Jackson Cruises With MLRA; Elston Prevails In IMCA Portion Of A Late Model Doubleheader At 34 Raceway

Late Model fans were treated to double the fun on Saturday night at 34 Raceway as Washburne Repair presented the MLRA Late Models on the same card with the track's weekly IMCA Late Model action. Mini Haulers and IMCA Hobby Stocks would lend support as well in what turned out to be a near perfect night for racing weather wise. A slow moving complex of storms about one hundred miles to the west blew out the cloud tops keeping 34 Raceway cool and shady during the couple of hours prior to race time and that was a track preparer's dream with the racing surface staying tacky and fast all night with barely a hint of dust.

After abruptly shutting down prior to an already announced season opener in 2025, Ernie Leftwich has brought the MLRA back to life in 2026 and has scrambled to put together a schedule that might draw a regular roster of drivers. That is not an easy task given the crowded field of regional series in his area with Revival, Comp Cams and the new Heartland Late Model Tour that in part was introduced to fill the void prior to MLRA announcing the comeback. Then when you consider that MARS picked up some of the MLRA's previous event in this area, such as the Slocum 50 here at 34 Raceway, plus the existing presence of the SLMR and the steady growth of the Premier Tour, even eastern Iowa has become nearly saturated with touring Late Model races. This in an area that ten to fifteen years ago was begging for some open Late Model shows after the old Busch series had faded away.

I was thrilled to see twenty-two cars signed in for the MLRA portion of this event and have to wonder just what it would have been if not for the early cancellation of the SLMR voyage north to the Mississippi Thunder Speedway this weekend. MLRA's streaming partner Race On even stepped up to raise the start money to $800 and that is what likely allowed us to clear the twenty car hurdle as a quick look at the MLRA points coming in showed that only seven of the top ten, plus drivers ranked fifteenth and twenty-second in the standings were on hand even though this was just the sixth event to be contested thus far.

You know that a race track is in prime condition when the back half of the qualifying order still has an opportunity to set quick time and on this night the top three qualifiers Aaron Marrant, Caden McWhorter and Jeff Herzog went out eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth respectively. Marrant would dominate the opening heat race to earn the pole position for the main event. Point leader Tony Jackson Jr. would outduel McWhorter early and then drive away to win the second heat and join Marrant on the front row while heat three was the race of the night. 

Herzog and Derrick Stewart waged battle early with the Simpson brothers Chad and Chris giving chase and as the ten laps clicked off quickly Chad made it a three car battle for the front. On the final lap Chad was able to slip under Herzog in turn four to steal the win and he even brought Chris with him to edge out Herzog by inches at the stripe for second.

Later though, just as the feature lineup was about to be read off, it was announced that Chad Simpson's heat race victory had been nullified in tech due to the droop rule resulting in a four position penalty for the five-time MLRA champion so he would now start the the thirty lap main event from fifteenth rather than third.

Marrant and Jackson would race side-by-side through turns one and two as you see here from this great photo provided by Mike Ruefer. Then, with his high line momentum, Jackson would take the lead down the back straightaway and for all intents and purposes the winner of this non-stop thirty lap speed fest had been decided.

My focus was on Chad Simpson who used a wide line in turns three and four on lap two to pass three cars in one nifty move and by lap six he was up to ninth. He would have to wait for a mid-race bobble by Caden McWhorter to get to eighth and at the checkers Chad would nip Daniel Hilsabeck at the line to finish the race in the seventh position. 

With his droop rule violation in the heat race, Chad Simpson (25) moved from fifteenth to seventh in the 30-lap main event here racing with Matthew Larson (8), Jeff Tharp (10T) and Rickey Frankel (33) - Mike Ruefer photo

Dylan Thornton would take second from Marrant on lap seventeen, but by then Jackson was more than a straightaway ahead and working traffic like a pro as he cruised to his third MLRA victory of the season. Thornton was the runner-up not far ahead of Chris Simpson with Marrant and Jeff Herzog completing the top five. 

Chris Simpson (32) and Dylan Thornton (38T)

That was how the night ended right around 9:30 while it was the IMCA Late Models that got the feature racing started with twenty-five laps after a short intermission where only some minor track prep was needed on the near perfect surface. Pole-sitter Denny Woodworth would lead a pack of four front runners through the opening laps with Mark Burgtorf, Tommy Elston and fifth starting Dustin Smith racing hard in a tight formation.

Woodworth and Smith would soon separate from the other two and on lap five Smith would race to the lead. Elston would go to second a few laps later and now those two drivers would pull away with Elston glued to the back bumper of the leader and trying to find a line where he could get by. The caution would wave with nine laps remaining when Jesse Bodin spun in turn four and, while under caution, Smith's #53 slowed to a stop on the front stretch. The car would not start again and he would be pushed back to the pit area with suspected ignition issues.

Elston would assume the lead from there with young Blaise Lewis trying to keep pace while behind them the action heated up for position. In the closing laps Austen Becerra started throwing out sliders like a grill cook at White Castle at 2:00 a.m. following a Grateful Dead concert with only one of them resulting in some contact. He would make his way to third at the checkers and I assume that veteran drivers Woodworth and Burgtorf may have had something to say to him afterwards. You always know that Austen is going to put on a show and the the three-time All Iowa Points champion, once in the Four Cylinders and twice in the Modifieds, did just that here tonight!

The 2023 All Iowa Points Late Model champ Elston would secure the win with the Late Model rookie, coming out of the Modified ranks in 2026, Blaise Lewis coming home as the runner-up.

It is great to see the Hobby Stocks back in action on a somewhat regular basis again at 34 Raceway and a fun field of thirteen put on a nice show in both the heats and the fifteen lap main event. Luke Phillips would set the pace with Tucker Richardson glued to his back bumper and after a couple of failed attempts to use the low line to mount a challenge, the young Richardson made one of the most skilled moves that I have seen in this division. With Phillips driving the cushion on both ends, Tucker would squeeze just under him in turns three and four, pulling even without ever making contact despite being just inches apart.

Richardson would lead lap nine by inches and then drift up the track to shut the door on Phillips in turn two to take the lead. To his credit Luke would battle right back driving to the inside of the new leader and while I have seen this type of race turn into a "door slam" show by Hobby Stock drivers in the past, these two showed great respect for each other.

Phillips was still trying to find his way back to the front when the caution waved for Tristan Wenig's spin in turn four and we were then left with a one lap dash to the finish. Again Phillips drove deep into turn one hoping to make Richardson flinch on the cushion, but rather than banging his way to the front Luke would settle for second as Richardson scored a popular win, his second of the weekend after taking the checkers at Columbus Junction on Friday night as well. I was impressed with the driving of another teenager as Jordan Patz dominated his heat race and then moved from fifth to third in the feature. Kale Hemsley and Garrett Porter would round out the top five.

The Mini Haulers are never short on action here at 34 and they would go four-wide at the front down the back stretch on the opening circuit of their twelve lap finale. Dawson Tipps would emerge as the leader before a caution waved on lap two for Jason Delzell's spin. Caleb Ealey would then go to work on Tipps taking the point on lap five before the final caution waved three laps later when the third-place truck of Nick Wilkerson suffered a flat tire. There would be no stopping Ealey from there as he would come from the back of the seven truck field to score his fifth win of the season in five outings. Tipps would go second, Austin Roose finished third followed by the Delzells, Hayden and Jason.

Always posting one of the most diverse schedules in the sport, 34 Raceway has three big shows coming up soon that I want to highlight here starting with the return of the Mohrfeld Solor Sprint Invaders on Saturday June 20th. Then on Thursday July 2nd LaVeine Sanitation will once again present their Fan Appreciation Night with free admission to the grandstand, plus a hefty purse that will pull in drivers from near and far. Then, just one week later on Thursday July 9th, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns to 34 Raceway with this event now serving as the 2026 version of the Slocum 50 with a whopping $15,000 going to the feature winner!

As a I wrap up this report just past 10:00 a.m. on Sunday I am waiting on the weather to see if I will be announcing tonight as planned at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. They plan to make a final decision around noon and if that one falls by the wayside I will be checking on other options as tonight's MLRA race at Quincy has been postponed. Then later this week I am excited to make the trip north to the Cedar Lake Speedway for The Masters showcasing the USMTS Modifieds on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, before returning to Quincy on Sunday for the Sprint Invaders.

Hope to see you again soon here on the Back Stretch!