I have been to five races so far in 2019 and at four of them I had to bundle up and slide down into my sleeping bag in order to stay warm. Make fun of me if you'd like, but I figured out a long time ago that this was more effective than wearing Carhart's and boots! The one race that I didn't take "the bag" in for was this past Saturday at 34 Raceway because the thermometer had reached the mid-70's during the day. But let me tell you, once the sun disappeared over the horizon and with the steady wind that was blowing from left to right as I was sitting in the stands, I was still wishing that I was huddled up in the bag!
So this brings us to tonight, Wednesday April 10th, where the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa will open its 2019 racing under less than ideal weather conditions. Hopefully you were not one who checked the forecast for Wednesday a couple of days ago when there was a 90% chance of rain listed and gave up on going......because the Southern Iowa Speedway did not give up. It is bizarre that the weather can be so bad in areas not so far away today and tonight, but still remain dry enough for racing in Oskaloosa and that just proves why you just need to be patient and see how things play out anytime that the weather forecast is not looking good for a race day that is still more than a day out.
At 4 p.m. it is cloudy and windy in Oskaloosa with a temperature of forty-five degrees. Not exactly ideal for racing, but at least the temperature is supposed to remain steady throughout the night so pack everything you have and come on out and see what happens on opening night. Take my advice, bring your sleeping bag to sit in as well.
It's quiz time here on the Back Stretch and if you have been a regular reader of my work for the past forty years you will have a better chance of winning the grand prize of one dollar, or "the standard bet" as my kids cringe about whenever they want to challenge me on something. On one of the racing forums a poster stated that in both of his incidents on Friday night at Marshalltown, Damon Murty had hit a hole just prior to getting contact from the other car. I didn't see it the same way, but that is what is great about racing, we can all see an incident in different ways. For example, if this fan was positioned more toward turn one than I was, he would have had a much better view of both incidents and could be absolutely correct in regard to what caused the contact. Honestly, that is why I was careful in writing my account of what happened because I didn't feel that I could place "blame" on either driver in either of the two incidents.
It was good hard racing and definitely very entertaining for the fans, but here is the "Back Stretch reader's quiz" portion of today's blog. Reading this story, what do you feel is the underlying point that I wanted to make? Send in your answers as a comment here on the blog page only, do not reply on the Facebook page, and the first correct answer will receive one well worn dollar bill the next time that I see you at the race track.
I will likely have more thoughts on the Cody Sommer/Scott Bloomquist announcement at some point, but my first thought is this. Won't this be a conflict of interest at the two major events promoted by Sommer? The young man certainly seems to be a marketing genius when it comes to dirt track racing right now.
Bundle up and I will see you tonight at Osky
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Short Sprints To IRA/MOWA Win At 34 Raceway
Carson Short is getting this wing thing figured out, and fast. One week after scoring a USCS sanctioned winged 360 Sprint car win in Lexington, Tennessee, the driver from Marion, Illinois, who is more known for his prowess without the wing picked up the win on the opening night for both the IRA and MOWA 410 series Saturday night at 34 Raceway.
A solid field of thirty-six drivers signed in on a sunny, but breezy late afternoon where the temperatures topped the seventy degree mark for the first time in 2019 and after four heats and a B-Main the twenty-four car starting field was set for the twenty-five lap finale. Scott Nietzel and Scotty Thiel would bring the field to green, but when the eight time IRA champion Bill Balog slipped over the top of turn one, a full start was needed with Balog having to drop to the back of the grid.
Once underway Thiel would lead the opening lap, but he went a bit too high in turn two the second time around and that allowed both Nietzel and Austin McCarl to get by him. McCarl would then put the heat on the new leader and as Austin charged under him in turn three on lap four, Neitzel would spin sideways on the cushion collecting Thiel who had no time to react before making contact.
It was announced that under series rules both drivers would be given two minutes to make repairs once they reached the work area and while Thiel was able to push off within that time limit, Neitzel and his crew took the longest "two minutes" ever with the car parked just off the track before they were finally encouraged to have a wrecker pick up the front end of the car and tow it to the pits. McCarl would now assume the lead for the restart with the sixth starting Carson Short in second and the defending IRA champion Jake Blackhurst would line up in fourth after originally starting the race from the outside of row seven.
Blackhurst would move to third shortly after the restart, but only five more laps would be scored before local favorite Josh Schneiderman slipped off the top of turn one. On this restart Blackhurst would make a run at Short into turn one with the two making contact allowing McCarl to open up a solid advantage. Short would cut into that lead quickly though and as the two leaders started to work lapped traffic he was ready to challenge. The red flag put a halt to that though as Jeremy Schultz did a wing bender in turn four with ten laps remaining.
McCarl was able to pull away from Short on the restart, but when the 2018 Knoxville Raceway track champion got into turn four a bit too hot he drifted up into the crumbs leaving the door open for Short to charge through. The caution waved one last time with seven laps remaining when Russell Borland spun in turn two and on the restart McCarl gave it his all trying to make up for the mistake.
Short was able to ward off the challenge though and with the laps running out before he would even catch the lapped traffic McCarl could not reel him in as Short captured the victory. McCarl would come home second with Brooke Tatnell coming from eighth to finish third. Blackhurst would get his title defense off to a good start as he was the best of the IRA regulars in fourth while "The Gladiator" Ben Schmidt finished where he started in fifth. Joey Moughan was the best of the MOWA regulars in sixth, Balog rallied from the rear of the field to seventh, Paul Nienheiser was eighth, ninth went to Mike Reinke and Lynton Jeffrey completed the top ten. Defending MOWA champion Jacob Patton watched the feature from his trailer after coming up one spot short of a transfer from the B-Main.
MOWA was scheduled to open up on Friday night at Jacksonville, but that race was postponed to Sunday April 7th with an afternoon start. The next event for the IRA Sprints will be on Saturday April 20th at the Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin.
IMCA Stock Cars and Sport Compacts were also on the schedule with twelve of the thirteen Stock Cars that signed in taking the green for a twenty-five lap main event. David Brandies would take the point with John Oliver Jr. working on him in second, but as both leaders dug around the bottom Jason See went to the top and swept past them both as lap number two was scored. With See now edging away from them, Brandies and Oliver continued their battle that was now for second, but when See slowed suddenly in turn four the caution had to come out as he limped to the pits with just ten laps remaining.
So now the Brandies vs. Oliver battle was for the lead once again and it was a good one with Oliver throwing the slider at him in turn one on lap nineteen. Brandies turned back under him though and they raced door-to-door into turn three. Oliver now had the preferred top line, but when he stumbled for a split second on the cushion that allowed Brandies to return to the front as the lap was being scored.
Two laps later the same scenario would play out with Oliver diving deep into turn one and then sliding up in front of Brandies in turn two, only to have Brandies cross him over and pull even with Oliver going down the back stretch, This time though in three and four Oliver was as smooth as he could be up on the cushion and his momentum off the top of turn four would officially make him the leader of lap twenty-one.
Brandies did everything he could to get back to Oliver over the final four laps, but there was no catching the defending All Iowa Points Stock Car champion from winning the season opener at his home track. Brandies finished just of Abe Huls for second while Kirk Kinsley and Jeremy Pundt rounded out the top five.
Twelve laps would be the distance for the sixteen Sport Compacts on hand and the hottest driver in the area right now is Jacob Houston. After winning both nights at Donnellson's Spring Extravaganza two weeks ago, Houston drove past two-time defending All Iowa Points champion Barry Taft on lap two and then held off a couple of late race charges by Taft to score his third straight feature win. Brandon Reu executed the "bump and run: to perfection to get around Taft in the closing laps to take second with Jason Ash and Larry Miller running fourth and fifth. This race was interrupted just once when Jarrod Nichols apparently lost a wheel exiting turn two on lap eight and put his "Pink Pig" #15 upside down on the back stretch.
The Mountain Dew Kick Start regular season opener will take place next Saturday April 13th at 34 Raceway and on the following Saturday night, April 20th, the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model Series, and other big names in the world of Super Late Model racing will converge on 34 Raceway for the 11th Annual Slocum 50. We hope to see you there!
A solid field of thirty-six drivers signed in on a sunny, but breezy late afternoon where the temperatures topped the seventy degree mark for the first time in 2019 and after four heats and a B-Main the twenty-four car starting field was set for the twenty-five lap finale. Scott Nietzel and Scotty Thiel would bring the field to green, but when the eight time IRA champion Bill Balog slipped over the top of turn one, a full start was needed with Balog having to drop to the back of the grid.
Once underway Thiel would lead the opening lap, but he went a bit too high in turn two the second time around and that allowed both Nietzel and Austin McCarl to get by him. McCarl would then put the heat on the new leader and as Austin charged under him in turn three on lap four, Neitzel would spin sideways on the cushion collecting Thiel who had no time to react before making contact.
It was announced that under series rules both drivers would be given two minutes to make repairs once they reached the work area and while Thiel was able to push off within that time limit, Neitzel and his crew took the longest "two minutes" ever with the car parked just off the track before they were finally encouraged to have a wrecker pick up the front end of the car and tow it to the pits. McCarl would now assume the lead for the restart with the sixth starting Carson Short in second and the defending IRA champion Jake Blackhurst would line up in fourth after originally starting the race from the outside of row seven.
Blackhurst would move to third shortly after the restart, but only five more laps would be scored before local favorite Josh Schneiderman slipped off the top of turn one. On this restart Blackhurst would make a run at Short into turn one with the two making contact allowing McCarl to open up a solid advantage. Short would cut into that lead quickly though and as the two leaders started to work lapped traffic he was ready to challenge. The red flag put a halt to that though as Jeremy Schultz did a wing bender in turn four with ten laps remaining.
McCarl was able to pull away from Short on the restart, but when the 2018 Knoxville Raceway track champion got into turn four a bit too hot he drifted up into the crumbs leaving the door open for Short to charge through. The caution waved one last time with seven laps remaining when Russell Borland spun in turn two and on the restart McCarl gave it his all trying to make up for the mistake.
Short was able to ward off the challenge though and with the laps running out before he would even catch the lapped traffic McCarl could not reel him in as Short captured the victory. McCarl would come home second with Brooke Tatnell coming from eighth to finish third. Blackhurst would get his title defense off to a good start as he was the best of the IRA regulars in fourth while "The Gladiator" Ben Schmidt finished where he started in fifth. Joey Moughan was the best of the MOWA regulars in sixth, Balog rallied from the rear of the field to seventh, Paul Nienheiser was eighth, ninth went to Mike Reinke and Lynton Jeffrey completed the top ten. Defending MOWA champion Jacob Patton watched the feature from his trailer after coming up one spot short of a transfer from the B-Main.
MOWA was scheduled to open up on Friday night at Jacksonville, but that race was postponed to Sunday April 7th with an afternoon start. The next event for the IRA Sprints will be on Saturday April 20th at the Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin.
IMCA Stock Cars and Sport Compacts were also on the schedule with twelve of the thirteen Stock Cars that signed in taking the green for a twenty-five lap main event. David Brandies would take the point with John Oliver Jr. working on him in second, but as both leaders dug around the bottom Jason See went to the top and swept past them both as lap number two was scored. With See now edging away from them, Brandies and Oliver continued their battle that was now for second, but when See slowed suddenly in turn four the caution had to come out as he limped to the pits with just ten laps remaining.
So now the Brandies vs. Oliver battle was for the lead once again and it was a good one with Oliver throwing the slider at him in turn one on lap nineteen. Brandies turned back under him though and they raced door-to-door into turn three. Oliver now had the preferred top line, but when he stumbled for a split second on the cushion that allowed Brandies to return to the front as the lap was being scored.
Two laps later the same scenario would play out with Oliver diving deep into turn one and then sliding up in front of Brandies in turn two, only to have Brandies cross him over and pull even with Oliver going down the back stretch, This time though in three and four Oliver was as smooth as he could be up on the cushion and his momentum off the top of turn four would officially make him the leader of lap twenty-one.
Brandies did everything he could to get back to Oliver over the final four laps, but there was no catching the defending All Iowa Points Stock Car champion from winning the season opener at his home track. Brandies finished just of Abe Huls for second while Kirk Kinsley and Jeremy Pundt rounded out the top five.
Twelve laps would be the distance for the sixteen Sport Compacts on hand and the hottest driver in the area right now is Jacob Houston. After winning both nights at Donnellson's Spring Extravaganza two weeks ago, Houston drove past two-time defending All Iowa Points champion Barry Taft on lap two and then held off a couple of late race charges by Taft to score his third straight feature win. Brandon Reu executed the "bump and run: to perfection to get around Taft in the closing laps to take second with Jason Ash and Larry Miller running fourth and fifth. This race was interrupted just once when Jarrod Nichols apparently lost a wheel exiting turn two on lap eight and put his "Pink Pig" #15 upside down on the back stretch.
The Mountain Dew Kick Start regular season opener will take place next Saturday April 13th at 34 Raceway and on the following Saturday night, April 20th, the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model Series, and other big names in the world of Super Late Model racing will converge on 34 Raceway for the 11th Annual Slocum 50. We hope to see you there!
Grabouski, Brown, Carter and Watson Break The Frost In Fashion At Marshalltown
If anybody had a concern about the car count for the IMCA Frostbusters given that the weather had reduced the schedule from four shows to two, that was blown out of the water when 173 drivers in four divisions made their way to the Marshalltown Speedway Friday night. In fact the rush of entries created a thirty minute delay in the start of racing as officials worked to get everybody entered on the electronic scoring system, but the wait was well worth it with multi-groove racing and sliders, or White Castles as announcer Jerry Van Sickle calls them, all night long around the high banked quarter-mile oval. Marshalltown continues to climb my list of favorite race tracks and it is now firmly in my top five.
With qualifying action for the four divisions in the books, the Hobby Stocks would be first up come feature time with the twenty-four car field lined up for fifteen laps. John Watson drew the outside of row one and he would set a quick pace with Corey Madden applying some pressure. Usually this would be the point of the story where I would tell you how Shannon Anderson quickly moved up from his sixth row start, but surprisingly Shannon wasn't here tonight and with Watson being the class of the field this became a fifteen lap parade around the top side.
Watson was dominant in the victory with Madden chasing him in second. Dylan Nelson started sixth and finished third, Minnesota's Trevor Holm quickly moved from eighth to fourth, but his run would stop there while third starting Adam Ayers would complete the top five.
The action would pick up again in the Sport Mod feature with pole sitter Nate Whitehurst taking the early lead and Brayton Carter working in second. Carter would throw a big slider in turns three and four on lap four, but when he caught a ripple in turn four it caused him to hesitate and allowed Whitehurst to sweep past him once again. The caution would wave on lap seven when Carter VanDenberg spun in turn and on the restart Carter would complete the slide job on Whitehurst in turn two. Whitehurst would fire back down the back straightaway diving deep into turn three. As he slid up the track in four though he caught that same lip and it turned his car hard right where he was able to get it stopped before hitting the wall head on.
With Whitehurst now restarting at the rear, Carter would assume the lead and Doug Smith would now pick up the challenge. The northwest Iowa driver took a look to the inside a couple of times, but could not complete the pass as Brayton Carter would secure the win. Smith was the runner-up with Keokuk's Daniel Fellows running an impressive third after starting from eighth. Former All Iowa Points and IMCA National champion Tony Olson came from the outside of the sixth row to finish fourth and Nebraska's Tyler Nerud filled out the top five.
The Stock Car action will be remembered for two incidents involving the area's most prolific winner over the past twenty seasons. The first try at a start for the twenty lap feature looked like rush hour on the Kennedy with the lead pack going five wide into turn three. Devin Smith would get pinched off exiting turn four and when he slowed for a split second that caused the back of the field to stack up with Buck Schafroth and Jay Schmidt making hard contact. The damage would require a hook for Schafroth while Schmidt would try it again from his twenty-fourth and final starting position as Andrew Borchardt wondered what might have been after he had found his way to the front from fifth only to have the lap not scored due to the incident at the back.
The second start to the race was just as incredible with Dan Mackenthun leading the opening lap while Kyle Brown split the middle to come from seventh to second. Two laps later Brown would put his Camaro bodied "show car" out front as several drivers continued to charge from deep in the pack. Brian Blessington had started twelfth and he was now in contention, Elijah Zevenbergen came from the ninth row to get into the top five, Schmidt proved that the damage from his opening lap contact was just cosmetic and Damon Murty was flat out flying after starting twenty-second.
Using a line where he would enter turn one a bit higher than everybody else and then dive to the bottom to exit turn two, Murty was picking off a car or two a lap and with just six to go he was now up to second and ready to challenge Brown. But first, let's go back to the B-Main where Murty ended up in the third and final transfer position. Using that same line into turn one, when Murty set the car and turned left late in the race Cody Frerichs was there and contact would spin Murty and send Frerichs up and over a couple of times to bring out the red. As Frerichs climbed out of his damaged Stock Car uninjured, Murty was given his position back in the lineup where he completed his third place run to make the main event.
Back to the feature now, it was Brown out front followed closely by Murty and Devin Smith and when the leaders entered turn one after scoring lap sixteen it was like a repeat of the B-Main incident except this time as Murty spun, Smith was able to continue as the caution flag waved. After circling the track a few times under caution I am assuming that both drivers were told to go to the rear or Smith was sent to the pits, I'm not sure, but this time Murty was sent to the back of the pack for his involvement in the incident.
Once back to green Blessington made a run at Brown that he could not complete allowing Schmidt to get to second and on the final lap Schmidt tried to pull off the amazing back to front run but came up just short as Kyle Brown took the win. Schmidt and Blessington were next in line, Donavon Smith came from sixteenth to fourth and defending All Iowa Points champion John Oliver Jr. took fifth after starting from the inside of the tenth row.
The clock struck midnight as the Modifieds came to the track to close out the show and with two-time IMCA National Champion Jordan Grabouski starting from the front row, he was the odds on favorite in this twenty-five lap event.Tim Ward and Jeremy Mills kept the heat on Grabouski in the opening laps until Mills slipped over the top of turn one to bring out the first caution. Three more laps would be scored before Karl Brewer slipped off the top of turn one where he would get upside down to bring out the red.
Grabouski would open up his lead when the green flag returned and the race for second was the one to watch as Arizona natives Ward and Ricky Thornton Jr. were joined by Cayden Carter to make it a three car battle. Thornton would establish himself in second with ten laps to go, but he could not reel in the leader as Grabouski navigated traffic like a pro to take the flag-to-flag victory. Thornton Jr., Ward and Carter were next in line while Joel Rust came from thirteenth to finish fifth.
It was another great way to start the IMCA season here in Iowa and I have to thank my Positively Racing colleagues and friends Dick and Joyce Eisele for saving me a prime seat as the stands were quite full when I arrived just before hot laps. Make sure that you check out their account of the evening in the 4dFan Report. The Frostbusters wrap up tonight at the Boone Speedway and don't be surprised if the car count in these four classes goes even higher, plus the IMCA Racesaver Sprints will join the card which should guarantee that more than 200 cars will fill the pits.
For me it will be the IRA/MOWA Sprint Car opener at 34 Raceway near Burlington tonight with the Stock Cars and Sport Compacts also in action. Perhaps I will see you there!
With qualifying action for the four divisions in the books, the Hobby Stocks would be first up come feature time with the twenty-four car field lined up for fifteen laps. John Watson drew the outside of row one and he would set a quick pace with Corey Madden applying some pressure. Usually this would be the point of the story where I would tell you how Shannon Anderson quickly moved up from his sixth row start, but surprisingly Shannon wasn't here tonight and with Watson being the class of the field this became a fifteen lap parade around the top side.
Watson was dominant in the victory with Madden chasing him in second. Dylan Nelson started sixth and finished third, Minnesota's Trevor Holm quickly moved from eighth to fourth, but his run would stop there while third starting Adam Ayers would complete the top five.
The action would pick up again in the Sport Mod feature with pole sitter Nate Whitehurst taking the early lead and Brayton Carter working in second. Carter would throw a big slider in turns three and four on lap four, but when he caught a ripple in turn four it caused him to hesitate and allowed Whitehurst to sweep past him once again. The caution would wave on lap seven when Carter VanDenberg spun in turn and on the restart Carter would complete the slide job on Whitehurst in turn two. Whitehurst would fire back down the back straightaway diving deep into turn three. As he slid up the track in four though he caught that same lip and it turned his car hard right where he was able to get it stopped before hitting the wall head on.
With Whitehurst now restarting at the rear, Carter would assume the lead and Doug Smith would now pick up the challenge. The northwest Iowa driver took a look to the inside a couple of times, but could not complete the pass as Brayton Carter would secure the win. Smith was the runner-up with Keokuk's Daniel Fellows running an impressive third after starting from eighth. Former All Iowa Points and IMCA National champion Tony Olson came from the outside of the sixth row to finish fourth and Nebraska's Tyler Nerud filled out the top five.
The Stock Car action will be remembered for two incidents involving the area's most prolific winner over the past twenty seasons. The first try at a start for the twenty lap feature looked like rush hour on the Kennedy with the lead pack going five wide into turn three. Devin Smith would get pinched off exiting turn four and when he slowed for a split second that caused the back of the field to stack up with Buck Schafroth and Jay Schmidt making hard contact. The damage would require a hook for Schafroth while Schmidt would try it again from his twenty-fourth and final starting position as Andrew Borchardt wondered what might have been after he had found his way to the front from fifth only to have the lap not scored due to the incident at the back.
The second start to the race was just as incredible with Dan Mackenthun leading the opening lap while Kyle Brown split the middle to come from seventh to second. Two laps later Brown would put his Camaro bodied "show car" out front as several drivers continued to charge from deep in the pack. Brian Blessington had started twelfth and he was now in contention, Elijah Zevenbergen came from the ninth row to get into the top five, Schmidt proved that the damage from his opening lap contact was just cosmetic and Damon Murty was flat out flying after starting twenty-second.
Using a line where he would enter turn one a bit higher than everybody else and then dive to the bottom to exit turn two, Murty was picking off a car or two a lap and with just six to go he was now up to second and ready to challenge Brown. But first, let's go back to the B-Main where Murty ended up in the third and final transfer position. Using that same line into turn one, when Murty set the car and turned left late in the race Cody Frerichs was there and contact would spin Murty and send Frerichs up and over a couple of times to bring out the red. As Frerichs climbed out of his damaged Stock Car uninjured, Murty was given his position back in the lineup where he completed his third place run to make the main event.
Back to the feature now, it was Brown out front followed closely by Murty and Devin Smith and when the leaders entered turn one after scoring lap sixteen it was like a repeat of the B-Main incident except this time as Murty spun, Smith was able to continue as the caution flag waved. After circling the track a few times under caution I am assuming that both drivers were told to go to the rear or Smith was sent to the pits, I'm not sure, but this time Murty was sent to the back of the pack for his involvement in the incident.
Once back to green Blessington made a run at Brown that he could not complete allowing Schmidt to get to second and on the final lap Schmidt tried to pull off the amazing back to front run but came up just short as Kyle Brown took the win. Schmidt and Blessington were next in line, Donavon Smith came from sixteenth to fourth and defending All Iowa Points champion John Oliver Jr. took fifth after starting from the inside of the tenth row.
The clock struck midnight as the Modifieds came to the track to close out the show and with two-time IMCA National Champion Jordan Grabouski starting from the front row, he was the odds on favorite in this twenty-five lap event.Tim Ward and Jeremy Mills kept the heat on Grabouski in the opening laps until Mills slipped over the top of turn one to bring out the first caution. Three more laps would be scored before Karl Brewer slipped off the top of turn one where he would get upside down to bring out the red.
Grabouski would open up his lead when the green flag returned and the race for second was the one to watch as Arizona natives Ward and Ricky Thornton Jr. were joined by Cayden Carter to make it a three car battle. Thornton would establish himself in second with ten laps to go, but he could not reel in the leader as Grabouski navigated traffic like a pro to take the flag-to-flag victory. Thornton Jr., Ward and Carter were next in line while Joel Rust came from thirteenth to finish fifth.
It was another great way to start the IMCA season here in Iowa and I have to thank my Positively Racing colleagues and friends Dick and Joyce Eisele for saving me a prime seat as the stands were quite full when I arrived just before hot laps. Make sure that you check out their account of the evening in the 4dFan Report. The Frostbusters wrap up tonight at the Boone Speedway and don't be surprised if the car count in these four classes goes even higher, plus the IMCA Racesaver Sprints will join the card which should guarantee that more than 200 cars will fill the pits.
For me it will be the IRA/MOWA Sprint Car opener at 34 Raceway near Burlington tonight with the Stock Cars and Sport Compacts also in action. Perhaps I will see you there!
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
And Then There Were Two
As the schedules for 2019 came out it was this week that would give the avid dirt track fan an opportunity to go racing six nights in a row, something that we do not typically see until on, or after the Memorial Day weekend. The IMCA Frostbusters were set for a four night run from Wednesday through Saturday, the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa scheduled the inaugural Caleb Hammond Memorial for Tuesday and with season openers at Sunday night tracks like Dubuque, East Moline and Quincy a real "Super Fan" could have easily made it a six-race-week.
That is until the dominoes started to fall late last week. First it was the announcement that the Frostbuster at the Benton County Speedway would not be able to happen due to the wet grounds that linger from the late winter snow and cold. This created a shuffle where Stuart would then take the Thursday slot so that the Frostbusters would run three nights in a row rather than starting on Wednesday in Stuart and then having a day off before going to Marshalltown and Boone. I was curious to see if this would move Osky to Wednesday so I reached out to my contact there and he told me that they had not even been able to get on the track yet as of last Thursday. Therefore it was no surprise that after it rained on Friday that the track announced that the Caleb Hammond Memorial will now be held during the Southern Iowa Fair on Tuesday July 16th. Oskaloosa will now try to open its 2019 season on Wednesday April 10th.
The title of this entry on the Back Stretch refers to the IMCA Frostbusters as yesterday track owner/promoter Mike VanGenderen announced that the Thursday show had been cancelled as not only was the weather forecast looking bleak mid-week, but he was experiencing water issues as a city line had broken meaning that there would be no water for the kitchen or the restrooms. Stuart will now open its season on Wednesday April 17th with the Tim Stevens Memorial.
So that now leaves us with two IMCA Frostbusters, weather permitting of course as Marshalltown probably can't take as much rain in the day or two before an event coming out of this winter as it normally can. While at Boone, well I think that they proved last September that if they make the decision to race, they will race as long as it isn't actually raining when it comes time to take the green flag. Given the prospects of their own hometown tracks opening as originally scheduled this year, I am guessing that you will still see several travelers make their way to Marshalltown and Boone for the Frostbusters this weekend, especially when you consider that the temperatures will be getting up into the sixties to near seventy.
Marshalltown is one of my options on Friday night along with Midwest Open Wheel Association or MOWA Sprints Cars at the Jacksonville Speedway. If they run though, Marshalltown would get the nod as I would hope to see those same MOWA competitors on Saturday night when they go head-to-head with the Interstate Racing Association or IRA Sprint Cars at 34 Raceway near Burlington. The aforementioned season openers on Sunday are all possibilities the next night, but if I wanted to get up early and make the road trip, the Icebreaker 100 at the Dells Raceway Park currently has a pre-entry list of 30 Super Late Models for the Sunday afternoon show on the pavement.
Looking out into next week I have the opener at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on my calendar as well as Thursday's Bill Davis Memorial at the Marshalltown Speedway.
The folks at the 300 Raceway in Farley are getting some kudos for re-thinking the dates of the Yankee Dirt Classic. Last week we were told to mark our calendars for September 20th and 21st, but after considering a couple of other events already on the schedule for that weekend in Darlington and Burlington, those dates were pulled back and they are now looking for a weekend that will fit. Yes, this was a very classy move on the part of the new ownership and those that are working with the 300 Raceway, however when you look at the calendar can you tell me when they can actually schedule the 42nd Annual YDC without stepping on somebody's toes? Can't go with the first weekend in September as that is Boone and the second weekend would be up against Marshalltown and Knoxville. The third weekend has been ruled out and the fourth weekend of September has the Deery finale at Davenport and the Rumble at Dubuque. The first weekend in October is the Darkside Fall Bash at Tipton, so maybe the second weekend in October might work?
Keep in mind that while finding a date for this event is a "problem" for the promoters, it just goes to show why I consider this to be the absolute best area to live in if you are a fan of dirt track racing!
One area that now faces some struggles that it didn't anticipate a month ago is the Kansas City area as the revival of the I-70 Speedway in Odessa is now in doubt for 2019 due to hurdles in getting the necessary permits. Add that to the major flooding at the Lakeside Speedway where they are now estimating a best case scenario of opening the first week in June and that will reduce the number of options for drivers and fans in the area. The ASCS Warrior Region Sprint Cars stand to lose all four of the events that they had scheduled at I-70 as well as the Thursday May 9th event at Lakeside that they run along with the National Tour during Kansas City's Cup weekend at the big track. Not to worry too much though as that would still leave the Warriors with twenty nights of racing on the 2019 schedule.
Speaking of the ASCS did you know that Harli White won her first ever sanctioned feature event last Friday night at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock? This was a combination event for the Lone Star, Mid-South and Sooner Regions where the young lady started fourth and then held off former National Tour champions Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Wayne Johnson to take the win. One major addition to Harli's team this year is former championship driver Johnny Herrera who has stepped away from driving to serve as White's crew chief for 2019. It will be interesting to see if this new combination can get back to victory lane more often, perhaps even on the ASCS National Tour.
That's it for today, hopefully you have some racing plans for the coming weekend as well and maybe we will find you on the Back Stretch.
That is until the dominoes started to fall late last week. First it was the announcement that the Frostbuster at the Benton County Speedway would not be able to happen due to the wet grounds that linger from the late winter snow and cold. This created a shuffle where Stuart would then take the Thursday slot so that the Frostbusters would run three nights in a row rather than starting on Wednesday in Stuart and then having a day off before going to Marshalltown and Boone. I was curious to see if this would move Osky to Wednesday so I reached out to my contact there and he told me that they had not even been able to get on the track yet as of last Thursday. Therefore it was no surprise that after it rained on Friday that the track announced that the Caleb Hammond Memorial will now be held during the Southern Iowa Fair on Tuesday July 16th. Oskaloosa will now try to open its 2019 season on Wednesday April 10th.
The title of this entry on the Back Stretch refers to the IMCA Frostbusters as yesterday track owner/promoter Mike VanGenderen announced that the Thursday show had been cancelled as not only was the weather forecast looking bleak mid-week, but he was experiencing water issues as a city line had broken meaning that there would be no water for the kitchen or the restrooms. Stuart will now open its season on Wednesday April 17th with the Tim Stevens Memorial.
So that now leaves us with two IMCA Frostbusters, weather permitting of course as Marshalltown probably can't take as much rain in the day or two before an event coming out of this winter as it normally can. While at Boone, well I think that they proved last September that if they make the decision to race, they will race as long as it isn't actually raining when it comes time to take the green flag. Given the prospects of their own hometown tracks opening as originally scheduled this year, I am guessing that you will still see several travelers make their way to Marshalltown and Boone for the Frostbusters this weekend, especially when you consider that the temperatures will be getting up into the sixties to near seventy.
Marshalltown is one of my options on Friday night along with Midwest Open Wheel Association or MOWA Sprints Cars at the Jacksonville Speedway. If they run though, Marshalltown would get the nod as I would hope to see those same MOWA competitors on Saturday night when they go head-to-head with the Interstate Racing Association or IRA Sprint Cars at 34 Raceway near Burlington. The aforementioned season openers on Sunday are all possibilities the next night, but if I wanted to get up early and make the road trip, the Icebreaker 100 at the Dells Raceway Park currently has a pre-entry list of 30 Super Late Models for the Sunday afternoon show on the pavement.
Looking out into next week I have the opener at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on my calendar as well as Thursday's Bill Davis Memorial at the Marshalltown Speedway.
The folks at the 300 Raceway in Farley are getting some kudos for re-thinking the dates of the Yankee Dirt Classic. Last week we were told to mark our calendars for September 20th and 21st, but after considering a couple of other events already on the schedule for that weekend in Darlington and Burlington, those dates were pulled back and they are now looking for a weekend that will fit. Yes, this was a very classy move on the part of the new ownership and those that are working with the 300 Raceway, however when you look at the calendar can you tell me when they can actually schedule the 42nd Annual YDC without stepping on somebody's toes? Can't go with the first weekend in September as that is Boone and the second weekend would be up against Marshalltown and Knoxville. The third weekend has been ruled out and the fourth weekend of September has the Deery finale at Davenport and the Rumble at Dubuque. The first weekend in October is the Darkside Fall Bash at Tipton, so maybe the second weekend in October might work?
Keep in mind that while finding a date for this event is a "problem" for the promoters, it just goes to show why I consider this to be the absolute best area to live in if you are a fan of dirt track racing!
One area that now faces some struggles that it didn't anticipate a month ago is the Kansas City area as the revival of the I-70 Speedway in Odessa is now in doubt for 2019 due to hurdles in getting the necessary permits. Add that to the major flooding at the Lakeside Speedway where they are now estimating a best case scenario of opening the first week in June and that will reduce the number of options for drivers and fans in the area. The ASCS Warrior Region Sprint Cars stand to lose all four of the events that they had scheduled at I-70 as well as the Thursday May 9th event at Lakeside that they run along with the National Tour during Kansas City's Cup weekend at the big track. Not to worry too much though as that would still leave the Warriors with twenty nights of racing on the 2019 schedule.
Speaking of the ASCS did you know that Harli White won her first ever sanctioned feature event last Friday night at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock? This was a combination event for the Lone Star, Mid-South and Sooner Regions where the young lady started fourth and then held off former National Tour champions Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Wayne Johnson to take the win. One major addition to Harli's team this year is former championship driver Johnny Herrera who has stepped away from driving to serve as White's crew chief for 2019. It will be interesting to see if this new combination can get back to victory lane more often, perhaps even on the ASCS National Tour.
That's it for today, hopefully you have some racing plans for the coming weekend as well and maybe we will find you on the Back Stretch.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Tyler Erb Takes A Thriller At LaSalle
It was colder than had been forecast. It was windier than had been forecast. But for those die-hard race fans that bundled up and made their way to the LaSalle Speedway on Sunday afternoon for the abbreviated 2019 version of the Thaw Brawl, it was well worth the chill as they were treated to a spectacular 75-lap Late Model main event that saw nine lead changes between five different drivers with the winner still in question until the final set of turns.
Originally scheduled to be a Friday and Saturday event, the track's annual season opener was pushed to a Saturday and Sunday plan based upon the rain that was in the forecast. A practice session was able to beat the rain on Friday evening, but when too much precipitation came overnight Saturday's event was postponed to July 20th with this one now being a big-paying one-day show on Sunday afternoon.
With a forecast for sunny skies and a high around 44 with just a light wind from the west, we decided to make the nearly three hour trip knowing that racing was scheduled to take the green at 3 p.m. When we arrived at the high-banked quarter-mile though, the temperature was still stuck at 37 with a brisk north wind. Thank goodness the sun was out bright though as that gave us hope and when the wind shifted more to the west that made viewing conditions much better, especially since the grandstands here face to the east.
With $15,000 on the line for the winner of the American Ethanol Late Model Tour opener the 31-car field was stacked with talent and the first qualifying heat race took the green around 3:15. The top five finishers from the three heats as well as the top five from the one B-Main would qualify for the 75-lap headliner and one provisional would be added based upon the final point standings in 2018.
Kyle Bronson and Jason Feger would bring the field to green with Bronson getting the edge to lead lap one, but third starting Brian Shirley was digging around the bottom and he would take the point as the second lap was scored. The next two circuits would prove that we had a two groove racetrack to work with as Bronson came back on the cushion to lead lap three only to have Shirley regain the advantage on lap four. Before Shirley could be the first to lead two consecutive laps though Scott Schmitt spun to the infield at the exit of turn two to require the first caution of the event.
Once back to action Shirley would take command leading the field through a lap thirteen caution for Hudson O'Neal's spin in turn two and Shirley would continue to set the pace until lapped traffic created a challenger for him on lap twenty-six. With Bronson still riding the topside he would again sweep around Shirley for the lead on lap twenty-eight only to give it right back to Shirley on the next circuit.
Traffic was still a concern for the leader though and on lap thirty-two when he clipped the right rear of Bob Gardner entering turn one it turned the lapped car a bit sideways. Gardner was able to make the save, but when the defending Ethanol Tour champion Brandon Thirlby had to check up to miss Gardner, he slid to a stop bringing out the next caution.
Only one more lap was scored following the restart as Shannon Babb slowed with an apparent flat tire and following that restart Bronson again went to the treacherous top to try to make his run at the leader. When Bronson jumped the cushion on lap thirty-eight though he broke a J-bar and limped to the pits with the race staying green. Shirley was now in command, but it did not last long as on lap forty-two the leader slowed coming out of turn four to bring out the next caution.
After pitting to change a flat, Shirley rejoined the field as the race went back to green with Chris Simpson the new leader in the Hoker Trucking car #32. After the demise of Bronson it looked like everybody had given up on the top as Simpson was the leader of the parade around the bottom until he caught the back of the field. Bob Gardner was also glued to the bottom and after following him for a couple of laps, Simpson tried to enter the turns one groove higher than the lapped car in hope of letting him know that a race was coming and that he was now in it.
Gardner did not yield though and Simpson settled back in behind the lapped car as his challengers Bobby Pierce and Tyler Erb closed in. Neither of the young chargers were content with just following the leader though and when they showed their nose up top Simpson knew that he had to go and get around the lapped car of Gardner. Simpson again tried to use the middle and even the cushion to dispatch Gardner and coming to lap sixty-three Gardner slipped a bit wide off turn four and Simpson tried to squeeze below him. Pierce was already there though and when those two leaders made contact at the flagstand not only did it allow Gardner to again shut the door into turn one, it also gave Erb the chance that he needed to make a run.
As Simpson and Pierce gathered their rides after the contact, Erb charged around the top of turns one and two to take the lead before tucking back down to the bottom still behind Gardner, but now ahead of both Simpson and Pierce. Not to be outdone Pierce now went to the top on both ends of the speedway and after getting around Simpson for second in one lap he then took the lead from Erb on lap sixty-six. All three contenders would finally get around Gardner on the following lap and the chase was now on.
The top was definitely fast, but it was now quite rough as well especially in turn two so Pierce went back to the bottom while Erb still tried to cowboy up around the rim. Lapped traffic would come back into play with just five laps to go though as Pierce closed in on Travis Stemler who had started the race as the series provisional. Pierce was able to squeeze under Stemler through three and four and with Erb catching the cushion just right they passed the flagstand three-wide with just four laps to go.
Pierce would be even with him exiting turn two, but Erb's momentum off the cushion allowed him to pull ahead and then shut the door on Pierce as they both raced low into turn three. Sticking with the cushion in turns one and two Erb wheel hopped the car three times nearly losing control so after the white flag waved he went to the bottom and was able to hold off Pierce to take the exciting win. Simpson was now several car lengths back in third, Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth while B-Main winner Ricky Weiss came from sixteenth to fifth. Defending All Iowa Points champion Jeremiah Hurst was solid all day in the Roberts Racing #58 to finish in sixth, Thirlby is off to a good start in his title defense by finishing seventh ahead of Rich Bell, Spencer Diercks and Stemler.
Thaw Brawl Notes.....Tyler Erb's win came after starting eleventh on the 21-car grid......Kudos to the American Ethanol Tour's qualifying method that saw the top three cars in each heat inverted with the top five finishers transferring to the main event. Each heat race winner then drew for positions one, two and three in the feature lineup. Erb briefly panned the invert during his victory lane interview, but come on Tyler, isn't it more fun to win a race by actually having to pass some people? I know that this fan, and everybody else who paid $35 for a ticket on this cold and windy day sure appreciated your victory more under this format......I also want to thank the Tour for only running one B-Main for the sixteen cars that had still not made the show after the heats. This means that "the true" top-five from this race are making the show and it was a good battle with Frankie Heckenast edging out Eric Spangler by a nose for the final transfer spot. I see way too many events now that will take a field like this and split them into two eight-car B-Mains as if to say "sorry guys we don't trust that we can put all sixteen of you out there at once and not have you drive all over each other." Deery Brothers, Dirt Knights Tour, others, are you paying attention?,,,,,It was notable though that the Ethanol Tour only granted one series provisional with the 2018 points runner-up Travis Stemler getting the nod. With big money on the line drawing in a strong field, and with the Tour opener coming outside of its home base in Michigan, only seven projected "regulars" were in attendance. The defending champ Thirlby had the best finish in seventh, Sheffield, Illinois, driver Rich Bell who has made the trip into Michigan to follow the Ethanol Tour the past two seasons finished eighth. Stemler made the most of his provisional by running tenth while Logan Arntz finished twelfth. Eric Spangler just missed making the show leaving him in the trailer for the feature along with Chad Finley and Mike Vandermark......The next two events for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour will be on Friday April 19th at the I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, and Saturday April 20th at the Plymouth Speedway in northwest Indiana.....There was a forty-five minute intermission to re-work the track before the features and then another fifteen minutes were needed when the pickup truck that had the mister tank in the back was parked at the top of turn four as the Late Models came onto the track. Parked on the banking water was flowing out of the tank and running down the track and once one of the infield workers noticed it he ran over to the truck to tell the driver to get it moved. The water continued to stream out of the bed of the truck as it was turned around and driven around the bottom of turns three and four before exiting the speedway. Promoter Tony Izzo then had to bring out more equipment to break up the now soaked portions of the track so that the drivers could then pack it in under their parade laps. All said, given the way the feature race played out, the one hour wait was well worth it......That wait though now put the end of the victory lane ceremonies for the Late Models past six o'clock so when there were three straight cautions at the start of the American Ethanol Tour Modified feature we made the choice to hit the road for home in our cozy sun-warmed vehicle..... Front row starters Allen Weisser and Frank Marshall finished one-two in the Ethanol Modified Tour feature while Ricky Thornton Jr. took the IMCA Modified honors and Skyler Woods bested a five car field of Sport Mods. For details on those three races along with another point of view on the Thaw Brawl check out Ed Reichert's One Fan's Travels and for even more Positively Racing coverage of the Late Models check in with Danny Rosencrans on Racin' Down The Road.
Originally scheduled to be a Friday and Saturday event, the track's annual season opener was pushed to a Saturday and Sunday plan based upon the rain that was in the forecast. A practice session was able to beat the rain on Friday evening, but when too much precipitation came overnight Saturday's event was postponed to July 20th with this one now being a big-paying one-day show on Sunday afternoon.
With a forecast for sunny skies and a high around 44 with just a light wind from the west, we decided to make the nearly three hour trip knowing that racing was scheduled to take the green at 3 p.m. When we arrived at the high-banked quarter-mile though, the temperature was still stuck at 37 with a brisk north wind. Thank goodness the sun was out bright though as that gave us hope and when the wind shifted more to the west that made viewing conditions much better, especially since the grandstands here face to the east.
With $15,000 on the line for the winner of the American Ethanol Late Model Tour opener the 31-car field was stacked with talent and the first qualifying heat race took the green around 3:15. The top five finishers from the three heats as well as the top five from the one B-Main would qualify for the 75-lap headliner and one provisional would be added based upon the final point standings in 2018.
Kyle Bronson and Jason Feger would bring the field to green with Bronson getting the edge to lead lap one, but third starting Brian Shirley was digging around the bottom and he would take the point as the second lap was scored. The next two circuits would prove that we had a two groove racetrack to work with as Bronson came back on the cushion to lead lap three only to have Shirley regain the advantage on lap four. Before Shirley could be the first to lead two consecutive laps though Scott Schmitt spun to the infield at the exit of turn two to require the first caution of the event.
Once back to action Shirley would take command leading the field through a lap thirteen caution for Hudson O'Neal's spin in turn two and Shirley would continue to set the pace until lapped traffic created a challenger for him on lap twenty-six. With Bronson still riding the topside he would again sweep around Shirley for the lead on lap twenty-eight only to give it right back to Shirley on the next circuit.
Traffic was still a concern for the leader though and on lap thirty-two when he clipped the right rear of Bob Gardner entering turn one it turned the lapped car a bit sideways. Gardner was able to make the save, but when the defending Ethanol Tour champion Brandon Thirlby had to check up to miss Gardner, he slid to a stop bringing out the next caution.
Only one more lap was scored following the restart as Shannon Babb slowed with an apparent flat tire and following that restart Bronson again went to the treacherous top to try to make his run at the leader. When Bronson jumped the cushion on lap thirty-eight though he broke a J-bar and limped to the pits with the race staying green. Shirley was now in command, but it did not last long as on lap forty-two the leader slowed coming out of turn four to bring out the next caution.
After pitting to change a flat, Shirley rejoined the field as the race went back to green with Chris Simpson the new leader in the Hoker Trucking car #32. After the demise of Bronson it looked like everybody had given up on the top as Simpson was the leader of the parade around the bottom until he caught the back of the field. Bob Gardner was also glued to the bottom and after following him for a couple of laps, Simpson tried to enter the turns one groove higher than the lapped car in hope of letting him know that a race was coming and that he was now in it.
Gardner did not yield though and Simpson settled back in behind the lapped car as his challengers Bobby Pierce and Tyler Erb closed in. Neither of the young chargers were content with just following the leader though and when they showed their nose up top Simpson knew that he had to go and get around the lapped car of Gardner. Simpson again tried to use the middle and even the cushion to dispatch Gardner and coming to lap sixty-three Gardner slipped a bit wide off turn four and Simpson tried to squeeze below him. Pierce was already there though and when those two leaders made contact at the flagstand not only did it allow Gardner to again shut the door into turn one, it also gave Erb the chance that he needed to make a run.
As Simpson and Pierce gathered their rides after the contact, Erb charged around the top of turns one and two to take the lead before tucking back down to the bottom still behind Gardner, but now ahead of both Simpson and Pierce. Not to be outdone Pierce now went to the top on both ends of the speedway and after getting around Simpson for second in one lap he then took the lead from Erb on lap sixty-six. All three contenders would finally get around Gardner on the following lap and the chase was now on.
The top was definitely fast, but it was now quite rough as well especially in turn two so Pierce went back to the bottom while Erb still tried to cowboy up around the rim. Lapped traffic would come back into play with just five laps to go though as Pierce closed in on Travis Stemler who had started the race as the series provisional. Pierce was able to squeeze under Stemler through three and four and with Erb catching the cushion just right they passed the flagstand three-wide with just four laps to go.
Pierce would be even with him exiting turn two, but Erb's momentum off the cushion allowed him to pull ahead and then shut the door on Pierce as they both raced low into turn three. Sticking with the cushion in turns one and two Erb wheel hopped the car three times nearly losing control so after the white flag waved he went to the bottom and was able to hold off Pierce to take the exciting win. Simpson was now several car lengths back in third, Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth while B-Main winner Ricky Weiss came from sixteenth to fifth. Defending All Iowa Points champion Jeremiah Hurst was solid all day in the Roberts Racing #58 to finish in sixth, Thirlby is off to a good start in his title defense by finishing seventh ahead of Rich Bell, Spencer Diercks and Stemler.
Thaw Brawl Notes.....Tyler Erb's win came after starting eleventh on the 21-car grid......Kudos to the American Ethanol Tour's qualifying method that saw the top three cars in each heat inverted with the top five finishers transferring to the main event. Each heat race winner then drew for positions one, two and three in the feature lineup. Erb briefly panned the invert during his victory lane interview, but come on Tyler, isn't it more fun to win a race by actually having to pass some people? I know that this fan, and everybody else who paid $35 for a ticket on this cold and windy day sure appreciated your victory more under this format......I also want to thank the Tour for only running one B-Main for the sixteen cars that had still not made the show after the heats. This means that "the true" top-five from this race are making the show and it was a good battle with Frankie Heckenast edging out Eric Spangler by a nose for the final transfer spot. I see way too many events now that will take a field like this and split them into two eight-car B-Mains as if to say "sorry guys we don't trust that we can put all sixteen of you out there at once and not have you drive all over each other." Deery Brothers, Dirt Knights Tour, others, are you paying attention?,,,,,It was notable though that the Ethanol Tour only granted one series provisional with the 2018 points runner-up Travis Stemler getting the nod. With big money on the line drawing in a strong field, and with the Tour opener coming outside of its home base in Michigan, only seven projected "regulars" were in attendance. The defending champ Thirlby had the best finish in seventh, Sheffield, Illinois, driver Rich Bell who has made the trip into Michigan to follow the Ethanol Tour the past two seasons finished eighth. Stemler made the most of his provisional by running tenth while Logan Arntz finished twelfth. Eric Spangler just missed making the show leaving him in the trailer for the feature along with Chad Finley and Mike Vandermark......The next two events for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour will be on Friday April 19th at the I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, and Saturday April 20th at the Plymouth Speedway in northwest Indiana.....There was a forty-five minute intermission to re-work the track before the features and then another fifteen minutes were needed when the pickup truck that had the mister tank in the back was parked at the top of turn four as the Late Models came onto the track. Parked on the banking water was flowing out of the tank and running down the track and once one of the infield workers noticed it he ran over to the truck to tell the driver to get it moved. The water continued to stream out of the bed of the truck as it was turned around and driven around the bottom of turns three and four before exiting the speedway. Promoter Tony Izzo then had to bring out more equipment to break up the now soaked portions of the track so that the drivers could then pack it in under their parade laps. All said, given the way the feature race played out, the one hour wait was well worth it......That wait though now put the end of the victory lane ceremonies for the Late Models past six o'clock so when there were three straight cautions at the start of the American Ethanol Tour Modified feature we made the choice to hit the road for home in our cozy sun-warmed vehicle..... Front row starters Allen Weisser and Frank Marshall finished one-two in the Ethanol Modified Tour feature while Ricky Thornton Jr. took the IMCA Modified honors and Skyler Woods bested a five car field of Sport Mods. For details on those three races along with another point of view on the Thaw Brawl check out Ed Reichert's One Fan's Travels and for even more Positively Racing coverage of the Late Models check in with Danny Rosencrans on Racin' Down The Road.
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