Friday, July 31, 2009

Caruth Wins Gambler at Marshalltown

The final night in July found me at the Marshalltown Speedway for a weekly show. However, this night would be spiced up a little bit as the IMCA modifieds were also going to be running a "Gambler" race, a race in which participants and sponsors put money into the pot and the winner takes all.

Before that race could be run, the rest of the program would need to be run first. First to hit the track would be the dwarf cars/mod lites. D.J. Robinson used his outside front row start to grab the lead in the early going, but Tim Hennigar blazed his way to the runner up spot by lap two after starting eleventh. Hennigar would then take the top spot away on the next lap, but lost the handle in turn two and gave up the lead to Joel Huggins. By the time lap six rolled around, Eric Hendrickson had passed twelve cars as he found his way up to fourth after starting sixteenth. Hennigar would regain the lead, but Huggins lost the second spot to Mike Kennedy after a restart. Point leader Mike Morrill also got by Huggins to take over the third slot, but it was all Tim Hennigar as he picked up his first win of the season at Marshalltown. Mike Kenneday was second, Mike Morrill third, Joel Huggins fourth, and Eric Hendrickson rounded out the top five.

1. 57 Tim Hennigar
2. 95 Mike Kennedy
3. 6 Mike Morrill
4. x50 Joel Huggins
5. 66F Eric Hendrickson
6. 64 Randy Bryan
7. 88 James May
(all I was able to get)

Next up would be the IMCA sportmods. A good field of twenty-three cars took the green flag that saw veteran racer Duane VanDeest take the helm. Lap two saw Joel Rust hop wheels with pole sitter Jenae Gustin as a couple more cars would also get collected. Bill Hildreth dove to the bottom of VanDeest on the restart, but couldn't complete the pass. Following a restart, Luke Wanninger duck to the inside of Hildreth to take over the second spot while Joel Bushore powered his machine on the top side to get by Hildreth for third. On yet another restart Bushore dipped to the inside of VanDeest for the lead, but Wanninger somehow found room under both of them to complete the pass for the lead. Scott Davis then found the quick way around to make his way up to second as a three-car battle for third was just behind him. In the end it would be Luke Wanninger back in victory lane as he was followed across the line by Scott Davis, Jake Strayer, Brad Iverson, and Joel Bushore.

1. 20 Luke Wanninger
2. 81D Scott Davis
3. 18J Jake Strayer
4. 8 Brad Iverson
5. 87 Joel Bushore
6. 21V Duane VanDeest
7. 3 Kevin Sather
8. 2z Zach Rawlins
9. 98 Bill Hildreth
(all I was able to get)

The IMCA modifieds would be next out on the track so they would be given enough time to make adjustments for the Gambler race later on in the show. Tim Murty kept the theme going as he used the outside front row to grab the lead early on. Adam Larson's night would come to an end early as his motor expired on lap three. Larson was third in points going into the night, just ten points back. The battle for third was a good one as Brett Ladehoff and Scott Hogan raced wheel to wheel for several laps. A caution came out on lap nine, and by that time Ryan Gustin was making some noise as he was sitting in the sixth spot after starting twelfth. Scott Hogan made his way to second, but my eyes were glued to Gustin's car as he used the cushion to advance his way to third and a lap later to second just before a caution flag came out with just three laps remaining. Gustin again tried to use the momentum off the top side, but he came up just short as Tim Murty took home the win by about half a car length. Ryan Gustin was second in his first-ever IMCA modified race, Scott Hogan was third, Jimmy Gustin fourth, and Troy Cordes rounded out the top five. Ryan Gustin was driving brother Jimmy's backup car.

1. 99M Tim Murty
2. 19R Ryan Gustin
3. 33D Scott Hogan
4. 19 Jimmy Gustin
5. 71 Troy Cordes
6. 7c Nate Caruth
(all I was able to get, concentrated on the top two cars)

Eric Flander led the first lap of the IMCA stock car feature that saw twenty-one cars take the green flag. Flander's lead would not last long, however, as Michael Jaennette would take over the race lead the next lap while point leader Dustin Smith quickly made his way to third. Smith would take the lead away from Jaennette on lap four and put some distance between he and the rest of the field. Damon Murty took his car to the top side and made up some ground as he got by Flander first and later Jaennette to move into the runner up spot. Another driver using the upper groove was Jeff Wollam as he would also get by Jaennette. A caution with six laps to go put Murty on Smith's rear bumper, but Murty was unable to make a move late in the race. Fifth place was up for grabs as about five cars were battling for that spot. But it would once again be Dustin Smith ending up in victory lane followed by Damon Murty, Jeff Wollam, Trent Murphy, and Dave Atcher.

1. 85 Dustin Smith
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 3w Jeff Wollam
4. 25 Trent Murphy
5. 2 Dave Atcher
6. 59 Tracy Gienger
7. 12 Eric Flander
8. 93 Michael Jaennette
9. 60 Clay Deppe
(all I was able to get)

The IMCA hobby stocks were next up as they were set to go twelve laps. Josh Saunders passed Jennifer Hulin on lap two to take the lead before a quick caution flew. Terry Shaffar used the restart to complete the pass on Saunders for the lead on the bottom side of the speedway. Todd Reitzler was making moves of his own as he moved up to the second spot after passing Saunders on the high side. Following another restart, Devin Smith got under Eric Knutson for the fourth spot with five laps remaining. Smith would use the same move on Saunders the next lap to take over third while Knutson followed Smith to fourth. A two-lap shootout was needed after another caution, but Terry Shaffar was able to keep his car out front as he took home the win. Todd Reitzler was second, Devin Smith third, Eric Knutson fourth, and Michael Murphy rounded out the top five.

1. 35 Terry Shaffar
2. 22R Todd Reitzler
3. 81 Devin Smith
4. 12K Eric Knutson
5. 25M Michael Murphy
6. 52 Josh Saunders
(all I could get, 5th and 6th place was close so may be switched)

The modified Gambler race was the final event of the evening. Ten cars ran twenty laps to determine who was going home with $1,000. Tim Murty drew the pole and led the first couple of laps, but Nate Caruth and Troy Cordes were battling it out for second just behind him. Caruth would get the spot and later work under Murty to take the top spot away. Cordes used the top line to make his pass on Murty for second. A late caution bunched the field back up with four laps to go, but Cordes was unable to make a move as youngster Nate Caruth pocketed the big money on this night. Troy Cordes was second, Ryan Gustin third, Jon Snyder fourth, and Jay Noteboom was fifth.

1. 7c Nate Caruth
2. 71 Troy Cordes
3. 19R Ryan Gustin
4. 69x Jon Snyder
5. 7N Jay Noteboom
6. 2 Joey Schaefer
7. 19J Jay Schmidt
8. 19 Jimmy Gustin
9. 40RC Rod Clement
10. 99M Tim Murty

Overall it was a good night of racing at Marshalltown. The track had two lanes of racing all night and it slicked off pretty well. Hats off to the track crew for doing a wonderful job all week. Next week the speedway will have a stock car king of the hill race along with the normal show.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Guss Jr Wins Jackson County Fair

Thursday, July 30th marked the third race in as many days for the Deery Brothers late model series as they visited the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa. The series was scheduled to make their annual appearance back in April, but the weather was unkind and forced officials to pull the plug. Also on the card Thursday night were all the weekly classes (pro modifieds, street stocks, IMCA modifieds, hobby stocks, and 4-stocks).

First on to the track would be the 4-stocks, otherwise known as hornets or 4-cylinders. Eighteen cars would take the green flag and Ricky Kay would repeat the previous night as he took over the race lead on lap two and went on to take the win.

Next up would be the hobby stocks. Only eight cars checked in as the support classes were not running for points. Sheldon Hunter raced out to the early lead from the front row, but several caution flags slowed the pace down in the early going. Most of the race saw the field race single file without much passing as Sheldon Hunter went on to take the win.

1. 28 Sheldon Hunter
2. 6 Emily Gade
3. 01 Kile Vohringer
4. 55 Cameron Sorgentrey
5. 44 Joe Grant
6. 2B Jeff Baker
7. 11H Willie Hansen
8. 42Y Justin Yarolem

Fifteen IMCA modifieds took to the track for their feature event. Track point leader Chris Stein bolted to the lead at the drop of the green flag. Behind him Terry Rentfro moved his way up to second by lap two while Dan Klatt advanced to third using the low groove by lap six. Five laps later Klatt would get by the #61 car normally driven by Matt Wilson, but I believe the announcer said it was Thad Wilson driving it on this night. A caution flag would put Wilson back ahead of Klatt, which would later set up a three-wide battle for the runner up spot that Rentfro would nail down. Another caution came out to set up a two lap shootout, and Klatt took advantage as he made his way to second. But nobody was going to catch Chris Stein as he took home another win at the Jackson County Speedway. Dan Klatt was second, Terry Rentfro third, Kelly Meyer fourth, and Steve Olson rounded out the top five.

1. 53 Chris Stein
2. 21K Dan Klatt
3. 18 Terry Rentfro
4. 28 Kelly Meyer
5. 63 Steve Olson
6. 22 Cory Bauer
(all I was able to get)

A field of twelve street stocks were next to try their luck on the track. The USA1 car took the lead from the pole, but I was unable to catch his name. After starting tenth, Andrew Burk quickly maneuvered his way to the third spot by lap five. Mitch Schmitz tried to go to the outside of the USA1 car, but spun his car around on the exit of turn two to bring out the caution when a couple other cars made contact. Point leader Dan Mohr grabbed the lead away using the cushion as the USA1 car faded back, losing three more spots. Burk looked to the inside of Mohr a few times while Jerry Merkes was on Burk's rear bumper, but neither was able to muster up enough strength to make the pass. Dan Mohr took home the win followed by Andrew Burk, Jerry Merkes, the USA1 car, and Kerry Dake.

1. 7D Dan Mohr
2. 18 Andrew Burk
3. 83c Jerry Merkes
4. USA1
5. 83 Kerry Dake
6. 23 Driscoll

Next on the track would be the pro modifieds as fourteen cars were ready to do battle. Tim Current used the outside front row to his advantage to get the jump on the field to hold down the top spot. After a couple of early cautions John Ahlers worked his way to third using the low groove by the time five laps had been completed. Ahlers then went to work on John Bull and made the pass on him on the next lap. The field got spaced out after the halfway point and no changes were made within the top five drivers, so it would be Tim Current taking home the win. John Ahlers was second, John Bull third, Brian Webb fourth, and Bart Miller rounded out the top five.

1. 12T Tim Current
2. 67 John Ahlers
3. 27 John Bull
4. 6 Brian Webb
5. 5 Bart Miller
6. 15B ??
7. 63 Scott Olson
8. 25 Jake Bowman
9. 11 Ray Cox Jr
10. 1D Mel Saffran
11. 5M Greg Mickelson
12. 99 Kyle Diercks
13. 33 Jarrett Franzen
14. 81 K.C. Ansel
15. 89 Tom Pestka

The final event of the night would be the fifty-lap IMCA Deery Brothers late model race. Joe Zrostlik and Wednesday winner Ray Guss Jr brought the field to the green flag, and it would be Guss Jr getting the advantage exiting turn two for the lead. Brett Diercks and Terry Neal quickly got by Zrostlik to move into second and third place, respectively. The first caution of the race came out on lap ten when Marty Diercks spun in turn four.

Neal used the restart to get under Diercks to move into the runner up spot on lap eleven. Guss would encounter lapped traffic on lap twenty, but a yellow came out two laps later to give him a clear path to work with on the restart. Diercks would lose the third spot to Matt Ryan a lap after the restart while Neal tried to chase down Guss as they again caught the tail of the field. Just when it looked like Neal was making his move, he slipped high exiting turn two and lost several car lengths on the track. It appeared as those Neal's right front tire was wet from that point on, so I'm not sure if perhaps he broke a radiator hose or what exactly happened. He was able to hang on for the runner up spot, but that allowed Ray Guss Jr to cruise to the win from that point. Terry Neal was second, Matt Ryan third, Brett Diercks fourth, and Joe Zrostlik rounded out the top five.

1. 58 Ray Guss Jr
2. 28c Terry Neal
3. 07 Matt Ryan
4. 29D Brett Diercks
5. 50 Joe Zrostlik
6. 21 Ryan Duhme
7. 29 Adam Oppendike
8. 77 Jeff Aikey
9. 0F Jason Frankel
10. 93 Jay Johnson
11. 73 Greg Kastli
12. 7 Stephan Kammerer
13. 9G Ryan Giles
14. 15 Kelly Meyer
15. 99D Darrel DeFrance
16. 39 Rob Toland
17. 44 Luke Goedert
18. 22 Charlie McKenna
19. 9 Bobby Hansen
20. 12 Don Pataska
21. 14 Michael Murphy
22. 1 Dustin Edwards
23. 4D Marty Diercks
24. Z2 Gary Webb

I got to the track early as the Jackson County Fair was going on at this time. I took advantage of the cheap price of admission also as it only cost $7 if you showed up by 5pm. With extra time on my hands, I walked through the fair for awhile and stopped at the bear show. They had four bears that were able to do tricks for the crowd. It was pretty cool to see them sitting down in chairs as they looked so much like a human.

The Deery Brothers series will make it's next stop at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids next Wednesday, August 5th. Dubbed the "Dirt at the Downs", the dirt late models will make changes to their cars to go run on the asphalt half-mile track.

The Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa will take this Saturday off due to the fair, but will be back in action next Saturday, August 8th with their weekly show.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Guss Jr Ends Aikey's Mini-streak at Highway 3 Raceway

As many of you may know, winning races can be streaky. One could go a long time without winning a race, or one could roll off several in a row at any given time. After capturing the previous two Deery Brothers late model feature wins at Oskaloosa and Mason City, I picked series points leader Jeff Aikey to win as I got in the car to head towards the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison.

The first feature of the night belonged to the stock cars. Only eight cars checked into the back gate and pole sitter Tory Reicks grabbed the lead from the start. Even after a restart, the field ran single file on the cushion behind Tory Reicks as he motored home with the win. Mitch Hovden was second, a #41 car was third (sorry, couldn't understand the announcer), Jake Ludeking was fourth, and Mike Wiemann rounded out the top five. The #41 car appeared to be Carissa Wagoner's car, but it was a different driver behind the wheel.

1. 27T Tory Reicks
2. 15 Mitch Hovden
3. 41 ??
4. 69 Jake Ludeking
5. 4 Mike Wiemann
6. 33D Kevin Donlan
7. R31 Ryan Leeman
8. 121G Arlen Hoy

Next up would be the sixteen-car field of bmods. Brian Schrage raced to the lead from outside the front row, but he soon felt pressure from Bob Sutherland on the inside groove. Those two raced side by side for several laps by the halfway point in the race before Sutherland was able to slide up in front of Schrage in turn four. Schrage battled back to the inside exiting turn four to regain the top spot going into turn one. Bob Sutherland continued to work the low side and eventually got the lead back on his way to victory lane. Brian Schrage was second, Curtis Engen third, Dan Tenold fourth, and Mike Grantham rounded out the top five.

1. 4ord Bob Sutherland
2. 14 Brian Schrage
3. 21 Curtis Engen
4. 86 Dan Tenold
5. 20G Mike Grantham
6. 92 Tyler Droste
7. 18J Mike Jaeger
8. 32z Alex Zwanziger
9. 88x Jimmy Broszeit
10. 10K Kaleb Bentley (in borrowed car)
11. 44 Brian Lund
12. 10T Trevor Fecht
13. 12A Curt Teeter
14. 4L Mike Ludemann
15. 14M Brian Mahlstedt
16. 32 Dan Felthus

The Deery Brothers late model then made their way to the track, probably as a sign of concern as I believe perhaps threatening weather was off to the western horizon. Al Johnson and Sam Halstead paced the field of twenty-six cars as TJ Criss was unable to make the call. Halstead took the early lead, but a caution quickly slowed the pace down on lap two as Rick Dralle spun in turn four. During the caution period Jason Frankel, second in the points chase, bowed out of the race. I didn't see what ended his night, but there was no sign of smoke or anything.

When the pace picked back up, Johnson dove to the inside of Halstead and drew even with the leader but was unable to keep his momentum up off the corner to allow Halstead to remain out front. Just behind them, Terry Neal snuck under Charlie McKenna to take over the third spot on lap four. After starting the race in the twelfth position, points leader Jeff Aikey had worked his way up to seventh by lap seven and was still searching for a faster way towards the front. As Johnson worked under Halstead for the apparent lead change, Neal drove by both on the top side to snag the lead away from both.

After that pass, Johnson would lose a few positions as Halstead got back by and then Rob Toland a few short laps later. As Toland made the pass, Aikey and Ray Guss Jr were right on their heels looking for a way by as well. Aikey and Guss Jr made their way by Johnson to climb into the top five, but neither would settle on that as Aikey worked inside of Toland to take the third spot away just after the halfway point of the thirty-five lap race. Aikey then focused his attention on Halstead just ahead of him and again used the low line to make the pass for second.

By this time race leader Terry Neal had caught the tail of the field, allowing Aikey to close the gap. A caution flag came out with twelve laps to go to set up the final sprint to the checkers. Aikey found the low groove to his liking again as he grabbed the top spot away exiting turn two down the backstretch. Guss Jr made his way by Halstead to move into third and then later got by Neal on the low side to take over the runner up spot. As the laps clicked off, Guss Jr began to reel in Aikey and would complete the pass for the lead with just four laps to go. Ray Guss Jr was able to put a little distance between he and Aikey as he raced to the big payday. Jeff Aikey settled for second, Terry Neal third, Rob Toland fourth, and Sam Halstead completed a great run to round out the top five.

1. 58 Ray Guss Jr
2. 77 Jeff Aikey
3. 28c Terry Neal
4. 39 Rob Toland
5. 84 Sam Halstead
6. 8 Al Johnson
7. 76 Jason Hahne
8. 43 Jeremy Grady
9. 99D Darrel DeFrance
10. 15K Justin Kay
11. 73 Greg Kastli
12. 3T Jeff French
13. 9 Bobby Hansen
14. 9G Ryan Giles
15. 60 Dean Wagner
16. 16 Tyler Bruening
17. 22 Charlie McKenna
18. Z2 Gary Webb
19. H2O Paul Watters
20. 57 Scott Badker
21. 85 LaVern Carey
22. 4D Rick Dralle
23. 2c Carey Umbarger
24. 93 Jay Johnson
25. 4 Leon Thomsen
26. 0F Jason Frankel
27. 12J TJ Criss - DNS

Fourteen hobby stocks were up next as Cory Gansen used the pole to take the early lead. That lead would not last long as Chris Hovden quickly took the top spot away on lap two. Stac Schroeder was on the move in the middle of the pack as he worked his way up to the third slot and then took over the runner up spot at the crossed flags. Schroeder slowly closed the gap on Hovden as the white flag came out. Schroeder tried to power his machine on the cushion on the final lap, but Chris Hovden was able to slide up a bit on the exit of turn four to slow Schroeder's momentum and was able to hold him off at the line for the win. Stac Schroeder settled for second, Brandon Hare third, Mark Lewis fourth, and Cory Gansen completed the top five.

1. 70 Chris Hovden
2. 51 Stac Schroeder
3. 9 Mark Lewis
4. 6 Cory Gansen
5. 73G Kurt George
6. 57 ??
(all I was able to get)

Hornets were the final race of the night. Ricky Kay took over the race lead on the second lap and cruised to the win.

While the racing was pretty good throughout the night, the crowd was a bit down compared to past races I've attended there. One of the highlights of the night was sitting by track chaser John Moore. Moore lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and has been in the area for the last couple of days. He was originally scheduled to head to Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin on Thursday, travel back to Denison, Iowa Friday, and then make a stop somewhere Saturday before hitting Tipton Sunday night on his way home. I informed him of a race in Rockwell City Thursday night, so he may decide to go that way instead beings it would be on his way to Denison the following night.

The Deery Brothers late models return to the track Thursday night at the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa Thursday night as part of the Jackson County Fair. Hot laps are set to start at 6:30. For more information on the Deery Brothers series, check out www.imca.com

The Highway 3 Raceway will host its final event of the year on September 2nd as the USMTS series makes a return visit to the big half-mile track as part of The Hunt for the championship. Jon Tesch will look to repeat as he won the first visit to the track while many other drivers will be looking to take home the win. Be sure to keep an eye on the track website for more info as time nears. www.highway3raceway.com

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Noteboom Tops Harris Clash

After getting rained out on the raindate, the third time was the charm as the Harris Clash was run Tuesday night, July 28th at the Knoxville Raceway. Seventy-eight IMCA modifieds made their way back to the historic half-mile. 120 cars were pre-entered for the initial date a couple weeks back, but with the weather not cooperating officials opened up the field to allow anybody to show up Tuesday night.

The format changed a little bit from advertised due to the car count. Eight heat races were run with the top two transferring directly to the feature while the rest were sent to one of four bmains. Heat race winners then redrew for the first four rows while the second place runners drew for positions nine through sixteen. The top three from each bmain also advanced into the twenty-eight car feature.

With just modifieds on the card for the night, the feature rolled out onto the track and started right about 9:15. Josh Gilman and Billy Davis Jr. sat on the front row as the green flag waved, but it would be Jay Noteboom grabbing the lead with Jeremy Mills close behind at the completion of lap one. Mills drove his car in the middle groove of the track to make the pass on Noteboom on lap two, but a caution negated the pass. That caution would involve roughly ten cars in turn one while two more cars got tangled up in turn two.

When the green flag came back out, Mills again used the middle groove to drive by Noteboom for the lead. Behind them, Nate Caruth had charged his way to third on lap five after starting fifteenth on the grid. Noteboom then got to the inside of Mills and the two raced wheel to wheel for a couple laps before Noteboom regained the top spot on lap seven of the twenty-five lap race.

After restarting at the tail of the field as a result of being involved in the early caution, Al Hejna used the cushion to pass car after car to climb back into the top ten on lap nine. As the halfway signal was given to the drivers, Nate Caruth was slowly catching the top two as they were racing hard with each other. Mills would not be able to keep pace with Noteboom, which allowed Caruth to duck under Mills to take over second with six laps to go. A lap later Hejna got by Josh Gilman for sixth. As the laps clicked down, Caruth was within striking distance as he got to the rear bumper of Noteboom as the white flag waved. Noteboom was able to inch away exiting turn two on the final lap, but Caruth made a last-ditch effort in three and four only to come up short at the line. Jay Noteboom took home the $2,000 prize followed by Nate Caruth, Jeremy Mills, Michael Long, and Todd Shute. Al Hejna settled for sixth. For complete results, check out www.imca.com

Noteboom has been on a winning streak as of late. He won three feature on the Big Dog Dakota Tour, won a $1,000 paycheck in Spencer, and then grabbed a win and a second place finish recently in Nebraska. His luck continued Tuesday night as he drew the low number to put him on the pole of the first heat race, and then backed it up with the win in the feature.

The checkered flag waved at around 9:45, not bad for a Tuesday night show. Other then the ten car pileup in turn one early in the feature, there were hardly any delays the rest of the night. In fact, no cautions were thrown in the heat races.

I'd like to thank Bob Harris for putting on a great show and also for his hospitality. I was able to meet him briefly before the races Tuesday night and told him I was very appreciative of his compliments on my writing skills. It's kinda fun hearing from people that read my "stories" as several of them have been ones that I wouldn't think would be a "follower" of my work. I'd like to take this time to thank everybody that does read my thoughts.

Wednesday night I'll be traveling about thirty minutes to the north as I take in the Deery Brothers late models in action at the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison. Also in action will be the bmods, stock cars, hobby stocks, and hornets. Hot laps are scheduled to get underway at 6:30 with racing following at 7:00.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Dailey Collects First Win at Mason City

Sunday night I stopped back by the I-35 Speedway in Mason City after watching races in the state of Minnesota Friday and Saturday. It was also the time of year for the North Iowa Fair, so I took a little time to walk around the grounds to scope out the attractions and rides. I'm not much of a fair person, so this was pretty unusual. But I had plenty of time to kill that day until the green flag dropped on the races later on in the evening.

The closest race of the night happened in the junior hornet feature. Ken Winkowitsch beat Blake Cole by the slimmest of margins at the line to pick up another win. Cole tried to ride the cushion in turn four and got the momentum he needed, but he ran out of time before the flagstand to make the pass. In the hornet feature Megan Lappegard led every lap on her way to her first Mason City feature win of the season.

After a few cars were unable to make the call, seventeen hobby stocks took the green flag for their main event. Chris Monson set the pace early on while Stac Schroeder was working his way forward deeper in the pack. Schroeder started eleventh, but quickly made his way to fourth in just three laps as he drove around many cars on the top side of the speedway. Schroeder moved up another spot a lap later before the caution flag waved. On the restart Jeremy Solberg's car didn't come up to speed and Schroeder was able to take advantage and advance another spot. Monson drifted high in turn two a lap later, opening the door for Schroeder to dart to the inside and grab the lead. From that point on Stac Schroeder put it on cruise control as he took home another feature win. Chris Monson was second, Mick Meyers got by Heath Tulp late in the race for third and fourth, respectively, and Chad Gentz rounded out the top five.

George Nordman took command early on in the bmod feature, but there were some fast movers slicing through the field behind him. Shane Swanson started eighth, but worked his way to third in just two laps. Nate Chodur found himself in fifth place after starting ninth before a caution came out.

Perhaps the biggest mover of the field was Dan Tenold. After experiencing problems his heat, he tagged the tail of the feature and used the cushion to crack the top six on lap five. One lap later Nick West dove inside of Swanson to take over the runner up spot. Swanson would come to a stop to bring out a caution after suffering a flat tire, but his crew was able to get it changed before the green flag resumed the races. Tenold continued his march forward as he slid into the third spot while West and Nordman raced wheel to wheel in front of him. With two laps remaining, Nick West made the bottom side stick as he made the winning pass and went on to take the win. George Nordman finished second, Nate Chodur edged out Dan Tenold at the line for third, and Tony Ranes came home fifth.

Coming into Sunday night's action, Mike Jergens had won the previous three IMCA stock car features. That streak appeared to be ready to fall as Brad Broers paced the field early on while Calvin Lange followed behind in second. Travis Shipman made the pass on Lange to take the second spot away on lap three and then make the same move on Broers to take the lead a lap later. Jergens quickly got to the front and challenged Shipman for the lead, but couldn't make it stick on the bottom side. Jergens again got a run on Shipman exiting turn two just after the crossed flags, but again was unable to complete the pass entering turn three. Jergens would later drive his car deep into turn three, slide up, and take the lead away from Shipman. Brad Broers would lose the third spot as Travis Hoeft motored by with three laps to go, but Mike Jergens kept his streak going as he took home his fourth win in a row at Mason City. Travis Shipman was second, Travis Hoeft third, Brad Broers fourth, and Kevin Opheim rounded out the top five.

Levi Nielsen grabbed the early lead in the twenty-lap IMCA modified feature while T.J. Stalker drove by Terrance Prochaska on the top side to take over second on the second lap. Track point leader Jeremy Mills was the only car to work the bottom of the speedway and battled with Curt Badker for the fifth spot. After Stalker pulled off with mechanical issues, Mills found himself battling with Prochaska for third. Race leader Nielsen's luck would come to an abrupt end as his driveshaft went flying in the air as he entered turn one. That handed the lead over to pole sitter Eric Dailey. With Mills right on his heels, Dailey hit his marks while Mills tried everything in his power to make the pass. Eric Dailey was able to keep Jeremy Mills behind him as he took home his first win of the season in Mason City. Jeremy Mills was second, Terrance Prochaska finished third, Curt Badker fourth, and Alex Hanson backed up last week's win with a top five.

With just four weeks left before season championship night, many drivers are looking to maintain or advance in the point standings. After Sunday night, Nate Chodur enjoys a twenty-one point lead over Adam Ackerman in the bmods while Jeremy Mills holds a twenty-six point advantage over Rob Rose in the IMCA modifieds. Kevin Opheim leads Travis Hoeft by nine points in the IMCA stock cars. The closest point battle is found in the hobby stock ranks as Chad Gentz holds a two point lead over Heath Tulp and a three point lead over Mick Meyers. Things will definitely heat up as the first race night of August nears.

For more results and expanded point standings, check out the Mason City website at www.i-35speedway.com

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

VanderBeek Scores Night Two Win in Elko

The final night of the inaugural Dirt Nationals at the Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota concluded on Saturday night with Zach VanderBeek in victory lane for the USMTS modifieds. Billy Balog, IRA sprint car points leader, also ended up in victory lane after their twenty-five lap finale.

The track was in better condition last night as more moisture was applied before the races. Fewer sprint cars were in attendance last night then Friday night, which meant fewer cars to do two-lap qualifying time trials. That provided both classes, along with the Legends division, a better track to race on later in the evening.

First to hit the track was the forty-lap feature for the USMTS. Chase Junghans drew the pole, but his car pushed up on the first set of corners and clipped the outside wall in turn two to bring out the first caution. With Junghans sidelined, the rest of the field criss-crossed with the missing car. That put Jacob Dahle and Zach VanderBeek on the front row. VanderBeek took the lead down the backstretch before Junghan's incident, and the restart prove to be no different as VanderBeek grabbed the lead from the get go. Starting right behind VanderBeek, Ryan Gustin followed him into the runner up spot as the two began to distance themselves from third-running Tim Donlinger, who had opened up significant track position on the rest of the field.

Another caution came out on lap nine, bunching the field back up for a double-file restart. Friday night's track conditions did not allow for a double-file restart, so last night's was definitely one to keep an eye on. VanderBeek maintained the lead as Gustin was able to keep ahead of Donlinger off the start. Deeper in the field, Jason Krohn was running a higher line then everybody else and he was making it work. He drove by Kelly Shryock to move into eighth place just passed the halfway point and would later get by Mark Noble for sixth, but had too much ground to make up by that time to advance further.

As the top three encountered lap traffic, Gustin and Donlinger closed up on the rear bumper of VanderBeek. VanderBeek was unable to get by the lapped car or Jake Neal, but was content just riding it out close behind him. Gustin and Donlinger were unable to make a move late in the race as Zach VanderBeek took home the win. Ryan Gustin finished second, Tim Donlinger was third, Tommy Myer fourth, and Corey Dripps rounded out the top five. VanderBeek pocked $3,000 with the win.

Steve Meyer used his pole starting position to grab the lead early on in the IRA sprint feature. That didn't last long, however, as series point leader Billy Balog used the cushion to power by Meyer on lap four. After a red flag incident, Travis Whitney would also get by Meyer to move into second place. Friday night's runner up Scott Winters was on the move again last night. He made his way by John Haeni for fourth and later got by Meyer to climb into the third spot at the halfway point. But in the end it was too much Billy Balog as he extended his point lead with the win. Travis Whitney finished second, Scott Winters third, and Steve Meyer fourth.

Earlier in the night, Travis Whitney shattered Terry McCarl's track record by more then a second in time trials. Whitney blistered a lap record in under thirteen seconds.

The USMTS heads to the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minnesota tonight (Sunday) for their next stop on the tour before taking about a week off. Then it will be another full week or so of non-stop action as things will pick back up beginning Monday, August 3rd at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa. That race was originally scheduled in mid-June but Mother Nature forced officials to pull the plug.

-Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Shryock Ends Long Drought, Wins Elko

Kelly Shryock has been winless on the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) for nearly 11 months. His last win came in August last year at Kasson, Minnesota. That all came to an end last night as he took home the $2,000 payday on the first night of the USMTS portion of the Dirt Nationals at the Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota.

Thirty-seven modifieds checked in to the gates for the race on the asphalt track that was transformed into a dirt track this week. The track will have hosted four nights of dirt track racing when Saturday night's show comes to a conclusion. The facility itself is definitely top notch. I didn't get a chance to check out all the attractions, but will be sure to do so tonight as I return for more USMTS and IRA sprint car action.

Tim Donlinger and Kelly Shryock were the lucky recipients of the redraw as both Skyrocket cars found themselves on the front row. After two yellows to start the race, Shryock jumped out to the lead with Donlinger right behind. By the time the next caution came out on lap ten, Thursday night's feature winner Ryan Gustin had made his way up to the eighth spot after starting fifteenth. The field lined up for a rare single-file restart as the track took a lot of rubber after the sprint car feature, so passing became difficult.

Shryock appeared to be on his way to victory until the caution came out with just three laps to go. Steve Wetstein experienced problems and came to a stop in turn three after he was running fifth. Also during this caution period, fourth place runner Dereck Ramirez pulled to the pits with a flat tire. One lap after the restart the yellow flag waved again as Tom Paulson spun in turn two to set up a two-lap shootout. Tim Donlinger tried to muster up enough momentum, but didn't have enough as Kelly Shryock took home the win. Tim Donlinger was second, Mike Steensma third, Jason Krohn fourth, and Corey Dripps snuck his way up to fifth at the line as he got by both Tommy Myer and Ryan Gustin on the last corner. Myer had a flat tire, causing Gustin to check up and Dripps took advantage.

While this is Shryock's first USMTS win, he actually stopped his overall winless streak last weekend as he pocketed wins in Fountain City, Wisconsin last Friday and picked up a win at the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota on Saturday. As most modified fans know, Shryock can be a streaky driver as he has won something like twelve in a row in years past. That could be bad news for the rest of the field at the upcoming USMTS races.

The IRA sprint cars had a twenty-five lap finale just before the USMTS concluded the night. Jake Peters took command of the field at the drop of the green flag while Scott Winters worked his way to second on lap three. Winters then dove to the inside of Peters to take over the race lead on lap six as they encountered lapped traffic on the small-sized track. A caution bunched the field back up on lap fourteen, but lapped traffic remained where they were running rather then being placed at the tail of the field. Peters took advantage of the yellow as he regained the top spot two laps after the restart running the low side.

Terry McCarl made his appearance be known as he maneuvered his way to third place, but the leaders were too far out front to catch by that time. Jake Peters went on to take home the win followed by Scott Winters, Terry McCarl, Scott Biertzer, and Donny Goeden.

Earlier in the night, McCarl set a new official track record when he pulled off a fast lap of 13.510 seconds during qualifying. He then set an unofficial record of 12.3 seconds during his heat race, so it's obvious the sprint cars were loving the track last night.

The final night of the Dirt Nationals at the Elko Speedway takes place tonight. IRA sprint cars, USMTS modifieds, and Legends are again on the card.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Lengthy Night @ Hamilton County Thursday Night Thunder

A packed house was in attendance for the "Thursday Night Thunder" fair race at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City July 23rd. Seven classes of cars were on hand with several travelers making their way to the speedway in hopes of collecting $1,000 top prizes in five of the seven classes. Nearly 170 race teams packed the pit areas as the grass outside of turns one and two were used to park hobby stocks and sport compacts.

After the intermission, eight IMCA sport compacts took to the track for their feature in which Justin Wacha raced to the early lead. After a caution flag slowed the pace, David Moorman took the top spot away and continued on to take the win. Justin Wacha was second, Cory Flanigan third, Dustin Haggard fourth, and Angie Webb rounded out the top five.

Thirty-eight IMCA hobby stocks were narrowed down to a starting field of twenty-three as one competitor failed to make the call. Up front it would be T.J. Mortenson grabbing the lead with southern Iowa driver Nathan Wood right there on his inside rear quarter panel. By the completion of lap two, hotshoe Andy Boeckman had made his way to eleventh after transfering out of the bmain and started eighteenth. As Mortenson and Wood were side by side entering turn one, Andy Jones powered his machine to the outside of both front runners and took the top spot away down the backstretch on lap seven. Andy Boeckman continued his march to the front, but he made contact with Justin Ades on the front stretch that resulted in Justin's car rolling a couple times. Ades got out of the car on his own and was able to walk away.

With four laps to go, Boeckman snuck under Brandon Ratcliff to move into fourth place just before Devin Smith spun to the inside of turn two to bring out another caution. That restart proved to be unlucky for the race leader Andy Jones as his left rear wheel came off in turn two, ending his great run. That put Mortenson back to the point with Wood in toe, but Boeckman was able to get by Wood towards the end of the race before all heck broke lose on the last lap.

Boeckman and Wood made contact just before entering turn three and a caution came out, but the flagman waved the yellow and checkers together. Everybody around me thought the yellow was for those two cars, but I was later told by a track official that it was for debris. So the top five that crossed the line the lap before would have been T.J. Mortenson, Andy Boeckman, Nathan Wood, Kevin Schmauss, and Brandon Ratcliff. However, it was later announced that Mortenson and Boeckman were disqualifed after failing post-race tech, giving the win to Nathan Wood. So the official top five ended up being Wood, Schmauss, Brandon Ratcliff, Doug McCollough, and Craig Graham.

Twenty-six of the scheduled 28 stock cars were up next for their finale of the evening. Randy Biederman took the point from outside the front row. Tory Reicks tried to duck low on Biederman but couldn't make it stick. A few laps later Biederman's night would come to an early end as his motor went up in smoke while Reicks and Jeremy Ades made contact and shuffled both of them a few spots back. That handed the lead over to Mike Wiemann, but Mitchell Griffith had other ideas as he dove to the inside of Wiemann to snare the lead away. At the same time Damon Murty jumped up to third spot after starting ninth. Murty tried to get under Wiemann, but didn't have enough momentum to complete the pass and wound up losing his spot to Jason Wagoner. Mitchell Griffith began to put distance between himself and the rest of the pack as Wagoner looked under Wiemann. Murty saw the top side open up and powered his car by Wagoner and Wiemann to take over second. Mitchell Griffith took home the top prize with Damon Murty second, Jason Wagoner third, Mike Wiemann fourth, and Jason Minnehan fifth.

Thirty-three IMCA sportmods were narrowed down to a field of 24 starters that saw Bob Sutherland use the top side to grab the lead at the drop of the green flag. After an early caution, Bill Hoover got around Bill Hildreth on the low groove to move into second place while Matt Lettow would get by Hildreth on lap five for third. When the caution came out again, Kevin Sather had advanced from thirteenth up sixth, but his night ended earlier then expected as he pulled in with mechanical problems. As Lettow went to the inside of Sutherland, he grabbed the top spot away on lap nine. Sutherland powered back to the lead, but Scott Davis went a groove higher and passed both cars to take the point. Scott Davis would go on to take the win. Sutherland crossed the line in second, but was later disqualified in post-race tech. That moved Greg Simmons up to second, Matt Lettow third, Wisconsin driver Troy Jerovetz fourth, and Bill Hoover in fifth.

After witnessing poor IMCA modified car counts at the track this year, it was nice to see twenty-seven cars on hand Thursday night. Matt Bonine grabbed the lead after starting on the pole before a string of five cautions were thrown. The fifth one was for Bonine as Jimmy Gustin got under him exiting turn two and Bonine lost the handle on his ride. Gustin would take over as race leader with John Logue right behind him, until he slipped up and allowed Scott Olson and Adam Larson to scoot by. Most of the modifieds were running the top side of the track by this point, which worked in Jimmy Gustin's favor as he crossed the line first for the trophy. Scott Olson was second, Adam Larson third, John Logue fourth, and Justin Sackett squeezed by Tyler Vandekamp at the line for fifth.

Up next would be the Midwest 305 sprint car feature. Thirteen cars were on hand with Casey Friedrichsen assuming command from the start. He opened up a big lead before a caution bunched the field back up. Tasker Phillips was running second most of the race before he exited to the pits late in the race. Casey Friedrichsen would not give up the top spot all race as he took home the feature win. Bob Hildreth was second, Marty Stephenson third, Ryan Voss fourth, and Larry Cook rounded out the top five.

The finale of the night would be the IMCA late models. The feature got underway just after the 1:00am clock time with twenty-four cars set to do battle. Ryan Griffith used his pole position to grab the lead at the start. Following two cautions, Craig Jacobs slipped by Todd Cooney on the low side to grab the fifth spot away. The next caution would see third-place runner Charlie McKenna lose the handle in turn four. McKenna did a great job to somehow avoid getting hit by the rest of the pack and continued from the back of the field. With seven laps to go Al Johnson got a run on Ryan Griffith and took the lead away using the bottom groove exiting turn four.

Jeremy Grady, making his first IMCA appearance this season, got by Darrel DeFrance to move into sixth before another caution appeared. Riley Larson took advantage and got by Ryan Griffith for the runner up spot with five laps to go. Grady would have similar success on the bottom groove as he passed Todd Cooney on the next circuit. Up front Al Johnson was able to hold off the field as he took home the big money. Riley Larson came home second, Craig Jacobs got by Ryan Griffith at the line for third and fourth, respectively, while Jeremy Grady rounded out the top five.

Speaking of Grady, it was nice to see him make his return to IMCA late model racing. It sounds like he plans to finish the season running IMCA, so I'm sure you'll be able to catch him at Des Moines on Friday nights and Webster City on Saturday nights along with a few Deery Brothers series races mixed in.

The final checkered flag waved at 1:41am. Definitely a lengthy show with a lot of cars. The packed stands had filtered out before the final races of the night, but it was good to see so many people in attendance. I'm sure most of them will be back for Saturday night's races as it will be Kid's Night at the races. Car rides and I'm sure a nickel and candy toss will probably be provided for the kids. Also Saturday night will be the induction ceremony for the Hamilton County Speedway Racing Association Hall of Fame.

For complete results, check out the track website at http://www.hamiltoncountyspeedway.com

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Aikey Extends Deery Points Lead With Dominating Win

When the Deery Brothers IMCA late model series comes to town, most people instantly think of one driver: Jeff Aikey. Aikey leads the list of career wins and is also a five-time series champion. Wednesday night the Deery Brothers made an appearance at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa during the Southern Iowa Fair. Also racing that night was the weekly USRA program.

Out first for their fifteen lap feature would be the USRA stock cars. Nathan Wood used his outside front row start to take command early on, but Shane Weller quickly advanced forward from his fifth starting spot to snare the lead away on lap two using the bottom side of the track. After getting shuffled back early on in the race, Zach VanderBeek muscled his car back into the top five as he ducked under Matt Greiner on lap six. While VanderBeek was the only car utilizing the low groove, Shane Weller was out front and extending his lead. VanderBeek would get by Mike VanGenderen on the low side coming out of turn four as the field took the checkers to finish fourth. But it would be Shane Weller taking home the win followed by Nathan Wood, Brian Mitrisin, Zach VanderBeek, and Mike VanGenderen.

A full field of USRA bmods were next up as they prepared for their fifteen lap finale. Paul Underwood paced the field, but Mike Shelton took advantage of an early caution to work his way by on the bottom side to take the top spot away on lap three. Another caution quickly came out on lap five, and at this time Brett Moffitt had made his way to sixth after starting thirteenth. On the lap following the restart, Brian Edel powered his machine to the outside of Shelton to take the lead. Behind the two front runners, Tyler Groenedyk and Paul Underwood raced side by side for the third spot with Groenedyk prevailing a lap later. Last week's feature winner Andrew Schroeder made his way to fourth with five laps to go after he started tenth on the grid. Up front Edel pulled away to take home the win. Mike Shelton was second, Tyler Groenedyk third, Andrew Schroeder fourth, and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top five.

Bobby Greene led the first lap of the USRA hobby stock feature until Nathan Wood made the pass on the next lap to secure the top spot. Donavan Nunnikhoven tried to work his way under Greene for the third spot but couldn't make it stick and pulled back in line. While Wood distanced himself from the rest of the pack, second through seventh place were all single file nose to tail on the top side. Jason McDaniel decided he was tired of following and dove to the inside the last couple of laps. He advanced to fifth with three laps remaining as he got by Steve Allen. At one point McDaniel was even with the second place car of Kris Walker in the corner, but he couldn't carry his momentum off the corners and got shuffled back. Nathan Wood would take home the easy win followed by Kris Walker, Bobby Greene, Jason McDaniel, and Donavan Nunnikhoven.

USRA modifieds were up next and Scott Dickey would jump out early to the lead. Colt Mather and Steve Blattler waged a wheel to wheel battle for second before Mather would take the spot. Meanwhile Brad Pinkerton was on the move as he powered up his machine on the cushion to third by lap three. Pinkerton would not stop there, as he would later get by Mather to take over the runner up spot a lap later. Mather would then lose the third spot to Zach VanderBeek as Zach continued to use the bottom side of the speedway. While that going on, Pinkerton took over the lead from Dickey as he ducked low on lap eight. Two laps later VanderBeek made his way by Dickey to move into second. A late caution came out as Dickey's machine went up in smoke, ending his great run. Brad Pinkerton would hold on for the win with Zach VanderBeek second, Colt Mather third, Josh Truman fourth, and Ron VerBeek rounded out the top five.

The IMCA Deery Brothers late models made their way to the track for the final event of the night. Only twenty cars were on hand last night, definitely not what I'm accustomed to watching. Nonetheless, series point leader Jeff Aikey was the lucky recipient of the pole redraw and paced the field to the green. After an early caution, Aikey got a great jump and put several car lengths between him and the second place driver of Jay Johnson. Johnson would soon surrender the spot to Tommy Elston as Elston maneuvered on the low side around him. An unusual caution came out on lap four as Ray Guss Jr made contact with the outside guardrail. The caution would be for debris literally stuck in the railing.

Elston would challenge Aikey on the inside on the restart, but didn't have enough speed exiting the corner to complete the pass. Aikey's momentum off the cushion allowed him to extend his lead. As the leaders encountered lapped traffic, Aikey was able to position himself better then Elston as Aikey continued to extend his lead. Behind them Jason Frankel was marching forward as he motored by Rob Toland and TJ Criss to climb into the top five on lap twenty-four of the thirty-five lap event. With ten laps to go, Boone McLaughlin snuck under Jay Johnson to move up to third as Aikey's lead grew to a full straight away. Frankel continued to make up ground as he got by Johnson for fourth and would get by McLaughlin for third as they exited turn four for the checkers. But the night belonged to Jeff Aikey as he sailed to his first Deery Brothers win of the season. Tommy Elston, Jason Frankel, Boone McLaughlin, and Jay Johnson rounded out the top five. I may be wrong, but I believe the win was Aikey's 50th career Deery Brothers victory. If that is the case, he now has twice as many wins as the guy in second (Curt Martin, 25 wins).

The races were done at 10:30, a decent time considering there was an extra class of cars competing last night. During intermission fairboard members were shooting tshirts to the crowd that were donated by drivers.

The Southern Iowa Speedway will have a kids' night next Wednesday. A candy and nickel toss will be available for the kids while people with a valid driver's license from Ottumwa will be admitted free of charge.

Next up for the IMCA Deery Brothers series for late models will be a trip north to the I-35 Speedway next Tuesday, July 28th. That will be the first of three consecutive nights of racing for them as they will then travel to the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison on Wednesday before ending the midweek traveling at the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa on Thursday.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Evolution Motorsports Sweep

First off, I'd like to apologize to everybody that reads my blog for being a couple days late with this one. When I arrived home Sunday night, I wasn't feeling good at all and things got worse overnight. Not sure if it's a cold or what, but it completely zapped all the energy out of me yesterday. I am feeling better today!

Sunday night meant another trip north to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. The night's activities would also include Stan Riedel jumping eight cars with a schoolbus. Riedel and track announcer Jerry Vansickel had a bet going as to whether or not Riedel could clear the cars.

Before Riedel attempted his courageous jump, the racing program would be run. Courtney Eilertson led early in the junior hornet feature, but things quickly came to a halt when Tate McCurry rolled down the backstretch. He got out of the car under his own power. Ken Winkowitsch made his way to the front, but Eilertson hit him in the door and spun him out. Eilertson would be black flagged for questionable driving and that allowed Dan Potts to take home the win. In the pro hornet feature, Patrick Barrett led the first lap before relinquishing it to Andy Hatch on the next lap. Hatch would go on to take the win.

Sixteen hobby stocks took to the track next for their feature. Chris Monson shot to the lead from the pole before a caution came out. Stac Schroeder worked his way to the inside of Scott Dobel for second as the field completed the second lap. Dobel continued to backslide as Chad Gentz and Cory Gansen made their way by as well. Just before the halfway mark, Schroeder ducked below Monson to grab the top spot away. Monson's car would get sideways a lap later which allowed four cars to get by. Stac Schroeder went on to take the checkers followed by Cory Gansen, Chad Gentz, Heath Tulp, and Mick Meyers.

A solid field of eighteen bmods checked in Sunday night, and it would be George Nordman taking the top spot early on. After a restart, Dan Tenold showed his strength as he powered his machine to the top side and made the pass on John Warrington for second at the halfway point. A lap later Tenold again used the high side to snare the lead away from Nordman. Adam Ackerman was another driver on the move as he shot to the inside of Warrington to take over the third position. Ackerman would later get by Nordman on the bottom side for second while Nate Chodur and Matt Hoeft both passed Warrington. Chodur made the pass on Nordman using the bottom side to work his way up to third, but up front it was all Dan Tenold as he took home the win for Evolution Motorsports. Adam Ackerman was second, Nate Chodur third, Matt Hoeft fourth, and George Nordman rounded out the top five.

Jeffrey Larson paced the field of eighteen IMCA stock cars to the green flag, but it would be Mike Jergens grabbing the lead as the field made it's way back to the start/finish line. Deeper in the field, Kevin Opheim worked under Aaron Haggerty before Opheim's car ran over the left front fender of Haggerty's machine. Haggerty would suffer a flat tire the next lap by, spin, and collect Travis Prochaska.

Ryan Hiscocks began to put pressure on Joe Willier for the runner up spot before Hiscocks took the spot. Kevin Opheim got under Bert McDaniel to move into fourth place with just two laps to go. After a late caution, Mike Jergens would hold off the pack as he took home yet another feature win. Ryan Hiscocks was second, Kevin Opheim third, Bert McDaniel fourth, and Larry Portis fifth.

Pole sitter Alex Hanson took the early command in the IMCA modified feature. Todd Stinehart slipped by Levi Nielsen on the bottom side to work his way up to second place. One of the early chargers was Al Hejna. Hejna started ninth and quickly worked his way to fourth after passing Ryan Ruter on the low side. Hanson had built up a sizable lead until a caution bunched the field back up. After the restart, Hejna tried to work on the outside of Nielsen exiting turn two, but the two made wheel to wheel contact that allowed Jeremy Mills to speed past below them to third.

As the crossed flags were displayed, Hejna made his way by Nielsen for the fourth spot. By this time the high side had pretty much gone away and the field was down by the tires. Hejna caught Mills and tried everything to get by, but nothing worked. Alex Hanson raced out to another comfortable margin as he took home the win in his Evolution Motorsports ride. Todd Stinehart was second, Jeremy Mills third, Al Hejna fourth, and Shane Monson rounded out the top five.

It would now be time for Stan Riedel's jump. The semi trailer ramp and the eight cars were moved to the front stretch. Riedel brought the bus to the front stretch where he began to put on his helmet and other safety equipment. As he climbed into the driver's seat in the bus, he took off around the track to build up his momentum. He made a couple "practice" runs before deciding to make the jump on the third time by. As the bus went up in the air, a cool side effect of fire was lit on the back side of the ramp. Riedel cleared all eight cars, but landed very hard on the other side. The bus slowly made its way back to the front stretch, but his family and setup crew were anxious to get the doors open to check on the eighty-two year old stuntman. Paramedics were called on to check on him, and he would later be transported I'm sure to a nearby hospital.

I haven't heard how Riedel is doing, but hopefully he's doing well. That was a hard landing and I'm sure if nothing else he suffered whiplash.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Close Finish Caps Night at Corning

Last night (Saturday, July 18th), I decided to head three hours southwest to take in my first ever visit at the Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa. I had planned to make the trip down a couple weeks ago on July 4th, but that MLRA special was postponed thanks to Mother Nature. I've heard several nice things about the track in Corning, so I had to see for myself what I've been missing.

Upon arrival, I had to take a look around and scope things out in better detail. I walked through the bathrooms, checked out concession stand offerings and prices, and just took in the whole experience. The grandstands seem to spread throughout most of the frontstretch of the half-mile track with "upper decking" for VIP people. The track does not have a wall around the corners, which later in the night would be obvious as lots of cars jumped the cushion in turn one and went sailing off the racing surface.

When racing action hit the track, it was obvious that I didn't know very many of the drivers. I had a difficult time picking up driver names from the announcers, but I'm sure that's mainly due to my hearing issues. I had failed to buy a program with driver names as I knew I could check out the track website later.

A scary moment happened in the late model heat races as Barry Sandeman rolled after going off track on the entry to turn three. It was hard to count how many times he rolled due to the dust flying, but luckily Barry would get out of the car and walk to the pit area under his own power.

The first feature to hit the track would be the pro streets. The red flag would immediately follow the green flag after several cars got together in turn two. When racing resumed it would be pole sitter Clay Mercer jumping out front. He would not stay there long, however, as Jeff Orr would snag the top spot away on lap three. After a couple more yellow flags, the restart would be changed to a single-file formation. Brad Deery started twelfth on the grid and made his way up to second, but his car broke lose on the exit of turn two and spun around. He would get the car refired and continue on, but lost a lot of ground.

Matt Hudson went to the low side of Orr for the lead, but couldn't make it stick at the finish line the first couple of tries. Hudson's persistence paid off as he took over the lead with four laps to go. Craig Garner would use the top side of the track to get by Orr for second. Garner got a run on Hudson on the final set of corners and powered his machine off the cushion down the front stretch to the checkers. Garner got alongside Hudson as Hudson appeared to inch up the track as they neared the finish line, but Garner's momentum propelled him to the victory. Hudson's car made contact with Garner's that sent Hudson spinning back down towards the inside wall. Hudson would smash into the wall and his car rolled several times. Hudson would emerge from the car upset as he quickly walked towards the officials on the frontstretch with his hands waving and yelling. The final rundown would be Craig Garner winning, Matt Hudson second, Jeff Orr third, Joe Zadina fourth, and Ron Ballinger in fifth.

Next up would be the hobby stock feature. A full field of twenty-six cars took the green flag with Jeremy Ribbey bolting to the lead early on. Fellow second row starter Rick Ritchie followed Ribbey to second and closed the gap to the leader before taking the catbird seat at the front of the field. Jeremy Auten continued tried to put pressure on Ribbey as he ducked low in turns one and two and pulled even down the backstretch, but Ribbey's car was too strong on the top side in three and four to maintain the second spot. David Weeda found himself just behind the battled for second as he follwed Ribbey's car on the top side and got by Auten for third place with six laps to go. Three cautions slowed things down late in the race, but that didn't slow down Rick Ritchie as he stayed out front and took the checkers first. David Weeda got by Jeremy Ribbey for second and third, respectively, with Kevin Yearington and Jeremy Auten rounding out the top five.

Sixteen late models made their way to the track for their feature event. Pole sitter Ryan Vicker wasted no time as he got out front to set the pace. Outside front row starter Chris Spieker would use the low side to make the pass on Vicker in turn two on lap five. Behind them Paul Glendenning rode the cushion to get by Troy McKee for third on lap ten. Spieker began to extend his lead until a caution came out on lap fourteen, bunching the field back up. Glendenning used the double file restart to get by Vicker to move into second place. Vicker would backslide even further as Leon Zeitner dashed by on the low groove with nine laps remaining before another caution came out. Zeitner took advantage of the restart as he grabbed the lead away from Spieker while further back Karl Ritterbush got by Vicker for fourth.

Spieker would not give up, though, as he closed the gap to Zeitner and ducked low to regain the lead with four laps to go. From that point on Chris Spieker would inch away from Leon Zeitner on his way to the win. Paul Glendenning finished third, Karl Ritterbush fourth, and Ryan Vicker was fifth. Zeitner started twelfth on the field, showing how well the track was prepped for tonight's action. During the post race interview, Spieker revealed that his motor was only running on seven cylinders. They noticed it towards the tail of the hobby stock feature, so he wanted to keep his momentum up and do the best he could. Turns out it was enough to take home the win.

The nightcap would be the eighteen lap modified finale. Earlier in the night, Jeremy Tibben suffered mechanical problems and would climb in Kelley Roof's car for the night. He would be the pole sitter and take command of the race at the drop of the green flag. Ryan Peckham, who started ninth, quickly maneuvered his car to third at the completion of lap four. Tibben gradually opened up his lead on the pack until a caution bunched the field back up with seven laps to go. Tibben bobbled in turn two, opening the door for Peckham and Jared Stiens to slip past.

Peckham would be the leader as the caution came out again with four laps to go. A single-file restart was used and the two-horse sprint was on as Peckham and Stiens raced wheel to wheel for the final few laps. Peckham's car worked well on the inside line while Stiens powered his machine on the cushion. On the final set of corners, Stiens drove into turn three deep and let it sail. As the two came down the frontstretch, everybody in the stands stood up to see the close finish. The two crossed the finish line literally side by side, and moments later it would be announced that Jared Stiens got the win by a mere .001 seconds!! As excited as he was, I'm sure Peckham was equally disheartened. But it was a great finish to a great race. Kirby Stiens was third, Dan Mueller fourth, and Jeremy Tibben finished fifth.

What a great way to cap the night! If it was that close on the transponder timing system, I can only imagine what the outcome would have been if scorers and officials would have had to make the call. Definitely would have been a difficult decision either way.

My first trip to Corning was a fun one. The facilities are top-notch and the racing was good all night. As I mentioned before, it was a little different not knowing as many names as I'm used to, so that kinda took away some excitement. Hopefully I'll be able to remember some names the next time I visit the Adams County Speedway.

Next week the Adams County Speedway will host an MLRA/NCRA late model special with the winner pocketing $3,000. I believe the announcers said it was an earlier start time, so be sure to check out www.acspeedway.com for more information if you plan to attend.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Jergens Continues Hot Streak at Fairmont

Last night, Friday July 17th, I ventured my way north as I rode with announcer Blake Anderson to the Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minnesota. Blake was asked to fill in for the regular announcers as they were both gone on separate vacations, so I decided to keep him company on the three-plus hour trip each way.

A good field of cars checked into the pit area tonight as a total of eighty-eight competitors were ready to strap in for action. Jeff Trosin led flag to flag on his way to victory in the junior hornet feature. Amanda Kaltved appeared to be on her way to the hornet win, but Nate Coopman made a charge on the final corner to slip by under her to snag it away at the line.

Thirteen hobby stocks made their way to the track next and pole sitter Nate Manderfield wasted no time in taking the lead. Dustin Wannarka would steal the lead away using the bottom side for the pass on lap three. As the halfway signal was displayed to the drivers, Greg Sidles was closing the gap to the leader. As the field was getting set to take the white flag, Wannarka made a sharp left-hand turn on the exit of turn four and drove down the work area lane and slammed on the brakes. Not sure what the problem was, but he would take his car back to his trailer. Sidles inherited the race lead and crossed the line in front, but would later be disqualified for an illegal flywheel. So that handed the win over to Wed Jahnz. Behind him, Brandon Mosloski apparently was disqualified as well as official results have Dustin Larson finishing second, Nate Darnell third, Nate Manderfield fourth, and Chad Krug in fifth.

Up next would be the bmod (360's) feature. Outside front row starter Travis Deboer led the field at the completion of lap one, but the pace quickly slowed as a ten-car pileup in turn one soon followed. Point leader Josh Ruby and perennial contender Jake Simpson were involved with Ruby's night coming to an end at that point. Simpson would make repairs and tag the tail of the field. During this caution period, race leader Deboer exited the track on the backstretch and went directly to his trailer, ending his night. I didn't see any smoke or steam, so not sure what the reasoning was behind his exit.

Mark Sathoff assumed command as things got back underway, but another caution slowed the field down once again. Tad Reutzel used the restarts to slowly make his way towards the front as he got by Dan Tenold for fourth and a lap later get by Matthew Looft for third. With three laps to go he worked his car under Troy Gochanour's ride to advance his way to second. Reutzel tried the same move on race leader Mark Sathoff, but Sathoff's car was too strong on the high side as he went on to take the checkers. Tad Reutzel settled for second, Troy Gochanour was third, Dan Tenold fourth, and Devin Spoo rounded out the top five.

Nineteen IMCA stock cars were now ready for their main event. Tim Grathwohl would lead the first lap before a caution came out. When racing resumed, many people were focused on Mike Jergens as he was already making strides towards the front. After starting eighth, he got by Brice Bodle for fourth using the low line of the speedway. Unfortunately for him, a caution came out before the lap could be completed and Bodle would be lined up back ahead of Jergens on the restart. Bodle would power his machine on the bottom side in turns one and two and draw even with Elijah Zevenbergen down the backstretch, but Zevenbergen's car was faster in three and four and would regain an advantage at the finish line.

At the halfway point, Jergens made his move as he darted to the inside of Bodle's car coming out of turn four. Jergens would get the advantage exiting turn two and also get by Zevenbergen for the runner up spot. Jergens would continue to use the low line as he made the pass for the lead on Tim Grathwohl at the finish line with a couple laps remaining. Further back in the field, Ken Tietz had a great run going as he moved up to fifth with two laps to go after starting in the fourteenth spot. But it would be Mike Jergens picking up another win after he collected three last weekend. Tim Grathwohl was second, Elijah Zevenbergen was third, Brice Bodle fourth, and Ken Tietz rounded out the top five.

The final event of the night would be the twenty-lap feature for the IMCA modifieds. Pole sitter Travis Peterson jumped out front early on, but Chris Rakness made the pass a short time later. Peterson's car seemed to lose the handle as the laps clicked off, as he pushed up the track in turn two to open the door for Denny Anderson to slip past for the second spot. A caution came out on lap three when Peterson's car spun in turn three. Anderson mounted a challenge for Rakness for the lead before taking command of the race a lap later. Ricky Stephan methodically worked his way towards the front as he was using the bottom groove to get by cars and made his way by Roger Nielsen to move into fourth place after starting tenth. Stephan would later get under Travis Engeman for third, and a few laps later Nielsen would make the pass on Engeman to advance to fourth.

A caution came out with four laps to go to bunch the field up. Eric Dailey, who started 13th, would make his way by Nielsen for fourth. Rakness was unable to make a move on Denny Anderson as Anderson motored home with the win. Chris Rakness was second, Ricky Stephan third, Roger Nielsen fought back to fourth, and Eric Dailey rounded out the top five.

The races were completed around 9:45 and Blake and I were walking towards the car at 10:00. A great night of racing that was completed in about three hours. Blake received several compliments from the fans in the stands for his announcing style. I even had people ask me where he normally announces at and how old he is. Blake and I both had a lot of fun and can't wait to do it again sometime.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Mills Continues Quest For National Title With BVR Win

To say Jeremy Mills has been on a roll the last month or so would be an understatement. After deciding to make the commitment to run the IMCA North Central Region championship, he has won many features and climbed atop the rankings. After picking up the fair race win last night at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta last night, he mentioned in the post race interview that his goals have changed and he is now on a mission to chase down the National Championship.

Only twelve IMCA modifieds were on hand last night for the Buena Vista County Fair race, but that didn't mean there wasn't any action. Brad Williams grabbed the early lead from outside the front row, but a quick caution came out as Justin Sackett's car slid off turn three. After the restart, youngster Nick Deal powered his machine to the outside of Williams to take the lead away. Another caution came out shortly thereafter when Chris Abelson's motor let go, spewing fluids up and down the frontstretch.

Williams would regain the top spot on lap six, but his car caught a rut and pushed up the track in turn two to open the door for Deal to slip back by. After another restart, Williams motored his car back by Deal on lap nine while Jeremy Mills made his way to the runner up spot. Mills ducked low and slid his car towards the outside of turn two in front of Williams for the lead, but Williams changed lines and powered back by on the inside down the backstretch. Mills would try the same maneuver on the next circuit and make it stick this time. Williams luck would run out the hard way as he hit a big rut in turn four and lose several positions before retiring from the race.

The final three laps was anybody's race as pole sitter Rod Scheuermann closed in on the rear bumper of the leader Mills and then took the lead away when Mills pushed up in turn two. Mills would regain his composure and fight his way back as he slid up in front of Scheuermann in turn two after taking the white flag. Jeremy Mills would then hold off Rod Scheuermann the rest of the lap to take home another victory at BVR. Clayton Christensen was third, Nick Deal fourth, and Reese Coffee rounded out the top five.

Sixteen IMCA stock cars took the green flag for their feature event that saw pole sitter Jake Masters take control early on. After an early caution came out that involved three cars, Donovan Smith moved to the inside of Masters to grab the lead. Two laps later brother David Smith would put his name in the mix as he looked to the inside of Donovan. Donovan had what appeared to be the preferred line as he maintained the lead. Just before the halfway point, Jake Masters caught a rut wrong and "2-wheeled" his car through turns one and two. He was able to drive out of it and set the car back down on all four tires.

Another caution came out with four laps to go, the field was lined up double file behind the leader as they do every week in the stock car and modified features. At this time it was noticed that Chris Ullrich, running third at the time, had a broken left rear shock. Ullrich would stay out and try to hold on, but the shock put him at a disadvantage and Dustin Smith got by him on the low side for third at the white flag lap. But up front it was all Donovan Smith as he took home the win. Brothers David and Dustin followed him across the line for second and third, respectively, while Chris Ullrich and Trent Murphy completed the top five.

After cars were four-wide in turn after the green flag dropped, it would be Tim Rupp taking charge in the IMCA sportmod feature. Row three counterpart Doug Smith made his way to second until his car slowed on the frontstretch on lap three to bring out the caution. Tanner Powers had taken over the top spot before the caution came out and would remain the leader on the restart. Behind him Tony Pogeler ducked low on Mike Bailey for the runner up spot, but Brett Meyer made the pass on both of them at the halfway point. Bailey and Pogeler would make a little bit of contact that ended with Pogeler's car spinning around on the inside of turn two to bring out the caution.

On the ensuing restart, Brett Meyer's car didn't come up to speed allowing several cars to get by. Things heated up the rest of the race as Doug Smith made his way back up to second behind leader Powers. With four laps to go, Smith ducked to the inside of Powers but couldn't make it stick. The next circuit Powers car pushed up after hitting the rut in turn one to allow Smith to sneak by on the low side to take the lead away. Powers would not give up though, as he would power his machine around the cushion and draw even as they took the white flag. Smith had the advantage down the backstretch, but Powers drove his car deep in the corner on the outside and took home the exciting win. Turns out it was his first career sportmod feature win. Doug Smith finished second, Zach Norgaard third, Chris Grothe fourth, and Tony Pogeler rebounded nicely to finish fifth.

A good field of IMCA hobby stocks checked into the pits last night as nineteen cars took the green flag. Before the race could complete the first lap, Joe Menke took a wild ride down the backstretch as his car rolled several times before landing on its side. Menke would climb out of his car on his own power and appear to be okay. As the cars were realigning on the front stretch, Devin Smith walked out on the track to wave his brother Daniel to the work area so he could switch cars. Apparently Devin's car sustained heavy damage (I didn't see what happened) and wanted to gain as many points as possible by switching cars. While track officials allowed him to and tag the rear at the time, he would cross the line in third but ultimately be disqualified from the race. I'm not up on my rules, but I was told that you cannot switch cars once the field is in staging.

When racing got underway, Ryan Roder took the lead with Shannon Anderson closing in fast. Roder's luck would turn sour as his suffered a flat tire the next time by, handing the lead over to Anderson. Behind them Justin Nehring was riding the cushion and drove by Mark Hill for the second spot on lap four. Nehring was unable to catch Shannon Anderson as the Atlantic driver took home another win. Justin Nehring finished second, Matt Mahoney was third, John Briggs fourth, and Mark Hill rounded out the top five.

Mark Lindgren and Josh Egesdal raced side by side for the first half of the IMCA sport compact feature before Lindgren would gain the upper hand. The two swapped the lead a couple times in the closing laps, but it would be Mark Lindgren taking home the win. Josh Egesdal finished second, Zac Johnson third, Cory Flanigan fourth, and Cain Mahlberg was fifth.

It was easy to tell that the track had received its share of rain prior to the races. There was mud in the parking lot as I made my way to the grandstand. The track appeared to be in great shape early on, but the moisture under the surface made it's way to the top and combine with the horsepower of the cars, it didn't take long for ruts to appear. I'm sure there wasn't much promoter Jeff Herrig could have done differently, so I commend him for his efforts. The Buena Vista County Fair is going on this weekend in Alta, so be sure to take in the attractions if you're in the area. The BVR will return to its normal night of racing on Wednesday next week.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Jay Johnson Wins Inaugural Decorah Deery Show

Over the past couple of years, I have been blessed to witness a lot of "first times". Whether that be a new track that I've never attended, a new series I've never seen race before, or venturing to a new state. Tonight (Wed., July 15th) would be another first-time ever event as the IMCA Deery Brothers late model series made its inaugural appearance at the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah. Also on the card would be the USRA hobby stocks and USRA bmods.

The heat races were completed at a brisk pace. But then, there were only seven heat races to be run as the car counts were nothing too spectacular. Two heats each for hobby stocks and bmods were run before the late models took to the track for the first time ever. Burlington's Matt Strassheim would pick up the first heat race win while Ray Guss Jr and Jason Frankel topped the other two. Heat race action gave way to the grader just shortly after the 8:00 hour as track officials graded the entire track from top to bottom.

When the grader left the track, USRA bmods took to the track for their feature event. Twelve of the fourteen cars checked in took the green flag with pole sitter Junior Boyer bolting to the lead. Eric Verthein settled into the runner up spot after slipping back a bit on the start. Boyer would extend his lead as the crossed flags signaled to the drivers the race was half over.

It was at that point that track point leader Matt Jones began his march towards the front. Jones started tenth on the grid, but quickly made his way up to fourth just after the halfway point. He would later get by Brian Schrage for third as he used the inside lane for the pass. As the field took the white flag it appeared that nothing was going to stop Junior Boyer from taking home the win. That is until the red flag came out as he exited turn two to head down the backstretch. Chad Halverson's car slowed exiting turn two and resulted in a fire under the hood as he made his way off the track towards the pit area. As the red flag came out, safety officials were able to make their way from the infield across the track and extinguish the flame.

The announcers mentioned that it would be a green, white, checkered restart, but the flagman threw a monkey wrench into the equation as he threw the green and the white flag together to finish up the race. The double file restart didn't phase Junior Boyer one bit as he led every lap on his way to victory lane. Matt Jones came home second, Eric Verthein was third, Shane Panos fourth, and Brian Schrage rounded out the top five.

Following the bmods would be the USRA hobby stocks. Two cars failed to make the call in this one as well, but thirteen drivers were ready to battle it out for bragging rights. Dan Sacquintne used the pole position to grab the top spot, but outside front row starter Adam Cline used the top line to get by him on the next lap to assume command on the next lap. Sacquintne would lose that spot to Brandon Hare on the next circuit as Hare ducked under for the pass. Sacquintne wouldn't give it up that easily though as the two ran side by side for much of the remainder of the race.

With two laps to go, Kevin Christensen put his name into the hat as he looked under Hare for the third spot. His efforts would not be enough as Hare kept his momentum up on the top side of the speedway. But up front it was all Adam Cline as he took home the top prize. Dan Sacquintne was second, Brandon Hare third, Kevin Christensen fourth, and Scott Spilde rounded out the top five. Track points leader Chris Hovden was unable to start the feature as his car appeared to overheat at the conclusion of his heat race.

The final event of the night would be the forty-lap IMCA Deery Brothers late model feature. With only twenty-three drivers on hand tonight, everybody was able to run the feature. Jay Johnson and Boone McLaughlin paced the field to the green flag with Johnson holding a slight advantage at the line to complete lap one. Jason Frankel dove to the inside of McLaughlin two laps later to take over the second spot, but later positions two through five were bunched up in a pack that saw Terry Neal work his way to third. A caution came out on lap nine when Stephan Kammerer's car tagged the outside retaining wall, suffering extensive right front damage and ending his night early.

As the field prepared to take the green flag, Ray Guss Jr. pulled his car pitside. Guss Jr. had just taken the second spot in series points away from Frankel the previous night in West Union after his win, but obviously will give it back after not finishing tonight's program.

While noting Guss Jr.'s problem, Terry Neal made his way to second as the top ten drivers got spread out and were running single file as the track rubbered up on the bottom side of the track. Another caution came out on lap eighteen, allowing the field to bunch up for a restart.

Unfortunately for them, Johnson continued to hit his marks throughout the rest of the race. Once he caught lapped traffic, Johnson attempted to go to the outside to get by. That is, however, until he saw Neal stick his nose under him. After seeing that, Johnson quickly moved back down the track and settled in behind the slower car ahead of him. From that point on, Jay Johnson had it on cruise control as he took home his first-ever Deery Brothers win. Terry Neal finished second, Jason Frankel was third, Boone McLaughlin fourth, and Matt Strassheim rounded out the top five.

Jeff Aikey continues to lead the series points chase as unofficially he has a seven-point advantage over Jason Frankel. Guss Jr. slips back to third and now trails by twenty-one points.

Jeff Aikey - 424
Jason Frankel - 417
Ray Guss Jr. - 403

The bmod and hobby stock races were pretty good. Unfortunately the wider tires of the late models rubbered up the track and didn't provide much passing in their feature. It was fun seeing them earlier in the night as I'm sure many of them were flat-footing it around the 1/4-mile speedplant. In fact, Bobby Hansen told me at one point he only lifted for a brief moment entering turn three before standing on it the rest of the way around the track.

Rookie driver Ryan Giles made the long trip up from West Des Moines. He informed me had made a wrong turn around Cedar Falls that wound up costing him a lot of time on his way to the track. Fortunately for him, he made it in time for his heat race in which he finished second. He started the feature outside row three and finished with a respectable eighth place finish. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good birthday present for the youngster.

The Deery Brothers late model series takes a week off before heading south to the big half-mile track known as the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa next Wednesday night. It will take place as part of the Southern Iowa Fair and be ran in conjunction with the track's weekly race program of USRA hobby stocks, USRA bmods, USRA stock cars, and USRA modifieds. The Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah will have their weekly race program on Saturday.

Before I forget, it was fun talking with Hawkeye Racing News columnist Ed Reichert and blogger Kyle Ealy. I got to know both gentlemen last year throughout my travels, so it was fun chatting with them and finding out where each were going in the near future. Even though Kyle didn't give me credit for his information that he received from me Monday night in Fort Dodge. Haha.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Simpson Takes Inaugural WDRL Checkers @ Mineral City Speedway

The World Dirt Racing League (WDRL) made their first appearance ever at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge Monday night in conjunction with topless bmods. The event was sponsored by Mobil 1, which had quite a display unit on hand as well as the #77 Sam Hornish Jr Mobil 1 Dodge Charger. As part of the sponsorship package, Mobil 1 gave out free tshirts and caps to the first 1,000 fans to make their way through the gates as well as being registered for a chance to win tickets to the NASCAR race at the Kansas Speedway the first weekend in October.

WDRL conducted their group qualifying to start the evening after hot laps were run. Groups of five cars ran two laps to determine the fastest speeds, with the fastest time going to Denny Eckrich as he paced the half-mile track at a blistering 16.913 seconds.

Perhaps one of the surprises of the night was hearing a familiar name back behind the wheel of a racecar. Known to many in the area as the "Randall Rocket", Bob Hill strapped in to drive Brandon Leeman's #64 bmod Monday night. Hill is currently an employee at Michael Waltrip Racing and residing in Denver, North Carolina. He piloted his car to a fourth place finish in his heat race, started sixth in the feature, and finished with a respectable eighth place finish.

The Topless 25, as billed by promoter Kit Hovey, would be the first feature to hit the track. Bmod drivers were able to take their roofs off for tonight's event, a rarity for this class. Twenty-five laps would be the distance for the seventeen drivers that took the green flag. Geoff Olson used his outside front row start to his advantage as he quickly grabbed the lead using the high line of the track. On lap four, Bob Sutherland completed the pass on Brandon Toftee for the third spot. Behind those drivers, Matt Lettow was working his way towards the front as he found himself in fourth before the only caution of the race came out. Olson's car pushed up the track in turn two, allowing Brian Miller to scoot by on the low side to take the lead away.

Just behind Miller, Sutherland continued to run the low side while Lettow motored around on the cushion as they battled it out for the runner up spot. Kevin Sather made his way to fourth as he quickly set his sights on the two drivers ahead of him. Lettow had other ideas though, as he used the momentum from the top side to power his way to the lead. Sather, meanwhile, would duck under Sutherland for the third spot just before the halfway point in the race.

Sather's quest to get to the front continued as he got under Brian Miller to take the second spot away. Sather began to close the gap between he and the leader Lettow, and with five laps to go made the winning pass on the low side. Lettow tried to keep pace on the high side, but Kevin Sather had too much tonight as he went on to take the win. Matt Lettow finished second, Brian Miller third, Bob Sutherland fourth, and Geoff Olson rounded out the top five.

The finale of the night would be the Mobil 1 40 WDRL late model feature. By virtue of winning the Iowa/Illinois Insulation Pole Dash, series point leader Chad Simpson earned the right to start the race from the pole position. He would pace the field to the green flag while Omaha, Nebraska driver John Anderson sat to his outside. Anderson jumped out front to lead the first lap, but Simpson came right back at him on the low side to take the spot away on the next circuit.

After uncharacteristically spinning out in his heat race, Brian Birkhofer resorted to starting on the inside of row five. He methodically began to pass a car at a time using every bit of the track. Back up front, Anderson would regain the top spot as he snuck under Simpson. Simpson would not give it up easily as the two raced side by side for a couple laps before Simpson again got the advantage as the crossed flags were shown to the drivers.

By that time, Birkhofer had made his way to fourth and swiftly began to catch Kyle Berck. Birkhofer powered his machine to third using the top side of the track and quickly focused on catching the top two cars. Birkhofer's car appeared to get stronger as the laps clicked off as he closed the gap quickly before getting by Anderson on the low side for the runner up spot.

With just a handful of laps remaining, Birkhofer had a clear shot at chasing down Simpson. He was closing the gap, but Chad Simpson had just enough of a lead to take home the $6,800 top prize at the end of the night. Brian Birkhofer finished his great run in second place followed by John Anderson, Kyle Berck, and Al Purkey. Simpson's win should help extend his point lead in the series as the WDRL heads to Brainerd, Minnesota on July 28th. The series then heads east to Wisconsin for two more shows that weekend.

What a great night of racing tonight! Sixty-five laps of feature racing with only the one caution in the bmod class. Lots of passing in both races. The final checkers waved at around 9:45 or so, perfect for a Monday night special to get the crowd home at a decent time. This was my second trip to the Mineral City Speedway this year, but tonight's track was by far the best I've seen at the facility. Kudos to Kit Hovey and his staff! After witnessing the action tonight, I can't wait to make a return trip for the USMTS race on Monday, August 3rd.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Meyers Sweeps, Hejna Wins

Sunday July 12th marked the second visit to the I-35 Speedway for tv personality and NASCAR Nationwide series driver Kenny Wallace. While his first visit resulted in a great second place finish with the USMTS series, Sunday night's visit would bring a new challenge as he mixed it up with the IMCA modifieds. Wallace's lack of experience with IMCA rules was evident as he started at the back of his heat race and basically rode around to get the feel of the track and the car. While on the mic before one of his autograph sessions, he mentioned that his crew were making lots of changes to the car to get it ready for the feature.

Before that time would come, the rest of the divisions ran their feature events. Ken Winkowitsch started in the last row of the junior hornet race, but that didn't slow him down much as he still took home the top prize. Scott Schlichting took home an easy win in the hornet feature.

Up next would be the ten lap finale for the hobby stocks. Pole sitter Zac Smith took command early while Robert See was charging hard deeper in the field. See, who won the previous night at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, started twelfth but quickly made his way to fourth at the completion of lap two. At the same time, Mick Meyers made the pass for the lead on Smith after starting seventh. See would not be done making moves towards the front as he got by two more cars a lap later to fall into second place. Heath Tulp would run up to the third spot on lap four and later make the pass on See for second using the low side of the track with two laps to go. But up front it was all Mick Meyers as he motored his way to victory lane. Meyers also took home his heat race win along with the cash dash top prize. Heath Tulp was second, Robert See third, Travis Johnson fourth, and Jeremy Solberg rounded out the top five.

Twenty bmods were on hand as they would run their twelve lap finale. Tracy Kleckner grabbed the lead on the first lap, but behind him Dan Tenold and Nate Chodur were wasting no time maneuvering their way to the front. Tenold started eighth and Chodur tenth, but both sliced their way to the top five within the first two laps of competition. On lap three Chodur moved to the inside to make the pass on Ben Kraus for the runner up spot. Two laps later, Chodur took his machine to the high side to snare the lead away from Kleckner. Tenold's march towards the front continued as he used the cushion to get by Kleckner for third at the halfway point before making the pass on Kraus for second a lap later. Adam Ackerman made his presence known as he passed two cars in one corner to move up to third before a caution came out with four laps to go. Tenold tried to ride the high line to get by Chodur, but he didn't carry enough momentum and quickly got back in line on the bottom ahead of Ackerman. Nate Chodur would take home the win followed across the line by Dan Tenold, Adam Ackerman, Ben Kraus, and Nick West. However, apparently Dan Tenold was disqualified in post-race tech as he was officially scored in last place, so that moved everybody up a spot behind him.

The "Class To Tough To Tame", the IMCA stock cars, started seventeen cars for their fifteen lap feature. Brad Broers jumped to the early lead from the pole, but that didn't last long as Mike Jergens took it away in turn two. Kevin Opheim used the cushion to make his way up to third after starting sixth as the caution flag came out. On the restart, Opheim would get by Broers for second while Larry Portis worked his way from midpack up to fourth by lap five. Joe Willier and Ryan Hiscocks made contact, resulting in both drivers suffering flat tires and ending their nights early. With just two laps to go, Portis dove to the inside of Broers to take the third spot away. But up front it was Mike Jergens taking home the win, his third of the weekend as he picked up wins on Friday night at Fairmont and Saturday night in Algona. Kevin Opheim followed him across the line in second, Larry Portis third, Brad Broers slipped back to fourth, and Bert McDaniel finished fifth.

The final racing action of the night would be the twenty lap IMCA modified feature. Terrance Prochaska took the lead into the first set of corners before Alex Yohn took command at the flagstand to complete the first lap. Prochaska would battled back and take the top spot back on lap four. Behind them Al Hejna was on the move as he powered his Harris car up to fourth on lap five after starting ninth. Hejna continued his prowl as he passed two more cars on the next lap to move into second and looked to reel in race leader Prochaska. A caution just before the halfway point bunched the field up, which at that time Scott Olson had moved his way up to sixth after starting 17th. Hejna would make the pass on Prochaska for the lead as the yellow came out again. Third on the restart, Jeremy Mills powered his Harris car to the top of the speedway to motor by Prochaska for the runner up spot. J.J. Wise and Scott Olson battled wheel to wheel for the fourth spot for a couple laps before Olson secured it. Mills began to make up ground between he and Hejna and was on his bumper as the white flag came out. Mills went high in turns one and two and lost a bit of momentum exiting the corner that allowed Hejna to pull far enough ahead to take the win at the line. Jeremy Mills, IMCA national point leader, finished close behind in second, Terrance Prochaska was third, Scott Olson fourth, and J.J. Wise rounded out the top five.

The final activity of the night would be Rocky Hardcore as he had his rollover attempt set up and ready to go. His attempt fell short of expectations, but he mentioned that he had been involved in a tv series with CMT and footage was in the production stage. So be sure to keep an eye out for him on that channel. Next week Stan Reidel will be in attendance as he will attempt to jump a bus over several cars.

For complete results, check out my website at http://www.geocities.com/racefan85/july12.pdf

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!