It was typical fair time in Iowa as it was a hot and sticky night at the Southern Iowa Fair in Oskaloosa on Tuesday night. It was the Inaugural running of the Caleb Hammond Memorial honoring the young race fan who lost his battle with cancer last year, after fighting the good fight.
By my count, there were 110 race cars in six divisions as the Modifieds joined the regular classes....the first time for their appearance in a couple of years. Cayden Carter took the victory and made it look easy in the Modifieds. Damon Murty drew the front row for the Stock Car feature, took command immediately and held it the entire distance with two cars sniffing at his heels. Brayton Carter took home the spoils by winning the SportMod division. Mike Hughes got his second win of the year in the Hobby Stocks. Jonathon Hughes won for the second week in a row in the non-wing Sprints with a spectacular slide job on the final lap, and Nathan Chandler brought it home to the checkers in the Compact class.
Eleven non-wing Sprints were in the house last night and prior to their feature, the drivers worked their way through the full grandstand as they passed the helmet for Chuck Graves. Graves was injured last week at the speedway and has a long road to recovery.
Josh Most, the veteran driver from Red Oak, Iowa that will race just about any kind of machine, drew pole position for the non-wing Sprint feature. I believe he was piloting the #93 of Rick Germar from the SW Iowa area. Most looked to be in a runaway in the feature race but hold the phone...one of those green-white-checkered finishes put a kink in that! Last week's winner Jonathan Hughes had been chasing Most much of the distance and when the yellow came out, it put him on the tail of the leader for the restart. A spectacular slide job on the final circuit....something Most is often known for, turned the outcome upside down, as Hughes flew under the checkers first....leaving Most no doubt, a disappointed runner up. Garrett Alexander followed in third, Doug Sylvester was fourth, and Dylan Alexander was fifth.
It was like a Compact nationals as Positively Racing's guru Jeff Broeg put it. By my count there were 24 of the mighty little race cars in the house to run the Mahaska Monster 1/2 mile. Nathan Chandler went home with the hefty $600 payday in the feature. Chandler took command early in the race after starting sixth, and took the comfortable win. Barry Taft was piloting the 30X car last night instead of his usual #57, and came home in second place. Trent Orwig, Chuck Fullencamp and Nathan Moody rounded out the top five.
The "Big One" happened in the Hobby Stock feature as about nine cars were involved in an incident on the frontstretch before lap one was counted. When the race restarted Christian Huffman was captain of the ship, but it didn't take long until Mike Hughes grabbed it away. From then on, it was all Hughes at the front of the pack on his way to victory. Clint Nelson ran at the front of the field all race long, and scored the runner up spot. Dustin Griffiths took third, fourth went to Christian Huffman and Derek Kirkland was fifth. Hughes went home $1,000 richer for the win.
Brayton Carter was the lucky recipient of the redraw for the SportMod 16-lap A main, drawing the pole position. It was all Carter from the get go on this one as he never relinquished his lead on his way to the $1,000 win. Logan Anderson challenged the leader but had to settle for the runner up spot. It was a close one for third and fourth, with Curtis VanDerWal in third, just holding off Cayden Carter, who was piloting the #30M car once again, in fourth. Jason Hall was a front runner the entire race and finished fifth.
The Stock Car feature had a rough time getting things going. It took three tries to get lap three completed, but after that, they ran caution free. Damon Murty, the "Chelsea Charger" was in the house and he drew the outside front row to start the 16 lap feature. Murty jumped immediately to the lead and two cars, Todd Reitzler and Cayden Carter tucked in to run right behind him. The three cars ran nose to tail much of the race, with Murty and Reitzler choosing the high road, and Carter giving it a shot by trying to often make the low road work, but to no avail. Murty took the checkers, Reitzler went second and Carter was third. A distant fourth place went to Derrick Agee and Nathan Wood complected the top five. Murty's payday was $1,000 plus at least another $100 bonus from a generous donor.
After a couple of years absence, it was great to see the Modifieds back running at the big old half-mile speedway. Twenty cars checked in with out of state drivers from Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, California, and Wisconsin. Veteran racer Bruce Hanford from Davenport led the hefty field for the 30-lap main event, staying at the front until lap twelve. That's when local hot shoe Cayden Carter showed just why he is often in victory lane, and flew to the lead. Carter, who started in row six,
was holding the lead at lap twelve when a yellow came out. However, this didn't deter Carter in the least. He took off as the race returned to green, and though running dangerously high on the race track, especially in turns one and two, skillfully raced on to the checkered flag and the win. He finished well ahead of second place Todd Shute, early leader Bruce Hanford was a distant third, Lance Mari, Imperial, California was fourth, and Austin Howes, Quincy, Illinois, was fifth. Carter, who was doing triple duty last evening, racing in not only the Modified, but the Stock Car and SportMod as well....had a successful night, with a 1st, 3rd and 4th. He also had a hefty payoff night with the $2,000 for the Modified victory.
There was a great turnout last evening for the Caleb Hammond Memorial, and many of the drivers had the date for this one circled on their calendar. It was heartwarming to see how the drivers and fans came in support of the young man who left us all too early.
We got a taste of some great fair food last night too....can't beat the great tenderloin at the stand behind the grandstand. We also got to sample an awesome concoction from the same stand, thanks to Jeff Broeg....sampling forks in hand when he came back with a huge helping of burnt ends, cheese, veggies, potatoes, sour cream, etc., etc. We return tonight for another night of racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway, when Todd Staley brings the USMTS Modifieds to town. We just might have to sample more of that fair food. Hope to see you there!
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