My first racing venture of the season found me in Vinton at Benton County Speedway for the annual Frostbuster season opener. After stints at Marshalltown and Boone Speedways on Friday and Saturday, the Frostbuster weekend came to an end on the 1/4-mile in Vinton for the track's first event of 2011.
Unsure if my first race of the season was going to happen over the weekend, I wasn't entirely prepared for my trip to Vinton as I made the trek without my pen and notebook. The race recap I report here will be from memory. Yes, that's my disclaimer that, in so many words, means "don't expect much." For what will undoubtedly be a more accurate and detailed review of the night's events, be sure to check out Jeff Broeg's report on the Back Stretch at Positively Racing.
One-hundred four cars filled the pits in the five divisions, 36 of those signing in for competition in the IMCA Modified division. A nice field of Modifieds from all over Iowa, along with a handful of entries from Canada and Dan Ratajczak from Frog Station, Wisconsin, was on-hand to compete for the $1,000 winner's share.
Ratajczak proved to be the man to beat as he led the event for most of the 20 laps to take home the top prize. Ratajczak started outside of row two and quickly made his way into the lead. Running the low groove, Ratajczak held off challenges from Scott Hogan early, then Troy Cordes late to steal the win. Cordes was the lone front-runner who ventured to the high side of the speedway to mount a charge. After briefly taking the top spot in the waning laps, Ratajczak powered beneath him to take command one last time at the checkers.
In other action, Damon Murty took the lead early, then held off a hard-charging Jeff Mueller to score the win in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Likewise, Brad Chandler held off Nathan Chandler late in the IMCA Sport Compact main event to post the win in that division. Danny Dvorak slipped beneath Austin Kaplan a few laps into the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature to drive to victory. In the IMCA Hobby Stock division, defending track champion Scott Pippert powered past leader Brad Forbes midway through that event to drive to the win.
With the first green flag falling shortly after 4 p.m., it was great to see the program conclude at the 7 p.m. hour for a Sunday.
While the racing was great for the first night of the season in Vinton, I'm sure many of the conversations for the coming week will concern the track conditions. Although the track started off in pretty good shape, it got rough as the evening progressed. I heard Baja comments and other jokes as I walked through the pits afterwards. No, it wasn't the best of situations, but I'm certain the track conditions will improve as the season progresses. Mick Trier and his crew put 300-plus yards of new dirt on the track last fall and have been working diligently to get it race-ready.
I realize the rough track took its toll on a few machines tonight. While it wasn't desired, nor was it expected by anyone involved, it was the first night aside from practice that cars saw action on the track. Before the message board posters wring their hands deciding how to attack the track for the surface tonight, I hope everyone thinks twice before jumping the gun. Remember to be positive and support the sport. Throwing dirt online has only a negative impact on dirt track racing.
Next up for me is the annual Slocum 50 next Saturday, April 9, at 34 Raceway in Burlington, the second stop on this year's Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. That will conclude a busy Saturday for me as the annual car show for Independence Motor Speedway is scheduled for the morning hours in downtown Independence prior to the test and tune session that afternoon at the speedway. See you there!
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