The Southern Iowa Speedway finally got back in action on Wednesday night. The track has been silent since July 5 due to rain outs and non-scheduled nights around the fair. It was a long absence for the fans and drivers alike.
There was all sorts of attrition in the Sport Compact feature and when all was said and done, only three of the ten cars in action were left running...and one of those was spewing smoke. John Whalen led the first lap, only to have Brad Havel take over at lap two. Havel then put distance between himself and the rest of the field. Lap seven found a melee in turn four between John Whalen, brother Bill Whalen, Jr. and Ryan Havel. The three wound up tangled at the fence, in turn four with much damage and all done for the evening. Prior to this, cars had been dropping out of the race, left and right. When the race restarted, it left only leader Brad Havel, James Roose, Brandon Allison and Levi Heath still in the game. Havel kept command the first lap after the restart, but then he too was out with mechanical issues...handing the lead over to James Roose, Levi Heath was in second and reeling in the leader, but then smoke began flowing from his ride! Roose held the lead and took the checkers...his first ever at Osky, Heath's smoking machine faltered more in the closing moments, allowing Brandon Allison to pass him and take second, leaving Heath limping across the line in third.
Two Stock Car drivers put on a heck of a show for the fans in their 18-lap feature. Brock Welch was scheduled to start on the pole, but opted to start at the tail...moving the field alignment up. Mike Hughes took full advantage of that switch up, and grabbed the immediate lead. Following him through, was Nathan Wood who tagged in right behind him. From there on out, it was a shoot out between the two! At lap three, Wood had the advantage, but Hughes had no plan to go away. He would pull Wood on the back stretch, only to have Wood get the lead back by the time they passed the finish line. This would happen over and over---the two running door handle to door handle, before Wood was finally able gain a bit of breathing room. He would then take his #52 on to the flying checkers and his first win at Osky this season. Hughes held the runner up spot easily over Derrick Agee, who was third. Fourth went to Donnie Pearson, and Louis Lynch completed the top five in the race that went flag to flag. You may be wondering what about Cayden Carter, the driver who has been unstoppable at Osky this season. Carter was out of the race in the early portion of the race, suffering a flat tire. Wood was a happy camper in Victory Lane, finally getting that elusive win. He thanked Kyle Brown and Harris Auto Racing for fixing him up this past week. We understand it was a whole new front end.
The 16-lap IMCA Northern Sportmod feature was up next and it was another non-stop affair. Cory Van Zante looked poised to get his first win at Osky, as he led from early on and pulled away from the pack. But...point leader Curtis Van Der Wal was having none of that, hungry for yet another win. He began reeling in Van Zante, and by lap twelve, had caught and passed him, to take command of the race. Van Der Wal would hold that lead, scoring his sixth feature win of the season. Van Zante took the runner up spot, third went to Brayton Carter, fourth to Brett Lowry and Trent Brink rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Modifieds had a short field last evening, just nine cars, but it had some muscle in the field. This race also went caution free, and for all but the first lap, it was Andrew Schroeder "showing the way", as announcer Tony Paris says. Colt Mather chased Schroeder for most of the 16-laps, but had to settle for a distant second place. Third went to southwest Iowa racer, Jesse Dennis, Tyler Groenendyk was fourth, and it was great to see "a flash from the past", Ron VerBeek racing the car #29 last night, and finish fifth. This was Schroeder's first win at the Southern Iowa Speedway this year. Two visiting California drivers were in the house last night, trying their hand at the Monster Half-Mile. Their luck wasn't the best, as Lance Mari from Imperial, California, did not start the feature, and Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, California, did not finish.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks finished off the night's feature racing with a 15-lap event. Scott Shull got the drop on the field when the race went green, and would lead all laps on the way to victory. A yellow at lap seven bunched the field, Shull leading with Danny Thrasher, and Dustin Griffiths tucked in behind for the restart. Shull still got the drop and was looking comfortable out in front when another yellow with a lap remaining reared it's ugly head. This set up a "bonus lap" green-white-checkered finish. Shull held tight to that lead the remainder of the race, taking the win...his first ever at Osky. Griffiths got by Thrasher in the waning moments, as they went second and third in that order. Fourth was Nick Ulin and Bobby Greene was fifth.
So ended another night of regular season racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. It was the last night of Wednesday racing until August 31, when it will be season championship night. The track will be hosting the Front Row Challenge for 410 sprint cars and $20,000 to win on Monday, August 8. For more info on that event, check out www.oskychallenges.com.
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