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!
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