The annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic in Farley, Iowa got kicked off Wednesday night with a full show of IMCA/spec late models along with qualifying races for bmods, flyers, and limited stocks. It was my understanding that the bmods, limited stocks, and flyers ran heat races and last chance qualifiers to determine the feature lineup for tomorrow night while the late models ran a complete show Wednesday night. With that being said, I only kept track of the late models.
Terry Neal and Doug Nigh sat on the front row of the thirty-five lap late model feature after those two finished that way in the "fast dash", a six-lap sprint involving the top six cars in passing points. Neal would grab the point at the start while Ray Guss Jr took the runner up spot on lap two. Four laps later Guss Jr would find the cushion to his liking as he snared the lead away from Neal before encountering lapped traffic on the quarter-mile track. Jason Rauen climbed into the second spot on lap ten after he too found the top side to be the fast way around Neal before a caution slowed things down. That caution would involve Charlie McKenna, the winner of the bmain, and two other cars.
The restart hampered Rauen as slid backslid from second to seventh in a matter of a lap. Another yellow flag waved four laps later when Eric Gustaf slammed into the front stretch wall exiting turn four. At that point, Dan Shelliam (I believe he was driving the #16 car) had advanced from his sixteenth starting spot into the top five. When racing resumed, Marty Diercks would make a move on Neal for the second position on lap sixteen.
With twelve laps remaining, Charlie McKenna had rebounded nicely to find himself in the fifth spot running the high line of the track. McKenna and Jason Schueller, driving what appeared to be a backup car of Eric Gustaf's, duked it out for several laps for the fifth spot with McKenna getting the advantage in the end. But at the front of the pack it was Ray Guss Jr taking home the $1,000 payday for his efforts. In the post-race interview, he mentioned that he hadn't been to Farley since they built the smaller track. As some may say, it must be "beginner's luck". :)
1. 58 Ray Guss Jr
2. 4D Marty Diercks
3. 28c Terry neal
4. 6D Doug Nigh
5. 22 Charlie McKenna
6. 90x Jason Schueller
7. 16 Dan Shelliam (sp?)
8. 4DX Rob Toland (Rick Dralle's car)
9. 50 Joe Zrostlik
10. 15 Kelly Meyer (sp?, looked like it was Justin Kay's car)
11. 87 Jon Merfeld
12. 60 Greg Kastli
all I could get.. was hard to figure out who was on lead lap and who wasn't as several cars went to their pits and came back out. Also the PA system was hard to hear. Not sure if they had it turned to the pits or for both the pits and the stands, but it was difficult to hear regardless.
The Yankee Dirt Track Classic continues on through the weekend at the Farley Speedway. For more information, check out the website at www.simmonspromotionsinc.com
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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