Simpson, Crimmins Highlight Winners From Fort Dodge

A blustery and cool Friday night found me at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge. I figured with the wind at my back, sitting in the grandstand would be a little more bearable. Boy was I wrong as the breeze seemed to pick up a little as the night continued. On the track the action was fast and furious despite the track getting choppy with every race.

I believe fourteen hornets made their way to the track first for their feature event. At the start it would be a battle for the lead between Mick and Nate Evans as they raced door to door. It wasn't long before they were joined by Mike McFarland and Lyle Oberhelmen. McFarland and Oberhelmen, in similar looking cars, both managed to get by the front runners and engage in their own battle. In the end it would be the defending track champion McFarland taking the win.

The econo stocks were next up with a field of five cars. Austin Reicks would take command early, but the caution flag waved when the 17L machine (sorry, didn't catch him name) dropped his driveshaft at the entrance to turn one. During the caution, Reicks pointed out the debris (driveshaft), and then proceeded to exit the track. Colby Davis would inherit the point and lead the rest of the laps in picking up the win ahead of Brad Hanse.

Justin Nehring took control in the early going of the hobby stock feature after starting outside the front row. Austin Wolfgram would challenge Nehring for the lead while Devin Smith was quickly running down both front runners. After Wolfgram took the lead for a lap, Nehring would regain the lead while Wolfgram conceited the second position to Smith. Smith would then make his move on the inside of Nehring to take over the race lead. Wolfgram followed Smith to second with Nehring slipping back to third. A late caution came out to bunch the field back up. On the final lap Wolfgram got out of control exiting turn two and gave up a lot of positions. Devin Smith would take the win ahead of Justin Nehring, Jeff Lyons, Myles Michehl, and Kevin Berger. There was a surprise entrant in the hobby stocks as Dan Sacquitne from Northeast Iowa made the trip over. Unfortunately he was unable to finish the feature after finishing second in his heat race.

The limited modifieds were up next with a solid field of nineteen cars. Jim Lampe wasted no time in assuming the top spot, but formerly retired driver Brett Meyer quickly sliced his way from his sixth starting spot up to second on the first lap. Following an early caution, most of the top five remained the same until Brandon Toftee passed Travis Storm for the fifth spot with just two laps remaining. Jim Lampe would cruise to the win followed by Brett Meyer, Steve Reetz, Clint Luellen, and Brandon Toftee.

Twelve USRA stock cars then hit the track for their main event. Kevin Donlan, a driver making the trip over from Northeast Iowa, found himself on the pole and grabbing the early lead. Wayne Crimmins and Jeff Deal were racing for the second spot before Deal slipped off the backstretch and fell back a few spots. Matt Mundt would sneak under Jeremy Crimmins for the third position, but as Crimmins tried to battle back in turn four the two cars made contact with Crimmins suffering a left front flat tire and bringing out the caution flag. Crimmins would use this to his advantage as he would wrestle the lead away from Donlan shortly after the restart. Donlan kept pace but was unable to get close enough to seriously challenge. Wayne Crimmins took home the win with Kevin Donlan in second, Matt Mundt in third, Dennis Plain was fourth, and Ryan Leeman rounded out the top five.

Eleven modifieds hit the track for the final race of the night. Jake Simpson used his outside front row starting position to get the jump on the start to grab the lead. A caution on lap two quickly slowed things down, but Jim Thies would stay within striking distance after the restart. Brian Schmitt passed rookie Dustin Smith on the inside to take over the fourth position. Soon after Rod Scheuermann would go up in smoke and leave the track. Up front Thies closed in as it appeared Simpson slowed down more going through the bumps in turns one and two. But Simpson would find a smoother lane a car-width higher and regain some breathing room as he went on to take the feature win. Jim Thies finished second, Brian Schmitt was third, Dustin Smith was fourth, and Jeff Segebart rounded out the top five.

The races were over right at 10:00. The track appeared to have a few ruts on the inside of turns one and two, and a hole in turn three. But otherwise I thought the track held up well considering all the weather elements in the past couple of weeks. I'm sure as the weather dries up track officials will be able to iron it out. Be sure to log on to www.fdspeed.com later for a full rundown.

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

Portis Collects IMCA Stock Car Win #121

Finally, the I-35 Speedway in Mason City was back in action. After two consecutive weeks off, the cars roared to life once again in north Iowa. A bigger car count in the IMCA sportmods and IMCA stock cars was a welcome sight as the two classes boasted 33 and 22, respectively.

Harold Stinnett took command of the junior hornet division and led every lap on his way to victory lane. He finished ahead of Wesley Steward, Colton Kessler, and Taylor Frerichs the top four of the eight-car field.

Fourteen senior hornets were on hand. Kelly Miller seemed to have things well in control from the drop of the green flag. Nate Coopman decided he had other ideas as he made the pass in turns one and two for the lead and went on to capture the win. Miller finished second, Andrew Lokenvitz was third, and Adam Rodamaker rounded out the top four.

The IMCA sportmods were next up on the slate. As mentioned above, the field of 33 cars were dwindled down to a starting grid of twenty-four after two b-mains were run. Pole-sitter Dan Hanselman took advantage on the start to grab the reigns early with Ed Green right behind. Green has been away from the sport for four years, but seems to have figured things out quickly once again. Opening night winner Tad Reutzel quickly made his way towards the front as he sliced his way to third by the second circuit after starting tenth. Green would dart to the inside of Hanselman on lap four to take the lead away. Reutzel tried to follow Green and made the pass, but the caution flag waved before the lap was completed. A handful of cautions would follow before the halfway point in the race. Reutzel and Hanselman seemed to seasaw positions on each restart until Reutzel finally made the pass on Hanselman stick for second. A lap later he ducked low in turn one and pass Green for the lead and never looked back as he picked up another feature win. Ed Green finished second, George Nordman inherited the third position after Nate Chodur went up in smoke on the final lap, and Brandon Toftee charged his way through the field to fourth after transferring out of a bmain.

All but one of the IMCA stock cars made the call for their feature. John Campbell took command of the race in the early going, but Joe Willier and Larry Portis stayed within striking distance as the front three cars broke away from the pack until a caution waved. Following the yellow flag, the top five cars would break away with Jim Larson and Ryan Goergen put their cards into the pot. Portis would sneak to the inside of Willier as the two made contact, with Portis coming out on the better end and moving up a spot. Willier slid back to fourth before another caution flag waved. When the green flag waved again on lap nine, Kevin Opheim was on the prowl after starting deep in the field. Opheim moved to the inside of Willier to snare the fifth spot away while Portis made contact with the leader Campbell and overtook the top spot. The yellow flag waved as a result of another car (I believe it was the 6L machine) made contact with Campbell as well, causing Campbell to come to a stop in turn two.

With the green flag displayed again, Opheim had moved up to third. However, he miscalculated the exit of turn two and found himself off the backstretch with three laps remaining. Portis would go on to collect his 121st career IMCA stock car win. He was followed across the line by Joe Willier, Merlyn Hegland, Damon Murty, and Adam Silvey.

Up next would be the sixteen-car starting field of IMCA modifieds. Curt Badker got the edge at the start to get by pole-sitter Vern Jackson for the lead. Badker almost immediately began to drive away from everybody, but the caution came out when Jackson lost his driveshaft. That put Alex Yohn and rookie Jamie Anderson on Badker's rear bumper, but again Badker would drive away from the field. A few cautions later, J.J. Wise found himself up to third and battling for the second position with Yohn. As the two duked it out, Badker was able to maintain a solid lead and go on to pick up the win. Yohn would finish second, Wise third, Shane Monson charged up to fourth after starting shotgun on the field, and Jamie Anderson rounded out the top five. Monson changed motors after his heat race.

The final race of the night would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. Only eleven cars made the call. Kory Adams rocketed to the lead from the pole with Zac Smith following in his tire marks. The field seemed to spread out single file, but pretty much nose to tail keeping things exciting. Rex Hammerschmidt challenged Smith for the runner-up position, but the two got tangled up on the front stretch that led to Smith hitting the wall and ending his night. Hammerschmidt was able to continue on after only losing his trunk lid. On the restart Hammerschmidt dove to the inside of Adams to take the lead away. Chad Gentz would also make the same move, but that move soon was irrelevant as Gentz slowed down on the final lap. Rex Hammerschmidt took the checkered flag ahead of Cody Knecht, Kory Adams, Heath Tulp, and Scott Dobel.

Racing action was completed by 9:15. The track was a bit rough and took its toll on the cars. But a group of drivers were being overly aggressive as well, contributing to the amount of torn up sheet metal throughout the pits. Hopefully some warmer and dryer weather will help the track crew iron in the rough patches for next Sunday night's races. For more complete results, be sure to check out www.i-35speedway.com, or you can check out the local newspaper website link at www.globegazette.com/sports/lead_lap.

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

Hughes Collects USMTS Debut at Valley Speedway

After driving down to Warrensburg, Missouri with some friends on Saturday night only to get rained out, we drove home yet that night to cap off a disappointing night. Fortunately we had a good time despite no racing action. When I heard that Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri postponed their original show from Friday night and pushed it back to Sunday, I decided that was going to be the first of hopefully a list of new tracks I attend this year. So after getting home so late (or early, depending on your perspective) the night before, I woke up early Sunday morning and made the trek back down to the Kansas City area by myself this time for some USMTS action. It was a bit disappointing only seeing a field of 27 USMTS modifieds, but it was understandable after having to cancel shows both Friday and Saturday. Also on the slate of action on the bullring would be the Midwest Outlaw Vintage cars and the mod-lites/dwarf cars. Ironically, there were three drivers from Iowa racing in the mod-lite division. At one point during their twenty-lap feature, the Iowa guys were running 1-2-3. Mike Kennedy, running third at the time, would get spun by a local driver (#64, didn't catch the name). The flagman was quick on the yellow as neither car came to a stop, but both found their way to the back of the field. Up front it was all Randy Bryan as he held off Charlie Brown for the win. The #64 rebounded to finish third while Mike Kennedy finished seventh. The finale of the evening was the 40-lap USMTS feature. Chase Junghans and nine-time series champion Kelly Shryock redrew the front row as Junghans took command from the start. He would only lead the first two circuits before relinquishing the reigns over to Shryock on lap three. While the lead changed hands up front, Ryan Gustin was quickly screaming towards the front on the bottom side. He quickly dissected the field and found himself in fourth in just two laps after starting eleventh. Dustin Boney and Gustin both made their way by Junghans to climb into second and third, respectfully, before Gustin later grabbed the runner-up position away from Boney. While I was somewhat focusing on Gustin's climb up the leaderboard, I also noticed Rodney Sanders making a bit of noise. The Texas driver, who started ninth, used the high side to dispose of Junghans on his way to the fourth spot. After seeing Sander's progression, I then noticed that Jason Hughes was also on the prowl a few spot behind him. Hughes, who won the b-main event and started 15th, had cut the field in half and saw himself in the seventh position somewhere around the lap ten mark. Back up front Gustin closed in on Shryock for the lead and ducked to the inside of the Skyrocket man exiting turn four. As they battled side by side entering turn one, Gustin would gain the momentum on the turn two exit and propel himself into the lead. Dustin Boney was running a great line on the top groove and also made the pass on Shryock for the second position before a caution was shown on lap thirteen. The restart proved to be a big break for Rodney Sanders. He dove to the inside on the exit of turn two and powered by both Shryock and Boney to advance into the second spot. A lap later Boney would slow to a stop in turn four with a left rear flat tire, temporarily ending his hopes of a great run. The top three at that point were Gustin, Sanders, and Hughes. Hughes powered by Sanders on the restart and quickly closed in on Gustin. With Gustin hugging the inside groove, Hughes motored on by in the outside groove and took the lead away. Another caution slowed the pace at the halfway point. Gustin would lose a couple spots following the restart to Sanders and Shryock before Shryock bowed out to the infield. A number of cautions plagued the event in the final ten laps. That set up a great battle between Sanders and Gustin for the runner up position as Jason Hughes had them all covered on this night as he picked up his fifth win of the season. Rodney Sanders finished second, Ryan Gustin was third, Jon Tesch finished fourth, and Bryan Rowland completed the top five. Not only did Hughes collect the win, but his Hughes chassis garnered four of the top five spots. Racing action concluded around 8:30, and it was time to hit the road for home. Think I got home sometime around the 1:30am mark. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of racing and passing I saw throughout the night. Upon arrival the track crew was adding water to the surface and it appeared it would be a hammer down track on the top side. The track crew needs a lot of props for getting it in racing condition and providing a racey surface. Grain Valley Speedway is the first new track of the season for me. That means I'm not one closer to that magical 100 total track plateau that I'm aiming at achieving sometime this year. Just three more to go! - Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

So Far, but Yet So Close

When I woke up Saturday morning, I had in mind two options for racing that evening. My first choice was going to be the IMCA Deery Brothers late model series event held at the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, Iowa. Plan B was going to be the double features night at the Algona Raceway in Algona, Iowa. However, those two plans quickly fell by the wayside when I pulled up the Internet and saw they had both cancelled. Ok, need a new plan. Early afternoon came and I found two tracks in Missouri that peaked my interest for the night. At the time both the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis (MO) and the I-35 Speedway in Winston (MO) were both racing. I opted to go get my hair cut the cheap way (from my sister), but when I went to leave her place my car would not start. Wouldn't even turn over. After making plans with a couple buddies to head south, my heart sank as I stood in disbelief. I notified them that I was having car problems, so our trip was not going to happen. That soon changed when my father tightened the battery post, and the car started like a charm. Back in business!! I quickly drove home and changed. I hopped on the computer one last time and found that Memphis had cancelled. So it looked like Winston would be our destination. I met my buddies in Ellsworth sometime around 3:20, and when we called at 3:30 they had just pulled the plug as well. My friends, thinking positively, said "well now where"? I had forgotten about the USMTS race down in Warrensburg (MO). We called the track and they said it was a muddy mess, but they were on. The lengthy trip found us arrive at the track shortly after 8pm. Upon arrival we could see USMTS cars on the track, but apparently it was just hot laps. As we paid for our tickets and found a seat, hot laps came to an end and the call for the grater soon followed. After making a couple passes it was determined the track would not hold up for the night and the plug was pulled. Fortunately for us, the promoter gave fans the option to either hold on to the tickets for the rescheduled date (yet to be determined) or giving refunds. So we patiently waited for the line to dwindle down and received our money back. - Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!