It is Wednesday and, while most call it “hump day”, I prefer “lucky race fan day”. To my knowledge there is nowhere else in the country where you will find weekly racing action on a Wednesday night and, in Iowa, we have two tracks that race every “hump day”.
I was unable to make it to Osky’s regular season opener last week due to business travel, but after we clear these morning showers out of here I am looking forward to making it up there tonight. The car count was a little lower than I thought it might be last week, but the variety of drivers was definitely what I expected. With the opportunity to pick up IMCA state, regional and national points you just never know who might pull in, plus with a couple of unique promotional ideas from Mike VanGenderen that are geared to reward drivers for coming back on a regular basis I would expect the car count to steadily grow over the coming month. If you are in the area, come on out and enjoy the show tonight!
My upcoming racing weekend presents a dilemma. Friday’s weather is looking dismal at this point so I am trying to not get too excited about going anywhere hoping that things will change. On Saturday night we will be celebrating my father-in-law’s 70th birthday so there will be no racing for me, but there is plenty of action available and as always you should check both the Specials schedule and the Weekly Racing information at Positively Racing to help plan your racing schedule.
Sunday is my dilemma. With the rainout of the Northern All Star Late Model show at Quincy last weekend and the rescheduling of that show for this Sunday the 22nd it now gives me three events that I absolutely want to attend all running on the same night! The thought of seeing drivers like Ryan Unzicker, Jason Feger, Brian Shirley and more join the field zipping around the quick quarter in Quincy is like a magnet pulling on me to make the 85-mile trip to the south.
I was already going to flip a coin between two special events originally scheduled for April 22nd. The 1st Annual Shootout at Knoxville will be a unique event as 50 pre-entered drivers in each of the four divisions will have their chance to shine at the legendary half-mile in Knoxville. For the Modifieds and Sport Mods it is one of only two or three opportunities that they have to race here each season, but for the Stock Cars and the Hobby Stocks racers this is their one and only shot at the big track. Looking through the entry list gets my blood pumping as not only is this an opportunity to see a lot of racers that I usually only read about in results, but the fact that all four classes will have fifty drivers that will have to work their way to their respective main events is a big draw for me. Every race counts and for me it is only a 92-mile trip to the northwest.
The other side of the coin was going to represent the Deery Brothers Summer Series event at the Dubuque Speedway. This high-banked speed bowl is one of my favorite racetracks and it was here that I saw one of the best nights of racing that I have ever witnessed when Mark Burgtorf captured a Deery series victory two years ago. The 140-mile trip for me almost takes it out of consideration, but the memory of that night always puts it right back in the mix.
I started out this entry noting how lucky us race fans are here in this part of the country and there is even more proof when, to go along with those three special events that I need to choose from, I could also pick from two quality weekly shows in Vinton (110 miles) and East Moline (102 miles). The weather forecast as of now calls for sunny skies on Sunday, so Mother Nature should not have to factor into my decision and I know that at some point over the next four days I will “decide” that I am going to each of the three.
My final decision will likely be made at 2 p.m. on Sunday and, no matter which direction I decide to go, I’ll be wishing that I could have seen the other two as well. In this part of the country, we are truly lucky race fans!!
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