Saturday, May 31, 2014

Terry McCarl Drives Jimmy Davies Car to Sprint Invaders Win at Independence

Independence, IA (Friday, May 30, 2014) - Friday night was open wheel night at the Independence Motor Speedway in Independence, Iowa, as the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders made a stop at the track. Also in action on the night was the Modifieds and SportMods.

The first feature to take to the track on the night was the 15 lap SportMods, with Brandon Smith and Lucas Lundry drawing the front row for the event. Lundry took advantage of his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Matt McCahen and Smith. Lundry then started to pull away from the field, when the first and only caution of the race on lap 8 brought the field back to his back bumper. Colby Heishman spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Lundry moved back out front, with Kip Siems glued to his back bumper. Siems would get under Lundry coming off turn 4 on lap 11, as the two raced side-by-side for the lead. While McCahen and Ryan Maitland, who started 8th and looked like he had rear suspension troubles under the caution, ran side-by-side for the third spot. Lundry was able to hold off Siems over the final 4 laps to claim the win. Siems settled for 2nd, McCahen won the battle for 3rd, Maitland was 4th, with Smith holding on for 5th.

Tony Snyder and Tyler Droste drew the front row for the 20 lap Modified feature, with Synder grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Vern Jackson and Droste. Snyder then held the top spot until lap 4 when he slipped high in turn 4, which allowed Jackson to sneak by for the lead. While Jackson paced the field out front Darin Duffy, who started 5th, was trying to work his way to the front. Duffy was battling for the third spot when he drifted high off turn 4 and fell clear back to 6th. Joe Docekal, who started 9th and had worked his way to 4th, slowed to a stop in turn 2 with a broken gear on lap 7 to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart Jackson moved back out front, while Duffy went thru the middle of Snyder and Droste down the front stretch to go from fifth to second. Duffy then went to work on Jackson for the lead, as the two came off turn four on lap 18 side-by-side. Jackson was able to hold off Duffy over the final laps to pick up the win. Duffy settled for 2nd, J.D. Auringer came from 6th to finish in 3rd, Snyder was 4th, with Droste rounding out the top 5.

The final feature up on the night was the 25 lap Sprint Invaders, with Tony Schilling and Jarrod Schneiderman leading the field to the green flag. Schilling took advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Schneiderman and Terry McCarl, who was behind the wheel of Jimmy Davies #99 Sprinter. The action up front was slowed on lap 2, as debris down the front stretch brought out the yellow. On the restart Schilling moved back out front, with McCarl over taking Schneiderman for the second spot. A red flag on lap 3 brought the field to a halt, as Cole Wood spun in turn 3 with Russ Hall having no where to go and his right rear clipped the front of Wood's car. As a result Hall was sent for a roll in turn 4 to bring out the red. He climbed from his car okay. On the restart Mike Houseman Jr. and Chase Wanner both spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Tasker Phillips spin off turn 4 to bring out the yellow, just as McCarl got under Schilling in turn 1 to grab the lead. But as a result of the lap not being scored complete, Schilling was moved back out front for the restart. McCarl would power under Schilling going into turn 1 on the restart to take over the top spot. McCarl started to enter lapped traffic on lap 6, which allowed him to pull away from the field. But disaster would strike Schneiderman on lap 15, as he spun in turn 3 while running 3rd to bring out the yellow. McCarl grabbed the lead on the restart, with Schilling working to hold off Jon Agan for the second spot. Once again McCarl started to get into lapped traffic on lap 20. But that didn't slow him down, as he went on to claim the win and the $1,200 top prize. Schilling was 2nd, Chris Martin came from 12th to finish in 3rd, Bobby Mincer started 8th and finished 4th, with Agan coming home in 5th.

Notes from Indy: Despite the low car counts in both the Modifieds and SportMods, the side-by-side action in both feature events provided plenty of exciting racing action!......Colby Heishman recovered from his lap 8 spin in the SportMod feature to come back up to finish in 6th....Brian Hilbert came from 10th to finish in 7th......Josh Schneiderman started the Sprint feature in 21st. He passed 15 cars to bring home a 6th place finish....Bret Tripplett passed 16 cars from his 23rd place starting spot to come home in 7th....Cole Wood recovered from his lap 3 spin to come back up to finish 10th....Harold Pohren, in only his second Sprint event of 2014, started 18th and passed 7 cars to finish in 11th....Daniel Bergquist came from 20th to finish in 15th....Tim Moore started 24th and passed 7 cars to finish in 17th....Rookie Kelly Graham came from 22nd to finish in 18th....Carson McCarl was suppose to start the feature in 15th, but troubles in his heat raced forced him to fall to the rear on the start. He would make a few laps before pulling off to end his night in 24th.

Thanks to Ryan Clark and the entire staff at the Independence Motor Speedway for allowing me to come up and cover the action! It's always a great time every time I make a visit to the speedway.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Washburne Earns First Career Feature Win on Sunday at 34 Raceway

West Burlington, IA (Sunday, May 25, 2014) - A rare Sunday night of racing took place at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, as the Brockway and Mechanical Sprint Invaders made there second stop of the 2014 season at the track. Also in action on the night was the IMRA Midget Lites, Mod Lites, 4 Cylinders and Vintage cars.

The first feature to take to the track was the 12 lap Mod Lites, with Devon Rouse and Gary Snyder on the front row. Snyder would use his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Rouse and Daniel Keltner, who started 4th. Keltner would slip under Snyder on lap 5 to take the top spot away, with Justin Buchholz, who started 5th, following him into second. Buchholz then tried the middle to top of the track to get around Keltner over the final laps. But Keltner was able to hold him off in a caution free race to claim his second win of the season at the track. Buchholz was 2nd, Snyder was 3rd, Rouse was 4th, with Collin Ball rounding out the top 5.

Up next was the 12 lap IMRA Midget Lites feature, with Shane Morgan and Brian Rieck drawing the front row. Morgan took advantage of his starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Rieck and Jeff Mallonnee, who started 4th. Rieck who was looking under Morgan in turn 1 for the lead, ended up rolling in turn 2 to bring out the red flag on the completion of lap 1. He walked away okay. On the restart Morgan moved back out front, with Mallonnee and Brayden Gaylord, who started 5th, close behind. Mallonnee jumped to the top of the track on lap 3 to edge Morgan out at the line to grab the top spot away. Gaylord then tried that same groove over the final two laps to get around Mallonnee for the lead, but Mallonnee would hold him off to pick up the win. Gaylord settled for 2nd, Morgan was 3rd, Johnny Murdock was 4th, with Barry Trone coming home in 5th.

Jordan Tipps and Brian Mehaffy drew the front row for the 12 lap 4 Cylinder feature, with Mehaffy grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Tipps and Cody Washburne, who started 6th. Mehaffy's run up front came to an end on lap 4, as he slowed off turn 4 to hand the lead over to Tipps. Tipps then had to work to hold off Ron Kibbe, who started 7th in the #29 usually driven by Dustin Ravelin, over laps 6,7, 8, and 9. But Kibbe's battle for the lead would end on lap 9, as he slowed to a stop down the backstretch with a right front flat to bring out the caution. Washburne would use the bottom of the speedway on the restart to slip past Tipps for the top spot and then held him off on the final lap to earn his first career feature win. Tipps was 2nd, Wayne Noble was 3rd, John Whalen was 4th, with Roy Norton coming from 10th to round out the top 5.

The final feature up on the night was the 25 lap Sprint Invaders, with Jon Agan and Josh Schneiderman leading the field to the green flag. Agan used his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Schneiderman and Roger Crockett, who was behind the wheel of the #82 Buffalo Wild Wings Sprinter. Crockett's early run up front came to an end on lap 3. When Andy Huston lost a right front tire in turn 4 and Crockett ran it over, which caused him to roll off turn 4 to bring out the red. He climbed out okay. On the restart Agan jumped back out front, with Josh working to hold off Jarrod Schneiderman in the battle for second. Just as Agan was coming up on lapped cars, the red flag appeared on lap 6 to bring the action to a halt. This time CJ Houseman got into the turn 4 wall hard and rolled to bring out the red. He climbed from his machine okay. Agan once again moved out front on the restart, with Josh and Jarrod Schniederman continuing there battle for second. The top three cars would enter lapped traffic on lap 16, which allowed then second and third place runners to close in on Agan. Jarrod reeled Agan in on lap 20 and was able to get up beside Agan in turn 2 on lap 21, when Agan drifted to high. But a caution for a Tim Moore who slowed to a stop down the front stretch on lap 21 saved Agan. Jordan Weaver, a female competitor from Woodard, Oklahoma who was making her first ever visit to 34 Raceway, was running 7th when she slowed on the restart with a right rear tire to bring the caution light back on. On the restart Agan moved back out front and then led the final 4 laps to pick up his first Sprint Invaders win of 2014. Jarrod Schneiderman was 2nd, Josh Schneiderman was 3rd, Mike Houseman Jr. came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Russ Hall coming from 10th to round out the top 5.

Motes from 34: 30 Sprint Invader cars signed in on the night, with each one of them drawing a pill to determine there starting spot in one of the four heat races. The top two in heat of those heats races went to the dash, while third and fourth moved into the feature. The remainder of the field was put into the B Main, in which the top 4 out of those went to the feature. Then one points provisional was added to set the 21 car starting field....Chris Miller won the dash and then drew a 6, which meant the top 6 in the dash were inverted for the feature....Bobby Mincer started the Sprint feature in 11th and finished 6th....Tony Schilling came from 15th to take home a 7th place finish....Davey Heskin drove Dale Oaks #41 from 17th to an 8th place finish....John Schulz came from 8th to 9th in Jimmy Davies #99 Sprinter....Harold Pohren made his 2014 debut after a fire over the winter burnt down his garage that had all his Sprint cars in. He would bring home a 10th place finish on the night....Daniel Bergquist came from 16th to finish in 11th....Dave Getchell was 13th after starting in 19th....Damian Getchell earned a spot in the feature as an alternate and finished 17th after staring in 21st....Kelly Graham was the points provisional and started 22nd and finished in 18th....Bret Tripplett was piloting the #14P of Randy Plath's. He would cross the line 3rd in the first heat race, which would have put him in the 9th place starting spot for the feature. But had motor troubles that forced them to scratch from the feature....Corey Timmerman was running 2nd in the B Main, a qualifying spot into the feature, when he tried to go around a lapped car in turn 2 on lap 5. He got his right rear tire off the turn and tried to correct it, but ended up hard into the pit wall to bring out the red. Everybody was okay....Dustin Selvage and Carson McCarl had troubles in there heats that forced them to scratch for the night....While Andy Krieger took a nasty roll in turn 3 in heat three to end his night. He walked from the wreck okay......Jerrod Nichols started the 4 Cylinder feature in 9th and finished 6th....Stevie Shull drove Ron Kibbe's #89 car and finished 7th....Kevin Mortimer came from 11th to finish 8th....Daytona Fenton was running 3rd after staring in 8th, when he slowed on the lap 9 restart with troubles that ended his night in 9th....Shawn Baker had troubles in hot laps that forced him to scratch for the night.

Bloomfield Checkers Go to Schroeder, Hughes, Fullenkamp, Griffiths, and Becerra

Bloomfield, IA (Saturday, May 24, 2014) - Saturday night I got invited over to the Bloomfield Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa to fill in in the scoring tower for there regular weekly racing program. On the card for the night was the Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and 4 Cylinders, along with the Modifieds joining the action.

Up first was the 18 lap SportMod feature, with Mike Mundell and Kelly Buckallew leading the field to the green flag. But just as the green was dropped the caution would come out, as Chris Larson, Adam Shelman, Joey Gower, and Michael Guthrie all collided in turn 3. On the restart third place starter Austin Howes jumped out into the lead on lap 1 over Derek Liles and Mundell. Howes then held the top spot until lap 6, when Ryan Fullenkamp, who started 5th, slipped under him to take the lead. Jason McDaniel, who started 7th, worked his way to the front by the half way mark and was challenging Fullenkamp for the lead. Several times McDaniel tried to get under Fullenkamp, but Fullenkamp was able to hold off all his challenges to pick up the win. McDaniel settled for 2nd, Brandon Dale came from 12th to finish in 3rd, Scott VanBuskirk started 10th and came home in 4th, with Liles holding on for a top 5 finish.

The 16 lap Hobby Stock feature was up next, with Ben Grove and Brandon Potts making up the front row for the event. Grove would use his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Mike Kincaid and Potts. Dustin Griffiths, who started 9th, quickly worked his way to the front, as he over took Grove on lap 6 to grab the top spot. Doug Gorden Jr., who started 8th, tried to chase down Griffiths over the final laps, but Griffiths would pull away in a caution free race to claim the win. Gorden Jr. was 2nd, Kincaid was 3rd, Andrew Hustead came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Aaron Martin rounding out the top 5.

Jeff Mueller and Tyler Cale drew the front row for the 14 lap Modified feature, with Cale grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Mueller and Andrew Schroeder. Schroeder made it three wide off turn 2 on lap 1 to come around to grab the top spot away on lap 2. Schroeder then pulled away over the final 12 laps of a caution free race to pick up the win. Mueller was 2nd, Cale was 3rd, Jared Fuller was 4th, with Mark Winkel coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 14 lap Sport Compact feature, with Billy Cain and Chris Archer leading the field to the green flag. But it was third place starter Trent Orwig who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Jim Garrett and Larry Hopkins. Orwig then held the lead until lap 4, when Austen Becerra, who started 7th, used the top of the track to grab the top spot away. Becerra then pulled away over the final 10 laps of a caution free race to claim his 13th overall win of the season.

The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 18 lap Stock Cars, with Derek Kirkland and Mike Hughes on the front row. Hughes took advantage of his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Kirkland and Cody Agee. Kirkland used the bottom of the track to slip under Hughes on lap 2 to take over the top spot. But Hughes would use the same groove to slip back by Kirkland on lap 3 to take the lead back. The action up front was slowed for the first and only time on lap 4, when Cody McClure spun in turn 4. On the restart Hughes moved back out front, with Jerry Pilcher and Derrick Agee, who started 5th, glued to his back bumper. Despite Pilcher trying to get under Hughes over the final 14 laps, Hughes was able to hold him off to claim the win. Pilcher settled for 2nd, Derrick Agee was 3rd, Kirkland was 4th, with Doug Sylvester coming home in 5th.

Notes from Bloomfield: In the 80 laps of feature racing there was only 2 cautions. The first was on the drop of the green flag in the SportMod feature, and the other was on lap 4 of the Stock Car feature for a solo spin. That just shows how well the drivers respected one another and raced each other clean on this night!......Adam Shelman recovered from the first and only caution of the race in the SportMod feature to come home in 7th....Michael Guthrie came from 14th to finish in 11th......Anthony Cassat started the Hobby Stock feature in 12th and finished 9th....Grove, who was running 3rd, pulled off on lap 7 with troubles to end his night in 11th......Tyler Cale drove the #11R machine in the Modifieds usually driven by Brandon Ruffcorn....While Kevin Cale, his dad, drove the #14 usually piloted by Tyler......As of this write up this afternoon, Austen Becerra won his 14th and 15th overall feature win in the Sport Compacts of the season on Sunday at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL......Cody Agee, who was running 4th in the Stock Car feature, pulled off under the lap 4 caution with right front end troubles to end his night in 8th.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Bruns Claims First MOWA Win of 2014 at Jacksonville

Jacksonville, IL (Friday, May 23, 2014) - My Memorial Day weekend kicked off with a visit to the Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, IL for the second stop of the season by the Midwest Open Wheel Association Sprint Cars (MOWA). Also in action on the night was the UMP Modifieds, Micro Sprints, UMP Street Stocks, and UMP Hornets.

The first feature to take to the track on the night was the 20 lap UMP Modifieds, with Troy Grotz and Austin May leading the field to the green flag. May would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Steven DeLonjay and Grotz. The close action up front was slowed on lap 4, when Grotz slowed to a stop down the front stretch to bring out the caution. On the restart Terry Michael spun in 1 and collected the 38 (didn't catch the name) to bring the yellow light back on. Another restart produced another caution, as Scott May and Derrick Carlson got together in turn 3 which caused May to spin to bring out the yellow. Austin May jumped back out front on the following restart, with DeLonjay working to hold off Brian Lynn. Lynn would jumped to the top of the track to grab the top spot away from Austin May on lap 8, only to have the caution come out before the lap was scored complete to put May back out front. Carlson would spin in turn 4 on lap 7 to bring out the yellow. May grabbed the lead on the restart, with DeLonjay and Lynn battling for the second spot. Lynn's run up front would come to an end on lap 12, as he slowed down the backstretch and collects the 11B (didn't catch the name) to bring out the caution. On the restart 84 (didn't catch the name), who was running 5th, spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. May moved back out front on the restart, only to be slowed one lap later for Scott Kitch's spin in turn 3. May once again jumped back out front on the restart, with DeLonjay working to hold back Kelly Kovski in the battle for second. The close action up front was slowed for the final time on lap 18, as Brock Bauman, who started 17th and had worked his way to 6th, slowed to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. May grabbed the lead on the restart and held on over the final 2 laps to pick up the win, DeLonjay was 2nd, Cody Bauman was 3rd, Jeffery Leka Jr. started 9th and came home in 4th, with Ryan Blakeman coming from 10th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 25 lap MOWA Sprint Car feature, with A.J. Bruns and Joey Moughan making up the front row for the event. But just as the green flag was waved the yellow light would come on, as third place starter Jason Johnson spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Moughan would grab the lead on lap 1 over Bruns and Bret Triplett. Zach Daum would spin in turn 3 on lap 2 to bring out the caution and slowed the action. Moughan once again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Bruns and Triplett close behind. Moughan started to stretch his lead out over the field until he entered lapped traffic on lap 6. But the action was slowed for the final time on lap 9, when Triplett spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. Once again Moughan grabbed the lead on the restart, with Bruns glued to his back bumper. Moughan started to put some distance over Bruns, until he entered lapped traffic on lap 13. Bruns was able to move up to Moughan's back bumper on lap 16 and looked under him in traffic. But Moughan was able to hold him off and started to stretch his lead back out by lap 20. Bruns wouldn't give up his pursuit of the lead, as he moved back in on Moughan's back bumper on lap 22. Coming to the white flag Moughan decided to try the high side of the track in turn 4 to get around the lapped traffic, while Bruns choose the bottom. Bruns' decision paid off as he was able to grab the lead and then held off Moughan at the line to claim his first MOWA win of 2014. Moughan settled for 2nd, Joe B. Miller was 3rd, Jimmy Davies was 4th, with Johnson recovering from his spin on the start to come back up to finish in 5th.

Justin Layne and Bobby Beiler led the field to the green in the 15 lap UMP Street Stock feature, with Beiler grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Layne and Chad Myers. The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 3, as 67 (didn't catch the name) spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Shad Eskew spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Beiler move back out front, with Layne and Terry Reed battling for second. Jeremy Madsen would spin in turn 2 on lap 7 to bring out the caution and slow the action. Beiler once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Layne close behind. Brandon Eskew slowed to a stop in turn 2 on lap 10 and collects Walt Layne to bring out the caution. On the restart Beiler moved back out front and then held on over the final 5 laps to pick up the win. Justin Layne was 2nd, Josh Smith came from 6th to finish in 3rd, Brian Gaines finished 4th after starting in 7th, with Myers coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 15 lap Micro Sprint feature, with Aaron Andruskavich and Jason Harms on the front row. Harms would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Andruskavich and Jake Neuman. A spin by 46 (didn't catch the name) in turn 4 on the completion of lap 1 would slow the action. Harms jumped back out front on the restart, with Andruskavich working to hold off Shelby Boise, who started 5th, in the battle for second. But the action up front was slowed for the final time on lap 2, as Neuman, who was running 4th, slowed to a stop down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. On the restart Harms moved back out front and then pulled away over the final laps to pick up the win. Boise was 2nd, Ethan Weyant came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Austin Stewart was 4th, with Max Pozsgai rounding out the top 5.

The final feature up on the night was the 12 lap UMP Hornets, with Oscar Tipsword and Michael McKay leading the field to the green flag. Tipsword would jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Joe McDannald and Cook Crawford. The action was slowed for the first and only time on lap 2, as Alan McKay stopped in turn 4 to bring out the caution. On the restart Tipsword moved back out front, with McDannald and Crawford close behind. Tipsword would pull away over the final laps to claim his second win in a row at the track. McDannald was 2nd, Crawford was 3rd, Cliff Spencer was 4th, with Ray Turner finishing in 5th.

Notes from Jacksonville: 26 Sprints, 20 Modifieds, 16 Street Stocks, 10 Micro Sprints and 9 Hornets made up the 81 cars signed in on the night......The 26 MOWA Sprints cars drew a pill to determine there starting spots in one of the three heat races, with the top 16 in passing points earning a spot in the feature. Each heat race winner, along with the next highest three in passing points made up the dash that set the first three rows for the feature. The remainder of the field was set by the top four finishers in the B Main....Chris Urish started 14th in the feature and passed 7 cars to finish in 6th....Zach Daum, who started 18th, spun on lap 2 to bring out the caution. He would recover from that to take home a 10th place finish....Jimmy Hurley and Paul Nienhiser both had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the B Main to end their nights......84 recovered from his spin on lap 12 of the Modified feature to come back up to finish in 6th....38 also recovered from his involvement in the lap 4 caution to come back up to 7th....Steve Theivagt passed 10 cars from his 18th place starting spot to come home in 8th....Scott Kitch, who started 16th, recovered from his lap 13 spin to come back up to finish in 9th....Brock Bauman, who started 17th and had worked his way to 6th, slowed to a stop in turn 4 on lap 18 to end his night in 11th....Kelly Kovski was battling for second, when he jumped the cushion in turn 3 and hit the wall to end his night in 12th....Greg Bilger had troubles in the heat that forced him to scratch from the feature......Tyler Benson, who made the jump from the Hornets to the Street Stocks this year, started the feature in 12th and passed 6 cars to finish in 6th....Walt Layne recovered from his involvement in the lap 10 caution to come back up to finish in 9th....Aaron Andruskavich, who was running 2nd in the Micro Sprint feature, pulled off on lap 3 with troubles to end his night in 9th......Michael McKay was running 3rd in the Hornet feature, when he pulled off on lap 8 with a right front flat to end his night in 8th.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Pierce Unstoppable in Quincy Raceways "Scottie 40"

Quincy, IL (Sunday, May 18, 2014) - Sunday night the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL hosted the Inaugural Albert Scott Memorial "Scottie 40", featuring the Big 10 UMP Late Model Series. This event was ran to honor the late Albert Scott and his family, who started the Quincy Raceways 40 years ago. Also in action on the night was the UMP Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods, and IMCA Sport Compacts.

The first feature up on the night was the 18 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Nathan Hayes and Jerry Jansen making up the front row for the event. Hayes would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Beau Taylor and Jansen. Just after the completion of the lap Abe Huls spun in turn 1 and collects Troy Brierton to bring out the first caution. On the restart Hayes moved back out front, with Taylor and Jim Lynch battling for second. Another caution on lap 3 for a spinning Jake Powers down the backstretch, would slow the action. Hayes once again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Lynch over taking Taylor for the second spot. But a caution for Jansen's spin in turn 2 on lap 7, would slow the action. Once again Hayes grabbed the lead on the restart, with Lynch working to hold off Brandon Savage, who started 6th, for the second spot. The yellow light would come back on one lap later, lap 8, when Savage got into the back of Taylor in turn 4 and caused both of them to spin to bring out the caution. Hayes jumped back out front on the restart, with Terry Houston, who started 5th, over taking Lynch for second. Houston used the top of the track to slip past Hayes for the top spot on lap 10 and then held it until lap 11. Houston would spin in turn 4 to bring out the caution. On the restart the yellow light would come back on, as debris in turn 4 slowed the action. The following restart saw Lynch jump to the top of the track to grab the lead away from Hayes. Lynch, who was running up top, and Hayes, who was on the bottom, then ran the final 7 laps side-by-side, with Lynch edging ahead of Hayes at the line on the final lap to claim his first win of the season at the track. Hayes settled for 2nd, Taylor recovered from the lap 8 caution to come back up to 3rd, Savage also recovered from the lap 8 caution to come back up to 4th, with Powers coming up to finish 5th after his spin on lap 3.


Up next was the 18 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Jared Wiemelt being moved to the pole after Laine VanZandt elected to start on the rear, which moved Charles VanZandt to the outside of the front row. Just as the green flag was waved the caution would come out, as Aaron Brocksieck spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Charles VanZandt moved out front, with Todd Reed and Joey Gower, who started 6th, battling for second. After the completion of lap 1 Trevor Hagerbaumer and Bradley Holtmeyer collided in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Gower used the bottom of the track to take over the top spot from VanZandt on the restart and then held it until lap 7. VanZandt's run up front would come to an end, as he spun in turn 4 to bring out the caution. On the restart Holtmeyer, who started 14th and had worked his way to up to 5th after the lap 1 caution, spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. Gower moved back out front on the restart, with Bobby Anders, who started 9th, and Tanner Klingele, who started 7th, battling for the runner up spot. But another lap on the score board, lap 8, brought out another caution. This time Laine VanZandt, Jeff Miller and Holtmeyer collided in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Gower jumped back out front, with Klingele over taking Anders for second. One lap later, lap 9, the caution would appear for the sixth time, as Klingele spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Gower once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Anders working to hold off Tony Dunker, who started 10th, for the second spot. Anders' run up front ended on lap 14, as he slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. This also marked the end of the time limit, which meant the next flag would end the race. On the restart Gower grabbed the lead, with Dunker glued to his back bumper. But when Timothy Anders spun in turn 2 on lap 6 to bring out the caution, this would bring out the yellow and checkered flag. Gower picked up his second win on the season, Dunker settled for 2nd, Holtmeyer came from the rear after the lap 8 caution to come back up to 3rd, Klingele recovered from his lap 9 spin to come back up to 4th, with Cody Henderson coming from 11th to round out the top 5.

Denny Woodworth and Bobby Pierce made up the front row for the "Scottie 40" 40 lap Big 10 UMP Late Model Series feature. Pierce would use his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Woodworth and Justin Reed. While Pierce set a fast pace out front, as he entered lapped traffic on lap 7, Brandon Sheppard, who started 16th, was working his way towards the front. But with out a caution Pierce was able to open up a six second lead and lapped up to the fourth place car to cruise to the win and the $2,000 top prize. Mark Burgtorf was 2nd, Sheppard would finish in 3rd, Woodworth was 4th, with Reed coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 25 lap UMP Modified feature, with Steven DeLonjay and Jacob Poel leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Poel used his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over DeLonjay and Shawn Deering. The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 4, as Deering, who was running 3rd, slowed to a stop in turn 2 after loosing a drive shaft in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Poel moved back out front, with DeLonjay close behind. DeLonjay used the bottom of the track to grab the lead away from Poel on lap 6, only to have Poel come back on the top to grab the lead back on lap 8. The great side-by-side battle up front would be slowed on lap 10, as Spencer Havermale spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Poel jumped back out front on the restart, with DeLonjay close behind in second. DeLonjay once again used the bottom of the track to take the top spot away from Poel on lap 12. Poel would try the high side and low side of the track to get back around DeLonjay over the next 5 laps. But DeLonjay would pull away over the final laps to claim his first win of the season at the track. Poel settled for 2nd, Michael Long came from 15th to come home in 3rd, David Wietholder was 4th, with Randy Lines rounding out the top 5.


The final feature up on the night was the the 15 lap IMCA Sport Compacts, with Bryce Baker getting moved to the pole after Brandon Lambert was a scratch, which also moved Alex Baker to the outside the front row. But just as the green flag was dropped the yellow light would come on, as Patrick "Skipp" Dunker spun in turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Bryce Baker grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Austen Becerra, who started 6th, and Kimberly Abbott. Becerra would jump to the top of the track coming off turn 4 to edge Bryce Baker out at the line to take over the top spot on lap 2. Dunker would slip off the track in turns 3 and 4 to bring out the caution on lap 3. On the restart Alex Baker went off the track in turns 1 and 2 and rolled several times to bring out the red. He had to be cut from his car and then taken to the hospital for further check up. In the meantime the remainder of the feature was postponed until next Sunday, May 25th, as they gave the emergency crews the time they needed to attend to Alex Baker. Reports today was that Alex Baker was released from the hospital early this afternoon, only complaining about some neck and back pains. But other wise okay, which was great to hear!

Notes from Quincy: A season high of 26 Late Models signed in on the night, with time trials used to set the three heat race events. Then the top 5 out of each of those heats went on to the "Scottie 40", with the rest going to the B Main. The top 5 out of the B Main were added to the back of the field to set the 20 car main event....The long pull of the night was Allen Murray, who was from San Antonio, Texas. He would start the feature in 11th and passed 4 cars to come home in 7th....Jim Moon came from 12th to finish in 10th....Billy Genenbacher came from 14th to 11th....Ryan Little started 15th and finished 12th....Greg Kimmons passed 7 cars from his 20th place starting spot to come home in 13th....Chuck Mitchell came from 17th to finish in 14th....Kevin Weaver, who was running 4th, pulled off on lap 31 with troubles to end his night in 15th....Rickey Frankel, who had won the past two features at the track, was suppose to start the feature in 7th. But mechanical troubles after his heat would have him elect the tail for the feature, in which he made one lap before pulling into the infield......Timothy Anders came from 16th in the SportMod feature to bring home home a 6th place finish....Bobby Anders was credited with 7th after slowing to a stop in turn 2 on lap 14, while running 2nd....Jon Lear came from 13th to finish in 8th....Trevor Hagerbaumer started 12th and was 9th....Trent Grotz had troubles after his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature......Dylan Hoover came from 14th in the UMP Modified feature to come home in 10th....Danny Lake, who rolled in his heat race, started the feature in 16th and finished 12th....Donovan Lodge and Jared Schlipman, who was suppose to start 8th, both had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Rouse Races to First Career Mod Lite Feature Win at 34 Raceway

West Burlington, IA (Saturday, May 17, 2014) - Another Saturday night meant another night of racing at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA, as it was "Fan Appreciation Night" at the races. It was also a night of first's, as one driver earned their first career feature win, with three drivers winning their first of the season at the track, while two other drivers earned multiple wins of the season.

The night started off with the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with John Brockway and Randy Wachter leading the field to the green flag. Brockway took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Jake Wenig and Wachter. But his lead only lasted for one lap, as Wenig jump to the top of him to take over the top spot on lap 2. Wenig then started to stretch his lead over the field, when the first and only caution came out on lap 7. Dane Fenton slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Wenig moved back out front, with Wachter and Brockway battling for second. While Wenig paced the field out front, Tom Bowling Jr., who started 9th, and John Oliver Jr., who started 10th, were working there way to the front. Wenig, who was running up top, and Bowling Jr., who was on the bottom, ran laps 15 and 16 side-by-side, before Bowling Jr. edged out front on lap 17. But Wenig would come back on the top of the track on lap 18 to grab the lead back. Wenig then held on over the final two laps to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Bowling Jr. was 2nd, Oliver Jr. was 3rd, Brockway held on for 4th, with Jim Lynch coming from the back after getting sideways off 4 on the first lap to come home in 5th.

Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Dugan Thye and Dustan Fenton making up the front row for the event. But it was fourth place starter Tyler Glass who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Dennis LaVeine and Fenton. The action was slowed for the first time on lap 3, as Larry McConnell spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Thye would spin in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Glass jump back out front, with LaVeine and Dean McGee battling for second. Bill Roberts Jr., who started 7th, used the bottom of the track to grab the top spot away on lap 9 and then held it until lap 11. Chadwick Giberson would spin in turn 3 to bring out the caution. On the restart Colin Rothzen spun his machine in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. Robert Jr. jumped back out front on the following restart, with Glass and Jeff Waterman, who started 6th, battling for second. Robert Jr., who was running the bottom, Waterman, who was up top, ran laps 15 and 16 side-by-side, while Glass, who was down low, and McGee, who was up top, ran side-by-side on the same laps for the third spot. Waterman would edge Roberts Jr. out at the line on lap 17 to take over the top spot, with the caution come out after the completion of the lap to bring the action up front to a halt. Giberson would spin in turn 1, for his second solo to end his night, to bring out the yellow. Waterman moved back out front on the restart and then held on over the final 3 laps to pick up his second win of the season at the track. Roberts Jr. settled for 2nd, McGee won the battle for 3rd, Glass held on for 4th, with Brandon Rothzen coming from 9th to round out the top 5.

Todd Thornburg and Graham Fate led the field to the green flag in the 12 lap Mod Lite feature. But it was third place starter Devon Rouse who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Gary Snyder, who started 5th, and Jimmy Halcomb, who started 7th. Rouse started to stretch his lead out over the field, while Daniel Keltner, who started 8th, was working his way towards the front. By the time Keltner got to second, Rouse had built up a straight-away lead which allowed him to hold on to claim his first career feature win in a caution free race. Keltner settled for 2nd, Collin Ball was third after starting in 6th, Snyder was 4th, with Michael Dominguez coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature, with Heath Bundy and Dustin Clark making up the front row for the event. John Schulz, who started 5th, quickly moved to the front to grab the lead on lap 1 over Bundy and Shawn Whiting. Just after the completion of lap 1, Nick Guernsey spun off turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Schulz moved back out front, with Justin Newberry, who started 7th, battling Clark for second. The action up front was slowed for the second time, when Shane Quam spun in turn 2 on lap 8 to bring out the yellow. Schulz jump back out into the lead on the restart, with Newberry and Clark close behind. Disaster would strike Newberry on lap 17, as contact with a lapped car would send his spinning into the infield with a broken front end to bring out the caution. On the restart Schulz moved back out front and then held on to claim his second win in a row and third overall at the track. Jayson Ditsworth came from 10th to finish in 2nd, Donnie Steward started 11th and finished 3rd, Ryan Jamison came from 12th to finish in 4th, with Andy Huston finishing in 5th after starting in 9th.

Duane Dixon and Shawn Baker led the field to the green in the 12 lap 4 Cylinder feature. But it was third place starter Daytona Fenton who led lap 1 over Baker and Dixon. Fenton, who ran the top of the track, and Cody Washburne, who was on the bottom, ran laps 4 and 5 side-by-side, before Washburne edged out front on lap 6. The close action up front came to a halt on lap 10, as Dustin Ravelin, who was running 4th, rolled in turn 2 from contact from Austin Becerra to bring out the red. On the restart Ron Kibbe slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring the yellow out. The following restart saw Billy Stanford, who was running 2nd, and Wayne Noble, who started 14th and was running 4th, collide down the front stretch to bring the yellow light back on. Washburne jumped back out front on the third attempt of a restart, with Brandon Setser, who started 10th, and Kimberly Abbott, who started 11th, close behind. Setser was able to grab the top spot away going into turn 1 on the final lap and then held off Abbott to pick up his first win of the season at the track. But after post race inspection Setser was disqualified for a locked front end, which gave the win to Abbott for her first win of the season at the track. Jacob Brown passed 13 cars from his 15th place starting spot to be moved to 2nd, Barry Taft was moved up to 3rd, Jerry Parrott passed 16 cars from his 20th place starting spot to be moved up to 4th, with Washburne being moved up to finish in 5th.

The final feature up on the night was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Jacob Morris and Jonny Williams leading the field to green. Williams would use his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Joey Gower and Morris. Gower would use the bottom of the track to grab the lead away from Williams on lap 3 and then held it until lap 7. Williams, who was running 5th, and Adam Shelman, who was running 7th, collided in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Sean Wyett, who was running 3rd after starting in 10th, got into the back of Tony Dunker, who was running 2nd after starting in 6th, in turn 2, which caused Dunker to spin to bring the yellow light back on. Gower jumped back out front on the following restart, with Bobby Anders, who started 9th, and Brett Timmerman, who started 7th, battling for the second spot. The action up front was slowed for the third time, when Morris got into Dunker, who came back to 7th after spinning on lap 7, to cause him to spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Gower jumped back out front, with Anders and Timmerman close behind. Disaster would strike Timmerman on lap 13, as he spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Gower grabbed the lead on the restart and then held on over the final 2 laps to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Anders settled for 2nd, Dunker recovered from his lap 11 spin to come back up to 3rd, Kyle Hill was 4th, with Dustin Crear coming from 12th to round out the top 5.

Notes from 34: For the fourth time in the last four weeks 95+ cars signed in for competition, as 24 4 Cylinders, 19 305 Sprints, 17 Modifieds, 16 SportMods, 13 Stock Cars, and 10 Mod Lites made up 99 cars on this night......Jake Wenig's win in the Stock Car feature was the fifth different winner in the five weeks of racing at 34 Raceway....Shane Watts finished 6th after starting in 8th....Dane Fenton recovered from his caution on lap 7 to come back up to 9th......Brad Tyler passed 7 cars from his 13th place starting spot in the Modified feature to finish in 6th....Mitch Morris came from 10th to finish in 7th....Sam Davis started 12th and finished 8th....Ray Cox Jr. passed 6 cars from his 15th place starting spot to finish in 9th....Darrow Lillie came from 17th to come home in 11th....Dennis LaVeine, who was running 6th, pulled off on the lap 11 caution with a flat tire to end his night in 14th......Justin Buchholz had troubles in hot laps that forced him to scratch for the night in the Mod Lites......Daniel Bergquist started the 305 Sprint feature in 16th and passed 10 cars to come home in 6th....Nick Guernsey recovered from his lap 1 spin to come back up to finish in 7th....Dustin Clark, who was running 3rd, drifted high in turn 2 on lap 18 and fell clear back to finish in 8th....Dillon Roth came from 13th to finish in 9th....Shane Quam recovered from his lap 8 spin to come back up to finish in 12th....Dave Getchell had troubles in hot laps that forced him to scratch for the night......Jerrod Nichols passed 17 cars from his 23rd place starting spot in the 4 Cylinder feature to finish in 6th....Billy Stanford recovered from the lap 10 caution to come back up to finish in 8th....Wayne Noble also recovered from the lap 10 spin to come back up to 9th....Brian Mehaffy came from 13th to finish in 10th....Shawn Pappis passed 7 cars from his 18th place starting spot to finish in 11th....Kevin Mortimer came from 16th to finish in 12th....Daytona Fenton had a flat on the lap 10 caution, while running 3rd to end his night in 13th....Ron Kibbe came from 22nd to finish in 15th....Kyle Hamelton came from 24th to finish in 18th....Clayton Chapman and Jeffery DeLonjay had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Holtmeyer Earns His First Career SportMod Feature Win at Quincy Raceways

Quincy, IL (Sunday, May 11, 2013) - Despite the heavy rains overnight Saturday and threaten weather Sunday morning, the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Illinois was able to get there racing program complete. At the end of the night one driver earned his second win in a row at the track, while two drivers earned there first wins of the season at the track, another driver picked up his first career feature win, while another continued his hot streak from 2013.

The first feature up on the night was the 18 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Nathan Hayes and Brandon Savage leading the field to the green flag. Savage took advantage of his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Hayes and Jake Powers. While Savage set a fast pace out front, Terry Houston, who started 6th, Abe Huls, who started 7th, and Jim Lynch, who started 8th, were all trying to work there way towards the front. The two wide racing behind Savage allowed him to get out to a half a track lead, before Houston was able to climb into the second spot. But Savage had built up to big of a lead, as he went on to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Houston settled for 2nd, Beau Taylor was 3rd, Huls was 4th, with Lynch rounding out the top 5.

Up next was the 18 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Taylor Lear and Todd Reed making up the front row for the event. Reed used his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Lear and Trevor Hagerbaumer, and then held it until the first caution on lap 4. Hagerbaumer would spin in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Reed moved back out front, but now had Bradley Holtmeyer, who started 6th, glued to his back bumper. One lap later, lap 5, the yellow light would come back on, as Laine VanZandt spun in turn 4 to bring out the caution. Reed would spin from the lead in turn 4 on the restart to bring the yellow light back on. Jim Gillenwater, who was behind the #6 machine usually driven by Bobby Six, inherited the lead for the following restart after starting in 10th. But another caution for Tanner Klingele's, who was running 3rd, spin in turn 4 which collected Bobby Anders, who started 9th and was running 4th, brought the caution back out. On the next restart Gillenwater jumped back out front, with Holtmeyer working to hold back Tony Dunker, who started 14th, in the battle for second.

But just as the action up front was getting good, another caution appeared on lap 7 to slow it down. Lear ended up spinning his machine in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Gillenwater once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Holtmeyer and Dunker close behind. Another caution on lap 10, brought the action to a halt. This time Hagerbaumer and Trent Grotz were stuck together in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Gillenwater moved back out front with Holtmeyer and Dunker continuing there pursuit of the lead. But another caution on lap 11 for Lear's spin in turn 4, his second solo to end his night. Brought the time limit up on this race, which meant the final 7 laps had to run caution free or the next caution would end the race. Once again Gillenwater grabbed the lead on the restart, with Holtmeyer and Dunker battling for second. Gillenwater, who was on the bottom, Holtmeyer, who was up top, and Dunker, who was following in Gillenwater's tracks, were racing hard up front. Holtmeyer used the momentum off the top of the track in turn 4 to take the top spot away on lap 13. But Gillenwater wouldn't give up, as he tried to get back under Holtmeyer over the next 4 laps. When the final caution came out on lap 17, as Aaron Brocksieck, who started 7th and was running 4th, spun in turn 4. The caution also brought out the checkered flag, as Holtmeyer claimed his first career feature win. Dunker won the battle for 2nd, Gillenwater was 3rd, Anders recovered from his lap 5 caution to come back up to 4th, with Klingele also recovering from the lap 5 caution to come back to finish in 5th.

Justin Reed and Rickey Frankel led the field to green in the 30 lap UMP Late Model feature, with Reed jumping out front on lap 1 over Denny Woodworth and Frankel. Reed's fast pace allowed him to move out into a full straightway lead by lap 15. But he then started to enter lapped traffic, which allowed Woodworth, Frankel and Mark Burgtorf, who started 5th, to close in on him. Woodworth, who was using the bottom of the track, was able to get up beside Reed over the next 7 laps when disaster struck the top two cars on lap 22. Woodworth thought he had Reed cleared coming off turn two and tried to slid up in front of Reed. But with Reed's momentum off the top he got into the back of Woodworth, causing him to spin down the backstretch to bring out the yellow. Both driver's were sent to the back for the restart, which gave Frankel the lead. Frankel grabbed the lead on the restart, with Burgtorf and Jason Perry, who started 9th, close behind. Frankel, who was running the bottom, and Burgtorf, who was up top, ran laps 24 through 27 side-by-side. Burgtorf was able to use the momentum off the top of the track in turn 2 on lap 27 to grab the lead, only to have the caution come out to relegate the pass. Clint Kirkham would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Frankel moved back out front and then held on over the final 3 laps to pick up his second win in a row at the track. Burgtorf settled for 2nd, Perry was 3rd, Jim Moon passed 8 cars from his 12th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Jamie Wilson coming from 8th to round out the top 5.

Kenny Wallace and Steven DeLonjay made up the front row for the 25 lap UMP Modified feature, with Wallace grabbing the lead on lap 1 over DeLonjay and Jared Schlipman. The action up front was slowed for the one and only time on lap 3, as Seith Woodruff spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Wallace moved back out front, with DeLonjay close behind in second. DeLonjay, who was running the bottom, was able to get up beside Wallace on lap 10. But Wallace was able to hold him off and then went on to claim his first win of the season at the track. DeLonjay settled for 2nd, David Wietholder came from 6th to finish in 3rd, Keith Pratt was 4th, with Shawn Deering passing 8 cars from his 13th place starting spot, after loosing the drive shaft in time trials, to come home in 5th.

The final feature up on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Sport Compact $200 to win special, with Kimberly Abbott and Brandon Lambert drawing the front row for the event. Abbott would use her front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Austen Becerra and Lambert. But her lead only lasted one lap, as Becerra used the top of the track to take over the top spot on lap 2. Becerra then pulled away over the final 18 laps of a caution free race to earn his 10th win in a row at the track dating back to 2013 and his 11th overall in 2014. Patrick "Skipp" Dunker came home in 2nd, Abbott was 3rd, Lambert was 4th, with Bryce Baker rounding out the top 5.

Notes from Quincy: Todd Reed recovered from his spin on lap 5 in the SportMod feature to come back up to finish in 6th....Trent Grotz recovered from his lap 10 involvement in the caution to come back up to finish 7th....Jared Wiemelt started 12th and brought home a 9th place finish....Aaron Brocksieck was credited with 10th, after running 4th and bringing out the final caution on lap 17 to end the race....Charles VanZandt finished 12th after starting in 16th....Joey Gower, who started 8th and had worked his way up to 4th, pulled off under the lap 4 caution with troubles to end his night in 14th....Jon Lear had troubles in his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature......Just Reed recovered from the lap 22 caution in the Late Model feature to come back up to finish 6th....Denny Woodworth also recovered from the lap 22 caution to come back up to finish in 7th....Trace Westling started 11th and brought home an 8th place finish....Clint Kirkham came from the rear after his lap 27 spin to finish in 9th....Michael Larsen made the jump from the Stock Car class to the Late Model ranks in 2014. He made his debut on Sunday and took home a 12th place finish......Russ Coultas came from 10th in the Modified feature to take home a 6th place finish....Robbie Reed, who was running 3rd, pulled off on lap 18 to end his night in 10th....Jared Schlipman, who was running 3rd, pulled off on lap 10 to end his night in 11th....Michael Long, who was running 4th, pulled off on lap 9 to end his night in 12th....Spencer Havermale had troubles after his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature event......Darin Weisinger Jr. started the Sport Compact feature in 9th and passed 3 cars to finish in 6th....Alyssa Steele had troubles after the heat race that forced her to scratch from the feature.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Watts Claims First Career Stock Car Feature Win at 34 Raceway

West Burlington, IA (Saturday, May 10, 2014) - Mother nature tried once again to put the dampers on the racing action on Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, as dark clouds and lighting was building from the south. But the rains held off to allow the full program to be completed, which produced three new winners so far this season at the track.

The first feature to take to the track was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with Dugan Thye and Rich Smith leading the field to green. But just as the green flag was waved the yellow light came on, as Darrow Lillie, Troy Greiner and John Ahlers collided in turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Smith jumped out into the lead, with Tyler Glass and Dennis LaVeine battling for second. Just as Smith started to put some distance between himself and the battle for second, the second caution appeared on lap 8. This time Thye spun off turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Smith grabbed the lead on the restart, with Glass working to hold back Brandon Rothzen, who started 8th, in the battle for second. Rothzen's run up front came to an end on lap 10, as he spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Smith moved back out front, but now had Jeff Waterman, who started 5th, glued to his back bumper. Waterman would try to get under Smith over the next 5 laps, when the final caution of the race appeared on lap 15 to slow the action up front. Dean McGee, who started 7th and was going for 3rd, spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Smith once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Waterman and Bill Roberts Jr., who started 6th, racing side-by-side for second. The veteran Smith, who took a couple years off from racing, made no mistakes over the final 5 laps to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Waterman won the battle for 2nd, Roberts Jr. was 3rd, Rothzen recovered from his lap 10 spin to come back up to finish 4th, with Mitch Morris coming from 9th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 12 lap Mod Lite feature, with Greg Rossell and Devon Rouse on the front row for the event. Rossell would take advantage of his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Rouse and Gary Snyder. Rossell then held the lead until lap 4, when Daniel Keltner, who started 8th, slipped under him to grab the top spot. The action up front was slowed for the one and only time on lap 5, when Collin Ball, who came from 7th and was going for 3rd, spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Keltner moved back out front, with Rossell and Justin Buchholz, who started 9th, close behind. Keltner, who was glued to the bottom, Rossell, who followed in Keltner's tracks, and Buchholz, who ran up top, had a three way battle going for the final 7 laps. But Keltner was able to hold off all challenges to claim his first win of the season at the track and second of the weekend, as his won Friday night at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, IA. Rossell held on for 2nd, Buchholz was 3rd, Michael Dominguez was 4th, with Rouse rounding out the top 5.

Chase Wanner and Janelle Schneiderman led the field to green in the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature. But just as the green flag was waved the yellow light would come on, as Shane Quam spun in turn 2 and collected Donnie Steward and Richard Brod. On the restart John Schulz edged Wanner at the line by inches to lead lap 1. Just after the completion of the lap the caution would come out, as a tire in turn 4 was pushed out onto the track to bring out the yellow. Schulz grabbed the lead on the restart, with Wanner working to hold back Justin Newberry, who started 5th, in the battle for second. Just as Schulz started to pull away, the red flag appeared on lap 4 to bring the action to a halt. Schneiderman tried to work under Kyle Peterson going into turn 1 when the two collided, causing both to roll to bring out the red. Both drivers climbed from their machines okay! On the restart Schulz moved back out front, with Newberry close behind in second. Schulz and Newberry started to put some distance on third, when the final caution of the race appeared on lap 8. Dillon Roth, who was running 6th, and Steward, who worked his way back to 7th after the lap 1 caution, spun down the backstretch to bring out the yellow. Once again Schulz grabbed the lead on the restart, with Newberry working to defend off Andy Huston, who started 6th, and Ryan Jamison, who started 11th. Schulz would go on to lead the final 12 laps to pick up his second win on the season at the track. Newberry won the battle for 2nd, Huston was 3rd, Jamison was 4th, with Daniel Bergquist coming from 7th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Mark Bowman and John Brockway making up the front row for the event. Brockway would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Dane Fenton and Bo Hunter. The action up front was slowed on lap 4, when Chad Krogmeier spun in turn 2 from contact from Wayne Landheer to bring out the yellow. On the restart Matt Keller spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Shane Watts, who started 7th, use the bottom of the track to grab the top spot on lap 5 over Brockway and Ray Raker, who started 9th. Just as Watts started to put some distance between himself and the battle for second, the third caution of the race appeared on lap 10. Landheer would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Watts jumped back out front on the restart, with Raker now glued to his back bumper. Watts, who was on the bottom, Raker, who was up top, Jason Cook, who started 15th was on the bottom, and John Oliver Jr., who started 10th was up top, ran side-by-side two rows deep for lap 12, 13 and 14. When the final caution slowed the great battle on lap 14. This time Hunter slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Watts moved back out front, with Cook, Raker and Oliver Jr. all close behind him. Cook tried to get under Watts over the final 6 laps, but Watts was able to hold him off to claim his first career Stock Car feature win. Cook settled for 2nd, Oliver Jr. was 3rd, Jim Lynch came from 8th to 4th, with Fenton holding on for 5th.

Creston Williams and Joey Gower made up the front row for the 15 lap IMCA SportMod feature. But just as the green flag was waved the caution light would come on, as Jonny Williams, Adam Shelman, Tommy Lathrop and Bobby Anders collided in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Creston Williams jumped out front on lap 1, over Sean Wyett, who started 8th, and Gower. Brett Timmerman would come to a stop in turn 2 on lap 2 to slow the action down. Gower used the bottom of the track to grab the lead away on the restart, with Anders coming from the back after the lap 1 crash to take over second. Another caution on lap 5 would slow the action down, as Jonny Williams came to a stop down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. The yellow light would come back on on the restart, as debris down the front stretch slowed the action. Gower moved back out front on the following restart, with Anders and Wyett close behind. Anders slipped under Gower in turn 4 on lap 8 to grab the top spot away, leaving Gower to battle Wyett for the runner up spot. The three way battle for the lead was slowed for the final time on lap 10, as Scott Williams spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Anders jumped back out front on the restart, with Gower and Wyett battling side-by-side for second. But there was no catching Anders, as he held on to pick up his second win in a row at the track. Gower won the battle for 2nd, Wyett was 3rd, Creston Williams was 4th, with Shelman recovering from the lap 1 crash to come back up to 5th.

The final feature up on the night was the 12 lap 4 Cylinders, with Cody Washburne and Larry Miller leading the field to the green. But just as the green flag was waved the yellow light would come on, as Jeffery DeLonjay and William Michel collided in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Miller grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Austen Becerra, who started 11th, and Washburne. Becerra would use the top of the track to grab the top spot away from Miller on lap 3 and then pulled away to claim his second win in a row at the track.. Kimberly Abbott came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Billy Stanford was 3rd,  Wayne Noble started 13th and passed 9 cars to come home in 4th, with Washburne holding on to round out the top 5.

Notes from 34: All though there wasn't 100+ race cars signed in for the night, there was still 91 cars. As 20 4 Cylinders, 19 305 Sprints, 15 Modifeds, 15 Stock Cars, and 10 SportMods made up the that number......Dean McGee, who was going for 3rd on lap 15 of the Modifed feature, spun in turn 1 to bring out the final caution of the race. He would recover from that spin to come back up to finish 8th....Dustan Fenton came from 12th to finish in 9th......Collin Ball recovered from his spin on lap 5, while going for 3rd, in the Mod Lite feature to come back up to finish in 6th......Dillon Roth finished 7th in the 305 Sprint feature, after coming from the back from his spin on lap 8. Dave Getchell passed 9 cars from his 18th place starting spot to finish in 9th....Andy Krieger finished 10th after starting in 13th....Heath Bundy came from 17th to take home an 11th place finish....Austin Sears, Jayson Ditsworth and Shawn Whiting all had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature......Jake Wenig started the Stock Car feature in 13th and passed 7 cars to come home in 6th....Chad Krogmeier recovered from his lap 4 spin to come back up to finish in 8th....Wyane Landheer also recovered from a spin on lap 10 to come back up to finish in 9th....Ray Raker, who was battling for the top spot on lap 14, slowed with a right front flat on the last lap to be credited with 12th......Brett Timmerman recovered from the lap 4 caution to come back up to finish 6th in the SportMod feature....Kyle Hill broke something in the rear end in hot laps that forced him to scratch from the nights activities......Bryerson Tharp passed 6 cars from his 15th place starting spot in the 4 Cylinder feature to come home in 9th....Jerrod Nichols was 11th after starting in 14th....Barry Taft came from 19th to finish in 13th....Kevin Mortimer passed 6 cars from his 20th place starting spot to finish in 14th.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Chris Simpson Tops Stellar Field at Davenport Speedway's MLRA Race

Davenport, IA (Friday, May 9, 2014) - Friday night marked the first time in series history that the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models made a stop at the Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa. The event was also co-sanctioned by the Corn Belt Clash Series. As for the fans this race turned out to be one of the best races so far during the early 2014 season. Also in action on the night was the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA SportMods, Street Stocks and 4 Stocks.

The first feature up on the night was the 15 lap Street Stocks, with Cary Brown and Mike Anderson leading the field to the green flag. Brown would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Anderson and Cord Williams. Just after the completion of lap 1 the caution would come out, as Steve Gustaf spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Nick Claussen would spin in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Brown jump back out front, with Anderson working to hold back Jeremy Gustaf, who started 10th. Brown, Jeremy Gustaf and Donnie Louck, who started 5th, had a three car battling going for the lead, until the third caution of the event appeared on lap 7 to slow down the action. This time Williams would spin off turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Brown once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Jeremy Gustaf and Louck close behind. Louck would use the top of the speedway to grab the lead away on lap 9, and then had the caution come out after the completion of the lap. Steve Gustaf spun in turn 3 for his second solo caution to end his night. On the restart Jeremy Gustaf used the bottom groove to get the lead away from Louck, leaving Louck to fend off Andrew Burk, who started 9th, in the battle for second. Louck, who stayed up top, was able to get the lead on lap 11, with Burk and Jeremy Gustaf battling for second. Coming out of turn 4 on the last lap Burk tried to slip under Louck for the win, but Louck held him off at the line to pick up the win. Burk settled for 2nd, Jeremy Gustaf was 3rd, Brown was 4th, with Perry Gellerstedt coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 15 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Bryce Garnhart and Jacob Beal drawing the front row for the event. Garnhart took advantage of his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Jake Morris and Beal. While Garnhart started to pull away from the field Brandon Jewell, who started 5th, and Austin Moyer, who started 6th, were working there way towards the front. Before Moyer could get to second place, around lap 10, Garnhart had built up an half a track lead. Moyer was able to chase down Garnhart on the final lap, as the two entered turn 3 side-by-side. But Garnhart used the momentum off the bottom to edge out Moyer at the line for the win in a caution free race. Moyer settled for 2nd, Jewell was 3rd, Beal was 4th, with Morris rounding out the top 5.

Eric Stogdell and Luke Benischek led the field to the green in the 12 lap 4 Stock feature. But just as the green flag was waved the yellow would come out, as Ken Stogdell spun in turn 1 to bring out the caution. The following restart saw Eric Stogdell grab the lead on lap 1 over Benischek and Zach Dahl. Dahl used the bottom of the track to go third wide out of turn four to grab the lead on lap 2. Dahl then held the lead, despite the two and even three wide racing, until lap 10 when Brandon Setser, who started 5th, slipped under Dahl to grab the top spot. But Setser's lead only last 1 lap, as Eric Stogdell used the top of the track to take the top spot back on lap 11. Setser, who was on the bottom, and Eric Stogdell, who was up top, came off turn four on the final lap side-by-side, with Setser claiming the win by inches. Eric Stogdell settled for 2nd, Benischek was 3rd, Andrew Fitzgerald edged out a fourth place finish after starting in 6th, with Dahl holding on for a fifth place finish.

David Imming and Bob Dominacki drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Imming edging Dominacki at the line to lead on lap 1. Dominacki used the top of the track to grab the lead on lap 2. But Brandon Durbin used the bottom of the track to take the top spot away on lap 3. Dominacki jumped to the bottom of the track and then used the same groove to get under Durbin on lap 6 to take the lead back. Dominacki then looked to be heading for the win, when the first and only caution appeared on lap 18. Dominacki would spin his machine in turn 4 to bring out the caution and ended his run up front. On the restart Chris Zogg, who started 5th, edged out Durbin for the lead, with Doug Crampton, who started 10th, close behind in third. Coming out of turn four on the final lap Crampton tried the very top of the track to get around Zogg, but Zogg would hold him off by inches to pick up the win. Crampton settled for 2nd, Durbin was 3rd, Dean McGee, who won a B Main, started 13th and passed 9 cars to finish in 4th, with Tony VonDresky came from 9th to round out the top 5.

The final feature to take to the track, was the 40 lap Lucas Oil MLRA / Corn Belt Clash Late Models. Chris Simpson and Ryan Gustin made up the front row for the event by earning the most passing points in the heats. Gustin would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Simpson and Brian Birkhofer. While Gustin paced the field out front, Simpson and Birkhofer ran side-by-side for second until they entered lapped traffic on lap 9. Birkhofer was able to clear Simpson on lap 10 and then went to work on Gustin for the lead. Gustin and Birkhofer had to use the bottom, middle and top of the track to get by some of the lap cars, which allowed Simpson and Terry Phillips, who started 5th, to close in on them. Birkhofer used lapped traffic to slip under Gustin on lap 26 to take over the top spot, with Simpson following him into second. Just like Birkhofer, Simpson used lapped traffic to slip under Birkhofer on lap 30 to grab the top spot. Terry Phillips used the bottom of the track to slip past Gustin and Birkhofer on lap 36 and then went to work on Simpson for the lead. But Simpson was able to hold off his last lap challenge, in a caution free race, to pick up the win and the $3,000 top prize. Phillips settled for 2nd, Birkhofer was 3rd, Gustin was 4th, with Chad Simpson coming home in 5th.

Notes from Davenport: 45 Late Models from eight states including Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio and Minnesota signed in for the first ever visit by the Lucas Oil MLRA (co-sanctioned by the Corn Belt Clash Series) at the Davenport Speedway. All drivers drew a pill as they entered the track, with those 45 cars divided into five 10 lap heat races. The top 16 in passing points out of those heat races were locked into the 40 lap A Main, with the rest going to one of the two 12 lap B Mains. Then the top three in each of those B Mains made it into the A Main. Giving you a 22 cars qualifying out of the heats and B Mains, with the rest of the 28 car field filled with provisionals from the Lucas Oil MLRA and Corn Belt Clash Series points....Heat race 1 saw Brandon Sheppard dominate, by picking up the easy win. He was followed by Ray Guss Jr. Brian Birkhofer, who started 9th, Jason Utter, Justin Kay, Jesse Stovall, who started 6th, Mark Dotson, Jordan Yaggy and Bob Cullen....Heat two was won by Rich Bell, who held off Ryan Gustin, who started 6th, on the last lap to win. Chad Simpson came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Jason Rauen was 4th, Jeremy Payne came from 9th to finish in 5th, Jason Bodenhamer was 6th, Dustin Walker was 7th, Curt Martin was 8th, with Rick Wendling scratching for the night after engine troubles in hot laps....Heat race three saw Chris Simpson pick up the win. He was followed by Denny Eckrich, who started 5th, Brian Harris, who started 6th, Jason Jaggers, who started 7th, Mike Fryer, John Anderson, who started 9th, Mark Voigt, Spencer Diercks, and Bill Koons....Heat race four was dominated by Terry Phillips. He was followed by Billy Drake, Brady Smith, Dave Eckrich, who started 9th, Scott Schmitt, Matt Furman, Brad Looney, Andy Eckrich, and Steve Lach....Heat race five went to Jason O'Brien. He was followed by Scott Lewis, J.C. Wyman, Travis Dickes, who started 8th, Justin Reed, who started 9th, Jake Meier, Mike Collins, Greg Wagner and Jay Johnson....B Main number one was won by Jeremy Payne, with Brady Smith and Justin Kay, who started 5th, making up the three cars who made it into the A Main....B Main number two saw Jason Jaggers pick up the win, with Justin Reed and John Anderson taking the final qualifying spots into the A Main....Brady Smith passed 13 cars from his 19th place starting spot to finish 6th and earned the hard charger award....Jeremy Payne came from 17th to finish in 8th....Dave Eckrich finished 9th after starting in 12th....Billy Drake took home an 10th place finish after starting in 14th....Brad Looney, who took and MLRA provisional, started the A Main in 23rd and passed 7 cars to finish in 16th....Matt Furman also passed 7 cars from his 24th place starting spot, after taking an Corn Belt Clash Series provisional, to finish in 17th....What was amazing about the A Main, was that the 28 car starting field went 40 laps on a 1/4 mile track with out a single caution......Twenty-six IMCA Modifieds signed in on the night, with three heats and two B Mains being ran to cut the field down to a 20 car starting field....Rob Henry, who moved up from the Street Stock class into the Modifieds this year, started the feature in 14th and passed 6 cars to finish in 8th....Kelly Meyer passed 8 cars from his 17th place starting spot to come home in 9th....Todd Dykema came from 19th to finish in in 12th....Bruce Fosdyck started 18th and passed 4 cars to finish in 14th....Bob Dominacki was credited with 17th after leading until lap 18 when he spun to bring out the only caution of the feature......Nick Claussen recovered from his lap 1 spin to come back up to finish 7th in the Street Stock feature....Cord Williams also recovered from his spin on lap 7 to come back up to finish 8th....Scott Dickey came from 16th to finish in 10th....Rick Schriner had motor troubles in his heat, that forced him to scratch from the feature......Rick Zifko came from 10th in the 4 Stock feature to come home in 7th....Steven Spiker started 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 9th....Todd Sibley passed 6 cars from his 17th place starting spot to finish in 11th....Richard Dearborn also passed 6 cars from his 18th place starting spot to finish in 12th....Andy Loy, who started 8th and had worked his way to 2nd by lap 5, pulled off on lap 6 with heavy smoke coming from under his car to end his night in 14th....Drew Wise came from 19th to finish in 15th......In 102 laps of feature racing there was only 7 total cautions, Late Models 40 laps caution free, 20 laps in the IMCA Modifieds only 1 caution, Street Stocks had 5 cautions in there 15 lap race, IMCA SportMods went 15 laps caution free, and the 4 Stock 12 lap feature only had 1 caution. What a great night of racing in all classes!!!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Oliver Jr. Cashes In at the Quincy Raceways

Quincy, IL (Sunday, May 4, 2014) - After two straight weeks of rain outs, mother nature finally co-operated with the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL. As they got there second event of the 2014 season put into the books. The highlight of this weeks races, was the IMCA Stock Car special paying $500 to the winner. At the end of the night Rickey Frankel (UMP Late Models), Michael Long (UMP Modifieds), John Oliver Jr. (IMCA Stock Cars), Bobby Anders (IMCA SportMods), and Austen Becerra (IMCA Sport Compacts) claimed feature wins.

The first feature to take to the track was the 25 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Beau Taylor and John Oliver Jr. drawing the front row for the event. Oliver Jr. took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Jim Lynch and Taylor. Lynch tried to work under Oliver Jr. for the next 4 laps, when the first caution appeared on lap 4. Jake Powers would get into the back of Brandon Savage going into turn 1 battling for 5th, which caused Savage to spin and collect Abe Huls to bring out the yellow. On the restart Oliver Jr. was penalized one spot for starting before the firing zone in turn 4, which moved Lynch to the top spot for the following restart. Lynch jumped out front on the next restart, with Oliver Jr. and Taylor close behind. Oliver Jr. used the top of the track in turns 1 and 2 to grab the lead back on lap 6. While Oliver Jr. worked to hold back Lynch, Huls worked his way into the battle after coming from the back from his involvement in the lap 4 caution. But Oliver Jr. would hold off all challenges over the final 19 laps to pick up the win and the $500 top prize. Lynch won the battle for 2nd, Huls was 3rd, Terry Houston came from 7th to finish in 4th, with Powers coming from the back from his involvement in the lap 4 caution to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 18 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Tanner Klingele and Bradley Holtmeyer leading the field to the green flag. Klingele used his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Holtmeyer and Trevor Hagerbaumer. Just as Klingele started to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field, the first caution came out on lap 6. Laine VanZandt would spin in turn 4 and collect Jared Wiemelt to bring out the yellow. On the restart Bobby Anders, who started 7th, slipped under Klingele to grab the top spot, leaving Klingele to battle Holtmeyer for the second spot. Klingele tried to work under Anders over the next 10 laps, when another caution slowed the action. This time Bob Cowman spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Anders once again moved out front on the restart, with Klingele now having to work to hold back Tony Dunker, who started 8th, for second. But just as the field was coming around to take the checkered flag, the caution would come out to set up a two lap overtime dash for the finish. Todd Reed would spin in turn 2 on lap 17 to bring the yellow out. On the restart Anders jumped back out front and then held off Dunker over the final 2 laps to pick up his second win of the weekend, as he won Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA. Dunker was 2nd, Klingele was 3rd, Holtmeyer was 4th, with Trent Grotz coming home in 5th.

Jason Perry and Denny Woodworth led the field to the green in the 30 lap UMP Late Model feature, with Perry grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Mark Burgtorf and Woodworth. While Perry worked the bottom of the track, Burgtorf would try both the bottom and top to try and get around Perry for the lead. But Perry was able to hold him off until lap 9, when Perry made the right turn into the pits going into turn 3 to end his run up front. Burgtorf would have to get on the brakes to avoid Perry's turn into the pits, which allowed Rickey Frankel to shoot under him to take over the top spot on lap 10. Burgtorf used the top of the track to lead lap 11, with Frankel coming back on the bottom to take the lead back on lap 12. Frankel then held on over the final 18 laps to claim his first win of the season at the track. Woodworth was able to get past Burgtorf late to come home 2nd, Burgtorf was 3rd, Jim Moon came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Justin Reed rounding out the top 5.

David Wietholder and Michael Long made up the front row for the 25 lap UMP Modified feature. Just as the green flag was waved the yellow light would come on, as Seith Woodruff spun in turn 2. The following restart saw Long jump out front on lap 1 over Wietholder and Steven DeLonjay. But just after the completion of lap 1 the yellow light would come on, as Spencer Havermale spun in turn 1 to bring out the caution. Long once again grabbed the lead on the restart, only to be slowed 2 laps later, when Havermale and Woodruff spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Once again Long moved out front on the restart, with Jared Schlipman and Robbie Reed battling for second. The action up front was slowed for the final time on lap 6 when Troy Grotz slowed down the front stretch, which caused Shane Lewis to spin his machine to avoid hitting Grotz to bring out the yellow. Long jumped back out front on the restart, with Reed edging out Schlipman for the second spot. There was nothing slowing Long down on this night as he pulled away to pick up his second win on the weekend, as he picked up a win Friday night at the Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL. Schlipman was able to get back around Reed for the 2nd spot, with Reed 3rd, Jake Griffin started 10th and passed 6 cars to finish in 4th, with Russ Coultas coming from 11th to round out the top 5.

The final feature up on the night was the 16 lap IMCA Sport Compacts, with Brandon Lambert and Bryce Baker leading the field to the green flag. But it was third place starter Patrick "Skipp" Dunker who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Austen Becerra, who started 5th, and Lambert. Dunker then held the lead until lap 3, when Becerra worked under him to take over the top spot. Becerra then had to work to hold back Dunker, until Dunker got under him on lap 12 to grab the lead back. But Becerra was able to use the same move that Dunker used to come back on lap 13 to take the top spot back. Coming out of turn 4 for the checkered flag Dunker tried to get under Becerra, as they made contact and crossed the finish line sideways. Becerra would come out on top to pick up his third win of the weekend and second straight at the track. Dunker settled for 2nd, Baker held on for 3rd, Kimberly Abbott was 4th, with Darin Weisinger Jr. coming home in 5th.

Notes from Quincy: Brandon Savage, who was running 5th in the Stock Car feature, pulled off on lap 14 with troubles to end his night in 8th....Beau Taylor was running 4th, when he pulled off on lap 20 with a right rear flat to end his night in 7th......Joey Gower, who's car was damaged to much in an heat race accident Saturday at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA, drove the #05 SportMod owned by Joe Hooper. He would started the feature in 9th and brought home a 7th place finish....Bob Cowman, who started 13th, recovered from his lap 16 spin to come back up to finish in 8th....Todd Reed, who started 14th, also recovered from his lap 17 spin to come back up to finish in 10th......Jason Perry, who was leading the field in the UMP Late Model feature, pulled off on lap 9 with electrical problems to end his night in 13th......Ryan Meyer, who has been absent form the racing community for a few years, returned behind the wheel of his #82M UMP Modified. He would start the feature in 9th and brought home a 7th place finish in his first night out....Danny Lake also made his 2014 debut and started the feature in 15th. He would pass 7 cars to come home in 8th....Seith Woodruff, who started 16th, recovered from his lap 1 and lap 3 involvement in cautions to come back up to finish in 9th....Dylan Hoover, who started 12th and had worked his way to 8th, pulled off on lap 18 with a right rear flat that he drove on for 5 laps to end his night in 10th....David Wietholder, who was running 2nd on lap 3, pulled off with a broken pull bar to end his run in 14th....Steven DeLonjay, who was running 3rd, pulled off on lap 3 with over heating problems to end his run in 15th....Keith Pratt also exited on the wrecker on lap 3, when he came to a stop down the backstretch with a broken front end to end his night in 16th......Jarett Dunker, Alex Baker and Alex Costigan had troubles in there heat races to force them to scratch from the Sport Compact feature.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

34 Raceway Produces Four New Winners on the Season

West Burlington, IA (Saturday, May 3, 2014) - Another Saturday night, and another night of racing action completed at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Last weeks events saw 100 cars signed in on the night but that number was beaten this week, as 112 cars signed in for action. At the end of the night there were four new winners and two repeat winners standing in victory lane, as Jayson Ditsworth (305 Sprints), Jeff Waterman (IMCA Modifieds), John Olivr Jr. (IMCA Stock Cars), Bobby Anders (IMCA SportMods), Justin Buchholz (Mod Lites), and Austen Becerra (4 Cylinders) picked up feature wins.

The first feature to take to the track on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with Dugan Thye and Jeff Waterman leading the field to the green flag. Waterman would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Thye and Tyler Glass. Waterman then started to pull away from the field, when the first caution of the event appeared on lap 8. Larry McConnell spun his machine in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Waterman moved back out front, with Thye and Glass battling for the second spot. The action up front was slowed on lap 10, as Dustan Fenton got into the back of Bill Roberts Jr. while battling for 5th, with Roberts Jr. spinning in turn 2 and collecting Dennis LaVeine to bring out the yellow. Waterman once again jumped out front on the restart, with Glass over taking Thye for the second spot. But one lap later the caution would appear for McConnell's spin in turn 2, which was his second solo spin and ending his night. On the restart Waterman moved back out front, with Glass working to hold off Mitch Morris, who started 9th, for the second spot. While Waterman continued to pace the field the action behind him was hot and heavy, as Glass, Morris, Thye, Brandon Rothzen, who started 7th, and Rich Smith, who started 10th, all battling for the runner up spot. Smith's run towards the front came to an end on lap 15, as he dropped the drive shaft in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Waterman grabbed the lead on the restart and then held on over the final 5 laps to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Glass won the battle for 2nd, Morris was 3rd, Rothzen 4th, and Thye coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 12 lap Mod Lite feature, with Jared Halcomb and Gary Snyder making up the front row for the event. But it was third place starter Michael Dominguez who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Halcomb and Daniel Keltner, who started 5th. Just as lap 1 was complete, Rock Christofferson spun in turn 2 to bring out the first yellow of the event. On the restart Justin Buchholz, who started 6th, used the top of the track to grab the lead away from Dominquez. Buchholz then started to pull away from the field, when the final caution of the race appeared on lap 8. This time Dan Guss spun down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. Buchholz moved back out front on the restart, with Keltner and Shon Sanders, who started 9th, close behind. On the white flag lap Keltner was able to use the bottom groove to get up beside Buchholz coming out of turn two to head down the backstretch. The two entered turn 3 side-by-side and came out of turn 4 the same way, with Buchholz using the momentum up top to edge Keltner at the line by inches to claim his second win of the season at the track. Keltner settled for 2nd, Sanders was 3rd, Jimmy Halcomb came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Collin Ball rounding out the top 5.

Bo Hunter and Chad Krogmeier led the field to green in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Hunter grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Jake Wenig and Krogmeier. The action up front was slowed on lap 2, when contact from Wayne Landheer caused Ray Raker to spin in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Shane Watts, who started 6th, over took Hunter to grab the top spot. Watts then worked to hold off Wenig, Hunter and John Oliver Jr., who started 9th, over the next 4 laps, when the second caution appeared on lap 6. Wenig's run up front came to an end, as he stopped in turn 4 with smoke coming from under the hood to bring out the yellow. Once again Watts moved out front on the restart, with Oliver Jr. over taking Hunter for the second spot. But one lap later, lap 7, Dane Fenton spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow out. Watts again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Oliver Jr. close behind. When Watts drifted high in turn 3 on lap 12, that allowed Oliver Jr. to slip under him for the top spot. Watts wouldn't give up though, as he tried to get under Oliver Jr. over the final 8 laps. But Oliver Jr. would hold him off to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Watts settled for 2nd, Hunter held on for 3rd, Krogmeier was 4th, with Raker recovering from the lap 2 spin to come back up to 5th.

Kyle Peterson and Chase Wanner made up the front row for the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature. But just as the green flag was waved the red flag appeared, as Cody Wehrle and Dustin Whiting rolled in turn 3 to bring out the red. Both drivers climbed from there machines okay. The following restart saw Peterson jump out front on lap 1 over Dustin Clark and Shawn Whiting. But a spin by Janelle Schneiderman in turn 2 on lap 2 slowed the action. On the restart Peterson moved back out front, with Clark working to hold off Jayson Ditsworth, who started 12th, in the battle for second. Clark's run up front came to an end on lap 8, as he slowed to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Peterson once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Ditsworth and John Schulz, who started 15th, close behind. The action up front was slowed on lap 13, when Wanner spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Peterson jumped back out front, with Ditsworth close behind. Peterson, who was using the bottom of the track, and Ditsworth, who was up top, crossed the line on lap 14 and 15 side-by-side. Ditsworth would use the momentum up top to grab the lead on lap 16 and then held it until the final caution on lap 17. This time Mark Ellefritz spun in turn 2 and collected Heath Bundy to bring out the yellow. Ditsworth moved out front on the restart and then held on to claim his first win of the season at the track. Peterson was 2nd, Daniel Bergquist came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Newberry started 7th and finished 4th, with Donnie Steward coming from 11th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 15 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Rodger Dresden and Creston Williams leading the field to the green. Dresden took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Creston Williams and Jonny Williams. Creston Williams used the bottom of the track to grab the lead on lap 3, only to have Dresden come back on the top of the track to grab the lead back on lap 4. Dresden then held off Creston Williams for the lead, until Bobby Anders used the bottom of the track to grab the top spot on lap 6. Just as the action up front was getting action packed, the first caution of the race appeared on lap 12. Scott Williams would get into the wall down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. On the restart Robert Perry spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The follow restart had Anders moved back out front, but now had Tony Dunker, who started 7th, and Ryan Fullenkamp, who started 8th, glued to his back bumper. Dunker tried to work under Anders over the final laps, but Anders would hold on to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Fullenkamp was 2nd, Dresden was 3rd, Creston Williams crossed the line in 4th but was disqualified in tech, which moved Sean Wyett, who started 17th, up to 4th, and Brett Timmerman, who started 16th, up to 5th.

The final feature up on the night was the 12 lap 4 Cylinders, with Ron Kibbe and Dustin Ravelin making up the front row for the event. Ravelin would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Kibbe and Brandon Setser, who started 7th.  The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 3, when Mike Hornung Jr. came to a stop down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. On the restart Ravelin moved back out front, with Kibbe and Jacob Brown close behind. Ravelin's run up front came to halt on lap 4, when contact from Kibbe caused him to spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Cody Washburne spun down the backstretch to bring the yellow light back on. Brown inherited the lead on the restart, with Austen Becerra, who started 8th, close behind. Becerra would grab the top sport away from Brown on lap 7 and then was slowed on the completion of that lap for a caution. Billy Stanford got into Shawn Baker off turn 2, which caused Baker to get into the wall down the backstretch and bring out the caution. On the restart Becerra jumped back out front and then held it over the final 5 laps to claim his second win of the season at the track. Setser was 2nd, Wayne Noble came from 18th to finish in 3rd, John Whalen started 12th and finished in 4th, with Rachael Reger coming home in 5th.

Notes from 34: The 112 cars signed in on the night were made up by 23 4 Cylinders, 22 305 Sprints, 22 SportMods, 16 Stock Cars, 15 Mod Lites, and 14 Modifieds......Dean McGee made his 2014 season debut on Saturday night and started the Modified feature in 11th. He passed 5 cars en route to a 6th place finish....Darrow Lillie started 13th and finished in 8th......Dan Guss, who started 10th in the Mod Lite feature, recovered from his lap 8 spin to come back up to finish in 6th....Rock Christofferson recovered from his lap 1 spin to come back up to 9th....Graham Fate came from 15th to finish in 10th....Michael Dominguez, who was running 2nd, pulled off on lap 4 with troubles to end his night in 12th....Greg Rossell, driving the car Jimmy Halcomb drove to the win last week, pulled off just as the field was about to go green with troubles to end his night in 14th....Devon Rouse had troubles in the heat which forced him to scratch from the feature......Tom Bowling Jr. started the Stock Car feature in 11th and passed 5 cars to finish in 6th....Dane Fenton, who started 13th, recovered from his lap 3 spin to come back up to finish in 8th....Wayne Landheer came back to finish 10th after his involvement in the lap 2 spin....Tim Kraber came from 16th to finish in 12th....John Brockway, who was suppose to start 5th, elected to go to the tail. He only made one lap before pulling off with troubles to end his night in 16th......Nick Guernsey started the 305 Sprint feature in 9th and finished 6th....Shane Quam came from 10th to finish 7th....Andy Krieger passed 11 cars from his 19th place starting spot to finish in 8th....Andy Huston came from 17th to finish in 9th....Chase Wanner recovered from his lap 13 spin to come back up to 11th....Janelle Schneiderman also recovered from her spin on lap 2 to come back to finish in 12th....Dave Getchell started 20th and finished 14th....John Schulz, who started 15th and worked his way to 3rd, clipped a tire in turn 4 on lap 14 and broke the right front. He would pull his car into the infield to end his night in 16th....Jacob Glasgow and Austin Sears had troubles in hot laps that forced them to scratch for the night......Jared Miller passed 8 cars from his 15th place starting spot in the SportMod feature to come home in 7th....Dustin Crear came from 22nd to finish in 10th....Robert Perry, who started 21st, recovered from his lap 12 spin to come back up to finish in 14th....Tony Dunker was credited with 15th when he had a right front flat tire on the white flag lap while battling for the lead....Bobby Six got into the wall in turn 3 in his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature....Joey Gower was involved in a wreck in the heat, which caused to much damage that forced him to scratch from the feature......Jeffery DeLonjay came from 13th in the 4 Cylinder feature to finish in 6th....Kimberly Abbott started 15th and finished in 7th....Jerrod Nichols came from 14th to finish in 8th....Ron Kibbe recovered from his involvement in the lap 4 spin to come back up to finish 10th....Dustin Ravelin also recovered from the lap 4 spin to come back up to 11th....Brian Mehaffy came from 16th to finish in 13th....Kevin Mortimer started 17th and finished in 14th....ChuckFullenkamp, who was running 4th, slowed to a stop on the lap 4 caution with troubles to end his night in 18th....William Michel pulled off with troubles under the lap 4 caution, while running 5th and ended his night in 19th....Duane Dixon had troubles after the heat to scratched from the feature.