No racing for me this past weekend as Christine and I made a quick trip to Dallas to visit our grandson. When we left Iowa on Friday afternoon I wondered if anybody would be able to get their shows in given the rainy forecast and it was good to see that several of the events in the region were able to run, some with an altered schedule.
The Lee County Speedway in Donnellson switched the Fall Extravaganza from a Friday and Saturday show to a Saturday and Sunday event and while there were some interesting names in attendance it was obvious that the weather had taken its toll on the car counts. I was especially shocked at the lack of attendance by the Hobby Stocks, although I probably shouldn't be since the track dropped them from the regular roster midway through the 2016 season after only one driver showed up to race for an event. There were only five Hobby Stocks on Saturday and just three on Sunday and that included one of the best in the state, Jason Fusselman who pulled all the way over from southwest Iowa. The lack of attendance has prompted promoter Mike Van Genderen to reach out on Facebook to see if there will be more Hobby Stock drivers who plan to attend Shiverfest at the track on October 28th, otherwise the division will be dropped from the card for that event.
I see that the Mod-Lites must have lobbied their way onto the schedule for the Fall Extravaganza as well and I'm sure that Van Genderen was "promised" more than the nine who were there on Saturday and the five that raced on Sunday. This should also be factored into the decision as to whether or not the class will be added to Shiverfest, an event that is already busy enough as it is with the four base classes that do draw solid fields; Modifieds, Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Sport Compacts.
As we were flying back on Sunday evening I wondered what effect the rescheduling of Donnellson would have on the regular scheduled Sunday night show at the Quincy Raceways since the two tracks are only about sixty miles apart and they share some of the same cars. Turns out that with all of the rain on Friday and into Saturday Quincy's track was saturated and when the grader broke down on Sunday evening the track had to send both drivers and fans home without any racing. As can be expected the scenario drew an initial round of heat on social media that was soon balanced out by both fans and drivers who had not only appreciated the effort, but also the fact the owners listened to the input of the drivers before making the decision. The result is that the Crate Late Models as well as the D2 Midgets will be added to the regular program of UMP Modifieds, Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts for this Sunday night, October 15th. The Modifieds will be racing for a healthy $1,000-to-win while the Crate Late Models have a $700 winner's check waiting in victory lane.
A few weeks ago there was a bunch of head scratching going on as to why there was not more than 100 IMCA Modifieds at Batesville's Race for Hope. The show was unique in that it not only paid big money to win, but the payback throughout the feature field was solid as well proving that paying out a monster purse does not necessarily lead to a monster car count. That was what was going through my mind as I read through the results from this past weekend's RPM Fall Nationals in Hays, Kansas, where 292 drivers from eleven states and Canada signed in to compete. Mother Nature messed with that one as well as the Friday show was pushed to Saturday afternoon making for a very full day, and night, of action. Now don't get me wrong, with $5,000 going to the winner of the Modifieds, $3,000 to the Stock Cars, $2,000 to the Sport Mods and $1,500 to the winner of the Hobby Stocks this was still solid pay, but obviously not too high to chase off the weekly racers. It is hard for me to leave the solid list of specials that go on much closer to home in early October, but I just might have to mark this one on my calendar for 2018.
Three-time All Iowa Points Champion Chris Abelson scored the win in the Modified division in Kansas Saturday night and then returned home to Sioux City to finish second to Ryan Harris in the Stock Car feature at nearby Raceway Park on Sunday.
After stating the possibility during an interview with the Racin' Boys earlier this season Jesse Sobbing made it official this week, retiring from racing at the age of 36 due to back issues that will require a fourth surgery. His doctor had recommended retiring a few years earlier and now his condition is such that it is no longer a "recommendation". From my records Jesse's career started slowly racing in the Hobby Stock class without much success in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008 he started towing his Hobby Stock near and far and the wins started to come before moving to the Sport Mod division in 2009. He was the All Iowa Points champion in that class for three straight seasons 2010 through 2012 and when he switched to the Modified class in 2013 he won the All Iowa Points there as well, something that we just don't see drivers doing anymore, moving from a support class to a featured class and achieving immediate success. A star was born and he ventured off to high-paying events before giving the Late Model class a try as well contending for the points title in both the SLMR and Deery series in 2017. While some drivers and fans alike will not miss his aggressive driving style, you always knew that you were in for a show when the "Crazy 99" was in the house. In the announcement on Facebook his wife says "It is possible, and if you ask me, quite likely that you will see Jesse on a race track again in the future." And she wraps it up with, "It's been one hell of a ride! Thanks for the memories!"
Thank you for the memories, Jesse. Now get that surgery and enjoy that family!
Several years ago I had the pleasure of getting to know "Hot Rod" Pattison when he would make the trip down from South Dakota each week to do the live internet broadcast of the races at the Knoxville Raceway on Hosehead's Radio. Rod's family life was getting busier at the time and when events such as Little League and other things like it kept him at home he would ask me to fill in for him to work with Bill Wright on the broadcast. So I guess that I should also slip in a "thank you" here to Rod for starting my friendship and partnership with Bill W who I now work with on the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invader Tour. But I digress...
I noticed that Pattison had become more involved in the promotion of the Wagner Speedway near his home in South Dakota this season and it has been impressive to see how the race program has grown with increased car counts in each class week to week. Just the fact that you can now consistently find race results from the track is a big improvement that I attribute to "Hot Rod" and this past weekend the track held a Fall Special that saw over 110 cars sign in to compete in five divisions that included Late Models and 360 Winged Sprints. The event was so well promoted that Kevin Adams made the long trip over from Cameron, Wisconsin, to take the win in the B-Modified feature. I am adding the Wagner Speedway to my bucket list of tracks to attend to not only see the racing, but to also have a chance once more to do some bench racing with "Hot Rod".
When Josh Richards made the move from the World of Outlaws to the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series in 2017 everybody made the assumption that the point battle would be a war between Richards and Scott Bloomquist. Yes, they are both still in the hunt for the championship, but the man leading the way into the season finale at Portsmouth, Ohio, is Tim McCreadie who is relatively quietly having a stellar season. No surprise to me though as you will see in the updated Back Stretch National Dirt Late Model Points below.
Even though we are getting into mid-October there are still several events to choose from in the area this weekend. I will start it off on Thursday night with a visit to the USRA Nationals at the I-35 Speedway near Winston, Missouri, and I am looking forward to seeing an interesting mix of drivers from north, south and points in between in all divisions. Then on Friday night I will take a look at the weather to make a final decision as to whether I will be at the opening night of the annual Musco Lighting Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, or at night number two of the Darkside's Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton.I have other commitments at this point for Saturday night and, given the current weather forecast, that will relieve me of the grief and frustration that many drivers and fans may have that day. I had to chuckle earlier today when I saw on Facebook that somebody was already asking a promoter what their plan would be should it rain on Saturday. While I understand why as a driver or fan it is important for you to consider, you must also remember that it is all but impossible for a promoter to state what his contingency plan is still three days out. First of all, the forecast might change and there will be no rain at all. It could switch to later in the night, so an earlier start time might get announced. You can't even really say that you will run the show on Sunday because if it rains too much, or too late into the night on Saturday, that would wipe out that possibility. So race fans, be patient and let the scenario play out first before demanding a strategy for how a weather situation might be handled. And please remember that while you may be out the cost of a tank of gas or two and maybe a hotel room, no promoter "owes you" a race where he or she will lose a significant amount money!
With that being said I plan on going racing on Sunday as well with Quincy as my primary target and Rockford's Bahama Brackets, or a postponed event as my backup. For even more choices this weekend, and for the remainder of the season, check out the schedule at Positively Racing. Hope to see you on the Back Stretch!
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