After taking a glance at the forecast Tuesday night for what was in store Wednesday, I decided last minute (10 minutes before walking out the door Wednesday morning to work) that I would head west to the Buena Vista Raceway Wednesday night. A fabulous day was in store for race fans near and far as a breeze kept things just right in the grandstand.
Following heat race action and three separate bus rides around the track for the kids in attendance, it was time to get down to business. The BVR bombers were first to hit the track with seven cars set to do battle. Colby Davis used the outside front row starting spot to snare the race lead as the battle for second heated up. Jess Bieret ducked under Nick Smith for the runner up spot on lap three before closing the gap to Davis. Bieret would make contact with the rear fender of Davis' machine with two laps to go, but that contact allowed Davis to extend his lead to several car lengths as he picked up the win. Bieret would finish second, Nick Smith third, Josh Mahler fourth, and Shawn Halder rounded out the top five.
The stage was now set for the IMCA sport compact feature. Once again seven cars made the call, including two long-distance travelers in Merv Chandler and Bill Whalen Jr from the southeastern part of the state. It would be Kyle Hill getting the top spot early on, but Cory Flanigan would steal the lead away on lap three. Whalen Jr would use the inside lane to get by Hill for second, but it would be Cory Flanigan again gracing victory lane. Bill Whalen Jr was second, Kyle Hill third, Merv Chandler fourth, and Mark Lindgren completed the top five.
From there the tables turned to the twenty-car starting field of IMCA hobby stocks. Devin Smith would rocket to the lead from the outside front row as the rest of the pack attempted to stay within reach. Shannon Anderson made his move on the inside of Justin Nehring to climb to fourth in just two laps before advancing to second a few laps later. Anderson would close the gap and drive it deep into turn three on the final set of corners, but it wouldn't be enough as Devin Smith held on to take the win. Anderson settled for second, Adam Hicks was third, Craig Brotherton fourth, and Kyle Robinson fifth.
After the first three features ran without a caution, unfortunately the IMCA sportmods would make up for it. Tim Rupp grabbed the race lead from outside row three, but cautions waved every two laps in the early going of the race. Brett Meyer made his way to second by lap three, but the caution flags killed his momentum as he was attempting to take the lead when a couple yellow curtains waved. Unfortunately the time limit would expire on the race, but that shouldn't take away from the job Tim Rupp did to garner the win. He had to hold off Brett Meyer several times as both cars finished ahead of Doug Bartels, Zach Norgaard, and Matt Sangwin.
Josh Suhr led the field of twelve IMCA stock cars on the first lap, but he would be hounded by a host of contenders waiting for him to make a mistake. Donavon Smith used the inside line to advance to the bridesmaid position just three laps in after starting eighth. Brian Blessington found Smith's line and followed him through to fourth, but Smith would snare the lead away from Suhr on lap four. Meanwhile, brother Dustin Smith was making his march forward on the top side as he powered his way to third. A lap later he made his way by Blessington for the runner-up spot and in the same lap, passed Donavon for the lead. The caution waved with five laps to go, setting up a double-file restart. Blessington would then use the outside line to power by Donavon Smith for second, but he would not be able to catch the leader as Dustin Smith took the win. Blessington settled for second, Donavon Smith third, David Smith fourth, and Chris Ullrich rounded out the top five.
The IMCA modifieds saw twelve cars compete Wednesday night. Inside row three starter Mike Jergens, a rookie in the division, was shot out of a cannon as he grabbed the reigns exiting turn two. Craig Reetz made his way by Dale Ransom for second, but that didn't last long as Brian Schmitt utilized the cushion to take the position away. Just behind that battle, Mike Albertson was on the charge. Albertson, who started twelfth, passed Jim Thies and Dale Ransom to slide up to the fourth spot by lap seven.
A twist was thrown into the mix when the caution waved when Jergens spun out in front of the field in turn one. That handed the race lead over to Brian Schmitt. With a double-file restart behind him, Brad Williams took advantage and split cars to make his way back up to third after restarting at the tail on the first caution. Albertson would later hug the tires and get back by Williams for third as Schmitt increased his lead to ten carlengths. With four to go, Albertson snuck under Craig Reetz for the runner up spot while behind him, Jergens was slicing through the field back up to fifth. Jergens got by Williams with two laps to go, but the night belonged to Brian Schmitt as he picked up his first Buena Vista Raceway win in the IMCA modified division. Mike Albertson was second, Mike Jergens third, Craig Reetz fourth, and Brad Williams rounded out the top five.
I was sitting with family and friends of Brian Schmitt last night. They were pretty nervous as the laps were winding down, but it was all worth it to see the smiles and tears on their faces as he crossed the line under the checkered flag.
While the car count was a bit on the low side, the racing was good throughout the night. I don't recall any of the leaders holding a large lead for very long, keeping things competitive in all classes. After visiting with a few drivers afterwards, I headed for home around 10:45 or so and pulled into my driveway around 1:40AM. I opted not to write the blog when I got home as I had to be up and to work by 7:30. And for those wondering why this blog is written so late tonight, the electricity was off for roughly four hours this afternoon when I got home. So with that, I apologize for this being late.
The weather doesn't sound good for racing this weekend, but Friday should be manageable to get one in. So if you don't have any plans, take a trip to your local track and support the people who support racing.
For more information and complete results from last night, check out www.buenavistaraceway.net. I'm looking forward to next week's racing action as the USMTS invades "The Beaver".
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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