Pardon me while I attempt to get caught up on racing action that I have attended recently. I did not take the time to write my blogs when I got home from the events, and I only took time after work to clean up and head to the next race.
Tuesday evening I ventured thirty minutes south to the Marshalltown Speedway. The IMCA Deery Brothers late model series was in town along with the IMCA sportmods, Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks, and the Mod Lites/dwarf cars. The pits were packed with race cars and crew members on a near perfect night for racing.
While I did not write down any notes, I felt it was important to keep my followers updated. Mark Burgtorf was definitely worth the price of admission as he was running third early on in the race before a caution came out that involved Rob Toland's hampered machine. Toland appeared to have lost the driveshaft, but there was also fluid on the track. Unfortunately, Burgtorf's tires found the slick stuff and spun to a stop while the yellow was out. Under Deery Brothers rules, a car that is stopped on the track while the yellow is out must go to the tail. So even though Burgtorf's spin was after the yellow had come out, he would be forced to tag the tail of the field.
So Burgtorf lined up 22nd on the restart, and almost immediately began to pick off a car here or there. While Jeff Aikey held down the top spot, he would receive pressure from point leader Ray Guss Jr. Guss Jr. kept within striking distance, but was just unable to make a move around Aikey. Meanwhile, Burgtorf was working his way back to the front. With just a handful of laps remaining, he climbed all the way back to the third slot. Unfortunately for him the laps were winding down and he was unable to make a bid for the win. It would be Jeff Aikey adding another "W" to his already series-leading win total.
In other action, Brett Moffitt scored another victory at Marshalltown in the IMCA sportmod feature. Ironically enough, Craig Armstrong from the Iowa Speedway was on hand to promote the upcoming K & N Filters NASCAR East/West Series race scheduled for Sunday. Brett Moffitt will be piloting a car provided by Joe Gibbs Racing in that race come Sunday.
Joel Huggins captured the win in the Mod Lites / dwarf car feature as he led every lap of the event. Pat Fagen would pick up the win in the truck feature.
For more details on the racing in Marshalltown Tuesday, check out "Backstretch" or "4d Fan Report" at www.positivelyracing.com.
Shifting gears now to Wednesday night. The inaugural season of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds saw it's first-ever race held at the Independence Motor Speedway. With roughly forty drivers registered, expectations were high when yesterday afternoon rolled around that a great field of cars would be on hand. Much to my surprise, and perhaps everybody else, a stout 58 IMCA modifieds checked into the back gate along with IMCA hobby stocks and IMCA sportmods.
Nineteen IMCA sportmods hit the track first for feature action. Kaleb Bentley jumped to the early lead from the second row, but a quick caution on lap two quickly slowed the pace. And to put it mildly, it was a call that I'm still shaking my head about. In my opinion Kurt Hogan (who was second at the time), drove into turn one way too heavy and slammed into Jeremy Embrey's machine. Embrey was able to keep his machine in motion while Hogan limped to a stop inside of turn one when the caution came out. Rather then Hogan being penalized for the car being stopped when the yellow came out, it was Embrey that was charged with the caution and sent to the rear of the field while Hogan was awarded his spot back. I know I mentioned that call with a couple of people after the show that were scratching their heads as well, as I did not hear the explanation of the officials' ruling.
But now back to your regularly scheduled blog. Soon after the restart, Hogan would dive to the inside of Bentley and assume command of the race. A bit further back, Austin Kaplan was making headway. After starting twelfth, Kaplan powered his machine to fourth on the inside by lap six. With Hogan out front and extending his lead, he looked to have things well in hand as the field tried to chase him down. Late in the race Kaplan advanced another spot when he got by Tyler Droste for third, but the night belonged to Kurt Hogan as he visited victory lane. Kaleb Bentley was second, Austin Kaplan third, Tyler Droste fourth, and Danny Dvorak was fifth.
The "Modified Mayhem" portion of the show was up next. As mentioned, fifty-eight cars would be dwindled down to the starting field of twenty-four, plus a track provisional to make it 25. Ed Thomas and Ryan Gustin sat on the front row of the thirty-lap event with Gustin getting the early advantage. Several cautions plagued the early stages of the race, including a major six-car incident that saw second-place running Jeff Feaster slow in front of the pack and collect several others. That moved Jay Noteboom into the runner-up slot. Noteboom was piloting Joel Bushore's #87 ride on this night.
With several cars either out of the race or tagging the tail, Josh Foster took advantage of the situation. Starting tenth, Foster moved to the inside and took the second position away from Noteboom on lap four. However, that pass would be negated by yet another caution flag. That didn't slow Foster down, however, as he made the pass again two laps later for second. On lap ten, Foster slid to the inside of Ryan Gustin and took over the command of the ship. By this time the field was primarily utilizing the lower groove of the track in single file formation. Foster opened up a decent lead until he encountered lapped traffic, allowing Gustin to close back in.
The caution would wave for the final time with eleven laps to go. With many of the top ten remaining unchanged, one position did alter before the final lap when Richie Gustin took advantage of Michael Long skating up the track. Gustin would take the fourth spot away from Long at that point. Foster would sustain his lead the rest of the way to pick up the big payday followed by Ryan Gustin. Noteboom, who was running third, suffered mechanical issues entering turn three on the final lap. Coasting across the line, he gave up several spots. Richie Gustin would finish third, Michael Long fourth, and Nate Caruth rounded out the top five. Noteboom crossed the line in eighth.
The final event of the night belonged to the IMCA hobby stocks. Fourteen cars took the green flag with Kyle Anderson getting the quick advantage. Just as Vince Buchholz darted to the inside to take over the race lead, his car spun and brought out the caution. The field got spread out before another caution with two laps remaining bunched the field back up. August Bach used his four tires along with the four tires of Anderson to propel himself to the inside for the race lead. Anderson battled back on the outside on the final lap, but Bach drove up the track to shut the door and pick up the win. Anderson settled for second with Rod Grother in third.
While I was completely amazed with the number of modifieds in attendance, I was a bit disappointed in the feature race. Despite Foster and maybe Nate Caruth's efforts, I didn't notice a lot of passing being done. Richie Gustin moved up several positions, but he along with Caruth benefited from the early cautions as well.
I'm hopeful to see most of the field at the next stop of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour as it invades the big half-mile speedplant known as the I-35 Speedway in Mason City on Memorial Day, May 31. For more information about the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, check out www.dirttour.com.
I would like to mention a thanks to the Hawkeye Dirt Tour personnel. Chris Marchese caught me as I was exiting the pits to go home and personally thanked me for coming. As a fan, or blogger, it's always nice to get a "thank you" from promoters. Chris and Bucky Doren head up the series while they have added announcer Blake Anderson on the staff as well. While Anderson is publicly beating himself up for a subpar performance last night, I still consider him to be one of the better announcers in the state.
It sounds like this weekend is going to be picture perfect for racing. Warmer temperatures are making their way to the state, so be sure to get out and catch some exciting racing action at your local track.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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