Saturday Morning Notebook: NDRL Debut,Decade of the '80s

Back in March I made a prediction that if some of the early season events were cancelled due to weather that someone would try to make the argument that promoters shouldn't schedule shows for so early in the season. That prediction came true on the Iowa Stock Cars forum today apparently by a gentleman who was not at 34 Raceway the past two Saturday nights, at Vinton along with a near capacity crowd last Sunday night or at any of the other early season events that have been run here in the upper Midwest so far. Calvin Meyer made a great point in response stating "they could start in May but we could get a wet May and wipe out all or most of the shows. Now there's no races until June. You have to take the risk sometimes."

Casey Arneson made the long pull down from Fargo, North Dakota, to win the $10,000 top prize at the Reliable Chevrolet B-Mod Nationals in West Plains, Missouri, last weekend. More than one hundred drivers converged on the south central Missouri speedway for the big money show with Decorah's Troy Hovey finishing second, Michael Truscott of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was third, Tony Dunker of Quincy finished fourth and the owner of the track in Springfield, Missouri, Jerry Hoffman was fifth.

The National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) had to wait a couple of weeks to make its debut, but did so last night in Paducah, Kentucky, drawing a stellar field of fifty-five cars. Josh Richards scored the $20,000 victory ahead of Jimmy Owens, Jimmy Mars, Billy Moyer and Scott Bloomquist. And if that list of names isn't enough to impress a Late Model fan the drivers finishing sixth through tenth were Steve Francis, Shannon Babb, Brian Birkhofer, Chris Simpson and Eddie Carrier Jr. The NDRL moves west to the Federated Auto Parts I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, tonight.

As of 10:30 a.m. today the MOWA Sprint Car show at 34 Raceway in Burlington is still a "go", but I would encourage you to check back in with the track website before making the trip as they are doing all that they can to race despite the heavy rains from earlier this week. The Boone Speedway is running this evening with early start times and the Benton County Speedway in Vinton is still looking to run on Sunday night weather permitting.

Another commitment is going to have me driving by 34 Raceway this evening probably looking like a sad puppy dog with my head out the window wishing I could hop out, but I am hoping to go racing on Sunday. Vinton is a possibility and a part of me wants to get up early and make the trip to Rockford for the Spring Classic, but as I survey the weather forecasts right now my primary target is the season opener at the Quincy Raceways. Then next week hopefully this race-happy puppy dog will be very busy with the season opener at Oskaloosa on Wednesday night, the Sprint Invaders in Independence on Friday night, and the MARS/ALMS/Corn Belt Clash doubleheader at 34 Raceway and Quincy on Saturday and Sunday night. Hope to see you on the Back Stretch!

Here are the top Late Model drivers in All Iowa Points cumulative from 1980 through 1989....

		All Iowa Points	Late Models	Total Points
Pos		Driver	Hometown	1980 - 1989
1	.	Rollie Frink	Davenport	7746
2	.	Roger Dolan	Lisbon	6990
3	.	Curt Martin	Independence	6679
4	.	Gary Webb	Davenport	6528
5	.	Rick Wendling	Hazelton	5787
6	.	Dave Birkhofer	Muscatine	5318
7	.	Bob Hill	Randall	5179
8	.	Steve Kosiski	Omaha NE	5158
9	.	Ken Walton	Viola	5099
10	.	Tom Hearst	Wilton	5015
11	.	Ed Sanger	Waterloo	4982
12	.	Joe Kosiski	Omaha NE	4927
13	.	Denny Osborn	Cedar Falls	4644
14	.	Dave Chase	Council Bluffs	4637
15	.	Dale Fischlein	Davenport	4349
16	.	Greg Kastli	Waterloo	4199
17	.	Gary Tigges	Durango	3861
18	.	Dick Schiltz	Waterloo	3818
19	.	Greg Hunter	Independence	3740
20	.	Johnny Johnson	Morning Sun	3666
21	.	Ed Kosiski	Omaha NE	3629
22	.	Bill Breuer	Wapello	3559
23	.	Jim Burbridge	Delhi	3513
24	.	Ray Guss Jr.	Milan IL	3345
25	.	Steve Fraise	Montrose	3345
26	.	Darrell DeFrance	Marshalltown	3323
27	.	Ron Weedon	Pleasant Valley	3323
28	.	Red Dralle	Evansdale	3145
29	.	Jeff Aikey	Cedar Falls	3103
30	.	Gary Crawford	Independence	3082
31	.	Tony Stewart	Washington	3035
32	.	Ron Gustaf	East Moline IL	2970
33	.	Bill Martin	Council Bluffs	2921
34	.	Ron Jackson	Burlington	2918
35	.	Jerry Pilcher	Ottumwa	2872
36	.	Bob Lekander	Burlington	2792
37	.	Darrell Dake	Cedar Rapids	2733
38	.	Jay Johnson	West Burlington	2580
39	.	Craig Jacobs	Des Moines	2570
40	.	Steve Watts	Danville	2533
41	.	Bruce Hanford	Davenport	2493
42	.	Terry Buresh	Bellevue NE	2473
43	.	Ron Boyse	Kalona	2439
44	.	Kenny Fenn	Washington	2399
45	.	Jeff French	Mount Ayr	2309
46	.	Terry Gallaher	New London MO	2268
47	.	John Hampel	Nodaway	2168
48	.	Ray Guss Sr.	Milan IL	2134
49	.	Scott Sells	Waverly	2107
50	.	Dan Nesteby	Waterloo	2031
51	.	Billy Moyer	Des Moines	2016
52	.	Gary Henderson	Independence	2005
53	.	Karl Sanger	Waterloo	1999
54	.	Steve Keppler	Marion	1997
55	.	Hershel Roberts	East Moline IL	1979
56	.	Bob Helm	Andalusia IL	1964
57	.	Jim Swank	Hamilton IL	1960
58	.	Frank Springsteen	Morning Sun	1910
59	.	Ted Pallister	Wapello	1902
60	.	Roger Bruggeman	Dubuque	1896
61	.	Glenn Robey	Omaha NE	1800
62	.	Sonny Findling	Kirksville MO	1736
63	.	Willy Kraft	Lakefield MN	1689
64	.	Mike Smith	Jewell	1651
65	.	Tom Bartholomew	Waterloo	1628
66	.	Jerry Wancewicz	Omaha NE	1599
67	.	Johnny Saathoff	Beatrice NE	1573
68	.	Duke Jackson	Clinton	1571
69	.	Jerry Conners	Pleasant Valley	1547
70	.	Darrell Sells	Waverly	1532
71	.	Randy Sterner	Blair NE	1512
72	.	Dave Goble	Burlington	1501
73	.	Bill Zwanziger	Waterloo	1484
74	.	Don Hoffman	Des Moines	1476
75	.	Ron Pallister	Wapello	1448
76	.	Jake Willert	Tipton	1417
77	.	Lem Blankenship	Keokuk	1407
78	.	Karl Ritterbusch	Clearmont	1394
79	.	Greg Larsen	Plattsmouth NE	1380
80	.	Duane Steffe	East Moline IL	1377
81	.	Bill Baldwin	Bellevue NE	1372
82	.	Dan Dickey	Packwood	1355
83	.	Dave Bjorge	Austin MN	1330
84	.	Mark Keltner	Morning Sun	1308
85	.	Em Fretheim	Decorah	1295
86	.	Bryan Wanner	Winfield	1286
87	.	Jerry Holtkamp	Williams	1283
88	.	Denny Hovinga	Pocahontas	1280
89	.	Dave Stanton	LeGrand	1245
90	.	Steve Boley	West Liberty	1233
91	.	Mike Klinkkammer	West Branch	1203
92	.	Tim Murray	Des Moines	1184
93	.	Bob Shryock	Estherville	1183
94	.	Dick Crane	Palmyra MO	1161
95	.	Ron Binning	Grand River	1131
96	.	Dwaine Hanson	Lakefield MN	1094
97	.	Al Druesedow	Omaha NE	1093
98	.	Bill Rice	Des Moines	1093
99	.	Danny Breuer	Wapello	1090
100	.	Lynn Idler	Ionia	1078
101	.	Daryl Hemm	Eldon	1077
102	.	Jim Sandusky	Coal Valley IL	1066
103	.	Todd Steuber	Fairmont MN	1060
104	.	Jim Brown	Ottumwa	1053
105	.	Harley Harrelson	Brashear MO	1050
106	.	Scott Braun	Cedar Falls	1040
107	.	Gary Pederson	Rutland	1004
108	.	Mike Cothron	Moline IL	980
109	.	Jim Jorgenson	Omaha NE	975
110	.	Craig Jacobs	Freeport IL	970
111	.	Keith Leithoff	Omaha NE	969
112	.	Leroy Brenner	Muscatine	962
113	.	Don Beckstrom	Carroll	953
114	.	Doug Hopkins	Bloomfield	949
115	.	Steve Borts	Ames	948
116	.	John Connolly	Delhi	943
117	.	Curt Hansen	Dike	940
118	.	John Chapin	Nebraska City NE	939
119	.	Jim Thruman	Freeport IL	917
120	.	Rusty Patterson	Washington	917
121	.	Al Zeitner	Omaha NE	914
122	.	Ron Tilley	Omaha NE	903
123	.	Denny Banks	Washington	895
124	.	Dave Getchell	Sperry	866
125	.	Bob Jaeger	Dubuque	849
126	.	Mike Chasteen	Peoria IL	836
127	.	Lynn Monroe	Memphis MO	831
128	.	Bobby Jackson	Milan IL	829
129	.	Terry Skalberg	Red Oak	827
130	.	Jim Jeffries	Freeport IL	825
131	.	Steve Johnson	Camanche	825
132	.	Joe Merryfield	Des Moines	813
133	.	Mel Zeitner	Omaha NE	785
134	.	Keith Allen	Donnellson	781
135	.	John Vantiger	Mount Union	776
136	.	Bill Kirk	Salix	775
137	.	Ron Cochran	Marshalltown	773
138	.	Gary Hopp	Harlan	772
139	.	Gene Claxton	Kansas City KS	759
140	.	Mike Frieden	Cedar Rapids	755
141	.	Les Verly	Grundy Center	747
142	.	Roger Tapper	Webster City	739
143	.	Al Uhrhammer	Radcliffe	738
144	.	Kevin Cale	Donnellson	732
145	.	Jim Hollenbeck	Burlington	717
146	.	Denny Ansel	Dubuque	714
147	.	Al Humphrey	Giltner NE	701
148	.	Wes Merritt	Waterloo	696
149	.	Dave Cozad	Davenport	686
150	.	Dennis Schwake	Sumner	684
151	.	Rick Wages	Moline IL	682
152	.	Dave Bentley	Fairbank	669
153	.	Mark Howell	Muscatine	668
154	.	Keith Remley	Blue Grass	660
155	.	Larry Winn	Kirksville MO	660
156	.	Don Bohlander	Glasford IL	654
157	.	Mark Burgtorf	Quincy IL	641
158	.	Dave Hammond	Camanche	640
159	.	Laverne Lehman	Waterloo	634
160	.	Lynn Richard	Mount Pleasant	630
161	.	Mitch Fretheim	Decorah	628
162	.	Terry Schlipman	Mendon IL	619
163	.	Bill Beckman	Lisbon	614
164	.	Rocky Hodges	Des Moines	593
165	.	Larry Skalberg	Emerson	584
166	.	Martin Bennett	Des Moines	582
167	.	Mike Whitehead	Clarinda	580
168	.	Tom Schony	Dakota IL	573
169	.	Ken Kennedy	Dubuque	570
170	.	Denny Rosenberg	Grimes	556
171	.	Mike Niffeneggar	Kalona	554
172	.	Harold O'Brien	Muscatine	551
173	.	Art Jeffries	Kirksville MO	545
174	.	Steve Mullahy	Burlington	544
175	.	Craig Spetman	Omaha NE	534
176	.	Lyle Kammer	Davenport	526
177	.	Dwight Jackson	Corning	523
178	.	Bill Barthelmes	Troy Mills	522
179	.	Jay Iben	Monticello	520
180	.	Rob Taylor	Fremont NE	520
181	.	Bill Christman	Bronson	514
182	.	Larry Schmidt	New Hampton	514
183	.	Sam Jacobs	Columbus NE	511
184	.	John Engelkens	Morrison IL	499
185	.	Lee Gardner	Neola NE	499
186	.	Bob Dominacki	Bettendorf	497
187	.	Ken Williamson	Denison	491
188	.	Ken Farrell	New Hampton	489
189	.	Rick Cox	Walcott	489
190	.	Mel Morris	West Liberty	486
191	.	Ken DeGood	Hillz	479
192	.	Curt Daughters	Fort Madison	474
193	.	Steve Auringer	Waterloo	474
194	.	Mark Pallischeck	Wapello	469
195	.	Terry Hirst	Rock Island IL	468
196	.	Jay Cooper	Omaha NE	464
197	.	Scott Nesteby	Dubuque	463
198	.	Leon Plank	Mondovi WI	462
199	.	Pete Parker	Kaukauna WI	459
200	.	Dick Weber	Kirksville MO	454
201	.	Howard Viner	Henderson	442
202	.	Brad Perdue	Council Bluffs	440
203	.	Terry Golder	Hooper NE	440
204	.	Steve Wahlert	Des Moines	439
205	.	Terry Rachels	Riverside	438
206	.	Jeff Johnson	Keokuk	437
207	.	Dave Thorsten	Decorah	434
208	.	Joe Sterk	Cedar Rapids	430
209	.	Ken Jackson	Burlington	426
210	.	Rick Haas	Lincoln NE	426
211	.	John Miller	Keokuk	422
212	.	Dave Plum	Waterloo	421
213	.	Roger Long	Fithian IL	421
214	.	Pat Wancewicz	Omaha NE	418
215	.	Dave Warth	Danville	413
216	.	Scott Koskovich	Omaha NE	412
217	.	Dave Farren	Des Moines	411
218	.	Arnie Braland	Boone	410
219	.	Bill Davis	Des Moines	406
220	.	Larry Wasserfort	Waterloo	405
221	.	Frank Jorgenson	Carroll	403
222	.	Glen Woodard	Des Moines	403
223	.	Ken Davidson	Indianola	396
224	.	Larry Kelley	Walford	396
225	.	Randy Krampe	Baxter	387
226	.	Bruce Mark	Williams	382
227	.	Roger Sanders	Preemption IL	382
228	.	Greg Moyer	Des Moines	381
229	.	Jerry Asher	Kirksville MO	379
230	.	Steve Spahr	Monticello	379
231	.	Ron Warthen	Anamosa	372
232	.	Mike Benson	Wakefield NE	366
233	.	Steve Lance	Cuba IL	364
234	.	Dick Sorenson	Rochester MN	354
235	.	Karl Riley	Mount Pleasant	354
236	.	Mark Powell	Davenport	354
237	.	Denny Whitlock	Davenport	353
238	.	Terry Huizel	Freeport IL	353
239	.	Jerry Hamm	Eldon	352
240	.	Mike Beuter	Tipton	350
241	.	Kevin Gundaker	St. Charles MO	345
242	.	Curt Houge	Ames	342
243	.	Larry Phillips	Springfield MO	341
244	.	Randy Adams	Muscatine	340
245	.	Kevin Skipper	Fulton IL	336
246	.	Randy Faux	Earlham	336
247	.	Lon Micks	Ottumwa	334
248	.	Denny Anderson	Rochester MN	332
249	.	Chrissy Oliver	Moline IL	331
250	.	Glen Martin	Independence	328
251	.	Jim Jenkins	Council Bluffs	327
252	.	Doc Mayner	Winthrop	325
253	.	Rick Egersdorf	St. Paul MN	323
254	.	Tom Fitzpatrick	Gilbertville	319
255	.	Andy Dittmer	Quincy IL	315
256	.	Bob McCoy	S. Sioux City NE	314
257	.	John Scherer	Davenport	314
258	.	Fred Remley	Stockton	311
259	.	Dick Barker	Dubuque	309
260	.	Dan Ludwig	Keokuk	307
261	.	Kevin Pittman	Waterloo	301
262	.	Paul Glendenning	Mount Ayr	300
263	.	Bob Stogdell	Silvis IL	298
264	.	Bob Schulte	Delhi	296
265	.	Mike Carlburg	Iowa Falls	293
266	.	Lonnie Bailey	Quincy IL	292
267	.	Mike Walker	Council Bluffs	289
268	.	Bruce Current	Maquoketa	288
269	.	Junior Shickel	Bloomington IL	288
270	.	Lance Stott	Carthage IL	288
271	.	Dave Campbell	Fort Madison	286
272	.	J.D. Barnes	Letts	286
273	.	Don Weyrich	Norfolk NE	285
274	.	Russ Derr	Keokuk	280
275	.	Tom Long	Payson IL	280
276	.	Bill Mlnarik	Omaha NE	275
277	.	Rick Germar	Red Oak	275
278	.	Ron Hemsted	Lone Tree	275
279	.	Jon Schwartz	Omaha NE	270
280	.	Alan Wessells	Strawberry Point	266
281	.	Bruce Busho	Owatonna MN	265
282	.	Mike Wallace	Valley Park MO	263
283	.	Greg Miller	Afton	261
284	.	Randy Rosenboom	Rock Rapids	261
285	.	Doug Crawford	Geneseo IL	260
286	.	Rick Prusator	Independence	258
287	.	Mark Holtmeyer	Quincy IL	254
288	.	Dewane Warth	Danville	253
289	.	Jerry Wolland	Peoria IL	252
290	.	Bob Grenoble	Freeport IL	251
291	.	Bob Fisher	Vinton	249
292	.	Tom Greenlee	Freeport IL	249
293	.	Dennis Duggan	Colesburg	246
294	.	Jim Willert	Davenport	244
295	.	Ted Beaman	Council Bluffs	244
296	.	Jeff Lawlass	Cedar Falls	239
297	.	Tim Streiff	Omaha NE	236
298	.	Kevin Larkins	Adams NE	235
299	.	Mike Spilman	Hedrick	235
300	.	Bob Wood	Metamora IL	234
301	.	Dick Taylor	Springfield IL	234
302	.	Dan Clement	Rhodes	233
303	.	Mel Abels	Freeport IL	232
304	.	Howard Seldin	Omaha NE	230
305	.	Jim Anderson	Des Moines	229
306	.	Duane VanDeest	Grundy Center	227
307	.	Larry Hiatt	New Market	224
308	.	Wayde Russell	Dunkerton	223
309	.	Jerry Brumley	Iowa City	222
310	.	Mike Inman	Keokuk	221
311	.	John Crear	Middletown	220
312	.	Dean Wagner	Waterloo	219
313	.	Kent Tucker	Aurora NE	218
314	.	Curt Zuhlke	Bancroft NE	215
315	.	Mike Barton	Nebraska City NE	213
316	.	Dave Merfeld	Dubuque	211
317	.	Gary Hagey	Clarinda	211
318	.	Lance Matthees	Winona MN	210
319	.	Jim Sands	Cedar Falls	209
320	.	Jim Gerber	Long Grove	208
321	.	Mike Benjamin	Keokuk	207
322	.	Denny Grabenbauer	Marshalltown	205
323	.	Randy Sedam	New Boston IL	202
324	.	Wayne Noble	Morning Sun	199
325	.	Tim Swope	Waterloo	197
326	.	Dick Elliott	Mount Ayr	196
327	.	Dental Williams	Kirksville MO	195
328	.	Donnie Robertson	Freeport IL	194
329	.	Randy Krutsinger	Chariton	194
330	.	Larry Larson	Keokuk	192
331	.	Bobby Mincer	Burlington	191
332	.	Charlie Moubry	Edina MO	191
333	.	Gene Chapman	Dubuque	191
334	.	Duane White	Vinton	190
335	.	Mike Fitzpatrick	Grundy Center	190
336	.	Bob Weber	Burt	189
337	.	Jim Moss	West Union	189
338	.	Les Wood	Buckingham	184
339	.	Bill Leighton	Omaha NE	182
340	.	Tim Hazen	Davenport	182
341	.	Vic Lovejoy	Waterloo	182
342	.	Chuck Rankin	Kansas City MO	181
343	.	Paul Zdan	Omaha NE	181
344	.	Dean McGee	Knoxville IL	179
345	.	Dale Maurer	Fremont NE	177
346	.	Dane Steiner	Dubuque	177
347	.	Bill LaFollette	Kansas City MO	176
348	.	Ken Essary	Galena MO	175
349	.	Larry Pipes	Kirksville MO	172
350	.	Kevin Kollofski	Fairmont MN	171
351	.	Mike Kaller	Ottumwa	170
352	.	Mike Phillips	Cotter	170
353	.	Ron Godwin	Redfield	169
354	.	Stan Thomas	Dubuque	169
355	.	Bernard Reinking	Westgate	166
356	.	Mitch Johnson	Fargo ND	166
357	.	Ron Schreiner	Eleva WI	165
358	.	Francis James	Stanton	164
359	.	Jeff Hinkemeyer	St. Cloud MN	163
360	.	Charlie Sentman	Waveland IN	161
361	.	Dick Hatfield	Ottumwa	161
362	.	Doug Wiggs	Sloan	161
363	.	Gary Joens	Omaha NE	161
364	.	Leon Zeitner	Omaha NE	161
365	.	Fuzzy Liddell	Waterloo	159
366	.	Jack Golder	Hooper NE	158
367	.	Mike Bardoel	Milan IL	157
368	.	Skip Kennedy	Dubuque	157
369	.	Rodney Combs	Lost Creek WV	156
370	.	Bill VandeVoort		155
371	.	Jim Riedl	Dubuque	155
372	.	Jim Heap	Macomb IL	154
373	.	Jim Gay Jr.	Omaha NE	153
374	.	Stan Klinkkammer	West Branch	153
375	.	Corky Bailey	Dakota City NE	151
376	.	Mike Cardine	Steward IL	151
377	.	Bill Brendel	Fruitland	150
378	.	Jeff Weikert	Muscatine	150
379	.	Ted Zieman	Mason City	150
380	.	Darrell Garman	Kirksville MO	149
381	.	Dave Sidwell	Iowa City	148
382	.	Rick Aukland	Fargo ND	148
383	.	Tom Bloyd	Hamilton IL	148
384	.	Bill Wrich	Norfolk NE	147
385	.	Dan Thomas	Morning Sun	147
386	.	Frank Ince	Des Moines	147
387	.	Herb Shannon	Hanna City IL	147
388	.	Dave Yakle	Wapello	146
389	.	Mark Widmar	Ottumwa	146
390	.	Bob Kinsella	Dubuque	144
391	.	Bob Hilmer	Dysart	143
392	.	Ron Elbe	Augusta IL	143
393	.	Kurt Stewart	Ainsworth	142
394	.	Mark Verbeck	Annawan IL	142
395	.	Mark Windorski	Omaha NE	142
396	.	Sam Foshee	Sterling IL	142
397	.	Gary Hunt	Franklin Park IL	140
398	.	Jeff Nelson	Reinbeck	138
399	.	Reggie Roth	Bancroft NE	137
400	.	Del Lankford	Macomb IL	136
401	.	John Roush	Fairfield	136
402	.	Bob Pistole	Walnut IL	135
403	.	Jim Grafton	Des Moines	134
404	.	Ron Rosenboom	Carroll	134
405	.	Randy Harrison	Memphis MO	133
406	.	Verlin Eaker	Mechanicsville	133
407	.	Mark Greiner	Fairfield	132
408	.	Clayton Peterson	Grand Island NE	131
409	.	David Buford	Donnellson	131
410	.	Jerry Nigh	Eldridge	130
411	.	Russ Fenn	Washington	129
412	.	Danny Wallace	Des Moines	128
413	.	Dave Gerner	Garber	128
414	.	Jim Curry	Norman IN	128
415	.	Rick Heuer	Waterloo	128
416	.	Phil Bivens	Nebraska City NE	127
417	.	Ken Schrader	Fenton MO	126
418	.	Terry Foote	Stanton	126
419	.	Bob Kosiski	Omaha NE	125
420	.	Jim Dorothy	Keosaqua	125
421	.	Keith Strunk	Webster City	125
422	.	David Fischer	Lincoln NE	124
423	.	Kyle Berck	Marquette NE	124
424	.	Rex Nun	Lincoln NE	124
425	.	Terry Holliman	Hamburg	124
426	.	Jim Conner	Lynden WI	123
427	.	Terry Liebentripp	Omaha NE	123
428	.	Darrell Marmor	River Grove IL	122
429	.	Ken Sutton	Mediapolis	122
430	.	Denny Sherrill	Hartford SD	121
431	.	Robin Ferguson	Kirkville IL	121
432	.	Vern Jackson	Waterloo	120
433	.	Jack Schmidt	Davenport	118
434	.	Darrell McGee	Galesburg IL	117
435	.	Steve Neilson	Hamlin	115
436	.	Andy Claiborne	Stanley KS	114
437	.	Bob Harris	Estherville	114
438	.	Hal Russell	Blue Grass	114
439	.	Paul Shafer	Portage IN	114
440	.	Bob Letts	Manchester	110
441	.	Brad Dubil	Davenport	110
442	.	Larry Barger	Marshalltown	110
443	.	Ray Lipsey	Lincoln NE	110
444	.	Bob Hutchinson	Danville	108
445	.	Larry Moore	Dayton OH	108
446	.	Rick Gladson	Des Moines	107
447	.	Bill Balmer	Niota IL	106
448	.	Dave Dodder	Letts	106
449	.	Gordy Blankenship	Keokuk	106
450	.	Brian Roberts	West Liberty	105
451	.	Butch Cole	Kewanee IL	105
452	.	Dave Meile	Freeport IL	105
453	.	Dave Bedard	Waterloo	104
454	.	Denny Gerst	Waterloo	103
455	.	Jerry Inmon	Bruce MS	103
456	.	Mike Hoover	Vandalia MO	102
457	.	Larry Halbrook	Ankeny	101
458	.	Lyle Roucka	Fremont NE	101
459	.	Mark Ogle	Kirksville MO	101
460	.	Steve Lurvey	Dousman WI	101
461	.	Wayne Larson	Ames	101
462	.	Ben Schaefer	Raymond	100

Richie Gustin Headlines Frostbuster Finale at Vinton

A couple of days ago the forecasted weather for Sunday in Vinton was not looking too good. That is why you don't want to rely too much on weather forecasts. The sun was bright, the temperature was pushing sixty and the pits were full of nearly 100 race cars as the Benton County Speedway opened its 2013 season with the fourth and final event of the IMCA Frostbuster mini series featuring drivers from as far away as Texas and Saskatchewan.

The Modified division was the headliner with thirty drivers gunning for the $1,000 top prize. Hometown favorite Scott Hogan drew the pole position alongside Devon Havlik for the 30-lap main event and it was Hogan who quickly pulled away at the drop of the green. With that first lap scored, this race would then have a hard time getting to lap two as first Matt Gansen spun in turn two. On the restart Kyle Krampe looped his car in nearly the same spot and on the next try at a start Lance Arneson found that there was not enough room on the outside of Mitch Morris to try to get an early jump as he ended up in the wall off turn four. The next restart would be single file and the race found a rhythm with Hogan leading Jeff Waterman around the topside of the quarter-mile oval. The cushion was the preferred groove on both ends for the leaders, but for those who were back in the pack trying to make their way forward all lines were up for grabs. Richie Gustin had started in row seven and J.D. Auringer in row eight, but both were steadily making their way toward the front using the classic slidejob as needed.

Gustin slipped by Waterman for second on lap nineteen and he did not waste anytime going after the leader as he drove by Hogan a lap later for the point. Two laps later while running third Auringer dropped off the top side of turn three and sixth-running Matt Rechek did the same, but Auringer, who kept going, caught a break when Rechek stopped to bring out the caution. On the restart Hogan was able to stick his nose under Gustin a couple of times in turn three as he tried to regain the lead, but with four laps remaining Hogan went too hard into turn three and drove over the top of the banking bringing out the final caution of the event. Auringer was now in second and on the restart he kept the heat on Gustin, but there was no stopping Richie from taking home the hard earned victory tonight. Waterman was consistent in third, Kyle Brown who started eighteenth moved up a couple of more positions in the final laps to take fourth while Patrick Flannagan was fifth.

The Stock Car A-Main had to take a second try to get started when pole-sitter John Emerson spun in turn one on the opening lap. Fortunately everybody missed him and on the restart Damon Murty outran his new front row partner Matt Junio for the lead. This one was all Murty for twenty laps as "The Chelsea Charger" pulled away for the convincing win with the Wisconsin driver Junio going unchallenged for second. The battle for third was a close one though as another Wisconsin-based shoe Tyler Smith edged out division rookie Scott Pippert by inches at the checkers with Norm Chesmore right behind them and looking for racing room. Chesmore had started fourteenth.

Clint Luellen had never been to the Benton County Speedway before tonight and after winning the 20-lap Sport Mod feature in his first appearance here it is a good bet that the driver from Minburn will be back for another special event down the road. Luellen started on the outside of the front row and was never challenged while the battle for second on back raged on behind him. Danny Dvorak, Tracy Wassenberg and Austin Moyer were working hard for that second spot and on lap fifteen Moyer spun in turn two. The caution flag had already been waved though for another car that had looped in turn three allowing Moyer to retain his position for the restart. Wassenberg muscled past Dvorak for second when the green flag flew again, but the Wisconsin driving got sideways in turn one and could not make the save as he spun into the infield. One last caution with three laps remaining put Dvorak and Moyer on Luellen's back bumper, but they could do nothing with him as they finished in that same order. Austin Kaplan advanced from twelfth to fourth while Joel Rust came from very deep in the pack, row eleven to finish fifth.

Defending IMCA National Champion Shannon Anderson started on the inside of row five in the Hobby Stock main event and as Kyle Parizek paced the field early, Anderson started his march to the front. On lap four Justin Stander and Nick Murty tangled in turn two and seconds later the third-place car of Matt Brown took a wild end-over-end tumble down the back stretch and over turn three. It was good news a few minutes later to hear that Brown was out of the car and okay as this looked like a bad one. Once back to racing Anderson moved into second on lap six and was set to pounce on the leader only to have Parizek pop a right rear tire coming out of turn four. Once out front there was no stopping Anderson as he cruised to the victory ahead of Benji Irvine, Brian Happel, Nick Murty and Austin Luellen.

A field of eight Sport Compacts took the green for their 12-lap feature with Nathan Chandler securing the lead from Craig Bangert on the opening lap and then walking away for the win. Bangert who made the long trip up from Golden, Illinois, held off a late challenge from Bill Whalen Jr. for second while Merv Chandler and Steve Miedke completed the top five.

The range of drivers entered here tonight proves why I like a national sanctioning body like IMCA. A driver knows that they can travel in to Iowa for this four race weekend and race under a common set of rules for the division that they race in at their home track. Michael Dancer pulled his Stock Car here from North Platte, Nebraska, Bill Pittaway towed his Modified all the way up from Corpus Christi, Texas, while Stefan Klym (Stock Car) and Destiny Klym (Hobby Stock) came all the way from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. None of these drivers ran near the front of the pack tonight, but as a race fan it was awesome to see them in action and they will be names that I will now recognize when I see the results from their home tracks. Without the reach and consistency of IMCA, this does not happen.

Of course I have to mention all of the friendly faces that were checking in cars and preparing for the night's events when I arrived at the pit shack. Along with promoter Mick Trier, there was Track Manager Dana Benning,  scorekeeper Kevin Kemp, announcer Bucky Doren, PR whiz Jeremy Fox and my PR.com colleague Ryan Clark. And once in the grandstand it was good to find a seat next to Kevin Trittien as the open seats were few and far between as the Vinton crowd came out in full force on this night. Weekly racing action will get underway here next Sunday night.

My next event is scheduled for this Wednesday night April 10th as the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders will travel to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa to run on a half-mile for the only time this season. Yes, we could use some rain around here, but hopefully the weather will give us a break for a great night of mid-week action!

Fifth Annual Slocum 50 Goes To Denny Eckrich

It was a battle between two brothers for most of the 50-lap distance at 34 Raceway near Burlington Saturday night, but there were some others who wanted to join the family gathering late as the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models opened the 2013 season with the fifth running of the Brent Slocum Memorial.

Andy and Denny Eckrich lined up first and third on the starting grid for the $5,555-to-win main event in memory of the popular driver of the "High Five" racing team late model who lost his life eight years ago here in a pit area accident and the two brothers quickly pulled away from the field at the drop of the green. Andy was setting a blistering pace and Denny was doing his best to keep up until lap sixteen when the leader got a bit too high exiting turn two. Andy's contact with the back stretch wall sent sparks flying and the minor damage incurred was enough to slow the #56 down just enough for Denny to go to work on him.

The next six laps were a classic brotherly battle as the two ran side-by-side around the fast high-banked oval with Denny nosing ahead to lead lap nineteen. The next two laps were literally too close to call and Andy had a nose out front on lap twenty-two, but the only way to know that for sure was because the caution then waved for a spinning Travis Smock in turn two and Andy was placed in front for the restart. A three-car pileup a lap later eliminated defending race champion Mike Murphy Jr. along with Ron Klein and Todd Malmstrom and following a lengthy delay to pull a couple of the cars apart the lineup featured Andy out front with Denny and Jason Utter in the first row of two and behind them were two drivers who had been coming toward the front fast. Tom Darbyshire had started in the twentieth position and Jeff Aikey had lined up twelfth on the original grid and neither was content with fourth or fifth.

Andy would hold off Denny until lap twenty-nine when the older brother would then take over and Andy was now trying to hold back the hard charging Darbyshire for second. Four laps later Darbyshire got too high coming out of turn two and his car nearly climbed over the universal barriers going down the back stretch leaving his damaged mount stopped up against the wall at the entrance of turn three. Tom was obviously frustrated as he climbed out of the car, but the crowd gave him a big round of applause for the amazing run that he had made through the pack.

A new contender emerged for the ensuing restart as Brian Harris had put the Richard Realty and Auction #15 into the top five after starting twenty-first and the field went back to green for the final seventeen laps. Denny was able to put some distance on his challengers as Aikey worked to clear Andy for second and once he did so Aikey had over a half a straightaway to try to make up on the leader. He needed some help from lap traffic, but with the back of the pack still running fast laps as well, the laps would run out before the leader reach them and Denny Eckrich pumped his fist with jubilation as he crossed the finish line in victory. Aikey's second place run is a good way to start his defense of the Deery Series crown and Harris slipped past Andy Eckrich and Jason Utter in those closing laps to take third. Colby Springsteen delighted his fans with a sixth-place finish, Jeremiah Hurst came from the eighth row to finish seventh, Justin Kay started last in the 24-car field and moved to eighth, Tom Goble was ninth and Joel Callahan moved up from the ninth row to finish tenth.

Slocum 50 Notes......Despite overcast skies and a forecast of isolated thunderstorms the event drew 46 IMCA Late Models and a solid crowd to enjoy them. The sun actually made an appearance right around race time as the skies appeared to be clearing, but not long after a couple of nearby lightning bolts were seen and rain fell for about five minutes as the first B-Main concluded. Jeff and Amy Laue's crew quickly had tires on the track to save it and it wasn't long before we were back to racing with stars in the sky overhead and a lightning show off to the east.....Jason Utter started tenth and was quickly up to third and closing on the Eckrich brothers before dropping back to fifth at the checkers.....In addition to the $5,555 winners check, Denny earned the $538 "Honus Bonus" for leading lap 38 in memory of Jeremy "Honus" Wagner, a former crewman for Colby Springsteen's #38......Brian Harris staked claim to the $555 Hard Charger award from the High Five supporters.....There are no series point provisionals awarded during the first two Deery events this year, but the traditional Hard Charger provisional given to the driver who passes the most cars in both the heat and the B-main who did not finish in a transfer position was handed out. And it went to Justin Kay who likely earned it on the final lap of the second B-Main when he passed Ray Guss Jr. for sixth......The Hall of Famer Guss along with Tyler Bruening and Jay Johnson are usually Summer Series point championship contenders, but tonight they were spectators come feature time.....Brandon Queen was a new name to the IMCA Late Model roster tonight. The son of former 34 Raceway Sportsman division competitor Alan Queen from Keokuk, Brandon drives a car purchased at the end of last year from Colby Springsteen.....The Deery Series returns to action next weekend with a Saturday night (April 13th) stop at West Liberty and then on Sunday night (April 14th) the "Boys of Summer" light up the high-banks of the Dubuque Speedway.

In support class action, the IMCA Sport Mods went for fifteen-laps of non-stop racing with Chris Larson taking the win from the pole position. Derek St. Clair chased him throughout and then held back a late challenge from Carter VanDenBerg to finish second, Bobby Anders came from eighth to fourth and Ryan Fullenkamp rounded out the top five. Twenty-six IMCA Sport Compacts checked in with twenty-four of them taking the green flag for the 12-lap main event that saw Adam Gates come from the outside of row four to hold the lead by turn two. He didn't just do it once though as the first two starts were wiped out by caution flags, Gates did it three times and then cruised to an apparent victory. However, both Gates and second finishing Michael Grossman failed the post-race tech inspection handing the win over to Nicholas Van Hemurt of Drakesville. Billy Stanford, Scott Smith, Kimberly Abbott and Cody Van Dusen would fill out the official top five.

Congratulations and thanks go to Brad Stevens and his entire group of friends and fans of Brent Slocum who pull together all of the sponsors to make this event so special. The drivers greatly appreciate the extra cash, but something tells me that most of them would be there even without it to honor their fallen friend and competitor. Jeff and Amy Laue and the entire 34 Raceway family are a huge part of this effort as well and once again they presented a spectacular race program that should have fans marking their calendar already for the sixth running of this event in 2014.

The MOWA 410 Sprints are next up on the schedule at 34 Raceway on Saturday April 13th and Late Model fans will not want to miss the MARS/ALMS/Corn Belt Clash Late Model Clash for Cash on Saturday April 20th at 34.

With my lovely bride elsewhere for the evening I am going to do something that I usually only pull off in August and that is to go to four nights of racing in a row as the IMCA Frostbuster mini series wraps up tonight (Sunday) at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Perhaps I'll see you there!

Hall Sweeps Sprint Invader Field at Lee County

Russ Hall has been to the Lee County Speedway several times, but had never driven away from the track in Donnellson with a sense of satisfaction. That all changed on Friday night when the driver from the Des Moines suburb of Pleasant Hill absolutely dominated a strong field of twenty-nine winged sprints winning race number two on the 2013 schedule for the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders.

Hall started directly behind pole-sitter Daniel Bergquist in the 25-lap main event and after following Bergquist on the opening lap Hall swept into the lead on lap number two. The winner of last Saturday's opener at 34 Raceway, Paul Nienheiser worked his way past Bergquist into second two laps later, but by then Hall had already opened up a full straightaway advantage. Lapped traffic allowed the teenager from Illinois to cut into the lead a bit and Hall's cushion over Nienheiser was completely erased when Tim Moore spun in turn two on lap ten.

Last week's runner-up Scotty Thiel was now in contention running third for the restart and both drivers did their best to stay with Hall. Neither could do so however as Hall did exactly as he did in both his heat race and the Budweiser Shake Up Dash, pulling away to win with ease. Nienheiser and Thiel finished second and third establishing themselves as the top two in points after two events, Mike Houseman Jr. was solid coming from eighth to finish fourth and Randy Martin took fifth after starting in the sixth row.

LCS SIA Notes......After drawing thirty cars to the opener at 34 Raceway, the car count was just one less at Lee County giving the Invaders a solid start to the 2013 season that continues tonight (Saturday) on the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway.....Drivers making their first appearance tonight included Joe Beaver, Matt Moro, Randy Martin and Joey Moughan. Moughan served as the crew chief for Paul Nienheiser during his win at 34 last week, but tonight the Springfield based speedster drove the Wilson Brothers #15 based out of western Tennessee. Moughan started eleventh and finished sixth. Moro was eighth and Beaver failed to make the show after being caught up in an incident not of his own making in the B-Main.....Russ Hall's #45c is sponsored by one of my favorite restaurants, Waterfront Seafood Market in West Des Moines....After having some rough track conditions during their season opener last Friday night, Mike VanGenderen and Dave Sapp put in extra track prep time during the week to provide the sprint car drivers with a hard and smooth surface. A steady cool breeze out of the southeast dried out the surface to send the dust flying though, but the track stayed racy all night as evidenced by the advancement of drivers like Houseman, Martin and Moughan......After the Davenport stop, the Sprint Invaders go to another track promoted by VanGenderen on April 10th when they visit the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. It will be the only event staged on a half-mile during the Sprint Invaders' 2013 schedule.

The Mod Lites made a special appearance for the evening and it was the track point's opener for the Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts. Twenty of the Mod Lite cars started their main event with Chase Flatt leading the first nine laps before Josh May saw an opening and made his move. Once in the lead there was no catching May as the driver from DeSoto cruised in for the victory. Flatt finished second, Greg Rossell came from the fourth row to take third while Andy Hennigar was the true hard charger coming from the ninth row to finish fourth. Justin Bucholz filled out the top five.

Chris Larson held the lead for the first eleven circuits of the Sport Mod headliner with Carter VanDenBerg hanging right with him. After being the runner-up here last week, and finishing second again at Des Moines last night, VanDenBerg was not going to be satisfied with being the bridesmaid again so he went top shelf and drove around Larson coming off of turn four with just three laps remaining to take the win. In victory lane Carter thanked his girlfriend Makenzie for getting the race car ready for the night's event while he worked. Announcer Dan Workman said it best when he replied "keep her!". Larson finished in the second spot, Bobby Anders came from the fourth row to take third, Brett Lowry was fourth and Derek St. Clair finished fifth. Two of the track's top weekly competitors, Tony Dunker and Jim Gillenwater spotted the rest of the field a full night worth of points as they were off competing in the $10,000-to-win B-Modified event at the West Plains Speedway in southern Missouri.

Last week Jason Cook put the pressure on Damon Murty throughout the Stock Car main event only to come up just short at the finish line. Then, to make it a really bad night, his motor blew as the checkers waved. This week went much better for "Big Daddy" as Cook started on the front row and was never challenged throughout the 15-lap distance. David Brandies made the trip down from Atalissa, started eighth and worked his up to second at the checkers followed by John Oliver Jr., Abe Huls and Jim Lynch.

For the second week in a row the IMCA Sport Compact feature race ended in a photo finish at Lee County as Matt Moore edged out Josh Barnes by a bumper to take his first career victory. Michael Grossman was third, Seith Woodruff took fourth and Kimberly Abbott rounded out the top five.

The Lee County Speedway will host their third straight special event next Friday night, April 12th, with the 5th Annual Brian Hetrick Memorial for 305 Sprint Cars. All five weekly classes will also be in action.

My partner Bill Wright will be with the Sprint Invaders in Davenport tonight while I look forward to working with Rich Adams and Dan Workman at 34 Raceway for the annual Slocum 50 as the Deery Brother Summer Series will kick off their 2013 campaign at 34 Raceway racing in memory of one of the nicest guys I've ever come across, Brent Slocum. Get on out to the track of your choice tonight!!

Mills, Murty, Gladson and Anderson Post Frostbuster Wins in Des Moines

I thought about staying home and watching the Hawkeyes. But I don’t get an opportunity to go to the Iowa State Fair Speedway often, the weather was as good as it has been for awhile, and it was a Thursday night in early April. This would kick off the IMCA Frostbuster weekend and I could always record the Hawks on DVR and watch them win it all later so it was off to the races!

Despite the late winter promoter Mick Trier had the racing surface on the historic half-mile in darn good shape for the opening night of the four-race swing and while the car counts were nowhere near what the event had last year, it was a solid field of local favorites and long distance travelers with drivers from Canada, North Dakota, Wisconsin and North Carolina on hand. Those who are trying to identify some kind of trend in the car counts need to remember that last season we had already experienced about three weeks of “pre-summer” by this time giving everybody the itch to get their car ready and go racing, while this year we have had about three days of “pre-spring” when it is actually supposed to spring! There is your trend, folks!

The IMCA Stock Cars would be the first of six main events to hit the track with Mike Johnson fighting off early challenges from Gary Bass and Tommie Killen to maintain the lead. While the battle was tight upfront I had my eye on Damon Murty who had started twelfth after dominating the first heat race of the night. Murty, who won last Friday night in Donnellson at the first race in Iowa for 2013, was steadily working his way toward that lead pack and when the caution waved on lap seven for a spinning Rich Vogt, “The Chelsea Charger” would line up fourth for the restart.  Steve Hill would spin in turn two on that restart and then a lap later the caution would wave again for Hill who this time had slammed into the concrete wall in turn three.

 

Damon Murty earned his second win of the young season in the IMCA Stock Car feature - Barry Johnson photo

 

Once back to racing Johnson did his best to hang onto the lead, but Murty drove by him with six laps remaining. This one was not over though as another driver had charged from deep in the pack and had taken over second in the closing laps. Jeff Anderson looked like an “also ran” during his heat race putting him on the tenth row for the main event, but the veteran driver looked like the former champ that he is in the feature and as the white flag waved he still had the leader within striking distance. Murty was flawless though over that final lap as he picked up his second checkered flag in the young season with Anderson not far back in second. Nathan Wood slipped by both Bass and Johnson in the final two laps to secure third while Johnson and Bass completed the top five.

Jeff Anderson (78) made a big charge to the front passing Mike Johnson late for second - Barry Johnson photo

Rick Gladson started on the outside of the front row and moved to the lead at the drop of the green in the Sport Mod feature with fourth-starting Carter VanDenBerg in hot pursuit. VanDenBerg was able to pull even with Gladson a couple of times through the early laps, but could not quite clear him for the lead. A caution on lap eleven bunched the field and on the restart the two drivers who won heat races, Doug Smith and Glen Gladson tangled in turn two. Gladson did not stop and would restart in fourth while Smith retired to the pit area with handling problems. Once back to green Rick Gladson was in control for the final four laps as he would post the win on his hometown track while VanDenBerg repeated his runner-up finish from last Friday night at Donnellson. Blain Peterson, who was also in action tonight in his Hobby Stock, would finish in the third spot, Glen Gladson would hold on to fourth and Wisconsin visitor Tracy Wassenburg passed Jack Housley coming to the checkers for fifth.

Carter VanDenBerg (7) applied the early pressure, but Rick Gladson (77) went wire-to-wire for the Sport Mod win - Barry Johnson photo

The IMCA Modifieds were up next for twenty fast laps on the big half-mile with Todd Shute pacing the field through the early laps. The 2008 All Iowa Points champion looked strong until lap six when smoke started to pour out the back of his #5 car due to apparent rear end issues. As Shute slowed and pulled to the pits Jeremy Mills took over the point and gradually put some distance on the rest of the pack. With Mills now a full straightaway out front the battle for second was the one to watch as young Cayden Carter and Carolina star Kyle Strickler swapped the position back and forth around a lapped car with three laps to go. Mills would post the win in dominating fashion as Carter held off Strickler to finish in second. Jake Durbin would pick up fourth place money at the pay window as Jay Noteboom ran fifth. Ricky “Racer” Stephan, Scott Davis and Randy Havlik were next in line.

The roulette wheel landed on 10 for Jeremy Mills as he ran away with the Mofified payoff - Barry Johnson photo

Eight Dirt Trucks would take to the track next with former Late Model and Sprint Car driver Tony Moro muscling his way to the front to take the win over Ed Nelson.

Shannon Anderson proved that he would be the man to beat on this night with his run from the back to the front in his heat race, so when the Hobby Stock main rolled out of staging with Anderson on the pole position this one was essentially over from there. Curt Reed started next to the defending IMCA Hobby Stock National Champion and did his best to keep pace early, but Anderson was just too strong to be overtaken as he cruised to the win. He was announced as Jeff Griffiths all night, but I am guessing that it was actually Dustin behind the wheel of the #10G who started seventh and finished second after passing Danny Watson late. Eric Stanton had problems that kept him from even starting his heat race, but he came back strong to finish in fourth after starting at the rear of the sixteen car field.

Shannon Anderson swept the Hobby Stock portion of the Frostbuster in Des Moines - Barry Johnson photo

State Fair Speedway Frostbuster Notes…… As I mentioned above, the car counts may have been less than many expected, but for a Thursday night race on a cool night in early April I was more than happy with 27 Modifieds, 23 Stock Cars, 19 Hobby Stocks, 18 Sport Mods, 9 Trucks and 7 Sport Compacts…..The second Stock Car heat had a late arriving driver come to the track in a #01 who was obviously driving a race car for the first time and doing it very slowly. As the field quickly closed on him going down the backstretch on the second lap Tommie Killen was making a move for position and blasted the black car square on the back bumper. Credit the new driver though as with the sudden burst of speed he was able to keep it straight entering turn three with the rest of the pack. And credit Killen as despite the impact with the speed bump and the resulting damage to the front of his car, he was still able to come back and win the race……The #01 car later pulled from the infield to cross the track to the pits while a race was under green and that was the last that we saw of it for the evening. Remember, everybody has to have a “first night”……The second Sport Mod heat saw a white car with a #71 on the rear quarter panel go roaring past Austin Kaplan for the win. Knowing how hard it is to beat Kaplan anywhere, when I couldn’t catch the name of the winner on the PA I asked Kevin Babcock who it was and he said “Glen Gladson…..but it looked like Leon Plank”. Yes it did!......The first Modified heat may have been the race of the night with Wisconsin’s Johnny Whitman trying to hold back the hard charging duo of Kyle Strickler and Jay Noteboom. On the final lap Strickler dove into turn three under Whitman and as Strickler came up the track, Whitman went too high allowing Noteboom to get by as well…..Scott Davis has made the move out of the Sport Mod division to the Modifieds for 2013 and he finished seventh in a solid run tonight. Davis was announced as a “rookie” for the division a couple of times, however I do believe that Scott raced in the Modified division previously, long before the Sport Mods were ever thought of……Steve Hill looked good in his Stock Car heat race finishing third behind Damon Murty and John Heinz, and he was in contention early in the main event before his two cautions. His bad luck continued though as his car fell off the hook of the wrecker while in the infield and, during a caution in the Sport Mod feature when that same wrecker tried to tow Hill’s #55 to the pits, it again dropped off the hook in the middle of turn one......A big thanks to Mick Trier and the State Fair Speedway staff for the hospitality to myself and to birthday boy (today) Barry Johnson…..Frostbuster action continues tonight (Friday) in Marshalltown, Saturday in Boone and wraps up on Sunday night at Trier’s other track, the Benton County Speedway in Vinton.

My schedule is full for the next three nights, weather permitting, as tonight we’ll be with the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. On Saturday night the Invaders will attack the quarter-mile oval at the Davenport Speedway and while Bill Wright handles the announcing duties on that one I look forward to working with Rich Adams during the annual Brent Slocum Memorial at 34 Raceway in Burlington. With the postponement in Dubuque, the Slocum will now serve as the opener for the 2013 Deery Brothers Summer Series and a large field of cars is expected for the $5,555-to-win event. Then on Sunday night I hope to hook back up with the Frostbuster tour at the always exciting Benton County Speedway in Vinton. But for now, I have a basketball game to erase from my DVR…….hope to see you soon on the Back Stretch!