The Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa opened their season on Wednesday, May 6th. Mother Nature had thoughts of postponing the event as several dark clouds filled the sky, but she held off and it made for some great racing action! The track was both smooth and fast as the show was moved along in quick fashion.
Only four IMCA sport compacts were on hand for opening night, although three other "guest" drivers were allowed to tag the feature. Josh Egesdal would edge out Cory Flanigan at the line for the exciting finish.
Up next would be the twelve lap IMCA hobby stock feature. Justin Nehring took the lead on lap one from his front row starting spot, but hotshoe Devin Smith took the top spot away on the next lap. Shannon Anderson was making his move to the front in quick fashion as he started in ninth and was up to fourth in just three laps. A late race caution bunched the field back together, but Smith would pull away from the field and take home opening night checkers. Nehring followed him, Anderson moved up to third at the line, Matt Mahoney fourth, and Michael Murphy rounded out the top five.
A good field of sportmods were on hand as sixteen competitors took the green flag to start the race. Doug Smith made a good move in the first set of corners to snatch the top spot on the backstretch of lap one as he started from fourth. Smith would never look back as he stretched out his lead for the convincing win. Tony Pogeler would come home second, Brett Meyer third, and Luke Wanninger was fourth. A 14z car was fifth, but didn't catch his name. Norgard was his last name maybe?
Although there were only thirteen IMCA stock cars on hand tonight, they put on a great show for the fans as they were racing three and sometimes four-wide in the pack. Jeff Joldersma jumped out to the lead early on from the pole, but a caution on lap two quickly slowed the field. At BVR, the IMCA stock cars and IMCA modifieds use the Delaware double-file restarts, meaning the leader is out front by himself while the rest of the field is lined up side by side. Dustin Smith used this restart to his advantage as he took the lead on lap three and seemed to have things well in hand. His brother David was making his way up through the field as he found himself in the third spot on lap five and battling it out for second with Joldersma. This allowed Dustin Smith to pull away from the field, but a caution came out with four laps to go. David tried to take advantage of the caution as he had gotten by Joldersma before the yellow came out, but Dustin's car was too strong on this night as he went on to the win ahead of David. Joldersma faded back in the closing laps allowing Chris Ulrich, Trent Murphy, and Brian Blessington to get by to round out the top five. Blessington was the reason for the caution with four laps to go as his machine spun around in turn four and collected a couple other cars. He passed four cars in the final laps to salvage a top five.
The final event of the night would be the IMCA modifieds. A great field of eighteen cars checked in and were set to put on what would be a great show. Chris Abelson drew the pole and jumped out to the early lead. His car was working great as he quickly separated from the pack. Behind him Adam Larson and Jeremy Mills were in a heated battle for the runner up spot as the drivers raced side by side for several laps. After a few cautions and securing the second spot, Mills found himself catching Abelson until his car bobbled in turn four. When Mills checked up some of the cars behind him also checked up, causing a chain reaction. Most of the field made it through, but a few towards the back got caught up in it and a caution ensued. Nobody was going to catch Abelson on this night though as he went on to take home the trophy. Mills finished in second, Mike Hansen grabbed the third spot, Stacey Mills fourth, and Jay Noteboom rounded out the top five.
What a great night of racing action at the Buena Vista Raceway!! Great competition, good hard racing throughout all the classes of cars. The track was in great shape and stayed pretty tacky throughout the night. While I don't always agree with taking an intermission, I agreed with the use of one tonight as they gave away two kids' bikes to a couple of lucky winners in the grandstands. Anytime the track involves the kids it's a good thing. It also allowed time for the track crew to pack in the track a little before the features. And I can't forget the great food as well! I had a hamburger and cheese balls with a pop as I usually do. Can't beat BVR cheese balls! If you haven't been to BVR (recently or at all), I highly suggest trying to make the trip on a Wednesday. You won't be disappointed! Racing action concluded just after 10:00.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!
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