MLRA Late Models invade eastern Iowa this weekend, Friday night at Davenport and Saturday night in Maquoketa. Enjoy your racing weekend!
Friday, May 9, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Stock Cars Still The One At Osky
It seems that no matter where I go the one division that nearly always provides some of the best racing of the night is the Stock Cars and, at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, the Stock Car class is well known for being the class that usually takes center stage. On Wednesday night, with a thrilling three-car battle for the lead throughout most of the eighteen-lap main event, the Stock Cars definitely built upon that reputation.
Corey Stout, who is literally based across the street from turn one, started from the pole position and would take the lead at the drop of the green with third-starting Todd Reitzler in hot pursuit. Brad Pinkerton would work his way into the third spot a few laps later and had a great view of the race developing in front of him as Reitzler took several looks on the low side of the leader. Stout was stout though and fought off each challenge until lap fourteen when Reitzler went a little too deep into turn one and clipped Stout's left rear fender. To his credit Reitzler took evasive action to keep from spinning the leader that sent himself up the track and Pinkerton took advantage of the scramble to dive to the inside and pull even with the leader as he made his recovery as well. Stout and Pinkerton would run the next three laps essentially side-by-side and as they raced off of turn four toward the white flag, Reitzler made it three-wide moving to the inside line down the front stretch. With Pinkerton and Stout already running the bottom two grooves there was not going to be enough room for Reiztler down there going into turn one and as Reitzler tried squeeze in he made contact with Pinkerton that sent him a bit sideways and into Stout.
All three drivers were able to maintain control as the crowd roared their approval and Stout was able to put a few car-lengths on his challengers as he exited turn two. There would be no catching him now as Corey Stout picked up the feature win with Pinkerton and Reitzler not far behind at the checkers. Nathan Wood was within striking distance to improve positions had any of the top three not recovered from their final lap contact and Donovan Nunnikhoven followed Wood in for fifth. After the race Pinkerton climbed out of his car quickly in the tech area to have a few words with Reitzler, but all remained calm and you can bet that the racing in this division will be just as intense once again next Wednesday night.
Restarts played a big role in three of the other feature races on this unseasonably warm and windy night. Brayton Carter was leading the first two laps of the IMCA Sport Mod main event when Ryan Fullenkamp slapped the turn two guardrail and left behind some of his sheet metal on the racing surface. On the restart Curtis VanDerWal drove under Carter in turn one to take the lead and it looked like the defending track champion would run away from the field from there. Jason McDaniel did not want to see that happen though and he was gradually making up ground on VanDerWal when the caution waved for a spinning Colton Livezy with just three laps remaining. McDaniel would now line up directly behind the leader, but when Brayton Carter put the challenge on McDaniel for second after the restart that was all that VanDerWal would need to seal the deal and take the win at his hometown race track. Carter had second until the final turns when McDaniel got past him once again to secure the runner-up finish. Brett Lowry came from the fifth row to finish fourth while Fullenkamp took fifth despite some spoiler damage on the right rear.
The father and son duo of Brad and Jared Stephens would line up on the front row of the fifteen-lap Hobby Stock feature with Brad the Dad jumping out to a solid advantage. His lead would grow as the field shuffled behind him with drivers in the top five racing three-wide down the back stretch on two separate occasions. Stephens looked like he would have this one well in hand until the caution waved with four laps remaining for Justin Hook who had issues in turn three. On the restart Dustin Griffths powered past Stephens for the lead and Danny Thasher followed him into second and things went from bad to worse for Stephens when contact between Craig Brown and Mike Hughes soon involved the former leader as well. All three cars suffered at least one flat tire and all were done for the night as the caution waved. Thrasher would make a couple of runs on Griffith over the final laps, but there was no stopping the current All Iowa Points leader Griffiths from collecting his fifth feature win of the young season. Thrasher was second, Nick Ulin edged out Bill Bonnett by a bumper to take third while Travis Bunnell filled out the top five.
All ten of the Modified drivers in attendance tonight were capable of winning so it was no surprise that the battle up front was a good one in the twenty-lap main event. Andrew Schroeder would set the early pace fighting off the challenges of Jesse Sobbing until lap eight when Sobbing slowed suddenly going down the back stretch. When he stopped in turn three the caution flag waved and on the restart Cayden Carter swept to the outside of both Schroeder and Todd Shute to take the lead in turn one. A caution for Casey Greubel's spin in turn two three laps later saw Shute make his move on the restart and for laps twelve and thirteen you would have needed a camera to determine the race leader at the stripe as Shute raced down low and Carter used the higher line. Shute established himself as the leader with six laps remaining and while Carter appeared to be faster in turns three and four, Shute enjoyed the advantage in one and two and the 2008 All Iowa Points Modified Champion went on to score his second win here in 2014. Carter was a strong second, Jacob Murray finished third, Schroeder wound up fourth and Adam Larsen completed the top five.
The first and last of the night's six main events both saw seven cars settle into their racing positions early with little change the rest of the way. Bill Whalen Jr. won the season opener for the Sport Compacts ahead of Trent Orwig, Matt Moore, Nicholas Van Hemert and Matt Beal and in the first appearance of the year by the IMCA Late Models it was all Colby Springsteen as he went on a twelve and a half mile cruise for the win. Nick Marolf finished second, Todd Cooney was third and Jeremy Grady passed Darrel DeFrance on the final set of turns to take the fourth spot.
As always Mike VanGenderen and the entire crew presented a very efficient six-division weeknight program with final checkered flag waving just before ten o'clock. And of course I had this little tune in mind when I came up with today's title.
Next up for me will be the appearance of the MLRA Late Models at the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa this Saturday night as the Back Stretch will be on the Darkside. Perhaps I will see you there!
Corey Stout, who is literally based across the street from turn one, started from the pole position and would take the lead at the drop of the green with third-starting Todd Reitzler in hot pursuit. Brad Pinkerton would work his way into the third spot a few laps later and had a great view of the race developing in front of him as Reitzler took several looks on the low side of the leader. Stout was stout though and fought off each challenge until lap fourteen when Reitzler went a little too deep into turn one and clipped Stout's left rear fender. To his credit Reitzler took evasive action to keep from spinning the leader that sent himself up the track and Pinkerton took advantage of the scramble to dive to the inside and pull even with the leader as he made his recovery as well. Stout and Pinkerton would run the next three laps essentially side-by-side and as they raced off of turn four toward the white flag, Reitzler made it three-wide moving to the inside line down the front stretch. With Pinkerton and Stout already running the bottom two grooves there was not going to be enough room for Reiztler down there going into turn one and as Reitzler tried squeeze in he made contact with Pinkerton that sent him a bit sideways and into Stout.
All three drivers were able to maintain control as the crowd roared their approval and Stout was able to put a few car-lengths on his challengers as he exited turn two. There would be no catching him now as Corey Stout picked up the feature win with Pinkerton and Reitzler not far behind at the checkers. Nathan Wood was within striking distance to improve positions had any of the top three not recovered from their final lap contact and Donovan Nunnikhoven followed Wood in for fifth. After the race Pinkerton climbed out of his car quickly in the tech area to have a few words with Reitzler, but all remained calm and you can bet that the racing in this division will be just as intense once again next Wednesday night.
Restarts played a big role in three of the other feature races on this unseasonably warm and windy night. Brayton Carter was leading the first two laps of the IMCA Sport Mod main event when Ryan Fullenkamp slapped the turn two guardrail and left behind some of his sheet metal on the racing surface. On the restart Curtis VanDerWal drove under Carter in turn one to take the lead and it looked like the defending track champion would run away from the field from there. Jason McDaniel did not want to see that happen though and he was gradually making up ground on VanDerWal when the caution waved for a spinning Colton Livezy with just three laps remaining. McDaniel would now line up directly behind the leader, but when Brayton Carter put the challenge on McDaniel for second after the restart that was all that VanDerWal would need to seal the deal and take the win at his hometown race track. Carter had second until the final turns when McDaniel got past him once again to secure the runner-up finish. Brett Lowry came from the fifth row to finish fourth while Fullenkamp took fifth despite some spoiler damage on the right rear.
The father and son duo of Brad and Jared Stephens would line up on the front row of the fifteen-lap Hobby Stock feature with Brad the Dad jumping out to a solid advantage. His lead would grow as the field shuffled behind him with drivers in the top five racing three-wide down the back stretch on two separate occasions. Stephens looked like he would have this one well in hand until the caution waved with four laps remaining for Justin Hook who had issues in turn three. On the restart Dustin Griffths powered past Stephens for the lead and Danny Thasher followed him into second and things went from bad to worse for Stephens when contact between Craig Brown and Mike Hughes soon involved the former leader as well. All three cars suffered at least one flat tire and all were done for the night as the caution waved. Thrasher would make a couple of runs on Griffith over the final laps, but there was no stopping the current All Iowa Points leader Griffiths from collecting his fifth feature win of the young season. Thrasher was second, Nick Ulin edged out Bill Bonnett by a bumper to take third while Travis Bunnell filled out the top five.
All ten of the Modified drivers in attendance tonight were capable of winning so it was no surprise that the battle up front was a good one in the twenty-lap main event. Andrew Schroeder would set the early pace fighting off the challenges of Jesse Sobbing until lap eight when Sobbing slowed suddenly going down the back stretch. When he stopped in turn three the caution flag waved and on the restart Cayden Carter swept to the outside of both Schroeder and Todd Shute to take the lead in turn one. A caution for Casey Greubel's spin in turn two three laps later saw Shute make his move on the restart and for laps twelve and thirteen you would have needed a camera to determine the race leader at the stripe as Shute raced down low and Carter used the higher line. Shute established himself as the leader with six laps remaining and while Carter appeared to be faster in turns three and four, Shute enjoyed the advantage in one and two and the 2008 All Iowa Points Modified Champion went on to score his second win here in 2014. Carter was a strong second, Jacob Murray finished third, Schroeder wound up fourth and Adam Larsen completed the top five.
The first and last of the night's six main events both saw seven cars settle into their racing positions early with little change the rest of the way. Bill Whalen Jr. won the season opener for the Sport Compacts ahead of Trent Orwig, Matt Moore, Nicholas Van Hemert and Matt Beal and in the first appearance of the year by the IMCA Late Models it was all Colby Springsteen as he went on a twelve and a half mile cruise for the win. Nick Marolf finished second, Todd Cooney was third and Jeremy Grady passed Darrel DeFrance on the final set of turns to take the fourth spot.
As always Mike VanGenderen and the entire crew presented a very efficient six-division weeknight program with final checkered flag waving just before ten o'clock. And of course I had this little tune in mind when I came up with today's title.
Next up for me will be the appearance of the MLRA Late Models at the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa this Saturday night as the Back Stretch will be on the Darkside. Perhaps I will see you there!
Monday, May 5, 2014
Kay Goes Hungry, Wins Hershel Roberts Memorial
If you are only going to give Justin Kay one slice of pizza during intermission, then you should assume that the race will be for second and that was exactly what happened Sunday night at the 4th Annual Hershel Roberts Memorial at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline. Of course those of you who have not attended a Deery Brothers Summer Series event for IMCA Late Models over the last couple of years have no idea what I am referring to, so first a quick explanation.
Casey's General Stores came on board as a sponsor of the regional Late Model series a couple of years ago so during the intermission at each event the top twelve qualifiers from the heat races are brought to the front of the grandstand and, since Casey's is "Famous for Pizza", each of the drivers are handed a Casey's pizza box that have anywhere from one to twelve slices of pizza inside. The drivers then go through a process where they can hold onto their pizza box, or swap it with another driver and so on and so on until one by one they open the box to reveal how many slices they have which then represents their starting position for the night's main event. Of course the box only contains an image of a slice or slices of pizza, otherwise the lightest box would be the one to find, so really all twelve drivers go hungry but you have to admit that the whole process is a pretty good marketing tool for a sponsor that has really stepped up to support the sport in many ways over the past few years.
So there you have it, a pretty long explanation of an attempt at a cute reference that says that if you are going to start Justin Kay on the pole of any feature race these days it is likely going to turn into a race for second. Man, I am really hungry for some pizza right now!
The current Deery series point leader, Kay brought the field to green for the 58-lap event honoring the long-time driver here that lost his battle with cancer not long ago and while the action was fast and furious behind him, Kay was pretty much on cruise control running right around the very bottom of the wide high-banked quarter-mile oval. A pair of cautions in the first seven laps kept the field tightly bunched and while some contenders were letting the sparks fly by dragging their right tail section across the concrete wall in turns one and and two, others tried to replicate Kay's speed by taking the short way around. These contenders changed often throughout the race with Jason Rauen trying to keep pace early, then it was Mike Zemo Jr. followed by Mike Murphy Jr., Joel Callahan and eventually Jeff Aikey.
Just two laps after the crossed-flags indicated the halfway mark Kay was trying to pick his way around Matt Ryan who was also working the bottom groove and as the leader entered turn one he threw it in a little more sideways and when the right side stuck, the left side of the car rose up in the air and the car bounced twice hard before it settled back down. Just as this was happening the caution flag was waving for Rauen who had stopped in turn four, so as the field gathered for the restart Justin was checking things out to make sure that his wheel hopping had not done any damage.
Earlier in the evening Callahan broke while leading his heat race forcing him to qualify out of a B-Main and he was fast once again moving up from a ninth row starting spot to second, but even after making the big run to the front he could not keep up with Kay. Three laps later Todd Malmstrom got sideways in turn two causing Andy Eckrich and Andy Nezworski to spin to miss and when Malmstrom maintained his forward motion he was able to retain his fifth position for the restart while Eckrich was obviously frustrated in having to be placed at the rear of the field.
Jeff Aikey, the unlucky driver that ended up with a full pizza box earlier (he drew the twelve), was now in contention and the three car battle for second with Callahan and Murphy was very entertaining to watch as Kay again snuck away. The final caution waved with ten laps remaining when Scott Fitzpatrick spun in turn two and on the restart it looked like the high-riding Aikey might be able to give the leader a run for his money, Kay's low groove was much less perilous tough and when Aikey made just one slight bobble on the cushion Kay again pulled away to secure the $3,000 top prize in flag-to-flag fashion. Aikey would finish in the second spot, Callahan took third, Murphy Jr. was fourth while Brian Harris took fifth.
Deery Notes......A solid field of 31 Late Models were on hand at a track that usually favors the local drivers, but not tonight as Mike Murphy Jr. was the only QCS regular to crack the top five......Yes, Kay won from the pole, but if you wanted to see some passing consider the starting spots of the drivers who finished second through fifth respectively; 12th, 17th, 7th and 11th......Mike Zemo Jr. finished in sixth, Todd Malmstrom was seventh, Tyler Bruening used a provisional and started 22nd before finishing in eighth. Andy Eckrich came back to finish ninth while Matt Ryan was tenth.....His late spin knocked him back in the finishing order, but I am impressed with the improvement of Scott Fitzpatrick as the driver from Urbandale passed several cars to finish second in the second B-Main.....Colby Springsteen who ranked fourth in points and was the series' winner at West Liberty a few weeks back was not in attendance at QCS......The next event for the Deery Brothers Summer Series will be on Memorial Day Monday May 26th at the Boone Speedway.
The feature finish in two of the support classes was very similar each with a driver making one last charge for the win to only come up short. An impressive field of twenty-three IMCA Modifieds lined up for twenty laps and as they came off turn four to score lap number two contact sent potential leader Brandon Durbin sliding to the infield where he then scrambled to rejoin the field at the back of the pack. Greg Durbin would set the pace, also choosing to run the bottom groove , as Jason Bahrs applied the pressure from the top side while Doug Crampton tried to find some racing room in third. A caution with two laps remaining bunched the field once again and after taking the white flag Bahrs had a terrific run off the topside of turn two and pulled even with Durbin entering turn three. Instead of going to the top Jason attempted to use the groove just one car-width higher than Durbin and when he hit the throttle to try to win the drag race off of turn four it didn't stick and he spun up the track. The checkers waved for Greg Durbin and the caution waved as well for Bahrs who could not straighten it out and finish the race. Unofficially it was Crampton running second, Brian Bushong who had started eighteenth I believe was credited with third while it looked like Brandon Durbin recovered nicely for fourth.
This scenario was a virtual repeat of what happened moments earlier in the Street Stock feature as Tim Current made a big run at race-long leader Rob Nylin on the final lap. Current used his momentum off the top side of turn two to slam the cushion hard in turn three causing his left front wheel to rise a good foot or two off the ground. The bite was there, but the cowboy could not contain the bucking bronco as Current also spun to a stop and did not finish as the caution flag soon followed the checkers that waved over Nylin. Unofficially the rest of the top five were Steven Jackson, Jeremy Gustaf, Jarrett Franzen and Perry Gellerstedt.
The IMRA Midget Lites were well represented with eighteen cars on hand, but since it was a cooler than anticipated evening and with a bit of a Sunday night drive ahead of me I did not stick around for their final event of the night.
I want to thank QCS Race Director Brad Hines along with flagman Brit Montgomery and scorer Ken Reimers for their hospitality and the entire crew for presenting a fantastic race program that saw the Late Model checkered flag wave before 9:30 p.m. I also enjoyed sitting with Jeff Terhune and 34 Raceway promoters Jeff and Amy Laue for the evening. My colleague Danny Rosencrans was also a few rows down from us so be sure to check out his views on the evening soon at Racin' Down The Road.
My racing plans for the week ahead may include a Wednesday night visit to either Oskaloosa or Peoria and then on Saturday we will conveniently be in the Maquoketa area for the graduation party of a special young lady, so we plan to top off the evening by checking out the MLRA Late Models at the Jackson County Speedway. Look for us on the Back Stretch!
Casey's General Stores came on board as a sponsor of the regional Late Model series a couple of years ago so during the intermission at each event the top twelve qualifiers from the heat races are brought to the front of the grandstand and, since Casey's is "Famous for Pizza", each of the drivers are handed a Casey's pizza box that have anywhere from one to twelve slices of pizza inside. The drivers then go through a process where they can hold onto their pizza box, or swap it with another driver and so on and so on until one by one they open the box to reveal how many slices they have which then represents their starting position for the night's main event. Of course the box only contains an image of a slice or slices of pizza, otherwise the lightest box would be the one to find, so really all twelve drivers go hungry but you have to admit that the whole process is a pretty good marketing tool for a sponsor that has really stepped up to support the sport in many ways over the past few years.
So there you have it, a pretty long explanation of an attempt at a cute reference that says that if you are going to start Justin Kay on the pole of any feature race these days it is likely going to turn into a race for second. Man, I am really hungry for some pizza right now!
The current Deery series point leader, Kay brought the field to green for the 58-lap event honoring the long-time driver here that lost his battle with cancer not long ago and while the action was fast and furious behind him, Kay was pretty much on cruise control running right around the very bottom of the wide high-banked quarter-mile oval. A pair of cautions in the first seven laps kept the field tightly bunched and while some contenders were letting the sparks fly by dragging their right tail section across the concrete wall in turns one and and two, others tried to replicate Kay's speed by taking the short way around. These contenders changed often throughout the race with Jason Rauen trying to keep pace early, then it was Mike Zemo Jr. followed by Mike Murphy Jr., Joel Callahan and eventually Jeff Aikey.
Just two laps after the crossed-flags indicated the halfway mark Kay was trying to pick his way around Matt Ryan who was also working the bottom groove and as the leader entered turn one he threw it in a little more sideways and when the right side stuck, the left side of the car rose up in the air and the car bounced twice hard before it settled back down. Just as this was happening the caution flag was waving for Rauen who had stopped in turn four, so as the field gathered for the restart Justin was checking things out to make sure that his wheel hopping had not done any damage.
Earlier in the evening Callahan broke while leading his heat race forcing him to qualify out of a B-Main and he was fast once again moving up from a ninth row starting spot to second, but even after making the big run to the front he could not keep up with Kay. Three laps later Todd Malmstrom got sideways in turn two causing Andy Eckrich and Andy Nezworski to spin to miss and when Malmstrom maintained his forward motion he was able to retain his fifth position for the restart while Eckrich was obviously frustrated in having to be placed at the rear of the field.
Jeff Aikey, the unlucky driver that ended up with a full pizza box earlier (he drew the twelve), was now in contention and the three car battle for second with Callahan and Murphy was very entertaining to watch as Kay again snuck away. The final caution waved with ten laps remaining when Scott Fitzpatrick spun in turn two and on the restart it looked like the high-riding Aikey might be able to give the leader a run for his money, Kay's low groove was much less perilous tough and when Aikey made just one slight bobble on the cushion Kay again pulled away to secure the $3,000 top prize in flag-to-flag fashion. Aikey would finish in the second spot, Callahan took third, Murphy Jr. was fourth while Brian Harris took fifth.
Deery Notes......A solid field of 31 Late Models were on hand at a track that usually favors the local drivers, but not tonight as Mike Murphy Jr. was the only QCS regular to crack the top five......Yes, Kay won from the pole, but if you wanted to see some passing consider the starting spots of the drivers who finished second through fifth respectively; 12th, 17th, 7th and 11th......Mike Zemo Jr. finished in sixth, Todd Malmstrom was seventh, Tyler Bruening used a provisional and started 22nd before finishing in eighth. Andy Eckrich came back to finish ninth while Matt Ryan was tenth.....His late spin knocked him back in the finishing order, but I am impressed with the improvement of Scott Fitzpatrick as the driver from Urbandale passed several cars to finish second in the second B-Main.....Colby Springsteen who ranked fourth in points and was the series' winner at West Liberty a few weeks back was not in attendance at QCS......The next event for the Deery Brothers Summer Series will be on Memorial Day Monday May 26th at the Boone Speedway.
The feature finish in two of the support classes was very similar each with a driver making one last charge for the win to only come up short. An impressive field of twenty-three IMCA Modifieds lined up for twenty laps and as they came off turn four to score lap number two contact sent potential leader Brandon Durbin sliding to the infield where he then scrambled to rejoin the field at the back of the pack. Greg Durbin would set the pace, also choosing to run the bottom groove , as Jason Bahrs applied the pressure from the top side while Doug Crampton tried to find some racing room in third. A caution with two laps remaining bunched the field once again and after taking the white flag Bahrs had a terrific run off the topside of turn two and pulled even with Durbin entering turn three. Instead of going to the top Jason attempted to use the groove just one car-width higher than Durbin and when he hit the throttle to try to win the drag race off of turn four it didn't stick and he spun up the track. The checkers waved for Greg Durbin and the caution waved as well for Bahrs who could not straighten it out and finish the race. Unofficially it was Crampton running second, Brian Bushong who had started eighteenth I believe was credited with third while it looked like Brandon Durbin recovered nicely for fourth.
This scenario was a virtual repeat of what happened moments earlier in the Street Stock feature as Tim Current made a big run at race-long leader Rob Nylin on the final lap. Current used his momentum off the top side of turn two to slam the cushion hard in turn three causing his left front wheel to rise a good foot or two off the ground. The bite was there, but the cowboy could not contain the bucking bronco as Current also spun to a stop and did not finish as the caution flag soon followed the checkers that waved over Nylin. Unofficially the rest of the top five were Steven Jackson, Jeremy Gustaf, Jarrett Franzen and Perry Gellerstedt.
The IMRA Midget Lites were well represented with eighteen cars on hand, but since it was a cooler than anticipated evening and with a bit of a Sunday night drive ahead of me I did not stick around for their final event of the night.
I want to thank QCS Race Director Brad Hines along with flagman Brit Montgomery and scorer Ken Reimers for their hospitality and the entire crew for presenting a fantastic race program that saw the Late Model checkered flag wave before 9:30 p.m. I also enjoyed sitting with Jeff Terhune and 34 Raceway promoters Jeff and Amy Laue for the evening. My colleague Danny Rosencrans was also a few rows down from us so be sure to check out his views on the evening soon at Racin' Down The Road.
My racing plans for the week ahead may include a Wednesday night visit to either Oskaloosa or Peoria and then on Saturday we will conveniently be in the Maquoketa area for the graduation party of a special young lady, so we plan to top off the evening by checking out the MLRA Late Models at the Jackson County Speedway. Look for us on the Back Stretch!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Eckrich and Kile Headline Winners List at West Liberty
I have said it before and I will say it again, as a dirt track racing fan I don't think that I could live in a much better location as on a Saturday night I have at least eight solid options of tracks to go within a two hour drive of Mt. Pleasant. So when I got the "go ahead" from the boss to go racing last evening I took into account that a stiff west wind was blowing, so a covered grandstand facing the east would be a good thing. Add in the lure of one of the best tenderloin sandwiches that you will find anywhere, restaurants included, and the fact that I just saw a good show there the week before and the decision was made to head north to the West Liberty Raceway.
Car counts were up in all divisions but one from last week highlighted by a whopping field of twenty-eight IMCA Modifieds, quite impressive for a Saturday night weekly show. Four heats saw only the top three advance to the A-Main with the remainder of the twenty-four car starting field whittled out through a pair of B's and it would be Andrew Schroeder and Todd Hansen who would set the pace for the start of the twenty-lap main event. As Schroeder opened up an early cushion the driver to watch was Richie Gustin who, as we have often seen in the past, was making some fast progress through the field after starting in the tenth position. Gustin would take over the second spot on lap six still with about a straightaway to chase down the leader, but when Dan Hahn spun and Eric Barnes slapped the wall trying to avoid him in turn one a lap later, Schroeder would no longer enjoy that straightaway advantage for the restart.
As the green flag waved Gustin charged low into turn one and snared the lead heading down the back stretch, but behind him the cars of Jonathon Huston and Mark Verbeck tangled to bring out another caution before the lap could be scored. Schroeder would again lead the field to green and this time it was Larry Herring who would get a jump on Gustin and dive to the inside of the leader into turn one. Gustin used the middle groove to his advantage though and when Herring couldn't hold it on the bottom in turn two both Schroeder and Gustin raced by him down the back stretch and into turns three and four. The two would race past the scorer's stand wheel-to-wheel on lap eight before Gustin again pulled ahead in turns one and two and just when it looked like Richie was now the clear leader, Scott Strauss would spin at the back of the pack exiting turn two.
Since Schroeder had been scored as the leader by an eyelash on lap eight, he would once again be placed out front for the Delaware double file restart and this time the young driver from Sigourney was not going to allow anybody to dive bomb him into turn one. Throwing the block on the low groove entering turn one kept Gustin at bay, but allowed Kurt Kile to make a run on the high side and the driver who had started next to Gustin on row five would take the lead down the back straightaway. Gustin would drive into second on the next lap and take up the chase of the new leader, but he could not make up any ground as Kurt Kile would go on to win for the second week in a row. Larry Herring would make the pass of Gustin in the closing laps to take second, while sixth row starters Chris Zogg and Cayden Carter would round out the top five. Was the track pretty racy? Bruce Hanford started on the outside of the tenth row and finished sixth and Brad Dierks came from sixteenth to seventh while Schroeder faded to eighth ahead of Jerry Luloff and Brandon Banks. (Shortly after this was written, the official results were posted and listed Richie Gustin in last due to a disqualification)
Nick Marolf and Colby Springsteen absolutely walked the dog in their respective heat races so it seemed a safe bet that one of them would win the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature, especially with Marolf drawing the inside of the second row in the sixteen car starting grid. The middle of the pack went four-wide down the back stretch on the opening lap as Kyle Hinrichs raced out to the early lead and the only caution of the event waved when Rob Moss coasted to a stop on lap two. Kevin Kile and then Marolf would try to keep pace with Hinrichs on the restart, but the lead would continue to grow to more than a straightaway on the big half-mile. Andy Eckrich and Springsteen had drawn the fifth row starting spots and Eckrich was on the move seemingly getting faster every lap until he took second away from Marolf on lap fourteen. The #56 Late Model looked like it was glued to the bottom groove and it did not take long for Eckrich to track down the leader and, while Hinrichs was able to fight off the first bid for the lead with six laps remaining, Eckrich was just too fast in the opposite groove and "Little E" would drive to the lead on lap twenty. Andy would then pull away over the final laps to score the convincing victory as Hinrichs would have to settle for second. Marolf drove his #33 in for third while Colby Springsteen was again solid in fourth. And, after a less than stellar showing in his heat race, Brian Harris came to life in the second half of the feature passing several cars late to run fifth after starting in the seventh row.
The IMCA Sport Mod car count jumped from five last week to eight this week including a visit from Dustin Enabnit who made the long trip down from Rockford in north central Iowa. Tony Olson looked like he would repeat his victory of last week as he moved from third to first on the opening lap of the twelve-lap feature, but after a caution for Ryan Pace on lap three a new visitor to the West Liberty Raceway would put up a challenge. Brayton Carter of Oskaloosa went to the cushion and drove around the outside of Olson for the lead on lap five and then held it steady over the final laps to score his first career feature win. The youngster was so excited in victory lane that when announcer Jerry Mackey joked that the way that they did it here was that you had to come back next week in order to get paid he said, "okay, I'll have to ask my Dad, but I sure want to come back!" Tony Olson was a solid runner-up and Charley Weber crossed the line in the third position. However, during post-race inspection Weber was disqualified for running grooved tires. That moved Cody Harris up to the third spot, Aric Becker was fourth and Tim Zeman was paid for fifth.
David Brandies was two laps from yet another IMCA Stock Car victory here last week when he scattered his engine throughout turns three and four in a thick cloud of smoke. There was nothing wrong with the replacement motor tonight though as Brandies wasted no time coming from the seventh starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap and he was never challenged on his way to victory. Shane Paris, Brandon Jay, John Hemsted and Tad Payne would chase their way to a top five finish.
After popping a motor in his own car last week Jason Klerk de Rues borrowed a car that showed some smoke of its own earlier in the night. No worries though and it was a fast loaner as he would race it all the way to victory lane in a very entertaining Sport Compact feature. Pole-sitter Rick Hurlbut spun sideways in turn one on the opening lap sending the field scattering and when Hurlbut kept moving the green flag stayed out. James Roose would lead the first four laps before Steven Streck took the point on lap five. It was now a five-car pack racing for the lead and Klerk de Rues brought "Old Smokey" to the front on lap six and began to pull away. Bill Whalen Jr. who found himself way behind after avoiding Hurlbut on the opening lap moved to second with two laps to go and was making up some ground on the leader, but he would run out of laps and have to settle for second. Corey Sheetz who was in the mix for the lead mid-race finished in the third spot, Doug Watkins was fourth and Bobbie Lake took fifth.
I once again want to thank promoter Keith Simmons and his entire crew for their hospitality and for another great Saturday night of racing here in southeast Iowa. Jerry Mackey again had many nice words to say about Positively Racing and, since I inadvertently left his name off the list last week, it was good to visit with flagman Doug Haack again during the brief intermission. Also kudos to Mitch Swinton and the Lil' Racer Car Club for arranging an autograph session with the drivers during that intermission. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or the drivers who were participating!
Next Saturday night May 10th all five divisions will again be in action at the West Liberty Raceway headlined by the Ideal Ready Mix Tri-Track Challenge that will pay $2,000-to-win for the IMCA Late Models.
There is some rain on the radar on this Sunday morning, but it looks like the bulk of it is staying north of the Quad City Speedway and the weather is forecast to improve as the day goes on. So hopefully everything will be a "go" for tonight's Hershel Roberts Memorial in East Moline featuring the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. And hey, if not, I have a couple of other good options to consider as, being a dirt track racing fan I live in a pretty darn good place! Hope to see you on the Back Stretch.
Car counts were up in all divisions but one from last week highlighted by a whopping field of twenty-eight IMCA Modifieds, quite impressive for a Saturday night weekly show. Four heats saw only the top three advance to the A-Main with the remainder of the twenty-four car starting field whittled out through a pair of B's and it would be Andrew Schroeder and Todd Hansen who would set the pace for the start of the twenty-lap main event. As Schroeder opened up an early cushion the driver to watch was Richie Gustin who, as we have often seen in the past, was making some fast progress through the field after starting in the tenth position. Gustin would take over the second spot on lap six still with about a straightaway to chase down the leader, but when Dan Hahn spun and Eric Barnes slapped the wall trying to avoid him in turn one a lap later, Schroeder would no longer enjoy that straightaway advantage for the restart.
As the green flag waved Gustin charged low into turn one and snared the lead heading down the back stretch, but behind him the cars of Jonathon Huston and Mark Verbeck tangled to bring out another caution before the lap could be scored. Schroeder would again lead the field to green and this time it was Larry Herring who would get a jump on Gustin and dive to the inside of the leader into turn one. Gustin used the middle groove to his advantage though and when Herring couldn't hold it on the bottom in turn two both Schroeder and Gustin raced by him down the back stretch and into turns three and four. The two would race past the scorer's stand wheel-to-wheel on lap eight before Gustin again pulled ahead in turns one and two and just when it looked like Richie was now the clear leader, Scott Strauss would spin at the back of the pack exiting turn two.
Since Schroeder had been scored as the leader by an eyelash on lap eight, he would once again be placed out front for the Delaware double file restart and this time the young driver from Sigourney was not going to allow anybody to dive bomb him into turn one. Throwing the block on the low groove entering turn one kept Gustin at bay, but allowed Kurt Kile to make a run on the high side and the driver who had started next to Gustin on row five would take the lead down the back straightaway. Gustin would drive into second on the next lap and take up the chase of the new leader, but he could not make up any ground as Kurt Kile would go on to win for the second week in a row. Larry Herring would make the pass of Gustin in the closing laps to take second, while sixth row starters Chris Zogg and Cayden Carter would round out the top five. Was the track pretty racy? Bruce Hanford started on the outside of the tenth row and finished sixth and Brad Dierks came from sixteenth to seventh while Schroeder faded to eighth ahead of Jerry Luloff and Brandon Banks. (Shortly after this was written, the official results were posted and listed Richie Gustin in last due to a disqualification)
Nick Marolf and Colby Springsteen absolutely walked the dog in their respective heat races so it seemed a safe bet that one of them would win the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature, especially with Marolf drawing the inside of the second row in the sixteen car starting grid. The middle of the pack went four-wide down the back stretch on the opening lap as Kyle Hinrichs raced out to the early lead and the only caution of the event waved when Rob Moss coasted to a stop on lap two. Kevin Kile and then Marolf would try to keep pace with Hinrichs on the restart, but the lead would continue to grow to more than a straightaway on the big half-mile. Andy Eckrich and Springsteen had drawn the fifth row starting spots and Eckrich was on the move seemingly getting faster every lap until he took second away from Marolf on lap fourteen. The #56 Late Model looked like it was glued to the bottom groove and it did not take long for Eckrich to track down the leader and, while Hinrichs was able to fight off the first bid for the lead with six laps remaining, Eckrich was just too fast in the opposite groove and "Little E" would drive to the lead on lap twenty. Andy would then pull away over the final laps to score the convincing victory as Hinrichs would have to settle for second. Marolf drove his #33 in for third while Colby Springsteen was again solid in fourth. And, after a less than stellar showing in his heat race, Brian Harris came to life in the second half of the feature passing several cars late to run fifth after starting in the seventh row.
The IMCA Sport Mod car count jumped from five last week to eight this week including a visit from Dustin Enabnit who made the long trip down from Rockford in north central Iowa. Tony Olson looked like he would repeat his victory of last week as he moved from third to first on the opening lap of the twelve-lap feature, but after a caution for Ryan Pace on lap three a new visitor to the West Liberty Raceway would put up a challenge. Brayton Carter of Oskaloosa went to the cushion and drove around the outside of Olson for the lead on lap five and then held it steady over the final laps to score his first career feature win. The youngster was so excited in victory lane that when announcer Jerry Mackey joked that the way that they did it here was that you had to come back next week in order to get paid he said, "okay, I'll have to ask my Dad, but I sure want to come back!" Tony Olson was a solid runner-up and Charley Weber crossed the line in the third position. However, during post-race inspection Weber was disqualified for running grooved tires. That moved Cody Harris up to the third spot, Aric Becker was fourth and Tim Zeman was paid for fifth.
David Brandies was two laps from yet another IMCA Stock Car victory here last week when he scattered his engine throughout turns three and four in a thick cloud of smoke. There was nothing wrong with the replacement motor tonight though as Brandies wasted no time coming from the seventh starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap and he was never challenged on his way to victory. Shane Paris, Brandon Jay, John Hemsted and Tad Payne would chase their way to a top five finish.
After popping a motor in his own car last week Jason Klerk de Rues borrowed a car that showed some smoke of its own earlier in the night. No worries though and it was a fast loaner as he would race it all the way to victory lane in a very entertaining Sport Compact feature. Pole-sitter Rick Hurlbut spun sideways in turn one on the opening lap sending the field scattering and when Hurlbut kept moving the green flag stayed out. James Roose would lead the first four laps before Steven Streck took the point on lap five. It was now a five-car pack racing for the lead and Klerk de Rues brought "Old Smokey" to the front on lap six and began to pull away. Bill Whalen Jr. who found himself way behind after avoiding Hurlbut on the opening lap moved to second with two laps to go and was making up some ground on the leader, but he would run out of laps and have to settle for second. Corey Sheetz who was in the mix for the lead mid-race finished in the third spot, Doug Watkins was fourth and Bobbie Lake took fifth.
I once again want to thank promoter Keith Simmons and his entire crew for their hospitality and for another great Saturday night of racing here in southeast Iowa. Jerry Mackey again had many nice words to say about Positively Racing and, since I inadvertently left his name off the list last week, it was good to visit with flagman Doug Haack again during the brief intermission. Also kudos to Mitch Swinton and the Lil' Racer Car Club for arranging an autograph session with the drivers during that intermission. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or the drivers who were participating!
Next Saturday night May 10th all five divisions will again be in action at the West Liberty Raceway headlined by the Ideal Ready Mix Tri-Track Challenge that will pay $2,000-to-win for the IMCA Late Models.
There is some rain on the radar on this Sunday morning, but it looks like the bulk of it is staying north of the Quad City Speedway and the weather is forecast to improve as the day goes on. So hopefully everything will be a "go" for tonight's Hershel Roberts Memorial in East Moline featuring the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. And hey, if not, I have a couple of other good options to consider as, being a dirt track racing fan I live in a pretty darn good place! Hope to see you on the Back Stretch.
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