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I can't imagine any true fan of Modified racing or dirt track racing for that matter and I can't imagine any serious Modified racer not wanting to be at this event. With flooding rains hammering the track on Thursday and a 60% forecast of rain for Saturday together and with the coolest temps of the season, you would have thought 'no way'. Way. 90% of the tracks in this country would have canceled in a heartbeat but not these guys and now I understand why.
There had to be at least 3000 people in the stands willing to shell out $25 for a Modified race. I was sitting with 5 of them that came from Texas for the event. 106-107 USMTS Modifieds and 40 Wissota cars made for a full pit area too but I think we can do better than that in 2011 for the 13th annual Fall Jamboree. Friday's racing was great and they had a good A-main but Saturday's racing was simply fantastic. No wonder the stands were packed!
They stick to their schedule for sure and the event is very well run. If the racing groove starts to narrow, the simply get out there with the best equipment around and a crew that knows what to do with it and they farm the racetrack back to 'full bloom' and they do it quickly.
Such was the case tonight....
They farmed the track right before the A-mains. The payoff started with a multi-laned flag-to-flag Wissota 25-lap A-main won by Brandon Davis. That young man can drive and will make a good A-mod racer very soon!
Then, a really cool introduction of the racers using video recordings on an outdoor big screen of the drivers introducing themselves and some great 'flaming' fireworks. Warmed the joint up!!!
But the race is what it's all about and the 50-laps the USMTS Mods ran in their A-main were about the best racing I've seen all year....maybe ever!
Rodney Sanders drew the #2 starting spot which put him in the middle of row one -- 3-wide starting line-up. I think they got one or two laps in before pole sitter Al Hejna broke and pulled up high and slowed down with all cars missing him even though were still pretty much 3-wide all the way through the field. Sanders had the lead for the restart.
I believe the next 35 laps or so went without a caution and there were so many battles all over the race track and several cars making charges through the field, it was hard to figure what I wanted to watch the most. More 3-wides than you could shake a stick at! The 20-year old Texan Sanders had to fight off Jason Hughes and then Ryan Gustin ran them down from 12th and took the lead and then Jason chased him back down and took it back.
Meanwhile Terry Phillips came from 11th (middle of row 4) to 5th at one point and was looking to add to the $5000 he won on Friday. Shane Hebert had the Who Dat #9 -- a brand new Hughes -- really working tonight. He went from 13th to 6th in his heat and won his B from 3rd starting spot. He started 22nd in the A and worked his way all the way up to sixth before the late race cautions. Jon Tesch ran around 5th most of the race but rallied late to battle for the lead.
There were 3 late race cautions -- 2 caused by blown motors. The last one came out with 4 to go. Hughes held off Tesch and as long as he draws a number tomorrow, he will finally be the National USMTS Champion! He ended up winning $9000 for the race win and then $10,000 for the championship. Tesch had to 'settle' for a $4700 2nd place and was 2nd for the 2nd night in a row. Gustin after leading for several laps through the middle stages ended up third and will most likely have a runner-up points finish for the 2nd year in a row but look out next year!
Hebert's outstanding night ended with a 4th after he gained 18 spots which Mike Sorenson duplicated in going from 25th to 7th. Tommy Myer gained 17 spots in going from 29th to 12th. He was outstanding last night but was slow getting it going tonight. Zack VanderBeek fell back early but rallied for a nice top 5 after those late restarts and was the first Skyrocket to get in the top 10 this weekend. Sanders was a contender much of the way before ending up 6th. Tim Donlinger ran in the top 5 much of the race and got 8th. Jeremy Payne couldn't make a lot of progress tonight after a top 5 last night and ended up 9th after starting 14th. Phillips got shuffled back in the late restarts and finished 10th.
Nebraska Late Model racer John Anderson made some charges in a second Junghans #18 tonight was up to 10th or so but finished 14th after starting 21st and even though he almost went a lap down before the caution came out, Kelly Shryock finished 15th after starting 26th. New Mexico's Bumper Jones and RotY Johnny Scott both made the feature with Scott finishing 13th and 14-year old Lucas Schott went from 27th to 16th. They were all part of the story from this great race! At least 1/3 of the field were local weekly racers too. One of them -- Bob Timm -- stayed a strong top 5 car through the first half of the 50-lap A-main.
Needless to say, I hope to be back as often as I can!
12th Annual Fall Jamboree Day #2
A Main Finish 9/24/2010
Finish Drive
1 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (6)
2 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
3 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (12)
4 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (22)
5 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (8 )
6 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (2)
7 19 - Mike Sorensen -- Rochester, MN (25)
8 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (7)
9 74x - Jeremy Payne -- Springfield, MO (14)
10 75 - Terry Phillips -- Springfield, MO (11)
11 71 - Jason Cummins -- New Richland, MN (24)
12 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (29)
13 1st - Johnny Scott -- Las Cruces, NM (4)
14 18x - John Anderson -- Omaha, NE (21)
15 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (26)
16 69 - Lucas Schott -- Chatfield, MN (27)
17 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (9)
18 31t - Trent Follmer -- Elk River, MN (20)
19 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (28 )
20 111 - Bumper Jones -- Mesilla Park, NM (17)
21 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (23)
22 49 - Bob Timm -- Rollingstone, MN (3)
23 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (13)
24 85 - Kevin Stoa -- Albert Lea, MN (10)
25 10 - Mike Steensma -- Luverne, MN (18 )
26 99 - Josh Angst -- Winona, MN (30)
27 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (16)
28 96x - Jay Ihrke -- Dover, MN (15)
29 19k - Marlin Kracht -- Luverne, MN (19)
30 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (1)
There had to be at least 3000 people in the stands willing to shell out $25 for a Modified race. I was sitting with 5 of them that came from Texas for the event. 106-107 USMTS Modifieds and 40 Wissota cars made for a full pit area too but I think we can do better than that in 2011 for the 13th annual Fall Jamboree. Friday's racing was great and they had a good A-main but Saturday's racing was simply fantastic. No wonder the stands were packed!
They stick to their schedule for sure and the event is very well run. If the racing groove starts to narrow, the simply get out there with the best equipment around and a crew that knows what to do with it and they farm the racetrack back to 'full bloom' and they do it quickly.
Such was the case tonight....
They farmed the track right before the A-mains. The payoff started with a multi-laned flag-to-flag Wissota 25-lap A-main won by Brandon Davis. That young man can drive and will make a good A-mod racer very soon!
Then, a really cool introduction of the racers using video recordings on an outdoor big screen of the drivers introducing themselves and some great 'flaming' fireworks. Warmed the joint up!!!
But the race is what it's all about and the 50-laps the USMTS Mods ran in their A-main were about the best racing I've seen all year....maybe ever!
Rodney Sanders drew the #2 starting spot which put him in the middle of row one -- 3-wide starting line-up. I think they got one or two laps in before pole sitter Al Hejna broke and pulled up high and slowed down with all cars missing him even though were still pretty much 3-wide all the way through the field. Sanders had the lead for the restart.
I believe the next 35 laps or so went without a caution and there were so many battles all over the race track and several cars making charges through the field, it was hard to figure what I wanted to watch the most. More 3-wides than you could shake a stick at! The 20-year old Texan Sanders had to fight off Jason Hughes and then Ryan Gustin ran them down from 12th and took the lead and then Jason chased him back down and took it back.
Meanwhile Terry Phillips came from 11th (middle of row 4) to 5th at one point and was looking to add to the $5000 he won on Friday. Shane Hebert had the Who Dat #9 -- a brand new Hughes -- really working tonight. He went from 13th to 6th in his heat and won his B from 3rd starting spot. He started 22nd in the A and worked his way all the way up to sixth before the late race cautions. Jon Tesch ran around 5th most of the race but rallied late to battle for the lead.
There were 3 late race cautions -- 2 caused by blown motors. The last one came out with 4 to go. Hughes held off Tesch and as long as he draws a number tomorrow, he will finally be the National USMTS Champion! He ended up winning $9000 for the race win and then $10,000 for the championship. Tesch had to 'settle' for a $4700 2nd place and was 2nd for the 2nd night in a row. Gustin after leading for several laps through the middle stages ended up third and will most likely have a runner-up points finish for the 2nd year in a row but look out next year!
Hebert's outstanding night ended with a 4th after he gained 18 spots which Mike Sorenson duplicated in going from 25th to 7th. Tommy Myer gained 17 spots in going from 29th to 12th. He was outstanding last night but was slow getting it going tonight. Zack VanderBeek fell back early but rallied for a nice top 5 after those late restarts and was the first Skyrocket to get in the top 10 this weekend. Sanders was a contender much of the way before ending up 6th. Tim Donlinger ran in the top 5 much of the race and got 8th. Jeremy Payne couldn't make a lot of progress tonight after a top 5 last night and ended up 9th after starting 14th. Phillips got shuffled back in the late restarts and finished 10th.
Nebraska Late Model racer John Anderson made some charges in a second Junghans #18 tonight was up to 10th or so but finished 14th after starting 21st and even though he almost went a lap down before the caution came out, Kelly Shryock finished 15th after starting 26th. New Mexico's Bumper Jones and RotY Johnny Scott both made the feature with Scott finishing 13th and 14-year old Lucas Schott went from 27th to 16th. They were all part of the story from this great race! At least 1/3 of the field were local weekly racers too. One of them -- Bob Timm -- stayed a strong top 5 car through the first half of the 50-lap A-main.
Needless to say, I hope to be back as often as I can!
12th Annual Fall Jamboree Day #2
A Main Finish 9/24/2010
Finish Drive
1 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (6)
2 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
3 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (12)
4 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (22)
5 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (8 )
6 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (2)
7 19 - Mike Sorensen -- Rochester, MN (25)
8 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (7)
9 74x - Jeremy Payne -- Springfield, MO (14)
10 75 - Terry Phillips -- Springfield, MO (11)
11 71 - Jason Cummins -- New Richland, MN (24)
12 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (29)
13 1st - Johnny Scott -- Las Cruces, NM (4)
14 18x - John Anderson -- Omaha, NE (21)
15 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (26)
16 69 - Lucas Schott -- Chatfield, MN (27)
17 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (9)
18 31t - Trent Follmer -- Elk River, MN (20)
19 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (28 )
20 111 - Bumper Jones -- Mesilla Park, NM (17)
21 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (23)
22 49 - Bob Timm -- Rollingstone, MN (3)
23 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (13)
24 85 - Kevin Stoa -- Albert Lea, MN (10)
25 10 - Mike Steensma -- Luverne, MN (18 )
26 99 - Josh Angst -- Winona, MN (30)
27 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (16)
28 96x - Jay Ihrke -- Dover, MN (15)
29 19k - Marlin Kracht -- Luverne, MN (19)
30 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (1)
