After spending the previous night in Hays, Kansas, I made the journey to McCool Junction, Nebraska for Sunday's running of the Cool McCool 100. This special event is typically one of the last races of the year in Nebraska and perhaps the region. The "100" aspect refers to the total amount of feature laps of the combined classes of competition. Cruisers, hornets, hobby stocks, stock cars, modifieds, and crate late models were on the card for Sunday afternoon's races.
The hobby stocks were the first class to be run in which I kept notes. Shannon Anderson started on the pole and despite receiving constant pressure from Jason Wilkinson, was able to lead every lap on his way to the checkered flag. Jason Wilkinson finished right behind Anderson with Andy Gregg, Kyle Bond, and Brandon Stange rounding out the top five.
Stock cars would hit the track next as twenty-two cars were ready to make the dirt fly. Mike VanGenderen and two other cars were three-wide at the line on lap two before VanGenderen would assume the lead on the next circuit. The field dropped into single file formation with a lot of bumping and pushing going on throughout. Several cautions waved throughout the twenty-lap feature, but VanGenderen was able to hold off all the challenges and take home the big money. Clay Christian and Michael Jaennette finished second and third, making it an all-Iowa podium finish.
Twenty-one modifieds were now ready for their twenty-five lap finale. Jon Thompson led lap one from the pole, but Reese Coffee shot around him in turn two on lap three to snare the lead away. Thompson would give up the runner up spot as he slid up the banking, allowing Kyle Berck and Johnny Saathoff to race by. With ten laps to go, Berck would slide up the banking and drop back to the eighth position. Two laps later Coffee would make the same mistake and wouldn't be able to get back in line until Berck passed him. That handed the lead over to Saathoff, and that was all he needed as he raced away from the field and took the checkered flag first. Chris Abelson, Brett Behrends, Jason Friesen, and Andy Wilkinson completed the top five.
I opted not to stick around for the crate late model feature. It was 8:30 at that point and it was a lengthy 5-hour trip home. The announcers at the Junction Motor Speedway mentioned that they will be hosting the Spring Thaw once again in March, an event put on by the Junction Motor Speedway and the USMTS. That has always been the first race of the season in the upper midwest region the past several years. It's also been a tradition of mine for the past couple of years to kick my racing season off. Hopefully that trend will continue next year.
Check out the Junction Motor Speedway website for full results from the Cool McCool 100 at www.junctionmotorspeedway.com.
The racing schedule is getting smaller and smaller as the weeks go by. One event that I circle on the calendar every year is coming up this Saturday, October 24th. That event is "Shiverfest" held at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. While the event doesn't boast a large payout, it promotes fun for the kids as there are hayrack rides and trick-or-treating before the races. "Shiverfest" is typically the last race of the season in Iowa, although that won't be the case this year. It will still be a fun race with a lot of good cars, many of which will travel some distance. For more information on this race, check out www.leecountyspeedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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