By Paul Pittman

CRESCO, IA (September 5, 1999) - Travis Whitney was able to take advantage of an incident involving race leader Skip Jackson to go on and win his 3rd race of his short 1999 IRA season.

With Knoxville, IA closing their season the night before, several teams made the trip north to take advantage of a close visit by the IRA. A total of 30 sprinters readied for battle. Joe Roe kept up the trend of shattering track records Saturday night at Cresco when he turned a lap at 14.283 seconds around the 4/10s mile oval which was perfectly prepared.

Mike Reinke nailed the throttle and set a blistering pace himself, winning the Weld Racing wheels heat race in the Pit Stop Pizza #02 Maxim. Darrell Dodd followed suit in the J&L Oil flagship #11 Maxim, withstanding a late race charge by Kurt Winker in the #10W Grand Rental Station JB. Although closing, Winker couldn't run down Dodd, who went on to win the Lane Automotive heat race #2. Manny Rockhold drove the Gould Racing/Auto Motive Machine #02x to an early lead, represented the Knoxville contingent with a win in the MPD Race Products heat race #3. Heat race #3 also saw Todd Daun getting on his head while negotiating turn #3. The Schultes Precision Manufacturing #19 Eagle landed hard, but Todd emerged unscathed, able to make repairs for the "B".

Scott Neitzel took the early lead in the "B" in his R&H Enterprises Maxim and held on until he slid high in turn #2, allowing fast timer Roe in the Roe Automotive Maxim to get by and go on to win the "B" Main. Kevin Olsen's Jester's Bar #9K let go on the final lap, creating a tense moment as the cars sailed to the checkered flag.

Trying to follow-up a win at the Knoxville finale the night before, Skip Jackson had his TK Concrete/Serace Inc #55 on the pole and at the beginning, looked like he would accomplish his goal. Jackson lead the 1st half of the caution plagued race until he himself got involved with a stopped car. While not damaged, Jackson was forced to restart from the rear.

Inheriting the lead was the #88 of Travis Whitney, driving Mike Frost's #88 Allegro Motorhomes Eagle. Several more cautions allowed the 27G Karavan Motorsports J&J of Donny Goeden to always stay there, but Whitney was able to maintain and keep his #88 in front for the remainder of the race. Whitney was joined in victory lane by car owner Frost and the entire team as they celebrated their 3rd win of the 1999 season. Following Whitney and Goeden across the finish line was Roe (3rd), a charging Manny Rockhold and Raymond Hensley, piloting the #52 Larry miller owned Contract Furnishings Maxim.

THE INFIELD

One of the most important news items, unfortunately, was the Tierney crash at Lancaster. While John was treated at the Grant County hospital in Lancaster, John will most certainly be finished for the remainder of the 99 season. John's involvement with the IRA will not be however. As a business owner (Tierney Signs in Antioch, IL) and Vice President of the IRA, I'm sure that John will be able to find plenty to do to keep him busy while on the mend. Get well fast! Cards and notes can be sent to him at:

36701 N 83

Lake Villa, IL 60046

Raymond Hensley filled in on Sunday in the seat of Larry Miller's #52. The Avon Automotive crew worked hard to make all neccessary changes for Hensley, and did a good job at that. In Hensley's 1st time in a strange car, and driving for someone other than his dad, Bill "Pops" Hensley, Raymond qualified 7th, finished 3rd in his heat and finished 5th in the "A" Main.

Afterward, the Avon Automotive crew and the Miller crew were all smiles, turning near disaster into a very positive thing. Plans are currently underway to possible put Hensley in the car for the upcoming Karavan Trailers/Badger State Sprint Series.

The Karavan Trailers/Badger State Sprint Series begins on Friday Spet 10th at the Superior Speewway. The 3 race series is tempting a lot of teams with it's unique format. ALL competing teams start at 0 points for the 3 races. Points are then accruding normally throughout the series and a winner is awareded the$2,500 bonus after race #3 at Sunnyview Speedzone on Sunday, Sept 12th. One driver, could win over $8,500 if all 3 events are swept! This has many teams drooling. With the ever-present consistensy of Goeden and Roe, the speed of Reinke and Daun and Whitney, the possibilities of several "out of towners" taking advantage of end of the season time and now the combination of 2 teams, look for the series to be a very competitive event! The biggest benifactor? The fans!

Another good crowd was on hand to witness a great race on Sunday. Both Saturday and Sunday races were well recieved and appreciated by all of us at the IRA.

Don't forget, time is running out for your chance to win the "Make-A-Wish" quilt to be raffled off thhis month For details or to get your raffle ticket while you still can, see Amy Holm at the track or contact her here.

The Fan Appreciation "Underdog" Dash has been moved to the Dodge County Fairgrounds due to curfew restrictions at Sunnyview. Please make a note. Fans wishing to donate to the purse can contact Ryan Irwin or Dave Hopper. The dash will consist of 8 cars for 8 laps, comprised of the 8 drivers to make the least amount of feature races over the 1999 IRA season. It is open to only IRA teams falling within the 75% range and the line-up will be determined after the Shawano race. The race will pay $500 to win. For questions concerning the dash, contact Ryan Irwin or Dave Hopper.