Iowa's racing season came to an end on Saturday at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, with the running of the traditional Shiverfest. This year, it was properly named! 162 cars came to race for one last chance for a racing fix. The hardy fans were bundled up against the stiff breeze coming at the grandstand, and most stayed for the entire program.
Five divisions raced---Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts. The end of the season always brings changes and it was all I could do to TRY and keep up with who was driving what as a lot of drivers were not in their usual ride.
The Hobby Stocks ran their 15-lap A main first. They were the lightest car count with 17 on hand. Marengo, Iowa racer, Jacob Keiser led the pack when the race went green but it was the familiar #10G of Dustin Griffiths tight on his tail. Action was halted by lap two when the 7C of Benji Clemons from Norwalk took a nasty roll, but thankfully, he was okay. Action picked back up with Keiser still leading but he was not having an easy time holding off Griffiths. Keiser had a lapse when he faltered, drifting high on lap twelve, and Griffiths snatched the lead. Griffiths held the lead the remaining three laps to the checkers. Also taking advantage when Keiser drifted up the track was August Bach. Bach, who recently had been racing the #19 of Bill Bonnett, was in the #2 last evening, and brought his hot rod home in second place. Justin Lichty from Waterloo, was third, fourth went to veteran Bill Bonnett in his usual #19, and Nick Ulin rounded out the top five.
There were 30 Stock Cars racing at the Lee County Speedway last night. They ran a B main to filter their starting line up to 24 cars. When John Oliver, Jr. grabbed the lead immediately, and knowing of his mastery of the oval at Donnellson, thoughts were that the race may be over already. However, the mass of cars behind him had other ideas. What a battle ensued behind him. Cars were going three-wide and nose to tail as six to seven cars jousted for position. Damon Murty, the Chelsea Charger, made it to second and then Jeff Mueller snatched it away, with Mike Hughes throwing his hat into the ring as he struggled to hold back David Brandies. Then there was the flash of orange, as Cayden Carter put his 10CC Roger Kelderman ride to the topside and was digging and making a lot of headway. Meanwhile, they were all catching Oliver. Mueller got things sorted out and succeeded in taking the lead at lap 19 of the 22 lapper, and was able to hold off all the hard chargers behind him to secure the win. Oliver held on to score the runner up spot, just ahead of Mike Huges in third, Cayden Carter in fourth and Brandies in fifth, and Murty in sixth. The Stock Cars never disappoint!
Thirty-one Sport Compacts got weeded down to a 24-car starting field through a B main. Track champion Kimberly Abbott looked to be in charge as she led the pack on the opening laps, but Josh Barnes quickly reeled her in. By lap three, Barnes had taken command of the ship and from there on, it was a two-car battle for the lead. Barnes held tight to the lead, making it to the checkers and the win first. Abbott had to be content with a close second, third went to Jake Benischeck, fourth was Darin Smith and hometown Brandon Reu was fifth.
Thirty-nine SportMods were in the pits. A C main taking six cars to a B main, and the B main taking eight to the 24-car A main field. Sean Wyett held off Brandon Dale in the first six laps until Dale's good run was interrupted as he almost lost the handle coming out of turn four, allowing Tony Dunker to slip by into second place and Brayton Carter following suite into third. Carter was able to take over as leader at lap fifteen, and Dunker followed him into the runner up spot. At lap 18 of the 20 lap event, racing action halted when the 3M of David McCalla rolled his car in turn one. He was not injured. Carter was still in the lead when things picked back up, and he rode his 01 home to a convincing victory. Dunker held on to the runner up spot, Wyett was third, fourth went Brandon Lennox and Tony Olson finished fifth.
The Modifieds topped the car count with 45 signed in. They also ran a C main taking six cars to the B main, which qualified the final eight cars for the 25-lap feature. Things did not get off to a good start when the green flag waved. Five cars piled up low in turn four....and there were some frustrated drivers, as a steering wheel went flying in disgust over someone's car. We believe the incident started when someone hit the tractor tire, and then with no where to go, piled up cars. Involved cars were Shawn Ritter, Ed Thomas, Kyle Brown, Scott Simatovich, and Andrew Schroeder. Schroeder would reappear to tag the field with a missing right side of his car. I only recall Ritter being towed off and out of the game and believe all others rejoined the field.
When the race did officially get under way, it was Cayden Carter leading the troops, but soon it was veteran racer Kelly Shryock showing his prowess as to just why he has so many wins under his belt.Shryock took command at lap six as they crossed under the flagstand, and from there on, he held that lead the remainder of the 25-lap race to take the win. Carter did everything he could find in the book to get back around Shryock but it wasn't to be and had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to a distant Bruce Hanford, fourth was Carter VanDenBerg who had started tenth on the grid, and Jim Waterman came home in fifth place.
Some notes on the evening: The drivers were given an opportunity to pay a non-required entry fee last evening in order to qualify for a gamble at doubling the pay for the win. Most all of the winning drivers had done just that.
As mentioned earlier, there were several drivers hopping in different rides last evening. In the Modified division, Jesse Hoeft who calls Forest City, Iowa home, was racing the second car that Kelly Shryock brought. The SportMods found Eric Flander jumping back into the driver's seat after his retirement from racing. He was in the 53 of Greg Strohman. He had suffered immediate mechanical issues in his heat, then flew through a C main from starting at the tail, to win. He then ran the B main and qualified for the A, starting near the back of that, and finished a strong seventh in that feature. The Stock Cars had some "fruit basket upset", changes in drivers. The "Orange Crush" #33Z usually piloted by Zack VanderBeek, found Mike Hughes behind the wheel. Shane Paris was in the #566 that Jim Lynch usually races, and Michael Jaennette had a "rent a ride" last evening in Mike Petersen's #1X.
It was great to see the Modified #222 of Nick Nevins back racing this year. We recall that Nevins is the driver who suffered some horrific burns at the Marshalltown Speedway a couple of years ago when an issue with a generator in the pits, caused the awful accident.
Veteran NASCAR racer Ken Schrader was on hand last night too, racing in the Modified division. However, after a third place finish in his heat, he was disqualified for being too light. He did not race again, evidently choosing not to run a C main.
A Fall Special Series for points concluded last night with the point champions being named for those running at the year ending races put on by promoter Mike VanGenderen. I believe those securing those championship points were Shaun Slaughter in the Sport Compacts, Dustin Griffiths in the Hobby Stocks, Brandon Dale in the SportMods, Mike Hughes in the Stock Cars, and Kyle Brown in the Modified.
There was lots of activities going on outside the racing action and it was all geared toward the young race fans. Hayrack rides were given through the pits, and then the drivers that wanted to participate in handing out treats to the youngsters in their Halloween costumes all came to the front of the grandstands before racing action got underway. The turnout of the drivers was amazing and no ghost or goblin could have been disappointed with the "loot" they received. Great job drivers! Those young ones are your fans! There were also "cardboard boxcar races" as well, with the kids participating in footraces in their cardboard racers. Thanks to some generous drivers (the one I know of for sure was Jeff Mueller) donating some of their accumulated trophies, some of the kiddos received some really impressive trophies to take home!
There was a meeting early in the day concerning a crate motor Late Model class racing next year at the Lee County Speedway. We heard there were 17 drivers in attendance to hear the proposal. They then announced during race time, that there will be weekly Late Model racing next year at the track. Many in the crowd showed their approval with that announcement.
Thanks to Mike VanGenderen and crew for another great Shiverfest to end our racing season in Iowa for 2015. It was most likely our last race until next Spring....when we look forward to another dirt track racing season in Iowa.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Fall Challenge wins to Brown, VanderBeek, VanDerWal, Hughes, Slaughter and Tish
The Southern Iowa Speedway wrapped up their final night of racing for 2015 on Saturday. Night #2 of the 29th Annual Musco Fall Challenge is now in the books. Two repeat winners from Friday night went back to victory lane, while all other classes saw new faces stepping into the winner's circle. Some new drivers came to play, as well as some not returning, and the healthy car count of around 128 provided the crowd with plenty of good racing action.
Sport Compact feature saw Shaun Slaughter take the win after suffering woes the previous night with a DNF. Slaughter got around Adam Gates with one lap remaining, to take the victory. Gates took the runner up spot, third went to Ryan Walker, just holding off Josh Barnes in fourth, and Brandon Lambert rounded out the top five spots.
The Iowa Sportsman Series was back in action again at the Monster Half Mile....running a 30-lap feature event. Matt Deaton, who had led much of the race the previous night...only to suffer mechanical woes in the closing laps, leaped to the lead as the green flew. But never count out Gene Tish. Tish, who had started eighth out of the nine-car field, worked his way through the pack, reeled in leader Deaton, and then took command at lap fourteen. From there on, he kept that top spot the remaining way to the checkers. Deaton held on to the runner up spot, the two finishing well ahead of third place finisher Darin DeZwarte, fourth place Travis Dawson (the previous night winner) and Derrick Seddon in fifth.
The SportMod feature was 18-laps in length and there was another $1,000 awaiting the winner. The "Hurryin', Scurryin', Missourian", Louis Lynch, led the troops in the opening laps. When a yellow flew at lap four, it bunched up the field and for the restart, he had Logan Anderson close on his heels. The restart was Lynch's nemesis, as Anderson charged to corner one and took over the lead. Two laps later, it was Curtis VanDerWal, who started seventh, making his way to nip at Anderson's heels and in the hunt. By lap nine, VanDerWal had made the pass for the lead and from there, never looked back in scoring the win for the second night in a row. Anderson, who had finished second to VanDerWal the previous night, again had to settle for the runner up spot. Third was Colton Livezey, and Jason Hall and Brandon Dale were fourth and fifth. This marked the tenth time in 2015 that VanDerWal had taken the checkers at Osky.
The Stock Cars went 22-laps for their main event. The night before, Zack VanderBeek had chosen to re-qualify in hopes of better his starting spot from being locked into row four Saturday. His lucky redraw from the heat, put him starting fourth on the grid. 'Beek wasted no time in taking command from that starting spot, leading by the time lap one was scored. Meanwhile, the other Orange Crush car from Roger Kelderman's garage, the 10C of Cayden Carter had worked his way into the runner up spot, closed in on the leader and was trying everything to find a way around VanderBeek. His attempts at getting under the leader in corner one just fell short of paying off at every attempt for the last eight laps. VanderBeek would be the victor as the double checkers flew, Carter finishing as the runner up. Finishing in third a good distance behind was night #1 winner, Mike Hughes. Fourth was Elijah Zevenbergen who had started eighth, and veteran racer Johnny Spaw finished in fifth after starting twelfth. Kelderman's Orange Crush team has had much success this year at the Southern Iowa Speedway....VanderBeek has won five times, while Carter has put it in victory lane six times.
The Modified feature was also 22 laps and with the 19G of "G Money", Richie Gustin sitting on the pole, many thought he was going to take that money home as he has often done at the bigger paying shows in the past. Tonight however, it was not to be. Gustin did immediately jump to the lead bringing brother Jimmy Gustin along in second. This would be how they would restart after a yellow at lap three. However, by lap four, it was seventh place starter, "Downtown" Kyle Brown from State Center, moving up to take over second. Brown, who had finished second the previous night had chosen to start in row four, and it was looking to be a good choice. As the race drew on, Gustin once again pulled the field, Brown running in second and now it was Cayden Carter, (who had won the previous night and chosen to re-qualify...and started thirteenth) reeling in Brown. Another yellow stopped the action at lap eleven when Tyler Vandekamp (announcer Tony Paris likes to call him the "Flying Fishstick") hit one of the tractor tires and spun out. When action picked back up, Gustin was keeping hold of the top spot....until lap fourteen when Brown was able to make the pass into the lead. Brown would then put some distance between himself and the pack. Brown held that lead to the flying checkers and the $1,000 victory. In the waning laps, Carter was able to move by Gustin as they finished second and third. Fourth went to Andrew Schroeder, who had started tenth, and rounding out the top five was twelfth place starter Tyler Groenendyk. Brown and Carter swapped the top two positions from their finish the night before. This was Brown's second victory at Osky this year, having made the trip back in May pay off in a weekly race.
The night's racing ended with the running of the 16-lap Hobby Stock feature. Mike Hughes, who was one of several drivers pulling double duty last night, and who usually pilots a Stock Car only at Osky, had chosen to lock himself into the feature after the win on Friday night, started in row four. Second place finisher from Friday night, Nathan Ballard was not in the house last evening.
Steve Allen, a regular at the speedway, drew the pole position and would lead lap one, but when a yellow flew at lap three, it was Mike Hughes already in command as captain of the ship. Two more yellows were no hindrance to Hughes, as he easily retained that lead the remaining distance to the finish and the win....his second in as many nights. Dustin Griffiths moved up to finish in second place after starting deep in the field. Third was the orange hatchback #66 of Norwalk's Brandon Cox, fourth went to numerous times IMCA National Champion Shannon Anderson (he finished second in the national points in 2015) and Casey Greubel, piloting his mom Gina's car, was fifth. Hughes took home another $1,000 and after winning both the Stock Car and Hobby features the night before, completed a very successful weekend of racing.
I mentioned earlier that a few drivers pulled double duty, running in more than one class. Those that we noted were Zack VanderBeek in both the Modified and Stock Car, Kyle Brown in the Modified and Stock Car class (he blew up leading his heat race last night in the Stock Car) Mike Hughes in the Stock Car and Hobby Stock divisions, and veteran racer who has much experience on both asphalt and dirt, Johnny Spaw, ran Modified and Stock Car.
Some of the new drivers making an appearance last evening were "Gentleman" Jim Waterman in the Modifieds, Greg Gill, Andrew Husted, Kevin Fee, and Mike McClure in the Stock Car class....and Howard Gordon, Jr. jumped in his brother Dan's car and raced in the Stock Car division. New drivers in the SportMod class were Mike Hay, Kyle Hill and Jason Hall. The Hobby Stocks had several new faces on the night too. Brian Derry, Zach Swanson, Tommy Killen, Kenny Hay and Jacob Keiser ran and Bill Bonnett gave up his ride from the previous night to August Bach. In the Sport Compacts, new faces were Larry Hopkins, Steve Struck, Brad Havel, Adam Gates, Jim Garrett, and Ashton Blaine. Andy Peck was a new driver in the Iowa Sportsman class.
Thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen and crew for the great weekend of racing provided at the Southern Iowa Speedway. There was a definite nip in the air again last night and the breeze was coming toward the grandstand. Still, what better to be doing than sitting at a dirt track race on an October night in Iowa! There are still specials to be found before things end in our neck of the woods. Check out Positively Racing's calendar for a race you may want to attend.
Sport Compact feature saw Shaun Slaughter take the win after suffering woes the previous night with a DNF. Slaughter got around Adam Gates with one lap remaining, to take the victory. Gates took the runner up spot, third went to Ryan Walker, just holding off Josh Barnes in fourth, and Brandon Lambert rounded out the top five spots.
The Iowa Sportsman Series was back in action again at the Monster Half Mile....running a 30-lap feature event. Matt Deaton, who had led much of the race the previous night...only to suffer mechanical woes in the closing laps, leaped to the lead as the green flew. But never count out Gene Tish. Tish, who had started eighth out of the nine-car field, worked his way through the pack, reeled in leader Deaton, and then took command at lap fourteen. From there on, he kept that top spot the remaining way to the checkers. Deaton held on to the runner up spot, the two finishing well ahead of third place finisher Darin DeZwarte, fourth place Travis Dawson (the previous night winner) and Derrick Seddon in fifth.
The SportMod feature was 18-laps in length and there was another $1,000 awaiting the winner. The "Hurryin', Scurryin', Missourian", Louis Lynch, led the troops in the opening laps. When a yellow flew at lap four, it bunched up the field and for the restart, he had Logan Anderson close on his heels. The restart was Lynch's nemesis, as Anderson charged to corner one and took over the lead. Two laps later, it was Curtis VanDerWal, who started seventh, making his way to nip at Anderson's heels and in the hunt. By lap nine, VanDerWal had made the pass for the lead and from there, never looked back in scoring the win for the second night in a row. Anderson, who had finished second to VanDerWal the previous night, again had to settle for the runner up spot. Third was Colton Livezey, and Jason Hall and Brandon Dale were fourth and fifth. This marked the tenth time in 2015 that VanDerWal had taken the checkers at Osky.
The Stock Cars went 22-laps for their main event. The night before, Zack VanderBeek had chosen to re-qualify in hopes of better his starting spot from being locked into row four Saturday. His lucky redraw from the heat, put him starting fourth on the grid. 'Beek wasted no time in taking command from that starting spot, leading by the time lap one was scored. Meanwhile, the other Orange Crush car from Roger Kelderman's garage, the 10C of Cayden Carter had worked his way into the runner up spot, closed in on the leader and was trying everything to find a way around VanderBeek. His attempts at getting under the leader in corner one just fell short of paying off at every attempt for the last eight laps. VanderBeek would be the victor as the double checkers flew, Carter finishing as the runner up. Finishing in third a good distance behind was night #1 winner, Mike Hughes. Fourth was Elijah Zevenbergen who had started eighth, and veteran racer Johnny Spaw finished in fifth after starting twelfth. Kelderman's Orange Crush team has had much success this year at the Southern Iowa Speedway....VanderBeek has won five times, while Carter has put it in victory lane six times.
The Modified feature was also 22 laps and with the 19G of "G Money", Richie Gustin sitting on the pole, many thought he was going to take that money home as he has often done at the bigger paying shows in the past. Tonight however, it was not to be. Gustin did immediately jump to the lead bringing brother Jimmy Gustin along in second. This would be how they would restart after a yellow at lap three. However, by lap four, it was seventh place starter, "Downtown" Kyle Brown from State Center, moving up to take over second. Brown, who had finished second the previous night had chosen to start in row four, and it was looking to be a good choice. As the race drew on, Gustin once again pulled the field, Brown running in second and now it was Cayden Carter, (who had won the previous night and chosen to re-qualify...and started thirteenth) reeling in Brown. Another yellow stopped the action at lap eleven when Tyler Vandekamp (announcer Tony Paris likes to call him the "Flying Fishstick") hit one of the tractor tires and spun out. When action picked back up, Gustin was keeping hold of the top spot....until lap fourteen when Brown was able to make the pass into the lead. Brown would then put some distance between himself and the pack. Brown held that lead to the flying checkers and the $1,000 victory. In the waning laps, Carter was able to move by Gustin as they finished second and third. Fourth went to Andrew Schroeder, who had started tenth, and rounding out the top five was twelfth place starter Tyler Groenendyk. Brown and Carter swapped the top two positions from their finish the night before. This was Brown's second victory at Osky this year, having made the trip back in May pay off in a weekly race.
The night's racing ended with the running of the 16-lap Hobby Stock feature. Mike Hughes, who was one of several drivers pulling double duty last night, and who usually pilots a Stock Car only at Osky, had chosen to lock himself into the feature after the win on Friday night, started in row four. Second place finisher from Friday night, Nathan Ballard was not in the house last evening.
Steve Allen, a regular at the speedway, drew the pole position and would lead lap one, but when a yellow flew at lap three, it was Mike Hughes already in command as captain of the ship. Two more yellows were no hindrance to Hughes, as he easily retained that lead the remaining distance to the finish and the win....his second in as many nights. Dustin Griffiths moved up to finish in second place after starting deep in the field. Third was the orange hatchback #66 of Norwalk's Brandon Cox, fourth went to numerous times IMCA National Champion Shannon Anderson (he finished second in the national points in 2015) and Casey Greubel, piloting his mom Gina's car, was fifth. Hughes took home another $1,000 and after winning both the Stock Car and Hobby features the night before, completed a very successful weekend of racing.
I mentioned earlier that a few drivers pulled double duty, running in more than one class. Those that we noted were Zack VanderBeek in both the Modified and Stock Car, Kyle Brown in the Modified and Stock Car class (he blew up leading his heat race last night in the Stock Car) Mike Hughes in the Stock Car and Hobby Stock divisions, and veteran racer who has much experience on both asphalt and dirt, Johnny Spaw, ran Modified and Stock Car.
Some of the new drivers making an appearance last evening were "Gentleman" Jim Waterman in the Modifieds, Greg Gill, Andrew Husted, Kevin Fee, and Mike McClure in the Stock Car class....and Howard Gordon, Jr. jumped in his brother Dan's car and raced in the Stock Car division. New drivers in the SportMod class were Mike Hay, Kyle Hill and Jason Hall. The Hobby Stocks had several new faces on the night too. Brian Derry, Zach Swanson, Tommy Killen, Kenny Hay and Jacob Keiser ran and Bill Bonnett gave up his ride from the previous night to August Bach. In the Sport Compacts, new faces were Larry Hopkins, Steve Struck, Brad Havel, Adam Gates, Jim Garrett, and Ashton Blaine. Andy Peck was a new driver in the Iowa Sportsman class.
Thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen and crew for the great weekend of racing provided at the Southern Iowa Speedway. There was a definite nip in the air again last night and the breeze was coming toward the grandstand. Still, what better to be doing than sitting at a dirt track race on an October night in Iowa! There are still specials to be found before things end in our neck of the woods. Check out Positively Racing's calendar for a race you may want to attend.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Hughes cashes in twice in one night at Osky Fall Challenge
It was a brisk, and breezy Friday night at the Southern Iowa Speedway for the 29th Musco Lighting Fall Challenge....Night #1. Drivers in the Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock classes were all racing for the $1,000 winning prize in each of those divisions. One driver who was doing double duty, would cash in twice for a $2,000 payday.
Also running last evening, were the Iowa Sportsman Series. This is a traveling series that we see at several area tracks during the season. They brought 11 drivers to run their 30-lap feature. A driver we see run a stock car at the Marshalltown Speedway, Matt Deaton, was looking to take home the prize for the night as he led the feature easily, until lap 23 when he was suddenly off power....and out of the race. When things picked up then, it was the 77 of Travis Dawson inheriting the lead, but he had big time company in the 54 of Gene Tish. Tish would do everything he could to find a way around Dawson those final few laps, but it was all in vain as Dawson took home the trophy on this night. Tish was the runner up, Darin DeZwarte took third place, fourth went to Paul Meiners, and fifth was Wayne Webert.
Ryan Havel took the win in the 10-lap Sport Compact class. He passed early leader Brandon Lambert and then pulled away to take the checkers. It was a real battle at times for 2-4 positions, but winning out for the runner up position was Bill Whalen (who was piloting his brother John's car), Josh Barnes took third place, Lambert fell back to finish fourth, and Darin Smith rounded out the top five. Fifteen cars raced in the Sport Compact division last evening.
B mains were run for the Modified (29 cars), Stock Car(29 cars), and SportMod (33 cars), each taking four cars to tag the field of their respective main event.
The SportMod's ran their 18-lap feature immediately after the B features were completed, in the fast moving program last night. Logan Anderson, who houses his car "just across the road from turn one", jumped to the lead from his outside front row starting spot and looked strong as he led the troops through lap ten, keeping pole starter Tim Plummer at bay. That lap 10 may have been Anderson's downfall when the yellow flew for Plummer, who went into spin mode trying to deal with lap traffic. This tightened up the field for the restart and numerous times track champion, Curtis VanDerWal wasted no time in pulling to the rear of Anderson's bumper when the race went green. Those final laps run to the checkers was an all out dog fight between the two. VanDerWal was able to make the pass in the final lap but Anderson wasn't quite done as he tried the slide out of turn four and also dealing with a lap car, on that final charge to the checkers. It wasn't to be however, and VanDerWal made it to the checkers first for another win at the track. Anderson had to be content with the runner up spot, third went to Jason McDaniel, Brayton Carter took fourth with a nice run from his eleventh place starting spot, and Des Moines driver Glenn Gladson, completed the top five positions.
The Stock Cars went 22 laps in their main event and ironically, the two sitting on the front row for the start were two of the best at Osky....Zack VanderBeek and Mike Hughes. Hughes was able to get the drop on VanderBeek, taking the lead from the get-go. Hughes would never relinquish that top spot, though VanderBeek tried everything for a way around the leader, but to no avail. Hughes took the win and VanderBeek was the runner up. Cayden Carter reeled in the leaders from his ninth starting spot, but could muster no better than third place at the finish. Fourth went to the hot shoe from Ocheyedan, Iowa, Elijah Zevenbergen, who had started twelfth, and John Oliver, Jr. rounded out the top five. The race was non-stop, going flag to flag.
The Modifieds also ran a 22 lap feature. The opening laps were led by front row starters Carter VandenBerg and Andrew Schroeder, but soon it was "G Money", Richie Gustin rushing past and into the lead. Gustin continued his lead, content to let a pack of cars battle it out behind him. That pack included Vandenberg, Schroeder, ninth place starter Cayden Carter, eighth place starter Kyle Brown, and Tyler Groenendyk. Carter and Brown "found something" on the bottom of the track and both reeled in Gustin. Carter took over the lead with a handful of laps remaining, and Brown followed to take over the runner up spot. Carter stamped his name in the books with a win at the Fall Challenge, and Brown took second place. Richie Gustin finished third, VandenBerg was fourth and Schroeder was fifth.
The night's racing ended with 16-laps of Hobby Stock racing. Bobby Greene and Mike Hughes (who was doing double duty...running Stock Car and Hobby) were the lucky one's drawing the front row for the start. Hughes grabbed the immediate lead and then checked out from the rest of the pack. When a yellow flew at lap twelve, this bunched up the field, putting second place runner, Nathan Ballard on the leader's tail for the restart. This wasn't a bother at all to Hughes, as he motored off and distanced himself from the pack in taking the comfortable win. Ballard was the runner up, third went to ninth place starter Dustin Griffiths, fourth was Nick Ulin and Shannon Anderson finished fifth. The win for Hughes made it two on the night after his earlier Stock Car victory and another $1,000 in his pocket.
A few notes on the night: Fellow PR'er, Jeff Broeg mentioned to me that Tim Plummer from Norway, Iowa has an asphalt background, and a little digging on my part found that he has several track titles at Hawkeye Downs. He is also the nephew of the 1983 IMCA Modified Champion, Mike Schulte.
The top two finishers in the features last evening were given the option of locking themselves in to tonight's feature, but starting in row four. Otherwise, they could try to re-qualify tonight to better their starting position. I heard two drivers say that they would try to do just that. Zack VanderBeek in the Stock Car class and Cayden Carter in the Modified will be starting from square one in hopes of starting further up in their A feature tonight. Both VanDeWal and Anderson in the SportMods opted to start in row four for tonight's A main as did Mike Hughes in the Stock Car and Kyle Brown in the Modified. I did not catch the decisions in the Hobby Stock class.
We will do it all over again tonight at the Monster Half Mile. Hot laps are scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight and racing to follow. Hope to see some of you there. Come and support your favorite drivers and the dirt track racing we all love.
Also running last evening, were the Iowa Sportsman Series. This is a traveling series that we see at several area tracks during the season. They brought 11 drivers to run their 30-lap feature. A driver we see run a stock car at the Marshalltown Speedway, Matt Deaton, was looking to take home the prize for the night as he led the feature easily, until lap 23 when he was suddenly off power....and out of the race. When things picked up then, it was the 77 of Travis Dawson inheriting the lead, but he had big time company in the 54 of Gene Tish. Tish would do everything he could to find a way around Dawson those final few laps, but it was all in vain as Dawson took home the trophy on this night. Tish was the runner up, Darin DeZwarte took third place, fourth went to Paul Meiners, and fifth was Wayne Webert.
Ryan Havel took the win in the 10-lap Sport Compact class. He passed early leader Brandon Lambert and then pulled away to take the checkers. It was a real battle at times for 2-4 positions, but winning out for the runner up position was Bill Whalen (who was piloting his brother John's car), Josh Barnes took third place, Lambert fell back to finish fourth, and Darin Smith rounded out the top five. Fifteen cars raced in the Sport Compact division last evening.
B mains were run for the Modified (29 cars), Stock Car(29 cars), and SportMod (33 cars), each taking four cars to tag the field of their respective main event.
The SportMod's ran their 18-lap feature immediately after the B features were completed, in the fast moving program last night. Logan Anderson, who houses his car "just across the road from turn one", jumped to the lead from his outside front row starting spot and looked strong as he led the troops through lap ten, keeping pole starter Tim Plummer at bay. That lap 10 may have been Anderson's downfall when the yellow flew for Plummer, who went into spin mode trying to deal with lap traffic. This tightened up the field for the restart and numerous times track champion, Curtis VanDerWal wasted no time in pulling to the rear of Anderson's bumper when the race went green. Those final laps run to the checkers was an all out dog fight between the two. VanDerWal was able to make the pass in the final lap but Anderson wasn't quite done as he tried the slide out of turn four and also dealing with a lap car, on that final charge to the checkers. It wasn't to be however, and VanDerWal made it to the checkers first for another win at the track. Anderson had to be content with the runner up spot, third went to Jason McDaniel, Brayton Carter took fourth with a nice run from his eleventh place starting spot, and Des Moines driver Glenn Gladson, completed the top five positions.
The Stock Cars went 22 laps in their main event and ironically, the two sitting on the front row for the start were two of the best at Osky....Zack VanderBeek and Mike Hughes. Hughes was able to get the drop on VanderBeek, taking the lead from the get-go. Hughes would never relinquish that top spot, though VanderBeek tried everything for a way around the leader, but to no avail. Hughes took the win and VanderBeek was the runner up. Cayden Carter reeled in the leaders from his ninth starting spot, but could muster no better than third place at the finish. Fourth went to the hot shoe from Ocheyedan, Iowa, Elijah Zevenbergen, who had started twelfth, and John Oliver, Jr. rounded out the top five. The race was non-stop, going flag to flag.
The Modifieds also ran a 22 lap feature. The opening laps were led by front row starters Carter VandenBerg and Andrew Schroeder, but soon it was "G Money", Richie Gustin rushing past and into the lead. Gustin continued his lead, content to let a pack of cars battle it out behind him. That pack included Vandenberg, Schroeder, ninth place starter Cayden Carter, eighth place starter Kyle Brown, and Tyler Groenendyk. Carter and Brown "found something" on the bottom of the track and both reeled in Gustin. Carter took over the lead with a handful of laps remaining, and Brown followed to take over the runner up spot. Carter stamped his name in the books with a win at the Fall Challenge, and Brown took second place. Richie Gustin finished third, VandenBerg was fourth and Schroeder was fifth.
The night's racing ended with 16-laps of Hobby Stock racing. Bobby Greene and Mike Hughes (who was doing double duty...running Stock Car and Hobby) were the lucky one's drawing the front row for the start. Hughes grabbed the immediate lead and then checked out from the rest of the pack. When a yellow flew at lap twelve, this bunched up the field, putting second place runner, Nathan Ballard on the leader's tail for the restart. This wasn't a bother at all to Hughes, as he motored off and distanced himself from the pack in taking the comfortable win. Ballard was the runner up, third went to ninth place starter Dustin Griffiths, fourth was Nick Ulin and Shannon Anderson finished fifth. The win for Hughes made it two on the night after his earlier Stock Car victory and another $1,000 in his pocket.
A few notes on the night: Fellow PR'er, Jeff Broeg mentioned to me that Tim Plummer from Norway, Iowa has an asphalt background, and a little digging on my part found that he has several track titles at Hawkeye Downs. He is also the nephew of the 1983 IMCA Modified Champion, Mike Schulte.
The top two finishers in the features last evening were given the option of locking themselves in to tonight's feature, but starting in row four. Otherwise, they could try to re-qualify tonight to better their starting position. I heard two drivers say that they would try to do just that. Zack VanderBeek in the Stock Car class and Cayden Carter in the Modified will be starting from square one in hopes of starting further up in their A feature tonight. Both VanDeWal and Anderson in the SportMods opted to start in row four for tonight's A main as did Mike Hughes in the Stock Car and Kyle Brown in the Modified. I did not catch the decisions in the Hobby Stock class.
We will do it all over again tonight at the Monster Half Mile. Hot laps are scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight and racing to follow. Hope to see some of you there. Come and support your favorite drivers and the dirt track racing we all love.
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