There was a nice crowd on hand at the Southern Iowa Speedway last night and it was nice to see new drivers for the first time at the track. A special promotion, letting drivers in free if they had not run there this year brought some new faces to test the waters at the big ole "Monster Half-Mile". There was also a bit of testing done after races...more on that later. There were also some fun entertainment during intermission when drivers ran a wheelbarrow race.
The Sport Compacts were missing a couple of staple racers last night when Merv Chandler and Bill Whalen, Jr. did not race. With only four cars participating last night, and with two of them dropping out of the feature early, it was a two-man race. John Whalen out ran Shawn Cooney for the win. Matt Moore was third and Trent Orwig fourth.
The IMCA Hobby Stock 15-lapper came next. Steve Allen led the charge through the early laps until Dustin Griffiths, who started eighth, was in the lead by lap six. Veteran Bill Bonnett was right there for the challenge as well and Mike Hughes came along to join in. It was a close race with Griffiths, Bonnett, Hughes and Allen. Bonnett made his way into the runner up spot right on leader Griffiths tail when a slide up the track sent him back a couple of spots. It was now Hughes putting the pressure on Griffiths, who was able to make it work and take over the lead with just three laps remaining. Hughes went on to triumph in this one, with Griffiths holding on to second. Bonnett recovered a bit to take the third place over Allen in fourth. Aaron Osweiler rounded out the top five. This was the fifth win for Hughes this season.
Brayton Carter led the early laps in the 16-lap SportMod feature. He held off his cousin, Carter VanDenBerg until lap ten. Carter, who was still working hard to try and regain that top spot, got a bit too low in corner two, hit the tractor tire, and rolled his ride over. Thankfully, he was okay. When the race resumed, it was Curtis VanDerWal tucked in directly behind the leader....perhaps thankful for the restart situation. It was but a couple of laps later that VanDerWal was able to take over the lead, and hold off VanDenBerg as they finished 1-2. Brett Lowry crossed the line in third, fourth was Eric Flander and fifth went to Tyler Heckart. We heard later that Lowry was disqualified for a chip infraction...moving all those behind him up a position. Fifth then went to AJ Johnson. VanDerWal took his eighth win at the track.
The IMCA Stock Cars put on their typical competitive 16-lap feature. It was looking as if local favorite Brad Pinkerton was going to take home another victory as he maintained a comfortable lead over the pack through lap thirteen. That would be when a yellow flag came out when a scary situation occurred on the frontstretch when rookie to the class Donovan Nunnikhoven got crossed up, but controlling his ride and continuing on. We understand the yellow was called immediately to deter any serious accident happening as it had earlier in the season in the same spot. On the restart, it was the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty looking for another win as he sat in the runner up spot and not to be outdone, Zack VanderBeek was also knocking on the door as he rode in third. When racing got back underway, Murty made his move into first but it was a 3-wide free for all down the backstretch among the three drivers. A couple of laps later, it was VanderBeek riding in first with Murty giving chase, and that would be how the contest would end. Third place behind winner VanderBeek and second place Murty was Jason Cook fourth, who scrambled by Pinkerton, late in the race. Corey Stout....the guy from "just across the street", took fifth. This was VanderBeek's fourth win this year at the speedway.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature was a "no go" at the initial green when several cars piled it up in corner one. When the race did get underway, Scott Dickey "threaded the needle" between the front row starters of Brandon Banks and Bill Davis, Jr. and had the lead by turn one. It was really no contest from there on as Dickey maintained a sizable lead all the way to the checkers. Spread a comfortable distance apart for second and third were Todd Shute and Cayden Carter. Fourth place was Brandon Banks and Bill Davis, Jr. rounded out the top five. Dickey claimed win #3 at Osky this year.
There were King of the Hill races run in the Stock Car and Modified classes last night. As long as you kept winning, you stayed in the quest. In the Stock Cars, it was Zack VanderBeek by a bumper over Damon Murty. Bill Davis, Jr. never lost on his way to taking the Modified portion of the challenge....winning in five straight head-to-head meets.
A few notes on the evening. A fun wheelbarrow race was run during intermission....no spills this year, though flagman Ryan Bergeson nearly got dumped by promoter Mike VanGenderen before ever starting. Victorious among all the contests was the team of Brayton Carter and Scott Dickey....winning over Todd Shute and Rich Vogt.
After the features for the SportMods, Stock Cars and Modifieds, tech guru Ray Hill marked the tires/axle on the winning car, sent them out for a lap or two, and then checked to see if there was difference in "evenness" as he looked for illegal rear ends. Refreshing to know that they all passed.
Remember, there will be no racing at Osky the next two Wednesday nights. Next Monday and Tuesday will be the Front Row Challenge and the Ultimate Challenge for sprint cars. Due to the Knoxville Nationals running down the road, Osky will take that week off. The following week will also be silent due to the State Fair. The next regular night of racing will be August 21 and then not again until September 11. Check www.oskyspeedway.com for more details....and to make sure I have all that right! Happy racing!
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