Erb Captures First Summernats at LCS

    After a rain out at Quincy Raceways, the UMP DirtCar Summer Nationals Tour fired back up Thursday with their first ever visit to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. In addition, the UMP Summit Modified Tour was back in action, as well as non sanctioned Stock Cars and Sport Mods. While area fans such as I were disappointed with the cancellation at Quincy, several of the traveling Late Model teams took advantage of the unscheduled day off to catch up on car maintenance, at least one team got to spend some time regrouping at home, and another found a quality laundromat in Davenport! Promoter Neil Kohlmorgan and his team had the three eighths mile fairgrounds facility in prime condition, with the Wednesday night through Thursday rains only a distant memory. One unfortunate consequence of the off day was that a few of the long distance competitors who had struggled early in the week made the decision to head home and possibly regroup to rejoin the tour at a later time. The decision a few years ago to make each week a separate points race with an end of the week payout has increased participation throughout the grueling month long marathon, but it does afford teams the chance to call it quits mid week, then come back strong later on. Of course hanging on for the entire schedule still offers the most reward at the end!

   Still there were more than enough "new" cars in the pits to make up the difference, with thirty five high powered Late Models signing in to race in front of a large crowd of enthusiastic fans. Twenty of the open Modifieds checked in, while sixteen Sport Mods/B Mods but only eight Stock Cars filled out the seventy nine car field. 

   The regular tour format was in place for the premier class, with hot laps, two lap time trial qualifying, four eight lap heats, a gigantic ten lap "Last Chance" race, various provisional starters followed by a thirty lap main event. For the Modifieds, it was combined hot lap/qualifying, a pair of loaded heats and a twenty five lap feature. A single Stock Car heat was followed by a pair for the limited Mods completed the preliminary events. 

   Young Edina, Missouri racer Kayden Clatt made his first tour appearance of the year and walked off with the best time trial performance for the Late Models, a lap of 15.485 seconds, while Mod hot shoe Trevor Neville topped the leader board at 16.672. Only Late Model racer David Payne failed to take a time trial lap after showing smoke in hot laps. 

   The usual result of the "fast cars on the front" for the Late Model heats was in effect, with front row starters Dillon McCowan, Chris Simpson, Ryan Gustin and Christian Hanger picking up wins, but there was plenty of slicing and dicing for position going on behind them on the very fast racing surface.  

   The same held true for the Mods, with Neville and double duty Drake Troutman in the winners' circle.

   Missouri drivers swept the other heats as Derrick Agee picked up the Stock Car win while Adam Birck and Brandon Lennox topped the limited Mods. Although there was a lot of movement during the nineteen car Last Chance, front row starters Derrick Stewart and Carson Brownsecured transfer spots.

   Track crews tickled the surface during intermission, as the cushion was already pushed almost to the guardrail at both ends of the speedway. 

   In keeping with the Summer Nationals formula, the Late Model feature would be up first. The heat race winner redraw put Hanger and McCowan on row one, and they crossed under starter Kevin Egglestons' flag stand to complete lap one in that order. Gustin would then claim the runner up spot the next time around before McCowan suffered spoiler damge after clipping the guardrail on lap three. On the move was New Waverly, Texas driver Tyler Erb, who lined up in position six, and charged to third on lap six. Blasting around the top of the oval, Erb then moved in to challenge Gustin for second even as they tried to run down the leader with Simpson and eighth starting Mark Whitener in tow as well. As the race stayed green the front runners caught the back of the pack about lap thirteen with three wide action behind Hanger. At the half way mark Erb drove to second followed by Simpson and Whitener while Gustin faded to fifth. Slower traffic continued to be an issue while Erb powered to the front out of turn four around lap nineteen. Continuing to run the top line around the track, Erb began to pull away while Whitener and Simpson swapped the second position, dropping Hanger to fourth. The checkers waved in the caution free race with 2024 tour champion Erb collecting his first series win of the year . Simpson won the battle for runner up honors the first time out in his brand new machine. Middleburg, Florida racer Whitener finished third ahead Hanger and Gustin. Jake Timm led the second five in front of Joseph Joiner, McCowan, Kyle Bronson and Ethan Dotson. Eleventh finishing Ashton Winger was the hard charger, taking advantage of his provisional twentieth starting slot. The win was worth $5,000 to Erb.

   Summit Tour Modifieds then lined up for twenty five laps. The yellow flag waved on the start as Brian Reed stopped in turn two, and following a full restart minus Reed, it was twenty five non stop laps. Neville got the jump on Troutman, Michael Long and Chase Holland as lap one went in the books. On lap four Troutman used a successful slide job out of turn four to grab the lead. With Holland now in third the leaders raced in tight formation, but it was twelfth starting Austen Becerra moving up through the pack. He entered the top five on lap six, soon beginning an entertaining battle with Long for fourth. After banking off the guardrail several times, he was finally able to clear the #18L about lap fifteen. By  this time Troutman was in command, but slower cars became a factor as the laps wound down, allowing Neville to close the gap. However the Hyndman, Pa. driver  moved effortlessly through the traffic, cruising to the victory. Neville settled for second, trailed by Holland, Becerra and Long. Dave Weitholder started and finished in sixth, followed by Rick Conoyer, Steve Meyer Jr., Austin Holcombe and Bill Roberts Jr. 

   Twenty laps would be the distance for the $750 to win Stock Car feature. Derrick Agee and Beau Taylor crossed the line to complete lap one with Agee in front by inches. The leaders operated in the low line in turns one and two while pounding the treacherous cushion at the other end. Modified standout Logan Anderson took a ride this night in the Trenton Witt #33, moving around Taylor for second racing low exiting turn four with five laps scored. Jared Miller moved to third one lap later. Agee continued to lead but Anderson closed the gap continuing to use a low line out of turn four. With eight laps remaining, the front pair raced side by side, with Anderson edging ahead. But Agee rebounded, driving underneath the low running Anderson to regain the top spot with fifteen laps scored. Agee then drove on to the win, besting Anderson, Miller, Jadin Fuller in the Kohlmorgan #17 and Taylor.  Again we had a caution free event.

   Sport Mods/ B Mods would round out the action, sixteen strong for fifteen laps and a $750 top prize. Adam Birck came from row two to lead lap one ahead of pole sitter Kyler Girard. The second trip around Girard moved to the front, and on lap five third starting Logan Cumby drove to second. Cumby was closing on the leader, but on lap eight he suddenly looped his #8C in turn two. Cody Agee took advantage of the Delaware Style restart to charge to second with eighth starting Colton Livezey taking over third. Livezey then powered to the runner up spot with six circuits left, but this race belonged to Girard, who would collect his first ever feature win. Livezey scored second, Birck was third chased by Agee and ninth starting A.J. Tournear who won a tight battle with Jim Gillenwater for fifth.

   The well run week night program ended just about 10:30 with much of the large crowd still on hand. 

   Thanks to Neal and his crew for working hard to get the grounds in good shape after the mid week rains. Family plans will keep me away from the track this weekend, but there is lots of good racing to be had, including a great Sprint Invaders triple header, so take in some racing and we will be back soon!

    

Davenport at Hyper Speed, Gustin Takes First Win

    The UMP Summernationals Hell Tour began the second week of their four week marathon beginning Monday night in Wilmot, Wisconsin before heading south on Tuesday to the quarter mile Davenport, Iowa Speedway. With the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday looking a bit iffy, we still set out for three straight nights of action at three of our favorite venues. A couple of the tracks in the opening week of the series struggled getting the shows complete in a timely fashion - particularly for week night events, but we had no such concerns at "The Port." Quick programs are a given, a tradition carried on by year two promoter Jeff Struck. This marquee race would also be billed as the Iowa Governers' Cup, an event that began in 1986 at the since shuttered Hawkeye Racway, making this year 40 for the prestigious event. 

   IMCA Sport Mods, Midwest Jalopies and Nostalgia Stock Cars would fill out the card, with Street Stocks a late addition to the program.  

   Car Counts for the traveling Late Models has been strong thus far, with counts ranging from thirty five to a high of fifty eight Saturday night at Fairbury, Il.

   If the previously mentioned tracks suffered criticism for lengthy programs, such would not be the case at Davenport! Anyone and everyone with radar on their phone could see what was tracking across central Iowa, and it did not look good. But there were thirty three Late Models in the pits and a gathering of optimistic fans in the stands and promoter Struck and UMP officials were determined to give each and everyone what they came for!

  After spending time in the pits, I made the long walk to the grandstands, checked the race lineups on My Race Pass, and noticed the change right away. The four "support" classes would be running only hot laps and features. Of course the fact that counts in these classes were a bit light made this decision a bit easier. 

  So hot laps for the Late Models kicked off pretty close to the 6:30 advertised time followed by a couple set of warm ups for a couple other groups, then it was time trial time for the big boys. Jake Timm was the very first car out, and his 13.612 second lap would top the leader board throughout. Not far behind, Ryan Gustin would lead group "B" with a time of 13.691. It should be noted here that the track crew had to walk a fine line in getting enough moisture in the track to make it racy and dust free and yet leave some wiggle room to withstand a passing shower, and somehow they were able to successfully thread that needle.

   Quickly the Street Stocks rolled out for their money race, nine cars for fifteen laps. Blake Woodruff drew the pole position, and he shot to the lap one lead as a jumble of cars sliced and diced behind him. Chevy Andretta emerged from that group to move to second one lap later, but by now Woodruff had already moved well out front. As the race moved past the mid point, ninth starting Donnie Louck had moved up to challenge Andretta for the runner up spot. Suddenly the red flag waved as Cody Staley flipped his #55 hard off the tall cushion between turns three and four. The driver appeared uninjured and the track crew was quick to remove his car to the pit area. The stoppage erased a straightaway lead, but Woodruff again took off as racing resumed. Louck used the Delaware Style restart to claim second, chasing Woodruff all the way to the checkers. Andretta finished third ahead of Jake Lund, Jesse Owen and Bob Barker.

   The Late Models were now lined up for four eight lap qualifying heat races. In typical, "time 'em and start the fast guys up front" style, all four heats were won from the pole. Timm topped his row one mate Tyler Erb, Christian Hanger did the same ahead of Jason Feger, Gustin outran third starting Kyle Bronson and Ashton Winger bested fellow front row starter Joseph Joiner. 

   Despite an amazingly quick turnaround to the B Main, all seventeen eligible cars came to the track for ten laps, including Oregon racer Thomas Hunziker, the only driver to miss his heat race. This "Last Chance" qualifier would move only the top two to the feature, and as it turned out it was perhaps the most entertaining race of the evening. Florida driver Mark Whitener made the unlikely charge from row four to take firm command of the race, while the real battle was for second. National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer used a high line around the oval to come from row three and overtake young Jackson Hise for second ahead of the first caution with seven laps scored. Moyer chose the inside row on the Delaware restart and struggled to hold on as the final caution came one lap later. So this time he picked the outside line, only to get shuffled back as the green flag waved. Now it was Sun River, Montana driver Michael Leach powering to the runner up spot. Moyer had fallen to fifth, recovering to cross the line one spot from a transfer position behind Whiener and Leach. Fortunately for the veteran, he found himself in line for one of four (ugh!) provisional starting spots in the feature. 

   Another check of the radar gave us a bit more hope as most of the rain seemed to be moving north, but there was still green headed our way as ten IMCA Sport Mods lined up for fifteen laps. Dakota Cole powered from outside row one to lead pole sitter Tyler Maschmann as lap one went in the books. As Cole hugged the low line, fourth starting Cole Stichter moved up to challenge for second on lap five, securing the position on the next circuit. Along with Payce Herrera, the top four ran in a tight formation. Just after the halfway mark, Stichter inched ahead of Cole at the line while Herrera made his move to third. Once in front, Stichter pulled away to a convincing win in the non stop event. Cole came home second ahead of Herrera and Maschmann while Kevin Goben claimed fifth in a close battle with Josh Starr. 

   With zero pomp and circumstance, twenty two cars roared onto the track for thirty laps of Late Model action. In the heat winners' redraw, Gustin and Winger had pulled the front row, but it was third starting Timm out front as the opening lap was scored. Gustin then moved ahead the next time around, and those two then gained some separation on the field. The first yellow flag came five laps in as Christian Hanger slowed, his night over. Winger charged to second following the Delaware restart, but Gustin began to methodically increase his advantage. As the top three runners operated low on the track, fourth place Tyler Erb tried a high line on turns one and two, then followed the leaders at the other end with little success. Staying green, the now single file front runners closed in on the back of the pack on lap twenty. But just as Gustin began to negotiate the heavy traffic, eighth running Jason Feger had a tire explode on his ride, bringing a second and final caution twenty one laps in. With weekly points on the tour always a concern, Feger quickly added new rubber and rejoined the field, eventually gaining a couple spots to finish eighteenth. Timm was able to move past Winger on the restart, but with clear track ahead there would be no catching the leader. Gustin cruised to his first Summernat's win while Winger fell short in a challenge to Timm for second. Tyler Erb held fourth while Dennis Erb Jr. made the drive of the race, coming from twelfth to fifth. Bronson started and finished in sixth, Dillon McCowan wheeled the Daniel Adam #75 home seventh and Joiner finished where he lined up in eighth. Leach was the Hard Charger, gaining nine spots to claim ninth and Sam Mars completed the top ten. The win was worth $5,000 to Gustin and the Cooney Racing Team. 

   Still high and dry, we decided not to press our luck and headed to the car with the two " old time" classes still to go, encountering raindrops as we rolled down Locust Street. A check of results shows those two divisions were able to complete the show, with Matt Fulton Sr. besting the eleven Jalopies while Matt Hirst topped the ten Nostalgia competitors. 

   With the promoter totally on his game and amazing cooperation from the Late Model drivers, the feature checkers for the headline division waved at 8:37! Nuff said! 

   Thanks to SR Promotions, UMP, and the drivers for a quick, efficient and entertaining show! And to the half dozen or more drivers ( and the fans) who stayed home, oops, you blew this one! 

   While we were dodging the rain in the Quad Cities there was no such luck here closer to home, and combined with heavy showers overnight, Quincy Raceways officials were forced to cancel tonights' visit by the Summernats teams. Jeff Delonjay and his crew are working with series officials to hopefully reschedule the event. So now we hope for some drying time - not here yet- and the first ever tour stop tomorrow night at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. That should be a good one, with Stock Cars and Sport Mods running "Memphis" rules along with the open Late Models and Summit Modified Tour. Hope to see you there! 

    

 

Repeat Winners Dominate at 34

    Getting a south east Iowa dirt track ready to race on Saturday had to be a tricky proposition. Cloudy morning skies gave way to a baking hot sun in the afternoon. But the track prep crew at 34 Raceway west of West Burlington get an "A." Smooth and multi grooved, the high banked three eighths mile was racy from top to bottom and in fact the last of the six features may have been the best race of the night. 

   Things got off to a bit of a dicey beginning, as both a 305 Sprint and an IMCA Sport Mod were sucked into the wall between turns three and four in the opening rounds of hot laps. So the crew took just a few extra minutes to "tickle" that area, then we were off and going. As a result the first heat race kicked off only a couple minutes after 7:00 P.M. in front of a still arriving solid crowd on Pepsi $5.00 fan appreciation night.  

   The only criticism I would offer up was evident in heat race action, and that would be that the track needs a "one spin" rule. The yellow flag flew way too often during the qualifying events, as drivers seemed to know that "coming in hot" would only send them to the tail of the field rather than to the trailer. Interestingly the features did not have an over abundance of stoppages, perhaps the sinking sun aided the track conditions.

   The field was balanced enough to give us two heat races for all but the Sport Compacts, so after eleven qualifiers and a brief intermission, it was time for the main events. 

   305 Sprints would be up first with just eight cars left, racing for fifteen laps. Riley Scott (4th generation of the well known Quincy Raceways Scott family) grabbed the early lead from the pole position. Quickly Tanner Gebhardt and Cody Wehrle moved to the front, pulling away from the field through a trio of cautions. Gebhardt would secure the top spot after a final yellow with a dozen laps scored. Wehrle stayed close, settling for the runner up spot. Jeff Wilke survived a tight battle with Cole Helmerson, who looped his ride off turn two to bring out the lap twelve caution. Scott rebounded from an early spin to finish fourth by a nose over Nick Guernsey. Gebhardt has been nearly unstoppable at 34 in 2025.

 Thirteen Sport Mods lined up for fifteen laps. Sean Wyett jumped from row two to the lap one lead, taking along Joe Roller in second. Lap three saw Kevin Weak spin off turn four and he was tagged by Ryan Doud who had nowhere to go. The collision ripped off most of the right side body from the Doud car and eliminated both drivers from the event. On the restart Dustin Griffiths battled side by side with Roller for second for several laps before Dylan VanWyk cleared Griffiths for third. Just before the half way mark VanWyk charged to the runner up spot then cleared Wyett with a low side move about lap nine for the lead. Seventh starting VanWyk then pulled away for the win, while Wyett captured second. Third through fifth crossed the line in a tight finish with Roller third followed by Griffiths and Jarrett VanDenBerg. It was the second win in a row for the Oskaloosa driver. 

   All eight cars took the feature green for the twelve lap Compact feature. Bobby Douglas was the early leader, chased by Barry Taft and Tim Schnathorst. A spin in turns three and four by Brandon Crawley collected three other cars with Crawley, Brodrick Wittman and T.J. Weyls all heading to the pits. On lap three Taft grabbed the lead, and quickly opened a sizable advantage while Schnathorst cleared Douglas for second. As those two battled on, Taft drove away with the event cut to ten laps due to attrition. Schnathorst claimed the runner up spot ahead of Douglas, Bryerson Tharp and Chadrick Edward Poland.  

   The Stock Car field was a bit light on cars, but their fifteen lapper was still a good one. Kirk Kinsley  led Corey Strothman early, with sixth starting John Oliver Jr. working his way to third on lap four. The next time under the flag stand the third generation racer Oliver was second, and then traded paint with the leader as they raced side by side. Oliver was ahead by inches as lap eight was scored, but he then pulled well ahead. Meanwhile the next five cars battled in typical Stock Car fashion, side by side and nose to tail. Strothman eased ahead of that group on lap twelve, and at the checkers it was Oliver Jr., Strothman, seventh starting Austin Schrage, Kinsley and Trenton Witt. This would be the first of two caution free features, and would mark two in a row for the #05.

   The largest number of entries this night would be the fifteen IMCA Late Models. All but one would come to the track for twenty five trips around the oval, as Mitch Boles was sidelined after engine woes in his heat race. Curtis Glover picked up the win on the first night of weekly racing at 34, and he now sat on the pole position alongside Jeremy Pundt, those two coming in tied for the track points lead. But it was Glover leading third starting Andy Nezworski, fifth starting Evan Miller, Pundt and fourth starting Jay Johnson as lap one was scored. Right away Glover tried to drive off into the muggy Des Moines County night. The first caution came with seven laps down as contact between Ray Raker and Cruz Birkhofer sent the third generation racer Birkhofer hard into the front stretch concrete, eliminating both cars. Miller powered to second as racing resumed taking along Johnson as Nezworski did not get a good restart. Johnson then cleared Miller on lap nine, and now seventh starting Dustin Smith was making his presence felt as he also drove around Miller on lap eleven. It was now a fourth place scrum between Smith and Pundt, with Nezworski also back in the hunt. With Glover in control, a second and final yellow came at lap eighteen for Josh Schneiderman. Johnson was able to briefly drive inside Glover as racing resumed, but once Curtis saw the nose of the #93 he appeared to turn it up a notch, driving on to the win. Johnson, Smith, Nezworski and Pundt filled out the top five followed by Miller, Matt Strassheim, Ron Boyse, Kyle Hollenbeck and Scott Strauss. 

   All but Danny Brau of the dozen IMCA Modifieds would put a cap on the action, racing for twenty laps. Burlington hot shoe Bill Roberts Jr. would charge to the front from his pole position start in front of his row one mate, last weeks' winner Chris Zogg. Along with Dennis Laveine and Logan Anderson, the top four ran in close formation. Anderson was able to move around Laveine for third, as those two along with Roberts stayed committed to the low line. So Zogg decided to search the top of the oval as he chased the #5R. Zogg was continually able to gain a bit of ground in the turns, but Roberts was faster off the corners, stretching his advantage down the straightaways. Soon it became a two driver duel between Roberts and Zogg. With no yellow flags to slow the action Zogg gradually built a fast lane high on the banking, finally overtaking the front runner two laps from the checkers. He was then able to pull away on the final circuit to secure the hard fought and dramatic victory. Roberts settled for second in front of Anderson, Laveine and double duty Oliver Jr. 

   It was a thrilling ending to a solid night of racing, and as track owner Brad Stevens was quick to point out, the final checkers waved at 10:04. Thanks to Brad, Jessi and their team for an entertaining night of action. 

   Weather permitting, we hope to hop on the UMP Summernationals tour this week beginning with a Tuesday stop at Davenport Speedway followed by Wednesday at Quincy Raceways, then Thursday at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. So get off the sofa, come to the races, and sat "Hi" if you see me there! 

Lee County Waits Out the Rain, Races On

    The powers that be at Lee County Speedway faced a nearly impossible task on Saturday. Cloudy conditions and a threat of afternoon / early evening showers created a conundrum. Do we water the track? When and how much? Or do we just cancel the races due to a poor forecast. But the decision was made to carry on with the show. Finally light rain began to fall as race time approached, so everything was pushed back about one hour, and sure enough, the showers subsided, the sun came out and by 7:00 or so we had a near perfect race track, fast and smooth all night long! Not surprisingly, both the crowd and the car count suffered a bit, as some drivers and fans made the unfortunate decision to stay home. But kudos to those that rolled the dice and helped the show go on.

   There was another incredible by product of the excellent track conditions. Six feature events ran with zero yellow flags! I'm sure that is something this old race chaser has never witnessed. And although I was not one hundred percent locked in, I am pretty sure there were also none during the heat races - maybe flag man Kevin Eggleston should give back part of his pay! In fact, after Sport Mod driver Jason Von Zomeren unfortunately required a night ending tow back to the pits at the end of hot laps, the wreckers rarely moved the rest of the night. The end result of this fortunate turn of events had the final checkers flying about 9:28, even with the weather delayed start.

   So the actual race report for the night will be short (and sweet?) 

   Sport Compacts were up first, going at it for fifteen laps. And the outcome was a portend of what was to come. Brandon Reu sat on the pole position, drove off at the drop of the green and cruised to the flag to flag win. Up and coming Katelynn Watts also gained separation on the field, coming home in second, while Luke Fraise won an early battle with Kimberly Abbott for third. Christopher Harding completed the top five. It was clean sweep of the night for heat winner Reu. 

   Jim Gillenwater lined up outside of the front row for the Sport Mod feature and likewise was never headed. Tyler Heckart blasted into the runner up position early as Logan Cumby and Adam Birck battled for third. The veteran Gillenwater maintained a decent lead as Heckart stayed close but was unable to mount a serious challenge. Gillenwater charged to the flag to flag victory, chased all the way by Heckart. Cumby was third, while Kyler Girard slipped past Birck for fourth on the last of the fifteen laps. Birck and Cole Gillenwater picked up heat race wins. 

   Twenty laps would be set to establish the Modified victor, but it was heat race winner Jace Eckrich out front all the way. It would be the first feature win for the youngster from the famous mid west racing family. Long time racer Kurt Kile did all he could to apply pressure throughout, but Eckrich continued to hit his marks in the "Flyin' 50." Kile would settle for runner up honors after warding off challenges from Jadin Fuller. The other Eckrich rookie, Adam, would finish fourth ahead of Dakota Simmons, who waged a back and forth battle early with Levi Smith.

   Each week during the drivers' meeting Lee County Speedway selects a "mystery class" that will race for a cool $1,000 to win their main event, and on this night it was the Hobby Stock division. Fifteen trips around the three eighths mile oval would determine who would collect the prize. Eleven cars took the green flag, with Brayden Wood grabbing the lap one advantage over Justin Chamberlin and Corey VanDerwilt. As Wood began to open a lead, Tom Killen Jr. joined a tight battle for second. When lap four went in the books, Killen powered into second and set his sights on the leader. As the race cleared the half way mark, the Des Moines driver charged to the front. Wood was able to stay close in what was now a two car duel. But when the checkers waved, it was Killen Jr. on top for the second week in a row. Wood came home in the runner up spot in front of VanDerwilt, Jeremy Dooley and seventh starting Austin Stalder. Dooley and VanDerwilt collected heat race wins.

   UMP Pro Crate Late Models came next to the track. "Superman" Sam Halstead and  Late Model lawyer Denny Woodworth filled out row one.  Denny charged to the lead while the #84 of Halstead  soon had his hands full of Tommy Elston in a tight battle for second. Lap after lap Elston would dive low in the turns while Halstead kept his momentum running a middle line. While this skirmish raged on Woodworth was able to open a straightaway advantage which eventually swelled to nearly a half lap margin late in the twenty five lapper. With Woodworth cruising to the win, Halstead held off Elston for second. Heat winner Darin Weisinger Jr. lost his power steering early in the race but still muscled his #11 home in fourth ahead of Jason Oenning. It was a rough night for Late Model rookie Reid Sammons, whose night ended on the parade lap. And for those wondering, Andy Eckrich brought his #56 car to the track only for testing.

   Stock Cars would be last on the card, going at it for twenty laps. Long time racer and car builder Johnny Spaw made the trip down from Cedar Rapids to debut one of the new Camaro body styles on his several years old chassis. Spaw also returned to the #600 that I remember from his cars raced during the 1992 - 93 seasons (according to his victory lane interview  - I remember the cars but not the years raced!)  Starting on the pole, Spaw shot to the front at the drop of the green, taking along third starting Thor Anderson. Anderson stayed close to the leader all the way to the checkers in what was essentially a two car race. Following Spaw and Anderson across the line was Nathan Wood in third chased by heat winner Garrett Porter and Jathan Fuller. Spaw stated that while he is not necessarily a fan of the new bodies, approved just this year by the IMCA sanctioning group, they carry less weight, allowing for better weight additions elsewhere on the chassis. 

   Special thanks this week to Neal Kohlmorgan and his team for sticking it out under very trying conditions. Also thanks to Beau Taylor for the birds eye view of the feature action. 

   The sky is bright and sunny as I type this report with a Sunday night trip to Quincy Raceways up next. Hope to see you there! 

Murty Wins a Wild One, Late Arrivals Add Some Drama

    For the first time since the 2023 season, Joe Kosiskis' Super Late Model Racing - SLMR - series came roaring into the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa on Saturday night. Anticipation was high for this event as the race teams were just an hours' drive away from their Friday night stop in Columbus Junction. That 2023 race drew a whopping thirty seven cars, with the win going to Mount Vernon, Iowa hot shoe Chad Simpson. While  twenty seven cars on turned out this time, the racing action was intense as the three eighths mile oval was once again in excellent shape.

   And a $1,000 top prize for Modifieds, Stock Cars and Sport Mods only added to the excitement! 

   As the largest LCS crowd in recent memory gathered and hot lap time approached, near disaster struck as power to the entire facility went down. It was soon discovered that it was a widespread outage apparently originating at the substation north of town. but everyone stayed patient, even when rumors of an estimated repair time of 8:00 P.M. circulated through the stands. Fortunately the local crews were more than up to the challenge, and the corner lights signaled a return of power just after 7:00 P.M. Meanwhile track personnel had given the racing surface an extra dose of water under the bright sunshine, but with most of the sixty plus cars then on hand helping to roll in the water, we were hot lapping in short order.

   Helping to catch up a bit on time, starter Kevin Eggleston went with the "green, white, checkers" hot lap format, something I wish all tracks would do on a regular basis, and then it was time for Late Model time trials. Three cars at a time tackled the three eighths mile oval. The surface was smooth and fast, and three competitors broke the seventeen second mark with Mesa, Arizona transplant Tim Ward topping the charts at 16.735 seconds. C.J. Horn hit the guardrail during hot laps and was a no show in qualifying along with Jason Hobscheidt and Dave Hammond, who were both done for the night. 

   As mentioned previously, SLMR uses the format of timing in your heat race group, inverting the fastest six while accumulating both time trial and heat race finishing and passing points to transfer the top sixteen points leaders to the main event. While not starting the "fastest" cars on the front row seems like a good idea, once again all three eight lap heats were never the less won from row one. Outside row one starters Jay Johnson and Kayden Clatt captured heats one and three while Bill Leighton Jr. took the middle heat from the pole position. Heat three had the crowd buzzing as cars raced four wide around the smooth oval. Four cars transferred from the ten lap B main, won by fifth starting Andy Eckrich, then a pair of series provisional starters gave us a twenty two car feature field. This season SLMR has a special incentive bonus offered to the top points accumulator. If that driver elects to give up the feature pole to start sixth and wins the feature they collect the bonus. Each race the award increases, and it was worth $1,000 this night. Tim Ward elected to take the challenge, but fell short of victory lane. 

   Modifieds opened feature racing, drawing only ten cars for twenty laps. Jadin Fuller and Drew Janssen raced side by side under the flag stand to complete lap one before Drew claimed the lead the next time around, widening the gap as Austen Becerra charged from row three to third. As the leaders exited turn four to complete lap five Becerra cleared Fuller for second. He then closed on Janssen as the pair flew around the top of the track leaving the field behind. A bobble by Becerra with five laps remaining allowed the leader to pull well ahead, but Janssen then had to leave the high line to put a slower car a lap down and Becerra was able to again narrow the margin. But Janssen kept up the pace, putting his #127 in victory lane. Becerra settled for second in the non stop event followed by Fuller. Rookie driver Jace Eckrich won a nip and tuck battle with Kurt Kile to complete the top five.  

   It was now Late Model time with thirty laps the distance. "Chargin'" Charlie McKenna and Dylan Thornton filled out row one, with McKenna jumping out front. Dallon Murty and Thornton came next, with Thornton rebounding to second on lap four. Along with Jesse Sobbing the four front runners began to put distance on the pack. By lap ten slower traffic came into play and three laps later McKenna came upon a pair of cars battling side by side for position. Now row three starters, series points leader Chad Simpson and Ward joined the party up front. Thornton was all over the leader, and as he dove low on lap twenty Murty drove around to regain the runner up spot. Along with McKenna and Thornton, the leaders raced nearly three wide. On lap twenty three Murty took his first lead only to give it up to Thornton as slower traffic created heavy congestion. With about four circuits remaining Murty again grabbed the lead as McKenna began to fade back a bit. With the finish in doubt until the checkers, Murty held off Thornton in a thrilling end to the non stop event. Sobbing crossed the line in third, topping Simpson and Ward. McKenna ran sixth ahead of Jason Hahne, Leighton Jr., Clatt and hard charger C.J. Horn, who came from row eight. It was a popular win for the Late Model rookie, who has an impressive record in the Stock Car division.

   As the Late Models raced around the oval, we could see a pair of haulers enter through the pit gate. And as the Stock Cars lined up for twenty laps, it was Dustin Griffiths tagging the tail of the thirteen car field. A quick look at My Race Pass showed Griffiths had finished second earlier in the evening at 34 Raceway, and taking advantage of the power outage delay, he then loaded up for the quick trip to LCS! Outside pole sitter Beau Taylor led his row one mate Jared Miller ahead of a lap two yellow flag. Back to racing the field battled three wide for second, and soon it was another three wide skirmish for the lead. Both Damon Murty and David Brandies were able to ease past Taylor up front and Griffiths soon powered all the way to third before a caution for debris with seven laps scored. On the restart, Griffiths used the high line on the track to charge to the front as Murty and Brandies fought side by side for second. Derrick Agee had lined up in row four, and as the laps clicked off, he worked his way into the top five. The yellow flag waved again with just three laps to go, and Brandies used a strong restart to take the top spot. One more lap was scored before a final caution and back under green Brandies worked the low line while Griffiths pounded the cushion. At the checkers it was Brandies with the win and Griffiths with his second runner up finish of the night. Murty was third while Mike Harward made a late pass of Agee to round out the top five. 

   One feature remained, and that was for the Sport Mods. Twenty were signed in but we quickly found out who the second late entry was, as Brayton Carter rolled track side to line up in twenty first. With only a fifteen lap distance, "Speedy Bray" would have to work quickly to match his earlier win at 34. Logan Cumby and Kyler Girard filled out the front row, with Kyler leading the way early. By the time the first caution came with two laps counted, Carter was up to ninth. The front runners all apparently set up to run a low line around the speedway while Carter found his preferred groove up next to the guardrail. As a result he was passing cars almost at will, moving ninth to fifth in one lap. With five circuits scored he was fourth, took third on lap eight, then moved to second one lap later. Cumby emerged the leader following a three wide battle for the lead ahead of a pair of yellow flags with five laps to go. Once again it was caution time at lap eleven, and now the field went single file for the restart. Cumby used a strong restart to maintain the lead, then moved up the track, using a high to low diamond move in the turns to stay in front. Carter switched to a lower line, then set up Cumby for a much anticipated slide job in the final set of turns. But Logan was able to cross him back over, taking the checkers in an on your feet finish! Carter would settle for  runner up  to go along with his earlier win up the road. Girard had the best seat in the house in third trailed by Colton Livezey and Brandon Dale. 

   Lee County Speedway is no stranger to close racing, but this night was one for the books. Even with the delay, the final checkers came about 11:00P.M., with much of the large crowd still around to see the thrilling finish.  

   As always, thanks to Neal and the crew for their hard work and hospitality. Quincy Raceways has a scheduled night off on Sunday, so we will set our sights on next weekend and hopefully see you at a track near you then!