As the schedules for 2019 came out it was this week that would give the avid dirt track fan an opportunity to go racing six nights in a row, something that we do not typically see until on, or after the Memorial Day weekend. The IMCA Frostbusters were set for a four night run from Wednesday through Saturday, the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa scheduled the inaugural Caleb Hammond Memorial for Tuesday and with season openers at Sunday night tracks like Dubuque, East Moline and Quincy a real "Super Fan" could have easily made it a six-race-week.
That is until the dominoes started to fall late last week. First it was the announcement that the Frostbuster at the Benton County Speedway would not be able to happen due to the wet grounds that linger from the late winter snow and cold. This created a shuffle where Stuart would then take the Thursday slot so that the Frostbusters would run three nights in a row rather than starting on Wednesday in Stuart and then having a day off before going to Marshalltown and Boone. I was curious to see if this would move Osky to Wednesday so I reached out to my contact there and he told me that they had not even been able to get on the track yet as of last Thursday. Therefore it was no surprise that after it rained on Friday that the track announced that the Caleb Hammond Memorial will now be held during the Southern Iowa Fair on Tuesday July 16th. Oskaloosa will now try to open its 2019 season on Wednesday April 10th.
The title of this entry on the Back Stretch refers to the IMCA Frostbusters as yesterday track owner/promoter Mike VanGenderen announced that the Thursday show had been cancelled as not only was the weather forecast looking bleak mid-week, but he was experiencing water issues as a city line had broken meaning that there would be no water for the kitchen or the restrooms. Stuart will now open its season on Wednesday April 17th with the Tim Stevens Memorial.
So that now leaves us with two IMCA Frostbusters, weather permitting of course as Marshalltown probably can't take as much rain in the day or two before an event coming out of this winter as it normally can. While at Boone, well I think that they proved last September that if they make the decision to race, they will race as long as it isn't actually raining when it comes time to take the green flag. Given the prospects of their own hometown tracks opening as originally scheduled this year, I am guessing that you will still see several travelers make their way to Marshalltown and Boone for the Frostbusters this weekend, especially when you consider that the temperatures will be getting up into the sixties to near seventy.
Marshalltown is one of my options on Friday night along with Midwest Open Wheel Association or MOWA Sprints Cars at the Jacksonville Speedway. If they run though, Marshalltown would get the nod as I would hope to see those same MOWA competitors on Saturday night when they go head-to-head with the Interstate Racing Association or IRA Sprint Cars at 34 Raceway near Burlington. The aforementioned season openers on Sunday are all possibilities the next night, but if I wanted to get up early and make the road trip, the Icebreaker 100 at the Dells Raceway Park currently has a pre-entry list of 30 Super Late Models for the Sunday afternoon show on the pavement.
Looking out into next week I have the opener at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on my calendar as well as Thursday's Bill Davis Memorial at the Marshalltown Speedway.
The folks at the 300 Raceway in Farley are getting some kudos for re-thinking the dates of the Yankee Dirt Classic. Last week we were told to mark our calendars for September 20th and 21st, but after considering a couple of other events already on the schedule for that weekend in Darlington and Burlington, those dates were pulled back and they are now looking for a weekend that will fit. Yes, this was a very classy move on the part of the new ownership and those that are working with the 300 Raceway, however when you look at the calendar can you tell me when they can actually schedule the 42nd Annual YDC without stepping on somebody's toes? Can't go with the first weekend in September as that is Boone and the second weekend would be up against Marshalltown and Knoxville. The third weekend has been ruled out and the fourth weekend of September has the Deery finale at Davenport and the Rumble at Dubuque. The first weekend in October is the Darkside Fall Bash at Tipton, so maybe the second weekend in October might work?
Keep in mind that while finding a date for this event is a "problem" for the promoters, it just goes to show why I consider this to be the absolute best area to live in if you are a fan of dirt track racing!
One area that now faces some struggles that it didn't anticipate a month ago is the Kansas City area as the revival of the I-70 Speedway in Odessa is now in doubt for 2019 due to hurdles in getting the necessary permits. Add that to the major flooding at the Lakeside Speedway where they are now estimating a best case scenario of opening the first week in June and that will reduce the number of options for drivers and fans in the area. The ASCS Warrior Region Sprint Cars stand to lose all four of the events that they had scheduled at I-70 as well as the Thursday May 9th event at Lakeside that they run along with the National Tour during Kansas City's Cup weekend at the big track. Not to worry too much though as that would still leave the Warriors with twenty nights of racing on the 2019 schedule.
Speaking of the ASCS did you know that Harli White won her first ever sanctioned feature event last Friday night at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock? This was a combination event for the Lone Star, Mid-South and Sooner Regions where the young lady started fourth and then held off former National Tour champions Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Wayne Johnson to take the win. One major addition to Harli's team this year is former championship driver Johnny Herrera who has stepped away from driving to serve as White's crew chief for 2019. It will be interesting to see if this new combination can get back to victory lane more often, perhaps even on the ASCS National Tour.
That's it for today, hopefully you have some racing plans for the coming weekend as well and maybe we will find you on the Back Stretch.
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