Tuesday Notebook; April 7, 2015

There was a big swing in the weather from start to finish, but the four-race IMCA Frostbuster series went off with solid car counts at Osky and Vinton and then pit busters at Marshalltown and Boone. The series was to pay out a point fund in each division and I haven't seen anything official from IMCA so I will take a guess and say that Todd Shute was the Modified champion, Lucas Lamberies in the Sport Mods, Damon Murty in the Stock Cars and Austin Luellen in the Hobby Stocks.

Joe Ringsdorf had his own IMCA Frostbusters on Saturday and Sunday up in Britt and Mason City with Ryan Ruter sweeping the Modifieds and Derek Green winning two in the Stock Cars.

Regular season racing at all six of these tracks, plus several more in the area will get underway this week and, if the weather allows it, all drivers will get a free pit pass at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa this Wednesday night.

The Seymour Speedway in Wisconsin was thankful that they had their Spring Thaw event scheduled for an early afternoon start this past Saturday since the Wisconsin Badgers were playing in the Final Four that evening. Winners included Nick Anvelink in the Late Models, Eric Scribner in the Modifieds and John Heinz in the Stock Cars and both fans and drivers alike were home in time to watch their favorites tip it off against Kentucky. Tracks in Iowa likely won't have to worry about scheduling a day race on the first Saturday in April anytime soon.

Spotted this on Dirt On Dirt, Clary's Speedway in North Carolina ran a two-day show this past weekend that paid $5,000-to-win for the Late Models and $3,000-to-win for the Modifieds. And of course down south there were six other divisions in action and it was a good thing since only ten Late Models showed up. Dean Bowen was the winner in the feature that saw only four of the cars finish the race and in the Modifieds race leader Kyle Strickler was declared the winner when the feature was halted after six laps due to the rough racing surface. Oh yeah, and during one of the other division's feature a red flag was needed when a small dog that had been riding around in a tow truck got loose on the race track. Fortunately the race was under caution at the time of the dog's attempted escape. Guess we have things pretty good around here, don't we?

IMCA Late Models have a big weekend coming up here in Eastern Iowa with the Rebel 5K $5,000-to-win show at Davenport Speedway on Friday night and then race number two on the Deery Brothers Summer Series at the West Liberty Raceway on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if Nebraska's Corey Zeitner will make the trip to West Liberty after winning the Deery Series opener in Denison this past weekend.

I will be in Burlington on Saturday night for the much anticipated debut of the National Sprint League at 34 Raceway. Thirty-eight drivers have purchased memberships indicating that they will be racing for a share of the League's healthy point fund so it is likely that most , if not all of those drivers will be at 34, plus special appearances by Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindel make it an even bigger event. Throw in another ten or so drivers who are not chasing the entire schedule and you have a legitimate chance of seeing fifty sprint cars in the pits Saturday night with potential feature winners making up well more than half of that number. It is not often that you have the chance to experience a "first" in this sport. Saturday night at 34 Raceway, you have that opportunity.

The All Iowa Points from 2014 are still up on the Points Page at Positively Racing, but the most recent update for 2015 has just been sent over to the webmistress. Hopefully she will have them loaded later this week, but for now since the lists are still short we can include them here. Should we just say right now that Damon Murty will win his third straight All Iowa Points Stock Car championship? Will Austin Luellen become the second one in his family to earn an all Iowa Points title? Both are off to great starts, but we have a long ways to go. Hope to see you at a track soon!

	All Iowa Points
	Late Model		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Corey Zeitner	Omaha NE	5
2	Jim Shereck	St. Charles MO	5
3	Ryan Gustin	Marshalltown	5
4	Todd Malmstrom	Silvis IL	5
5	Mike Garland	Morrison IL	4
6	Tad Pospisil	Norfolk NE	4
7	Terry Phillips	Springfield MO	4
8	Tyler Bruening	Decorah	4
9	Stormy Scott	Las Cruces NM	4
10	Andy Nezworski	Buffalo	3
11	Jeremy Payne	Springield MO	3
12	Ray Guss Jr.	Milan IL	3
13	Denny Eckrich	Tiffin	2
14	Joe Zrostlik	Long Grove	2
15	Jonathan Brauns	Muscatine	2
16	Chase Junghans	Manhattan KS	2
17	John Anderson	Omaha NE	1
18	John Emerson	Waterloo	1
19	Mike Zemo Jr.	Davenport	1

	All Iowa Points
	360 Sprint		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Brian Brown	Grain Valley MO	10
2	Danny Lasoski	Dover MO	8
3	Jerrod Hull	Sikeston MO	5
4	Jon Agan	Knoxville	4
5	Paul Nienheiser	Chapin IL	4
6	Dusty Zomer	Sioux Falls SD	3
7	Donnie Steward	Burlington	3
8	Clint Garner	Sioux Falls SD	2
9	Ian Madsen	Granger	2
10	John Schulz	Burlington	2
11	Josh Baughman	Odessa TX	1
12	Lee Grosz	Harwood ND	1

	All Iowa Points
	Modified
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Hunter Marriott	Brookfield MO	21
2	Todd Shute	Des Moines	12
3	Jason Wolla	Ray ND	11
4	Jordan Grabouski	Beatrice NE	10
5	Ryan Ruter	Kanawha	10
6	Michael Long	Fowler IL	7
7	Cayden Carter	Oskaloosa	6
8	Chris Abelson	Sioux City	6
9	Mike Densberger	Malcolm NE	6
10	Scott Hogan	Vinton	6
11	Tyler Droste	Waterloo	6
12	Doug Crampton	Rock Island IL	5
13	Dylan Smith	Osceola NE	5
14	Jeff James	Stanton	5
15	Jimmy Gustin	Marshalltown	5
16	Troy Cordes	Raymond	5
17	Adam Larson	Ames	4
18	Brandon Rothzen	Raritan IL	4
19	Jesse Dennis	Corning	4
20	Jesse Sobbing	Glenwood	4
21	Kelly Shryock	Fertile	4
22	Matt Werner	Silvis IL	4
23	Mike VanGenderen	Newton	4
24	Rich Lewerke	Mason City	4
25	Austin Wolf	Algona	3
26	Jeff Waterman	Quincy IL	3
27	Josh Ruby	Lakota	3
28	Mike Mullen	Seymour WI	3
29	R.J. Gonzalez	Moline IL	3
30	Richie Gustin	Gilman	3
31	Luke Wanninger	Minburn	2
32	Milo Veloz Jr.	Colona IL	2
33	Mitch Morris	Long Grove	2
34	Ronn Lauritzen	Jesup	2
35	Scott Dickey	Packwood	2
36	Todd Van Eaton	Prescott	2
37	Alex Hanson	Kensett	1
38	Carter Vandenberg	Oskaloosa	1
39	Chris Lawrence		1
40	Cole Ferguson	Dexter	1
41	Dustin Smith	Lake City	1
42	Josh Most	Red Oak	1
43	Shane Hiatt	Rising City NE	1

	All Iowa Points
	Stock Car		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Damon Murty	Chelsea	26
2	Derek Green	Granada MN	10
3	Clay Mercer	Corning	9
4	Jay Schmidt	Laurel	9
5	Abe Huls	Carthage IL	8
6	Trent Murphy	Jefferson	8
7	Cody Clark	Yorktown	7
8	Joe Zadina	Corning	7
9	John Oliver Jr.	Danville	7
10	Michael Jaennette	Newton	7
11	Kevin Opheim	Mason City	6
12	Randy Brands	Boyden	6
13	Brendon Labatte	Weyburn SK	5
14	Jeremy Gustaf	East Moline IL	5
15	Mike Nichols	Harlan	5
16	Brett Koehler	Two Rivers WI	4
17	Cayden Carter	Oskaloosa	4
18	Jason Cook	Mt. Pleasant	4
19	Joe Willier	Mason City	4
20	Keith Blum		4
21	Marcus Hansen	Odeboldt	4
22	Adam Klocke	Carroll	3
23	David Smith	Lake City	3
24	Jeremy Swanson	Clarinda	3
25	Jim Lynch	Donnellson	3
26	Luke Sathoff	Jackson MN	3
27	Nick Lawrence		3
28	Nathan Wood	Sigourney	3
29	Calvin Lange	Humboldt	2
30	Chris Ullrich	Kiron	2
31	Jim Redmann	Lockridge	2
32	Justin Temeyer	Independence	2
33	R.J. Macku	Lincoln NE	2
34	Nick Woodard	Elkhorn NE	2
35	Randy Lamar	Davenport	2
36	Steve Meyer	Grundy Center	2
37	Casey Wages	Moline IL	1
38	Dane Fenton	Burlington	1
39	Donavon Smith	Lake City	1
40	Heath Tulp	Belmond	1
41	Mike Stapleton	Denison	1
42	Rick Mahlberg	Denmark WI	1
43	Robert Stofer	Jefferson	1
44	Ryan Fullenkamp	St. Louis MO	1
45	Shane Weller	Agency	1

	All Iowa Points
	Limited Modified		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Jenae Gustin	Marshalltown	15
2	Lucas Lamberies	Clintonville WI	15
3	Clint Luellen	Minburn	11
4	Joey Gower	Quincy IL	8
5	Tony Olson	Cedar Rapids	8
6	Doug Smith	Lake City	7
7	Nate Chodur	Lake Mills	5
8	Sam Wieben	Dysart	5
9	Shane Swanson	Forest City	5
10	Timmy Current	Bernard	5
11	Austen Becerra	Carthage IL	4
12	Cody Knecht	Whittemore	4
13	Dave Engelkens	Morrison IL	4
14	George Nordman	Mason City	4
15	Jim Gillenwater	Keokuk	4
16	Jonathan Logue	Boone	4
17	Tracy Wassenberg	Shawano WI	4
18	Austin Howes	Memphis MO	3
19	Austin Kaplan	Ankeny	3
20	Colton Livezy	New Sharon	3
21	Curtis VanDerWal	Oskaloosa	3
22	Hunter Parsons	Green Bay WI	3
23	Jarrett Franzen	Maquoketa	3
24	Ryan Hiscocks	Britt	3
25	Bobby Anders	Quincy IL	2
26	Dan Tenold	Northwood	2
27	Jared Boumeester	Ellendale MN	2
28	Kip Siems	Cedar Falls	2
29	Phil Anderson		2
30	Brandon Dale	Gorin MO	1
31	Brett Lowry	Montezuma	1
32	Bryan Brinker		1
33	Cameron Meyer	Pierce NE	1
34	Nate Whitehurst	Mason City	1
35	Nick Meyer	Whittemore	1
36	Ryan Besaw	Omro WI	1

	All Iowa Points
	Hobby Stock		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Austin Luellen	Minburn	27
2	Dustin Griffiths	Ottumwa	9
3	Shannon Anderson	Des Moines	9
4	Benji Irvine	Oelwein	8
5	Cody Nielsen	Fort Dodge	7
6	Jeremy Wegner	Greattinger	7
7	John Watson	Des Moines	7
8	Aaron Rudolph	Grand Junction	5
9	Danny Thrasher	Agency	5
10	Mike Kincaid	Cincinnati	5
11	Andrew Borchardt	Plymouth	4
12	Andrew Burg	Adel	4
13	Bill Bonnett	Knoxville	4
14	Doug Wickman	Bancroft	4
15	Eric Stanton	Hartford	4
16	Scott Dobel	Manly	4
17	Derek Hodges	Des Moines	3
18	Jamie Songer	Ankeny	3
19	Justin Nehring	Storm Lake	3
20	Nathan Ballard	Marengo	3
21	Adam Armstrong	Beatrice NE	2
22	Justin Lichty	Waterloo	2
23	Ryan Grochala	Pleasant Hill	2
24	Adam Bonnett	Martensdale	1
25	Chanse Hollatz	Clear Lake	1
26	Justin Wacha	Vinton	1
27	Matt McDonald		1

	All Iowa Points
	Four Cylinder		Iowa
Pos.	Driver	Hometown	Points
1	Kimberly Abbott	Camp Point IL	12
2	Michael Grossman	Keokuk	9
3	Danny Sassman Jr.	Fort Dodge	8
4	Brandon Setser	Davenport	7
5	Dalton Kron	Algona	6
6	Jacob Kofoot	Bode	6
7	Austen Becerra	Carthage IL	5
8	Brandon Dahl	Blue Grass	5
9	Chuck Fullenkamp	Fort Madison	5
10	Jay DeVries	Spencer	5
11	Lucas Jacobson	Mason City	5
12	Tony Kerger	Woodbine	5
13	Trent Orwig	Blakesburg	5
14	Cameron Poci		4
15	Josh Barnes	Keokuk	4
16	Tyler Thompson	Sioux City	4
17	Adam Rehse	Battle Creek	3
18	Jarrod Nichols	Stronghurst IL	3
19	Ryan Walker	Wilton	3
20	Travis DeMint	Basco IL	3
21	Brock St. John	Arlington MN	2
22	Jason Kroeger	Manilla	2
23	Zachary Dahl	Blue Grass	2
24	Adam Gates	Cedar Rapids	1
25	Corey Stapleton	Vail	1
26	Dustin Forbes	Rock Island IL	1
27	Joe Bunkofske	Armstrong	1
28	Seith Woodruff	Hamilton IL	1
29	Steve Fields	Mason City	1
30	Steve Struck	Atalissa	1

Hull Returns To Sprint Invaders In Grand Fashion

Second on the all-time career wins list to only Kaley Gharst, Jerrod Hull has not raced with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders for the past couple of seasons as he concentrated on his 410 program. On Saturday night Hull returned to action with the regional 360 winged sprint car series and on the home track of his valued crew chief Scott Bonar the driver from Sikeston, Missouri, scored his sixteenth feature win in the 2015 series opener at 34 Raceway near Burlington.

A solid field of thirty sprints filled the pit area and it was young Jamie Ball who secured the pole position for the 25-lap main event by winning both his heat and the Randall's Performance Shake Up Dash where afterwards he drew the lucky number one. A caution following lap one put the field in single file alignment and shortly after the restart Paul Nienheiser swept around the outside of Ball to take the lead. As Nienheiser opened up a straightaway aedvantage, fans could pick out one of three different drivers who were racing their way toward the front in Donnie Steward, Jon Agan and Wayne Johnson who started eighth, tenth and fourteenth respectively.

All three of those drivers had made their way into the top six by lap eighteen and Johnson was making a bid for the third position when his left rear clipped the right front of Harold Pohren's lapped car on the front stretch and while both cars stayed on all fours, both were too damaged to continue. Jerrod Hull would lineup behind Nienheiser for the restart and when the leader went low in turns one and two, Hull went to the cushion and flew by him. From there it was a race for position as Hull cruised to the $1,500 victory ahead of Nienheiser and Steward. Veteran driver John Schulz brought the Jimmy Davies owned #99 in for fourth while defending Sprint Invaders champion Jon Agan was fifth.

IMCA Modifieds were racing for $1,000-to-win tonight as 34 Raceway kicked off its 50th season of racing and a strong field of twenty-three took the green for the main event. A scramble in turns three and four on the opening lap sent Ryan Cook and Phillip Beard for a spin and on the original restart it was Brandon Rothzen who quickly opened a comfortable advantage. This one would go green to checkers from there and with lapped traffic helping out along with a fresh start on his setup Scott Hogan would make his way up from sixth to take the lead from Rothzen on lap fourteen. Hogan had not been happy with how his car had performed at his first three events of this season so he went back to basics and it paid off with the four-figure victory here at 34. Rothzen would settle for second, Jeff Waterman was third, Mitch Morris finished where he started in fourth and Carter Vandenberg held down fifth.

Mike Morrill took the lead from Devon Rouse on the second lap and never looked back as he dominated the Mod Lite main event. Randy Bryan was the runner-up ahead of Jimmy Halcomb, Terry Brown and Charlie Brown.

After a break in the action for Billy Stanford who rolled onto his top off of turn two on the second lap, Austen Becerra returned to the Four Cylinder division for a night and led every lap of the 15-lap finale for the evening. Brandon Setser held off both Jerrod Nichols and Kimberly Abbott to finish in the second spot while West Liberty Raceway regular Steven Struck completed the top five.

The next event for the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders will be Wednesday, May 6th at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and don't forget that coming up next Saturday, April 11th, the National Sprint League will hold it inaugural event at 34 Raceway and it should be huge!

Prior to the night's racing I was saddened to learn of the passing of Al Samberg who was one of the four men who brought 34 Raceway to life back in 1966. Not only did he help build the place, but he did just about everything else here at one point or another from racing, to officiating to being the track announcer for several years. I had the thrill of working in the tower with him as he announced and I handled administrative duties back in the early 1980's and then when he decided to put down the microphone I used many of the things that I had learned from him over the years to try to fill his shoes as I began my years of being a race announcer. I can still hear a couple of my favorites to this day, "Morning Sun the town that is coming up" and "he waves that little piece of bleached cloth signifying one lap to go" to this day. Al Samberg, thank you for all that you did for racing here in Burlington. Rest In Peace my friend.

Cordes In A Thriller At Benton County Frostbuster

So there are ten laps left in the final race of the night and the driver who has more Modified wins at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton than any other in history, Troy Cordes has built a half straightaway lead over his nearest competitor, some guy from Des Moines who maybe visits here once or twice a year. It is a Thursday night and there is a big crowd on hand so the parking lot could be fun to navigate soon, and it is getting close to 10:30. Still pretty reasonable for an opening night race with 130 cars in five divisions overflowing the pit area. Given all that I can understand why several people made the decision to gather their belongings, stand up and head for the exits. And if you were one of those people, or if you were unable to attend Thursday night's Frostbuster at Vinton let me now give my best shot at describing to you possibly the best feature finish that I will see in 2015.

Let's start at the beginning.

Mick Trier was born to a nice Midwestern family in......okay maybe too far back.

Forty-seven IMCA Modifieds packed the pits and served as the headliner for tonight's action at the well-manicured quarter-mile oval and after six qualifying heats and three B-Mains there were twenty-four drivers qualified for what would be the final event of the night, the twenty-five lap feature. How stout was the field? Recent Hawkeye Dirt Tour winner here Cayden Carter was unable to race his way in and he was right behind former NASCAR star Ken Schrader who would also be a spectator for this one.

Thanks to announcer Ryan Clark and his fantastic statistics we knew that the driver starting outside of row one, Troy Cordes, has scored more Modified feature wins at Vinton than other driver, but it was that guy from Des Moines starting next to Cordes, Todd Shute who took the early advantage. In the feature race just prior to this one (the Stock Cars and I'll describe that one to you in a bit) everybody was clamoring for the bottom line, but Cordes showed his experience here by immediately going to work on the top side. On lap five Cordes swept around the top of Shute for the lead and soon drivers were once again using the entire racing surface that was smooth from top to bottom and in between.

Shute did a nice job staying close to Cordes for several laps, but with ten to go that lead started to grow and that is when some of you decided that this one was all but in the books. As I peeked through fans filing down the steps next to me I noticed that Hunter Marriott had just passed Jason Wolla for the third spot and he was now quickly closing in on Shute. The flow of fans trying to get an early jump on the traffic stopped as soon as it became evident that lapped traffic would come into play as Brad Theys and Vern Jackson had their own race for position going on just ahead of the leader with five laps remaining.

With Theys and Jackson running side-by-side in front of him, Cordes showed his patience allowing not only Shute, but a hard charging Marriott to close in on his back bumper. With the soon-to-be-lapped cars still side-by-side in front of the lead trio Shute nosed ahead of Cordes on lap twenty-two only to have Cordes fight back to regain the lead on the following lap while all the while Marriott was trying to find racing room as the five cars ran the final two laps in a tight bunch. On the final lap as they made their way through turns three and four Shute powered to the outside and appeared to have a run on Cordes and while there may have been the slightest of contact exiting turn four it was from two talented drivers racing for a win that would go to Cordes by less than a half-car length. If that contact would have been any more substantial then Marriott would have taken the win as he had his nose under Shute as they crossed the stripe. Fourth went to Wednesday night's winner at Osky, Jason Wolla and fifth went to Sunday's winner at Donnellson Tyler Droste.

Troy Cordes - Barry Johnson photo

I am fortunate enough to get up to Vinton three or four times a year. My advice based upon past experience here? Don't leave until the final checkers wave.

As mentioned above in the twenty-lap Stock Car feature the groove of choice for nearly all of the nineteen competitors was the bottom and that led to some interesting action. Nathan Wood drew the pole and raced to the lead only to have the track's winningest stock Car driver ever, Damon Murty slip into second when the other five drivers starting ahead of him all decided to leave the bottom open in turns one and two on the opening lap. What happened next was a surprise to everybody except those who have watched Jerry Miles win many races over the years at Farley and Dubuque as Miles muscled his way past Murty back into second. Cautions on lap seven and nine bunched the field for restarts forcing them to be two-wide behind the leader and on that second restart Wood, Miles and Murty went three-wide for the lead while somehow all trying to reach that one golden groove on the track. Contact flattened the right front tire on the #4 of Miles and he retired to the pit area while Murty eased past Wood for the lead on lap twelve.

There would be no catching him from there as Damon Murty went on to post his second Frostbuster win in two nights. Wisconsin driver Bret Koehler made an impressive run coming to second after starting in the sixth row as Wood held down third at the checkers. Three-time Canadian Football League All Star offensive lineman Brendon Labatte from Estevan, Saskatchewan came from fourteenth to fourth and another Wisconsin shoe Rick Mahlberg finished in the fifth spot.

After crossing the line second and then being awarded the win due to a disqualification the night before in Oskaloosa, Lucas Lamberies was looking to just see the checkers first himself tonight as he went from third to first on the opening lap of the Sport Mod main event. A caution for debris on lap two though allowed Sam Wieben to make a move on the restart to take the lead from the young Wisconsin driver. Wieben appeared to have this one well in hand until lapped traffic gave him a scare as two cars spun right in front of him on the front stretch with four laps remaining. The caution may have been a blessing though as this left a wide open track for Wieben to complete the final four laps to score the popular victory. Lamberies was again impressive in second, Tony Olson started eighth and finished third, Jenae Gustin came from tenth to fourth and Clint Luellen rode the top side in the final laps to complete the top five after having to qualify out of a B-Main.

Defending track champion Benji Irvine started from the pole position and lead all sixteen laps of the Hobby Stock main event. Austin Luellen chased him in for second followed by Nathan Ballard and Eric Stanton. Justin Wacha who was involved in an incident on lap three restarted at the back of the sixteen-car field and raced his way back up to fifth at the checkers.

Veteran driver Don Erger dominated the BCS Mini-Mod division winning both his heat and the feature. Twelve cars were on hand for the early opener and look for this class to continue to grow here at Vinton.

Thanks to promoter Mick Trier for his hospitality and not only is it nice to hear Ryan Clark on the microphone, it is even better to be greeted at the gate by his lovely mother. Working with Jerry Van Sickel gave Ryan an opportunity to express two very memorable lines last night that you will just have to ask me about in person if you are interested.

I will take the night off to spend the evening with my lovely wife as the Frostbusters move on to Marshalltown and Boone while tomorrow night I look forward to the season opener for the Sprint Invaders at 34 Raceway near Burlington. Perhaps I will see you there!

Note: The picture is from the night before in Oskaloosa, but hey the car still looked the same :)

Travelers Take Two At Osky's Frostbuster

With the sun shining bright, a thermometer pushing eighty and a warm, stiff wind from the southwest it certainly did not feel like the first of April in Southern Iowa Wednesday night, but that suited drivers and fans just fine as the four race IMCA Frostbuster series kicked off at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Unlike the other three that will be contested on quarter-mile short tracks, this one tests the drivers mettle on the half-mile "Mahaska Monster" and while usually the regulars dominate here, tonight there were two out-of-towners who walked away with the hardware in the four division program.

With only one long distance traveler in the 17-car IMCA Hobby Stock field, Dave Schmidt of Casco, Wisconsin, it was a pretty good bet that a driver familiar with the fast half-mile would score the win in the first feature race of the night. The warm, windy and dry conditions had its effect on the racing surface as while it definitely wasn't a one-grooved rubbered-up track, it also wasn't the typical "choose your line from top to bottom" four-wide type of track that we normally see on Wednesday nights and the Hobby Stock division was the class where this was most evident. Dustin Griffiths would take the point at the drop of the green and by lap two the field had settled into what was similar to a single line draft at Daytona circling around the lop line in both sets of turns. Coming to score lap three though the leader of that draft, Griffiths went too high entering turn three and slid in the crumbs just long enough for Danny Thrasher to get under him for the lead.

Danny Thrasher heads towards victory - Barry Johnson photo

Griffiths then spent the remaining thirteen laps trying to drive under Thrasher to get back to where he started all the while having to be careful not to let the third-running Jamie Songer fill his spot on the back bumper of Thrasher. Dustin was able to nose ahead of Thrasher entering the turns on at least three different occasions, but each time Thrasher kept his cool and used his momentum off the favored groove to regain the lead down the straightaways. And that would be how it would finish with Thrasher taking the win over Griffiths and Songer who did work his way forward after starting in eighth. Austin Luellen continued his solid start to the 2015 season with a fourth-place run while Adam Bonnett picked his way forward from eleventh to fifth.



Lucas Lamberies took top honors in the Sport Mod division - Barry Johnson photo

Four heats and two B-Mains determined the field of twenty-four for the 18-lap IMCA Sport Mod feature that saw a mad scramble at the drop of the green. Pole-sitter Keagan Scott spun in front the field exiting turn four with twelve cars becoming involved. Amazingly only one, his teammate Logan Scott who started two rows behind him in fifth, was unable to restart. Once racing it was young Lucas Lamberies out of Wisconsin who would lead lap one before local phenom Brayton Carter powered by him on the outside. Carter then drove away from the field putting a full straightaway between himself and Lamberies when the checkered flag waved. However, during post-race technical inspection it was determined that Carter's #01 had an illegal distributor and Lamberies was credited with the victory. Jenae Gustin passed Curtis Van Der Wal in the closing laps to claim second, Kip Siems was fourth and Jonathan Logue was fifth. Wisconsin's Tracy Wassenburg made a big run coming from a ninth row starting spot to take sixth at the pay window.

The race of the night was in the Stock Car division and as I type this line I wonder just how many times over the years I have thought this, if not said it! Jay Schmidt blasted to the lead from his outside row one starting spot and Damon Murty made a big move early going from fifth to second on the opening lap. Cayden Carter tucked into third and the race was on with again the top line around the speedway being the favored groove. Murty nosed under Schmidt on several occasions with Carter right there trying to fill a gap as well and each time Schmidt was able to fight back the challenge. On lap ten the large crowd cheered in delight as the leaders went three-wide with Carter now exploring the extreme bottom groove, Murty in the middle and Schmidt up high in turns three and four and, just to keep the excitement level high they did it again going through turns one and two. When Schmidt missed his mark by just the slightest entering turn three the next lap Murty was able to drive by and take the lead with Carter coming right along with him.

Damon Murty (99D) and Cayden Carter battle for the lead - Barry Johnson photo

The caution waved with five laps remaining when Robbie Merkle and Ryan Fullenkamp collided in turn four and on the restart Carter went right back to work on that low line trying to overtake the leader. Murty was up for the challenge though and even though there was a bit of contact between the two over the final laps (what good Stock Car race wouldn't have some?) the "Chelsea Charger" would hold on to take the win over Carter. Schmidt would hold on for third ahead of Justin Temeyer and Shane Weller.

Jason Wolla - Barry Johnson photo

The IMCA Modified 22-lap headliner would close out the evening with Jimmy Gustin and Jason Wolla bringing the field to green. Wolla who is from Ray, North Dakota, would lead Gustin and the two of them would quickly open a gap on the remainder of the field. Wolla's lead would grow to more than a straightaway as Gustin appeared to drop off the pace and soon after he was passed by Hunter Marriott on lap eighteen, Gustin would retire to the pit area. Lapped traffic allowed Marriott to quickly cut into that gap between himself and the leader, but when Wolla split two lapped cars on the back stretch before taking the white flag that removed all doubt who tonight's winner would be. Marriott would finish in the second spot with Todd Shute third, Scott Dickey fourth and Cole Ferguson in fifth.

Jason Wolla on cruise control at Oskaloosa - Barry Johnson photo

A full night of racing presented in an efficient manner, something that you can expect from Mike Van Genderen and his crew at the Southern Iowa Speedway, had the final checkered flag wave around 10:15 and I was home and in bed before midnight so that I can be rested up for tonight's trip to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. And oh yes, at next week's regular season opnere at Oskaloosa, all drivers will be admitted FREE!

Night number two of the Frostbusters will be at the birth place of the IMCA Modifieds tonight! Hope to see you there.