There was a stiff breeze blowing, and the damp temperatures hovering in the 40's, made for more than just a chilly night...it was down right COLD...for the Southern Iowa Speedway's season opener.
There was a nice field of cars, however, and the track seemed to be at their liking, as the bundled up fans looked on.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks were on hand and they were thirteen strong. Their feature was marred early when an incident on the front stretch found the #2M of Tony Moro flipping violently in the air, pieces flying. Thank goodness for all the safety features, and for the catch fence, as he emerged from his mangled ride unscathed.
When the action got back under way, veteran racer, Steve Jackson was in command and he would never relinquish it on his way to an easy win. Brad Moyer finished in second, third was Lou Sipolt, fourth to Anthony Moro (grandson of Tony Moro) and Andrew Clark was fifth. Jackson, who has many laps around the speedway from his Stock Car days, had not lost his touch in circling the track.
The IMCA Sport Compacts ran next. They had a field of sixteen 4 cylinder power houses in the pits for opening night. A rookie contender to the class, Daniel Fellows, showed that he is a force to be reckoned with in the division. He started third and took the lead immediately, never to look back on his way to the win. Jake Dietrich followed him across the line to take the runner up spot, third was Josh Barnes (piloting the 57 car of Barry Taft) fourth went to Brandon Housley and Cody VanDusen rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars always seem to put on one of the best shows at any track they run. It was no different last night at Osky. It was all 18-laps of close competition. Dustin Griffiths, who jumped up this year to the Stock Car class from being a fierce competitor in the Hobby Stocks, grabbed the early lead, but soon had Mike Hughes knocking at the door, and Derrik Agee quickly joined the two to make it a 3-way battle. Hughes was able to make the pass on the backstretch coming to the white flag for the lead, and would then hold the advantage to the checkers and the win. Agee slipped by Griffiths in the waning moments to go second and third respectively. Todd Reitzler had caught up with the front runners, but ran out of time to muster more than fourth place. Jason See completed the top five.
Jason McDaniel would lead all sixteen laps of the IMCA Northern SportMod feature to take the win. Curtis VanDerWal chased him for most of the race, but had to be content with second on this night. Third went to Logan Anderson, Carter VandenBerg was fourth and Colton Livezey was fifth.
There was stout competition in the IMCA Modified division with eleven cars checked in on this night. We were thinking it was over when we saw the Missouri hot shoe, Hunter Marriott drawing the lucky #1 pill to start on the pole. However, defending track champion, Colt Mather wasn't having any of that. Mather started third, and by lap two, had the lead. From there on out, Mather would drive himself to another victory. Marriott held on to second place, Todd Shute came from sixth starting spot, to take third, Cayden Carter was fourth and Andrew Schroeder was fifth.
The final race was the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Shannon Anderson, multi-time IMCA National Champion, showed his prowess by getting to the lead from third starting spot, by lap one. Anderson would then hold that coveted spot to the finish and the win. Eric Stanton finished second, and Bill Bonnett was a close third. Fourth went to Aaron Martin and Scott Shull was fifth.
We noted a couple of drivers changing classes this year. Danny "The Dude" Thrasher is now in the Stock Car class, jumping from the Hobby Stocks and Dustin Griffiths did the same. Griffiths is piloting the former Kelderman owned car that Zach VanderBeek raced. Corey Stout, "from just across the street", was a former Stock Car racer for many years, though absent recently. Last evening, he was trying his hand at Dirt Truck racing...though perhaps not permanently.
The track was fast and in great shape last night, considering all that Mother Nature has thrown at us. The drivers in their post race interviews in Victory Lane, all seemed to agree. The weather could have been more pleasant, even a few sprinkles falling occasionally thrown in with the brisk wind and chilly temperatures, but the racing was definitely not hurt due to any of those conditions. Racing will continue next Wednesday night with hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Join us for some mid-week racing at the Monster Half-Mile at Osky.
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