DECORAH, Iowa - Mother Nature has not been friendly to race fans thus far in 2009, but following yet another rain out last week, this week was picture perfect as fans and competitors alike returned to Decorah’s Upper Iowa Speedway for only the second time thus far this season. With graduations and other area activities over for the most part, a nice crowd was on hand to get back to what summer is really all about – racing dirt track style. How did your favorite driver do? Let’s take a look –

Hornets – Johnny Severtson started outside pole in the Hornet feature and used that good starting spot to shoot to an early lead. The race would go caution free, but 2008 point champ Steve Dwyer was determined to claim his first UIS feature trophy of 2009. He would make it to second and was right on Severtson’s tail as the checkered flag flew, but it wouldn’t be enough as Severtson would make Dwyer wait at least one more week, claiming his first feature win of the year in the process.

Fink’s Farm and Home Hobby Stocks – Check on the map and you’ll see that Keswick, Iowa is a long haul from Decorah, but when a guy wants to race, he wants to race, as was the case this time around when Nathan Wood, who races regularly at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa but brought two cars to UIS this week – a Hobby Stock and Stock Car, to try his hand at the Decorah quarter-mile. Well, call it beginner’s luck or just plain skill but Keswick took a quick liking to UIS as he jumped to an early lead in the Hobby feature. Brandon Hare and Danny Sacquintne had a great battle for second while a three-way battle for fourth took place behind them between Randy Banks, Chris Hovden and Adam Cline. Hare would take second and Hovden third and they would all encounter lots of lap traffic but Wood would not be denied as he claimed his first ever UIS feature win, just ahead of Hare in yet another caution free feature event.

American Family Insurance/Chris Smock Agency B-Mods – Unlike the classes before them that had no cautions, the B-Mods more than made up for it with no less than six yellows during their feature event. The cautions started on lap one when Bill Richter spun his #13B. Following the re-start, it was pole sitter Matt Jones showing the way up front. Jimmy Broszeit then spun, bringing out the second caution and involving four cars total. A third caution then flew when Jeremy Geisler made contact with the backstretch wall. All the while, Jones was leading with Brian Mahlstedt, Junior Boyer and Andy Kelly battling for second. Greg Mitchell and Boyer then tangled, bringing out another caution. There were a couple more cautions towards the end of the event, but Jones was undeterred as he held off a hard charge by Mahlstedt to claim his first feature win of the young season.

Letterwerks Sign City Stock Cars – Pete Solum and Cody Cook tangled early in the Stock Car feature, bringing out the caution. Soon after, Mitch Hovden took his #15M to the lead with Kurt Krauskopf and Dan Jones close behind. A second caution flew for an incident involving Jake Ludeking, Dan Christopher and Kevin Donlan. Krauskopf, Jones and Hovden would all take their turn up front as the three fought for the front spot. With Hovden leading, Krauskopf and Jones went high and low, moving to first and second and shuffling Hovden to third. And that is how they would finish, with Krauskopf claiming his first UIS feature win of the season in exciting fashion.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series
Upper Iowa Speedway, Decorah, Iowa
Saturday, May 30, 2009

USRA HOBBY STOCKS

Feature: Wood, Hare, Hovden, Sacquintne, Schwartzhoff, Stinson, Hovey, Spilde, Larson, Lewis, Cline, Holthaus, Hovden, Henderson, Kupka, Frye, Vick, Schwebach, Banks, Anderson.

USRA KARL CHEVROLET B-MODS

Feature: Jones, Mahlstedt, Boyer, Verthein, Mitchell, Panos, Mike Kelly, Broszeit, Schaufenbuel, Erickson, Krambeer, Andrew Kelly, Richter, Geisler, Howard, Droste, Fretheim.

USRA KARL CHEVROLET STOCK CARS

Feature: Krauskopf, Jones, Hovden, Ludeking, Curtin, Donlan, Cole, Halverson, Christopher, Cook, Lampert, Wood, Solum, Falck.