Tipton, IA (Thursday, October 1, 2020) - What a difference a weekend can bring, as last weekend's temperatures were in the upper 70's to low 80's, while this weekend's temperatures barely get out of the mid 50's. But that hasn't stopped the Darkside Promotions team of Ryan Duhme and Timmy Current from holding their annual Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa this weekend.
The action kicked off on Thursday night October 1, with 212 cars from 5 different states signing in for competition. After 24 heats races and 8 B-Mains were completed to help set the starting line ups for the six feature events, it was time to see who would stand in victory lane at the end of the night.
First up was the 10 lap 2 Man Cruiser feature, with Brandon Ehrisman and Thomas Thompson scheduled to lead the field to green. But when Thompson was a scratch this would move Austin Schuring to the outside of the front row. Ehrisman took advantage of his draw to jump out into the lead on lap 1, with Schuring and Wayne Hora, who started 9th, following. Ehrisman, who worked the bottom of the speedway, had to work to hold off Hora, who was working the top, over the next 3 laps. The action up front was slowed for the first caution of the race on lap 5. The caution was for safety reasons, as the car of Matt Aulwes front bumper was pointing straight out. After two laps of being black flagged and disobeying it, the caution would be thrown for the safety of all competitors on the track. On the restart Ehrisman moved back out front, with Hora and Schuring close behind. Hora once again worked the top of the track to get the lead away from Ehrisman, but Ehrisman was able to hold him off. That was until lap 8, as Hora finally used the momentum off the top of turn 4 to edge out front. Then just after the lap was scored complete the second and final caution appeared, as Craig Gonnerman slowed in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Hora grabbed the lead on the restart and held off Ehrisman to pick up the win. Kerry Davis came from 10th to finish 3rd, Paul Fleming finished 4th after starting in 7th, with Corey VanDerwilt coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 28 lap Late Model feature. You may wonder why 28 laps, well it was in honor of car owner Brad Coin. Coin lost his battle with cancer a few weeks back, so it they decided to run a 28 lap feature to honor his memory. His familiar #28c Late Model was mostly piloted by Terry Neal for many years, and tonight Neal would end the run of the #28c one last time. Neal would join Andy Eckrich on the front row of the feature, with Eckrich moving out front to lead lap 1 over Neal and Justin Kay. Kay would take to the top of the speedway, which he used to move into the lead on lap 2. The fast pace Kay was setting would move him into lap traffic on lap 8, and from there he would build a half a track lead by the halfway mark. Justin when it looked like Kay would cruise to an easy win, the first caution of the race appeared on lap 18. Preston Stoecker would spin in turn 3 to bring out the yellow, and brought the rest of the field to Kay's back bumper.
On the restart Kay moved back out front, with Eckrich and Joe Zrostlik battling for the runner up spot. Zrostlik was able to take command of the second spot on lap 20, and then tried to keep pace with Kay. When the second caution of the race waved on lap 23, this time Dave Wada II spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. Kay once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Zrostlik and Logan Duffy, who started 10th, close behind. But just after the lap was scored complete, the third and final caution appeared, as Jacob Waterman spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the final restart Kay moved back out front, with Duffy and Jeff Aikey, who started 3rd and fell back to around 10th early on, working his way back to battle for the lead. While Duffy tried to work under Kay over the final laps, he also had to hold off the challenges of Aikey. As a result of Duffy trying to play defense, Kay was able to hold on to claim the win and the $1,500 top prize. Duffy held off Aikey in the battle for 2nd, Zrostlik was 4th, with Eckrich finishing 5th.
Jeff Mueller and Justin Kay, fresh off his Late Model win, drew the front row for the 20 lap Stock Car feature, with Mueller grabbing the lead on lap 1 over son and father duo of Dallon and Damon Murty. The fast pace Mueller was setting would put him into lapped traffic on lap 10. While Mueller worked the bottom of the track, Dallon Murty worked the top to try and keep pace with Mueller through the lapped traffic. Matt Picray would spin in turn 4 on lap 12 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Mueller jumped back out front, with Dallon Murty and Johnny Spaw following. Dallon Murty went back to using the top of the track to try and wrestle the top spot away from Mueller, when it bite him on lap 16. Dallon Murty got to high in turn 1 and fell off the track, and by the time he came back on the track down the backstretch he dropped all the way to the back of the field. This would allow Mueller to pull away for the win. Spaw was 2nd, Jay Schmidt started 6th and finished 3rd, Damon Murty was 4th, with Kay completing the top 5 in his first Stock Car start.
The 12 lap 4 Stock feature was up next, with Travis Hawkins and Cody Brewster leading the field to the drop of the green. Travis Hawkins took advantage of his draw to lead lap 1 over Brewster and Joe Zrostlik, who started 6th. The action was slowed on lap 2, when Rick Hempstead spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Brandon Setser spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Travis Hawkins jump back out front, with Zrostlik and Cyle Hawkins close behind. Zrostlik tried to use the top, middle and lower grooves to grab the top spot away from Travis Hawkins over the next 4 lap. But Travis Hawkins was able to hold him off each lap. That was until lap 8 when Zrostlik finally got under him coming off turn 4 to take over the lead. Coming off turn 4 to complete lap 9, Cyle Hawkins got under Zrostlik to grab the top spot away. Cyle Hawkins, who worked the bottom, and Zrostlik, who worked the middle groove, raced the final laps side-by-side. The two would come off turn 4 to the checkered flag banging wheels all the way down the short front stretch, with Zrostilk edging out Cyle Hawkins by half a car to pick up the win. Josh Riley finished 3rd after starting in 8th. Shawn McDermott was 4th. Josh Starr actually crossed the line in 3rd, but was docked two spots for pulling out of line on the final restart and was dropped with 5th.
Tyler Soppe and Justin Becker led the field to green in the 20 lap SportMod feature, with Soppe grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Becker and Brayton Carter. The action was slowed for the first time of the event on lap 3, as Logan Veloz spun in turn 3 and collected Preston Biggart, Perry Gellerstedt, Rance Powell and Levi Layman to bring out the yellow. On the restart Soppe moved back out front, with Becker holding off Carter for the runner up spot. Then just after the lap was scored complete the second caution of the race appeared, as Gellerstedt, Powell and Biggart spun down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. Soppe once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Carter over taking Becker for second. While Soppe worked the bottom of the track, Carter worked the top, as Carter used the momentum off the top to pull even with Soppe down the straight-aways. The side by side battle for the top spot was slowed on lap 12, when Kyle Olson spun in turn 4 to bring out the final caution. On the restart Soppe jumped back out front, with Carter and Becker close behind. Soppe decided to change his line to the top of the track in hopes of slowing down the momentum of Carter. But Carter went to the bottom of the track to try to get the top spot, which paid off on lap 15. As Carter was able to work under Soppe coming off turn 2 to grab the lead. From there Carter pulled away to claim the win. Soppe was 2nd, Becker was 3rd, Jarett Franzen was 4th, with Shane Paris coming from 10th to complete the top 5.
The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 25 lap Modifieds, with Jeff Aikey and Tyler Droste making up the front row. Aikey used his draw to his advantage, as he jumped out front on lap 1 over Joel Rust and Droste. Kory Meyer would spin in turn 2 on lap 3 to slow the early action. On the restart Aikey moved back out front, with Rust and Brad Dierks close behind. Rust would use the bottom of the track to slip under Aikey for the top spot on lap 5, leaving Aikey to battle three wide with Droste and Dierks for the runner up spot through lap 8. Droste was able to emerge with second on lap 8, and then went to work on Rust for the lead. Rust entered lap traffic on lap 16, which allowed Droste to really close to his back bumper. Disaster would strike Droste on lap 19, as he tried to get under Rust in turn 1 and made slight contact with the driver's door of Rust's car. Droste then ran out of room coming off turn 2 and clipped the tire and spun to bring out the yellow. Rust jumped back out front on the restart, with Chris Simpson and Dierks challenging. Simpson tried to use the momentum off the top of the track to get the top spot away from Rust. But Rust was able to hold him off to pick up the win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Simpson settled for 2nd, Dierks was 3rd, Justin Kay finished 4th after starting in 8th, with Aikey coming home in 5th.
Night one began shortly after 6 PM with hot laps, and once that began the action would continue non stop until the final checkered flag waved shortly before the midnight hour. I would like to say THANK YOU to Ryan Duhme, Timmy Current and their entire staff for the GREAT hospitality during night one of the Fall Bash. Night tow kicks off with hot laps once again at 6 PM, with the Hobby Stocks and Mod Lites/Micro Mods replacing the Late Models and 2 Man Cruisers. Look for coverage from tonight once again under "Midwest Racing News" on www.positvelyracing.com.
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