It appeared that most people had heeded the forecast and came prepared for the chilly, windy conditions for night #2 of the Havoc on the High Banks and Hawkeye Dirt Tour finale. Fans were bundled up before the first green flag dropped--and kept layering during the next couple of hours. We were included in that bunch of fans, and though it was a crisp Fall night, could not have wanted to be anywhere else. Going into the night, two drivers were tied in points for the HDT title...Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills and not far behind them, Mark Elliott. It was going to be a shoot out to the finish worth the price of admission!
Two extra classes made an appearance on the night, the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks and the IMCA Sport Compacts. The Sport Compacts kicked off the feature events with their 10-lap feature. Veteran racer, Merv Chandler...who has much to do with keeping the class alive in the area as he builds many of the little power houses, took the lead at lap one and drove off into the sunset. Chandler took the win, one of many at the track this past season, Dave Moorman followed a distance behind to take the runner up spot. Third went to Duayne Herb, fourth was John Gill and the #22T of Neil Nabholz completed the five car feature.
The MADCRA Mod Lite's ran a 15-lap feature. The 20 car of Jeff Stensland...who was driving his own car tonight after Paul Nagle had hopped in the car the previous night, led the charge in the early laps. A couple of yellow flags would bunch the field, putting the "Brothers Hennigar" tight behind him on the restart. Tim Hennigar made a rare appearance on the year, but showed his usual fine racing form, and flew to the lead, Andy Hennigar following him into second. Andy Hennigar would then soon exit into the infield, his night cut short due to mechanical issues. Tim Hennigar maintained his point spot the rest of the way home, taking the checkers for what he told announcer Jeremy Fox was his first win of the entire season; having raced only a handful of times in 2012. Mike Kennedy came from row five to take the runner up position, followed by Bryan Zehm, Jason Whitehead and Randy Bryan; third through fifth.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks brought nine machines to the High Banks, running a 12-lap main event. This one was a duel between brothers Bret and Brad Moyer the entire race. Bret took the lead from brother Brad about lap seven, and was the first to the checkers flying. Following the Moyer brother duo to capture a third place finish was Tony Moro, father Carl Moyer finished in fourth and Rick Clark rounded out the top five. As a note, it was announced that a legend in Nascar racing, David Pearson, who I believe calls South Carolina home, was in the pits with Dirt Truck driver Tony Moro.
The IMCA Northern SportMods went 20-laps for their feature. Southern Iowa driver Curtis VanDerWal, looked to the lead at the drop of the green flag, and kept motoring along at the front of the pack. That is until the second yellow flag flew. That's when young Nick Roberts, the IMCA Super National's 2012 champion, made the pass for the lead. Meanwhile, the previous night's winner, Racer Hulin had gotten to the third place from starting in fourteenth spot, by setting sail on the topside. Hulin soon made the pass into second and the chase was on to catch Roberts. Tonight, it wasn't to be as Roberts took the checkers, Hulin having to settle for second. VanDerWal followed up in third place for the second night in a row, fourth went to Joel Rust and fifth to Sam Wieben.
Fifteen laps awaited the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Scott Durlin led the charge in the opening laps....until what appeared to be a blown motor found him rolling into the infield. This put John Watson in his familiar looking #4W in the lead on the restart. Watson was pulling away from the field until another yellow flew and bunched the field; finding Scott Pippert in second place, which was going to make the rest of the race interesting! It was a close battle to the finish, but Watson prevailed, taking the win for the second night in a row and Pippert finishing second, also for the second night in a row. Brandon Brinton took third over Aaron Rudolph and Gary Pfantz in fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars had a 20-lap feature and the outcome of this one was a flip-flop finish from the previous night. Donavon Smith and Sean Johnson were the show up front. A couple of yellows would fly during this event; one of which found Jeff Wollam ending up in the front stretch wall due to contact with another car. The damage was significant enough to warrant a pull on the hook for the 3W, never a good thing. When the race resumed, Smith put a bit of distance between himself and second place Johnson which would be the way they would finish--reversing the roles from the previous night. Jarod Weepie made a late race move to work into third, Steve Meyer following him into fourth, and Jay Schmidt, who had been riding the rim of the track in third much of the race, fell back a bit to hold onto fifth.
The field was now set for the 30-lap grand finale of the night and the race that would determine the point's title in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. There were 37 of the HDT modifieds racing for a starting spot in the feature tonight. It took two B mains that transferred five cars each, plus two HDT provisionals--Mike VanGenderen and Cayden Carter, to complete the 24-car field.
The two drivers tied in points were starting 8th (Jay Noteboom) and 12th (Jeremy Mills) on the grid...third in points, Mark Elliott was starting 17th. Fourth place starter Darin Duffy quickly made his way to the point position and Randy Havlik who had started along side Duffy, trailed in second, and Noteboom had moved quickly up to take over third. The track had slicked off, but stayed smooth, the dust was filling the air, the temps had dropped considerably, and the racing action was fast and furious!! This one went 30-laps caution free....maybe the cream does rise to the top! Noteboom gave it a shot a couple of times, but with the title on the line, made no desperate attempt to take the win on this night. Duffy made it to victory lane after his second place finish the previous night, Noteboom settling for second after his Friday night win, but also a winner by becoming the Hawkeye Dirt Tour champion for 2012. Third went to Ronn Laurtizen who had a great run from starting in row five. Randy Havlik held on to fourth and Jon Snyder finished fifth, coming from a B main and starting 22nd on the field.
Yes, there are still races to be found in our area. The next several weekends are filled with racing action. Be sure and check out the racing calendar on the Positively Racing homepage for a race you may want to catch before the season is done. I believe one race not on that calendar is the Fall Challenge at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City scheduled for Saturday September 29. You can find more info on that race at www.hamiltoncospeedway.com. We intend to catch a few more before we call it a year. Happy racing!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Noteboom out lasts Duffy for HDT win
There was a chill in the air for racing last night at the Marshalltown Speedway. It was the first of two nights for their annual Havoc on the Highbanks. The track will hosts the second night of a whole new program again tonight with the Dirt Trucks and the IMCA Sport Compacts joining the Hawkeye Dirt Tour IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars and the Mod Lites.
The Mod Lite feature kicked off the first of the feature events. After Andy Hennigar led the opening lap of the 15-lap race, it was the red #6 of Mike Morrill taking the helm. Hennigar hung close to Morrill's back bumper was never able to do better. Morrill took the win...and as usual, gave away his pretty impressive trophy to a lucky young fan. Hennigar took the runner up spot, third went to Troy Hudson with Mike Kennedy close on his heels for fourth, and fifth went to Paul Nagle...a name we have not heard in a few years but no stranger to the racing scene from a few years back when he piloted a hobby stock. He was in the #20 machine usually piloted by Jeff Stensland.
The Northern SportMods raced for 20-laps in their feature event. The two front row starters, Curtis VanDerWal---a driver we see at the Southern Iowa Speedway weekly and who had a successful year running that big old "Monster Half-Mile"---and Marshalltown Speedway's 2012 track champion, Racer Hulin, battled for the lead in the opening laps. Hulin established the lead when a nifty move involving lap traffic led to his decision to opt for the outside line and from there on, sailed on to a comfortable win. Ty Luellen made the pass on VanDerWal as they captured second and third places. Randy Roberts took fourth and Carter VandenBerg rounded out the top five.
The 15-lap Hobby Stock feature started 27 cars---maybe not a good thing--- as it saw more than it's share of yellow flags waving. The winner, John Watson didn't let anything bother him on his way to the checkers however. Weekly racer at Marshalltown, Scott Pippert worked his way through the pack from starting back in the sixth row, to capture a second place finish, as he made the late race pass on Devin Smith scored in third. Fourth and fifth spots went to Justin Lichty and Chris Luloff; two Independence Speedway regulars.
The IMCA Stock Cars did what the Hobby Stocks couldn't. They went 20-laps caution free. Sean Johnson had little trouble winning the feature as he led by lap one and sailed to the win. Donavon Smith got to the second spot and the chase was on but he could do no better. The two front runners sliced through the lap traffic easily as they went 1-2. Third went to Chris Wiltse a regular at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, fourth was Marshalltown's own Jeff Wollam with a good run, and Jay Schmidt came from waaaay back in the starting field to finish in fifth.
The Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature came next for their 30-lap main event. The point lead was held by Jeremy Mills going into the night, with a slim 6 point lead over Jay Noteboom. Just 12 points out of the lead was Mark Elliott. The starting field was completed by two B mains and two provisional HDT regular drivers not qualifying, Ryan Dolan and Mark Schulte, filled out the starting grid.
You would have thought in the early going that having a camera on the car may have offered an advantage
as Darin Duffy and Mark Elliott circled the track at the front of the pack with their camera's hoisted up top. The only yellow flag flew at lap 10 and on the ensuing restart, Jay Noteboom who had been riding in third, made the pass on Elliott to take over second. From then on, it was the two guys up front, Duffy and Noteboom putting on the show. The two diced back and forth for the lead in the closing laps. Noteboom chose the outside line and made it work as he out lasted Duffy to take the win. Third went to Jon Snyder who got by Elliott in fourth. Randy Havlik rounded out the top five.
The fans all got their money's worth in that one! It was an awesome race and not only that, now finds the points battle going into tonight tied at 404 between Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills who garnered a 7th place finish. Not too far behind is Mark Elliott...9 points out.
Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to commence at 7 p.m. tonight. Dress warm as the temperatures are predicted to dip to the freezing mark late. Happy racing!
The Mod Lite feature kicked off the first of the feature events. After Andy Hennigar led the opening lap of the 15-lap race, it was the red #6 of Mike Morrill taking the helm. Hennigar hung close to Morrill's back bumper was never able to do better. Morrill took the win...and as usual, gave away his pretty impressive trophy to a lucky young fan. Hennigar took the runner up spot, third went to Troy Hudson with Mike Kennedy close on his heels for fourth, and fifth went to Paul Nagle...a name we have not heard in a few years but no stranger to the racing scene from a few years back when he piloted a hobby stock. He was in the #20 machine usually piloted by Jeff Stensland.
The Northern SportMods raced for 20-laps in their feature event. The two front row starters, Curtis VanDerWal---a driver we see at the Southern Iowa Speedway weekly and who had a successful year running that big old "Monster Half-Mile"---and Marshalltown Speedway's 2012 track champion, Racer Hulin, battled for the lead in the opening laps. Hulin established the lead when a nifty move involving lap traffic led to his decision to opt for the outside line and from there on, sailed on to a comfortable win. Ty Luellen made the pass on VanDerWal as they captured second and third places. Randy Roberts took fourth and Carter VandenBerg rounded out the top five.
The 15-lap Hobby Stock feature started 27 cars---maybe not a good thing--- as it saw more than it's share of yellow flags waving. The winner, John Watson didn't let anything bother him on his way to the checkers however. Weekly racer at Marshalltown, Scott Pippert worked his way through the pack from starting back in the sixth row, to capture a second place finish, as he made the late race pass on Devin Smith scored in third. Fourth and fifth spots went to Justin Lichty and Chris Luloff; two Independence Speedway regulars.
The IMCA Stock Cars did what the Hobby Stocks couldn't. They went 20-laps caution free. Sean Johnson had little trouble winning the feature as he led by lap one and sailed to the win. Donavon Smith got to the second spot and the chase was on but he could do no better. The two front runners sliced through the lap traffic easily as they went 1-2. Third went to Chris Wiltse a regular at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, fourth was Marshalltown's own Jeff Wollam with a good run, and Jay Schmidt came from waaaay back in the starting field to finish in fifth.
The Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature came next for their 30-lap main event. The point lead was held by Jeremy Mills going into the night, with a slim 6 point lead over Jay Noteboom. Just 12 points out of the lead was Mark Elliott. The starting field was completed by two B mains and two provisional HDT regular drivers not qualifying, Ryan Dolan and Mark Schulte, filled out the starting grid.
You would have thought in the early going that having a camera on the car may have offered an advantage
as Darin Duffy and Mark Elliott circled the track at the front of the pack with their camera's hoisted up top. The only yellow flag flew at lap 10 and on the ensuing restart, Jay Noteboom who had been riding in third, made the pass on Elliott to take over second. From then on, it was the two guys up front, Duffy and Noteboom putting on the show. The two diced back and forth for the lead in the closing laps. Noteboom chose the outside line and made it work as he out lasted Duffy to take the win. Third went to Jon Snyder who got by Elliott in fourth. Randy Havlik rounded out the top five.
The fans all got their money's worth in that one! It was an awesome race and not only that, now finds the points battle going into tonight tied at 404 between Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills who garnered a 7th place finish. Not too far behind is Mark Elliott...9 points out.
Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to commence at 7 p.m. tonight. Dress warm as the temperatures are predicted to dip to the freezing mark late. Happy racing!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Super Nationals notes and tidbits
The 30th annual IMCA Super Nationals has come and gone. Each year we say there are memorable happenings, and this year was no different. Six days/nights/mornings of racing was action packed with over 870 (we heard the count was 872) different race cars participating. And there was RAIN! In a drought year, and when does it rain? Super Nationals! The jet dryer also "gave up the ghost" on the first day of racing, leaving the John Deere's to get the job done. They did. Midwest ingenuity also came into play. With an infield a muddy mess, bales of straw/hay were strewn about, and it was good to go. I'm not sure that anywhere else could have pulled the whole show off, but happen it did,--- at Boone. Below is what we recall happening during the week---but with little sleep and being tired, hope we didn't get things mixed up!
Monday was WET. It rained a couple of times before hot laps ever got started at about 6:45 instead of the scheduled 2 p.m. The jet dryer attempted to rid the track of the water, but a puff of smoke, a few flames and that was all she wrote. So, out came the trusty John Deere's and they finally got the track ready for racing. The first heat race took to the track at 7:30 p.m.--4 1/2 hours later than the scheduled time for racing to begin. The only thing not run as scheduled was the qualifying heats for the SportMod Race of Champions, which was pushed to day #2.
Monday's headliner was the Deery Brothers Late Model show. Michael Murphy, Jr. took the win in this one--being crowned the first Super National's Champion of the week. Jason Utter led the earlier portion of the 50-lapper, but Murphy chopped through the field from starting 22nd, to tag in behind the leader. Utter broke at lap 34, handing the lead to Murphy, who retained it to the checkers. Andy Eckrich had a great run, taking second place after having to tag the field at one point. Third went to veteran Jeff Aikey, fourth was "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance, and Ray Guss, Jr. took fifth.
After qualifying was completed for the Hobby Stocks and the Northern SportMods, it was one LONG night of racing---ending at 5:50 a.m. We watched the sun rising as we headed to our motel and when we walked in, breakfast was being served! A couple of hours of sleep, and we were heading back over to the track.
Night #2 had the second Super Nationals Champion crowned when a full show of IMCA Sport Compacts took to the track. Fifty-five of the front wheel drive cars competed. They ran a 25-lap A main and the winner was Jake Ellithorpe from Delmar, Iowa. He took the top spot late in the race, passing Brad Chandler, who was scored as the runner up. Third went to Mick Rykhus, fourth was Tyler Whalen and fifth was Cameron Meyer.
Night #2 found us heading out a bit early when the winds picked up and we heard that storms were looming nearby. There were a few consolation races remaining, which we did understand got in. The campers were really having to "batten down the hatches" and it was tricky walking trying to avoid all of the blowing debris as we headed to our vehicle about 1:15 a.m.
Back at it for Night #3 and the first running of the A modifieds---which is always an anticipated event. Qualifying for Saturday night's Big Dance continued for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks and the first for the Modifieds. Racing wound up about 1:12 a.m. and we headed quickly to our motel for some much needed "Zzzzs"!
Night #4 found us being chased by a storm back to our motel at the conclusion of the night's racing AGAIN! I must say, as the Modified qualiftying feature was on the track, it was an absolutely awesome sight with the cars on the track and the lightning flashing to the northwest! No doubt, the Xsan pay-per-view crew with IMCA on Demand that were filming all week long, were getting a bit nervous from some of their high perches when the rumbles and lightning flashes grew closer and more numerous!
It rained pretty good overnight and Friday morning, the dawning of Night #5, found it wet, wet, wet! There was another round of pretty good winds that blew through after midnight and even hail fell. The track was very wet and shiny but out came the "green machines" again and after more of Boone's famous "farming" rounds, racing began only 37 minutes late of the scheduled time. This was after the straw bales were broken open and spread about in the infield to soak up the sloppy mess and even a fresh coat of bright white paint was applied to the tires buried low in the corners of the track.
Tonight, the IMCA Stock Cars concluded their final qualifying for the Big Dance and the Modifieds had another qualifying A main to fill in the outside starting row. Tonight was also the All Star Invitational for the Modifieds. These drivers had all been voted into the race by the fans after qualifying for a ballot by winning a Fast Shaft's qualifying race. Driver's from all regions were in this race and it was a pretty sight to see them display their state flag flying during the parade lap. Jordan Grabouski--or Grabo as he is often called--took the checkers in this one, but hot on his heels and giving it all he had in a late race charge was Mark Elliott. Elliott had to settle for the runner up spot. Racing wound up about 1:38 a.m. and it was quickly back to the motel to catch some winks.
Saturday was the long awaited "Big Dance" day. The final qualifying for the Modifieds filled out the 33 car starting field. But before that, there were Race of Champions crowned in the Hobby Stocks, SportMods, Stock Cars and Modified classes. Those winners were Adam Armstrong from Filley, Nebraska in the Hobby Stock division, making him the first non-Iowa ROC winner in the class. John Watson who had another dominating year at the Boone Speedway in 2012, finished as the runner up. Another Nebraskan followed up with a win in the SportMod Race of Champions when James Kleinheksel stole the show by out distancing Geoff Olson out of Sioux City. Lake City, Iowa's Donavon Smith finally scored a Race of Champions victory for Iowa by taking the win in the IMCA Stock Car class. Dustin Larson from Minnesota finished second. The Modified division winner was a second time winner when Kevin Stoa put his #98 across the finish line first, ahead of Arkport, New York racer Michael Smith.
The first Big Dance was for the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Their 30-lap event went flag to flag and Shannon Anderson dominated this one. He won his second Super Nationals Championship in the division, never being really challenged. Brandon Pruitt got around Heath Tulp in the waning laps as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth went to Chuck Madden and fifth was Devin Smith. We understood that it was announced that Anderson will be moving up to the IMCA Stock Car division in 2013....following in his father Jeff Anderson's footsteps.
Next up was the Northern SportMods for their A main. This feature was not as fortunate to go caution free as several yellow flags were unfurled. However, it too was dominated by young driver Nick Roberts who ran the race as the leader the entire 30-laps in a flawless run to the win. Jesse Sobbing, the very successful driver out of Glenwood, Iowa, took second over "The General" Troy Jerovetz out of Green Bay, Wisconsin in third. Fourth went to Boone's own Cory Rose and Doug Cook from Algona, Iowa completed the top five. Roberts, at age sixteen, became the youngest Super Nationals Champion in any division.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars now awaited their main event. They also ran for 30-laps This turned into a shoot out between two cars---Donavon Smith and Chad Palmer. Palmer led much of the race with Smith dogging him the entire way. Smith made his move with about eight laps remaining, taking over the top spot and beating Palmer to the finish line for the win. Third went to Trent Murphy who came out out the three-wide row five starting line up, fourth was Dan Mackenthun and Shawn Havel from Wisconsin finished fifth.
After driver introductions and a trip around the track for them saluting the crowd from the back of pickup trucks, the drivers strapped themselves in and readied for 40-laps of dirt pounding racing. Front row starters who had qualified for that position by winning their A mains on previous nights, were Brandon Blochlinger, Kyle "The Highside Tickler" Strickler, and Boone's own Joel Bushore. Strickler and Blochlinger fought it out for the top spot in the early laps but it was soon the #5xx car of Jeff "The Animal" Taylor from Cave City, Arkansas fighting his way up to tag in behind leader Blochlinger. They were pretty much freight training around the topside of the track as laps were ticking off. It was a surge with two laps remaining that pushed Taylor to the lead; as he kept it to cross under the double checkers first, just ahead of Blochlinger in second. Third went to Strickler, fourth was Brandon Beckendorf from Danube, Minnesota and Waterloo's JD Auringer came home in fifth.
When we started our week on Labor Day by watching it rain and sitting through the delay of waiting for the track to be in racing condition, it seemed a long way off for Saturday's final. Then we endured more rain, plus wind, lightning, and even hail. Boone Speedway pulled off the six-night show, even with all the things Mother Nature threw at them. We looked back at the end of Saturday night and cannot believe how quickly the time passed. We say congratulations to all the winners and to ALL the drivers who came and participated-- a big THANK YOU. We thoroughly enjoyed our 25th straight year at the Super Nationals in Boone---and making it even more special was getting to share it with family, friends and fans we see but once a year during our "Racin Vacation" Racing family is the best. Happy racing!
Monday was WET. It rained a couple of times before hot laps ever got started at about 6:45 instead of the scheduled 2 p.m. The jet dryer attempted to rid the track of the water, but a puff of smoke, a few flames and that was all she wrote. So, out came the trusty John Deere's and they finally got the track ready for racing. The first heat race took to the track at 7:30 p.m.--4 1/2 hours later than the scheduled time for racing to begin. The only thing not run as scheduled was the qualifying heats for the SportMod Race of Champions, which was pushed to day #2.
Monday's headliner was the Deery Brothers Late Model show. Michael Murphy, Jr. took the win in this one--being crowned the first Super National's Champion of the week. Jason Utter led the earlier portion of the 50-lapper, but Murphy chopped through the field from starting 22nd, to tag in behind the leader. Utter broke at lap 34, handing the lead to Murphy, who retained it to the checkers. Andy Eckrich had a great run, taking second place after having to tag the field at one point. Third went to veteran Jeff Aikey, fourth was "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance, and Ray Guss, Jr. took fifth.
After qualifying was completed for the Hobby Stocks and the Northern SportMods, it was one LONG night of racing---ending at 5:50 a.m. We watched the sun rising as we headed to our motel and when we walked in, breakfast was being served! A couple of hours of sleep, and we were heading back over to the track.
Night #2 had the second Super Nationals Champion crowned when a full show of IMCA Sport Compacts took to the track. Fifty-five of the front wheel drive cars competed. They ran a 25-lap A main and the winner was Jake Ellithorpe from Delmar, Iowa. He took the top spot late in the race, passing Brad Chandler, who was scored as the runner up. Third went to Mick Rykhus, fourth was Tyler Whalen and fifth was Cameron Meyer.
Night #2 found us heading out a bit early when the winds picked up and we heard that storms were looming nearby. There were a few consolation races remaining, which we did understand got in. The campers were really having to "batten down the hatches" and it was tricky walking trying to avoid all of the blowing debris as we headed to our vehicle about 1:15 a.m.
Back at it for Night #3 and the first running of the A modifieds---which is always an anticipated event. Qualifying for Saturday night's Big Dance continued for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks and the first for the Modifieds. Racing wound up about 1:12 a.m. and we headed quickly to our motel for some much needed "Zzzzs"!
Night #4 found us being chased by a storm back to our motel at the conclusion of the night's racing AGAIN! I must say, as the Modified qualiftying feature was on the track, it was an absolutely awesome sight with the cars on the track and the lightning flashing to the northwest! No doubt, the Xsan pay-per-view crew with IMCA on Demand that were filming all week long, were getting a bit nervous from some of their high perches when the rumbles and lightning flashes grew closer and more numerous!
It rained pretty good overnight and Friday morning, the dawning of Night #5, found it wet, wet, wet! There was another round of pretty good winds that blew through after midnight and even hail fell. The track was very wet and shiny but out came the "green machines" again and after more of Boone's famous "farming" rounds, racing began only 37 minutes late of the scheduled time. This was after the straw bales were broken open and spread about in the infield to soak up the sloppy mess and even a fresh coat of bright white paint was applied to the tires buried low in the corners of the track.
Tonight, the IMCA Stock Cars concluded their final qualifying for the Big Dance and the Modifieds had another qualifying A main to fill in the outside starting row. Tonight was also the All Star Invitational for the Modifieds. These drivers had all been voted into the race by the fans after qualifying for a ballot by winning a Fast Shaft's qualifying race. Driver's from all regions were in this race and it was a pretty sight to see them display their state flag flying during the parade lap. Jordan Grabouski--or Grabo as he is often called--took the checkers in this one, but hot on his heels and giving it all he had in a late race charge was Mark Elliott. Elliott had to settle for the runner up spot. Racing wound up about 1:38 a.m. and it was quickly back to the motel to catch some winks.
Saturday was the long awaited "Big Dance" day. The final qualifying for the Modifieds filled out the 33 car starting field. But before that, there were Race of Champions crowned in the Hobby Stocks, SportMods, Stock Cars and Modified classes. Those winners were Adam Armstrong from Filley, Nebraska in the Hobby Stock division, making him the first non-Iowa ROC winner in the class. John Watson who had another dominating year at the Boone Speedway in 2012, finished as the runner up. Another Nebraskan followed up with a win in the SportMod Race of Champions when James Kleinheksel stole the show by out distancing Geoff Olson out of Sioux City. Lake City, Iowa's Donavon Smith finally scored a Race of Champions victory for Iowa by taking the win in the IMCA Stock Car class. Dustin Larson from Minnesota finished second. The Modified division winner was a second time winner when Kevin Stoa put his #98 across the finish line first, ahead of Arkport, New York racer Michael Smith.
The first Big Dance was for the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Their 30-lap event went flag to flag and Shannon Anderson dominated this one. He won his second Super Nationals Championship in the division, never being really challenged. Brandon Pruitt got around Heath Tulp in the waning laps as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth went to Chuck Madden and fifth was Devin Smith. We understood that it was announced that Anderson will be moving up to the IMCA Stock Car division in 2013....following in his father Jeff Anderson's footsteps.
Next up was the Northern SportMods for their A main. This feature was not as fortunate to go caution free as several yellow flags were unfurled. However, it too was dominated by young driver Nick Roberts who ran the race as the leader the entire 30-laps in a flawless run to the win. Jesse Sobbing, the very successful driver out of Glenwood, Iowa, took second over "The General" Troy Jerovetz out of Green Bay, Wisconsin in third. Fourth went to Boone's own Cory Rose and Doug Cook from Algona, Iowa completed the top five. Roberts, at age sixteen, became the youngest Super Nationals Champion in any division.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars now awaited their main event. They also ran for 30-laps This turned into a shoot out between two cars---Donavon Smith and Chad Palmer. Palmer led much of the race with Smith dogging him the entire way. Smith made his move with about eight laps remaining, taking over the top spot and beating Palmer to the finish line for the win. Third went to Trent Murphy who came out out the three-wide row five starting line up, fourth was Dan Mackenthun and Shawn Havel from Wisconsin finished fifth.
After driver introductions and a trip around the track for them saluting the crowd from the back of pickup trucks, the drivers strapped themselves in and readied for 40-laps of dirt pounding racing. Front row starters who had qualified for that position by winning their A mains on previous nights, were Brandon Blochlinger, Kyle "The Highside Tickler" Strickler, and Boone's own Joel Bushore. Strickler and Blochlinger fought it out for the top spot in the early laps but it was soon the #5xx car of Jeff "The Animal" Taylor from Cave City, Arkansas fighting his way up to tag in behind leader Blochlinger. They were pretty much freight training around the topside of the track as laps were ticking off. It was a surge with two laps remaining that pushed Taylor to the lead; as he kept it to cross under the double checkers first, just ahead of Blochlinger in second. Third went to Strickler, fourth was Brandon Beckendorf from Danube, Minnesota and Waterloo's JD Auringer came home in fifth.
When we started our week on Labor Day by watching it rain and sitting through the delay of waiting for the track to be in racing condition, it seemed a long way off for Saturday's final. Then we endured more rain, plus wind, lightning, and even hail. Boone Speedway pulled off the six-night show, even with all the things Mother Nature threw at them. We looked back at the end of Saturday night and cannot believe how quickly the time passed. We say congratulations to all the winners and to ALL the drivers who came and participated-- a big THANK YOU. We thoroughly enjoyed our 25th straight year at the Super Nationals in Boone---and making it even more special was getting to share it with family, friends and fans we see but once a year during our "Racin Vacation" Racing family is the best. Happy racing!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Season Championship night at the Boone Speedway
The craziness of Super Nationals was already evident when we arrived at the Boone Speedway Saturday night. The pits, camping areas and parking lots were already starting to resemble what announcer Jerry VanSickle calls "South Boone". The population of Boone does grow substantially each and every year during Super Nationals and there was a good start on it showing already.
It was Season Championship night at the speedway---drawing to a close the regular season racing. The top twenty cars on hand were locked into their features for each class, allowing only non-regular drivers that had raced there at least once during the season, to try and qualify through a consolation race. Only two classes, the SportMods and the Stock Cars held B mains.
We always enjoy the on track driver introductions which allows fans to see the drivers in person, outside the car and sans their helmets. Jerry V. provided a little entertaining banter one-on-one with some of those drivers, which also added to the entertainment.
The MADCRA Mod Lites ran first. All classes ran extended features from the norm, the Mod Lites going 18 laps instead of their usual 15. Josh May had things wrapped up for a track championship before the green flag even fell. It was the guy in #95 car, Mike Kennedy that scooted off to the lead when that flag flew, and from there on, he never looked back. He extended his lead in the caution free event, taking the checkers easily over second place May. Kennedy was racing with a heavy heart, as he had just lost his mother, winning one in her memory, no doubt. Bryan Zehm was third, followed by Joel Keenan and Jeff Stensland to round out the top five.
The IMCA Hobby Stock track champion also had it all wrapped up before the race even began. John Watson has had a remarkable second season in a row, with a dozen feature wins. He also started his season off by taking the Frostbuster win. Watson was only slowed a bit when a couple of early yellow flags flew, but had no trouble in maintaining his lead. Aaron Rudolph chased Watson across the line to take second.
Third went to Curt Reed, fourth to Tyler Pickett and fifth was Dustin Lynch.
The Northern SportMod point leader also had little chance of loosing his lead, as Scott Davis held a 19 point lead going into the race. The 20-lap race's first handful of laps had a good contest going between Davis, Nick Roberts and second in points, Eric Elliott. Elliott's night ended when he exited the track a bit later. The second half of the race continued with Davis leading and Roberts searching and searching for a way around him. It wasn't to be for Roberts as he finished the race in the runner up spot behind winner and track champion, Scott Davis. Third was Tim Love, Randy Roberts came from starting 17th on the grid to score a fourth place finish, and Cory Rose came from nearly that far back in the pack to take fifth.
Donavon Smith had his track championship in the bag before the start of the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. In the early going, you could throw a blanket over the top five or six cars; Smith leading, Trent Murphy in second and Wayne Gifford, Robert Stofer and Michael Murphy trying to better their positions. Murphy was able to make the pass on Smith, taking over the helm. Contact in turn four sent Smith having to gather it back under him, loosing several positions due to the incident, but able to continue on. Murphy would then lengthen his lead, taking a comfortable win over second place, Robert Stofer. As a note, earlier during an interview, we understood that Stofer has been racing for 25 years--a veteran racer for sure. Michael Murphy, Trent's younger brother finished third, fourth went to Cory Bushnell and Eric Brown completed the top five.
The IMCA Modfieds were looking at 25-laps for their A main. This one too had it's track champion already decided with Jammin' Jimmy Gustin taking the crown. Gustin led the pack through the first seven laps, but it was the guy flying on the topside, Todd Shute taking over by lap eight. Shute continued leading to the checkers, Gustin taking the runner up spot. A points battle for second place was brewing between drivers Mike VanGenderen and Russ Dickerson who went into the night tied. A second place finish in track points was going to be the deciding factor in which of the two would qualify for the Race of Champions next week at the Super Nationals. Since Gustin had already been established as a track champion at Marshalltown Speedway, as well as qualifying as a former SNs winner, second place in points can get into the ROC contenders. On this night, it was VanGenderen taking third over Dickerson in fourth and thus taking second place track points by ONE. Kelly Lyons finished in fifth.
Racing was done shortly after 10 p.m., but the track did not yet fall silent. Drivers were allowed to hot lap and with some coming from far and wide, getting a chance to test the track. Many of the drivers have far different surfaces where they race, so a chance to get on the black gumbo at Boone may have been a whole new experience for many.
We are anxious for the 30th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals. It is always an experience, and what we often tell people it is "a happening" that you cannot explain to them if they have not been there. We plan to be there for the entire six-night run and look forward to not only the racing, but catching up with racing friends. The first green flag is scheduled to drop for racing at 3 p.m. on Labor Day, and we can't wait. Hope to catch up with some of you who take a peek at this blog now and then. Stop us and say hello. Happy racing!
It was Season Championship night at the speedway---drawing to a close the regular season racing. The top twenty cars on hand were locked into their features for each class, allowing only non-regular drivers that had raced there at least once during the season, to try and qualify through a consolation race. Only two classes, the SportMods and the Stock Cars held B mains.
We always enjoy the on track driver introductions which allows fans to see the drivers in person, outside the car and sans their helmets. Jerry V. provided a little entertaining banter one-on-one with some of those drivers, which also added to the entertainment.
The MADCRA Mod Lites ran first. All classes ran extended features from the norm, the Mod Lites going 18 laps instead of their usual 15. Josh May had things wrapped up for a track championship before the green flag even fell. It was the guy in #95 car, Mike Kennedy that scooted off to the lead when that flag flew, and from there on, he never looked back. He extended his lead in the caution free event, taking the checkers easily over second place May. Kennedy was racing with a heavy heart, as he had just lost his mother, winning one in her memory, no doubt. Bryan Zehm was third, followed by Joel Keenan and Jeff Stensland to round out the top five.
The IMCA Hobby Stock track champion also had it all wrapped up before the race even began. John Watson has had a remarkable second season in a row, with a dozen feature wins. He also started his season off by taking the Frostbuster win. Watson was only slowed a bit when a couple of early yellow flags flew, but had no trouble in maintaining his lead. Aaron Rudolph chased Watson across the line to take second.
Third went to Curt Reed, fourth to Tyler Pickett and fifth was Dustin Lynch.
The Northern SportMod point leader also had little chance of loosing his lead, as Scott Davis held a 19 point lead going into the race. The 20-lap race's first handful of laps had a good contest going between Davis, Nick Roberts and second in points, Eric Elliott. Elliott's night ended when he exited the track a bit later. The second half of the race continued with Davis leading and Roberts searching and searching for a way around him. It wasn't to be for Roberts as he finished the race in the runner up spot behind winner and track champion, Scott Davis. Third was Tim Love, Randy Roberts came from starting 17th on the grid to score a fourth place finish, and Cory Rose came from nearly that far back in the pack to take fifth.
Donavon Smith had his track championship in the bag before the start of the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. In the early going, you could throw a blanket over the top five or six cars; Smith leading, Trent Murphy in second and Wayne Gifford, Robert Stofer and Michael Murphy trying to better their positions. Murphy was able to make the pass on Smith, taking over the helm. Contact in turn four sent Smith having to gather it back under him, loosing several positions due to the incident, but able to continue on. Murphy would then lengthen his lead, taking a comfortable win over second place, Robert Stofer. As a note, earlier during an interview, we understood that Stofer has been racing for 25 years--a veteran racer for sure. Michael Murphy, Trent's younger brother finished third, fourth went to Cory Bushnell and Eric Brown completed the top five.
The IMCA Modfieds were looking at 25-laps for their A main. This one too had it's track champion already decided with Jammin' Jimmy Gustin taking the crown. Gustin led the pack through the first seven laps, but it was the guy flying on the topside, Todd Shute taking over by lap eight. Shute continued leading to the checkers, Gustin taking the runner up spot. A points battle for second place was brewing between drivers Mike VanGenderen and Russ Dickerson who went into the night tied. A second place finish in track points was going to be the deciding factor in which of the two would qualify for the Race of Champions next week at the Super Nationals. Since Gustin had already been established as a track champion at Marshalltown Speedway, as well as qualifying as a former SNs winner, second place in points can get into the ROC contenders. On this night, it was VanGenderen taking third over Dickerson in fourth and thus taking second place track points by ONE. Kelly Lyons finished in fifth.
Racing was done shortly after 10 p.m., but the track did not yet fall silent. Drivers were allowed to hot lap and with some coming from far and wide, getting a chance to test the track. Many of the drivers have far different surfaces where they race, so a chance to get on the black gumbo at Boone may have been a whole new experience for many.
We are anxious for the 30th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals. It is always an experience, and what we often tell people it is "a happening" that you cannot explain to them if they have not been there. We plan to be there for the entire six-night run and look forward to not only the racing, but catching up with racing friends. The first green flag is scheduled to drop for racing at 3 p.m. on Labor Day, and we can't wait. Hope to catch up with some of you who take a peek at this blog now and then. Stop us and say hello. Happy racing!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Boone - Season Championship - 9-1-12
Unofficial results:
Modified - Track Champion - 19 Jimmy Gustin
Feature
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 19 Jimmy Gustin
3. 57V Mike VanGenderen
4. 28R Russ Dickerson
5. 27 Kelly Lyons
6. 3Z Randy Havlik
7. 58 Denny Pittman
8. 12E Mark Elliott
9. 8 Kyle Strickler
10. 8X Scott Olson
11. 20X Chad Louk
12. X4 Jason Purvis
13. 24 Robert Avery
14. 12C Kent Croskey
15. 5M Matthew Meinecke
16. 4 Tony Hilgenberg
17. E18 Jake Elmquist
18. 88L Mike Louis
19. 87 Joel Bushore
20. 11 Beau Kaplan
21. 5D Devon Havlik
22. 75X Clint Wendel
23. 4R Michael Reichart
SportMod - Track Champion - 81D Scott Davis
1. 81D Scott Davis
2. 23JR Nick Roberts
3. 27 Tim Love
4. 1 Randy Roberts
5. 86 Cory Rose
6. 72 Rick Ringgenberg
7. 63 Daniel Tasler
8. 6 Darren Huntley
9. 66A Anthony Onstot
10. 27L Lukas Onstot
11. 91 Shawn Hunter
12. 77 Jake Myer
13. 22B Brian Eppert
14. 28 James Reichart
15. 13T Taylor Musselman
16. 57 Lynn Brockett
17. 32P Jeremy Pittsenbarger - Cameron, MO
18. 59 Tara Longnecker
19. 63R Richard Fasse
20. 9E Eric Elliott
21. 66 Cody Hennings
22. 34J Jerry Hinton
23. 3B Bradlee Clark
DNS: 24 Brian Miller
Stock Car - Track Champion - 35 Donavon Smith
Feature
1. 25 Trent Murphy
2. 50 Robert Stofer
3. 25M Michael Murphy
4. 55 Corey Bushnell
5. 35 Donavon Smith
6. 24 Eric Brown
7. 45 Larry Crocheck
8. 12+ Ryan Rose
9. 19A Alan VanGorp
10. 23HR Rod Richards
11. 25J Josh Daniels
12. 56 Lonnie Hodges
13. 99D Damon Murty
14. 64X Aaron Parmer
15. 3H Ty Hill
16. 04 Don Vis
17. 3 Tim French
18. 9 Jerry Gifford
19. 19J Jay Schmidt
20. 5 Keith Miner
21. 22 Wayne Gifford
22. 6 Adam Hilgenberg
DNS: 27M Mike Munson
51 Jared Dirks
Hobby Stock - Track Champion - 4W John Watson
Feature
1. 4W John Watson
2. 38R Aaron Rudolph
3. 4C Curt Reed
4. 5A Tyler Pickett
5. 5 Dustin Lynch
6. 27C Cory Adams
7. 12M Matt McDonald
8. 500 Garrett Eilander
9. 85 Seth Janssen
10. 66 Andy Mahlstedt
12. 22 Chris Jensen
11. 83 Chris Hupp
13. 8B Bobby Smith
14. 16B Jay Arends
15. 43 Nic Shearer
16. 99 Jeff Knight
17. 36S Mike Smith
18. 1BC Tony Cox
19. 911 Darin Rothfus
20. 14 Matt Wahlert
21. 7D Joe DeJoode
22. T15 Tim Barber
23. T15 Jacob Thompson
24. 74J Dean Hartwig
DNS: 46J Jesse Hopkins
Mod Lite - Track Champion - 99 Josh May
Feature
1. 95 Mike Kennedy
2. 99 Josh May
3. 46Z Bryan Zehm
4. 09 Joel Keenan
5. 20 Jeff Stensland
6. 15 Andy Hennigar
7. 41Z Ed Zehm
8. 8 Dusty Masolini
9. 11R Jason Whitehead
10. 6 Mike Morrill
11. 01 David Schmalzried, Jr.
12. 64 Randy Bryan
13. 3C Duane Coffman
14. 19 Brad Melton
15. 44J Justin Hopkins
16. 19JR Danny Foster
17. 23 Michael Parcel
18. 76 Terry Sorenson
19. 4L Larry Sorenson
20. 08 Ben Larson
21. 93 Tim Milner
DNS: 16 Angelo Montgomery
57 Tim Hennigar
Blog will follow
Modified - Track Champion - 19 Jimmy Gustin
Feature
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 19 Jimmy Gustin
3. 57V Mike VanGenderen
4. 28R Russ Dickerson
5. 27 Kelly Lyons
6. 3Z Randy Havlik
7. 58 Denny Pittman
8. 12E Mark Elliott
9. 8 Kyle Strickler
10. 8X Scott Olson
11. 20X Chad Louk
12. X4 Jason Purvis
13. 24 Robert Avery
14. 12C Kent Croskey
15. 5M Matthew Meinecke
16. 4 Tony Hilgenberg
17. E18 Jake Elmquist
18. 88L Mike Louis
19. 87 Joel Bushore
20. 11 Beau Kaplan
21. 5D Devon Havlik
22. 75X Clint Wendel
23. 4R Michael Reichart
SportMod - Track Champion - 81D Scott Davis
1. 81D Scott Davis
2. 23JR Nick Roberts
3. 27 Tim Love
4. 1 Randy Roberts
5. 86 Cory Rose
6. 72 Rick Ringgenberg
7. 63 Daniel Tasler
8. 6 Darren Huntley
9. 66A Anthony Onstot
10. 27L Lukas Onstot
11. 91 Shawn Hunter
12. 77 Jake Myer
13. 22B Brian Eppert
14. 28 James Reichart
15. 13T Taylor Musselman
16. 57 Lynn Brockett
17. 32P Jeremy Pittsenbarger - Cameron, MO
18. 59 Tara Longnecker
19. 63R Richard Fasse
20. 9E Eric Elliott
21. 66 Cody Hennings
22. 34J Jerry Hinton
23. 3B Bradlee Clark
DNS: 24 Brian Miller
Stock Car - Track Champion - 35 Donavon Smith
Feature
1. 25 Trent Murphy
2. 50 Robert Stofer
3. 25M Michael Murphy
4. 55 Corey Bushnell
5. 35 Donavon Smith
6. 24 Eric Brown
7. 45 Larry Crocheck
8. 12+ Ryan Rose
9. 19A Alan VanGorp
10. 23HR Rod Richards
11. 25J Josh Daniels
12. 56 Lonnie Hodges
13. 99D Damon Murty
14. 64X Aaron Parmer
15. 3H Ty Hill
16. 04 Don Vis
17. 3 Tim French
18. 9 Jerry Gifford
19. 19J Jay Schmidt
20. 5 Keith Miner
21. 22 Wayne Gifford
22. 6 Adam Hilgenberg
DNS: 27M Mike Munson
51 Jared Dirks
Hobby Stock - Track Champion - 4W John Watson
Feature
1. 4W John Watson
2. 38R Aaron Rudolph
3. 4C Curt Reed
4. 5A Tyler Pickett
5. 5 Dustin Lynch
6. 27C Cory Adams
7. 12M Matt McDonald
8. 500 Garrett Eilander
9. 85 Seth Janssen
10. 66 Andy Mahlstedt
12. 22 Chris Jensen
11. 83 Chris Hupp
13. 8B Bobby Smith
14. 16B Jay Arends
15. 43 Nic Shearer
16. 99 Jeff Knight
17. 36S Mike Smith
18. 1BC Tony Cox
19. 911 Darin Rothfus
20. 14 Matt Wahlert
21. 7D Joe DeJoode
22. T15 Tim Barber
23. T15 Jacob Thompson
24. 74J Dean Hartwig
DNS: 46J Jesse Hopkins
Mod Lite - Track Champion - 99 Josh May
Feature
1. 95 Mike Kennedy
2. 99 Josh May
3. 46Z Bryan Zehm
4. 09 Joel Keenan
5. 20 Jeff Stensland
6. 15 Andy Hennigar
7. 41Z Ed Zehm
8. 8 Dusty Masolini
9. 11R Jason Whitehead
10. 6 Mike Morrill
11. 01 David Schmalzried, Jr.
12. 64 Randy Bryan
13. 3C Duane Coffman
14. 19 Brad Melton
15. 44J Justin Hopkins
16. 19JR Danny Foster
17. 23 Michael Parcel
18. 76 Terry Sorenson
19. 4L Larry Sorenson
20. 08 Ben Larson
21. 93 Tim Milner
DNS: 16 Angelo Montgomery
57 Tim Hennigar
Blog will follow
Marshalltown Track Championships to Gustin, Meyer, Hulin, Pippert, Morrill and Chandler
The Marshalltown Speedway held their season championships on Friday night, drawing to a close another successful season under the helm of promoter Toby Kruse. A couple of close points battles were brewing going into the night, but when all was said and done, all point leaders stood.
The first feature was the IMCA Sport Compact class and with only three of them on hand, front stretch introductions and their 8-lap feature was over and done in "quick time". Veteran Merv Chandler led the whole 8 laps on his way to his 14th feature win at the track this year, as well as clinching the track championship---by a huge margin. Duayne Herb was second and John Gill was third.
The Mod Lite feature pitted the only two guys that had wins the entire season---Mike Morrill and Josh May---to fight it out from the front row. We were expecting one of the two to take the win, but the guy starting eighth, Andy Hennigar was the victor on this night. Hennigar fought by Morrill and May to take over the point spot in the closing laps. May followed him to take second, Morrill was third.....and also took the track championship....fourth went to Dusty Masolini and fifth was Tim Hennigar.
The IMCA Northern SportMods went 20-laps for their season championship bout. It was looking to be a walk away by point leader Racer Hulin, but when a race of that length goes caution free, there is always lap traffic that may...and this time DID...play into the outcome. Jake Strayer had been chasing Hulin from a bit of a distance most of the race, but in the closing lap, lap traffic gave things a twist. After taking the white flag, it got a bit congested going into turn one, Hulin avoiding disaster, but with even more lap traffic lying ahead, the often lethal last corner proved to be the thing settling the outcome tonight. Strayer maneuvered the lap traffic just a tick better than Hulin. Strayer got to the checkers first, Hulin having to settle for second---but still securing the track championship---third went to Scott Davis, fourth to Nick Roberts and Joel Rust was fifth. This was Strayer's second win of the season.
Up next were the IMCA Hobby Stockers. Point leader Scott Pippert showed just why he was in that position, as he led all 15 laps of the feature. One caution flew, but was no deterrent to Pippert as he pulled away from his competition on the restart. Pippert took the win and the season championship, Eric Larson was second, third went to Kevin Fee, and Eric Knutson and Josh Saunders finished fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars went 20-laps. A couple of visiting drivers from out of state joined the field tonight and one of those, Justin Jacobsen from Black Creek, Wisconsin, found himself in an upside down world in turn two on lap nine. Not a good way to start out what we can only assume to be his time back in the area for the upcoming IMCA Super Nationals. The good news, he was okay. Tracy Gienger started on the outside pole of the race, and led the entire contest. It was a good battle for second between point leader Steve Meyer and Damon Murty for much of the race. Murty won that battle as he was scored in second, Meyer taking third but keeping the points lead and the track crown. Fourth was Jeff Wollam, on this the Larry Wollam Memorial Season Championship night. Larry Wollam was a long time driver as well as former promoter at the track, who unfortunately, lost his battle to cancer thirteen years ago. Jeff is Larry's son. Trent Murphy completed the top five finishers.
The IMCA Modifieds polished the night's feature racing off with a 25-lapper. Point leader Jimmy Gustin, "had it in the bag" for another track championship, but no driver----and especially Jimmy Gustin----is even going to consider just "cruising along" conservatively in a race. Gustin took this one in convincing manner, leading all laps as the race went flag to flag. Ronn Laurtizen took the runner up spot, as well as the runner up in points. Lauritzen gained points on Luke Wanninger who had been second in points, when Wanninger's motor "went south" during hot laps. However, Wanninger was able to make the feature, as he piloted Jimmy Gustin's "old" car. Love to see driver helping driver like this and ya gotta love the "racing family"! Third place went to Zach Rawlins sporting a new body on his racing machine, fourth was Kyle Brown, and Scott Simatovich was fifth.
As we sit in the parking lot prior to races, we often check out the race cars as they pull up to the pit gate, seeing if there are any newbies on the night. From a distance, we spotted a Modified with a #24 on the side that we didn't readily recognize. As I walked toward the pit entrance to do a little checking, I was pleasantly surprised to find that car to be Farmington, New Mexico driver, Regan Tafoya. We were expecting to meet up with him at the IMCA Super Nationals, as we have over the past several years, but were not expecting to see him at Marshalltown! We enjoyed catching up a bit with him, his wife Yvette, and pit crew member Tyrone Yazzie, who has also done a bit of racing in the past himself. Regan not only is a racer, but also took on promoting this past year at the Cortez Speedway in Cortez, Colorado. Look for him at the Super Nationals in the #24R Spitfire Racing ride.
We are gathering our thoughts as well as "stuff" for heading to Boone for the six-nights of racing at the Super Nationals starting on Labor Day. But before that, it will soon be time to head to Boone tonight for their season championships before the "Big Dance" prelude gets started. Until next time. Happy Racing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)