Track Champions Crowned and Hall of Fame Induction Night at Osky

The Southern Iowa Speedway concluded its weekly racing program for 2020 on Wednesday night with a good crowd on hand and one of their best car counts of the year.  It was also Season Championship night and Hall of Fame induction night.  

There were ten Non-Wing Sprints in the house, though only eight would start the 10-lap feature.  Garrett Alexander's machine gave up the ghost in hot laps and Lance Silvers also experienced mechanical issues and did not start the feature event.  

There was still a $400 bounty on Jonathan Hughes, the racer from just down the road in Knoxville.  Hughes had been winning weekly, and going into the night had been credited with all seven wins at the track.  Though he had crossed the line in second during the Fair race to Ben Woods, that driver was disqualified for a rules infraction, and the win was awarded to Hughes.  

Hughes started fourth in the feature race, flew around first lap leader Doug Sylvester, and was leading at lap two.  He put an exclamation point on his win, pulling away to take the checkers.  Sylvester finished second, Mike Mayberry was third, and Tyler Graves and Chuck Alexander completed the top five.  Hughes not only got the win, but also got to take home the $400 bounty money that no one claimed.

The Sport Compacts had nine drivers compete, and all nine would start their 10-lap season championship race.  Billy Cain only needed to start the A Main to claim his track title for 2020.  

James Haring led the opening lap, with Billy Cain taking over at lap two.  Meanwhile, the 69JX of William Michel was on the move.  He was up to challenge leader Cain by lap four, and as they passed under the flagstand when lap five went into the books, Michel was leading.  From there on he held that top spot the rest of the way to the checkers.  Cain would finish as the runner up, Lewie Winkleman was third, with Nathan Moody and Dalton Sowers rounding out the top five.  Billy Cain is the 2020 track champion in the Sport Compact division.

Three points separated veteran racer Curtis Van Der Wal and young rookie Maguire DeJong going into the sixteen lap season championship race for the SportMods.  Logan Anderson leaped to the lead as the race went green and distanced himself from the field.  A yellow at lap two tightened the field for the restart, and by this time, point leader Curtis Van Der Wal had risen to the number two spot.  Van Der Wal dogged the leader and just as he had made the pass, the race was called back for another yellow.  This hardly bothered the wily veteran and by lap eight, he was in the lead.  He pulled away in the final laps, and won going away.  Anderson would finish second, Maguire DeJong was third, fourth went to Colton Livezey, and Charlie Weber was fifth.  Curtis Van Der Wal was crowned the 2020 track champion.

Dustin Griffiths in the Hobby Stock division, was another driver who had the track title all but wrapped up, leading by nine points heading into the fourteen lap season ending feature race.  Throw a little wrench into his night however, when he was disqualified in his heat race, for "unnecessary contact" with another car after the heat race".  He was then penalized and relegated to start the feature event at the tail.  

The feature had a hard time getting the first lap in the books.  When they finally did get going, Aaron Martin held the top spot.  However the adrenaline must have been pumping in Dustin Griffiths' veins as by lap three, he was already challenging the leader.  It only took three more laps before he took command, and then pulled away, riding the rim of the track, and put an exclamation point on his win. Griffiths took the track title....his sixth in the last seven years, according to my records.   Brad Stephens, Aaron Martin, Jon Irwin, and Rick Goldsberry completed the top five.  

The night's racing ended with sixteen laps of Stock Car racing.  This one was the tightest points battle of the evening with Jason McDaniel holding a one point lead over Derrick Agee. Agee would start fifth for the feature, McDaniel in seventh.  

Dustin Griffiths, fresh off of his Hobby Stock win, started on the outside front row, and immediately took command.  There was no looking back for Griffiths, as he hopped to the rim of the track once more, and motored off to the easy win.  Derrick Agee chased Griffiths most of the race but would finish a distant second.  Jason Hall ran at the front of the field the entire race and finished in third, chased across the line by Nathan Wood in fourth.  Jason McDaniel would finish in fifth.  Agee's second place finish was enough to claim the title of Stock Car champion at the Monster half mile.  

Earlier in the evening, the 2020 Hall of Fame winners were announced and honored.  The late Engel DeKock, who called Oskaloosa home for many years, was a Dutch immigrant who became a well known promoter of racing, a flagman, and was also a Southern Iowa Fair board member.  He was voted into the Hall of Fame by past Hall of Fame inductees.

Carl Vander Wal  started his racing career in 1958 and ran all over the state of Iowa.  He won the very first race at the then new Boone Speedway track in 1967.  This would be at least his third Hall of Fame induction, also voted in at Hawkeye Downs as well as the Boone Speedway.  He still attends races, supporting his sons Dale and Brian. 

Tim Folkerts was the second driver honored last night.  Folkerts, the Albia, Iowa racer who comes from a racing family...his father Wendell as well as brother Troy, have many laps around not only the half-mile at Osky but other tracks through out the area.   

The third driver to be honored with the Hall of Fame award, Dan Dickey, was unable to attend the ceremonies, and will be receiving his well deserved honor during the Fall Challenge races coming up at the speedway on October 16 and 17.  

Find a race to attend....check the calendar at Positively Racing and help support the sport of dirt track racing.