First of all it was hot and humid with the heat index at a level that has prompted others to pull the plug in the recent past. Second, it was a Tuesday, not a traditional night for racing at the West Liberty Raceway. Third, the forecast called for a 70% chance of thunderstorms and late in the afternoon a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for an area that included the tier of counties just to the north of the track. Fourth, nearly everybody has access to a radar now at the touch of a screen and as the afternoon went on there were at least three small storm cells that passed precariously close to West Liberty. And finally fifth, just at the time that fans would be arriving for tonight's racing it was actually raining in West Liberty, just not at the track as my colleague Barry Johnson reported that it had rained on him all the way from the exit at I-80 to the railroad tracks just three or four blocks north of the speedway.
All of these factors had to put a hurt on Keith Simmons tonight as the car count suffered and the grandstand was not as crowded as it would have been on a better night, but yet the show went on and with a fantastically prepared racing surface along with a roster of top notch quality drivers, all of us who took the chance with the weather were glad that we did!
Justin Kay is tough enough to beat in an IMCA Late Model, even now that he is not racing in the division full-time, but when his luck at the draw is also good, well then the competition barely stands a chance. Tonight he drew the front row of the fourth heat race that, after a spirited challenge from Tyler Droste, he went on to win with ease and then when it came time to serve up the Casey's pizza Justin was thrilled to find just one slice in his box placing him on the pole position for the night's 40-lap Deery Brother Summer Series finale.
Denny Eckrich, who won the series opener here back in April, started to the outside of Kay and would ride the cushion around turns one and two to get the momentum and take the lead down the back stretch on the opening lap. The lead duo would then set a blistering pace putting more than a straightaway of distance between themselves and what was a very entertaining battle for third involving Darrel DeFrance, Kevin Kile and Scott Fitzpatrick.
On lap 17, as the leaders closed in on a pair of drivers racing for position, Kay closed the gap on Eckrich and when Denny tucked in behind Ryan Dolan on the low line into turn one, Justin went to the cushion behind Andy Nezworksi and then used it to aim to the low side off of two. As Eckrich drifted up the track in two to clear Dolan this left the door wide open for Kay to rocket through and he did just that taking the lead in a convincing fashion down the back straightaway.
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| Justin Kay - Barry Johnson photo |
One of two drivers doing double duty on the night, Kay also appeared to have the Hawkeye Dirt Tour IMCA Modified feature well in hand before he decided to shut it down during a lap eleven caution period. On the first attempt to get the 30-lap feature underway front row starter Derek Walker looped his car in front of the field in turn three and amazingly everybody was able to avoid contact with Walker although in the scramble a couple of cars, including the #71 of Dennis LaVeine, did sustain some damage. With Walker restarting at the rear this moved Richie Gustin up into the front row and he would lead the field through the first four laps around the big half-mile before Kay took over.
With Kay driving away from the talented field, the action behind him was intense and on lap eleven contact from Kyle Brown sent Gustin for a spin at the apex of turns one and two. Most of the field was able to miss him, but Austin Moyer was vaulting off the cushion in turn one and was still on the gas when he made hard contact sending both cars to the pits on wreckers. During the caution the leader, Kay stalled on the back stretch before being pushed back to the pits and later during his Late Model feature win interview he stated that it sounded like something was going wrong with the motor so he just decided to shut it down rather than to risk blowing it up.
It was now anybody's race and the driver who made the longest tow on this iffy evening, Chris Abelson pounced on the opportunity. After starting seventh Abelson had already shown his strength and left Jacob Murray behind once the green flag waved once again. The problems continued for two drivers three laps later though as Brown spun in turn two and, unable to avoid the stalled car, Walker drove up and over the hood of Brown's #21K. Nearly everybody was checking the radar during the red flag period needed to lift Walker's car off of Brown's and once back to action there would be no catching Abelson who made the five hour tow from Sioux City payoff with the $1,000 top prize. Murray finished in second while Kelly Shryock was the hard charger of the night coming from 17th to third at the checkers. Kurt Kile started one row ahead of Shryock and made a nice run up to fourth at his home track while Chris Zogg was also impressive racing his way up from 13th to fifth. Hunter Marriott, Colt Mather, Joel Rust, Walker and Mark Elliott completed the top ten.
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| Two-time defending All Iowa Points Modified Champion Chris Abelson scored the win in his first ever visit to West Liberty - Barry Johnson photo |
WL Deery/HDT Twinbill Notes......I mentioned that the car counts likely took a hit as I would have expected both divisions to be in the 30's on a normal night. However, the 27 Late Models and 23 Modifieds who were on hand were loaded with talent and put on a solid night of racing and we thank them for taking a chance on the weather as well.....It was a tough night for the two drivers who have already won Hawkeye Dirt Tour races in 2016. Joel Rust who won the opening pair at Vinton and Marshalltown spun during his heat race and had to come from deep in the field to crack the top ten. Last Thursday's winner in Algona, Brian Irvine looked good with a third-place finish in his heat, but then scratched for the feature. Abelson's win will easily move him from second to first in the Tour's standings prior to the next event that will be a bit closer to home for him, a Tuesday June 28th show at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt.....Tonight's track was multi-grooved from the first green flag and the action for the fourth and final redraw spot in the first two Modified heats came right down to the wire. Colt Mather edged out Chris Zogg in the first heat, while Corey Dripps passed Hunter Marriott on the final lap in the second heat. And Kelly Shryock finished behind them in sixth, so how much different might have the feature been with Zogg and Shryock in the redraw? Sometimes fans forget just how important those heat races are......Richie Gustin was the other driver doing double duty coming into the night ranked fifth in the Deery standings and sixth on the HDT points list. It was not a good night for him in either division though as he had the spin and contact in the Mod and in the Late Model he spun while running second in the first heat race. He later ran the Late Model B at the back of the field for a few laps before pulling in, I assumed ready to take a provisional but he was then a non-qualifer for the main event. John Emerson and Ryan Dolan, ranked second and third in the Deery standings needed provisionals while Andy Nezworski (10th) and Jay Chenoweth (57th) were also added to the field, so perhaps Gustin's Late Model had mechanical issues. With the storms quickly approaching I wasn't about to stick around and ask questions......Tyler Bruening was running in the third and final transfer spot during the second heat race with Chad Holladay closing on him quickly. As Bruening raced low into turn three, Holladay went to the cushion and when Bruening slid up the track in turn four, Holladay did not lift and the two collided sending Bruening for a spin. Both drivers were sent to the rear for the restart where they soon raced cleanly three-wide with another competitor down the back stretch.....Ray Guss Jr., the winner of last week's Deery show at Marshalltown, dominated the third heat race and later participated in the redraw on the front stretch before it was determined that one of his rims was too wide leading to his disqualification. There was then a slight delay before the start of the B-Main as the Roberts Racing crew changed all four tires before sending the Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer out to start at the tail of the B where he rallied to take the eighth and final transfer spot. Guss was later the first to retire from the feature......It was a tough night for the Deery Series point leaders as Jeff Aikey (1st) was never a factor and finished 17th, John Emerson (2nd) used a provisional and finished 16th, Ryan Dolan (3rd) also needed a provisional after he was unable to complete a lap in his heat race and he finished 14th. Tyler Bruening (4th) actually gained positions with his eighth-place showing while Richie Gustin (5th) will drop after just getting show up points. Look for Scott Fitzpatrick (8th) to make the biggest jump before the next series event to be held on Wednesday July 6th at the Independence Motor Speedway......Simmons Promotions needs your help to make up for this promoter's nightmare so mark your calendar for Tuesday night August 9th and let's fill the West Liberty Raceway when the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models are in town. Of course it wouldn't hurt if we could have a sunny day and temps in the 80's as well!
The hot weather will even force me to take a night off before doing a doubleheader at one of my old regular haunts, the Eldon Raceway during this week's Wapello County Fair. Thursday night features the Stock Cars paying $750 to win along with Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts, then on Friday night I will be there with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders who will be supported by the 305 Winged Sprints, the Iowa Sportsman Series and Vintage Cars. Can't beat fun at the county fair and I hope to see you there!
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