USMTS @ Junction Motor Speedway

On Friday March 6th, a group of 4 of us ventured our way west to the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska. While we did have an adventuresome trip, we made it to York to check into the hotel around 3pm. After getting settled in and grabbing a bite at Pizza Hut, we ventured 6 miles or so south to the track.

Upon arrival, there were several fans in the parking lot waiting for the ticket booth to open. I chatted with an older individual from Nebraska for a few minutes and found out his grandson races in Nevada. Sounded like this fellow had been to plenty of races in his life, noting visits to Nevada, Colorado, and Florida.

After finding our seats, the announcers (Wayne Dake and Lon Oelke) began to tell stories to each other about what had happened over the offseason and such and preview what was to come. 54 UMSTS modifieds as well as 24 stock cars checked in for racing action at the high-banked 3/8 mile speedplant.

USMTS ran their heats first. Dean Mahlstedt controlled heat one. Corey Dripps took advantage from his pole start to capture heat two. Heat three was one of the best races I've seen in awhile, as Jason Friesen came from the 9th starting spot to pass NASCAR star Kenny Schrader on the last corner for the win. Mike Steensma, Scott Green, and "Rockin" Ronnie Wallace scored the other three heat race victories.

Three stock car heats were next. I'll admit, I didn't know too many of the local drivers, thus not paying attention to heat one. Heat two was won by Iowa driver Jeff Joldersma. Heat three saw Iowans Matt Griener and Mike VanGenderen finish second and third, respectively.

Two USMTS bmains were run with the top 5 drivers advancing on to the A-main later on. Jake Neal took home the win in the first followed by Dereck Ramirez, Josh Reisch, Jay Noteboom, and Scott Ward. Bmain #2 belonged to Kenny Schrader. He was followed across the stripe by Zach VanderBeek, Tommy Myer, Jon Tesch, and Andrew Gordon.

That set the stage for the final two races of the night. Stock cars took to the track among the light mist in the air. This race was a thriller with three-wide racing going on up front. Ross Dixon (Ramona, South Dakota) took the lead early on with several drivers pressuring him. Joldersma, VanGenderen, and Griener challenged Dixon lap after lap, making it a four-car battle. Dixon had just enough at the end to pull out the victory. Matt Griener made a final push to finish second in thrilling fashion while VanGenderen and Joldersma rounded out the top 4. Good showing for the Iowa guys, and a great race overall.

The night's finale was the 30-lap USMTS feature. Corey Dripps had the luck of the draw on his side as he drew the pole. However, it was Dustin Boney who quickly jumped out the the early lead. After leading the first seventeen laps, Boney pulled pitside with a broken fan belt. Jason Friesen took command for a few laps before relinquishing the lead to Tommy Myer for good. Myer started 18th and had the field covered by the time the checkered flag waved. Zach VanderBeek finished second while also advancing from one of the bmains. Friesen would wind up with a solid third place finish followed by Scott Green and Kelly Shryock to finish out the top 5.

I must give promoter Delmer Friesen a LOT of credit. I was skeptical in the heat races that the track would lock down on the bottom as that was where the prefered line was. As the night progressed however, cars began searching around up top and in the middle. Both the stock cars and the modifieds used the entire race track and the surface was very smooth for a March race. In fact, I'll go on record saying that was the best race I've seen at the Junction Motor Speedway.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't too kind on Saturday (March 7th) as weather forced the cancellation of the second day of racing. There will be no makeup date.

I have posted full results on my website. http://www.geocities.com/racefan85/09races.html
Click on March, then click on "USMTS at McCool Junction, NE"

Preliminary plans for next weekend will once again find me following USMTS action. Friday night will be in Caney, Kansas followed by a visit to Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas on Saturday. If something should come up to where I cannot attend Caney, I will travel to Springfield, Missouri for a makeup Turkey Bowl that was rained out last November.

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