Impressive start - Mark Burgotrf and his Pierce chassis have started strong in 2009. - BWJ photoGranted, we did not get to see how things continued last weekend as the rains ended the hot streak unceremoniously, but this Thursday night’s make-up at Quincy should surely continue the trend.
Quincy is a fitting place to resume the tour since two hometown boys lead the points with Mark Burgtorf closely followed by Jason Frankel – the winners of the first two events. Frankel has been flexing his muscle as the returning IMCA National Champion with an eye on the Deery title, but Burgtorf has been blowing people’s doors of with his new Pierce chassis. His win at Davenport was just his third night on the car and it looks like he has things figured out early with that brand.
I heard several people remark after Friday’s win how comfortable Burgtorf looks in that car and how well the car looks to handle. I’d have to agree as the 7B has appeared very smooth in its first two Deery runnings.
Jeff Aikey isn’t going to let the two hometowners get too far ahead in the points as he has turned in two impressive top-five finishes himself so far this year. Aikey started seventh and finished third at Davenport, dodging any problems resembling those that almost took him out at 34 Raceway.
Another Deery vet showing well so far has been Tom Darbyshire. Starting tenth at Davenport, Darbyshire held strong and ended his night in fourth place. He has shown well in both his Deery heat race and feature appearances so far in 2009.
Rebounding big time at Davenport was Terry Neal. Using a provisional to run the feature at 34, Neal was no where close to having to do that at Davenport. Winning the fifth heat race, Neal drew the pole for the main event and stayed out front until Burgtorf tracked him down. His second place finish was made of the form that fans expect to see from Neal, and helped raise his point total from his 17th place finish at 34.
Ray Guss, Jr., had one of the tales of the night at Davenport. Breaking the crankshaft on his 12 machine during hot laps, Guss returned at heat race time behind the wheel of Hershel Robert’s number 58. Robert’s car has been fast off the trailer this year and showed plenty of power in the opener. Guss took advantage of the kind gesture and blasted his way to the win in the fourth heat race. Starting sixth in the feature, Guss would drop a few spots in the early going, only to find something up top in the closing laps to pick off some positions and finish in seventh – a good end to an interesting night.
Quincy is a fitting place to resume the tour since two hometown boys lead the points with Mark Burgtorf closely followed by Jason Frankel – the winners of the first two events. Frankel has been flexing his muscle as the returning IMCA National Champion with an eye on the Deery title, but Burgtorf has been blowing people’s doors of with his new Pierce chassis. His win at Davenport was just his third night on the car and it looks like he has things figured out early with that brand.
I heard several people remark after Friday’s win how comfortable Burgtorf looks in that car and how well the car looks to handle. I’d have to agree as the 7B has appeared very smooth in its first two Deery runnings.
Jeff Aikey isn’t going to let the two hometowners get too far ahead in the points as he has turned in two impressive top-five finishes himself so far this year. Aikey started seventh and finished third at Davenport, dodging any problems resembling those that almost took him out at 34 Raceway.
Another Deery vet showing well so far has been Tom Darbyshire. Starting tenth at Davenport, Darbyshire held strong and ended his night in fourth place. He has shown well in both his Deery heat race and feature appearances so far in 2009.
Rebounding big time at Davenport was Terry Neal. Using a provisional to run the feature at 34, Neal was no where close to having to do that at Davenport. Winning the fifth heat race, Neal drew the pole for the main event and stayed out front until Burgtorf tracked him down. His second place finish was made of the form that fans expect to see from Neal, and helped raise his point total from his 17th place finish at 34.
Ray Guss, Jr., had one of the tales of the night at Davenport. Breaking the crankshaft on his 12 machine during hot laps, Guss returned at heat race time behind the wheel of Hershel Robert’s number 58. Robert’s car has been fast off the trailer this year and showed plenty of power in the opener. Guss took advantage of the kind gesture and blasted his way to the win in the fourth heat race. Starting sixth in the feature, Guss would drop a few spots in the early going, only to find something up top in the closing laps to pick off some positions and finish in seventh – a good end to an interesting night.
Calling Hertz - Ray Guss, Jr., took his loaner for the night from Hershel Roberts to a heat race win and a seventh place feature finish. - BWJ photoOne of the more entertaining heat races of the night saw Jay Johnson and Shawn Mulvany go side-by-side for several laps while wrestling for the final transfer spot in the fifth heat race. Neither driver budged, but kept it clean while racing hard for the position that would eventually go to Johnson.
Transfer spot - Jay Johnson (93) and Shawn Mulvany (70) race for their heat race transfer spot - BWJ photoThat same fifth heat race also saw me get a bit of a start as I looked up to see Bobby Hansen driving toward me in the infield. As the field was forming up, Hansen noticed his hood was loose and short the two pins on the left side. Seeing me in the infield, he figured I could help him out. After making the poor guy repeat himself three or four times due to my lack of hearing, I finally assessed the situation, got the hood pinned down, and he was able to form up in his original starting position.
As he was driving toward me, Hansen was gesturing toward the front of the car. I was afraid he was going to ask me something beyond my technical scope about his alignment, suspension or something else I’m not qualified to talk about. Luckily I can handle hood pins, so no harm, no foul.
As he was driving toward me, Hansen was gesturing toward the front of the car. I was afraid he was going to ask me something beyond my technical scope about his alignment, suspension or something else I’m not qualified to talk about. Luckily I can handle hood pins, so no harm, no foul.
Out of turn two - Tom Darbyshire(42), Sam Halstead (84) and Keith Pratt (33) take it three-wide in heat race action. - BWJ photoI came away from Davenport as enthused about the Deery Series as I was when I left 34 Raceway – very stout fields with good racing action have me in a hurry to hit the road to Quincy tomorrow afternoon.
Campbell wins - Jeremy Campbell was the four-cylinder feature winner. -BWJ photo
The Real Deal - The street stock feature win went to Joe Beal. - BWJ photoFor modified fans, Davenport will offer plenty of action in 2009 featuring both IMCA modifieds and pro modifieds. Last Friday, both features had their fill of action. Some of the backmarkers of the IMCA feature were a little caution-happy so their main got cut short due to the time limit as
Max the Knife - Max Corporon was the IMCA modified feature winner. - BWJ photo
The Dominator - Bob Dominacki was the feature winner for the pro mods on Friday. - BWJ photo Max Corporon took the win. The pro modified main saw Bob Dominacki start up front and hold off all challengers to win that one. Add their weekly late models to competitive fields of street stocks, legends and four-cylinders, and Davenport will be a good ticket on Friday nights.
1 comment:
he is such a superb driver.. i like the way he drive.. awesome.I would like to invite you to take a look to generic viagra , you will find some good stuff there..
Post a Comment