Tapfan's Tours

2011 Wrap Up

2011-11-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to have one more racing recap blog to write about at this time, but Mother Nature decided my race season was over when she forced the cancellation of the annual Thanksgiving race in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday. While I may not be terribly upset of the cancellation, it would have provided one more day/night of racing adrenaline, fumes, and excitement at the dirt track before the gloomy weather arrives for winter.

That does, however, give me an opportunity to provide a wrap-up of my 2011 season. I see Jeff Broeg already beat me to it at the "Backstretch", but here are my final stats.

I attended 73 races this year, at 25 different tracks, in 6 different states. Those states included Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Nevada. Among the 25 different tracks, I ventured to four new tracks (Grain Valley MO, Columbus Junction IA, Worthington MN, and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas NV). Those four brings my career total up to an even 100 different tracks in which I've watched races!

My season started back on March 12 with a visit to the Humboldt Speedway for USMTS action and concluded November 12 with the Duel in the Desert event out in Las Vegas. Along the way I took in 13 USMTS shows, 3 Deery Brothers Summer Series events, 5 Hawkeye Dirt Tour modified shows, and 31 nights of weekly competition. I managed to do something this year that I have not done in several years, and that is to attend every weekly show at one track. I witnessed every event held this year at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, IA.

The 73 events is my lowest total since 2007.

At the Duel in the Desert race in Las Vegas, I was asked by Brett Root of IMCA if I would be willing to help post Facebook updates for the IMCA page. I told him I would be glad to, but when I arrived at the track that Thursday he informed me of a different plan. Rather then use Facebook, it had been arranged that Modfury.com chat updates would be the alternate plan. So along with Virginia Root, I helped provide updates to those unable to attend the show some of the action that was on the track. On Friday and Saturday audio and video was provided at the same website, along with the live chat updates. I'll be the first to admit that it was frustrating at times trying to keep up with both the action on the track as well as the comments and questions on the chat, but in retrospect I must say it was a lot of fun too! I have a feeling that kinda of media coverage (Modfury.com among others) will pop up a little bit more in 2012!

While its only late November and I have since stuffed myself full of Thanksgiving dinner, I have come up with a few ideas for my plans for next year. While they may or may not become reality, I'd like to travel north and northwest a little bit to witness some Wissota racing. After trying to compile racing stats for the top five drivers in different sanction body national points, I've decided that I want to see the drivers that I've been looking up.

If the above plan doesn't happen, a friend of mine told me he wants to attend every track in the state of Iowa. I told him that might be a challenge considering how far away some Friday night tracks are and the time I get off work, but that might be something to set as a goal.

Only time will tell what 2012 will have in store for us as race fans. Hopefully you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. And Happy Holidays to you and yours as Christmas and New Year's quickly approach.

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

Viva Las Vegas!!

2011-11-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

Thank you Mike VanGenderen. Why do I start off with that, you may ask. I start off with that thank you because Mike VanGenderen invited me go to to Las Vegas for the IMCA Duel in the Desert. Mike was given the opportunity to take his car out when a spot became available in the Bob Moore hauler. Side note - thank you to Bob and Denny Moore as well! It was nice meeting you both.

Mike had three crew members on board along with me, and there were some others that were in the hauler prior to us meeting up with them. We arrived in Las Vegas early Sunday afternoon and spent the first part of the week exploring Las Vegas and The Strip. Mike, Jimmy, Mike, CJ, and I walked up and down the strip Sunday and Monday before getting a rental vehicle on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday we explored more of the town before heading to the track for practice.

Upon arrival at the track cars were already lined up for pre-tech. We unloaded both modifieds and the crew went to work on making sure everything was in tact. Cars were able to take as many practice sessions as they wanted Wednesday.

Thursday rolled around and the atmosphere got much more serious. Roughly 240 modifieds were on hand to take their best shot at taking the opening night checkers. Twenty heat races and ten B-mains were held, and qualifying drivers advanced into one of two feature events for the night.

The first A-main saw Darin Duffy take the early lead from the pole position. Duffy opened up a straight away lead and appeared to be on his way to the dominating victory, but his car slowed entering turn one on lap ten to end his night. From there Dylan Smith and Terry Phillips engaged in a heated battle for the top spot. Smith was able to fend off Phillips to record the win while Justin Yeager and Jacob Murray also advanced into Saturday's main event.

The second A-main again saw the pole sitter, Dominic Ursetta, jet out to a commanding lead. While the rest of the field duked it out, Ursetta blew away the competition on his way to the win. John Hansen, Randy Hall, and Bobby Hogge also advanced to Saturday's big show.

Friday night saw the same format used for the IMCA modifieds, while the IMCA sportmods were added to the card. Both Northern and Southern sportmods were allowed to race at this unique event. Sixteen sportmods showed up and Matt Mueller took home the win on Friday night. Jesse Sobbing had taken control of the race at the halfway point after starting tenth, but a flat left rear tire changed the outcome of the race. Mueller took the win ahead of Shane Helton, Jason Mallicoat, Matt Ruf, and Wayne Dotson.

In the first modified feature Justin O'Brien marched to the front of the field early on with Matt Brack giving chase. O'Brien was able to keep all challengers behind him as he took home the victory. Matt Brack finished second, Justin Radcliff was third, and Kevin Stoa rounded out the qualifiers.

Mike Jergens took the early lead in the second feature after starting on the pole. His time up front soon ended when he suffered a flat tire. That handed the race lead over to Ryan McDaniel. During a caution flag on lap seven, McDaniel would also suffer a flat tire and handed the reigns over to Ricky Alvarado. Several guys would experience flat tires from the rough terrain, but Ricky Alvarado managed his tires well enough to take the win. Jason Pike finished second, Jeff Taylor was third, and Will Brack rounded out the night's qualifiers.

Saturday finally arrived and people were eager to see what the outcome would be later on that night. The format to get the remainder of the field were be twelve last chance races, with the winner only moving on to the show. That meant a lot of high caliber race teams would be watching from the sidelines.

Before the main event, a few other races would be held. The first feature to hit the track was the Wild West Modified Tour North/South shootout. Cory Sample took the checkers in that event followed by Ryan Cottrell.

The Young Gun Shootout would follow. This race was for those drivers were are younger then 18. Fifteen drivers participated and Riley Emmel from Canada emerged victorious ahead of Riley Simmons.

A Senior Shootout was then held for the older generation of drivers. Robert Heffer took the checkered flag first in that event.

The finale for the IMCA sportmods were next to hit the track. Again sixteen cars made the call with Matt Mueller taking the lead after starting on the pole. Two early cautions kept the excitement level down, but it soon picked up around the halfway point when Jesse Sobbing drove to the outside and passed Mueller for the lead. From that point on Sobbing pulled away and collected his 55th feature win of the season. Mueller, Friday night's winner, finished second ahead of Kenneth Graves, Jason Mallicoat, and Josh Modde. Sobbing collected $777 for his efforts.

The stage was now set for the twenty-eight car field of IMCA modifieds. Outside front row starter Ricky Alvarado took the lead at the start with Dylan Smith and Dominic Ursetta following in his tire tracks. Caution flags on lap two and five kept the pace down, but action picked up on the restart. Ursetta worked under Smith to wrestle the second position away while deeper in the field Darin Duffy was on the prowl. After starting twenty-third, Duffy found himself up to eleventh at the completion of lap thirteen. Meanwhile up front Terry Phillips found another groove above where everybody else was running and began to work his way forward. Phillips passed Smith and Ursetta before setting his sights on the leader Alvarado.

Just passed the halfway point a caution flag waved. Upon the restart Phillips used his outside line to pass Alvarado for the lead while Ursetta received heavy pressure from Matt Brack for the third spot. Ursetta would fall back to fourth before being passed on the outside by Jeff Taylor. Alvarado would push up in turn four and tag the concrete wall, ending his hopes of a strong run.

With eleven laps remaining, the front of the field consisted of Phillips, Brack, Ursetta, Taylor, and Smith. Ursetta ducked to the inside of Brack to take over the second position. Brack would lose another spot to Taylor as the Arkansas driver advanced into the third spot. A bit further back in the field Duffy continued his impressive run as he worked his way into the sixth spot with eight laps remaining. Phillips and Ursetta raced door to door the last couple of laps with Ursetta edging out front in turn three. Phillips used the momentum off the top side to win the drag race to the line and pocked his second Duel in the Desert title in as many years. Ursetta finished a close second, Dylan Smith was third, Jeff Taylor fourth, and Darin Duffy completed the top five.

All in all it was a very enjoyable time out in Las Vegas. While I'm not accustomed to the casinos and big city life, I must say I enjoyed walking on The Strip and the other activities in which we participated. Once again, I must thank Mike VanGenderen for inviting me!

There is another person, or group of people, I must thank as well. That would be Brett Root and the folks at IMCA. Brett asked me if I would help out by doing facebook updates for IMCA. I agreed and arrangements were made accordingly. Once Thursday rolled around, however, plans had changed. It was decided that facebook updates would not be used as it would "blow up" people's pages. Instead of facebook, Modfury.com held a live chat update throughout the night and the entire weekend. I was asked to help out with that among a few other people. While it prevented me from watching some of the racing action, it was a lot of fun being able to inform those unable to attend. It also opened my eyes to everything that goes on behind the scenes in the "control tower" during a race as well as all the preparation that goes on in organizing an event of this size. Once again, thank you Brett Root and all the IMCA staff that made me feel welcome up in the tower!!

I arrived home at 8:30AM Monday morning. We opted to drive home following the races Saturday night and decided to drive through the "short route" into Wyoming. Gusty winds blowing snow off the mountains along with icy road conditions slowed our trip, but we made it home in good shape.

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

Barb Nunnenkamp Memorial at Junction Motor Speedway

2011-10-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

After attending the USMTS King of America Modified Nationals in Humboldt (KS) on Friday and Saturday, my friend Brett and I took a little detour on our way back home. Sunday we ventured to the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction (NE) for the Barb Nunnenkamp Memorial race. I've tried to attend the early Spring USMTS shows that JMS tries to put on, but sometimes weather doesn't allow for it. That was the case this season, although the events were rescheduled to early June. I was unable to make it and was disappointed, so as I looked at my scheduled I decided I was going to make it out there yet this year.

Once we arrived we picked out our seats, but we didn't stay there long. I found a buddy of mine, Ed Reichert from Wisconsin, sitting a few rows back and opted to go sit with him. We had seen Ed down at Humboldt, but was unable to chat with him. It was good catching up with him and seeing what other races he had left on his calendar. Ed writes a column for several media outlets, one of which is Hawkeye Racing News.

As the racing action got going, it was surprising that not a lot of Iowa guys had made the trip as in years past. Heat races and b-mains (if necessary) would be run to narrow the starting fields down, and after a short break it was time for feature action.

Hobby stocks would be up first. Kyle Bond would set the early pace as he got the jump, but the caution flag would negate the lap being scored. Three cars got tangled up in turn three, including Jason Wilkinson who finished third in IMCA national points this season. When action resumed Lonnie Greuter held down the top spot with Bond giving chase. After transferring out of a B-main, Jeremy Auten was slowly marching forward as he advanced to seventh in just two laps. Anthony Martin used the middle groove to power by Mallet Meyer and Keith Dragoo to move into the third position. Following a debris caution, race leader Greuter would suffer a flat tire and exit the speedway. That handed the reigns over to Kyle Bond, and from that point on he remained out front as he picked up the feature win. He was followed across the line by Brandon Johnsen, Jeremy Auten, R J Macku, and Anthony Martin. Jason Wilkinson rebounded from the early caution to finish sixth.

Up next would be the stock cars. Pole sitter Kyle Dumpert grabbed the early race lead with outside front row mate Jeff Whiting following closely behind. Herb Slough would use the bottom groove to slip under Whiting for second before Andy Wilkinson passed both cars to take over the runner up spot. Five caution flags would plague the race, but Cory Dumpert was able to dissect the field. After starting twelfth, Cory Dumpert found his way to fourth and eventually third after passing Whiting. He was on the rear bumper of Wilkinson as they both chased Kyle Dumpert, but were unable to make a move as Kyle Dumpert took the flag to flag victory. Andy Wilkinson finished second, Cory Dumpert was third, Jeff Whiting fourth, and Justin Bertschinger rounded out the top five.

B-mods would be next up for their feature event. I was looking forward to seeing Tyler Frye and Jesse Sobbing race against each other as they challenged for the IMCA northern sportmod national championship this season. Unfortunately track conditions didn't allow for a whole lot of racing. Pole sitter Max Harder, who had a solid season of his own, took control at the point with Jeremy Leiting just behind. Harder would open up a straight away advantage at the halfway point as he picked up the dominating win. Tony Rost would finish second, Jeremy Leiting was third, Tyler Frye finished fourth, and South Dakota driver Kyle Nordquist rounded out the top five. Sobbing finished sixth after starting twelfth. His win on Saturday was his amazing 54th victory!

The four-cylinder class would come out next. I didn't keep notes on this race as I needed to use the facilities. Michael Boehle would take the win ahead of Kevin Zeitner, who the announcer said is the next up and coming member of the family. Shannon Pospisil finished third, Cameron Meyer fourth, and Scott Spellmeyer rounded out the top five. Forty-one cars had checked in for action on Sunday in this division!

Modifieds would be up next and outside front row starter Tyler Iverson got the quick jump on the field to snare the top spot. While the track appeared to be locked down, Kyle Berck was able to find some racing room as he advanced from tenth to fifth with seven laps remaining. He wasn't done, however, as he passed Shane Hiatt for fourth. That was the brunt of the passing that I saw, though, as Iverson picked up the impressive win. Scott Smith finished second, Jared Hoefelman was third, Kyle Berck fourth, and Dylan Smith fifth.

The finale of the evening was the late model feature. Outside front row starter Les Siebert took the point early on with Josh Krug settling in behind him in second. Following an early restart, Marc Peters dove to the inside of Tad Pospisil for the fourth position. Pospisil would lose another spot as Matt Buller snuck by as well. Jacob Brown used the inside groove to pass Krug for second with eight laps remaining. A late caution bunched the field back up, but it wouldn't make a difference as Les Siebert stayed out front and picked up the win. Jacob Brown was second, Matt Buller third, Josh Krug was fourth, and Marc Peters rounded out the top five.

That concluded the racing action at the Junction Motor Speedway for the 2011 race season, and also put an end to my three-race weekend. I'd like to thank announcer Wayne Dake for the shoutout. I simply went and asked him where the "junior flagman" was that normally sits above the walkway to the grandstands, and he proceeded to inform me that the young man now does some announcing duties for the track. He also writes the highlights for the website as well as runs a video camera for promoter Delmar Friesen. I enjoyed a nice conversation with the young man and wish him the best of luck in the future.

Despite the lengthy trip home and late hour climbing into bed, I'm pretty sure my friend had just as much fun as I did. In fact, he may have had more as he had never been to either track. He's already hoping he can make it to both next year!

While sitting in the grandstands about midway through the evening, I received a text message on my phone. It was a friend of mine, a stock car driver. To make a long story short, he invited me to ride with him out to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert race. He said he was driving someone else's toter home out while hauling two cars and said I could join him. Needless to say I was excited as I have heard many great things about that facility and event. I'm currently trying to nail things down in order to make it happen.

Racing action in the upper Midwest may have come to a close, but there are still a few events just south of here left on the calendar. This upcoming weekend, the ASCS sprint cars will be in Little Rock, Arkansas for a three-day affair (Thur-Sat). If that's too far for ya to drive, Springfield (MO) has a special on Saturday that includes a late model challenge race between the ULMA and Show-Me series along with modifieds, b-modifieds, and a few other classes. I had planned on going to Springfield, but my plans will likely change with the invitation mentioned above.

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

King of America Modified Nationals at Humboldt (KS)

2011-10-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

My weekend travels took me south to the Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. A friend of mine, Brett McCollough, and I woke up early Friday and made the nearly six hour trip to southern Kansas for the final two nights of the inaugural King of America Modified Nationals. The United States Modified Touring Series was putting this event on and attracted some of the best drivers in the country. While the car count fell short of what I was expecting, the racing action made up for it!

After reading that Ryan Gustin and Johnny Scott had won from the 12th starting positions on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, I had high hopes for this event to possibly be one of the best of the year. Friday night saw fifty drivers race heat races, b-mains, and the feature along with a complete show for the b-mods. Twenty-nine b-mods were hand for the third of four nights for them.

As the qualifying events were completed, the b-mods came to the track for their feature. Nine cars had been eliminated for the starting field of twenty. Pole sitter Jeremy Chambers grabbed the early lead, but he quickly received pressure from fellow front row starter Nick Newton. As the two raced side by side, Newton would take the advantage on lap three prior to an early caution. Long time modified veteran Gary Clark used the restart to motor by Chambers for second while recently-crowned IMCA Northern Sportmod National Champion Bryan LaRiviere worked his way through the field to fourth after starting tenth. Up front Clark would work under Newton and regain the lead as the white flag was displayed. Newton would not be intimidated as he powered his machine around the top side of turns three and four and squeak out the win at the line. Gary Clark had to settle for second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Bryan LaRiviere fourth, and Mike Striegle completed the top five. Iowa driver Cayden Carter started fourteenth and finished sixth.

After the field was narrowed down to twenty-four starters, Mark Dotson and Brian Bolin brought them to the green flag of the thirty-five lap qualifier. Dotson would set the early pace with Bolin, Johnny Fennewald, and Tommy Weder giving chase. Nine-time USMTS national champion Kelly Shryock was making fast work on his way to the front as he climbed into fourth following a pass on Weder. Shryock, who started seventh, would continue climbing the leaderboard as he passed Fennewald for third on lap seven. However, the caution flag would come out at that time and Fennewald would line up third on the restart.

Shryock would again use the low side to slide by Fennewald for third while Bolin used the same line to pass Dotson up front for the lead. Steve Whiteaker Jr climbed the banking and made the pass on Fennewald for fourth as Shryock clicked off another in passing Dotson for second. Whiteaker Jr followed Shryock into the third position as the top four cars wound up by themselves with five laps to go while encountering lapped traffic. As the white flag came out Shryock went to the top side and passed Bolin for the lead, but a caution prior to the checkers meant a two-lap shootout. Shryock was able to hold on for the win while Steve Whiteaker Jr pulled out a second place finish. Brian Bolin, Mark Dotson, and Johnny Fennewald rounded out the top five.

Shyrock's late race pass for the win meant that all three qualifying nights provided a late pass for the win. As the evening concluded I couldn't help but get excited to see what the big 75-lap finale had in store on Saturday evening.

Fan count for the first three days seemed to be far less then expected, but it was evident upon arrival on Saturday that the fans wanted to see the finale. As we pulled into the track we parked further back then any of the previous handful of times I've been at the Humboldt Speedway. By the time racing action kicked off the grandstand was close to capacity with many people standing as well.

The USMTS staff along with the track officials did a great job of intertwining the b-mods and the USMTS "alphabet soup" throughout the night, keeping the show going as smoothly as could be expected. The alphabet soup consisted of an "E", "D", "C", and a "B" as drivers looked to secure a starting position in the thirty-car starting field. Meanwhile thirty-three b-mods had checked in for action as well and had to narrow their field to twenty.

After a lengthy farming session, the b-mods would be up first for their finale. Nick Newton, who had picked up wins on Thursday and Friday night, sat on the pole alongside long-time veteran modified hotshoe Scott Drake. While I expected Newton to bolt to the front, I was surprised that it was Drake blasting to the lead with Levi McGowen giving chase. An early caution realigned the field and Newton used it to his advantage as he swung to the inside of McGowen for the second position. Another caution flag came out and following the restart Newton began to fade, giving up two spots to McGowen and Tim VanGotten. Jeremy Chambers later passed Newton to climb into the fourth spot while VanGotten slowed and exited the track to end his night. Two more cautions would fly, but none of them distracted Scott Drake as he picked up the wire to wire win. Levi McGowen finished second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Nick Newton fourth, and Jimmy Davis completed the top five.

Perennial contenders Bryan LaRiviere and Cayden Carter both failed to finish. I made a statement to people sitting around me that it's rare to see two drivers in the same race with 30+ feature wins to their credit on the year as both drivers had incredible seasons!

The stage was now set for the big 75-lap USMTS feature. Pre-race ceremonies included drivers walking from the ends of the grandstand towards the center and using a spotlight in the dark. Once all drivers had been introduced, an "event photo" was taken in front of the "King's thrown" as fireworks went off in the background. As drivers strapped in and began to roll off, the ever-popular "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood hit the PA and fans rose to their feet. A parade lap and then the four-wide salute to the fans followed as the fans waved to their favorite driver(s).

Mark Dotson and Kelly Shryock brought the field to the green flag with Dotson setting the early pace. Brian Bolin and Steve Whiteaker Jr battled side by side for the fourth spot for a few laps, but the caution flag on lap nine halted that action temporarily. Two more quick yellows came out, but after the lap nine restart the green flag would come out and the green light stayed on for 47 laps as the drivers put on a great show for the fans!

Jon Tesch found the top side to his liking as he passed Shryock for second. Terry Phillips used the low line to make his move on Bolin for fifth as Tesch took the lead away from Dotson on lap thirteen. Dotson and Shryock raced wheel to wheel for the runner up spot as Tesch began to pull away. Shryock would eventually get the better of Dotson and snare the second spot while Phillips found the quick way around Whiteaker for fourth. He didn't keep that position for long, however, as Johnny Scott made the pass. Scott was driving Jason Hughes' backup car this past weekend.

Tesch would find himself making significant contact with the turn four wall and slowed his momentum, allowing Shryock to close in as they encountered lapped traffic. Dotson and Scott chased down the front two cars as well to make it a four-way battle for the top spot. With Tesch continuing to run the top side, Shryock ducked inside and took over the lead around lap thirty-six. Tesch would regain the lead a few short laps later while Dotson and Scott ran door to door for third. Dotson would get the position and pull alongside Shryock for second as the two made contact on the front straightaway, lifting Shryock's back tires off the dirt. Both cars were unharmed and continued on.

Scott and Phillips took advantage of the mishap and got by Dotson for third and fourth place, respectively. Tesch, Shryock, Scott, and Phillips again would work lapped traffic while being closely bunched together. Shryock would again take over the top spot while Scott later worked his way by Tesch for second. Phillips would also get by Tesch as the caution flag waved on lap fifty-eight as Dotson and Ryan Gustin spun in turn three. A single file restart was used, but no passes would be seen at the front of the pack during the remainder of the race as Kelly Shryock was crowned "King of America" and pocketed the lute that went with it. Johnny Scott finished second, Terry Phillips was third, Jon Tesch fourth, and Steve Whiteaker rounded out the top five.

With as much action that was seen in the first fifty-some odd laps, I was disappointed that the track didn't allow for it late in the race. However, I came away satisfied seeing the pack work through lapped traffic with little to no contact made on the tight quarter-mile speedplant.

USMTS officials announced Saturday night that the event would be held in late March in 2012. I'm sure those in attendance have already marked it on their calendars, and this race fan will be doing so as well.

I'd like to thank the USMTS staff, namely Todd and Janet Staley along with Jeff Nun, for their continued hospitality throughout the 2011 racing season. These three people were always willing to take the time to talk with me and ask my opinions on what I had witnessed each night. Hopefully next year I can schedule a few more shows into my plans.

For a rundown from each of the four nights at Humboldt this past weekend, check out the USMTS website. For those of you who may be able to travel, the USMTS series has three more shows left on their schedule. They will head to the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas on November 17-19. Formerly known as Houston Raceway Park, the state-of-the-art facility just east of Houston provides a great view for fans as I rate it in my top five of best facilities I've ever attended. If you get the chance, I'd highly recommend checking it out!!

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

Carter and Bonnett Repeat Osky Checkers

2011-10-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

Another great fall day was in store for a great crowd at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Saturday. The temperature felt at least ten degrees warmer as the wind wasn't blowing nearly as strong as it was on Friday night. With a great crowd on hand Friday night, I believe there were more people in the stands on Saturday.

While the format was two complete shows, the top eight in Friday night's features were locked into Saturday night's a-mains. That is unless a driver opted to take a chance on pocketing some big money out of an envelope. Ron VerBeek, Steve Jackson, and Jared Timmerman took their chances and forfeited their starting spot. Last chance heat races and last chance qualifiers would be run to fill out the remainder of each starting field.

The first feature to make their way to the track would be the USRA hobby stocks. After pinning down the pole position due to his win Friday night, Bill Bonnett jumped out to the early lead ahead of a trio of Northeast Iowa drivers in Adam Cline, Steve Larson, and Danny Sacquitne. Local racer Donoven Nunnikhoven would enter the mix as he climbed the banking to make the pass on Sacquitne for fourth on the second lap. He continued to run the top side of the speedway and made the pass on Larson for third while Bonnett paced the field utilizing the bottom side. Nunnikhoven steadily made up ground on second place driver Adam Cline before taking over the position. Nunnikhoven would inch closer to Bonnett and eventually took over the top spot on lap fifteen of the twenty-five lap race. Clayton Crump was also making steady progress through the field as he marched into the second spot after passing Bonnett as well. With seven laps to go the top four cars (Nunnikhoven, Crump, Bonnett, and Cline) were out front by themselves. Crump and Bonnett raced side by side for several laps for the runner up spot, but Bonnett found some traction on the low side and pulled even with Nunnikhoven for the lead with two laps remaining. Bonnett would get the lead as the white flag was displayed and go on to take the win by a good five-car length advantage. Donoven Nunnikhoven finished second, Adam Cline was third, Steve Larson fourth, and Chris Hovden completed the top five in the green-to-checkers main event! Clayton Crump crossed the line in third, but was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection.

After that thrilling finish, the USRA modifieds would try to follow it up as Colt Mather and Zack VanderBeek brought the field to the green flag. VanderBeek would get the edge from the start as the top side appeared to be the preferred line in the early going. Mather settled in to second with Bob Timm and track champion Steven Blattler giving chase. VanderBeek would set a fast pace as he encountered lapped traffic by the sixth circuit. The red flag would come out on lap fifteen as apparently somebody in the infield had been injured and needed to be transferred to a medical facility. On the restart Timm would get a little too high in turn two and lose a couple spots. The caution flag would wave a bit later as Mather tagged the guardrail to end his great run. That put Ron VerBeek and Blattler on VanderBeek's rear bumper on the restart. The outside line got the advantage when racing resumed as Blattler got by VerBeek and Kurt Kile made the pass on Bob Timm for fourth. Nobody had anything for VanderBeek though as he motored home to the win by a straight away. Steven Blattler finished second, Ron VerBeek was third, Kurt Kile finished fourth, and Bob Timm secured the fifth spot.

Cayden Carter and Bryon Weyer paced the field of USRA b-mods to the green flag. The green flag didn't stay out long, however, as Carter VanDenBerg appeared to make contact with a big implement tire on the inside of turn two and sent him into a wild rollover. Thankfully he was able to walk away under his own power. Cayden Carter would grab the advantage on the complete restart while Weyer, Jake Timm, and Jason Mallicoat gave chase. Mallicoat would slip past Timm for third while Curtis VanDerWal and Jared Timmerman raced side by side for the fifth position. VanDerWal continued using the inside line and made the pass on Timm for fourth, but Timm would later regain that position a lap later. Carter and Weyer pulled out to a commanding lead by lap six, but the caution flag came out on lap ten to bunch the field back up.

VanDerWal, Timm, and Timmerman would race three-wide momentarily before Timmerman took the fourth position ahead of Timm and VanDerWal. Weyer again would keep pace with Carter as the two broke away from the field. The yellow flag would come out twice more within the final five laps of the race, setting up a sprint to the checkers. Cayden Carter would fend off Bryon Weyer to pick up his 31st win of the season. Jason Mallicoat finished third, Jake Timm fourth, and Jared Timmerman completed the top five.

After the show the USRA stock cars put on Friday night, I was happy to hear they would be the final event of the night. Shane Weller and Nathan Wood paced the field to the green flag with Wood getting the early advantage. Following an early caution, Bryan Webb used the top side to get by Matt Jones for the fourth position, but Jones was able to regain the position a bit later. Steve Jackson, the driver who gave up his outside front row starting spot for a money envelope, started eighth but made the pass on Webb for fifth as the top five drivers used the top line of the track. Behind them, however, was a different story as they were racing two and sometimes three-wide. Shane Weller used the inside line to get by Shay Curtin for second with nine laps remaining. A caution would come out and on the restart Curtin and Jackson made contact with each other, resulting in a flat tire for Curtin to end his strong run. That propelled Jackson to the third spot while Matt Greiner advanced to fourth. Wood, Weller, and Jackson were nose to tail the final circuits, but nobody was able to make a late move as Nathan Wood picked up the win. Shane Weller finished second, Steve Jackson was third, Matt Greiner fourth, and Mike VanGenderen rounded out the top five. Wood told me after the races that he had won a feature event every year that Todd and Janet Staley have promoted at Osky, but he had to wait til the final event of the season to do so this year.

For a full field rundown of Night 2 at Oskaloosa, check out the USRA website.

It was a good night of racing to cap off the Staley era at the Southern Iowa Speedway. The show did get a bit of a late start and the track wasn't quite as good Saturday as Friday was, in my opinion. But the drivers reduced the number of caution flags and kept the show moving all night long.

I wish the Mahaska County fairboard good luck in their search for a promoter for the future. I hope they find somebody that fits their goals and are able to continue racing for years to come.

As for Todd and Janet Staley, they have a few more races to oversee yet this year. The King of America Modified Nationals is their next event that will be held at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas. This unique format is the same one used at the Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota back in late July. Things kick off Wednesday and runs through Saturday. I'll be making the trip down for Friday and Saturday to see who gets crowned the winner and pockets the big $15,000 check. For more information on this event, check out the USMTS website.

Big Field of Cars Pack Osky for Fall Challenge

2011-10-15T02:03:00.000-07:00

The first night of the 25th Annual Musco Lighting Fall Challenge is in the books. The curtain closer at the Southern Iowa Speedway saw more then 160 race teams pack the infield as the last weekend of racing in the state of Iowa draws a closure to the season.

A different format was used on Friday night as the feature events in all four USRA-sanctioned classes only started eighteen cars. Drivers were given the option to keep their finishing position if they finished in the top eight, or they could elect to draw an envelope that had money inside. From my understanding three drivers opted for the money rather then their starting position, so we shall see on Saturday how that shakes out.

The first feature of the night was the USRA b-mods. Right around fifty cars had checked into the pits with only the top two from the heats transferring on to the feature. Then another four cars from each of two b-mains advanced setting up the eighteen-car feature. Pole-sitter Cayden Carter wasted no time in taking a commanding lead. An early caution on the second circuit slowed the action, but from there the race was clean. Tracy Johnson made the pull from South Dakota and was on the move in the early part of the race as he advanced to fourth after passing Eric Flander. But Johnson would fade as the race went on while Cayden Carter opened up a half-lap lead on the pack. Carter would take the easy win ahead of Jared Timmerman, Bryon Weyer, Carter VanDenBerg, and Jason Mallicoat.

Next up would be the USRA stock cars. Forty cars were on hand but again the starting field would only be eighteen. Outside front row starter Steve Jackson grabbed the early lead with Shane Weller and Lance Deal following behind. Deal looked to the inside of Weller to make the pass for second while Matt Jones used the same low side to pass Mike VanGenderen for fourth. Jones continued his march towards the front as he passed Weller and Deal to find himself in the runner up position. A caution would come out and bunch the field back up. Nathan Wood used the inside lane to make his way up to fourth. Jones would use the bottom side to make the pass on Jackson for the lead, but Jackson was able to take it back a few laps later. Jackson would bobble exiting turn two to allow both Jones and Weller to scoot by below. Weller was able to pass Jones in turn four to take over the race lead with three laps to go as he picked up the win. Jackson rebounded for second, Nathan Wood was third, Matt Jones fourth, and Shay Curtin rounded out the top five. It is my understanding that Steve Jackson was one of the drivers electing to take the money instead of his position, so therefore he will have to re-qualify on Saturday in order to make the feature.

Fifty USRA hobby stocks filled the pit area for the last weekend of racing in Iowa. Eighteen drivers made the call for their feature with Dan Hovden getting the early advantage. A lap two caution saw Adam Cline spin to a stop in turn three. Following the restart Austin Wolfgram used the top side to pass Donoven Nunnikhoven for second. Behind them the field raced two and three-wide. Another caution came out when Dustin Griffiths and John Watson tangled and made heavy contact with the inside guard rail in front of the flagstand. For Griffiths it was even more bad luck as he spun in his heat race and wound up rolling one time on the front stretch. Bill Bonnett, driving the #7B car normally driven by Eric Stanton, got a great restart and advanced four spots to climb to second. Meanwhile Adam Cline was on a tear behind him. Cline was involved in the first yellow flag and restarted eighth on the second restart, but he quickly jumped into the third position. Up front Bonnett made the bottom side work in his favor as he took over the race lead from Wolfgram prior to another yellow flag being displayed. As the field took the white flag Wolfgram suffered what was believed to be a right front flat tire and ended his good run. The field came around for the checkered flag with Bill Bonnett taking the win. He was followed by Adam Cline, Danny Sacquitne, Donoven Nunnikhoven, and Steve Larson.

The final event of the night belonged to the USRA modifieds. Twenty-six cars were narrowed down to eighteen once again, and pole sitter Steven Blattler shot out to the early lead. Colt Mather was on the move early as he used the outside groove to power by Minnesota hotshoe Bob Timm and local driver Ron VerBeek for third and second, respectively. Mather then set his sights on Blattler for the lead, but quickly put him in his rear view mirror as well. Mark Elliott ducked inside of VerBeek to take the fourth position away while Zack VanderBeek followed Elliott to fifth. VanderBeek used the same line to get by Elliott for fourth when the caution flag was thrown with just four laps remaining. Lining up fourth on the restart, VanderBeek managed to sneak under Timm for third before also making the pass on Blattler for second. By that time the white flag was being displayed to the field and Colt Mather had opened up a ten car length advantage to take home the win. VanderBeek finished second, Blattler third, Bob Timm fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five.

A great crowd was on hand to witness some great racing action, especially in the stock car and hobby stock divisions. Those two features were well worth the price of admission in my opinion! Only the top eight cars in each class are locked in to Saturday night's feature, so qualifying should be exciting come Saturday. Action starts an hour earlier with things getting underway at 6pm. It was not known if hot laps would be held or if they would just go into the heat races right away, so be sure you are there before six o'clock to get a good seat!

For a full rundown of cars in attendance, I noticed results were posted on the USMTS website. I'll be heading back to Oskaloosa to take in some more "Monster" half-mile action!

Griffith Takes Top Prize at Hamilton County Speedway Fall Challenge

2011-10-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Saturday afternoon was the backdrop for the final event of the 2011 season at the Hamilton County Speedway as they held their annual Fall Challenge. 182 race teams packed the infield and outside of turns one and two. Perhaps the staff at HCS was unprepared for the amount of teams that showed up as a lot of time was spent directing traffic once a session of hot laps had concluded. Cars wanting to enter the track from outside turn one, cars wanting to leave the track to go back to their trailer outside turn one, and cars turning to the infield made it quite congested on the back stretch.

Once the heat races had concluded, I was a bit surprised the staff didn't take time to water the top side as drivers made it obvious they were going to run down along the bottom of the track. But the B-mains were run directly after the heats and then the water truck came out around the very top of the speedway.

The first feature of the night would be the hornets. Fourteen cars were scheduled to start the race, but a few of them were unable to make the call. Dustin Haggard took control early on before the caution flag waved on lap two. Following the restart Daniel Ayers was able to sneak inside of Haggard for the lead while Haggard would lose the second position a short time later to track champion Adam Strunk. Strunk would chase down Ayers and pull even with him at the line when the white flag was displayed. Both drivers drove into turn one and contact was made, forcing Ayers to push up the track. Strunk would cruise to the victory from there as Ayers settled for second. Dustin Haggard finished third, Megan Lappegard was fourth, and Paul Atchison finished fifth.

The IMCA late models made their way to the track for the second feature of the night. Scott Badker and Ryan Griffith paced the field to the green with Griffith getting the early nod out front. Badker would hold down the second position ahead of Todd Cooney for much of the race, but Griffith was walking away from the entire field as he began to put slower cars a lap down. Cooney would get by Badker with about five laps to go, but Griffith would take home the dominating victory on this night. Cooney finished second, Badker third, Jason Hahne was fourth, and Dean Wagner III rounded out the top five. It was nice to see Vic Lovejoy, Jeff French, Corey Zeitner, Lavern Carey, Paul Glendenning, and Kelly Pestka make their first trip to the speedway this year.

Up next would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. Thirty-two cars were dwindled down to twenty-four starters, with IMCA Supernationals champion Cody Nielsen leading the field to the green flag. Second row starter Andy Boeckman had problems in turn one and went for a spin, but was able to get his machine refired as to not bring out the caution flag. That allowed his fellow row two starting mate Devin Smith to slip into second and later made the pass on Nielsen for the lead on lap five using the middle lane. Josh Niemand, who apparently bought Nick Meyer's car, was running fifth before he passed Des Moines driver George Hood for fourth. The race would go green to checkers and Devin Smith picked up yet another win on his incredible 2011 campaign. Cody Nielsen was second, John Watson was third, Josh Niemand finished fourth, and George Hood rounded out the top five.

Thirty-nine stock cars checked in for action on Saturday with the starting field narrowed down to twenty-four. Dan Trimble and Ryan Leeman paced the field to the green flag, but the field was three and four-wide in the corners on the first lap. Trimble would emerge with the lead, but a caution flag would follow. Steve Meyer and Leeman lined up behind Trimble when the green flag came back out, but Mike VanGenderen found some momentum on the top side in turns one and two and made the pass on both of them. Once he got by down the back stretch VanGenderen changed lanes as the bottom lane was the preferred groove in turns three and four. VanGenderen would make the pass on Trimble using the same line at the halfway point while Meyer faded back several spots. Leeman's night would change for the worse as he stopped in turn three to bring out the caution on lap eight. With VanGenderen out front, Steve Jackson used the low line to take away the top spot. A series of caution flags plagued the finish of the race with several positions changing hands, but the outcome was still the same as Steve Jackson took the win. Lance Deal finished second after starting seventeenth, Mike VanGenderen was third, Kevin Opheim was fourth after starting nineteenth, and Ken Tietz was fifth after starting twentieth. This was the best feature of the night hands down in my opinion!

A stellar 49 IMCA sportmods made their way to the speedway, but again only twenty-four were able to start the feature. Track champion Joel Rust and perennial contender Cayden Carter redrew the front row, and it would be Carter grabbing the early lead. Bryon Weyer found his way to second with Alex Zwanziger in third as Rust faded to fourth in the early going. Ryan Ruter, piloting the #53 car normally driven by Travis Woodbeck, found the top side to his liking in turns one and two and made the pass on Rust for fourth. With Carter and Weyer distancing themselves out front, Ruter got by Zwanziger and began to reel in the top two. Ruter looked to the outside of Zwanziger for second, but his car spun to a stop to bring out the only caution of the race with five laps remaining. From that point on Carter pulled away and picked up the apparent victory. However, he was later disqualified in post-race inspection and the win was awarded to Bryon Weyer. Alex Zwanziger finished second Joel Rust third, Jason Mallicoat was fourth, and Greg Sidles completed the top five.

The final event of the night would be the IMCA modifieds. A nice field of thirty-two cars checked in for action. Chris Abelson got the early nod on pole sitter Levi Nielson to jump out front, but a quick caution on the second circuit slowed the action. Bill Crimmins used the restart to his advantage as he worked under both Nielson and JD Auringer to move into the third position behind Keith Schmitz. Mark Elliott and Jay Noteboom began working the next lane up off the bottom and moving forward. Elliott made passes on both Auringer and Crimmins to slide into the third position while Abelson motored away from the field. Elliott got by Schmitz while Noteboom soon followed as well. Elliott reeled in Abelson and was in his rear bumper with five laps remaining before taking the lead away with a pass on the inside. A caution came out a lap later, allowing both Abelson and Noteboom a chance to cool their tires and make a run at Elliott. It was not to be as Mark Elliott took home the final checkered flag of the night. Noteboom would finish second, Abelson slipped to third, Keith Schmitz finished fourth, and JD Auringer rounded out the top five.

While a lot of negative vibes are being expressed on the Internet, and I'll admit I came away disappointed, I will point out that I was impressed with the car count. A lot of drivers showed up for what could be the final time in 2011 to enjoy a picture-perfect October day. Unfortunately for the Hamilton County Speedway, the negatives far outweighed the positives on Saturday. I won't go into detail on them as they have been documented on the Internet message boards, but hopefully the HCS staff learned a few things and will improve upon them for next year.

I would like to mention that I attended every weekly event along with the Fall Challenge. I thought the season was a success and for the most part the racing was good. Saturday's race may have left a sour taste in many driver's mouths, but hopefully they'll give HCS another opportunity at some point next season.

I'd like to thank the Hamilton County fair board for giving me great hospitality throughout the season! It was very much appreciated.

For official results, check out the Hamilton County Speedway website or click on Speednetdirect as well.

The final racing weekend in Iowa, as far as I know, will be this upcoming weekend. The annual Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa will be running Friday and Saturday, and then on Saturday alone the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson holds its annual Shiverfest race. Ironically, both events will be the final event for the respective promoters, Todd and Janet Staley at Oskaloosa, and Terry and Jenni Hoenig at Donnellson. So I urge you to get out and support these events next weekend!

Elston and Stewart Top Tipton

2011-10-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I made the trek towards the southeast to take in the Dlouhy Memorial. After taking in three nights at Knoxville, this trip would be my fourth consecutive night of racing. This is the first time I can say I've done that all season long! Late models, modifieds, stock cars, b-modifieds, hobby stocks, and four-cylinders were on the slate for the mid-afternoon show. It was announced that more then 130 race teams were packed into the pits.

Six hobby stocks showed up to race. Randy Butterbrodt would hold down the lead early, but Joe Grant would take over the lead around lap four. Butterbrodt would regain the lead using the low groove, but when they encountered lapped traffic Matt Short was able to find the fast way around to take the lead. He would hold on to take the win ahead of Jeremy Cambell, Butterboldt, Nate Yoerger, and Joe Grant. Bruce Yoerge rounded out the field.

Track champion Roy Pestka led the twenty-two car field of b-modifieds to the green flag. He would continue to set the pace throughout the race as he picked up the feature win. Brant Hubler finished second, Jarrett Franzen was third, Dakota Hayden fourth, and Kevin Schroeder rounded out the top five.

Twenty-six four-cylinder cars showed up on Sunday to race. The field was narrowed down for the feature to 24 starters. The lead swapped several times in the early going as Chuck Fullerkamp, Ricky Kay, and Jacob Ellithorpe exchanged times at the front of the pack. When the checkered flag waved it was Ellithorpe taking the win. Shane Evans finished second, Fullerkamp third, Gene Potter fourth, and Bryce Bailey rounded out the top five after starting last as he transferred out of the B-main.

Terry Rittmer paced the field of stock cars early on, but Tim Current was on the move from the drop of the green flag. Following a second caution flag Current maneuvered his machine to the inside of Rittmer's to take the lead away. Deeper in the field Matt Greiner was making his way forward and he moved into fourth around lap six. Greiner picked up a couple more positions and was on Current's rear bumper following a late restart. Current was able to drive away for the victory. Greiner finished second, Mike Schmidtz was third, Joe Bonney fourth, and Jeremy Marquette completed the top five.

After winning the fast dash, Tommy Elston sat on the pole for the late model feature. With Jake Meier in a borrowed car flanking him to the outside, the two paced the field to the green flag. However it was third starter Ray Guss Jr. that bolted to the lead. Guss Jr appeared to be the class of the field until a caution flag came out. Lapped cars ahead of Guss Jr spun in turn four, and Guss Jr had to spin to avoid serious contact with them. While he did not stop, officials decided he was part of the caution (perhaps he bumped somebody, I don't know). Thus he was sent to the tail of the field, but he opted to go to the pits before the restart. That handed the reigns over to Tommy Elston, and from there on Elston motored to the victory. Matt Ryan finished second, Jake Meier was third, Kevin Kile fourth, and Gary Webb finished fifth after starting seventeenth.

Thirty-eight modifieds were narrowed to a starting field of twenty-six for the $2,000 to win top prize. Pole sitter Brian Webb held the top spot on lap one, but Brandon Durbin snagged it away on lap two. Steve Stewart had his car working great and took over the lead from Durbin about six laps in to the thirty-five lap event. With the bottom side the only lane that was working, Stewart was able to open up a straight away advantage by the halfway point. Several cautions plagued the remainder of the race, including one for a pileup that included eleven cars. As the laps clicked off the white flag was displayed to the leaders. A caution flag would soon follow, and the crowd thought the race was over as in previous times if the leader took the white the race was over.

However, it was announced that the white flag was inadvertently thrown on lap 28, with seven laps remaining. Thus the field was realigned and went back racing. Two more yellow flags would fly, but that didn't distract Steve Stewart as he picked up the big prize for his efforts. Ryan Dolan finished second, Mark Schulte third, Kevin Kile fourth, and John Bull rounded out the top five.

I was extremely happy with the car count on Sunday. With a day race I can understand the track becoming a one-laner, but drivers were still able to make their way to the front. The only thing I wished they would have done differently was use single file restarts instead of double file. That way the guys on the outside didn't lose four spots on most restarts, as was the case on several occasions.

I'd like to thank Kathy Dlouhy for the great hospitality and the invite. Although the program did run a bit long in my opinion, I enjoyed myself.

O'Neal Captures Knoxville Title

2011-10-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm going to apologize for this blog entry being a little late. Once again I opted not to write this when I returned home Saturday night, and then another race on Sunday meant no time for a recap. So here it goes.

The Knoxville Late Model Nationals held its finale on Saturday evening in front of perhaps the largest crowd for a late model show. I'm sure the weather helped sway many people as it was beautiful during the day. IMCA modifieds were also on hand Saturday night to provide a "fill-in" while the late models were making changes from one race to another.

Modified heat races started off the night as Jon Snyder, Josh Gilman, Michael Long, and Luke Wanninger took those wins. A passing points system was used in the heat races and I believe the top sixteen were locked into the A-main from the heats. Following the C-main for the late models (in which Kevin Sather, Matt Furman, Tim Lance, and Jay Johnson advanced to the back of the B-main), the modifieds would run two B-mains and take the top four from each to the feature.

The late model B-main took the top six drivers to the 100-lap finale for the evening. The IMCA modified feature would take place first with Luke Wanninger and Jerry King setting the pace for the twenty-five lap affair. Wanninger got the early advantage while Michael Long and JD Auringer swapped the runner up position a few times. Long would have his night end early as he brought out the caution flag on lap four. Following the restart both Richie Gustin and Eric Dailey improved their positions by one spot as the top side became the preferred line. With ten laps to go Wanninger extended his lead to a straight away advantage, but soon after that Jon Snyder began to reel in the leader. Snyder was able to drive deeper into the corners then Wanninger, and that was the case when they entered turn three and Snyder made contact with the left rear of Wanninger's machine. Wanninger's car got lose, but by the time he got a handle on it Snyder had already made the pass under him for the lead. The caution would come out with three laps remaining, and while under caution Wanninger expressed his displeasure towards Snyder. That was as close as he would get during the remainder of the race though as Snyder left the pack to pick up the win. Wanninger would suffer a flat tire late in the race. Eric Dailey would finish second, JD Auringer was third, Richie Gustin fourth, and Jacob Murray rounded out the top five after starting fifteenth.

Following out-of-car introductions, it was now time for the big finale. Brian Birkhofer and Austin Hubbard sat on the front row with Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points contenders Scott Bloomquist starting third and Jimmy Owens starting fifth. Hubbard would grab the early lead with Birky settling in second. Bloomquist made an early pass on Darrell Lanigan for third as Hubbard opened up a big lead by lap five. The front runners were all using the inside groove while drivers deeper in the pack were using the entire track. Lapped traffic came into play on lap eight and a few laps later Don O'Neal began making strides towards the front. He would passed Lanigan for fourth before passing Bloomquist for third and Birkhofer for second all within six laps.

The first caution flag waved on lap twenty-four when Chris Simpson slowed to a stop. O'Neal had taken the lead prior to the yellow and would restart out front. Jimmy Owens used the restart to get by teammate Bloomquist for fourth before both Hubbard and Owens got by Birkhofer using the top side of the speedway. Following those passes, it was then noticed that Jimmy Mars was on the move. Mars passed his teammate Birkhofer to take over the fourth position after starting 22nd. Mars continued moving forward as he passed Owens for third. A string of six yellow flags within fifteen laps kept the pace down, but there was several moves being made when the green flag was out. Brady Smith was charging up through the field to eighth after starting 26th and actually got to sixth after a pass on Billy Moyer. Bloomquist brought out the caution on lap forty-five, and soon after that Owens began his quest for the lead. Owens hugged the inside line to capture third before sneaking by Hubbard and O'Neal for the lead with about forty laps to go.

Within ten laps Owens opened up a straight away advantage while Hubbard and O'Neal battled it out for second. With just twelve laps remaining Jimmy Mars' excellent run came to an end when he came a stop in turn one. At that point only eight drivers were on the lead lap. Two more cautions would plague the finish of the race, including one that negated a pass for O'Neal to wrestle the lead away from Owens with seven laps remaining. With Owens back up front, he appeared to be the favorite to finish up front. That was until he bobbled exiting turn two to allow O'Neal, Steve Francis, and Birkhofer to motor by. O'Neal was able to hold on for the win in his first ever weekend to Knoxville! Steve Francis finished second, Brian Birkhofer was third, Tyler Reddick was fourth, Jimmy Owens fifth, and Billy Moyer sixth.

Despite the abundance of caution flags, I still feel as though the racing was okay. The track was tricky exiting turn four as it seemed a lot of drivers were having to feather the throttle. I was pleased with the racing and cannot wait until next year's show.

Birkhofer Victorious on Second Night of Knoxville LMN

2011-10-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Friday night marked the second night of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, but it started off much the same way Thursday night did. Scott Bloomquist drew the lucky #1 for time trials, and his time would stand above all others as he once again set quick time for the night.

Once again five heat races would be in store for the night, but they didn't provide quite as much excitement as the previous night. When the first heat was announced, many people could only shake their head. Dan Schlieper, Tim McCreadie, Steve Casebolt, Brady Smith, Scott James, Jason Rauen, Jimmy Mars, Tyler Reddick, Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist, and three other drivers comprised of that first heat. A lot of tracks would love that for their feature, let alone a heat race. And the biggest surprise of the night, perhaps, was Jason Rauen pulling off the upset win. That began the streak of three consecutive heat race victories by drivers from the state of Iowa as the Simpson brothers (Chris and Chad, respectively) followed right behind with wins. Illinois driver Frank Hackenast Jr broke up the sweep as he took top honors in heat four, but another Iowan Brian Birkhofer made it four for five for the Hawkeye state.

Jimmy Owens, Thursday night's feature win, fared poorly in that first heat race mentioned above and was scheduled to run the C-main. However he apparently didn't want to race or had issues as he failed to make the call. Following the B-main event, the feature would slowly begin to assemble on the front stretch with Iowa representing the front row in Rob Moss and Jason Rauen.

Rauen would get the early advantage while Brian Birkhofer slipped into second. Darrell Lanigan used the high side to motor by Moss for third prior to the only caution of the race coming out on lap three when Jared Landers hit the wall in turn two. Shortly after the green flag waved on the restart, Birkhofer dove to the inside of Rauen to grab the top spot away. On lap seven I looked through the field and saw that Don O'Neal was making great progress after starting tail of the field as he had worked his way up to eleventh already. His momentum fizzled as the race went on, only able to advance two more positions to finish ninth.

Meanwhile Lanigan ducked to the bottom of the track in turn four to get the second position away from Rauen, but as Lanigan skated up the track upon exit of the corner that allowed Will Vaught to sneak past both machines to snare the runner up spot. Vaught and Lanigan would race each other for that second position for most of the remainder of the twenty-five lapper, but neither one could muster up the horsepower to chase down Brian Birkhofer as he picked up night two top honors. Lanigan finished second, Vaught third, Scott Bloomquist was fourth, and Jason Rauen completed the top five. Billy Moyer finished with a solid sixth place finish after transferring out of the B-main.

Saturday's action will be nothing less then spectacular. C and B-mains will be run with six cars advancing out of the B to join the top twenty-four cars in points to fill up the thirty-car starting field for the 100-lap finale. A full program of IMCA modifieds will also join the card on Saturday night as I believe somewhere around forty were invited to this prestigious event. Be sure to get out to the Knoxville Raceway if you're in the area!

Jimmy Owens Scores First Victory at Knoxville

2011-09-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Owens has won a lot of marquee events in the late model ranks over the years. In fact, this year alone he's won the Show-Me 100, North/South 100, and the World 100. But one thing that has eluded him has been a victory at the famed Knoxville Raceway. That is, until Thursday night.

Following hot laps, time trials would start the evening off. Groups of three would speed up the process and Scott Bloomquist, the only two-time winner of this event, would set fast-time. He edged out Iowa driver Brian Birkhofer and the other 62 entrants.

From that point, five heat races would be lined up with ten cars being inverted from their time-trial times. That meant the fast guys would start in the fifth row. That wasn't an issue for the first four heats as Bloomquist, Birkhofer, Austin Hubbard, and Steve Francis all won from the tenth starting position! Jimmy Mars won the fifth and final heat after starting fourth. The tenth starting car in that one, Don O'Neal, suffered mechanical issues.

After the C and B-mains were completed, the twenty-four car field was set for twenty-five laps of feature racing. Chad Simpson and Darrell Lanigan, who was piloting the car normally driven by Josh Richards, sat on the front row and paced the field to the green flag. Lanigan would get the advantage on the start as Simpson settled in behind, but Jimmy Owens quickly took over the second position with a pass on the low side. Steve Francis also used the bottom side to slip by Simpson to take over the third spot while Scott Bloomquist faded back to the eleventh position after starting eighth. The first of two caution flags came out on lap seven when Steve Francis slowed down the front stretch and was unable to make it to the infield.

With a single file restart, it only took Owens a couple laps to overtake Lanigan for the lead after powering his machine around the cushion. Lanigan would fight back and regain the top spot a lap later as the top four cars broke away from the pack as Austin Hubbard and Brian Birkhofer gave chase. Owens would pass Lanigan again for the lead near the halfway point prior to the second yellow flag on lap thirteen. Shannon Babb used the inside line to sneak under Birkhofer for the fourth position following the restart, but he would lose the spot a few laps later when his car pushed in turn one to allow Birkhofer to reclaim the position. Owens would open up a straight away advantage with five laps to go as he cruised to the win. Darrell Lanigan was second, Austin Hubbard was third, Brian Birkhofer fourth, and Shannon Babb finished fifth. The hard charger of the race had to be youngster Tyler Reddick, as he was a B-main transfer and started 23rd and finished twelfth.

All in all it was a good night of racing. The heat races were exciting as I mentioned the fast guys in time trials made their way to the front of their respective heat races. By feature time though the bottom side was the preferred groove in the second half of the race. If you can't make it to Knoxville, be sure to log on to their website and keep updated on the happenings throughout the night!

Terry Phillips Scores Fall Jamboree Finale

2011-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Last year Terry Phillips enjoyed a lot of success at the Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in southern Minnesota. He scored wins on the preliminary nights (Thursday and the rain delayed Sunday shows). This year, he sat on the front row of the finale on Saturday and marched his way into victory lane at the end of the fifty-lap race.

Once again the Wissota midwest modifieds opened the feature action with their twenty-five lapper in which Hansen Tire Services upped the payoff. They added another $200 on top of the purse, making it now $700 to win. After scoring wins on the first two nights of action, Dustin Scott was looking to sweep the weekend much like Brandon Davis did last year on his way to the Wissota midwest modified national championship. He quickly moved into the runner-up position following an early restart only to lose it a lap later when his machine pushed in turn four. He would right the ship and get back by for second prior to another caution flag and took over the race lead on the restart. Scott would put a straight away between him and his nearest competitor before cautions late in the race bunched the field back up. It wouldn't matter, however, as Scott drove to his third win of the weekend and fifth in a row at the speedway.

The next race on the track would be the non-qualifier event. Drivers who finished in positions five through ten in their respective b-mains would redraw for their starting position in this feature-caliber event. Bob Timm and Greg Jensen sat on the front row of the thirty-car field of the twenty-five lap, $2,000 to win race. Timm would set the pace early on while Tennessee driver Lucas Lee got by Jensen for second. Following an early restart, Lee would exit to the infield with mechanical issues and Bryan Rowland ducked to the inside of Jensen to take over the second position. The caution flag would come out two more times, on lap six and lap nine, to keep the field close but the action would pick up throughout the remainder of the race. Rowland took the lead away from Timm following the lap six yellow while Eric Dailey moved into the top five after passing Jensen. Keith Foss used the low line to sneak by Timm for third, but Timm rebounded following the third and final restart to snare the second position back. Dailey continued his strong run as he passed Foss for third. Rowland appeared to be on his way to victory, but Timm chased him down in the final laps and overpowered him on the last lap to score the win. Rowland settled for second, Dailey finished third, Foss was fourth, and Jacob Dahle rounded out the top five.

After pre-race ceremonies to introduce the drivers and conduct the redraw, the front row of the three-wide USMTS feature would consist of Brandon Beckendorf, Brad Waits, and Terry Phillips. Phillips would secure the top spot after using momentum off the cushion while Waits settled into the second position. An early caution slowed the action momentarily, but following the restart Jason Hughes passed Nate Wasmund for the third spot. With Phillips pulling away, Jon Tesch would also power by Wasmund on the top side for the fourth position. Yellows on lap eight and nine kept things at a slower pace, but the action would resume and the green light would stay on for the duration of the fifty-lapper.

Brad Waits would get by Wasmund for the fifth spot as he tried to make up ground after brushing the concrete wall earlier in the race. Phillips would enter lapped traffic on lap twenty-one, allowing Hughes to close the gap. I noticed at one point that Jeremy Payne was working his way forward and made it up to the sixth spot after starting in the middle of row six. Up front Hughes would pull even with Phillips with about five laps to go, but Phillips used his momentum off the top side to maintain the lead. Jon Tesch would use the top side to close in on the front runners as the laps were winding down, but he simply ran out of time as Terry Phillips took home the $9,000 top prize thanks to Hanson Tire Services, who again put an extra $3,000 on top of the original payout. Jason Hughes finished second, Jon Tesch was third, Brandon Davis finished fourth, and Brad Waits rounded out the top five.

It was another great night of racing at the Fall Jamboree and the drivers put on a heck of a show for the fans. I would like to give a big shout out to the track prep crew as they provided an excellent race surface both nights I was in attendance and allowed the drivers to put on a great show for the fans. Drivers raced three, four, and sometimes five-wide on the wide speedway.

This upcoming week/weekend looks to be a busy one for me. I'm hoping to make my first visit to the LaSalle Speedway in Illinois on Tuesday for the rescheduled Lucas Oil Late Model series visit. Following that I plan to take in at least a couple days, if not all three, of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals. I'll then finish up the weekend at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton on Sunday. If these events don't fit your schedule, be sure to make it out to a race you can make before the season ends!!

Deer Creek Night 1, Marshalltown Night 1

2011-09-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself a little behind schedule in regards to writing my blog. I got home late Thursday night (Friday morning) and opted to hold off writing my blog from the Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway. Then I ventured down to the Marshalltown Speedway Friday night for the first night of the Havoc on the Highbanks. So here it is at 1:20am late Friday night and I'm gonna write both recaps.

103 USMTS modifieds along with 41 Wissota Midwest modifieds were on hand for opening night of the 13th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree held at the Deer Creek Speedway just north of Spring Valley, Minnesota. Four heats of the midwest mods were run first before eight USMTS heats hit the track. Two b-mains for the Wissota cars and five last chance races for USMTS would round out the qualifying events and set the stage for the features. Dustin Scott would take home top honors in the Wissota Midwest Modified feature. I have to apologize as I'm not familiar with driver names in this division, although I did take notes with car numbers. It was a good race for second on back with the 07 and 16 mixing it up. Kylie Kath started deep in the field after transferring out of a b-main to finish fourth.

Thirty-one USMTS cars were then ready to duke it out for the $3,000 top prize. Terry Phillips and Johnny Scott sat on the front row when the green flag came out for the thirty-lap finale. Phillips would get the edge on the start while Scott followed in second. After starting seventh, Brad Waits wasted no time in slicing his way forward as he quickly advanced to third in just two laps. Two laps later he passed Johnny Scott on the inside to slide into the runner up spot. Meanwhile USMTS national points leader Ryan Gustin was also making his way through traffic. After starting thirteenth, he worked his way up to sixth by lap five. On lap eight Waits took command of the race when he passed Phillips on the inside. Rodney Sanders worked his way under Scott for the third spot while Gustin worked the top side to get by Steve Wetstein for fifth. Scott, Gustin, and Jason Cummins were racing fiercely for the third position before the caution waved with three laps to go. Terry Phillips made contact with Josh Angst, who was about to go a lap down, and spun him around. Phillips was sent to the tail as it was decided it was rough driving, but Phillips exited the track before the restart. Not even the yellow flag could slow down Brad Waits as he picked up another impressive win in limited seat time in the modified. Rodney Sanders finished second, Johnny Scott was third, Ryan Gustin was fourth, and Jason Cummins rounded out the top five.

By virtue of his fourth place run, coupled with Kelly Shryock's bad luck in taking a provisional and finishing deeper in the pack, Ryan Gustin merely will be crowned the 2011 USMTS national champion. Shryock sits second with Jason Hughes behind him. Hughes struggled Thursday night as well.

Friday night I made the trip back to the Marshalltown Speedway for the first night of the Havoc on the Highbanks in conjunction with the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds. A great field of cars were on hand in all divisions as I believe I heard 158 total cars packed in the pits.

Mod-lites were first up for their feature event as sixteen cars were ready to rumble. Bryan Zehm took control from the start while the rest of the pack mixed it up. Josh May was on the moved and quickly worked his way to briefly take the lead, but while under caution he would exit the track as smoke bellowed from the left rear of his machine. Zehm would resume with the lead followed by Tim Hennigar and Joel Huggins next in line. Zehm would distance himself on his way to victory lane ahead of Tim Hennigar, Colby Oberembt, Joel Huggins, and James May.

IMCA hobby stocks were up next. All but one car was able to make the call for the feature and Scott Pippert would lead the first lap prior to the caution being waved on lap two. On the restart Devin Smith split the first full row on the double file restart from his fifth-place restart position to grab the lead. Smith would open up a straight away lead as the field battled it out behind him. A late restart would put Kevin Fee on Smith's rear bumper, allowing him to keep pace momentarily. But Smith would go on to pick up his 39th IMCA victory of the season. Kevin Fee finished second, Scott Pippert was third, Brandon Britton was fourth, and Austin Luellen rounded out the top five.

Next up would be the IMCA sportmods. I believe I heard 41 were on hand, and the front row would consist of Tyler Droste and Jared VanDeest. However it would be Cayden Carter snagging the top spot after he took his third-place starting machine to the outside and built up momentum from the cushion. Former national champion Austin Kaplan used the same line to get by Droste for second prior to the caution flag waving on lap three. Jenae Gustin would take advantage on the restart as she took her machine from seventh to fifth after passing Carter VanDenBerg. Four more yellow flags would wave throughout the race, but nobody was able to keep pace with Cayden Carter as he picked up his 28th win of the season. Austin Kaplan finished second, Doug Smith had a great run to finish third after starting 23rd, Jenae Gustin was fourth, and Tyler Droste rounded out the top five.

Perhaps the most exciting race of the night was about to begin as the IMCA stock cars hit the track. The front row would find Brian Irvine and Damon Murty in the catbird seats, and they put on a heck of a show for the fans! Murty ran the high side to set the early pace, but Irvine kept digging on the inside line around the tires to track him down. Murty changed lanes going into turn one and made contact with Irvine's car, but both were able to continue on without any significant damage. Irvine would diamond turns one and two to sneak under Murty exiting turn two to take the top spot away. That turned out to be the winning pass as the race went green to checkered and Irvine picked up the win. Murty settled for second, Donavon Smith was third, Jay Schmidt finished fourth, and Steve Meyer completed the top five.

The stage was now set for the thirty-lap finale for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds. Scott Hogan and Richie Gustin had the luck of the draw on their sides as they sat on the front row. Hogan would push in turn four coming to complete the first lap, allowing Richie Gustin to take the lead. Todd Hansen would settle into second prior to the caution flag waving on lap two. On the restart both Jon Snyder and Luke Wanninger bolted to the bottom side of the speedway and picked off a couple cars each with Snyder advancing to second and Wanninger to fourth, respectively. Wanninger would later sneak by Jeff Waterman for third before Hansen spun his machine in turn two. Darin Duffy would also get collected and have to restart at the tail of the field.

Joe Docekal made a great move to the inside on the restart to pick up the fourth position after restarting sixth. Yet another caution waved on lap nineteen when Jimmy Gustin lost a motor and was unable to exit the track completely. Vern Jackson found the inside line to his liking on the restart as he picked off Adam Larson and Docekal to move into the fourth position. Meanwhile Wanninger was fading as Jackson and Ronn Lauritzen both got by to pick up positions. With three laps remaining Snyder would bring out the caution as a radiator hose broke exiting turn four. With Jackson and Lauritzen lined up behind Richie Gustin, the three raced three-wide exiting turn two after the restart. Lauritzen would edge out Gustin at the line and exiting turn two the next lap by, but Gustin was able to find some bite on the top side of turn four to regain the lead at the white flag before fending them off for the win. Lauritzen finished second, Jackson was third, Darin Duffy rebounded nice to finish fourth, and Jacob Murray rounded out the top five. Milo Veloz started twenty-second on the grid and finished sixth.

The racing was exciting in all divisions! The only bad thing was the number of caution flags throughout the night. Kudos to the staff for keeping the action moving as quickly as they could.

Saturday I'm heading back up to the Deer Creek Speedway for the final night of the Fall Jamboree. Then Sunday I'm going to make the journey over to the Quad City Raceway in East Moline to take in the IMCA Deery Brothers late model series final event. Be sure to get out and support this fine sport of ours before the season comes to an end!!

Yankee / Tiny Lund Weekend

2011-09-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Even though my race schedule has been limited this year, I've still managed to do quite a bit of traveling throughout the course of the season. Part of that "crazy" side of me showed up this past weekend in my racing adventures!

Last Friday I headed east on Highway 20 to the Farley Speedway and night #3 of the 34th Annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic. On the slate was the qualifying for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds, the Deery Brothers IMCA late model series, and the open late models. I believe 27 modifieds, 47 Deery Brothers late models, and 28 open late models were in attendance.

The Hawkeye Dirt Tour modifieds ran three heat races with the top five I believe securing a spot for Saturday night's feature. Richie Gustin would win the first heat, Josh Foster the second heat, and Mark Schulte snared the third heat. Ryan Dolan, the series point leader, was not in attendance. I heard in the pits afterwards that his car owner had sold the car and he didn't have another one ready to go.

The Deery Brothers late models ran five heats along with two b-main events. The top two in each heat qualified while the top four in each of the two b-mains advanced to Saturday's main event. Heat winners were Andy Eckrich, Jeff Guengerich, Denny Eckrich, Tyler Bruening, and Terry Neal. B-main winners were Joel Callahan and Ray Guss Jr.

The open late models saw four heat races. I remember them running two b-mains, but unsure as to how many they took via passing points. Andy Eckrich won the first heat, heat two went to Justin Kay, Dave Eckrich won heat three, and heat four went to Denny Eckrich.

Following all the heats and b-mains, the Deery Brothers late models ran a "feature" that involved the past IMCA national champions and the past Deery Brothers series champions to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the IMCA late models. Twelve starters made the call as Jeff Aikey opted not to race it and Todd Cooney was not in attendance. Layne Meyer was there, but not racing.

Terry Neal used his outside front row starting spot to beat Mark Burgtorf to turn one and secure the early lead. Jay Johnson would settle into the third position while Terry Schlipman passed Jeremy Grady for the fourth position. Schlipman was driving Justin Reed's 1st car while Grady was behind the wheel of T.J. Criss's 12J machine. The top four would get strung out as they worked the top side of the speedway with the only car making significant moves being Ray Guss Jr. Guss Jr started last of the twelve-car starting field, but he worked his way up to sixth after passing Jeff French on lap eight of the twenty-lap sprint. Guss Jr would only advance one more position as he finished fifth, but the win would go to Terry Neal.

1. 28c Terry Neal
2. 7B Mark Burgtorf
3. 93 Jay Johnson
4. 1st Terry Schlipman
5. 58 Ray Guss Jr
6. 12J Jeremy Grady
7. 99D Darrel DeFrance
8. 1 Jeff French
9. 14 Boone McLaughlin
10. 45 Curt Martin
11. 37 Mike Smith (driving Clint Wendel's car)
12. 72 Denny Osborn (assume he was driving the 60 car of Dean Wagoner, but had different body panels on for Osborn)

It was fun catching up with Jeremy Grady after the races. Once a weekly competitor at both Des Moines and Webster City as well as a former Deery Series champion, he has been away from the sport for a few years. In fact, he told me he had only been to two races since his last stint behind the wheel. I think after this past weekend the fire still burns deep inside him and hopefully things will work out to where he can make a return to the sport!

After returning home in the wee hours in the morning Saturday, I was back up and ready again for another night of racing. This time, I opted to travel in the opposite direction and headed to the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa. It would be the championship night of the two-day Tiny Lund Memorial. Five classes would run last chance races along with their feature events Saturday night while also having to deal with Mother Nature. A steady mist throughout the beginning of the last chance races would plague the track conditions, and officials decided to stop the action and get out the farm equipment to work in the track. The decision turned out to be a good one as the track was lightning fast the rest of the night and the skies would cooperate as well.

Feature action would get started with the IMCA hobby stocks. With Shannon Anderson starting on the outside front row, I fully expected him to run away with the feature win. However, that would not be the case. Dustin Griffiths would keep pace with Anderson in the early going before losing the second position around the halfway point to Andy Boeckman, who won one of the last chance races. Boeckman, who started fourteenth, caught Anderson but was unable to find a way around the former Supernationals and National champion. A caution came out as they entered lapped traffic, yet Boeckman still was unable to seriously challenge for the lead as Shannon Anderson took home the win. Andy Boeckman was second, Dustin Griffiths was third, Blain Peterson fourth, and fifth went to Dusty Van Horn.

Up next would be the IMCA sportmod feature event. A spin in the early going forced early contenders to the tail as Doug Smith and Dylan Book got caught up in the wreckage. After starting ninth, Jesse Sobbing worked the top side of the speedway and took the lead. From there he ran away from the competition as he won by nearly a straight away ahead of youngster Tyler Droste. Jared Hansen was third, Doug Smith rebounded to fourth, and Randy Archer completed the top five.

IMCA stock cars were next to hit the track. A lot of position swapping would go on throughout this race as drivers jockeyed for track position. Keith Knop took the lead from his outside front row start while the guys behind him engaged in battle. While most guys preferred the top side, Donavon Smith and Brian Blessington tried to work their machines on the inside line. It worked out well for Smith as he finished second behind Knop for the win. Chris Ullrich finished third, Clay Christian was fourth, and Blessington rounded out the top five.

The IMCA late models kept the pattern going in their feature event. Outside front row starter Jason Hahne jumped out to the early lead and built up nearly a straight away advantage over the competition. Todd Cooney would make his way to second and begin to chase down Hahne, but several caution flags would break his momentum as Hahne opened up some room on every restart. Hahne would go on to pick up the big payday ahead of Todd Cooney, Al Zeitner, Barry Sorensen, and Corey Zeitner.

The finale of the evening would be the IMCA modifieds as they embarked on the $5,000 to win feature. Pole sitter Luke Wanninger wasted no time in taking the lead while outside front row starter J.J. Wise struggled with the handling on his machine. Despite several caution laps, Wanninger was able to maintain a good lead while the field behind him swapped positions. Former national champion Dylan Smith from Nebraska ran the low line the entire race and made it pay off with a second place finish after starting seventeenth. Bob Zoubek finished third ahead of Wisconsin drivers Brian Mullen and Benji LaCrosse.

It was a good night of racing considering the way things started off with the persistent mist. Kudos to the track crew for their hard work as I had doubts whether they'd get it in or not.

This upcoming weekend is FULL of race specials. As of the time I'm writing this, my schedule will consist of the following:

Thursday - Deer Creek (MN) for the USMTS Fall Jamboree
Friday - Marshalltown for the Havoc on the Highbanks (Hawkeye Dirt Tour)
Saturday - Fort Dodge for the Bruce Sommerfeld Memorial
Sunday - East Moline for the IMCA Deery Brothers late model finale

I guess you could say my "crazy" traveling tour is getting started back up again. Be sure to get out and support a track near you this weekend!!

Thoughts on IMCA Supernationals

2011-09-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

I realize this is quite a bit late, but I thought I'd give my thoughts on the IMCA Supernationals held at the Boone Speedway last week. Over the past several years I've tried to make it as many nights as I could for the six-day "racing vacation", but this year I opted to only go the final three nights. I will be the first to tell ya I felt out of the loop of what had happened earlier in the week, but that was my own fault as I made it a point NOT to look at results or to even see who had shown up.

In the three days I was there I enjoyed a lot of good racing action. Obviously the highlight of my three days there was the Saturday main event for the IMCA sportmods as Scott Davis narrowly beat Jesse Sobbing to earn the crown. Youngsters Tyler Droste and Cayden Carter were hounding Davis throughout the race and appeared ready to take the lead, but a late caution set up a restart that had Carter on the inside of the first full row and Sobbing on the outside. Sobbing found some traction and put Carter in his dust before focusing on the leader. Davis and Sobbing both ran a clean race and had the crowd on its feet as they crossed the finish line!

Earlier in the evening on Saturday the Race of Champions races were run for each of the divisions. While not getting to see many of the qualifying events for these races, I noticed something rather unique as the starting grid made their way to the track. Webster City track champions qualified for the IMCA hobby stock, sportmod, and modified Race of Champions (the stock cars are not IMCA at Webster City). Brad Ratcliff finished ninth in the hobby stock ROC, Joel Rust was third in the sportmod ROC, and Richie Gustin finished fifth in the modified ROC. The Boone Speedway also had all of its track champions qualify for the Race of Champions races (Michael Murphy, Donovan Smith, Scott Davis, and Russ Dickerson).

Of course you know by now that Richie Gustin pulled off the win in the IMCA modifieds at the IMCA Supernationals. He started on the pole and led every lap en route to capturing the richest grand prize in event history to date. Gustin was challenged by older brother Jimmy at one point before Jimmy's car slowed and exited the track. From that point on Richie Gustin had to fend off challenges from Mike VanGenderen and Darin Duffy for the victory.

While it's always nice to see the amount of racing in one night at the IMCA Supernationals, it can tend to get a bit lengthy as the night goes on. One issue many fans noticed was the time spent realigning cars under caution. Hopefully they can get the bugs worked out in the raceceiver and transponder department to where the show can move along a bit smoother.

One major change I noticed this year was the addition of an announcer. Chet Christner from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was on hand to help out with the announcing along with Ryan Clark and Johnny Tharp. I'm not a big fan of Tharp, but Clark and Christner were fun to listen to. I realize it's not ever going to be the same as when Denny Grabenbauer and Toby Kruse were on the mic, but it seems the information about the drivers has taken a backseat to a comedy show of jokes. I guess as a fan I have the opportunity to go meet the drivers and find out first-hand a few tidbits, so that along with the lack of time between races can justify the means.

Congratulations to all the Supernationals Champions that were crowned throughout the week. And thanks to all the drivers for putting on the best show they could for all the fans that showed up. With the state the economy is in, Supernationals boasted its biggest total car count thus far.

As the season winds down the calendar is filled with special events. Be sure to get out and support the sport as much as you can before the doors close on the tracks for the 2011 season!

Badker, Opheim, Chodur, and Schroeder Visit I-35 Victory Lane

2011-08-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I made the trip back up to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Ironically, this would be the second trip to "an" I-35 Speedway in four days as I had visited the Winston, Missouri track back on Thursday. Anyway, this Mason City trip was the first time back since mid-June. I had decided not to venture back up lately as it seemed the racing was always on the bottom with little passing. Tonight, however, Joe Ringsdorf made me put my foot in my mouth for the most part as he had the track in great shape.

Lisa Cole would get the early lead in the novice hornet division and hold on to pick up the win. Kelly Miller tried to duplicate Cole's efforts and appeared to do so, but was apparently disqualified in post-race tech after he had been leaking fuel throughout the race. That handed the win over to Blake Cole.

There was a lot of buzz in store for the IMCA hobby stock feature after an altercation at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt on Thursday. Apparently Stac Schroeder and Heath Tulp had a little incident that flaired some tempers and people were ready for it to boil over into Sunday night's feature event. It would be outside front row starter Cory Gansen taking the early lead while Andy Borchardt and Scott Dobel raced side by side for the runner up position. The caution came out on lap two, and after restarting fourth Stac Schroeder quickly passed both Dobel and Borchardt to snare the second spot away. Following another yellow flag on lap four, Schroeder used the high line to motor by Gansen for the lead. Dobel would spin his machine in turn three and collect Borchardt and Chris Wiltsie to bring out the third caution of the race. Heath Tulp took advantage of the restart as he powered by Gansen on the top side to secure the second spot. Another yellow with two to go kept the pack together, but Stac Schroeder was able to fend off the pack to pick up the win. Heath Tulp finished second, Cory Gansen was third, Bernie Adams fourth, and Scott Dobel rounded out the top five. No drama ever took place between Tulp and Schroeder other then perhaps a few head games during the parade laps.

Next up would be the IMCA sportmod feature. A solid field of nineteen had checked in with one unable to start the feature. Travis Greenfield took command from the drop of the green flag while pole sitter John Warrington followed in second. Warrington's time in second was short-lived as Nate Whitehurst used the inside groove to slip past. Perennial contenders Nate Chodur and Adam Ackerman were on the charge from mid-pack as they moved into the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, by lap three. Chodur found the cushion to be the fast way around for his machine as he passed Dan Tenold and Warrington to take over the third spot. Ackerman would follow Chodur's marks and snag the fourth position as the crossed flags were displayed for the midpoint of the race. The caution flag waved for the only time shortly afterwards, and on the restart Chodur powered his way by Whitehurst for second before taking the top spot away from Greenfield. Ackerman would keep pace with Chodur as he maneuvered his machine around the top side of Greenfield and began to close in on Chodur. Nate Chodur would fend off Ackerman for the win as the two finished one-two ahead of Travis Greenfield, Nate Whitehurst, and Alex Zwanziger.

Next to hit the track was the IMCA stock cars. Although only twelve cars were on hand, this was probably the most exciting race of the night. Kevin Opheim took command in the early going while Travis Shipman and Ryan Goergen raced side by side for second. With those two battling it out John Campbell and Larry Portis were locked in a battle for fourth with Portis using the high line to take the spot. Shipman eventually secured the second spot ahead of Goergen using the low groove while Portis later used the high line to get by him for third. Portis maintained his momentum in passing Shipman for second and slowly began to close the gap to Opheim. After the field took the white flag it was replaced with the yellow flag as Merlyn Hegland came to a stop on the backstretch to set up a green-white-checkered finish. That was exactly what Portis didn't need, as he bobbled on the restart and fell back to fourth. Shipman and Derek Green made their way by the veteran from Nora Springs before Portis regained traction and passed Green back for third. In the end it was Kevin Opheim taking home the win ahead of Travis Shipman, Larry Portis, Derek Green, and John Campbell.

After seeing both grooves being used in the previous features, I was excited to see what the IMCA modifieds could display with their talents. Curt Badker grabbed the lead after starting on the pole with Parker Brumm maintaining his starting position of second. Once the race clicked off a few laps, everybody began to run the top side and get a little strung out. Badker opened up a good lead ahead of Brumm, who had a ten car-length advantage over the battle for third among Keith Schmitz, Roger Nielsen, and JJ Wise. The laps clicked away and the white flag was displayed, but Levi Nielsen spun in turn four to bring out the caution and force another green-white-checkered restart. Schmitz took advantage of the restart as he powered by Brumm on the top side for second. Brumm would fall back through the ranks. Schmitz would try his hand on the bottom side but couldn't make his attempts stick as Curt Badker picked up the win. Keith Schmitz was second, Roger Nielsen was third, Alex Hanson fourth, and Parker Brumm finished fifth.

I walked out of the grandstands pleased that I had made the trip. Not only was it good to see and chat with racing friends I hadn't seen in awhile, but the racing was better then I had remembered. It should also be noted that it was announced that Joe Ringsdorf will promote the Hancock County Speedway in Britt on Friday nights next year along with Algona on Saturdays and Mason City on Sundays. He will not be back in Fairmont, thus the move for Britt to Friday.

I'd like to thank track announcer Jerry VanSickel for the nice Positivelyracing plug tonight. I haven't been to many tracks lately in which Jerry announces, but the man knows his racing and offers up some good jokes along the way.

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

Winston (MO) and Marshalltown Recaps

2011-08-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

First off I want to apologize for not getting a blog typed up from my trip Thursday night to Winston, Missouri for the USMTS Hunt for the Championship event. It was 3:30am when I got home and opted for a few hours of shut eye before hopping out of bed shortly after 6am for work. Then upon getting home I cleaned up and headed to Marshalltown last night. So here is the recap from Thursday night.

After making the three-plus hour trek down Interstate 35 I arrived at the I-35 Speedway for my second-ever visit to the facility. My previous time was also a USMTS show roughly ten to twelve years ago. While that memory is a bit sketchy, I wanted a refresher and took in this event. Besides the USMTS modifieds, Ironman Challenge stock cars and bmods were on the slate.

Right about twenty-nine cars in the bmods and USMTS with eighteen stock cars were on hand. First up for feature action would be the Iron Man Challenge series for USRA stock cars. Todd Staley would lead the first couple of laps after starting on the pole. Steve Jackson, Jason Minnehan, and Mike VanGenderen raced three-wide for the runner up position with Jackson prevailing prior to the caution waving on lap three for Nathan Wood as he suffered a flat tire. Two laps after the green came back out, Jackson used the middle groove to motor around Staley for the lead. VanGenderen would sneak under Staley to grab the second position away before getting sideways in turn three and diving towards the infield. Fortunately for him he was able to keep momentum and only lose a few positions as he fell back to fourth. Justin Temeyer would then overtake Staley for second using the high line while VanGenderen again used the low side to work under Staley for third. The caution waved on lap ten, and under caution Staley went to the pits to give up fourth. He would return prior to going back racing, but tagged the tail of the field. VanGenderen would get a good restart and take back second place as he got by Temeyer before closing in on Jackson late in the race. With five laps remaining contact between the two front runners occurred in turn two, but it wasn't enough to deter either's momentum. Steve Jackson would hold on to pick up the win ahead of Mike VanGenderen. Justin Temeyer finished third, Jason Minnehan was fourth, and Jeff Joldersma rounded out the top five.

Up next would be the Iron Man Challenge series for bmods. Twenty-three starters took the green flag with Bobby Penney taking control from his outside front row starting spot. An early caution on lap two slowed things down, but the restart proved to be exciting as Carter VanDenBerg got a great jump to advance from eighth to fourth in a lap. Meanwhile Mike Higley used the outside groove to motor by Penney for the lead on lap three. VanDenBerg worked his way up to third and both he and Cayden Carter found their way around Penney for second and third, respectively. A lot of slicing and dicing went on in the next lap or two, but the end result was Cayden Carter slowing in turn four to bring out the caution flag on lap six. Higley would continue to lead, but VanDenBerg pressured him on the inside. Mike Higley would go on to take the win ahead of Carter VanDenBerg, Gene Claxton, Truman Asher, and Brett Shields.

It was now time for the forty-lap USMTS modified finale. Johnny Scott and Kelly Shryock sat on the front row. Shryock, currently second in the points standings, was looking to make a big dent in the points gap as points leader Ryan Gustin suffered problems in the heat race and had to advance out of a b-main to qualify. With Gustin starting nineteenth, Shryock was looking to capitalize.

Johnny Scott would seize command of the race at the drop of the green flag with Dustin Boney and Shryock behind him. Minnesota drivers Tommy Myer and Lucas Schott waged a battle for fifth as they sea-sawed back and forth. The front five drivers were all utilizing the bottom side while the guys running midpack were using both lanes. The first caution of the race came on lap sixteen, and at the point Ryan Gustin had moved up to eleventh. On the restart Shryock would work his way around Boney using the middle groove. Schott used the same line to get by Jon Tesch for fourth. The yellow flag waved again five laps later. Scott was able to drive away from Shryock following this restart. Ryan Gustin was flying on the top side but had to slow down as Tommy Myer wasn't going in to the corners nearly as fast as Gustin had been. Gustin may have gotten a little impatient after following Myer for two laps and ducked to the middle of a three-wide battle entering turn three. Gustin skated up and made contact with Myer resulting in Myer spinning to a stop. Officials sent both Myer and Gustin to the tail for the incident with fifteen laps remaining.

On the restart Jason Krohn used the cushion to get by Lucas Schott for fourth before catching Dustin Boney. Krohn and Boney raced side by side before Krohn overtook the third spot. But up front the night belonged to Johnny Scott as he picked up the win. Kelly Shryock finished second and shaved some points off Gustin's lead. Dustin Boney was third, Jason Krohn fourth, and Zack VanderBeek completed the top five.

All in all I enjoyed my night at Winston, Missouri. I got to talk to the Calhoon (hope I spelled that right) couple from the Kansas City area that I met a few years back when I was able to do more traveling. The only downfall of the evening was the later then advertised start time and the lengthy trip back home.

For more results and current point standings, check out the USMTS and USRA websites.

Now on to Friday night. I made my first trip back to the Marshalltown Speedway since their frostbuster back on April 1. It was good catching up with friends that I hadn't seen in quite some time.

The dwarf car feature was the second feature on the track following the micro sprint feature. Tim Hennigar grabbed the lead on lap two and never looked back as he picked up the win. Josh May picked up second ahead of Joel Huggins, James May, and Andy Hennigar.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stocks. Randy Embrey took command from the start while points leader Michael Murphy worked his way quickly up to seventh by lap two. Murphy steadily worked his way up the ranks as he moved into fourth after getting by Eric Knutson. Clint Nelson was within striking distance to Embrey until Embrey cleared a lapped car and left both machines in his dust. Embrey picked up the win ahead of Clint Nelson, Jake Nelson, Michael Murphy, and Eric Knutson. Murphy's good run along with a DNF for Kevin Fee has all but solidified the track title for Murphy.

The IMCA sportmods were out next and outside front row starter Jayme Duinink would lead the opening couple of laps. A caution came out on lap three and Zack Rawlins worked under his father Tom for second. Jake Strayer would follow Zack Rawlins to third while Rawlins marched under Duinink for the lead. Strayer would again follow to second and brought along Tyler Droste to third. Following another restart just past the halfway point, Strayer used the low groove to work past Rawlins for the lead. Rawlins would keep the pressure on as he powered his machine on the top side, but Strayer was too strong on the bottom as he picked up the win. Tyler Droste also worked his way around Rawlins to finish second and third, respectively, with Racer Hulin and Scott Davis rounding out the top five. Davis holds a 13-point advantage over Cayden Carter entering next week's season finale.

The IMCA stock cars put on a great show for the fans as they normally do. Trevor Titus used his front row starting spot to snag the lead with Lauren Vis and Steve Meyer chasing behind him. Todd Reitzler used the inside line and the right side of his car to work under Meyer for the second position. Meyer rebounded to take the third spot away from Vis before perhaps returning the favor to Reitzler in turn four. Reitzler received some contact and would spin toward the bottom of the track and all heck broke lose, including Lauren Vis going for a roll and ending up on the driver's side door. Fortunately she would be ok. When the green came back out Meyer would utilize the bottom side to get by Titus for the lead. Titus would battle back on the outside and take the lead back for a few laps, but eyes were focusing in on points leader Trent Murphy as he worked his way up to fourth after getting by Jeff Wollam. Titus would secure the lead, but Murphy drove his machine deep into the bottom side of turns one and two and overtake the lead. Damon Murty was working his way forward as well as he got by Jay Schmidt for fourth. Meyer would bodyslam Trevor Titus entering turn one resulting in Titus going for a spin. Titus was able to keep his car moving and avoid contact from other machines. Trent Murphy would take the win ahead of Damon Murty, Donavon Smith, Jay Schmidt, and Steve Meyer. Murphy takes a commanding point lead into next week's finale.

The final event of the night was the IMCA modifieds. A bit short on cars as only thirteen had checked in for the evening. Duane Peterson grabbed the lead at the start while Ronn Lauritzen slowed in turn one. While Lauritzen was trying to get to the inside and eventually pull to the infield, Jimmy Gustin got caught up behind him and lost considerable time to the rest of the pack. Adam Larson and Jon Snyder quickly found their way to second and third while Todd Conrad was running fourth and was the first guy to run the bottom side of the speedway. Conrad methodically worked his way into third as he passed Snyder before taking over the second position from Larson. However the caution flag waved and officials put Larson back up to second. Conrad would continue his strong run on the inside as he again passed Larson and then later took over the lead from Peterson. Peterson changed his line entering turn one and thumped Conrad, sending both drivers into a spin. Apparently Peterson was told to go to the pits over the raceceiver as no black flag was displayed, yet he exited the track. That handed the race lead over to Jon Snyder, and from there it was smooth sailing as he picked up another win. Josh Gilman finished second, Adam Larson third, Andrew Kinser fourth, and Kyle Krampe completed the top five. Jimmy Gustin was up to third, but exited to the infield with a lap or two to go for a fire. Snyder takes the point lead into next week's season finale.

While the racing was good for the most part last night, there were a few questionable incidents in which I thought drivers should have been disciplined. I realize rubbing is racing, but bodyslamming others is not part of that equation.

For complete results and updated point standings, check out the Marshalltown Speedway website.

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

Shryock Takes Win on Familiar Turf

2011-08-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

After more then a week away from the races, I was more then excited to head to the Hamilton County Speedway Saturday night (Aug 20) for the USMTS Hunt for the Championship event. Coming into the night Ryan Gustin held a solid lead over nine-time series champion Kelly Shryock and looked to widen the gap as he returned to the track in which he started his young career. But Shryock has a ton of laps at the historic half-mile as well.

A good field of cars in all divisions were on hand with over 100 cars in four divisions filling the pits, including 28 USMTS cars. USRA stock cars and USRA bmods were running under the Iron Man Challenge series while the hobby stocks were unsanctioned.

First up for their feature were the USRA Iron Man Challenge bmods. Pole sitter Blake Conant held a slim lead at the completion of lap one, but Jeremy Embrey powered his machine off the cushion of turn two to take the lead down the back stretch on the next circuit. Cayden Carter looked to the inside of Josh Bonnstetter for the fourth position. These two would race side by side for a couple laps with Bonnstetter getting the edge later. Bryon Weyer used the high side to pass Conant for second before challenging Embrey for the lead on lap eight. Prior to that Conant spun in turn two in front of most of the field and was somehow able to not only avoid contact from the other machines, but kept his foot in the gas and kept his machine moving to avoid a yellow flag. Cayden Carter managed to get by Bonnstetter for third before a caution flag came out on lap ten. Carter ducked to the inside of Weyer on the restart to take over the runner up spot while Carter VanDenBerg worked the inside of Matt Lettow for fourth. The second and final yellow flag came out two laps later when Bonnstetter spun and came to a stop. In the closing laps Carter hounded Embrey and took advantage when Embrey pushed up in turn two. Carter dashed inside and pulled even down the back stretch before using a slidejob to overtake the lead with three laps to go. Carter would go on to pick up the win ahead of Jeremy Embrey, Bryon Weyer, Carter VanDenBerg, and Matt Lettow. According to results that I've been able to find, that was Carter's 25th win of the season.

Next up would be the USRA Iron Man Challenge for stock cars. After a first lap caution, Reid Keller grabbed the lead from the pole position. Steve Jackson and Mark Elliott tangled on the front stretch and eventually brought out the caution on lap two. Wayne Crimmins used the inside line to get by Jason Wagoner while Mike VanGenderen powered his machine up on the top side to pick a couple cars off and advanced to third. Keller would slow going down the back stretch to bring out another caution. Following the restart Tory Reicks shot through the middle of Nathan Wood and Dennis Plain for the fourth position as the top three drivers (Crimmins, VanGenderen, Kevin Donlan) separated from the pack. A yellow flag would bunch the field back up again and allowed Donlan to use the inside line to get by VanGenderen for second. Unfortunately another caution came out again, and at that time officials decided to cut the laps from twenty-five to sixteen. A green/white/checkered would be in store for the competitors and Crimmins was able to fend off a strong charge by VanGenderen to pick up the win. Kevin Donlan was third, Nathan Wood fourth, and Mark Elliott charged back through the field to round out the top five. Elliott restarted in the 21st position after his early incident.

The hobby stocks made their way to the track with Adam Gebel and Pete McWherter sitting on the front row. Early on McWherter went on the spin cycle and collected about five cars, including Randy Embrey among others. When the green flag came back out Brad Ratcliff took command out front while Austin Wolfgram moved into second past Bobby Dilley. Another caution flew on lap four, but the green light didn't stay out long as Dilley spun and stopped. Drew Barglof apparently was sent to the tail for questionable driving. On the ensuing restart Embrey dove to the inside of Gebel to take over the third position. Yet another caution waved and officials decided to once again cut the number of laps, this time taking three laps off. The race would actually end under yellow/checkered with Brad Ratcliff taking the win, Austin Wolfgram second, Randy Embrey third, Matt Hudspeth fourth, and Adam Gebel fifth.

The finale of the evening was now set to take center stage as the USMTS feature left the staging area. The ever-popular pre-race ceremonies with the American flags and "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood playing over the PA graced the pack grandstand as the crowd got to their feet.

Dereck Ramirez and Kelly Shryock sat on the front row as the field took the green flag. Shryock got the advantage on the start and led the first couple of circuits prior to an early caution flag on lap two. On the restart Ramirez made his car stick on the bottom side of turns three and four to take over the race lead. Meanwhile local Mark Elliott worked his way around Zack VanderBeek utilizing to cushion to advance to third. Shryock would regain the lead on lap six as he dialed in his marks running the mid-to-upper grooves of the track. Dustin Boney made his way by VanderBeek using the cushion while Elliott charged by Ramirez for the runner up spot. The yellow flag waved again on lap twelve, which was the break that Boney capitalized on. He powered his machine to the top side and drove by both VanderBeek and Ramirez to settle into the third spot on lap eighteen of the thirty-lap race. Ramirez would continue to run the inside line and battle back to regain the third spot from Boney just prior to Boney slowing to a stop to bring out the third caution of the race. The top eight drivers at this point in the race were Shryock, Elliott, Ramirez, Jason Hughes, VanderBeek, Tommy Myer, Rodney Sanders, and Ryan Gustin. Sanders and Gustin finished first and second, respectively, in the bmain and started seventeenth and eighteenth, respectively.

Ramirez used the low groove once again to get by Elliott for second while Rodney Sanders powered up his machine to the top side to race past VanderBeek for fourth. Elliott would slow and bring out the caution with five laps remaining. Sanders again got a good restart and jumped ahead of Ramirez after the restart for second. His night would get cut short, however, as he apparently got a flat tire and made heavy contact with the wall in turn three for yet another yellow flag. The outside line again proved to be the quick line on the restart as Jason Hughes drove by Ramirez for second. Behind them Tommy Myer used the top side to get by VanderBeek for fourth while Ryan Gustin followed in fifth. Hughes would run out of laps as Kelly Shryock picked up his first win of the Hunt, but tenth overall this season. Jason Hughes was second, Dereck Ramirez third, Tommy Myer fourth, and Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five.

Ryan Gustin is trying to accomplish what Jason Hughes managed to achieve last year. Thus far in the seven Hunt races, Gustin has accumulated all top five finishes. Last year Hughes proved consistency pays off in the end as he racked up 16 top five finishes in the 18 Hunt races. With Gustin's stellar performance thus far, his lead over Shryock now stands at 87 going into tonight's action in Worthington, Minnesota. Following the race in Worthington, the road warriors will have a few days off before another three-race swing beginning on Thursday in Winston, Missouri. To keep tabs on the USMTS, be sure to click on their website. And for information regarding the USRA Iron Man Challenge series, check out this website.

I'd like to thank the Hamilton County fair board for their hospitality all season long at the Hamilton County Speedway. I can't wait to hear next year's plans. But before that, the speedway will host a couple more racing events. Check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for details.

Mahlberg Wins Rain-Shortened Night in Harlan

2011-08-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

A beautiful, yet hot day was in store for a couple of my buddies and I as we ventured west to the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa. It would be the first time my friends had been to Harlan. We arrived probably an hour before hot laps, and while sitting in the stands the sun was beating down on us without mercy. Sweat pouring from our arms and foreheads.

As the hot laps and heat races got going a cloud arrived and cooled things off to a more comfortable situation. Later on that cloud turned into a few more clouds and lightning was seen off to the north as the skies darkened. I thought it appeared it would stay to the north and we'd be in good shape to get the races in. Apparently I need to go to weather school because that wasn't the case later.

The IMCA sport compacts made their way to the track with eight cars taking the green flag. Taylor Griffin would hold down the lead in the opening laps, but he would get passed on the inside by Jason Kroeger on lap three. Kroeger's time out front was short-lived as well as Caine Mahlberg got by two laps later. Mahlberg would continue on to pick up the win. He was followed across the line by Jamie Mahlberg, Jason Kroeger, Tom Summerfield, and Jesse Totten. I believe I got the Mahlberg's in correct order, but if not I apologize as even the announcer was caught off guard by the duo switching cars apparently.

During that feature my friends and I were paying more attention to the skies rather then the racing. It appeared clouds were starting from the ground and moving up before taking off in different directions. None of us had ever seen anything like it. The IMCA hobby stock feature rolled out onto the track and may have made one pace lap before the flagman yelled out "Get out of here!!" As we exited the grandstands a fireman outside the front gate mentioned the possibility of a tornado. We sprinted towards the car and headed out of town. We never heard if a tornado was indeed spotted, but a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect. Fortunately we only ran across a brief downpour until we got up towards Denison.

Despite the unfortunate weather bumming us out, my friends really enjoyed their first trip to the Shelby County Speedway. The track was lightning fast as usual and would have provided some great racing action if it could have continued. Unfortunately I don't think we'll be making the trip back next week as we have other plans, but if you're in the area be sure to get your money's worth as they'll have double features in most classes I'm sure. For more information, be sure to log on to the Shelby County Speedway website.

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

Abelson Scores Alta Checkers

2011-08-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night marked the inaugural visit of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour to the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. The HDT has only managed one visit west of I-35 with last year's event at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt, so this event was definitely one the fans were looking forward to. And the fans that wanted to see it made their voices heard loudly as the stands were packed full last night! The BVR weekly show would also be held for the IMCA stock cars, IMCA hobby stocks, IMCA sportmods, and IMCA sport compacts along with the BVR bombers.

Speaking of which, the BVR bombers were the first feature to roll onto the speedway. Mike Draper would hold down the lead from his outside front row start while Keith Demey stayed close in second. Following a lap two caution Demey ducked under Draper for the lead. A late caution came out and following the green flag coming back out, Draper would suffer a flat tire with two laps remaining. Keith Demey would take the win ahead of Lucas Vote and Mike Draper, who finished on his flat tire. These three were the only ones left running at the completion of the race.

Twelve IMCA sport compacts made their way to the track, but the green flag didn't stay out very long as a couple cars went too high in turns three and four and went over the banking to bring out the caution. The first lap was scored complete and Cory Flanigan would be the leader. A yellow flag came out for Randy Cass when his motor expired with five laps to go, allowing Merv Chandler to restart on Flanigan's rear bumper. Chandler honked the chrome horn and harrassed Flanigan, but was unable to muster up enough momentum to make the pass as Flanigan took the win. Chandler finished second, Jeff Roemen was third, Gregory Brunelle fourth, and Darin Lorenzen completed the top five.

The IMCA hobby stocks had a rough time keeping the green flag out for much of their feature. In fact, three caution periods were thrown before lap five, and then another couple before the next lap could be scored complete. Joe Menke would hold the top spot through much of the chaos, but when the green flag came out following the final lap five restart Devin Smith dove to the bottom in turn one and exited turn two with the lead. Brandon Nielson and Cody Nielsen gave chase with Cody slipping under Brandon for the second position. Michael Murphy charged to the front as well as he used the low groove to also get by Brandon Nielsen for third. Devin Smith would steadily pull away and take home his sixth win of the season at BVR, which also happened to be his 30th IMCA win as well. Cody Nielsen finished second, Michael Murphy third, Kyle Robinson fourth, and Brandon Nielson rounded out the top five.

Next on the track would be the IMCA sportmods. Outside front row starter Logan Scott looked smooth on lap one to assume command, but Tim Rupp dove inside of Scott in turn four to overtake the lead. Zach Norgaard would be next to pass Scott for second while a few laps later Doug Smith and Jesse Sobbing made Scott the meat of their sandwich as they passed him on both sides. A caution with five laps remaining bunched the field up, and it was at this point that I realized that the BVR staff had resorted back to the "old" Delaware double file restart in which the leader is out front by himself. Earlier in the year restarts were "NASCAR style" with the front two cars side by side. At any rate, Sobbing made quick work of Norgaard as Sobbing powered his machine up on the cushion once again to take over the second position. Smith would keep pace as he ducked low to maneuver around Norgaard for third, but with three laps remaining Sobbing became the final race leader as he picked up his 35th win of the season. Tim Rupp finished second, Doug Smith was third, Zach Norgaard fourth, and Tim Wilcox rounded out the apparent top five. In looking at results on the website, Norgaard was disqualified in post-race tech apparently, thus advancing Doug Bartels to fifth.

The IMCA stock cars may be low in number at BVR, but most times they put on the best show of the night. Despite all drivers attempting to hug the tires on the low side, there was passing going on throughout the race. Pole sitter Randy Brands held the top spot from the start, but Stefan Sybesma quickly moved up to second after passing Adam Klocke. After starting at the tail (11th), Brian Blessington was on the charge early as he made his way to fourth with a pass on Klocke, who had given up the third spot to Donavon Smith earlier. Sybesma saw the door open as Brands gave up the inside line, allowing Sybesma to capitalize and take the race lead. Donavon Smith followed to second while Blessington continued forward. Blessington found a lane inside of both Brands and Donavon Smith to nab the runner up spot, but that was as far as he'd get as Stefan Sybesma picked up the win. Blessington was second, Donavon Smith third, Randy Brands fourth, and David Smith completed the top five.

The finale of the evening was the twenty-five lap feature for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour. Outside front row starter Kurt Krauskopf looked strong in the early running as he held down the lead, but following a quick caution Nebraska driver Dylan Smith made his way to second and tried to chase down the lead car. Chris Abelson worked his way to third and then later motored by Smith on the outside to take the second position away. The front two cars were checked out by themselves while Dustin Smith patiently worked his way to fourth. Smith got a good run on Dylan Smith going into turn one and slid up, making contact with the Nebraska driver and causing him to lose several positions. For whatever reason Krauskopf changed his line from the top to the bottom entering turn one with eleven laps remaining, and that was all Abelson needed as he exited turn two with momentum and the lead. A yellow flag with nine to go bunched the field tight, and the lack of experience at BVR cost Krauskopf as he drove in to turn one a little deep and overshot the cushion and banking, giving up a lot of positions. Dustin Smith and Jay Noteboom sea sawed for the runner up position with Smith winning out, but he was no match for Chris Abelson as the Sioux City driver pocketed the big check for the win. Dustin Smith finished second, Jay Noteboom third, Mike Jergens made a late surge to finish fourth, and Clayton Christensen rounded out the top five. Series point leaders Ryan Dolan and Mark Elliott struggled throughout the night and finished 13th and 17th, respectively.

Despite a little bit of dust as the night progressed, I thought the track remained in good shape throughout the course of the night. Heard one driver complain it was dark entering turn three, but I guess I didn't notice that from the stands. It's hard to believe that next Wednesday, August 10, is season championship night for the Buena Vista Raceway. It was brought to my attention that the October special from last year will not be run this year, so next Wednesday will be the final race of the year. Be sure to get out and support the track!

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

Season Champions Crowned at Hamilton County Speedway

2011-07-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

Despite a shortened season and two rain outs, the Hamilton County Speedway enjoyed a successful season in 2011. With increased payouts came more race teams, which in turn brought more fans in the stands every Saturday night. With the final regular season night the car counts dropped to a season-low, but that should not take away from the numbers the track achieved throughout the course of the season.

Going in to last night's finale, there were still a couple point titles up for grabs. One that wasn't, however, was the hornet division. Adam Strunk held a commanding lead over Daniel Ayers as Ayers missed last week, thus earning the track championship upon taking the green flag. Strunk would start on the pole and lead in the early going, but a caution flag came out on lap two. When racing resumed newcomer Duane Ferguson dove to the inside of Daniel Ayers to claim the third spot after starting seventh. With two laps remaining Lyle Oberhelman swung to the outside of Strunk in turn one and made the pass for the lead. Oberhelman would hold on to pick up the win ahead of Adam Strunk. Daniel Ayers made a last lap pass back on Duane Ferguson for third and fourth, respectively, while Keaton Graffunder completed the top five. Nathan Miller and Dennis Graffunder completed the starting field while Chris Friesth was unable to make the call.

The IMCA hobby stock crown was up for grabs as Brad Ratcliff held a slim four point advantage over Kevin Fee. Fee would get the better start and take command while Cory Roe made his way to second ahead of Ratcliff. Bobby Dilley worked his way around Ty Griffith for fourth just four laps in as he closed in on the top three. Ratcliff took his machine to the top side and made his way by Roe for second on lap eight, but Fee had already checked out. A late caution set up a green/white/checkered restart to make things a little more interesting. Randy Embrey took full advantage as he advanced a couple positions on the inside down the back stretch to fourth. When the checkered flag waved it was Kevin Fee reaching it first for his third win of the season. Brad Ratcliff finished second and secured the points championship. Randy Embrey finished third, Bobby Dilley was fourth, and David Rieks finished fifth. Corey Roe crossed the line in third, but apparently was disqualified in post-race tech.

Next up would be the stock car division. Mark Elliott has dominate this class all year and didn't even have to show up to earn his track championship, but he did and started from the pole position in the eleven car field. Elliott rocketed to the lead with defending track champion Mark Haglund behind him. An early caution on lap three slowed the pace as Jason Wagoner jumped the cushion entering turn one and tattooed the outside wall, ending his night. Following the restart Steve Jackson ducked inside of Jim Mitchell for fourth while Mark Haglund pulled even with Elliott for the lead. Haglund held the top spot for a moment, but pushed high exiting turn four allowing Elliott to regain the lead. On lap six Reid Keller squeezed inside of Haglund for second, but he was unable to track down the leader as Mark Elliott picked up his tenth win of the season and the track championship. Reid Keller finished second, Steve Jackson was third, Adam Silvey fourth, and Scott Bloemke rounded out the top ten.

IMCA sportmods made their way to the track next with sixteen cars taking the green flag. Point leader Joel Rust enjoyed a twelve-point lead over Brandon Leeman, meaning a lot of things had to happen for the title to change hands. Rust would hold down the lead with Rocky Caudle following in second when the yellow came out for the first time on lap two. Four more cautions would plague the event as the track rubbered down on the low side and became a one-lane track. Joel Rust would go on to pick up the win and the track championship as the tender age of seventeen. Rocky Caudle finished second, Brandon Leeman was third, Jeremy Embrey fourth, and Kyle Brown rebounded from an early spin to finish fifth.

Another close points race was in the IMCA modified class. Richie Gustin held a four-point lead over Mark Elliott as the two started on the front row. Gustin was able to beat Elliott to turn one and secure the preferred low groove as Elliott settled in behind. Jon Snyder and Adam Larson raced side by side for the third spot as Larson tried to work in another lane of racing. Elliott would challenge Gustin around the midpoint of the race and got alongside the leader in turn two. Track conditions in turns three and four didn't allow Elliott to capitalize, however, and Gustin began to steadily pull away in the closing laps to pick up his third win of the season and his first track championship. Mark Elliott settled for second, Jon Snyder was third, Adam Larson fourth, and David Brown rounded out the top five.

Once again the IMCA late models closed the curtain on the evening, and by taking the green flag Todd Cooney would be crowned the track champion. Cooney went out with a bang as he led flag to flag in picking up his fourth win of the season. Jeff Aikey finished second, Darrel DeFrance was third, Al Johnson fourth, and Chad Cooney edged out Jason Hahne in the final couple laps to get fifth.

As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, the Hamilton County fair board's main focus on the year was to attract more cars. I'd say overall they achieved that goal as the average car count for the year, including the Thursday night fair race, was 101.93. Obviously the most noticeable increase was seen in the IMCA modified division as the nightly average was just under twenty. Hopefully the Hamilton County fair board can continue their efforts into the off season and attract even more cars for next year.

Just because the regular season is over already doesn't mean the schedule is complete. The United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) will invade the historic half-mile on August 20 as part of The Hunt for their national championship. A fall special in October also remains on the schedule as well, so if you haven't had a chance to check out the action at the Hamilton County Speedway you still have a few more chances in 2011. Be sure to check out the website for schedule information and to also see the final point standings.

I'd like to thank the Hamilton County fair board and Larry Flaws for their continued hospitality throughout the course of the year. It was refreshing to receive a handshake and thank you from Larry last night after the races. I'd like to thank him and his crew for their huge efforts this season to make it successful.

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

Beuseling Wins, Sobbing Adds Feather to Cap

2011-07-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 26th marked the second installment of the 2011 Harris Clash. The evening would showcase the IMCA Deery Brothers late model series along with the Karl Chevrolet IMCA sportmods. Fifty-eight sportmods and thirty-eight late models filled the pit area in hopes of adding their name to the list of winners at the famed Knoxville Raceway.

In rare fashion, late model heats were run before the sportmod qualifiers. I would assume part of that might be due to the number of travelers, but that's just a guess on my part. In any case, I thought the heat races and b-mains provided plenty of racing action for those who dared to sit in the heat as drivers used the low, middle, and high grooves.

When all the qualifying events had been run, the late model feature rolled to the front stretch to line up for the thirty-five lap main event. Nate Beuseling and Todd Cooney redrew the front row with Beuseling taking the early lead. These two cars quickly broke away from the rest of the pack and the top ten positions were strung out single file using the low groove. At one point all but three cars were on the bottom, and unfortunately it stayed that way pretty much the entire duration of the distance. Beuseling would catch the backmarkers on lap fifteen, allowing Cooney to close in on the race leader. Beuseling attempted to go high in turn one to get around a lapped car, but opted instead to slingshot to the bottom upon exit of turn two to maintain the lead. That may have been his best move of the night as he was able to put some distance between he and Cooney once the first lapped car was passed. Further back in the pack Ray Guss Jr was the first to shy away from the bottom side as he used the next lane up to scoot by Darrel DeFrance for seventh at the halfway point. Guss Jr's pass prompted a couple more guys to venture up a lane and also make their way by "The Ironman" DeFrance, but that would be the extent of the passing in this green-to-checkered event as Nate Beuseling picked up his first career Deery Brothers late model series victory. Todd Cooney finished second, Mike Garland was third, Jay Johnson fourth, and Matt Strassheim rounded out the top five.

With the late models exiting the track, the IMCA sportmods made their way to the front stretch to line up for their twenty-lap finale. Beau Kaplan and Jesse Sobbing comprised the front row, and upon seeing this I turned to a friend of mine and offered a friendly wager on Sobbing. We didn't go through with it, perhaps a good choice on my friend's part. When the green flag waved Kaplan held a slim advantage in turn one, but Sobbing worked his way around the outside of turn two and rocketed down the back stretch to nearly an eight car length advantage immediately. Jim Gillenwater would hold down the second position at the completion of the first lap with Austin Kaplan and Beau Kaplan riding in third and fourth, respectively. Austin would work the outside of Beau to complete the pass for third while Sobbing demolished the field to open up a huge lead. Austin Kaplan went to the inside of Gillenwater to take over the second position, but by that time Sobbing was barely visible to his nearest competitor. Carter VanDenBerg, who redrew the twelfth starting spot, was on the charge as he passed his cousin Cayden Carter for fifth on lap nine before motoring by Beau Kaplan for fourth a few laps later. A trio of racers were battling it out for sixth in the closing laps as Tyler Droste, Doug Smith, and Cayden Carter worked their way around the big half-mile oval. Even lapped traffic couldn't slow down Jesse Sobbing as he picked up yet another win on the 2011 campaign and etched his name into the track's history books. Austin Kaplan finished second, Jim Gillenwater was third, Carter VanDenBerg fourth, and Beau Kaplan completed the top five.

I'd like to give a big thank you to Bob Harris for organizing this fine event every year and for the hospitality he has given me. It is definitely appreciated and I enjoy my time at Knoxville each and every trip I make. While the late models didn't provide much excitement, I thought the sportmod feature provided more passing then anticipated given the circumstances.

For a complete run down of the night's results, be sure to check out one of the following websites: IMCA, Knoxville Raceway, Harris Clash. As I am the last of the Positivelyracing.com bloggers to submit my viewpoints, be sure to check out Jeff Broeg's "Backstretch" entry along with Dick and Joyce Eisele's "4D Fan Report" for their perspectives.

First Time Winners Grace Victory Lane at Webster City

2011-07-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

The annual "Saturday night at the fair" proved to be one a couple drivers won't soon forget. A rather hot and sticky afternoon with no breeze continued into the evening hours, but that didn't stop the race teams from putting on a great show for the fans.

During intermission the Hamilton County fair board handed out prizes and awards to people before handing the microphone over to Todd Foster of the Hamilton County Speedway Racing Association. Foster announced the five new members into the HCSRA Hall of Fame.

Upon conclusion of those ceremonies, the hornets would take to the track for their feature event. Nine cars were on hand, but two of them were unable to take the green flag. Adam Strunk would get a great start and take command, but Chris Friesth would keep pace. Lyle Oberhelman worked his way to third and swapped the second position with Friesth a couple times. Strunk would go on to take the checkered flag for the seventh time on the year. Oberhelman finished second, Friesth third, Rich Ayers fourth, and Nathan Miller completed the top five. I do believe with Dan Ayers not showing up Saturday night, that Adam Strunk is the 2011 track champion.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stocks. Ty Griffith grabbed the lead when the green flag dropped while Roger Haupt Jr settled in to second. Bobby Dilley soon took his machine to the cushion and motored by Haupt Jr for second. A newcomer to the track, Myles Michehl, proved to be a strong contender as he worked his way around David Rieks for fourth after starting eleventh. A caution flag waved on lap four, and on the restart a trio of drivers would make their way past Haupt Jr in the next few laps. Dilley moved up to second, Michehl third, and points leader Brad Ratcliff to fourth. Dilley tried to challenge Griffith as the rookie leader stayed glued to the bottom side, but Dilley was unable to use the cushion to build up enough momentum as Ty Griffith picked up his first ever feature win. Bobby Dilley finished second, Myles Michehl was third, Brad Ratcliff fourth, and Kevin Fee rounded out the top five. Ratcliff will take a slim four point advantage over Kevin Fee going in to next week's season championship night.

Eleven stock cars were on hand Saturday night and fans were greeted to a new winner. Mark Haglund would leap to the front of the field after starting inside row three. Scott Bloemke and Jason Wagoner followed behind while Reid Keller ducked low of Adam Silvey to take over the fourth position. Keller would slow as a corner of his hood popped up, but he would benefit from the caution coming out for Mark Elliott. Elliott slowed and came to a rest in turn three, and when he limped his machine around to the work area the right front suspension was noticeably defective. That damage would end his night along with his streak of five consecutive wins at the track. Scott Bloemke found the high side to his liking as he battled ahead of Haglund at the line at the halfway point in the race. Haglund continued to catfish on the bottom while Bloemke and Wagoner used the cushion. Haglund would regain the lead while Ryan Leeman followed in his tire tracks to second. Mark Haglund would go on to pick up his first career win in the stock car class. Scott Bloemke finished second, Ryan Leeman third, Jason Wagoner fourth, and Malcolm Teachout finished fifth.

A full field of twenty-four IMCA sportmods were up next and pole-sitter Paul Price took command early. Nick Roberts settled into second while a quick yellow on lap three slowed the pace. Roberts maneuvered his machine to the top side and made the pass on Price following the restart as Bob Sutherland got by Brandon Toftee for third prior to another caution. Jeremy Embrey used the restart to his advantage as he got by Duane VanDeest for fifth before later scooting under Sutherland for fourth. Toftee would push up and opened the door for Embrey to slide into the third spot. Roberts was riding the high line the whole way around the half-mile oval, but he pushed too high in turn three and smacked the outside wall to end his night a couple laps early. With two laps remaining, Price again was out front with Embrey tucked in behind. Sutherland would sneak under Toftee for third at the white flag while Embrey was mounting a challenge on the top side for the lead. As the leaders exited turn two it appeared Price was on his way to victory, but Embrey powered his machine off the cushion and pulled even at the line. Paul Price was able to hold off Jeremy Embrey to notch his first career win. Embrey settled for second, Sutherland was third, Duane VanDeest finished fourth, and Brandon Toftee rounded out the top five. Joel Rust will take an 11-point lead over Brandon Leeman into next Saturday's season finale.

Pole-sitter David Brown grabbed the lead in the IMCA modified feature while Adam Larson raced his way to second. With Brown running the low groove, Larson quickly took to the high side and made the pass for the lead. The caution flag came out, however, and Brown went back to the front. Seeing the run Larson got, Brown changed his line and rode the cushion when the green came back out. JD Auringer, Scott Olson, and Mark Elliott each made their way around Bill Crimmins in consecutive laps to advance up positions before Elliott pulled a slide job on Olson for fourth. The caution came out when Jon Snyder tapped the rear end of Luke Wanninger and sent him into a spin. Following the restart Auringer ducked to the inside of Larson to secure the second position while Richie Gustin powered his machine up on the cushion to drive by Olson for fifth. Another caution came out on lap fourteen, and the restart saw the leaders take a somewhat lower line on the top as the cushion was pushed way up near the wall. With a lane in between the wall and the leaders, Mark Elliott opted to use that space and make the pass on Larson for third. A lap later he tried the same line on Auringer but upon exit of turn four the two made contact and Auringer went around to bring out the caution. Elliott continued using his line after the restart and made the pass on Brown for the lead before pulling away late to pick up his second win of the season. David Brown came home second, Adam Larson was third, Richie Gustin fourth, and Luke Wanninger rebounded nicely for a fifth place finish. Gustin leads Elliott by four points entering next week's finale.

IMCA late models were once again the closing feature of the night. Pole-sitter Clint Wendel would lead the opening lap, but Scott Badker found the inside line and made the pass for the lead. An early yellow slowed the pace, and Ben Nading and Al Johnson took advantage of the restart as they powered by Wendel on the top side. Johnson then ducked to the inside of Nading to take over the second position while the battle for fifth went three-wide momentarily among Darrel DeFrance, Jeff Aikey, and Jason Hahne. Three caution periods kept the field close throughout the remainder of the race, with the first one being really helpful for Todd Cooney. Restarting seventh, he rocketed his machine to the outside line and worked his way up to third after passing Ryan Griffith. Following the second yellow he again worked his magic on the top and passed Johnson for second before taking over the lead with five laps remaining. Cooney would continue on to pick up his third win of the season. Darrel DeFrance made a late charge to finish second, Al Johnson was third, Scott Badker finished fourth, and Jeff Aikey rounded out the top five. Cooney holds a 19-point advantage over Darrel DeFrance going into the final night of the season and appears to be all but a lock for the championship.

After Thursday night's heavy track thanks in large part to rain earlier in the day, Saturday night's track was completely the opposite as it provided a dryslick and wide surface. Unfortunately I noticed a few inconsistencies with some of the calls made throughout the night. One driver spun out another and got sent to the tail while another did the same and got by with it. Drivers showed their displeasure to officials and the officials stuck up for the other driver. The season is winding down obviously and the temperatures are rising along with some tempers. But the end of the season sometimes dictates whether or not drivers will make the journey back the following season. Following last night I have to wonder how many guys may make the trip to Webster City in 2012. Hopefully I'm wrong as the track has made huge strides to make things better this year.

As always you can check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for a complete rundown of results and updated point standings. My next race will be Tuesday night as the second installment of the Harris Clash visits the Knoxville Raceway. The IMCA Deery Brothers late models along with the Karl Chevrolet IMCA sportmods will invade the famed half-mile in hopes of etching their names into the record books.

"Outsiders" Enjoy Victory Lane for Thursday Night Thunder

2011-07-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday rolled around and following a quick visit to the dentist, I was off to the Thursday Night Thunder fair races in Webster City. Upon arrival it didn't even appear as I was standing atop a race track as 3 Terragators were pacing the oval along with a grader and a couple skid loaders. Rain earlier in the day through a curve ball at track officials and they were frantically doing their best to get the track whipped back into racing condition. They got things ironed in and racing would start late as could be expected.

With the rain and all the track work, one would expect the track to be filled with ruts and bumps. That was not the case, however, as it appeared to stay smooth all night. A big cushion did develop in turns one and two, but otherwise racers were able to use multiple lines of racing around the half-mile oval.

The first feature of the night would be the hornets. Following the caution for a bad start, the race went green to checkered with Adam Strunk taking the early lead. Jarid Kuchenreuther would keep pace with the leader and pull even with him with two laps remaining. Kuchenreuther edged forward to steal the lead away and go on to pick up the fair win. Adam Strunk settled for second, Chris Friesth was third, Daniel Ayers fourth, and Keaton Graffunder rounded out the top five.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. The field was full of heavy hitters as the top prize of $1,000 must have attracted them. Two attempts at a start failed, but the third time was the charm as pole-sitter Ty Griffith took command with outside front row starter David Rieks settling in behind. Randy Embrey, who started third, ducked to the inside of Rieks and made the pass for second. A caution for a bumper on the track slowed the pace, but when the green flag was displayed again Andy Boeckman was on the charge. Boeckman passed Brad Ratcliff for fourth upon the exit of turn two and would later use the same line to get by Randy Embrey for second exiting turn four. Meanwhile, the hottest hobby stock driver this year in Iowa was on the charge as Devin Smith quickly made his way to fourth after starting ninth. Boeckamn would use the cushion to make his way by Griffith for the lead on lap four while Smith looked low and passed Embrey for third before swinging to the outside to get by Griffith for second. A caution with five laps to go set up a great battle between Boeckman and Smith, one that fans of the Buena Vista Racewy in Alta get to see nearly every Wednesday night. The two drivers put on a heck of a show for the fans as Smith looked low and drew even with Boeckman. Smith emerged with the lead and changed lanes to the top of the track, which prompted Boeckman to shoot back to the inside. At the line it was Smith emerging victorious in his first visit of the year. Andy Boeckman finished second, Ty Griffith was third, Randy Embrey fourth, and Kevin Fee rounded out the top five.

IMCA sportmods provided some more great racing for the fans as thirty-three cars checked in for action. Pole-sitter and former track champion Beau Kaplan paced the field with youngster Tyler Droste following in his tire tracks. The caution waved on lap three when Cayden Carter jumped the cushion in turn four and had apparent rearend complications end his night. Another lap later the yellow came out again when Jeremy Embrey spun in turn two. Restarting in ninth, Scott Davis found that nobody else was using the top side and quickly went to work up there. Davis passed former IMCA Supernationals champion Mike Pruitt for fifth prior to another yellow flag. Davis again went to work on the cushion and got by Austin Lucas and Kyle Brown for third. On lap ten the lead changed hands as Droste worked under Kaplan for the lead. Those two along with Davis went three-wide momentarily in the corner, but it was Davis emerging with the lead. He would quickly open up his lead and take home the win rather easily in his first visit this year. Tyler Droste finished second, Beau Kaplan settled for third, Kyle Brown was fourth, and Mike Pruitt rounded out the top five.

The stock car feature saw another non-regular take control early on as Wayne Crimmins took the early lead from his outside front row start. Following an early caution, Jason Wagoner passed Ryan Leeman on the outside to take over the second position. Wagoner then went to work on Crimmins and made the pass on the inside on lap six to take the top spot. Crimmins would regain the lead and Leeman would battle back to challenge Wagoner for second. Wagoner's night ended abruptly as smoke appeared as he coasted down the front stretch. Leeman would challenge Crimmins as the two raced side by side for several of the closing laps. Crimmins was able to keep him momentum up on the cushion and allowed him to take home the narrow win. Ryan Leeman finished second, Greg Elliott finished third in the car normally driven by brother Mark, Adam Silvey fourth, and Tory Reicks completed the top five.

Pole sitter Todd Shute took command early in the IMCA modified feature. Wisconsin hotshoe Jared Siefert made the trip down and gave the fans quite the excitement as he drove the cushion in his heat race, and more of that was to come in the feature. Siefert started ninth on the grid, but stormed towards the front as he passed Luke Wanninger and Tyler Prochaska on the top side to move into third. He would jump the cushion a bit later, allowing Wanninger to get back by. Richie Gustin also found the top side to his liking during the middle parts of the race as he motored by Prochaska for fifth. A caution on lap twelve bunched the field up, and that allowed Siefert and Gustin to sneak by David Brown to advance to second and third, respectively. Mark Elliott, who showed up late due to racing in Britt, started at the pack but was on the charge as well. He got by Brown on the inside and later got by Gustin for third. Elliott would jump the cushion and allow Gustin back around. Gustin used the top side to get by Siefert for second as he closed in on Shute, but he would run out of laps as Todd Shute picked up the win. Richie Gustin was second, Mark Elliott third, Jared Siefert fourth, and Tyler Prochaska fifth.

The final event of the night would be the IMCA late models. After two failed attempts to make a lap, Ben Nading would lead the opening laps with Charlie McKenna in toe. Jeff Aikey quickly worked to the inside of McKenna to wrestle the second spot away. Aikey then went to the top side of the speedway and closed in on Nading. The two raced side by side for awhile before Nading gave way to Aikey on lap six. Jason Hahne was charging through the field and moved around Darrel DeFrance for fourth before darting to the inside of McKenna for third. Todd Cooney also had a great run as he passed McKenna on lap fourteen to settle into fourth. A caution with seven laps to go allowed the field to catch up to Aikey. Hahne took advantage of starting on the outside as he passed Nading for second. Aikey would open up a lead once again and sail to the checkered flag for the win. Hahne bobbled on the final lap to allow Nading to get second. Hahne was third, Todd Cooney fourth, and Charlie McKenna completed the top five.

It was a late night as the races got over around 12:30. Part of it was due to the late start, but there was a bigger intermission held on this night. Hopefully things will be better Saturday night as the Hamilton County Fair will still be going on when racing resumes again.

Check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for more results.

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

VanderBeek Snags Win on Home Turf

2011-07-20T23:51:00.000-07:00

After a few days of suffering through the heat and humid conditions, a breeze was welcomed by fans at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday night as it hosted the USMTS during the Southern Iowa Fair. Also on the slate were the USRA Iron Man Challenge for stock cars and b-mods along with hobby stocks.

First up for feature action would be the USRA Iron Man Challenge race for b-mods. Pole sitter Ben Kates from Kansas would take command when the green flag dropped, but his time there was short as Andrew Schroeder made the pass using the inside line. Cayden Carter quickly slipped into the second position after starting seventh, but on lap three he muscled his machine to the top spot utilizing the heavy cushion. Kates would receive pressure from Carter VanDenBerg before giving up the third position. Kates would later get his car sideways in turn three and collect Bryon Weyer in the process. The caution flag would wave, and on the restart Schroeder would get an unusually slow start and lose a couple positions. Two more cautions would slow the action, but it didn't phase Cayden Carter as he picked up yet another feature win on the season. Track announcer Tony Paris mentioned it may have been his 20th win of the season. Carter VanDenBerg finished second, Andrew Schroeder was third, John VanDenBerg fourth, and Curtis VanDerWal completed the top five. Twenty-two bmods were on hand tonight.

Next up would be the USRA hobby stocks. While only ten cars were in action tonight, they made it five-wide in turn two after the green flag dropped. Dustin Griffiths would emerge with the lead after starting sixth. Griffiths would never relinquish the lead as he picked up his fourth win in a row at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Don Nunnikhoven was second, Todd Reitzler third, Steve Allen fourth, and Kris Walker was fifth.

The Iron Man Challenge for USRA stock cars were up next as twenty cars were checked in for the night. Ryan Leeman blew up in his heat race, but the rest were ready to go when the green flag dropped. Again four-wide was the signature in turn two with Jason Minnehan getting the nod early on up front. The caution flag quickly came out though as Nathan Wood made significant contact with an implement tire in turn four and the tire rolled onto the racing surface. Wood would duck into the pits and remove most of the sheet metal in the front end of his machine. On the restart Mike VanGenderen made a nifty move to the inside to sweep under Shane Weller for second, but Jeff Joldersma had momentum from the top side to overtake VanGenderen for the spot. Another quick yellow flew and Justin Temeyer took advantage of starting on the inside of the second row as he ducked low of Minnehan and captured the lead. VanGenderen again hugged the inside groove to get by Joldersma along with Minnehan to move into the runner up position.

I noticed Temeyer's right front tire appeared to be wet or have something on it, and a few short laps later he pulled up and exited to the pits from apparent overheating issues. That handed the lead over to VanGenderen. A caution with six laps remaining bunched the field once again and this time Kevin Donlan took advantage as he worked his way under Joldersma for third. Up front though it was Mike VanGenderen picking up the win ahead of Jason Minnehan, Kevin Donlan, Jeff Joldersma, and Nathan Wood rebounded to finish fifth.

The finale of the evening would be the USMTS thirty-lap feature. Pole sitter Ryan Gustin rocketed to the lead and quickly opened up a comfortable margin as Corey Dripps settled in behind. Jason Krohn worked under Dripps and took over the second position while Zack VanderBeek passed Kelly Shryock on the inside for fourth on lap four. Dripps would regain the second spot after finding some momentum on the cushion to get back by Krohn, and a few laps later VanderBeek also found a quick way past Krohn for third. VanderBeek made the pass on the inside of Dripps on lap eleven and began to shrink Gustin's margin with each lap. As VanderBeek closed in with some help from lapped traffic, the caution flag erased what was going to be an interesting few laps and allowed the drivers to catch their breath with eleven laps to go.

Gustin must have looked at the leader board entering turn one under yellow as he dove to the inside groove on the restart and thwarted VanderBeek's momentum, but little did he know that it opened up the door for Dripps on the top shelf. Dripps used the high line to get by VanderBeek for second before taking the lead away from Gustin with nine laps to go. Gustin would continue to run the low line after using the high side the entire first half of the race and pull even with Dripps down the back stretch with four to go. Gustin would change his entry line into turn one and allowed VanderBeek to squeeze under him to take over second with two laps remaining. VanderBeek continued to claw his way closer to Dripps and he would make the pass in turn two after taking the white flag. Dripps would power his machine to the top side in turn three, but it wasn't enough as Zack VanderBeek took home the trophy at his home track. Corey Dripps would finish second, Ryan Gustin was third, Colt Mather fourth, and Kelly Shryock completed the top five.

While the car counts were less then stellar, those in attendance provided great racing action in all divisions. I was impressed that the track stayed in great shape throughout the night and did not get dusty despite the hot temperatures.

I'd like to thank Todd and Janet Staley along with Public Relations director Jeff Nun for their hospitality tonight. Nun is a guy who is readily available to answer many of my questions that I have brought up in the past along with providing great detail in his press releases. Jeff has also allowed me to get my name out into a few different media outlets as he uses my blog for the USRA stock cars from Fort Dodge when I attend, and for that I am greatly appreciative!

The USMTS series heads south to the Davis County Fairgrounds in Bloomfield Thursday night as part of the Davis County Fair. If you're in the area be sure to check it out as the USRA Iron Man Challenge series for stock cars and bmods will also be in action. For more results from Wednesday night's action in Oskaloosa, be sure to check out the USMTS and USRA websites.

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

Repeat Winners Enjoy Victory Lane Again

2011-07-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

A hot and sticky Saturday afternoon was in store for race fans across the state and much of the Midwest region, but that didn't stop the action at the Hamilton County Speedway. Fans still showed up to support the speedway and 95 race teams were ready for action. Track officials spent most of the day dumping water on the track, and unfortunately had to ask help from the drivers to roll it in as the program got started later then advertised.

Once a little track prep and a host of activities on the stage during intermission ended, the hornets made their way to the track for their feature action. Four of the five cars on hand took the green flag and Adam Strunk quickly shot to the lead. The field quickly spread out and Adam Strunk became a six-time winner on the season. He was followed across the line by Daniel Ayers, Lyle Oberhelman, and Chris Friesth.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stocks, and the slogan "wild things" would definitely fit on this night. Nate Bonin raced to the lead from his outside front row start before a caution flag on lap two slowed the action. On the restart Bobby Dilley shot to the outside of Bonin and took over the race lead. Behind them Randy Embrey was making a charge forward, as the veteran driver quickly advanced to third after passing David Rieks on the top side. Embrey continued to motor around the top and made his way past Bonin for second prior to a lap four stoppage. The restart saw first-time visitor Dustin Griffiths from Ottumwa make a great move to the outside and advance four spots to jump into the third position, but the caution would come out prior to the completion of the lap and he would fall back in seventh. Embrey, meanwhile, used this restart to make the pass on Dilley using the low line this time, but once again the yellow came out a lap later.

Brad Ratcliff was working his way to the front as well. After starting tenth, he used the high line to swing past Allen Dixon for third and later ducked inside of Bobby Dilley when he pushed high in turn two, taking over the second position. Yet another caution flag waved, and Embrey would push entering turn one to open the door for Dilley and Ratcliff to motor on by under him. Embrey rebounded and would pass Ratcliff back on the outside and Dustin Griffiths passed Dixon for fourth. Embrey would find himself atop the leader board once again after passing Dilley and would hang on for the win after suffering through seven caution periods. Brad Ratcliff finished second and is now the lone points leader, Craig Graham was third, Nate Bonin fourth, and Kevin Fee rounded out the top five. Twenty cars made the call for the feature, but only seven of them were running at the end.

Next up would be the stock cars. A slim field of eight were on hand and pole sitter Dennis Plain narrowly edged Mark Elliott at the line to lead lap one. Down the back stretch Elliott pulled even and then ahead of Plain on the inside to take over the lead. Curt Hook challenged Plain and would make the pass for second while Mark Haglund also found his way by Plain a lap later. Two cautions would give Hook opportunity to make a move for the lead, but he was unable to make anything stick as Mark Elliott drove to his ninth win of the season in the stock car class. Curt Hook finished second, Mark Haglund was third, Reid Keller fourth, and Ryan Leeman rounded out the top five.

A solid field of twenty-six IMCA sportmods were checked in and ready for battle with Randy Krampe holding the lead from his inside front row start. The man on the move was Bryon Weyer as he started tenth and quickly sliced and diced his way up to fourth after passing Jared Timmerman on the outside. He would also work past Dane Larson for third before a caution flag slowed the action. The restart was just what Bob Sutherland was looking for as he powered by Krampe for the lead using the cushion. Weyer would follow to second but again the caution would come out. Lined up fourth on the restart, two-time winner Cayden Carter pounced on the restart and passed Krampe and Weyer to move into the second slot. Carter would pull even with Sutherland on the inside before overtaking the veteran racer for the lead. Two more yellows would keep the competition close, but after taking the white flag Sutherland would push high and relinquish the second spot. That allowed Cayden Carter some breathing room as he went on to pick up his third win of the season. Bryon Weyer finished second, Dane Larson was third, Joel Rust finished fourth, and Bob Sutherland completed the top five.

Seventeen IMCA modifieds were now set for their finale of the evening. Things got off to a slow start, however, as two attempts to get a lap in failed. Chris Webb spun and collected Jon Snyder on the initial try while Jeremy Brogaard spun on the second attempt. While under caution Adam Larson visited the work area to change a flat tire. When the green finally came out on the third try, it was Levi Nielsen who jumped out to the lead. Daniel Hilsabeck settled into the second spot while Scott Olson gave up the third position to Scott Williams. Jeremy Mills was the first car using the inside line and made it work, passing both Olson and Williams to advance to the third position. Nielsen was enjoying a comfortable lead when his machine slowed down the front stretch and brought out the caution, giving the reigns to Hilsabeck. Mills made short work of Hilsabeck's time out front as he ducked to the inside and took over the lead. With six laps remaining Jon Snyder had worked his way back up to fourth after passing Williams. Another late caution for Scott Olson coming to a stop allowed Snyder to restart behind Mills and Hilsabeck. Snyder shot to the inside and made the pass for second and closed the gap to Mills, but he ran out of time as Jeremy Mills scored his third win of the season. Jon Snyder finished second, Daniel Hilsabeck was third, Mark Elliott fourth, and Todd Shute rounded out the top five.

The night's finale would be the IMCA late model feature as eighteen cars strong took the green flag. Scott Badker would hold the lead in the opening laps with Jason Hahne in second. On lap three Hahne made his move on the outside and made the pass for the lead. Al Johnson would use the same line to get by Badker while Ben Nading later used the inside line past Badker. Jeff Aikey and Todd Cooney slowly made their way into the top five, but it was Jason Hahne taking his second win of the season. Al Johnson finished second, Jeff Aikey third, Todd Cooney fourth, and Ben Nading fifth.

Other then the late start, I'd say it was a good night of racing. There were two grooves of racing throughout the night and plenty of action on the track. The season is quickly winding down at the Hamilton County Speedway as only two more point races are on the slate. The Hamilton County fair gets started this Tuesday and the speedway will host it's 6th annual Thursday Night Thunder program. All six classes will be in action with higher purses, including $2,000 to win for IMCA late models and $1,500 to win for IMCA sportmods. For more information on this race, along with full results and updated point standings, check out the Hamilton County Speedway website. I'd also like to thank track announcer Ryan Bergeson for the many plugs he provided for Positivelyracing.com throughout the night and this season.

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

Fan Appreciation Night at Fort Dodge

2011-07-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Friday night the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge held a Fan Appreciation night. Tickets were just $5 for adults and many prizes were given away either off the ticket numbers or the lucky number programs. Things got off to a late start as a brief rain shower went through the area prior to
the start of the show, so track crew along with the drivers spent some time packing the surface in.

Feature action got kicked off with the hornet division with Nick Crimmins taking the lead early. His time up front was brief as smoke appeared from under his machine and he exited to the pits, handing the lead over to Mike McFarland. Mick Evans would take over the second spot prior to the only caution of the race. Jarid Kuchenreuther would duck to the inside of Nate Evans for the third position. Kuchenreuther wasn't quite done as he dove to the inside and door slammed Devin Collins to advance to second while Collins fell a few spots to fifth. Mike McFarland would pick up the win ahead of Nick Hogan, Mick Evans, Nate Evans, and Jarid Kuchenreuther.

Econo stocks were up next and Brad Hanse made a great move to split front row starters Jason Lowe and Brad Babb to pick up the race lead. Colby Davis moved into the third spot before challenging Lowe and making the pass for second. Davis closed in on Hanse with one to go, but Hanse was able to hold him off and pick up the win. Colby Davis was second, Jason Lowe third, Todd Frederickson was fourth, and Brad Babb fifth.

Fourteen hobby stocks hit the track next and outside front row starter Nick Weiss took command in the early going. Adam Suhrbier followed in second, but quickly swung to the outside and made the pass for the lead on lap three. Last week's feature winner Jeff Lyon was moving forward as he got by Jack Marsh for fourth before also passing Josh Niemand and Weiss for second. Suhrbier enjoyed a nice margin as he picked up the win. Lyon finished second, Weiss third, Niemand fourth, and Myles Michehl completed the top five.

Doug Bartles would jump out front in the limited modified feature after starting outside the front row. Andy Tiernan quickly found his way to fourth after passing Jerid Ratske on lap two and then getting by Steve Reetz for third using the same line. The first of two cautions came out and the field formed in double file formation, something I don't recall the track doing in the past. In either case, Brett Meyer was able to dive to the inside and pass Andy Tiernan and Jamie Ganoe to move into the second position. Another caution came out later, but Meyer was unable to mount any kind of serious challenge as Doug Bartles took home the win. Brett Meyer finished second, Andy Tiernan was third, Jim Lampe fourth, and Matt Pittman rounded out the top five.

Seven USRA stock cars were on hand Friday night, but Randy Biederman was unable to make the call for the feature. Pole sitter Matt Mundt would lead the opening lap, but Wayne Crimmins quickly took to the outside and made the pass on Mundt for the lead on lap two. Any early caution came out for Matt Fox as he slowed and stopped outside of turn three, but when racing resumed Jason Minnehan took his machine to the top side and passed Mundt for second. Minnehan closed in on Crimmins and hounded him the rest of the way, even making contact on a few occasions. Crimmins would not fold to the pressure, however, as he took home top honors. Minnehan would settle for second, Adam Silvey was third, and Matt Fox rounded out the cars left on the track. Dennis Plain was fifth and Mundt sixth.

Eight modifieds were ready to go for their finale of the evening as Scott Sturm took command from his outside front row start. Brian Schmitt slowed in turn three and made it to the infield, ending his night early. Second place runner Brad Williams would also suffer the same fate, so Sturm would have Jeff Stephens on his rear bumper following the only caution flag of the race. Rod Scheuermann used the restart to get by Stephens and then later Sturm to take command up front, but the real story was happening behind him. Stephens would pull up slow in turn three and exit the track, and later Bill Crimmins and Rodney Slagle suffered the same bad luck as they too exited while running in third place. At the finish it would be Rod Scheuermann taking the win, Scott Sturm second, and Kyle Segebart in third. Slagle and Crimmins were credited with fourth and fifth, respectively.

Despite the rain and humid conditions, the night seemed to go pretty good with the exception of track work between the heats and features. The track crew worked on a big rut in turns one and two for quite awhile, but then it appeared the cars stayed below that line in the features.

For a full field rundown of results, along with updated point standings and upcoming schedule, check out the Mineral City Speedway website.

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

Myer Scores First USMTS Win of Season at Lansing

2011-07-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday I had planned on making the trip to the Hancock County Speedway in Britt for their weekly action along with a hobby stock special, but things changed with a front dumped some rain on the facility and forced track officials to cancel the show. I had made plans to go with a buddy of mine, and he quickly remembered that the USMTS were racing in Lansing, Minnesota that night. After doing some quick research on the internet he let me know that they were still racing, so after work I dashed home to change clothes, picked him up, and we were off to the Chateau Raceway!

This would be my first USMTS race since June 12 when they made a stop at Worthington, Minnesota. For those that know me, I enjoy watching these guys race and typically make every attempt to see them that I can. But Thursday night was only my fifth USMTS race I've been to thus far. A far cry from what I'm used to, but that's okay. Also in action Thursday night were the Iron Man Challenge series for the USRA bmods and the track's pure stock class.

Sixteen USRA bmods were on hand for the first time ever at the Chateau Raceway as they normally host Wissota midwest mods weekly. Kylie Kath wasted no time in putting a stranglehold on the pack as he jumped to the lead early on. Brandon Hare, last year's USRA national champion in the bmod division, was on the charge early and moved up to fourth after a nifty move to the inside of Nate Chodur. Jacob Bleess and Jake Timm were running second and third, but Kath opened up a straight away lead at the halfway point. Hare was able to work the outside of Timm to move into the third spot. Two laps later the caution flag waved, and Hare took advantage of the double-file restart as he rode the cushion and climbed into second by passing Bleess. The caution came out again two laps later when Timm spun to a stop. When the checkered flag waved it was Kylie Kath taking home the win. Brandon Hare followed in second, Jacob Bleess was third, Matt Lettow fourth, and Josh Bonnstetter rounded out the top five.

Thirty-four USMTS cars were on hand Thursday night, but that number had to be dwindled down to twenty-four along with a provisional starter. After winning the previous two races, Zack VanderBeek's luck continued as he redrew the pole position. Local favorite Tommy Myer would sit outside of him, and it was Myer who got the better start and led the field early. Rodney Sanders made an early move to the inside to pass Keith Foss for fourth, but that was the only position change within the first eleven laps or so. Myer would open up a big margin as he caught lapped traffic quickly by lap fifteen, but a yellow three laps later would eliminate the lapped cars in front of him. The double file restart didn't appear to help or hinder any drivers in the top ten as they all maintained their positions even though the track appeared to lock down on the bottom. Myer opened up his lead by a straight away with ten laps remaining while Corey Dripps ducked inside of VanderBeek for second with six laps to go. While Myer weaved through lapped traffic, Dripps made up ground quickly and closed in on Myer in the closing laps. Dripps was on Myer's rear bumper when they took the white flag and looked to the inside of the leader entering turn three. Dripps hit the gas in turn four, but had to check up a little to prevent getting in to Myer's door panel. Myer was able to fend off Dripps' challenge and pick up his first win of the 2011 season. Corey Dripps came home second, Zack VanderBeek was third, Rodney Sanders fourth, and Keith Foss rounded out the top five.

The night got off to an unusual start as some bigger name drivers struggled in their respective heat races. Heat one saw Jason Hughes start ninth and not crack the top five. Heat two saw the same thing for Ryan Gustin while heat four saw the same for Jon Tesch. Heat three Kelly Shryock started third and finished fourth, so all four of these drivers had to qualify through the b-mains.

It was nice getting back up to the Chateau Raceway as it's been a few years since I had been there. I was pleased that only two support classes were on hand for a mid-week special. Wish more promoters would do the same.

The USMTS got rained out last night at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wisconsin. They head to the famous Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin tonight to finish up some business left behind in June after a rain out. From there they have a few days off before attempting to get Mason City's race in on Tuesday, July 19. Mason City has had to reschedule their date two or three times, so here's hoping the weather holds off this time.

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

Late Pass Gives Luloff Memorable Memorial Win

2011-07-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

Another scorching hot and humid day in central Iowa was in store Sunday, but that didn't prevent me from attending a race that I try to attend each year. It was time for the annual Hogan Memorial, an event that has taken place yearly since 1995. While the event was initially named the Dick Hogan Memorial, it was later changed when Janet passed away and honored both of them from that point on. Of course, their son Scott continues on the family name as he pilots the #33D IMCA modified and circles this important date on the calendar each season.

After qualifying events were finished, something I honestly can't recall seeing happened. The IMCA hobby stock were set for the first feature of the night, but when the green flag dropped the outside line got very little traction and the start was called back. Track officials then allowed the cars a few hot laps, but it was deemed the cars would exit the track and the IMCA sport compacts would now run their feature instead.

So the focus would turn towards the pits as the IMCA sport compacts ventured to the track. Brett Vanous would take control at the drop of the green flag while Nathan and Brad Chandler were working their way through traffic towards the front. Two cautions would come out in the early going with the second one involving Nathan Chandler getting into the back of a lapped car entering turn one. Chandler would slow down the back stretch and come to a stop to end his night early. Two more caution periods would plague the race, but the final lap saw Vanous dive to the inside of Brad Chandler to edge out the win at the line. Merv Chandler was third and Jacob McVay was fourth, but unfortunately with the excitement up front that was all I was able to get written down.

The IMCA hobby stocks returned to the track, now ready for their finale of the evening. Pole sitter Greg Sweerin would lead in the early going before a couple early yellow flags were displayed. His night would end prematurely, however, as he appeared to break a hose and exited the track. That handed the race lead over to Doug Laughridge with Justin Stander just behind in second. Points leader Scott Pippert found the high side to his liking as he moved into the fourth position after starting eleventh on the starting grid. Pippert would get by Kyle Parizek for third before passing both Stander and Laughridge for the lead just after the crossed flags were given signaling the race was half-over. Scott Pippert would maintain the lead as he picked up the win with Justin Stander finishing second, Brad Forbes was third, Doug Laughridge fourth, and Matt Brown completed the top five.

Pole sitter Aric Becker paced the field early on, but Curt Hillmer was on the prowl as he moved into the second position after passing David McCalla on the inside. An early caution slowed the pace down, and while under yellow Hillmer came to a stop upon the entrance to turn three. He was allowed to restart in third, which kinda baffled me and a few others sitting around me as I thought you had to go to the tail if you needed the assistance of a push truck. Nonetheless, McCalla used the restart to make the cushion work in his favor as he motored by Becker for the lead. Hillmer would use the low line to get by for second before making the pass on McCalla for the lead. After a couple more cautions, Racer Hulin found himself restarting on the rear bumper of Hillmer. Hillmer would protect the inside line, but that left the door open for Hulin to take flight on the top side and make the pass for the lead. Another caution flag would come out on lap eight in which the drivers were told they had surpassed the time limit, so either the next yellow flag or the checkered flag would finish the race. As it would be the race would end under green condition and Racer Hulin would pick up the win. Danny Dvorak would drive the low line to take second, Aric Becker rallied back to finish third, Kent Kozitsky was fourth, and Curt Hillmer rounded out the top five.

Fifteen IMCA stock cars would make their way to the track and John Schaefel used his outside front row start to seize command up front. Fourth row starters Justin Teymeyer and Damon Murty started running the cushion and running down cars ahead of them as they advanced into the third and fourth positions, respectively, after passing Mike Galli. The front four cars would run in rows of two for a short time before they attempted to go four-wide into turn three. Schaefel came out on the bad end of that as he got pushed over the banking and came to a stop. Scooter Dulin would inherit the lead, but it wasn't long before Teymeyer powered his way by for the top spot. As the laps were winding down Murty found himself in the fourth spot yet, but he used the high side to move back into the second position when the white flag was displayed. Teymeyer would pick up the win ahead of Murty, Dulin, Bob Ahrendson was fourth, and Andy Bryant rounded out the top five.

Anticipation began to build as the IMCA modifieds made their way to the track. Twenty cars made it through qualifying with two past champions and two track provisionals made up the twenty-four car starting field as driver introductions took place along with Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" was played during the parade laps. The drivers were ready for a forty-lap race that would be stopped at the halfway point for a five-minute pit stop.

Through the luck of the redraw format, Dan Chapman and Scott Hogan sat on the front row with Hogan rocketing to the lead, but the lap didn't count as the yellow flew for a tractor tire being hit and sitting on the racing surface. When the green was displayed again Hogan again got a great start and jumped out front with Chapman and JD Auringer following. Hogan had an intense moment a few laps into the race as he quickly caught lapped traffic and ran into the back of one entering turn one, sending his car into a sideways slide. He would gather it back up and his momentum on the top side enabled him to maintain the lead. Auringer would slip by Chapman for second as Hogan and Auringer distanced themselves from the pack. The midway point caution would fly at the same time that Richie Gustin found himself sitting crossed up outside of turn one.

Following the five minute break, the top five remained relatively unchanged until Auringer tried a slide job on Hogan entering turn one. Auringer's car would get sideways and spin, collecting Chapman as he drilled the left side of Auringer's car. Both competitors would see their great runs come to an early end. With eleven laps remaining, that put Jerry Luloff on Hogan's rear bumper on the restart. Luloff tried darting to the inside on each of the next few restarts and sliding up in front of Hogan, but Hogan's momentum off the top side carried him past Luloff and keep him out front. The final caution of the night came with just four laps remaining, and this time Luloff perhaps drove a bit harder entering the corner. Hogan opted to turn left and try to dart to the inside rather then stay on the outside, but that move would cost him the lead as Luloff took over the top spot. Hogan tried a few different moves in the final laps, but it wasn't enough as Jerry Luloff took home the win. Scott Hogan finished second, but pocketed more money then the winner after you add up all the lap money and contingency dollars. Brandon Banks came home third, Jeff Waterman was fourth, and Mike Burbridge completed the top five.

It was great sitting with fellow Positivelyracing buddies Dick and Joyce Eisele among other friends. Always fun to compare which drivers I know with those that Joyce does at the track. The racing action was action-packed all night including one extra curricular activity in the modified feature that involved a driver expressing his anger towards another on the front straight away by jumping on the nose of his car. With Brett Root from IMCA on hand and witnessing the incident, one can only imagine some kind of disciplinary action will be forthcoming.

I'd like to thank the Hogan family for putting on this great event again this year. I'm sure Dick and Janet were watching from above with smiles on their faces as it was a great night of racing.

My next race, weather permitting, will be Tuesday night at the I-35 Speedway as the road warriors of the USMTS tour gets back into the swing of things. It will be the first of five scheduled nights as a couple of the events, including this one, are makeup dates from earlier rain outs. If that doesn't interest you, perhaps a visit to the Independence Motor Speedway might as the World of Outlaws late models invade the Buchanan County fairgrounds for the first time ever. The IMCA modifieds will also be racing for $1,000 top prize.

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

Embrey's Take Wins at Webster City

2011-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

July typically yields lots of heat and humidity, and Saturday would be no different. I made my way west once again to the Hamilton County Speedway for night #10. Fortunately a breeze picked up a little during the night to keep things somewhat bearable as the racing action heated up on the track.

After heat races and a b-main for the IMCA sportmods were concluded along with a little packing of the track during intermission, it was time to get into feature action starting with the hornets. Chris Friesth used his pole starting position to jump out front, but the yellow quickly came out when Adam Strunk and Keaton Graffunder spun to a stop in turn one. Two more caution flags would come out before another lap could be completed, but when racing resumed Friesth would have to fend off the challenges of Lyle Oberhelman as he picked up the win. Oberhelman finished second, Adam Strunk rebounded to finish third, Daniel Ayers was fourth, and Keaton Graffunder rounded out the top five.

Next onto the track would be the IMCA hobby stocks as sixteen cars took the green flag. Outside front row starter David Rieks took command early on as Allen Dixon and Randy Embrey gave chase. Fifth row starters Kevin Fee and Brad Ratcliff were on the charge further back in the field as they advanced into the fourth and fifth positions on lap two. Embrey would make the pass on Dixon for second while Fee and Ratcliff later got by Dixon as well using the low line. Embrey would overtake Rieks at the front of the field as he motored by on the top side prior to a caution flag coming out. Following the restart Rieks would push high in turn four and open the door for Ratcliff to race by under him to take over the second position. Ratcliff tried to chase down Embrey, but it was not to be as Randy Embrey picked up his second feature win of the season at the speedway. Brad Ratliff finished second, Bobby Dilley was third, Kevin Fee fourth, and Corey Roe rounded out the top five.

Eleven stock cars would take the green flag next with outside front row starter Jim Mitchell leading the opening lap before Scott Bloemke used the inside line to scoot by. After starting ninth on the grid, Mark Elliott quickly worked his way into third on the third circuit while Jason Wagoner looked to hunt down Bloemke from second. Wagoner found the top side to his liking as he made the pass on Bloemke for the lead. Elliott would soon follow to second before the only caution of the race came out. Soon after the restart Elliott would again go to the top side and make the pass on Wagoner for the lead. Reid Keller would use the high groove to get by Bloemke for third, but he would advance another position late in the race when Wagoner's machine went up in smoke with just one lap remaining. Mark Elliott would cruise to the victory while Curt Hook got by Reid Keller for second. Scott Bloemke and Adam Silvey rounded out the top five.

Twenty-eight IMCA sportmods were narrowed down to a starting field of twenty-four for their feature event of the night. Outside front row starter Dane Larson took the lead when the green flag dropped, but Matt Lettow was on the move early as he got around pole sitter Paul Price for second. Lettow ducked to the inside of Larson to take over the lead while Jeremy Embrey later used the high line to get by Larson for second prior to a caution flag coming out. Joel Rust would take advantage of the restart as he moved to the bottom of the raceway to sneak by Cayden Carter and Bob Sutherland to advance to the fourth position. Another caution came out late in the race, allowing Rust to use the restart to his advantage again by ducking to the inside of Dane Larson for third with two laps remaining. Rust dove to the inside of Lettow and Embrey on the final lap and appeared to be on his way to victory, but Lettow hooked Rust's rear bumper and slowed both of their momentum enough to allow Jeremy Embrey to sneak by on the outside to take the thrilling win. Rust finished second, Lettow third, Larson was fourth, and Cayden Carter rounded out the top five.

Up next would be the IMCA modified finale as seventeen cars took the green flag. Again the outside front row would be the place to start as Greg Elliott took command early. Adam Larson was on the prowl early as he moved into fifth on lap two and quickly advanced to third after passing pole sitter Jeremy Brogaard. Larson would continue moving forward as he passed Scott Williams on the inside for second while Mark Elliott got by Brogaard for fourth. Following Elliott into fifth, Jon Snyder made a move to get by both Mark Elliott and Williams to advance to third. Larson would close in on Greg Elliott for the lead, but the two touched ever so slightly in turn four that sent Larson into a spin to bring out the caution flag. That put Snyder on Greg Elliott's rear bumper on the restart, and Snyder would try a few moves to get by but was unsuccessful. Greg Elliott would go on to pick up the win ahead of Jon Snyder, Scott Williams, Mark Elliott, and Richie Gustin.

The final event of the night would be the sixteen-car field of IMCA late models. Kelly Tapper took command early in this one while Jason Hahne and Todd Cooney quickly worked their way around Nick Pederson for second and third, respectively. Cooney would work past Hahne for second before making the pass on Tapper on the inside line for the lead. Hahne used the same line as Cooney to get by Tapper for second as Tapper began to fade. Ryan Griffith and Al Johnson would also get by to advance to third and fourth, respectively. Griffith would run down Hahne and take over the runner up position, but up front it was Todd Cooney taking the checkered flag first. Griffith settled for second, Hahne third, Jeff Aikey was fourth and Al Johnson rounded out the top five.

It was a good night of racing all around at the Hamilton County Speedway. The track didn't appear to rut up and provided a couple different racing lanes. For a full-field rundown, a look at upcoming events, and updated point standings be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website.

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

Smith Steals Stock Car Checkers at the Line!

2011-07-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous Wednesday afternoon prompted me to make a return visit to the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. While the car count was down a bit, the crowd was still pretty good and the racing was action packed throughout the night.

First to hit the track for feature action would be the BVR bombers. Jake Bieret took control at the drop of the green flag after starting on the pole. Keith Demey would keep pace, but was unable to seriously challenge Bieret as Jake Bieret pocketed the win. Demey would finish second, Colby Davis finished third, Nicholas Smith fourth, and Mike Draper rounded out the top five of the nine-car field.

Next up would be the IMCA sport compacts. At the drop of the green flag the field managed to race four-wide down the front straight away to set up a tense moment entering turn one. Merv Chandler emerged with the lead on lap one after starting seventh with Megan Lappegard following closely behind. Nate Coopman was on the move a bit further back as the first-time visitor to the speedway made his way to third after starting tenth. Coopman would motor to the outside of Lappegard to complete that pass before using the same line to get by Chandler for the lead at the halfway point. Coopman would pull away in the closing laps and pick up the win ahead of Chandler, Lappegard, Cory Flanigan, and Caine Mahlberg.

The most popular division by the numbers were the IMCA hobby stocks as twenty-two drivers checked in for competition. Craig Brotherton would take command on lap one, but the caution quickly came out a lap later to bunch the field up again. Devin Smith would take advantage of the restart as he split a couple of cars entering turn three to move into the third position. He worked to the inside of Kyle Robinson to climb into second while Michael Murphy and Shannon Anderson were advancing into the top five. Brotherton would bobble a bit in turn four and cut down a right rear tire, handing the race lead over to Devin Smith. Murphy used the low line to get by Robinson for second as Robinson began to slow. A lap later Anderson would slow and come to a stop outside of turn two to bring out the caution. The restart did not phase Smith as he continued on to pick up the win. Michael Murphy came home second, Brandon Nielson was third, Bill Woehler fourth, and Matt Mahoney completed the top five. Cody Nielson crossed the line in third, but was scored as the last finishing car after he made contact with Andy Boeckman that sent Boeckman into a spin on the final corner.

Sixteen IMCA sportmods were next to hit the track as Keagan Scott led the opening laps in this one. Brett Meyer quickly worked his way up to third while Jesse Sobbing used the high side to climb to fourth. Up front Tim Rupp challenged Scott on the inside and took over the lead as Scott pushed up the track, losing several spots. Meyer would close in on Rupp at the midpoint of the race and hound the leader, but Rupp continued to hit his marks lap after lap. Meyer finally closed the gap to within a car length on the final lap, but his car pushed up in turn two and opened the door for Jesse Sobbing to race by for second. Sobbing was too far back and ran out of time as Tim Rupp scored the win. Sobbing finished second, Meyer was third, Zach Norgaard finished fourth, and Doug Smith rounded out the top five.

While only having ten cars show up, the IMCA stock cars proved once again they are the "Class Too Tough To Tame" on Wednesday night. Pole sitter Adam Klocke would lead the opening lap, but Brian Blessington quickly found the bottom groove to his liking and took control on lap two. David Smith found the right line as he worked his way into the fourth spot after starting eighth. Smith, who picked up his 100th career IMCA stock car victory Saturday night in Algona, would continue making his way towards the front as he passed Klocke for third. Stefan Sybesma would challenge Blessington on the inside and pull even exiting turn two, but Blessington's momentum allowed him to maintain the lead until the caution waved on lap six. Blessington opted for the inside of the front row on the restart, but it was Sybesma using the top side that emerged with the lead upon the exit of turn two. Point leader Donovan Smith threw his hat into the mix as he worked the outside of brother David for third and passing Blessington for second. Sybesma slowed down the front stretch momentarily and Donovan Smith was there to take the lead with three laps to go. Blessington would bring out the caution as he slid off turn two and on the restart Sybesma regained the lead using the inside line this time. Entering turn three Sybesma looked primed to take the checkered flag but Donovan Smith got a great run on the cushion and out powered him down the front stretch to pick up a thrilling win!! Sybesma had to settle for second, Chris Ullrich finished third, David Smith fourth, and Brian Blessington rebounded for fifth.

Pole sitter Brad Williams took control early in the IMCA modified feature, but his time out front was short-lived as Justin Sackett would take the lead away on lap three. Jason Briese would coast to a stop in turn three to bring out the caution on lap five. Soon after the restart Josh Most dove to the inside of Brian Schmitt entering turn one. The two made heavy contact with Most's car driving up over the nose of Schmitt's. Schmitt would come to a stop to bring out another caution, and both machines went to the work area to survey the damage. Dustin Smith was working his way to the front of the field as he passed Jim Thies for the second position around the midpoint of the race. The final yellow of the race came with nine laps remaining, giving Smith a chance to challenge Sackett on the restart. Sackett proved to be too fast on the bottom, however, as he outran Smith to the checkers. Josh Most rebounded to finish third, Brad Williams was fourth, and Jim Thies rounded out the top five.

A King of the Hill race for both the stock car and modifieds followed the modified feature, but I opted to leave at that point for the lengthy trip back home. Despite the low car counts I thought all the features were extremely competitive. The season is winding down quickly as I believe August 10 is season championship night, so if you're in the area and haven't checked it out yet be sure to do so. For a full-field rundown of results and a look at the schedule and updated point standings, log on to the Buena Vista Raceway website.

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

Long Dominates, Dailey Emerges Victorious in Harris Clash

2011-07-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night rolled around and it was time to once again make the trek south to the Knoxville Raceway were seventy-some IMCA modifieds were set to do battle on the famed half-mile track. A picture perfect night was in store for the fans that showed up and the track appeared to be good from top to bottom, although a few ruts did find their way to the surface.

After winning the third heat in grand style, Michael Long seemed to be poised for victory as he lined up third on the grid out of the thirty starters. It didn't take him long to find his marks as he rocketed to the lead on the very first lap. Josh Foster lined up right behind Long and positioned himself into the runner up spot just three laps into the race, but he had plenty of ground to make up as Long distanced himself. A handful of laps later saw Foster coast to a stop in turn two to bring out the second caution of the race on lap ten.

When racing resumed Nebraska driver Jordan Grabouski ducked to the inside on the double file restarts and got by J.J. Wise and Ken Schrader to move into the third position. Wise would regroup and pass Mark Elliott on the inside groove to move back into the fifth spot while Eric Dailey was on the move deeper in the field. Dailey, who started seventeenth, found himself running in the eighth spot when the mandatory halfway yellow came out. Once the field was aligned in proper running order, they lined up in restart formation on the front stretch and were given a five minute "pitstop" to make changes if wanted. Several guys changed tires, most added fuel, and who knows what else went on trackside.

Two laps in to the second "half" of the race fifth-place runner J.J. Wise would lose an engine and bring out the yellow flag again. Once the green flag was displayed again Ken Schrader and Mark Elliott went at it for the runner up position with Schrader getting the edge at this point in the race. Yet another caution came with eight laps remaining, and on the restart Eric Dailey charged to the inside of Schrader to pull into the second spot. The pass would be negated by another yellow flag. Dailey would still get by Mark Elliott for third before passing Schrader on the inside a couple laps later for second. As the laps dwindled Michael Long would cruise to the apparent win, but things soon changed as he weighed three separate times and was disqualified for being too light. That handed the win over to Eric Dailey. Jordan Grabouski would finish second, Ken Schrader third, Mike VanGenderen was fourth, and Todd Shute rounded out the top five after starting eighteenth.

Six heat races and three last chance qualifiers (b-mains) were used to narrow the starting field down. The eight cautions hindered the pace of the evening as the show ran a little late. Overall I'd say the action was pretty good despite the ruts in the corners as guys would hit them wrong and mud would fly high in the air, or cars would maybe bounce off the ground momentarily.

I'd like to thank Bob Harris for the great hospitality he provided for me and my fellow PositivelyRacing counterparts. Hopefully I can make the return trip back at the end of the month as the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models along with the IMCA sportmods take center stage in the second installment of the Harris Clash on Tuesday, July 26.

For a complete rundown of results, check out the Knoxville Raceway, IMCA, or Harris Clash websites.

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

Five New Winners at Webster City

2011-07-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Hamilton County Speedway hosted its second Fan Appreciation night of the year on Saturday night. The weather was picture perfect as temperatures were a bit cooler from Thursday and Friday. Fans were treated to $5 tickets along with a plethora of giveaway items for the kids during intermission. The stands were completely packed, something I usually only see for a fair race at the famed half-mile.

After the lengthy intermission for the big assortment of giveaway items, the hornets would pull out from the staging area for their feature event. Seven of the eight cars on hand would make the call as points leader Adam Strunk's machine had heavy smoke come out of the right front in the heat race that ended his night. Lyle Oberhelman got turned sideways down the back stretch on the opening lap to bring out the caution, and while the cars were lining up Dan Ayers darted to the work area for some extra help. When the green flag came back out it would be Chris Friesth in charge up front, but Oberhelman worked his way back through the field and used the inside line to pass Friesth for the lead. Oberhelman's lead didn't last long as Nick Hogan used the same bottom groove to slip by Oberhelman on his way to victory lane. Oberhelman finished second, Keaton Graffunder was third, Jason Clark fourth, and Dan Ayers rounded out the top five.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. On the opening lap Blake Miller would spin in turn one and get collected by Ty Griffith, ending both of their nights. Under yellow Brad Ratcliff went to the work area and had to restart from the tail of the field. When green flag racing resumed it was Bobby Dilley out front setting the pace, but a formidable challenge was brewing as visiting TJ Mortenson was already up to third after starting twelfth. Mortenson, a former resident of Kamrar who now makes his home in Devils Lake, North Dakota, set his right rear up on the cushion following another yellow flag to pass David Rieks for second. A few laps later the battle was for third as Nate Bonin, Randy Embrey, and Rieks went three-wide. Embrey would get the nod for third finally with five laps remaining while Mortenson caught Dilley and made the winning pass with four laps remaining. Mortenson would go on to pick up the win ahead of Bobby Dilley, Randy Embrey, Brad Ratcliff, and Kevin Fee.

The order of classes changed a bit last night as the stock cars followed the hobby stocks. Pole sitter Jason Minnehan darted to the lead. Mark Haglund would work under Ryan Leeman to take the third position away as Mark Elliott paced himself towards the front of the field from the ninth starting position. Elliott used both the top and the bottom to work his way to the front one lap at a time. After passing Curt Hook, Ryan Leeman, and Mark Haglund to climb into the third position, he battled with Jim Mitchell for the runner up position. Using the high side Elliott made his way by and started chasing down Minnehan for the lead. As the laps counted off Elliott would make the high side work once again and he overtook the lead with three laps to go en route to his seventh win of the season. Mark Haglund worked his way by Jim Mitchell and Jason Minnehan for second, Jason Minnehan held on for third with Jim Mitchell and Ryan Leeman rounding out the top five.

A field of twenty-six IMCA sportmods were scheduled to start their feature and pole sitter Mitch Frakes led the opening few laps. Bob Sutherland found the top side to his liking as he motored into the second position before passing Frakes for the lead. Matt Northrop, making just his third visit to the speedway, would challenge Sutherland for the lead and take the spot using the inside line. As Northrop and Sutherland swapped the lead four cars would duking it out for the third spot. Frakes was being hounded by Cayden Carter, Carter Vandenberg, and Jared Timmerman. Carter would get the advantage and secure the third spot as Northrop opened up a good lead up front. A caution with five laps remaining allowed Vandenberg to swing to the outside of his cousin Carter to climb to third as the lead changed hands again with Sutherland pacing the field. Joel Rust was working the inside line as he passed Cayden Carter for fourth as Sutherland pushed up the track exiting turn four to allow Northrop to regain the lead prior to another caution. Vandenberg made a daring move to split Northrop and Sutherland entering turn three that allowed him to get by Sutherland for second, but that was as far as he could push it as Matt Northrop became the eighth different winner in nine weeks in the IMCA sportmod division. Carter Vandenberg finished second, Joel Rust was third, Bob Sutherland fourth, and Cayden Carter was fifth. According to the internet sites and various tidbits, this snapped Cayden Carter's six-race winning streak.

Up next would be the IMCA late model finale with pole sitter Scott Badker racing to the lead. Jason Hahne would look under Richie Gustin for the second position before using the same line to get by Badker for the lead. Al Johnson and Ryan Griffith both made passes on Badker as he became the meat in the sandwich and fading to fourth. Johnson would secure the second spot, but Griffith challenged to the inside and took the spot away. Gustin, DeFrance, and Cooney would all make their way by Badker while Cooney used the top side to pass DeFrance for fourth. Hahne would open up a comfortable lead before the caution came out with three laps remaining for Al Johnson. Johnson chased his car up the hill exiting turn four before slapping the outside wall a few times down the front straight away, ending his solid third-place run thus far. Despite the restart Hahne was again able to drive away from his competitors as he became the seventh different winner in nine nights of racing. Ryan Griffith followed in second, Todd Cooney was third, Darrel DeFrance finished fourth, and Jeff Aikey rounded out the top five.

The finale of the evening would be the IMCA modifieds. A bit light on numbers, the sixteen-car field offered plenty of excitement throughout as pole sitter Luke Wanninger held down the captain's chair early on. Adam Larson was a rocket out of the gates, however, as he passed four cars to move into the fourth spot on the first lap. He got by David Brown and ducked to the inside of Scott Williams to climb into the second position as he tried to chase down Wanninger. Following a lap four caution, Richie Gustin had worked his way towards the front as he passed Jacob Murray for fifth. Gustin started at the rear after suffering problems in his heat and pulling in. Murray, however, didn't like getting passed as he set sail on the cushion and grabbed the spot back along with passing David Brown for fourth. Up front Larson would draw even with Wanninger entering turn three, but Wanninger would get the traction he needed to maintain the lead at the stripe. After battling for several laps Larson would finally make his line stick as he took over the lead. Scott Williams ducked to the inside of Wanninger and made the pass for second. Adam Larson would go on to pick up his first win of the season at the speedway, the sixth different winner of the year.

A huge fireworks display just outside of turns three and four followed the racing action, and the fans in attendance went home with a big smile on their face after what they had witnessed. The racing was extremely competitive throughout the night including the fans getting on their feet for the final lap of the IMCA sportmod feature. Hats off to the Hamilton County fairboard for their efforts in getting the track ready to race and for the Fan Appreciation night. Hopefully a high percentage of those there last night will return at some point in the final weeks of the season.

And speaking of which, there are only FOUR regular season Saturday night shows left on the schedule. That also means the Hamilton County Fair is right around the corner, which means the 6th annual Thursday Night Thunder special is coming up July 21. For more info on the upcoming schedule, full rundown of results, and updated point standings be sure to log on to the Hamilton County Speedway website!

As of right now my next scheduled race will be the Harris Clash for IMCA modifieds at the famed Knoxville Raceway on Tuesday night.

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

Weyer Collects First, Elliott and Aikey Win Again

2011-06-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

An unseasonably cool Saturday in late June had me a bit unsure as to if racing would happen at the Hamilton County Speedway. Rain showers throughout much of the morning at home also led me to doubt, but apparently no rain had fallen at the half-mile speed plant in Webster City. So with that I was off to my Saturday night home away from home for some great racing action.

101 race teams checked in to the pits that included 22 IMCA modifieds, 23 IMCA sportmods, 18 IMCA late models, 19 IMCA hobby stocks, 14 stock cars, and 5 hornets. As hot laps got underway the dust quickly started to fly as negative thoughts began to fill my mind. While the drivers meeting was underway trucks took to the top side to pack in the loose crumbs and the dust would be minimal come heat race time. The track seemed to go one lane on the bottom side, prompting track officials to get the water truck out and splurge the top side. After ironing it back in, feature action would get started.

First up would be the hornet division. Lyle Oberhelman got a great jump and appeared to have the lead as the field went into turn one, but Adam Strunk quickly caught him down the back stretch and made the pass. Strunk would slow as smoke started to bellow from his machine, giving the lead over to Dan Ayers. Strunk would fall back to the fourth spot, but he quickly regained momentum and found himself back up to second. Dan Ayers would go on to pick up the win and break Adam Strunk's five-race winning streak. Strunk finished second, Keaton Graffunder was third, Lyle Oberhelman fourth, and Mark McCoy rounded out the field.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock main event. The caution flag would fly before the completion of lap one, but when racing resumed it was pole sitter David Rieks leading the pack of seventeen cars. Cory Roe would slide into second while points leader Kevin Fee was on the march. Fee, who started tenth, worked his way to fourth with Brad Ratcliff following in fifth on just the second circuit. Third place runner Al Dixon got too high exiting turn four, opening the door for Fee and Ratcliff to drive on by and advance a position. Another caution came out that bunched the field back up, and Randy Embrey would take advantage this time as he used the top side to get by Adam Hagen and Dixon to climb into fifth. Rieks would enjoy an eight car length advantage up front while the battle for second heated up among Roe, Fee, Ratcliff, and Embrey. Positions seemed to swap in each corner as they raced side by side in rows of two. David Rieks would go on to pick up his second win of the season. Cory Roe held on for second with Kevin Fee finishing third, Brad Ratcliff fourth, and Randy Embrey in fifth.

Jim Mitchell would take the lead from his inside second row starting spot in the stock car feature, but his time would be cut short as his car popped and slowed down the back stretch on lap three to bring out the caution. Mark Haglund would inherit the lead with Scott Bloemke just behind. On the restart Bloemke got shuffled back as Jason Wagoner and Jason Minnehan both set sail on the cushion and powered by him. Haglund was the only car using the inside line, and as a result Wagoner would make the pass for the lead. Minnehan and points leader Mark Elliott also made their way by Haglund and began to reel in Wagoner. Elliott ducked to the inside of Minnehan and made it stick as he climbed to second at the white flag. Elliott would close in on the rear bumper of Wagoner going into turn three before turning down the banking in turn four to pull to the inside. It would be a drag race to the line with Elliott edging out Wagoner for the win. Reid Keller finished third, Mark Haglund was fourth, and Scott Bloemke rounded out the top five. Minnehan made contact with the wall on the final lap and did not finish.

Bob Sutherland used his outside front row starting spot to rocket out to a commanding lead in the IMCA sportmod feature. After three laps he quickly built up nearly a straight away advantage over Travis Woodbeck, but it would get erased a lap later as the caution flag waved. Following a couple more quick yellows, Bryon Weyer and Jeremy Embrey made passes on both sides of Dane Larson to move into third and fourth, respectively. Weyer would continue his march to the front after passing Woodbeck using the cushion on lap eight. Weyer would look to the low side of Sutherland exiting turn four for the lead, but the caution flag negated the pass. After possibly showing his hand a bit early, Weyer would use the same maneuver on the restart and the pass would stick as Weyer took command late in the race. Jeremy Embrey used the low groove to also get by Sutherland before the final caution came with three laps remaining. Sutherland and fourth-place running Woodbeck both pushed high in turn two on the restart, opening the door for Brandon Leeman to skate under and take the third position. Back up front Bryon Weyer would maintain a comfortable lead and become the seventh different winner in eight weeks of racing. Jeremy Embrey finished second, Brandon Leeman was third, Travis Woodbeck fourth, and Bob Sutherland held on for fifth.

The time was now set for the twenty-one car field of IMCA modifieds to hit the track. Daniel Hilsabeck took command from his outside front row start, but following a restart he would lose it to Scott Williams who was fast on the low side. After restarting in tenth, Jay Noteboom quickly found the top side to his liking and motored by JJ Wise for third. He used the same line to power by Hilsabeck and brought Adam Larson with him to fourth. It wasn't long after before Noteboom took the lead with Larson behind him in second and Williams shuffled back to third still running the low side. Larson would try a couple slide jobs to get the lead away from Noteboom, but the crafty veteran countered every move to maintain the lead. Larson would pull up slow on the front stretch after his right rear tire gave way and brought out the caution. Larson would go to the trailer to end his night. From that point on most of the drivers took to the top side and not much passing would go on as Jay Noteboom picked up the win ahead of JJ Wise, Scott Williams finished third, Daniel Hilsabeck fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five.

The IMCA late model feature would be the finale of the evening as the field of eighteen were ready to rumble. Curt Schroeder set the early pace after starting on the pole. Row two starters Ben Nading and Ryan Griffith raced side by side for a couple laps as they tried settling the second position. The caution would come out when Kyle Wahlert spun out in turn one after he had a great run going in fifth. When racing resumed Griffith would work the top side and get by Nading for second as Jeff Aikey seemingly came out of nowhere to take over third. Griffith would look to the inside of Schroeder and take over the lead, but his time out front was short-lived. Entering turn three with Griffith on the inside and Schroeder on the outside, Aikey would drive deep into the corner and split the two as he took command of the race. With Aikey pulling away from the field, Todd Cooney and Darrel DeFrance both made their way by Schroeder to move into third and fourth, respectively. A restart with ten laps to go bunched the field up, allowing both Cooney and DeFrance to advance another position as they both worked under Ryan Griffith. Jeff Aikey would take home his third win of the season as he finished ahead of Todd Cooney, Darrel DeFrance, Ryan Griffith, and Curt Schroeder.

It was another exciting night at the historic Hamilton County Speedway. A thrilling finish in the stock car feature followed up by Jay Noteboom's run on the top side and Jeff Aikey's maneuver for the lead in the late model finale surely made fans cheer and perhaps left them speechless at the same time. For a full field rundown of every division, as well as upcoming schedule and updated point standings, be sure to log on to the Hamilton County Speedway website. REMEMBER - next Saturday night is the second Fan Appreciation Night in which adult tickets are just $5!!

The next week or so has the potential to be a very busy time for me, but I think I'm going to pick and choose which specials I go to. For a list of the specials in the coming weeks, be sure to check out the Positivelyracing calendar of events.

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

Schmitt Collects First "W" of Season

2011-06-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Friday afternoon in central Iowa led me to believe the night was going to be filled with some great racing action. I headed west on Highway 20 and made my fourth stop at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The unique setting has had their peaks and valleys as far as car counts go, but the racing was top notch last night as the track was in great shape with the exception of a big rut in turn one.

Outside front row starter Dakota Flogstad would grab the early lead in the hornet feature that saw thirteen cars take the green flag. Lyle Oberhelman would slowly reel in the leader and would overtake the lead using the outside line at the midpoint of the race. Flogstad would keep pace and keep the pressure on, but Lyle Oberhelman took the checkered flag first. Flogstad settled for second, Nick Hogan was third, Mike McFarland fourth, and Jarid Kuchenreuther rounded out the top five.

Econo stocks were up next with nine cars making the call. Jake Bieret wasted no time in taking command in this one from his second starting spot. Brad Hanse would pull to within a couple car lengths and maintain it the remainder of the race. Bieret would take the win ahead of Hanse, Colby Davis, Todd Fredericksen, and Brad Babb.

Fourteen hobby stocks took the green flag, but it was quickly replaced with the yellow as Kevin Berger got sideways coming out of turn four to the green flag. Berger would wind up going nose-first into the concrete wall on the front stretch and making significant contact and ending his night early. Back under way, Joel Tigges secured the top spot with Paul Toms and Austin Wolfgram behind him. A lap or two later the red flag would come out as Dave Schmauss rolled violently down the front stretch in front of where I was sitting. I didn't see what started it, but he soared into the air before eventually landing on all four wheels. Schmauss got out under his own power and appeared to be okay. While under the red flag Austin Wolfgram was seen leaving the track on the back end of a wrecker after apparently losing a right rear tire.

When the green flag came back out Toms rocketed around Tigges on the outside in turns one and two to take over the lead. Ryan Caquelin and Cody Nielsen were making their ways to the front as the settled in to third and fourth, respectively. These two drivers had rubbed on each other in the heat race and it boiled over into the feature as they beat on each other throughout the closing laps. Up front though it would be Paul Toms taking the win ahead of Joel Tigges, Cody Nielsen, Ryan Caquelin, and Jeff Lyon. Lyon had started fourteenth.

The biggest class of the night belonged to the b-mods as nineteen had checked in for the night. Bruce Egeland unfortunately had a brief night after suffering left rear damage in hot laps. Jim Lampe would hold the lead after the first lap with Andy Tiernan and Brett Meyer quickly working their ways to second and third, respectively. Tiernan would use the inside groove to make the pass on Lampe for the lead before opening up a comfortable cushion between he and Lampe. A timely caution came out as David Calmer spun his machine in turn three just ahead of the leaders. Meyer would use the double-file restart to power by Lampe on the outside to take over second. Jake Simpson also used the cushion to climb into the top five. Suddenly Tiernan slowed on the back stretch and pulled to the infield ahead of the pack, handing the reigns over to Brett Meyer. Meyer would keep his car out front the remainder of the race as he picked up another feature win. Jim Lampe followed in second, Jake Simpson was third, Eric Elliott finished fourth after starting eleventh, and Matt Pittman rounded out the top five.

The USRA stock cars were next to the track with eleven cars on hand. Outside front row starter Matt Mundt set the early pace, but the caution came out early as Jason Minnehan spun in turn four. He showed his displeasure to Wayne Crimmins before tagging the tail, and on the restart Jeremy Crimmins would overtake Mundt at the front of the field. Jeff Deal was on the charge as he passed Malcolm Teachout on the inside line for third before getting by Mundt for second. Wayne Crimmins settled into third while Minnehan was working his way back up through the field to fifth at the midpoint of the race. Mundt would get a little too high, allowing Minnehan to slip by for fourth. Back up front Deal tried a slingshot move exiting turn two and came up across the nose of Jeremy Crimmins for the lead, but as the two made contact it allowed Wayne Crimmins to sneak by and take the top spot. A caution came out again, and Minnehan was the beneficiary this time as he powered by Deal on the top side for second. Matt Mundt would lose his top five spot when he spun out to bring out the final caution. Deal would use the top side to get back by Minnehan for second, but it would be Wayne Crimmins finding himself in victory lane at the end of the race. Jeff Deal finished second, Jason Minnehan was third, Matt Fox fourth, and Jeremy Crimmins completed the top five.

1. 35 Wayne Crimmins
2. 22 Jeff Deal
3. 7 Jason Minnehan
4. M2 Matt Fox
5. 15 Jeremy Crimmins
6. 24B Randy Biederman
7. 25M Matt Mundt
8. M5 Jim Mitchell
9. 27M Mike Munson
10. 20T Malcolm Teachout
11. 57 Dennis Plain

The modifieds were ready to close out the evening as eight cars took to the track. Pole sitter and last week's feature winner Bill Crimmins shot to the lead. Rod Scheuermann quickly moved into the second position on lap two. After fading from second to sixth on the first lap, Brian Schmitt quickly rebounded and passed Mike Albertsen for fourth. Schmitt found the low line to be to his liking as he passed Dave Doughty for third. Scheuermann would sneak under Crimmins for the lead, and a few laps later Crimmins hit the rut in turn one to allow Schmitt to race by for second. With Scheuermann out front by nearly a straight away, the rest of the field would string out as well. Just then something flew off of Scheuermann's car in turn one and he exited the track on the back stretch, handing the lead over to Schmitt with five laps to go. Brian Schmitt would go on to pick up his first win of the season ahead of Bill Crimmins, Mike Albertsen, Dave Doughty, and Scott Sturm.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, I thought the track was in great shape with the exception of the rut in turn one on the top side. Cars were able to use two grooves of racing throughout the night and it made for some exciting racing action. For a full rundow of results and updated point standings, be sure to log on to the Mineral City Speedway website.

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

Mills, Ackerman Take Home Extra $$$

2011-06-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday night proved to be a great night not only in regards to the weather, but also the excitement of racing action at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. The track was in tip-top shape and provided different grooves of racing throughout the evening. When all was said and done, two drivers walked away with a little bit of extra cash in their pockets.

Chanse Hollatz would pick up the feature win in the junior hornet division as he bested a field of ten. Jordan Prehn would dominate the hornet main event over nine other competitors.

Outside front row starter Andrew Borchardt would get credit for leading the first lap of the IMCA hobby stock feature, but Stac Schroeder was just to his inside door panel ready to wrestle the lead away. Schroeder would take the lead away in turn two prior to a caution that saw Scott Dobel tangle with Jay Servantez. Heath Tulp used the cushion to zoom past Borchardt for the runner up position while Chad Gentz followed to third. Gentz then changed his line to the inside to make the pass on Tulp before setting his crosshares on Schroeder up front. Two laps later Gentz made his move to the inside and overtook Schroeder atop the leaderboard and would go on to pick up the win. Stac Schroeder would finish second, Heath Tulp was third, Andrew Borchardt finished fourth, and Cody Knecht rounded out the top five.

Despite four drivers not making the call, the IMCA sportmod feature proved to be very exciting with fifteen cars on track. Travis Greenwood would get a good start and sail to the lead from the second row. An early caution slowed the pace, but on the two-wide restart behind the leader it would be Dan Tenold getting a great jump as he flew by four cars to advance from fifth to the lead within the first lap following the restart. George Nordman and Adam Ackerman moved into second and third place, respectively, after both got around Greenfield. Ackerman ducked low on Nordman to take second away and closed in on Tenold with a couple laps to go. Ackerman swung his machine to the outside on the final lap and gained momentum off turn two to pull to the outside of Tenold entering turn three. Ackerman found some grip on the cushion and made the exciting last corner pass to pick up the thrilling win. Dan Tenold would finish second, George Nordman was third, Mike Jaeger fourth, and Nate Chodur completed the top five. Yohnco, a presenting sponsor for the night, would add money to the winner's share of the purse and Ackerman walked away with a cool $700 payday.

Pole sitter Jared Dirks wasted no time in taking command out front in the IMCA stock car finale. With Mick Meyers running second, Kevin Opheim and Travis Shipman raced side by side for the third position before Shipman secured the spot. Derek Green was on the charge a bit further back, and after starting tenth he would make the inside line work to his advantage as he passed both Opheim and Shipman to climb to third. Green wasn't done yet as he would use the same line to get by Meyers for second before overtaking Dirks for the lead. Shipman would also get Meyers and Dirks to take the runner up position before closing in on the back bumper of Green late in the race. Shipman would let Green know he was there with a few love taps, but Green maintained his composure and hit his marks en route to picking up the win in the caution-free race. Travis Shipman finished second, Mick Meyers was third, Jared Dirks fourth, and Kevin Opheim rounded out the top five.

Kevin Stoa used his outside front row starting position to blast into the lead of the IMCA modified feature. Jeremy Mills and Alex Yohn both found their way around Keith Schmitz before engaging in a heated battle for the third position. JJ Wise found himself starting at the back of the feature after not finishing his heat race, but that only motivated the young driver as he methodically worked his way through the field. By about lap eight Wise found himself up to the eighth position prior to the caution flag at the halfway point. On the restart however he would make contact with Alex Hanson and cut down a right front tire to bring out another caution flag. Levi Nielsen would get around Jeremy Mills on the outside for the second spot while Yohn again challenged Mills for third. Yohn would get the spot and advance another one as he ducked under Nielsen for second. The final yellow flag would come out, and as the field realigned for the restart Nielsen would slow in turn one and exit towards the infield. Parker Brumm took advantage on the restart as he shot to the outside and passed four cars to climb into the fourth spot. Mills closed the gap on Stoa and snuck under him to grab the lead. In the closing laps Stoa would mount a comeback and as the two exited turn four for the checkers the crowd jumped out of their seats to see Mills hold on for the half car length victory. Stoa would settle for second, Alex Yohn was third, Rob Rose finished fourth, and Keith Schmitz completed the top five. Yohnco would also add $500 to the winner's purse in this race, so Mills pocketed $1,000 for his efforts.

It was a fantastic night of racing in Mason City as seemingly every race was hotly contested. The track stayed in great shape throughout the night and provided drivers a couple different grooves in which to race. The I-35 Speedway will sit idle Monday before the annual visit of the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) invades the big half-mile on Tuesday. Hot laps are set for 7pm, so if you're in the area be sure to swing by the North Iowa Fairgrounds and the I-35 Speedway, weather permitting of course. For a full rundown of results and updated point standings, click on the I-35 Speedway website.

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

Griffith and Lettow Score First Wins of Season @ Webster City

2011-06-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday brought about the road trip to the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Threat of rain was on the radar earlier in the afternoon, but things stayed dry all night to give the drivers a smooth racing surface. The track would take rubber as the night went on, providing drivers a couple different racing grooves.

First up would be the seven-car field of hornets. Lyle Oberhelman and Adam Strunk drove to the inside and outside of the front row starters at the drop of the green flag with Strunk leading lap one. Oberhelman would look to the outside of Strunk and momentarily take the lead exiting turn two, but Strunk would battle back on the next set of turns and regain the lead. Adam Strunk would go on to pick up his fifth win in a row at Webster City. Lyle Oberhelman finished second, Mike McFarland was third, Daniel Ayers fourth, and Jason Clark rounded out the top five.

Twenty cars would take the green flag in the IMCA hobby stock feature, but the caution flag waved just as fast as the green flag had. When racing resumed it was Roger Haupt Jr leading the first lap after some of the field had raced four-wide. Brad Ratcliff was on the move as he advanced into the second position while points leader Kevin Fee worked his way to fourth on lap three. However a caution flag came out and Fee was put back in the seventh position. When the green flag dropped again Fee and David Rieks would hook bumpers and come to a stop in turn three to bring out another yellow. Ratcliff used the restart to his advantage as he used a slingshot move in turn one to overtake Haupt Jr at the front of the field. Blake Miller, Craig Graham, and Cody Nielsen raced three-wide for the third position before Miller took the spot. Miller would use the inside line to pass Haupt Jr for second, but it would be Brad Ratcliff picking up the win. Blake Miller finished second, Roger Haupt Jr was third, Craig Graham was fourth, and Cody Nielsen finished fifth in his first visit of the year.

Next up would be the stock car main event. Pole sitter Dave Atcher would grab the lead, but Mark Elliott was quickly on the prowl. Elliott started eighth, but quickly sliced his way to the third spot utilizing the inside line on lap two. Mark Haglund ducked to the inside of Atcher to snare the lead away while Elliott followed him into second. A few short laps later Elliott swung to the outside of Haglund and took command out front. Jason Wagoner found the high side to his liking as well as he passed Reid Keller for third and later passed Haglund for the runner up position with six laps remaining. Wagoner quickly closed in on Elliott, but the caution came out on the final lap. On the restart Wagoner drove in a little hot in turn one and jumped the cushion, allowing Haglund to sneak by under him for second. Wagoner would regain his composure and get back by Haglund, but time ran out as Mark Elliott picked up another win in the stock car ranks. Jason Wagoner finished second, Mark Haglund was third, Curt Hook finished fourth, and Reid Keller rounded out the top five.

The field of IMCA sportmods were dwindled down to a starting field of twenty-four with outside front row starter Jeremy Embrey getting the nod out front early. Embrey would receive heavy pressure from Jared Timmerman before relinquishing the lead, but Embrey would battle back and retake the top spot. Timmerman regained control up front as Matt Lettow got by Embrey for second. In the closing laps the leaders had to deal with lapped traffic, and exiting turn four Lettow chose the correct lane in making the pass on Timmerman for the lead. Lettow would go on to take the win ahead of Jared Timmerman, Jeremy Embrey, Cayden Carter, and Kyle Brown.

Pole sitter Luke Wanninger grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag on the IMCA modified feature. After starting seventh, JJ Wise quickly sliced his way using the bottom line to the third position. Mark Elliott was on the charge on the top side and made his way around Wise to settle in third. Wise's night would end prematurely as his machine began to pour out heavy smoke. On the restart Wanninger slid too high and allowed Elliott to motor by for the lead. Jeremy Mills worked his way around Jacob Murray for third after starting thirteenth while Adam Larson was trying to rally from being involved in an early caution. Larson would wind up fifth when the checkered flag dropped, but it would be Mark Elliott taking his car to victory lane for the second time that night. Jeremy Mills finished second, Richie Gustin was third, Luke Wanninger held on for fourth with Larson in fifth.

Curt Schroeder took control in the IMCA late model finale, but the caution flag waved on lap two to slow the pace. Darrel DeFrance dashed to the inside and made a pass on Kyle Wahlert on lap four to take over the third position. Ryan Griffith would challenge Schroeder for the lead before overtaking him on lap six. DeFrance would also get by Schroeder a few laps later, but was unable to close the big gap as Ryan Griffith nabbed his first win of the season. Darrel DeFrance finished second, Kyle Wahlert was third, Curt Schroeder was fourth, and Jeff Aikey completed the top five.

After last week's rough terrain on account of rainy weather, Saturday night was a complete turnaround as it was a dry and smooth track. It would take rubber and provide for some great side by side action, giving the fans lots of excitement. For a complete rundown from Saturday night and updated point standings, check out the Hamilton County Speedway website.

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

USMTS Action from Worthington and Fort Dodge

2011-06-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Now that its been at least five or six days since I visited Worthington and Fort Dodge for USMTS action, I'm just now getting the chance to sit down and type a blog. I'll admit, I don't have much motivation to write anything at this point now that it's five days old. I apologize for the lengthy delay, as my mother had surgery on Monday and didn't get out of the hospital until Thursday night. So my priorities were with her Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Last Sunday I met a friend in Clear Lake and headed north and west to the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minnesota. It was my first ever trip to the racey quarter mile track. As I do with every track I go to, I was looking for people I know in the grandstand when I saw a couple I recognized. I apologize for not remembering their names, but they are from the Kansas City area and travel to a lot of races, especially USMTS. Turns out they are following the USMTS on their 17-race, 19-day brutal schedule of events. I also saw a good friend of mine, Wade Sembach, and his buddy (sorry, can't remember first name but Waples is the last name). Caught up on racing gossip and such with them as well.

Heat races were run and most of the racing was done on the low groove, although many guys did advance from the tail of the field in all divisions. Once heat races were completed, the track crew went to work and grated the track from the bottom to the top, and then skimmed it back down while adding water to the surface. It did wonders for the track as it would provide side-by-side action throughout the feature events.

Bumper Jones would use his outside front row starting spot to grab the lead at the start, but fourth-place starter Ryan Gustin wasted little time in getting to the front. After passing pole-sitter Al Hejna for second, Gustin hammered his machine to the outside of Jones and took over the lead. Al Hejna worked under Jones to secure the second position as he kept pace with Gustin up front. Rodney Sanders and Jason Grimes raced wheel to wheel for the fifth spot before Sanders began moving his way forward ever so slightly. With Gustin and Hejna out front by themselves, Sanders reeled in Jones for third and set the fishing line to reel in Hejna for second. With eight laps remaining the only caution of the race would come out to set up and interesting battle between Gustin, Hejna, and Sanders. Sanders made the inside line work again to his liking as he got by Hejna, and within two more laps he ducked to the inside of Gustin and got by for the lead. Gustin would try to battle back, but wound up losing ground as Rodney Sanders took home the win. Gustin would settle for second, Jason Krohn finished third, Al Hejna slid to fourth, and Bumper Jones rounded out the top five.

Other winners on the night included Nick Johansen (USRA Iron Man B-mods), Mitch Hovden (USRA Iron Man stock cars), and Jeremy VanEde (USRA hobby stocks).

Action would resume on Monday with the annual visit to the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge. The USMTS car count was considerably down with only twenty-one cars on hand. That could be due to the forecast, or it could be a result of the regional format USMTS has in place. In either case, lack of quantity didn't reflect the caliber of racing the fans saw on Monday night.

Cayden Carter would dominate the USRA Iron Man challenge for b-mods. He finished ahead of Matt Pittman, Jared Timmerman, Steve Reetz, and Matt Lettow.

Kevin Berger would pick up the win in the USRA hobby stock feature. He was followed across the line by Austin Wolfgram, Chad Krug, Justin Nehring, and Brad Ratcliff.

Chris Ullrich picked up the win in the USRA Iron Man challenge for stock cars. Jake Masters, Kyle Falck, Mark Elliott, and Nathan Wood rounded out the top five.

With threat of rain, USMTS officials opted out of their traditional four-wide and American flags salute and instead got the show moving quickly. Mike Steensma grabbed the early lead, but an early caution involving Corey Dripps and Ron VerBeek slowed the action. Steensma would open the door for Ryan Gustin a few laps later when he slid high in turn four, allowing Gustin to motor past and take over the lead. Gustin would open up a lead of nearly a straight away, but lurking behind would be nine-time series champion Kelly Shryock. Shryock methodically drove the bottom groove while everybody else was using the cushion. Shryock knocked off a position at a time and chased down Gustin in the closing laps. Shryock would take the lead as they came to the white flag and celebrated his 46th birthday in victory lane. Gustin would have to settle for second after leading the majority of the race for the second consecutive night. Mike Steensma, Colt Mather, and Chris Brown completed the top five. Brown was driving Shryock's backup car.

All in all the races were good at both facilities. While I wasn't able to get much sleep at the beginning of the week, I have since caught up a little bit and look forward to another couple nights of racing in the next few days. My plans are to take in Webster City's weekly show Saturday night before catching more USMTS action at Mason City Tuesday and in Alta on Wednesday. Hope to see you at one of these races, or perhaps later on down the road!

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

David Rieks Cashes in Jerry Dixon Memorial Moolah

2011-06-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday I found myself looking forward to the weekly trek to the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Car counts are solidly 100+ and the track conditions are getting better every week. After seeing how good the track was in Fort Dodge on Friday night, I had a little extra motivation to see what Webster City would showcase.

Upon arrival, however, I found out that track officials had their work cut out for them. Apparently the moisture was not drying very fast and officials had to rip up the surface early Saturday afternoon. Many people were on the track with tractors and personal vehicles working on both ends of the speedway. Hot laps would get underway about twenty minutes late, but I didn't mind it as the track is more important to me then time.

Heat race action kicked off and laps on the speedway began to take its toll. Ruts started showing up in both corners. Several cars got some "major air" while somehow keeping control of their cars through the soft surface. Intermission came and the appearance of the box scraper and grater were inevitable. Work was done on both corners, and feature action would begin.

First to the speeway would be the nine-car hornet feature. Mike McFarland jumped out to the early lead, but Adam Strunk quickly threw his name into the hat and passed McFarland on the outside to overtake the lead on lap two. McFarland and Strunk raced side by side swapping the lead on occasion, allowing Daniel Ayers to close in from his third position. Ayers and McFarland both ran out of time as Adam Strunk won his fourth consecutive feature at Webster City. Mike McFarland was second, Daniel Ayers third, Angie Webb fourth, and Keaton Graffunder completed the top five.

It was then time for the Jerry Dixon Memorial event for IMCA hobby stocks. Jerry Dixon was very instrumental with the hobby stock class as he not only raced in this division, but he also had his own chassis business in which many competitors bought and raced. Jerry unfortunately lost his life to cancer. He was later inducted into the Hamilton County Speedway Racing Association's Hall of Fame, and last night would be the inaugural running of the Jerry Dixon Memorial. Several businesses and invidiuals throughout the night decided to donate money to the winner's purse, more then doubling it as the winner would pocket $650.

Roger Caquelin and David Rieks sat on the front row of the twenty-car field as three competitors were unable to make the call. Caquelin would lead the first lap, but Rieks swept under him to snare the lead away on lap two. The two seasawed positions back and forth the opening laps until a caution on lap four slowed the pace. Two laps after the restart, points leader Kevin Fee had advanced six positions to climb into the top five. Another caution would come out with three laps remaining, setting up an exciting conclusion. Fee would work the inside of Caquelin to take over the second spot, but he would suffer a right rear flat tire upon exit of turn four to end his great run from the tail. Eric Knutson, making his first visit of the year, would pick up the chase on Reiks as the laps wound down. Knutson was closing the gap and tried working the inside off turn four to checkers, but he would run out of time as David Reiks picked up his first win and collected a cool $650 payday. Eric Knutson would finish second, Roger Caquelin third, Brad Ratcliff finished fourth after starting twentieth, and Matt Webb rounded out the top five.

Focus would now turn to the IMCA sportmods as twenty-four cars took to the track. Pole sitter Matt Lettow got the early lead, but youngster Cayden Carter was there to challenge him. Carter ducked to the inside on lap two to take over the lead, but Lettow would battle back and reassume his spot at the front of the field on the next circuit. The two front runners would swap the lead as each competitor gave the other plenty of room despite changing lanes throughout the race. Points leader Joel Rust took advantage of a lap eight restart as he passed Kyle Brown and later Brandon Leeman to take the fourth position. Carter would hold the lead with two laps to go, but Lettow saw the white flag first. As the two entered turn three on the final lap, Carter dashed to the inside and let the car slide up to the middle groove. Lettow tried to power around on the cushion, but didn't have enough momentum as Cayden Carter picked up his second win of the season. Matt Lettow settled for a close second, Shawn Albers finished in third, Bryon Weyer was fourth, and Joel Rust was fifth.

Eleven stock cars were next up and Adam Silvey used his number one starting spot to grab the early lead. Curt Hook made a daring move entering turn one to sneak under both Ryan Leeman and Jim Mitchell to snag the runner up position on the third lap. First time visitor this season, Nathan Wood found himself up to fourth after passing Reid Keller. Up front Hook would make the pass on Silvey for the lead around the halfway point. Wood would get by Leeman for third with four laps to go before taking the second position past Silvey. Wood would quickly close the gap to Hook, but simply ran out of time as he caught the rear bumper of Hook when the checkered flag waved. Curt Hook picked up the win ahead of Nathan Wood, Mark Elliott was third, Adam Silvey fourth, and Ryan Leeman finished fifth.

Twenty-five IMCA modifieds were on hand Saturday night, and perhaps a little excitement was in the air as 4-time IMCA national champion David Murray from Oberlin, Kansas had ventured into town to try his luck. He and teammate Jay Noteboom looked good in their respective heat races. Feature pole sitter Kyle Krampe would hold his position as he took the lead early. Todd Shute got to the inside of Mike Jergens to claim the second spot before sneaking by Krampe on the bottom for the lead. His time at the front would be short, however, as JD Auringer powered his machine to the top side and overtook the lead. His pass would be nullified by a caution flag.

Shortly after the green flag came back out, Auringer again put his machine on the cushion and sailed to the front with Shute following to second. Mark Elliott would join the top two drivers and made the pass on Shute for second. Shute and Elliott swapped positions a few times, and behind them Richie Gustin had made his way around Mike Jergens and Krampe to sit fourth. Auringer, Shute, and Elliott were ahead of the pack by a straight away when David Murray got by Krampe to climb inside the top five with just four laps remaining. Murray would be penalized two spots for jumping the restart as the caution flag came out for that reason. When the green flag was displayed again, the only position to change hands was Mark Elliott passing Richie Gustin for third. JD Auringer picked up his second win of the season as he finished ahead of Todd Shute, Mark Elliott, Richie Gustin, and Levi Nielsen. Murray would suffer a flat tire to end his night.

The finale of the night would once again be the IMCA late models. Ryan Griffith led the seventeen-car field to the green flag, but the caution would quickly come out on lap two when Paul Watters hit the wall in turn three. Upon the restart cars tangled on the inside row of the double file restart. Victims of the crash were Al Johnson, Darrel DeFrance, and Kyle Wahlert. When racing resumed Todd Cooney was on a mission as he grabbed the lead away from Griffith utilizing the inside groove. Last week's feature winner Jeff Aikey made his way by Griffith to climb into second and began to reel in Cooney. Aikey used the low side to overtake Cooney at the front of the field on lap nine and immediately began to stretch it out. The field got spread out the rest of the way, and Jeff Aikey would take the win in commanding fashion. Todd Cooney would finish second, Ryan Giles was third, Kelly Tapper finished fourth in his first appearance of the season, and Jason Hahne completed the top five.

While track conditions were definitely a challenge, I thought the feature races were entertaining and competitive. There were two grooves of racing despite the rough surface as evident by the sportmod race between Lettow and Carter. I'm sure the Hamilton County fairboard will get ripped to shreads because of the track conditions, but I'll give them high praise for putting the effort to attempt to race. I am highly confident that the track will get better.

For a full rundown of results, updated point standings, and upcoming race schedule be sure to log on to the Hamilton County Speedway website. I'd like to thank the fairboard for their hospitality and also announcer Ryan Bergeson for the Positivelyracing plug.

Plans for tonight (Sunday) are to head northwest to take in the USMTS show in Worthington, Minnesota. I also look forward to a trip to Fort Dodge Monday to take in that USMTS show. So if you see me walking around, stop and say hi.

Williams Finds Victory Lane in Fort Dodge

2011-06-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

After most of the state received significant amounts of rain on Thursday, I went to work Friday thinking that nobody was going to be racing later that night. I got home and did a small errand before receiving a text message from a good friend from Des Moines, asking me if Fort Dodge was still racing. I told him I would check with someone connected to the track, and sure enough they were still racing. I quickly got my butt in gear and headed west on Highway 20.

Still driving in misty conditions until I reached I-35, I was skeptical as to if racing would actually happen. As I reached Webster City the highway started looking dryer, but the mist returned once I arrived at the race track. Much to my surprise, however, the track looked in great shape.

Heat races were clicked off at a good rate and it was quickly time for feature action. Dakota Flagstad would take the early command, but he would later be black flagged for leaking fuel. That handed the lead over to Mike McFarland, and he would sail away with the victory. Nate Evans would finish second, Jarid Kuchenreuther third, Mick Evans was fourth, and Mike Evans rounded out the top five.

Econo stocks were next up with eight cars taking the green flag. Austin Reicks was shot out of a cannon as he stormed to the front of the field after starting eighth.. Jason Lowe got too high exiting turn four, went off the banking and crashed into the tires on the front stretch before ending up on his top. He would get out unhurt. Reicks would pick up where he left off and took the checkered flag ahead of Todd Fredericksen, Dan Dahl, Brad Hanse, and Brad Babb.

Pole sitter Adam Suhrbier led the early laps in the hobby stock feature, but he was dethroned by Myles Michehl at the front of the pack. Suhrbier would get high in turn four, and Justin Nehring was there to take advantage as he hammered the gas into the lead. Austin Wolfgram was trying to maneuver through the field after starting ninth, but he got together with Suhrbier and lost a position. Justin Nehring would go on to pick up the feature win ahead of Myles Michehl, Jeff Lyon, Austin Wolfgram, and Zachary Angstrom.

1. 20N Justin Nehring
2. 21 Myles Michehl
3. 59 Jeff Lyon
4. 24 Austin Wolfgram
5. 01z Zachary Angstrom
6. 4 Ryan Caquelin
7. 27P Kevin Berger
8. 90 Matt Wise
9. 49 Jack Marsh
10. 30 Dave Schmauss
11. 10s Adam Suhrbier - DNF
12. 24T Paul Toms - DNS

It was then time for the limited modifieds to hit the track with fifteen cars ready for action. Outside front row starter Clay Evans continued his momentum from last week's feature win to lead in the early going in this one. Steve Reetz would replace Evans as the leader a few laps later while Jim Lampe also snuck under Evans for third. Lampe was closing in on the front two cars of Reetz and Matt Pittman, but contact between Lampe and Pittman sent both into a spin. Pittman fired his machine up but Lampe fell victim to the caution flag. Late in the race Andy Tiernan dove to the inside to take the third spot away from Evans, but the race belonged to Steve Reetz as he took the win. Matt Pittman finished second, Andy Tiernan third, Clay Evans fourth, and Rocky Caudle finished fifth in what I believe was a new car.

1. 80 Steve Reetz
2. 36 Matt Pittman
3. 321 Andy Tiernan
4. 54E Clay Evans
5. 99 Rocky Caudle
6. 40rd Bob Sutherland
7. F5 Travis Storm
8. 40 George Gilliland
9. 3 Trevor Chaplin
10. 2 Jeriel Ratzke
11. 14K Donovon Kerrebeck
12. 57 Doug Bartels - DNF
13. 22 Jim Lampe - DNF
14. 23JR Nick Roberts - DNF
15. 37 Dustin Haggard - DNF

USRA stock cars were next up with eleven cars taking the green flag. Jeff Deal raced out to the early lead with Dennis Plain and Jim Mitchell hanging tough behind him. Plain would lose the handle momentarily and slip back to eighth prior to a caution flag waving. Upon receiving the green flag on the restart Wayne Crimmins would suffer a right rear flat tire and exit to the pits. Deal continued to lead the way with Matt Mundt and Matt Fox following. Mitchell worked under Fox to take the third spot away while Jason Minnehan followed to fourth. Minnehan then ducked to the inside in turn three and passed Mitchell and Mundt for the second position. It wasn't enough though as Jeff Deal would be the victor followed by Minnehan, Mundt, Mitchell, and Fox rounding out the top five.

1. 22 Jeff Deal
2. 7 Jason Minnehan
3. 25M Matt Mundt
4. M5 Jim Mitchell
5. M2 Matt Fox
6. 57 Dennis Plain
7. 20 Malcolm Teachout
8. 93 Michael Jaennette - DNF
9. 24B Randy Biederman - DNF
10. 35 Wayne Crimmins - DNF
11. 15 Jeremy Crimmins - DNF

The finale of the evening was the nine-car field of modifieds. Scott Sturm would hold down the fort in the early going, but he slipped high and opened the door for Brad Williams to take control at the front of the field. Rod Scheuermann methodically worked his way towards the front using the bottom side of the speedway as he passed Dave Doughty and Scott Sturm to climb into second. As the field was spread out, Scheuermann began to reel in Williams in the closing laps. He would run out of time, however, as Brad Williams picked up the feature win. Scheuermann settled for second, Scott Sturm was third, Mike VanGenderen finished fourth, and Dave Doughty was fifth.

1. 22BW Brad Williams
2. 14R Rod Scheuermann
3. 23 Scott Sturm
4. 15x Mike VanGenderen
5. 68 Dave Doughty
6. z3 Mike Albertsen
7. 61 Brian Schmitt
8. 20 Kyle Segbart
9. 47 Rodney Slagle - DNS

Racing action concluded at around 9:45. I thought the track held up very well considering the moisture that was in it. Only a rough patch in turn two was visible from my eyes.

Check out the Mineral City Speedway website for upcoming races, results, and point standings. Be sure to check out the USMTS show coming up Monday night, June 13th!

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

Double the Fun at BVR

2011-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night's slate of action at the Buena Vista Raceway was twice the fun for race fans as they would be treated to two sets of feature races in every class. All heat races were run a week ago before the rain set in and forced the postponement of the features to this week.

First up on the busy night would be the BVR bombers. Mike Draper would lead flag to flag in capturing the first feature of the night. He was followed across the line by Keith Demey, Austin Reicks, Jake Bieret, and Lucas Vote.

It was then time for the IMCA sport compact feature. Cory Flanigan rocketed to the lead from his fifth starting position on the first lap. Randy Cass was slowly reeling in the leader, but ran out of time as Flanigan pocketed another win. Cass finished second, Merv Chandler was third, Dallas Chandler fourth, and Jeff Roemen rounded out the top five.

Next to the track was the full field of IMCA hobby stocks. Pole sitter Justin Nehring set the early pace, but a caution quickly slowed the action. Following the restart, Andy Boeckman made a big charge and advanced from sixth to the third spot while they were three-wide behind him for fifth. Matt Mahoney made the bottom side work to his liking as he passed Nehring for the lead. Boeckman would follow to second while Devin Smith worked his way into the fourth position at the halfway point. Smith ducked under Nehring to climb to third and began to track down Mahoney and Boeckman at the front of the field. Boeckman would get loose in the corner, allowing Smith to advance into the second position. A caution at the white flag proved to be a deciding factor as Smith used the inside row on the restart to take the lead away. Another caution came out following another white flag, and on this final restart Michael Murphy took advantage as he passed two cars to move into the second spot when the checkered flag waved. Smith would take the win followed by Murphy, Boeckman, Mahoney, and Craig Brotherton. Boeckman was later disqualified in post-race tech.

Following that exciting feature was the IMCA sportmods with sixteen cars taking the green flag. Again the pole sitter would get the advantage on the start with Keagan Scott taking early command. Doug Smith was on the move in the middle of the pack as he worked his way into fourth on lap two after starting ninth. Smith would click off a few more spots and find himself in second before working under Scott for the lead. Jesse Sobbing methodically was working his way to the front as well as he found himself in second just five laps into the race after starting tenth. Two cautions would give Sobbing ample opportunity to knock on the door, but Doug Smith would not be denied as he picked up the win. Sobbing finished second, Tony Pogeler was third, Chris Grothe finished fourth, and Brett Meyer rounded out the top five.

With brothers Devin and Doug already finding victory lane, the pressure was on IMCA stock car competitors Dave and Donavon to keep the streak going. Things got off to a rocky start as pole sitter Jay Brannan pushed up the track on the start in turn four, bounced off Stefan Sybesma, spun and got collected by Brian Blessington. Sybesma would be done for the night, Blessington would make repairs and return, and Brannan continued on from the back of the pack before retiring later. David Smith would lead the field once the green flag waved, but he would receive pressure from brother Donavon as the laps wound down. Donavon was unable to work in a second groove, however, and it was David Smith taking the win. Donavon Smith was second, Kenny Hansen third, Chris Ullrich fourth, and Brian Blessington completed the top five.

Sixteen IMCA modifieds were then set for their first feature of the night. Pole sitter Jim Thies took command from the start with outside front row starter Mike Jergens right behind him. Following an early caution, the double file restart proved to be an exciting one as Mike Jergens and another car tangled on the front stretch. Jergens kept it straight, but upon exiting turn two the car got sideways and contact from another machine led to a gentle rollover of Jergens. He would be okay. After starting sixteenth, Josh Most would take the lead shortly after the restart with Matt Bonine on his heels. Justin Sackett took the second spot away from Bonine, but Bonine would spin in turn four along with Dustin Smith and Brad Williams. No caution was thrown as the drivers got their machines going. With a clear track, Josh Most would go on to take the win ahead of Justin Sackett, Andy Gage, Chris Abelson, and Jim Thies.

Track officials took some time to do some track prep before the heat races would be run. Austin Reicks would dominate the BVR bomber feature as he picked up the win ahead of Josh Mahler, Lucas Vote, Colby Davis, and Jake Bieret.

Cory Flanigan again set the early pace in the IMCA sport compact feature, but Merv Chandler would take the lead away using the bottom side to his liking. Megan Lappegard snuck under Flanigan for the second position before Flanigan made major contact with an implement tire in turn three. From there Chandler would hold off Lappegard for the win, with Dallas Chandler and Bill Whalen Jr rounding out the top five.

Another big field of IMCA hobby stocks took to the track for their second feature of the night. Justin Nehring led early, but Kyle Robinson found some bite on the top side to snare the lead away. Following a lap four caution, Devin Smith charged from fifth up to the second position. Smith passed Robinson on the low side to take over the race lead, and despite a couple more cautions was able to fend him off the rest of the way to pick up his second win on the night. Kyle Robinson was second, Cody Nielsen finished third, Matt Mahoney was fourth, and Michael Murphy rounded out the top five.

Pole sitter Tim Wilcox would lead the first lap of the IMCA sportmod regular feature, but eighth place starter Jesse Sobbing quickly used the top line to climb to second on the first lap. Doug Smith worked his way into the third position on lap three while Sobbing took over the lead using the inside groove. Smith would use the same line to get by Wilcox, but he was nearly half a straight away behind Sobbing prior to a caution waving at the halfway point. Sobbing was clicking on all cylinders, however, and would not relinquish the lead as he picked up the feature win. Doug Smith finished second, Tim Wilcox was third, Doug Bartels fourth, and Matt Pittman rounded out the top five.

With two cars unable to make the call for the second IMCA stock car feature, ten cars took the green flag and it was anybody's guess as to who led the first lap as Roger Tripp, Travis Schueller, and Donavon Smith raced three-wide at the line. Smith would get the advantage off turn two to secure the lead while Chris Ullrich followed him to settle into second. Kenny Hansen and David Smith both used the bottom groove to slip past Schueller for third and fourth, respectively. From that point on the field would run single file and Donavon Smith would prevail for the win. Ullrich finished second, Hansen third, David Smith fourth, and Travis Schueller rounded out the top five.

The final event of the night would be the second feature for IMCA modifieds. Pole sitter Brad Williams grabbed the lead, but Mike Jergens used a lap two restart to wrestle the lead away as Jay Noteboom advanced to second. Another caution involving six cars slowed the pace, but when the green flag was displayed Noteboom wasted little time in assuming the lead. The end of the race was plagued by a few yellow flags and one red flag that involved Dustin Smith rolling hard in turn three in which he landed outside the race track and out near Highway 7 that runs parallel to the back stretch. He was said to be okay, but was transported out of precautionary measures. Mike Jergens would fend off Jay Noteboom to pick up the win. Mike Albertsen finished third, Craig Reetz was fourth, and Jason Briese completed the top five.

It was a late night as the final checkers waved sometime around midnight. Temperatures were a bit on the chilly side as the night progressed as fans grabbed sweatshirts and jackets.

For a complete rundown of results and updated point standings, be sure to check out the Buena Vista Raceway website. Thanks to promoter Jeff Herring and his sidekick Eric Blum for their hospitality, and I can't wait for the annual visit by the USMTS series on June 22nd!

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

Mills Repeats at Hamilton County Speedway

2011-06-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful evening was in store for race fans Saturday night at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. For the fifth time in as many nights of racing, the car count topped the triple digit mark with 105. The heat races were run pretty smoothly with the exception of one of the IMCA sportmod heats as Chase Ellingson and Kyle Brown tangled on the back stretch. Ellingson was checked over by the EMS crew, but seemed to be ok. Brown was not hurt.

Seven hornets started off the night's feature action with Adam Strunk making a bold move to the bottom for the lead after starting fourth. The action was three-wide momentarliy behind him with Daniel Ayers, Keaton Graffunder, and Jason Clark battling it out. Strunk would go on to pick up his third consecutive feature win at Webster City. Daniel Ayers would finish second, Jason Clark was third, Chris Louk fourth, and Keaton Graffunder rounded out the top five.

Following the hornet feature would be the IMCA hobby stock feature event. Eighteen cars took the green flag with Ray Stock Jr holding down the top spot in the early going. Randy Embrey, who was making his first appearance at the track this year, started in the twelfth spot but quickly sliced his way through to the fifth position by lap three. Embrey continued his march towards the front as he worked to the inside of both Bobby Dilley and Matt Ring to climb into the third spot. Following a caution, Embrey worked to the outside of second place runner David Rieks to take over that position. Soon after Rieks would lose the handle of his machine while Ray Stock Jr slowed down the back stretch. The yellow flag would come out for Rieks, and Embrey would inherit the race lead. Randy Embrey would go on to take the win ahead of Bobby Dilley, Brad Ratcliff, Kevin Fee, and Cory Roe.

Twenty-seven IMCA sportmods checked into the pit area Saturday night with a couple of them not making the call for the feature. Using the pole to his advantage, Austin Lucas shot to the lead with Cayden Carter following just behind. Jeremy Embrey moved into the fourth spot as he got around Jared Timmerman, but it was a long distance ahead to the top three as Lucas, Carter, and Matt Lettow separated themselves from the field. Lucas would push up the track just enough to allow Carter to sneak under and take over the lead with five laps remaining. Following a caution, Embrey drove in deep in turn three and made significant contact with Matt Lettow. Lettow would exit to his trailer, but as he was doing that Carter was slowing on the track. The caution flag waved with two laps remaining as Carter pulled his machine to the trailer. On the restart Embrey would suffer a flat right front tire as a result of his contact with Lettow earlier. He pulled out of harms way as Austin Lucas took the win. Carter VanDenBerg would cross the line in second, but would be docked two spots for jumping the final restart. That bumped Joel Rust to the second spot, Rocky Caudle to third, and VanDenBerg scored in fourth with Jared Timmerman rounding out the top five.

The focus then turned to the stock cars as they pulled on to the track. Mark Elliott has won all four features thus far, but he would have his work cut out for him on this night as he started in the ninth position out of eleven cars. Defending track champion Mark Haglund would hold down the early lead. First time visitor on the year Curt Hook made his presence known early as he used the cushion to advance six positions on the first lap, going from tenth to fourth. Reid Keller and Adam Silvey raced side by side for the runner up spot while Jason Wagoner challenged Hook for the fourth spot until the caution waved on lap six. Keller would make the pass on Haglund for the lead soon after a restart and would fend off a charging Mark Elliott for the win. Elliott settled for second, Haglund was third, Curt Hook fourth, and Dennis Plain completed the top five.

Another good field of IMCA modifieds were on hand Saturday night as all but one of the twenty-three cars took the green flag. Pole sitter Greg Elliott took command from the start with Jeremy Mills on his heels. Mark Elliott and Adam Larson would both make passes on Jacob Murray to advance to the third and fourth positions, respectively, prior to the caution flag waving on lap eleven. Mills and Elliott would swap positions a few times with Mills getting the edge. Mills would use the top side to get by Greg Elliott for the lead with just two laps to go and would go on to take the win. Greg Elliott settled for second, Mark Elliott was third, and Scott Olson edged Adam Larson at the line for fourth and fifth, respectively.

The finale of the night would be the IMCA late models with sixteen cars ready for action. Chad Cooney would lead the first lap, but Ryan Giles would split him and Ben Nading on an early restart to snare the lead away. Darrel DeFrance would follow Giles to the second position and work under Giles as the two raced wheel to wheel. A few yellow flags later, Nading would get a good restart and work under Giles for the lead. Nading and Giles would engage in a great battle for the top position for several laps as the two never touched each other. Meanwhile Jeff Aikey had worked his way around DeFrance for third and was slowly reeling in the top two drivers. With six laps to go Aikey passed Nading for second prior to another caution flag. Following the restart Aikey looked to the inside of Giles in turn three and drove a little deeper and pushed up, making contact with Giles. Aikey would take the lead as a result and go on to take the win. Ben Nading got back by Ryan Giles for second and third, respectively, with Darrel DeFrance and Al Johnson rounding out the top five.

I'd like to thank track announcer Ryan Bergeson for the Positively racing plug once again. I'd also like to thank the Hamilton County fairboard for their hospitality. Be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for upcoming events, results, and updated points.

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

Fort Dodge Action June 3rd

2011-06-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

Friday night was picture perfect for racing at the Mineral City Speedway, with the exception of the bugs. The muggy and hot weather brought the bugs out, but that didn't prevent the crowd from seeing a lot of action on the track.

First onto the track for their feature was the seventeen-car field of hornets. Cautions plagued this event as four attempts to start the race were needed before the first lap could get completed. Officials finally opted to use a single file start rather then the traditional two-wide start. Nate Evans would grab the lead on the first lap and continue to hold that spot until the checkers waved. He was followed across the line by Mick Evans, Daniel Ayers, Keaton Graffunder, and Jason Clark.

Ten econo stocks then made their way to the track with Todd Fredericksen holding down the top spot in the early going. Austin Reicks was on the move early as he passed Jason Lowe and then later Fredericksen for the lead. Fredericksen would lose the handle of his machine, handing the second position over to Brad Hanse. Hanse was nearly a straight away behind though when Reicks took the checkered flag and the win. Hanse followed in second, a 7DD car was third, Colby Davis fourth, and #72 was fifth. Sorry I didn't catch the names, and at this time Speednet isn't updated yet.

Hobby stocks took to the track with fifteen cars making the call. Austin Wolfgram wasted no time in getting his machine to the front at the drop of the green flag from his fourth starting position. An early caution set up a restart in which Kevin Berger made a pass on Jeff Lyon for the third spot. Berger would then challenge Justin Nehring for second when the two made contact exiting turn two that resulted in both of them spinning down the back stretch and bringing out the caution. Up front Austin Wolfgram had it on cruise control as he picked up the win ahead of Ryan Caquelin, Jeff Lyon, Jack Marsh, and Matt Wise.

Clay Evans used his pole starting spot to take the early command in the limited modified feature that saw fifteen cars take the green flag. A bit further back Doug Bartles made the pass on Trevor Chaplin to take over the third position. With Evans stretching out his lead, Andy Tiernan would make the move around Bartles on the outside to take the third position away. Tiernan kept his momentum up on the cushion as he passed Steve Reetz for second with two laps remaining, but he was unable to track down the leader as Clay Evans picked up the win. Tiernan was second, Steve Reetz finished third, Doug Bartles was fourth, and Trevor Chaplin picked up a fifth place finish.

The USRA stock car feature followed with nine cars taking the green flag. Jeff Deal rocketed to the lead. Malcolm Teachout drove to the outside of Dennis Plain for the runner up spot at the halfway point. Late in the race contact among the front of the pack shuffled the running order as Deal slowed on the front stretch and Teachout and Plain tried to regain control of their machines. Plain would hold the lead until the exit of turn four on the final lap when Wayne Crimmins ducked low and squeaked out the win. Dennis Plain had to settle for a close second place finish, Malcolm Teachout hung on for third, Matt Fox was fourth, and Chris Ullrich rounded out the top five.

The final event of the night saw ten modifieds take center stage. Rod Scheuermann would seize control from the start. Brian Schmitt would move into the runner up spot, but he would later give it up as Dave Doughty passed him on the inside to snare it away. Doughty would slowly close the gap to Scheuermann, and would have a great opportunity to capitalize on the yellow as the field was set to take the white flag. Unfortunately for Doughty he wasn't able to take advantage, and in fact went backwards as several cars made their way by in the closing laps. Rod Scheuermann picked up the win ahead of Jeff Nielson, Dustin Smith, Brian Schmitt, and defending track champion Brad Williams. Doughty wound up sixth.

For a complete rundown, check out the Mineral City Speedway website as I'm sure the results will be posted in the near future.

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

Elliott Remains Undefeated in Stock Car Action at Webster City

2011-05-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

After last week's racing action got cut prematurely by weather, the Hamilton County Speedway again hosted a great night of racing at the "historic half-mile" with a terrific crowd on hand for $5 admission fan appreciation night. With three makeup features yet to be run, action got started a little earlier to accommodate for time.

First up on the slate would be the stock car makeup feature. Ten cars made the call with Reid Keller getting the jump on the field and leading the first lap. Mark Elliott, who started in eighth, quickly sliced his way to second on the first lap with Jason Wagoner following in his tire tracks. The three separated from the rest of the pack and Elliott was able to power his machine around the top side of Keller to take over the lead. Keller would receive heavy pressure from Wagoner for the second position throughout the rest of the race, but taking the win would be Elliott. Keller held on for second with Wagoner in third, Scott Bloemke was fourth, and Jim Mitchell rounded out the top five.

The IMCA modified makeup feature was next up on the track with a twenty-car field. Pole sitter Mike Jergens held the top spot in the early going, but many eyes were focused on the middle of the pack as Richie Gustin worked his way to the front. After starting twelfth, Gustin quickly maneuvered his machine to fifth at the completion of lap four. With Jergens out front by himself, Gustin continued to click off positions as he passed Duane Peterson, Levi Nielsen, and Jacob Murray to settle in to second on lap seven. In four laps Gustin used the inside groove to scoot by Jergens and take control at the front of the field. A caution flag waved shortly after Gustin took the lead, allowing the pack to bunch back up. A few laps later Justin Sackett climbed into the top five after passing Ron Lauritzen on the inside. With Gustin out front by himself, Sackett chased down Jergens for second and took advantage when Jergens bobbled in turn four. Richie Gustin went on to win his second feature at the Hamilton County Speedway. Justin Sackett finished second after starting nineteenth, Mike Jergens was third, Ron Lauritzen fourth, and Jon Snyder rounded out the top five.

Nineteen of the twenty-one IMCA late models that were checked in last week made the return trip for the makeup feature. Craig Jacobs rocketed to the lead from the pole with Ryan Griffith keeping pace right behind him. Following an early yellow, Darrel DeFrance made a great move on the restart to click off a few positions as he went from seventh to third within two laps of green flag racing. Jeff Aikey, who had started at the rear of the field, was on the charge deep in the field as he moved up to the sixth position by lap five. The caution flag waved once again on lap twelve when Griffith's motor went up in smoke on the front stretch. Despite the caution, Jacobs was still able to keep the field at bay as he went on to take the checkered flag. DeFrance settled for second, Kyle Wahlert finished third, Al Johnson was fourth, and Jason Hahne completed the top five.

The regular program then got kicked off with heat races and a b-main for the IMCA sportmods. Track announcer Ryan Bergeson mentioned that 122 race teams were in attendance in front of a packed grandstand that was estimated at around 1,300 people.

The hornet feature took to the track for their feature with nine of the eleven cars making the call. Pole sitter Nick Hogan was credited with leading the first lap while Jarid Kuchenreuther was at his door panel at the line. Kuchenreuther used that outside line to wrestle the lead away on the next lap, but Adam Strunk was closing in behind with Mike McFarland just behind him. Strunk used the inside line to take the lead and then held off McFarland to take the win. McFarland was second, Kuchenreuther was third, Daniel Ayers was fourth, and Devin Collins rounded out the top five.

Twenty-two IMCA hobby stocks were next up and pole sitter Blake Miller took control up front. Craig Graham quickly changed that as he ducked to the inside to take the lead away. Point leader Kevin Fee, who started in twelfth, quickly charged to third on lap three prior to the first of five cautions coming out a lap later. That wouldn't distract Fee, as he got by Miller on the inside to click off another spot before setting his sights on Graham. Fee had got around Graham for the lead, but the caution came out and negated the pass. A lap six pass by Fee did stand, however, and the Knoxville driver took control out front. Another caution flag waved when Blake Miller spun as a result of drivers attempting to go four-wide exiting turn two. Robert See was penalized for questionable driving and tagged the tail of the field. Two more cautions would come out, but the name at the front of the field remained the same as Kevin Fee extended his points lead with the win. Brad Ratcliff would finish second, Robert See rebounded nicely to get third, Craig Graham was fourth, and Cory Roe completed the top five.

Attention then turned towards the IMCA sportmods with twenty-four starters on the track. Pole sitter Cayden Carter wasted no time in taking command of the field. Carter would begin to pull away, but a caution on lap five erased his growing lead. Jeremy Embrey used the restart to his advantage as he began to click off positions, climbing into the second position after making passes on Carter VanDenBerg and Matt Lettow. Another caution on lap nine slowed the action once again, but Cayden Carter would again pull away from the field on his way to victory lane. Jeremy Embrey wound finish second, Carter VanDenBerg was third, Matt Lettow finished fourth, and Brandon Toftee rounded out the top five.

Ten of the twelve stock cars that were checked in made the call for their second feature of the night. Dennis Plain would lead the first lap, but the rest of the field were three and four-wide behind him. Mark Elliott again showed his prowess on the half-mile speedplant as he got by Jim Mitchell for second early on. Elliott would capitalize when Plain got too high in turn four, handing the reigns over to Elliott. Jason Wagoner and Travis Prochaska would both get by Mitchell using the bottom groove, but neither had anything for the leader as Mark Elliott continued his domination in the stock car ranks and picked up his fourth win in as many races. Jason Wagoner finished second, Travis Prochaska third, Jim Mitchell fourth, and Dennis Plain finished fifth.

It would then be time for the twenty-four car starting field of IMCA modifieds. Pole sitter Jeremy Mills rocketed to the lead with opening night winner JD Auringer chasing him down in second. Richie Gustin was on the move quickly again in this feature as he climbed into the top five on lap six. A lap later he used the bumpy cushion to pass Clint Wendel and David Brown to secure the third position. Mills would pull away from Auringer until the caution came out with three laps to go. However the top three cars would remain unchanged as Jeremy Mills picked up the win ahead of JD Auringer, Richie Gustin, Adam Larson, and Todd Shute.

Five caution flags would plague the seventeen-car IMCA late model feature. Ben Nading used the pole to his advantage as he blasted into the lead. Jason Hahne made a great move on the first set of corners to pass five cars in advancing to the second position. Todd Cooney and Ryan Giles quickly made their way to third and fourth, respectively, after starting in row five together. Following a lap five restart, Cooney used the top groove to wrestle the second position away from Hahne. Then a period of three caution flags within two laps slowed the pace, but Cooney jumped on the throttle on the restart on lap nine to power by Nading for the lead. Cooney would begin to put distance between him and Nading as he held a straight away advantage when he crossed the line for the win. Ben Nading would finish second, Ryan Giles was third, Craig Jacobs finished fourth, and Darrel DeFrance completed the top five.

Despite the track being on the rough side in the corners, drivers were able to use multiple lanes throughout the night to keep the huge crowd entertained. Mills used the extreme low groove to dominate the IMCA modified feature in leading all twenty laps while Todd Cooney used the high side to capture his win. For a complete rundown of results and updated point standings, be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website. I'd like to thank the Hamilton County Speedway fairboard for their hospitality and Ryan Bergeson for the Positivelyracing plug.

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

Mather Finds First USMTS Win at Allison

2011-05-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday night the stars and cars of the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) invaded the half-mile track at the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa. It was supposed to be stop number two of five on the Memorial Day weekend swing, but mother nature did not cooperate on Wednesday and officials were forced to postpone the event at the Southern Iowa Speedway until July. When I arrived at the track in Allison around 5:00, I was very surprised when I saw the water truck applying more water to the track!

A great number of cars were on hand Thursday night as 107 teams packed the pit area. That number included 29 USMTS modifieds, 36 USRA Ironman stock cars, and an astounding 42 USRA Ironman b-mods. After getting things started a bit behind schedule, the action picked up for heat race action and then on into the b-mains to set all three feature fields.

The first feature to hit the track was the USRA Arnold Motor Supply Ironman series for stock cars. Twenty-seven cars took the green flag with pole sitter Tory Reicks grabbing the early lead. The pace soon slowed on lap two when Randy Killen spun in turn four. Soon after that restart, Mike VanGenderen also spun in turn four to bring out the caution. Kevin Donlan enjoyed the ensuing restart as he advanced two positions to climb to the second spot. Defending series champion Nathan Wood also proved he would be a contender as he used the bottom groove to slip by Matt Griener for third prior to a caution. Donlan again took advantage of the restart as he ducked low on Reicks to take over the race lead on lap five. Several position changes would occur throughout the race, especially among the top four, seemingly every lap. Following the fifth and final caution of the race, Dan Christopher took control at the front of the field. Nathan Wood climbed into the second position before sliding to the inside in turn four and securing the lead. Christopher's good run came up short as he lost the handle in turn four, giving up several positions. When the checkered flag waved it would be Nathan Wood in victory lane followed by Tory Reicks, Kevin Donlan, Mike VanGenderen rebounded nicely for a fourth place finish, and Dan Trimble completed the top five.

Up next would be the USRA Ironman series for the b-mods. Twenty-four starters took the green flag and again it would be pole sitter Brian Schrage getting a great start to secure the top spot. The first caution of the race came on lap five, and as the field was going down the backstretch for the ensuing restart the second place machine of Cayden Carter ducked into the infield to end his night early. As the laps clicked off Jimmy Broszeit found his groove as he climbed the leaderboard, making the low side work in passing Bob Sutherland for the second position. Broszeit used the same line to sneak under Schrage for the lead. Defending USRA b-mod national champion Brandon Hare was also on a mission, making passes on both Sutherland and Schrage to move into the second position late in the race. Jimmy Broszeit led the field to the checkered flag and the win ahead of Brandon Hare, Brian Schrage, Bob Sutherland, and Tyler Droste. However, following post race inspection both Broszeit and Schrage were disqualified and giving the win to Brandon Hare. Sutherland was bumped up to second, Droste third, Mike Shelton fourth, and Matt Lettow completed the top five.

It was then time for the ground pounding action of the USMTS feature. Unfortunately the pace came to a stop shortly after it started as Keith Foss went for a ride in turn three on the first lap. Fortunately he would walk away unhurt. When the green remained out it was Eric Dailey rocketing to the lead from his outside front row starting spot. Dailey would enjoy almost a straight away advantage until smoke started showing. Dailey was given the black flag for excessive smoke and exited to the infield. Ryan Gustin would inherit the lead, but that was short lived as Colt Mather used the inside groove to make the pass and get out front.

With fifteen laps in the book, another restart saw Rodney Sanders make the outside line work in his favor as he advanced two spots and into the third position. Up front Mather and Gustin raced wheel to wheel, keeping the fans on the edge of their seats throughout the race. While that battle was going on VanderBeek had tracked down Sanders once again as those two engaged in a battle for third. In both cases the bottom side was the quick way as Mather remained out front and VanderBeek got the advantage for third. Gustin would not give up on the top side as he regained the lead prior to the caution flag waving. During the caution I noticed Kelly Shryock, who was running in the top five, had broken his left front tie rod. He would attempt to race with it, but would retire to the infield a few laps later. Mather kept the pressure on Gustin and took advantage of the quicker bottom groove to put himself back atop the leaderboard with a few laps remaining. Gustin would try everything he could, but was unable to keep pace as Colt Mather picked up his first-ever USMTS feature win. Gustin would settle for second, Zack VanderBeek finished third, Rodney Sanders was fourth, and Al Hejna held off Jon Tesch for fifth and sixth, respectively. It was a solid run for Hejna as it was his first night behind the wheel of his new Big Cock Chassis by Corey Dripps.

While the show did run a bit late, I think the only thing officials could have done different was start earlier. In hearing conversations after the races, officials did not expect that many cars to be on hand. As most would say though, "that's a good problem to have." While the track did have a major rut in turns one and two, I thought overall the track stayed in decent shape considering the conditions officials were dealt. For full results, be sure to check out the following websites: Highway 3 Raceway, USMTS, and USRA.

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

Embrey, See Beat the Rain at Hamilton County Speedway

2011-05-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

After seeing the forecast earlier in the week, I was very surprised to hear that the Hamilton County Speedway was still racing Saturday night. I got word that the pit area was the problem area, and when I showed up around 5:00 it was definitely a muddy mess. Several vehicles were on the track trying to pack it in while a couple tractors were in the infield trying to smooth over the surface.

After getting a late start due to the conditions, the program got underway. Following all the heat races track officials took the box scraper out to turns one and two and made a couple passes to blade off the top side to knock the cushion down and perhaps make a smoother surface.

The hornet feature would be first on the track following the track work. Adam Strunk would take control in the early going, but he would be challenged by Lyle Oberhelman. The two appeared to make contact a few times down the backstretch, but Strunk maintained the lead. In the closing laps it appeared Oberhelman lost a little power, allowing Mike McFarland to get by and close in on Strunk. But it was not to be as Adam Strunk took home the checkers and the win. Mike McFarland finished second, Lyle Oberhelman was third, Daniel Ayers finished fourth, and Jarid Kuchenreuther rounded out the top five.

The field of sixteen IMCA hobby stocks then made their way to the track with pole-sitter Al Dixon getting the jump and race lead. Dixon would push up high in turn four on the fourth circuit, opening the door for Brad Ratcliff to slip by under him for the lead. Robert See was on a mission behind the front runners as he passed Matt Ring and Roger Haupt Jr to crack the top three. He later worked to the inside of Dixon to grab the runner up position before a caution came out. A few more cautions would wave, and the final one was costly for Ratcliff as he exited the track on the backstretch prior to the restart and giving up the race lead. Robert See inherited the lead and was never challenged following the restart as he picked up the win. Matt Ring would finish second, Al Dixon was third, Kevin Fee crossed the line fourth, and Cory Roe rebounded from a trip to the work area to finish fifth.

A big field of IMCA sportmods had to dwindle the field down via a b-main. Outside front row starter Jeremy Embrey rocketed to the lead with rookie Shawn Albers following in second. Embrey opened up a straight away lead around the halfway point, but a caution erased his lead. On the restart Embrey again took off and left the field on his way to victory lane. Shawn Albers had a great run to finish second, Brandon Toftee was third, Travis Woodbeck finished fourth, and Jim Lampe rounded out the top five. I believe the announcer said thirty sportmods were on hand last night.

Unfortunately these three races were the only features to get run last night. Officials decided to postpone the remaining of the program until next week due to the threatening weather that was heading towards Webster City. The stock car, IMCA modified, and IMCA late model feature will be in addition to a complete show next Saturday during fan appreciation night, in which the grandstand admission will only be $5 for adults. Sounds like a heck of a bargain to me!! For more information, be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website.

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

Boeckman and Abelson Repeat at BVR

2011-05-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

First off I have to apologize for this being so late. I simply didn't have time to write this blog as I had other stuff going on. That being said, Wednesday was seemingly a perfect day with the warm temperatures and sunny skies. As I trekked to the west, however, the sun disappeared and it was a bit cool as I got out of my vehicle upon arrival at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. Chances of rain seemed to be on the horizon with lightning off to the east, but the show went on and was completed.

The BVR bomber class was first to hit the track for their feature. Eight cars took the green flag with Austin Reicks taking the top spot at the drop of the green flag. Jake Bieret and Keith Demey worked under Josh Maholer for the second and third positions, respectively, before Demey went up in smoke. When racing resumed, it would be Austin Reicks crossing the finish line ahead of Jake Bieret, Lucas Vote, Josh Maholer, and Colby Davis. However, those results would not hold up after post-race tech disqualified Reicks, Bieret, and Maholer. Go that gave the win to Lucas Vote. Colby Davis was then credited with second, Mike Draper was third, Kevin Blume was scored fourth, and Keith Demey rounded out the top five.

The IMCA sport compacts were up next with five cars on hand. Cory Flanigan rocketed to the lead and never looked back as he cruised to the easy win. He was followed by Mark Lindgren, Joe Bunkofske, Mike Brabec, and Danny Rose.

Twenty-three IMCA hobby stocks checked in for action Wednesday night with all but two of them making the call for the feature. Pole-sitter Shannon Anderson grabbed the early control on lap one, but perhaps the best single lap in my recent memory was had by Devin Smith. After starting eighth on the grid, Smith sliced his way to the second spot on the first lap. Andy Boeckman, opening night winner, was also on the charge as he advanced up to the fourth spot after starting twelfth. A caution flag came out at the halfway point with the top four drivers being Anderson, Smith, Boeckman, and Michael Murphy. With the double-file restarts, Anderson opted for the top side. Boeckman used the top side to power by Smith on the outside before he ducked to the inside of Anderson to take over the race lead. Smith followed Boeckman on the low side to also get by Anderson and then continued his momentum to sneak under Boeckman to regain the lead. Murphy made the pass on Anderson before Anderson retired to the pits with a flat left rear tire. Boeckman would get the lead back from Smith with a few laps to go and go on to pick up his second win in as many weeks. Smith settled for second, Murphy was third, Bill Woehler was fourth, and Craig Brotherton rounded out the top five.

After that exciting race, it was now time for the fifteen car field of IMCA sportmods. Outside front row starter Brett Meyer pounced at the waving of the green flag to assume command. Doug Smith followed in Meyer's tire tracks in second, while opening night winner Jesse Sobbing was quickly moving forward to the fourth position on lap three. Following a pass on Tim Rupp, Sobbing began to slowly reel in Meyer and Smith at the front of the field. Sobbing used the cushion to motor by Smith for the second spot with three laps to go and set his sights on Meyer. Sobbing would get to his rear bumper, but was unable to find a way by the defending IMCA Supernationals winner. Brett Meyer would pick up the win followed by Jesse Sobbing, Doug Smith, Zach Norgaard, and Chris Grothe. Matt Pittman crossed the line in fourth, but was later disqualified in post-race tech.

Only nine IMCA stock cars were on hand Wednesday night. David Smith jumped to the early lead with Brian Blessington following him to second. An early caution slowed the pace momentarily, but following the restart the field would get strung out mostly single file. Donovan Smith was able to duck to the inside of Blessington for the runner up spot, but that was the only notable position change throughout the remainder of the race. David Smith took home the win ahead of Donovan Smith, Brian Blessington, Trent Murphy, and Stefan Sybesma.

Only seven IMCA modifieds checked in for the night, and it would be Brian Schmitt taking control in the early segment of the feature. Schmitt's great run would end prematurely as the motor went south on lap three to end his night. Chris Abelson inherited the lead and never looked back as he picked up his second win in as many nights at the speedway. Dustin Smith finished second, Jim Thies was third, Jason Briese finished fourth, and Mark Gaskill completed the top five.

A hobby stock king of the hill and the Sybesma Graphics stock car challenge was also run following the feature events. In the finale of the king of the hill, Devin Smith beat Shannon Anderson to claim that title while David Smith doubled up with another $500 win in the stock car challenge.

I don't understand the reasoning of the lower car counts in the upper divisions at this track. I can understand guys not wanting to run in the middle of the week. I can understand drivers complaining about the dust from opening night, or the chance of rain this past Wednesday. But the track was in tip-top shape and the crew at BVR run an efficient program. I hope the car count picks up in the coming weeks as well as the fans, as it was noted the middle part of the grandstand was a bit on the bare side. Hopefully following graduations and such attendance will pick up.

For more information pertaining the Buena Vista Raceway, check out their website.

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

Vern Jackson Scores First Hawkeye Dirt Tour Win

2011-05-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

The JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour invaded the Benton County Speedway on Tuesday night with ninety-plus degree temperatures and a southerly breeze. Forty-four modifieds were on hand to try their luck at the small 1/4-mile bullring that is known as the "home of the IMCA modified". Five heat races and three b-main events were run to dwindle the starting field down to twenty-four cars, including one HDT and one track provisional.

The IMCA sport compact feature was first up with twelve cars taking the green flag. Bill Whalen Jr used the pole to jump out front in the early going, but Brad Chandler would stay glued to his rear bumper. Chandler, driving a borrowed machine from Bryce Bailey, ducked to the inside of Whalen Jr and took over the race lead at the halfway point in the race. Chandler would pull away late in picking up the win. Whalen Jr finished second and Nathan Chandler was third.

The modified b-mains were run, and at the completion of those three events the IMCA sportmods took to the track for their fifteen-lap main event. Outside front row starter Carter VanDenBerg got the jump on pole-sitter Danny Dvorak to lead the first lap, but Dvorak raced to the inside and took the top spot away on lap two prior to a caution flag. Following another caution, Austin Kaplan took advantage on the restart and made a great pass on both Joel Rust and Jake Strayer to advance two spots up to the third position. Kaplan continued running the top groove pretty much by himself as he passed VanDenBerg for second before setting his sights on Dvorak up front. Kaplan would pass Dvorak on the white flag lap and appeared to be on his way to scoring the win, but he left the door open for Dvorak on the bottom and Dvorak capitalized. Dvorak would get enough forward momentum to pull off the win on the final corner while Kaplan settled for second. Carter VanDenBerg finished third, Joel Rust was fourth, and Jake Strayer finished fifth.

The time had come for the thirty-lap JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature for the IMCA modifieds. Larry Herring used the pole position to lead the first lap prior to a yellow flag slowing the action down right away. Restarting in the fourth position on the double-file restart, Vern Jackson used the inside line to sneak past Jeff Waterman and Mitch Morris for the runner-up position. Jackson later would grab the lead away as Herring faded back to fifth. Morris then picked up the challenge on Jackson as he used the cushion to snare the lead away. Ryan Dolan used the bottom groove to work past Jackson for second as the halfway point was shown, but Jackson immediately took it back the following lap.

A caution with twelve laps remaining bunched the field tightly. Kellen Chadwick took full advantage of the restart, taking his Rage Chassis #83 to the top side and passing a couple cars to move into the top five. While Chadwick was making strides on the top, Jackson found a bite on the bottom side and again took command out front when he passed Morris for the lead. Jackson opened up a little breathing room late in the race as he picked up the big payday and win. Mitch Morris finished second, Ryan Dolan was third, Kellen Chadwick was scored fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five. Richie Gustin finished sixth after starting nineteenth. Inaugural and defending tour champion Mike Jergens qualified for the main event, but failed to make the call with assumingly mechanical failure.

Overall I'd have to say it was a good night of racing. The sportmod feature was thrilling to the final corner and provided plenty of two and three-wide racing throughout the field. The modifieds were extremely competitive throughout the early parts of the feature, but the bottom groove quickly became the place to be as the laps wound down. The track appeared smooth from the stands, which is always a plus at this point of the season.

For more information regarding the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, check out their website.

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

Giles Earns First Career Late Model Win

2011-05-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Saturday afternoon led one to believe it was going to be a great night for racing. After opening night the week before, I was excited to see if the same amount of cars would return to the "historic half-mile" in Webster City. The car count would look almost identical with 102 race teams checked in for action. The track would have more water on it, and it made for some good side by side action throughout the night.

First up would be the hornet feature, with seven cars ready to do battle. Jarid Kuchenreuther would snag the lead at the start, but he would push up and allow Lyle Oberhelman and Daniel Ayers to motor on by. Ayers would slow and exit the track, allowing Oberhelman to take the win. Kuchenreuther would finish second, Adam Strunk third, Mike McFarland fourth, and Dennis Graffunder completed the top five.

1. 07x Lyle Oberhelman
2. 83 Jarid Kuchenreuther
3. 85s Adam Strunk
4. 07 Mike McFarland
5. D0 Dennis Graffunder
6. 0K Keaton Graffunder
7. 4D Daniel Ayers

Next up would be the fifteen car field of IMCA hobby stocks. A couple of early yellow flags delayed the first lap from getting completed, including an incident involving Nate Bonine and Bobby Dilley. Bonine would be transferred to the hospital to be checked over as he was complaining of hip pain as well as limping on his left leg. When action finally got going it was Robert See out front showing the way, but Brad Ratcliff made the move on the inside to scoot past on lap three. At that point I noticed last week's feature winner Kevin Fee had already made his way up to fourth after starting ninth. Following another restart, Heath Tulp ducked to the inside of See to take over the second position and set his sights on the leader. Fee would also continue his strong run as he made passes on Cory Roe and Robert See to advance to the third spot. In the closing laps contact would be made between Tulp and Ratcliff that resulted in Ratcliff spinning in turn four. No caution was thrown, and Tulp went on to take the win. Kevin Fee finished second, Robert See third, Cory Roe fourth, and Brad Ratcliff rounded out the top five.

1. 50 Heath Tulp
2. 52 Kevin Fee
3. 91 Robert See
4. 8R Cory Roe
5. 1R Brad Ratcliff
6. 00 Adam Hagan
7. 24R Roger Haupt Jr
8. 96 Mark Hidlebaugh
9. 78 Rieks
10. 22 Jeremy Turner
DNF
56 Ty Griffith
38 Ryan Darling
1 Blake Miller
51 Nate Bonine
73D Bobby Dilley
DNS
3 Al Dixon
58 Matt Ring

Twenty-five IMCA sportmods took the green flag for their feature event, but the red flag quickly came out on the first lap when Mitch Frakes and Carl Albee tangled and Albee's car going for a wild ride. Both drivers would be ok. When that got cleaned up, the yellow quickly replaced the green again on the first lap when six cars collided in turn one. Finally the third attempt was the charm and Brandon Toftee took control at the point. Defending track champion Beau Kaplan ducked to the inside of Travis Woodbeck for the runner-up position while they were side by side for the next six spots behind him. At the halfway point Kaplan made his move and worked to the inside of Toftee to grab the lead away prior to a caution involving Woodbeck and Jim Lampe. Toftee's machine did not take off right away on the restart as he slid back to the fourth spot, allowing Dane Larson and Joel Rust to advance spots. Rust looked to the inside of Larson and seized the second spot before closing in on Kaplan. Kaplan's car would slow and he would exit the track, handing the reigns over to Rust. Joel Rust went on to pick up the win ahead of Dane Larson, Brandon Toftee, Kyle Brown, and Brandon Leeman. Brown was involved in the six-car incident on the first lap and had restarted 18th.

1. 26J Joel Rust
2. 83 Dane Larson
3. 85T Brandon Toftee
4. 21 David Brown
5. 64 Brandon Leeman
6. 99 Rocky Caudle
7. 49 Nate Whitehurst
8. 2c Levi Carlberg
9. 40 George Gilliland
10. 80 Duane VanDeest
11. 22 Jim Lampe
12. 48 ??
13. 53 Travis Woodbeck
14. 02A Cody Albers
15. 39 Larry Embrey
16. 22A Shawn Albers

Ten stock cars were up next, and a big fiasco occurred on the first lap in their feature as well. Six cars would be involved. When the green flag came out, it was no surprise seeing Mark Elliott at the front of the field. Elliott would dominate the race as he took the win by half a lap. Travis Prochaska three-wheeled his way to a second place finish ahead of Ryan Leeman, Jim Mitchell, and Dennis Plain.

1. 4 Mark Elliott
2. 21T Travis Prochaska
3. R31 Ryan Leeman
4. M5 Jim Mitchell
5. 57 Dennis Plain
6. 80 Scott Bloemke (in backup M5 car)
7. 19 Reid Keller
DNF
59L Vince Loewen
31M Mark Haglund
20 Jason Wagoner

Another stellar field of IMCA modifieds were on hand with twenty-four checked in. Jeremy Mills broke in hot laps and was unable to make repairs. Duane Peterson took control in the early part of the race while Mark Elliott and Adam Larson got by Ed Thomas in consecutive laps for second and third place, respectively. Following an early restart, Larson would sneak under Elliott for second while Richie Gustin got by Thomas for fourth. Lap five saw another caution flag, and Gustin took advantage by diving to the inside of Elliott and snagging the third position away. Gustin continued his march to the front by passing Peterson on the inside. Prior to another caution, Gustin got position on the inside of Larson and took control at the point. JD Auringer, last week's feature winner, made the pass on Peterson for third, but both of their good runs came to an end when Peterson made contact with Auringer's left rear entering turn one. During the caution Josh Foster, who was sitting in third after starting 14th, suffered a flat tire and went to work area. When racing resumed Gustin and Larson pulled away. In the closing laps Larson made a run, but was unable to find a line to make the pass as Richie Gustin pocketed the $1,000 payday. Larson settled for second, J.J. Wise finished third, Tyler Prochaska was fourth, and Scott Williams finished fifth.

1. 19G Richie Gustin
2. 2L Adam Larson
3. 68 J.J. Wise
4. 22T Tyler Prochaska
5. 64 Scott Williams
6. 5 Todd Shute
7. 69x Jon Snyder
8. 10K Ronn Lauritzen
9. 12 Mark Elliott
10. 8x Scott Olson
11. 48J Jacob Murray
12. 25T Duane Peterson
13. 77 Josh Foster
14. 3w Chris Webb
DNF
45 Levi Nielsen
75 Clint Wendel
00 JD Auringer
37 Mike Jergens
14J Jake Neal - Omaha, NE
21 David Brown
14 Derek Oberle
47 Greg Elliott
DNS
10M Jeremy Mills

The finale of the evening would be the seventeen-car field of IMCA late models. Once again the caution would fly before the completion of the first lap when Jason Hahne got sideways and collected Craig Jacobs and Todd Cooney. Charlie McKenna would rocket to the lead from his outside front row starting spot. McKenna built up a comfortable lead over the field before the caution waved again on lap five. Ryan Giles picked up the chase on McKenna and began to reel in the leader. A few laps later Giles made the pass on the inside to take the lead before putting some distance between he and McKenna. McKenna would lose another spot as Hahne also used the low line to get by. The yellow flag was displayed again with four laps remaining, during which McKenna went to the pits with mechanical issues. In the closing laps Kyle Wahlert passed Hahne on the outside on the restart, which started the snowball effect for Hahne as he would finish sixth. Ryan Giles would pick up his first career IMCA late model win (I believe) followed by Kyle Wahlert, Jeff Aikey, Todd Cooney rebounded for fourth, and Darrel DeFrance.

1. 9 Ryan Giles
2. 14 Kyle Wahlert
3. 77 Jeff Aikey
4. 30 Todd Cooney
5. 99D Darrel DeFrance
6. 76 Jason Hahne
7. 31 Chad Cooney
8. 8 Al Johnson
9. 29 Nick Pederson
10. 15c Curt Schroeder

All in all I thought the racing was pretty exciting. There were two distinct grooves in turns one and two. It appeared to me as though the banking flattened off in turn four as a few drivers tagged the wall on the exit. Hopefully something can be done to provide another line of racing so the action will be that much better later on. For a complete rundown of last night's results, go to the track website. Thanks to track announcer Ryan Bergeson for the several PositivelyRacing plugs throughout the night!

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

Exciting Finish Tops First Visit to CJ

2011-05-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

When the clock read 2:40 on Friday afternoon, it became apparent to me that things were really slow at work. Twenty minutes later I found myself at the sink washing my hands in preparation for our fifteen minute break, when my supervisors asked me where I was racing that night. I simply said "well that depends.. are we able to leave right now?" Their reply was simply yes, and as I stared at the clock I decided I was taking advantage of the early-out and make a trip to a track I've never been to before. I got home and turned the computer on, trying to decide which track was closer. It became obvious I still wouldn't have time to make it out to Onawa, so I got in my car and headed to Columbus Junction, Iowa.

For those who may not know, Columbus Junction is located roughly eight to ten miles east of Highway 218 along Highway 92 down in southeast Iowa. After nearly two and a half hours of driving, I pull into the Louisa County Fairgrounds. I had looked at the track website to determine which classes would be running, but I had no clue as to what the normal car count is typically. It was a big surprise when I heard the announcer say only 49 cars in five classes were on hand.

After running the heat races through at a fast pace and having a gunny sack race for the Lil Racer Fan Club members, the IMCA stock cars lined up in staging for the first feature of the night. A solid group of fifteen cars were on hand with Lane Kauffman and Travis Finke sitting on the front row. Finke would grab the top spot while there was three-wide racing midpack. Last week's feature winner Nathan Wood was moving forward and had advanced to the fifth position in the first three laps, but the caution flag waved and he was realigned in sixth. On the restart Wood would once again put the hammer down as he made passes on Tad Payne and Kirk Kinsley utilizing both the top and bottom grooves. Wood later passed Billy Faler on the top side and dashed to the inside of Finke for the lead, but the caution wiped away both passes. Two restarts would follow in which two different cars were caught jumping, resulting in both starting at the tail of the field. When the green flag came back out, Wood wasted no time in getting back out front. His time there was short-lived, however, as he coasted to a stop in turn four with a fuel pump issue. As the laps were winding down, Kinsley began to close the gap on Finke as he looked to the inside. On the final lap it appeared Finke pushed a bit on the exit of turn four, allowing Kinsley to pull even as they drag raced to the flagstand. Finke would hold on by a mere bumper to take the win with Kinsley settling for second. Tad Payne finished third, Cole Simmons was fourth, and Billy Faler rounded out the top five.

1. 2s Travis Finke
2. 21M Kirk Kinsley
3. 44P Tad Payne
4. 68 Cole Simmons
5. 02 Billy Faler
6. R34 David Hemstead
7. 9 Lane Kauffman
8. 34 John Hemstead
9. 5 Jeremy Thompkins
10. K4 ??
DNF
4 Darrin Ealy
52 Nathan Wood
57 Blaine Dopler
76 Jason Hartman
8 Brian Holmes

Next up would be the hobby stock feature. According to information I received from fellow Positively Racing blogger Ryan Clark, the plan is to run the hobby stocks every other week at CJ Speedway. Last night was the first night for them, and only two cars showed up. Dusin Griffiths and Mike Hughes, who appeared to be behind the wheel of Kris Walker's machine, were set for a five-lap shootout. Hughes got the lead at the drop of the green flag while Griffiths lost a tire on the second lap. Hughes would take the win.

1. 18H Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths

The open modifieds were next with eight cars on hand. Front row starters Mark Winkel and Tim Sands made contact down the front stretch with Winkel getting sideways, but was able to maintain control and straighten it out. That opened the door for Alex Buffington to take command. Steve Stewart, last week's winner, quickly caught Buffington and used the inside line to take the lead. However, a caution negated the pass and bunched the field back up. One lap following the restart Stewart would take the lead again and begin to pull away as the field spread out behind. They were so spread out that Buffington spun in turn four and was still able to maintain his second position. Steve Stewart would take the win ahead of Buffington, Tim Sands, Mark Winkel, and Doug Pratt.

1. 17 Steve Stewart
2. 30 Alex Buffington
3. 5 Tim Sands
4. 7w Mark Winkel
5. 4D Doug Pratt
DNF
38 Dave Imming
8x Cody Layman
J40 Clayton Jensen

A good field of fourteen mod-lites were up next for their feature. They had a hard time getting started, and after the third failed attempt to get one completed lap in I opted to head for home with the IMCA sport compacts yet to be run as well.

While the track appeared to be in pretty good shape, I'm still amazed at the low car count. Hopefully things will get better for the folks at CJ Speedway. Be sure to check out their website for upcoming races and other information.

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

Buena Vista Raceway Opens Its Doors on 2011 Campaign

2011-05-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

A cool, brisk night was in store Wednesday night as the 2011 race season kicked off at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa. With gusty winds strong enough to blow caps off heads, it was only a matter of time before the dust was flying towards the grandstands.

Eight BVR bombers took to the track first for feature action. Lucas Vote jumped out to the early lead, but he would relinquish it when Mike Draper passed him on the inside on lap three. Keith Demey would also scoot by Vote to snare the second position, but it would be Mike Draper taking the first feature win of the season at BVR.

1. 23D Mike Draper
2. 3D Keith Demey
3. 23 Lucas Vote
4. 16 Colby Davis
5. 59K Kevin Keim
6. 01B Kevin Blume
7. 90 Brandon Thomas
8. M7 Josh Maholer

Five IMCA sport compacts followed with their feature with Merv Chandler setting the pace early. Chandler got a great start as he had started fifth, but quickly took the lead down the backstretch on the first lap. Chandler would be joined by defending track champion Cory Flanigan as the two distanced themselves from the pack. Things came to a sudden stop when Danny Rose got high in turn four and wound up rolling several times before coming to a stop outside of the cement barricades. Rose would be ok. When action resumed Flanigan would keep pace with Chandler, but the veteran driver making the long trip all the way from Vinton made the trip worthwhile as Merv Chandler took home the win.

1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 75 Cory Flanigan
3. 52L Mark Lindgren
4. 5 Mike Brabec
5. 80D Danny Rose

It was now time for the IMCA hobby stock feature to hit the track. Nineteen of the twenty-two cars checked in made the call with Shannon Anderson grabbing the lead from his inside row two starting position. Devin Smith started eleventh on the starting grid, but he quickly found his way up to the third position in the first two laps and prior to the first caution on lap four. At this point, track announcer Jerry Vansickel pointed out the new restart rule for the track. Rather then a Delaware double-file restart with the leader out front by himself, the track adopted the "NASCAR" style restart with both the leader and the second place driver side by side. The leader gets the option of which lane he wants.

When the green flag came back out, Andy Boeckman and Devin Smith both made the pass on the second place machine of Bill Woehler. Within two laps Boeckman overtook Anderson as the new leader. Turn three then became the focal point of the race as Anderson appeared to get a bit loose. Smith, running directly behind Anderson, had no place to go and turned Anderson around. The caution came out, and race officials determined that both competitors would be going to the tail. However, when the cars came back around Anderson would retaliate by forcing Smith towards the outside wall down the frontstretch before both drivers came to a stop in turn one. As a result of his actions, Anderson was told to go pitside while Smith remained at the back of the field.

Once that skirmish was over the green came back out, although it was short-lived as Mathias Lux rolled down the fronstretch before reaching the flagstand. Lux would be ok. While the red flag was displayed, Anderson was still fuming over the previous events and proceeded to walk on the track and express his displeasure with Smith. With a little less excitement the rest of the way, Andy Boeckman proved he was the one to beat on opening night as he picked up the win after starting tenth. He was followed across the line by Michael Murphy, Bill Woehler, Cody Nielsen, and Devin Smith.

1. 62B Andy Boeckman
2. 25M Michael Murphy
3. 2B Bill Woehler
4. 29N Cody Nielsen
5. 81 Devin Smith
6. 32 Kyle Robinson
7. 66 Matt Mahoney
8. 87 John Briggs
9. 49 Jim Johnson
10. 20N Justin Nehring
11. 95B Tiffany Bittner
12. 37 Gaylen Freese
13. 3w Steve Wilcox
14. 45B Craig Brotherton
15. 33M Mathias Lux
16. T8 Brandon Nielsen
17. 78 Shannon Anderson
18. 91A Matt Anderson
19. 19B Jess Bieret
20. 45 Drew Barglof
21. 30 Tim Pickel
22. 10x Jordan Sanderson

Fourteen IMCA sportmods were next onto the track with pole-sitter Zach Norgaard setting the early pace. Jesse Sobbing set sail on the top side and made the pass on Norgaard for the lead on the fourth circuit. Following a restart, Doug Smith split Tony Pogeler and Norgaard to take over the second position. Norgaard would get shuffled back to fifth as Pogeler and Tim Rupp both raced by. Prior to the final yellow flag of the race Tim Rupp made his move on the inside of Sobbing to snare the lead away. The yellow flag was displayed when Doug Smith spun and was collected by Brett Meyer and Tim Wilcox. Sobbing was quick on the restart as he sprinted to the lead that he would not relinquish as he went on to take the checkered flag. Tim Rupp finished second, Zach Norgaard was third, Tony Pogeler fourth, and Chris Grothe rounded out the top five.

1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 33 Tim Rupp
3. 14z Zach Norgaard
4. 9 Tony Pogeler
5. 90 Chris Grothe
6. 57 Doug Bartels
7. 74 Cory Hoagland
8. 33R Ryan Roder
9. 12 Doug Smith
10. 1M Brett Meyer
11. 7w Tim Wilcox
12. 98x Dan Hanselman
13. 13 Casey Jones
14. Geoff Olson
15. 17 Ronnie Fogelman

Trent Murphy took command early on in the ten-car field of IMCA stock cars. Donavon Smith would quickly move into the second position and pick up the chase, but was unable to generate a strategy to work his way by Murphy. Murphy would lead flag to flag to pick up the win. Smith would finish second, Brian Blessington was third, Kenny Hansen was fourth, and Stefan Sybesma rounded out the top five.

1. 25 Trent Murphy
2. 35 Donavon Smith
3. 92B Brian Blessington
4. 17 Kenny Hansen
5. 5B Stefan Sybesma
6. 8 David Smith
7. 02 Adam Klocke
8. 16 Josh Suhr
9. 04J Jay Brannan
10. 43 Aaron Cain

The final race of the night would be the thirteen-car field of IMCA modifieds. Mike Jergens used his outside front row starting spot to secure the top spot when the green flag waved. Rookie Dustin Smith settled in behind Jergens until Chris Abelson was able to get by on the inside to take over the runner-up spot on lap three. Following an early yellow, Jay Noteboom made passes on consecutive laps to advance to the third position by lap six. Another caution came out, and on the restart Abelson got a great start and cut down on Jergens to take the lead. While Abelson distanced himself Dustin Smith and Noteboom engaged in a battle for the third spot as Smith was the only car running a higher line. Smith would make it stick and then slowly proceeded to track down Jergens and make the pass on him to take the second position away. Chris Abelson would go on to take the win ahead of Dustin Smith, Greg Peck, Mike Jergens, and Jay Noteboom.

1. 1x Chris Abelson
2. 85 Dustin Smith
3. 29G Greg Peck
4. 37 Mike Jergens
5. 7N Jay Noteboom
6. 92 Josh Most
7. 23 Jim Thies
8. 61 Brian Schmitt
9. 3 Jason Briese
10. 00c Chris Mills
11. 52 Mark Gaskill
12. 14 Matt Bonine
13. Justin Sackett

Racing action concluded right at 10:30. Despite the amount of dust blowing towards the grandstands, it appeared the track stayed smooth all night long while track officials applied extra water a couple of times. The track did lock down for the most part, but it's still early in the season and I'm confident the track will widen out. Be sure to check out the Buena Vista Raceway website for upcoming races!

*Results listed above were taken from Speednetdirect.com

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

Big Changes Kick Off at Hamilton County Speedway

2011-05-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's only inevitable: change. With change comes uncertainty and nervousness. Perhaps those are just a few of the words used to describe people's thoughts as the season opener approached at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. With the departure of Al Urhammer, the fairboard stepped up and took the reigns of the historic race track for the 2011 season. Their goal was to attract more cars, and in the process bump the payouts in a few classes. The biggest eye-opener obviously was that they would pay out $1,000 to the IMCA modified winner every week if a certain amount of cars showed up. Many fans were excited about that announcement in hopes of attracting a larger car count.

The night started off a little behind schedule as cars were still making their way down the hill as the scheduled time for hot laps came and went. With the driver's meeting out of the way, the heat races were off and running around 7:20. The heats would be completed and the water truck applied water to the top half of the track to try to control the dust. Yes, I said dust.

The hornet feature was first up with eight of the ten cars making the call. Adam Strunk used the pole position to jump out front early with Lyle Oberhelman tucked in just behind. The field would spread out behind them as Oberhelman chased down Strunk with two laps to go before a caution flag waved. On the restart Oberhelman dove to the inside and took the lead away. Strunk returned the favor a lap later, but that was only the start of a wild finish. Mike McFarland, Friday night's feature winner in Fort Dodge, got a great run off turn two on the final lap and drove by both front runners to take the lead and the win. A #22 car (Collins was last name, didn't catch first name) would also sneak by to take second. Adam Strunk finished third, Daniel Ayers was fourth, and Lyle Oberhelman rounded out the top five.

Next up would be the 14-car field of IMCA hobby stocks. Pole-sitter Kevin Fee raced to the early lead. Heath Tulp was the only car trying to make something work on the cushion, but without help Tulp slowly went backwards until he dropped in line. The caution flag came out on lap five when Brad Ratcliff lost a wheel in turn four. Ratcliff had been running second at the time of the incident. Two more caution periods kept the pace slow, but on the ensuing restart Heath Tulp took advantage and passed Blake Miller and Cory Roe to advance to the second position. Two more cautions waved with the final one coming after the white flag, so the race ended under caution with Kevin Fee making the long trip from Knoxville worth it as he visited victory lane. Heath Tulp was second, Robert Dilley finished third, and Cory Roe was fourth. All of this is comlpetely unofficial as they revert back to the previously scored lap, in which I didn't have anything written down yet.

A full field of twenty-four IMCA sportmods took to the track next for their finale of the evening. Kyle Brown took command from the pole. Shortly after the restart Beau Kaplan had problems and slowed momentarily, dropping him back four spots to the eighth position. Meanwhile up front Jared Timmerman and Joel Rust maneuvered around Jeremy Embrey for second and third, respectively. Following another yellow flag, Embrey would lose the handle exiting turn two, resulting in a six-car pileup. Rust would sneak by Timmerman for second and chase down Brown for the lead, but he was unable to make the pass down the stretch as Kyle Brown took home the win. Rust settled for second after starting 11th, Timmerman was third, Rocky Caudle finished fourth, and Bryan Weyer completed the top five.

It was then time for the stock cars as fourteen of the fifteen competitors took the green flag. Two cautions were displayed before a lap was completed, including outside front row starter Reid Keller spinning and making contact with the outside wall entering turn one. When the green was displayed again, it would be Mark Elliott taking advantage of his new starting spot outside the front row and grabbing the lead. Tory Reicks would follow in Elliott's tire tracks while Jason Wagoner moved into the third position after getting by defending track champion Mark Haglund. Mitch Hovden would later make the pass on Haglund as well, advancing to the fourth spot. Reicks would close in on Elliott's rear bumper at the halfway point, but he was unable to find a groove to make any serious challenge. Mark Elliott would take the win ahead of Tory Reicks, Jason Wagoner, and Mark Haglund got back around Mitch Hovden for fourth and fifth, respectively.

1. 4 Mark Elliott
2. 27T Tory Reicks
3. 20 Jason Wagoner
4. 15 Mitch Hovden
5. 67 Kyle Falck
6. 21T Travis Prochaska
7. 57 Dennis Plain
8. 19 Reid Keller
9. R31 Ryan Leeman
10. M5 Jim Mitchell
DNF
80 Scott Bloemke
121G Arlen Hoy
59L Vince Loewen
DNS
97 Adam Silvey

It was now time for perhaps most people were anticipating the most. Twenty-five IMCA modifieds hit the track for their twenty lap feature event. Pole-sitter David Brown took the early lead with Adam Larson running second. JD Auringer, proudly supporting the Karsyn's Krusaders logo, would duck under Larson for the runner up position on lap two. Auringer didn't stay there long, as he used the same move to get by Brown to take over the race lead. Auringer immediately opened up a sizeable margin and would lead by half a lap before the caution waved on lap fifteen. The top four spots would remain the same the rest of the race as JD Auringer picked up the $1,100 payday. David Brown would finish second, Adam Larson was third, Jay Noteboom was fourth, and Justin Sackett rounded out the top five.

1. 00 JD Auringer
2. 21 David Brown
3. 2L Adam Larson
4. 7N Jay Noteboom
5. 17 Justin Sackett
6. 10K Ron Lauritzen
7. 64 Scott Williams
8. 19G Richie Gustin
9. 58 Curt Badker
10. 12 Mark Elliott
11. 45 Levi Nielsen
Other "notable" names included Todd Shute, Jacob Murray, Jon Snyder, Scott Olson, Kurt Krauskopf, Darin Duffy, Jerry King.

The finale of the evening would be the eighteen-car field of IMCA late models. Darrel DeFrance would take the lead at the start with Jeff Aikey getting around Kyle Wahlert for the runner up spot. Charlie McKenna made his way to fourth while DeFrance maintained a comfortable lead up front. A caution on lap five bunched the field up, setting up a double-file restart. DeFrance and Aikey separated themselves from the pack, and McKenna was able to get under Wahlert for the third position. Aikey would close the gap and get right up to DeFrance's back bumper in the closing laps, but came up a little short as Darrel DeFrance took home the opening night checkers. Jeff Aikey finished second, Charlie McKenna was third, Todd Cooney fourth, and Jason Hahne nipped Kyle Wahlert for fifth.

1. 99D Darrel DeFrance
2. 77 Jeff Aikey
3. 22 Charlie McKenna
4. 30 Todd Cooney
5. 76 Jason Hahne
6. 14 Kyle Wahlert
7. 66 Todd Johnson
8. X Ryan Griffith
9. 29 Nick Pederson
10. 98 Travis Smock
11. 4D Rick Dralle
12. 2 Carey Umbarger
DNF
8 Al Johnson
60 Dean Wagner II
5 Dave Hubbard
45 Mike Pederson
15c Schroeder
31 Chad Cooney

The final checkered flag waved at 11:43. The show ran a bit lengthy thanks in large part to the late start and the amount of yellow flags in a few races. The track stayed smooth from my perspective all night. Yes there was a lot of dust, especially in the exit of turn four. But considering every other track has had at least one night when it's been rough, I would rather be fighting a dust issue then trying to iron a track in.

Other then the late start and the dust, I would have to say it was a successful night. 106 total cars were in the field. The crowd was decent for a chilly night in late April. Hopefully the weather will be more favorable next week and the cars and fans will return to the "historic half-mile". For more complete results, check out the Hamilton County Speedway website.

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

Simpson, Crimmins Highlight Winners From Fort Dodge

2011-04-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

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!!

Hughes Hunts Down Shryock For Humboldt Victory

2011-03-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, March 12 I attended my first race event of the 2011 season. The United States Modified Touring Series ventured in to the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas as stop #4 on the schedule. The night before in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma boasted 78 modifieds, so I was pumped up to see who would be on hand Saturday night. Turns out there were a few less, but still 69 on hand for a showdown at the track nicknamed "the Hummer".

What was most interesting to me during the heat races were not just the total number of cars, but rather the drivers that made the trip to race. Jeff Stephens, normally an IMCA racer as far as I know, was in the first heat and finished fifth. Four Iowa guys filled heat two with Ryan Ruter blowing the doors off the competition for the win. Mike Hansen finished second, Ryan Gustin fourth, and Jesse Dennis seventh. The third heat saw three USMTS veterans take three of the top four spots with Jon Tesch taking the win, former USMTS national champion Jason Krohn finishing second, and defending USMTS national champion Jason Hughes in fourth. Heat four saw three more regular touring drivers atop the leaderboard as Tommy Weder Jr paced the field to the checkered followed by Johnny Scott and Tommy Myer. The surprise in this one was normal Wissota driver Don Eischens making the trip down from Minnesota.

Heat number six saw Wisconsin's Scott Mullen finish in the sixth position. Mullen normally drives IMCA in his homestate. The seventh and final heat race saw another IMCA standout driver Jordan Grabouski compete and finish sixth.

The b-mains were loaded down with a plethera of talent. Jason Krohn took top honors in the first consi with Randy Timms, Luke Driscoll, and Jordan Grabouski also moving on. B-main #2 saw three regular USMTS drivers take the top three positions as Jason Hughes beat Zack VanderBeek and Dereck Ramirez to the line. Speed's Kenny Wallace managed to finish fourth and advance to the feature as well. After struggling through the heat race, I thought for sure perennial contender Ryan Gustin would have made the right changes and ran away with the third consi race. That was not the case, however, as he had to hold off Rick Beebe for the final transfer spot at the line.

Following the three support class features (sorry, didn't take notes as the weather was cold and I didn't know any of the drivers but one), it was now time for the forty-lap feature. Pole-sitter John Webb would lead the first two laps before giving way to nine-time USMTS champion Kelly Shryock. Shryock, who started fourth on the grid, wasted no time in putting his competition in the dust as he opened up a straight away lead on the field until the yellow flag waved on lap sixteen. By that time, I noticed Jason Hughes had moved up roughly five or six spots from his twelfth starting spot. Deeper in the field Ryan Gustin was tryin to make his way through the entire field.

When the green waved again, Shryock would again get the jump and pull ahead by several carlengths. Shryock looked to have it on cruise control while Gustin and Hughes continued to move forward. Gustin would crack the top ten while Hughes moved into the third position behind Johnny Bone Jr. The yellow flag would wave again with nine laps to go, erasing Shryock's big lead once again. With Bone Jr and Hughes right on his rear bumper Shryock wasn't intimidated as he opened up a small distance over Hughes, who would find the quick way around the top side.

As Hughes slowly reeled in Shryock, Gustin was on the charge further back in the pack. It seemed like his car handled the best in the middle, compared to Hughes on the top side and Shryock running the low line. When the white flag was displayed it was Hughes overtaking Shryock by a few feet as they entered turn one. Hughes would maintain the momentum off the cushion and extend his lead by the slimmest margins as they entered turn three. Hughes diamonded off the corner and took the win by a car length over Shryock. Johnny Bone Jr would finish third while Ryan Gustin put on a show for the fans as he passed twenty-two cars en route to a fourth place finish. Jon Tesch rounded out the top five. The win was Hughes' eighth at the 3/8 mile facility in Humboldt.

The great racing action and surface provided by the officials at the Humboldt Speedway have lit a fire under me. After seeing all the passing and exciting side-by-side action, I'm ready for the race season to get here. Unfortunately I think I'll have to bottle up that enthusiasm for a few weeks until I get to another track. Right now my next likely race will be the Marshalltown Frostbuster on April 1, but that may change depending on my mood and the forecast.

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

Let's Get It On!!

2011-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Finally, the calendar has turned to March. March is perhaps my most anticipated month of the year. That is when my two biggest passions meet up, as college basketball hits their peak time of the year and normally the start of the dirt track race season begins to take the green flag.

This weekend was supposed to be my first race of the year, but officials from the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska and the United States Modified Touring Series opted to postpone the two-day event until June due to inclement weather forecasted. So, that just means another week of anticipation for next week. I plan on attending the USMTS race in Humboldt, Kansas next Saturday. I would like to go Friday to South Coffeyville, Oklahoma to watch them as well, but I'm not going to take time off work for that. Instead, I'll save that time off for another bigger race in April that's a little closer (at least in comparison).

And speaking of that bigger race, its hard to believe that particular race is now one month away. That race is the World Modified Dirt Track Championships held at the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota. The winner's check boasts a $20,000 check, and at last count the pre-entries had reached 138. It's definitely one of the most anticipated events of the season for me, and I hope to make it all four nights.

A little closer to home, many drivers are looking forward to the first weekend of April as their first races of the year. Marshalltown, Boone, and Vinton will host a "tripleheader frostbuster" in which the modified winners will get paid $1,000 for their efforts. In northern Iowa, they will jump right in to the points season as season openers are scheduled at Fairmont (MN) Raceway, Algona Raceway, and the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Weather permitting, this promises to be the first 3-day race weekend of the year. With all those choices, I'm going to elect to attend a different show on that Saturday, April 2. I'm planning on making the trek to the "other" I-35 Speedway in Winston, Missouri for a USMTS race. I've only been to that track one other time, and that was some ten years ago.

Off the heels of a big upset yesterday, the Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball team has been vastly improving with every game played. While the Hawks will miss the post-season this year, I believe they have a bright future in store for them with the young players and a full season under new coach Fran McCaffery. The college hoops season is winding down as most major conference tournaments will begin either Wednesday or Thursday as they march into Selection Sunday.

So as one season is winding down, the race season is just getting started. The NASCAR season has seen two races run already, with the third being run as I type this. The dirt track season has begun down south and in the southwest. It won't be long and the dirt will be flying in the upper Midwest. For a schedule of upcoming special events, check out the calendar page at www.positivelyracing.com. Another website that offers monthly calendars is my own website, http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net and click on the appropriate link on the left-hand side.

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

The New Year

2011-01-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

First off, I'd like to wish everybody a belated Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a wonderful Holiday season with their family and friends.

I've spent the better part of the last three months compiling stats of a number of different drivers. Perhaps you've already had the chance to read the postings about the Gustin and Smith families and their abundant success in 2010. I also typed up a recap of sorts of the 2010 United States Modified Touring Series. I also took it upon myself to find results for the top five drivers in national points for IMCA, USRA, and Wissota. Those writings will be posted in the coming weeks as they are completed.

I just finished up with the Wissota drivers in all six divisions. I can honestly say I'm not familiar at all with Wissota, as I've only witnessed a few classes at a couple Minnesota tracks at which I was there for a different headlining event.

So I'll start off with the Wissota late model division. Ricky Weiss captured the late model crown in 2010 by a six-point margin. Perhaps the most intriguing number on his stat sheet was the number of races in which he participated. Weiss ran an astounding 85 nights on his way to 25 feature wins. He finished in the top five 57 times and in the top ten 69 times. He was the track champion at Red River Coop Speedway and second in points at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Jeff Wildung finished runner-up to Weiss by the six-point margin as mentioned. Wildung made 53 starts, garnering 23 feature wins and 47 top ten finishes. Of the top five drivers, Wildung had the highest total of average cars passed per race at 2.96. Wildung won the track championship at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Kyle Peterlin finished third in Wissota late model national points. His numbers included eleven wins and 47 top ten finishes in 59 starts. Peterlin was the only driver in the top five that recorded two track championships as he took honors at Proctor and Hibbing.

Mike Balcaen was fourth in the standings. He accumulated six wins 44 top ten finishes in his 56 starts. He finished in the top five in points at four different tracks, including second at River Cities Speedway.

Zach Johnson rounds out the top five in Wissota late model national points. He finished with eight wins and 36 top ten's in 43 starts. He boasted the highest average car count among the top five, averaging 23.39 cars in the field.

Wissota Modifieds
Blake Jegtvig took home the Wissota modified national title in 2010 behind the strength of 23 wins and 54 top ten finishes in 58 starts. He average 3.96 cars passed per race, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He won the track championship at the Red River Valley Speedway.

Wisconsin driver Kevin Adams finished second in the standings, just thirteen markers behind. He recorded twenty feature wins along with 43 top ten finishes in 52 starts. He picked up track championships at Rice Lake Speedway and Red Cedar Speedway.

Joey Jensen wound up third in the points standings at year's end. Jensen won fifteen times and finished in the top ten 42 times in 53 starts. Jensen finished third in points at Ogilvie and fifth at Princeton. He also won the COMO modified series for Wissota by 43 points. He also finished fourth in the RaceMN series. Jensen also raced against the highest average car count at 24.54 cars per event.

Dave Cain would finish in the fourth position in the final points standings. He won fourteen feature events and garnered 51 top ten's in 59 starts. Cain also topped the RaceMN Series, a six-race schedule that only counts five of the six best point nights.

Jason Grimes rounds out the top five, but I'm sure a lot of drivers would love to have one just like it. He finished with fifteen feature wins and 49 top ten's in 57 starts. He had the worst average starting position, but was still able to pass nearly 3.5 cars per race while racing against the second highest average car count among the top five drivers.

Wissota Midwest Modifieds
An unimaginable season. There's no better way to describe it. Brandon Davis took home top honors in this division with an incredible 43 feature wins and 71 top ten's in his 78 starts. While his average car count was nearly 3 cars/race less then the rest of the top five, Davis still had to work for his success as he passed 3.8 cars per race. He picked up four track championships along the way.

Shane Sabraski finished second in the standings by just six points. Sabraski also recorded a great season, picking up 31 feature wins and 64 top ten finishes in 72 races. He won a track championship at Brainerd while finishing in the top five at two other tracks. Sabraski and Davis ran head-to-head at Willmar all season long.

Dan Ebert was third on the season ending points total. He racked up an impressive 23 wins and 68 top ten's in 75 starts. He had the highest rate of passing cars at 4.9 per event. He won two track championships and finished second at Brainerd behind Sabraski.

Travis Saurer posted impressive numbers as well. He scored 24 wins and 65 top ten's in his 76 starts. He held the highest average car count at 25.82 per event. He won a track championship as well as finishing in the top five at two other tracks.

Ryan Mikkelson finished fifth in the final standings. He captured 20 features and 56 top ten finishes among his 64 starts. He picked up the track championship at the Red River Valley Speedway.

Wissota Super Stocks
Dave Mass took home top honors in the Super Stock division by sixteen points. He picked up 21 feature wins and 54 top ten's in 59 starts. He passed 2.6 cars per event, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He picked up track championships at Ogilvie and Princeton.

Shane Kisling finished second in the standings. He boasted 20 feature wins along with 43 top ten's in 54 starts while racing against the highest average car count at 20.39 per event.

Don Eischens won seventeen features on his way to a third place finish in the standings. He finished in the top ten 58 times in 63 starts. He won two track championships.

Tim Johnson was the only driver to finish in the top five in two different divisions. His super stock numbers include fourteen wins and 53 top ten's in 62 starts. Johnson won a track championship and finished second and third, respectively, at two other tracks.

Cory Tammen rounded out the top five in points. He racked up 18 feature wins and 57 top ten's in 68 starts. He won two track championships and finished second at another.

Wissota Street Stocks
Danny Hanson won the street stock title by seventeen points. He piled up 33 wins and 53 top ten's in 59 starts. He passed 4.1 cars per event, nearly double the next closest among the top five drivers. Hanson picked up track championships at three different tracks.

Tim Johnson recorded 30 wins and 59 top 10's in his 64 starts on his way to finishing second in the standings. He captured two track titles along the way.

Rusty Kollman nailed down seventeen feature wins and 62 top ten's in his 69 starts. He held the highest average car count at 19.03 per event. He picked up a track championship as well.

Zach Manley finished fourth in the standings. He secured fifteen wins and 38 top ten's in 48 starts. He finished in the top five at three separate tracks.

Rounding out the top five was Kevin Schmidt. He garnered thirteen wins and 31 top ten's in 42 starts.

Wissota Mod 4
Rob VanMil had an incredible season on his way to winning the national championship. He posted 38 wins and 70 top ten's in 77 starts. He passed 3.6 cars per event, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He picked up three track championships and finished fourth at another.

Josh Abrahamson finished second in the standings. He picked up 20 wins and 58 top ten's in 69 starts. He won a track championship while finishing in the top ten at three others. He also boasted the highest average car count of 18.25 per event.

Corry VanMil was third in the standings. He finished with ten wins and 61 top ten's in 67 starts. He finished in the top five at three different tracks, and sixth at another.

Dean Larson finished fourth despite only having four wins to his credit. He was a model of consistency, however, as he recorded 76 top ten's in 79 starts. He finished second in points at three separate tracks and third at another.

Conrad Schwinn rounds out the standings in fifth. He finished with seven wins and 34 top ten's in 39 races. He picked up the track championships at Bemidji.

That wraps up the top five in each division of the 2010 Wissota National Championship standings. If the above interested you at all, be sure to check in periodically for either the USRA or IMCA standings.

I'm sure many of you checked out the series premiere of Dirt Knights, a reality tv series showcasing the United States Modified Touring Series. It airs at 5pm central time on the Versus Network. I thought the first episode was pretty good and very informative. After seeing the footage it gave me a little more insight to some of the personalities of the drivers. While I already talk to many of the drivers involved, I don't know what they are like outside of raceday. This tv series will likely bring a whole new perspective as to the preparation and organization these teams must endure throughout the lengthy season.

As I write this (Friday night), a few races are already being run. The Ice Bowl in Talladega, Alabama is on the schedule for this weekend as well as the Wild West Shootout in Tucson, Arizona. Next week many people will flock to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Chilli Bowl.

And speaking of upcoming races, Jeff Broeg has expanded the listing of special events on the calendar tab here at Positivelyracing.com to include all the neighboring states of Iowa. Be sure to check it out! I have also just uploaded my 2011 racing calendars to my personal website. As always it's a work-in-progress this early in the year. For those that are interested, I have blank calendars as well that you can print off to write your own race schedules. Check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net and click on the appropriate link(s).

I've taken up waaaay too much of your time already. Here's hoping for a great 2011 racing season!!

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

2010 Season Recap

2010-12-09T13:23:00.001-08:00

The 2010 race season was another fun-filled year for me. My race total was down from the previous two years obviously, but that doesn't mean it was any less exciting.

So here we go with some good hard stats. haha. I attended 91 shows this season, with the first being the March 13th USMTS opener at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas. As it turns out, that would be the first of 19 USMTS events I viewed over the course of the year. My final race of the year was only a couple weeks ago when I ventured south to the Turkey Classic held at the Springfield Raceway on November 27th.

I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't make it to any new tracks for most of the year, but that changed late in the season. I called up a racing friend, Bob Litton, and asked if I could tag along to Peoria, Illinois in October to see a race. That is only the third track in Illinois in which I've seen races. The other new track came in late October, when PR's Jeff Broeg called and asked if I would like to ride with him to Butler, Missouri for a special late model and modified show. So just two new tracks for me this year.

Despite my scaled-back numbers this year, I was surprised when I saw that I had been to 27 different tracks. I spent 39 nights at weekly races at various tracks, thus a majority of my time was at special events. Most of those specials came in the second half of the season, when I made a conscious effort to attend them rather then the weekly shows. Below is a listing of the different tracks I attended this year:

1) Humboldt Speedway - Humboldt, KS (2)
2) Junction Motor Speedway - McCool Junction, NE (1)
3) Algona Raceway - Algona, IA (6)
4) I-35 Speedway - Mason City, IA (12)
5) Marshalltown Speedway - Marshalltown, IA (13)
6) 34 Raceway - Burlington, IA (1)
7) Lee County Speedway - Donnellson, IA (2)
8) Hamilton County Speedway - Webster City, IA (9)
9) Buena Vista Raceway - Alta, IA (6)
10) Independence Motor Speedway - Independence, IA (2)
11) Mineral City Speedway - Fort Dodge, IA (5)
12) Southern Iowa Speedway - Oskaloosa, IA (5)
13) Highway 3 Raceway - Allison, IA (1)
14) Deer Creek Speedway - Spring Valley, MN (3)
15) Benton County Speedway - Vinton, IA (1)
16) Scotland County Speedway - Memphis, MO (2)
17) Fairmont Raceway - Fairmont, MN (1)
18) Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, IA (4)
19) Fayette County Speedway - West Union, IA (1)
20) Boone Speedway - Boone, IA (6)
21) Hancock County Speedway - Britt, IA (2)
22) Adams County Speedway - Corning, IA (1)
23) Clay County Speedway - Spencer, IA (1)
24) Calhoun County Speedway - Rockwell City, IA (1)
25) Peoria Speedway - Peoria, IL (1)
26) Butler Motor Speedway - Butler, MO (1)
27) Springfield Raceway - Springfield, MO (1)

With the two new tracks, I creep a little closer to the 100-track plateau. I'm currently sitting at 96, so hopefully next year I can achieve that personal milestone.

I racked up 17,371 miles traveling to races this year, considerably down from the previous two years. In the four years that I've been keeping track of my mileage, this year was the lowest average mileage per race. However, that number was still 190 round trip.

Well, that puts a wrap on my 2010 race season. I've been looking up driver stats over the past couple of months, and am getting closer by the day to completing that "project". I have finished the Gustin's, Smith's, and USMTS stats. However, I noticed I need to update the Smith and Gustin ones as I found a couple races that I missed recently. So look for those stories to appear in the coming weeks.

In case I don't write anything before now and then, I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

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

Cars Flock to Turkey Classic in Springfield, MO

2010-11-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Springfield Raceway in Missouri held it's 4th Annual Turkey Classic event this past Saturday under sunny skies after receiving around three inches of rain just a few days before. On top of that track officials put down forty loads of new dirt/clay to the racing surface, so the heat races saw the track a bit on the choppy side. Promoter Jerry Hoffman took time after the b-mains to grade the track from top to bottom, which provided for some excellent two and three-wide racing come feature time.

As the headline would indicate a record 189 cars were on hand for this event, with 75 of them being modifieds. Sixty-four sportmods also helped fill the pit area along with a good count of late models. Two heats of legends were also ran.

The modified feature would be run first. Jody Tillman quickly made his move to the top spot as he ran the cushion the entire race. He would distance himself from the pack as the race progressed, maintaining a lead against perennial contenders Brian Bolin and Chad Lyle. Tillman worked up nearly a straight away advantage when the checkers waved to give him perhaps his biggest modified win to date. Chad Lyle charged from eighth to finish second, Aaron Marrant was third, Dean Willie fourth, and Mitch Keeter rounded out the top five.

The late models were up next for their finale. Ken Essary jumped to the early lead and appeared to be the fastest car on the track in the beginning. That soon changed, however, when Justin Wells began slicing his way to the front. Wells' machine looked strong on both the bottom and top grooves and he powered by Essary on the top side. Essary later received pressure from Arkansas driver Jack Sullivan as the duo raced side by side for a few laps before Sullivan secured the position. Sullivan tried to keep Wells in sight, but Wells maneuvered through lap traffic flawlessly as he used the entire track to maintain a healthy lead. Wells would go on to take the impressive win ahead of Sullivan. Jesse Stovall made a great charge to finish third, Ken Essary held on for fourth, and Nebraska hot shoe John Anderson rounded out the top five.

Sportmods would then take to the track for their feature. Eric Tinderholt took command from the start and led the opening laps. About nine laps in to the race, Iowa driver Jesse Sobbing through his name into the hat of contenders. Sobbing, who had started tenth, was riding the cushion around the fast 1/4-mile oval and had joined Tinderholt and Brian Bolin at the front of the field. The trio raced each other clean the entire time as they fought for the lead, but it would be Sobbing getting the advantage and taking the lead away. From that point on Sobbing would slowly pull away and take the "Turkey trophy" back to Iowa. Brian Bolin finished second, Eric Tinderholt slipped to third, Mike Hailman was fourth, and Bobby Maggard completed the top five. Another Iowa driver, Cayden Carter, won his b-main event after suffering problems in his heat race. He finished seventh.

For more complete results, check out http://springfieldraceway.com.

My friends and I opted not to stick around for the legends race. It had already been a long day, and knew we still had a lengthy trip back home. So beings we didn't know any of the legend drivers, we hit the highway.

I would like to mention that Grant Junghans was back behind the wheel of his Shopquick modified. Junghans, the 2009 USMTS Rookie of the Year, had to take some time off this year for personal reasons. Junghans took the time to come talk to me following his feature race, which ended sooner than he had hoped as he was "pushed" off turn one and thus sidelined him for the rest of the event. Junghans informed me Saturday was the first time he had raced since July. He told me he plans on getting back into the swing of things next year, so that was good to hear.

The long trip to Springfield was definitely worth it, especially for my two friends that rode down with me. It was their first trip there, and I made a little "detour" so they could see the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland. The gate was locked, so that prevented a closer look. But they were still impressed by what they could see. What started off early (we met at Ellsworth, IA at 5:10am) turned into an all-day trip as we got back to Ellsworth around 3:45am. I got back home around 4:30, which was nearly 26 hours after I had woke up the morning before.

The Turkey Classic will likely be the final curtain on my 2010 racing season. Ed Reichert, a Hawkeye Racing News columnist, informed me of an indoor midget race in Illinois (I believe) the weekend before Christmas, but that doesn't intrigue me. Look for a later blog with a rundown of my season in the near future.

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

USMTS Closes Door on Another Stellar Season

2010-11-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Last weekend marked the end of the 2010 season for the United States Modified Touring Series. A total of sixty-eight races (52 National Tour, 12 Southern Series) were held from mid-February through mid-November. I believe a total of 19 different winners graced Victory Lane this year, including National Rookie of the Year Johnny Scott picking up his first career USMTS win. While on the topic of wins, Ryan Gustin dominated that category this year as the youngster from Marshalltown, Iowa, racked up a season-high 17 victories. Gustin found immediate success shortly after making the decision to join Ed Gressel and his race team as he won in his second start back in March at McCool Junction, Nebraska. From that time forward it seemed that wherever the 19R car showed up, he was going to be a contender.

While Gustin dominated the win category, the most consistent driver was Jason Hughes. The Oklahoma chassis builder put together a fantastic season that culminated in achieving the ultimate prize, the USMTS National Championship. Hughes' strategy paid off as he concentrated on just two regions during the "regular season" as he focused on running well during "The Hunt". During "The Hunt", Hughes stepped up his game and hit the ball out of the ballpark. He only finished outside the top five twice during the last eighteen races on his way to becoming the National Champion. One of the biggest wins of his season was capturing the $10,000 to win finale of the Fall Jamboree held at the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota. It was Hughes' second consecutive Fall Jamboree title, becoming the first person to repeat in the event's history.

Hughes also found success outside of the USMTS tour. He picked up a cool $16,000 payday out in Las Cruces, New Mexico back in March at the Chub Daniels Memorial race. He also sat behind the wheel of a couple different late model rides throughout the season, picking up a couple top five finishes.

With Hughes only running a partial schedule, I heard some people mumbling about how Gustin couldn't win when Hughes was in the field. Upon further research, I found that to be far from the truth. Hughes and Gustin raced 39 times against each other on the USMTS circuit, and both of them picked up seven wins apiece. Hughes did hold the advantage in top five's and top ten's, however.

But Hughes and Gustin weren't the only players in the game this year. Tommy Myer finished in a solid third place in the championship standings. The veteran from Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, posted five wins throughout the 2010 campaign. He had a streak of eight top ten's during "The Hunt" to solidify his place in the standings.

Zack VanderBeek put together another steady season behind the wheel of his 33z machine. Despite winning just two races on the National Tour, VanderBeek maintained a consistency during the early part of "The Hunt" to finish fourth in the final standings. VanderBeek ended the season on a high note as he picked up two wins and a second place finish at the newly re-named Royal Purple Raceway, formerly known as Houston Raceway Park, in Baytown, Texas.

Rounding out the top five in points was Kelly Shryock. While Shryock and his followers probably considered his season sub par, I'm sure many of his colleagues would gladly switch places with the nine-time champion. Shryock picked up four wins on the season, including a "home court" victory in Algona in early August.

I've compiled a "stats" sheet for all the "regulars" on the USMTS tour during the 2010 season. Check out the link on my personal website, http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net and click on "Drivers' Stats".

I am also working on completing stats for the top five drivers in the National Points standings for IMCA, USRA, and Wissota. I am almost finished with USRA and Wissota, so look for a blog for each of those in the near future. The IMCA stats will take a little bit as it's been a bit more of a challenge finding results for some of those drivers.

I plan to attend my final race of the season tomorrow (Saturday) at the Turkey Classic event held at the Springfield Raceway in Springfield, Missouri. A couple of friends and I plan to wake up early and make the lengthy trek south. Over a hundred and fifty cars were on hand for last year's show, thanks in large part to unseasonably mild temperatures. While the mercury won't be as high on the thermometer this year, I'm hopeful the racing action will be just as hotly contested as last year. For more information on this race, check out http://springfieldraceway.com.

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

Smith Family Continues Winning Ways

2010-11-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

The 2010 season was another standout year for the Smith family from Lake City. The large family that sees six of it members pilot a race car found ample opportunity to grace victory lane on more then one occasion, and that's exactly what happened.

Let's start with the trio of stock car drivers. Dustin Smith was the most consistent of the group as he only finished outside the top ten once in fifty-six starts. Dustin picked up twenty-one wins, with eight apiece at Marshalltown and Harlan where he also picked up track championships. Dustin won the Positivelyracing All-Iowa points and was runner up in IMCA National Points. He also was runner up at the IMCA Supernationals, a great way to cap off a remarkable season.

To see Dustin's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/dustinsmith.htm

Donavon - Donavon also picked up two track championships this season, winning crowns at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta along with the Boone Speedway title. He picked up eleven wins on the season while only finishing outside the top ten three times. Donavon finished right behind brother Dustin at the IMCA Supernationals.

To see Donavon's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/donavonsmith.htm

David - David Smith picked up nine feature wins this season. Ironically both David and Donavon both had forty-one starts and thirty-eight top 10's. David finished third in points in Alta (behind his brothers) and second at Algona to Chad Palmer.

To see David's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/davidsmith.htm

Doug - Doug is the lone family member racing without fenders as he pilots a limited modified. Doug had an up and down season as I believe he said he wrecked a car early in the year if memory serves me correctly. That being said, he was still able to compete thirty-one times while earning eight feature wins. He finished the season on a high note as he won three of the last five races he entered.

To see Doug's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/dougsmith.htm

Devin - Devin will perhaps have bragging rights for the winter has he picked up the most wins this season with twenty-seven. He picked up eight wins apiece at Marshalltown and Algona en route to winning those track championships. He accolades mirror those of brother Dustin as he finished second in IMCA National Points, but garnering the Positivelyracing All-Iowa Points crown.

To see Devin's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/devinsmith.htm

Daniel - Lastly, but certainly not least, Daniel competed thirty-five events this year while picking up a win at Rockwell City. He finished fourth in points in Alta and tenth in Harlan.

To see Daniel's unofficial 2010 stats, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/danielsmith.htm

To see a comparison of all six Smith brothers, check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net/smiths.htm. It lists each driver's individual accomplishments this season, along with a "family total". Be sure to compare those numbers with the Gustin family to see which racing family you think had the better season.

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