"That was the best one hundred lap feature I have ever seen." I heard that statement from at least ten different people Saturday night following the Pepsi USA Late Model Nationals and, you know I might just have to agree with them. Seven lead changes among three drivers, and it would have been eight amongst four had it not been for the last caution on lap fifty-three, and the entire top ten on the same straightaway at the finish does keep you on the edge of your seat after all. Yes, the track locked down late and the leaders got hung up behind lapped traffic causing that tight scenario at the end. Unlike other hundred-lappers we have seen in the past though, one driver not only attempted, but pulled off a thrilling move in the final laps to take the big win and the $10,000 top prize.
A pair of Quincy drivers started on the front row with pole-sitter Lonnie Bailey pacing lap one before yielding to three-time event champion Mark Burgtorf on lap two. If not for a pair of cautions on lap four and lap sixteen Burgtorf would have been long gone as he was definitely the fastest car early on. 2009 Deery Brothers Summer Series champion Jeff Aikey had moved past Bailey into second and on the lap sixteen restart he was now able to keep pace with Burgtorf and started to apply the pressure. As Aikey made constant attempts for the lead using the middle groove of the track, Bailey soon found the very bottom to his liking and he closed back in on the lead duo. They went three-wide through turn four on lap twenty-eight and it was Bailey who regained the lead on lap twenty-nine.
It was about that same time that Terry Neal, running fourth, discovered an even faster line of going into the turns high and then diving to the bottom off two and four as he quickly reeled in the leaders. On lap forty-two the race for the lead went three-wide once again, only this time it was Bailey on the bottom, Neal in the middle and Burgtorf up top and as they stormed into turn three Neal got sideways, but somehow saved it fading back to fifth. Back to a two-car tussle up front Burgtorf nosed ahead at the stripe on lap forty-four only to have Bailey pull ahead on the bottom the following lap, but he had the soon-to-be-lapped car of T.J. Criss just ahead of him running that same bottom line. With Bailey sticking with the same groove Burgtorf again swept by on the high side two laps shy of the mid-race point as Bailey dropped back to fourth before dispensing of Criss.
Aikey was back in the mix now and with Burgtorf now testing out the middle of turn four Jeff went to the cushion and actually crossed the line in the lead for what would have been lap fifty-four. But as the lead pack raced into turn one both Bailey and Neal would go for a spin. Bailey stopped in turn two while Neal remained in motion so when the yellow light came out it was only Bailey that would be sent to the rear for the restart. Reverting back to the previously completed lap Burgtorf took the green out front with a clear track ahead of him and while he looked like he might cruise to his fourth win in this event the racing behind him remained intense.
Jason Frankel had been running around the fifth or sixth spot all race long, but now he was picking his way toward the front and Rob Toland, who always seems to be in contention at the end here at 34, had worked his way into the top five after starting fourteenth. By the time Burgtorf caught a group of five back markers on lap eighty it looked like the track had gone completely one-grooved as everybody appeared to be content to run single-file, including the leader who settled in behind Stephan Kammerer. Anybody who knows Jason Frankel though knows that he is only content when he is out front so it was no surprise when broke ranks and started diving to the bottom in an attempt to move past Aikey for second. He got the job done with about fifteen laps left and he now had fellow Quincy driver Burgtorf in his sights. With about eight laps to go the pack of lapped cars ahead of Burgtorf started racing for position causing a bit of an accordion effect that slowed the leaders and allowed the rest of the top ten to close quickly.
With five laps to go the entire top ten were nose-to-tail in tight formation running behind a group of five slower cars and on the next lap, when Kammerer checked up a bit on the front stretch to keep from getting into the back of the car in front of him, Burgtorf drove to the lower groove going into turn one. This was the opportunity that Frankel was looking for and he seized it by holding his foot to the floor as Burgtorf drifted back up the track side-by-side with him in turn two. Just inches from hitting the backstretch wall Frankel held his momentum and took the lead into three with just three laps remaining. Burgtorf tried to fight back and was able to put his nose under the new leader twice to no avail in the final laps as Frankel staked his claim to the win. Toland slipped by Aikey in that final scramble to finish in the third spot while Terry Neal rounded out the top five. Defending race winner Matt Strassheim ran a solid race to finish sixth while Tony Fraise was seventh after running in the top four through the first half of the race. Jason Hahne had a nice run to take eighth, Ray Guss Jr. was ninth and Boone McLaughlin, who was a big mover early after starting sixteenth, completed the top ten.
Frankel was an easy interview in victory lane as his excitement was genuine and when I spoke with him later that night after the long technical inspection process had been completed the smile still had not left his face. He said that he didn’t want this to sound arrogant, but before the race he told his crew that he knew that they had a great car, a great motor and a great setup, so they should watch for him to take the lead with five laps to go and win this thing. "I missed it by two laps I guess," he beamed. Well Jason, that only added to the excitement in what many will consider the best one-hundred lap feature races that they have ever seen.
Pepsi USA Saturday notes……...The first Late Model B-Main set the tone for the night as five cars battled back and forth for the three transfer positions throughout the fifteen-lap distance. Darrell DeFrance took the win while Boone McLaughlin made a thrilling three-wide move in traffic stick to go from fourth to second at the finish. Friday night’s quick qualifier Colby Springsteen finished third holding off Matt Ryan by a car-length at the checkers…..B-Main number two had Rob Toland and Fred Remley running first and second while Tom Darbyshire was setting the car high and then diving low trying to move forward from third. On lap eight Denny Woodworth was trying to ride the cushion around Darbyshire in turn three when the two made contact sending Darbyshire for a spin. Both drivers would be sent to the rear handing the third spot over to Jay Johnson who then fought off Deery Series Rookie-of-the-Year Justin Kay over the final laps. Darbyshire would earn the 34 Raceway track provisional and start the feature in the twenty-sixth and final spot…..The third B saw Charlie McKenna, Jason Bahrs and Tom Goble get together on the frontstretch on lap three with McKenna smacking the wall. 2009 National Points champ Kevin Blum also went to the pits under caution and while both McKenna and Blum returned before the restart they could not get back to the front. Bahrs, Goble and Keith Pratt would pick up the final transfer spots while McKenna would earn one of the two Deery Series provisionals…..Robby Warner and Ray Guss Jr. both picked up a set of Brodix heads in the drawing that has been held at this event each year since 1997…..Dean Kratzer took the lead from Tanner Thomann on lap two and then cruised to victory over a field of twenty-three Hobby Stocks. Jake Wenig, Thomann, Blaine Dopler and Jeremy Pundt were your top five…..Dennis Schulte fought off the constant challenges from Travis Yakle to win the Four-Cylinder feature race. The wily veteran Wayne Noble came home third ahead of Cedar Rapids driver Bryce Bailey and Wapello’s Darin Smith……Brian Tipps gave the crowd a thrill in one of the Four-Cylinder heats when he was forced up onto the top of the backstretch wall, skidded along it with sparks flying before dropping off of it and rolling over onto his roof. The co-promoter at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Tipps escaped uninjured and I challenge 34 Raceway promoter Jeff Laue to now go up to CJ next year and do something equally spectacular.
A big thanks to Jeff and Amy Laue, and the entire 34 Raceway staff for their hospitality and for allowing me once again to feel like part of their team for the Nationals weekend. I always have a great time working with track announcer Rich Adams and we somehow made it through the weekend without getting into too much trouble!! The track near Burlington still has two more events on the 2009 schedule including the Sprint Invaders Season Championship on September 26th and the first annual Ice Bowl Thriller on October 17th.
For more news and other views from the Pepsi Nationals weekend check out the thoughts of both Ryan Clark and Brian Neal at www.PositivelyRacing.com.
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