The regular season at the monster half-mile at the Southern Iowa Speedway didn't begin until after the middle of May. What with several rain outs, the season seemed even shorter. Wednesday night concluded the 2011 regular season with the track champions being crowned in all four divisions.
In the USRA B Modified feature, it was appearing to be one of those "ho-hummers", as Carter VanDenBerg shot to the lead on the very first lap and continued to put a lot of distance between himself and any competition. Not so fast on the assuming! Drew Lawson, Cayden Carter and Curtis VanDerWal were vying for the second spot behind VanDenBerg for much of the race (which went flag-to-flag) and when VanDerWal finally established that second position in the final few laps, he began reeling in the leader. VanDenBerg was still leading with the checkered flag in his sight, but at the line, it was VanDerWal nosing him out for the win. VanDenBerg had to be content with the runner-up spot, third went to Drew Lawson, Cayden Carter was fourth, and Bill Gibson rounded out the top five. Cayden Carter is the track champion.
VanDerWal was thrilled with his win...the first we can recall for him. We do remember his racing in the mid-90's on the asphalt at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, though the class he ran escapes us. It was an emotional VanDerWal who was interviewed by announcer Tony Paris after his win as he thanked many people.
The USRA Modified feature followed with another caution-free 15-lap feature. A "bad" start occurred at the drop of the green, and as Tony Paris so often calls those "anxious" drivers, "bad dog, no biscuit", and it was called back for a "try-again". When the real start of the race began, it was Colt Mather absolutely GONE. He pulled away to take the convincing win...his fourth of the year. Scott Dickey finished a distant second, followed by Josh Truman and Steven Blatter (the only real contest on the track) for third and fourth in that order. Fifth went to Ron VerBeek and Zack VanderBeek finished in sixth. Steven Blattler was crowned the track champion for the second year in a row.
The USRA Hobby Stocks ran next. Calvin Dhondt, the young driver from Kellogg, Iowa who just a few weeks ago was called away from the track at Osky with the devastating news that his father had been involved in a motorcycle/cow accident,(he continues his long road to recovery at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines) led the early portion of the race. Dustin Griffiths overtook Dhondt for the lead and Kris Walker followed suit making his way into second. A close battle ensued for the third spot as Dhondt, Craig Brown and Donovan Nunnikhoven diced it out. On the white flag lap, with Griffiths in command, Kris Walker let loose with a cloud of smoke on the backstretch, losing his second position, but managed to limp across the finish line many positions behind. However, with his large point lead, he was still able to hold on and take the track championship. Griffiths took his fifth win at Osky this year, followed by Calvin Dhondt, Craig Brown, Donovan Nunnikhoven and Todd Reitzler finishing second through fifth in that order.
The final event of the evening was 15-laps in the USRA Stock Car class. As lap one was scored, Kyle Harwood found himself against the frontstretch wall, bringing out a yellow flag and out of the race. There was a three-car breakaway at the front of the pack as Corey Stout (from just over by turn one) the 20dub car of Shane Weller, and Nathan Wood going at it hot and heavy. Wood later went to the work area for a quick tire change and joined the tail of the field after a caution flew. That left the 94 of Stout and the 20dub of Weller being the show of the field up front. A slight jump of the cushion by Weller in turn two, lost him a bit of momentum with a lap or two to go, giving Stout a bit of breathing room. He was able to keep the lead to the checkers and the win--his second of 2011. Weller finished in second (Weller is track champion) third went to Nathan Wood who worked his way through the pack after tagging the tail earlier, fourth was first-time visitor Mike Harward in the #01i, and Steve Jackson finished in fifth.
So ends another season of racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The track has been our Wednesday night home since 1988. Prior to that, we took in specials of the 100-200 lap era of racing, so we have a long history of sitting in the old grandstand at the big ole half-mile. There is still a bit of racing remaining in 2011 at Osky however. The 25th Annual Musco Lighting Fall Challenge rolls into town for two-nights of racing on Friday and Saturday, October 14 and 15. Check www.rlpromotions.com for more information as well as the official results of the races. Until next time, get out and find a race to attend and support the sport we love. Happy racing!
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