Saturday Morning Notebook: April 9, 2011

Wisconsin drivers made the trip to Marshalltown on Friday night for weekly IMCA racing with Mike Wedelstadt posting the best showing of the bunch finishing second to Jon Snyder in the Modified feature……Todd Reitzler has moved from the Hobby Stocks to the Stock Cars in 2011 and he posted his first top-five finish running fifth at Marshalltown……Brad Looney made it two wins in a row on the MLRA Late Model tour with his victory at Heartland Park Topeka Friday night. Forty-one Late Models filled the pits including eastern Iowa drivers Denny Eckrich (8^th), Nick Marolf (11^th), Dave Eckrich (14^th), Chris Simpson (19^th), Chad Simpson (22^nd) and Matt Furman (24^th). Kurt Kile finished fourth in a B-Main. The MLRA runs at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, tonight April 9^th……I spoke with USMTS head man Todd Staley on Friday and he noted that even with the warmer than expected conditions in southeast Minnesota this week, the Queensland family said that the Deer Creek Speedway would not have been ready to host the World Dirt Track Modified Championship as originally scheduled this week. The big show has been pushed back to the end of July…..No shortage of 360 Sprints at the ASCS Midwest Region opener at I-80 Speedway Friday night as Washington traveler Seth Bergman topped a stellar field of 45……It doesn’t happen often, I’ve witnessed it once during the Knoxville Nationals of all places, but having fog put an early end to the racing has to be one of the most frustrating things that race fans can have happen to them. It happened last night during the USAC Sprint show at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. The remainder of the program will be run tonight…..Mike Spatola of Manhattan, Illinois, is making a splash during the early portion of his rookie campaign in a UMP Late Model. A graduate of the Modified ranks Spatola ran second to Ryan Unzicker in the Don Bohlander Tribute at Peoria last Sunday night and last night he finished third behind Brian Shirley and Frank Heckenast Jr. in the season opener at Farmer City Raceway. The event drew 33 Late Models and 26 Modifieds to the eastern Illinois track that shut down early last year……In western Missouri it was announced this week that the Butler Speedway will run a weekly Sunday night program in 2011……After sitting out for a year with back problems, Randy Korte picked up his first feature win Friday night at the Belle-Clair bullring. Michael Kloos continued his strong start to 2011 by finishing second…..Every promoter would LOVE to have someone like Steve Eighinger covering the action at their track. Known to the folks around Quincy as “Stevie Dirt”, reading his blog makes you want to be in the stands every race night at the Bullring so if you are headed to Quincy Raceway this Sunday for the Deery Brothers Summer Series, or if you’d like to be convinced to do so, check out his work here …….Things had to be pretty wet around the edges as the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton held their lid lifter last night with a solid car count across the board. Brad Diercks came from the sixth row to win the A-Mod feature with defending All Iowa Points champion Ryan Dolan in second and two-time AIP champ Mark Schulte was third. Nate Caruth was a surprise visitor finishing 16^th in the 19-car field. Dan Chapman won the B-Mod feature as he was reportedly shaking down the car that his son will drive this season…..The season opener at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines fell to wet grounds. Mick Trier and the crew will try again next Friday night…..The Lee County Speedway Car Show will be held today (Saturday April 9^th) at the square in West Point from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. followed by a party at the 4^th Street Bar at 7 p.m. Check back in here later today as hopefully we’ll post some pictures from that event……With Rich Adams not arriving until later and with Jake Croxton moving to the flagstand this year, I’ll be grabbing the microphone for the 3^rd Annual Brent Slocum Memorial at 34 Raceway near Burlington. The second stop on the 2011 Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models will take the green at 7:15 tonight and should draw a huge field of cars……You may have to travel a bit tonight to find a race, but get out and support the sport if you are able to!