The Southern Iowa Speedway kicked off its 2011 season Wednesday night with great weather, a large crowd and some competitive racing. A solid start. The track would prove a little interesting, as the straights were dry, with the corners soft in the bottom. They would prove tricky, but not treacherous, as the spring moisture was still working its way out of the half mile. Twenty-two USRA B-mods, 14 USRA hobbies, 14 USRA stocks and 14 USRA modifieds signed in for the night, and nine heats and four A mains made up the program, which was finished before 10 p.m. The B modifieds ran the first feature of the night. Carter VanDenBerg led 14 and ¾ of the 15 laps, but it was Bill Gibson sweeping by in turn four to take the win. Gibson had shadowed VanDenBerg for most of the feature before making his closing move. The4 drive of the night was from Andrew Schroeder, who started 19th and finished third. Schroeder had a DNF in his heat race, so he had affair drive ahead of him. He put on a show, and showed some power as he headed for his third place finish. Mike Shelton and Mike Wanders rounded out the top five. Next up were the stock cars, they put on a heated battle, with a lot of door-to-door racing for the early part of the feature. Nathan Wood led the early rounds, to be passed by Shane Weller. Weller would stay near the front the rest of the way, but Wood didn’t stray far. Matt Greiner and Kyle Harwood were near the front early before dropping out, and Randy Killen, Jason Minnehan and Tom Killen all had a look or two at the lead. Attrition thinned the field as Wood took a look at Weller with a couple of laps to go, but Weller would hang on for the win. Minnehan lost a spot in the closing lap as he tangled with the tractor tire in turn four. Randy Killen would take third, Tom Killen fifth. The opening laps of this one were classic Osky stock car racing. If these cars continue to make the tow all season, it will be worth a ticket to watch them. Decorah’s Danny Sacquitne made his drive worthwhile picking up wins in his hobby stock heat race and in the main event. Jim Hughes led the early laps as Sacquitne worked his way up from the seventh starting position. Hughes would hang on for second, with Steve Allen third, Donavon Nunnikhoven fourth and Calvin Dhondt fifth. The modifieds closed out the show and Nate Caruth led early on from outside the front row. Caruth held some distance early on, but behind him. The field was closing in. Colt Mather has had a successful spring so far, and he added Wednesday night to his tally as he would pass Caruth and take the win. Caruth held on for second, followed by Scott Dickey, Steven Blattler, Zack VanderBeek and Kelly Shryock. You can get a good look at these modifieds, and several more as the USMTS rolls into Oskaloosa for its only appearance of 2011. The Iron Man Challenge stock cars are also on the card along with hobby stocks and B mods. The Southern Iowa Speedway got off to good start last night. I’m looking forward to what else the season will have to offer there.
5/19/2011
5/18/2011
Andy Eckrich wins Deery Brothers 50-lapper Tuesday night at Marshalltown Speedway
It was good to get back to the track, and Tuesday night provided a great evening to go racing. I can’t believe it was time for the Deery Brothers to return to Marshalltown. I look forward to this race every year and it was time to head north again. Forty late models were on hand for the night. Come feature time, Andy Eckrich had the field covered from the drop of the green, taking advantage of his pole position start. The track was black from top to bottom, and very smooth, providing a place to race for everyone. In talking with Eckrich after the race he said that his car was best when running the bottom. There were laps when he had to get through traffic and had to run more to the middle –when this happened, Eckrich said it felt like he could barely come out of the corners. The sooner he could get to the bottom, the better. He held his line most of the night, as he easily pulled away from the rest of the field. Only three cautions slowed the race, two of them coming with two laps complete. Mike Garland and Tommy Elston tangled in turn three, and were then collected by Colby Springsteen. Garland and Elston would continue, but Springsteen went off on the hook. On the restart a Sam Halstead spin in turn two brought out the caution again. The race would stay green until lap 22 when Jeff Aikey shredded his left rear tire. Aikey changed the Hoosier and rejoined the race, which stayed green the rest of the way. The field got close to Eckrich on these restarts, but had nothing to challenge him with. Andy ‘s biggest threats came when encountering traffic that was racing for position, as it often went two or three wide and shut the door on him. It was good race for second as Tom Darbyshire and Tyler Bruening went door-to-door for several laps, with Darbyshire finally keeping the spot. Free of Bruening, Darbyshire could not get close to Eckrich, facing his own battles with traffic. The two-three finish between the 42 and the 16 moved them into a tie for first place in the Deery points heading into the Boone race on Memorial Day. Two drivers moved up well through the field during the 50 laps. Ray Guss, Jr. started 12th, and took off fast in the low groove, eventually reaching 4th. Guss told me after the race that once he reached fourth, as the laps ran down, the car’s handling started to leave him, so he was hoping the race would end more sooner than later so he could hang on to his spot. Todd Cooney also had several eyes on him as he started 18th and would eventually finish 6th. Cooney also used the low groove to pick off positions. Usually you will find Cooney running up top at Marshalltown and Boone, but his number 30 looked comfortable on the bottom last night. All-in-all, it was a decent race, not any challenges for the lead, but a lot to watch from second on back. Terry Neal led the points going into the night and finished ninth. That was better than I thought he had done as I lost track of where he was in the final laps. That finish keeps him second in the Deery points, just one out of the lead heading to Boone. The Boone show has been entertaining in the past and I look forward to this year’s edition. This Deery season is proving to be a good one when it comes to action on the track, and in the point standings. A stout field of sportmods was on hand Tuesday, and there was some good racing for the win in that one. Scott Davis set the tone early and looked like he might motor off with the win. However, Tyler Droste kept him close, as did Doug Smith in third. Smith would eventually get around both Droste and Davis to take the win. Davis finished second, Droste third. Two other classes were on the card, with Josh May winning in mod lites, and Steve Churchill winning in dirt trucks. I will include some pictures on this blog and on our Facebook page in the near future. I am heading to the Oskaloosa opener tonight, so I will add those pictures as well as an Osky update tomorrow a.m.
5/04/2011
Wins come on both ends of the scale as Knoxville Raceway opens
305 Winner - Carson McCarl is joined by his mom Lori in victory lane. The 16-year-old won his first feature at the track. - Conrad Nelson photo
360 Winner - Russ Hall joined the ranks of first-time winners at Knoxville winning the 360 sprint A-main. - Conrad Nelson photo
Hershel Roberts 1943-2011
Hershel Roberts
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