Schmidt posts Stock Car win at Boone and John Logue back in form in the Modifieds

It was a windy, windy night at the Boone Speedway.  The wind from the east was brutal and when the sun went down, so did the temps.  That didn't stop the racing action from being hot and furious though.  There were no repeat winners in any of the five divisions.

Charlie Brown nabbed a win in the Mod Lite class.  Brown had trailed Andy Hennigar most of the race, but a slight bobble by Hennigar after taking the white flag, allowed Brown the opportunity to snatch away the win.  Following Hennigar's second place finish was Bryan Zehm in third, fourth went to last week's winner Dusty Masolini and Mike Morrill rounded out the top five.  Brown also won at Marshalltown on Friday night, again out distancing Hennigar.  

The Northern SportMod feature had more than it's share of caution flags, and I believe it was close to having a time limit imposed.  Randy Roberts got to the early lead and was pulling away when Johnathon Logue grenaded his car, strewing debris and oil all along the frontstretch.  Roberts was able to keep command at each of the many restarts and would finish a comfortable distance ahead of second place finisher, Doug Smith.  Tim Love took third place, Jerry Hinton came from tenth starting spot to finish fourth, and Lynn Brockett was fifth.

The IMCA Modifieds ran next for 20 laps.  After a not so great debut last week, John Logue looked like his former self and looked to be announcing, "I'm baaaack!".  Scott Davis and Logue started from the front row, and both were off like a shot, Logue getting the advantage.  Logue was putting some distance between himself and Davis until lap eleven when lap traffic allowed the gap to close.  A yellow at lap fourteen halted the action when Chris Webb crawled up onto Jon Snyder's rear.  This resulted in Bill Davis, Jr. dead in the water from making an evasive move; Snyder and Webb never stopping.  On the restart, Logue maintained his lead, Davis still tailing him all the way to the double checkers.  Russ Dickerson came from sixth to finish third, Snyder held on to fourth and Jimmy Gustin, who started eighth, ran out of time to garner more than a fifth place finish.  Logue has not raced for a number of years, but does not look to have lost his edge.  

The IMCA Stock Cars still remains one of our favorite classes----year in and year out, track after track.  They once again put on quite the show, and doing it without a caution the entire 18 laps. Mike Goldsberry took the lead at the drop of the green, and veteran racer Terry Pruitt who drove a modified for many years, tucked into second.  Bob Daniels soon scooted up to run third by lap two, but the guy really on the move was Jay Schmidt.  Schmidt, who started ninth, snatched the number two spot away from Pruitt the following lap.  Schmidt closed on leader Goldsberry and the two put on quite the show, running close, lap after lap.  Lap traffic was entering into the picture and this time it played into Schmidt's hand.  Schmidt made the pass for the lead going down the back chute and was leading at lap fifteen.  Goldsberry was now being dogged by Donavon Smith who briefly took over second, only to lose it again.  Schmidt took his first victory of the year at Boone, Goldsberry finishing second and Smith was third.  Wayne Gifford came from starting in row five to get a fourth place finish and Terry Pruitt held on to finish fifth.  If anyone left early, they missed a heck of a race.

The Hobby Stocks as usual, closed out the night's racing with their 12-lap main. This race had lots of action, cars going three, four and yes, FIVE wide at times.  Mike Leffler led the early laps, after passing pole sitter Dustin Lynch.  Austin Luellen, who has been strong in this early season, was up to challenge the leader quickly and took over the lead by lap four.  Meanwhile, the familiar #7B of Eric Stanton was on the move from starting back in ninth spot, taking over second at lap eight. Time ran out for Stanton though, as Luellen took the win by a comfortable margin. Mike Pruitt came from eleventh to finish third, Leffler held on to take a fourth place finish, and Cody Gustoff was scored in fifth.  

Last night was the end of the early start times for Boone Speedway.  Next week it will be back to hot laps at 6:45 and races at 7:30.

The forecast is not looking good for the remainder of the weekend and well into next week.  Be sure and check the calendar of events on the front page of Positively Racing and maybe a race can be found in the area that Mother Nature will avoid.  Thanks for reading, and Happy Racing! 

Jaennette grabs his first Marshalltown win, Lauritzen and Watson repeat

After a rainy two-days in the area, it was great to see the sun shining on Friday---race day at the Marshalltown Speedway!  A first time ever visitor to victory lane at the highbanks was great to see, and two drivers were back there, repeating wins from last week.

Only three of the little IMCA Sport Compacts made an appearance at the track last night.  David Moorman led all eight laps in taking his first win of the season at the track.  Moorman, no stranger to taking the checkers at Marshalltown having raced there since the days of the old front-wheel drive class, nearly lost it at the flag.  Moorman was tapped coming out of turn four, nearly lost control, but gathered it back in and took the win.  John Gill took second over Aaron Miller in third.

Charlie Brown won the 15-lap Mod Lite feature.  He too, led start to finish.  Jimmy May applied some pressure in the early laps but to no avail.  As the laps wound down, last week's winner Andy Hennigar positioned himself in the second place running, but would have to watch leader Brown from afar as he scored second.  Jimmy May took the third spot over son Josh May in fourth and Mike Morrill rounded out the top five.  The race went caution free.

The Hobby Stock's took to the track next.  What a fight up front this one turned out to be!  Jason See, the Albia, Iowa driver, led lap one but was soon joined in a battle with Jamie Songer.  With just a handful of laps scored, Eric Stanton, who started ninth, was dogging Songer. Not to be out done, John Watson had made his way to snap at Songer's heels from starting tenth.  Stanton made a surge and grabbed the lead at lap eight, only to experience problems and exit the track before lap ten was scored.  When a caution came out with ten in the books....setting up a green-white-checkered finish, it was Watson at the helm.  Watson was not about to give up command of the ship in the final circuits, and sailed home to his second win in as many weeks.  Songer had to settle for the runner up spot, Jason See barely beat Brice Udelhoven to the stripe, as they went third and fourth.  Eric Larson rounded out the top five. Watson scored back-to-back wins.

The IMCA Northern SportMod ran their usual 18-lap feature.  After experiencing some mechanical issues in her early season, tonight Jenae Gustin seemed to put that all behind her!  Gustin grabbed the lead at the drop of the green, but before lap three was scored, an incident low in turn four, halted the racing action.  Veteran racer Bill Hildreth did not fare well in this one, being sandwiched between cars trying to avoid a spinning car. As he drove off, the right side of his car was unrecognizable, and he had to exit with what was evidently much more damage.  When racing got back underway, Gustin remained at the point but was soon being challenged by Clint Luellen.  Luellen had worked his way to run second from starting twelfth, and was on the hunt.  Luellen was working the low side in his quest to reel in Gustin, while Gustin chose the high side in turns three and four.  It worked for Luellen as he snatched the lead at lap nine, only to be overtaken by Gustin at lap ten as she also dropped low.  Gustin kept the lead the remainder of the way to the checkers, scoring her first win at Marshalltown this year.  Gustin, who said in victory lane she was getting a little concerned with lap traffic entering into the picture in the waning moments of the race, was happy to have her early season bad luck behind her.  Luellen had to settle for the runner up spot.  Third went to Doug Smith who started fifteenth, Brandon Brinton was fourth, and Sam Wieben was fifth.

It was nice to see Michael Jaennette win the IMCA Stock Car feature....his first win, surprisingly, at the Marshalltown Speedway.  It's always a special moment for a driver who nabs that first victory at any track, and though Jaennette has run well at the track, that elusive first win there had always evaded him.  It wasn't an easy victory for him though.  Early leader Steve Meyer was looking strong, with Jay Schmidt, who started eighth, right on his rear bumper.  Meanwhile, Jaennette had worked into the third spot from starting seventh.  Schmidt took over as captain of the ship on lap seven and Jaennette followed him past Meyer, to nab second.  Jaennette made his move on the backstretch around Schmidt and led at lap eight.  The remaining laps to the the checkers was held by Jaennette's "Pink Panther" machine, as he scored his first win ever at Marshalltown.  Schmidt kept the runner up position, Meyer was third.  Donavon Smith and Trent Murphy closed in on the front runners from their fifth row starting spots, as they finished fourth and fifth.  The race went flag to flag.

The "Minion Machine" of Ronn Lauritzen was back in victory lane this week in the IMCA Modified division.  Lauritzen is off to a great start for his season, as he has run strong everywhere in this early race season.  Kyle Brown snatched the lead from early leader Andrew Kinser at lap three, only to lose it back at lap five.  That "Minion Machine" of Lauritzen was on the move early from his sixth row starting position, as he was up to challenge in the early laps as well.  Lauritzen chased Kinser for several laps, finally take the lead at lap ten, and from there on, never looked back. Jon Snyder worked his way to second with five laps remaining, but no threat to the leader. Lauritzen took back to back wins at the track, Snyder having to settle for the runner up spot.  Kinser had a good run in taking the third spot.  David Brown fought his way to a fourth place finish over Kyle Krampe in fifth, beating out early race leader Kyle Brown in sixth. 

The track got rough in the corners last night, some of the drivers telling us afterwards, it was teeth rattling.  No doubt, the rains from Wednesday through Thursday had something to do with that.  By the end of the night though, the dust was rolling, and we were thankful the breeze was no stronger than it was coming at the grandstands.  

Next week will once again be regular racing with hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7:30.  

Thanks for reading and Happy Racing!

Denny Pittman back in victory lane at Boone

It was a full night and more of racing at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night with 171 cars packing the pits.  Three make up features from last week's Frostbuster were run first thing and then a complete show for the season opener got under way.  The youngsters even got to partake in a quest for Easter eggs prior to the start of the evening's activities. It was a pleasant night for all of the festivities as well and that "R" word did not enter into the picture. 

The IMCA Hobby Stock Frostbuster make up feature went to Mike Pruitt.  Pruitt out ran second place finisher John Watson to the checkers. Pruitt, took command at lap three, never to look back. A caution late in the race was no deterrent for the winner. Third went to Austin Luellen, fourth was Eric Stanton and Bill Richards finished in fifth.

The IMCA Stock Car make up was a hot and heavy 20-lap battle.  Jerry Gifford led the opening laps, soon to be joined by Donavon Smith, Randy Brands and Wayne Gifford in a tight battle behind him for position. Brands would be eliminated from the tussle when he had to retire to the infield, but the jousting continued with Josh Daniels, Trent Murphy and Bob Daniels joining in.  Smith managed to pull off the pass for the lead with three laps remaining, put distance between himself and second, and secured the win.  Jerry Gifford took the runner up spot.  The third through sixth spots were a real toss up in the waning moments,with Josh Daniels in the 25J being scored in third, fourth going to Wayne Gifford in the 22, Bob Daniels in the 25D and 25 Trent Murphy in another #25 ride scored in sixth.  It was a scorer's nightmare with such a tight finish and all of the 25's!

The Modified make up feature was 25-laps with Todd Shute capturing the win and leading the entire distance.  Shute finished a comfortable distance ahead of Troy Cordes, in second.  Mark Elliott took third over Russ Dickerson in fourth, and Jimmy Gustin rounded out the top five spots.

The Mod Lite feature was the first of the regular night's main events.  Dusty Masolini got his season off to a good start by taking the first win of the season in the division.  Mike Morrill finished in second, ahead of Jimmy May in third.  It was nip and tuck at the line, but Randy Bryan beat out Bryan Zehm as they went fourth and fifth. As a note,it is going to take a bit to get use to Jimmy May and son Josh May's cars this year as I can't spot them as easily in their black rides.  

Up next was the 18-lap Northern SportMod A main.  Cody Hennings grabbed the lead from Brandon Williams at lap five but was soon being tailed by a flying Ben Kates.  Kates, who started eighth was able to make his move around Hennings at lap nine, never to relinquish it.  Kates took the win, his second in as many weeks, as he was the winner of last week's SportMod Frostbuster---the only feature that was able to be completed before the rains came.  Hennings hung around to finish in the runner up spot, giving the winner a good challenge at times. North Dakota driver Justin Medler finished third, Clint Luellen was fourth and Brandon Williams took fifth place.

Ronn Lauritzen and veteran Denny Pittman drew the front row for the start of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature.  Pittman grabbed the lead when the green dropped.  When a yellow flew at lap four, Jimmy Gustin was the guy on Pittman's tail having gotten around Lauritzen.  Pittman didn't let the restart situation bother him in the least, speeding off again to the lead.  Pittman drove a perfect line around the oval,  Gustin doing everything to get around him.  There was no waiver in Pittman tonight, as he continued without a flaw, taking the checkers for the win.....the first for him in a good while.  Gustin had to settle for second, and Ronn Lauritzen for third.  Jacob Murray took fourth and Eric Elliott came from eighth to finish in fifth.

The IMCA Stock Car feature saw Donavon Smith take the early lead, but Jerry Gifford took over the top spot with just a handful of laps in the books.  Gifford never gave up that lead the rest of the distance to the checkers, securing his first win of the season.  Trent Murphy closed the gap on the leader in the last couple of laps, but could only garner second place.  Donavon Smith hung toward the front the entire race and finished third.  Jay Schmidt had an impressive run, coming from eleventh to finish fourth, and Marcus Fagan took the fifth place.

The 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature was won easily by Shannon Anderson.  Anderson, who started on the pole, drove off from the rest of the field.  Mike Pruitt had a good run, coming from tenth to finish in the runner up spot.  Tyler Pickett took third, John Watson started twelfth to be scored in fourth, and Eric Stanton started ninth and finished fifth.

It was nice to see some of the long-distance travelers return to race again this week.  Regan Tafoya, the Farmington, New Mexico Modified racer, returned---and brought his wife and two girls back to Iowa.  North Dakota Modified racer Jason Wolla also returned as did the "Minot Mafia" SportMod brothers, Justin and Darren Medler.  

Boone Speedway will still be running with their early times next Saturday, April 26, for the final time this year.  The hot laps will be 5 and racing at 6 for one last time before returning to their regular race time of 7:30.

Thanks for reading and Happy Racing!

VanDeest wins season opener at Marshalltown, Lauritzen, Irvine, Watson, Hennigar and Whalen visit victory lane as well

Marshalltown Speedway had a filled pit area for their season opener last night.  Visiting drivers returned from last week's Frostbuster from New Mexico, North Dakota and Wisconsin, boosting the car count to 129.

There were seven of the IMCA Sport Compacts in competition.  An emotional Bill Whalen won the 10-lap feature.  Whalen dedicated the win to long-time veteran racer Merv Chandler, who passed away recently.  Whalen led all but the opening lap of the main event, pulling away from the field. Dave Moorman captured the runner up spot ahead of John Gill in third.  Aaron Miller and John Walker completed the top five.

We saw the Mod Lites for the first time this year. Andy Hennigar grabbed the lead by lap two after starting back in seventh spot, and never relinquished it.  Hennigar outpaced runner up Travis Stensland by a lengthy margin.  Travis Brandt had a successful run, finishing in third place from starting eleventh.  Josh May and Joe Glick were fourth and fifth.

John Watson is back in form, taking the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock 12-lap feature.  Watson, who tried a stint in the Stock Cars last year, told announcer Jerry VanSickle, he is glad to be back in a Hobby Stock.  Watson took the lead at lap six when then leader Jason See went into spin mode, and then sailed on to the checkers.  Eric Stanton was doing all he could to reel in Watson, but had to settle for second after starting back in the row six.  Benji Irvine was also a driver on the move as he came from tenth, to take a third place finish.  Eric Larson came from row six to snatch fourth place and Jake Nelson rounded out the top five.

The IMCA Northern SportMods ran a B feature to complete their starting grid in their 18-lapper.
Racer Hulin took the win in that consolation event.  The front row sitters for the A main were returning North Dakotan, Justin Medler (one of the drivers from Minot, dubbed the "Minot Mafia")
and Jared VanDeest.  VanDeest immediately flew to the lead and would lead the entire race, taking his first win at the Marshalltown Speedway.  Doug Smith motored from eleventh to take the runner up spot. He fended off the challenges of Clint Luellen, who captured third place.  Justin Medler finished fourth, just ahead of Travis Petersen in fifth.

Last week's Frostubster winner, Brian Irvine drew the lucky #1 starting spot for the 18-lap Stock Car main.  Devin Smith, one of the Lake City Smith brothers who jumped from Hobby Stock into the Stock Car league this year, sat alongside.  When the green dropped, Irvine got the advantage, flying to the lead.  Smith tailed the leader until lap twelve when Trent Murphy won the battle and took over second.  As the laps wore on, there was intense challenges being made for third through sixth as Donovan Smith battled brother Devin and Jay Schmidt was fending off Steve Meyer.  When a yellow flew in the waning moments of the race, a green-white-checkered finish came into play.  By this time, Donovan Smith was sitting in second behind Irvine, and he was no doubt just waiting for a slip by the leader on the restart.  That was not to be however, as Irvine sailed home to the checkers, taking his second win at the track in consecutive weeks.  Trent Murphy sneaked by Donovan Smith as they went second and third at the flag, fourth was Jay Schmidt still piloting his old car, and Devin Smith took fifth place. When Irvine was asked in victory lane if he was going to be back next week, he said he would be in the doghouse if he did as his wife is having their third child on Thursday.

Finale time was 20-laps for the IMCA Modifieds.  Frostbuster winner, Luke Wanninger drew the lucky pill to start on the point, Joel Bushore sitting along side. Wanninger took the lead with David Brown...in his "Blue Brown" machine....tucking in behind him in second.  Adam Larson made swift advancement from starting eighth, took over the runner up spot by lap four and was on the hunt to catch the leader.  Another driver making a spectacular drive through traffic, was the "Minon Machine" of Ronn Lauritzen.  Lauritzen had started ninth and was flying!  Lauritzen wasn't done yet, as he passed both Larson and Wanninger by lap six, snatching the lead.  Lauritzen settled into his usual lowside run of the track, staying there all the way to the checkers.  Adam Larson was flying on the topside and was slowly reeling in Lauritzen just after the mid-point of the race, but a drop of his tire off the track between turns three and four, sent him backwards.  Larson had to settle for second on this night.  Third place went to Jammin' Jimmy Gustin, a driver you should never count out.  He had been battling hard for position among the front runners all night.  Tyler Droste and Jon Snyder won out against competitors to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

It was a windy...from the south thankfully...and more than a little chilly night, but the racing was good and the track stayed in good shape all night.  It was nice to see some of the out of state drivers return from their Frostbuster run last week.  We met Jason Wolla, the Ray, North Dakota driver who is in the oilfield service business and pilots the 27W Modified, and Regan Tafoya made the long trip back from Farmington, New Mexico with his family, to compete in weekend racing in the area again.  The SportMod drivers from Minot, North Dakota, the #74 and #75 of Darren and Justin Medler also returned.  Zach McKinnon from Wisconsin was on hand in the SportMod division, as was Eric VanIten from Green Bay Wisconsin in the Modified class.  Always nice to see visiting drivers.

Next week will be KMJ Performance Night at the races.  All weekly divisions will once again be competing.  Hot laps at 6:45 and races at 7:30.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Racing!

Season opener wins to Shute, VanderBeek, Lowry and Hughes. Sprint Invader win to Carson McCarl after a disqualification

The Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa held their season opening points race on Wednesday night.  All of the regular IMCA classes except the Sport Compacts were competing, along with the Sprint Invaders.  The Sprint Invaders are a regional 360 winged sprint series, and for the first time ever, they tried their hand on the Monster Half-Mile. 

The IMCA Northern SportMods ran their 16-lap feature first and this one was nearly a done deal from the drop of the green.  Brett Lowry, the Montezuma driver who has been having a great start to his 2014 season, got the drop on Logan Anderson when the green fell.  From then on, Lowry motored off, stretching his lead on the field, never to be challenged.  Lowry took the checkers by a comfortable margin over runner up Anderson.  Third place went to Cory VanZante.  VanZante started eighth on the field, and impressively fought his way forward.  Fourth went to Carter VanDenBerg and Jason McDaniel completed he top five.  The feature went flag-to-flag.

Mike Hughes won the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature but had to duel through some tough competition in doing so.  Veteran Bill Bonnett was looking to see the checkers in the opening laps as he led the field.  Dustin Griffiths got up to challenge the leader, taking over the top spot at lap six.  Meanwhile, Mike Hughes was also making a bid for a top finish, as he threw his hat into the ring.  Those three drivers made it interesting as they jousted in the closing laps.  Hughes would be the winner in this contest, taking over the lead at lap ten, leaving Bonnett and Griffiths to battle behind him.  Bonnett held on to finish second over Griffiths in third.  Fourth was Agency, Iowa’s Danny Thrasher over Jamie Songer in the fifth position.

Promoter Mike VanGenderen had seen the bank of clouds forming to the west and though there was a difference in the radar images from site to site as to how close it was to the track, the call was made to bring the visiting Sprint Invaders to the track next for their feature. 

Youngster Carson McCarl, son of well-known racer Terry McCarl, had earned the pole position, alongside his partner on the front row, Jarrod Schneiderman.  McCarl held the upper hand through lap five, but Jonathan Cornell was soon up to contend that top spot.  The two drivers went back and forth for the lead, weaving in and out of traffic in the waning laps, Cornell finally establishing it for good, and took the checkers.  Following in second across the line was McCarl, third was Jon Agan, fourth went to Matt Moro, and Jarrod Schneiderman crossed the finish line in fifth.  A post-race inspection however, would change the outcome of this one, as Cornell would be dq’d with what we heard to be an issue with his wing.  This would move McCarl to the winner’s circle, and the other’s moved up a spot.  Mike Houseman would take the fifth finishing position.

The always entertaining IMCA Stock Cars came to the track next, preparing for their 18-lap feature race.  It was looking to be a good one with” Chelsea Charger”, Damon Murty and Cayden “Gasman” Carter sitting up front for the start.  A surprising slip up in turn three by Murty before lap two was scored, sent him backwards after his recovery , leaving Carter in control, with Nathan Wood in tow.  Carter, who is piloting a Roger Kelderman  car was soon to be joined by yet another orange Kelderman car driven by “Zman” Zack VanderBeek.  VanderBeek had started back in eighth spot, but was reeling in the leader as he dug on the bottom side of the track.  It was fun to see the talented “orange gang” dueling it out,  up front.  Digging on the bottom paid off for VanderBeek when he took the lead at lap sixteen, never to relinquish it again.  Carter had to settle for the runner up spot this week after his Frostbuster win last week.  As the two orange cars battled for the lead, who should be making his presence known again, but the 99D of Damon Murty!  Murty was flying through the pack trying to make up ground after his early miscue, and was back up to third by lap nine.  It was looking to be a 1-2-3 finish for the front runners as the laps wound down, but yet another slip by the Chelsea Charger would change that outcome, and soon after, his  retirement to the pits.  VanderBeek got the win on this night, Carter scored a second, and the familiar local favorite of Brad Pinkerton was credited with a third place finish.  Nathan Wood took fourth over Donovan Nunnikhoven in the fifth spot. 

The night’s finale was the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature.  Cayden Carter,  got the pole position alongside Packwood’s Scott Dickey.  Carter took the lead, but “Toddzilla” Todd Shute wasted no time in getting to that runner up spot, nabbing it by lap three from starting seventh on the field.  Shute wasn't done yet, as he snatched the lead from Carter at lap seven…..and never looked back.  Shute stretched his lead to more than a straightaway, taking the impressive win in easy fashion.  Carter had to settle for another runner up finish as he had finished in the position in the Stock Car class too.  There was some good racing for the third spot, as Jesse Sobbing, the Glenwood, Iowa driver who made the long haul over from western Iowa, just beat out  Luke Wanninger who was scored fourth.  Scott Dickey hung toward the front to finish fifth.

Though we did not know it, we heard a few raindrops did fall, but thankfully Mother Nature was out foxed on this night.  She did continue with a relentless blustery south wind for most of the evening though.   Thanks to friends Warren and Carol Busse and Bob Litton for their more than welcome tarp wind barriers!  We also enjoyed our evening of racing with fellow Positively Racing cohorts Ryan Clark and Morgan Broeg.  We had a fun time as we waged a “pick the winner” contest for all of the features.  Surprisingly, we had the top four runners at one time or another in ALL of the main events.  Head PRer, Jeff Broeg was on duty to co-announce the Sprint Invaders, sharing duties with Bill Wright.  Look for more thoughts of the evening's racing from their blogs. 

Next week's show will feature a SportMod special with a draw/redraw format.  The IMCA Sport Compacts will be back at the track for the first time in 2014, along with the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and the IMCA Hobby Stocks.  Hot laps at 7 with racing at 7:30.

Thanks for reading and Happy Racing!

Southern Iowa Speedway 4/16/14

Unofficial results:

Modified:

1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 99 Jesse Sobbing
4. 20 Luke Wanninger
5. 40 Scott Dickey
6. 8J AJ Johnson
7. 64 Casey Greubel
8. 22 Brandon Banks
9. 110 Jared Fuller, Memphis, MO
10. 02 Andrew Schroeder
11. 12H Dakota Hayden
12. 27W Jason Wolla, Ray, ND

Stock Car

1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 10CC Cayden Carter
3. 62 Brad Pinkerton
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 77T Trent Jeanes
7. 27J Jason Cook
8. 22R Todd Reitzler
9. 19 Donnie Pearson
10. 18 Kris Walker
11. 73C Carl Yaw
12. 99D Damon Murty
13. 7S Jason Minnehan
DNS: 94 Corey Stout

SportMod

1. 72 Brett Lowry
2. 9A Logan Anderson
3. 34Z Cory VanZante
4. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
5. 85 Jason McDaniel
6. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 10R Ryan Fullenkamp
9. 01 Brayton Carter
10. 19J Jenae Gustin
11. 29 Colton Livezey

Hobby Stock

1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 19 Bill Bonnett
3. 10G Dustin Griffiths
4. 84 Danny Thrasher
5. 96R Jamie Songer
6. 7A Aaron Osweiler
7. 21 Nick Ulin
8. 33 Justin Hook
9. 6S Shannon Sherwood
10. 32T Bobby Greene
11. 3 Travis Bunnell
12.224 Gina Greubel
13. 9 Jared Stephens
14. 55 Brad Stephens

Sprint Invaders

1. 27 Carson McCarl
2. 4 Jon Agan
3. 2M Matt Moro
4. 11S Jarrod Schneiderman
5. 68 Mike Houseman, Jr.
6. 18 Ian Madsen
7. 7TAZ Tasker Phillips
8. 22T Tony Shiling
9. 49 Josh Schneiderman
10. 22 Bret Triplett
11. 15 Bobby Mincer
12. 6 Mitchell Alexander
13. 10T Tim Moore
14. 12G Kelly Graham
15. 29 Russ Hall
16. 99 Jimmy Davies
17. 83 Dave Getchell
18. 10 Wayne Johnson
DNS: 80X C J Houseman
DQ'D 27 Jonathan Cornell

Note:  The #28 of Jonathan Cornell crossed the line in first, but was later disqualified for a "wing infraction".

Blog to follow

Marshalltown Frostbuster to Wanninger, Boone cut short

There was a great crowd on hand for Marshalltown Speedway's Frostbuster show on Friday evening.  The weather was warm and cooperating for a change and the drivers and fans came out in full force.  We counted right at 139 cars competing.  Then on Saturday, it was off to the Boone Speedway for their Frostbuster with even warmer temps, but with that, also comes the chance of looming storms.  The car count was right at 140 there and fans and drivers alike were hungry for racing.  Four classes only would run each night, the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, and the IMCA Hobby Stocks.  No track points were awarded as each track's season opener will be next week, but all were running for National, Regional and State points.

Friday's feature racing at Marshalltown had the SportMod A up first.  Cory Rose and Jenae Gustin sat on the front row.  Two yellows flew before lap two was in, Gustin holding the upper hand, but a very noticeable popping sound coming from her machine.  That proved to be her undoing as she had to exit the track with mechanical issues by lap two.  Rose took over the helm chased by Ty Luellen.  Several yellows flew during the race, but Rose never wavered, leading the 20-lap feature all the way to the checkered flag.  Clint Luellen finished a close second, coming from starting in row six.  Minot, North Dakota driver, Justin Medler, (just one of several racers who made the trip down....calling themselves "The Minot Mafia") came from starting in row seven, to take an impressive third place.  Ty Luellen, finished fourth and Danny Dvorak, who challenged the winner during the race, fell back to finish fifth.

It was refreshing to have the IMCA Hobby Stocks run their 15-lap A Main, caution free!  The two front row starters, Austin Luellen and Mike Pruitt, ran the entire race in that order.  Following winner Luellen and Pruitt in the runner up spot, was the familiar #78 of Shannon Anderson.  Anderson started in the sixth spot to capture a third place finish.  Fourth was Benji Irvine from starting eighth and Eric Stanton came from tenth starting spot, to complete the top five.

The 20-lap Stock Car feature was a "no-go" twice before a lap was scored.  Jay Schmidt, piloting his old car, took the immediate lead.  It didn't take long until Oelwein's Brian Irvine (who has had much luck on the highbank's at Marshalltown) was putting the pressure to Schmidt.  Schmidt kept the upper hand on each circuit, but Irvine just waiting for Schmidt to miss his perfect line.  That would be the case on the final lap, as Irvine saw his chance and took it, passing for the lead and taking the checkers first.  Schmidt had to settle for second, but was the first to congratulate the winner in victory lane.  Third place finisher, Donavon Smith out dueled Michael Jaennette, Damon Murty and Trent Murphy who finished fourth through sixth in a great battle.

The 30-lap A feature for the Modifieds ended the evening's competition and by this time a slight breeze from the south had begun.  This proved to be a welcome blessing for the grandstand fans as the "ground-pounder's" as announcer Jerry VanSickles calls them, kicked up a cloud of dust.

Troy Cordes leaped to the early lead, and had immediate company in Todd Shute on his tail.  Ronn Lauritzen, piloting his "Minon's themed ride (ask the kids....they will know) was quickly up to third from starting in four, but Gilman's Richie Gustin erased that when he grabbed it away.  As the race wore on, we noted the one car that was consistently running the low line, the #20 of Luke Wanninger.  While most cars were choosing the topside in turns three and four and then dropping to the bottom in one and two, Wanninger methodically was working his way forward.  A yellow flew at lap 23, just as Wanninger had passed Richie Gustin for third, but resulting in his having to return to fourth on the restarting grid.  By lap 24, Wanninger took command of third, and soon after nabbed second away from Todd Shute, who had been pestering the leader the entire race.  The final few laps were tight and had the fans on their feet.  Wanninger was able to make the pass on leader Cordes with three laps remaining, Shute fought back to take over the runner up spot with two laps left, making for some exciting racing from the fans view!  Wanninger outlasted the onslaught, taking the win, Shute holding on to second.  Cordes took the third place finish, Richie Gustin held on to take fourth and Adam Larson, piloting a BMS chassis this season, finished fifth.

Next Friday night, April 18, will be the season opener for regular track points at the Marshalltown Speedway. Hot laps 7, racing at 7:30.

We headed to Boone on Saturday for the early start for their annual Frostbuster program.  This would be the third of four in the Frostbuster series and we were anxious for the sights and sounds of another racing program.  Right at 140 cars checked in for the action, providing a great selection of drivers that came from across the state as well as Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and our neighbor's to the north, Canada.

Racing action began right at 5 p.m. with the heat races, but before the first of two consolation races for the Modified's could get completed, down came the rain!  The warm temperatures that we feared would spring up rain cells, had materialized!  With three laps down, the cars were sent to the pits, in hopes of just a rain delay.  The rain did pass, and the familiar farming crew appeared and did their remarkable job of reworking the track and repacking.  Right at an hour later, the first Modified B was back on the track---with a completely different racing surface than they had started on earlier.  The race was completed as well as the second and final B main, but the skies were growing darker.

The IMCA Northern SportMods quickly came to the track for their 20-lap A feature.  Ben Kates, the Tonganoxie, Kansas driver who spends much of the racing season in Iowa, jumped to the lead immediately after passing polesitter Tim Love.  By lap thirteen, when the third caution came out, Kates was still firmly in control. Now the field would be bunched up for the restart, and sitting in second was a familiar #12 piloted by Doug Smith.  Sprinkles were falling now, and everyone was crossing their fingers that that would be all it amounted too, but a radar check did not look promising.  Kates didn't waiver on his lead on the restart and kept Smith at bay, taking the win. Following runner up Smith, was the 11X of Wisconsin's Jon Schultz in third, fourth went to Clint Luellen and fifth was Tim Love.

The Modified A was slotted in next, with the raindrops still falling as they came on the track.  They were left on the surface, everyone hoping that it might just prevent the track from being lost again, but after several laps, Mother Nature.....Grrrr!....played her hand.  The rest of the program was cancelled.  However.....there is still life in the Boone Frostbuster show!  It was announced that next week's opening night for the regular season will BEGIN with the remaining features, the Modifieds, Stock Cars, and Hobby Stocks.  Then they will go right into the regularly scheduled season opening program.  As of now, the show will begin at 6 p.m.,as will the racing for the entire month of April.

Many of the travelers may not return for their features next week....work and distance a big factor. One of those may be the driver of the 24R, Farmington, New Mexico's Regan Tafoya.  Regan made the trip back with an empty trailer, picked up his new ride, the Victory chassis formerly piloted by Adam Larson. The bad news is, Tafoya drew the pole for the feature event!

Thanks for reading, and happy racing!  

Osky Frostbuster wins go to Sobbing, Carter, VanDenBerg and Anderson

Racing returned to the Southern Iowa Speedway on a rare Thursday night with the running of the Frostbuster.  This was the first of four in the Frostbuster Series for 2014 with a stop in Marshalltown on Friday, Boone on Saturday and concluding at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday.  The four classes of IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods and IMCA Hobby Stocks are running for National, Regional and State points, but track points will not begin until the season openers next week.

The IMCA Hobby Stocks kicked off the feature racing.  Shannon Anderson drew the lucky pole starting spot and this one was a near no-challenge for him.  Anderson led the entire 16-laps, making it look easy in taking the win.  Eric Stanton applied a bit of pressure with a few laps remaining, but had to settle for the runner up spot.  Dustin Griffiths took third over Danny Thrasher and John Watson who were fourth and fifth respectively.

The IMCA Northern SportMods came next with an 18-lap affair. An incident in turn four took out several cars before the first lap was completed. It eliminated Jason Hall, Tony Olsen, driver from Omaha, Ryan Fullenkamp, and Gatlin Leytham. After the track was cleared, the young lady racer Jenae Gustin was showing the boys how it's done in the early laps, looking strong as she led the field.  A yellow at lap five was not what Gustin wanted to see, as the field was now bunched behind her, erasing her comfortable lead.  A couple of laps after the restart, it was Carter VanDenBerg pestering Gustin, but she maintained her lead.  Another caution at lap 10 was just what VanDenBerg was wanting as he was able to make the pass for the lead, and sailed off.  Jason McDaniel was also making up ground from his fourth row starting spot, getting to second.  VanDenBerg extended his lead the remaining way to the checkers, scoring the win.  McDaniel kept second, and Jenae Gustin finished third.  Fourth went to Minot, North Dakota driver, Justin Medler, and Clint Luellen out of Minburn, Iowa, rounded out the top five.

The IMCA Stock Cars ran a 20-lap feature, with Cayden Carter jumping to the lead from his outside front row starting spot.  Brad Pinkerton put his ride in second spot by lap seven, after starting back in ninth spot, but he had "Chelsea Charger" Damon Murty chasing him in third.  Murty continued to bother Pinkerton relentlessly for several laps before taking over second with a handful of laps remaining.  There was no catching Carter on this night however, as he took the win by a lengthy margin.  Murty, who started tenth, finished as the runner up, Pinkerton was third.  Todd Reitzler, the racer from Grinnell, was fourth and Donovan Nunnikhoven was fifth.

The evening ended with the 22-lap Modified A main, paying a $1,000 to the winner and a qualifier for the All-Star Fast Shafts Invitational ballot.   Drawing the front row was Richie Gustin and Luke Wanninger.  However, when Wanninger pulled onto the track, there was a very noticeable popping sound resounding from his machine, and he pulled off of the track. This moved Cayden Carter to the outside front row.

When the race began, Carter got the jump on Gustin, scooting to the lead.  Jesse Sobbing challenged immediately from starting third, and was able to overtake Carter and fly to the lead by lap nine.  From there on out, Sobbing pulled away, stretching the lead and took the win.  Carter kept hold of second place, and Richie Gustin, Jimmy Gustin and Jacob Murray finished third through fifth, all a comfortable distance apart.  

It was finally a pleasant night to be sitting at the race track; Mother Nature cooperating for a change!  The track stayed in excellent shape, and the competition and diversified field of drivers was great.  Drivers from Missouri, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, as well as Canada, made the trip to get their fix of racing.

The opening night of season points racing begins next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway.  Mark Wednesday, April 16 on your calendars.  Hot laps 7, racing at 7:30.  Thanks for reading, and happy racing!

Southern Iowa Speedway Frostbuster 4-10-14

Unofficial results:

Modified

1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 19G Richie Gustin
4. 19 Jimmy Gustin
5. 48J Jacob Murray
6. 17s Steve Stewart
7. 2L Adam Larson
8. 02 Andrew Schroeder
9. 5 Todd Shute
10. 66 Jared Siefert - Wisconsin
11. 12 Mark Elliott
12. 3F Cole Ferguson
13. 23JR Nick Roberts
14. 64 Casey Greubel
15. 757 Tony Wedelstadt - Wisconsin
16.  12H Dakota Hayden
17. 77 Jim Lynch
18. 27W Jason Wolla - North Dakota
DNF:
72 Kyle Brown
08 Johnny Whitman - Wisconsin
20L Zach Less
505 Racer Hulin
DNS: 20 Luke Wanninger
         40 Scott Dickey
DNQ: 22 Brandon Banks
          87 Joel Bushore
          1X Steve Streeter
          3Z Randy Havlik

Stock Car

1. 10CC Cayden Carter
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 62 Brad Pinkerton
4. 22R Todd Reitzler
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 25 Cody Agee
7. 14 Derrick Agee
8. 19J Jay Schmidt
9. 52 Nathan Wood
10. 87 Les Blakley
11. 18 Kris Walker
12. 77T Trent Jeanes
13. 17 Brock Welch
DNF: 94 Corey Stout
         266 Sterling LaBatte - Sask, Canada
         57 Brendon LaBatte - plays professional Canadian Football, Sask., Canada

SportMod

1. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 19J Jenae Gustin
4. 75 Justin Medler - Minot, ND
5. 3L Clint Luellen
6. 72 Brett Lowry
7. 198 Sam Wieben
8. 8T Tony Johnson
9. 32L Ty Luellen
10. 9A Logan Anderson
11. 13T Taylor  Musselman
DNF: 29 Colton Livezey
        1V Curtis VanDerWal
        19G Gatlin Laythem
        CH19 Colby Heishman
        28 Dustin Morgan - ND
        74 Darren Medler - ND
        67X Brandon Williams
        10R Ryan Fullenkamp
        777 Cody Olsen - Omaha, NE
        01 Brayton Carter
        95J Jason Hall
        30 Todd or Shawn Cooney

Hobby Stock

1. 78 Shannon Anderson
2. 7B Eric Stanton
3. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 84 Danny Thrasher
6. 4W John Watson
7. 69 Craig Brown
8. 11 Mike Hughes
9. 19 Bill Bonnett
10. 96R Jamie Songer
11.33 Justin Hook
12. 48 Brock Beeter - Minot, ND
13. 7A Aaron Osweiler
14. 32T Bobby Greene
15. 79S Jason See
16. 45 Andrew Sebastian - Minot, ND
17. 3 Travis Bunnell
18. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF:
88 Mike Leffler
66 Brandon Cox
52 Kevin Fee
78B Andrew Burg
9H Kenny Hay

Blog to follow tomorrow