DONNELLSON, Iowa (Sept. 5) - On our way to Donnellson, I told Jason Goble of 34 Raceway that I was going to "take the night off" and just watch the races. My plan was to just talk to a few drivers and enjoy the sights and sounds, I wasn't going to take notes or write a blog about the Deery Brothers Summer Series for I.M.C.A. Late Models special at Lee County Speedway. On our way home, I changed my mind and told him, "I think I'm going to write about this."
What, rather who, changed my mind to write was Mark Burgtorf. Sure, Burgtorf had won countless features and track championships in both the Late Model and Modified divisions at Donnellson, What he did Saturday night, however, was worth good mention. Not only did he top a field of 43 drivers to win the Deery Series feature, but he did it after qualifying through a B feature, starting the 35-lapper from the 19th position and with a possible $5,000 on the line for the winner.
The folks at Donnellson ran a limited number of Late Model shows this season and, if you competed in enough of them, could earn the five grand with a Deery Series victory in the Late Models' last appearance of the season for the division on September 5. In all, 11 drivers, including Burgtorf, were eligible for the bigger payday.
While I didn't take notes on any of the five divisions competing, I'll try to recap the Late Models as best as I can from memory.
It was Ray Guss and Boone McLaughlin on the front row at the start of the 35-lap event. McLaughlin set the early pace with Guss and second row starter Rob Toland in tow. McLaughlin put some early distance on the field before Guss settled in and ran down the race leader. Guss made a pass for the lead just prior to a caution around a dozen laps into the event. By that time Burgtorf, who was powering around the field on the high side of the speedway, settled into seventh before the yellow flag was displayed.
On the restart, Guss pulled away from the field, leaving McLaughlin to hold off the challenges from the rest of the field. Toland, Jeff Aikey, Burgtorf and Tom Goble, among others were doing battle for position. Jason Frankel, who was also making a strong run, brought out the previously mentioned caution when mechanical problems ended his night.
Burgtorf went back to work on the high side and survived some two and three-wide battles before settling into second place with 16 laps remaining, a full straightaway behind Guss. Burgtorf remained committed to the top side of the fast 3/8-mile oval and even clipped the back stretch wall a couple times as he attempted to run down Guss.
With around a handful of laps remaining, Burgtorf started closing in faster on the leader as Guss was working the lapped car of Charlie McKenna. A short time later, Guss unexpectedly exited to the pit area off the back chute with mechanical problems, leaving Burgtorf in command.
By that time, both Toland and Aikey had worked their way back into a challenge with Burgtorf, setting up an exciting battle for the remaining few laps. Running low, Toland powered beneath Burgtorf and pulled even on the back straightaway, but Burgtorf was too fast on the high side as he gained position exiting the corners. Despite lapped traffic, Burgtorf held on by a car-length at the line to score the impressive win, much to the delight of the fans. Toland and Aikey came home second and third.
In victory lane, Burgtorf, who was doing a good job running down Guss, admitted that he didn't know if he had enough to make the pass for the lead, saying, "I didn't want to beat Ray like that. I was trying to run him down and it was sure fun trying." He also laughed when he admitted he almost took out the retaining wall on his charge to the front.
Between conversations in the pit stands and chatting with drivers, the only other division I remember without my notebook was in the I.M.C.A. SportMod division. Kaleb Bentley of Fairbank, a regular at Independence Motor Speedway, drove to his first-ever win in the division as he topped a field of 15 competitors, including Lee County track champion Jason Cook.
From an inside third row starting spot, Bentley quickly worked his way into the top three running the low groove of the speedway. With just under a handful of laps remaining, Bentley cleared the leaders to drive to the win.
In the pits afterwards, Bentley thanked friend and Stock Car driver Dan Trimble for convincing him to make the two-and-a-half hour drive south. Even Bentley's parents thought it was a long drive so they didn't get to enjoy Kaleb's first win first-hand.
It was a great night of racing and I hope to make it back to Lee County for Shiverfest next month. For complete results, be sure to check out fellow blogger Brian Neal's race recap at positivelyracing.com.
Up next for me is tonight at 34 Raceway in Burlington for the I.M.C.A. Shootout for Modifieds and Stock Cars. After that, the plan is to make the trip east next weekend for the World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
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