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!
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