Foster Returns to Lee County Speedway's Victory Lane

Donnellson, IA (Saturday, March 26, 2016) - Mother nature can be very unpredictable, and that was the case this past week. Tuesday started out sunny with high's in the mid 60's. But from there it went down hill. As Wednesday was overcast with highs in the lows 50's, and then Thursday temperatures hoovered around the low 30's which produced rain, sleet, slush and even snow. All of this would play havoc with the first race in the state of Iowa for the 2016 season.

Which was set to be held at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA on Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26th with the 4th Annual Spring Extravaganza. Despite the sun shining and temperatures reaching the mid 50's on Friday, the track crew wasn't able to get things dried out and was forced to cancel that nights events. More sun and temperatures once again around the mid 50's on Saturday finally helped the track crew to get the grounds dried out enough to go racing.

The first feature to take to the track was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Jason See and Jeff Mueller drawing the front row for the event. See would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Mueller, Derrick Agee and Greg Gill. But coming off turn 2, Mueller would slip under See to take the top spot away on lap 2. The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 4, when Jordan Gerling spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Jeremy Pundt, Dane Fenton, Abe Huls and Brian Hoener collided coming off turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Mueller jump back out front, with Agee and Gill close behind. Mueller then held the top spot until lap 7 when he lost an engine going into turn 3 to bring out the caution. Gill would inherit the lead on the restart, with Cayden Carter, who started 9th, moving into second. While Carter worked on Gill for the lead, Agee was trying to hold off Damon Murty, who started 7th, for the third spot. The four car battle for the lead was slowed on lap 15, when debris in turn 3 brought out the yellow. Gill, who was working the bottom of the track, would edge Carter, who was working the top, at the line on the restart to hold the lead. But Carter used the momentum off the top of the track coming out of turn 4 to take the top spot away from Gill on lap 17. Despite Gill trying to work back under Carter over the final 3 laps, Carter was able to hold on to pick up the win and the $1,000 top prize. Gill settled for 2nd, Murty was 3rd, Agee was 4th, with John Oliver Jr., who was driving Dean Kratzer's #4k machine, coming from 12th to round out the top 5.

Cayden Carter drove Roger Kelderman's IMCA Stock Car to victory on Saturday, March 26th at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA during the 4th Annual Sprint Extravaganza. 

Up next was the 14 lap IMCA Sport Compact feature, with Luke Benischek and Jason Breuklander making up the front row. Benischek jumped out into the lead on lap 1 over Breuklander and Kimberly Abbott, and then held it until lap 2 when Breuklander took over the top spot. Just as Breuklander took the lead the red light would appear, as Darin Weisinger Jr. rolled in turn 2. After the safety crew got on scene to check on Weisinger Jr., he would fire up the car and drive it to the pits for his crew to check it over. On the restart Breuklander moved back out front, with Benischek trying to hold off Abbott in the battle for second. The action was slowed one lap later, lap 3, when Eric Eye spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Breuklander once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Benischek and Abbott continuing their battle for second. While Breuklander set the pace out front, all eyes were on Brad Chandler, who was driving Josh Barnes' second car and started in the 12th spot. Chandler would work his way into the second spot on lap 10 and the went to work on chasing down Breuklander for the lead. On the white flag lap Chandler was able to pull even with Breuklander coming out of turn 2, and then the two went into turn 3 side-by-side. Coming out of turn 4 for the checkered flag, Chandler was able to hold off Breuklander to pick up the win and the $300 top prize to go with it. Breuklander settled for 2nd, Luke Benischek was 3rd, Josh Barnes started 9th and came home in 4th, with Jake Benischek finishing in 5th.

The IMCA Sport Compact feature winner during the 4th Annual Sprint Extravaganza at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA went to Brad Chandler, who was driving one of Josh Barnes' cars.

Colby Springsteen and Richie Gustin drew the front row for the first 20 lap feature event for the LCS Late Models. Springsteen would take advantage of his front row draw to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Gustin and Derek Liles. Just after the completion of lap 1 the first and only caution of the race appeared, as Gunner Frank spun down the backstretch. On the restart Springsteen moved back out front, with Gustin and Liles following. While Springsteen set a fast pace out front, Tommy Elston, who started 6th, would work himself into second on lap 10. But by then Springsteen had built up a full straightaway lead, and without another caution he would cruise to an easy win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Elston was 2nd, Gustin was 3rd, Liles was 4th, with Louis Lynch finishing 5th after starting in 8th.

Colby Springsteen picked up the win in the first ever LCS Late Model feature of the season on Saturday, March 26th during the 4th Annual Spring Extravaganza at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA.

Up next was the 18 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Brett Lowry and Carter VanDenBerg leading the field to the drop of the green flag. VanDenBerg would use his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Brandon Lennox and Lowry. VanDenBerg then held the top spot until lap 5, when Lennox was able to slip under him coming off turn 4 to edge him out at the line for the lead. But VanDenBerg didn't give up, as he used the top of the track coming off turn 2 to grab the lead back on lap 6. Despite several challenges from Lennox over the final 12 laps, VanDenBerg was able to hold on in a caution free race to claim the win and the $1,000 top prize. Lennox was 2nd, Austen Becerra started 6th and finished 3rd, Lowry was 4th, with Sam Wieben coming home in 5th after starting in 11th.

Carter VanDenBerg drove to victory lane in the IMCA SportMod feature at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA on Saturday, March 26th during the 4th Annual Spring Extravaganza.

Kyle Brown and Hunter Marriott drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature. But just after the green flag was waved the red light would come on, as Brandon Brinton, Kory Meyer, Tim Hamburg, Scott Hogan, Ray Guss Jr., Blake Woodruff, and Jardin Fuller were piled up under the flag stand. All drivers were okay, with Woodruff the only car able to continue. On the restart Marriott moved out front to lead lap 1 over Kyle Brown and Ryan Maitland. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 2, as David Brown lost a left rear wheel in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Marriott once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Kyle Brown and Cayden Carter close behind. The third caution of the race appeared on lap 7, when debris in turn 2 brought out the yellow. On the following restart the yellow light would come back on, as debris in turn 1 slowed the action. The following restart saw Josh Foster shoot to the bottom of the track to over take Marriott for the top spot. But Marriott wouldn't give up, as he used the momentum off the top of turn 4 on lap 9 to grab the lead back. Debris in turn 4 on lap 13 would bring the great battle up front to a slow. Marriott jumped back out front on the restart, with Foster and Carter following close behind. Foster worked the low side of the track coming off turn 2 to slip past Marriott for the lead on lap 16. Just as that lap was scored complete the caution appeared for debris in turn 1. Which was a break for Foster, as Marriott over took him for the lead going into turn 1. The final restart saw Foster move back out front, with Marriott and Kyle Brown battling for the runner up spot. Foster would go on to lead the final 4 laps to pick up the win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Kyle Brown won the battle for 2nd, Marriott was 3rd, Carter was 4th, with Kelly Shryock coming home in 5th after starting in 10th.

Josh Foster returned to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa's victory lane on Saturday, March 26th, by claiming the IMCA Modified feature win during the 4th Annual Spring Extravaganza.

The final feature to take to the track was the 14 lap IMCA Hobby Stocks, with Shannon Anderson and John Irwin drawing the front row for the event. But it was fourth place starter Nick Ulin who jumped out into the lead on lap 1 over Anderson and Eric Stanton. Anderson then followed in Ulin's tire tracks for the next 7 laps, until he slipped under Unlin going into turn 3 to grab the top spot away on lap 8. Anderson then held off Ulin over the final 6 laps of a caution free race to pick up the win and the $500 top prize. Ulin settled for 2nd, Stanton was 3rd, August Bach came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Brandon Symmonds rounding out the top 5.

Shannon Anderon picked up the IMCA Hobby Stock feature win on Saturday, March 26th at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA during the 4th Annual Spring Extravaganza.

Notes from LCS: 32 Sport Compacts, 31 SportMods, 28 Modifieds, 18 Stock Cars, 12 Hobby Stocks, and 10 Late Models signed in for the nights action......Abe Huls, who started the Stock Car feature in 10th, recovered from the lap 4 crash to come back up to finish in 6th....Jeremy Pundt, who was also involved in the lap 4 crash, recovered to come home in 7th....Derrick Rohe, who traveled almost 4 hours from Audubon, IA, started the feature in 13th and passed 5 cars to finish in 8th....Shane Paris started 14th and finished 10th....Terry "Scooter" Dulin finished 12th after starting in 15th....Dane Fenton started 17th and finished 13th....Cody Clark made the almost 4 hour trek over from Yorktown, IA to finish 16th....Donovan Nunnikoven was a scratch for the feature......Brandon Setser started the Sport Compact feature in 15th and passed 8 cars to come home in 7th....Ron Kibbe, who won the B Main, passed 13 cars from his 21st place starting spot to finish in 8th....Brandon Reu started 18th and finished 12th....Darin Weisinger Jr., who started 22nd, recovered from his roll over on lap 2 to come back up to finish in 14th....Bryan Vannausdle made the 4.5 hour pull over from Nebraska City, Nebraska to finish 17th....Ryan Bryant pulled 3.5 hours down from Mason City, IA to finish in 20th......The much anticipated LCS Late Models only produced 10 cars, with I believe only 1 of those being an IMCA Spec Motor car......Austin Luellen, who is in his first full year behind a SportMod after moving up from the Hobby Stocks, started the feature in 10th and finished in 6th....Clint Luelle, who would have loved a caution, passed 11 cars from his 18th place starting spot to finish in 7th....Jim Gillenwater came from 13th to finish in 8th....Josh Appel, who pulled down 3.5 hours from Mason City, IA, finished 9th after starting in 12th....Tony Olson, who won the B Main, passed 11 cars from his 21st starting spot to come home in 10th....Dan Drury, who pulled 3 hours from Eldora, IA, started 23rd and passed 11 cars to come home in 12th....Joe Gower finished 13th after starting in 17th....Brayton Carter, who got the final transfer spot out of the B Main, started 24th and passed 9 cars to finish in 15th....Ryan King started 20th and finished 16th....Craig Garner made the 3.5 hour pull over from Clarinda, IA to finish in 17th......Josh Foster use to be a weekly competitor in the Modified division for many years at LCS, where he won many feature events and entertained the crowds with his exciting driving style. That was until a few years ago when he made a career change. He, along with wife Jodi, packed up there belongings and moved from Montrose, IA to Newton, IA. After sitting out of racing the past couple years, Foster has returned to the seat full time in 2016. He would return to LCS on Saturday, March 26th, where he raced to his first Modified victory of 2016....Richie Gustin drove Shawn Riter's #7sr Modified to a 6th place finish after starting in 9th....Johnny Walker started 17th and passed 10 cars to finish in 7th....RC Whitwell from Tucson, Arizona piloted one of Mike Wedelstat's MB Custom Modifieds to a 8th place finish after staring in 12th and battling in the top 5 until the last restart....Blake Woodruff recovered from the pile up on the start of the feature to come back up to finish in 16th......Bryce Sommerfeld made the almost 4 hour pull down from Fort Dodge, IA to finish 5th in the Hobby Stock feature....Chris Hovden made the 3.5 hour drive down from Cresco, IA to finish 11th.

A busy schedule is planned for March 30th through April 3rd, that is if mother nature allows. The week will kick off on Wednesday, March 30th with night one of the "Frostbusters" kicking off at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, IA. Then night two will take place at the Benton Countu Speedway in Vinton, IA on Thursday, March 31st. From there it moves to the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown, IA on Friday, April 1st for night three. On Saturday, April 2nd it's the season opener at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA. Where the Sprint Invaders will also kick off there 2016 season. Finally on Sunday, April 3rd it is the season opener at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL. Perhaps I will see you at a few, if not all of these shows.

My New Role of Promoter at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, IA

Monmouth, IL (Sunday, March 20, 2016) - I know I am about to give you ideas of how old I am, but after 30 years of being around this sport I LOVE, the 2016 racing season will be one I definitely will never forget. For the past several years I have dreamed of either owning a dirt track or even promoting one. Well thanks to the Louisa County Fair Association in Columbus Junction, Iowa I will have the opportunity of my life to promoter the CJ Speedway in 2016.

The 2016 racing season also marks the 10th anniversary of, not only the racing world in Northeast Missouri, Southeast Iowa, and West Central Illinois loosing a GREAT guy. But myself loosing a fellow racing partner. Many of you got to knew him and many I wish you had the privilege of having met him, because he always looked out for the racers and sponsors who supported the sport. His name was Ed Sheckler. In April of 2006, just before the racing season was about to kick-off, Ed was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Despite taking chemo treatments Ed, when he felt good, and myself still traveled every Saturday night to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, MO. This is the track where Ed worked at marketing and a hole lot more. Unfortunately despite his hard fight, Ed would loose his battle with cancer in December of 2006.

Thanks to Ed I was able to learn a lot of things on how to take care of both the sponsors and the drivers that continue to support this great sport. I hope to use many of these tools for the 2016 racing season at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, IA. And I know he will be looking down on me to help point me in the right direction. So for me I hope to make Ed proud, as I put to work all the things he has taught me through the years we had together.

Both the Louisa County Fair Association and myself are very excited about what this racing season will bring. A lot of the past years sponsors, along with several new sponsors, have stepped up to show how much they support the CJ Speedway. Thanks to theses fine sponsors more than $700 has been added to the weekly payouts, which features racing in the Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, SportMods, Mod Lites, IMCA Sport Compacts, and CJ Mini Haulers. For many years the CJ Speedway has had three different payouts, one payout for this many cars, another payout for this many cars, and another for this many cars. But for 2016 I was able to eliminate one of those payouts to only have two. The goal going forward to to eliminate the other payout and just have one. But in order for that to happen I need all the support I can get from all the great racers and fans we have in and around the communities of Columbus Junction, Iowa. I have also talked to several drivers about racing at the CJ Speedway in 2016, and they are very excited about showing their support.

One thing that drivers might not know about the CJ Speedway, is that it's one of a very few tracks around that I know of that offers a year end points fund payout in all 6 classes. There are three things that a driver must do though to be eligible for that points fund, and those are they must race a minimum of 75% of the races at the track, they needed to pay their track registration fee, and finally they have to attend the awards banquet. But we want drivers to know that you DO NOT have to pay the track registration fee to race at CJ, that is unless you are racing for the points fund payback at the end of the year. However there is two savings we offer that comes with the registration. The first is you can save $5 off your registration if turned in on or before April 17th, as the registration fee will go up to $30 after that date. And the second you can save $5 on your pit pass each time you race at CJ. This year pit passes are $25, but if you are a non member driver then pit passes are $30.

The season is set to kick off with a car show and test - n - tune day on Sunday, April 17th. The car show will be held in front of the Economart located at 113 East Walnut Street in Columbus Junction, Iowa from 12 PM (noon) until 2 PM. Then from 2:30 PM until whenever, a test - n - tune will be held over at the track. For every driver who brings their race car to the car show will receive a FREE pit pass to be used for the test - n - tune event only. Another thing that was just worked out is a parade (for those who want to fire up their race cars and drive it over to the track) from the car show to the track for the test - n - tune event. Then the following Friday, April 22nd will be the first points night, with April 29th, May 13th, May 27th, June 17th, June 24th, July 22nd, and August 19th all weekly regular points night.

On Friday May 6th and Thursday, July 28th, during the Louisa County Fair, we will be holding a Modified special that pays $750 to win and $100 to start. Then on Friday, June 10th will be the 4th Annual Tim Sands Memorial, with the Modifieds going for $555 to win. This years "Firecracker 25" on July 8th will be featuring the IMCA Stock Cars going for $750 to win and $100 to start. That same payout will be used for the IMCA Stock Cars again on August 12th. $600 will be up for grabs for the SportMods on May 20th, and again on July 15th. The IMCA Sport Compacts will be the featured class on June 3rd. Then on July 1st the 305 Sprint Cars will join the weekly racing classes. I believe it has been 3 years since the Sprint Cars have raced at the CJ Speedway. On August 5th the Late Models (IMCA type rules) will return to the track after a one year hiatus. I am still looking at running a Mod Lite special this year. And possibly a CJ Mini Hauler special, depending on how much support the class generates in 2016. Personally I believe this class will surprise me in the turn out we will get this season.

The 2016 points season at the CJ Speedway will come to a close on Friday, August 26th. All six track champions will be crowned on this night, but will not be honored until the banquet on Saturday, November 12th. A fall special is NOT ruled out at this time, as plans are in the works to run at least one more event in late September or early October. So stay tuned as the season progresses.

Fans don't worry we didn't forget about you! Not only have we put together some special events to bring in Sprint Cars and Late Models. We have also put together some specials that will highlight all our weekly class, which will also bring in some outside drivers to the track in 2016. But most importantly on Friday, June 3rd we will be hosting a $5 Fan Appreciation Night, where all of our fans get into the grandstands for just $5. With a GREAT turn out, we hope to have another one later in the season. For the kids, Becky Kirk is once again going to run the CJ Speedway Junior Fan Club at the track. She does a lot of GREAT things for the kids, and 2016 will be no different. As always kids 10 and under get into the grandstands at CJ Speedway for FREE! For those who would like to help support Beck and her efforts with the Junior Fan Club, she is having a fundraiser potluck on Saturday, April 9th. The event will be held at Max's on Highway 70 in Conesville, Iowa from 5 PM until ?, with all the proceeds benefiting the Junoir Fan Club at the CJ Speedway. Plus make sure you go and like the CJ Speedway Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CJSpeedway, as you will have a chance to win grandstands tickets to each of our race nights. You can also stay up to date on what is happening at the track by checking out their website at www.cjspeedway.com. And don't forget to sign up for the text messaging system at www.rainedout.net/team_page.php?a=396c7e795f4f4200956f.

I want to let the people who take the time to read my posts on this blog, that can be found on www.postivelyracing.com, know that I will still continue to cover races at other tracks in the area as my schedule allows. The plan was to attended the Spring Nationals this past weekend at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, MO. But mother nature prevented that from happening, with cold temperatures forecasted for the weekend the event was cancelled. Hopefully mother nature will co-operate this coming weekend, Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26th, as the Lee County Speedway hosts their Spring Extravaganza. I am ready to bring on the 2016 RACING SEASON!!!!

A special announce, that hasn't until now been released, for the Modifieds who might or are thinking about racing at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa in 2016. We have had an anonymous sponsor step up to make any night when there are more then 15 Modifieds show up, the purse from 16th - 24th will be $70 to start the feature!

A Look Back at the 2015 Racing Season

Monmouth, IL (Friday, March 11, 2016) - It has been over four and a half months since I have written anything, but with the nice warm weather we having been having lately, and the 2016 racing season just on the horizon. I have decided to take a quick look back at the my 2015 season.

My 2015 number of attended events came in at 76. Seventeen of those nights were at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA, and 14 nights were at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA. In which I worked at both of those tracks on Friday and Saturday nights. Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL came in with 9 nights, which could have been more if it hadn't been for the hours at my past job. As I started out working at this track on Sunday nights, until my hours at work forced me to resign. The Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, IA was next, with 7 nights attended. I made 5 trips to the Boone Speedway in Boone, IA, with 4 of those nights coming during the 2015 IMCA Super Nationals. Up next was one of my favorite tracks the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, MO, where I attended 4 events. Back in 2004 this track is where it all began for me as far as me starting to work at a track. Three trips to the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown, IA came in next, as well as 3 trips to the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL for the NASCAR weekend, and 3 visits to the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, IA for the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals weekend. Followed by 2 trips to the Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA, and 2 visits to the Independence Motor Speedway in Independence, IA.

The 2015 season ended with 1 visit each to the following tracks: the Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, IA, Benton County Speedway in Vinton, IA, Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Dubuque, IA, West Liberty Raceway in West Liberty, IA, Peoria Speedway in Peoria, IL, Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL, and the Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, IL.

During the 2015 season I was able to cross another, well maybe two, tracks off the list that I have never been to. The first would be the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown, IA, not only did I make my first appearance at the track. But I went back for a second and third time. Then the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, IA was the maybe track, as I haven't been to this track in nearly 25 years. I can barely remember the last visit, as it was back in the late 80's to early 90's when they held the Hawkeyeland Pro Stock Nationals.

It was a year of firsts for the 2015 season at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA, as they crowned 5 new track champions and about a dozen drivers picked up their first feature wins at the track. Even though Scott Hogan has won many IMCA Modified track champions at other tracks, the one he earned at LCS in 2015 was his first at the track. Hogan, who didn't win a race until season championship night, was consistent enough to pick up the track champion. Just like Hogan, John Oliver Jr., who has won track championships at other tracks, would claim his first IMCA Stock Car title at the LCS. Joey Gower, who raced in a Late Model for several years at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA, before both tracks decided to do away with the IMCA rules package to go to a more open rules package. Gower would set out a season from racing, before returning in 2014 in the IMCA SportMod class. At the end of 2015 he would claim his first IMCA SportMod track championship at LCS. Kevin Koontz was the only IMCA Hobby Stock driver to attend all the races in 2015 at LCS, which paid off with his first career track title. Then Kimberly Abbott became the first female to pick up a track title at LCS. Abbott was consistent enough to score her first IMCA Sport Compact championship.

While LCS crowned 5 new track champions, there was also several drivers who scored their first feature wins at the track during the 2015 season. Tyler Droste kicked off the season by earning his first IMCA Modified feature win at the track during the spring special. That was followed up with Tyler Groenendyk picking up his first win at the track in the first points race. He would then go onto score two more wins. Carter VanDenBerg, who  moved up from the SportMod class, claimed his first career IMCA Modified feature win at LCS in his rookie season. He two went onto score two more wins, and fell a few points short of winning the track title. Blake Woodruff was another driver who scored their first career IMCA Modified win at LCS. And finally, Jerad Fuller picked up his first IMCA Modified feature win at the track....Jake Wenig was the only IMCA Stock Car driver to win their first feature win at the track. As many of the seasons feature wins went to Abe Huls, John Oliver Jr., and Jeff Mueller. For Mueller he went onto win four out of the last five feature wins at the track....One thing that stands out to me about the IMCA SportMod class at LCS, was there was no repeat winner in the first seven races. Joey Gower would break the string in week 8, when he scored his second win of the season. During the course of the season Bobby Six, Brandon Dale, and Logan Anderson claimed their first SportMod wins at the track. For Six and Anderson it just so happened to be their first career in the class....Leah Wroten and Brandon Potts, who's win was his first career in the IMCA Hobby Stocks, were the only two drivers in the Hobby Stock class to win their first at the track. This was mainly because of Dustin Griffiths domination of the class. Dustin finished the season with 9 wins in the class, even after missing a few weeks....The IMCA Sport Compacts only had two new winners at LCS, as Mike Reu, which was also his first career in the class, and Jake Benischek scored feature wins.

34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA runs 6 classes weekly, well you can say 7, as 2 rotate throughout the season. In those 7 divisions, 6 claimed their first track title in the class they raced weekly in. They included Justin Newberry in the 305 Sprint Cars, Shane Watts in the IMCA Stock Cars, Joey Gower in the IMCA SportMods, Brad Lucy in the Mod Lites, Aaron Schuck in the IMRA Midgets, and Kimberly Abbott in the 4-Cylinders. While Jeff Waterman won back-to-back titles in the IMCA Modified division. At the beginning of the 2015 season Justin Newberry announced it would be his final season behind the wheel of a race car. He would go out on top, by winning his first 305 Sprint Car title. Despite only winning 1 feature win all season, Jeff Waterman showed enough consistency to claim back-to-back IMCA Modified championships at 34 Raceway. Going into the final night of racing Shane Watts needed to pick up the feature win and hope that Tom Bowling Jr. had some bad luck in order to win his first IMCA Stock Car title. Well he got both of those to claim his first Stock Car title by 1 point. Joey Gower led Sean Wyett by 2 points going into the final points night in the IMCA SportMod class, as both drivers were in search of their first title at the track. But mechanical troubles would put Wyett in the pits early in the feature event, which Gower went onto win to claim the title. It was Gower's second IMCA SportMod title of 2015, as he claimed the title at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA. The Mod Lites only raced 4 points events at 34 Raceway, thanks in most part to mother nature. Brad Lucy came out on top of a three driver race to earn his first title at the track. Aaron Schuck used 2 feature wins and a consistent season to claim his first IMRA Midget title at the track. Kimberly Abbott trailed Jerrod Nichols by 3 points going into the final night of points racing in the 4-Cylinder class. A win in her heat race made it a tie a top the standings going into the feature event, which meant whoever finished ahead of the other would come out with the title. Well Abbott went onto score the feature win, which also helped her to become the first female to claim a track title at 34 Raceway. It just so happened to be her second title of the 2015 season, as she also won the title at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA.

Nobody showed any dominance in the 305 Sprint class, as Donnie Steward, Jayson Ditsworth, Ben Wagoner, and John Schulz all scored 2 feature wins. This would allow Harold Pohren and Nick Guernsey to pick up their first wins of the season at the track. It would also allow Cody Wehrle and Shane Quam the opportunity to score their first career 305 Sprint feature wins....Brandon Rothzen, who won 4 features, and Tyler Glass, who won 2, were the only drivers to win more than 1 IMCA Modified feature at 34 Raceway. Fans also got to see a veteran in the sport, Dean McGee, pick up a feature win at the track. It's nice to see that Dean still has what it takes to run up front every time the H7 hits the track....Even though Tom Bowling Jr. won 4 IMCA Stock Car features at the track, it wasn't enough for him to secure the track title. Chad Krogmeier, Jason Cook, Damon Murty, and Shane Watts each claimed a feature win victory. While Chase Klenk won his first career Stock Car feature win in his first year in the class....Austen Becerra led the IMCA SportMod class with 4 features win in his rookie season in the class. For Becerra it fell way short of his 30+ total feature wins in 2014 in the 4-Cylinder class. Brandon Lennox was able to score his first win at the track, as well as Dakota Simmons and Bobby Six who each claimed first career wins at the track....Andy Baugh and Aaron Schuck were the only drivers to win 2 features at the track in the IMRA Midget class. While Brayden Gaylord scored his first career win at the track....Mike Morrill missed 1 points night at 34 Raceway or he might have been crowned the champions in the Mod Lites. As he won 3 features in 3 points races. The other victory went to Jake Halcomb, who scored his first career feature win. Travis Stensland ended the season at 34 Raceway by claiming his biggest win of his career, the $1,000 to win Mod Lite National event....Ten drivers won 4-Cylinder features in 14 races, with Austen Becerra, Michael Grossman, Kimberly Abbott and Ron Kibbe each winning 2 features. Bryan Shipley, Larry Miller, Jerrod Nichols, and Jeffrey DeLonjay would score their career first wins at the track in the class.    

Sunday night racing at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL happens with 5 class, the UMP Open Late Models, UMP Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods, and IMCA Sport Compacts. Out of the 5 classes, 3 of those classes crowned a new champion in 2015. Mark Burgtorf not only won back-to-back Open Late Model track titles, but it was his 16th overall at the track. There is only one word to describe what Michael Long did in the UMP Modified class at the track in 2015, and that is domination. Michael won 13 out 18 feature wins at the track to easily claim another track title. Jim Lynch claimed his first career IMCA Stock Car track title at Quincy Raceways. Even though Abe Huls won 50% of the feature events at the track, Lynch was able to hold on to claim the title. For Joey Gower winning his third track title of the season, the first coming at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA and the second coming at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA, didn't come easy. Despite picking up 8 feature wins in the IMCA SportMod class in Quincy, Gower went into the final night of points with only a 1 point lead, thanks to a feature win on that night he was able to secure the title. Kimberly Abbott started the season off strong at the Quincy Raceways in the IMCA Sport Compact division, where she ended the season with 7 feature wins. But then had to hold off Brandon Lambert, who won 8 feature wins, late in the season to secure her first track championship at the track. Just like Gower, Abbott was able to secure three track titles in 2015, as she became the first female to win titles at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA, 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA, and Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL.

The UMP Late Models at the Quincy Raceways in 2015 really didn't have a driver who dominated the class, as 8 drivers scored feature wins in 13 races. Mark Burgtorf led all drivers with 3 wins, followed by Justin Reed, Jamie Wilson, and Bobby Pierce with 2 wins a piece. For Jamie Wilson his 2 wins in 2015 were very popular, as before 2014 it had been several years since he competed weekly in Late Model class. Late in the season Rusty Schlenk made the pull down from Michigan to win a Late Model feature. At the time he was in a battle with Pierce to win the UMP National Title....The same can not be said with the UMP Modified class, as one driver dominated the season at Quincy. Out of 18 feature races, Michael Long won 13 of them. Rick Conoyer was one of the lucky drivers to beat Long, as he picked up his first win of the season at the track....Like mentioned above, Abe Huls scored 50% of the wins in the IMCA Stock Car class, with 8 out of 16. He was followed by track champion Jim Lynch with 3, and Brandon Savage with 2. Michael Larsen, Beau Taylor, and Andrew Hustead, in only his second year in a Stock Car, each secured feature wins at the track....The IMCA SportMod class was very competitive, even though Joey Gower won 8 feature wins eight other drivers would go onto pick up wins. For Adam Birck, Patrick Phillips, Brandon Lennox, and Matt Dotson it would be their first of the season. But for Austin Howes and Bobby Six it was their career first at the track. Many might point back to Lennox's win as the most exciting race of the season, as he took the challenge to go to the rear and race for a bonus if he could win the race. Thanks to many sponsors and fans in the stands the bonus he took home at the end of that night totaled $1,100....While on the other hand, the IMCA Sport Compact division only saw 4 drivers reach victory lane. Brandon Lambert, with 8 wins, and Kimberly Abbott, with 7 wins, carried the class. With Michael Grossman scoring 2 wins, and Trent Orwig coming away with a victory.

I am going to try my best to take a look ahead for the 2016 racing season in my area sometime next week. That is before the first race around here kicks off with the Spring Nationals at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, MO on Friday, March 18th and Saturday, March 19th. But this event will not kick off my 2016 season, as along with myself, Micheil and Danica Far of D&M Track Photography are planning a Saturday trip to the Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, NE to watch the final night of their Spring Nationals events. Just before posting this story 118 Modifieds, 53 Stock Cars, 75 SportMods, and 54 Hobby Stocks for a total of 300 cars signed in for competition on night one. Those same classes, along with the Sport Compacts will compete in a complete show on Saturday night. Bring on the 2016 RACING SEASON!!!