Back Stretch: Babb Goes Flag To Flag For His Second Slocum 50 Title

Working lapped traffic like a pro, Shannon Babb kept Brandon Sheppard from getting close enough to challenge in the closing laps to win his second Slocum 50 title on Friday night at 34 Raceway west of Burlington. The schedule was switched for the weekend due to an ominous weather forecast so the $10,555-to-win headliner was completed tonight and, if it can beat the weather. the $5,000-to-win point race for the Lucas Oil Late Models initially dubbed "The Prelude to the Slocum" will be staged on Saturday.

Another stout field of forty-one Super Late Models signed in for action with qualifying events seeing twenty-two drivers race their way into the main event while four more drivers were added as MLRA provisionals to make up the twenty-six car starting field. Pole-sitter Jake Timm would bring the field to green only to have the driver to his right, Shannon Babb get the jump off the cushion to take the early lead. A caution would wave early though when the two drivers taking emergency provisionals, Steve Stultz and Brennen Willard tangled in turn two.

Shannon Babb (18) and Jake Timm (49) for the early lead

On the restart Timm would find the high side to his liking and the second generation wheel man out of Winona, Minnesota, would keep pace with Babb and was poised to mount a challenge when the caution waved again on lap seven for a Matt Furman spin in turn two. Once back to racing Babb must have sensed Timm's speed off the top of turns three and four as the leader moved up to that line as well and soon the advantage was nearly a half straightaway.

By the time Brandon Sheppard was able to drop Timm to third on lap twenty-one Babb's lead was up to a full straightaway and his new chaser was not making up much ground. That is until Shannon closed in on a pack of seven cars all racing for positions of their own mid-pack on lap thirty-three. The three-eighths mile high banked oval was in tip top shape tonight so that pack of seven were scattered from low to high and points in between requiring Babb to change his line often in order to pick them off one by one.

Brandon Sheppard (B5) takes second away from Jake Timm - Mike Ruefer Photo

At one point Sheppard got to within about four car lengths, but when Babb made another nifty move to put a lapped car between himself and Sheppard, that lead would start to grow once again. On lap thirty-eight the caution would wave for the legend, Billy Moyer who had slowed on the front stretch, but did not make the left hand turn into the infield. Moyer, who had started eighteenth, had quickly moved into the top ten during the first twenty laps although his night would come to an early end here as he drove into the pits during the caution.

One more lap would be scored before Ryan Unzicker and Bob Gardner would end up facing each other at the bottom of turn four and when the green flag flew once again, Babb now had an open track in front of him. Sheppard was searching for a line that would make him a bit faster than the leader, but he could not find one over the closing eleven circuits as Shannon Babb would repeat his triumph from 2018 in this race that honors the memory of Brent Slocum.

Shannon Babb in victory lane

Sheppard would take the runner-up money while Ryan Gustin made a late run getting quite a bite off the bottom to finish third after starting from sixteenth. Timm would fade to the fourth position at the checkers while Chris Simpson came from eleventh to fifth. Tyler Bruening was consistent in sixth, Dustin Sorenson would drive the Jimmy Mars owned number 28 to seventh after starting from row eight, Garrett Alberson faded from fourth to eighth, Jordan Yaggy finished ninth and Dillon McCowan was the best of the MLRA Rookie-of-the-Year contenders as he rounded out the top ten.

As they always seem to do at the Slocum 50, the 305 c.i. Winged Sprint Cars and the IMCA Stock Cars put up two entertaining main events as appetizers for the main course. Young Chase Richards would lead the opening lap of the Sprint Car twenty-lapper before Jake Glasgow powered past him exiting turn four on the second circuit. The only caution of the race would come on lap five when Cole Helmerson, who looked very good in his Sprint Car debut after having raced a Modified before, went for a spin in turn four.

On the restart Cody Wehrle would take the second spot after starting sixth and he would now give chase to Glasgow for the lead. With Jake running low in three and four, Wehrle was faster up on the cushion but he was not able to pull even before Glasgow would shut the door down the front stretch. On lap twelve Wehrle had a big run off the top of turn four and he tried to squeeze between Glasgow and the wall as the duo charged down the front stretch. Contact would send the two drivers scrambling to maintain control and as Glasgow held onto the lead exiting turn two, you could tell that something had broken on Wehrle's ride as he drifted out and tagged the universal barriers that serve as the back stretch wall.

This would allow Wehrle's Grant Racing teammate Tanner Gebhardt to take over second and while he was able to get to the leader's bumper exiting turn four on the final lap there would be no catching Glasgow who would celebrate his first career feature win. Usually "Jake The Barber" is the crew chief for Colton Fisher when they are racing with the Sprint Invaders, but on this night they switched roles with Fisher spinning the wrenches for Glasgow's first victory. Gebhardt would finish second while Wehrle found that it was a broken shock stud on the left rear that was the result of the lap twelve contact, but the defending track champion was able to nurse it in for third. Chase Richards and Noah Samuel would complete the top five.

With the 2018 All Iowa Points champion John Oliver Jr. starting on the pole for the fifteen lap Stock Car feature it would have been a good bet that he would add to his impressive win total here at his home track. Yes, Oliver would go flag-to-flag, but it was not as easy as it might sound. One of two visitors from north central Iowa, Gary Pesicka would stick a nose under Oliver early and then in the closing laps Corey Strothman was entering the turns high and then driving off the bottom to get a huge run on the leader. If Oliver would have made just one mistake and had left the door open exiting turns two or four, Strothman would have come charging through, but that mistake never came and John Oliver Jr. would park the #05 in victory lane once again here at 34.

Strothman was a close second, Jason Cook was solid in third, Pesicka fought his way back up to fourth at the checkers after spinning and returning to the track without causing a caution mid-race. The final car to tow into the pits on this Friday evening was Jeremy Pundt's #52 and he would round out the top five in this one.

Late Model fans will want to make sure that their calendars are marked because after Saturday's Follow Up to the Slocum with the MLRA, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be here at 34 Raceway on Saturday May 20th and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series will be here on Friday October 6th. And for those who either prefer, or who also enjoy the Winged Sprint Cars, the next event on the schedule at 34 Raceway is a big one with the High Limit Sprint Car Series coming to town on Tuesday April 25th.

Hope to see you there on the Back Stretch!

Once again a huge "Thank You" to Mike Ruefer who has shared all of the photos here for you to enjoy!