It was a scorcher on Friday, with temperatures hovering in the high 90s and the humidity, oppressive! However, the Marshalltown Speedway had not given way to calling off their program as several other tracks had canceled early due to the predicted heat. Then, an early day look at future radar was not looking good at all for getting the 6th Annual Dale DeFrance Memorial in.
It had been a long anticipated night of racing for the Dale DeFrance Memorial, with a huge field of cars...163 total, and a big crowd on hand that honors the patriarch of the DeFrance family. The purse money had grown by leaps and bounds and the draw/redraw show for all classes was looking to provide some great racing action. There was tons of give aways for the fans and the volunteers had done a fabulous job of raising donations both gift and money wise.
There were 27 of the Hoker Trucking Super Late Model Series (SLMR) drivers on hand and after hot laps were completed, they ran their time trials. By this time, the sky was not looking the best, but it was on with the show!
The heat racing began with the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods, which had a big field of 42 on hand. By this time, everyone was scanning the sky as it grew more ominous, and then the winds came up...big time, and by the time the third heat of SportMods was being completed, the temperatures had dropped considerably, and a few raindrops were beginning to fall. Then....the sky abruptly opened up! It went from those few raindrops, to an absolute downpour instantly!
Everyone rushed to gather their belongings, and made their way to the exit gate. Needless to say, it was a herd of "drowned rats".
It was announced that the Dale DeFrance Memorial will be run next week, Friday, August 4, and it will be as if last night never happened. The Late Models will time trail again, and the SportMod heats were null and void.
We got soaked as we made our way to the vehicle, and since many of the spectators were still trying to get to their vehicles, we opted to leave the parking lot, and try to avoid the rush. We are not sure that was such a good idea after we ended up driving through some pretty bad "stuff". Then an alert on the phone raised more cause for concern, as they were warning about possible 90 mph winds in the area! However, we continued on, through a bit of hail, strong winds, and a deluge. Of course, just a few miles from home, we ran into dry pavement! We just got in the garage, and the rain began. We sure have needed the rain lately, but Mother Nature just had to throw storms and a beating into the equation along with the watering!
We at least got to visit a bit with fellow Positively Racing blogger, Danny Rosencrans, (check out his blogs at "Racin' Down the Road") who drove all the way from Canton, Missouri for the show, bringing along a friend to share the long distance road trip. Hopefully, they made it home safely and earlier, but no doubt, disappointed in not seeing the show they came to watch.
It's off to Boone Speedway tonight, for what is one of my favorite shows of the year, Hunting with Heroes Salute to Veterans.
Keep supporting the sport we all love....dirt track racing!
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