Get Your Nominations In

The Iowa Hall of Fame and Racing Museum is accepting nominations for the Class of 2022 through Thursday March 21st with the 2022 Induction Ceremony schedule for Saturday, November 12th in Webster City.

My good friend Dick Griffith called me last Fall and I received a nomination packet last week in the mail. It is an honor to be asked to participate in the nomination process although I have found that my way of tracking the success of drivers in Iowa over the years, tabulating the All Iowa Points starting with the 1967 season, does not give me the info that I need to properly complete the form. During our phone conversation Dick said that they really wanted to get some nominees from the southeast corner of the state and the first two names that popped into my mind were Ron Jackson and Steve Fraise.

Jackson was the first All Iowa Points Champion in the Sprint Car division in 1967 and then had a long and successful career in the Late Models. "RJ" then closed out his racing career as a successful promoter working with Johnny Johnson for several years at 34 Raceway. Fraise was nearly unbeatable for several years with many of his wins coming outside of the state at Quincy and Holts Summit, but with his stats and the nickname "The Flyin' Iowan" in my mind the driver from Montrose deserves a spot in the Iowa Hall of Fame. 

Ron Jackson with his restored championship ride from 1967

To complete the nomination form though I needed to have the nominee's address, phone number and email address, plus any biographical info that I might have knowledge of. Since I went to school with one of Fraise's cousins I was able to get most of that info, but then I got to the following:

Why is this nominee deserving of being inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame? This was to include how they got started in racing, championships won, other racing accomplishments and records, tracks and series raced. My hope was that I could get Fraise nominated without tipping him off, that way if he was selected it would be a surprise, but if he was not selected it would not be a disappointment. The only way that I would have been able to gather all of the info needed would have been to go to the man himself, so for me at least, this nomination process needs to come from someone close to each nominee.

Gary Webb

That is why I wanted to write this today to encourage you to nominate the drivers or contributors to our sport that you believe should be considered. Somebody that you can gather the detailed information on and get submitted before March 31st. The forms are available at the Hall of Fame's website that you can access by clicking this link.

And now, in my own way of ranking the drivers through their performance over the years, below you will find the top 100 from the Cumulative All Iowa Points Late Model standings from 1967 through 1990. Let's start from the top and see who is not already a member of the Iowa Hall of Fame. 

Bob Hill with a young announcer

Sanger, Dolan, Hansen, Weedon, Dake and Webb are all in, Rollie Frink would be first on the list at 7th and the 1988 All Iowa Points champion should definitely get some consideration. Not only for his long and successful career, but the fact that he is a fantastic storyteller and his speech would be well worth the price of admission to the induction ceremony.

Actually the three names following Frink would all be well deserving as well; Bill Zwanziger, Red Dralle and Dave Chase. 

Karl Sanger's success was overshadowed by his brother Ed and the 1984 All Iowa Points Champion Ken Walton is already a member of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Look where Curt Martin ranks and that is only through 1990. As his long and illustrious career winds down he definitely deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Don Hoffman

From there it is easier for me to just point out the drivers on this list who have already been inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame:

Tom Hearst, Bob Hill, Don Hoffman, Denny Hovinga, Verlin Eaker, Johnny Johnson, Red Droste, Ray Guss Jr., Bob Shryock & Bill Rice.

So you can see there are so many drivers that are deserving of this honor and this is just from the Late Model list. Let's not forget about those drivers who have thrilled us over the years in a Modified, Stock Car, Sprint Car, Sportsman, Hobby Stock, etc., etc.

Get your nominations in now!

All Iowa Points Late Models Total Points

Pos Driver Hometown 1967 - 1990

1 . Ed Sanger Waterloo 19,870

2 . Roger Dolan Lisbon 14,420

3 . Curt Hansen Dike 11,873

4 . Ron Weedon Pleasant Valley 10,352

5 . Darrell Dake Cedar Rapids 10,096

6 . Gary Webb Davenport 9,776

7 . Rollie Frink Davenport 9,545

8 . Bill Zwanziger Waterloo 9,476

9 . Red Dralle Evansdale 8,600

10 . Dave Chase Council Bluffs 8,421

11 . Karl Sanger Waterloo 8,305

12 . Ken Walton Viola 7,974

13 . Curt Martin Independence 7,908

14 . Denny Osborn Cedar Falls 7,892

15 . John Connolly Delhi 7,725

16 . Tom Hearst Wilton 7,534

17 . Rick Wendling Hazelton 7,382

18 . Dave Birkhofer Muscatine 6,918

19 . Gary Crawford Independence 6,829

20 . Bob Hill Randall 6,826

21 . Bill Martin Council Bluffs 6,734

22 . Joe Kosiski Omaha NE 6,477

23 . Dan Nesteby Waterloo 6,475

24 . Stan Stover Reinbeck 6,472

25 . Jim Burbridge Delhi 6,289

26 . Ray Guss Sr. Milan IL 6,171

27 . Don Hoffman Des Moines 6,107

28 . Bob Kosiski Omaha NE 6,091

29 . Steve Fraise Montrose 6,035

30 . Denny Hovinga Pocahontas 6,033

31 . Steve Kosiski Omaha NE 5,971

32 . Dick Schiltz Waterloo 5,918

33 . Greg Kastli Waterloo 5,564

34 . Tom Bartholomew Waterloo 5,438

35 . Duane Steffe East Moline IL 5,390

36 . Ron Jackson Burlington 5,363

37 . Glen Martin Independence 5,105

38 . Bob Helm Andalusia IL 4,970

39 . Verlin Eaker Mechanicsville 4,967

40 . Johnny Moss Iowa City 4,903

41 . Johnny Johnson Morning Sun 4,886

42 . Red Droste Waterloo 4,843

43 . Lem Blankenship Keokuk 4,721

44 . Bill Barthelmes Troy Mills 4,719

45 . Randy Sterner Blair NE 4,700

46 . Ray Guss Jr. Milan IL 4,697

47 . Bob Shryock Estherville 4,690

48 . Mel Morris West Liberty 4,541

49 . Jim Gerber Long Grove 4,481

50 . Mike Niffeneggar Kalona 4,476

51 . Ed Kosiski Omaha NE 4,363

52 . Dale Fischlein Davenport 4,349

53 . Bill McDonough Cedar Rapids 4,333

54 . Greg Hunter Independence 4,179

55 . Joe Merryfield Des Moines 4,168

56 . Bill Rice Des Moines 4,163

57 . Gary Tigges Durango 4,158

58 . Pokey West West Chester 4,120

59 . Bill Beckman Lisbon 4,093

60 . Steve Keppler Marion 3,991

61 . Darrell DeFrance Marshalltown 3,841

62 . Dave Bjorge Austin MN 3,814

63 . Jeff Aikey Cedar Falls 3,806

64 . Jerry Wancewicz Omaha NE 3,757

65 . Don Bohlander Glasford IL 3,749

66 . Arnie Braland Boone 3,742

67 . Bill Breuer Wapello 3,703

68 . Joe Schaefer Waterloo 3,702

69 . Jerry Pilcher Ottumwa 3,586

70 . Fred Horn Marion 3,565

71 . Dan Dickey Packwood 3,492

72 . George Barton Ankeny 3,382

73 . Ron Tilley Omaha NE 3,346

74 . Darrell Sells Waverly 3,295

75 . Bob Hilmer Dysart 3,259

76 . Bob Lekander Burlington 3,223

77 . Glenn Robey Omaha NE 3,214

78 . Tony Stewart Washington 3,202

79 . Steve Watts Danville 3,090

80 . Ron Hemsted Lone Tree 3,052

81 . Em Fretheim Decorah 3,037

82 . Roger Bruggeman Dubuque 3,002

83 . Jay Johnson West Burlington 2,983

84 . Ron Gustaf East Moline IL 2,970

85 . Jerry Holtkamp Williams 2,938

86 . Craig Jacobs Des Moines 2,888

87 . Lynn Idler Ionia 2,873

88 . Keith Leithoff Omaha NE 2,865

89 . Bob Bonzer Liscomb 2,838

90 . Doc Mayner Winthrop 2,828

91 . Ron Boyse Kalona 2,787

92 . Terry Buresh Bellevue NE 2,770

93 . Ken Farrell New Hampton 2,753

94 . Jim Wyman Griswold 2,670

95 . Joel Rasmussen Ames 2,642

96 . John Hampel Nodaway 2,642

97 . Greg Davis Boone 2,615

98 . Terry Gallaher New London MO 2,596

99 . Kenny Fenn Washington 2,557

100 . Jeff French Mount Ayr 2,533

More Speed Weeks

Part two of our seven night Speed Weeks trip started with a road trip across the state on Super Bowl Sunday and with Volusia taking the night of we headed over to New Smyrna Speedway for some pavement racing. An early afternoon shower had delayed the program by about a half an hour so we caught the end of Pro Late Model qualifying before the Florida Modifieds would run the first of four main events on the night.

Terry Fisher would lead early before yielding to Bruce Bennett, but after opening up a big lead Bennett's car would falter late in the race allowing Fisher to regain the lead and the win. Multi-time track champion Jerry Symons would be a distant runner-up.

Thirty-five laps of Super Late Model racing would follow with Iowan Sammy Smith starting from the pole in his TMC sponsored #22. Smith would set the pace with Stephen Nasse in hot pursuit and when Nasse was able to pull even on the bottom he and Smith would race wheel-to-wheel for a couple of laps. Finally Nasse would ease ahead only to have Smith cross him over and again they would race side-by-side for a lap before Nasse took control. There would be no catching him from there as Nasse captured his ninth career victory at the annual World Series of Asphalt. Smith would finish in second while our two-time winner of the Upper Midwest Pavement Late Model Points, Justin Mondeik from Wisconsin finished third. Derek Griffith was fourth and local star Brad May inherited fifth when Bubba Pollard slowed exiting turn four coming to the checkers.

The Pro Late Model feature would also run for thirty-five circuits on the fast half-mile with Giovanni Ruggerio setting a quick early pace in search of his second straight win here at New Smyrna. Quick qualifier Hunter Wright would get to second after drawing a four for the invert and when the caution waved they would lineup two wide for the restart. Friday's winner Michael Hinde would be in the second row and once back to racing it would be a three car tussle for the point.

When Wright and Ruggiero pushed up the track in turn two, Hinde would get a run and the trip would exit turn four three wide. Contact from Hinde would get Wright loose going down the front stretch and while he almost made the save Wright would end up nose first into the inside wall. As he bounced off the wall most of the field was able to avoid, but a couple of the back markers did not and the race would go red.

Following the clean up there would be no stopping Hinde as the 17-year-old from central Florida would take his second win in three nights here and his third of the season after taking Speed Fest in southern Georgia the final week of January. Conner Jones would slip past Ruggiero late in the race to finish third followed by Gus Dean and young Minnesota driver William Sawalich.

I was excited to see that New Smyrna was on MyRacePass only to then be disappointed when I realized that they don't actually use it. And, when the P.A. announcer decided to wait until cars were on the track before giving the lineup it was impossible to hear if he was actually giving the names and hometowns of each driver. I enjoy watching races much more when I know who is driving each car and frankly the art of announcing to the people in the stands, you remember those of us who actually bought a ticket to be there, has been totally abandoned. Instead of playing music while the cars are sitting on Pit Row, give the lineup while those ticket buyers can actually hear you! Thank goodness we were able to at least get the driver names by pulling up Race Monitor and it was interesting to know that the Axalta sponsored #24 running mid-pack in the Super Late Models was William Byron. He would drive the Donnie Wilson owned car to a ninth-place finish.They also mentioned that the Modified winner, Fisher, had beaten some of the best track regulars. It would have been nice to know where Terry Fisher towed in from to compete.

The 602 Modifieds from the northeast were to close out the evening with 75-laps, but when one driver hit the wall during warm up laps and then waited for a tow truck to finally make its way out to the track, we decided to call it a night. Carsten and Jarret DiGiantmasso would dominate this one finishing one-two.

On Monday night we made our way to the Volusia Speedway Park for what would be my first visit in about twenty-five years. Outside the facility looks much the same as I even paid a visit to the "second track" that was built when the primary track was paved in order to appease the dirt track fans. As I recall my last time here, I paid an extra five dollars to be able to go back and forth from the dirt track to the pavement track as both were in action on the same night. Apparently they now use it as an oversized go kart track.

On this night the UMP Late Models would serve as somewhat of a support class to the debut of the Xtreme Outlaw Sprints Series. This is the World Racing Group's foray into non-winged Sprint Car racing and I am still trying to decide if this, and their new Midget series, has been introduced to compliment or overtake USAC. For the debut though they definitely took advantage of having the USAC Sprints in Ocala later this week as a solid field of 37 drivers signed in for $5,000 to win Monday and $10,000 to win on Tuesday. More likely these series have een added in hope of driving more subscribers to DirtVision.

While not quite as fan friendly as the one USAC uses, the qualifying format is a good one as a draw would set the roster for the four heat races where drivers would then group qualify all at once. The top four in each group would be inverted for the heats and a point system for both qualifying and the heat race finish would be used to determine the top sixteen. Robert Ballou would be the high point man and he would then draw a zero, a four or a six to determine the invert and in true "Madman" fashion Ballou drew the six. Two Last Chance races would advance three each to give us a twenty-two car feature field for twenty-five laps.

Carson Short would lead the opening lap only to have C.J. Leary power by him one line higher in turn four to take the point on the second lap. The red flag would fly as the rest of the field raced into turn one as the driveline let go on the car of Dennis Gile and when he suddenly slowed Brady Bacon would launch over his right rear sending him into wild flip that tested the turn one catch fence. Thankfully Bacon emerged unhurt, but safety workers spent several minutes tending to Gile who likely had leg injuries from the mechanical failure.

Once back to green Leary was in complete control with just one more caution slowing the event before the Greenfield, Indiana, driver etched his name in the record books as the first ever winner of the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Series. Justin Grant made a nice charge up from fifth to second and was closing in on Leary late in the race while Short held on to finish third. Chase Stockon made a big run up from fifteenth to fourth while Ballou completed the top five.

So I can now add my attendance at this event to some of the other "firsts" that are in my notebook:

- First IMCA Summer Series event (announced at 34 Raceway)

- First pavement race at Hawkeye Downs (announced)

- First race held at the current Poplar Bluff Speedway

- First race held at the Clarke County Speedway in Osceola (announced)

- First Sprint Invaders event (Jacksonville)

- First NKF Tour event (Oskaloosa)

Okay, so yea that last one was a given and many of you are likely cursing the Hawkeye Downs mention, but it is what it is!

The thirty lap Late Model feature was a runaway as Ricky Thornton Jr. went to the lead at the drop of the green and drove away to a convincing victory. The race went non-stop and while it would have been nice to get a caution to see if Chris Madden could mount a challenge, it was forty degrees out and we were ready to get back to a warm hotel. Madden had advanced from eighth to finish second, Devin Moran moved from sixth to third, Brandon Overton faded from the pole to fourth and Dale McDowell started third and finished fifth.

Thankfully Tuesday's weather warmed up by about fifteen degrees since the Big Block Modifieds joined the Late Models and Sprint Cars for a full program featuring a total car count of 133. There was no rain in the forecast, but with an onshore flow a few showers started to pop up in the area and after the first three heat races were completed for the Sprint Cars one of those showers would shut things down for about an hour. Once officials felt that the track was close to being ready for racing, the fourth and final Sprint Car heat was pushed off and it quickly became obvious that the surface was still slimy. Then it started to rain again making that a moot point.

The second shower was very light, only lasting for about five minutes and during that time the World Racing Group altered the schedule in a manner that I am hoping reflected the fact that the Sprint Car teams wanted to get loaded up and on their way as soon as possible to Ocala for their Wednesday show. Surely they weren't saying that most of the crowd on hand, and watching on DirtVision, were more interested in seeing the Sprints than the Big Block Modifieds or the Late Models, were they?

Modified heats one and two were used to get the track back into racing shape with several laps of packing, then several laps of "hot laps" that started slow and gradually picked up speed before the two heat races were finally contested. The final Sprint Car heat would then be completed followed by the final two Modified heats. Even announcer Johnny Gibson alluded to the fact that we would now be "all Sprint Cars" going forward as following their two Last Chance races there would be a ten minute break before their thirty lap feature would be next on the itinerary.

The start of that race was delayed twice. First when it was discovered that the car of Brandon Mattox had a bolt missing from the radius rod prior to being pushed off, so while the rest of the field circled the speedway, he was towed to the work area where repairs were made and once he was on the track the field went four-wide for the parade lap.

After that the start was delayed again when something broke on the steering of Dustin Clark's car, collecting Mattox as well, but at least we didn't cruise the track for several laps for Clark to make repairs before waving the green flag. Thomas Meseraull would jump to the lead with Brady Bacon moving quickly from sixth to second. Bacon was now driving the #13 car since Dennis Gile had suffered a broken ankle and Bacon's car was destroyed in the Monday night incident.

While drivers searched for a better line, this one had little passing in the front half of the field until the caution waved with three laps remaining. On this restart Chase Stockon moved from sixth to third in turns one and two, but that we would be all that he could get as Meseraull crusied to the $10,000 victory ahead of Bacon and Stockon. Robert Ballou finished fourth and C.J. Leary will leave Volusia with the Xtreme series point lead after taking fifth.

As expected, "T-Mez" gave an entertaining victory lane interview and after that whole process added another ten minutes to the show it would be just a few minutes before midnight when the Late Models finally returned to action for their heat races and few, if any of the ticket buying fans left when the Sprint Car portion of the show was completed.

The Modified feature will take my "Race of the Week" honors as front row starters Peter Britten and Stewart Friesen waged a classic battle for the lead throughout the thirty lap distance. Add in Max McLaughlin once lapped traffic was involved and this one really got wild as Britten and Friesen exchanged the lead officially seven times at the line, and even more often in between. During Britten's last lead from laps twenty-three through twenty-seven he would even pop a wheelie in turns one and two just to add to the thrills.

Friesen would take back the lead with two laps to go and as Britten warded off McLaughlin for second it would be Friesen taking the win. Jimmy Phelps would follow the trio in for fourth while Rich Scagliotta would complete the top five.

It was now 1:50 a.m. and time for the thirty lap Late Model finale with Tyler Millwood and Brandon Sheppard starting from the front row. Sheppard would start putting distance on the field once the green flag waved and his lead was more than a straightaway when the first caution waved on lap fourteen for a slowing Brandon Overton. On the restart Ryan Gustin and Tim McCreadie would make it three-wide entering turn one with Gustin charging from the middle to take the point down the back stretch.

With Sheppard now fading, Devin Moran was on the move after starting eighth and when Blair Nothdurft turned a slowing Mark Whitener with six laps remaining the field was brought back to Gustin for the restart. With Moran now within striking distance it was Tanner English driving Dylan Thompson's #99 who made the move from sixth to third as he tried to become a contender as well.

Moran was able to stay within a car length for a couple of laps, but Gustin was on a mission and he would dedicate the $7,000 victory to a long time supporter of his Leon Ramirez who had passed away on Sunday. Moran would be the runner-up with English taking third after starting eleventh. Ashton Winger posted another solid run in fourth while McCreadie filled out the top five.

It was ten after two as my party of five completed our seven straight nights of Speed Weeks action and now our hope is that we are able to get home before the next winter storm rolls in. Yes, the rain added a couple of hours to this show, but even without it we were looking at a finish time around the midnight hour. As the World Racing Group looks to the 2023 Winter Nationals schedule at Volusia one would hope that they reconsider the division roster as while seeing three headliners on the same night was fun, it was destined to be a long night.

The Xtreme Midget series is set to make its debut on April 1st and 2nd during the Illini 100 at Farmer City, a traditional event for the World of Outlaw Late Models and UMP Modifieds. It will be interesting to see how happy the fans will be with the addition as the patience level of fender fans are different than the open wheel fans. As an example, while it took several laps under caution to get a Sprint Car heat race lined up and ready for green once leaving the infield, the Late Models would leave the infield in turn one and take the green exiting turn four.

I like 'em all, but I am wise enough in my old age to understand that sometimes there is just too much of a good thing!

The refurbished Positively Racing website is back up and running so click that link and take a look including a new format for the Special Events schedule that is more smartphone friendly and searchable. Start mapping out your 2022 racing season now!

Usually with a sunset like this you don't get rain at the track!

My East Bay Swan Song

In the 1980's and 90's I would spend at least one week in Florida during February. On the years that I brought my family we would do the beaches or theme parks during the day and I would slip out for a couple of nights of short track racing depending upon the weather and the schedule. When I would come down by myself or with racing friends I would do my best to be at a race each night even making the trip across the state if my original destination was rained out. But when the kids got into junior high and high school, sports, band, choir, etc. would take precedent and even though they have long since graduated I just have not been able to make the trip until this year. And frankly it was motivated by the fact that East Bay Raceway has been set for a Winter Nationals finale in 2024. You hear rumors to the contrary, but if this track is now in its final three Speed Weeks, I did not want to miss one final chance for me to see some racing at a track that I have long considered one of my "five favorites".

Flying in to Tampa early afternoon on Wednesday I was quickly reminded of just how much traffic there is getting through the historic city even well before rush hour. What would normally be a forty minute drive to our VRBO in Riverview took well over an hour so after a quick check in and the adding of some clothes for what would be a chilly evening we were off to East Bay Raceway. 

I did make it here for one night of racing about ten years ago and the man made mountain off the back stretch has expanded in size ten times over since my last visit. My understanding is that it will be this mountain that will soon swallow up the property leaving the gulf coast with no remaining dirt tracks and that inevitable demise not only brought my group of five this year, but several other race fans as the crowd looked like the Saturday night finale rather than just the second show of the week.

Parking is a mess here and even though we had arrived just before 5 p.m. we had to wedge in next to the BMX track being careful to make sure that there would not be a possibility of getting boxed in. To our surprise though when we made our way in, there were plenty of seats available showing that there is nowhere near enough parking for the number of fans that can be seated. This also made us change our "arrival plans" for the remainder of the week as we later found that our manufactured parking spot would take us a good half hour before we could leave the place on Wednesday.

East Bay is no gem, definitely not a diamond of the dirt tracks, but I have always found the racing here to be entertaining simply due to the ever changing track conditions as the night plays out. Just when it looks like the bottom is the place to be, someone goes up and rips the top with success and suddenly they are all over the place. This scenario definitely played out on Wednesday, perhaps no more evident than the first of three B-Mains where only two drivers would transfer. The ten lap event turned into a marathon as drivers shuffled for position and made some of their own mistakes. 

Seventeen cars started and by the end only six remained with drivers such as Garrett Smith and Pierce McCarter spinning out of qualifying spots while Ryan King was also in the mix before dropping out late. In the end it was Chase Junghans and, unknown to me Clinton Hersh making the transfer.

In the forty lap main event pole-sitter Brandon Sheppard rocketed to the lead and it soon looked as though this would be a creep around the bottom race just like it was on Monday when Dennis Erb Jr. took the win. When Sheppard caught the back of the field on lap seven, Brandon Overton stepped out of line and was able to drive by Sheppard for the lead on lap eight only to have Sheppard come charging back on the bottom the next trip around.

That pass would be negated though when the caution waved for Devin Moran who had slowed to make a pit stop, so it would be Overton that would bring the field back to green. The caution would wave again two laps later for Lucas Rookie-of-the-Year contender Spencer Hughes and once back to green Sheppard would drive under Overton to regain the lead exiting turn two on lap thirteen. As the two drivers swapped the lead chants of "Let's Go Brandon" would have been socially acceptable, but as Sheppard drove away, Ashton Winger would move to second and Ricky Thornton Jr. would then challenge Overton for third. 

With eleven laps remaining the caution would wave with Overton facing the wrong direction in turn two. Did I mention that here at the rustic old speedway the speakers were not working on the turn four end of the grandstands? That would be why many of the fans on our end questioned why Overton would return to the third spot for the restart and it would take until the next morning when I read Ed Reichert's story from the evening to learn that the caution was actually thrown for debris just before Overton's spin.

Damage from the tangle with Thornton would cause Overton to fade and with four laps remaining he would slow on the track to bring out the final caution of the event. Sheppard was in command and he would close out the impressive victory while the large crowd cheered on the high riding efforts of both Hudson O'Neal and Kyle Bronson. Ashton Winger would drive the G.R. Smith owned #89 to the runner-up finish with Tyler Erb coming from eleventh to third. Bronson would make it up to fourth at the checkers coming from an eighth row start while Thornton would continue his steady Speed Weeks performance to this point by rounding out the top five. 

The temperature went up a couple of degrees on Thursday and we were back at the track by 4:30 in order to find a parking spot on the grounds as once again a huge crowd filed in. We spoke to a few people around us and, just like us, they wanted to get to East Bay once, or one more time before it is scheduled to go away in 2024. If this place is this full in 2022 I can't even imagine what it will be like over the final two years.

Before the action got underway Danny chatted up one of the 50-50 girls and found out that the reason that the speakers are not working on the turn four half of the grandstand is because they had to be disabled so that the MavTv crew could get enough power to do their broadcast through the week. Those of you who read this column on a regular basis will know how I feel about that and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit as that young lady walked back and forth in front of the grandstand later that night carrying a white board that had the winning 50-50 ticket number written on it.

With this being the second consecutive day of nice weather Al Varnadore and his crew were able to prepare the track in a "normal" fashion and the Thursday night action was spectacular from start to finish with the typical multi-grooves and changing conditions keeping the drivers and crews guessing. The fun started in qualifying when several lesser known drivers posted quick times in Group A led by eighteen-year-old Georgian Garrett Smith. The young speedster later thrilled the crowd by taking the win in heat race number one to earn the apparent pole position for the night's forty-lap main event, but it was soon announced that he had been disqualified for the rest of the night due to running a spoiler that was a three quarters of an inch too tall. Ignorance of the rule, or a blatant attempt to cheat? Series officials voiced their opinion with the decision to park him for the night and it will be interesting to see how he performs over the final two nights.

Heat races produced plenty of action including a head-to-head duel between Brandon Overton and Brandon Sheppard for the right to start on the outside of the front row in the main event. I could try to cleverly imbed another political joke here, but I will let you do that on your own as Sheppard raced out to the lead only to have Overton battle back. The two raced side by side for nearly a full lap mid-race before Overton prevailed with a big approval from the appreciative crowd.

With the feature to be aired live on MavTv there was about a twenty-five minute break following the qualifying races and it would be Max Blair that would bring the field to green for forty laps. Overton would storm to the front though and frankly he looked unstoppable early on. Earl Pearson Jr. was able to keep him honest though, even slipping the nose under him following a lap three restart, but Overton would fight him off and start to pull away as the race stayed green until lap twenty. 

Pearson and Brian Shirley would line up behind the leader and when the green flag waved Overton did not find the bite as Pearson went low and Shirley went high making it three-wide coming back to the flag. Shirley would take the lead and then drive to the bottom entering turn one leaving the top wide open for Brandon Sheppard who had lined up fifth for that restart. Lap twenty-two would belong to Sheppard and he would continue to ride the top as it had brought him to the front after starting eighth.

The caution would wave a lap later as Spencer Hughes slowed after contact with Ashton Winger and for the restart Overton, once the leader, was now mired in seventh. His fall from grace would continue as he dropped all the way to the back of the field going a lap down to Sheppard on lap thirty-three before pulling to the infield in frustration.

Sheppard appeared to have this one well in hand only to have the caution wave with two laps remaining when Jimmy Owens spun in turn four. This would bring Pearson back into contention for the single file restart and his presence would force a mistake from Sheppard who after getting a big jump on the restart went to the bottom in turns three and four knowing that would be where a challenge would come from Pearson. Exiting turn four coming to the white, Sheppard slid so high that he slapped the front stretch wall allowing Pearson to erase the lead. Brandon was able to recover though and was back to being flawless on the final circuit to win for the second night in a row. EPJ would run the distance in second followed by Kyle Bronson who again raced his way into the top five after starting sixteenth. Devin Moran continued his strong Speed Weeks with a ninth to fourth effort and Hudson O'Neal ripped the top to come from seventeenth to fifth.

Sunny skies with a temperature approaching 80 brought out a standing room only crowd for Friday's show leaving us wonder how they are going to handle Saturday's demand. Qualifying for the 74 cars on hand was somewhat predictable again as Brandon Sheppard was quickest in Group A while Brandon Overton was the best of Group B with the overall fastest lap of the night. How many tracks will you see a driver in the second half of the order in a field this big still be able to lay down the best lap? Parity throughout qualifying has always been evident during my trips to East Bay.

Garrett Smith came back strong from his Thursday disqualification going third fastest in Group B and the high school senior then dominated his heat race to earn the sixth starting spot in the main event. His night did not end the way he had hoped for though, more on that later.

Qualifying events wrapped up around 8:25 and the feature was scheduled for shortly after 9:00 to accommodate the live TV audience and just before the drivers were to begin their pace laps, the call went out to delay the action when a young lady had an accident in the stands and needed medical attention.

Tonight's distance would be fifty laps and once again it was the two Brandons, Sheppard and Overton bringing the field to green. The first twenty-five laps of this race was nothing short of spectacular as there were no cautions and with thirty cars starting there was plenty of lapped traffic for the leaders to deal with. Sheppard would control the first eleven laps before Chase Junghans swept around him on the outside of turn two to take the point. That would last for just one lap though as Sheppard rallied back, but with traffic now in Brandon's lower line, Junghans would again get to the front using the fast but treacherous cushion.

This was just the beginning of the fun as now you could throw a blanket over the top five cars and you would catch a couple of lappers as well as the battled raged on for the lead and on lap twenty-two it would be Brandon Overton getting the advantage. Sheppard who had faded back a few positions in that five car tussle was now back to second and on lap twenty-four he would climb back to the top of the scoreboard.

The first caution would finally fly on lap twenty-nine when Devin Moran and Frank Heckenast Jr. tangled on the back stretch and while Frankie slid into the infield, Moran continued on and then spun in turn three. Four more laps would be scored before Max Blair stuffed it into the turn two wall and then collected a high riding Tyler Erb who could not get off the cushion in time to avoid contact. On the restart Ashton Winger was able to take second away from Overton, but another caution before the lap was scored scratched that effort and once back to green the front half of the field settled into single file formation with Sheppard leading the way.

The driver to watch was Moran as he was one of the few ripping the top in an effort to get back to the front and with two laps to go he was back up to fifth. After the white flag waved Garrett Smith would jump the cushion in turn one and came to an abrupt halt after hitting the wall. Spencer Hughes was unable to avoid and Overton would even sustain left side body damage as he glanced off of Hughes.

This would setup a one lap dash after a single file restart with Sheppard holding off Overton to take his third straight win here at East Bay. Overton would put together a full race to finish second, Winger was again impressive in third and Moran thrilled the crowd with his charge back to fourth nipping Tim McCreadie at the finish.

The weather was perfect during the day on Saturday with sunny skies and temps in the 80's, but as race time approached the clouds rolled in ahead of a front that was forecast to bring overnight showers. Perhaps it was that late overcast that caused the track to be very slimy as the first few sets of hot laps were run and that meant that those cars had to be cycled through for a second set of hot laps. Brandon Overton was once again the fast qualifier of the night while West Virginia's Colton Burdette shocked the stars by topping the Group B list.

The storylines would develop with the running of the first heat with the winner set to earn the pole position for the fifty-lap finale. Dale Hollidge would start to the outside of Overton and would get the jump into turn one. Overton would get a nose under the leader early, but Hollidge would not only close the door, he would also pull away by five car lengths. Overton would not go down easy though as he came charging back to take the lead on the final lap to score the win. I'm glad he made that pass as Hollidge's car would then be found to have a deck height rule violation disqualifying his second place finish. By earning the win, Overton would sit on the pole where without the last lap pass he would have just inherited it.

The saga of young Garrett Smith would continue tonight as the Georgia driver would finish third in his heat race to qualify him for the feature, but when he failed to go immediately to the scales following the race he was disqualified as well. After the penalty was announced my Positively Racing colleague Danny Rosencrans pointed out that all of these underdogs that I was pulling for were cheating. All of them except for Burdette who held on to win the fourth heat race. And he passed tech, putting him outside of Overton on the front row for the main event.

The B-Mains were completed around 8:35 p.m. and once again we were forced to wait until after nine o'clock for the live audience on MavTV to join us for the start of the feature. The problem here was that those predicted showers were arriving earlier than scheduled and as the field assembled on the back stretch it started to rain. Okay, so assuming that track officials had been watching the radar, even if they would have rushed the feature onto the track it would not have taken the green until 8:45 or 8:50 at the earliest so the full race would not have been completed without this same rain delay. But when you have a full house on hand that paid $45 to get in thinking that the folks sitting at home watching it for free have possibly pushed you into a rainout.......well, that's not a good thing.

Thankfully the rain subsided and after several laps of wheel packing the race went green with Overton taking the lead and running the rain slickened bottom. Meanwhile fourth starting Brandon Sheppard went to the top and with the cushion to lean on he would sail around Overton to take the point on lap three. The rain would start to fall again around lap twenty and by then Sheppard had a full straightaway on an entertaining race for third featuring Overton, Tyler Erb, Devin Moran, Kyle Bronson and others.

At the halfway mark you knew that if the rain picked up that this one would be called complete and while it didn't seem to be getting too slick yet the caution would wave for the rain on lap twenty-eight. The field would then circle the track for several minutes to save the track and series Tech Director Steve Francis looked for a thumbs up, or thumbs down on the conditions. Finally with the rain still falling the race would go back to green for five more laps until Boom Briggs spun on the back stretch. This caution was short and as the green waved again Devin Moran would get the drive off the bottom coming to green to make the move of the night and take the lead away from Sheppard. As Brandon tried to counter in turns three and four he would jump the cushion, catch the wall and drop all the way back to twelfth as lap thirty-four was scored.

The caution would wave again though as Hudson O'Neal slowed on the front stretch looking to make a pit stop and even the popular O'Neal would draw some boos for deliberately pulling the caution as the fans wanted to see this one go the distance. The caution would fly again before another lap could be scored when Garrett Alberson spun in turn four collecting both Sheppard and Johnny Scott. What looked like the fourth win in a row just a few minutes earlier for Sheppard as the damage would force him to the infield.

Once back to green it was now obvious that one line had rubbered up in the persistent light rain and even after one more caution on lap forty-four this one was now decided with Moran taking the win. Tyler Erb followed him home in second while Florida's own Mark Whitener took third. Tanner English picked up the fourth spot after earlier fading a bit from his sixth starting position while Overton capped off what he would likely consider to be a frustrating week by finishing fifth.

And that was it. As we hustled out to the parking lot to try to get a jump on the inevitable traffic jam I realized that I have likely seen my last race at East Bay Raceway. Yes, it is scheduled for two more Winter Nationals before closing in the middle of 2024, but my guess is that there will be even more race fans who will be trying to get one last look at the ol' facility the next two years making it even more of a zoo than it was this week. My recommendations to those fans are as follows:

- Buy reserved seats so that you don't have to be one of the blanket brigade

- Pay for the preferred parking area, or be prepared for a good long walk each night

- Bring your goggles and wear a brimmed hat to keep the falling dust out of your eyes. There was quite a bit of the Clay by the Bay that went home with crowd each night.

- Treat yourself to a strawberry shortcake. Perhaps one each night if you skipped the Paid parking as you will walk off the calories in no time.

And in those final two years, if weather comes into play, know that I will be one of those freebies sitting at home watching on live TV. 

Farewell East Bay, you will always be included in my "top five"!