When Sammy Swindell and Jason Johnson swapped sliders following a late restart it was exactly what Shane Stewart was hoping for as he locked up the victory in the 20th Annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Nationals Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway. In the companion 410 event, Johnny Herrera enjoyed the fruits of victory before later suffering the agony of defeat.
Two Knoxville regulars, Chad Humston and Dustin Selvage brought the field to the green flag for the twenty-five-lap National Championship with Humston vaulting to the early lead. Shane Stewart started directly behind Humston and took up the chase as the two leaders worked the low line around the hallowed half-mile oval. Stewart kept the pressure on Humston until the caution waved on lap eight for a blown motor on Brian Brown’s fourth-place car. During the caution track officials were taking a look at Humston’s car as it slowly circled the track noting that a brake caliper had fallen off. Humston appeared to acknowledge the situation and the green flag waved once again. Two laps later, as he exited turn four, the right front wheel folded under on the leader’s car and he shot up toward the front stretch guardrail. Humston avoided contact, but then the car turned left down the track as it continued to slow. The first few cars were able to avoid the limping mount, but the seventh-place car of Johnny Herrera could not as he clipped the front end and went for a wild side-over-side ride featuring some big air before coming to rest in front of the flag stand. Humston climbed out quickly and walked dejectedly back to the pits while Herrera took a little more time to exit his mangled ride before making that walk to the pits in the exact same manner.
Stewart inherited the lead for the restart and threatened to pull away as Sammy Swindell and Jason Johnson continued to move toward the front. Cautions on laps thirteen and fourteen for Davey Heskin and Brady Bacon respectively kept the field bunched together with Swindell and Johnson next in-line and ready to pounce. Johnson had actually passed Swindell for second prior to the Heskin caution and having come from a seventh row start it appeared that the “Ragin’ Cajun” was now the fastest car on the speedway. Once back to green Swindell was at first too busy fighting off the challenge from Johnson to focus on Stewart, but as the laps wound down Sammy started running the opposite line of Stewart and was making up ground on the leader. Stewart was still looking solid, but Swindell was close enough to take advantage of any slight mistake with two laps to go when the fifth-place car of Randy Hannagan slowed down the front stretch and coasted around the bottom of turns one and two forcing one last caution.
The stage was now set for a green-white-checkered shootout for the $10,000 top prize and Sammy made a good run at Stewart into turns one and two. But Johnson was right there as well and when he pulled alongside Swindell down the back straightaway, Sammy was forced to close off the top into turn three and that was all that Stewart needed to pull away over the final lap to take the win and “party like a Rockstar”. Swindell and Johnson were next in line while Dustin Selvage drove a fantastic race to finish fourth. Another local, Bronson Maeschen took the fifth spot ahead of Jack Dover who made a nice run up from row nine. Tony Bruce Jr. was solid in seventh, Danny Wood finished eighth, B-Main winner and twenty-first starter Tim Kaeding was ninth and his brother Bud Kaeding took tenth.
The full night of action also included a complete program for thirty-nine 410 sprints who went through qualifying, four heats, a B-Main and a twenty-lap A-feature as a tune up for next week’s 50th edition of the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals. Former track champion Skip Jackson started on the pole and would lead the first lap before defending track champion Johnny Herrera blew past him. Sammy Swindell who was the fastest qualifier, but drew the number 12 for the invert, was picking his way through the traffic and so was Dale Blaney who had started ninth. Both drivers were nearing the top five when the red flag waved as Ian Madsen and Tim Kaeding crashed in turn three with twelve laps remaining.
Jackson made a hard run at Herrera in turn one on the restart, but Johnny fought him off and again opened a comfortable lead. Blaney continued his march to the front and was up to fourth before his left rear tire blew going into turn one on lap thirteen. Blaney’s car slid up the track backwards and collided with the fence causing him to roll over one time. The frustrated driver from Ohio climbed out with no injuries, and perhaps a sense of optimism for next week given his performance before the tire failure. With seven laps remaining, and an open racetrack in front of him, there was no catching Herrera as he tallied his 17th career victory at the Knoxville Raceway. Jackson showed that he is still a contender by running a strong second and Swindell worked his way up to third at the checkers ahead of impressive Australian Jamie Veal. Mark Dobmeier was the hard charger on the night coming from 18th to finish fifth.
K-ville Saturday Notes…..Veal would have been starting much deeper in the field for the 410 feature had he not nipped Lynton Jeffrey at the line for the fifth and final transfer out of the third heat race….The fourth 410 heat saw six Australian drivers in the nine car field and they controlled the top three with Max Dumesney taking the win ahead of Skip Jackson and Trevor Green…..Rob Kubli and Jim Moughan both got upside down just past the chalk line at the start of the 360 D-Main…..Lee Jacobs was penalized two rows for jumping the original start of the 410 B-Main and he later came up one spot short of transferring at the checkers…..Davey Heskin was the fourth and final qualifier out of the 410 B-Main. Then, after intermission, he made passes of Matt Moro and current track 360 point leader Clint Garner to finish third and transfer into that A-Main as well. Garner was left on the outside looking in…..My son Morgan pointed out something tonight that I have known for quite some time, but have just never included in my writings. Mike Roberts does an absolutely fantastic job as the infield announcer at the Knoxville Raceway. His reports from the work area are detailed without being too technical and he always seems to know exactly the right questions to ask drivers during interviews and in victory lane……During the post-race press conference Shane Stewart made a pretty bold statement that, at this point in time, just might be true. Noting the high car counts and the draw format used by his series Stewart stated that it is harder to “make the show” at a Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event than it is at a World of Outlaws event.
The headline on the sports page of this morning’s Des Moines Register reads “Knoxville to end live finale telecast”. I know that those of you who are unable to attend the Nationals for whatever reason are going to disagree with this, but HURRAY!!!! Ever since this event was taken “to the next level” by being telecast live in 2002 the attendance numbers have gradually declined. Plus, those of us who have purchased tickets year after year (since 1976 for me) were becoming increasingly annoyed by having to wait as much as a half hour between the D and C-Main for the telecast to begin, along with the extended breaks that were then taken between the final three races for TV to “do what they do”. Last year that wait was even more agonizing as we watched a thunderstorm cell approach on radar that eventually washed out the night’s action and moved it to Sunday…..without live television! I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to know that we, as a crowd, will not be told this week that we are going on air in three minutes, and when we do we need to make a lot of noise, wave our hands and show everybody at home just how much fun we are having. Last year I took that three minutes to scribble out the words “Live TV Sucks” on the back of my notebook, perhaps you saw it on some of those early crowd shots? If you are in the neighborhood this Saturday night, come on out and buy a ticket. Being there and experiencing this spectacular event firsthand is exponentially better than what it is on television. And, if you live far away, go out and buy a ticket to your local racetrack and enjoy a night of action there. After all, you can always watch the Nationals later on the Speed Channel on August 28th at 3:30 p.m. Central or on September 3rd at 2:00 p.m.
The non-wing USAC Sprints hit the big half-mile at Knoxville tonight with the 305 Winged Sprints running in support.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Stewart and Swindell Steal The Show At Knoxville
A final lap pass for the win by a former event champion and a brilliant charge from the back to the front by a cagey veteran topped off a thrilling night number two of the 20th Annual Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville 360 Nationals Friday.
One of the headlining stories in the main event actually got its start on the third lap of heat race number two when Danny Wood put a slider on Sammy Swindell while racing for fifth in turn three. Swindell did not yield, drove up over the cushion, and then slowed, but never stopped to bring out the caution. Before the restart Swindell showed his displeasure with Wood by driving across his nose and he then moved to the back of the eleven car lineup for the restart. As the green waved Swindell’s car popped out of gear causing him to limp through turns three and four and the caution waved for him again. Despite the two cautions, Swindell stayed on the track and was able to move up four spots to finish seventh for a transfer into the B-Main. Wood moved up to third and went directly to the A.
Sammy ran away with the B-Main earning the 21st starting position for the twenty-lap main event with Bud Kaeding and Gregg Bakker occupying the front row. But it was the fourth-starting Johnny Herrera who shot to the lead down the back straightaway on lap number one. Randy Hannagan quickly moved to the second spot picking up the chase of Herrera while deep in the pack Swindell was working his way quickly toward the front. On lap eight the caution waved for Clint Garner who slowed on the backstretch while running in the fourth position. Swindell would restart in ninth and it was now a good bet that Sammy would be in the mix for the win with twelve laps remaining.
One of the headlining stories in the main event actually got its start on the third lap of heat race number two when Danny Wood put a slider on Sammy Swindell while racing for fifth in turn three. Swindell did not yield, drove up over the cushion, and then slowed, but never stopped to bring out the caution. Before the restart Swindell showed his displeasure with Wood by driving across his nose and he then moved to the back of the eleven car lineup for the restart. As the green waved Swindell’s car popped out of gear causing him to limp through turns three and four and the caution waved for him again. Despite the two cautions, Swindell stayed on the track and was able to move up four spots to finish seventh for a transfer into the B-Main. Wood moved up to third and went directly to the A.
Sammy ran away with the B-Main earning the 21st starting position for the twenty-lap main event with Bud Kaeding and Gregg Bakker occupying the front row. But it was the fourth-starting Johnny Herrera who shot to the lead down the back straightaway on lap number one. Randy Hannagan quickly moved to the second spot picking up the chase of Herrera while deep in the pack Swindell was working his way quickly toward the front. On lap eight the caution waved for Clint Garner who slowed on the backstretch while running in the fourth position. Swindell would restart in ninth and it was now a good bet that Sammy would be in the mix for the win with twelve laps remaining.
Sammy Swindell (1) races Brooke Tatnell (14) for fourth late in the feature event - Barry Johnson photoAs Swindell gained two more spots in two laps, Shane Stewart worked his way past Hannagan for second and now had his sights set on Herrera who was quickly closing on lapped traffic. Swindell put a slider on Brooke Tatnell for fourth with five laps remaining while a straightaway ahead Stewart was sizing up Herrera for one final challenge. Stewart tried the bottom groove of turns one and two with three laps remaining, but Herrera’s momentum off the cushion kept him out front. Coming off turn four to the white flag Stewart pulled to Herrera’s push bar and then dove low into turn one. As Stewart came up the track, Herrera bobbled for a split second on the cushion and that was all that Shane needed to put his Rockstar Energy Drink #57 into the lead and he held off one last look from Herrera in three and four to take the victory. Hannagan finished a few car-lengths ahead of Swindell who advanced seventeen spots to fourth while Tatnell came from fifteenth to fifth. Davey Heskin was shadowing Swindell on his run to the front as Heskin came from row ten to finish sixth, Kaeding held on for seventh while Danny Wood finished eighth. Cale Conley finished where he started in ninth while Darren Long rounded out the top ten.
Shane Stewart passed Johnny Herrera on the final lap to win Friday night's feature at the Knoxville 360 Nationals - Barry Johnson photo360 Nats Friday Notes…..How different was the track tonight? Chad Meyer’s quick time of 16.681 would have ranked 42nd on Thursday night. Meyer’s night went downhill after his interview with Mike Roberts as he could not advance any positions in his heat and then he was unable to start the B-Main when motor problems brought him to the work area……Just like last night there was only one red flag on the evening and this one came on the first turn of the first heat. Brian Parker got into the guardrail and rolled a couple of times before climbing out under his own power…..Dennis Moore Jr. driving one of Doc Sloan’s cars and Darren Long were the two fastest qualifiers in the fourth heat and they made contact in turn one on the opening lap. Long recovered and was able to race his way up to third while Moore dropped back to seventh at the finish…..Don Young came up a position short of transferring to the A-Main when he could not chase down veteran Gary Wright over the final laps of the B…..Phil Hague (sp?) started the night out in fine fashion with a great rendition of the National Anthem on a harmonica. Hopefully he’ll be back to do it again next week…..Injured driver Wayne Johnson joined Bill Wright tonight for the live webcast on Hoseheads Radio.....Scott Traylor, Kirk Elliott and the Racinboys crew will also have live coverage of Saturday nights action as they do of all of the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events.....Two drivers who run Knoxville’s 360 division on a weekly basis, Chad Humston and Dustin Selvage, will start from the front row in Saturday’s Championship event.
The Knoxville infield will be packed with Sprint Cars and the half-mile oval will be packed with action Saturday night as 100 cars are set to run the E, D, C, B and A-mains and expect a full field of forty or more 410’s in their final tune up for the 50th Annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals.
I learned tonight that legendary announcer Jack Miller had passed away at the age of 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. As one of the track announcers at Knoxville back in 1998 I had the distinct honor of introducing Jack for his 25th and final call of the Knoxville Nationals Championship feature event. No matter how hard any of us try, we will never match the class, the knowledge and the enthusiasm that Jack Miller brought to the microphone. And that voice.....how I loved hearing that voice! Rest in peace Jack!
Knoxville 360 Nationals Night One Goes To Brown
As he was signing autographs during intermission Brian Brown told the crowd that after he screwed up during qualifying he knew that he needed to win everything else on the evening to put himself in a good position for Saturday’s championship night. “I won my heat race and I even tried to be the first one over here to the grandstand to sign autographs, but they won’t give me any bonus points for that,” Brown jokingly told announcer Tony Bokhoven. “Now I just need to go out and win tonight’s feature.” And he would do just that putting the Factory Value Parts car #21 in victory lane on the first night of the 20th Annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals.
Brian Brown cruises past the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum on his way to victory - Barry Johnson photo
Brown’s twelfth-quick qualifying effort and his victory in the second heat race earned him the third-starting position for the twenty-lap main event and he drove around the outside of Zach Chappell on lap two to take the lead. As Brown pulled away the driver on the move was Dustin Selvage as he blew past Chappell and Tim Kaeding to move into second by mid-race and showed signs of closing the gap on the leader as Brown worked traffic. The first caution of the event waved on lap thirteen when Chappell slowed on the front stretch ending what looked to be a sure top-five finish for the tall thin Oklahoma driver. On the restart Selvage was able to stay with Brown, but could not mount a challenge before the caution waved again on lap fifteen, this time for a shredded right rear tire on the #83 of Kaeding who was running fourth at the time.
Dustin Selvage (7) flashes by Tim Kaeding for second - Barry Johnson photo
Once again on the restart Brown closed the door on Selvage in turn one and then never looked back as he cruised the final five laps to victory. Selvage was the runner-up followed by the night’s quick qualifier Chad Humston in third. Jason Johnson started tenth and finished fourth and the pole-sitter Jamie Veal completed the top five. Bronson Maeschen, who was second quick in qualifying, raced to a sixth-place finish, Lee Grosz was seventh, eighth went to Matt Covington, Brady Bacon was ninth and Tony Bruce Jr. drove from row eleven to finish tenth.
Two speedsters from Oklahoma, Brady Bacon (99) and Matt Covington (95) do battle during Thursday's feature event - Barry Johnson photo
Brian Brown cruises past the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum on his way to victory - Barry Johnson photoBrown’s twelfth-quick qualifying effort and his victory in the second heat race earned him the third-starting position for the twenty-lap main event and he drove around the outside of Zach Chappell on lap two to take the lead. As Brown pulled away the driver on the move was Dustin Selvage as he blew past Chappell and Tim Kaeding to move into second by mid-race and showed signs of closing the gap on the leader as Brown worked traffic. The first caution of the event waved on lap thirteen when Chappell slowed on the front stretch ending what looked to be a sure top-five finish for the tall thin Oklahoma driver. On the restart Selvage was able to stay with Brown, but could not mount a challenge before the caution waved again on lap fifteen, this time for a shredded right rear tire on the #83 of Kaeding who was running fourth at the time.
Dustin Selvage (7) flashes by Tim Kaeding for second - Barry Johnson photoOnce again on the restart Brown closed the door on Selvage in turn one and then never looked back as he cruised the final five laps to victory. Selvage was the runner-up followed by the night’s quick qualifier Chad Humston in third. Jason Johnson started tenth and finished fourth and the pole-sitter Jamie Veal completed the top five. Bronson Maeschen, who was second quick in qualifying, raced to a sixth-place finish, Lee Grosz was seventh, eighth went to Matt Covington, Brady Bacon was ninth and Tony Bruce Jr. drove from row eleven to finish tenth.
Chad Humston (1M) tales third from Aussie Jamie Veal late in the main event - Barry Johnson photo
360 Nats Thursday Notes…..Chad Humston, a weekly competitor in Knoxville’s 360 division, posted the fastest qualifying lap of 15.875 that was originally announced as a new track record, but was later corrected as saying that it was just a tick off of the standard. Both he and Dustin Selvage should sit at the top of the points after night number one. Could this be the year that a Knoxville track regular who does not compete in the 410 division wins the 360 Nationals?…..Tim Kaeding passed Jonathon Cornell on the final lap of the first heat for the fourth and final transfer spot. Cornell then came up one spot short of getting to the feature out of the B-Main when he could not chase down Johnny Anderson. Look for the youngster out of Sedalia, Missouri, to make a run at the “alphabet soup” Saturday night as his point total may land him near the front of the C-Main…..The only red flag of the night came on the opening lap of the third heat race when Erin Crocker pushed up the track in turn one, made contact with another car and then went end over end three or four times before hitting the fence. Erin climbed out of the car, told the Safety Team that she was fine and then hopped in the golf cart with infield announcer Mike Roberts who then drove her back to her trailer. Crocker’s sponsor “City Chevrolet” is a trap waiting to catch even the best of announcers with a slip of the tongue, kind of like the first driver’s name that I ever had to say over the microphone, Bill Shipman……think about it…..Sixteen-year-old Californian Justyn Cox was impressive driving past quicker qualifiers Matt Moro and Johnny Anderson in heat three to be the only driver who started outside of the six-car inverts to transfer to the A-Main. Cox had qualified 33rd out of the forty-nine-car field…..Kansas driver Logan Walker and his crew will hopefully have something to joke about over a pizza this week when they sent him out for the fourth heat with the two bolts missing from the front support for the top wing. The wing came down during the pace laps, Logan found his way to the work area and the crew added the bolts just in time to get Walker back on the track for the start of the race. Later in the evening, Walker’s nose wing shifted during the running of the C-Main….Selvage was the only driver to start sixth and win a qualifying heat as he passed D.J. Brink to take heat five.
Two speedsters from Oklahoma, Brady Bacon (99) and Matt Covington (95) do battle during Thursday's feature event - Barry Johnson photoThe 360 Nationals continue tonight (Friday) with well over fifty cars and drivers set to make their qualifying attempts for Saturday’s finale.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
First Deery Win For Eckrich Comes At Farley
It is still in its infancy, but the 3/8th-mile oval at the Farley Speedway came of age Tuesday night offering three-wide racing action as the Deery Brothers Summers Series IMCA Late Models came to town. Keith Simmons and his crew lived up to their reputation for providing a perfectly manicured surface and while Andy Eckrich pulled away from the pack for his first Series victory, the action behind him was intense.
Jeff Aikey and Kevin Blum started the fifty-lap main event on the front row with hometown driver Jason Rauen just behind them in row two. These three drivers went at it from the drop of the green racing three-wide for lap one with Aikey being credited as the leader and it was Aikey and Rauen side-by-side into turn one on lap number two. As Aikey slid up the track in turn two, Rauen tried to dive back below him and the two cars paused with contact. Blum saw the opening on the bottom and went for it just as Rauen came down the track and those two cars came together down the backstretch resulting in a flat tire for Rauen. After quick work by his crew Rauen restarted from the rear of the twenty-four-car field and by using the highest line around each set of turns he passed six cars in a lap before the caution waved again, this time for a flat tire on Kevin Blum’s ride. As Blum pulled to the pits, so did Todd Malmstrom and Darrell DeFrance as they also suffered from flat tires.
The race was searching for a rhythm as the caution waved again on lap six for a slowing Dan Shelliam, lap eight for a slowing Jeremiah Hurst and lap twelve for a flat tire on Tyler Bruening’s car. In between though Rauen’s entertaining run back to the front continued as he was up to fifth by lap seven and Andy Eckrich had driven past Aikey for the lead on lap eight. Brian Harris slowed and brought out a caution on lap eighteen and on the restart the field finally settled into some longer term racing. Eckrich opened up a straightaway advantage while Rauen clawed his way past Aikey for second on lap twenty. Aikey came back to regain the spot briefly the following lap before Rauen flew by again and began to eat into the lead being enjoyed by Eckrich. The distance between the top two was visibly shrinking each lap and it looked like we were setting up for a thrilling finish until the caution waved on lap thirty-six for debris. During the caution Rauen pulled off the track and to his pit area, finished for the night. “Hammer Down” definitely put on a show this evening only to never see the checkers.
Another caution for debris on lap thirty-eight slowed the field one last time and, with Rauen now on the shelf, Eckrich drove away over the final twelve laps to score his first career Deery Brothers Summer Series victory. Terry Neal drove another consistently solid fifty-laps to finish second after starting in row five. Series point leader Ray Guss Jr. made a big early move from row six to get into the top five and settled for third tonight. Aikey would finish in the fourth position while Mark Preston rounded out the top five.
Farley Deery Notes…..Three drivers who suffered serious accidents at last Wednesday’s race in Knoxville were in borrowed cars tonight. Charlie McKenna is very appreciative of the gesture from veteran driver Gary Crawford who has offered up his car to “Chargin’ Charlie” to use for the remainder of the season. McKenna pulled an old body from his garage to hang on Crawford’s car, so to the fans it looked like it was McKenna’s old #22, but Charlie wanted me to make sure that our readers knew just how much he appreciated what Gary Crawford has done for him. McKenna was scheduled to start the feature from row eight, but he dropped to the back before the start. From there he was getting faster each lap and completed the race with a solid sixth-place finish……The cars of T.J. Criss and Kevin Blum both suffered serious damage when they collided last week at Knoxville. On this night Blum was behind the wheel of the Christner #67 that has been wheeled lately by Tony VonDresky. As always “The Wildman” was fast contending for the lead before the flat tire on lap three, but he raced his way all the way back up from the back to finish seventh. Criss, who told me that his own car would have been repaired and ready to race if this event were on Wednesday, was very pleased that Todd Cooney provided one of his cars to drive here at Farley. Criss drove a cautious race in the borrowed ride and finished just outside of the top ten in 14th……Eighteen IMCA Modifieds and nine Farley Flyers were also in action. Vern Jackson dominated the twenty-lap Modified feature starting from the outside of row one and going the distance unchallenged. Jerry Luloff was the runner-up, Leon Wilson took third ahead of Mark Schulte and Jason Seegmiller. Raritan, Illinois, driver Brandon Rothzen was a surprise visitor in the Modifieds making a nearly three hour pull north to Farley. Rothzen started eleventh and was challenging for third with five laps remaining when he appeared to have rear end issues along with a flat tire that ended his night. Brannon Bechen held off Jeremy Campbell to win the Flyer feature while John Flury finished third…..The next event for the Deery series will be on Monday August 16th for the annual event during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines…..Simmons Promotions will host another “Tornado Tuesday” event next week on August 10th as the Open Late Models will be at the West Liberty Raceway......The premier event for the Farley Speedway is just over a month away as the 33rd Annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic will be held here September 15th through the 18th.
Jeff Aikey and Kevin Blum started the fifty-lap main event on the front row with hometown driver Jason Rauen just behind them in row two. These three drivers went at it from the drop of the green racing three-wide for lap one with Aikey being credited as the leader and it was Aikey and Rauen side-by-side into turn one on lap number two. As Aikey slid up the track in turn two, Rauen tried to dive back below him and the two cars paused with contact. Blum saw the opening on the bottom and went for it just as Rauen came down the track and those two cars came together down the backstretch resulting in a flat tire for Rauen. After quick work by his crew Rauen restarted from the rear of the twenty-four-car field and by using the highest line around each set of turns he passed six cars in a lap before the caution waved again, this time for a flat tire on Kevin Blum’s ride. As Blum pulled to the pits, so did Todd Malmstrom and Darrell DeFrance as they also suffered from flat tires.
The race was searching for a rhythm as the caution waved again on lap six for a slowing Dan Shelliam, lap eight for a slowing Jeremiah Hurst and lap twelve for a flat tire on Tyler Bruening’s car. In between though Rauen’s entertaining run back to the front continued as he was up to fifth by lap seven and Andy Eckrich had driven past Aikey for the lead on lap eight. Brian Harris slowed and brought out a caution on lap eighteen and on the restart the field finally settled into some longer term racing. Eckrich opened up a straightaway advantage while Rauen clawed his way past Aikey for second on lap twenty. Aikey came back to regain the spot briefly the following lap before Rauen flew by again and began to eat into the lead being enjoyed by Eckrich. The distance between the top two was visibly shrinking each lap and it looked like we were setting up for a thrilling finish until the caution waved on lap thirty-six for debris. During the caution Rauen pulled off the track and to his pit area, finished for the night. “Hammer Down” definitely put on a show this evening only to never see the checkers.
Another caution for debris on lap thirty-eight slowed the field one last time and, with Rauen now on the shelf, Eckrich drove away over the final twelve laps to score his first career Deery Brothers Summer Series victory. Terry Neal drove another consistently solid fifty-laps to finish second after starting in row five. Series point leader Ray Guss Jr. made a big early move from row six to get into the top five and settled for third tonight. Aikey would finish in the fourth position while Mark Preston rounded out the top five.
Farley Deery Notes…..Three drivers who suffered serious accidents at last Wednesday’s race in Knoxville were in borrowed cars tonight. Charlie McKenna is very appreciative of the gesture from veteran driver Gary Crawford who has offered up his car to “Chargin’ Charlie” to use for the remainder of the season. McKenna pulled an old body from his garage to hang on Crawford’s car, so to the fans it looked like it was McKenna’s old #22, but Charlie wanted me to make sure that our readers knew just how much he appreciated what Gary Crawford has done for him. McKenna was scheduled to start the feature from row eight, but he dropped to the back before the start. From there he was getting faster each lap and completed the race with a solid sixth-place finish……The cars of T.J. Criss and Kevin Blum both suffered serious damage when they collided last week at Knoxville. On this night Blum was behind the wheel of the Christner #67 that has been wheeled lately by Tony VonDresky. As always “The Wildman” was fast contending for the lead before the flat tire on lap three, but he raced his way all the way back up from the back to finish seventh. Criss, who told me that his own car would have been repaired and ready to race if this event were on Wednesday, was very pleased that Todd Cooney provided one of his cars to drive here at Farley. Criss drove a cautious race in the borrowed ride and finished just outside of the top ten in 14th……Eighteen IMCA Modifieds and nine Farley Flyers were also in action. Vern Jackson dominated the twenty-lap Modified feature starting from the outside of row one and going the distance unchallenged. Jerry Luloff was the runner-up, Leon Wilson took third ahead of Mark Schulte and Jason Seegmiller. Raritan, Illinois, driver Brandon Rothzen was a surprise visitor in the Modifieds making a nearly three hour pull north to Farley. Rothzen started eleventh and was challenging for third with five laps remaining when he appeared to have rear end issues along with a flat tire that ended his night. Brannon Bechen held off Jeremy Campbell to win the Flyer feature while John Flury finished third…..The next event for the Deery series will be on Monday August 16th for the annual event during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines…..Simmons Promotions will host another “Tornado Tuesday” event next week on August 10th as the Open Late Models will be at the West Liberty Raceway......The premier event for the Farley Speedway is just over a month away as the 33rd Annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic will be held here September 15th through the 18th.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Clauson Scores Win At US 36
The POWRi Midget series returned to the US 36 Raceway near Osborn, Missouri, Sunday for a night of action on the high-banked 3/8th-mile oval. When we attended this event last season it was one of our favorite shows of 2009 as all three divisions, the Midgets, the Modifieds and the Sport Mods all saw some great racing and the show was topped off by a last lap pass by J.J. Yeley to win the main event. This year, the Midgets put on another good night of racing, but the two Modified divisions came down with yellow fever that made for a late night.
Twenty-nine Midgets filled the upper pit area as four heats and a B-Main whittled the field down to twenty-two cars. Actually, make that twenty-three as former champion Brad Kuhn used a provisional to start the thirty-lap feature at the rear after struggling all night with mechanical issues. The first attempt at a start saw pole-sitter Andy Shouse and current point leader Brad Loyet make contact in turn one sending Loyet up the track and almost into the fence. Both cars stayed under power and in motion, but the caution waved anyway and both drivers were placed back into their original starting positions. On the next start Nick Knepper shot to the lead down the backstretch with Loyet, Bryan Clauson and Zach Daum in hot pursuit. These four drivers separated themselves from the rest of the field running in close formation around the cushion at both ends. As they entered lapped traffic things got real interesting with the leaders choosing different lines with plenty of slidejobs to go around, and I was impressed with how the backmarkers handled the situation as nobody ran into anybody! On lap eight as the four top contenders and three lapped cars raced their way through turn four in about five different lanes, Clauson used the bottom groove to drive from third to first down the front straightaway.
Even with the new leader, that wild battle at the front continued until lap fifteen when the caution waved for Don Droud Jr. who had spun in turn one. With clear track ahead of them on the restart, the lead quartet again drove away from the field and things were just about to get crazy again with lapped traffic when on lap twenty-three the red flag suddenly appeared for Mario Clouser who had flipped into the catch fence in turn two. Clouser crawled out from his car that was tangled in the fence and walked away while track crews went to work on making repairs to the barrier between the track and the pit area. After the long red neither Nick Knepper, who had been running fourth, or Tim Siner were able to re-fire and both drivers retired to the pits. As the field came to the green for the restart the lapped car of Will Pierce went spinning to the infield, apparently after contact from behind by Daum who was then moved back two positions in the running order from third to fifth for the next restart.
With no traffic to contend with over the last seven laps Clauson rode the preferred groove around the top unchallenged to the $3,000 victory with Loyet not too far behind in second. Matt Sherrell benefited from the penalty to Daum to take third while Daum passed Andrew Felker in the final two laps to finish fourth. Kuhn’s crew got the bugs out of his car just in time for the feature as he made a couple of challenges to Felker on the final lap for fifth, but he will have to be happy with a sixth-place finish on what had to be a frustrating night for the former National Midget Driver of the Year. Another driver that we felt would be a top contender on the night, Chad Boat, had his evening come to an end when his motor blew during the first heat race.
Twenty-five Sport Mods and forty Modifieds were on hand to lend support on the evening. The three Sport Mod heats struggled on a track that was still a little slick after being reworked and watered after hot laps while the Modified heats went pretty well except for a hard rollover down the front stretch by Michael Dotson in the final qualifier. Twenty-one cars started the Modified B-Main though and, after running about five green flag laps without incident, you could say that the wheels fell off as drivers mainly in the back of the pack kept spinning and or colliding causing caution after caution. Finally after twenty-five minutes and two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, the event was mercifully brought to a conclusion to the delight of much of the large crowd. Only the fans of the drivers running ninth on back who would not earn a transfer could have wanted this race to see another green flag.
The Midgets had been running third in the order through the qualifying events and we were thrilled when they announced that their feature would run first. And, when the checkered flag fell on that main event at 10:25 p.m. we headed for the car and our three and a half hour drive home. Checking the results here on Monday I see that Mark Dotson took the win in the Modified feature ahead of Matt Dotson, Jason Bodenhammer, Dennis Elliott and Shad Badder. Badder was the big mover in the race coming from sixteenth to finish fifth. USMTS regular Johnny Scott out of Las Cruces, New Mexico, came from tenth to finish second in his heat but then wound up with a 22nd-place finish in the feature. Cody Graham picked up the win in the Sport Mods followed by Tim Eaton, Jacob Ebert, Blake Peeler and Chris Wright.
A big thanks to track owners Mike and Ruth Franks for the hospitality shown to both Morgan and I this evening, keep an eye on the US 36 Raceway website to see when you can catch a special event at this fine facility.
If you are a Sprint Car or Midget fan make sure that you check out our newest blogger, soon to be added to Positively Racing, for Open Wheel News and Notes.
Next up for us is a trip to Farley on Tuesday for the Deery Brothers Summer Series event and then on Thursday it will be night number one of the Southern Iowa Sprint Speedweeks kicking off with the 360 Nationals at Knoxville. Hope to see you along the way!
Twenty-nine Midgets filled the upper pit area as four heats and a B-Main whittled the field down to twenty-two cars. Actually, make that twenty-three as former champion Brad Kuhn used a provisional to start the thirty-lap feature at the rear after struggling all night with mechanical issues. The first attempt at a start saw pole-sitter Andy Shouse and current point leader Brad Loyet make contact in turn one sending Loyet up the track and almost into the fence. Both cars stayed under power and in motion, but the caution waved anyway and both drivers were placed back into their original starting positions. On the next start Nick Knepper shot to the lead down the backstretch with Loyet, Bryan Clauson and Zach Daum in hot pursuit. These four drivers separated themselves from the rest of the field running in close formation around the cushion at both ends. As they entered lapped traffic things got real interesting with the leaders choosing different lines with plenty of slidejobs to go around, and I was impressed with how the backmarkers handled the situation as nobody ran into anybody! On lap eight as the four top contenders and three lapped cars raced their way through turn four in about five different lanes, Clauson used the bottom groove to drive from third to first down the front straightaway.
Even with the new leader, that wild battle at the front continued until lap fifteen when the caution waved for Don Droud Jr. who had spun in turn one. With clear track ahead of them on the restart, the lead quartet again drove away from the field and things were just about to get crazy again with lapped traffic when on lap twenty-three the red flag suddenly appeared for Mario Clouser who had flipped into the catch fence in turn two. Clouser crawled out from his car that was tangled in the fence and walked away while track crews went to work on making repairs to the barrier between the track and the pit area. After the long red neither Nick Knepper, who had been running fourth, or Tim Siner were able to re-fire and both drivers retired to the pits. As the field came to the green for the restart the lapped car of Will Pierce went spinning to the infield, apparently after contact from behind by Daum who was then moved back two positions in the running order from third to fifth for the next restart.
With no traffic to contend with over the last seven laps Clauson rode the preferred groove around the top unchallenged to the $3,000 victory with Loyet not too far behind in second. Matt Sherrell benefited from the penalty to Daum to take third while Daum passed Andrew Felker in the final two laps to finish fourth. Kuhn’s crew got the bugs out of his car just in time for the feature as he made a couple of challenges to Felker on the final lap for fifth, but he will have to be happy with a sixth-place finish on what had to be a frustrating night for the former National Midget Driver of the Year. Another driver that we felt would be a top contender on the night, Chad Boat, had his evening come to an end when his motor blew during the first heat race.
Twenty-five Sport Mods and forty Modifieds were on hand to lend support on the evening. The three Sport Mod heats struggled on a track that was still a little slick after being reworked and watered after hot laps while the Modified heats went pretty well except for a hard rollover down the front stretch by Michael Dotson in the final qualifier. Twenty-one cars started the Modified B-Main though and, after running about five green flag laps without incident, you could say that the wheels fell off as drivers mainly in the back of the pack kept spinning and or colliding causing caution after caution. Finally after twenty-five minutes and two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, the event was mercifully brought to a conclusion to the delight of much of the large crowd. Only the fans of the drivers running ninth on back who would not earn a transfer could have wanted this race to see another green flag.
The Midgets had been running third in the order through the qualifying events and we were thrilled when they announced that their feature would run first. And, when the checkered flag fell on that main event at 10:25 p.m. we headed for the car and our three and a half hour drive home. Checking the results here on Monday I see that Mark Dotson took the win in the Modified feature ahead of Matt Dotson, Jason Bodenhammer, Dennis Elliott and Shad Badder. Badder was the big mover in the race coming from sixteenth to finish fifth. USMTS regular Johnny Scott out of Las Cruces, New Mexico, came from tenth to finish second in his heat but then wound up with a 22nd-place finish in the feature. Cody Graham picked up the win in the Sport Mods followed by Tim Eaton, Jacob Ebert, Blake Peeler and Chris Wright.
A big thanks to track owners Mike and Ruth Franks for the hospitality shown to both Morgan and I this evening, keep an eye on the US 36 Raceway website to see when you can catch a special event at this fine facility.
If you are a Sprint Car or Midget fan make sure that you check out our newest blogger, soon to be added to Positively Racing, for Open Wheel News and Notes.
Next up for us is a trip to Farley on Tuesday for the Deery Brothers Summer Series event and then on Thursday it will be night number one of the Southern Iowa Sprint Speedweeks kicking off with the 360 Nationals at Knoxville. Hope to see you along the way!
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