Saturday, May 25, 2013

May and Chandler win at Marshalltown before rain stops the action

Where the heck did that rain come from last night?  The weather reports we had been hearing was no rain until after midnight and then not a good forecast for the remainder of the holiday weekend.  I couldn't believe it when I pulled up the radar on my phone, and there was this all too often seen ominous mass heading our way.  I was almost sure it wasn't really there, but a check of several other radar sites, confirmed it.

Racing at Marshalltown started clicking off quickly as by heat time, the gray was looming in the west and closing in.   Heats were completed in right at an hour and the first feature, the Sport Compacts were brought immediately to the track.

Only three of the front wheel drives made an appearance last night.  In the feature, John Gill held off Merv Chandler in the opening laps, but Chandler had taken command by lap three.  Chandler had little trouble motoring home to his second consecutive win, Gill taking second.  Third went to newcomer Toby Denning who did not finish.

The pesky sprinkles had stopped when the Mod Lite feature took to the track.  We were hoping that was a good sign despite the appearance of the sky.  Josh May quickly got to the front from starting in row three and had little trouble in maintaining that lead to the checkers. May repeated his win from last week.  Second went to a first time driver, Chase Flatt, Monmouth, Illinois, who fought past Andy Hennigar in third.  Fourth was Chargin' Charlie Brown and Tim Hennigar hung around the front and finished fifth.

The SportMod feature quickly took to the track and our hopes of a caution free race quickly erased as the yellow came out at lap three.  The cars were realigned and the race restarted with Brandon Brinton continuing to lead the pack.  At lap four, Jayme Duinink had made his way around Brandon Williams and was looking strong.  Then came lap five......and all heck broke loose on the front stretch!  We thought we heard announcer Jerry VanSickle say he had counted fourteen cars involved, but by the time we started counting the cars piled up at a standstill just before the flagstand, we counted "just" nine, as some cars had luckily driven off.  We did not see what started the unfortunate incident, but we did see some hard hits as the cars piled into each other, and know there had to be some major damage.  Fortunately, we did not hear of any injuries to any drivers.  So......as the carnage was being assessed and the clean up proceeding, Mother Nature decided to end the night for all, as she cut loose with heavier rain.  The races were called.  We understand that the racing next week will begin at 7 p.m. with NO hot laps prior, and the SportMod feature beginning at five laps down and thirteen laps remaining. Double features in the SportMod, Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Modified divisions next Friday night, then the full regular night's action following.

The holiday weekend racing is not looking good as of now.  We did just receive word that Boone is still on as of 10 a.m. but Hamilton County Speedway and Knoxville Raceway have cancelled for tonight and with more rain called for in days to come, prospects are not the best.  We all know how fickle the weather has been and after all, it is Iowa.  Wait five minutes and the weather can change.  Hopefully we will all be able to get our racing fix in SOMEWHERE.  Check the racing calendar at www.positivelyracing.com for a possible DRY site.  Happy racing!






Thursday, May 23, 2013

Diercks Does it Again!

Last night at the Southern Iowa Speedway, the crowd sat bundled up AGAIN.  But the racing was a great deterrent from the chilly temperatures with the racing second to none.  The track was lightning fast and multi-grooved thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen and crew.  A late afternoon shower provided a bit of natural watering of the track. I know many people drove through rain on their travels to the track, and no doubt the pesky weather kept many fans from making the journey.  They missed out!

The Sport Compacts kicked off the feature racing.  It was looking as if Shawn Cooney, sporting a new car, was going for his second win, having won the State Fair Speedway feature last Friday night.  A little slip at lap six led to his dropping back in the field and allowing John Whalen to take over the lead.  A little contact in corner one at lap eight sent Cooney spinning, putting him even further back after gathering his ride under him.  John Whalen took the checkers, his second of the year at Osky, Merv Chandler finished second, third was Bill Whalen, Jr. and Shawn Cooney was fourth.  Trent Orwig did not finish.  

The IMCA Northern SportMods had only one caution interrupt their racing, that coming at lap one when an incident on the frontstretch sent cars scattering.  This would eliminate three cars---Curtis VanDerWal, Levi Leymon and newcomer on the night, Chris Larson. When racing resumed, Brayton Carter took up where he left off leading the pack and looking strong.  Brett Lowry continued to pester the youngster throughout the race, but Carter held his line and drove his race.  As Carter took the white flag, his car drifted to the wall in turn one, and Lowry seized the opportunity and grabbed the lead.  Lowry then motored home to the checkers first, Carter having to settle for what had to be a disappointing runner up spot. Tyler Gross started tenth and finished in third, Tyler Heckart took fourth and Eric Flander rounded out the top five.  Lowry, who said in his victory lane interview with announcer Tony Paris, that he had lost a coil spring, was happy to get the win.  Lowry came from starting eleventh, to score his first win at the track this year.  

The IMCA Hobby Stocks saw a first time winner in the class when Dale Porter took the checkers. Porter didn't have it easy though as he had veteran Bill Bonnett on his tail, doing everything to get around him.  Bonnett nosed ahead briefly on the back chute on lap eleven, but Porter fought back and regained the lead as they crossed the flagstand the next lap.  Most of the eyes were on those two cars as they broke away from the rest of the back, uncontested by others.  Porter took the win, Bonnett in second, and a distant third was the 2013 driven by Erick Knutsen. Dustin Griffiths and Donovan Nunnikhoven finished fourth and fifth.

The Stock Cars got after it last night!!  Earlier in the first Stock Car heat, the racing was amazing with a clump of four and then five cars at the front, bringing back memories of those days of when you never knew who was going to win at the finish.  The action continued hot and heavy in the feature as well.  Lap one was led by Brad Pinkerton as he fended off the advances of McClelland, Iowa's Jeff Joldersma.  With five laps in the books, Joldersma held the lead and Zack VanderBeek had come to play, running in second and the "Chelsea Charger", Damon Murty reeling the leaders in while running in third.  Lap after lap Joldersma---with his left front hiking high---and VanderBeek kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.  Murty challenged for second with two laps to go, but it wasn't to be.  Joldersma took his first win at the track this year, VanderBeek followed in second and Murty in third.  Nathan Wood came from starting mid pack to finish in fourth and Jason Cook was fifth.  Joldersma, who drives 177 miles one way to race at Osky, gave his trophy away to a lucky youngster in the audience.  

Brandon Banks led all laps--except for that final important one, as he was passed by Tyler Groenendyke in the 18-lap Modified feature.  Billy Davis, Jr. and Bill Gibson fought it out for second behind Banks, Gibson finally taking second by lap eleven.  Adam Larson passed Davis to take over third and began the task of reeling in the front runners.  At lap twelve, things really got changed up! Gibson appeared to have a motor let go, bringing out a caution and his night done.  Before the race resumed, Adam Larson also pulled his machine into the pits, giving Davis second place back as the race restarted.  Tyler Groenendyk moved to third and Cayden Carter....who was sporting a new car with a new snazzy look, was in fourth.  Banks pulled away at the restart and continued his quest for the checkers.  Then enter another yellow flag with a lap to go.  This set up a green-white-checkered finish and this one---as they often can be---would be the downfall of the leader's night.  Groenendyk dug in and was able to make the pass on the back stretch as the race resumed and took the checkers first, Banks having to settle for second.  Third went to Billy Davis, Cayden Carter was fourth and new comer from Muscatine, Todd Johnson, finished in fifth.  Groenendyk was a happy camper in victory lane, as he captured his first ever feature win in the A Mod division.

The IMCA Late Models made their second appearance at Osky this season.  The first time they came to town was back on May 1, and while not as numbing cold as that first night, it was still more than a bit chilly by the time the cars came to the track for the finale of the evening.  This one was nearly over at the drop of the green. Spencer Diercks, the 16 year old from Davenport,shot to the lead and drove off as the race went the 20-laps green to checkers.  Todd Cooney and Nick Marolf finished a distant second and third, "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance was fourth and Kurt Kile was fifth.

Earlier in the evening, a few more items were auctioned off, with proceeds going to medical expenses for injured driver Mark Widmar. A couple of lucky bidders got to take a few laps around the track in a two-seater sprint car piloted by Tyler Groenendyk.  The results of the favorite driver contest was also announced, the winner being popular racer Nathan Wood.  Second was Dustin Griffiths, and there was a tie for third and fourth between Kris Walker and Bobby Greene. 

The weather certainly impacted the turn out last night, with the threatening conditions, but those of us that witnessed the racing at Osky last night, went home with a smile on our faces for sure.  For more takes on the racing action from other's views, check out Jeff Broeg's "Back Stretch" at www.positivelyracing.com and Jeremy Fox will have some thoughts from his view from the announcer's tower at www.foxman1987.blogspot.com.  Lots of racing coming up this holiday weekend.  Check out some potential events at Positively Racing's calendar.  Happy racing! 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Osky - 5-22-13

Unofficial results:

Late Model

1. 29 Spencer Diercks
2. 30 Todd Cooney
3. 33 Nick Marolf
4. 99D Darrel DeFrance
5. 77 Kurt Kile
6. 31 Chad Cooney
7. 74 Ron Boyce
8. 33G Paul Glendenning
9. 5X Zack VanderBeek

Modified

1. 17 Tyler Groendyke
2. 22 Brandon Banks
3. 1+ Billy Davis, Jr.
4. 10C Cayden Carter
5. 21 Todd Hansen
6. 13 Matt Waugh
7. 17X Steve Pumphrey
DNF: 48J Jacob Murray
          2L Adam Larson
          38 Bill Gibson
          64 Casey Greubel
DNS: 51 Tyler VandeKamp
          19G Richie Gustin

Stock Car

1. 66 Jeff Joldersma
2. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
3. 99D Damon Murty
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 27J Jason Cook
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 38 Rich Vogt
8. 62 Brad Pinkerton
9. 81X Randy Killen
10. 19A Alan VanGorp
11. 19 Donnie Pearson
12. 11 Scott Seaman
13. 77T Trent Jeanes
14. 57J Rudy Brunkhorst - Columbus, NE
15. 73C Carl Yaw
DNF: 4J Bob Lynch
          94 Corey Stout
DNS: K17 Rick Kriegel

SportMod

1. 72 Brett Lowry
2. 10 Brayton Carter
3. 57 Tyler Gross
4. 42 Tyler Heckart
5. 12 Eric Flander
6. 7 Carter VandenBerg
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 9X Logan Anderson
9. 85 Jason McDaniels
10. 1 Rob Wilsey
11. 20G Jeremy Granthan - Clarksville, IA
DNF: 29 Bill Livezey
          8J AJ Johnson
         1V Curtis VanDeWal
         10L Levi Laymon
         67L Chris Larson
         23K Ben Kates
         4G Michael Guthrie
DNS:  10R Ryan Fullencamp DQ'd from heat - Illegal crate

Hobby Stock

1. 10 Dale Porter
2. 19 Bill Bonnett
3. 2013 Erick Knutsen
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 11 Mike Hughes
7. 96R Jamie Songer
8. 33 Justin Hook
9. 576 Scott Schull
10. 7A Aaron Osweiler
DNF: 77 Derek Hodges
          32T Bobby Greene
DNS: 3 Travis Bunnell
          84 Danny Thrasher

Sport Compact

1. 77 John Whalen
2. 2 Merv Chandler
3. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
4. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: 04 Trent Orwig

Blog to follow







Sunday, May 19, 2013

Egeland nabs first career win, Bushore and Smith win going away

It was a pleasant evening for racing at Boone on Saturday.  A good crowd was on hand...some in costume for their "Halloween in May" night, as they enjoyed the night's excitement on the track.  A driver who has raced at Boone for many years and travels a goodly distance to do so, got his first ever career win. All classes saw new season winners added to the books.

The MADCRA Mod Lite division was looking as if Dusty Masolini was headed to victory lane but a late race caution bunched the field giving some opportunities for some change up at the restart.  That opportunity was seized by Randy Bryan, who had been running second to Masolini much of the race, when he made the pass for the lead with just two laps remaining.  Masolini fought back, but would have to settle for the runner up spot this night.  Third place went to Joel Huggins, fourth to Cory Dennis and Bryan Zehm came from starting tenth, to capture fifth place.

The IMCA Northern SportMods came next.  This one started with Bruce Egeland and Tom Burke on the front row.  Egeland and Burke led the pack in that order for the first five laps, until Anthony Onstot grabbed second and began his chase to catch the leader.  Meanwhile, the 9E of Eric Elliott had taken flight on the topside and was making up ground fast from his twelfth spot starting position, taking over third.  As the white flag flew, Egeland was still at the point, but a bobble nearly cost him dearly. A pounding heart and the adrenaline flowing was almost too much for him, but he was able to gather back his machine and race home to the checkers.....his first EVER!  Elliott got around Onstot on the final lap as they finished second and third.  Tim Love and Rick Ringgenberg rounded out the top five.  Egeland, who has raced for many years at the Boone Speedway, first in the MADCRA Dwarf/Mod Lite division and switching to the SportMod class a couple of years back, makes the haul each week from Marshall, Minnesota, nearly 300 miles each way.  It's always great to see a first ever win....congrats to you Bruce!

The IMCA Modifieds ran next and this one too was won by the polesitter.  Joel Bushore leaped to the lead at the drop of the green, never to be challenged, taking his first win of 2013 at the track.  Trailing a good distance behind him was Jake Durbin in second.  Third was Jammin' Jimmy Gustin, who made it real interesting at the finish line, but falling just short and having to settle for third.  Randy Havlik started fifteenth on the grid and made the topside work, as he took fourth and Cale Sponsler hung around the front much of the race, finishing in fifth.

The Stock Cars put on their usual "get after it" show.  Eric Brown began the race from the pole, but it was the guy right behind him in row two, John Watson that claimed the lead the first several laps.  Watson would drop a few spots, with Brown taking over the lead, now being chased by veteran Robert Stofer.  Behind the leaders, cars were going three, four and sometimes five wide as they fought for position.  A couple of pesky yellow flags bunched the field on a couple of occasions, and at lap eight, who should be breathing down the back of the leader but Donavon Smith.  Smith, who had started in row six, was determined for more and was able to nab the lead from Brown and pulled away in the closing laps, sealing the deal on his first win at the speedway in 2013.  Following in second and third were brothers Trent and Michael Murphy, fourth going to Robert Stofer and Eric Brown rounded out the top five.

For some reason, a lot of yellow flags flew the entire evening, the IMCA Hobby Stock finale being no different.  Early leader Cory Adams continued to fend off the challenge of Curt Reed through much of the race, keeping the point through the restarts.  Meanwhile, it was Shannon Anderson making his usual charge to the front from starting in row six, to pester the leaders.  Things got tight as the front running cars entered turn three with just two laps left.  Contact was made between leader Adams and Anderson, and they both went spinning, handing over the lead to Reed at the restart.  Reed then motored home to the checkers first, capturing his first victory at the track this year.  More change ups were made behind the leader as Paul Nagle, who had been running in the top three suffered a flat tire on the last lap, sending him back many spots, and shuffling more cars up as a result.  Eric Stanton avoided the confusion and came through the mess to score the runner up spot, Garrett Eilander wove his way through to score a third place and Tyler Pickett and Tim Barber followed up in fourth and fifth.

Earlier in the evening, after running their heat races, the IMCA SportMod class ran a King of the Hill contest, sponsored by Harris Auto Racing.  The two top finishers in the heats drew for their starting spots, each going up in a two lap shoot out, the winner advancing to the next round.  The two final men standing were Brandon Williams and Cole Ferguson.  Williams took the win in the final go around.  Williams, a new driver to us this year, has been impressive.  We learned through announcer Jerry VanSickle, that his job had required his move to Iowa, having raced in the St. Joseph, Missouri area last year.

Next week, May 25 at Boone, it will be racing as usual in the five divisions, hot laps 6:45 and racing at 7:30. Also mark your calendars for the annual Memorial Day race at the Boone Speedway on Monday, May 27th.   It will be the annual Deery Brothers Late Model Summer Series special.  Also on the program that day will be the Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks, SportMods and Mod Lites.  Grandstands open at 2 p.m, hot laps at 4 and racing at 5 p.m. Happy racing!


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Carter sets sail and wins going away at Marshalltown

What a beautiful night for racing at the Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night.  There were dominating wins in the Modified, SportMod, Mod Lite and Sport Compact classes, while the Stock Car and Hobby Stocks made the finishes more interesting. After breezing through the heats in about an hour, it was looking as if it would be an early evening, but a plethora of yellow flags and a red flag situation threw all of that out the window---and it wasn't even a full moon night!

Only four IMCA Sport Compacts made an appearance last night.  In their heat, one car would be eliminated when the  #49 of Jim Alday, Marshalltown, took a tumble off of turn two.  Dave Moorman led the first four laps, but wile veteran Merv Chandler took the lead on lap five and took his first win of the season at Marshalltown.  Moorman had followed him in second, but slipped off of turn three with a lap to go, handing the second place finish over to John Gill. Moorman then, was scored as third.

Josh May was dominate in his first win at the track this year, leading all laps.  Second place finisher Mike Morrill chased him from a distance most of the way to the checkers.  Third place went to the only other previous winner at the track for 2013, Andy Hennigar, who had started tenth on the grid, fourth was Charlie Brown and Dusty Masolini completed the top five. May, who had recently destroyed his car, stuck last year's body back on, and looks like that was a good luck charm that he said he may just continue to use the rest of the year.

The largest class for the evening was the IMCA Northern Sport Mods with 25 cars checked in.  No B main was run.  Their feature had a hard time getting completed as yellow after yellow seemed to fly, getting a mere lap or two in between cautions. Ty Luellen nosed ahead of Jayme Duinink at lap four, and withstood the numerous restart situations and went to victory lane for the second time this year, having won the Frostbuster back on April 5.  Jenae Gustin made her way to second with just a handful of laps in the books after starting back in the fifth row.  Gustin would maintain that runner up spot to the checkers.  Third went to Tonganoxie , Kansas driver, Ben Kates, who is a fixture in Iowa this summer, fourth was Eric Elliott who started in row six and Joel Rust, who had started alongside Gustin in row five, scored the fifth place finish.

The IMCA Hobby Stocks went their usual 12-laps and after an original "no go" start, the feature would continue under green.  The 14T of Mitchell Thomas would go sliding into the announcer's/scorer's tower area taking out a sign and sending onlookers scattering, but the race continued without stoppage, only the sign any worse for wear.  Brandon Pruitt had started in the pole position and motored off easily, but it wasn't long until Bill Bonnett was dogging him.  Bonnett tried the bottom side in numerous attempts at snatching the lead, but Pruitt held him off and would take the checkers.  Bonnett took the runner up spot, it was a close finish for Brice Udelhoven and Eric Stanton as they went third and fourth, and Austin Luellen held off "Mean" Gene Nicklas as they finished fifth and sixth.

The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars came to the track next, Jay Schmidt leaped to the lead early but Tracy Gienger was having none of that, making the pass for the top spot at lap three.  Further back in the pack, there was a "glob" of five or six cars fighting to move to the front.  Things would get sorted out a bit by lap seven, Gienger maintaining his lead, Schmidt riding in second, but being pressured by Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette.  At lap ten, a red flag reared it's ugly head, when newcomer on the night, #71 Corey Piffer, Indianola driver had his throttle stick and rolled it off of turn two.  He was thankfully, not hurt.
When racing resumed, Steve Meyer was able to get by Schmidt for second and things were setting up to finish that way.  That is until a slip by Schmidt found him in spin mode in turn two, a yellow coming out and sending him to tag the tail on the restart with four laps remaining.  Gienger would motor home to the win, chased by Meyer in second, Jaennette in third.  Fourth went to "The Dean" Jeff Wollam and Eric Knutson, Slater, Iowa finished in fifth.  Derek Reimer was sixth, Lauren Vis is back in the 20L earlier in the season piloted by her dad Dusty Vis, scoring a seventh place finish, and Jay Schmidt made up some ground to garner eighth.

Cayden "The Gasman" Carter and Zach Rawlins sat on the front row of the 20-lap Modified feature. Carter immediately jumped to the lead.  Rawlins tucked in behind him but Kyle "Downtown" Brown and "Jammin" Jimmy Gustin were in tow behind him.  Brown made it to second with Gustin following suite in third.  Brown and Gustin then were the show on the track for several laps as they battled closely.  Gustin was able to nose under Brown, taking the lead on the backstretch of lap ten.  Meanwhile, Carter had set sail on the topside and was cruising along unchallenged.  Carter took the easy win, his first of the year at Marshalltown, Gustin was second, Brown third.  Jon Snyder and Adam Larson rounded out the top five.

Positively Racing colleague Ryan Clark was observing from the announcer's stand last night. You can find some of his thoughts at www.instaging.blogspot.com.  Next week, May 24th, Marshalltown Speedway will be racing as usual in all six classes. Hot laps are 7 p.m. with racing at 7:30.  For full results check www.marshalltownspeedway.com or www.speednetdirect.com. Happy racing!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Murray makes late pass to win Modified, Hughes goes three-for-three in Hobby Stocks

It was FINALLY a beautiful night for racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway...no coats required!  A solid field of cars was on hand as well as a great crowd.  During the night, a benefit auction of racing "stuff" was conducted as well as helmets being passed, to benefit injured racer Mark Widmar.  Nearly $2500 was raised going toward Mark's medical bills, showing once again that racing family sticks together!  More items will be auctioned next week. More good news was announced that Mark may soon be going home, but still with recovery time ahead. Best wishes for that being a swift and complete recovery.

The IMCA Sport Compacts kicked off the feature racing for the night.  Eight cars were on hand, but only five were able to begin the A main.  After a couple of false starts, the rest of the 10-lap feature continued caution free and it was veteran Merv Chandler leading the entire way.  Bill Whalen, Jr. chased Chandler much of that distance, but was beat out by John Whalen at the finish, as they went second and third.  Fourth was Trent Orwig and Shawn Cooney finished fifth.

The IMCA Northern SportMods came up next for their 15-lap contest.  This one went to a first time winner at the track when Ryan Fullencamp went the entire distance at the helm.  It was an exciting climax at the end however, as Fullencamp had to fend off Carter VandenBerg and Brett Lowry in a tight one at the finish. Lowry, who had started well back in the field, managed to eek past VandenBerg on the final lap to score the runner up position, leaving VandenBerg in third.  Fourth went to last week's winner Curtis VanDerWal and fifth was Jason McDaniel.  Fullencamp was greeted in victory lane by his grandfather and former racer, Jerry Pilcher.

The 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock winner is getting to be a fixture in the winner's circle this year.  Mike Hughes claimed his third in a row feature win on Wednesday night at the Monster Half-Mile.  Hughes took over the lead from Dale Porter at lap seven and fended off Porter's peeks on the outside in the waning laps, sealing his victory.  Dustin Griffiths, the only other Hobby Stock winner at the track this year, finished in third, veteran Bill Bonnett was fourth and rounding out the top five was Jamie Songer.

Brad Pinkerton put the #62 upfront in the opening laps of the Stock Car feature, but it was soon the familiar orange #33Z of Zack VanderBeek at the forefront after just a handful of laps were in the books.  VanderBeek had little trouble from there on as he pulled away from the pack.  Nathan Wood finished a distant second and a distant third was Jason Cook.  Kris Walker finished in fourth and Shane Richardson completed the top five.

Polesitter, Jeff Waterman led the troops early on in the 18-lap IMCA Modified feature.  It was Jacob Murray and Todd Shute battling for second at five laps down, as Waterman motored off from them.  That didn't last long however, as by lap ten, Shute had made his way around Murray to take over second and was pressuring the leader. Shute was able to make the pass just a lap later and was looking strong and likely on his way to the checkers first.  Murray then put the hammer down and made his way into second and was soon annoying Shute.  On the white flag lap, Murray shot around Shute to take over the point and kept it to the checkers.  Shute finished, no doubt, a disappointing second and Waterman hung on to third.  Cayden Carter finished fourth and new comer to the track for 2013 Adam Larson, rounded out the top five.

The Iowa Sportsman Series also ran last night, but we opted to head out as they were coming to the track.  We did learn that Kris Walker took the feature in this class as he must have been as strong in it as he had been in winning his heat earlier in the evening.

Next week, the IMCA Late Models come back to Osky and will be in competition along with the regular five classes.  Hot laps 7 with racing at 7:30.  Happy racing!



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Osky - 5-15-13

Unofficial results

Modified feature

1. 48J Jacob Murray - pass for lead coming to white flag
2. 5 Todd Shute
3. 71W Jeff Waterman
4. 10 C Cayden Carter
5. 2L Adam Larson
6. 149 Kyle Whalert
7. 17 Tyler Groenendyk
8. 40 Scott Dickey
9. 64 Casey Greubel
10. 1+ Billy Davis, Jr.
11. 22 Brandon Banks
12. 13 Matt Waugh
13. Bill Gibson
14. 17X Steve Pumphrey
DNS: 51 Tyler VanderKamp
          19G Richie Gustin

SportMod Feature

1. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
2. 72 Brett Lowy
3. 7 Carter VandenBerg
4. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
5. 85 Jason McDaniel
6. 57 Tyler Gross
7. 29 Bill Livezey
8. 71 Glenn Gladson, Jr.
9. 23K Ben Kates
10.95J Jason Hall
11. 12 Eric Flander
12. 34Z Cory VanZante
13. 1 Rob Wilsey
14. 8 Tom Lathrop
DNF: 10 BraytonCarter
          57K Chris Ammenhauser
         8T Tony Johnson
         9A Logan Anderson
         42 Tyler Heckart

Stock Car Feature

1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 52 Nathan Wood
3. 27J Jason Cook
4. 18 Kris Walker
5. B25 Shane Richardson
6. 17C Shane Paris
7. 81X Randy Killen
8. 19A Alan VanGorp
9. 7 Todd Phillips
10. 22R Todd Reitzler
11. 68 Cole Simmons
12. 73C Carl Yaw
DNF: 38 Rich Vogt
          4J Bob Lynch -
          62 Brad Pinkerton
          66 Jeff Joldersma
DNS: 94 Corey Stout

Hobby Stock Feature

1.  11 Mike Hughes
2. 10 Dale Porter
3. 10G Dustin Griffiths
4. 19 Bill Bonnett
5. 96R Jamie Songer
6. 79S Jason See
7. 84 Danny Thrasher
8. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
9. 33 Justin Hook
10. 2013 Erick Knustsen
11. 57 Scott Schull
12. 7A Aaron Osweiler
13. 55 Jared Stephens
14. 60 Derek Stevens
DNF: 32T Bobby Greene
          3 Travis Bunnell
DNS: 12 Mike Kincaid
          31 Rex Bonnett

Sport Compact Feature

1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
4. 04 Trent Orwig
5. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNS: 2M Matt Moore
         13 Alex Sampson
         75 Jared Ingvol  ?

Blog to follow

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Hot racing at Boone, but chilly temperatures persist

It was yet another chilly night for fans sitting out at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night, but the action on the track was anything but.  There was a repeat winner in the Modified and Mod Lite classes, while the Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock saw drivers taking the checkers for the first time at the speedway. A race of another sorts entertained the crowd after the heat races were completed---crowning a "Racing Diva".

Before the night's features drew to the track, ten drivers were entered into "The Diva Dash"....a couple of drivers making it a "no show" on the start.  The drivers were called to the front of the grandstands and presented with their "wheels" for the night----sparkly pink high heels!  After a bit of testing out their new wheels, the drivers were sent to the track. As the green flag dropped, they made a mad dash on the frontstretch on their way to crossing the checkered flag.  Cale Sponsler wiped out, and several drivers "threw a shoe", but in the end it was Hobby Stock driver Austin Luellen getting the accolades as being the first ever winner of the Diva Dash.

The first of the repeat winners on the year went to Mod Lite winner, Andy Hennigar.  He had to catch and pass Mike Morrill who led most of the race. Hennigar took over the lead with just one lap to go, and took his second win at the track this season.  Morrill finished in second, fending off third place finisher Josh May.  Randy Bryan and Mike Kennedy followed in fourth and fifth. Hennigar is off to a great start as he has two wins at Boone as well as two wins at the Marshalltown Speedway.

The IMCA SportMod class saw the first new name in the books.  Daniel Tasler led the entire 18-laps as he motored to the win.  He was chased most of that distance by rookie to the class, Brandon Brinton, who finished a distance behind the winner.  Third place went to Boone's Cory Rose, while fourth went to Tim Love after starting back in row seven.  Rounding out the top five was Cody Hennings.

Drivers went at it fiercely in the 20-lap IMCA Modified main event.  Kyle Brown would lead the first handful of laps until Jake Durbin put the move on and took over the helm.  Former track champion Cale Sponsler was looking for more as he was soon in third.  Durbin put some distance between himself and his competition as the laps wound down, but second was up for grabs between Brown and Sponsler. As the white flag flew, Sponsler slipped by Brown, taking over second, but it was a tight finish at the checkers as Brown fought back...falling just short, and having to be content with third.  Fourth went to Jon Snyder and Matthew Meinecke hung around the front of the pack to score fifth.

The always entertaining IMCA Stock Cars were next on the agenda.  Mike Goldsberry would lead the entire way in this one.  Bryan Trogdon tormented the leader making attempt after attempt at the pass, but falling short each time.  Craig Carlson started on the outside of the front row and hung tough in third, until twelfth place starter Donavon Smith passed him with three laps to go.  As the white flew it was Goldsberry holding on but Trogdon and Smith were tight behind.  Goldsberry hung tough and won the race and at the finish it was Smith getting the advantage over Trogdon as they went second and third.  Fourth went to Carlson and Jerry Gifford rounded out the top five.

The finale for the evening was the 12-lap Hobby Stock feature.  A driver who has been absent on the race scene for a couple of years, Paul Nagle from Nevada, would lead this one from start to finish.  Nagle didn't let a couple of yellow flag situations bother him as he motored off on the restarts with Andrew Burg in tow.  Burg pestered the leader but was never able to make the pass.  When the final caution came out at lap eight, Brandon Pruitt moved up to take third place after the restart and  began tracking down the leaders. Nagle never waivered in his final run to the checkers, taking his first win at Boone in several years.  Second was a squeaker at the flag as Pruitt got the advantage and nosed out Burg as they went second and third.  Curt Reed took fourth and Shannon Anderson came from the fifth row to take fifth.

Next Saturday, May 18 will be regular points racing in all five classes.  It will also be a Halloween Costume contest on the grandstand side with prizes for best costume, fun games, and trick or treat stations set up for the kids.  Hot laps are 6:45 and racing starts at 7:30.  Happy racing!  

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Brown wins Modified, Murty, Hennigar and Gates repeat

It was the Cliff Chambers Memorial at the Marshalltown Speedway, taking our thoughts back to the gentleman who did so much for the track back in the day.  It was also with heavy hearts that we remembered the loss just last week of the first of three generations of a race team, Dale Saunders. Dale was the father of Tim Saunders, fierce competitor a few years back who has since hung up the helmet, and grandfather to Josh Saunders who now competes in the Hobby Stock ranks.  A moment of silence was observed, and then Josh hopped in his race car and did what he knew his grandfather would have wanted....RACE.

An added attraction on the night was the appearance of the Nostalgia cars, bringing back memories of days gone by watching the classic machines running the High Banks at Marshalltown.  Josh Zieman in his big old 1956 Pontiac #45  made it a win for the second year in a row by capturing the feature win.  Second went to the #17 of Jammie Huff, third to #10 Jim Anderson, "Pudge" Grabill put his #5 in the fourth place, and Tyler Ahlman in #33 was fifth.

The Sport Compact class ran the next feature, and it was no contest for Adam Gates as he led the entire 10-lap feature on his way to his second consecutive victory at the track.  Veteran Merv Chandler had to settle for second, third was Shawn Cooney, Nick West took fourth and Matt Moore, fifth.

The MADCRA Mod Lites also saw a back-to-back winner when Andy Hennigar sailed off to the win. Hennigar had to battle Bryan Zehm for that top spot, but managed to take the lead by lap seven and never looked back.  At the finish, the field was spread out all around the track, Hennigar taking the checkers, followed by Zehm in second, third was Mike Kennedy, fourth went to Randy Bryan and Mike Morrill finished in the fifth spot.

The IMCA SportMods came up next.  Ryan Ashton pulled away from the field in the early part of this one and was looking to be headed to the win.  However, tracking him down from starting about mid-field, was the 25 of Travis Peterson.  Peterson was happy to see the caution fly at lap 13, allowing him to close the gap even further as they restarted.  A great race between Petersen, Carter VandenBerg and Jenae Gustin was brewing for the second spot, putting the crowd on it's feet as they crossed ever so close at the flagstand. With just two laps to go, Peterson made the pass for the lead, sending Ashton to second.  At one lap to go, Gustin suddenly went spinning in the greasy mud as she approached the scoring tower, sliding into the victory lane and smacking a sign or two in the process.  She gathered it back up, no caution required, and the race was completed under green.  Peterson took his first win at the Marshalltown Speedway, Ashton was runner up, third went to Eric Elliott who sneaked by Carter VandenBerg in fourth and Sam Wieben took fifth.

The Hobby Stocks ran their 12-lap feature with the 99JR of Nick Murty at the head of the pack through lap seven, fending off the challenges of Austin Luellen nipping at his heels.  Luellen had just taken the lead as lap eight was completed, when the yellow flag flew.  On the restart, Eric Larson saw his chance and got around Murty, taking over second spot, but Murty fought back, regaining second.  Luellen took the win, Murty was second, and Eric Larson barely beat out Chris Luloff at the line as they finished third and fourth.  Rounding out the top five was Benji Irvine.

The IMCA Stock Cars saw Eric Knutson, a driver who jumped up from the Hobby Stocks, leading the troops well past the mid-point of their 18-lap contest.  However, behind him and coming fast was Brian Irvine and Damon Murty.  Irvine was running the track in his usual style with the left front hiking high, and Murty was pressuring him.  At lap fourteen, a shake up in the running order found Murty at the helm, Irvine in second and Knustson falling to third.  With just a lap to go, Knutson found himself in spin mode at the bottom of turn four, losing many positions before gathering it back.  Murty took the checkers first, sending the familiar 99D  to the winner's circle for the second time in a row at the track, Irvine held second, and the 20-year veteran Jeff Wollam snapped up third place.  Fourth was Mike Goldsberry and Jay Schmidt came from starting near the tail, to take fifth place. This was win #11 on the season for Murty, as it continues to be a "chase the Charger" year so far.

The night ended with the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature.  It was a father son affair on the front row as son Kyle Brown took the point spot along side dad, David Brown.  Kyle took the lead at the drop of the green but by lap three, it was Josh Truman and Jon Snyder battling for that second spot, and just a few laps later, the 505 of Racer Hulin threw his hat into the ring as well; Truman falling back in the field.  At lap fourteen, a yellow flew when Josh Foster spun out low in turn one.  This would bunch up the field on the restart, setting up a shoot out  for the remaining charge to the checkers. And a charge it was as Brown, Snyder and Hulin went at it on the restart. Brown was able to maintain his lead to the checkers flying, and captured his first win  at the track this year. Racer Hulin made it interesting in the final laps, as he flew around Snyder on the topside to take over the second spot and made a challenge on Brown in the waning moments, falling short and having to settle for runner up.  Third went to Snyder, Luke Wanninger finished fourth and Adam Larson was fifth.

Next Friday at the Marshalltown Speedway will be Scout Night with all regular classes competing for points.  Hot laps 7, racing at 7:30.  Happy racing!


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Sobbing Goes Back to Back, Hughes Does the Same

It was one heck of a lot nicer sitting at the Southern Iowa Speedway this Wednesday night than it was a week ago!  Mother Nature did try to mess with us a bit as there had been a light rain earlier in the day, providing the track with natural watering, and there were sprinkles on the windshield as we arrived at the track. The small shower cell quickly passed, and it was racing as usual on the big ole Monster half-mile.  The Hobby Stocks were racing for $400 to win with a draw/redraw format special, with the other four regular classes on the docket as well.

The Stock Cars came out in full force last evening, with twenty-one cars, requiring three heats.  They ran their feature first.  The first few laps found Todd Reitzler trying to catch Churdan, Iowa's Jason Minnehan,  while a bit farther back in the pack, Randy Killen, Kris Walker and Damon Murty were battling for position.
Minnehan had distanced himself from challengers, when a yellow flag flew at lap 15 of the 18-lap race, and at the same time, a cloud of steam rolled out of the 99D of Murty, eliminating him from the race as well. When the race resumed, Minnehan maintained his lead, but it was now Randy Killen and Nathan Wood fighting for that second position and behind them, a tight grouped Jeff Joldersma, Todd Reitzler and Jason Cook were putting on a show for the crowd.  Minnehan kept his lead the final couple of circuits, scoring his first win at the track.  He was followed by Randy Killen in second and Nathan Wood took third.  Fourth place was Jeff Joldersma who made the long haul over from far western Iowa, running another one of his always distinctive appearing self-built cars, and Todd Reitzler rounded out the top five spots.

The Modified A Main came to the track next.  This was looking to be a runaway for the 22 of Brandon Banks.  But---enter in those always pesky yellow flags that bunch the field.  After the second yellow at lap eight, it was "Toddzilla" Todd Shute that was sniffing at the bumper of Banks and we were expecting a good one upfront on the restart.  Shute gave it a shot, but just a couple of laps later, his car slowed and he was forced to retire to the pits.  So, now who should be on the tail of leader Banks, but last week's winner, Jesse Sobbing.  It took less than a lap for Sobbing to fly around Banks, but the race wasn't over yet as another caution reared it's ugly head, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.  The caution flew when Jacob Murray was fast tracking down leader Sobbing after making the pass on Banks, but a little too much effort in turn one, found Murray putting it on spin cycle.  Sobbing motored home to the easy win--his second in as many weeks---Banks took the runner up spot, third went to Bill Gibson, the driver who moved up this year from the SportMod class, Murray redeemed himself a bit and took the fourth spot and Tyler Groenendyk rounded out the top five.

We saw another repeat winner from last week in the SportMod feature as Curtis VanDeWal went to victory lane again.  It wasn't looking as if this would happen though as Des Moines racer Tyler Gross was leading most of the race, outdistancing himself from the pack.  Then, just as the white was about to fly, AJ Johnson  would bring out the yellow as his ride gave up the ghost, and once again, we were in  a green-white-checkered situation.  VanDeWal was able to get the advantage on the restart and then sealed the deal on his back-to-back wins.  Tyler Gross finished in what had to be a disappointing runner up place, third was Tony Johnson, Brett Lowry finished fourth and Tonganoxie, Kansas driver, Ben Kates took fifth.

The IMCA Sport Compact feature ran as the Hobby Stocks prepared for their run at the $400 prize.
The old veteran, Merv Chandler took the checkers in this one.  He took the lead from early leader Alex Sampson by lap three, and set sail to the easy win.  John Whalen finished in second, third went to Bill Whalen, Jr., fourth was Alex Sampson and Matt Moore took fifth. Tony Paris asked Chandler in victory lane how many wins "the old girl" (meaning the racecar) had on her and Chandler replied about fifty.  He also  mentioned that he was working on a new car.

The luck of the draw for the front row in the $400 to win Hobby Stock feature went to local favorite Bobby Greene, and Eldon's Craig Brown.  Brown gassed it at the drop of the green and took the lead, bringing row two starter Jamie Songer along to tuck in behind him. Kevin Fee was also sniffing for more as he ran third and last week's winner Mike Hughes ran in fourth.  By the halfway mark of the special 20-lap feature, Brown still held the advantage, but now Mike Hughes had made his way into the runner up position after making the pass on Fee on the backstretch.  A caution and restart situation set up Hughes for the pass to the lead and the subsequent run to the checkers, his second in a row.  Craig Brown held on to second, third went to Fee, and Dustin Griffiths and Jamie Songer were fourth and fifth.

There were a lot of overheating cars on the night, sending cars to the pits, as well as a blown motor here and there and dropped drive shafts. Carter VandenBerg saw his night end in the heat race when he went up in smoke, ending his night early.  The track stayed fast, wide and pretty smooth, requiring only a turn or two during the night by promoter Mike VanGenderen on the tractor between races.  Next Wednesday night, we will hope for "racing weather", when the Monster half-mile will be back in action with the Sportsman Series added to the regular weekly classes.  Hot laps 7 with racing at 7:30.  Happy racing!










Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Osky - 5-8-13

Unofficial results:

Modified feature

1. 99 Jesse Sobbing - two in a row
2. 22 Brandon Banks
3. 38 Bill Gibson
4. 48J Jacob Murray
5. 17 Tyler Groenendyk
6. 64 Casey Greubel
7. 17x Steve Pumphrey
DNF: 10C Cayden Carter
          5 Todd Shute
         51 Tyler VandeKamp
         1+ Billy Davis, Jr.
DNS: 40 Scott Dickey

SportMod feature

1. 1V Curtis VanDeWal
2. 57 Tyler Gross
3. 8T Tony Johnson
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 23K Ben Kates
6. 85 Jason McDaniels
7. 12 Eric Flander
8. 42 Tyler Heckart
9. 1 Rob Wilsey
10. 34Z Corey VanZante
11. 10L Levi Laymon
12. 9A Logan Anderson
13. 29 Bill Livezey
14. 10 Brayton Carter
DNF: 8J AJ Johnson
          33R DJ Robinson
          95J Jason Hall
DNS: 10R Ryan Fullencamp
          7 Carter VandenBerg

Stock Car Feature

1. 7s Jason Minnehan
2. 81X Randy Killen
3. 52 Nathan Wood
4. 66 Jeff Joldersma
5. 22R Todd Reitzler
6. 27 Jason Cook
7. 18 Kris Walketr
8. 94 Corey Stout
9. 19A Alan VanGorp
10. 62 Brad Pinkerton
11. 73C Carl Yaw
12. 7 Todd Phillips
13. 38 Rich Vogt
14. 46B  Michael Bilyeu
15. 87 Les Blakley
16. 49G Leroy Groendyk
DNF: 99D Damon Murty
          19 Donnie Pearson
          17C Shane Paris
          77T Trent Jeanes
          33Z Zack VanderBeek

Hobby Stock - Special Draw/Redraw $400 to win

1. 11 Mike Hughes -  back to back wins
2. 69 Craig Brown
3. 52 Kevin Fee
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 96R Jamie Songer
6. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
7. 33 Justin Hook
8. 7A Aaron Osweiler
9. 21 Nick Ulin
10. 32T Bobby Greene
11. 84 Danny Thrasher
12. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 19 Bill Bonnett
         79S Jason See
         1 Blake Miller
         3 Travis Bunnell
         2013 Rex Bonnett
         27C Corey Adams
         10 Dale Porter

Sport Compact

1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
4. 13 Alex Sampson
5. 2M Matt Moore
6. 30 Shawn Cooney

The Gasman Takes HDT Win at Vinton

Tuesday we turned the vehicle to the east and headed to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton for the first 2013 Hawkeye Dirt Tour race of the season.  And, what a beautiful night it FINALLY was to be sitting and watching a race!  Joining the HDT Modifieds were the SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts.

The SportMods ran their feature first.  Kurt Moeding and Brennen Chipp sat on the front row.  Chipp flew off to the lead immediately but it was the CH19 that came calling, dogging the leader.  The CH19 had a new pilot on this evening too.  Normally driven by Colby Heishman, tonight it was commanded by hot shoe Stock Car driver, Damon Murty. Nick Roberts soon threw himself into the mix as well, as he was nipping at the heels of Murty.  Murty's night would suddenly end when he pulled off the track.  Roberts was then on the hunt, and he soon caught and passed leader Chipp, and sailed home to the win.  The last couple of laps saw a lot of shuffling behind the leader, as Danny Dvorak made his challenge, but fell short, having to settle for a second place finish.  Jenae Gustin was another driver who made herself known, as she drove from starting twelfth, to take third.  Fourth went to Joel Rust, and Brennen Chipp rounded out the top five.

While the Hawkeye Dirt Tour drivers were readying themselves for their feature, the Sport Compacts ran their feature.  This one was led start to finish by the 07 of Ty Whalen.  Merv Chandler got around Bill Whalen, Jr. in the last couple of laps, as they finished second and third.  The fourth position went to Travis Losenicky.

The first Hawkeye Dirt Tour race of the 2013 season now came to the track for their 30-lap contest.The luck of the draw for the front row went to Patrick Flannagan, and Oskaloosa driver, Cayden Carter.  It took a second attempt to get the race underway, and a determined Carter immediately took command.  Flannagan hung around and tormented Carter for a good bit of the first part of the race, but then Richie Gustin nabbed second place and was quickly stalking the leader in true "Gustin form".  At lap sixteen, a real mess occurred in turn four when Gustin and Flannagan exchanged paint, wadding themselves and several other cars up in the melee. This would bring out a lengthy caution situation while the carnage was cleaned up...and Flannagan and Gustin discussed where to go for pizza afterwards.  Two of the cars caught in the pileup were Jimmy Gustin and Joel Bushore, both being towed off the track, and Richie Gustin going to the pits as well---after a short unauthorized trip to victory lane.

When racing got back underway, it was still Cayden "Gasman" Carter at the helm, but now JD Auringer was snapping at his tail.  It was just a brief lead at lap nineteen when Auringer nosed ahead of the leader at the flagstand, before Carter regained the lead, and determinedly kept it to the finish and the win. No stranger to the track, hometown boy, Scott Hogan was able to get around Auringer in the last couple of laps, as they finished second and third.  Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, took fourth over Mark Schulte in fifth.  Schulte made the most advancement, coming from starting in eighteenth place.

Finishing off the night's program was the Hobby Stock A Main.  Kyle Parizek and Chris Luloff drew the pole for this one, and they ran in that order from the drop of the green.  Benji Irvine came from starting in row three, to take over second from Luloff, who then slipped off the track, loosing many positions before regaining control.  Irvine was able to make the pass and then cruised off with a lengthy lead.  However, a slip off of the track with just a lap or two to go, closed the gap and nearly cost him the lead and the win before he regained the handle.  Irvine was able to hold off Nathan Ballard at the checkers and went to victory lane.  Third place went to Justin Wacha, fourth to Andy Coffman and fifth to Vince Bucholz.

The track rutted up in the corners during the night, despite numerous attempts at regrading during and between races.  Mother Nature is much to blame for that situation, and the cars paid the price in many instances.  We did however, enjoy our night at the Benton County Speedway, and were happy to be enjoying it with racing family AND in pleasant weather conditions. The next Hawkeye Dirt Tour race is scheduled for May 16, at the Clay County Speedway in Spencer, Iowa.  You can find the full schedule for the HDT series at www.imca.com.  Happy racing!









Thursday, May 2, 2013

Youngster Spencer Diercks Takes Late Model Victory at Osky

It was summer like temperatures in many parts of Iowa on Wednesday--BUT, for anyone taking a peak at the forecast, you had better have come prepared for the drastically changing weather conditions we encountered at the Osky track.  What a change!  We always go prepared as we have froze in July at a race in Iowa.  Some people were glad we go prepared as we had extra layers that we loaned out!  The racing however, did go on at the Southern Iowa Speedway and on the docket along with the regular classes, were the IMCA Late Models.

Sport Compacts brought their seven car field to the track for the first feature.  John Whalen had little trouble in taking this win, leading all laps and pulling away.  Last week's winner Bill Whalen, Jr. finished a distant second followed by Merv Chandler, Alex Sampson and Matt Moore.  Shawn Cooney and Trent Orwig completed feature in sixth and seventh.

The Hobby Stock went 14-laps in their A main.  Donovan Nunnikhoven led the opening lap, but by lap two, Mike Hughes had flown through the pack and took the lead.  The rest of the way to the finish, it was Hughes, "Out in front and showin' the way", as announcer Tony Paris called it.  Nunnikhoven hung around in second until a yellow flag at lap nine bunched the field.  On the restart, Bobby Greene took advantage and took over second, bringing Danny Thrasher along with him as he grabbed third.  The rest of the way home was smooth sailing for Hughes, as he took the easy win.  Greene held second, Thrasher was third, Nunnikhoven took fourth and Justin Hook rounded out the top five.

Things were hurrying along by this time as a lengthy red flag incident earlier in a Modified heat, had put things in a holding pattern for nearly an hour. More on that later. With the cold temperatures and wanting to get some of the Late Model drivers who had driven a good distance on the road home, the program was changed up a bit. So now, it was the big boys being called to the track.

A nice field of 16 IMCA Late Models were on hand and all but one, Nick Marolf, who had broke in his heat, started the 20 lap feature.  Tom Darbyshire led this one through lap five, when he was suddenly off power, and his night came to an end.  Kevin Kile then became the captain at the helm, Todd Cooney on his bumper at the restart.  A couple of laps later, Cooney made his move into the lead and it was looking like smooth sailing to the finish as he pulled away.  Enter another yellow flag at lap twelve...and who should now be in second, but young Spencer Diercks from Bettendorf, Iowa.  Diercks, who had made the pass on Kile, for second, was now setting his sites on the leader on the restart.  The race went clean the rest of the way to the black and white, and Cooney was digging for all his worth.  But....so was Diercks!  Diercks made the pass on the final lap on the way to the checkers, snatching the win!  Cooney was left in second, Kevin Kile took third in a good battle with Andy Eckrich in fourth.  Chad Cooney took the fifth spot.  In the post race interview, Diercks, who is just sixteen years old, said this was just his second feature win in his young career, having scored #1 last year at Davenport.

There were still three features to go on this cold and blustery night. What?  This was May 1st and slowly, slowly creeping across the state was a huge wintery storm front!  We had been hearing all the various weather forecasts all day long, and we were hoping that it was as slow moving as they had said.  Already, snow was inches deep in the northwest part of the state.

The SportMods went 15-laps.  Jason McDaniel had this one covered almost from the drop of the green.  AJ Johnson tormented him a bit early on.  At the halfway mark, it was Tony Johnson that had now come to the heels of McDaniel, Eric Flander in third, and AJ Johnson, dropping back to run fourth.  A yellow flew with three laps remaining, but the restart did not bother McDaniel, as he motored home to the checkers.  Tony Johnson kept second, Eric Flander third and AJ Johnson fourth. and it was a close finish for fifth with Carter VandenBerg winning out over Ben Kates and Curtis VanDerWal.

The Stock Car feature was an easy win for the 33Z of Zack VanderBeek who did double duty on the night as he also jumped in the 5X Late Model piloted last year by Jeff Mitrisin.  Randy Killen led the first seven laps but it was the orange 33Z coming fast.  VanderBeek flew to the lead on lap eight and then drove off from his competitors. VanderBeek took the win followed Nathan Wood in second, Randy Killen held on to third place, fourth went to Jason Cook and Corey Stout took fifth place.

The die hearts were still sticking around for the final feature of the night, the IMCA Modifieds.  The temperature showed 43 degrees, wind chill was 36, and the wind was out of the north at 23 mph.  BUT...no rain or snow!!  Bill Gibson enjoyed being the early race leader but by lap five, Todd Shute was putting the heat on the leader.  A lap later, Shute took over first place, appearing hungry for getting a win in 2013 at the track.  A restart situation at lap eight saw Jesse Sobbing making a bid for position, swinging around Gibson on the backstretch and into second.  Two laps later, another yellow flew when several cars went scattering on the frontstretch, one of them being the driver out of Winnemucca, Nevada, Corey Samples, who found himself up against the guardrail right near the flagstand.  This was what Sobbing was wanting, as just a lap or so after the restart, he was able to get by Shute, taking over the lead.  Sobbing would then continue his lead to the checkers flying, taking the victory.  Jacob Murray was able to get around Shute as they finished second and third.  Cayden Carter worked his way skillfully up to finish fourth and Bill Gibson hung around the front of the pack and picked up fifth spot.

At this time, we turn our thoughts and prayers to driver Mark Widmar who was injured earlier in the evening when he was in an unavoidable collision with Andrew Schroeder's stopped car on the frontstretch.  Mark was racing with a couple of other drivers and when they all came upon the stopped car, they all had but a split second to make a decision on where to go.  Unfortunately, Widmar hit Schroeder's car and the impact was a hard one.  Widmar was transported to the local hospital and we heard that he was going into surgery last night.  We wish for him a quick and speedy recovery.  Though it was a brief meeting in the grandstand a while back, we both remember him being a very congenial person.  Wishing you the best Mark!

The track stayed surprisingly smooth with all of our finicky Spring weather, especially with all of the new dirt applied to the surface. Much diligent work by promoter Mike VanGenderen and his crew proved to be a bonus for the racing surface. The racing action was good, but it was still good to see the final checkers flying as putting up with Mother Nature's wintry blast on May 1st, just wasn't a pleasant nor comfortable experience. How those fans that came unprepared for our strange Iowa weather stuck it out, I don't know. As I write this, we have snow falling here in Grinnell, so I guess She isn't done with us yet!
We've already been getting cancellation notices from tracks around the state for racing this weekend, so it may be we are done for racing for this week.  Next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway, the five regular classes will once again be in action, but the Hobby Stocks will be featured with a draw/redraw format and $400 to the winner. Happy racing...IF you can find one!

Southern Iowa Speedway results - 5-1-13

Unofficial results:

Late Model

1. 29 Spencer Diercks - 16 yrs. old
2. 30 Todd Cooney
3. 88 Kevin Kile
4. 56 Andy Eckrich
5. 31 Chad Cooney
6. 41 Matt Straussheim
7. 99D Darrel DeFrance
8. 77 Kevin Kile
9. 45 Tommy Elston
10. 5X Zack VanderBeek
11. 21 Ben Nading
12. 24 Jacob Darbyshire
13. 15C Curt Schroeder
14.38 Colby Springsteen
DNF: 42 Tom Darbyshire
DNS: 33 Nick Marolf

Modified

1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. Jacob Murray
3. 5 Todd Shute
4. 10C Cayden Carter
5. 38 Bill Gibson
6. 64 Casey Greubel
7. 13 Matt Waugh
8. 51 Tyler VandeKamp
9. 1+ Bill Davis, Jr.
10. 22 Brandon Banks
11. 17 Steve Pumphrey
12 17T Tyler Groenendyk
DNF: 71W Jeff Waterman
          00 Cory Samples, Winnemucca, Nevada
DNS: 02 Andrew Schroeder
          7W Mark Widmar

Stock Car

1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 52 Nathan Wood
3. 81X Randy Killen
4. 27 Jason Cook
5. 94 Corey Stout
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. B25 Shane Richardson
8. 7 Todd Phillips
9. 77t Trent Jeanes
10. 19A Alan VanGorp
11. 68 Cole Simmons
12. 19 Donny Pearson
13. 1K Tom Killen
DNF: 62 Brad Pinkerton
          17 Brock Welch
          73C Carl Yaw

SportMod

1. 85 Jason McDaniel
2. 8T Tony Johnson
3. 12 Eric Flander
4. 8J AJ Johnson
5. 7 Carter VandenBerg
6. 23K Ben Kates
7. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
8. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
9. 72 Brett Lowry
10. 42 Tyler Heckhart
11. 95J Jason Hall
12. 9A Logan Anderson
13. Brayton Carter
14. 57K Kris Ammenhauser
DNF: 29 Bill Livezy
          1 Rob Wilsey

Hobby Stock

1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 32T Bobby Greene
3. 84 Danny Thrasher
4. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
5.33 Justin Hook
6. 10 Dale Porter
7. 96R Jamie Songer
8. 19 Bill Bonnett
9. 3 Travis Bunnell
10. 27C Cory Adams
11. 7 Aaron Osweiler
DNF: 7 Aaron Ausweiler

Sport Compact

1. 77 John Whalen
2. 00 Bill Whalen, Jr.
3. 2 Merv Chandler
4. 13 Alex Sampson
5. 2M Matt Moore
30 Shawn Cooney
04 Trent Orwig

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