It was a beautiful night for some mid-week racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday. After last week's fair race with over 100 cars, there were only 40 cars checked in at the Monster Half-Mile. The kiddos got to take a spin around the big old half-mile as drivers loaded up the youngsters prior to races. In racing action there were no surprise victories this week as repeat winners came from all five classes.
After a full house of Sport Compacts last week for the Caleb Hammond Memorial race during the Southern Iowa Fair, there were only four in the house this week. Trent Orwig snapped up the lead from Nathan Moody at lap two, and then went on to stretch it out from the rest of the field, winning the 10-lap A main easily. The real contest in this race was for second place as Moody and Billy Cain wrestled much of the race with Moody holding the upper hand until the last moments. That's when Cain made a spurt to the finish line, taking second by a nose over Moody in third. Lewie Winkleman finished fourth. This was Orwig's fifth win at SIS this season.
The Non-wing Sprints were up next with Doug Sylvester holding the lead at lap one, only to have Johnathan Hughes snatch it away by lap three. On lap four, the race was red flagged when the #38 of Logan Alexander drifted too high in turn one, and flipped his ride high in the air. He did get checked out in the ambulance on site, but refused transportation, saying he was okay.
When the race resumed, Hughes shot off from the field and pulled away. He took the checkers well ahead of second place Doug Sylvester. Dillan Alexander made a fine recovery from looping it in turn four on the dash to the finish line, keeping his machine going, and finishing third. Garrett Alexander was fourth, and newcomer for the night, Joe Simbro from Swan, Iowa, completed the top five. This made three wins in a row for Hughes.
Rick VanDusseldorp made his return appearance to the track this year, competing in the Hobby Stock division after years of absence. He would lead the first four laps of the 14-lap feature until Mike Hughes made his way into the lead. Hughes had it well in hand after that, and would distance himself from the field to take the comfortable win. Dustin Griffiths got around VanDusseldorp in the closing laps as they finished second and third respectively. Christian Huffman and Clint Nelson completed the top five. Hughes won for the third time at SIS in the 2019 season.
The draw/redraw format that the track is running this year, set Curtis VanDerWal on the pole for the 16-lap SportMod feature. We were thinking, as most others I would guess, that it was over. It was. VanDerWal shot to the lead immediately, and even three cautions at lap two, five and seven were no issue for the veteran hometown driver. He would finish the race a straightaway ahead of second place Logan Anderson as the checkers flew. Colton Livezey was third, fourth went to Brayton Carter, and Blaine Webster was fifth. Surprisingly, this was only VanDerWal's second win at Osky this year.
The Stock Cars wound up the night's racing with their 16-lap feature. Nathan Wood claimed the lead on lap one, but just a couple of laps later, it was the "Orange Crush" machine of Cayden Carter taking command. From there on, he was out for a Sunday drive, taking the checkers a straightaway ahead of the field. The duel for second place was constant as Wood and Dustin Griffiths went to battle. Wood held the upper hand, and finished as the runner up, with Griffiths taking third. Jason McDaniel finished fourth, and Jason See made an appearance at the track last evening, and went home with fifth place. This was Carter's sixth feature win of the season in the Stock Car class.
Next Wednesday, July 31, will be season championship night at Osky, winding up the weekly racing for the year. Then, mark your calendar for the Annual Fall Challenge coming up on September 20-21. Prior to that Terry McCarl brings in the Sprint Cars ahead of the Knoxville Nationals running right down the road. The Southern Iowa Speedway holds the Front Row Challenge on August 6, followed up by the Ultimate Challenge on August 7.
Chuck Graves, the non-wing Sprint Car racer who was injured at the track a couple of weeks ago, continues to heal. Jerry Mackey announced that he has hopes of being released from the hospital soon. Last week, drivers passed their helmets through the stands, collecting donations for his medical expenses, with $1,138 being collected.
Find a race to attend during this busy racing season in our area. In fact, there were several shows going on last night alone. Help support the sport we all love.....dirt track racing!
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