As I stood there on the stage where such big name acts as Keith Urban, Old Dominion and Pitbull are currently scheduled to appear during the Mississippi Valley Fair in August, in front of a grandstand that is large enough to support such stars, I couldn't help to think just how sad this all is right now. How many people could have been sitting up there six feet apart individually, let alone the groups of family that could have been close together? One thousand? Fifteen hundred? Even in normal times promoters Ricky and Brenda Kay would be thrilled with those numbers, especially when they had 160 race cars in five divisions spread about the massive pit area.
Instead there she just sat, that grand old covered amphitheater essentially empty other than a three person crew with Done Right TV and track announcer Shane Davis who was giving the call direct to the Pay Per View crowd instead of letting his voice echo through that lonely grandstand. It was an eerie setting for sure, but there were cars on the quarter-mile and I did my best to focus on that by facing my folding chair toward the back stretch throughout the night.
The Street Stocks would be the first of five features to take the track on a night that would not have been possible without a herculean effort from Kay to get a race track ready after heavy rains on Thursday. Yes, it was rough, but drivers who searched around were able to find lines that were smoother and sometimes faster while others decided that if the route through the ruts was the quickest way around, well then you might as well just Cowboy Up. Jesse Owen and Nick Claussen would bring the field to green for the fifteen lap event, but when Claussen got crossed up in turn one he would collect five more cars as the field scrambled. Tyler Gilmour, Nick Hixson and Shad Murphy would see their night come to an early end.
When the green flag waved again Owen would race out to the lead with Zach Zuberbier making a quick move toward the front. That move would end quickly though as contact with Rick Schriner would send him for a spin down the front stretch and into the infield. The race would stay green as Zuberbier rejoined the field and it was now Jeff Struck Jr. who was closing in on the leader. Struck's line around the top of turn four proved to be the best as he would take the lead on lap three and from there he would pull away for the first checkered flag of 2020 at the Davenport Speedway. Justin Van Drunen made the long tow from Crown Point, Indiana, to finish second after starting from the eighth row, Owen locked down third, Frank Waters finished fourth and Cord Williams also made a run from deep in the field coming from nineteenth to fifth.
A first lap incident reshaped the Modified field as well when fourth starting Jeff Larson was turned in turn four with several cars piling in sending six of them to the pit area without completing a lap. On the second try at a start Chris Zogg would race ahead of pole-sitter Justin Kay to pace the field and even open up a lead by the mid-race mark of the twenty lap event. Timmy Current had dropped Kay to third and was starting to close the gap on the leader before Kay found a new line and charged back to second with Austin Howes now challenging Current for third. The caution would wave with five laps remaining when the lapped car of Derek Thompson spun right in front of Current and Howes who both had to race through the infield to avoid Thompson.
On the restart the field stacked up entering turn three with Current and Howes coming to a stop in turn four. Apparently the call was that it was a bad start as both drivers were given their positions back and once back to green Kay was all over Zogg in the battle for the win. The two would cross the stripe in a virtual dead heat on lap sixteen before Kay would take the lead for good with three to go for the win. Zogg would ward off Current for third, Tyler Madigan originally started the race in tenth and finished fourth while Mitch Morris crossed the line in fifth. However, since Morris picked off a row or two on the outside before the green flag waved on the final restart he was dropped to eighth in the final rundown with Brandon Durbin elevated to fifth.
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| Chris Zogg races through turns three and four during preliminary action - Dennis Krieger photo |
Twenty-five laps of Late Model action was up next and despite drawing a front row starting spot, National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Gary Webb chose to take a lap at the back and then head to the pits to collect his start money. Nick Marolf would go from the pole and lead the way running a low line that was quick, but would also require him to hit the brakes and settle the car down after wheel hopping in turn four a few times. As he did in the Modified feature earlier in the evening, Justin Kay found a line that would bring him to the front and when the caution waved for a Lake Knutti spin on lap nine the race was on.
Kay would take the lead from Marolf through turns one and two on the restart only to have Nick battle back in three and four to retain his advantage on the score sheet. Again Kay would get that higher line to work and he would take the lead by a nose on lap sixteen, but Marolf would take it right back on the following lap. Chuck Hanna was now closing in on the lead duo and as Marolf pulled away a bit, Hanna slipped by Kay for second and had his sights set on the leader. All he needed was one more wheel hop by Marolf to make his move, but the leader kept it on all fours over the final circuits to take the win with Hanna close behind. Kay finished in the third position with Andy Nezworski making a big run from thirteenth to fourth. Hometown favorite Matt Ryan completed the top five.
All thirty-two of the Sport Compacts that had signed in were slated to run the twelve lap finale and I believe that twenty-five of them took the green flag. Peoria Speedway regular Nick Johnson would lead the opening lap with Mitch Bielenberg taking over on lap two. Jake Benischek had started eighth, but he would move to the point on lap four with the caution waving two laps later for a Jack Fitzgibbon spin off turn four.
On the restart, as Benischek led the field into turn one, something broke sending him to a stop over the top of turn two so it would be Adam Christy and Bielenberg lined up side-by-side on the front row for the restart. As they made contact exiting turn four that allowed Ashley Reuman and Travis Hawkins to sweep around them with Reuman leading lap seven and Hawkins lap eight. Bielenberg came charging back though to regain the advantage on lap nine and he would hold it from there to take the win with Christy and Reuman close behind. Shawn McDermott pass Hawkins out of turn four on the final lap to finish fourth.
How about that? Five lead changes among five drivers in a twelve lap race to close out the evening.
It was just a few days earlier when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared that race tracks in all 99 counties could be "open", but with no spectators, and all of us who were able to attend and compete on this night should give thanks to Ricky and Brenda Kay, and their entire staff for pulling this show together even with the curve ball thrown in by Mother Nature.
After each of the five feature races the winner was directed to the infield where the track photographer as well as veteran freelance shooter Dennis Krieger were to take a couple of traditional victory lane pictures. As Gage Neal climbed out of his car it looked like he was about to turn toward the grandstand, perhaps to pump his fist in jubilation after a hard earned victory. But there it was, that big empty grandstand, so instead he politely held the flag and smiled.
Race tracks will not truly be "open" until race fans are allowed to be there to share in
the thrill of victory. Hopefully that will be soon.
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