When the clock read 2:40 on Friday afternoon, it became apparent to me that things were really slow at work. Twenty minutes later I found myself at the sink washing my hands in preparation for our fifteen minute break, when my supervisors asked me where I was racing that night. I simply said "well that depends.. are we able to leave right now?" Their reply was simply yes, and as I stared at the clock I decided I was taking advantage of the early-out and make a trip to a track I've never been to before. I got home and turned the computer on, trying to decide which track was closer. It became obvious I still wouldn't have time to make it out to Onawa, so I got in my car and headed to Columbus Junction, Iowa.
For those who may not know, Columbus Junction is located roughly eight to ten miles east of Highway 218 along Highway 92 down in southeast Iowa. After nearly two and a half hours of driving, I pull into the Louisa County Fairgrounds. I had looked at the track website to determine which classes would be running, but I had no clue as to what the normal car count is typically. It was a big surprise when I heard the announcer say only 49 cars in five classes were on hand.
After running the heat races through at a fast pace and having a gunny sack race for the Lil Racer Fan Club members, the IMCA stock cars lined up in staging for the first feature of the night. A solid group of fifteen cars were on hand with Lane Kauffman and Travis Finke sitting on the front row. Finke would grab the top spot while there was three-wide racing midpack. Last week's feature winner Nathan Wood was moving forward and had advanced to the fifth position in the first three laps, but the caution flag waved and he was realigned in sixth. On the restart Wood would once again put the hammer down as he made passes on Tad Payne and Kirk Kinsley utilizing both the top and bottom grooves. Wood later passed Billy Faler on the top side and dashed to the inside of Finke for the lead, but the caution wiped away both passes. Two restarts would follow in which two different cars were caught jumping, resulting in both starting at the tail of the field. When the green flag came back out, Wood wasted no time in getting back out front. His time there was short-lived, however, as he coasted to a stop in turn four with a fuel pump issue. As the laps were winding down, Kinsley began to close the gap on Finke as he looked to the inside. On the final lap it appeared Finke pushed a bit on the exit of turn four, allowing Kinsley to pull even as they drag raced to the flagstand. Finke would hold on by a mere bumper to take the win with Kinsley settling for second. Tad Payne finished third, Cole Simmons was fourth, and Billy Faler rounded out the top five.
1. 2s Travis Finke
2. 21M Kirk Kinsley
3. 44P Tad Payne
4. 68 Cole Simmons
5. 02 Billy Faler
6. R34 David Hemstead
7. 9 Lane Kauffman
8. 34 John Hemstead
9. 5 Jeremy Thompkins
10. K4 ??
DNF
4 Darrin Ealy
52 Nathan Wood
57 Blaine Dopler
76 Jason Hartman
8 Brian Holmes
Next up would be the hobby stock feature. According to information I received from fellow Positively Racing blogger Ryan Clark, the plan is to run the hobby stocks every other week at CJ Speedway. Last night was the first night for them, and only two cars showed up. Dusin Griffiths and Mike Hughes, who appeared to be behind the wheel of Kris Walker's machine, were set for a five-lap shootout. Hughes got the lead at the drop of the green flag while Griffiths lost a tire on the second lap. Hughes would take the win.
1. 18H Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths
The open modifieds were next with eight cars on hand. Front row starters Mark Winkel and Tim Sands made contact down the front stretch with Winkel getting sideways, but was able to maintain control and straighten it out. That opened the door for Alex Buffington to take command. Steve Stewart, last week's winner, quickly caught Buffington and used the inside line to take the lead. However, a caution negated the pass and bunched the field back up. One lap following the restart Stewart would take the lead again and begin to pull away as the field spread out behind. They were so spread out that Buffington spun in turn four and was still able to maintain his second position. Steve Stewart would take the win ahead of Buffington, Tim Sands, Mark Winkel, and Doug Pratt.
1. 17 Steve Stewart
2. 30 Alex Buffington
3. 5 Tim Sands
4. 7w Mark Winkel
5. 4D Doug Pratt
DNF
38 Dave Imming
8x Cody Layman
J40 Clayton Jensen
A good field of fourteen mod-lites were up next for their feature. They had a hard time getting started, and after the third failed attempt to get one completed lap in I opted to head for home with the IMCA sport compacts yet to be run as well.
While the track appeared to be in pretty good shape, I'm still amazed at the low car count. Hopefully things will get better for the folks at CJ Speedway. Be sure to check out their website for upcoming races and other information.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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