The five inches of rain that fell in the Boone area on Friday, was not an issue with the Boone Speedway track Saturday night. We arrived early and the track appeared ready, but before the night's action began, the water truck made a couple of tours around the track and another session of grooming took place. It was a heavy, fast track and thankfully, it was kind, without any blown motors.
It was season championship night and KCWI and WalMart night---wrapping up the regular season of racing for 2015. There were no heat races run and only one B was needed to fill in the final four cars in the SportMod class. The top 20 in points were already locked in to their features. Only drivers that had points previously this year, were allowed to run. Before the individual features were run, there were driver introductions on the front stretch, allowing fans a chance to show their appreciation.
Josh May had the track title wrapped up last night before he even ran the Mod Lite feature. Going into the night, he led Bryan Zehm by 42 points. He would put an exclamation point on that by leading all 18-laps and stamping another win in the books. Zehm finished in second place, third went to Travis Stensland, fourth to thirteenth place starter, Cory Dennis, and Cory Sauerman was fifth. The race went caution free. This was May's fifth win at the track in 2015.
Extra laps were added to all features last night, and the IMCA Hobby Stocks ran 15 laps instead of their usual 12. Eric Stanton had no trouble in securing the win, leading all laps in another caution free race. Second was Aaron Rudolph, third was Dustin Graham, fourth went to Andrew Burg and John Watson completed the top five. Eric Stanton took his fifth win of the year, and is the 2015 Hobby Stock track champion.
The IMCA Northern SportMod's 20 lap feature went to Jonathon Logue. Logue slipped under Jake McBirnie with two laps to go, marking his fifth win at the track. McBirnie finished second, third went to Doug Smith, and Randy Roberts and Sam Wieben rounded out the top five. Jake McBirnie, sporting a new car...or at least a new wrap, but keeping his cool blue chrome look, is the 2015 SportMod track champion. This race also went flag-to-flag.
Jay Schmidt has had his eye on an IMCA Stock Car track championship at Boone for quite sometime now. Going into the night, he held a 13 point lead, the closest of any of the classes. His closest rival, Donavon Smith, started alongside him in second place. When the 20-lap race went green, Smith quickly took over the point position, Schmidt settling into second. The first yellow of the night came at lap fourteen when Reid Keller came to a stop, unable to successfully exit the track. Another yellow flew at lap 18 when veteran Kevin Opheim sat in turn four. This would set up a green-white-checkered finish. Smith had no issue with the restart situation, keeping his lead to the checkers and the win. However, third and fourth place runners, Rod Richards and Wayne Gifford were able to get the upper hand on second place running Schmidt, both passing him with a lap remaining. Richards took the runner up spot, Gifford was third and Schmidt held fourth. Rookie to the class, Tyler Pickett finished fifth. This was Smith's second win of the season, but it was Jay Schmidt finally getting his track championship crown in the Stock Car class.
The final feature of the evening was the IMCA Modifieds. They ran a 25-lap feature. Jammin' Jimmy Gustin enjoyed his pole starting spot as the point leader, and led all laps to take his fifth win of the regular season. Mike VanGenderen, running his red chrome Hawkeye Dirt Tour crate car, started sixth and held it wide open on the heavy track, to take second place. Third went to Scott Davis, and Eric Elliott and Jon Snyder rounded out the top five. Gustin won the track title for the fourth consecutive year.
Earlier in the evening, we were able to sign a "farewell banner" for long time racer Rick Ringgenberg. Ringgenberg is retiring after Super Nationals....ending a 25-year career behind the wheel of a race car. We first recall him piloting a Hobby Stock, but he has been in the IMCA Northern SportMod class in more recent years. His name has been a staple on the list of drivers at Boone and he will be missed. Enjoy your retirement Rick.
A new, large section of bleachers is going up for the pit area, promised to be ready for Super Nationals. It sits in corner one and will be available to the pits only. It is our understanding, that a reserved seat can be purchased, affording those in the pits a guaranteed spot to watch the races.
Mark your calendars for a big event next Saturday night, September 5, at the track. It will be "The Prelude to the Super Nationals" and with the weekly racing wrapped up, it will be a draw/redraw format, open to all drivers. There will be many drivers already here for the Super Nationals that start on Monday, September 7 so look for a large field of cars in all classes. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30. This will begin the hustle and bustle of the next week with the running of six nights of the 33rd IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals. Sunday, September 6, pre-tech will be from 10-4 for the IMCA Hobby Stocks and the IMCA Northern SportMods....the two classes qualifying on Labor Day. Labor Day will also have a full show for the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models. For more information on the "Prelude" race as well as the Super Nationals, go to www.imca.com or www.raceboone.com. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Hughes and Anderson take first wins of season at Osky
After a two week absence, the Southern Iowa Speedway was back in action on Wednesday. A nice crowd came out to watch the racing on a beautiful, late August night.
Seven IMCA Sport Compacts competed in their 10-lap feature event. When the first lap was in the books, it was the #77 leading, but on this evening instead of John Whalen behind the wheel, it was brother Bill Whalen piloting the car....taking the reins for the evening while John battles some health issues. Whalen wasn't long to be the lead car however, as Keokuk, Iowa's Josh Barnes was in the house, and at lap two, Barnes took command. He would hold the lead the remaining distance to the checkers flying, securing his second win, on his second visit to the track in 2015. Bill Whalen was second, third went to Ryan Havel, fourth was Trent Orwig and Curt Myers was fifth. Jon Girdley and Matt Moore did not finish.
All eighteen IMCA Northern SportMods took the green flag in their 16-lap A main. This one was won in convincing fashion by Logan Anderson. The only blemish in this race was a no go situation on the initial start when the A5 of Austin Paul was off power and out of the race. Anderson took the lead away from Charlie Weber as lap two was scored. From there on, Anderson stretched his lead, as the race went green to the checkers---winning by more than a straightaway. Charlie Weber was the runner up, chasing Anderson the entire race from a distance. Brayton Carter was third, Jason McDaniel fourth, and Curtis Van Der Wal was fifth. This was Anderson's first win at Osky.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars were up next. This class never fails to put on a great show for the fans. The race did not get off on a good foot however. When the green flew for the start of the race, the pack of cars entered turn one, only to have Donnie Pearson lose the handle on his ride. A number of cars piled up with no where to go. Six or seven cars were involved, and some had to call it a night because of damage. Among those were Nathan Wood, Jerry Pilcher, Daniel Hilsabeck (who was in a #76 car instead of his usual ride #77N....I suspect it was the car usually run by Trent Partridge from Elk Horn, Iowa) and point leader Cayden Carter was soon to exit with too much damage as well. When things did get started, it was a pack of cars vying for position all over the track.... in a "throw a blanket over them" fashion. Jason See led the field but close company was Brad Pinkerton, and Damon Murty. When a yellow flew at lap six when Pinkerton ended up in the turn one wall, See was still holding down the point spot. When the race returned to green, it was an all out shoot out for position up front! Murty took the lead but Todd Reitzler wasn't done! The two swapped back and forth for the number one spot, and then Mike Hughes joined in for a three car battle. Those three cars gave the fans their money's worth....running three wide at times. Mike Hughes finally established the lead at lap thirteen and held Murty off at the checkers. Hughes won for the first time at Osky in this his rookie year in the Stock Car class....though having many, many wins in the Hobby Stock division in years past. Murty had to settle for runner up, Todd Reitzler was a close third and Jason See was fourth. Kris Walker started deep in the field and finished in fifth.
Danny Thrasher took the win in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock event. Thrasher took command at lap three and never gave it up. Travis Bunnell chased Thrasher most of the distance and finished in second. Third went to veteran racer Brad Stephens who had started in eleventh position, point leader Dustin Griffiths recouped after tagging the field after a work area visit, and finished a close fourth, and fifth went to Steve Allen. Craig Brown---with a right door dangling---was sixth. This was Thrasher's second win of the regular season, plus also winning the Frostbuster.
Eleven IMCA Modifieds were on hand with several visiting drivers trying their hand on the Monster Half Mile. Earlier in the evening during hot laps, one of those cars was eliminated when the 93L car...looking much like a car that Wayne Larson would have raced, appeared to have the throttle stick...sending it into the turn one wall. It came to the track along with the 2L of Adam Larson who was also competing. Two other drivers came from far away....the #74S of Chris Sieweke from Santa Rosa, California and the #11X driven by Tom Berry from Medford, Oregon. Both drivers are already in the area for the upcoming IMCA Super Nationals. It was also great to see Ron VerBeek racing at Osky again. He was in the #29 car with "Franz" on the side.
Colt Mather went home with another Modified victory---matching his win from the last time the Southern Iowa Speedway held a weekly show. Turn one was not friendly to many drivers last night. Adam Larson was done early when he could not avoid a spinning Ryan Fullenkamp in turn one just after lap one was scored. When action resumed, it was the "Kool Aid Kid", Andrew Schroeder leading. By lap two, Colt Mather was closing to his bumper. Mather knocked on Schroeder's door, and made his persistence pay off, taking the lead as they approached the flagstand as lap nine was scored. Mather would keep his lead the remainder of the race, scoring the win. Second place went to Cayden Carter. Carter was able to slip by Schroeder on the final lap of a green-white-checkered finish. Following third place Schroeder to finish fourth was Tyler Groenendyk and Carter VandenBerg completed the top five.
There is just one more regular season race remaining at Osky this year, that being the Season Championships on September 23. Please note, there will be no weekly racing until that date. There is a tight points battle going on in the Modified and Stock Car classes. In the Modifieds, Cayden Carter holds a five point lead over Tyler Groenendyk and Carter VandenBerg, tied for second and third place, and Andrew Schroeder sits just six points out. An event tighter points battle is brewing in the Stock Car division. Going into the night, Cayden Carter held a ten point lead over Mike Hughes. Carter's bad luck put him out early in the feature and with Hughes winning, it's now Hughes with a one point margin over Carter. All other classes seems to be wrapped up---Curtis Van Der Wal leads SportMod points by 37 over Brayton Carter, Dustin Griffiths is 27 up on Travis Bunnell and Bill Whalen has a 41 point lead over his closest rival, Curt Myers.
As mentioned before, please remember there will not be another weekly race until September 23rd at Osky when it will be the season final. Also mark your calendar for October 2-3 for the Musco Fall Challenge....always a great end of the season race. Thanks for reading!
Seven IMCA Sport Compacts competed in their 10-lap feature event. When the first lap was in the books, it was the #77 leading, but on this evening instead of John Whalen behind the wheel, it was brother Bill Whalen piloting the car....taking the reins for the evening while John battles some health issues. Whalen wasn't long to be the lead car however, as Keokuk, Iowa's Josh Barnes was in the house, and at lap two, Barnes took command. He would hold the lead the remaining distance to the checkers flying, securing his second win, on his second visit to the track in 2015. Bill Whalen was second, third went to Ryan Havel, fourth was Trent Orwig and Curt Myers was fifth. Jon Girdley and Matt Moore did not finish.
All eighteen IMCA Northern SportMods took the green flag in their 16-lap A main. This one was won in convincing fashion by Logan Anderson. The only blemish in this race was a no go situation on the initial start when the A5 of Austin Paul was off power and out of the race. Anderson took the lead away from Charlie Weber as lap two was scored. From there on, Anderson stretched his lead, as the race went green to the checkers---winning by more than a straightaway. Charlie Weber was the runner up, chasing Anderson the entire race from a distance. Brayton Carter was third, Jason McDaniel fourth, and Curtis Van Der Wal was fifth. This was Anderson's first win at Osky.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars were up next. This class never fails to put on a great show for the fans. The race did not get off on a good foot however. When the green flew for the start of the race, the pack of cars entered turn one, only to have Donnie Pearson lose the handle on his ride. A number of cars piled up with no where to go. Six or seven cars were involved, and some had to call it a night because of damage. Among those were Nathan Wood, Jerry Pilcher, Daniel Hilsabeck (who was in a #76 car instead of his usual ride #77N....I suspect it was the car usually run by Trent Partridge from Elk Horn, Iowa) and point leader Cayden Carter was soon to exit with too much damage as well. When things did get started, it was a pack of cars vying for position all over the track.... in a "throw a blanket over them" fashion. Jason See led the field but close company was Brad Pinkerton, and Damon Murty. When a yellow flew at lap six when Pinkerton ended up in the turn one wall, See was still holding down the point spot. When the race returned to green, it was an all out shoot out for position up front! Murty took the lead but Todd Reitzler wasn't done! The two swapped back and forth for the number one spot, and then Mike Hughes joined in for a three car battle. Those three cars gave the fans their money's worth....running three wide at times. Mike Hughes finally established the lead at lap thirteen and held Murty off at the checkers. Hughes won for the first time at Osky in this his rookie year in the Stock Car class....though having many, many wins in the Hobby Stock division in years past. Murty had to settle for runner up, Todd Reitzler was a close third and Jason See was fourth. Kris Walker started deep in the field and finished in fifth.
Danny Thrasher took the win in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock event. Thrasher took command at lap three and never gave it up. Travis Bunnell chased Thrasher most of the distance and finished in second. Third went to veteran racer Brad Stephens who had started in eleventh position, point leader Dustin Griffiths recouped after tagging the field after a work area visit, and finished a close fourth, and fifth went to Steve Allen. Craig Brown---with a right door dangling---was sixth. This was Thrasher's second win of the regular season, plus also winning the Frostbuster.
Eleven IMCA Modifieds were on hand with several visiting drivers trying their hand on the Monster Half Mile. Earlier in the evening during hot laps, one of those cars was eliminated when the 93L car...looking much like a car that Wayne Larson would have raced, appeared to have the throttle stick...sending it into the turn one wall. It came to the track along with the 2L of Adam Larson who was also competing. Two other drivers came from far away....the #74S of Chris Sieweke from Santa Rosa, California and the #11X driven by Tom Berry from Medford, Oregon. Both drivers are already in the area for the upcoming IMCA Super Nationals. It was also great to see Ron VerBeek racing at Osky again. He was in the #29 car with "Franz" on the side.
Colt Mather went home with another Modified victory---matching his win from the last time the Southern Iowa Speedway held a weekly show. Turn one was not friendly to many drivers last night. Adam Larson was done early when he could not avoid a spinning Ryan Fullenkamp in turn one just after lap one was scored. When action resumed, it was the "Kool Aid Kid", Andrew Schroeder leading. By lap two, Colt Mather was closing to his bumper. Mather knocked on Schroeder's door, and made his persistence pay off, taking the lead as they approached the flagstand as lap nine was scored. Mather would keep his lead the remainder of the race, scoring the win. Second place went to Cayden Carter. Carter was able to slip by Schroeder on the final lap of a green-white-checkered finish. Following third place Schroeder to finish fourth was Tyler Groenendyk and Carter VandenBerg completed the top five.
There is just one more regular season race remaining at Osky this year, that being the Season Championships on September 23. Please note, there will be no weekly racing until that date. There is a tight points battle going on in the Modified and Stock Car classes. In the Modifieds, Cayden Carter holds a five point lead over Tyler Groenendyk and Carter VandenBerg, tied for second and third place, and Andrew Schroeder sits just six points out. An event tighter points battle is brewing in the Stock Car division. Going into the night, Cayden Carter held a ten point lead over Mike Hughes. Carter's bad luck put him out early in the feature and with Hughes winning, it's now Hughes with a one point margin over Carter. All other classes seems to be wrapped up---Curtis Van Der Wal leads SportMod points by 37 over Brayton Carter, Dustin Griffiths is 27 up on Travis Bunnell and Bill Whalen has a 41 point lead over his closest rival, Curt Myers.
As mentioned before, please remember there will not be another weekly race until September 23rd at Osky when it will be the season final. Also mark your calendar for October 2-3 for the Musco Fall Challenge....always a great end of the season race. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Osky - 8-26-15
Unofficial results:
Modified
1. 8 Colt Mather
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
5. 7V Carter VandenBerg
6. 29 Ron VerBeek
7. 11X Tom Berry - Medford, Oregon
DNF: 7K Ryan Fullenkamp
74S Chris Siewerke - Santa Rosa, California
2L Adam Larson
DNS: 93L Brandon Brinton
Stock Car
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 79S Jason See
5. 18 Kris Walker
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 54 Mike Brown
DNF: 17P Brad Pinkerton
4M Mike McClure
10CC Cayden Carter
72 Jerry Pilcher
76 Daniel Hilsabeck
52 Nathan Wood
SportMod
1. 9A Logan Anderson
2. 352 Charlie Weber
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 85 Jason McDaniel
5. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
6. 95J Jason Hall
7. 29 Colton Livezey
8. 34Z Cory VanZante
9. 16 Matthew VanGelder
10. 72 Brett Lowry
11. 27L Casey Lancaster
12. 25 Scott VanBuskirk
13. 84B Trent Brink
14. 20 Danny Brau
15. 53 Greg Strohman
16. 26 Scott Brau
17. 22B Aaron Bridgeman
DNF: A5 Austin Paul
Hobby Stock
1. 84 Danny Thrasher
2. 3 Travis Bunnell
3. 55 Brad Stephens
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 3S Steve Allen
6. 69 Craig Brown
7. 14 Christian Huffman
8. 43J John Irwin
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
32T Bobby Greene
73 Aaron Martin
10 Dale Porter
2 Brandon Potts
DNS: 15W Clayton Webster
Sport Compact
1. 13B Josh Barnes
2. 77 BILL Whalen (driving John's car)
3. 0 Ryan Havel
4. 33G Trent Orwig
5. 22M Curt Myers
DNF: 33 Jon Gridley
2M Matt Moore
Modified
1. 8 Colt Mather
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 02 Andrew Schroeder
4. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
5. 7V Carter VandenBerg
6. 29 Ron VerBeek
7. 11X Tom Berry - Medford, Oregon
DNF: 7K Ryan Fullenkamp
74S Chris Siewerke - Santa Rosa, California
2L Adam Larson
DNS: 93L Brandon Brinton
Stock Car
1. 11 Mike Hughes
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 22R Todd Reitzler
4. 79S Jason See
5. 18 Kris Walker
6. 19 Donnie Pearson
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 54 Mike Brown
DNF: 17P Brad Pinkerton
4M Mike McClure
10CC Cayden Carter
72 Jerry Pilcher
76 Daniel Hilsabeck
52 Nathan Wood
SportMod
1. 9A Logan Anderson
2. 352 Charlie Weber
3. 01 Brayton Carter
4. 85 Jason McDaniel
5. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
6. 95J Jason Hall
7. 29 Colton Livezey
8. 34Z Cory VanZante
9. 16 Matthew VanGelder
10. 72 Brett Lowry
11. 27L Casey Lancaster
12. 25 Scott VanBuskirk
13. 84B Trent Brink
14. 20 Danny Brau
15. 53 Greg Strohman
16. 26 Scott Brau
17. 22B Aaron Bridgeman
DNF: A5 Austin Paul
Hobby Stock
1. 84 Danny Thrasher
2. 3 Travis Bunnell
3. 55 Brad Stephens
4. 10G Dustin Griffiths
5. 3S Steve Allen
6. 69 Craig Brown
7. 14 Christian Huffman
8. 43J John Irwin
DNF: 9 Jared Stephens
32T Bobby Greene
73 Aaron Martin
10 Dale Porter
2 Brandon Potts
DNS: 15W Clayton Webster
Sport Compact
1. 13B Josh Barnes
2. 77 BILL Whalen (driving John's car)
3. 0 Ryan Havel
4. 33G Trent Orwig
5. 22M Curt Myers
DNF: 33 Jon Gridley
2M Matt Moore
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Gustin, Abelson, Murty and May repeat wins from last week
It was a lively night of racing again last evening at the Marshalltown Speedway. By my count, 111 cars came to play on the High Banks. The track was host once again to the IMCA Late Models, and with several area tracks already done for the season, extra cars were on hand to entertain the nice crowd. Four drivers repeated their wins from last week and a SportMod driver finally got his first win at the Marshalltown track.
The first driver repeating his win from last week came out of the Mod Lite division. Josh May hustled his ride to the front from his eighth place starting position and into the lead by lap three. That's where he kept his #99 the rest of the way to the win. Travis Stensland chased May most of the 15 laps to finish as the runner up. Third went to Joe Glick, Bryan Zehm came from tenth starting spot to finish fourth and Chargin' Charlie Brown completed the top five. May not only repeated his win from last week, but marked his fourth consecutive win, and his ninth of the year.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran their 18-lap event next and it was the bright blue chrome #82 of Jake McBirnie sitting in victory lane at the end of the race. McBirnie led all laps on his way to securing his first win at the Marshalltown track. The race was marred by yellow flags, but McBirnie had no trouble in keeping his ride at the front. Jared VanDeest finished as the runner up after starting seventh, third went to eighth place starter Clint Luellen, Travis Peterson was fourth and ninth place starter Jenae Gustin rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks ran their 15-lap feature caution free. Bill Bonnett led the opening laps. He was piloting the pink ride of Gina Greubel's #224 last night....with a 19X slapped on the side. By lap five, Austin Luellen had taken command and this would be where he would stay to the checkers. He stretched his lead to finish well ahead of second place finisher and point leader Eric Stanton. Third went to Benji Irvine who started eleventh, early leader Bonnett finished fourth and Garrett Eilander was fifth. Luellen won for the eighth time of the regular season, and also won the Frostbuster.
The IMCA Stock Cars never fail to provide excitement in their 18-lap features. From the drop of the green, it was packs of cars running so tightly, jockeying for position, and a lot of "racing is rubbin" going on. Three and four wide racing was leaving you wondering if and when, disaster would strike. Casey Greubel led the first two laps, Todd Reitzler crossed the line as the leader at lap three, and lap four saw veteran Jeff Wollam at the helm. When the only yellow of the race flew at lap five, Wollam was still in command, but as the race restarted, it was a free for all going on behind him! Reitzler, Damon Murty and Donovan Smith were duking it out! Murty took over as captain of the ship at lap nine and from there on, kept it to the checkers and the win. Donavon Smith, who started alongside Murty in row five, methodically worked his way on the low side of the track, to finish in second place. Third went to a hard charging Michael Jaennette, Tyler Pickett was fourth and Jeff Wollam was fifth. Murty won for the second time in as many weeks, marking his 23rd win of the year over all and quickly closing in on his 200th career win...sitting at 195 right now. Donavon Smith continues to hold a comfortable point lead.
National IMCA Modified point leader, Chris Abelson from Sioux City, returned to Marshalltown last night, seeking another win. He did just that, repeating from last week. Early leader Tom Berry from Medford, Oregon, led the early laps, but it was the #1X of Abelson taking over with a handful of laps down. Abelson, who had started tenth, put his ride to the topside and cruised to another victory. Jake Strayer started sixth and came home as the runner up, third went to "Uncle Ronnie" Lauritzen who started ninth, Josh Gilman came from eighth place to finish fourth and Scott Simatovich rounded out the top five. Abelson, deemed the "Sioux City Excitement", showed once again, why he is leading IMCA points.
The evening ended with the running of the 20-lap IMCA Late Model feature. Thirteen drivers were on hand to compete. After a "no go" on the initial start and a yellow with just one lap in, Richie Gustin made quick work of passing leader Jason Hahne. When another yellow flew at lap seven, Gustin was firmly in first place, but he now had Todd Cooney tailing him. Cooney lost a bit of ground when he let his right rear drop off of the turn four banking, but gathered it back in and kept his second place position. Running third, was home town favorite, Darrel DeFrance. Gustin was not to be denied on this night, and would continue his lead to the checkers and the win...repeating last week's win. Cooney finished as the runner up, DeFrance, who briefly held second, fell back in the final laps to finish third. Fourth went to Jason Hahne and Raymond, Iowa's Chris Snyder was fifth.
We've noticed several Modified drivers from out of state already in the area who plan to run Super Nationals. Last night, the 74S of Chris Siewerke from Santa Rosa, California was once again racing, and this week the 11X, of Tom Berry from Medord, Oregon came to test the waters at Marshalltown. Another driver who makes the yearly trek to come race Super Nationals was just observing last night. David Pries along with wife Kim, have been coming for several years, making their way from Medaryville, Indiana, doing it "old school", towing his #D27 on an open trailer. Look for all of the above if you are at Super Nationals this year.
There was a hint of Fall in the air last night and with a stiff breeze from the south, those that did not come prepared with a sweatshirt or jacket, may not have been comfortable! The racing was great though, and hopefully all of the fans were able to stay to the end to see some great racing.
Racing continues next Friday night at the Marshalltown Speedway.....AND....the Late Models will be returning again! Mark your calendars and make the trip to the track. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. See you there! Thanks for reading.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Packed pits provides full night of racing at Boone
Anyone that came to the Boone Speedway last night, got more than their money's worth of racing. The pits were packed with 156 race cars and the bonus of three make up features provided for a full night of some excellent racing. The Stock Car class saw a driver go home with two wins for the night, while three other drivers grabbed their first wins at the Speedway this season.
Things kicked off with the three make up features from last week. Mother Nature had intervened during the running of the Hobby Stock feature, six laps into their A main, and the Stock Car and Modified features were yet to be run as well.
Eric Stanton was the leader at the six lap mark in the Hobby Stock make up feature. He had no trouble in maintaining that lead the remaining six laps to the checkers. He was the first feature winner of the night, taking the comfortable win over Korbin Nourse in the runner up spot. Third was Kevin Derry, John Watson was fourth and Brandon Pitts was fifth. Stanton marked his third trip to the winner's circle this year.
Veteran racer Robert Avery snared his second win of the year, winning the make up feature for the IMCA Modifieds. Avery led all twenty laps in his win. He beat another veteran racer, Denny Pittman, "all the way from Jamaica (Iowa)", who was second. Third went to Eric Elliott, fourth to Russ Dickerson and Joel Bushore was fifth.
The final make up feature was the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car A main. Front row starters, Lonnie Hodges and Ben Wadling duked it out during the early portion of the race. Terry Pruitt quickly got to the third spot and was soon challenging for the lead. He moved to the runner up spot shortly, and kept dogging leader Hodges, peeking to the inside. His persistence paid off with three laps to go, taking command of the race---keeping it to the finish line and the win. Rookie IMCA National point leader in the Stock Car division, Tyler Pickett worked his way from eighth starting spot, to take the runner up position. Hodges held on to score third place, fourth went to tenth place starter, Trent Murphy, and track point leader Jay Schmidt finished fifth after starting eleventh on the grid. This was Pruitt's second win of the season at Boone.....but, he wasn't done yet!
The track was "farmed" after the make up features, prepping for the upcoming seventeen heats and seven B mains coming for the night's regular racing program.
The Mod Lites ran the first regular night's feature. They kicked things off by running their 15-lap feature, caution free. Randy Bryan put his #64 into Victory Lane for the very first time this season, leading all but the opening laps, pulling away from the competition, and taking the comfortable win. Following a good distance behind him in second, was point leader Josh May. Third went to early leader Cory Dennis, who had rolled his car last week on the front stretch, fourth was Joe Glick and Kevin Grisham was fifth.
Brandon Williams won the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature. He had to tussle with Cory Rose to get the job done however. Williams grabbed the lead at lap fourteen after the two ran side by side for numerous laps. Rose held on to finish second, Jonathan Logue started tenth and ran down the leaders, but had to be content with third place. Fourth went to Rookie Cory Pestotnik and Doug Smith came from starting eleventh, to finish fifth. This was Williams' second win this year.
In the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock main event, it was John Watson taking the win. He had to pass Brandon Pitts to take over the lead at lap ten, and would hold it the remaining two laps to the finish. Seth Janssen finished as the runner up, Aaron Rudolph finished third after starting tenth, fourth went to point leader Eric Stanton, and Matt McDonald rounded out the top five. Earlier leader Pitts got shuffled back when being pushed high in turn two after the restart for a caution at lap nine, and finished sixth. Surprisingly, this was John Watson's first win at the track this year.
Dustin Smith, the Lake City driver, one of the racing brothers from that area, made his first trip to Boone last week, returned and went home with a win under his belt in the IMCA 20-lap Modified A main. He battled with his front row starting partner, Nick Roberts until he was able to take command at lap thirteen. From there on, he kept hold of the coveted #1 spot, all the way to secure his first win at the track. Make up feature winner, Robert Avery had a good night, finishing second. Third was Roberts, Jon Snyder took fourth and Russ Dickerson came from starting tenth, to finish in fifth.
The final feature, the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature, was nearly a repeat performance from the make up feature. It was Lonnie Hodges and Ben Wadling duking it out in the first portion of the race, Wadling establishing the lead at lap ten. He had company close at hand however, as Terry Pruitt was now on his tail after passing Hodges. Pruitt looked under Wadling for a way around, finally making it pay off with two laps remaining. He held tight to the lead the rest of the way to the checkers, sealing his second win of the night....his third of the season. Wadling finished as the runner up, eleventh place starter, "Hot" Rod Richards made a late race surge to finish third, fourth went to sixteenth place starter, Trent Murphy, and point leader Jay Schmidt raced his machine all the way from starting twenty-second, to take a top five. He continues his point lead.
There were a lot of traveling drivers checked into the pits last evening. Some that had already had their season end at their home tracks and some that had started their "Racing Vacation" early, coming from as far away as California and Oregon and planning to stay for the upcoming 33rd Annual IMCA Super Nationals. I counted at least two dozen drivers making their first appearance at the track last night.
Next Saturday is another regular night at the Boone Speedway. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
Things kicked off with the three make up features from last week. Mother Nature had intervened during the running of the Hobby Stock feature, six laps into their A main, and the Stock Car and Modified features were yet to be run as well.
Eric Stanton was the leader at the six lap mark in the Hobby Stock make up feature. He had no trouble in maintaining that lead the remaining six laps to the checkers. He was the first feature winner of the night, taking the comfortable win over Korbin Nourse in the runner up spot. Third was Kevin Derry, John Watson was fourth and Brandon Pitts was fifth. Stanton marked his third trip to the winner's circle this year.
Veteran racer Robert Avery snared his second win of the year, winning the make up feature for the IMCA Modifieds. Avery led all twenty laps in his win. He beat another veteran racer, Denny Pittman, "all the way from Jamaica (Iowa)", who was second. Third went to Eric Elliott, fourth to Russ Dickerson and Joel Bushore was fifth.
The final make up feature was the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car A main. Front row starters, Lonnie Hodges and Ben Wadling duked it out during the early portion of the race. Terry Pruitt quickly got to the third spot and was soon challenging for the lead. He moved to the runner up spot shortly, and kept dogging leader Hodges, peeking to the inside. His persistence paid off with three laps to go, taking command of the race---keeping it to the finish line and the win. Rookie IMCA National point leader in the Stock Car division, Tyler Pickett worked his way from eighth starting spot, to take the runner up position. Hodges held on to score third place, fourth went to tenth place starter, Trent Murphy, and track point leader Jay Schmidt finished fifth after starting eleventh on the grid. This was Pruitt's second win of the season at Boone.....but, he wasn't done yet!
The track was "farmed" after the make up features, prepping for the upcoming seventeen heats and seven B mains coming for the night's regular racing program.
The Mod Lites ran the first regular night's feature. They kicked things off by running their 15-lap feature, caution free. Randy Bryan put his #64 into Victory Lane for the very first time this season, leading all but the opening laps, pulling away from the competition, and taking the comfortable win. Following a good distance behind him in second, was point leader Josh May. Third went to early leader Cory Dennis, who had rolled his car last week on the front stretch, fourth was Joe Glick and Kevin Grisham was fifth.
Brandon Williams won the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature. He had to tussle with Cory Rose to get the job done however. Williams grabbed the lead at lap fourteen after the two ran side by side for numerous laps. Rose held on to finish second, Jonathan Logue started tenth and ran down the leaders, but had to be content with third place. Fourth went to Rookie Cory Pestotnik and Doug Smith came from starting eleventh, to finish fifth. This was Williams' second win this year.
In the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock main event, it was John Watson taking the win. He had to pass Brandon Pitts to take over the lead at lap ten, and would hold it the remaining two laps to the finish. Seth Janssen finished as the runner up, Aaron Rudolph finished third after starting tenth, fourth went to point leader Eric Stanton, and Matt McDonald rounded out the top five. Earlier leader Pitts got shuffled back when being pushed high in turn two after the restart for a caution at lap nine, and finished sixth. Surprisingly, this was John Watson's first win at the track this year.
Dustin Smith, the Lake City driver, one of the racing brothers from that area, made his first trip to Boone last week, returned and went home with a win under his belt in the IMCA 20-lap Modified A main. He battled with his front row starting partner, Nick Roberts until he was able to take command at lap thirteen. From there on, he kept hold of the coveted #1 spot, all the way to secure his first win at the track. Make up feature winner, Robert Avery had a good night, finishing second. Third was Roberts, Jon Snyder took fourth and Russ Dickerson came from starting tenth, to finish in fifth.
The final feature, the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature, was nearly a repeat performance from the make up feature. It was Lonnie Hodges and Ben Wadling duking it out in the first portion of the race, Wadling establishing the lead at lap ten. He had company close at hand however, as Terry Pruitt was now on his tail after passing Hodges. Pruitt looked under Wadling for a way around, finally making it pay off with two laps remaining. He held tight to the lead the rest of the way to the checkers, sealing his second win of the night....his third of the season. Wadling finished as the runner up, eleventh place starter, "Hot" Rod Richards made a late race surge to finish third, fourth went to sixteenth place starter, Trent Murphy, and point leader Jay Schmidt raced his machine all the way from starting twenty-second, to take a top five. He continues his point lead.
There were a lot of traveling drivers checked into the pits last evening. Some that had already had their season end at their home tracks and some that had started their "Racing Vacation" early, coming from as far away as California and Oregon and planning to stay for the upcoming 33rd Annual IMCA Super Nationals. I counted at least two dozen drivers making their first appearance at the track last night.
Next Saturday is another regular night at the Boone Speedway. Hot laps are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Gustin grabs first Late Model win at Marshalltown
The Marshalltown Speedway saw the return of the IMCA Late Models on Friday night. They joined the five regular classes for a full night of racing action. There was a big crowd on hand to watch the "wide bodies" run on the high banked quarter mile, on a hot, sticky August night.
The Mod Lites kicked things off with their 15-lapper. Travis Stensland grabbed the lead from Tim Gannon in the opening laps, and coming along to grab the runner up spot was ninth place starter Josh May. May worked the outside line to pass Stensland and was the leader when a yellow flew at lap seven. From there on, May kept his ride at the point position the remaining way to the checkers. Stensland held on to the runner up spot, Joe Glick finished third, fourth went to Mike Morrill and Joel Huggins was fifth. This was May's third win in a row at Marshalltown, his eighth of the season. He holds a healthy points lead. After winning last week at the track, which marked his 100th win, he is now sitting on win #102, and no doubt, will be adding to that before the racing season ends in our area.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a hard time finding their racing rhythm last evening, as the yellow flag flew frequently during their 18-lap feature. Those cautions were no issue for winner Curt Hilmer however. Hilmer started fifth, and was already leading at lap two when the first yellow flew. Jake McBirnie moved through the field quickly to get to Hilmer's rear bumper. As the race wore on, McBirnie was trying everything to get by Hilmer. A desperate attempt with just two laps remaining, resulted in McBirnie's dive low in turn one sending him into a spin and Travis Peterson left with no where to go, hitting McBirnie. McBirnie got the worst end of the deal, and was towed to the pits. When the race restarted, it was now visitor Austin Kaplan sitting in the #2 spot, with Brandon Williams, Sam Wieben and Jared VanDeest close at hand. Hilmer was able to hold on to his top spot the rest of the way, taking the win. The final lap saw a lot of shuffling as Wieben was off the pace. Brandon Williams was able to move past Kaplan as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to VanDeest and eleventh place starter Dan Drury, was fifth. Hilmer won for the third time this year at Marshalltown. In his victory lane interview, Hilmer said his weekly racing was coming to an end a bit early, as high school football practice will be taking front and center from now on with his coaching duties. However, he did say, "until Super Nationals". Not quite sure how he will work that out!
After the abundance of yellows in the SportMod feature, it was refreshing to have the IMCA Hobby Stock's have a clean run to the checkers....except for the initial start being called back. Eric Stanton quickly took command of the race, getting by Tim Barber. Stanton pulled away to a comfortable lead and would finish that way at the checkers. Austin Luellen had to fend off veteran Bill Bonnett who kept looking for a chance to slip under Luellen time after time, but to no avail as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth went to Gary Pfantz and Gene Nicklas completed the top five. Stanton is your point leader at Marshalltown, leading by a huge margin. Stanton now has six wins at the track this year.
The Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty made his return to the high banks a success, winning the IMCA 18-lap Stock Car feature. Murty started tenth and took the lead at lap four, keeping it to the checkers. He had big time company behind him however, Robert Stofer, Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette were going at it. They swapped back and forth running so closely across the finish line, it was impossible to determine second place. In the end, there was no denying Murty the win, making it #21 of the year...and closing in on career win #200. It was so close at the line for second and third, we weren't able to determine it, but Steve Meyer was scored in second, and Jaennette in third. Donavon Smith mounted a late race surge, finishing fourth, just ahead of Stofer in fifth. This was Murty's first win of the season at Marshalltown as he had been campaigning all year long at the Iowa State Fair Speedway. Smith continues his healthy point lead in the Stock Car division.
It was an exciting 20-lap IMCA Modified feature! Jake Strayer looked strong in the early laps, leading the pack. Joel Rust challenged Strayer early on, getting by him as they raced down the back stretch, but Strayer regaining the advantage as they passed the flagstand. Then enter another car that was flying on the topside, that of visiting driver from Sioux City, Chris Abelson. He had been flying through the pack from his ninth starting spot and when a yellow flew at lap ten, was no doubt, happy to see it. Abelson took advantage on the restart, and was scored the leader at lap eleven. The closing laps saw Abelson hold his lead and take the win. Jimmy Gustin mounted a challenge in those closing laps, falling short, and having to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to Jake Strayer, fourth to Walnut, Iowa's Jake Deal who had started tenth, and Ronn Lauritzen took fifth. Gustin remains the point leader in the Modified division.
The IMCA Late Models made a return to the Marshalltown last night. They ran a 20-lap feature and the show was all at the front with Todd Cooney and Richie Gustin going at it. Cooney, who started on the pole, led from the drop of the green. By lap three, Gustin had moved from sixth starting spot, to the #2 spot. It was quite the show then as Gustin threw slide job after slide job out of turns three and four in an attempt to get past Cooney. It was "more sliders than at a White Castle" according to announcer Jerry Vansickel. Gustin made it stick just past the halfway mark, and from there on, never relinquished the lead, sealing the win.....his first in a Late Model. Cooney held on to the runner up spot, third went to Darren Ackerman who had started ninth, fourth went to local favorite "Double D", Darrel DeFrance, and Chad Holliday from Muscatine, rounded out the top five. The Late Models will be back in town next week, so mark your calendars.
Some notes on the evening:
There was a big crowd on hand last night, and a hungry and thirsty one as well. The line was often long at the concession stand. Many new drivers were on hand last night. The State Fair Speedway in Des Moines is done for the season, and drivers took advantage to get in another night of racing.
In a heat race for the Mod Lites, the D5 took a roll off of the top of turn one and two. Ironically, it was the same car and in the same spot that the car had rolled earlier in the season. That time it was piloted by Jimmy Gustin. Last night, it was Council Bluff's driver, Alonso Grosse, seen most often piloting a Late Model.
There were four IMCA national point leaders in attendance last night. Winner of the Modified feature, Chris Abelson made his journey from Sioux City pay off, adding to his IMCA National point lead in that division. Going for National IMCA Rookie titles, were Paul Nagel in the Late Models, Carter VandenBerg in the Modifieds, and Tyler Pickett in the Stock Car class.
A shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Randy Drummer who were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary at the track last night. They added $10 per year of their wedded bliss ($160) to the pay off for the Late Model winner last night.....making it $760 for Richie Gustin.
The season is quickly winding down. There are three more weekly races remaining. Next Friday, August 21, the IMCA Late Models return and with state and national points on the line, look for more travelers joining the field of cars. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Thanks for reading!
The Mod Lites kicked things off with their 15-lapper. Travis Stensland grabbed the lead from Tim Gannon in the opening laps, and coming along to grab the runner up spot was ninth place starter Josh May. May worked the outside line to pass Stensland and was the leader when a yellow flew at lap seven. From there on, May kept his ride at the point position the remaining way to the checkers. Stensland held on to the runner up spot, Joe Glick finished third, fourth went to Mike Morrill and Joel Huggins was fifth. This was May's third win in a row at Marshalltown, his eighth of the season. He holds a healthy points lead. After winning last week at the track, which marked his 100th win, he is now sitting on win #102, and no doubt, will be adding to that before the racing season ends in our area.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a hard time finding their racing rhythm last evening, as the yellow flag flew frequently during their 18-lap feature. Those cautions were no issue for winner Curt Hilmer however. Hilmer started fifth, and was already leading at lap two when the first yellow flew. Jake McBirnie moved through the field quickly to get to Hilmer's rear bumper. As the race wore on, McBirnie was trying everything to get by Hilmer. A desperate attempt with just two laps remaining, resulted in McBirnie's dive low in turn one sending him into a spin and Travis Peterson left with no where to go, hitting McBirnie. McBirnie got the worst end of the deal, and was towed to the pits. When the race restarted, it was now visitor Austin Kaplan sitting in the #2 spot, with Brandon Williams, Sam Wieben and Jared VanDeest close at hand. Hilmer was able to hold on to his top spot the rest of the way, taking the win. The final lap saw a lot of shuffling as Wieben was off the pace. Brandon Williams was able to move past Kaplan as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth went to VanDeest and eleventh place starter Dan Drury, was fifth. Hilmer won for the third time this year at Marshalltown. In his victory lane interview, Hilmer said his weekly racing was coming to an end a bit early, as high school football practice will be taking front and center from now on with his coaching duties. However, he did say, "until Super Nationals". Not quite sure how he will work that out!
After the abundance of yellows in the SportMod feature, it was refreshing to have the IMCA Hobby Stock's have a clean run to the checkers....except for the initial start being called back. Eric Stanton quickly took command of the race, getting by Tim Barber. Stanton pulled away to a comfortable lead and would finish that way at the checkers. Austin Luellen had to fend off veteran Bill Bonnett who kept looking for a chance to slip under Luellen time after time, but to no avail as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth went to Gary Pfantz and Gene Nicklas completed the top five. Stanton is your point leader at Marshalltown, leading by a huge margin. Stanton now has six wins at the track this year.
The Chelsea Charger, Damon Murty made his return to the high banks a success, winning the IMCA 18-lap Stock Car feature. Murty started tenth and took the lead at lap four, keeping it to the checkers. He had big time company behind him however, Robert Stofer, Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette were going at it. They swapped back and forth running so closely across the finish line, it was impossible to determine second place. In the end, there was no denying Murty the win, making it #21 of the year...and closing in on career win #200. It was so close at the line for second and third, we weren't able to determine it, but Steve Meyer was scored in second, and Jaennette in third. Donavon Smith mounted a late race surge, finishing fourth, just ahead of Stofer in fifth. This was Murty's first win of the season at Marshalltown as he had been campaigning all year long at the Iowa State Fair Speedway. Smith continues his healthy point lead in the Stock Car division.
It was an exciting 20-lap IMCA Modified feature! Jake Strayer looked strong in the early laps, leading the pack. Joel Rust challenged Strayer early on, getting by him as they raced down the back stretch, but Strayer regaining the advantage as they passed the flagstand. Then enter another car that was flying on the topside, that of visiting driver from Sioux City, Chris Abelson. He had been flying through the pack from his ninth starting spot and when a yellow flew at lap ten, was no doubt, happy to see it. Abelson took advantage on the restart, and was scored the leader at lap eleven. The closing laps saw Abelson hold his lead and take the win. Jimmy Gustin mounted a challenge in those closing laps, falling short, and having to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to Jake Strayer, fourth to Walnut, Iowa's Jake Deal who had started tenth, and Ronn Lauritzen took fifth. Gustin remains the point leader in the Modified division.
The IMCA Late Models made a return to the Marshalltown last night. They ran a 20-lap feature and the show was all at the front with Todd Cooney and Richie Gustin going at it. Cooney, who started on the pole, led from the drop of the green. By lap three, Gustin had moved from sixth starting spot, to the #2 spot. It was quite the show then as Gustin threw slide job after slide job out of turns three and four in an attempt to get past Cooney. It was "more sliders than at a White Castle" according to announcer Jerry Vansickel. Gustin made it stick just past the halfway mark, and from there on, never relinquished the lead, sealing the win.....his first in a Late Model. Cooney held on to the runner up spot, third went to Darren Ackerman who had started ninth, fourth went to local favorite "Double D", Darrel DeFrance, and Chad Holliday from Muscatine, rounded out the top five. The Late Models will be back in town next week, so mark your calendars.
Some notes on the evening:
There was a big crowd on hand last night, and a hungry and thirsty one as well. The line was often long at the concession stand. Many new drivers were on hand last night. The State Fair Speedway in Des Moines is done for the season, and drivers took advantage to get in another night of racing.
In a heat race for the Mod Lites, the D5 took a roll off of the top of turn one and two. Ironically, it was the same car and in the same spot that the car had rolled earlier in the season. That time it was piloted by Jimmy Gustin. Last night, it was Council Bluff's driver, Alonso Grosse, seen most often piloting a Late Model.
There were four IMCA national point leaders in attendance last night. Winner of the Modified feature, Chris Abelson made his journey from Sioux City pay off, adding to his IMCA National point lead in that division. Going for National IMCA Rookie titles, were Paul Nagel in the Late Models, Carter VandenBerg in the Modifieds, and Tyler Pickett in the Stock Car class.
A shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Randy Drummer who were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary at the track last night. They added $10 per year of their wedded bliss ($160) to the pay off for the Late Model winner last night.....making it $760 for Richie Gustin.
The season is quickly winding down. There are three more weekly races remaining. Next Friday, August 21, the IMCA Late Models return and with state and national points on the line, look for more travelers joining the field of cars. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Mather is master at Hawkeye Dirt Tour, Kay again in Deery
We ventured to Tipton, Iowa on Tuesday night to visit the Cedar County Raceway. The track, which isn't running weekly this year, was hosting the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Model and IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour for Modifieds. Thirty-one Late Models and forty-three Modifieds were on hand. Four Deery heats and two B's, as well as five heats and three B's for the HDT Modifieds, plus four provisionals for the Late Models, and two for the Modifieds, and the 24 car starting fields were set.
The redraw for the heat qualifiers, (top 2) was done in the pits for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, setting the starting spot for the top ten. Mike Burbridge and Colt Mather were the lucky front row starters for the 25-lap feature.
Colt Mather established the lead at the drop of the green. The only yellow of the race came at lap three when veteran Dan Chapman had issues. When the racing restarted, Mather picked up where he had left off, working the track near flawlessly through lap traffic. Justin Kay, who had started fourth, closed in on leader Mather, but at the checkers, had nothing for him. Mather took the win and the $1,000 pay day and a Fast Shafts Qualifier for the 2016 All Star ballot for next year's IMCA Super Nationals. Kay finished as the runner up, after his run in second for all but the opening laps and third went to Mitch Morris, who established himself in that spot nearly from the get go. Fourth was Brad Dierks who had started deep in the field in 16th starting spot, and pole sitter Mike Burbridge rounded out the top five. Mather got his first Hawkeye Dirt Tour win and said in Victory Lane that this was his first "big" win on a short track. Mather became the seventh different winner out of seven races on the HDT this year. Previous winners were Jason Wolla, Jeremiah Hurst, Richie Gustin, Kyle Strickler, Kelly Shryock and Nick Deal.
The top two in Hawkeye Dirt Tour points is a close one. Going into the night, Mike VanGenderen held a slim one point lead over Kyle Brown. At the close of the night, Brown was the new leader by four points over VanGenderen. Brown qualified through a B main and had started twenty-second and became hard charger on the night, finishing in seventh. VanGenderen started seventh and as the race wore on, fell back to finish in twelfth after having his tires go away on the slick, rubbered track. The final race for this year's Hawkeye Dirt Tour will be on Saturday, September 19 at the Farley Speedway.
The top twelve qualifiers from the Deery Brother's heats did their usual Casey's pizza box draw on the front stretch. After a bit of "keep or exchange" was completed, it was Brunson Behning, from Davenport, Iowa getting the coveted #1 spot to start the race. The #2 slot went to Hazel Green, Wisconsin's Dan Shelliam. Lurking in row two for the start were "Double Duty Justin Kay", point leader for the Deery Series, and Andy Eckrich. It was now time for the 50-lap main event.
Shelliam took the point spot immediately, leading Behning and Kay when lap one was scored. By lap fifteen, Kay had made his way around Behning and then made his peek under Shelliman pay off, taking command of the ship. Kay worked the lap traffic beautifully, dipping low when he needed to, or taking the high road around if necessary. At the halfway mark of the 50-lap contest, the first yellow appeared when Sam Halstead slipped off the track and tried to reenter. When things got sorted out for the restart, Kay held the top spot, Behning was still in second and Shelliman was running third. When the race returned to green flag racing, Kay motored off, but Shelliman made the move to the runner up spot, and veteran Ray Guss, Jr. moved up to run third. One more yellow would fly in the contest at lap 39, but it was no bother to Kay, who pulled away in the closing laps to take the comfortable win. Shelliman held on to second place, and Guss to third. Fourth went to tenth place starter Kevin Kile and Richie Gustin was fifth. This marked the sixth win this season in the Deery Brother's Summer Series for Kay, and his second in a row.
Next up for the IMCA Deery Brothers will be at the West Liberty Raceway on Friday and Saturday, September 4-5. Then the series moves to the Boone Speedway on Labor Day, September 7, where they will be part of the opening day of the 33rd Annual IMCA Super Nationals.
We enjoyed our evening with racing friends and fellow Positively Racing cohort Jeff Broeg. Look for his take of the night's racing under "Back Stretch" on the website. Thanks for reading!
The redraw for the heat qualifiers, (top 2) was done in the pits for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, setting the starting spot for the top ten. Mike Burbridge and Colt Mather were the lucky front row starters for the 25-lap feature.
Colt Mather established the lead at the drop of the green. The only yellow of the race came at lap three when veteran Dan Chapman had issues. When the racing restarted, Mather picked up where he had left off, working the track near flawlessly through lap traffic. Justin Kay, who had started fourth, closed in on leader Mather, but at the checkers, had nothing for him. Mather took the win and the $1,000 pay day and a Fast Shafts Qualifier for the 2016 All Star ballot for next year's IMCA Super Nationals. Kay finished as the runner up, after his run in second for all but the opening laps and third went to Mitch Morris, who established himself in that spot nearly from the get go. Fourth was Brad Dierks who had started deep in the field in 16th starting spot, and pole sitter Mike Burbridge rounded out the top five. Mather got his first Hawkeye Dirt Tour win and said in Victory Lane that this was his first "big" win on a short track. Mather became the seventh different winner out of seven races on the HDT this year. Previous winners were Jason Wolla, Jeremiah Hurst, Richie Gustin, Kyle Strickler, Kelly Shryock and Nick Deal.
The top two in Hawkeye Dirt Tour points is a close one. Going into the night, Mike VanGenderen held a slim one point lead over Kyle Brown. At the close of the night, Brown was the new leader by four points over VanGenderen. Brown qualified through a B main and had started twenty-second and became hard charger on the night, finishing in seventh. VanGenderen started seventh and as the race wore on, fell back to finish in twelfth after having his tires go away on the slick, rubbered track. The final race for this year's Hawkeye Dirt Tour will be on Saturday, September 19 at the Farley Speedway.
The top twelve qualifiers from the Deery Brother's heats did their usual Casey's pizza box draw on the front stretch. After a bit of "keep or exchange" was completed, it was Brunson Behning, from Davenport, Iowa getting the coveted #1 spot to start the race. The #2 slot went to Hazel Green, Wisconsin's Dan Shelliam. Lurking in row two for the start were "Double Duty Justin Kay", point leader for the Deery Series, and Andy Eckrich. It was now time for the 50-lap main event.
Shelliam took the point spot immediately, leading Behning and Kay when lap one was scored. By lap fifteen, Kay had made his way around Behning and then made his peek under Shelliman pay off, taking command of the ship. Kay worked the lap traffic beautifully, dipping low when he needed to, or taking the high road around if necessary. At the halfway mark of the 50-lap contest, the first yellow appeared when Sam Halstead slipped off the track and tried to reenter. When things got sorted out for the restart, Kay held the top spot, Behning was still in second and Shelliman was running third. When the race returned to green flag racing, Kay motored off, but Shelliman made the move to the runner up spot, and veteran Ray Guss, Jr. moved up to run third. One more yellow would fly in the contest at lap 39, but it was no bother to Kay, who pulled away in the closing laps to take the comfortable win. Shelliman held on to second place, and Guss to third. Fourth went to tenth place starter Kevin Kile and Richie Gustin was fifth. This marked the sixth win this season in the Deery Brother's Summer Series for Kay, and his second in a row.
Next up for the IMCA Deery Brothers will be at the West Liberty Raceway on Friday and Saturday, September 4-5. Then the series moves to the Boone Speedway on Labor Day, September 7, where they will be part of the opening day of the 33rd Annual IMCA Super Nationals.
We enjoyed our evening with racing friends and fellow Positively Racing cohort Jeff Broeg. Look for his take of the night's racing under "Back Stretch" on the website. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Logue and May win before Mother Nature shortens racing at Boone
The forecast wasn't sounding good for some of the area racing on Saturday night. Boone Speedway was one of those, but with their reputation for getting the show in, we were hoping the track would win out. The rain held off for two features, but interrupted racing in the Hobby Stock main event, and the races were canceled. It and the Modified and Stock Car features will be completed next Saturday.
The Mod Lite 15-lap feature had a strange twist when leader Travis Stensland's car spewed a cloud of white smoke with just two laps remaining. He was attempting to limp his disabled car to the infield when second place Cory Dennis came upon him too quickly and could not avoid contact. This sent Dennis into a roll in front of the grandstand. Thankfully, Dennis popped out of his roof hatch, unscathed. Stensland was one of the first to reach Dennis after the incident. The Mod Lite drivers are a close knit group who are always helping each other.
When the race picked back up, it was Kevin Grisham inheriting the lead for the green-white-checkered charge to the checkers. Grisham saw his hopes for a win dashed on the final lap, when Josh May made the pass, beating him to the finish line for the win. Grisham had to settle for the runner up spot, Justin Rankin took third, fourth went to Joel Keenan and Randy Bryan completed the top five. May won for the fourth time this season, and is the point leader.
May had quite the weekend up to this point. The previous night at Marshalltown, he had won his 100th feature. Saturday, he got married! Saturday night, he won #101. If the rain holds off, he will be going for #102 at the Stuart Speedway tonight.
Curtis Veber held down the top spot in the early going of the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature. A yellow flew at lap six, when a 3-car tangle occurred on the backstretch. For the restart, Veber now had Jonathon Logue breathing down his neck. It didn't take long for Logue to make the pass for the lead and from there on kept his ride there all the way to the checkers flying. Jake McBirnie had started on the tail of the field and made spectacular headway, picking off car after car. He passed Veber on the final lap to take second place, Veber going third. Fourth was Randy Roberts and Michael Murphy was fifth. This was Logue's fourth win this year. McBirnie is the point leader.
The 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stocks came to the track next. Korbin Nourse was looking strong, leading the early laps when a yellow flew at lap four. By that time, Eric Stanton had moved to the #2 position after starting tenth, and was hungry for the restart. Stanton made the pass in corner two just after lap five was scored and was in command at lap six. Then.....came the rain. Mother Nature just had to spoil the rest of the night's program. The call came to cancel as it appeared a bigger cell was moving toward the Speedway.
Next Saturday, August 15, the first thing on the agenda will be the completion of the Hobby Stock feature. Then, the two classes left waiting in the wings, the IMCA Stock Cars and Modifieds, will run their features. There will then be a complete show for all five classes. As of now, the show will begin at the regular scheduled times with hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
As a note, drivers are required to run transponders at Boone. Drivers need to have them mounted and working for their heats---or they will be penalized. This has happened several times lately, though the drivers have all been warned. Don't let this happen to you or your driver.
Mother Nature is working over time again. The races at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa have already been washed out for tonight. Be sure and check before you head to any other track in your area. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Rust rules Modifieds at Marshalltown
It had been a long time coming, but Friday night at the Marshalltown Speedway, Joel Rust finally rolled into Victory Lane for the first time in his IMCA Modified ride. All other classes saw repeat winners on the year.
The Mod Lites had an early race incident that halted their 15-lap feature when then leader Justin Rankin turned it sideways in corner four. Travis Stensland was unable to avoid contact and took the brunt of the hit, ending his night. Joe Glick inherited the lead when the racing picked back up. Glick had Charlie Brown and Josh May quickly on his tail and by lap eight, it was May taking over the point position. From there on, he pulled away, winning by a comfortable margin over second place Charlie Brown. Glick finished third, Mike Kennedy was fourth and Jason Whitehead was fifth. May, who won for the seventh time, stretched his point lead. May has a busy weekend ahead, as he is getting married Saturday, racing Saturday night at Boone, and at Stuart on Sunday.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature began with fourth place starter Curt Hilmer taking the lead on lap one. Sam Wieben fought past him to snap up the lead on lap seven but coming on the topside was Jared VanDeest with a full head of steam! VanDeest took the top spot at lap ten and would then hold it to the checkers and the win. Wieben, who started eighth, held the runner up spot, third was seventh place starter Brandon Williams, fourth went to Travis Peterson, who started ninth and eleventh place starter, Jake McBirnie, rounded out the top five. VanDeest came from tenth starting spot, to claim his second win in as many weeks, and his fourth of the season. He is the point leader in the SportMod division.
The 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature was called back on the start when the 3X of Craig Lovig found himself off the backstretch and sitting in the weeds. When things did get started, Tim Barber was the driver in charge, leading the pack. By lap four, Grinnell's Gene Nicklas had flown to the lead and brought Eric Stanton along with him to run second. The two ran nose-to-tail for several laps, Nicklas in command. On lap ten, Stanton nosed to the underside of Nicklas as they entered turn two, and slid up the track, forcing Nicklas to take evasive moves to prevent disaster. This put Stanton in the lead, and last week's winner, Garrett Eilander moved to second, Nicklas falling to third. Stanton then held on to take the win. Eilander claimed second, Nicklas was third, fourth went to early leader Tim Barber and Gary Pfantz was fifth. Stanton won for the third time at Marshalltown, increasing his large point lead. In the post race interview, Stanton said he had a coolant leak, spewing water on his front tires.
Eighteen laps of IMCA Stock Car racing came next. Young Nick Thelen led the troops in the opening laps. As the cars approached the starter's stand for lap four, the bumping and rubbing, sent Michael Jaennette up into the front stretch wall, showing the grandstand his underside, the scoring stand the top of his car. Thankfully, he got hold of his ride without any worse disaster happening. The yellow came out, he retired to the pits for a tire change, tagged the starting field, but with a bad right front wheel. The restart now had Tyler Pickett in the lead, Donavon Smith had already made his way into second place from starting ninth, and Todd Reitzler was running third. Reitzler moved to the lead quickly, and Smith followed him into second place. From there on, it was pretty much a two-car race as Reitzler set his ride on the topside, and Smith chose his usual bottom of the track. Reitzler maintained his momentum on the topside, keeping the lead, as Smith plugged steadily away on the bottom. Smith's determination paid off with four laps left in the 18-lap event---taking the top spot away from Reitzler. Smith held the lead to take the win. Reitzler finished as the runner up, Steve Meyer was third, fourth went to Tyler Pickett and Robbie Merkel came from tenth starting spot, to round out the top five. Smith stretched his point lead with his seventh win of the year, including back-to-back wins.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature completed the night's racing with a caution free feature. Jake Strayer quickly moved his #18J ride to the front from starting in row three, and wheeled it away. At the halfway mark, Joel Rust was running a distant second but began his quest, reeling in the leader. The closing laps found Rust doing just that, taking over the lead and putting his ride in the winner's circle for the first time in the Modified class. Strayer finished in second, Scott Simatovich took third place, fourth went to Brandon Leeman and Trent Jackson finished fifth.
Rust was a happy camper in Victory Lane. He has been struggling with his new Harris ride, but finally got the monkey off his back with the win. This is his first win in the Modified class at Marshalltown, after his move up from the SportMod class a year or so ago.
A glance at the point race in the Modified division, still shows a tight battle. Jimmy Gustin, who brought out his newly wrapped ride last night, keeps his point lead with 542 points, while two drivers are just seven points behind, Ronn Lauritzen and Josh Gilman. This is really the only closely contested point race at the track this year.
All you Late Model fans, mark your calendars! The next two weeks, August 14 and 21, the IMCA Late Models join the regular five classes at Marshalltown. They are always a treat to watch on the high-banks. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30.
The Mod Lites had an early race incident that halted their 15-lap feature when then leader Justin Rankin turned it sideways in corner four. Travis Stensland was unable to avoid contact and took the brunt of the hit, ending his night. Joe Glick inherited the lead when the racing picked back up. Glick had Charlie Brown and Josh May quickly on his tail and by lap eight, it was May taking over the point position. From there on, he pulled away, winning by a comfortable margin over second place Charlie Brown. Glick finished third, Mike Kennedy was fourth and Jason Whitehead was fifth. May, who won for the seventh time, stretched his point lead. May has a busy weekend ahead, as he is getting married Saturday, racing Saturday night at Boone, and at Stuart on Sunday.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature began with fourth place starter Curt Hilmer taking the lead on lap one. Sam Wieben fought past him to snap up the lead on lap seven but coming on the topside was Jared VanDeest with a full head of steam! VanDeest took the top spot at lap ten and would then hold it to the checkers and the win. Wieben, who started eighth, held the runner up spot, third was seventh place starter Brandon Williams, fourth went to Travis Peterson, who started ninth and eleventh place starter, Jake McBirnie, rounded out the top five. VanDeest came from tenth starting spot, to claim his second win in as many weeks, and his fourth of the season. He is the point leader in the SportMod division.
The 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature was called back on the start when the 3X of Craig Lovig found himself off the backstretch and sitting in the weeds. When things did get started, Tim Barber was the driver in charge, leading the pack. By lap four, Grinnell's Gene Nicklas had flown to the lead and brought Eric Stanton along with him to run second. The two ran nose-to-tail for several laps, Nicklas in command. On lap ten, Stanton nosed to the underside of Nicklas as they entered turn two, and slid up the track, forcing Nicklas to take evasive moves to prevent disaster. This put Stanton in the lead, and last week's winner, Garrett Eilander moved to second, Nicklas falling to third. Stanton then held on to take the win. Eilander claimed second, Nicklas was third, fourth went to early leader Tim Barber and Gary Pfantz was fifth. Stanton won for the third time at Marshalltown, increasing his large point lead. In the post race interview, Stanton said he had a coolant leak, spewing water on his front tires.
Eighteen laps of IMCA Stock Car racing came next. Young Nick Thelen led the troops in the opening laps. As the cars approached the starter's stand for lap four, the bumping and rubbing, sent Michael Jaennette up into the front stretch wall, showing the grandstand his underside, the scoring stand the top of his car. Thankfully, he got hold of his ride without any worse disaster happening. The yellow came out, he retired to the pits for a tire change, tagged the starting field, but with a bad right front wheel. The restart now had Tyler Pickett in the lead, Donavon Smith had already made his way into second place from starting ninth, and Todd Reitzler was running third. Reitzler moved to the lead quickly, and Smith followed him into second place. From there on, it was pretty much a two-car race as Reitzler set his ride on the topside, and Smith chose his usual bottom of the track. Reitzler maintained his momentum on the topside, keeping the lead, as Smith plugged steadily away on the bottom. Smith's determination paid off with four laps left in the 18-lap event---taking the top spot away from Reitzler. Smith held the lead to take the win. Reitzler finished as the runner up, Steve Meyer was third, fourth went to Tyler Pickett and Robbie Merkel came from tenth starting spot, to round out the top five. Smith stretched his point lead with his seventh win of the year, including back-to-back wins.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature completed the night's racing with a caution free feature. Jake Strayer quickly moved his #18J ride to the front from starting in row three, and wheeled it away. At the halfway mark, Joel Rust was running a distant second but began his quest, reeling in the leader. The closing laps found Rust doing just that, taking over the lead and putting his ride in the winner's circle for the first time in the Modified class. Strayer finished in second, Scott Simatovich took third place, fourth went to Brandon Leeman and Trent Jackson finished fifth.
Rust was a happy camper in Victory Lane. He has been struggling with his new Harris ride, but finally got the monkey off his back with the win. This is his first win in the Modified class at Marshalltown, after his move up from the SportMod class a year or so ago.
A glance at the point race in the Modified division, still shows a tight battle. Jimmy Gustin, who brought out his newly wrapped ride last night, keeps his point lead with 542 points, while two drivers are just seven points behind, Ronn Lauritzen and Josh Gilman. This is really the only closely contested point race at the track this year.
All you Late Model fans, mark your calendars! The next two weeks, August 14 and 21, the IMCA Late Models join the regular five classes at Marshalltown. They are always a treat to watch on the high-banks. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Mather, Paul, Evans and Hamann first time winners at Osky, Carter doubles up
Racing got back underway at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday night, after a two week absence---one planned, one via Mother Nature. It was a full night of racing as IMCA Late Models and the Iowa Sportsman Series joined the weekly classes.
The traveling Iowa Sportsman Series brought 11 cars to test the waters. They ran a 20-lap feature. Clayton Webster, who also runs an IMCA Hobby Stock at Osky, led the opening laps. By lap eight, Damien Hamann had taken command in the blue #2 car. As the race wore on, another #2 appeared, closing in right behind Hamann....the #2J of Cole Jackson. Those 2 cars would run lap after lap in the 1-2 positions with Hamann keeping command to the checkers and the win. Jackson, who is the son of Steve Jackson, former racer who had much success in years past in the IMCA Stock Car class, finished a close second. Third was Gene Tish, fourth went to Darin DeZwarte and Clayton Webster rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars ran their 18-lap feature next. Zack VanderBeek led as the race went green....and pulled away. There were three cars vying for second a ways behind him however, Todd Reitzler, Cayden Carter and Mike Hughes. When a yellow flew at lap twelve, VanderBeek was still in command, but now he had the other orange car to deal with as Carter had taken over the runner up spot, and Hughes was in third place. When the race restarted, it was Mike Hughes getting the jump on them all, flying to the lead. Carter followed closely in the runner up spot, chasing Hughes determinedly in the final laps. Hughes took the white flag, but the "Gasman" wasn't done yet! Carter pulled Hughes on the back stretch and was able to get around him on the final run to the checkers---snatching the win. Hughes had to be content with the runner up spot on this night, VanderBeek finished in third, Reitzler was fourth and Donnie Pearson was fifth. Carter won his sixth Stock Car feature of the season at Osky.
The IMCA Sport Compacts had seven cars competing and all started their 10-lap feature. Quite noticeably, the #77 of John Whalen was missing for the night. It was announced that the weekly competitor was in the hospital and everyone wishes him well. His brother, Bill Whalen looked to be taking home another feature win, as he jumped to the lead. However, lap seven was his nemesis, as he erupted in a cloud of smoke. A new comer, the 92E of Shane Evans from Iowa City, inherited the lead as the race picked back up. He would then pull away for the easy win. Trent Orwig was second, Ryan Havel took third, fourth went to Jon Girdley and Tim Bevins was fifth. Evans stamped his name in the winner's books for the first time at the speedway.
Sixteen laps of IMCA Northern SportMod racing came next, and it was Austin Paul flying to the early lead. Paul circled the 1/2 mile, keeping the lead for the entire caution free race on his way to the win. Corey VanZante ran second most of the race and came away with the runner up spot. Third went to Jason McDaniel, fourth was Brett Lowry, and Curtis Van Der Wal fell back on the final lap, to finish fifth. This was the first time that Paul had won at the Southern Iowa Speedway. We noticed that the 85 of McDaniel's was sitting in the tech/claim area for quite some time after the completion of the race, and was eventually pushed to his pit area. No word on if that was due to a mechanical issue or a possible claim.
The IMCA Modifieds ran their 18-lap feature caution free also. Colt Mather started fourth and established his dominate lead immediately. Mather pulled away to a sizeable lead, taking the comfortable win.....his first at Osky this year. Following a distant second was Scott Dickey. Cayden Carter was third, Tyler Groenendyk was fourth and Carter VandenBerg (who had just received word during the day that he had been voted into the Fast Shafts All-Star race at this year's IMCA Super Nationals) was fifth.
It was chaos on the front stretch at the start of the 15-lap Hobby Stock main event. Cars went spinning out of control as they approached the starter's stand! Luckily, all cars were able to restart the race.
Craig Brown, wasted no time in taking the lead when the race did get underway. He held tight to that lead all the way to the checkers and the win. It was a fight for second place between Travis Bunnell and Dustin Griffiths, with Bunnell losing second momentarily, but regaining it as he crossed the finish line, securing the runner up spot. Griffiths was third, Dale Porter took fourth and Aaron Martin completed the top five. Brown won for the second time this season.
The IMCA Late Models made an appearance for the first time this year at the Monster 1/2 mile. And, if anyone had any doubts as to how rookie Cayden Carter would do in a Late Model, those doubts may have been put to rest last night.
The race did not start well, as John VandenBerg barely made it out of turn four as the green flag flew for the 20-lapper. The yellow came out immediately for that situation and he was towed to the pits, his night done.
When the race did get started, it went flag to flag. Curtis Glover led the early laps but almost immediately smoke began to roll from his car and he soon exited to the pits. Cayden Carter was now the man in charge and with the race continuing green to the checkers, he put the car in over drive, pulled away, lapping every car still running on his way to the win. Paul Nagel was second, more than a lap down, third was rookie Derek Liles, Todd Johnson was fourth, and fifth was Jenna Johnson. I believe she is the daughter of Todd Johnson.
Carter, who was doing triple duty last night, racing in the Modified, Stock Car and the Late Model classes, has plans to run the Late Model full time next season....racing for car owner Roger Kelderman.
Please notice, there will not be racing on Wednesday nights for the next two weeks. One week will be silent for the Iowa State Fair week and the other, due to the nearby Knoxville Nationals running. Things will pick back up on August 26. However, if you want to get a little sprint car action in, make plans to attend the 20th Annual Front Row Challenge at the speedway on Monday, August 10. More information can be found at www.oskychallenges.com on that race. The remaining schedule for weekly racing and Fall Challenge can be found at www.oskyspeedway.com.
The traveling Iowa Sportsman Series brought 11 cars to test the waters. They ran a 20-lap feature. Clayton Webster, who also runs an IMCA Hobby Stock at Osky, led the opening laps. By lap eight, Damien Hamann had taken command in the blue #2 car. As the race wore on, another #2 appeared, closing in right behind Hamann....the #2J of Cole Jackson. Those 2 cars would run lap after lap in the 1-2 positions with Hamann keeping command to the checkers and the win. Jackson, who is the son of Steve Jackson, former racer who had much success in years past in the IMCA Stock Car class, finished a close second. Third was Gene Tish, fourth went to Darin DeZwarte and Clayton Webster rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars ran their 18-lap feature next. Zack VanderBeek led as the race went green....and pulled away. There were three cars vying for second a ways behind him however, Todd Reitzler, Cayden Carter and Mike Hughes. When a yellow flew at lap twelve, VanderBeek was still in command, but now he had the other orange car to deal with as Carter had taken over the runner up spot, and Hughes was in third place. When the race restarted, it was Mike Hughes getting the jump on them all, flying to the lead. Carter followed closely in the runner up spot, chasing Hughes determinedly in the final laps. Hughes took the white flag, but the "Gasman" wasn't done yet! Carter pulled Hughes on the back stretch and was able to get around him on the final run to the checkers---snatching the win. Hughes had to be content with the runner up spot on this night, VanderBeek finished in third, Reitzler was fourth and Donnie Pearson was fifth. Carter won his sixth Stock Car feature of the season at Osky.
The IMCA Sport Compacts had seven cars competing and all started their 10-lap feature. Quite noticeably, the #77 of John Whalen was missing for the night. It was announced that the weekly competitor was in the hospital and everyone wishes him well. His brother, Bill Whalen looked to be taking home another feature win, as he jumped to the lead. However, lap seven was his nemesis, as he erupted in a cloud of smoke. A new comer, the 92E of Shane Evans from Iowa City, inherited the lead as the race picked back up. He would then pull away for the easy win. Trent Orwig was second, Ryan Havel took third, fourth went to Jon Girdley and Tim Bevins was fifth. Evans stamped his name in the winner's books for the first time at the speedway.
Sixteen laps of IMCA Northern SportMod racing came next, and it was Austin Paul flying to the early lead. Paul circled the 1/2 mile, keeping the lead for the entire caution free race on his way to the win. Corey VanZante ran second most of the race and came away with the runner up spot. Third went to Jason McDaniel, fourth was Brett Lowry, and Curtis Van Der Wal fell back on the final lap, to finish fifth. This was the first time that Paul had won at the Southern Iowa Speedway. We noticed that the 85 of McDaniel's was sitting in the tech/claim area for quite some time after the completion of the race, and was eventually pushed to his pit area. No word on if that was due to a mechanical issue or a possible claim.
The IMCA Modifieds ran their 18-lap feature caution free also. Colt Mather started fourth and established his dominate lead immediately. Mather pulled away to a sizeable lead, taking the comfortable win.....his first at Osky this year. Following a distant second was Scott Dickey. Cayden Carter was third, Tyler Groenendyk was fourth and Carter VandenBerg (who had just received word during the day that he had been voted into the Fast Shafts All-Star race at this year's IMCA Super Nationals) was fifth.
It was chaos on the front stretch at the start of the 15-lap Hobby Stock main event. Cars went spinning out of control as they approached the starter's stand! Luckily, all cars were able to restart the race.
Craig Brown, wasted no time in taking the lead when the race did get underway. He held tight to that lead all the way to the checkers and the win. It was a fight for second place between Travis Bunnell and Dustin Griffiths, with Bunnell losing second momentarily, but regaining it as he crossed the finish line, securing the runner up spot. Griffiths was third, Dale Porter took fourth and Aaron Martin completed the top five. Brown won for the second time this season.
The IMCA Late Models made an appearance for the first time this year at the Monster 1/2 mile. And, if anyone had any doubts as to how rookie Cayden Carter would do in a Late Model, those doubts may have been put to rest last night.
The race did not start well, as John VandenBerg barely made it out of turn four as the green flag flew for the 20-lapper. The yellow came out immediately for that situation and he was towed to the pits, his night done.
When the race did get started, it went flag to flag. Curtis Glover led the early laps but almost immediately smoke began to roll from his car and he soon exited to the pits. Cayden Carter was now the man in charge and with the race continuing green to the checkers, he put the car in over drive, pulled away, lapping every car still running on his way to the win. Paul Nagel was second, more than a lap down, third was rookie Derek Liles, Todd Johnson was fourth, and fifth was Jenna Johnson. I believe she is the daughter of Todd Johnson.
Carter, who was doing triple duty last night, racing in the Modified, Stock Car and the Late Model classes, has plans to run the Late Model full time next season....racing for car owner Roger Kelderman.
Please notice, there will not be racing on Wednesday nights for the next two weeks. One week will be silent for the Iowa State Fair week and the other, due to the nearby Knoxville Nationals running. Things will pick back up on August 26. However, if you want to get a little sprint car action in, make plans to attend the 20th Annual Front Row Challenge at the speedway on Monday, August 10. More information can be found at www.oskychallenges.com on that race. The remaining schedule for weekly racing and Fall Challenge can be found at www.oskyspeedway.com.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Osky - 8-5-15
Unofficial results:
IMCA Late Model
1. 10C Cayden Carter - lapped everyone
2. 05 Paul Nagel
3. 33D Derrick Liles
4. 66 Todd Johnson
5. 7 Jenae Johnson
DNF: 32 Curtis Glover
15C Curt Schroeder
30 Todd Cooney
7M John VandenBerg
Modified:
1. 8 Colt Mather
2. 40 Scott Dickey
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
5. 7V Carter VandenBerg
6. 02 Andrew Schroeder
7. 22 Brandon Banks
8. 7K Ryan Fullenkamp
DNF: 48J Jacob Murray
DNS: 77 Jim Lynch
Stock Car
1. 10C Cayden Carter - last lap pass
2. 11 Mike Hughes
3. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
4. 22R Todd Reitzler
5. 19 Donnie Pearson
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 28 Greg Gill
9. 31 Eric Knapp
10. 54 Mike Brown
11. 52 Nathan Wood
12. 17P Brad Pinkerton
13. 5T Taylor Inman
DNF: 79S Jason See
73C Carl Yaw
DNS: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. A5 Austin Paul
2. 34Z Corey VanZante
3. 85 Jason McDaniel
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
6. 352 Charlie Weber
7. 29 Colton Livezey
8. 16 Matt VanGelder
9. 30 Shawn Cooney
10. 26 Scott Brau
11. 53 Greg Strohman
DNF: 01 Brayton Carter
20 Danny Brau
DNS: 9A Logan Anderson
98 Thomas Eganberger
Hobby Stock
1. 69 Craig Brown
2. 3 Travis Bunnell
3. Dustin Griffiths
4. 10 Dale Porter
5. 73 Aaron Martin
6. 3s Steve Allen
7. 9 Jared Stephens
8. 15W Clayton Webster
DNF: 2 Brandon Potts
32T Bobby Greene
84 Danny Thrasher
Compacts
1. 92E Shane Evans
2. 33G Trent Orwig
3. 0 Ryan Havel
4. 33 Jon Girdley
5. 95 Tim Bevins
DNF: 22M Curt Myers
07 Bill Whalen
Iowa Sportsman Series - Top 5
1. 2 Damien Hammen
2. 2J Cole Jackson
3. 54 Gene Tish
4. 47 Darin DeZwarte
5. 15W Clayton Webster
IMCA Late Model
1. 10C Cayden Carter - lapped everyone
2. 05 Paul Nagel
3. 33D Derrick Liles
4. 66 Todd Johnson
5. 7 Jenae Johnson
DNF: 32 Curtis Glover
15C Curt Schroeder
30 Todd Cooney
7M John VandenBerg
Modified:
1. 8 Colt Mather
2. 40 Scott Dickey
3. 10C Cayden Carter
4. 9X Tyler Groenendyk
5. 7V Carter VandenBerg
6. 02 Andrew Schroeder
7. 22 Brandon Banks
8. 7K Ryan Fullenkamp
DNF: 48J Jacob Murray
DNS: 77 Jim Lynch
Stock Car
1. 10C Cayden Carter - last lap pass
2. 11 Mike Hughes
3. 33Z Zack VanderBeek
4. 22R Todd Reitzler
5. 19 Donnie Pearson
6. 18 Kris Walker
7. 12 Doug Sylvester
8. 28 Greg Gill
9. 31 Eric Knapp
10. 54 Mike Brown
11. 52 Nathan Wood
12. 17P Brad Pinkerton
13. 5T Taylor Inman
DNF: 79S Jason See
73C Carl Yaw
DNS: 17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. A5 Austin Paul
2. 34Z Corey VanZante
3. 85 Jason McDaniel
4. 72 Brett Lowry
5. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
6. 352 Charlie Weber
7. 29 Colton Livezey
8. 16 Matt VanGelder
9. 30 Shawn Cooney
10. 26 Scott Brau
11. 53 Greg Strohman
DNF: 01 Brayton Carter
20 Danny Brau
DNS: 9A Logan Anderson
98 Thomas Eganberger
Hobby Stock
1. 69 Craig Brown
2. 3 Travis Bunnell
3. Dustin Griffiths
4. 10 Dale Porter
5. 73 Aaron Martin
6. 3s Steve Allen
7. 9 Jared Stephens
8. 15W Clayton Webster
DNF: 2 Brandon Potts
32T Bobby Greene
84 Danny Thrasher
Compacts
1. 92E Shane Evans
2. 33G Trent Orwig
3. 0 Ryan Havel
4. 33 Jon Girdley
5. 95 Tim Bevins
DNF: 22M Curt Myers
07 Bill Whalen
Iowa Sportsman Series - Top 5
1. 2 Damien Hammen
2. 2J Cole Jackson
3. 54 Gene Tish
4. 47 Darin DeZwarte
5. 15W Clayton Webster
Dotson takes Harris Clash crown at Webster City
The Harris Clash for 2015 is finally in the books. The race was originally scheduled for July 16 at Knoxville, but it was washed out. Lucky for us fans and the drivers, it was rescheduled for last night at the historic Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa----where it all began back in 1992. There were 59 IMCA Modifieds and 45 IMCA Northern SportMods that entertained the large, enthusiastic crowd.
The Modifieds ran eight heats, and four B mains, taking two from each of those to the A main. One provisional was awarded any previous Harris Clash winner in attendance that did not qualify. The SportMods ran six heats, taking two each to their A main plus four B mains taking four each.
The SportMod's ran a 20-lap A main. When the race went green, it was Brad Ratcliff springing to the lead from his outside front row starting spot. From there, he kept the #1R at the front of the pack all the way to the flying checkers. He finished well ahead of Doug Smith in second. Following in third was Dysart, Iowa's Sam Wieben, fourth was Brayton Carter and Jared Timmerman was fifth. But wait....hold the boat! A post race inspection of Ratcliff's car found it with illegal valve springs, and the race win was awarded to Doug Smith.
The IMCA Modifieds ran a 25-lap feature for $2,000 to win. The heat winners were Ethan Dotson, Colt Mather, Jon Snyder, Richie Gustin, Kyle Brown, Adam Larson, Kelly Shryock and Justin Medler. The four B mains went to Kyle Strickler, Jeremy Mills, Ryan Ruter, and David Brown. The provisional starter was John Logue who started 25th on the grid. The lucky draws for the front row went to Justin Medler and Ethan Dotson.
Ethan Dotson, the young rookie driver out of Bakersfield, California, took the immediate lead. He was still leading at lap eight when the race had a caution when Jimmy Gustin and John Logue were involved in an incident just before turn three. The race was then red flagged to get Logue's car hooked up.....taking two wreckers to return the dangling car to his pits. Lurking in second place was Colt Mather, and Kelly Shryock and Kyle Brown were in third and fourth.
When the race restarted, we noticed a car working, working, working on the bottom side, that of Jon Snyder. Snyder, known as the "Top Side Terror" was changing it up and making headway working the bottom groove! Another yellow flew at lap sixteen when Hunter Marriott and Kyle Brown made contact, sending Brown in spin mode in turn four...and having to tag the field. Dotson was still holding down the top spot for the restart, and Shryock had made his way to the runner up spot. The final laps to the checkers saw Shryock on the hunt, reeling in leader Dotson and wanting, no doubt, more than anything to repeat his Harris Clash win from 1997 and doing it this time on his "home" track from years gone by. It wasn't to be as laps ran out, and the rookie from California took the checkers and the coveted win....leading all 25 laps. Following second place Shryock was third place finisher, Jesse "Crazy 99" Sobbing, who had started twelfth, fourth went to Colt Mather and Nick Deal, the driver from Walnut, Iowa, started 24th and finished fifth.
Ethan Dotson was one happy young man in Victory Lane as he savored the win. Dotson, the Californian who is spending his summer here in Iowa in his rookie year, is now the youngest driver to ever win a Harris Clash.....16 years old! We have watched him just keep improving his driving skills over the summer and now with this special win under his belt, look for him to go places. Congratulations on a race well run!
The track was in beautiful condition last night, thanks to some great track prep. There were multi grooves and the track slicked off and was shining! The drivers did a great job of racing the glassy track.
The weather was fantastic for the night of racing and we enjoyed our evening sitting in the stands. It was great to see some racing friends that we hadn't seen in some time as well. Announcers Ryan Bergeson, who is a regular at Webster City, was joined by Jerry Vansickel. They kept the crowd entertained and informed all night long.....and the speakers in the stands afforded much easier listening for the grandstands than at many other tracks we attend. Thanks to Hamilton County Speedway, promoter Jason Vansickel, and of course, to Bob Harris who put on the show, for a fantastic night of racing. When it was all said and done, we would have liked to have seen them "fuel 'em up, and let's do it again!"
It's off to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for us tonight. The IMCA Late Models are joining the regular classes. Why not make plans for another mid-week night of racing at the Monster 1/2 mile in Osky. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
The Modifieds ran eight heats, and four B mains, taking two from each of those to the A main. One provisional was awarded any previous Harris Clash winner in attendance that did not qualify. The SportMods ran six heats, taking two each to their A main plus four B mains taking four each.
The SportMod's ran a 20-lap A main. When the race went green, it was Brad Ratcliff springing to the lead from his outside front row starting spot. From there, he kept the #1R at the front of the pack all the way to the flying checkers. He finished well ahead of Doug Smith in second. Following in third was Dysart, Iowa's Sam Wieben, fourth was Brayton Carter and Jared Timmerman was fifth. But wait....hold the boat! A post race inspection of Ratcliff's car found it with illegal valve springs, and the race win was awarded to Doug Smith.
The IMCA Modifieds ran a 25-lap feature for $2,000 to win. The heat winners were Ethan Dotson, Colt Mather, Jon Snyder, Richie Gustin, Kyle Brown, Adam Larson, Kelly Shryock and Justin Medler. The four B mains went to Kyle Strickler, Jeremy Mills, Ryan Ruter, and David Brown. The provisional starter was John Logue who started 25th on the grid. The lucky draws for the front row went to Justin Medler and Ethan Dotson.
Ethan Dotson, the young rookie driver out of Bakersfield, California, took the immediate lead. He was still leading at lap eight when the race had a caution when Jimmy Gustin and John Logue were involved in an incident just before turn three. The race was then red flagged to get Logue's car hooked up.....taking two wreckers to return the dangling car to his pits. Lurking in second place was Colt Mather, and Kelly Shryock and Kyle Brown were in third and fourth.
When the race restarted, we noticed a car working, working, working on the bottom side, that of Jon Snyder. Snyder, known as the "Top Side Terror" was changing it up and making headway working the bottom groove! Another yellow flew at lap sixteen when Hunter Marriott and Kyle Brown made contact, sending Brown in spin mode in turn four...and having to tag the field. Dotson was still holding down the top spot for the restart, and Shryock had made his way to the runner up spot. The final laps to the checkers saw Shryock on the hunt, reeling in leader Dotson and wanting, no doubt, more than anything to repeat his Harris Clash win from 1997 and doing it this time on his "home" track from years gone by. It wasn't to be as laps ran out, and the rookie from California took the checkers and the coveted win....leading all 25 laps. Following second place Shryock was third place finisher, Jesse "Crazy 99" Sobbing, who had started twelfth, fourth went to Colt Mather and Nick Deal, the driver from Walnut, Iowa, started 24th and finished fifth.
Ethan Dotson was one happy young man in Victory Lane as he savored the win. Dotson, the Californian who is spending his summer here in Iowa in his rookie year, is now the youngest driver to ever win a Harris Clash.....16 years old! We have watched him just keep improving his driving skills over the summer and now with this special win under his belt, look for him to go places. Congratulations on a race well run!
The track was in beautiful condition last night, thanks to some great track prep. There were multi grooves and the track slicked off and was shining! The drivers did a great job of racing the glassy track.
The weather was fantastic for the night of racing and we enjoyed our evening sitting in the stands. It was great to see some racing friends that we hadn't seen in some time as well. Announcers Ryan Bergeson, who is a regular at Webster City, was joined by Jerry Vansickel. They kept the crowd entertained and informed all night long.....and the speakers in the stands afforded much easier listening for the grandstands than at many other tracks we attend. Thanks to Hamilton County Speedway, promoter Jason Vansickel, and of course, to Bob Harris who put on the show, for a fantastic night of racing. When it was all said and done, we would have liked to have seen them "fuel 'em up, and let's do it again!"
It's off to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for us tonight. The IMCA Late Models are joining the regular classes. Why not make plans for another mid-week night of racing at the Monster 1/2 mile in Osky. Hot laps are 7 with racing at 7:30.
Thanks for reading and happy racing!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Richards goes back to back at Boone Speedway
There were carnival games and bouncy houses for the youngsters at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night, to go along with their five classes of racing. Every class had a winner that had previously won this season.
Josh May was the first of the repeat winners, taking the 15-lap MADCRA Mod Lite feature. May inherited the lead at lap five. That's when then leader Cory Sauerman ended up at the back stretch pit entrance after getting into the wall while trying to avoid a lap car. His night was done. From there on, May pulled away for a comfortable win, his third of the year. Cory Dennis ran second most of the race and finished as the runner up. Third was Charlie Brown, Joe Glick was fourth and fifth went to Travis Stensland. Josh May leads points in the Mod Lite division.
Rookie, Cory Pestotnik led the opening laps of the IMCA Northern SportMod 18-lap event. Chad Ryerson was able to swoop under him and take command at lap six. There were other drivers coming fast and wanting to join in the fun and one of those was Jake McBirnie. McBirnie....in his bright blue "chrome" car, was spotted when he swung to the topside of the track....his preferred line at Boone....and was on the charge. He began picking off car after car. After a yellow flew at lap ten, there were three cars at the front of the pack. Ryerson was still holding down the lead, Jonathon Logue had moved into the runner up spot, and McBirnie was riding in third....all anxious for the restart of the race. McBirnie began his quest back on the topside and was able to take over the lead on lap fourteen. He kept it to the checkers and the win. Ryerson held on to the runner up spot, Logue was third, early leader Pestotnik was fourth and Doug Smith came from tenth to finish in fifth. McBirnie, who had started eleventh, padded his lead in the points race. It was his fourth win of the season at the track.
Eric Stanton also added to his point lead by winning the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock A main. Stanton started twelfth and was in the lead by lap five. He never relinquished it on his way to win #3 this year. Cody Gustoff was second, third went to Matt McDonald, John Watson was fourth and Tim Barber was fifth.
Devon Havlik found victory lane for the second time this year in the IMCA Modified division. Havlik led the entire 20 laps on the way to the win. He and Eric Elliott battled each other early on with each throwing a slide job or two. Four yellows plagued this race, the last at lap sixteen as Mike VanGenderen attempted to make the pass around Elliott in corner one, getting hooked and resulting in Elliott going in spin mode. This would end the night for both VanGenderen and Elliott, and letting Matthew Meinecke move to the runner up spot as the race restarted. Scott Davis was moved to start in the third spot, and there in fourth was the car of John Logue.....but being piloted by Jimmy Gustin and with a #19 slapped on the side. Gustin had won his heat, but experienced mechanical issues as he crossed the checkers....heard it was a flywheel coming apart. Now things were about to get exciting again as the race began. Havlik stayed to his preferred topside line and would motor home to the win. Gustin wasn't done however, and moved his borrowed ride up to finish in the runner up spot. Third was Meinecke, fourth went to Joel Bushore and Scott Davis finished in fifth. Gustin keeps his points lead with four more weeks of racing remaining.
The always exciting and action packed 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature ended the night's racing. Veteran Larry Crocheck held down the point spot at lap one, but by lap two, it was "Hot" Rod Richards flying to the lead. From there on out, Richards held the lead to the checkers and the win. Cory Bushnell ran in second place much of the race, finishing in that runner up spot. There was a lot of action going on for third and fourth as Trent Murphy and point leader Jay Schmidt went at it. Murphy won out on this one, finishing in third, Schmidt having to settle for fourth. Wayne Gifford rounded out the top five. This was Richards' third win of the season, and his second in as many weeks.
The season is quickly winding down. Just four more nights of weekly racing remain at Boone Speedway. The season championship night is August 29. Then the following week, September 5, it is a draw/redraw "Open" night being called "The Prelude to the Super Nationals". Any driver can race that night and with the Super Nationals starting on Labor Day, September 7, it is anticipated that there may be a huge field of cars for the night's races. Hot laps for that night and all remaining weekly racing nights are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
Josh May was the first of the repeat winners, taking the 15-lap MADCRA Mod Lite feature. May inherited the lead at lap five. That's when then leader Cory Sauerman ended up at the back stretch pit entrance after getting into the wall while trying to avoid a lap car. His night was done. From there on, May pulled away for a comfortable win, his third of the year. Cory Dennis ran second most of the race and finished as the runner up. Third was Charlie Brown, Joe Glick was fourth and fifth went to Travis Stensland. Josh May leads points in the Mod Lite division.
Rookie, Cory Pestotnik led the opening laps of the IMCA Northern SportMod 18-lap event. Chad Ryerson was able to swoop under him and take command at lap six. There were other drivers coming fast and wanting to join in the fun and one of those was Jake McBirnie. McBirnie....in his bright blue "chrome" car, was spotted when he swung to the topside of the track....his preferred line at Boone....and was on the charge. He began picking off car after car. After a yellow flew at lap ten, there were three cars at the front of the pack. Ryerson was still holding down the lead, Jonathon Logue had moved into the runner up spot, and McBirnie was riding in third....all anxious for the restart of the race. McBirnie began his quest back on the topside and was able to take over the lead on lap fourteen. He kept it to the checkers and the win. Ryerson held on to the runner up spot, Logue was third, early leader Pestotnik was fourth and Doug Smith came from tenth to finish in fifth. McBirnie, who had started eleventh, padded his lead in the points race. It was his fourth win of the season at the track.
Eric Stanton also added to his point lead by winning the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock A main. Stanton started twelfth and was in the lead by lap five. He never relinquished it on his way to win #3 this year. Cody Gustoff was second, third went to Matt McDonald, John Watson was fourth and Tim Barber was fifth.
Devon Havlik found victory lane for the second time this year in the IMCA Modified division. Havlik led the entire 20 laps on the way to the win. He and Eric Elliott battled each other early on with each throwing a slide job or two. Four yellows plagued this race, the last at lap sixteen as Mike VanGenderen attempted to make the pass around Elliott in corner one, getting hooked and resulting in Elliott going in spin mode. This would end the night for both VanGenderen and Elliott, and letting Matthew Meinecke move to the runner up spot as the race restarted. Scott Davis was moved to start in the third spot, and there in fourth was the car of John Logue.....but being piloted by Jimmy Gustin and with a #19 slapped on the side. Gustin had won his heat, but experienced mechanical issues as he crossed the checkers....heard it was a flywheel coming apart. Now things were about to get exciting again as the race began. Havlik stayed to his preferred topside line and would motor home to the win. Gustin wasn't done however, and moved his borrowed ride up to finish in the runner up spot. Third was Meinecke, fourth went to Joel Bushore and Scott Davis finished in fifth. Gustin keeps his points lead with four more weeks of racing remaining.
The always exciting and action packed 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature ended the night's racing. Veteran Larry Crocheck held down the point spot at lap one, but by lap two, it was "Hot" Rod Richards flying to the lead. From there on out, Richards held the lead to the checkers and the win. Cory Bushnell ran in second place much of the race, finishing in that runner up spot. There was a lot of action going on for third and fourth as Trent Murphy and point leader Jay Schmidt went at it. Murphy won out on this one, finishing in third, Schmidt having to settle for fourth. Wayne Gifford rounded out the top five. This was Richards' third win of the season, and his second in as many weeks.
The season is quickly winding down. Just four more nights of weekly racing remain at Boone Speedway. The season championship night is August 29. Then the following week, September 5, it is a draw/redraw "Open" night being called "The Prelude to the Super Nationals". Any driver can race that night and with the Super Nationals starting on Labor Day, September 7, it is anticipated that there may be a huge field of cars for the night's races. Hot laps for that night and all remaining weekly racing nights are 6:45 and racing at 7:30.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Snyder snares Modified victory, Eilander wins his first Hobby Stock at Marshalltown
Despite rain during the week and what continues to be a swamp in the infield of the 1/4 mile track at Marshalltown Speedway, racing action was in full force on Friday night. Two new drivers went to Victory Lane....one visiting for the first time in his career at the track.
Point leader, Josh May took home another win in the Mod Lite division. May had the lead by lap two and from there, never looked back on his way to win #6 at the speedway. Travis Stensland peeked under May most of the race, but was never able to find a way around him, and had to be content with the runner up spot. Third was Mike Morrill, fourth was Bryan Zehm and Charlie Brown was fifth. May, who will be getting married next Saturday, (but may still be racing that night at Boone.....we shall see) padded his point lead with the win. Announcer Jerry Vansickel asked Josh how his father was doing after his earlier season accident at the track, and all were pleased to hear he was sitting in the stands watching!
The 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature found veteran racer Bill Hildreth at the helm immediately from his second row starting spot. Hildreth had a lot of company pressuring him however, and on lap six, one of those, Sam Wieben, had made the move into the top spot. Jared VanDeest, meanwhile, had swung his car to the topside, and was slowly reeling in the leader at each lap. He made it work with three laps remaining, taking the lead. He would hold it to the checkers and the win. Travis Peterson, started tenth, and made it as far as second, but had to settle for that, Wieben fell back a bit to finish third, fourth went to another driver who was in the mix all night for a top spot; Brandon Williams, and early leader Bill Hildreth rounded out the top five. VanDeest also stretched his point lead with the victory, his fourth of the year.
It's always nice to see a driver get his first win at a track, and that is just what Garrett Eilander did last night in the Hobby Stock class. Eilander came from starting in row four up to challenge then leader Tim Barber at lap three. After a bit of pestering, Eilander was able to make the pass coming out of turn four as lap six was being scored. Austin Luellen had started alongside Eilander in row four, and reeled in the leader, getting to second place. He gave it a shot as the checkers were displayed, but fell short and finished as the runner up. Third went to last week's winner Gary Pfantz, Tim Barber was fourth and Gene Nicklas was fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars always provide the crowd with close racing, and their 18-lap feature didn't disappoint. Tyler Pickett snapped up the immediate lead from his outside pole starting spot, and appeared to be on a mission. Pickett, who suffered a lot of damage after being involved in a melee at the track last week, had veteran Robert Stofer to contend with almost immediately. The competition didn't end there however, as last week's winner Michael Jaennette, Steve Meyer and Donavon Smith were all close behind. Just before lap four, Stofer pulled off of the track with an apparent problem, out of the game, putting Jaennette in second place; Smith running third. Smith continued his drive on the lower part of the track, and slowly worked his way to the lead on lap seven. He would keep that top spot the remainder of the way to the checkers and the win. There was a lot of jockeying behind him for position, the outcome being determined at the finish line. Jaennette was able to hold off a hard charging Jay Schmidt as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth was Steve Meyer and early leader Tyler Pickett finished fifth. This was Smith's sixth win at Marshalltown this season. He also stretched his point lead with the win.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature went to Jon Snyder. Snyder, who finally found his way back to the winner's circle after more than a year's absence, did it in pretty convincing fashion. Snyder led all 20 laps, and but for a couple moments of second place finisher Brian Irvine's peeks, he ended up with a comfortable win as the checkers flew. Irvine earned his second place finish after starting tenth, third went to Jake Strayer, seventh place starter Ronn Laurtizen finished fourth and Jimmy Gustin started eighth and earned a fifth place finish. The point lead in this division is tightening up....if my calculations are correct. Jimmy Gustin is now the leader with 507 points, Josh Gilman fell to second place with 504 points after a ninth place finish last night, and Ronn Lauritzen is third with 503 points.
The Open Quads also ran last night on the high banks. George Hood, who we use to see piloting an IMCA Hobby Stock a few years ago, won both his heat and the feature.
Next Friday night, the Marshalltown Speedway will be back in action once again when it will be J & V Napa night at the track. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Be sure and mark your calendar for the following two weeks, as the IMCA Late Models will be running on August 14 and 21. Thanks for reading!
Point leader, Josh May took home another win in the Mod Lite division. May had the lead by lap two and from there, never looked back on his way to win #6 at the speedway. Travis Stensland peeked under May most of the race, but was never able to find a way around him, and had to be content with the runner up spot. Third was Mike Morrill, fourth was Bryan Zehm and Charlie Brown was fifth. May, who will be getting married next Saturday, (but may still be racing that night at Boone.....we shall see) padded his point lead with the win. Announcer Jerry Vansickel asked Josh how his father was doing after his earlier season accident at the track, and all were pleased to hear he was sitting in the stands watching!
The 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature found veteran racer Bill Hildreth at the helm immediately from his second row starting spot. Hildreth had a lot of company pressuring him however, and on lap six, one of those, Sam Wieben, had made the move into the top spot. Jared VanDeest, meanwhile, had swung his car to the topside, and was slowly reeling in the leader at each lap. He made it work with three laps remaining, taking the lead. He would hold it to the checkers and the win. Travis Peterson, started tenth, and made it as far as second, but had to settle for that, Wieben fell back a bit to finish third, fourth went to another driver who was in the mix all night for a top spot; Brandon Williams, and early leader Bill Hildreth rounded out the top five. VanDeest also stretched his point lead with the victory, his fourth of the year.
It's always nice to see a driver get his first win at a track, and that is just what Garrett Eilander did last night in the Hobby Stock class. Eilander came from starting in row four up to challenge then leader Tim Barber at lap three. After a bit of pestering, Eilander was able to make the pass coming out of turn four as lap six was being scored. Austin Luellen had started alongside Eilander in row four, and reeled in the leader, getting to second place. He gave it a shot as the checkers were displayed, but fell short and finished as the runner up. Third went to last week's winner Gary Pfantz, Tim Barber was fourth and Gene Nicklas was fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars always provide the crowd with close racing, and their 18-lap feature didn't disappoint. Tyler Pickett snapped up the immediate lead from his outside pole starting spot, and appeared to be on a mission. Pickett, who suffered a lot of damage after being involved in a melee at the track last week, had veteran Robert Stofer to contend with almost immediately. The competition didn't end there however, as last week's winner Michael Jaennette, Steve Meyer and Donavon Smith were all close behind. Just before lap four, Stofer pulled off of the track with an apparent problem, out of the game, putting Jaennette in second place; Smith running third. Smith continued his drive on the lower part of the track, and slowly worked his way to the lead on lap seven. He would keep that top spot the remainder of the way to the checkers and the win. There was a lot of jockeying behind him for position, the outcome being determined at the finish line. Jaennette was able to hold off a hard charging Jay Schmidt as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth was Steve Meyer and early leader Tyler Pickett finished fifth. This was Smith's sixth win at Marshalltown this season. He also stretched his point lead with the win.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature went to Jon Snyder. Snyder, who finally found his way back to the winner's circle after more than a year's absence, did it in pretty convincing fashion. Snyder led all 20 laps, and but for a couple moments of second place finisher Brian Irvine's peeks, he ended up with a comfortable win as the checkers flew. Irvine earned his second place finish after starting tenth, third went to Jake Strayer, seventh place starter Ronn Laurtizen finished fourth and Jimmy Gustin started eighth and earned a fifth place finish. The point lead in this division is tightening up....if my calculations are correct. Jimmy Gustin is now the leader with 507 points, Josh Gilman fell to second place with 504 points after a ninth place finish last night, and Ronn Lauritzen is third with 503 points.
The Open Quads also ran last night on the high banks. George Hood, who we use to see piloting an IMCA Hobby Stock a few years ago, won both his heat and the feature.
Next Friday night, the Marshalltown Speedway will be back in action once again when it will be J & V Napa night at the track. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Be sure and mark your calendar for the following two weeks, as the IMCA Late Models will be running on August 14 and 21. Thanks for reading!
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