Beatrice Speedway, Beatrice, NE - 20 August 2005
A hot, humid August evening came to a strange end under a full moon at the Beatrice Speedway Saturday evening. After receiving a gentle rain Friday afternoon and evening, the track had plenty of moisture in it as the races got underway.
With a week off after last weeks' rain-out, we changed engines in the stock car, hoping for a bit more power. After Friday's rain, Saturday dawned warm, humid and clear with very little wind.
The R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo started on the inside of the 2nd row in the 3rd heat. Top 4 were to make the invert, with the 5th place car to fall in behind and 6th place and back would have to run in a consolation.
The 6B of Travis Burger started on the pole. He's been having better runs lately and has been hard to pass. The 66 of Jeff Watts starts on the outside pole, and the 03 of Aaron Roth will start outside of me. The 35 of Mike Schwartz starts behind me, as well as the 54m of Gary McGinty and the m34 of Matt Spanjer.
If the weatherman led us to believe that Saturday would be cooler than it had been - we absolutely REFUSE to believe him any more!!
When the green flew on our heat race, the 66 immediately jumped to the lead. I tried to pass the 6B low, but couldn't clear him. The 03 followed the 66 and the 35 passed me on the bottom in turn 3 at the end of the 2nd lap.
I could run up on the back bumper of the 6B, but could not quite make the pass. I tried the outside, but could not pass him high on the corners. With 3 to go, I was able to get a run off turn 4 on the bottom. It was a drag race down the front chute, and I was able to get under him going into 1. We rubbed but there was no damage and I was able to complete the pass and come out ahead of him on the back chute. At the checkers, we had a 4th place finish, which would eventually put the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo factory stock on the outside of the 2nd row in the A Feature.
The R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo stock car was to start on the pole in the 3rd heat. We have another engine under the hood now, and I'm a bit worried that it has a lot more power than what I'm used to. I'm also running a very heavy flywheel and clutch compared to what I had on the other engine, so it will handle differently. I don't want to do anything stupid and take myself or somebody else out.
After some last minute checks, I'm strapped into the car and ready to go. On my outside is the 63 of Mike Nichols, who is currently in 3rd place in IMCA National points and the defending 2004 IMCA Stock Car National Champion. We're around the track one time and the flag man is showing the one to go signal for the green. We're down the back chute and the corner light flashes, then goes out. Out of turn 4 and the green flag is waving! I'm on the accelerator, but the heavy rotating weight is hurting me. Into 1 in 4th place and out of 2 in 6th place. I'm able to maintain the same distance behind the 5th place car for about 4 laps, then start losing some ground. The car is faster than what is was with the other engine, but it will take some getting used to. When the checkers fall, I'm in 6th place, which will put me on the inside of the 9th row.
I still have some checking to do on the factory stock before it's ready to race. My pit crew went to the tractor pull tonight, so I'm a bit busier than when I have help.
Tires on both cars have to be checked and both fuel cells have to be filled. I still have to top off the radiator in the factory stock. I do have a little more time since the cruisers are running; that gives me some more races before I have to be ready again.
They're calling for the factory stock A Feature to get lined up. I'm starting on the outside of the 2nd row, behind the 7 of Jeff Shew and on the outside of the 23 of Carey Ames. Jeff Watts will start on the pole; he's my pick to win if he's able to finish. The track is still tacky; it's smooth on the very bottom on the corners, rough from about 1 1/2 car width off the bottom to about 5 car widths off the bottom and smooth higher up. I'd like to go to the bottom as I'm sure it will be faster for me down there; however, everybody else will want the bottom as well.
We're coming out of 4 for the parade lap, then one last slower lap before the green. A last minute check of the belts and I'm ready for a green!
The lights go out on the back chute and everybody is bunched up, anticipating the green. The front row accelerates in the middle of 3 and the green is out. We're racing!
The 66 immediately jumps into the lead. The cars on the bottom are staying there and I can't get down there at this time. I stay a little high, trying to stay with the 7 ahead of me. Out of 2 and down the back chute and we're in 4th or 5th place. Still can't risk going to the bottom without taking myself or somebody else out. The car feels good where it is, I just think if I was able to go to the bottom, we could be faster.
Three down and I'm able to get to the inside of the track. The 66 is leading with the 23, 89, 35 and 5m trying to catch him. I'm battling the 7, running up on his back bumper but not being able to make a pass. He's on the high side and I'm on the bottom, but we never touch. I'm in about 8th or 9th at the time.
Four down and there's a yellow for something. I don't see what the flag was for until we come into 4. The 54m of Gary McGinty is sitting near the top in turn 4. The wrecker is getting ready to hook up to him. Something happened to the 23, too, as he pulls into the pits.
We're lined back up and the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo is in 9th place. I'd sure love to make a pass on the 7 and get a bit closer to the front. The green is out and we're back on the gas.
With 5 down, the 6R of Roy Armstrong passes me on the bottom. I move down a bit, but don't want to go too far to the bottom in 1 & 2. There's a small pond there and if somebody gets in there, it will take a wrecker to get them out. I'm still finding a smoother way around the bottom of the track.
Going into 3, I can see a white car on my outside. It's the 1w of Delmar Wells. We race side by side for 3 or 4 laps before he finally passes me high out of 4. In the meantime, I'm still right behind the 7, still trying to pass him.
With about 10 to go, the 1w and the 03 make contact on the bottom of 3 and 4 and the 03 spins to the bottom of the track. The yellow is out and the 03 and 1w are sent to the back of the pack. In the meantime, the 66 is still leading with the 6R in 2nd.
When the green flies again, I'm still in 8th place. Still battling with the 7, we're probably having about the best race in the place with the exception of the 66 and 6R. I can go in on the bottom and close on his back bumper, but he is slightly faster coming off the corner. I'm watching and it looks like he may be going in a bit higher than he should, and his car goes toward the top of the track. We're side by side coming out of 2, but there's another yellow out with 2 to go.
We're lined up again in 8th place, and the green is out. The 7 is high again coming out of 2 and I am finally able to make the pass. That puts me in 7th place. Going into 3, I see the 03 on my outside. We run side by side down the front chute as the white flag flies. He is into the corner on the high side and comes out of 2 a bit higher than me, but that's where his car works. I'm back in 8th going into 3 and will try one more time to make the pass as we come under the checkers.
The 66 spins ahead of us in 4 and is sitting crossways in the track. The 03 is on my outside and I have to go toward the bottom to miss the 66. I'm on the brake and make a hard left. Somehow, I miss him, but in slowing, the 6b of Travis Burger passes me. I'm racing the 03 and the 6B to the checkers, but finish in 8th place. It's still better than being involved in a crash if I hadn't missed the 66!
What a finish! I don't have a lot of time before I'll have to get into the stock car and see what we can do. Load the factory stock on the trailer and get it tied down, then we can watch a couple of races before I have to get into the stock car.
The limited modified division is having some problems. Before one lap is completed, there is a yellow flag. Once things are re-aligned, there is another start and they go yellow again. On the third try, there is a big pile-up on the back chute with one car on the outside wall and another rolling several times. With a full moon over the track, when the clean-up was finally completed, track officials made a decision to call the remainder of the program.
This Saturday, August 27th, the races will start at 6 PM with the remainder of the limited modified A Feature, then the rest of the program from last week. After that, there will be heat races and Features to complete a new program. If all goes well, I'll have a total of 28 laps in the factory stock and 48 laps in the stock car.
Saturday September 3rd is the end of the regular season at Beatrice Speedway. Prior to that, we plan to race at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday September 2nd. We also plan to race at Eagle in the Fall Jamboree on September 10th. The following weekend looks like an off weekend, then on September 23 and 24 is the Fall Nationals at Beatrice. We plan to race the factory stock those two nights. The final race on our 2005 schedule is Octoberfest, September 30 and October 1, at Beatrice Speedway.
Hope to see everybody before the end of the season.
Ernie #6 Factory Stock
#6 Stock car
Beatrice Speedway
Secretary, Blue Knights Nebraska I
Factory Stock
Racing Results for 8-20-05
A Feature:
1 Roy Armstrong Beatrice
2 Mike Schwartz Beatrice
3 Ronda Mewes Beatrice
4 Neal Mittan Blue Springs
5 Jason Jensen Cortland
6 Aaron Roth Pleasant Dale
7 Travis Burger Summerfield KS
8 Ernie Reiss Beatrice
9 Pat Welch Lincoln
10 Ben Hennecke Lincoln
11 Delmar Wells Hallam
12 Jeff Watts Wymore
13 Jeff Shew Beatrice
14 Matt Post Blue Springs
15 Peter Kruse Deshler
16 Tom Creek Wymore
17 Jeremy Jensen Cortland
18 Cary Ames Beatrice
19 Gary McGinty Fairbury
20 Shawn Howard Fairbury
Factory Stock
Points as of 8-20-05
1 622 Roy Armstrong Beatrice
2 614 Mike Schwartz Beatrice
3 603 Neal Mittan Wymore
4 600 Jason Jensen Cortland
5 571 Ronda Mewes Blue Springs
6 549 Jeremy Jensen Cortland
7 546 Aaron Roth Pleasant Dale
8 529 Ernie Reiss Beatrice
9 468 Gary Laflin Beatrice
10 464 Matthew Post Beatrice
11 459 Jeff Watts Wymore
12 457 Travis Burger Summerfield KS
13 447 Gary McGinty Fairbury
14 399 Tom Creek Wymore
15 393 Carey Ames Beatrice
16 391 Shawn Howard Fairbury
17 318 Matthew Spanjer Fairbury
18 314 Derek Sand Hanover KS
19 261 Delmar Wells Hallam
20 245 Dallas Dobrovolny Waterville KS
21 213 Jeff Shew Beatrice
22 194 Pat Welch Lincoln
23 127 Owen Spanjer Lexington
24 126 Ryan Young Blue Springs
25 107 Peter Kruse Deshler
26 95 Kasey Garvin Manhattan KS
27 52 Kurt Wilson Hanover KS
28 31 Ben Hennecke Lincoln
29 26 Phil Ambrose Jansen
30 24 Jeff Stohs Hanover KS
31 22 Scott Jones Fairbury
IMCA Stock
Points as of 8-6-05
1 563 Josh Carpenter Fairbury
2 561 Robby Marsh Hebron
3 557 Lance Borgman Beatrice
4 556 Todd Laflin Beatrice
5 552 James Griffith DeWitt
6 542 Brandon Johnson DeWitt
7 518 Eric Rempel Palmyra
8 499 Mike Sherwood Beatrice
9 477 Samuel Howard Fairbuy
10 454 Ernie Reiss Beatrice
11 441 David Murk Blue Rapids KS
12 338 Eric Bartels Jansen
13 310 Corey Koca Milligan
14 265 Derek Fralin Beatrice
15 251 Darcy Dobrovolny Waterville KS
16 164 Mike Nichols Harlan IA
17 150 Kevin Snyder Beatrice
18 148 Leif Weyer Centralia KS
19 91 Greg Deters Centralia KS
20 60 Francis Dobrovolny Waterville KS
21 59 Terry Franz Concordia KS
22 27 Tracy Arntt Endicott
Front Page
Beatrice Spring Fling 2005
Opening Night April 2, 2005
Results from April 9, 2005
Results from April 16, 2005
Results from April 23, 2005
Results from April 30 & May 1, 2005
Results from May 7, 2005
Results from May 14, 2005
Results from May 21, 2005
Results from May 28, 2005
Results from June 18, 2005
Results from June 25, 2005
Results from July 2, 2005
Results from July 9, 2005
Results from July 16, 2005
Results from July 23, 2005 (Gage County Fair)
Results from July 30, 2005
Results from August 6, 2005 - Kids' Night
Results from August 20, 2005
Results from August 27, 2005
Results from September 3, 2005
Results from Eagle Raceway September 10, 2005
Email: blueknightne1@email.com
