For the story and full results visit the Knoxville Raceway website.
Former Knoxville track announcer Blake Anderson is back in the booth tonight as he is now the regular USAC voice and he has sprung a new nickname on us for Dustin Morgan, While most nicknames are pretty obvious and shared by drivers in other divisions or regions, Morgan’s “Full Blown Chaos” moniker is truly an original.
Group qualifying for the twenty-five 305’s on hand has had its share of issues with wheels coming off, spinouts and drivers trying to race each other rather than spreading out. What should have taken ten minutes is now nearing a half hour.
Brady Bacon establishes the quick time for the USAC Sprints while Levi Jones blows a right rear tire on his second lap.
USAC 1st heat – Daron Clayton hooks the cushion in turn one on the opening lap and takes a tumble. On the second start Hunter Schuerenberg bicycles in the same spot, brings it back down on all fours, bounces off the wall and continues on but will be headed to the B-Main after finishing seventh. Bacon backs up his fast time with the heat race victory.
USAC 2nd heat – I am thinking that I am a jinx for Robert Ballou as I swear that whenever I see him race he ends up flipping. That trend continues tonight as Ballou jumps the cushion in turn four and flips while leading this one. “The Wild Man” would return to start the A-Main at the back and work his way up to 11th at the finish. I’ll test the jinx theory again on Tuesday at Oskaloosa.
USAC 3rd heat – Justin Grant gets by Damion Gardner on the final lap to take the fourth and final transfer spot in a race won by Californian Keith Bloom Jr.
USAC 4th heat – It’s Full Blown Chaos as Dustin Morgan takes the win.
305 A-Main – Current All Iowa Points leader for the division Bill Boles is scheduled to start third, but does not make the call. Former IMCA Modified competitor down at Missouri’s I-35 Speedway and the now defunct Jamesport Speedway, Chad Huston starts from the pole and dominates the twelve-lap affair for his first career win at the Knoxville Raceway. Jamie Ball chases him all the way and finishes second, 2010 All Iowa Champ in the 305’s Casey Friedrichsen comes from sixth to third while the race to watch was for fourth as Matt Stephenson and Carson McCarl traded sliders over the final laps with Stephenson prevailing.
USAC A-Main – Jon Stanbrough jets to the lead working the bottom line on both ends of the half-mile. The red flag flies on lap two when veteran Dave Darland gets upside down in turn one. On lap eight defending race winner Bud Kaeding sweeps by Stanbrough on the cushion to take the lead and a lap later Brady Bacon follows Kaeding into second. Bacon stays close, but Kaeding looks in control until his car hops the cushion in turn two on lap thirteen and spins to a stop with a flat left rear tire. Bacon assumes the lead on the restart with Chris Windom now challenging on the bottom. Windom takes the lead going down the back stretch on lap fifteen only to have Bacon drive right back around him on the topside of turn four. Brady then drives to the low groove entering turn one to cut off Windom’s momentum and the moves works great as Windom is now fifteen car lengths back down the back stretch. Lapped traffic allows Windom to cut into that gap and on on the final lap he makes one last run into turn three, but he cannot hold it on the bottom and Bacon completes the clean sweep with the feature win. Jerry Coons Jr. comes from rown four to finish third, Stanbrough holds down fourth and Bryan Clauson comes from a tenth row start to take fifth.
Our tickets are purchased and we are looking forward to spending the week with our friends in Section I rows 19, 20 and 21, so there will not likely be daily updates from the Knoxville Nationals here this week as I will leave the notebook in the car. Plus, with the Press Luncheon now moved to Thursday each year I no longer have the opportunity to report on that. Check back in next week and hopefully I’ll have a summary of the week for you.
Enjoy the Nationals or the racing event that you choose to attend this week!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
21st Annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals - Saturday Notebook
For story and full results visit the Knoxville Raceway website.
410 1st heat - Fast qualifier Daryn Pittman got a very nice start. Ian Madsen gave up the lead to Sammy Swindell and then came back to pass him back for the victory. Then, after the checkers, Madsen's motor blew up on the back stretch ending his night.
410 2nd heat - On the initial attempt at the start pole-sitter Mark Dobmeier got on the gas too early and was penalized one row for jumping the start. On the second try David Gravel got a very nice start, but it was defending Knoxville Nationals champ Tim Shaffer who took the win.
410 3rd heat - Lynton Jeffrey had a very good start. Rookie A.J. Moeller started outside of row one and spun sideways exiting turn two sending the field scrambling. Johnny Herrera could not avoid Moeller and both cars went for a tumble. Brian Brown goes on to win this one, a very impressive feat considering that he spent most of Friday night at the hospital getting x-rays.
410 C Main - Jessica Zemken was running second when her right front tire came off as she raced down the back stretch.
410 Dash - The six-car field fanned out four wide as they hit the chalk line for the start. Tyler Walker went on to win while Terry McCarl took an extra lap to perhaps express his thoughts on the start.
360 C Main - Ronnie Blair tagged the turn one guardrail on lap two. Henry Van Dam was impressive coming from the fifth row to take the win. The final transfer out of the D-Main Brady Bacon charged through the field to finish fifth, just one spot out of moving up to the B-Main.
360 B Main - The final lap of this one was a thriller as Daryn Pittman, who started ninth, passed leader Clint Garner in turns one and two. Racing into turn three Pittman was forced to the cushion as he tried get around Larry Ball Jr. so Garner hugged the berm and the two raced wheel-to-wheel off of four with Garner taking the win by an eyelash, or 0.032 seconds.
410 A Main - Brian Brown avoided disaster when he hopped a wheel on Jason Johnson's #41 as the two raced full speed down the back stretch on lap one. Fortunately Brian was able to keep it on all fours as another hard ride could have been very serious. Kevin Swindell came from a row two start to take the lead on the opening lap and when his father Sammy spun as he was trying to pull to the infield in turn two on lap nine his margin was wiped away. Once back to racing Tyler Walker riding the high line was able to stay within six car-lengths of Swindell who was working the low line around the half-mile. With five laps remaining the leader was closing quickly on Robby Wolfgang and Bud Kaeding who were racing up in Walker's line, but when Kaeding drove to the bottom into turn one Swindell had to turn his car nearly sideways to keep from hitting Kaeding. Kevin recovered nicely and stayed ahead of Walker over the remaining laps to take the win. Walker was the runner-up for the second week in a row here followed by fifth row starters Danny Lasoski and Tim Shaffer. For the second week in a row Mark Dobmeier made a big run coming from row ten to take fifth.
360 A-Main - With lightning flashing to the west the field took the green and then went to red as Dustin Selvage bicycled and then went end over end sending his tail tank vaulting over the wall in turn two. The race went red again on lap three as Derek Hagar hopped the berm and then went for a tumble in turn one. Once back to green Sammy Swindell drove past Randy Hannagan for second and then set his sights on leader Shane Stewart. Swindell had erased the lead and was ready to pounce on Stewart when the caution flag waved on lap eleven for Clint Garner who was sitting next to the guardrail in turn one. On the restart Stewart hit the button perfectly and pulled out to a big margin over Swindell. The lightning was getting very close as Swindell cut back into that lead and with lapped traffic again coming into play it looked like Sammy was ready to make another run at lead until he jumped the cushion in turn one with five laps remaining. That was exactly what Stewart needed to pull away for his second straight 360 Nationals Championship while Sammy's bobble allowed Tim Shaffer to slip by him for second. Bill Alley followed Swindell in fourth while Davey Heskin completed the top five.
If anybody was wondering what effect the Nationwide Series race at Newton would have on tonight's crowd, the answer is apparently "none" as the front stretch grandstand was as full as you would usually see for a Wednesday night at the 410 Nationals. Reports are that the Iowa Speedway was packed tight as well to see a thrilling finish with former sprint car phenom Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being shoved across the line by Carl Edwards. Two big crowds within thirty miles of each other shows that Iowa truly is the heartland of racing.
We didn't stick around to see the scramble to get 135 sprint cars loaded up and out of the pits before a line of strong thunderstorms swept through with high winds and heavy rain. The weather is supposed to clear for Sunday night's USAC non-wing sprint show here supported by the 305's.
410 1st heat - Fast qualifier Daryn Pittman got a very nice start. Ian Madsen gave up the lead to Sammy Swindell and then came back to pass him back for the victory. Then, after the checkers, Madsen's motor blew up on the back stretch ending his night.
410 2nd heat - On the initial attempt at the start pole-sitter Mark Dobmeier got on the gas too early and was penalized one row for jumping the start. On the second try David Gravel got a very nice start, but it was defending Knoxville Nationals champ Tim Shaffer who took the win.
410 3rd heat - Lynton Jeffrey had a very good start. Rookie A.J. Moeller started outside of row one and spun sideways exiting turn two sending the field scrambling. Johnny Herrera could not avoid Moeller and both cars went for a tumble. Brian Brown goes on to win this one, a very impressive feat considering that he spent most of Friday night at the hospital getting x-rays.
410 C Main - Jessica Zemken was running second when her right front tire came off as she raced down the back stretch.
410 Dash - The six-car field fanned out four wide as they hit the chalk line for the start. Tyler Walker went on to win while Terry McCarl took an extra lap to perhaps express his thoughts on the start.
360 C Main - Ronnie Blair tagged the turn one guardrail on lap two. Henry Van Dam was impressive coming from the fifth row to take the win. The final transfer out of the D-Main Brady Bacon charged through the field to finish fifth, just one spot out of moving up to the B-Main.
360 B Main - The final lap of this one was a thriller as Daryn Pittman, who started ninth, passed leader Clint Garner in turns one and two. Racing into turn three Pittman was forced to the cushion as he tried get around Larry Ball Jr. so Garner hugged the berm and the two raced wheel-to-wheel off of four with Garner taking the win by an eyelash, or 0.032 seconds.
410 A Main - Brian Brown avoided disaster when he hopped a wheel on Jason Johnson's #41 as the two raced full speed down the back stretch on lap one. Fortunately Brian was able to keep it on all fours as another hard ride could have been very serious. Kevin Swindell came from a row two start to take the lead on the opening lap and when his father Sammy spun as he was trying to pull to the infield in turn two on lap nine his margin was wiped away. Once back to racing Tyler Walker riding the high line was able to stay within six car-lengths of Swindell who was working the low line around the half-mile. With five laps remaining the leader was closing quickly on Robby Wolfgang and Bud Kaeding who were racing up in Walker's line, but when Kaeding drove to the bottom into turn one Swindell had to turn his car nearly sideways to keep from hitting Kaeding. Kevin recovered nicely and stayed ahead of Walker over the remaining laps to take the win. Walker was the runner-up for the second week in a row here followed by fifth row starters Danny Lasoski and Tim Shaffer. For the second week in a row Mark Dobmeier made a big run coming from row ten to take fifth.
360 A-Main - With lightning flashing to the west the field took the green and then went to red as Dustin Selvage bicycled and then went end over end sending his tail tank vaulting over the wall in turn two. The race went red again on lap three as Derek Hagar hopped the berm and then went for a tumble in turn one. Once back to green Sammy Swindell drove past Randy Hannagan for second and then set his sights on leader Shane Stewart. Swindell had erased the lead and was ready to pounce on Stewart when the caution flag waved on lap eleven for Clint Garner who was sitting next to the guardrail in turn one. On the restart Stewart hit the button perfectly and pulled out to a big margin over Swindell. The lightning was getting very close as Swindell cut back into that lead and with lapped traffic again coming into play it looked like Sammy was ready to make another run at lead until he jumped the cushion in turn one with five laps remaining. That was exactly what Stewart needed to pull away for his second straight 360 Nationals Championship while Sammy's bobble allowed Tim Shaffer to slip by him for second. Bill Alley followed Swindell in fourth while Davey Heskin completed the top five.
If anybody was wondering what effect the Nationwide Series race at Newton would have on tonight's crowd, the answer is apparently "none" as the front stretch grandstand was as full as you would usually see for a Wednesday night at the 410 Nationals. Reports are that the Iowa Speedway was packed tight as well to see a thrilling finish with former sprint car phenom Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being shoved across the line by Carl Edwards. Two big crowds within thirty miles of each other shows that Iowa truly is the heartland of racing.
We didn't stick around to see the scramble to get 135 sprint cars loaded up and out of the pits before a line of strong thunderstorms swept through with high winds and heavy rain. The weather is supposed to clear for Sunday night's USAC non-wing sprint show here supported by the 305's.
21st Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals - Friday Notebook
For full results visit the Knoxville Raceway website
With the rainout of Thursday night's qualifier the two nights were combined and, in essence, it was a typical two "division" program. The only difference was that both of those "divisions" (Thursday and Friday) each had on lap of qualifying and the heat races were staggered.
The next time anybody tries to make a case about how the Knoxville Raceway doesn't care about the fans keep this in mind. The large crowd here tonight paid the same ticket price $20 as they would have for a normal qualifying night. That also means that the track lost out on between $60,000 and $100,000 in revenue by not having the Thursday show as a stand-alone event.
A total of 97 cars filled the pits with 49 cars for Thursday and 48 for Friday, however during hot laps it looked like we might lose several of them due to engine issues. Smokers included J.D. Johnson, Alan Ambers, Jeff Swindell, Austin Alumbaugh, Brooke Tatnell, Danny Lasoski, Tim Crawley, Cody Baker and Brian Brown. Garry Lee Maier add a nice fireball to his smoke and while Brown was the only one to leave the track to change a motor, all drivers came back to compete.
Also during hot laps Seth Bergman had his left top wing panel break away and rookie driver Tyler Groenendyk had his entire left rear wheel and axle pull out from the center section exiting turn four sending on piece of equipment floating through the air and landing safely in front of the grandstand. Groenendyk was the B-Modified track champion last year at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa.
Tonight's show was delayed by rain that fell between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. Qualifying started at 8:55 p.m. and was complete at 9:45.
Thursday 1st Heat - Dylan Peterson was running a strong third before his nose wing shifted and he faded to ninth. Dave Hall had the race locked up before the last place car of Cody Ambers smacked the guardrail exiting turn two and rolled with two laps remaining. Fast qualifier Zach Chappell used the restart to pass Hall on the final lap as he continued his quest for a perfect score in qualifying night points.
Friday 1st Heat - Fast qualifier Danny Lasoski was running one spot out of a transfer in fifth mid-race before his motor let go ending his evening. The report from pit announcer Mike Roberts was a burnt piston.
Thursday Heat 2 - Florida native R.J. Johnson was a bit of a surprise as the second fastest qualifier and he backed it up by qualifying for the main event taking fourth in this heat.
Thursday Heat 3 - After changing motors earlier Brian Brown was only able to post the 43rd fastest time putting him in row five for this heat. On the start contact between Tyler Groenendyk and Alan Zoutte sent Zoutte up the track and into Brown in turn one. Both Zoutte and Brown went for a series of hard flips including contact with the guardrail and the Goodyear billboard high above the track. After a couple of tense moments Zoutte emerged from his mangled ride unscathed and a few minutes later Brown gingerly walked from his car to the ambulance that would take him in for x-rays.
Friday Heat 3 - Tony Shilling gets faster every time we see him and in this one he stayed well ahead of one the best 360 racers in the country, Shane Stewart, to take the win.
Thursday Heat 4 - After setting quick time last Saturday night young Tasker Phillips did not punch the clock as fast tonight ranking 29th, but nobody could catch him during this heat race even when his right rear tire went flat coming off turn four. Two favorites, Travis Rilat and Terry McCarl, could not crack the top four and would have to run the B-Main.
Thursday Heat 5 - This was the Lone Star heat as Texas drivers Kolt Walker, Eric Baldaccini, John Carney II, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Aaron Reutzel finished first, second, third, fifth and eighth respectively.
Friday Heat 5 - Tim Shaffer finished fourth in this one and Morgan noted that this was probably the first time ever that the defending 410 Knoxville Nationals Champion was in competition at the 360 Nationals. Bill W., can you confirm that?
B-Mains - Not much drama to speak of in either one of these as the drivers who started in the top four finished in the top four in both to transfer on to their respective features.
Thursday A-Main - Dave Hall went for a cartwheel after jumping the cushion in turn one on the start. On the restart third-starting Jeff Swindell did not come up to speed at the chalk line and Chad Humston had his front end pointed to to sky after driving over Swindell's right rear. When Humston hit the gas the front end of his ride rose up again and by the time he was back in control he had dropped to the rear of the field. The green satyed on and pole-sitter Lee Grosz shot to the lead with Davey Heskin in hot pursuit. The red flag waved again on lap six when Matt Covington went for a tumble coming out of turn two. Zach Chappell spun in turn two with three laps to go and on the restart Jon Agan and R.J. Johnson both flipped in turn two collecting Kolt Walker. There was no catching Grosz over the final three laps as he picked up his first career win at the famed Knoxville oval. Heskin, Jason Johnson and Jeff Swindell each finished where they started in second, third and fourth. Billy Alley was the big mover here coming from the twelfth row to finish fifth, Derek Hagar was sixth and Dustin Elvage was seventh. Sam Hafertepe Jr. came from row eleven to take eighth.
Friday A-Main - After taking the final transfer in the B-Main Jack Dover sat in the staging area with his hood off as the field took the green flag. Wayne Johnson paced the field early while Ryan Anderson and Sammy Swindell swapped sliders just behind him. The only caution of the race came on lap two when Larry Ball Jr. coasted to a halt in turn four. On the restart the race for second continued to entertain as the budget racer Anderson did his best to fight off the legend Swindell, before Sammy took the spot for good on lap eight. Next Swindell went after Johnson and on lap twelve Sammy drove under Wayne for the lead in turn four. There was no catching the new leader over the final eight laps as Swindell posted the win with Wayne Johnson second. Shane Stewart worked his way forward from a fourth row start to take third and post the highest point total of the night to earn the pole position for Saturday's championship event. Randy Hannagan will start next to Stewart after finishing fourth in this one and kudos to Ryan Anderson for a solid fifth-place run. Tennessee driver Justin Carver was impressive in sixth followed by 410 regulars David Gravel, Tim Shaffer and Daryn Pittman. Pittman started this race in row ten.
The lineups for Saturday's Championship night are here and the 360's will be joined by a full show for the 410's sanctioned by the All Stars.
With the rainout of Thursday night's qualifier the two nights were combined and, in essence, it was a typical two "division" program. The only difference was that both of those "divisions" (Thursday and Friday) each had on lap of qualifying and the heat races were staggered.
The next time anybody tries to make a case about how the Knoxville Raceway doesn't care about the fans keep this in mind. The large crowd here tonight paid the same ticket price $20 as they would have for a normal qualifying night. That also means that the track lost out on between $60,000 and $100,000 in revenue by not having the Thursday show as a stand-alone event.
A total of 97 cars filled the pits with 49 cars for Thursday and 48 for Friday, however during hot laps it looked like we might lose several of them due to engine issues. Smokers included J.D. Johnson, Alan Ambers, Jeff Swindell, Austin Alumbaugh, Brooke Tatnell, Danny Lasoski, Tim Crawley, Cody Baker and Brian Brown. Garry Lee Maier add a nice fireball to his smoke and while Brown was the only one to leave the track to change a motor, all drivers came back to compete.
Also during hot laps Seth Bergman had his left top wing panel break away and rookie driver Tyler Groenendyk had his entire left rear wheel and axle pull out from the center section exiting turn four sending on piece of equipment floating through the air and landing safely in front of the grandstand. Groenendyk was the B-Modified track champion last year at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa.
Tonight's show was delayed by rain that fell between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. Qualifying started at 8:55 p.m. and was complete at 9:45.
Thursday 1st Heat - Dylan Peterson was running a strong third before his nose wing shifted and he faded to ninth. Dave Hall had the race locked up before the last place car of Cody Ambers smacked the guardrail exiting turn two and rolled with two laps remaining. Fast qualifier Zach Chappell used the restart to pass Hall on the final lap as he continued his quest for a perfect score in qualifying night points.
Friday 1st Heat - Fast qualifier Danny Lasoski was running one spot out of a transfer in fifth mid-race before his motor let go ending his evening. The report from pit announcer Mike Roberts was a burnt piston.
Thursday Heat 2 - Florida native R.J. Johnson was a bit of a surprise as the second fastest qualifier and he backed it up by qualifying for the main event taking fourth in this heat.
Thursday Heat 3 - After changing motors earlier Brian Brown was only able to post the 43rd fastest time putting him in row five for this heat. On the start contact between Tyler Groenendyk and Alan Zoutte sent Zoutte up the track and into Brown in turn one. Both Zoutte and Brown went for a series of hard flips including contact with the guardrail and the Goodyear billboard high above the track. After a couple of tense moments Zoutte emerged from his mangled ride unscathed and a few minutes later Brown gingerly walked from his car to the ambulance that would take him in for x-rays.
Friday Heat 3 - Tony Shilling gets faster every time we see him and in this one he stayed well ahead of one the best 360 racers in the country, Shane Stewart, to take the win.
Thursday Heat 4 - After setting quick time last Saturday night young Tasker Phillips did not punch the clock as fast tonight ranking 29th, but nobody could catch him during this heat race even when his right rear tire went flat coming off turn four. Two favorites, Travis Rilat and Terry McCarl, could not crack the top four and would have to run the B-Main.
Thursday Heat 5 - This was the Lone Star heat as Texas drivers Kolt Walker, Eric Baldaccini, John Carney II, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Aaron Reutzel finished first, second, third, fifth and eighth respectively.
Friday Heat 5 - Tim Shaffer finished fourth in this one and Morgan noted that this was probably the first time ever that the defending 410 Knoxville Nationals Champion was in competition at the 360 Nationals. Bill W., can you confirm that?
B-Mains - Not much drama to speak of in either one of these as the drivers who started in the top four finished in the top four in both to transfer on to their respective features.
Thursday A-Main - Dave Hall went for a cartwheel after jumping the cushion in turn one on the start. On the restart third-starting Jeff Swindell did not come up to speed at the chalk line and Chad Humston had his front end pointed to to sky after driving over Swindell's right rear. When Humston hit the gas the front end of his ride rose up again and by the time he was back in control he had dropped to the rear of the field. The green satyed on and pole-sitter Lee Grosz shot to the lead with Davey Heskin in hot pursuit. The red flag waved again on lap six when Matt Covington went for a tumble coming out of turn two. Zach Chappell spun in turn two with three laps to go and on the restart Jon Agan and R.J. Johnson both flipped in turn two collecting Kolt Walker. There was no catching Grosz over the final three laps as he picked up his first career win at the famed Knoxville oval. Heskin, Jason Johnson and Jeff Swindell each finished where they started in second, third and fourth. Billy Alley was the big mover here coming from the twelfth row to finish fifth, Derek Hagar was sixth and Dustin Elvage was seventh. Sam Hafertepe Jr. came from row eleven to take eighth.
Friday A-Main - After taking the final transfer in the B-Main Jack Dover sat in the staging area with his hood off as the field took the green flag. Wayne Johnson paced the field early while Ryan Anderson and Sammy Swindell swapped sliders just behind him. The only caution of the race came on lap two when Larry Ball Jr. coasted to a halt in turn four. On the restart the race for second continued to entertain as the budget racer Anderson did his best to fight off the legend Swindell, before Sammy took the spot for good on lap eight. Next Swindell went after Johnson and on lap twelve Sammy drove under Wayne for the lead in turn four. There was no catching the new leader over the final eight laps as Swindell posted the win with Wayne Johnson second. Shane Stewart worked his way forward from a fourth row start to take third and post the highest point total of the night to earn the pole position for Saturday's championship event. Randy Hannagan will start next to Stewart after finishing fourth in this one and kudos to Ryan Anderson for a solid fifth-place run. Tennessee driver Justin Carver was impressive in sixth followed by 410 regulars David Gravel, Tim Shaffer and Daryn Pittman. Pittman started this race in row ten.
The lineups for Saturday's Championship night are here and the 360's will be joined by a full show for the 410's sanctioned by the All Stars.
Friday, August 5, 2011
All Iowa Points Chase Starting Home Stretch
I thought that I would be writing about the opening night of the Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville 360 Nationals this morning, but with the steady light rain that fell on the track for three hours that show will be combined with Friday’s qualifier to make for one very full night of racing this evening. So instead let’s take a look at the All Iowa Points as they stand through the end of July.
With the Webmistress on vacation right now we still have the July 27th update up on the Points page right now, so you can go there to find where your favorite driver ranks a week ago compared to the top drivers that we’ll talk about here as we enter the final month of the “weekly racing” season. If a driver needs to make a move, August is the month to do it not only in the weekly shows, but with the weeknight special events as well.
In the Late Models it appears that Ray Guss Jr. is well on his way to his third straight All Iowa Points title and as his sixth championship overall as he holds a firm 41-point lead over both Terry Neal and Todd Cooney. Ray’s other three championships also came in succession in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Nothing like doing something amazing all over again a full twenty years later!
Ryan Dolan made a big move in August last year to take the 2010 Modified championship and this year he enters the month with a 15-point advantage over Randy Havlik. Two-time champ Mark Schulte (2006 & 2007) is still within striking distance 29 points back in third while J.J. Wise and Steven DeLonjay are some new faces gracing the top five.
Timmy Current enjoys a 30-point lead right now in the Stock Car division as he tries to nail down his first All Iowa Points championship. Drivers are stacked up behind him as Damon Murty, David Smith and Derek Green are all tied for second and two-time Hobby Stock champ Donovan Smith (2004 & 2006) is one point behind them in fifth.
The two most dominant drivers in 2011 reside in the Limited Modified division where both Jesse Sobbing and Cayden Carter are on their way to more than 30 wins this season. Sobbing is already at that plateau and holds a 62-point lead on Carter as both look for their first All Iowa Points championship. Brandon Hare and Doug Smith are both having great seasons as well, but are a distant third and fourth.
Devin Smith is looking like he will defend his 2010 AIP Hobby Stock title as he has a 48-point cushion over 2008 and 2009 champ Shannon Anderson. If Devin wins it will be the eighth time in the last nine years that at least one of the Smith brothers from Lake City have won an All Iowa title. Michael Murphy and John Watson are both enjoying fine seasons and are ranked third and fourth with more than 100 points each.
The Chandler family is in control of the Four Cylinder standings at this point with Nathan leading his father Merv by just two points and his brother Brad by twenty-four. Megan Lappegard, Jacob Ellithorpe and Tyler Whalen are looking to beak up the family though and crack the top three.
The three Sprint Car divisions sometimes see a bit of a shake up near the top during Knoxville Nationals time, especially if any of the “regulars” are able to crack the top five on a qualifying night or in the finale. Going into August five-time champ Danny Lasoski (1986, 1987, 1990, 1992 & 1993) holds a five point lead over four-time titlist Mark Dobmeier (2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010) in the 410 division with Gregg Bakker and ten-time champ Terry McCarl (1994, 1996, 1998-2004 & 2009) tied for third only 11-points out of the lead. Jack Dover shared the 2010 360 Sprint title with Eric Lutz and it looks like he might win it on his own this year as “The Gasman” enjoys an 18-point cushion over 2009 champ Mike Boston. And in the 305’s it is Bill Boles leading 2006 champ in what appears to be a two horse race at this point.
On to another subject……if you are regular here you likely know that I have a “love/hate” relationship with the forum boards associated with our sport. I love to use them to obtain information that I otherwise wouldn’t find, or know to look for, and much to the chagrin of at least two AWPs, I love to use the forums to make sure that people who are looking for more complete coverage of an event know where they can find that coverage provided by myself or other Positively Racing bloggers. On a side note, apparently those people who raise a fuss about this practice must think that we are all getting rich off of this hobby of ours, or something, as I cannot understand why they would be so against people who are actually promoting the sport that they also claim to love.
I hate the forums when posts are made that do nothing but damage the sport either by tearing down a track, a promoter, an event, a driver, an official, etc., etc. And 95% of the time those posts are made by what long-time Sunset Speedway promoter Craig Kelley called Anonymous Weasel Posters or AWPs. They shroud themselves in the “freedom of speech” mantra even though our founding fathers would have never envisioned a medium where one’s speech did not have to be backed up by at least a little bit of fact (Doesn’t matter if what you are posting is true, it just has to be interesting), or to have the speaker’s opinion backed up by the reputation of the individual voicing the opinion (not possible because they are anonymous, so you have no idea of their motive or bias)……but I digress.
I guess I went through all of that above to let you know that even though the forums drive me crazy, I’m still addicted to them, and on one them right now there is a thread that caught my eye titled “what should Supernationals 2012 purse be?” The thread was started by our buddy “fasttrackfan” who I don’t always agree with, but who I completely respect because he goes to a ton of races and obviously loves the sport. The post is based upon the assumption that drivers will stay away “in protest of this years race” and as a result they will have 200 cars less than they had in 2010, so I guess we should first see if this assumption actually turns out to be true or not. The thread is up to four pages now and of course the common theme is that an event that draws so many cars and so many fans each year should be paying a MUCH larger purse and my question is “why”?
The annual Ice Bowl at the Talladega Short Track in Alabama has a similar discussion on the forum boards each year as people say that an event that draws 80 Super Late Models each year should be paying a lot more than $5,000-to-win. “The promoters are making a killing, it’s unfair!” Of course nobody ever seems to take a step back and say, if the current purse structure draws 80 Super Late Models, why mess with it? If 240 IMCA Modified drivers pull in from all over North America for $2,000-to-win plus contingencies, why does someone think that the system is broken? In the thread people try to “make a point” by stating what other events pay to win……but those other high-paying events don’t come close to the same car counts.
Could it be that the comparatively low purse is actually a reason why the car counts are so high? Raise the Ice Bowl purse to $10,000 or $15,000 to win and watch the car count drop to around 40 Super Late Models. Why? Because, those five “big name” drivers that will now grace the event with their presence will now chase away 45 other drivers who no longer feel they are capable of making the show, or even taking the victory. The “big names” of IMCA are already at the SuperNationals but here’s a random thought. Make it $10,000-to-win and perhaps you take a lot of the fun out of it and make it a much more serious affair? Does that result in a decline in car count instead of what most would think would be an increase? We may never know, but I do know this. When a promoter or sanctioning body has built up an event over time that becomes a “signature event”, they deserve to make a nice profit on it.
Speaking of which, times up and I’m headed to Knoxville. Check in here regularly for updates over the next nine days from Sprint Car heaven. And if you have a moment, here is an interesting point of view on the Brickyard 400 by one of my favorite bloggers Mark Titus. Enjoy!
With the Webmistress on vacation right now we still have the July 27th update up on the Points page right now, so you can go there to find where your favorite driver ranks a week ago compared to the top drivers that we’ll talk about here as we enter the final month of the “weekly racing” season. If a driver needs to make a move, August is the month to do it not only in the weekly shows, but with the weeknight special events as well.
In the Late Models it appears that Ray Guss Jr. is well on his way to his third straight All Iowa Points title and as his sixth championship overall as he holds a firm 41-point lead over both Terry Neal and Todd Cooney. Ray’s other three championships also came in succession in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Nothing like doing something amazing all over again a full twenty years later!
Ryan Dolan made a big move in August last year to take the 2010 Modified championship and this year he enters the month with a 15-point advantage over Randy Havlik. Two-time champ Mark Schulte (2006 & 2007) is still within striking distance 29 points back in third while J.J. Wise and Steven DeLonjay are some new faces gracing the top five.
Timmy Current enjoys a 30-point lead right now in the Stock Car division as he tries to nail down his first All Iowa Points championship. Drivers are stacked up behind him as Damon Murty, David Smith and Derek Green are all tied for second and two-time Hobby Stock champ Donovan Smith (2004 & 2006) is one point behind them in fifth.
The two most dominant drivers in 2011 reside in the Limited Modified division where both Jesse Sobbing and Cayden Carter are on their way to more than 30 wins this season. Sobbing is already at that plateau and holds a 62-point lead on Carter as both look for their first All Iowa Points championship. Brandon Hare and Doug Smith are both having great seasons as well, but are a distant third and fourth.
Devin Smith is looking like he will defend his 2010 AIP Hobby Stock title as he has a 48-point cushion over 2008 and 2009 champ Shannon Anderson. If Devin wins it will be the eighth time in the last nine years that at least one of the Smith brothers from Lake City have won an All Iowa title. Michael Murphy and John Watson are both enjoying fine seasons and are ranked third and fourth with more than 100 points each.
The Chandler family is in control of the Four Cylinder standings at this point with Nathan leading his father Merv by just two points and his brother Brad by twenty-four. Megan Lappegard, Jacob Ellithorpe and Tyler Whalen are looking to beak up the family though and crack the top three.
The three Sprint Car divisions sometimes see a bit of a shake up near the top during Knoxville Nationals time, especially if any of the “regulars” are able to crack the top five on a qualifying night or in the finale. Going into August five-time champ Danny Lasoski (1986, 1987, 1990, 1992 & 1993) holds a five point lead over four-time titlist Mark Dobmeier (2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010) in the 410 division with Gregg Bakker and ten-time champ Terry McCarl (1994, 1996, 1998-2004 & 2009) tied for third only 11-points out of the lead. Jack Dover shared the 2010 360 Sprint title with Eric Lutz and it looks like he might win it on his own this year as “The Gasman” enjoys an 18-point cushion over 2009 champ Mike Boston. And in the 305’s it is Bill Boles leading 2006 champ in what appears to be a two horse race at this point.
On to another subject……if you are regular here you likely know that I have a “love/hate” relationship with the forum boards associated with our sport. I love to use them to obtain information that I otherwise wouldn’t find, or know to look for, and much to the chagrin of at least two AWPs, I love to use the forums to make sure that people who are looking for more complete coverage of an event know where they can find that coverage provided by myself or other Positively Racing bloggers. On a side note, apparently those people who raise a fuss about this practice must think that we are all getting rich off of this hobby of ours, or something, as I cannot understand why they would be so against people who are actually promoting the sport that they also claim to love.
I hate the forums when posts are made that do nothing but damage the sport either by tearing down a track, a promoter, an event, a driver, an official, etc., etc. And 95% of the time those posts are made by what long-time Sunset Speedway promoter Craig Kelley called Anonymous Weasel Posters or AWPs. They shroud themselves in the “freedom of speech” mantra even though our founding fathers would have never envisioned a medium where one’s speech did not have to be backed up by at least a little bit of fact (Doesn’t matter if what you are posting is true, it just has to be interesting), or to have the speaker’s opinion backed up by the reputation of the individual voicing the opinion (not possible because they are anonymous, so you have no idea of their motive or bias)……but I digress.
I guess I went through all of that above to let you know that even though the forums drive me crazy, I’m still addicted to them, and on one them right now there is a thread that caught my eye titled “what should Supernationals 2012 purse be?” The thread was started by our buddy “fasttrackfan” who I don’t always agree with, but who I completely respect because he goes to a ton of races and obviously loves the sport. The post is based upon the assumption that drivers will stay away “in protest of this years race” and as a result they will have 200 cars less than they had in 2010, so I guess we should first see if this assumption actually turns out to be true or not. The thread is up to four pages now and of course the common theme is that an event that draws so many cars and so many fans each year should be paying a MUCH larger purse and my question is “why”?
The annual Ice Bowl at the Talladega Short Track in Alabama has a similar discussion on the forum boards each year as people say that an event that draws 80 Super Late Models each year should be paying a lot more than $5,000-to-win. “The promoters are making a killing, it’s unfair!” Of course nobody ever seems to take a step back and say, if the current purse structure draws 80 Super Late Models, why mess with it? If 240 IMCA Modified drivers pull in from all over North America for $2,000-to-win plus contingencies, why does someone think that the system is broken? In the thread people try to “make a point” by stating what other events pay to win……but those other high-paying events don’t come close to the same car counts.
Could it be that the comparatively low purse is actually a reason why the car counts are so high? Raise the Ice Bowl purse to $10,000 or $15,000 to win and watch the car count drop to around 40 Super Late Models. Why? Because, those five “big name” drivers that will now grace the event with their presence will now chase away 45 other drivers who no longer feel they are capable of making the show, or even taking the victory. The “big names” of IMCA are already at the SuperNationals but here’s a random thought. Make it $10,000-to-win and perhaps you take a lot of the fun out of it and make it a much more serious affair? Does that result in a decline in car count instead of what most would think would be an increase? We may never know, but I do know this. When a promoter or sanctioning body has built up an event over time that becomes a “signature event”, they deserve to make a nice profit on it.
Speaking of which, times up and I’m headed to Knoxville. Check in here regularly for updates over the next nine days from Sprint Car heaven. And if you have a moment, here is an interesting point of view on the Brickyard 400 by one of my favorite bloggers Mark Titus. Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Cedar County Raceway Delivers Once Again
It is not often that I leave a race track after a driver goes flag-to-flag to win the forty-lap main event thinking "wow, that was a heck of a show", but that was the case Tuesday night as the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models returned to the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton. Of course it didn't hurt that the support class feature saw eight lead changes between four drivers in its thirty-five-lap feature, but more on that later.
The Deery Series had not been to this quarter-mile oval for fourteen years and please put me down as voting for only a nine to twelve month absence this time around. Nate Beuseling, who just dominated a week ago at Knoxville to win his first career series race, drew the pole position for the main event here tonight and since I have already given away the fact that somebody led every lap I might as well just tell you now that he made it two in a row here this evening. First though, the young driver from Silvis, Illinois, had to earn his way to the re-draw opportunity after starting in the last row of the third heat race. Beuseling patiently picked his way through the field and on the final lap he muscled his way past T.J. Criss on the inside of turn four to take the third and final transfer spot. He then drew the "one" during intermission and, well you know the rest as far as Nate is concerned, win number two in convincing fashion.
Defending series champion Ray Guss Jr. started right behind Beuseling in third and after the race's second caution on lap four, Guss went to work on the leader. Ray tried to work the next groove up from the low-riding Beuseling and was able to draw even a couple of times on laps five and six before Beuseling shook off the challenge and pulled away. The focus now was on the young man from nearby Wheatland, Justin Kay. Kay had already thrilled his fans, especially Brenda (I'm pretty sure that's his Mother) who stood in front of us during most of the first B-Main, as he rode the extreme topside of the speedway to come from the back of the pack to run second to winner Justin Reed. She apologized and said that now that he was safely in the feature she would just sit and watch that one. But we told her that once he got into the top five, we expected and encouraged her to be standing! Starting on the inside of row eight Kay raced those first four laps down low just like most everybody else, but following the restart he went back up to that high side and magic happened once again.
Lap by lap he started to move forward and even though the leader Beuseling was nearly half a lap ahead of him at the mid-race mark, with lapped traffic starting to come into play you just knew that Kay might just have a chance. He was ninth, then eighth, then seventh, then he passed Reed who was also coming toward the front for sixth and being a smart driver himself, Reed moved up the track a bit as well and maintained Kay's quick pace. Brenda moved down a few rows in the bleachers just before Justin took over the fifth spot because there was absolutely no way that she was going to stay seated now. Andy Eckrich had now replaced Guss in the second spot and with the traffic heavy he was closing in on the leader as well. Kay drove past Guss for third with about five laps to go while Reed stayed right with him and as the white flag waved Kay was even with Eckrich for second with Beuseling about five car lengths ahead picking his way through traffic. As the pack went down the back stretch Kay's bite off two was phenomenal once again and he edged ahead of Eckrich for second, but there were lapped cars involved as well and it was mad scramble through the final two turns. Beuseling was smooth and hugged the bottom to take the checkers first while Kay slipped his right rear wheel off the top side of turn four.
That slightest of bobbles was enough to let both Eckrich and Reed drive by him for second and third and it appeared that Guss also edged out Kay by inches for the fourth spot. With the final checkers flying at 9:20 p.m. I took a moment to cross the track to see if I could get the official finish and I was told that the scorers were still trying to sort things out. So the top five as I give it to you here is completely unofficial, but I will update it with the proper finish if this is wrong. Yes folks, it was that wild of a finish and if they had a finish line camera system they might still be looking at it to determine the actual finish.
Late Model Notes......Thirty-six drivers checked in although only thirty-three ran in the heat races. Jeff Aikey's trailer had issues on the trip down from Cedar Falls and the #77 car never did make it to Tipton. Bart Miller had to be disappointed that he did not get to compete on the track that he has raced at so often in a Modified as he scratched after hot laps as did Rookie-of-the-Year leader Eric Sanders......T.J. Criss had a tough night as not only did Beuseling beat him on the final turn for the last transfer out of the heat race, Chad Patch did the same thing to Criss on the final lap of the second B-Main. Fortunately for T.J. he was in line for one of the points provisionals tonight so he ran the A-Main......Terry Neal turned up light at the scales after winning the second heat and then raced his way into the feature by running fourth in the first B-Main......Mark Burgtorf drove the Richard Realty & Auction #15 tonight and used one of his points provisionals to start the feature. He retired to the pits early......We are going to have to stop talking to Amber Moyer, as for the second time in a row her fiance' Nick Marolf was caught up in an early incident and did not get a chance to participate in this thriller.......The next stop for the Summer Series will be Monday, August 15th at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
I have been to three Late Model specials here at Tipton over the last eleven months and each time the A-Modified division has set the table nicely by providing excellent racing action during their portion of the show, and tonight's feature may just have been the best. Johnny Spaw used the top shelf to snare the early lead, but when he slipped off the top of turn two on lap nine Noah Coppes was right there to take advantage and grab the lead. A caution on lap twelve bunched the field and Dan Chapman, who had started eleventh, would now restart in second. Once back to green Brad Dierks made his presence known and on lap sixteen it was Chapman, Coppes and Dierks three-wide for the lead much to the delight of the fans around us. Coppes and Dierks made contact going for that top groove in turn one with both recovering to chase Chapman before the final caution of the race waved on lap eighteen.
On this restart it was Dierks who blew by Chapman to take the lead and a lap later Coppes moved into second and went back to work down on the low line. With Coppes down low and Dierks up high, the race lead was pretty much up for grabs at the start-finish line each lap and from my vantage point down toward turn four a bit, I had 'em like this: Dierks 19-22, Coppes 23-24, Dierks 25, Coppes 26, Dierks 27-29 and on lap thirty Coppes went ahead to stay. Dierks nearly got back by him two laps later, but over those final three circuits Noah took away the need for a camera at the line winning this one by about five car lengths. Dierks was second, Chapman took third, Tom Pestka finished fourth and Nick Nevins was fifth.
A big thanks to promoters Al & Kathy Dlouhy and their entire crew for their hospitality and for once again putting on a fantastic mid-week program that concluded before 9:30 p.m. Racing continues here on Friday nights and their next special event is set for Friday August 26th as the USMTS brings their Hunt for a Championship to the Cedar County Raceway. I'm hoping to be back for that one as well!
The Deery Series had not been to this quarter-mile oval for fourteen years and please put me down as voting for only a nine to twelve month absence this time around. Nate Beuseling, who just dominated a week ago at Knoxville to win his first career series race, drew the pole position for the main event here tonight and since I have already given away the fact that somebody led every lap I might as well just tell you now that he made it two in a row here this evening. First though, the young driver from Silvis, Illinois, had to earn his way to the re-draw opportunity after starting in the last row of the third heat race. Beuseling patiently picked his way through the field and on the final lap he muscled his way past T.J. Criss on the inside of turn four to take the third and final transfer spot. He then drew the "one" during intermission and, well you know the rest as far as Nate is concerned, win number two in convincing fashion.
Defending series champion Ray Guss Jr. started right behind Beuseling in third and after the race's second caution on lap four, Guss went to work on the leader. Ray tried to work the next groove up from the low-riding Beuseling and was able to draw even a couple of times on laps five and six before Beuseling shook off the challenge and pulled away. The focus now was on the young man from nearby Wheatland, Justin Kay. Kay had already thrilled his fans, especially Brenda (I'm pretty sure that's his Mother) who stood in front of us during most of the first B-Main, as he rode the extreme topside of the speedway to come from the back of the pack to run second to winner Justin Reed. She apologized and said that now that he was safely in the feature she would just sit and watch that one. But we told her that once he got into the top five, we expected and encouraged her to be standing! Starting on the inside of row eight Kay raced those first four laps down low just like most everybody else, but following the restart he went back up to that high side and magic happened once again.
Lap by lap he started to move forward and even though the leader Beuseling was nearly half a lap ahead of him at the mid-race mark, with lapped traffic starting to come into play you just knew that Kay might just have a chance. He was ninth, then eighth, then seventh, then he passed Reed who was also coming toward the front for sixth and being a smart driver himself, Reed moved up the track a bit as well and maintained Kay's quick pace. Brenda moved down a few rows in the bleachers just before Justin took over the fifth spot because there was absolutely no way that she was going to stay seated now. Andy Eckrich had now replaced Guss in the second spot and with the traffic heavy he was closing in on the leader as well. Kay drove past Guss for third with about five laps to go while Reed stayed right with him and as the white flag waved Kay was even with Eckrich for second with Beuseling about five car lengths ahead picking his way through traffic. As the pack went down the back stretch Kay's bite off two was phenomenal once again and he edged ahead of Eckrich for second, but there were lapped cars involved as well and it was mad scramble through the final two turns. Beuseling was smooth and hugged the bottom to take the checkers first while Kay slipped his right rear wheel off the top side of turn four.
That slightest of bobbles was enough to let both Eckrich and Reed drive by him for second and third and it appeared that Guss also edged out Kay by inches for the fourth spot. With the final checkers flying at 9:20 p.m. I took a moment to cross the track to see if I could get the official finish and I was told that the scorers were still trying to sort things out. So the top five as I give it to you here is completely unofficial, but I will update it with the proper finish if this is wrong. Yes folks, it was that wild of a finish and if they had a finish line camera system they might still be looking at it to determine the actual finish.
Late Model Notes......Thirty-six drivers checked in although only thirty-three ran in the heat races. Jeff Aikey's trailer had issues on the trip down from Cedar Falls and the #77 car never did make it to Tipton. Bart Miller had to be disappointed that he did not get to compete on the track that he has raced at so often in a Modified as he scratched after hot laps as did Rookie-of-the-Year leader Eric Sanders......T.J. Criss had a tough night as not only did Beuseling beat him on the final turn for the last transfer out of the heat race, Chad Patch did the same thing to Criss on the final lap of the second B-Main. Fortunately for T.J. he was in line for one of the points provisionals tonight so he ran the A-Main......Terry Neal turned up light at the scales after winning the second heat and then raced his way into the feature by running fourth in the first B-Main......Mark Burgtorf drove the Richard Realty & Auction #15 tonight and used one of his points provisionals to start the feature. He retired to the pits early......We are going to have to stop talking to Amber Moyer, as for the second time in a row her fiance' Nick Marolf was caught up in an early incident and did not get a chance to participate in this thriller.......The next stop for the Summer Series will be Monday, August 15th at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
I have been to three Late Model specials here at Tipton over the last eleven months and each time the A-Modified division has set the table nicely by providing excellent racing action during their portion of the show, and tonight's feature may just have been the best. Johnny Spaw used the top shelf to snare the early lead, but when he slipped off the top of turn two on lap nine Noah Coppes was right there to take advantage and grab the lead. A caution on lap twelve bunched the field and Dan Chapman, who had started eleventh, would now restart in second. Once back to green Brad Dierks made his presence known and on lap sixteen it was Chapman, Coppes and Dierks three-wide for the lead much to the delight of the fans around us. Coppes and Dierks made contact going for that top groove in turn one with both recovering to chase Chapman before the final caution of the race waved on lap eighteen.
On this restart it was Dierks who blew by Chapman to take the lead and a lap later Coppes moved into second and went back to work down on the low line. With Coppes down low and Dierks up high, the race lead was pretty much up for grabs at the start-finish line each lap and from my vantage point down toward turn four a bit, I had 'em like this: Dierks 19-22, Coppes 23-24, Dierks 25, Coppes 26, Dierks 27-29 and on lap thirty Coppes went ahead to stay. Dierks nearly got back by him two laps later, but over those final three circuits Noah took away the need for a camera at the line winning this one by about five car lengths. Dierks was second, Chapman took third, Tom Pestka finished fourth and Nick Nevins was fifth.
A big thanks to promoters Al & Kathy Dlouhy and their entire crew for their hospitality and for once again putting on a fantastic mid-week program that concluded before 9:30 p.m. Racing continues here on Friday nights and their next special event is set for Friday August 26th as the USMTS brings their Hunt for a Championship to the Cedar County Raceway. I'm hoping to be back for that one as well!
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