West Burlington, IA (Saturday, March 31, 2018) - Some people might say we were stupid or even crazy, I would say for those who went out to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa on Saturday night were die-hard's or even dedicated. As not only was it the season opener for new owner Brad Stevens, and his long time supporter Jessi Mynatt, it was the first race of the 2018 season for the Sprint Invaders.
With temps in the mid to upper 40's and wind chills in the mid to upper 30's, and forecasts calling for them to fall as the sun set. Many thought the obvious thing for Brad to do was to pull the plug on the event. But I believe that since this was the first night for the new owner, and with much of the crew new, he decided to go ahead with the race to help get some of the bugs worked out before the season gets into full swing.
The forecast would prompt Brad to move everything up an hour, in hopes of getting everyone back on the road home before it got to terribly cold outside. That move paid off, as the night started with racing at 6 PM and the final checkered flag flying just before 7:45 PM, which helped with only 2 classes on the card. Twenty-three Sprint Cars, down 10 from the 33 that were on hand for opening night in 2017, and 11 UMP Crate / IMCA Late Models, down 20 down from opening night last year (which was a Deery Brothers Summer Series race), signed in for the nights competition.
After 2 Late Model heat races and 3 Sprint heat races, there was a short break so that the passing points could be calculated for the Sprints to determine who would qualify for the Shake-Up Dash. Yes you read it correctly, for the first time in series history passing points will be used for the Sprint Invaders in 2018. Depending on the number of heat races ran on the night will determine the drivers who will qualify for the Shake-Up Dash. For example: If 2 heat races are ran then the 2 heat winners and the next 4 in overall passing points will run the dash...If 3 heats are ran then the 3 heat winners and the next 3 in overall passing points will run the dash...If 4 heats are ran then the 4 heat winners and the next 4 in overall passing points will run the dash...In all instances those who qualify for the dash will redraw for there starting spots in that dash. Then the winner of the dash will stop on the front stretch of the track to draw a number 1 - 6 to determine his starting spot in the feature event. If 8 cars run the dash the winner will still draw a number from 1 - 6, with the 7th and 8th place finishers in that dash making up the 4th row of the A-Feature. The remainder of the feature will be lined up by overall passing points, unless there is a B-Main ran. The B-Main will be lined straight up by overall passing points not qualifying for the A-Feature, with the top 4 finishers making into the A-Feature. Those 4 driver's will make up the ninth and tenth rows of the A-Feature.
The first feature to take to the track was the 20 lap UMP Crate / IMCA Late Models, with Chuck Hanna and Jay Johnson drawing the front row. Hanna would take advantage of his draw to jump out into the lead on the drop of the green flag, with Johnson and Tim Simpson following. The only thing to slow Hanna down on this night was the only caution of the race, which appeared on lap 2. Gunner Frank tried to exit into the infield on the backstretch on lap 2, which caused Chris Richards to spin to avoid making contact with him to bring out the caution. On the restart Hanna shot back out front, with Simpson over taking Johnson for the runner up spot. Without another caution there was no catching Hanna, as he cruised to an easy win. Simpson finished 2nd, Tommy Elston started 6th and finished 3rd, Denny Woodworth was 4th, with Vance Wilson coming home in 5th after starting in 8th.
Up next was the 25 lap Sprint Invaders feature, and with Jon Agan drawing a 3 after winning the dash, this would put Jake Blackhurst and Daniel Bergquist on the front row. Blackhurst used his starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Agan and John Schulz. On lap 6 Blackhurst started to enter lapped traffic, which allowed Agan and Schulz to stay close to his back bumper. Two laps later, lap 8, the first caution of the race slowed down the pace. Sawyer Phillips, who was running 7th, spun off the exit of the track in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Agan used the bottom of the track to edge the lead out over Blackhurst. But with only 5 cars being scored before the caution came out for a slowing Wayne Kniffen, this would hand the lead back over to Blackhurst for the restart. On the restart the yellow was thrown, as Agan got out of shape and went below the cone on the front stretch. Agan would be docked one spot for the following restart, which moved Schulz up to the runner up spot.
The next restart saw Blackhurst jump back out front, with Schulz and Agan following. By the midway point of the race Agan's machine started to show smoke, which allowed Cody Wehrle, who started 10th, to move in to challenge Agan for the third spot. The lead that Blackhurst had built was wiped away on lap 16, when Justin Buchholz, who was running 7th, stopped in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Blackhurst again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Schulz and Wehrle battling for the runner up spot. At the same time the smoke from Agan's machine got worse, with whatever it was causing the smoke finally forcing Agan to the infield on lap 18. One lap later, lap 19, John Greenwood spun in turn 3 to bring out the caution, and slow the pace down. Once again Blackhurst jumped back out front, with Wehrle using the top of the track to over take Schulz for second. The final caution of the race appeared on lap 21, as Buchholz slowed down the front stretch to bring out the yellow and set up a four lap dash to the finish.
On the final restart Blackhurst moved back out front, with Wehrle and Schulz continuing their battle for second. While Blackhurst set the pace out front, all eyes were on Joe B. Miller, who was driving the #50 owned by Scott Bonar. Miller, who started 12th, had worked his way to 5th for the final restart. He was using the bottom of the track to grab the running up spot coming to the white flag. But he didn't have enough time to catch Blackhurst, who held on to claim his career first Sprint Invaders win. Miller settled for a strong 2nd, Schulz got back by Wehrle to finish 3rd, Wehrle was 4th, with Chris Martin rounding out the top 5.
Notes from 34: The 11 UMP Crate / IMCA Late Model field was made up of 7 crates and 4 spec motors with restrictors, with those being Chuck Hanna, Tim Simpson, Andy Nezworski, and Jay Johnson....Nezworski would pass the most cars in the feature, as he started 11th and finished 6th....Sam Halstead finished 8th after starting in 10th......In a way to speed up the nights program, Brad made the announcement in the driver's meeting to start all 23 Sprint Cars in the A-Feature....Brayden Gaylord started the Sprint feature in 16th and passed 9 cars to finish in 7th....Harold Pohren, who was driving his 305 Sprint while his 360 engine was being finished, started the feature in 21st and passed 13 cars to come home in 8th. He would also claim the hard charger of the race award....Dave Getchell passed 6 cars from his 18th place starting spot to come home in 12th....John Greenwood, who started 19th, recovered from his spin on lap 19 to come back to finish 15th....Ryan Leavitt started 20th and finished 16th....Colton Fisher suffered engine troubles in his 305 Sprint during heat race action that would force him to scratch from the A-Feature.
If mother nature will allow 34 Raceway will be back in action on Saturday, April 7th, as the MOWA 410 Sprint Cars and IRA Sprint battle it out. Also on the card will be the Mod Lites, Sport Compacts, and Mini Hauler Trucks. For me though I will be working next Friday, April 6th and Saturday, April 7th at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri. In action both nights in Memphis will be the Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks, and Sport Compacts. Let's hope mother nature will co-operate so we can go RACING!!!
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