rebelracewriter Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 (edited) Total Eclipse of the Night by Goldenwest @ I-37 Speedway 4-6-24 By JM Hallas Pleasanton, TX.,(April 6th, 2024) Solar Eclipse Eve, Eve. I-37 Speedway roared back into action less than two days away from the Total Solar Eclipse. An omen perhaps? The nights racing included the regular classes of the Late Models and Limited Modifieds, for their first points race, the Factory Stocks, Fireballs and Sport Compacts, plus the second visit of the STIMS(South Texas IMCA Modified Series.) The inaugural STIMS race on I-37 Speedways ¼ mile, semi-banked, dirt, oval was a barn burner with Chris Morris running down Ryan Doyon in the final laps, Morris and Doyon exchanged slide jobs with Morris edging out Doyon at the checkers and Rick Green third. So far the STIMS has seen two different winners with Jared Maupin, driving Chris Carroll's back up car, took the victory over Chris Morris at Texana Raceway(Edna) with Ryan Doyon taking the third spot. Can a third different winner be coming in race three of the series. Morris, Doyon and Green hold top three spots in points. Leonard Lands Late Model Loot Robby Minten lead the 20-lap Late Model field into turn 1 on the start, but it was Cody Leonard, making his return to I-37 Speedway, diving low off turn 4 for the lead. Minten, Jared Maupin, Ryan Doyon and Ray Doyon in the top five. Landon Sowder spun off the front stretch for a lap 2 caution. Ziggy Reusser would spin on the restart. Once back under green, Maupin got second from Minten with Ra. Doyon slipping in turn 4 and falling back before pulling off. At halfway it was Leonard and Maupin pulling out to a huge advantage over Minten who had a gap to Ry. Doyon and Sowder. Leonard was able to hold Maupin at about five car lengths as the laps quickly clicked off. After several years away from the track, Leonard in the Farm & Ranch Fabrication, Swenson Racing Shocks & Components, DB Insurance, On Demand Shirts, All in Designs, Smileys, VP Racing Fuels, Kirkland Construction, Ingram crate powered, Swenson Chassis was back in Victory Lane. “Once you've run on a track a few times you get to know it,” said Leonard who hasn't raced here in years. “You learn the surface, the throttle points, the brake points. It sticks with you so coming back to it you feel back in your place.” “With the changing track conditions running two classes you learn what the track is doing. Going into the next class you can tell what lanes doing what. It helps running the next class as well as the additional laps you get.” “You get some hammer down tracks, some slick tracks everywhere you go. It's always something different. You've got to be good on all of them.” “I'm not too sure on what changes they made to the car since they switched to the crate. Chris(Swenson) and David(von Mosch) do all the work on the car. I'm thankful just to hop in and give some feedback.” “I don't know if the car was too tight, or I wasn't on it,” added Leonard on his second place STIMS run. “I was lacking about everywhere and just making due with what I had. Probably could have freed it up some to keep the momentum up.” Nogalitos Gear Late Models 48 Cody Leonard, 91 Jared Maupin, 24 Robby Minten, 5r Ryan Doyon, 08 Landon Sowder, 5k Ziggy Reusser, 77 Mark Taylor, 23 Johnny Torres, 9r Ray Doyon Late Model heat Heat 1; 24 Robby Minten, 5r Ryan Doyon, 48 Cody Leonard, 91 Jared Maupin, 9r Ray Doyon, 08 Landon Sowder, 23 Johnny Torres, 77 Mark Taylor, 5k Ziggy Reusser Morris on the Money in IMCA Modifieds As green waved on the STIMS feature it was polesitter, Ryan Doyon getting the point ahead of Chris Morris, Jacob Hortch, Cody Leonard and Jared Maupin. Lap 3 saw Arien Gassman go around for a quick caution. On the restart Leonard got by Hortch for second while Greg Dinsmore, who started out back, made his way past Chris Carroll. But yellow was right back out when Cody Duke went over the turn 3 hill. Once back to green, Doyon got quickly away, while G. Dinsmore got shuffled way high on the back stretch and fell back. Maupin's run in the top five ended on lap 8 when he had trouble and slowed. Back under green coming to halfway it was Doyon, Morris, Leonard, Hortch and Rick Green in the top five with Darrell Boyd lopping it in turn 2. Doyon and Morris got away clean until Rob Sanderson went for a spin on lap 13. Again Doyon and Morris cleared the pack with Green getting fourth from Hortch and Logan Dinsmore looking to follow. Lap 18 saw Joey Whitehead get into the front stretch wall for a yellow flag. Unfortunately the leader, Doyon, stopped, couldn't refire and was pushed to the pits. This set up a green, white, checker finish with Morris now on point. Morris and Leonard got away while L. Dinsmore got a good jump on Green for third, but too good and would be docked two spots. Morris in his ACM Services, AMT Concrete, Austin Cutting and Coring, Tina Reagan Realty, Lonestar Concrete, Bigfoot Concrete Pumping, Truform Products, Trackmaster, Disabled Outdoorsmen USA, All in Designs, Lonestar Pumping, Maxwell Medical Supplies, Sellman Specialties, Guzman Automotive, Empire Income Tax, crate powered Lethal Chassis held off Leonard for the victory, his second STIMS I-37 Speedway win, in the final laps. “Like they say,” replied Morris. “Sometimes it pays to be lucky rather than good and tonight that was the case. I had a good car but Ryan was just a little better than me in (turns)3&4. I wouldn’t have had anything for him until he ran out of fuel.” Hortch Speed Shop STIMS 94 Chris Morris, 12 Cody Leonard, 82 Rick Green, 73d Jacob Hortch, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 18s Shawn Sandergren, 45 Brian Machicek, 77 Robert Liese, 366 David Gibson, 16 Landon Bednarz, 141 Rob Sanderson, 22zDarrell Boyd, 5r Ryan Doyon, 17m Joey Whitehead, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 15 Chris Carroll, 88 Arien Gassman, 91 Jared Maupin, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 26d Cody Duke, 71 Anthony Gordon STIMS heats Heat 1; 5r Ryan Doyon, 82 Rick Green, 71 Anthony Gordon, 17w Joey Whitehead, 16 Landon Bednarz, 22z Darrell Boyd, 77 Robert Liese Heat 2; 94 Chris Morris, 12 Cody Leonard, 15 Chris Carroll, 26d Cody Duke, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 45 Brian Machicek, 366 David Gibson Heat 3; 91 Jared Maupin, 73d Jacob Hortch, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 18s Shawn Sandergrin, 88 Arien Gassman, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 141 Rob Sanderson Beaver Best in Limited Modifieds The start of the 20-lap Limited Modified feature saw first time ever Limited Modified heat race winner Steven Whiteaker III and Bobby Smith stay wheel to wheel in turn 1 with Smith getting the run off turn 2 to lead. Whiteaker, Sterling Tausch, Trent Beaver and Charles Flanagan filled the top five. Smith slipped allowing Whiteaker to get the top spot on lap 2. Beaver was able to grab second from Tausch after Smith retired. At the crossed flags it was Whiteaker, Beaver, Tausch, Logan Dinsmore and Johnny Torres in the top five. Lap 12 saw yellow wave for Tausch who went around from third. On the restart Beaver dove under Whiteaker in turn 1, the two made a little contact with Beaver coming out the leader and Torres following to second. Young Whiteaker's trouble continued as he clipped an infield tire, Dinsmore who couldn't get slowed in time, got into Whiteaker sending him around on the front stretch. On the single file restart, Beaver and Torres got away and pulled out to a good lead over Dinsmore who had a gap back to Flanagan while Clint Leverage and Mike Terry had their own personal battle going on for fifth. At the checkers it was Beaver in the Beaver Heating & Air Conditioning, Bear Wash, Beaver Medical Group, Auburn Custom Homes, LaVernia Mini Storage, WW Bodies, Best Race Engines, Innovated Race Car Chassis getting the win. “Right place, right time,” explained Beaver on the pass for the lead. “I don't know, they said I moved him. I really don't see that. It was racing. I tried to keep it straight and not over run the corner. We had some work after the heat race. I knocked the left front off, but we freed it up a bit and it ran pretty good.” “We've raced a few other tracks like Cotton Bowl and Texana once in a while. We're going to try to run I-37 Speedway most of the time. We'll see how things go if I try to run for points this season. If we can make every race, we will.” Iron Horse RV Limited Modifieds 14 Trent Beaver, 11x Johnny Torres, 30 Logan Dinsmore, 57 Charles Flanagan, 15t Mike Terry, 10d Clint Leverage, 26w Ryan Wiggins, 88 Steven Whiteaker III, 95s Sterling Tausch, 10c Colton Birmingham, 9s Bobby Smith, 88k Kaden Moran, 91 Jared Maupin---dns Limited Modified heats Heat 1; 88 Steven Whiteaker III, 14 Trent Beaver, 11x Johnny Torres, 30k Logan Dinsmore, 57 Charles Flanagan, 15t Mike Terry, 26w Ryan Wiggins Heat 2; 9s Bobby Smith, 95s Sterling Tausch, 10d Clint Everage, 10c Colton Birmingham, 88k Kaden Moran, 91 Jared Maupin Torres Tallies Again The Factory Stock 20-lapper started with a restart after a couple spins. Jarrett Payton was out first into turn 1 trailed by Michael Keylich, Johnny Torres, Trey Heald and Robert Keylich. Kasey Krauss got by R. Keylich bringing along Rusty Head and Wade Jones. Torres then began to challenge M. Keylich with Heald looking for a way past Torres. Torres finally made the pass on M. Keylich but a half corner behind Payton. Krauss got by Heald for fourth, then M. Keylich for third until a caution when Jones and Dylan Kowalik made contact. Back to green Torres looked low on Payton and got by coming to halfway showing Torres, Payton, Krauss, Heald and M. Keylich in the top five. As Torres began to ease away, Head and Jones got around M. Keylich. With three to go, Krauss got second from Payton, but a half straight behind Torres and only three laps to go. From there Torres was able to cruise on to add to his victory total in the Scott Ball Racing, 8T1 Construction, All in Designs, Diffs by Dale, CRS Suspension, Sundowner Performance, 1st Class Towing, Hercules Foundation, Rush Gear by Austin Witt, Allen’s 24/7 Towing, Mission Auto Parts, Dirt Defender, Best Engines, Outlaw chassis. “No, winning never gets old,” exclaimed Torres. “Brandy says(jokingly) it's the only place I can win at so I'll have to go someplace and prove him wrong. I'm hoping to see what this car has on a dry slick track. They've all been heavy tracks for now. I've run this car four times and it's been a hammer down track at all of them. I'd like to see what it can do on a slick track.” “It's never easy. Just passing cars clean without having to door slam people is a lot harder than dooring them out of the way. Doing it clean isn't easy some times because of your momentum. You just have to bide your time and see how the cards fall.” “There was multiple grooves here tonight, so I was happy for that. I'm the type of driver that doesn't think I'm that good so I make changes to the car to make it better. I make a lot more changes than other people to try to get it good every time. Luckily Russell(Vickery) was here to help on both cars, I couldn't have made all the changes without him. It's a lot work. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's worth it. Most of the time it pays off.” All in Designs Factory Stocks 66 Johnny Torres, 53k Kasey Krauss, 16s Jarrett Payton, 14t Trey Heald, 55r Rusty Head, 41Wade Jones, 24 Paul Reyes, 29 Dylan Kowalik, 92r Robert Keylich, 44k Michael Keylich, b51 JW Blocker, 18 Kyle Kirkland---dns Factory Stock heats Heat 1; 14t Trey Heald, 18s Jarrett Payton, 55r Rusty Head, b51 JW Blocker, 44k Michael Keylich, 41 Wade Jones Heat 2;c66 Johnny Torres, 24 Paul Reyes, 53k Kasey Krauss, 29k Dylan Kowalik, 92r Robert Keylich, 18 Kyle Kirkland---dns Marcx Motors to First Fireball Victory Joseph Montemayor got a good jump the Fireball feature start leaving Danny Dear, Jared Maupin, Mark Pivarnik and Howie Marcx. Maupin took second from Dear while Marcx got past Pivarnik then Dear quickly. This left Pivarnik, Ryan McDonald and Johnny Walker Brown. McDonald, in his first race in a Fireball, got by them then grabbed fourth from Dear. Maupin and Marcx caught Montemayor in traffic with Maupin getting by coming to halfway ahead of Montemayor, Marcx, McDonald and Dear. Marcx was able take second before a spin rebunched the field. On the restart Maupin and Marcx got away while Montemayor and McDonald swapped third. A tangle by DJ Schroat and AJ Wernette quickly brought the yellow back out. This time the top four got out with Pivarnik taking fifth from Dear. McDonalds top four run ended when he had right front go down, and him pulling off. Pivarnik would spin in turn 2 getting t-boned in the passenger side by William Cavender. This set up a final shootout that saw Marcx trying find a way around Maupin for the lead. After a try low, Marcx gave the high side a shot and got along side Maupin on the final lap. Maupin then had his right front go down making contact with Marcx who would take the lead going on to his first victory in about 14 years, in his RST, Double K Landscaping, Rockin B Villa Ranch, Supreme Foundations, Somerset Animal Clinic, JGR, Constantinos Pizza, Nogalitos Gear, Donna Kay & Sonny Kinnaman, Paradise Paint, Howies Lawn Service, Sheppards Machine Shop powered 20 year old home built Camaro “I raced Late Models here before and I can't afford that,” said Marcx. “They started this Fireball class and I've had this car for about 20 years, so we just put it back together.” “I started fifth and worked my way up to Jared(Maupin). I couldn't get around him on the bottom. The last couple laps I tried to make a move on the outside. I didn't know he was going to roll a right front tire off. We both got damage, but I prevailed in the end. It was fun racing against him(Jared). I didn't know if I could beat him or not.” Winners Circle Transmissions Fireballs 13 Howie Marcx, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 8 DJ Schroat, 09 Clint Montanio, 28 Levi Hernandez, 93 Jared Maupin, h2s Shane StoneBraker , 1 Dale Caswell, 64 Danny Dear, 14 Mark Pivarnik, 15 William Cavender, 816 Ryan McDonald, 37 AJ Wernette, 99 Johnny Walker Brown, 68 Kenny Wright---dns Fireball heats Heat 1; 13 Howie Marcx, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 99 Johnny Walker Brown, h2s Shane Stonebraker, 37 AJ Wernette, 09 Clint Montanio, 1 Dale Caswell, 816 Ryan McDonald Heat 2; 93 Jared Maupin, 14Mark Pivarnik, 64 Danny Dear , 8 DJ Schroat, 15 William Cavender,28 Levi Hernandez, 68 Kenny Wright Hernandez Hauls in Sport Compact Cash At the start of the 20-lap Sport Compact feature Ronnie Schoenfeld beat James Gottsch into turn 1 for the early lead over Gottsch, Josh Jones, Michelle Conlee, James Baum and Ryker Hernandez. Justin Van Winkle rolled to a stop for an early caution. On the restart Hernandez and Jones stayed side by side for third until Hernandez took the spot. Both picked up positions when Gottsch slowed from second. Hernandez caught Schoenfeld for the lead and ducked under him to take the spot coming to halfway with Eric Wilson, Baum and Jones third through fifth. Wilson was able to get by Schoenfeld for second, while Jones and Baum were side by side for fourth. Hernandez, back in a Sport Compact after running a Limited Modified to a championship in 2023, built a huge lead and was able to cruise to the win in the iraceenterprise, Allways Auto Group, Lovett Car Wash, Sullivan Racing, C3 Speed Horses, 2005 Chevy Cavalier. “I was tired of losing in the Limited Modified,” said the always talkative Hernandez. “I had to go back to something I'm good at. This is our same old car. It was a little difficult, but I figured it out.” Johnson Supply Sport Compacts 22 Ryker Hernadez, 18 Eric Wilson, 007 James Baum, 11j Josh Jones, 3% Sam Walker, 85 Michelle Conlee, 43 Jennifer Kidd,76y Donald Lewis, 83 James Gottsch, 825 Justin Van Winkle, 88 Justin Sitterle---dns, 70 Rod Tait---dns Sport Compact heats Heat 1; 83 James Gottsch, 825 Justin Van Winkle, 3% Sam Walker, 11j Josh Jones, 85 Michelle Conlee, 76y Donald Lewis, 43 Jennifer Kidd Heat 2; 22r Ryker Hernandez, 18 Eric Wilson, 98 Ronnie Schoenfeld, 007 James Baum, 70 Rod Tait, 88 Justin Sitterle Edited April 8 by rebelracewriter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 I Always enjoy reading your race reports, Reb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 5 hours ago, NickHolt said: I Always enjoy reading your race reports, Reb! Thanx Nickster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.