Back Stretch Archives: Dirt Racing At Bristol From June of 2000

As of right now my first race to attend in person in 2021 is slated to be the big dirt racing extravaganza at the Bristol Motor Speedway so as a refresher I have pulled up the Back Stretch column that appeared in Hawkeye Racing News back in early June of 2000. From my conversations with Mike Van Genderen who will be in charge of track prep and who will be handling the Race Director duties, the banking for this next round of dirt on Bristol will not be as high and you have to think that in twenty-one years the quality of the equipment has to be improved to a point where we will not see the issues after twenty or more high speed laps.

The pictures that I have included are NOT from this race at Bristol, but just a few shots that I took back in the early 1990's of drivers that are mentioned here. Have a great weekend and enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Judging by the atlas that was spread across Morgan’s lap, the Bristol Motor Speedway would be coming into sight at any moment. We searched in great anticipation around each and every curve until finally, as we rounded one last Tennessee foothill, there it was. What an incredible sight! I have been to, or at least driven by, some of the largest stadiums in the country, but nothing compares to Bristol and the fact that these 140,000 seats were now surrounding a .533-mile red clay dirt track just made it even better.

Friday night started off with a pair of qualifying heats for the UMP Modifieds that had qualified from a pair of events held earlier at Bulls Gap and Atomic. Randy Zimmerman held off Kelly Shryock to win the first one while Randy Boggs ran away from the field in the second heat. We noticed Mark Noble’s car in the infield but as expected it did not run as we figured that Mark would be competing at Denison on Friday night. As it turned out Mark traded another Denison victory for a back row start in the Bristol event.

Scott Bloomquist

After a bit of track maintenance, one hundred eighty-nine Hav-A-Tampa late models moved into the infield for two laps of qualifying with only the top 144 moving on to Saturday night activities. For you trivia buffs the #111 car of Bo Shirley from Gadsden, Alabama, was the first car on the clock and his first lap was a 17.759 second run. This was well off the quick time set later on by Wendell Wallace at 16.200. Out of all 189 cars who qualified only one, Scott Bloomquist, missed all three exits off of the track and into the infield, eventually tripping the timing device for the next car out. You have to give the HAT officials credit as they penalized Bloomquist for this by starting him at the tail of the first qualifying heat on Saturday. The final event of Friday night saw some action after the checkers as well. It was the non-qualifiers race that we thought was won by Alabama driver Don Farmer, but we were told the following night that he was light at the scales. The race ended with the first hard crash of the weekend as Milwaukee’s Frank Smith hit the wall protecting pit road.

Ronnie Johnson

A heavy afternoon thunderstorm delayed the program by about an hour on Saturday night leaving the track in perfect shape for a long night of action. Before I go on, I must say that the people who designed and constructed this “temporary” track did an absolutely fantastic job. We saw it put to the test in hot dry conditions on Friday night, while on Saturday night it was cool and moist and on both nights the track held up perfectly. The six late model qualifying heats provided the best racing action of the weekend with plenty of high-speed jousting and late race moves for qualifying spots. Some of the highlights included: Scott Bloomquist came from twenty-first to tenth in the first twelve lap event that saw Scott Sexton get by Ronnie Johnson late to pick up the final transfer spot. Billy Moyer came from ninth to finish second in the third heat. Jason Smith made a gutsy move on the outside to knock Earl Pearson Jr. out of the final transfer position in the fourth heat. Donnie Moran made the biggest move of the night storming from the ninth starting spot to win the fifth heat, while in the sixth heat it was Davey Johnson by just inches over Mike Duvall for the final qualifying spot.

Wayne Brooks

Next up was the Pizza Plus Invitational for the UMP Modifieds and with twenty-eight of the best drivers in the country set to take the green, I sure did not expect to witness what followed. Spins and crashes in the middle and the back of the pack brought out the caution on each of the first three attempts at a start and, after that, the field only seemed to be able to complete one lap at a time. After seven yellow flags in the first seven laps, many of the fans around us were using some pretty colorful language to describe the Modifieds. Thank goodness that the drivers pulled themselves together and put on a pretty good race after the lap seven caution. On that restart the leader, Randy Zimmerman, was caught sleeping and was passed by Kelly Shryock right after the cone. Late in the race Shryock was able to hold off challenges from both Wayne Brooks and Jimmy Owens, but a red flag for a rollover by Randle Sweeney with two laps to go changed that. On the restart Brooks got a nice run as they picked up the white flag and flew by Shryock on the outside in turn two to take the win. Shryock held back Owens for second with Zimmerman and Kerry Norris completing the top five.

Three Last Chance races for the late models were up next. In the first one, Steve Shaver found the inside groove to his liking late in the race, just in time to nip Ronnie Johnson for the final transfer. Earl Pearson Jr. and Terry Phillips easily qualified out of the second one, while the third race had a little different type of drama. John Mason was running near the front when he spun going into turn one and backed up against the wall. Almost everybody was able to miss him except for Thomas Ware. Ware barely clipped the front of Mason’s car vaulting the young Kentucky driver up and over between turns one and two. “The Undertaker” as he is called, climbed out of his car and jubilantly waved his helmet to the crowd telling one of the officials that this was the first time that he had gotten upside-down and that he was proud to do it at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Track Prep” was next on the schedule, but it was so perfect that all that was needed was a sprinkling of the topside to keep the crumbs from drying out. At this point it looked as if many of the drivers who had stayed away from this event due to concerns about the toll that it would take mechanically may have been wrong, but up until now, the most laps that had been run at once was twelve. The true test was about to come in the Living Air 100. Mike Balzano was the class of the field early coming from the second row to walk away with the lead. Shannon Babb came from sixth to pick up the chase in second while Steve Shaver moved from twenty-fourth to twelfth in just eight laps. On lap twenty-four the trouble began.

The incredible speeds began to tear the center section out of wheels and shredding tires turning the event into a race of mechanical survival from there on. The casualty list looked like this:

Lap 24: Shannon Babb loses a right rear wheel while running second.

Lap 25: Terry English loses a left rear wheel

Lap 30: The right rear wheel tears off of the Jimmy Mars car

Billy Moyer

Lap 33: The leader, Mike Blazano, watches his race come to an end as his right rear wheel passes him unattached.

Lap 59: Billy Moyer shreds a right rear tire while in third

Lap 73: The second place car of Chub Frank loses his right rear wheel and, at the same time, the sixth place car of Scott Bloomquist shreds a right rear tire

Lap 84: Steve Francis has his right rear tire go flat.

This list would have definitely been longer had officials not decided to begin counting yellow flag laps after the halfway mark. Defending HAT champion Dale McDowell, who assumed the lead when Balzano dropped out, held on for the victory ahead of Wendell Wallace, Steve Shaver, Skip Arp and Booper Bare. It was a huge victory for McDowell who is still in search of a major sponsor as he tries to defend his Hav-A-Tampa title.

Even with all of the attrition in the feature race, this event was a huge success with a large car count, a perfect racetrack and an enormous crowd. As of this writing I have not yet heard any attendance figures, but it had to be at least 50,000. If this is to be held again in 2001, the wheel manufacturers will need to get busy right now as that is the only thing that will be needed to make it any better.

Terry Phillips

Random Notes from Bristol….Rain delayed the event for an hour on Saturday and during wheel-packing, the three track-packers entertained the crowd with some rubbing and bumping of their own. In fact, the packer with number 24 on it suffered a flat tire on two different occasions after contact with the number 3 and the number 8, requiring service from the infield tire center….There were three rollovers during the weekend. Randle Sweeney in a Modified, Thomas Ware in a late model and one of the Hav-A-Tampa officials took a tumble on his four-wheeler when he attempted to push one of the errant wheel and tires down the back stretch. He was a little red-faced, but not injured….The week before, while watching the World of Outlaws at Lowe’s on TNN, I noticed that the crowd would all stand up as soon as the green flag waved. Must be a Winston Cup thing as they did it at Bristol too. At most dirt tracks, the crowds know that when everybody sits, everybody sees, and at Knoxville the announcers even remind you to remain seated during the racing. I’m 6’3” so standing doesn’t bother me, but I think I’ll save this for an entirely different column….With several cautions and HAT’s rule of giving a driver three caution laps to change a tire the feature ended at 2:15 a.m. eastern time and that was only with a one hour delay. It was a long show, but it was worth it this time.

Donnie Moran

Jimmy Mars

On our way home Sunday we were able to catch four heats and two dashes for the World of Outlaws at Terre Haute before an annoying light rain set in and washed out the feature races. Joey Saldana will try to make it a clean sweep on July 17^th.

This week will be a busy one for us as we’ll be at Park Jefferson Speedway on Friday night as the NKF Modifieds run in support of the NCRA Sprint Car event there. We plan to stop in Knoxville on the way home Saturday for another night of NCRA Sprints. On Tuesday the NKF Mods will be at the Open Late Model Shootout at the Dubuque Speedway and then on Thursday night we’ll be at the Eldon Raceway as the NKF Modifieds and Hobby Stocks entertain the crowd at the Wapello County Fair. Stop by and say “Hi”.

The Final NKF Tour: Final Chapter

Before I get to that final race story and results, and the story of the end of the four year run of the National Kidney Foundation's Heartland Tour for a Cure, I want to share with you some thoughts on a few of the drivers that I have not yet talked about in this multi part story. 

I started watching Bruce Hanford race in 1981 when he would tow his Late Model down from Davenport every Saturday night to race at 34 Raceway. I remember wondering why it was that he would not race closer to home until I found out that his wife Carol was from Burlington. I got to know Bruce the following year when I started working for Larry Kemp at 34 and we have been good friends ever since. To this day I enjoy talking to Bruce about racing because he is a driver who has always been able to take a step back and see the big picture when it came to running a race track, or a racing series. Many of the decisions that I made in regard to how the NKF Tour was presented came from those conversations and it was great to have him win the 1999 Modified title.

The 2000 Modified champion Ron Barker was at the height of an illustrious career at the time and I am confident that if he would have had the opportunity, he would have been very successful on a major touring series such as the USMTS. His full time job kept him close to home though and he was quick to point out that the "twelve best finishes" method of doing the points was a big reason that he followed the Tour whenever he could. Even though he considered himself to be a part-time racer, he was a true professional and always a threat to win when he pulled through the gate.

The 2000 Hobby Stock Champion Dan Hanselman loved the fact his division was given the opportunity to race on a Tour that paid out a nice point fund. As the 1997 IMCA Super Nationals champion Dan was a big supporter of the NKF Tour from the moment that the first press release hit the Hawekeye Racing News. "if there is anything myself or my family can do to help out, don't hesitate to call me." Dan's biggest ask of me was to get the Hobby Stocks back in to Knoxville and I was glad to make that happen as one of the final events of the Tour.

The 2001 Modified champion Darin Thye has been one of my best friends in racing or away from racing since his Pro Stock days in the early 1990's. Even to this day I always make it a point to go visit Darin at the trailer after a night of racing knowing that no matter how good or bad the night may have gone, he will still be smiling, laughing and ready to have fun with friends. He and his father Bill were an amazing team and they had great success in both the Pro Stock and Modified and I am so glad that they were able to win the championship together. Darin lost his father suddenly in 2009 and he will be the first to admit that his performance on the track dropped off considerably after that. But now I am seeing that same championship level of teamwork developing between Darin and his son Dugan who is an up and coming driver in the winged Sprint Car ranks and I look forward to watching their success and enjoying a beer with them after each night for years to come.

Darin Thye in victory lane with his son Dugan - Photo by Dana Royer from Dugan's Facebook page

Rod Miller was fifty-one years old when he captured the 2001 Hobby Stock championship and we affectionately called him "Grandpa Rod". He was mild mannered and always greeted you with a smile, but he was a fierce competitor on the track and I believe that Rod became a much better racer by chasing the Tour and going to such a wide variety of tracks. He finished second in the 1999 points and third on the 2000 Tour so I will admit that I was cheering for him from day one to take the 2001 title. Rod will tell you that best part of racing the Tour was all of the great friends that he made along the way. Let's just say that Rod made it easy to become his friend.

There are so many other drivers and crew members that I became friends with through the four years of running the Tour that it would be impossible to list them all without leaving somebody off, so just know how much I appreciated your support during that time and how great it is to still see you at the track today!

I also want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help us at all of the tracks that we visited. You were there because you knew first hand what the individuals and families of those fighting kidney disease went through on a daily basis and you wanted to do whatever you could to help improve their lives. Even if that meant going to a hot, or cold night at a dusty, dirty, noisy race track to sell 50/50 tickets. I especially want to thank the staff at the Southeast Renal Dialysis Unit here in my hometown of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. First it was Sheila Kiesey leading the team and later Mary Liechty, but they were always willing to jump in and support the NKF Tour every chance that they could and those two were fantastic when it came time to do pre-event interviews on the area radio stations. The races that we held at Burlington, Donnellson, Columbus Junction and Bloomfield all benefited the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units and its three locations and I think that Judy Sanders worked events at all four tracks. Other volunteers that I have listed from there include Monica Wesely, Melissa Simmons, Cindy Lloyd, Kris Fuller, Jolene Walljasper, Sue Schinstock, Delaney Richards, Gail Thompson and Michelle Rosell.

Several of those listed above along with my wife Christine were on hand to work at the 2001 Shiverfest event that would be the final race in the four year run of the NKF Tour and they did a bang up job as the final tally for the day saw $2,348 going to help the patients at the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units. Plus, Bruce Hanford donated $225 to Genesis East Medical Center Dialysis in his hometown of Davenport to bring the total to $2,573. That team of volunteers, and many others would continue to help us out at Shiverfest for eight more years as Terry, Jenni and I continued to hold the event as a fundraiser for the Dialysis Units.

Here is the story and results from Shiverfest 2001 with bonus coverage of the other classes as well.

Hanford, Johnson and Miller Among Shiverfest Winners At Donnellson 

Donnellson, Iowa  – For the second straight year Mother Nature blessed the racers and fans at the Lee County Speedway’s Shiverfest event with sunny skies and warm October temperatures producing an evening full of fun and action. Bruce Hanford, Greg Johnson, Jeremy Miller, David Sugars and the team of Jeff DeLonjay and Herb Murray all found victory lane, while Darin Thye made a stellar run to edge out Dan Chapman for the NKF Heartland Tour Modified championship.

The Heartland Tour Modified finale had plenty of drama with three drivers in the hunt for the Tour championship, two drivers contending for the $1,000 Southern Bonus and two more drivers fighting it out for the $500 Northwest Bonus. Tony Fraise came from the second row to lead lap one of the twenty-lap race before title contender Dan Chapman eased past on lap two. With a win Chapman would force point leader Darin Thye to finish second to earn the Tour championship and with Thye starting in row nine, everything was looking good for the Clarence, Iowa, driver. As Chapman pulled away Thye fought his way to the front and on a lap ten caution he found himself in the seventh spot for the restart. The yellow also wiped out Chapman’s lead and he now had to deal with the 1999 Tour champion Bruce Hanford. Hanford applied the pressure and on lap fourteen moved by Chapman for the lead. With Chapman now in second Thye needed to finish in fourth to tie and third to win, and with just three laps remaining he was able to get by Boone McLaughlin for that third spot. At the checkers it was Hanford taking the win and the $1,000 Southern Bonus, Chapman was second and Thye was third giving the Burlington driver the Tour championship by four points. The third title contender, John Bull, had problems early and wound up fourteenth at the finish. Kevin Pospisil’s 18^th place run was good enough to earn the $500 Northwest Bonus and Deb Jacobsmeier from the Mt. Pleasant Wal Mart store pulled out the chip of Craig Reetz for the $1,000 Wal Mart Feature Winner’s Bonus.

Cody Townsend and Jim Lampe were early leaders in the NKF Hobby Stock feature before Travis Sherwood took the point on lap four. Greg Johnson stayed with the leader and on the final lap he was able to takeover the top spot down the backstretch for the lead and the victory. Sherwood was the runner-up with Tony Becerra third. Mike Jones came from eighteenth to finish fourth while Jeff Soper completed the top five. Rod Miller of Eldon was crowned the 2001 NKF Hobby Stock champion after the event.

Jeremy Miller powered away from Jim Lynch for the win in the Stock Car main event. Jason Cook, Brad Holtkamp and Phil McClure filled out the top five. In Roadrunner action David Sugars came from third to first on the final lap for the victory, while DeLonjay and Murray held off the persistent challenge of Jarrod Richie and Jason Heck for the Buddy Car checkers.

Shiverfest must again be considered a complete success as over $2,000 was raised for the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units in Mt. Pleasant, Burlington and Keokuk.

 

Results

Heartland Tour Modifieds

1^st Heat – 1. Tom Goble, Burlington 2. Tony Fraise, Montrose 3. Darin Duffy, Hazleton 4. Jamie Aikey, Cedar Falls

2^nd Heat – 1. Bruce Hanford, Davenport 2. Dan Helm, Milan IL 3. John Bull, Rock Island IL 4. Gary Dreyer, Fowler IL

3^rd Heat – 1. Dan Chapman, Clarence 2. Jim Roach, Kahoka MO 3. Jack Stotts, Trenton MO 4. Kelly Bartz, Quincy IL

4^th Heat – 1. Boone McLaughlin, Mediapolis 2. Cory Richards, Burlington 3. Jeff Gerhardt, Niota IL 4. Troy Cordes, Dewar

Scott’s Quality Seeds B-Mains

1^st – 1. Darin Thye, Burlington 2. Ron Barker, Dubuque 3. Jim Lynch, Bloomfield 4. Dan DeMey, Denison 5. David Holder, Clarence MO 6. Jon Orwig, Chariton 7. Jon Passick, Waterloo 8. Jim Powell, Hannibal MO 9. Michael Irwin, Keokuk

2^nd – 1. Paul Lawson, Fort Madison 2. Dave Hemsted, Lone Tree 3. Kit Hovey, Fort Dodge 4. Joe Hooper, Camp Point IL 5. Robbie Kincade, Trenton MO 6. Kevin Pospisil, Worthington MN 7. Jardin Fuller, Memphis MO 8. Charles Baker, Labelle MO 9. Michael Larson, Hannibal MO 10. Darin Weisinger, Mendon IL 11. Jim Kuhlmeier, Fort Madison

A-Main – 1. Hanford 2. Chapman 3. Thye 4. McLaughlin 5. Barker 6. Lynch 7. Fraise 8. Duffy 9. Roach 10. Gerhardt 11. Goble 12. DeMey 13. Stotts 14. Bull 15. Dreyer 16. Hemsted 17. Hovey 18. Pospisil 19. Aikey 20. Richards 21. Lawson 22. Cordes 23. Bartz 24. Helm 

 

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks

1^st Heat – 1. Bobby Greene, Tracy 2. Jim Lampe, Carroll 3. Ben Cloke, Douds 4. Matt Burgtorf, Quincy IL

2^nd Heat – 1. Greg Johnson, Burlington 2. Rod Miller, Eldon 3. Cody Townsend, Bloomfield 4. Robbie Rains, Bonaparte

3^rd Heat – 1. Gary White, Hamilton IL 2. Rodger Dresden, Keokuk 3. Travis Sherwood, Ottumwa 4. Kirk Kinsley, Wapello

4^th Heat – 1. Tony Becerra, Carthage IL 2. Kris Walker, Oskaloosa 3. Jeff Soper, Alexandria MO 4. Chad Krogmeier, Burlington

Scott’s Quality Seeds B-Mains:

1^st – 1. Bruce Summers, Hamilton IL 2. Tim Breuer, Oquawka IL 3. Rocky Fosdyck, Selma 4. Robert Kephart, Donnellson 5. Zach Sobaski, Washington 6. Patrick Profeta, Hamilton IL

2^nd – 1. Mike Jones, Waukon 2. David Breuer, Burlington 3. Mark Holt, Memphis MO 4. Robert Warner, Fort Madison 5. Bob Lynch, Ottumwa 6. Steve Landgrebe, Oskaloosa

A-Main – 1. Johnson 2. Sherwood 3. Becerra 4. Jones 5. Soper 6. Lampe 7. D. Breuer 8. Walker 9. Greene 10. Krogmeier 11. Cloke 12. Miller 13. T. Breuer 14. Fosdyck 15. Kinsley 16. Burgtorf 17. White 18. Holt 19. Rains 20. Mike Hiller, Dunkerton 21. Tim Staley, Muscatine 22. Summers 23. Townsend 24. Dresden

 

Stock Cars

A-Main – 1. Jeremy Miller, Batavia 2. Jim Lynch, Bloomfield 3. Jason Cook, Mt. Pleasant 4. Brad Holtkamp, Mt. Pleasant 5. Phil McClure, Floris 6. David Boyd, Conesville 7. Ryan Meyer, Wayland 8. Jim Redman, Lockridge 9. Harley Hill, Wayland MO 10. Josh Walker, Mystic 11. Jerry Pilcher, Ottumwa 12. Mike McClure, Bloomfield 13. Jerry McElderry, Altoona 14. Matt Greiner, Washington 15. Dennis Harwood, Mt. Pleasant 16. Lonnie Taylor, Bloomfield 17. Ryan Reece, Columbus IL 18. Mike Walrod, DeSoto 19. Jeremy Dooley, Plano 20. Randy McClure, Eldon 21. Chris Hawkins, Drakesville 22. Bert McDaniel, Eldon 23. Don Kanselaar, Centerville

 

Buddy Cars

A-Main – 1. Jeff DeLonjay/Herb Murray 2. Jarrod Richie/Jason Heck 3. Lance Stott/Paul Kropf 4. Tim Gerleman/Ray Tedrow 5. John & Jenni Peterson 6. Roger & Jeremy Brockett 7. Kris Smothers/J.J. Fleck 8. Jeff & Darren Skow

 

Road Runners

A-Main – 1. David Sugars 2. T.J. Newberry 3. Ed Balmer 4. Chris Wibbell 5. Richard Bank 6. David Burdette 7. Justin Hamilton 8. Jim Wilsey

Craig Reetz was the winner of the $1,000 Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus drawing

In the weeks leading up to this final race of the NKF Tour there was a lot going on behind the scenes. In August I had told XYZ that I would not be running the Tour for the NKF again in 2002 due to the lack of a title sponsor and XYZ then told me that it was probably for the best because the national office of the National Kidney Foundation had notified the Iowa affiliate that it would need to send 25% of the funds raised to the national office.

In hindsight now I wonder if that was even true, because the national offices had given the Tour an award in 1999 so it wasn't like they weren't already aware of what we were doing. And after the phantom meeting with US Cellular it should have been hard to believe anything that XYZ told me, but true or not that was just another reason to bring the Tour to an end. 

Then I had one last blast from the past come during the summer of 2002 when I received a phone call from a new member on the Board of Directors for the Iowa affiliate of the NKF. Apparently after being terminated from the position of Executive Director, XYZ had told the Board that I still owed the NKF all of the entry fee money that I had collected over the four years of running the Tour. The entry fee money that had already been more than spent on travel expenses, championship plaques, postage and the point funds over the past two years due to the lack of sponsorship. I calmly asked the gentleman for a fax number and within minutes I was able to send him the three page document that had served as the original business plan for the Heartland Tour for a Cure from 1998. I never heard from him again.

My search for new employment was also going on behind the scenes and I can best tell that story now, plus what my racing plans were at that time as I did when the Back Stretch finally returned to Hawkeye Racing News in October of 2001.

Yes, it has been awhile since the ol’ Back Stretch has been here and it has to do with some theories I have about talking about nothing but your own stuff. If you want more details, you’ll have to pump editor Rob. Of course it is against those theories that these words come before you today, because I’m primarily going to talk about me and what I’ve been doing, and what I’m probably going to be doing, in order to hopefully clear up any confusion. All that I’m thinking right now is “what a crummy lead paragraph for a racing column”. So, if you are bored already, please move on to some of the extensive coverage of the events held during the past week or check out some of the great action photography that now graces these pages each issue. Lance and all of the contributing photographers are doing a great job!

This all started last March when it became apparent that, for the second year in a row, the NKF Heartland Tour for a Cure would likely go without a “title sponsor”. The NKF had also repeated their concern with the liability aspect that goes along with dirt-track auto racing, plus there was a mention that a portion of the revenue raised at each event should be going to the national office rather than totally to the Dialysis Unit that had provided the volunteers to assist with the event. It was obvious that the NKF was not interested in continuing the Tour in 2002.

I wanted to “stay in racing” and with one of the finest sanctioning bodies anywhere located right here in Iowa, I made my situation known to IMCA’s Kathy Root. I was pleased that Kathy had an interest in adding me to the IMCA staff and, as the summer of 2001 unfolded, we were in contact from time-to-time to discuss the possibilities. As those of you who follow the NKF Tour know, the summer of 2001 was a busy one, as we presented thirty nights of racing in June, July and August, including one stretch of eighteen races in thirty-four nights. Now I know that as a parent your work schedule sometimes keeps you from seeing your children’s activities. But I missed too many baseball games this year and the problem is that you don’t realize how bad you feel about it until you get the report at midnight on a cell phone. “I pitched two innings for the JV team tonight.” “Hey Dad, I made a diving catch for the final out and we won by one!”

September came and I was thrilled to accept a position at IMCA as the Director of Track Relations. I would be in charge of recruiting and securing new tracks as well as assisting promoters who are already sanctioned. I was very excited about the position primarily because I knew that the base premise of IMCA, providing exciting economical weekly racing, is a proven success. Believe me, it is much easier to sell a good product to someone. Day one on the new job went well for me, but as day two unfolded something became clear to me that, for some stupid reason, never crossed my mind before. For me to achieve the results for IMCA that I would have expected from myself, I would have wanted to be on the road constantly, at trades shows, promoters workshops, and at racetracks throughout the United States. Obviously, this would not have meshed well with my desire to be here in Mt. Pleasant as my three wonderful children danced, sang, and played just about every sport that is offered to them. So after just two days, I regretfully resigned the position. So when you hear “rumor has it that Jeff Broeg is going to work for IMCA”, it wasn’t just a rumor. And, if you are a promoter who I think would benefit from being IMCA sanctioned on a weekly basis, don’t be surprised if I drop you a line this off-season to emphasize the benefits involved. I’ve had years of experience with these people, not just the two days that I was in the office, and I can guarantee you that Kathy Root, Brett Root, Rick Haefner, Kevin Yoder, Bill Martin, Tom Herbert and the entire staff at IMCA are doing everything they can to achieve the difficult task of balancing the goals of the promoters, drivers and fans alike. I’m just sorry that, at this time, I’m unable to be a part of the team.

That brings me to this point. During the Budweiser Nationals at Donnellson, $1,700 was raised for the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units. Over $3,000 went to the National Kidney Foundation from the Tour event held at Mike Henry’s Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas. The Dialysis Unit in Independence benefited from the generosity of Waterloo Tool Storage and the race fans at the Independence Motor Speedway to the tune of $1,710 and the fine folks at the Callaway Raceway in Fulton donated $1,000 to the Central Missouri Kidney Centers from their event. These are just some of the higher totals as every event has been important on our way to raising nearly $20,000 for Dialysis patients this year. At the “Tour for a Cure Weekend” at Knoxville we raised $2,242 for the Pella Hospital Dialysis Unit and when the volunteers from the unit heard that there would not likely be a Tour in 2002, they said, “This is one of our most successful fund-raisers! What can we do to help?”  And, when Ralph Capitani told me that the “Tour for a Cure Weekend” was on the Knoxville Raceway schedule for September 20^th and 21^st of 2002, I decided to explore the possibilities. There will be some major changes if the Heartland Tour is to return next year, including a schedule that will have significantly fewer events on it. The nice thing is that at least one of my three children work with me at each race, so family will still come first. We’ll keep you updated on how it turns out. We’ll try to make the Back Stretch more of a priority in 2002 as well. Have a great off-season!

So yes, I was an IMCA employee for all of two days and if you want to know why my thoughts went toward spending time with my family, consider that even though I had accepted the position in late August my first day on the job was Monday, September 17th, 2001.

Knowing that I had the two day show at Knoxville, plus Shiverfest to serve as anchors I thought that whatever I would end up doing as a full-time job would still allow me to run up to a ten event series where the promoters could choose the charity that they wanted to donate the proceeds to. Obviously we would continue to benefit the Southeast Renal Dialysis Unit with Shiverfest and "Cappy" had indicated that he would support the Pella Dialysis Unit as well, and I thought that it would be interesting to see who the other tracks would choose. I sent out a proposal letter to a select group of promoters explaining the changes and why they were being made and then waited for their response.

In the meantime I put a wrap on the 2001 NKF Tour

2001 NKF Heartland Tour To Distribute $18,325 In Point Funds And Bonuses 

Mt. Pleasant IA  – The National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure recently completed a very busy schedule and soon $18,325 in point funds and bonuses will be distributed to Modified and Hobby Stock drivers throughout the Midwest.

Darin Thye of Burlington, Iowa, made an impressive run from seventeenth to third in the final event of the year to take the Modified title by just four points over Dan Chapman of Clarence, Iowa. In the Hobby Stocks it was all Rod Miller in 2001 as the veteran Eldon, Iowa, driver put together an impressive season and clinched the championship with several races left on the schedule.

The Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus of $1,000 goes to Craig Reetz of Dunlap, Iowa. Bruce Hanford of Davenport, Iowa, nailed down the $1,000 Southern Bonus with his season-ending victory at Donnellson, and Worthington, Minnesota, driver Kevin Pospisil will collect the $500 Northwest Bonus. The $200 Hobby Stock Northwest Bonus will also be spent in Worthington as Rick Soules collected that prize and Bill Yeast of Knoxville, Iowa, earned the $300 Hawkeyeland Bonus sponsored in part by Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlors.

The 2001 NKF Tour raised $19,300 for individuals and families affected by kidney disease and hopefully alerted several thousand race fans to the early warning signs of the disease. “We didn’t have a title sponsor for the second straight year,” stated Tour Director Jeff Broeg, “but once again we had the support of several businesses that helped make the Tour successful.” Sponsors included Scott’s Quality Seeds of Mt. Pleasant, the Mt. Pleasant Wal Mart store and Happy Joe’s. Racing related sponsors who distributed product certificates throughout the 2001 Tour were Midwest Motorsports, Race Mart, McDaniel Racing Enterprises, Real Racing Wheels, Kosiski Racing Products, Aero Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products and Wayne Larson Racing Specialists.

There were forty-eight events on the 2001 Tour and nearly half of the money raised for the Dialysis Units came from ten of those events. “Those ten events all had something in common,” said Broeg. “They had good car counts running for a solid purse, they had the support of local sponsors and they all had good crowds in attendance. Everybody was a winner, the drivers, the fans, the promoter and the Dialysis Unit.” Broeg is using the common elements from those events to make changes for the 2002 Tour including a minimum purse structure for both divisions and a more common rules package for the Modifieds. “We won’t have as many races on the schedule next year,” stated Broeg, “but it pleases me to know that what we are proposing has proven successful on several occasions.” The 2002 Heartland Tour already has three exciting events to build a schedule around. The Tour will return to the Mighty Howard County Fair in Cresco on Thursday, June 27^th. The 2^nd Annual “Tour for a Cure Weekend” will be at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday and Saturday, September 20^th and 21^st, and the 4^th Annual Shiverfest event in Donnellson will likely close out the Tour once again on October 19^th, 2002.

The NKF Heartland Tour for a Cure is once again very proud to publicly show how its point funds and bonuses are to be distributed.

 

Modifieds                                                       Points              Point Fund/Bonus

1. Darin Thye, Burlington IA                         571                  $2,500

2. Dan Chapman, Clarence IA                       567                  $1,750

3. John Bull, Rock Island IL                          522                  $1,250

4. Ron Barker, Dubuque IA                           513                  $1,000

5. Bruce Hanford, Davenport IA                    501                  $1,900*

6. Darin Duffy, Hazelton IA                          491                  $750

7. Corey Dripps, Cedar Falls IA                     414                  $600

8. Dan DeMey, Denison IA                            272                  $500

9. Tom Goble, Burlington IA                         270                  $450

10. Bob Dominacki, Bettendorf IA                258                  $400

Craig Reetz, Dunlap IA                                                          $1,000**

Kevin Pospisil, Worthington MN                                           $500***

 

* Includes $1,000 Southern Bonus

** Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus

*** Northwest Bonus

 

Hobby Stocks                                                 Points              Point Fund/Bonus

1. Rod Miller, Eldon IA                                 590                  $1,000

2. Jim Lampe, Carroll IA                               503                  $875

3. Dan Hanselman, Algona IA                       439                  $750

4. Mike Grantham, Clarksville IA                  361                  $600

5. Kit Hovey, Fort Dodge IA                         307                  $500

6. Jeff Zehr, Manson IA                                 306                  $400

7. David Smith, Lake City IA                        276                  $350

8. Matt Strassheim, Sperry IA                       211                  $300

9. Doug McCollough, Webster City IA         192                  $250

10. Jeremy Moellers, Elma IA                       175                  $100

      Kevin Donlan, Mabel MN                        175                  $100

Bill Yeast, Knoxville IL                                                         $300*

Rick Soules, Worthington MN                                               $200**

 

* Happy Joe’s Hawkeyeland Bonus

** Northwest Bonus

As you can see from the final paragraph in that story Tom Barnes was once again the first to respond to our Event Proposal for the new Tour in 2002 booking us for The Mighty Howard County Fair, but overall the response was tepid. I had been doing the morning news on air and selling advertising for KILJ while looking for other jobs and just prior to Thanksgiving I was given the opportunity to get back into the Direct Mail business as an Account Manager at Experian right here in my hometown of Mount Pleasant. With only four events on a potential 2002 Tour, I contacted Tom Barnes and Ralph Capitani to let them know that I was scrapping those plans.

After four years I was still not happy with how the changes in the Postal Service had put an end to my business in 1997, but it was a business that I knew and I would once again be working with some great people that I had known from the past. Even though the company has been through four name changes, I am now in my twentieth year of doing that job and while it keeps me very busy each and every day, it also gives me the flexibility and the where with all to be able to enjoy the sport that I love and tell you stories about it right here in the modern version of the Back Stretch.

As I noted in the first paragraph of this long story, I could not be prouder of what we accomplished with the NKF Tour and even though I had issues with one employee of the Iowa affiliate over the final two years, I will always stand up and encourage you to support the National Kidney Foundation. Just click that link to make a donation to benefit the NKF serving Iowa and Nebraska and support the individuals and families who are affected by kidney disease.

The Final NKF Tour (Part Six)

The Tour was headed into its final two months of existence and the only people that knew that was myself and a soon to be new employer of mine that I will reveal a little later on. XYZ was still telling me that there were some good leads for a corporate sponsor for s 2002 NKF Tour and we agreed that some of the surplus sponsorship money from the 1998 Tour would be used toward the payment of the 2001 point fund. So at least I knew that my financial responsibility would drop from over $18,000 to just under $9,000 to get the drivers paid for what had been promised on the assumption that a title sponsor would have been signed long ago.

Our next event was to be our first appearance at the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan and a fantastic field of fifty Modifieds signed in. Credit to Jim Brennan for the following story and results

( NICHOLSON & SMITH NKF TOUR FOR A CURE FEATURE WINNERS AT SCS )

Jim Brennan

(Harlan, Iowa, 9/03/01) The National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure came to

Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa on Labor Day Budweiser Modified Madness and

John Nicholson and Dustin Smith grabbed the feature wins in the Modified and Hobby Stock

Feature events.

The NKF Modified 25 lap A-Feature saw Lonn Schlueter grab the early lead from his

outside front row starting position. But on the back chute Nicholson made the pass for

the lead as they completed the 1st lap. Jeff Stephens came up to challenge Nicholson

on the high side of the track. But on lap 13 Stephens ducked low and took the lead away

going back to the high side. Nicholson did everything he could to retake the lead. But on

lap 18 Nicholson regained the lead as Stephens dropped out with mechanical woes.

Nicholson then held off the last lap challenge of Craig Reetz to take the win and the

$1,000 first prize. Danny McKeighan was the hard charger of the race going from a

16th position start to a 4th place finish behind Brian Foote.

The NKF Hobby Stock 12 lap A-Feature belonged to the Smith brothers, Dustin

and David. Dustin grabbed the lead at the drop of the green from his pole starting

position with Rick Christensen in 2nd and David Smith in 3rd. On lap 3 David moved to

2nd and began to put pressure on Dustin. But Dustin was able to withstand the challenge

and a last lap bobble by David to win going away. Christensen held on for 3rd ahead

of Craig Daringer, Rod Hansen and Donovan Smith.


Results

NKF Hobby Stocks

A-Feature: 1. 85 Dustin Smith, Lake City, 2. 8 David Smith, Lake City, 3. 70
Rick Christensen, Audobon, 4. 4d Craig Daringer, Persia, 5. 42 Rod Hansen,
Audobon, 6. 3S Bryan Snell, Coon Raipds, 7. 27x Jim Lampe, Carroll,
8. 35 Donovan Smith, Lake City, 9. 89 Rob Shimer, Avoca, 10. 98 Darrick
Rohe, Audobon, 11. Kurt Mackie, Omaha, 12. Allen Embree, Massena,
13. Tony Pogeler, Alta, 14. Kevin Streck, Schleswig, 15. Dustin Olofson,
Minden, 16. Barry Sandeman, Creston, 17. Scot Willey, Persia, 18. Josh
Filmer, Lake City

1st Heat: 1. Donovon Smith, 2. Lampe, 3. Daringer, 4. Christensen, 5. Shimer

2nd Heat: 1. Dustin Smith, 2. David Smith, 3. Hansen, 4. Pogeler, 5. Willey

NKF Modifieds

A-Feature: 1. 63j John Nicholson, Plattsmouth, Ne., 2.1 Craig Reetz, Dunlap,
3. 43 Brian Foote, Essex, Ia., 4. z62 Danny McKeighan, Co. Bluffs, 5. 15jj
Lonn Schlueter, Atlantic, 6. 14 Matt Bonine, Onawa, 7. 2r Dale Ransom,
Denison, 8. 93 Rick Germar, Red Oak, 9. 22BW Pat Graham, Story City,
10. 43x Dan Mueller, Griswold, 11. Brad Madsen, Kimballton, 12. Dave
Hulsebus, Harlan, 13. Bart Schmidt, Harlan, 14. B. J. Bruck, Portsmouth,
15. Chris Hogan, Lenox, 16. Dan DeMey, Denison, 17. Jeff James, Stanton,
18. Adam Murdock, Co. Bluffs, 19. 2K Chad Preul, Harlan, 20. Rich Hesse,
Sioux City, 21. Brad McEwan, Alta, 22. Jeff Stephens, Arion, 23. Scott
Carlson, Co. Bluffs, 24. Don Doebelin Jr., Co. Bluffs, 25. Jon Schwartz,
Omaha, 26. Red Monson, Harlan

1st Heat: 1. Stephens, 2. Schwartz, 3. Schmidt

2nd Heat: 1. Ransom, 2. Germar, 3. Murdock

3rd Heat: 1. Bonine, Graham, 3. Schluetter

4th Heat: 1. Madsen, 2. Hogan, 3. McEwan

5th Heat: 1. Reetz, 2. Nicholson, 3. Foote

1st B-Feature: 1. McKeighan, 2. Bruck, 3. Preul

2nd B-Feature: 1. Monson, 2. Doebelin, 3. Hulsebus

3rd B-Feature: 1. Carlson, 2. Hesse, 3. DeMey

NKF Tour for a Cure Weekend Set for Knoxville

Knoxville IA – The National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Modifieds and Hobby Stocks will visit the world famous Knoxville Raceway on Friday and Saturday, September 21^st and 22^nd, for the Tour For a Cure Weekend At Knoxville.

The Heartland Tour for a Cure is winding down its fourth season of providing race fans with on-track action while raising money to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by kidney disease. Volunteers representing the Pella Hospital Dialysis Unit in Pella will be at the Knoxville Raceway to assist with the event with proceeds from the fifty/fifty raffle going directly to the unit for patient assistance. The Heartland Tour for a Cure has also been nationally recognized for its efforts to communicate the early signs of kidney disease and the importance of early detection.

The NKF Tour has visited the Knoxville Raceway each of the past two seasons, but this will be the first time that the Tour’s Modified and Hobby Stock divisions will be the featured event. “We are looking for drivers from throughout the Midwest to be on hand,” commented NKF Tour Director Jeff Broeg. “Not only do they get an opportunity to race at the premier dirt-track facility in the world, they get to do it for a purse that is solid from top to bottom.” Both divisions will run a full program of heat races, last-chance qualifiers and a feature event each night. On Friday night the Modifieds will run for $700-to-win and $100-to-start while the Hobby Stocks will see a purse that pays $400-to-win and $75-to-start. Saturday night, $1,000 will go to the Modified feature winner while it will pay $155-to-start, and in the Hobby Stocks the feature winner will collect $700 with all feature competitors making at least $115.

The pit gate will open at 3:00 p.m. with hot laps at 6:00 and racing at 6:45 both nights.

Before going to Knoxville though we had another great night of racing on tap at 34 Raceway west of Burlington

McLaughlin and Kinsley Go The Distance For NKF Wins At 34 Raceway 

Burlington, Iowa (September 15) – Boone McLaughlin fought off a late charge by Tom Goble and Kirk Kinsley kept a determined Jayson Ditsworth in his rear view mirror as they earned feature victories during the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure event at 34 Raceway Saturday night.

McLaughlin and fellow front-row starter Donovan Lodge made contact on lap one of the Modified main event while racing down the backstretch with Lodge nearly climbing the retaining wall. This sent the field scrambling and while both McLaughlin and Lodge were able to continue, several drivers found themselves with broken racecars. On the restart McLaughlin assumed the lead and looked as if he would cruise throughout the twenty-lap distance. As the laps wound down however, Tom Goble closed in on the leader and during the final lap Goble was able to pull alongside McLaughlin on two occasions. Boone held his line though and had the momentum to take the checkers by a car length. John Bull, Cory Richards and current point leader Darin Thye completed the top five.

The fifteen-lap Hobby Stock main event ran non-stop and there was no stopping Kirk Kinsley either as he picked up his first feature win of the season. Jayson Ditsworth stayed close, but could not mount a serious challenge from second. Chris Webb, John Oliver Jr. and Phillip Beard filled out the top five.

Results

Heartland Tour Modifieds

1^st Heat – 1. Donovan Lodge, Andover IL 2. Tim Tucker, Lomax IL 3. Boone McLaughlin, Mediapolis 4. John Bull, Rock Island IL

2^nd Heat – 1. Tom Goble, Burlington 2. Dennis LaVeine, Burlington 3. Darin Duffy, Hazelton 4. Bill Roberts, Burlington

3^rd Heat – 1. Cory Richards, Burlington 2. Dave Goble, Burlington 3. Joey Schaefer, Waterloo 4. Bob Dale, Gorin MO

A-Main – 1. McLaughlin 2. T. Goble 3. Bull 4. Richards 5. Darin Thye, Burlington 6. LaVeine 7. Tucker 8. D. Goble 9. Scott Fridley, Mechanicsville 10. Jim Kuhlmeier, Fort Madison 11. Rob Hillyer, Hills 12. Jerry Bliesener Jr., Burlington 13. Scott Boles, Mount Pleasant 14. Schaefer 15. Lodge 16. Duffy 17. Roberts 18. Dale 19. Elmer Arnold, Mediapolis 20. Ed Hollenbeck, Burlington

 

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks

1^st Heat – 1. Tony Becerra, Carthage IL 2. Phillip Beard, Winfield 3. Kirk Kinsley, Wapello 4. Scott Donlan, Princeton IL

2^nd Heat – 1. John Oliver Jr., Burlington 2. Matt Strassheim, Sperry 3. Dave Breuer, Burlington 4. Tim Staley, Muscatine

3^rd Heat – 1. Chris Webb, Biggsville IL 2. Jayson Ditsworth, Gladstone IL 3. Chad Krogmeier, Burlington 4. Craig Beck, Burlington

A-Main – 1. Kinsley 2. Ditsworth 3. Webb 4. Oliver Jr. 5. Beard 6. Strassheim 7. Beck 8. D. Breuer 9. Donlan 10. Staley 11. Tim Breuer, Burlington 12. Roger Krieger, Burlington 13. Boe McLaughlin, Mediapolis 14. Krogmeier 15. Becerra 16. Kyle Chriswell, Burlington 17. Brandon Symmonds, Keokuk 18. Matt Krieger, Burlington

The two day show at Knoxville was now upon us and I cannot tell you how grateful I was to Ralph Capitani and the Marion County Fair Board for giving us the opportunity to present this event at one of the most legendary dirt tracks in all the world. I know that I wanted to present the best racing possible, and the drivers in both divisions wanted to do so as well. Here is the procedure sheet that was passed out to all drivers as they checked in. I was especially proud of the claiming procedures and the final statement in that regard.

Qualifying Procedure For Both Nights

If there are:

Three Heats: The top six in each heat will qualify for the A with the top four to re-draw. There will be one B-Main with the top four advancing to the A.

Four Heats: The top four from each heat will advance to the A with the top three to re-draw. There will be two B-Mains with the top three from each advancing to the A.

Six Heats: The top three from each heat will advance to the A with the top two to re-draw. There will be two B-Mains with the top two from each to advance to the A.

Eight Heats: The top two from each heat will advance to the A with the winners only to re-draw. If there are less than eighty total cars in the division there will be three B-Mains with the top two from each advancing to the A. If there are eighty or more cars in the division there will be six B-Mains with the winner only advancing to the A.

All cars who qualify must report to the tech area immediately following the qualifying event.

There will be two NKF Tour Provisionals added to the A-Main. These will be awarded to the two drivers who rank the highest in the NKF Tour point standings who did not qualify after competing in both a heat and B-Main. (Must take the green in both a heat and a B)

 

“One Yellow” Rule During Heats and B-Mains

If a driver causes one caution by stopping on the track during the heats and B’s, that driver will be sent to the pits for that event. During the A-Main a driver will be sent to the pits after being involved in two cautions. Track officials will be more than ready to use the black flag for rough driving.

 

Claiming Procedure

In the A-Main, the top four drivers are eligible to be claimed by a driver who is fifth on back and on the lead lap. The top four must report directly to the Claim area and the claiming driver must also report directly to the claim area with cash on hand. ($525 for Modifieds and $325 for Hobby Stocks). Remainder of the claim rules will follow the procedures set forth by the Lee County Speedway rules that will be posted near the line-up board.

Due to the fact that several of our competitors are far from home and would not be able to make arrangements to compete on Saturday night after losing a motor to a claim, we will proceed as follows on Friday night:

Any motor that has been claimed or exchanged will be “tagged” and must be used on Saturday night. At the conclusion of Saturday’s racing the motor(s) will be pulled, however if there is evidence of a “blown motor” for either the claimed motor or the motor to be exchanged, the claim or exchange will be null and void. If a driver who has been claimed does not return on Saturday night, then the claimer has only the satisfaction of eliminating that motor from competition on Saturday.

 

Please Note: If your primary purpose of being here is to claim a motor, please return to the pit gate immediately for a full refund.

 

Thanks For Coming! Have Fun and Good Luck!

Chapman and Lampe Take Tour for a Cure Opener At Knoxville

Knoxville, Iowa (September 21) - When the world famous Knoxville Raceway opened its gates to the Modifieds and Hobby Stocks of the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Friday night there was plenty of drivers waiting to get in. Seventy-two Modifieds and eighty-two Hobby Stocks filled the pits and after a full night of action it was Dan Chapman of Clarence and Jim Lampe of Carroll in victory lane.

Chapman started on the inside of row two for the twenty-lap Modified main event, but it only took him one circuit to get by front-row starters Gary Clark and Mark Widmar. As Chapman began to build his lead, defending NKF Tour champion Ron Barker moved from sixth to second and tried to keep pace. As the leaders continued to seperate themselves from the field there was plenty of action behind them with Tim Folkerts and Mike Spaulding making impressive runs to the front. At the checkers, Chapman enjoyed a solid lead over the runner-up Barker, with Folkerts coming from the eleventh row to finish third. Spaulding passed Tommy Myer in the final laps to finish fourth after starting ninteenth while Myer completed the top five.

It was a wild night in the Hobby Stock ranks as Don Wear, Lee Fite and Brad Schipper all took wild rides rolling their cars during the qualifying events. In the fifteen-lap feature, Adam Speicher and Brad Stephens started on the front row and on lap two, as they raced for the lead down the frontstretch, they made contact sending Speicher into a spin that saw his car dig in and execute a perfect ³Fosbury Flop² over the infield guardrail and into victory lane where his car rested upside down. Behind them, Mike Grantham also ended up on his lid during the scramble. All drivers walked away un-injured during the evening¹s incidents. When the race resumed Jim Lampe acquired the lead with Kevin Donlan and Rick VanDusseldorp in hot pursuit. The top three waged quite a battle, but their positions remained the same to the finish. Jeremy Moellers had to come from the ninth row of his B-Main just to qualify for the feature and he then raced his way from eighteenth to fourth. Damon Murty completed the top five.

Another full program of NKF Modifieds and Hobby Stocks is set for Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway.

Results
Heartland Tour Modifieds
1st Heat - 1. Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie MN 2. John VanDenBerg, Oskaloosa
2nd Heat - 1. Mark Widmar, Ottumwa 2. Corey Dripps, Cedar Falls
3rd Heat - 1. Ron Barker, Dubuque 2. Rick Gustin, Marshalltown
4th Heat - 1. Dan Chapman, Clarence 2. Denny Stoneburner, Boone
5th Heat - 1. Jim Moody, Odessa MO 2. Jerry Hoffman, Oranogo MO
6th Heat - 1. Gary Clark, Walker MO 2. Darin Duffy, Hazelton
7th Heat - 1. Mike Hughes, Rose Hill 2. Jeff Schroyer, Marshalltown
8th Heat - 1. Jerry Pilcher, Bloomfield 2. Joe McBirnie, Boone
1st B-Main - 1. Kevin Pittman, Waterloo 2. Mark Elliott, Webster City 3. Jeremy Tibben, Red Oak 4. Troy Folkerts, Albia 5. David Brown, Kellogg 6. John Fellman, Blue Grass
2nd B-Main - 1. Brad McEwan, Storm Lake 2. Tim Folkerts, Albia 3. Rod Scheuermann, Jefferson 4. Mike VanGenderen, Newton 5. Danny Wallace, Des Moines 6. Shawn Ryan, Waterloo
3rd B-Main - 1. Mike Spaulding, Bemidji MN 2. Bruce Hanford, Davenport 3. Scott Hogan, Vinton 4. Russ Olson, Cedar Rapids 5. Josh Truman, Indianola 6. Jon Orwig, Chariton
A-Main - 1. Chapman 2. Barker 3. Tim Folkerts 4. Spaulding 5. Myers 6. Hughes 7. Pilcher 8. Clark 9. Gustin 10. Hanford 11. VanDenBerg 12. Dripps 13. McBirnie 14. Elliott 15. Duffy 16. Scheuermann 17. Stoneburner 18. Dan DeMey, Denison 19. Widmar 20. McEwan 21. Schroyer 22. Pittman 23. Moody 24. Hoffman

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks
1st Heat - 1. Carl Knight, Des Moines 2. Randy Embrey, Granger
2nd Heat - 1. Kevin Donlan, Mabel MN 2. Jeff Larson, New Hampton
3rd Heat - 1. Damon Murty, Chelsea 2. Justin Maschke, Des Moines
4th Heat - 1. Brad Stephens, Bussey 2. Jeff Zehr, Manson
5th Heat - 1. Adam Speicher, Fredericksburg 2. Mike Grantham, Clarksville
6th Heat - 1. Jim Lampe, Carroll 2. Doug McCollough, Webster City
7th Heat - 1. Kris Walker, Oskaloosa 2. Mike Shelton, Ottumwa
8th Heat - 1. Rick VanDusseldorp, Oskaloosa 2. Jeff Featherstone, Des Moines
1st B-Main - 1. Ryan Lundy, Knoxville 2. Neil Follett, Conrad 3. Mike Robinson, Moravia 4. Michael Schmidt, Knoxville 5. Bobby Greene, Tracy 6. Ben Hoesing, Perry
2nd B-Main - 1. Jeremy Moellers, Elma 2. Dan Feltus, Allison 3. Doug Seidl, Coon Rapids
4. Josh Reynolds, Stuart 5. Steve Landgrebe, Oskaloosa 6. Mike Thomas, Des Moines
3rd B-Main - 1. Chris Webb, Biggsville IL 2. Adam Hagen, West Des Moines 3. Craig Roberts, Des Moines 4. Roger Krieger, Burlington 5. Scott Donlan, Princeton IL 6. John Thoren, Ankeny
A-Main - 1. Lampe 2. K. Donlan 3. VanDusseldorp 4. Moellers 5. Murty 6. Shelton 7. Matt Strassheim, Sperry 8. Stephens 9. McCollough 10. Lundy 11. Hagen 12. Embrey 13. Rod Miller, Eldon 14. Knight 15. Feltus 16. Featherstone 17. Webb 18. Maschke 19. Larson 20. Speicher 21. Grantham 22. Zehr 23. Walker 24. Follett 

Barker and Donlan Take NKF Wins On Night Number Two At Knoxville 

Knoxville, Iowa (September 22)  – Ron Barker of Dubuque, Iowa, and Kevin Donlan of Mabel, Minnesota, were the class of two solid fields of cars on night number two of the NKF Tour for a Cure weekend at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night.

Barker, the defending Heartland Tour for a Cure Modified champion, was hooked up all night long winning the sixth heat race in convincing fashion. Drawing the pole position for the twenty-lap finale, Barker quickly jumped to a solid advantage with the remainder of the field trying to keep pace. Bruce Hanford, the 1999 NKF Tour champion, moved to second and, after a lap twelve caution, made a solid bid for the lead on the restart. Hanford nosed ahead briefly on the inside of turns one and two, but Barker rode the cushion to perfection and regained the lead down the backstretch. Hanford was able to stay within striking distance over the final laps, but there was no catching Barker as he collected the $1,000 top prize. Friday night’s winner, Dan Chapman, put on quite a show coming from the sixth row to finish third while Mike Spaulding came home fourth for the second night in a row. Tommy Myer completed the top five.

It was a much calmer night in the Hobby Stock ranks with only one major incident when Chris Webb took a hard ride in turn three during an early heat race. Rick VanDusseldorp came from the third starting hole to take the lead on lap one of the fifteen-lap main event, but he had plenty of company behind him. First it was John Oliver Jr. making the challenge, but only until Kevin Donlan was able to pick his way through the field after starting ninth. After racing door-to-door for a couple of laps, Donlan pulled to the front as VanDusseldorp slowed with a flat tire. With the laps slipping away Brad Stephens made one last charge that came up just short as Donlan earned the $700 winner’s check. Stephens came from row nine for the runner-up honors while Oliver, Jeff Zehr and Steve Holthaus came to the finish three-wide to finish third, fourth and fifth.

Not only was the Tour for a Cure weekend at the Knoxville Raceway full of racing action, the event also raised $2,251 for the Pella Hospital Dialysis Unit to use for patient assistance.

 

Results

Heartland Tour Modifieds

1^st Heat – 1. Rick Gustin, Marshalltown 2. Jeremy Tibben, Red Oak

2^nd Heat – 1. Shawn Ryan, Waterloo 2. Scott Hogan, Vinton

3^rd Heat – 1. Mike Spaulding, Bemidji MN 2. Dan Chapman, Clarence

4^th Heat – 1. Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie MN 2. John VanDenBerg, Oskaloosa

5^th Heat – 1. Mike Hughes, Rose Hill 2. Mark Widmar, Ottumwa

6^th Heat – 1. Ron Barker, Dubuque 2. Kevin Pittman, Waterloo

7^th Heat – 1. Tim Folkerts, Albia 2. Lonn Schluetter, Atlantic

8^th Heat – 1. Bruce Hanford, Davenport 2. Jerry Pilcher, Bloomfield

1^st B-Main – 1. Brad Pinkerton, New Sharon 2. Troy Folkerts, Albia 3. Mark Elliott, Webster City 4. Richard VonKrog, Toledo 5. Dennis Elliott, Mount Ayr 6. Jake Durbin, Perry

2^nd B-Main – 1. Tim Donlinger, Rochester MN 2. David Brown, Kellogg 3. Rod Scheuermann, Jefferson 4. Dave Elson, Springfield MO 5. Russ Olson, Cedar Rapids 6. Jim Moody, Odessa MO

3^rd B-Main – 1. Gary Clark, Walker MO 2. Joe McBirnie, Boone 3. Corey Dripps, Cedar Falls 4. Mike Vermillion, What Cheer 5. Howard Hall, Columbia MO 6. Denny Stoneburner, Boone

A-Main – 1. Barker 2. Hanford 3. Chapman 4. Spaulding 5. Myer 6. VanDenBerg 7. Tim Folkerts 8. Pinkerton 9. Clark 10. Donlinger 11. Troy Folkerts 12. Gustin 13. Pilcher 14. Darin Thye, Burlington 15. Hogan 16. Ryan 17. McBirnie 18. Widmar 19. Schluetter 20. Brown 21. Hughes 22. Pittman 23. Tibben 24. Darin Duffy, Hazelton

 

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks

1^st Heat – 1. Adam Speicher, Fredericksburg 2. Rick VanDusseldorp, New Sharon 3. Mike Grantham, Clarksville

2^nd Heat – 1. Justin Humpal, New Hampton 2. Steve Adams, Chariton 3. Kevin Tanner, Russell

3^rd Heat – 1. Roger Krieger, Burlington 2. Louis Lynch, Lancaster MO 3. Leland Mitchell, Bondurant

4^th Heat – 1. Ben Hoesing, Perry 2. Damon Murty, Chelsea 3. Matt Strassheim, Sperry

5^th Heat – 1. John Oliver Jr., Burlington 2. Steve Holthaus, Cresco 3. Brad Stephens, Bussey

6^th Heat – 1. Kevin Donlan, Mabel MN 2. Jeff Zehr, Manson 3. Adam Hagen, West Des Moines

1^st B-Main – 1. Jim Lampe, Carroll 2. Jeff Larson, New Hampton 3. Mike Shelton, Ottumwa 4. Travis Weuve, State Center 5. Bill Dawson, Des Moines 6. Dennis Kimmel, Des Moines

2^nd B-Main – 1. Jeremy Moellers, Elma 2. Doug McCollough, Webster City 3. Kris Walker, Oskaloosa 4. Mike Bunch, Des Moines 5. Michael Schmidt, Knoxville 6. Randy Casner, Milo

A-Main – 1. Donlan 2. Stephens 3. Oliver Jr. 4. Zehr 5. Holthaus 6. Krieger 7. Lampe 8. Moellers 9. Speicher 10. Larson 11. Murty 12. Humpal 13. Hoesing 14. Tanner 15. Shelton 16. Hagen 17. Adams 18. Strassheim 19. Grantham 20. Mitchell 21. Derrick Rohe, Audubon 22. VanDusseldorp 23. McCollough 24. Lynch

Knoxville’s Tour For A Cure Weekend A Success 

Knoxville IA  – The National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Weekend at the Knoxville Raceway proved to be a success not only on the famous half-mile oval, but off the track as well. Large fields of cars in both the Modifieds and the Hobby Stocks provided plenty of action both Friday and Saturday night and, with the support of the event’s sponsors and the fans in the stands, the Pella Hospital Dialysis Unit will receive $2,242 for use in patient assistance.

The following sponsors helped to make the Tour for a Cure Weekend at Knoxville a success: R.W. Sound, KNIA/KRLS Radio, Red Carpet/Super 8 Motels, Hy-Vee, Pizza Hut, Radio Shack, Mike Zagar with Knoxville Insurance, Wells Fargo Bank, Don Croghan CPA, Darnell Oil, Candi’s Flowers, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, Medicap Pharmacy, Iowa State Bank, Mr. C’s Restaurant, Hometown Weekly and The Harenet.

The success of this inaugural event has set into motion plans for the 2^nd Annual “Tour for a Cure Weekend” at the Knoxville Raceway to held in September of 2002. 

It was a fantastic weekend at Knoxville and Ralph Capitani indicated that I should plan on including the weekend on the schedule for the 2002 Tour. At this point I knew that there would not be a 2002 NKF Tour, but the rush of this weekend started me thinking about another option and I will get to that later.

NKF Point Race Heats Up As Tour Heads To Echo Valley 

Mt. Pleasant IA  – The 2001 National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure is down to its final three events and when the Tour heads to the Echo Valley Speedway in West Union this Saturday night, September 29^th, there are still seven drivers who are in the hunt for the Modified point championship.

Darin Thye has been on top of the Modified point sheet since early June and remains the man to beat for $2,500 point title, however, what may appear to be a solid lead for the Burlington driver is not quite as comfortable as it seems. The NKF Tour uses a driver’s best twelve finishes in Tour events to determine the driver’s point total and while Thye’s lead currently stands at fifty-nine points, he must finish ninth or better to add to his total. Dan Chapman of Clarence now ranks second after competing in his twelfth event last weekend at Knoxville and only needs to finish better than eighteenth to add to his point total. A win by Chapman at Echo Valley could put him within fourteen points of the lead. All three of the Tour’s former champions are still within striking distance as well with Bruce Hanford of Davenport in third, Ron Barker of Dubuque in sixth and Corey Dripps of Cedar Falls in seventh. Darin Duffy of Hazelton and John Bull of Rock Island, Illinois, are also very much in contention and all seven drivers are expected to be in action this Saturday night. They will be joined by a strong field of Modified drivers in search of the $1,000 feature winner’s check at the Echo Valley Speedway.

Rod Miller of Eldon has clinched the point championship for the NKF Tour Hobby Stocks and the $1,000 check that goes with it. However the $3,925 that will go to the remaining positions in the top ten in the final points is still up for grabs with several northeast Iowa drivers poised to crack the top ten. After his strong showing at Knoxville Kevin Donlan now ranks tenth and looks to move up the standings as will Jeremy Moellers, Jeff Larson, Tory Reicks, Adam Speicher, Steve Holthaus and Justin Humpal. Saturday night’s Hobby Stock feature will pay $300-to-win. The Pure Stocks and Cruisers will also be in action with hot laps scheduled for 5:30 and racing at 6:00.

Proceeds from the night’s fifty/fifty raffle will go to the Palmer Lutheran Health Center Dialysis Unit in West Union.

Here is an example of what we would pass out to the fans each race night. You would have thought that I would have kept at least one copy of the Yearbook, but we passed them all out before the end of the Tour.

Proceeds from tonight’s 50/50 Raffle will go to the Palmer Lutheran Health Center Dialysis Unit. Get your tickets now! One ticket for $1.00 or six tickets for $5.00.

National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Souvenir T-Shirts are on sale tonight.

T-Shirts: $15                          

Also, pick up your free copy of the 2001 Heartland Tour for a Cure Yearbook tonight. Pictures, Tour History and the 2001 Schedule are all included. Get your copy at the NKF table.

Scott’s Quality Seeds of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, is the sponsor of all B-Main events, or Last Chance races on the 2001 NKF Heartland Tour for a Cure. Scott’s Quality Seeds is the farmer’s one-stop shop for corn, soybeans, alfalfa, small grains and turf products. For more information pick up a flyer at the NKF t-shirt table and find out why Scott’s Quality Seeds are “The Seed With Speed”

Tonight’s NKF Tour Modified Feature Winner will be eligible for the $1,000 Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus drawing to be held at the conclusion of the 2001 NKF Heartland Tour. Find low prices everyday at your hometown Wal Mart store.

Do you know the six warning signs of kidney disease?

-        Puffiness around the eyes and swelling of the hands and feet

-       Burning or difficulty during urination

-       More frequent urination

-       Blood in the urine

-       Pain in the small of the back, and

-        High blood pressure

If you have any of these symptoms please contact your physician, remember that early detection saves lives!

 

In less than two minutes you could save a life. Make sure that you have a signed organ donor card and you may be able to give someone the gift of life.

During your next regular checkup include tests for blood pressure, blood sugar, urine protein and kidney function. Early detection can save your life. For more information on kidney disease call the National Kidney Foundation at (800) 369-3619.

Former Champions Dripps And Holthaus Take Echo Valley NKF Tour Wins

West Union, Iowa (September 29) – The inaugural season of the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure was in 1998 and in that first year both Corey Dripps of Cedar Falls and Steve Holthaus of Cresco were dominant in their respective divisions on their way to the point championships. On Saturday night, both drivers were again dominant as they raced their way to feature wins at the Echo Valley Speedway.

Dripps started the twenty-five lap Modified main event alongside Darin Duffy on the front row and the two arced hard for the lead in the early laps. Dripps soon gained the advantage with Dan Chapman moving in to second and looking to challenge. During a couple of mid-race restarts Chapman was able to stick a nose under the leader, but each time Dripps was able to hold him off and as the race wound down he eased away for a comfortable victory. For Dripps it was the eleventh time that he has visited victory lane during the four years of the NKF Tour. Chapman came in as the runner-up followed by Kevin Pittman, Ron Barker and John Bull.

Holthaus started outside of row one and looked as if he would go the distance without challenge in the Hobby Stock feature. However, Justin O’Brien made a nice run through the field and was able to pull alongside the leader late in the race before settling for second. It NKF Tour career win number six for Holthaus who was followed by O’Brien, Jim Lampe, Dan Christopher and Jeremy Moellers.

The Heartland Tour continues this Saturday night, October 6^th, at the Tipton Speedway for the 21^st Annual Hawkeyeland Championships. The Modifieds will be running for $1,000-to-win with $500 going to the Hobby Stock feature winner.

Results

Heartland Tour Modifieds

1^st Heat – 1. Corey Dripps, Cedar Falls 2. Dan Bohr, Decorah 3. Darin Duffy, Hazleton 4. Todd Suhr, New Hampton

2^nd Heat – 1. Ron Barker, Dubuque 2. Todd Ihde, Decorah 3. John Bull, Rock Island IL 4. Kevin Schroeder, Elkport

3^rd Heat – 1. Kevin Pittman, Waterloo 2. Shawn Ryan, Waterloo 3. Darren Ackerman, Waterloo 4. Larry Schmidt, New Hampton

4^th Heat – 1. Dan Chapman, Clarence 2. Randy Trefz, Vinton 3. Scott Hogan, Vinton 4. Dennis Dugan, Colesburg

Scott’s Quality Seeds B-Main – 1. Chuck Stanton, New Hampton 2. Tony Trower, New Hampton 3. Todd Kelley, Fredericksburg 4. Troy Cordes, Dewar 5. Robert Whalen, Charles City 6. Larry Grube, Cresco 7. Mike Swarts, New Hartford 8. Adam Martinson, Decorah 9. Patrick Flannagan, Marion 10. Rod Scheuermann, Jefferson

A-Main – 1. Dripps 2. Chapman 3. Pittman 4. Barker 5. Bull 6. Duffy 7. Ryan 8. Ihde 9. Schroeder 10. Hogan 11. Suhr 12. Bohr 13. Trefz 14. Scheuermann 15. Flannagan 16. Whalen 17. Dugan 18. Stanton 19. Ackerman 20. Cordes 21. Schmidt 22. Trower 23. Kelley 24. Grube

 

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks

1^st Heat – 1. Justin O’Brien, Volga 2. Bob Praska, Hawkeye 3. Tracy Ayres, Waukon 4. Adam Speicher, Fredericksburg

2^nd Heat – 1. Jason Rohde, Fayette 2. Steve Holthaus, Cresco 3. Roger Krieger, Burlington 4. Jeff Larson, New Hampton

3^rd Heat – 1. Dan Christopher, Decorah 2. Dean Vrba, Fort Atkinson 3. Joel Brasch, Dunkerton 4. Mike Grantham, Clarksville

A-Main – 1. Holthaus 2. O’Brien 3. Jim Lampe, Carroll 4. Christopher 5. Jeremy Moellers, Elma 6. Larson 7. Brian Irvine, Oelwein 8. Grantham 9. Vrba 10. Praska 11. Matt Strassheim, Sperry 12. Ayres 13. Tracy Quigley, Fredericksburg 14. Speicher 15. Troy Hansmeier, Waukon 16. Rohde 17. Jeremiah Boynton, Fayette 18. Chris Wilkins, Waukon 19. Chris Schares, Fairbank 20. Brady Moss, Des Moines 21. Brasch 22. Krieger

The penultimate NKF Tour event would be the annual Hawkeyeland Championships at Tipton

Late Moves Net Hawkeyeland Wins For Bull and Schissel At Tipton 

Tipton, Iowa (October 6^th)  – There are usually three things that you can expect to see when the annual Hawkeyeland Championships are contested at the Tipton Speedway, cold weather, large car-counts and feature races that go right down to the wire. All three occurred again Saturday night as John Bull and Travis Schissel picked up feature wins on a chilly evening in east central Iowa.

Fifty-two Modifieds signed in for the $1,000-to-win NKF Tour event with Terry Lawson and Jason Schueller earning the front row for the thirty lap finale. However it was second row starter John Bull who made the move to lead the field for lap one. Robbie Verbeck followed Bull to the front and kept the heat on the leader until defending Hawkeyeland winner Scott Megonigle mad his presence felt. Megonigle came from the eight starting spot to take the lead from Bull on lap seventeen and it looked as if he would pull away for a repeat victory. Bull fought back though and with only three laps remaining he made a bid for the lead that came up short. As the white flag flew, Bull again positioned himself for on last run and when Megonigle left an opening on the bottom Bull shot through it off turn four to take the win, his fourth of the season on the NKF Tour. Megonigle settled for second followed by Verbeck, Schueller and Bob Dominacki.

The forty-two car Hobby Stock field was whittled down to twenty-one qualifiers for the twenty-lap main event with father and son, Rod and Jeremy Miller starting on the front row. Jeremy said, “See ya Dad” at the drop of the green and opened up a solid lead early on. Dan Woods quickly moved toward the front from his fourth row start and was closing on the leader before a tire went down and then, during a lap ten caution, Miller was unable to keep the car fired and he retired to the pits. Richard Quail inherited the lead at that point, but Travis Schissel was a man on a mission after starting fourteenth on the grid. Schissel made the pass on Quail and then drove away over the final five laps for the $500 victory. Quail came home second followed by Rod Miller, Brian Bonney and Jim Lampe. Bonney came from row eight while Lampe started in row ten.

The 2001 NKF Heartland Tour for a Cure will come to an exciting close on Saturday, October 20^th, during the 3^rd Annual Shiverfest event at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson.

 

Results

Heartland Tour Modifieds

1^st Heat – 1. Scott Megonigle, Cedar Rapids 2. Roy Pestka, Durant 3. John Bull, Rock Island IL

2^nd Heat – 1. Mike Zogg, Clarence 2. Scott Fridley, Mechanicsville 3. Kyle Diercks, Princeton

3^rd Heat – 1. Jason Schueller, Dubuque 2. Scott Lemke, Rockford IL 3. Thad Wilson, Moline IL

4^th Heat – 1. Robbie Verbeck, Annawan IL 2. Terry Lawson, New Liberty 3. Tom Goble, Burlington

Scott’s Quality Seeds B-Mains:

1^st – 1. Todd Stoolman, West Branch 2. John Brumley, Riverside 3. Scott Hogan 4. Jeff Baker, Maquoketa 5. Patrick Flannagan, Marion 6. Bart Miller, Clarence 7. Dennis Betzer, Central City 8. Rod Scheuermann, Jefferson 9. Brad Huff, Marion 10. Larry Grube, Cresco 11. Tim Arp, Donahue 12. Donovan Lodge, Andover IL 13. Mike Miller, Leaf River IL

2^nd – 1. Bob Dominacki, Bettendorf 2. Shawn Stinger, Palo 3. Dennis Diercks, Princeton 4. Roger Donahue, Dubuque 5. Daron Oberbroeckling, Davenport 6. Dennis LaVeine, Burlington 7. Mike Thomas, Cedar Valley 8. Dean McGee Jr., Galesburg IL 9. Randy Trefz, Vinton 10. Hal Sprague, Maquoketa 11. Royce Gottschalck, Lowden 12. Jon Passick, Waterloo 13. Dean McGee Sr., Galesburg IL 14. Aric Becker, Cedar Rapids

A-Main – 1. Bull 2. Megonigle 3. Verbeck 4. Schueller 5. Dominacki 6. Lawson 7. Fridley 8. Wilson 9. Zogg 10. Stoolman 11. Ron Barker, Dubuque 12. Pestka 13. Goble 14. Lemke 15. Miller 16. Hogan 17. D. Diercks 18. Stinger 19. K. Diercks 20. Brumley 21. Darin Thye, Burlington

 

Heartland Tour Hobby Stocks

1^st Heat – 1. Dan Woods, Colona IL 2. Chris Litscher, Stanwood 3. Brendan Driscoll, Preston

2^nd Heat – 1. Jerry Pratt, New Liberty 2. Richard Quail, Waterloo 3. Jeff Morris, Long Grove

3^rd Heat – 1. Jeremy Miller, Eldon 2. Craig Jones, Moline IL 3. Tolly Howell, Maquoketa

4^th Heat – 1. Blaire Benzing, Waterville 2. Rod Miller, Eldon 3. Jeremy Erie, Mount Vernon

Scott’s Quality Seeds B-Mains:

1^st – 1. Bill Yeast, Knoxville IL 2. Brian Bonney, Lost Nation 3. Josh Hamann, Eldridge 4. Jim Lampe, Carroll 5. Brad Sterling, Moline IL 6. Jeff Stevens, Davenport 7. Lloyd Bacon, Cedar Falls 8. Curtis VonBerghe, New Liberty 9. Joe Beal, Milan IL

2^nd – 1. Travis Schissel, Calmar 2. Mike Grantham, Clarksville 3. Cory Soppe, Dubuque 4. Brad Tyler, Moscow 5. Chad Paup, Clarence 6. Tim Staley, Muscatine 7. Tory Ketelson, DeWitt 8. Dave Koob, Maquoketa 9. Mike Felske, Mechanicsville 10. Andy Hart, Lowden

A-Main – 1. Schissel 2. Quail 3. R. Miller 4. Bonney 5. Lampe 6. Soppe 7. Morris 8. Driscoll 9. Paup 10. Staley 11. Erie 12. Grantham 13. Pratt 14. Benzing 15. J. Miller 16. Howell 17. Jones 18. Woods 19. Yeast 20. Litscher 21. Hamann

John Bull in NKF Tour action - Barton Photography photo provided 

We were now down to the final race of the 2001 NKF Tour and as the co-promoter of Shiverfest with Terry and Jenni Hoenig, I wanted to make sure that we went out in style. Here are three pre-event Press Releases.

Hobby Stock Title Is Miller’s, Shiverfest To Decide NKF Tour Modified Champion 

Donnellson IA  – After a runner-up finish in 1999 and a third-place run in 2000, Rod Miller of Eldon has clinched the 2001 National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Hobby Stock title heading into the Tour’s final event of the season. For the Modifieds, the 3^rd Annual Shiverfest to be held on Saturday October 20^th at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, will determine who is crowned the NKF Tour champion with three drivers still in contention for the championship.

The NKF Tour uses a driver’s best twelve finishes to determine his point total and since all three contenders have raced in more than twelve events already this season there are numerous scenarios that could develop during this final race. John Bull of Rock Island, Illinois, is currently third in the point standings and must run fourth or better at Donnellson to have a chance at the title. Dan Chapman of Clarence is currently second on the chart and must run sixth or better if he wants to collect the championship worth $2,500. Darin Thye of Burlington has been the point leader since early June and he can eliminate all of his challengers by running first or second during Shiverfest. Several other positions are up for grabs as the top ten Modified drivers earn a part of over $10,000 in point fund money.

Rod Miller knows that he will be called to the frontstretch at Donnellson to receive his Hobby Stock championship plaque and the $1,000 prize that goes with it. However, with many of the top ten positions in the final standings yet to be determined, the remaining $4,000 in point fund money is still up for grabs.

Shiverfest will once again benefit the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units in Mt. Pleasant, Keokuk and Burlington and this event is for the entire family with pre-race “Pit Hayrack Rides” and post-race Trick or Treating for the kids. Gates open at 1:30 p.m., with Hot Laps at 4:00 and racing at 4:45.

Northwest and Southern Bonus Money On The Line At Shiverfest

Donnellson IA  – Regional bonus money is on the line when the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure concludes its 2001 schedule at the 3^rd Annual Shiverfest. The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 20^th, at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson.

The NKF Tour offered a $1,000 Southern Bonus to be presented to the driver that accumulated the most points at selected events on the 2001 schedule and several drivers are in a position to collect. Bruce Hanford of Davenport leads the list with 124 points, Randy Zimmerman of Fort Scott, Kansas, has 110 points and Burlington driver, Darin Thye, is third with 107 points. Hanford and Thye are likely to be at Shiverfest on a track where both drivers have had success in the past. Eight additional drivers are still mathematically eligible for the cash prize, but all eight drivers would need to win the race and have the top three contenders suffer bad luck to take home the cash prize. They are Johnny Bone Jr., Scott Drake, Jason Lakey, Curt Rackers, Adam Larson, Justin Boney, Joey Kates and Jeff Waggoner.

The $500 Northwest Bonus is basically a two-man race and both drivers have indicated that they will be on hand October 20^th. Kevin Pospisil of Worthington, Minnesota, leads Dan DeMey of Denison, Iowa, by thirteen points going into this final event. Mike Bosma, Greg Peck, Brad McEwan and Chris Prussman could all still win the Bonus with a Shiverfest victory, but only if Pospisil decided not to attend.

Shiverfest will once again benefit the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units in Mt. Pleasant, Keokuk and Burlington and this event is for the entire family with pre-race “Pit Hayrack Rides” and post-race Trick or Treating for the kids. Gates open at 1:30 p.m., with Hot Laps at 4:00 and racing at 4:45.

Thirty-Four Drivers, Plus One More (?), Eligible For $1,000 Wal Mart Bonus

 

Donnellson IA  – Thirty-four Modified drivers, and possibly one more, will have a chance to earn an extra $1,000 in cash during the 3^rd Annual Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway, Saturday October 20^th. The Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus recipient will be drawn out by a representative of the Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Wal Mart store at the conclusion of the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure Modified feature.

 

During each event of the 2001 NKF Tour, the Modified feature winner has had his name put on a poker chip that has been deposited into the Wal Mart Feature Winners Bonus bucket. Drivers who have won more than one Tour event this season know that their odds of winning the $1,000, posted by the Mt. Pleasant Wal Mart Store, are better than the rest. Three drivers John Bull, Corey Dripps and Darin Duffy, come into the event with four chips each in the bucket. Three more drivers, Ron Barker, Dan Chapman and Darin Thye, each have two chips waiting to be drawn, while the following drivers hope that all it takes is the one chip that they have deposited: Eddie Brannon, Mike Bosma, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Darling, Doug Deterding, Ryan Dolan, Rick Gustin, Todd Ihde, Mike Karhoff, Rich Lewerke, Brad McEwan, Boone McLaughlin, Jeremy Mills, Brandon Monson, Dan Mueller, John Nicholson, Mark Noble, Jimmy Owens, Greg Peck, Brad Pinkerton, Ron Pope, Chris Prussman, Craig Reetz, Kelly Shryock, Ricky Stephan, Kevin Stoa, Darin Walker and Randy Zimmerman. One more chip will be added, the winner of the Shiverfest Modified main event, just before the drawing.

 

Shiverfest will once again benefit the Southeast Renal Dialysis Units in Mt. Pleasant, Keokuk and Burlington and this event is for the entire family with pre-race “Pit Hayrack Rides” and post-race Trick or Treating for the kids. Gates open at 1:30 p.m., with Hot Laps at 4:00 and racing at 4:45.

I will wrap up the 2001 NKF Tour with Shiverfest and give you more info on what I had considered doing in 2002 in the final segment of this story, to be posted soon here on the Back Stretch