What a night at the big ole monster half-mile in Oskaloosa! It was fan appreciation night, with free grandstand admission and it was a packed house. For those that made their way to the races for the first time, I'm sure there will be some returning to enjoy the excitement they witnessed last night!
The Sport Compacts ran first, four of them in attendance. Bill Whalen, Jr. led the first lap until seasoned racer Merv Chandler took over by lap two. It was a case of chasing Chandler from there on as he took another win, his third at the track this year. Bill Whalen, Jr. took the runner up spot, while John Whalen came home in third, and Shawn Cooney finished fourth.
What a finish it was in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature! The early laps of the 15-lap event saw Bill Bonnett leading the pack, Dale Porter and Danny Thrasher chasing him. Meanwhile, the "tail-end Charlie" starter, Mike Hughes had been making headway steadily through the field, and was running in fourth at lap eleven. With just a couple of laps remaining, things got really interesting, as Bonnett continued his lead, Hughes had gotten to second and was pressuring the leader, and hot on their tails were Dustin Griffiths and Dale Porter. It was a real shoot out in the closing moments of this one and one that brought the huge crowd to it's feet! As the cars came to the checkered flag, Bonnett kept his line in the middle of the track, but two of his competitors chose the outside lane, another the inside. It was Dustin Griffiths swinging to the outside of leader Bonnett and Dale Porter followed suit. Mike Hughes opted for the inside line and as the cars crossed under the checkered flag it was Griffiths making the surge to the line first, taking the win. Porter "drafted" his way into second, Hughes was third, and the guy leading as they came out of turn four, Bill Bonnett, ended up in fourth! What a finish! Craig Brown rounded out the top five. This was Griffiths second win of the season, having won back on April 24th.
The 16-lap SportMod feature followed the Hobby Stockers. Curtis VanDerWal was dominate in this one, taking the lead at lap two, after starting in seventh, and pulling away. Only one yellow at lap three for debris, would slow the field. VanDerWal pulled away from his competitors by a near straight away at times, and won in easy fashion.....his third at the track this season. Jason McDaniel finished a distant second, third was Carter VandenBerg a good distance behind, Tony Johnson and Brett Lowry completed the top five. VanDerWal thanked Eric Flander in his Victory Lane interview as he ran a borrowed radiator from his fellow competitor. Love it when racer helps racer!
Next up was the 18-lap Stock Car feature. This one started out with a complete restart situation when Carl Yaw got crossed up just past the green flag, scattering cars. When things got underway, Rich Vogt led the field in the opening laps, but a herd of cars were behind him in quest for the top positions, sometimes going three, four and five wide. The cluster got sorted out a bit by lap eight, as Nathan Wood was now in command. Ninth place starter, Jason Minnehan made the haul down from Churdan again, and had made his way into second as the two were in a break away from the rest of the field. A caution flew at lap fourteen, bunching the field and on the restart, Wood pulled off to the lead again, Minnehan behind him and Jeff Joldersma close behind. As the field took the white flag, contact was made between Minnehan and Joldersma in turn two, Minnehan getting the worst of the deal and falling out, but Joldersma continuing on, but many positions behind. Wood took the checkers, Kris Walker avoided the confusion the previous lap and took the runner up spot, newcomer on the night, Derek Kirkland finished in third, Corey Stout, "from just across the street", came home in fourth and Jason Cook was fifth. This was Nathan Wood's first win in 2013, after a year or more's absence.
A great field of 18 IMCA Modifieds came to play last night. Scott Dickey took advantage of his pole position and had no trouble in leading the entire 18-laps to the checkers. The track, slick and black by now, provided plenty of passing back in the field. Cayden Carter ran in the second spot much of the race, but by lap fourteen, it was three wide as he was trying to fend off Jacob Murray and Casey Greubel. Greubel's undoing came shortly, when he clipped a tractor tire in turn four, and ended up in an easy roll. He was okay.When the action got back underway, with Dickey still in control, Murray was able to make the pass into second and brought Jesse Sobbing along with him. Todd Shute followed up and got into fourth. Little change occurred to the checkers in the closing laps, as Dickey took the win, his first at the track this year, Sobbing made the pass on Murray as they went second and third. Fourth went to Todd Shute and Carter held on to finish fifth.
A BIG thank you to promoter Mike VanGenderen for the fan appreciation night. It appeared to be a HUGE success, with an enthusiastic crowd we haven't seen in a while at the track. No doubt, a good many of them will be returning after seeing the action last night.
The warm temperatures of the day ended up being followed by a more than brisk westerly wind that buffeted the crowd. It also brought about a dip in temps, and those of us with a sweatshirt, were glad to have drug them along! We had nothing to complain about though, as our part of the state was avoiding the many tornadoes that reared their ugly heads in the northern part of the state last night.
June is a busy month for racing in our area. Week night specials are in abundance with many options to chose from. One of the dates on our list is next Thursday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds. Ken Schrader will be attendance as an added bonus. Also on the program are the 360 Sprint Invaders along with the IMCA Northern SportMods and the IMCA Sport Compacts. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Find a race to enjoy somewhere in your neck of the woods. Happy Racing!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Osky - 6-12-13
Unofficial results:
Modified
1. 40 Scott Dickey
2. 99 Jesse Sobbing
3. 48J Jacob Murray
4. 5 Todd Shute
5. 10C Cayden Carter
6. 92 Josh Most
7. 13H Travis Hatcher
8. 17 Tyler Groenendyk
9. 51 Tyler VandeKamp
10. 13 Matt Waugh
11. 11R Brandon Ruffcorn - Donnellson, IA
12. 17X Steve Pumphrey
DNF: 1+ Billy Davis, Jr.
149 Kyle Wahlert
64 Casey Greubel
38 Bill Gibson
22 Brandon Banks
62 Greg Cox
Stock Car
1. 52 Nathan Wood
2. 18 Kris Walker
3. 2K Derek Kirkland
4. 94 Corey Stout
5. 27J Jason Cook
6. 19A Alan VanGorp
7. 66 Jeff Joldersma
8. 22R Todd Reitzler
9. 38 Rich Vogt
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
DNF: 7S Jason Minnehan
73C Carl Yaw
17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 7 Carter VandenBerg
4. 8T Tony Johnson
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. 23K Ben Kates
DNF: 9A Logan Anderson
12 Eric Flander
51x Matt Webb
10 Brayton Carter
95J Jason Hall
8J AJ Johnson
42 Tyler Heckart
02 Mike Goldsberry (in 34Z Cory VanZante's car)
Hobby Stocks - What a finish!!
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 10 Dale Porter
3. 11 Mike Hughes
4. 19 Bill Bonnett
5. 69 Craig Brown
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 96R Jamie Songer
8. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
9. 33 Justin Hook
10. 55 Jared Stephens
DNF: 224 Gina Greubel
2013 August Bach
20T Richard Yaw II
99 Erick Knutsen
7A Aaron Osweiler
53D Ron Downing, Jr.
77 Derek Hodges
3 Travis Bunnell
32T Bobby Greene
Sport Compact
1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
3. 77 John Whalen
4. 30 Shawn Cooney
Blog to follow tomorrow
Modified
1. 40 Scott Dickey
2. 99 Jesse Sobbing
3. 48J Jacob Murray
4. 5 Todd Shute
5. 10C Cayden Carter
6. 92 Josh Most
7. 13H Travis Hatcher
8. 17 Tyler Groenendyk
9. 51 Tyler VandeKamp
10. 13 Matt Waugh
11. 11R Brandon Ruffcorn - Donnellson, IA
12. 17X Steve Pumphrey
DNF: 1+ Billy Davis, Jr.
149 Kyle Wahlert
64 Casey Greubel
38 Bill Gibson
22 Brandon Banks
62 Greg Cox
Stock Car
1. 52 Nathan Wood
2. 18 Kris Walker
3. 2K Derek Kirkland
4. 94 Corey Stout
5. 27J Jason Cook
6. 19A Alan VanGorp
7. 66 Jeff Joldersma
8. 22R Todd Reitzler
9. 38 Rich Vogt
10. 19 Donnie Pearson
DNF: 7S Jason Minnehan
73C Carl Yaw
17 Brock Welch
SportMod
1. 1V Curtis Van Der Wal
2. 85 Jason McDaniel
3. 7 Carter VandenBerg
4. 8T Tony Johnson
5. 72 Brett Lowry
6. 23K Ben Kates
DNF: 9A Logan Anderson
12 Eric Flander
51x Matt Webb
10 Brayton Carter
95J Jason Hall
8J AJ Johnson
42 Tyler Heckart
02 Mike Goldsberry (in 34Z Cory VanZante's car)
Hobby Stocks - What a finish!!
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 10 Dale Porter
3. 11 Mike Hughes
4. 19 Bill Bonnett
5. 69 Craig Brown
6. 84 Danny Thrasher
7. 96R Jamie Songer
8. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
9. 33 Justin Hook
10. 55 Jared Stephens
DNF: 224 Gina Greubel
2013 August Bach
20T Richard Yaw II
99 Erick Knutsen
7A Aaron Osweiler
53D Ron Downing, Jr.
77 Derek Hodges
3 Travis Bunnell
32T Bobby Greene
Sport Compact
1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 00W Bill Whalen, Jr.
3. 77 John Whalen
4. 30 Shawn Cooney
Blog to follow tomorrow
Duffy does it in the HDT, and Harris rolls along in the Deery Brothers Series
It was only our second time ever visit to the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa on Tuesday night. We immediately recalled two unique aspects of the track. The track appears to be UP hill from the bottom of the grandstands and you face west. Two traveling series only were on the docket for the night---the IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour for Modifieds, and the Deery Brothers Summer Series for the Late Models.
Forty-four of the IMCA Modifieds checked into the pits and they ran five heats with only the top two advancing to the main. They ran three B mains, taking four each directly to the feature, and added two provisionals to tag on to the tail.
It was announced earlier that the HDT feature would be 35 laps, but the announcer then said it would be 30 laps during the running. Polesitter Mitch Morris quickly jumped to the lead with the guy starting right behind him, Jesup, Iowa's Ronn Lauritzen, falling into second. But who was that flying on the topside? It was the 19D of Darin Duffy taking flight from starting in row three. Duffy took over the lead with a handful of laps in the books and would never relinquish that top position. Only one yellow flag would stop the action, that coming at lap sixteen. At lap twenty, there were two guys who had come from a B main making themselves known. Richie Gustin, had started in twentieth place and was now in third, and fifteenth place starter, the "Hartford Hustler", Jacob Murray was running fourth. When the checkers flew, it was Duffy taking the win, Ronn Lauritzen ran his steady as ever race around the bottom of the track, taking the runner up spot. Richie Gustin and Jacob Murray held on to third and fourth, and finishing in the fifth spot was Ryan Dolan. Veteran racer Dan Chapman, "The Flying Embalmer" came from starting twelfth and winning his B, to finish in sixth, and another driver coming from a B and starting twenty-first, was Kellogg's Kyle Brown in seventh. That made it four out of the top seven, coming out of a B main qualifier. The track was smooth and slick but there was plenty of passing.
After the always entertaining intermission "draw your pizza slices", for starting position in the Deery Brothers 50-lapper, it was Justin Kay with the lone slice in his pizza box. This was after a bit of back and forth passing, etc. of box after box. The #2 draw went to Stephen Kammerer. Kammerer was looking strong in the opening laps of the race, putting his car to the topside. That dangerous topside would be his undoing at lap eleven, when he slipped off of turn one, bringing out the race's only yellow, and sending him to begin again at the tail. The restart was begun double wide (since the leader had dropped out) with Kay at the point and Denny Eckrich along side. Kay and Eckrich battled back and forth for the lead for numerous laps...until the familiar 15R of Brian Harris came into the picture. Then it was the three of them going at it, giving the crowd their money's worth! Harris finally established the lead at lap twenty-six, but the fight was far from over. With the race continuing under green, would lap traffic come into play? Not for Harris on this night, as he motored home to the win....his third Deery Series race in a row, and padding his points lead. Kay barely took second over Andy Eckrich and nipping out brother Denny Eckrich at the line to go third and fourth. It was a tight one at the checkers. Fifth went to the wily veteran Ray Guss, Jr.
So ended another night of fun racing for us. We thoroughly enjoyed our grandstand "bunch" and as we've always said, it can be so much more enjoyable when you get to share it with racing family. There were four of us Positively Racing folk sitting in a row at the top of the wooden bleachers...and though we all watched the same race, from the same vantage point, do make sure you check out Jeff Broeg's "Back Stretch" and Ryan Clark's "In Staging" blogs at www.positivelyracing.com as well. We can all see it differently you know.
We enjoyed getting to join the "Lauritzen throng" as well. It was kept lively in our area all night long with the jibs, jabs, etc. flying all over the place. Fun times.
We watched lightning all of our 100 mile drive home last night, thankful it stayed far to the north and west.
Summer had finally hit yesterday, making our night of racing the warmest by far of any this season. Now as I write this blog, I am hearing of possible storm threats AGAIN, something we can all do without! We will be heading south tonight, for our weekly visit to the Southern Iowa Speedway. Tonight, grandstand admission is FREE. Yes. FREE. It is Fan Appreciation Night at Osky, so the stands should be packed with race fans far and wide. Happy racing!
Forty-four of the IMCA Modifieds checked into the pits and they ran five heats with only the top two advancing to the main. They ran three B mains, taking four each directly to the feature, and added two provisionals to tag on to the tail.
It was announced earlier that the HDT feature would be 35 laps, but the announcer then said it would be 30 laps during the running. Polesitter Mitch Morris quickly jumped to the lead with the guy starting right behind him, Jesup, Iowa's Ronn Lauritzen, falling into second. But who was that flying on the topside? It was the 19D of Darin Duffy taking flight from starting in row three. Duffy took over the lead with a handful of laps in the books and would never relinquish that top position. Only one yellow flag would stop the action, that coming at lap sixteen. At lap twenty, there were two guys who had come from a B main making themselves known. Richie Gustin, had started in twentieth place and was now in third, and fifteenth place starter, the "Hartford Hustler", Jacob Murray was running fourth. When the checkers flew, it was Duffy taking the win, Ronn Lauritzen ran his steady as ever race around the bottom of the track, taking the runner up spot. Richie Gustin and Jacob Murray held on to third and fourth, and finishing in the fifth spot was Ryan Dolan. Veteran racer Dan Chapman, "The Flying Embalmer" came from starting twelfth and winning his B, to finish in sixth, and another driver coming from a B and starting twenty-first, was Kellogg's Kyle Brown in seventh. That made it four out of the top seven, coming out of a B main qualifier. The track was smooth and slick but there was plenty of passing.
After the always entertaining intermission "draw your pizza slices", for starting position in the Deery Brothers 50-lapper, it was Justin Kay with the lone slice in his pizza box. This was after a bit of back and forth passing, etc. of box after box. The #2 draw went to Stephen Kammerer. Kammerer was looking strong in the opening laps of the race, putting his car to the topside. That dangerous topside would be his undoing at lap eleven, when he slipped off of turn one, bringing out the race's only yellow, and sending him to begin again at the tail. The restart was begun double wide (since the leader had dropped out) with Kay at the point and Denny Eckrich along side. Kay and Eckrich battled back and forth for the lead for numerous laps...until the familiar 15R of Brian Harris came into the picture. Then it was the three of them going at it, giving the crowd their money's worth! Harris finally established the lead at lap twenty-six, but the fight was far from over. With the race continuing under green, would lap traffic come into play? Not for Harris on this night, as he motored home to the win....his third Deery Series race in a row, and padding his points lead. Kay barely took second over Andy Eckrich and nipping out brother Denny Eckrich at the line to go third and fourth. It was a tight one at the checkers. Fifth went to the wily veteran Ray Guss, Jr.
So ended another night of fun racing for us. We thoroughly enjoyed our grandstand "bunch" and as we've always said, it can be so much more enjoyable when you get to share it with racing family. There were four of us Positively Racing folk sitting in a row at the top of the wooden bleachers...and though we all watched the same race, from the same vantage point, do make sure you check out Jeff Broeg's "Back Stretch" and Ryan Clark's "In Staging" blogs at www.positivelyracing.com as well. We can all see it differently you know.
We enjoyed getting to join the "Lauritzen throng" as well. It was kept lively in our area all night long with the jibs, jabs, etc. flying all over the place. Fun times.
We watched lightning all of our 100 mile drive home last night, thankful it stayed far to the north and west.
Summer had finally hit yesterday, making our night of racing the warmest by far of any this season. Now as I write this blog, I am hearing of possible storm threats AGAIN, something we can all do without! We will be heading south tonight, for our weekly visit to the Southern Iowa Speedway. Tonight, grandstand admission is FREE. Yes. FREE. It is Fan Appreciation Night at Osky, so the stands should be packed with race fans far and wide. Happy racing!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Carter and Petersen take thrillers, Schmidt dominate in Stock Cars
A good crowd was on hand at the Marshalltown Speedway Friday night, and a good car count as well...125 by my count. The Dirt Trucks were also in town due to the World Pork Expo going on at the State Fair grounds in Des Moines, and a few cars in the other classes that normally run there on Friday nights, came to play at the Highbanks of Marshalltown. A couple of thrilling finishes had the crowd on it's feet and two first time winners for 2013 took home trophies last night.
There were six IMCA Sport Compacts on hand last night, but it was still the same outcome that it has been the last three weeks prior....Merv Chandler took the checkers. Chandler passed Dave Moorman on lap two, never to look back. Moorman continued to challenge Chandler but to no avail, coming home in second. Third place was John Gill, fourth went to Toby Denning, fifth to Jeremy Lerch and Jim Alday was sixth.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks came next with eleven trucks strong. The red flag came out on lap two when Tony Moro rolled hard in turn two. He was okay. Bret Moyer continued his lead on the restart and held on to that top spot the full fifteen laps, taking the checkers. Brad Moyer finished second, Pat Fagen nosed out Carl Moyer as they went three and four, and Rick Clark rounded out the top five.
Mike Kennedy led the opening laps of the MADCRA Mod Lite feature, but by lap eight, Josh May came calling, grabbing the lead and sailing home to the win...his fourth in a row at Marshalltown. Following May up from their fifth row starting spots was Andy Hennigar in second. Third went to Eric Hendrickson, Charlie Brown was fourth and Randy Bryan, fifth.
I don't know what's been up the last couple of weeks with the IMCA Northern SportMods and their features, but it was beginning to look as if it was going to be another of the marathons we've been seeing. The first stoppage of the racing action came at lap two when Johnathan Logue and Mike Stark got together coming out of turn four, their cars ending up on the track just before the flagstand. Since there was a lot of fuel leaked in the incident, the track crew had to "light the match" and a huge blaze burned the fuel away before racing could resume. Three more cautions flew before the cars got up to racing speed but thankfully, that was the end of the yellow rag appearing. Clint Luellen held the lead by lap six but it was Austin Kaplan coming at a hard charge from his fifteenth starting spot and soon in the runner up position. Kaplan grabbed the lead on lap eleven and now Luellen was fighting off Travis Petersen as they ran second and third. Peterson slipped by for second and the chase was on to catch the leader. Kaplan held the advantage with a lap to go, but a slight slip up the track was all Peterson needed. Peterson sneaked by and took the win, beating Kaplan to the checkers. Luellen finished third, fourth went to Jared VanDeest and Ty Luellen finished in fifth. This was Peterson's second win at the track this year.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature went to veteran racer Bill Bonnett. Bonnett, who started in row five, took the lead from Mitchell Thomas at lap five and never looked back after that, winning by a comfortable distance over second place Nick Murty who came from row six. Third was Austin Luellen, fourth went to Garrett Eilander who was driving a new hot rod, and fifth was Eric Stanton. Bonnett took the checkers for the first time this season.
The front row of the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature was held by Justin Temeyer (sporting a new car with the #8675309...made famous from a 1980's tune) but being scored as his familiar 56T no doubt, and Eric Brown. Temeyer held the opening laps as the leader, but by lap three, it was "Napa Jay" Schmidt putting his new car to the point, after its debut a week ago. Schmidt set sail on the topside as he extended his lead and flew home to the win. Steve Meyer battled by Derek Reimer as they went second and third. Fourth was Damon Murty from his twelfth starting spot, and Tracy Gienger was fifth.
It was an exciting finish in the IMCA Modified feature. Cayden Carter jumped to the lead immediately in the 20-lap affair, Ronn Lauritzen getting to second and up for the chase. Carter chose the topside of the track, Lauritzen his preferred low side. Those two would put on quite the show for several laps but joining in the fun soon were Jon Snyder and Jimmy Gustin. Those four cars were locked into a tight battle for positions, bringing the crowd to it's feet! Snyder snatched the lead as the other cars got shuffled around...Carter dropping briefly to fourth. A yellow came out at lap fifteen when Jimmy Gustin found himself in spin mode, and at that point, Carter had fought his way back into the lead, Snyder running second and Lauritzen in third. The final few laps were thrilling to watch, Snyder grabbing the lead back at lap seventeen, but the 18-year old Carter wasn't done yet! Carter took flight back on the topside and swung around Snyder and as the checkers flew, had a comfortable distance between himself and his competition. Snyder held on to second, third went to Luke Wanninger, fourth was Richie Gustin who made late race strides, and Ronn Lauritzen fought hard to keep fifth place.
Here's hoping Mother Nature is DONE with her antics for a good long while and race fans can enjoy their racing fix without her ire. Get out and find a race to attend and support our love of dirt track racing. Happy racing!
There were six IMCA Sport Compacts on hand last night, but it was still the same outcome that it has been the last three weeks prior....Merv Chandler took the checkers. Chandler passed Dave Moorman on lap two, never to look back. Moorman continued to challenge Chandler but to no avail, coming home in second. Third place was John Gill, fourth went to Toby Denning, fifth to Jeremy Lerch and Jim Alday was sixth.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks came next with eleven trucks strong. The red flag came out on lap two when Tony Moro rolled hard in turn two. He was okay. Bret Moyer continued his lead on the restart and held on to that top spot the full fifteen laps, taking the checkers. Brad Moyer finished second, Pat Fagen nosed out Carl Moyer as they went three and four, and Rick Clark rounded out the top five.
Mike Kennedy led the opening laps of the MADCRA Mod Lite feature, but by lap eight, Josh May came calling, grabbing the lead and sailing home to the win...his fourth in a row at Marshalltown. Following May up from their fifth row starting spots was Andy Hennigar in second. Third went to Eric Hendrickson, Charlie Brown was fourth and Randy Bryan, fifth.
I don't know what's been up the last couple of weeks with the IMCA Northern SportMods and their features, but it was beginning to look as if it was going to be another of the marathons we've been seeing. The first stoppage of the racing action came at lap two when Johnathan Logue and Mike Stark got together coming out of turn four, their cars ending up on the track just before the flagstand. Since there was a lot of fuel leaked in the incident, the track crew had to "light the match" and a huge blaze burned the fuel away before racing could resume. Three more cautions flew before the cars got up to racing speed but thankfully, that was the end of the yellow rag appearing. Clint Luellen held the lead by lap six but it was Austin Kaplan coming at a hard charge from his fifteenth starting spot and soon in the runner up position. Kaplan grabbed the lead on lap eleven and now Luellen was fighting off Travis Petersen as they ran second and third. Peterson slipped by for second and the chase was on to catch the leader. Kaplan held the advantage with a lap to go, but a slight slip up the track was all Peterson needed. Peterson sneaked by and took the win, beating Kaplan to the checkers. Luellen finished third, fourth went to Jared VanDeest and Ty Luellen finished in fifth. This was Peterson's second win at the track this year.
The IMCA Hobby Stock feature went to veteran racer Bill Bonnett. Bonnett, who started in row five, took the lead from Mitchell Thomas at lap five and never looked back after that, winning by a comfortable distance over second place Nick Murty who came from row six. Third was Austin Luellen, fourth went to Garrett Eilander who was driving a new hot rod, and fifth was Eric Stanton. Bonnett took the checkers for the first time this season.
The front row of the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature was held by Justin Temeyer (sporting a new car with the #8675309...made famous from a 1980's tune) but being scored as his familiar 56T no doubt, and Eric Brown. Temeyer held the opening laps as the leader, but by lap three, it was "Napa Jay" Schmidt putting his new car to the point, after its debut a week ago. Schmidt set sail on the topside as he extended his lead and flew home to the win. Steve Meyer battled by Derek Reimer as they went second and third. Fourth was Damon Murty from his twelfth starting spot, and Tracy Gienger was fifth.
It was an exciting finish in the IMCA Modified feature. Cayden Carter jumped to the lead immediately in the 20-lap affair, Ronn Lauritzen getting to second and up for the chase. Carter chose the topside of the track, Lauritzen his preferred low side. Those two would put on quite the show for several laps but joining in the fun soon were Jon Snyder and Jimmy Gustin. Those four cars were locked into a tight battle for positions, bringing the crowd to it's feet! Snyder snatched the lead as the other cars got shuffled around...Carter dropping briefly to fourth. A yellow came out at lap fifteen when Jimmy Gustin found himself in spin mode, and at that point, Carter had fought his way back into the lead, Snyder running second and Lauritzen in third. The final few laps were thrilling to watch, Snyder grabbing the lead back at lap seventeen, but the 18-year old Carter wasn't done yet! Carter took flight back on the topside and swung around Snyder and as the checkers flew, had a comfortable distance between himself and his competition. Snyder held on to second, third went to Luke Wanninger, fourth was Richie Gustin who made late race strides, and Ronn Lauritzen fought hard to keep fifth place.
Here's hoping Mother Nature is DONE with her antics for a good long while and race fans can enjoy their racing fix without her ire. Get out and find a race to attend and support our love of dirt track racing. Happy racing!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Harris rolls in Deery win, Ruter takes HDT victory
Thursday night, the Hamilton County Speedway got their Deery Brothers and Hawkeye Dirt Tour race in the books, after having to postpone the show from Tuesday night due to good ole Mother Nature. Also on the race ticket were the SportMods and the Hobby Stocks.
The SportMods ran their feature first. After three yellow flags in the first three laps, the drivers finally found their racing rhythm with the race continuing the rest of the distance caution free. The majority of the race was a three car breakaway with Doug Smith leading Matt Lettow and Carter VandenBerg. In the waning moments, Lettow did his darnedest to get around Smith, but fell short, taking the runner up spot to winner Smith. VandenBerg held on to third and Nick Roberts and Aaron Benson finished fourth and fifth respectively.
The 10-car field of Hobby Stocks ran next---this one clicking off flag to flag. Ty Griffith led the troops in the opening laps, with Randy Embrey and Devin Smith tailing him. Smith took over the helm by lap five and from then on, it was clear sailing to the checkers. Randy Embrey made the move around Griffith as they went second and third. Fourth went to Cory Roe and driving the #2013 car often piloted by Adam Bonnett, was uncle Bill Bonnett in fifth place.
The HDT Modifieds came up next for their 25-lap event. This was a $1,000 pay day for the winner as well as a qualifier to be on the Fast Shafts All-Star ballot for the IMCA Super Nationals. Richie Gustin was looking strong in the early laps, leading Scott Olson and Ryan Ruter. A yellow flag at lap nine was what Ruter was hoping for as he had made his way into second, got the jump on the restart and soon took over the lead. Lap traffic with a handful of laps remaining could have made things interesting in many cases, but it was no bother to leader Ruter as he maneuvered easily through traffic and made it to the checkers first. Gustin came home in second, Olson held on to third and Mark Elliott and Jon Snyder finished fourth and fifth.
The finale was the "big boys", the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series 40-lap event. A nice field of 25 cars were on hand, and all but veteran racer Craig Jacobs were able to making the starting call. Earlier, an entertaining game of "pass the pizza" for the top 12 qualifiers was done on the stage. How many pieces of pizza in the box, would determine their starting spots in the feature. After all of the passing back and forth among the drivers who were trying to determine just how heavy their box seemed to them, it was 16 year old
Spencer Diercks opened his box to discover just one slice of pizza...giving him the pole starting spot. Diercks, who hails from Davenport, Iowa has already proved himself a worthy competitor as we've seen him take the checkers twice this season at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Diercks showed his stuff as he jumped to the lead at the drop of the green, chased by veteran Jeff Aikey. Diercks continued his control of the lead through lap fifteen. That would be when turns one and two rose up and bit him. He had been working turns three and four easily, but one and two had worked his line dangerously close to the wall. That lap fifteen would be his undoing when his car slapped the wall, bringing out a caution and ending his run. This handed the lead over to Jeff Aikey on the restart, but right beside him was series point leader Brian Harris. Harris, who had found eleven pieces of pizza in his pizza box, had worked his way toward the front, and ready to challenge for the lead. Harris stuck it in low a lap or two later, took the lead and began his quest for the win.
Ray Guss, Jr. found himself up to second at lap 33 and was on the hunt for catching the leader. It wasn't to be on this night however, as Harris took the win, extending his series point lead, Guss having to settle for second. Denny Eckrich took third over brother Andy Eckrich in fourth and Aikey fell back to finish in fifth.
It was a good night of racing at the historic 1/2 mile in Webster City. The track was heavy, but as the evening progressed, proved to be a multi-grooved and smooth surface. Thanks to promoter Mike VanGenderen for moving the show right along too. It was nice to enjoy the evening with several racing friends at a facility that we do not visit on a regular basis, though have in years past. The show was also deemed the second annual Wayne Redmond Rumble Memorial, in honor of a guy who no doubt was smiling down and enjoying the racing as he had done so many times at the track.
A busy racing time continues in the state of Iowa and surrounding area. Check out the racing schedule at Positively Racing's calendar of events for a race to put on your schedule. Happy racing!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Gustin and Schmidt snatch late race victories
On our journey to the Boone Speedway on Saturday, there were those ominous grey clouds again. It seems Mother Nature is just doing anything she can to aggravate everyone here in the state of Iowa.....hopefully it is her last gasp. We had a rain shower at the track but the track had been sealed and when the pesky shower passed, out came the trusty tractors and farm equipment and the track was ready for racing right on schedule.
There were some thrilling finishes last night in the Modified and Stock Car classes, and for the first time in a long time, we had a shortened race due to the time limit. A couple of first time winners for the year emerged and one driver showed his usual style, winning in thrilling form.
The MADCRA Mod Lites started off the night's A main action, and before the field reached the starter's stand, there were two cars up against the outside wall. Joel Huggins was upside down, but was okay. The other car involved was Joe Glick. I thought I understood announcer Jerry VanSickle to say that he too had taken a tumble. From our vantage point, we could not confirm that, however. This incident put both drivers out before even reaching the green. When racing got under way, Jason Whitehead led the pack, but it was Charlie Brown taking over at lap three. Brown then led the rest of the way to the checkers, securing his first win at the track this season. Bryan Zehm came from starting eleventh, to take the runner up spot. Third went to Randy Bryan who started in row five, Josh May was fourth and Mike Kennedy rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Northern SportMods were next and this one could only go a lap or two at the most when another yellow flag came out. The regularly scheduled 18-lap race ended up being called under the time limit with only ten laps in. Randy Roberts led all but the opening lap, taking his second win of 2013. Lynn Brockett finished as the runner up, ahead of Cory Rose in third, fourth was Darren Huntley, and Tara Longnecker came from starting eleventh, to finish in fifth. This was the second night in a row that a time limit has been needed in this class, as it happened at Marshalltown Speedway the previous night.
The 20-lap Modified feature was a doozie! It was fun to see the father/son duo of David and Kyle Brown going at it for the lead in the first ten laps. They swapped leads several times, and then at lap eleven, out comes a yellow. At that point, David Brown led son Kyle, but who should be lurking in third.....with a gleam in his eye and glad for the caution...would be Jammin' Jimmy Gustin. Gustin, who had started in thirteenth spot, had been putting on the show in his usual form, flying on the topside. Kyle Brown got the advantage at the restart, and took the lead, Gustin quickly taking over second. The #5 of Todd Shute had also made his presence known, coming from his seventh row starting position, and taking third, and lurking in fourth was Jon Snyder. Brown continued to fend off Gustin's advances, but with two laps to go, he made the pass for the lead, thrilling the crowd, and sealing the victory. Todd Shute and Jon Snyder finished in second and third, Brown fell to fourth and Shay Woods completed the top five. We noted when Brown left the tech area, his right rear tire was nearly flat. Gustin took his first regular season win this year, having won the Frostbuster back on April 6.
The exciting action continued in the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Veteran racer Robert Stofer took the helm of this one at lap one. Mike Goldsberry and Jay Schmidt were duking it out for the runner up spot through lap thirteen, as Stofer continued his lead. Schmidt made the pass into second at lap fourteen and then the chase was on the rest of the way to the checkers. As the cars passed the white flag, Stofer still held the advantage, but Schmidt put on the move and coming out of turn three, snatched the lead and scored the victory as the checkers flew. Stofer had to settle for second, Goldsberry held on for third, and Bob Daniels and Aaron Parmer finished fourth and fifth. Schmidt, who had just debuted his new hot rod the night before at Marshalltown, saw victory lane for the first time at Boone in 2013.
As always, the night ended with the 12-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Andrew Burg led the troops from the get go and was looking to be on his way to the win as the laps wound down. Eric Stanton had dogged the leader from the halfway mark and had been inching closer and closer. With two laps to go, the two cars passed the flagstand nearly neck and neck. Stanton was able to gain the advantage and held the lead as the white flag flew and would go home to the flying checkers. Burg chased him across the line to take second, third went to Tyler Pickett, fourth was Aaron Rudolph and Garrett Eilander came from thirteenth starting spot, to take fifth.
There's a lot of racing in our area coming up. Check out the Positively Racing calendar for some specials as well as weekly racing in our neck of the woods. This Tuesday night at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, the Deery Brothers Summer Series and the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modfieds comes to town. Also on the docket will be the SportMods, and Hobby Stocks. Hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30.
Happy racing!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Pruitt doubles up in hobby stocks, Murty wins unbelievable stock car feature
There was a LOT of racing at the Marshalltown Speedway last night as it was double features in four classes due to the rain out last week. Those classes, the SportMods, Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars and Modifieds clicked off those make up features in good time when they all went caution free. However, the regular night's features would be an entirely different story!
The SportMod feature from last week was run first and picked up where it left off, at five laps down. Brandon Brinton got back to business at the drop of the green, resuming his lead as Ben Kates pressured him while running in second. Andy Tiernen got to third with a handful of laps remaining and then those three front runners went at it. When the white flag flew, Brinton was scored as the leader but that was all she wrote as Tiernen surged ahead in the run to the checkers, snatching the win. Brinton took what had to be a disappointing runner up spot, over Kates in third, Jayme Duinink in fourth and Jenae Gustin was fifth.
Eric Knutson took the lead in the make up IMCA Stock Car feature by lap four, but Michael Murphy had made great strides from starting in row five, to get to the second spot. Just a few laps later, Murphy nabbed the lead, and pulled away, scoring the win. Knuston had to fend off a hard charging Tracy Gienger at the finish as they went second and third. Fourth place was Steve Meyer and veteran Jeff Wollam rounded out the top five.
Brandon Pruitt over took leader Brice Udelhoven with five laps down in the make up Hobby Stock feature and that would be the way it would finish. Following Pruitt and Udelhoven was Bill Bonnett in third, fourth was Eric Stanton and Austin Luellen was fifth.
Wow! We are moving right along with the make up features and with no yellows! Would it continue for the final feature, the IMCA Modifieds? The first six laps had David Brown and Ronn Lauritzen putting on a great show up front for the fans as they circled the track neck and neck. Lauritzen made the pass at lap seven for the lead and gave himself some breathing room. Eyes were now on the 69X of Jon Snyder who had started back in tenth, had put himself "up top" in his familiar position, and was coming fast! Snyder overtook Brown for second as the final laps wound down but was unable to gain any more. Lauritzen got his first win at Marshalltown this year, Snyder took second, Brown, third. Zach Rawlins and Luke Wanninger finished fourth and fifth. And yes, the modifieds ended the make up features with a caution free 20-lap feature! In his victory lane interview, winner Lauritzen thanked his sponsors and then deemed the track "perfect".
Now it was on to the regular night of racing and after all the heats and one B in the SportMod class was completed, it was time for more feature events. The Sport Compacts kicked it off. In this one, John Gill held the lead over Merv Chandler for the first three laps, but then Chandler took the reins and motored home to another feature win. Gill took second over Chad Larson and Josh Keller.
The Mod Lite's came up next. Josh May took command of this one at lap eight after his pass on Eric Hendrickson, pulled away from the pack and scored the victory, his third of the year at Marshalltown.Second place was Mike Morrill who started deep in the field, third went to Andy Hennigar who came from near the back of the starting grid, fourth was Eric Hendrickson and Randy Bryan completed the top five.
Things were still looking good with only a total of two yellow flags in the regular nights features. Should have known, as the IMCA SportMod feature was a yellow flag fest!! Among those situations were a car getting shoved into the wall and then a rear end coming out, another car shoved into the wall plus numerous spin outs, but when the threat of a time limit was tossed at the field remaining, the race did finish under green.
Eric Elliott took the helm of the SportMod feature at lap five and held off the contenders at the numerous restarts, earning his first win at the Speedway this year. Clint Luellen won the war for second as he had to go tooth and nail earlier against Ben Kates who was third, and Jenae Gustin in fourth. Brett Lowry took fifth place.
After the marathon SportMod feature, it was the Hobby Stocks rolling out for their second feature of the night. This one turned out to be a show between veteran Bill Bonnett and Brandon Pruitt. Bonnett preferred the outside line, Pruitt the inside, and at lap eight, Pruitt gained the advantage. Pruitt then motored home to his second win of the evening. Bonnett finished in second, Donovan Nunnikhoven hung around the front of the pack all evening and finished third, as did Chris Luloff in fourth and Garrett Eilander completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars ran their 18-lap feature next. This was a show up front between Sean Johnson and Jay Schmidt, who was sporting his new snazzy race car. The two went at it with Johnson holding the advantage. Then enter those ugly yellow flags again! Racing was halted for numerous incidents. Dusty Vis ended up against the outside wall coming out of turn four....minus his rear end. Just a few laps later, Michael Murphy who had won the make up feature earlier, found his car with the same situation! How often does that happen in the same race?! When racing did get back to business with more than just a couple of continuous laps, it was still Johnson and Schmidt up front. Schmidt gained advantage on the back stretch at lap fourteen, but Johnson slid in front of Schmidt coming out of turn four, contact was made and both cars dropped back in positions. So....now who should come into the picture but Damon Murty, the guy who had been to the pits once to change a tire and tag the field, and then once more having to tag the field after stopping to avoid the Dusty Vis incident with no place to go between Vis and the rear end on the track! Murty had flown through the field....more than once...and then running close to the front, saw his chance when the two front runners had made contact, snapped up the lead and snatched the win! What a thrilling race to watch! This was Murty's third win at the track this year...adding just another to his many wins at various tracks this year.
Finally....finale time and the IMCA Modified feature. Richie Gustin had his eyes set on the checkered flag early on. He led by lap four and extended his lead from the competition, even after several restarts brought about from those nasty yellow flags. Luke Wanninger ran in second much of the race, but once again, it was Jon Snyder taking flight on the topside after starting in twelfth spot. Snyder took over second but there was no stopping leader Gustin, as he took the win by a comfortable margin. Snyder took the runner up spot, Wanninger finished third with Jimmy Gustin snapping at his heels in fourth at the flag and Adam Larson was fifth.
It was right at 11:20 p.m. when racing was completed last night, but the fans sure got plenty of racing for the price of their ticket! It's a wonder there was racing anywhere in the state after the absolute deluge that we had! Here in Grinnell, we had 7.28 inches early Sunday morning...that was pretty accurate as we have an automatic rain gauge, and through out the next several days of more unrelenting rain, we ended up with right at 11.5 inches! We were one of the lucky ones, as the town had many basements full of water, many with backed up sewers, but we stayed dry! We feel for all of those who are dealing with those situations through the state.
Check out the calendar at Positively Racing for a race you may want to catch. Don't forget the Deery Brothers Summer Series and the Hawkeye Dirt Tour this coming Tuesday, June 4 at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Should be a great show. Now begins a busy "specials" time for racing in our area as well as all of the weekly racing programs. Get out and support and enjoy this great sport of dirt track racing we all love. Happy racing!
The SportMod feature from last week was run first and picked up where it left off, at five laps down. Brandon Brinton got back to business at the drop of the green, resuming his lead as Ben Kates pressured him while running in second. Andy Tiernen got to third with a handful of laps remaining and then those three front runners went at it. When the white flag flew, Brinton was scored as the leader but that was all she wrote as Tiernen surged ahead in the run to the checkers, snatching the win. Brinton took what had to be a disappointing runner up spot, over Kates in third, Jayme Duinink in fourth and Jenae Gustin was fifth.
Eric Knutson took the lead in the make up IMCA Stock Car feature by lap four, but Michael Murphy had made great strides from starting in row five, to get to the second spot. Just a few laps later, Murphy nabbed the lead, and pulled away, scoring the win. Knuston had to fend off a hard charging Tracy Gienger at the finish as they went second and third. Fourth place was Steve Meyer and veteran Jeff Wollam rounded out the top five.
Brandon Pruitt over took leader Brice Udelhoven with five laps down in the make up Hobby Stock feature and that would be the way it would finish. Following Pruitt and Udelhoven was Bill Bonnett in third, fourth was Eric Stanton and Austin Luellen was fifth.
Wow! We are moving right along with the make up features and with no yellows! Would it continue for the final feature, the IMCA Modifieds? The first six laps had David Brown and Ronn Lauritzen putting on a great show up front for the fans as they circled the track neck and neck. Lauritzen made the pass at lap seven for the lead and gave himself some breathing room. Eyes were now on the 69X of Jon Snyder who had started back in tenth, had put himself "up top" in his familiar position, and was coming fast! Snyder overtook Brown for second as the final laps wound down but was unable to gain any more. Lauritzen got his first win at Marshalltown this year, Snyder took second, Brown, third. Zach Rawlins and Luke Wanninger finished fourth and fifth. And yes, the modifieds ended the make up features with a caution free 20-lap feature! In his victory lane interview, winner Lauritzen thanked his sponsors and then deemed the track "perfect".
Now it was on to the regular night of racing and after all the heats and one B in the SportMod class was completed, it was time for more feature events. The Sport Compacts kicked it off. In this one, John Gill held the lead over Merv Chandler for the first three laps, but then Chandler took the reins and motored home to another feature win. Gill took second over Chad Larson and Josh Keller.
The Mod Lite's came up next. Josh May took command of this one at lap eight after his pass on Eric Hendrickson, pulled away from the pack and scored the victory, his third of the year at Marshalltown.Second place was Mike Morrill who started deep in the field, third went to Andy Hennigar who came from near the back of the starting grid, fourth was Eric Hendrickson and Randy Bryan completed the top five.
Things were still looking good with only a total of two yellow flags in the regular nights features. Should have known, as the IMCA SportMod feature was a yellow flag fest!! Among those situations were a car getting shoved into the wall and then a rear end coming out, another car shoved into the wall plus numerous spin outs, but when the threat of a time limit was tossed at the field remaining, the race did finish under green.
Eric Elliott took the helm of the SportMod feature at lap five and held off the contenders at the numerous restarts, earning his first win at the Speedway this year. Clint Luellen won the war for second as he had to go tooth and nail earlier against Ben Kates who was third, and Jenae Gustin in fourth. Brett Lowry took fifth place.
After the marathon SportMod feature, it was the Hobby Stocks rolling out for their second feature of the night. This one turned out to be a show between veteran Bill Bonnett and Brandon Pruitt. Bonnett preferred the outside line, Pruitt the inside, and at lap eight, Pruitt gained the advantage. Pruitt then motored home to his second win of the evening. Bonnett finished in second, Donovan Nunnikhoven hung around the front of the pack all evening and finished third, as did Chris Luloff in fourth and Garrett Eilander completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars ran their 18-lap feature next. This was a show up front between Sean Johnson and Jay Schmidt, who was sporting his new snazzy race car. The two went at it with Johnson holding the advantage. Then enter those ugly yellow flags again! Racing was halted for numerous incidents. Dusty Vis ended up against the outside wall coming out of turn four....minus his rear end. Just a few laps later, Michael Murphy who had won the make up feature earlier, found his car with the same situation! How often does that happen in the same race?! When racing did get back to business with more than just a couple of continuous laps, it was still Johnson and Schmidt up front. Schmidt gained advantage on the back stretch at lap fourteen, but Johnson slid in front of Schmidt coming out of turn four, contact was made and both cars dropped back in positions. So....now who should come into the picture but Damon Murty, the guy who had been to the pits once to change a tire and tag the field, and then once more having to tag the field after stopping to avoid the Dusty Vis incident with no place to go between Vis and the rear end on the track! Murty had flown through the field....more than once...and then running close to the front, saw his chance when the two front runners had made contact, snapped up the lead and snatched the win! What a thrilling race to watch! This was Murty's third win at the track this year...adding just another to his many wins at various tracks this year.
Finally....finale time and the IMCA Modified feature. Richie Gustin had his eyes set on the checkered flag early on. He led by lap four and extended his lead from the competition, even after several restarts brought about from those nasty yellow flags. Luke Wanninger ran in second much of the race, but once again, it was Jon Snyder taking flight on the topside after starting in twelfth spot. Snyder took over second but there was no stopping leader Gustin, as he took the win by a comfortable margin. Snyder took the runner up spot, Wanninger finished third with Jimmy Gustin snapping at his heels in fourth at the flag and Adam Larson was fifth.
It was right at 11:20 p.m. when racing was completed last night, but the fans sure got plenty of racing for the price of their ticket! It's a wonder there was racing anywhere in the state after the absolute deluge that we had! Here in Grinnell, we had 7.28 inches early Sunday morning...that was pretty accurate as we have an automatic rain gauge, and through out the next several days of more unrelenting rain, we ended up with right at 11.5 inches! We were one of the lucky ones, as the town had many basements full of water, many with backed up sewers, but we stayed dry! We feel for all of those who are dealing with those situations through the state.
Check out the calendar at Positively Racing for a race you may want to catch. Don't forget the Deery Brothers Summer Series and the Hawkeye Dirt Tour this coming Tuesday, June 4 at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Should be a great show. Now begins a busy "specials" time for racing in our area as well as all of the weekly racing programs. Get out and support and enjoy this great sport of dirt track racing we all love. Happy racing!
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