Beatrice Speedway 3 September 2005 - Season Championship
During the week, we made some changes with the engine in the stock car and made plans to go the the Nebraska State Fair on September 2nd. Something did not go right with the engine and we developed a bad oil leak. We were able to finish 6th in our heat race. During the break, we adjusted the carburetor and changed the distributor to see if we could eliminate a miss in the engine; however, it only got worse. We started 14th in the A Feature and finished 14th, so we held our own. It was a late night by the time we got home. In the morning, I found that the engine had leaked out 2 quarts of oil during the A Feature. I took it to the car wash and cleaned it off as well as I could with $6 worth of quarters, but did not have enough time to do anything else with it. I made the decision to take the car to the track simply to run a couple of laps and get my points. Not what I really wanted to do, but I didn't have a choice.
The officials at Beatrice Speedway over-watered the track just a little in preparation for the evenings' races. However, the weather was perfect for a night of racing and once the track was rolled in it wasn't too bad to race on. It was still a bit slimy during the heat race.
We got the outside of the 2nd row in our heat race, lining up behind th 9 of Gary Laflin and on the outside of the 7 of Jeff Shew. At the drop of the green, I ran up on the back bumper of the 9 and stayed as close as I could. We came out of turn 2 1st and 2nd and stayed that way for the first two laps. The 5m of Neal Mittan was able to pass me on the top coming out of turn 2, and the 89 of Ronda Mewes got by me on the bottom out of 4 on the 4th lap. The 7 was right behind me, as I could feel a nudge on the back bumper as we'd go into the turn. I got out of shape in 2 once and thought he might pass me, but I was able to hold him off. At the checkers, we had another 4th place finish, which was good enough to made the invert.
With the R & R Racing/Blue Knights stock car still not running right, we took the green in our heat race and immediately dropped to the bottom of the track. The engine was missing and I pulled it back into the pits. We would start last in the A Feature.
The R & R Racing/Blue Knights Factory Stock was lined up on the inside of the 4th row in the A Feature. That made me a bit nervous, as I always feel better if I start with nobody ahead of me, or everybody ahead of me so I can miss those first lap incidents. The 66 of Jeff Watts is starting up front, and if I had to make a pick for a winner, he would be it. He's had bad luck this year, but always runs hard and is a threat to win.
The track is a long way from drying out and for the most part is multi-grooved. You can't run in on the very bottom because it's still greasey down there. There is a bit of a rut in 1 and 2 and another one in 3 and 4, but we could run below or above those.
We're all lined up and the green is out as we come out of 4. It's a good, clean start and we're into 1 two and 3 wide. Everybody makes it out of 2 OK and I settle in right behind the 9 of Gary Laflin. We cross the start/finish line at the end of the 1st lap in about 9th place. I go to work trying to pass the 9. I can run up on his back bumper, but he moves up the track and closes the door on me. In the meantime, the 7 is on my back bumper. He passes both of us on the 6th lap. The next lap there's a yellow for an incident in turn 3.
On the re-start, we're in 9th again. Another couple of laps, and I pass the 9 on the high side in front of the flagstand. The 7 is the next car ahead of me, but there's a lot of ground to cover before I can catch him.
Photo by Nick Vrtiska
Another yellow involving the 89 and 5m ahead of us. They are both sent to the back of the pack. On the re-start, I try to get under the 7 but can't make the pass. We stay bumper to bumper lap after lap. Coming out of 4, the 5m tries to pass me on the bottom, but can't quite do it. We race side by side and bumper to bumper for several laps. I'm not giving anything up to him, and at the end of the straightaways I can feel a tap on my back bumper. However, the track has enough grip that I'm able to drive my preferred line.
Two to go and the yellow is out again. We come around and I see the 5m in the pits with a broken axle. Once the track is cleared, the green is out again. Into 1 and the 7 is a bit wide. I'm close enough that I make a charge on the bottom and am able to make the pass into 7th place. The 94j is right ahead of me, and I let off at the end of the back chute to keep from hitting him. I have one more lap to try to make the pass on him.
Back into 1, this time I take about 1 1/2 lanes higher than last time. Out of 2 and the 94j is crossed up a bit. I try to make a pass on the high side, but he closes the door on me. One last chance going into 3, but he's just a bit better there. I try to pass him low out of 4 but he's across the line about a car length ahead of me. We take home a 7th place finish. The last time we finished out of the top 10 in the R & R Racing/Blue Knights factory stock was May 28th.
Factory Stock Results
9-3-05
1) 66 Jeff Watts
2) 6r Roy Armstrong
3) 1w Delmar Wells
4) 03 Aaron Roth
5) m64 Matthew Post
6) 94j Jeremy Jensen
7) 6 Ernie Reiss
8) 7 Jeff Shew
9) 89 Ronda Mewes
10) 54m Gary McGinty
11) 9 Gary Laflin
12) x69 Peter Kruse
13) 11 Marc Adams
14) t54 Tom Creek
15) 98x Ben Hennecke
16) 15j Jason Jensen
17) 5m Neal Mittan
18) m34 Matthew Spanjer
19) 23 Cary Ames
20) 6b Travis Burger
Factory Stock
Final 2005 Points Standings
1 700 Roy Armstrong Beatrice
2 665 Jason Jensen Cortland
3 664 Neal Mittan Wymore
4 638 Ronda Mewes Blue Springs
5 630 Mike Schwartz Beatrice
6 620 Jeremy Jensen Cortland
7 617 Aaron Roth Pleasant Dale
8 595 Ernie Reiss Beatrice
9 537 Jeff Watts Wymore
10 530 Matthew Post Beatrice
11 524 Gary Laflin Beatrice
12 509 Gary McGinty Fairbury
13 506 Travis Burger Summerfield KS
14 455 Tom Creek Wymore
15 415 Carey Ames Beatrice
16 391 Shawn Howard Fairbury
17 366 Matthew Spanjer Fairbury
18 323 Delmar Wells Hallam
19 314 Derek Sand Hanover KS
20 279 Jeff Shew Beatrice
21 245 Dallas Dobrovolny Waterville KS
22 221 Pat Welch Lincoln
23 158 Peter Kruse Deshler
24 127 Owen Spanjer Lexington
25 126 Ryan Young Blue Springs
26 95 Kasey Garvin Manhattan KS
27 57 Ben Hennecke Lincoln
28 52 Kurt Wilson Hanover KS
29 26 Phil Ambrose Jansen
30 39 Jason Tennant Beatrice
31 24 Jeff Stohs Hanover KS
32 22 Scott Jones Fairbury
Still fighting an engine problem, we started the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo stock car at the tail end of the A Feature. We made a carburetor change before the A Feature, but the engine still would not run right. We took the green, ran a couple of laps, and dropped out. It's not what I wanted to do, but it was what I HAD to do to finish 9th in points in this class.
The next races at Beatrice Speedway will be Friday September 23rd and Saturday September 24th when the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo Factory Stock will be competing at the Fall Nationals. Hot laps will be at 6 and racing at 7 on both nights.
Ernie #6 Factory Stock
#6 Stock Car
Beatrice Speedway
Secretary, Blue Knights Nebraska I
Stock Car results
9-03-05
1) 1b Eric Bartels
2) 76b Lance Borgman
3) 10k Corey Koca
4) 98 Todd Laflin
5) 29j James Griffith
6) 3 Josh Carpenter
7) 1 Derek Fralin
8) 11 Robby Marsh
9) 33x Mike Sherwood
10) 89 Samuel Howard
11) 4 Tyler Evans
12) 69 Dustin Schmidt
13) 6 Ernie Reiss
IMCA Stock
Final 2005 Points Standings
1 633 Robby Marsh Hebron
2 626 Josh Carpenter Fairbury
2 626 Todd Laflin Beatrice
4 621 James Griffith Beatrice
5 620 Lance Borgman Beatrice
6 611 Brandon Johnson DeWitt
7 569 Eric Rempel Palmyra
8 556 Mike Sherwood Beatrice
9 514 Ernie Reiss Beatrice
10 501 Samuel Howard Fairbury
11 464 David Murk Blue Rapids KS
12 411 Eric Bartels Jansen
13 383 Corey Koca Milligan
14 324 Derek Fralin Beatrice
15 310 Darcy Dobrovolny Waterville KS
16 234 Mike Nichols Harlan IA
17 215 Kevin Snyder Beatrice
18 148 Leif Weyer Centralia KS
19 91 Greg Deters Centralia KS
20 67 Dustin Schmidt Fairbury
21 60 Francis Dobrovolny Waterville KS
22 59 Terry Franz Concordia KS
23 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
