It took the third try, but the 1st Annual Shootout at Knoxville for Modifieds, SportMods, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks finally happened on Sunday. The show was originally scheduled back in April, got weathered out, rescheduled for May, got weathered out again, and the third time became the charm. The Modifieds, SportMods, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks all ran, this being the first time I recall in recent years that the Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks got their turn at the track. More on that later.
The original format for the show was to limit the first 50 to register in each class, with alternates on the waiting list. We noted that many of the out of state registrants that had a far distance to come, did not make the haul, nor did some drivers who run regularly at their local tracks on Sunday nights. A few drivers on the "alternate" list got to run, but the count in the classes were only 31-36. It had to be a struggle for those drivers having to choose between their local track or an opportunity to run at the famed Knoxville track.
The SportMods ran a 20-lap feature and by this time, the track was dry and slick, much like one of those Iowa State Fair day races. Jeff Jones, a former A modified driver who made the trip over from far southwestern Iowa, led the first dozen laps or so, with former Super National's champion, Scott Davis dogging him. Davis got the door opened when a yellow flew, bunching the field on the restart, and seized the opportunity to make the pass shortly there after. Scott Davis took the win, Jones hanging on to second, young Tyler Droste finished third, fourth went to another former A modified driver out of Keokuk, Jim Gillenwater, and former Super National's winner in the SportMod division, Jason Mallicoat, finished fifth after starting back in the sixth row.
It was a 15-lap feature for the Hobby Stocks. Polesitter and veteran driver Bill Bonnett who calls Knoxville home, and another hometown boy Mark Fee, battled for the first couple of laps with Andy Boeckman, four-time IMCA Super Nationals champion joining in. Bonnett dropped back a position and the fight was on then between Boeckman and Fee for the top spot. Boeckman from Lake View, Iowa, was the victor on this day, Fee having to settle for the runner up spot. Bonnett finished in third, ahead of Matt Webb in fourth and fifth place finisher, Robby Marsh out of Bellevue, Nebraska.
Then it was time for the Stock Cars to take the stage. They would run a 20-lap main event which found Damon Murty and Cresco, Iowa driver Shay Curtin on the front row of the starting grid. The first lap found Jeff Mueller challenging Murty for the lead, which was only the beginning of a back and forth battle for all the front positions. This was a barn burner of a race up front. Mueller, Murty, Beatrice, Nebraska driver Kyle Vanover, Curtin and Keith Knop all battled tooth and nail for the lead for most of the race. It was a toss up on the final lap as to who would pull it off between Mueller and Knop, but Mueller made it to the checkers first, and the victory. Knop was second, Vanover took third over Shay Curtin in fourth, and Damon Murty in fifth.
The show's closer was the 25-lap Modified feature. Pole sitter Dylan Smith, former IMCA National Champion out of Osceola, Nebraska was fighting off Gilman, Iowa's Richie Gustin through well over the halfway mark of the feature. Todd Shute, a former IMCA Super National's champion had slipped by Mike VanGenderen to take over third, and was on the move to catch Gustin. With about a handful of laps remaining, Gustin pulled into the infield...apparent mechanical problems...and ending his run. This put Shute in the attempt to catch leader Smith as the laps wound down. Shute drew close, but it was "no cigar" on this day, as Smith took the win, and Shute taking second. The "Flying Dutchman", Mike VanGenderen took third, Josh Most, Red Oak, and a driver that will hop into about any class of car...we've seen him in many...took fourth place over veteran driver Mark Elliott who was scored in fifth.
It's always fun to see a show such as this when drivers you don't often see, or those who are completely new to us, make an appearance. The more the merrier, we say! After doing a little digging through some old records, we discovered that Jeff Mueller made the third time his charm after racing back in those two previous Stockville National races in 2003 and 2004 for the Stock Cars. Those two races were only for the Stock Car class and both had the Dirt Trucks as a support class. The top three in 2003 were Brandon Bandstra, Mike Robinson, and Bobby Greiner, Jr., all no longer racing as far as I know. In 2004, the Stockville National top three were Damon Murty, the now retired "Flyin Farmer" Rick Brown, and Jay Schmidt.
We enjoyed our time at the Knoxville Raceway on Sunday and making it more enjoyable was having a great bunch of "racing family" to enjoy it with. We hope to catch up with many of them again as this busy racing month continues. Next up for us will be the IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour and 1st Annual Wayne Redmond Memorial tomorrow night at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. You can find more information on this series at www.dirttour.com. Happy racing!
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