The weather forecast is favorable for racing, yes it may be a bit breezy but "Shiverfest" will take the green tomorrow late afternoon (Saturday, October 26th) at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson and will be the final event of the 2013 season in the state of Iowa. It is the last opportunity for drivers and fans alike to get their racing fix and of course it will be the final event for the 2013 All Iowa Points chase. The championship in one division is yet to be decided as Shannon Anderson and Devin Smith are in a dead heat at the top of the Hobby Stock standings, but I would be shocked if either driver shows up in Donnellson.
This event got its start back in 1999 when myself and then track promoters Terry and Jenni Hoenig decided to schedule the "Millennium Grand Finale" as the final racing event in the area before the Y2K bug would wipe out our society as we knew it. Late Models were on the roster at that event and the first car to show up at the pit gate that day was a red Late Model out of Missouri to be driven by Carl Edwards, the father of the current NASCAR star. It was an overcast evening with temperatures in the mid-40's and a stiff northerly breeze, but the drivers and the fans showed up and the with trick-or-treating for the kids afterwards and a few parties as well the overall event was considered a success. As we wound down and tried to get warm that evening in the pit shack Jenni commented, "well that was a real Shiverfest" and just like that an event was named!
Traditionally scheduled for one of the last two Saturdays in October the event has seen a wide range of weather from a few snow flurries floating around at feature time to a couple of shows where the sunshine was bright and the temperatures were in the seventies. It was at that warm weather show where the event record of 214 cars in five divisions was established. Mother Nature has not been kind in general though over the past several years as only one of the last five years has seen Shiverfest take the green on its originally scheduled Saturday. It will be good to break that streak tomorrow and I hope to see a lot of you there! Rides through the pits start at 3 p.m., trick-or-treating is at 3:30 and hot laps are scheduled for 4:30 with racing to follow.
Maybe you can find them in Hawkeye Racing News but I have been surprised at how difficult it has been to track down the results of a couple of late season specials. Thank goodness for Dianna Winkel and Christian Dundee otherwise I would have had no luck!! The art of placing results on a track's website seems to be lost on some.
Danny Lasoski and Sammy Swindell have been the winners on the first two nights of the Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock. We'll see if the youth movement kicks in for the rest of the weekend.
Corey LaJoie is another example of why people shouldn't use Twitter.
How do you become the most famous Teacher's Assistant in history? Of course she can be found at the world's number one party school. Go Hawks!!
Kirk Ferentz kept his promise of not returning any punts in the Ohio State game last weekend. Of course it was hard to evaluate if he was keeping that promise or not since Iowa failed to stop Ohio State even once and put them into a punt situation. Looking at the brightside, the Hawks did not get caught running backwards on a fake punt either. Let's see what happens tomorrow against Northwestern.
After a change of leadership at Quincy and the open promoter's seat in Tipton were announced in early September things have been fairly quiet around here except for the changes that will be taking place at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines over the next two seasons. A group headed up by Tony Moro will take over the promotion of weekly racing at the track in 2014 adding the IMCA Racesaver 305 Sprints to the card and then prior to the 2015 season the track itself will be shortened. Will that be all of the changes that we will see this year? Something tells me that one or two more may be on the horizon.
Check back in on the Back Stretch this week as I will have news and notes from Shiverfest, plus we'll put a wrap on the 2013 All Iowa Points chase.
See you at the track?
Friday, October 25, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
The Gasman Tallies Two At Memphis
Cayden Carter scored two feature wins on the opening night of the Fall Nationals at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri, Friday night and the racing was amazing even though this was the 2013 "season opener" for the facility. Drivers ran up to five-wide at times around the spacious 3/8th-mile oval as 111 cars packed the pits on a chilly, but very tolerable evening.
Carter's first win of the night came behind the wheel of Roger Kelderman's #10CC Stock Car as he took the lead at the midway point and then fought off the challenges of Jason Cook, Nathan Wood and finally Louis Lynch to secure the victory. Lynch would lead the race early and survive a pair of restarts, but following a Jay Hayes spin in turn tow on lap seven Lynch slipped high coming to the green out of turn four and both Cook and Carter shuffled him back to third. Those two would then go side-by-side for a full lap before Carter nosed ahead and Cook would stay with two car lengths of the new leader until Hayes spun again with four laps to go. On this restart Lynch would come back strong and move to second with Wood in hot pursuit, but they could not get around Carter as the young speedster from Oskaloosa earned his first ever feature win in a Stock Car.
Cayden would get some rest during the Hobby Stock main before climbing back aboard his Modified for the final feature of the evening and in that 20-lap affair it was Dakota Hayden who opened a big early lead. A caution for a spinning Brian Troxel on lap eight brought the field back to Hayden though and on the restart Carter drove deep into turn one and then shut the door on Hayden at the exit of turn two to take the lead. Three cautions in the final seven laps chopped up the action and on the final restart with four laps to go Kyle Brown pulled off the same move on Carter as Cayden had executed earlier on Hayden to take the lead. Carter stayed with his high line though and was able to regain the lead as the white flag waved pulling Hayden, who had earlier faded as far back as sixth, along with him to second and that is the way they finished a lap later. Brown held off Ronn Lauritzen by a nose for third while Jerry Pilcher completed the top five.
The Hobby Stock main was simply amazing as a pack of drivers raced in a tight bunch at the front of the pack throughout the race even going four-wide with just four laps remaining as southwest Iowa driver Jason Fusselman moved to the lead. A lap later though he was passed by fellow Shelby County Speedway regular Corey Madden who then held off that pack to score the victory. Jacob Keiser nipped Dustin Griffiths by a nose to finish second as Griffiths came to third from an eighth row starting spot. Early leader Mike Hughes took fourth while Fusselman was shuffled back to fifth at the checkers.
Merv Chandler and Adam Gates warmed the crowd with a thrilling late race battle in the Sport Compact main event. Gates raced out to a sizeable early lead only to have the veteran driver chase him down and throw a slidejob at him with three laps to go. Gates was able to re-pass Chandler before they crossed the stripe for that lap, but Merv came right back and drove under Gates in turn three to take the lead with two to go. 007 was not to be denied though as Gates returned the favor on the following lap and then pulled away by five car lengths on the final circuit to take the victory as Chandler had to settle for second. Josh Modde driving the #30 usually pedaled by Shawn Cooney was third, Chuck Fullenkamp was fourth and John Whalen rounded out the top five. I do have to mention the long pull down from Storm Lake by Cory Flanigan who ran in the top five early before he faded to eleventh.
The Sport Mods were the first feature of the night and they struggled mightily in the early laps as four multi-car spins occurred before three laps could be scored. It was just delaying the inevitable though as the hottest driver in the division Curtis VanDerWal was quickly coming to the front from his twelfth starting position and he drove around David Wietholder on the outside of turn four to take the lead on the fourth lap. From there VanDerWal was all but gone as only one more caution slowed his charge to the checkers for the third week in a row. Wietholder, driving the #20 normally wheeled by Bobby Anders was second, Jim Gillenwater started tenth and finished third, Scott VanBuskirk finished fourth and early leader Logan Anderson held on for fifth.
It was definitely an impressive Season Opener for the Scotland County Speedway and don't forget that the season finale is tonight (Saturday) as night number two of the Memphis Fall Nationals gets underway with hot laps at 6 p.m.
Carter's first win of the night came behind the wheel of Roger Kelderman's #10CC Stock Car as he took the lead at the midway point and then fought off the challenges of Jason Cook, Nathan Wood and finally Louis Lynch to secure the victory. Lynch would lead the race early and survive a pair of restarts, but following a Jay Hayes spin in turn tow on lap seven Lynch slipped high coming to the green out of turn four and both Cook and Carter shuffled him back to third. Those two would then go side-by-side for a full lap before Carter nosed ahead and Cook would stay with two car lengths of the new leader until Hayes spun again with four laps to go. On this restart Lynch would come back strong and move to second with Wood in hot pursuit, but they could not get around Carter as the young speedster from Oskaloosa earned his first ever feature win in a Stock Car.
Cayden would get some rest during the Hobby Stock main before climbing back aboard his Modified for the final feature of the evening and in that 20-lap affair it was Dakota Hayden who opened a big early lead. A caution for a spinning Brian Troxel on lap eight brought the field back to Hayden though and on the restart Carter drove deep into turn one and then shut the door on Hayden at the exit of turn two to take the lead. Three cautions in the final seven laps chopped up the action and on the final restart with four laps to go Kyle Brown pulled off the same move on Carter as Cayden had executed earlier on Hayden to take the lead. Carter stayed with his high line though and was able to regain the lead as the white flag waved pulling Hayden, who had earlier faded as far back as sixth, along with him to second and that is the way they finished a lap later. Brown held off Ronn Lauritzen by a nose for third while Jerry Pilcher completed the top five.
The Hobby Stock main was simply amazing as a pack of drivers raced in a tight bunch at the front of the pack throughout the race even going four-wide with just four laps remaining as southwest Iowa driver Jason Fusselman moved to the lead. A lap later though he was passed by fellow Shelby County Speedway regular Corey Madden who then held off that pack to score the victory. Jacob Keiser nipped Dustin Griffiths by a nose to finish second as Griffiths came to third from an eighth row starting spot. Early leader Mike Hughes took fourth while Fusselman was shuffled back to fifth at the checkers.
Merv Chandler and Adam Gates warmed the crowd with a thrilling late race battle in the Sport Compact main event. Gates raced out to a sizeable early lead only to have the veteran driver chase him down and throw a slidejob at him with three laps to go. Gates was able to re-pass Chandler before they crossed the stripe for that lap, but Merv came right back and drove under Gates in turn three to take the lead with two to go. 007 was not to be denied though as Gates returned the favor on the following lap and then pulled away by five car lengths on the final circuit to take the victory as Chandler had to settle for second. Josh Modde driving the #30 usually pedaled by Shawn Cooney was third, Chuck Fullenkamp was fourth and John Whalen rounded out the top five. I do have to mention the long pull down from Storm Lake by Cory Flanigan who ran in the top five early before he faded to eleventh.
The Sport Mods were the first feature of the night and they struggled mightily in the early laps as four multi-car spins occurred before three laps could be scored. It was just delaying the inevitable though as the hottest driver in the division Curtis VanDerWal was quickly coming to the front from his twelfth starting position and he drove around David Wietholder on the outside of turn four to take the lead on the fourth lap. From there VanDerWal was all but gone as only one more caution slowed his charge to the checkers for the third week in a row. Wietholder, driving the #20 normally wheeled by Bobby Anders was second, Jim Gillenwater started tenth and finished third, Scott VanBuskirk finished fourth and early leader Logan Anderson held on for fifth.
It was definitely an impressive Season Opener for the Scotland County Speedway and don't forget that the season finale is tonight (Saturday) as night number two of the Memphis Fall Nationals gets underway with hot laps at 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
300% Savings? Sign Me Up!!!
As I was pulling out of Mount Pleasant this morning on my way to the big city I tuned in sports radio 810 WHB for Track Talk with The Racin' Boys. Usually I listen to them on the internet each Saturday since the second hour can only be found on their website, but that would not be an option today so I drove as slow as I could to not lose the signal as I headed east.
Today's guest was Humpy Wheeler who is now attempting to form an alliance of short tracks across the country called Speedway Benefits to consolidate marketing opportunities and to drive down costs by purchasing as a group rather than individually. Conceptually it is a fantastic idea and if anybody can pull it off it would be Wheeler and as I listened to the interview the more I became convinced that it would be a good thing for all tracks to get involved. The Racin' Boys were obviously enthused as well as rather than challenging Humpy with any tough questions they, as anybody would have in their position, encouraged Wheeler to continue with his description.
And then he said something that totally lost me.
I can't quote it exactly because I was driving and had no way to write it down immediately, but essentially the statement was that promoters currently buy supplies from the box stores. But as a member of his alliance, Speedway Benefits would buy directly from the manufacturers and then drop-ship the supplies to each track resulting in a savings of 300% over the current costs.
What? SAVINGS of 300%? That's not even mathematically possible unless Humpy and his crew is going to be shipping out supplies free of charge and include a roll of hundred dollar bills in the shipping cartons!
I am in Sales and if I sat across from a prospect and stated that I could save him up to 300% over his current costs he would either rightfully say "bulls$*t" or he would ask me to immediately present a contract specifically stating these savings so that he could lock in his new found source of revenue before they dragged me off in a straight jacket.
I am hoping that Humpy meant to say "up to 30%" and just made a mistake during the interview. If not, and he stands by his claim, then I would run for the hills.
As I said earlier, the mission of Speedway Benefits is a good one, but the road to pulling together more than 1,000 short tracks, some of which are currently members of sanctioning bodies who have their own deals with tire manufacturers, etc., may be a little more of a task than even Humpy Wheeler can imagine. Peace in the Middle East is a nice goal as well, but trying to get all involved on the same page and keeping them there?
Today's guest was Humpy Wheeler who is now attempting to form an alliance of short tracks across the country called Speedway Benefits to consolidate marketing opportunities and to drive down costs by purchasing as a group rather than individually. Conceptually it is a fantastic idea and if anybody can pull it off it would be Wheeler and as I listened to the interview the more I became convinced that it would be a good thing for all tracks to get involved. The Racin' Boys were obviously enthused as well as rather than challenging Humpy with any tough questions they, as anybody would have in their position, encouraged Wheeler to continue with his description.
And then he said something that totally lost me.
I can't quote it exactly because I was driving and had no way to write it down immediately, but essentially the statement was that promoters currently buy supplies from the box stores. But as a member of his alliance, Speedway Benefits would buy directly from the manufacturers and then drop-ship the supplies to each track resulting in a savings of 300% over the current costs.
What? SAVINGS of 300%? That's not even mathematically possible unless Humpy and his crew is going to be shipping out supplies free of charge and include a roll of hundred dollar bills in the shipping cartons!
I am in Sales and if I sat across from a prospect and stated that I could save him up to 300% over his current costs he would either rightfully say "bulls$*t" or he would ask me to immediately present a contract specifically stating these savings so that he could lock in his new found source of revenue before they dragged me off in a straight jacket.
I am hoping that Humpy meant to say "up to 30%" and just made a mistake during the interview. If not, and he stands by his claim, then I would run for the hills.
As I said earlier, the mission of Speedway Benefits is a good one, but the road to pulling together more than 1,000 short tracks, some of which are currently members of sanctioning bodies who have their own deals with tire manufacturers, etc., may be a little more of a task than even Humpy Wheeler can imagine. Peace in the Middle East is a nice goal as well, but trying to get all involved on the same page and keeping them there?
Stage Is Set For The Liberty 100
Opening night of the 2013 Liberty 100 saw more than 140 cars pack the pits of the West Liberty Raceway. And, with near perfect mid-October weather conditions, a very nice-sized crowd came out despite it being a football Friday night as drivers in seven divisions raced to get themselves lined up near the front for Saturday night's finale.
The Sport Mods were making their first appearance at West Liberty for the season and the twelve car field waged a very interesting battle in their twelve lap qualifying main. Austin Moyer would lead the opening lap before Andrew Schroeder, driving one of the #72 cars that Brett Lowry drove earlier in the season, moved by after starting third. Moyer stayed close though and regained the lead as the field came by for the ninth time, but a spin by Andre LaPorte brought out a caution before the full lap could be scored. On the restart Eric Pollard showed his strength as he motored by on the outside of both Schroeder and Moyer to take the lead and once again Moyer sought to regain what was once his. When the white flag waved we were set up for quite the finish as Moyer sized up Pollard for the lead, but as he entered turn three the challenger lost control of his #25M and spun causing the caution flag to wave with the checkers as Pollard secured the victory. It was a nice win for the driver from the Dubuque area who was home for a break after working in London for the past couple of months and Eric noted that he had only attended three races here before as a spectator. It was nice to win on his first night to race here. Schroeder slowed in the final laps allowing Jenae Gustin and Bryce Garnhart to take second and third and with scoring going back to the white flag lap I do not know who the rest of the official top five would have been.
The Stock Cars were up next and again twelve cars went for twelve laps with David Brandies coming from the fifth starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap. Pole starter Blaine Dopler looked strong in winning his heat, but he spun in turn one on the second lap and was forced to restart at the rear. Tad Payne would stay within striking distance the rest of the way, but he could never mount a strong challenge as Brandies cruised on to his eleventh win of the season here at West Liberty. Jarrett Franzen would take the third spot holding off a late run by Dopler who came back to take fourth while Lane Kauffman made a final lap pass of John Hemsted for fifth.
The IMCA Modified fifteen-lap qualifier was a thrilling two car battle between the hometown favorite Kurt Kile and sometime visitor Richie Gustin as twenty-four of the thirty-two car field took the green. Gustin started third and raced to the early advantage only to have Kile come back to take the lead on lap three. Gustin nosed back in front on lap five only to see Kile regain the lead two laps later just before the caution waved for a spinning Scott Strauss on lap eight. On the restart Derek Walker had his top five run wiped away when he spun in turn four and once back to racing Kile and Gustin again pulled away from the rest of the field and waged battle. Richie would lead by a bumper on lap thirteen only to have Kurt come back to take the white flag first and while it looked like Gustin had him set up for one last pass exiting turn four, a spinner in turn one necessitated a caution that would bring this thriller to a close just before its climax. Kile was very complimentary of Gustin during his victory lane interview, Dan Chapman finished a ways back in third, Bobby Moyer was fourth and Andrew Schroeder in his familiar #02 was fifth.
Eighteen Sport Compacts were up next for ten laps as Corey Sheetz paced the swarm for the first two trips around the half-mile oval. Bill Whalen Jr. moved to the front on lap three just before Nathan Chandler and Cody VanDusen joined the party to make it four wide for the lead down the back straightaway. Chandler emerged from that battle to lead lap five before caution waved for Eric Hood who had slowed to a halt in turn two. Once the caution waved Hood started moving again and joined the back of the field for the restart that then saw Chandler drive away from the pack for the easy win in his first appearance here in 2013. Whalen would come and join the celebration in victory lane after taking second while the ageless veteran Wayne Noble, in his 54th year of racing, finished third. Sheetz and Bobby Lake would complete the top five.
With the clock now closing in on the eleven o'clock hour and with Saturday morning business travel looming ahead we made the tough decision to head for home as the drivers for the IMCA Late Model race of champions were being introduced on the front stretch knowing that we would not only miss that event, but also the SPI Open Modified feature and the Open Late Model race of champions. With nice fields in each of these three divisions, including thirty-two IMCA Late Models, the stage is set for a grand night of action as the Liberty 100 will conclude tonight (Saturday) at the West Liberty Raceway.
Liberty Notes......Track announcer Jerry Mackey makes it easy to sound like a well informed reporter as he consistently provides interesting bits of information throughout a race night.....Bob Dominacki made a strong third to first move on the opening lap of the first IMCA Modified heat, but then appeared to pop a motor a couple of laps later.....Ray Cox Jr.'s weekend may have ended after making hard contact with the wall entering turn one during the second IMCA Mod heat.....Kile and Gustin gave us a preview with a great battle for the lead in the fourth heat.....There were several drivers who were pulling double duty tonight with most of them being in the two Late Model divisions. Chad Simpson won his heat race in both classes once again driving the #30 in the IMCA class, the car normally wheeled by Justin Diercks. Ryan Dolan also won both of his heat races, one of them in Rick Dralle's #1 IMCA Late Model and the other in the #93 Open Modified that we have seen Matt Werner in most of the time this season.....Johnny Spaw was in his normal Open Modified #1 and also competed in the #78 IMCA Late Model that I believe Dale Stolte had driven previously.....Darrel DeFrance ran his #99D in the Open Late Model field and did not have an entry for the IMCA class.....Open Late Model holdout Justin Mitchell will join the IMCA ranks in 2014 running both the Deery series as well as weekly here at West Liberty.....A big thanks to Carey Fuller and the entire SPI crew for their hospitality and here is hoping that the place is packed for tonight's main event of the Liberty 100. Hot laps get underway at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow!
Up next for me will hopefully be one of the two nights of the Memphis Fall Nationals as the nifty fairgrounds track in northeast Missouri roars back to life for its one and only race weekend of the year next Friday and Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
The Sport Mods were making their first appearance at West Liberty for the season and the twelve car field waged a very interesting battle in their twelve lap qualifying main. Austin Moyer would lead the opening lap before Andrew Schroeder, driving one of the #72 cars that Brett Lowry drove earlier in the season, moved by after starting third. Moyer stayed close though and regained the lead as the field came by for the ninth time, but a spin by Andre LaPorte brought out a caution before the full lap could be scored. On the restart Eric Pollard showed his strength as he motored by on the outside of both Schroeder and Moyer to take the lead and once again Moyer sought to regain what was once his. When the white flag waved we were set up for quite the finish as Moyer sized up Pollard for the lead, but as he entered turn three the challenger lost control of his #25M and spun causing the caution flag to wave with the checkers as Pollard secured the victory. It was a nice win for the driver from the Dubuque area who was home for a break after working in London for the past couple of months and Eric noted that he had only attended three races here before as a spectator. It was nice to win on his first night to race here. Schroeder slowed in the final laps allowing Jenae Gustin and Bryce Garnhart to take second and third and with scoring going back to the white flag lap I do not know who the rest of the official top five would have been.
The Stock Cars were up next and again twelve cars went for twelve laps with David Brandies coming from the fifth starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap. Pole starter Blaine Dopler looked strong in winning his heat, but he spun in turn one on the second lap and was forced to restart at the rear. Tad Payne would stay within striking distance the rest of the way, but he could never mount a strong challenge as Brandies cruised on to his eleventh win of the season here at West Liberty. Jarrett Franzen would take the third spot holding off a late run by Dopler who came back to take fourth while Lane Kauffman made a final lap pass of John Hemsted for fifth.
The IMCA Modified fifteen-lap qualifier was a thrilling two car battle between the hometown favorite Kurt Kile and sometime visitor Richie Gustin as twenty-four of the thirty-two car field took the green. Gustin started third and raced to the early advantage only to have Kile come back to take the lead on lap three. Gustin nosed back in front on lap five only to see Kile regain the lead two laps later just before the caution waved for a spinning Scott Strauss on lap eight. On the restart Derek Walker had his top five run wiped away when he spun in turn four and once back to racing Kile and Gustin again pulled away from the rest of the field and waged battle. Richie would lead by a bumper on lap thirteen only to have Kurt come back to take the white flag first and while it looked like Gustin had him set up for one last pass exiting turn four, a spinner in turn one necessitated a caution that would bring this thriller to a close just before its climax. Kile was very complimentary of Gustin during his victory lane interview, Dan Chapman finished a ways back in third, Bobby Moyer was fourth and Andrew Schroeder in his familiar #02 was fifth.
Eighteen Sport Compacts were up next for ten laps as Corey Sheetz paced the swarm for the first two trips around the half-mile oval. Bill Whalen Jr. moved to the front on lap three just before Nathan Chandler and Cody VanDusen joined the party to make it four wide for the lead down the back straightaway. Chandler emerged from that battle to lead lap five before caution waved for Eric Hood who had slowed to a halt in turn two. Once the caution waved Hood started moving again and joined the back of the field for the restart that then saw Chandler drive away from the pack for the easy win in his first appearance here in 2013. Whalen would come and join the celebration in victory lane after taking second while the ageless veteran Wayne Noble, in his 54th year of racing, finished third. Sheetz and Bobby Lake would complete the top five.
With the clock now closing in on the eleven o'clock hour and with Saturday morning business travel looming ahead we made the tough decision to head for home as the drivers for the IMCA Late Model race of champions were being introduced on the front stretch knowing that we would not only miss that event, but also the SPI Open Modified feature and the Open Late Model race of champions. With nice fields in each of these three divisions, including thirty-two IMCA Late Models, the stage is set for a grand night of action as the Liberty 100 will conclude tonight (Saturday) at the West Liberty Raceway.
Liberty Notes......Track announcer Jerry Mackey makes it easy to sound like a well informed reporter as he consistently provides interesting bits of information throughout a race night.....Bob Dominacki made a strong third to first move on the opening lap of the first IMCA Modified heat, but then appeared to pop a motor a couple of laps later.....Ray Cox Jr.'s weekend may have ended after making hard contact with the wall entering turn one during the second IMCA Mod heat.....Kile and Gustin gave us a preview with a great battle for the lead in the fourth heat.....There were several drivers who were pulling double duty tonight with most of them being in the two Late Model divisions. Chad Simpson won his heat race in both classes once again driving the #30 in the IMCA class, the car normally wheeled by Justin Diercks. Ryan Dolan also won both of his heat races, one of them in Rick Dralle's #1 IMCA Late Model and the other in the #93 Open Modified that we have seen Matt Werner in most of the time this season.....Johnny Spaw was in his normal Open Modified #1 and also competed in the #78 IMCA Late Model that I believe Dale Stolte had driven previously.....Darrel DeFrance ran his #99D in the Open Late Model field and did not have an entry for the IMCA class.....Open Late Model holdout Justin Mitchell will join the IMCA ranks in 2014 running both the Deery series as well as weekly here at West Liberty.....A big thanks to Carey Fuller and the entire SPI crew for their hospitality and here is hoping that the place is packed for tonight's main event of the Liberty 100. Hot laps get underway at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow!
Up next for me will hopefully be one of the two nights of the Memphis Fall Nationals as the nifty fairgrounds track in northeast Missouri roars back to life for its one and only race weekend of the year next Friday and Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Seriously Kirk?
For those of you who check in on the Back Stretch somewhat regularly you know that I do occasionally stray from the racing theme and, when I do, it usually has something to do with the other stick and ball sports. Today is one of those days.
I was dumbfounded this morning as I perused the newspaper during breakfast seeing a headline that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is seriously considering never attempting to return a punt again. This of course comes after a third memorable case where an opposing team made a huge first down on a fake punt. The first was a couple of years ago at home against Wisconsin, the second was in this season's opener against Northern Illinois and the straw that broke the camel's back was this past week's 25-yard stroll by Michigan State punter Mike Sadler that put momentum squarely on the side of the Spartans in what until then had been a pretty closely played game.
My shock, and honestly my disgust with Ferentz's statement is that it is such an extreme measure for something that can easily be remedied if we just returned punts more like every other college football team!!
As you will see in the video the Hawks have ten men lined up within seven yards of the line of scrimmage, but as soon as the ball is snapped eight of those take their eyes off the punter and start running downfield supposedly to block in open field for a potential return. What's left? Two defenders against three blockers. The punting team will take those odds everyday!
As I watched college football the rest of the day I paid close attention to how other teams handled the punt return options and every single one of them jammed the linemen at the line of scrimmage rather than turning and running downfield. I did the public address announcing at a junior varsity football game on Monday night and an eighth grade game on Tuesday night and guess what? They jammed the linemen as well. Perhaps I should grab the little girl who filmed it in the booth next to us and send the video to the multi-million dollar coach so he can see that perhaps there is another option rather than giving up completely on returning a punt?
Seems like a pretty stupid statement Coach.....
Back to racing now and there are some big events to be found in our region this coming weekend and as of right now the weather looks perfect. Two-day shows are at Donnellson and West Liberty while the three-day Cornhusker Classic will close out the season at I-80 Speedway between Lincoln and Omaha. Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah is running this Saturday night as well with an event that was rescheduled from earlier. Due to the fact that I have to go out of state for business on Saturday my only race night will be Friday this week and I have the enviable choice of the two great shows that are both within an hour of my home. I have a feeling that the qualifying night format being used will end up making my final decision for me on Friday afternoon so not quite sure yet which Back Stretch you might find me on.
Make sure you get out and support the the race program of your choice this weekend and beyond as the Fall season continues!
I was dumbfounded this morning as I perused the newspaper during breakfast seeing a headline that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is seriously considering never attempting to return a punt again. This of course comes after a third memorable case where an opposing team made a huge first down on a fake punt. The first was a couple of years ago at home against Wisconsin, the second was in this season's opener against Northern Illinois and the straw that broke the camel's back was this past week's 25-yard stroll by Michigan State punter Mike Sadler that put momentum squarely on the side of the Spartans in what until then had been a pretty closely played game.
My shock, and honestly my disgust with Ferentz's statement is that it is such an extreme measure for something that can easily be remedied if we just returned punts more like every other college football team!!
As you will see in the video the Hawks have ten men lined up within seven yards of the line of scrimmage, but as soon as the ball is snapped eight of those take their eyes off the punter and start running downfield supposedly to block in open field for a potential return. What's left? Two defenders against three blockers. The punting team will take those odds everyday!
As I watched college football the rest of the day I paid close attention to how other teams handled the punt return options and every single one of them jammed the linemen at the line of scrimmage rather than turning and running downfield. I did the public address announcing at a junior varsity football game on Monday night and an eighth grade game on Tuesday night and guess what? They jammed the linemen as well. Perhaps I should grab the little girl who filmed it in the booth next to us and send the video to the multi-million dollar coach so he can see that perhaps there is another option rather than giving up completely on returning a punt?
Seems like a pretty stupid statement Coach.....
Back to racing now and there are some big events to be found in our region this coming weekend and as of right now the weather looks perfect. Two-day shows are at Donnellson and West Liberty while the three-day Cornhusker Classic will close out the season at I-80 Speedway between Lincoln and Omaha. Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah is running this Saturday night as well with an event that was rescheduled from earlier. Due to the fact that I have to go out of state for business on Saturday my only race night will be Friday this week and I have the enviable choice of the two great shows that are both within an hour of my home. I have a feeling that the qualifying night format being used will end up making my final decision for me on Friday afternoon so not quite sure yet which Back Stretch you might find me on.
Make sure you get out and support the the race program of your choice this weekend and beyond as the Fall season continues!
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