Davenport, IA (Saturday, September 27, 2020) - With very limited choices to catch some racing action in my area. I decided to make the short 1 hour drive north to the Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa on Saturday for the Iowa Governor's Cup. On the card was the Hoker Trucking Super Late Models East Series (SLMR), with $5,000 up for grabs. Also joining the action was the Modifieds, SportMods, Street Stock, 4 Stocks, and American Iron Racing Series (A.I.R.S.).
The SLMR would use time trials to help set the starting line ups for their heat races, and Dave Eckrich would set fast time with a lap of 14.772 seconds around the 1/4 mile track. One hundred and fifty-five cars signed in on the night, including 38 SportMods, 33 Late Models, 28 Modifieds, 23 Street Stocks, 18 4 Stocks, and 15 A.I.R.S. With 18 heat races and 5 B-Mains being ran to help determine the starting line ups for the feature events.
After all qualifying events were completed it was time to go feature racing, with the 12 lap Street Stock feature coming to the track first. Jim Parr and Jeff Struck Jr. drew the front row. But just after the green flag was waved the yellow light would come on, as Phillip Schneider drove thru Mike Anderson in turn 1. Anderson would spin as a result, to bring out the yellow. On the original restart Struck Jr. jumped out front on lap 1 over Jesse Owens and Cary Brown. After the lap was scored complete, Parr would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Struck Jr. jumped back out front on the restart, with Owens and Tony VonDresky, who was behind the wheel of Donnie Louck's #31 and started 9th, close behind. Another lapped was scored complete before another caution appeared, this time Veronica Anderson spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Von Dresky, who was running the bottom, edged out Struck Jr., who was up top, to take over the top spot. Struck Jr. stayed dedicated to the top of the track, which paid off on lap 8, as he edged back out in front. Then just after the lap was scored complete, Cameron Exline would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Jake Lund spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Struck Jr. jump back out front, with VonDresky and Robert Cottom, who started 8th, following. Struck Jr. would hold off VonDresky and Cottom over the final laps to pick up the win. Brown came home in 4th, with Jeffrey Peterson coming from 12th to finish 5th.
Up next was the A.I.R.S. 10 lap feature, with Brian Stock and Dan Kessler leading the field to green. Kessler took advantage of his starting spot to edged out Stock and Dennis Etten to lead lap 1. The lead for Kessler lasted until lap 3, when Stock got under him to take over the top spot. While Stock and Kessler battled for the lead, Bruce Yoerger, who started 10th, quickly moved through the field to make it a three car battle. Yoerger would slip past Stock and Kessler on lap 6 to take over the top spot, and then pulled away to claim the win in a caution free race. Kessler was 2nd, Owen Hayes came from 9th to finish 3rd, RJ Lank finished 4th, with Stock holding on for 5th.
Richie Gustin and Jonathan Brauns made up the front row for the 40 lap SLMR Late Model feature, with Gustin using his starting spot to his advantage by leading lap 1 over Brauns and Matt Ryan. While Gustin and Brauns used the top of the track, Tad Pospisil, who started 6th, worked the bottom. On lap 3 Jeff Aikey slid past Brauns to move into the third spot. Aikey then tried to work through the middle of the track to clear Gustin, who was up top, and Pospisil, who was on the bottom, to grab the lead. But the momentum off the top helped to keep the lead for Gustin. Then going into turn 1 to come around to complete lap 14, Gustin made a surprising groove change, as he went to the middle of the track. This would allow Aikey to power off the top of turn 2 to take over the top spot.
Without a caution to slow the pace of the race, Aikey would enter lapped traffic on lap 17. This would allow Pospisil to close within Aikey's back bumper. But Aikey's car seemed to maneuver around the lapped cars better then Pospisil's. Which resulted in Aikey pulling away in the caution free event to claim the $5,000 top prize. Pospisil settled for 2nd, Gustin was 3rd, Brauns crossed the line in 4th but was disqualified in post race tech, which moved Ryan to 4th, and Jeff Tharp to 5th.
The 12 lap SportMod feature was up next, with Kyle Olson and Mike Haines drawing the front row. Olson took advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Paul Howard and Shane Paris. The top of the track looked to be the dominating way around the 1/4 mile track, as very few made advancements using the bottom of the track. Just went it looked like the SportMod feature would go caution free, yes I said the SportMod feature almost went caution free, Anthony Franklin would spin in turn 4 on lap 7 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Olson jumped back out front, with Paris and Logan Veloz, who started 6th, both clearing Howard for second and third. Olson would make no mistakes over the final laps, as he held on to pick up the win. Paris was 2nd, Veloz was 3rd, Tyler Soppe was 4th after starting in 7th, with Tony Olson coming from 9th to round out the top 5.
Bryce Garnhart and Mike Fryer, who recently purchased Joel Rust's #26J Rage Modified, led the field to green in the 15 lap Modified feature. But it was third place starter Eric Barnes who edged out Garnhart and Denny Eckrich to lead lap 1. Garnhart would use the momentum off the top to edge out front on lap 3, only to have Barnes come back on the bottom to take the top spot back on lap 4. Garnhart would take the lead back on lap 5, with Barnes taking the lead back on lap 6. As the top two swapped the lead back and forth, Spencer Diercks, who started 7th, moved in to make it a three car battle. Coming off turn 2 to come around to complete lap 7, Garnhart would give Diercks enough room to power off the top to take over the top spot. Just as Diercks started to pull away the first caution of the race appeared on lap 9, as Joe Beal spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow.
On the restart Diercks moved back out front, with Eckrich slipping past Garnhart and Barnes to move into the runner up spot. The action up front was slowed for the second and final time of the race on lap 13, as Fryer and Timmy Current spun in turn 3 while battling for sixth to bring out the yellow. Diercks once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Garnhart and Barnes battling for second. The battle for the runner up spot allowed Diercks to go on to pick up the win. Barnes edged out Garnhart for 2nd, Ryan Duhme finished 4th after starting in 11th, with Brandon Durbin coming from 9th to finish 5th.
The 10 lap 4 Stock feature would end the nights action, with Tim Sibley and Tommy Staggs drawing the front row. Sibley took advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Cyle Hawkins, who started 9th, and Staggs. One more lap scored complete produced the one and only caution of the race, as Brandon Setser spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Sibley jumped back out front, with Hawkins and Staggs close behind. Hawkins would try to look under Sibley over the next four laps, but Sibley was able to hold him off. That was until lap 8, when Hawkins was finally able to get under him for the top spot. Hawkins then held off Staggs and Dustin Forbes, who started 8th, on the final lap to claim the win. Sibley held on for 4th, with Shawn McDermott coming home in 5th.
I would like to say THANK YOU to Bob Wagoner and the entire DRT Trak Racing crew for the hospitality and a GREAT night of racing!! With unusual temperatures in the low 80's for this late in September and a very brisk wind, extra water was poured onto the racing surface to keep it from drying out to fast. And despite an hour late start the two, three and even four wide racing was completed just after 10:15 PM.
Next up for me is the three day Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, with Darkside Promotions team of Ryan Duhme and Timmy Current promoting the event. It is set to kick off on Thursday, October 1st. And right now the weather looks to be co-operating to get in all three night's of racing. Yeah it may be a little cool, but it is a lot better then the "R" word!
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