After three inches of rain at the end of the week, who knew the water truck would be every race fan's best friend Saturday night at 34 Raceway? I suppose when there's a frost warning in mid-May, anything's possible.
Following an unexpected 30-minute delay to start the show to water the track, 130 drivers attempted to qualify in the five racing divisions. On-hand were 21 I.M.C.A. Late Models, 36 I.M.C.A. Modifieds, 29 I.M.C.A. Stock Cars, 28 Hobby Stocks and 16 305 Sprints. A number of drivers were making their first visit to the speedway this season, if not their careers, as some tracks were unable to survive the spring showers and cold temperatures. A handful of Modified drivers and Stock Car driver Brian Irvine made the haul down from Independence as a result of the cancellation two hours north.
First to the track for feature action were the I.M.C.A. Modifieds. From his outside front row start, Beau Tayler assumed the early command of the 20-lap event as Rich Smith and Dennis Laveine gave chase.
Working the low groove, Smith made his way around Tayler and into the lead on lap five as Brandon Rothzen motored into third. Only three laps later, Rothzen ran down Tayler to settle into second and set his sights on Smith who, by this time, extended his lead to nearly a straightaway.
By the time the caution flag waved on lap 10, Tayler fell out of contention and Josh Foster entered the top three after starting the event from the sixth row. When racing resumed, Smith went to work on the high side as Rothzen challenged low. Foster swapped between the two grooves in search of the faster line before he shot between the leaders to take command as they completed lap 17.
Foster went on to take the victory ahead of Smith. Tyler Cale and Darin Duffy raced through traffic to score third and fourth, respectively. Rothzen spun in the final set of turns to finish toward the back of the pack.
Kevin Hetrick led all 20 laps of the 305 Sprint feature to score the win, however it was a lot more work than it might indicate on paper. Hetrick received early pressure from Dave Anderson while Jayson Ditsworth and Bobby Mincer battled behind them.
Mincer and Ditsworth made their way around Anderson just past the midway point of the event as Hetrick held onto the lead. With Hetrick running the low groove and his two followers each running a groove higher, the lead trio pulled away from the rest of the field and engaged in a thrilling three-car battle until a lap 14 mishap. On that circuit, Mincer got loose exiting turn four, collecting Ditsworth in the process to bring out the caution.
With Mincer in the pits with a flat tire and Ditsworth relegated to the back of the pack for the ensuing restart, Hetrick walked away from the field when racing resumed to take the win ahead of a late charging John Draper and Anderson.
In I.M.C.A. Stock Car action, Rod Staats took advantage of his outside front row starting position to assume the early command. He paced the field for the first handful of laps while Chris Webb worked into a battle for the top spot on the fifth lap of the 20-lapper.
Following a restart on lap five, Webb shot to the inside of Staats as the two engaged in a side-by-side battle at the front of the pack. Webb took control on lap eight as Abe Huls was maneuvering through traffic from a fifth row start.
Staying committed to to low side of the speedway, Huls worked his way into third on lap eight and then into a challenge for the lead three laps later when he pulled to the inside of the front-runners and into the lead.
Huls survived a trio of caution periods to pick up the win ahead of Webb and Chris Larson.
A blown motor earlier this season may have hurt Mark Burgtorf in the I.M.C.A. Late Model standings, however his low point average landed him on the pole of both his heat and feature events.
After walking away from the field in his heat, Burgtorf more than matched that feat in the 25-lap feature as he lapped over half of the field en route to the win. Burgtorf encountered his first backmarker on the 10th lap and left his competitors in his dust as he walked away from the field.
Matt Strassheim and Jason Frankel battled each other through lapped traffic for second. Frankel made his way around Strassheim on the 14th circuit, but could not catch Burgtorf on his charge to the checkers. Strassheim finished third.
Victor Hastings paced the field throughout the early stages of the 15-lap Hobby Stock feature. A flat tire on lap six forced him to vacate the lead, handing it over to last week's feature winner, Ray Raker.
Running the high groove, Raker held a small advantage over the field as Jim Lynch and Dan Wenig made it a three-car battle at the front late in the event. The trio ran three-wide as they led the field to the white flag with Lynch splitting between his two competitors to hold the advantage at the line.
Raker made a strong bid on the final lap as he charged from the low groove out of the final set of turns. His attempt to regain the lead came up short at the line as Lynch rode the high side to victory. Wenig finished third.
The track officials did their best to move the show along as smoothly as possible, given the conditions they were working with tonight. Although the final checkered flag waved at 12:01 a.m., a big hand goes out to the crew at 34 for even being able to make a go of it tonight.
It was also nice to meet Sue McDaniel, Webmaster for positivelyracing.com. We had a nice chat during the Modified B feature before she had to get back to work in the pits. Coincidentally, great run for her husband, Bert, who started the Stock Car feature 14th and finished fifth.
Next up for me is the Deery Brothers Summer Series for I.M.C.A. Late Models this Wednesday, May 20, at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison. Hopefully, Mother Nature will at least take a break for a mid-week special.
It was great meeting you, too, Ryan.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to give props to the folks at 34 who I heard were at the track at 6 a.m. working to get the place in shape. The pit area had very few muddy spots and I was in shock that I got "dusted" during some of the events I watched. And even though the track was dry, it actually made for some great racing. If anyone reading this hasn't had the opportunity to attend an event at 34 Raceway, I'd encourage them to do so in the near future. Nearly everyone you'll encounter there is super-friendly and they seem to enjoy their jobs and take pride in their facility.