I was eight days in to what I thought would be a twenty-three day absence from racing when my schedule for Wednesday just happened to land me in Oskaloosa for the next to last night of regular season racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Watching a shield of rain cover western Iowa all day, I am sure that I wasn't the only one that kept a wary eye on the radar all afternoon and that was likely what kept some of the IMCA National points contenders from making the long haul on a Wednesday night. But a dry wind out of the east kept the rain away and it was a beautiful night for racing even though I knew that I needed to honor a self-imposed ten o'clock curfew due to an early meeting on Thursday.
The car counts at Osky have been volatile during the second half of the season and on this night while there were solid fields of seventeen Sport Mods and sixteen Stock Cars, the twelve car Hobby Stock field was out of the norm and the Modified count continued to dwindle down to seven. The class that has struggled with car counts since its introduction to the big half-mile, the Sport Compacts would see six cars line up for the first feature of the night with All Iowa Points leader Austen Becerra recovering from mechanical issues in his heat race to quickly take the lead from his third row start.
On lap four of the ten lap event, the lead pack was in turn two when a gasp from the crowd drew my attention to turn four where I caught the last rollover of the car driven by Jon Menuis. With sparks flying as the car settled to the ground, it was a scary looking wreck and there was immediate concern when the track worker in turn four frantically waved for the Fire and Rescue crew to get to the scene as soon as possible. Sources have told me that the driver's belts had become loose and that his helmet came off during the rollover. As of 4 p.m. on Thursday I have not been able to confirm anything on the condition of the driver, and I hope that you will join me in keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.
Once back to racing Becerra held off a final lap challenge from Bill Whalen Jr. to take the win, reported by announcer Tony Paris as being his 33rd feature win of the season. Austen, you are a fine young driver, hope to see you taking another division by storm in 2015! John Whalen and Matt Moore were third and fourth.
The 16-lap Sport Mod feature was out next and this one was a good one throughout as Charlie Weber paced the field for the opening laps. Coming from his eighth starting spot Jason McDaniel moved quickly to the front and drove by Weber on the outside coming down the front stretch on lap three. A caution on the following lap allowed McDaniel's fellow fourth row starter Curtis VanDerWal to move to second and he was not content to be tonight's runner-up. Entering the turns on both ends of the speedway VanDerWal was able to pull even by diving to the inside, but McDaniel maintained momentum off the top and was able to re-establish himself as the leader once again on the straightaways. On lap ten VanDerWal had his best run yet into turn three and when McDaniel was barely able to clear his challenger once again at the flag stand, the leader then decided that he needed to protect that lower line entering turn one.
VanDerWal was already committed to that same bottom line and with McDaniel now there Curtis slid the car sideways to avoid contact and he almost had it saved before he got in the slick stuff down low and spun it around the opposite direction. The caution waved and VanDerWal went to the rear while track point leader Brett Lowry now picked up the challenge. McDaniel looked like a sure winner though until coming to the white flag when he jumped the cushion in turn four and gave Lowry one last chance. Once again though the "Mighty Mouse" protected that bottom line, this time in turns three and four on the final lap and Jason McDaniel held on to win over Brett Lowry, Ryan Fullenkamp, Cory VanZante and Brayton Carter. VanDerWal redeemed himself nicely by charging back up to sixth at the checkers.
Fifteen laps of Hobby Stock action was up next and it was Mike Kincaid who opened up a solid lead while the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him. Kincaid was till looking strong until he exited turn four on lap eight and slowed suddenly with an overheating engine. This handed the lead over to Mike Hughes who then held off Danny Thrasher for the second half of the race to take the apparent victory. However, Hughes failed the post-race tech inspection and the win was then awarded to Thrasher. Brad Stephens, Craig Brown and Dustin Griffiths crossed the line in a tightly bunched three-wide formation with Stephens then being credited with second. Nick Ulin collected fifth-place money.
A check of the time told me that if the fourteen lap Modified feature went flag-to-flag I should be okay, but I would then have to miss the Stock Car feature......and when you come to Osky, the last thing that you want to miss, trust me, is the Stock Car feature!
Cayden Carter took off like a rocket at the drop of the green and appeared to have the race well in hand before the caution waved mid-race and my own curfew had arrived. As I climbed in my car I could hear Tony Paris making the call as Andrew Schroeder now applied the pressure and a review of the results today tells the story as Schroeder made the pass for the win. Carter, Scott Dickey, Jerry Pilcher, Tyler Groenendyk and A.J. Johnson completed the six-car starting field.
And, just as I suspected, the Stock Car feature was a thriller with Cayden Carter passing Todd Reitzler on the final lap to take the win. Hopefully I will have no early morning meeting scheduled for the next day when the Southern Iowa Speedway closes out its regular season on Wednesday September 17th. Season Championship night will use the regular average points inverted starting procedure as weekly shows so don't be surprised if there are some long distance travelers there that night looking for one final shot at National and Regional points. Perhaps you should mark it on your calendar and join us there.
Dick and Joyce, it just isn't the same without you two there! Good thing I had Jack and Kevin, and later on Gary Lee there to keep me company!
Next race for me will be the Yankee Dirt Classic in Farley, hope to see you there!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Hot 100: Current "Back Stretch" National Dirt Late Model Points
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Tipton Triple To Kay, Sobbing and Brandies
It was a near perfect night for racing and the pit area at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton was overflowing with cars as first year promoters Rodney and Debbie Ohrt welcomed in the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models, the XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds and the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars for a Tuesday night show on the quick quarter-mile oval. And not only were the pits crowded with 91 cars, the stands were pretty close to being full of race fans as well looking to catch one of the last mid-week single night specials of the 2014 season.
Thirty-four Late Models signed in and following four heats and two B-Mains there were ten pretty darn good drivers watching from atop their trailers as the feature went green for forty laps. This one was pretty much decided during the twenty-five minute long shuffle of Casey's General Stores pizza boxes as Mr. Dominant in the IMCA Late Model division in eastern Iowa, Justin Kay drew the pole position alongside Kyle Hinrichs. Kay shot to the lead at the drop of the green and quickly opened up about a six to ten car-length advantage before Hinrichs found a line around the wide and smooth surface where he could maintain the leader's pace.
As Kay was working traffic mid-race he found himself having a tough time putting a lap on Jason Rauen, but even with that obstacle Hinrichs was only able to close the gap just a bit before Kay found his way past Rauen and again pulled away. With the race going green to checkers with no cautions, there was no catching Kay and there was not much movement in the top six positions. Kay collected $3,000 for the win, Hinrichs went the distance in second, Tyler Bruening started fourth and finished third, while third row starters Brian Harris and Brian Beaudry completed the top five. Young Brunson Behning was sixth, the winner of the most recent event in Des Moines Ryan Dolan was seventh, Andy Eckrich held off older brother Denny for eighth and Matt Ryan completed the top ten.
After having twenty-two cars at Monday night's show in Vinton, the Hawkeye Dirt Tour car count more than doubled to forty-five Modifieds in attendance and once again there were a lot top quality cars and drivers left in the pits when feature time rolled around. Steve Stewart would pace the field early in the 30-lap affair working the very bottom line around the speedway and, after sizing him up for a few laps, Jesse Sobbing decided that the high line was the way to go and he completed the pass for the lead on lap ten. Sobbing started to stretch it out a bit as Brad Dierks and Darin Duffy jousted for second and when the caution waved on lap twenty-two the field regrouped for a restart. It was at that time that I noticed that Brian Webb was sitting seventh on the grid and a check of the notebook showed that he had started back in eighteenth. The race went back to green but only for one lap before a caution for Dusty Kraklio in turn three and now Webb was up to sixth with seven laps remaining. On the restart Dierks established himself in second and tried to keep up with Sobbing, while Webb continued his march to the front using a middle line that nobody else was in, but the checkers waved too soon for him as Sobbing scored the win ahead of Dierks and Webb. Duffy finished in the fourth spot while Kyle Brown came from tenth to fifth.
In typical Stock Car fashion the early laps of the 15-lap main event saw the twelve car field bundled up into one tight group until Timmy Current and David Brandies broke from the pack. Current took the lead from Shane Paris on lap three before Brandies snuck underneath him on lap five. With both drivers trying to run the extreme bottom line, there was plenty of bumping and grinding as Current regained the lead on lap nine only to have Brandies muscle by again a lap later. With the laps ticking away Current gave the cushion a try, but could not mount a serious challenge as Brandies tallied yet another win in a successful 2014 campaign. Scott Pippert, Damon Murty and Jerry Miles completed the top five.
A big thanks to the Ohrt's for their hospitality and while I didn't get a chance to meet Rodney and Debbie on this night, it was nice to say "hi" to announcer Mike Sunken and to chat with with two beautiful young ladies in the pit shack. It's just a number Deb.... :)
Season Championship night at the Cedar County Raceway will be this Friday night August 22nd.
Looking at my schedule, both personal and racing, it might be hard for me to make it out to the track again for a couple of weeks with the Yankee Dirt Classic being my next "sure thing". Don't forget about me though as I will try to stay up on what is going on and share some interesting notes with you from time to time here on the Back Stretch.
Thirty-four Late Models signed in and following four heats and two B-Mains there were ten pretty darn good drivers watching from atop their trailers as the feature went green for forty laps. This one was pretty much decided during the twenty-five minute long shuffle of Casey's General Stores pizza boxes as Mr. Dominant in the IMCA Late Model division in eastern Iowa, Justin Kay drew the pole position alongside Kyle Hinrichs. Kay shot to the lead at the drop of the green and quickly opened up about a six to ten car-length advantage before Hinrichs found a line around the wide and smooth surface where he could maintain the leader's pace.
As Kay was working traffic mid-race he found himself having a tough time putting a lap on Jason Rauen, but even with that obstacle Hinrichs was only able to close the gap just a bit before Kay found his way past Rauen and again pulled away. With the race going green to checkers with no cautions, there was no catching Kay and there was not much movement in the top six positions. Kay collected $3,000 for the win, Hinrichs went the distance in second, Tyler Bruening started fourth and finished third, while third row starters Brian Harris and Brian Beaudry completed the top five. Young Brunson Behning was sixth, the winner of the most recent event in Des Moines Ryan Dolan was seventh, Andy Eckrich held off older brother Denny for eighth and Matt Ryan completed the top ten.
After having twenty-two cars at Monday night's show in Vinton, the Hawkeye Dirt Tour car count more than doubled to forty-five Modifieds in attendance and once again there were a lot top quality cars and drivers left in the pits when feature time rolled around. Steve Stewart would pace the field early in the 30-lap affair working the very bottom line around the speedway and, after sizing him up for a few laps, Jesse Sobbing decided that the high line was the way to go and he completed the pass for the lead on lap ten. Sobbing started to stretch it out a bit as Brad Dierks and Darin Duffy jousted for second and when the caution waved on lap twenty-two the field regrouped for a restart. It was at that time that I noticed that Brian Webb was sitting seventh on the grid and a check of the notebook showed that he had started back in eighteenth. The race went back to green but only for one lap before a caution for Dusty Kraklio in turn three and now Webb was up to sixth with seven laps remaining. On the restart Dierks established himself in second and tried to keep up with Sobbing, while Webb continued his march to the front using a middle line that nobody else was in, but the checkers waved too soon for him as Sobbing scored the win ahead of Dierks and Webb. Duffy finished in the fourth spot while Kyle Brown came from tenth to fifth.
In typical Stock Car fashion the early laps of the 15-lap main event saw the twelve car field bundled up into one tight group until Timmy Current and David Brandies broke from the pack. Current took the lead from Shane Paris on lap three before Brandies snuck underneath him on lap five. With both drivers trying to run the extreme bottom line, there was plenty of bumping and grinding as Current regained the lead on lap nine only to have Brandies muscle by again a lap later. With the laps ticking away Current gave the cushion a try, but could not mount a serious challenge as Brandies tallied yet another win in a successful 2014 campaign. Scott Pippert, Damon Murty and Jerry Miles completed the top five.
A big thanks to the Ohrt's for their hospitality and while I didn't get a chance to meet Rodney and Debbie on this night, it was nice to say "hi" to announcer Mike Sunken and to chat with with two beautiful young ladies in the pit shack. It's just a number Deb.... :)
Season Championship night at the Cedar County Raceway will be this Friday night August 22nd.
Looking at my schedule, both personal and racing, it might be hard for me to make it out to the track again for a couple of weeks with the Yankee Dirt Classic being my next "sure thing". Don't forget about me though as I will try to stay up on what is going on and share some interesting notes with you from time to time here on the Back Stretch.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Tuesday Notebook: August 19, 2014
Looking forward to what has now become an IMCA Tripleheader tonight at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton featuring the Deery Brothers IMCA Late Model Summer Series and the XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds. Just recently added to that combo is the sanctioned IMCA Stock Cars racing for $400-to-win. The track has been running a mixed division of Stock Cars and the Outlaw Super Bombers or Street Stocks that are pretty much confined to the Quad Cities area nowadays and this will give the Stock Car drivers from the area the opportunity to give the quick quarter-mile a try racing against their "own kind". The weather is looking great and it is one of the final mid-week specials of the season, so get on out and support the Ohrts, Rodney and Debbie, as they near the end of their freshman season of promoting races!
Pondering the state of weekly dirt track racing seems to be a consistent topic these days on radio shows, podcasts, blogs, Facebook, etc. and it is usually about how attendance is slipping and tracks are in trouble. Sadly we know this to be true with a specific example that was close to home this past week when the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan announced that they would shorten their regular season and drop the annual Tiny Lund Memorial in September. What we all need to realize though is that there are some tracks that are still going strong and one of those is the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Yes, the car counts have been a bit lower than usual in a couple of classes this year, but in the two times that I have been there, and in videos that I have seen from the track this year, the crowds remain large and when you have racing action like this it is no surprise that the races are the Sunday night place to be in Vinton. So what is the secret? How can other tracks capture this magic in a bottle? I have my ideas as to what makes a weekly show successful and I have tried to express them both subtly and no so subtly over the years here on the Back Stretch. What do you think is important to the success of a weekly show? Hit the Comment button and let me know.....
One track that I have never attended before, but that I have seen from across the street is Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota, just across the state line from Sioux City. This little track seemed to struggle for years with small car counts, but still it soldiered on and in the past two seasons the counts have really grown even requiring a B-Main once in awhile. Of course when I say that I saw it from across the street I was referring to the Park Jefferson Speedway that started out as a parimutuel dog racing facility and was later converted to auto racing. Those years of struggling for Raceway Park came when they ran on Sunday nights in the shadow of Park Jeff's weekly shows the night before. Park Jeff has been dormant the last couple of seasons and it is no coincidence this is when Raceway Park's program experienced its growth. Now Park Jefferson Speedway is back in action running a limited schedule in 2014 and here's hoping that the dirt track market is strong enough to once again support two race tracks within a short walk of each other.
The Quad Cities area has a new contender in the Sport Mod division. Formerly based in Bloomfield, Jared Miller now calls Moline, Illinois, home and he introduced himself nicely at three tracks this past weekend. On Friday night Miller ran second to the division point leader at the Davenport Speedway, Bryce Garnhart, and then on Saturday night in Maquoketa Jared ran fifth out of a field of sixteen starters with the Darkside at the Jackson County Speedway. It should be mentioned that once again, Garnhart was the winner. Then on Sunday night the Sport Mod division made its first appearance ever at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline and there was Miller in the top five once again this time finishing third behind Joey Schaefer and Jayson Wiggins. Pretty impressive for a transplanted driver to run in the top five at three tracks that he has seldom, if ever raced at before.
Speaking of the Sport Mod division I couldn't help but notice that the name of Austin Moyer has not popped up in the results at his normal haunts the past couple of weeks. Coming into August the Dubuque driver had established himself as the leader in the All Iowa Points standings for the division and since he was on a hot streak it looked as though he had a good chance of racing right on to that first state championship. While I don't have the official info, I have been told that Austin has decided to take a break from racing for a bit to regroup and to focus on some other parts of his life, but that a return for the "specials" season in September is still not out of the question. As of right now Moyer still ranks second, only four points behind Clint Luellen, so when he returns if he runs anywhere near as strong as he was before taking a break, Austin might still win the All Iowa Points even after taking a vacation from racing. We wish him the best no matter what he decides to do.
One event that we don't have on our Specials calendar, mainly because usually I can never find any information about it before, or even after, is the two nights of racing at the Northwest Missouri State Fair in Bethany. We are going to be staying with friends just a few miles down the road that weekend, so perhaps a visit to the Sunday night portion of the program is a possibility.
That is all for today, hope to see you at the Cedar County Raceway tonight and be advised that my report from Tipton will come out later in the day on Wednesday due to a morning business meeting. Catch you on the Back Stretch!
Pondering the state of weekly dirt track racing seems to be a consistent topic these days on radio shows, podcasts, blogs, Facebook, etc. and it is usually about how attendance is slipping and tracks are in trouble. Sadly we know this to be true with a specific example that was close to home this past week when the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan announced that they would shorten their regular season and drop the annual Tiny Lund Memorial in September. What we all need to realize though is that there are some tracks that are still going strong and one of those is the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Yes, the car counts have been a bit lower than usual in a couple of classes this year, but in the two times that I have been there, and in videos that I have seen from the track this year, the crowds remain large and when you have racing action like this it is no surprise that the races are the Sunday night place to be in Vinton. So what is the secret? How can other tracks capture this magic in a bottle? I have my ideas as to what makes a weekly show successful and I have tried to express them both subtly and no so subtly over the years here on the Back Stretch. What do you think is important to the success of a weekly show? Hit the Comment button and let me know.....
One track that I have never attended before, but that I have seen from across the street is Raceway Park in Jefferson, South Dakota, just across the state line from Sioux City. This little track seemed to struggle for years with small car counts, but still it soldiered on and in the past two seasons the counts have really grown even requiring a B-Main once in awhile. Of course when I say that I saw it from across the street I was referring to the Park Jefferson Speedway that started out as a parimutuel dog racing facility and was later converted to auto racing. Those years of struggling for Raceway Park came when they ran on Sunday nights in the shadow of Park Jeff's weekly shows the night before. Park Jeff has been dormant the last couple of seasons and it is no coincidence this is when Raceway Park's program experienced its growth. Now Park Jefferson Speedway is back in action running a limited schedule in 2014 and here's hoping that the dirt track market is strong enough to once again support two race tracks within a short walk of each other.
The Quad Cities area has a new contender in the Sport Mod division. Formerly based in Bloomfield, Jared Miller now calls Moline, Illinois, home and he introduced himself nicely at three tracks this past weekend. On Friday night Miller ran second to the division point leader at the Davenport Speedway, Bryce Garnhart, and then on Saturday night in Maquoketa Jared ran fifth out of a field of sixteen starters with the Darkside at the Jackson County Speedway. It should be mentioned that once again, Garnhart was the winner. Then on Sunday night the Sport Mod division made its first appearance ever at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline and there was Miller in the top five once again this time finishing third behind Joey Schaefer and Jayson Wiggins. Pretty impressive for a transplanted driver to run in the top five at three tracks that he has seldom, if ever raced at before.
Speaking of the Sport Mod division I couldn't help but notice that the name of Austin Moyer has not popped up in the results at his normal haunts the past couple of weeks. Coming into August the Dubuque driver had established himself as the leader in the All Iowa Points standings for the division and since he was on a hot streak it looked as though he had a good chance of racing right on to that first state championship. While I don't have the official info, I have been told that Austin has decided to take a break from racing for a bit to regroup and to focus on some other parts of his life, but that a return for the "specials" season in September is still not out of the question. As of right now Moyer still ranks second, only four points behind Clint Luellen, so when he returns if he runs anywhere near as strong as he was before taking a break, Austin might still win the All Iowa Points even after taking a vacation from racing. We wish him the best no matter what he decides to do.
One event that we don't have on our Specials calendar, mainly because usually I can never find any information about it before, or even after, is the two nights of racing at the Northwest Missouri State Fair in Bethany. We are going to be staying with friends just a few miles down the road that weekend, so perhaps a visit to the Sunday night portion of the program is a possibility.
That is all for today, hope to see you at the Cedar County Raceway tonight and be advised that my report from Tipton will come out later in the day on Wednesday due to a morning business meeting. Catch you on the Back Stretch!
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Sprint Invaders Weekend Washout Leads To Double The Fun At West Liberty
With the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders washed out for the second night in a row, this time in Burlington, a check of the radar showed drier conditions to the north so I headed for the West Liberty Raceway Saturday night. With twin features on tap for the IMCA Late Models, and with some extra cars on hand in the support divisions from both Burlington and Bloomfield (the Invaders' rainout victim from Friday night) the car counts were solid and there was a good crowd on hand despite the cloudy conditions and the threatening forecast.
A pair of Sport Mod heats were first on the program followed by the IMCA Late Model feature that was rained out back on June 28th with twenty-three cars set to go for twenty-five laps on a track that, by West Liberty Raceway standards, was still a bit narrow. With the cloud cover and high humidity the track was heavy, but drivers were still able to find three grooves to run as Jeremy Grady raced out to the early lead. Andy Eckrich and Colby Springsteen were on the move coming from their mid-pack starting spots into the top five after a lap four caution and after another break in the action on lap eight it was Nate Beuseling who would now go to work on Grady for the lead. With Grady running the heavy cushion and Beuseling working down low the two drivers ran nearly side-by-side for three straight laps before Beuseling seized control on lap thirteen. Eckrich moved to second a lap later and started to pressure the new leader when on lap seventeen Beuseling slowed suddenly entering turn one. Andy took evasive action to miss the now disabled car by inches and on the restart he and Springsteen would battle for a couple of laps before Eckrich pulled away for the win. Springsteen would take second, Chad Holladay came from fourteenth to third and Jonathan Brauns edged out Tommy Elston by half a car length for fourth. Bran Harris made a big run through the field as he started twenty-third and finished sixth.
With the make-up race now in the books the remainder of the heat races were completed and following a brief intermission the IMCA Sport Mods were the first of five main events to take to the track. Cody Harris and Charley Weber would bring the field to green for twelve laps around the fast half-mile with Weber taking control. Brayton Carter who won his first career feature here back in May and who has been a regular visitor to victory lane here ever since took up the chase in second and with just two laps remaining Carter swept past Weber on the outside exiting turn two. Weber fought back though and regained the lead exiting turn four coming to the white flag and he then ran side-by-side with the lapped car of Austin Paul for the final lap, effectively using him as a pick to hold Carter at bay and score his own first-ever feature win. Harris drove a solid race in third, Austin Kaplan finished in the fourth spot while Tony Olson took fifth in the non-stop affair.
The ten car field of Sport Compacts were up next with Jason Klerk de Reus leading the way for the first three laps before Bill Whalen Jr. cruised past. A late caution brought the field back to Whalen and Jordan Walker took full advantage racing side-by-side with the veteran driver over the final two laps. When Whalen drifted a bit too high in turn four on the final lap it allowed Walker to hold the lead to the checkers for his second straight win. The track points battle is tight between these two drivers as well with Whalen now holding a one point lead with just two weeks remaining. Bobby Lake finished third, Klerk de Reus was fourth and Steven Struck completed the top five. Two 34 Raceway regulars, Rachel Reger and Ron Kibbe both made their half-mile debut and finished just outside of the top five.
David Brandies has pretty much owned the IMCA Stock Car division here in 2014, but you had a sense that he would have to work extra hard tonight to best the fifteen-car roster that included a couple of drivers from other Saturday night tracks. Nathan Wood would pace the first two laps before Cayden Cater put the Roger Kelderman owned car #10cc out front. Brandies had started seventh and on lap six he moved to the second position still with a lot of ground to make up on the leader. That changed two laps later though when Harold O'Brien spun in turn four collecting Tad Payne and Carter's lead was erased for the restart. Once back to green Brandies took a look only to have Carter again put a few car-lengths on him, but when Cole Simmons slowed in turn four Brandies would again restart on the rear bumper of Carter for the final two laps.
When the green flag waved Brandies drove deep into turn one and then slid up in front of the leader only to have Carter drive back under him exiting turn two. After the white flag waved Brandies again gave it his best shot, but he could not intimidate the double-duty driver as Carter won for the ninth time in fifteen starts this season aboard Kelderman's Stock Car. Brandies would have to settle for second on this night, pole-starter Johnny Spaw finished third, Wood took fourth and Brandon Jay completed the top five.
Another stellar field of twenty-five IMCA Modifieds signed in for action and they were all chasing Scott Dickey from the drop of the green for the twenty-lap main event. Perhaps "chasing" isn't the proper description though as Dickey was simply leaving everybody in his wake building a full straightaway advantage by lap three while the racing well behind him was very entertaining. Cautions on lap nine and lap fourteen brought the field back to Dickey with first Kurt Kile and then Bruce Hanford taking a shot at the leader. When the white flag waved Hanford tried the bottom line entering turn one and not only did Dickey fight off that last challenge, Kurt Kile also took advantage to ride the cushion past Hanford to finish second at the checkers. Cayden Carter topped off a successful evening coming from eleventh to fourth with Jerry Luloff filling out the top five. Dickey pounded the roof of his car in celebration and after thanking his sponsors he mentioned that his father, longtime racer Dan Dickey, was away on vacation in Wisconsin. "I guess we can do it without him" said the happy winner, tongue in cheek.
Another 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature would close out the night with front row starters Sam Halstead and Jay Chenoweth swapping the lead the first two laps. When Nick Marolf slowed during lap three it produced the only caution of the race and on the restart National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Ray Guss Jr. would take over the point. Just like earlier in the night both Andy Ecrich and Colby Springsteen were picking their way to the front and soon it was Eckrich who was trying to make up ground on Guss in second. With a much better starting spot in this race, inside of row six, Brian Harris was also on the move riding the cushion around his competition into the top five, but even with lapped traffic coming into play late there would be no catching Ray Guss Jr. on this night. In victory lane Guss told announcer Jerry Mackey that they are getting the car dialed in at the right time of the year and that he is really looking forward to the special events coming up in September. "Not only is it the month of money, but I also get to celebrate my 55th birthday!" Look out you young lions, the Robert Racing Team is back in business.
And speaking of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, the #56 car that won the first feature and finished second in the second feature is owned by two of the Hall's newest inductees Larry & Penny Eckrich.
It was another perfectly presented program by the Simmons Promotions crew and even with the extra feature race to be run the final checkered flag waved at just ten minutes past the hour of ten o'clock, My enjoyment of the racing was enhanced by being able to sit with super fan, and good friend Bob Litton who is usually surrounded by other friends by the time that I arrive on most race nights. On this night though he was stuck with me :)
There are still a couple of weeks left in the regular season, but I cannot help but look ahead to the Yankee Dirt Track Classic September 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th at the Farley Speedway. I will be there on Thursday night the 11th to work with my partner Bill Wright for the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders and then on Friday and Saturday night it will be my honor to help out one of the best announcers in the business, Jerry Mackey. I have heard about how much fun there is to be had outside of the racing action at the Yankee and I am looking forward to that experience!
I received the news that I expected this morning when the Sprint Invaders versus the ASCS Warrior Region showdown at the Quincy Raceways was cancelled for tonight (Sunday) due to wet grounds making it a complete washout for the weekend. Don't forget that the XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds will be at the Benton County Speedway on Monday night and then on Tuesday night the Dirt Tour pairs up with the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models at the Cedar County Raceway. Hope to see you in Tipton!
A pair of Sport Mod heats were first on the program followed by the IMCA Late Model feature that was rained out back on June 28th with twenty-three cars set to go for twenty-five laps on a track that, by West Liberty Raceway standards, was still a bit narrow. With the cloud cover and high humidity the track was heavy, but drivers were still able to find three grooves to run as Jeremy Grady raced out to the early lead. Andy Eckrich and Colby Springsteen were on the move coming from their mid-pack starting spots into the top five after a lap four caution and after another break in the action on lap eight it was Nate Beuseling who would now go to work on Grady for the lead. With Grady running the heavy cushion and Beuseling working down low the two drivers ran nearly side-by-side for three straight laps before Beuseling seized control on lap thirteen. Eckrich moved to second a lap later and started to pressure the new leader when on lap seventeen Beuseling slowed suddenly entering turn one. Andy took evasive action to miss the now disabled car by inches and on the restart he and Springsteen would battle for a couple of laps before Eckrich pulled away for the win. Springsteen would take second, Chad Holladay came from fourteenth to third and Jonathan Brauns edged out Tommy Elston by half a car length for fourth. Bran Harris made a big run through the field as he started twenty-third and finished sixth.
With the make-up race now in the books the remainder of the heat races were completed and following a brief intermission the IMCA Sport Mods were the first of five main events to take to the track. Cody Harris and Charley Weber would bring the field to green for twelve laps around the fast half-mile with Weber taking control. Brayton Carter who won his first career feature here back in May and who has been a regular visitor to victory lane here ever since took up the chase in second and with just two laps remaining Carter swept past Weber on the outside exiting turn two. Weber fought back though and regained the lead exiting turn four coming to the white flag and he then ran side-by-side with the lapped car of Austin Paul for the final lap, effectively using him as a pick to hold Carter at bay and score his own first-ever feature win. Harris drove a solid race in third, Austin Kaplan finished in the fourth spot while Tony Olson took fifth in the non-stop affair.
The ten car field of Sport Compacts were up next with Jason Klerk de Reus leading the way for the first three laps before Bill Whalen Jr. cruised past. A late caution brought the field back to Whalen and Jordan Walker took full advantage racing side-by-side with the veteran driver over the final two laps. When Whalen drifted a bit too high in turn four on the final lap it allowed Walker to hold the lead to the checkers for his second straight win. The track points battle is tight between these two drivers as well with Whalen now holding a one point lead with just two weeks remaining. Bobby Lake finished third, Klerk de Reus was fourth and Steven Struck completed the top five. Two 34 Raceway regulars, Rachel Reger and Ron Kibbe both made their half-mile debut and finished just outside of the top five.
David Brandies has pretty much owned the IMCA Stock Car division here in 2014, but you had a sense that he would have to work extra hard tonight to best the fifteen-car roster that included a couple of drivers from other Saturday night tracks. Nathan Wood would pace the first two laps before Cayden Cater put the Roger Kelderman owned car #10cc out front. Brandies had started seventh and on lap six he moved to the second position still with a lot of ground to make up on the leader. That changed two laps later though when Harold O'Brien spun in turn four collecting Tad Payne and Carter's lead was erased for the restart. Once back to green Brandies took a look only to have Carter again put a few car-lengths on him, but when Cole Simmons slowed in turn four Brandies would again restart on the rear bumper of Carter for the final two laps.
When the green flag waved Brandies drove deep into turn one and then slid up in front of the leader only to have Carter drive back under him exiting turn two. After the white flag waved Brandies again gave it his best shot, but he could not intimidate the double-duty driver as Carter won for the ninth time in fifteen starts this season aboard Kelderman's Stock Car. Brandies would have to settle for second on this night, pole-starter Johnny Spaw finished third, Wood took fourth and Brandon Jay completed the top five.
Another stellar field of twenty-five IMCA Modifieds signed in for action and they were all chasing Scott Dickey from the drop of the green for the twenty-lap main event. Perhaps "chasing" isn't the proper description though as Dickey was simply leaving everybody in his wake building a full straightaway advantage by lap three while the racing well behind him was very entertaining. Cautions on lap nine and lap fourteen brought the field back to Dickey with first Kurt Kile and then Bruce Hanford taking a shot at the leader. When the white flag waved Hanford tried the bottom line entering turn one and not only did Dickey fight off that last challenge, Kurt Kile also took advantage to ride the cushion past Hanford to finish second at the checkers. Cayden Carter topped off a successful evening coming from eleventh to fourth with Jerry Luloff filling out the top five. Dickey pounded the roof of his car in celebration and after thanking his sponsors he mentioned that his father, longtime racer Dan Dickey, was away on vacation in Wisconsin. "I guess we can do it without him" said the happy winner, tongue in cheek.
Another 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature would close out the night with front row starters Sam Halstead and Jay Chenoweth swapping the lead the first two laps. When Nick Marolf slowed during lap three it produced the only caution of the race and on the restart National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Ray Guss Jr. would take over the point. Just like earlier in the night both Andy Ecrich and Colby Springsteen were picking their way to the front and soon it was Eckrich who was trying to make up ground on Guss in second. With a much better starting spot in this race, inside of row six, Brian Harris was also on the move riding the cushion around his competition into the top five, but even with lapped traffic coming into play late there would be no catching Ray Guss Jr. on this night. In victory lane Guss told announcer Jerry Mackey that they are getting the car dialed in at the right time of the year and that he is really looking forward to the special events coming up in September. "Not only is it the month of money, but I also get to celebrate my 55th birthday!" Look out you young lions, the Robert Racing Team is back in business.
And speaking of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, the #56 car that won the first feature and finished second in the second feature is owned by two of the Hall's newest inductees Larry & Penny Eckrich.
It was another perfectly presented program by the Simmons Promotions crew and even with the extra feature race to be run the final checkered flag waved at just ten minutes past the hour of ten o'clock, My enjoyment of the racing was enhanced by being able to sit with super fan, and good friend Bob Litton who is usually surrounded by other friends by the time that I arrive on most race nights. On this night though he was stuck with me :)
There are still a couple of weeks left in the regular season, but I cannot help but look ahead to the Yankee Dirt Track Classic September 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th at the Farley Speedway. I will be there on Thursday night the 11th to work with my partner Bill Wright for the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders and then on Friday and Saturday night it will be my honor to help out one of the best announcers in the business, Jerry Mackey. I have heard about how much fun there is to be had outside of the racing action at the Yankee and I am looking forward to that experience!
I received the news that I expected this morning when the Sprint Invaders versus the ASCS Warrior Region showdown at the Quincy Raceways was cancelled for tonight (Sunday) due to wet grounds making it a complete washout for the weekend. Don't forget that the XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds will be at the Benton County Speedway on Monday night and then on Tuesday night the Dirt Tour pairs up with the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models at the Cedar County Raceway. Hope to see you in Tipton!
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