Justin Zoch's Upper Midwest Ramblings
Monday, April 18, 2005
News and Notes from Southern Iowa Speedway and Knoxville Practice
Wayne Johnson reversed a trend of early season hardships by charging from tenth to win at Southern Iowa Speedway for the Searsboro Telephone Spring Challenge. Johnson was quick time, after pulling the final pill in qualifying, and then pulled the tenth pill for the feature invert. Johnson is set to start his Knoxville title run on Saturday after finishing second to Terry McCarl in 2004. It was the second straight season he won the IRA opener following last year’s run at Dodge County. The IRA point season opens at that racetrack on April 30.
Don Droud Jr. sat in for Jeff Mitrisin in the Gifford 17G at Oskaloosa, a track he’s traditionally performed very well at, and led briefly before Johnson slipped past. On Friday night, Droud ran for Gary Swenson at the ASCS Midwest Series opener at Nebraska Raceway Park and finished seventh. As of Friday night at practice, Gifford was undecided on who would replace Mitrisin in the ride, who could be out for several months although his recovery time is officially undetermined.
Matt Moro didn’t get to practice in the Sonner 47 on Friday because the team’s hauler broke down en route. Moro got a few laps running for Ed Gifford but on Saturday night, the Sonner’s suffered a myriad of problems and registered a DNF. The team has more prominent sponsorship from Casey’s and Karl Chevrolet for this season.
Terry McCarl had World of Outlaws commitments in Haubstadt, Indiana, on Saturday night and couldn’t be part of his McTwo Promotion at Oskaloosa. He did, however, spend nearly his entire night calling his wife Lori and partner Bill McCroskey for updates. After winning at NRP for Mark Burch on Friday, McCarl set quick-time on Saturday before registering a 15th place finish. Steve Kinser won his fourth race of the season.
Only two 360s showed up to vie for the $300 bonus for highest finishing 360 from Jockos Sprint Parts. Frankie Heimbaugh bested Gary Moyer for the cash. He also claimed an extra $100 from McCroskey Chevrolet for being the fastest qualifier with a little cuber.
Dustin Selvage made his Sprint Car debut, and racing debut, at practice on Friday night. Selvage is the 16-year-old grandson of P. Ray Grimes, the longtime Director of Racing at Knoxville. Selvage hopes to make several starts in 2005 but his schedule could be hampered by his duties at second base with his baseball team in Indianola. Selvage is a graduate of Terry McCarl’s driving school… Last year, Rager Phillips was in a similar situation at practice night and this year, he arrived with shaggy locks and a veteran’s confidence. Phillips tangled with Bob Carr, who returned with an early 1990s Trostle Chassis, and nearly went for a wild rid through turn four. Phillips scored a heat win a 12th place finish at 34 Raceway’s Invaders’ opener the next evening.
Eric VanderPloeg was very quick at Oskaloosa before he was hit in the head with a rock that broke his rock screen. He was not seriously injured but he sat out the rest of the evening in the Lenard McCarl 7X due to some dizziness… Kerry Madsen finished fifth in the feature event, which makes him the only driver with top-five finishes in all three Spring Challenge events. Madsen talked about the agonizing decision not to take the Rick Wright WoO ride and stay with the VerMeer team. Wright has since hired Peter Murphy for the ride. He finished 14th in his debut on Saturday at Tri-State.
Larry Neighbors was frustrated after losing the team’s Gaerte Engine at practice night. After hitting Eldora last week with the same engine stumbling, they thought they had the problems worked out. The F5 House Car will return next Saturday as Neighbors launches his Rookie of the Year campaign… Skip Jackson and Wayne Johnson were also rumored to have suffered major motor problems at practice night.
Dusty Zomer was scheduled to start his 410 career on Saturday at Oskaloosa but the motors were not finished. He ran seventh at Eagle instead… Gary Taylor made the long trip to Nebraska again but left with another wrecked race car after flipping at NRP… Mark Widmar, a longtime modified competitor in southeast Iowa, brought his 305 to Knoxville to practice before the season starts at Bloomfield on Saturday nights. They’ll run every other week… Jarod Smith will be a full-time competitor at Knoxville in 2005 after missing half of the 2004 season. Smith looked great on practice night and could be a leading contender for Rookie of the Year.
Pete Crall will also be a weekly competitor and looking to register a few more top fives in 2005. The Desoto, Kansas driver got a fourth place score on Twin Features night last year. Crall also passed along that the briefly defunct Midwest Sprint Car Series in Kansas is back in business for a handful of shows at Thunder Hill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas… Stevie Walsh recently returned from New Zealand and jumped into the Trostle 20. Walsh only ran four shows in his homeland during the winter but reports he could have won if not for mechanical failures. It’ll be good to have the smilin’ Kiwi back in the pits again in 2005.
Looking for a dark horse in your Knoxville 360 fantasy team? Try Dave Hall. Last year, Hall had a third and a fifth and he’s upgraded his engine program this season. SS Custom Engines does the work and he gets some help from JR Motorsports but other than that, Hall does it out of pocket. He’s an underdog longshot that just might make it this year… Mike Houseman will be back in the seat of Mike Waddell’s Deuce while his son Mike Jr. is running a blue and yellow Y5 this season…There will be plenty of Heskins in the 360 pits this season as all three generations, Dave, DJ and Davey, will be racing, at least until the Masters Classic on June 3. 16-year-old Davey Heskin made his Knoxville debut at practice in the black 56x. He already has two top-five finishes at Arlington Speedway, one from 17th to fourth on championship night.
Scotty Neitzel pretty much left his team intact for 2005 after winning the IRA championship last season. Aside from freshening the engines, the team is pretty much the same. Neitzel should be the favorite to repeat this season… Calvin Landis probably wishes Don Long’s Searsboro Telephone Co. would sponsor every night. Two years ago, Landis won the Spring Challenge and he ran a strong third this season. Landis just needs a little luck at Knoxville this year and he could make good on his potential with some consistent finishes.
Chad Meyer does not have a 360 engine as of yet and that will confine his racing primarily to Knoxville on Saturday nights and Huset’s on Sunday nights. Meyer finished seventh at Osky… Joe Beaver had a 410 on Saturday night but will be running a 360 all season at Knoxville. He also ran 15th at NRP on Friday night… Get well wishes go out to Terry Ledger following his scary incident at NRP. He continues to recover from severe facial injuries. His pleasant smile and cheerful disposition will be missed at Nebraska raceways until he returns.
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