After driving down to Warrensburg, Missouri with some friends on Saturday night
only to get rained out, we drove home yet that night to cap off a disappointing
night. Fortunately we had a good time despite no racing action.
When I heard
that Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri postponed their original show
from Friday night and pushed it back to Sunday, I decided that was going to be
the first of hopefully a list of new tracks I attend this year. So after getting
home so late (or early, depending on your perspective) the night before, I woke
up early Sunday morning and made the trek back down to the Kansas City area by
myself this time for some USMTS action.
It was a bit disappointing only seeing a
field of 27 USMTS modifieds, but it was understandable after having to cancel
shows both Friday and Saturday. Also on the slate of action on the bullring
would be the Midwest Outlaw Vintage cars and the mod-lites/dwarf cars.
Ironically, there were three drivers from Iowa racing in the mod-lite division.
At one point during their twenty-lap feature, the Iowa guys were running 1-2-3.
Mike Kennedy, running third at the time, would get spun by a local driver (#64,
didn't catch the name). The flagman was quick on the yellow as neither car came
to a stop, but both found their way to the back of the field. Up front it was
all Randy Bryan as he held off Charlie Brown for the win. The #64 rebounded to
finish third while Mike Kennedy finished seventh.
The finale of the evening was
the 40-lap USMTS feature. Chase Junghans and nine-time series champion Kelly
Shryock redrew the front row as Junghans took command from the start. He would
only lead the first two circuits before relinquishing the reigns over to Shryock
on lap three.
While the lead changed hands up front, Ryan Gustin was quickly
screaming towards the front on the bottom side. He quickly dissected the field
and found himself in fourth in just two laps after starting eleventh. Dustin
Boney and Gustin both made their way by Junghans to climb into second and third,
respectfully, before Gustin later grabbed the runner-up position away from
Boney.
While I was somewhat focusing on Gustin's climb up the leaderboard, I
also noticed Rodney Sanders making a bit of noise. The Texas driver, who started
ninth, used the high side to dispose of Junghans on his way to the fourth spot.
After seeing Sander's progression, I then noticed that Jason Hughes was also on
the prowl a few spot behind him.
Hughes, who won the b-main event and started
15th, had cut the field in half and saw himself in the seventh position
somewhere around the lap ten mark. Back up front Gustin closed in on Shryock for
the lead and ducked to the inside of the Skyrocket man exiting turn four. As
they battled side by side entering turn one, Gustin would gain the momentum on
the turn two exit and propel himself into the lead. Dustin Boney was running a
great line on the top groove and also made the pass on Shryock for the second
position before a caution was shown on lap thirteen.
The restart proved to be a
big break for Rodney Sanders. He dove to the inside on the exit of turn two and
powered by both Shryock and Boney to advance into the second spot. A lap later
Boney would slow to a stop in turn four with a left rear flat tire, temporarily
ending his hopes of a great run. The top three at that point were Gustin,
Sanders, and Hughes.
Hughes powered by Sanders on the restart and quickly closed
in on Gustin. With Gustin hugging the inside groove, Hughes motored on by in the
outside groove and took the lead away. Another caution slowed the pace at the
halfway point. Gustin would lose a couple spots following the restart to Sanders
and Shryock before Shryock bowed out to the infield.
A number of cautions
plagued the event in the final ten laps. That set up a great battle between
Sanders and Gustin for the runner up position as Jason Hughes had them all
covered on this night as he picked up his fifth win of the season. Rodney
Sanders finished second, Ryan Gustin was third, Jon Tesch finished fourth, and
Bryan Rowland completed the top five. Not only did Hughes collect the win, but
his Hughes chassis garnered four of the top five spots.
Racing action concluded
around 8:30, and it was time to hit the road for home. Think I got home sometime
around the 1:30am mark. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of racing and
passing I saw throughout the night. Upon arrival the track crew was adding water
to the surface and it appeared it would be a hammer down track on the top side.
The track crew needs a lot of props for getting it in racing condition and
providing a racey surface.
Grain Valley Speedway is the first new track of the
season for me. That means I'm not one closer to that magical 100 total track
plateau that I'm aiming at achieving sometime this year. Just three more to go!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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