Thursday, May 2, 2013

Spencer Diercks Warms Crowd With a Last Lap Win at Osky


At mid-afternoon it was seventy-one degrees and sunny in Oskaloosa. It was a good thing that drivers and fans alike made their decision to go racing at that time because the pits were pretty crowded and there were a decent number of fans in the stands. By race time though the temperature had dropped into the upper forties supported by a stiff and relentless north wind creating at least for me the coldest night of this early season, and perhaps one of the coldest I have experienced at a race track in sometime. If the weather had been like this at mid-afternoon I would say that it would be a pretty safe bet that most of the fans, and likely even some of the drivers would have stayed home. Exciting racing, including a last lap pass in the Late Model feature made it all worth it though!

Before getting into the racing though I want to first send out my thoughts and prayers to veteran racer Mark Widmar of Ottumwa who was injured in a scary crash during the second heat for the IMCA Modifieds. Andrew Schroeder was racing in second before his rear end locked up on him exiting turn four. Schroeder’s car slowed quickly and was close to a complete stop when three cars racing for position behind him closed quickly. Widmar’s car was the last of those three and when the other two made their move to miss the disabled Modified Widmar only had a split second to try to avoid Schroder. Fortunately Mark was able to steer away from a direct nose to tail impact that could have been devastating to both drivers, but in doing so it was his own driver’s side that made impact with the tail of Schroeder’s car. The back bumper went through the side bars protecting Mark’s driver compartment and I saw a message board post this morning from Mark’s wife stating that he is out of surgery and resting. That post noted that just a few millimeters in either direction could have been so much worse for Mark and that he was truly blessed. Mark raced with us on the NKF Tour many times, even making some long road trips to support what we were doing and I have always found him to be incredibly upbeat no matter what the circumstances. It is my hope that we will soon see him again, happy and healthy.

During the process of deciding how best to transfer Mark a second ambulance came to the track and after they sat side-by-side in the infield for several minutes, both ambulances left the grounds causing many to assume that Andrew Schroeder was also being transferred. After the crash the young driver got out of his car under his own power and even walked over to Widmar’s car to make sure that he was okay before making his way back to the pits. My colleague Barry Johnson who was in the infield said that he saw no signs that Schroeder also went to the hospital, but of course either way we hope nothing but the best for him as well.

The aftermath of the accident created a delay of just under an hour and despite the cold temperatures and numbing wind the crowd patiently waited for the racing to resume knowing that the safety of the drivers always comes first. And once back to racing, the show clicked off in good order with the six division program concluding just before 11:00 p.m.

The Sport Compact main event was first and when the rest of the seven car field bunched up on the start the Whalen brothers were able to break away by nearly a full straightaway. Merv Chandler was able to get to third after a couple of laps, but he did not have enough time to reel in the leaders as John Whalen took the win ahead of Bill Whalen Jr. and Chandler. Alex Sampson and Matt Moore completed the top five.

On Sunday night Mike Hughes debuted a new car in style by taking the win at Knoxville and he looked to repeat that accomplishment here this evening in the Hobby Stock feature. Starting tenth Hughes used the high line in turns three and four to pass much of the field on the opening lap advancing quickly up to third. The caution then waved for last week’s winner Dustin Griffiths who had stopped on the track with a flat tire and since that is against the rules he would not have an opportunity to repeat. On the restart Hughes blew past Donovan Nunnikhoven to take the lead and while Bobby Greene was able to stay close throughout the remaining laps he was unable to mount a serious challenge as Hughes took the win. Danny Thrasher started twelfth and finished behind Greene in third, Nunnikhoven was fourth and Justin Hook passed Dale Porter on the final lap for fifth.

The IMCA Late Models were making the first of five appearances here for 2013 and a solid field of sixteen cars were on hand for the posted $600 top prize. That winners’ purse was then bumped up by another $100 as it was in all classes by one of the night’s sponsors Pro-Line Buildings in New Sharon who also paid for everybody’s popcorn for the evening. Tom Darbyshire started last in his heat race and proved that he was fast there passing half of the field to take fourth so when he drew the front row for the 20-lap main event it was no surprise when he quickly moved to the lead. Just as Darbyshire was starting to stretch it out, something broke on his #42 handing the lead over to Kevin Kile on lap five. Todd Cooney was on the move and he went to work on Kile making the pass for the lead on lap nine, but the caution soon waved for a spin with eight laps remaining. On the restart it looked as if Cooney would drive away for a convincing victory, but young Spencer Diercks soon found a line that worked well for him and with three laps to go he was within striking distance of the lead.

As the white flag was set to fly Diercks pulled even with Cooney in turn four, but the leader’s momentum on the high side carried him back to the front by more than a car length with a lap to go. Diercks drove hard to the bottom of turn one, cleared Cooney and then drove up the track exiting turn two. Not ready to give in yet Cooney went even higher exiting turn two and was nearly able to pull back alongside Diercks as they stormed down the back stretch. There was no stopping the teenager from the Quad Cities though as he pulled away in three and four to claim his second career Late Model victory in an exciting fashion. Cooney would have to settle for second on this night, Kevin Kile was solid in third, Andy Eckrich started in the fourth row and finished fourth while Chad Cooney came from row six to take fifth.

The Late Model field included two new faces to the division as Zack VanderBeek finished tenth in the #5 car that we have recently seen Jeff Mitrisin in and Tom Darbyshire’s son Jacob was steady in twelfth. Jacob won a few races a couple of years ago in a Four Cylinder and has been behind the wheel of a Late Model a couple of times since then, but his stellar high school athletic career where he starred in both football and track took precedence. He followed in his father’s footsteps (“Touchdown Tommy”) as an athlete and now it looks as though he will do the same in racing.

After a tough night during the season opener, a low points average landed Jason McDaniel on the front row for the Sport Mod main event and while he was stalked throughout the 15-lap distance by Tony Johnson it was McDaniel’s race to win. Eric Flander finished third, A.J. Johnson was fourth and Carter VanDenBerg filled out the top five.

Randy Killen established a quick early pace in the IMCA Stock Car feature while the field shuffled about often going three-wide behind him. Zack VanderBeek emerged from that pack and then set his sights on Killen taking the lead on lap eight and the “Z-Man” would pull away from there to score the win. Nathan Wood slipped by Killen late to take the runner-up position while Killen held off a challenge from Jason Cook to finish third. Corey Stout recovered from early issues to race his way back up to fifth at the checkers.

The Modified feature would put a wrap on the night and there were a few of us crazies still in the stands to watch it. Brandon Banks would lead the field on the opening lap only to yield to Bill Gibson on lap two. Todd Shute was on the fly coming from the eighth starting spot and on lap six he stormed past Gibson for the lead. A spin by Casey Greubel on lap eight and then a three-car scuffle on lap ten involving Jeff Waterman, Bill Davis Jr. and Nevada visitor Cory Sample kept the field tight and on the restart Jesse Sobbing went to work on Shute passing him for the lead on lap twelve. A caution for Tyler Groenendyk with three laps remaining bunched the field one last time and while Jacob Murray was able to pulled ahead of Shute for second he could not stop Sobbing from taking already his eighth win of his rookie season in the IMCA Modifieds. Cayden Carter and Gibson crossed the line behind Murray and Shute to complete the top five.
For more complete results visit the 4dFan Report.
 
Racing action continues at the Southern Iowa Speedway next Wednesday night and I can virtually guarantee you that it has to be warmer next week than it was last night!

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