We made our annual trip to Beatrice, Nebraska this past weekend for Octoberfest. The weather was near perfect, unlike last year when the second night of racing was SNOWED out! Four classes of cars ran each night and with the track staying wide and smooth, we were treated to excellent racing.
Friday night's action was comprised of IMCA Sport Compacts, IMCA Hobby Stocks, IMCA SportMods, and IMCA Modifieds. A nice field of cars was on hand considering two other racing events were being held in the area.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks rolled onto the track right at 9 o'clock for their feature event. The entire race was a two-car battle between father and son drivers, Roy and Adam Armstrong. Father Roy Armstrong would prevail and take the win ahead of son Adam Armstrong. Third went to R. J. Macku, fourth to Shawn Slezak and fifth was Mike Hansen.
The IMCA Sport Compact feature saw the #21 car of Cameron Meyer cross the line first in a dominating fashion. However, he was later disqualified due to a rule infraction. This handed the win over to the #66G of Kyle Gannon. Mary Lenz was second, third went to Nick Lindblad, fourth to John Sedlacek and fifth to Mike Simpson.
Thirty-seven IMCA SportMods entered the pits. Two B mains qualified the final cars in the 24-car starting field for the feature. Dusty Leonard led the 20-lap feature early on but the #55 of Tyler Frye took the number one spot by lap seven and was looking to be taking the win. A flat tire with two laps to go would end Frye's quest for the win. Benji Legg then inherited the lead and sailed home to the checkers. Dusty Leonard finished in the second spot, Greg Metz was third, fourth went to Craig Evers, and rounding out the top five was Matt Pittman.
The 30-lap modified feature required two B mains to qualify the final six cars in the 24-car starting field. Bob Zoubek, who is no stranger to the track having taken the checkers many times, drew the pole starting position. He would lead the entire race, distancing himself from any contenders most of the race. Zoubek took the popular win over Dan Nelson, Lance Borgman, Cory Wray and Chris Alcorn. Racing action was completed by 11:48 p.m.
Saturday saw more unbelievable October racing weather. The track appeared to be chunking up a bit during hot laps, but again, when racing started, the track smoothed out and stayed wide all night. We are more than happy to see in the last two years that the awful hole has disappeared that was always rearing it's ugly head in turn one.
Heat racing started at 6:30 with the new class to the program, the Factory Stocks which replaced the Sport Compact division from Friday night. Their feature was run first with Curt Drake taking the early lead in their 20-lap event. By seven laps down, Kyle Vanover had made the pass for the lead, never to look back. Vanover took the win over Eric Haase, Brandon Stigge, John Meyer and Dustin McClurg.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was won by Jesse VanLaningham, who is also no stranger to the track. VanLaningham started outside front row along side Shawn Slezak and those two battled the entire race. Slezak led the race until four laps to go when VanLaningham saw his chance and made the pass for the lead. VanLaningham took the win to the cheers of the grandstand with Slezak having to settle for runner up. Third and fourth went to the father/son duo of Adam Armstrong, son and Roy Armstrong, father, with Mike Hansen in fifth.
The IMCA SportMod feature found Tyler Frye making his way to Victory Lane after suffering a flat tire while leading the previous night. Frye drew the lucky pole spot, and led start to finish. Former A modified driver, Greg Metz chased Frye from a distance much of the race, but was never able to get within striking distance. Metz finished in second place, Max Harder in his #34 machine finished in third, fourth went to the 11E of Beau Kaplan and fifth was Dusty Leonard.
The IMCA modified main event closed out the night's action. It was looking to be back-to-back wins for the #5s of Bob Zoubek as he claimed the lead immediately in the 30-lap feature. Later, Jordan Grabouski moved into contention as did Johnny Saathoff and Chris Burk. A yellow flag flew with six laps left in the race. An unknown driver to us, the #15 of Andy Wilkinson, had methodically made his way into the third position from starting fourteenth by this time. At the drop of the green, Wilkinson went to work on setting his sites on the leader. With four laps to go, he was running in second spot and would then snatch the lead with just a lap left. Andy Wilkinson, in his BMS ride, took the $1,500 payday with Zoubek following him to the checkers in second spot. Third went to Jordan Grabouski, fourth to Johnny "The Jet" Saathoff, and fifth to Chris Alcorn. In the post-race interview with announcer Derek Long, we learned that Wilkinson was the track champion at nearby Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska, but this was his only win on the year.
Racing was completed by 10:20 p.m. Saturday night, allowing for drivers and fans to make their way to their destinations at a good hour. Promoter Toby Kruse thanked all in attendance for making this another successful Octoberfest. We always enjoy our trip to Beatrice and happy to enjoy it with fellow racing friends and acquaintances at this wind down to the 2010 racing season in the Midwest. We have Shiverfest on October 23rd at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa on our calendar which will more than likely, end our year of racing for 2010. Happy racing!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Moyer and Gustin take first night wins at Knoxville
This past Thursday evening, we headed to the famed Knoxville Raceway for the first of three nights of the 7th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model event. Sixty premier late models were in attendance along with 37 modifieds, providing the nice crowd of fans on hand a night of exciting racing action. For a change, the weather was near perfect.
The first feature was the modifieds who had earlier qualified through four heats and two B main events to fill in the 24-car starting field. Sitting on the front row of the 20-lapper, were a couple of #19s...Richie Gustin in the 19G and Darin Duffy in the 19D. Gustin dominated the entire race....pulling away even after caution flags flew. Duffy chased Gustin until past the halfway mark, when Ryan Ruter made the pass into second. Gustin took the checkers for the second time this year at the famed speedway as he'd also won the Harris Clash back in July. Quite an accomplishment to say nothing of the other dominating wins he has had at other Iowa tracks this season. Ruter finished in second place ahead of Duffy in third. Fourth went to Todd Shute who had a good run from starting in the 12th spot, and rounding out the top five was Mark Schulte.
The Lucas Oil Late Model 25-lap event was action packed. Tim McCreadie jumped to the lead from his outside front row starting spot and took off with the lead. Polesitter Josh "Kid Rocket" Richards was having none of that however, and made the pass for the lead with just a couple of laps in the books. McCreadie in turn, took back that lead with fifteen to go and was looking comfortable. Meanwhile, many eyes were on two favorites in the pack with Iowa ties...Billy Moyer and Scott Bloomquist. Neither disappointed the crowd in their move to the front with Moyer taking over the lead with about eight laps to the checkers. Earl Pearson, Jr. in the 44 car had also been making great strides and had worked himself into the third position with Bloomquist hot on his tail. When the final checkers flew, Billy Moyer found himself in a familiar spot...the winner's circle, and from the cheers in the crowd, it seemed to be a popular win. Moyer is a Des Moines native, and gained interest in racing through his uncle Carl Moyer, according to his profile we recently read on line. Second place went to Tim McCreadie, son of the legendary "Barefoot" Bob McCreadie. He has made a great recovery after an accident at the 2009 Chili Bowl left him with broken vertebra after rolling his midget. Third went to Scott Bloomquist, also an Iowa native born in Fort Dodge, fourth was Earl Pearson, Jr. racing for the Bobby Labonte racing stables, and fifth went to Brady Smith out of Wisconsin and a former winner of the Lucas Oil Nationals at Knoxville.
Though it was a great night of racing last night, we must mention the absence of one Super Fan...Gary Storey. Sadly, Gary lost his battle with cancer this past week. Gary, who lived in Oskaloosa, Iowa, could be found at most any track we might happen to attend...near or far. He truly was a Super Fan attested to by his naming of such in the National Speed Sport News publication. He was a wealth of knowledge about most any form of dirt track racing. He could tell you every short cut in the area to get to a racetrack too! His familiar laugh when he spotted a racing friend...and he had many...will always be fondly remembered. Unfortunately we were not able to attend his service on Wednesday, which was conducted by...fittingly, a racer, the Rev. Sonny Smyser. We were able, however, to make the trip to Albia for the visitation on Tuesday evening to pay our respects. Rest in peace Gary. You will be missed by the racing family.
Still a few more races to be found in the area. Check the racing calendar at Positively Racing. On our calendar next is Octoberfest at Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, Nebraska. This has become a semi-annual trip for us as we also attend the Spring Nationals there. You can find more information about this upcoming event at http://www.beatricespeedway.com/. Happy racing!
The first feature was the modifieds who had earlier qualified through four heats and two B main events to fill in the 24-car starting field. Sitting on the front row of the 20-lapper, were a couple of #19s...Richie Gustin in the 19G and Darin Duffy in the 19D. Gustin dominated the entire race....pulling away even after caution flags flew. Duffy chased Gustin until past the halfway mark, when Ryan Ruter made the pass into second. Gustin took the checkers for the second time this year at the famed speedway as he'd also won the Harris Clash back in July. Quite an accomplishment to say nothing of the other dominating wins he has had at other Iowa tracks this season. Ruter finished in second place ahead of Duffy in third. Fourth went to Todd Shute who had a good run from starting in the 12th spot, and rounding out the top five was Mark Schulte.
The Lucas Oil Late Model 25-lap event was action packed. Tim McCreadie jumped to the lead from his outside front row starting spot and took off with the lead. Polesitter Josh "Kid Rocket" Richards was having none of that however, and made the pass for the lead with just a couple of laps in the books. McCreadie in turn, took back that lead with fifteen to go and was looking comfortable. Meanwhile, many eyes were on two favorites in the pack with Iowa ties...Billy Moyer and Scott Bloomquist. Neither disappointed the crowd in their move to the front with Moyer taking over the lead with about eight laps to the checkers. Earl Pearson, Jr. in the 44 car had also been making great strides and had worked himself into the third position with Bloomquist hot on his tail. When the final checkers flew, Billy Moyer found himself in a familiar spot...the winner's circle, and from the cheers in the crowd, it seemed to be a popular win. Moyer is a Des Moines native, and gained interest in racing through his uncle Carl Moyer, according to his profile we recently read on line. Second place went to Tim McCreadie, son of the legendary "Barefoot" Bob McCreadie. He has made a great recovery after an accident at the 2009 Chili Bowl left him with broken vertebra after rolling his midget. Third went to Scott Bloomquist, also an Iowa native born in Fort Dodge, fourth was Earl Pearson, Jr. racing for the Bobby Labonte racing stables, and fifth went to Brady Smith out of Wisconsin and a former winner of the Lucas Oil Nationals at Knoxville.
Though it was a great night of racing last night, we must mention the absence of one Super Fan...Gary Storey. Sadly, Gary lost his battle with cancer this past week. Gary, who lived in Oskaloosa, Iowa, could be found at most any track we might happen to attend...near or far. He truly was a Super Fan attested to by his naming of such in the National Speed Sport News publication. He was a wealth of knowledge about most any form of dirt track racing. He could tell you every short cut in the area to get to a racetrack too! His familiar laugh when he spotted a racing friend...and he had many...will always be fondly remembered. Unfortunately we were not able to attend his service on Wednesday, which was conducted by...fittingly, a racer, the Rev. Sonny Smyser. We were able, however, to make the trip to Albia for the visitation on Tuesday evening to pay our respects. Rest in peace Gary. You will be missed by the racing family.
Still a few more races to be found in the area. Check the racing calendar at Positively Racing. On our calendar next is Octoberfest at Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, Nebraska. This has become a semi-annual trip for us as we also attend the Spring Nationals there. You can find more information about this upcoming event at http://www.beatricespeedway.com/. Happy racing!
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