At
mid-afternoon it was seventy-one degrees and sunny in Oskaloosa. It was a good
thing that drivers and fans alike made their decision to go racing at that time
because the pits were pretty crowded and there were a decent number of fans in
the stands. By race time though the temperature had dropped into the upper
forties supported by a stiff and relentless north wind creating at least for me
the coldest night of this early season, and perhaps one of the coldest I have experienced
at a race track in sometime. If the weather had been like this at mid-afternoon
I would say that it would be a pretty safe bet that most of the fans, and
likely even some of the drivers would have stayed home. Exciting racing,
including a last lap pass in the Late Model feature made it all worth it
though!
Before
getting into the racing though I want to first send out my thoughts and prayers
to veteran racer Mark Widmar of Ottumwa who was injured in a scary crash during
the second heat for the IMCA Modifieds. Andrew Schroeder was racing in second
before his rear end locked up on him exiting turn four. Schroeder’s car slowed
quickly and was close to a complete stop when three cars racing for position
behind him closed quickly. Widmar’s car was the last of those three and when
the other two made their move to miss the disabled Modified Widmar only had a
split second to try to avoid Schroder. Fortunately Mark was able to steer away
from a direct nose to tail impact that could have been devastating to both
drivers, but in doing so it was his own driver’s side that made impact with the
tail of Schroeder’s car. The back bumper went through the side bars protecting
Mark’s driver compartment and I saw a message board post this morning from
Mark’s wife stating that he is out of surgery and resting. That post noted that
just a few millimeters in either direction could have been so much worse for
Mark and that he was truly blessed. Mark raced with us on the NKF Tour many
times, even making some long road trips to support what we were doing and I have
always found him to be incredibly upbeat no matter what the circumstances. It
is my hope that we will soon see him again, happy and healthy.
During
the process of deciding how best to transfer Mark a second ambulance came to
the track and after they sat side-by-side in the infield for several minutes,
both ambulances left the grounds causing many to assume that Andrew Schroeder
was also being transferred. After the crash the young driver got out of his car
under his own power and even walked over to Widmar’s car to make sure that he
was okay before making his way back to the pits. My colleague Barry Johnson who
was in the infield said that he saw no signs that Schroeder also went to the
hospital, but of course either way we hope nothing but the best for him as
well.
The
aftermath of the accident created a delay of just under an hour and despite the
cold temperatures and numbing wind the crowd patiently waited for the racing to
resume knowing that the safety of the drivers always comes first. And once back
to racing, the show clicked off in good order with the six division program
concluding just before 11:00 p.m.
The
Sport Compact main event was first and when the rest of the seven car field
bunched up on the start the Whalen brothers were able to break away by nearly a
full straightaway. Merv Chandler was able to get to third after a couple of
laps, but he did not have enough time to reel in the leaders as John Whalen
took the win ahead of Bill Whalen Jr. and Chandler. Alex Sampson and Matt Moore
completed the top five.
On
Sunday night Mike Hughes debuted a new car in style by taking the win at
Knoxville and he looked to repeat that accomplishment here this evening in the
Hobby Stock feature. Starting tenth Hughes used the high line in turns three
and four to pass much of the field on the opening lap advancing quickly up to
third. The caution then waved for last week’s winner Dustin Griffiths who had
stopped on the track with a flat tire and since that is against the rules he
would not have an opportunity to repeat. On the restart Hughes blew past
Donovan Nunnikhoven to take the lead and while Bobby Greene was able to stay
close throughout the remaining laps he was unable to mount a serious challenge
as Hughes took the win. Danny Thrasher started twelfth and finished behind
Greene in third, Nunnikhoven was fourth and Justin Hook passed Dale Porter on
the final lap for fifth.
The IMCA
Late Models were making the first of five appearances here for 2013 and a solid
field of sixteen cars were on hand for the posted $600 top prize. That winners’
purse was then bumped up by another $100 as it was in all classes by one of the
night’s sponsors Pro-Line Buildings in New Sharon who also paid for everybody’s
popcorn for the evening. Tom Darbyshire started last in his heat race and
proved that he was fast there passing half of the field to take fourth so when
he drew the front row for the 20-lap main event it was no surprise when he
quickly moved to the lead. Just as Darbyshire was starting to stretch it out,
something broke on his #42 handing the lead over to Kevin Kile on lap five.
Todd Cooney was on the move and he went to work on Kile making the pass for the
lead on lap nine, but the caution soon waved for a spin with eight laps
remaining. On the restart it looked as if Cooney would drive away for a
convincing victory, but young Spencer Diercks soon found a line that worked
well for him and with three laps to go he was within striking distance of the
lead.
As the
white flag was set to fly Diercks pulled even with Cooney in turn four, but the
leader’s momentum on the high side carried him back to the front by more than a
car length with a lap to go. Diercks drove hard to the bottom of turn one,
cleared Cooney and then drove up the track exiting turn two. Not ready to give
in yet Cooney went even higher exiting turn two and was nearly able to pull
back alongside Diercks as they stormed down the back stretch. There was no
stopping the teenager from the Quad Cities though as he pulled away in three
and four to claim his second career Late Model victory in an exciting fashion.
Cooney would have to settle for second on this night, Kevin Kile was solid in
third, Andy Eckrich started in the fourth row and finished fourth while Chad
Cooney came from row six to take fifth.
The Late
Model field included two new faces to the division as Zack VanderBeek finished
tenth in the #5 car that we have recently seen Jeff Mitrisin in and Tom
Darbyshire’s son Jacob was steady in twelfth. Jacob won a few races a couple of
years ago in a Four Cylinder and has been behind the wheel of a Late Model a
couple of times since then, but his stellar high school athletic career where
he starred in both football and track took precedence. He followed in his
father’s footsteps (“Touchdown Tommy”) as an athlete and now it looks as though
he will do the same in racing.
After a
tough night during the season opener, a low points average landed Jason
McDaniel on the front row for the Sport Mod main event and while he was stalked
throughout the 15-lap distance by Tony Johnson it was McDaniel’s race to win.
Eric Flander finished third, A.J. Johnson was fourth and Carter VanDenBerg
filled out the top five.
Randy
Killen established a quick early pace in the IMCA Stock Car feature while the
field shuffled about often going three-wide behind him. Zack VanderBeek emerged
from that pack and then set his sights on Killen taking the lead on lap eight
and the “Z-Man” would pull away from there to score the win. Nathan Wood
slipped by Killen late to take the runner-up position while Killen held off a
challenge from Jason Cook to finish third. Corey Stout recovered from early
issues to race his way back up to fifth at the checkers.
The
Modified feature would put a wrap on the night and there were a few of us
crazies still in the stands to watch it. Brandon Banks would lead the field on
the opening lap only to yield to Bill Gibson on lap two. Todd Shute was on the
fly coming from the eighth starting spot and on lap six he stormed past Gibson
for the lead. A spin by Casey Greubel on lap eight and then a three-car scuffle
on lap ten involving Jeff Waterman, Bill Davis Jr. and Nevada visitor Cory
Sample kept the field tight and on the restart Jesse Sobbing went to work on
Shute passing him for the lead on lap twelve. A caution for Tyler Groenendyk
with three laps remaining bunched the field one last time and while Jacob
Murray was able to pulled ahead of Shute for second he could not stop Sobbing
from taking already his eighth win of his rookie season in the IMCA Modifieds.
Cayden Carter and Gibson crossed the line behind Murray and Shute to complete
the top five.
Racing action continues at the Southern Iowa
Speedway next Wednesday night and I can virtually guarantee you that it has to
be warmer next week than it was last night!
