By JM Hallas
Pleasanton TX.,(May 14th, 2022) Post Friday the 13th, Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse, Blood Moon…..What could go wrong?
That question was answered early when all the area cell towers went down, so no internet. Several years ago, no problem, but now days all registration, computerized draw/line ups, print outs, even the credit card machine are controlled by the air waves.
With last weekend scheduled off, I-37 Speedway opted to celebrate a belated Mothers Day thanks to 3-D Landscaping, Billy Bobs Tire & Repair and the track for the 'goodie bags' handed out.
After several weeks off the schedule, the Late Models returned with money added by STLMS/Kody Hardage on the bottom end, plus a drop back bonus was added, and increased throughout the night. Brandon Brzozowski took home the winners share during the Late Models initial visit in late March.
All in Designs added a mystery bonus of $200 to a finish position in the feature for the Factory Stocks by a random number drawn by a fan while the cars were lining up on track. The Factory Stocks continue to be one of the most highly contested classes with a handful of cars battling for the win every race.
The IMCA Modifieds, Limited Modifieds, Sport Compacts and Go-Karts completed the nightly running order.
Brzozowski By a Bumper
The Late Model “drop back” bonus reached almost $800, but no one took the challenge. So as the dozen Late Models took the green it was Brandon Brzozowski grabbing the point trailed by Ray Doyon, Andrew Hesler, Jason Kelly and Kody Hardage. Hardage and Rory Jordan moved past Kelly for fourth and fifth.
Hardage then picked off third from Hesler with Jordan following a lap later. The red was shown on lap 4 when Hesler had trouble and made contact with Kelly sending them both hard into the front stretch wall. Kelly was able to climb out on his own, but Hesler had to be helped out once he regained his senses. Hesler would be checked and released by the medical staff and both cars are probably done for the season, or more.
Once back to racing, Jordan slipped on the restart giving up spots to Jamie Campbell, Aaron Leddy and AJ Wernette. Up front Brzozowski built his margin over Doyon until a debris caution on lap 7. On the restart, Jordan, Campbell and Leddy went three wide for fourth. At halfway it was Brzozowski with a good lead, Doyon, Hardage, Campbell and Leddy.
As Jordan began to work back up, Doyon was cutting into the lead of Brzozowski for the lead. With two to go, Doyon had reduced the gap to two car lengths. As the white waved, Doyon tried to dive low in turn 1, but Brzozowski held the lead off turn 2. Doyon then tried high in turn 3, diamond through the middle and ducked low off turn 4.
With the crowd on its feet, it became a drag race to the finish line with Brzozowski in his Billy Bobs Repair & Tires, Lone Star Pressure Equipment, Mo Bags Suspension & Technology, Texas Industrial Radiator, Magnum by Nilfisk, The Trash Can Cleaners, Pressure Pro, Schaeffers Oil, Vinyl Tricks, crate powered Rocket XR1 Chassis edging out Doyon by only about 6 inches.
“I figured starting on the pole that I'd go ahead and stay there,” replied Brzozowski regarding the drop back bonus. “I didn't know how high it got, I thought it was only $125. It gets a little dicey back in the pack so I just didn't want to take the risk. I probably would have done it had I known how high it got.”
“When the red flag came out my guy showed me I had a pretty good lead. You don't want to overdrive it, and step on it. So I was just cruising. Unless I hear someone or see a nose I guess I put it in cruise too much. I didn't realize that Ray(Doyon) had closed in on me like that. When I pulled on the tech pad my left rear was pretty much flat. I don't know if that's from the debris on the track or him getting into me a bit.”
“Kody(Hardage) and I were set up pretty similar. He's trying a little different stuff than I was. We were pretty close on a lot of things. We went over things before we went out there and he finished third.”
“There's not really much difference between these car and the STLMS rules. We're allowed to run the same tires since we're on a crate motor. The biggest thing is running with those guys you have to be damn near perfect, have some luck and draw good. If the track is big and fast, in a crate you have to just hold on, against those guys with open motors.”
Nogalitos Gear Late Models
104 Brandon Brzozowski, 9 Ray Doyon, 12 Kody Hardage, 7x Rory Jordan, 129 Jamie Campbell, 08 Aaron Leddy, 53x Matt Fox, 77 David Taylor, 37 AJ Wernette, 57 Jason Kelly, 1x Andrew Hesler, 5 Ryan McDonald
Late Model heats
Heat 1; 104 Brandon Brzozowski, 57 Jason Kelly, 1x Andrew Hesler, 53x Matt Fox, 37 AJ Wernette, 5 Ryan McDonald
Heat 2; 9 Ray Doyon, 12 Kody Hardage, 7x Rory Jordan, 129 Jamie Campbell, 08 Aaron Leddy, 77 David Taylor
Doyon Does It for First Modified Main Win
The 20-lap IMCA Modified main saw Marlin Samford first into turn 1, but it was Ryan Doyon off of turn 2 taking command. Chris Carroll, Samford, Jared Maupin and Robert Liese falling in line. Just as Maupin and Liese got past Samford, he slid over the turn 3 hill for an early caution. Back under green Maupin took second from Carroll with Robby Minten taking fifth from Logan Dinsmore.
As the top three pulled off to a good lead, L. Dinsmore and Minten continued to swap that spot. After a quick yellow for a spin by Gilbert Amezquita, Maupin and Carroll were slugging it out for second. This gave L. Dinsmore the chance to run them both down for a three car scrap. Just as the crossed flags were about to be shown, Amezquita looped it again, ending his night.
Back under green, Maupin got second from Carroll with L. Dinsmore following to third. The top five at halfway showed Doyon, Maupin, L. Dinsmore, Carroll and Minten in the top five. As the laps clicked off, Doyon was able to stretch his lead over Maupin until a late caution for Chandler Fox slapping the front stretch wall brought out a yellow.
L. Dinsmore took second from Maupin on the restart while Carroll and Minten battled for fourth. Doyon held a good enough lead the final few laps that L. Dinsmore wasn't close enough to mount a challenge. Doyon's win in his 3-D Landscaping & Irrigation, Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supplies, Alamo Track Accessories, 89 Motorsports, WW Bodies, Supreme Vinyl Works, crate powered IRP Chassis, was his first IMCA Modified win after some success running Limited Modifieds.
“Starting up front I didn't see what was going on behind me, but heard it was a good race,” reported Doyon. “Jared's(Maupin) always fast here, Greg(Dinsmore), (Chris)Carroll, when in the lead you never really know where everyone else is running. You just kind of watch to see if their nose is there and go aroundd you. You can hear them if they're outside of you. I never really felt too pressured aside from once or twice. I just focused on hitting my marks, keeping it clean and worrying about my race.”
“With restarts here being you can start anytime the lights go out, you wonder where you want to try to start. It's tough not knowing what's going on behind you. Under yellow I'd go up top, but it didn't feel like anything was there for someone to get around me. I just hugged the tires and said if someone can go up there, let them try it. I just figured it wasn't good enough to get it done.”
“This is my first win in a modified. It's been two, maybe three years since I won in a Limited Modified. It's been a while. Johnny Walker does a lot of work in the shop to keep me going. There's a lot of family involved, my mom and dad and brother all have a hand in this to get me to the track each week.”
Price Chevrolet IMCA Modifieds
5r Ryan Doyon, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, bd1 Jared Maupin, 22 Robby Minten, 82c Chris Carroll, 44 Brandon Welker, 77 Robert Liese jr., 28 Marlin Samford, 53x Chandler Fox, 56 Gilbert Amezquita, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 2 Arian Gassman
IMCA Modified heats
Heat 1; 5r Ryan Doyon, 82c Chris Carroll, 22r Robby Minten, 44x Brandon Welker, 28 Marlin Samford, 8g Greg Dinsmore
Heat 2; bd1 Jared Maupin, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 77 Robert Liese jr., 53xx Chandler Fox, 56 Gilbert Amezquita, a2 Arian Gassman
Beaver Bags Limited Mod Bucks
As green waved on the 15-lap Limited Modified field Allen Alexander got a good launch off turn 4 leading Trent Beaver, Sterling Tausch, Ben Mikulencak, James Cole and Kevin Parker. Beaver quickly began pressuring Alexander for the lead showing the nose in turn 1.
Beaver got inside Alexander off turn 2 as they went side by side down the back stretch into turns 3-4. Beaver got the run on the bottom to grab the point on lap 4 while Mikulencak took third from Tausch. As Beaver started to creep away, Mikulencak took second from Alexander.
At halfway it was Beaver, Mikulencak, Alexander, Tausch, and Parker in the top five, with the field separated out. As the white waved, Beaver had built a half straightaway advantage cruising the checkers in the Beaver Heating & Air, Beaver Medical Group, Howell Crane & Rigging, WW Bodies, CBR Shocks, crate powered, Innovative Race Car.
“We've been traveling around a bit,” commented Beaver. “We've been to Cotton Bowl and Corpus this year. Nothing we've used here in the past really translates to now. We have a basic set up package, then go from there. We struggled in the heat, but figured some things out and it was pretty good.”
“I was just trying to hit the moisture on the bottom. I knew if I got off the bottom real good on the corners, I'd have good drive(off). I was't too worried if someone was making the top work. I had pretty good drive off. I felt we had a pretty good car for the bottom, so I stayed there.”
State Farm Insurance Limited Modifieds
14 Trent Beaver, 13b Ben Mikulencak, 99 Allen Alexander, 95s Sterling Tausch, 7 Kevin Parker, 14jr James Cole
Limited Modified heats
Heat 1; 99 Allen Alexander, 95s Sterling Tausch, 14 Trent Beaver, 14jr James Cole, 13m Ben Mikulencak, 7 Kevin Parker
Casteneda Cashes In
Eighteen Factory Stocks took the green for the 20-lap feature with Jared Maupin first to turn 1 trailed by Dillon Gaither, Mason Casteneda, Robby Minten and Jeff Hammit. Casteneda quickly got by Gaither for second while Mike Lyon and Dakota Hurley got by Hammit. A tractor tire on the track brought out the yellow on lap 6, and was sent to the infield.
Back under green, Casteneda and Gaither swapped second allowing Maupin to move ahead. Back in the pack, Cameron Dinsmore, Nathan Rachui and Lyon were three wide for sixth with Dinsmore taking the spot. Minten got past Gaither for third leaving him door to door with Hurley for fourth.
At halfway it was Maupin and Casteneda side by side for the lead with Minten, Hurley and Gaither the top five. Casteneda got a good run off the bottom of turn 2 to finally secure the lead on lap 12. Dinsmore cracked the top five taking the spot from Gaither, as Casteneda stretched his lead before a debris caution on lap 16.
The restart saw Hurley get third from from Minten leaving him three wide with Dinsmore and Gaither for fourth. Maupin battled back with Hurley giving Casteneda some breathing room. With Hurley and Maupin side by side, Casteneda eased away for the win the Lege Motorsports, Ace Transmission, Continental Batteries, TJ Mechanical, Southern Tire Mart, Supreme Vinyl Works, Swenson Racing Products, Ace Machine Shop powered, Express Race Car.
“It's been a while(since I've been here) and victory lane, said Casteneda. “I couldn't do it on my own. Shane Hebert built a good, fast car. Right out of the box it was fast. I wouldn't say it was luck, but I felt that (Jared) Maupin was off tonight. He's usually hard to beat and I was fortunate enough to do it tonight.”
“I was just waiting my time and I didn't want to expose myself to him and show him how fast the bottom was. I didn't really have a game plan. I was just seeing what line was the best. I found the bottom and took off. The top got real dusty up there and the bottom came in. It was good.”
“To be honest, I thought they were all over me. I didn't know I had a few car lengths on them. I had a thought in the back of my mind that someone would come around the top.”
All in Design Factory Stocks
28m Mason Casteneda, 40 Dakota Hurley, 91 Jared Maupin, 8c Cameron Dinsmore, 25r Nathan Rachui, 99 Dillon Gaither, 20 Mike Lyon, 53k Kasey Krauss, 3d Robby Minten,18 Kyle Kirkland, 11x Brian Harbison, 00 Zach Freeman, 75 Jerry Miller, 15 William Cavender, 24 Paul Reyes, 37 AJ Wernette, 99j Jeff Hammit, 15L Daniel Lopez, 38k Billy Kinneman
Factory Stock heats
Heat 1; 91 Jared Maupin, 28m Mason Casteneda, 40 Dakota Hurley, 00 Zach Freeman, 15L Daniel Lopez, 38k Billy Kinneman---dns
Heat 2;99 Dillon Gaither, 99j Jeff Hammit, 37 AJ Wernette, 75 Jerry Miller, 15 William Cavender, 11x Brian Harbison
Heat 3; 3d Robby Minten, 20 Mike Lyon, 25r Nathan Rachui, 18 Kyle Kirkland, 24 Paul Reyes, 8c Cameron Dinsmore
Gaither Gathers Another
Lance Gaither grabbed the early lead of the 15-lap B Factory Stock feature with Ronnie Schoenfeldt, Robert Keylich, Bob Cualfield, Robert Fox and Johnny Brown in pursuit. It didnt take long for Gaither to start pulling away from Schoenfeldt and Keylich, who had a gap to Caulfield and Fox. Keylich would start showing some smoke, then do a half spin and pull off.
The races only yellow came just past halfway for debris after Brown tagged the wall. On the restart, Gaither and Schoenfeldt got away clear from Caulfield and Fox. In the waning circuits Gaither was able to motor away from Schoenfeldt for the win in the Gaither Motorsports, Dohogne Claim Services, Rangel Bail Bonds, Supreme Foundation Repair, Spreen Race Engines, All in Designs, home built chassis.
“I don't know. I'm enjoying what I'm doing and having fun.” replied Gaither. “I don't want to be out of there with those guys(with more experience), but we'll see. We're just having fun. Dillon sets the cars up for me, it's his car, he's just lets dad have some fun with it. I'm having a good time.”
“Ronnies(Schoenfeldt) car is a sister car to this one. Whatever we do to my car, we do to that one too. I kept looking over my shoulder knowing he was there. I never saw him, so I just kept running my line.”
“I'm going to quit taking it easy on him,” injected the interview bombing Schoenfeldt.
B Factory Stocks
5 Lance Gaither, 98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 47 Bob Caulfield, 25f Robert Fox, 92r Robert Keylich, 3d Johnny Brown
B Factory Stock heat; 5 Lance Gaither, 98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 3d Johnny Brown, 92r Robert Keylich, 47 Bob Caulfield, 25f Robert Fox
Sport Compacts
Garner Grabs Gold
At the start of the 20-lap Sport Compact feature it was Michael Burris jr. getting out front chased by Ryker Hernandez, Jamie Garner, Rod Tait and Levi Hernandez. Just as the top three started to check out a debris caution slowed the pace. On the restart, Garner snuck past R. Hernandez for second, with Justin Sitterle following to third.
Garner gave Burris jr. a look low twice getting along side on the back stretch, but falling back in line. At the crossed flags it was Burris jr., Garner, Sitterle, Michael Burris sr. and R. Hernandez. As the laps wound down, Garner again began to stick the nose in lower than Burris jr. while Burris sr. caught Sitterle for third.
Garner got the nose out front on lap 16 with the lead duo going three wide splitting a slower car. On the final lap Burris jr. made a last charge in turn 3, but it was, former track champ, Garner in his RNM Install, Hudson Brothers Trailer Sales, VW Sirocco holding off and breaking the win streak of Burris.jr.
“I thought I'd never see you again,” joked Garner. “These young guys are putting a whooping on me. It's great to be back in the winners circle. I just went wherever he wasn't. You know you're not going pass someone driving the same line. You can't drive through them so just go in another lane.”
“There's no real plan, you just do the best you can. I think that he went in to hot and I didn't when I finally finished the pass. It was a mistake by him. He was definitely faster. These guys are all so much younger than me. At my age it's tough to keep up. The older you get, the slower you go.”
“I want to thank Rick Pollaro(RNM Install), Joe and Adrian Shoemaker, Darrell Jones, Gerald Higley and probably a few more I can't remember.”
33 Jamie Garner, 81 Michael Burris jr., 88 Justin Sitterle, 55 Ryker Hernandez, 28 Levi Hernandez, 21t Shaun Tracy, 70 Rod Tait, 12 Billy McCall, 3% Sam Walker, 18 Michael Burris sr.
Sport Compact heats
Heat 1; 81 Michael Burris jr., 55 Ryker Hernandez, 28 Levi Hernandez, 70 Rod Tait, 21t Shaun Tracy
Heat 2; 33 Jamie Garner, 88 Justin Sitterle, 18 Michael Burris sr., 12 Courtney McCall, 3% Sam Walker
Go-Karts
Adult Predator; Noah VanBlarcum, Andy VanBlarcum, Jimbo VanBlarcum, Rebekah VanBlarcum, Miguel Mendoza, Colin Carroll, Nikolas Mendoza, Nadiya Mendoza, Cody Clegg
Senior Division; Abigail Zambonatti, Cody Clegg
Junior Division; Tucker Kempe, Cecilii Johnson
Youth Division; Jaxon Rachui, Astryd Gordon, Kate Brzozowski, Jayden Gray