On Friday I journied north to Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota for a Friday night show. Tonight's event was the Dusty McGinty Memorial race. McGinty was a 24-yr old track official who passed away suddenly from a heart attack. My hearts go out to his family and friends on his untimely death.
While the track was in great shape, the car count was nothing to brag about. As a result, the scheduled $1,000 to win IMCA modified feature along with the rest of the classes had their purse cut. This is very unfortunate for everybody involved, but the drivers were very understanding in this situation.
Eight IMCA hobby stocks were first to hit the track and it would be John Cain taking the early lead. He would hold the lead until five laps to go when Bill Woehler took the lead away. Woehler would go on to the race win followed by Cain, Rusty Montagne, Tony Fetterman, and Josh Ruschmann.
Only five IMCA sportmods were attendance, but the top spot was tightly contested throughout the event. R.J. Merchant would take the top spot early on, but Kyle Nordquist turned up the heat as he closed in on the top spot. With only three laps to go, Karl Brewer made his way past Nordquist for second and set his sights on Merchant. Brewer's car made contact with Merchant's, sending him into a spin and bringing out the first caution of the entire night. Officials deemed the contact was a bit much and both drivers went to the tail of the field as a result. This handed the lead back to Nordquist, and he took advantage of the opportunity as he took home the win. Merchant battled back to second, Brewer third, Gary Goodier fourth, and a #20 car came home fifth. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make out his name.
IMCA stock cars were up next as nine cars took to the track. Last year's track champion Amanda Baum brought the field to the green flag and would lead the early part of the race. Travis Baker made his way to the front and took the lead away from Baum on lap six. Shortly after the lead change, a caution flag waved as Jason Ward and Tony Ritterbush got tangled up that resulted in Ritterbush being sidelined with a flat tire. Baum used the restart to her advantage as she reclaimed the top spot and used that momentum to carry her to the feature win. Baker settled for second, former national champion Mike Nichols finished third, Max Hoffer was fourth, and Jason Ward battled back to get fifth.
IMCA modifieds were the final event of the night. As stated earlier, this race was supposed to pay the winner $1,000 and be a ballot qualifier for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational race held at the IMCA SuperNationals in Boone during the week of Labor Day. Unfortunately only seven modifieds showed up, resulting in the purse being cut. But that didn't stop the drivers from putting on a good show for the fans. Jimmy Cole and Jay Gooseman led the field to the green flag of the sixteen lap event. Cole jumped out front early, but his car slid up the track in turn four and made contact with the outside retaining wall, handing the lead over to Gooseman on the second lap. Jay Noteboom would maneuver up from his fifth starting spot to grab the top spot away on lap five when Gooseman suffered a flat tire. Although the field was bunched back up, it didn't phase Noteboom a bit as he pulled away from the field and won in convincing fashion. Dirk Kirk took home second place, Gooseman battled back to third, Cole made it back to fourth, and Jim Matthieson rounded out the top five.
While the car count was a little disappointing, it was fun attending my first race at Raceway Park. Track announcer Wade Sembach informed me that the track usually has 70 or more cars on a typical Sunday night, the normal night of racing. Wade and I have known each other for a few years now and he is a walking encyclopedia of driver names and hometowns. It was fun chatting with him both before and after the races, along with Jay Noteboom. Jay is a great competitor and a nice guy to talk to after the races no matter how he does on the track. Races were done by 9:20 as the show moved along at a quick pace with only a few cautions throughout the night and a short intermission.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment