Jackson Jr. Sweeps the MLRA Weekend at Springfield

   On opening night of the MLRA revival weekend at Jerry Hoffmans' Springfield Raceway, Tony Jackson Jr.  more or less cruised to the thirty lap win. On Saturday night, Jackson would again visit victory lane, but he had to work much harder to collect the $5,000 payoff.

   Two new Super Late Models, Kayden Clatt and Tucker Cox, would make their initial appearance on Saturday, while five drivers did not return after Fridays' action, leaving us with thirty seven competitors. 

Once again the action kicked off with limited hot laps at the advertised time of 6:15, but the welcomed quick show of night number one could not be duplicated. The five division program turned out one hundred and twenty one race teams, with a different lineup of classes in support of the Late Models. The track was a bit slower than Friday, with the 12.337 quick time of Iowan Derrick Stewart about three tenths less than on Friday. Once again the Late Models would contest four eight lap heats with the top three moving on to the thirty lap finale. Jackson Jr. and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer - the Group "B" fast timer both nights - would repeat heat race wins, joined by Clay Stuckey and Eli Ross, all from the front row. It was a short night for Minnesota youngster Matthew Larson, who lost a wheel lining up on the outside front row of heat four. Apparently there was more damage, as he failed to appear for his B Main. Also Joey Smith was a no show for the evening following hot laps. Later on in the program Sawyer Crigler came from row two to capture a B Main while Illinois driver Daniel Adam topped the final qualiflier. 

   In between, the program was plagued by fits and starts as racers in the other classes suffered from yellow fever. I know I sound like a broken record, but if there was one change I could make at this track, it would be a "spin and you're in" rule in the preliminary events. Thank goodness the local flag man is not opposed to ignoring a stopped car long enough to wave a checkered flag!

   With the main event fields set, Midwest A Mods lined up, nineteen cars for twenty laps. As the green flag waved, four cars piled up between turns one and two. Back to racing outside pole sitter Dakota Girard, a regular Sport Mod racer at my "local" tracks, jumped to the lead in front of pole sitter Jaren Powrie. While Girard built his advantage, Powrie also pulled away from the rest of the pack. Dakota had nearly a full straightaway lead by the time he caught the back of the pack at lap thirteen. With four circuits remaining, a disabled car was unable to exit the track, bringing out the caution flag. The lapped cars went to the back, giving Powrie another shot at the leader. As the green waved third place on back stacked up in turn four. With clean up finally complete racing resumed. Powrie would stay close to the leader, but could not mount a challenge, as Girard took a flag to flag win. Jordon Cater came all the way from row nine to finish third, and his row nine mate Jerry Brown followed in fourth. Gary Krebs rounded out the top five, as only eight cars remained on track at the checkers. 

   Normally Legend cars turn out strong numbers at Springfield, but on this night only a bakers' dozen checked in. And with considerable attrition - only two cars left in one heat after first lap mayhem - nine cars lined up for a fifteen lap feature. Not finished with their difficulties, the caution flag came as racing began. Pole sitter Devin Lawson avoided the carnage, survived two more yellows, and scored a flag to flag win. His strong run was nearly negated, however, as Jett Stovall (sounds like a familiar surname!), pulled alongside out of turn four coming to the checkers, but had to settle for second. At the same time, third place Jacob Horn was but a car length back in third. Scott Merrell and Dustin Blair completed the top five. 

    The clock read 9:44 as intermission began. As track work started, the four Late Model heat winners came to the front stretch to shoot baskets to determine their starting positions. Confessing to playing regularly, Jackson Jr. immediately sunk a bucket to earn the pole, then it took a few rounds for Stuckey to claim the outside pole. The advertised event offering $20,000 for a half court made basket found one young lady come up short, then we were treated to a fireworks display. Also during this time, the previous two feature winners came back to the track for pictures, an interesting time saving measure.

   After about thirty minutes, twenty three Late Models came to the track to work in the considerable amount of water added to the quarter mile. When the field began to increase speed, Moyer belched a cloud of smoke and headed for the trailer, his run over before it began. Adam also exited before the green flag, leaving us a field of twenty one. Although somewhat frustrating, the rework of the surface did pay dividends, as the track was very racy, with multiple grooves for the thirty laps. Jackson shot to the lead over Stuckey ahead of a lap three yellow for Caden McWhorter and Glen Powell. Back under green, Stewart charged to second, Jackson stretched his lead, and sixth starting Dillon McCowan jumped to third. As McCowan moved in to battle Stewart, eighth starting Jeff Herzog climbed to fifth, then fourth. Lap eleven saw the caution come for Ross, ending his night behind the wrecker. As the green flag waved, a Tyler Kuykendall spin brought another yellow. The next restart saw McCowan on the cushion as he pulled alongside the leader, then slid through turn four to the front, with Herzog charging to third, soon followed by another stoppage for Corey Zeitner. Having been shown the fast lane, Jackson Jr. move up top on the restart, returning the slide job favor to retake the advantage in turn one. As Herzog stalked the leaders, his bad luck weekend continued with a flat tire on lap nineteen. Back to racing one more time, McCowen briefly moved back out front using the low line, but Jackson was too strong on the high side, retaking then extending his lead. Tony would then cruise to the win. McCowan raced home second while local favorite Terry Phillips gradually worked from row seven to complete the podium. Stewart came home fourth and Stuckey recorded his second top five of the mini series. Sixth through tenth went to "Opie" Mike Spatola, Timothy Culp, Aaron Marrant, Brennon Willard, and McWhorter. 

   We were now past the 11:00 mark on a cool yet comfortable and mostly dust free evening, so as post race festivities began, we headed for the car. Congratulations to Full Body feature winner Tanner Foster, and B Mod victor James Thompson.

   Thanks to Jerry Hoffman for gambling on potentially fickle March weather to offer up a fun weekend of racing. While the crowd was a bit light on Friday, Saturday saw a nice turnout of spectators. Also, thanks to Ernie for bringing back the legendary MLRA. Our 2026 plans include several more series events. For now, we hope to enjoy at least one night of the Memphis Spring Nationals next weekend at Scotland County Speedway. Say "Hi!" if you see me there!

   

MLRA Roars Back to Life in Springfield

   At the end of the 2024 racing season, the Lucas Oil group pulled the plug on the historic and still well supported Midwest Late Model Racing Association - MLRA, after thirty six seasons. The void was quickly filled for 2025 by multiple upstart series in the Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma area while the MARS series picked up the handful of events in the state of Iowa. But promoter Ernie Leftwich, who headed up the final seasons of the MLRA was not ready to see the popular organization fade into the sunset. So after one season with the Comp Cams series, he decided to take the plunge and breathe new life into the MLRA brand. He purchased the dormant series and along with his wife Kayli, set about a rebuilding process from the ground up for 2026. And what better place to kick things off but at the track often visited by MLRA, the Springfield Raceway quarter mile! 

   With high expectations, Fred and I made plans to begin our 2026 season at Jerry Hoffmans' iconic speedway, the same venue where I began and ended my 2025 season. Speaking of Hoffman, as a showman as well as a race promoter, we also were witness to selected fans attempting to make a highly difficult basketball shot into a basket for a $20,000 payoff. When it comes to Springfield Raceway, there is always more than on track action! Of course, even planning this excursion came with a challenge as Springfield also hosted the Missouri state high school basketball playoffs on this same March 13-14 weekend, with hotels near or at capacity and with inflated room rates!

   But all's well that ends well, so let's move on to the actual racing programs. In addition to qualifying events, the MLRA field would add provisionals based on 2024 final points standings for this weekend only. And thanks to Race On.com, each night there would be one more provisional starter. This position would be based on fifteen drivers who preregistered then selected by a fan vote. The top two vote getters not otherwise qualified would be added, one each night. Got it? So here we go!

   Ninety two cars in four divisions filled out the card for night number one, with a more than solid field of forty Super Late Models leading the way. Hot laps kicked off right on time at 6:15, and with only three classes hot lapping (front wheel drives did not take laps), Late Model time trials kicked off at 6:30 in what became a fast paced program. Mike Spatola made the long haul from Manhatten, Illinois, and topped qualifying with a lap of 12.049 seconds. Veteran Billy Moyer was fastest in group two.

     The twenty eight Midwest B Mods then ran three heats ahead of four eight lap qualifiers for the Late Models. Tony Jackson Jr., Moyer, and Tyler Kuykendall were victorious from row one, while Iowa driver Derrick Stewart captured heat two from the second row.

   Twenty 4 cylinders and a tiny group of four Bombers plus a lone B main for the Midwest Mods set their feature fields, while the MLRA teams contested a pair of ten lap B's. Sawyer Crigler and Clay Stuckey led the four transfers, both from the pole. Three, rather than the advertised two provisionals were added, while Dayton Pursley was the "fan favorite " recipient for night number one. 

   Twenty laps would be determine the Midwest B Mod winner for the eighteen starters.A lap one pile up in turns one and two involved six cars, with four done for the night. Back to racing, polesitter Rafe Duncun pulled away ahead of another caution seven laps in. The field then restarted single file, with row six starter Jordon Cater on the move to the top five, pounding the high side of the quick quarter mile. Meanwhile sixth starting Karter Jackson was applying pressure to the leader while Joe Beard stayed close in third. The yellow waved a final time at lap thirteen when a slowing car stayed on the track. Cater shot to third as the green flag waved, but Duncan now found an extra gear, stretching his lead a bit. At the checkers it was Duncan with a flag to flag win followed by Jackson, Cater, Beard, and eighth starting Jacob Cater.

   A quick intermission was taken to "tickle" the track, then it was thirty laps of Late Models for $5,000 to win. Jackson Jr. and Moyer would lead the pack to green, pulling away from the field. Stewart would trigger the first yellow, his night ended with three laps scored. Back to racing both Spatola and Eli Ross, third row mates, cleared Moyer for second and third. With Jackson in command, the red flag came with eleven laps down as Kylan Garner got upside down off turn four. A flat tire would also effectively end the night for Moyer at this time, as well. By now Stuckey was up to fourth after lining up in row seven. Again Jackson pulled away as Spatola and Ross battled for the runner up position. But it was Stuckey, who captured one of the 2025 MLRA tribute features here last spring that was on the loud pedal. On lap eighteen he cleared Ross, then charged to second one lap later. The leader would catch heavy traffic on lap twenty four, but he showed veteran poise as he skillfully dispatched the slower cars. At the checkers it was Jackson with the win chased by Stuckey, Ross, Spatola, and Caden McWhorter. Daniel Adam charged from row nine to sixth, followed by provisional starter Dillon McCowan, Kuykendall, Timothy Culp, and Terry Phillips. 

   Pleased but covered in dust, we took our leave about 9:45 as the top three interviews were attempted over a less than effective P.A. system.  A check of results shows Justin Day a FWD winner from the pole, while Ben Chapman did the same in the Bomber class.

   Tonight, Saturday, we will be back at it with the Late Models again going for $5,000 backed by B Mods, Midwest "A" class, Full Body, and Legends. 

Putting a Wrap on 2025

    With the mid west dirt track season coming to a close, it is time for a review of another exciting season for Racin' Down the Road. Family activities and some contrary spring weather led to a bit fewer shows than normal, while a poorly timed "bug" wiped out my best chance at adding a "new" track to my list for 2025, leaving me stuck temporarily at 76 venues in thirteen states. 

   Still a look at the book shows 49 race nights over ten months beginning February 28 in Springfield, Missouri, and ending November 15 at that same facility.  

   Rechristened Quincy Raceways led the way with eleven nights of action, followed by Lee County Speedway in Donnellson at ten. 34 Raceway in West Burlington was a destination for eight events while the two and a half hour trip to Davenport Speedway took place on five occasions. Two trips south resulted in three race nights at previously mentioned Springfield Raceway, and Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. was visited twice. 

   Single race nights came at ten different facilities, I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., Tri City Speedway in Granite City, Spoon River Speedway near Banner, and Lincoln Speedway, all in Illinois.  

   As usual, Iowa tracks led the way, with one event each at CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, West Liberty Raceway, Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, 300 Raceway in Farley, Boone Speedway, and "Dirt at the Downs," in Cedar Rapids for again a bit lower total of sixteen tracks. 

   Although all were familiar tracks, it had been more than a couple years since I had visited several, especially Boone and Hawkeye Downs, and I owe a special thanks to Jeff for handling a lot of the driving chores. 

    There are significant changes coming at a couple of tracks closest to home, and we will take a look at those as the off season unfolds. A couple that we will mention is the new promotion team at Lee County, the Weisinger family, specifically Darin, Debbie, and daughter Lee Ann Lambert. I have counted this well known racing family as friends for many years, and wish them the best. Also the track will be switching back to Friday night racing and IMCA sanctioning, which should be a positive development for the Tri State area. And upon further consideration, Quincy Raceways will stay with a weekly Sunday night program, sprinkled with a couple of Late Model specials on Friday nights. At this time they are still awaiting sanctioning approval for their weekly Late Model division, so stay tuned!

   It may only be December, but I am already building my 2026 calendar, but more importantly, keep checking the Positively Racing calendars for another exciting racing season! 

   Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and we will see you all soon! 

Turley Bowl XIX Car Count Tops 500

    Saturday, November 15 Fred and I headed south to Jerry Hoffmans' Springfield Raceway for the final night of the 19th edition of his super popular Turkey Bowl. Complete with generous payouts and very unique trophies, the now four day (including a practice night) event continues to grow each year. With the late addition of Super Stocks, there are now nine divisions competing during three jammed packed nights of full on racing. Due to the time of year and the enormous car counts, three of those divisions, Front Wheel Drive, Pure Stock, and the Midwest Mod "B" class wrap up their turkey trophy pursuit earlier in the weekend. This leaves six classes for Saturday night. In a further nod to time and temperature concerns, only the Super Late Models and now the Super Stocks run full shows on the final night. Last chance B mains and features fill out the card for A Mods, B Mods, Midwest A Mods and Legends. And thankfully and wisely only the two full show classes run hot laps around the quick quarter mile, slated to roll off "about" 4:30. The atmosphere is pure country at this rustic facility and while the amenities are far from state of the art, the racing is always top shelf and even though it is a strong four hours plus from home, Turkey Bowl has become one of those " can't miss" events on the Racin' Down the Road calendar, cold weather and all. 

   Fortunately the weatherman was unusually kind this year, at least in the early going, with temps in the record breaking high70's in southwest Missouri, dropping to the low 50's by the time we made our premature exit. 

   The eight divisions that competed in 2024 turned out a record 500 cars on the nose, and the addition of twenty nine Super Stocks boosted that number even higher. By the time everyone was checked in for the six classes on Saturday, a whopping 366 cars were set to do battle! 

   The first qualifying event took the green flag at 5:08. Forty one races would be on the docket for Saturday, thirty five qualifying events clicking off with only slight delays for an occasional spritzing and rolling in of the water. But that many races just takes a considerable amount of time. Perhaps the passing points format from the heat races transferring only eight to the features could be adjusted upwards to save a race here and there, and perhaps the B mains might be formed into larger fields (or fewer laps), but I digress. An adjustment was made due to an odd circumstance with the Late Models, where a pair of the six heat winners did not make the top eight cut, so they were then added to the qualified cars. 

   As might be expected with so many cars, the racing for a spot in the main events was intense. The quick quarter mile offered two distinct lanes, with the high side perhaps only a tad quicker. A mind boggling seventy Super Late Models signed in, up twenty one from last year. Austin Howes was a couple laps from the first heat win when his #17A suddenly quit, turning the checkers over to Myles Moos. Scott Crigler, Dillon McCowen and Brandon Baldridge also transferred with their wins, while Brennon Willard and Tony Jackson Jr. were the two heat winners added to the starting grid. 

   Twenty four would start the Legends A Main, with all other classes qualifying twenty cars, then one provisional starter was added as I understand it based on social media participation? Of course with eight teams already qualified in several divisions, that meant that a handful of drivers waited until the wee hours of Sunday to hit the track! 

   Following a brief break, the twenty lap Legend turkey chase was up first. Preston Martin made a nearly one thousand mile tow from Lincoln, North Dakota to line up in row five for the event, quickly slicing and dicing his way to the front. He then held off eighth row starter Trenton Simon by less than a car length to take home the cash and trophy. After Simon dove under the leader off turn four on the final lap Martin had just enough momentum to grab the win. 

   Midwest A Mods would be next, twenty one strong for twenty laps. Following a pile up on the start, Trenton Brookshire opened a sizable advantage. A second caution came just before half way, and back to racing Brookshire moved to the inside line. A final stoppage came with eight laps remaining, and now Mark Simon began to pressure the leader running a high line. As the laps wound down, Brookshire slowly increased his margin all the way to the checkers. Unfortunately his flag to flag dominance turned to disappointment in the tech area, with an unknown violation turning the win over to Simon. The DQ moved Andy Aust up to second followed by Caden Bolin, Cory Johnson and Michael Maggard. James Lee also lost a top five finish in tech. 

   The official intermission now came at 10:50 as the decision was made to tear up, water and repack a pretty good track. To keep the large crowd entertained, announcer Jerry Vansickel conducted a football toss competition among the top eight A Mod qualifiers from Friday and the top four Late Model points earners to set the front of their respective features. This was followed by a fireworks display. Combined with the requisite repacking session, we were back to racing in about thirty minutes.

   The star studded A Modified field was whittled down from seventy six to twenty one for a thirty lap $6,023 to win event. Osage, Iowa hot shoe Jim Chisholm shot from the outside pole to lead football toss winner Reece Solander to turn one. As the race stayed green, Chisholm searched the remade surface, looking for his sweet spot. Soon he and Solander had left the pack behind, catching slower traffic about lap twelve. Around the mid point, Sloander made a strong bid for the lead, running an inside line as Chisholm continued to move around. The #24 car of the leader was showing a bit of rear quarter damage apparently a battle scar from a lapped car skirmish, but the driver still maintained a one to two car length advantage over Solander. Thirty caution free circuits in just over seven minutes left Chisholm slightly breathless in victory lane, celebrating a flag to flag win. Solander held the runner up spot in front of Tanner Mullens, Kyle Steffens and Chris Spalding. 

   Perhaps still not happy with track conditions, another session of ripping, watering and packing preceded the Late Model headliner. Fortunately or unfortunately, the results were very similar. Twenty three cars would take the green flag for thirty laps.  Shane DeMay was best at quarterbacking, but it was Scott Crigler jumping ahead from the outside front row. Cruising along, Crigler caught the back of the pack about lap eight. Ten circuits later, the only yellow flag came as contact from the rear sent seventh running Tony Jackson Jr. spinning in turn one. As Jackson ducked to the work area for a quick once over, Eli Ross did the same, giving up a top five run. They would then restart at the back of the lead lap cars, in sixteenth and seventeenth. Moos would power his #84 to second on the Delaware style restart. Working the top side Moos would make a run at the leader with four to go, but he bobbled on the turn two cushion, dropping him to fourth. Crigler would then sail home to the flag to flag victory. DeMay rebounded to second, chased by twelfth starting double duty Terry Phillips, Moos and 2024 winner McCowan, who finished where he started. Baldridge was solid gaining two spots to sixth and Tim Ward finished where he started in seventh. Scott Crigler advanced eight spots to eighth followed by McKenzie, Tennesee driver Matt Cooper and Joey Smith to round out the top ten. 

   The clock had now rolled past the midnight hour, so Fred and I headed for our hotel, more than satisfied with what we had seen. It seems as though the remaining two classes found the track surface to their liking as Donnie Miller came from row two to outrun row four starters Michael Muskrat and Aaron Poe for Street Stock honors. Finally Waylon Dimmitt came from fourth to collect the B Mod checkers over his row two mate Brayton Carter, eleventh starting Kris Jackson, J.C. Morton and Ryan Gilmore. 

   Thanks to Jerry Hoffman and his entire team for a great night of racing to most likely wind up our 2025 season. But be sure and check back often as there is plenty of "silly season" happenings to be confirmed in the coming weeks! 

Fall Frost Classic Late Model Title to Harrison

    With the exceptionally mild late season weather, first year track owner/promoter Josh Carroll decided to schedule one more event at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway near Pevely, Missouri. The three night extravaganza, dubbed the Fall Frost Classic featured nine different divisions, with a $5,000 to win, $500 to start Late Model headliner on Saturday. It had been four seasons since I had been to the one third mile high banked clay oval, and I was eager to see how Carroll had begun to put his stamp on the high speed one third mile facility.

   So watching the ever changing forecast Jeff, Fred and I headed south on Saturday afternoon, never finding the predicted sunshine, but instead off and on sprinkles, persistent enough at one point to create an approximate fifteen minute delay in racing. Coupled with a steady breeze, the less than comfortable conditions no doubt held down the crowd that was spread throughout the large capacity facility. 

   Hot lap / qualifying had been moved up thirty minutes to 5:00 P.M. to better accommodate the anticipated large field of cars, which reached one hundred and sixty four. However what was eventually a super smooth and fast clay surface took quite a bit of extra packing which "ate up" the extra half hour. Between hot laps for all, including time trials for the twenty two Late Models, twenty UMP Modifieds and a whopping forty one B Mods, it was about 7:00 before the first of twenty one heat races hit the track. A pair of B mains for the B mods, plus one for the thirty one Mod Lites were also needed to set the feature fields! Just a personal observation here, I know time trial qualifying is deemed a necessity in UMP country, but perhaps after one night of practice and another full show for all but the Late Models, perhaps it might be wise to dispense with hot laps for the other six divisions on the final night? But I digress...

   Popular local legend Kenny Wallace topped Mod qualifying with a lap of 15.129 seconds, and as the track worked in, Steve Meyer Jr. actually topped that for the B's at 15.105! Richmond, Missouri driver Aaron Marrant then paced the Super Late Models at 13.073 to round out the timed classes.  

   Once the heat races began, track officials tried their best to keep the show moving, but with so many events and many drivers unfamiliar with the facility, there were plenty of yellow flag periods to deal with. And there were a surprising number of  problems negotiating the track exit off turn one, especially for the Mod Lites, some of which appeared to become high centered. 

   Finally it was feature time, with the eight Kid Modz up first, eight strong for twelve laps. It was obvious that despite their young age at least a couple of ten year olds may be ready to graduate to a higher class. With strong racing family roots, Cole Stolzer and Cruz Griffaw waged a tight nose to tail and side by side battle for the lead before Cruz nearly upset his #16 during contact with the outside concrete wall near the end of the backstretch. Stolzer then cruised to the win ahead of Brodix Burrows and another second generation driver, Cody Vanover Jr. 

   Twenty five laps of UMP Modifieds came next, with only Caleb Slaughter missing from the lineup. A roll of the dice had set a four car invert for I believe all of the features, and this put Chris Spalding and heat three winner Timmy Hill on row one. Six times the caution would come in the opening eight circuits before things settled down. Spalding was the early leader with heat one winner Wallace advancing from fourth to second following a lap four yellow. Stalking the leader, Wallace perfectly executed a slide job off turn four on lap seven to grab to top spot. Heat two winner Dylan Sharp was running third when he smacked the concrete in turn two one lap later, ending his run. As the race crossed the mid point it was Wallace and Hill pulling away from the pack with Hill running in the tire tracks of  #36. They caught slower traffic on lap fifteen, and one lap later Hill bobbled on the backstretch, allowing Wallace to open a bit of a cushion. By lap twenty Hill was again at the rear bumper of the leader, but he smacked the turn one wall, heavily damaging his rear spoiler, effectively ending his chances. Meanwhile "Herman" worked the traffic smoothly, racing to the sweep of his events. Hill was second chased by Spalding, Chasten Boen and Friday winner Clint Young.

   Cody Vanover failed to make the call for the forty lap Late Model headliner. Eventual hard charger Jeff Herzog had timed in tenth but was unable to start his heat race, putting him alone in row eleven for the feature before gaining eleven positions to finish eleventh. Following a caution flag on the start, pole sitter Marrant pulled ahead of heat winners Daryn Klein, Micheal Kloos and Mike Harrison. Marrant opened a commanding lead, catching the back of the pack on lap six. Two circuits later the caution came again as sixth starting Mark Voigt rolled to a stop, his night over. Harrison would line up in the outside lane for the restart, clearing Klein for the runner up position while Versailles, Kentucky hot shoe Tripp Gerrald powered to third. Harrison began to pressure the leader, using a successful slider to grab the lead off turn two on lap fourteen, taking Gerrald along in second. Those two then began to pull away, but it was Harrison disappearing from the pack.in the #33 machine. Marrant and Gerrald would swap positions back and forth as Harrison opened a half track advantage. A solid run for Rusty Griffaw would end with a yellow flag at lap thirty one, and back to racing it was Kloos now moving to second. Again Harrison drove away, but one final stop came just three laps from the checkers. The single file restart offered no challenges up front as Harrison cruised to the $5,000 win. Kloos was the in the bridesmaid spot, ahead of Gerrald, Klein and thirteenth starting Jose Parga in the T6 normally driven by Tommy Sheppard Jr. Bob Gardner paced the second five over Marrant and eighth starting and finishing Rich Bell. Austin Howes debuted a brand new ride in ninth while Myles Moos was tenth. The night should have been better for Moos, as he spun out of the heat two lead while avoiding a soon to be lapped car.  

   With a nearly four hour drive for the wheel man, we had hit our self imposed 10:30 curfew as the Mod Lite main came to the track, with five more features still on the docket, so we regretfully headed for the warmth of the car and the long trip home. Still it was fun to get back to one of my favorite long distance venues, and racing in November is always special! 

   At this time of year, I always treat each race as perhaps the last of the season, but Fred and I are once again watching the forecast for a possible trip to Jerry Hoffmans' Springfield Raceway next week for another favorite, the annual Turkey Bowl. Perhaps we will see you there!

A Legend Lives on: Another Shiverfest in the Books

    For the 26th season, 27 if you count the "Grand Millennium Finale of 1999, it was Shiverfest time at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. For many of those years this event was indeed the final race program in the mid west. Now, of course racing continues sporadically into November, capped off with the three day Dome extravaganza in St. Louis sometime in December. In fact, there is now a similar event a few hours north on this very weekend. Still this Saturday family friendly program here in southeast Iowa has become a "can't miss" event for many, myself included. In addition it is the final race night for promoter Neal Kohlmorgan. Hay rack rides through the pits, on track trick or treating, and lots of racing make for a fun time for all. And part of being family friendly includes affordable pricing without the burden of big payoffs, giving drivers of all budgets the opportunity to be competitive.

   A very solid field of one hundred and thirty cars came through the gate in the seven divisions on the card, led by thirty four Stock Cars and thirty one Sport Mods. Starting right at the advertised time of 6:00 for hot laps, the first of seventeen heat races rolled off at 6:33 and were completed in good time with minimal yellow flags. Things then got a bit confusing, at least from the spectator side. For those two largest classes, it was announced repeatedly that the top five from the four heat races would transfer to the feature with a top three redraw and one B main with the top four moving on. However there seemed to be mass confusion as the Stock Car B came to the track. Also, the fifth place finishers from the heats were in the lineup, which took quite a while to form up. Only seven lined up for the Sport Mod last chance and they were then pulled off the track with the announcement that all would move on to the feature?

   Anyway, with all this finally put to bed, it was time for feature racing. Late Models came first, with only seven cars having been checked in for the night. 

  Ray Raker and heat winner Andy Nezworski sat on row one, but it was third starting Tommy Elston blasting through to lead the opening lap. Raker and Nezworski battled side by side for second before Andy took command of the position on lap three. By then Elston had driven well ahead and soon Nezworski also gained separation from the field. By the mid point Elston had a full straightaway advantage, and with no yellows to slow the action, Tommy charged to a dominating win. Nezworski cruised to the runner up finish followed by Jason Oenning, who waged a close early battle for third, Dustin Smith in the Boles #4B entry, Raker and Ron Boyse. Only Mark Burgtorf failed to complete the twenty laps. 

    Fifteen laps would be the distance for the eleven Hobby Stockers. A pair of yellow flags shuffled the field before lap one was scored. Tom Killen Jr. shot out front from the pole position chased by fifth starting Jake Wenig and row four starter Dustin Griffiths who was advanced one row before the first official lap. Griffiths cleared Wenig for second ahead of another caution with four in the books. Back to racing Griffiths charged to the front with a final yellow flag just prior to halfway. Wenig grabbed second on the Delaware Style restart. Wenig and Killen then dueled for second as Griffiths remained in control to score the victory. Wenig won the battle for second in front of Killen Jr., Cody Staley and tenth starting Jared Miller.

   The American Iron Racing Series eighteen car fifteen lap event was an entertaining back and forth duel between Tracy Quigley and Bruce Yoerger, as they swapped the lead after lining up in row one. Quigley emerged with an emotional win over Yoerger, Wesley Jones, twelfth starting Bart Miller and Owen Hayes.  

   The normally well behaved Stock Cars had some trouble early, with a pair of cautions on the opening circuit, including a major pile up exiting turn four and a second scrum that eliminated Jason See and Scott Walker. This was in addition to top contender John Oliver Jr. who scratched from his row five starting slot. Back under green, it was front row starters Derrick Agee and Oshkosh, Wisconsin visitor Presley Harrington leading the way. Meanwhile sixth starting David Brandies was pounding the cushion even as Agee worked the inside line and Harrington searched low and in the middle groove. Agee would then move up the track before the top three settled  on the bottom. With Agee and Harrington pulling ahead, Brandies soon had to contend with tenth starting double duty Dustin Griffiths. As the race passed the halfway point Griffiths climbed the ladder in an attempt to overtake the three front runners. Slower traffic came into play with about four laps remaining, Agee moved up from the bottom, and Griffiths sneaked to the inside to grab the lead. As the leaders sliced through the lapped cars, Agee looped his #14 in turns one and two to bring a caution flag. It was decided that he had "help" spinning out, so he was lined back up in the runner up position. A final yellow flag waved on the restart, and Harrington headed to the pits, his top three run ended with front suspension damage. Griffiths held on for his second feature checkers of the night. Agee settled for second ahead of a late charge by Nathan Ballard and Jason Cook, with Brandies falling to fifth. 

   All thirteen Modifieds came to the three eighths mile oval for twenty laps. With Austen Becerra sitting on the pole, this one looked like an easy pick 'em. Austen would indeed lead all twenty non stop laps to score the win. Vance Wilson, wheeling a blue #2 machine would take the green alongside Becerra and hold off double duty Mark Burgtorf  in a battle of veteran hot shoes before Mark drove by in the Baker #03B on lap seven. Becerra had a half track lead by the time he caught the tail of the field at the mid point of the race. He would move quickly and efficiently around the slower cars, cruising to the win. Burgtorf would come home second while eighth starting Chris Spalding, another two class competitor, charged to third. Kurt Kile would ease past Wilson at the checkers for fourth. 

   In all too typical fashion, six caution flags would mar the B Mod/ Sport Mod twenty lapper. Sean Wyett would jump to the point from his pole start ahead of Chris Spalding, Brandon Dale and Tim Plummer. With a pair of yellows six laps in, Becerra, driving the Brandon Lambert #14L and starting tenth, moved to third. Wyett began to stretch his lead as the laps clicked past half way and Becerra closed in on Spalding for second. A caution at lap eleven spelled the end of the night for Plummer. Back under green Becerra faded a bit and Dale began to apply pressure to the leader. Lap after lap they raced with Dale pulling ahead high off turn two but Wyett finding a bite down low to regain the lead down the back stretch. Three times the yellow flag would wave with just two laps remaining, the final one ending a late charge by fourth running Tanner Klingele, who spun his #73K. Dale took one last shot on the restart, but it was Wyett scored out front all twenty laps for the win. Dale came next while Becerra rebounded in third. Dakota Girard claimed fourth, and rookie Bryson Eckrich drove a steady race to gain four spots and record a top five sporting the familiar #56.  

   With many of the well chilled faithful headed for the gates, all but two of the sixteen Sport Compacts came trackside for fifteen laps. Following a yellow flag on the start for a turn one scrum, the leaders raced four wide into that same corner, bumpin' and bangin' all the way! Chevy Barnes emerged out front as the first circuit was recorded. Dyllan Bonk, in a "borrowed" #32 moved from a row three start to second on lap two ahead of another stoppage. Back to racing, pole sitter Jeff Delonjay restarted in third but charged to the lead, with Bonk also clearing Barnes to hang on to second. As the front two pulled away, there was a tight four car tussle for third before Barnes smacked the turn four guardrail then rolled to a stop, losing a tire off the #13C. Although it looked as though Delonjay was out front when the yellow came out, Bonk was scored the surprise ( even to him!) leader. From there he increased his margin all the way to the final checkers. Delonjay took runner up honors while Kimberly Abbott had a strong run in third, besting Alex Hayes and Josh Barnes. 

   The final event of the LCS 2025 season ended about 11:30, as another Shiverfest went in the books. Thanks as always to Neal and his crew for their hospitality all year long, and as it seems this will be his final season of promoting, we wish him well, even as we eagerly anticipate what comes next at the storied fairgrounds oval. Meanwhile, we look forward hopefully to another race or two before we close out season number seventy of chasing cars going in circles!

Feger, Conoyer and the Ewing Boys Top Illinois Fall Nationals

   It had been four years since my last trip to the Illinois Fall Nationals in Lincoln, Il. Checking the weather and our weekend commitments, we were able to line up for night one, Friday, of the two day event to mark the end of the UMP points season. The quarter mile track on the Logan County Fairgrounds is one of those popular Illinois "bullrings." Opening night would feature four classes, Super Late Models,  Pro Crate Late Models, Modifieds and Pro Modifieds, each running a full show.

  As it turns out our decision was a wise one, as the Saturday finale was canceled during the action on Friday based on the high possibility of rain. My how things have changed over the years, but that is a topic for another day!

   A solid field of one hundred and ten entries made for a full night of racing in front of a late arriving group of enthusiastic supporters. Four of the Pro Crate Late Model competitors also signed in to Super Late action with varying degrees of success, several Modified drivers also doubled up.

   We were in the heart of UMP country, which meant time trial qualifying for all divisions. Springfield, Ill. veteran Jake Little topped the Supers, with a lap of 12.981 seconds around the quarter mile, about a second and a half faster than the 14.542 turned by double duty Dakota Ewing in the Crates. Collin Alexander was overall fastest of the thirty four Modifieds at 14.428 while Drake Compton broke the track record for Pro Mods, besting the thirty two racers at 15.021 seconds.  

   With no delays, heat race action rolled off quickly, setting the feature fields for the twenty six Super and eighteen Crate Late Models, while it took a pair of B mains to pare down the two Mod classes for their main events. It was during the final Pro Mod semi that a crash in turn three resulted in one driver being transported to the local hospital, and with no further condition updates we will leave it up to track officials to make any announcements, however he was said to be alert. 

   I am not certain if Lincoln has a curfew as the track sits on the edge of a neighborhood, but the very informative announcer mentioned several times that the program needed to hurry along, the Pro Late Models lined up on the half mile "horse track" during the accident delay, and with no intermission   (much to our delight!), all eighteen cars came to the track for twenty laps.

   Heat winners Ewing and Brandon Sweitzer led a group of four cars battling side by side and nose to tail, with Swietzer leading the opening lap before Ewing took command on lap two. The only caution came with three laps scored as Jeremy Nichols had issues off turn two. Although the track was tacky and racy throughout, the high side seemed to be the place to be, and back under green, Ewing and Sweitzer pulled away on that top line. As slower traffic became a factor about lap thirteen, Ewing was able to gain a bit of separation and even when that traffic became heavy, they stayed mostly in the inside line allowing the leaders to whistle by on the top. With no further delays, Ewing cruised to the win, his seventh in seven tries at the track this season! (He was also three for three at Quincy this season as he captured the UMP national title.)  Sweitzer followed in second ahead of Chad Osterhoff, Chris Dick and Colby Sheppard. Ryan Miller gained four positions to sixth, topping Jason Oenning, Erik Vanapeldoorn, Jacob Doolan and Chase Wilson. 

   The UMP Modified field was a stacked one, as Brian Lynn and Kenny Wallace brought twenty five cars to the green for twenty five laps. Lynn led the first circuit as fifth starting Rick Conoyer charged to the runner up spot. Both of the #14 cars gained separation on those behind, with Conoyer closing the gap on lap six. With Lynn racing the preferred high line, Conoyer sneaked by on the low side to grab the lead on lap eight. Lynn fought back and with that duo racing side by side the first of  two quick yellows came with nine laps in the books. The restart saw a group of three tangle in turn one, then back to racing Conoyer and Lynn again drove off from the pack. Wallace, Ray Bollinger and Frank Marshall waged a tight three car battle for third before a final yellow flag slowed the race with eleven laps down. Wallace briefly grabbed the runner up spot following the Delaware Style restart, but Lynn quickly recovered and took up the chase. Again the race was for third, as Conoyer lengthened his lead, driving high on the inside berm in turns three and four. Bollinger took command of the fight for third on lap twenty one. Traffic came into play just a pair of circuits from the checkers, but Conoyer had no problems, driving home to a convincing win. Lynn settled for second in front of Bollinger, Wallace and Marshall. The second five was paced by Alexander over Austin Lynn, Tyler Loughmiller, Austin Simpson and sixteenth starting Ken Schrader. John Toppozini made the haul from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, earning hard charger honors, advancing twelve positions to finish eleventh. 

   Super Lates came next with all except Jose Parga coming to the oval for thirty laps and a $2,000 payday. Jake Little sat on the pole, but it was his row one mate Jason Feger grabbing the point. Living up to his "Highside Hustler" nickname, the UMP national champion widened his lead before hitting heavy back of the pack traffic on lap seven. He then was forced down the track, weaving in and out of the slower cars racing for positions. But Little now had his hands full of hometown driver Myles Moos, as the three heat winners led the way. Moos cleared Little for second on lap eleven, one circuit ahead of the only caution of the event as Blaze Burwell looped his #44 in what seemed a rather treacherous turn three. On the restart Little regained second while twelfth starting Ewing had his crate engine wound up, jumping into the top five. Feger once again rode the high line before catching the tail of the field on lap nineteen. The crowed conditions gave Little another chance, and as lap twenty six was scored, he was bumper to bumper with Feger. But he could not mount a further challenge, as Jason worked the traffic with precision to score the hard fought victory. Behind the tumbling dice #25 it was Little, Moos, McKay Wenger and Ewing. Chase Osterhoff ran sixth, besting Brayton Wallace. Zach Taylor finished where he started in eighth ahead of Tommy Sheppard Jr. and Ryan Little. The hard luck award goes to Daniel Adam, who was battling for the first heat win when he spun in the final set of turns, finishing last. Lining up twenty fifth in the feature, he gained thirteen spots to finish in twelfth.

   The victory lane festivities were postponed until racing was complete as the Pro Mods came to the track for twenty laps. Following an early caution, we made the decision to begin the two and a half hour plus trip towards home, hoping to avoid the promised rain showers (we did!). My Race Pass shows Dalton Ewing collecting the final 2025 checkers at Lincoln while Bret Eilerman moved up eight spots to second over Blake Carroll, Cody Sale and Garett Schumacher. Matt Milner was sixth in front of hard charger Aaron Canterberry, who advanced eleven spots, topping Brady Reed, Alex Cygan and Taryn Page.  

   Although they do not have a scoreboard proper, the large electronic lap counter on the front straight along with an excellent P.A. system are a huge help at this bullring track. Many thanks to the Lincoln Speedway staff for their hospitality, with a special shout out to the very helpful young lady at the ticket booth. One of the fun things about venturing from home is the people you meet and the stories they tell. One of those folks sitting in our section was the daughter of well known former racer "Jungle" Jim Davison, as she shared some fun stuff about her years growing up at the track. 

   We will now set our sights on one of our "can't miss" events, Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson next Saturday, October 25. Here's hoping for continued good weather and maybe no "shivers" this year!