Conrad's Corner - Shots from Knoxville Raceway

Photographer Conrad Nelson was on hand at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night, August 29, and shares these photos:

All a blur - Sprinters at speed cut a path down the backstretch Saturday night. - Conrad Nelson photo

305 power - Wayne Redmond turns a lap at Knoxville. - Conrad Nelson photo

Movin' out - 305 sprinter Dave Saffell on the gas Saturday night. - Conrad Nelson photo

305 winner - Matt Stephenson enjoys his 305 feature win with brother Marty. - Conrad Nelson photo

360 action - Jonathan Cornell (28) races with Johnny Anderson (2A) during 360 sprint action. - Conrad Nelson photo

Happy - Dustin Selvage celebrates as he climbs from his car in victory lane. - Conrad Nelson photo

Victory party - Dustin Selvage is joined by supporters after his 360 feature win. - Conrad Nelson photo

McCarl again - Terry McCarl added to his 410 sprint feature win total. - Conrad Nelson photo

Thoughts turn to fall as Sprint Invaders visit West Liberty Raceway

Cold enough for you Saturday night? It certainly wasn't August weather as this racing season rolled toward September championships and specials.

I made the visit to West Liberty Raceway to see the Sprint Invaders combined with extra bucks for the late models. Modifieds and flyers were also on hand, so it was a pretty good card.

For me, the Invaders feature provided the most action as Matt Rogerson and Bobby Mincer raced each other through traffic for the win with little let up due to cautions. Rogerson would end up grabbing the winner's spot in this one.

For the late models it was Chad Simpson and Jeremiah Hurst putting up the biggest fight for the lead. In the closing laps Simpson stretched out a comfortable lead to take the win.
Bruce Hanford qualified for the modified A-main coming out of one of two Bs. Starting the A in 14th, he blasted his way to the front and left everyone else behind to grab the win. Shaun Slaughter put on as dominant of a show while winning the flyer feature, starting from the pole.

Flyin' - Shaun Slaughter topped the Farley Flyer main event. Note the left rear tire lifting off the track - the joys of front-wheel-drive. - BWJ photo

Top Invader - Matt Rogerson won the Sprint Invader main event. - BWJ photo

Mod winner - Point leader Bruce Hanford was impressive in coming from the B main to win the A main. - BWJ photo

All out - Justin Mitchell (28x) and Dave Eckrich (58) race out of turn two in the feature. - BWJ photo

Moving up - Chad Simpson (25) passes Andy Eckrich (56) on his way to winning Saturday night's late model feature. - BWJ photo

All in the Family - Kevin Kile (88) looks under Kurt Kile (77) as they head out of turn two down the backstretch. - BWJ photo

Familiar faces find victory lane following action-filled night at Marshalltown Speedway

I always leave Marshalltown Speedway feeling like I made a good choice, and Friday night was no exception. After looking at my calendar for the rest of the season, I realized my last shot to catch any action at Marshalltown would be last night. My work schedule does not allow me to hit any of their next three shows, so I was glad I could fit Friday in this week. Still a regular points night, I was treated to some good racing as most of the point leaders came out firing. Marshalltown still has close point battles on tap and Friday night helped sort some of that out.
As most of you know, we had a lot of rain around the state this week. The Marshalltown area had around five inches of the wet stuff. I asked Toby Kruse about the challenges the rain gave his staff, and he told me that they were on the track at 9:30 a.m. Friday, working on the race surface, as well as the pits. Kruse said that they had to bring in several loads of dirt and fill to help soak up the pit area and make it serviceable. If you have ever been to Marshalltown after a rain storm, you’ll know why. The pits have some water collection areas, but they looked to be in good shape after all of the attention they received.

Middle man - Joe Luethje (17AJ) found himself in a tough spot in IMCA stock car heat race action. In the top photo, Rob Schneider (17s) and Michael Jaennette (93) begin a synchronized spin in turns one and two. In the middle photo, Luethje finds himself in a tough spot. At bottom, Luethje was the only car to keep rolling of the three, but had damage to show for it. - BWJ photos

The track itself was amazing considering the conditions it presented. The surface was hard packed at race time and presented two, three and four-wide racing throughout the night. There was still a lot of moisture in the track, but it didn’t tear up as one might expect. In fact, there was more dust than I thought there might be, as a brisk breeze out of northwest helped dry things out on the surface, and make the track challenging for some. It seemed many of the racers benefited from the conditions and put on a good show. There were some who had their difficulties, but overall, there weren’t that many stoppages on the night. Some rain clouds looked to threaten before sundown, and I even drove home on wet pavement just south of Marshalltown, but the track’s luck held and we stayed dry. Congratulations to Toby and his staff as their hard work paid off!
Joel Huggins showed the way in the first feature of the night as the dwarf cars took to the track. Point leader Mike Morrill started deep in the field and managed to work his way to second, but Huggins took advantage of his early lead and held on for the win.
Twenty-eight sportmods made the tow to Marshalltown, but it was a familiar face in victory lane as ninth-starting Kevin Sather worked his way to the win. Point leader Scott Davis ran into difficulties, spinning following a restart, so his five point lead going into the night was used up with his misfortune. This points battle will go down to the wire with the season championship this week.
The stock cars saw their usual great racing at Marshalltown, but as the laps ran down in this one, it was a familiar name showing the way again. Third-starting David Smith made one of his infrequent visits to the track and paced the field for much of the race; however, his brother Dustin started 12th and was soon putting the pressure on. The duo raced close for several laps before Dustin grabbed another win on the season. Jeff Wollam would finish third.
The modifieds put on a great show from their heat races through the feature. Kyle Krampe led the feature early before dropping out. Soon, last week’s winner Brett Ladehoff had gone from his sixth starting spot to take the lead. Ladehoff would hold the top spot for the remainder of the race, but it looked as if he would have company from a first-time visitor to the track. David Murray made the tow in from Kansas and was behind the wheel of a #23 Victory chassis. Starting 12th, Murray worked his way to second. His biggest gains came in turns three and four as he found a unique line through the center of the corners that helped him catch the cars in front of him.
As the laps wound down, Murray was gaining on Ladehoff and looked like he would be able to make one last run to the checkers. It wasn’t to be though as Murray got caught up with a lapped car coming out of turn two on the final lap, losing all momentum. Murray showed why he is the IMCA total victory leader as he was impressive in a new car in the first time out at a new facility. Eleventh starting, and point leading Jimmy Gustin helped his cause by finishing third and giving Murray a run for the second spot.
The hobby stocks wrapped up the program. Todd Reitzler started tenth to take the win, while Michael Murphy and Terry Shaffar put on a show in their race for second. Point leader Devin Smith would start 13th and finish fourth. Smith led Murphy by four points going into the night, so their finishes set up a great contest this coming Friday night.
With all of the action we had at Marshalltown, events were still wrapped up before 10 p.m., a great capper to the evening. The track still has three big shows to go: the Deery Brother Summer Series on Sept. 1, season championships on Sept.4, and, Havoc on the Highbanks Sept. 18 and 19. My thanks to Toby Kruse and his staff for allowing me to make my final visit to the track this season – as always, it was well worth the drive.
Be sure to check out Tapfan’s Tours for more details on the night at Marshalltown.

Winner - Joel Huggins was Friday night's dwarf car feature winner. - BWJ photo

Three wide - Brad Iverson (8), Jake Strayer (18J) and Zach Rawlins (2Z) go three-wide in the early shuffle of the IMCA sportmod feature. - BWJ photo

To the front - Kevin Sather (3E) works his way by early leader Brad Iverson (8) on his way to winning the IMCA sportmod feature. - BWJ photo

Tough night - IMCA sportmod point leader Scott Davis (81d) got sideways on a restart. Neil Follett (32N) missed the action going high, but Bill Hilldreth (98) got a good close look. - BWJ photo

Brotherly battle - David Smith (8x) led early, but Dustin Smith (85) would get by to win the IMCA stock car feature. - BWJ photo

On his way - Brett Ladehoff (12x) works underneath Mike O'Lear (2x) on his way to winning his second IMCA modified feature in-a-row at Marshalltown. - BWJ photo

From afar - David Murray (23) made his first-ever visit to Marshalltown and finished second. Here he works on taking a position from Adam Larson (2L). - BWJ photo

For second - Terry Shaffar (35) and Michael Murphy (25M) contest the second spot during the IMCA hobby stock feature. - BWJ photo

Hobby winner - Todd Reitzler shows the way coming out of turn four in the IMCA hobby stock feature. - BWJ photo

The biggest challenge at the Front Row was the rain - McTwo Promotions goes the extra mile as Swindell wins main event

If you could only get hit by the wettest part of a storm, it happened Monday night in Oskaloosa, as a full grandstand and 45 410 sprints got hit with a deluge followed by a three-hour rain delay as the Front Row Challenge rolled out for its annual appearance.

Sammy wins - Sammy Swindell picked up $10,000 for his win in the Front Row Challenge at Oskaloosa. - BWJ photo At speed - Swindell on the gas at Oskaloosa. - BWJ photo

Forming up - Erin Crocker (59) and Donny Schatz (15) are lined up for heat race action Monday night. - BWJ photo

Fast Lance - Lance Dewease set quick time Monday night at Oskaloosa. - BWJ photo

The party had started and was in full swing when the rain hit, and you have to take your hat off to Terry McCarl and his McTwo Promotions crew for the job they did to complete this program in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

The rain we got would have wiped out any other show at any other track, but with the Front Row, things are different. You have a huge, understanding audience, who for the most part don't mind the party going a little longer; and, this year, you have a sanctioned All-Star Sprint race that has no way of being made up on the schedule. The "get it in" attitude was strong, and a lot of people deserve some credit for their efforts in getting the show completed.

We had completed four heat races and the drivers' foot race when the rain hit. In the regrouping process, the King of the Hill competition was dropped, which left the B main and the A main to be run. Countless laps were turned in getting the track rolled in by push trucks and sprint cars, but eventually things were race ready and the B main rolled off at around 12:45 a.m. The A would follow at around 1:20 a.m.

With all of the rain, the track was nasty fast, but also pretty much one groove as with all of the moisture and so few laps, there wouldn't be enough time to widen it out. Nobody seemed to mind, however, as the collective goal was to finish the program, especially with Knoxville getting rained out Sunday night. The assembled sprint cars fans wanted to see a show.

Sammy Swindell gave them one as he blasted his way from the pole position for the $10,000 winner's check. Joey Saldana started second and did manage to give Swindell a couple of looks, but as the laps ran down, Sammy stayed in control. There were a couple of position changes back in the pack, but for the most part, the drivers gassed it and held on.

For Terry McCarl, the week stayed interesting as Saturday night's sweep of the 410 feature and 360 Nationals feature at Knoxville flowed right into his two nights of promotion at Oskaloosa. Under adverse conditions Monday, I would say his hot streak continued as he brought the fans an A main event, just a little later than originally planned.

Congratulations - Terry McCarl wrapped a successful Saturday by winning the 360 Nationals at Knoxville. - BWJ photo

410 Top 3 - From left, Johnny Herrera (third), Terry McCarl (winner) and Brian Brown (second) made up the top three for Saturday nights 410 main at Knoxville. - Conrad Nelson photo

Johnson, McCarl take features wins into the finals of the Knoxville 360 Nationals

Both qualifying nights are now in the books for the Knoxville 360 Nationals, and once again these shows have provided for some good racing. Once, one of the best kept secrets in racing, the 360 Nationals have drawn good crowds in 2009, and they have been witness to a lot of big names, a new track record, and line-ups that promise some action for Saturday night.
Thursday winner - Wayne Johnson celebrates his Thursday night 360 Nationals win from atop his wing. - BWJ photo

Friday winner - Terry McCarl is all smiles after winning Friday's 360 Nationals coming out of turn four. - BWJ photo

Fifty-two cars took times on Thursday night, and when the final checkered flag flew, it was Wayne Johnson in victory lane, after catching early feature leader Shane Stewart. Johnson seems to peak when he unloads at Knoxville, and Thursday night showed that.
Friday night, Brian Brown started on the front row and pulled away from the field, but a persistent Terry McCarl made steady progress after starting seventh, and coming out of turn four on the final lap grabbed the lead from Brown and won night number two.
McCarls’s win puts him outside row one for tonight’s main event. On the pole will be Billy Alley, the top point getter for both qualifying nights, who had quick time and finished third in the opener. Wayne Johnson takes his Thursday win to a second row starting spot outside Tony Bruce, Jr.
That is a lot of fire power in just two rows, but on their heels are plenty more hard chargers and potential 360 Nationals champions. Just as impressive Saturday will be the 360 B main, with names like Brad Sweet, Tim Crawley, Kaley Gharst, Johnny Herrera, Gary Wright and Dale Blaney among those looking to transfer to the A. We should be treated to some great 360 sprint action.

Record setter - Cale Conley now holds the 360 sprint one-lap record at Knoxville with a time of 15.973 seconds. - BWJ photo

I mentioned a track record. That came during qualifying on Friday. The first car out, Jack Dover set a new 360 sprint mark of 15.977 seconds for one lap of qualifying. That time kept Dover in the record books for a while, but Vienna, West Virginia’s Cale Conley came out and topped it with a time of 15.973 seconds. Conley’s time would hold, putting him into the Knoxville record books as the fastest 360 sprint to turn the half mile. Both Conley and Dover used the strength of their times to make the A main tonight. Blaney - Dale Blaney sported this paint scheme on Thursday night, but mechanical problems kept him from making the A main. - Conrad Nelson photo

Action - Johnny Anderson (2A) and Matt Covington (95) race for position Thursday night. - Conrad Nelson photo

Thursday Top 3 - From left: Billy Alley (third), Wayne Johnson (winner) and Shane Stewart (second). - Conrad Nelson photo

Moving up - Terry McCarl (24) works for a position against Travis Rilat (29) in Friday's feature. - Conrad Nelson photo

Friday Top 3 - From left, Travis Rilat (third), Terry McCarl (winner) and Brian Brown (second). - Conrad Nelson photo

The 360 Nationals are always one of my favorite events, and this year’s version hasn’t disappointed. There have been drivers from all corners of sprint car country, including the big names and the up-and-comers. To me, that is what 360 racing and the 360 Nationals are all about. I can’t wait.

Hejna wins action-filled USMTS feature at the Southern Iowa Speedway

The way Wednesday night's USMTS feature started at the Southern Iowa Speedway, you couldn't help but wonder what was in store. Three quick cautions kept the race from getting a good start; however, on the fourth try, things took off and the show saw multiple battles for the win. Drivers raced two and three wide for the lead, other drivers made runs from mid-pack and beyond to the front, and the race stayed green until there were four laps to go. A caution with three to go kept the field close. The final laps clicked off and it was Al Hejna making an impressive run from the ninth starting spot to take the feature.

Osky winner - Al Hejna is joined by Michael Waltrip in victory lane as he celebrates his USMTS feature win on NASCAR Night at the Southern Iowa Speedway. - BWJ photo

Plenty of drivers had a shot at this one, their pictures are below. I'll follow up with some more details later. All said, it was a great USMTS feature, and the big crowd on hand left happy. So did Al Hejna with a hard-earned victory.

At the start - Pole-sitter Chase Junghans (18) feels pressure from Ryan Gustin (19R). - BWJ photo

Two grooves - Zack Vander Beek (33Z) ran the low line in turn one, while Kelly Shryock (3) was up top as they raced for the lead. - BWJ photo

Lurking - Zack Vander Beek (33Z) ran strong low, but Al Hejna (7) was showing his strength. - BWJ photo

Looking - Ryan Gustin (19R) looks under Kelly Shryock (3) for his chance at the front. - BWJ photo

Moving up - Colt Mather (8) started eighth and finished in the top five, while Tommy Myer sticks his nose in the shot on his way to second. - BWJ photo Late restart - Here's the scramble with four laps to go. Ryan Gustin (19R), Al Hejna (7) and Kelly Shryock (3) battle it out heading onto turn two. - BWJ photo

Birkhofer laps everyone but Moyer as he blows away Tornado Tuesday field

To say that Brian Birkhofer won Tuesday night's special at West Liberty would be an understatement. He flat out destroyed it, leading 50 laps straight, lapping 22 of 23 of his competitors in the process.The winner - Brian Birkhofer is all smiles after dominating the field for a win in West Liberty's Tornado Tuesday special. - BWJ photo

The race began with a pile-up in turn three on the opening lap. After that, it was green flag racing without interruption until the checkers flew. Birkhofer started on the pole and wasted no time in declaring his dominance. It wasn't even close. Billy Moyer, who has given Birkhofer a run for his money in the past at West Liberty didn't even keep pace, in fact, Moyer was fairly dominant in his second place finish, but he was at least 2/3 of a lap behind Birkhofer while doing it.

Track space - Denny Eckrich (50) and Brian Shirley (3s) race for position coming out of turn two. - BWJ photo
A real F-5 - Birkhofer ran all 50 Tornado Tuesday laps with the lead all to himself. - BWJ photo
California Racin' - Mike Johnson made the pull in from the west coast and made the main event. - BWJ photo

Mr. Unlappable - Billy Moyer was the only driver not to go a lap down to Birkhofer. - BWJ photo

I thought the track was in great shape and provided for some decent racing. It was just that Birkhofer was so dialed in that he soon killed off any excitement in the race for the lead. It was a well-deserved $10,000 for the Muscatine driver.

The companion stock cars put on a good show for the night. Seventeen cars started the main event, and David Brandies, Greg Gill, Matt Greiner, Justin Temeyer and Scotty Pratt all helped in putting on an entertaining show. There was a lot of two and three-wide racing for the stock cars throughout the evening. Brandies would go on to take the win with Lavern Cole providing some last lap excitement as he tipped his stock car after spinning in turn two on the final lap. He was not injured.

Stock winner - David Brandies won the stock car main event Tuesday night. - BWJ photo

Oooops - While recovering from a last lap spin, Lavern Cole found himself doorside down in turn two. He was OK. - BWJ photo

In all, it was a nice night to be at the speedway - a good car count, a good crowd, and a dominant night for Birkhofer and his fans.