The Springfield Raceway in Missouri held it's 4th Annual Turkey Classic event this past Saturday under sunny skies after receiving around three inches of rain just a few days before. On top of that track officials put down forty loads of new dirt/clay to the racing surface, so the heat races saw the track a bit on the choppy side. Promoter Jerry Hoffman took time after the b-mains to grade the track from top to bottom, which provided for some excellent two and three-wide racing come feature time.
As the headline would indicate a record 189 cars were on hand for this event, with 75 of them being modifieds. Sixty-four sportmods also helped fill the pit area along with a good count of late models. Two heats of legends were also ran.
The modified feature would be run first. Jody Tillman quickly made his move to the top spot as he ran the cushion the entire race. He would distance himself from the pack as the race progressed, maintaining a lead against perennial contenders Brian Bolin and Chad Lyle. Tillman worked up nearly a straight away advantage when the checkers waved to give him perhaps his biggest modified win to date. Chad Lyle charged from eighth to finish second, Aaron Marrant was third, Dean Willie fourth, and Mitch Keeter rounded out the top five.
The late models were up next for their finale. Ken Essary jumped to the early lead and appeared to be the fastest car on the track in the beginning. That soon changed, however, when Justin Wells began slicing his way to the front. Wells' machine looked strong on both the bottom and top grooves and he powered by Essary on the top side. Essary later received pressure from Arkansas driver Jack Sullivan as the duo raced side by side for a few laps before Sullivan secured the position. Sullivan tried to keep Wells in sight, but Wells maneuvered through lap traffic flawlessly as he used the entire track to maintain a healthy lead. Wells would go on to take the impressive win ahead of Sullivan. Jesse Stovall made a great charge to finish third, Ken Essary held on for fourth, and Nebraska hot shoe John Anderson rounded out the top five.
Sportmods would then take to the track for their feature. Eric Tinderholt took command from the start and led the opening laps. About nine laps in to the race, Iowa driver Jesse Sobbing through his name into the hat of contenders. Sobbing, who had started tenth, was riding the cushion around the fast 1/4-mile oval and had joined Tinderholt and Brian Bolin at the front of the field. The trio raced each other clean the entire time as they fought for the lead, but it would be Sobbing getting the advantage and taking the lead away. From that point on Sobbing would slowly pull away and take the "Turkey trophy" back to Iowa. Brian Bolin finished second, Eric Tinderholt slipped to third, Mike Hailman was fourth, and Bobby Maggard completed the top five. Another Iowa driver, Cayden Carter, won his b-main event after suffering problems in his heat race. He finished seventh.
For more complete results, check out http://springfieldraceway.com.
My friends and I opted not to stick around for the legends race. It had already been a long day, and knew we still had a lengthy trip back home. So beings we didn't know any of the legend drivers, we hit the highway.
I would like to mention that Grant Junghans was back behind the wheel of his Shopquick modified. Junghans, the 2009 USMTS Rookie of the Year, had to take some time off this year for personal reasons. Junghans took the time to come talk to me following his feature race, which ended sooner than he had hoped as he was "pushed" off turn one and thus sidelined him for the rest of the event. Junghans informed me Saturday was the first time he had raced since July. He told me he plans on getting back into the swing of things next year, so that was good to hear.
The long trip to Springfield was definitely worth it, especially for my two friends that rode down with me. It was their first trip there, and I made a little "detour" so they could see the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland. The gate was locked, so that prevented a closer look. But they were still impressed by what they could see. What started off early (we met at Ellsworth, IA at 5:10am) turned into an all-day trip as we got back to Ellsworth around 3:45am. I got back home around 4:30, which was nearly 26 hours after I had woke up the morning before.
The Turkey Classic will likely be the final curtain on my 2010 racing season. Ed Reichert, a Hawkeye Racing News columnist, informed me of an indoor midget race in Illinois (I believe) the weekend before Christmas, but that doesn't intrigue me. Look for a later blog with a rundown of my season in the near future.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment