First off I want to apologize for not getting a blog typed up from my trip Thursday night to Winston, Missouri for the USMTS Hunt for the Championship event. It was 3:30am when I got home and opted for a few hours of shut eye before hopping out of bed shortly after 6am for work. Then upon getting home I cleaned up and headed to Marshalltown last night. So here is the recap from Thursday night.
After making the three-plus hour trek down Interstate 35 I arrived at the I-35 Speedway for my second-ever visit to the facility. My previous time was also a USMTS show roughly ten to twelve years ago. While that memory is a bit sketchy, I wanted a refresher and took in this event. Besides the USMTS modifieds, Ironman Challenge stock cars and bmods were on the slate.
Right about twenty-nine cars in the bmods and USMTS with eighteen stock cars were on hand. First up for feature action would be the Iron Man Challenge series for USRA stock cars. Todd Staley would lead the first couple of laps after starting on the pole. Steve Jackson, Jason Minnehan, and Mike VanGenderen raced three-wide for the runner up position with Jackson prevailing prior to the caution waving on lap three for Nathan Wood as he suffered a flat tire. Two laps after the green came back out, Jackson used the middle groove to motor around Staley for the lead. VanGenderen would sneak under Staley to grab the second position away before getting sideways in turn three and diving towards the infield. Fortunately for him he was able to keep momentum and only lose a few positions as he fell back to fourth. Justin Temeyer would then overtake Staley for second using the high line while VanGenderen again used the low side to work under Staley for third. The caution waved on lap ten, and under caution Staley went to the pits to give up fourth. He would return prior to going back racing, but tagged the tail of the field. VanGenderen would get a good restart and take back second place as he got by Temeyer before closing in on Jackson late in the race. With five laps remaining contact between the two front runners occurred in turn two, but it wasn't enough to deter either's momentum. Steve Jackson would hold on to pick up the win ahead of Mike VanGenderen. Justin Temeyer finished third, Jason Minnehan was fourth, and Jeff Joldersma rounded out the top five.
Up next would be the Iron Man Challenge series for bmods. Twenty-three starters took the green flag with Bobby Penney taking control from his outside front row starting spot. An early caution on lap two slowed things down, but the restart proved to be exciting as Carter VanDenBerg got a great jump to advance from eighth to fourth in a lap. Meanwhile Mike Higley used the outside groove to motor by Penney for the lead on lap three. VanDenBerg worked his way up to third and both he and Cayden Carter found their way around Penney for second and third, respectively. A lot of slicing and dicing went on in the next lap or two, but the end result was Cayden Carter slowing in turn four to bring out the caution flag on lap six. Higley would continue to lead, but VanDenBerg pressured him on the inside. Mike Higley would go on to take the win ahead of Carter VanDenBerg, Gene Claxton, Truman Asher, and Brett Shields.
It was now time for the forty-lap USMTS modified finale. Johnny Scott and Kelly Shryock sat on the front row. Shryock, currently second in the points standings, was looking to make a big dent in the points gap as points leader Ryan Gustin suffered problems in the heat race and had to advance out of a b-main to qualify. With Gustin starting nineteenth, Shryock was looking to capitalize.
Johnny Scott would seize command of the race at the drop of the green flag with Dustin Boney and Shryock behind him. Minnesota drivers Tommy Myer and Lucas Schott waged a battle for fifth as they sea-sawed back and forth. The front five drivers were all utilizing the bottom side while the guys running midpack were using both lanes. The first caution of the race came on lap sixteen, and at the point Ryan Gustin had moved up to eleventh. On the restart Shryock would work his way around Boney using the middle groove. Schott used the same line to get by Jon Tesch for fourth. The yellow flag waved again five laps later. Scott was able to drive away from Shryock following this restart. Ryan Gustin was flying on the top side but had to slow down as Tommy Myer wasn't going in to the corners nearly as fast as Gustin had been. Gustin may have gotten a little impatient after following Myer for two laps and ducked to the middle of a three-wide battle entering turn three. Gustin skated up and made contact with Myer resulting in Myer spinning to a stop. Officials sent both Myer and Gustin to the tail for the incident with fifteen laps remaining.
On the restart Jason Krohn used the cushion to get by Lucas Schott for fourth before catching Dustin Boney. Krohn and Boney raced side by side before Krohn overtook the third spot. But up front the night belonged to Johnny Scott as he picked up the win. Kelly Shryock finished second and shaved some points off Gustin's lead. Dustin Boney was third, Jason Krohn fourth, and Zack VanderBeek completed the top five.
All in all I enjoyed my night at Winston, Missouri. I got to talk to the Calhoon (hope I spelled that right) couple from the Kansas City area that I met a few years back when I was able to do more traveling. The only downfall of the evening was the later then advertised start time and the lengthy trip back home.
For more results and current point standings, check out the USMTS and USRA websites.
Now on to Friday night. I made my first trip back to the Marshalltown Speedway since their frostbuster back on April 1. It was good catching up with friends that I hadn't seen in quite some time.
The dwarf car feature was the second feature on the track following the micro sprint feature. Tim Hennigar grabbed the lead on lap two and never looked back as he picked up the win. Josh May picked up second ahead of Joel Huggins, James May, and Andy Hennigar.
Next up would be the IMCA hobby stocks. Randy Embrey took command from the start while points leader Michael Murphy worked his way quickly up to seventh by lap two. Murphy steadily worked his way up the ranks as he moved into fourth after getting by Eric Knutson. Clint Nelson was within striking distance to Embrey until Embrey cleared a lapped car and left both machines in his dust. Embrey picked up the win ahead of Clint Nelson, Jake Nelson, Michael Murphy, and Eric Knutson. Murphy's good run along with a DNF for Kevin Fee has all but solidified the track title for Murphy.
The IMCA sportmods were out next and outside front row starter Jayme Duinink would lead the opening couple of laps. A caution came out on lap three and Zack Rawlins worked under his father Tom for second. Jake Strayer would follow Zack Rawlins to third while Rawlins marched under Duinink for the lead. Strayer would again follow to second and brought along Tyler Droste to third. Following another restart just past the halfway point, Strayer used the low groove to work past Rawlins for the lead. Rawlins would keep the pressure on as he powered his machine on the top side, but Strayer was too strong on the bottom as he picked up the win. Tyler Droste also worked his way around Rawlins to finish second and third, respectively, with Racer Hulin and Scott Davis rounding out the top five. Davis holds a 13-point advantage over Cayden Carter entering next week's season finale.
The IMCA stock cars put on a great show for the fans as they normally do. Trevor Titus used his front row starting spot to snag the lead with Lauren Vis and Steve Meyer chasing behind him. Todd Reitzler used the inside line and the right side of his car to work under Meyer for the second position. Meyer rebounded to take the third spot away from Vis before perhaps returning the favor to Reitzler in turn four. Reitzler received some contact and would spin toward the bottom of the track and all heck broke lose, including Lauren Vis going for a roll and ending up on the driver's side door. Fortunately she would be ok. When the green came back out Meyer would utilize the bottom side to get by Titus for the lead. Titus would battle back on the outside and take the lead back for a few laps, but eyes were focusing in on points leader Trent Murphy as he worked his way up to fourth after getting by Jeff Wollam. Titus would secure the lead, but Murphy drove his machine deep into the bottom side of turns one and two and overtake the lead. Damon Murty was working his way forward as well as he got by Jay Schmidt for fourth. Meyer would bodyslam Trevor Titus entering turn one resulting in Titus going for a spin. Titus was able to keep his car moving and avoid contact from other machines. Trent Murphy would take the win ahead of Damon Murty, Donavon Smith, Jay Schmidt, and Steve Meyer. Murphy takes a commanding point lead into next week's finale.
The final event of the night was the IMCA modifieds. A bit short on cars as only thirteen had checked in for the evening. Duane Peterson grabbed the lead at the start while Ronn Lauritzen slowed in turn one. While Lauritzen was trying to get to the inside and eventually pull to the infield, Jimmy Gustin got caught up behind him and lost considerable time to the rest of the pack. Adam Larson and Jon Snyder quickly found their way to second and third while Todd Conrad was running fourth and was the first guy to run the bottom side of the speedway. Conrad methodically worked his way into third as he passed Snyder before taking over the second position from Larson. However the caution flag waved and officials put Larson back up to second. Conrad would continue his strong run on the inside as he again passed Larson and then later took over the lead from Peterson. Peterson changed his line entering turn one and thumped Conrad, sending both drivers into a spin. Apparently Peterson was told to go to the pits over the raceceiver as no black flag was displayed, yet he exited the track. That handed the race lead over to Jon Snyder, and from there it was smooth sailing as he picked up another win. Josh Gilman finished second, Adam Larson third, Andrew Kinser fourth, and Kyle Krampe completed the top five. Jimmy Gustin was up to third, but exited to the infield with a lap or two to go for a fire. Snyder takes the point lead into next week's season finale.
While the racing was good for the most part last night, there were a few questionable incidents in which I thought drivers should have been disciplined. I realize rubbing is racing, but bodyslamming others is not part of that equation.
For complete results and updated point standings, check out the Marshalltown Speedway website.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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