The Monday night rescheduling of the UMP Summer Nationals may have cut down the car count a bit, but the Spoon River Speedway was in fine fashion as drivers provided some high speed action on the high banks in front of a solid crowd. The event was originally scheduled for last Thursday June 21st and with rain in the forecast officials decided a day or two in advance that the event would move to a Monday that turned out to be partly cloudy and somewhat cool for June with a stiff breeze blowing into the stands.
The Hell Tour event at the Spoon usually draws more than thirty Late Models, but on this night twenty-three signed in and all drivers were set to race for forty laps come feature time. Brian Shirley and Shannon Babb would bring the field to green only to have the caution wave before a lap was completed when Timothy Culp shredded a left rear tire. Culp's crew made the change and he was back on the track for the apparent restart where some cars fired and others didn't causing a stack up in the back with Allen Weisser and Chuck Hummer getting together. It would end the night for Hummer as the Ohio driver went to the pits with a flat tire and right side damage.
Now we were ready to get things started and it would be Shirley who would set the blistering pace leading the first five laps with Babb challenging. Babb would drive to the inside to take the lead by inches on lap six, Shirley fought back to hold the lead on laps seven and eight only to have Babb slide up and shut the door in turn two to take the point on lap nine.
The chase was on now as Shirley tried to keep up with the new leader Babb who was on a rail working through traffic. The racing was intense behind the leaders as well with drivers using the full width of the speedway and with eight laps remaining the caution waved one last time. Bobby Pierce, driving the family equipment tonight, was running fourth when the lapped car of Jose Parga got sideways in front of him exiting turn four. Both drivers were able to keep moving after the contact as Frank Heckenast Jr. slipped by for fourth, but when Parga slowed on the back stretch the field was reset for an eight lap dash to the finish.
Shirley took advantage of the restart and sized up the leader ducking to the inside of Babb in both sets of corners. With three laps remaining the two ran wheel-to-wheel down the back stretch and there was contact in turns three and four when neither driver would give an inch as they slid up the track and near the wall. Babb was able to maintain the lead though and while Shirley was still able to put a nose under him in the final two laps, he could not get back to even and Babb took the win in a good one!
Shirley was solid in second, Tyler Erb went the distance in third, Heckenast finished fourth and Chase Junghans edged out Pierce by inches at the checkers for fifth. Billy Drake, Jason Feger, Kolby Vandenbergh and Gordy Gundaker completed the top ten.
A nice field of twenty-seven UMP Modifieds were on hand as the Summit Modified Nationals continued and after swapping the lead early, Ray Bollinger took control and held off Kenny Wallace the rest of the way to take the win. Spoon River regulars Mark Anderson, Josh Allen and Brandon Roberts completed the top five.
The track's local E-Mod division was also in action with former Crate Late Model racer Evan Fink taking the win. Kevin Morrow, who also finished eighth in the Modified main was the runner-up in this one followed by Jake Montgomery, Trevor Neville and Matt Parrott.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Jason Johnson who lost his life in a crash during the World of Outlaws main event at the Beaver Dam Raceway Saturday night. Within this entry of the Back Stretch from August of 2016 you will find the link to the video of one of the best races in history and at the end of it an interview that will surely bring tears to your eyes as you remember this great competitor.
Hopefully Osky will not get much rain today so that we can make it out to the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday night, then on Thursday it will be the Deery Brothers Summer Series at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Hope to see you there!
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