After a trip to visit the great grandson, it was back to racing on Saturday night. It would be night number two of the Calvin Meyer Memorial at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. Calvin was a dedicated race fan and friend to many who lost his life in 2020, leaving behind his wife and young daughter. This first annual racing weekend was washed out last fall at the historic fairgrounds facility, which now hosts events about four times per season.
With heavy rain predicted before midnight, race director Mike Van Genderen moved up hot laps to 5:00 P.M., a welcome change for these crisp fall evenings. Just over one hundred race teams signed in to do battle on the smooth, wide, semi banked dirt oval, perhaps 4/10 mile in length. On this night the racing surface was in pristine condition, fast all night and black slick when the final checkers fell.
It took thirteen heat races and a pair of B mains to set the feature fields. Between the "spin and you're in" rule and the fact that one race followed the next so quickly that announcer Tony Paris could barely recap the qualified cars and give the line up for the next race, folks were still coming in at feature time!
In fact, the hobby stock main event actually ran between the sport mod and modifieds B mains. All sixteen cars took the green for fifteen laps. Dustin Griffiths lined up on the pole and grabbed the lead ahead of a lap two caution. On the restart, Friday winner Luke Ramsey charged to the front, followed in second two circuits later by Mike Kincaid. Soon a three car scrum for the position developed between Griffiths, Kincaid, and Clint Nelson. Ramsey had opened a sizable lead by the time a second and final caution came for debris with five laps to go. Nelson used the Delaware restart to move to second, and at the checkers it was Ramsey, Nelson, Kincaid, Griffiths, and Solomon Bennett.
Eighteen cars took the twenty lap feature green flag in the stock car division. Following a yellow flag on the start, Tom Berry shot to the front from the pole position in the #99D normally driven by Damon Murty. As Berry stretched his lead, ninth starting Johnny Spaw began to charge through the pack, claiming the second spot on lap six. Spaw then began to close on the leader ahead of a caution flag at the half way mark. Spaw put his #00 out front as racing resumed, then pulled away from the field until a final yellow came with four laps remaining. It was no problem, however for Spaw, who repeated his night one victory. Miciah Hidlebaugh out dueled Berry and Abe Huls for second. David Brandies had issues in his heat race and was forced to start in row nine for the feature. He then advanced all the way to fifth at the checkers.
Twenty two laps would be the distance for the twenty four car sport mod field. Austen Becerra was doing double duty in both modified classes, and he powered from row two to lead the first lap, taking his row two mate Brayton Carter along in second. A pair of cautions at laps four and five saw Austen stay out front, however Curtis Van Der Wal now took over the runner up spot and began to work on the leader. As lap eleven was scored, Curtis was ahead by the slimmest of margins. Lapped traffic became the focus at lap thirteen, and when Van Der Wal and Becerra got caught behind slower cars, Carter used the high line to charge to the front. Two more cautions came with five laps to go, and now it was Brayton in front and Becerra using everything he had to try and grab the lead. In the final set of turns, Becerra went full bore but his #22 got out of shape, dropping him to fifth at the stripe. Cayden Carter in the Maguire Dejong #30M took runner up honors to " Speedy Bray", chased by Dylan Van Wyk, and Van Der Wall.
Fifteen sport compacts lined up for fifteen laps of action. Barry Taft started up front and put his #2 in the lap one lead. Chuck Fullenkamp and Kimberly Abbott raced three wide with Taft as the next circuit was scored, and by lap three Fullenkamp had secured the top spot. Jeffrey Delonjay charged through the pack to second place on lap four, and it quickly became a two car battle with Fullenkamp out front and Delonjay nipping at his heels. Friday winner Brandon Reu advanced to third at lap ten, but could not close on the leaders. As the laps wound down, Fullenkamp stretched his lead and cruised to the win in the non stop event. Delonjay recorded the runner up finish, with Reu, Isaiah Penton, and Michael Grossman completing the top five.
Modifieds racing, twenty four strong for twenty five laps would close out the evening. Chris Spaulding was wheeling a #00, and he paced the opening circuit with double duty Cayden Carter in tow. Cayden took over on the next lap, and from there the race would be for second on back. Becerra came to the runner up spot on lap five, but Carter continued to build his lead. Kurt Kile started in row four and moved to third on lap nine. Just past the crossed flags of starter Doug Haack to signal the half way mark, Carter caught the back of the pack, but he skillfully negotiated the slower cars with little problem. With no cautions to slow his momentum, Carter repeated his Friday victory in dominating fashion. Becerra held on to the second spot this time, while Mark Burgtorf cleared Kile late to claim third. Kile and Spaulding rounded out the top five.
The final checkers had us in the car headed home by 8:45! A big thanks to Mike Van Genderen for his hospitality and to him and his outstanding crew for a well prepared track, and a lightning fast show on a chilly Saturday night.
Weather permitting, we are looking at one more midweek show at the Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Missouri on Wednesday as part of the USMTS championship week, and of course next Saturday is the highly anticipated Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson.
I also want to give a shout out to Randolph County Raceway promoters Jim and Tammy Lieurance on the exciting news that they will be reopening the former Quincy Raceways in 2022. Stay tuned here and at the Adams County (Illinois) Speedway website for updates.
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