Dierks, Kay and Dolan Cash In At Tipton

Al & Kathy Dlouhy closed out their seven year promotional tenure at the Cedar County Raceway in style Saturday night hosting three premier divisions and putting some nice money on the line. The event was the fourth annual Dlouhy DeVore Memorial honoring the brothers of Al & Kathy and the racing was solid throughout the evening in Tipton, Iowa.

Usually with twenty-cars on hand racing for $1,000 to win the IMCA Modifieds are the top class, but tonight they were third on the show bill and the first of the three feature races. Ryan Dolan would start his #11D from the pole position with Milo Veloz to his outside and after swapping lines on the race track Dolan would lead the first two laps by a nose while running the high side. On lap three Dolan's lead would start to grow and it was nearly a full straightaway before the caution waved on lap nine for T.J. Patz who was sliding sideways in turn one. The race was slowed again on lap ten for a five-car snafu in turn one and on the restart Veloz once again was able to stay close to Dolan for a couple of laps before the leader would pull away.

Johnny Walker's spin in turn three on lap seventeen bunched the field up one last time, but there was no stopping Dolan as the two-time defending All Iowa Points Modified champion cruised through the final eight laps for the win.. Veloz would hold down the second spot ahead of third-starting Mark Schulte, Brian Webb came from the inside of row six to finish fourth and Mike Burbridge rounded out the top five.

The Late Models were up next as Doug Nigh and Chad Lerch would lead the nineteen-car field to the green for thirty-laps paying $1,500-to-win. Nigh was hooked up on the bottom and quickly opened a lead only to have it wiped out on the third lap when the sixth-place car of Rob Toland went for s spin in turn two. On the restart Justin Kay found the high-line to his liking and moved up to the second spot while Nigh had again put a bit of distance on the field. Kay would gradually cut into that lead though and by lap ten he was able to pull even with Nigh in the corners. Kay would take over the lead on lap twelve only to have Nigh fight back and regain the top spot three laps later.

It was a battle of two distinct racing grooves and the long way around proved best again as Kay took over the lead on lap eighteen and when the lead duo encountered traffic running in Nigh's lower groove two laps later, Kay started to stretch that advantage. One of those slower cars, Tanner Allen spun in turn three bringing out the second caution of the race and on the restart Matt Ryan was able to edge ahead of Nigh for the second spot. The early leader fought back though and regained that second spot and Nigh was closing fast on Kay when Allen spun again with just three laps remaining.

Kay may have sensed that Nigh was coming before that last caution because on the restart he moved down to the bottom himself and was able to hold off Nigh through the final three laps for the victory. Andy Eckrich made a big move on that final restart coming from outside of the top five to finish in the third position. Eckrich had originally started the event in the eleventh spot. Matt Ryan would pick up the fourth position at the checkers while Kyle Hinrichs completed the top five.

The 35-lap $2,000-to-win main event for the Open Modifieds would close out the evening with 24 of the 25 cars in attendance set to take the green. Noah Coppes would use his outside front row start to earn the early lead as the front seven cars ran in a tight pack often racing three-wide for position. Chris Zogg was keeping the heat on the leader and on lap ten Brad Dierks found his best line working the bottom to move into contention after starting sixth. On the twelfth circuit Dierks, Zogg and Coppes went three-wide for the lead in turns one and two with Dierks moving from third to first on that lap.

As Dierks started to pull away our attention was pulled to the battles mid-pack and one of those involved young Tanner Allen who was closing in to challenge Mike Burbridge for seventh. As Allen went to make his move entering turn three on the low side, Burbridge went for the same piece of real estate and the contact sent Allen for a spin collecting Justin Speers as well resulting in the event's first caution on lap twenty-seven. The caution waved again two laps later when Mark Schulte slowed on the frontstretch and on the ensuing restart the fourth-place car of Bruce Hanford went for a spin entering turn one sending everybody scrambling.

With the rash of yellow fever now out of the way Dierks picked up where he left off and pulled away while the battle for second went three wide with three laps remaining as Coppes, Zogg and Ryan Dolan battled it out in turns three and four. Dierks would go on to post the convincing win while Dolan would slide off the frontstretch and spin in the grass to cross the line in second. Coppes would take home the third spot while Dusty Kraklio would slip by Zogg in the final laps for fourth. Kraklio had started in the eighteenth position on the grid.

Dlouhy DeVore Memorial Notes......The show started right on time at 6 p.m. just minutes after an Iowa State interception sealed the deal on a frustrating day for Iowa Hawkeye fans and the eight qualifying heat races were completed by 6:45.......With the two divisions of Modifieds on the card it was clearly stated that a driver could not compete in both with the same car. However there were plenty of drivers who brought a car for each Modified division as Ryan Dolan, Mark Schulte, Milo Veloz, Mike Burbridge and Steve Stewart all did double duty.....Tanner Allen doubled up as well, only he did it in an Open Modified and a Late Model.....Scott Powell looked like he had finished fourth in the IMCA Modified B-Main as he spun and crossed the finish line backwards, but apparently the caution was thrown for his spin and, as the penalized driver, he was listed at the back of the finish and was not one of the six drivers to transfer to the feature.....The IMCA Modified feature was delayed for several minutes during the lap seventeen caution when a spectator was experiencing health problems and required a transfer by the ambulance.....Milo Veloz was scheduled to start seventh in the Open Modified main event, but just after the parade lap he turned off the back stretch to get some assistance from his crew and therefore was sent to the rear.....The final checkers for the night, and for the promotional career of Al & Kathy Dlouhy waved at 9:40 p.m.

I don't get up to Tipton often, but I have always been impressed with the shows that the Dlouhy's have put on when I have been in attendance, especially with the track prep. That proved out once again tonight as despite starting in clear sunshine with a stiff breeze out of the west the track started out multi-grooved and stayed that way all night long. Al & Kathy have been supporters of Positively Racing this past year and we wish them all the best as they step aside as promoters, but hopefully remain involved somehow in the area's short track racing scene.

Of course the rumors are already flying about who might take over the promotion of the quarter-mile oval in 2013 and I was told by a couple of people that two current promotional teams from other tracks are interested. Although perhaps my best source of the night said that nobody has yet to show an interest to the fair board. Let the silly season begin!