It sure didn't feel like a late May Saturday night at the Boone Speedway. It was overcast with a stiff north wind blowing right at the grandstand, and coat and blanket weather. The temperature hovered at 60 degrees when the gates opened, and fell lower as the night wore on. At least 15 new cars checked into the pits, several from western Iowa and Missouri that brought the car count to 139.
Ed Zehm took his first Mod Lite feature win in the 15-lap feature. He had a sizable lead when a yellow flew at lap thirteen, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. He was able to avoid the threats behind him and snap up his first win of the season at Boone. David Schmalzried, who had chased Zehm in the latter portion of the race, held off Josh May at the line as they finished second and third. Fourth was James May and Randy Bryan finished fifth.
Jake McBirnie won for the second week in a row, taking the 18-lap SportMod A main victory. He took the helm from rookie Dusty Masolini with eight laps in the books, and was then content at the front of the herd, while Masolini and Ben Wilson battled for the runner up spot. McBirnie took the win by a comfortable margin but it was a close one for second, Masolini just winning out over Wilson who finished third. Jerry Hinton ran at the front of the pack for most of the race, and had a fourth place finish and Chad Ryerson claimed fifth. The race went flag-to-flag.....the only feature of the night to do so.
There was an exciting finish in the 12-lap Hobby Stock feature. Solomon Bennett, who had scored a win at Boone back on April 25, was looking to be headed to Victory Lane again. However, there were two cars moving through the pack quickly from starting back in rows four and five. Andrew Burg had caught up with the leader, and Eric Stanton was running third. A yellow at lap four, drew the three even closer for the restart. Bennett however, kept his lead, pedaling for all his worth to keep them at bay. As the white flag flew, Burg tried a move to the outside of Bennett, scraping the front stretch wall. Bennett held his ground but Burg wasn't quite done yet. As they came out of turn four looking at the checkers, Burg surged around him on the outside in one last push, this time making it work and beating him to the finish line. Burg got the win, and Bennett finished what had to be a disappointing second. Third went to Eric Stanton, fourth was Daniel Haggen and rounding out the top five was Cody Gustoff who had started thirteenth on the grid. This was Burg's second Saturday night season win of the year and also was coming off of a Memorial Day win at the speedway.
The IMCA Modifieds had to endure five cautions before they completed their 20-lap feature. Devin Havlik led most of the race, hoping to repeat his victory from May 23rd. Meanwhile behind him the familiar #19 was on the move as Jimmy Gustin began his quest to reel in the leader. He did just that and was no doubt happy to see the final yellow of the session fly at lap eleven....drawing him to restart right behind Havlik. Havlik didn't get rattled though, keeping hold of the top spot, and fending off Gustin's attempts. Gustin was persistent though, and finally was successful when Havlik made the slightest of bobbles as they raced to the flagstand as lap seventeen was scored. Gustin took over and took command of the race the rest of the way to the checkers flying. Havlik had to be content with second on this night. Veteran John Logue finished in third, fourth went to the Flying Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen who had started tenth, and completing the top five was nineteenth place starter, hometown boy, Scott Davis. Gustin, who is leading points, started in twelfth spot, and took his third win of the regular season, plus also snatching the Frostbuster special back on April 4.
The IMCA Stock Cars ended the night's racing with their 18-lap feature event. Trent Murphy got to the top spot by lap eight, shooting through the pack from starting tenth. Jay Schmidt came from fourteenth spot to chase the leader, and Donavon Smith threw his hat in the ring, riding in third. However, there would be no change in the running order even with a late caution flag....as Murphy took the win, followed by Schmidt in second and Smith in third. Fourth place finisher was "Hot Rod" Richards and Chris Pruitt made it to fifth from his twelfth starting place. This was Murphy's first win of the track's point season, but also won the Frostbuster special.
Racing continues next Saturday night at the speedway. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30. Check out the racing calendar at www.postivelyracing.com and find a race somewhere to attend. We all need to keep supporting the dirt track scene in our area. Next up on our agenda will be the Deery Brothers Late Model series at the Marshalltown Speedway on Tuesday, June 2. It's always fun to see the late models on the high banks. We will be hoping that the weather is more comfortable and DRY for the upcoming busy race schedule.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
Luellen brothers match wins at Marshalltown
The races at Marshalltown Speedway got one up on Mother Nature on Friday night. We watched the billowing clouds roll to the north and during the final features, the lightning was flashing. The program was hurried along, the features following right on the heels of the heats, and the victory lane interviews and pictures were eliminated. One driver continues his domination at the track, and his brother matched a win in another class. A first time winner saw victory lane in the stock car class while two other drivers, got wins number two for the year.
The Mod Lites ran their 15-lap main event first. Jimmy May wasted little time in taking the lead at lap four after starting in row four. From then on, he began distancing himself from the rest of the field, and took the win in comfortable fashion. Mike Morrill took the runner up spot, third went to Cory Sauerman, fourth was early leader Justin Whitehead, and Randy Bryan finished fifth. This was Jimmy May's second win of the season.
The Hobby Stocks did not get a lap in of their 15-lapper as several cars piled up in turn two just after the race went green. When the track was cleared and the race did get underway, it was Gary Pfantz leading the pack the first few laps, but by lap four, the familiar blue #3A of Austin Luellen had taken command. Luellen had no trouble in weathering two more yellows on his way to the checkers, taking the win by a comfortable margin. Finishing second was Eric Stanton who was involved in the opening lap mess....retired to the pits and tagged the field with his car looking like it had been opened on the right rear with a can opener. Third place was Travis Overton, fourth was early leader Gary Pfantz, and Dustin Lynch was fifth. This was Luellen's fifth win of the regular season, and only he and Eric Stanton claim wins in the Hobby Stock class at Marshalltown this year.
Things never seem to work out when you are trying to hurry things along. It took the IMCA Northern SportMods three tries to get past lap one. The early race found Scott Williams holding back Sam Wieben, but by lap four, Wieben had taken command, and by lap five, it was a three-car race between Wieben, Clint Luellen and Colby Heishman. Luellen swung to the outside and made the pass for the lead by lap ten and was happy to let Wieben and Heishman hash it out for the runner up spot. Luellen kept command of the ship the rest of the way to the checkers, scoring his second win of the season, and matching his brother Austin's earlier win in the Hobby Stock division. It was a real fight to the finish for second and third, but in the end it was Wieben holding back Heishman. Fourth was Brandon Williams and Jared VanDeest completed the top five.
The 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature only got one lap in the books until they had a yellow fly...but it would be the only caution of their race. David Brandies from Wilton, Iowa, who had returned to the track after his first appearance two weeks ago, started on the pole and led the entire race and taking the win. He had some cars furiously contending behind him for much of the race though. Donavon Smith and Trent Murphy were neck and neck for the last handful of laps, each trying to establish the runner up position, and throwing his hat in the ring as well was Michael Jaennette. The final run to the finish line saw Trent Murphy just squeaking out second place over Smith in third. Jaennette finished a close fourth and Robert Stofer made his first trip to Marshalltown of the regular season, and took fifth place.
The IMCA Modifieds kept the "one lap in, and a yellow" going for the night too. Kyle Brown ended up in spin mode in corner one just after lap one was scored, and had to tag the field for the restart. Kyle Krampe started on the pole and led early, but Jake Strayer had other ideas. He quickly moved to the point position, would have to endure a couple more yellow flag restarts, but never got rattled. He kept hold of the top spot the entire way to the win. Jimmy Gustin battled by Adam Larson in the final laps, made a run at Strayer, but had to settle for second. Larson finished third, fourth went to Ronn Lauritzen and Josh "Happy" Gilman came from row five to finish in fifth. This was Strayer's second win at Marshalltown this year.
The Quads also had a turn on the track tonight, running heat races and a feature, but we headed out before the feature was completed. We have an early call for a special occasion tomorrow morning....our grandson's preschool graduation.
Don't forget that the next race at the Marshalltown Speedway will be this coming Tuesday, June 2, when the Boy's of Summer will be coming to town. The IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models will be making their annual appearance. Also on the docket are the IMCA Northern SportMods and Legend cars. Grandstands open at 5, hot laps are 7 with racing to follow.
The Mod Lites ran their 15-lap main event first. Jimmy May wasted little time in taking the lead at lap four after starting in row four. From then on, he began distancing himself from the rest of the field, and took the win in comfortable fashion. Mike Morrill took the runner up spot, third went to Cory Sauerman, fourth was early leader Justin Whitehead, and Randy Bryan finished fifth. This was Jimmy May's second win of the season.
The Hobby Stocks did not get a lap in of their 15-lapper as several cars piled up in turn two just after the race went green. When the track was cleared and the race did get underway, it was Gary Pfantz leading the pack the first few laps, but by lap four, the familiar blue #3A of Austin Luellen had taken command. Luellen had no trouble in weathering two more yellows on his way to the checkers, taking the win by a comfortable margin. Finishing second was Eric Stanton who was involved in the opening lap mess....retired to the pits and tagged the field with his car looking like it had been opened on the right rear with a can opener. Third place was Travis Overton, fourth was early leader Gary Pfantz, and Dustin Lynch was fifth. This was Luellen's fifth win of the regular season, and only he and Eric Stanton claim wins in the Hobby Stock class at Marshalltown this year.
Things never seem to work out when you are trying to hurry things along. It took the IMCA Northern SportMods three tries to get past lap one. The early race found Scott Williams holding back Sam Wieben, but by lap four, Wieben had taken command, and by lap five, it was a three-car race between Wieben, Clint Luellen and Colby Heishman. Luellen swung to the outside and made the pass for the lead by lap ten and was happy to let Wieben and Heishman hash it out for the runner up spot. Luellen kept command of the ship the rest of the way to the checkers, scoring his second win of the season, and matching his brother Austin's earlier win in the Hobby Stock division. It was a real fight to the finish for second and third, but in the end it was Wieben holding back Heishman. Fourth was Brandon Williams and Jared VanDeest completed the top five.
The 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature only got one lap in the books until they had a yellow fly...but it would be the only caution of their race. David Brandies from Wilton, Iowa, who had returned to the track after his first appearance two weeks ago, started on the pole and led the entire race and taking the win. He had some cars furiously contending behind him for much of the race though. Donavon Smith and Trent Murphy were neck and neck for the last handful of laps, each trying to establish the runner up position, and throwing his hat in the ring as well was Michael Jaennette. The final run to the finish line saw Trent Murphy just squeaking out second place over Smith in third. Jaennette finished a close fourth and Robert Stofer made his first trip to Marshalltown of the regular season, and took fifth place.
The IMCA Modifieds kept the "one lap in, and a yellow" going for the night too. Kyle Brown ended up in spin mode in corner one just after lap one was scored, and had to tag the field for the restart. Kyle Krampe started on the pole and led early, but Jake Strayer had other ideas. He quickly moved to the point position, would have to endure a couple more yellow flag restarts, but never got rattled. He kept hold of the top spot the entire way to the win. Jimmy Gustin battled by Adam Larson in the final laps, made a run at Strayer, but had to settle for second. Larson finished third, fourth went to Ronn Lauritzen and Josh "Happy" Gilman came from row five to finish in fifth. This was Strayer's second win at Marshalltown this year.
The Quads also had a turn on the track tonight, running heat races and a feature, but we headed out before the feature was completed. We have an early call for a special occasion tomorrow morning....our grandson's preschool graduation.
Don't forget that the next race at the Marshalltown Speedway will be this coming Tuesday, June 2, when the Boy's of Summer will be coming to town. The IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models will be making their annual appearance. Also on the docket are the IMCA Northern SportMods and Legend cars. Grandstands open at 5, hot laps are 7 with racing to follow.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Wood takes Stock Car win in mad dash to the checkers
Is was a beautiful Wednesday night for racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. After last Wednesday's show was weathered out, it was good to get back to racing on the big old half-mile. Extra money was on the line in all classes thanks to sponsor of the night, Bill and Ray's Truck Repair and Wrecker Service. The Iowa Sportsmen Series cars were also in the house; rescheduled from their original appearance last week.
There were seven IMCA Sport Compacts vying for the win last night. The initial start was called back, but after that, the race continued caution free the full 12-laps. William Michel led lap one but it was a scramble behind him. By lap two, first time visitor, Michael Grossman took the helm and never gave it up. John Whalen chased Grossman, closed in on him, and took peeks for a way around, but had to settle for second place. Third was Jon Girdley piloting the #33 car last night, and Bill Whalen, Jr. finished fourth in a borrowed car, after destroying his at another track recently. Trent Orwig rounded out the top five.
A nice field of 18 IMCA Northern SportMods were in competition. They ran their 16-lap feature next. When a yellow flew with just two laps in the books, Jason McDaniel had gotten around Dan Drury for the lead and riding in third was the familiar #1V of Curtis VanDerWal. VanDerWal had started ninth and quickly moved his ride forward and was no doubt anticipating the restart. VanDerWal wasted no time, taking the lead before lap three was scored. He was never challenged from there on, scoring the win easily. Finishing a distant second was Jason McDaniel, third went to Brayton Carter who had started eighth, fourth was Logan Anderson who came from seventh starting spot, and Brett Lowry raced his hot rod from eleventh starting place, to a top five finish. This was VanDerWal's fourth win of the season at Osky.
Then came the IMCA Stock Car 18-lap A main...and once again, it had a spectacular finish! The start was tightly bunched packs of cars by the time they reached turn one which saw Derrick Agee claiming the lead at lap one. By lap two, Daniel Hilsabeck had taken command and he soon had Cayden Carter, Damon Murty and Nathan Wood to hold at bay. A yellow flew at lap eleven which found Hilsabeck still holding the lead, but Damon Murty had made it to second by taking his 99D to the topside. Lurking close at hand in third and fourth were Carter and Wood. When things picked back up, the following laps were a jousting back and forth for leads. First Carter took over, followed two laps later by Murty and when yet another yellow flew at lap sixteen, Wood was up to second place and had just been peeking under Murty for the lead when things were halted. Everyone was buzzing in anticipation of the final shoot out to the checkers. Murty was holding on to the lead when lap seventeen went in the books, but Wood stuck his ride under the 99D in corner two, made it stick and shot to the lead. When the cars came out of turn four looking at the checkers, it was almost another spectatular photo finish with four closely clumped this time. Wood snagged the win on this night, while second went to Hilsabeck who shot past Murty in third and Carter took fourth. Not far behind was fifth place Mike Hughes. The Stock Cars never fail to impress at Osky and often worth the price of admission in themselves! In Victory Lane, Wood told announcer Tony Paris that it had been over a year since he had stood in that spot and after checking back at some of my records, I show it may have been back on June 12 of 2013 that he was last in the winner's circle at SIS....the year he was track champion. Forgive me Nathan, if I have that wrong.
Dustin Griffiths took his second win of the year in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Griffiths started ninth, and was running third by lap three....chasing leader Bill Bonnett. He was able to work around Bonnett by lap eight, keeping his top spot the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Veteran Bill Bonnett took the runner up spot, third was Travis Bunnell who had started eighth, fourth went to Danny Thrasher, and Bobby Greene was fifth.
Though there were only eight IMCA Modifieds last night for $450 to win, the action was excellent. Scott Dickey beat Tyler Groenendyk to the corner as the race went green, and was looking to be on his way to the win, pulling out to a nice lead in the early laps. By lap nine however, Groenendyk was reeling in the leader and right before a caution came out at lap fourteen, he had closed in. This set up a green-white-checkered finish. When the race restarted, Groenendyk got under the leader, taking over the top spot as the white flag flew. He kept that lead to the checkered flag, scoring the win, his first at the track in 2015. Carter VandenBerg had been racing hard and put his ride in the number two finishing position after starting sixth. Third went to his cousin, Cayden Carter, fourth was visiting driver from Burlington, Dugan Thye, and Steve Streeter was fifth. Scott Dickey fell back in the closing laps to finish sixth.
The Iowa Sportman's Series also ran last night. They ran a 15-lap heat race earlier, which was won by #47 Darren DeZwarte. They finished the evening's racing off with a 25-lap feature event, which we did not see. We have heard that it was also won by DeZwarte. They had a dozen cars in competition.
For those of you who may not have Facebook or see that the Southern Iowa Speedway has posted their list of candidates for this year's ballot for the Hall of Fame, here are those on the illustrious list.
Bill Bone, Jim Brown, Merv Chandler, Engel DeKock, Jim and Joe Durian, Dave Farren, Dan Feree, Troy Folkerts, Wendell Folkerts, Jeff Haines, Curt Hansen, Bob "Gabby" Hayes, Don Hoffman, Dean Hughes, Bob Maschmann, Mel Morris, Ed Sanger, Terry Schroeder, Gary Storey, Pat Surfus, Dean Sylvester, Paul VanZee, Danny Wallace, "Pokey" West, and Bill Zwanziger. Voting will take place on THURSDAY, June 11 when the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models join the weekly show. Note....there will not be the usual WEDNESDAY night show that week. Each pit pass and grandstand admission will be able to vote for THREE candidates only. Who will join last year's inaugural Hall of Fame inductees? Those were Denny Banks, the late Aaron Brown, Bill Davis, Sr., Bobby Greiner, Jr., and Randy Schroeder.
Weekly racing resumes next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7 :30. Join us for another night of great racing action.
There were seven IMCA Sport Compacts vying for the win last night. The initial start was called back, but after that, the race continued caution free the full 12-laps. William Michel led lap one but it was a scramble behind him. By lap two, first time visitor, Michael Grossman took the helm and never gave it up. John Whalen chased Grossman, closed in on him, and took peeks for a way around, but had to settle for second place. Third was Jon Girdley piloting the #33 car last night, and Bill Whalen, Jr. finished fourth in a borrowed car, after destroying his at another track recently. Trent Orwig rounded out the top five.
A nice field of 18 IMCA Northern SportMods were in competition. They ran their 16-lap feature next. When a yellow flew with just two laps in the books, Jason McDaniel had gotten around Dan Drury for the lead and riding in third was the familiar #1V of Curtis VanDerWal. VanDerWal had started ninth and quickly moved his ride forward and was no doubt anticipating the restart. VanDerWal wasted no time, taking the lead before lap three was scored. He was never challenged from there on, scoring the win easily. Finishing a distant second was Jason McDaniel, third went to Brayton Carter who had started eighth, fourth was Logan Anderson who came from seventh starting spot, and Brett Lowry raced his hot rod from eleventh starting place, to a top five finish. This was VanDerWal's fourth win of the season at Osky.
Then came the IMCA Stock Car 18-lap A main...and once again, it had a spectacular finish! The start was tightly bunched packs of cars by the time they reached turn one which saw Derrick Agee claiming the lead at lap one. By lap two, Daniel Hilsabeck had taken command and he soon had Cayden Carter, Damon Murty and Nathan Wood to hold at bay. A yellow flew at lap eleven which found Hilsabeck still holding the lead, but Damon Murty had made it to second by taking his 99D to the topside. Lurking close at hand in third and fourth were Carter and Wood. When things picked back up, the following laps were a jousting back and forth for leads. First Carter took over, followed two laps later by Murty and when yet another yellow flew at lap sixteen, Wood was up to second place and had just been peeking under Murty for the lead when things were halted. Everyone was buzzing in anticipation of the final shoot out to the checkers. Murty was holding on to the lead when lap seventeen went in the books, but Wood stuck his ride under the 99D in corner two, made it stick and shot to the lead. When the cars came out of turn four looking at the checkers, it was almost another spectatular photo finish with four closely clumped this time. Wood snagged the win on this night, while second went to Hilsabeck who shot past Murty in third and Carter took fourth. Not far behind was fifth place Mike Hughes. The Stock Cars never fail to impress at Osky and often worth the price of admission in themselves! In Victory Lane, Wood told announcer Tony Paris that it had been over a year since he had stood in that spot and after checking back at some of my records, I show it may have been back on June 12 of 2013 that he was last in the winner's circle at SIS....the year he was track champion. Forgive me Nathan, if I have that wrong.
Dustin Griffiths took his second win of the year in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Griffiths started ninth, and was running third by lap three....chasing leader Bill Bonnett. He was able to work around Bonnett by lap eight, keeping his top spot the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Veteran Bill Bonnett took the runner up spot, third was Travis Bunnell who had started eighth, fourth went to Danny Thrasher, and Bobby Greene was fifth.
Though there were only eight IMCA Modifieds last night for $450 to win, the action was excellent. Scott Dickey beat Tyler Groenendyk to the corner as the race went green, and was looking to be on his way to the win, pulling out to a nice lead in the early laps. By lap nine however, Groenendyk was reeling in the leader and right before a caution came out at lap fourteen, he had closed in. This set up a green-white-checkered finish. When the race restarted, Groenendyk got under the leader, taking over the top spot as the white flag flew. He kept that lead to the checkered flag, scoring the win, his first at the track in 2015. Carter VandenBerg had been racing hard and put his ride in the number two finishing position after starting sixth. Third went to his cousin, Cayden Carter, fourth was visiting driver from Burlington, Dugan Thye, and Steve Streeter was fifth. Scott Dickey fell back in the closing laps to finish sixth.
The Iowa Sportman's Series also ran last night. They ran a 15-lap heat race earlier, which was won by #47 Darren DeZwarte. They finished the evening's racing off with a 25-lap feature event, which we did not see. We have heard that it was also won by DeZwarte. They had a dozen cars in competition.
For those of you who may not have Facebook or see that the Southern Iowa Speedway has posted their list of candidates for this year's ballot for the Hall of Fame, here are those on the illustrious list.
Bill Bone, Jim Brown, Merv Chandler, Engel DeKock, Jim and Joe Durian, Dave Farren, Dan Feree, Troy Folkerts, Wendell Folkerts, Jeff Haines, Curt Hansen, Bob "Gabby" Hayes, Don Hoffman, Dean Hughes, Bob Maschmann, Mel Morris, Ed Sanger, Terry Schroeder, Gary Storey, Pat Surfus, Dean Sylvester, Paul VanZee, Danny Wallace, "Pokey" West, and Bill Zwanziger. Voting will take place on THURSDAY, June 11 when the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models join the weekly show. Note....there will not be the usual WEDNESDAY night show that week. Each pit pass and grandstand admission will be able to vote for THREE candidates only. Who will join last year's inaugural Hall of Fame inductees? Those were Denny Banks, the late Aaron Brown, Bill Davis, Sr., Bobby Greiner, Jr., and Randy Schroeder.
Weekly racing resumes next week at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7 :30. Join us for another night of great racing action.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Osky- 5-27-15
Unofficial results:
Modified:
1. 9X Tyler Groenendyke
2. 7V Carter VandenBerg
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 11T Dugan Thye
5. 40 Scott Dickey
6. 1X Steve Streeter
DNF: 02 Andrew Schroeder
8J AJ Johnson
Stock Car - another exciting finish at the checkers!
1. 52 Nathan Wood
2. 77N Daniel Hilsabeck
3. 99D Damon Murty
4. 10C Cayden Carter
5. 11 Mike Hughes
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 87 Les Blakely
9. 14 Derek Agee
10. 17 Brock Welcj
11. 73c Carl Yaw
12. 54 Michael Brown
DNF: 72 Jerry Pilcher
19 Donnie Pearson
10R Ryan Fullenkamp
79S Jason See
22R Todd Reitzler
3D Daniel Gordon
7 Todd Phillips
33Z Zack VanderBeek
19B Brandon Bach
DNS: 57F Bill Fox
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 9A Logan Anderson
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. 34Z Cory VanZante
7. 84B Trent Brink
8. 33 Derek Liles
9. 29 Colton Livezey
DNF: A5 Austin Paul
33R DJ Robinson
7A Aaron Osweiler
49G LeRoy Groenendyk
352 Charlie Weber
21D Dan Drury
26 Scott Brau
DNS: 20 Danny Brau
16 Matthew VanGelder
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 19 Bill Bonnett
3. 3 Travis Bunnell
4. 84 Danny Thrasher
5. 32T Bobby Greene
6. l96R Jamie Songer
7. 77 Derek Hodges
8. 73 Aaron Martin
9. 21 Nick Ulin
10. 69 Craig Brown
11. 2 Brandon Potts
12. 14 Christian Huffman
13. 9 Jared Stephens
DNF: 55 Brad Stephens
8 Robert Fite
DNS: 57 Lee Fite
3S Steve Allen
Sport Compact
1. 2 Michael Grossman
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 33 Jon Girdley
4. 07 (00W) Bill Whalen
5. 04 Trent Orwig
6. 22M Curt Myers
DNF: 69 William Michel
The Iowa Sportsmen Series also ran but did not stay for the 25 lap feature
Earlier, the #47 of Darren DeZwarte won the 15-lap heat
Modified:
1. 9X Tyler Groenendyke
2. 7V Carter VandenBerg
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 11T Dugan Thye
5. 40 Scott Dickey
6. 1X Steve Streeter
DNF: 02 Andrew Schroeder
8J AJ Johnson
Stock Car - another exciting finish at the checkers!
1. 52 Nathan Wood
2. 77N Daniel Hilsabeck
3. 99D Damon Murty
4. 10C Cayden Carter
5. 11 Mike Hughes
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 87 Les Blakely
9. 14 Derek Agee
10. 17 Brock Welcj
11. 73c Carl Yaw
12. 54 Michael Brown
DNF: 72 Jerry Pilcher
19 Donnie Pearson
10R Ryan Fullenkamp
79S Jason See
22R Todd Reitzler
3D Daniel Gordon
7 Todd Phillips
33Z Zack VanderBeek
19B Brandon Bach
DNS: 57F Bill Fox
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 9A Logan Anderson
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. 34Z Cory VanZante
7. 84B Trent Brink
8. 33 Derek Liles
9. 29 Colton Livezey
DNF: A5 Austin Paul
33R DJ Robinson
7A Aaron Osweiler
49G LeRoy Groenendyk
352 Charlie Weber
21D Dan Drury
26 Scott Brau
DNS: 20 Danny Brau
16 Matthew VanGelder
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 19 Bill Bonnett
3. 3 Travis Bunnell
4. 84 Danny Thrasher
5. 32T Bobby Greene
6. l96R Jamie Songer
7. 77 Derek Hodges
8. 73 Aaron Martin
9. 21 Nick Ulin
10. 69 Craig Brown
11. 2 Brandon Potts
12. 14 Christian Huffman
13. 9 Jared Stephens
DNF: 55 Brad Stephens
8 Robert Fite
DNS: 57 Lee Fite
3S Steve Allen
Sport Compact
1. 2 Michael Grossman
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 33 Jon Girdley
4. 07 (00W) Bill Whalen
5. 04 Trent Orwig
6. 22M Curt Myers
DNF: 69 William Michel
The Iowa Sportsmen Series also ran but did not stay for the 25 lap feature
Earlier, the #47 of Darren DeZwarte won the 15-lap heat
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Kay captures Memorial Day Deery win
The Boone Speedway was the scene for the annual Memorial Day Deery Brothers Late Model race on Monday. Twenty-five of the "Boys of Summer" contenders were on hand. Also on hand were the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and the Mod Lites. All classes were a draw/redraw format. A total of 151 cars filled the pits for some holiday racing.
There was a short delay in the program when a shower passed over the track before feature time. The track was quickly reworked in usual Boone fashion.....and things were back in business in less than 15 minutes.
The 40-lap Deery Brothers feature was run first. By lucky redraw, the front row starters were Scott Fitzpatrick and Justin Kay, both from Wheatland, Iowa. Fitzpatrick got the drop on Kay as the race started, and was still in charge when a yellow flew at lap ten. Kay had stuck close to the leader, and when the race restarted, he was able to grab the lead from Fitzpatrick. By the halfway mark Kay continued to be in command, but now Richie Gustin had made his way from starting seventh, and into second place. Just a couple of laps later, and a rim-riding Jeff Aikey was up to third and pressuring Gustin. When a yellow flew at lap 37, Aikey had the drop on both Kay and Gustin, but the restart was called back.,,,giving the lead back to Kay, Gustin in second and Aikey realigned in third. The order remained the same when thing picked back up, but then another caution came out with just a lap remaining. This would set up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish line. Kay was able to keep hold of the top spot for the mad race to the checkers, and scored the victory. Aikey got around Gustin in the closing moments, to score second; Gustin going third. Fourth went to eleventh place starter Tyler Droste, and Ray Guss, Jr. was fifth.
The Mod Lites made their regular Memorial Day appearance and ran a 20-lap feature. This one was led start to finish by Mike Morrill. Finishing a distance behind in second was Josh May. Third went to Joel Keenan, fourth was Josh May and Charlie Brown rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods did what none of the other classes pulled off.....they ran the entire 20-laps of their feature without a caution. This one was mainly a two-car race between front row starters Doug Smith and Brandon Williams. Williams snatched the lead as the green flew and Smith tucked in on his tail. This continued for 19 of the 20 laps. Somehow, Smith was able to make the pass as the two raced down the backstretch on the final go around, and beat Williams to the checkers and the win. Williams had to be content with the runner up spot, third went to Tim Love, fourth to visiting racer Nate Whitehurst and Jonathan Logue rounded out the top five.
Chris Pruitt and Jay Schmidt were the lucky redraw recipients of the front row for the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car A main. Schmidt got the drop on Pruitt as the green flew. He would then lead the entire race "out in front and gone", taking the comfortable win. Donavon Smith battled past Brandon Pruitt in the latter portion of the race as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to Chris Pruitt and Wayne Gifford took fifth. Schmidt was fresh off his Saturday night victory at Boone.
The night ending feature was in the IMCA Hobby Stocks. They ran a 15-lap feature. Andrew Burg got to the lead at lap five, and never relinquished it on his way to the winner's circle. John Watson flew by cars from his sixteenth starting spot to finish as the runner up. Cody Gustoff finished third, fourth went to Tim Barber and Shaun Wirtz took fifth.
There was lightning all around as the races ended a bit before the 9 o'clock hour and as we left the track, we ran into wet roadways not far to the east. Regular Saturday night racing continues on May 30 when hot laps start at 6:45 and racing begins at 7:30.
There was a short delay in the program when a shower passed over the track before feature time. The track was quickly reworked in usual Boone fashion.....and things were back in business in less than 15 minutes.
The 40-lap Deery Brothers feature was run first. By lucky redraw, the front row starters were Scott Fitzpatrick and Justin Kay, both from Wheatland, Iowa. Fitzpatrick got the drop on Kay as the race started, and was still in charge when a yellow flew at lap ten. Kay had stuck close to the leader, and when the race restarted, he was able to grab the lead from Fitzpatrick. By the halfway mark Kay continued to be in command, but now Richie Gustin had made his way from starting seventh, and into second place. Just a couple of laps later, and a rim-riding Jeff Aikey was up to third and pressuring Gustin. When a yellow flew at lap 37, Aikey had the drop on both Kay and Gustin, but the restart was called back.,,,giving the lead back to Kay, Gustin in second and Aikey realigned in third. The order remained the same when thing picked back up, but then another caution came out with just a lap remaining. This would set up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish line. Kay was able to keep hold of the top spot for the mad race to the checkers, and scored the victory. Aikey got around Gustin in the closing moments, to score second; Gustin going third. Fourth went to eleventh place starter Tyler Droste, and Ray Guss, Jr. was fifth.
The Mod Lites made their regular Memorial Day appearance and ran a 20-lap feature. This one was led start to finish by Mike Morrill. Finishing a distance behind in second was Josh May. Third went to Joel Keenan, fourth was Josh May and Charlie Brown rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods did what none of the other classes pulled off.....they ran the entire 20-laps of their feature without a caution. This one was mainly a two-car race between front row starters Doug Smith and Brandon Williams. Williams snatched the lead as the green flew and Smith tucked in on his tail. This continued for 19 of the 20 laps. Somehow, Smith was able to make the pass as the two raced down the backstretch on the final go around, and beat Williams to the checkers and the win. Williams had to be content with the runner up spot, third went to Tim Love, fourth to visiting racer Nate Whitehurst and Jonathan Logue rounded out the top five.
Chris Pruitt and Jay Schmidt were the lucky redraw recipients of the front row for the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car A main. Schmidt got the drop on Pruitt as the green flew. He would then lead the entire race "out in front and gone", taking the comfortable win. Donavon Smith battled past Brandon Pruitt in the latter portion of the race as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to Chris Pruitt and Wayne Gifford took fifth. Schmidt was fresh off his Saturday night victory at Boone.
The night ending feature was in the IMCA Hobby Stocks. They ran a 15-lap feature. Andrew Burg got to the lead at lap five, and never relinquished it on his way to the winner's circle. John Watson flew by cars from his sixteenth starting spot to finish as the runner up. Cody Gustoff finished third, fourth went to Tim Barber and Shaun Wirtz took fifth.
There was lightning all around as the races ended a bit before the 9 o'clock hour and as we left the track, we ran into wet roadways not far to the east. Regular Saturday night racing continues on May 30 when hot laps start at 6:45 and racing begins at 7:30.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Havlik takes his first Boone win
It was racing as usual at Boone on Saturday night and four drivers stepped into Victory Lane for the first time this year.....one for the first time ever at the track. Another driver scored back-to-back wins.
Terry Brown in the Mod Lite class was the driver going back-to-back at the speedway. After ending up on his lid the night before at Marshalltown, Brown appeared determined to salvage his weekend. He nabbed the lead by lap two after getting around early leader Joel Huggins, and from there on, never gave up the lead all the way to the checkers. Charlie Brown moved into second around David Schmalzried by lap seven and gave chase to the leader, challenging him on several occasions, but had to settle for runner up to his brother on this night. Keeping the family affair going in the class was third and fourth place finishers---James May and son Josh May. James started ninth on the grid to move to third at the checkers while Josh scooted all the way from starting twelfth, to take fourth place. Cory Sauerman rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran their usual 18-lap feature next. Cody Hennings led the pack at lap one, only to have Jake McBirnie snatch it away by lap two. From there on, McBirnie was captain of the ship, stretching his lead and taking the win by a comfortable margin. Lady racer, Tara Longnecker chased McBirnie most of the distance, but was unable to close the gap and had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to Chad Ryerson, Cory Rose was fourth and Cody Hennings was fifth. This was McBirnie's first win at Boone this season.
We noticed that the top four finishing cars in the SportMod class were kept in the infield after the above race was completed and their crews then came across the track carrying jacks, etc. and officials started teching. I received word after the races, that although Doug Smith had finished in fourth place, he was disqualified for not agreeing to remove his gear. All drivers finishing behind him were then moved up a position in the finishing order.
A driver who had been close, but "no cigar" in the Hobby Stock class, finally made it to Victory Lane last night. Eric Stanton started ninth, took the lead at lap nine, and took his ride to the checkers. Chad Legere started along side the winner, and took the runner up position. Curt Reed finished in third, fourth went to Tim Barber and Ross Marshall completed the top five.
The 20-lap Modified feature turned into a race for second place as the winner was gone from the get go. Devin Havlik, son of former racer Jeff Havlik, finally got his first win at Boone under his belt. Havlik took advantage of his pole starting spot, and led the entire 20-laps on route to the win. Behind him though, it was a different story! The second half of the race was between Mike VanGenderen and Jimmy Gustin. What a show they put on for the fans! Both drivers had started side by side back in the fifth row, and by lap nine, were duking it out for second. Gustin held the upper hand until lap thirteen when VanGenderen flew around Gustin on the topside. The final laps were a shoot out, as the two switched up lines. At the finish it was VanGenderen squeaking out the runner up spot, Gustin a close third. Fourth went to Joel Bushore who had started sixteenth, and Scott Davis took fifth. Havlik had never scored a win at Boone previously.
The IMCA Stock Cars finished off the night's racing with their 18-lap feature. It was led start to finish by Cory Bushnell. Bushnell started sixth in the starting line up and was leading at lap one on his way to the win. Battling much of the race behind him was Trent Murphy, Bob Daniels, Jay Schmidt and Donavon Smith. Trent Murphy made the pass on Daniels with a handful of laps remaining to take the runner up spot and challenged the leader in the final two laps but fell short of more than second place. Third went to Jay Schmidt who had started tenth on the grid, fourth was Donavon Smith and Daniels hung on to fifth. This was Bushnell's first win at the track this season.
The next regular season race at Boone will be next Saturday night, but before that, it will be the Boy's of Summer coming to town. The annual Memorial Day Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models will be on tap Monday, May 25. Also racing will be the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods and the IMCA Hobby Stocks. There will be no Modifieds as they will be racing at Mason City for a scheduled Hawkeye Dirt Tour series race. Boone will be starting early on Monday, as pits open at 2, grandstands at 3, hot laps 4, and racing at 5. Hopefully, Mother Nature will allow for some Memorial Day racing around the state. Racing at most scheduled Sunday tracks have already been washed out. The Ron Little Memorial race at Stuart Speedway has been postponed until June 14, Mason City has canceled racing for Sunday, but is still hopeful for the HDT race tomorrow. The USMTS show scheduled for Decorah today is also a wash out and now, Benton County Speedway has added their name to the list of cancellations for today.
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and remember the real reason we celebrate the holiday.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Larson, Heishman and Brown first time winners
There was some exciting racing Friday night at the Marshalltown Speedway and at night's end, there were three new winners in 2015 standing in victory lane. One of those drivers got his second ever win of his career within three days time!
The Mod Lite feature was first and Charlie Brown would lead this one from start to finish. On lap six, the red flag came out when his brother Terry Brown wound up on his lid in turn one. He was okay, but his night was over. Charlie Brown had no trouble in maintaining his lead when things got back underway but then another yellow late in the race would set the scene for a green-white-checkered finish. By this time, Brown had two drivers that had closed the gap on him, Mike Morrill and Josh May. May slipped past Morrill and into second as they entered turn two as the race went green, but this would be all he had, as Brown took the win, May was the runner up. Third was Mike Morrill, fourth went to Randy Bryan and Cory Sauerman was fifth.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks went 15-laps for their main event. Tim Barber was the early leader but lap four found a lap car spinning in corner four, and Barber unable to avoid it. That would be when Austin Luellen would weave his way past them and inherit the lead for the restart. Luellen was pulling away when a bumper on the track brought out a yellow at lap thirteen. This set up a green-white-checkered finish as had the previous race. Luellen wasn't bothered as the race took back up, keeping the lead and the checkers one more time. Andy Hick, who had been third on the restart, made the pass on Eric Stanton on the final lap, as they went second and third in that order. Fourth was Garrett Eilander and Dustin Elliott took fifth place. Luellen scored a win at Marshalltown for the fourth time of the regular season....having also won the Frostbuster special. He and Eric Stanton are still the only two Hobby Stock winners at the track this year.
The IMCA Northern SportMods saw a happy camper in victory lane in what turned out for him to be record setting week. Colby Heishman in the CH19 machine (yes...the numbers are there, but his less than perfect sheet metal sometimes defies that it's there) started the race on the outside pole, and established the lead immediately. From there on, Heishman was the captain of the ship, leading all laps and taking the checkers. Second place went to Jared VanDeest who took to the topside and flew around Clint Luellen in the closing laps. Following third place Luellen, was Brandon Williams in fourth, who also made a late race pass around fifth place finisher Jayme Duinink. Heishman, won for the first time at the track, and wasn't quite sure where victory lane was and had to be told. I mentioned this was a record setting week for this young man. We were privileged to see him win at the Benton County Speedway on Tuesday night.....his first win EVER, and three nights later, here he was standing in the winner's circle again.
What a finish to the IMCA Stock Car feature. We've said it before, and we'll say it again, they are often the class to put on an excellent show week in and week out. This one came right down to the wire! There was a pack of cars fighting for a top spot as the race went green and then five cars broke away. Trent Murphy led the troops but tight on his bumper was Donavon Smith. Following suite tight behind them was Michael Jaennette, Steve Meyer and Jared Daggett. Murphy and Smith hugged the corners while a few laps later, we noted Steve Meyer was opting for the top side and seemed to be making up ground on Jaennette. Right before lap ten was in the books, Smith was able to get under Murphy in corners three and four, sneaking past him and taking over the top spot. Meyer had now gotten into third place and was chasing the leaders. Smith was content with his position but probably had no idea that Murphy had decided to change his line by going to the top of the track and was reeling him in. As the two crossed the finish line, it had to be by mere inches that Smith was able to emerge the victor....it was that close! Meyer took third, fourth was Jaennette and Tyler Pickett completed the top five. Smith, who had started ninth, won for the second week in a row and took his third of the year at Marshalltown.
After the yellow flag had waved several times in the previous features, the 20-lap Modified A main was over in the blink of an eye.....going flag to flag. Early leader Scott Simatovich led Adam Larson in the opening laps. By lap eight, he was holding off Joel Rust and Jimmy Gustin, while Larson had fallen back to fourth. Just a lap later, Rust had taken command, and Gustin went to second and Larson to third. Gustin tightened the screws on Rust and by lap twelve, he took over the lead. Meanwhile, Larson had set sail on the top of the high banks, and was coming with a full head of steam! He then grabbed the lead at lap thirteen and from there on to the checkers, had his #2L rounding the top of the track flawlessly. Larson won comfortably, his first of the year at Marshalltown. Rust was able to get around Gustin as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to ninth place starter Josh "Happy" Gilman and Scott Simatovich rounded out the top five.
The racing continues next Friday night, May 29 at the Marshalltown Speedway. Hot laps at 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Then on Tuesday, June 2, the speedway will be host to the Deery Brothers Late Model Summer Series. The SportMods will also be on tap along with Dirt Trucks and Legends.
The Mod Lite feature was first and Charlie Brown would lead this one from start to finish. On lap six, the red flag came out when his brother Terry Brown wound up on his lid in turn one. He was okay, but his night was over. Charlie Brown had no trouble in maintaining his lead when things got back underway but then another yellow late in the race would set the scene for a green-white-checkered finish. By this time, Brown had two drivers that had closed the gap on him, Mike Morrill and Josh May. May slipped past Morrill and into second as they entered turn two as the race went green, but this would be all he had, as Brown took the win, May was the runner up. Third was Mike Morrill, fourth went to Randy Bryan and Cory Sauerman was fifth.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks went 15-laps for their main event. Tim Barber was the early leader but lap four found a lap car spinning in corner four, and Barber unable to avoid it. That would be when Austin Luellen would weave his way past them and inherit the lead for the restart. Luellen was pulling away when a bumper on the track brought out a yellow at lap thirteen. This set up a green-white-checkered finish as had the previous race. Luellen wasn't bothered as the race took back up, keeping the lead and the checkers one more time. Andy Hick, who had been third on the restart, made the pass on Eric Stanton on the final lap, as they went second and third in that order. Fourth was Garrett Eilander and Dustin Elliott took fifth place. Luellen scored a win at Marshalltown for the fourth time of the regular season....having also won the Frostbuster special. He and Eric Stanton are still the only two Hobby Stock winners at the track this year.
The IMCA Northern SportMods saw a happy camper in victory lane in what turned out for him to be record setting week. Colby Heishman in the CH19 machine (yes...the numbers are there, but his less than perfect sheet metal sometimes defies that it's there) started the race on the outside pole, and established the lead immediately. From there on, Heishman was the captain of the ship, leading all laps and taking the checkers. Second place went to Jared VanDeest who took to the topside and flew around Clint Luellen in the closing laps. Following third place Luellen, was Brandon Williams in fourth, who also made a late race pass around fifth place finisher Jayme Duinink. Heishman, won for the first time at the track, and wasn't quite sure where victory lane was and had to be told. I mentioned this was a record setting week for this young man. We were privileged to see him win at the Benton County Speedway on Tuesday night.....his first win EVER, and three nights later, here he was standing in the winner's circle again.
What a finish to the IMCA Stock Car feature. We've said it before, and we'll say it again, they are often the class to put on an excellent show week in and week out. This one came right down to the wire! There was a pack of cars fighting for a top spot as the race went green and then five cars broke away. Trent Murphy led the troops but tight on his bumper was Donavon Smith. Following suite tight behind them was Michael Jaennette, Steve Meyer and Jared Daggett. Murphy and Smith hugged the corners while a few laps later, we noted Steve Meyer was opting for the top side and seemed to be making up ground on Jaennette. Right before lap ten was in the books, Smith was able to get under Murphy in corners three and four, sneaking past him and taking over the top spot. Meyer had now gotten into third place and was chasing the leaders. Smith was content with his position but probably had no idea that Murphy had decided to change his line by going to the top of the track and was reeling him in. As the two crossed the finish line, it had to be by mere inches that Smith was able to emerge the victor....it was that close! Meyer took third, fourth was Jaennette and Tyler Pickett completed the top five. Smith, who had started ninth, won for the second week in a row and took his third of the year at Marshalltown.
After the yellow flag had waved several times in the previous features, the 20-lap Modified A main was over in the blink of an eye.....going flag to flag. Early leader Scott Simatovich led Adam Larson in the opening laps. By lap eight, he was holding off Joel Rust and Jimmy Gustin, while Larson had fallen back to fourth. Just a lap later, Rust had taken command, and Gustin went to second and Larson to third. Gustin tightened the screws on Rust and by lap twelve, he took over the lead. Meanwhile, Larson had set sail on the top of the high banks, and was coming with a full head of steam! He then grabbed the lead at lap thirteen and from there on to the checkers, had his #2L rounding the top of the track flawlessly. Larson won comfortably, his first of the year at Marshalltown. Rust was able to get around Gustin as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to ninth place starter Josh "Happy" Gilman and Scott Simatovich rounded out the top five.
The racing continues next Friday night, May 29 at the Marshalltown Speedway. Hot laps at 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Then on Tuesday, June 2, the speedway will be host to the Deery Brothers Late Model Summer Series. The SportMods will also be on tap along with Dirt Trucks and Legends.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Wolla wins HDT at Vinton and Murty marks amazing Stock Car win
The Benton County Speedway in Vinton was the scene last evening for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour opening race. It was originally scheduled for May 12, but was postponed in hopes of better weather. Mother Nature is just not being very kind to racing this spring, as last night was still chilly (for me...COLD).....but the racing was outstanding. This is the reason, the winter coats stay in our vehicle all race season!
There was certainly some exciting racing during the night. Especially so in the IMCA Stock Car feature where a driver showed exactly why he has so many feature wins there. The Hawkeye Dirt Tour saw a nice field of 33 Modifieds that came from the surrounding area and one driver drove 14 hours just to get there! It paid off.
The Micro Mod class was a late addition to the racing program. Their 12-lap feature went to 13 year old Broddy Willett from Alburnett.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks ran a 15-lap feature. Jeremiah Wilson led much of the race being chased by track point leader Nathan Ballard and Oelwein hot shoe Benji Irvine. A late race yellow set up a green-white-checkered finish which Irvine took full advantage of. Irvine set his ride to the topside, making it payoff big time, passing both Wilson and Ballard. Irvine took the win, his first at Vinton this year, Ballard was the runner up, Justin Wacha took third place, Wilson held on for a fourth place finish and Justin Lichty rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature had several drivers at the helm early. Joey Schaefer led the troops on the opening laps and he swapped leads with Danny Dvorak through lap three. That's when Brayton "Speedy Bray" Carter claimed the number one spot. When the second yellow of the race flew at the halfway mark, Carter was still in command.....but not for long! Colby Heishman flew by and into the lead. He would then hold down that coveted spot the remainder of the distance to the checkers and the win. Carter held on to the runner up spot, third went to Sam Wieben, Tony Olson was fourth and Clint Luellen finished fifth. We believe this is Heishman's first career win.....always a nice thing to witness. This young man has been improving a lot this season, and with that first win under his belt, there are sure to be more to come.
The IMCA Stock Car 18-lap feature was something to see! The first lap was tight at the flagstand with Norm Chesmore, Roger Ciesielski, and Nathan Wood battling it out. Give the lead to Ciesielski at lap two, but who should be right behind him but "The Chelsea Charger", Damon Murty! Murty had started eighth and was showing his prowess on the track that practically has his name stamped on it. More on that later. Murty was challenging Ciesielski on each lap, but contact going into corner two at lap ten, found the two sitting and the yellow flying. Murty and Ciesielski were then relegated to the rear of the field for the restart. Norm Chesmore inherited the lead for that restart, with Nathan Wood and Scottie Pippert waiting in the wings right behind him. A few laps later, who should appear in the picture again, but the familiar #99D of Damon Murty. Murty had flown by the pack and was making his presence known....running in fifth place! Then, a clump of five cars was at the front of the pack with just two laps remaining...Chesmore, Pippert, Jay Schmidt, Murty and Wood! Those final two laps were something else as Murty put on the show! He swung to the topside, and as they approached the final turn on the run to the checkers, Murty swept past the front runners, and beat them to the finish line and the win! That left the grandstand buzzing with what they had just witnessed. First to last....and then back to first! Last corner passes are always exciting but this one was even more so! Following in second place behind Murty was Norm Chesmore, third went to Scottie Pippert, fourth to Nathan Wood, and Ciesielski was fifth. Now about Murty practically having his named stamped on the track. This marked his 71st win at the Benton County Speedway.....what an accomplishment!
Now came the much anticipated feature for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. Two B mains were run and two provisionals added to the starting field for the 40-lap main event. Those provisionals were for the highest finishing cars on the night that had previously participated in the HDT tour. The consy races were won by Ronn Lauritzen (who was piloting his old car, having to borrow it from new owner, Jason Morehouse after major damage to his car last Friday night at Marshalltown) and Kyle Brown, while the provisional spots went to Nick Roberts and Scott Hogan.
Mark Elliott, a former HDT champion, held down the top spot with David Brown close behind. Brown, who had also suffered major damage in the Marshalltown melee last Friday, was looking to have his car back in working order and challenging Elliott in the early going. Brian Irvine moved into third and started pestering Brown when contact was made going into corner two. Brown would be out of the race and Irvine soon following with his night ended. A restart at lap twelve, still had Elliott leading and the 27W of North Dakota driver, Jason Wolla now up to second place after starting in eleventh, and 2014 HDT Champion, Mike VanGenderen was third, coming from ninth starting spot. Two more yellow flags would fly before the race was completed, but Wolla never gave up the top spot, taking the win. Mike VanGenderen, in his spiffy looking red chrome car, tried to reel in Wolla, but had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to JD Auringer, who had started twelfth, fourth to Missouri racer Hunter Marriott who had started tenth, and Joe Docekal, a regular at the track, went from starting seventeenth to round out the top five.
Winner Wolla, who hails from Ray, North Dakota, told co-announcer (assisting Ryan Clark) Jerry Vansickel in Victory Lane, that he was working on 2-3 hours of sleep after his 14-hour drive to get to Vinton. This wasn't Wolla's first win in Iowa this season, as he won the Frostbuster special back on April 1 at the Southern Iowa Speedway.
Despite the more than chilly temperatures last night (dang Mother Nature anyway) it was well worth the trip to watch some great racing. We enjoyed our night thoroughly with Positively Racing cohort Jeff Broeg and other racing friends in the stands. The next HDT race on the calendar is scheduled for Memorial Day, May 25 at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Check out the calendar of events at www.positivelyracing.com for both the regular track schedules of racing and a separate special event's calendar. Get out and support dirt track racing somewhere!
Now came the much anticipated feature for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. Two B mains were run and two provisionals added to the starting field for the 40-lap main event. Those provisionals were for the highest finishing cars on the night that had previously participated in the HDT tour. The consy races were won by Ronn Lauritzen (who was piloting his old car, having to borrow it from new owner, Jason Morehouse after major damage to his car last Friday night at Marshalltown) and Kyle Brown, while the provisional spots went to Nick Roberts and Scott Hogan.
Mark Elliott, a former HDT champion, held down the top spot with David Brown close behind. Brown, who had also suffered major damage in the Marshalltown melee last Friday, was looking to have his car back in working order and challenging Elliott in the early going. Brian Irvine moved into third and started pestering Brown when contact was made going into corner two. Brown would be out of the race and Irvine soon following with his night ended. A restart at lap twelve, still had Elliott leading and the 27W of North Dakota driver, Jason Wolla now up to second place after starting in eleventh, and 2014 HDT Champion, Mike VanGenderen was third, coming from ninth starting spot. Two more yellow flags would fly before the race was completed, but Wolla never gave up the top spot, taking the win. Mike VanGenderen, in his spiffy looking red chrome car, tried to reel in Wolla, but had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to JD Auringer, who had started twelfth, fourth to Missouri racer Hunter Marriott who had started tenth, and Joe Docekal, a regular at the track, went from starting seventeenth to round out the top five.
Winner Wolla, who hails from Ray, North Dakota, told co-announcer (assisting Ryan Clark) Jerry Vansickel in Victory Lane, that he was working on 2-3 hours of sleep after his 14-hour drive to get to Vinton. This wasn't Wolla's first win in Iowa this season, as he won the Frostbuster special back on April 1 at the Southern Iowa Speedway.
Despite the more than chilly temperatures last night (dang Mother Nature anyway) it was well worth the trip to watch some great racing. We enjoyed our night thoroughly with Positively Racing cohort Jeff Broeg and other racing friends in the stands. The next HDT race on the calendar is scheduled for Memorial Day, May 25 at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Check out the calendar of events at www.positivelyracing.com for both the regular track schedules of racing and a separate special event's calendar. Get out and support dirt track racing somewhere!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Schmidt takes back to back wins at rain threatened Boone
Saturday again found Mother Nature playing games with the area race tracks and the uncertainty if racing would happen. However, knowing the track record of the Boone Speedway being able to get their program in despite threatening weather, off we headed. The show went on and with a whopping 156 cars filling the pits, fans got more than their share of racing action. Three drivers got wins for the first time in 2015 at the track, while Stock Cars saw a driver win for the second week in a row.
Nineteen of the Mod Lites kicked off the feature racing. Terry Brown was the victor of the night in this division. Brown led the entire 15 laps on his way to the checkers for the first time in 2015. He finished well ahead of second place Josh May. Third went to Randy Bryan followed by Travis Stensland and Justin Rankin in fourth and fifth places. The race went caution free.
It took two B mains to whittle the 39 IMCA Northern SportMod class down to 24 cars for the feature. Those wins went to Dusty Masolini and Rick Ringgenberg. Rookie Jeramy McNace had earlier won his heat race, and started the 18-lap main event on the pole. McNace would lead the opening laps, but a push up in corner four at lap seven allowed his close contenders Andy Tiernan and Darin Rothfus to slip by him. Tiernan never gave up the lead, weathering a couple of caution situations, on his route to the win, his first at Boone this year. Randy Roberts was second and third went to Denison, Iowa's Jake Sachau. Fourth place finisher Sam Wieben saw his three in a row streak end after starting back in fifteenth spot, and Darin Rothus rounded out the top five.
Things were changed up a bit in running order last night with the checking of the radar showing "stuff" just to the west, so the IMCA Modifieds hit the track next. There were 34 Modifieds checked into the track last night, and they had to run a B main. Visiting racer from Red Oak, Iowa, Josh "the guy who will race anything" Most, was that consolation winner.
The 20-lap Modified feature avoided disaster as the green flag flew when Robert Avery, who had started on the outside front row, was off power. Everyone was somehow able to avoid his slowly rolling car up near the front stretch wall as he exited the track. Devin Havlik, son of former racer Jeff Havlik, established command of the race with Kyle Krampe in tow. Havlik held tight to that top spot, with John Logue chasing him and eleventh place starter Mike VanGendern up to third. Just as the contest between Logue and VanGenderen was heating up, VanGenderen pulled to the infield, his night done. Then at lap thirteen, leader Havlik pulled to the infield with mechanical woes. Veteran John Logue had been challenging Havlik, and was now in charge of the pack. A yellow at lap thirteen also found Krampe sitting at the top of turn four and out of the race. As things returned to racing, Logue and second place runner Josh Truman made contact in corner two, and then it was a mess on the backstretch as Logue, Truman and Jon Snyder.....who got the worst of the deal, brought out a yellow. Jimmy Gustin had been lurking in third spot and when Logue and Krampe were battling, he had already slipped under them to take the lead....claiming it for the restart. Gustin easily kept the lead the remaining distance to the checkers and the win. Eric Elliott finished second ahead of Tony Cox in third, fourth went to eighteenth place starter Kyle Brown, and hometown driver Scott Davis was fifth. This was Gustin's second win of the regular season, in addition he also won the Frostbuster special.
The IMCA Stock Cars came next after their 30 car field had to run a B main to complete the 24 car starting field. It was won by visiting racer from Humboldt, Aaron Benz. In the main event, last week's winner Jay Schmidt was able to thread his way through the pack from starting tenth, and into the lead by lap six. Schmidt wasn't about to give that coveted spot up, as he stretched his lead in the second half of the race, taking the easy win...his second in a row and third of the season. Madrid's "Hot" Rod Richards took the runner up spot, while veteran Robert Stofer finished in third. Fourth place went to Chris Pruitt, who had started twelfth, and early leader Tyler Brauckman from Carroll, was fifth.
The ending feature was the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. With 34 cars competing for the night, there was originally two B mains scheduled. When only four cars appeared for the first B main, and discovering that not all were going to make it for the second one, the lineup was rearranged, and only one B main was run. It went to Ames, Iowa's Mark Hidlebaugh. The feature was led start to finish by Tyson Overton from Carlisle. He had a clear field in front of him the entire flag to flag race, taking the win by a comfortable margin. Second was Daniel Haggen, who barely beat out last week's winner Andrew Burg in third. Close behind in fourth was Eric Stanton and Aaron Rudolph took fifth place.
The show was completed by 10:11 p.m. and with 156 cars, ( most area tracks were canceled bringing in drivers hungry to race) five B mains, and five features, there was no farming session last night. There had been a shower earlier, about 5:50 p.m. but it was short lived. The tractors and equipment must have been waiting in the wings, as just as soon as the shower was done, they were immediately on the track and farming it. Radar showed the approaching rain moving ever closer to Boone during the night, but only a flash of lightning appeared to the west during feature time. The drivers were told to load up and head out of the pits quickly as heavy "stuff" was coming. Now this morning, we see that a possible tornado or straight line winds caused damage just to the west of Boone in the early morning hours in nearby Bouton and Ogden. Hopefully, the track did not suffer any damage.
It's racing as usual next Saturday night where it will be Little League night at the track. The grandstands open at 6, hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7:30. Then on Monday, May 25, the annual Memorial Day Deery Brothers Late Model show will be on tap. The "Boys of Summer" as the Deery Late Models are known as, will be the showcase class of the program on that day but will also be joined by the IMCA Stock cars, Northern SportMods and Hobby Stocks. Grandstand opens at 3 p.m., hot laps at 4, and racing at 5. Mark this event on your calendars!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Marshalltown sees Whitehead grab first career win
The threat of rain was all around us on Friday. Then text messages of cancellations from some tracks started coming, we were hoping that somehow, Marshalltown would be spared. Spared it was! Nothing more than a few very light sprinkles ever fell at the track, though it appeared they had plenty the day before. The pits were muddy, and many drivers chose to pit in the area outside the pit gate, and the infield was a real feat to handle at times for the tow vehicles. The rain outs at other tracks also brought some travelers to test their skill on the High Banks. Three drivers saw wins for the first time in 2015, and one of those was ecstatic to mark his first career win.
The Mod Lites had 13 cars for their feature race. Jason Whitehead took the lead immediately from his outside front row starting spot, getting the jump on Eric Turner. The race went flag-to-flag, Whitehead never gave up that coveted position, taking the win---his first ever. Second place went to Terry Brown, who closed in on the leader, but was never able to be more than an annoyance to Whitehead. Josh May came from starting ninth, to score a close third place finish, and Travis Stensland and Cory Sauerman went fourth and fifth in that order. It's always nice to see someone get their first ever win. Our congratulations to Whitehead on accomplishing that hurdle.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks were 16 cars strong for their 15-lap A main and they also went flag-to-flag. Travis Merical held the lead until lap four when Travis Overton took over after a bobble in turn two. Overton was looking good and appearing to be headed to Victory Lane until late in the race, Eric Stanton started reeling him in. Stanton closed the gap further, and at lap thirteen had made the pass for the lead. Stanton kept it to the checkers and the win. Overton held on to the runner up spot, third went to Grinnell's Gene Nicklas who ran at the front of the pack all race long, fourth was Dustin Elliott and John Watson completed the top five. This was Stanton's second win at Marshalltown this year...and he and Austin Luellen have claimed every feature in 2015.
The IMCA Northern SportMod class---25 cars in competition, was not so lucky as to have their 18-lap feature go caution free. There were two initial "no goes" on the start, when several cars tangled and had to be realigned. When lap one did get in the books, it was the 777 of Pella, Iowa's Jayme Duinink claiming the lead, He quickly had company in Clint Luellen however, who was seeking momentum on the topside, making it payoff by the time lap eight was scored. When a yellow flew at lap thirteen, Luellen was still in command, but now he had visiting driver from Odebolt, Keegan Scott nipping at his heels. It was quite the race the final handful of laps! With a lap to go, and lap traffic entering corner three, Scott took advantage, and made the pass for the lead. He held it the final lap to the win, Luellen having to settle for the runner up spot on this night. Duinink held third place, fourth went to Brandon Williams, and Jared VanDeest came from starting tenth, to take fifth. This was Scott's first win at Marshalltown.
It was Mike Deaton holding down the point spot in the IMCA Stock Car 18-lap event in the early laps. Deaton, who earlier had won his heat race, was looking strong, holding off veteran racer Jeff Wollam. But then it was Newton's Michael Jaennette scored in second at lap eight---and then a yellow flew. Meanwhile, tenth place starter Donavon Smith had made a lot of headway, and was now running in third place and no doubt, glad to have the field bunched for the restart. It took Smith only two laps to get his goal realized, taking the lead at lap ten, bringing Jaennette along to take second. Another caution rag flew at lap thirteen when debris was scattered on the front stretch, again bunching the field for the restart. Jaennette had been giving leader Smith fits, trying to make the pass on the topside, and now running in third was visiting driver David Brandies who hails from Wilton, Iowa and a regular racer at West Liberty, had made his way to the third spot after starting in thirteenth. Smith took off on the restart, holding his top position, but things were heating up between Jaennette and Brandies. A little paint was swapped between the two, but lap sixteen would find Brandies deemed quilty of rough driving when he put Jaennette into a spin in corner four. Brandies got the "naughty flag" and was retired to the pits, while Jaennette, who did not stop, was realigned in third place, after Steve Meyer flew around the altercation in the corner and into the runner up spot. The remaining three laps after the restart saw Smith pull away, and he would score the comfortable victory. Meyer held on to the runner up spot, Jaennette came away with third place, and visiting Andrew Lokenvitz from Charles City took fourth after starting eleventh. Hometown racer, Jared Daggett rounded out the top five. Smith, who hails from Lake City where a devastating tornado hit the town last week, won for the second time at the track this year. Smith told announcer Jerry Vansickel in Victory Lane, that though the twister did not hit them in the country, the hail was bad enough and the small town had major damage to their school.
The 20-lap Modified feature saw several cars have big time damage when a pile up out of corner four left cars in a tangled mess on lap seven. Those drivers involved were Scott Simatovich, visiting Tyler Groenendyk from Oskaloosa, Brandon Brinton, Ronn Lauritzen, David Brown and Gatlin Leytham from what we observed. Prior to that, it was Trent Jackson laying claim to the lead, only to have it taken away by Jake Strayer by lap five. When the mangled mass happened at lap seven, which we did not see what happened, Jammin' Jimmy Gustin was on Strayer's bumper for the restart. Gustin gave it a couple of tries, but nothing worked, and on this night, it was Strayer getting the checkers first for the win. Gustin was second, third went to Adam Larson, fourth was tenth place starter Brian Irvine, and Josh "Happy" Gilman was fifth. This was Strayer's first visit to Victory Lane at Marshalltown this year.
The Marshalltown Speedway springs back into action again next Friday night when it will be a night to salute the military past and present. It will also be Spectator Eliminator night. Hot laps are 6:50 with racing at 7:30.
The Mod Lites had 13 cars for their feature race. Jason Whitehead took the lead immediately from his outside front row starting spot, getting the jump on Eric Turner. The race went flag-to-flag, Whitehead never gave up that coveted position, taking the win---his first ever. Second place went to Terry Brown, who closed in on the leader, but was never able to be more than an annoyance to Whitehead. Josh May came from starting ninth, to score a close third place finish, and Travis Stensland and Cory Sauerman went fourth and fifth in that order. It's always nice to see someone get their first ever win. Our congratulations to Whitehead on accomplishing that hurdle.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks were 16 cars strong for their 15-lap A main and they also went flag-to-flag. Travis Merical held the lead until lap four when Travis Overton took over after a bobble in turn two. Overton was looking good and appearing to be headed to Victory Lane until late in the race, Eric Stanton started reeling him in. Stanton closed the gap further, and at lap thirteen had made the pass for the lead. Stanton kept it to the checkers and the win. Overton held on to the runner up spot, third went to Grinnell's Gene Nicklas who ran at the front of the pack all race long, fourth was Dustin Elliott and John Watson completed the top five. This was Stanton's second win at Marshalltown this year...and he and Austin Luellen have claimed every feature in 2015.
The IMCA Northern SportMod class---25 cars in competition, was not so lucky as to have their 18-lap feature go caution free. There were two initial "no goes" on the start, when several cars tangled and had to be realigned. When lap one did get in the books, it was the 777 of Pella, Iowa's Jayme Duinink claiming the lead, He quickly had company in Clint Luellen however, who was seeking momentum on the topside, making it payoff by the time lap eight was scored. When a yellow flew at lap thirteen, Luellen was still in command, but now he had visiting driver from Odebolt, Keegan Scott nipping at his heels. It was quite the race the final handful of laps! With a lap to go, and lap traffic entering corner three, Scott took advantage, and made the pass for the lead. He held it the final lap to the win, Luellen having to settle for the runner up spot on this night. Duinink held third place, fourth went to Brandon Williams, and Jared VanDeest came from starting tenth, to take fifth. This was Scott's first win at Marshalltown.
It was Mike Deaton holding down the point spot in the IMCA Stock Car 18-lap event in the early laps. Deaton, who earlier had won his heat race, was looking strong, holding off veteran racer Jeff Wollam. But then it was Newton's Michael Jaennette scored in second at lap eight---and then a yellow flew. Meanwhile, tenth place starter Donavon Smith had made a lot of headway, and was now running in third place and no doubt, glad to have the field bunched for the restart. It took Smith only two laps to get his goal realized, taking the lead at lap ten, bringing Jaennette along to take second. Another caution rag flew at lap thirteen when debris was scattered on the front stretch, again bunching the field for the restart. Jaennette had been giving leader Smith fits, trying to make the pass on the topside, and now running in third was visiting driver David Brandies who hails from Wilton, Iowa and a regular racer at West Liberty, had made his way to the third spot after starting in thirteenth. Smith took off on the restart, holding his top position, but things were heating up between Jaennette and Brandies. A little paint was swapped between the two, but lap sixteen would find Brandies deemed quilty of rough driving when he put Jaennette into a spin in corner four. Brandies got the "naughty flag" and was retired to the pits, while Jaennette, who did not stop, was realigned in third place, after Steve Meyer flew around the altercation in the corner and into the runner up spot. The remaining three laps after the restart saw Smith pull away, and he would score the comfortable victory. Meyer held on to the runner up spot, Jaennette came away with third place, and visiting Andrew Lokenvitz from Charles City took fourth after starting eleventh. Hometown racer, Jared Daggett rounded out the top five. Smith, who hails from Lake City where a devastating tornado hit the town last week, won for the second time at the track this year. Smith told announcer Jerry Vansickel in Victory Lane, that though the twister did not hit them in the country, the hail was bad enough and the small town had major damage to their school.
The 20-lap Modified feature saw several cars have big time damage when a pile up out of corner four left cars in a tangled mess on lap seven. Those drivers involved were Scott Simatovich, visiting Tyler Groenendyk from Oskaloosa, Brandon Brinton, Ronn Lauritzen, David Brown and Gatlin Leytham from what we observed. Prior to that, it was Trent Jackson laying claim to the lead, only to have it taken away by Jake Strayer by lap five. When the mangled mass happened at lap seven, which we did not see what happened, Jammin' Jimmy Gustin was on Strayer's bumper for the restart. Gustin gave it a couple of tries, but nothing worked, and on this night, it was Strayer getting the checkers first for the win. Gustin was second, third went to Adam Larson, fourth was tenth place starter Brian Irvine, and Josh "Happy" Gilman was fifth. This was Strayer's first visit to Victory Lane at Marshalltown this year.
The Marshalltown Speedway springs back into action again next Friday night when it will be a night to salute the military past and present. It will also be Spectator Eliminator night. Hot laps are 6:50 with racing at 7:30.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Brown and Hilsabeck score first time wins at Osky
The Southern Iowa Speedway was back in action last night and this time, it was hosting a special SportMod night with a draw/redraw format and a $400 payoff to the winner. New faces visited Victor Lane and the Hobby Stock feature was a down-to-the-wire finish between two drivers who had gone at it lap after lap.
Five IMCA Sport Compacts ran their 12-lap feature. Bill Whalen, Jr. got the drop on Jon Girdley when the race began, and would go on to lead all laps on his way to the checkers. Brother John Whalen would finish in second, third was Girdley, Curt Myers was fourth and Trent Orwig....sporting his new car with his familiar #04 instead of the #33 he had been piloting, took fifth place. Bill Whalen won for the first time at the track this year.
It took a bit before the IMCA Stock Cars got into their rhythm. Two initial starts were called back and then two more yellows after lap one was in the books. Missouri racer Derrick Agee led the pack in the early going, only to drop out with mechanical issues at lap three. Daniel Hilsabeck then took over, and from there on would lead the remaining caution free race, and take his first win at Osky. Second place went to Cayden Carter. Carter had started in the twelfth spot and was coming fast, passing cars on the outside. It would have been interesting to see the race go a lap or two longer, as we imagine it would have been an exciting finish. Third place went to Todd Reitzler, who had started ninth, and Nathan Wood, who had arrived at the track late, missing his heat race, thus tagging the tail of the 17-car feature, was fourth. Mike Hughes, finished fifth after starting tenth. I believe this is Hilsabeck's first ever win at the Monster Half-Mile.
What an exciting 15-lap Hobby Stock feature! Jamie Songer and Bill Bonnett were the dominating cars in this one. Songer got to the immediate lead and Bonnett quickly got to his rear bumper. From there on out, it was lap after lap of close racing between the two. Bonnett gave it his all, dipping under Songer in the corners, but was just never ever able to pull the pass off. Songer got the win, Bonnett, the ever-so-close runner up. Third was Travis Bunnell who had his hands full with Dustin Griffiths in fourth. Nick Ulin rounded out the top five. Songer was a happy "roof dancing" winner in Victory Circle and commented that he, "probably got more respect than I deserved" from runner up, Bill Bonnett.....but there was never any contact. Bonnett later had his carburetor claimed by Brad Stephens, and he agreed to sell. I believe that this was Songer's first win at the track since back in June of 2012.
The IMCA Modified feature saw a driver get a win at Osky for the first time ever. Kyle Brown, who now hails from State Center, Iowa, powered his #21K ride to Victory Lane in easy fashion, leading all laps from his pole starting spot. Brown, who is now at the helm of Harris Auto Racing in Boone, Iowa, finished well ahead of second place finisher Tyler Groenendyk in the 18-lap caution free race. Third was Cayden Carter, Andrew Schroeder was fourth, and father of the winner, David Brown, brought his car out for the first time this season, and took fifth place.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran 20-laps for their special billing feature. Brett Lowry took the initial lead when the green dropped, but Curtis VanDerWal snatched it away before lap one was scored. A couple of yellow flags were no hindrance to VanDerWal, as he powered away on the restarts. He would then stretch the lead and take another comfortable win at the speedway. Second place went to Brayton Carter who had started seventh, Brett Lowry was third and Cory Van Zante in the #34Z had a good race with the plain #34 of Jerry Hinton as they went fourth and fifth respectively. VanDerWal won for the third time at the track this year.
As mentioned earlier, Nathan Wood arrived at the track late, missing his heat. Well HEAT is exactly what he had dealt with earlier as his family farm had a fire in a hog shed. Thankfully, they were able to get all of the hogs out safely, and the fire was contained to just the shed, though a total loss.
The youngsters (and two "oldsters") had fun at intermission, foot racing down the front stretch for prizes. Promoter Mike VanGenderen was wrangled into racing too, and smoked his competition.
It was another chilly, windy night....hoping Mother Nature is about done playing games this Spring...and we were very thankful for the racing fans we sit in front of each week that faithfully bring their windbreaks that we benefit from as well! Thanks Bob, Warren and Carol!
Why not come out next Wednesday night for some mid-week racing? Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Keep supporting the sport we all love.....good ole dirt track racing!
Five IMCA Sport Compacts ran their 12-lap feature. Bill Whalen, Jr. got the drop on Jon Girdley when the race began, and would go on to lead all laps on his way to the checkers. Brother John Whalen would finish in second, third was Girdley, Curt Myers was fourth and Trent Orwig....sporting his new car with his familiar #04 instead of the #33 he had been piloting, took fifth place. Bill Whalen won for the first time at the track this year.
It took a bit before the IMCA Stock Cars got into their rhythm. Two initial starts were called back and then two more yellows after lap one was in the books. Missouri racer Derrick Agee led the pack in the early going, only to drop out with mechanical issues at lap three. Daniel Hilsabeck then took over, and from there on would lead the remaining caution free race, and take his first win at Osky. Second place went to Cayden Carter. Carter had started in the twelfth spot and was coming fast, passing cars on the outside. It would have been interesting to see the race go a lap or two longer, as we imagine it would have been an exciting finish. Third place went to Todd Reitzler, who had started ninth, and Nathan Wood, who had arrived at the track late, missing his heat race, thus tagging the tail of the 17-car feature, was fourth. Mike Hughes, finished fifth after starting tenth. I believe this is Hilsabeck's first ever win at the Monster Half-Mile.
What an exciting 15-lap Hobby Stock feature! Jamie Songer and Bill Bonnett were the dominating cars in this one. Songer got to the immediate lead and Bonnett quickly got to his rear bumper. From there on out, it was lap after lap of close racing between the two. Bonnett gave it his all, dipping under Songer in the corners, but was just never ever able to pull the pass off. Songer got the win, Bonnett, the ever-so-close runner up. Third was Travis Bunnell who had his hands full with Dustin Griffiths in fourth. Nick Ulin rounded out the top five. Songer was a happy "roof dancing" winner in Victory Circle and commented that he, "probably got more respect than I deserved" from runner up, Bill Bonnett.....but there was never any contact. Bonnett later had his carburetor claimed by Brad Stephens, and he agreed to sell. I believe that this was Songer's first win at the track since back in June of 2012.
The IMCA Modified feature saw a driver get a win at Osky for the first time ever. Kyle Brown, who now hails from State Center, Iowa, powered his #21K ride to Victory Lane in easy fashion, leading all laps from his pole starting spot. Brown, who is now at the helm of Harris Auto Racing in Boone, Iowa, finished well ahead of second place finisher Tyler Groenendyk in the 18-lap caution free race. Third was Cayden Carter, Andrew Schroeder was fourth, and father of the winner, David Brown, brought his car out for the first time this season, and took fifth place.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran 20-laps for their special billing feature. Brett Lowry took the initial lead when the green dropped, but Curtis VanDerWal snatched it away before lap one was scored. A couple of yellow flags were no hindrance to VanDerWal, as he powered away on the restarts. He would then stretch the lead and take another comfortable win at the speedway. Second place went to Brayton Carter who had started seventh, Brett Lowry was third and Cory Van Zante in the #34Z had a good race with the plain #34 of Jerry Hinton as they went fourth and fifth respectively. VanDerWal won for the third time at the track this year.
As mentioned earlier, Nathan Wood arrived at the track late, missing his heat. Well HEAT is exactly what he had dealt with earlier as his family farm had a fire in a hog shed. Thankfully, they were able to get all of the hogs out safely, and the fire was contained to just the shed, though a total loss.
The youngsters (and two "oldsters") had fun at intermission, foot racing down the front stretch for prizes. Promoter Mike VanGenderen was wrangled into racing too, and smoked his competition.
It was another chilly, windy night....hoping Mother Nature is about done playing games this Spring...and we were very thankful for the racing fans we sit in front of each week that faithfully bring their windbreaks that we benefit from as well! Thanks Bob, Warren and Carol!
Why not come out next Wednesday night for some mid-week racing? Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Keep supporting the sport we all love.....good ole dirt track racing!
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Osky - 5-13-15
Unofficial results:
Modified:
1. 21K Kyle Brown
2. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 21 David Brown
6. 7V Carter VanDenBerg
7. 40 Scott Dickey
8. 17 Steve Stewart
DNF: 64 Casey Greubel
Stock Car:
1. 77N Daniel Hilsabeck
2. 10cc Cayden Carter
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 11 Mike Hughes
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 17P Brad Pinkerton
8. 12 Doug Sylvester
9. 9 Terry Clayton
10. 46B Michael Bilyeu
DNF: 33Z Zack VanderBeek
14 Derrick Agee
72 Jerry Pilcher
54 Michael Brown
3D Daniel Gordon
31 Eric Knapp
79S Jason See
SportMod - Special draw/redraw
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 01 Brayton Carter
3. 72 Brett Lowry
4. 34Z Cory Van Zante
5. 34 Jerry Hinton
6. 9A Logan Anderson
7. 84B Trent Brink
8. 33 Derek Liles
9. 16 Matthew VanGelder
10. 21D Dan Drury
11. A5 Austin Paul
12. 40 Dakota Simmons
13. 57R Ryan King
14. 14B Kyle Hill
15. 4G Michael Guthrie
DNF: 33M Matt Messamaker
03 Mike Mundell
85 Jason McDaniel
Hobby Stock
1. 96R Jamie Songer
2. 19 Bill Bonnett - carburetor claimed by 55 Stephens
3. 3 Travis Bunnell
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 21 Nick Ulin
6. 77H Derek Hodges
7. 2 Brandon Potts
8. 55 Brad Stephens
9. 9 Jared Stephens
10. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 10 Dale Porter
3J Jim Blazina
32T Bobby Greene
77G Doug Gorden
3S Steve Allen
84 Danny Thrasher
69 Craig Brown
73 Aaron Martin
DNS: 12 Mike Kincaid
Sport Compact
1. 00W Bill Whalen
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 118 Jon Girdley
4. 22M Curt Myers
5. 04 Trent Orwig
DNF: 69 William Mitchell
Modified:
1. 21K Kyle Brown
2. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
5. 21 David Brown
6. 7V Carter VanDenBerg
7. 40 Scott Dickey
8. 17 Steve Stewart
DNF: 64 Casey Greubel
Stock Car:
1. 77N Daniel Hilsabeck
2. 10cc Cayden Carter
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 52 Nathan Wood
5. 11 Mike Hughes
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 17P Brad Pinkerton
8. 12 Doug Sylvester
9. 9 Terry Clayton
10. 46B Michael Bilyeu
DNF: 33Z Zack VanderBeek
14 Derrick Agee
72 Jerry Pilcher
54 Michael Brown
3D Daniel Gordon
31 Eric Knapp
79S Jason See
SportMod - Special draw/redraw
1. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
2. 01 Brayton Carter
3. 72 Brett Lowry
4. 34Z Cory Van Zante
5. 34 Jerry Hinton
6. 9A Logan Anderson
7. 84B Trent Brink
8. 33 Derek Liles
9. 16 Matthew VanGelder
10. 21D Dan Drury
11. A5 Austin Paul
12. 40 Dakota Simmons
13. 57R Ryan King
14. 14B Kyle Hill
15. 4G Michael Guthrie
DNF: 33M Matt Messamaker
03 Mike Mundell
85 Jason McDaniel
Hobby Stock
1. 96R Jamie Songer
2. 19 Bill Bonnett - carburetor claimed by 55 Stephens
3. 3 Travis Bunnell
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 21 Nick Ulin
6. 77H Derek Hodges
7. 2 Brandon Potts
8. 55 Brad Stephens
9. 9 Jared Stephens
10. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 10 Dale Porter
3J Jim Blazina
32T Bobby Greene
77G Doug Gorden
3S Steve Allen
84 Danny Thrasher
69 Craig Brown
73 Aaron Martin
DNS: 12 Mike Kincaid
Sport Compact
1. 00W Bill Whalen
2. 77 John Whalen
3. 118 Jon Girdley
4. 22M Curt Myers
5. 04 Trent Orwig
DNF: 69 William Mitchell
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Snyder snags Modifieds, and it's three-in-a-row for Wieben in the SportMods
We hit the trail west again on Saturday, making our way to the Boone Speedway. It was finally a Saturday night that was free of rain around the state. The racing action was it's usual fast and furious, the mothers entering the stands got a flower for Mother's Day, and a "Diva Dash" saw some drivers, officials and the announcer, don a pair of pink high heels and sprint down the track in front of the grandstand.
Feature racing kicked off after the farming session and after the above mentioned "Diva Dash" (more on that later) with the Mod Lite 15-lapper. Pole sitter Joel Huggins got the drop on Terry Brown, taking the lead immediately. Huggins enjoyed being the leader until lap nine when Brown made contact going into corner one, and they both came to a rest. All this happened just as the yellow flew for a car sitting dead in the water at the opposite end of the track. The rule, "if you are stopped under a yellow, you go to the tail" was implemented, and both front runners were relegated to the back for the restart. Bryan Zehm, who had been running third, inherited the point as the race resumed with Jimmy May sitting in second and readying for the chase. The two had shared victories the previous two weeks and you just knew each was wanting a repeat. May seized his opportunity as the race went green, getting around Zehm as they went down the back chute. May would then hold tight to the coveted spot and take the win.....repeating his April 25th victory. A driver who has been having some good runs lately, the #17 of Cory Sauerman was able to get around Zehm in the final laps, and then pressured May, but fell short of more than second place. Zehm finished third, Joel Keenan was fourth and Charlie Brown was fifth.
It was an exciting conclusion to the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature. Early leader Brian Eppert lost that top spot after a restart at lap six, when Andy Tiernan flew to the lead, bringing the previous two week's winner, Dysart, Iowa driver Sam Wieben with him. Tiernan stretched out his lead until a yellow flew at lap fifteen----and on the restart it was a fight to the finish between the two. Wieben managed to slip under Tiernen as lap seventeen was scored and would keep that lead to the checkers. Tiernan had to be satisfied with the runner up spot, Jerry Hinton finished third, fourth went to eighteenth starter Doug Smith, and Jake McBirnie completed the top five. Winner Wieben had started twelfth on the grid and made it to the winner's circle for the third week in a row.
Andrew "the Burglar" Burg, went to victory lane with a comfortable win in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Burg grabbed the lead by lap three and pulled away from the field in scoring his first win at Boone this season. Solomon Bennett took the bridesmaid spot, while Aaron Rudolph was third and last week's winner Chad Legere was fourth. John Watson started twelfth and took fifth place. This race had a scary moment at lap two when the #00 of Kyle Dirks sent his machine into a wild nose flip against the front stretch wall, landing upside down just past the flagstand. Everyone was thankful to see him emerge from the car, and okay.
The IMCA Modified's 20-lap feature came next. Jon Snyder quickly took to his usual top side racing style, swinging around Josh Truman and snatching the lead at lap two. Snyder never relinquished that lead the remaining way to the win. Last week's winner, Richie Gustin was reeling in Snyder in the final laps, but never threatened the leader, and had to settle for second place. Joel Bushore was third, fourth was "Jammin" Jimmy Gustin who had started twelfth on the grid, and veteran racer John Logue was fifth. Early leader Truman came home in sixth.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars was the closing act in their 18-lap main event. Jay Schmidt got under early leader Robert Stofer at lap four, but had to give it another try just before lap six was scored, finally making the move pay off and taking command. Schmidt would then keep hold of the top spot, stretching his lead and take the comfortable win. Stofer just held off Trent Murphy in the waning moments, as they finished second and third. Fourth through sixth went to a trio of Pruitt's.....Chris in fourth, Brandon in sixth and Terry in sixth.
Now back to the laughable entertainment after the heats and B's were completed. It's been an annual running of a "Diva Dash" for the last few years. This is when several drivers....not sure if they volunteered or were volunteered/recruited, along with flagman Nick Breuklander, a subbing official for the night, Grant Oskvig, and announcer Jerry Vansickel, donned the pink stilettos. They then "dashed" down the front stretch in front of the fans. Most "threw" a shoe or two and there was some pushing and shoving between Vansickel and Oskvig, who were left to finish last. I couldn't tell you who the driver was that managed to take the "win", but we noted he was presented with a bouquet of flowers and then immediately sprinted across the infield....no high heels....and hurried to get ready for his feature race.
Next Saturday night is deemed "Armed Forces Night", when it will once again be racing in all five divisions. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
We have already been receiving text messages that tracks are canceling their racing for tonight...all due to the predicted storm forecast. We know for sure that Mason City, Stuart...who I believe has yet to get their first race of the season in, and Vinton have all canceled. Be safe everyone.
Next Saturday night is deemed "Armed Forces Night", when it will once again be racing in all five divisions. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
We have already been receiving text messages that tracks are canceling their racing for tonight...all due to the predicted storm forecast. We know for sure that Mason City, Stuart...who I believe has yet to get their first race of the season in, and Vinton have all canceled. Be safe everyone.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Luellen brothers match wins on Cliff Chamber's Memorial night at Marshalltown
It was overcast and chilly as we left to head to our Friday night home at Marshalltown Speedway. By the time we arrived at the track, the sun was shining and much warmer, and we already started to shed layers. However, by the end of the night, we had those layers back on---plus more. There was some really exciting and close racing at the High Banks last night, with the Stock Car and SportMod features being determined at the crossing of the checkers. It was also the Cliff Chamber's Memorial night at the raceway, a night when Chamber's, a former promoter, was remembered for all of his contributions to the track. On this annual race, all the drivers seem to have a bit more drive to take a win on this special night.
We were "greeted" by a plethora of horses and high school rodeo participants as we entered the fairgrounds last night.....more than we have ever seen in years past. They were everywhere....leaving race fans only a small plot of parking area behind the grandstand....all others fans having to search for a spot mostly in the outer parking lot to the west. Luckily, no race cars made an exit over turn one as it would have no doubt given the horses and the people camped in that area, a good scare....or worse.
The Nostalgia cars made an appearance at the track last night, always bringing back memories of days gone by for those of us who attended races back in the day. Several of us "seasoned fans" were all giving our guess as to the make (pretty confident in that) and year of car.
The vintage cars ran a 10-lap feature. Most of the laps were led by the #99 car, a 1959 Chevy....the year we often refer to as the one with the "eyebrow" rear fins. Meanwhile, the #45 that had started dead last, a 1955 Pontiac, had been on the move. He slipped into the runner up spot at the halfway mark and was steadily catching the leader. He made his move with a lap to go, taking over the top spot. He would then keep it to the checkers and the win. I believe we understood the winner to be Josh Zeman from Mason City....driving a car that the late Charlie Hart had taken many a win in. Hart was the grandfather of the #45 Modified driver Levi Nielsen. The 99 car held on to second place, third was #24, a 1955 Chevy, fourth went to 33R, a 1958 Chevy, and the huge finned blue #43, Plymouth we are thinking a 1959, was fifth. Always fun too see those cars of yesteryear on a race track again.
The Mod Lites came next for 15-laps of feature racing. Jason Whitehead lead the troops through lap three. Then, Cory Sauerman who was up to second, would get into his rearend as they entered turn three, sending leader Whitehead into a roll. Whitehead was okay, Sauerman was sent to the pits for causing the incident, and Joel Huggins would inherit the lead on the restart. Huggins had his hands full a bit later, as Travis Stensland and last week's winner Josh May were right behind. The three raced closely for several laps until Stensland made his move on the backstretch, taking the lead at lap twelve. Stensland would hold that top spot the remaining way to the win. Josh May slipped by Huggins late in the race, as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to James May, and Charlie Brown rounded out the top five.
This year, the Hobby Stocks are going 15-laps and this one was about over as the green flag dropped. Austin Luellen, who has been having much success this season, started fourth, but was leading at lap one. From there on out to the finish, Luellen was out in front and gone. He was never bothered by a couple of yellow flags, and sailed home to another feature win. This was his second win in as many weeks at Marshalltown, plus having won the opening night as well as the Frostbuster. Second went to Eric Stanton, third was John Watson, Andy Hick was fourth and Tyson Overton was fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a hard time getting their 18-lap feature in the books. The yellows started flying in this one with just one lap down. Five more would fly before it was completed. Clint Luellen managed to work through the early yellows, and be the man in charge by lap five. He was still contending with Brandon Williams though, and then who should enter the picture but "Mighty Miss", Jenae Gustin. Gustin, who had the misfortune of having a nearly destroyed race car at the Independence Speedway last Saturday night, had gotten her ride put back together, and was looking to be in top form. She had swung to the topside and was riding in third spot at laps six. She jousted with Williams a bit, but then took that runner up spot at lap nine. A yellow at lap eleven was no doubt what she was looking for, bunching the field and putting her right behind the leader for the restart. From there on, it was a fight between Luellen and Gustin and what a race they put on for the fans! Gustin, who started tenth, took the brief lead at lap fifteen....from what I observed, but Luellen came right back to snatch the lead. A couple of slide jobs by Gustin in turn four....all clean and perfectly timed.... the final coming up just short of being successful, and leaving her with the runner up spot and Luellen taking the victory---- a win to match his brother Austin who had won earlier in the Hobby Stock class. Brandon Williams held down the third spot, fourth went to visiting racer from Odebolt, the #38 of Logan Scott who came from starting eleventh, and Jared VanDeest completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars followed up with another fight to the finish race in their 18-lap event. As the race began, cars were 3-wide in corner one, and coming out of turn four to score lap one, they were 5-wide! Jay Schmidt held down the early lead but by lap seven, had big time company on his tail in Trent Murphy and Donavon Smith. When a yellow flew for fluid on the track at lap twelve, Murphy had taken over the point position, getting around Schmidt who was holding down second. When the race restarted, Smith made quick work of getting around Schmidt and taking over second and hunting down leader Murphy. This race came right down to the wire between Murphy and Smith, and as they crossed the finish line it was almost a toss up as to who had won. Murphy was scored the winner and Smith had to be content with the runner up spot on this night. Jay Schmidt was a close third, as were Jared Daggett in fourth and Steve Meyer in fifth. This was Murphy's second win of the season at Marshalltown.
The night closed with 20-laps of IMCA Modified racing. Richie Gustin, the Gilman, Iowa hot shoe, sat on the pole, and we guessed that it looked to be a win for him before it even started. Our guess was correct, as he led all 20-laps in scoring his first victory of the year at Marshalltown. Joel Rust had one of his best races of the season, getting around Jimmy Gustin with four laps remaining, as they were scored second and third in that order. Jon Snyder took fourth place and Missouri racer Hunter Marriott that we often see racing in our neck of the woods, came from eleventh starting spot, to take fifth.
By the time the racing ended, those of us especially on the top row and catching all the breeze, were all bundled up on this May night. Think the weatherman was a bit short in his estimate of the lows! By the time we got home, our vehicle registered 50 degrees! But we saw some great racing on the high banked quarter mile and it was all worth sitting in the nippy weather.
We were "greeted" by a plethora of horses and high school rodeo participants as we entered the fairgrounds last night.....more than we have ever seen in years past. They were everywhere....leaving race fans only a small plot of parking area behind the grandstand....all others fans having to search for a spot mostly in the outer parking lot to the west. Luckily, no race cars made an exit over turn one as it would have no doubt given the horses and the people camped in that area, a good scare....or worse.
The Nostalgia cars made an appearance at the track last night, always bringing back memories of days gone by for those of us who attended races back in the day. Several of us "seasoned fans" were all giving our guess as to the make (pretty confident in that) and year of car.
The vintage cars ran a 10-lap feature. Most of the laps were led by the #99 car, a 1959 Chevy....the year we often refer to as the one with the "eyebrow" rear fins. Meanwhile, the #45 that had started dead last, a 1955 Pontiac, had been on the move. He slipped into the runner up spot at the halfway mark and was steadily catching the leader. He made his move with a lap to go, taking over the top spot. He would then keep it to the checkers and the win. I believe we understood the winner to be Josh Zeman from Mason City....driving a car that the late Charlie Hart had taken many a win in. Hart was the grandfather of the #45 Modified driver Levi Nielsen. The 99 car held on to second place, third was #24, a 1955 Chevy, fourth went to 33R, a 1958 Chevy, and the huge finned blue #43, Plymouth we are thinking a 1959, was fifth. Always fun too see those cars of yesteryear on a race track again.
The Mod Lites came next for 15-laps of feature racing. Jason Whitehead lead the troops through lap three. Then, Cory Sauerman who was up to second, would get into his rearend as they entered turn three, sending leader Whitehead into a roll. Whitehead was okay, Sauerman was sent to the pits for causing the incident, and Joel Huggins would inherit the lead on the restart. Huggins had his hands full a bit later, as Travis Stensland and last week's winner Josh May were right behind. The three raced closely for several laps until Stensland made his move on the backstretch, taking the lead at lap twelve. Stensland would hold that top spot the remaining way to the win. Josh May slipped by Huggins late in the race, as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to James May, and Charlie Brown rounded out the top five.
This year, the Hobby Stocks are going 15-laps and this one was about over as the green flag dropped. Austin Luellen, who has been having much success this season, started fourth, but was leading at lap one. From there on out to the finish, Luellen was out in front and gone. He was never bothered by a couple of yellow flags, and sailed home to another feature win. This was his second win in as many weeks at Marshalltown, plus having won the opening night as well as the Frostbuster. Second went to Eric Stanton, third was John Watson, Andy Hick was fourth and Tyson Overton was fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a hard time getting their 18-lap feature in the books. The yellows started flying in this one with just one lap down. Five more would fly before it was completed. Clint Luellen managed to work through the early yellows, and be the man in charge by lap five. He was still contending with Brandon Williams though, and then who should enter the picture but "Mighty Miss", Jenae Gustin. Gustin, who had the misfortune of having a nearly destroyed race car at the Independence Speedway last Saturday night, had gotten her ride put back together, and was looking to be in top form. She had swung to the topside and was riding in third spot at laps six. She jousted with Williams a bit, but then took that runner up spot at lap nine. A yellow at lap eleven was no doubt what she was looking for, bunching the field and putting her right behind the leader for the restart. From there on, it was a fight between Luellen and Gustin and what a race they put on for the fans! Gustin, who started tenth, took the brief lead at lap fifteen....from what I observed, but Luellen came right back to snatch the lead. A couple of slide jobs by Gustin in turn four....all clean and perfectly timed.... the final coming up just short of being successful, and leaving her with the runner up spot and Luellen taking the victory---- a win to match his brother Austin who had won earlier in the Hobby Stock class. Brandon Williams held down the third spot, fourth went to visiting racer from Odebolt, the #38 of Logan Scott who came from starting eleventh, and Jared VanDeest completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars followed up with another fight to the finish race in their 18-lap event. As the race began, cars were 3-wide in corner one, and coming out of turn four to score lap one, they were 5-wide! Jay Schmidt held down the early lead but by lap seven, had big time company on his tail in Trent Murphy and Donavon Smith. When a yellow flew for fluid on the track at lap twelve, Murphy had taken over the point position, getting around Schmidt who was holding down second. When the race restarted, Smith made quick work of getting around Schmidt and taking over second and hunting down leader Murphy. This race came right down to the wire between Murphy and Smith, and as they crossed the finish line it was almost a toss up as to who had won. Murphy was scored the winner and Smith had to be content with the runner up spot on this night. Jay Schmidt was a close third, as were Jared Daggett in fourth and Steve Meyer in fifth. This was Murphy's second win of the season at Marshalltown.
The night closed with 20-laps of IMCA Modified racing. Richie Gustin, the Gilman, Iowa hot shoe, sat on the pole, and we guessed that it looked to be a win for him before it even started. Our guess was correct, as he led all 20-laps in scoring his first victory of the year at Marshalltown. Joel Rust had one of his best races of the season, getting around Jimmy Gustin with four laps remaining, as they were scored second and third in that order. Jon Snyder took fourth place and Missouri racer Hunter Marriott that we often see racing in our neck of the woods, came from eleventh starting spot, to take fifth.
By the time the racing ended, those of us especially on the top row and catching all the breeze, were all bundled up on this May night. Think the weatherman was a bit short in his estimate of the lows! By the time we got home, our vehicle registered 50 degrees! But we saw some great racing on the high banked quarter mile and it was all worth sitting in the nippy weather.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Sprint Invaders invade the Southern Iowa Speedway and Ball takes the win
No one was quite sure if the show would go on at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday night, but all the rain somehow stayed away from the Monster Half-Mile. The weekly show plus the invasion of the Sprint Invader series made for a full night of racing.
Only five IMCA Sport Compacts were in attendance last evening. The 10-lap feature was lead start to finish by the #77 of John Whalen. Chuck Fullenkamp from Ft. Madison raced for the first time at Osky this year. He made it to the runner up spot with a lap to go, but had to settle for second place. Bill Whalen was third, fourth was the first two week's winner, Trent Orwig, and Curt Myers took the fifth place. John Whalen won for the second week in a row.
After the thrilling 3-wide stock car finish last week, there was no repeat of that excitement this time.
Donnie Pearson ran strong and was looking impressive in keeping his lead over heavy hitter's Zack VanderBeek and Brad Pinkerton. Pearson led through lap ten when he appeared to change his line a bit, and that was all VanderBeek needed as he flew to the lead. From there on out, VanderBeek was clean and free and took the win easily. At lap fourteen, the big battle was for second place as Brad Pinkerton and Todd Reitzler had cleared Pearson and were jousting for the runner up spot. A bit of contact on the final lap between Pinkerton and Reitzler allowed Pinkerton to cross the finish line in second, Mike Hughes slipped by a recovering Reitzler as they went third and fourth in that order. Cayden Carter, last week's winner and "Team Orange" driver, was fifth and early leader Pearson finished in sixth spot. This was VanderBeek's second win of the season.
The traveling Sprint Invader series was an added feature to the night's racing. Twenty-five of the winged sprint cars came for some fun. Twenty cars would start the feature after whittling the starting line up through a B Main that was won by Jon Agan.
Tony Shilling flew to the lead on the start of the 29-lap feature, as fellow Knoxville racer Jamie Ball settled into second. Ball closed in on Shilling when lap traffic played a part, and as they came out of turn four at lap nine, Ball and Shilling made contact as they came out of corner four, causing Shilling to go sideways. With that, Ball scooted to the lead. Somehow, Shilling was able to regain control, and kept going, but losing several positions. A yellow flew at lap thirteen for a car sitting on the apron, dead in the water. Ball was still holding the top spot, Nate VanHaaften was in second and veteran Terry "T-Mac" McCarl was riding in third. The race restarted but it would only get three laps in before another yellow flew when Jon Agan and Russ Hall, tangled and ended up high in corner one, only to have Dakota Hendrickson pile into them as well. When things got back underway, Ball was not letting this slip through his fingers, and motored home to his first checkers ever in the Sprint Invader's series and a $1,500 pay check. VanHaaften kept second, third was McCarl, fourth was Joe Beaver and Shilling completed the top five.
The 13-car field of IMCA Northern SportMods ran next. This one was over at the drop of the green flag as Jason McDaniel (who had mechanical issues last week and dropped out) grabbed the point position and would never look back. Curtis VanDerWal made it to second in the flag-to-flag race, but had to be content with the runner up spot. Third went to Brayton Carter, fourth was pole sitter Trent Brink, and last week's winner Brett Lowry, was fifth. This was McDaniel's first win at Osky this year.
The 15-lap Hobby Stocks saw a gaggle of cars bunched as they entered turn one on the start. Lap one had Aaron Martin scored as the leader, but as lap three went into the books, Bobby Greene had slipped under Martin as well as Dustin Griffiths. Griffiths made his move around Greene two laps later, and claimed the lead. Griffths would then pull away to a comfortable lead, and sealed his first win of the season. Greene held on to second place, third went to Danny Thrasher, Martin was fourth and Dale Porter was fifth.
The night's racing ended with 18-laps of IMCA Modified racing. Scott Dickey immediately took the lead from starting on the pole and would never relinquish it all the way to the checkers and the win, marking his first victory at the Southern Iowa Speedway in 2015. Tyler Groenendyk did his best to catch Dickey but could only garner a second place finish on this night. Third was Cayden Carter, fourth was Carter VandenBerg and last week's winner Andrew Schroeder was fifth.
Regular weekly racing resumes next Wednesday night, May 13 with racing in all five classes at the speedway. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30.
Only five IMCA Sport Compacts were in attendance last evening. The 10-lap feature was lead start to finish by the #77 of John Whalen. Chuck Fullenkamp from Ft. Madison raced for the first time at Osky this year. He made it to the runner up spot with a lap to go, but had to settle for second place. Bill Whalen was third, fourth was the first two week's winner, Trent Orwig, and Curt Myers took the fifth place. John Whalen won for the second week in a row.
After the thrilling 3-wide stock car finish last week, there was no repeat of that excitement this time.
Donnie Pearson ran strong and was looking impressive in keeping his lead over heavy hitter's Zack VanderBeek and Brad Pinkerton. Pearson led through lap ten when he appeared to change his line a bit, and that was all VanderBeek needed as he flew to the lead. From there on out, VanderBeek was clean and free and took the win easily. At lap fourteen, the big battle was for second place as Brad Pinkerton and Todd Reitzler had cleared Pearson and were jousting for the runner up spot. A bit of contact on the final lap between Pinkerton and Reitzler allowed Pinkerton to cross the finish line in second, Mike Hughes slipped by a recovering Reitzler as they went third and fourth in that order. Cayden Carter, last week's winner and "Team Orange" driver, was fifth and early leader Pearson finished in sixth spot. This was VanderBeek's second win of the season.
The traveling Sprint Invader series was an added feature to the night's racing. Twenty-five of the winged sprint cars came for some fun. Twenty cars would start the feature after whittling the starting line up through a B Main that was won by Jon Agan.
Tony Shilling flew to the lead on the start of the 29-lap feature, as fellow Knoxville racer Jamie Ball settled into second. Ball closed in on Shilling when lap traffic played a part, and as they came out of turn four at lap nine, Ball and Shilling made contact as they came out of corner four, causing Shilling to go sideways. With that, Ball scooted to the lead. Somehow, Shilling was able to regain control, and kept going, but losing several positions. A yellow flew at lap thirteen for a car sitting on the apron, dead in the water. Ball was still holding the top spot, Nate VanHaaften was in second and veteran Terry "T-Mac" McCarl was riding in third. The race restarted but it would only get three laps in before another yellow flew when Jon Agan and Russ Hall, tangled and ended up high in corner one, only to have Dakota Hendrickson pile into them as well. When things got back underway, Ball was not letting this slip through his fingers, and motored home to his first checkers ever in the Sprint Invader's series and a $1,500 pay check. VanHaaften kept second, third was McCarl, fourth was Joe Beaver and Shilling completed the top five.
The 13-car field of IMCA Northern SportMods ran next. This one was over at the drop of the green flag as Jason McDaniel (who had mechanical issues last week and dropped out) grabbed the point position and would never look back. Curtis VanDerWal made it to second in the flag-to-flag race, but had to be content with the runner up spot. Third went to Brayton Carter, fourth was pole sitter Trent Brink, and last week's winner Brett Lowry, was fifth. This was McDaniel's first win at Osky this year.
The 15-lap Hobby Stocks saw a gaggle of cars bunched as they entered turn one on the start. Lap one had Aaron Martin scored as the leader, but as lap three went into the books, Bobby Greene had slipped under Martin as well as Dustin Griffiths. Griffiths made his move around Greene two laps later, and claimed the lead. Griffths would then pull away to a comfortable lead, and sealed his first win of the season. Greene held on to second place, third went to Danny Thrasher, Martin was fourth and Dale Porter was fifth.
The night's racing ended with 18-laps of IMCA Modified racing. Scott Dickey immediately took the lead from starting on the pole and would never relinquish it all the way to the checkers and the win, marking his first victory at the Southern Iowa Speedway in 2015. Tyler Groenendyk did his best to catch Dickey but could only garner a second place finish on this night. Third was Cayden Carter, fourth was Carter VandenBerg and last week's winner Andrew Schroeder was fifth.
Regular weekly racing resumes next Wednesday night, May 13 with racing in all five classes at the speedway. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Osky - 5-6-15
Unofficial results:
Modified
1. 40 Scott Dickey
2. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 7V Carter VandenBerg
5. 02 Andrew Schroeder
6. 5 Todd Shute
DNF: 64 Casey Greubel
48J Jacob Murray
22 Brandon Banks
Stock Car
1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 17P Brad Pinkerton
3. 11 Mike Hughes
4. 22R Todd Reitzler
5. 10CC Cayden Carter
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 3D Dan Gordon
8. 14 Derrick Agee
9. 18 Kris Walker
10. 52 Nathan Wood
11. 72 Jerry Pilcher
12. 81X Randy Killen
13. 12 Doug Sylvester
14. 18C Ron Bougher
15. 54 Michael Brown
16. 17C Shane Paris
DNF: 17 Brock Welch
19B Brandon Bach
73C Carl Yaw
DNS: 59F Bill Fox
SportMod
1. 85 Jason McDaniel
2. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 84B Trent Brink
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. A5 Austin Paul
7. 34Z Cory VanZante
8. 9A Logan Anderson
9. 40 Dakota Simmons
10 33 Derrick Liles
11. 16 Matt VanGelder
12. 80 Jimmy Walker
13. 22B Aaron Brideman
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 32T Bobby Greene
3. 84 Danny Thrasher
4. 73 Aaron Martin
5. 10 Dale Porter
6. 2 Brandon Potts
7. 77 Derek Hodges
8. 3 Travis Bunnell
9. 69 Craig Brown
10. 3S Steve Allen
11. 55 Brad Stephens
12. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 12 Mike Kincaid
9 Jared Stephens
19 Bill Bonnett
19D Daniel Dyer
96R Jamie Songer
DNS: 8 Robert Fite
Sport Compact
1. 77 John Whalen
2. 48 Chuck Fullenkamp
3. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
4. 33 Trent Orwig
5. 22M Curt Myers
Sprint Invaders
1. 5J Jamie Ball - 1st ever Sprint Invader win
2. 3 Nate VanHaaften
3. 24 Terry McCarl
4. 53 Joe Beaver
5. 22 Tony Shilling
6. 44 Chris Martin
7. 99 John Schulz
8. 49 Josh Schneiderman
9. 9M Ricky Montgomery
10. 59kp Mike Philben
11. 50P Harold Pohren
12. 10T Tim Moore
13. 4 Jon Agan
14. 29 Russ Hall
15. 5H Dakota Hendrickson
16. Dustin Clark
17. 16HD Donnie Steward
18. 68 Mike Houseman
19. 3G Jarrold Schneiderman
20. 0 Mike Mayberry
Modified
1. 40 Scott Dickey
2. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 7V Carter VandenBerg
5. 02 Andrew Schroeder
6. 5 Todd Shute
DNF: 64 Casey Greubel
48J Jacob Murray
22 Brandon Banks
Stock Car
1. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
2. 17P Brad Pinkerton
3. 11 Mike Hughes
4. 22R Todd Reitzler
5. 10CC Cayden Carter
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 3D Dan Gordon
8. 14 Derrick Agee
9. 18 Kris Walker
10. 52 Nathan Wood
11. 72 Jerry Pilcher
12. 81X Randy Killen
13. 12 Doug Sylvester
14. 18C Ron Bougher
15. 54 Michael Brown
16. 17C Shane Paris
DNF: 17 Brock Welch
19B Brandon Bach
73C Carl Yaw
DNS: 59F Bill Fox
SportMod
1. 85 Jason McDaniel
2. 1V Curtis VanDerWal
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 84B Trent Brink
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. A5 Austin Paul
7. 34Z Cory VanZante
8. 9A Logan Anderson
9. 40 Dakota Simmons
10 33 Derrick Liles
11. 16 Matt VanGelder
12. 80 Jimmy Walker
13. 22B Aaron Brideman
Hobby Stock
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 32T Bobby Greene
3. 84 Danny Thrasher
4. 73 Aaron Martin
5. 10 Dale Porter
6. 2 Brandon Potts
7. 77 Derek Hodges
8. 3 Travis Bunnell
9. 69 Craig Brown
10. 3S Steve Allen
11. 55 Brad Stephens
12. 224 Gina Greubel
DNF: 12 Mike Kincaid
9 Jared Stephens
19 Bill Bonnett
19D Daniel Dyer
96R Jamie Songer
DNS: 8 Robert Fite
Sport Compact
1. 77 John Whalen
2. 48 Chuck Fullenkamp
3. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
4. 33 Trent Orwig
5. 22M Curt Myers
Sprint Invaders
1. 5J Jamie Ball - 1st ever Sprint Invader win
2. 3 Nate VanHaaften
3. 24 Terry McCarl
4. 53 Joe Beaver
5. 22 Tony Shilling
6. 44 Chris Martin
7. 99 John Schulz
8. 49 Josh Schneiderman
9. 9M Ricky Montgomery
10. 59kp Mike Philben
11. 50P Harold Pohren
12. 10T Tim Moore
13. 4 Jon Agan
14. 29 Russ Hall
15. 5H Dakota Hendrickson
16. Dustin Clark
17. 16HD Donnie Steward
18. 68 Mike Houseman
19. 3G Jarrold Schneiderman
20. 0 Mike Mayberry
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Wieben repeats Boone SportMod win, Gustin, Gifford, Legere and Zehm take first wins
The Boone Speedway was back to it's regular racing hours on Saturday night, hoping that the chilly, early Spring weather was behind. However, with a stiff southerly wind blowing, by the evening's end, the fans were happy for their coats and blankets.
With just the third week of regular season racing, there were new faces in victory lane in four of the five classes, the exception being in the SportMod class.
The Mod Lite's were ready to kick off the feature racing until the 88 car of Justin Rankin dumped oil on the parade lap all around the track...and a LOT of it. The cars were halted while the tractors and equipment came out to redo the track. When that was completed, the race began and it was Bryan Zehm flying to the lead from starting in the second row. Zehm never relinquished that coveted spot the remaining distance and took the win, his first of the season. David Schmalzried chased the leader most of the feature but had to be satisfied with the runner up finish. The father-son duo of James and Josh May duked it out for third and fourth, James coming out with the third place finish ahead of Josh in fourth and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature saw last week's winner Sam Wieben take the checkers again. Wieben, who started fifteenth, flew through the pack and took command with just a handful of laps in the books, pulled away from the pack and took the comfortable win. Jerry Hinton got around Dustin Dalton in the last couple of laps as they went second and third respectively. Ben Wilson was fourth and opening night winner, Doug Smith was fifth.
The feature racing order has been changed up a bit this year, as the Hobby Stocks who have always been the closing act at Boone, were up next for their 12-lapper. Matt Hudspeth led the early laps but fell out at lap six and Des Moines racer Chad Legere took over the top spot. From there on, Legere had only one thing on his mind and that was seeing the checkers first. He succeeded in that quest, taking his first ever win at the Boone Speedway. He had strong contenders behind him in John Watson....the driver who a couple of years ago was unstoppable at the speedway, and Eric Stanton, another driver who has seen his share of wins. However, they could not catch the leader and Watson and Stanton had to be content with second and third place finishes. Fourth went to Aaron Rudolph, winner of the Frostbuster, and Ryan Wells rounded out the top five.
Another shake up in the running order next brought the IMCA Modifieds to the track for their 20-lap main event. This one could have almost been stamped in the books from the get go as Richie Gustin, the Gilman, Iowa hot shoe, leaped to the lead from starting outside front row. He dominated from there on and snagged his first win at Boone this season. There was a lot of scrambling for position going on a distance behind him however! During the last couple of laps, a lot of swapping of running order was going on. Russ Dickerson swung to his comfortable top side line, and swept past Eric Elliott with just two laps remaining. The rest of the contenders weren't done either, as each pass by the flagstand saw different orders. While Dickerson kept that second spot, Jimmy Gustin took his ride from starting eleventh and into a third place finish. The Flyin' Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen made a good recovery from having his car die early on. He got tapped by Gustin as he tried to avoid contact, was then able to get it refired and fly through the field to garner a fourth place finish. Eric Elliott hung around the top runners all night, and finished in fifth.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars have now been running their feature last. Their 18-lap A main saw Jerry Gifford lead all of those laps and took a win for the first time this year. Jay Schmidt started sixth, right behind Gifford and was in chase mode the whole time. Schmidt reeled the leader in at times, but was never able to really threaten him, and on this night, had to be satisfied with the bridesmaid spot. Third went to veteran racer Terry Pruitt from Dexter, fourth was Donavon Smith who shot through the field from his eleventh starting spot, and Trent Murphy took fifth place.
Next Saturday's night, you just might see some of your favorite drivers don a pair of pink high heels, and race down the front stretch in the 3rd Annual Diva Dash. It's always a crowd pleaser during the mid-point farming session. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
With just the third week of regular season racing, there were new faces in victory lane in four of the five classes, the exception being in the SportMod class.
The Mod Lite's were ready to kick off the feature racing until the 88 car of Justin Rankin dumped oil on the parade lap all around the track...and a LOT of it. The cars were halted while the tractors and equipment came out to redo the track. When that was completed, the race began and it was Bryan Zehm flying to the lead from starting in the second row. Zehm never relinquished that coveted spot the remaining distance and took the win, his first of the season. David Schmalzried chased the leader most of the feature but had to be satisfied with the runner up finish. The father-son duo of James and Josh May duked it out for third and fourth, James coming out with the third place finish ahead of Josh in fourth and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature saw last week's winner Sam Wieben take the checkers again. Wieben, who started fifteenth, flew through the pack and took command with just a handful of laps in the books, pulled away from the pack and took the comfortable win. Jerry Hinton got around Dustin Dalton in the last couple of laps as they went second and third respectively. Ben Wilson was fourth and opening night winner, Doug Smith was fifth.
The feature racing order has been changed up a bit this year, as the Hobby Stocks who have always been the closing act at Boone, were up next for their 12-lapper. Matt Hudspeth led the early laps but fell out at lap six and Des Moines racer Chad Legere took over the top spot. From there on, Legere had only one thing on his mind and that was seeing the checkers first. He succeeded in that quest, taking his first ever win at the Boone Speedway. He had strong contenders behind him in John Watson....the driver who a couple of years ago was unstoppable at the speedway, and Eric Stanton, another driver who has seen his share of wins. However, they could not catch the leader and Watson and Stanton had to be content with second and third place finishes. Fourth went to Aaron Rudolph, winner of the Frostbuster, and Ryan Wells rounded out the top five.
Another shake up in the running order next brought the IMCA Modifieds to the track for their 20-lap main event. This one could have almost been stamped in the books from the get go as Richie Gustin, the Gilman, Iowa hot shoe, leaped to the lead from starting outside front row. He dominated from there on and snagged his first win at Boone this season. There was a lot of scrambling for position going on a distance behind him however! During the last couple of laps, a lot of swapping of running order was going on. Russ Dickerson swung to his comfortable top side line, and swept past Eric Elliott with just two laps remaining. The rest of the contenders weren't done either, as each pass by the flagstand saw different orders. While Dickerson kept that second spot, Jimmy Gustin took his ride from starting eleventh and into a third place finish. The Flyin' Dutchman, Mike VanGenderen made a good recovery from having his car die early on. He got tapped by Gustin as he tried to avoid contact, was then able to get it refired and fly through the field to garner a fourth place finish. Eric Elliott hung around the top runners all night, and finished in fifth.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars have now been running their feature last. Their 18-lap A main saw Jerry Gifford lead all of those laps and took a win for the first time this year. Jay Schmidt started sixth, right behind Gifford and was in chase mode the whole time. Schmidt reeled the leader in at times, but was never able to really threaten him, and on this night, had to be satisfied with the bridesmaid spot. Third went to veteran racer Terry Pruitt from Dexter, fourth was Donavon Smith who shot through the field from his eleventh starting spot, and Trent Murphy took fifth place.
Next Saturday's night, you just might see some of your favorite drivers don a pair of pink high heels, and race down the front stretch in the 3rd Annual Diva Dash. It's always a crowd pleaser during the mid-point farming session. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Jenae Gustin takes late race caution win
Marshalltown Speedway was back in full swing Friday night after last week's wash out. The fans enjoyed some great racing action with new winners for the season in the Modifieds and Stock Car classes, while the SportMods, Hobbies and Mod Lites saw drivers return to victory lane.
Joel Huggins looked to be on his way to the winner's circle as he held down the point spot in the early going of the 15-lap Mod Lite feature. But, a caution waved at lap eight, bunching the cars and with some strong cars now on his bumper. It took but two laps before Josh May snatched the lead at the flagstand and from there on, pulled away from his competition. May took the win comfortably, his second of the season at Marshalltown. Joel Huggins held down the runner up spot, James May, the opening night winner, was third, fourth went to Chargin' Charlie Brown and Travis Stensland was scored in fifth.
The Hobby Stocks were up next for their 15-lapper. Tim Barber was scored the leader at lap one, but by lap two, the sixth place starter, Austin Luellen had put his ride into the top spot. A couple of yellows would fly but would be no hindrance to the Minburn, Iowa hot shoe, as he scored another victory to add to his numerous wins at various tracks. This was his third at Marshalltown as he won the Frostbuster special back on April 3, as well as the opening season race on April 10. Eric Stanton took the bridesmaid spot, racing through the pack from starting tenth. Third place was seventh place starter Andy Hicks, fourth went to eleventh place starter Nathan Ballard, and Dustin Graham came from twelfth, to take fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a healthy field of cars and required a B Main to whittle the starting lineup to 24 cars. That consolation race went to rookie Dusty Masolini. The feature began with a two-car battle between Brandon Williams and Ryan King. King took over the top spot at lap five, and from there on was sailing out front and looking to be stepping into victory lane for the first time ever at Marshalltown. But wait! Enter that dreaded yellow flag with just two laps remaining when rookie Jeramy McNace put his car in spin cycle. By this time, there were heavy hitters waiting in the wings right behind leader King. Williams was still holding down second but close at hand were Jenae Gustin and Clint Luellen. As the race resumed, Gustin took to the outside lane, and with that successful move, was leading at lap seventeen. King held on to the runner up spot, but was no doubt disappointed. The restart saw a lot of mixing up in the pack and Jared VanDeest took the opportunity and sneaked past cars to finish in third place. Fourth went to Sam Wieben who had started seventh on the restart and from eleventh on the starting grid, and Brandon Williams rounded out the top five. Gustin started twelfth and scored her second win at Marshalltown this year.
The Stock Cars ran all 18-laps of their feature event, caution free. As the first lap was about to be scored, a glance at turn four saw a mass of cars---- three and four-wide, maybe more, headed toward the flagstand. Jay Schmidt put his #19J across the line first at lap one. By lap three, who should be tailing Schmidt but the familiar #35 of Donovan Smith. Smith, who had started eighth was coming with a full head of steam! Schmidt held off Smith until lap six, but after that it was all the #35 out in front and gone. Second place finisher, Michael Jaennette made a good charge to the front after starting ninth, third went to another hard charger, Steve Meyer who came from tenth spot, fourth was early leader Jay Schmidt and veteran racer Jeff Wollam had a nice run to finish in fifth. Smith scored a win for the first time this year at the speedway.
The evening ended with the Modified feature. Jimmy Gustin wasted no time in taking the lead, immediately holding it down and keeping it all 20-laps to the finish line and the win. He had Adam Larson to contend with from lap nine on, but even with Larson trying everything he had, nothing worked and Larson had to be content with second place. Third went to Brian Irvine, the former successful IMCA Stock Car racer who jumped up to the Modified class this year and who came all the way from tenth starting spot to earn his good finish, fourth was Jon Snyder and Joel Rust, another rookie to the class this year, was fifth. As a note, Ronn Lauritzen finished sixth after getting a track tire caught under his ride during a caution at lap eight, and having to be lifted off the "debris". He was however, not the issue that brought out the caution and was able to rejoin the field on the restart in his running order....a lucky break for him.
Things will pick right back up next Friday night at the High Banks of Marshalltown. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:50 and racing at 7:30 p.m.
Joel Huggins looked to be on his way to the winner's circle as he held down the point spot in the early going of the 15-lap Mod Lite feature. But, a caution waved at lap eight, bunching the cars and with some strong cars now on his bumper. It took but two laps before Josh May snatched the lead at the flagstand and from there on, pulled away from his competition. May took the win comfortably, his second of the season at Marshalltown. Joel Huggins held down the runner up spot, James May, the opening night winner, was third, fourth went to Chargin' Charlie Brown and Travis Stensland was scored in fifth.
The Hobby Stocks were up next for their 15-lapper. Tim Barber was scored the leader at lap one, but by lap two, the sixth place starter, Austin Luellen had put his ride into the top spot. A couple of yellows would fly but would be no hindrance to the Minburn, Iowa hot shoe, as he scored another victory to add to his numerous wins at various tracks. This was his third at Marshalltown as he won the Frostbuster special back on April 3, as well as the opening season race on April 10. Eric Stanton took the bridesmaid spot, racing through the pack from starting tenth. Third place was seventh place starter Andy Hicks, fourth went to eleventh place starter Nathan Ballard, and Dustin Graham came from twelfth, to take fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a healthy field of cars and required a B Main to whittle the starting lineup to 24 cars. That consolation race went to rookie Dusty Masolini. The feature began with a two-car battle between Brandon Williams and Ryan King. King took over the top spot at lap five, and from there on was sailing out front and looking to be stepping into victory lane for the first time ever at Marshalltown. But wait! Enter that dreaded yellow flag with just two laps remaining when rookie Jeramy McNace put his car in spin cycle. By this time, there were heavy hitters waiting in the wings right behind leader King. Williams was still holding down second but close at hand were Jenae Gustin and Clint Luellen. As the race resumed, Gustin took to the outside lane, and with that successful move, was leading at lap seventeen. King held on to the runner up spot, but was no doubt disappointed. The restart saw a lot of mixing up in the pack and Jared VanDeest took the opportunity and sneaked past cars to finish in third place. Fourth went to Sam Wieben who had started seventh on the restart and from eleventh on the starting grid, and Brandon Williams rounded out the top five. Gustin started twelfth and scored her second win at Marshalltown this year.
The Stock Cars ran all 18-laps of their feature event, caution free. As the first lap was about to be scored, a glance at turn four saw a mass of cars---- three and four-wide, maybe more, headed toward the flagstand. Jay Schmidt put his #19J across the line first at lap one. By lap three, who should be tailing Schmidt but the familiar #35 of Donovan Smith. Smith, who had started eighth was coming with a full head of steam! Schmidt held off Smith until lap six, but after that it was all the #35 out in front and gone. Second place finisher, Michael Jaennette made a good charge to the front after starting ninth, third went to another hard charger, Steve Meyer who came from tenth spot, fourth was early leader Jay Schmidt and veteran racer Jeff Wollam had a nice run to finish in fifth. Smith scored a win for the first time this year at the speedway.
The evening ended with the Modified feature. Jimmy Gustin wasted no time in taking the lead, immediately holding it down and keeping it all 20-laps to the finish line and the win. He had Adam Larson to contend with from lap nine on, but even with Larson trying everything he had, nothing worked and Larson had to be content with second place. Third went to Brian Irvine, the former successful IMCA Stock Car racer who jumped up to the Modified class this year and who came all the way from tenth starting spot to earn his good finish, fourth was Jon Snyder and Joel Rust, another rookie to the class this year, was fifth. As a note, Ronn Lauritzen finished sixth after getting a track tire caught under his ride during a caution at lap eight, and having to be lifted off the "debris". He was however, not the issue that brought out the caution and was able to rejoin the field on the restart in his running order....a lucky break for him.
Things will pick right back up next Friday night at the High Banks of Marshalltown. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:50 and racing at 7:30 p.m.
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