More than an inch of rain fell on the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa Wednesday and Thursday. That would be an easy hurdle to clear compared to the thirty degree drop in temperature accompanied by winds that gusted to nearly thirty miles per hour as the first of two nights of racing went on as scheduled for the 28th Annual Musco Fall Challenge.
While the pit area was still quite crowded it was obvious that the weather suppressed the car counts a bit in every division except for the Stock Cars as thirty-seven drivers would vie for the $1,000 top prize in the class that is known to be the hallmark of the fast half-mile at Osky. Alan VanGorp would pace the first five laps of the twenty-lap Stock Car feature as drivers raced three and four-wide right behind him and that tight battle would eliminate a couple of top contenders early. Brad Pinkerton went to the bottom to go three-wide for second on the third lap and clipped the track tire guarding the apron in turn two breaking his left front and sending him to the infield while just a lap later David Brandies spun sideways out of the pack while racing down the frontstretch to cause a caution.
VanGorp was able to lead a lap following the restart before Damon Murty eased by him on the inside and with the track going smooth, black and slick, Murty planted himself on the inside groove around both sets of turns. Little did he know that the bottom was not the place to be, especially in turns three and four as Joe Zadina brought a few more with him as he drove around Murty for the lead on lap nine. Zadina had started way back in the eighth row and he wasn't the only one coming from deep in the pack as Mike Hughes, driving Murty's backup car for the second week in a row, had started eighteenth and now passed his car owner for third.
As Hughes challenged for second on lap twelve he got into turn one a little too hot and spun, right in from of Murty, but the two identically painted cars avoided contact and the caution waved again with eight laps remaining. Murty lined up third for the single file restart and when the green flag waved he drove deep into turn one and when Zadina stumbled a bit on the cushion the soon to be two-time All Iowa Points Stock Car champion regained the lead heading down the back stretch. This time Murty did not leave the top open in turns three and four and he pulled away over the final seven laps to secure the win. Nathan Wood slipped under Zadina to take the second spot while Derrick Agee and Jerry Pilcher completed the top five.
When Scott Dickey has his Modified dialed in there are nights where he is completely dominant and this was one of those nights as nobody was able to keep pace with the second generation speedster from Packwood. Third-generation hot shoe Tyler Droste would lead the opening lap of the twenty-lap finale only to have the third-starting Dickey power by on lap two and from there the race was for second. Cayden Carter would ease by Jesse Dennis late to take the runner-up honors while Jacob Murray came from the tenth starting spot to finish fourth. A four-car battle over the final five laps kept the crowd warmed as Ryan Peckham prevailed in that one ahead of Carter VanDenBerg who was driving Murray's "Brewster Baker" themed #49J for the evening. Zack Vanderbeek and Droste finished seventh and eighth while Bruce Hanford and Joel Rust completed the top ten. Dickey thanked his team and especially his father Dan Dickey for preparing a car that was fast from the first push of the throttle.
Curtis VanDerWal loves the Fall specials season as after sweeping the Grand Championships down in Memphis, Missouri, last weekend VanDerWal continued the streak tonight at his hometown track coming from the fifth row to win $1,000 in the Sport Mod main event. 2014 track champion Brett Lowry would lead the first four laps before Hamilton County Speedway regular Matt Lettow drove around him off the top of turn four. Lettow could not get away from VanDerWal though as Curtis would takeover the lead at the mid-race point before pulling away for another Fall victory. Lettow would hold down the second spot as Brayton Carter took third after starting eleventh. Luke Wanninger drove Ty Luellen's #32L in for the fourth-place money while Carter VanDenBerg started twelfth and finished fifth.
With Mike Hughes starting third in the Hobby Stock feature it was a pretty good bet that he would redeem himself from his spin in the Stock Car main and sure enough Hughes drove around Bill Bonnett for the lead on lap two. There would be no catching Hughes from there as he would cruise to the $1,000 win ahead of Danny Thrasher, Bonnett, Craig Brown and Andrew Hustead. It was a tough night for the two drivers who are at the top of the All Iowa Points Hobby Stock standings as Shannon Anderson rode out a wild rollover in turn two during his heat race and Dustin Griffiths dropped out of the feature with mechanical issues mid-race while running third. Jeremy Wegner made the long pull down from Estherville to finish eighth.
It was strange being at the Southern Iowa Speedway without having our colleagues Dick and Joyce Eisele in the stands as Dick was at home rehabbing his new knee and it was strange to see a Sport Compact at the Southern Iowa Speedway that did not include Bill Whalen Jr.'s #00W. With the 2014 track champion not in attendance the ten lap feature saw Cody Thompson make a thrilling three-wide move through the middle of Matt Moore and Matt Girdley in turn four to take the lead and eventually the win. Moore and Girdley finished second and third while Steven Struck edged out Levi Heath in the final lap to take fourth.
Yes it was cold and that wind made it feel much worse than the low 40's, but I came well prepared with layers of coats, gloves and even a sleeping bag to slide into to keep warm and it was well worth it to catch another great night of racing in Oskaloosa. And, if I did not have a wedding to go to I would do it all over again tonight. How about you go fill my seat for the evening?
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