A promoter in this part of the country knows that when you schedule a dirt track race for the first weekend in March you are taking a calculated risk. If you get below normal temperatures, heck if you even get normal temperatures (the normal high temperature for March 6th in Calvert City Kentucky is 55) you know that you will likely get a pretty full pit area and sell a lot of pit passes, but you likely won't get too many ticket buying race fans. However, if Mother Nature treats you just right and you end up with temperatures in the 70's, the risk will likely pay off very nicely just as it did this weekend at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway.
Promoter Sherri Heckenast has taken this early March risk on a regular basis since taking over this beautiful speedplant just twenty miles west of Paducah and it was great to see a pit area full of 50 Late Models and 71 Modifieds along with a solid crowd on hand Friday for night number one of "March Madness". Up until Wednesday of this week I had no plans of making this trip, but as I kept checking the unbelievable forecast throughout the week I finally decided that it might be until mid-May before I can watch another race in just a sweatshirt. I had to be there!
Jeep VanWormer was the first car out for Late Model qualifying and he posted the fastest lap putting him on the pole for heat race one. The Michigan driver ran away from Jason Feger and the rest of the field in that one landing him on the pole for the night's thirty-lap finale. Southwest Missouri driver Will Vaught started alongside VanWormer and was able to put a nose under him twice in the first three-laps, but when Vaught had to get on the binders to keep from slapping the wall off of turn four, Jeep was then long gone. The only caution of the feature flew with just three laps remaining when Ray Cook had a right rear tire go down. Cook, who already has wins this year at the Ice Bowl, the Bama Bash and at Boyd's Speedway in Georgia was running fourth at the time.
Billy Moyer restarted on VanWormer's bumper, but could not mount a challenge as there was no doubt who was the fastest Late Model competitor on this night with Jeep picking up a $5,000 check for his clean sweep. Moyer was the runner-up with Vaught taking third. Steve Francis, driving Tim Logan's car #11 was impressive coming from thirteenth to finish fourth while Steve Casebolt completed the top five.
The Modifieds earned their starting spots in the main event through the passing points system and an impressive charge from row number six to finish second in heat race number one landed Scott Weber (Festus MO) on the pole of the 28-car starting grid. Mike Spatola started on the outside of row two and immediately took up the chase of Weber, but try as he might Spatola could never pull even with the St. Louis area veteran. Weber, who admits that the 2008 season was one for him to forget, was an excited driver in victory lane making sure to thank Sherri Heckenast for putting on this special event and for paying such good money. He collected two grand for the wire-to-wire victory. Spatola, who hails from Manhattan Illinois and is known to show up just about anywhere that UMP Dirt Modifieds are racing, finished in the second spot while Kent Robinson finished third. I thought that Robinson was going to be the man to beat as he charged from thirteenth to third in the first few laps, but he could never mount a challenge on the lead duo. Tommie Seets (Godfrey IL) started next to Robinson in row seven and followed him in for fourth while Jason Miller, who started eighteenth after winning one of the three Last Chance races, completed the top five.
Kudos to Heckenast and her staff at KLMS as late model qualifying was completed and heat race action took the green briefly after the advertised starting time of 7:00 p.m. and the final checkered flag flew on a full program just before 11 o'clock. Special thanks for the hospitality shown to this late arriving columnist who didn't make up his mind about going until minutes before making the six hour drive. Wish I could have stayed for night number two!
Late Model Notes
Jeremy Grady (Story City IA) was third in his heat and finished thirteenth in the main event just ahead of a couple of big names in the sport; Shannon Babb and Dennis Erb Jr......Denny Woodworth (Mendon IL) looked good but failed to qualify running seventh in the first B-Main.....Chris Simpson (Mount Vernon IA) finished third behind Moyer and Jordan Bland in his heat race but pulled out midway through the main event and was credited with 23rd.....Jeff (Bone) Larson (Freeport IL) was one of two drivers doing double duty on the night and he qualified for both feature races. Larson wound up 21st in the Late Model main, but in the Modified he flirted with the top five late before dropping back to seventh......Tommy Weder Jr. (Woodward OK) has spent the last few years competing at most of the UMSTS Modified events. Now, in his rookie season behind the wheel of a Late Model, Weder was impressive down in Florida and he turned some heads tonight finishing second to Vaught in heat race number two and finishing seventh in the main event.....Eric Turner (Hermitage MO) has been consistently in the top ten on his trips down south early in his rookie Late Model campaign, but he struggled here tonight and did not make the show.....other PR.com drivers who were on hand included the 2008 All Missouri Points Limited Late Model Champion Billy James (Sikeston MO), Mike Hammerle (St. Charles MO) and Bryan Collins (Elsberry MO).
Modified Notes
Drivers from as far away as Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota helped boost the field over seventy, but nobody probably drove as far as Hermantown Minnesota's Darrell Nelson. Unfortunately the long trip ended in disappointment tonight as Nelson's engine appeared to expire during his heat race.....Ken Kostenbader (Freeport IL) had a team car to Jeff Larson, but could not get qualified this night.....Wyatt Lantz (Augusta IL) started from the pole of the second heat and was running third before pulling to the infield and in his Last Chance race he was challenging for the final transfer spot before dropping out on the final lap.....Larry Hull (Old Appleton MO) was also in attendance.
Hopefully the weather will once again cooperate this coming weekend as the USMTS Mods run two shows in Kansas, Friday night at Caney Valley Speedway and Saturday night at Humboldt Speedway, and the first 2009 All Missouri points race will take place this Saturday March 14th with the Turkey Open Wheel Classic at the Springfield Raceway.
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