It was sure a welcome relief to have "only" low 90's for temperatures on Thursday for the greatly anticipated running of the 21st Annual Harris Clash. There was a nice field of 72 IMCA Modifieds and 69 IMCA SportMods on hand to try their hand at taming the famed 1/2 mile of the Knoxville Speedway. Each class ran eight heats, and four B mains to determine their starting field. A passing points system was implemented this year, giving some drivers that weren't so lucky with the draw in their heats, a good chance of gaining valuable passing points to qualify. Three drivers qualified from each of 4 B mains in each class as well.
The IMCA Northern SportMods went 20-laps in their main event....and it was a good one. Joel Rust took off from his pole starting spot and led until lap eleven when 2009 Harris Clash champion Matt Lettow from Roland, Iowa grabbed the lead. Meanwhile, the successful driver out of Glenwood, Iowa, Jesse Sobbing had made his way through the field from qualifying through a B main, to run in the fifth spot. Ahead of him was Carter VanDenBerg and Scott Davis, with Rust continuing his run in the second spot. The first yellow of the race came out with just two laps remaining, setting up a shoot out. With a lap to go, Davis, Sobbing and now Tyler Droste (who had started dead last) were locked in a pack fighting for third, Rust keeping the advantage in second. Lettow must have been happy to have those behind him digging hard, as he took the checkers...securing his second Harris Clash win. Rust finished as the runner-up and Sobbing made it to the podium to claim third. Droste finished with a fine run to claim fourth and Carter VandenBerg fought by Scott Davis as they were scored in fifth and sixth.
We caught Lettow just before he and his dad....his pit crew on this night...headed back to Roland. He was a happy camper with his win, to say the least. His wife, kids and mother were back home and had watched the race on the web. Would imagine the house was jumping while they watched from afar!
The main event for the Modified's started 26 cars. I believe the last two starting cars were provisionals, those being Josh "Happy" Gilman, and Billy Davis, Jr. Excitement was growing after the four-wide salute parade lap, but who would have guessed the race would go 25-laps caution free? Shane DeMey, the Denison, Iowa driver, and Kyle Strickler, "The High Side Tickler", from North Carolina, sat on the front row. Strickler took command quickly, putting distance between himself and DeMay, running in second. By the halfway mark, Jeremy Mills had made his way past DeMay to take over second place. After that, it was all about the top two, as they battled closely, Mills preferring the top of the corners, Strickler holding his line just a bit lower. With just a few laps remaining, it appeared that lap traffic could play into contention, but luckily, that never occurred as the two fought it out. From our point of view, it looked to be Mills gaining a slight advantage over Strickler with a lap remaining, but Strickler fought back. and going down the backstretch and into corner three, edged ahead and took the win! That great finish between the two, was well worth the trip! Shane DeMey held on to finish third ahead of Jon Snyder and "The Flyin' Dutchman" Mike VanGenderen rounded out the top five.
We made our way to the pits to chat with a few drivers after the races. One in particular we wanted to catch up with was Tom Charles, the driver from Bonner Springs, Kansas who dusted off an old race car to come and play at Knoxville. He had recently taken a horrible ride at Thunderhill Speedway, destroying his car in a spectacular roll, tumbling over a cement wall. It has been all over the internet with the video taping of it....one by his wife DeeDee (she didn't know it was him as she filmed) and his comment was he was lucky to be here and thankful the Good Lord was looking over him. He didn't suffer any injuries, which is amazing. He told us that he "tucked himself" as he launched...a very wise decision! You can find it on YouTube by searching "Tom Charles".
More good racing still ahead as the season begins to wind down. Get out and find a race to attend. Happy racing!
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