Simpson, Larson, Hefty and Crist Display Blue Ribbon Performances at Dubuque County Fair

I love it when a county fair charges one admission price at the gate and then allows you to take in the night's grandstand entertainment as you choose. And, when that entertainment for the evening is Dirt Track Racing it is an opportunity for the sport that we love to be exposed to people who otherwise would never even give it a chance. This has been the format used by the annual Dubuque County Fair for many years now and as we settled into our seats just prior to hot laps on Wednesday night I watched two young ladies in front of me marvel at how the cars were sliding through the turns in hot laps. They stuck around through the opening ceremonies and then a couple of heat races before moving on to other activities that the fair had to offer and they were soon replaced by three teenagers who actually set their phones aside and watched while the green flag was out.

That trio disappeared after intermission and once the features started a larger group of teens converged in front of us and the one with a racing t-shirt on was explaining to the others what was happening and who to keep an eye on. I'm not sure how successful he was as the group soon formed a circle and was having a lively conversation about topics other than the racing going on in front of them, but even if they eventually look upon the race track as a place to gather with friends on a Sunday night here, that would be a plus. My point is that if just one of those random "visitors" to the races on this night at the fair makes a point to return to the track in the future, then that is a win for our sport and just one of the many reasons why I enjoy coming to the races at the Dubuque County Fair.

The Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Model Series would be the headliner's on this night with a $3,000 top prize up for grabs while the Modifieds drew in some out of towners with a $2,000 to win incentive and the Hobby Stocks raced for a hefty $1,000 winner's check, and yes, the pun is intended.

The Crown Vics though would be the first feature to the track and Will Schmidt would lead the opening lap in his noticeably numbered 80085 before yielding to the third starting Ross Crist. Derrick Dean who started fifth would soon move in to challenge with the lead duo pulling away from the rest of the field, and while Dean was able to slip a nose under the leader on a couple of occasions Crist would hold on to earn his ninth victory of the season and deny Dean his twelfth triumph. Rob Culbertson started tenth and finished third, Ethan Kammerude who scored a convincing heat race victory earlier in the night moved from sixth to fourth while Jacob Welter filled out the top five after starting from eighth.

The Crown Vic feature would go green to checkers, twelve laps without incident. Unfortunately we did not see anything close to that clean performance in the remaining three features.

It was not that long ago when Dubuque would struggle to hit double digits in the car count for the IMCA Hobby Stock class, but this division has really grown recently and twenty-two drivers, mostly track regulars with a few nearby visitors made up tonight's twenty-two car field for fifteen laps. One lap would be scored before a stack up ahead of him in turn one would force Jared Miles to spin to avoid contact and he would be sent to the rear of the field, a true victim of circumstance.

Once back to racing Kyler Hefty would lead the way just ahead of a torrid battle for second behind him that would lead to the second caution of the race on lap five. Matt Bennett was running second and appeared to get high exiting turn four. This would force Carson Butt to make a quick move the left taking him across the nose of Dalton Weepie's #3 and sending Butt for a spin down the front stretch. As Butt was sent to the back of the field for the restart, Bennett would join him there as well after a visit to the pit area and we would go back to racing.

Blaise Watters who had drawn the #11 after an impressive heat race win would now be Hefty's primary challenger, but only three more laps would be scored before Reegan Merkes would go for a spin in turn one and this time Jared Miles could not avoid contact ending his evening with a damaged radiator. 

One more lap would go in the books before Brandon White's spin in turn two and on this restart Watters would go to work on the leader pulling alongside Hefty and actually nosing him out for the lead on what would have been lap twelve if not for a two car pileup behind them in turn three between Kyle Jared and Mark Neis.

Going back to the last completed lap Hefty would bring the field back to green with Carson Butt now back in the mix moving to the third spot and looking to make it a three car battle for the lead only to have his right rear tire go flat coming to the white flag. That sixth and final caution would give us a one lap shootout where Kyler Hefty was able to hold off Watters to take the win. Lukas Short started from eighth and finished third, division rookie Jaice Tuttle came from seventh to fourth and Matt Bennett battled his was back to the front for a top five finish. A tip of the hat as well to Leah Wroten who struggled with mechanical issues earlier in the evening to start from twenty-first and raced her way up to sixth.

The IMCA Modifieds would fare a bit better with only three cautions over twenty laps, and none of them that added to the storyline other than the restart on lap two when early leader Charlie Mohr stumbled on the cushion entering turn one allowing former National Champion Jeff Larson to go flying by and take a lead that he would not give up the rest of the way. The battle to watch in the closing laps was for second as Matt Gansen fought off the charge of Jed Freiburger, who had started eleventh, to take the runner-up position while Mohr and Austin Stamm completed the top five.

I want to take a moment here to recognize Jed Freiburger, who I hope is very well known around his home tracks, but perhaps is a bit of an unknown outside of northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. Freiburger has been in the top ten of the All Iowa Points each of the past four seasons, finishing as high as third in 2024 and he looks to make that five straight as he currently ranks fourth in the 2026 standings. Back in early June he had a victory well in hand at the IMCA Summer Nationals in Independence before a late caution left him vulnerable to a couple of drivers who had been searching for a better line than the leader and on this night he drew the back of the field in a stout nine car heat race where he dug his way up to the fourth and final redraw spot where he then drew the eleven for the feature. Fair warning, if the #6 from Dubuque finds his way to your track, he will be one to watch!

Twenty-four of the twenty-six Premier Late Models would close out the evening for thirty laps with Jerry King and Nick Marolf bringing the field to green. The initial start was waved off as Marolf was shuffled back to fifth before the flag stand and on the second try he would fare much better racing to the early lead. The first of seven, yes seven cautions would wave on lap two for a driver at the back of the field drilling an infield tractor tire and on this restart Chad Simpson would ride the tall cushion in turns one and two to perfection to charge from fifth to second with his sights now set on Marolf and the lead.

That same high line momentum would propel Chad to the front on lap four and the caution would wave again for debris on lap five. The longest green flag sequence of the event would see Simpson starting to have to deal with a lapper in his preferred line but before Marolf and others could use that to their advantage another caution waved on lap thirteen for driver who had spun in turn two. I will continue to protect the innocent here, except for the lap twenty caution that unfortunately saw an end to Nick Marolf's second place run as he slowed on the high side and then pulled to the infield during the caution.

Two spins by drivers and two more debris cautions would slow the action over the final half of the race and to exacerbate the issue there seemed to be several extra laps under caution where perhaps the series officials were either verifying the realignment or giving drivers extra time in the pits to return, but who didn't, and finally after thirty laps in thirty-eight minutes the checkers waved over Chad Simpson for the $3,000 victory. The eventual battle for second was a spicy one if you happened to be watching them earlier as C.J. Horn and Jeff Tharp had actually nearly wrecked each other while racing for third.

Tharp was on the charge after starting thirteenth and he was driving for the bottom entering turn three when Horn went for that same piece of real estate. Neither driver gave an inch and the right side of Tharp's car actually climbed up the left side of Horn's and they stayed that way for several yards before disconnecting and getting back on the throttle. Under one of those extended cautions there was likely plenty of sign language going on between the two of them and it even looked like there was some slight contact as they weaved to keep the tires cleaned off. Or, who knows, perhaps they were just letting each other know that the damage to both cars was surprisingly minimal given the circumstances!

Tharp would get to second late and on the final restart he was able to pull even with Simpson in turn two only to have Chad pull away in the closing laps. Still it was an impressive run for Tharp in second as Horn settled for third. Early contender Matt Ryan held down the fourth spot while J.D Auringer rallied from fourteenth to fifth.

Even with the multiple cautions, an on-time start of hot laps at 6:30 and a well run program overall still had us on the road at 9:55 and the Dubuque County Fair mid-week show will remain on my "to do" list for years to come!

Next up for me will be both the 360 and 410 Nationals at Knoxville with an opportunity to announce a night at Vinton, plus the long awaited return of the Winged Sprint Cars to Marshalltown in between the two mega events. I will be looking for you out there on the Back Stretch!

Horn's First Win of 2026 And Tharp's First Stock Car Victory Highlight a Fun Night in Vinton

A last minute change of plans found me making the 101-mile trip north to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday night for some IMCA weekly racing action spiced up by an appearance by the Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Model tour. I always have, and will continue to shout from the rooftops how much I love IMCA's lineup procedure for weekly racing with inverts by average points as it almost always guarantees plenty of lead changes throughout the night and with a well prepared racing surface on this hot and sunny evening, that was definitely the case. Well, except for one division.....

After winning the season opener here in April, Adam Gates has experienced some tough luck at Benton County finishing 20th twice, 16th and fourth since then so his average points landed him on the front row of the twelve lap Sport Compact feature on this night and after a convincing win of his heat race, Gates seemed poised to run away with this one. However! The racing behind his flag-to-flag run to victory would provide plenty of entertainment as drivers charged through the field.

Lukas Rick was most notable after starting scratch in the fifteen car field after exiting his heat race prematurely due to mechanical issues. Rick quickly moved to the top four bringing the tenth starting Cristian Grady with him and on lap eight disaster would strike the then third place car of Aaron Kirkpatrick.

Contact with another car would peel his rear bumper cover off of his car in turn one just before he drove off the top of turn two and spun. Without the spin, the caution would have been for the debris, but now Kirkpatrick would have to start on the tail and on the restart he would get shuffled off the back stretch and end up on his top outside of turn three.

Once back to green Gates would ease ahead while Rick, Grady, Mike Peyton and Robert Rundle slugged it out behind him and at the checkers it was Gates with the win with Grady prevailing as the runner up. Rick held down third with Rundle and Peyton completing the top five.

The twenty lap feature for the IMCA Modifieds would be up next with Dirk Hamilton setting the pace before the caution waved for debris on lap three. On the restart Troy Cordes would apply the pressure after starting fifth and on lap five Troy would charge to the front. As the leaders raced into turn three possible contact would send Hamilton for a spin, but the track official who had the better vantage point ruled that the caution would be on the former leader and rather than restarting at the rear, Hamilton would then drive to the pit area before the restart.

The tenth starting Jeff Aikey would now try to keep pace with Cordes in second only to see the leader build more than a straightaway advantage. However, when Dennis Betzer slowed with a flat tire as Cordes was taking the white flag that lead would be erased with the caution and a green/white/checkers finish. There would be no stopping Cordes though who again pulled away to score his second win of 2026 and his first of the year here at Vinton. Aikey would be the runner up with Jerry Dedrick and Jesse Belez next in line while Illinois visitor Andrew Hamburg edged out Ethan Krall by inches to complete the top five.

Fifteen laps for the Northern Sport Mods would be up next with young Gage Hilgenberg holding the lead on lap one before Tony Olson came from fifth to the lead on lap two. The caution would fly soon after that change as Harrison Horn came to a halt in turn three and after a three car scuffle on the back stretch following the restart this one would go green the rest of the way.

Ben Chapman started seventh in this one and he was gradually making his way to the front until the final five laps when he emerged in second. His younger brother Blake won a last lap thriller in his AIRS car at Tipton on Thursday night, but Ben did not want to be as dramatic taking the lead from Olson with two laps remaining to post the second win of the week for Dan and Gretchen Chapman's boys. The cousins Olson, Tony and Kyle would join him on the podium with Brett Thomas coming from ninth to fourth. Will Wolf who was sent to the pits for rough driving earlier in the night started sixteenth and finished fifth.

The twenty-five lap headliner for the Premier Late Models would be up next and I was concerned that the sun baked surface might quickly rubber down. That was not the case though as drivers ran the bottom, the top and even used the middle line around the quarter-mile throughout this one , and the final two features as well.

Pole-sitter Luke Pestka would lead the first two laps before current series point leader Matt Ryan charged by on lap three. Just after that the caution would wave for Sean Johnson and Jerry King who were sideways in turn two and following the restart it would be the seventh starting C.J. Horn taking up the chase. With Ryan running the high line on both ends and Horn grabbing the bottom, this would be a good one until C.J. was able to establish himself as the leader on lap eleven.

He would then start to pull away a bit, but with the back of the pack all working that same inside line, Ryan was about to pounce before a caution for Andrew Hamburg's spin in turn three took the lapped traffic out of play with eleven laps to go. One more caution would wave with six laps remaining to bunch the field, but Horn was in control and looked again like he did in 2025 when he was an eight time winner to score his first victory here in 2026. J.D. Auringer would drop Ryan to third at the checkers with Logan Duffy and Andy Nezworski rounding out the top five.

A surprise entry in the Late Models on this night was Wapello, Iowa, native Dan Breuer. Known as "The Professor" around his North Carolina tracks, Breuer is the son of Bill Breuer who was a top competitor in the 1970's and 80's while Danny, as we knew him back in the day, was no stranger to victory lane as well before he moved to the southeast to get closer to NASCAR. I wish that I would have made it here earlier in the evening to visit with him in the pits and to see what had brought him back to Iowa. His sharp looking #7 would finish in the tenth position here at Vinton.

Three of the top seven drivers in the current National Rookie-of-the-Year standings for the IMCA Hobby Stocks were in action here tonight and I will get to that storyline in a moment after I give you the summary of one of the closest finishes that you will ever see. 

Jake Kaiser would set the pace before the caution waved on lap two for one of those RoY contenders as Jaice Tuttle spun in turn two. On the restart the 2023 National Hobby Stock Rookie-of-the-Year, Tucker Richardson would take the lead from Kaiser on lap three and a few laps later the current track point leader Justin Stander slowed at the entry of turn three and was then turned by Brandon Beyer who had no place to go. Another caution would wave on lap eight and on this restart the sixth starting Dalton Weepie would put the heat on the leader.

With three laps to go Weepie would throw a slider in turns three and four causing Richardson to check up to avoid contact and he would become the new leader at the stripe. One more late caution for Tasker Timmerman's spin in turn two would create a green/white/checkers finish and after trying the high line on the first lap, Richardson drove to the bottom of Weepie in turns three and four coming to the checkers.

Yes, there was a bit of rubbing, but it was a "Hobby Stock style clean" challenge and the two cars would race under the checkers in a visual dead heat. However, in this day and age we now have transponder scoring and by a scant 0.008 seconds it would be Weepie celebrating in victory lane where he acknowledged the slider and appreciated how Richardson had raced him to the checkers. Awesome!

Joren Fisher finished in third and fourth went to row five starter Leah Wroten. Now back to that current RoY battle, Timmerman who is currently third in the standings looked to be the best of the trio on this night when he was racing in sixth before his late spin. The fourteen-year-old from Wapello that I have watched grow up in the stands at 34 Raceway over those fourteen years would have to settle for twelfth at the checkers. Bentley Long who is currently seventh on the RoY list had a top ten run going before a flat tire tagged him a with a DNF while Tuttle, who now sits in fourth of the RoY standings battled his way back up to fifth after restarting from the rear of the twenty-car field after his lap two spin.

The IMCA Stock Cars would close out the evening and they would get off to a tough start when the top two in track points, Kyle Olson and John Oliver Jr., tangled in turn one on the second lap. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the twelve car field and on the restart pole-sitter Scooter Dulin would go for a tumble of the top side of turn three. 

Thankfully the veteran driver escaped injury and once back to green it would be Brandon Tharp's night as the second row starter would dominate this one to earn his first career win in the Stock Car division right here at his hometown track. David McCalla posted his best finish of the year as well in second, Cole Suckow came from tenth to finish third, John Oliver Jr. recovered to take fourth as Tony Olson finished in fifth.

The sunset was till in full splendor as I started my drive home thrilled with the action that I witnessed here this evening! I look forward to returning on Sunday August 9th for what was to be my third turn on the microphone at BCS this season, only to have rain wipe out my first two bookings. Thanks to Rick, Kim, Corey, the entire Dripps family and their crew for another great night at the track.

Up next for me is a five night journey featuring the USMTS Modifieds on Wednesday (Park Jeff), Friday (Princeton), Saturday (Ogilivie) and Sunday (Sauk Rapids) surrounding Thursday night's return to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders. Look for us out there on the Back Stretch!