A couple of days ago the forecasted weather for Sunday in Vinton was not looking too good. That is why you don't want to rely too much on weather forecasts. The sun was bright, the temperature was pushing sixty and the pits were full of nearly 100 race cars as the Benton County Speedway opened its 2013 season with the fourth and final event of the IMCA Frostbuster mini series featuring drivers from as far away as Texas and Saskatchewan.
The Modified division was the headliner with thirty drivers gunning for the $1,000 top prize. Hometown favorite Scott Hogan drew the pole position alongside Devon Havlik for the 30-lap main event and it was Hogan who quickly pulled away at the drop of the green. With that first lap scored, this race would then have a hard time getting to lap two as first Matt Gansen spun in turn two. On the restart Kyle Krampe looped his car in nearly the same spot and on the next try at a start Lance Arneson found that there was not enough room on the outside of Mitch Morris to try to get an early jump as he ended up in the wall off turn four. The next restart would be single file and the race found a rhythm with Hogan leading Jeff Waterman around the topside of the quarter-mile oval. The cushion was the preferred groove on both ends for the leaders, but for those who were back in the pack trying to make their way forward all lines were up for grabs. Richie Gustin had started in row seven and J.D. Auringer in row eight, but both were steadily making their way toward the front using the classic slidejob as needed.
Gustin slipped by Waterman for second on lap nineteen and he did not waste anytime going after the leader as he drove by Hogan a lap later for the point. Two laps later while running third Auringer dropped off the top side of turn three and sixth-running Matt Rechek did the same, but Auringer, who kept going, caught a break when Rechek stopped to bring out the caution. On the restart Hogan was able to stick his nose under Gustin a couple of times in turn three as he tried to regain the lead, but with four laps remaining Hogan went too hard into turn three and drove over the top of the banking bringing out the final caution of the event. Auringer was now in second and on the restart he kept the heat on Gustin, but there was no stopping Richie from taking home the hard earned victory tonight. Waterman was consistent in third, Kyle Brown who started eighteenth moved up a couple of more positions in the final laps to take fourth while Patrick Flannagan was fifth.
The Stock Car A-Main had to take a second try to get started when pole-sitter John Emerson spun in turn one on the opening lap. Fortunately everybody missed him and on the restart Damon Murty outran his new front row partner Matt Junio for the lead. This one was all Murty for twenty laps as "The Chelsea Charger" pulled away for the convincing win with the Wisconsin driver Junio going unchallenged for second. The battle for third was a close one though as another Wisconsin-based shoe Tyler Smith edged out division rookie Scott Pippert by inches at the checkers with Norm Chesmore right behind them and looking for racing room. Chesmore had started fourteenth.
Clint Luellen had never been to the Benton County Speedway before tonight and after winning the 20-lap Sport Mod feature in his first appearance here it is a good bet that the driver from Minburn will be back for another special event down the road. Luellen started on the outside of the front row and was never challenged while the battle for second on back raged on behind him. Danny Dvorak, Tracy Wassenberg and Austin Moyer were working hard for that second spot and on lap fifteen Moyer spun in turn two. The caution flag had already been waved though for another car that had looped in turn three allowing Moyer to retain his position for the restart. Wassenberg muscled past Dvorak for second when the green flag flew again, but the Wisconsin driving got sideways in turn one and could not make the save as he spun into the infield. One last caution with three laps remaining put Dvorak and Moyer on Luellen's back bumper, but they could do nothing with him as they finished in that same order. Austin Kaplan advanced from twelfth to fourth while Joel Rust came from very deep in the pack, row eleven to finish fifth.
Defending IMCA National Champion Shannon Anderson started on the inside of row five in the Hobby Stock main event and as Kyle Parizek paced the field early, Anderson started his march to the front. On lap four Justin Stander and Nick Murty tangled in turn two and seconds later the third-place car of Matt Brown took a wild end-over-end tumble down the back stretch and over turn three. It was good news a few minutes later to hear that Brown was out of the car and okay as this looked like a bad one. Once back to racing Anderson moved into second on lap six and was set to pounce on the leader only to have Parizek pop a right rear tire coming out of turn four. Once out front there was no stopping Anderson as he cruised to the victory ahead of Benji Irvine, Brian Happel, Nick Murty and Austin Luellen.
A field of eight Sport Compacts took the green for their 12-lap feature with Nathan Chandler securing the lead from Craig Bangert on the opening lap and then walking away for the win. Bangert who made the long trip up from Golden, Illinois, held off a late challenge from Bill Whalen Jr. for second while Merv Chandler and Steve Miedke completed the top five.
The range of drivers entered here tonight proves why I like a national sanctioning body like IMCA. A driver knows that they can travel in to Iowa for this four race weekend and race under a common set of rules for the division that they race in at their home track. Michael Dancer pulled his Stock Car here from North Platte, Nebraska, Bill Pittaway towed his Modified all the way up from Corpus Christi, Texas, while Stefan Klym (Stock Car) and Destiny Klym (Hobby Stock) came all the way from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. None of these drivers ran near the front of the pack tonight, but as a race fan it was awesome to see them in action and they will be names that I will now recognize when I see the results from their home tracks. Without the reach and consistency of IMCA, this does not happen.
Of course I have to mention all of the friendly faces that were checking in cars and preparing for the night's events when I arrived at the pit shack. Along with promoter Mick Trier, there was Track Manager Dana Benning, scorekeeper Kevin Kemp, announcer Bucky Doren, PR whiz Jeremy Fox and my PR.com colleague Ryan Clark. And once in the grandstand it was good to find a seat next to Kevin Trittien as the open seats were few and far between as the Vinton crowd came out in full force on this night. Weekly racing action will get underway here next Sunday night.
My next event is scheduled for this Wednesday night April 10th as the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders will travel to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa to run on a half-mile for the only time this season. Yes, we could use some rain around here, but hopefully the weather will give us a break for a great night of mid-week action!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Fifth Annual Slocum 50 Goes To Denny Eckrich
It was a battle between two brothers for most of the 50-lap distance at 34 Raceway near Burlington Saturday night, but there were some others who wanted to join the family gathering late as the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models opened the 2013 season with the fifth running of the Brent Slocum Memorial.
Andy and Denny Eckrich lined up first and third on the starting grid for the $5,555-to-win main event in memory of the popular driver of the "High Five" racing team late model who lost his life eight years ago here in a pit area accident and the two brothers quickly pulled away from the field at the drop of the green. Andy was setting a blistering pace and Denny was doing his best to keep up until lap sixteen when the leader got a bit too high exiting turn two. Andy's contact with the back stretch wall sent sparks flying and the minor damage incurred was enough to slow the #56 down just enough for Denny to go to work on him.
The next six laps were a classic brotherly battle as the two ran side-by-side around the fast high-banked oval with Denny nosing ahead to lead lap nineteen. The next two laps were literally too close to call and Andy had a nose out front on lap twenty-two, but the only way to know that for sure was because the caution then waved for a spinning Travis Smock in turn two and Andy was placed in front for the restart. A three-car pileup a lap later eliminated defending race champion Mike Murphy Jr. along with Ron Klein and Todd Malmstrom and following a lengthy delay to pull a couple of the cars apart the lineup featured Andy out front with Denny and Jason Utter in the first row of two and behind them were two drivers who had been coming toward the front fast. Tom Darbyshire had started in the twentieth position and Jeff Aikey had lined up twelfth on the original grid and neither was content with fourth or fifth.
Andy would hold off Denny until lap twenty-nine when the older brother would then take over and Andy was now trying to hold back the hard charging Darbyshire for second. Four laps later Darbyshire got too high coming out of turn two and his car nearly climbed over the universal barriers going down the back stretch leaving his damaged mount stopped up against the wall at the entrance of turn three. Tom was obviously frustrated as he climbed out of the car, but the crowd gave him a big round of applause for the amazing run that he had made through the pack.
A new contender emerged for the ensuing restart as Brian Harris had put the Richard Realty and Auction #15 into the top five after starting twenty-first and the field went back to green for the final seventeen laps. Denny was able to put some distance on his challengers as Aikey worked to clear Andy for second and once he did so Aikey had over a half a straightaway to try to make up on the leader. He needed some help from lap traffic, but with the back of the pack still running fast laps as well, the laps would run out before the leader reach them and Denny Eckrich pumped his fist with jubilation as he crossed the finish line in victory. Aikey's second place run is a good way to start his defense of the Deery Series crown and Harris slipped past Andy Eckrich and Jason Utter in those closing laps to take third. Colby Springsteen delighted his fans with a sixth-place finish, Jeremiah Hurst came from the eighth row to finish seventh, Justin Kay started last in the 24-car field and moved to eighth, Tom Goble was ninth and Joel Callahan moved up from the ninth row to finish tenth.
Slocum 50 Notes......Despite overcast skies and a forecast of isolated thunderstorms the event drew 46 IMCA Late Models and a solid crowd to enjoy them. The sun actually made an appearance right around race time as the skies appeared to be clearing, but not long after a couple of nearby lightning bolts were seen and rain fell for about five minutes as the first B-Main concluded. Jeff and Amy Laue's crew quickly had tires on the track to save it and it wasn't long before we were back to racing with stars in the sky overhead and a lightning show off to the east.....Jason Utter started tenth and was quickly up to third and closing on the Eckrich brothers before dropping back to fifth at the checkers.....In addition to the $5,555 winners check, Denny earned the $538 "Honus Bonus" for leading lap 38 in memory of Jeremy "Honus" Wagner, a former crewman for Colby Springsteen's #38......Brian Harris staked claim to the $555 Hard Charger award from the High Five supporters.....There are no series point provisionals awarded during the first two Deery events this year, but the traditional Hard Charger provisional given to the driver who passes the most cars in both the heat and the B-main who did not finish in a transfer position was handed out. And it went to Justin Kay who likely earned it on the final lap of the second B-Main when he passed Ray Guss Jr. for sixth......The Hall of Famer Guss along with Tyler Bruening and Jay Johnson are usually Summer Series point championship contenders, but tonight they were spectators come feature time.....Brandon Queen was a new name to the IMCA Late Model roster tonight. The son of former 34 Raceway Sportsman division competitor Alan Queen from Keokuk, Brandon drives a car purchased at the end of last year from Colby Springsteen.....The Deery Series returns to action next weekend with a Saturday night (April 13th) stop at West Liberty and then on Sunday night (April 14th) the "Boys of Summer" light up the high-banks of the Dubuque Speedway.
In support class action, the IMCA Sport Mods went for fifteen-laps of non-stop racing with Chris Larson taking the win from the pole position. Derek St. Clair chased him throughout and then held back a late challenge from Carter VanDenBerg to finish second, Bobby Anders came from eighth to fourth and Ryan Fullenkamp rounded out the top five. Twenty-six IMCA Sport Compacts checked in with twenty-four of them taking the green flag for the 12-lap main event that saw Adam Gates come from the outside of row four to hold the lead by turn two. He didn't just do it once though as the first two starts were wiped out by caution flags, Gates did it three times and then cruised to an apparent victory. However, both Gates and second finishing Michael Grossman failed the post-race tech inspection handing the win over to Nicholas Van Hemurt of Drakesville. Billy Stanford, Scott Smith, Kimberly Abbott and Cody Van Dusen would fill out the official top five.
Congratulations and thanks go to Brad Stevens and his entire group of friends and fans of Brent Slocum who pull together all of the sponsors to make this event so special. The drivers greatly appreciate the extra cash, but something tells me that most of them would be there even without it to honor their fallen friend and competitor. Jeff and Amy Laue and the entire 34 Raceway family are a huge part of this effort as well and once again they presented a spectacular race program that should have fans marking their calendar already for the sixth running of this event in 2014.
The MOWA 410 Sprints are next up on the schedule at 34 Raceway on Saturday April 13th and Late Model fans will not want to miss the MARS/ALMS/Corn Belt Clash Late Model Clash for Cash on Saturday April 20th at 34.
With my lovely bride elsewhere for the evening I am going to do something that I usually only pull off in August and that is to go to four nights of racing in a row as the IMCA Frostbuster mini series wraps up tonight (Sunday) at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Perhaps I'll see you there!
Andy and Denny Eckrich lined up first and third on the starting grid for the $5,555-to-win main event in memory of the popular driver of the "High Five" racing team late model who lost his life eight years ago here in a pit area accident and the two brothers quickly pulled away from the field at the drop of the green. Andy was setting a blistering pace and Denny was doing his best to keep up until lap sixteen when the leader got a bit too high exiting turn two. Andy's contact with the back stretch wall sent sparks flying and the minor damage incurred was enough to slow the #56 down just enough for Denny to go to work on him.
The next six laps were a classic brotherly battle as the two ran side-by-side around the fast high-banked oval with Denny nosing ahead to lead lap nineteen. The next two laps were literally too close to call and Andy had a nose out front on lap twenty-two, but the only way to know that for sure was because the caution then waved for a spinning Travis Smock in turn two and Andy was placed in front for the restart. A three-car pileup a lap later eliminated defending race champion Mike Murphy Jr. along with Ron Klein and Todd Malmstrom and following a lengthy delay to pull a couple of the cars apart the lineup featured Andy out front with Denny and Jason Utter in the first row of two and behind them were two drivers who had been coming toward the front fast. Tom Darbyshire had started in the twentieth position and Jeff Aikey had lined up twelfth on the original grid and neither was content with fourth or fifth.
Andy would hold off Denny until lap twenty-nine when the older brother would then take over and Andy was now trying to hold back the hard charging Darbyshire for second. Four laps later Darbyshire got too high coming out of turn two and his car nearly climbed over the universal barriers going down the back stretch leaving his damaged mount stopped up against the wall at the entrance of turn three. Tom was obviously frustrated as he climbed out of the car, but the crowd gave him a big round of applause for the amazing run that he had made through the pack.
A new contender emerged for the ensuing restart as Brian Harris had put the Richard Realty and Auction #15 into the top five after starting twenty-first and the field went back to green for the final seventeen laps. Denny was able to put some distance on his challengers as Aikey worked to clear Andy for second and once he did so Aikey had over a half a straightaway to try to make up on the leader. He needed some help from lap traffic, but with the back of the pack still running fast laps as well, the laps would run out before the leader reach them and Denny Eckrich pumped his fist with jubilation as he crossed the finish line in victory. Aikey's second place run is a good way to start his defense of the Deery Series crown and Harris slipped past Andy Eckrich and Jason Utter in those closing laps to take third. Colby Springsteen delighted his fans with a sixth-place finish, Jeremiah Hurst came from the eighth row to finish seventh, Justin Kay started last in the 24-car field and moved to eighth, Tom Goble was ninth and Joel Callahan moved up from the ninth row to finish tenth.
Slocum 50 Notes......Despite overcast skies and a forecast of isolated thunderstorms the event drew 46 IMCA Late Models and a solid crowd to enjoy them. The sun actually made an appearance right around race time as the skies appeared to be clearing, but not long after a couple of nearby lightning bolts were seen and rain fell for about five minutes as the first B-Main concluded. Jeff and Amy Laue's crew quickly had tires on the track to save it and it wasn't long before we were back to racing with stars in the sky overhead and a lightning show off to the east.....Jason Utter started tenth and was quickly up to third and closing on the Eckrich brothers before dropping back to fifth at the checkers.....In addition to the $5,555 winners check, Denny earned the $538 "Honus Bonus" for leading lap 38 in memory of Jeremy "Honus" Wagner, a former crewman for Colby Springsteen's #38......Brian Harris staked claim to the $555 Hard Charger award from the High Five supporters.....There are no series point provisionals awarded during the first two Deery events this year, but the traditional Hard Charger provisional given to the driver who passes the most cars in both the heat and the B-main who did not finish in a transfer position was handed out. And it went to Justin Kay who likely earned it on the final lap of the second B-Main when he passed Ray Guss Jr. for sixth......The Hall of Famer Guss along with Tyler Bruening and Jay Johnson are usually Summer Series point championship contenders, but tonight they were spectators come feature time.....Brandon Queen was a new name to the IMCA Late Model roster tonight. The son of former 34 Raceway Sportsman division competitor Alan Queen from Keokuk, Brandon drives a car purchased at the end of last year from Colby Springsteen.....The Deery Series returns to action next weekend with a Saturday night (April 13th) stop at West Liberty and then on Sunday night (April 14th) the "Boys of Summer" light up the high-banks of the Dubuque Speedway.
In support class action, the IMCA Sport Mods went for fifteen-laps of non-stop racing with Chris Larson taking the win from the pole position. Derek St. Clair chased him throughout and then held back a late challenge from Carter VanDenBerg to finish second, Bobby Anders came from eighth to fourth and Ryan Fullenkamp rounded out the top five. Twenty-six IMCA Sport Compacts checked in with twenty-four of them taking the green flag for the 12-lap main event that saw Adam Gates come from the outside of row four to hold the lead by turn two. He didn't just do it once though as the first two starts were wiped out by caution flags, Gates did it three times and then cruised to an apparent victory. However, both Gates and second finishing Michael Grossman failed the post-race tech inspection handing the win over to Nicholas Van Hemurt of Drakesville. Billy Stanford, Scott Smith, Kimberly Abbott and Cody Van Dusen would fill out the official top five.
Congratulations and thanks go to Brad Stevens and his entire group of friends and fans of Brent Slocum who pull together all of the sponsors to make this event so special. The drivers greatly appreciate the extra cash, but something tells me that most of them would be there even without it to honor their fallen friend and competitor. Jeff and Amy Laue and the entire 34 Raceway family are a huge part of this effort as well and once again they presented a spectacular race program that should have fans marking their calendar already for the sixth running of this event in 2014.
The MOWA 410 Sprints are next up on the schedule at 34 Raceway on Saturday April 13th and Late Model fans will not want to miss the MARS/ALMS/Corn Belt Clash Late Model Clash for Cash on Saturday April 20th at 34.
With my lovely bride elsewhere for the evening I am going to do something that I usually only pull off in August and that is to go to four nights of racing in a row as the IMCA Frostbuster mini series wraps up tonight (Sunday) at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Perhaps I'll see you there!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Hall Sweeps Sprint Invader Field at Lee County
Russ Hall has been to the Lee County Speedway several times, but had never driven away from the track in Donnellson with a sense of satisfaction. That all changed on Friday night when the driver from the Des Moines suburb of Pleasant Hill absolutely dominated a strong field of twenty-nine winged sprints winning race number two on the 2013 schedule for the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders.
Hall started directly behind pole-sitter Daniel Bergquist in the 25-lap main event and after following Bergquist on the opening lap Hall swept into the lead on lap number two. The winner of last Saturday's opener at 34 Raceway, Paul Nienheiser worked his way past Bergquist into second two laps later, but by then Hall had already opened up a full straightaway advantage. Lapped traffic allowed the teenager from Illinois to cut into the lead a bit and Hall's cushion over Nienheiser was completely erased when Tim Moore spun in turn two on lap ten.
Last week's runner-up Scotty Thiel was now in contention running third for the restart and both drivers did their best to stay with Hall. Neither could do so however as Hall did exactly as he did in both his heat race and the Budweiser Shake Up Dash, pulling away to win with ease. Nienheiser and Thiel finished second and third establishing themselves as the top two in points after two events, Mike Houseman Jr. was solid coming from eighth to finish fourth and Randy Martin took fifth after starting in the sixth row.
LCS SIA Notes......After drawing thirty cars to the opener at 34 Raceway, the car count was just one less at Lee County giving the Invaders a solid start to the 2013 season that continues tonight (Saturday) on the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway.....Drivers making their first appearance tonight included Joe Beaver, Matt Moro, Randy Martin and Joey Moughan. Moughan served as the crew chief for Paul Nienheiser during his win at 34 last week, but tonight the Springfield based speedster drove the Wilson Brothers #15 based out of western Tennessee. Moughan started eleventh and finished sixth. Moro was eighth and Beaver failed to make the show after being caught up in an incident not of his own making in the B-Main.....Russ Hall's #45c is sponsored by one of my favorite restaurants, Waterfront Seafood Market in West Des Moines....After having some rough track conditions during their season opener last Friday night, Mike VanGenderen and Dave Sapp put in extra track prep time during the week to provide the sprint car drivers with a hard and smooth surface. A steady cool breeze out of the southeast dried out the surface to send the dust flying though, but the track stayed racy all night as evidenced by the advancement of drivers like Houseman, Martin and Moughan......After the Davenport stop, the Sprint Invaders go to another track promoted by VanGenderen on April 10th when they visit the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. It will be the only event staged on a half-mile during the Sprint Invaders' 2013 schedule.
The Mod Lites made a special appearance for the evening and it was the track point's opener for the Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts. Twenty of the Mod Lite cars started their main event with Chase Flatt leading the first nine laps before Josh May saw an opening and made his move. Once in the lead there was no catching May as the driver from DeSoto cruised in for the victory. Flatt finished second, Greg Rossell came from the fourth row to take third while Andy Hennigar was the true hard charger coming from the ninth row to finish fourth. Justin Bucholz filled out the top five.
Chris Larson held the lead for the first eleven circuits of the Sport Mod headliner with Carter VanDenBerg hanging right with him. After being the runner-up here last week, and finishing second again at Des Moines last night, VanDenBerg was not going to be satisfied with being the bridesmaid again so he went top shelf and drove around Larson coming off of turn four with just three laps remaining to take the win. In victory lane Carter thanked his girlfriend Makenzie for getting the race car ready for the night's event while he worked. Announcer Dan Workman said it best when he replied "keep her!". Larson finished in the second spot, Bobby Anders came from the fourth row to take third, Brett Lowry was fourth and Derek St. Clair finished fifth. Two of the track's top weekly competitors, Tony Dunker and Jim Gillenwater spotted the rest of the field a full night worth of points as they were off competing in the $10,000-to-win B-Modified event at the West Plains Speedway in southern Missouri.
Last week Jason Cook put the pressure on Damon Murty throughout the Stock Car main event only to come up just short at the finish line. Then, to make it a really bad night, his motor blew as the checkers waved. This week went much better for "Big Daddy" as Cook started on the front row and was never challenged throughout the 15-lap distance. David Brandies made the trip down from Atalissa, started eighth and worked his up to second at the checkers followed by John Oliver Jr., Abe Huls and Jim Lynch.
For the second week in a row the IMCA Sport Compact feature race ended in a photo finish at Lee County as Matt Moore edged out Josh Barnes by a bumper to take his first career victory. Michael Grossman was third, Seith Woodruff took fourth and Kimberly Abbott rounded out the top five.
The Lee County Speedway will host their third straight special event next Friday night, April 12th, with the 5th Annual Brian Hetrick Memorial for 305 Sprint Cars. All five weekly classes will also be in action.
My partner Bill Wright will be with the Sprint Invaders in Davenport tonight while I look forward to working with Rich Adams and Dan Workman at 34 Raceway for the annual Slocum 50 as the Deery Brother Summer Series will kick off their 2013 campaign at 34 Raceway racing in memory of one of the nicest guys I've ever come across, Brent Slocum. Get on out to the track of your choice tonight!!
Hall started directly behind pole-sitter Daniel Bergquist in the 25-lap main event and after following Bergquist on the opening lap Hall swept into the lead on lap number two. The winner of last Saturday's opener at 34 Raceway, Paul Nienheiser worked his way past Bergquist into second two laps later, but by then Hall had already opened up a full straightaway advantage. Lapped traffic allowed the teenager from Illinois to cut into the lead a bit and Hall's cushion over Nienheiser was completely erased when Tim Moore spun in turn two on lap ten.
Last week's runner-up Scotty Thiel was now in contention running third for the restart and both drivers did their best to stay with Hall. Neither could do so however as Hall did exactly as he did in both his heat race and the Budweiser Shake Up Dash, pulling away to win with ease. Nienheiser and Thiel finished second and third establishing themselves as the top two in points after two events, Mike Houseman Jr. was solid coming from eighth to finish fourth and Randy Martin took fifth after starting in the sixth row.
LCS SIA Notes......After drawing thirty cars to the opener at 34 Raceway, the car count was just one less at Lee County giving the Invaders a solid start to the 2013 season that continues tonight (Saturday) on the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway.....Drivers making their first appearance tonight included Joe Beaver, Matt Moro, Randy Martin and Joey Moughan. Moughan served as the crew chief for Paul Nienheiser during his win at 34 last week, but tonight the Springfield based speedster drove the Wilson Brothers #15 based out of western Tennessee. Moughan started eleventh and finished sixth. Moro was eighth and Beaver failed to make the show after being caught up in an incident not of his own making in the B-Main.....Russ Hall's #45c is sponsored by one of my favorite restaurants, Waterfront Seafood Market in West Des Moines....After having some rough track conditions during their season opener last Friday night, Mike VanGenderen and Dave Sapp put in extra track prep time during the week to provide the sprint car drivers with a hard and smooth surface. A steady cool breeze out of the southeast dried out the surface to send the dust flying though, but the track stayed racy all night as evidenced by the advancement of drivers like Houseman, Martin and Moughan......After the Davenport stop, the Sprint Invaders go to another track promoted by VanGenderen on April 10th when they visit the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. It will be the only event staged on a half-mile during the Sprint Invaders' 2013 schedule.
The Mod Lites made a special appearance for the evening and it was the track point's opener for the Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts. Twenty of the Mod Lite cars started their main event with Chase Flatt leading the first nine laps before Josh May saw an opening and made his move. Once in the lead there was no catching May as the driver from DeSoto cruised in for the victory. Flatt finished second, Greg Rossell came from the fourth row to take third while Andy Hennigar was the true hard charger coming from the ninth row to finish fourth. Justin Bucholz filled out the top five.
Chris Larson held the lead for the first eleven circuits of the Sport Mod headliner with Carter VanDenBerg hanging right with him. After being the runner-up here last week, and finishing second again at Des Moines last night, VanDenBerg was not going to be satisfied with being the bridesmaid again so he went top shelf and drove around Larson coming off of turn four with just three laps remaining to take the win. In victory lane Carter thanked his girlfriend Makenzie for getting the race car ready for the night's event while he worked. Announcer Dan Workman said it best when he replied "keep her!". Larson finished in the second spot, Bobby Anders came from the fourth row to take third, Brett Lowry was fourth and Derek St. Clair finished fifth. Two of the track's top weekly competitors, Tony Dunker and Jim Gillenwater spotted the rest of the field a full night worth of points as they were off competing in the $10,000-to-win B-Modified event at the West Plains Speedway in southern Missouri.
Last week Jason Cook put the pressure on Damon Murty throughout the Stock Car main event only to come up just short at the finish line. Then, to make it a really bad night, his motor blew as the checkers waved. This week went much better for "Big Daddy" as Cook started on the front row and was never challenged throughout the 15-lap distance. David Brandies made the trip down from Atalissa, started eighth and worked his up to second at the checkers followed by John Oliver Jr., Abe Huls and Jim Lynch.
For the second week in a row the IMCA Sport Compact feature race ended in a photo finish at Lee County as Matt Moore edged out Josh Barnes by a bumper to take his first career victory. Michael Grossman was third, Seith Woodruff took fourth and Kimberly Abbott rounded out the top five.
The Lee County Speedway will host their third straight special event next Friday night, April 12th, with the 5th Annual Brian Hetrick Memorial for 305 Sprint Cars. All five weekly classes will also be in action.
My partner Bill Wright will be with the Sprint Invaders in Davenport tonight while I look forward to working with Rich Adams and Dan Workman at 34 Raceway for the annual Slocum 50 as the Deery Brother Summer Series will kick off their 2013 campaign at 34 Raceway racing in memory of one of the nicest guys I've ever come across, Brent Slocum. Get on out to the track of your choice tonight!!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Mills, Murty, Gladson and Anderson Post Frostbuster Wins in Des Moines
I thought about staying home and watching the Hawkeyes. But
I don’t get an opportunity to go to the Iowa State Fair Speedway often, the
weather was as good as it has been for awhile, and it was a Thursday night in
early April. This would kick off the IMCA Frostbuster weekend and I could
always record the Hawks on DVR and watch them win it all later so it was off to
the races!
Despite the late winter promoter Mick Trier had the racing
surface on the historic half-mile in darn good shape for the opening night of
the four-race swing and while the car counts were nowhere near what the event
had last year, it was a solid field of local favorites and long distance
travelers with drivers from Canada, North Dakota, Wisconsin and North Carolina
on hand. Those who are trying to identify some kind of trend in the car counts
need to remember that last season we had already experienced about three weeks
of “pre-summer” by this time giving everybody the itch to get their car ready
and go racing, while this year we have had about three days of “pre-spring”
when it is actually supposed to spring! There is your trend, folks!
The IMCA Stock Cars would be the first of six main events to
hit the track with Mike Johnson fighting off early challenges from Gary Bass
and Tommie Killen to maintain the lead. While the battle was tight upfront I
had my eye on Damon Murty who had started twelfth after dominating the first
heat race of the night. Murty, who won last Friday night in Donnellson at the
first race in Iowa for 2013, was steadily working his way toward that lead pack
and when the caution waved on lap seven for a spinning Rich Vogt, “The Chelsea
Charger” would line up fourth for the restart.
Steve Hill would spin in turn two on that restart and then a lap later
the caution would wave again for Hill who this time had slammed into the concrete
wall in turn three.
 |
| Damon Murty earned his second win of the young season in the IMCA Stock Car feature - Barry Johnson photo |
Once back to racing Johnson did his best to hang onto the
lead, but Murty drove by him with six laps remaining. This one was not over
though as another driver had charged from deep in the pack and had taken over
second in the closing laps. Jeff Anderson looked like an “also ran” during his
heat race putting him on the tenth row for the main event, but the veteran
driver looked like the former champ that he is in the feature and as the white
flag waved he still had the leader within striking distance. Murty was flawless
though over that final lap as he picked up his second checkered flag in the
young season with Anderson not far back in second. Nathan Wood slipped by both
Bass and Johnson in the final two laps to secure third while Johnson and Bass
completed the top five.
 |
| Jeff Anderson (78) made a big charge to the front passing Mike Johnson late for second - Barry Johnson photo |
Rick Gladson started on the outside of the front row and
moved to the lead at the drop of the green in the Sport Mod feature with
fourth-starting Carter VanDenBerg in hot pursuit. VanDenBerg was able to pull
even with Gladson a couple of times through the early laps, but could not quite
clear him for the lead. A caution on lap eleven bunched the field and on the
restart the two drivers who won heat races, Doug Smith and Glen Gladson tangled
in turn two. Gladson did not stop and would restart in fourth while Smith
retired to the pit area with handling problems. Once back to green Rick Gladson
was in control for the final four laps as he would post the win on his hometown
track while VanDenBerg repeated his runner-up finish from last Friday night at
Donnellson. Blain Peterson, who was also in action tonight in his Hobby Stock,
would finish in the third spot, Glen Gladson would hold on to fourth and
Wisconsin visitor Tracy Wassenburg passed Jack Housley coming to the checkers
for fifth.
 |
| Carter VanDenBerg (7) applied the early pressure, but Rick Gladson (77) went wire-to-wire for the Sport Mod win - Barry Johnson photo |
The IMCA Modifieds were up next for twenty fast laps on the
big half-mile with Todd Shute pacing the field through the early laps. The 2008
All Iowa Points champion looked strong until lap six when smoke started to pour
out the back of his #5 car due to apparent rear end issues. As Shute slowed and
pulled to the pits Jeremy Mills took over the point and gradually put some
distance on the rest of the pack. With Mills now a full straightaway out front
the battle for second was the one to watch as young Cayden Carter and Carolina
star Kyle Strickler swapped the position back and forth around a lapped car
with three laps to go. Mills would post the win in dominating fashion as Carter
held off Strickler to finish in second. Jake Durbin would pick up fourth place
money at the pay window as Jay Noteboom ran fifth. Ricky “Racer” Stephan, Scott
Davis and Randy Havlik were next in line.
 |
| The roulette wheel landed on 10 for Jeremy Mills as he ran away with the Mofified payoff - Barry Johnson photo |
Eight Dirt Trucks would take to the track next with former
Late Model and Sprint Car driver Tony Moro muscling his way to the front to
take the win over Ed Nelson.
Shannon Anderson proved that he would be the man to beat on
this night with his run from the back to the front in his heat race, so when
the Hobby Stock main rolled out of staging with Anderson on the pole position
this one was essentially over from there. Curt Reed started next to the
defending IMCA Hobby Stock National Champion and did his best to keep pace
early, but Anderson was just too strong to be overtaken as he cruised to the
win. He was announced as Jeff Griffiths all night, but I am guessing that it
was actually Dustin behind the wheel of the #10G who started seventh and
finished second after passing Danny Watson late. Eric Stanton had problems that
kept him from even starting his heat race, but he came back strong to finish in
fourth after starting at the rear of the sixteen car field.
 |
| Shannon Anderson swept the Hobby Stock portion of the Frostbuster in Des Moines - Barry Johnson photo |
State Fair Speedway Frostbuster Notes…… As I mentioned
above, the car counts may have been less than many expected, but for a Thursday
night race on a cool night in early April I was more than happy with 27
Modifieds, 23 Stock Cars, 19 Hobby Stocks, 18 Sport Mods, 9 Trucks and 7 Sport
Compacts…..The second Stock Car heat had a late arriving driver come to the
track in a #01 who was obviously driving a race car for the first time and
doing it very slowly. As the field quickly closed on him going down the
backstretch on the second lap Tommie Killen was making a move for position and
blasted the black car square on the back bumper. Credit the new driver though
as with the sudden burst of speed he was able to keep it straight entering turn
three with the rest of the pack. And credit Killen as despite the impact with
the speed bump and the resulting damage to the front of his car, he was still
able to come back and win the race……The #01 car later pulled from the infield
to cross the track to the pits while a race was under green and that was the
last that we saw of it for the evening. Remember, everybody has to have a
“first night”……The second Sport Mod heat saw a white car with a #71 on the rear
quarter panel go roaring past Austin Kaplan for the win. Knowing how hard it is
to beat Kaplan anywhere, when I couldn’t catch the name of the winner on the PA
I asked Kevin Babcock who it was and he said “Glen Gladson…..but it looked like
Leon Plank”. Yes it did!......The first Modified heat may have been the race of
the night with Wisconsin’s Johnny Whitman trying to hold back the hard charging
duo of Kyle Strickler and Jay Noteboom. On the final lap Strickler dove into
turn three under Whitman and as Strickler came up the track, Whitman went too
high allowing Noteboom to get by as well…..Scott Davis has made the move out of
the Sport Mod division to the Modifieds for 2013 and he finished seventh in a
solid run tonight. Davis was announced as a “rookie” for the division a couple
of times, however I do believe that Scott raced in the Modified division
previously, long before the Sport Mods were ever thought of……Steve Hill looked
good in his Stock Car heat race finishing third behind Damon Murty and John
Heinz, and he was in contention early in the main event before his two
cautions. His bad luck continued though as his car fell off the hook of the
wrecker while in the infield and, during a caution in the Sport Mod feature
when that same wrecker tried to tow Hill’s #55 to the pits, it again dropped
off the hook in the middle of turn one......A big thanks to Mick Trier and the
State Fair Speedway staff for the hospitality to myself and to birthday boy
(today) Barry Johnson…..Frostbuster action continues tonight (Friday) in
Marshalltown, Saturday in Boone and wraps up on Sunday night at Trier’s other
track, the Benton County Speedway in Vinton.
My schedule is full for the next three nights, weather permitting, as tonight we’ll be with the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. On Saturday night the Invaders will attack the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway and while Bill Wright handles the announcing duties on that one I look forward to working with Rich Adams during the annual Brent Slocum Memorial at 34 Raceway in Burlington. With the postponement in Dubuque, the Slocum will now serve as the opener for the 2013 Deery Brothers Summer Series and a large field of cars is expected for the $5,555-to-win event. Then on Sunday night I hope to hook back up with the Frostbuster tour at the always exciting Benton County Speedway in Vinton. But for now, I have a basketball game to erase from my DVR…….hope to see you soon on the Back Stretch!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Career Win Number One for Nienheiser at 34 Raceway
Two drivers with two substantially different outcomes were the top stories as the 2013 campaign for the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders kicked off on a cool, breezy and misty night at 34 Raceway near Burlington. For 16-year-old Paul Nienheiser the outcome was a good one as he captured his first-ever feature win in a winged sprint car while for Matt Krieger, who thrilled the crowd with his cushion pounding run from the back to the front, well his story ended with a thud.
Thirty winged sprint cars filled the pits for the early opener and with no clear cut favorites in the field, this show would be wide open to see who would establish themselves as the early point leaders for the Invaders. With the temperature hovering near fifty and a steady breeze blowing an occasional mist around, the high-banked oval was tacky fast tonight and while a couple of holes worked their way to the surface the drivers could find plenty of racing room. Brett Triplett and Jon Agan would start from the font row of the 25-lap headliner, but it was the youngster Nienheiser who would blow past both of them to take the lead on the opening lap. On lap two the red flag would wave as Triplett and Agan would tangle exiting turn for sending both cars upside down. Then, as the field tried to come to a sudden stop behind them, Dave Getchell would go for a tumble in the middle of turns three and four also ending his night.
Having already won both his heat and the Budweiser Shake Up Dash, Nienheiser drove with the confidence of a multi-time winner once back to racing despite being pressured by the second-place running Scotty Thiel. Josh Schneiderman tried to keep pace in third as nearly all of the field settled into running the less treacherous bottom line of the racetrack. One driver was working the top though and liking the results as Matt Krieger was picking off a car or two a lap after starting fourteenth on the grid.
With ten laps to go Krieger had cleared Schneiderman for third and just a few laps later he stormed past the Wisconsin drover Scotty Thiel into second. With the laps clicking off and with lapped traffic looming ahead of the leader the chilled crowd thought that the hometown hero Krieger just might have a chance. Instead though, Nienhesier negotiated the traffic like a pro and Thiel fought back pulling even with Krieger a couple of times before the white flag flew. On that final lap it was now obvious that Nienhesier would post his initial victory and Thiel charged hard to the bottom in turn three. Krieger entered that final set of turns equally as hard, but this time he caught the cushion odd, bicycled and then veered hard right into the concrete retaining wall. The race was scored complete with the Chapin, Illinois, teenager Nienheiser taking the win with Thiel making the long trip payoff in second. Josh Schneiderman would collect third-place money while Russ Hall and Alan Ambers completed the top five.
The Sprint Invaders have a busy month of April coming up as next weekend they will be at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on Friday April 5th before moving up to the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway on Saturday night April 6th. On Wednesday April 10th the Invaders will make their inaugural appearance at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Then, on Friday night April 19th, it will be another new venue as Sprint Car racing returns to the Independence Motor Speedway for the first time in some twenty years. You can find these Sprint Invader dates and many more special events to attend on the Calendar page at Positively Racing.
The IMCA Stock Car division had the most dramatic finish of the three support classes tonight as Ray Raker paced the field for the first fourteen laps. On a restart Chris Wibbell then moved to the front, but only for a lap as Tom Bowling Jr. then established himself as the leader. John Oliver Jr. was in contention as well and as the white flag fell Bowling and Oliver crossed the stripe side-by-side with Oliver out front by inches on the outside. Both drivers drove hard into turn one with both cars going up the track and nearly off the top of turns one and two. This allowed Wibbell and Abe Huls to drive under them and suddenly those two were racing for a win into turns three and four. Huls was able to catch the bite that he was looking for in turn four and he vaulted ahead to take the win over Wibbell by a car-length at the checkers. Oliver recovered to finish third and then showed his displeasure with Bowling after the race and when Bowling's car later failed something in the tech area that moved division rookie Chad Krogmeier up to fourth.
The IMCA Modifieds were racing for a $1,000 top prize tonight and it was no surprise when Richie Gustin moved to the point after starting on the outside of row one. Brandon Rothzen was able to keep pace with Gustin throughout most of the event, but he could never mount a challenge as Richie would add to the Gustin/DeFrance family trophy case with a flag-to-flag victory. Rothzen was second, Jeff Waterman finished third followed by Dustan Fenton and Andy Krieger.
The Mod Lites settled into their positions early on and just didn't do much passing despite a late race caution when 15-year-old Devon Rouse put his car upside down in turn three, The order stayed the same following the restart with Greg Rossell taking the win over Chase Flatt, Daniel Keltner, Randy Bryan and Josh May.
Jeff and Amy Laue and their entire crew at 34 Raceway did a fantastic job of getting this facility ready for racing after a three inch snowfall here just six days earlier. The track was fast and racy and there were only a few soft spots in the parking lot. The next event here will be a practice night on Tuesday April 2nd before hosting the annual Slocum 50 for the IMCA Late Model Deery Brothers Summer Series on Saturday April 6th. This is one of the premier events on the Deery series paying $5,000-to-win and $500-to-start.
Thirty winged sprint cars filled the pits for the early opener and with no clear cut favorites in the field, this show would be wide open to see who would establish themselves as the early point leaders for the Invaders. With the temperature hovering near fifty and a steady breeze blowing an occasional mist around, the high-banked oval was tacky fast tonight and while a couple of holes worked their way to the surface the drivers could find plenty of racing room. Brett Triplett and Jon Agan would start from the font row of the 25-lap headliner, but it was the youngster Nienheiser who would blow past both of them to take the lead on the opening lap. On lap two the red flag would wave as Triplett and Agan would tangle exiting turn for sending both cars upside down. Then, as the field tried to come to a sudden stop behind them, Dave Getchell would go for a tumble in the middle of turns three and four also ending his night.
Having already won both his heat and the Budweiser Shake Up Dash, Nienheiser drove with the confidence of a multi-time winner once back to racing despite being pressured by the second-place running Scotty Thiel. Josh Schneiderman tried to keep pace in third as nearly all of the field settled into running the less treacherous bottom line of the racetrack. One driver was working the top though and liking the results as Matt Krieger was picking off a car or two a lap after starting fourteenth on the grid.
With ten laps to go Krieger had cleared Schneiderman for third and just a few laps later he stormed past the Wisconsin drover Scotty Thiel into second. With the laps clicking off and with lapped traffic looming ahead of the leader the chilled crowd thought that the hometown hero Krieger just might have a chance. Instead though, Nienhesier negotiated the traffic like a pro and Thiel fought back pulling even with Krieger a couple of times before the white flag flew. On that final lap it was now obvious that Nienhesier would post his initial victory and Thiel charged hard to the bottom in turn three. Krieger entered that final set of turns equally as hard, but this time he caught the cushion odd, bicycled and then veered hard right into the concrete retaining wall. The race was scored complete with the Chapin, Illinois, teenager Nienheiser taking the win with Thiel making the long trip payoff in second. Josh Schneiderman would collect third-place money while Russ Hall and Alan Ambers completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Car division had the most dramatic finish of the three support classes tonight as Ray Raker paced the field for the first fourteen laps. On a restart Chris Wibbell then moved to the front, but only for a lap as Tom Bowling Jr. then established himself as the leader. John Oliver Jr. was in contention as well and as the white flag fell Bowling and Oliver crossed the stripe side-by-side with Oliver out front by inches on the outside. Both drivers drove hard into turn one with both cars going up the track and nearly off the top of turns one and two. This allowed Wibbell and Abe Huls to drive under them and suddenly those two were racing for a win into turns three and four. Huls was able to catch the bite that he was looking for in turn four and he vaulted ahead to take the win over Wibbell by a car-length at the checkers. Oliver recovered to finish third and then showed his displeasure with Bowling after the race and when Bowling's car later failed something in the tech area that moved division rookie Chad Krogmeier up to fourth.
The IMCA Modifieds were racing for a $1,000 top prize tonight and it was no surprise when Richie Gustin moved to the point after starting on the outside of row one. Brandon Rothzen was able to keep pace with Gustin throughout most of the event, but he could never mount a challenge as Richie would add to the Gustin/DeFrance family trophy case with a flag-to-flag victory. Rothzen was second, Jeff Waterman finished third followed by Dustan Fenton and Andy Krieger.
The Mod Lites settled into their positions early on and just didn't do much passing despite a late race caution when 15-year-old Devon Rouse put his car upside down in turn three, The order stayed the same following the restart with Greg Rossell taking the win over Chase Flatt, Daniel Keltner, Randy Bryan and Josh May.
Jeff and Amy Laue and their entire crew at 34 Raceway did a fantastic job of getting this facility ready for racing after a three inch snowfall here just six days earlier. The track was fast and racy and there were only a few soft spots in the parking lot. The next event here will be a practice night on Tuesday April 2nd before hosting the annual Slocum 50 for the IMCA Late Model Deery Brothers Summer Series on Saturday April 6th. This is one of the premier events on the Deery series paying $5,000-to-win and $500-to-start.
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