"I wish I could race at a track like this every week. These people care."
Those were the words of World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature winner Darrell Lanigan following his triumph in the 50-lapper Monday night at Independence Motor Speedway after two inches of rain that morning forced track workers to spend the entire day getting the 3/8-mile oval ready for the evening's show.
"If you have to deal with complaints on Saturdays from drivers about racing on a track like this, tell them to stay home," Lanigan told track promoter Todd Summers about the weekly program at Indee.
Granted, Lanigan won Monday night and it's uncommon for negative comments to come from a race winner anyway - especially a $10,000 race winner - but the words he spoke were spot-on and runner-up finisher Shane Clanton agreed.
"We love this type of track," said Clanton. "We don't like racing on those dry tracks. Tonight's track was awesome."
The rainfall was early and steady Monday morning, leaving the track prep crew to question its ability to get the surface prepared for the biggest event in track history. And it wasn't just the racing surface that was saturated. While the pit area absorbed the moisture very well, the infield and the walkway behind the grandstands forced people to watch their step throughout the afternoon.
When I arrived at the track early in the afternoon, I made the comment to fellow official Jim Roper that folks who watched the races from the grandstands may feel like they bought a pit pass by the time the night was over. Muddy shoes were probably going to be a common theme by night's end. By the time the gates opened, however, a lot of the moisture had soaked in and various pathways around the mushy spots made life a bit easier for pedestrian traffic.
The infield was a bit more difficult to predict. Standing water and deep muddy areas forced us to question what to do with the slew of photographers and media members on-hand. The track prep crew, however, along with its attention to the track itself, made time to roll in the infield in order to accommodate the visiting media members and others in attendance.
Mike Ruefer and John Vass, photographers at many special events in Independence, were pleasantly surprised that the infield dried out as well as it did and were grateful the track crew took the time to give them more room with which to work.
Darin Duffy was the other "happiest man of the night" after topping a field of 31 IMCA Modifieds to win his second Karl Performance Hawkeye Dirt Tour event of 2013. With the win, Duffy became the first repeat winner in eight tour events this season.
No stranger to victory lane in Independence, the all-time IMCA Modified wins leader at the speedway entered a terrific battle for the lead with Indee regular Troy Cordes before pulling away in the late stages of the 30-lapper.
What started out as doubtful before eventually being upgraded to questionable turned out to be a fantastic night of racing in Independence. Likely the best part of the night was that the weather didn't keep people away. The grandstands were packed and very few people left following the Late Model feature as many stuck around to watch the Modified finale.
A huge pat on the back needs to go to track prep master Don Burkey, along with promoters Darin Burco and Todd Summers for their unrelenting determination to get the track ready despite the extremely wet conditions.
If you're looking for complete results and race recaps, the official press releases from the World of Outlaws and IMCA are available at www.independencemotorspeedway.com. Many of my cohorts from Positively Racing were also on-hand. Be sure to check out Jeff Broeg's thoughts on the Back Stretch, plus the 4dfan Report from Dick and Joyce Eisele and Midwest Racing News by Brian Neal.
No more racing for me this week. I have some catching up to do on paperwork from the past weekend's weekly shows in Independence and Vinton before Friday night's Dan Snyder Benefit in Waverly.
I will see you back in Independence this Saturday for night number 13 of weekly racing. Have a great week!
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