When long-time IMCA Late Model racer Chuck Hanna was named the new promoter of the East Moline Speedway he not only wanted to continue to keep the long running track in operation, he wanted to make significant improvements as well. The most important one being the racing surface. In recent years the ol' brown clay just wasn't providing the grip, and the configuration of the track itself had left the upper half of turns three and four essentially useless. So he brought in loads and loads of new black dirt for the racing surface and then made the effort to shape it in the likeness of the ultra popular Fairbury Speedway in central Illinois.
The process of getting the new dirt worked in took longer than anticipated, and the chore was exasperated further by the cool and wet spring weather that we had in March and April. So what was originally scheduled for an April 23rd opener after three weeks of practice kept getting pushed out further and further. I'm sure that Hanna and his team had the thought that the longer this pushed out, the bigger the chance that drivers and fans might find something else to do on Sunday nights, but to his credit he did not want to open too soon with a rough race track. As I have noted here recently, you only get one chance to make a good first impression and finally last night, on June 25th, that chance would come for the all new East Moline Speedway.
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| It is easy to see the contrast between the new dirt on the track and the old dirt on the infield |
It was a bit of an odd weather night for the final Sunday in June as a cold front had swept through overnight leaving cooler than normal temperatures, a stiff west wind and pop up showers throughout most of the afternoon. I drove through some heavy rain near Muscatine that picked up nearly an inch and a half of liquid gold and as I approached the Rock Island County Fairgrounds just before the scheduled hot lap time of 4:30 p.m. the road was wet just a few blocks south of the track. Whatever fell at the track just helped to hold the dust down for a bit longer, something that would be inevitable with a persistent twenty-mile-per-hour wind, but knowing that it was coming from behind the grandstand is why I made the trip.
Whatever the drivers and fans have been doing over the past nine Sundays, they must have been tired of it because both came out in full force despite the less than favorable weather conditions. The long line at the ticket booth moved smoothly thanks to the hard working ladies who were also walking along the line allowing those who had correct change to get in quicker and the pit area was overflowing with 123 cars across seven classes, topped by the Sport Mods who signed in 31 drivers.
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| All promoters would love to see a line like this at the ticket booth just before hot laps |
Hot laps started shortly after 4:30 and took nearly a full hour to complete as perhaps the number of cars allowed onto the track for each session was limited in order to allow it to hold up better. Plus, there is still the challenge of just having the one entrance/exit to/from the track off the top of turn two.
Once racing got underway it was obvious that the reconfiguration was effective in making turns three and four wide and usable once again and the action was good, just like we have remembered in the past at this facility that used to be my Sunday night destination in the 80's and 90'. I have to wonder why only twelve cars qualified out of the Sport Mod heats to then require two B-Mains later in the program, but that is something that I have ridiculed before in more detail on the Back Stretch, so no need to go back into it here. Have you noticed that even Ed Reichert refers to it at times as "Jeff Broeg's Two B-Mains" when he reports from an event in Positively Racing's One Fan's Travels?
A brief ten minute intermission was taken just before the first of seven feature races rolled out in front of the large crowd with that being the Street Stocks. Rob Henry started from the outside of the front row and he got down to the bottom as soon as possible to preserve his lead. Behind him though drivers were able to use a couple of lanes down low to make passes while Nick Proehl showed that the top side still had some life in it on both ends. Henry would weather three restarts to score the flag-to-flag victory and become the first winner of the Hanna era here at East Moline. Kyle Anderson who made the long tow over from Crown Point, Indiana, came from tenth to finish second. After causing the first caution on lap two, Ben Hamburg rallied from the back to finish third, Cary Brown was fourth and Proehl finished in fifth.
Mike Morrow would pace the first five laps of the Mod Lite feature before the tenth and final starter on the grid, Jon Padilla swept by on his way to victory. Mike Zemo Jr. was second at the checkers followed by Brandon Freeburg, Morrow and Zach Holreud. Usually a top contender, R.J. Gonzalez has the "honor" of being the first driver to get upside down at the new speedway after rolling his car in turn four during hot laps.
Heat race winner Trey Grimm would shuck a driveshaft before the parade lap of the fifteen lap Sport Mod feature so it would be twenty-three cars that would do battle for the entire distance with just one caution. That came after lap one was scored and when leader Matthew Mayo brought the field back to green Logan Veloz got a nice start pulling even with the leader exiting turn four. Mayo did his best to try to ward off the challenge, but with Veloz inside of him there was no stopping the popular young driver from taking the lead. Mayo's teammate Shane Paris made it an entertaining three-car battle for the lead for those first few laps following the restart, but once out front Veloz edged away for the victory. Paris finished in second with Mayo, who is from Bakersfield, California, taking third. David Engelkens advanced from the fifth row to finish fourth while Todd Dykema came from eighth to fifth. Current IMCA National Points leader Cam Reimers finished seventh and in fact with Paris and Jarrett Franzen in the field, you had three of the current top four in action.
Three cautions during the race and one while coming to the checkers would see the IMCA Modified twenty-lapper end as how they crossed the line on lap nineteen. Former National Champion Jeff Larson, who is now driving Timmy Current's #12T sailed past first lap leader Mitch Morris to take the lead and then held off a persistent challenge from Travis Denning late to take the win. Jed Freiburger came from eighteenth to finish third with Matt Werner and Brandon Durbin next in line. Morris was still running third with just two laps to go when he mis-judged the line exiting low off turn four and drilled the implement tire marking the infield head on.
The twelve lap Hobby Stock feature was a good one with Tucker Richardson and Andrew Burk swapping the lead back and forth. Richardson paced the field for the first four laps before Burk drove by on the outside, then Tucker battled back maintaining his low line to regain the lead on lap eight. The caution would wave just after that and on the restart Burk went to the bottom and was able to get under Richardson for a lead that he would hold over the final four circuits to secure the victory. Richardson was close behind in second, Randy Lamar finished third, Lafayette County Speedway regular Kyler Hefty looked good in fourth while Keith Lilly filled out the top five.
Roy Schmidt would hold off the hard charging duo of Cyle Hawkins and Dustin Forbes to lead the first three laps of the Sport Compact feature. The trio then went three-wide down the back stretch of lap four with Forbes nosing ahead at the stripe. The caution would have to come out a lap later when a car that had been black flagged for the past two laps due to a flat tire slowed on the track rather than pulling to the infield and two laps after the restart Schmidt's night came to an abrupt end when he got upside down in turn four. The final five laps would see Hawkins waiting for a mistake from Forbes that would never come as Dustin picked up the victory. Denny Oates made the long pull from Pekin to finish third, Thomas Adams was fourth and Drew Wise rounded out the top five.
Finally the Late Models would round out the night for twenty-five laps on a surface that had been beaten down and blown around for nearly five hours and the bottom definitely looked like the place to be. Mike Goben was staying pinned to the bottom with Justin Kay challenging him just a lane higher and while Kay would even nose ahead entering turns one and three, Goben would have the drive off the bottom to maintain the lead. That is until he left the door open on lap nine and Justin was more than happy to come on in to take the point. Cautions on lap ten, fourteen and seventeen would keep the field bunched together and division rookie Brandt Cole appeared to be making up some ground using the cushion on both ends.
Cole would get to second and even had a good look at Kay after one of the late restarts, but there would be no passing the five-time and defending All Iowa Points champion who took the victory. Goben would get back to second late dropping Cole to third, Brian Harris drove the Lynn Richard owned #15R from twelfth to fourth while the ageless wonder and eight-time All Iowa Points champion Gary Webb completed the top five.
Although a bit on the long side for a weekly show it was a fun night sitting in the stands with Jeff Terhune and Mitch Swinton and above former drivers Bryan Behning and Tim Bradley, It was also nice to chat with Jacob Copley who will be back in action soon with a Sport Mod. I always enjoy the enthusiastic crowd at East Moline and they were out in full force tonight, although my "I've never seen that before" moment came while waiting in line to use the restroom when a gentleman wearing an ankle monitor was heckling another guy who was using the urinal next to him. I decided to hold it and go at a convenience store later.
All in all it was a fantastic first night for Hanna and his crew, although they are going to need to tighten up the show a bit going forward. Starting at 4:30 with hot laps to beat a curfew can produce another challenge and that is keeping enough moisture in the racing surface. I'd hate to think of how much of that new black dirt was swept away by that strong west wind last night and I would bet that those who were sitting in the new back stretch bleachers for those who are in the pits took plenty of it home as a souvenir. Hopefully Mother Nature will give fans the chance to see how well the new dirt holds water next week.
I have a couple of mid-week options coming up with the UMP Summer Nationals at the Adams County Illinois Speedway in Quincy on Wednesday night and the finale of the Midwest Madness Tour at the Stuart Speedway on Thursday for the Ron Little Memorial. Then on Friday night I will be making the trip down to the Jacksonville Speedway with the Sprint Invaders and on Sunday night the Invaders head north to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton.
Perhaps we will find you somewhere soon again on the Back Stretch!
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