Burlington Frostbuster in the Books

On Saturday April 4th, I had a few different choices as to where to travel for a race. It was either Boone, Davenport, or Burlington. I was skeptical about the weather for Boone, and didn't really want to pay the price at Davenport for only two classes. So Burlington it was.

With a very strong wind out of the east I was very happy that the track faces southwest and that the grandstands were blocked from the wind for the most part. Five classes were set to kick off the season at 34 Raceway. Twenty-three IMCA modifieds hit the track for the first feature of the night. Josh Foster took the early lead but yielded a challenge from Lonnie Heap. While several caution flags slowed the action, Scott Hogan was able to slowly move his way to the front after getting the horrible luck of the draw with a twelfth starting spot. Hogan seemed to pick off a car every lap late in the race, but didn't have enough time to catch Foster at the finish. Heap settled for third, Dusty Kraklio fourth, and Missouri driver Adam Birck rounded out the top five.

IMCA Stock Cars hit the track next for their twenty-lap feature event. John Oliver Jr looked to be on his way to the win but received a challenge from Jason Cook's machine. Oliver Jr and Cook raced side by side for a couple laps before Cook took the advantage on the bottom groove and pulled away for the checkers. Following behind them was a four-car battle for third place. Abe Huls prevailed at the end followed by Jim Redmann, Darin Thye, and Jeff Mueller.

While I'm not much of a sprint car fan, I will admit that the few 305 sprint car races I've seen have been pretty good. Many fans like to see sprint cars wreck but keeping the drivers safe. No sprint cars rolled at Burlington, but a few cars did go over the banking in turns one and two. Bobby Mincer took advantage of such a situation when pole-sitter Marty Stephenson didn't hit the proper marks and went over the banking on the initial start. Mincer would go on to lead every lap and capture the Frostbuster checkers.

Fourteen hobby stocks put on a good show for the fans. Dean Kratzer and Tanner Thomann battled side by side for the last few laps before Kratzer sped to the finish. Thomann settled for a hard-fought second, Derek St Clair third, Doug Fenton fourth, and Tony Whitte rounded out the top five.

I'll admit that I did not stay for the last feature of the night (front-wheel drives). With a three-hour trip home and threatening weather on the way, I wanted to get home before the "blizzard" made it's presence felt. Fortunately I made it home and only had to deal with rain. This morning (Sunday) I woke up to a whole different story! Lots of snow.

Here are the results from this blog: http://www.geocities.com/racefan85/apr4.pdf.

Next weekend I'm hopeful to make a couple first trips to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois and 24 Raceway in Moberly, Missouri. Both tracks will hold USMTS events. Then on Sunday, I-35 Speedway in Mason City, Iowa will have their season opener.

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