Yankee - Saturday night

Welcome to the final night of racing at the Yankee.  We have a lot of racing going on tonight so we’ll get on with the show.

Prior to the start of tonight’s activities they completed the fast dashes for the Hobby Stock, Sport Mod, Sport Compacts, and Stock Cars to set the first 3 rows of each respective feature.  Brannen Bechen, Eric Pollard, Ricky Kay, and Tim Current won their respective fast dash races.

As is tradition at the Yankee all competitors brought their cars out on the front stretch.  Once again we had an incredible group of cars and drivers from the Eastern Iowa region.  I will try my hand at posting pictures sometime later this week.

I believe we had the following car counts for each class racing tonight.  50 Deery Series Late Models, 40 Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modifieds, 14 IMCA Hobby Stocks, 20 IMCA Sport Modifieds, 18 IMCA Sport Compacts, and 18 SPI Stock Cars,

The first feature tonight was the Yankee Non-Qualifiers Feature.  26 cars started the feature.  The top 2 had the option to take the winners purse for this race or give it up to start at the tail of the Yankee Late Model feature.  Larry Harris won the non-qualifiers race with Mike Garland finishing second.  Both drivers opted to tag on to the back of the Yankee feature.

The next feature up was the IMCA Hobby Stocks.  Outside front row starter Scott Pippert took the early lead and handily won the feature.  Brannen Bechen, Brian Happel, Bill Bonnett and 8 were the unofficial top five.

Next up was the Deery Brothers Late Model feature which started around 10:30.  Pole sitter Joe Zrostlik took the early lead from the pole, but it was short lived as Luke Goedert took control on lap 2.  By lap 6 there was a great side-by-side battle between Goedert and Tyler Breuning which Breuning took over the lead on lap 7.  On lap 8, Mike Garland headed to the pits.  The top 5 on lap 10 was Breuning, Goedert, Colby Springsteen, Dan Shelliam, and Mark Burgtorf.

As the leaders were closing in on lap traffic, the caution flew on lap 14 as non-qualifier winner, Harris and 37 got together in turn 1.  The top 5 at this time was Breuning, Sprintsteen, Goedert, Burgtorf, and Shelliam.  Tough break for Goedert as during the restart his machine stopped in the bottom on turn 2 ending his night early.

Denny Eckrich was making his way towards the front as by lap 20 the top 5 were Breuning, Burgtorf, Shelliam, Eckrich, and Springsteen.  On lap 23 Eckrich made his way by Shelliam for 3^rd.  The leaders were encountering lap traffic by lap 26.

The caution would fly for the stopped machine of Kurt Kile at the bottom of turn 4 on lap 32.  On the ensuing restart Eckrich flew by Burgtorf and set his sights on the leader.   Another caution would fly on lap 42 as Ray Guss Jr had a flat right rear.  The top 5 at that time was Breuning, Eckrich, Burgtorf, Springsteen, and Shelliam.  Four laps later the caution would fly again as this time Dan Shelliam had a flat tire.  The top 5 at this time was Breuning, Eckrich, Burgtorf, Nick Marolf, and Andy Eckrich.  The caution would fly again on lap 51 for the stopped machine of Harris.  The final caution flew on lap 56 for Joe Zrostlik who spun in turn 2.  On lap 60 the running order was Breuning, Eckrich, Mike Murphy, Jr, Justin Kay, and Burgtorf.

AS the checkers flew Tyler Breuning crossed the stripe first showing the crowd why he was track champion at Farley.  Denny Eckrich finished second with Murphy, Jr, Kay, and Burgtorf the unofficial top 5.  Murphy, Jr started in 17^th and advanced 14 positions for unofficial hard charger.   Congratulations to Tyler Breuning and his team as they capped off a great season at Farley Speedway.   Heat races were won by Ray Guss, Jr, Breuning, Marolf, Zrostlik, and Shelliam.  The “B” features were won by Jeff Aikey, Murphy Jr, and Ryan Griffith.

The IMCA Sport Modifieds were up next.  20 cars were scheduled to start the 25-lap A main.  Austin  Moyer took the early lead from the outside pole and was never contested throughout the 25 lap feature.  Three cautions would keep the field close, but second running Eric Pollard had nothing for Moyer and Moyer took the checkers.  Pollard finished second followed by Hope Schmerbach, 11, and Ben Chapman.

The IMCA Sport Compacts were next on the docket for their 20 lap feature.  Ricky Kay took the early lead from the pole. Three cautions would not deter Kay from taking the flag-to-flag feature win.  Kay was followed by Nathan Chandler, Brad Chandler, Merv Chandler, and Bryce Bailey.

Next up was the SPI Stock Cars for their 25 lap feature event.  18 cars were lined up for this event.  Tim Current took the lead and as ws the case with the Sport Compact and Sport Mod features he also led flag-to-flag.  Two cautions flew during the event.  Tyler Soppe finished second with  KC Ansel, Jarrett Franzen, and 37 the unofficial top 5.

The final event of the night was the Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modifieds 30 lap feature event.  Jason Schueller took the early lead, but then blew a motor on lap four.  The ensuing restart put Matt Crist and Ron Barker side by side.  The top 5 at this time was Barker, Crist, Ryan Dolan, Mark Elliott, and Chris Horn.  By lap 15 top HDT regulars Jay Noteboom and Jermey Mills were making their way towards the front.  The top 5 at this time were Barker, Noteboom, Mills, Crist, and Horn.

Barker’s car appeared to be slowing a touch as Noteboom passed Barker for the lead on lap 16.  Mills then made his way around Barker on lap 20.  The top 5 at this time was Noteboom, Mills, Barker, Horn, and Elliott. 

Noteboom took the checkers followed by Mills, Horn, Elliott, and Barker.  The final checkers flew at 1:33am.  Heat races were won by Schueller, Crist, Mills, Barker, and Dolan.  The “B” mains were won by Mark Schulte, Mike VanGendren, and Troy Cordes.

Overall a late night but another great Yankee put on by Keith Simmons and his organization.  I thought it was a great idea to bring Bucky Doren’s HDT Modifieds as part of the show.  I also liked the fact that the regular classes were able to all showcase on the final night of racing.  I also want to say the second  track announcer, I think Doug Collins, was much better at not announcing while cars were on the front stretch.

As always, thanks for reading and next week I will be taking a little break from typical dirt track racing and visiting the Figure 8 Nationals in Brooklyn, IA.  It’s a great show and always good for a change of pace.

Yankee Dire Track Classic - Friday Show

Yankee Dirt track Classic – Friday night HDT Modifieds and Deery Brothers Late Models.

An impressive field of the “Best in the Midwest” HDT Modifieds and Deery Brothers Late Models were on hand tonight for the Friday night version on the 35^th Annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic.  56, yes 56 Late Models were on hand along with 48 HDT Modifieds featuring a who’s who of Midwest IMCA Late Model and Modified racing.

It would take 6 heats and 3 “B” Features to set the field for both classes.  Hot laps were scheduled for 6:30pm, but the first heat didn’t take to the track until 8:00pm as track crews were preparing the racing surface.  The track was very wide and allowed for great racing throughout the event.

The first feature was the 25 lap HDT Modifieds.  Co-points leader Jimmy Gustin had problems in the heat and did not start the “B’ main.  The other points leader, Jay Noteboom also had problems and was borrowing a car to start at the tail of the “A” main.  Noteboom would retire early in a borrowed car, which after all was said and done we have a new points leader.  More about that later.Darren Duffy took the early lead  from the outside pole position.  By lap 8,  there was a three car breakaway with Duffy, Troy Cordes, and Mark Elliott.   Around lap 10 Elliott worked around Cordes and Duffy.  Elliott and Cordes swapped the lead numerous times. 

The caution flew for debris on lap 19 which spelled doom for Cordes.  The top five at that time was Cordes, Elliott, Duffy, Jake Waterman, and Ron Barker.  On the ensuing restart, Cordes didn’t get up to speed and forced the field behind him to scramble.  Fortunately for Cordes the caution flew on the same lap as Ray Cox, Jr tagged the turn 2 wall.  This put Cordes back in front of Elliott, but once again on the ensuing restart Cordes could not get up to speed handing the lead to Elliott.  Elliott would take the win followed by Waterman, Barker, Duffy, and Ryan Dolan.  Heat races were won by Mark Schulte, Dolan, Barker, new HDT points leader Jeremy Mills, Ryan Deshaw, and Waterman.  The “B” Mains were won by Kevin Pittman, Vern Jackson, and Jason Schueller.

To rRace Director, Bucky Doren, you have a great organization with the HDT and I wish continued success with the Hawkeye Dirt Tour.

Next up was the 50 lap IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series.  As mentioned before we had a elite cast of driver tonight on hand to do battle on the ½-mile.  Young, Justin Kay took the early lead from the outside pole.  Both Kay and Mike Murphy, Jr checked out on the field.  Tyler Breuning started reeling in the front runners to make it a 3-car race.

Murphy made his way around Kay for the lead around lap 14, but it was short lived as only 9 laps later Murphy would pull his car into the pits with motor problems.   This handed the lead back to Kay with Breuning, Nick Marolf, Andy Eckrich, and Mark Burgtorf the top 5.  Marolf seemed to be getting stronger as the race progressed as he made his way around Breuning for 2^nd around lap 40 and set his sights on race leader Kay,  Lap 46 was the magic lap for Marolf as he passed Kay for the lead and the race win.  Kay followed Marolf across the stripe with Breuning, Andy Eckrich, and Burgtorf the unofficial top 5.  The final checkers flew just past midnight.  Heat races were won by: Burgtorf, Jeff Mitrisin, Kay, Murphy Jr,,  Breuning, and Andy Eckrich.  “B” Mians were won by Jason Rauen, Denny Eckrich, and Jeff Aikey.

A very impressive field of cars and I can’t wait for the Saturday show.  Bring your coats as this is probably going to be a late night tonight, but as I’ve seen so far this year:, an excellent track, great fields of drivers, and in my mind, the 35^th Anniversary of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic is definitely a ‘Can’t miss’ show.

Yankee Dirt Track Classic - Thursday night report

Welcome to another episode of Views from the Driver’s Seat.  I am here at Farley for the Thursday night edition of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic.  Before I get started, I just wanted to say a few words about the track and announcers,  I like the strobe light system that they have in place around the track for cautions,  I believe this system makes it a lot easier for the driver’s to see while racing.  On an announcing note it was easy to see why Jerry Mackey is one of the best at what he does as there were two announcers in the booth.  The other announcer had an annoying habit of announcing when the cars were coming down the front stretch as well as giving the final results while cars were still racing in front of the crowd.  This made it extremely difficult for me to hear some of the names of the drivers which is why somw of this report may be spotty for a few of the classes.  Anyway, onto the show. 

The first feature to take to the track was the IMCA Sport Compacts.  13 cars were on hand tonight  fro the 15 lap feature.  Bill Whalen, Jr took the early lead, but a bobble with two laps to go allowed Merv Chandler to take over the top spot and the checkers.  Whalen, Jr finished second with Ricky Kay, Kyle Vohringer, and Jacob Ellithorpe the unofficial top 5.  Heat races were won by Ellithorpe and Pat Penney.

Next up was the IMCA Sport Mods.  19 cars were here tonight for their 20 lap feature.  Eric Pollard took the early lead from the outside pole.  By lap 5, Austin Moyer took the lead from Pollard and would go on to take the checkers.  During the course of the race, Jeff Schmidt rolled in turn 3.  Flagman Doug Haack was quick to throw the red.  Pollard finished second and Lee Kinsella rounded out the top 3.  Car numbers 71 and 98 finished 4^th and 5^th.  I apologize as I did not get the names of those two drivers.  Heat races were won by Kinsella, Pollard, and Moyer.

The IMCA Stock Cars were next for their 12 lap feature.  6 of the 7 cars that showed up started the feature with Phil Holtz not starting the feature.  Sean Johnson would take the early lead and go on to win the feature event followed by Damon Murty, Tim Helle, Tommy Thompson, and 85.  Helle won the heat race.

Next up was the 20 lap Legend feature with 15 cars checked in to lay claim as Yankee Champion.  Hal Russell was the early leader and held the point through most of the feature.  On the last lap, Tyler Kelly passed Russell and went on the score the feature win.  From what I understand, Kelly gets an invite to a major Legends race in Charlotte due to his feature win.  Heat race winners were Warren Ropp and Russell.

The main event feature for tonight was the SPI Modifieds.  Bruce Hanford took the early lead from the outside pole.  Around lap 5, Kelly Shryock passed Hanford for the lead and would go on the take the checkers.  Hanford finished second with Bret Diercks, Wednesday nights’ winner, Dan Bohr and Mike Burbridge the unofficial top 5.  Heat races were won by Burbridge, Hanford, and Kurt Kile.  The 3^rd heat race must have been a scorers nightmare with 3 number 3 cars in that heat.

The final event for the night was tgeh king of the hill challenge which featured 12 of the best IMCA Late Model drivers in the local area racing head-to-head for 2 laps with the winner advancing.  Four of the drivers received first round byes.  Included in the byes were Andy Echrich, Jeff Aikey, Justin kay, and Ray Guss Jr.

First round matches were Nick Marolf vs Jon Merfeld, Luke Goedert vs. Jeremiah Hurst, Tyler Breuning vs. Travis Smock, and Joel Callahan vs. Spencer Diercks.  First round winners were:  Merfeld, Goedert, Breuning, and Callahan.   Second round matches were Merfeld vs. Aikey, Breuning vs. Kay, Goedert vs. Eckrich, and Callahan vs. Guss Jr.  Winners of this round were Merfeld, Breuning, Eckrich, and Callahan. 

The semi-final round pitted Merfeld vs. Breuning and Eckrch vs. Callahan.  Breuning and Eckrich both won setting the scene for the final round match to decide King of the Hill.  Eckrich beat Breuning becoming the King of the Hill.  That’s all for now and hopefully sometime tomorrow I will have views posted from tonight’s action.

Thanks ior reading.

Latest on the Hobby Stock and West Liberty recap

Well, it looks like this upcoming Friday will be the maiden voyage for the Galde Racing, Automotive Fuel Systems, Bruce Tae Kwon Do #11 Hobby Stock driven by your truly.  Hopefully the rain will stay away this time.

Onto the West Liberty recap.

I spent a good part of Saturday cutting down the tree in the front yard, as it was desperately needed due to the storms on Friday.  A few of my neighbors had shingle damage also.  I checked in on my favorite racing websites and seen that it looked like West Liberty was a go for tonight.

I was a tad bit tired, but after some coaxing from the kids, we went to the track.  I was able to meet up with a fellow poster from Iowastockcars.com, 72fan, Warren Busse.  Warren broughtd a scrapbook loaded with old pictures and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at those pics.  Anyway onto tonight's show.

Even though the track was rough in spots, the prep crew did an excellent job of at least providing a racing surface for tonight's show.  The track received about 1.5 inches of rain which moved out early Saturday morning.

The first feaure up was the IMCA-type Stock Cars.  11 of the 12 cars that signed in started the feature event.  David Brandies quickly shot into the lead overtaking Andrew Burke by lap 2.  Brandies would win the caution-free feature by a full straightaway over Burke by the time the checkers flew.  Layne Kaufmann finished 3rd with Shane Paris and Tad Payne the top 5.  Heat races were won by Payne and Burke.

Next up was the IMCA-type Modifieds.  15 cars were here tonight.  Robbie Verbeck was the early leader, but wasa then overtaken on lap 5 by Richie Smith.  Smith would hold onto the lead as the laps ticked off.  With a few laps remaining Smith would engage in a brilliant battle with Steve Stewart for the lead which ended with Stewart taking the win by half a car length.  Larry Herring, Ryan Dolan and Tim Murty rounded out the top 5.  Heat races were won by Stewart and Murty.

The IMCA Sport Compacts were the next feature on the track with only 7 cars in this class tonight.  Nathan Chandler took the early lead from his outside second row start, but would briefly lose the lead to Nick Jordan on the white flag lap in turns 3 and 4.  Chandler stood hard on the gas and got back by Jordan at the start/finish line.  On the white flag lap, Jordan went too hard into turn 3 trying to take over the lead and spun himself out giving the win to Chandler.  Cody Thompson finished second, with Ryan Walker, Bill Whalen, Jr, and Jordan Walker the top 5.  The heat race was won by Nick Jordan. 

The SPI Open modifieds were next with 17 cars on hand.  15 cars would start the feature as Stumpy Brockert and Terry Walker were scratched from the main event.   Noah Coppess took the early lead and looked to be heading towards his first feature win of the year at West Liberty.  Unfortunately the racing gremlins were in full force and on the white flag lap, Coppess right rear tire shredded handing the lead and the checkers over to Todd Hanson.  Scott Doickey finished second with Nick Nevins, Brad Dubil,a nd Johnny Spaw the top 5.  Heat races were wonb by Rick Hixson and Coppess.

The final event was the IMCA Late Models.  17 Late Models were here tonight.  This race had it all.  Drama, Exciting racing, and a vintage moment.  Before we even started, Nick Marolf broke the suspension on the parade lap.  Heat race winner Jay Chenowith was the early leader.  On lap 10, youngster Jonathan Brauns took over the spot from Chenowith and would hold onto the lead for a good portion of the race. 
The caution would fly on lap 15 for the spun machine of Kyle Hinrichs.  The top 5 running order at that time was Brauns, Ron Boyse, Kevin Kile, Chenowith, and Andy Eckrich.  Echrich had a great hole shot on the restart shooting himself up to 3rd place.  By lap 15 the running order was Brauns, Kile, Eckrich, Guss Jr, and Chenowith. 
Another caution would fly on lap 18 after Mike Klinkhammer was stopped in the bottom of 3/4.  The youngster was still holding off some heavy hitters as the top 5 was Brauns, Kile, Eckrich, Guss Jr, and Boyse.  During the ensuing restart Guss Jr had a strong restart that put him into the top 3.
On lap 22, the races final caution would fly as Tommy Elston spun in the middle of turns 1 and 2.  Tim Simpson had no where to go and was collected in this accident.  The top five at that time was Brauns still holding his ground with Guss Jr, Eckrich, Kile, and Boyse the top 5.  This final caution would be the downfall for Brauns as Ray Guss Jr was able to get by Brauns on lap 23 in vintage Ray Guss Jr style by outpowering on the bottom of turns 1/2.  Eckrich also got around Bruans for second.  Brauns finished third with Kile and Hinrichs the top 5.  Only 9 of the 17 starters finished the race.  
Track announcer Jerry Mackey noted this was Ray's first weekly points victory of the season.  Boyse won the other heat race.

Please note there will be NO RACES, next week at West Liberty.  The next event is a Tornado Tuesday show on July 10th at the regular start time.  This will be an IMCA Deery Brothers Event with SPI Open Modifieds as the support class.

Once again, thanks for reading another episode, "From the Driver's Seat"

First visit to a new track

Well, the Hobby Stock wasn't quite ready for last night's show at Hawkeye Downs so I loaded up my oldest and we went to Brooklyn Speedway.  This is a track I have never been to and had no clue what to expect.

Earlier in the day I spoke with track owner Don Wauters and was looking forward to visiting this track.  The track is a very high banked  less than a 1/4-mile figure 8.  Five classes of cars make up the show including 2-person cruisers, FWD, stock, pro stock, and open.  The open class reminds me of the pictures of mini-lates, which is basically a small wheel base chassis with a late model body.

Upon arriving at the track which is situated about a mile South of Brooklyn and nestled within cornfields on all 4 sides.  The anticipation was rising as we traveled down the gravel road heading towards the track.  Dyersville has their Field of Dreams, but as far as racing goes, this is a racers, "Field of Dreams."  Admission charges were a very reasonable $8 for adults, $3 for kids 6-12, and free for kids 5 and under.  Pit pass costs were $15.  The show starts around 7.

The small grandstands were packed with people (comparable to CJ's grandstands) and at least 90 percent of the crowd was sporting a t-shirt for their favorite local driver.  The food was awesome as a local(Newton) BBQ joint. Mississippi Queen BBQ was serving up wings, pulled pork, and brisket sandwiches.  They also had track standards such as burgers and hotdogs along with pepsi products. (I had 3 of the brisket sandwiches from the BBQ joint)

Prior to the start of the show, the track spotlighted two of their driver's as a "driver of the week".  The drivers were Michael Peterson in the Open class and Tony Roth/Scott Strong in the Cruiser class.

The first feature up was the 2-person cruisers.  The cruisers only race on the oval and not through the dreaded X.  The interesting part about the track is that they only start 10 cars for the feature.  I thought this would lead to an uneventful feature, but the drivers proved me wrong as there was action on every corner.  15 cruisers were here tonight.  I cannot do the action any justice as there was continous jockeying for positions all throughout the field.  Roth/Strong took the win with Snook/Hall and Pierce/Widmer rounding out the top 3.   There were only five cars running by the end of the feature.  Heat wins were won by Roth/Strong and Hoksbergen/Shook.  The consi was won by Roush/Hesse.  One thing to also note is that they do not have a tow truck.  The tow truck was an International tractor.

Next up was the FWD class whoich only had 7 cars show up tonight.  As was the same with the 2-person cruisers, the FWD class also just ran the oval.  Points leader Aaron Winburn took the win.  Jeff Arment and Josh Keller finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.  The heat was won by Arment.

Now is was time for the figure 8 classes to take to the track.  18 cars were on hand tonight to qualify for the 11 car starting grid.  Jerome Kline took the win with consi winners Rick Goldsberry second and Bill Gragg the top 3.  Heat races were won by Kline, Matt Smalley, and Gene Anderson.

Next was the Pro Stocks.  All 9 cars on hand started the feature event with pole sitter Keith Lester taking the win.  Brad Graham was second with Jason Peterson teh top 3.  Heat races were won by Siraj Thomason and Lester.

The final feature was Open class.  14 cars were hand.  10 cars started the feature with Cory Danner taking the win.  Nate Wanders finshed second with Rick Roush in third.

It was a great night for racing at a track I have never been to before.  If you like a lot of door handle to door handle tight close racing Brooklyn Raceway definitely fits the bill.  I had a great, fun night at the track and my son claimed as we were leaving that this was the best day ever and he can't wait until we can come back to the tight little bullring known as Brooklyn Raceway.

They do not race every week, but you can find there schedule at http://www.thebrooklynraceway.com/.  Also feel free to drop me a line anytime at my E-Mail address of  tazbries@hotmail.com.  Thanks for reading and this has been another blog "From the Driver's Seat"

Hobby Stock Update

After a few weeks of thrashing around on the Automotive Fuel Systems, Galde Racing Hobby Stock, I think it will finally make it's 2012 debut at Hawkeye Downs this Friday. June 22nd.  I will be posting my thoughts on my first night out this year and hopefully we'll be good for the season, or at least be more competitve from last year.  For those of you that read this, feel free to stop by after the races to introduce yourself.

Here is a picture, with hopefully a few more sponsors added as the season progresses.  Thanks for reading another post, From the Driver's Seat.

West Liberty Recap and latest Hobby Stock Updates

Hobby Stock Updates
The latest on the Galde Racing Hobby Stock is that we completed putting in the front bars and next is to get the fenders attached and give the old beast a blood transfusion.  Due to some work commitments, this has delayed the start to my 2012 season.  Anyway on to my West Liberty notes.  Also check out Jeff Broeg's recap as well.

West Liberty Notes
Last night there was a great field of cars on hand.  Also I would like to thank the Stock Car and Sport Compact drivers that took part in the Lil Racer Car Club, "Kid's riding in race cars" event.

The first feature event was the IMCA type Stock Cars.  11 cars were on hand tonight with Andrew Burke taking the early lead.  David "Ricky Bobby" Brandies quickly made his way up to second.  The first caution flew on lap 3 for the spun car of Josh Woods and the bottom on turn 2. 
On the ensuing restart, Burke went into turns 1 and 2 and little too hot and got sideways in front of the field.  This collected four of the classes competitors including points leader, John Hemstead. 
From here on out, Brandies and former Late Model pilot, Tom Cannon put on a fantastic side-by-side battle swapping the lead numerous times throughout the rest of the feature.  Cannon took the checkers with Brandies close behind.  Jason Hartman finished third with Cody Harris and Chris Hinrichs rounding out the top 5.  Heat races were won by Brandies and Burke.

Next up was the IMCA type Modifieds.  14 cars were on hand tonight.  Mark Verbeck was the early race leader, but by lap 5, Brad Diercks took over the race lead.  Ryan Dolan was also making his way towards the front by running the extreme high line around the track.  Diercks would end up taking the checkers pursued by Dolan.  Steve Stewart finished third with Dakota Haydon and Verbeck rounding out the top 5.  Heat races were won by Diercks anbd Verbeck.

The IMCA Sport Compacts were next with what I believe is the highest car count this division has had this season.  14 cars started the feature with Ryan Walker taking the flag-to-flag feature win.  Walker was being strongly pressured by last week's feature winner Nate Chandler throughout the last handful of laps.  Cody Thompson, Jordy Walker, and Aaron Hitt rounded out the top 5.  Heat races were won by Chandler and Hitt.

Next up were the SPI Modifieds and they did a 4-wide salute to the fans with American flags and God Bless the USA over the loudspeaker.  18 cars were on hand tonight with Rick Hixson scratched for the feature.  Brad Dubil was the early race leader from the outside pole.  Early in the feature, Ryan Dolan made his way around Dubil for the lead.  Kurt Kile was making his way through the field and by lap 12 he got around Dolan for the lead and checked out on the field.  Zack Vanderbeek made his way around Dolan for second with two laps remaining.  The top 3 would stay this way as the checkers flew.  Dan "Stumpy" Brockert finished fourth with Todd Hanson 5th.  Heat races were won by Hanson, Johnny Spaw, and Scott Dickey.

The final feature of the night was the IMCA Late Models and they also did a 4-wide Memorial Day salute with Brooks and Dunn's "Only in America" playing over the sound system.  17 cars started the feature with Mike Klinkhammer taking off from the pole positions and was newver contested foir the top spot.  Former Hawkeye Downs driver Kyle Hinrichs finished a strong second followed by Spencer Diercks, Andy Eckrich and Nick Marolf.  Heat races were won by Bret Diercks, Ray Guss Jr, and Eckrich.

The final checkers flew around 9:58.  All-in-all, a great night of racing at the Muscatine County Fairgrounds.  I would be remiss in not mentioning the Big Wheel races for the younger Lil Racer Club Members as well as the kids riding in race cars prior to the start of the night's show. 

Other notes
After the show I got a chance to speak with the legendary Roger Dolan briefly.  I asked him if he ever run as high as Ryan did out here tonight.  He chuckled at that.  I also got a chance to talk to Keith Simmons and told him how great of the job his track crew has been doing in prepping the track.  Last week the track was smooth but had a strong cushion.  This week the track was more dry slick.  He said a lot of it has to do with what Mother Nature gives us and he said he's been lucky this year at West Liberty.

That's all for now and we'll hopefully be out there racing in the next few weeks.