Miller, Anderson, Gebhardt, Timmerman And The Carters Prevail at 34 Raceway

A change in our travel plans this weekend allowed me to slip down to nearby 34 Raceway on Saturday for a night of weekly racing that would offer up plenty of action and some interesting storylines as well. It's late, so let's get to it!

It was a sunny and warm day for early May and with hot laps starting at 6:30, following some entertaining heat races, the high banked 3/8th-mile oval needed some work during a thirty minute intermission and while it was still a bit slippery during the early laps of the first feature, the extra manicure made for some great racing the remainder of the night. 

The Mini Hauler division would be up first for a twelve lap main event and that first story line that I referred to above would be the guest driver in the Brian Tipps owned pickup truck #20. Retired Late Model superstar Brian Birkhofer would be in the pits on this night as his son Cruz would be competing in the IMCA Late Model division and while I don't exactly know the connection (yet), Tipps had offered his ride for the night and Birky accepted. He would draw the pole position for the opening heat race and would take the lead at the drop of the green only to spin in turn four to bring out the caution. Birkhofer would then go to the back for the restart and again he would spin in turn four before, so he would then head for the pits for causing two cautions without even completing a lap.

Obviously driving one of these trucks is nothing like wheeling a Super Late Model so apparently the former track champion and owner of the #20 truck must have gave him some "truck driving Tipps" before the feature race because there would no more spinning, and Birkhofer would be very involved in a very entertaining finish to the main event.

Bob Cowman would get up in the slick stuff entering turn three on the opening lap and get into the wall ending his night. Then on the next try at a start Payton Lain would get crossed up exiting turn four coming to score lap one and he would nose into the outside wall. Caleb Ealey, who won the opener here in April, would lead that opening lap, but on the restart Brett Timmerman would go charging to the front after starting from seventh. He would then slip up and over the top of turn two though, losing several positions and giving the lead back to Ealey until lap five when Dawson Tipps got too high in turn three and sent the sparks flying as his rear bumper scraped along the concrete wall bringing out another caution.

Sheldon Brockett had started tenth and made up some ground early, but contact with another truck would mangle his right front fender and when it fell of his truck on lap six the caution for debris would be the final one of the race.

The final six laps would be nothing short of spectacular as the Timmermans, Brett and Lyle, as well as Birkhofer picked up the challenge on Ealey and we had a four truck battle for the win. Lyle would get the advantage on lap ten only to have his son Brett diving into the turns below him and nearly pulling even. Birkhofer was right behind them waiting for a mistake and Ealey wanted to get back to the front as well. On the final lap the Timmermans exited turn four side-by-side with the sixty-five-year-old Lyle Timmerman taking the win by half a car length over Brett with Birkhofer and Ealey next in line.

Darin Ronner who took a couple of trips off the top of turns one and two under green recovered from each to finish fifth and as Lyle climbed out of his truck to celebrate in victory lane both Brett as well as Tasker Timmerman, Lyle's grandson, joined in the fun.

The 305 Sprint Cars were up next and only one caution would wave in this fifteen lap event as Nate Parks slowed with mechanical issues on lap one. Once back to green there would be no touching Tanner Gebhardt who pulled out to a sizeable advantage while the race to watch was for second as Riley Scott tried to ward off a rim-riding Matt Krieger. There would only be a few laps left when Krieger completed the pass and he was cutting into lead quickly as Gebhardt worked traffic, but Matt could not get close enough to challenge before Tanner scored the win. Scott continues to improve in third while Lincoln Martin finished fourth and Nick Guernsey filled out the top five.

The IMCA Late Models were not even on the original schedule for tonight, but after drawing solid fields each of the last two weeks in this class, the Late Models were subbed in for tonight especially with Maquoketa having a scheduled night off and the result was a solid field of twenty cars on hand.

Jeremy Pundt would start beside National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Gary Webb in the front row and it would be Pundt that would race out to the lead and steadily build up a nice adantage ahead of the third starting Tommy Elston. Eleven of the twenty-five laps had been completed as Pundt closed in on the back of the field and they were three-wide ahead of the leader who may just have breathed a sigh of relief when the caution waved a lap later for Joe Beal's spin in turn two.

With a clear track ahead of him on the restart, Pundt went right back to working the bottom line only to be passed a lap later by Evan Miller who used a higher line to come from fifth to the lead on lap fourteen. Pundt would try to counter for a couple of laps only to see Miller start to pull away until the caution waved with three laps remaining when Cruz Birkhofer missed the lip and went off the top of turn two before sliding to a halt. The most improved Late Model driver in the state in 2025, Curtis Glover would restart alongside Pundt in the first double row and when those two, along with Travis Denning battled for second, Miller would ease away to take the $1,000 top prize. With his second place finish here, Glover will likely be at the top of the All Iowa Points with this week's update while Pundt held off Denning to finish in third. Travis had started the race from ninth, but the hard charger award goes to Jesse Bodin who came from thirteenth to complete the top five.

The IMCA Stock Cars would be up next for twenty laps and when you see John Oliver Jr. starting from the front row here at 34 Raceway, that usually means that this will be a race for second. Not tonight though, and not just in this feature. Oliver would take the early advantage with Jacob Ellithorpe and Kirk Kinsely in hot pursuit, but it would be the fifth starting Cayden Carter on the move making his way up to second on lap six.

The leader was hugging the bottom in turns one and two, but he would enter turn three midway up the banking and then drive low to exit turn four and as Carter gained ground on Oliver he could see where he might be able to make his move. On lap twelve Cayden was able to get his nose under Oliver in turn, taking away the diamond exit off of turn four, but when Carter's brother Brayton slowed with a flat tire in turn two the caution would wave with seven laps remaining. 

As the field circled the track at a slow speed to get the realignment correct, somehow both David Brandies and Jacob Ellithorpe ended up side-by-side on the apron entering turn three with one driver getting out of the car to exchange pleasantries. Frankly, I was checking my phone under caution to see how some other events in the region had gone so I did not see what started this "meeting" and once the officials calmed things down, both drivers would be sent to the pit area.

Once back to racing Oliver would stay glued to the bottom now on both ends and after Carter saw Kirk Kinsley making a run at him one line higher in turns one and two, Cayden would also start working that groove and he would take the lead by a bumper on lap sixteen. Oliver would not let him go though and they would essentially run side-by-side until Carter finally cleared Oliver as the white flag waved and the new leader would then go to the bottom to shut the door on Oliver and take the hard fought victory. Corey Strothman had come from eighth to third and may have been a factor for the win in this one if there had been a few more laps. Kinsley would finish in the fourth spot while Andrew Burk took fifth.

My Positively Racing colleague Danny Rosencrans had texted me that the features at Donnellson were already being checkered shortly after eight o'clock so when I saw a late arriving enclosed hauler entering the pits just as the intermission was wrapping up, I wondered who it might have been. The answer came when the Sport Mods entered the track for their twenty lap headliner as starting in the sixteenth and final spot on the grid would be Logan Cumby who earlier in the evening had finished second at the Lee County Speedway.

The top two ranked Sport Mod drivers in Iowa, Brayton Carter and Dylan Van Wyk would race away from the rest of the field at the drop of the green and when the caution waved mid-race for Pat Emerick who had both right side tires go flat, the field was bunched back together for a restart with Cumby now in the sixth position. Again Carter and Van Wyk would pull away on the restart as a three car battle for fourth waged on involving Tom Bowling Jr., Jarrett VandeBerg and Logan Cumby. One final caution for Shane Vancil, who stepped up from the Four Cylinder ranks this year, brought the field back together, but it would still be Brayton Carter's night as he would take the win over his fellow Oskaloosa resident Van Wyk. Cumby would make it to third for his second podium finish  on the night at two tracks separated by about a forty mile drive. Sean Wyett would hold down fourth and VandenBerg was fifth at the checkers.

Carter's night? How about this calendar week for "Speedy Bray" as announcer Mike Sunken noted that he had won at Spencer on Monday, had taken both the make-up feature and the regular main event at Oskaloosa on Wednesday, he was the Thursday Night Thunder winner at Marshalltown on Thursday and on Friday Brayton won at Stuart in support of the SLMR show there. Six wins in six nights, simply amazing for the driver who is seeking his fourth All Iowa Points Limited Modified title here in 2025!

The IMCA Modifieds would close out the night with John Oliver Jr. again racing to the early lead from a front row starting position. Logan Anderson, who got upside down here last week, would pick up the chase in second and the only caution of this race would wave on lap eight when Spencer Diercks and Blaise Lewis tangled and spun in turn one while battling for third.

On the restart Anderson would snatch the lead away from Oliver and with laps winding down the seventh starting Chris Zogg would make his way into second. Zogg would be able to keep the leader in his sights, but there would be no catching Anderson who continues to impress in his first full season in an IMCA Modified after taking a couple of All Iowa Points Limited Modified championships of his own in 2021 and 2022. Zogg would finish second, Bill Roberts Jr. came from eighth to third, Oliver slipped to fourth and Cayden Carter finished out the top five.

The final checkered flag waved at 10:41 bringing an interesting and exciting night of racing to an end and it was definitely fun for me to just kick back, relax, and enjoy a night of racing at my "home track". Plans for next week include a trip to Stuart on Wednesday night for the Dynamic Drivelines Dirt Duel featuring the Dirt Crown Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks, then on Friday night we will be back with the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders for the highly anticipated return to the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction. Hope to see you again soon here on the Back Stretch!

Three Wins, One Loss For Dustin Griffiths At Osky

With the non-wing Sprints off the card for the night, and three make-up features to be run, I made the trip up to Oskaloosa despite the fact that scattered thunderstorms had been added into the forecast late in the day. Every time I walk into the grandstands at the Southern Iowa Speedway memories from now forty-four years of watching races there run through my mind and it was time to add some new ones on this Wednesday night.

I was going to go to the season opener here last week, but with a chilly night and a chance of rain I stayed home and as it turned out that was a good call as the night ended on lap four of the Stock Car feature with the Sports Mods and Hobby Stocks yet to run. So on this night the weather was warmer, but the chance for rain was added in where the storms were moving from east to west, something that we don't often see here in Iowa. One batch stayed just north of Oskaloosa giving us all quite the light show as the races continued while a couple of more were developing two counties to the east so track officials did everything that they could in order to keep the four division, seven feature race program on the move.

Maguire DeJong - Saif Grafke photo

The conclusion of last weeks Stock Car feature would be first on the card with Dustin Griffiths bringing the field back to green with four laps down and ten remaining, Griffiths would quickly open up a lead as drivers battled for position behind him, but as he was coming to score lap number seven Dustin spun the car in turn four bringing out the caution. A rare mistake from one of the best drivers in the region.

Maguire DeJong and Brayton Carter would start from the front row on the restart and DeJong would take the point and then pull away over the remaining laps to score the win. Carter finished second, Griffiths passed five cars over the final eight laps to take third, Steve Byers was fourth and Clinton Goff took fifth. 

Seven cars lined up for the fourteen lap Sport Mod make-up feature and when the initial start was waved off three of them tangled on the front stretch and that would send Chase Johnson to the pits with issues. When the green flag waved Kyle Harwood would set a quick pace keeping about a ten car length advantage over Brayton Carter. At the mid-race mark though Carter would start to close in and when Harwood pushed up the track a bit in turns three and four on lap eight, Brayton pounced driving under him for the lead and the eventual victory. Harwood would be the runner-up with Colton Livezy third, Jason Van Zomeron fourth and Tony Johnson fifth.

The Hobby Stocks would close out the events from opening night with a fourteen-lapper of their own and with Dustin Griffiths lined up on the outside of row one, it didn't take a genius to guess the outcome of this one. Kris Walker kept him honest through the early laps and the only caution waved on lap six when Rick VanDusseldorp spun in turn three. His displeasure with Jacob Sytsma as the field was under caution indicated that it wasn't a solo effort.

Once back to green there was no staying with Griffiths who cruised to the win. Peyton Stephens, who had started the race from twelfth, passed Walker late to finish second as Keaton Gorden and James Pilkington filled out the top five.

Qualifying heats for the four divisions would run next and the second Sport Compact heat was worth the price of admission in itself as the top five raced in a tight formation the entire five laps with several lead changes before Clayton Webster secured the win after starting sixth.

The Stock Cars would be up first again for tonight's four features and you knew that Dustin Griffiths had redemption on his mind as he started from the pole position. Derrick Agee quickly moved from fourth to second and would provide a stout challenge sticking his nose under the leader a couple of times during the first three laps. But after fighting off Agee, Dustin would gradually pull away to win this one convincingly over Agee and Maguire DeJong. Brayton Carter finished fourth and Jason rounded out the top five. 

Derrick Agee (14) challenges Dustin Griffiths (10G) for the lead - Saif Grafke photo

The team cars of Clayton Webster and Seth Meinders would bring the field to green for the ten lap Sport Compact headliner with Meinders taking the point. The only caution of the race would wave on lap three as Webster slowed in turns one and two and as he tried to make the left hand turn to the infield on the back stretch he collected Dalton Sowers sending both cars for a spin.

On the restart Meinders would continue to lead the way as Des Moines driver Michael Gardner took up the chase in second. Gardner was the runner-up in the All Iowa Points in 2024 on the strength of his short track performances and he was looking good on a rare half-mile appearance here, but he was not going to catch Meinders who would go flag to flag for the win. Brandon Pickney was able to slip past Gardner in turn four coming to the checkers to take second with James Haring fourth and Colton Zaputil coming home fifth.

Brayton Carter - Saif Grafke photo

The Sport Mods would be up next and the second verse was pretty much like the first, except this time Kyle Harwood would stay glued to the bottom as he tried to hold off the challenges of Brayton Carter. As Hall of Fame starter Doug Haack gave the leaders the "two to go" signal, Carter decided to give a higher line a try and as they came back to take the white flag they were side-by-side at the stripe. Carter would then find the bite that he needed up top to take the lead in turns one and two and while Harwood battled back, it would be another win for "Speedy Bray" at his hometown track. The top five would read the same from the first feature; Carter, Harwood, Livezy, Van Zomeran and Johnson. 

With the lightning from the storms to the east now filling the skies beyond turns one and two, the Hobby Stocks would close out the evening with fourteen laps of action as the fourth starting James Pilkington would get to the front to lead lap one. His fellow row two starter Peyton Stephens would take over the point on lap two with the caution waving for a spin on lap five.

Dustin Griffiths, who had started sixth, would now restart in the first double row and he would immediately go to work on Stephens for the lead. Using the outside line Dustin would lead the way as lap seven was scored only to have Stephens battle back to lead lap eight. But that outside line was good and Griffiths would takeover for good and lead the final six laps to not only take his third feature win of the night, but to also rob me of seeing a car with the number 623R win a feature race. Stephens finished second, Kris Walker was third and Brayden Wood passed Keaton Gorden in the closing laps to take fourth.

It was an entertaining night of racing that started with hot laps on time at 7:15 and after seven heat races and seven features the final checkered flag waved at 9:15 ahead of the approaching weather. Great job by everybody involved in putting on this show! I also want to thank my good friend Jerry Mackey for the recognition and his promotion of our work at Positively Racing, that is always greatly appreciated Jerry! I also want to thank Saif Grafke who sent me the photos used above while I was sitting in the stands still watching the races. Great pics, Saif!

Next up for me are a pair of Mohrfeld Sprint Invader events, this Friday May 9th at the Davenport Speedway and next Friday May 16th at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction. Hope to see you again soon on the Back Stretch!

Thrills, Spills and Some Controversy As The Bullring Opens For 2025

Every inch of available pit space was needed on Sunday as the Benton County Speedway's 2025 season opener would pull in an amazing 159 cars to do battle on the quarter-mile "Bullring" in Vinton. And when all was said and done nine drivers would visit victory lane in the seven division program.

Wait, what?

Yes, you read that correctly and that was attributed to the "C" word used in the title above, so let's start from the beginning with the first of those seven feature races. 

They were pitted all the way out to the neighbor's house at Vinton

Kyle Olson would lead the opening lap of this fifteen lap headliner for the Sport Mods from the pole position and on lap two a hard crash would take place right in front of the large opening night crowd. Kole Quam would get sideways and nose into the concrete just past the flagstand and he would get drilled by both Jason Niedert and Noah Beenken. Thankfully all drivers were okay and that statement will also apply to any future crashes that are referenced here.

Once back to action northwest Missouri driver Daniel Harris would put the pressure on Olson finally taking the lead on lap seven. Olson would try to battle back though as the lead duo pulled away from the rest of the field, but on lap ten Kyle would get sideways in turn three and he could not get the car back in motion before the caution waved sending him to the rear of the pack for the restart.

With the green flag back in play Cole Suckow found the high side to his liking as he quickly moved from the middle of the field up to third and he was about to take second when the caution waved again as Will Wolf and Olson both sat motionless in turn three. It looked like we might be set up for a sizzler with just three laps remaining, but Harris nailed his line and actually pulled away a bit from the battle for second as he repeated his victory from the night before at the Boone Speedway to make for a nice weekend visit to Iowa. Brady Hilmer would edge out Suckow for second, while hometown drivers Austin Kemp and Brandon Tharp would complete the top five.

Twenty-three drivers from six states including Tennessee and South Carolina would start the eighteen lap Legend Cars feature with Dylan Manning outrunning pole-sitter Eric Blumer into turn one to lead the opening lap. Griffin McGrath's spin entering turn three would reset the field and on the restart Blumer would drive under Manning to take the point. A red flag would fly on lap four when Joe VanNatta and Cody Moline tangled in turn four with Moline's #33 tipping onto its side before settling back down on all fours.

Two more cautions would slow the field over the remaining fourteen laps as Blumer went unchallenged for the most part while the battle for positions behind him went two and three wide. Michael Weber would come from eighth to second to finish right on the rear bumper of the winner as Dave Eberle finished third ahead of South Carolina driver Zach Miller and Cedar Rapids favorite Kacey Korsmo.

It was good to see a full field of Sport Compacts up next for twelve laps and as they often do here at Vinton, the swarm would go from green to checkers with no cautions. The front row of Jake Anderson and Blake Driscoll would complete the first lap side by side with Anderson just a nose ahead before Driscoll took control on lap number two. The driver on the move was Cristian Grady who had started eighth and was looking for a better finish to his weekend than how it started after getting upside down at Marshalltown on Friday night.

Grady would clear Anderson for second with two laps remaining and after the white flag waved he would make his run at the leader driving to the inside of the rim riding Driscoll. His run would come up just short though as Driscoll scored the win, but Grady's second place finish did put him to the top of the May 4th update of the All Iowa Points for the division. Anderson would come home third, Stephen Randall rallied from twelfth to fourth as Robert Rundle finished in fifth.

The twenty-five lap PRO Late Model Tour headliner would be up next, an event that would see six lead changes involving two drivers with three of them coming after the checkered flag had waved!

Tom Berry Jr. would set a quick early pace from the pole position, but the third starting Tim Ward was finding the grip on the bottom and soon charged to the front on lap five. Berry would battle back with a high to low move in turns one and two to get back to the front on lap six and then the only caution of the race would wave three laps later when Brandon Davis spun in turn four collecting Bobby Hansen.

On the restart both Ward and Matt Ryan would keep the heat on Berry and on lap eleven Ward would get back to the lead with another nifty move. Berry would then stay close over the next several laps only to see Ward pull away to take the checkers and that is where the fun started.

There was a long delay as Ward went up and down on the scales apparently having a tough time making the minimum weight and then finally Berry was brought to victory lane. However, as he started his interview I noticed that a tech official was still checking things over with a flashlight on Ward's car, something that wouldn't be needed if he had been disqualified at the scales.

Berry's interview ended abruptly mid-sentence and he climbed back in his car and quickly drove off to the pits as now Ward's car was parked in victory lane and another uncomfortable interview was conducted. Then a few minutes later it was announced that Ward had been disqualified for grooving his tires, apparently a no-no in the PRO Late Model Tour rule book and during a red flag in the Stock Car feature that we will get into here shortly, Tom Berry Jr. returned to victory lane where he had some choice words for how this whole scenario had played out. But let me tell ya, you ain't seen nothing yet!

The official finish, at least as of Monday morning, would have Berry with the victory, Matt Ryan taking second, J.D. Auringer hustled from sixteenth to be credited with third, C.J. Horn was fourth and Dallon Murty finished fifth. 

Several drivers on the night, including Berry described the track as having character while still being raceable. The one division that really had a challenge with it though was the Stock Cars with several of them apparently setup to run rolled over to the right rear with the left front coming off the ground as they entered the corners. A ridge entering turn one was the culprit though as at least three Stock Cars bicycled during the heat races and after pole-sitter Johnathon Logue paced the field into turn one for the second time a car mid-pack caught the ridge and snap rolled several times shedding all of the body parts except for the rear bumper cover.

The only way to identify who had endured this wild crash was a method of elimination and it was southeast Iowa racer Austin Staley who thankfully emerged from the stripped clean car uninjured. As the Late Model winner at that moment was brought back to victory lane to resume his interview with the other announcer, some quick track work was done to knock down that ridge for awhile and we were soon back to racing with Logue still leading the way.

Not another caution would be needed in this one and when the seventh starting Tony Olsen slipped past Dustin Vis for second he would start to close the gap on the leader with the laps winding down. As they were coming to three laps remaining the lapped car of Dakota O'Connor drifted high causing Logue to stand on the brakes, and when O'Connor corrected and went back to the low groove he would be right in front of Olson allowing Logue to pull away to what seemed like an insurmountable advantage.

However, coming to the white flag Logue got a bit crossed up entering turn four and that allowed Olson to get back into contention and on the final lap, when Logue again stumbled in turn four, Olson dove to the bottom and squeezed between the big infield tire and the left front of Logue's car for what looked like an apparent last lap victory. As Logue's car drove up the track after contact exiting turn four, Dustin Vis would slip by for second before Logue could scramble across the line for third ahead of John Oliver Jr. and Shaun Bistline.

Olson would park his car in victory lane and was soon joined in by several family and friends striking a pose, but the photographers did not engage as the announcement came that "Race Control" was reviewing the situation. The family and friends soon dispersed and Olson climbed back in his car and headed for the scales and the announcement soon came that he would be disqualified for rough driving and that Dustin Vis would be awarded the win. To his credit, Vis did not drive to victory lane as that would have given us ten drivers in seven divisions as the final decision was made that Logue would be awarded the victory and his car would later be brought to the stage in front of the judges stand on a wrecker for an unusual photo op.

In this writer's opinion, without the aid of any video replay and obviously with nowhere near as close of a view as "Race Control" would have had as I sat near the top of the grandstands, this situation was over officiated with the leader getting out of shape and the challenger going as low as he could go to take advantage of the situation. But hey, right or wrong, love it or hate it, this is the kind of stuff that will have that grandstand nearly full once again when the Benton County Speedway gets back to action on May 18th after taking Mother's Day off.

The official finish would read like this, Johnathon Logue with the win, Dustin Vis in second, John Oliver Jr. who was behind the wheel of Chad Krogmeier's #12 for the second night in a row after winning on Saturday at 34 Raceway was credited with third, Shaun Bistline was fourth and Dakoda Sellers joined the top five as Olson was regulated to eleventh, the final car on the lead lap.

You know what else fills the stands here at Vinton? Races like the twenty-lap feature for the IMCA Modifieds where there were six lead changes amongst three drivers and all of these took place BEFORE the checkered flag!

Pole-sitter Kollin Hibdon would out run his former mentor Jeff Aikey from the front row to take the early lead before New Mexico native Zane DeVilbiss stole the point on lap four. The only caution of this thriller would wave a lap later when Kaylin Lopez and Dustin Kroening would tangle on the back stretch and on the restart the battle between DeVilbiss and Hibdon would resume. Ethan Braaksma who had started ninth was on the move and once he made it up to third all of us were treated to an amazing three car battle for the lead.

Hibdon was now using the cushion on both ends and that momentum off the top would take him back to the lead on lap fourteen only to have DeVilbiss nose back to the front a lap later. Meanwhile Braaksma was really finding the bite on the bottom and he would lead the trio at the stripe on lap fifteen only to have Hibdon regain the lead one lap later. Finally, with just three laps to go, Braaksma again used the bottom to take the lead and he would not give it up from there taking an impressive victory where there was no confusion as to who was the winner.

Hibdon actually jumped the cushion in turn four with two laps remaining and faded to a nineteenth place finish as DeVilbiss was the runner-up ahead of Izac Mallicoat and Troy Morris III. Morris had started eighth and Mallicoat came from twelfth, but the hard charger was Joel Rust who filled out the top five after starting twentieth on the grid.

The Hobby Stocks would close out the evening with fifteen laps where Matt Brown would lead the first two before the third-place car of Brad Graham got sideways in turn three and collected Daniel Wauters taking two top drivers out of contention. On the restart Nathan Ballard would race to the lead and just three laps later Brown would clip an infield tire exiting turn two and get upside down to bring out the red.

Once back to racing the eleventh starting Tucker Richardson was now up to second and he would pull door to door with Ballard for the lead down the back stretch before the caution waved again at the back of the field. Unfortunately Richardson's night would come to a close with a flat right rear tire as he exited the track under caution. There would be one more race stoppage on lap eleven and while Joren Fisher was able to stay close, he could not make a run at Ballard who would score the victory with the final checkers waving just before ten o'clock. Briar Kriegel, Justin Wacha and Jarod Weepie would complete the top five.

It was one of the most unusual and entertaining nights that I have had at a race track in sometime and while the promotional team of Rick and Corey Dripps as well as the officials with the PRO Late Model Tour are taking some arrows today, you can bet that each and every one of those angry race fans will either be back in the grandstands or tuning in on IMCA.tv the next time that the green flag waves at the Benton County Speedway.

Next up for me will be a trip to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday night where the roster will be trimmed to four divisions with a couple of make-up features sprinkled in. Then, on Friday night May 9th, the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders return to the Davenport Speedway for a night of action on the wide and racey quarter-mile.

Hope to see you at the track again soon!

Thornton Triumphs As Late Models Return To Memphis

Cloudy skies and a chilly north wind may have held down the crowd a bit, but there was still a buzz in the grandstands as the Super Late Models made a rare appearance at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri, on Friday night. It would be the season opener for Joe Kosiski's Malvern Bank SLMR East series with an interesting mix of twenty-five drivers on hand, several of whom that would quickly load up at the end of the evening and make the 365 mile journey to Norfolk, Nebraska, for Saturday's West series opener at the Off Road Speedway.

I love the qualifying procedure used by the SLMR as drivers draw at the gate and, on this night, they were split into three heat race groups. They then time trial within that group to set the heat race lineup and then with the combination of points from qualifying and their heat race finish, the top sixteen in qualifying points lock into the A-Main. But here is the difference from other Late Model series. They invert the heat race lineup by six, so the quick qualifier from each group starts on the outside of row three and not only does this give the fans more racing action in the heat races compared to the "start the fast guys in front method", but it also helps to widen out the racing surface by promoting passing during the heats races! Instead of a parade of drivers chasing the fastest car while all using the same racing line, the SLMR method has drivers racing low, high and anywhere in between. And, when you combine that with the track prep expertise of promoter Mike VanGenderen, you end up with three and four-wide racing action all the way to the final checkered flag of the night as evidence by this battle for second midway through the Stock Car feature. 

Jay Schmidt (19J), Michael Jaennette (93) and Brayton Carter (7v) - Barry Johnson photo

The thirty-lap SLMR headliner would be the third feature of the night and pole-sitter Chad Simpson would open up a nice early lead. After starting fifth, the 2024 SLMR Rookie-of-the-Year Dylan Thornton would make his way to second and he would quickly reel in Simpson to make it a battle for the lead. Using the high side of the 3/8th-mile oval to perfection, Thornton would sweep around the outside of Simpson on lap twelve and the lead duo would then open up a full straightaway over the rest of the field. 

Dylan Thornton (38T) overtakes Chad Simpson (25) - Barry Johnson photo

Making his first career start with the SLMR, Dallon Murty was on the move after starting tenth and just past the mid-race mark he would get to third, but was nearly a half lap behind Thornton with just over ten laps remaining. As the laps wound down the leader would approach a large group of cars racing for position and that would allow Simpson to close back in on him getting to just a car-length or two before the California native started to pick off the lappers. This also allowed Murty to quickly erase the gap and as the white flag waved both Simpson and Murty would have the leader in sight, both hoping for a mistake, but Dylan had it under control and scored the impressive win in the non-stop event. 

Dallon Murty (top side) making his way to the front passing Jesse Sobbing - Barry Johnson

Simpson and Murty would join him on the podium with the sixth-starting Jesse Sobbing in fourth and Jake Neal aboard Al Humphrey's #6 in fifth. Andrew Kosiski would finish sixth, Charlie McKenna started twelfth and finished seventh, young Kayden Clatt held down eighth, ninth went to Modified ace Tim Ward while Jason Hahne filled out the top ten. There were plenty of Austen Becerra fans on hand as well and they enjoyed his run from eighteenth to eleventh. It was a tough night for the defending East series champion Andy Eckrich who dropped out early to finish twenty-second. 

Car owner Brenda Kay joins Dylan Thornton in victory lane - Barry Johnson photo

Up next for the SLMR East series will be a visit to the Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday May 10th.

The Sport Compacts would be the first of four features on the night and with only five cars in attendance this would be a cakewalk for Brandon Reu who easily outdistanced Barry Taft, but the other two features would both be decided late in the race. 

Brandon Reu in control

Logan Cumby would set a quick early pace in the eighteen lap B-Mod main event slowed for the first time on lap five when the fifth-place car of Kyler Girard spun in turn two. Two more laps would go in the books before Tim Hoselton's spin in turn two and on the restart both Brandon Dale and Brayton Carter would get by Cumby who then slowed and pulled to the infield a couple of laps later.

Dale would hold off Carter over the next five laps before Hoselton's second and final spin and then one more lap would go in the books prior to Cody Winn getting sideways in turn one. This restart with four laps remaining would get interesting as Cody Agee would take second away from Carter for lap fifteen, but when both Dale and Agee would stumble on the cushion in turn one, that would open the door for Carter to go from third to first. He would then hold off a challenge from Dale on the final lap to take the win. Agee would be right behind in third, Dawson David was fourth and Chris Spalding was fifth. Carter's drive to victory started from tenth and Brayden Bennett was impressive coming from the tenth row to finish sixth. The driver from Tonganoxie, Kansas, was apparently unaware of the "one and done" rule after spinning in his heat race as he contested the ruling after he waited for the caution. 

Brayton Carter makes his move under Brandon Dale - Barry Johnson photo

The twenty lap Stock Car feature would close out the night and while the racing behind him was intense, Derrick Agee appeared to have things well in control pulling away from the scramble even after a pair of early cautions. As Agee crossed the stripe on lap eighteen I was already writing his name in my notebook as the winner of this one, but as they say "it is never over until it is over" as far behind him the second place car of Michael Jaennette had the radiator hose blow entering turn three and he sailed over the top of the banking bringing out the caution.

This would now place Damon Murty, Brayton Carter, Dennis Elliott and the rest of the field on Agee's back bumper for a green-white-checkers restart and again Derrick looked to have things well in hand until he stumbled just a bit on the entry to turn one after taking the white flag. For the second time tonight the low-riding Carter would accept the gift and drive to the lead and while Agee recovered in time to come charging back on the high-side of turns three and four it would be Carter by a half car length at the checkers for the victory. What a way to close out a chilly evening of some great racing that concluded just before ten o'clock!

Agee would have to settle for second, Papa Murty would also get a third on the night, Elliott was fourth and Schmidt would close out the top five. 

A family celebration in victory lane - Barry Johnson photo

As always a big thanks to the Scotland County Fair Board and race promoter Mike VanGenderen for their hospitality to all of us here at Positively Racing as you will see photos here, and on our Facebook page from photographer Barry Johnson, plus be sure to check out Racin' Down The Road for Danny Rosencrans' report from this fun night of racing. The next event here at Memphis will be on Friday night June 20th when the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders will be joined by the Western Iowa Non-Wing Sprints, the Stock Cars and the B-Mods. Mark it on your calendar!

Keep an eye on the Back Stretch as I hope to make it to season openers at both Quincy on Sunday and Oskaloosa on Wednesday before our friends at Shafer Construction present the return of the Sprint Invaders at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction on Friday May 2nd. Hope to see you at the track soon!

Sheppard Kicks Off Three Day Swing Through Iowa With Victory at Tipton

The roster for the MARS Championship Series sanctioned Hawkeyeland 40 at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton Thursday night was an amazing combination of the two national Late Model tours, who both have the weekend off, along with top notch regional talent sprinkled in as forty-three drivers were on hand. The $5,000-to-win event would kick off an Easter weekend triple header for MARS and a good crowd filed in despite the threat of some weather coming in from the west later in the evening.

Qualifying with straight up starts through four heat races and two B-Mains whittled the field to twenty-two for the forty-lap main event with Illinois stars Brandon Sheppard and Brian Shirley bringing the field to green, but it would be the third starting Carson Ferguson that would dig around the bottom of the racy quarter-mile to take the lead as the opening lap was scored. The North Carolina native had set quick time earlier in the evening and it was an impressive move to start, but Sheppard would come roaring back riding a precarious cushion that had pushed all the way to the rim in turns one and two as early as qualifying.

Sheppard, behind the wheel of his family owned Valvoline #B5 for this weekend, would take the point on lap three and then settle into a routine of running low in one and two while still riding the cushion in turns three and four. The first caution of the race would wave on lap ten when Ryan Unzicker slowed to a halt and once back to racing the fifth starting Bobby Pierce would now keep pace with the leader hoping to make a run at him once Sheppard encountered traffic. Behind them a tight battle for third between Ferguson, Tanner English and Brian Shirley kept my attention, especially as Sheppard kept one or two lappers between himself and Pierce.

The second and final caution of the race would fly with twelve laps remaining when Justin Duty and Tony Jackson Jr. tangled in turn two and on this restart English would slip by Pierce for second for a couple of laps before Bobby battled back to regain the position. As they raced it out though, Sheppard had put some distance them and even though Pierce would cut it down to just a couple of car lengths coming to the checkers he was unable to make a challenge as the checkers waved over "B-Shepp". English would finish third with Ferguson warding off Shirley for fourth. Ryan Gustin would come from twelfth to finish sixth, young Daniel Adam was solid all night in seventh, Dennis Erb Jr. who needed some late race heroics in his B-Main to get the final transfer spot then came from the tenth row of the feature to finish eighth. Jason Feger was also a big mover coming from seventeenth to ninth and Chad Simpson rounded out the top ten after starting from fifteenth. Young Drake Troutman had been racing in the top five for most of the event until he slipped off the top of turn three with five laps remaining losing twelve positions on the costly mistake.

Late Model fans can expect to see this star studded field again tonight and Saturday as the series moves to 34 Raceway west of Burlington, Iowa, for the annual Brent Slocum Memorial with Saturday's Slocum 50 paying $10,555 to the winner!

There was plenty of star power in each of the three support classes as well although the car count was surprisingly small in the Sport Mods. For the past several years this division would often boast the highest car count at either a special or a weekly show in this region, but the start of the 2025 season has seen that trend reversed as only nine good ones were on hand tonight and their twenty lap feature would precede the Late Model headliner.

Cole Stichter would race out to a nice lead until the fourth starting Brayton Carter could make his way to second and then lap by lap that advantage would disappear. As the leaders approached two cars racing for position at the back of the field Carter would make his move driving under Stichter to take the advantage on lap thirteen. Just one lap later the red flag would fly as Brady Hilmer's car tipped over onto it's top in turn four and following the cleanup Carter would pull away over the final six laps to score already his fifth win on the young season. Stichter would be the runner-up followed by Justin Becker, Levi Heath and Trey Rock.

The opening lap of the first Stock Car heat race earlier in the evening may have been worth the price of admission alone as they went four-wide for the lead and three-wide just behind into turn three with little if any contact being made. Unfortunately though the track had been mostly used up during the Late Model feature and while there were a few drivers making a higher line work for a position here or there, for the most part it was a huggy pole battle that pole-sitter Tony Olson was more than happy to set the pace for.

After losing a couple of positions early from his outside of row one start, Kaden Reynolds battled back to second and kept the pressure on Olson waiting for one small mistake to make his move. On the final lap Reynolds was able to poke his nose under Olson going down the back stretch and while he could have rooted the leader out for the sake of a victory, Kaden showed true sportsmanship as Olson closed the door in turn three backing out of it to finish in second. Wisconsin's Kenny Richards and Brayton Carter aboard his cousin's #7V each finished where they started in third and fourth while John Oliver Jr. was fifth.

The IMCA Modifieds closed out the evening with the field of fifteen going for twenty-five laps with Tom Berry Jr. snagging the lead from the outside of row one and then going the distance for a dominating win. Ethan Braaksma brought the Rage house car #12J in for second, Jeff Larson started sixth and finished third with Spencer Diercks in fourth and California transplant Troy Morris III was fifth after starting from the inside of row five.

It was another well presented show by the Darkside crew headed up by Timmy Current and Ryan Duhme with an on-time start and a final checkered flag waving around 9:45, perfect for a Thursday night special packed full of action.

Next up for me will be a first ever appearance by the SLMR Late Model series at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri, next Friday April 25th. Hope to see you there!