Hello everybody. I know I haven't been blogging much this season, and there is a good reason for that. I was without a computer from the third week of March up until sometime after Labor Day. I won't go into details, but needless to say it was a struggle!
Anyway I've had a lot of people ask me where I've been and how many races I've attended. So I thought I'd give a full-season breakdown of my travels.
For the first time in recent memory, I failed to make it to a race in March. I had plans to attend a USMTS event in Missouri, but those plans changed. That being said, I will outline the chronological order of events I attended. I started off the season with plans to only attend one race per week. However, those plans were adjusted in June when I connected with some new race friends.
April 6 - Frostbuster at Marshalltown
April 7 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Burlington
April 15 - Mason City weekly race
April 22 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Dubuque
May 5 - Webster City weekly race
May 8 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Vinton
May 12 - Webster City weekly race
May 16 - Oskaloosa weekly race
May 19 - Webster City weekly race
May 22 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Marshalltown
May 26 - USMTS at Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, MN
May 28 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Mason City
June 5 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Webster City
June 8 - Marshalltown weekly race
June 9 - Boone weekly race
June 12 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour & IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Tipton
June 16 - Jackson, Minnesota Northstar Series (IMCA mod tour for MN)
June 20 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Oskaloosa
June 21 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Cresco
June 22 - Marshalltown weekly race
June 23 - USMTS at Grain Valley, Missouri
June 26 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Alta
June 27 - USMTS at Deer Creek Speedway
June 29 - USMTS at Allison
June 30 - Cornbelt Clash/MARS/MLRA Late Models at Corning
July 2 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Independence
July 3 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Algona
July 4 - Stock Car Shootout at Oskaloosa
July 7 - Gopher 50 (World of Outlaws Late Models) at Deer Creek Speedway
July 8 - Hogan Memorial at Vinton
July 11 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Mason City
July 12 - USMTS at Winston, Missouri
July 13- USMTS at Lakeside Speedway (Kansas City, KS)
July 15 - IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models at Dubuque
July 17 - Hawkeye Dirt Tour event at Oskaloosa
July 19 - Harris Clash at Knoxville
July 21 - Independence weekly race
July 25 - USMTS World Dirt Track Championships at Deer Creek Speedway
July 28 - USMTS World Dirt Track Championships at Deer Creek Speedway
July 30 - Season Championships at Webster City
Aug 1 - USMTS at Alta
Aug 3 - Marshalltown weekly race
Aug 6 - World of Outlaws Late Models and IMCA modifieds at Independence
Aug 9 - Night of 1,000 Stars (Hawkeye Dirt Tour event) at Britt
Aug 10 - Cornbelt Clash Late Models at Lansing, MN
Aug 15 - Season Championships at Alta
Aug 17 - Marshalltown weekly race
Aug 18 - USMTS at Decorah
Aug 24 - Marshalltown weekly race
Aug 25 - Boone weekly race
Aug 29 - USMTS at Fairmont, MN
Aug 31 - Marshalltown weekly race
Sept 1 - USMTS & Cornbelt Clash Late Models at Deer Creek Speedway
Sept 3-8: IMCA Supernationals at Boone
Sept 13 - Wissota 100 at Huron, South Dakota
Sept 14-15: Yankee 100 at Farley
Sept 16 - Season Championships at Vinton
Sept 20-22: USMTS Fall Jamboree at Deer Creek Speedway
Sept 27-29: Knoxville Late Model Nationals at Knoxville
Oct 5 - Fall Challenge at Oskaloosa
Oct 6 - Liberty 100 at West Liberty
Oct 12 - Bruce Sommerfeld Memorial at Fort Dodge
Oct 13 - Fall Nationals at Hays, Kansas
Oct 19-20: MLRA Late Models and modifieds at Lakeside Speedway (Kansas City, KS)
Oct 21 - Fall Nationals at Donnellson
Oct 27 - Thunder on the Hill at Mayetta, Kansas
Oct 28 - Memphis Fall Nationals at Memphis, Missouri
Nov 3 - Larry Phillips Memorial at Springfield, Missouri
Nov 10 - Atchison, Kansas
Nov 17 - Turkey Classic at Springfield, Missouri
I attended 80 races at 36 different tracks in 5 different states. I finally made it to my first "new" track in September when I made my first trip to the Wissota 100 in Huron, South Dakota. At the beginning of the season, one of my goals was to attend a Wissota show and hopefully watch their modified division.
The biggest highlight of my season is the many different road trips that I took with several different friends. The month of June provided several memorable trips, with a couple being memorable for totally opposite reasons. The Hawkeye Dirt Tour made their way to the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta back on June 26, and I was able to convince two friends (Jessica Miller and Kalena Albert) to tag along with me. Those two sure know how to keep things rockin!! A road trip in July found me venturing south into Missouri and Kansas for two USMTS races. September saw perhaps the wackiest and craziest couple of consecutive days for me. On a Thursday my friend Brett McCollough and I drove to South Dakota to watch the second night of the Wissota 100. After spending the night, we woke up early to drive back on Friday. I was barely home for thirty minutes before I met up with Grant Oskvig and headed east to the Farley Speedway to take in the Yankee Dirt Track Classic.
That along with all the crazy miles I put on road trips for fall specials. That is why many of my friends used the word "crazy" when they saw me show up at a race.
Throughout the season I had many people ask me if I "quit" writing or why I hadn't been writing. To be honest, I was a bit surprised to hear that many people actually read what I write. While I do plan to get back "into the groove" at some point, I am uncertain when that time will come.
For now, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and will enjoy a festive Christmas and New Year's. Who knows, you may hear from me again before New Year's. Only time will tell.
PS - This blog was not written today. I have been working on it for about a week now, and just completed editing it with a few final thoughts.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
USMTS National Championship Series Recap
The United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) held two separate point championships this season. The higher paying National Championship Series (NCS) was finalized back in early September in Ogilvie, Minnesota where Ryan Gustin collected his second consecutive National Title.
The NCS was comprised of 27 races on the schedule, with drivers' best twenty finishes counting towards the championship. The season got kicked off down in Baytown, Texas in February and concluded in Ogilvie, Minnesota in early September.
Ten different drivers visited victory lane in those twenty-seven races, but Ryan Gustin accumulated the most with ten. Jason Hughes was next with six with other multiple feature winners being Johnny Scott, Chris Brown, and Stormy Scott. Terry Phillips, Kelly Shryock, Mike Sorenson, Joey Jensen, and Jeremy Payne each collected one win apiece.
As I mentioned, the NCS only counted each driver's best twenty finishes. Well, for Gustin that would be rather simple as he had twenty finishes in the top five! Jason Hughes recorded fifteen top 5's to help earn a second place finish in the points. Rodney Sanders finished third in points behind a string of twelve top 5's. Gustin also led the way with 25 top ten finishes while Sanders was just one behind with 24. Hughes had 20.
Gustin's average finishing position was 5.0. His two finishes outside the top ten were a 27th place finish in Kennedale, Texas and a 20th place finish in Alta, Iowa. His average starting spot was 11.1, giving him the most average positions gained of 6.1 cars per race. Terry Phillips gained on average 3.6 cars a race to finish second in that category.
Similarly to the Hunt for the Casey's Cup, the NCS saw six races be won from the pole position. The pole-sitter's average finishing position was 7.52 while the average starting position of the eventual winner was 4.63. The NCS saw an average of 40.7 cars at each race.
That will put a wrap on this recap. Stay tuned for more..
The NCS was comprised of 27 races on the schedule, with drivers' best twenty finishes counting towards the championship. The season got kicked off down in Baytown, Texas in February and concluded in Ogilvie, Minnesota in early September.
Ten different drivers visited victory lane in those twenty-seven races, but Ryan Gustin accumulated the most with ten. Jason Hughes was next with six with other multiple feature winners being Johnny Scott, Chris Brown, and Stormy Scott. Terry Phillips, Kelly Shryock, Mike Sorenson, Joey Jensen, and Jeremy Payne each collected one win apiece.
As I mentioned, the NCS only counted each driver's best twenty finishes. Well, for Gustin that would be rather simple as he had twenty finishes in the top five! Jason Hughes recorded fifteen top 5's to help earn a second place finish in the points. Rodney Sanders finished third in points behind a string of twelve top 5's. Gustin also led the way with 25 top ten finishes while Sanders was just one behind with 24. Hughes had 20.
Gustin's average finishing position was 5.0. His two finishes outside the top ten were a 27th place finish in Kennedale, Texas and a 20th place finish in Alta, Iowa. His average starting spot was 11.1, giving him the most average positions gained of 6.1 cars per race. Terry Phillips gained on average 3.6 cars a race to finish second in that category.
Similarly to the Hunt for the Casey's Cup, the NCS saw six races be won from the pole position. The pole-sitter's average finishing position was 7.52 while the average starting position of the eventual winner was 4.63. The NCS saw an average of 40.7 cars at each race.
That will put a wrap on this recap. Stay tuned for more..
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
USMTS Hunt In Review
The final points battle is now in the books for the United States Modified Touring Series with the conclusion of the Featherlite Fall Jamboree. Ryan Gustin picked up both the National Championship Series title as well as the Hunt for the Casey's Cup crown, earning a cool $30,000 and $15,000 for his efforts. I thought I'd take a minute to break down the Hunt for the Casey's Cup a little bit.
Gustin got off to a hot start as he picked up the opening round win back on August 9 at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri. Jeremy Payne grabbed the win in Humboldt. Terry Phillips took the win the next night in Wheatland, Missouri while Gustin again found victory lane in Monett, Missouri the next night.
The series then moved north to Rice Lake, Wisconsin where northern hotshoe Joey Jensen collected another impressive win. Jon Tesch then picked up back to back wins at Founatin City, Wisconsin and Decorah, Iowa while Johnny Scott picked up the win in Worthington to conclude that four-race swing.
The Minnesota invasion then started August 29 at the Fairmont Raceway in which Ryan Ruter won in convincing fashion. Jason Krohn would pick up the win the next night in Jackson with Mike Sorenson garnering top honors at Lansing. Ryan Ruter would pick up another win, this time at the Deer Creek Speedway before Jon Tesch picked up his third win on the Hunt at Kasson.
Stormy Scott would put together back-to-back wins in Ogilvie and Sauk Rapids to tighten the points battle with Gustin and Rodney Sanders as they embarked on the final three nights at the Fall Jamboree.
Jeremy Payne would collect his second win of the season on opening night. Rodney Sanders would inch to within four points of Gustin after picking up the win on night two. Stormy Scott still had a mathematical chance of winning the championship, but he would need luck on his side. Scott would have a great run on the final night as he finished third. However, Gustin would finish fourth and Sanders fifth to secure the championship for Gustin.
Through the course of the 18-race marathon, Jon Tesch collected the most wins with three. It would have been interesting to see how close Tesch would have finished had he not missed four nights. Gustin, Stormy Scott, and Jeremy Payne were the only other drivers in the top fourteen in points to have multiple victories. Gustin would garner the most top 5's with eleven while Sanders was tops with sixteen top 10's.
Sanders would boast the best average finishing position of 6.28 compared to Gustin's 6.72. The average car count per Hunt race was 52.0 cars. The pole-sitter won seven of the eighteen races. However, the average finishing position of the pole-sitter was 6.4. The average starting position of the eventual winner was 3.2.
Gustin's average starting position was 10.9 while his average finishing position was 6.7. Rodney Sanders' numbers were 9.7 and 6.3, respectively while Stormy Scott's was 10.5 and 6.3, respectively. Gustin would have a +75 on positions changed while Stormy Scott was a +72.
That puts a wrap on my Hunt recap. I am in the process of putting together more data for the National Championship Series and the Casey's Cup Qualifier races, and then plan to tie all the information together for a cumulative recap. So if this kind of stuff interests you, check back in the near future!
Gustin got off to a hot start as he picked up the opening round win back on August 9 at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri. Jeremy Payne grabbed the win in Humboldt. Terry Phillips took the win the next night in Wheatland, Missouri while Gustin again found victory lane in Monett, Missouri the next night.
The series then moved north to Rice Lake, Wisconsin where northern hotshoe Joey Jensen collected another impressive win. Jon Tesch then picked up back to back wins at Founatin City, Wisconsin and Decorah, Iowa while Johnny Scott picked up the win in Worthington to conclude that four-race swing.
The Minnesota invasion then started August 29 at the Fairmont Raceway in which Ryan Ruter won in convincing fashion. Jason Krohn would pick up the win the next night in Jackson with Mike Sorenson garnering top honors at Lansing. Ryan Ruter would pick up another win, this time at the Deer Creek Speedway before Jon Tesch picked up his third win on the Hunt at Kasson.
Stormy Scott would put together back-to-back wins in Ogilvie and Sauk Rapids to tighten the points battle with Gustin and Rodney Sanders as they embarked on the final three nights at the Fall Jamboree.
Jeremy Payne would collect his second win of the season on opening night. Rodney Sanders would inch to within four points of Gustin after picking up the win on night two. Stormy Scott still had a mathematical chance of winning the championship, but he would need luck on his side. Scott would have a great run on the final night as he finished third. However, Gustin would finish fourth and Sanders fifth to secure the championship for Gustin.
Through the course of the 18-race marathon, Jon Tesch collected the most wins with three. It would have been interesting to see how close Tesch would have finished had he not missed four nights. Gustin, Stormy Scott, and Jeremy Payne were the only other drivers in the top fourteen in points to have multiple victories. Gustin would garner the most top 5's with eleven while Sanders was tops with sixteen top 10's.
Sanders would boast the best average finishing position of 6.28 compared to Gustin's 6.72. The average car count per Hunt race was 52.0 cars. The pole-sitter won seven of the eighteen races. However, the average finishing position of the pole-sitter was 6.4. The average starting position of the eventual winner was 3.2.
Gustin's average starting position was 10.9 while his average finishing position was 6.7. Rodney Sanders' numbers were 9.7 and 6.3, respectively while Stormy Scott's was 10.5 and 6.3, respectively. Gustin would have a +75 on positions changed while Stormy Scott was a +72.
That puts a wrap on my Hunt recap. I am in the process of putting together more data for the National Championship Series and the Casey's Cup Qualifier races, and then plan to tie all the information together for a cumulative recap. So if this kind of stuff interests you, check back in the near future!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Hawkeye Dirt Tour Concludes Exciting Season
With Saturday night's finale now in the books, I thought it would be kinda fun to go back and summarize the 2012 season for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour. I was fortunate enough to attend the first eleven races of the season, only missing the final two events held at the Marshalltown Speedway this past weekend.
The season started off back on May 8 with a visit to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. There Jeff Waterman became the first non-Iowa driver to grace victory lane as he led all thirty laps. He had to fend off J.D. Auringer on the final lap to secure the win. Thirty-eight cars checked in for action that night.
The tour then headed north to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City for the annual Memorial Day event. Forty-three drivers were on hand to try their luck with the big half-mile speedplant. Mike Hansen pocketed the win ahead of the defending track champion J.J. Wise.
Next up would be a visit to the Hamilton County Speedway in Mason City on June 5. Twenty-nine drivers would do battle, but pole-sitter Jeremy Mills laid claim to his first win of the season. Richie Gustin finished second and continued to lead the points into the next race.
That next race would be held at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton on June 12. Along with the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models, the HDT put on a heck of a show for the fans. Local hotshoe Ryan Dolan appeared to have things well in hand from the start, but a late restart bunched the field back up and Dolan missed his marks in turn two in the closing stages to lose the lead. Milo Veloz took full advantage and took the lead and win. For the third time in four races, Gustin finished in the top three to keep ahold of the points lead.
The tour then headed back north to the Cresco Speedway on June 21 as part of the Mighty Howard County Fair. Only twenty-three cars checked in for action, but considering Cresco is in a part of the state that doesn't have an IMCA-sanctioned track I thought the turnout was good. Mark Elliott laid claim to his first victory of the season with Gustin lurking behind him in second.
June 26 found the series head to the northwest part of the state to the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. Jay Noteboom notched his first win of the season in his neck of the woods. Darin Duffy and Jeremy Mills finished second and third, respectively, with a field of twenty-five cars.
The Algona Raceway hosted the Hawkeye Dirt Tour stop on July 3 that boasted a great crowd and twenty-nine cars. Richie Gustin rocketed his way to the front after starting ninth to take the convincing win and extend his points lead. The hard luck award for the evening had to go to Darin Duffy. If memory serves me correctly, Duffy suffered troubles on the hauler on the way up and showed up late, was able to make the redraw and pulled out the #2 position. Unfortunately bad luck continued as his machine suffered fuel pressure issues (if I remember correctly), and thus was unable to make the call.
The Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa hosted the next stop on July 17. There it was Michael Long winning in convincing fashion. Luke Wanninger wound up second with Richie Gustin in third.
Perhaps the wild card of the series was the next stop on the tour. The Hancock County Speedway in Britt hosted the Night of 1,000 Stars on August 9, and this year the event was once again a HDT race. The format for this race is different from other tour events as the starting field is expanded to 33 starters with a 3-wide start. Fifty-seven cars checked in to do battle for the night in hopes to attain the richest purse in the state this year. Jon Snyder picked up the win ahead of hard charging J.J. Wise. Points leader Richie Gustin was sidelined early on while Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills finished fifth and 14th, respectively, to close the points gap.
The final four events of the season would be held at two race tracks. The first track to host a two-day show would be the Farley Speedway as part of the annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic September 14-15. Forty-nine cars were on hand for the Friday night portion of the show in which Mark Elliott took the win ahead of Jeff Waterman. Richie Gustin would suffer motor issues in his heat race and was unable to continue on in the night while Jay Noteboom suffered mechanical issues in the feature to end his night prematurely. Jeremy Mills took advantage by finishing sixth.
Night two of the Yankee proved to be a different story for Noteboom. After starting fourteenth, he patiently worked his way through the field on a tricky race surface to take the lead. He would go on to pick up his second win of the season ahead of Mills.
The final two nights of competition would be held at the Marshalltown Speedway this past weekend. With a tight points battle among Noteboom, Mills, and Mark Elliott, all eyes would be glued to their performaces throughout the evenings. Noteboom proved he was gonna be tough to beat as he picked up the exciting win on Friday night with an exciting win over Darin Duffy. Although I wasn't in attendance, I was fortunate to see the video highlights of the closing laps. It definitely had the fans on their feet when the checkered flag waved. Coupled with Mills' seventh place finish, Noteboom and Mills would be tied for the points lead heading into the final night with Elliott just eight points back.
Duffy and Noteboom sat on the front row for the start of the finale event. This time it would be Duffy taking the win, but Noteboom's runner-up finish secured the point title. Mills would finish eleventh and Elliott eighth.
According to the Hawkeye Dirt Tour website, the tour saw 180 different drivers compete throughout the season. That is outstanding for a 13-race schedule. The average car count per event was 36.69 and saw ten different winners (Jeff Waterman, Mike Hansen, Jeremy Mills, Milo Veloz, Mark Elliott, Jay Noteboom, Richie Gustin, Michael Long, Jon Snyder, Darin Duffy). Noteboom notched three wins while Elliott had two victories.
Noteboom boasted the best average finish of 6.92. Despite missing the Britt event, Duffy had the second-best at 7.50.
Noteboom: 6.92
Duffy: 7.50
Mills: 7.62
Elliott: 8.15
And so the season has come to an end for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour. I'd like to thank series director Bucky Doren along with Brett Root from IMCA for putting on this great tour for the IMCA modifieds. I wish them continued success and look forward to seeing what 2013 has in store!!
The season started off back on May 8 with a visit to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. There Jeff Waterman became the first non-Iowa driver to grace victory lane as he led all thirty laps. He had to fend off J.D. Auringer on the final lap to secure the win. Thirty-eight cars checked in for action that night.
The tour then headed north to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City for the annual Memorial Day event. Forty-three drivers were on hand to try their luck with the big half-mile speedplant. Mike Hansen pocketed the win ahead of the defending track champion J.J. Wise.
Next up would be a visit to the Hamilton County Speedway in Mason City on June 5. Twenty-nine drivers would do battle, but pole-sitter Jeremy Mills laid claim to his first win of the season. Richie Gustin finished second and continued to lead the points into the next race.
That next race would be held at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton on June 12. Along with the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models, the HDT put on a heck of a show for the fans. Local hotshoe Ryan Dolan appeared to have things well in hand from the start, but a late restart bunched the field back up and Dolan missed his marks in turn two in the closing stages to lose the lead. Milo Veloz took full advantage and took the lead and win. For the third time in four races, Gustin finished in the top three to keep ahold of the points lead.
The tour then headed back north to the Cresco Speedway on June 21 as part of the Mighty Howard County Fair. Only twenty-three cars checked in for action, but considering Cresco is in a part of the state that doesn't have an IMCA-sanctioned track I thought the turnout was good. Mark Elliott laid claim to his first victory of the season with Gustin lurking behind him in second.
June 26 found the series head to the northwest part of the state to the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. Jay Noteboom notched his first win of the season in his neck of the woods. Darin Duffy and Jeremy Mills finished second and third, respectively, with a field of twenty-five cars.
The Algona Raceway hosted the Hawkeye Dirt Tour stop on July 3 that boasted a great crowd and twenty-nine cars. Richie Gustin rocketed his way to the front after starting ninth to take the convincing win and extend his points lead. The hard luck award for the evening had to go to Darin Duffy. If memory serves me correctly, Duffy suffered troubles on the hauler on the way up and showed up late, was able to make the redraw and pulled out the #2 position. Unfortunately bad luck continued as his machine suffered fuel pressure issues (if I remember correctly), and thus was unable to make the call.
The Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa hosted the next stop on July 17. There it was Michael Long winning in convincing fashion. Luke Wanninger wound up second with Richie Gustin in third.
Perhaps the wild card of the series was the next stop on the tour. The Hancock County Speedway in Britt hosted the Night of 1,000 Stars on August 9, and this year the event was once again a HDT race. The format for this race is different from other tour events as the starting field is expanded to 33 starters with a 3-wide start. Fifty-seven cars checked in to do battle for the night in hopes to attain the richest purse in the state this year. Jon Snyder picked up the win ahead of hard charging J.J. Wise. Points leader Richie Gustin was sidelined early on while Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills finished fifth and 14th, respectively, to close the points gap.
The final four events of the season would be held at two race tracks. The first track to host a two-day show would be the Farley Speedway as part of the annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic September 14-15. Forty-nine cars were on hand for the Friday night portion of the show in which Mark Elliott took the win ahead of Jeff Waterman. Richie Gustin would suffer motor issues in his heat race and was unable to continue on in the night while Jay Noteboom suffered mechanical issues in the feature to end his night prematurely. Jeremy Mills took advantage by finishing sixth.
Night two of the Yankee proved to be a different story for Noteboom. After starting fourteenth, he patiently worked his way through the field on a tricky race surface to take the lead. He would go on to pick up his second win of the season ahead of Mills.
The final two nights of competition would be held at the Marshalltown Speedway this past weekend. With a tight points battle among Noteboom, Mills, and Mark Elliott, all eyes would be glued to their performaces throughout the evenings. Noteboom proved he was gonna be tough to beat as he picked up the exciting win on Friday night with an exciting win over Darin Duffy. Although I wasn't in attendance, I was fortunate to see the video highlights of the closing laps. It definitely had the fans on their feet when the checkered flag waved. Coupled with Mills' seventh place finish, Noteboom and Mills would be tied for the points lead heading into the final night with Elliott just eight points back.
Duffy and Noteboom sat on the front row for the start of the finale event. This time it would be Duffy taking the win, but Noteboom's runner-up finish secured the point title. Mills would finish eleventh and Elliott eighth.
According to the Hawkeye Dirt Tour website, the tour saw 180 different drivers compete throughout the season. That is outstanding for a 13-race schedule. The average car count per event was 36.69 and saw ten different winners (Jeff Waterman, Mike Hansen, Jeremy Mills, Milo Veloz, Mark Elliott, Jay Noteboom, Richie Gustin, Michael Long, Jon Snyder, Darin Duffy). Noteboom notched three wins while Elliott had two victories.
Noteboom boasted the best average finish of 6.92. Despite missing the Britt event, Duffy had the second-best at 7.50.
Noteboom: 6.92
Duffy: 7.50
Mills: 7.62
Elliott: 8.15
And so the season has come to an end for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour. I'd like to thank series director Bucky Doren along with Brett Root from IMCA for putting on this great tour for the IMCA modifieds. I wish them continued success and look forward to seeing what 2013 has in store!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tight Points Battles Decided This Weekend
A couple of note-worthy championships will be up for grabs this weekend at a couple different tracks. As has been customary the past six years, the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) will culminate it's season-ending points fight at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Now known as the Casey's Cup, Stormy Scott sits in the catbird seat with three races remaining. However, National Championship Series champion Ryan Gustin sits just five markers back while Rodney Sanders is only twenty-six points behind. Action gets underway Thursday evening with the first of three complete shows.
The Casey's Cup was a new product this season. Races on the USMTS schedule this year were either Casey's Cup qualifiers or National Championship Series events. The NCS events are over with Ryan Gustin laying claim to that title, thus becoming a two-time National Champion. The Casey's Cup qualifier events were a way to get drivers qualified for the Hunt (Casey's Cup) that didn't require perfect attendance. It was kind of like the old regions setup in that drivers could "max" out bonus points to begin the Casey's Cup. I haven't been able to follow the series as closely as I have in the past, but I believe Sanders held the early advantage before Gustin rolled off a number of wins to sit atop the standings. Scott now leads by the slim margin mentioned above, and in my best guess this is the closest the points battle has been going into the final three nights of the schedule.
While the USMTS holds a tight points battle, another series will also conclude its schedule later on this weekend. The JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds will cap off it's season at the Havoc on the Highbanks event held at the Marshalltown Speedway. Jeremy Mills currently holds a six point cushion over Jay Noteboom, with Mark Elliott twelve points back and Ryan Dolan seventeen back. Richie Gustin held the points lead off and on throughout the season, but a blown engine last Friday night in Farley saw his chances of capturing the series title vanish. He was unable to return for the Saturday night show. With a big group of cars expected, the point title is still up for grabs as we race fans know ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Action will kick off Friday night with another show held Saturday.
The Casey's Cup was a new product this season. Races on the USMTS schedule this year were either Casey's Cup qualifiers or National Championship Series events. The NCS events are over with Ryan Gustin laying claim to that title, thus becoming a two-time National Champion. The Casey's Cup qualifier events were a way to get drivers qualified for the Hunt (Casey's Cup) that didn't require perfect attendance. It was kind of like the old regions setup in that drivers could "max" out bonus points to begin the Casey's Cup. I haven't been able to follow the series as closely as I have in the past, but I believe Sanders held the early advantage before Gustin rolled off a number of wins to sit atop the standings. Scott now leads by the slim margin mentioned above, and in my best guess this is the closest the points battle has been going into the final three nights of the schedule.
While the USMTS holds a tight points battle, another series will also conclude its schedule later on this weekend. The JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds will cap off it's season at the Havoc on the Highbanks event held at the Marshalltown Speedway. Jeremy Mills currently holds a six point cushion over Jay Noteboom, with Mark Elliott twelve points back and Ryan Dolan seventeen back. Richie Gustin held the points lead off and on throughout the season, but a blown engine last Friday night in Farley saw his chances of capturing the series title vanish. He was unable to return for the Saturday night show. With a big group of cars expected, the point title is still up for grabs as we race fans know ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Action will kick off Friday night with another show held Saturday.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Champions Crowned at 30th Annal IMCA Supernationals
It's always the "unofficial" end to the race season when the IMCA Supernationals come to a close. Sure, September and October provide a vast amount of special events sprinkled throughout the calendar, but the abundance of choices usually means a lesser chance of seeing some of the people you've spent a lot of time with over the course of the year.
Saturday marked the sixth and final day for the week-long event and anticipation was growing throughout the day for the championship features at the end of the night. With a stiff wind blowing, I decided it would be best if I left my notebook in the car as I didn't want the paper flying around in front of people. So all of the very brief recaps will come from memory, which as you'll find out is why I take notes. Haha!
Adam Armstrong started off the evening by winning the IMCA hobby stock Race of Champions. If I remember correctly, he is the first driver outside the state of Iowa to win the event. James Kleinheksel would lay claim to the IMCA sportmod Race of Champions title as he took advantage of Geoff Olson hooking bumpers with race leader Joel Rust. As those two machines slid up the banking in turns one and two Kleinheksel maneuvered his machine to the inside and drove off to the win.
Donovan Smith would add another feather to his cap as he picked up the IMCA stock car Race of Champions victory. He outlasted a hard-charging Dustin Larson for the win. Meanwhile Kevin Stoa added another IMCA modified Race of Champions to his list of many accomplishments. While a puff of smoke with two laps to go looked like things weren't going to end so well, he was able to cross the finish line ahead of New York driver Michael Smith.
It was then time for the hobby stock finale. Thirty cars starting in rows of three took the green flag with Shannon Anderson getting the advantage from the middle of the front row. Anderson would quickly set a fast pace while Brandon Pruitt and Heath Tulp gave chase. Anderson opened up a comfortable lead as he began to encounter lapped traffic while Tulp tried just about every move he could think of to get by Pruitt. Tulp managed to find his way around Pruitt, but a slower car allowed Pruitt to regain the position a few laps later. The race would go green-to-checkered and Shannon Anderson collected his second Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals title. Brandon Pruitt finished second, Heath Tulp was third, Corey Madden fourth, and Devin Smith rounded out the top five.
Defending Supernationals champion Scott Davis paced the IMCA sportmod feature to the green flag, but it was outside front row starter Nick Roberts getting the better jump and quickly took command up front. Austin Moyer, who started in the middle of the front row, was up for the challenge and peaked his nose under Roberts on several occasions but was unable to complete the pass. Early in the race Davis and Jesse Sobbing made contact that resulted in Sobbing spinning in turn two and tagging the tail following a yellow flag. With Roberts out front and seeingly untouchable, Sobbing began picking his way through the field and worked his way back up inside the top five when the final yellow flag waved. On the restart Sobbing drove deep into the corners and picked off a few positions, but it would be Nick Roberts picking up the impressive victory to earn his first Supernationals title. Roberts became the youngest Supernationals champion in history. Sobbing made it back up to finish second, followed by Troy Jerovitz, Cory Rose, and Doug Cook. Jerovitz and Rose put on a heck of a battle for second place throughout the event.
The attention then focused on the IMCA stock car feature. I will admit I didn't see the first half of the event as I had made a trip to the car to grab a sweatshirt as the winds started to pick up. I can tell you that Donovan Smith started from the pole and appeared to stay up front the entire race as he pulled off the rare "double", picking up both the Race of Champions and Supernationals title in the same year. Chad Palmer was second, Trent Murphy was third, Dan Mackenthun fourth, and Shawn Havel completed the top five.
The grand finale would be the forty-lap IMCA modified feature. Following a trip across the stage for driver introductions and getting a parade lap in the back of pickups around the track, drivers strapped in and things would get serious. Harris Clash winner Kyle Strickler got the early jump from his middle front row start to grab the early race lead while pole sitter Brandon Blochlinger followed in second. The action was hampered by a series of yellow flags early on. With the high side being the preferred groove, Blochlinger would use a slidejob to get past Strickler and slowly pull away from the field. Jeff Taylor worked his way into the third position, but on a restart the outside proved to be the fast side once again as he powered by Strickler for second and set his sights on Blochlinger. With ten laps remaining Taylor attempted a slidejob in turns three and four, but Blochlinger would have none of it and remained out front. While the rest of the field was content with their running positions, Taylor would again tempt fate and pull another slidejob with two laps remaining in turns one and two. This time he was able to make it stick and Taylor would go on to pick up his first Supernationals title. Blochlinger followed in second, Kyle Strickler was third, Brandon Beckendorf fourth, and JD Auringer rounded out the top five.
It was announced that a new total car count record had been attained with that number being somewhere around 870. While the economy may not be what it once was, it appears that the "festivity" known as "America's Racing Vacation" still has the reputation worthy enough to make the trek to the Boone Speedway.
I'd like to thank IMCA, most notably Brett Root, for their hospitality all week. It was much appreciated. While this likely marks the end of my blogging temporarily (I borrowed a relative's laptop for the week), I am working on getting a computer up and running. Perhaps you'll see a few more blogs from me before the season finishes up. There are still plenty of high-quality events left on the calendar so be sure to get out and enjoy a few before the end of the season arrives. For a listing of races, check out the Positively Racing website and simply click on the "calendar" link.
Saturday marked the sixth and final day for the week-long event and anticipation was growing throughout the day for the championship features at the end of the night. With a stiff wind blowing, I decided it would be best if I left my notebook in the car as I didn't want the paper flying around in front of people. So all of the very brief recaps will come from memory, which as you'll find out is why I take notes. Haha!
Adam Armstrong started off the evening by winning the IMCA hobby stock Race of Champions. If I remember correctly, he is the first driver outside the state of Iowa to win the event. James Kleinheksel would lay claim to the IMCA sportmod Race of Champions title as he took advantage of Geoff Olson hooking bumpers with race leader Joel Rust. As those two machines slid up the banking in turns one and two Kleinheksel maneuvered his machine to the inside and drove off to the win.
Donovan Smith would add another feather to his cap as he picked up the IMCA stock car Race of Champions victory. He outlasted a hard-charging Dustin Larson for the win. Meanwhile Kevin Stoa added another IMCA modified Race of Champions to his list of many accomplishments. While a puff of smoke with two laps to go looked like things weren't going to end so well, he was able to cross the finish line ahead of New York driver Michael Smith.
It was then time for the hobby stock finale. Thirty cars starting in rows of three took the green flag with Shannon Anderson getting the advantage from the middle of the front row. Anderson would quickly set a fast pace while Brandon Pruitt and Heath Tulp gave chase. Anderson opened up a comfortable lead as he began to encounter lapped traffic while Tulp tried just about every move he could think of to get by Pruitt. Tulp managed to find his way around Pruitt, but a slower car allowed Pruitt to regain the position a few laps later. The race would go green-to-checkered and Shannon Anderson collected his second Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals title. Brandon Pruitt finished second, Heath Tulp was third, Corey Madden fourth, and Devin Smith rounded out the top five.
Defending Supernationals champion Scott Davis paced the IMCA sportmod feature to the green flag, but it was outside front row starter Nick Roberts getting the better jump and quickly took command up front. Austin Moyer, who started in the middle of the front row, was up for the challenge and peaked his nose under Roberts on several occasions but was unable to complete the pass. Early in the race Davis and Jesse Sobbing made contact that resulted in Sobbing spinning in turn two and tagging the tail following a yellow flag. With Roberts out front and seeingly untouchable, Sobbing began picking his way through the field and worked his way back up inside the top five when the final yellow flag waved. On the restart Sobbing drove deep into the corners and picked off a few positions, but it would be Nick Roberts picking up the impressive victory to earn his first Supernationals title. Roberts became the youngest Supernationals champion in history. Sobbing made it back up to finish second, followed by Troy Jerovitz, Cory Rose, and Doug Cook. Jerovitz and Rose put on a heck of a battle for second place throughout the event.
The attention then focused on the IMCA stock car feature. I will admit I didn't see the first half of the event as I had made a trip to the car to grab a sweatshirt as the winds started to pick up. I can tell you that Donovan Smith started from the pole and appeared to stay up front the entire race as he pulled off the rare "double", picking up both the Race of Champions and Supernationals title in the same year. Chad Palmer was second, Trent Murphy was third, Dan Mackenthun fourth, and Shawn Havel completed the top five.
The grand finale would be the forty-lap IMCA modified feature. Following a trip across the stage for driver introductions and getting a parade lap in the back of pickups around the track, drivers strapped in and things would get serious. Harris Clash winner Kyle Strickler got the early jump from his middle front row start to grab the early race lead while pole sitter Brandon Blochlinger followed in second. The action was hampered by a series of yellow flags early on. With the high side being the preferred groove, Blochlinger would use a slidejob to get past Strickler and slowly pull away from the field. Jeff Taylor worked his way into the third position, but on a restart the outside proved to be the fast side once again as he powered by Strickler for second and set his sights on Blochlinger. With ten laps remaining Taylor attempted a slidejob in turns three and four, but Blochlinger would have none of it and remained out front. While the rest of the field was content with their running positions, Taylor would again tempt fate and pull another slidejob with two laps remaining in turns one and two. This time he was able to make it stick and Taylor would go on to pick up his first Supernationals title. Blochlinger followed in second, Kyle Strickler was third, Brandon Beckendorf fourth, and JD Auringer rounded out the top five.
It was announced that a new total car count record had been attained with that number being somewhere around 870. While the economy may not be what it once was, it appears that the "festivity" known as "America's Racing Vacation" still has the reputation worthy enough to make the trek to the Boone Speedway.
I'd like to thank IMCA, most notably Brett Root, for their hospitality all week. It was much appreciated. While this likely marks the end of my blogging temporarily (I borrowed a relative's laptop for the week), I am working on getting a computer up and running. Perhaps you'll see a few more blogs from me before the season finishes up. There are still plenty of high-quality events left on the calendar so be sure to get out and enjoy a few before the end of the season arrives. For a listing of races, check out the Positively Racing website and simply click on the "calendar" link.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
IMCA Supernationals Friday Notebook
Friday night marked the fifth night for the IMCA Supernationals held at the Boone Speedway. Anticipation was building all night for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational race for the IMCA modifieds in which thirty drivers would take the green flag. In order to qualify for this prestigious event drivers had to rely upon their fans to vote via the internet.
That event would be the first "feature" event of the evening. The starting field was determined by a random draw by JJ Wise. Wise, a driver who was voted in by the fans, was unable to participate in this year's event after a horrific accident at the track in Mason City. Not only did he help with the draw, but he threw the ceremonial green flag to start the event.
The three-wide, ten rows deep field was led to the green flag by Colorado driver Jeremy Frenier. However, it was defending national champion Jordan Grabouski getting the early advantage from the middle row to set the pace. Todd Dart worked his way to the inside of Nic Baalman for the third spot prior to the caution waving on lap two. On the ensuing restart Dart charged on the outside to snare the runner-up position away from Frenier just before yet another caution came out. During this caution it was noticed that Mark Elliott, who had started 30th on the grid, had already managed his way up to the twelfth spot!
The green flag waved again and Dustin Smith swung his machine to the outside to pass Jeremy Mills for the fourth position. Mills was driving Randy Artz's machine after Mills went for a wild ride in his heat race earlier in the night. Meanwhile Mark Elliott continued his charge to the front as he picked off Brad Pounds for sixth. The top four cars broke away from the pack with Frenier getting back by Dart for second and began to challenge Grabouski for the lead. Frenier would peak to the inside in turn four on several occasions but was unable to muster enough momentum to complete the pass.
The third caution of the race came at the halfway point on lap fifteen for Chris Abelson. During this caution flag Frenier dropped a lot of fluid on the front stretch and ended his night. So the top five on the restart would be Grabouski, Dart, Smith, Mills, and Elliott. Smith and Elliott took advantage of starting on the outside of the two-wide restart to advance a position. Elliott would then slip under Smith and wrestle the second spot away with ten laps remaining as he set his sights on the leader. Grabouski and Elliott would separate themselves and Elliott began to show his nose under Grabouski's driver's side door corner after corner. Grabouski would not be intimidated, however, as he went on to pick up the victory. Mark Elliott finished second, Dustin Smith was third, Todd Dart finished fourth, and Jeremy Mills rounded out the top five.
IMCA stock cars hit the track later for their qualifying main event in which the top eight drivers would qualify for Saturday's "big dance". Ryan Leeman and Perry Misner led the field of thirty to the green flag. Misner would hold the early advantage, but Jim Larson would duck to the inside and take over the top spot on lap three. Damon Murty was on the charge in the early going as he quickly moved into the fourth spot after passing Alan VanGorp. Murty had started ninth. The yellow flag came out on lap eight, and would again immediately be displayed due to an uneven start. After contact between Stefan Sybesma and Murty for the fourth position, Murty would later spin in turn two that resulted in another yellow flag.
Sybesma continued his march towards the front following the restart, working under both Misner and Reitzler for third and second, respectively. Marcus Fagan threw his name into the mix as he powered around the outside to pick up the fourth spot. Sybesma challenged Larson for the top spot on lap thirteen and get the nod, but Reitzler used the same racing groove to pick off both drivers to steal the lead away. Fagan, meanwhile, kept motoring along on the top side and got by Larson for the second spot. Things at the front of the field finally calmed down a bit late in the race as the top seven cars went single file. It would be Todd Reitzler picking up the win ahead of Marcus Fagan, Jim Larson, Shawn Havel, Stefan Sybesma, Luke Saathoff, Dean Wray, and Devin Snellenberger.
I believe there will be a last chance qualifier Saturday for the remaining six spots for the IMCA stock cars. Saturday should prove to be a great day of racing as last chance races for IMCA modifieds will likely get things kicked off. All Race of Champions events will be run throughout the night along with all the championship features.
That event would be the first "feature" event of the evening. The starting field was determined by a random draw by JJ Wise. Wise, a driver who was voted in by the fans, was unable to participate in this year's event after a horrific accident at the track in Mason City. Not only did he help with the draw, but he threw the ceremonial green flag to start the event.
The three-wide, ten rows deep field was led to the green flag by Colorado driver Jeremy Frenier. However, it was defending national champion Jordan Grabouski getting the early advantage from the middle row to set the pace. Todd Dart worked his way to the inside of Nic Baalman for the third spot prior to the caution waving on lap two. On the ensuing restart Dart charged on the outside to snare the runner-up position away from Frenier just before yet another caution came out. During this caution it was noticed that Mark Elliott, who had started 30th on the grid, had already managed his way up to the twelfth spot!
The green flag waved again and Dustin Smith swung his machine to the outside to pass Jeremy Mills for the fourth position. Mills was driving Randy Artz's machine after Mills went for a wild ride in his heat race earlier in the night. Meanwhile Mark Elliott continued his charge to the front as he picked off Brad Pounds for sixth. The top four cars broke away from the pack with Frenier getting back by Dart for second and began to challenge Grabouski for the lead. Frenier would peak to the inside in turn four on several occasions but was unable to muster enough momentum to complete the pass.
The third caution of the race came at the halfway point on lap fifteen for Chris Abelson. During this caution flag Frenier dropped a lot of fluid on the front stretch and ended his night. So the top five on the restart would be Grabouski, Dart, Smith, Mills, and Elliott. Smith and Elliott took advantage of starting on the outside of the two-wide restart to advance a position. Elliott would then slip under Smith and wrestle the second spot away with ten laps remaining as he set his sights on the leader. Grabouski and Elliott would separate themselves and Elliott began to show his nose under Grabouski's driver's side door corner after corner. Grabouski would not be intimidated, however, as he went on to pick up the victory. Mark Elliott finished second, Dustin Smith was third, Todd Dart finished fourth, and Jeremy Mills rounded out the top five.
IMCA stock cars hit the track later for their qualifying main event in which the top eight drivers would qualify for Saturday's "big dance". Ryan Leeman and Perry Misner led the field of thirty to the green flag. Misner would hold the early advantage, but Jim Larson would duck to the inside and take over the top spot on lap three. Damon Murty was on the charge in the early going as he quickly moved into the fourth spot after passing Alan VanGorp. Murty had started ninth. The yellow flag came out on lap eight, and would again immediately be displayed due to an uneven start. After contact between Stefan Sybesma and Murty for the fourth position, Murty would later spin in turn two that resulted in another yellow flag.
Sybesma continued his march towards the front following the restart, working under both Misner and Reitzler for third and second, respectively. Marcus Fagan threw his name into the mix as he powered around the outside to pick up the fourth spot. Sybesma challenged Larson for the top spot on lap thirteen and get the nod, but Reitzler used the same racing groove to pick off both drivers to steal the lead away. Fagan, meanwhile, kept motoring along on the top side and got by Larson for the second spot. Things at the front of the field finally calmed down a bit late in the race as the top seven cars went single file. It would be Todd Reitzler picking up the win ahead of Marcus Fagan, Jim Larson, Shawn Havel, Stefan Sybesma, Luke Saathoff, Dean Wray, and Devin Snellenberger.
I believe there will be a last chance qualifier Saturday for the remaining six spots for the IMCA stock cars. Saturday should prove to be a great day of racing as last chance races for IMCA modifieds will likely get things kicked off. All Race of Champions events will be run throughout the night along with all the championship features.
Friday, September 7, 2012
IMCA Supernationals Day 4 Notebook
Thursday marked the fourth day and night of the the Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals at the Boone Speedway. On the slate last night would be qualifying for IMCA stock cars and IMCA modifieds along with Race of Champions qualifying events for the modifieds.
The night was moving along smoothly as very few caution flags waved during the heat races for both divisions. The IMCA stock car feature took to the track with rookie Nyle Godwin and defending Supernationals champion Sean Johnson pacing the field of thirty cars to the green for twenty-five laps.
Johnson roared to the early advantage while outside second row starter Jared Dirks followed closely to second. The battle for third shaped up between Perry Misner and Chad Palmer. Misner would hold down that spot as the front two cars began to break away from the pack. Gary Bass worked his way by both Misner and Palmer to slide into the third slot before the yellow flag was displayed on lap nine.
On the ensuing restart Dirks would push up in turn one and make contact with Bass, forcing him to break his momentum and lose a few positions. Johnson again would open up a comfortable lead up front while Dirks and Palmer duked it out for second. The top running cars all used the top side as the laps wound down and Palmer began to reel in Johnson. Once he got to the leader's rear bumper he was unable to do anything about it as Sean Johnson crossed the finish line first. However, it was later announced Johnson was disqualified for an illegal carb. That meant that Chad Palmer was awarded the victory with Jared Dirks finishing second, Shawn Wagner third, Dustin Larson fourth, Brandon Czarapata fifth, Lynn Panos sixth, Justin Temeyer seventh, and Shay Curtin completed the top eight qualifiers for Saturday.
Once again thirty IMCA modifieds would take the green flag for their qualifying main event scheduled for twenty-five laps. Kyle Strickler, the reigning Harris Clash winner, and Cale Sponsler, a former Boone Speedway track champion, set the pace at the front of the field. Strickler would get the upper hand at the drop of the green flag, but the pace would quickly slow on lap two. On the restart Ricky Alvarado used the outside line to power by Sponsler for second. The top side appeared to be the place to be as Danny Charles and Jay Noteboom also advanced positions. Two more yellow flags waved on lap six, but when the green came back out Noteboom rocketed to the outside to pick off Charles and Sponsler for fourth and third, respectively.
Yet another caution slowed the action on lap ten, and Noteboom went back to work on the restart as he powered by Alvarado for second while Dylan Smith used the same line to get by Sponsler. Two more yellow flags would be thrown prior to the halfway point in the race. Finally the time limit had expired and the drivers would warned that the next flag would end the race, yellow or checkers. As it turns out it would be the yellow flag as I believe it was thrown again with roughly ten laps remaining. Strickler was able to fend off the challenges from Noteboom to take the win. Noteboom finished second, Jeff Tayler was third, Dylan Smith fourth, Ricky Alvarado fifth, Cale Sponsler sixth, Zane DeVilbiss seventh, and Michael Reichart rounded out the qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
As mentioned earlier the modifieds had qualifying races for the Race of Champions race for Saturday. Those qualifying for that event include Jake Durbin, Kevin Stoa, Mark Elliott, Jesse Richter, Michael Smith, Jeremy Frenier, Brad Pounds, Jordan Grabouski, Johnny Saathoff, Dylan Smith, Jeremy Mills, and Todd Shute.
The night was moving along smoothly as very few caution flags waved during the heat races for both divisions. The IMCA stock car feature took to the track with rookie Nyle Godwin and defending Supernationals champion Sean Johnson pacing the field of thirty cars to the green for twenty-five laps.
Johnson roared to the early advantage while outside second row starter Jared Dirks followed closely to second. The battle for third shaped up between Perry Misner and Chad Palmer. Misner would hold down that spot as the front two cars began to break away from the pack. Gary Bass worked his way by both Misner and Palmer to slide into the third slot before the yellow flag was displayed on lap nine.
On the ensuing restart Dirks would push up in turn one and make contact with Bass, forcing him to break his momentum and lose a few positions. Johnson again would open up a comfortable lead up front while Dirks and Palmer duked it out for second. The top running cars all used the top side as the laps wound down and Palmer began to reel in Johnson. Once he got to the leader's rear bumper he was unable to do anything about it as Sean Johnson crossed the finish line first. However, it was later announced Johnson was disqualified for an illegal carb. That meant that Chad Palmer was awarded the victory with Jared Dirks finishing second, Shawn Wagner third, Dustin Larson fourth, Brandon Czarapata fifth, Lynn Panos sixth, Justin Temeyer seventh, and Shay Curtin completed the top eight qualifiers for Saturday.
Once again thirty IMCA modifieds would take the green flag for their qualifying main event scheduled for twenty-five laps. Kyle Strickler, the reigning Harris Clash winner, and Cale Sponsler, a former Boone Speedway track champion, set the pace at the front of the field. Strickler would get the upper hand at the drop of the green flag, but the pace would quickly slow on lap two. On the restart Ricky Alvarado used the outside line to power by Sponsler for second. The top side appeared to be the place to be as Danny Charles and Jay Noteboom also advanced positions. Two more yellow flags waved on lap six, but when the green came back out Noteboom rocketed to the outside to pick off Charles and Sponsler for fourth and third, respectively.
Yet another caution slowed the action on lap ten, and Noteboom went back to work on the restart as he powered by Alvarado for second while Dylan Smith used the same line to get by Sponsler. Two more yellow flags would be thrown prior to the halfway point in the race. Finally the time limit had expired and the drivers would warned that the next flag would end the race, yellow or checkers. As it turns out it would be the yellow flag as I believe it was thrown again with roughly ten laps remaining. Strickler was able to fend off the challenges from Noteboom to take the win. Noteboom finished second, Jeff Tayler was third, Dylan Smith fourth, Ricky Alvarado fifth, Cale Sponsler sixth, Zane DeVilbiss seventh, and Michael Reichart rounded out the qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
As mentioned earlier the modifieds had qualifying races for the Race of Champions race for Saturday. Those qualifying for that event include Jake Durbin, Kevin Stoa, Mark Elliott, Jesse Richter, Michael Smith, Jeremy Frenier, Brad Pounds, Jordan Grabouski, Johnny Saathoff, Dylan Smith, Jeremy Mills, and Todd Shute.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Supernationals Day 3 Notebook
Wednesday is the day most people look forward to the most when it comes to Supernationals. It marks the beginning of qualifying for the IMCA modifieds. Over 270 entries were on hand for the first night to go along with a record 195 or so IMCA stock cars. Also running tonight was last chance qualifying for both the IMCA hobby stocks and IMCA sportmods.
The final chance for IMCA hobby stocks was the first race to hit the track after opening ceremonies. Jamie Songer would pace the field at the drop of the green flag. Dustin Van Horn used the low side to maneuver himself into the second spot before snagging the top spot away from Songer. Three cautions in the final ten laps kept things tight, but Van Horn maintained his focus as he picked up the win. Jamie Songer would finish second, Jim Hall was third, Derek Moede was fourth, Justin Nehring fifth, and rounding out the qualifiers for Saturday was Miles Michehl.
Later on in the evening the IMCA sportmods would hold their last chance qualifying feature. Just like the hobby stocks, the top thirty in cumulative points would be lined up straight up for twenty-five laps. Josh Blumer would use his pole position start to grab the lead early on while the battle for second shaped up between Nelson Vollbrecht and Joel Rust. Vollbrecht would assume the runner-up spot prior to the caution flag waving on lap six. On the restart The dove to the inside of Blumer to wrestle the lead away. The front six cars were side by side three rows deep for a few laps to keep the fans on the edge of their seats. Tony Pogeler found some racing real estate as he used the inside line to sneak up into the second spot ahead of Blumer. Joel Rust would fade back as Mike Carlson, Lynn Brockett, and Cole Ferguson raced on around him. Vollbrecht would pick up the win ahead of Pogeler, Carlson, Ferguson, Blumer, and Brockett in that order. However, I've seen a few posts on "social media", aka facebook, that Joel Rust has qualified for Saturday. That means one of the top six drivers was disqualified.
After twenty heat races with the winner only moving on to the a-main for the night, and a b-main that took the top ten to the a-main, a thirty-car starting field took to the track for the IMCA stock cars. Jeff Anderson and Wayn Gifford brought the field to the green flag. Contact among the front two drivers allowed Casey Werkmeister to slip under to take the early lead. Gifford would use the inside line to get around Anderson for second while Damon Murty worked his way into the fourth position. The top five cars would open up a gap while the sixth position was up for grabs among four drivers. Donovan Smith would secure that position prior to the caution flag waving on lap sixteen. Anderson would get a good restart and take command up front after getting by Werkmeister. Gifford again would use the inside line to steal back the race lead exiting turn four. Damon Murty went to work on the inside of Anderson to take the second spot away while Smith advanced into the fourth slot. Smith would get by Anderson for third, and a lap later Anderson and Murty would tangle in turn four allowing several cars to squeeze by. Donovan Smith would race to the inside on the last corner to pick up the exciting win! Dan Mackenthun picked up a second place finish, Wayne Gifford was third, Casey Werkmeister fourth, Trent Murphy fifth, Jason Ward sixth, Jason DeShaw seventh, and Abe Huls rounded out the qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
Thirty heat race winners redrew for their starting spot in the qualifying feature for the IMCA modifieds. Brandon Blochlinger and Josh Most were the lucky recipients of the front row. Before the field could make it past turn one a yellow flag came out as a few cars tangled in turn one. When racing resumed Blochlinger held down the top spot with Most tucked in behind. Another caution waved on lap two to bunch the field back up. Blochlinger would increase his lead as the laps clicked off while the action heated up behind him. JD Auringer worked the inside of Matt Patterson for the fourth position while deeper in the field Todd Shute had worked his way up to ninth by lap ten after starting 27th. Four more caution flags would slow the pace down throughout the remainder of the event, but Blochlinger was able to keep his focus and drive away for the win. Josh Most finished second, Troy Cordes was third, JD Auringer was fourth, Ronn Lauritzen fifth, Jordan Grabouski sixth, Josh Sherbon seventh, and Todd Shute rounded out Saturday's qualifiers.
The final chance for IMCA hobby stocks was the first race to hit the track after opening ceremonies. Jamie Songer would pace the field at the drop of the green flag. Dustin Van Horn used the low side to maneuver himself into the second spot before snagging the top spot away from Songer. Three cautions in the final ten laps kept things tight, but Van Horn maintained his focus as he picked up the win. Jamie Songer would finish second, Jim Hall was third, Derek Moede was fourth, Justin Nehring fifth, and rounding out the qualifiers for Saturday was Miles Michehl.
Later on in the evening the IMCA sportmods would hold their last chance qualifying feature. Just like the hobby stocks, the top thirty in cumulative points would be lined up straight up for twenty-five laps. Josh Blumer would use his pole position start to grab the lead early on while the battle for second shaped up between Nelson Vollbrecht and Joel Rust. Vollbrecht would assume the runner-up spot prior to the caution flag waving on lap six. On the restart The dove to the inside of Blumer to wrestle the lead away. The front six cars were side by side three rows deep for a few laps to keep the fans on the edge of their seats. Tony Pogeler found some racing real estate as he used the inside line to sneak up into the second spot ahead of Blumer. Joel Rust would fade back as Mike Carlson, Lynn Brockett, and Cole Ferguson raced on around him. Vollbrecht would pick up the win ahead of Pogeler, Carlson, Ferguson, Blumer, and Brockett in that order. However, I've seen a few posts on "social media", aka facebook, that Joel Rust has qualified for Saturday. That means one of the top six drivers was disqualified.
After twenty heat races with the winner only moving on to the a-main for the night, and a b-main that took the top ten to the a-main, a thirty-car starting field took to the track for the IMCA stock cars. Jeff Anderson and Wayn Gifford brought the field to the green flag. Contact among the front two drivers allowed Casey Werkmeister to slip under to take the early lead. Gifford would use the inside line to get around Anderson for second while Damon Murty worked his way into the fourth position. The top five cars would open up a gap while the sixth position was up for grabs among four drivers. Donovan Smith would secure that position prior to the caution flag waving on lap sixteen. Anderson would get a good restart and take command up front after getting by Werkmeister. Gifford again would use the inside line to steal back the race lead exiting turn four. Damon Murty went to work on the inside of Anderson to take the second spot away while Smith advanced into the fourth slot. Smith would get by Anderson for third, and a lap later Anderson and Murty would tangle in turn four allowing several cars to squeeze by. Donovan Smith would race to the inside on the last corner to pick up the exciting win! Dan Mackenthun picked up a second place finish, Wayne Gifford was third, Casey Werkmeister fourth, Trent Murphy fifth, Jason Ward sixth, Jason DeShaw seventh, and Abe Huls rounded out the qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
Thirty heat race winners redrew for their starting spot in the qualifying feature for the IMCA modifieds. Brandon Blochlinger and Josh Most were the lucky recipients of the front row. Before the field could make it past turn one a yellow flag came out as a few cars tangled in turn one. When racing resumed Blochlinger held down the top spot with Most tucked in behind. Another caution waved on lap two to bunch the field back up. Blochlinger would increase his lead as the laps clicked off while the action heated up behind him. JD Auringer worked the inside of Matt Patterson for the fourth position while deeper in the field Todd Shute had worked his way up to ninth by lap ten after starting 27th. Four more caution flags would slow the pace down throughout the remainder of the event, but Blochlinger was able to keep his focus and drive away for the win. Josh Most finished second, Troy Cordes was third, JD Auringer was fourth, Ronn Lauritzen fifth, Jordan Grabouski sixth, Josh Sherbon seventh, and Todd Shute rounded out Saturday's qualifiers.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
IMCA Supernationals Day #2 Notebook
Day two of the Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals held in Boone, Iowa got off to a much better start on Tuesday as clear skies graced the facilities. On the slate would be the last chance qualifying for IMCA hobby stocks, more qualifying for IMCA sportmods, and a complete show for the IMCA sport compacts.
I was able to witness two and a half of the four qualifying features that were to be run. The first of those would be the first of two for the IMCA sportmods. Outside front row starter Austin Moyer got the jump and early lead on the field. Following an early yellow, youngster Sam Wieben challenged Moyer on the inside as the two raced wheel to wheel for the top spot. Moyer would regain the advantage a lap later while Ben Kates dove under Nick Carlson for the third spot.
The second of seven caution periods would come on lap ten of the twenty-five lap race, once again bunching up the field. Cory Rose, a Boone Speedway regular, was methodically working his way towards the front. After starting sixteenth, Rose found himself in the top five before the halfway mark of the race. With nine laps to go and following a restart, Rose took his machine to the top side to make the pass on Wieben for the runner-up position. A late restart gave Rose one more chance, but it would be Austin Moyer taking the win in the first qualifying feature for the sportmods. Cory Rose, Ben Kates, Sam Wieben, Tyler Heetland, Brandon Leeman, Nick Carlson, and Kaid Calhoon rounded out the top eight qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
The second feature of the night belonged to the IMCA sport compacts. I believe it was announced 55 cars were on hand with only thirty of them making the feature, a three-wide start on top of that. Brad Chandler would take over the top spot on lap two. This race too would have its share of cautions, with the most important being the third one. Race leader Brad Chandler appeared to miss a shift on the restart as a few cars scattered to pass him. Mick Rykhus would inherit the lead with Tyler Whalen taking the second spot after starting 24th. The fifth and final caution would wave, and on this restart Chandler would begin to make up ground. Restarting fifth, he would quickly move to third after Rykhus pushed high. Chandler would duck to the inside of Whalen to snare the second position and begin to reel in new race leader Jacob Ellithorpe. Ellithorpe was able to maintain a small advantage in the late stages and held on to pick up the thrilling victory. Chandler settled for second, Rykhus was third, Whalen fourth, and Cameron Meyer rounded out the top five.
The third feature to hit the track was the second IMCA sportmod race. While I had every intention of staying for it, I decided it was time to go after witnessing six yellow flags and one red flag. The red flag was displayed when Brian Miller wheel-hopped another car and made contact with Tara Longnecker's machine as they both slammed into the outside wall exiting turn two. Luckily both drivers were okay and walked away. When I departed for home Jesse Sobbing was leading. After a quick glance at the IMCA website, it appears that Nick Roberts made a pass on Sobbing to pick up the win. Sobbing settled for second, Doug Cook was third, Max Harder fourth, and Troy Jerovitz secured the fifth spot. Six through eight that qualified for Saturday were Clint Luellen, Josh Legg, and Laini Schwartz.
An IMCA hobby stock feature was yet to be run when I made my way to my vehicle. No results have been posted for that event yet.
Wednesday marks the beginning of qualifying for the IMCA stock cars and modifieds as well as provides sportmod drivers in the top thirty in points accumulated one last chance to qualify for Saturday. With that said, it's time this guy calls it a night in order to get ready for another action-packed night at the Boone Speedway!
I was able to witness two and a half of the four qualifying features that were to be run. The first of those would be the first of two for the IMCA sportmods. Outside front row starter Austin Moyer got the jump and early lead on the field. Following an early yellow, youngster Sam Wieben challenged Moyer on the inside as the two raced wheel to wheel for the top spot. Moyer would regain the advantage a lap later while Ben Kates dove under Nick Carlson for the third spot.
The second of seven caution periods would come on lap ten of the twenty-five lap race, once again bunching up the field. Cory Rose, a Boone Speedway regular, was methodically working his way towards the front. After starting sixteenth, Rose found himself in the top five before the halfway mark of the race. With nine laps to go and following a restart, Rose took his machine to the top side to make the pass on Wieben for the runner-up position. A late restart gave Rose one more chance, but it would be Austin Moyer taking the win in the first qualifying feature for the sportmods. Cory Rose, Ben Kates, Sam Wieben, Tyler Heetland, Brandon Leeman, Nick Carlson, and Kaid Calhoon rounded out the top eight qualifiers for Saturday's main event.
The second feature of the night belonged to the IMCA sport compacts. I believe it was announced 55 cars were on hand with only thirty of them making the feature, a three-wide start on top of that. Brad Chandler would take over the top spot on lap two. This race too would have its share of cautions, with the most important being the third one. Race leader Brad Chandler appeared to miss a shift on the restart as a few cars scattered to pass him. Mick Rykhus would inherit the lead with Tyler Whalen taking the second spot after starting 24th. The fifth and final caution would wave, and on this restart Chandler would begin to make up ground. Restarting fifth, he would quickly move to third after Rykhus pushed high. Chandler would duck to the inside of Whalen to snare the second position and begin to reel in new race leader Jacob Ellithorpe. Ellithorpe was able to maintain a small advantage in the late stages and held on to pick up the thrilling victory. Chandler settled for second, Rykhus was third, Whalen fourth, and Cameron Meyer rounded out the top five.
The third feature to hit the track was the second IMCA sportmod race. While I had every intention of staying for it, I decided it was time to go after witnessing six yellow flags and one red flag. The red flag was displayed when Brian Miller wheel-hopped another car and made contact with Tara Longnecker's machine as they both slammed into the outside wall exiting turn two. Luckily both drivers were okay and walked away. When I departed for home Jesse Sobbing was leading. After a quick glance at the IMCA website, it appears that Nick Roberts made a pass on Sobbing to pick up the win. Sobbing settled for second, Doug Cook was third, Max Harder fourth, and Troy Jerovitz secured the fifth spot. Six through eight that qualified for Saturday were Clint Luellen, Josh Legg, and Laini Schwartz.
An IMCA hobby stock feature was yet to be run when I made my way to my vehicle. No results have been posted for that event yet.
Wednesday marks the beginning of qualifying for the IMCA stock cars and modifieds as well as provides sportmod drivers in the top thirty in points accumulated one last chance to qualify for Saturday. With that said, it's time this guy calls it a night in order to get ready for another action-packed night at the Boone Speedway!
Murphy Captures Exciting Deery Victory at Supernationals!
Even though the weather forced a delay of about four and a half hours, Mike Murphy Jr. had to of believed it was well worth the wait. That's because the Kalona, Illinois driver found his way to victory lane at the Boone Speedway as opening night of the IMCA Supernationals got underway Monday evening.
Light but persistent rain showers initially postponed the start of the festivities as the track prep crew waited until the rain had stopped to begin reworking the track. After the track had been reworked and a few hot laps sessions had been run, light rain again fell upon the track and forced another delay. The first green flag of heat race action would finally get thrown at around 7:35 for the first of fourteen IMCA hobby stock heats. Sprinkled in amongst those would be five IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series qualifying heats for the late models. Jason Hahne would take the narrow victory in heat one over Jeremiah Hurst. Jeff Aikey sailed to the win in heat two while Craig Jacobs took heat three. Ray Guss Jr claimed the fourth heat with Travis Smock leading the field to the checkers in the fifth and final heat. Two B-mains and a handful of provisionals would set an unprecedented 30-car field and three-wide start for the 30th Annual IMCA Speedway Motors Supernationals event.
After participating in his 400th straight start in Deery Series action on Sunday in Burlington, the "Iron Man" Darrel DeFrance redrew the pole of the 50-lap main event. Craig Jacobs and Jason Hahn would make up the rest of the front row. When the green flag dropped it would be DeFrance getting the advantage into turn one. However a mishap in turn four involving four cars would bring out the first of many caution flags. With a complete restart, the green didn't stay out long as Ryan Griffith got into the rear of Craig Jacobs in turn
one and collected a few cars to slow the action once again.
The third try was the charm, however, as DeFrance roared to the lead. Hahne would take over the top spot on lap two as he rode the cushion. Jason Utter quickly made his way to the front as he slipped into the runner-up position on lap three. Utter would take the top spot away from Hahne on lap five while Hahne gave way to Andy Eckrich for second. Mike Murphy Jr made his way into the fourth spot after he had some good luck go his way. Murphy started at the tail of his heat race earlier in the night and only managed a fifth place finish. He would go on to win his B-main and was scheduled to start inside row eight. However with the earlier cautions he was able to restart in the fourth row without a lap in the books.
The leaders would catch lapped traffic on lap ten, and it was a heavy dose of lapped traffic. At one point the slower cars were three-wide in front of the front-runners. That allowed Andy Eckrich to slip by Utter on the inside for the lead. A caution on lap fourteen would find one of those lapped cars getting into Eckrich and causing him to spin out, sending him to the tail. It was noticed under yellow that second-running Hahne had spoiler damage, and it would prove to be costly as he would back-peddle following the green flag waving once again. Murphy dove to the inside to take over the second spot while Craig Jacobs and DeFrance later made their way past. Perennial contenders Ray Guss Jr and Jeff Aikey were also on the move from mid pack as they climbed into a battle for fifth on lap eighteen. Guss would secure the position for a short time before Aikey found the top side to his liking to pass both Guss and DeFrance for fourth.
Up front Utter and Murphy had checked out on the field as they held a straight away advantage. Utter would bobble on lap 33, handing the reigns over to Murphy at the top of the leader board. One lap later Utter's car came to a rest atop turn three with suspension issues. So the top five on the restart would be Murphy, Jacobs, Aikey, DeFrance, and Guss. Aikey would power by Jacobs on the restart while Guss used the same top groove to get by DeFrance and Jacobs for third.
The final caution of the race came with just eight laps remaining. The field would be aligned with Murphy the leader followed by Aikey, Eckrich, Callahan, and DeFrance rounding out the top five. The Delaware double-file restart was just what Eckrich needed as he motored under Aikey to snare the second spot away. DeFrance used the same line to sneak by Callahan. Eckrich closed in on Murphy in the late stages, but Murphy was able to pull away on the final lap to take home the win. Eckrich would settle for second, Aikey third, DeFrance fourth, and Guss completed the top five.
Unfortunately this race didn't end until 12:15, and with a lot of racing still to be run I decided I'd better head for home and type up this blog so I can drive back later today for more racing action. So for hobby stock and sportmod updates, you'll have to check out the IMCA website.
This is my first attempt at writing a blog since March. I've had computer issues all summer and still have not got it fixed. Thankfully a relative agreed to let me use their laptop for the week so I can cover the 30th Annual Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals.
So for now, I'm out...
Light but persistent rain showers initially postponed the start of the festivities as the track prep crew waited until the rain had stopped to begin reworking the track. After the track had been reworked and a few hot laps sessions had been run, light rain again fell upon the track and forced another delay. The first green flag of heat race action would finally get thrown at around 7:35 for the first of fourteen IMCA hobby stock heats. Sprinkled in amongst those would be five IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series qualifying heats for the late models. Jason Hahne would take the narrow victory in heat one over Jeremiah Hurst. Jeff Aikey sailed to the win in heat two while Craig Jacobs took heat three. Ray Guss Jr claimed the fourth heat with Travis Smock leading the field to the checkers in the fifth and final heat. Two B-mains and a handful of provisionals would set an unprecedented 30-car field and three-wide start for the 30th Annual IMCA Speedway Motors Supernationals event.
After participating in his 400th straight start in Deery Series action on Sunday in Burlington, the "Iron Man" Darrel DeFrance redrew the pole of the 50-lap main event. Craig Jacobs and Jason Hahn would make up the rest of the front row. When the green flag dropped it would be DeFrance getting the advantage into turn one. However a mishap in turn four involving four cars would bring out the first of many caution flags. With a complete restart, the green didn't stay out long as Ryan Griffith got into the rear of Craig Jacobs in turn
one and collected a few cars to slow the action once again.
The third try was the charm, however, as DeFrance roared to the lead. Hahne would take over the top spot on lap two as he rode the cushion. Jason Utter quickly made his way to the front as he slipped into the runner-up position on lap three. Utter would take the top spot away from Hahne on lap five while Hahne gave way to Andy Eckrich for second. Mike Murphy Jr made his way into the fourth spot after he had some good luck go his way. Murphy started at the tail of his heat race earlier in the night and only managed a fifth place finish. He would go on to win his B-main and was scheduled to start inside row eight. However with the earlier cautions he was able to restart in the fourth row without a lap in the books.
The leaders would catch lapped traffic on lap ten, and it was a heavy dose of lapped traffic. At one point the slower cars were three-wide in front of the front-runners. That allowed Andy Eckrich to slip by Utter on the inside for the lead. A caution on lap fourteen would find one of those lapped cars getting into Eckrich and causing him to spin out, sending him to the tail. It was noticed under yellow that second-running Hahne had spoiler damage, and it would prove to be costly as he would back-peddle following the green flag waving once again. Murphy dove to the inside to take over the second spot while Craig Jacobs and DeFrance later made their way past. Perennial contenders Ray Guss Jr and Jeff Aikey were also on the move from mid pack as they climbed into a battle for fifth on lap eighteen. Guss would secure the position for a short time before Aikey found the top side to his liking to pass both Guss and DeFrance for fourth.
Up front Utter and Murphy had checked out on the field as they held a straight away advantage. Utter would bobble on lap 33, handing the reigns over to Murphy at the top of the leader board. One lap later Utter's car came to a rest atop turn three with suspension issues. So the top five on the restart would be Murphy, Jacobs, Aikey, DeFrance, and Guss. Aikey would power by Jacobs on the restart while Guss used the same top groove to get by DeFrance and Jacobs for third.
The final caution of the race came with just eight laps remaining. The field would be aligned with Murphy the leader followed by Aikey, Eckrich, Callahan, and DeFrance rounding out the top five. The Delaware double-file restart was just what Eckrich needed as he motored under Aikey to snare the second spot away. DeFrance used the same line to sneak by Callahan. Eckrich closed in on Murphy in the late stages, but Murphy was able to pull away on the final lap to take home the win. Eckrich would settle for second, Aikey third, DeFrance fourth, and Guss completed the top five.
Unfortunately this race didn't end until 12:15, and with a lot of racing still to be run I decided I'd better head for home and type up this blog so I can drive back later today for more racing action. So for hobby stock and sportmod updates, you'll have to check out the IMCA website.
This is my first attempt at writing a blog since March. I've had computer issues all summer and still have not got it fixed. Thankfully a relative agreed to let me use their laptop for the week so I can cover the 30th Annual Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals.
So for now, I'm out...
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Dirt Racing of Another Kind
While my official dirt track racing season won't start until March 24 (at Winston, Missouri for a USMTS event), I have become an addict of another kind of dirt racing. For the past several weeks, I've become a fan of AMA Supercross. For those who may be unfamiliar with the sport, it is dirt bike racing held at football or baseball stadiums. There is also Arenacross, which is the same bikes but competing at basketball or hockey arenas.
Supercross is telecast live on the SPEED channel typically on Saturday nights with replays airing later on. While watching last night's event in St. Louis, the announcers mentioned that one of the drivers is originally from Fort Dodge, Iowa. That driver is Justin Brayton, who had his best finish of the season with a third place podium finish. Brayton started off the night by taking the early lead in his heat race, but soon found himself in the familiar position of following Ryan Villopoto (who happens to be the point leader). Villopoto went on to take the heat race win ahead of Brayton, and then backed it up with his sixth victory of the season already.
St. Louis was round 9 of 17 on the circuit. Next Saturday night's event will be held at Daytona. Villopoto takes a 13-point advantage into that event over Ryan Dungey, who finished in the runner-up position in St. Louis. Dungey hails from Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Justin Brayton ranks seventh in the point standings, 89 points behind Villopoto. However, he only sits twelve points out of fourth place with that fourth place rider Chad Reed sidelined with an injury.
A couple other riders were mentioned as being from Iowa as well. Gavin Faith also resides in Fort Dodge. He just missed the final transfer position in his heat race Saturday night, but was able to bounce back in the LCQ (last chance qualifier) and advance to the main event. Faith garnered a 17th-place finish. Faith sits 29th in points out of the 35 drivers listed as he's only managed to qualify for three main events.
The other rider is Cody Gilmore from Blair, Iowa. He finished twelfth in the same heat at Faith and ran the LCQ as well, but finished seventh in that with only the top two riders advancing. Gilmore has yet to qualify for a main event on the season, but he too got some air-time from the SPEED announcers.
While I can honestly say I've never heard of any of these three riders, I find it impressive that they have made it to the "big time" of their sport. I look forward to following their progress in second half of their short Supercross season. For more information with the Supercross, be sure to check out their website at http://www.supercrossonline.com or check out the appropriate link on the SPEED website.
Supercross is telecast live on the SPEED channel typically on Saturday nights with replays airing later on. While watching last night's event in St. Louis, the announcers mentioned that one of the drivers is originally from Fort Dodge, Iowa. That driver is Justin Brayton, who had his best finish of the season with a third place podium finish. Brayton started off the night by taking the early lead in his heat race, but soon found himself in the familiar position of following Ryan Villopoto (who happens to be the point leader). Villopoto went on to take the heat race win ahead of Brayton, and then backed it up with his sixth victory of the season already.
St. Louis was round 9 of 17 on the circuit. Next Saturday night's event will be held at Daytona. Villopoto takes a 13-point advantage into that event over Ryan Dungey, who finished in the runner-up position in St. Louis. Dungey hails from Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Justin Brayton ranks seventh in the point standings, 89 points behind Villopoto. However, he only sits twelve points out of fourth place with that fourth place rider Chad Reed sidelined with an injury.
A couple other riders were mentioned as being from Iowa as well. Gavin Faith also resides in Fort Dodge. He just missed the final transfer position in his heat race Saturday night, but was able to bounce back in the LCQ (last chance qualifier) and advance to the main event. Faith garnered a 17th-place finish. Faith sits 29th in points out of the 35 drivers listed as he's only managed to qualify for three main events.
The other rider is Cody Gilmore from Blair, Iowa. He finished twelfth in the same heat at Faith and ran the LCQ as well, but finished seventh in that with only the top two riders advancing. Gilmore has yet to qualify for a main event on the season, but he too got some air-time from the SPEED announcers.
While I can honestly say I've never heard of any of these three riders, I find it impressive that they have made it to the "big time" of their sport. I look forward to following their progress in second half of their short Supercross season. For more information with the Supercross, be sure to check out their website at http://www.supercrossonline.com or check out the appropriate link on the SPEED website.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Offseason Blues
Hello race fans. I'm sure you've been wondering where I've been and what I've been up to over the past couple of months as nothing has been written on this blog. Well, I can honestly answer "not a dang thing." You see, I typically spend the winter months (if you can call it that this year) saving up my money, looking at race schedules, and deciding which races I want to attend. This offseason has been a little different for me, and thus a few changes will be in store for 2012.
Back in January I attended a couple indoor go kart events. One was held at the North Iowa Fairgrounds in Mason City while the other was the Battle at the Barn held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Both events drew a lot of participants as well as spectactors, and kind of got the blood pumping again after a month or so of not racing activity for me.
I also took the chance to take in the Karsyn's Krusaders Wacky Bowling tournament back in January. I didn't know what to expect, especially since I have no bowling skills whatsoever. By the time I arrived the place was packed and the "introductions" were soon to be announced. If memory serves me correctly, the amount raised that night was over $8,000!! I tried to bid on a few silent auction items, but my luck wasn't the best and I came home empty-handed.
As the calendar flipped to February, I found myself once again attending a go kart race up in Mason City for their second and final event. Karsyn's Krusaders made the trip up there and raised money with tshirt sales and auctioning off a few items. I was able to talk to several racing friends and a few drivers to find out their plans for the upcoming season, making it a lot of fun that night.
The dirt track season has already seen several events on the calendar at this point. The Talladega Short Track held its annual Ice Bowl, the Chili Bowl was run in Oklahoma, Arizona had a couple Wild West Shootouts, and the annual Canyon Winter Series took place in Arizona.
Now of course SpeedWeeks is taking place with all kinds of action down in Florida. The Lucas Oil Late Model Series, the World of Outlaws late models, and the World of Outlaws sprint cars got their season off to a strong start. Sounds like UMP modifieds are popular as well down there this year. Racing action coming up will be the opening weekend for USMTS as they take on the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. They were scheduled to race this past weekend, but heavy rains forced the cancellation and pushed it back a week. Also this weekend the annual Ice Breaker held down in Abilene, Texas will see IMCA racers get their season started.
As March gets closer, perhaps my anticpation will be enhanced as the racing action closer to home will get kicked off. While typically my race season gets underway around March 10th or so in the past several years, I'm going to wait until March 24 before I see my first official race. That event will be the USMTS race held at the I-35 Speedway near Winston, Missouri. While other events will occur before that, I have decided to bypass them due to travel distance and overnight stays (I know, hard to believe I just said that isn't it). March 31 I may find myself traveling to Farley for the opening night of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models.
Perhaps the biggest anticipation for everybody in Iowa is for the annual Frostbusters. This year the normal three-race swing has added a few stops in the schedule, as Oskaloosa and Des Moines will preceed Marshalltown, Boone, and Vinton. Lots of cars are expected to show up for this "mini series" week.
Yesterday (Feb 18), I made a road trip south and attended the McDaniel Racing Enterprises open house. Bert and Sue McDaniel are friends of mine that I haven't seen in a couple years, so I thought I'd surprise them. Sue was definitely surprised to see me and made the comment "it must be a road trip day!" I also met up with fellow PositivelyRacing headmasters Jeff Broeg and Barry Johnson. We were able to get in plenty of bench racing! Jeff also introduced me to Chris Eggers, the driver-turned-promoter of the Bloomfield Speedway. He was on hand to give out information for the upcoming season and take driver registrations.
That pretty much concludes what I've been up to the past several months. As I have told a few people, the 2012 season is going to be very different for me. I don't plan to attend as many shows as I have in the past. I plan to hit a couple races I normally wouldn't, and hope to get to a few more tracks I've never been to. So while my anticipation level for racing is not as high as it has been over the years, I am excited to see how many of those goals I just mentioned I will attain.
Thanks for reading!!
Kevin Trittien
Back in January I attended a couple indoor go kart events. One was held at the North Iowa Fairgrounds in Mason City while the other was the Battle at the Barn held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Both events drew a lot of participants as well as spectactors, and kind of got the blood pumping again after a month or so of not racing activity for me.
I also took the chance to take in the Karsyn's Krusaders Wacky Bowling tournament back in January. I didn't know what to expect, especially since I have no bowling skills whatsoever. By the time I arrived the place was packed and the "introductions" were soon to be announced. If memory serves me correctly, the amount raised that night was over $8,000!! I tried to bid on a few silent auction items, but my luck wasn't the best and I came home empty-handed.
As the calendar flipped to February, I found myself once again attending a go kart race up in Mason City for their second and final event. Karsyn's Krusaders made the trip up there and raised money with tshirt sales and auctioning off a few items. I was able to talk to several racing friends and a few drivers to find out their plans for the upcoming season, making it a lot of fun that night.
The dirt track season has already seen several events on the calendar at this point. The Talladega Short Track held its annual Ice Bowl, the Chili Bowl was run in Oklahoma, Arizona had a couple Wild West Shootouts, and the annual Canyon Winter Series took place in Arizona.
Now of course SpeedWeeks is taking place with all kinds of action down in Florida. The Lucas Oil Late Model Series, the World of Outlaws late models, and the World of Outlaws sprint cars got their season off to a strong start. Sounds like UMP modifieds are popular as well down there this year. Racing action coming up will be the opening weekend for USMTS as they take on the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. They were scheduled to race this past weekend, but heavy rains forced the cancellation and pushed it back a week. Also this weekend the annual Ice Breaker held down in Abilene, Texas will see IMCA racers get their season started.
As March gets closer, perhaps my anticpation will be enhanced as the racing action closer to home will get kicked off. While typically my race season gets underway around March 10th or so in the past several years, I'm going to wait until March 24 before I see my first official race. That event will be the USMTS race held at the I-35 Speedway near Winston, Missouri. While other events will occur before that, I have decided to bypass them due to travel distance and overnight stays (I know, hard to believe I just said that isn't it). March 31 I may find myself traveling to Farley for the opening night of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models.
Perhaps the biggest anticipation for everybody in Iowa is for the annual Frostbusters. This year the normal three-race swing has added a few stops in the schedule, as Oskaloosa and Des Moines will preceed Marshalltown, Boone, and Vinton. Lots of cars are expected to show up for this "mini series" week.
Yesterday (Feb 18), I made a road trip south and attended the McDaniel Racing Enterprises open house. Bert and Sue McDaniel are friends of mine that I haven't seen in a couple years, so I thought I'd surprise them. Sue was definitely surprised to see me and made the comment "it must be a road trip day!" I also met up with fellow PositivelyRacing headmasters Jeff Broeg and Barry Johnson. We were able to get in plenty of bench racing! Jeff also introduced me to Chris Eggers, the driver-turned-promoter of the Bloomfield Speedway. He was on hand to give out information for the upcoming season and take driver registrations.
That pretty much concludes what I've been up to the past several months. As I have told a few people, the 2012 season is going to be very different for me. I don't plan to attend as many shows as I have in the past. I plan to hit a couple races I normally wouldn't, and hope to get to a few more tracks I've never been to. So while my anticipation level for racing is not as high as it has been over the years, I am excited to see how many of those goals I just mentioned I will attain.
Thanks for reading!!
Kevin Trittien
Sunday, November 27, 2011
2011 Wrap Up
I was hoping to have one more racing recap blog to write about at this time, but Mother Nature decided my race season was over when she forced the cancellation of the annual Thanksgiving race in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday. While I may not be terribly upset of the cancellation, it would have provided one more day/night of racing adrenaline, fumes, and excitement at the dirt track before the gloomy weather arrives for winter.
That does, however, give me an opportunity to provide a wrap-up of my 2011 season. I see Jeff Broeg already beat me to it at the "Backstretch", but here are my final stats.
I attended 73 races this year, at 25 different tracks, in 6 different states. Those states included Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Nevada. Among the 25 different tracks, I ventured to four new tracks (Grain Valley MO, Columbus Junction IA, Worthington MN, and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas NV). Those four brings my career total up to an even 100 different tracks in which I've watched races!
My season started back on March 12 with a visit to the Humboldt Speedway for USMTS action and concluded November 12 with the Duel in the Desert event out in Las Vegas. Along the way I took in 13 USMTS shows, 3 Deery Brothers Summer Series events, 5 Hawkeye Dirt Tour modified shows, and 31 nights of weekly competition. I managed to do something this year that I have not done in several years, and that is to attend every weekly show at one track. I witnessed every event held this year at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, IA.
The 73 events is my lowest total since 2007.
At the Duel in the Desert race in Las Vegas, I was asked by Brett Root of IMCA if I would be willing to help post Facebook updates for the IMCA page. I told him I would be glad to, but when I arrived at the track that Thursday he informed me of a different plan. Rather then use Facebook, it had been arranged that Modfury.com chat updates would be the alternate plan. So along with Virginia Root, I helped provide updates to those unable to attend the show some of the action that was on the track. On Friday and Saturday audio and video was provided at the same website, along with the live chat updates. I'll be the first to admit that it was frustrating at times trying to keep up with both the action on the track as well as the comments and questions on the chat, but in retrospect I must say it was a lot of fun too! I have a feeling that kinda of media coverage (Modfury.com among others) will pop up a little bit more in 2012!
While its only late November and I have since stuffed myself full of Thanksgiving dinner, I have come up with a few ideas for my plans for next year. While they may or may not become reality, I'd like to travel north and northwest a little bit to witness some Wissota racing. After trying to compile racing stats for the top five drivers in different sanction body national points, I've decided that I want to see the drivers that I've been looking up.
If the above plan doesn't happen, a friend of mine told me he wants to attend every track in the state of Iowa. I told him that might be a challenge considering how far away some Friday night tracks are and the time I get off work, but that might be something to set as a goal.
Only time will tell what 2012 will have in store for us as race fans. Hopefully you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. And Happy Holidays to you and yours as Christmas and New Year's quickly approach.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
That does, however, give me an opportunity to provide a wrap-up of my 2011 season. I see Jeff Broeg already beat me to it at the "Backstretch", but here are my final stats.
I attended 73 races this year, at 25 different tracks, in 6 different states. Those states included Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Nevada. Among the 25 different tracks, I ventured to four new tracks (Grain Valley MO, Columbus Junction IA, Worthington MN, and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas NV). Those four brings my career total up to an even 100 different tracks in which I've watched races!
My season started back on March 12 with a visit to the Humboldt Speedway for USMTS action and concluded November 12 with the Duel in the Desert event out in Las Vegas. Along the way I took in 13 USMTS shows, 3 Deery Brothers Summer Series events, 5 Hawkeye Dirt Tour modified shows, and 31 nights of weekly competition. I managed to do something this year that I have not done in several years, and that is to attend every weekly show at one track. I witnessed every event held this year at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, IA.
The 73 events is my lowest total since 2007.
At the Duel in the Desert race in Las Vegas, I was asked by Brett Root of IMCA if I would be willing to help post Facebook updates for the IMCA page. I told him I would be glad to, but when I arrived at the track that Thursday he informed me of a different plan. Rather then use Facebook, it had been arranged that Modfury.com chat updates would be the alternate plan. So along with Virginia Root, I helped provide updates to those unable to attend the show some of the action that was on the track. On Friday and Saturday audio and video was provided at the same website, along with the live chat updates. I'll be the first to admit that it was frustrating at times trying to keep up with both the action on the track as well as the comments and questions on the chat, but in retrospect I must say it was a lot of fun too! I have a feeling that kinda of media coverage (Modfury.com among others) will pop up a little bit more in 2012!
While its only late November and I have since stuffed myself full of Thanksgiving dinner, I have come up with a few ideas for my plans for next year. While they may or may not become reality, I'd like to travel north and northwest a little bit to witness some Wissota racing. After trying to compile racing stats for the top five drivers in different sanction body national points, I've decided that I want to see the drivers that I've been looking up.
If the above plan doesn't happen, a friend of mine told me he wants to attend every track in the state of Iowa. I told him that might be a challenge considering how far away some Friday night tracks are and the time I get off work, but that might be something to set as a goal.
Only time will tell what 2012 will have in store for us as race fans. Hopefully you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. And Happy Holidays to you and yours as Christmas and New Year's quickly approach.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Viva Las Vegas!!
Thank you Mike VanGenderen. Why do I start off with that, you may ask. I start off with that thank you because Mike VanGenderen invited me go to to Las Vegas for the IMCA Duel in the Desert. Mike was given the opportunity to take his car out when a spot became available in the Bob Moore hauler. Side note - thank you to Bob and Denny Moore as well! It was nice meeting you both.
Mike had three crew members on board along with me, and there were some others that were in the hauler prior to us meeting up with them. We arrived in Las Vegas early Sunday afternoon and spent the first part of the week exploring Las Vegas and The Strip. Mike, Jimmy, Mike, CJ, and I walked up and down the strip Sunday and Monday before getting a rental vehicle on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday we explored more of the town before heading to the track for practice.
Upon arrival at the track cars were already lined up for pre-tech. We unloaded both modifieds and the crew went to work on making sure everything was in tact. Cars were able to take as many practice sessions as they wanted Wednesday.
Thursday rolled around and the atmosphere got much more serious. Roughly 240 modifieds were on hand to take their best shot at taking the opening night checkers. Twenty heat races and ten B-mains were held, and qualifying drivers advanced into one of two feature events for the night.
The first A-main saw Darin Duffy take the early lead from the pole position. Duffy opened up a straight away lead and appeared to be on his way to the dominating victory, but his car slowed entering turn one on lap ten to end his night. From there Dylan Smith and Terry Phillips engaged in a heated battle for the top spot. Smith was able to fend off Phillips to record the win while Justin Yeager and Jacob Murray also advanced into Saturday's main event.
The second A-main again saw the pole sitter, Dominic Ursetta, jet out to a commanding lead. While the rest of the field duked it out, Ursetta blew away the competition on his way to the win. John Hansen, Randy Hall, and Bobby Hogge also advanced to Saturday's big show.
Friday night saw the same format used for the IMCA modifieds, while the IMCA sportmods were added to the card. Both Northern and Southern sportmods were allowed to race at this unique event. Sixteen sportmods showed up and Matt Mueller took home the win on Friday night. Jesse Sobbing had taken control of the race at the halfway point after starting tenth, but a flat left rear tire changed the outcome of the race. Mueller took the win ahead of Shane Helton, Jason Mallicoat, Matt Ruf, and Wayne Dotson.
In the first modified feature Justin O'Brien marched to the front of the field early on with Matt Brack giving chase. O'Brien was able to keep all challengers behind him as he took home the victory. Matt Brack finished second, Justin Radcliff was third, and Kevin Stoa rounded out the qualifiers.
Mike Jergens took the early lead in the second feature after starting on the pole. His time up front soon ended when he suffered a flat tire. That handed the race lead over to Ryan McDaniel. During a caution flag on lap seven, McDaniel would also suffer a flat tire and handed the reigns over to Ricky Alvarado. Several guys would experience flat tires from the rough terrain, but Ricky Alvarado managed his tires well enough to take the win. Jason Pike finished second, Jeff Taylor was third, and Will Brack rounded out the night's qualifiers.
Saturday finally arrived and people were eager to see what the outcome would be later on that night. The format to get the remainder of the field were be twelve last chance races, with the winner only moving on to the show. That meant a lot of high caliber race teams would be watching from the sidelines.
Before the main event, a few other races would be held. The first feature to hit the track was the Wild West Modified Tour North/South shootout. Cory Sample took the checkers in that event followed by Ryan Cottrell.
The Young Gun Shootout would follow. This race was for those drivers were are younger then 18. Fifteen drivers participated and Riley Emmel from Canada emerged victorious ahead of Riley Simmons.
A Senior Shootout was then held for the older generation of drivers. Robert Heffer took the checkered flag first in that event.
The finale for the IMCA sportmods were next to hit the track. Again sixteen cars made the call with Matt Mueller taking the lead after starting on the pole. Two early cautions kept the excitement level down, but it soon picked up around the halfway point when Jesse Sobbing drove to the outside and passed Mueller for the lead. From that point on Sobbing pulled away and collected his 55th feature win of the season. Mueller, Friday night's winner, finished second ahead of Kenneth Graves, Jason Mallicoat, and Josh Modde. Sobbing collected $777 for his efforts.
The stage was now set for the twenty-eight car field of IMCA modifieds. Outside front row starter Ricky Alvarado took the lead at the start with Dylan Smith and Dominic Ursetta following in his tire tracks. Caution flags on lap two and five kept the pace down, but action picked up on the restart. Ursetta worked under Smith to wrestle the second position away while deeper in the field Darin Duffy was on the prowl. After starting twenty-third, Duffy found himself up to eleventh at the completion of lap thirteen. Meanwhile up front Terry Phillips found another groove above where everybody else was running and began to work his way forward. Phillips passed Smith and Ursetta before setting his sights on the leader Alvarado.
Just passed the halfway point a caution flag waved. Upon the restart Phillips used his outside line to pass Alvarado for the lead while Ursetta received heavy pressure from Matt Brack for the third spot. Ursetta would fall back to fourth before being passed on the outside by Jeff Taylor. Alvarado would push up in turn four and tag the concrete wall, ending his hopes of a strong run.
With eleven laps remaining, the front of the field consisted of Phillips, Brack, Ursetta, Taylor, and Smith. Ursetta ducked to the inside of Brack to take over the second position. Brack would lose another spot to Taylor as the Arkansas driver advanced into the third spot. A bit further back in the field Duffy continued his impressive run as he worked his way into the sixth spot with eight laps remaining. Phillips and Ursetta raced door to door the last couple of laps with Ursetta edging out front in turn three. Phillips used the momentum off the top side to win the drag race to the line and pocked his second Duel in the Desert title in as many years. Ursetta finished a close second, Dylan Smith was third, Jeff Taylor fourth, and Darin Duffy completed the top five.
All in all it was a very enjoyable time out in Las Vegas. While I'm not accustomed to the casinos and big city life, I must say I enjoyed walking on The Strip and the other activities in which we participated. Once again, I must thank Mike VanGenderen for inviting me!
There is another person, or group of people, I must thank as well. That would be Brett Root and the folks at IMCA. Brett asked me if I would help out by doing facebook updates for IMCA. I agreed and arrangements were made accordingly. Once Thursday rolled around, however, plans had changed. It was decided that facebook updates would not be used as it would "blow up" people's pages. Instead of facebook, Modfury.com held a live chat update throughout the night and the entire weekend. I was asked to help out with that among a few other people. While it prevented me from watching some of the racing action, it was a lot of fun being able to inform those unable to attend. It also opened my eyes to everything that goes on behind the scenes in the "control tower" during a race as well as all the preparation that goes on in organizing an event of this size. Once again, thank you Brett Root and all the IMCA staff that made me feel welcome up in the tower!!
I arrived home at 8:30AM Monday morning. We opted to drive home following the races Saturday night and decided to drive through the "short route" into Wyoming. Gusty winds blowing snow off the mountains along with icy road conditions slowed our trip, but we made it home in good shape.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Mike had three crew members on board along with me, and there were some others that were in the hauler prior to us meeting up with them. We arrived in Las Vegas early Sunday afternoon and spent the first part of the week exploring Las Vegas and The Strip. Mike, Jimmy, Mike, CJ, and I walked up and down the strip Sunday and Monday before getting a rental vehicle on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday we explored more of the town before heading to the track for practice.
Upon arrival at the track cars were already lined up for pre-tech. We unloaded both modifieds and the crew went to work on making sure everything was in tact. Cars were able to take as many practice sessions as they wanted Wednesday.
Thursday rolled around and the atmosphere got much more serious. Roughly 240 modifieds were on hand to take their best shot at taking the opening night checkers. Twenty heat races and ten B-mains were held, and qualifying drivers advanced into one of two feature events for the night.
The first A-main saw Darin Duffy take the early lead from the pole position. Duffy opened up a straight away lead and appeared to be on his way to the dominating victory, but his car slowed entering turn one on lap ten to end his night. From there Dylan Smith and Terry Phillips engaged in a heated battle for the top spot. Smith was able to fend off Phillips to record the win while Justin Yeager and Jacob Murray also advanced into Saturday's main event.
The second A-main again saw the pole sitter, Dominic Ursetta, jet out to a commanding lead. While the rest of the field duked it out, Ursetta blew away the competition on his way to the win. John Hansen, Randy Hall, and Bobby Hogge also advanced to Saturday's big show.
Friday night saw the same format used for the IMCA modifieds, while the IMCA sportmods were added to the card. Both Northern and Southern sportmods were allowed to race at this unique event. Sixteen sportmods showed up and Matt Mueller took home the win on Friday night. Jesse Sobbing had taken control of the race at the halfway point after starting tenth, but a flat left rear tire changed the outcome of the race. Mueller took the win ahead of Shane Helton, Jason Mallicoat, Matt Ruf, and Wayne Dotson.
In the first modified feature Justin O'Brien marched to the front of the field early on with Matt Brack giving chase. O'Brien was able to keep all challengers behind him as he took home the victory. Matt Brack finished second, Justin Radcliff was third, and Kevin Stoa rounded out the qualifiers.
Mike Jergens took the early lead in the second feature after starting on the pole. His time up front soon ended when he suffered a flat tire. That handed the race lead over to Ryan McDaniel. During a caution flag on lap seven, McDaniel would also suffer a flat tire and handed the reigns over to Ricky Alvarado. Several guys would experience flat tires from the rough terrain, but Ricky Alvarado managed his tires well enough to take the win. Jason Pike finished second, Jeff Taylor was third, and Will Brack rounded out the night's qualifiers.
Saturday finally arrived and people were eager to see what the outcome would be later on that night. The format to get the remainder of the field were be twelve last chance races, with the winner only moving on to the show. That meant a lot of high caliber race teams would be watching from the sidelines.
Before the main event, a few other races would be held. The first feature to hit the track was the Wild West Modified Tour North/South shootout. Cory Sample took the checkers in that event followed by Ryan Cottrell.
The Young Gun Shootout would follow. This race was for those drivers were are younger then 18. Fifteen drivers participated and Riley Emmel from Canada emerged victorious ahead of Riley Simmons.
A Senior Shootout was then held for the older generation of drivers. Robert Heffer took the checkered flag first in that event.
The finale for the IMCA sportmods were next to hit the track. Again sixteen cars made the call with Matt Mueller taking the lead after starting on the pole. Two early cautions kept the excitement level down, but it soon picked up around the halfway point when Jesse Sobbing drove to the outside and passed Mueller for the lead. From that point on Sobbing pulled away and collected his 55th feature win of the season. Mueller, Friday night's winner, finished second ahead of Kenneth Graves, Jason Mallicoat, and Josh Modde. Sobbing collected $777 for his efforts.
The stage was now set for the twenty-eight car field of IMCA modifieds. Outside front row starter Ricky Alvarado took the lead at the start with Dylan Smith and Dominic Ursetta following in his tire tracks. Caution flags on lap two and five kept the pace down, but action picked up on the restart. Ursetta worked under Smith to wrestle the second position away while deeper in the field Darin Duffy was on the prowl. After starting twenty-third, Duffy found himself up to eleventh at the completion of lap thirteen. Meanwhile up front Terry Phillips found another groove above where everybody else was running and began to work his way forward. Phillips passed Smith and Ursetta before setting his sights on the leader Alvarado.
Just passed the halfway point a caution flag waved. Upon the restart Phillips used his outside line to pass Alvarado for the lead while Ursetta received heavy pressure from Matt Brack for the third spot. Ursetta would fall back to fourth before being passed on the outside by Jeff Taylor. Alvarado would push up in turn four and tag the concrete wall, ending his hopes of a strong run.
With eleven laps remaining, the front of the field consisted of Phillips, Brack, Ursetta, Taylor, and Smith. Ursetta ducked to the inside of Brack to take over the second position. Brack would lose another spot to Taylor as the Arkansas driver advanced into the third spot. A bit further back in the field Duffy continued his impressive run as he worked his way into the sixth spot with eight laps remaining. Phillips and Ursetta raced door to door the last couple of laps with Ursetta edging out front in turn three. Phillips used the momentum off the top side to win the drag race to the line and pocked his second Duel in the Desert title in as many years. Ursetta finished a close second, Dylan Smith was third, Jeff Taylor fourth, and Darin Duffy completed the top five.
All in all it was a very enjoyable time out in Las Vegas. While I'm not accustomed to the casinos and big city life, I must say I enjoyed walking on The Strip and the other activities in which we participated. Once again, I must thank Mike VanGenderen for inviting me!
There is another person, or group of people, I must thank as well. That would be Brett Root and the folks at IMCA. Brett asked me if I would help out by doing facebook updates for IMCA. I agreed and arrangements were made accordingly. Once Thursday rolled around, however, plans had changed. It was decided that facebook updates would not be used as it would "blow up" people's pages. Instead of facebook, Modfury.com held a live chat update throughout the night and the entire weekend. I was asked to help out with that among a few other people. While it prevented me from watching some of the racing action, it was a lot of fun being able to inform those unable to attend. It also opened my eyes to everything that goes on behind the scenes in the "control tower" during a race as well as all the preparation that goes on in organizing an event of this size. Once again, thank you Brett Root and all the IMCA staff that made me feel welcome up in the tower!!
I arrived home at 8:30AM Monday morning. We opted to drive home following the races Saturday night and decided to drive through the "short route" into Wyoming. Gusty winds blowing snow off the mountains along with icy road conditions slowed our trip, but we made it home in good shape.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Barb Nunnenkamp Memorial at Junction Motor Speedway
After attending the USMTS King of America Modified Nationals in Humboldt (KS) on Friday and Saturday, my friend Brett and I took a little detour on our way back home. Sunday we ventured to the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction (NE) for the Barb Nunnenkamp Memorial race. I've tried to attend the early Spring USMTS shows that JMS tries to put on, but sometimes weather doesn't allow for it. That was the case this season, although the events were rescheduled to early June. I was unable to make it and was disappointed, so as I looked at my scheduled I decided I was going to make it out there yet this year.
Once we arrived we picked out our seats, but we didn't stay there long. I found a buddy of mine, Ed Reichert from Wisconsin, sitting a few rows back and opted to go sit with him. We had seen Ed down at Humboldt, but was unable to chat with him. It was good catching up with him and seeing what other races he had left on his calendar. Ed writes a column for several media outlets, one of which is Hawkeye Racing News.
As the racing action got going, it was surprising that not a lot of Iowa guys had made the trip as in years past. Heat races and b-mains (if necessary) would be run to narrow the starting fields down, and after a short break it was time for feature action.
Hobby stocks would be up first. Kyle Bond would set the early pace as he got the jump, but the caution flag would negate the lap being scored. Three cars got tangled up in turn three, including Jason Wilkinson who finished third in IMCA national points this season. When action resumed Lonnie Greuter held down the top spot with Bond giving chase. After transferring out of a B-main, Jeremy Auten was slowly marching forward as he advanced to seventh in just two laps. Anthony Martin used the middle groove to power by Mallet Meyer and Keith Dragoo to move into the third position. Following a debris caution, race leader Greuter would suffer a flat tire and exit the speedway. That handed the reigns over to Kyle Bond, and from that point on he remained out front as he picked up the feature win. He was followed across the line by Brandon Johnsen, Jeremy Auten, R J Macku, and Anthony Martin. Jason Wilkinson rebounded from the early caution to finish sixth.
Up next would be the stock cars. Pole sitter Kyle Dumpert grabbed the early race lead with outside front row mate Jeff Whiting following closely behind. Herb Slough would use the bottom groove to slip under Whiting for second before Andy Wilkinson passed both cars to take over the runner up spot. Five caution flags would plague the race, but Cory Dumpert was able to dissect the field. After starting twelfth, Cory Dumpert found his way to fourth and eventually third after passing Whiting. He was on the rear bumper of Wilkinson as they both chased Kyle Dumpert, but were unable to make a move as Kyle Dumpert took the flag to flag victory. Andy Wilkinson finished second, Cory Dumpert was third, Jeff Whiting fourth, and Justin Bertschinger rounded out the top five.
B-mods would be next up for their feature event. I was looking forward to seeing Tyler Frye and Jesse Sobbing race against each other as they challenged for the IMCA northern sportmod national championship this season. Unfortunately track conditions didn't allow for a whole lot of racing. Pole sitter Max Harder, who had a solid season of his own, took control at the point with Jeremy Leiting just behind. Harder would open up a straight away advantage at the halfway point as he picked up the dominating win. Tony Rost would finish second, Jeremy Leiting was third, Tyler Frye finished fourth, and South Dakota driver Kyle Nordquist rounded out the top five. Sobbing finished sixth after starting twelfth. His win on Saturday was his amazing 54th victory!
The four-cylinder class would come out next. I didn't keep notes on this race as I needed to use the facilities. Michael Boehle would take the win ahead of Kevin Zeitner, who the announcer said is the next up and coming member of the family. Shannon Pospisil finished third, Cameron Meyer fourth, and Scott Spellmeyer rounded out the top five. Forty-one cars had checked in for action on Sunday in this division!
Modifieds would be up next and outside front row starter Tyler Iverson got the quick jump on the field to snare the top spot. While the track appeared to be locked down, Kyle Berck was able to find some racing room as he advanced from tenth to fifth with seven laps remaining. He wasn't done, however, as he passed Shane Hiatt for fourth. That was the brunt of the passing that I saw, though, as Iverson picked up the impressive win. Scott Smith finished second, Jared Hoefelman was third, Kyle Berck fourth, and Dylan Smith fifth.
The finale of the evening was the late model feature. Outside front row starter Les Siebert took the point early on with Josh Krug settling in behind him in second. Following an early restart, Marc Peters dove to the inside of Tad Pospisil for the fourth position. Pospisil would lose another spot as Matt Buller snuck by as well. Jacob Brown used the inside groove to pass Krug for second with eight laps remaining. A late caution bunched the field back up, but it wouldn't make a difference as Les Siebert stayed out front and picked up the win. Jacob Brown was second, Matt Buller third, Josh Krug was fourth, and Marc Peters rounded out the top five.
That concluded the racing action at the Junction Motor Speedway for the 2011 race season, and also put an end to my three-race weekend. I'd like to thank announcer Wayne Dake for the shoutout. I simply went and asked him where the "junior flagman" was that normally sits above the walkway to the grandstands, and he proceeded to inform me that the young man now does some announcing duties for the track. He also writes the highlights for the website as well as runs a video camera for promoter Delmar Friesen. I enjoyed a nice conversation with the young man and wish him the best of luck in the future.
Despite the lengthy trip home and late hour climbing into bed, I'm pretty sure my friend had just as much fun as I did. In fact, he may have had more as he had never been to either track. He's already hoping he can make it to both next year!
While sitting in the grandstands about midway through the evening, I received a text message on my phone. It was a friend of mine, a stock car driver. To make a long story short, he invited me to ride with him out to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert race. He said he was driving someone else's toter home out while hauling two cars and said I could join him. Needless to say I was excited as I have heard many great things about that facility and event. I'm currently trying to nail things down in order to make it happen.
Racing action in the upper Midwest may have come to a close, but there are still a few events just south of here left on the calendar. This upcoming weekend, the ASCS sprint cars will be in Little Rock, Arkansas for a three-day affair (Thur-Sat). If that's too far for ya to drive, Springfield (MO) has a special on Saturday that includes a late model challenge race between the ULMA and Show-Me series along with modifieds, b-modifieds, and a few other classes. I had planned on going to Springfield, but my plans will likely change with the invitation mentioned above.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Once we arrived we picked out our seats, but we didn't stay there long. I found a buddy of mine, Ed Reichert from Wisconsin, sitting a few rows back and opted to go sit with him. We had seen Ed down at Humboldt, but was unable to chat with him. It was good catching up with him and seeing what other races he had left on his calendar. Ed writes a column for several media outlets, one of which is Hawkeye Racing News.
As the racing action got going, it was surprising that not a lot of Iowa guys had made the trip as in years past. Heat races and b-mains (if necessary) would be run to narrow the starting fields down, and after a short break it was time for feature action.
Hobby stocks would be up first. Kyle Bond would set the early pace as he got the jump, but the caution flag would negate the lap being scored. Three cars got tangled up in turn three, including Jason Wilkinson who finished third in IMCA national points this season. When action resumed Lonnie Greuter held down the top spot with Bond giving chase. After transferring out of a B-main, Jeremy Auten was slowly marching forward as he advanced to seventh in just two laps. Anthony Martin used the middle groove to power by Mallet Meyer and Keith Dragoo to move into the third position. Following a debris caution, race leader Greuter would suffer a flat tire and exit the speedway. That handed the reigns over to Kyle Bond, and from that point on he remained out front as he picked up the feature win. He was followed across the line by Brandon Johnsen, Jeremy Auten, R J Macku, and Anthony Martin. Jason Wilkinson rebounded from the early caution to finish sixth.
Up next would be the stock cars. Pole sitter Kyle Dumpert grabbed the early race lead with outside front row mate Jeff Whiting following closely behind. Herb Slough would use the bottom groove to slip under Whiting for second before Andy Wilkinson passed both cars to take over the runner up spot. Five caution flags would plague the race, but Cory Dumpert was able to dissect the field. After starting twelfth, Cory Dumpert found his way to fourth and eventually third after passing Whiting. He was on the rear bumper of Wilkinson as they both chased Kyle Dumpert, but were unable to make a move as Kyle Dumpert took the flag to flag victory. Andy Wilkinson finished second, Cory Dumpert was third, Jeff Whiting fourth, and Justin Bertschinger rounded out the top five.
B-mods would be next up for their feature event. I was looking forward to seeing Tyler Frye and Jesse Sobbing race against each other as they challenged for the IMCA northern sportmod national championship this season. Unfortunately track conditions didn't allow for a whole lot of racing. Pole sitter Max Harder, who had a solid season of his own, took control at the point with Jeremy Leiting just behind. Harder would open up a straight away advantage at the halfway point as he picked up the dominating win. Tony Rost would finish second, Jeremy Leiting was third, Tyler Frye finished fourth, and South Dakota driver Kyle Nordquist rounded out the top five. Sobbing finished sixth after starting twelfth. His win on Saturday was his amazing 54th victory!
The four-cylinder class would come out next. I didn't keep notes on this race as I needed to use the facilities. Michael Boehle would take the win ahead of Kevin Zeitner, who the announcer said is the next up and coming member of the family. Shannon Pospisil finished third, Cameron Meyer fourth, and Scott Spellmeyer rounded out the top five. Forty-one cars had checked in for action on Sunday in this division!
Modifieds would be up next and outside front row starter Tyler Iverson got the quick jump on the field to snare the top spot. While the track appeared to be locked down, Kyle Berck was able to find some racing room as he advanced from tenth to fifth with seven laps remaining. He wasn't done, however, as he passed Shane Hiatt for fourth. That was the brunt of the passing that I saw, though, as Iverson picked up the impressive win. Scott Smith finished second, Jared Hoefelman was third, Kyle Berck fourth, and Dylan Smith fifth.
The finale of the evening was the late model feature. Outside front row starter Les Siebert took the point early on with Josh Krug settling in behind him in second. Following an early restart, Marc Peters dove to the inside of Tad Pospisil for the fourth position. Pospisil would lose another spot as Matt Buller snuck by as well. Jacob Brown used the inside groove to pass Krug for second with eight laps remaining. A late caution bunched the field back up, but it wouldn't make a difference as Les Siebert stayed out front and picked up the win. Jacob Brown was second, Matt Buller third, Josh Krug was fourth, and Marc Peters rounded out the top five.
That concluded the racing action at the Junction Motor Speedway for the 2011 race season, and also put an end to my three-race weekend. I'd like to thank announcer Wayne Dake for the shoutout. I simply went and asked him where the "junior flagman" was that normally sits above the walkway to the grandstands, and he proceeded to inform me that the young man now does some announcing duties for the track. He also writes the highlights for the website as well as runs a video camera for promoter Delmar Friesen. I enjoyed a nice conversation with the young man and wish him the best of luck in the future.
Despite the lengthy trip home and late hour climbing into bed, I'm pretty sure my friend had just as much fun as I did. In fact, he may have had more as he had never been to either track. He's already hoping he can make it to both next year!
While sitting in the grandstands about midway through the evening, I received a text message on my phone. It was a friend of mine, a stock car driver. To make a long story short, he invited me to ride with him out to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert race. He said he was driving someone else's toter home out while hauling two cars and said I could join him. Needless to say I was excited as I have heard many great things about that facility and event. I'm currently trying to nail things down in order to make it happen.
Racing action in the upper Midwest may have come to a close, but there are still a few events just south of here left on the calendar. This upcoming weekend, the ASCS sprint cars will be in Little Rock, Arkansas for a three-day affair (Thur-Sat). If that's too far for ya to drive, Springfield (MO) has a special on Saturday that includes a late model challenge race between the ULMA and Show-Me series along with modifieds, b-modifieds, and a few other classes. I had planned on going to Springfield, but my plans will likely change with the invitation mentioned above.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Monday, October 24, 2011
King of America Modified Nationals at Humboldt (KS)
My weekend travels took me south to the Humboldt Speedway in Kansas. A friend of mine, Brett McCollough, and I woke up early Friday and made the nearly six hour trip to southern Kansas for the final two nights of the inaugural King of America Modified Nationals. The United States Modified Touring Series was putting this event on and attracted some of the best drivers in the country. While the car count fell short of what I was expecting, the racing action made up for it!
After reading that Ryan Gustin and Johnny Scott had won from the 12th starting positions on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, I had high hopes for this event to possibly be one of the best of the year. Friday night saw fifty drivers race heat races, b-mains, and the feature along with a complete show for the b-mods. Twenty-nine b-mods were hand for the third of four nights for them.
As the qualifying events were completed, the b-mods came to the track for their feature. Nine cars had been eliminated for the starting field of twenty. Pole sitter Jeremy Chambers grabbed the early lead, but he quickly received pressure from fellow front row starter Nick Newton. As the two raced side by side, Newton would take the advantage on lap three prior to an early caution. Long time modified veteran Gary Clark used the restart to motor by Chambers for second while recently-crowned IMCA Northern Sportmod National Champion Bryan LaRiviere worked his way through the field to fourth after starting tenth. Up front Clark would work under Newton and regain the lead as the white flag was displayed. Newton would not be intimidated as he powered his machine around the top side of turns three and four and squeak out the win at the line. Gary Clark had to settle for second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Bryan LaRiviere fourth, and Mike Striegle completed the top five. Iowa driver Cayden Carter started fourteenth and finished sixth.
After the field was narrowed down to twenty-four starters, Mark Dotson and Brian Bolin brought them to the green flag of the thirty-five lap qualifier. Dotson would set the early pace with Bolin, Johnny Fennewald, and Tommy Weder giving chase. Nine-time USMTS national champion Kelly Shryock was making fast work on his way to the front as he climbed into fourth following a pass on Weder. Shryock, who started seventh, would continue climbing the leaderboard as he passed Fennewald for third on lap seven. However, the caution flag would come out at that time and Fennewald would line up third on the restart.
Shryock would again use the low side to slide by Fennewald for third while Bolin used the same line to pass Dotson up front for the lead. Steve Whiteaker Jr climbed the banking and made the pass on Fennewald for fourth as Shryock clicked off another in passing Dotson for second. Whiteaker Jr followed Shryock into the third position as the top four cars wound up by themselves with five laps to go while encountering lapped traffic. As the white flag came out Shryock went to the top side and passed Bolin for the lead, but a caution prior to the checkers meant a two-lap shootout. Shryock was able to hold on for the win while Steve Whiteaker Jr pulled out a second place finish. Brian Bolin, Mark Dotson, and Johnny Fennewald rounded out the top five.
Shyrock's late race pass for the win meant that all three qualifying nights provided a late pass for the win. As the evening concluded I couldn't help but get excited to see what the big 75-lap finale had in store on Saturday evening.
Fan count for the first three days seemed to be far less then expected, but it was evident upon arrival on Saturday that the fans wanted to see the finale. As we pulled into the track we parked further back then any of the previous handful of times I've been at the Humboldt Speedway. By the time racing action kicked off the grandstand was close to capacity with many people standing as well.
The USMTS staff along with the track officials did a great job of intertwining the b-mods and the USMTS "alphabet soup" throughout the night, keeping the show going as smoothly as could be expected. The alphabet soup consisted of an "E", "D", "C", and a "B" as drivers looked to secure a starting position in the thirty-car starting field. Meanwhile thirty-three b-mods had checked in for action as well and had to narrow their field to twenty.
After a lengthy farming session, the b-mods would be up first for their finale. Nick Newton, who had picked up wins on Thursday and Friday night, sat on the pole alongside long-time veteran modified hotshoe Scott Drake. While I expected Newton to bolt to the front, I was surprised that it was Drake blasting to the lead with Levi McGowen giving chase. An early caution realigned the field and Newton used it to his advantage as he swung to the inside of McGowen for the second position. Another caution flag came out and following the restart Newton began to fade, giving up two spots to McGowen and Tim VanGotten. Jeremy Chambers later passed Newton to climb into the fourth spot while VanGotten slowed and exited the track to end his night. Two more cautions would fly, but none of them distracted Scott Drake as he picked up the wire to wire win. Levi McGowen finished second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Nick Newton fourth, and Jimmy Davis completed the top five.
Perennial contenders Bryan LaRiviere and Cayden Carter both failed to finish. I made a statement to people sitting around me that it's rare to see two drivers in the same race with 30+ feature wins to their credit on the year as both drivers had incredible seasons!
The stage was now set for the big 75-lap USMTS feature. Pre-race ceremonies included drivers walking from the ends of the grandstand towards the center and using a spotlight in the dark. Once all drivers had been introduced, an "event photo" was taken in front of the "King's thrown" as fireworks went off in the background. As drivers strapped in and began to roll off, the ever-popular "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood hit the PA and fans rose to their feet. A parade lap and then the four-wide salute to the fans followed as the fans waved to their favorite driver(s).
Mark Dotson and Kelly Shryock brought the field to the green flag with Dotson setting the early pace. Brian Bolin and Steve Whiteaker Jr battled side by side for the fourth spot for a few laps, but the caution flag on lap nine halted that action temporarily. Two more quick yellows came out, but after the lap nine restart the green flag would come out and the green light stayed on for 47 laps as the drivers put on a great show for the fans!
Jon Tesch found the top side to his liking as he passed Shryock for second. Terry Phillips used the low line to make his move on Bolin for fifth as Tesch took the lead away from Dotson on lap thirteen. Dotson and Shryock raced wheel to wheel for the runner up spot as Tesch began to pull away. Shryock would eventually get the better of Dotson and snare the second spot while Phillips found the quick way around Whiteaker for fourth. He didn't keep that position for long, however, as Johnny Scott made the pass. Scott was driving Jason Hughes' backup car this past weekend.
Tesch would find himself making significant contact with the turn four wall and slowed his momentum, allowing Shryock to close in as they encountered lapped traffic. Dotson and Scott chased down the front two cars as well to make it a four-way battle for the top spot. With Tesch continuing to run the top side, Shryock ducked inside and took over the lead around lap thirty-six. Tesch would regain the lead a few short laps later while Dotson and Scott ran door to door for third. Dotson would get the position and pull alongside Shryock for second as the two made contact on the front straightaway, lifting Shryock's back tires off the dirt. Both cars were unharmed and continued on.
Scott and Phillips took advantage of the mishap and got by Dotson for third and fourth place, respectively. Tesch, Shryock, Scott, and Phillips again would work lapped traffic while being closely bunched together. Shryock would again take over the top spot while Scott later worked his way by Tesch for second. Phillips would also get by Tesch as the caution flag waved on lap fifty-eight as Dotson and Ryan Gustin spun in turn three. A single file restart was used, but no passes would be seen at the front of the pack during the remainder of the race as Kelly Shryock was crowned "King of America" and pocketed the lute that went with it. Johnny Scott finished second, Terry Phillips was third, Jon Tesch fourth, and Steve Whiteaker rounded out the top five.
With as much action that was seen in the first fifty-some odd laps, I was disappointed that the track didn't allow for it late in the race. However, I came away satisfied seeing the pack work through lapped traffic with little to no contact made on the tight quarter-mile speedplant.
USMTS officials announced Saturday night that the event would be held in late March in 2012. I'm sure those in attendance have already marked it on their calendars, and this race fan will be doing so as well.
I'd like to thank the USMTS staff, namely Todd and Janet Staley along with Jeff Nun, for their continued hospitality throughout the 2011 racing season. These three people were always willing to take the time to talk with me and ask my opinions on what I had witnessed each night. Hopefully next year I can schedule a few more shows into my plans.
For a rundown from each of the four nights at Humboldt this past weekend, check out the USMTS website. For those of you who may be able to travel, the USMTS series has three more shows left on their schedule. They will head to the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas on November 17-19. Formerly known as Houston Raceway Park, the state-of-the-art facility just east of Houston provides a great view for fans as I rate it in my top five of best facilities I've ever attended. If you get the chance, I'd highly recommend checking it out!!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
After reading that Ryan Gustin and Johnny Scott had won from the 12th starting positions on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, I had high hopes for this event to possibly be one of the best of the year. Friday night saw fifty drivers race heat races, b-mains, and the feature along with a complete show for the b-mods. Twenty-nine b-mods were hand for the third of four nights for them.
As the qualifying events were completed, the b-mods came to the track for their feature. Nine cars had been eliminated for the starting field of twenty. Pole sitter Jeremy Chambers grabbed the early lead, but he quickly received pressure from fellow front row starter Nick Newton. As the two raced side by side, Newton would take the advantage on lap three prior to an early caution. Long time modified veteran Gary Clark used the restart to motor by Chambers for second while recently-crowned IMCA Northern Sportmod National Champion Bryan LaRiviere worked his way through the field to fourth after starting tenth. Up front Clark would work under Newton and regain the lead as the white flag was displayed. Newton would not be intimidated as he powered his machine around the top side of turns three and four and squeak out the win at the line. Gary Clark had to settle for second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Bryan LaRiviere fourth, and Mike Striegle completed the top five. Iowa driver Cayden Carter started fourteenth and finished sixth.
After the field was narrowed down to twenty-four starters, Mark Dotson and Brian Bolin brought them to the green flag of the thirty-five lap qualifier. Dotson would set the early pace with Bolin, Johnny Fennewald, and Tommy Weder giving chase. Nine-time USMTS national champion Kelly Shryock was making fast work on his way to the front as he climbed into fourth following a pass on Weder. Shryock, who started seventh, would continue climbing the leaderboard as he passed Fennewald for third on lap seven. However, the caution flag would come out at that time and Fennewald would line up third on the restart.
Shryock would again use the low side to slide by Fennewald for third while Bolin used the same line to pass Dotson up front for the lead. Steve Whiteaker Jr climbed the banking and made the pass on Fennewald for fourth as Shryock clicked off another in passing Dotson for second. Whiteaker Jr followed Shryock into the third position as the top four cars wound up by themselves with five laps to go while encountering lapped traffic. As the white flag came out Shryock went to the top side and passed Bolin for the lead, but a caution prior to the checkers meant a two-lap shootout. Shryock was able to hold on for the win while Steve Whiteaker Jr pulled out a second place finish. Brian Bolin, Mark Dotson, and Johnny Fennewald rounded out the top five.
Shyrock's late race pass for the win meant that all three qualifying nights provided a late pass for the win. As the evening concluded I couldn't help but get excited to see what the big 75-lap finale had in store on Saturday evening.
Fan count for the first three days seemed to be far less then expected, but it was evident upon arrival on Saturday that the fans wanted to see the finale. As we pulled into the track we parked further back then any of the previous handful of times I've been at the Humboldt Speedway. By the time racing action kicked off the grandstand was close to capacity with many people standing as well.
The USMTS staff along with the track officials did a great job of intertwining the b-mods and the USMTS "alphabet soup" throughout the night, keeping the show going as smoothly as could be expected. The alphabet soup consisted of an "E", "D", "C", and a "B" as drivers looked to secure a starting position in the thirty-car starting field. Meanwhile thirty-three b-mods had checked in for action as well and had to narrow their field to twenty.
After a lengthy farming session, the b-mods would be up first for their finale. Nick Newton, who had picked up wins on Thursday and Friday night, sat on the pole alongside long-time veteran modified hotshoe Scott Drake. While I expected Newton to bolt to the front, I was surprised that it was Drake blasting to the lead with Levi McGowen giving chase. An early caution realigned the field and Newton used it to his advantage as he swung to the inside of McGowen for the second position. Another caution flag came out and following the restart Newton began to fade, giving up two spots to McGowen and Tim VanGotten. Jeremy Chambers later passed Newton to climb into the fourth spot while VanGotten slowed and exited the track to end his night. Two more cautions would fly, but none of them distracted Scott Drake as he picked up the wire to wire win. Levi McGowen finished second, Jeremy Chambers was third, Nick Newton fourth, and Jimmy Davis completed the top five.
Perennial contenders Bryan LaRiviere and Cayden Carter both failed to finish. I made a statement to people sitting around me that it's rare to see two drivers in the same race with 30+ feature wins to their credit on the year as both drivers had incredible seasons!
The stage was now set for the big 75-lap USMTS feature. Pre-race ceremonies included drivers walking from the ends of the grandstand towards the center and using a spotlight in the dark. Once all drivers had been introduced, an "event photo" was taken in front of the "King's thrown" as fireworks went off in the background. As drivers strapped in and began to roll off, the ever-popular "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood hit the PA and fans rose to their feet. A parade lap and then the four-wide salute to the fans followed as the fans waved to their favorite driver(s).
Mark Dotson and Kelly Shryock brought the field to the green flag with Dotson setting the early pace. Brian Bolin and Steve Whiteaker Jr battled side by side for the fourth spot for a few laps, but the caution flag on lap nine halted that action temporarily. Two more quick yellows came out, but after the lap nine restart the green flag would come out and the green light stayed on for 47 laps as the drivers put on a great show for the fans!
Jon Tesch found the top side to his liking as he passed Shryock for second. Terry Phillips used the low line to make his move on Bolin for fifth as Tesch took the lead away from Dotson on lap thirteen. Dotson and Shryock raced wheel to wheel for the runner up spot as Tesch began to pull away. Shryock would eventually get the better of Dotson and snare the second spot while Phillips found the quick way around Whiteaker for fourth. He didn't keep that position for long, however, as Johnny Scott made the pass. Scott was driving Jason Hughes' backup car this past weekend.
Tesch would find himself making significant contact with the turn four wall and slowed his momentum, allowing Shryock to close in as they encountered lapped traffic. Dotson and Scott chased down the front two cars as well to make it a four-way battle for the top spot. With Tesch continuing to run the top side, Shryock ducked inside and took over the lead around lap thirty-six. Tesch would regain the lead a few short laps later while Dotson and Scott ran door to door for third. Dotson would get the position and pull alongside Shryock for second as the two made contact on the front straightaway, lifting Shryock's back tires off the dirt. Both cars were unharmed and continued on.
Scott and Phillips took advantage of the mishap and got by Dotson for third and fourth place, respectively. Tesch, Shryock, Scott, and Phillips again would work lapped traffic while being closely bunched together. Shryock would again take over the top spot while Scott later worked his way by Tesch for second. Phillips would also get by Tesch as the caution flag waved on lap fifty-eight as Dotson and Ryan Gustin spun in turn three. A single file restart was used, but no passes would be seen at the front of the pack during the remainder of the race as Kelly Shryock was crowned "King of America" and pocketed the lute that went with it. Johnny Scott finished second, Terry Phillips was third, Jon Tesch fourth, and Steve Whiteaker rounded out the top five.
With as much action that was seen in the first fifty-some odd laps, I was disappointed that the track didn't allow for it late in the race. However, I came away satisfied seeing the pack work through lapped traffic with little to no contact made on the tight quarter-mile speedplant.
USMTS officials announced Saturday night that the event would be held in late March in 2012. I'm sure those in attendance have already marked it on their calendars, and this race fan will be doing so as well.
I'd like to thank the USMTS staff, namely Todd and Janet Staley along with Jeff Nun, for their continued hospitality throughout the 2011 racing season. These three people were always willing to take the time to talk with me and ask my opinions on what I had witnessed each night. Hopefully next year I can schedule a few more shows into my plans.
For a rundown from each of the four nights at Humboldt this past weekend, check out the USMTS website. For those of you who may be able to travel, the USMTS series has three more shows left on their schedule. They will head to the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas on November 17-19. Formerly known as Houston Raceway Park, the state-of-the-art facility just east of Houston provides a great view for fans as I rate it in my top five of best facilities I've ever attended. If you get the chance, I'd highly recommend checking it out!!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Carter and Bonnett Repeat Osky Checkers
Another great fall day was in store for a great crowd at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Saturday. The temperature felt at least ten degrees warmer as the wind wasn't blowing nearly as strong as it was on Friday night. With a great crowd on hand Friday night, I believe there were more people in the stands on Saturday.
While the format was two complete shows, the top eight in Friday night's features were locked into Saturday night's a-mains. That is unless a driver opted to take a chance on pocketing some big money out of an envelope. Ron VerBeek, Steve Jackson, and Jared Timmerman took their chances and forfeited their starting spot. Last chance heat races and last chance qualifiers would be run to fill out the remainder of each starting field.
The first feature to make their way to the track would be the USRA hobby stocks. After pinning down the pole position due to his win Friday night, Bill Bonnett jumped out to the early lead ahead of a trio of Northeast Iowa drivers in Adam Cline, Steve Larson, and Danny Sacquitne. Local racer Donoven Nunnikhoven would enter the mix as he climbed the banking to make the pass on Sacquitne for fourth on the second lap. He continued to run the top side of the speedway and made the pass on Larson for third while Bonnett paced the field utilizing the bottom side. Nunnikhoven steadily made up ground on second place driver Adam Cline before taking over the position. Nunnikhoven would inch closer to Bonnett and eventually took over the top spot on lap fifteen of the twenty-five lap race. Clayton Crump was also making steady progress through the field as he marched into the second spot after passing Bonnett as well. With seven laps to go the top four cars (Nunnikhoven, Crump, Bonnett, and Cline) were out front by themselves. Crump and Bonnett raced side by side for several laps for the runner up spot, but Bonnett found some traction on the low side and pulled even with Nunnikhoven for the lead with two laps remaining. Bonnett would get the lead as the white flag was displayed and go on to take the win by a good five-car length advantage. Donoven Nunnikhoven finished second, Adam Cline was third, Steve Larson fourth, and Chris Hovden completed the top five in the green-to-checkers main event! Clayton Crump crossed the line in third, but was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection.
After that thrilling finish, the USRA modifieds would try to follow it up as Colt Mather and Zack VanderBeek brought the field to the green flag. VanderBeek would get the edge from the start as the top side appeared to be the preferred line in the early going. Mather settled in to second with Bob Timm and track champion Steven Blattler giving chase. VanderBeek would set a fast pace as he encountered lapped traffic by the sixth circuit. The red flag would come out on lap fifteen as apparently somebody in the infield had been injured and needed to be transferred to a medical facility. On the restart Timm would get a little too high in turn two and lose a couple spots. The caution flag would wave a bit later as Mather tagged the guardrail to end his great run. That put Ron VerBeek and Blattler on VanderBeek's rear bumper on the restart. The outside line got the advantage when racing resumed as Blattler got by VerBeek and Kurt Kile made the pass on Bob Timm for fourth. Nobody had anything for VanderBeek though as he motored home to the win by a straight away. Steven Blattler finished second, Ron VerBeek was third, Kurt Kile finished fourth, and Bob Timm secured the fifth spot.
Cayden Carter and Bryon Weyer paced the field of USRA b-mods to the green flag. The green flag didn't stay out long, however, as Carter VanDenBerg appeared to make contact with a big implement tire on the inside of turn two and sent him into a wild rollover. Thankfully he was able to walk away under his own power. Cayden Carter would grab the advantage on the complete restart while Weyer, Jake Timm, and Jason Mallicoat gave chase. Mallicoat would slip past Timm for third while Curtis VanDerWal and Jared Timmerman raced side by side for the fifth position. VanDerWal continued using the inside line and made the pass on Timm for fourth, but Timm would later regain that position a lap later. Carter and Weyer pulled out to a commanding lead by lap six, but the caution flag came out on lap ten to bunch the field back up.
VanDerWal, Timm, and Timmerman would race three-wide momentarily before Timmerman took the fourth position ahead of Timm and VanDerWal. Weyer again would keep pace with Carter as the two broke away from the field. The yellow flag would come out twice more within the final five laps of the race, setting up a sprint to the checkers. Cayden Carter would fend off Bryon Weyer to pick up his 31st win of the season. Jason Mallicoat finished third, Jake Timm fourth, and Jared Timmerman completed the top five.
After the show the USRA stock cars put on Friday night, I was happy to hear they would be the final event of the night. Shane Weller and Nathan Wood paced the field to the green flag with Wood getting the early advantage. Following an early caution, Bryan Webb used the top side to get by Matt Jones for the fourth position, but Jones was able to regain the position a bit later. Steve Jackson, the driver who gave up his outside front row starting spot for a money envelope, started eighth but made the pass on Webb for fifth as the top five drivers used the top line of the track. Behind them, however, was a different story as they were racing two and sometimes three-wide. Shane Weller used the inside line to get by Shay Curtin for second with nine laps remaining. A caution would come out and on the restart Curtin and Jackson made contact with each other, resulting in a flat tire for Curtin to end his strong run. That propelled Jackson to the third spot while Matt Greiner advanced to fourth. Wood, Weller, and Jackson were nose to tail the final circuits, but nobody was able to make a late move as Nathan Wood picked up the win. Shane Weller finished second, Steve Jackson was third, Matt Greiner fourth, and Mike VanGenderen rounded out the top five. Wood told me after the races that he had won a feature event every year that Todd and Janet Staley have promoted at Osky, but he had to wait til the final event of the season to do so this year.
For a full field rundown of Night 2 at Oskaloosa, check out the USRA website.
It was a good night of racing to cap off the Staley era at the Southern Iowa Speedway. The show did get a bit of a late start and the track wasn't quite as good Saturday as Friday was, in my opinion. But the drivers reduced the number of caution flags and kept the show moving all night long.
I wish the Mahaska County fairboard good luck in their search for a promoter for the future. I hope they find somebody that fits their goals and are able to continue racing for years to come.
As for Todd and Janet Staley, they have a few more races to oversee yet this year. The King of America Modified Nationals is their next event that will be held at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas. This unique format is the same one used at the Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota back in late July. Things kick off Wednesday and runs through Saturday. I'll be making the trip down for Friday and Saturday to see who gets crowned the winner and pockets the big $15,000 check. For more information on this event, check out the USMTS website.
While the format was two complete shows, the top eight in Friday night's features were locked into Saturday night's a-mains. That is unless a driver opted to take a chance on pocketing some big money out of an envelope. Ron VerBeek, Steve Jackson, and Jared Timmerman took their chances and forfeited their starting spot. Last chance heat races and last chance qualifiers would be run to fill out the remainder of each starting field.
The first feature to make their way to the track would be the USRA hobby stocks. After pinning down the pole position due to his win Friday night, Bill Bonnett jumped out to the early lead ahead of a trio of Northeast Iowa drivers in Adam Cline, Steve Larson, and Danny Sacquitne. Local racer Donoven Nunnikhoven would enter the mix as he climbed the banking to make the pass on Sacquitne for fourth on the second lap. He continued to run the top side of the speedway and made the pass on Larson for third while Bonnett paced the field utilizing the bottom side. Nunnikhoven steadily made up ground on second place driver Adam Cline before taking over the position. Nunnikhoven would inch closer to Bonnett and eventually took over the top spot on lap fifteen of the twenty-five lap race. Clayton Crump was also making steady progress through the field as he marched into the second spot after passing Bonnett as well. With seven laps to go the top four cars (Nunnikhoven, Crump, Bonnett, and Cline) were out front by themselves. Crump and Bonnett raced side by side for several laps for the runner up spot, but Bonnett found some traction on the low side and pulled even with Nunnikhoven for the lead with two laps remaining. Bonnett would get the lead as the white flag was displayed and go on to take the win by a good five-car length advantage. Donoven Nunnikhoven finished second, Adam Cline was third, Steve Larson fourth, and Chris Hovden completed the top five in the green-to-checkers main event! Clayton Crump crossed the line in third, but was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection.
After that thrilling finish, the USRA modifieds would try to follow it up as Colt Mather and Zack VanderBeek brought the field to the green flag. VanderBeek would get the edge from the start as the top side appeared to be the preferred line in the early going. Mather settled in to second with Bob Timm and track champion Steven Blattler giving chase. VanderBeek would set a fast pace as he encountered lapped traffic by the sixth circuit. The red flag would come out on lap fifteen as apparently somebody in the infield had been injured and needed to be transferred to a medical facility. On the restart Timm would get a little too high in turn two and lose a couple spots. The caution flag would wave a bit later as Mather tagged the guardrail to end his great run. That put Ron VerBeek and Blattler on VanderBeek's rear bumper on the restart. The outside line got the advantage when racing resumed as Blattler got by VerBeek and Kurt Kile made the pass on Bob Timm for fourth. Nobody had anything for VanderBeek though as he motored home to the win by a straight away. Steven Blattler finished second, Ron VerBeek was third, Kurt Kile finished fourth, and Bob Timm secured the fifth spot.
Cayden Carter and Bryon Weyer paced the field of USRA b-mods to the green flag. The green flag didn't stay out long, however, as Carter VanDenBerg appeared to make contact with a big implement tire on the inside of turn two and sent him into a wild rollover. Thankfully he was able to walk away under his own power. Cayden Carter would grab the advantage on the complete restart while Weyer, Jake Timm, and Jason Mallicoat gave chase. Mallicoat would slip past Timm for third while Curtis VanDerWal and Jared Timmerman raced side by side for the fifth position. VanDerWal continued using the inside line and made the pass on Timm for fourth, but Timm would later regain that position a lap later. Carter and Weyer pulled out to a commanding lead by lap six, but the caution flag came out on lap ten to bunch the field back up.
VanDerWal, Timm, and Timmerman would race three-wide momentarily before Timmerman took the fourth position ahead of Timm and VanDerWal. Weyer again would keep pace with Carter as the two broke away from the field. The yellow flag would come out twice more within the final five laps of the race, setting up a sprint to the checkers. Cayden Carter would fend off Bryon Weyer to pick up his 31st win of the season. Jason Mallicoat finished third, Jake Timm fourth, and Jared Timmerman completed the top five.
After the show the USRA stock cars put on Friday night, I was happy to hear they would be the final event of the night. Shane Weller and Nathan Wood paced the field to the green flag with Wood getting the early advantage. Following an early caution, Bryan Webb used the top side to get by Matt Jones for the fourth position, but Jones was able to regain the position a bit later. Steve Jackson, the driver who gave up his outside front row starting spot for a money envelope, started eighth but made the pass on Webb for fifth as the top five drivers used the top line of the track. Behind them, however, was a different story as they were racing two and sometimes three-wide. Shane Weller used the inside line to get by Shay Curtin for second with nine laps remaining. A caution would come out and on the restart Curtin and Jackson made contact with each other, resulting in a flat tire for Curtin to end his strong run. That propelled Jackson to the third spot while Matt Greiner advanced to fourth. Wood, Weller, and Jackson were nose to tail the final circuits, but nobody was able to make a late move as Nathan Wood picked up the win. Shane Weller finished second, Steve Jackson was third, Matt Greiner fourth, and Mike VanGenderen rounded out the top five. Wood told me after the races that he had won a feature event every year that Todd and Janet Staley have promoted at Osky, but he had to wait til the final event of the season to do so this year.
For a full field rundown of Night 2 at Oskaloosa, check out the USRA website.
It was a good night of racing to cap off the Staley era at the Southern Iowa Speedway. The show did get a bit of a late start and the track wasn't quite as good Saturday as Friday was, in my opinion. But the drivers reduced the number of caution flags and kept the show moving all night long.
I wish the Mahaska County fairboard good luck in their search for a promoter for the future. I hope they find somebody that fits their goals and are able to continue racing for years to come.
As for Todd and Janet Staley, they have a few more races to oversee yet this year. The King of America Modified Nationals is their next event that will be held at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas. This unique format is the same one used at the Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota back in late July. Things kick off Wednesday and runs through Saturday. I'll be making the trip down for Friday and Saturday to see who gets crowned the winner and pockets the big $15,000 check. For more information on this event, check out the USMTS website.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Big Field of Cars Pack Osky for Fall Challenge
The first night of the 25th Annual Musco Lighting Fall Challenge is in the books. The curtain closer at the Southern Iowa Speedway saw more then 160 race teams pack the infield as the last weekend of racing in the state of Iowa draws a closure to the season.
A different format was used on Friday night as the feature events in all four USRA-sanctioned classes only started eighteen cars. Drivers were given the option to keep their finishing position if they finished in the top eight, or they could elect to draw an envelope that had money inside. From my understanding three drivers opted for the money rather then their starting position, so we shall see on Saturday how that shakes out.
The first feature of the night was the USRA b-mods. Right around fifty cars had checked into the pits with only the top two from the heats transferring on to the feature. Then another four cars from each of two b-mains advanced setting up the eighteen-car feature. Pole-sitter Cayden Carter wasted no time in taking a commanding lead. An early caution on the second circuit slowed the action, but from there the race was clean. Tracy Johnson made the pull from South Dakota and was on the move in the early part of the race as he advanced to fourth after passing Eric Flander. But Johnson would fade as the race went on while Cayden Carter opened up a half-lap lead on the pack. Carter would take the easy win ahead of Jared Timmerman, Bryon Weyer, Carter VanDenBerg, and Jason Mallicoat.
Next up would be the USRA stock cars. Forty cars were on hand but again the starting field would only be eighteen. Outside front row starter Steve Jackson grabbed the early lead with Shane Weller and Lance Deal following behind. Deal looked to the inside of Weller to make the pass for second while Matt Jones used the same low side to pass Mike VanGenderen for fourth. Jones continued his march towards the front as he passed Weller and Deal to find himself in the runner up position. A caution would come out and bunch the field back up. Nathan Wood used the inside lane to make his way up to fourth. Jones would use the bottom side to make the pass on Jackson for the lead, but Jackson was able to take it back a few laps later. Jackson would bobble exiting turn two to allow both Jones and Weller to scoot by below. Weller was able to pass Jones in turn four to take over the race lead with three laps to go as he picked up the win. Jackson rebounded for second, Nathan Wood was third, Matt Jones fourth, and Shay Curtin rounded out the top five. It is my understanding that Steve Jackson was one of the drivers electing to take the money instead of his position, so therefore he will have to re-qualify on Saturday in order to make the feature.
Fifty USRA hobby stocks filled the pit area for the last weekend of racing in Iowa. Eighteen drivers made the call for their feature with Dan Hovden getting the early advantage. A lap two caution saw Adam Cline spin to a stop in turn three. Following the restart Austin Wolfgram used the top side to pass Donoven Nunnikhoven for second. Behind them the field raced two and three-wide. Another caution came out when Dustin Griffiths and John Watson tangled and made heavy contact with the inside guard rail in front of the flagstand. For Griffiths it was even more bad luck as he spun in his heat race and wound up rolling one time on the front stretch. Bill Bonnett, driving the #7B car normally driven by Eric Stanton, got a great restart and advanced four spots to climb to second. Meanwhile Adam Cline was on a tear behind him. Cline was involved in the first yellow flag and restarted eighth on the second restart, but he quickly jumped into the third position. Up front Bonnett made the bottom side work in his favor as he took over the race lead from Wolfgram prior to another yellow flag being displayed. As the field took the white flag Wolfgram suffered what was believed to be a right front flat tire and ended his good run. The field came around for the checkered flag with Bill Bonnett taking the win. He was followed by Adam Cline, Danny Sacquitne, Donoven Nunnikhoven, and Steve Larson.
The final event of the night belonged to the USRA modifieds. Twenty-six cars were narrowed down to eighteen once again, and pole sitter Steven Blattler shot out to the early lead. Colt Mather was on the move early as he used the outside groove to power by Minnesota hotshoe Bob Timm and local driver Ron VerBeek for third and second, respectively. Mather then set his sights on Blattler for the lead, but quickly put him in his rear view mirror as well. Mark Elliott ducked inside of VerBeek to take the fourth position away while Zack VanderBeek followed Elliott to fifth. VanderBeek used the same line to get by Elliott for fourth when the caution flag was thrown with just four laps remaining. Lining up fourth on the restart, VanderBeek managed to sneak under Timm for third before also making the pass on Blattler for second. By that time the white flag was being displayed to the field and Colt Mather had opened up a ten car length advantage to take home the win. VanderBeek finished second, Blattler third, Bob Timm fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five.
A great crowd was on hand to witness some great racing action, especially in the stock car and hobby stock divisions. Those two features were well worth the price of admission in my opinion! Only the top eight cars in each class are locked in to Saturday night's feature, so qualifying should be exciting come Saturday. Action starts an hour earlier with things getting underway at 6pm. It was not known if hot laps would be held or if they would just go into the heat races right away, so be sure you are there before six o'clock to get a good seat!
For a full rundown of cars in attendance, I noticed results were posted on the USMTS website. I'll be heading back to Oskaloosa to take in some more "Monster" half-mile action!
A different format was used on Friday night as the feature events in all four USRA-sanctioned classes only started eighteen cars. Drivers were given the option to keep their finishing position if they finished in the top eight, or they could elect to draw an envelope that had money inside. From my understanding three drivers opted for the money rather then their starting position, so we shall see on Saturday how that shakes out.
The first feature of the night was the USRA b-mods. Right around fifty cars had checked into the pits with only the top two from the heats transferring on to the feature. Then another four cars from each of two b-mains advanced setting up the eighteen-car feature. Pole-sitter Cayden Carter wasted no time in taking a commanding lead. An early caution on the second circuit slowed the action, but from there the race was clean. Tracy Johnson made the pull from South Dakota and was on the move in the early part of the race as he advanced to fourth after passing Eric Flander. But Johnson would fade as the race went on while Cayden Carter opened up a half-lap lead on the pack. Carter would take the easy win ahead of Jared Timmerman, Bryon Weyer, Carter VanDenBerg, and Jason Mallicoat.
Next up would be the USRA stock cars. Forty cars were on hand but again the starting field would only be eighteen. Outside front row starter Steve Jackson grabbed the early lead with Shane Weller and Lance Deal following behind. Deal looked to the inside of Weller to make the pass for second while Matt Jones used the same low side to pass Mike VanGenderen for fourth. Jones continued his march towards the front as he passed Weller and Deal to find himself in the runner up position. A caution would come out and bunch the field back up. Nathan Wood used the inside lane to make his way up to fourth. Jones would use the bottom side to make the pass on Jackson for the lead, but Jackson was able to take it back a few laps later. Jackson would bobble exiting turn two to allow both Jones and Weller to scoot by below. Weller was able to pass Jones in turn four to take over the race lead with three laps to go as he picked up the win. Jackson rebounded for second, Nathan Wood was third, Matt Jones fourth, and Shay Curtin rounded out the top five. It is my understanding that Steve Jackson was one of the drivers electing to take the money instead of his position, so therefore he will have to re-qualify on Saturday in order to make the feature.
Fifty USRA hobby stocks filled the pit area for the last weekend of racing in Iowa. Eighteen drivers made the call for their feature with Dan Hovden getting the early advantage. A lap two caution saw Adam Cline spin to a stop in turn three. Following the restart Austin Wolfgram used the top side to pass Donoven Nunnikhoven for second. Behind them the field raced two and three-wide. Another caution came out when Dustin Griffiths and John Watson tangled and made heavy contact with the inside guard rail in front of the flagstand. For Griffiths it was even more bad luck as he spun in his heat race and wound up rolling one time on the front stretch. Bill Bonnett, driving the #7B car normally driven by Eric Stanton, got a great restart and advanced four spots to climb to second. Meanwhile Adam Cline was on a tear behind him. Cline was involved in the first yellow flag and restarted eighth on the second restart, but he quickly jumped into the third position. Up front Bonnett made the bottom side work in his favor as he took over the race lead from Wolfgram prior to another yellow flag being displayed. As the field took the white flag Wolfgram suffered what was believed to be a right front flat tire and ended his good run. The field came around for the checkered flag with Bill Bonnett taking the win. He was followed by Adam Cline, Danny Sacquitne, Donoven Nunnikhoven, and Steve Larson.
The final event of the night belonged to the USRA modifieds. Twenty-six cars were narrowed down to eighteen once again, and pole sitter Steven Blattler shot out to the early lead. Colt Mather was on the move early as he used the outside groove to power by Minnesota hotshoe Bob Timm and local driver Ron VerBeek for third and second, respectively. Mather then set his sights on Blattler for the lead, but quickly put him in his rear view mirror as well. Mark Elliott ducked inside of VerBeek to take the fourth position away while Zack VanderBeek followed Elliott to fifth. VanderBeek used the same line to get by Elliott for fourth when the caution flag was thrown with just four laps remaining. Lining up fourth on the restart, VanderBeek managed to sneak under Timm for third before also making the pass on Blattler for second. By that time the white flag was being displayed to the field and Colt Mather had opened up a ten car length advantage to take home the win. VanderBeek finished second, Blattler third, Bob Timm fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five.
A great crowd was on hand to witness some great racing action, especially in the stock car and hobby stock divisions. Those two features were well worth the price of admission in my opinion! Only the top eight cars in each class are locked in to Saturday night's feature, so qualifying should be exciting come Saturday. Action starts an hour earlier with things getting underway at 6pm. It was not known if hot laps would be held or if they would just go into the heat races right away, so be sure you are there before six o'clock to get a good seat!
For a full rundown of cars in attendance, I noticed results were posted on the USMTS website. I'll be heading back to Oskaloosa to take in some more "Monster" half-mile action!
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