By: Betty Glynn
La Salle, IL – The track surface at the Illinois Valley speed arena is far from the racey multi groove haven that it is widely known for. The La Salle Speedway’s high banks became the topic of conversation Saturday night at all turns.
Is it global warming, the wind, the sun’s piercing rays, the infield tire position or just a change of the times. The correct answer is probably a combination of multiple factors. One thing undeniable – it is different. The track surfaces for many racing facilities across Illinois have the same problems being discussed. Anyone in the area attempting to update or work their landscaping has the similar complaints also, the ground is terribly dry and it is only May.
When the Late Model qualifiers hit the track early in the night, the lap times were clocking slower than ever but by the eighth qualifier there wasn’t much left for the remaining competitors to work with. Dauber posted the quickest timed lap with 14.205.
Next up for the Late’s, was their eight lap heat races. Oglesby’s Keith Piano was fast from the front row outside and distanced himself to beat Maple Park’s Ralph Markham, Mike Glynn of La Salle and Eric Dauber of Tonica. Kingston’s Jim Loomis started the second heat in fourth but took over the lead during Lap 3 to secure the second race over Billy Weistart Jr.
of Oglesby, Ed Williams and Dave Miller.
A watering of the track just before the main event kept the seventeen contenders busy as they hosted hot lap sessions in an effort to ready the track for racing. The starting grid was set for the twenty five lap main event, it was Markham as the pole sitter next to Weistart. Dauber and Loomis rolled up in row two ahead of Piano and Williams.
As soon as the green was signaled, Markham found his groove high and set the pace for the field. He quickly found his own zip code as he hit the gas hard. It sounded as if he never gave the engine a rest while he flew through the corners full steam ahead. Weistart followed in a strong run by himself for second. Loomis controlled third until he pulled off after the tenth lap out.
Dauber then moved into third running in front of Glynn, Aaron Schmidt and Steve Oeder. Dodging lapped cars and several spin outs, helped Tonica’s Scott Schmitt move his way to the front from seventeenth. Schmitt made it to the track just in the nick of time for the feature race as he was a no show for qualifying and the heat races. He arrived in time for several of the pre-feature hot lap sessions.
Markham was unstoppable capturing his second victory for 2007. After packing up his car half torn up last week and mechanical woes the first week, the second place finish for Weistart was a nice change of scenery. Dauber took home third. Schmitt closed up with fourth over Oeder, Glynn, Schmidt, Piano and Lake Knutti.
Colona’s Milo Veloz Jr. is on fire. Dubbed ‘Primetime’ by fans it was just that when he swept the UMP Modified’s three events. He traveled the fastest lap and took home the checkers in his heat race. The only thing left was their feature and yet again he claimed his stake for the second week in a row.
On the front row of the twenty lap main, Veloz and Morris driver Vince Cooper were side by side. The two are both very strong competitors with a keen sense for where to put their cars.
By the completion of the first lap out, Veloz was using the whole track when he worked the low line in the corners and moved higher on the straightaways.
Cooper was on his tail in second over Ray Bollinger, Justin McCoy, Nathan Balensiefen and Jason Anderson.
By Lap 8, Veloz was dodging lapped traffic making new lines to run. But two laps later he found himself three wide in the middle of two of the lapped cars.
During Lap 12, Cooper sent sparks flying when he scraped his tail on the outside retaining wall running as high as he could go for momentum. Quickly after that he was pushing the back bumper of Milo trying to get around him.
As the drivers crossed under the flag stand for Lap 14, the two leaders tangled on the front stretch at a scary pace nearly crashing. They kept going but the flag man stopped the race and a conversation was held with the leader.
“They stopped me and said I was being too rough,” Veloz said after the race.
“I told them I’m the leader, who have I hit.”
At the finish line it was Veloz heading to winners circle. Cooper gave it all he had for second over Bollinger, McCoy, Anderson, Joe Adam, Balensiefen and Eric Alwin.
Veloz earned the first heat while Cooper, the reigning track champ, picked up the second heat.
Mendota’s Matt Ramer was one happy camper at the completion of the UMP Street Stock feature race. Ramer and his young son were sporting big smiles and a trophy they were proud to carry and show anyone willing to look.
“It’s been a long, long, long time that I have been wanting this,” Ramer said with a huge smile. “I haven’t won a feature since ’96.” The trophy was won by dad but will be proudly displayed in his biggest fans bedroom.
Ramer started on the front row next to Gary Schmitt with Nick Sell and Tim Loomis behind them. A couple complete restarts stalled the action but once the racing was consistent the Street Stock’s put on a good showing.
Ramer led the twenty one car pack flag to flag en route to the winners circle. At the checkers, it was Loomis with an impressive second place finish in front of Schmitt, Justin Rutledge, Jimmy Partipilo, Rick Koltveit, Sell, Mike Hughes, Justin Sellers and Steve Lewis.
Sell and Schmitt each won their heat races.
Nineteen Hornets (aka 4 Cylinders) made the call but DJ Wekmeister continued his winning ways. The young driver closed in on his second win in a row.
Eric Boudreau took second over Loren Westerhold, Kyle Fisher, Jon Small, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher, Mark Sutton, Dan Leonard, Don Slover, and Asa Robart.
Bordreau and Werkmeister won the heat events for the class.
Next week is the first big dollar show at the speedway. The Lucas Oil Spring Shootout is topping the venue with a $10,000 payday to the victor. In addition, the weekly Late Model class, UMP Modifieds and UMP Street Stocks will provide the support action.
La Salle Speedway Results 5/12/07
Late Model – 18 Cars
Qualifying: Eric Dauber 14.205
Heat One: Keith Piano, Ralph Markham, Mike Glynn Eric Dauber Heat Two: Jim Loomis, Billy Weistart Jr., Ed Williams, Dave Miller
Feature: Ralph Markham, Billy Weistart Jr., Eric Dauber, Scott Schmitt, Steve Oeder, Mike Glynn, Aaron Schmitt, Keith Piano, Lake Knutti, Doug Newlin, Joe Fratt, Brian Lock, Andrew Atkinson, Dave Miller, Jim Loomis, Ed Williams, Robert Voice, Jeff Small
UMP Modifieds – 16 Cars
Qualifying: Milo Veloz 14.930
Heat One: Milo Veloz, Matt Weibel, Jason Anderson, Justin McCoy Heat Two: Vince Cooper, Nathen Balensiefen, Ray Bollinger, Bill Thedorf
Feature: Milo Veloz, Vince Cooper, Ray Bollinger, Justin McCoy, Jason Anderson, Joe Adam, Nathan Balensiefen, Eric Alwin, Mark Vervynck, Mike Dyas, Brian Lucas, Wally Forsythe, Mark Novorolsky, Bill Thedorf, Mike Algren, Matt Weibel
UMP Street Stocks – 21 Cars
Heat One: Nick Sell, Matt Ramer, Rick Koltveit, Steve Lewis Heat Two: Gary Schmitt, Jimmy Partipilo, Timmy Loomis, Jason Abens
Feature: Matt Ramer, Tim Loomis, Gary Schmitt, Justin Rutledge, Jimmy Partipilo, Rick Koltveit, Nick Sell, Mike Hughes, Justin Sellers, Steve Lewis, Eric Whittington, Jason Abens, Brent Carlson, Mike Stewart, Jay Mesarchik, Steve Schweimlen, Alex Clubb, Mark Kurrle, Greg Cravatta, Joe Jelinek, Eric Rebholz
UMP Hornets – 19 Cars
Heat One: Erc Boudreau, Kyle Fisher, Asa Robart, Brian Stoker Heat Two: DJ Wekmeister, Loren Westerhold, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher
Feature: DJ Werkmeister, Eric Boudreau, Loren Westerholdt, Kyle Fisher, Jon Small, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher, Mark Sutton, Dan Leonard, Don Slover, Asa Robart, Gabe Koncor, Jimmy Johnson, Travis Mahoney, Nick Clubb, Tony Harlocker, #14, Brian Stoker, Bubb Swinski
La Salle, IL – The track surface at the Illinois Valley speed arena is far from the racey multi groove haven that it is widely known for. The La Salle Speedway’s high banks became the topic of conversation Saturday night at all turns.
Is it global warming, the wind, the sun’s piercing rays, the infield tire position or just a change of the times. The correct answer is probably a combination of multiple factors. One thing undeniable – it is different. The track surfaces for many racing facilities across Illinois have the same problems being discussed. Anyone in the area attempting to update or work their landscaping has the similar complaints also, the ground is terribly dry and it is only May.
When the Late Model qualifiers hit the track early in the night, the lap times were clocking slower than ever but by the eighth qualifier there wasn’t much left for the remaining competitors to work with. Dauber posted the quickest timed lap with 14.205.
Next up for the Late’s, was their eight lap heat races. Oglesby’s Keith Piano was fast from the front row outside and distanced himself to beat Maple Park’s Ralph Markham, Mike Glynn of La Salle and Eric Dauber of Tonica. Kingston’s Jim Loomis started the second heat in fourth but took over the lead during Lap 3 to secure the second race over Billy Weistart Jr.
of Oglesby, Ed Williams and Dave Miller.
A watering of the track just before the main event kept the seventeen contenders busy as they hosted hot lap sessions in an effort to ready the track for racing. The starting grid was set for the twenty five lap main event, it was Markham as the pole sitter next to Weistart. Dauber and Loomis rolled up in row two ahead of Piano and Williams.
As soon as the green was signaled, Markham found his groove high and set the pace for the field. He quickly found his own zip code as he hit the gas hard. It sounded as if he never gave the engine a rest while he flew through the corners full steam ahead. Weistart followed in a strong run by himself for second. Loomis controlled third until he pulled off after the tenth lap out.
Dauber then moved into third running in front of Glynn, Aaron Schmidt and Steve Oeder. Dodging lapped cars and several spin outs, helped Tonica’s Scott Schmitt move his way to the front from seventeenth. Schmitt made it to the track just in the nick of time for the feature race as he was a no show for qualifying and the heat races. He arrived in time for several of the pre-feature hot lap sessions.
Markham was unstoppable capturing his second victory for 2007. After packing up his car half torn up last week and mechanical woes the first week, the second place finish for Weistart was a nice change of scenery. Dauber took home third. Schmitt closed up with fourth over Oeder, Glynn, Schmidt, Piano and Lake Knutti.
Colona’s Milo Veloz Jr. is on fire. Dubbed ‘Primetime’ by fans it was just that when he swept the UMP Modified’s three events. He traveled the fastest lap and took home the checkers in his heat race. The only thing left was their feature and yet again he claimed his stake for the second week in a row.
On the front row of the twenty lap main, Veloz and Morris driver Vince Cooper were side by side. The two are both very strong competitors with a keen sense for where to put their cars.
By the completion of the first lap out, Veloz was using the whole track when he worked the low line in the corners and moved higher on the straightaways.
Cooper was on his tail in second over Ray Bollinger, Justin McCoy, Nathan Balensiefen and Jason Anderson.
By Lap 8, Veloz was dodging lapped traffic making new lines to run. But two laps later he found himself three wide in the middle of two of the lapped cars.
During Lap 12, Cooper sent sparks flying when he scraped his tail on the outside retaining wall running as high as he could go for momentum. Quickly after that he was pushing the back bumper of Milo trying to get around him.
As the drivers crossed under the flag stand for Lap 14, the two leaders tangled on the front stretch at a scary pace nearly crashing. They kept going but the flag man stopped the race and a conversation was held with the leader.
“They stopped me and said I was being too rough,” Veloz said after the race.
“I told them I’m the leader, who have I hit.”
At the finish line it was Veloz heading to winners circle. Cooper gave it all he had for second over Bollinger, McCoy, Anderson, Joe Adam, Balensiefen and Eric Alwin.
Veloz earned the first heat while Cooper, the reigning track champ, picked up the second heat.
Mendota’s Matt Ramer was one happy camper at the completion of the UMP Street Stock feature race. Ramer and his young son were sporting big smiles and a trophy they were proud to carry and show anyone willing to look.
“It’s been a long, long, long time that I have been wanting this,” Ramer said with a huge smile. “I haven’t won a feature since ’96.” The trophy was won by dad but will be proudly displayed in his biggest fans bedroom.
Ramer started on the front row next to Gary Schmitt with Nick Sell and Tim Loomis behind them. A couple complete restarts stalled the action but once the racing was consistent the Street Stock’s put on a good showing.
Ramer led the twenty one car pack flag to flag en route to the winners circle. At the checkers, it was Loomis with an impressive second place finish in front of Schmitt, Justin Rutledge, Jimmy Partipilo, Rick Koltveit, Sell, Mike Hughes, Justin Sellers and Steve Lewis.
Sell and Schmitt each won their heat races.
Nineteen Hornets (aka 4 Cylinders) made the call but DJ Wekmeister continued his winning ways. The young driver closed in on his second win in a row.
Eric Boudreau took second over Loren Westerhold, Kyle Fisher, Jon Small, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher, Mark Sutton, Dan Leonard, Don Slover, and Asa Robart.
Bordreau and Werkmeister won the heat events for the class.
Next week is the first big dollar show at the speedway. The Lucas Oil Spring Shootout is topping the venue with a $10,000 payday to the victor. In addition, the weekly Late Model class, UMP Modifieds and UMP Street Stocks will provide the support action.
La Salle Speedway Results 5/12/07
Late Model – 18 Cars
Qualifying: Eric Dauber 14.205
Heat One: Keith Piano, Ralph Markham, Mike Glynn Eric Dauber Heat Two: Jim Loomis, Billy Weistart Jr., Ed Williams, Dave Miller
Feature: Ralph Markham, Billy Weistart Jr., Eric Dauber, Scott Schmitt, Steve Oeder, Mike Glynn, Aaron Schmitt, Keith Piano, Lake Knutti, Doug Newlin, Joe Fratt, Brian Lock, Andrew Atkinson, Dave Miller, Jim Loomis, Ed Williams, Robert Voice, Jeff Small
UMP Modifieds – 16 Cars
Qualifying: Milo Veloz 14.930
Heat One: Milo Veloz, Matt Weibel, Jason Anderson, Justin McCoy Heat Two: Vince Cooper, Nathen Balensiefen, Ray Bollinger, Bill Thedorf
Feature: Milo Veloz, Vince Cooper, Ray Bollinger, Justin McCoy, Jason Anderson, Joe Adam, Nathan Balensiefen, Eric Alwin, Mark Vervynck, Mike Dyas, Brian Lucas, Wally Forsythe, Mark Novorolsky, Bill Thedorf, Mike Algren, Matt Weibel
UMP Street Stocks – 21 Cars
Heat One: Nick Sell, Matt Ramer, Rick Koltveit, Steve Lewis Heat Two: Gary Schmitt, Jimmy Partipilo, Timmy Loomis, Jason Abens
Feature: Matt Ramer, Tim Loomis, Gary Schmitt, Justin Rutledge, Jimmy Partipilo, Rick Koltveit, Nick Sell, Mike Hughes, Justin Sellers, Steve Lewis, Eric Whittington, Jason Abens, Brent Carlson, Mike Stewart, Jay Mesarchik, Steve Schweimlen, Alex Clubb, Mark Kurrle, Greg Cravatta, Joe Jelinek, Eric Rebholz
UMP Hornets – 19 Cars
Heat One: Erc Boudreau, Kyle Fisher, Asa Robart, Brian Stoker Heat Two: DJ Wekmeister, Loren Westerhold, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher
Feature: DJ Werkmeister, Eric Boudreau, Loren Westerholdt, Kyle Fisher, Jon Small, Roy Alm, Alex Fisher, Mark Sutton, Dan Leonard, Don Slover, Asa Robart, Gabe Koncor, Jimmy Johnson, Travis Mahoney, Nick Clubb, Tony Harlocker, #14, Brian Stoker, Bubb Swinski
