2007 Nightly Journal
Click
Here to view my 2006
journal
September 28th & 29th - Legends
Dirt Nationals - Midway Speedway - I made the LONG trip to
Lebanon, Missouri with Ivan Sailer. We rolled into the speedway just as
the practice rounds were starting so we decided not to rush and try to get in
any practice. On Friday, I spent a lot of time adjusting my front end to
get it to pass through tech. We got to run a couple of rounds of
practice before the heat races. The track was very nice and probably quite
similar to the track in Wishek, except it didn't have all the banking and it had
a concrete wall all around the track, so that was a bit intimidating. The
track doesn't have an electronic scoring system like the track we went to last
year, so we qualified through 2 rounds of heat races. There were 54 cars
at the track this year, with 26 of them in the Semi-Pro class. I started
3rd in a field of 13 cars in my first heat race and finished in 6th place.
They inverted the start from the first race, so I lined up in 11th place.
Midway through the race, one car ended up hitting the backstretch wall and I
almost got collected as it bounced back across the track, but I got by and ended
up finishing in 8th place.
I figured my finishes in the heats would put me somewhere
around mid pack, and I was right - 13th in a 26 car field. After driver
introductions, we headed out onto the track for a 30 lap feature race.
That is a lot of cars on the track at once, and I was quite nervous as you don't
have any idea on what some of these drivers are like and who to watch out
for. The track tonight was not as tacky as the night before, and was
pretty much a single lane groove around the bottom. I passed a couple of
cars when they got a bit wide in the turns and avoided a couple of spun cars
that brought out 3 or 4 cautions during the race. With 4 laps remaining, I
was sitting in 10th place and the caution flag flew. On the caution laps,
we were all lined up and some idiot somewhere in front of me must have slammed
on his brakes, because all of a sudden several cars stacked up in front of
me. I caught a bit of the rear of Troy Speten's car bending my front
bumper into the right front tire. Troy hit the car in front of him,
breaking his oil cooler and Troy was done for the night. My steering wheel
would only turn to the left an inch or so and I figured I would have trouble
making the turns, but it turned just enough to keep the car on the bottom of the
track and I ended up with an 8th place finish, much better than last year.
30 laps of racing can make you quite tired when you are not used to it. I
had a great time tonight and had a lot of fun. Congratulations to Nathan
Speten on winning the Semi-Pro feature tonight. He qualified for a 4th
place start and definitely had to work his way to the front. Also,
congratulations to Ivan Sailer and Cam Schafer on their 4th place finishes in
the Masters and Pro divisions.
On the trip back home, we stopped at Kansas Speedway to take
in the Nascar race. There were tents, campers, motorhomes and semi's as
far as the eye could see and was quite a sight to see. And the number of
people in one place is amazing, even though I have seen a bigger crowd when I
went to the 1989 Daytona 500. Right after the mid point of the race, it
began to rain, and by the time I got back to Ivan's motorhome, I was
soaked. We did not wait around for the race to resume as we needed to get
back on the road and hoped to avoid some heavy traffic. I had another
great time on my vacation this year and hope we can do it again next year.
The North Dakota contingent at the 2007 Dirt
Nationals in Lebanon, Missouri
Pictured L to R: Spencer Wilson (#75); Cam Schafer
(#54); Nathan Speten (#3); Troy Speten (#13); Brian Backes (#58) and Ivan Sailer
(#8)
September 9th -
Southwest Speedway - I had very high hopes for racing tonight as I have
run well here in the past, and tonight I drew a starting spot outside the front
row. But once I saw the track conditions, my hopes for a good night of
racing pretty much went away. The inch and a half of rain made the track
soft and after the hobby and street stocks ran their races, the track was
rougher than any prairie road I have ever been on. We had 13 cars show up
and they put us all in a single heat race. When we went out for our race,
the cars were bottoming out on many of the ruts. As we went around, the
only place that was even remotely smooth was the very bottom, and I was stuck on
the outside row. When the green flag fell and we headed into turn one, I
couldn't get to the inside, and I bounced up high into the turn and from there I
backed off and let most everyone by till there was an opening to get to the
bottom. I ended up finishing the race in 9th place. At intermission,
they bladed the track and they let us run our feature before the other cars to
have a smoother track. It was a lot better, but still extremely
rough. I started on the inside row in 9th place. Several laps into
the race the engine in Steven Kuntz's #1 machine blew and caught on fire,
bringing out the red flag. Several laps later, the red flag flew again
when the #20 of Ivan Sailer caught the mud berm at the bottom of the track
causing the car to roll over a couple of times. Neither driver was
injured, and Ivan actually drove his car from the track to the pits. I had
a good time racing with the #8 of Bill Hultberg, trying my best to get around
him on the high side, but couldn't make the pass. I actually thought I was
going to roll my car one lap when I hooked a rut and felt the left side of the
car get quite a bit up into the air. I finished the race in 7th place, and
all in one piece. Now I just need to look it over well to make sure
nothing is bent or broken. I have a few weeks before Nationals to check it
over. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning tonight's feature race
and also being named the Autumn Shootout champion and also to Glen Hellebust for
his 2nd place finish in the heat race and feature and taking the runner-up
position for the Shootout. Hopefully next year we will get to come back
and Mother Nature will cooperate and we will have a much more fun time, both
camping and racing.
September 8th -
Southwest Speedway - Tonight's races were cancelled due to the
weather. What a huge disappointment. Hopefully the weather
cooperates tomorrow and we can still get in one night.
September 7th -
Dacotah Speedway - Tonight was our final race of the year at Mandan and
we had a field of 17 cars show up. I lined up for the second heat in 3rd
place. About midway through the race, the #8 of Bill Hultberg and #30 of
Lance Jangula were racing down the backstretch right in front of me when they
touched with Lance getting airborne, flying off the backstretch and wedging his
car under the guardrail. Lance wasn't hurt, and his car didn't suffer
enough damage to keep him from a good run in the feature race. I finished
the heat race in 5th place. I lined up 5th row inside for the start of the
feature. There were a few caution flags for spins and cars jumping the
green flag which kind of made the race drag on, but the racing was fast and my
car handled well and I kept up with the front pack and ended up with a 7th place
finish on a track that pretty much had a single groove up high and made it hard
to pass. It was fun to be racing a little closer to the front.
Congratulations to Cam Schafer on another feature race win.
September 6th at Tri
County Speedway - When I registered for tonight's race I drew #63 out of
the bucket, so I knew I was going to have a poor starting position and I lined
up 6th out of 7 cars in the second heat. When we went out for our heat
race, there was a very light shower that made the track quite slick. At
the green flag, as I went into the first turn, I slid up and over the banking
bringing out the only caution flag of the race. After re-starting at the
tail end, everyone stayed out of trouble and I finished the race in 5th
place. After our heat race, we had a brief rain shower, but once it passed
over and they worked in the track, we had a great race track for the
feature. I started 9th out of 14 cars. On the first lap, there was
contact between Kyle Vandenburg and Steven Kuntz, with Kyle having damage that
prevented him from continuing. After the re-start, the race went 20 laps
of green flag racing. I kept up with the leaders for a while, but
eventually fell back. My car was having some troubles with the engine in
the corners, which started Sunday night in Minot. I had changed carbs
before tonight's race, but apparently that isn't the trouble. I kept the
car pointed in the right direction and finished the race in 7th place.
Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning tonight's feature
race.
August
31st, September 1st & 2nd - Motor Magic at Nodak Speedway - I
had a very disappointing weekend with very poor finishes in the feature races
all 3 nights.
Friday - I
lost my lineup for the night so don't know where I started, but I finished the
second heat race in 3rd place, giving me a 3rd row outside starting position for
the feature. At the drop of the green flag, I started getting shuffled
back in the pack and finished a very disappointing 12th place out of 14
cars. The races dragged on tonight with the Hobby Stock, Street Stock and
Modified feature races being plagued with caution flags. Other than a
caution flag for one car jumping the start, our feature race ran green to
checkered. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on winning tonight's
feature.
Saturday -
We had another 3 cars show up for tonight's races giving us a total of 17
cars. I started the 2nd heat in 5th place. After the start I lost a
couple of positions and was running in 7th place. With a few laps to go, I
found a nice groove in the high line and passed 2 cars to a top 5 finish, and on
the last turn, the #25 of Dylan Barnhardt spun out, handing me a 4th place
finish. I lined up 4th row outside for the feature on a very dry-slick
racetrack. I have had decent finishes on dry-slick tracks this year, but
not tonight as I went backward and ended up with a 15th place finish, being
passed by everyone except for beginner Chris Evenson driving the #79 of Shannon
Cree and the #13 of Troy Speten who was knocked out of the race after contact
with another car. There were many caution flags during the features helped
along by the dry-slick conditions tonight, but our feature went off tonight
quite well with only 2 caution flags, I believe. Congratulations to
Spencer Wilson on his feature win.
Sunday - I
started the first heat in 4th place. Midway through the race, the #31 of
Steve Pankowski and I made contact in turn 1 with Steve taking a little hop, but
both of us continued on and I finished the race in 6th place. After
checking my car over, I found a cracked spindle base so we spent some time
repairing my car. I want to say "thank you" to the guys who lent
a hand, especially to Cam Schafer. We had the car repaired in plenty of
time for the feature and I lined up inside the 6th row. My car developed
some kind of engine problem with the engine sputtering in the turns and I
finished in 14th place.
Even though I was disappointed with my finishes this weekend,
I figure there was someone else much more disappointed than I was. James
Fleming, the driver currently in 2nd place in the National Semi-Pro Dirt
standings behind Nathan Speten, drove 1600 miles from New Mexico with 2 crew
members to race 4 days up here to try to gain some points, but did not have any
top finishes. I believe Nathan won 1st place points for the Semi-Pro class
each night expanding his points lead. Even though he didn't
have the finishes he hoped for, I hope they all had a great vacation and enjoyed
their stay in North Dakota. Thanks for coming guys. Maybe some of
our guys can make a trip down to your track this winter. Overall the
weekend was very good for the Legends class as we had very few caution flags
during our races and nobody had any serious damage to their cars.
Congratulations to Glen Huettl for his consistent finishes giving him the Motor
Magic Championship title. Good job
everyone.
Back to Top
August
30th -
Dacotah Speedway - We had 17 cars show up for the Season Championship
night at Mandan. I started the 2nd heat in 6th place and finished the race
in 5th. I had a good battle with the #371 of Kyle Vandenburg going on for
the 2nd half of the race. My 5th place finish put me on the inside of the
second row for the feature. Several cars got by me shortly after the start
and once everything settled down a bit I was having a good side by side battle
with the #10 of Tom Wagner. We went several laps of good, clean racing,
till we touched wheels in turn 4, with Tom taking a little bounce and a
spin. I was charged with the caution and sent to the back of the
pack. I believe that was the first time that has happened to me. Tom
continued on without any visible damage. I worked my way past 4 cars and
had another nice side by side race with the #20 of Ivan Sailer, getting by him
and finishing in 12th place. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning
his first feature on one of the big tracks and gaining a few more valuable
points toward the National Championship. Now, on to the big triple header
weekend in Minot.
August 26th -
Nodak Speedway - Tonight was the last night of the regular season in
Minot. Next weekend is the big triple-header Motor Magic weekend and I
pretty much sucked. Damn near every one of the 12 other cars that showed
up tonight passed me. I started the 2nd heat outside the front row and
finished the race last in 5th place. If the #25 of Dylan Barnhardt hadn't
been black flagged for jumping the start, I'm sure I would have finished in
6th. My 5th place finish put me in 4th position for the start of the
feature. The race had one caution flag for a spin by #75 Spencer Wilson,
which I came rather close to, but other than that was trouble free. I
finished the race a distant 11th. The car seemed to handle OK, but I just
was way too slow in the corners tonight. Oh well, I will try again next
week. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on another feature win and leading the
National Pro Dirt points. Also congratulations to Nathan Speten on taking
the Semi-Pro Dirt points lead. I hope you guys both stay there. And
the Nodak Legends Season Points Champion is #51 Glen Huettl.
Congratulations Glen.
August 24th -
Dacotah Speedway - The day was rather dreary all day long and I was
afraid the races would be rained out again this week. At race time there
were a few sprinkles but then the skies cleared and the races went on with a
very excellent tacky track to give the spectators that showed up on a cool,
dreary night some excellent racing. We had 17 cars show up. I
started 5th in the first heat. I worked my way up 1 position and ran in
4th for much of the race with very little space between myself and 1st
place. With a couple of laps to go, I was passed by the #41 car of Paul
Huettl in the second turn. I was right on his tail heading into turn 3
when Paul slowed somewhat for a car a little out of shape in the turn, which I
didn't see since I was pretty much focused on Paul's rear-end (I hope that
doesn't sound bad) and I ended up giving him a good bump sending me way up high
in the turn losing another spot and I finished the race in 7th spot. With
my crappy finish, I started the feature inside the 7th row. I gained a
couple of positions and had a lot of fun racing side by side with 5s Dave Schafer
for several laps. We had a caution flag with about 4 laps to go and on the
re-start I lost a couple more positions, one to the 31 of Steve Pankowski, who I
had passed earlier and one to the 30 of Lance Jangula, a new driver I believe in
his second night of racing here at Dacotah Speedway. I was very surprised
and somewhat frustrated to see Lance coming around me, but he was running an
excellent race. Good job Lance. I think I finished the race in 14th place. I didn't expect a good finish with my poor starting spot, but
was still a bit disappointed with my finish. The feature was won by Cam Schafer
tonight. On the last restart, I saw Nathan Speten leading the race
and even though I couldn't see it, if the race was anything like their
heat race battle it must have been a good one. I want to say "Thank
you" to Ivan and all the guys who worked very hard on the track to give us
a awesome race track tonight. After the races tonight, they held
"pitmen's" races. I had offered one of my sponsors a chance to
drive my car in this race, but he couldn't make it so he put a friend of his,
Mike Summer, in touch with me and Mike got to drive my car in the race.
Mike started 9th in an 11 car field. Some of the drivers had no experience
at all, and some of them had lots of racing experience in other classes. I
was very nervous having someone else drive my car and I couldn't have been
happier to see my car lined up at the rear of the field. It sure seemed
strange to watch my car out on the track. Mike stayed out
of trouble and brought my car back to me in one piece and had himself a great
time in the process. Even though I had a rather disappointing night, the
racing was good and safe and everyone brought their cars to the pits without any
assistance from the wreckers.
August 18th -
McLean County Speedway - The weather today was quite dreary and I
was worried we would have another rain-out for Championship night. We had
13 cars show up so we had a decent car count. I started tail end (6th) in
the second heat. At the start, it took me a while to get past a couple of
cars, and once I did, the lead pack was quite a way ahead of me. I closed
the gap, and was working on passing the 5s car of Dave Schafer, when Dave's car
slowed in turn 2. I gave Dave a little bump but got by without causing any
damage to either of us and went on to finish in 3rd place. There was a
slight mist in the air while we were lining up for the feature and I thought for
sure we the rain would start falling, but we got the race in, although I didn't
make it to the end. I started outside the third row and once the race got
going, I was working on passing the 31 car of Steve Pankowski. Steve got
high in the second turn and I got by him going down the backstretch. The
next lap in turn one, Steve got into me a bit and my left rear hopped his right
front wheel causing my car to bounce up and spin. I got the car going
again, but when I hit the turn, I knew I had a flat right rear and pulled into
the pits, being credited with a 13th place finish. After a quick look at the car, I don't think there is any
damage, but will check it over better next week. I was disappointed with
another DNF, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Congratulations to Cam Schafer
on winning tonight's feature and winning the runner-up trophy for the
season. Also, congratulations to Glen Huettl on winning the Season
Championship trophy. Way to go guys.
August
17th -
Tri-County Speedway - God I love this place! What a fun
place to race. Tonight when I registered, I drew #2 which assured me a
pole position in one of the heats so the night started off great. (I don't
know how many chips they have in the bucket, but one of the drivers drew #71, so
you know that is a crappy starting spot). I started pole in the second
heat and took the lead at the drop of the green flag. When you are running up
front, it sucks to see a caution flag come out, but the yellow waved a couple of
times, one a fairly lengthy delay as the #3 car of Nathan Speten made contact
with another car, leaving his car sitting in the middle of the turn with a
broken spindle and no tow truck at the track. On the restart, I saw
someone poking his nose inside me, but stayed out front and went on to another
heat race win. They inverted the top 4 finishers of the heat races so I
started the feature in 8th place. Shortly after the start, I worked my way
up to 4th place. I think I was racing side by side with someone pretty
much throughout the race. There was some beating and banging going on
around me and the racing was close and exciting, I think for both the drivers
and fans. By the end of the race, I had gotten shuffled back and finished
where I started, in 8th. I was a little disappointed with my finish, but
had so much fun tonight and would love to re-run tonight's race. Ivan said
it seemed like someone must have told us we were racing for $10,000! I
wish we could race here every week. The track was a bit dusty for the
heats (although it didn't bother me running up front), but for the feature it
was awesome. Even with all the close, fast racing, there was only 1 car
damaged in the heat races which was repaired for the feature, and everyone
loaded up and headed home without any serious repairs to be done and everyone I
talked to had a ton of fun tonight so I think it was a good night for
everyone. Congratulations to Kyle Vandenburg on winning his second feature
race of the year. After racing motocross for some time, he has definitely
proven himself to be a fast learner in these Legends Cars. The way Kyle has been running, this could get to be a
regular thing for him.
Back to Top
August 12th -
Nodak Speedway - We have had a very long break from racing in Minot as
the last race we ran here was July 4th. We had a good car count tonight
with 14 cars. I lined up for the first heat in 3rd place. I was
having some brake troubles so I took it fairly easy and kept out of trouble and
missed a couple of spun cars on the final turn and finished the race in 3rd
place. After our race I got my brakes adjusted and was ready for the
feature where I lined up for the start in 3rd place again. The track was
in pretty nice shape, except for a path across the track coming out of turn two
where the water truck crossed and dropped a streak of water making a nice slick
spot and a slick lane on the high side of the front straight that I got into a
couple of times and lost several positions. We had a few caution flags
during the race for a couple of spun cars and someone's fender laying on the
track. I avoided these obstacles fairly easily and narrowly missed a spun
car in turn four of the final lap to finish the race in 8th place (I
think). There was a lot of action going on around me the last several laps
and it was hard to tell exactly what position I was in. It sounds like they had a
good battle going on up front with Spencer Wilson bringing home the win.
Congratulations Spencer! Next week we have a lot of racing scheduled with
4 nights in a row, although I will miss the Sunday night race in Minot as I have
my parent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration to attend.
August
5th - McLean County Speedway - We had 14 cars show up for racing
on a Sunday in Underwood. I drew #20 which put me tail end in the 2nd
heat. The track was a bit dusty and with the setting sun, visibility was
not good. I moved up a couple of spots to 5th place and going into turn 1
on the final lap, I inadvertently bumped the #52 car of Dave Schafer sending him
high up the track and I moved by finishing in 4th place. Sorry Dave - I
didn't mean to do that, but I might have to file that move away to use in the
future (just kidding). I lined up for the feature in 6th place. I
was a bit nervous about this race with it being very dusty and slick out there,
but even with almost zero visibility down the backstretch, the race went 15 laps
green to checkered without a caution flag. There was a lot of action going
on as I passed a few cars and a few passed me. As we came to the white
flag, I was in 5th place following the 9s of Rod Schlafman, and I got beside him
coming out of the second turn. We ran side by
side down the backstretch and as we neared turn 3, we banged wheels. My wheels jumped his and all 4 wheels left the ground with the rear
end much higher than the front. All I could see out my windshield was the
track and I thought for sure I was going for an end-over-end ride.
Fortunately the car slammed down on all four wheels and I slid to a stop in the
infield. I looked over and saw the flagman waving the checkered flag and
didn't see anyone coming through the turn, so I figured the cars were crashing
behind me so I grabbed some gears and headed back on track to finish the
race. As I got to the track I ran over one of the tires they have down in
the infield and did my best Dukes of Hazard impression as I was airborne again
and flew onto the track and finished the race in 4th place. I don't think
anyone crashed behind me, but the 9s spun in turn 3 and everyone must have
slowed quite a bit to get by. I couldn't believe I actually could finish
the race, much less gain a position after the wild ride I took. I was
upset afterward, but I'm
happy that I got by without badly wrecking my car. I have a few parts to
replace, but it could have been much, much worse and I brought the car home in
one piece. Congratulations to Kyle VandenBurg on winning his first feature
race in his rookie season.
July 29th -
Dacotah Speedway - I was hoping for a repeat of last night’s draw, and
tonight drew a 2 again, but there was too many of them and got the #22 instead
which gave me the 5th spot in the second heat. A couple of laps into the race I got by John Schoon which put
me in 4th place. Shortly
after Paul Huettl got up beside me and Paul and I had a nice side by side battle
for a few laps but I held him off for a 4th place finish.
I drew the #5 starting spot for the feature.
A few laps into the race, I got high in the turns and gave away at least
3 spots. As the race winded down, I was running in 9th spot
and just as we got the white flag, the yellow flag flew for a stalled car.
On the restart, there was lots of very close racing and I lost another 3
spots giving me a 12th place finish.
Although I was very disappointed with my finish, I had a great time. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning the feature
tonight and taking home the 2 day points championship trophy and also to
runner-up Cam Schafer. Although the
track was slick all weekend and we had some visibility issues, the Legends
drivers ran some clean races. Congratulations
to all you guys. We didn’t have
anywhere near the number of cautions of the other classes (I think we had 1
caution in 2 feature races, and maybe a couple in the heats) and nobody had
their car torn up this weekend.
July 28th -
Dacotah Speedway - Tonight was the first night of Dacotah Speedway’s 2
night ND Governor’s Stock Car Classic and also our ND Legend’s regional
qualifier for the Dirt Nationals. The
winner of each class at a qualifier is guaranteed a spot in the Nationals so I
was hoping to draw a good starting position.
I was in luck as I drew the #2 so I knew I would be starting on the pole
for one of the heats. We had 21
cars show up tonight and they only gave us 2 heat races. I
started on the pole of the second heat with 10 cars taking the green flag.
On the start, Cam Schafer got past me on the front stretch.
Going into the first turn I got back under him and Cam and I battled side
by side for most of the race. With
2 laps to go there was a caution flag which I definitely did not want to see. I figured Cam, or someone else, would get by me on the start
again, so when the green flag flew again I dropped down low to keep him from
jumping inside me. I could see him
right behind me in the shadows of the setting sun, but I held him off for
another heat win in front of one of the best crowds of the year.
It was exciting to win in front of the big crowd and also to hold Cam off
as he has won most of our feature races this year.
Tonight the top 4 from each heat drew for starting positions in the
feature and I drew the #3 starting spot which I was very happy with.
When the green flag flew, I ran in 4th place for most of the race, then
was passed by Paul Huettl. I was
hoping for another top 5 finish when with about 2 laps to go I was passed by
Bill Hultberg and Steven Kuntz giving me a 7th place finish.
I was the first semi-pro driver so that was a win in my class so that
guarantees me a spot at Nationals so I was very pleased although I really wanted
to finish in the top 5 again. Congratulations
to Glen Huettl on winning the feature and also earning a guaranteed start at
Nationals in the pro division. The
track was a dry-slick one again, but my car handled well, visibility wasn’t
too bad and we ran the feature without a caution flag.
I know I had a lot of fun.
Back to Top
July 21st -
McLean County Speedway - A HOT day to go racing - pushing 100 degrees
makes the racing a little less fun, but the track tonight was pretty good,
although a little slick during the heats. We had 13 cars tonight. I
started the 2nd heat outside the front row and finished the race in 4th.
One spot out of running in the trophy dash. I didn't fight too hard to
keep the third spot because that would mean running the trophy dash very shortly
after the heat race and it was just too darn hot. The guys did put on a
good show for the trophy dash with rookie Troy Speten winning the 2nd half of
the race and Spencer Wilson winning the trophy. I started the feature
outside the second row. There were a few caution flags slowing the
action. One lengthy caution flag was for Steve Pankowski hitting the
guardrail in the front stretch, seriously damaging his car, but Steve wasn't
hurt - except for the pocketbook. After lots of close racing and dodging a
couple of spinning cars, I ended up the feature in 8th place. I just don't
seem to do very well at this track, but I do have a good time anyway.
Congratulations to Spencer Wilson for winning the feature, trophy dash and his
heat race.
July 20th -
Dacotah Speedway - When I arrived at the track I drew the #5 card so I
figured I would get a good starting position for my heat. I was happy
about that since last week I had a good run. I started outside the front
row for heat #1. I took the lead at the start. A couple laps into
the race the #8 of Bill Hultberg came around the outside of me and I figured
there would be more coming. Bill and I raced side by side for a lap or two
and I got back around him and never saw anyone else in the shadows coming out of
turn 4 and I finally won another heat race here in Mandan. It's been a
long time coming - I won my heat race last year on opening night and haven't
been close since. I started outside the second row for the feature.
There was lots of tight racing going on around me and several of the faster guys
got past me - especially very early in the race. I think I am too cautious
when the cars are bunched up and I end up giving away too many positions.
I will have to try to keep my nose poked into those tight spots, but I guess I
would rather give up a couple of positions than to get myself or somebody else
wrecked. The race went green to checkered without a caution flag, but we
almost had one happen right in front of me. The #13 of Troy Speten and #23
of Glen Hellebust banged off each other right in front of me going down the
front stretch. I saw it happening and backed off just a bit, but both
continued on. The contact broke the valve stem on Glen's right front tire
and his tire started going flat and his car wouldn't turn in the corner.
For several laps near the end of the race I could see Nathan Speten trying to
get by me on the inside, but kept him behind me. I ended up finishing in
8th place. I'm always happy if I can get a top 10 finish in Mandan.
The track was awesome again tonight and was very fast. The 12 lap feature
goes by in a hurry when the track is fast and there are no caution flags.
This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but Cam Schafer won another
feature tonight. Congratulations Cam. Good job to all the Legends
drivers for putting on an excellent show and some safe races
tonight.
July 19th -
Tri-County Speedway - We had 10 cars show up for racing
tonight. I started outisde the front row for heat #2. I took the
lead at the green flag and held on for the win. That was fun! We had
a re-start about midway through and I was hoping it wouldn't give anyone the
chance to get me on the start. For the feature they inverted the top 4
finishing positions from the heats, so I started in 8th place. Several
laps into the feature there was a caution for a spun car. On the re-start
the cars of Ivan Sailer and Dave Schafer touched wheels with Dave's car jumping
up about 3 feet and spinning to the infield tire barrier. Dave's car
wasn't heavily damaged but was through for the night. I thought I might
get caught up in it as I was hard on the brakes till Dave's car spun out of the
way and then was hard on the gas to get by. Whew!! When the green
flag flew, I had moved up to 4th place, so was happy with that finish. My
car was very loose on the slick track tonight. I almost spun out at least
3 times during the race. I'm sure I was pretty much sideways going through
the turns several times and was probably hard to pass if there was anyone trying
to get around me. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on winning another
feature. Also, Kyle Vandenburg and Donavin Weist, 2 new rookie
drivers, both had excellent runs tonight, each leading the feature for several
laps and finishing in 2nd and 3rd place. Good job guys.
Back to Top
July
13th -
Dacotah Speedway - Tonight was the final night of the Dakota Classic
Modified Tour with 64 modifieds in the pits. I had a bit of a bad feeling
before tonight's races. I'm not superstitious about Friday the 13th or
anything like that, but we had a very slick, dusty track and 22 cars starting
the feature which could be a very tough night. I started the second heat
in 10th place and finished in 5th place. The 5th place finish would give
me a starting postion inside the second row. Since my car handled
very well during the heat race, I was comfortable on the slick track and was
glad to have the up front starting position. After the race got going, I
ran in 3rd place for several laps till I was passed by the #8 car of Bill
Hultburg and shortly after, Bill spun his car right in front of me in turn
2. I turned down low and avoided him. After the re-start I was
passed by Cam Schafer. I ran a few more laps battling with Spencer Wilson
till Spencer finally got by me close to the end of the race leaving me with a
5th place finish - my best feature finish at Dacotah Speedway.
Fortunately, my earlier bad feeling about the night was wrong. Although
there were some visibility problems due to the dust, a few spins and yellow
flags, there was only one wreck between cars and that was not serious.
Congratulations to Cam Schafer on his feature win and also to Dylan Barnhardt for
a great run that if not for having trouble getting around a lapped car near the
end of the race, may have ended up with the win.
July 7th -
McLean County Speedway - We had 15 cars show up for Underwood's
Legends special - a real nice turnout on a very hot day. They split us up
into 3 heats. I started 4th in the first heat. I ran in second place
for several laps till Rod Schlafman got past me in the backstretch and I
finished in 3rd place. The top two transferred to the trophy dash so I
missed out on that one. The trophy dash was won by Cam Schafer. I
started the feature outside the 6th row. Since tonight was the Legends
special, we were supposed to do a four abreast parade lap like they do in the
World of Outlaws, but some of the guys didn't pay attention in the pit meeting
so our parade lap looked pretty pathetic. The track was tough to pass on
as they had put down quite a bit of water and if you got out of the groove it
was pretty slick. With a few cars dropping out and a few of us in the back
swapping positions, I was running in 8th or 9th trying to pass Glen Hellebust
when Dylan Barnhardt, who was running right in front of Glen spun in turn 4 just
as I was getting hard on the gas and he crossed right in front of me and I hit
him hard right in his driver's door. Dylan's car had to be towed from the
track, but after looking mine over I drove it into the pits and loaded it on the
trailer. I was credited with a 11th place finish. It is a bit
frustrating to have another DNF, but feel fortunate not to have wrecked my
car. I have to give the car a good checkup, but I think I got away with
that one with not much more than a bent bumper and grille. As hard as I
hit him, I figured my front end would be all torn up. Another lucky break
for me. These cars are tougher than a guy thinks. Thanks to all the
guys who showed up to give the fans a good Legends show. Congratulations
to Cam Schafer on winning tonight's feature - again.
July 5th -
Tri-County Speedway - As I was heading back to Wishek to one of my
favorite places to race, I was hoping for a fun time and a decent finish, and
that wish came true as I had one of the most fun nights I have had since I got
into this "racing thing". We had 16 cars show up so that was a
great car count. It's too bad they didn't have a better car count in the
Street Stock and MW Mods. I started 7th in the second heat and worked my
way up to a 3rd place finish. There was lots of close racing and the track
was a bit greasy, but it was definitely a good run. They ran a B-main to
have a little more racing for the fans. Since I finished in the top 4 of
the heat, I got to watch the Legends race for once. It has been a while
since I have been able to watch them run. Congratulations to Troy Speten
on winning the B-main. All drivers got to run in the 20 lap A-main - a
long race for us as we don't get to run 20 lap races. I started the race
in 4th place. We had a few re-starts as the tight racing caused a bit of
trouble for some cars. I know there was a little bit of banging going on
up where I was. About midway through the race, Wes Doepke and Dylan
Barnhardt got tangled up a little bit directly in front of me as I was getting
on the gas and I hit Dylan in the rear end causing a bit of damage to his car
and spinning him out. I hit him pretty hard and was lucky to be able to
continue without any damage to my car, other than a bent bumper. Wes
was sent to the back for the caution and Dylan and I continued. Even
though I didn't feel it was my fault, I felt bad about the contact with Dylan,
but that's racing. The 20 laps flew by and soon the race was over
with me finishing in 6th place. This track had lots of close racing all
through the field and is so fun to race on and I had a good run and a great time
tonight. I made more actual on-track passes tonight than I have in several
nights of racing combined. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back
in two weeks. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on his win
tonight.
Back to Top
July 4th - Nodak
Speedway - We had an excellent car count tonight as 16 drivers turned
came to race and watch fireworks - both on and off the track. I started
the first heat in 3rd position and finished in 6th place giving me 6th row
inside for the feature. After sitting in our cars, sweating our *$%#@!#
off while the clowns driving in the Street Stock feature had a caution filled
race that took over a half hour. To top it off, Nodak had two of their
2-seater ride-alongs while we were sitting there waiting to get out on the
track. The crowd definitely let the officials know that they came to watch
racing and not the ride-along we could hear the boo's sitting in our cars. Our feature was pretty much non-eventful
for me although I was keeping up well with the cars in front of me. Midway
through the race there was a caution flag for a spun car. On the restart,
Dave Schafer lined up outside of me and once the race started, we battled side by
side pretty much for the rest of the race where I ended up with a 14th place
finish. Even though I didn't place very
well tonight, I definitely had a great time battling with Dave.
Congratulations to Cam Schafer on another feature trophy for his
mantle.
June 30th -
Southwest Speedway - After having a story about Legends cars and me in
Thursday's Dickinson Press (click
here to check out the story), Saturday we finally made the much anticipated trip to Dickinson
where we had 12 drivers make the trip. I think we would have had more cars
but Underwood also was racing on the same night and I think a few drivers went
there instead. Since I was missing (skipping??) my nephew's wedding up in
Minot to go racing in Dickinson, I was hoping for a good run tonight. When
I got to the track I drew lucky #7 so I figured that was a good sign. My
co-worker, Glen Hellebust and I made up the front row of the second heat.
On the first lap, Glen and I raced down the backstretch and I beat him into the
turn taking the lead. After the first lap we had a short caution for a
spun car, but then the race continued. The race was 10 laps long and
seemed to take forever - I figure that when you are out front the race always
seems longer, although we normally have 8 lap heat races. Each lap I would
look at the shadows coming out of turn 4, but didn't see anything behind me
until the last couple of laps. I saw the car of Bill Hultburg inside me
with about a lap or so to go, but I held him off to win another heat race in
Dickinson ( I won one here last year - one of my few wins). The win put me
at the tail end of the trophy dash. Starting in back I knew I wouldn't
have much of a chance of winning the trophy dash so I just wanted to keep out of
trouble and not wreck before the feature. After avoiding a spinning
car and the others taking evasive action, I finished in 5th place out of 7 cars
starting. For the feature, they started the cars in reverse order of
the heat finishes so I started dead last. I wish I could get a decent
starting position in a feature race here once. Last year I had good runs
in my heat races, but always drew crappy numbers for the feature. Once the
race got underway, there was a lot of action going on out my windshield. I
worked my way up to 5th place and was right on the rear bumper of Tom Wagner
looking to get around him when I ran over something on the track and punctured
my right rear tire. The car definitely doesn't want to go through the
corner with the right rear flat. I pulled up high and limped off the track
without bringing out a caution flag. I was very disappointed in another
DNF (2 in a row now) but very pleased with how I ran tonight. There was a
great crowd in the grandstands and lots of kids came down after the races to get
cards and autographs. One kid even told me I was his favorite Legends
driver, which seemed funny to actually hear someone say that. I gave out a
lot of pictures and Tootsie Roll boxes to the kids and talked about Legends cars
to many other adult race fans and definitely had a great time and am looking
forward to coming back again in September. Several people thanked us for
coming and said they thought we put on a very good show. I wish we could
get on their schedule a bit more regularly as it is a very fun place to race and
great fans. Congratulations to Steven Kuntz on his feature win. Also
congratulations to my nephew, Cameron Schilken and his new bride, Jessica on
their wedding. I hope you have many happy years together and I'm sorry I
missed your big day.
June 24th - Nodak Speedway -
After having Friday night off at Dacotah Speedway I was looking forward to my
racing fix. We had 13 cars show up at the track tonight. I started the first
heat in 3rd place and finished in 6th place, right on the rear bumper of Spencer
Wilson. I had a great time racing with Spencer and Glen Huettl for most of the
race. For the feature I lined up outside the 5th row. When I came out onto the
track, something didn't feel right with my steering, but I figured I would see
if it worked out whatever the problem was (I know, not exactly a smart move). On
the second lap, I got a bit sideways in turn 2 and with the steering so stiff, I
couldn't steer the car back quick enough and I did a couple fishtails as I ran
off the backstretch. I put it back in gear and took off so I didn't cause a
caution and got loose again and damn near put it into the inside guardrail this
time, so I figured I had better pull it into the pits for the night, resulting
in a 13th place finish. It is a good thing I started back in the pack. When I
was trying to get the car straightened out coming out of the turn, I never gave
a thought to the couple cars behind me. After the race, I was talking with
Shannon Cree and he said he almost crashed into me, so I figure I was pretty
lucky - so was Shannon after having made front suspension repairs from a crash
in his heat race. I was disappointed in the night, but glad I loaded up again in
one piece. I believe this is only my 2nd mechanical DNF, so that isn't too bad.
Congratulations to Robert Huettl on winning tonight's feature. I found out
I had a broken motor mount so the right side of the engine dropped down and the
oil drain plug was setting directly on the steering shaft. I got it fixed
and am ready to head to Dickinson for a good time.
Back to Top
June15th -
Dacotah Speedway - The whole day was off and on light rain and it never
really looked like it was going to clear off. At 3:00 PM it there was
still a light sprinkle and I thought for sure the races would be called off
again. The BMSCA board made the right call (very luckily I might add) and
did not cancel the races. By race time the skies had mostly cleared off
and we had a great night for racing. The track was very tacky and while
there were a few bumps from the mud that gets tossed to the high side, it was
very excellent for racing. There were 15 cars showing up at the speedway
tonight. In my heat, I started inside the third row. After a fairly
un-eventful race, I finished in 6th place. I started the feature inside
the 6th row. I had a few close calls tonight - one was VERY close.
The track was very tacky and fast and there was a lot of action going on out
there and we had a few caution flags. I found that kind of surprising as I
thought people would keep out of trouble as they should have a bit more control
of their cars with the tacky surface compared to the usual dry-slick conditions
at Mandan. We had a fairly lengthy caution after Dylan Barnhardt got
tangled up with another car sending Dylan into the backstretch guard rail,
taking several laps to get Dylan untangled from the rail and towed off the
track. One incident I had to avoid was the spinning car of Tom Wagner
coming out of turn 2. I saw his car going around and steered to the
outside, making it around with plenty of room to spare, but it gets quite scary
sometimes, hoping you make it through without getting run over by another
car. Tom got going without causing a caution and we continued till our
next caution. One of the caution flags was for me. I was going low
through turn two right on the back bumper of Paul Huettl when Paul got loose and
clipped my right front, sending me into a spin toward the infield. There
was a large berm of mud that had been piled up by the grader along the inside
and as I slid sideways toward the berm, I thought that this could be a nasty
deal. By the time I hit the mud, my car had slowed considerably, and when
I hit the mud, my car caught and I thought for sure I was going to go over onto
my roof. The car tipped almost onto it's side where I could have reached
out and touch the ground. and then flopped back down onto it's wheels.
After getting pulled off the berm by the wrecker, I continued on, taking it
somewhat easy as I was not certain if I had any damage and didn't want to have a
more serious wreck, and I finished in 9th place - last place of the cars
running at the end. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on his feature win and
also to Dave Schafer on his impressive 3rd place finish. Although I was
very disappointed with another last place finish, I was also very happy to be
driving my car onto the trailer in one piece after my very close call.
Some of the guys are joking with me about how lucky I have been to avoid any
serious damage so far. Out here I would rather be lucky than good. I
know my day is coming sometime, because I don't think tonight counted.
June14th -
Tri County Speedway - Finally back to probably my favorite place to
race. We had 9 cars show up tonight, so it was kind of a short
field. I started the 2nd heat in 3rd place out of 4 cars. The track
was quite slick and I almost spun out a couple of times. I had a great
battle with the 96 car of Kyle Vandenburg, one of our new Legends drivers,
getting past him about midway through the race, finishing in 3rd place.
For the feature I started in 3rd place again. There was a lot of good
racing action early in the race. About midway through there was a spin in
the backstretch by Bill Hultburg (he had some help with that one) which caused a
bit of excitement with the cars dodging him. I believe one other car
driven by a new rookie driver ( I don't remember his name right now) got a
little piece of that one and he had to pull off the track. A few
laps after the restart there was another spin in the backstretch by Jordan
Jangula and that one I was a bit closer to, but missed it. There was no
caution and the race continued till Bill Hultburg blew his engine going down the
backstretch and into turn 3, leaving a huge cloud of smoke behind him which was
impossible to see through. After a brief caution the race continued to the
finish. I had a great battle near the end with Ivan Sailer with Ivan
getting past me for good on the final lap, leaving me with a 4th place
finish. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on his feature win. Even
though the track was a bit rough and slick tonight, it still was a blast.
I love to race here and wish we could do it more often.
June9th -
McLean County Speedway - When I left Bismarck, the sun was shining, but
by the time I got to Underwood, there was a few sprinkles and a definite threat
of rain. We were all afraid that we would have another rain-out for
Underwood as they have had to cancel our first two race nights this season, but
soon the skies began to clear and the rain passed us by. 12 cars showed up
tonight, one being the 4 car of Robert Huettl who had work committments today,
being piloted by Ted Hochsprung. Ted is the oldest IMCA license holder in
the US. From what I was told, Ted has had a IMCA license in 6 decades of
racing and is 80 some years old and is still currently driving his hobby
stock. Hope you had a good time Ted. I started 4th in the
heat. When we came out onto the track, it was still quite slippery as
there were only 4 street stocks there tonight and they didn't get much of the
mud slung off the track. It was pretty much a one groove track. I
held my own in 4th place for several laps till I got high in turns 3 and 4,
giving a place to Nathan Speten and giving Glen Huettl an opening below
me. Glen and I raced side by side for about a lap till he got the
position, leaving me to finish in last place, relegating me to a feature start
in dead last place. With that starting spot and the track conditions of
the heat race, I didn't have a lot of hope for a decent finish in the
feature. On the start of the race there was a lot of action going on in
front of me, but as the laps clicked off, I gained a few positions. About
midway through the race, we had a caution for a spun car. On the restart,
the cars of Rod Schlafman and Dave Schafer started in the row directly in front
of me with Glen Hellebust on my outside. When the green flag flew, Rod and
Dave touched wheels, sending Rod's 9s car directly into the path of Glen's 23
machine with both cars slamming head on into the guard rail right in front of
the flag stand. It was a tough first night out for the season for
Rod. Both drivers were unhurt, but both cars looked heavily damaged.
After a lengthy red flag to clear the cars as there was no wrecker, the race
continued on. A few laps later, Dave Schafer's 5s machine did a slow loop
directly in front of me and I went around him on the outside, but Dylan
Barnhardt was't so lucky. With about 2 laps to go, I hoped I was going to
end up with a 3rd place finish, but I could hear someone working up beside me,
when I saw the front of Cam Schafer's car inside me and he got by me fairly
quickly, leaving me with a 4th place finish. (I found out later that Cam
was a lap down so I did end up with a third place finish) Cam lost a front bumper
earlier in the race and rejoined the field, coming out of the pits after the
cars came by on the last re-start so he had a lot of ground to make up.
Congratulations to Nathan Speten for overcoming his end over end tumble last
week to win his first feature event tonight, having a great battle the last few
laps with Glen Huettl. Great job Nathan!! The track was very nice
for the feature race, with no dust, rut or rock problems. I just wish
there would have been more stock cars there tonight to have a better
show.
I saw this video of a very nasty wreck and thought I would
share it. It goes to show how fast some of these bad wrecks can
happen. From what I understand, nobody was hurt in this incident. [Click
here]
Back to Top
June8th - Dacotah Speedway -
Finally, after 2 weeks of rainouts, the weather was beautiful and we got to make
up our rained out feature from May 18th. Our make-up feature was the first
event of the night so it was kind of a scramble to go from the pit meeting to
getting all geared up and strapped in the car and ready to race. I lined
up outside the 6th row. As we rolled onto the track for a few hot laps, it
was very apparent that it was going to be a dry, dusty track tonight. It
is hard to believe there could be dust anywhere after all the rain we had.
At the start of the race, the racing was close back where I was, but the dust
was so thick that I couldn't see anything going down the backstretch, so I
backed off somewhat to make sure I didn't run into anything and let the other
cars slip by me. I ended up finishing the race in last place (15th).
The race was run without a caution, and I was beginning to get worried that I
might get lapped. So far, I believe the only time I have been lapped in a
race was at the all green flag 30 lap Dirt Nationals last year.
Congratulations to Cam Schafer on his feature win.
On to the current night's festivities. We had 22 cars
show up for tonight's show, including 3 rookies. There are at least
another 6 cars around our area that should be racing at least once in a while,
so we could have a lot of cars at some future events. I started in 2nd
place for our heat race. The track was not as dusty and visibility was
better when the green flag flew. When the laps ran out, I finished in 7th
place out of 12 cars. The feature saw me lined up outside the 7th
row. The racing was close and fast pretty much throughout the field pretty
much during the whole race. The track was very fast and smooth as
glass. It sure is nice to have a smooth track like this, even though it
would be nice to have a little more grip in it. I finished the race in
11th place, right on the heels of Tom Wagner. Congratulations to Robert
Huettl on winning tonight's second feature. Also I want to congratulate
all the Legends drivers on putting on a great show for the fans tonight.
We ran two features and two heat races and I believe we only drew 1 caution flag
all night - a huge contrast to a couple of the other stock car feature
races. Great job guys!!!
June 3rd - Nodak Speedway -
Another night with the threat of rain right before the start of the races, but
after feeling about 3 raindrops on my bald head, the rain passed us by and we
had our fun, although it wasn't exactly "fun" for everyone
tonight. I started outside the front row in the 2nd heat. At the
drop of the green flag I jumped out into the lead. I held the lead for
about 3 or 4 laps with the 3 car of Nathan Speten working to get around me on
the low groove. Going down the back stretch, Nathan was avoiding a car on
his inside and came up high and hooked his right rear wheel with my left front,
sending him into a nasty rollover, flipping his car several times.
Fortunately, Nathan was unhurt but his chassis doesn't look like it will see the
track again. What an awful feeling so see someone's car rolling off the
front of your car. I didn't see much of the crash other than to see the
start of the first barrel roll. I came through it with no damage and after
the red flag continued on to a 4th place finish. After a caution filled
Street Stock feature that seemed to take forever, I started the Legends
feature in 3rd place, with 13 cars in the event, including Nathan Speten in Ivan
Sailer's backup car. After a brief caution flag for a spun car on the
opening lap, we ran our feature flag to flag without a caution. On a
rather rough track, that 12 lap non-stop feature can sure wear you out. I
was passed by the faster cars quite quickly early in the race and I settled into
the 8th position and pretty much ran there most of the race. I could hear
the 10 car of Tom Wagner close behind me, but never saw him up beside me.
I got rather sideways in the turns a couple of times and was happy that I
"stayed forward". Congratulations to "fill in" driver,
Nathan Burke on winning tonight's feature driving Robert Huettl's #4 car while
Robert was out of town. Also a big cheer to Dylan Barnhardt on his 2nd
place feature run and Shannon Cree for his first heat win. Impressive runs
guys. Now, if the rain can hold off next Friday night, maybe we will
get to run at Mandan again. It seems like forever since we have run there.
May 28th - Nodak Speedway -
The weather didn't look very promising for racing up until shortly before race
time, but we had a great night for racing and the rain held off to let us
complete all the races. We only had 9 cars show up tonight so we raced
with a rather short field. I started the heat in 4th place. On the
opening lap, the car of Troy Speten spun coming out of the second turn causing
several cars to take evasive action. The car of Glen Huettl and I banged
into each other pretty good with Glen taking a nice bounce down the backstretch
but kept it all together. Neither car suffered any serious damage
and we continued on when the green flag flew again. A few laps later my
exhaust header fell off, so I took it easy and finished the race in 7th place -
last. I started the feature in 7th place and that is where I
finished, but I had a lot of fun with some good racing with Glen Hellebust, Troy
Speten and Shannon Cree. Congratulations to Glen Huettl for his
first place feature finish tonight. Also, thanks to Robert Huettl for his
help repairing my car after the heat race.
Back to Top
May 27th - Nodak
Speedway - Today was the first day of the Memorial Day doubleheader in
Minot and we had 13 cars show up to race. I started outside the 1st row in
the first heat and shortly after the green flag waved, I was shuffled back to
6th place. I had a good race going with Ivan Sailer for a couple of
laps till Ivan finally made the pass and then spun. Shortly after that Wes
Doepke went off the track and on the last lap, Shannon Cree ran off the
backstretch handing me 3rd place. I started outside the 1st row again for
the feature. About half way through the race there was a 4 car chain
reaction crash coming out of turn 2 that resulted in the car of Wes Doepke doing
a somersault over the roof of the car of Glen Hellebust, putting a few scratches
on Glen's roof, but seriously damaging Wes' car. I went on to finish the
race in 8th place. I think I was the last car running, but I was doing a
decent job of keeping up with the cars ahead of me. Again, we had a nice
track and the lap times were very fast. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on
winning tonight's feature race.
May 18th - Dacotah Speedway -
The day started out very nice and by race time, it was very hot and humid and
looked to be a great night for racing. But by the time the races started,
the skies to the West were definitely threatening rain. I drew a decent
number tonight that put me on the inside of the second row in the second
heat. On the start of the race, I lost a couple of positions right away,
but then settled into 5th place for a while. I had a great side by side
battle for a couple of laps with the 51 car of Glen Huettl till losing the spot
to him, and then had a good battle with the 10 car of Tom Wagner again
tonight. I saw him peeking his nose beside me several times, and felt a
bumper tap from him, but held him off to finish 7th out of 9 cars. After
the last lap of the modified feature, a brief shower began to fall. By the
time they got the track worked in again, the skies were more threatening, with
lots of lightning streaking through the skies and moving closer. As we
were rolling out for our feature race, track officials cancelled the races
because of the lightning, and by the time I got out of my car, the rain was
falling, so that made for a mess getting everything loaded up in the rain.
The track was awesome again tonight, and after that brief rain we were
definitely looking forward to a lightning fast track again.
May
13th - Nodak Speedway - We had 10 Legends cars show up for racing
at Nodak Speedway tonight. I lined up on the pole of the second heat next
to Spencer Wilson. On the start, Spencer jumped out front and shortly I
was also passed by Ivan Sailer. I followed the two of them for a few laps
trying to hold off Robert Huettl, as I could see Robert poking the front of his
car up beside me a few times, but Robert finally got past me on the front
stretch. As we went into turn one, my left front wheel jumped his right
rear and I went for a rather wild ride. The car took a big bounce and then
flew off the top the turn, my feet firmly planted on the brakes. When I
came to a stop, I re-fired the car, ready to continue on, but found out I was
stuck in the mud so I had to sit there while they finished the race without throwing
the caution. After the race the wrecker showed up and the guys gave me a
push out of the mud and I drove on to the pits to survey the damage. I was
surprised to not find any damage to the car and very fortunate to keep the car
"shiny side up" and not end up like Brad Brimer did on Mandan's
opening night last year. My DNF in the heat race relegated me to starting
the feature dead last out of 10 cars. The feature was fairly un-eventful
except for a single caution flag for a spinning car. I finished the race
in 8th place with all cars running at the finish. The track was quite
smooth and very fast tonight. I felt good that I did a fairly good job of
keeping up with the leaders tonight and was very happy to drive it on the
trailer one more time. From what I heard tonight, Nodak officials
have committed to running us for all our scheduled races this year, but we still
need to have decent fields of cars. I hope everyone comes out for the
Memorial Weekend doubleheader. Congratulations to Glen Huettl on his
feature win and to the Huettl Racing Team on their 1 - 2 - 3 sweep.
May 11th - Dacotah Speedway -
I was worried we wouldn't get to race tonight because the weather was
threatening rain most of the day, but the evening proved to be a beautiful
evening for racing, although a bit on the chilly side. When I got to the
track, I drew a high number for my heat race lineup again this week so I started
7th out of 9 cars and went on to finish the race in 8th place - definitely no
great accomplishment. That finish put me inside the 8th row for the
feature - even farther back than last week. With none of the fast guys
behind me, pretty much the only place I had to go was forward. After one
restart for someone jumping the green flag, I slowly moved forward,
battling and finally passing the cars of John Schoon and Dave Aberle.
About midway through the race, we had a caution flag involving the cars of Cam
Schafer and Robert Huettl. I was way too far back to see what was
happening, but from what I heard, they were banging on each other pretty good
and both cars exited the race with mechanical problems. After the
re-start, I tried my best to get past the car of Tom Wagner, and coming out of
the last corner, I got right alongside of him, but not quite enough and Tom
edged me out for the 9th place spot. I had a blast tonight as I got to do
some battling and passing for positions and again loaded the car up in one
piece. Tonight's track was definitely to Steven Kuntz's liking as there
was a nice high groove and he went on to the victory. Congratulations
Steven. I also want to say congratulations to Cam Schafer on his
impressive showing early in the Modified feature, leading the first 4 laps and
running in second for several more, ahead of some much more experienced drivers,
until some unfortunate incidents on the track put him out of the race. It
won't be long and he will be running and staying up front with those guys
too. Also, thanks to Ivan and every one working on the track as the track
was awesome tonight - smooth as glass again tonight and much tackier than last
week and lightning fast.
Back to Top
May 4th - Dacotah Speedway - I was hoping tonight would go as well for
me as last year's season opener in Mandan, as I drew for pole position in the
heat and went on to win my first heat race, but tonight was not to be a repeat
of last year. I started my heat race outside the 3rd row and had a great
time during the race. I battled a couple laps trying to get by the car of
Jordan Jangula. Once I got past him, Steven Kuntz and I had a nice side by
side battle for a couple of laps until Steven got past me and I went on to
finish in 7th place. I lined up inside the 7th row for the feature with 17
cars in the lineup. The track was smooth as glass, but it was a dry-slick
track tonight. I didn't make any on-track passes except for missing 3
separate cars spinning out in front of me. I didn't come too close to
hitting any of them, but when a car spins in front of you it sure can get
exciting! We had a caution flag about midway through the race and the car
of Glen Hellebust lined up outside of me. Glen and I battled side by side
for a few laps till I got in front of him for good. I went on to finish
the race in 11th place. Tonight was very fun with actually having
some real side by side racing and everyone loaded up their cars without needing
any repairs due to crashing - a big difference from our last race here when
there was a big pileup on the front stretch that left several cars in need of
extensive repairs. Congratulations to Cam Schafer on winning the
feature tonight.
April
29th - Nodak Speedway - After a long winter, our first race of the
season has come and gone. We had a very disappointing car count tonight as
there were only 7 cars to show up tonight at Minot (8 counting Spencer Wilson
loaning out his spare car - Thanks Spencer). The track officials
definitely were not happy with that. I lined up on the front row outside
of the heat. At the green flag, I took the lead and stayed out front for a
few laps. It felt good to be racing again, especially running up
front. Around the third or fourth lap, there was a caution flag. On
the restart, Glen Huettl lined up outside of me and when the green flag flew
again, he took me on the restart. I followed Glen for a couple more laps
trying to hold off Robert Huettl, but Robert finally got by me and I finished
the race in 3rd place. After the race was over, I drove to my pit and
forgot to weigh - Oops! I lucked out because they did not DQ me and I
started the feature in 3rd place. On the first start, a couple cars blew
by me, one jumping the start and they did a complete re-start. On the
re-start, things went better, but I still was passed. There definitely was
some tight action out there for the first couple of laps. After a couple
of caution flags I eventually finished the race in 6th place, the last car
running. It was a disappointing run for me tonight, but I kept out of
trouble and loaded the car up in one piece and it was a safe race for
everyone. The track tonight was fairly smooth and was a nice track to run
on. Congratulations to Robert Huttl on continuing his winning ways.
Just a note to all the Legends drivers - if we want to
continue to race in Minot, we will need to have more guys make the trip up to
Minot or we won't have the opportunity to race up there any more, at least on
any regular basis.
Back to Top
