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!!
Monday, September 24, 2012
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.
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