West Burlington, IA (Saturday, April 20, 2019) - Every year in April many people circle the Slocum 50 race on their calendar when 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa releases their schedule. The 11th Annual Slocum 50 took place on Saturday, April 20th, with a beautiful day and evening greeting all the fans and driver's out to 34 Raceway for the event. One fact people might not realize about the Slocum 50 is in the eleven year history of this race it has never been canceled. That should tell you one young man, by the name of Brent Slocum, is looking down on 34 Raceway on this particular evening.
Thirty-seven Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) Late Models, along with 14 305 Sprints and 16 IMCA Stock Cars signed in on the night in homes of parking their cars in victory lane at the end of the night. The 37 Late Models would draw a pill when they checked in, with the lowest 19 put into Group A and the other 18 put in Group B for time trials. Chad Simpson would set fast time in Group A and overall quick time, with a lap of 15.296. While Shannon Babb set fast time in Group B, with a lap of 15.640.
The group A qualifiers were divided into the first two 10 lap heat races, starting straight up by the fastest on the pole. Group B would make up heat race three and four. Out of the four heat races the top four finishers would move directly into the 50 lap Slocum 50 feature, while the remainder of the field would be put into the two B-Mains. Out of those two B-Mains the top three would fill the rest of the 22 car field for the Slocum 50. Two MLRA points provisionals were added to the back to set the 24 car field racing for $10,555 to win and $750 to start.
Heat race one had Chad Simpson and Payton Looney on the front row, with Simpson shooting out into the lead on lap 1. Simpson would go unchallenged to win heat, an earn the pole for the 50 lap Slocum 50. Looney was 2nd, Dennis Erb Jr. finished 3rd, with Will Vaught taking the final transfer spot. Kyle Bronson started 10th and finished 5th, Myles Moos, Jake Neal, Logan Martin, Justin Reed and Mark Burgtorf finished out heat 1.
Ryan Unzicker, the 2015 Slocum 50 winner, started heat 2 on the pole, with Brian Birkhofer scheduled to start next to him on the outside. But Birkhofer, who set the 4th fastest time in Group A time trails on lap 1, got into the front stretch wall hard coming of turn 4 on lap 2. The damaged to the car was to much to continue on the night. So this would move J.C. Wyman to the outside of row 1. Unzicker would take control on lap 1, with Wyman following in second. Wyman would run in the runner up spot until lap 4, when he drifted high going into turn 1 and went over the track. Where he got upside down to bring out the red. He would climb from the car okay. On the restart Unzicker jumped back out front, with Joradn Yaggy, who started 5th, Hudson O'Neal, who started 9th and brought out the yellow on the start when he spun in turn 1 while attempting to go three wide into the corner, and Jay Johnson, who started 8th, battling for the final transfer spots. Unzicker would go on to pick up the win in heat 2. Yaggy was 2nd, O'Neal was 3rd, with Johnson finishing 4th. Jonathan Brauns was 5th, Chase Junghans, who won Friday's opening night MLRA feature at Davenport, was 6th, Jason Feger was 7th, Wyman was credited with 8th, with Birkhofer a did not start in 9th.
Heat race three had Shannon Babb, the defending Slocum 50 winner and fastest of Group B qualifiers, and Jason Frankel on the front row. Babb jumped out into the lead on lap 1 over Frankel. Babb would go on to lead all 10 laps to pick up the win, an earn the outside front row for the Slocum 50. Frankel crossed the line in 2nd, Tyler Erb was 3rd, with Chris Simpson claiming the final transfer spot. Jesse Stovall, Rich Bell, Jeremy Grady, Kolby Vandenbergh, and Joseph Gorby, who scracthed from troubles during time trials, finished out the finish in heat 3.
Bobby Pierce, the only two time winner (2014 and 2016) of the Slocum 50, and Garrett Alberson led the field to green in heat race 4. Pierce shot out into the lead on lap 1, with Brian Shirley and Alberson battling for the runner up spot. While the top three raced away from the rest of the field, Mitch McGrath, Jason Rauen and Brandon Sheppard raced for the final transfer spot. Pierce raced to the win in heat 4, with Shirley 2nd, Alberson was 3rd, with McGrath winning the battle for 4th. Rauen, Sheppard, Dave Eckrich, Matthew Mickelson, and Skip Frey rounded out the finish.
The first of two 12 lap B-Mains came to the track, with the top three finishers in both of those filling the back of the field of the Slocum 50. B-Main one had Kyle Bronson and Jonathan Brauns on the front row, with Bronson grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Chase Junghans and Myles Moos. Moos looked to had a transfer spot locked up, when he got into the wall in turn 3 around lap 7 to bring out the caution. On the restart Bronson jumped back out front, with Junghans and Brauns following. While Bronson and Junghans pulled away, the battle for third went on between Braun and Logan Martin, who started 7th. On lap 9 Martin would slid up in front of Braun coming off turn 4 to grab third. But Brauns returned the slid coming off turn 2 to get third back. Than coming to the white flag Martin was able to slid Braun off turn 2 and then held him off to finish third behind Bronson and Junghans. Jake Neal, Justin Reed, Jason Feger, Moos, J.C. Wyman was a scratch after rolling in the heat, Mark Burgtorf had troubles in his heat to scratch, with Brian Birkhofer's night ending in time trials.
B-Main two had Jesse Stovall and Jason Rauen on the front row, with Stovall grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Rauen, Rich Bell and Brandon Sheppard. Rauen, who was running in the final transfer spot, jumped the cushion in turn 3 on lap 8, and would fall back to 6th. This would leave Rich Bell and Dave Eckrich, who started 6th, battle for third. Stovall would hold off Sheppard on the final lap to pick up the win in B-Main two. Eckrich would claim the final transfer spot. Bell, Jeremy Grady, Rauen, Kolby Vandenbergh, Skip Frey, Matthew Mickelson, and Joseph Gorby, who was a scratch after mechanical troubles in time trials, rounded out the finish.
J.C. Wyman and Jeremy Grady were awarded the two MLRA points provisionals to set the field of twenty-four starters for the 50 lap Slocum 50. With the features now set it was time to go racing for the money.
The first feature to take to the track was the 20 lap 305 Sprint Cars, with Nick Eastin, driving Gary Bonar's #97x Sprinter, and Harold Pohren drawing the front row. Pohren took advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Eastin and Paul Nienhiser, who started 5th in Caleb Winkel's #5. On lap 3 Nienhiser would over take Eastin for 2nd, then just after the lap was scored complete Nick Guernsey spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Pohren jumped back out front, with Nienhiser and Eastin close behind. Nienhiser would follow Pohren around the bottom of the track over the next 6 laps, waiting for him to make a mistake. But going into turn 3 to come and complete lap 11, Nienhiser decided to try the outside to get the lead away from Pohren. Nienhiser would use the momentum off the top of turn 4 to grab the lead on lap 11. While Nienhiser pulled away, Pohren was left battling Tanner Gebhardt, who started 9th, for the runner up spot. Without a caution to slow the pace, Nienhiser would cruise to the win and claimed the $755 check to go with it. Pohren held off Gebhardt by half a car length to finish in 2nd, Brayden Gaylord was 4th, with Daniel Bergquist coming home in 5th.
Up next was the 50 lap Slocum 50 MLRA Late Model feature, with Chad Simpson and Shannon Babb leading the field to green. Babb used the top of the track to edge out Chad Simpson at the line to lead lap 1, with Ryan Unzicker and Bobby Pierce close behind in 3rd and 4th. Just after lap 1 was scored complete, Kyle Bronson spun in turn 1 to bring out the first caution of the race. On the restart Babb jumped back out front, with Chad Simpson, Unzicker and Pierce still close behind. On lap 6 Pierce was able to slip past Unzicker for 3rd, and then went to work on Chad Simpson for the runner up spot. But the action up front was slowed for the second time of the race on lap 10, when Jay Johnson spun in turn 4 to avoid contact with Brandon Sheppard who slowed to pull into the infield. Babb once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Chad Simpson, Pierce, and now Brian Shirley, who started 8th, close behind.
While Babb set the pace out front, Pierce went to work on Chad Simpson for second. Going into turn 1 to come an complete lap 15, Pierce went low under Chad Simpson and then slid up in front of him coming off turn 2 to get the runner up spot. Pierce then worked on Babb for the lead, while Chad Simpson battled Shirley and Unzicker for 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The action up front was slowed for the third and final time on lap 18, as Husdon O'Neal slowed down the front stretch with a left rear flat to bring out the yellow. On the restart Babb moved back out front, with Pierce, Chad Simpson, Shirley, and Unzicker following. With Babb out front, Pierce and Chad Simpson battled for second. Going into turn 1 to come and complete lap 20, Chad Simpson entered low and then slid up in front of Pierce to take over the runner up spot.
At the halfway point of the race, lap 25, Babb, Chad Simpson and Pierce would break away from the rest of the field. Babb would relinquish lead to Chad Simpson on lap 28, when he entered turn 3 and jumped the cushion to get into the wall. This would allow Chad Simpson to slip under him to take the lead. Five laps later, lap 33, Babb once again jumped the cushion in turn 3 and got into the wall, which allowed Pierce to shoot under him to take over the runner up spot. Pierce would then follow Chad Simpson on the bottom of the track over the next several laps, waiting for Chad Simpson to make a mistake. But when he wasn't able to make the move under Chad Simpson, Pierce decided to go to the top of the track on lap 40 to try and get the top spot. Coming off turn 4 to complete lap 43, Pierce would use the momentum to finally take over the lead. Pierce then pulled away over the final laps to claim his third Slocum 50 win in the last 6 years, and claiming another $10,555 check for his efforts. Chad Simpson settled for another 2nd, Babb was 3rd, Chris Simpson charged from 14th to finish 4th to earn the hard charger of the race, with Unzicker crossing the line in 5th.
If you got up and left after the Late Model feature, I hate to tell you that you missed one heck of an IMCA Stock Car feature to finish out the night. The 20 lap event had David Brandies and Kirk Kinsley draw the front row for the event, with Brandies jumping out into the lead on lap 1 over Jason See and Jeremy Pundt. See would follow in Brandies tire tracks, that was until lap 10, when disaster would strike See. He would slow coming off turn 4 with a right front flat to bring out the caution. On the restart Brandies moved back out front, with John Oliver Jr., who started 10th, Dustin Griffiths, who started 6th, and Abe Huls, who started 5th, battling for the top spot.
Going into turn 1 to come and complete lap 15, Oliver Jr. went low and then slid up in front of Brandies off turn 2 to grab the top spot. But Brandies would go low in turn 3 and then slid up in front of Oliver Jr. coming off turn 4 to keep the lead the the line. One lap later, lap 16, Huls worked the bottom of the track to make it a three car battle for the lead. Coming off turn 4 to complete lap 17, Huls, on the bottom, Brandies, in the middle, and Oliver Jr., up top, were three wide for the top spot. I gave Huls the credit for leading lap 17 by inches. Oliver Jr. would use the top of the track to come around to lead lap 18. Huls would try to get under Oliver Jr. coming off turn four for the checkered flag, but Oliver Jr. held him off at the line to pick up the $555 check. Oliver Jr. was also awarded the hard charger of the race award. Huls finished a close 2nd, Brandies was 3rd, Griffiths was 4th, with Tom Bowling Jr. rounding out the top 5.
Notes from 34: Nick Guernsey recovered from his spin on lap 3 of the 305 Sprint Car feature to come back up to finish in 6th. He also started 13th and passed 7 cars to take home the hard charger award....Dillan Roth, who drove Nick Breuer's #78 Sprinter, only made a lap in the feature due to motor troubles......Garrett Alberson started the Slocum 50 Late Model feature in 12th and finished 6th....Vill Vaught finished 7th after starting in 13th....Chase Junghans passed 10 cars from his 19th place starting spot to come home in 9th....Jesse Stovall started 18th and finished 10th....Hudson O'Neal recovered from his flat tire on lap 18 to come back up to finish 12th....J.C. Wyman, who rolled in his heat race, was able to make repairs and then took a MLRA point provisional to get into the Slocum 50. He would start 23rd and finish 14th....Logan Martin came from 21st to finish in 15th....Rickey Frankel was suppose to start 6th, but after scaling in the heat race he was pushed back to his pit area. Whatever the issue was forced him to scratch from the feature....Payton Looney, was suppose to start 5th in the feature. But during the parade lap he fell to the back of the field, and then pulled off before the green waved......Brandon Rothzen started the Stock Car feature in 9th and finished 6th....Jason Cook came from 12th to finish in 8th....Jeff Mueller started 16th and finished 10th....Kevin Koontz scratched from the feature after damage in a wreck in the heat race.
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