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Lake
Geneva Raceway presents
Round and Around by Fay Hendricks |
Upcoming Events at Lake Geneva
Raceway:
See you for the 2006 Season opener in April |
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| Round
and Around: By Fay Hendricks |
| The following is a column
written by Fay Hendricks for The Checkered Flag Racing News. This race publication began
in 1968 and ceased operations as of July 13, 2005. The wife of 7-time sportsman and mini
stock champion Jim Hendricks, Fay has been writing since 1981. As a way to allow readers
to continue following the travels of Fay Hendricks around several venues, Lake Geneva
Raceway owner-promoter Kevin Dawson has decided to offer the columns here. We hope you
enjoy the reading. |
October 31, 2005 - After a month’s delay,
some things changed for the rescheduled finale of the 40th annual national Short Track
Championships at Rockford Speedway. A few drivers were missing, others joined, and a few
had to borrow mounts to finish their season. It was fitting to have things completed on
Halloween weekend. The day was a trick for some, a treat for others. At least Mother
Nature smiled down on us with clear skies and toasty temps in the 60’s. Fans basked
in the weather, getting one last sunburn before winter.
An early start seemingly guaranteed an early exit from the quarter-mile oval near the
Illinois-Wisconsin border. But the proverbial “stuff” happened to delay a lot of
Saturday night plans. Rockford’s matriarch, Jody Deery, welcomed everyone, awards
were bestowed to drivers, then the CRA late models ran their last chance event. One entry
had already scratched prior to this, leaving five cars racing for three feature berths.
Wisconsin’s Robert Maynor and Mike Dekeuster became spectators for the rest of the
day. Kentucky’s Chuck Barnes Jr. and Bobby Parsley were missing, as was
Missouri’s Billy Crane, and Illinois racer Jack Kalwasinski replaced John Nutley for
the CRA finale at Rockford.
The ASA Late Model feature began with 27 of the original 30 entries starting the 100-lap
event. Missing were Jason Miller, teenager Chase Austin, and Bill Tomlinson. Iowa’s
Landon Cassill, age 16, was one of the six teens remaining, but had to borrow a car from
Doug True after a practice crash sidelined his own mount. Beginning at the rear of the
field, Cassill managed to stay on the lead lap to the end. An 18-year old assumed the
title of ASA Late Model champion as soon as the green flag dropped, as Stephen Leicht
began on the pole after notching quick time a month earlier.
Ryan Carlson jumped into the lead ahead of Leicht and survived three restarts before
five-time Rockford champion Ricky Bilderback showed his expertise to the end. Another six
yellow banners marred the contest, especially when involving many of the top runners. Many
discovered why this track was dubbed “Wreckford”, getting caught in
another‘s mistakes. With a pair of slowdowns with only four laps remaining, the 17
survivors crossed the final stripe over an hour later. Bilderback’s first start with
the series couldn’t have gone better. Stating, “Ryan (Carlson), Tom (Gille), and
myself race together all the time“, adding that there was “beating and banging a
little to pass“. Carlson had notched a win here earlier, and was satisfied with his
top five position in the final standings. Peter Cozzolino’s third-place finish was
with a battered mount missing body chunks, an accomplishment to be proud of as well.
Then the championship ASA team took center stage, Leicht declaring, “I can’t say
enough about this team. Howie Lettow’s so smart”, referring to his mentor and
the team’s crew chief. We had a chance to chat with Leicht just nine days earlier at
the Milwaukee Mile‘s announcement of next year‘s ASA Late Model contest. The
North Carolina native told your scribe he truly enjoyed his time with the Wisconsin-based
WalTom Race team, and will keep in touch much like former team driver Jimmy Johnson has.
This is, after all, where they learned the skills they needed before moving on. Leicht had
his first NASCAR Busch race one week before Rockford’s finale, the first of his
efforts for the Robert Yates team. Even though his career would be somewhere else, Leicht
still has plans to return to the fold next year for more races. The fondness of the entire
crew was evident after the contest, when a champagne bath was heartily bestowed on Lettow.
The teen champion may have had some of the bubbly spill into his mouth during the
celebration, purely by accident.
The CRA contest, at 250 laps, would count caution circuits to speed things up, but still
took about 100 minutes after a dozen slowdowns and a built-in 10-minute pit stop. New
entries Cassill and Jack Smith brought the starting field to 28 cars. Eddie Hoffman, for
the second year in a row, won the big event, but had to do so without power steering.
After only a couple dozen circuits, Hoffman’s mount showed some light smoke as the
fluid left his mount. Luck was with Hoffman, as well as a lot of perseverance fighting his
“noodle arms”. Beginning on the pole, Hoffman stated, “I ran our of arm. I
would get ahead for ten or fifteen laps, but then my arms gave out. I guess I should work
out”. Behind him, Jeff Lane finished the day with the CRA title. Lane was a bit
disappointed with runner-up, admitting, “We had an awful good car. I thought I had
something for Eddie, but at this point in the chase it would be kind of silly (to risk
crashing for the lead)”. Rockford regular Steve Rubeck’s third place came after
much contact with Michigan’s Tom Hernly Jr. and Wisconsin’s Ryan Mathews.
“As long as we put on a good show for you fans, that’s what it’s all
about”, claimed Rubeck. It was Mathews who summed up the Rockford experience best
with, “There’s not really two or three grooves. It’s more like one and
a-half”.
The Mid-American Stock Cars and Trucks finished Rockford’s season as the sun began to
set. It was a bittersweet day for the series racers without their founder Gary
Vercauteren, but they carried on proudly to the end. No one knows what will become of the
five divisions in the Mid-American fold, but the racers wanted to show their pride. Under
the Mid-American umbrella, they raced in other states as well as the venerable Milwaukee
Mile and Road America’s miles of road course.
Jeremy Spoonmore had made an early exit from the CRA 250, giving him time to rest before
starting the 75-lap Mid-Am Stock Car contest. With Jason Taghikhani’s car damaged at
another track and Jeremy Miller’s car being sold, there were 19 left of the original
field Ronnie Weyer’s mount was still not completely repaired, so he borrowed that of
Dave Obermeyer to finish his season in the top ten. Bill Prietzel had already locked up
another title in the stock car division, which was a good thing when his engine let loose
with a fateful 13 laps remaining in the contest. Johnny Senerchia had a lock on the lead
all the way to the end, however, and Prietzel’s ignoble finish would soon be
vindicated.
The nine Mid-American Trucks finished the day with 30 laps of good racing, and
Prietzel’s determination paid off with a visit to victory circle after all. We, as
well as others, had to hurry out of the arena as soon as possible. We were just a bit late
for a family dinner a couple hours later, as one of our sons celebrated a birthday. A
cousin had just passed away too early in life, and we are also thinking of the John
McKarns family at the passing of his mother. Grandson Gregg had a lot on his plate running
things at Rockford and overseeing the CRA group before the funeral of his grandmother.
Family or extended family, it’s all the same in the world of racing.
Coming up, the revived All American 400 at Nashville’s Music City Motorplex. Some of
the teams we just saw will race just for fun to finish off their season. |
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| Archives |
| July 20, 2005
July 27, 2005
August 3, 2005
August 10, 2005
August 17, 2005
August 24, 2005 |
| August 31, 2005
September
3, 2005 September 10, 2005
September
21, 2005 September 28, 2005 |
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October 2, 2005
October 9, 2005
October 31, 2005 |
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