Kid Rocket Tops World of Outlaws at Pevely

Saturday, Darryl, Fred, and I made our fourth and final trip of the year to I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Two of our previous three stops resulted in postponements as we sat in the car, so we were plenty eager to see some action on the high banked 1/3 mile, one of our favorite facilities. Arriving early, as usual, we were watching track prep, and all agreed that it was 75 degrees out, not 95, and it seemed like they were dumping a lot of water on the oval. But then Pevely is a well run track, and they surely know better than three grumpy old men - except last night. By the time the excess moisture was rolled in, hot laps started just over 30 minutes late, with the 29 AARA sportsman cars and 33 World of Outlaw late models up first. The 37 UMP late models then combined group qualifying with their hot lap session, with four or five cars at a time on the speedway. Unfortunately transponder issues slowed the process, but finally Matt Mevert posted the top time of 13.995 seconds, something over 85 MPH.
The late models timed next, two cars at a time for two laps. Only Shannon Babb had to requalify with transponder problems. The fastest lap went to series points leader Josh Richards at 12.194 seconds. Rickey Frankel was second fastest in group two, but was declared light at the scales, forcing him to the tail of his heat race.
Heat race action began about 8:30. To their credit, track officials made some adjustments to the program to save time. The redraw for late model starting spots for the first four rows that was to be done on the front stretch was scrapped, and no intermission was taken. Three sportsman heats were followed by four for the late models. Heat one got off to a rocky start when outside row one starter Jason Feger got faked a bit on the start and was penalized one row for taking off too soon. His troubles were compounded when he fell out of the action on lap three. Richards led flag to flag from the pole, as did Bub McCool in heat two. The third ten lapper had the most action, with Morgan Bagley coming from outside row two for the win, while Shane Clanton went the distance from the pole in heat four.
 Following four mod heats and a sportsman semi, the late models were set to contest two last chance races. In the first, Iowan Charlie McKenna, making his first ever start at Pevely - something on his bucket list - found something on the high side after starting outside row three. " Chargin' Charlie " had struggled in his heat, but was three wide with Michael Kloos and Jason McBride down the backstretch about to make the pass for the runnerup spot when his real estate disappeared, forcing him into the wall and ending his solid run. The second 12 lapper saw late model rookie Jim Shereck from St Charles,Mo, making only his ninth late model start take the early lead, only to have fourth starting Frankel power by in turn two mid race. Shereck held his ground, however, and with Frankels ride pushing up the track in turns three and four, he put his # 17 inside Rickey and won the drag race to the checkers on the final circuit. The 22 qualifiers then had four provisionals - two from WoO including rookie of the year leader Eric Wells, and Feger, and two from the promoter, added to the show. Dewayne Kiefer received one of these, the other went to Tim Manville. When he did not make the call, Jeff Herzog was awarded the spot. It was announced much to our delight that the 55 lap late model headliner would follow the two modified semis, and the officials and drivers did a good job of getting the cars on the track in a quick manner, with no on track introductions.
 As the green waved, row three starter Clanton slowed down the backstretch, resulting in a multi car scrum. Fortunately the Georgia driver was the only one unable to continue, as his right front suspension was damaged. On the restart, polesitter Babb jumped to the lead, and opened a commanding advantage.  On lap five fourth place starting Richards moved to second as outside polesitter Bagley fell back slightly. Richards chipped away at Babbs lead as the front two began to close on slower traffic by lap 13. The caution waved on lap 24 for a slowing Kloos, with Babb, Richards, and eighth starting Darrell Lanigan the top three. The yellow flew again six laps later for Tim McCreadie, who was running outside the top ten. On the restart, tenth starting Billy Moyer, who had been locked in a duel with his son after the two started side by side in row five,vaulted to fifth, then to fourth, while 16 year old Bobby Pierce, who started in row six and had been stuck there began use both the high and low grooves to charge to sixth. On lap 32 Richards made his move around Babb, although Shannon kept the # 1 Rocket house car in his sights. Row seven starter Brandon Sheppard was now on the move on the high side, as he shadowed Pierce, who took fifth. Another stoppage for Shereck came on lap 34, and on the restart, Sheppard slipped around Pierce. Lap 41 saw Lanigan overtake Babb for second, and on lap 49 Bagley slowed with a flat, slowing his top ten run. At the same time, Feger, who had come from 24th to ninth and was moving quickly forward, stopped in turn four, leaving the action behind the wrecker. With less than ten laps remaining the Delaware restart was no longer in effect, as the cars went single file. Lap 51 saw Moyer get past Babb, and contact followed between Babb and Sheppard as Brandon also got by. Two laps later we saw the result of this, as Babb smacked the turn one wall as something appeared to break on his # 18, and Sheppard headed to the hot pit with a flat tire. This moved Brian Shirley, who had been strong early before fading out of the top ten, then mounting another charge, up to fourth. The two lap shootout to the checkers saw little change, as Richards nabbed the $10,000 top prize. Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley, and Pierce enjoyed top five finishes. The second five included Rick Eckert, Moyer Jr., 2012 winner Dennis Erb Jr, Tim Fuller, and Bagley. It was neat to have Bub ( McCool ), Chub ( Frank ), and " Scrub " ( Eckert ) all in the main event.
 We very much wanted to at least stay for the modified feature, but the clock said almost 11:30, late enough for three old guys three hours from home! Congrats to Michael Long for another mod victory, and to Jon Ripperda for his sportsman checkers.
 As I type this, it is raining here in Canton,Mo, but not at Quincy Raceways, so if you have plans to take in the show there tonight, be sure and call the hotline. Hopefully, we will see you there!