Shute returns to Victory Lane at Boone, May snags Corn Belt Clash win

The Memorial Holiday weekend continued for us at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night. There were 148 cars checked in to provide the crowd with a full night of entertaining racing action.  Todd Shute claimed his second victory of the year in the IMCA Modified class, and Devin Smith repeated his win from last week in the IMCA Stock Car division.  Cam Reimers won the IMCA Northern SportMod feature, and young Mike Smith went back-to-back in the IMCA Hobby Stocks.  The IMCA STARS Mod Lites were running a Corn Belt Clash series race, and it was Josh May taking those honors.  The duo of Jack Allen and Michael Miller got the trophy in the 2-Man Cruisers.

The STARS Mod Lites ran a 25 lap feature event for their second night of a three race series of their Corn Belt Clash event.

Ben George was the early leader of the main event but had big time company in the likes of Josh May, Memphis, Tennessee racer Bryce Vowan, and Jon Padilla.  Bad luck would bite George when a lap car caused him to fall back on lap ten, with May then taking over the top spot.

May would never look back after getting the lead, and would take it the rest of the way home to the win.  Second place went to the first race winner of the series, tenth place starter, Jon Padilla, Silvas, Illinois.  Third place was Bryce Vowan, RJ Gonzales, Colona, Illinois started in the sixteenth position and finished fourth, and rounding out the top five was Story City, Iowa's, Austin Gray.

The previous night, Jon Padilla had taken the victory in the Mod Lite Corn Belt Clash event at the Marshalltown Speedway.  Sunday, the series travels to Stuart Speedway for the conclusion of their 3 race run.  

The IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMod 18 lap feature was next on the program.

The early portion of the race was a swapping of position for the lead between Dusty Lynch, and Corey Pestotnik.  The two diced it back and forth for lap after lap until bad luck reared its ugly head when Pestotnik had a tire cut down, putting him out of the running.

Lynch was now in command being chased by Otho, Iowa's Jeremiah Reed and Cam Reimers.  A yellow would fly on lap sixteen when a drive shaft was dropped on the track, setting up a green-white-checkered shootout when the race returned to green.  Cam Reimers seized the opportunity and got the perfect restart, sliding into first place in turn two and then taking it on home to the checkers.  Taylor Kuehl also got a daily double on the restart, passing two cars and finishing as the runner up.  Reed would cross in third spot, but would be penalized after the race for a deck height infraction, delegating him back to fifth place.  This then would place Ryan Leeman in third, and Dusty Lynch in fourth.

The IMCA Friesen Performance Modified came to the track next for their 20 lap feature event.

Ronn Lauritzen led the troops through lap fourteen and was looking strong circling the top of the track.  Meanwhile, Todd Shute had made his way from sixth starting spot, and was now running in second place.  Two laps later, Shute pulled off a slider, and snatched the lead.  The closing laps saw Shute pull away to take the comfortable win.  Lauritzen held on to second, Cory Sauerman ran at the front all race long, and took third spot, fourth went to fourteenth place starter Jerry Flippo, and Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Nebraska started eleventh, and took fifth.  This was Shute's second win at the speedway this season.

The previous night in Marshalltown, Shute fell victim to the close racing and slide job, perhaps costing him the victory.  Saturday night, he got a bit of redemption as the close racing and his slide job payed off....though the nose of his ride fell off on his trip to Victory Lane.  

The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars ran a 20 lap feature.

Jeff Mueller started third, and took the immediate lead.  He catfished on the bottom, his preferred line, holding the field at bay, as Devin Smith made his way into second spot.  Smith then went to work on Mueller looking for a way around from about the halfway mark. There was no getting under Mueller as he hugged the bottom.  Finally Smith made the topside work with a lap to go, taking over the lead, and then taking it on home to the checkers.  Mueller had to settle for the runner up spot.  Third went to Josh Daniels, fourth was Buck Schafroth who started eleventh, and twelfth place starter, Scott Davis came home in fifth.  Devin Smith matched his win from last week.

Smith declared in the post race interview that he knew if he cleared Mueller on the outside, he had to immediately get to the bottom to protect the low groove, which is exactly what got him the win.  

The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks ran their 15 lap feature caution free.

Joe Wollenhaupt, who came from Neola, Iowa but now calls Boone home, led the opening laps until Andrew Burg threw his hat into the ring.  Burg took the lead on lap five, but lap nine found Wollenhaupt back in command.  Meanwhile, young Mike Smith had been working his way from twelfth starting spot, and had caught the leaders.

Smith took over second spot on lap eleven and then began the constant hounding of Wollenhaupt.  Just after lap fourteen was the in books, Smith saw his way around Wollenhaupt, and took the lead.  He then took it the rest of the way to the flying checkers and the win. Wollenhaupt held second place, third was Andrew Burg, Matt McDonald was fourth, and Eric Knutson was fifth.  Smith made it back-to-back wins as well as scoring win #3 of the season, plus winning the Frostbuster special.

It was a wide, smooth race track last night, and the winning drivers commented in their Victory Lane interviews, what a fun track it was.  

Next Saturday, June 3, will begin summer start times at Boone Speedway. Pits open at 4:30, the grandstand at 5:30, hot laps are 6, and racing at 7. It will be Capital Sign Company presents the Topless 2-Fers Night where the Modifieds and SportMods shed their roof and run for $1,200 and $1,000 respectively in a draw/redraw show.  The Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks, and Mod Lites will also be in competition.

Check the Positively Racing website's calendar and find a race to attend.  Help support the sport we all love....dirt track racing!

 

 

API Solutions Salute to Military Night wins to Rust, Murty, Wieben, West, Sabin, and Padilla at Marshalltown

Racing was back in action at the Marshalltown Speedway Friday night where it was API Solutions Salute to Military Night. One hundred twenty-nine race cars were in the house for a full night of racing action.

Joel Rust took the honors in the IMCA Friesen Performance Modified class.  It was Damon Murty taking the win in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car division, and Sam Wieben came home the winner in the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods.  Sam West took the checkers in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature, Kolby Sabin won the MACH-1 IMCA Sport Compact main event, and it was Jon Padilla topping the STARS Mod Lites by taking the win in the first of a three night run in their Corn Belt Clash series. 

Kolby Sabin started on the pole of the 15 lap feature for the MACH-1 IMCA Sport Compacts, and led all laps on his way to the checkers.  Terry Bickford and Mitchell Bunch chased the leader nose to tail the entire race but had to settle for second and third place respectively.  Following a distant fourth was Matt Miller, and it was John Gill rounding out the top five.  The race went caution free.

The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks ran next for their 20 lap feature.  Sam West started third, and took the immediate lead.  He was chased most of the way by seventh place starter Calvin Dhondt, and John Watson, who started tenth, but it was to no avail.  West would lead all 20 laps on the way to his first win at the track this year. He got his first ever win last August at the track.  Dhondt held second place, with Watson taking third.  Bradly Graham finished in the fourth position, and Luke Ramsey came from fifteenth starting spot, to take fifth.  

The field of 32 Hobby Stocks had to be whittled down through a B main for the 24 car starting grid of their feature.  It did not start off well as two cars would roll on the frontstretch...Chad Rickett, Jr., and Kaitlyn Schuring.  Thankfully, they were not hurt, but both cars suffered significant damage. 

The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods had more than their share of yellow flags flying in their 20 lap main event.

The lead was swapped several times between Sam Wieben and Kyle Olson but in the caution marred event, it was Wieben taking the checkers first.  Kyle Olson was running at the point when a caution flew with just two laps remaining, however, he was moved back two positions for the restart for what I believe to be a penalty for jumping a previous restart. He made his way back to second place as the checkers flew.  Taylor Kuehl came from ninth starting spot to take third, Travis Peterson was fourth, and Braden Richards completed the top five.

There was lots of close racing at the front of the pack in the 20 lap A main of the IMCA Friesen Performance Modified feature. 

Johnathon Logue led lap one, then it was young gun, Izac Mallicoat taking over, with Ronn Lauritzen and Todd Shute throwing themselves into the battle as well.  Bad luck would bite Shute, taking him out of the running just past the halfway mark. A yellow flew at lap eleven, with Mallicoat still holding down the lead but Zack Rawlins and Joel Rust were now in the mix breathing down Mallicoat's neck for the restart.

It took but two laps before Rust was now the man in charge of the troops.  He would hold on to that lead the rest of the way to the checkers, and grab his first trip to the winner's circle at the track this season.  Eleventh place starter, Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colorado looked strong in the late laps, and took the runner up spot.  Izac Mallicoat took third, fourth went to Johnathon Logue, and Paul Nagle slipped by Zack Rawlins in the final moments as they went fifth and sixth respectively.

The IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars put on their usual exciting show in their 20 lap feature.

There was numerous early lead changes in the race, with Kylie Rawlins leading lap one, lap two had Michael Jaennette at the helm, and on lap four, tenth place starter Dallon Murty was in charge.  Jaennette was soon out of the running when he had to exit with a tire issue, as Murty continued his run at the front.

On lap ten of the race, dad Damon Murty, who had started ninth, had caught his son, and the two ran the rim of the track, pulling away from the rest of the field.  The elder Murty then managed to pull off a slide job on his son, to take over the number one spot at lap sixteen.  A failed payback slide didn't quite work out for Dallon then, as he faltered just enough to allow Austin Kaplan to make the pass in the late circuits of the race...Kaplan taking second, and Dallon Murty taking third place.  Fourth went to Steve Meyer, and Dave Atcher was fifth.   

The racing night concluded with the running of the 25 lap feature for the STARS Mod Lites. This was the first of a three night Corn Belt Clash series race at three different track. They run at Boone Speedway on Saturday night, and Sunday they finish the series run at the Stuart Speedway.

Jon Padilla, Silvas, Illinois started second, and had the lead by lap four, never to look back.  He had lots of strong runners behind him with Josh May, and Justin Kinderknecht giving chase.  They couldn't shake Padilla though, as he would motor home to the checkers and the win.  Kinderknecht came from Salina, Kansas to try his hand on the High Banks, but had to be content with second place.  Josh May was third, RJ Gonzales, Colona, Illinois came from twelfth to take fourth, and tenth place starter, Dalton Bell, Hoisington, Kansas was fifth. 

Next Friday night at Marshalltown, the Modifieds and Northern SportMods go topless!  They will run a "Dirty 30" (30 lap features) that pays the Mods $1,200 and the SportMods will race for $1,000. 

  

 

McBirnie from 19th to the front at Boone

 It was a beautiful night for racing at the Boone Speedway Saturday with a nice crowd of fans on hand to watch the 158 cars in competition.  Jake McBirnie outclassed the field in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division.  Devin Smith took home the honors in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature.  Matt Avila took the win in the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMod class, it was Mike Smith in the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA STARS Mod Lites saw Austin Gray take the checkers.  The 2-Man Cruiser winners were the duo of Ed Clearwater and Max Allen.

The 15 lap feature event for the STARS Mod Lites came to the track first.

David Bailey was looking strong in the early going and was still at the helm when a red flag came out at lap eight after Erick Knutsen took a violent roll in turn four.  Thankfully, he was okay....as was his twin brother Derrick, who had earlier rolled his Mod Lite in a heat race. Twins will be twins, I guess!

When the race went back to green flag racing, Bailey was still holding on to the top spot, but that run would be short-lived.  Bad luck reared its ugly head on lap ten when his car went spinning just after the lap was completed.  This handed the lead over to Austin Gray, and that was a lead he would hold the remainder of the way to the flying checkers and the win.  Riley Clem, the Bakersfield, California racer who is back here racing for the summer, came from ninth, to finish as the runner up.  Third went to tenth place starter, Josh May, Randy Bryan started eleventh and finished fourth, and twelfth place starter, Garrett Stonum, from Lawson, Missouri completed the top five.

Several extra drivers in the Mod Lite class came a distance to get a little practice on the track.  The Mod Lites will have a Corn Belt Clash series race next week at Boone.  The series will be at the Marshalltown Speedway the previous night, May 26, and on Sunday, May 28, at the Stuart Speedway to complete their 3 race swing in the area.  

A new face stepped into the winner's circle at the Boone Speedway in the IMCA Northern SportMods, when Matt Avila scored the win.  Avila, from Prescott, Iowa led all 18 laps of the feature event.  This one had its issues with numerous yellows flying, and it was put under the time limit rule after caution number four on lap thirteen. The race did then go the full eighteen laps...funny how that often happens. Avila was never deterred by the issues happening on the track though, and went on to capture his first win at the track.  Cam Reimers chased Avila for most of the race, but had to be content with second place.  Third went to twelfth place starter Cole Fenske, fourth was Braden Richards, and Dusty Masolini was fifth.

The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds ran next for their 20 lap main event, and quite a show it was for the winner.

Nick Roberts jumped to the lead from his outside front row starting spot when the green flag flew.  Izac Mallicoat started third, and tucked in behind the leader.  A caution flew on lap thirteen, and on the restart, Todd Shute got around Mallicoat to take over the second spot.  A couple of laps later, bad luck would bite Shute, when he spun in corner one.  As the restart of that caution went green, suddenly it was Jake McBirnie sitting in second place after making his way from nineteenth starting spot.  A lap later, McBirnie threw a perfectly executed slider in turn two, and had the lead with three laps remaining.  It was all McBirnie's race the final circuits as he captured his first win at the track this season.  Mallicoat kept second place, third went to Nick Roberts, it was veteran racer Russ Dickerson in fourth, and Jimmy Gustin came from fifteenth to take fifth.

Devin Smith had little trouble in taking home the trophy in the IMCA Stock Car 20 lap feature.  He started fourth, took command on lap three, after getting around then leader Michael Smith (no relation) and from there on out, never looked back.  Brother Donavon Smith came from ninth to finish as the runner up.  Austin Bouzek, Trenton, Missouri got around Michael Smith in the dash to the checkers, as they finished third and fourth respectively.  David Smith made it a family affair as brother number three took fifth.

The IMCA Hobby Stocks ran a 15 lap feature, and it was another Smith family member in Victory Lane.  Mike Smith, son of David Smith, took the win.  Smith started eleventh, ran down then leader Riley Christensen and had the lead on lap seven.  He would then pull away in the closing laps and take the comfortable win.   Trailing a distant second was eighth place starter Eric Knutson, Eric Stanton came from sixteenth to finish third, John Watson started tenth, and finished fourth, and early leader Riley Christensen rounded out the top five.  This was Mike Smith's second regular season win at Boone this year, after also taking the win in the Frostbuster special.

Find a race to attend and help support the sport we all love....dirt track racing!

O'Neal repeats at the High Banks in the Super Late Models, while Berry and Jerovetz also see checkers

It was a beautiful night for slinging some dirt at the High Banks of the Marshalltown Speedway Tuesday.  The Castrol FloRacing Night in America was back in town for the second year in a row, and the 33 Super Late Models put on quite a show for the fans. The IMCA Modifieds and Stock Cars also ran, though not for weekly track points.

Dennis Erb, Jr., Carpentersville, Illinois, and Hudson O'Neal, Martinsville, Indiana, would lead the field of 22 final qualified Super Late Models to green for their 50 lap feature, paying $23,023 to the winner.

Erb would lead lap one, and lap two it was third place starter Max Blair, Centerville, Pennsylvania at the point. Then Hudson O'Neal came calling, taking command on lap four.  Brandon Overton, Evans, Georgia was challenging the leader at the halfway point and then on lap twenty-nine, the only yellow of the race flew, bunching up the cars for the restart.

O'Neal had no trouble shooting back off into the lead when the race returned to green, but then he soon had the company of Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, Illinois, hanging close behind after he had slipped by Overton.  The remainder of the race was O'Neal and Pierce circling the top of the High Banks. Pierce threw some looks at the the leader, but to no avail, as O'Neal took the checkers, Pierce going second.  Overton started seventh and took third place.  Ricky Thornton, Jr. who now lists Martinsville, Indiana as home, came from ninth, to finish in fourth.  Tim McCreadie, Watertown, New York completed the top five. O'Neal repeated his win from last year on FloRacing Night in America at Marshalltown, and took over the point lead in the series.

The IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars ran a 20 lap main event for $750 to win.

Troy Jerovetz, in his new B & B chassis, started on the pole and would lead all laps on his way to victory.  He was challenged at times by Jay Schmidt and Tom Berry, Jr., but he would pull away in the closing laps and take the easy checkers, Tom Berry, Jr. taking a distant second.  Jay Schmidt crossed the line in third place, but a post-race inspection would disqualify him for the right rear shock being too long.  This handed third place over to twelfth place starter, Dallon Murty. Jake Sachau, Manning, Iowa who is usually piloting a Northern SportMod, took fourth, and Todd Reitzler was fifth.

The finale of the night was the 20 lap feature for the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, that paid $1,000 to win. Thirty-nine cars were whittled down through a B main for the 24 car starting field. 

Tom Berry, Jr. started on the pole, and would lead all laps in this one on his way to victory.  Todd Shute started sixth, and was on Berry's tail by lap three, and then chased him all the rest of the way, to finish second.  Third place went to fourteenth place starter, Tim Ward, Cody Laney started tenth, and finished fourth, and Johnathon Logue rounded out the top five.  

The Marshalltown Speedway was showcased in spectacular fashion last night for FloRacing in America Night, from the cowgirl riding her horse and carrying the American flag around the race track during the National Anthem, to fireworks, the drone chasing the cars around the track, and of course, the great field of Super Late Model drivers from all across the country who came to run the High Banks.  There was a great crowd on hand to watch the racing, and the only downer was all of us taking home part of the track due to the northerly winds! The entire evening was only made better by getting to share it with racing friends and family that we got to visit with, many that we had not seen in a while.  We were joined in the stands by Ed Reichert and his lovely wife, Linda.  Be sure and take a look at his take of the evening's racing at Positively Racing with his "One Fan's Travel" blog.  

The Marshalltown Speedway will not have racing this Friday night, but will return to action on Friday, May, 26.  It will be API Solutions Salute to Military Night plus Corn Belt Clash for the Mod Lites.  IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks, and Sport Compacts will also be racing.  The green flag drops at 7:30. 

 

Three drivers see their first career wins at Boone Speedway

The Boone Speedway avoided the bad weather rumbling around the state of Iowa on Saturday and the show went on as scheduled.  Three drivers would get their first ever wins.....Chris Burke in the IMCA Northern SportMods, Aron Fye in the IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Shawn Cooney in the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks.  Other winners on the night were Ronn Lauritzen in the IMCA Modified division, Jay Schmidt in the IMCA Stock Cars, and Josh May in the IMCA STARS Mod Lites.  It was the duo of Sean Allen and Max Allen taking the trophy home in the Two-Person Cruisers.

Feature racing kicked off with the 20 lap A Main for the IMCA STARS Mod Lites.

Josh May captured his first feature win at the track this season as he led all but the first two laps of the contest.  Randy Bryan kept on his tail for much of the race, but had to settle for the runner up position.  Riley Clem, the Bakersfield, California driver who is spending his summer in Iowa, came from tenth starting spot, to finish in third place.  Austin  Gray was fourth, and Ben George took fifth.

Summer Anderson and Chris Burke led the field of 24 IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods to the green, with Anderson jumping to the point.  Her night was short lived however, as she suddenly broke on the backstretch on lap two, ending her run.  This put Chris Burke to the lead, as Hunter Longnecker tucked in behind and put on a relentless challenge.  Much of the rest of the race was a near side-by-side challenge as Burke kept his momentum up top, and Longnecker looked for a way under him.  Burke never gave up his advantage though, and would successfully hold off the challenge and see the checkers for the first ever time in his career, after four years behind the wheel.  Longnecker threw everything but the kitchen sink at Burke, but on this night, had to be content with second place.  Third went to eighth place starter Thomas Behle, fourth was Cam Reimers who recovered well after then leader Anderson broke right in front of him, and Dusty Masolini completed the top five. The race went flag to flag on the heavy track.

The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds ran their 20 lap A Main next  and this one too, would go caution free.

Ronn Lauritzen, in his Sonic the Hedgehog wrapped hot rod, started on the pole of the race, and would never relinquish that top spot on his way to the flying checkers.  There was a lot of good racing going on behind him though, with Jimmy Gustin getting the runner up spot after battling past third place Doug Smith, Russ Dickerson in fourth, and Brandon Leeman in fifth.

"The Class too Tough to Tame", the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars ran a 20 lap A main next.

Jay Schmidt kept it up top the entire 20 laps... sometimes a quite hairy spot being so close to jumping the "curb", and found Victory Lane.  Several drivers threw challenges at him, but to no avail as he sailed home to capture the win.  Austin Bouzek, Trenton, Missouri took second, just getting by Scott Davis in the closing lap, who was third. Fourth went to Jeff Mueller, and Kyle Everts started eleventh, and finished in fifth. Schmidt commented in Victory Lane, that he was glad to get his old car back that he had sold and bought back.

The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks made their first appearance for 2023 at the Speedway, running an 18 lap feature event.

Brandon Toftee held the upper hand through the first five laps, holding off Shawn Cooney. Cooney then took command the following lap and would hold that top spot the remainder of the race to score his first ever feature win in a race that would see a green-white-checkered finish.  Brandon Cox would take the number two spot, Toftee took third, and Jared Myers, and point leader, Jeff Johnson completed the top five.

The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks made it one for the books. Another driver, Aron Fye, got that first ever win under his belt in the 15 lap feature contest.

Aron Fye, in his sharp looking #8F, led the 24 car field to green, and would never look back as he went on to the victory. After an initial call back on the start, this race went the 15 laps without a yellow. Andrew Burg took second place ahead of third place finisher, Brian Ashburn.  Seth Janssen was fourth, and tenth place starter John Watson, was fifth. Quite ironically, Aron Fye matched his brother Danny Fye's first ever win from last week in the Northern SportMod division.

There were storms rumbling across the state of Iowa on Saturday. One left a lake in the middle of the Knoxville Raceway when they got torrential rains, but avoided any damage from several tornadoes being spotted in the area. Several other tracks in the state also had to cancel due to rains. Everyone was watching radar at Boone as well, but luckily, no rain or storm caught Iowa's Action Track on Saturday.  Rain had been close however, as we ran into a wet pavement just a couple of miles east of the track as we headed home.   

Races at Boone Speedway continue to have the green flag drop at 6 p.m. The show with seven classes last night, was completed at 9:16 p.m. The early start times of hot laps at 5, and racing at 6, will be in place until further notice.  

Find a race to attend, and help support the sport we all love....dirt track racing.

 

Season opener finally in at Boone Speedway

After suffering three straight weeks of rain outs,  and their only race of the year being the Frostbuster special back on April 8, the Boone Speedway finally got its regular season of track points racing underway on Saturday night.  Joining the regular weekly classes were the Outlaw Mini Mods. Many area tracks were rained out from the previous night's rain, but not Boone Speedway.  Their great drainage system and top notch track prep, produced a great racing surface last night.  One hundred fifty-seven cars put on a full night of racing action for the fans.

The IMCA STARS Mod Lites ran their 15 lap feature first.  Randy Bryan had a bit of luck on his side with his win in the contest.  He passed early leader Ben George on lap four to take over the number one spot, but was docked two spots for a jump on the start.  He pulled away from the field then, and though running out front, was only being scored in third spot. Luckily for him, a yellow flew at lap seven which realigned him in third spot for the restart....running behind George in first place and Bryan Zehm in second.  He immediately was up to pester George, and on lap thirteen, had the legitimate lead. He held it then to the flying checkers and win #1 for the year.  Ben George held on to the runner up spot, Josh May placed third, Bryan Zehm was fourth, and it was Jason Toppenberg completing the top five.

Next up was 20 laps of racing action for the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods. 

Danny Fye, Boxholm, Iowa would lead all 20 of those laps on his way to his first ever feature win.  He had to hold back the advances of Cole Fenske in the closing laps, but succeeded in capturing his first ever victory.  Following second place Fenske was hard charger and fifteenth place starter Braden Richards in third.  Fourth place went to pole sitter, Jessiah Taylor, and fifth was Taylor Kuehl, who started tenth.

It's always great to see a driver get his first career win and see how excited they are in Victory Lane.  Unfortunately, due to a wet and muddy infield due to all of the rain the previous night, the fans did not get to see that moment.  Congratulations to Danny Fye on that first ever win.    

The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds were brought to the track next for their 20 lap main event.

Johnathon Logue looked to be a runaway winner in this contest, but bad luck stepped up and bit him as he sailed along out in front of the field of cars. A lap car spun, and came to a halt in turn one, right in front of the leader, and with no where to go, contact was made.  A stop on the track under yellow would delegate Logue to the tail on that fateful lap seventeen, and rather than going to the tail with just three laps remaining, he exited the track. 

This put second place running, and eighth place starter Todd Shute to the point position.  Shute, who had been chasing Logue for much of the contest, would then go on to score the victory.  Jake McBirnie scored a second place finish after starting eleventh on the field.  Twelfth place starter Jeremy Mills placed third, fourth went to thirteenth place starter Jimmy Gustin, and Paul Nagle came from fourteenth to score fifth place. 

"The Class too Tough to Tame", the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars ran a 20 lap feature, and it was Johnathon Logue getting his revenge satisfaction from his disappointment in the Modifieds, taking the win in dominating fashion.

Logue started in third place, ran down then leader Troy Jerovetz on lap four, and never looked back.  He pulled away convincingly from the rest of the field in the caution free race to take the dominate win.  Trailing a distant second was Jerovetz, a distant third was Kyle Everts, who had to fend off a close battle with Scott Davis in fourth, and Clint Wendel in fifth.

The Outlaw Mini Mods joined the regular classes as an added attraction of the evening, bringing 20 cars to compete. 

Logan Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa battled by Ben Kraus, Kanawha, Iowa on the outside to nab the lead late in the race and held him off at the checkers to score the victory.  Following second place Kraus was Kamdyn Haggard, Humboldt, Iowa in third place, early leader Chase Daniels, Carlisle, Iowa was fourth, and Dalton Faber, Burt, Iowa was fifth. It took a bit to get this feature completed as the tiny-tired cars were often spinning.  

The night cap was 15 laps of IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock racing....which may have been the most exciting racing of the entire night.

Most of the race saw youngster Mike Smith dogging leader Solomon Bennett.  No amount of pestering seemed to fluster Bennett as he held on to his lead.  However, the youngster had something up his sleeve in the closing moments.  He threw a "White Castle slider" out of turn three on the final run to the checkers, and stuck it coming out of turn four to snatch the win.  Bennett had to settle for the runner up spot.  John Watson ran third most of the race, and finished in third, Skylar Pruitt finished fourth, and it was Chad Rigby taking fifth.

Next Saturday night, May 13, the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks will join the five regular IMCA weekly classes.  Pits open at 3:30, Grandstands at 4:30, Hot Laps are 5, with racing at 6. 

We watched lightning flashing to our southeast on our drive home, and drove through some pretty dense fog at times.  Mother Nature just had to show her hand again.  

Find a race to attend, and keep supporting the sport we all love....dirt track racing!