The Internet Is Full Of Meanies!

Christine and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Amsterdam and then a seven day cruise of the Rhine River through the Netherlands, Germany, France and finally Switzerland along with twenty-four other friends and family. We had a blast and a big thank you to David "Pokey" Schlise who shared tips with us after he made the same trip last summer as we knew where to go, and even where not to go! 

Unfortunately a malfunctioning sensor light for the water system left us sitting at the gate for three full hours at Heathrow and with the missed connection we ended up getting home a full day later than planned and that wiped out my trip to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa last night. It was good to see the car counts up in the four classes that race weekly as the Super Late Models came to town with Joe Kosiski's SLMR series and the non-wing Sprint Car class had the night off, so I'm sure that the show was run off at a nice pace.

While I did glance at some race results while using the boat's low powered wi-fi, I waited to catch up on details until last night and, wow, everybody is sharing a Facebook post about how the idiots on the internet are killing off the sport. Really? Did we just now get fed up with it all and decided to share these well presented thoughts from a highly respected driver in hope that it will make people stop posting stupid $#!%  on the internet?

That's never going to happen my friends, we opened Pandora's Box over twenty-five years ago and the difference between now and then is that the idiots are more than happy to be identifiable by posting comments directly from their Facebook page. Go back to 2009 and read here why we started Positively Racing in the first place. Did we think that we were going to eliminate the "AWP's" of the time? Of course not, but we wanted to provide real race fans with an alternative and I am happy to say that we have been doing that for more than fifteen years now.

Back in 2009, Hawkeye Racing News was still in existence, so promoters had to work with their advertising budget to determine how it would be best spent between the racing papers, local papers and local radio and television. So how has advertising/promoting races evolved over the past two decades? That's right, most of it is now done on Facebook, Instagram, etc. and I do hope that promoters still invest a few dollars here and there with their local radio or TV station, but if you are going to advertise for free on social media, I hate to say it but you are going to have to put up with the idiots as well.

You know, the people who make comments such as.....

"It's going to rain" even though your race is still four days out because apparently this individual has now found the one meteorologist in the world who is 99.9% accurate.

"What time does it start?" despite the fact that you have stated the start times in two different places on your original post

"How many cars will be there?"

"Wish you were racing on Saturday, I have to work on Friday"

"Your track sucks, I was covered in dust and will never come back" failing to recognize that there was 25 mph wind blowing directly into the stands on that particular night

For the Fair race at a wide, fast half-mile, "Sucks that they don't run Mod Lites". Really? Does it? I don't think so.

I could go on and on, and in fact I might just come back and add more here as I see them, but don't fear I will not provide the identity in an effort to protect the stupid.

So what is my point point here? I believe that race promoters need to use social media to promote their events and provide any necessary updates in regard to weather, etc., but then just "step away" from it. 

DON'T READ THE COMMENTS! And by all means do not respond to them. Put more trust in your true fans to be able to filter out the bullshit and usually it will be someone with common sense who might refute it anyway. Smart race fans knew that it rained too much east of St. Louis on Tuesday night for there to be a race on Wednesday. Know that you made the right decision for you and your business and ignore the idiots, because most everybody else does as well.

There is no doubt that race promoting is a tough job and I have the utmost respect for each and every one of you who are out there doing it. I give my advice above in hope that it removes some of your stress and allows you to have more enjoyment in what you do. Because without you, the many of us who have nothing but appreciation for your efforts would have nowhere to go.

Hope to see you at a track again soon!

Johnson, Murty, Van Genderen and Rick Among Indee's Monday Madness Winners

In a season that has been plagued by weather thus far, it was nice to make a two hour drive to a race without having to study future radar. Plus, it was nice to have to put on a jacket Monday as the sun went down behind the grandstands of the Independence Motor Speedway as the forecast definitely looks plenty hot in the days ahead. While the PRO Late Models joined the five weekly divisions on the card, a check of the Tour's 2024 schedule would indicate that this was not a PRO Tour points event and that might explain why the car count was a bit lower than expected at sixteen for the $1,000-to-win purse.

Bobby Hansen and Jeff Aikey would start from the front row for the twenty-five lap headliner and it would be Hansen with the advantage as the field entered turn three for the first time. Things got a bit wild for a few seconds at that point as Aikey would miss the cushion and drive over the top of the banking while second row starters Logan Duffy and Sean Johnson would both charge under Hansen exiting turn four. 

It would be Duffy that would have a slight advantage at the stripe to lead lap one, but Johnson would then sail by him in turns one and two to take the point. With Johnson now opening up his lead, Duffy also put some distance on an entertaining race for third as Matt Ryan and Nick Marolf applied the pressure to Hansen. The first caution would wave when Marolf slipped over the top of turn three and on the restart both Johnson and Duffy would again put some distance on everybody else.

Two more laps would be scored before Aikey dropped off the track entering turn one and in the final nine circuits there would be no touching Johnson who would take the convincing win. Duffy would take the runner-up honors as Ryan settled for third. Hansen would get hung out on the high side on that final restart and he would fade to tenth at the checkers as Greg Kastli advanced from ninth to fourth and Andy Nezworski started eighth and finished fifth. 

The Late Models were second on the order of six feature events on the night and it was the Sport Compacts leading things off for fifteen laps on a freshly manicured surface. Just one caution for a car that had stalled just a bit too close to the racing surface slowed the event that started out with a great two car battle between front row starters Lucas Rick and Jaice Tuttle. The high line was preferred and Tuttle would have the bumper out front at the line for the first two laps, but Rick was persistent working the bottom and once he cleared Tuttle he would drive up and close the door on Tuttle. That would take place on lap three and while Tuttle kept the leader in his sights, he could not build a challenge as Rick cruised to his third win of the season. The battle for third was a good one throughout with Robert Rundle prevailing to join the podium as Jake Anderson and Tyler Mannion completed the top five.

The IMCA Stock Cars would follow up the Late Model feature with an entertaining twenty laps that went non-stop without a caution. With talented veterans Tom Schmitt and Dustin Vis starting on the front row, both of them would look to a lower line to try to take the lead. From this writer's viewpoint it was a virtual dead heat as lap one was scored and on lap two it would be Vis that would have the slight edge. As they exited turn two though on lap three, young Rowdee Van Genderen got a big run off the cushion and made it three wide going down the back stretch.

They would continue to race three-wide through turns three and four and down the front stretch with Schmitt having a slight edge at the stripe, but when Van Genderen again rocketed off of the turn two cushion, he would take the lead officially on lap four. Schmitt and Vis would soon move to the top side as well and the chase was on even as Rowdee had opened up about an eight car length advantage.

As the laps clicked away, that lead would shrink and after watching the young driver give up a lead late in the race at Memphis on Friday night, I found myself getting nervous each time that he came within inches of jumping the cushion that was now at the rim of the speedway. With the white flag waving I anticipated an attempted slide job from either Schmitt or Vis who were now right behind the leader, but both drivers stayed in line and the high school senior-to-be parked it in victory lane in front of his proud father Mike who, along with Dana Benning, promotes the action here at Independence. 

A bit behind the top three there was definitely some late race position changes as Damon Murty worked his way up to fourth after starting ninth while Jarod Weepie drove his sharp looking new race car to fifth after starting eighth.

A check of the time showed that it was just shy of 9:30 at this point and I was feeling good about getting the final three races completed in a timely manner. However, the IMCA Modifieds had something else in mind.

Bret Ramsey would lead the opening lap before the first of seven cautions waved on lap one of the twenty that were scheduled. During that caution, Ramsey had to go to the work area with a flat tire and that would turn the lead over to Dallon Murty who had charged from fifth to second on that first circuit.

Dallon would go on to lead through all of the remaining restarts to take the win while my attention was on a couple of drivers and their progress. One was Owen Barnhill who has made the trip up from Milton, Florida, to race his IMCA Modified here in Iowa for a few nights. Owen is the current point leader at the Northwest Florida Speedway, but it is not possible to get his actual race results from there since they do not use MyRacePass and they take the attitude that if you want to know the race results, you have to attend the races. Coincidentally I had actually asked them about their results on the trac's Facebook page, and that was the response that was given. Kind of a stupid attitude if you ask me, especially if you want your drivers to be recognized for their accomplishments, something that they could then use to secure and satisfy sponsors, but hey, good for you NWFS, keep on being one of only two or three tracks across the entire United States that refuses to publish your results.

Anyway, after not showing much speed in his heat race, Barnhill definitely found the racing surface at feature time more to his liking and he was soon gaining positions in his sharp looking #B24. On lap five Barnhill got a big run off the top of turn two and made it three-wide going down the back stretch while racing for fourth. However, he soon ran out of room and had to bail out going off the top of the track entering turn three. The Florida visitor would then race his way back up to a seventh-place finish at the checkers and I hope that he is sticking around for Wednesday's Bill Davis Memorial at Stuart.

The other driver that I was watching was Jeff Aikey who was looking for redemption after the disappointing performance in his Late Model. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer who has also had significant success in a Modified had started ninth and he was steadily making his way to the front through the many stops and starts. At the checkers Aikey would finish in second ahead of Troy Cordes, pole-sitter Adam Shelman would hold down fourth and Patrick Flannagan finished fifth.

With the Modified marathon now pushing us near ten o'clock we decided to hit the road for home knowing that I will be making another road trip on Wednesday when I have been given the opportunity fill in for Tony Paris on the microphone at Stuart for the Bill Davis Memorial.

A check of the results today shows that Bradly Graham used his pole position start to win the Hobby Stock main event and, after being penalized three times for jumping the start of his heat race, Cole Suckow not only behaved, but also raced his way up from a sixth row starting spot to take the victory over Matt Avila in the Sport Mod feature.

A big thank you to the nice young lady at the pit gate as well as to promoters Dana Benning and Mike Van Genderen for their hospitality. Next up at Independence will be the return of the World of Outlaws Late Models on Monday June 24th.

Not only do I look forward to being at Stuart on Wednesday, I am also considering a visit to the Wapello County Fair in Eldon for night one of two events on the Super Half-Mile at the Eldon Raceway this week. Perhaps we will see you on the Back Stretch.

Weedon Memorial To Barnes; Denning, Veloz. Lamar, Gonzalez, McDermott and Hurst Are Winners As Well at East Moline

With a change of plans that can be attributed to an inaccurate future radar, I made my way to the East Moline Speedway on Sunday night for the annual Ronnie Weedon Memorial. The high banked quarter-mile in the Quad Cities was my Sunday night destination of choice many years ago, often after an afternoon of putting a couple of dollars down at the harness races. Memories of "Twin 50's" nights that would draw in visitors like Ed Sanger, Roger Long, Dick Taylor, the Strube brothers and many more to take on Gary Webb, Ray Guss (both Senior and Junior) and all of the other track regulars are some of my favorite nights at the races.

Lately though my visits have been limited to once or twice a year and frankly, I did not often find a reason to make the 100+ mile trip back as the track would usually be hard and slick with no cushion and a lot of dust which would often lead to a "spin out fest", especially in the support classes, and a lot of follow the leader racing when the green flag could stay out.

That was definitely NOT the situation on this Sunday night!

This was by far the best racing surface that I have seen at East Moline in years and nearly all of the seven drivers that visited victory lane on the night said so during their interview. There was moisture in the track that allowed for a cushion to build, there was no dust and drivers could even find a fast line around the very top running above the cushion. Best of all, only one event saw a rash of cautions (more on that later) which meant that even with an inexplicably long thirty minute intermission where no track prep was needed, the final checkered flag waved at 9:04 p.m. And as I hustled out to my car, all I could think of was that if this is how the track prep will be going forward, how many times can I come back this year?

The Nostalgia Cars would be up first come feature time and this class definitely brings back memories as intended with replicas of cars once driven by Ed Sanger, Dave Birkfofer, Brian Birkhofer, Curt Hansen, Ronnie Weedon, John Connelly, Jim Gerber and Darrell Dake in action. Bert McDaniel had Hansen's #9 look alike nearly a half lap in the lead until lap six when the Gerber and Weedon cars driven by Randy Christner and Jeff Walker tangled in turn four. Disaster struck for McDaniel during the caution as he would lose his left rear spring and start leaking rear end fluid requiring a tow back to the pits as well.

The Keith Simmons owned #38 is definitely the car to beat whenever I see this group and with Jeremiah Hurst behind the wheel tonight, he was busy navigating traffic through those first six laps after starting ninth. Now on the restart though, he would set sail and drive away from the field as Hurst would win going away over the #95 of Austin Honts, Mark Claeys was third, Jamie Huff in the #8 convertible was fourth while Jeff Snyder finished fifth.

The IMCA Late Models were up next for twenty-five laps with Joe Ross holding off the persistent challenges of Travis Denning over the first five circuits. Ryan Claeys' spin in turn four would cause a restart and Denning would drive deep into turn three and then shut the door on the rim riding Ross to take the point on lap six. A second and final caution of the race would wave on lap ten when contact between Broderick Prescott and Sycamore visitor Jason Breese would send Prescott for a spin and again Denning would drive away once the green flag reappeared.

With Denning in control, the battles behind him were entertaining and when the checkers waved Travis had nearly a half of a lap advantage over runner-up Jesse Bodin who had warded off Andy Nezworski for second. Ross would slip to fourth while the ageless one, Gary Webb would complete the top five.

The Sport Mod feature, originally scheduled for fifteen laps, was a disappointment for the fans as eight stoppages would interrupt what was looking to be a pretty darn good battle between Logan Veloz and Jarrett Franzen for the win. C.J. Durbin was the early leader as Veloz quickly worked his way toward the front after starting twelfth. As Veloz looked to the inside of Cole Stichter for second on only the third lap, Stichter would spin in turn four and that would be the first delay of this race that included a couple of debris cautions and a backmarker spinning on the back stretch before the green even waved on a restart. That delay was extended when that same car then drove alongside the front of the field for a lap and a half before dropping to the rear to try it again.

Meanwhile, once a certain number of cautions were reached, they started taking laps away so this one would end on lap thirteen as Veloz held off the challenge from Franzen to take the win. It was noteworthy that during his victory lane interview, Logan thanked the nice-sized crowd for coming out to the races rather than staying home and watching them on TV. Durbin would hold on for third, Stichter battled back to finish fourth as Trey Grimm filled out the top five.

In my recent visits to East Moline, that rash of cautions would usually lead to more of the same, but not on this night as a small field of Hobby Stocks would run their twelve laps from green to checkers with no incidents. And it was good race for the win as well with Jordan Patz leading early before Keith Lilly eased on by on lap three. Former All Iowa Points champion Randy Lamar soon moved to second and he would now stalk Lilly over the next several laps, but unable to make a move to the front.

That would come with just two laps to go though when the leader got just a bit loose allowing Lamar to drive by to take the lead and the eventual victory over both Lilly and Patz. Donnie Cole was not far behind in fourth while Ethan Roberts was credited with fifth.

The Sport Compacts would provide the race of the night though in a twelve lap distance that was slowed just once when the rear bumper cover off of the car of Jason Rhoads ended up laying on the back stretch on lap five. Nolan Morrow was the leader of lap one before Dustin Forbes went to the front and in those final seven laps he would be joined by Shawn McDermott and Cyle Hawkins.

Forbes looked to be in control despite the close proximity of his challengers, but when the leader's car started to smoke in the closing laps, McDermott and Hawkins were ready to pounce. A slip on the exit of turn two by Forbes on the final lap would find McDermott now on his inside with Hawkins to his right and they would go three wide into turn three much to the delight of the crowd. Shawn would have the advantage exiting turn four and he would take the win as Forbes narrowly edged out Hawkins for second. Dustin Munn and Michael Snyder would then follow the trio in for fourth and fifth respectively.

The fifteen lap Mod Lite feature would go non-stop as well and while they confined themselves to the bottom two lines around the high banks, it was still some good racing as R.J. Gonzales passed his brother Blake on lap three and then held off Jon Padilla to take the win. Brandon Freeburg was right there as well in third as Blake Gonzales finished fourth. Mike Morrow completed the top five.

The twenty-five lap Ron Weedon Memorial paying $1,000-to-win for the IMCA Modifieds would close out the evening with Eric Barnes getting the most out of his pole position start to take the lead at the drop of the green. As Barnes would stretch it out a bit, the battle for second was intense involving Matt Werner, Jeff Larson and Charlie Mohr and you had the sense that if any one of those drivers could have cleared himself from that pack, he might have been able to go to work on Barnes. 

Cautions on laps eight and thirteen would slow the field and Matt Werner's #93 would go up in smoke with ten laps remaining to require the final caution of the night. Seventh starting Jason Pershy would now join that battle for second and even though Larson was final able to focus on trying to reel in Barnes over the closing laps, there would be no catching Eric who would go flag-to-flag for the four figure payday. Larson would take the runner-up honors with Pershy on the podium in third. After getting to second mid-race coming from the outside of row three, Mohr would slip back to fourth at the finish as Blaise Lewis took fifth.

As mentioned above the final checkers waved just a few minutes past nine o'clock and there was still a hint of twilight as I headed for home, happy to see that the East Moline Speedway had returned to what I had cherished from the past, at least for this night.

Up next for me, future radar readings pending, will be the visit by the High Limit Sprint Car Series to the Davenport Speedway on Tuesday night. Then it will be two hits of the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders over the weekend, first on Friday night June 7th at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri, and then on Sunday night we will be at the Adams County Speedway in Quincy, Illinois.

Perhaps we will see you again soon here on the Back Stretch.