There was finally a touch of Spring in the air on Friday, and with perhaps the warmest temperatures of the year so far, hovering around 60 degrees, it made the call to "go racing" easy to do. The sun was shining and with a light breeze from the southeast, we headed off to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. This would be our first race of the season and Iowa's opening race of 2013. Mike VanGenderen, the new promoter at the track, held the Spring Extravaganza with IMCA classes of Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts all on the program.
The IMCA SportMods started the night's feature racing and the final few laps were a doozie! Minburn, Iowa driver Clint Luellen showed his muscle by grabbing the lead early on. He held off the early challenges of veteran Jim Gillenwater and Tony Dunker, another guy who knows his way around a track. Gillenwater would come to a stop on the track bringing out the yellow. When racing resumed, young Carter VandenBerg joined in the fun at the front of the field and in the waning laps, it was a three-way race for the checkers as Dunker, VandenBerg and Luellen fought it out in a battle to the checkers. Luellen took the win, with VandenBerg nipping at his heels for second, Dunker, scored in third. Fourth went to Brett Lowry with a good run from deep in the pack and Brad Iverson, came from well back in the starting field as well, to capture fifth.
Next up were the IMCA Stock Cars with their 18-lap feature. It took a couple of tries before this one really got underway. One of the incidents found Nathan Wood and Jeremy Pundt into the outside guardrail of turn one, leading to the end of their night. After the third try, the green stayed out. The show was between Damon Murty, the "Chelsea Charger", and area favorite, Jason Cook as they circled the track, and mostly avoiding the dips and holes that had reared their ugly heads in the track. Murty took the win, shaking off the challenges of Cook who took second. Grinnell, Iowa driver, Todd Reitzler had a nice run to take third. Fourth went to John Oliver, Jr. and fifth was Chris Wibbell.
The IMCA Modified's scheduled 20-lap feature, a $1,000 to win Fast Shaft qualifier for the IMCA All Star ballot, pulled onto the track next. Scott Hogan, sporting a new car with an old familiar look of white and hot orange, jumped to the lead like a rocket ship. He had earlier dominated his heat race, and it was looking as if he would also do so in the feature. Yellow flags flew several times, as the cars were bouncing around on the track in teeth rattling form, leading to incidents all over the track. The race was then shortened to 15-laps due to the rough conditions. On the restarts, Hogan would continue to maintain his lead and scored the dominate win and the $1,000 payoff. Jacob Murray, the "Hartford Hustler" tried in vane to catch Hogan, but would go home with a second place finish on this night. Third was Brandon Rothzen, fourth went to Jeff Waterman and rounding out the top five was Steve Stewart.
The smaller tired IMCA Hobby Stocks rolled onto the track for their 12-lap affair. Newton, Iowa's Garrett Eilander in his #500 ride looked to be taking home his first win of the season as he was getting around the track easily, avoiding ruts and bumps. As the laps wound down, it was Dustin Griffiths and Shannon Anderson (who was racing the borrowed car of Jamie Songer, after Anderson's car went out during the hot lap session) challenging Eilander in what was beginning to look like a real fight to the finish. Oops on that, as Anderson lost a rear axle in turn four, and gathered Griffiths with him in the process. Yellow! Anderson limped to the exit into the pits, and a very unhappy Griffiths, who was dead in the water in turn four, opted to jog to the now disabled Anderson car, to ask him if he'd like to go out for pizza later. :) After that was decided amongst themselves and numerous people in the pits, the racing would resume with a green-white-checkered finish. This would take another couple of tries and more "bonus" laps, before the race would finally finish under green. Eilander held the point, but Eric Knutson and Andy Coffman were right on his tail. Coffman, made the final push to the front and scored the victory at the flag, followed by Eilander in second, Knutson in third. Fourth went to Jason See in the #79S car. It is our understanding that this 25-year old had never driven a race car of any type and not even go karts, so a congratulations to him on a fine showing on his first ever attempt of racing. Tim Pettibone took the fifth position.
By this time, the temps had dropped considerably and the crowd was thinning. Those that left however, may have missed one of the best finishes of the night in the IMCA Sport Compacts. It was a true photo finish at the flagstand as Skip Dunker in his #3 ride just nosed out Chuck Fullenkamp in the #48, who had lead much of the race. The #22 of Austen Becerra was third, Craig Bangert fourth and Brandon Lambert was fifth.
It was really no surprise that the track got rough last night, given that frost is still coming out of the ground. It was a bonus that racing even happened last night, but because of the diligent work all week long by VanGenderen and his crew at the facility, and the continued regrading and packing all through the night, race fans were treated to their first race in Iowa for 2013. Mother Nature has not been kind to us around here this early Spring, and the racing surfaces will pay for it. Let's hope things improve very soon so we can all get started on our racing fixes for 2013!
A big thanks to Mike VanGenderen for his hospitality last night for the refuge in the "Positively Racing booth" we shared with fellow PR blogger, Jeff Broeg. It was great catching up on some racing news, etc. Be sure and catch Jeff's take of the racing on "Back Stretch". Also check the calendar for the upcoming events this coming week, and the soon to be regular season openers of tracks in our area. Happy racing!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Almost time for Midwest Racing!
Hello race fans. It's been a while since we last checked in. It's been a slow "racing info" time for us, but the more we hear of the Springtime specials being advertised, the more excited we become as we anticipate that first roar of the engines out on a good old Midwest dirt track! We often make our way to Florida for the Daytona races and perhaps catch an area short track race too. However, this year we opted out of racing and instead took a wonderful family vacation to Hawaii instead, which was absolutely wonderful! Six Eisele's ---son, daughter-in-law, and 2 year old grandson and 7 month old granddaughter, and "Grandma and Grandpa Hawkeye", winged our way over the Pacific to paradise. I'm not sure who had to have more looking after, the grand kids or the grandparents! We all survived the LONG flights and the airport check ins just fine and have now checked Hawaii off of our "bucket list". Actually, we got to check off two more! We all did the HELICOPTER tour of Maui and got to see the WHALES, which was an amazing sight. We were all brought back to reality when the morning after returning home, we saw six inches of the white fluffy stuff outside!
Speaking of the Daytona racing, most of you probably saw the horrible wreck that happened on the front stretch in the Nationwide race. From the violence of the projectile debris going into the stands as well as driver Kyle Larson getting caught up in a "wrong place, wrong time situation", I would say only by the grace of God, no one was killed. Thank goodness that was the case. I immediately texted some friends who we knew sat on the front stretch and near the finish line. I was very happy to hear back immediately, that they were fine. The young driver, Kyle Larson has had a fantastic career already, winning in about any type of race car he jumps into. We got to meet the young man just last race season, when local area announcer Blake Anderson brought him into the grandstands at Marshalltown Speedway. He was very nice and sat in the stands with us to enjoy some dirt track racing before he and Blake retreated to the pits.
So now, back to the racing scene. Our planned first racing of the season is but a week away. We hope to see the 20th Annual Spring Nationals at Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, Nebraska. This has long been one of our annual "kick-off" races, having attended the majority of the races since it's beginning. I guess time will tell if Mother Nature will cooperate, but we will cross our fingers and hope to see our first dirt track racing of the 2013 season. There is practice scheduled for Thursday, March 14 and a complete racing show on Friday the 15th and another complete show on Saturday the 16th. It will be $2,000 to win for the IMCA Modified EACH night. The IMCA SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars, and the IMCA Hobby Stocks will also run a separate show each night. The IMCA Sport Compacts join in on Saturday night for a full show. For more information, you can go to www.beatricespeedway.com. Click on the "registration" form for a complete listing of the two-day show.
Here's hoping the next time I write, it will be about seeing some good old dirt track racing! Be sure and check Positively Racing for their race calendar, and you too may want to seek out some racing action.
Happy racing!
Speaking of the Daytona racing, most of you probably saw the horrible wreck that happened on the front stretch in the Nationwide race. From the violence of the projectile debris going into the stands as well as driver Kyle Larson getting caught up in a "wrong place, wrong time situation", I would say only by the grace of God, no one was killed. Thank goodness that was the case. I immediately texted some friends who we knew sat on the front stretch and near the finish line. I was very happy to hear back immediately, that they were fine. The young driver, Kyle Larson has had a fantastic career already, winning in about any type of race car he jumps into. We got to meet the young man just last race season, when local area announcer Blake Anderson brought him into the grandstands at Marshalltown Speedway. He was very nice and sat in the stands with us to enjoy some dirt track racing before he and Blake retreated to the pits.
So now, back to the racing scene. Our planned first racing of the season is but a week away. We hope to see the 20th Annual Spring Nationals at Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, Nebraska. This has long been one of our annual "kick-off" races, having attended the majority of the races since it's beginning. I guess time will tell if Mother Nature will cooperate, but we will cross our fingers and hope to see our first dirt track racing of the 2013 season. There is practice scheduled for Thursday, March 14 and a complete racing show on Friday the 15th and another complete show on Saturday the 16th. It will be $2,000 to win for the IMCA Modified EACH night. The IMCA SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars, and the IMCA Hobby Stocks will also run a separate show each night. The IMCA Sport Compacts join in on Saturday night for a full show. For more information, you can go to www.beatricespeedway.com. Click on the "registration" form for a complete listing of the two-day show.
Here's hoping the next time I write, it will be about seeing some good old dirt track racing! Be sure and check Positively Racing for their race calendar, and you too may want to seek out some racing action.
Happy racing!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
26th Annual Southern Iowa Speedway Fall Challenge
The curtain fell on the 2012 racing action at the Southern Iowa Speedway this past weekend. It was the 26th Annual Fall Challenge to be held at the Monster Half-Mile with racing on both Friday and Saturday nights. Promoter Mike VanGenderen kept the showing running at a brisk clip both nights...to go along with the more than "brisk" temperatures, and even moved the starting time up for Saturday's show, ending the action about 9 p.m. on the final night. The hardy race fans in attendance saw seven classes in all in competition over the weekend. The Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts that are regularly on the program throughout the year at the track, were joined by the Sportsmen Series both nights, and the Mod Lite division on Saturday night.
Friday night's racing qualified cars for Saturday night's championship feature in the Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock classes. The winner's from each of the heats went directly to the A the following night, plus the top 4 from each of the classes qualifying features. Saturday night, the heat winners plus the 4 qualifying through the feature from the previous night, ran a dash, to determine their starting positions for the championship features.
After a crisp Friday night of racing action, Saturday dawned overcast and nippy again. The hot laps had been moved from 6 p.m. up to 5 p.m. due to the cold forecast and the action for the first qualifying heats had the green flag drop right at 5:38 p.m.
The Sport Compacts ran a 10 lap feature event; their second full program of the weekend. The previous night, it was Merv Chandler trumping Kevin Kirkpatrick for the win. Tonight, son Kassidy Kirkpatrick got a bit of revenge by beating out veteran Merv Chandler. Kassidy Kirkpatrick aced his win by passing Chandler on the final lap, and reaching the checkers first. Third place went to Brandon Lambert, fourth was Kevin Kirkpatrick and Tim Bevins rounded out the top five.
The MADCRA Mod Lite class tried their hand at taming the Monster Half-Mile as they ran a 12-lap A main. This one was over at the drop of the green as pole sitter Josh May...the division's 2012 Champion for the second year in a row as well as track champion at both the Boone and Marshalltown Speedways, shot to the lead and pulled away. Second place went to Daniel Keltner from Wapello, third was Mike Kennedy, fourth went to Joel Keenan, and late arrival Danny Foster was fifth.
The Hobby Stocks went 20-laps in their Championship feature. The dash had decided the starting positions for those that had locked themselves in to the night's main and Craig Brown sat on the pole with track champion, IMCA Super National's Champion, and IMCA National Champion, Shannon Anderson sitting to his outside. The start of the race saw Mike Hughes spinning as he approached the starter's stand, calling for a "no go" on the start. As the field regrouped and they took the green for good, Anderson beat Brown to the first corner, but Brown was able to gain back the advantage, leading lap one. The two drivers were in a good battle up front but quickly making headway from the third row, was another former IMCA National Hobby Stock champion and multi-time Super National's winner, Andy Boeckman running in third. By lap nine, Boeckman had made the move around Anderson to take over the runner up spot, but Anderson fought back and regained second. Anderson's night ended with just a couple of laps remaining, when fate reared it's ugly head, sending him to the pits with a flat tire. Griffiths then motored on home to take the checkers, Boeckman taking the runner up spot. Third went to weekly racer at the track, Danny Thrasher, fourth was Adam Bonnett and Andrew Hustead brought his pink ride home in fifth. It was a $1,100 pay day for Griffiths.
Next came the SportMod division. The dash had set the front row and it found Eric Flander and Carter VandenBerg sitting beside each other. In recognition of the 26th running of the Fall Challenge, the race was set for 26 laps of feature racing. The race was running at a great clip and was going caution free, as Carter VandenBerg was sailing easily out front. It wasn't until lap eighteen, when a pesky yellow finally flew when Tony Johnson smacked the wall in turn two, interrupting the racing. As the clean up of debris began, it was then that announcer Tony Paris brought to the audience's attention, that VandenBerg had a left rear tire going flat! With VandenBerg going to the pits for a tire change, the restart gave the lead to Bryon Weyer, out of the capital city of Des Moines. Weyer went the rest of the distance to the checkers, grabbing the $1,300 win. Regular at the track, Curtis VanDerWal drove past Eric Flander in the waning laps as they finished second and third. Fourth went to Bill Gibson, another track regular, and Jared Timmerman, Norwalk, Iowa, was fifth.
The Stock Car class also went 26 laps in their Championship event. The first lap was led by Elijah Zegenbergen, a driver who runs regularly at the Buena Vista Raceway up in Alta, Iowa and who had made the long haul down from the far northwestern part of Iowa for both nights. His lead lasted until lap three, when Zach VanderBeek, a guy who has turned many a lap at the track over the years, took over the point position. From there on, it was a case of "try and catch Zach" race as he pulled away to a sizable lead and then the $1,300 win. The real race ended up being for second and third with Zegenbergen and Brad Pinkerton going at it in a good battle. Pinkerton ended up winning the war on that one, as he took second place over Zegenbergen in third. Fourth went to Columbus, Nebraska driver Doug Adamy, and Derek Agee rounded out the top five.
There was $1,600 on the line in the Modified A main championship feature. The earlier dash for starting spots had positioned young Andrew Schroeder and Josh Foster on the front row. Schroeder took off to the lead easily, but Foster had issues when sparks flew from beneath his ride on lap one. He soon exited to the infield, his night done. Billy Davis, Jr. sent the familiar looking yellow #1+ to the second place, Greg Cox riding along in third. Cayden Carter, who had started at the tail after getting caught up in an incident earlier in a qualifying event involving himself, Jacob Murray and Ronn Lauritzen leaving the latter two with too much damage to race, now was making a bid for second after passing Cox. With but two laps remaining, that infamous turn two wall came into play again, when Bill Crimmins tore off a few parts after kissing it, bring out the yellow and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. As the race restarted, Carter saw his chance and grabbed second place around Davis, but the leader Schroeder was not to be denied the win tonight, as he raced to the checkers first. Carter finished in second, Davis was third, Cox took fourth and Brandon Banks was fifth.
It was 8:38 p.m. when the above race concluded and though the Sportsman Series 30-lap feature was about to pull onto the track for the final wheel poundings for 2012, a warm vehicle was calling us. Word of mouth tells us that Kris Walker was the victor in that one...a guy certainly no stranger to the race track.
We will cross our fingers that with a few more races still on the schedule in our area, Mother Nature will be kind and hopefully last night was not our final race of the 2012 season. We appreciate the drivers who came out in the nippy weather this weekend to give us racing fanatics a show.
Friday night's racing qualified cars for Saturday night's championship feature in the Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock classes. The winner's from each of the heats went directly to the A the following night, plus the top 4 from each of the classes qualifying features. Saturday night, the heat winners plus the 4 qualifying through the feature from the previous night, ran a dash, to determine their starting positions for the championship features.
After a crisp Friday night of racing action, Saturday dawned overcast and nippy again. The hot laps had been moved from 6 p.m. up to 5 p.m. due to the cold forecast and the action for the first qualifying heats had the green flag drop right at 5:38 p.m.
The Sport Compacts ran a 10 lap feature event; their second full program of the weekend. The previous night, it was Merv Chandler trumping Kevin Kirkpatrick for the win. Tonight, son Kassidy Kirkpatrick got a bit of revenge by beating out veteran Merv Chandler. Kassidy Kirkpatrick aced his win by passing Chandler on the final lap, and reaching the checkers first. Third place went to Brandon Lambert, fourth was Kevin Kirkpatrick and Tim Bevins rounded out the top five.
The MADCRA Mod Lite class tried their hand at taming the Monster Half-Mile as they ran a 12-lap A main. This one was over at the drop of the green as pole sitter Josh May...the division's 2012 Champion for the second year in a row as well as track champion at both the Boone and Marshalltown Speedways, shot to the lead and pulled away. Second place went to Daniel Keltner from Wapello, third was Mike Kennedy, fourth went to Joel Keenan, and late arrival Danny Foster was fifth.
The Hobby Stocks went 20-laps in their Championship feature. The dash had decided the starting positions for those that had locked themselves in to the night's main and Craig Brown sat on the pole with track champion, IMCA Super National's Champion, and IMCA National Champion, Shannon Anderson sitting to his outside. The start of the race saw Mike Hughes spinning as he approached the starter's stand, calling for a "no go" on the start. As the field regrouped and they took the green for good, Anderson beat Brown to the first corner, but Brown was able to gain back the advantage, leading lap one. The two drivers were in a good battle up front but quickly making headway from the third row, was another former IMCA National Hobby Stock champion and multi-time Super National's winner, Andy Boeckman running in third. By lap nine, Boeckman had made the move around Anderson to take over the runner up spot, but Anderson fought back and regained second. Anderson's night ended with just a couple of laps remaining, when fate reared it's ugly head, sending him to the pits with a flat tire. Griffiths then motored on home to take the checkers, Boeckman taking the runner up spot. Third went to weekly racer at the track, Danny Thrasher, fourth was Adam Bonnett and Andrew Hustead brought his pink ride home in fifth. It was a $1,100 pay day for Griffiths.
Next came the SportMod division. The dash had set the front row and it found Eric Flander and Carter VandenBerg sitting beside each other. In recognition of the 26th running of the Fall Challenge, the race was set for 26 laps of feature racing. The race was running at a great clip and was going caution free, as Carter VandenBerg was sailing easily out front. It wasn't until lap eighteen, when a pesky yellow finally flew when Tony Johnson smacked the wall in turn two, interrupting the racing. As the clean up of debris began, it was then that announcer Tony Paris brought to the audience's attention, that VandenBerg had a left rear tire going flat! With VandenBerg going to the pits for a tire change, the restart gave the lead to Bryon Weyer, out of the capital city of Des Moines. Weyer went the rest of the distance to the checkers, grabbing the $1,300 win. Regular at the track, Curtis VanDerWal drove past Eric Flander in the waning laps as they finished second and third. Fourth went to Bill Gibson, another track regular, and Jared Timmerman, Norwalk, Iowa, was fifth.
The Stock Car class also went 26 laps in their Championship event. The first lap was led by Elijah Zegenbergen, a driver who runs regularly at the Buena Vista Raceway up in Alta, Iowa and who had made the long haul down from the far northwestern part of Iowa for both nights. His lead lasted until lap three, when Zach VanderBeek, a guy who has turned many a lap at the track over the years, took over the point position. From there on, it was a case of "try and catch Zach" race as he pulled away to a sizable lead and then the $1,300 win. The real race ended up being for second and third with Zegenbergen and Brad Pinkerton going at it in a good battle. Pinkerton ended up winning the war on that one, as he took second place over Zegenbergen in third. Fourth went to Columbus, Nebraska driver Doug Adamy, and Derek Agee rounded out the top five.
There was $1,600 on the line in the Modified A main championship feature. The earlier dash for starting spots had positioned young Andrew Schroeder and Josh Foster on the front row. Schroeder took off to the lead easily, but Foster had issues when sparks flew from beneath his ride on lap one. He soon exited to the infield, his night done. Billy Davis, Jr. sent the familiar looking yellow #1+ to the second place, Greg Cox riding along in third. Cayden Carter, who had started at the tail after getting caught up in an incident earlier in a qualifying event involving himself, Jacob Murray and Ronn Lauritzen leaving the latter two with too much damage to race, now was making a bid for second after passing Cox. With but two laps remaining, that infamous turn two wall came into play again, when Bill Crimmins tore off a few parts after kissing it, bring out the yellow and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. As the race restarted, Carter saw his chance and grabbed second place around Davis, but the leader Schroeder was not to be denied the win tonight, as he raced to the checkers first. Carter finished in second, Davis was third, Cox took fourth and Brandon Banks was fifth.
It was 8:38 p.m. when the above race concluded and though the Sportsman Series 30-lap feature was about to pull onto the track for the final wheel poundings for 2012, a warm vehicle was calling us. Word of mouth tells us that Kris Walker was the victor in that one...a guy certainly no stranger to the race track.
We will cross our fingers that with a few more races still on the schedule in our area, Mother Nature will be kind and hopefully last night was not our final race of the 2012 season. We appreciate the drivers who came out in the nippy weather this weekend to give us racing fanatics a show.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Osky Fall Challenge - Night #2
Unofficial
Modified
Feature
1. 02 Andrew Schroeder
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 1 Billy Davis, Jr.
4. 62 Greg Cox
5. 22 Brandon Banks
6. 7W Mark Widmar
7. 51 Tyler Vandekamp
8. 5M Matthew Meinecke
9. 71W Jeff Waterman
10. 36 Jeff Conner
DNF: 68 Bill Crimmins
18 Jake Durbin
77F Josh Foster
DNS: 10K Ronn Lauritzen
48J Jacob Murray
Stock Car
Feature
1. 33Z Zach VanderBeek
2. 62 Brad Pinkerton
3. 66Z Elijah Zegenbergen
4, 93 Doug Adamy
5. 14 Derek Agee
6. 52 Nathan Wood
7. 72 Jerry Pilcher
8. 27S Doug Sidle
9. 19A Alan VanGorp
10. 78 Jeff Anderson
11. 31S Paul Shepherd
12. 94 Cory Stout
13. 48 Cody Agee
14.. 409 Howard Gordon, Jr.
15. 27 Michael Johnston
16.17R Derek Reimer
17.. 73C Carl Yaw, Jr.
18. 12 Dave Rodda
19. 7K Jeremy Kane
DNF: 25c Shane Paris
22R Todd Reitzler
1 Chad Scandrett
11X Shay Curtin
SportMod
Feature
1. 27 Bryon Weyer
2. 1 Curtis VanDerWal
3. 12 Eric Flander
4. 38 Bill Gibson
5. 7+ Jared Timmerman
6. 72 Brett Lowry
7. 36 Jason Mallicoat
8. 23JR Nick Roberts
9. 21L Matt Lettow
10. 198 Sam Wieben
11. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
12. 32L Ty Luellen
13. 9 Mitch Van Engen
14. 95J Brad Iverson
15. 20G Mike Grantham
16. 7 Carter VandenBerg
17. 101 Derek St.Clair
18 24 Alec Vandenbrink
19. 63 Rick Faase
20. 33R DJ Robinson
DNF: 01 Brayton Carter
43 Jeremiah Jones
8T Tony Johnson
105 John Oliver, Jr.
Hobby Stock
Feature
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 62B Andy Boeckman
3. 84 Danny Thrasher
4. 31 Adam Bonnett
5. 20 Andrew Hustead
6. 3C Clayton Crump
7. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
8. 18 Kris Walker
9. 27 Jesse Garrett
10. 224 Gina Greubel
11. 07 Jacob Kaiser
12. 4JJ Jason Reigel
13. 17 Andy Peck
DNF: 224x Casey Greubel
78 Shannon Anderson
18H Mike Hughes
69 Craig Brown
15X Roger Vandenbrink
57 Scott Shull
32T Bobby Greene
Mod Lite
Feature
1. 99 Josh May
2. 95 Mike Kennedy
3. 27D Dan Keltner
4. 09 Joel Keenan
5. 19JR Danny Foster
Sport Compact
Feature
1. 27 Kassidy Kirkpatrick
2. 2 Merv Chandler
3. 14L Brandon Lambert
4. 92 Kevin Kirkpatrick
5. 95 Tim Burns
6. 77 John Whalen
7. 04 Trent Orwig
8. 26 Jim Garrett
9. 66R Richie Arnold
10. 77T Tony Baughman
DNF: 29 Kevin Garrett
Sportsman Series also ran a 30 lap feature at the end. Winner via secondhand, 18W Kris Walker.
Modified
Feature
1. 02 Andrew Schroeder
2. 10C Cayden Carter
3. 1 Billy Davis, Jr.
4. 62 Greg Cox
5. 22 Brandon Banks
6. 7W Mark Widmar
7. 51 Tyler Vandekamp
8. 5M Matthew Meinecke
9. 71W Jeff Waterman
10. 36 Jeff Conner
DNF: 68 Bill Crimmins
18 Jake Durbin
77F Josh Foster
DNS: 10K Ronn Lauritzen
48J Jacob Murray
Stock Car
Feature
1. 33Z Zach VanderBeek
2. 62 Brad Pinkerton
3. 66Z Elijah Zegenbergen
4, 93 Doug Adamy
5. 14 Derek Agee
6. 52 Nathan Wood
7. 72 Jerry Pilcher
8. 27S Doug Sidle
9. 19A Alan VanGorp
10. 78 Jeff Anderson
11. 31S Paul Shepherd
12. 94 Cory Stout
13. 48 Cody Agee
14.. 409 Howard Gordon, Jr.
15. 27 Michael Johnston
16.17R Derek Reimer
17.. 73C Carl Yaw, Jr.
18. 12 Dave Rodda
19. 7K Jeremy Kane
DNF: 25c Shane Paris
22R Todd Reitzler
1 Chad Scandrett
11X Shay Curtin
SportMod
Feature
1. 27 Bryon Weyer
2. 1 Curtis VanDerWal
3. 12 Eric Flander
4. 38 Bill Gibson
5. 7+ Jared Timmerman
6. 72 Brett Lowry
7. 36 Jason Mallicoat
8. 23JR Nick Roberts
9. 21L Matt Lettow
10. 198 Sam Wieben
11. 10R Ryan Fullencamp
12. 32L Ty Luellen
13. 9 Mitch Van Engen
14. 95J Brad Iverson
15. 20G Mike Grantham
16. 7 Carter VandenBerg
17. 101 Derek St.Clair
18 24 Alec Vandenbrink
19. 63 Rick Faase
20. 33R DJ Robinson
DNF: 01 Brayton Carter
43 Jeremiah Jones
8T Tony Johnson
105 John Oliver, Jr.
Hobby Stock
Feature
1. 10G Dustin Griffiths
2. 62B Andy Boeckman
3. 84 Danny Thrasher
4. 31 Adam Bonnett
5. 20 Andrew Hustead
6. 3C Clayton Crump
7. 2N Donovan Nunnikhoven
8. 18 Kris Walker
9. 27 Jesse Garrett
10. 224 Gina Greubel
11. 07 Jacob Kaiser
12. 4JJ Jason Reigel
13. 17 Andy Peck
DNF: 224x Casey Greubel
78 Shannon Anderson
18H Mike Hughes
69 Craig Brown
15X Roger Vandenbrink
57 Scott Shull
32T Bobby Greene
Mod Lite
Feature
1. 99 Josh May
2. 95 Mike Kennedy
3. 27D Dan Keltner
4. 09 Joel Keenan
5. 19JR Danny Foster
Sport Compact
Feature
1. 27 Kassidy Kirkpatrick
2. 2 Merv Chandler
3. 14L Brandon Lambert
4. 92 Kevin Kirkpatrick
5. 95 Tim Burns
6. 77 John Whalen
7. 04 Trent Orwig
8. 26 Jim Garrett
9. 66R Richie Arnold
10. 77T Tony Baughman
DNF: 29 Kevin Garrett
Sportsman Series also ran a 30 lap feature at the end. Winner via secondhand, 18W Kris Walker.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Osky Fall Challenge - Night #1
Some unofficial results:
Modified - The 6 below will run a dash to determine
starting positions for tomorrow's championship A
Heat #1 - 77F Josh Foster - directly to A tomorrow
Heat #2 - 18 Jake Durbin - directly to A tomorrow
Qualifier A - top 4 to tomorrow's A
1. 1+ Bill Davis, Jr.
2. 68 Bill Crimmins
3. 71W Jeff Waterman
4. 02 Andrew Schroeder
SportMod - The 7 below will run a dash to determine
starting positions for tomorrow's championship A
Heat #1 - 27 Bryon Weyer
Heat #2 - 36 Jason Mallicoat
Heat #3 - 198 Sam Wieben
Qualifier A - top 4 to tomorrow's A
1. 7 Carter VandenBerg
2. 1 Curtis VanDerWal
3. 38 Bill Gibson
4. 12 Eric Flander
Stock Car - The 7 below will run a dash to determine
starting positions for tomorrow's championship A
Heat #1 - 66Z Elijah Zegenbergen - Ocheydan, IA
Heat #2 - 78 Jeff Anderson
Heat #3 - 14 Derrick Agee - Huntsville, Missouri
Qualifier A - top 4 to tomorrow's A
1. 11X Shay Curtin
2. 93 Doug Adamy - Columbus, NE
3. 19A Alan VanGorp
4. 27S Doug Sidle
Hobby Stock - The 6 below will run a dash to determine
starting position for tomorrow's championship A
Heat #1 - 62B Andy Boeckman
Heat #2 - 10G Dustin Griffiths
Qualifier A - top 4 to tomorrow's A
1. 18H Mike Hughes
2. 78 Shannon Anderson
3. 32T Bobby Greene
4. 69 Craig Brown
Sport Compact - complete show both nights
A Main
1. 2 Merv Chandler
2. 92 Kevin Kirkpatrick
3. 27 Cassidy Kirkpatrick
4. 77 John Whalen
5. 14 Craig Bangert
Sportsman series:
Heat winner - 45 Matt Deaton
Feature winner - 54 Gene Tish
Sportsman series:
Heat winner - 45 Matt Deaton
Feature winner - 54 Gene Tish
1.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Duffy's turn at Marshalltown; Noteboom wins HDT title
It appeared that most people had heeded the forecast and came prepared for the chilly, windy conditions for night #2 of the Havoc on the High Banks and Hawkeye Dirt Tour finale. Fans were bundled up before the first green flag dropped--and kept layering during the next couple of hours. We were included in that bunch of fans, and though it was a crisp Fall night, could not have wanted to be anywhere else. Going into the night, two drivers were tied in points for the HDT title...Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills and not far behind them, Mark Elliott. It was going to be a shoot out to the finish worth the price of admission!
Two extra classes made an appearance on the night, the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks and the IMCA Sport Compacts. The Sport Compacts kicked off the feature events with their 10-lap feature. Veteran racer, Merv Chandler...who has much to do with keeping the class alive in the area as he builds many of the little power houses, took the lead at lap one and drove off into the sunset. Chandler took the win, one of many at the track this past season, Dave Moorman followed a distance behind to take the runner up spot. Third went to Duayne Herb, fourth was John Gill and the #22T of Neil Nabholz completed the five car feature.
The MADCRA Mod Lite's ran a 15-lap feature. The 20 car of Jeff Stensland...who was driving his own car tonight after Paul Nagle had hopped in the car the previous night, led the charge in the early laps. A couple of yellow flags would bunch the field, putting the "Brothers Hennigar" tight behind him on the restart. Tim Hennigar made a rare appearance on the year, but showed his usual fine racing form, and flew to the lead, Andy Hennigar following him into second. Andy Hennigar would then soon exit into the infield, his night cut short due to mechanical issues. Tim Hennigar maintained his point spot the rest of the way home, taking the checkers for what he told announcer Jeremy Fox was his first win of the entire season; having raced only a handful of times in 2012. Mike Kennedy came from row five to take the runner up position, followed by Bryan Zehm, Jason Whitehead and Randy Bryan; third through fifth.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks brought nine machines to the High Banks, running a 12-lap main event. This one was a duel between brothers Bret and Brad Moyer the entire race. Bret took the lead from brother Brad about lap seven, and was the first to the checkers flying. Following the Moyer brother duo to capture a third place finish was Tony Moro, father Carl Moyer finished in fourth and Rick Clark rounded out the top five. As a note, it was announced that a legend in Nascar racing, David Pearson, who I believe calls South Carolina home, was in the pits with Dirt Truck driver Tony Moro.
The IMCA Northern SportMods went 20-laps for their feature. Southern Iowa driver Curtis VanDerWal, looked to the lead at the drop of the green flag, and kept motoring along at the front of the pack. That is until the second yellow flag flew. That's when young Nick Roberts, the IMCA Super National's 2012 champion, made the pass for the lead. Meanwhile, the previous night's winner, Racer Hulin had gotten to the third place from starting in fourteenth spot, by setting sail on the topside. Hulin soon made the pass into second and the chase was on to catch Roberts. Tonight, it wasn't to be as Roberts took the checkers, Hulin having to settle for second. VanDerWal followed up in third place for the second night in a row, fourth went to Joel Rust and fifth to Sam Wieben.
Fifteen laps awaited the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Scott Durlin led the charge in the opening laps....until what appeared to be a blown motor found him rolling into the infield. This put John Watson in his familiar looking #4W in the lead on the restart. Watson was pulling away from the field until another yellow flew and bunched the field; finding Scott Pippert in second place, which was going to make the rest of the race interesting! It was a close battle to the finish, but Watson prevailed, taking the win for the second night in a row and Pippert finishing second, also for the second night in a row. Brandon Brinton took third over Aaron Rudolph and Gary Pfantz in fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars had a 20-lap feature and the outcome of this one was a flip-flop finish from the previous night. Donavon Smith and Sean Johnson were the show up front. A couple of yellows would fly during this event; one of which found Jeff Wollam ending up in the front stretch wall due to contact with another car. The damage was significant enough to warrant a pull on the hook for the 3W, never a good thing. When the race resumed, Smith put a bit of distance between himself and second place Johnson which would be the way they would finish--reversing the roles from the previous night. Jarod Weepie made a late race move to work into third, Steve Meyer following him into fourth, and Jay Schmidt, who had been riding the rim of the track in third much of the race, fell back a bit to hold onto fifth.
The field was now set for the 30-lap grand finale of the night and the race that would determine the point's title in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. There were 37 of the HDT modifieds racing for a starting spot in the feature tonight. It took two B mains that transferred five cars each, plus two HDT provisionals--Mike VanGenderen and Cayden Carter, to complete the 24-car field.
The two drivers tied in points were starting 8th (Jay Noteboom) and 12th (Jeremy Mills) on the grid...third in points, Mark Elliott was starting 17th. Fourth place starter Darin Duffy quickly made his way to the point position and Randy Havlik who had started along side Duffy, trailed in second, and Noteboom had moved quickly up to take over third. The track had slicked off, but stayed smooth, the dust was filling the air, the temps had dropped considerably, and the racing action was fast and furious!! This one went 30-laps caution free....maybe the cream does rise to the top! Noteboom gave it a shot a couple of times, but with the title on the line, made no desperate attempt to take the win on this night. Duffy made it to victory lane after his second place finish the previous night, Noteboom settling for second after his Friday night win, but also a winner by becoming the Hawkeye Dirt Tour champion for 2012. Third went to Ronn Laurtizen who had a great run from starting in row five. Randy Havlik held on to fourth and Jon Snyder finished fifth, coming from a B main and starting 22nd on the field.
Yes, there are still races to be found in our area. The next several weekends are filled with racing action. Be sure and check out the racing calendar on the Positively Racing homepage for a race you may want to catch before the season is done. I believe one race not on that calendar is the Fall Challenge at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City scheduled for Saturday September 29. You can find more info on that race at www.hamiltoncospeedway.com. We intend to catch a few more before we call it a year. Happy racing!
Two extra classes made an appearance on the night, the Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks and the IMCA Sport Compacts. The Sport Compacts kicked off the feature events with their 10-lap feature. Veteran racer, Merv Chandler...who has much to do with keeping the class alive in the area as he builds many of the little power houses, took the lead at lap one and drove off into the sunset. Chandler took the win, one of many at the track this past season, Dave Moorman followed a distance behind to take the runner up spot. Third went to Duayne Herb, fourth was John Gill and the #22T of Neil Nabholz completed the five car feature.
The MADCRA Mod Lite's ran a 15-lap feature. The 20 car of Jeff Stensland...who was driving his own car tonight after Paul Nagle had hopped in the car the previous night, led the charge in the early laps. A couple of yellow flags would bunch the field, putting the "Brothers Hennigar" tight behind him on the restart. Tim Hennigar made a rare appearance on the year, but showed his usual fine racing form, and flew to the lead, Andy Hennigar following him into second. Andy Hennigar would then soon exit into the infield, his night cut short due to mechanical issues. Tim Hennigar maintained his point spot the rest of the way home, taking the checkers for what he told announcer Jeremy Fox was his first win of the entire season; having raced only a handful of times in 2012. Mike Kennedy came from row five to take the runner up position, followed by Bryan Zehm, Jason Whitehead and Randy Bryan; third through fifth.
The Karl Chevrolet Dirt Trucks brought nine machines to the High Banks, running a 12-lap main event. This one was a duel between brothers Bret and Brad Moyer the entire race. Bret took the lead from brother Brad about lap seven, and was the first to the checkers flying. Following the Moyer brother duo to capture a third place finish was Tony Moro, father Carl Moyer finished in fourth and Rick Clark rounded out the top five. As a note, it was announced that a legend in Nascar racing, David Pearson, who I believe calls South Carolina home, was in the pits with Dirt Truck driver Tony Moro.
The IMCA Northern SportMods went 20-laps for their feature. Southern Iowa driver Curtis VanDerWal, looked to the lead at the drop of the green flag, and kept motoring along at the front of the pack. That is until the second yellow flag flew. That's when young Nick Roberts, the IMCA Super National's 2012 champion, made the pass for the lead. Meanwhile, the previous night's winner, Racer Hulin had gotten to the third place from starting in fourteenth spot, by setting sail on the topside. Hulin soon made the pass into second and the chase was on to catch Roberts. Tonight, it wasn't to be as Roberts took the checkers, Hulin having to settle for second. VanDerWal followed up in third place for the second night in a row, fourth went to Joel Rust and fifth to Sam Wieben.
Fifteen laps awaited the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Scott Durlin led the charge in the opening laps....until what appeared to be a blown motor found him rolling into the infield. This put John Watson in his familiar looking #4W in the lead on the restart. Watson was pulling away from the field until another yellow flew and bunched the field; finding Scott Pippert in second place, which was going to make the rest of the race interesting! It was a close battle to the finish, but Watson prevailed, taking the win for the second night in a row and Pippert finishing second, also for the second night in a row. Brandon Brinton took third over Aaron Rudolph and Gary Pfantz in fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars had a 20-lap feature and the outcome of this one was a flip-flop finish from the previous night. Donavon Smith and Sean Johnson were the show up front. A couple of yellows would fly during this event; one of which found Jeff Wollam ending up in the front stretch wall due to contact with another car. The damage was significant enough to warrant a pull on the hook for the 3W, never a good thing. When the race resumed, Smith put a bit of distance between himself and second place Johnson which would be the way they would finish--reversing the roles from the previous night. Jarod Weepie made a late race move to work into third, Steve Meyer following him into fourth, and Jay Schmidt, who had been riding the rim of the track in third much of the race, fell back a bit to hold onto fifth.
The field was now set for the 30-lap grand finale of the night and the race that would determine the point's title in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. There were 37 of the HDT modifieds racing for a starting spot in the feature tonight. It took two B mains that transferred five cars each, plus two HDT provisionals--Mike VanGenderen and Cayden Carter, to complete the 24-car field.
The two drivers tied in points were starting 8th (Jay Noteboom) and 12th (Jeremy Mills) on the grid...third in points, Mark Elliott was starting 17th. Fourth place starter Darin Duffy quickly made his way to the point position and Randy Havlik who had started along side Duffy, trailed in second, and Noteboom had moved quickly up to take over third. The track had slicked off, but stayed smooth, the dust was filling the air, the temps had dropped considerably, and the racing action was fast and furious!! This one went 30-laps caution free....maybe the cream does rise to the top! Noteboom gave it a shot a couple of times, but with the title on the line, made no desperate attempt to take the win on this night. Duffy made it to victory lane after his second place finish the previous night, Noteboom settling for second after his Friday night win, but also a winner by becoming the Hawkeye Dirt Tour champion for 2012. Third went to Ronn Laurtizen who had a great run from starting in row five. Randy Havlik held on to fourth and Jon Snyder finished fifth, coming from a B main and starting 22nd on the field.
Yes, there are still races to be found in our area. The next several weekends are filled with racing action. Be sure and check out the racing calendar on the Positively Racing homepage for a race you may want to catch before the season is done. I believe one race not on that calendar is the Fall Challenge at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City scheduled for Saturday September 29. You can find more info on that race at www.hamiltoncospeedway.com. We intend to catch a few more before we call it a year. Happy racing!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Noteboom out lasts Duffy for HDT win
There was a chill in the air for racing last night at the Marshalltown Speedway. It was the first of two nights for their annual Havoc on the Highbanks. The track will hosts the second night of a whole new program again tonight with the Dirt Trucks and the IMCA Sport Compacts joining the Hawkeye Dirt Tour IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars and the Mod Lites.
The Mod Lite feature kicked off the first of the feature events. After Andy Hennigar led the opening lap of the 15-lap race, it was the red #6 of Mike Morrill taking the helm. Hennigar hung close to Morrill's back bumper was never able to do better. Morrill took the win...and as usual, gave away his pretty impressive trophy to a lucky young fan. Hennigar took the runner up spot, third went to Troy Hudson with Mike Kennedy close on his heels for fourth, and fifth went to Paul Nagle...a name we have not heard in a few years but no stranger to the racing scene from a few years back when he piloted a hobby stock. He was in the #20 machine usually piloted by Jeff Stensland.
The Northern SportMods raced for 20-laps in their feature event. The two front row starters, Curtis VanDerWal---a driver we see at the Southern Iowa Speedway weekly and who had a successful year running that big old "Monster Half-Mile"---and Marshalltown Speedway's 2012 track champion, Racer Hulin, battled for the lead in the opening laps. Hulin established the lead when a nifty move involving lap traffic led to his decision to opt for the outside line and from there on, sailed on to a comfortable win. Ty Luellen made the pass on VanDerWal as they captured second and third places. Randy Roberts took fourth and Carter VandenBerg rounded out the top five.
The 15-lap Hobby Stock feature started 27 cars---maybe not a good thing--- as it saw more than it's share of yellow flags waving. The winner, John Watson didn't let anything bother him on his way to the checkers however. Weekly racer at Marshalltown, Scott Pippert worked his way through the pack from starting back in the sixth row, to capture a second place finish, as he made the late race pass on Devin Smith scored in third. Fourth and fifth spots went to Justin Lichty and Chris Luloff; two Independence Speedway regulars.
The IMCA Stock Cars did what the Hobby Stocks couldn't. They went 20-laps caution free. Sean Johnson had little trouble winning the feature as he led by lap one and sailed to the win. Donavon Smith got to the second spot and the chase was on but he could do no better. The two front runners sliced through the lap traffic easily as they went 1-2. Third went to Chris Wiltse a regular at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, fourth was Marshalltown's own Jeff Wollam with a good run, and Jay Schmidt came from waaaay back in the starting field to finish in fifth.
The Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature came next for their 30-lap main event. The point lead was held by Jeremy Mills going into the night, with a slim 6 point lead over Jay Noteboom. Just 12 points out of the lead was Mark Elliott. The starting field was completed by two B mains and two provisional HDT regular drivers not qualifying, Ryan Dolan and Mark Schulte, filled out the starting grid.
You would have thought in the early going that having a camera on the car may have offered an advantage
as Darin Duffy and Mark Elliott circled the track at the front of the pack with their camera's hoisted up top. The only yellow flag flew at lap 10 and on the ensuing restart, Jay Noteboom who had been riding in third, made the pass on Elliott to take over second. From then on, it was the two guys up front, Duffy and Noteboom putting on the show. The two diced back and forth for the lead in the closing laps. Noteboom chose the outside line and made it work as he out lasted Duffy to take the win. Third went to Jon Snyder who got by Elliott in fourth. Randy Havlik rounded out the top five.
The fans all got their money's worth in that one! It was an awesome race and not only that, now finds the points battle going into tonight tied at 404 between Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills who garnered a 7th place finish. Not too far behind is Mark Elliott...9 points out.
Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to commence at 7 p.m. tonight. Dress warm as the temperatures are predicted to dip to the freezing mark late. Happy racing!
The Mod Lite feature kicked off the first of the feature events. After Andy Hennigar led the opening lap of the 15-lap race, it was the red #6 of Mike Morrill taking the helm. Hennigar hung close to Morrill's back bumper was never able to do better. Morrill took the win...and as usual, gave away his pretty impressive trophy to a lucky young fan. Hennigar took the runner up spot, third went to Troy Hudson with Mike Kennedy close on his heels for fourth, and fifth went to Paul Nagle...a name we have not heard in a few years but no stranger to the racing scene from a few years back when he piloted a hobby stock. He was in the #20 machine usually piloted by Jeff Stensland.
The Northern SportMods raced for 20-laps in their feature event. The two front row starters, Curtis VanDerWal---a driver we see at the Southern Iowa Speedway weekly and who had a successful year running that big old "Monster Half-Mile"---and Marshalltown Speedway's 2012 track champion, Racer Hulin, battled for the lead in the opening laps. Hulin established the lead when a nifty move involving lap traffic led to his decision to opt for the outside line and from there on, sailed on to a comfortable win. Ty Luellen made the pass on VanDerWal as they captured second and third places. Randy Roberts took fourth and Carter VandenBerg rounded out the top five.
The 15-lap Hobby Stock feature started 27 cars---maybe not a good thing--- as it saw more than it's share of yellow flags waving. The winner, John Watson didn't let anything bother him on his way to the checkers however. Weekly racer at Marshalltown, Scott Pippert worked his way through the pack from starting back in the sixth row, to capture a second place finish, as he made the late race pass on Devin Smith scored in third. Fourth and fifth spots went to Justin Lichty and Chris Luloff; two Independence Speedway regulars.
The IMCA Stock Cars did what the Hobby Stocks couldn't. They went 20-laps caution free. Sean Johnson had little trouble winning the feature as he led by lap one and sailed to the win. Donavon Smith got to the second spot and the chase was on but he could do no better. The two front runners sliced through the lap traffic easily as they went 1-2. Third went to Chris Wiltse a regular at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, fourth was Marshalltown's own Jeff Wollam with a good run, and Jay Schmidt came from waaaay back in the starting field to finish in fifth.
The Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature came next for their 30-lap main event. The point lead was held by Jeremy Mills going into the night, with a slim 6 point lead over Jay Noteboom. Just 12 points out of the lead was Mark Elliott. The starting field was completed by two B mains and two provisional HDT regular drivers not qualifying, Ryan Dolan and Mark Schulte, filled out the starting grid.
You would have thought in the early going that having a camera on the car may have offered an advantage
as Darin Duffy and Mark Elliott circled the track at the front of the pack with their camera's hoisted up top. The only yellow flag flew at lap 10 and on the ensuing restart, Jay Noteboom who had been riding in third, made the pass on Elliott to take over second. From then on, it was the two guys up front, Duffy and Noteboom putting on the show. The two diced back and forth for the lead in the closing laps. Noteboom chose the outside line and made it work as he out lasted Duffy to take the win. Third went to Jon Snyder who got by Elliott in fourth. Randy Havlik rounded out the top five.
The fans all got their money's worth in that one! It was an awesome race and not only that, now finds the points battle going into tonight tied at 404 between Jay Noteboom and Jeremy Mills who garnered a 7th place finish. Not too far behind is Mark Elliott...9 points out.
Hot laps are scheduled for 6:30 with racing to commence at 7 p.m. tonight. Dress warm as the temperatures are predicted to dip to the freezing mark late. Happy racing!
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