Wednesday we made a last minute decision to head to Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa for the first of four consecutive nights of racing there, this night being the rescheduled 30th annual Gary Reinhart Memorial. A stellar field of one hundred and fifty one cars in five divisions opened the marathon weekend.
For this night we had set a 10:30 curfew, and with hot laps starting on time as advertised at 6:30, we were hoping to see the complete show. With warm ups complete, heat racing kicked off at 7:00, and with the one spin rule in effect, seventeen heats and four B mains - two for each of the modified classes were completed by about 8:45. A quick intermission came next for some track prep to knock down a bit of the cushion on the immaculately prepared tacky and fast quarter mile, and it was time for feature racing.
First up would be the Outlaw Stock Cars, who offered up an interesting mix of the so named cars with a generous helping of IMCA Stock Cars added in. All but one of the twenty four drivers on hand made the call for fifteen laps of action. Unfortunately this is when the wheels began to come off. Five caution periods marred the action, including three on consecutive laps mid race. Outlaw racer Jeff Struck lined up on the pole position alongside Justin Kay - who was competing in three different classes! - and patiently paced the field throughout the marathon event. Following the third of those rapid fire yellows, tenth starting Joel Rust raced side by side with second running Kay before taking sole possession of the runner up spot. As that battle raged on Struck opened a commanding lead, but with the final two cautions coming with three, then two laps to go, Rust was able to put pressure on the leader although he could not get close enough to challenge for the top spot. This race would belong to Struck, followed by Rust and eighth starting Joe Bonney, who also came on strong in the late stages. Zach Zuberbier and Jake Lund completed the first five.
My companion stated the next running 4 Stocks would probably go non stop in their twelve lapper, but with all but one of the twenty eight signed in, that would prove to be wishful thinking! Indeed, in this race the wheels - well one, actually, literally did come off, as top contender Cyle Hawkins "threw a shoe" with three laps scored. Heat two winner Trent LeBarge was the early leader with hometowner Josh Starr in tow. Following this first restart, Starr and Jake Benischek charged from the first double file row to overtake the leader, with LeBarge shuffled back to fifth. Two more quick yellows came and on this final restart Benischek powered to the front. The final six circuits clicked off non stop and Jake was able to hold off the advances of Starr to grab the win. Travis Hawkins claimed third in front of Joe Zrostlik and LeBarge.
The clock was ticking as the Late Models lined up. Only Teagan Evans, who left the track on the hook after a heat race pile up was missing from the twenty five lap affair. Unfortunately the twenty six drivers who took the green flag were unable to string laps together early on. After a certain number of yellow flags, which eventually numbered seven, track officials began to deduct laps from the scheduled twenty five. Ron Klein had come from row three to capture the first heat, then redrew the number two pill to start alongside Jaden Fryer in the front row. Klein grabbed the lead followed by Fryer until a restart with four in the books when sixth starting Evan Miller took over the second position. Justin Kay had lined up outside row five, advanced to seventh, then began a charge through the field, moving to the runner up spot about lap nine. Also coming to the front after starting in row six it was Joel Callahan and Matt Ryan. But with the race staying green for the final ten laps, it was a battle between the rim riding Klein and the tire hugging Kay, side by side, lap after lap. With just a pair of circuits remaining, Kay took command, charging to the hard fought win. Klein collected a hard fought second, followed by Callahan, Ryan, and Miller. Fred Remley gained eleven spots to finish sixth ahead of Dustin Schram and Late Model rookie Jesse Bodin. Bobby Hansen also gained eleven positions to claim ninth while Joe Beal started twenty fourth and turned in a top ten.
It was now pushing our 10:30 cutoff, so we regretfully headed to the parking lot as the Sport Mods headed for the green flag. Reports this morning show Logan Veloz topping the Sport Mods over Jarett Franzen and Tony Olson, while Brandon Schmitt bested Chris Simpson and Ethan Braaksma in the Modified finale.
Tonight we will hope for a bit better luck as we again make the two and a half hour trip for the opening night of the Fall Bash. The lineup is basically the same, with IMCA rules Stock Cars replacing the Outlaw variety on the card. Perhaps with a night under their belt, everyone will be more comfortable on the track and the yellow fever will be a thing of the past. Hope to see you there!
And a bit of housekeeping, the scheduled two night Chad McCoy Memorial at Adams County, Il. Speedway near Quincy has been switched to a Sunday only show with Micros dropped from the card. There will still be five divisions in action racing for big dollars, hot laps starting about 5:30. Hope to see you there, as well.
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