rebelracewriter Posted August 6, 2023 Report Share Posted August 6, 2023 Back to School Night, Late Models @ I-37 Speedway 8-5-23 By JM Hallas Pleasanton, TX.,(Aug. 5Th, 2023) Well, it's still hot as hell. After what feels like a month of no racing, oh wait, it was, I-37 Speedway was back in action on the ¼ mile, semi-banked, dirt oval just outside Pleasanton. To say it was hot would be an understatement, like 104 at start time. Officials pushed back start time for Go-Karts to keep the kids out of the heat, their racing started at intermission after it cooled to only 100ish. It was 'Back to School' night with teams and the track handing out school supplies at intermission to kids needing help with back to school stuff. The night was sponsored by Iron Horse RV Specialists with a $250 “scholarship” to anyone that could defeat Jared Maupin and Johnny Torres straight up in the Factory Stock feature. My bet is still on one of those two taking everyone's lunch money. Points seasons will be wrapping up soon for all classes with double points tonight for the Go-Karts. Top Fives Late Models; Ryan Doyon, Jamie Campbell, Ray Doyon, Frank Okruhlik, Mark Taylor IMCA Modifieds; Logan Dinsmore, Ryan Doyon, Darrell Boyd, Greg Dinsmore, Robert Liese jr. Limited Modifieds; Ryker Hernandez, Tom Grothues, Codt Beddoe, Trent Beaver, Nathan Titzman Factory Stocks; Kasey Krauss, Frank Okruhlik, Michael Keylich, Jarrett Payton, Zach Freeman Fireballs; Matthew Hodge, Bobby Jack, Joseph Montemayor, JC Paull, Jerry Miller Sport Compacts; Brandon McCall, Rod Tait, Sam Walker, Josh Jones, Justin Sitterle Doyons Duke It Out for Late Model Loot Father and son, Ray and Ryan Doyon started on the front row for the 20-lap Late Model main. It was Ry. Doyon getting the advantage for the lead trailed by Ra. Doyon, Raymond McSpadden, Robby Minten and Jamie Campbell. A quick spin saw McSpadden get by Ra. Doyon on the restart for second with Minten and Campbell door to door for fourth. Minten then challenged Ra. Doyon for third bring Campbell along into the fight for third. Campbell won that battled briefly before looping it in turn 2 as the race hit the midway point. On the restart Jason Kelly got by Ra. Doyon until Ra. Doyon retook the spot and got along side Minten for third. Up front, Ry. Doyon was easing away until Campbell looped it again for a lap 15 yellow. The restart got a little sketchy when Minten ran up the back side of Ry. Doyon. The leader continued with minimal damage while Minten was out. Back to green, Ry. Doyon got away while Ra. Doyon and McSpadden battled for second. Ry. Doyon(LaCoste) was able distance himself and take another win in his 3-D Landscaping, Alamo Truck & Accessories, Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, Gunn Fleet Management Chevrolet, 4D Ranch, 89 Motorsports, Eagle crate powered, MB Custom Chassis. “A little bit of luck, a little bit of skill,” commented Doyon. “Seems like I'm getting more lucky. I'm not as consistent as I'd really like to be. Dad and I didn't really have any plan for the start or even talk about it really. It was kind of just let the best man win thing. I probably got lucky having more moisture on top than he did.” “I really don't know what happened behind me. I saw someone getting ready to jump the restart on me. I just didn't go and checked up. I didn't know it was Robby(Minten) at the time. I was just trying to get out of the way. I was a little concerned(about damage) but felt like I took most of the hit on the bumper and quarter panel. I was hoping it didn't get the left rear tire.” “The track was pretty tricky. Running the Modified before the Late Model I had a hard time trying to pick the line I wanted to be in. I was good on the bottom, but wasn't able to pass. I was faster up top so I ran the Late Model up there. After halfway in the feature the top started going away though. I just hoped no one found anything and got around me.” Nogalitos Gear Late Models 5r Ryan Doyon, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 9 Ray Doyon III, 57 Jason Kelly, 77 Mark Taylor, 24r Robby Minten, 29 Jamie Campbell, 23 Michael Keylich, 53x Matt Fox---dns, 1x Andrew Hesler---dns Late Model heats Heat 1; 9 Ray Doyon, 24r Robby Minten, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 57 Jason Kelly, 77 Mark Taylor Heat 2; 5r Ryan Doyon, 29 Jamie Campbell, 53x Matt Fox, 23 Michael Keylich, 1x Andrew Hesler Dinsmore Out Duels Chris' for Modified Money At the start of the IMCA Modified main it was Greg Dinsmore, in a new ride, jumping out ahead of Chris Carroll, Rick Green, Chris Morris and Logan Dinsmore. Wade Pistole had his first of two spins that saw Carroll and Morris both take a shot at G. Dinsmore for the lead. G. Dinsmore held them off while L. Dinsmore got fourth from Green. After a Darrell Boyd spin on lap 7, Morris and Carroll made it three wide coming off turn 4 on the restart. G. Dinsmore held the point after nearly getting squeezed up into the turn 4 wall. Coming to the crossed flags it was G. Dinsmore, Carroll, Morris, Green, taking back fourth, and L. Dinsmore. Brenda Kirby brought out the final yellow after rolling to a stop in turn 2. Carroll again gave G. Dinsmore a look inside to no avail while Ryan Doyon got fifth from L. Dinsmore. G. Dinsmore got some breathing room as Carroll and Morris slugged it out for second. As the white waved, G. Dinsmore(Kerrville) had built a half straightaway advantage going on to win in the Sundowner Performance Diesel, 1st Class Towing, 89 Motorsports, Jimmys Towing, Wehrs, Fast Shafts, Afco, Supreme Vinyl Works, Peak, Swenson Racing Shocks, Neuline Pull Bars by 915, Friesen crate powered OS1 by CDR. “If you can't beat it, buy it,” said Dinsmore pre-race after purchasing the 89 Motorsports car of Dustin Butcher. “I couldn't let Logan outdo me. I thought maybe, I'm getting too old and time to hang it up.” “I've been having trouble getting the old car going. We'd try this, try that. We just couldn't get that car to work as good as the other BMS we had. It was good, but just wasn't spot on. This new OS1 by CDR gets it. If Logan was in this car, he'd smoke 'em too.” “If you're gonna lift, you're gonna lose,” added Dinsmore about the high speed game of chicken on the restarts. “You've got to make a decision. I listen for motors. I felt once the car got rolling it was awesome. When you're running the high side, it's higher mile per hour and longer track. I was thinking maybe I should change my line. Up on top it's a long way around.” “It(the track) was tricky. When I let off the car would grab that moisture and then I'd blow the tires off getting off. Then I hit a wet spot the next lap and thought I hope I don't wad this thing up.” “I really gotta than Steve Whiteaker. He really has a feel for this car and what it needs. He text us to see how it was working.” Price Chevrolet IMCA Modifieds 8g Greg Dinsmore, 15 Chris Carroll, 94 Chris Morris, 82 Rick Green, 5r Ryan Doyon, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 94b Brenda Kirby, 22z Darrell Boyd, 16 Landon Bednarz, 141 Rob Sanderson, 10 Wade Pistole IMCA Modified heats Heat 1; 8g Greg Dinsmore, 94 Chris Morris, 82 Rick Green,94b Brenda Kirby, 10 Wade Pistole, 16 Landon Bednarz Heat 2; 15 Chris Carroll, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 5r Ryan Doyon, 141 Rob Sanderson, 22z Darrell Boyd Titzman Tallies Another Tom Grotheus got a good launch off turn 4 to grab the early lead in the Limited Modified feature with Nathan Titzman and Cody Beddoe side by side for second. Titzman got the spot on lap 2 and after Grothues slipped got along side for the lead. Titzman got the bumper out front on lap 5 before duo spins by James Cole(turn 4) and Ryker Hernandez(turn1) brought out the yellow on lap 6. On the restart Grothues and Beddoe tangled bringing yellow back out. The ensuing start saw Beddoe head to the high side and briefing get the lead on lap 9 before slipping giving the point back to Titzman on lap 10. Titzman(Corpus Christi) was able to motor away the final five laps to grab the victory in the Aramendia Motorsports, Ace Transmissions, On Demand Shirts, CL Concrete Construction, Hawkins Services, All in Designs, Mark Herring Race Engines, IRP Chassis. “It was good running side by side with him(Tom Grothues) at the start,” said Titzman. “I felt like I was rolling around the tires pretty good. I felt like I had some distance on them until all the cautions. I'd go up top under yellow and feel some moisture.” “I knew someone would try the top. Cody Beddoe showed me the nose up there. I took the top line over from him and started to drive off. I was wondering who would be coming. When I saw him I knew I was going to have to work for it. It turned out to be a pretty good race.” “This is Marcus(Mikulencak) old car with a 1 instead of an 8. It's still Joes(Aramendia) car.” Swenson Race Products Limited Modifieds 179 Nathan Titzman, 77 Cody Beddoe, 747 Joshua Tuttle, 11t Tom Grothues, 14 James Cole, 57 Charles Flanagan, 55 Ryker Hernandez ***On a humorous side note; Daniel Preston got signed in for the class but was racing at Texana in Edna(a bit over 2 hours away). Not to let his sign in go to waste, Preston ran the heat and feature at Texana, which he won. Loaded up and hauled tail to I-37 Spwy. So you'd think no big deal. But, the headers legal at Texana(USRA rules) are not legal at I-37(IMCA rules). Knowing they were running way late, they changed headers, in the hauler, rolling down the highway, at speeds better left unmentioned. They hit the I-37 pit gate, driver already in gear and seated, unloaded and hit the track, but already three laps down. Normally not allowed, his determination was rewarded as he was allowed to continue, although not scored. I applaud their effort. This story will go down in history as one repeated for years. For the record, IMCA made a “Henry Witt jr.” rule about the two track trick, but neither track runs Limited Modifieds under full sanction, which are different anyway. Limited Modified heat Heat 1; 14 James Cole, 179 Nathan Titzman, 77 Cody Beddoe, 57 Charles Flanagan, 11 Tom Grothues, 747 Joshua Tuttle, 55 Ryker Hernandez Head Hauls In Bounty Bucks A full 24-car field started the 20-lap Factory Stock feature with Rusty Head jumping out front with Mike Lyon, Brian Harbison, Paul Reyes and Dakota Hurley in pursuit. Lyon began trying to dive in low on Head, while Harbison tried the middle lane on Lyon. Lap 5 saw Harbison, Reyes and Frank Okruhlik three wide for fourth. Johnny Walker Brown brought out a yellow stopping at the bottom entering turn 3. On the restart Harbison looked break something with a big flash and trail of fluid in his tracks. Back to green it was Allen Torres and Reyes side by side for fourth with Johnny Torres up to sixth. A tangle by Memphis Villareal, Mason Casteneda, Michael Keylich and Austin Bean brought out the yellow. Okruhlik got by Lyon for second as Head got away. J. Torres, Reyes and Hurley were at it three wide for fifth before Dustin Choate, Trey Heald and Zach Freeman got together for a lap 8 caution. Okruhlik took a look low on Head once back to green. Coming to halfway it was Head, Okruhlik, Lyon, A. Torres and J. Torres in the top five. In the pack there was a battle for ninth going three wide at times between Kasey Krauss, Brett Jensen and Casteneda. Up front, Okruhlik was hanging on to the rear bumper of Head giving him an occasional look low. But as the final five laps clicked off it was Head(Buda) inching away for the victory in his Quality Trailer Sales, Head Racing, SWL Inc., Mission Race Engines, Sniper Speed Chassis. “The last time I won here was during that Redneck Stress Relief race.” mentioned Head. “This is a brand new Sniper car. I've been fighting with it this year. We've been here with the crate motor car and ran good. But this car was awesome tonight. I normally don't run off like that. When I get a good lead that's when I usually step on my 'whatever.' I get lazy behind the wheel. It was a good track, it was sticky, it was a good race.” . “When I come here I always wonder where Johnny, Allen and Jared are coming from. They'll be there when you least expect it. I was thinking some one would be coming around the outside. Luckily I had enough power that they couldn't make that move.” “I never saw him(Frank Okruhlik) stick the nose inside there. You can hear them every now and then but never really saw anyone. I saw the 20(Mike Lyon) nose on that one restart and I just kind of cut the corner off.” “With this new car we're trying some different gearing and stuff like that. I'm running an open motor here, my other car was a crate. This is the first competitive night here with this car. We came once before and it wouldn't run. I think we hit it pretty close. All in Design Factory Stocks 55 Rusty Head, 41 Frank Okruhlik, 20 Mike Lyon, 66 Johnny Torres, 94 Allen Torres, 24 Paul Reyes, 29k Dylan Kowalik, 5 Dillon Gaither, 28m Mason Casteneda, 40 Dakota Hurley, 53k Kasey Krauss, 62 Dustin Choate, 11r Brett Jensen, 00 Zach Freeman, 44k Michael Keylich, 14t Trey Heald, 44b Austin Bean, 10 Scott Jerkins, 7 Johnny Walker Brown, 30 Memphis Villareal, 11x Brian Harbison, 18s Jarrett Payton, 8c Cameron Dinsmore, 92r Robert Keylich Factory Stock heats Heat 1; 55r Rusty Head, 29k Dylan Kowalik, 41 Frank Okruhlik, 44k Michael Keylich, 53k Kasey Krauss, 28m Mason Casteneda, 14t Trey Heald, 7 Johnny Walker Brown Heat 2; 66 Johnny Torres, 5 Dillon Gaither, 24 Paul Reyes, 11r Brett Jensen, 18s Jarrett Payton, 10 Scott Jerkins, 44b Austin Bean, 00 Zach Freeman Heat 3; 94 Allen Torres, 40 Dakota Hurley, 20 Mike Lyon, 8c Cameron Dinsmore, 11x Brian Harbison, 30 Memphis Villareal, 62 Dustin Choate, 92r Robert Keylich Hodge Hangs on in Fireball Feature At the start of the 15-lap Fireball feature Matthew Hodge was first into turn 1 trailed by Lance Gaither, Bobby Jack, Joseph Montemayor and Howie Marcx, making his return to racing. Gaither took an early look low on Hodge while Montemayor was challenging Jack for third. A couple spins by James Wofford slowed the pace and ended his night. Hodge was able to get a good launch on the restart with Jack and Montemayor swapping third. At halfway it was Hodge, Gaither, Jack, Montemayor and Marcx still holding the top five spots. Gaither reeled in the leader, Hodge, with three to go. Hodge got loose off turn 4 and gave Gaither his best opportunity coming to the white flag. Hodge(Uhland) was able to hold off Gaither the final circuit for the win in his Fine Motors, Doves Decals, Parks Engine Service, John Heil Chassis. Fireballs 58 Matthew Hodge, 5 Lance Gaither, 8 Bobby Jack, 18m Jospeh Montemayor, 13 Howie Marcx, 15 William Cavender, 12 James Wofford, 14 Mark Pivarnik Fireball heat; 5 Lance Gaither, 58 Matthew Hodge, 8 Bobby Jack, 13 Howie Marcx, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 12 James Wofford, 15 William Cavender, 14 Mark Pivarnik Tait Back On Top After two botched starts the 20-lap Sport Compact feature would run green to checkers, crazy. On the initial try Justin Van Winkle got a little over anxious starting in turn 3. The second attempt saw John Thomas get turned coming to green collecting Ryker Hernandez, James Gottsch and a couple others bringing out a red flag. Finally under green it was Van Winkle get the early lead ahead of Rod Tait, Brandon McCall, Sam Walker and Josh Jones. Tait, who was hot earlier in the season, grabbed the point on lap 2 while Kaden Moran, coming from the back made his way past Walker and Jones for fourth. Jones would get past Walker for fifth. At halfway Tait began increasing his margin on the field as the top four spread out and began to dice through traffic. As the white flag was shown, Tait(San Antonio) in his Turtle Team Racing, Big Mo Automotive, Pontiac Sunfire had built a half straightaway advantage taking the checkers uncontested. “After a three race losing streak it good to be back in Victory Lane,” said Tait. “We had a bad couple of races. Got in wrecks all three races. We had to tear the car down and rebuild it again. This is a whole new sub frame, basically it's just the shell and we replaced everything else.” Shell, Turtle Team racing. I like that! “I saw the line on the initial start so I knew which way they were going to go. So on the next restart I already knew what to do. I just waited for them to make the same mistake twice. The car isright, everything's right, the car is new. The car is back together 100%. We got rid of the losing streak and think we're back on top.” “I don't really care about points. I consider Brandon(McCall) a close friend and it's a good rivalry. We have fun.' “The doctors say I'm good to go,” added Tait after a health issue. We're basically waiting for the surgeons to clear me and be back at 100%.” Iron Horse RV Sport Compacts 70 Rod Tait, 825 Justin VanWinkle, 51 Brandon McCall, 02 Kaden Moran, 11j Josh Jones, 76y Donald Lewis, 38 Sonny Kinnaman, 3% Sam Walker, 8a Andreah Gottsch, 87 Goldin Espinosa, 9t John Thomas, 8 James Gottsch, 55r Ryker Hernandez Sport Compact heats Heat 1; 70 Rod Tait, 825 Justin Van Winkle, 11j Josh Jones, 8 James Gottsch, 76y Donald Lewis, 8a Andreah Gottsch, 87 Goldin Espinosa Heat 2; 51 Brandon McCall, 55r Ryker Hernandez, 38 Sonny Kinnaman, 9t John Thomas, 3% Sam Walker, 02 Kaden Moran Go-Karts Adult Predator; Charles Flanagan, Alexis Powell Senior Division; Beau Payton, Lane Tuttle Junior Division; Woody Powell, Beau Jackson Youth Division; Mason Villareal, Wyah Pistole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted August 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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