I have said it before and I will say it again, as a dirt track racing fan I don't think that I could live in a much better location as on a Saturday night I have at least eight solid options of tracks to go within a two hour drive of Mt. Pleasant. So when I got the "go ahead" from the boss to go racing last evening I took into account that a stiff west wind was blowing, so a covered grandstand facing the east would be a good thing. Add in the lure of one of the best tenderloin sandwiches that you will find anywhere, restaurants included, and the fact that I just saw a good show there the week before and the decision was made to head north to the West Liberty Raceway.
Car counts were up in all divisions but one from last week highlighted by a whopping field of twenty-eight IMCA Modifieds, quite impressive for a Saturday night weekly show. Four heats saw only the top three advance to the A-Main with the remainder of the twenty-four car starting field whittled out through a pair of B's and it would be Andrew Schroeder and Todd Hansen who would set the pace for the start of the twenty-lap main event. As Schroeder opened up an early cushion the driver to watch was Richie Gustin who, as we have often seen in the past, was making some fast progress through the field after starting in the tenth position. Gustin would take over the second spot on lap six still with about a straightaway to chase down the leader, but when Dan Hahn spun and Eric Barnes slapped the wall trying to avoid him in turn one a lap later, Schroeder would no longer enjoy that straightaway advantage for the restart.
As the green flag waved Gustin charged low into turn one and snared the lead heading down the back stretch, but behind him the cars of Jonathon Huston and Mark Verbeck tangled to bring out another caution before the lap could be scored. Schroeder would again lead the field to green and this time it was Larry Herring who would get a jump on Gustin and dive to the inside of the leader into turn one. Gustin used the middle groove to his advantage though and when Herring couldn't hold it on the bottom in turn two both Schroeder and Gustin raced by him down the back stretch and into turns three and four. The two would race past the scorer's stand wheel-to-wheel on lap eight before Gustin again pulled ahead in turns one and two and just when it looked like Richie was now the clear leader, Scott Strauss would spin at the back of the pack exiting turn two.
Since Schroeder had been scored as the leader by an eyelash on lap eight, he would once again be placed out front for the Delaware double file restart and this time the young driver from Sigourney was not going to allow anybody to dive bomb him into turn one. Throwing the block on the low groove entering turn one kept Gustin at bay, but allowed Kurt Kile to make a run on the high side and the driver who had started next to Gustin on row five would take the lead down the back straightaway. Gustin would drive into second on the next lap and take up the chase of the new leader, but he could not make up any ground as Kurt Kile would go on to win for the second week in a row. Larry Herring would make the pass of Gustin in the closing laps to take second, while sixth row starters Chris Zogg and Cayden Carter would round out the top five. Was the track pretty racy? Bruce Hanford started on the outside of the tenth row and finished sixth and Brad Dierks came from sixteenth to seventh while Schroeder faded to eighth ahead of Jerry Luloff and Brandon Banks. (Shortly after this was written, the official results were posted and listed Richie Gustin in last due to a disqualification)
Nick Marolf and Colby Springsteen absolutely walked the dog in their respective heat races so it seemed a safe bet that one of them would win the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature, especially with Marolf drawing the inside of the second row in the sixteen car starting grid. The middle of the pack went four-wide down the back stretch on the opening lap as Kyle Hinrichs raced out to the early lead and the only caution of the event waved when Rob Moss coasted to a stop on lap two. Kevin Kile and then Marolf would try to keep pace with Hinrichs on the restart, but the lead would continue to grow to more than a straightaway on the big half-mile. Andy Eckrich and Springsteen had drawn the fifth row starting spots and Eckrich was on the move seemingly getting faster every lap until he took second away from Marolf on lap fourteen. The #56 Late Model looked like it was glued to the bottom groove and it did not take long for Eckrich to track down the leader and, while Hinrichs was able to fight off the first bid for the lead with six laps remaining, Eckrich was just too fast in the opposite groove and "Little E" would drive to the lead on lap twenty. Andy would then pull away over the final laps to score the convincing victory as Hinrichs would have to settle for second. Marolf drove his #33 in for third while Colby Springsteen was again solid in fourth. And, after a less than stellar showing in his heat race, Brian Harris came to life in the second half of the feature passing several cars late to run fifth after starting in the seventh row.
The IMCA Sport Mod car count jumped from five last week to eight this week including a visit from Dustin Enabnit who made the long trip down from Rockford in north central Iowa. Tony Olson looked like he would repeat his victory of last week as he moved from third to first on the opening lap of the twelve-lap feature, but after a caution for Ryan Pace on lap three a new visitor to the West Liberty Raceway would put up a challenge. Brayton Carter of Oskaloosa went to the cushion and drove around the outside of Olson for the lead on lap five and then held it steady over the final laps to score his first career feature win. The youngster was so excited in victory lane that when announcer Jerry Mackey joked that the way that they did it here was that you had to come back next week in order to get paid he said, "okay, I'll have to ask my Dad, but I sure want to come back!" Tony Olson was a solid runner-up and Charley Weber crossed the line in the third position. However, during post-race inspection Weber was disqualified for running grooved tires. That moved Cody Harris up to the third spot, Aric Becker was fourth and Tim Zeman was paid for fifth.
David Brandies was two laps from yet another IMCA Stock Car victory here last week when he scattered his engine throughout turns three and four in a thick cloud of smoke. There was nothing wrong with the replacement motor tonight though as Brandies wasted no time coming from the seventh starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap and he was never challenged on his way to victory. Shane Paris, Brandon Jay, John Hemsted and Tad Payne would chase their way to a top five finish.
After popping a motor in his own car last week Jason Klerk de Rues borrowed a car that showed some smoke of its own earlier in the night. No worries though and it was a fast loaner as he would race it all the way to victory lane in a very entertaining Sport Compact feature. Pole-sitter Rick Hurlbut spun sideways in turn one on the opening lap sending the field scattering and when Hurlbut kept moving the green flag stayed out. James Roose would lead the first four laps before Steven Streck took the point on lap five. It was now a five-car pack racing for the lead and Klerk de Rues brought "Old Smokey" to the front on lap six and began to pull away. Bill Whalen Jr. who found himself way behind after avoiding Hurlbut on the opening lap moved to second with two laps to go and was making up some ground on the leader, but he would run out of laps and have to settle for second. Corey Sheetz who was in the mix for the lead mid-race finished in the third spot, Doug Watkins was fourth and Bobbie Lake took fifth.
I once again want to thank promoter Keith Simmons and his entire crew for their hospitality and for another great Saturday night of racing here in southeast Iowa. Jerry Mackey again had many nice words to say about Positively Racing and, since I inadvertently left his name off the list last week, it was good to visit with flagman Doug Haack again during the brief intermission. Also kudos to Mitch Swinton and the Lil' Racer Car Club for arranging an autograph session with the drivers during that intermission. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or the drivers who were participating!
Next Saturday night May 10th all five divisions will again be in action at the West Liberty Raceway headlined by the Ideal Ready Mix Tri-Track Challenge that will pay $2,000-to-win for the IMCA Late Models.
There is some rain on the radar on this Sunday morning, but it looks like the bulk of it is staying north of the Quad City Speedway and the weather is forecast to improve as the day goes on. So hopefully everything will be a "go" for tonight's Hershel Roberts Memorial in East Moline featuring the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. And hey, if not, I have a couple of other good options to consider as, being a dirt track racing fan I live in a pretty darn good place! Hope to see you on the Back Stretch.
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