The annual Ron Little Memorial at the Stuart International Speedway has firmly placed itself on my "must see" list ever since Mike Van Genderen took over the ownership of the quaint quarter mile just over a half hour west of Des Moines. Yes, it is a long drive from my southeast Iowa base, but the interesting mix of drivers and the action that they provide is well worth being a bit bleary eyed the next day at work. Especially when most of my clients have already exited stage right for the holiday weekend. And believe me, the "fireworks" started early heading into the Independence Day weekend, but I am going to make you wait for it by instead going through all six features chronologically in today's Back Stretch.
As usual for an event that has MVG calling the shots on the Raceceiver, twenty qualifying events clicked off in quick fashion and after about a twenty minute farming session the first feature of the night rolled to the track at 9:02 p.m. with sixteen Sport Compacts set to run for twelve laps. This one would go non-stop with pole-sitter Elijah Hoyt racing out to a healthy lead while hugging the bottom line around the speedway. Current All Iowa Points leader Tyler Fiebelkorn was on the charge after starting sixth and once he moved to second he would quickly reel in Hoyt and make the pass for the lead on lap five.
Hoyt would stick close to the leader's rear bumper and when Kolby Sabin caught the leaders late in the race, he too would follow them around the Huggy Pole for a lap, something that I am sure he would later regret. With two laps remaining Sabin would give the next groove up a try sweeping around Hoyt for second and then pulling even with Fiebelkorn heading down the back stretch on the final lap. Sensing the challenge Tyler drove it a little harder into the final set of turns and he was able to ward off Sabin for the win. Hoyt would finish in the third spot with the 2021 IMCA National Champion and All Iowa Points runner-up Caine Mahlberg taking third after starting next to Sabin in row five. Ryan Brown would round out the top five.
The Outlaw Mini-Mods would be up next for fifteen laps and when pre-race favorite Ben Kraus sheered off the right front wheel assembly of his car in the heat race, this one looked like it would be wide open as to who might take the win. With repairs quickly made though, Kraus was there and lined up seventh for the feature and he would quickly come to the front passing Kamdyn Haggard for the lead on lap five.
With Kraus now driving away, Haggard still had second well in hand until a back marker decided to turn left into infield off the front stretch on lap ten. With no other choice Kamdyn would stand on the brakes and once the traffic finally cleared the driver that once looked like a sure runner-up was now dropped to mid-pack. Kraus would complete the victory in another non-stop feature race with Carlos Vergara coming home second. We were here for the Frostbuster in what was obviously the racing debut for Carlos, and let's just say the improvement has been impressive! The Daniels boys, Lucas and Bobby would go third and fourth while Haggard would salvage a top five finish.
As usual the Sport Mod field was stacked here at Stuart and unlike at many tracks they usually can race through a full night of qualifying races and a feature with little or no cautions. Young Izac Mallicoat would draw the pole for the twenty-lap headliner and he was out like a rocket building up a big lead while drivers raced two and three-wide behind him. Brayton Carter has this place figured out and many eyes were on him as he picked his way up from eighth to second, but with just five laps remaining and a straightaway between himself and the leader this looked like a daunting task. One that we would not find out if he could accomplish though as just after moving to second, Carter would slow with a flat tire bringing out the first caution of the event.
Texas visitor Billy Gould Jr. would spin in turn one on the restart, and once back to racing it was all Izac Mallicoat as he cruised to the convincing victory. The battle for second was spicy over the final laps with Dylan Van Wyk prevailing over Cam Reimers, Tyler Inman and Dale Ricks Jr.
The Stock Cars were up next for twenty-five laps with twenty-four of the thirty-four entries ready to roll. After giving away a heat race victory earlier in the night when he spun and recovered in the final turn, Devin Smith drew the pole position and he grab the point at the drop of the green. Contact on lap two would send Jeremy Gettler for a spin on the front stretch and he would be joined at the back of the field by Damon Murty who was also involved.
Johnathan Logue would keep the heat on the leader as the racing behind the lead duo raged on and when the caution waved for Arizona's Nate Warren on lap nineteen we were now setup for a wild finish. After starting seventeenth Dallon Murty was now in contention and perhaps even more impressive his father Damon was also back in the hunt coming from the rear and as the green flag waved Logue went high exiting turn four allowing three cars to pass him before the start-finish line.
The sliders were now being delivered in twelve-packs as drivers sliced and diced for position behind Smith who would go flag-to-flag for the victory with Damon Murty edging out Todd Van Eaton for second. Dallon would finish in the fourth spot while Logue's restart miscue would drop him to fifth.
The Hobby Stocks would treat the entertained crowd to another sixteen laps of non-stop action with Arizona driver Zach Tate leading the way while working the top side of the speedway on both ends. Both Brandon Cox and Eric Stanton would reel in the leader after starting fifth and ninth respectively and when Stanton pulled even with Cox at the mid-race point that looked like it would be Tate's opportunity to pull away.
After fighting off Stanton, Cox found some new speed to drive past Tate a lap later and he would then pull away to an impressive victory. Stanton would gain the runner-up position dropping Tate to third at the checkers, but that was good enough for the visitor from the desert to take the Midwest Madness Tour points title for the Hobby Stocks. Skylar Pruitt looked good coming from the sixth row to take fourth while Luke Ramsey started from row seven before finishing in fifth.
We were now set for the thirty-lap $2,500-to-win Ron Little Memorial for the IMCA Modifieds and you just knew that this one would be a barnburner. The race would get off to a shaky start though as Chase Rudolf and Jarrett Brown tangled in turn one on the first try and with three laps completed Matthew Meinecke would be the victim of some wild action going for a spin in turn two.
With those two cautions out of the way the field would settle in and the racing was nothing short of spectacular on a track where drivers could run high, low and everywhere in between. Josh Gilman would be scored the leader for the first four circuits before yielding to Shane Demey, but for just one lap as Gilman charged back to the front. Fifth starting Tom Berry Jr. and tenth starting Cayden Carter were both coming to the front and after Berry swiped the lead from Gilman on lap nine, Carter would follow him into second a few laps later.
The chase was now on as Carter tried to close in on the 2020 IMCA Modified National Champion, but even a lapped car here and three did not slow the leader's quick pace. That would all change though when Berry came off turn four a bit too wide and caught the front stretch wall on lap twenty-six breaking his momentum just enough to allow Carter to throw a slider at him. Berry would execute the crossover to perfection, but on the next try Carter would make it stick to take the lead with two laps remaining. Now it was Berry's turn to throw a slider which Carter would fight off and as the white flag waved Berry would try to squeeze between a lapped car on the bottom and the leader who just on lane up entering turn one.
The side-by-side contact would cause both drivers to spin with the caution waving as the rest of the field scrambled to get by. The caution would be attributed to Berry, but rather than restart at the rear he would drive straight to the pits while Carter was sent back to the front for the green-white-checkers restart. However, before the lineup could be reset the left front tire would go flat on Cayden's #10c and per track rules you are not allowed to restart the race with a flat tire, so he too would head for the pit area.
With the top two drivers eliminated in dramatic fashion it would now be Jacob Hobscheidt that would bring the field back to green and he would hold back both Gilman and Jarrett Brown to score the surprising, although well earned victory as the Nebraska driver had started this one from the inside of row seven. Ethan Braaksma would take fourth place money with Chris Ableson filling out the top five, Kyle Brown would move from twentieth to sixth to edge out Jarrett Brown for the Tour's point title.
It was another spectacular night of racing at Stuart with the final checkered flag waving at 10:40 p.m. and I had plenty of fun to think about on the long drive home. Next up at the Speedway will be two nights of big money Super Late Model racing with the XR Super Series coming to town for the Fever Heat 100 on Monday and Tuesday July 11th and 12th.
We have had some rain here in southeast Iowa this morning, but as of 11:30 a.m. it looks like Davenport, Columbus Junction and Donnellson are all still racing tonight as scheduled. I will be at one of them, will I find you there?
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| Ron Little's car would join the winners' in victory lane |
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