Friday found us at one of our favorite venues, Davenport Speedway as the MARS Late Models rolled in to town for the first of two nights. The weekend is billed as the Corn State Nationals, with $5,000 going to the winner on this night followed by $10,000 on Saturday. In addition a pair of regular divisions at the track would fill out the card, IMCA Late Models and Outlaw Street Stocks. It was a beautiful evening underneath the roof of the massive grandstands. With one late arrival, the MARS folks turned out a quality thirty two car field, and the local Late Model group was strong at twenty three. Unfortunately for their fans, only seven Street Stocks signed in, and they would run the first feature of the night.
All seven made the call for fifteen laps. Following a called back start, the caution flag would wave with one lap scored and Rob Henry out front of his row one mate, Cary Brown. That pair would race side by side for the next three laps before the yellow flag came again. Back under green, Henry pulled away to a slight advantage as Brown now had his hands full with a challenge from double duty Mitch Morris. Two more laps brought another stoppage, and as the remaining four cars took the green once again the yellow light turned on as a crew attempted to change a tire on the apron off turn two! The final nine laps would stay green, with Henry taking the win over Brown and Morris, the only three still running at the end.
A rather lengthy track prep session would then precede the MARS main event. The field had been whittled to twenty two through three heat races and a single B Main along with two provisional starters. ( For those who may have been confused, Justin Duty had earned one of the provisional spots, but with his car unable to go he climbed in the Tim Simpson #17.) Normally a thirty two car field would result in two groups of qualifying and four heats, but the order had been set before the late arrival of southern Missouri competitor Tyler Kuykendall. Series points leader Jason Feger had set quick time as the first car out, then picked up the first heat win before redrawing the outside pole for the forty lap feature. He grabbed the early lead with fourth starting Garrett Alberson outgunning pole sitter and heat three winner Ryan Unzicker for second. Only once would the yellow flag fly, with three laps in the books. Unzicker would power to second on the restart, and the chase was on! The two Illinois long time rivals pulled away from the pack while there was plenty of dueling for positions behind. On lap ten, tenth starting Frank Heckenast Jr. slipped around Alberson for third. Now many eyes were focused on another Illinois veteran, Shannon Babb, as he climbed from a fourteenth place start to fifth at the twelve lap mark. Two more trips past the flag stand and the leaders found themselves catching the tail of the field. Around the mid point of the race Alberson retook third and Babb continued his march to the front by also clearing Heckenast Jr. The front two still held a solid advantage, even as the traffic thickened. The scoreboard showed six to go when Unzicker made his charge, but Feger was able to put a lapped car between himself and the #24 to close the deal for the evenings' sweep. Alberson earned the final podium slot, followed by Babb and Heckenast Jr. Tony Jackson Jr. was next ahead of Chris Simpson in seventh. Dylan Thornton shared hard charger honors with Babb, advancing ten positions to eighth in front of Daniel Adam and Chad Simpson. Caden McWhorter finished eleventh to go along with a heat race win and surprise (to me) entrant Nick Anvelink made the trip from Bonduel, Wisconsin to claim the B Main victory before finishing twelfth in the feature.
The quarter mile track was black slick around the high side, and that quickly became the preferred line for the IMCA Late Models. Veteran Dave Hammond, young Clay Simpson, and the "Worlds' Fastest Art Teacher" Matt Ryan picked up heat race wins, and Ryan quickly shot from outside row one to the lead of the twenty five lap finale. Simpson moved from outside row two past Dustin Smith on lap two, and the chase was on! Ryan and Simpson drove off, but again there was movement behind those two. Nebraska standout Zack Zeitner and local star Andy Nezworski battled in third and fourth as the laps clicked off. Slower traffic came into play early, and with eight laps scored, a spinning car forced Simpson over the bank in turn four to avoid contact. However he was able to keep moving and restart behind the leader. Once again in traffic with ten to go disaster struck! As Ryan came upon a slower car, Simpson appeared to tag the back of the #07, sending him for a spin. There was seemingly much conversation among the powers that be, and it was determined that both Matt and Clay would be sent to the tail of the field. Neither driver seemed too pleased, and Ryan stopped a couple times on the front stretch hoping for a conversation that never came. Simpson headed to the pits, and as Nezworski and Zeitner brought the field back to green, Ryan also exited the track. Zeitner won the drag race to turn one, and was never headed, picking up the win. Nezworski finished second, topping Jesse Bodin, Smith, and Logan Veloz. Mitch Morris climbed ten spots to sixth, chased by C.J. Horn, Curtis Glover, Cruz Birkhofer and Ethan Pickard.
The final checkers came about 10:20.
As stated, the MARS stars will be right back at it Saturday night, racing for $10,000 before heading south to Quincy, Il. Raceways Sunday. IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Mods will also be on the Saturday card in Davenport.
Thanks to Jeff Struck and his team for their hospitality on a beautiful Friday night. Do NOT let these amazing evenings go to waste, turn off the TV and head to the track!
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