Two new Super Late Models, Kayden Clatt and Tucker Cox, would make their initial appearance on Saturday, while five drivers did not return after Fridays' action, leaving us with thirty seven competitors.
Once again the action kicked off with limited hot laps at the advertised time of 6:15, but the welcomed quick show of night number one could not be duplicated. The five division program turned out one hundred and twenty one race teams, with a different lineup of classes in support of the Late Models. The track was a bit slower than Friday, with the 12.337 quick time of Iowan Derrick Stewart about three tenths less than on Friday. Once again the Late Models would contest four eight lap heats with the top three moving on to the thirty lap finale. Jackson Jr. and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer - the Group "B" fast timer both nights - would repeat heat race wins, joined by Clay Stuckey and Eli Ross, all from the front row. It was a short night for Minnesota youngster Matthew Larson, who lost a wheel lining up on the outside front row of heat four. Apparently there was more damage, as he failed to appear for his B Main. Also Joey Smith was a no show for the evening following hot laps. Later on in the program Sawyer Crigler came from row two to capture a B Main while Illinois driver Daniel Adam topped the final qualiflier.
In between, the program was plagued by fits and starts as racers in the other classes suffered from yellow fever. I know I sound like a broken record, but if there was one change I could make at this track, it would be a "spin and you're in" rule in the preliminary events. Thank goodness the local flag man is not opposed to ignoring a stopped car long enough to wave a checkered flag!
With the main event fields set, Midwest A Mods lined up, nineteen cars for twenty laps. As the green flag waved, four cars piled up between turns one and two. Back to racing outside pole sitter Dakota Girard, a regular Sport Mod racer at my "local" tracks, jumped to the lead in front of pole sitter Jaren Powrie. While Girard built his advantage, Powrie also pulled away from the rest of the pack. Dakota had nearly a full straightaway lead by the time he caught the back of the pack at lap thirteen. With four circuits remaining, a disabled car was unable to exit the track, bringing out the caution flag. The lapped cars went to the back, giving Powrie another shot at the leader. As the green waved third place on back stacked up in turn four. With clean up finally complete racing resumed. Powrie would stay close to the leader, but could not mount a challenge, as Girard took a flag to flag win. Jordon Cater came all the way from row nine to finish third, and his row nine mate Jerry Brown followed in fourth. Gary Krebs rounded out the top five, as only eight cars remained on track at the checkers.
Normally Legend cars turn out strong numbers at Springfield, but on this night only a bakers' dozen checked in. And with considerable attrition - only two cars left in one heat after first lap mayhem - nine cars lined up for a fifteen lap feature. Not finished with their difficulties, the caution flag came as racing began. Pole sitter Devin Lawson avoided the carnage, survived two more yellows, and scored a flag to flag win. His strong run was nearly negated, however, as Jett Stovall (sounds like a familiar surname!), pulled alongside out of turn four coming to the checkers, but had to settle for second. At the same time, third place Jacob Horn was but a car length back in third. Scott Merrell and Dustin Blair completed the top five.
The clock read 9:44 as intermission began. As track work started, the four Late Model heat winners came to the front stretch to shoot baskets to determine their starting positions. Confessing to playing regularly, Jackson Jr. immediately sunk a bucket to earn the pole, then it took a few rounds for Stuckey to claim the outside pole. The advertised event offering $20,000 for a half court made basket found one young lady come up short, then we were treated to a fireworks display. Also during this time, the previous two feature winners came back to the track for pictures, an interesting time saving measure.
After about thirty minutes, twenty three Late Models came to the track to work in the considerable amount of water added to the quarter mile. When the field began to increase speed, Moyer belched a cloud of smoke and headed for the trailer, his run over before it began. Adam also exited before the green flag, leaving us a field of twenty one. Although somewhat frustrating, the rework of the surface did pay dividends, as the track was very racy, with multiple grooves for the thirty laps. Jackson shot to the lead over Stuckey ahead of a lap three yellow for Caden McWhorter and Glen Powell. Back under green, Stewart charged to second, Jackson stretched his lead, and sixth starting Dillon McCowan jumped to third. As McCowan moved in to battle Stewart, eighth starting Jeff Herzog climbed to fifth, then fourth. Lap eleven saw the caution come for Ross, ending his night behind the wrecker. As the green flag waved, a Tyler Kuykendall spin brought another yellow. The next restart saw McCowan on the cushion as he pulled alongside the leader, then slid through turn four to the front, with Herzog charging to third, soon followed by another stoppage for Corey Zeitner. Having been shown the fast lane, Jackson Jr. move up top on the restart, returning the slide job favor to retake the advantage in turn one. As Herzog stalked the leaders, his bad luck weekend continued with a flat tire on lap nineteen. Back to racing one more time, McCowen briefly moved back out front using the low line, but Jackson was too strong on the high side, retaking then extending his lead. Tony would then cruise to the win. McCowan raced home second while local favorite Terry Phillips gradually worked from row seven to complete the podium. Stewart came home fourth and Stuckey recorded his second top five of the mini series. Sixth through tenth went to "Opie" Mike Spatola, Timothy Culp, Aaron Marrant, Brennon Willard, and McWhorter.
We were now past the 11:00 mark on a cool yet comfortable and mostly dust free evening, so as post race festivities began, we headed for the car. Congratulations to Full Body feature winner Tanner Foster, and B Mod victor James Thompson.
Thanks to Jerry Hoffman for gambling on potentially fickle March weather to offer up a fun weekend of racing. While the crowd was a bit light on Friday, Saturday saw a nice turnout of spectators. Also, thanks to Ernie for bringing back the legendary MLRA. Our 2026 plans include several more series events. For now, we hope to enjoy at least one night of the Memphis Spring Nationals next weekend at Scotland County Speedway. Say "Hi!" if you see me there!
