Sunday, June 2, 2013

Burgtorf Holds Off Birkhofer For UMP Late Model Win at 34 Raceway

West Burlington, IA (Saturday, June 1, 2013) - Despite several inches of rains over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 34 Raceway crews were able to get things in shape to go racing on Saturday. The 111 cars signed in on the night provided the good crowd with some great racing action on a cool and windy June night.

The first feature up on the night was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Creston Williams and Victor Hastings on the front row, after pole sitter Rob Wilsey elected to start from the rear. Just as the green flag waved the yellow light would come on, as Greg Uppinghouse lost a right front tire coming off turn 4. On the original restart, Hastings would jump out into the lead over Williams and Bobby Anders, who started 6th. Hastings then held the top spot until lap 4, when Anders slid under him for the lead. After the completion of lap 4, Austin Schulte would spin in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Anders grabbed the lead on the restart, but now had Tony Dunker, who started 9th, close behind in second. Dunker would make several attempts to get past Anders over the final 11 laps, but Anders was able to hold off his last lap challenge to pick up the win. Dunker settled for 2nd, Sean Wyett came from 7th to finish in 3rd, Derek St. Clair finished 4th after starting in 8th, with Hastings holding on for a fifth place finish.

Up next was the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature, with Damian Getchell and Shane Quam making up the front row. Getchell would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Ryan Jamison. But Jamison would slip past Getchell on lap 2 to take over the top spot. The action up front was slowed on lap 3, as Andy Baugh took a wild ride going into turn 3 and collected the car of Cody Wehrle to bring out the red. Baugh climbed from his machine ok. On the restart Donnie Steward, who started 10th and was running 5th, got out of shape in turn 1 with Jayson Ditsworth shooting under him. The right rear tire of Ditsworth's car made contact with Steward's left front, which caused heavy damage to Steward's front end. Causing Steward to spin to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. The following restart saw Jamison jump back out front, with Quam working to hold back John Schulz. Another caution on lap 5, for Tony Bundy who spun in turn 2, slowed the action up front. On the restart Daniel Bergquist would jump the start to bring out the yellow, and was sent to the rear. The next restart saw Jamison move back out front, with Schulz working on him for the top spot. But another roll in turn 4 would slow the action on lap 7, as Ditworth got upside down. He would climb from the car ok. Schulz would slip under Jamison on the restart to take over the lead and then held on over the final 12 laps to claim the win. Jamison crossed the line in 2nd but was later disqualified for illegal heads, moving Andy Huston up to 2nd after starting in 9th, Quam was moved up to 3rd, Dustin Whiting came from 11th to 4th, with Jarrod Schneiderman coming from 12th to round out the top 5.

Bill Roberts Jr. and Elmer Arnold led the field to the green in the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Roberts Jr. jumping out into the lead on the start. Roberts Jr., Jeff Mueller, Dennis LaVeine and Mitch Morris, who started 9th, had a great four car battle going up front, until the first caution of the race appeared on lap 9. Dean McGee, who was running 5th, caught a rut going into turn three and spun into the wall to bring out the yellow. On the restart Mueller was able to slip under Roberts Jr. to grab the lead, leaving Roberts Jr. to battle LaVeine and Morris for 2nd. The action was slowed for the second time of the race on lap 12, as Dustan Fenton spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Mueller jumped back out front on the restart, with Morris over taking Roberts Jr. and LaVeine to grab 2nd. Mueller then looked to be heading for a win until lap 17 when he slowed, allowing Morris to slip past for the lead. One lap later, lap 18, Mueller dropped the drive shaft coming off turn 4 to bring out the final caution. On the retart Morris moved out front and held on to pick up the win. LaVeine would finish in 2nd, Roberts Jr. held on for 3rd, Jeff Waterman came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Matt Werner passing 9 cars from his 14th starting spot to come home in 5th.

Chris Simpson and Chad Simpson led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 25 lap UMP Late Model feature, with Chad jumping out into the lead on lap 1 over Chris. The first caution of the event appeared on lap 3, as Dewayne Keiffer, who started 8th and was running 4th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Chad Simpson jumped back out front on the restart and then held it until lap 4. Disaster would strike Chad, as he slowed with a left rear flat, and at the same time Frankel, who was running 6th, had troubles in turn 4 to bring out the caution. Chris Simpson inherited the lead for the restart and then held it until another caution came out on lap 6. This time Ron Elbe would spin in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Chris moved back out front, with Mark Burgtorf and Brian Birkhofer battling for the second spot. Chris looked to be heading for an easy win, until disaster struke him on lap 13, when he came to a stop in turn 4 with heavy smoke coming from under the hood. Burgtorf would inherit the lead for the restart, and had to work to hold back Birkhofer. Burgtorf started to put a little distance between him and Birkhofer until he started entering lapped traffic on lap 20. As the two came to the white flag, Birkhofer made a low move to get under Burgtorf going into turn 1. But Burgtorf was able to clear the lapped cars coming off turn 2 to keep the lead. Burgtorf then held off Birkhofer coming off turn 4 to claim his first win of the season. Birkhofer was 2nd, Jason Perry came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Denny Eckrich was 4th, with Justin Reed coming from 11th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Les Blakley and Jeremy Pundt on the front row. Just as the green flag waved the caution would wave, as Brett Timmerman slowed to a stop in turn 1 with a flat tire. Pundt would jump out into the lead on the restart, with Ray Raker working to hold back Abe Huls, who started 8th, in the battle for second. Another yellow waved on the completion on lap 1, as Shane Richardson, Travis Hartman and Travis Plummer collided in turn 4. On the restart Pundt once again grabbed the lead, but now had John Oliver Jr., who started 10th, close behind in 2nd. Oliver Jr. would slip past Pundt on lap 3 to take over the top spot, with another caution coming out on the completion of the lap. John Brockway and Alex Buffington would get together coming off turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Oliver Jr. moved back out front, with Huls and Jason Cook, who started 9th, battling it out for 2nd. Cook would clear Huls for second on lap 13 and then went to work on Oliver Jr. for the lead. Coming to lap 18, Cook was able to work under Oliver Jr. to take the lead, as Oliver Jr. got caught behind a lapped car. Oliver Jr. would make contact with the lapped car, which did a 360 and kept going to keep the race green. As Cook and Oliver Jr. came to the white flag, Oliver Jr. made the push into the lead from the top and then held off Cook on the final lap to claim the win. Cook was 2nd, Huls was 3rd, Blaine Dopler was 4th after starting in 11th, with John Richardson coming home in 5th.

The final feature up on the night was the 12 lap 4 Cylinders, with Austen Becerra and Jerrod Nichols on the front row. After two cautions before a lap was complete, the next 12 laps went caution free. The first caution that appeared before lap 1 was for Kimberly Abbott who spun in turn 4. On the next restart Dustin Ravelin spun to a stop off turn 2 to bring out the next yellow. The following restart saw Becerra grab the lead on lap 1 over Nichols and Ron Kibbe. As Becerra paced the field out front, Brent Hartley, who started 7th, and Skipp Dunker, who started 6th, worked there way to the front to make it a three car battle. Coming to the white flag Dunker would make a run at Becerra for the lead, but Becerra was able to hold him off for the win. Hartley would get past Dunker coming off turn 4 to finish in 2nd, Dunker settled for 3rd, Kibbe was 4th, with Wayne Noble coming from 8th to round out the top 5.

Notes from 34: 22 305 Sprints, 22 Stock Cars, 18 Late Models, 18 4 Cylinders, 16 SportMods, and 15 Modifieds made up the 111 cars signed in on the night......Brian Birkhofer made a rare appearence to 34 Raceway for a Late Model race that paid $1,200 to win. He and Burgtorf put on a great show for the fans to enjoy, with Burgtorf holding him off for the win......Rob Wilsey bought a car from Bobby Six this week and made his appearence as a car owner for the first time on Saturday at 34. He was suppose to start on the pole for the SportMod feature, but elected to go to the rear. He would pass 8 cars from his 16th place starting spot to finish in 8th....Scott Williams, Jake Morris and Adam Shelman all had troubles after there heat races to force them to scratch from the feature......Daniel Bergquist recovered from his lap 5 caution for jumping the restart and being sent to the back, to come back up to finish in 7th in the 305 Sprint feature....Cody Wehrle, who was driving a third car out of the Andy Huston stables, started 15th and was involved in the lap three red. He would make repairs and restarted in the back, only to come back to finish in 8th....Jacob Glasgow started 17th and passed 7 cars to come home in 10th....Dave Getchall came from 16th to finish in 11th....Harold Pohren passed 7 cars from his 19th place starting spot to finish in 12th....Nick Guernsey came from 18th to finish in 13th......Dugan Thye came from 12th in the Modified feature to finish in 8th......Clint Kirkham started the Late Model feature in 12th and passed 6 cars to come home in 6th....Bob Gardner made the pull over from Germantown Hills, IL and started 18th in the feature after having troubles in hot laps. He would pass 10 cars to take home an 8th place finish....Ron Elbe spun on lap 6 to bring out the caution and restarted in the rear, only to come back up to finish in 9th....Jared Schlipman started 15th and passed 5 cars to finish in 10th....Russ Adams made the pull from Princeville, IL and started 16th, but passed 5 cars to finish in 11th....Jay Johnson was running 4th, until he pulled off on lap 19 with troubles to end his night in 14th......Brett Timmerman recovered from his lap 1 flat to come from the rear of the Stock Car feature to finish in 6th....Kirk Kinsley came from 12th to finish in 7th....Ryan Cook drove Corey Strothman's c4 machine and started the feature in 15th. He would pass 7 cars to finish in 8th....Shane Richardson recovered from his lap 1 crash to come back to finish in 9th....Kris Walker made his first trip to 34 and started in 13th. But had to pit on the lap 3 caution with a flat. He would recover to come home in 11th....Chad Krogmeier started 17th and came home in 12th....Travis Hartman recovered from his lap 1 crash to finish in 14th....Dan Wenig drove Jake Wenig's number 4 machine and had troubles after the heat to scratch from the feature......Brandon Lambert started the 4 Cylinder feature in 12th and passed 6 cars to finish in 6th....Jacob Brown came from 15th and passed 8 cars to finish in 7th....Shawn Baker started 14th and finished in 9th....Kimberly Abbott recovered from her lap 1 spin to come back to finish in 11th....Kevin Mortimer and Roy Norton started the feature in 17th and 18th. Both passed 4 cars to take home 13th and 14th place finishes.

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