What an incredible Friday night of racing at the Marshalltown Speedway. You couldn't have asked for more exciting finishes in the Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock features. The only repeat winners were in the Mod Lites and the Sport Compact classes. The show was run through quickly as a threat of rain was appearing on radar, but nothing fell at the track.
The Sport Compact feature was dominated by winner David Moorman. Moorman easily took the win for the second week in a row. John Gill finished second, Aaron Miller was third, and Doug Byers was fourth. This was Moorman's third win of the year.
Things were hurrying along by the time the Mod Lite's came to the track for their 15-lap feature. There was a pesky little cell heading toward the track, and the usual victory lane photos were eliminated, and done after the racing was completed for the night.
Travis Brandt was leading the Mod Lite feature when a yellow flew at lap four. On the restart, a skirmish occurred in corner two. That incident sent James May and Mike Kennedy to the pits with damage. Brandt continued his run at the front when things got back underway. Charlie Brown took charge by the halfway mark and set sail, looking for the checkers. Brown took the win, his third of the season, well ahead of second place finisher, Andy Hennigar. Mike Morrill trailed a distance in third, Brandt took fourth and Randy Bryan was fifth.
The Hobby Stocks started the thrilling finishes I mentioned earlier. They ran their usual 12-laps. Things did not start off well, however. A yellow flew just after the first lap was scored, when three cars got hooked together as they came out of turn two....and a fourth car hit the clump as well. This ended the night for Austin Luellen, Brice Udelhoven, Steve Fricke, and Andy Peck. When things picked back up, Andy Hick from Adel was continuing to hold off the pack, but soon had some heavy competition. Eric Stanton and John Watson had moved to second and third from starting well back in the field. The three cars ran nose-to-tail for several laps, then went three-wide down the back chute. With a lap to go, Stanton had taken the lead, but it wasn't over yet! The three cars came across the finish line in close order, but Stanton did prevail, and took the victory. John Watson and Andy Hick finished an ever so close second and third. Gary Pfantz and last week's winner Dustin Elliott completed the top five. Stanton won for the first time at Marshalltown in 2014.
If you thought the finish for the Hobby Stocks was thrilling, well....the SportMods topped them! Chad Ryerson held down the point through lap three, when a caution flew. Jenae Gustin had immediately nabbed second when the race started, and was now sniffing at the leader's heels for the restart, Ryan King riding in third. On the restart, King flew into the lead, Gustin in tow. As the cars crossed the start/finish line as lap six was scored, Gustin nosed to the lead, and by this time, Clint Luellen had flown through the pack from starting eleventh and was fighting King for second. Another pesky yellow flag flew at lap ten, slowing the field. As lap eleven was scored, Gustin held down the point, but Luellen had taken the runner up spot, and now Carter VanDenBerg was in the ballgame, riding in third. From there on to the checkers, it was an incredible race! Luellen and VanDenBerg passed Gustin but it was such an intense, close battle with the three, it was anyone's guess as to the outcome. Luellen held the lead as the white flew, but Gustin was not done! She got the momentum and took the lead after the white flag, and as the three cars came out of turn four, it was Gustin to the checkers first. Carter VanDenBerg just nipped Luellen as they crossed the line, as they were scored second and third. Sam Wieben had been trying to get in the mix with the top runners for much of the race, but had to settle for a fourth place finish. Jared VanDeest rounded out the top five. This was Gustin's second win at Marshalltown this season.
If that race wasn't enough to get your blood pumping, enter the IMCA Stock Cars for their 18-lapper.This one had everyone saying, "Wow!" when it was all said and done too! Eighth starting Jay Schmidt and tenth place starter Donavon Smith were battling it out already by lap three---Schmidt holding the lead. Schmidt planted "Black Betty" on the top shelf, while Smith hugged the bottom. When a car spun in turn two, it was almost disaster for Schmidt. As the yellow came out on that lap eight, Schmidt was just barely able to miss contact with the stopped car, avoiding it without stopping. When things restarted, Schmidt held down the point, Smith in second, but now Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette were third and fourth, so things were about to get even more interesting! Meyer opted for the topside of the track along with Schmidt, while Smith and Jaennette dug on the bottom. Meyer propelled himself into second, when the action was again halted on lap thirteen for Russell Damme, sitting low in turn two. The restart had Jay Schmidt, still the sitting duck at the front, Meyer in second, Smith third and Jaennette in fourth. The final laps were, yes....awesome!! Smith nosed underneath Schmidt just after lap fifteen was scored, and led at lap sixteen.
A slight twitch by Smith at one point, gave the advantage to Schmidt, and the final lap found Schmidt having a similar "blip" as the cars made the final run to the checkers. Schmidt nipped out Smith for the win, Smith, who had won the previous three races, had to be content for second. Meyer and Jaennette were third and fourth, and veteran Jeff Wollam, (still with a rather plain wrapper car) took fifth. Dave Atcher made his return to racing at the track this year....sporting a spiffy looking new car, and finished sixth after starting thirteenth. This was Schmidt's first win at the High Banks this year.
Still with a bit of black looming not far from the track.....and coming from the southeast, the Modified 20-lap feature quickly took the track. Jake Strayer, rookie to the Modified ranks this year and who had just gotten his first win in the class at East Moline on Sunday, was looking strong up front. Strayer led through lap five when Adam Larson took over after coming from the eight starting spot. The two circled the top of the track for several laps, running first and second. Luke Wanninger attached himself to the front runners, and made a move into second at lap nine, Strayer shortly out of the game when he exited the track with motor issues. In the closing laps, Larson hung tough in the lead, Wanninger waiting for any opening. That opening nearly came on the final lap when Larson slipped the cushion a bit in turn four, loosing a bit of advantage, but able to hold on for the win as the two flew to the checkered flag. Wanninger, last week's winner, took the runner up spot, Joel Rust had a great run after starting ninth, and finished third. Brandon Leeman held tough toward the front all night and took fourth place and Jon Snyder was fifth. This was Larson's first win at Marshalltown in 2014.
The races were completed by 9:45, a bit hurried due to the rain threat.....which never happened. Promoter Toby Kruse had an interesting time on Thursday. He took to the mic during a delay, explaining that he had a surprising encounter with a raccoon. Long story short, after he got into the water truck, he was attacked by a momma raccoon who took none too kindly to having him near her newborn babies inside the truck! That resulted in a 5 hour trip to the ER, stitches and a series of shots to still look forward too. Oh the perils of a racetrack promoter!
Regular racing continues next Friday night at Marshalltown, but before then, you might want to mark another racing event on your calendar. The United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) will be at the Marshalltown Speedway on Tuesday night, June 3, racing for $2,000 to win. The powerful cars and talented stars of the series should put on a great show on the High Banks. Also running will be the USRA sanctioned Stock Cars with $750 to win and USRA B-mods and $600 to win. Grandstand admission is $17, kids 6-12, $5. Pit passes are $35 and if you have an pit armband from the last race at Marshalltown, you will get $5 off at the pit gate. Hot laps are 7 p.m. with racing to follow. Check www.marshalltownspeedway for the flyer information on this race.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Van Der Wal runs away with SportMod victory
The Southern Iowa Speedway was the scene of another Wednesday night of racing, as it has been for decades. The SportMods were running for a $750 pay off with a draw/redraw format, plus it was also fan appreciation night with $5 admission. In the modified ranks, there had been only two different drivers visit victory lane in 2014, and that continued on Wednesday night. The Stock Cars got after it as they usually do, with a three-way battle most of the race, the Hobby Stock feature was determined in the closing moments and it was a Whalen back in the winner's circle in the Sport Compacts. There was also some heavy competition during intermission, when a few drivers climbed into a Sideway's Karting Center ride on the front stretch. But wait! What was that falling from the sky during intermission....and where had it come from? The night had been beautiful. Yup....Mother Nature just can't leave things alone...but the racing program was not a wash.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was in staging, ready to go, when the raindrops got heavier. We had seen the clouds to the east, and everyone just reasoned that they would continue in that direction, per the norm. In fact, only after scanning in on the radar, did the tiny spot become visible. Yup....right over Osky...maybe just over the track, and it had moved from the east, toward the west! Unbelievable! The night wasn't done though, as that pesky cell moved on and the track was packed in after about a thirty-five minute delay.
The Hobby Stocks returned to staging, and readied for their 15-lap feature. Veteran racer, Brad Stephens, who we remember from his good run in the Stock Car class a ways back, has been back behind the wheel of a Hobby Stock this year, and has not lost his touch. Stephens held down the top spot for the first handful of laps, but Mike Hughes was coming fast. Hughes, who had started back in ninth, caught and passed Stephens for the lead, and then pulled away. There was a good battle brewing in a cluster of cars a distance behind him. Stephens was hanging tough in second, trying to fend off Craig Brown, Jamie Songer, Danny Thrasher, Justin Hook and Dustin Griffiths! Brown had just made the pass into second around Stephens, when at lap thirteen, the yellow flew for Jamie Songer who was off power. This set up one of those green-white-checkered finishes. As the race restarted, Craig Brown challenged Hughes, but Hughes hung tough, leading at lap fourteen. Hughes appeared to have it in the bag. That all changed when Hughes went high in corner four as the checkers were being unfurled.....victim of a flat tire, and Brown flew below him and to the victory. Stephens finished as the runner up, Nick Ulin came from eighth to take third, Kevin Fee took fourth from his eleventh starting spot, and Jared Stephens (son of Brad) finished in fifth.
The Modifieds went 15-laps next. Scott Dickey held down the point spot through lap three, but the familiar #99 of Jesse Sobbing, the driver out of Glennwood, Iowa who makes the 3 1/2 hour haul nearly every week, had the lead by lap four. Another driver from the western part of the state, had joined Sobbing in the long haul over to the Monster Half-Mile, Travis Hatcher from Honey Creek, Iowa. He was piloting Sobbing's second car, (but scored as the 13H, his usual number) and had moved to third spot when a yellow came out at lap nine, for a spinning Andrew Schroeder---who had to tag the field. When the race restarted, it didn't take long for Hatcher to get to second around Dickey, and the race was now being led by two identical looking cars. The final laps, Sobbing held the lead, winning the race by a comfortable margin over his back up car piloted by Hatcher. Andrew Schroeder did an amazing job coming back through the field after tagging, and took third, challenging Hatcher at the line. Scott Dickey was fourth and Casey Greubel rounded out the top five. Sobbing took his second win of the regular season...back to back, and had also won the Frostbuster. This kept the record going between the only feature winners at Osky this year, as Todd Shute has been the only other winning Modified driver. Shute, who was expected to get his car back together after suffering damage over the weekend, evidently did not have things work out, as he was a no show.
The Sport Compacts had only four competitors on the evening. Matt Moore hung tough as the leader through lap four, when Bill Whalen, Jr. but his black #00W to the front. The remaining six laps to the finish found Whalen pull away from the three cars, as he took his third win at Osky this year. Trent Orwig finished second over Matt Moore in third and last week's winner, John Whalen, in fourth.
The feature for the IMCA Stock Cars had just completed two laps, when uncharacteristically, the 52 car of Nathan Wood had to go to the trailer. Wood found himself taking a hard hitting ride into the wall at the top of turns three and four....the result of a blown tire. Reports are that the front end of his car suffered a lot of damage, and the hard hit left him pretty sore, but okay. As the race restarted, local racer Donnie Pearson continued to hold down the lead, but he had some tough runners sitting close behind....Corey Stout, Donovan Nunnikhoven, and the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty. Murty was soon to take over the lead and was in command and well out in front, when a caution flew for Pearson at lap eleven. This bunched up the field for the restart, and there were heavy hitters waiting in the wings behind Murty. The orange Kelderman team cars, the 10cc of Cayden Carter and the 33Z of Zack VanderBeek were on the move at the drop of the green. Carter was the first to pressure Murty in a side-by-side battle, snatching up the lead by lap thirteen of the 18-lapper. VanderBeek took over second with a lap to go, as "Team Orange" went one-two for the night.....Carter winning, VanderBeek in second. Murty finished in third, Stout was fourth and Nunnikhoven was fifth. This was recent high school graduate Carter's first win in the fendered cars since winning the Frostbuster.
The headlining SportMods capped off the night's racing with their $750 to win 30-lap main. The unique format also had the cars halting at lap fifteen, taking a 10 minute pit stop on the frontstretch where anything could be done to the car except touching the front tires. It was a draw/redraw night as well, and the lucky recipient of the #1 pill was Carter VanDenBerg on the pole and Brett Lowry sitting alongside.
As the green flag dropped, VanDenBerg drove to the lead, but immediately had company in the 1V of Curtis Van Der Wal, who had started in row three. Van Der Wal was FAST...taking the point spot at lap four, and after a bit of battling with VanDenBerg, drove off. The eyes of the crowd were on a "family feud" going on for second, between VanDenBerg and his young cousin Brayton Carter as the race approached the halfway mark. The two raced side-by-side with Carter taking over the runner up spot by the time the race was halted at lap fifteen for the mandatory pit stop.
When racing got back underway after the drivers had made some wanted changes to their machines, Van Der Wal once again drove off from the field. VanDenBerg snatched second back from his younger cousin, Carter as they ran second and third when a yellow flew for debris with ten laps remaining. The final few laps, saw a close contest brewing between Carter, Brett Lowry, and Jason McDaniel for third place---Lowry finally winning that and taking third. Van Der Wal took the easy win, but it was a real close finish for second, as Lowry closed in on VanDenBerg at the line. From where we were sitting, it appeared Lowry got second, but the official scoring was VanDenBerg nipped him at the finish line and took second, Lowry in third. Brayton Carter was fourth and Jason McDaniel finished fifth.
Longtime fixture and race fan at the Southern Iowa Speedway, Jeff Groenenboom, sadly passed away from the medical incident he suffered last week at the race track. Prior to the evening's racing, the medical and safety personnel, track workers, and drivers all came to the front stretch for a moment of silence, honoring Jeff. Also, it was a wonderful gesture by winner of the Modified feature, Jesse Sobbing, who came to the grandstand after his win, and personally presented Jeff's family with his winning trophy.
Next up at the Southern Iowa Speedway will be next Wednesday night, June 4th, when the Hobby Stocks will be featured with a draw/redraw special. Make the trip to Osky for some great mid-week racing. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Check www.oskyspeedway.com for more details on upcoming events....one you won't want to miss on THURSDAY, June 12, when the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models come to town.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was in staging, ready to go, when the raindrops got heavier. We had seen the clouds to the east, and everyone just reasoned that they would continue in that direction, per the norm. In fact, only after scanning in on the radar, did the tiny spot become visible. Yup....right over Osky...maybe just over the track, and it had moved from the east, toward the west! Unbelievable! The night wasn't done though, as that pesky cell moved on and the track was packed in after about a thirty-five minute delay.
The Hobby Stocks returned to staging, and readied for their 15-lap feature. Veteran racer, Brad Stephens, who we remember from his good run in the Stock Car class a ways back, has been back behind the wheel of a Hobby Stock this year, and has not lost his touch. Stephens held down the top spot for the first handful of laps, but Mike Hughes was coming fast. Hughes, who had started back in ninth, caught and passed Stephens for the lead, and then pulled away. There was a good battle brewing in a cluster of cars a distance behind him. Stephens was hanging tough in second, trying to fend off Craig Brown, Jamie Songer, Danny Thrasher, Justin Hook and Dustin Griffiths! Brown had just made the pass into second around Stephens, when at lap thirteen, the yellow flew for Jamie Songer who was off power. This set up one of those green-white-checkered finishes. As the race restarted, Craig Brown challenged Hughes, but Hughes hung tough, leading at lap fourteen. Hughes appeared to have it in the bag. That all changed when Hughes went high in corner four as the checkers were being unfurled.....victim of a flat tire, and Brown flew below him and to the victory. Stephens finished as the runner up, Nick Ulin came from eighth to take third, Kevin Fee took fourth from his eleventh starting spot, and Jared Stephens (son of Brad) finished in fifth.
The Modifieds went 15-laps next. Scott Dickey held down the point spot through lap three, but the familiar #99 of Jesse Sobbing, the driver out of Glennwood, Iowa who makes the 3 1/2 hour haul nearly every week, had the lead by lap four. Another driver from the western part of the state, had joined Sobbing in the long haul over to the Monster Half-Mile, Travis Hatcher from Honey Creek, Iowa. He was piloting Sobbing's second car, (but scored as the 13H, his usual number) and had moved to third spot when a yellow came out at lap nine, for a spinning Andrew Schroeder---who had to tag the field. When the race restarted, it didn't take long for Hatcher to get to second around Dickey, and the race was now being led by two identical looking cars. The final laps, Sobbing held the lead, winning the race by a comfortable margin over his back up car piloted by Hatcher. Andrew Schroeder did an amazing job coming back through the field after tagging, and took third, challenging Hatcher at the line. Scott Dickey was fourth and Casey Greubel rounded out the top five. Sobbing took his second win of the regular season...back to back, and had also won the Frostbuster. This kept the record going between the only feature winners at Osky this year, as Todd Shute has been the only other winning Modified driver. Shute, who was expected to get his car back together after suffering damage over the weekend, evidently did not have things work out, as he was a no show.
The Sport Compacts had only four competitors on the evening. Matt Moore hung tough as the leader through lap four, when Bill Whalen, Jr. but his black #00W to the front. The remaining six laps to the finish found Whalen pull away from the three cars, as he took his third win at Osky this year. Trent Orwig finished second over Matt Moore in third and last week's winner, John Whalen, in fourth.
The feature for the IMCA Stock Cars had just completed two laps, when uncharacteristically, the 52 car of Nathan Wood had to go to the trailer. Wood found himself taking a hard hitting ride into the wall at the top of turns three and four....the result of a blown tire. Reports are that the front end of his car suffered a lot of damage, and the hard hit left him pretty sore, but okay. As the race restarted, local racer Donnie Pearson continued to hold down the lead, but he had some tough runners sitting close behind....Corey Stout, Donovan Nunnikhoven, and the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty. Murty was soon to take over the lead and was in command and well out in front, when a caution flew for Pearson at lap eleven. This bunched up the field for the restart, and there were heavy hitters waiting in the wings behind Murty. The orange Kelderman team cars, the 10cc of Cayden Carter and the 33Z of Zack VanderBeek were on the move at the drop of the green. Carter was the first to pressure Murty in a side-by-side battle, snatching up the lead by lap thirteen of the 18-lapper. VanderBeek took over second with a lap to go, as "Team Orange" went one-two for the night.....Carter winning, VanderBeek in second. Murty finished in third, Stout was fourth and Nunnikhoven was fifth. This was recent high school graduate Carter's first win in the fendered cars since winning the Frostbuster.
The headlining SportMods capped off the night's racing with their $750 to win 30-lap main. The unique format also had the cars halting at lap fifteen, taking a 10 minute pit stop on the frontstretch where anything could be done to the car except touching the front tires. It was a draw/redraw night as well, and the lucky recipient of the #1 pill was Carter VanDenBerg on the pole and Brett Lowry sitting alongside.
As the green flag dropped, VanDenBerg drove to the lead, but immediately had company in the 1V of Curtis Van Der Wal, who had started in row three. Van Der Wal was FAST...taking the point spot at lap four, and after a bit of battling with VanDenBerg, drove off. The eyes of the crowd were on a "family feud" going on for second, between VanDenBerg and his young cousin Brayton Carter as the race approached the halfway mark. The two raced side-by-side with Carter taking over the runner up spot by the time the race was halted at lap fifteen for the mandatory pit stop.
When racing got back underway after the drivers had made some wanted changes to their machines, Van Der Wal once again drove off from the field. VanDenBerg snatched second back from his younger cousin, Carter as they ran second and third when a yellow flew for debris with ten laps remaining. The final few laps, saw a close contest brewing between Carter, Brett Lowry, and Jason McDaniel for third place---Lowry finally winning that and taking third. Van Der Wal took the easy win, but it was a real close finish for second, as Lowry closed in on VanDenBerg at the line. From where we were sitting, it appeared Lowry got second, but the official scoring was VanDenBerg nipped him at the finish line and took second, Lowry in third. Brayton Carter was fourth and Jason McDaniel finished fifth.
Longtime fixture and race fan at the Southern Iowa Speedway, Jeff Groenenboom, sadly passed away from the medical incident he suffered last week at the race track. Prior to the evening's racing, the medical and safety personnel, track workers, and drivers all came to the front stretch for a moment of silence, honoring Jeff. Also, it was a wonderful gesture by winner of the Modified feature, Jesse Sobbing, who came to the grandstand after his win, and personally presented Jeff's family with his winning trophy.
Next up at the Southern Iowa Speedway will be next Wednesday night, June 4th, when the Hobby Stocks will be featured with a draw/redraw special. Make the trip to Osky for some great mid-week racing. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Check www.oskyspeedway.com for more details on upcoming events....one you won't want to miss on THURSDAY, June 12, when the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models come to town.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Osky - 5-28-14
Unofficial results:
Modified:
1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 13H Travis Hatcher - Honey Creek, Iowa (in Sobbing's 2nd car)
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 40 Scott Dickey
5. 64 Casey Greubel
6. 10C Cayden Carter
7. 12H Dakota Hayden
8. 8J AJ Johnson
DNF: 72 Zach VanderBeek
85 Corey Stout
Stock Car
1. 10CC Cayden Carter
2. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
3. 99D Damon Murty
4. 94 Corey Stout
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 27 Gary Bass
9. 85 Doug Sylvester
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. 17 Brock Welch
DNF: 52 Nathan Wood
SportMod - Special $750 to win - draw/redraw
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
3. 72 Brett Lowry
4. 01 Brayton Carter
5. 85 Jason McDaniel
6. 19J Jenae Gustin
7. CH19 Colby Heishman
8. 29 Colton Livezey
9. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: 10R Ryan Fullenkamp
130 Joey Schaefer
Hobby Stock
1. 69 Craig Brown
2. 55 Brad Stephens
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 52 Kevin Fee
5. 9 Jared Stephens
6. 66 Brandon Cox
7. 6S Shannon Sherwood
8. 84 Danny Thrasher
9. 32T Bobby Greene
10. 224 Gina Greubel
11. 11 Mike Hughes
DNF: 33 Justin Hook
10G Dustin Griffiths
3 Travis Bunnell
96R Jamie Songer
7A Aaron Osweiler
DNS: 19 Bill Bonnett
Sport Compact
1. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 2M Matt Moore
4. 77 John Whalen
Recap to follow tomorrow
Modified:
1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 13H Travis Hatcher - Honey Creek, Iowa (in Sobbing's 2nd car)
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 40 Scott Dickey
5. 64 Casey Greubel
6. 10C Cayden Carter
7. 12H Dakota Hayden
8. 8J AJ Johnson
DNF: 72 Zach VanderBeek
85 Corey Stout
Stock Car
1. 10CC Cayden Carter
2. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
3. 99D Damon Murty
4. 94 Corey Stout
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 27 Gary Bass
9. 85 Doug Sylvester
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. 17 Brock Welch
DNF: 52 Nathan Wood
SportMod - Special $750 to win - draw/redraw
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
3. 72 Brett Lowry
4. 01 Brayton Carter
5. 85 Jason McDaniel
6. 19J Jenae Gustin
7. CH19 Colby Heishman
8. 29 Colton Livezey
9. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: 10R Ryan Fullenkamp
130 Joey Schaefer
Hobby Stock
1. 69 Craig Brown
2. 55 Brad Stephens
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 52 Kevin Fee
5. 9 Jared Stephens
6. 66 Brandon Cox
7. 6S Shannon Sherwood
8. 84 Danny Thrasher
9. 32T Bobby Greene
10. 224 Gina Greubel
11. 11 Mike Hughes
DNF: 33 Justin Hook
10G Dustin Griffiths
3 Travis Bunnell
96R Jamie Songer
7A Aaron Osweiler
DNS: 19 Bill Bonnett
Sport Compact
1. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 2M Matt Moore
4. 77 John Whalen
Recap to follow tomorrow
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Guss wins Deery Brothers at Boone
The annual Deery Brothers Late Model special was held again on Memorial Day Monday at Boone. The forecasted threat of rain showers held off and the show was completed by 8:12 p.m. A veteran driver nabbed the win in the last minute in the Late Model show, a visiting driver made his trip worth while in the Stock Car division, as did another in the Hobby Stock class. Familiar faces at the Speedway went back to victory lane in the SportMod and Mod Lites.
It was my understanding that the Stock Car, SportMod, Hobby Stock and Mod Lite classes were running for track points. There were no Modifieds on the ticket as they were participating in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour series in Mason City. Additional laps were added to all of those classes and a draw/redraw format was used.
James May had just won the Saturday night feature in the Mod Lite division, and he kept that momentum going with another win on Monday. Charlie Brown led the race early on, May getting to the runner up spot from his seventh starting spot by lap five. A caution flew at lap eight, and on the restart, there was contact between Brown and May. However, the two continued on, keeping their positions, though the 82 of Brown suffered some damage. Another yellow flew at lap fourteen, when leader Brown got tangled up with a lap car, putting the nail in the coffin for Brown as he had to exit the race. May inherited the lead and would lead the rest of the laps to the checkers. Joel Keenan had run toward the front of the pack most of the 18-laps and finished as the runner up. Mike Kennedy appeared to have an issue as smoke came from his car's rear wheel area, and at one time was told to exit the track under a yellow. He was then sent back on to the track, given his spot back and finished the race with little trouble, taking third. Cory Dennis raced from starting twelfth, to finish fourth and Randy Bryan finished fifth from starting fourteenth.
The Boys of Summer, the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models were then brought to the track for their 40-lap featured event. The top twelve qualifiers from the heats had earlier had their starting spot determined when they played a little game of "pass the pizza box" in front of the grandstand. Ray Guss, Jr. ended up with the lucky #1 spot, and "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance, who started his 425th consecutive series race, ended up on the outside pole.
Guss led from lap one, maintaining it pretty much untouched near the halfway mark. By then, ninth place starter, Jason Rauen had maneuvered his way around Jeff Aikey and took over the runner up spot. Rauen kept looking low for an opportunity, with nothing there until lap thirty. That's when he got under Guss on the back chute, and took the lead. Rauen was looking smooth, continuing his lead over Guss until a yellow flew at lap thirty-eight, setting up a green-white-checkered shoot out to the finish. Veteran Guss got the opportunity he was seeking on the restart. Rauen pushed up the track in turn two, and Guss nabbed the lead, keeping it to the checkers and the win. Rauen had to be disappointed with the end results, having to settle for the runner up spot. Joel Callahan had a great run, starting eighteenth, and finished in third. Andy Eckrich also advanced well, starting thirteenth and took fourth. Terry Neal rounded out the top five.
The Hobby Stock feature found veteran driver, and visitor at the track, Randy Embrey, lead the entire 15-laps to the checkers. The caution free race found regular John Watson try to reel in Embrey, but could do no better than second. Two more regulars, Eric Stanton and Shannon Anderson followed much of the race in the same order, as they finished third and fourth. Finishing a distant fifth, was Aaron Rudolph.
Ben Kates scored another win in the 20-lap SportMod A main. Kates, no stranger this year to the winner's circle at Boone, took the lead at lap two, never to lose it. Kates, outlasted visiting Audubon racer, Jared Hansen in the runner up spot. Sam Wieben finished in third over Jerry Hinton in fourth and fifth place Johnathon Logue. Kates has won three times in the regular season, plus winning the preseason Frostbuster.
By the time the last feature rolled onto the track, the IMCA Stock Cars, there were looming black clouds just to the west. The 20-lap race had three cars running at the front for most of the event. Visiting David Smith took the point position at lap three with Jay Schmidt hot on his heels. Smith's brother, regular Donavon Smith made it to third place by the time a yellow flew at lap six. From there on out, it was those three cars thrilling the crowd lap after lap, and leaving the rest of the field behind. David Smith held tight to the lead and scored the victory, but brother Donavon Smith was able to sneak under Schmidt in the final lap, scoring the runner up spot. Schmidt was third, Trent Murphy, finished fourth and Eric Brown completed the top five.
The show began right on the nose at 5 p.m. and was completed shortly after 8. The rain held off, but as we made our way home, we noticed lightning appear behind us coming from those black clouds in the west.
Racing returns to the track next Saturday, May 31, for another regular show with racing in all five divisions. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30. The season is in full force and now begins many special events at tracks in our area as well. Check the calendar at Positively Racing for a race you may want to attend. Support the sport we all love. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
It was my understanding that the Stock Car, SportMod, Hobby Stock and Mod Lite classes were running for track points. There were no Modifieds on the ticket as they were participating in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour series in Mason City. Additional laps were added to all of those classes and a draw/redraw format was used.
James May had just won the Saturday night feature in the Mod Lite division, and he kept that momentum going with another win on Monday. Charlie Brown led the race early on, May getting to the runner up spot from his seventh starting spot by lap five. A caution flew at lap eight, and on the restart, there was contact between Brown and May. However, the two continued on, keeping their positions, though the 82 of Brown suffered some damage. Another yellow flew at lap fourteen, when leader Brown got tangled up with a lap car, putting the nail in the coffin for Brown as he had to exit the race. May inherited the lead and would lead the rest of the laps to the checkers. Joel Keenan had run toward the front of the pack most of the 18-laps and finished as the runner up. Mike Kennedy appeared to have an issue as smoke came from his car's rear wheel area, and at one time was told to exit the track under a yellow. He was then sent back on to the track, given his spot back and finished the race with little trouble, taking third. Cory Dennis raced from starting twelfth, to finish fourth and Randy Bryan finished fifth from starting fourteenth.
The Boys of Summer, the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models were then brought to the track for their 40-lap featured event. The top twelve qualifiers from the heats had earlier had their starting spot determined when they played a little game of "pass the pizza box" in front of the grandstand. Ray Guss, Jr. ended up with the lucky #1 spot, and "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance, who started his 425th consecutive series race, ended up on the outside pole.
Guss led from lap one, maintaining it pretty much untouched near the halfway mark. By then, ninth place starter, Jason Rauen had maneuvered his way around Jeff Aikey and took over the runner up spot. Rauen kept looking low for an opportunity, with nothing there until lap thirty. That's when he got under Guss on the back chute, and took the lead. Rauen was looking smooth, continuing his lead over Guss until a yellow flew at lap thirty-eight, setting up a green-white-checkered shoot out to the finish. Veteran Guss got the opportunity he was seeking on the restart. Rauen pushed up the track in turn two, and Guss nabbed the lead, keeping it to the checkers and the win. Rauen had to be disappointed with the end results, having to settle for the runner up spot. Joel Callahan had a great run, starting eighteenth, and finished in third. Andy Eckrich also advanced well, starting thirteenth and took fourth. Terry Neal rounded out the top five.
The Hobby Stock feature found veteran driver, and visitor at the track, Randy Embrey, lead the entire 15-laps to the checkers. The caution free race found regular John Watson try to reel in Embrey, but could do no better than second. Two more regulars, Eric Stanton and Shannon Anderson followed much of the race in the same order, as they finished third and fourth. Finishing a distant fifth, was Aaron Rudolph.
Ben Kates scored another win in the 20-lap SportMod A main. Kates, no stranger this year to the winner's circle at Boone, took the lead at lap two, never to lose it. Kates, outlasted visiting Audubon racer, Jared Hansen in the runner up spot. Sam Wieben finished in third over Jerry Hinton in fourth and fifth place Johnathon Logue. Kates has won three times in the regular season, plus winning the preseason Frostbuster.
By the time the last feature rolled onto the track, the IMCA Stock Cars, there were looming black clouds just to the west. The 20-lap race had three cars running at the front for most of the event. Visiting David Smith took the point position at lap three with Jay Schmidt hot on his heels. Smith's brother, regular Donavon Smith made it to third place by the time a yellow flew at lap six. From there on out, it was those three cars thrilling the crowd lap after lap, and leaving the rest of the field behind. David Smith held tight to the lead and scored the victory, but brother Donavon Smith was able to sneak under Schmidt in the final lap, scoring the runner up spot. Schmidt was third, Trent Murphy, finished fourth and Eric Brown completed the top five.
The show began right on the nose at 5 p.m. and was completed shortly after 8. The rain held off, but as we made our way home, we noticed lightning appear behind us coming from those black clouds in the west.
Racing returns to the track next Saturday, May 31, for another regular show with racing in all five divisions. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30. The season is in full force and now begins many special events at tracks in our area as well. Check the calendar at Positively Racing for a race you may want to attend. Support the sport we all love. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Brown races to "lights out" victory at Boone
The weather was great, the crowd was good, and it was lights out racing--in more ways than one-- at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night. Only one driver repeated a win on the racey track, and the fans were treated to exciting racing in all classes.
The MADCRA Mod Lite feature kicked feature racing off. Cory Dennis led the charge early on until James May took over the helm at lap six. May held off his competition the remaining laps, and scored his first victory of the season at Boone. Charlie Brown finished as the runner up, holding off twelfth place starter, Bryan Zehm, who was scored third. Cory Dennis hung tough at the front of the pack, finishing fourth and Andy Hennigar finished in fifth.
Chad Ryerson was in charge of the 18-lap SportMod feature through lap fourteen, however, Taylor Musselman had been hounding him for several laps. Musselman took over the top spot as they raced down the backstretch, and was the leader as lap sixteen was scored. Meanwhile, Randy Roberts has moved up from starting tenth, and was soon to take second away from Ryerson as well. Roberts hounded Musselman the rest of the way to the checkers, but could only manage a second place finish behind winner, Musselman. Doug Smith made a run, and also got around Ryerson in the closing laps, as they finished third and fourth. Jerry Hinton, who had started eleventh and experienced issues in his heat race, completed the top five. This was Musselman's first victory at the track in 2014.
The track followed last week's running order, placing the Hobby Stocks on the track for their A main next. Shane Butler kept command of this one through lap six, when a yellow caution flag flew. He had real company behind him for the restart, as Eric Stanton, Matt Hudspeth and John Watson had been chasing him down. As the race restarted, Stanton made the pass for the lead on the backstretch and would never relinquish it. Stanton took the comfortable win over runner up, John Watson. It was a close finish for third and fourth, Shannon Anderson just nipping out Tyler Pickett, and Matt Hudspeth took the fifth spot. Stanton scored the win for the first time in the 2014 season. Shannon Anderson continues to lead points in the class by a slim one point margin over John Watson.
It was an exciting 20-lap feature for the IMCA Modifieds. Lights out racing was a true fact. Pole sitter, Joel Bushore was leading the field for much of the race, as the Flying Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen pursued him. Those two were flying around the topside but then all eyes noticed a car doing diligent work by running the bottom. Kyle Brown had chose to see if things would work for him down low, and it was paying off. Brown battled with VanGenderen, finally making the pass into second after lap ten was scored, and had his sites set on leader Bushore. Brown continued his run on the bottom of the track, and once again, made it work, taking the lead at lap seventeen. A lap later, a yellow came out when a lap car lost the handle, sitting sideways between corners three and four....which resulted in Bushore being unable to avoid the stalled car, along with a couple of other cars that had been running toward the front---Russ Dickerson and Jon Snyder. Just as the yellow was displayed, the lights went out---leaving the track in darkness! As the track sat in darkness awaiting the power to return and the lighting to cycle back up, it was a relief to see that all cars had come to a safe halt when things went black. The delay, an estimated 20 minutes or so, the race was restarted with Brown leading and VanGenderen sitting in second. VanGenderen tried low and high, but Brown held steadfast in the lead, and took the victory. Josh Truman, last week's winner came from starting sixteenth, to finish third behind VanGenderen, the runner up. Randy Havlik started in twenty-third position...dead last...and maneuvered through the field to nip out David Brown at the finish, as they took fourth and fifth.Kyle Brown took his first win of the year at the track. Brown tightened the point lead, now seven points behind leader Jimmy Gustin.
If anyone left before the Stock Car feature, they missed a good one. Point leader Jay Schmidt started eleventh on the field and caught and passed then leader Larry Crocheck at lap six. There was a good battle going on behind him, as he contentedly distanced himself from them. Crocheck, Josh Daniels, Jerry Gifford and last week's winner, Donavon Smith were duking it out. As the 18-laps wound down, lap traffic became a factor, but Schmidt had no issues in working his way past, and took another victory, his second of the year. Donavon Smith worked his usual magic, and finished second. Josh Daniels crossed the line in third, but was penalized for jumping two spots on a restart, giving third to Jerry Gifford. Craig Carlson finished fourth and Corey Bushnell came from twelfth starting spot, to complete the top five positions. Schmidt cushioned his point's lead in the Stock Car class.
The next action at the Boone Speedway will be the annual Memorial Day Deery Brother's Late Model show on Monday. The Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Mod Lites will also be action as they run for track points. The Modifieds will not be running, as there is a Hawkeye Dirt Tour series race being run that date in Mason City.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
The MADCRA Mod Lite feature kicked feature racing off. Cory Dennis led the charge early on until James May took over the helm at lap six. May held off his competition the remaining laps, and scored his first victory of the season at Boone. Charlie Brown finished as the runner up, holding off twelfth place starter, Bryan Zehm, who was scored third. Cory Dennis hung tough at the front of the pack, finishing fourth and Andy Hennigar finished in fifth.
Chad Ryerson was in charge of the 18-lap SportMod feature through lap fourteen, however, Taylor Musselman had been hounding him for several laps. Musselman took over the top spot as they raced down the backstretch, and was the leader as lap sixteen was scored. Meanwhile, Randy Roberts has moved up from starting tenth, and was soon to take second away from Ryerson as well. Roberts hounded Musselman the rest of the way to the checkers, but could only manage a second place finish behind winner, Musselman. Doug Smith made a run, and also got around Ryerson in the closing laps, as they finished third and fourth. Jerry Hinton, who had started eleventh and experienced issues in his heat race, completed the top five. This was Musselman's first victory at the track in 2014.
The track followed last week's running order, placing the Hobby Stocks on the track for their A main next. Shane Butler kept command of this one through lap six, when a yellow caution flag flew. He had real company behind him for the restart, as Eric Stanton, Matt Hudspeth and John Watson had been chasing him down. As the race restarted, Stanton made the pass for the lead on the backstretch and would never relinquish it. Stanton took the comfortable win over runner up, John Watson. It was a close finish for third and fourth, Shannon Anderson just nipping out Tyler Pickett, and Matt Hudspeth took the fifth spot. Stanton scored the win for the first time in the 2014 season. Shannon Anderson continues to lead points in the class by a slim one point margin over John Watson.
It was an exciting 20-lap feature for the IMCA Modifieds. Lights out racing was a true fact. Pole sitter, Joel Bushore was leading the field for much of the race, as the Flying Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen pursued him. Those two were flying around the topside but then all eyes noticed a car doing diligent work by running the bottom. Kyle Brown had chose to see if things would work for him down low, and it was paying off. Brown battled with VanGenderen, finally making the pass into second after lap ten was scored, and had his sites set on leader Bushore. Brown continued his run on the bottom of the track, and once again, made it work, taking the lead at lap seventeen. A lap later, a yellow came out when a lap car lost the handle, sitting sideways between corners three and four....which resulted in Bushore being unable to avoid the stalled car, along with a couple of other cars that had been running toward the front---Russ Dickerson and Jon Snyder. Just as the yellow was displayed, the lights went out---leaving the track in darkness! As the track sat in darkness awaiting the power to return and the lighting to cycle back up, it was a relief to see that all cars had come to a safe halt when things went black. The delay, an estimated 20 minutes or so, the race was restarted with Brown leading and VanGenderen sitting in second. VanGenderen tried low and high, but Brown held steadfast in the lead, and took the victory. Josh Truman, last week's winner came from starting sixteenth, to finish third behind VanGenderen, the runner up. Randy Havlik started in twenty-third position...dead last...and maneuvered through the field to nip out David Brown at the finish, as they took fourth and fifth.Kyle Brown took his first win of the year at the track. Brown tightened the point lead, now seven points behind leader Jimmy Gustin.
If anyone left before the Stock Car feature, they missed a good one. Point leader Jay Schmidt started eleventh on the field and caught and passed then leader Larry Crocheck at lap six. There was a good battle going on behind him, as he contentedly distanced himself from them. Crocheck, Josh Daniels, Jerry Gifford and last week's winner, Donavon Smith were duking it out. As the 18-laps wound down, lap traffic became a factor, but Schmidt had no issues in working his way past, and took another victory, his second of the year. Donavon Smith worked his usual magic, and finished second. Josh Daniels crossed the line in third, but was penalized for jumping two spots on a restart, giving third to Jerry Gifford. Craig Carlson finished fourth and Corey Bushnell came from twelfth starting spot, to complete the top five positions. Schmidt cushioned his point's lead in the Stock Car class.
The next action at the Boone Speedway will be the annual Memorial Day Deery Brother's Late Model show on Monday. The Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Mod Lites will also be action as they run for track points. The Modifieds will not be running, as there is a Hawkeye Dirt Tour series race being run that date in Mason City.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
Saturday, May 24, 2014
It's three-for-three for Smith---Wanninger, Luellen, Elliott, Hennigar and Moorman also score victories
The Marshalltown Speedway had some exciting racing on Friday night--- one feature event being determined at the finish line by three cars thundering to the checkers in unison. The Stock Car class had a driver win for the third time in a row, a new face came to victory circle in the Hobby Stock class, and other classes had repeat winners from earlier in the season. The pleasant weather was also a welcome change for drivers and fans alike.
Four IMCA Sport Compacts ran their 8-lap main, kicking off the night's feature racing. It was led start to finish by Dave Moorman. Aaron Miller held off John Gill as they finished second and third. Jacob Reiter did not finish.
The MADCRA Mod Lite's ran 15-laps. James May led the first two laps, until seventh place starter Andy Hennigar took over the following lap. The two raced closely, sometimes going back and forth for the lead on the backstretch, when at lap nine, action was halted when a caution flew. When the race restarted, Hennigar was still leading, James May in second, and eighth place starter, Josh May was now in third. One lap later, Josh May flew around his dad James, taking over second and now pressuring Hennigar for the lead. Things began to change a little further back in the field in the next few laps, as Mike Morrill and Charlie Brown had taken flight on the topside in an attempt to gain positions. When another caution flag flew at lap thirteen, it set up a green-white-checkered finish. Hennigar still maintained his lead with Josh May still holding down second. After the final sprint to the finish, Hennigar took the win....his second of the season; May keeping the runner up spot. Mike Morrill and Charlie Brown's running the topside paid off, as they went third and fourth, and James May fell back a bit, and finished fifth.
It was now time for the Hobby Stocks to take to the track. Dustin Elliott, Carlisle's Tyson Overton, and Aaron Rudolph held down the top three spot when a yellow flew at lap three. As lap seven was completed, Rudolph appeared to momentarily take the lead...only to have that fleet away when he went spinning and pulled into the infield. Elliott still maintained his lead, but non other than the "Wild Woman", Jennifer Hulin was now in second place. Eilliott pulled away at the finish, scoring the win. Jennifer Hulin had her best run of the year with a runner up finish, third went to Tyson Overton, fourth was Brice Udelhoven and Austin Elliott, the two previous race winner, completed the top five. Elliott was a happy camper in his victory lane interview with announcer Jerry VanSickle. He said it had been a long time since he had last won, but we were really astounded to hear that that last win was way back on April 24, of 2009.
What an IMCA SportMod feature! Three cars went at it for much of the race---anyone's guess as to who would prevail. Neil Follett led the first two laps, when a caution flew. His night ended when under that caution, fluid poured from his car. Jenae Gustin was handed the leader position for the restart. Gustin soon had company as Carter VanDenberg and last week's winner Clint Luellen were hounding her. The rest of the race was a free for all! Those three drivers put on such a show for the fans! Each time across the start/finish line was a blur of those three cars. VanDenberg inched ahead for the lead, this time ahead of Luellen with a lap to go, Gustin right there as well. As the three raced to the checkers, it was anybody's race as they came off of turn four. The crowd rose to it's feet as they approached the flagstand, and watched as Clint Luellen took the win, getting the momentum on the outside that carried him to the checkers first. Luellen, who started tenth, took his second consecutive win. VanDenberg was scored second and Gustin was third. Jared VanDeest came from tenth starting spot to finish fourth over Travis Petersen in fifth. Luellen, "The Minburn Missile" exclaimed in victory lane, that was about the best race ever. Much of the crowd agreed.
After the SportMod race had left the crowd breathless, it was the always exciting Stock Cars next. It was looking as if Michael Jaennette was going to score his second win of the year, but, as I've said before, never count out Donavon Smith! Jeannette led much of the race by six car lengths, but Donovan Smith had been consistently and methodically gaining ground as he dug hard on the very bottom. Smith had nabbed second away from Jay Schmidt, who had his "Black Betty" ride sailing on the topside. A caution bunched the field, putting Smith close at hand on the restart. In the closing laps, Jaennette was doing his darnedest to hold off Smith, succeeding until lap fifteen. Smith managed to nose under Jaennette and nabbed the lead. Smith continued the lead to the checkers, scoring a win for the third week in a row. Jaennette had to be content with the runner up spot. Trent Murphy came into the picture late in the race, passing Schmidt as they finished third and fourth. Steve Meyer rounded out the top five.
The last two races went down to the wire, and the 20-lap modified race nearly matched it. Joel Bushore started on the pole and led the first two laps when a yellow rag reared it's ugly head. On the restart, Bushore seemed to experience mechanical issues, and exited the track just after Luke Wanninger took over as captain of the ship. Wanninger continued his lead, but soon had company after another yellow flew on lap six. Adam Larson, who had started ninth, had followed eighth place starter Wanninger through the field and into second, after the restart. The race went green the rest of the way to the finish, Wanninger in first and Larson glued to his bumper as they circled the top of the track. The race ended with Wanninger taking his second win of the regular season (he also won the Frostbuster) and Larson, second. Point leader, Ronn Lauritzen had skillfully fought through the field from starting twelfth, to finish in third...a distance behind the two front runners. Kyle Brown ran toward the front all race, and took a fourth place, and Joel Rust had a good run and finished fifth.
It was a surprise to hear a name from the past racing in the Hobby Stock Class.....Steve Fricke. It was announced that the last time he had raced, was 1995!
It has not been a good week for the local dirt tracks. We were saddened to hear of a racing accident at the Iowa State Fair Speedway last night. A long-time track worker, Richard "Bones" Welch was hit by a bumper that came off of a rolling race car, and he sadly, did not make it. Wednesday night at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, a fan in the stands who had been a fixture for years and years, suffered a seizure and the racing family lost Jeff Groenenboom. Things like this, puts life in prospective, as things can change in the blink of an eye.
Racing continues next Friday at the Marshalltown Speedway, racing at 7:30. Then on Tuesday, June 3, the doors are thrown open again at the track, when the USMTS Modified show comes to the High-Banks. Hot laps are scheduled for 7 o'clock with racing to follow. The USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods are also on the docket.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Four IMCA Sport Compacts ran their 8-lap main, kicking off the night's feature racing. It was led start to finish by Dave Moorman. Aaron Miller held off John Gill as they finished second and third. Jacob Reiter did not finish.
The MADCRA Mod Lite's ran 15-laps. James May led the first two laps, until seventh place starter Andy Hennigar took over the following lap. The two raced closely, sometimes going back and forth for the lead on the backstretch, when at lap nine, action was halted when a caution flew. When the race restarted, Hennigar was still leading, James May in second, and eighth place starter, Josh May was now in third. One lap later, Josh May flew around his dad James, taking over second and now pressuring Hennigar for the lead. Things began to change a little further back in the field in the next few laps, as Mike Morrill and Charlie Brown had taken flight on the topside in an attempt to gain positions. When another caution flag flew at lap thirteen, it set up a green-white-checkered finish. Hennigar still maintained his lead with Josh May still holding down second. After the final sprint to the finish, Hennigar took the win....his second of the season; May keeping the runner up spot. Mike Morrill and Charlie Brown's running the topside paid off, as they went third and fourth, and James May fell back a bit, and finished fifth.
It was now time for the Hobby Stocks to take to the track. Dustin Elliott, Carlisle's Tyson Overton, and Aaron Rudolph held down the top three spot when a yellow flew at lap three. As lap seven was completed, Rudolph appeared to momentarily take the lead...only to have that fleet away when he went spinning and pulled into the infield. Elliott still maintained his lead, but non other than the "Wild Woman", Jennifer Hulin was now in second place. Eilliott pulled away at the finish, scoring the win. Jennifer Hulin had her best run of the year with a runner up finish, third went to Tyson Overton, fourth was Brice Udelhoven and Austin Elliott, the two previous race winner, completed the top five. Elliott was a happy camper in his victory lane interview with announcer Jerry VanSickle. He said it had been a long time since he had last won, but we were really astounded to hear that that last win was way back on April 24, of 2009.
What an IMCA SportMod feature! Three cars went at it for much of the race---anyone's guess as to who would prevail. Neil Follett led the first two laps, when a caution flew. His night ended when under that caution, fluid poured from his car. Jenae Gustin was handed the leader position for the restart. Gustin soon had company as Carter VanDenberg and last week's winner Clint Luellen were hounding her. The rest of the race was a free for all! Those three drivers put on such a show for the fans! Each time across the start/finish line was a blur of those three cars. VanDenberg inched ahead for the lead, this time ahead of Luellen with a lap to go, Gustin right there as well. As the three raced to the checkers, it was anybody's race as they came off of turn four. The crowd rose to it's feet as they approached the flagstand, and watched as Clint Luellen took the win, getting the momentum on the outside that carried him to the checkers first. Luellen, who started tenth, took his second consecutive win. VanDenberg was scored second and Gustin was third. Jared VanDeest came from tenth starting spot to finish fourth over Travis Petersen in fifth. Luellen, "The Minburn Missile" exclaimed in victory lane, that was about the best race ever. Much of the crowd agreed.
After the SportMod race had left the crowd breathless, it was the always exciting Stock Cars next. It was looking as if Michael Jaennette was going to score his second win of the year, but, as I've said before, never count out Donavon Smith! Jeannette led much of the race by six car lengths, but Donovan Smith had been consistently and methodically gaining ground as he dug hard on the very bottom. Smith had nabbed second away from Jay Schmidt, who had his "Black Betty" ride sailing on the topside. A caution bunched the field, putting Smith close at hand on the restart. In the closing laps, Jaennette was doing his darnedest to hold off Smith, succeeding until lap fifteen. Smith managed to nose under Jaennette and nabbed the lead. Smith continued the lead to the checkers, scoring a win for the third week in a row. Jaennette had to be content with the runner up spot. Trent Murphy came into the picture late in the race, passing Schmidt as they finished third and fourth. Steve Meyer rounded out the top five.
The last two races went down to the wire, and the 20-lap modified race nearly matched it. Joel Bushore started on the pole and led the first two laps when a yellow rag reared it's ugly head. On the restart, Bushore seemed to experience mechanical issues, and exited the track just after Luke Wanninger took over as captain of the ship. Wanninger continued his lead, but soon had company after another yellow flew on lap six. Adam Larson, who had started ninth, had followed eighth place starter Wanninger through the field and into second, after the restart. The race went green the rest of the way to the finish, Wanninger in first and Larson glued to his bumper as they circled the top of the track. The race ended with Wanninger taking his second win of the regular season (he also won the Frostbuster) and Larson, second. Point leader, Ronn Lauritzen had skillfully fought through the field from starting twelfth, to finish in third...a distance behind the two front runners. Kyle Brown ran toward the front all race, and took a fourth place, and Joel Rust had a good run and finished fifth.
It was a surprise to hear a name from the past racing in the Hobby Stock Class.....Steve Fricke. It was announced that the last time he had raced, was 1995!
It has not been a good week for the local dirt tracks. We were saddened to hear of a racing accident at the Iowa State Fair Speedway last night. A long-time track worker, Richard "Bones" Welch was hit by a bumper that came off of a rolling race car, and he sadly, did not make it. Wednesday night at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, a fan in the stands who had been a fixture for years and years, suffered a seizure and the racing family lost Jeff Groenenboom. Things like this, puts life in prospective, as things can change in the blink of an eye.
Racing continues next Friday at the Marshalltown Speedway, racing at 7:30. Then on Tuesday, June 3, the doors are thrown open again at the track, when the USMTS Modified show comes to the High-Banks. Hot laps are scheduled for 7 o'clock with racing to follow. The USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods are also on the docket.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Logan Anderson gets first career win
We were back at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday night---our home away from home for years and years. Six divisions were in competition, the Late Models making their last appearance until fair time, and the SportMod class saw a driver take his first career win.
There were seven of the IMCA Sport Compacts in attendance. The ten lap race was led start to finish by John Whalen. Runner up, brother Bill Whalen, Jr., had to battle Matt Moore and Kassady Kirkpatrick as they put on a three-way contest. Kirkpatrick took third, Matt Moore was fourth and Jason Breuklander was fifth after resolving his safety infraction that had eliminated him from participating in the heat. This was John Whalen's first win at Osky this year....ending his brother Bill's two-win streak.
Corey "from just across the street" Stout, was looking to get a second win of the year as he led the cars though the first nine laps in the Stock Car feature. He had the heat behind him though! Cayden Carter and Brad Pinkerton were both coming fast and were looking to challenge the leader. Carter, who had started seventh was running second and Pinkerton had worked his way from eleventh to run third. At lap nine, the cars passed the start/finish line three wide, Pinkerton on the outside...often his preferred line. He got the momentum coming off the corners, and grabbed the lead by the following lap, Carter in second. The closing laps saw Pinkerton hold his lead and take the win, his first of the season. Stout and Carter battled back and forth as the laps wound down, with Carter taking second and Stout in third at the checkers. Nathan Wood came from ninth starting spot to finish fourth over Shane Paris in fifth.
The IMCA Late Models ran a 20-lap feature. The start of the race was called off when pole sitter Jeremy Grady ended up sideways, before reaching the flagstand, ending his night. Todd Cooney inherited the first place restart position, and from there on, the race was all his. Colby Springsteen closed the gap a bit in the final laps, but could do no better than a second place finish. Tom Darbyshire made a first time visit to the big old half-mile, passing Tommy Elston at lap eleven, as they finished third and fourth. John VanDenBerg debuted his #7M ride and finished fifth. The race went flag-to-flag after the initial call back.
Casey Greubel had a fast car last night as he led the first eight laps of the IMCA Modified A main. Never count out the #99 of Jesse Sobbing though. Sobbing took over the top spot at lap nine and kept it to the checkers flying, Greubel finishing as the runner up. Todd Shute, this season's only previous winner---three in a row---had to be content with a third place finish. Andrew Schroeder was fourth and Cayden Carter completed the top five. The race went caution free. Sobbing won for the first time in the regular season, having won the preseason Frostbuster special.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was a no go initially, when Dustin Griffiths came to a stop in a mishap at the top of corner four---having to tag the tail of the field on the realignment for the restart. Mike Hughes wasted no time in getting to the lead, taking over at lap four and putting a lot of distance between him and his nearest competitor. By lap eight, Griffiths was already pressuring second place runner Craig Brown after flying through the field. A couple of laps later, Griffiths took over that runner up position, but with Hughes' near straightaway lead, could not run him down, and finished in second place. Third went to Craig Brown, Brandon Cox was fourth and Nick Ulin finished fifth. This race too, went caution free after the start was called back. Mike Hughes took his third win of the year at Osky.
The IMCA SportMod feature was three-wide immediately, Logan Anderson establishing the lead at lap one. A yellow flew just after that first lap was scored (the only caution of the race) and from there on, it was all Anderson's night. Anderson hit his line each and every time, taking his first career win by a comfortable margin. Carter VanDenBerg held off Curtis VanDerWal as they went second and third. Brett Lowry moved up from starting ninth, to take fourth and Brayton Carter rounded out the top five. Congratulations to Anderson on getting that first win under his belt.
There was a medical emergency in the grandstands last evening during the Stock Car feature, calling for a half hour or so delay. The medical personnel and track is to be commended for the professional way it was handled. We send our thoughts and prayers to the stricken gentleman and his family.
Fellow blogger Ryan Clark made the trip over....a pleasant surprise to have him join us. Be sure and read his thoughts on the night's racing at "In Staging" at Positively Racing as well.
Oskaloosa had received 1.25 inches of rain the previous night, rain that had completely missed us. It tried to mess up the racing surface, but thanks to diligent attention to the track during the night, racing was great and the track smooth.
Next Wednesday night, June 4, will be Jerry's Automotive Pro Collision Hobby Stock Special. Hobby Stocks will be draw/redraw format. Join us for mid-week racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Hot laps are 7 and racing at 7:30. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
There were seven of the IMCA Sport Compacts in attendance. The ten lap race was led start to finish by John Whalen. Runner up, brother Bill Whalen, Jr., had to battle Matt Moore and Kassady Kirkpatrick as they put on a three-way contest. Kirkpatrick took third, Matt Moore was fourth and Jason Breuklander was fifth after resolving his safety infraction that had eliminated him from participating in the heat. This was John Whalen's first win at Osky this year....ending his brother Bill's two-win streak.
Corey "from just across the street" Stout, was looking to get a second win of the year as he led the cars though the first nine laps in the Stock Car feature. He had the heat behind him though! Cayden Carter and Brad Pinkerton were both coming fast and were looking to challenge the leader. Carter, who had started seventh was running second and Pinkerton had worked his way from eleventh to run third. At lap nine, the cars passed the start/finish line three wide, Pinkerton on the outside...often his preferred line. He got the momentum coming off the corners, and grabbed the lead by the following lap, Carter in second. The closing laps saw Pinkerton hold his lead and take the win, his first of the season. Stout and Carter battled back and forth as the laps wound down, with Carter taking second and Stout in third at the checkers. Nathan Wood came from ninth starting spot to finish fourth over Shane Paris in fifth.
The IMCA Late Models ran a 20-lap feature. The start of the race was called off when pole sitter Jeremy Grady ended up sideways, before reaching the flagstand, ending his night. Todd Cooney inherited the first place restart position, and from there on, the race was all his. Colby Springsteen closed the gap a bit in the final laps, but could do no better than a second place finish. Tom Darbyshire made a first time visit to the big old half-mile, passing Tommy Elston at lap eleven, as they finished third and fourth. John VanDenBerg debuted his #7M ride and finished fifth. The race went flag-to-flag after the initial call back.
Casey Greubel had a fast car last night as he led the first eight laps of the IMCA Modified A main. Never count out the #99 of Jesse Sobbing though. Sobbing took over the top spot at lap nine and kept it to the checkers flying, Greubel finishing as the runner up. Todd Shute, this season's only previous winner---three in a row---had to be content with a third place finish. Andrew Schroeder was fourth and Cayden Carter completed the top five. The race went caution free. Sobbing won for the first time in the regular season, having won the preseason Frostbuster special.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was a no go initially, when Dustin Griffiths came to a stop in a mishap at the top of corner four---having to tag the tail of the field on the realignment for the restart. Mike Hughes wasted no time in getting to the lead, taking over at lap four and putting a lot of distance between him and his nearest competitor. By lap eight, Griffiths was already pressuring second place runner Craig Brown after flying through the field. A couple of laps later, Griffiths took over that runner up position, but with Hughes' near straightaway lead, could not run him down, and finished in second place. Third went to Craig Brown, Brandon Cox was fourth and Nick Ulin finished fifth. This race too, went caution free after the start was called back. Mike Hughes took his third win of the year at Osky.
The IMCA SportMod feature was three-wide immediately, Logan Anderson establishing the lead at lap one. A yellow flew just after that first lap was scored (the only caution of the race) and from there on, it was all Anderson's night. Anderson hit his line each and every time, taking his first career win by a comfortable margin. Carter VanDenBerg held off Curtis VanDerWal as they went second and third. Brett Lowry moved up from starting ninth, to take fourth and Brayton Carter rounded out the top five. Congratulations to Anderson on getting that first win under his belt.
There was a medical emergency in the grandstands last evening during the Stock Car feature, calling for a half hour or so delay. The medical personnel and track is to be commended for the professional way it was handled. We send our thoughts and prayers to the stricken gentleman and his family.
Fellow blogger Ryan Clark made the trip over....a pleasant surprise to have him join us. Be sure and read his thoughts on the night's racing at "In Staging" at Positively Racing as well.
Oskaloosa had received 1.25 inches of rain the previous night, rain that had completely missed us. It tried to mess up the racing surface, but thanks to diligent attention to the track during the night, racing was great and the track smooth.
Next Wednesday night, June 4, will be Jerry's Automotive Pro Collision Hobby Stock Special. Hobby Stocks will be draw/redraw format. Join us for mid-week racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Hot laps are 7 and racing at 7:30. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Osky - 5-21-14
Unofficial results:
Late Model
1. 30 Todd Cooney
2. 38 Colby Springsteen
3. 42 Tom Darbyshire
4. 45 Tommy Elston
5. 7M John VanDenBerg
6. 15C Curt Schroeder
DNF: 33 Nick Marolf
32 Curtis Glover
43 Jeremy Grady
Modified
1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 64 Casey Greubel
3. 5 Todd Shute
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 10C Cayden Carter
6. 40 Scott Dickey
7. 8J AJ Johnson
8. 12H Dakota Hayden
DNF: 95J Brad Iverson
99X Jacob Murray
Stock Car
1. 62 Brad Pinkerton
2. 10CC Cayden Carter
3. 94 Corey Stout
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 17C Shane Paris
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 6J Brandon Jay
9. 72 Jerry Pilcher
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
12. 85 Doug Sylvester
DNF: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 9A Logan Anderson - 1st career win
2. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
3. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 01 Brayton Carter
6. 85 Jason McDaniel
7. 95J Jason Hall
8. 130 Joey Schaefer
9. 10R Ryan Fullenkamp
10. 19J Jenae Gustin
11. 57 Tyler Gross
12. 8T Tony Johnson
13. 12D Brandon Dale
14. 29 Colton Livezey
15. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: Cory VanZante
Hobby Stock
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths
3. 69 Craig Brown
4. 66 Brandon Cox
5. 21 Nick Ulin
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 19 Bill Bonnett
8. 12 Mike Kincaid
9. 3 Travis Bunnell
10. 6s Shannon Sherwood
11. 32T Bobby Greene
12. 73 Aaron Martin
13. 7A Aaron Osweiler
14. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
55 Brad Stephens
33 Justin Hook
96R Jamie Songer
Sport Compact
1. 77 John Whalen
2. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
3. 27 Kassady Kirkpatrick
4. 2M Matt Moore
5. 55 Jason Breuklander
DNF: 04 Trent Orwig
92 Kevin Kirkpatrick
Blog to follow
Late Model
1. 30 Todd Cooney
2. 38 Colby Springsteen
3. 42 Tom Darbyshire
4. 45 Tommy Elston
5. 7M John VanDenBerg
6. 15C Curt Schroeder
DNF: 33 Nick Marolf
32 Curtis Glover
43 Jeremy Grady
Modified
1. 99 Jesse Sobbing
2. 64 Casey Greubel
3. 5 Todd Shute
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 10C Cayden Carter
6. 40 Scott Dickey
7. 8J AJ Johnson
8. 12H Dakota Hayden
DNF: 95J Brad Iverson
99X Jacob Murray
Stock Car
1. 62 Brad Pinkerton
2. 10CC Cayden Carter
3. 94 Corey Stout
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 17C Shane Paris
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 6J Brandon Jay
9. 72 Jerry Pilcher
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
12. 85 Doug Sylvester
DNF: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 9A Logan Anderson - 1st career win
2. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
3. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 01 Brayton Carter
6. 85 Jason McDaniel
7. 95J Jason Hall
8. 130 Joey Schaefer
9. 10R Ryan Fullenkamp
10. 19J Jenae Gustin
11. 57 Tyler Gross
12. 8T Tony Johnson
13. 12D Brandon Dale
14. 29 Colton Livezey
15. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: Cory VanZante
Hobby Stock
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths
3. 69 Craig Brown
4. 66 Brandon Cox
5. 21 Nick Ulin
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 19 Bill Bonnett
8. 12 Mike Kincaid
9. 3 Travis Bunnell
10. 6s Shannon Sherwood
11. 32T Bobby Greene
12. 73 Aaron Martin
13. 7A Aaron Osweiler
14. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
55 Brad Stephens
33 Justin Hook
96R Jamie Songer
Sport Compact
1. 77 John Whalen
2. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
3. 27 Kassady Kirkpatrick
4. 2M Matt Moore
5. 55 Jason Breuklander
DNF: 04 Trent Orwig
92 Kevin Kirkpatrick
Blog to follow
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Checkers for Truman, Smith, Love, Anderson, and Stensland at Boone
The racing at Boone Speedway on Saturday night produced some great side-by-side racing as well as three and four-wide racing at times. New faces went to victory lane in the Modified and Mod Lite divisions, one driver returned only after his early preseason Frostbuster victory, and one driver who has taken the checkers many times, did it again. Prior to the racing, military veterans that were in the crowd were brought to the front of the grandstands, receiving a well earned round of applause. It was Armed Forces night, and those veterans were able to watch the night's action, free of charge.
The Mod Lite feature kicked things off, but the race didn't stay green for long. Just after lap one was scored, Terry Brown barrel rolled in corner two, ending his night. He was not injured thankfully. As the race picked back up, it was still Travis Stensland in charge as he had been from the get go. The race would then continue the remainder of the way, caution free---Stensland leading all laps and taking the checkers. Andy Hennigar worked his way from seventh starting spot, to take the runner up position ahead of Josh May. Bryan Zehm and Travis Brandt completed the top five. Stensland wove his way through heavy lap traffic, never bobbling, to take his first win at Boone this year.
Eighteen laps of SportMod racing came next. Just one lap got scored in this one too, before racing action was halted for a skirmish in turn four. After the restart, it was Tim Love at the helm of the ship, and from then on, he never relinquished the lead, and took the checkers. Cory Rose tailed Love most of the race, and finished second. Young Jake McBirnie took third after getting around Ben Kates, who was fourth, late in the race. Jerry Hinton came from starting tenth, to take a top five finish. This was Love's first win at the track for the 2014 season. Kate's still holds on to his track point's lead.
There was a little shuffle in the usual schedule of events, as the Hobby Stocks took to the tracks next. Norwalk, Iowa driver Mike Powell had his machine out front in the early portion of the race. A yellow at lap four however, was just what familiar #78 of Shannon Anderson was wanting. Anderson had started eleventh, and was already in second when that caution flew. By lap five, Anderson had taken command. The race continued caution free the rest of the way to the checkers, Anderson in charge the entire way, taking the win. John Watson made the pass into second around Powell with two laps remaining, as they were scored second and third. Danny Watson, (the driver who had a bad experience last year when his disabled car caught fire in turn one, was rendered unconscious momentarily, before being pulled from his car by another driver), took fourth place. Dustin Graham completed the top five. This was Anderson's second win of the year, adding to a long list of wins in previous years.
The IMCA Modified 20-lap feature ran next....anticipating a racier track with the schedule of events being changed up a bit. Josh Truman, driver out of Indianola, took advantage of his pole starting position, leaping to the lead immediately and happy to have the battling going on behind him. Veteran racer John Logue came from starting sixth to take over the number two spot by lap four. Logue swung up to the topside in hopes of reeling in Truman. Meanwhile, here comes Jimmy Gustin! Gustin, the point leader at the track, had started twelfth, and made it into third by lap seven. Gustin wasn't done yet, and pulled off the pass on Logue, taking over the runner up spot at lap twelve. The frantic race to the checkers continued, Gustin trying everything to catch Truman, but on this night, it wasn't to be. Truman won for the first time in at least a handful of years at the track, Gustin having to settle for the runner up spot. Logue held third place over Denny Pittman who raced from tenth to take fourth, and rookie to the class, Eric Elliott, was fifth. The race went the entire 20-laps without a caution.
The Stock Cars ran last and they were running three-wide down the backstretch immediately. One lap was in the books when a mess occurred in turn four, hooking several cars and stopping the action. When it was sorted out and the track cleared, Veteran Robert Stofer was in command, but Donavon Smith was snapping at his heels. Smith dug low and made the pass by lap three, taking over the top spot. Enter Jay Schmidt and his Black Betty car! Schmidt was flying from starting tenth, and was soon in the number two spot. Schmidt sought high and then went low, but nothing was deterring Smith on this night. Smith took the comfortable win, his first since the preseason Frostbuster, Schmidt having to be content with second and keeping his point lead. Josh Daniels started seventh and took third over Jerry Gifford and Stofer in fourth and fifth.
We are hoping the weather is going to straighten up now and have more comfortable and dry racing conditions. As the season continues, there will be more and more specials on the docket in the area too, so take a moment and look at the calendar at Positively Racing. Seek out a race to attend, be it a regular weekly show, or a special. We all need to keep supporting the great sport we love so much. Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
The Mod Lite feature kicked things off, but the race didn't stay green for long. Just after lap one was scored, Terry Brown barrel rolled in corner two, ending his night. He was not injured thankfully. As the race picked back up, it was still Travis Stensland in charge as he had been from the get go. The race would then continue the remainder of the way, caution free---Stensland leading all laps and taking the checkers. Andy Hennigar worked his way from seventh starting spot, to take the runner up position ahead of Josh May. Bryan Zehm and Travis Brandt completed the top five. Stensland wove his way through heavy lap traffic, never bobbling, to take his first win at Boone this year.
Eighteen laps of SportMod racing came next. Just one lap got scored in this one too, before racing action was halted for a skirmish in turn four. After the restart, it was Tim Love at the helm of the ship, and from then on, he never relinquished the lead, and took the checkers. Cory Rose tailed Love most of the race, and finished second. Young Jake McBirnie took third after getting around Ben Kates, who was fourth, late in the race. Jerry Hinton came from starting tenth, to take a top five finish. This was Love's first win at the track for the 2014 season. Kate's still holds on to his track point's lead.
There was a little shuffle in the usual schedule of events, as the Hobby Stocks took to the tracks next. Norwalk, Iowa driver Mike Powell had his machine out front in the early portion of the race. A yellow at lap four however, was just what familiar #78 of Shannon Anderson was wanting. Anderson had started eleventh, and was already in second when that caution flew. By lap five, Anderson had taken command. The race continued caution free the rest of the way to the checkers, Anderson in charge the entire way, taking the win. John Watson made the pass into second around Powell with two laps remaining, as they were scored second and third. Danny Watson, (the driver who had a bad experience last year when his disabled car caught fire in turn one, was rendered unconscious momentarily, before being pulled from his car by another driver), took fourth place. Dustin Graham completed the top five. This was Anderson's second win of the year, adding to a long list of wins in previous years.
The IMCA Modified 20-lap feature ran next....anticipating a racier track with the schedule of events being changed up a bit. Josh Truman, driver out of Indianola, took advantage of his pole starting position, leaping to the lead immediately and happy to have the battling going on behind him. Veteran racer John Logue came from starting sixth to take over the number two spot by lap four. Logue swung up to the topside in hopes of reeling in Truman. Meanwhile, here comes Jimmy Gustin! Gustin, the point leader at the track, had started twelfth, and made it into third by lap seven. Gustin wasn't done yet, and pulled off the pass on Logue, taking over the runner up spot at lap twelve. The frantic race to the checkers continued, Gustin trying everything to catch Truman, but on this night, it wasn't to be. Truman won for the first time in at least a handful of years at the track, Gustin having to settle for the runner up spot. Logue held third place over Denny Pittman who raced from tenth to take fourth, and rookie to the class, Eric Elliott, was fifth. The race went the entire 20-laps without a caution.
The Stock Cars ran last and they were running three-wide down the backstretch immediately. One lap was in the books when a mess occurred in turn four, hooking several cars and stopping the action. When it was sorted out and the track cleared, Veteran Robert Stofer was in command, but Donavon Smith was snapping at his heels. Smith dug low and made the pass by lap three, taking over the top spot. Enter Jay Schmidt and his Black Betty car! Schmidt was flying from starting tenth, and was soon in the number two spot. Schmidt sought high and then went low, but nothing was deterring Smith on this night. Smith took the comfortable win, his first since the preseason Frostbuster, Schmidt having to be content with second and keeping his point lead. Josh Daniels started seventh and took third over Jerry Gifford and Stofer in fourth and fifth.
We are hoping the weather is going to straighten up now and have more comfortable and dry racing conditions. As the season continues, there will be more and more specials on the docket in the area too, so take a moment and look at the calendar at Positively Racing. Seek out a race to attend, be it a regular weekly show, or a special. We all need to keep supporting the great sport we love so much. Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Luellen brothers take checkers, Smith repeats in Stock Cars and "G Money" takes home the money
How long am I going to have to keep saying, it was cold at the races again? But it sure was at the Marshalltown High Banks on Friday night. The crowd was sparse, but those that were there got their money's worth! There was some great racing and on the best track of the season in my opinion. Three racers sealed the deal on back-to-back wins, a visitor from just down the road made his night pay off with a win, and there was a new winner in the Mod Lite division.
The three Sport Compact competitors ran 8-lap feature first. John Gill grabbed the lead immediately and led all eight laps on the way to his victory, scoring his second win in as many weeks. Aaron Miller and Dave Moorman fought it out in the first couple of laps until Moorman took over second place. The race continued in the same order the rest of the way to the checkers----Gill first, Moorman second and Miller taking third.
The Mod Lite 15-lap feature went flag-to-flag, pleasing the chilly crowd. Josh May got to the front by lap two, never to look back. The brother's Brown in their "spooky clown cars" (maybe I have coulrophobia...the fear of clowns) chased May all the way to the checkers. May won for the first time at Marshalltown this year, while Charlie Brown's two-race win streak ended with a second place finish. Terry Brown was a distant third. Joe Glick had a good run and finished fourth over Travis Brandt in fifth.
The Hobby Stocks ran next. Matt Pohlman led the opening laps but Eric Stanton moved quickly to the front from starting eighth; taking over the lead by lap five. A lap later, a caution came out for Jason See sitting in between corners three and four, which is no doubt, what second place runner Austin Luellen was looking for. Luellen had started along side Stanton in row four, and was ready to challenge the leader when the race restarted. Those two front runners went at it the ensuing circuits, with Luellen finally taking command with a couple of laps remaining. At the checkers, Luellen took the win by a comfortable margin, scoring back-to-back victories at the track. Eric Stanton finished as the runner up over Pohlman in third. Brice Udelhoven was fourth and it was a close one at the checkers for John Watson and Gary Pfantz as they went fifth and sixth.
The 18-lap SportMod feature came next.....and it was a marathon. Not what the shivering crowd wanted. They didn't get the first lap in before the start was called back. When it did get underway, Neil Follett led the charge. The yellow came out at lap four, Follett still leading with Carter VanDenBerg chomping at the bit in second, ready for the restart. Also eagerly awaiting that restart was Clint Luellen. Luellen had charged through the pack from starting twelfth, up into the third spot. It was but a lap after the restart until Luellen got the advantage and flew to the lead. Another caution flew at lap nine, and again at lap thirteen. Thirteen was it's unlucky self as on the second try for a restart, corner one became a parking lot. Lap fourteen also brought out the yellow rag, the last one of the race. Luellen calmly remained at the point during all of the interruptions and restarts, and took the checkers for the first time at Marshalltown in 2014. Travis Peterson slipped around VanDenBerg in the closing laps as they finished second and third. Jared VanDeest and Ryan Ashton completed the top five.
The Stock Cars had another good one. It was hard to keep track of who was leading in the opening laps as they came across the finish line in a near photo finish. By lap five things were sorted out a bit and it was Michael Jaennette in his "Pink Panther" hot rod, staying just ahead of Steve Meyer. A couple of laps later, new daddy, Brian Irvine had made the pass into second around Meyer and was giving chase. Irvine, who had started back in row six, was on the hunt and challenging Jaennette for the lead every lap. A yellow flew at lap nine, leading up to a restart of hard runners behind Jaennette. There was a pack of cars at the front that gave way to some awesome racing after the restart, position changes at each lap. Donavon Smith made a spectacular move to get into first at lap thirteen, and then charged off with clear air in front of him the rest of the way to the checkers. Steve Meyer snatched second away from Irvine in third, at the line. Trent Murphy came from seventh to capture a fourth, and Scott Pippert came from starting in row eight to get a top five finish. Early leader Jaennette fell to seventh with all of the jostling, finishing behind Jay Schmidt in sixth.
The IMCA Modified A main followed up the great Stock Car feature with their own exciting race. Racer Hulin took the lead away from Jake Strayer at lap three, and pulled away. Hulin was racing along untouched at the front of the pack until that dreaded yellow flew at lap nine. There had been much challenging going on behind Hulin as Luke Wanninger had gotten to second, running just ahead of visiting Richie Gustin in third. Gustin, who had started twelfth, had worked his way into contention, running just ahead of Adam Larson. On the restart, Gustin took advantage and snatched the lead from Hulin. A couple of laps later, Wanninger made the pass into second, only to have Hulin grab it back. The rest of the way home was all Gustin, as he raced to the checkers flying first. Racer Hulin took the runner up spot, and Adam Larson just beat Wanninger to the finish line as they went third and fourth. Joel Rust had a good run to round out the top five.
Due to the chilly temps, it was decided to have the victory lane photos done after all the racing was completed, also forgoing the interviews. More than a few fans in the stands gave thumbs up to that decision. Next week, the regular season continues at Marshalltown Speedway where it will be "Salute to Military Night" at the races.
The three Sport Compact competitors ran 8-lap feature first. John Gill grabbed the lead immediately and led all eight laps on the way to his victory, scoring his second win in as many weeks. Aaron Miller and Dave Moorman fought it out in the first couple of laps until Moorman took over second place. The race continued in the same order the rest of the way to the checkers----Gill first, Moorman second and Miller taking third.
The Mod Lite 15-lap feature went flag-to-flag, pleasing the chilly crowd. Josh May got to the front by lap two, never to look back. The brother's Brown in their "spooky clown cars" (maybe I have coulrophobia...the fear of clowns) chased May all the way to the checkers. May won for the first time at Marshalltown this year, while Charlie Brown's two-race win streak ended with a second place finish. Terry Brown was a distant third. Joe Glick had a good run and finished fourth over Travis Brandt in fifth.
The Hobby Stocks ran next. Matt Pohlman led the opening laps but Eric Stanton moved quickly to the front from starting eighth; taking over the lead by lap five. A lap later, a caution came out for Jason See sitting in between corners three and four, which is no doubt, what second place runner Austin Luellen was looking for. Luellen had started along side Stanton in row four, and was ready to challenge the leader when the race restarted. Those two front runners went at it the ensuing circuits, with Luellen finally taking command with a couple of laps remaining. At the checkers, Luellen took the win by a comfortable margin, scoring back-to-back victories at the track. Eric Stanton finished as the runner up over Pohlman in third. Brice Udelhoven was fourth and it was a close one at the checkers for John Watson and Gary Pfantz as they went fifth and sixth.
The 18-lap SportMod feature came next.....and it was a marathon. Not what the shivering crowd wanted. They didn't get the first lap in before the start was called back. When it did get underway, Neil Follett led the charge. The yellow came out at lap four, Follett still leading with Carter VanDenBerg chomping at the bit in second, ready for the restart. Also eagerly awaiting that restart was Clint Luellen. Luellen had charged through the pack from starting twelfth, up into the third spot. It was but a lap after the restart until Luellen got the advantage and flew to the lead. Another caution flew at lap nine, and again at lap thirteen. Thirteen was it's unlucky self as on the second try for a restart, corner one became a parking lot. Lap fourteen also brought out the yellow rag, the last one of the race. Luellen calmly remained at the point during all of the interruptions and restarts, and took the checkers for the first time at Marshalltown in 2014. Travis Peterson slipped around VanDenBerg in the closing laps as they finished second and third. Jared VanDeest and Ryan Ashton completed the top five.
The Stock Cars had another good one. It was hard to keep track of who was leading in the opening laps as they came across the finish line in a near photo finish. By lap five things were sorted out a bit and it was Michael Jaennette in his "Pink Panther" hot rod, staying just ahead of Steve Meyer. A couple of laps later, new daddy, Brian Irvine had made the pass into second around Meyer and was giving chase. Irvine, who had started back in row six, was on the hunt and challenging Jaennette for the lead every lap. A yellow flew at lap nine, leading up to a restart of hard runners behind Jaennette. There was a pack of cars at the front that gave way to some awesome racing after the restart, position changes at each lap. Donavon Smith made a spectacular move to get into first at lap thirteen, and then charged off with clear air in front of him the rest of the way to the checkers. Steve Meyer snatched second away from Irvine in third, at the line. Trent Murphy came from seventh to capture a fourth, and Scott Pippert came from starting in row eight to get a top five finish. Early leader Jaennette fell to seventh with all of the jostling, finishing behind Jay Schmidt in sixth.
The IMCA Modified A main followed up the great Stock Car feature with their own exciting race. Racer Hulin took the lead away from Jake Strayer at lap three, and pulled away. Hulin was racing along untouched at the front of the pack until that dreaded yellow flew at lap nine. There had been much challenging going on behind Hulin as Luke Wanninger had gotten to second, running just ahead of visiting Richie Gustin in third. Gustin, who had started twelfth, had worked his way into contention, running just ahead of Adam Larson. On the restart, Gustin took advantage and snatched the lead from Hulin. A couple of laps later, Wanninger made the pass into second, only to have Hulin grab it back. The rest of the way home was all Gustin, as he raced to the checkers flying first. Racer Hulin took the runner up spot, and Adam Larson just beat Wanninger to the finish line as they went third and fourth. Joel Rust had a good run to round out the top five.
Due to the chilly temps, it was decided to have the victory lane photos done after all the racing was completed, also forgoing the interviews. More than a few fans in the stands gave thumbs up to that decision. Next week, the regular season continues at Marshalltown Speedway where it will be "Salute to Military Night" at the races.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Three for three at Osky for Shute
The Southern Iowa Speedway held it's third night of regular season racing on Wednesday night. There were four repeat winners....one keeping his perfect season start going. The track was prepared beautifully and it produced multi-grooved, exciting racing all night long.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran their 16-lap feature first. Jenae Gustin led the opening laps of the race, but by lap three, Carter VanDenBerg had swung to the outside of the 19J and into the lead. VanDenBerg was distancing himself from the field when a yellow flew at lap six. VanDenBerg had no trouble in keeping his lead on the restart, but Curtis VanDerWal took advantage of the bunched up situation and took over the runner up spot. Young Brayton Carter was also pressuring Gustin after the restart and by lap ten, had placed himself in third spot. One more yellow would fly at lap twelve when Ryan Fullencamp and Cory VanZante tangled. This was what Carter was looking for, as he soon motored around VanDerWal after the restart, and into second. VanDenBerg pulled away the final laps to score the easy victory, his first for the regular season after scoring the Frostbuster win back on April 10. Brayton Carter ran a great race and finished second. Jason McDaniel had been running at the front of the pack all race long and slipped by VanDerWal at the finish as they went third and fourth respectively. Lady racer Jenae Gustin completed the top five.
The Sport Compacts went 10-laps for their feature. Trent Orwig held down the point the first two laps until Bill Whalen, Jr. took over. The rest of the race was a "try and catch Whalen, Jr." as he took another win in comfortable fashion. Orwig took second over Larry Hopkins in third, fourth was Matt Moore and John Whalen took fifth.
The big, wide-bodied IMCA Late Models ran a 20-lap feature next. Todd Cooney started from the pole position and never looked back, taking his first win at Osky this year. Tommy Elston chased Cooney through lap nine when a yellow flew for 17 year old Spencer Diercks. Diercks wound up in the outside wall at the top of turns one and two. When the track was cleared and the race restarted, Colby Springsteen took away the runner up spot from Elston and put a bit of pressure on leader Cooney. Springsteen looked to the low side several times, but just could not make it work. He had to settle for second on this night, after taking the win last week. Nick Marolf was third, Tommy Elston finished fourth and Kevin Kile made his first visit to the Monster Half-Mile this year, and finished fifth.
Up next, the IMCA Modifieds for their 15-lap A Main. Two cars put on quite a show in the early portion of the race as Cayden "Gas Man" Carter, and Todd "Toddzilla" Shute went at it. Carter held the upper hand until Shute's determined running of the low side in turns one and two paid off. Shute kept gaining a bit each lap and just after lap eight, made it work, and took over the lead. Shute went on to the checkers, taking the comfortable win, Carter having to be content with second. Andrew Schroeder took third over AJ Johnson in fourth and Kurt Kile finished fifth in his first appearance of the year. Shute has taken a liking to the Osky track this year. He is three-for-three for the regular point season.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks saw a red flag situation at lap three when Gina Greubel somehow wound up on her side, the roof on the turn one wall. There must have been at least ten emergency/track vehicles (we thought we counted fourteen!) surrounding the site, but we were able to see them tip the car back over....PLOP...and Gina then emerged from the car unscathed.
As the race restarted, Brandon Cox in the #66 car out of Earlham, Iowa, was leading. It was but a lap later that Mike Hughes made the move into the lead after having started sixth. Dustin Griffiths came along as well, taking over second from starting tenth. Griffiths challenged the leader at several points, but in the end, Hughes pulled to a comfortable margin to take the checkers, Griffiths taking second. Nick Ulin came from row four, to take third. Fourth went to Craig Brown and Brandon Cox was fifth. Mike Hughes won for the second time in 2014 at the track.
The always exciting 18-lap Stock Car feature completed the night's racing. This one was appearing to be a runaway, as the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty was running "with the kite string out" up front, as announcer Tony Paris would say. He was very content to let the field battle it out behind him, and they were! There was four-wide racing several times, as the drivers went at it for position. Kris Walker worked his way to second, and Corey "from just across the road" Stout, escaped the clump and got into third. His night would end not much later when he had to retire to the pits. By then, Zack VanderBeek had his bright orange Roger Kelderman ride up to second after making the pass on Walker and Justin Temeyer, out of Independence, Iowa, had worked his way into third. Temeyer had stopped at the track for some "testing and tuning" on his way back from Hays, Kansas, sporting a brand new race car. At lap fourteen, a yellow flew, setting up a shoot out to the finish. This was not what Murty was wanting to see, as he had been happily running out front content to let the rest of the pack fight it out. However, Zack VanderBeek was the guy with the smile on his face with the situation.! VanderBeek took advantage of the restart and was leading by the following lap.....keeping it to the checkers and the win. Murty scored what had to be a disappointing second place. Justin Temeyer finished third, having to be happy with his new car. Cayden Carter came from the tail of the starting line up, to take fourth, and Kris Walker finished fifth.
It was another chilly night at the races. It's nearly the middle of May for heaven's sake! Will it ever warm up? I'll be eating those words soon, no doubt! Thankfully, the wind was not a factor sitting in the grandstands last night, but coats and blankets were still in vogue! The track, thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen and crew, was in great shape, allowing the drivers an option of lines to run. Mike announced last night, that in hopes getting more Modifieds to come run the big half-mile, "if you get top ten in Modified, you will be guaranteed at least $110". Offers like that are far and few between!
It was Kelderman's Hobby Shack Night at the races. Occasionally, you could see a helicopter/drone flying above the track that was taking videos. You can find some pretty cool video from high atop the track by going to their Facebook page.
Join us in the grandstands next week.....and drivers, come and get a little mid-week racing in!! It will be Supreme Lawn & Landscape night, with the Late Models on the program again. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran their 16-lap feature first. Jenae Gustin led the opening laps of the race, but by lap three, Carter VanDenBerg had swung to the outside of the 19J and into the lead. VanDenBerg was distancing himself from the field when a yellow flew at lap six. VanDenBerg had no trouble in keeping his lead on the restart, but Curtis VanDerWal took advantage of the bunched up situation and took over the runner up spot. Young Brayton Carter was also pressuring Gustin after the restart and by lap ten, had placed himself in third spot. One more yellow would fly at lap twelve when Ryan Fullencamp and Cory VanZante tangled. This was what Carter was looking for, as he soon motored around VanDerWal after the restart, and into second. VanDenBerg pulled away the final laps to score the easy victory, his first for the regular season after scoring the Frostbuster win back on April 10. Brayton Carter ran a great race and finished second. Jason McDaniel had been running at the front of the pack all race long and slipped by VanDerWal at the finish as they went third and fourth respectively. Lady racer Jenae Gustin completed the top five.
The Sport Compacts went 10-laps for their feature. Trent Orwig held down the point the first two laps until Bill Whalen, Jr. took over. The rest of the race was a "try and catch Whalen, Jr." as he took another win in comfortable fashion. Orwig took second over Larry Hopkins in third, fourth was Matt Moore and John Whalen took fifth.
The big, wide-bodied IMCA Late Models ran a 20-lap feature next. Todd Cooney started from the pole position and never looked back, taking his first win at Osky this year. Tommy Elston chased Cooney through lap nine when a yellow flew for 17 year old Spencer Diercks. Diercks wound up in the outside wall at the top of turns one and two. When the track was cleared and the race restarted, Colby Springsteen took away the runner up spot from Elston and put a bit of pressure on leader Cooney. Springsteen looked to the low side several times, but just could not make it work. He had to settle for second on this night, after taking the win last week. Nick Marolf was third, Tommy Elston finished fourth and Kevin Kile made his first visit to the Monster Half-Mile this year, and finished fifth.
Up next, the IMCA Modifieds for their 15-lap A Main. Two cars put on quite a show in the early portion of the race as Cayden "Gas Man" Carter, and Todd "Toddzilla" Shute went at it. Carter held the upper hand until Shute's determined running of the low side in turns one and two paid off. Shute kept gaining a bit each lap and just after lap eight, made it work, and took over the lead. Shute went on to the checkers, taking the comfortable win, Carter having to be content with second. Andrew Schroeder took third over AJ Johnson in fourth and Kurt Kile finished fifth in his first appearance of the year. Shute has taken a liking to the Osky track this year. He is three-for-three for the regular point season.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks saw a red flag situation at lap three when Gina Greubel somehow wound up on her side, the roof on the turn one wall. There must have been at least ten emergency/track vehicles (we thought we counted fourteen!) surrounding the site, but we were able to see them tip the car back over....PLOP...and Gina then emerged from the car unscathed.
As the race restarted, Brandon Cox in the #66 car out of Earlham, Iowa, was leading. It was but a lap later that Mike Hughes made the move into the lead after having started sixth. Dustin Griffiths came along as well, taking over second from starting tenth. Griffiths challenged the leader at several points, but in the end, Hughes pulled to a comfortable margin to take the checkers, Griffiths taking second. Nick Ulin came from row four, to take third. Fourth went to Craig Brown and Brandon Cox was fifth. Mike Hughes won for the second time in 2014 at the track.
The always exciting 18-lap Stock Car feature completed the night's racing. This one was appearing to be a runaway, as the Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty was running "with the kite string out" up front, as announcer Tony Paris would say. He was very content to let the field battle it out behind him, and they were! There was four-wide racing several times, as the drivers went at it for position. Kris Walker worked his way to second, and Corey "from just across the road" Stout, escaped the clump and got into third. His night would end not much later when he had to retire to the pits. By then, Zack VanderBeek had his bright orange Roger Kelderman ride up to second after making the pass on Walker and Justin Temeyer, out of Independence, Iowa, had worked his way into third. Temeyer had stopped at the track for some "testing and tuning" on his way back from Hays, Kansas, sporting a brand new race car. At lap fourteen, a yellow flew, setting up a shoot out to the finish. This was not what Murty was wanting to see, as he had been happily running out front content to let the rest of the pack fight it out. However, Zack VanderBeek was the guy with the smile on his face with the situation.! VanderBeek took advantage of the restart and was leading by the following lap.....keeping it to the checkers and the win. Murty scored what had to be a disappointing second place. Justin Temeyer finished third, having to be happy with his new car. Cayden Carter came from the tail of the starting line up, to take fourth, and Kris Walker finished fifth.
It was another chilly night at the races. It's nearly the middle of May for heaven's sake! Will it ever warm up? I'll be eating those words soon, no doubt! Thankfully, the wind was not a factor sitting in the grandstands last night, but coats and blankets were still in vogue! The track, thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen and crew, was in great shape, allowing the drivers an option of lines to run. Mike announced last night, that in hopes getting more Modifieds to come run the big half-mile, "if you get top ten in Modified, you will be guaranteed at least $110". Offers like that are far and few between!
It was Kelderman's Hobby Shack Night at the races. Occasionally, you could see a helicopter/drone flying above the track that was taking videos. You can find some pretty cool video from high atop the track by going to their Facebook page.
Join us in the grandstands next week.....and drivers, come and get a little mid-week racing in!! It will be Supreme Lawn & Landscape night, with the Late Models on the program again. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Osky - 5-14-14
Unofficial results:
Late Model
1. 30 Todd Cooney
2. 38 Colby Springsteen
3. 33 Nick Marolf
4. 45 Tommy Elston
5. 88 Kevin Kile
6. 43 Jeremy Grady
7. 99D Darrel DeFrance
8. 15C Curt Schroeder
9. 32 Curtis Glover
DNF: 19G Richie Gustin
29 Spencer Diercks
Modified
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 8J AJ Johnson
5. 78 Kurt Kile
6. 40 Scott Dickey
DNF: 12H Dakota Hayden
64 Casey Greubel
Stock Car
1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 56T Justin Temeyer
4. 10CC Cayden Carter
5. 18 Kris Walker
6. 52 Nathan Wood
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 62 Brad Pinkerton
9. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. Jason Minnehan
12. 85 Doug Sylvester
DNF: 94 Corey Stout
87 Les Blakley
DNS: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
2. 01 Brayton Carter
3. 85 Jason McDaniel
4. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
5. 19J Jenae Gustin
6. 72 Brett Lowry
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 57 Tyler Gross
9. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
10. 29 Colton Livezey
11. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: 95J Jason Hall
34Z Cory VanZante
9A Logan Anderson
352 Charlie Weber
Hobby Stock
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 69 Craig Brown
5. 66 Brandon Cox
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 33 Justin Hook
8. 32T Bobby Greene
9. 3 Travis Bunnell
10. 79S Jason See
11. 19 Bill Bonnett
12. 55 Brad Stephens
13. 7A Aaron Osweiler
DNF: 6S Shannon Sherwood
224 Gina Greubel
Sport Compacts
1. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 4 Larry Hopkins
4. 2M Matt Moore
5. 77 John Whalen
6. 95 Tim Bevins
7. 5 Matt Beal
8. 5X Tyler Herring
DNS: 55 Jason Breuklander
Late Model
1. 30 Todd Cooney
2. 38 Colby Springsteen
3. 33 Nick Marolf
4. 45 Tommy Elston
5. 88 Kevin Kile
6. 43 Jeremy Grady
7. 99D Darrel DeFrance
8. 15C Curt Schroeder
9. 32 Curtis Glover
DNF: 19G Richie Gustin
29 Spencer Diercks
Modified
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 8J AJ Johnson
5. 78 Kurt Kile
6. 40 Scott Dickey
DNF: 12H Dakota Hayden
64 Casey Greubel
Stock Car
1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 56T Justin Temeyer
4. 10CC Cayden Carter
5. 18 Kris Walker
6. 52 Nathan Wood
7. 22R Todd Reitzler
8. 62 Brad Pinkerton
9. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
11. Jason Minnehan
12. 85 Doug Sylvester
DNF: 94 Corey Stout
87 Les Blakley
DNS: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
2. 01 Brayton Carter
3. 85 Jason McDaniel
4. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
5. 19J Jenae Gustin
6. 72 Brett Lowry
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 57 Tyler Gross
9. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
10. 29 Colton Livezey
11. 30 Shawn Cooney
DNF: 95J Jason Hall
34Z Cory VanZante
9A Logan Anderson
352 Charlie Weber
Hobby Stock
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 10G Dustin Griffiths
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 69 Craig Brown
5. 66 Brandon Cox
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 33 Justin Hook
8. 32T Bobby Greene
9. 3 Travis Bunnell
10. 79S Jason See
11. 19 Bill Bonnett
12. 55 Brad Stephens
13. 7A Aaron Osweiler
DNF: 6S Shannon Sherwood
224 Gina Greubel
Sport Compacts
1. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 4 Larry Hopkins
4. 2M Matt Moore
5. 77 John Whalen
6. 95 Tim Bevins
7. 5 Matt Beal
8. 5X Tyler Herring
DNS: 55 Jason Breuklander
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Logue logs another win at Boone
When we left to head to the Boone Speedway yesterday afternoon, the skies looked ominous in that direction. A check of radar did not look good and we ran into rain on Highway 30 as we headed west. However, there appeared to be a gap in the storm cell system, right about Boone. Yup, the skies parted, not a drop of rain fell at the track, and Saturday night racing went on as usual. The racing was top notch too...one feature determined by just inches. The Hobby Stock and Mod Lite classes had first time winners for 2014, while the Modified, Stock Car and SportMod had returning winners to victory lane.
The Mod Lite feature didn't start off well. Lap three brought out a red flag when Mike Morrill flipped over in turn four, but thankfully unhurt. In fact, they flipped him back over, and he tagged the tail for the restart. Terry Brown led from the beginning with brother Charlie Brown tight on his rear. The two "spooky clown cars" (take a look at their graphics some time) were putting up quite a battle until Charlie Brown was suddenly off power going down the back stretch; unable to exit the track, and bringing out a yellow with just two laps remaining. Terry Brown was holding the point position, but he had company with Jimmy May, Andy Hennigar, Travis Stensland and Josh May all hungry for the restart. The green-white-checkered finish was a dandy, with a 4-wide battle on the final lap. Terry Brown won the war, and took the win, Jimmy May taking the runner up spot. Hennigar finished third, Josh May was fourth and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five. I believe this to be Terry Brown's first win ever at the Boone Speedway.
The SportMod feature somehow avoided a near disaster at lap two when a huge domino pile up occurred entering turn two. Surprisingly, all cars continued on except one, bringing out a yellow. On the restart, Lynn Brockett slipped by leader Josh Steele, the St. Joe, Missouri driver who has been running at the track weekly, and Randy Roberts and Ben Kates followed suit around Steele as well. Roberts put a little too much "umph" in it coming out of turn four, sliding sideways and another yellow flew. When the race restarted once again, Ben Kates put his foot in it and got around Brockett, taking over the lead. In the waning laps, Kates pulled away from the field and scored the easy victory. Brockett held down second over a hard charging Doug Smith in third. Brandon Williams came from fourteenth starting spot to capture fourth, and late arrival, Carter VanDenBerg (who pulled in just in time to tag the A feature) flew through the field to take fifth. This was Kates' second win for the regular season, also having won the Frostbuster special.
The 20-lap Modified feature was a jim-dandy at the finish. Joel Bushore took the initial lead over David Brown but his night ended at lap three when he exited the track. Brown was now in command, now being chased by none other than veteran racer John Logue. Jon Snyder was also on the move, as was the Flying Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen, as they chased Logue. Logue made the pass for the lead around Brown just before a final yellow flew at lap seventeen for Lloyd Henderson's machine dead in the water between turns one and two. This set up a shoot out for the final three circuits! Snyder got past Brown with a lap to go to take over second and the dash to the checkers found Jammin' Jimmy Gustin, who started eleventh on the starting grid, squirt past Brown to snatch third. Mike VanGenderen, who had been with the front runners most of the race, took fifth place behind Brown's fourth place finish. Logue snared his second win of the season at Boone.
The IMCA Stock Cars produced another exciting race, the winner being decided at the stripe by mere inches! The #02 of Mike Goldsberry jumped to the lead on the start, hiking his left front as he circled the track. Josh Daniels quickly made his way into second and when a yellow flew at lap seven, Jerry Gifford was running third after starting in twelfth place. A few laps later, Gifford made the pass for the lead. Another caution came out at lap twelve, Gifford at the point position, Daniels in second, followed by Goldsberry and Jay Schmidt was running fourth after starting fourteenth. Schmidt had been flying around the topside, going where others weren't venturing. In the closing laps, Schmidt snatched the runner up spot and the scenario was set for a dash to the finish to determine the winner! At the finish line, Gifford took the win...by inches, Schmidt having to settle for second. Daniels held on to score third over Goldsberry and Donavon Smith took fifth. Gifford won for the second time this year at the track.
Several yellows flew in the last feature of the night, the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock main event. Ross Marshall held down the lead as Michael Leffler gave chase through the halfway point. Leffler made the move into the lead at lap eight, when the fourth and final caution flew. Waiting in the wings on the restart running third, was John Watson and Eric Stanton in fourth. Watson picked off second spot from Marshall a lap later and over took Leffler on the final lap, scoring the win. Shannon Anderson took advantage of the late restart situation and moved up to take second after running sixth on the restart at lap eight. Leffler held on to score a third place finish, Stanton was fourth and Ross Marshall completed the top five.
At intermission and farming time, several drivers agreed to come to the front stretch, don pink high heeled shoes, and run a foot race....a "Diva Dash". Derek Hodges, the driver of the #77 Hobby Stock won the dash down the front stretch. His reward....a tiara, bouquet of flowers and a pink boa! It was an entertaining time for the Mother's Day crowd where all the mothers were handed a carnation as they entered through the grandstand gates.
As I write this on Sunday, there is much rain and rumbling outside, warnings on television of possible dangerous storms in the area, and we've received word that Vinton, Stuart and Mason City have all canceled their racing programs for tonight. We are crossing our fingers that things will clear up in the coming week as we have plans to head to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Tuesday night for the first Hawkeye Dirt Tour of the year and to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for their regular Wednesday night show.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
The Mod Lite feature didn't start off well. Lap three brought out a red flag when Mike Morrill flipped over in turn four, but thankfully unhurt. In fact, they flipped him back over, and he tagged the tail for the restart. Terry Brown led from the beginning with brother Charlie Brown tight on his rear. The two "spooky clown cars" (take a look at their graphics some time) were putting up quite a battle until Charlie Brown was suddenly off power going down the back stretch; unable to exit the track, and bringing out a yellow with just two laps remaining. Terry Brown was holding the point position, but he had company with Jimmy May, Andy Hennigar, Travis Stensland and Josh May all hungry for the restart. The green-white-checkered finish was a dandy, with a 4-wide battle on the final lap. Terry Brown won the war, and took the win, Jimmy May taking the runner up spot. Hennigar finished third, Josh May was fourth and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five. I believe this to be Terry Brown's first win ever at the Boone Speedway.
The SportMod feature somehow avoided a near disaster at lap two when a huge domino pile up occurred entering turn two. Surprisingly, all cars continued on except one, bringing out a yellow. On the restart, Lynn Brockett slipped by leader Josh Steele, the St. Joe, Missouri driver who has been running at the track weekly, and Randy Roberts and Ben Kates followed suit around Steele as well. Roberts put a little too much "umph" in it coming out of turn four, sliding sideways and another yellow flew. When the race restarted once again, Ben Kates put his foot in it and got around Brockett, taking over the lead. In the waning laps, Kates pulled away from the field and scored the easy victory. Brockett held down second over a hard charging Doug Smith in third. Brandon Williams came from fourteenth starting spot to capture fourth, and late arrival, Carter VanDenBerg (who pulled in just in time to tag the A feature) flew through the field to take fifth. This was Kates' second win for the regular season, also having won the Frostbuster special.
The 20-lap Modified feature was a jim-dandy at the finish. Joel Bushore took the initial lead over David Brown but his night ended at lap three when he exited the track. Brown was now in command, now being chased by none other than veteran racer John Logue. Jon Snyder was also on the move, as was the Flying Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen, as they chased Logue. Logue made the pass for the lead around Brown just before a final yellow flew at lap seventeen for Lloyd Henderson's machine dead in the water between turns one and two. This set up a shoot out for the final three circuits! Snyder got past Brown with a lap to go to take over second and the dash to the checkers found Jammin' Jimmy Gustin, who started eleventh on the starting grid, squirt past Brown to snatch third. Mike VanGenderen, who had been with the front runners most of the race, took fifth place behind Brown's fourth place finish. Logue snared his second win of the season at Boone.
The IMCA Stock Cars produced another exciting race, the winner being decided at the stripe by mere inches! The #02 of Mike Goldsberry jumped to the lead on the start, hiking his left front as he circled the track. Josh Daniels quickly made his way into second and when a yellow flew at lap seven, Jerry Gifford was running third after starting in twelfth place. A few laps later, Gifford made the pass for the lead. Another caution came out at lap twelve, Gifford at the point position, Daniels in second, followed by Goldsberry and Jay Schmidt was running fourth after starting fourteenth. Schmidt had been flying around the topside, going where others weren't venturing. In the closing laps, Schmidt snatched the runner up spot and the scenario was set for a dash to the finish to determine the winner! At the finish line, Gifford took the win...by inches, Schmidt having to settle for second. Daniels held on to score third over Goldsberry and Donavon Smith took fifth. Gifford won for the second time this year at the track.
Several yellows flew in the last feature of the night, the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock main event. Ross Marshall held down the lead as Michael Leffler gave chase through the halfway point. Leffler made the move into the lead at lap eight, when the fourth and final caution flew. Waiting in the wings on the restart running third, was John Watson and Eric Stanton in fourth. Watson picked off second spot from Marshall a lap later and over took Leffler on the final lap, scoring the win. Shannon Anderson took advantage of the late restart situation and moved up to take second after running sixth on the restart at lap eight. Leffler held on to score a third place finish, Stanton was fourth and Ross Marshall completed the top five.
At intermission and farming time, several drivers agreed to come to the front stretch, don pink high heeled shoes, and run a foot race....a "Diva Dash". Derek Hodges, the driver of the #77 Hobby Stock won the dash down the front stretch. His reward....a tiara, bouquet of flowers and a pink boa! It was an entertaining time for the Mother's Day crowd where all the mothers were handed a carnation as they entered through the grandstand gates.
As I write this on Sunday, there is much rain and rumbling outside, warnings on television of possible dangerous storms in the area, and we've received word that Vinton, Stuart and Mason City have all canceled their racing programs for tonight. We are crossing our fingers that things will clear up in the coming week as we have plans to head to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Tuesday night for the first Hawkeye Dirt Tour of the year and to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for their regular Wednesday night show.
Thanks for reading, and happy racing!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Wanninger wins mods, Smith gets the upperhand in stock cars
It was the Cliff Chambers Memorial Race at the Marshalltown Speedway on Friday evening. This annual race honors the former promoter of the track who was a long-time supporter of the sport. It was the 25th anniversary of his passing. The Nostalgia cars joined the six other regular divisions, giving fans a glimpse of racing from yesteryear.
The Sport Compact feature went to John Gill. Gill led all ten laps of the main event. Dave Moorman chased the leader the entire race, but could manage no more than the runner spot. Third was Aaron Miller, fourth went to Jacob Reiter, and fifth was Jeremy Stone.
It was fun to see the '50's and '60's nostalgia cars put on a show for the fans. I believe there was even a late '40's included. Jim Anderson, in his black 1959 Ford led until lap seven. That was when Roger Ceiliski took over in his #39 1963 Nova SS. It was a done deal after that, as he drove home to the checkers first. Anderson held down second, third was Pudge Grabill in the #5 red '55 or '56 Chevy, fourth was the #69 of Larry Knop driving a purple '69 Chevelle, and Scott Jorpeland took fifth in his white Chevelle #3.
Chargin' Charlie Brown has been having a good season so far. He took the win, his second in a row, leading the entire 15 laps. Andy Hennigar was reeling in the leader, but ran out of time to garner more than second. Mike Morrill was third, Josh May took fourth, and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five. After an initial "no go" on the start of race for a mishap in turn two, the race went green to checkered.
The IMCA Hobby Stock winner also led from start to finish. Austin Luellen, the Minburn, Iowa driver who has been making his way over to Marshalltown on Friday nights, along with brothers Clint and Ty who participate in the SportMod division, took the checkers by a comfortable margin. There was a lot of jostling behind the leader during most of the race however. Eric Larson, John Watson and Garrett Eilander were locked in a fierce battle. John Watson won the war for second, third went to Eilander and Larson was fourth. Fifth place finisher, Eric Stanton recovered from a mishap in turn two early in the race, falling many spots after gathering it back in. Luellen's win is the first of the regular points season after taking the Frostbuster victory.
The IMCA Northern SportMod 18-lap race went flag-to-flag. Montezuma racer, Brett Lowry quickly took the lead when the green flew. Carter VanDenBerg was immediately on his tail and Jenae Gustin tagged in third. Gustin made a great recovery after a bobble about lap five, kept her composure and continued without losing a spot. VanDenBerg gained the lead at lap six and drove home to the checkers first, untouched. However, a post race inspection deemed him illegal with an "ignition box infraction". This handed the win over to Lowry. Gustin was awarded second, Doug Smith drove from starting eleventh to earn third, fourth was Clint Luellen who had started twelfth, and brother Ty Luellen was fifth.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again---the IMCA Stock Cars put on another great show! Steve Meyer was running comfortably in the lead, happy to let the battling continue behind him. Jeff Wollam, Jay Schmidt, Michael Jaennette, Trent Murphy and Donavon Smith were locked in a close match for positions.
Wollam nabbed second, Schmidt made his way to third and Jeannette took over fourth at lap nine....Meyer sailing away at the point. A lap later, Jaennette suffered a flat tire, his night ending.
Meyer's comfortable lead evaporated at lap 11 when a yellow flag flew for a car sitting on the track. Wollam, Schmidt, Murphy and Smith waiting behind him in the wings on the restart. Meyer kept his lead when the race went green, Schmidt snatching second and Smith tagging him. The top three really entertained the fans in the closing laps. With two laps to go, Smith rocketed off of corner two, passing both Schmidt and Meyer and continued to the finish to seal the win. Meyer got back around Schmidt in the waning moments as they went second and third. Trent Murphy took fourth place and veteran racer Jeff Wollam had his best run of the season, taking fifth.
Eric Elliott, who moved up this season into the Modified class from the SportMods, looked strong leading the 20-lap race with but a handful of laps remaining. However, Luke Wanninger was giving him fits most of the time. Meanwhile, Ronn Lauritzen had come from starting twelfth, into third and was reeling in the leaders. Wanninger pulled off the pass and was leading at lap sixteen, when a caution came out for a car sitting on the backstretch. Lauritzen had also made the pass into second around Elliott as they awaited the restart. As the cars came to the green for that restart, it appeared Lauritzen momentarily lost power, boggling up the field as cars searched for a clear racetrack. Wanninger was not hindered by the debacle behind him, flying to the win---his first for the season after winning the Frostbuster. Rookie to the class, Joel Rust snaked through the restart mess to capture second. Racer Hulin crossed the finish line in third, but was later disqualified for a J bar infraction, giving third to Ronn Lauritzen who recovered well from his botched restart incident. Fourth went to Eric Elliott and Tyler Droste came from starting in row six, to take fifth place.
Next Friday night, the High-Banks of Marshalltown will once again be action. Racing begins weekly at 7:30. Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
The Sport Compact feature went to John Gill. Gill led all ten laps of the main event. Dave Moorman chased the leader the entire race, but could manage no more than the runner spot. Third was Aaron Miller, fourth went to Jacob Reiter, and fifth was Jeremy Stone.
It was fun to see the '50's and '60's nostalgia cars put on a show for the fans. I believe there was even a late '40's included. Jim Anderson, in his black 1959 Ford led until lap seven. That was when Roger Ceiliski took over in his #39 1963 Nova SS. It was a done deal after that, as he drove home to the checkers first. Anderson held down second, third was Pudge Grabill in the #5 red '55 or '56 Chevy, fourth was the #69 of Larry Knop driving a purple '69 Chevelle, and Scott Jorpeland took fifth in his white Chevelle #3.
Chargin' Charlie Brown has been having a good season so far. He took the win, his second in a row, leading the entire 15 laps. Andy Hennigar was reeling in the leader, but ran out of time to garner more than second. Mike Morrill was third, Josh May took fourth, and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five. After an initial "no go" on the start of race for a mishap in turn two, the race went green to checkered.
The IMCA Hobby Stock winner also led from start to finish. Austin Luellen, the Minburn, Iowa driver who has been making his way over to Marshalltown on Friday nights, along with brothers Clint and Ty who participate in the SportMod division, took the checkers by a comfortable margin. There was a lot of jostling behind the leader during most of the race however. Eric Larson, John Watson and Garrett Eilander were locked in a fierce battle. John Watson won the war for second, third went to Eilander and Larson was fourth. Fifth place finisher, Eric Stanton recovered from a mishap in turn two early in the race, falling many spots after gathering it back in. Luellen's win is the first of the regular points season after taking the Frostbuster victory.
The IMCA Northern SportMod 18-lap race went flag-to-flag. Montezuma racer, Brett Lowry quickly took the lead when the green flew. Carter VanDenBerg was immediately on his tail and Jenae Gustin tagged in third. Gustin made a great recovery after a bobble about lap five, kept her composure and continued without losing a spot. VanDenBerg gained the lead at lap six and drove home to the checkers first, untouched. However, a post race inspection deemed him illegal with an "ignition box infraction". This handed the win over to Lowry. Gustin was awarded second, Doug Smith drove from starting eleventh to earn third, fourth was Clint Luellen who had started twelfth, and brother Ty Luellen was fifth.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again---the IMCA Stock Cars put on another great show! Steve Meyer was running comfortably in the lead, happy to let the battling continue behind him. Jeff Wollam, Jay Schmidt, Michael Jaennette, Trent Murphy and Donavon Smith were locked in a close match for positions.
Wollam nabbed second, Schmidt made his way to third and Jeannette took over fourth at lap nine....Meyer sailing away at the point. A lap later, Jaennette suffered a flat tire, his night ending.
Meyer's comfortable lead evaporated at lap 11 when a yellow flag flew for a car sitting on the track. Wollam, Schmidt, Murphy and Smith waiting behind him in the wings on the restart. Meyer kept his lead when the race went green, Schmidt snatching second and Smith tagging him. The top three really entertained the fans in the closing laps. With two laps to go, Smith rocketed off of corner two, passing both Schmidt and Meyer and continued to the finish to seal the win. Meyer got back around Schmidt in the waning moments as they went second and third. Trent Murphy took fourth place and veteran racer Jeff Wollam had his best run of the season, taking fifth.
Eric Elliott, who moved up this season into the Modified class from the SportMods, looked strong leading the 20-lap race with but a handful of laps remaining. However, Luke Wanninger was giving him fits most of the time. Meanwhile, Ronn Lauritzen had come from starting twelfth, into third and was reeling in the leaders. Wanninger pulled off the pass and was leading at lap sixteen, when a caution came out for a car sitting on the backstretch. Lauritzen had also made the pass into second around Elliott as they awaited the restart. As the cars came to the green for that restart, it appeared Lauritzen momentarily lost power, boggling up the field as cars searched for a clear racetrack. Wanninger was not hindered by the debacle behind him, flying to the win---his first for the season after winning the Frostbuster. Rookie to the class, Joel Rust snaked through the restart mess to capture second. Racer Hulin crossed the finish line in third, but was later disqualified for a J bar infraction, giving third to Ronn Lauritzen who recovered well from his botched restart incident. Fourth went to Eric Elliott and Tyler Droste came from starting in row six, to take fifth place.
Next Friday night, the High-Banks of Marshalltown will once again be action. Racing begins weekly at 7:30. Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Springsteen takes Late Model win at Osky, Shute repeats in Modified
After a two-week absence due to weather, the Southern Iowa Speedway was back in action last night. For the first time in 2014, the IMCA Late Models took to the track, as did the IMCA Sport Compacts. Todd Shute repeated his win in the Modified division, all other classes were new winners. A few fun and games were thrown into the picture as well, entertaining the crowd while the track was worked at intermission.
The Sport Compacts ran for the first time this year---seven in attendance. Bill Whalen, Jr. over took Trent Orwig before the first lap was scored, led all laps, and scored the victory. Orwig finished as the runner up, Matt Moore was third, fourth went to Nicholas VanHemert, Matt Beal was fifth, Tyler Herring took sixth, and John Whalen did not finish.
The Stock Cars once again produced an exciting 18-lap race. Corey Stout grabbed the lead at the drop of the green from starting on the pole. He had a lot of company behind him though, as cars were fighting for position. Todd Reitzler snatched second place, but was barely holding off the challenges of Zack VanderBeek, Nathan Wood and Brad Pinkerton. Those three duked it out three-wide at times, Reitzler still holding down second at lap ten. VanderBeek was suddenly off power on the back chute. He exited the track without bringing out a yellow, allowing the race to continue under green. Brad Pinkerton had taken over second and on leader Stout's tail and looking for a way around---Reitzler and Wood right there waiting for a miscue. Stout took the win, Pinkerton finished as the runner up over Reitzler in third. Both were able to hold their positions after a bit of contact was made right after the white flag flew. Nathan Wood finished fourth and Donovan Nunnikhoven took fifth. The race went caution free.
The SportMod 16-lap feature came up next, young Brayton Carter leading the opening laps. By lap three, Curtis Van Der Wal had made his way around Carter and into the lead. Jason McDaniel scooted up from starting sixth to take the runner up spot away from Carter and had his sites set on the leader. Van Der Wal, however, had no trouble in distancing himself from the competition, and took the win in easy fashion. McDaniel held off Carter as they went second and third. Brett Lowry came from ninth starting position to give them fits as the race closed, taking fourth. Ryan Fullencamp completed the top five.
The IMCA Hobby Stock ran their usual 15-lap A main. Veteran racer Brad Stephens looked strong as he led from the start and pulled away. Danny Thrasher made his way up to second, Dustin Griffiths was running third when a yellow flew at lap eleven. This proved to be Stephens undoing as he soon was out after suffering a flat tire from some contact. Dustin Griffiths was now the man in charge, Thrasher still in the runner up spot. Three more yellows would fly before the race finally ended under green-white-checkered; Griffiths holding the lead to the checkers and the win. Thrasher held on to second, Nick Ulin took third, fourth was Bill Bonnett who came from starting back in row seven, and Travis Bunnell rounded out the top five.
The Modifieds had a good battle going on with Andrew Schroeder holding off Jesse Sobbing, Todd Shute and Cayden Carter. Sobbing was pressuring the leader when he was suddenly off power on the back stretch, bringing out a yellow. When the race restarted, Carter zoomed to the lead around Schroeder, Shute soon to follow him into second. Carter and Shute battled each other closely until Shute was finally able to pull off the pass. Shute held off Carter for the win, Carter having to be content with second. Third was Jacob Murray, fourth went to Andrew Schroeder and Adam Larson was fifth.
The night's finale was a 20-lap feature for the IMCA Late Models. The Late Models were making their first appearance for 2014 at the track but they will be on the docket several more times this season. Colby Springsteen had no trouble in taking the win, as he led all 20 laps to the checkers. Nick Marolf chased Springsteen the entire distance to take second. Third went to Todd Cooney, and Jeremy Grady passed Darrel DeFrance on the final lap as they went fourth and fifth.
Earlier, while a bit of track maintenance was being attended to, twelve drivers had a "snack contest". The first two drivers to eat and swallow seven soda crackers would be awarded a free admission to the track next week. The best chompers were Nathan Wood and Brett Lowry.
It was great to be sitting at a track without being bundled up for a change. Let's hope that will continue. It's about time we had good racing weather. Next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway, the IMCA Late Models will be running for weekly points again, along with the other five IMCA classes. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30. Join us for some mid-week racing. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
The Sport Compacts ran for the first time this year---seven in attendance. Bill Whalen, Jr. over took Trent Orwig before the first lap was scored, led all laps, and scored the victory. Orwig finished as the runner up, Matt Moore was third, fourth went to Nicholas VanHemert, Matt Beal was fifth, Tyler Herring took sixth, and John Whalen did not finish.
The Stock Cars once again produced an exciting 18-lap race. Corey Stout grabbed the lead at the drop of the green from starting on the pole. He had a lot of company behind him though, as cars were fighting for position. Todd Reitzler snatched second place, but was barely holding off the challenges of Zack VanderBeek, Nathan Wood and Brad Pinkerton. Those three duked it out three-wide at times, Reitzler still holding down second at lap ten. VanderBeek was suddenly off power on the back chute. He exited the track without bringing out a yellow, allowing the race to continue under green. Brad Pinkerton had taken over second and on leader Stout's tail and looking for a way around---Reitzler and Wood right there waiting for a miscue. Stout took the win, Pinkerton finished as the runner up over Reitzler in third. Both were able to hold their positions after a bit of contact was made right after the white flag flew. Nathan Wood finished fourth and Donovan Nunnikhoven took fifth. The race went caution free.
The SportMod 16-lap feature came up next, young Brayton Carter leading the opening laps. By lap three, Curtis Van Der Wal had made his way around Carter and into the lead. Jason McDaniel scooted up from starting sixth to take the runner up spot away from Carter and had his sites set on the leader. Van Der Wal, however, had no trouble in distancing himself from the competition, and took the win in easy fashion. McDaniel held off Carter as they went second and third. Brett Lowry came from ninth starting position to give them fits as the race closed, taking fourth. Ryan Fullencamp completed the top five.
The IMCA Hobby Stock ran their usual 15-lap A main. Veteran racer Brad Stephens looked strong as he led from the start and pulled away. Danny Thrasher made his way up to second, Dustin Griffiths was running third when a yellow flew at lap eleven. This proved to be Stephens undoing as he soon was out after suffering a flat tire from some contact. Dustin Griffiths was now the man in charge, Thrasher still in the runner up spot. Three more yellows would fly before the race finally ended under green-white-checkered; Griffiths holding the lead to the checkers and the win. Thrasher held on to second, Nick Ulin took third, fourth was Bill Bonnett who came from starting back in row seven, and Travis Bunnell rounded out the top five.
The Modifieds had a good battle going on with Andrew Schroeder holding off Jesse Sobbing, Todd Shute and Cayden Carter. Sobbing was pressuring the leader when he was suddenly off power on the back stretch, bringing out a yellow. When the race restarted, Carter zoomed to the lead around Schroeder, Shute soon to follow him into second. Carter and Shute battled each other closely until Shute was finally able to pull off the pass. Shute held off Carter for the win, Carter having to be content with second. Third was Jacob Murray, fourth went to Andrew Schroeder and Adam Larson was fifth.
The night's finale was a 20-lap feature for the IMCA Late Models. The Late Models were making their first appearance for 2014 at the track but they will be on the docket several more times this season. Colby Springsteen had no trouble in taking the win, as he led all 20 laps to the checkers. Nick Marolf chased Springsteen the entire distance to take second. Third went to Todd Cooney, and Jeremy Grady passed Darrel DeFrance on the final lap as they went fourth and fifth.
Earlier, while a bit of track maintenance was being attended to, twelve drivers had a "snack contest". The first two drivers to eat and swallow seven soda crackers would be awarded a free admission to the track next week. The best chompers were Nathan Wood and Brett Lowry.
It was great to be sitting at a track without being bundled up for a change. Let's hope that will continue. It's about time we had good racing weather. Next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway, the IMCA Late Models will be running for weekly points again, along with the other five IMCA classes. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30. Join us for some mid-week racing. Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Osky- 5-7-14
Unofficial results:
Late Model
1. 38 Colby Springsteen
2. 33 Nick Marolf
3. 30 Todd Cooney
4. 43 Jeremy Grady
5. 99D Darrel DeFrance
6. 19G Richie Gustin
7. 32 Curtis Glover
Modified
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 48J Jacob Murray
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 2L Adam Larson
6. 22 Brandon Banks
7. 12H Dakota Hayden
8. 64 Casey Greubel
DNF: 99 Jesse Sobbing
8J AJ Johnson
Stock Car
1. 94 Corey Stout
2. 62 Brad Pinkerton
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 85 Doug Sylvester
7. 17C Shane Paris
8. 18 Kris Walker
DNF: 19 Donnie Pearson
33Z Zack VanderBeek
77T Trent Jeanes
17 Brock Welch
10CC Cayden Carter
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
6. 9A Logan Anderson
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 19J Jenae Gustin
9. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
10. 30 Shawn Cooney
11. 29 Colton Livezey
DNF: CH19 Colby Heishman
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 84 Danny Thrasher
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 19 Bill Bonnett
5. 3 Travis Bunnell
6. 33 Justin Hook
7. 7A Aaron Osweiler
8. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
11 Mike Hughes
55 Brad Stephens
52 Kevin Fee
66 Brandon Cox
69 Craig Brown
6S Shannon Sherwood
32T Bobby Greene
DNS: 12 Mike Kincaid
Sport Compacts
1. 00W Bill Whalen
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 2M Matt Moore
4. 33 Nicholas VanHemert
5. 5 Matt Beal
6. 5X Tyler Herring
DNF: 77 John Whalen
Recap of night's racing to follow tomorrow
Late Model
1. 38 Colby Springsteen
2. 33 Nick Marolf
3. 30 Todd Cooney
4. 43 Jeremy Grady
5. 99D Darrel DeFrance
6. 19G Richie Gustin
7. 32 Curtis Glover
Modified
1. 5 Todd Shute
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 48J Jacob Murray
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 2L Adam Larson
6. 22 Brandon Banks
7. 12H Dakota Hayden
8. 64 Casey Greubel
DNF: 99 Jesse Sobbing
8J AJ Johnson
Stock Car
1. 94 Corey Stout
2. 62 Brad Pinkerton
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
6. 85 Doug Sylvester
7. 17C Shane Paris
8. 18 Kris Walker
DNF: 19 Donnie Pearson
33Z Zack VanderBeek
77T Trent Jeanes
17 Brock Welch
10CC Cayden Carter
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
6. 9A Logan Anderson
7. 8T Tony Johnson
8. 19J Jenae Gustin
9. 7 Carter VanDenBerg
10. 30 Shawn Cooney
11. 29 Colton Livezey
DNF: CH19 Colby Heishman
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 84 Danny Thrasher
3. 21 Nick Ulin
4. 19 Bill Bonnett
5. 3 Travis Bunnell
6. 33 Justin Hook
7. 7A Aaron Osweiler
8. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
11 Mike Hughes
55 Brad Stephens
52 Kevin Fee
66 Brandon Cox
69 Craig Brown
6S Shannon Sherwood
32T Bobby Greene
DNS: 12 Mike Kincaid
Sport Compacts
1. 00W Bill Whalen
2. 04 Trent Orwig
3. 2M Matt Moore
4. 33 Nicholas VanHemert
5. 5 Matt Beal
6. 5X Tyler Herring
DNF: 77 John Whalen
Recap of night's racing to follow tomorrow
Monday, May 5, 2014
The Flying Dutchman and The Chelsea Charger take Benton County wins
It was a late decision for us to head to Benton County Speedway on Sunday. We are very glad we checked the forecast and wind speed before we went too! It was more than chilly and to say the wind from the east was brisk, is an understatement! But, we certainly had a nice night with friends in the stands, as we enjoyed the racing action.
The track had some ruts in the corners, especially entering turn two. This wasn't a real surprise since it's only the second time the track has run this year, plus with all the rain that fell last week and little sunshine. Once the drivers figured out where to run to avoid the worst of the ruts, the features produced some winners that came from a ways back in the field.
The Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty pulled off a repeat win in the IMCA Stock Car feature, after starting in row four. Murty, Scott Pippert and Curtis Roster went at it for the lead in the early going---three-wide! Murty swung to the outside of the track and took the lead for good at lap four, Scott Pippert still challenging lap after lap after Roster put himself out of contention by slipping off of turn four. Murty held the lead the remainder of the distance to the checkers for the win, Pippert taking the runner up spot. Third went to Phil Holtz, who had started alongside Murty back in row four, fourth was Justin Stander and Norm Chesmore was credited with fifth after Mike Galli was penalized for jumping.
The Northern SportMod feature was exciting as Sam Wieben came from deep in the field to take the checkers. Mike McDonald held the early lead with Danny Dvorak pressuring him and Montezuma's Brett Lowry throwing his hat into the ring as well. Lowry, who had started ninth, had quickly made his way up to challenge the two front runners, and Colby Heishman was sniffing at Lowry's heels. Meanwhile, Wieben had opted to try the high road around the track, avoiding the bumps for the most part, and was flying! Wieben swung around McDonald, Dvorak and Lowry and into the lead with just a couple of laps to go. Wieben, who started fourteenth, took the victory, Dvorak held second. Third went to McDonald, Brett Lowry finished fourth and Colby Heishman, who is having a much improved season from what we've observed this year, completed the top five.
It was a no contest in the Sport Compact division. The five cars competing all finished the entire race in the same order after lap one was scored. Nathan Chandler was the winner, Bill Whalen took second, third was Jeremy Lerch, and Craig Streeter and Troy Scott went fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Modifieds ran their 20-lap event next. The early laps had rookie Nick Roberts leading the field of 20 cars (21 cars with one not starting) and Kyle Brown in pursuit. Just a lap or two later, Mike VanGenderen, who had started sixth, had worked his way around Brown and taken over the runner up spot. Scott Hogan surprisingly, ended up facing the field on the frontstretch a few laps later, bringing out a caution flag. When racing resumed, Roberts was still in command, The Flying Dutchman, VanGenderen, still trying for a way around the leader. VanGenderen was able to make that move and into the lead shortly thereafter. Nearly immediately, Roberts came to a halt on the backstretch, gathering Troy Cordes in the process, with a hub going bad. Smoke had been coming from Roberts car for a few laps, and this was the apparent issue. On the restart, it was J. D. Auringer running second to leader VanGenderen, Ronn Lauritzen in his Minion ride was third. In the final circuits, VanGenderen pulled away to take a comfortable victory, Auringer taking the runner up spot. Joe Docekal got around Ronn Lauritzen as they finished third and fourth, and Joel Rust came from starting twelfth, to capture a fifth place finish. This was VanGenderen first ever win at the Benton County Speedway.
The final feature race was the IMCA Hobby Stocks. There was an immediate halt to the action when pole starter Nathan Ballard came to a stop coming out of turn two, his night over. First week's winner Benji Irvine quickly took over the point position after getting around early leader Kyle Parizek, and set sail the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Bill Bonnett, piloting the #224 car of Lacona, Iowa's Gina Greubel, challenged Irvine in the late race, squeaking to the lead briefly, only to have Irvine grab it back. Irvine, who started eighth, also took a back-to-back win at Vinton in the early 2014 season, Bonnett having to settle for second. Jacob Keiser was scored in third and Kyle Parizek was fourth and Matt Brown finished fifth.
We look forward to some warmer weather for racing coming up this week....as well as drier! We plan for the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday night where they will be running the Late Models for the first time this year, along with the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts. Osky is a great place to catch some mid-week racing. Check it out.
Take a moment to check out fellow Positively Racing blogger, Ryan Clark's latest thoughts at In Staging, concerning track conditions and fans in the stands. It's a great write! Yes, the track was rough last night, but all racers were racing on the same track with the same conditions.
Thanks for reading...and to the folks sitting behinds us, the kind words. Happy racing!
The track had some ruts in the corners, especially entering turn two. This wasn't a real surprise since it's only the second time the track has run this year, plus with all the rain that fell last week and little sunshine. Once the drivers figured out where to run to avoid the worst of the ruts, the features produced some winners that came from a ways back in the field.
The Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty pulled off a repeat win in the IMCA Stock Car feature, after starting in row four. Murty, Scott Pippert and Curtis Roster went at it for the lead in the early going---three-wide! Murty swung to the outside of the track and took the lead for good at lap four, Scott Pippert still challenging lap after lap after Roster put himself out of contention by slipping off of turn four. Murty held the lead the remainder of the distance to the checkers for the win, Pippert taking the runner up spot. Third went to Phil Holtz, who had started alongside Murty back in row four, fourth was Justin Stander and Norm Chesmore was credited with fifth after Mike Galli was penalized for jumping.
The Northern SportMod feature was exciting as Sam Wieben came from deep in the field to take the checkers. Mike McDonald held the early lead with Danny Dvorak pressuring him and Montezuma's Brett Lowry throwing his hat into the ring as well. Lowry, who had started ninth, had quickly made his way up to challenge the two front runners, and Colby Heishman was sniffing at Lowry's heels. Meanwhile, Wieben had opted to try the high road around the track, avoiding the bumps for the most part, and was flying! Wieben swung around McDonald, Dvorak and Lowry and into the lead with just a couple of laps to go. Wieben, who started fourteenth, took the victory, Dvorak held second. Third went to McDonald, Brett Lowry finished fourth and Colby Heishman, who is having a much improved season from what we've observed this year, completed the top five.
It was a no contest in the Sport Compact division. The five cars competing all finished the entire race in the same order after lap one was scored. Nathan Chandler was the winner, Bill Whalen took second, third was Jeremy Lerch, and Craig Streeter and Troy Scott went fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Modifieds ran their 20-lap event next. The early laps had rookie Nick Roberts leading the field of 20 cars (21 cars with one not starting) and Kyle Brown in pursuit. Just a lap or two later, Mike VanGenderen, who had started sixth, had worked his way around Brown and taken over the runner up spot. Scott Hogan surprisingly, ended up facing the field on the frontstretch a few laps later, bringing out a caution flag. When racing resumed, Roberts was still in command, The Flying Dutchman, VanGenderen, still trying for a way around the leader. VanGenderen was able to make that move and into the lead shortly thereafter. Nearly immediately, Roberts came to a halt on the backstretch, gathering Troy Cordes in the process, with a hub going bad. Smoke had been coming from Roberts car for a few laps, and this was the apparent issue. On the restart, it was J. D. Auringer running second to leader VanGenderen, Ronn Lauritzen in his Minion ride was third. In the final circuits, VanGenderen pulled away to take a comfortable victory, Auringer taking the runner up spot. Joe Docekal got around Ronn Lauritzen as they finished third and fourth, and Joel Rust came from starting twelfth, to capture a fifth place finish. This was VanGenderen first ever win at the Benton County Speedway.
The final feature race was the IMCA Hobby Stocks. There was an immediate halt to the action when pole starter Nathan Ballard came to a stop coming out of turn two, his night over. First week's winner Benji Irvine quickly took over the point position after getting around early leader Kyle Parizek, and set sail the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Bill Bonnett, piloting the #224 car of Lacona, Iowa's Gina Greubel, challenged Irvine in the late race, squeaking to the lead briefly, only to have Irvine grab it back. Irvine, who started eighth, also took a back-to-back win at Vinton in the early 2014 season, Bonnett having to settle for second. Jacob Keiser was scored in third and Kyle Parizek was fourth and Matt Brown finished fifth.
We look forward to some warmer weather for racing coming up this week....as well as drier! We plan for the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday night where they will be running the Late Models for the first time this year, along with the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts. Osky is a great place to catch some mid-week racing. Check it out.
Take a moment to check out fellow Positively Racing blogger, Ryan Clark's latest thoughts at In Staging, concerning track conditions and fans in the stands. It's a great write! Yes, the track was rough last night, but all racers were racing on the same track with the same conditions.
Thanks for reading...and to the folks sitting behinds us, the kind words. Happy racing!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Gustin takes first mod win of the year at Boone, it's Jaennette in stock cars
Mother Nature tried to dampen the racing fun at Boone on Saturday night, but it didn't work. Where in the world that thin line of showers materialized from.....when the weathermen seemed to have no clue in their predictions, I'll never know! The sun was shining when we left home, but it got blacker and blacker as we got closer to the track---and then the heavy sprinkles came. The late afternoon rain was done by the time we got to the track, the farming was back in full force, the sun began to peak through, and racing started at it's regular time. There was only one repeat winner, and the other four classes saw new faces on the year.
The Mod Lite division did not get off to a good start. Two different incidents in the first two laps found Christopher Weir and Matt Sorenson in roll overs. Thankfully, both drivers were okay. Charlie Brown is starting his season off well, and took his second win at Boone this year in the Mod Lite class, in as many weeks. Brown worked his way from starting seventh, up to second by lap four, intent on overtaking leader Travis Stensland. The two would duke it out, lap after lap, until Brown was finally able to make the pass into the lead with just two laps remaining. Brown held tight to that top position and scored the win for the second week in a row. Stensland had to be satisfied with the runner up spot, Bryan Zehm started in row six, and took third place, fourth was Josh May and Terry Brown (I believe a brother to the winner) was fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods saw Johnathon Logue at the helm through much of the race. Mike Stark, the Des Moines driver who was making his first appearance at the track this year, had worked himself into the runner up spot by lap eleven of the 18-lap event, and was hungry for more. Stark snatched the lead at lap thirteen and sailed home to the victory---his first ever at Boone in the class. Brandon Williams came from ninth to take the runner up spot, Ben Kates was third, Logue held on to take fourth and Taylor Mussellman rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Modifieds went their usual 20-laps in their feature. David Brown held the point the first couple of circuits until high flying Joel Bushore took over as captain of the ship. Bushore was flying along in the lead untouched until Jammin' Jimmy Gustin came calling. Gustin, who had started back in eleventh spot, hooked onto second place and was digging on the lower groove, Bushore staying up top. Gustin tried for the pass at each lap, finally making it work on lap seventeen. He kept that top spot the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Bushore slipped his machine off of the top of four with a lap to go, leaving himself out of the running. Jon Snyder capitalized on Bushore's misfortune, and took the runner up spot. Third went to Scott Davis, David Brown hung to the front of the pack and took fourth and Russ Dickerson came from starting thirteenth, to round out the top five positions. Gustin won for the first time at the track in 2014.
Michael Jaennette and his Pink Panther hot rod, got to the front at the drop of the green in the IMCA Stock Car feature.....never to look back. Jay Schmidt---who started eleventh on the field as he debuted his "Black Betty car for the first time this season--- was reeling in Jaennette in the late portion of the 18-lap race, but ran out of time to get more than the runner up spot. Third went to Lonnie Hodges who had been locked in a fierce battle earlier with fourth and fifth place finishers, Terry Pruitt and Wayne Gifford. Jaennette was also a first time winner at the track this year.
The Hobby Stock feature was the only feature going caution free on the night. Tyler Pickett made his move around early leader CJ Dall at lap five and motored home to his first win of the season at Boone. John Watson came from starting tenth, to take second, third went to Eric Stanton who started eleventh, Mike Pruitt started twelfth and finished fourth, and Andrew Burg completed the top five. The #88 of Mike Leffler, claimed the carburetor of Eric Stanton after the race.
Racing was done at 10:21 by my watch, on a night that reverted back to the regular track's starting times of 6:45 hot laps and racing at 7:30. Thanks for reading and Happy Racing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)