Another World Nationals is in the books at the Marshalltown Speedway. Night three was completed on Saturday night and it was Jake Murray, Hartford, Iowa, taking home the Modified win, $10,000 and an impressive Championship belt. He is also now a two-time winner of the prestigious race. Murray started 17th on the starting line up and took the lead just before the halfway mark of the 50-lap race. Mike Mullen, the driver out of Suamico, Wisconsin, started fourteenth and finished as the runner up. He had to make up a lot of ground after slipping off the track earlier, and restarting in the rear. Marcus Yarie, Wausau, Wisconsin, came from twenty-second place, and finished in third. Fourth went to pole sitter, Terry Phillips, Springfield, Missouri native, and Green Bay, Wisconsin racer, Benji Lacrosse, qualified through a last chance race, started in twenty-fourth spot, and finished fifth. Jake Murray, who builds the Murray race cars out of his two-stall garage, also won the World Nationals back in 2013. Though Murray won the race for a second time, it was the first time winning under his own #48J, as in 2013, he was racing the #64 car he had built for Casey Greubel.
Damon Murty claimed his second $1,000 win in as many nights in the Stock Car class. Murty led all but the first of the 25-lap feature to seal the victory. Mike Nichols, (who just may have clinched the IMCA National Stock Car title last night, going head to head with twentieth place finisher Travis VanStraten in the points battle), came from twelfth starting spot, to chase Murty for much of the race, but had to settle for second place. New London, Iowa's Jeff Mueller came from fourteenth, to finish third, fourth went to Oconto Falls, Wisconsin racer, Joe White who started twentieth, and Kyle Vanover, Beatrice, Nebraska, completed the top five.
The 25-lap SportMod feature found Jared Boumeester from Waseca, Minnesota taking home the $1,000 prize. Boumeester, who ran strong both Friday and Saturday nights, found his way to the lead by lap ten and never looked back on his way to the checkers. Friday night's winner, Clint Luellen finished in the runner up spot, third went to Eric Flander, Pella, Iowa racer, who ran at the front all race long, fourth was eighth place starter Curtis Van Der Wal, Oskaloosa, Iowa, and Adam Armstrong started fourteenth, and charged through the field to finish fifth.
The 25-lap Hobby Stock feature had a strange turn of events at the finish line. Dustin Graham discovered it is good to be in the right place, at the right time after finding himself standing in victory lane. Graham was running third to Eric Stanton and Shannon Anderson as they came out of turn four looking at the checkers. The two lead cars became entangled as they neared the flag stand, and Graham saw his opportunity and scooted across the finish line in first place. Stanton was credited with second, third went to Justin Wacha, fourth to Calvin Dhondt, and Gary Pfantz was fifth. It appeared that Anderson was pushed across the finish line ahead of Stanton, but a check of the results shows that Anderson was scored with last place. Graham, who is from Boone, Iowa, had never won at Marshalltown. When asked who he would like to thank in Victory Lane, he said Eric Stanton and Shannon Anderson...in jest.
The nice crowd on hand was treated to some great racing at the Marshalltown high banks, all weekend. There was a stout field of cars in all four classes, and the competition was bar none. Wisconsin had a large contingency of racers make the trip down. Congratulations to all the winners over the three-day run of the 10th running of the World Nationals. I believe the name was changed from what was previously called Havoc on the High Banks when World Products stepped up to sponsor the event a few years back.
We'd also like to bring to light the Fire and Rescue units that were at the track all three days. They were from Columbus, Nebraska and did a fantastic job. You definitely could tell they knew what they were doing at a race track! They were stationed at each end of the track in their mobile units, in full protective gear, and at the ready at all times. We chatted with a few of them...men and women... before the racing began, and they were all dedicated to what they do. They traveled to the track with their rescue units in a large trailer.
It was a great time also visiting with racing friends and acquaintances during the three-day run. Enjoying the sport we all love with fellow fanatics, makes it more the fun! As the racing season winds down in our area, we hope to catch a few more events before calling it over. Check the racing calendar at www.positivelyracing.com and perhaps you will also find a race or two to attend before ending your racing year.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Night #2 World Nationals wins to Murty, Luellen, and Anderson
Night #2 of the World Nationals at the Marshalltown Speedway was held on Friday night. Full shows were run for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks and there was qualifying for the 56 Modifieds on hand. Total car count was right at 140 cars.
The Hobby Stock feature went to Shannon Anderson. Anderson started third, and had the lead at lap three, never to look back. He led the entire 20-lap feature to secure the win and the $500 prize. Track champion Eric Stanton came from tenth starting spot to capture the runner up position. Clear Lake, Iowa's Chanse Hollatz finished third, fourth went to pole sitter Garrett Eilander, and eighth place starter Justin Lichty came home in fifth. Anderson won both nights of last years Hobby Stock World Nationals.
Clint Luellen claimed the $1,000 to win SportMod 25-lap feature. Luellen took the lead at lap five and held it the remainder of the way to the checkers. Austin Luellen chased his brother across the finish line to finish second. Third was seventh place starter, Joey Schaefer, Travis Peterson was fourth and Jared Boumeester from Waseca, Minnesota, was fifth. Luellen has won the second night of the past two World Nationals as well.
No stranger to getting around the high banks, it was Damon Murty taking another win in the 25-lap Stock Car main event and taking the $1,000. Murty ran down front runners Mike Nichols and Kyle Vanover with a handful of laps down. He planted his #99D on the topside of the track and had the lead at lap nine. Nichols and Vanover were battling it out for position, when Nichols dropped over the top of turns three and four, and Vanover kept the runner up spot to the checkers. Wisconsin racer,Travis VanStraten, a 2014 and 2015 World Nationals winner, motored all the way from twenty-second place, to finish third. Fourth was Joe White, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin and twelfth place starter, Trent Murphy rounded out the top five.
Fifty-six Modifieds ran two rounds of heats, their second being a reversal of the starting order from the first heat. They earned points through the heats and the top ten are locked into tomorrow night's $10,000 to win World Nationals feature. Terry Phillips sits atop the standings to secure a spot in tomorrow's finale. Richie Gustin, Jordan Grabouski, Kelly Shryock, Ethan Dotson, Kyle Brown, Kyle Strickler, Jesse Dennis, Jimmy Gustin, and Joel Rust round out the top ten locked into the feature.
Check www.marshalltownspeedway.com and click on World Nationals to see all the points and the qualifying heats for tonight's Modified feature. Night #3 of the World Nationals continues tonight, September 17, with full shows in the Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stocks, and the qualifying will continue in the Modifieds to complete the starting grid for the big $10,000 to win World Nationals Championship. Hot laps are 6:30 with racing at 7.
The Hobby Stock feature went to Shannon Anderson. Anderson started third, and had the lead at lap three, never to look back. He led the entire 20-lap feature to secure the win and the $500 prize. Track champion Eric Stanton came from tenth starting spot to capture the runner up position. Clear Lake, Iowa's Chanse Hollatz finished third, fourth went to pole sitter Garrett Eilander, and eighth place starter Justin Lichty came home in fifth. Anderson won both nights of last years Hobby Stock World Nationals.
Clint Luellen claimed the $1,000 to win SportMod 25-lap feature. Luellen took the lead at lap five and held it the remainder of the way to the checkers. Austin Luellen chased his brother across the finish line to finish second. Third was seventh place starter, Joey Schaefer, Travis Peterson was fourth and Jared Boumeester from Waseca, Minnesota, was fifth. Luellen has won the second night of the past two World Nationals as well.
No stranger to getting around the high banks, it was Damon Murty taking another win in the 25-lap Stock Car main event and taking the $1,000. Murty ran down front runners Mike Nichols and Kyle Vanover with a handful of laps down. He planted his #99D on the topside of the track and had the lead at lap nine. Nichols and Vanover were battling it out for position, when Nichols dropped over the top of turns three and four, and Vanover kept the runner up spot to the checkers. Wisconsin racer,Travis VanStraten, a 2014 and 2015 World Nationals winner, motored all the way from twenty-second place, to finish third. Fourth was Joe White, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin and twelfth place starter, Trent Murphy rounded out the top five.
Fifty-six Modifieds ran two rounds of heats, their second being a reversal of the starting order from the first heat. They earned points through the heats and the top ten are locked into tomorrow night's $10,000 to win World Nationals feature. Terry Phillips sits atop the standings to secure a spot in tomorrow's finale. Richie Gustin, Jordan Grabouski, Kelly Shryock, Ethan Dotson, Kyle Brown, Kyle Strickler, Jesse Dennis, Jimmy Gustin, and Joel Rust round out the top ten locked into the feature.
Check www.marshalltownspeedway.com and click on World Nationals to see all the points and the qualifying heats for tonight's Modified feature. Night #3 of the World Nationals continues tonight, September 17, with full shows in the Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stocks, and the qualifying will continue in the Modifieds to complete the starting grid for the big $10,000 to win World Nationals Championship. Hot laps are 6:30 with racing at 7.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Emerson and Strickler post inaugural World Nationals Late Model and Modified invitational wins
The Marshalltown Speedway began the three-night run of the 2016 World Nationals on Thursday night. It hosted the inaugural running of the Late Models as well as an invitational Modified event.
The $2,000 to win Late Model feature was led start to finish by John Emerson. Emerson finished a comfortable distance ahead of second place Andy Eckrich, who had started eighth. Sixth place starter Joel Zroslik finished third, fourth was Kevin Kile, and Marshalltown's own Darrel DeFrance completed the top five.
An invitational Modified race for drivers finishing in the top ten from last year's World Nationals championship race, as well as past Super Nationals/IMCA National points leader/World Nationals Modified Champion, and longest haul drivers were also included. North Carolina driver Kyle Strickler walked away with the win in this one. Terry Phillips was not able to catch the leader and had to be content with the runner up spot. Third went to Jake Murray, Mike Mullens was fourth and Jerry Wilinski rounded out the top five.
Somehow, the above two races got completed, just as a storm was approaching the track. The winds switched from the south, around to the north, and the temperature dropped. The winds became almost gale force, and how announcers Jerry Vansickel and Chet Christner (who was there for the Speed Shift broadcast) hung on in their perches in the announcer's booth, is beyond me. I was expecting to see the whole booth sail off it's mooring. Yes, we wimped out and took refuge in our vehicle behind the grandstands and listened to the two features on the radio.
A text from the Marshalltown Speedway this morning, says the races for Friday, September 16, are on as scheduled. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to follow. There will be qualifying in the Modifieds (these are open motors ONLY, for those of you who did not know) and a full show for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks.
The $2,000 to win Late Model feature was led start to finish by John Emerson. Emerson finished a comfortable distance ahead of second place Andy Eckrich, who had started eighth. Sixth place starter Joel Zroslik finished third, fourth was Kevin Kile, and Marshalltown's own Darrel DeFrance completed the top five.
An invitational Modified race for drivers finishing in the top ten from last year's World Nationals championship race, as well as past Super Nationals/IMCA National points leader/World Nationals Modified Champion, and longest haul drivers were also included. North Carolina driver Kyle Strickler walked away with the win in this one. Terry Phillips was not able to catch the leader and had to be content with the runner up spot. Third went to Jake Murray, Mike Mullens was fourth and Jerry Wilinski rounded out the top five.
Somehow, the above two races got completed, just as a storm was approaching the track. The winds switched from the south, around to the north, and the temperature dropped. The winds became almost gale force, and how announcers Jerry Vansickel and Chet Christner (who was there for the Speed Shift broadcast) hung on in their perches in the announcer's booth, is beyond me. I was expecting to see the whole booth sail off it's mooring. Yes, we wimped out and took refuge in our vehicle behind the grandstands and listened to the two features on the radio.
A text from the Marshalltown Speedway this morning, says the races for Friday, September 16, are on as scheduled. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to follow. There will be qualifying in the Modifieds (these are open motors ONLY, for those of you who did not know) and a full show for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Notes from Super Nationals 2016
The 34th Annual IMCA Super Nationals held at Boone Speedway has come and gone. It was an unforgettable one for sure what with all of the torrential rains and long night's of racing, just to get them in. But get them in they did, but it was a marathon. I truly doubt that anyone else but Boone could have done so.
On Monday, September 5, there was IMCA Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod qualifying and a complete show for the IMCA Southern SportMods was on tap. This was the first time that the Southern SportMods had been to Boone and included in the Super National's lineup. Thirty-three drivers ran the event. Taking home the title as the Inaugural winner of the IMCA Southern SportMod championship was Jeffrey Abbey from Comanche, Texas. He passed Cody Smith from Kaufman, Texas with seven laps left in the 30-lapper, and pulled away to take the comfortable win. Smith finished as the runner up, Jake Upchurch from Grand Prairie, Texas took third, fourth went to Rodney White out of Ector, Texas, and Mickey Helms from Victoria, Texas made it a clean sweep for the state of Texas for the top five. Drivers in the class were also from Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Kansas.
Tuesday, September 6 had the IMCA Sport Compacts running their entire show and they came out in full force with a record 84 of the "half the cylinders, twice the fun" entrance. Qualifying also continued for the Hobby Stocks and the Northern SportMods. Last year's second place finisher, Josh Barnes, from Keokuk, Iowa started on the pole...by luck of the redraw...and led all of the 25-lap feature that went flag to flag. Mitch Bolton, Grand Junction, Colorado chased him across the line to take second place. Third was female entrant, Kimberly Abbott from Olin, Iowa, fourth went to Ramsey Meyer out of Pierce, Nebraska and Nate Coopman, Mankato, Minnesota and last year's Super Nationals champion, rounded out the top five.
Wednesday...and as far as I can piece it back together, this is what occurred. After some overnight rain, and then rain in the morning until after 2:30 p.m. it was time to break out the jet dryer. From my notes, it appears the first cars on the track for hot laps, was right at 6 p.m. and then the first race at 6:47 p.m. Unfortunately, all that got in for racing was a qualifying Northern SportMod A, and a qualifying Hobby Stock A....that was called complete at 14 laps down at approximately 7:25 p.m. It was announced that racing would begin on Thursday morning at 9 a.m., with the show picking up on Wednesday's schedule, where it left off and then running all of the Thursday show.
Thursday is somewhat of a blur. We raced from 9:43 in the morning, until 5:55 a.m.---20 hours and 12 minutes, and 126 non-stop races. Wednesday's show was completed, the grandstands cleared, and fans re-entered with their Thursday tickets. Thursday's regularly schedule IMCA Late Model show was the headliner.
The Late Models ran their championship 50-lap feature I'm guesstimating around midnight. Joel Callahan led the early portion of the race but each lap was seeing the familiar #77 of Jeff Aikey, inch closer to the front. A yellow flew at lap thirteen, and on the restart, Aikey surged past both leader Callahan and Jason Rauen who had been running second, to take the lead. It was all over from there on out as Aikey paced the field well ahead of any competition. Aikey scored a record sixth Super Nationals win. Callahan held on to the runner up spot, Rauen was third, Tyler Bruening took fourth and Joe Zrostlik rounded out the top five.
Friday was another one of those days when Mother Nature was throwing a fit. Racing did begin at 2:16 p.m. with the sky growing darker, and darker by the minute. The ominous clouds, turned into a downpour somewhere around 7:30 p.m. and racing was put on hold, until further notice. When the rain finally stopped, and the jet dryer was sent out to do it's "squeegeeing" (throw in a heart stopping moment when it quit on the track, only to have to have a broken wire replaced) then the John Deere's farming the track, and racing resumed at 11:40 p.m. Here we go again!
The format for Friday's show was also adjusted, pushing some of the action originally scheduled for Friday, into the Saturday show. Racing for the adjusted Friday show ended at 2:38 a.m.
Saturday was the Big Dance day, but before getting into the Saturday schedule, the Friday schedule was still to be completed. That began at 9:24 a.m. running until 1:50 p.m. Once again, the grandstand was cleared and Saturday's ticket holders were allowed to enter.
The track was re-farmed, and after the points were recalculated for Saturday's racing, we were off and running again at about 4 p.m.
It was a full show of championship Super National racing then. Race of Champions was for the IMCA Hobby Stocks, Northern SportMods, Stock Cars, and Modifieds. Hobby Stock winner was Brandon Nielsen from Spencer, Iowa. The Northern SportMod R.O.C. winner was Lanesboro, Iowa racer, Doug Smith. The Stock Car champion was defending Super Nationals winner, Dustin Larson from Rushmore, Minnesota. Ricky Thornton, Jr. who spent his summer racing in Iowa while living in Harcourt, Iowa, but calls Chandler, Arizona home, took the Modified Race of Champions trophy.
The Modified Fast Shafts All Star race was an exciting one! Ricky Thornton, Jr. took the immediate lead from his middle front-row starting spot. While he sailed along at the point, Marshalltown's Jimmy Gustin was FLYING through the field. Gustin started inside row five, and caught Thorton by lap ten. Then the battle began! After a yellow flew at lap twenty-three, Gustin got up on the wheel once more, and it didn't take long until he snagged the lead. Gustin then held on to that coveted spot, and took the All Star feature win.
The first of four championship races began with the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Andrew Burg put his stamp on a Super Nationals win by leading the 30-lap feature from start to finish. Second place finisher, John Watson, chased him the entire distance. Shannon Anderson made it from starting thirteenth, to claim third, fourth was Nashua, Iowa's Matt White, who started ninth, and hometown racer Dustin Graham took fifth.
The Northern SportMod "Big Dance" winner went to Doug Smith. Smith made the pass on last year's winner, Clint Luellen to take command and then went on to pull away, taking the double checkers by a lengthy margin. Luellen held the runner up spot, third went to Randy Roberts, Daniel Gottschalk was fourth and Tyler Soppe finished fifth. As a note, the second through fifth place winners were all sporting the #3.
Elijah Zevenbergen, from Ocheyedan, Iowa, an IMCA Stock Car racer that has been quite successful on the Dakota Series tour as well as his own area racing, put his name in the Super Nationals record book by winning the 30-lap feature. Zevenbergen, who had never raced at Boone, out ran second place finisher, Mike Nichols, and took the comfortable win. Third place finisher was Derek Green. Green, from Granada, Minnesota, started tenth. Fourth was Adair, Iowa's Marcus Fagan, and last year's winner, Dustin Larson from Rushmore, Minnesota, hiked up his left front and motored from nineteenth, to a top five finish.
The grand finale was the 40-lap IMCA Modified feature. The front row was Mike VanGenderen, Jay Noteboom, and Ricky Thornton, Jr., with a lot of heavy hitters looming behind them. Thornton quickly grabbed the lead but by lap thirteen, Mike VanGenderen had become the man at the helm. Then who was that car charging from fifteenth spot, to grab third place, but Jimmy Gustin, your earlier popular All Star winner. Gustin wasn't content to run third, so snapped up the lead at lap seventeen and roared off with now Thornton in tow, and VanGenderen in third and wanting more. A yellow flew at lap twenty-two that involved VanGenderen in an unavoidable situation. This put him to tag the field, and basically, out of the running. When things picked back up after the caution, Gustin and Thornton went to battle. Thornton finally gained the advantage and the lead at lap twenty seven, and after that he stayed out in front and took the checkers for the win. Chris Abelson slipped by Gustin in the final laps, as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth place finisher was Jordan Grabouski from Beatrice, Nebraska and former Super Nationals and IMCA National Champion, Dylan Smith, also from Beatrice, Nebraska, was fifth.
Racing concluded at 12:29 a.m. on what turned out to be a beautiful day and night for racing. It would have all gone a lot more smoothly had not Mother Nature threw a fit, but with the dedicated track workers, the three great announcers, Ryan Clark, Jerry Vansickel and Chad Meyer who had to be dragging, and all the staff, it all got completed.....somehow! Super Nationals 2016 is in the books with more than just a couple of firsts.
I always like to stick around for the motor auctions done immediately after the races are done. The Hobby Stock motor of Andrew Burg went for $1,600, Doug Smith's Northern SportMod went for $4,100, Elijah Zevenbergen's Stock Car motor went for $6,000 and Ricky Thornton, Jr.'s Modified motor went for $6,500.
So ends another Super Nationals. It was a marathon, but we made it through. I can say I saw ever race...though I may have nodded off during some of them. It was still a fun time despite the rain, as we once again connected with racing friends we see but once a year, to say nothing of seeing some fantastic racing with a record 906 race cars.
Still some end of season racing to be found in our area. Check the race calendar at Positively Racing and find a race to support the sport we all love.
On Monday, September 5, there was IMCA Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod qualifying and a complete show for the IMCA Southern SportMods was on tap. This was the first time that the Southern SportMods had been to Boone and included in the Super National's lineup. Thirty-three drivers ran the event. Taking home the title as the Inaugural winner of the IMCA Southern SportMod championship was Jeffrey Abbey from Comanche, Texas. He passed Cody Smith from Kaufman, Texas with seven laps left in the 30-lapper, and pulled away to take the comfortable win. Smith finished as the runner up, Jake Upchurch from Grand Prairie, Texas took third, fourth went to Rodney White out of Ector, Texas, and Mickey Helms from Victoria, Texas made it a clean sweep for the state of Texas for the top five. Drivers in the class were also from Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Kansas.
Tuesday, September 6 had the IMCA Sport Compacts running their entire show and they came out in full force with a record 84 of the "half the cylinders, twice the fun" entrance. Qualifying also continued for the Hobby Stocks and the Northern SportMods. Last year's second place finisher, Josh Barnes, from Keokuk, Iowa started on the pole...by luck of the redraw...and led all of the 25-lap feature that went flag to flag. Mitch Bolton, Grand Junction, Colorado chased him across the line to take second place. Third was female entrant, Kimberly Abbott from Olin, Iowa, fourth went to Ramsey Meyer out of Pierce, Nebraska and Nate Coopman, Mankato, Minnesota and last year's Super Nationals champion, rounded out the top five.
Wednesday...and as far as I can piece it back together, this is what occurred. After some overnight rain, and then rain in the morning until after 2:30 p.m. it was time to break out the jet dryer. From my notes, it appears the first cars on the track for hot laps, was right at 6 p.m. and then the first race at 6:47 p.m. Unfortunately, all that got in for racing was a qualifying Northern SportMod A, and a qualifying Hobby Stock A....that was called complete at 14 laps down at approximately 7:25 p.m. It was announced that racing would begin on Thursday morning at 9 a.m., with the show picking up on Wednesday's schedule, where it left off and then running all of the Thursday show.
Thursday is somewhat of a blur. We raced from 9:43 in the morning, until 5:55 a.m.---20 hours and 12 minutes, and 126 non-stop races. Wednesday's show was completed, the grandstands cleared, and fans re-entered with their Thursday tickets. Thursday's regularly schedule IMCA Late Model show was the headliner.
The Late Models ran their championship 50-lap feature I'm guesstimating around midnight. Joel Callahan led the early portion of the race but each lap was seeing the familiar #77 of Jeff Aikey, inch closer to the front. A yellow flew at lap thirteen, and on the restart, Aikey surged past both leader Callahan and Jason Rauen who had been running second, to take the lead. It was all over from there on out as Aikey paced the field well ahead of any competition. Aikey scored a record sixth Super Nationals win. Callahan held on to the runner up spot, Rauen was third, Tyler Bruening took fourth and Joe Zrostlik rounded out the top five.
Friday was another one of those days when Mother Nature was throwing a fit. Racing did begin at 2:16 p.m. with the sky growing darker, and darker by the minute. The ominous clouds, turned into a downpour somewhere around 7:30 p.m. and racing was put on hold, until further notice. When the rain finally stopped, and the jet dryer was sent out to do it's "squeegeeing" (throw in a heart stopping moment when it quit on the track, only to have to have a broken wire replaced) then the John Deere's farming the track, and racing resumed at 11:40 p.m. Here we go again!
The format for Friday's show was also adjusted, pushing some of the action originally scheduled for Friday, into the Saturday show. Racing for the adjusted Friday show ended at 2:38 a.m.
Saturday was the Big Dance day, but before getting into the Saturday schedule, the Friday schedule was still to be completed. That began at 9:24 a.m. running until 1:50 p.m. Once again, the grandstand was cleared and Saturday's ticket holders were allowed to enter.
The track was re-farmed, and after the points were recalculated for Saturday's racing, we were off and running again at about 4 p.m.
It was a full show of championship Super National racing then. Race of Champions was for the IMCA Hobby Stocks, Northern SportMods, Stock Cars, and Modifieds. Hobby Stock winner was Brandon Nielsen from Spencer, Iowa. The Northern SportMod R.O.C. winner was Lanesboro, Iowa racer, Doug Smith. The Stock Car champion was defending Super Nationals winner, Dustin Larson from Rushmore, Minnesota. Ricky Thornton, Jr. who spent his summer racing in Iowa while living in Harcourt, Iowa, but calls Chandler, Arizona home, took the Modified Race of Champions trophy.
The Modified Fast Shafts All Star race was an exciting one! Ricky Thornton, Jr. took the immediate lead from his middle front-row starting spot. While he sailed along at the point, Marshalltown's Jimmy Gustin was FLYING through the field. Gustin started inside row five, and caught Thorton by lap ten. Then the battle began! After a yellow flew at lap twenty-three, Gustin got up on the wheel once more, and it didn't take long until he snagged the lead. Gustin then held on to that coveted spot, and took the All Star feature win.
The first of four championship races began with the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Andrew Burg put his stamp on a Super Nationals win by leading the 30-lap feature from start to finish. Second place finisher, John Watson, chased him the entire distance. Shannon Anderson made it from starting thirteenth, to claim third, fourth was Nashua, Iowa's Matt White, who started ninth, and hometown racer Dustin Graham took fifth.
The Northern SportMod "Big Dance" winner went to Doug Smith. Smith made the pass on last year's winner, Clint Luellen to take command and then went on to pull away, taking the double checkers by a lengthy margin. Luellen held the runner up spot, third went to Randy Roberts, Daniel Gottschalk was fourth and Tyler Soppe finished fifth. As a note, the second through fifth place winners were all sporting the #3.
Elijah Zevenbergen, from Ocheyedan, Iowa, an IMCA Stock Car racer that has been quite successful on the Dakota Series tour as well as his own area racing, put his name in the Super Nationals record book by winning the 30-lap feature. Zevenbergen, who had never raced at Boone, out ran second place finisher, Mike Nichols, and took the comfortable win. Third place finisher was Derek Green. Green, from Granada, Minnesota, started tenth. Fourth was Adair, Iowa's Marcus Fagan, and last year's winner, Dustin Larson from Rushmore, Minnesota, hiked up his left front and motored from nineteenth, to a top five finish.
The grand finale was the 40-lap IMCA Modified feature. The front row was Mike VanGenderen, Jay Noteboom, and Ricky Thornton, Jr., with a lot of heavy hitters looming behind them. Thornton quickly grabbed the lead but by lap thirteen, Mike VanGenderen had become the man at the helm. Then who was that car charging from fifteenth spot, to grab third place, but Jimmy Gustin, your earlier popular All Star winner. Gustin wasn't content to run third, so snapped up the lead at lap seventeen and roared off with now Thornton in tow, and VanGenderen in third and wanting more. A yellow flew at lap twenty-two that involved VanGenderen in an unavoidable situation. This put him to tag the field, and basically, out of the running. When things picked back up after the caution, Gustin and Thornton went to battle. Thornton finally gained the advantage and the lead at lap twenty seven, and after that he stayed out in front and took the checkers for the win. Chris Abelson slipped by Gustin in the final laps, as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth place finisher was Jordan Grabouski from Beatrice, Nebraska and former Super Nationals and IMCA National Champion, Dylan Smith, also from Beatrice, Nebraska, was fifth.
Racing concluded at 12:29 a.m. on what turned out to be a beautiful day and night for racing. It would have all gone a lot more smoothly had not Mother Nature threw a fit, but with the dedicated track workers, the three great announcers, Ryan Clark, Jerry Vansickel and Chad Meyer who had to be dragging, and all the staff, it all got completed.....somehow! Super Nationals 2016 is in the books with more than just a couple of firsts.
I always like to stick around for the motor auctions done immediately after the races are done. The Hobby Stock motor of Andrew Burg went for $1,600, Doug Smith's Northern SportMod went for $4,100, Elijah Zevenbergen's Stock Car motor went for $6,000 and Ricky Thornton, Jr.'s Modified motor went for $6,500.
So ends another Super Nationals. It was a marathon, but we made it through. I can say I saw ever race...though I may have nodded off during some of them. It was still a fun time despite the rain, as we once again connected with racing friends we see but once a year, to say nothing of seeing some fantastic racing with a record 906 race cars.
Still some end of season racing to be found in our area. Check the race calendar at Positively Racing and find a race to support the sport we all love.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Gustin, Schmidt, Sproul and Burg take Prelude to the Super Nationals wins
The Boone Speedway held the Prelude to the Super Nationals on Saturday night and 288 drivers that were pre-entered for the 2016 Super Nationals, used their option to test and tune for next week's spectacle of dirt track racing.
Jimmy Gustin took the win in the IMCA Modified division, with hopes of keeping up that momentum going into next week. Jay Schmidt wasn't racing his own car in the IMCA Stock Car class, but still parked it in victory lane. Kansas racer Dakota Sproul looked strong in taking the IMCA Northern SportMod victory, and Andrew Burg took a dominating win in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature.
Jimmy Gustin grabbed the lead from Eric Elliott at lap eight of the 30-lap IMCA Modified feature and from there on, never looked back on his way to the win. Elliott finished a distant runner up, track champion Mike VanGenderen finished third, fourth went to Joel Bushore and Russ Dickerson rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran a 25-lap feature event. Pole sitter Dakota Sproul, from Ellis, Kansas took command quickly and went on to hold that coveted spot the rest of the way to the checkers. Tyler Watts from Beloit, Kansas chased Sproul the entire race, but had to be content with a second place finish. Jake McBirnie finished a close third, fourth was Austin Luellen, and eighteenth place starter, Daniel Gottschalk, another Ellis, Kansas racer, was fifth.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars went 25-laps in their main event. Jay Schmidt, a familiar name at the Boone Speedway, came away with the win, but not in his own car. Schmidt, who was driving the 56T of Justin Temeyer, started fourteenth and had the lead at lap fifteen. From there on, he stretched his lead, and took the comfortable win. Track champion, Donavon Smith was second, Norton, Kansas racer Casey Woken started tenth, and finished third, and fourth went to another Norton, Kansas driver, Jason Davis. Former Super Nationals Stock Car champion, Brandon Czarapata from Pulaski, Wisconsin came from twentieth starting position to finish fifth.
Andrew Burg led the entire 25-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature to score the win. Burg finished well ahead of second place Eric Stanton, the Boone Speedway track champion. Former Super National and IMCA National Hobby Stock champion, Shannon Anderson came home in third place. Beatrice, Nebraska's Jesse VanLaningham was fourth and Solomon Bennett completed the top five.
The Boone Speedway already looked like "Boone South" upon arrival. The pits and camping spots were already pretty well filled, with more arriving all night long.
Fifteen states, plus Iowa, were represented last night. We noted that Kansas drivers put their stamp on the track, with some good runs all night long.
Jay Schmidt was driving Justin Temeyers car last night. The story we understood was that he wanted Jay to hot lap it and find out what the issue was that he'd been having. Schmidt said, "why not race it and find out", so he did.....and sat it in victory lane! Look for Schmidt to be in his own 19J machine for the up coming Super Nationals though.
It's great to see all the cars and many with new wraps....some not so, and well rubbed. Some cars with their usual look, were completely different. One of note was the 9E of Eric Elliott, which was all red. It may be sporting a more completed wrap by Wednesday when the IMCA Modifieds start their qualifying. The theme for the cars this year is to represent their home state. The OZ car of Hoisington, Kansas driver Mike Petersille was quite clever with its Wizard of Oz wrap.
The 34th Annual Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals begins on Labor Day, Monday, September 5 and runs through Saturday, September 10 at the Boone Speedway. Check www.raceboone.com for all the details of America's Racin' Vacation. The daily schedules are all listed. Please note that the IMCA Late Models will not be running on Labor Day as has been their tradition. Rain changed things around last year, and moving them to Thursday's program worked well, and the call was made to make the move permanent. Racing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. each day. Please take heed of the grandstand rules as well. It is posted that there will be no blankets allowed until 6 p.m. each night and only seat cushion/pillows are allowed...and with NO backs.... not even those that fold down. As far as I know, only Friday and Saturday have reserved seating on the grandstand side, so you can sit on a numbered seat until then.
Please Mother Nature....be kind to the 2016 Super Nationals. Fingers crossed! Hope to see many of you there. Please stop us and say, "Hi". We look forward to seeing racing friends and drivers that we see each year in all the craziness that is the Super Nationals!
Jimmy Gustin took the win in the IMCA Modified division, with hopes of keeping up that momentum going into next week. Jay Schmidt wasn't racing his own car in the IMCA Stock Car class, but still parked it in victory lane. Kansas racer Dakota Sproul looked strong in taking the IMCA Northern SportMod victory, and Andrew Burg took a dominating win in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature.
Jimmy Gustin grabbed the lead from Eric Elliott at lap eight of the 30-lap IMCA Modified feature and from there on, never looked back on his way to the win. Elliott finished a distant runner up, track champion Mike VanGenderen finished third, fourth went to Joel Bushore and Russ Dickerson rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods ran a 25-lap feature event. Pole sitter Dakota Sproul, from Ellis, Kansas took command quickly and went on to hold that coveted spot the rest of the way to the checkers. Tyler Watts from Beloit, Kansas chased Sproul the entire race, but had to be content with a second place finish. Jake McBirnie finished a close third, fourth was Austin Luellen, and eighteenth place starter, Daniel Gottschalk, another Ellis, Kansas racer, was fifth.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars went 25-laps in their main event. Jay Schmidt, a familiar name at the Boone Speedway, came away with the win, but not in his own car. Schmidt, who was driving the 56T of Justin Temeyer, started fourteenth and had the lead at lap fifteen. From there on, he stretched his lead, and took the comfortable win. Track champion, Donavon Smith was second, Norton, Kansas racer Casey Woken started tenth, and finished third, and fourth went to another Norton, Kansas driver, Jason Davis. Former Super Nationals Stock Car champion, Brandon Czarapata from Pulaski, Wisconsin came from twentieth starting position to finish fifth.
Andrew Burg led the entire 25-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature to score the win. Burg finished well ahead of second place Eric Stanton, the Boone Speedway track champion. Former Super National and IMCA National Hobby Stock champion, Shannon Anderson came home in third place. Beatrice, Nebraska's Jesse VanLaningham was fourth and Solomon Bennett completed the top five.
The Boone Speedway already looked like "Boone South" upon arrival. The pits and camping spots were already pretty well filled, with more arriving all night long.
Fifteen states, plus Iowa, were represented last night. We noted that Kansas drivers put their stamp on the track, with some good runs all night long.
Jay Schmidt was driving Justin Temeyers car last night. The story we understood was that he wanted Jay to hot lap it and find out what the issue was that he'd been having. Schmidt said, "why not race it and find out", so he did.....and sat it in victory lane! Look for Schmidt to be in his own 19J machine for the up coming Super Nationals though.
It's great to see all the cars and many with new wraps....some not so, and well rubbed. Some cars with their usual look, were completely different. One of note was the 9E of Eric Elliott, which was all red. It may be sporting a more completed wrap by Wednesday when the IMCA Modifieds start their qualifying. The theme for the cars this year is to represent their home state. The OZ car of Hoisington, Kansas driver Mike Petersille was quite clever with its Wizard of Oz wrap.
The 34th Annual Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals begins on Labor Day, Monday, September 5 and runs through Saturday, September 10 at the Boone Speedway. Check www.raceboone.com for all the details of America's Racin' Vacation. The daily schedules are all listed. Please note that the IMCA Late Models will not be running on Labor Day as has been their tradition. Rain changed things around last year, and moving them to Thursday's program worked well, and the call was made to make the move permanent. Racing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. each day. Please take heed of the grandstand rules as well. It is posted that there will be no blankets allowed until 6 p.m. each night and only seat cushion/pillows are allowed...and with NO backs.... not even those that fold down. As far as I know, only Friday and Saturday have reserved seating on the grandstand side, so you can sit on a numbered seat until then.
Please Mother Nature....be kind to the 2016 Super Nationals. Fingers crossed! Hope to see many of you there. Please stop us and say, "Hi". We look forward to seeing racing friends and drivers that we see each year in all the craziness that is the Super Nationals!
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Inaugural Showdown at MoTown dominated by area racers
Friday night was the Inaugural "Showdown at MoTown" with 109 cars filling the pits for the after season special event. They came from all parts of Iowa as well as Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, California and Canada. By night's end however, it was area racers that claimed the wins in all five divisions on the High Banks.
It was Austin Luellen taking home the win in the 20-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature event. Luellen started eighth and had to run down front runners Shawn Cooney, Jared VanDeest and Curtis Van Der Wal. He passed leader Shawn Cooney with just two laps remaining to take command of the race, holding it to the flying checkers and the win. Cooney claimed the runner up spot, Van Der Wal was third, fourth went to tenth place starter, Clint Luellen, and Pella, Iowa driver Matt Van Gelder was fifth. Austin Luellen also won the final race of the regular season at Marshalltown Speedway.
Eric Stanton continued his dominating year in the IMCA Hobby Stock class, grabbing another win in the 18-lap A feature. By luck of the redraw, Stanton started on the pole, and led all laps on his way to victory. The win marked the twelfth time this year he had stepped into Victory Lane at the Speedway. Jamie Schirm, Dexter, Iowa racer, had a fine showing as he raced from eighth starting spot, to finish second. Third was Tyson Overton, Damon Richards from David City, Nebraska was fourth and Mason City's Weston Koop completed the top five.
The 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature went to Trent Murphy, another driver who raced at the Marshalltown Speedway during the season. Murphy led all 20-laps on his way to the winner's circle. A hard charging Damon Murty started eleventh and pressured Murphy in the final handful of laps, but had to be content with a second place finish. Third went to Todd Reitzler, Steve Meyer was fourth and Kyle Everts rounded out the top five. Murphy also visited Victory Lane twice during the regular season.
Seven IMCA Late Models took to the track for their 15-lap feature. Todd Cooney got the upper hand immediately, leading at lap one from his fifth starting position. Sean Johnson started seventh and by lap eight, made the move under Cooney to gain the lead. Cooney, who was running hard in an attempt to gain back the lead, slid off of turn two, two laps later, bringing out the caution, and putting him to the tail for the restart. Johnson pulled away on the restart of the race and took the comfortable win. Cooney made up ground after his incident, and finished in second. Third was Darrin Ackerman who just held off fourth place finisher, Ryan Griffith, and Doug McCollough was fifth.
The night's finale was the 25-lap IMCA Modified feature. With 35 cars in attendance, it took two B-mains to complete the 24-car starting field. Jimmy Gustin was the lucky recipient of the pole for the start of the race and he immediately flew to the lead. Tim Ward tucked in behind him to run second and Jenae Gustin tagged into third. The three cars remained in that order when Corning, Iowa's Jesse Dennis took a tumble off of corner one, halting the racing action. Dennis was okay but his night was done. When the action picked back up, Gustin kept hold of the lead with Ward pestering him, but it was to no avail as Gustin took the double checkers and the win. Ward had to settle for the runner up spot. Third place went to Medford, Oregon's Tom Berry. Berry started twenty-fourth, set his car on the topside, and ran out of laps to garner more than third. Fourth place was Jenae Gustin and Scott Simatovich was fifth. Ironically, this was Jimmy Gustin's first win at Marshalltown in 2016.
There was a great crowd on hand, filling the stands for the first Showdown at MoTown. Many drivers coming for the Super Nationals were already in the area and opted to try their hand at taming the High Banks. There was a hint of fall in the air and by the end of the evening, most fans were glad for a sweatshirt or jacket.
The next racing action at the Marshalltown Speedway will be September 15-17 for the 10th Annual World Nationals. Check www.marshalltownspeedway.com for details. But before that, there will be a lot of racing west of Marshalltown at the Boone Speedway. Tonight is the "Prelude to the Super Nationals" and any driver pre-entered for the 2016 Super Nationals, is allowed to race the draw/redraw show. Last year, this race drew close to 300 entrants. Expect more tonight. Then on Labor Day Monday, the craziness really begins with the 34th Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals. A record number of pre-registered cars of over 800, have already made plans to attend. It's a spectacle of racing, and if you haven't experienced it, it's something you should try and take in at least once. Check www.raceboone.com for a plethora of information about the week-long event. We will be there all week long....our 29th year of attending the Super Nationals. Hope to see some of you there!
It was Austin Luellen taking home the win in the 20-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature event. Luellen started eighth and had to run down front runners Shawn Cooney, Jared VanDeest and Curtis Van Der Wal. He passed leader Shawn Cooney with just two laps remaining to take command of the race, holding it to the flying checkers and the win. Cooney claimed the runner up spot, Van Der Wal was third, fourth went to tenth place starter, Clint Luellen, and Pella, Iowa driver Matt Van Gelder was fifth. Austin Luellen also won the final race of the regular season at Marshalltown Speedway.
Eric Stanton continued his dominating year in the IMCA Hobby Stock class, grabbing another win in the 18-lap A feature. By luck of the redraw, Stanton started on the pole, and led all laps on his way to victory. The win marked the twelfth time this year he had stepped into Victory Lane at the Speedway. Jamie Schirm, Dexter, Iowa racer, had a fine showing as he raced from eighth starting spot, to finish second. Third was Tyson Overton, Damon Richards from David City, Nebraska was fourth and Mason City's Weston Koop completed the top five.
The 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature went to Trent Murphy, another driver who raced at the Marshalltown Speedway during the season. Murphy led all 20-laps on his way to the winner's circle. A hard charging Damon Murty started eleventh and pressured Murphy in the final handful of laps, but had to be content with a second place finish. Third went to Todd Reitzler, Steve Meyer was fourth and Kyle Everts rounded out the top five. Murphy also visited Victory Lane twice during the regular season.
Seven IMCA Late Models took to the track for their 15-lap feature. Todd Cooney got the upper hand immediately, leading at lap one from his fifth starting position. Sean Johnson started seventh and by lap eight, made the move under Cooney to gain the lead. Cooney, who was running hard in an attempt to gain back the lead, slid off of turn two, two laps later, bringing out the caution, and putting him to the tail for the restart. Johnson pulled away on the restart of the race and took the comfortable win. Cooney made up ground after his incident, and finished in second. Third was Darrin Ackerman who just held off fourth place finisher, Ryan Griffith, and Doug McCollough was fifth.
The night's finale was the 25-lap IMCA Modified feature. With 35 cars in attendance, it took two B-mains to complete the 24-car starting field. Jimmy Gustin was the lucky recipient of the pole for the start of the race and he immediately flew to the lead. Tim Ward tucked in behind him to run second and Jenae Gustin tagged into third. The three cars remained in that order when Corning, Iowa's Jesse Dennis took a tumble off of corner one, halting the racing action. Dennis was okay but his night was done. When the action picked back up, Gustin kept hold of the lead with Ward pestering him, but it was to no avail as Gustin took the double checkers and the win. Ward had to settle for the runner up spot. Third place went to Medford, Oregon's Tom Berry. Berry started twenty-fourth, set his car on the topside, and ran out of laps to garner more than third. Fourth place was Jenae Gustin and Scott Simatovich was fifth. Ironically, this was Jimmy Gustin's first win at Marshalltown in 2016.
There was a great crowd on hand, filling the stands for the first Showdown at MoTown. Many drivers coming for the Super Nationals were already in the area and opted to try their hand at taming the High Banks. There was a hint of fall in the air and by the end of the evening, most fans were glad for a sweatshirt or jacket.
The next racing action at the Marshalltown Speedway will be September 15-17 for the 10th Annual World Nationals. Check www.marshalltownspeedway.com for details. But before that, there will be a lot of racing west of Marshalltown at the Boone Speedway. Tonight is the "Prelude to the Super Nationals" and any driver pre-entered for the 2016 Super Nationals, is allowed to race the draw/redraw show. Last year, this race drew close to 300 entrants. Expect more tonight. Then on Labor Day Monday, the craziness really begins with the 34th Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals. A record number of pre-registered cars of over 800, have already made plans to attend. It's a spectacle of racing, and if you haven't experienced it, it's something you should try and take in at least once. Check www.raceboone.com for a plethora of information about the week-long event. We will be there all week long....our 29th year of attending the Super Nationals. Hope to see some of you there!
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Season Championship night at the Southern Iowa Speedway
It had been a long four weeks since the Southern Iowa Speedway had raced a regular season race, due to unscheduled shows. Wednesday night was season championship night to close out the 2016 season. Five track champions were crowned with two divisions being decided at the finish. Three new Hall of Fame inductees were also announced.
Season championship night, most tracks don't run heats and will line the feature events up by points, but last night at Osky, all classes ran heats AND started their features by the regular invert of points as they do on a regular night. The drivers were introduced on the front stretch, allowing fans to salute them.
The IMCA Sport Compacts found Brad Havel stepping into victory lane for the first time at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Havel led all ten laps on his way to the win. Josh Barnes finished second after starting ninth, James Roose was third, fourth went to fifth place starter Levi Heath and Bill Whalen, Jr. completed the top five.
Going into the Sport Compact feature, it was Shane Evans leading Bill Whalen by nine points. Evans dropped out of the race and Whalen finished fifth. A calculation of results found Evans hanging on by ONE point, to take the track championship.
The IMCA Hobby Stock 14-lap A main went to Dustin Griffith. Griffith, who was the point leader going into the race, started seventh. He caught a four-pack of cars, Bradley Graham, Danny Thrasher, Scott Shull and Nick Ulin and had to battle past them to get to the lead at lap six. He then held that lead to the flying checkers and the win. Nick Ulin just barely beat out Thrasher at the finish line as they went second and third respectively. Scott Shull and Bradley Graham rounded out the top five. Dustin Griffith is the track champion for the third year in a row.
Seventeen IMCA Northern SportMods ran the 15-lap feature. Dakota Simmons and Colton Livezey began the run from the front row. Livezey overtook Simmons by lap two, taking the lead, but he had Curtis Van Der Wal closing in fast. Van Der Wal got to second and began reeling in the leader. With a lap to go, and a lap car blocking the leaders, Van Der Wal used it to his advantage, and grabbed the lead as lap fourteen was scored. He kept it that final lap and scored the win. Livezey had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to Cory Van Zante, Austin Paul was fourth and Matt Van Gelder rounded out the top five. Curtis Van Der Wal is the track champion, defending his title from 2015.
The 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature was the one that decided the track championship at the finish line! Going into the night, Louis Lynch, the "Hurryin' Missourian", was three points up on local fan favorite Mike Hughes. Hughes started fourth on the grid and Lynch fifth. Hughes flew to the lead by lap one and was looking determined to gain those few points to snatch away the championship from Lynch. Wood tucked in right behind Hughes to run second. The rest of the race was a close battle between Hughes and Wood, with Hughes keeping the advantage....UNTIL, the final run to the finish line found Wood just edging out Hughes for the win! That final surge past Hughes ended up giving the track championship to Louis Lynch...by ONE point. Todd Reitzler finished third, Lynch was fourth and Mike Brown was fifth. If Hughes had won, they would have been tied, but with a win under his belt at the track and none by Lynch, the title would have gone to Hughes.
It was ironic that Colt Mather is the 2016 track champion at the Southern Iowa Speedway, but he was not able to start the feature due to issues in his heat, and luckily far enough ahead of second place in points, Andrew Schroeder, that it did not matter. Schroeder easily won the night's feature as he finished well ahead of Cayden Carter in second. Third went to Dakota Hayden and Scott Dickey was fourth. Fifth place Gordy Head did not finish, nor did David Sndyer from Greentop, Missouri.
Three new inductees into the Southern Iowa Speedway Hall of Fame were announced last night. They are Pokey West, Terry Schroeder and Dean Hughes. They will be inducted on the second night of the Fall Challenge, on Saturday night, October 8. The Fall Challenge is October 7 and 8 this year and will be the next and last race event at the track for 2016.
There are a lot of specials still around our area, so get out to a track and support the sport we all love.
Season championship night, most tracks don't run heats and will line the feature events up by points, but last night at Osky, all classes ran heats AND started their features by the regular invert of points as they do on a regular night. The drivers were introduced on the front stretch, allowing fans to salute them.
The IMCA Sport Compacts found Brad Havel stepping into victory lane for the first time at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Havel led all ten laps on his way to the win. Josh Barnes finished second after starting ninth, James Roose was third, fourth went to fifth place starter Levi Heath and Bill Whalen, Jr. completed the top five.
Going into the Sport Compact feature, it was Shane Evans leading Bill Whalen by nine points. Evans dropped out of the race and Whalen finished fifth. A calculation of results found Evans hanging on by ONE point, to take the track championship.
The IMCA Hobby Stock 14-lap A main went to Dustin Griffith. Griffith, who was the point leader going into the race, started seventh. He caught a four-pack of cars, Bradley Graham, Danny Thrasher, Scott Shull and Nick Ulin and had to battle past them to get to the lead at lap six. He then held that lead to the flying checkers and the win. Nick Ulin just barely beat out Thrasher at the finish line as they went second and third respectively. Scott Shull and Bradley Graham rounded out the top five. Dustin Griffith is the track champion for the third year in a row.
Seventeen IMCA Northern SportMods ran the 15-lap feature. Dakota Simmons and Colton Livezey began the run from the front row. Livezey overtook Simmons by lap two, taking the lead, but he had Curtis Van Der Wal closing in fast. Van Der Wal got to second and began reeling in the leader. With a lap to go, and a lap car blocking the leaders, Van Der Wal used it to his advantage, and grabbed the lead as lap fourteen was scored. He kept it that final lap and scored the win. Livezey had to settle for the runner up spot. Third went to Cory Van Zante, Austin Paul was fourth and Matt Van Gelder rounded out the top five. Curtis Van Der Wal is the track champion, defending his title from 2015.
The 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature was the one that decided the track championship at the finish line! Going into the night, Louis Lynch, the "Hurryin' Missourian", was three points up on local fan favorite Mike Hughes. Hughes started fourth on the grid and Lynch fifth. Hughes flew to the lead by lap one and was looking determined to gain those few points to snatch away the championship from Lynch. Wood tucked in right behind Hughes to run second. The rest of the race was a close battle between Hughes and Wood, with Hughes keeping the advantage....UNTIL, the final run to the finish line found Wood just edging out Hughes for the win! That final surge past Hughes ended up giving the track championship to Louis Lynch...by ONE point. Todd Reitzler finished third, Lynch was fourth and Mike Brown was fifth. If Hughes had won, they would have been tied, but with a win under his belt at the track and none by Lynch, the title would have gone to Hughes.
It was ironic that Colt Mather is the 2016 track champion at the Southern Iowa Speedway, but he was not able to start the feature due to issues in his heat, and luckily far enough ahead of second place in points, Andrew Schroeder, that it did not matter. Schroeder easily won the night's feature as he finished well ahead of Cayden Carter in second. Third went to Dakota Hayden and Scott Dickey was fourth. Fifth place Gordy Head did not finish, nor did David Sndyer from Greentop, Missouri.
Three new inductees into the Southern Iowa Speedway Hall of Fame were announced last night. They are Pokey West, Terry Schroeder and Dean Hughes. They will be inducted on the second night of the Fall Challenge, on Saturday night, October 8. The Fall Challenge is October 7 and 8 this year and will be the next and last race event at the track for 2016.
There are a lot of specials still around our area, so get out to a track and support the sport we all love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)