One for the ages at Beatrice

The Beatrice Spring Nationals were anything but boring. In fact anybody that says they were is lying. by my count a record 356 Total cars from 16 States and Canada jammed the pit area for 2 days of racing.  Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Oregon, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Arkansas and Saskatchewan Canada all represented.

Here are the results broke down by Class...

Hobby (Friday Night)
20 Laps went up onto the board as the field of 56 was narrowed down to 24. 117L Chad Lonneman and Cody Nielsen made up the front row. Chad Borgman who started inside row 3 wasted no time going to the lead and led the opening lap but that was it as Cody Nielsen led lap 2. During all this they were 3,4 and 5 wide at times the first couple laps out of the gate. On lap 3 the 33c of Eric Chab would bring out a yellow. On the ensuing restart the 6a driven by Shawn Slezak made his presences known as he got a great jump and made a charge to the front however it was short lived as pole sitter Chad Lonneman lost the handle in 1 and 2 and brought out the yellow as well as Dave Riley in the 56 who was stuck on the guardrail on the back stretch. After re racking and re stacking the field it was Cody Nielsen again on point with 3 in the books and 17 to go. On the lap 3 restart Shawn Slezak made another strong case for the lead and took it in turn 1 but looped the car in turn 2 and collected a few cars to bring out the yellow.  As the race went on one guy to never count is Roy Armstrong who put on a show. He charged his way from 21st up thru the field on the top side of the race track. By lap 6 Roy was up to 3rd but would not prevail any further as Cody Nielsen would go on to win while John Watson would finish 2nd. Roy Armstrong 3rd, 88j Jacob Olmstead 4th and Garrett Eilander rounded out the top 5.

Hobby (Saturday Night)

After losing a few but gaining a few new ones 50 hobbies were narrowed down to 24 again and 20 laps were back on the scoreboard. John Watson and Roy Armstrong made up the front row and it was Watson who would lead lap 1. The feature however would only just begin to get good. Friday night winner Cody Nielsen who started inside row 5 wasted no time charging to front. At one point there were 8 cars in contention to lead that you could have thrown a blanket over them they were even 4 wide for the lead. A yellow for Rick Bradley on lap 8 slowed things down. On the restart something you rarely ever see was Roy Armstrong slipping up and allowing Watson and Nielsen to get by and saw Nielsen pick up where he left the night before by taking over as captain of the ship. At the halfway mark it was Armstrong, Watson and Nielsen putting a clinic for the lead as they were 3 wide. Justin Wacha and Jeff Watts got together in turn 1 on lap 12 for a yellow. Watson would restart as the leader. It was de ja vu all over again as Armstrong, Nielsen and Watson battled it out with 4 to go they were 3 wide for lead. Contact between Nielsen and Watson resulted in yellow and a flat
right rear tire for Nielsen. Armstrong would inherit lead and go on to record the W. Brandon Stigge who started in 17th would finish 2nd, 20th starter Chad Borgman finished 3rd, Mark Sathoff 4th and Tyler Sathoff rounded out the top 5.

Sport Mod (Friday Night) 75 checked in and 24 started the feature for 20 laps. Carter Vandenberg and Greg Metz made up the front row. Metz would lead opening lap. Brenden Damon and Colby Langenberg  would bring out a yellow on lap 4. On the restart it was Greg Metz who would lead the field back to life. Adam Armstrong who started 18th on the field was working his way up thru the field also making a charge to the front were the Luellen brothers. As the race went on Metz continued to lead the cars around. Adam Armstrong would peek to the inside of Metz a few times but it was not enough and would have to settle for bridesmaid spot as Greg Metz would go on to win. Lance Borgman would finish 3rd, Clint Luellen and pole-sitter Carter Vandenberg completed the top 5.

Sport Mod (Saturday) 71 would be the number tonight. 25 started the feature tonight as 5k Kyle Prauner was awarded a spot after a B main incident involving Jonathan Logue and Lee Horky. I didn't catch the reason he was awarded the spot but he made the best of it by charging his way to the front right off the bat. Justin Addison would lead the opening lap but a yellow on lap 2 halted the field as 4 cars got collected in turn 4. The restart wasn't much better as a few guys got shuffled around resulting in 7 cars getting caught up on front stretch. Last nights winner Greg Metz was hungry for another as he glued himself to the back bumper of the youngster Justin Addison. Nitro Nick Meyer would make his presences known as he charged his way to 3rd. The top 3 broke themselves away from the rest of the field. A red flag on lap 8 for a 4 car pile-up in turn 3 which resulted in a small fire on the machine of Tom Schneider from Wisconsin. Addison would continue to lead after the restart. On lap 11 Austin  Heacock went around and brought a yellow. On restart Metz, Addison and Meyer were 3 wide for lead. Metz would inherit lead and Meyer would end up getting shuffled back thru the field while Lance Borgman who started 22nd found himself in 3rd. Addison would reclaim the top spot as Metz pushed like a dump truck in 4. On the white flag lap. Darren Roepke would bring out a yellow setting up what would be an epic finish. Addison  would however hang on to win while Lance Borgman who started 22nd finished 2nd and all the way from dead last saw Kyle Prauner 3rd, Greg Metz and Nick Meyer rounded out the top 5.

Stock Car (Friday) 53 cars to tough to tame would put on a Jim Dandy all nigh long. 24 started the feature. Scott Granzella and Tyler Phelps were on the front row and it was Phelps who led the opening lap. On lap 5 there was a stoppage as the 69 of Dustin Schmidt caught the wall in turn 1 and went for a nasty ride. He walked away un harmed but the car was a different story. On lap 6 contact between  Randy Killen and Bryan Rigsby would bring out a yellow as Rigsby was stopped on front stretch. Cory Dumpert who started 17th made his presences felt as he put on a show by making his car look like a rocket ship as he worked his thru the field. With 10 to go local boy Kyle Vanover would take the lead and go on to win by 1/2 a straight over Casey Woken  while  Minnesota drivers Derek Green and Dan Mackenthun finished 3rd and 4th and Randy Brands completed the top 5.

Stock Car (Saturday) 50 Stock cars signed in for action for night #2. On the first start Clay Mercer, Jay Schmidt and Damon Murty who got stuck on the wall brought out the first yellow of the race. All were unable to continue and penciled in as DNF. On the restart it was Dustin Larson fresh off his 2015 Super Nationals win was looking to start off 2016 with a win at Beatrice as he took advantage of his pole starting spot and led the opening laps. Cory Dumpert who put a show last night did the same again as he started 20th and worked his way thru the field again on the top side. a few yellows would slow field down but Larson was able to find his way to victory lane. Derek Green would better his positon from the night before by 1 finishing 2nd, Lamar Colorado driver Angel Munoz ended up 3rd while Corey Dumpert and Elijah Zevenbergen who both came from back of field rounded out the top 5.

Modified (Friday) A staggering 118 Modifieds signed into the pit area. That number was narrowed down to 24 cars for 30 laps and a $2,000 dollar check. Jordan Grabouski would lead the opening lap and open a sizeable lead in fact the top 4 kinda strung themselves out in the early stages. At the halfway point it was still Grabouski on point but lap traffic allowed Sobbing and Phillips to close in and resulted in Phillips taking over the top spot. On lap 19 Jason Krohn and Mike Mullen brought out a yellow. Under the yellow Grabouski pulled off but I didn't see why. On the restart it was Terry Phillips who led the cars to green. Rookie Tyler Frye was working his way up nicely from 15th also. On lap 21 Kelly Shryock lost the handle on his car and spun resulting in a yellow. Phillips would go on to record the victory while Jesse Sobbing, Justin Zeitner, Hunter Marriott and Mike Mashl rounded out the top 5.

Modified (Saturday) 1 new driver signed in but a few left from night before however 113 mods were on hand for night #2 for a race that will everybody talking about for years to come. Jordan Grabouski would again lead lap 1 on lap 2 contact between 3 cars resulted in RC Whitwell leaving on a hook and David Murray and Mike Mullen rejoining at tail of field. As the race went on they were 3 and 4 wide. On lap 14 Mike Mullen brought out the yellow. On lap 19 Jason Snyder brought a yellow. With 10 to go Dylan Smith who started 13th would take over lead and start to pull away. with 4 to go Jay Noteboom who started 15th had worked his way to 2nd running the top side of the track. It looked as if Dylan Smith would go on to win. This would setup what would be an amazing finish. On the restart Grabouski would get underneath Smith but contact was made resulting in Grabouski going around he would pull off meanwhile it was Jay Noteboom to the lead at the stripe for white flag lap. Noteboom, Phillips and Smith were 3 wide on final lap down the back stretch. Noteboom thru the middle drove the car deep into 3 and slid up in 4 and put a slider on Phillips this opened up door for Smith and they were 3 wide at finish with Noteboom squeezing thru the middle to record the feature win in what is the best feature finish I have ever witnessed.

Sport Compacts (Saturday only) 43 Compacts signed in on there only appearance of the weekend. Tyler Thompson would be the early leader. Early on a red flag came out for Devon Davidson as he got upside down in turn 3. Later in the race they were 3 wide for the top spot as Cody Thompson would inherit the lead but would end up settling for the 2nd spot as Scott Spellmeier would record the win. Ramsey Meyer, Tyler Thompson and Larry Cronin were the top 5.


A few side notes on the weekend... 1st- Hats off to Toby and the entire crew for a great weekend of racing that I will be telling my grandkids about someday. 2nd- Thanks to Chet Christner for saving me the lineup sheets for me each night to help type this up. 3rd- Thanks to SpeedshiftTv for broadcasting for all the race fans who couldn't make it out to see a spectacular weekend of racing. 4th- My girlfriend who came out with me for her first ever race and also helped keep track of cars and helped me take notes.

And lastly it was sad to hear about the passing of Grant Junghans who was truly a fierce competitor on the track and great personality off the track. I was privileged like many others to meet the young man and know what kind of person he was. RIP Grant and God Speed buddy!!!

2016 Race Upddate

Well after a long off-season its finally that time where racing in the Midwest goes into full effect. After getting my fix by attending the annual Battle at the Barn indoor coke syrup races its time to watch the dirt fly in the Midwest. With less than a month away from my first few races of the season. I am planning on making my first ever trip to the "Hummer" at Humboldt Kansas for the opening night of the Battle at the Bullring before heading off to Beatrice for the annual Spring Nationals. After that I plan on attending Winston, MO a USMTS race. Iowa frostbuster week Starting Wednesday March 30th. After that who knows where I may end up. All races are subject to change!! Be sure to follow me on my twitter handle @TeamRazorCZ.

2015 Closing Stats

Well it was a good year for me. At the beginning of the year I set goals of 75 races. 25 Different Tracks and 5 new tracks... My final numbers were 74 races. 22 different tracks and 4 new tracks. Those tracks include starting with new tracks.

Little Sunset Speedway
River Bottom Raceway
West Liberty
Winston, Mo
Denison
I-80 Speedway
Donellson
Knoxville
Britt
Mason City
Webster City
Boone
Stuart
Marshalltown
Corning
Beatrice
Oskaloosa
Raceway Park, SD
Harlan
Alta
Des Moines
Battle at the Barn

With the 2016 upcoming in a few short months I am already filling up my calender starting in January for the annual Battle at the Barn. My goals again next year will be 75 races. 25 different tracks and 5 new tracks. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to writing again next year. Be sure to follow along on twitter @TeamRazorCZ. Happy Holidays and Thanks again to Jeff and his positively racing crew. Until next time.. hope to see you at a race near you.

Ableson, Harris, Scott, Bruck and Stapleton are winners at Denny Hovinga Special

104 Car from Minnesota, Nebraska and of course Iowa jammed the pit area on a beautiful crisp fall evening at the Crawford County Speedway in Denison for the Denny Hovinga special. 

1st heat of the night saw the 21h of Tim Hoffman roll on the front stretch with his sport compact he was okay but was marked as a scratch for the remainder of the evening. Just like they had done all year the Stapleton brothers of Corey and Alec would dominate the feature. Cory outlasted Alec while Adam Rehse, Dustin O'Brien and Jay Devries rounded out the top 5 in the sport compact feature.

16 Hobby Stocks would make the call for the feature and it was Kevin Bruck who recorded the W. Local racer "Dahmer" Jeff Fink would have to settle for the bridesmaid spot while Randy Anderson. Robert Ritterbush, Parker Larson, Justin Nehring, Dustin Lynch, Austin Pinney, Colby Christensen and Brett Knight rounded out the top 10. 

Up next saw 23 IMCA Northern Sport Mods and what a stellar field of competition it was. Branden Spanjer who made his first ever trip to Denison and would find himself captain of the ship early on but a few yellows would keep the field close and it was Logan Scott who would get him for the win. Spanjer would settle for 2nd while Jake Sachau, Kaleb Kennedy, Jerod Weston, Nitro Nick Meyer, Brandon Williams, Arie Schouten and DJ Doeblin rounded out the top 10. 

A great field of IMCA Stock Cars were up next. 23 cars made the call and put on a Jim Dandy of a show. Chris Ullrich would take advantage of his pole starting spot and find himself in the top spot early on but it was Mike Harris who would get around him and claim the top spot. Unfortunately for Hamburg, Minnesota driver Dan Mackenthun and Boone driver Wayne Gifford there charge to the front was short lived after Mackenthun made hard contact into the back of Gifford ending both there nights. Mike Harris survived the feature while Marcus Hansen, Chris Ullrich, Justin Bromert, James Carroll, Terry Klocke, Josh Brauckmann, Tanner Powers and Nick Stier rounded out the top 10.

22 IMCA Modifieds rolled out of staging and it was looking like Branden Monson might secure the victory but Ol' Sioux City Excitement Chris Ableson decided otherwise and made the pass on Monson, Shane Demay, Ricky Stephan, Scott Styskal, Jake Neal, Craig Reetz, Nick Deal, Jeffery Larson and Ryan Webb rounded out the top 10. 

Well that was race 70 on the year. I will be at I-80 for the annual Corn Husker Classic this weekend and not sure what specials might ensue after that. Check back here for updates and more blogs to be posted soon. Thanks for reading :)

Mullen, Ruter, Shryock cash in at Britt for Stars Weekend.

Thursday brought me to the Hancock County Speedway for the annual Night of 1,000 Stars. 64 Modifieds would sign into the pit area and they came from all over. North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Missouri were all represented along with Iowa for the weekend. Jesse Hoeft would jump to the early lead and lead during the 1st 25 laps. A mandatory pitstop at halfway would shake things up as Mike Mullen who is no stranger to winning big pay day events as he won $10k clash at the creek earlier this year would take the lead over from Hoeft and cruise to a $4750 payday. Ryan Ruter who started 21st would find himself in 2nd at the end of the night. The Highside Tickler Kyle Strickler finished 3rd while Jeremy Mills who started 29th finished 4th and Kelly Shryock would race from 33rd to round out the top 5.  6. Shawn Kilgore; 7. Dylan Smith; 8. Jesse Hoeft; 9. Troy Cordes 10. Jason Wolla would round out the rest of the top 10 finishers in Thursday nights main event.

1. Jake Masters2. Ned Kalis; 3. Derek Green 4. Heath Tulp 5. Randy Brands were the top 5 finishers in the IMCA Stock Car feature

1. Ryan Hiscocks; 2. Nate Whitehurst; 3. George Nordman 4Johnathon Logue; 5. Levi Chipp were the top 5 Sport Mod finishers

1. Cody Nielsen 2. Andrew Borchardt; 3. Cory Roe; 4. Weston Koop; 5. Scott Dobel were the top 5 in the Hobby Stocks

Friday August 7th I ventured back up to Britt for the Night of 10,000 Stars. A few more mods signed into the pit area making Fridays total 72.  Benji LaCrosse of Green Bay, WI who won the Inaugural 10,000 stars race in 2013 and was runner-up last year looked like he would cruise to yet another victory but Ryan Ruter decided otherwise as he would work on chasing down Benji. LaCrosse changed lines about midway thru and Ruter followed suit and started reeling him in. With 10 to go Ruter was right there and made the pass on LaCrosse after changing his line. Ruter who finished 2nd the night before was 1st tonight and LaCrosse once again was penciled in as the bridesmaid finisher for the 10,000 stars race. Kelly Shryock, Kyle Brown and Hunter Marriot the driver from Brookfield, MO would start 21st but round out the top 5.  6. Dylan Smith 7. Shawn Kilgore 8. Jason Wolla 9. Tyler Droste 10. Troy Cordes would complete the top 10.

1. Devin Smith; 2. Randy Brands 3. Ned Kalis 4. Derek Green 5. Damon Murty would round out the top 5 in a very good race that saw the top 3 finishers 3 wide at the stripe for the checkers.

 1. George Nordman 2. Johnathon Logue 3. Cody Knecht 4. Nick Meyer 5. Zach Norgaard were the top 5 in the Sport Mod feature. 

1. Cody Nielsen 2. Brandon Nielsen 3. Austin Luellen 4. Andrew Borchardt 5. Weston Koop would round out the top 5 hobby finishers.

With a few showers and storms in around the area I ventured back up to Britt for the inaugurate Night of All-stars. 52 Mods would remain in the pit area from the previous night. Kelly Shryock would win the rain shortened feature event that ran 36 of the scheduled 50 laps. Kelly would dominate the 1st half but the mandatory pit-stop would shake things up. A few sprinkles would also begin and promoter Joe Ringsdorf sprinkled some water on the top side which I thought was odd at first but actually played out as after the restart Mark Elliott who started 9th immediately jumped to the top side and quickly found himself in 2nd and was challenging Kelly for the top spot. Rain and Slick track conditions would be call and the race was abruptly ended on lap 36. Elliott would have to settle for 2nd while Kyle Brown. Benji LaCrosse and Hunter Marriot were the top 5.  6. Brian Mullen 7. Ryan Ruter 8. Josh Most 9. Dylan Smith 10. Kyle Strickler all rounded out the top 10.




1. Jake Masters 2. Damon Murty 3. Kevin Opheim 4. Randy Brands 5 Calvin Lange were the top 5 in the Stock Car feature event. 

1. Colby Fett 2. George Nordman 3. Frank Parker 4. Nate Whitehurst5. Jeremy Grantham completed the top 5 of the Sport Mod feature.

1. Jeremy Wegner 2. Austin Luellen; 3. Cody Nielsen; 4. Buck Schafroth 5. Andrew Borchardt rounded out the top 5 finishers in the Hobby Stock feature.

Sport Compact feature.
1. Jay DeVries,2. Devin Jones 3. Dalton Kron 4. Ken Winkowitsch; 5. Kaytee Devries; 6. Nick Hamlin 7. Skeeter Vegas. 


With a few area tracks ending points already I am cutting back and saving for the IMCA SuperNationals as well as other late season specials. So my blogs may be scarce in the next few weeks. Thanks for taking the time to read these and hope to continue writing for Jeff and the Positively Racing Team!!!!

Weekend recap August 1-3

Friday August 1st was an eventful day for me as I flew to Philadelphia to drop my son back off with his mom. However I was able to make it back in time for some racing in Des Moines. $3,000 went to the Late Model winner.

13 IMCA Sport Mods would sign into the pit area and Glenn Gladson Jr who would cross the finish line in 1st followed by Taylor Musselman, Austin Kaplan, Jack Housley and Dan Drury would round out the top 5.

Up next were the Dirt Trucks. Tony Moro powered his 2m truck to Victory lane but not after a great side by side battle with veteran stock car driver Steve Jackson filling in to drive a truck. Jackson would have to settle for the bridesmaid spot while Brad Moyer 7x Clark and Brett Moyer rounded out the top 5.

IMCA Hobby Stocks were next. 17 cars would take the green and it was Shannon Anderson who would waste no time charging to the front. An incident about midway thru saw Jeremy Auten, Branden Cox, Bill Bonnett and Ray Stock Jr saw the 4 cars piled into each other on the back stretch. All drivers were okay however the cars were not. Shannon Anderson would go on to win while Chance Hollantz who started 17th would come up short and have to settle for the bridesmaid spot. Matt Smith, Blake Miller and Curt Reed rounded out the top 5.

Tyler Vandekamp would come up just a bit short in the Modified feature as Todd Shute would make a last corner pass on him to claim the win. Todd Shute, Tyler Vandekamp, Randy Havlik Matt Webb, John Davis and Greg Cox rounded out the top finishers.

Daniel Hilsabeck would claim the checkers in the IMCA Stock Car feature over Randy Killen, Tommy Killen Sr., Ronald Bougher, Casey Gruebel, Donavan Nunnikoven and John Oliver Jr rounded out the top finishers.

Final event of the night saw the $3,000 to win IMCA Late Model feature. Dalton Maassen would start on the pole and jump to early lead but it was racing veteran Jeff Aikey who would waste no time taking the top spot. An early for yellow for Paul Glenndenning and Charlie McKenna would result in DNFs for the 2 drivers. Jeff Aikey would continue to hold off the field as Richie Gustin gave him all he had but it was Aikey who would win by about a straightaway over Gustin. Darrell DeFrance, Cayden Carter, Sam Halstead, Jay Stewart, Ryan Griffith and Jeremy Grady rounded out the top finishers.

Saturday July 2nd I visited the Boone Speedway and wow what a wild and great night of racing. 110 Drivers made there way to the pit area Saturday Night.

First up were the ModLites. Josh May was victorious while Cory Dennis, Charlie Brown, Joe Glick, Travis Stensland and Joel Keenan rounded out the top finishers.

22 IMCA Sport Mods would roll out of the staging area next. Rookie driver Corey Pestotnik would take the early lead and lead the opening lap but Chad Ryerson decided he wanted to try and lead the rest as he got around Pestotnik and held down the top spot. Jake McBirnie would make a charge to the front and eventually get around Chad for the lead and go on to win the race. Ryerson settled for 2nd while Jonathan Logue, Corey Pestotnik, Doug Smith, Randy Roberts, Sam Wieben, Frank Paker and Branden Williams rounded out the top finishers.

A wild and wacky IMCA Hobby Stock would follow. 25 Hobbies took the green flag and from there it was total and utter chaos. 3 and 4 wide beating and banging. Eric Stanton would survive the carnage feature and hold off a hard charging Cody Gustoff while Matt McDonald, John Watson and Tim Barber rounded out the top 5.

IMCA Modifieds were next and after a wild and crazy hobby stock feature anticipation was high as to what the mod feature might bring as the full moon brought carnage to the hobby feature. Devon Havlik led from start to finish holding off charges. It was Eric Elliott who would challenge him early on but contact between Vangenderen and Elliott would result in both drivers having to leave the race. Jimmy Gustin who was piloting the 69 machine of Logue started 25th but found his way in 2nd at the end of the night. Matthew Meinecke, Joel Bushore, Scott Davis, Josh Truman, Jon Snyder(who was the only crate motor in the field) and Denny Pittman would round out the top finishers.

Final event of the night was the IMCA Stock cars. My favorite class. I thought to myself if this feature would be anything like the heats we were in for a treat as they were 4 and 5 wide for there heat races. For the feature they did not dissapoint as they were 3 and 4 wide. Rod Richards cruised to victory lane for the 2nd week in a row. Cory Bushnell, Trent Murphy, Jay Schmidt and Wayne Gifford rounded out the top 5.

Sunday August 3rd found me at my familar home track Stuart Speedway. Mother nature tried her hardest to find victory lane but came up short as the rain missed Stuart and only had a few sprinkles. Car counts were down a bit but the racing was not. Also on hand were the IMCA Late Models for the Sunday Series visit that they share with the Benton County Speedway,

11 Sport Mods took the green flag and it was Rookie Austin Luellen who would claim the victory in only his 3rd night behind the wheel of the car. He would lead all 15 laps and even beat his older brother Clint who would end up settling for the bridesmaid spot. On a side note I hope Austin does decide to move up to the Sport Mod class as he has alot of talent and potential to go far in racing and hope he continues to climb up the ranks. Back to the results.. Dusty Masolini, Arie Schouten and Chase Rudolf rounded out the top 5.

8 IMCA Stock cars were up next and it was Flyin Brian Blessington who found his way to victory lane holding Terry Pruitt, Clay Mercer, Josh Daniels, and Marcus Fagen who rounded out the top 5.

Jacob Reiter won the Sport Compact feature over Curtis Miller and Ralph Bunce was 3rd.

9 IMCA Hobby Stocks would take the green and it was Shannon Anderson who would take the win but it was not an easy win as "BuckWild" Buck Schafroth would run side by side for most of the race but would come up just a bit short and settle for 2nd. Jaime Schirm, John Watson and Kieth Burg rounded out the top 5.

IMCA Modifieds were up next. It was CZ Motorsports driver Jeff James who would take the early lead and hold off the charges of Nick Roberts. Matt Webb, Josh Gilman, and Todd VanEaton rounded out the top 5.

IMCA Late Models were last on the program and it was Todd Cooney who would take lead from early leader Paul Conrad and never look back. John Emerson, Paul Conrad, Curt Schroeder, Al Zeitner and Paul Nagle rounded the top finishers.



On a side note I am hearing that the races in Des Moines are done this upcoming Friday. It will be missed by alot of racers and fans. I didnt go there alot but when I did there was always a good crowd and good field of talented drivers that always signed into the pit area and put on a good show.  It is a shame to see it end this way.

Also I will be attending all 3 nights at Britt starting off Thursday with the Night of 1,000 Stars the Night of 10,000 stars on Friday and the Night of All-stars on Saturday and I will wrap up my weekend at Stuart. I will have one big blog for all 3 Britt races up sometime next week. Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to leave comments and feedback.

Thursday Night Thunder from Webster City

The smell of funnel cakes and racing fumes could only mean one thing. Yep you guessed it was the Thursday night thunder fair race at the historic Hamilton County Fairgrounds. With a packed grandstand and 115 cars in the pit area it was set to be a good night and a good night it was.

First up on the night was the IMCA Sport Compact feature. Nick Hogan would claim the checkers.
Kalan Guthrie and James Peterson were the top 3.

IMCA Hobby Stocks were next on the card.  Doug McCollough and Shane Aldinger made up the front row. Early on they were 3 and 4 wide but it was Aldinger who would jump to the early lead but it was veteran racer Randy Embrey who would quickly charge thru the field. On a restart Embrey made it 3 wide down the back stretch for the lead making the top side work. Embrey would hold off the field to claim the victory Shane Aldinger, Myles Michehl, Cory Roe who started 21st would finish 4th and Webster City driver Craig Graham would round out the top 5.

Up next was the IMCA Sport Mod feature and it was Brad Ratcliff who would claim the checkers. 3rd place starter Jared Vandeest quickly found himself in 2nd. Vandeest, Ty Griffith, Randy Roberts, and Jerid Ratzke would round out the top 5.

The Deery Brothers IMCA Late Model feature was next. Justin Kay and Curt Martin would make up the front row. Kay would take advantage of his pole starting spot and quickly jumped to a lead with Martin following behind in 2nd. As the race went on Martin would close the gap to a car length in lap traffic but Justin Kay was able to hold off the ol' veteran and add to his point series lead. 2nd place points driver Andy Nezsworski would hold off Ryan Griffih and Richie Gustin for 3rd. John Emerson, Jeff Aikey, Jeremy Grady, Tyler Droste and Jason Hahne would round out the top 10.

All 28 IMCA Modifieds would start the feature and it was Adam Larson and Mark Elliott on the front row. Elliott and Larson would go back and forth for a few laps but it Larson would take the top spot and never look back. A few yellows would slow the field up including a spin out that could have been worse as Ryan Ruter who was running towards the front spun in front of the field but fortunately everybody was able to drive around him. After falling to the tail he would come back to finish 10th, But it was Adam Larson who would take his BMS Chassis to victory lane over Mark Elliott. Jason Murray who was driving the Gruebel Farms 64 modified finished 3rd. Greg Elliott and Carter Vandenberg would round out the top 5.

The final event of the night was the Stock Car feature. Jason Minnehan took advantage of his outside front row starting spot and held off the field of 17 hungry stock car drivers. Damon Murty would finish 2nd and Mike Hughes who was driving one of Damon Murty's cars would finish 3rd while Jason Rold who made the 2 and a half hour trip from my neck of the woods would finish 4th and Jason Wagoner would round out the top 5.