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!!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Big Changes Kick Off at Hamilton County Speedway
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!!
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!!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Simpson, Crimmins Highlight Winners From Fort Dodge
A blustery and cool Friday night found me at the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge. I figured with the wind at my back, sitting in the grandstand would be a little more bearable. Boy was I wrong as the breeze seemed to pick up a little as the night continued. On the track the action was fast and furious despite the track getting choppy with every race.
I believe fourteen hornets made their way to the track first for their feature event. At the start it would be a battle for the lead between Mick and Nate Evans as they raced door to door. It wasn't long before they were joined by Mike McFarland and Lyle Oberhelmen. McFarland and Oberhelmen, in similar looking cars, both managed to get by the front runners and engage in their own battle. In the end it would be the defending track champion McFarland taking the win.
The econo stocks were next up with a field of five cars. Austin Reicks would take command early, but the caution flag waved when the 17L machine (sorry, didn't catch him name) dropped his driveshaft at the entrance to turn one. During the caution, Reicks pointed out the debris (driveshaft), and then proceeded to exit the track. Colby Davis would inherit the point and lead the rest of the laps in picking up the win ahead of Brad Hanse.
Justin Nehring took control in the early going of the hobby stock feature after starting outside the front row. Austin Wolfgram would challenge Nehring for the lead while Devin Smith was quickly running down both front runners. After Wolfgram took the lead for a lap, Nehring would regain the lead while Wolfgram conceited the second position to Smith. Smith would then make his move on the inside of Nehring to take over the race lead. Wolfgram followed Smith to second with Nehring slipping back to third. A late caution came out to bunch the field back up. On the final lap Wolfgram got out of control exiting turn two and gave up a lot of positions. Devin Smith would take the win ahead of Justin Nehring, Jeff Lyons, Myles Michehl, and Kevin Berger. There was a surprise entrant in the hobby stocks as Dan Sacquitne from Northeast Iowa made the trip over. Unfortunately he was unable to finish the feature after finishing second in his heat race.
The limited modifieds were up next with a solid field of nineteen cars. Jim Lampe wasted no time in assuming the top spot, but formerly retired driver Brett Meyer quickly sliced his way from his sixth starting spot up to second on the first lap. Following an early caution, most of the top five remained the same until Brandon Toftee passed Travis Storm for the fifth spot with just two laps remaining. Jim Lampe would cruise to the win followed by Brett Meyer, Steve Reetz, Clint Luellen, and Brandon Toftee.
Twelve USRA stock cars then hit the track for their main event. Kevin Donlan, a driver making the trip over from Northeast Iowa, found himself on the pole and grabbing the early lead. Wayne Crimmins and Jeff Deal were racing for the second spot before Deal slipped off the backstretch and fell back a few spots. Matt Mundt would sneak under Jeremy Crimmins for the third position, but as Crimmins tried to battle back in turn four the two cars made contact with Crimmins suffering a left front flat tire and bringing out the caution flag. Crimmins would use this to his advantage as he would wrestle the lead away from Donlan shortly after the restart. Donlan kept pace but was unable to get close enough to seriously challenge. Wayne Crimmins took home the win with Kevin Donlan in second, Matt Mundt in third, Dennis Plain was fourth, and Ryan Leeman rounded out the top five.
Eleven modifieds hit the track for the final race of the night. Jake Simpson used his outside front row starting position to get the jump on the start to grab the lead. A caution on lap two quickly slowed things down, but Jim Thies would stay within striking distance after the restart. Brian Schmitt passed rookie Dustin Smith on the inside to take over the fourth position. Soon after Rod Scheuermann would go up in smoke and leave the track. Up front Thies closed in as it appeared Simpson slowed down more going through the bumps in turns one and two. But Simpson would find a smoother lane a car-width higher and regain some breathing room as he went on to take the feature win. Jim Thies finished second, Brian Schmitt was third, Dustin Smith was fourth, and Jeff Segebart rounded out the top five.
The races were over right at 10:00. The track appeared to have a few ruts on the inside of turns one and two, and a hole in turn three. But otherwise I thought the track held up well considering all the weather elements in the past couple of weeks. I'm sure as the weather dries up track officials will be able to iron it out. Be sure to log on to www.fdspeed.com later for a full rundown.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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!!
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