Finally....fans returned to the stands at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. After the first two races of the season had no fans, it was great to see a nice crowd on hand for opening night in the grandstand.
It was Bill and Ray's Truck Repair Night at the races, with kids 15 and under getting a free night. Youngsters were also treated to some pre-race rides around the track in a race car.
Johnathan Hughes scored his third in a row, keeping his season perfect so far at the Monster Half-Mile in the Non-Wing Sprints. Hughes took command at lap four after passing Doug Sylvester, and from there on never looked back. He finished a good distance ahead of Sylvester in second. Another good distance behind was Kelly Graham in third. Garrett Alexander and Tyler Graves rounded out the top five. After taking the checkered flag, Tyler Graves took a high tumble going into turn one, but thankfully, he was not hurt.
Nathan Chandler handled the field of Sport Compacts, wining the 10-lap feature with little trouble. He led all laps on his way to the checkers. The fight for the runner up spot was determined at the flagstand, when Billy Cain just sneaked by Nebraska visitor Denny Bergahan, Jr., as they finished second and third respectively. Nathan Moody and Tyler Haring completed the top five.
Young rookie in the SportMod class, Maguire DeJong flashed to the lead immediately in the 16-lap feature, only to find himself in spin mode just after lap one was in the books. This handed the lead over to Scott Brau for the restart, but not for long. By lap two, defending track champion Blaine Webster was in command. That lead also didn't last long, as veteran racer Curtis VanDerWal was coming with a head of steam, and took over at lap four. VanDerWal, who had started sixth, would then pull away and put another notch in his winner's belt. Blaine Webster trailed a distant second. Scott Brau took third, fourth went to Jarrett VanDenBerg, (who was piloting the 7V) and Colton Livezey was fifth.
Dustin Griffiths had the pole position for the start of the 14-lap Hobby Stock feature, and found the dry slick track to his liking. Only one caution flew, that coming at lap four when Jaydn Stevens brought out the yellow, but it was of no issue for Griffiths on the restart as he pulled away from the field. Griffiths scored his first win of the year at the track. Aaron Martin ran second the entire race to finish as the runner up. Third went to Brad Stephens, Rick VanDusseldorp was fourth and Jesse Williams was fifth.
The Stock Cars were the best race of the evening, with clusters of cars vying at times for position. Early leader Jason McDaniel and Scott Dickey went at it, racing side-by-side down the backstretch and then Nathan Wood joining in to make it three-wide. Wood took over the top spot on lap five and seemed to be sailing along nicely in his Cadillac race car, when appearing quickly on his bumper was Derrick Agee, the driver from Moberly, Missoui who makes the haul up to Osky to run weekly. It didn't take long for Agee to dive under Wood, and take the lead. Wood hung close by the rest of the laps, giving it a last lap shot, but had to be content with second on this night. Jason McDaniel was scored third, fourth went to Scott Dickey, and Andrew Schroeder was fifth. It's appearing that Nathan Wood,"the Cadillac Kid", and Agee in his Terminator, may be putting up some good battles this year wherever they appear.
It was great to be back in the grandstand at Osky for our traditional Wednesday night race fix as it has been for many, many years. It was also great to see a nice crowd on hand as well as hearing the winning drivers say how great it was to be racing before the fans again. We have heard that at every race track we've been to this year, and good to know how much it means to the drivers.
Get out and find a race to attend in support of the sport we all love.....dirt track racing!
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