It was a better race track that greeted drivers and fans for Night #2 of the 22nd Annual Budweiser/Musco Lighting IMCA Stock Car Shootout. It wasn't unusual to see drivers going three and four wide throughout the night, as they all had visions of the top prize.
The IMCA Sport Compacts were vying for $500 for the second night, in their 14 lap event. Craig Bangert was a new entrant from the previous night, and set the pace immediately in the feature from his lucky pole position redraw. Bangert, from Golden, Illinois, was never seriously threatened, as he lead the entire caution free race and crossed under the flying checkers first. Trent Orwig chased him all of the laps to finish as the runner up. Another new entrant on the night, Brandon Lambert, Carthage, Illinois, started ninth, and finished in third. Fourth went to tenth place starter Brandon Housley, and Mitch Meier from Chilton, Wisconsin, completed the top five.
There was another $1,000 payday awaiting the winner of the IMCA Northern SportMod winner in their 16 lap run. Once again, it was Curtis VanDerWal going home with the prize. He passed early leader Eric Flander at lap two, and then stretched out his lead to more than a straight away. A yellow flew at lap nine, bunching up the field for the restart....Flander still holding second spot. Flander ran out of luck just a lap later, when he brought out the next caution when he hit the outside guardrail hard at the top of turn three, ending his night. The restart saw VanDerWal sail off once again, content to let the cars behind duke it out for position. He easily won for the second night in a row, marking the seventh time this season to stand in victory lane. Cousins Carter VanDenBerg and Brayton Carter had been waging a friendly battle for the runner up spot, with eighth place starter VanDenBerg winning out as they finished second and third respectively. Austin Paul took fourth place and Blaine Webster finished fifth after starting eleventh.
Veteran racer Kelly Shryock was not going to be denied a win in the IMCA Modified 16 lapper. Starting from the pole after drawing spot #1, Shryock rocketed off to the lead, soon to have Cayden Carter chasing him, with Woodbine, Iowa's Jon Plowman close behind him. Shryock contentedly continued his run to the finish line, sealing the $1,000 win. Meanwhile, most eyes were on the battle for second place. Carter and Plowman went back and forth for second, but at the finish, it was Plowman winning out for second place, Carter taking third. Jason Murray took fourth place and Todd Inman was fifth.
In the post race interview by fill-in announcer Jerry Mackey for the second night, Shryock said he plans on racing, "until I grow up and figure out what I want to do".
The unbeatable Shannon Anderson had to start tenth in the starting line up of the $1,000 to win 15 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. It didn't matter. He diced through the field, taking the lead with just a handful of laps down, and sailed easily to the win for the second night in a row. Aaron Martin finished in second place, pole sitter Bradley Graham was third, and it was a battle of veteran racers for fourth and fifth, with Jeff Anderson just finishing ahead of Bill Bonnett. Anderson remains unbeaten at the track this season....nine for nine.
The night cap was the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car headliner. Since the weather forecast had merited a format change earlier in the week, tonight's winner would be seeking a $1,500 pay off. As the race started, it was a bit hard to keep track of which car was which as Kyle Brown...piloting the second car of Damon Murty...led Damon Murty! Thank goodness for the bright yellow stripe at the bottom of Damon's car for my identifying marker! Murty took over, and fifth place starter Cayden Carter quickly moved from fifth to second, Brown hanging on to third. The three would go three-wide at lap three, and when lap four was scored, Carter had made the successful move into the lead. As the race wore on, Carter kept his "Orange Crush" machine at the point, Murty still chasing him. Further back in the field, there was a pack of cars in a "glob" all trying to sort themselves out for position. That mass of cars would bring out a yellow at lap eleven. When the race restarted, Carter would lead the field to green, but now it was longtime racer Johnny Spaw sitting in second after getting around Murty.
Another yellow would fly with fifteen laps down, the top three cars unchanged. Nathan Wood had come from tenth spot, to run in fourth and fifth place Brown had just dropped out with mechanical issues, leaving Donovan Nunnikhoven and Mike Hughes in a tight battle for fifth now. The final five laps went caution free, and Carter never wavered as he took the win. Spaw finished second, Murty went third, Nathan Wood was fourth, and twenty-second place starter Mike Hughes rounded out the top five.
The show moved right along last night, as the final checkers fell at 9:15 p.m. The track was soaked when we arrived and soon the packing began. There was a definite change in the track conditions from the previous night as a distinct low and high groove was the racing routes. We understand that the track was not watered as had been expected by promoter Mike VanGenderen before night number one of the Shootout, but he personally saw to it that it got plenty of moisture for racing last evening.
As we traveled to the south to Osky last evening, we were a bit concerned about the looming clouds in that direction, as well as when we checked radar. We were hoping that the "sky would part" and rain would not wash out night #2. Thankfully, no more than huge gusts of wind, darkening skies, and a pleasant drop in temperatures occurred.
We noted that several out of state drivers trekked to race at the "Monster" half-mile this year. Those that come to mind are Mike and Mitch Meier from Chilton, Wisconsin and Denny Berghahn, Jr. from Plattsmouth, Nebraska and Bryan Vannausdale, from Nebraska City, Nebraska ran in the Sport Compact division along with Illinois winner Craig Bangert. Austen Beccera represented Illinois in the SportMod class last evening. Jeremy Christians represented Wisconsin in the Stock Car division, along with Abe Huls, Illinois, Derrick Agee, Missouri, and Michael Sheen, Texas.
The 22nd running of the IMCA Stock Car Shootout at Osky is now in the books. There is no racing at the track tonight, but regular Wednesday night racing returns on July 12, for the Dave Lowry Memorial race.
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