(As I copy and paste in today's Archive Entry that originally appeared in Hawkeye Racing News I am excited to be headed to just my second race of the year tonight at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri. The car count will likely be over 200 in the five divisions and with near record low temperatures in the forecast I am glad to know that this is a Mike Van Genderen promoted show as I know that it will be presented in as timely of fashion as possible. Limited grandstand tickets are available so if you don't want to brave the cold to roam the pits remember that you can watch all of the action live on XR)
After Thursday night there is no doubt in my mind that the
Gopher 50 has found a new home at the Deer Creek Speedway. If my memory serves
me correctly, I attended seven “Gophers” over the years in Owatonna and while the racing itself was not
always the greatest, it was the lure of the “event” that would make us mark our
calendar for the four hour trip north each year. I missed last year’s inaugural
appearance at Deer Creek, but there was no keeping me away again this year.
With cars and fans arriving early and the tailgaters out in full force, about
the only thing missing from the pre-race atmosphere was the live band that was
playing the last time I went to Owatonna . That was fine with me though, as I was too
wrapped up in watching the impressive field of cars that was gathering in the
lower pit area.
With the World of Outlaw late models headlining the card you
knew that the big name drivers would be there, but it was one of the best
promotional efforts that I have ever heard of that helped swell the late model
car count to forty-seven. The Deer Creek Speedway located several area
sponsors, including local Modified ace Mark Noble and his wife Becky, to pick
up the $110 entry fee for the top twenty in the track’s WISSOTA Late Model
point standings as of May 21st. This essentially gave the local
heroes nothing to lose as they came out in full force to challenge the national
stars and try to make the show on their home turf. After all, last year young
Trent Follmer not only made the show here, but he raced his way to a top-five
finish, so anything was possible. Add to all this a stellar field of twenty-nine
USRA Modifieds, and the huge crowd on hand was sure to be treated to a
fantastic show.
Qualifying races for both features were intense and the
track was lightning fast as more than twenty drivers eclipsed the previous
track record during Late Model qualifying with Billy Moyer setting the new
standard even though he was the forty-fourth car to hit the track. Rick Eckert
and Tim McCreadie filled row one for the Gopher with McCreadie sprinting to the
early lead. Eckert and the defending race champion Darrell Lanigan followed in
closely in McCreadie’s tire tracks until the first caution flew on lap
twenty-two for a spinning Jimmy Mars. With the Delaware restart Eckert chose
the outside of the first double row and that suited Lanigan just fine as he
dove to the inside to make it three wide into turn one. Lanigan, who opened the
Northern swing with his first WoO win of 2006 at Grand Forks on Tuesday, had the bite off the
bottom and went from third to first down the back stretch. Eckert moved
McCreadie back to third and now began his chase of the new leader. Working
through traffic the two leaders would go wheel-to-wheel several times until lap
forty-three, when Lanigan skipped just a little too high in turn two allowing
Eckert to charge by for the lead. Lanigan tried to mount a comeback, but there
was no stopping Eckert who won for the second night in a row following his Wednesday
night win in Brainerd.
McCreadie held back a late challenge from Shane Clanton to
finish third while Billy Moyer withstood a frantic challenge from Chub Frank to
finish fifth. Frank was literally flying toward the front during the final laps
using the entire racetrack from low to high and with just five laps remaining
he nearly left the ballpark climbing the concrete barrier in turn four. Somehow
he managed to drive the car off of the wall and only lose one position to Dale
McDowell, a position that he earned back in the final laps.
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| Chad Simpson in action at 34 Raceway in 2013 - Brian Neal photo |
Gopher 50 Late Model Notes…..Iowa’s Simpson brothers, Chad
and Chris, raised a lot of eyebrows as both youngsters qualified well and raced
their way into the feature field against the nation’s best. Chris had to do a little
extra work to get into the Gopher as his car faltered from the front row at the
start of the fourth heat race, but he then rallied from twelfth to finish in
the third and final transfer position in the B-Main. Both drivers made an early
exit from the feature though…..Three outlaw drivers had a little extra drama to
deal with during their heat race action. Josh Richards was walking away with
the third heat before he shredded a right rear with four laps to go. “Kid
Rocket” likely would not have made it back into the top four if not for Clint
Smith suffering the same fate with just two laps remaining. The late caution
allowed Richards to move to third in the final laps while Smith wound up using
a provisional after following Chris Simpson to the checkers in the B-Main. Chub
Frank blew his tire while leading the final heat race, but he gave a preview of
things to come by using the high line to rally to third in the final three laps
of the qualifying race…..Ace Ihm finished his three race swing with the Outlaws
making the show for the second time in three nights…..Deer Creek Speedway point
leader Adam Hensel was very impressive staying on the lead lap and finishing
eleventh. Perhaps the youngster from Barron, Wisconsin, may be the next
emerging star from the northland…..Locals Justin Fegers, Lance Matthees, Keith
Foss, Andrew McKay and Ron Schreiner all raced their way into the feature while
Ben Mattick and division rookie Jay Ihrke earned track provisionals. Garrett
Durrett joined Clint Smith as the series’ provisionals…...The World of Outlaws
return to the Creek in late July for two full programs. I highly recommend your
attendance.
It is hard to describe the Modifieds tonight as a “support”
class, as the action that they provided was absolutely fantastic with drivers
working their way through the field in all events using every possible inch of
the wide high-banked 3/8-th mile oval. Al Hejna dismissed front row starters
Hank Rollinger and Jim Horejsi to take the lead from the third starting spot
for the thirty-lap feature. Kelly Shryock started eleventh and was picking off
positions one by one until he was up to sixth and looking for racing room
behind Bob Timm and Mike Hejna. Completing the twelfth circuit Mike Hejna and
Timm made contact on the front straight with both drivers suffering flat tires
and when Hejna could not get his car to turn in turn one, the caution came out
as he rode the wall. An obviously upset Timm drove down into the infield, but
then drove back on to the track and deliberately speared Shryock in the left
rear. The cars of both Mike Hejna and Shryock are white and apparently Timm had
mistakenly identified Shryock as the driver who had made contact with him.
Officials sent Timm to the pits and, after looking over Shryock’s left rear, they
gave him the okay to continue. Kelly was on a mission now and just four laps
later he had come from fourth to take the lead from Al Hejna. But Hejna charged
back and regained the lead a lap later only to have Shryock come back for the
lead as the white flag waved. Shryock appeared to have the win in hand as he
sprinted down the back stretch, but the caution soon appeared as Steve Arpin’s
smoking car came to a halt just off turn four. Going back to the last completed
lap put Hejna back in front for the restart and, despite a valiant effort from
Shryock, he could not get back around the leader as Hejna proudly put his
Shryock chassis in victory lane. Tommy Myer finished in the third spot with
Mike Sorenson and Layne Meyer, who started thirteenth, completing the top five.
Modified Notes…..Shryock came from eighth to pass Rollinger
in the final laps to win the third heat…..Nobody passed more cars tonight than
Mark Noble, but he ended up with not much to show for it. Mark started eighth
in the second heat and was challenging Mike Hejna for the lead in the final
turns when he spun to the infield leaving him in tenth for the finish. That put
him at the back of the eleven-car B-Main that he cruised through for victory to
earn the nineteenth starting position in the main event. Noble was on the move
early in the feature despite smoke coming off of his left rear tire that, after
five laps, came apart causing him to spin in turn four on lap five. Noble
restarted at the rear of the field and had raced his way up to ninth when the
right front tire went flat on lap nineteen. I’m not sure whether it was the
fact that it was his second caution of the race, or if he had just had enough,
but Noble did not return ending a frustrating night for him. But he sure did
give the fans a thrill…..A sincere thanks to the staff at Deer Creek Speedway
for the great hospitality during an event where I am sure that the media come
out of the woodwork for. The Gopher 50 has definitely found a first class home
and I hope it stays here for many years to come.
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