KYLE SUTER MEMORIAL AT BVR 8-13-08
Jeremiah Davis
(08/13/08)
At the beginning of the night on Wednesday at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, many fans and track officials alike were looking to the skies and wondering the same thing: When would it rain? The cloud cover was heavy and dark during the heat races, but the rain held off.
Wednesday night was a make-up of the Kyle Suter Memorial, which was supposed to run during the Buena Vista County Fair. The Memorial race ran alongside Ag Partners night.
There was a special order of events for the evening, with the Stock Cars playing the role of main event, the feature event being extended ten laps from 15 to 25.
During the parade lap for the feature, each driver was given a Kyle Suter flag to carry during the parade laps, honoring Kyle. The four wide parade lap pumped up the crowd and drivers alike, and by the time the green flag dropped, everyone was ready to go racing.
With a field of nearly thirty cars in attendance, the feature event showed all the signs of being a mess. Right from the green flag, cars were racing four wide. By the time the cars settled into position, three cars had separated themselves from the pack.
Chris Ullrich of Kiron took the lead, with David Smith of Lake City and Brian Blessington of Breda racing close behind.
Ten laps in, Smith and Blessington made it a three way battle for the lead, racing side by side with Ullrich.
Smith took the lead three laps later, but couldnt get away, as Blessington stayed close behind. Ullrich slid back a bit, and Donovan Smith was able to catch him and challenge for third.
The racing was close in different places all around the track, and despite the close racing, the feature went caution free until a single car spin with five to go.
With things bunched up again, David had to be on his game. Blessington gave David everything he had, and Donovan, who had gotten around Ullrich on the restart, put pressure on the top two as well.
Over the final laps, Blessington tried multiple lines to try and get around David, but to no avail. Smith and Blessington came off of turn four to the checkers side by side, but David held on, with Blessington crossing second and Donovan third.
The Modifieds, who usually are the main event, raced right before the Stock Cars, and also head a large field of cars.
Joel Ziegman led from the pole, with Randy Brands of Boyden and Brad Williams of Lytton following close behind.
The three raced hard for the lead in the opening laps, but a caution for Mike Hansen of Alton put a pause on that. On the restart, Nick Deal of Walnut made a power move, jumping from fourth to the lead in less than a lap. Deal stretched his lead a bit, and led the next several laps with a sizeable lead.
After another quick caution, Ziegman fell out with problems, and Williams was slowed by contact with another car, and fell deep in the field.
As the racing went on, Brands slipped back behind Mark Elliott of Webster City, and a hard charging Mike Hansen, who had raced from the tail of the field to third in less than ten laps.
Deal stretched his lead in the closing laps, with Elliott moving to second, and Hansen close behind in third.
Deal held on to his lead and picked up his second win in a row, with Elliott second and Hansen third.
The Sport Mod feature saw an interesting storyline reach the fans ears. Point leader Luke Wanninger of Jefferson has had a wonderful rookie season, and is poised to take home not only the IMCA Rookie of the Year and the BVR Points Championship, but also the National Points Championship.
Very few drivers can go from Hobby Stock to Sport Mods and be so successful so quick.
At the start of the Sport Mod feature, Mick King of Odebolt held the lead, with Wanninger close behind. Two laps later, Wanninger had the lead, and was not looking back.
Behind the front two, Brett Meyer of Lytton and Geoff Olson of Sioux City raced for third.
After a quick caution late in the going, Wanninger stretched out his lead and held on for yet another win. King held on to the second position, and Meyer crossed the line third.
While the other feature events had some racing for the lead, the Hobby Stock feature was never in doubt.
Doug Smith of Lake City took the lead early, after a brief battle for the top spot with Matt Mahoney of Pierson, and promptly began running away from the rest of the field.
While Doug stretched his lead to a full straightaway, his brother Devin came to challenge Mahoney for second. The two raced hard for several laps, allowing Craig Brotherton of Wall Lake to come and challenge for the third spot.
Doug walked away from everyone, and powered home to the win. Mahoney held off charges from Devin for second, and Devin held on for third.
After the race was over, Doug didnt have much time to celebrate, as his motor was claimed.
The Sport Compact feature saw familiar faces running up front.
Dan Rhiley of Bennington, NE jumped to the early lead. After holding off challenges from both Daniel Smith of Lake City and Shawn Turner of Sioux City over the course of the race, Rhiley went on to win yet another feature event, with Turner coming home second.
