Dennis Erb Jr. Dominates The 14th Annual Slocum 50

With the World of Outlaws Late Model Series having the holiday weekend off, the series point leader Dennis Erb Jr. made the trip over from Carpentersville, Illinois, to West Burlington, Iowa, a profitable one by dominating the 14th Annual Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway Saturday night. It was the veteran driver's first win in the prestigious event and it continues one of his best seasons ever adding a cool $10,555 to his 2022 prize winnings.

Twenty-six Super Late Models signed in for the MLRA sanctioned event and one has to wonder if the Friday night rainout at Columbus Junction held down the field a bit as just seven of the top ten, and eight of the top twenty in the series' point standings were in attendance.

All twenty-six drivers would take the green for the fifty-lap finale with Erb taking the lead from the pole position. The first caution waved on lap two when young Kayden Clatt had a right front tire go down and on the restart it would be Ryan Gustin taking up the chase on Erb. With the large starting field, traffic quickly came into play and the caution would wave again twelve laps later when Rickey Frankel stopped on pit road entrance. It was at this point where about every car that had been lapped decided to call it a night with now sixteen cars ready to return to action.

Four cautions would plague the race over the next twelve laps and by the midway point twelve cars remained in competition. On the restart Chad Simpson would sail around Gustin to take second and after losing some ground on the leader for a lap or two, riding the cushion on both ends started to work and Chad would steadily close the gap. When it got down to about two car lengths someone must have signaled Erb as now he went up to the cushion as well, but when he stumbled for a split second in turn two on lap thirty-seven, Simpson was able to get his rear bumper.

Erb recovered nicely though and pulled back out to a solid lead with the race seemingly well in hand until the final caution waved with just three laps remaining. Leading Rookie-of-the-Year contender with the MLRA Kolby Vandenbergh had just been lapped by Erb, but when he pounded the cushion in turn two, his car slowed suddenly to a stop and required a hook to return to the pit area.

The single-file restart would give Simpson one last shot at the leader, but there was no keeping up with Erb who would score the flag-to-flag victory. Chad Simpson would gain some ground in the MLRA points chase with his runner-up finish, Gustin another WoO regular would take third with Chris Simpson fourth and series point leader Johnny Scott in fifth. Terry Phillips, Daniel Hilsabeck and Steve Stultz were the cars remaining on the track at the checkers.

In preliminary action Nick Guernsey took the lead at the drop of the green, opened up a big advantage by mid-race and then held off a quick closing Tanner Gebhardt to take the win in the 305 Sprint Car main event. I wish that someone would have had a microphone down in victory lane because I can guarantee you that Nick would have probably dedicated the win to race photographer Dennis Krieger who passed away on Friday. Both being military veterans, Krieger was always a big fan and supporter of Guernsey through the years and he would have loved to be the one there taking pictures as Guernsey celebrated, but you know that DK's spirit was absolutely there in victory lane.

Gebhardt had started the race from ninth and had made a nifty move to go from fourth to second in turn four on lap seven, but he could not run down Guernsey in the non-stop fifteen lap event. Nathan Murders finished where he started in third, Cody Wehrle was fourth and J.J. Beaver filled out the top five.

The Stock Cars also ran their fifteen lap feature in non-stop fashion with Dustin Vis going from third to first on the opening lap and then racing away for the win ahead of his car builder Johnny Spaw. It was the second win of the weekend here in southeast Iowa for the current All Iowa Points leader as Vis also won on Friday night at Donnellson. David Brandies would finish in the third spot ahead of Jason Cook and Chad Krogmeier.

The 34 Raceway track crew delivered in fine fashion tonight with a wide and fast surface that provided plenty of action despite the fact that all three winners went flag-to-flag. Don't forget that the track will host another mega event next Friday night July 8th when the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars return to the high banked 3/8th-mile oval. Hope to see you there!

I will close out my holiday weekend quadruple header Sunday night when the Sprint Invaders roll into the Benton County Bullring in Vinton. It will be a full and fun night of action with all of the track's regular classes on the card as well.

The four-wide salute with the missing man on the pole to honor the late Brent Slocum

Spectacular Surface Produces Great Racing At LCS

With heavy rain falling to the north and a radar showing green blobs passing over Donnellson for most of the day, Lee County Speedway promoter Brian Gaylord went live on Facebook several times on Friday just to show everybody that all was well at the 3/8th-mile oval situated in the southeast corner of Iowa. Yes, it did sprinkle a few times here and there, but never enough to show mud on his tractor tires so the purpose of his live videos was to assure both drivers and fans that racing would go on as planned. What those videos also showed was just how much work goes into preparing a dirt track for racing and, with an assist from those sprinkles that kept the skies cloudy all day, Gaylord's track turned out to be just about as close to perfect as you can ask for.

Sending out a few pack trucks to roll in the top side during a brief intermission would yield a smooth and fast surface from the bottom to the top and the IMCA Sport Compacts would be the first class to have at it for their fifteen lap main event. I know that they were five-wide entering turn one and if I could get a good look at a replay I would bet you that there was a point that they would be six-wide and it would be Chevy Barnes coming from the outside of row two to take the early lead. Chevy's father, Josh Barnes would quickly make his way up from seventh to second and he would soon put the pressure on his son for the lead.

Would Dad want to escort his son to his first feature win? Heck no, he would need to earn it by holding off the former IMCA Super Nationals Sport Compact champion and Josh would pull even with Chevy as lap five went in the books. They would race door to door through turns one and two, and then down the back stretch with Josh sliding up and in front of Chevy exiting turn four to take the lead. The father would then leave his son in his wake as Josh would run away with the win. Brandon Reu would drop Chevy to third late in the race, Kimberly Abbott finished fourth with Jason Ash coming from tenth to fifth.

The Stock Cars were up next for twenty laps and they too found the smooth wide surface to their liking with some of their own five-wide action exiting turn four on lap one. Third starting Dustin Griffiths would lead that first lap only to have his fellow second row starter Dustin Vis power by on lap two. Last week's winner Josh Foster made a quick charge up from eighth and started putting the pressure on Vis, even pulling close to even with him on a couple of occasions before the caution waved on lap six when a broken fan blade severed the radiator on the #71 car of David Brandies.

On the restart Griffiths and Foster would lock into a battle for second that allowed Vis to get away a bit, and once Foster reestablished himself in second he was unable to reel in the leader again as Vis would build upon his current All Iowa Points lead in the division with the victory. Foster who is really enjoying his trips back to his original home track would be tonight's runner-up with Beau Taylor driving a car that he recently purchased from Tony Hofbauer in for third with a late pass of Griffiths. Former All Iowa Points champion John Oliver Jr. returned to action with the debut of a new car coming from eleventh to fifth.

A talented field of IMCA Modifieds would take the green next for twenty-two laps with veteran drivers Mark Burgtorf and Denny Eckrich leading the way and they would be joined by Austen Becerra to go three-wide exiting turn four to score the opening lap. Eckrich would have the advantage by a nose at the stripe and he would steadily build up a big lead before the caution waved on lap thirteen.

Becerra would try to stay in touch with Eckrich following the restart, but he now also had Jarrett Brown knocking on his back door looking for second and that allowed Eckrich to again drive away and take a convincing victory. Becerra who is also atop of the current All Iowa Points in the Modifieds would hold off Brown who currently ranks sixth and who is looking to move up in those standings after a strong showing in this past week's Western Iowa Racing Results Midwest Madness Tour. Chris Zogg would hold down the fourth spot while Burgtorf slipped to fifth.

The IMCA Late Models would attack the track next with disaster striking on the opening lap for Burlington driver Ed Hollenbeck. Racing mid-pack Hollenbeck's car suddenly veered to the right in turn four smacking the guardrail nearly head on and coming to an immediate stop. After gathering his thoughts for a few moments thankfully the driver who has returned to action this year after a long layoff would climb from the car uninjured.

After a debris caution on lap two the race would get underway with pole-sitter Nick Marolf setting a lightning quick pace. C.J. Horn was up to the challenge though and while Marolf was running a higher lane, Horn was digging on the bottom and soon pulled even with the leader. They would race that way for nearly three full laps before Marolf was able to nose ahead again and, once he did that, Nick would move down to Horn's preferred groove and begin to drive away.

The lead would grow to a full straightaway before the checkers waved over Marolf with Horn taking second by another full straightaway over Darin Weisinger Jr. in third. Independence, Iowa, visitor Sean Johnson would finish in the fourth position while Jeff Guengerich came home fifth.

Twenty-nine Sport Mods were whittled down to a feature field of twenty-four for their main event and the track was obviously still to their liking as just one caution would slow the race and that came on lap three with a three car tangle at the back of the field in turn four.

Dylan Van Wyk had paced those opening laps, but on the restart young Kyler Girard would power by to take the point. Van Wyk was not about to give in though and two laps later he would return to the lead with yet another current All Iowa Points leader, and defending Limited Modified champion Logan Anderson soon moving to second. Van Wyk was strong on this night though as Anderson was unable to mount a challenge over the back half of the race as Van Wyk would score the win. The 2020 AIP champion in this class Brayton Carter would race his way up from twelfth to third at the checkers while Jim Gillenwater and Girard would fill out the top five.

Seven of the Mini Hauler trucks were here as a guest division and they would close out the evening with Tucker Richardson powering past Tim Wagner on lap two and he would then drive away for the win. Brian Tipps would be the runner-up, Sheldon Brockett finished third followed by Wagner and Don Wood.

The final checkered flag waved at 10:20 on a very satisfying night of action from this fan's standpoint and I look forward to returning to Donnellson next Thursday night July 7th when the POWRi 410 Winged Sprint Car series will headline the action during the annual Lee County Fair. Stock Cars, Sport Mods and Sport Compacts will also be in action at the longest running county fair west of the Mississippi.

As always a big thank you to promoters Brian and Marcie Gaylord for the hospitality not only provided to me, but to all of my Positively Racing colleagues whenever they visit Donnellson.

I haven't done three nights in a row since February in Florida, and I am really looking forward to tonight's Slocum 50 with $10,555 going to the winner of the MLRA Late Model main event. This race is to honor the memory of a true "good guy" racer in Brent Slocum so I do hope that I might see you tonight at 34 Raceway west of Burlington!

Finally I want to ask for your thoughts and prayers for my good friend Dennis Krieger. One of the greatest racing photographers ever, DK is battling some health issues right now and needs your support.

Fireworks Start Early In Stuart's Ron Little Memorial Finale

The annual Ron Little Memorial at the Stuart International Speedway has firmly placed itself on my "must see" list ever since Mike Van Genderen took over the ownership of the quaint quarter mile just over a half hour west of Des Moines. Yes, it is a long drive from my southeast Iowa base, but the interesting mix of drivers and the action that they provide is well worth being a bit bleary eyed the next day at work. Especially when most of my clients have already exited stage right for the holiday weekend. And believe me, the "fireworks" started early heading into the Independence Day weekend, but I am going to make you wait for it by instead going through all six features chronologically in today's Back Stretch.

As usual for an event that has MVG calling the shots on the Raceceiver, twenty qualifying events clicked off in quick fashion and after about a twenty minute farming session the first feature of the night rolled to the track at 9:02 p.m. with sixteen Sport Compacts set to run for twelve laps. This one would go non-stop with pole-sitter Elijah Hoyt racing out to a healthy lead while hugging the bottom line around the speedway. Current All Iowa Points leader Tyler Fiebelkorn was on the charge after starting sixth and once he moved to second he would quickly reel in Hoyt and make the pass for the lead on lap five.

Hoyt would stick close to the leader's rear bumper and when Kolby Sabin caught the leaders late in the race, he too would follow them around the Huggy Pole for a lap, something that I am sure he would later regret. With two laps remaining Sabin would give the next groove up a try sweeping around Hoyt for second and then pulling even with Fiebelkorn heading down the back stretch on the final lap. Sensing the challenge Tyler drove it a little harder into the final set of turns and he was able to ward off Sabin for the win. Hoyt would finish in the third spot with the 2021 IMCA National Champion and All Iowa Points runner-up Caine Mahlberg taking third after starting next to Sabin in row five. Ryan Brown would round out the top five.

The Outlaw Mini-Mods would be up next for fifteen laps and when pre-race favorite Ben Kraus sheered off the right front wheel assembly of his car in the heat race, this one looked like it would be wide open as to who might take the win. With repairs quickly made though, Kraus was there and lined up seventh for the feature and he would quickly come to the front passing Kamdyn Haggard for the lead on lap five.

With Kraus now driving away, Haggard still had second well in hand until a back marker decided to turn left into infield off the front stretch on lap ten. With no other choice Kamdyn would stand on the brakes and once the traffic finally cleared the driver that once looked like a sure runner-up was now dropped to mid-pack. Kraus would complete the victory in another non-stop feature race with Carlos Vergara coming home second. We were here for the Frostbuster in what was obviously the racing debut for Carlos, and let's just say the improvement has been impressive! The Daniels boys, Lucas and Bobby would go third and fourth while Haggard would salvage a top five finish.

As usual the Sport Mod field was stacked here at Stuart and unlike at many tracks they usually can race through a full night of qualifying races and a feature with little or no cautions. Young Izac Mallicoat would draw the pole for the twenty-lap headliner and he was out like a rocket building up a big lead while drivers raced two and three-wide behind him. Brayton Carter has this place figured out and many eyes were on him as he picked his way up from eighth to second, but with just five laps remaining and a straightaway between himself and the leader this looked like a daunting task. One that we would not find out if he could accomplish though as just after moving to second, Carter would slow with a flat tire bringing out the first caution of the event.

Texas visitor Billy Gould Jr. would spin in turn one on the restart, and once back to racing it was all Izac Mallicoat as he cruised to the convincing victory. The battle for second was spicy over the final laps with Dylan Van Wyk prevailing over Cam Reimers, Tyler Inman and Dale Ricks Jr.

The Stock Cars were up next for twenty-five laps with twenty-four of the thirty-four entries ready to roll. After giving away a heat race victory earlier in the night when he spun and recovered in the final turn, Devin Smith drew the pole position and he grab the point at the drop of the green. Contact on lap two would send Jeremy Gettler for a spin on the front stretch and he would be joined at the back of the field by Damon Murty who was also involved.

Johnathan Logue would keep the heat on the leader as the racing behind the lead duo raged on and when the caution waved for Arizona's Nate Warren on lap nineteen we were now setup for a wild finish. After starting seventeenth Dallon Murty was now in contention and perhaps even more impressive his father Damon was also back in the hunt coming from the rear and as the green flag waved Logue went high exiting turn four allowing three cars to pass him before the start-finish line.

The sliders were now being delivered in twelve-packs as drivers sliced and diced for position behind Smith who would go flag-to-flag for the victory with Damon Murty edging out Todd Van Eaton for second. Dallon would finish in the fourth spot while Logue's restart miscue would drop him to fifth.

The Hobby Stocks would treat the entertained crowd to another sixteen laps of non-stop action with Arizona driver Zach Tate leading the way while working the top side of the speedway on both ends. Both Brandon Cox and Eric Stanton would reel in the leader after starting fifth and ninth respectively and when Stanton pulled even with Cox at the mid-race point that looked like it would be Tate's opportunity to pull away.

After fighting off Stanton, Cox found some new speed to drive past Tate a lap later and he would then pull away to an impressive victory. Stanton would gain the runner-up position dropping Tate to third at the checkers, but that was good enough for the visitor from the desert to take the Midwest Madness Tour points title for the Hobby Stocks. Skylar Pruitt looked good coming from the sixth row to take fourth while Luke Ramsey started from row seven before finishing in fifth.

We were now set for the thirty-lap $2,500-to-win Ron Little Memorial for the IMCA Modifieds and you just knew that this one would be a barnburner. The race would get off to a shaky start though as Chase Rudolf and Jarrett Brown tangled in turn one on the first try and with three laps completed Matthew Meinecke would be the victim of some wild action going for a spin in turn two.

With those two cautions out of the way the field would settle in and the racing was nothing short of spectacular on a track where drivers could run high, low and everywhere in between. Josh Gilman would be scored the leader for the first four circuits before yielding to Shane Demey, but for just one lap as Gilman charged back to the front. Fifth starting Tom Berry Jr. and tenth starting Cayden Carter were both coming to the front and after Berry swiped the lead from Gilman on lap nine, Carter would follow him into second a few laps later.

The chase was now on as Carter tried to close in on the 2020 IMCA Modified National Champion, but even a lapped car here and three did not slow the leader's quick pace. That would all change though when Berry came off turn four a bit too wide and caught the front stretch wall on lap twenty-six breaking his momentum just enough to allow Carter to throw a slider at him. Berry would execute the crossover to perfection, but on the next try Carter would make it stick to take the lead with two laps remaining. Now it was Berry's turn to throw a slider which Carter would fight off and as the white flag waved Berry would try to squeeze between a lapped car on the bottom and the leader who just on lane up entering turn one.

The side-by-side contact would cause both drivers to spin with the caution waving as the rest of the field scrambled to get by. The caution would be attributed to Berry, but rather than restart at the rear he would drive straight to the pits while Carter was sent back to the front for the green-white-checkers restart. However, before the lineup could be reset the left front tire would go flat on Cayden's #10c and per track rules you are not allowed to restart the race with a flat tire, so he too would head for the pit area.

With the top two drivers eliminated in dramatic fashion it would now be Jacob Hobscheidt that would bring the field back to green and he would hold back both Gilman and Jarrett Brown to score the surprising, although well earned victory as the Nebraska driver had started this one from the inside of row seven. Ethan Braaksma would take fourth place money with Chris Ableson filling out the top five, Kyle Brown would move from twentieth to sixth to edge out Jarrett Brown for the Tour's point title.

It was another spectacular night of racing at Stuart with the final checkered flag waving at 10:40 p.m. and I had plenty of fun to think about on the long drive home. Next up at the Speedway will be two nights of big money Super Late Model racing with the XR Super Series coming to town for the Fever Heat 100 on Monday and Tuesday July 11th and 12th.

We have had some rain here in southeast Iowa this morning, but as of 11:30 a.m. it looks like Davenport, Columbus Junction and Donnellson are all still racing tonight as scheduled. I will be at one of them, will I find you there?

Ron Little's car would join the winners' in victory lane

Shooting Yourself In The Foot

Maybe not an appropriate headline in today's society, but this is still the most common phrase when people hurt themselves with their own mistakes and that is what today's Back Stretch will be all about. We all make mistakes. The key is to learn from those mistakes and not to repeat them over and over again and I hate to say it, but I see several tracks and sanctioning bodies making mistakes that I sure hope they are learning from.

Take last night for example. What in the world was UMP thinking by scheduling a Summer Nationals race at a track that had not been raced on for seven years? In case you missed it, the Hell Tour returned to the Benton Speedway in southeast Missouri and following hot laps, and four cars attempting to qualify, UMP called the drivers back to their trailers and asked for the dry, rough track to be reworked. After about an hour UMP then pulled the sanction and the track proceeded with a $2,500-to-win event with about half of the twenty car field sticking around to compete. Did anybody even consider running a race or two at Benton prior to the Summer Nationals appearance? You know, something to work the bugs out?

The Summer Nationals actually did this two nights in a row as on Tuesday they ran at the Red Hill Speedway in Sumner, Illinois. Again it was the first time that the track had been raced on in 2022 and it was reported that it had been seventeen seasons since an event had been contested there. The Dirt On Dirt headline was "Tyler Erb Bounces to Hell Tour's $5,000 at Red Hill", don't you just love a journalist who can subtly tell you about the event with just one sentence? I guess that if they can get away with it one night, they thought that they could do it again the following night.

The sad part to me is that despite all of the challenges that so many of us are quick to point out that we are facing (tire shortages, high gas prices, too many events scheduled, etc., etc.) the 2022 Summer Nationals had been on quite a roll with now seven different winners and car counts averaging in the 30's until Red Hill's 24 and Benton's 20. Hopefully the Tour can regain momentum when they go to Brownstown, Illinois, tonight before taking on another track that has been reopened here in 2022. But at least there has already been four nights of racing held at the Paducah International Raceway prior to Friday's big show.

Usually when I talk about issues like this I don't name names in order to protect the innocent, however in this case I will because I know that they know that they booted it and I will be shocked if it happens again in 2023. Each year the volunteer staff at the Eldon Raceway are faced with the challenge of preparing a dirt track for a night of racing during the county fair AFTER an afternoon of harness racing takes place. Obviously there is a big difference in how the half-mile dirt track has to be for the horses in the afternoon and the horse power that night. 

In 2021 they dumped too much water on the track and with so few vehicles to pack the surface the SLMR Late Model show did not get started until after 8:30 p.m. This year they repeated that mistake and combined with some questionable decision making on what to do with a piece of equipment that had ran out of gas on the back stretch and would not restart after the refill caused a delay until 9:05 before the Sprint Invaders show could start hot laps. The result was a Thursday night event that would wrap up at 1:20 a.m. on Friday morning and amazingly there was still some enthusiastic fans in the stands until the bitter end.

The evening did provide me with a first time experience though as after nearly two long hours of making laps around the track trying to roll it in, the driver of one pickup truck apparently had had enough of the driver of another pickup truck so he deliberately spun him out entering turn one. The two trucks then drove to the infield behind the judges stand and it looked like we were set for a true Jets versus Sharks rumble complete with a steel rod until track announcer Jeff Kropf and others bravely stepped in to calm the situation.

Anyway, as I said, I will be truly surprised if the same scenario plays out in 2023 at the Wapello County Fair in Eldon and I am also guessing that they will have more than one tow truck on hand as well.

Some promoters seem to be continually shooting themselves in the foot without even knowing it. Take the track that runs a mid-week show that would consistently be finished by 9:30 before adding another division that only produces six to nine cars a night and now getting done by 10:15 is an accomplishment. That makes a big difference to a race fan who is coming from over an hour away to watch.....or not.

Or a track that in the past would hot lap at 7:00 with racing at 7:30 and with over 100 cars in the pits would normally be done before 10:30. Now the track starts more than an hour earlier and with around 70 cars in the pits they still get over with at the same time. The reason? That hour of extra sunshine while racing on a dirt track makes a big difference and usually requires an extended intermission to rework the track for feature time. Not only does it effect the racing, but it dampens attendance as well.

Perhaps the biggest difference that I have seen over the last several years is the shift in how tracks and series do their lineup procedures. A track here in the Midwest recently reopened under a new driver/promoter who proudly posted on Facebook that last week's winner would no longer be required to start mid-pack for the feature in his or her next appearance and ended the post with "you're welcome!"

In the comments I said, "Good for you! Passing is overrated anyway" and while a couple of friends of mine like Pokey and Barry understood what I was saying, sadly I feel that the sarcasm went over most reader's heads, including that new promoter. I know that this fan has, and will stay home from some shows when he knows that the format is to "qualify and then start the fast guys in front". In fact, after watching several shows like that with a few of them included in my upcoming schedule, I will deliberately go find myself a weekly show at an IMCA sanctioned track just because of the average points inverts.

As I have always said, this sport is called "Racing", it is not called "Chasing".

My wife and I just returned from a spectacular seven night cruise of the Danube River starting in Budapest, Hungary, sailing through Austria and wrapping up in Regensburg, Germany. It was the trip of a lifetime and I would highly recommend Viking River cruises as they treat you like royalty all the way. And, if you don't want to make the trip out of the country, Viking will soon be doing cruises of the Mississippi River including stops in Burlington, the Quad Cities and Dubuque! Believe it or not they are already sold out through 2023 though and while one might assume that the cruises on Big Muddy would be filled up by foreign tourists, it is actually mostly Americans who are ready to go from Minnesota to New Orleans.

With Chris now heading to Michigan to visit our daughter for the weekend, that opens up four straight nights of racing for me, something that I am really looking forward to after having only been to three shows in the month of June thus far. Tonight it is off to Stuart for the annual Ron Little Memorial and the finale of the Midwest Madness Tour which once again has been a big success. On Friday night I plan to return to Columbus Junction where the MLRA Late Models will be in action and then on Saturday the MLRA moves to 34 Raceway west of Burlington for the rescheduled Slocum 50. The $10,555 top prize makes the Slocum the highest paying Late Model race in the country on Saturday night! Then on Sunday I look forward to joining Bill Wright and Ryan Clark on the microphone at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton for the return of the Sprint Invaders.

It will be a busy holiday weekend of racing so make sure that you get out and support the sport at the track of your choosing and perhaps we will see you there on the Back Stretch!

Schneiderman Outduels Wehrle For Sprint Invader Victory At Donnellson

Donnellson, Iowa (June 3^rd) – Two Burlington area drivers, and long-time Sprint Invader regulars, Cody Wehrle and Josh Schneiderman waged a torrid battle for the lead through most of Friday night’s twenty-five lap main event before Schneiderman pulled way for the victory here at the Lee County Speedway. The event would be the second completed in 2022 for the 360 Winged Sprint Car series that has been entertaining race fans since 2002 and the nice crowd on hand saw plenty of action on this night.

Starting from the pole position in the twenty-one-car field, Schneiderman would use the bottom line around the 3/8^th-mile D-Shaped facility to hold the early lead only to have Wehrle, who had started second, sweep around him on lap four. Schneiderman would stay close though while two-time series champion Chris Martin closed in looking to make it a three-car battle for the lead. While the lead trio kept most of the crowds’ attention, two drivers were making big runs up through the field as well.

Barry Johnson Photo

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame member Terry McCarl had started the Matt Allen owned #9k from the sixteenth position and by lap eight he had already cracked the top five, while right behind him the young driver out of Waco, Texas, Chase Randall was making another big charge as well after starting from the inside of row seven. Recall that Randall had won the Sprint Invaders opener five days earlier at 34 Raceway when he rallied from sixteenth so when the caution waved on lap nine for Martin who had slowed with a flat right rear, many might have thought that both McCarl and Randall would continue their run to the front on the restart.

The lead duo had other ideas though as when the green flag waved again the track quickly took rubber and the speeds picked up with still two or three lines to choose from. Schneiderman would pull even with Wehrle on lap twelve and the leaders looked like slot cars racing around the smooth black surface just inches apart for nearly two full laps. 

Josh would take the lead for good with ten laps remaining and after he put a couple of lapped cars between himself and Wehrle, that would close the deal for Schneiderman’s first win of 2022. Cody would chase him home in second, Randall maintains the early season point lead with his third-place run while Terry McCarl finished fourth.

Barry Johnson photo

Riley Goodno was solid in the fifth position, Brett Triplett was sixth, Austin McCarl drove the Midland Performance #50 to a seventh-place finish, Randy Martin was eighth, ninth went to Ryan Jamison and Chase Porter filled out the top ten.

Next up for the Sprint Invaders will be a return to the Super Half-Mile oval at the Eldon Raceway on Thursday, June 16^th during the annual Wapello County Fair. It will be your first chance to take in some good ol’ Iowa fair food and drinks while enjoying a great night of Sprint Car racing!

Results

Howard Law A-Main (started) – 1. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington (1) 2. Cody Wehrle, Burlington (2) 3. Chase Randall, Waco TX (13) 4. Terry McCarl, Altoona (16) 5. Riley Goodno, Knoxville (5) 6. Bret Tripplett, Lincoln IL (3) 7. Austin McCarl, Altoona (12) 8. Randy Martin, California MO (8) 9. Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis (6) 10. Chase Porter, St. Joseph MO (11) 11. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL (7) 12. Colton Fisher, Mediapolis (20) 13. Cam Martin, Ankeny (18) 14. Jamie Ball, Knoxville (9) 15. Tanner Gebhardt, Burlington (21) 16. Devin Wignall, Altoona (10) 17. Dustin Clark, Agency (15) 18. Daniel Bergquist, Burlington (14) 19. Austin Miller, Lacona (17) 20. Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids (19) 21. Chris Martin, Ankeny (4)

Randall’s Performance 1^st Heat – 1. Jamison 2. Gharst 3. Chris Martin 4. A. McCarl 5. Randall 6. T. McCarl 7. Gebhardt 8. Cam Martin 9. Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville

Joshua Denning & Associates 2^nd Heat – 1. Wehrle 2. Goodno 3. Ball 4. Porter 5. Bergquist 6. Miller 7. Chase Richards, Burlington 8. McCain Richards, Burlington

Mohrfeld Solar 3^rd Heat- 1. Tripplett 2. R. Martin 3. Schneiderman 4. Wignall 5. Clark 6. Fisher 7. Lee 8. Dugan Thye, Burlington

Shottenkirk Automotive Shake Up Dash – 1. Chris Martin 2. Goodno 3. Jamison 4. Schneiderman 5. Wehrle 6. Tripplett

B-Main – 1. Miller 2. Cam Martin 3. Lee 4. Fisher 5. Gebhardt 6. Thye 7. C. Richards 8. M. Richards 9. Zoutte

Barry Johnson photo

Contingency Awards (Sprint Invader Members):

KSE/Christine Wahl-Levitt Memorial Hard Charger – Chase Randall

Saldana Racing – Tanner Gebhardt

DMI – Dustin Clark

Cen-Pe-Co Lubricants – Tyler Lee

Next Events:

Thursday June 16^th, Eldon Raceway, Eldon IA

Friday June 24^th, Davenport Speedway, Davenport IA

Saturday June 25^th, 34 Raceway, West Burlington IA

For more information on the Sprint Invaders visit www.sprintinvaders.org