oval. Shaun Slaughter set the pace from the green, opening a sizable advantage as Colton Livesay and Tyler Heckart waged an entertaining battle for second. The caution waved with eight in the books, then again on the restart as Livesay slowed, his night over. A third and final stoppage came one lap later, and back to racing sixth starting Ryan Walker charged to the runner up spot. But there would be no catching Slaughter, who cruised to victory. Walker came next, trailed by Heckart, Justin Schroeder, and Brad Salisberry. 

    As is often the case in eastern Iowa, the Hobby Stock count was sparse, with five cars racing for ten laps. Andrew Burk started on the pole, and the race would never be in doubt. His margin of victory in the non stop event was nearly a full straightaway. Jared Miller prevailed in second after a battle with Jason Schutterle. After taking the green flag well behind the field in the feature as well as the heat, Cody Staley also found his way around Schutterle for third. Kaden Staley was credited with fifth. 

   Now the event everyone was waiting for, the twenty six car, twenty five lap Late Model headliner, with $3,000 on the line. After all the ciphering was done, Charlie McKenna and Matt Ryan lined up in row one. "Chargin" Charlie powered to the lead at the drop of the green, looking for a repeat of his win here in June. He put considerable daylight between himself and the pack, catching the back of the field on lap seven. Meanwhile six cars raced side by side and nose to tail behind. Ryan, Brian Harris, Chad Simpson, Chad Holladay, Jeff Tharp and finally Andy Eckrich were locked in the battle. As the race passed the mid point Simpson cleared that group to take second and began to close on the leader. McKenna appeared to be slowing a bit ahead of the first caution seventeen laps in when Dave Eckrich rolled to a stop exiting turn four. Following the Delaware restart no laps were completed before Luke Goedert spun in turn two. It took two more laps under green before Simpson executed a low side pass for the lead coming out of turn four. Lap twenty was scored before another caution as Brandon Queen stopped against the wall between turns three and four. During the lap nineteen caution, now second running McKenna had stopped on the front stretch as a track worker took a peek inside the fender well on his #22 before waving him on. As the wrecker crew worked to hook the Queen #12, Charlie again stopped on the front stretch, and upon further inspection, he drove to the backstretch pit entrance, his solid run over. With the field reset and back under green, Harris pulled a major league slide job on Holladay to grab the runner up spot as the pair rolled through turns three and four. With Simpson checking out and only three laps to go, the red flag was displayed as Kyle Krampe literally knocked the wall down between turns three and four. His #K1 plowed through the barriers atop the guardrail. Although the driver was uninjured, it was a considerable amount of time before his car could be extricated from the wall. During the shutdown, series announcer Anthony Ainsley came to the track and began to interview the front running drivers, a couple of whom tried good-naturedly to convince Simpson that he had a tire going down! When racing resumed, the field now went single file, but there would be one more stoppage. Two laps from the finish, Harris suddenly slowed on the backstretch, his run over along with his shot at a podium finish for the second consecutive night. It was of little consequence to Simpson who powered from row three to his second series win of the weekend. Holladay would be the bridesmaid, with Andy Eckrich in third. Marolf came from tenth to fourth, and Tharp claimed fifth. Chris Spieker made the long haul from Massena, Iowa and gained nine positions to finish sixth, followed by Ryan, Jeff Aikey, and Gabe Umbarger. Fred Remley was the hard charger, starting twenty fifth and rounding out the top ten. 

   Although there was still a pair of features remaining, the long weekend was taking its' toll, and we regretfully decided to begin our journey back to Missouri and Illinois a bit early. Congratulations to Compact winner Cristian Grady, and Modified victor Denny Eckrich, who also repeated his Friday night trip to victory lane.

   Thanks to Katie and the entire Kile Motorsports team for their hospitality. It is always good to visit with the West Liberty gang, and we also had a nice visit with Davenport Speedways' Brenda Kay and her Mother!

 Time now for a nap, then a warm night at Adams County, Il. Speedway as Sprint Invaders top the card. Hope to see you there!

 

 

Simpson Edges Eckrich for a Last Lap Win at Lee County

    After an absence of a couple weeks, we were back at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on Friday night. The special attraction this night would be a visit by the Hoker Trucking SLMR eastern division series. $3,000 would be on the line for the Super Late Models. The full night of racing would also include IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern Sport Mods and Sport Compacts. Additionally, Sport Mods and Compacts would be running make up features which fell victim to rain two weeks prior. Those features would follow Late Model time trials. The SLMR format is a bit complicated, as they follow time trials with a six car invert for their heat races. If I am correct, the qualified feature cars are then lined up using a combination of qualifying times and heat race passing points. Or... something like that...

   In addition, Kohlmorgan Hauling of Keokuk kicked in an extra $1,000 into the Late Model purse specifically designed for the regular weekly competitors who race crate engines. The bonus would pay $500 to the highest finishing crate, with $300 and $200 to the next two in the running order. Should none make the main event, the extra money would apply to the B main. And to top things off, the first 300 in the grandstand would get in free, courtesy of Halo Thermal Protection. 

   With great weather, things were lining up for an excellent night of racing on the fairgrounds D shaped three eighths mile. Additionally, the track fifty plus miles up the road in Columbus Junction concluded their regular season one week ago, and with some of those drivers added in, the pits swelled to one hundred and eight cars signed in! 

The result was Late Model time trials, fifteen heat races, two Late Model B mains and seven feature events in front of easily the biggest crowd of the season.The track was smooth and fast, and it was an incredible night of racing!

   Thirteen cars returned for the Sport Mod make up, and the eighteen laps ran off in good time with only two yellow flags slowing the action. Tom Bowling Jr. led the opening laps before Sean Wyett took over on lap four. Following a caution for a rare spin by Jim Gillenwater, Dakota Girard used the Delaware restart to snag the runner up spot. Adam Birck had lined up in row five, and as the race stayed green, he worked his way to third just before halfway. But Wyett was on cruise control, and he walked home to the first checkers of the night followed by Girard, Birck, Brandon Dale, and Nicholas Profeta. 

   Nine took the green flag for the fifteen lap Compact make up. Brandon Reu started in fourth, worked quickly to the front and had a nearly straightaway advantage when the checkers waved in the non stop event. Luke Fraise, Barry Taft, Chevy Barnes, and Chandler Fullenkamp chased Reu to the flag.

   Chad Simpson topped SLMR qualifying, turning a quick lap of 15.957 seconds, putting him in row three for his heat race. The top sixteen in passing points in those four heats moved directly to the thirty lap feature, with the heat winners guaranteed to transfer on. Track regular Nick Marolf, Brian Harris, venerable Darrel Defrance, and Andy Eckrich were heat winners. Eckrich came from row three in his qualifier, while the other three winners came from the front row. Only the top two from the B's would move on, winners were Fred Remley and local legend Tommy Elston. Remley captured his race from the pole position while Elston started fifth, passing National Dirt Hall of Famer Jeff Aikey for the win. Two series points provisional starters gave us a twenty two car grid for the headline event.

   First though it was Stock Cars, with all nineteen making the call for eighteen laps. Dustin Vis and Jeremy Pundt held the front row, with Jeremy vaulting to the early lead. Quite out of character for the Stock Cars, four caution periods came in the first five laps. From there however, the race went green all the way. The leaders all seemed to find the inside line to their liking, and Vis stayed on the bumper of the leader until the final half dozen or so laps when Pundt began to pull away. Jeremy then cruised to his first win of 2023 in either of the classes he competes in. Vis ran all eighteen circuits in second, with Jason Cook starting and finishing in third. Chad Krogmeier did likewise in fourth, while Derrick Agee advanced three positions to fifth. It was a rough night for hot shoe John Oliver Jr. who started from row eight, brought out a caution for an apparent flat tire, then ran the last part of the race with what appeared to be a broken left front tie rod. 

   Modifieds would be next, all twenty cars for eighteen laps. Veteran Denny Eckrich drew the pole position, and despite a heavy challenge from Mark Burgtorf, he scored a flag to flag non stop win. Denny caught the back of the pack about lap seven, and seemed to be in heavy traffic most of the time after that. Showing the expertise gained from many successful seasons, he was a master at weaving his iconic #50 through the maze of cars. Meanwhile the equally skilled Burgtorf had to contend with Chris Simpson who took a ride in the #32 Mod on this night. Six laps from the finish, Chris went for a spin in the seemingly slick turn four, kept going, but was now out of contention. As this all played out, tenth starting Austen Becerra emerged from an early battle with Jarrett Brown to advance to third and was closing quickly on the leaders as the laps ran out. Dakota Simmons was steady in taking fourth ahead of Brown and Simpson. 

   The highly anticipated Late Model thirty lapper came next. The time trial, passing points formula found Chad Holladay and Jeff Tharp sitting in row one, and those two broke away early with Holladay leading the charge. Andy Eckrich joined the front duo, and grabbed second on lap five only to have Tharp take it back one lap later. At the same time, Chad Simpson rebounded from a slow start to move to fourth. Lap thirteen saw Tharp move up a lane from the low riding Holladay and grab the lead, but two laps later it was Holladay again in command. Eckrich also cleared Tharp on lap sixteen, and two more trips around showed Andy in first and Simpson up to third. With eighteen laps scored, the yellow flag flew for Luke Goedert, and as Simpson took second on the restart, a final caution came as a tractor tire was punted in turn two. Back to racing, Brian Harris decided to try the narrowing cushion, and he took off, entering the top five, then gaining two kore spots to third. About this time, the Avis scoreboard had had enough and went dark, so now the lap count became a guessing game. Andy was working the very bottom groove while Simpson worked a higher line in what evolved into a two car battle. Chad was in front with four laps remaining, Andy out front the next time by. Eckrich held the lead until the final lap when the leaders caught Curt Schroeder who was racing in the low groove. With Eckrich needing to check up a bit, Simpson was able to drive around him and pick up the hard fought win. Harris held third over Holladay and track regular C. J. Horn. Tharp faded to sixth in front of Jeff "Bone" Larson, Matt Ryan, SLMR first timer Rickey Frankel, and Bryan Klein. I am not sure if Horn was racing a crate engine, if so he would have collected the top bonus, as I believe fourteenth running Elston would have been next in line. 

   Many in the crowd headed for the exits as twenty one Sport Mods came to the track for eighteen laps. I had set a 11:30 curfew for myself with an early Saturday call, and things were looking good! However five caution periods, several requiring a wrecker tow, marred the event. Finally, with single file restarts, double duty John Oliver Jr. took off in the #55, negotiating lapped traffic in style. Following the final restart, however, Dylan VanWyk took a look up top and slipped around Oliver with just a pair of laps remaining. He then took the checkers, chased by Oliver. Adam Birck scored his second third of the night, followed by Dakota Girard and make up winner Wyett. 

  We headed for the exits as the Compacts cam to the track to round out the night. Checking results on the way home showed Josh Barnes with the win, topping Kimberly Abbott ( who exited the make up feature behind the wrecker!), Fraise, Chandler Fullenkamp, and Chevy Barnes.

   Thanks as always to the Gaylords and their team for easily the best night of racing we have seen at Lee County in 2023! If errands get complete, I hope to head for West Liberty tonight as the SLMR series moves to the big fairgrounds half mile where "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna was victorious in their stop earlier this season. Five classes will run in support on what looks to be another great night for racing. Hope to see you there!

Rain, Rain (Rain) Go Away

    Racin' Down the Road night number forty ended before it began! With the pits filling up at Adams County, Il. Speedway near Quincy, an off and on light drizzle became constant, eventually soaking the grounds to the point that promoter Jim Lieurence had no choice but to pull the plug on the nights' races. While My Race Pass showed thirty two cars on hand, there were several more waiting to sign in, wisely avoiding a pit road that became an adventure of its own, with at least one big rig needing a tow to make it through the muck. Along with Crate Late Models, UMP Modifieds and Dirtcar 4 Cylinders, the Pure Cool Hart B Modifieds were on the card. Sprint Invaders headline the action next Sunday with the schedule showing Crate Late Models, IMCA Sport Mods and Street Stocks as well, check Facebook for updates.

   This Sunday night cancellation put a disappointing exclamation point on what started out as a potential three race weekend. Visiting grandson Keagan, his wife Megan and their boys had us in line for a pair of race nights following the Malvern Bank Cash Money Super Late Model Series. However a passing storm caused electrical issues and a cancellation at what would have been a new to me track, Midway Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri on Friday. Then with early morning showers on Saturday, Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri wiped out what would have been the first race track visit for great grandson Chester. Oh well, at least the rain held off for a Saturday morning visit to the St. Louis Zoo!

   We will try again this upcoming weekend for a full slate of action. Friday the Hoker Trucking SLMR East Series will visit Lee County Speedway in Donnellson followed by a trip to the fast half mile at West Liberty Raceway on Saturday. Then it will be back to Adams County, Il. Speedway on Sunday for Sprint Invaders. The season is quickly winding down, turn off the T.V. and head to the track!

Adams County,Il. Wins to Elston, Weitholder, Birck, Zaragoza and Delonjay

    With the possibility of storms around on Sunday, promoter Jim Lieurence rolled the dice, deciding to give it a go at Adams County,Il. Speedway. Hoping for some drying, gate and starting times were pushed back, with hot laps rolling one hour later at 6:30 for the five division program. The gamble paid off, as other than a few sprinkles here than there, the program was able to be completed with the final checkers falling somewhere around 9:30. At sixty two, the car count as well as the crowd was a bit less than normal, but heavy rains and tornado watches within a few miles of the track were no doubt the leading cause.  

   The track crew waited as long as possible to dump water on the surface, and while smooth as usual the track proved challenging throughout with more than the usual number of spin outs including drivers who  normally do not have those issues. 

   Once again, both the Crate Late Models and UMP Modifieds had their heat race lineups determined by time trial qualifying. Interestingly, the top Modified time was turned in by visiting UMP standout racer Trevor Neville with a lap of 13.788 seconds, which was a couple of ticks quicker than the 13.948 top time by Late Model driver Jason Perry. Neville had made the two and a half hour tow from Mackinaw, Illinois presumably in search of UMP points.

  Two heats in each of the five classes set the feature fields, and after a short unscheduled intermission it was main event time. 

   Street Stocks were up first with eight of the nine signed in going for fifteen laps. Rudy Zaragoza sat on the outside of row one and proceeded to lead the distance. He was challenged throughout by Robert Cottom. In fact Cottom had nosed ahead at the ten lap mark but the first yellow flag of the race for  a Jake Powers spin sent him back to his runner up spot for the restart. One more lap was scored before the red flag was displayed when rookie Ryan Aden drove head on into the guardrail outside turn two. Ryan was held by the EMS crew and is hopefully okay. Zaragoza had Cottom lurking close by over the final four laps, but held on for the win. Powers rebounded to take third followed by Dustin Smith and in only his third night out, Rickey Frankel III.

   Rick Conoyer could not answer the bell leaving us fourteen UMP Modifieds racing eighteen laps. Heat winners Neville and Dave Weitholder filled row one, with Dave leading ahead of a caution flag one lap in. Back to racing fourth starting Mark Burgtorf shot to the lead, but Weitholder moved back ahead on lap three. Weitholder, Burgtorf, and Kenny Wallace broke away from the pack, soon to be joined about lap five by Austen Becerra. Oddly, Becerra did not have a transponder in his car for qualifying, and was placed in the back of his heat race which he failed to finish, relegating him to row six on the feature grid. As the race reached the mid point, Weitholder had opened a lead while his three challengers battled side by side and nose to tail with each other. With just two laps to go, Wallace squeezed under Burgtorf for second, and on the final circuit Becerra drove around Mark for third. Neville completed the top five. 

   Twenty laps would be the distance for the eleven Late Models , racing for a $1,000 King of the Crates payday. Denny Woodworth and Tommy Elston, two seasoned veterans would lead the way. Elston scored the lap one lead and all nineteen that followed. Woodworth, Braden Bilger, and Jason Perry fought for second before Jason charged from fourth to the runner up spot on lap six. With eight laps down, Cody Maguire slowed in turn two, stacking up Derek Hollenstine and first time visitor Matt Jones. Hollenstine and Maguire would be unable to continue. Back under green, Elston and Perry worked the top side of the track, Bilger held third and Woodworth and his teammate Jason Oenning swapped fourth and fifth positions. With just two laps left, Bilger found extra speed and took over the second spot, but ran out of time to challenge Elston. It was the third win at the track for Tommy in the seasons' second half. Perry, Woodworth and Oenning rounded out the first five. Rookie Christian Miles was strong in sixth ahead of Darin Weisinger Jr ( in his "back up" car after hurting the engine in his "new" ride at Donnellson), Sam Halstead, and Jones. Maguire was credited with tenth. 

   All twelve DIRTcar 4 Cylinders came to the track for fifteen laps. Jaden Delonjay jumped to the lead by inches over his row one mate, Dyllan Bonk. As those two raced side by side for several laps, Jeffery Delonjay drove in his brothers' tire tracks. With Jeffery taking second at the halfway mark, Jaden suddenly stopped on the track, his run over. Restarting out front, Jeffery checked out while Bonk held second. Three laps from the checkers, third running Spencer Coats lost a wheel, stopping on the front stretch. As the green flagged waved, eleventh starting Joey Laws powered into second. Delonjay cruised to the checkers, his eighth win in a row at the Bullring. Laws, who pulled in all the way from Hillsboro, Missouri, ran second followed by Bonk, Kyle Weisenberger, and Kimberly Abbott. Kimberly was wheeling her IMCA car after rolling her UMP #71 last Sunday. Is it time for a bounty on Delonjay?

   IMCA Northern Sport Mods would close out the program. Kyler Girard could not make the call, giving us a field of fourteen for eighteen circuits. Logan Cumby had issues early, missing his heat race and lining up in the back row. Quinton Shelton sat on the pole and led the first pair of laps before giving way to Patrick Phillips. Following a lap three caution, Dakota Girard grabbed second and tenth starting Adam Birck climbed to fourth. Two more yellows came in the next four laps, then at lap nine Birck charged to second. Also on the move, Cumby took over fourth. With six laps left Birck moved in to challenge Phillips, and he was scored in front at lap thirteen. For the final five trips around, those two ran side by side, Phillips digging around the bottom, Birck one lane higher. From my vantage point towards turn one the finish was too close to call, but the transponder said it was Birck out front by an eyelash. For Phillips it was his second runner up photo finish in recent weeks. Cumby gained eleven spots to third chased by Girard and Reed Wolfmeyer. Tanner Klingele was the series point leader going in to the night, but he was absent as he celebrated the birth of twins - one boy and one girl - over the weekend.

   Thanks as always to JT Promotions for their hospitality. Be sure and check back next weekend as I am working on a road trip possibly to a new to me track and one I have not visited in several years. Maybe, we shall see!

Kay is Defrance Memorial Champ, Carter, Carter, Murty and Nelson Also Winners

   After a sudden downpour prematurely ended our evening at the Marshalltown Speedway last Friday, we decided to try our luck again. The rescheduled Dale Defrance Memorial featuring Hoker Trucking East division SLMR Late Models would be started over from the beginning. Late Model time trials and the three IMCA Sport Mod heat races completed before the rain would be negated, with the four IMCA classes again drawing for their heat race starting spots and the SLMR drivers drawing for their qualifying order. So drivers who were not a part of the 163 car field last week were welcome to attend. This time Fred would be joining Darryl and me after spending last weekend at the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, Illinois. 

   With the weather looking decidedly better, at least to start with, a whopping 177 teams signed in to do battle, and by race time, the bleachers were bulging with a huge crowd. By all accounts, Jerry Vansickel and his team do an excellent job of moving the program along, but the car count and format could easily have filled a two day show!

   Hot laps clicked off quickly, with as many as twenty cars at a time warming up on the quarter mile high banked oval. Late Model time trials came next, and in an oddity that perhaps only a stats geek like myself would notice, the fast lap of 14.626 seconds exactly matched the top time turned in last week by Chad Holladay before rain washed out the program. And ironically this week Chad, who is the series points leader was unable to answer the call to qualify, putting him behind the eight ball all night long. Another top contender, Jesse Sobbing, missed hot laps and pulled to the infield during his time trial run. Jesse would eventually qualify for the feature by finishing second in a B main, while Chad would be one of four provisional starters in the twenty four car field. 

   The track was tacky and fast throughout the nineteen heat races, with slide jobs galore, close finishes, and plenty of edge of your seat racing. With the Hobby Stock heats running last I slipped down to the concession stand and it suddenly became very quiet. Alas, the lights had went out on the backstretch! I did not time the delay, but it was perhaps twenty minutes or so and we were back up and running. And perhaps whatever gremlins had caused the scoreboard to malfunction early in the evening were a part of the issue, as it was thankfully also now up and running. 

   Eight B mains would come next, with only the Late Models adding provisional starters, and we would move quickly into feature racing. All main events would run laps ending in four, a nod to the #44 campaigned by the late Dale Defrance, the honoree of the evening.

   A light sprinkle was falling on a now somewhat wary crowd as twenty four Sport Mods lined up for twenty four laps and a $2,044 payday. Carter VanDenBerg and Travis Peterson would fill row one, with Peterson ahead as lap one was scored. VanDenBerg would pace the second trip around with Logan Anderson also in the hunt. Brayton Carter started inside row four and he cleared Logan for third about lap ten. The leaders were running the low line around the track, but with about six laps remaining, Carter jumped to the high side. Within another lap he had charged from third and was ahead by inches, with slower traffic also now in play. With zero cautions slowing the action, "Speedy Bray" then pulled away from the pack, cruising to the win. VanDenBerg held second, while Peterson ran third. Ben Chapman turned in the run of the race, starting twentieth and nosing out Anderson for fourth on the final circuit. 

   IMCA Modifieds were up next, thirty four laps the distance for a $3,044 top prize. Bakersfield, California driver Troy Morris III had earned a ninth row start, but was unable to answer the call, giving us a field of twenty three. Once again this week Cayden Carter was behind the wheel of the Maguire Dejong #30M  (as well as the Michael Peterson #1X Stock Car), and he sat on the pole with Jerry King alongside. Carter shot to the lead as the green flag waved, and that would be the race. Following a lap five restart Colorado driver Tripp Gaylord briefly put his nose out front, but Carter was back in charge as lap six was scored. Two more cautions would slow the action, and following the final one on lap fourteen, an intense battle for second developed between tenth starting Tom Berry Jr., Gaylord, and row eight starter Jacob Hobscheidt. As Carter checked out, those three settled in the next three positions, spreading out on the track all the way to the checkers. Tim Ward would complete the top five. 

   It was now Late Model time, twenty four starters going for forty four laps and $4,644. The time trial plus passing points system found "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna and hometown favorite Darrel Defrance leading the way. The yellow waved on the initial start for Dave Eckrich, with an original restart called. Back to green, fourth starting Justin Kay blasted to the front by pounding the cushion and was quickly headed for another zip code. McKenna also separated from the pack but was well behind the leader. Bill Leighton Jr moved to third ahead of a second yellow at lap eight for Andrew Kosiski just as Kay caught the tail of the field. In clean air, Justin drove off from the pack, again catching traffic at lap seventeen. This allowed McKenna and Leighton to close the gap a bit, but again the yellow waved just after the half way mark. On the restart, Kay missed his mark in turn four allowing his two closest competitors to pull alongside, but Kay quickly recovered to maintain the lead, even as Leighton took second and tenth starting Andy Eckrich joined the hunt. The man on the move now was fifteenth starting Jason Rauen, as he entered the top five ahead of a final caution with thirteen to go for Dave Eckrich, who slowed out of turn four to draw the yellow. McKenna reclaimed second on the restart, but there would be no challenge for Kay, who was a rocket ship on this night. Leighton saw his strong run come to an end as he ducked to the infield with two laps remaining. Rauen would complete the pass of Andy Eckrich to finish advance twelve positions to third, while Jeff Larson gained seven spots to round out the first five. Jeff Tharp led the next five, followed by twentieth starting Brian Harris, Luke Goedert, eighteenth starting Jeff Aikey, and Defrance. 

   The clock struck midnight during post race celebrations and we regretfully headed for the car for the long and eventful trip home. Those who live in southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri know what I am talking about, as high winds, heavy rains, and a flooded Highway 27 kept us wide awake on our journey. Never the less, it was a fun night of entertaining high speed racing, as Marshalltown never seems to disappoint. Congrats to Damon Murty (Stock Cars) and Dylan Nelson (Hobby Stocks) on their victories.

   We will keep an eye on the sky, and hopefully be in our perch at Adams County, Il. Speedway on Sunday. Hope to see you there!