Half a Show is Better Than None?

After back to back rainouts on Friday and Saturday and the early postponement of the Northern All Star show at Quincy Raceways, Darryl and I decided to ignore the ominous forecast for Sunday night and go racin'.
Against all good judgement, we headed out for what would be my first ever visit to the Peoria, Il. Speedway. As for Darryl, it had been several years since he had been there, so after going about ten miles out of our way, we arrived in plenty of time to check out the place and watch the Cornbelt/UMP late models come through the gate. Having an idea what was coming, we held off buying a ticket, but as the drivers meeting was starting, we headed inside to find a seat. Due I am sure to a Sunday night reschedule and less than favorable weather, the turnout in the stands was a bit light. But the car count was more than acceptable, with 31 late models, 24 UMP modifieds, 15 limited late models and 11 mini sprints signed in.
Much to Darryls' dismay, it was announced that the advertised passing points system was being scrapped in favor of time trials. Apparently there was some general unhappiness in the pit area concerning the late model draw procedure. Still with only one qualifying lap per car, the 31 lates and 24 mods all ran under the clock in about 30 minutes. Fast timer in the late model class was Billy Drake in the # 75 Neltner car that has been wheeled throughout the midwest by so many top notch drivers over the years. Drake
parked his # 9 ride about three years ago, and has driven on a very limited basis since then. Billy showed no signs of rust, stopping the clock at 12.201 seconds on his trip around the 1/4 mile oval.
After qualifying, heat races started at about 6:30, with two limited heat races. Scheduled up next were mod heats, but whether because of the advancing showers or another reason, the late models ran next. Even with 31 cars, only three heats were run, making it pretty crowded on the tight oval. The top four would be locked into the Don Bohlander Tribute finale, with the top two moving to the position dash, which for this show would pay an additional $500 to win with a total purse of something like $1400.
Everyone else would go to one of two B-mains, with four cars out of each moving on. Finally, there would be one Corn Belt Clash provisional spot, giving us a 21 car field. The first two 10 lappers went caution free. Heat one went to outside polesitter Bobby Pierce, followed by Drake, Wisconsin hotshoe Tim Isenberg, and Jason Feger. The second heat was a flag to flag win for polesitter Brian Shirley, followed by defending Peoria track champ Steve Lance, Jr., former Farmer City Raceway co promoter Kyle Logue, and local favorite Bob Gardner. Heat three was yellow fagged mid race when Ryan Unzicker got into Kevin Weaver in turn two. Wever then took a hard hit from Darrin Friedman. Curiously, all drivers got there spots back on the restart. Outside row one starter Chris Simpson took the checkers ahead of Brandon Sheppard, Unzicker, and Scott Schmitt.
As the first modified heat hit the track, the sprinkles started, and quickly became a steady rain. With the grounds still showing the effects of earlier rains, track officials made a quick decision to postpone the remainder of the show. It was announced the the race would be recheduled and would be started from scratch. Today, the message boards are saying that the show will be resumed at the stopping point, so we will see. With the early start time, we were on the road home by 7:15.
We are anticipating the announcement of the reschedule date, as we worth both looking forward to a hotly contested feature race. Hopefully Keagan will be able to join us on the return trip, especially with a $5.00 ticket price for 16 and under!
As Darryl mentioned, it was certainly an unusual and interesting mix of drivers, although the UMP guys far outnumbered the Corn Belt regulars.
Hopefully the forecast for this weekend holds, and if so, the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA late models at West Liberty followed by the rescheduled Northern All Stars late models at Quincy Raceways will top the bill. Until then...

Enough, Already!

When the racing schedules began to come out last winter, as is my practice, I started to flesh out a tentative schedule. Part of the reason for this is to lock in any vacation days at work I may need to catch the races I do not want to miss. So one of the first dates I picked was Friday, April 13. The reason was because there was not one, but two events I on this date that caught my eye. So without making a firm decision about the Corn Belt Clash/IMCA late model show on the Davenport, Iowa half mile, or the MARS late model headliner at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il, I planned for the day off. After all, if it was raining one direction, might not the other be ok? But then, perhaps the extra mild winter made me forget how fickle April can be. So all I could do was sit and watch not only both of those events get postponed, but also any thoughts of sliding on to any other Friday night venue. In fact, the midwest was not a total washout, as Farmer City Raceway did manage to get a show in, but the prospect of driving 200 plus miles both ways on a stormy night just seemed too much. Per the reports, Farmer City drew 18 UMP late models and a whopping 38 UMP modifieds, with Bobby Pierce taking late model honors, and Jeff Leka topping the mods.
Still, we held out hope for better weather on Saturday, with the Corn Belt Clash moving on to Peoria,Il for a $4,000 to win race which had rules adjusted to also allow the UMP cars to compete. But again, the weatherman has failed us, and so I find myself on the couch wishing race tracks were like baseball stadiums - a break in the rain, and we could get the show in.
At Least the Cardinals are beating the Cubs - so far!
And now as I type this missive, I have just received an E- mail letting me know that the UMP Northern All Stars show scheduled for tomorrow night at Quincy Raceways has already been postponed one week due to the wet conditions and promise of more rain on the way. So weather permitting, you may see me at some far away race track tomorrow night, as I am feeling an intense need for speed. And if not, next week we will take aim at the Deery Brothers Summer Series show at West Liberty, Iowa Raceway, the back to Quincy Raceway for the $2,000 to win late model headliner on Sunday. Catch some racin' when you can!

Cool Temps, Hot Racin'

The weekend started off on an ominous note, with overcast conditions and a light but persistent drizzle as Keagan and I arrived at 34 Raceway Saturday night for the 4th annual Slocum 50 Summer Series event. Despite the contrary conditions, the race is a " can't miss " event for us, as Brent was a good friend of our family, and seeing his family and friends together makes this a special occasion.
As it turned out, the raindrops may have been a blessing, as it helped create as fast and racy a track as I have seen at 34 since I can't remember when. And despite some grumbling about the new policy of not allowing spectators to make trips to the parking lot, we simply hauled in a nights worth of blankets and coats, and we were good to go!
There are already several accounts of the racing action already posted at Positively Racing, as we came as close to a blogger reunion as has happened in my time with the website. So I will just say congratulations to Mike Murphy Jr on a dominating run, and send out a thank you to all the other racers who took a chance by coming out in less than promising conditions to put on a show, and also offer up a few random thoughts about the night of racing.
Last week on our trip to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., Jeff Broeg and I discussed the likely car count for this race. Jeff was a bit more optomistic about the late model numbers than I was. With Quincy Raceways switching to UMP late model rules this season, I knew there would be a loss of 5-8 cars no longer legal by IMCA rules. Indeed, there were still a handful of Quincy competitors, as Joey Gower, and the father and son team of Lonnie and Matt Bailey are still IMCA legal and will be racing weekly at 34. Also, Mark Burgtorf in the Lynn Richard #15 was on hand, as they will be running both rules packages in 2012. In fact, Gower and Matt Bailey have begun the year racing at both tracks with their IMCA legal engines. All but Lonnie Bailey made the show on Saturday. With several drivers staying home, or like Denny Eckrich, changing plans due to the weather, it is safe to say that Jeffs prediction would have likely beat mine with a better forecast. In the four years the race has been held, late model counts have been 66,64,47 and 37.
I was looking forward to seeing Ray Raker in a late model for the first time, but his night ended at the start of his heat race as his # 07 - one of two in the field - went up in smoke. There were three cars in the field that were totally unfamiliar to me, and I had to depend on Broeg to provide names and hometowns. Tim Simpson #17, Kyle Hinrich #15H, and Karl Getzschman # 28 forced me to admit to my seat mates I had no idea who they were!
Although I usually try not to offer up suggestions to promoters, I would like to single out two things that in my opinion would have definitely improved what was never the less a very good program. First of all, while the redraw procedure on the front stretch was entertaining, I did kept hoping the late model B -mains would be lined up and ready to go when the festivities ended instead of be called to staging at the conclusion of the redraw. Secondly, running the late model headliner earlier in the program - perhaps holding the mod lites until the end - would no doubt have generated some good will among the hearty folks, many of whom seemed to be feeling the chill in a big way. No doubt we would have stayed until the final checkers, but I know some in the good sized crowd were anticipating the warmth of their car heater. And with 34 being one of those tracks with traffic congestion after the races, switching the order would help that problem. Quincy Raceways adopted this idea a few seasons back, and it has helped empty the parking lot in a timely fashion.
Still no real complaints after a great night of racing, and thanks to 34 Raceway as well as Brad Stevens and his posse for making this race a " must see " event!
Early church, Easter dinner in southeast Iowa, and once again Keagan and I were off, this time to Quincy Raceways for week two of the 2012 season.
The car count was down eight cars from opening night, something we attributed to the Easter holiday, but still 83 race teams crowded into the pit area. The UMP late models and UMP modifields led the way with 17 cars in each class, with a lot of the buzz created by the appearance of 15 year second generation phenom Bobby Pierce and his # 32 late model.
The gremlins that plagued opening night were mostly a distant memory, and the show clicked off in timely fashion, with the modified and late model features concluded before dark, and the final checkers waving before 9:00.
Dave Weitholder led every lap of the mod 25 lapper, but Michael Long was on him like an ugly sweater for a good part of the race. As the two exited turn four on the final lap, the crowd came to its collective feet as Dave held on for a .56 second win. The win wrapped up a good one for Weitholder, who took the Friday night checkers at Fulton, Mo. As has been the case too often, the IMCA stock car class was short on numbers, but defending track champ Aaron Brocksieck put on a clinic early and held off Terry Houston late for the win. Week one winner Abe Huls loaded up early after his poer plant locked up in the heat race.
The UMP late models ran third with 16 starters. Rickey Frankel was already on the trailer with a broken push rod. First heat and dash winner, Dustin Griffin, the defending UMP national crate champion led the first 16 laps of the 30 lapper before the caution waved. On the restart, Pierce and eighth starting Matt Bailey got by. While Pierce powered around the middle groove on the dry slick track, Bailey edged ever closer on the bottom groove. With traffic coming in to play, Bailey grabbed the lead with a high side pass on lap 27. One lap later, Pierce put a major league slide job on the # 52 to regain the lead. Then on the final lap, Matt used a bump and run move to retake the top spot and put his IMCA spec engine in victory lane.
Peirce held second ahead of Griffin, week one winner Justin Reed and Brandon Sheppard.
For the second consecutive week, the IMCA sport mods had a tough time getting started, but what looked like a shootout between Tony Dunker and Jim Gillenwater ended when Jim had mid race problems. Dunker cruised to his second win of the young season. Tony is planning to be a two class racer, but his UMP mod engine is still not home from the shop.
Brian Hoener led every lap of a quick hobby stock main event, leaving the IMCA sport compacts to close ou the night. The 16 car field may have been the largest ever for the 4 cylinder class, although only 11 were around to take the feature green. Still the 12 lapper was one of the best races of the night, with cars going three wide around the track. Mike Hornung Jr led early, before high school senior Kimberly Abbott took over the top spot. Kim picked up her first win of 2012.
Race season kicks into high gear this weekend, with many more tracks opening. We will be watching the weather and making plans accordingly. The one definite is the first visit of the UMP Northern All Star late models at Quincy Raceway this Sunday for a $2,000 to win prize. The stock cars and sport mods will have the week off, leaving us with a tidy four class program. Hot laps start at 4:45 and racing at 5:30. so come check out the 700 horsepower late models.
See you somewhere Racin' Down the Road!

Racin'Thru the Weekend

Last week, I found out that I was expected to not go racing this past Saturday night, but instead help babysit our youngest grandson. Armed with that information, buddy Darryl and I made the trturn trip to Highland,Il Speedway to get our first actual racing fix of 2012 after being rained out on St Patricks Day. Everything was going according to plan until the phone rang Saturday afternoon, with Jeff Broeg on the line. His first question was " Are you going racing somewhere tonight? " " No..." " Would you like to? " Uh oh, that, my friends is a rhetorical question. So after making rash promises at seeking redemption to the Mrs., eldest grandson Keagan and I hooked up with Mr Backstretch and headed to the newly renamed Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. Jeff has a detailed account of the nights action on the Backstretch, so I will just day that while there were a lot of opening night problems, we still came away happy to have been there. If you gave never been to the Ken Schrader/Ray Marlar owned 1/3 mile facility, I urge you to make the trip. The facilities are good, and the racing is simply bad fast. Two drivers from my area, specifically Quincy,Il, made the trip down, Brothers in law Michael Long with his # 18L modified, and Rickey Frankel making his season debut with his # 33F UMP late model. Michael did not draw well, and cut down a tire in his heat race, sending him to one of two B -mains. While he was able to transfer to the feature event, he started 17th, and could only advance to tenth on the slick track. He still fared better than Rickey, who broke a J-bar bracket as he exited turn two in his heat race. His car made a sharp 180 degree right turn, slamming him drivers side first into the outside concrete retaining wall. At first glance, Frankel said he would not be able to make repairs to race the Sunday home opener at Quincy Raceways, but a lengthy and focused effort by the 33 team had him back on the track as Quincy Raceways entered the UMP late model weekly family for the first time as the track begins its 38 th season of operation. Again, Jeff has a detailed analysis of the action, at least until the lights went out! Following a thirty minute delay for the outage, veteran Tony Dunker, wheeling a number 3 sportmod, picked up the win in the fledgling open wheel class. Why the
" Team 4 Boss " decided to run # 3 in the sport mod class remains a mystery, but he was decidedly fast in holding off first Dean Kratzer, who nabbed third, and young Tanner Klingele, also sporting a number different from his hobby stock. Tanner has his Dads old number, 73 on his open wheeler. For his part, Kratzer should be pleased, as he is still recovering from some rather serious health problems which has put his program somewhat behind in the early going. The hobby stock feature was a crash fest, but young Jake Powers stayed out of trouble to grab the win, while Chuck Fullenkamp made the haul from Fort Madison, Iowa pay off with a Sport Compact win. Congrats to them, as well as late model winner Justin Reed, mod victor Steven Delonjay, and stock car hotshoe Abe Huls on opening night wins. The 91 car field and full grandstands offers hope for a successful 2012 season at Quincy Raceways. If you are thinking of making the trip to Quincy, remember the April and May start times of 4:45 hot laps and 5:30 racing. In two weeks, on April 15, the UMP Northern All Star late models come to town for a $2000 to win show that should draw a large field of top notch late models. It may only be the first week in April but the race season is already in high gear! See you at the track

Unfinished Business

After traveling six hours round trip on St Patricks Day and having nothing more to show for it than a partial list of who was in the pits at the Highland Speedway and some spectacular lightning, we were not in the mood for another rainout. So it was pretty much decided early in the week that the questionable forecast for this past Saturday precluded another attempt to see some green flag racin'. Then Saturday morning while my wife and I enjoyed a Hy Vee buffet breakfast with my racing buddy Darryl, My wife mentioned that I was otherwise commited on Saturday the 31st. So we took another look at the radar and decided to take the chance. As grandson Keagan and buddy Fred had other plans, Darryl and I headed south and east for another shot at the rescheduled $ 1500 to win " Lucky 40." Soon after arriving at the quaint facility on the Madison, Il fairgrounds, the clouds started to build and there was talk of rain up the road in Granite City. On this night, however, the wet stuff held off, and our 2012 season officially got under way. 22 UMP late models signed in, and we counted at least five that did not make the return trip from the week before. A scheduled UMP modified special at Belleville, Il for this night was cancelled due to wet grounds, and as a result, 36 mods jammed the pit area to race for the $750 top prize. 22 factory stocks and 25 sport compacts swelled the field to 105 cars in the four classes running on this night. Even though pit road was still jammed as the drivers meeting began, the show started close to the advertised time, and as Highland only hot laps late models and mods, we were racing shortly after 6:30. The show was originally part of back to back nights at Belleville and Highland, each paying $1500 to win, plus a $1000 bonus for a sweep. If each night had a different winner, the bonus would be split between the top three combined finishers. " The Flatland Flash, " Kevin Weaver was victorious at Belleville, and he put himself in a good position for the sweep by capturing the third heat ahead of young Brandon Sheppard. Springfield,Il driver John Beck outlasted Michael kloos in heat one, while local favorite Brent Helmkamp held off UMP national champion Ryan Unzicker in heat two, much to the delight of the large crowd. Following ten support class heat races, those six moved on the the dash to set the first three rows of the 40 lap finale on the tight 1/4 mile. Weaver again outlasted Sheppard, and the field was set. A mod dash and two consys at up some valuable time, and then the lowlight of the night occured, a 20 plus minute " non itermission " starting at about 9:40. As the track sets in a residential area, this did not seem like a good plan to me, but I may have been thinking more about the three hour drive home. Still we were plenty excited when the feature hit the track, with 20 cars set to do battle. Missing from the line up was Kerry Gaultney, who was jammed into the front stretch concrete wall at the start of heat one, and Dan Jacober, who was never able to take the green flag with possible engine problems. Most of the heat race action had been contested in the inside and middle grooves, and despite an inch of rain on Friday, there was only one rough spot on the track, that being in turns one and two, where 4 cylinder driver David Berry had taken a hard spill earlier. As the main event began, Weaver took off in the middle groove and looked to be on his way to a sweep. Young Sheppard had other ideas, however, and began running the cushion, making another groove for himself. about five laps in, Brandon put his # B5 out front and began to stretch out his lead. Weaver stayed in the hunt, and eventually regained the top spot, only to have Sheppards overtake him again. Only two caution periods slowed the event, and when the first came after 22 laps, all 20 starters were still running, although three dropped out at that time, including defending track champion Chad Zobrist, who was running sixth and moving forward. Caution number two came for third running Unzicker, who came to a stop on the backstretch. On the restart, Weaver bobbled slightly, and that was all Sheppard needed to collect the win. Wever recovered to grab the runnerup spot, with Kloos third. Kevin Cole wheeled a Riggs Motorsports entry to a fourth place run, with Mark Voigt fifth. The next five spots went to local hotshoe Frankie Martin, veteran Bobby Martinoni who has moved up from the crates, Nike Manville, Mike Schulte and Mike Hammerle. Only the top six remained on the lead lap. While Sheppard took the win, Weaver collected $ 500 of the bonus money, Kloos $300, and Sheppard $200. Although the mod main event was shaped up to be agood one, the clock showed 10:30, and we decided to head for the car.
As we drove through town, it began to rain, and we wondered if the show would be completed. The mod feature, at least did run, as former late model driver Aaron Kleine backed up his Belleville win by outlasting Brian Bielong and Rusty Griffaw to the flag. Griffaw elected to leave his new late model at home and bring a sharp looking mod to Highland.
All in all, it was a great way to start the new season.
This coming Sunday, Quincy Raceways will begin the new season, and they kicked things off on Sunday with the first of three practice nights.
As I sat down at the computer, I received word that B47 promotions, headed by racer Brandon Savage will not be promoting the special events he had mapped out for the season at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. Brandon has been working very hard since his sucessful
" Fall Nationals " last October, but apparently has run into contract issues and has suspended his plans for the time being.
There is plenty of racing this weekend, so if you have not been to the track yet, now is the time. See you down the road!

Rainout Number One

Although our plans were to start the 2012 season at Quincy Raceways on opening night April 1, the continued beautiful weather proved too nice to ignore. After reading the results of the Friday night opener at Bell Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il., we decided it was time to go racing. Saturday was to be night two of a double header combo, with the UMP late models moving down the road to Highland,Il. Each night featured a $ 1500 to win 40 lap main event with a $1000 bonus to sweep both shows. If no driver won both nights, the bonus would be split among the top three points finishers. Plus the UMP modifieds were running for $750 to win each night, and each track had two weekly support classes. Belleville had a healthy late model count of 29, with the mod count seemingly a bit low at 15. Veteran Kevin Weaver, defending UMP champion Ryan Unzicker and St Louis area hot shoe Michael Kloos topped the Shamrock 40, with many other big dogs in the field, enough to make the 170 plus mile trip to Highland look attractive. The forecast Saturday morning looked less than perfect, and as we prepared to leave, it was literally changing by the minute. The besr guess looked like we would drive through some showers, but it should all be out of the Highland area by 5:00PM. So if the showers were not too heavy...Sure enough, the rain began north of Troy,Mo, and was coming down in sheets as we drove through St Louis. A pair of calls to the speedway were answered with the good news that it was not raining and indeed had not. And we could see clear skies in their direction. By the time we arrived at the track - way too early, as usual,- the sky looked good. But as we scoured the pits from the hillside high above, the clouds began to build in the west. By 5:00PM, when the rain should have been coming to a close, it was obvious the track was going to get wet and the question became how soon and for how long. I'm not sure of the answer to either question, but I do know it was enough to force postponement of our first action of the 2012 season. Heavy rain and sharp lightning was still present as we started the drive home. For those who have never been to the Madison County track, both the pits and the track set in something of a canyon, and although there is a paved road up the hill from the pit area, it looks a bit challenging to get everyone out in those conditions. Even as the weather worsened, cars continued to roll in and I was able to identify a dozen late models including the top finishers from Friday night. Plus there were several big rigs who never bothered to unload, and I would guess the actual count was two or three higher when the rains came. It also looked as though the mod count would easily surpass that of Friday night. Although not totally unexpected, it was still a disappointing start to the season, especially in light of current fuel prices, which could very well curtail our traveling as the summer arrives. Indeed, the race has been rescheduled for next Saturday, March 24, and although we likely won't be able to return, it should be a good show for someone looking for a March race. One big name that probably won't return is Randy Korte, who will be taking some time off as he fights a blood disorder and some residual spinal issues, presumably from his back surgery a while back. " King Kong " anticipates a full recovery, but will not be behind the wheel of his # 00 for a period of time.
Although we were not able to see any action, we want to offer thanks to these tracks for taking a chance on March racing within reasonable driving distance, and we wish Highland success next week and throughout 2012.

Showin' Off the New Rides

The weekend marked the annual Quincy Raceways show at the Quincy,Il Mall. A record 38 cars spread out through the six classes jammed the mall, with lots of fans checking out the machines and talking to the competitors. The top preseason story of 2012 is the switch to UMP sanction for the late model class. Ten teams had their machines on display, and as expected there were some interesting story lines. Defending point champion Justin Reed was quick to mention that the open rules package was new to him, and he would likely have a learning curve. Justin has mapped out a 50 odd race schedule he would like to undertake in 2012. Conversely, point runner up Denny Woodworth has done a lot of open racing for several seasons, and should have a bit of a comfort level. Matt Bailey will begin the season with an IMCA spec engine, competing on Saturdays at 34 Raceways, then swapping out wheels and tires to run at his hometown track on Sundays. Dustin Griffin will be back on his hometown dirt after capturing the UMP Pro Crate national championship in 2012. Meanwhile, his 13 year old cousin, Jake Griffin, back from Speedweeks racing has mapped out an ambitious schedule. Jake will be racing Friday nights with the asphalt late models at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, with an assist from veteran driver Johnny Spaw. Plans are to race modifieds, perhaps both A and B, at Spoon River Speedway on Saturday, then the youngster will hit the QR bullring on Sundays with both his UMP late model, and UMP modified. Vance Wilson is back in a late model for this season after spending 2011 in the modified division.
A nice group of 15 modifieds, split between UMP A's, and IMCA sport mods were on hand. Veteran Tony Dunker displayed a car for each division, although he has traded his trademark # 4 for #3 in the sport mods. Dave Weitholder is already on his second body after a couple of weeks of hard racing in Florida! Points champ Steven Delonjay will be back to defend his A mod title.
The big story in the IMCA stock car class was the appearance of a car unfamiliar to many QR fans. Ty Hill, who is a regular at the Boone Speedway had his # 3H ride in the show. Ty is originally from the Quincy area, and has raced in Quincy during stock car specials. With his parents still living just a few miles from the track, Ty has made tentative plans to be at QR for at least half the shows in 2012.
Those who read this column know that I am a big late model fan, but it was a hobby stock that stole the show for me. Rounding a corner at the far end of the mall from where I started, I came upon the # 1 of Richie Wagy. Richie has been an off and on racer for many seasons at QR, but his new ride will make him a legend among us old timers. Richie spent the winter putting together a 1957 Chevy to compete with hobby stocks. Seeing this machine took me back to the days when my hair was black, and guys I knew actually made money racing. It would not be appropriate for me to root for Wagy to win every Sunday, but i will sure be rooting for him to do well enough to keep the old Bel Air on the track all season!
Racing in the area kicked off Saturday with Jack Sullivan taking the checkers ahead of 29 other late models at Springfield,Mo Raceway. This weekend, the UMP cars will battle, weather permitting in a two night combo series at Belleville and Highland, Il. Quincy Raceways will drop the green flag on April 1 with a full program. Let's hope the weather holds!