As we near the first of September it is time to take a look at where the All Iowa Points stand as we head into "specials season", but before that I wanted to say a few words about the promoters at two of my favorite tracks who have, or will be stepping away.
First let's start with Brian Gaylord who, along with his wife Marcie have been the promoters for several years now at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Brian announced in July that this would be his final season at the helm of the track that is tucked into the southeast corner of Iowa and, including this coming Thursday night he still has four events remaining on the schedule. Brian and his team at LCS have always done a great job with track prep and race night presentation and he has never been afraid to throw some extra money out there in an attempt to bring in more cars. His "Drive for Five" concept where drivers can earn an extra $3,000 by winning the finale has boosted his Late Model car count for the weekly shows that counted as qualifiers and he has taken care of the Sprint Car fans as well by booking the Sprint Invaders as well as the POWRi 410's. I look forward to being there with the Invaders on Friday, September 22nd, and of course I wouldn't miss the event that will be his finale, "Shiverfest" on Saturday October 28th.
It is my understanding that at least one party has indicated interest in stepping into the role in 2024, but at this point there is nothing solid to report. The Fair had purchased a large section of the grandstands from the I-80 Speedway during its liquidation auction and it was my understanding that the plan was to run the 2024 season through mid-August and then close down to tear down the current grandstand and put up the new one. I wonder that if they do not have a promoter step up before March of next year if that project will get moved to the Spring and early Summer instead perhaps making the facility even more attractive to a promoter who might want to those events that would require a higher seating capacity.
Thank you Brian and Marcie for all that you have done for racing in the tri-state area for the past several years and for the hospitality that you have extended to all of us at Positively Racing! See you this Thursday night for the "Drive for Five" finale and season championships.
In a move that is even making national news, Ricky and Brenda Kay announced that they are stepping out of the promotional duties immediately at the Davenport Speedway. This came at the conclusion of the World of Outlaws Late Model tripleheader on Saturday sponsored by Hoker Trucking. I had heard rumors that the Kay's were not happy with some things that had been going on at the track, so this did not come as a complete surprise, and they must have been truly challenging to walk away from what they and their team had accomplished over the past few years.
With Ricky and "The Dirt Doctor" Al Dlouhy leading the way, they transformed the quarter-mile into a wide, progressively banked track that by feature time on most nights drivers could literally run six to eight different lines and be competitive based upon how they had setup their car. With the population base to support it, the track started hosting bigger and bigger events and as more national touring drivers had the chance to race it, the more of them proclaimed it as "my favorite track to race at." A MARS sanctioned race in July of 2021 was named the "Race of the Year" by Dirt On Dirt and another national series event was the runner-up in that category last year.
Several people have taken to social media to "provide the facts" behind the decision while Ricky and Brenda showed the class that I would expect from them in their press release. "Yes, last night was the last race for K Promotions at the Davenport Speedway located on the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. We can't thank Shawn Loter, Vicky Speth and the entire Mississippi Valley Fairboard enough for giving us the opportunity four years ago. There were a lot of learning curves along the way and last night once again proved to us that national tours belong at the Davenport Speedway. We can't express enough gratitude towards the racers, the fans, Jeff and Penny Hoker, our family and especially our staff for all of the support over the last four years to make Davenport Speedway a top racing destination in the country. As the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds looks for their next promoter please show your support. We are sure they will be able to find someone that will step up and be a better and stronger promoter."
I was asked publicly on a Facebook comment to interview the two of them and "get the facts" behind the decision, but given that other people were already relating the "facts", or at least how they have seen them, I politely declined. To me Ricky and Brenda handled it perfectly knowing that they still want racing to continue at the Davenport Speedway. For me to "dig deeper", in my opinion would have been an insult to two people that I greatly respect and appreciate.
So what happens next at Davenport? Even with solid car counts weekly racing can be a tough nut to crack financially if the promoter only gets the race night ticket and pit pass revenue to cover the expenses, so the board may have to "give a little" in their agreement with the new promoter if it has been what I have understood it to be. Also, a prospective promoter might have to hope that perhaps the most prominent supporter of dirt track racing in this area, Jeff Hoker, continues to soften his stance a bit coming out of this breakup. In a Facebook post from Sunday Hoker wrote, "I can't support something that won't support the people who made this place what it is, and trust me without them it will never be what it is now." And he finished it by stating, "Hopefully in some form we will be able to make something happen elsewhere, but it won't be here."
On Monday night Jeff made it clear that he did not feel like the situation was the fault of the fairboard and he also indicated that he sees one way, and one way only that a national show like the Quad Cities 150 returns and that he is pretty sure that this option will be presented soon.
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| Stolen from the Davenport Speedway - K Promotions Facebook page |
Now I look forward to sitting with Brenda in the stands again, just like we did that night in Tipton when we first met watching Justin racing his Four Cylinder. Thank you Ricky and Brenda Kay for an amazing four year run at Davenport!
Okay, so let's take a look at the nine divisions of the All Iowa Points and see how the Fall Specials might decide who will be the 2023 champions.
In the Late Models Andy Nezworski holds a comfortable 20-point advantage over five-time champion Justin Kay. Nick Marolf, Denny Woodworth and Tommy Elston are technically still in the hunt, but all of them will need to make a big move over the next few weeks as Late Model shows become far and few between as we near the end of September. With the AIP's 5-point scale with one point increments, the challengers will have to be within five points by the time Shiverfest rolls around to deny Nezworski of his first AIP championship.
Late Model Top Ten as of August 27th
Pos. Driver Hometown Points
1 . Andy Nezworski Buffalo 96
2 . Justin Kay Wheatland 76
3 . Nick Marolf Moscow 69
4 . Denny Woodworth Mendon IL 68
5 . Tommy Elston Keokuk 68
6 . C.J. Horn Cedar Rapids 64
7 . Cade Richards Lincoln NE 51
8 . Eric Pollard Dubuque 49
9 . Bobby Pierce Oakwood IL 48
10 . Jason Perry Payson IL 44
Modifieds Top Ten as of August 27th
Pos. Driver Hometown Points
1 . Jeff Larson Freeport IL 136
2 . Jeremy Mills Garner 132
3 . Austen Becerra Carthage IL 125
4 . Joel Rust Grundy Center 109
5 . Chris Zogg New Liberty 106
6 . Todd Shute Des Moines 101
7 . Jed Freiburger Dubuque 91
8 . Tim Ward Gilbert AZ 87
9 . Travis Denning Sterling IL 87
10 . Jarrett Brown Ainsworth 84
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