Finally! Some racing in the state of Iowa got in this past weekend! The Lee County Speedway in Donnellson held it's Spring Extravaganza on Saturday and Sunday. We ventured down to watch the first 2014 racing in the state and happily watched some good dirt track racing. Most drivers were testing their rides for the first time this year, eager to get some racing under their belts. It's always fun for us to get a glimpse of the new looks of the cars when the new season starts. The track stayed surprisingly in good shape considering the horrible winter we experienced. Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts ran each day, with a complete show each day.
The Saturday 18-lap SportMod feature was dominated by Montezuma's Brett Lowry piloting his brand new 2014 Harris. Lowry, who started on the pole, with Carter VanDenBerg along side on the front row, got the jump at the drop of the flag, shooting to the lead. From there, he never looked back and motored home to his first victory of the 2014 season. VanDenBerg chased the leader the entire distance, but had to settle for the runner up position. Third place went to Sully's Cory VanZante, scoring his best finish of his career, now piloting the winner's old car. Fourth went to Sean Wyett and Tony Dunker rounded out the top five.
The 18-lap Stock Car feature went flag-to-flag. Grinnell's Todd Reitzler led the entire distance, holding off the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty for the win. Reitzler and Murty put on the show up front the entire time. Finishing a distance behind the front two was Abe Huls in third, fourth was Jim Lynch and John Oliver, Jr. took fifth.
The Modified's ran a 20-lap feature, with a $1,000 pay off going to the winner. A nice field of 22 cars was on hand to give it a go. Scott Hogan and Canadian Les McClenahan from Estevan, Saskatchewan started on the front row. The Canadian took over the early race lead and was looking strong but Gilman, Iowa's Richie Gustin was quickly breathing down his tail with Jammin' Jimmy Gustin challenging his brother. Richie gave it a hard go coming out of turn four in an attempt to get around the leader, and took a rough ride through a high rut. It appeared for a moment that he had broke, but he gathered his machine under him and was right back on it. By lap eight, Gustin had taken over the top spot in his Addiction Chassis and a few laps later, Jimmy Gustin took over the second spot. Richie Gustin took home the $1,000 check, taking the checkered flag with Jimmy Gustin having to settle for runner up. Third was McClenahan, the Canadian having a good run for his long trip down. Fourth was Ronn Lauritzen who worked his way from starting eighth, and Troy Cordes took fifth from starting ninth.
Sport Compacts went 14 laps for their A main. In the early laps, there was a cluster of cars passing the start/finish line nearly in unison. When things got sorted out a bit by lap five, it was Adam Gates at the point position but Brad Chandler was nipping at his heels. Chandler made the pass to the lead by lap seven and maintained it to the checkers. Gates finished in second, third was Austen Becerra, fourth went to Brannon Bechen and rounding out the top five was Barry Taft. It was an emotional moment in victory lane for Chandler as he pointed skyward after exiting the car.....knowing his father Merv Chandler who passed away not long ago, was looking down and smiling.
The finale was the 16-lap Hobby Stock feature. Dustin Griffiths and Mike Kincaid drew the front row for the start. Kincaid jumped to the lead and second row starter Jacob Keiser from Marengo tucked into second place. As the race wore on, it was Nick Ulin making the move up to second from his third row starting position and was in hot pursuit of leader Kincaid. It was a close call at the finish line, with Kincaid barely squeaking out the victory by inches...and scoring his first win of his career. Ulin had to settle for runner up, track champion Jason See was third, followed by Dustin Griffiths and Gina Greubel fourth and fifth. The racing concluded a few minutes before 9 p.m. allowing the crowd an early exit out of the chilly Iowa weather.
We overnighted in nearby Ft. Madison so we didn't have to make the 130 mile plus trip again for Sunday's show. We went to the track early and roamed the pits, glad to talk to some of the drivers, and learning some things new for their coming season. The day was much warmer than the previous day, but the strong south wind was going to be a factor in the racing on this day! The earlier start time of racing at 4 p.m., everyone knew it was probably going to play a little havoc on the race track, and it did.
The first feature of the day was the Sport Compacts, and for a special reason. Just down the road in Burlington, the class was on the docket to run with the Sprint Invaders at 34 Raceway. This allowed the drivers to make it a "two for" day in some cases.
The 007 car driven by Adam Gates had this one from the get go. He pulled away to a sizeable lead and raced home to the checkers, taking the easy win. Brannon Bechen was second, followed by Kimberly Abbott, Austen Becerra and Chuck Fullencamp, third through fifth respectively.
The mods were up next for their 20-lapper and another $1,000 for the winner. Casey Greubel was the guy in charge in his Jacob Murray race machine, leading the pack in the earlier laps and looking strong. The drivers up front were having a better go of it than those further back, as the dust was now flying, making visibility poor. A yellow was not what Greubel wanted to see and after the restart, Jimmy Gustin wasted little time in taking over that top spot. Steve Stewart followed suit, tagging Gustin and taking second place. Brandon Rothzen, after suffering damage to his race car the day before, rallied back and came to third spot after starting in row four. Gustin was not about to relinquish that top spot on this day, and took the flying checkers, and pocketing the $1,000 winning money. Stewart kept second, third was Rothzen, Casey Greubel was fourth and "Gentleman Racer" Jeff Waterman rounded out the top five.
Promoter Mike VanGenderen was doing his best to keep the dust down by watering the topside...avoiding watering the shiny portion of the track, but on a windy day like Sunday, it was next to impossible to keep the high side dust from flying.
The Stock Cars took to the track next...14 cars strong. Abe Huls and John Oliver, Jr. were the lucky front row starters. Huls wasted no time in taking the lead, Oliver right behind. A caution flew early as well as a yellow late, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Huls never faltered maintaining his lead to the checkers and the win. Oliver kept his second place position, Jake Wenig came home in third, fourth went to Jason Cook, and Decorah driver Troy Hovey finished in fifth.
The popular SportMod division ran their 18-lap feature next. Brett Lowry, yesterday's winner, drew the lucky #1 pill as he had the previous day. Not even a couple of yellow flags would deter Lowry's drive to the win again today as he led the entire distance, making for a perfect weekend of racing.
Tony Dunker was second a distance behind the winner after faltering back after possibly clipping a track tire. Third went to Phillip Cossel, Brandon Dale was scored in fourth, and Curtis VanDerWal took fifth after recovering from some mechanical issues the previous day.
The Hobby Stock class once again ended the program with their 16-lapper. Mike Kincaid, yesterday's winner who calls Cincinnati, Iowa home, sat on the pole. He would leap to the lead at the drop of the green, with Dustin Griffiths in tow. Marengo driver Jacob Keiser threw his hat into the ring and took over second place by the halfway mark and was making up ground on the leader. A yellow at 10 laps down, drew Keiser close to the leader but Kincaid fought off the challenges and raced home to his second win in as many nights. Keiser took second over Jason See in third , Danny Thrasher was a new driver to the class on Sunday and went home with a fourth place finish, and Andrew Hustead took fifth.
The program was completed by 6:46 p.m. getting the drivers and fans on the road in good time on a Sunday evening. Thanks to Mike VanGenderen and crew for putting on this season starting show for Iowa.
Be sure and check the calendar at Positively Racing for the racing action coming up in the area. Many shows have been rescheduled due to the predicted cold and wet weather. The Frostbusters originally scheduled for this coming week, have all been pushed back a week with Oskaloosa on Thursday the 10th, Marshalltown on the 11th, Boone on the 12th and Vinton on the 13th. Be sure and keep checking for any more changes. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
