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!
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