To start things off, I'd like to apologize to all the followers of this blog. Last Tuesday night my internet went down. After several phone calls with the phone company, they determined it was my network card that was the issue. After installing a different card, my internet connection still wouldn't work. Finally a tech person had to make a "house call" and install some components to make it work. Thus, after five or six days of being without the internet, I'm ready to get caught up with my racing weekend.
Things kicked off Friday afternoon at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge. After two previous attempts to get the season opener in, the third time was the charm. While race day was dry, the week leading up to the event was rather rainy. The track appeared to be in good shape before hot laps, but that would soon change once the horsepower hit the surface. Track officials took some time to boxscrape areas on the track upon completion of the heat races.
Once things were looking better, the hornet feature took the green flag for the first feature of 2010. Adam Strunk darted to the lead of the thirteen car field and held off challenges from Mike McFarland and Mick Evans for the win.
Up next was the econo stock feature. Jess Bieret took command early on, but he would later be sidelined from an apparent blown engine. Nate Evans inherited the lead, but Zack Angstrom would make his move on the inside to make the pass that would later put him in victory lane.
Eighteen hobby stocks graced the track with Cody Nielsen jumping out to the early lead. After both Michael Becker and Robert See got by Nielsen on the inside, the caution negated their pass and put Nielsen back at the helm. Becker and See would make contact a couple laps later as both would leave the track. Nielsen would continue to hit his marks as he was first to the checkered flag. He was followed across the line by Paul Toms, Jeff Lyon, Justin Nehring, and Merle Bass.
A stout field of twenty-three limited modifieds were up next. It would be Clint Luellen grabbing the lead at the drop of the green flag, but perennial contender Brett Meyer quickly worked his way into second after passing Doug Bartles. A caution flag allowed Meyer to restart on Luellen's back bumper, and a short time later Meyer made the dash to the inside to eclipse the lead away. Meyer went on to take the win ahead of Andy Tiernan, Clint Luellen, Rocky Caudle, and Chad Louk.
Following them would be the stock car feature. Despite only twelve cars making checking in, they put on an entertaining show for the fans. It was the battle of the Crimmins', as Jeremy held the slim advantage over Wayne in the early going. It didn't take long for Wayne to overtake Jeremy for the lead, but further back Malcolm Teachout was on the move. After starting shotgun on the field, Teachout was up to fifth by lap five and still charging. He found his way to third with five laps to go, but as he darted to the inside of Jeremy Crimmins the window of opportunity was shut in a hurry and Teachout went around to bring out the caution. With a two-lap shootout in place, Jeremy Crimmins used a late race move to dash to the inside of Wayne exiting turn four to steal the win. Wayne Crimmins was second, Mike VanGenderen was third, Matt Mundt fourth, and Todd Staley completed the top five.
The final race of the night would be the modifieds. Ryan Watnem exploded out of the gates to take command while the battle for second shaped up. Joe Paullin got by Brian Schmitt for the time being while Schmitt later relinquished that spot to Brad Williams. Williams made an inside pass on Paullin to take over the runner up spot while Schmitt used the same line to advance by Paullin as well. While the caution flag waved a handful of times later in the race, but the top five remained unchanged throughout as Ryan Watnem powered his way to the impressive win over Brad Williams, Brian Schmitt, Justin Sackett, and Scott Forbes.
By my count, a total of eighty-six cars were on hand for opening night at Mineral City Speedway. While a couple of the drivers I chatted with afterwards mentioned the rough terrain, they also realized the weather was partly to blame. I look forward to making a couple more trips to the Mineral City Speedway later in the year. For complete results and the entire schedule, check out www.fdspeed.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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