Monmouth, IL (Sat. May 8, 2010) - Mother nature has really played havoc on the 2010 racing season around the midwest in the first part of the new season. Rains and cold weather have forced racing action from three area tracks to be cancelled for two and three straight weeks now.
Friday, April 23rd was suppose to get the "Drive For Five" IMCA Late Models, plus IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods and Hobby Stocks points underway at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA. But rain moved in on Friday to force Terry and Jenni Hoenig to pull the plug on the first points race of the season.
Then Saturday, April 24th 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA had planned one of the biggest and unheard of events for there season opening points event. The Laue's, Bowling's and Parrish's were offering all fans FREE grandstand admission and all pit passes were lowered to just $12 dollars. Again rains overnight and no sun on Saturday forced them to move the event back to Saturday, May 1st.
Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL was set to open there points races in the IMCA Late Models on Sunday, April 25th. But just like Friday and Saturday, rains moved in on Sunday to force them to pull the plug on the night.
A week of great sunny and warm weather looked like a great thing for the up coming weekend of racing. But mother nature once again decided to open up the skies, with rain starting to fall Friday afternoon.
Racing action at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA for Friday, April 30th was forced to be called off for the second week in a row due to the rains. They were set to kick off the first points races of the 2010 season with the IMCA Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Wild Things. Now race fans, drivers and crews would have to wait another week to see if the points season could get started.
Just like the previous week, heavy rains Friday and Saturday forced 34 Raceway to cancel there FREE-4-ALL Night once again on Saturday, May 1st. But it was announced on www.34raceway.com that the FREE-4-ALL Night would now be held on Saturday, May 29th. That will be the second visit of the 2010 season by the Sprint Invaders, also on the card is the IMCA Late Models and IMCA Modifieds. Yes you are reading it right, the Sprint Invaders on May 29th will be a FREE grandstand night, along with $12 pit passes!
Sunday, May 2nd Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL would try for the second week to get the IMCA Late Model points underway. But again mother nature wouldn't co-operate, as steady rains all day forced the cancellation of the nights activities. They will try again Sunday, May 9th to get the Late Model points started, along with the UMP Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks continuing there points battles.
Mother nature shined all week long with beautiful sunny and warm weather throughout the week. But just like the previous weeks, heavy rains moved in on Thursday night and early Friday morning. With over three inches of rain the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA had to cancel for the third event in a row for the 2010 season on Friday, May 7th. They will try again Friday, May 14th to get the IMCA Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Wild Things points started.
Saturday, May 8th 34 Raceway was set to get the IMCA Late Models, 305 Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks points battles underway. But with all the rain on Friday and cold temperatures all day Saturday, officials were forced to pull the plug for the third week in a row. Next Saturday, May 15th will be Fan Appreciation Night, with just $5 to get into the grandstands to see the 305 Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars set to get there points battles started, while the Mod Lites and 4 Cylinders set for there second event of 2010.
Lets hope mother nature will allow the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL to get there IMCA Late Models points started on Sunday, May 9th. Also scheduled to be in action will be the UMP Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Woodworth, Long, Steinkuhler and Anders Top Features at Quincy Raceways
Quincy, IL (April 18, 2010) - The Quincy Raceways hosted there second event of the 2010 racing season, with a beautiful night for racing action. Taking home feature wins on the night were Denny Woodworth (IMCA Late Models), Michael Long (UMP Modifieds), Steve Steinkuhler (IMCA Stock Cars) and Bobby Anders (Hobby Stocks).
The first feature of the night was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Cars. Dave Warth, who was suppose to start on the pole, scratched from the event, giving Steve Steinkuhler and Aaron Brocksieck the front row. Brocksieck won the battle of the 04's to lead lap 1, but Steinkuhler would slip under him to grab the top spot on lap 2. The one and only yellow would come out on lap 11, when Kevin Tomlinson, who was running third, slowed to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Steinkuhler jumped back out into the lead, but now had to work to hold off Jeff Mueller, who started 6th. Mueller would try to get under Steinkuhler several times over the next 8 laps, but wasn't able to quite clear him going into the corners. Steinkuhler opened the bottom for Mueller going into turn three on the final lap, as the two came off four side-by-side. Steinkuhler would edge Mueller at the line to claim the win. Brocksieck held on for third, Terry Houston came from 8th to finish in fourth, with Andrew Griffin coming home in fifth.
Up next was the 25 lap UMP Modified feature, with Michael Long and David Wietholder leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Long would grab the lead on lap one, with Wietholder working to hold off Justin Reed for second. A caution on lap 3 for a spin in turn four by James Leffew, would slow the event down. On the restart, Jerry Lierly would spin in turn two to bring the caution back out. Long moved out into the lead on the restart, with Wietholder, Justin Reed and Robbie Reed battling for second. Long would pull away from the field over the final 22 laps, which were caution free, to claim his third win of the weekend. Wietholder won the battle for second, Robbie Reed was third, Justin Reed fourth, with Steven DeLonjay coming home in fifth.
Billy Genenbacher and Denny Woodworth drew the front row for the 30 lap IMCA Late Model feature, with Woodworth jumping out into the lead on lap 1. Woodworth would pull away from the field and led all 30 laps, which were run caution free, to pick up the win. Justin Reed came from 8th to finish in second, Keith Pratt was third, Matt Bailey came home fourth, with Genenbacher holding on for fifth.
The final feature of the night was the 15 lap Hobby Stocks, with Nathan Hayes and Adam Scott on the front row. Hayes would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1, but Scott would slip by on lap 2 to take over the top spot. While Scott and Hayes battled for the lead, Bobby Anders, who started 10th, was quickly moving through the field. Scott held the lead until lap 4, when Anders moved past to take over the top spot. Anders then pulled away over the final 11 laps to pick up his second win in a row at the track. Steve Carlin came from 9th to finish in second, Scott was held on for third, Travis Booher started 11th and was moved up to fourth, with Jake Powers credited with fifth.
Notes from Quincy: Abe Huls lost a drive shaft in hot laps and had to scratch from the heat race, forcing him to the back of the Stock Car feature. He would pass 5 cars to take home a 6th place finish......Michael Long made a clean sweep of the weekend in the Modified, as he won Friday at Pontoon Beach, IL, then Saturday at Donnellson, IA and Sunday at Quincy, his second in a row at the track....Vance Wilson passed 7 cars from his 13th starting spot to come home in 6th......Wilson then jumped into the Late Model and started 14th. He would pass 6 cars to come home in 8th....Justin Jennings made his first start of his rookie career in a IMCA Late Models. He was the 2009 asphalt Late Model rookie at the Hawkeye Downs track in Cedar Rapids, IA. Jennings started the event in 7th and stayed out of troubles to take home a 10th place finish....Nick Ingalls, Lonnie Bailey and Terry Gallaher all scratched from the feature after heavy contact on the final lap of the heat. Gallaher would come off of four to wide and clipped the front stretch wall. Ingalls and Bailey had no where to go and piled into Gallaher. Everybody was ok, but heavy damage was done to all 3 cars to force them to scratch for the rest of the evening.....Tanner Klingele and Jim Powell would cross the finish line in 4th and 5th in the Hobby Stock feature. But after finding some "creative engineering" in the exhaust system, both drivers were disqualified and moved to the back of the finishing order.
The first feature of the night was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Cars. Dave Warth, who was suppose to start on the pole, scratched from the event, giving Steve Steinkuhler and Aaron Brocksieck the front row. Brocksieck won the battle of the 04's to lead lap 1, but Steinkuhler would slip under him to grab the top spot on lap 2. The one and only yellow would come out on lap 11, when Kevin Tomlinson, who was running third, slowed to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Steinkuhler jumped back out into the lead, but now had to work to hold off Jeff Mueller, who started 6th. Mueller would try to get under Steinkuhler several times over the next 8 laps, but wasn't able to quite clear him going into the corners. Steinkuhler opened the bottom for Mueller going into turn three on the final lap, as the two came off four side-by-side. Steinkuhler would edge Mueller at the line to claim the win. Brocksieck held on for third, Terry Houston came from 8th to finish in fourth, with Andrew Griffin coming home in fifth.
Up next was the 25 lap UMP Modified feature, with Michael Long and David Wietholder leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Long would grab the lead on lap one, with Wietholder working to hold off Justin Reed for second. A caution on lap 3 for a spin in turn four by James Leffew, would slow the event down. On the restart, Jerry Lierly would spin in turn two to bring the caution back out. Long moved out into the lead on the restart, with Wietholder, Justin Reed and Robbie Reed battling for second. Long would pull away from the field over the final 22 laps, which were caution free, to claim his third win of the weekend. Wietholder won the battle for second, Robbie Reed was third, Justin Reed fourth, with Steven DeLonjay coming home in fifth.
Billy Genenbacher and Denny Woodworth drew the front row for the 30 lap IMCA Late Model feature, with Woodworth jumping out into the lead on lap 1. Woodworth would pull away from the field and led all 30 laps, which were run caution free, to pick up the win. Justin Reed came from 8th to finish in second, Keith Pratt was third, Matt Bailey came home fourth, with Genenbacher holding on for fifth.
The final feature of the night was the 15 lap Hobby Stocks, with Nathan Hayes and Adam Scott on the front row. Hayes would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1, but Scott would slip by on lap 2 to take over the top spot. While Scott and Hayes battled for the lead, Bobby Anders, who started 10th, was quickly moving through the field. Scott held the lead until lap 4, when Anders moved past to take over the top spot. Anders then pulled away over the final 11 laps to pick up his second win in a row at the track. Steve Carlin came from 9th to finish in second, Scott was held on for third, Travis Booher started 11th and was moved up to fourth, with Jake Powers credited with fifth.
Notes from Quincy: Abe Huls lost a drive shaft in hot laps and had to scratch from the heat race, forcing him to the back of the Stock Car feature. He would pass 5 cars to take home a 6th place finish......Michael Long made a clean sweep of the weekend in the Modified, as he won Friday at Pontoon Beach, IL, then Saturday at Donnellson, IA and Sunday at Quincy, his second in a row at the track....Vance Wilson passed 7 cars from his 13th starting spot to come home in 6th......Wilson then jumped into the Late Model and started 14th. He would pass 6 cars to come home in 8th....Justin Jennings made his first start of his rookie career in a IMCA Late Models. He was the 2009 asphalt Late Model rookie at the Hawkeye Downs track in Cedar Rapids, IA. Jennings started the event in 7th and stayed out of troubles to take home a 10th place finish....Nick Ingalls, Lonnie Bailey and Terry Gallaher all scratched from the feature after heavy contact on the final lap of the heat. Gallaher would come off of four to wide and clipped the front stretch wall. Ingalls and Bailey had no where to go and piled into Gallaher. Everybody was ok, but heavy damage was done to all 3 cars to force them to scratch for the rest of the evening.....Tanner Klingele and Jim Powell would cross the finish line in 4th and 5th in the Hobby Stock feature. But after finding some "creative engineering" in the exhaust system, both drivers were disqualified and moved to the back of the finishing order.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Modified Smackdown Money Goes to Long at Lee County
Donnellson, IA (April 17, 2010) - The 2010 season got underway at the Lee County Speedway on Saturday, with the 1st Annual IMCA Modified Smackdown presented by Discount Tire & Service. Michael Long (IMCA Modifieds), Phillip Cossel (IMCA SportMods), Derek Kirkland (Hobby Stocks) and James Oliver III (Wild Things) would take the top prizes back home with them at the end of the evening.
The first feature of the night was the 15 lap Hobby Stocks, with Jeremy Pundt and Dave Cloke drawing the front row for the event. On the drop of the green, Josh Tripp would clip a tire coming off of turn four to bring out the caution before the lap was complete. Pundt would jump out into the lead on the restart and then held it until another caution came out on lap 4. Jeremy Billings would loose the left rear axle and tire in turn four to bring out the yellow. On the restart, Cloke would stall in turn four to bring the caution back out again. Pundt again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Derek Kirkland close behind in second. Kirkland would slip under Pundt on lap 7 to grab the top spot and then held it until a caution on lap 10. Cloke would spin off of turn four to avoid Rob Wilsey, who crossed in front of him to get off the track. On the restart, Kirkland moved back out into the lead and looked to be heading for his first win of 2010, when the final caution came out on lap 14 to set up a green-white-checkered finish. Kirkland was up to the challenge on the restart, as he jumped out front on the start and then held on to claim the win. Jim Lynch would come home in second, third went to Andy Coleman, who started 16th, Dale Porter started 13th and came home in fourth, with Jake Wenig coming from 11th to round out the top five.
Up next was the 12 lap Wild Thing feature, with James Olive III and John Helenthal leading the field to the drop of the green. Oliver III would take advantage of his front row start to jump into the lead on lap 1. The first of three cautions would appear on the speedway on lap 6, when William Michel lost a right front tire while running fourth. On the restart, Oliver III moved back out into the top spot only to be slowed on lap 7 for a spin by Don DeMint in turn four. He was also running fourth at the time of his spin. The caution would come back out on the restart, when Chris Loring Jr., who was running 6th, slowed to a stop in turn one. Once again Oliver III would grab the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 5 laps to pick up the win. Jerry Ostby would come home second, Helenthal held on for third, Kimberly Abbott came from 9th to finish in fourth, with Mike Horning Jr. coming from 11th to take home a top five.
Michael Bliven and Jim Lynch, rookie SportMod driver, drew the front row for the 15 lap IMCA SportMod feature. The caution would appear before lap 1 could be complete, for a spin in turn two for Jacob Smith. On the restart, Bill Gibson, Jayme Duninik and Kaleb Bentley would get together in turn four to bring the caution back out. Cayden Carter, Dean Kratzer, Lynch, Adam Shelman, Jason McDaniel, Rick Barlow Jr. and Bentley would collide in turn four on the restart to bring out the yellow again. The field was set into single file formation for the restart. Bliven would take advantage of the single file start to lead lap 1 over Phillip Cossel. Cossel would slip under Bliven on lap 3 to grab the top spot and then held it until a caution on lap 7 for tires in turn four. On the restart, Cossel jumped back out into the lead, with Bliven and Gillenwater, who started 9th, battling for second. Another caution would appear on the speedway on lap 12, when Kratzer spun in turn two while running 8th. Cossel again took the lead on the restart only to be slowed for the final time for another caution on lap 13, as Gibson spun in turn three. He was also running 8th at the time. On the restart, Cossel again grabbed the lead and then held off Gillenwater over the final 2 laps to claim the win. Gillenwater would cross the line second, but was DQ'ed after finding an illegal ignition switch. Bliven was moved to second, Kurt Hogan came from 12th to finish in third, Carter held on to finish fourth, with Thad Gaylord coming from 11th to finish in fifth.
The 35 lap IMCA Modified feature was the final one of the night, with Rich Smith and Greg Cox drawing the front row for the event. Smith would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag. The first of three cautions would come out on lap 3, as a tire would be pushed onto the track. On the restart, Smith took off where he left off, leading the field. Smith started to build up a lead over the battle for second, when another caution appeared on lap 9. Jeff Waterman would spin in turn two to bring the field back to Smith's bumper. Smith again moved out into the lead on the restart, with Mark Elliott, Josh Foster and Michael Long battling for second. Long would jump to the top of the track on lap 15 to grab the second spot and then set his sights on Smith for the lead. Smith stayed glued to the bottom, as Long worked the top side. Long would over take Smith on lap 21 for the top spot, only to be slowed on lap 22 for a spin into the front stretch wall by Mark Schulte. On the restart, Long took off into the lead and then led the final 13 laps to take home the $2,000 top prize. Smith settled for second, Foster came home in third, Scott Hogan came from 7th to finish in fourth, with Elliott coming home in fifth.
LCS Notes: 37 Modifieds, 28 SportMods, 21 Hobby Stocks and 15 Wild Things made up the 101 cars signed in to due battle.......Donavan Nunnikhoven came from 14th and passed 8 cars to finish 6th in the Hobby Stock feature....TJ Henderson also passed 8 cars from his 15th place start to finish in 7th.....Kirkland was the winner, Coleman 3rd, Porter 4th, Nunnikhoven 6th and Henderson in 7th gave the 9:1 Hobby Stocks 5 of the top 7 spots.....Dan Wenig came from 8th and was going for the win on the white flag lap, when he slowed going into turn one. He would come across the line in 8th....Pundt would recover from his spin to make it back to 10th....Chuck Fullenkamp came from 19th to finish 11th......Carter VanDenBerg came from 16th and passed 10 cars to finish 6th in the SportMod feature....Derek Coleman passed 13 cars from his 20th starting spot to finish in 7th....Jason Cook came from 13th to finish in 8th....Mike Shelton started 17th and passed 8 cars to take home 9th....McDaniel recovered from the lap 1 crash to come back to 11th....Rod Staats came from 18th to finish in 12th....Eric Flander who moved up from the Stock Car class to the SportMods in 2010, was running 3rd when he pulled into the pits on the lap 7 caution with mechanical troubles to end his strong run up front......Troy Cordes came from 16th and passed 8 cars to take home an 8th place finish in the Modified feature......Max Corporon started 15th and came home in 9th....Corey Dripps came from the back of the B-Main, when he jumped into Duane Peterson's car after he lost an engine in his heat, to take the 22nd place starting spot. He would pass 11 cars to come home in 11th....Mark Schulte had a good run going, when he had to pit on the lap 9 caution for a left rear tire going down. He would return to tag the back of the field, only to bring out the final caution on lap 22.
The first feature of the night was the 15 lap Hobby Stocks, with Jeremy Pundt and Dave Cloke drawing the front row for the event. On the drop of the green, Josh Tripp would clip a tire coming off of turn four to bring out the caution before the lap was complete. Pundt would jump out into the lead on the restart and then held it until another caution came out on lap 4. Jeremy Billings would loose the left rear axle and tire in turn four to bring out the yellow. On the restart, Cloke would stall in turn four to bring the caution back out again. Pundt again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Derek Kirkland close behind in second. Kirkland would slip under Pundt on lap 7 to grab the top spot and then held it until a caution on lap 10. Cloke would spin off of turn four to avoid Rob Wilsey, who crossed in front of him to get off the track. On the restart, Kirkland moved back out into the lead and looked to be heading for his first win of 2010, when the final caution came out on lap 14 to set up a green-white-checkered finish. Kirkland was up to the challenge on the restart, as he jumped out front on the start and then held on to claim the win. Jim Lynch would come home in second, third went to Andy Coleman, who started 16th, Dale Porter started 13th and came home in fourth, with Jake Wenig coming from 11th to round out the top five.
Up next was the 12 lap Wild Thing feature, with James Olive III and John Helenthal leading the field to the drop of the green. Oliver III would take advantage of his front row start to jump into the lead on lap 1. The first of three cautions would appear on the speedway on lap 6, when William Michel lost a right front tire while running fourth. On the restart, Oliver III moved back out into the top spot only to be slowed on lap 7 for a spin by Don DeMint in turn four. He was also running fourth at the time of his spin. The caution would come back out on the restart, when Chris Loring Jr., who was running 6th, slowed to a stop in turn one. Once again Oliver III would grab the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 5 laps to pick up the win. Jerry Ostby would come home second, Helenthal held on for third, Kimberly Abbott came from 9th to finish in fourth, with Mike Horning Jr. coming from 11th to take home a top five.
Michael Bliven and Jim Lynch, rookie SportMod driver, drew the front row for the 15 lap IMCA SportMod feature. The caution would appear before lap 1 could be complete, for a spin in turn two for Jacob Smith. On the restart, Bill Gibson, Jayme Duninik and Kaleb Bentley would get together in turn four to bring the caution back out. Cayden Carter, Dean Kratzer, Lynch, Adam Shelman, Jason McDaniel, Rick Barlow Jr. and Bentley would collide in turn four on the restart to bring out the yellow again. The field was set into single file formation for the restart. Bliven would take advantage of the single file start to lead lap 1 over Phillip Cossel. Cossel would slip under Bliven on lap 3 to grab the top spot and then held it until a caution on lap 7 for tires in turn four. On the restart, Cossel jumped back out into the lead, with Bliven and Gillenwater, who started 9th, battling for second. Another caution would appear on the speedway on lap 12, when Kratzer spun in turn two while running 8th. Cossel again took the lead on the restart only to be slowed for the final time for another caution on lap 13, as Gibson spun in turn three. He was also running 8th at the time. On the restart, Cossel again grabbed the lead and then held off Gillenwater over the final 2 laps to claim the win. Gillenwater would cross the line second, but was DQ'ed after finding an illegal ignition switch. Bliven was moved to second, Kurt Hogan came from 12th to finish in third, Carter held on to finish fourth, with Thad Gaylord coming from 11th to finish in fifth.
The 35 lap IMCA Modified feature was the final one of the night, with Rich Smith and Greg Cox drawing the front row for the event. Smith would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag. The first of three cautions would come out on lap 3, as a tire would be pushed onto the track. On the restart, Smith took off where he left off, leading the field. Smith started to build up a lead over the battle for second, when another caution appeared on lap 9. Jeff Waterman would spin in turn two to bring the field back to Smith's bumper. Smith again moved out into the lead on the restart, with Mark Elliott, Josh Foster and Michael Long battling for second. Long would jump to the top of the track on lap 15 to grab the second spot and then set his sights on Smith for the lead. Smith stayed glued to the bottom, as Long worked the top side. Long would over take Smith on lap 21 for the top spot, only to be slowed on lap 22 for a spin into the front stretch wall by Mark Schulte. On the restart, Long took off into the lead and then led the final 13 laps to take home the $2,000 top prize. Smith settled for second, Foster came home in third, Scott Hogan came from 7th to finish in fourth, with Elliott coming home in fifth.
LCS Notes: 37 Modifieds, 28 SportMods, 21 Hobby Stocks and 15 Wild Things made up the 101 cars signed in to due battle.......Donavan Nunnikhoven came from 14th and passed 8 cars to finish 6th in the Hobby Stock feature....TJ Henderson also passed 8 cars from his 15th place start to finish in 7th.....Kirkland was the winner, Coleman 3rd, Porter 4th, Nunnikhoven 6th and Henderson in 7th gave the 9:1 Hobby Stocks 5 of the top 7 spots.....Dan Wenig came from 8th and was going for the win on the white flag lap, when he slowed going into turn one. He would come across the line in 8th....Pundt would recover from his spin to make it back to 10th....Chuck Fullenkamp came from 19th to finish 11th......Carter VanDenBerg came from 16th and passed 10 cars to finish 6th in the SportMod feature....Derek Coleman passed 13 cars from his 20th starting spot to finish in 7th....Jason Cook came from 13th to finish in 8th....Mike Shelton started 17th and passed 8 cars to take home 9th....McDaniel recovered from the lap 1 crash to come back to 11th....Rod Staats came from 18th to finish in 12th....Eric Flander who moved up from the Stock Car class to the SportMods in 2010, was running 3rd when he pulled into the pits on the lap 7 caution with mechanical troubles to end his strong run up front......Troy Cordes came from 16th and passed 8 cars to take home an 8th place finish in the Modified feature......Max Corporon started 15th and came home in 9th....Corey Dripps came from the back of the B-Main, when he jumped into Duane Peterson's car after he lost an engine in his heat, to take the 22nd place starting spot. He would pass 11 cars to come home in 11th....Mark Schulte had a good run going, when he had to pit on the lap 9 caution for a left rear tire going down. He would return to tag the back of the field, only to bring out the final caution on lap 22.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Moyer Fends Off Babb, McCreadie and Birkhofer For Illini 100 Win
Farmer City, IL (April 10, 2010) - It was night number two of the "Illini 100" featuring the World of Outlaw Late Models at Farmer City (IL) Raceway. Billy Moyer would hold on in front of a huge crowd to claim the $20,000 top prize, with Brian Lynn taking home the UMP Modified feature and Tate Davenport in the Crate Late Models.
After about an hour delay to rework the track, the 20 lap UMP Modified feature took to the track first. Dustin King and Justin DeLong would lead the field of 20 starters to the drop of the green flag. King would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 and then held it until lap 4. King would slow to a stop going down the backstretch to bring out the first of two yellows in the event. Brian Lynn would inherit the lead, with Mike Spatola and Denny Schwartz close behind in second. Lynn was working to hold off Schwartz, when the final caution of the race came out on lap 11 for a spin by Mike Porth in turn four. Once again Lynn had to work to hold off Schwartz on the restart, with Schwartz trying to hold off a charging Jeff Leka, who started 13th. Lynn would lead the final 9 laps and held off Schwartz and Leka on the final lap to claim the win. DeLong held on to finish in fourth, with Jay Ledford coming home in fifth.
Up next was the 100 lap World of Outlaw Late Model feature. Brady Smith and Shannon Babb made up the front row for the event, with Babb jumping out front on lap 1. Babb would enter lapped traffic on lap 15, allowing Brian Birkhofer to close in on his back bumper. Birkhofer would move to the bottom of the speedway on lap 44 to take the top spot away from Babb. The first of two cautions would wave over the speedway on lap 46, as Rick Eckert slowed to a stop in turn three with engine troubles. On the restart, Birkhofer's car wouldn't come off the bottom allowing Moyer and Babb to make it three wide for the lead going into turn one. Babb would come out of turn two with the lead and Moyer close behind in second. The leaders would come up on lapped traffic on lap 58, setting up a close battle for the lead. Moyer would choose the bottom to get by the lapped car, while Babb took the top side. Moyer would grab the lead away from Babb on lap 64, as a result of the lapped car going high to stop Babb's momentum coming off the top. But Babb wouldn't give up, as he ran down Moyer on lap 68 and would take the lead back coming off the top side of the speedway. Babb continued to use the top of the track, while Moyer ran the bottom. Those two would run side-by-side until lap 72, when Babb got caught behind another lapped car allowing Moyer to grab the top spot again. As Moyer and Babb swapped the lead back and forth, Tim McCreadie, who started 17th, had slowly worked his way to third. The final caution would come out on lap 93, as Austin Hubbard stopped on the backstretch. Moyer grabbed the lead on the restart, with Babb, McCreadie and Birkhofer battling for second. Moyer would hold off a last lap challenge from Babb to claim the $20,000 top prize. McCreadie would hold on for third, Birkhofer was fourth, with Don O'Neal rounding out the top five.
FC Notes: 43 of the 50 Late Models returned for night two, with 37 UMP Modifieds and 18 Crate Late Models competing on Saturday night......Local Late Model driver Jason Feger would finish the highest, as he took home a 6th place finish....Shane Clanton, last years winner, took a provisional to get into the A Main. He would charge his way from 25th to 9th by the half-way point of the 100 lap feature. When the checkers fell he would come home in 8th....Brad Neat came from 16th to finish 11th in his first ever visit to Farmer City....Jimmy Mars made it in through a B and started 22nd. He would pass 10 cars to take home a 12th place finish....Tim Fuller was another drive to make it in through a B. He started 18th and passed 4 cars to finish in 14th....Darrell Lanigan had to take a provisional to get into the A. He would start the event in 23rd and passed 6 cars to finish in 17th....Tim Lance held off Ryan Unzicker to top the $1,000 Non-Qualifier race......Nick Allen started the UMP Modified feature in 11th and passed 4 cars to come home in 7th....Cory Schwengel came from 15th to finish in 10th....Nathan Balensiefen, who won 1 of the B Mains, started 18th and passed 7 cars to take home an 11th place finish......Tate Davenport topped the Crate Late Model feature.
After about an hour delay to rework the track, the 20 lap UMP Modified feature took to the track first. Dustin King and Justin DeLong would lead the field of 20 starters to the drop of the green flag. King would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 and then held it until lap 4. King would slow to a stop going down the backstretch to bring out the first of two yellows in the event. Brian Lynn would inherit the lead, with Mike Spatola and Denny Schwartz close behind in second. Lynn was working to hold off Schwartz, when the final caution of the race came out on lap 11 for a spin by Mike Porth in turn four. Once again Lynn had to work to hold off Schwartz on the restart, with Schwartz trying to hold off a charging Jeff Leka, who started 13th. Lynn would lead the final 9 laps and held off Schwartz and Leka on the final lap to claim the win. DeLong held on to finish in fourth, with Jay Ledford coming home in fifth.
Up next was the 100 lap World of Outlaw Late Model feature. Brady Smith and Shannon Babb made up the front row for the event, with Babb jumping out front on lap 1. Babb would enter lapped traffic on lap 15, allowing Brian Birkhofer to close in on his back bumper. Birkhofer would move to the bottom of the speedway on lap 44 to take the top spot away from Babb. The first of two cautions would wave over the speedway on lap 46, as Rick Eckert slowed to a stop in turn three with engine troubles. On the restart, Birkhofer's car wouldn't come off the bottom allowing Moyer and Babb to make it three wide for the lead going into turn one. Babb would come out of turn two with the lead and Moyer close behind in second. The leaders would come up on lapped traffic on lap 58, setting up a close battle for the lead. Moyer would choose the bottom to get by the lapped car, while Babb took the top side. Moyer would grab the lead away from Babb on lap 64, as a result of the lapped car going high to stop Babb's momentum coming off the top. But Babb wouldn't give up, as he ran down Moyer on lap 68 and would take the lead back coming off the top side of the speedway. Babb continued to use the top of the track, while Moyer ran the bottom. Those two would run side-by-side until lap 72, when Babb got caught behind another lapped car allowing Moyer to grab the top spot again. As Moyer and Babb swapped the lead back and forth, Tim McCreadie, who started 17th, had slowly worked his way to third. The final caution would come out on lap 93, as Austin Hubbard stopped on the backstretch. Moyer grabbed the lead on the restart, with Babb, McCreadie and Birkhofer battling for second. Moyer would hold off a last lap challenge from Babb to claim the $20,000 top prize. McCreadie would hold on for third, Birkhofer was fourth, with Don O'Neal rounding out the top five.
FC Notes: 43 of the 50 Late Models returned for night two, with 37 UMP Modifieds and 18 Crate Late Models competing on Saturday night......Local Late Model driver Jason Feger would finish the highest, as he took home a 6th place finish....Shane Clanton, last years winner, took a provisional to get into the A Main. He would charge his way from 25th to 9th by the half-way point of the 100 lap feature. When the checkers fell he would come home in 8th....Brad Neat came from 16th to finish 11th in his first ever visit to Farmer City....Jimmy Mars made it in through a B and started 22nd. He would pass 10 cars to take home a 12th place finish....Tim Fuller was another drive to make it in through a B. He started 18th and passed 4 cars to finish in 14th....Darrell Lanigan had to take a provisional to get into the A. He would start the event in 23rd and passed 6 cars to finish in 17th....Tim Lance held off Ryan Unzicker to top the $1,000 Non-Qualifier race......Nick Allen started the UMP Modified feature in 11th and passed 4 cars to come home in 7th....Cory Schwengel came from 15th to finish in 10th....Nathan Balensiefen, who won 1 of the B Mains, started 18th and passed 7 cars to take home an 11th place finish......Tate Davenport topped the Crate Late Model feature.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Mincer Rallies to Claim "Brian Hetrick Memorial Race"
Burlington, IA (April 3, 2010) - Mother nature tried to spoil 34 Raceways season opener, as 1.5 inches of rain fell over night Friday. But the sun and wind would come out early Saturday morning to allow for enough time to dry things up to go racing. The 2nd Annual "Brian Hetrick Memorial Race" featuring $1,000 to win for the 305 Sprints was on the card, along with the IMCA Stock Cars, and race 1 of 6 in the Mod Lite Series. Bobby Mincer (305 Sprints), Jeff Mueller (IMCA Stock Cars) and Josh May (Mod Lites) would take home opening night wins in there respective divisions.
The first feature to take to the speedway was the 20 lap Mike's Auto Parts IMCA Stock Cars, with Abe Huls, the defending track champion, and Tim Breuer drawing the front row for the event. Breuer would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on the drop of the green flag, with Huls and John Oliver Jr. battling for second. Breuer would only hold the top spot for 1 lap, as Huls slipped under him on lap 2 to take over the lead. As Huls was leading the field, Jeff Mueller, who drew number 12 was making his way towards the front, as he was up to 2nd by lap 6. Mueller then went to work on Huls for the lead, and on lap 11 he would slip under Huls to take over the top spot. The first caution of the event would come out after the completion of lap 11, for Blaine Dopler who slowed to a stop on the front stretch. On the restart, Mueller moved back out front and now had Matt Greiner, who started 7th, battling him for the lead. Another caution would appear on the speedway on lap 14, when Corey Strothman came to a stop in turns 3 and 4. Brett Timmerman, who started 10th and had worked his way up to 3rd, got sideways in turn 2 on the restart to bring the caution back out. Huls had to pull in with a left rear flat after contact from Chris Webb, as the two drivers tried to avoid Timmerman's spinning car. Mueller again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Greiner challenging him for the top spot. Disaster would strike Greiner on lap 18, as he spun off of turn 2 to bring out the final caution, ending his great run up front. Mueller would hold on for the final 2 laps to pick up his first win of 2010. Jim Redmann came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Dave Warth was 3rd, Kirk Kinsley charged from 15th to come home in 4th, with Jason Cook rounding out the top five.
Troy Philpott and Josh May drew the front row for the 15 lap Holmes Concrete Mod Lite feature, with May grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution would come out on lap 5, as Philpott and Tom Schnabel got together while lapping a car coming out of turn 2, leaving Philpott stopped on the backstretch. On the restart, May grabbed the lead and started to pull away from the field, when another caution came out on lap 10. Todd Thornburg would come to a stop on the backstretch, to bring the field back to May's back bumper. Mike Morrill, who started 12th, jumped to the outside of May on the restart to take over the top spot. But another caution on lap 12 for Michael Dominquez who spun in turn 2, set up a great battle for the win. Morrill, who was running the top of the speedway, and May, who was on the bottom, ran laps 13 and 14 side-by-side, but May would grab the top spot away from Morrill going into turn 1 on the final lap. May then held off a last corner challenge from Morrill to take home the win. Eric Hendrickson came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Johnny Mordock was 4th, with A.J. Fike coming from 11th to come home in 5th.
The final feature of the night was the 25 lap WT Gabeline & Sons Trucking "Brian Hetrick Memorial" 305 Sprints, with Justin Newberry and Andy Huston leading the field to the drop of the green flag. The red would appear on the start, as Huston would take a hard roll in turn two, he would walk away ok. Bobby Mincer would have to pit, as he got a left rear tire cut while trying to avoid Huston's flipping car. He would get the tire changed and had to restart 16th. On the restart Nick Guernsey would spin on the top of turn one, with Randy Roberts having no where to go and collided with Guernsey. John Drapler would take advantage of the cautions to move up to the front row, and grabbed the lead on lap 1. Newberry and Shawn Whiting would battle for second, with Kevin Hetrick and Matt Krieger battling for fourth. Drapler would hold the top spot until lap 9, as Krieger worked his way to the front to take over the lead. After the completion of lap 9, Shawn Whiting would spin in turn four to bring the caution out. On the restart Cale Hutchings would spin off of turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Hutchings miss fortunes would continue 1 lap latter, as he and Nick Hennefent got together coming off of turn four and hit the front stretch wall hard. Both drivers walked away ok. Krieger again jumped out into the lead on the restart and was starting to pull away from the field. On lap 15 Krieger would pull into the pits, giving the lead over to Draper. Draper then tried to hold off a charging Mincer, but Mincer would jump to the outside of him on lap 17 to take over the top spot. Mincer then went on to lead the final 3 laps to claim the $1,000 top prize. Draper held on for 2nd, Hetrick was 3rd, Jarrod Schneiderman came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Newberry holding on for fifth.
Notes from 34: 29 Mod Lites, 20 305 Sprints and 19 Stock Cars braved the cool temperatures to battle it out on the first race of 2010 at 34 Raceway......Mincer made a nice rally in the feature to take home the top prize in the 305 class, as he started 6th and tried to avoid a flipping Huston on lap 1. Mincer would get a cut left rear tire after contact from another car. He would get the tire changed and had to restart 16th, but was up to 5th by the lap 9 caution. Mincer then slowly worked his way into 2nd on lap 15 when Krieger pulled in, and then worked to the top of Draper on lap 17 to take over the lead. Mincer then held on over the final 3 laps to make a nice recovery to take home the $1,000....Randy Roberts made the pull up from Concordia, MO and started the 305 feature in 12th. He would recover from the contact with Guernsey on the start of the feature to come home in 6th....Brandyn Martin started 14th and would pass 7 cars to come home in 7th....Jim Hetrick came out of retirement after 25 years to compete in the 305 class. He started the feature in 18th and would survive to take home an 11th place finish....Krieger who had worked his way to the front and into the lead on lap 9, was looking like the car to beat until lap 15. Krieger suddenly pulled into the pits with fuel pressure problems and having to settle for a 12th place finish......Chris Webb started the Stock car feature in 17th and by lap 14 had slowly worked his way up to 8th. He would pass 2 more cars in the final 6 laps to take home a 6th place finish....Timmerman, who started 10th, had worked his way up to 3rd but on the lap 14 restart he would get sideways in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Timmerman had to restart 14th, but in the final 6 laps he would work his way back up to finish in 7th....Greiner had a great run to the front go away on lap 18, as he spun off of turn turn while running in second. He would only manage to get back to 12th in the final 2 laps....Rookie Stock Car driver and defending Hobby Stock track champion, Derek St. Clair had a nice run in his first night behind the wheel of a Stock Car. He would make the redraw from his heat and redrew 6th for the 20 lap feature. He would stay out of trouble all night and came home in the 13th spot....The defending Stock Car track champion Abe Huls drew the number 1 for the feature and grabbed the lead away from Breuer on lap 2 of the event. Huls would loose the lead to Mueller on lap 11 and with the double file restarts being used for 2010, Huls would slip back to fourth on lap 14. He would get a left rear tire cut after trying to avoid a spinning Timmerman and had to pit, giving him a 15th place finish....On the lap 14 caution John Oliver Jr., who was running 7th, pulled into the pits with left rear problems delegating him to a 16th place finish......USAC Midget driver A.J. Fike made a rare appearence to 34 Raceway driving Greg Rossell's Mod Lite. Fike would start the 15 lap feature in 11th and showed patience to take home a top five....Robb Guss came from 16th to finish in 10th....Johnathan Huston started 22nd and passed 11 cars to come home in 11th....Evan Epperson started 18th and finished in 12th....Mark Winkel charged from 26th to 13th in the 15 lap event....Todd Hanson came from 24th to finish in 17th....Philpott who was battling for second, when a lapped car caused him to spin on lap 5, restarted in 20th. On lap 12 he had worked his way back up to 10th, but would pull in with troubles on lap 13 to give him an 18th place finish....Tom Schnabel was running 5th when he pulled in on lap 10 with troubles and had to settle for 20th.
The first feature to take to the speedway was the 20 lap Mike's Auto Parts IMCA Stock Cars, with Abe Huls, the defending track champion, and Tim Breuer drawing the front row for the event. Breuer would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on the drop of the green flag, with Huls and John Oliver Jr. battling for second. Breuer would only hold the top spot for 1 lap, as Huls slipped under him on lap 2 to take over the lead. As Huls was leading the field, Jeff Mueller, who drew number 12 was making his way towards the front, as he was up to 2nd by lap 6. Mueller then went to work on Huls for the lead, and on lap 11 he would slip under Huls to take over the top spot. The first caution of the event would come out after the completion of lap 11, for Blaine Dopler who slowed to a stop on the front stretch. On the restart, Mueller moved back out front and now had Matt Greiner, who started 7th, battling him for the lead. Another caution would appear on the speedway on lap 14, when Corey Strothman came to a stop in turns 3 and 4. Brett Timmerman, who started 10th and had worked his way up to 3rd, got sideways in turn 2 on the restart to bring the caution back out. Huls had to pull in with a left rear flat after contact from Chris Webb, as the two drivers tried to avoid Timmerman's spinning car. Mueller again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Greiner challenging him for the top spot. Disaster would strike Greiner on lap 18, as he spun off of turn 2 to bring out the final caution, ending his great run up front. Mueller would hold on for the final 2 laps to pick up his first win of 2010. Jim Redmann came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Dave Warth was 3rd, Kirk Kinsley charged from 15th to come home in 4th, with Jason Cook rounding out the top five.
Troy Philpott and Josh May drew the front row for the 15 lap Holmes Concrete Mod Lite feature, with May grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution would come out on lap 5, as Philpott and Tom Schnabel got together while lapping a car coming out of turn 2, leaving Philpott stopped on the backstretch. On the restart, May grabbed the lead and started to pull away from the field, when another caution came out on lap 10. Todd Thornburg would come to a stop on the backstretch, to bring the field back to May's back bumper. Mike Morrill, who started 12th, jumped to the outside of May on the restart to take over the top spot. But another caution on lap 12 for Michael Dominquez who spun in turn 2, set up a great battle for the win. Morrill, who was running the top of the speedway, and May, who was on the bottom, ran laps 13 and 14 side-by-side, but May would grab the top spot away from Morrill going into turn 1 on the final lap. May then held off a last corner challenge from Morrill to take home the win. Eric Hendrickson came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Johnny Mordock was 4th, with A.J. Fike coming from 11th to come home in 5th.
The final feature of the night was the 25 lap WT Gabeline & Sons Trucking "Brian Hetrick Memorial" 305 Sprints, with Justin Newberry and Andy Huston leading the field to the drop of the green flag. The red would appear on the start, as Huston would take a hard roll in turn two, he would walk away ok. Bobby Mincer would have to pit, as he got a left rear tire cut while trying to avoid Huston's flipping car. He would get the tire changed and had to restart 16th. On the restart Nick Guernsey would spin on the top of turn one, with Randy Roberts having no where to go and collided with Guernsey. John Drapler would take advantage of the cautions to move up to the front row, and grabbed the lead on lap 1. Newberry and Shawn Whiting would battle for second, with Kevin Hetrick and Matt Krieger battling for fourth. Drapler would hold the top spot until lap 9, as Krieger worked his way to the front to take over the lead. After the completion of lap 9, Shawn Whiting would spin in turn four to bring the caution out. On the restart Cale Hutchings would spin off of turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Hutchings miss fortunes would continue 1 lap latter, as he and Nick Hennefent got together coming off of turn four and hit the front stretch wall hard. Both drivers walked away ok. Krieger again jumped out into the lead on the restart and was starting to pull away from the field. On lap 15 Krieger would pull into the pits, giving the lead over to Draper. Draper then tried to hold off a charging Mincer, but Mincer would jump to the outside of him on lap 17 to take over the top spot. Mincer then went on to lead the final 3 laps to claim the $1,000 top prize. Draper held on for 2nd, Hetrick was 3rd, Jarrod Schneiderman came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Newberry holding on for fifth.
Notes from 34: 29 Mod Lites, 20 305 Sprints and 19 Stock Cars braved the cool temperatures to battle it out on the first race of 2010 at 34 Raceway......Mincer made a nice rally in the feature to take home the top prize in the 305 class, as he started 6th and tried to avoid a flipping Huston on lap 1. Mincer would get a cut left rear tire after contact from another car. He would get the tire changed and had to restart 16th, but was up to 5th by the lap 9 caution. Mincer then slowly worked his way into 2nd on lap 15 when Krieger pulled in, and then worked to the top of Draper on lap 17 to take over the lead. Mincer then held on over the final 3 laps to make a nice recovery to take home the $1,000....Randy Roberts made the pull up from Concordia, MO and started the 305 feature in 12th. He would recover from the contact with Guernsey on the start of the feature to come home in 6th....Brandyn Martin started 14th and would pass 7 cars to come home in 7th....Jim Hetrick came out of retirement after 25 years to compete in the 305 class. He started the feature in 18th and would survive to take home an 11th place finish....Krieger who had worked his way to the front and into the lead on lap 9, was looking like the car to beat until lap 15. Krieger suddenly pulled into the pits with fuel pressure problems and having to settle for a 12th place finish......Chris Webb started the Stock car feature in 17th and by lap 14 had slowly worked his way up to 8th. He would pass 2 more cars in the final 6 laps to take home a 6th place finish....Timmerman, who started 10th, had worked his way up to 3rd but on the lap 14 restart he would get sideways in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Timmerman had to restart 14th, but in the final 6 laps he would work his way back up to finish in 7th....Greiner had a great run to the front go away on lap 18, as he spun off of turn turn while running in second. He would only manage to get back to 12th in the final 2 laps....Rookie Stock Car driver and defending Hobby Stock track champion, Derek St. Clair had a nice run in his first night behind the wheel of a Stock Car. He would make the redraw from his heat and redrew 6th for the 20 lap feature. He would stay out of trouble all night and came home in the 13th spot....The defending Stock Car track champion Abe Huls drew the number 1 for the feature and grabbed the lead away from Breuer on lap 2 of the event. Huls would loose the lead to Mueller on lap 11 and with the double file restarts being used for 2010, Huls would slip back to fourth on lap 14. He would get a left rear tire cut after trying to avoid a spinning Timmerman and had to pit, giving him a 15th place finish....On the lap 14 caution John Oliver Jr., who was running 7th, pulled into the pits with left rear problems delegating him to a 16th place finish......USAC Midget driver A.J. Fike made a rare appearence to 34 Raceway driving Greg Rossell's Mod Lite. Fike would start the 15 lap feature in 11th and showed patience to take home a top five....Robb Guss came from 16th to finish in 10th....Johnathan Huston started 22nd and passed 11 cars to come home in 11th....Evan Epperson started 18th and finished in 12th....Mark Winkel charged from 26th to 13th in the 15 lap event....Todd Hanson came from 24th to finish in 17th....Philpott who was battling for second, when a lapped car caused him to spin on lap 5, restarted in 20th. On lap 12 he had worked his way back up to 10th, but would pull in with troubles on lap 13 to give him an 18th place finish....Tom Schnabel was running 5th when he pulled in on lap 10 with troubles and had to settle for 20th.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Landers Blitz Through the Field to Top the "Gator Championship"
Barberville, FL (Mon., Feb. 8, 2010) - Monday night was a return visit to the Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL for the final night of the UMP Modifieds and the opening night of the UMP Late Models. Fifty-eight Modifieds returned in hopes of taking the final transfer spots into the 30 lap "Gator" feature, paying $5,000 to win. Also on the card was the UMP Late Models, with 67 cars signing in to do battle for $7,000 to win.
The night started out with group qualifying for the UMP Late Models. Jimmy Owens (15.962) topped the first group and was the overall fast timer on the night. Kyle Berck (16.360) was fastest in group 2, Dennis Erb Jr. (16.268) was quick timer in group 3, Tim McCreadie (16.347) was fast time in group 4, Will Vaught (16.328) was fastest in group 5, with Jared Landers (16.704) quickest in group 6. They then inverted the top four in each group for the 6 heat races, with the top three finishers in each heat going to the A main. Jack Sullivan, Brian Birkhofer, Vic Coffey, Jordan Bland, Darrell Lanigan and Ross Camponovo claimed the heat race wins. Then they ran 3 B Mains with the top 2 in each moving into the A Main. Picking up those wins were Jason Feger, Earl Pearson Jr. and Rick Briggs.
Sullivan and Birkhofer would lead the field of 24 cars to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap UMP Late Model A Main. Birkhofer would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1, but Sullivan wouldn't give up to easy. Birkhofer, who was running the top of the track, and Sullivan, who was running around the bottom, would trade the lead for lap 2 and 3. The first of two cautions would come out on lap 5, as Dale McDowell spun in turn two. Birkhofer would lead, Jordan Bland, Sullivan, Darrell Lanigan and Dan Schlieper on the restart, with Birkhofer grabbing the lead. Bland, Lanigan and Schlieper would battled for the second spot, as Birkhofer started pulling away. The final caution of the event would come out on lap 10, for Tommy Kerr who stopped in turn four. Birkhofer's lead over Lanigan, Jimmy Owens, who started 7th, Schlieper and Josh Richards was now brought to his back bumper for the restart. Birkhofer was able to grab the lead once again, but now had Lanigan and Owens following close behind. Lanigan would slip under Birkhofer on lap 14 to take over the top spot by inches at the line. But Birkhofer would come back on the top of the speedway to grab the lead back on lap 15. They started entering lap traffic on lap 17, allowing Lanigan and Owens to quickly move up on Birkhofer for the top spot. Lanigan would once again slip under Birkhofer on lap 18 to take over the lead. Lanigan then worked to hold off Owens over the final 12 laps to claim the opening night win for the UMP Late Models. Owens had to settle for second, Birkhofer held on for third, Billy Moyer charged from 11th to finish in fourth, with Schlieper holding on for a fifth place finish.
The final spots for the "Gator Championship" for the UMP Modifieds went to the winners of the four B Mains, which went to Jason Hughes, Dale Mathison, Ty Dillon and Peyton Taylor. UMP then awarded four provisionals, which were giving to Tommy Seets, Clint Bowyer, Devin Gilpin and Rob Underwood.
Twenty-eight UMP Modifieds took to the track for there 30 lap "Gator" A Main, with the winner taking home the $5,000 top prize. Jason Schill and Stormy Scott would draw the front row. The green flag would wave, but quickly the caution came out before lap 1 was completed as Jeff Babcock and Clint Bowyer collided in turn two. Scott would grab the lead on the complete restart, with Austin Dillon following him in second. Scott was starting to pull away from the field, as the last caution of the event would appear on lap 16 for debris in turn four. Scott was leading, Jared Hawkins, Dillon, Schill and Denny Schwartz, who started 9th. On the restart, Scott moved back out front, with Dillon, Hawkins and Schwartz battling for the second spot. Scott was slowly starting to pull away, when Jared Landers had worked his way to the front. Landers would get by Dillon and Hawkins on lap 20 to move into second and set his sights on Scott for the lead. Scott tried everything to hold off a fast moving Landers, but Landers wouldn't be denied as he took the top spot on lap 25. Landers then pulled away over the final 5 laps to claim his second consecutive "Gator Championship". Scott held on for second, Dillon was third, Hawkins was fourth, with Kenny Schrader charging from 16th to round out the top five.
Notes from Mon: Kyle Berck, who set fast time in group 2 qualifying for the UMP Late Models, had to go to a back-up car after motor troubles developed in the car he qualified with. He would have to go to the back of his heat and never recovered all night from that....Earl Pearson Jr. won B Main 2 and started the 30 lap A main in 20th. Pearson charged himself up to 11th by the half way point and would settle for a 6th place finish.... Dale McDowell, started the A Main in 22nd, but spun on lap 5 to go all the way to the back. He would recover from that to charge back up to take home an 11th place finish......Jared Landers amazing run to the front of the "Gator" A Main for the UMP Modifieds was something to see. Landers was scheduled to start the event in 11th, but he was sent to the tail, 28th, for showing up late for the line-up. Landers would go two and three wide at times to work himself up to 8th by lap 15, with no cautions. The only caution of the event was flown on lap 16. On the restart Landers again went to work and raced two and three wide to get up to second by lap 20. He then over took Scott on lap 25 for the top spot and would pull away over the final 5 laps to claim his second consecutive "Gator"....Ty Dillon was another driver who put on a show for the fans. He started the A Main in the 23rd starting spot after winning the third B Main. Dillon would follow in Landers tracks, as he worked his way up to 10th by lap 15. Dillon would pass three more cars over the final 15 laps to take home a 7th place finish....Peyton Taylor won B Main number 4 and started the A Main in 24th. He would pass 14 cars en route to a 10th place finish....Tommy Seets took advantage of his provisional and started the A Main in 25th. He then passed 12 cars to claim a 13th place finish....Another driver who got in on a provisional was Devin Gilpin. He would start the A Main in 27th and passed 9 cars to take home a 18th place finish....Local driver David Wietholder started B Main number 2 on the outside of the front row, with only the winner going to the A Main. He would run up front early, but missed the set up a little and faded to a fourth place finish.......The racing for the two nights I was there was great. I hope to make plans next year to take in more nights of racing!
The night started out with group qualifying for the UMP Late Models. Jimmy Owens (15.962) topped the first group and was the overall fast timer on the night. Kyle Berck (16.360) was fastest in group 2, Dennis Erb Jr. (16.268) was quick timer in group 3, Tim McCreadie (16.347) was fast time in group 4, Will Vaught (16.328) was fastest in group 5, with Jared Landers (16.704) quickest in group 6. They then inverted the top four in each group for the 6 heat races, with the top three finishers in each heat going to the A main. Jack Sullivan, Brian Birkhofer, Vic Coffey, Jordan Bland, Darrell Lanigan and Ross Camponovo claimed the heat race wins. Then they ran 3 B Mains with the top 2 in each moving into the A Main. Picking up those wins were Jason Feger, Earl Pearson Jr. and Rick Briggs.
Sullivan and Birkhofer would lead the field of 24 cars to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap UMP Late Model A Main. Birkhofer would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1, but Sullivan wouldn't give up to easy. Birkhofer, who was running the top of the track, and Sullivan, who was running around the bottom, would trade the lead for lap 2 and 3. The first of two cautions would come out on lap 5, as Dale McDowell spun in turn two. Birkhofer would lead, Jordan Bland, Sullivan, Darrell Lanigan and Dan Schlieper on the restart, with Birkhofer grabbing the lead. Bland, Lanigan and Schlieper would battled for the second spot, as Birkhofer started pulling away. The final caution of the event would come out on lap 10, for Tommy Kerr who stopped in turn four. Birkhofer's lead over Lanigan, Jimmy Owens, who started 7th, Schlieper and Josh Richards was now brought to his back bumper for the restart. Birkhofer was able to grab the lead once again, but now had Lanigan and Owens following close behind. Lanigan would slip under Birkhofer on lap 14 to take over the top spot by inches at the line. But Birkhofer would come back on the top of the speedway to grab the lead back on lap 15. They started entering lap traffic on lap 17, allowing Lanigan and Owens to quickly move up on Birkhofer for the top spot. Lanigan would once again slip under Birkhofer on lap 18 to take over the lead. Lanigan then worked to hold off Owens over the final 12 laps to claim the opening night win for the UMP Late Models. Owens had to settle for second, Birkhofer held on for third, Billy Moyer charged from 11th to finish in fourth, with Schlieper holding on for a fifth place finish.
The final spots for the "Gator Championship" for the UMP Modifieds went to the winners of the four B Mains, which went to Jason Hughes, Dale Mathison, Ty Dillon and Peyton Taylor. UMP then awarded four provisionals, which were giving to Tommy Seets, Clint Bowyer, Devin Gilpin and Rob Underwood.
Twenty-eight UMP Modifieds took to the track for there 30 lap "Gator" A Main, with the winner taking home the $5,000 top prize. Jason Schill and Stormy Scott would draw the front row. The green flag would wave, but quickly the caution came out before lap 1 was completed as Jeff Babcock and Clint Bowyer collided in turn two. Scott would grab the lead on the complete restart, with Austin Dillon following him in second. Scott was starting to pull away from the field, as the last caution of the event would appear on lap 16 for debris in turn four. Scott was leading, Jared Hawkins, Dillon, Schill and Denny Schwartz, who started 9th. On the restart, Scott moved back out front, with Dillon, Hawkins and Schwartz battling for the second spot. Scott was slowly starting to pull away, when Jared Landers had worked his way to the front. Landers would get by Dillon and Hawkins on lap 20 to move into second and set his sights on Scott for the lead. Scott tried everything to hold off a fast moving Landers, but Landers wouldn't be denied as he took the top spot on lap 25. Landers then pulled away over the final 5 laps to claim his second consecutive "Gator Championship". Scott held on for second, Dillon was third, Hawkins was fourth, with Kenny Schrader charging from 16th to round out the top five.
Notes from Mon: Kyle Berck, who set fast time in group 2 qualifying for the UMP Late Models, had to go to a back-up car after motor troubles developed in the car he qualified with. He would have to go to the back of his heat and never recovered all night from that....Earl Pearson Jr. won B Main 2 and started the 30 lap A main in 20th. Pearson charged himself up to 11th by the half way point and would settle for a 6th place finish.... Dale McDowell, started the A Main in 22nd, but spun on lap 5 to go all the way to the back. He would recover from that to charge back up to take home an 11th place finish......Jared Landers amazing run to the front of the "Gator" A Main for the UMP Modifieds was something to see. Landers was scheduled to start the event in 11th, but he was sent to the tail, 28th, for showing up late for the line-up. Landers would go two and three wide at times to work himself up to 8th by lap 15, with no cautions. The only caution of the event was flown on lap 16. On the restart Landers again went to work and raced two and three wide to get up to second by lap 20. He then over took Scott on lap 25 for the top spot and would pull away over the final 5 laps to claim his second consecutive "Gator"....Ty Dillon was another driver who put on a show for the fans. He started the A Main in the 23rd starting spot after winning the third B Main. Dillon would follow in Landers tracks, as he worked his way up to 10th by lap 15. Dillon would pass three more cars over the final 15 laps to take home a 7th place finish....Peyton Taylor won B Main number 4 and started the A Main in 24th. He would pass 14 cars en route to a 10th place finish....Tommy Seets took advantage of his provisional and started the A Main in 25th. He then passed 12 cars to claim a 13th place finish....Another driver who got in on a provisional was Devin Gilpin. He would start the A Main in 27th and passed 9 cars to take home a 18th place finish....Local driver David Wietholder started B Main number 2 on the outside of the front row, with only the winner going to the A Main. He would run up front early, but missed the set up a little and faded to a fourth place finish.......The racing for the two nights I was there was great. I hope to make plans next year to take in more nights of racing!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Steve Kinser and Austin Dillon Top Volusia Speedway Park Wins on Sunday Night
Barberville, FL (Sun. Feb. 7, 2010) - I made my first ever visit to the Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL on Sunday night and was instantly amazed on how the speedway was set up. All the big haulers were pitted on the outside of turns one and two, with mostly the smaller enclosed trailers in the infield. Even with the haulers in the infield you could see all the way around the super fast 1/2 mile speedway.
The World of Outlaw Sprints and the UMP Modifieds were on hand this night, with 33 Sprints and 37 Modifieds signing in to do due battle. Even though is was a cold night, the racing made up for it!
Jason Sides started the night off by setting fast time in the World of Outlaw Sprints, with a lap of 13.303 seconds. Up next was the four heat races, with the top 5 in each heat going to the A Main and the top 2 going to the Dash. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Bronson Maeschen, Mark Smith and Joey Saldana would top the heat races. Tim Kaeding would hold of "The King" Steve Kinser to claim the Dash, which set the first five rows of the 30 lap A Main. Cale Conley would go on to win the B Main, with the top 4 out of that race going to the A. Brian Ellenberger would get a World of Outlaw provisional to set the 25 car starting field for the A Main.
Kaeding and Steve Kinser would lead the field to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap A Main, with Kaeding grabbing the lead over Kinser on lap 1. Kaeding would hold on to the top spot, when they came up on lapped traffic on lap 5. Kinser would close in on Kaeding as a result and then worked to the top of the speedway. Kinser would take over the lead on lap 12, with Kaeding trying to battle back. The first of two cautions would come out on lap 14, when Doug Esh came to a stop in turn three. Kinser was leading Kaeding, with Saldana coming from 8th to 3rd, Craig Dollansky was 4th, with Donny Schatz running 5th for the restart. Kinser would move back out front on the restart, with Saldana and Kaeding battling for second. Kinser would jump to the bottom of the speedway, with Kaeding moving to the top. Kaeding would take command on lap 16, but would only hold it for two laps, as Kinser would come back to lead lap 18. With the two battling side-by-side, Saldana would move in to make it a three car battle for the lead as they entered lap traffic on lap 22. The second and final caution of the event came out on lap 23 for Hafertepe Jr. coming to a stop on the backstretch. Kinser was leading Saldana, Kaeding, Danny Lasoski, who started 14th, and Dollansky. On the restart, Kinser quickly moved out front with Saldana and Lasoski battling for second. Kinser would go on to lead the final 7 laps to pick up his first win of 2010 in the Tony Stweart owned Sprint Car. Saldana held on for second, Lasoski would claim the hard charger award after starting 14th and coming home in 3rd, Schatz would recover to finish in 4th, with Kaeding holding on for a 5th place finish.
Jason Hughes would start out the UMP Modifieds portion of the program by setting fast time, with a lap of 18.680 seconds. J.E Stalder, Austin Dillon, Denny Schwartz and Clint Bowyer would claim the heat race wins, with the top 5 in each heat going to the A Main. Jeff Babcock and David Wietholder took home the B Main wins, with the top 2 in each of those events moving into the A Main.
Stalder and Dillon would lead the field of 24 starters to the drop of the green flag in the 20 lap A Main. Dillon would jump out into the lead on lap 1, but a caution after the completion of the lap would slow the event. Peyton Taylor would stop on the track with a right rear tire flat. On the restart, Dillon would grab the lead once again, but now had to work to hold off Schwartz. Schwartz would work on Dillon for the lead when a caution would appear on lap 4 for Schuyler Nahre who stopped in turn four. Dillon again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Schwartz giving chase. Dillon was starting to pull away when another caution came out on lap 8 for a spin in turn two by Todd Neiheiser. Once again Dillon grabbed the top spot on the restart and was starting to put some distance over second place running Schwartz, when the caution would come out again on lap 12. This time it was for a collision by Jon Henry, Tommy Seets, Randle Sweeney and Ty Dillon in turn three. On the restart Dillon jumped back out into the lead, but this time was slowed on lap 13 for another spin in turn two by Neiheiser. The final caution of the 20 lap race would come out on lap 16 when Jason Hughes, USMTS regular, got into the back of Buzzie Reutimann, with Reutimann spinning down the backstretch. This would set up a four lap dash to the finish, with Dillon grabbing the advantage on the final restart. Dillon would pull away to pick up the win. Schwartz would settle for 2nd, Kenny Wallace came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Jason Schill was 4th after starting 9th, with Jacob Hawkins charging from 24th to round out the top five. The rest of the top 10 drivers who locked themselves into Monday night "Gator Championship" feature was Stephen Schnapf who came from 23rd to finish in 6th, Bob Broking was 7th, Kenny Schrader was 8th, Jesse Stovall was 9th, with Jeff Babcock coming home 10th after starting in 21st.
Notes From Sun: Jason Meyers came from 13th and passed 7 cars to finish 6th in the Sprint A Main....Terry McCarl also passed 7 cars, started 15th, to finish in 8th....Brad Sweet came from 19th and passed 8 cars to finish 11th. Sweet was behind the wheel of the #91 Sprint car owned by Kasey Kahne, after Cody Darrah suffered a broken leg in a traffic accident earlier in the day... Lance Dewease also passed 11 cars, after starting 23rd, and finishing in 12th....Kraig Kinser finished 13th after starting in 22nd....Jac Haudenschild came from 21st and passed 7 cars to come home in 14th......The 74 UMP Modifieds were split into two groups after Friday nights events, with half competing on Saturday and half on Sunday. The top 10 in both nights A Main events would be locked into Monday nights "Gator Championship" paying $5,000 to the winner....Local driver David Wietholder, who competes weekly at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL, made the trip down to Florida to compete this year. He would start the A Main 22nd after winning the second B Main and then stayed out of troubles to pass 9 cars to come home 13th. He would miss locking himself into Mondays main by 3 spots....Buzzie Reutimann would finish 14th and Jason Hughes, 17th, after making contact back on lap 16 battling for the 5th spot....Ty Dillon would finish 18th after suffering front end damage in the lap 12 wreck. He was running in the third spot after starting 8th.
The World of Outlaw Sprints and the UMP Modifieds were on hand this night, with 33 Sprints and 37 Modifieds signing in to do due battle. Even though is was a cold night, the racing made up for it!
Jason Sides started the night off by setting fast time in the World of Outlaw Sprints, with a lap of 13.303 seconds. Up next was the four heat races, with the top 5 in each heat going to the A Main and the top 2 going to the Dash. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Bronson Maeschen, Mark Smith and Joey Saldana would top the heat races. Tim Kaeding would hold of "The King" Steve Kinser to claim the Dash, which set the first five rows of the 30 lap A Main. Cale Conley would go on to win the B Main, with the top 4 out of that race going to the A. Brian Ellenberger would get a World of Outlaw provisional to set the 25 car starting field for the A Main.
Kaeding and Steve Kinser would lead the field to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap A Main, with Kaeding grabbing the lead over Kinser on lap 1. Kaeding would hold on to the top spot, when they came up on lapped traffic on lap 5. Kinser would close in on Kaeding as a result and then worked to the top of the speedway. Kinser would take over the lead on lap 12, with Kaeding trying to battle back. The first of two cautions would come out on lap 14, when Doug Esh came to a stop in turn three. Kinser was leading Kaeding, with Saldana coming from 8th to 3rd, Craig Dollansky was 4th, with Donny Schatz running 5th for the restart. Kinser would move back out front on the restart, with Saldana and Kaeding battling for second. Kinser would jump to the bottom of the speedway, with Kaeding moving to the top. Kaeding would take command on lap 16, but would only hold it for two laps, as Kinser would come back to lead lap 18. With the two battling side-by-side, Saldana would move in to make it a three car battle for the lead as they entered lap traffic on lap 22. The second and final caution of the event came out on lap 23 for Hafertepe Jr. coming to a stop on the backstretch. Kinser was leading Saldana, Kaeding, Danny Lasoski, who started 14th, and Dollansky. On the restart, Kinser quickly moved out front with Saldana and Lasoski battling for second. Kinser would go on to lead the final 7 laps to pick up his first win of 2010 in the Tony Stweart owned Sprint Car. Saldana held on for second, Lasoski would claim the hard charger award after starting 14th and coming home in 3rd, Schatz would recover to finish in 4th, with Kaeding holding on for a 5th place finish.
Jason Hughes would start out the UMP Modifieds portion of the program by setting fast time, with a lap of 18.680 seconds. J.E Stalder, Austin Dillon, Denny Schwartz and Clint Bowyer would claim the heat race wins, with the top 5 in each heat going to the A Main. Jeff Babcock and David Wietholder took home the B Main wins, with the top 2 in each of those events moving into the A Main.
Stalder and Dillon would lead the field of 24 starters to the drop of the green flag in the 20 lap A Main. Dillon would jump out into the lead on lap 1, but a caution after the completion of the lap would slow the event. Peyton Taylor would stop on the track with a right rear tire flat. On the restart, Dillon would grab the lead once again, but now had to work to hold off Schwartz. Schwartz would work on Dillon for the lead when a caution would appear on lap 4 for Schuyler Nahre who stopped in turn four. Dillon again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Schwartz giving chase. Dillon was starting to pull away when another caution came out on lap 8 for a spin in turn two by Todd Neiheiser. Once again Dillon grabbed the top spot on the restart and was starting to put some distance over second place running Schwartz, when the caution would come out again on lap 12. This time it was for a collision by Jon Henry, Tommy Seets, Randle Sweeney and Ty Dillon in turn three. On the restart Dillon jumped back out into the lead, but this time was slowed on lap 13 for another spin in turn two by Neiheiser. The final caution of the 20 lap race would come out on lap 16 when Jason Hughes, USMTS regular, got into the back of Buzzie Reutimann, with Reutimann spinning down the backstretch. This would set up a four lap dash to the finish, with Dillon grabbing the advantage on the final restart. Dillon would pull away to pick up the win. Schwartz would settle for 2nd, Kenny Wallace came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Jason Schill was 4th after starting 9th, with Jacob Hawkins charging from 24th to round out the top five. The rest of the top 10 drivers who locked themselves into Monday night "Gator Championship" feature was Stephen Schnapf who came from 23rd to finish in 6th, Bob Broking was 7th, Kenny Schrader was 8th, Jesse Stovall was 9th, with Jeff Babcock coming home 10th after starting in 21st.
Notes From Sun: Jason Meyers came from 13th and passed 7 cars to finish 6th in the Sprint A Main....Terry McCarl also passed 7 cars, started 15th, to finish in 8th....Brad Sweet came from 19th and passed 8 cars to finish 11th. Sweet was behind the wheel of the #91 Sprint car owned by Kasey Kahne, after Cody Darrah suffered a broken leg in a traffic accident earlier in the day... Lance Dewease also passed 11 cars, after starting 23rd, and finishing in 12th....Kraig Kinser finished 13th after starting in 22nd....Jac Haudenschild came from 21st and passed 7 cars to come home in 14th......The 74 UMP Modifieds were split into two groups after Friday nights events, with half competing on Saturday and half on Sunday. The top 10 in both nights A Main events would be locked into Monday nights "Gator Championship" paying $5,000 to the winner....Local driver David Wietholder, who competes weekly at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL, made the trip down to Florida to compete this year. He would start the A Main 22nd after winning the second B Main and then stayed out of troubles to pass 9 cars to come home 13th. He would miss locking himself into Mondays main by 3 spots....Buzzie Reutimann would finish 14th and Jason Hughes, 17th, after making contact back on lap 16 battling for the 5th spot....Ty Dillon would finish 18th after suffering front end damage in the lap 12 wreck. He was running in the third spot after starting 8th.
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