Catching Up With The Hell Tour

Friday morning, I received a text from buddy Lane Evans asking if I was going to the UMP Summernationals race at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. I responded that getting off work even on time on Fridays was a dicey proposition for me, and even if I managed a 5:00 exit, I could not make it in time for the advertised 7:15 start. But he said he could leave Mt Pleasant, Iowa at 4:00 and meet me along the way if I wanted to go, and we would get there when we could. An offer I couldn't refuse! So even though a bit ill prepared for a night at the track,  I left the office about 5:20 and hooked up with him in Missouri about 20 minutes later. It was to be his first ever visit to Kevin and Tammy Gundakers 3/8 mile facility, so he relied on me for directions. Having been there many times, I still managed to point him towards the wrong exit, but we followed the sound of the high horsepower engines, and walked through the ticket gate about 8:00, just as the final three UMP super late models were taking their time trial laps. After securing some of their good quality and reasonably priced concession offerings, we found seating amongst a very large crowd. The 45 UMP modifieds in attendance clicked off four heat races, with one of my " home track " drivers, Michael Long, picking off a win. Michael Harrison, Nick Hoffman, and Nascars Kenny Wallace picked up the other heat victories.
 The 43 UMP super late models then contested four ten lap heats, with Brian Shirley in a Tim Lance # 48 machine besting Billy Moyer, Randy Korte and Ryan Unzicker  in heat one.Shirley has been crewing for Lance thus far on the tour, then driving one of the # 48 cars at the weekend shows, leaving his familiar # 3S at home.  Chris Simpson then outgunned the nights fastest qualifier and tour points leader Brandon Sheppard, in heat two, with Bobby Pierce and Brian Birkhofer completing the four qualified cars.  Wisconsin hot shoe Brady Smith became the only late model heat winner not starting on the outside pole, as he came from row two to outrun fellow Wisconsin driver Jimmy Mars, Jason Perry, and Craig Smith in heat three. Kevin Weaver resumed the outside row one trend to hold off Jack Sullivan, Mark Burgtorf, and Shannon Babb in the final ten lapper. This race was red flagged when Wisconsin driver Todd Frank rolled his # 21 machine in turn three. He was uninjured, but done for the night.
  The 21 UMP Pro Crate late models then contested three heats to set their feature lineup.
  The Summernationals format is a bit different than we are used to, as they run a C-main, B-main Eldora - Knoxville style format instead of straight B-mains, and as the modifieds were running as part of the Summit Hell Tour, they also ran C's to advance cars to the B's. If it sounds a little tough to follow, it is! Joe Dresch from Brighton,Il. picked up the mod B-main checkers.
  The lone late model C ten lapper advanced the top four to the tail of the 16 car B, with only the top two from the B moving to the 40 lap $10,000 to win A feature. Local favorite Billy Laycock picked up the C win over Tim Lance, Roger Brickler and Chris Shelton. Another local veteran, Billy Faust wheeled one of three Kehrer racing # 92 entries to the12 lap B-main win, with Tyler Reddick taking the final qualifying spot.
A whopping four provisionals were then added to the tail of the 22 car starting field, including Jason McBride. Mickael Kloos, track point leader Scott Weber, and Dustin Griffin.
  During one of the breaks in the action, Sheppard came out for a couple of hot laps, and there was a noticeable miss in his power plant.
   After the late model B, it was announced that there would be a five to ten minute break to put some water around the top of the track, and the late model headliner would be the first feature. The water was certainly welcome, as a stiff breeze had been coating the grandstands with dust and dirt even though the track was mostly tacky.
  I did not time the intermission, as we were just happy the late models would run first, but....
  As the cars came to the track, we learned that Moyer had scratched, leaving us with a 21 car starting field. The unofficial word was that the Hall of Famer had become ill, but I have not seen that confirmed. The four heat winners drew for starting spots, and Shirley and Smith sat on the front row. Smith took off as the green waved, and Shirley kept him in his sights for the first nine laps as the field sorted itself out. On lap ten, Shirley appeared to jump the cushion in turn three just as Mars was trying to move under Weaver for third. Heavy contact resulted, with Mars # 28 actually on top of the B12 at one point. Both of these top runners were done for the night, and it looked like Shirleys ride may have some wounds. While the caution was out, Kortes night ended as he dropped a drive shaft on the front stretch. Smith was still in command when racing resumed, with Shirley second, and Simpson now in third. About three laps later, Simpson charged to the runnerup slot, and the caution waved again on lap 15. Following the restart, Sheppard moved ahead of a fading Shirley, and on lap 19, Simpson put his MB Custom machine around Smith for the lead. The Iowa pilot built a lead as the field jockeyed behind him, with fourteenth starting Birkhofer advancing to third, followed by twefth starting Burgtorf and sixteenth starting Babb. The race was beginning to remind me of the early spring races at 34 Raceway - one where Simpson lead until the final couple of laps before breaking, and another where Burgtorf and Birkhofer battled back and forth for position. A final caution waved on lap 34 for a slowing Kloos, and Sheppard left the track at this time with what looked like a broken shock. Unlike the heartbreak in West Burlington, Simpson had no issues in the closing laps, and captured what I would guess is the biggest win of his career. Smith held on to second, with Birkhofer, Burgtorf, and Babb battling to the checkers in that order. Shirley came home sixth, followed by Unzicker, Reddick, who had made two forays into the infield during cautions where his crew looked under the hood of his # 11, Sullivan, and Faust. Griffin and McBride, who was one lap down, were the only other cars running as the checkers waved.
 Although Lane was looking at a 200 plus mile drive home, we decided to see how the $1,000 to win modified finale started out. Michael Long took advantage of a front row starting slot to lead Michael Harrison on lap one, and the Fowler, Il driver soon opened up a half track lead. The race ran nonstop until Long crossed the flag stand for the 22nd time, when a car slowed in turn four to bring out the only caution of the 25 lapper. It was the last thing Long wanted to see, and on the restart, Indiana hot shoe Levi Kissinger and Josh Russell were able to get around Harrison. Coming to the white flag, Long got a bit too high in turn four, and Kissinger pulled ahead with his # 8. But Michael kept his cool, and powered back to the front as the pair came to the checkers.Russell, Harrison, and Nick Hoffman followed in what was as strong a modified field as you are going to see in the midwest.
  The crate late model feature would complete the card, but it was now past 11:30 and with most of the crowd staying around, it seemed like a good time to beat the traffic out of town. I see in the posted results that Aaron Heck picked up another Tri City win in the Crate main, congratulations to him.
  If you are like Lane and have never been to Tri City, it is worth the trip - I know he plans to go back.
 Regular racing is on Friday nights, and the Lucas Oil Late Model Series will be on the card for another $10,000 top prize on July 12.
  Hopefully the rain will hold off and we can get back to weekly racing Sunday night at Quincy Raceways, where the Hell Tour will be making a stop on Tuesday, July 2.
  Maybe we will see you Racin' Down the Road!