It had been several weeks since we had been to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, and it was good to get back to what has been one of our regular weekly stops for years and years. The track has had more than its share of rain outs this season, but this Wednesday brought fabulous weather. It was Season Championship night and four track champions would be crowned at night's end.
The Carter Mfg. USRA B-modifieds ran their 15-lap feature first. There were twenty cars checked into the pits tonight, with two unable to start the feature, those being Brad Iverson and a name we remember from years past, Mark Mundell. The front row found the D1 of Drew Lawson and the 3 of Derek Kirkland. Kirkland, a regular hobby stock driver, was piloting the car previously driven by Chris Ammenhauser. Announcer Tony Paris said this was just Kirkland's second time behind the wheel of the B mod.
Bill Gibson got to the front quickly in the B mod feature but had to battle with Tyler Groenendyk for that front spot. Groenendyk would fall back several spots when AJ Johnson made a bid for the lead and Andrew Schroeder (making his appearance after a stay in Chicago)
followed Johnson into third place. As the final checkers flew, Gibson claimed the victory with AJ Johnson in second, Schroeder kept third spot, fourth was Jason McDaniel (who came from starting dead last) and crossing in fifth was Cayden Carter. Things would get shook up a bit after post-race inspection. It was announced that two cars in the top five were disqualified for rule infractions; AJ Johnson for a fly wheel issue, and Cayden Carter for an illegal transmission. AJ Johnson was later deemed legal and kept his second place finish. With Carter being dq'd, Tyler Groenendyk was moved to the fifth place car. Groenendyk is the 2010 track champion.
The 15-lap USRA stock car feature was next, with visiting driver from Webster City, Dennis Plain on the point starting spot. Mike VanGenderen, the Newton, Iowa driver who races all over the state of Iowa and sometimes beyond, immediately took over the top place. He had company coming fast behind him by lap six, when Nathan Wood made it into second, and Shane Weller followed to take third. It was quite the battle for a while when those three cars jockeyed for position and then the 15K of Kyle Harwood made his presence known and joined in. Weller outran those challengers and took the win. Following him to take second was Nathan Wood, the track champion for 2010, third went to Mike VanGenderen, fourth to Kyle Harwood, and fifth was Brian Sterling.
The USRA hobby stock feature up next, would determine who would be the track champion for the year. Tony Paris indicated that IF Kris Walker could pull off the win tonight and point leader Derek Kirkland finished sixth or worse, Walker would be walking away with another track championship. With Walker's record of wins at the big 1/2-mile in Osky, that scenario really wasn't much of a stretch. However, Kirkland has had a great season this year with consistently good finishes. Consistency is often the determining factor in winning championships, and tonight that is what played into the outcome. It wouldn't be either of those two drivers getting the win on this night, however. Andy Coleman led most of the 15-lap feature and took his second win of the year at the track. Kris Walker was trying his hardest for a win and hoping for a chance at that track crown, but had to settle for a runner up place. Third went to Steve Allen, fourth to Craig Brown, and fifth to Don Nunnikhoven. With a sixth place finish, Derek Kirkland took his first Southern Iowa Speedway championship by just 3-points over Walker.
The A modified feature completed the action for the night with their 20-lap event. Fifteen cars were in attendance and all started their main. Zack VanderBeek led from his pole starting spot through lap eight when Colt Mather, who had been reeling in the leader, was able to make the pass into the lead on lap nine. Mather would keep that top spot for the win, and VanderBeek finished second. In third would be the plain white car with an "X" on it. The car was driven by Kelly Shryock and we understood it was an "R.D."(research and development) 2011 Skyrocket.
The body seemed larger than most of the Skyrocket cars we've seen, but it definitely was getting around the track. Following Shryock to finish in fourth, was Scott Dickey and fifth was Steven Blattler. Though we did not hear it announced, we believe that Blattler kept his point lead over Dickey, and is the 2010 modified champion at the track.
So ends another regular season of racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. However, there will be racing at the track next Wednesday night, September 1, when the USMTS comes to town. Nascar driver, Kenny Wallace is scheduled to be in attendance for that race. Also on the docket will be the USRA Dart Ironman Challenge for the stock cars, plus B mods and hobby stocks. Film crews will be on hand as they will be filming for a tv dirt track documentary, Dirt Knights. For more information check www.rlpromotions.com/oskaloosa.
Congratulations to all the track champions and thanks to ALL the drivers for entertaining us this past year. With the season winding down everywhere, try and catch a few more races before we all have to call it a year of dirt track racing in our neck of the woods. Until next time, happy racing!
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