My three week banquet stretch came to an end with the awards ceremony for 34 Raceway this past Saturday night. The top 10 in final points in each of the six divisions were recognized and some other awards were also presented.
The final standings for each of the six divisions were as follows:
I.M.C.A. Late Model
1. Lonnie Bailey
2. Tom Darbyshire
3. Matt Strassheim
4. Colby Springsteen
5. Keith Pratt
6. Sam Halstead
7. Tom Goble
8. Mark Burgtorf
9. Tom Bowling Jr.
10. Matt Bailey
305 Sprints
1. Jayson Ditsworth
2. Matt Krieger
3. Kevin Hetrick
4. Matt Draper
5. Jarrod Schneidermann
6. Justin Newberry
7. Nick Guernsey
8. Jami Lusher
9. Bobby Mincer
10. Destini Clark
I.M.C.A. Modified
1. Scott Hogan
2. Josh Foster
3. Bill Roberts Jr.
4. Dusty Kraklio
5. Mike Weikert Jr.
6. Kevin Goben
7. Dean McGee
8. Tyler Vande Kamp
9. Andy Krieger
10. Jeremy Harris
I.M.C.A. Stock Car
1. Abe Huls
2. Darin Thye
3. Kirk Kinsley
4. John Oliver Jr.
5. Cale Samberg
6. Corey Strothman
7. Brett Timmerman
8. Chris Webb
9. Greg Johnson
10. Bo Hunter
I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock
1. Derek St. Clair
2. Tanner Thoman
3. Ray Raker
4. Dean Kratzer
5. Randy Wachter
6. Jarod Conrad
7. Victor Hastings
8. Eric Rowley
9. Sky Griffith
10. Lane Kauffman
4-Cylinder
1. Travis Demint
2. Travis Yakle
3. Chuck Fullenkamp
4. Tyler Whalen
5. Cory Sheetz
T6. William Michel
T6. Bill Whalen Jr.
T6. John Whalen
T9. Dakota Fenton
T9. Darin Smith
In addition to the speedway awards, a pair of drivers were acknowledged for the Dual on Dirt titles they earned in '09. The folks at 34 Raceway and the promoters of CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction offered incentives to the drivers who earned the most points between the two tracks in the Hobby Stock and Stock Car divisions. Drivers were required to compete in 85% of all points races between the two tracks to be eligible. Lane Kauffman was present to take home Hobby Stock honors. Stock Car champ Brian Holmes will pick up his hardware at the CJ Speedway banquet December 5 in Wapello.
While most track banquets are generally the same, it was nice to see track owners Amy and Jeff Laue, Scott and Lorrie Parish and Tom and Sue Bowling go the extra mile for their drivers. Regardless of the atmosphere, banquets generally run on a specific schedule - socialize, eat, collect the awards and get out the door. Although banquets don't provide the environment most racers are used to, I spoke with many in attendance who were impressed and thankful (Thanksgiving reference inserted here) for Saturday's festivities. For the third straight year, the folks at 34 reserved the banquet room at the Comfort Suites in Burlington for the annual affair. Some of those on-hand compared the environment to the I.M.C.A. national banquet. While that banquet (scheduled for next weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska) is a black tie affair, Saturday was a formal setting that still allowed for the "informalities" that make racing banquets fun. It wasn't black tie, random outbursts/comments added humor to the evening and the awards were wrapped up early enough so that you could get home to watch the news, if you were so inclined.
One reason many were grateful for the location was due to the fact that a number of those in attendance decided to stay at the hotel for the night. Among those was I.M.C.A. Modified track champ Scott Hogan who made a weekend out of it. He and his crew were telling me that they drove over two hours one way every Saturday night only to drive home after the races to get ready to race in Vinton on Sunday. They took advantage of this past Saturday night to stick around and enjoy their trip to southeast Iowa. Congrats to Hogan, by the way, on making the weekly long haul pay off with his 10th career track championship.
Along with Hogan, 305 sprint pilot Destini Clark was acknowledged at the start of the night. Clark made a four hour trip (that's a one-way trip) from home every Saturday to compete at 34. Spending eight hours on the road every weekend for one night of racing says a lot about that racing team's passion for the sport and it also speaks volumes for the racing program offered at 34 Raceway.
During the banquet, owner Amy Laue alluded to a number of special events scheduled for next season at the speedway. The Deery Brothers Summer Series for I.M.C.A. Late Models will kick off the season with the Slocum 50 next April. That race will feature an increased purse and pay $3,000 to win and $500 to start. A trio of Sprint Invaders events will take place throughout the season and, perhaps the biggest news of the night, USAC will make a Saturday appearance next season. That event will include non-wing action, including both Sprints and Midgets. I believe it was announced it was the series' first-ever visit to 34 Raceway and it will be the first time in the state of Iowa that two USAC-sanctioned events will appear at a track on the same night. The Lucas Oil Late Model Series will also be making its first visit to 34 Raceway next May. Along with its weekly show, race fans can expect more of the same, great racing action 34 Raceway has always come to provide.
Other Banquet Notes
Sixteen-year-old Hobby Stock driver Derek St. Clair earned his first career track championship this season at 34. Having never won a feature prior to this season, St. Clair earned 10 victories in 2009, six of which were scored at 34 Raceway. Apparently, one season in the Hobbies was enough for the young driver as he is expected to make the jump into the I.M.C.A. Stock Car division in 2010.
Darin Thye also hinted that he may be making a change in 2010. After walking off the podium to pick up his second place award for the Stock Car division, he walked by Hogan's table and joked to Scott that he was going to get him next year. A return to the Modified ranks in 2010 for Thye? We'll have to wait and see. Thye made a number of comments throughout the night (mostly for entertainment value... and this may very well have been one of those alcohol-induced "for your entertainment only" comments, as well), so we'll have to see what happens as the calendar approaches the new year.
I spent a few minutes speaking with CJ Speedway promoters Brian and Amanda Tipps. Knowing I work at Independence, they stopped me to talk about a race they are planning to schedule this summer with some Independence ties. Cam Granger, the promoter of Independence Motor Speedway and director of the DART Corn Belt Clash Series for Late Models, has been working out details with CJ to hold a Corn Belt race at CJ Speedway in July of 2010. Those details have been all but finalized so expect to see Late Models return to the Columbus Junction oval during the county fair next season.
Coincidentally, Cam has been working on expanding the schedule for the Corn Belt Clash Series for 2010. While he said a few dates and locations are still being finalized, it was already announced at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota, that they would be holding two series events in 2010. Those events will include the series opener in April, along with the series championship next fall. Stay tuned for additional dates and a complete schedule in the coming weeks and months.
Thanks again to the crew at 34 for a fun night! Unless something unexpected pops up, Saturday night wrapped up my racing "events" schedule for 2009. I would like to thank Jeff Broeg, Barry Johnson and Sue McDaniel for asking me to be a part of positivelyracing.com. My first season as one of their bloggers was a lot of fun and I anticipate next season being even better! I hope to be back on a fairly regular basis during the off-season to share news, notes, schedules and other tidbits about 2010 as next season approaches. Until then, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday!
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