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See You At The Races!!! |
| Road
trippin’ to the Hawkeye State by Kirk Spridgeon |
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June 9, 2004....June
4th marked just my second racing trip to the state of Iowa, along
with a 60th different track during my lifetime. After an overnight
stay in the famous town of Lincoln, Indiana, I set out with the Ford
Focus Midget team owned by Dave Darland, operated by son Trenton
Darland and his crew chief, Kevin Ahrens, on this day. The
night would mark the first official competition on the race track
between the father-son duo. Dave drove Mark Ray’s car while his
son Robbie was in North Carolina. Trenton drove his car to a heat
race win and received Earl’s Points for gaining the most points in
the heat races. After starting sixth, Trenton dropped. Dave passed.
He was up to third and challenging for the lead, but simply could
not find a way around. They wound up 3rd and 8th. Cole
Carter wrenches and maintains the Focus midgets driven by Nick and
Brandon Wagner, who were the spin champions on Friday after causing
at least three cautions between them during the feature event. On
the sprint side of things, it was a great race on a track that did
not look promising. It is a unique track, with a slight uphill from
turn four to the front straightaway, and a downhill when entering
turn one. The sprinters found the outside line, and Bobby East
blasted to quick time, second in his heat, and the feature win after
leading the last thirty laps. Michael Lewis and Jason McCord began
the race with a spirited battle for the point, exchanging the lead
nearly every time around for the first eight or nine laps. Prime
movers late in the race included Brian Tyler, who qualified poorly,
Marc Jessup, and Aaron Fike. Fike drove for the Hoffmans, who
dropped jaws by announcing Jon Stanbrough as their new driver on
dirt. Minnesota
driver John Nelson established a blistering time early in
qualifying, ending up 9th. He couldn’t pass homestater Jamie
Ferrell in his heat for the transfer, nor could he hold his transfer
position in the B Main. Nelson is still going to college in
Minnesota, but he hopes to make it to more USAC sprint events
throughout the summer, including a doubleheader weekend at Toledo
and IRP. Sixteen
year-old Lee Boss, who received ink here for his performance at
Anderson, tested the safe barriers at Cedar Rapids after something
broke on the car entering turn one. Boss was vying for a transfer
spot at the time with John Scott, Mat Neely, Nelson, and Danny
Holtsclaw. Scott and Holtsclaw got the spots after the Boss mess was
cleaned up. A
long drive back to Terre Haute greeted me Saturday morning. With the
veteran Darland driving, we made it to the Action Track in good
time, leaving plenty of time for football in the Vigo County
Fairgrounds parking lot. With
a severely dry track that caused hot lappers to chase the moisture
all the way to the fence, Levi Jones found quick time as the first
car on the track. Jon Stanbrough followed him in the order and in
the result, making up the Sumar Classic front row. Dave Darland, Bud
Kaeding, Aaron Fike, and Matt Westfall came out later in quals to
fill out the first three rows. “Hot
Rod” Johnny Heydenreich(aka Johnny Franklin) spun a donut in turn
four before taking the green, gassing it straight into the cement
wall. With a mangled front end that included a broken shock mount, a
welder was called before Heydenreich could contest the consolation
race. Wayne
Reutimann, Jr. watched his dad race in the Masters Classic on Friday
in Knoxville before being the slowest qualifier in Terre Haute’s
field. He struggled in the 100-lapper as well after all cars were
permitted to start. Filling
in for Roger Rager’s midgeteering absence was Cory Kruseman, who
charged to tenth before spinning. He restarted at the tail and once
again came to the front, catching Jones and Darland within the last
five laps. He eventually settled for fourth, however. The
open trailer rolled in for the night, carrying the red number 54
owned by the Pedersen family of photography fame. With an old Shores
chassis, most didn’t think the car would contend with series
newcomer Kyle Wissmiller in the seat. They qualified 25th of those
that took time, and the car excelled on the slick surface, passing
cars in the feature before dropping out. Here’s hoping we see the
Pedersen-mobile back at the track again. It
was hard to beat Brian Tyler’s story on the night, even if it
included Cary Faas. Faas drove the Galas 12 to a convincing Consy
win while circling the topside of the track. First to fall from the
feature, the car hasn’t finished the first two races of the year,
nor has it been upside-down. Tyler,
of course, charged from 22nd after an ill-sounding engine left him
with a time less than satisfactory. Finding a line in the middle, or
making it with his own tread, Tyler drove right past the best cars
on the track and left them in the dust to take the win. The
Stan Courtad team fielded what I considered the two best-appearing
cars on the night, driven by Kevin Huntley and Rob Chaney, but they
failed to parallel the performance given by Huntley a year ago. With
a healthy payday and a night off for Gas City, Bloomington offers
the likelihood of a huge field of cars Friday, including the sight
of birthday boy Levi Jones in Darren Hagen’s second car and Dave
Darland in a top-notch ride. On Saturday, Paragon promises 50 laps
in honor of their golden anniversary, luring more drivers from the
area to a place they rarely visit. The Bob Darland Memorial is
Sunday, and I’m one guy anticipating his son putting Paul
Hazen’s 57 in victory lane. With
three big events this weekend and the Buckeye Nationals looming on
the horizon, look for another column from me on Monday or Tuesday! |
