An unbelievable night at Columbus

11 cars in the pits and ready to race on Friday July 23. The weather was questionable but nobody could question the dedication this group of racers has and they were rewarded with a night of no rain  Friday is hard for many as some in the group drive a long way just to race. The great people at Columbus have always been great to work with and got everyone who was there before the end of qualifying out on track and timed in. Even the late arrivals were allowed on track after the timing system was removed just to shake the cars down. Columbus is a great track.

With a large group of cars we were able to run separate heats for each division.
As the 6 mini mods hit the track for their 8 lap heat, they lined up inverted by time.
John Demay led the group to the line with Barry Trusky outside
The racing was close, close enough that Ken Johnson had some minor contact and bent some sheet metal but that was not enough to keep him from moving to the front
In a surprise drive move the seat of the number 1 was filled with Justin Lindeman who also had his Rascal car in the pits
The 18 of Jason Bies and the 97 of Gerry Guiliano were in the thick of it all night.
In the end it was the 2nd of Ken Johnson taking the checkered flag
2nd        Johnson
5          Trusky
97         Guiliano
1          Lindeman
7          Demay
18         Bies
Up next was the 6 lap sprint for the Rascal cars. Tim Roach was to lead the field but in an incredible ballsy move he chose the outside lane and challenged everyone by giving them the fast low lane.. That sounds a lot better than I screwed up and forgot where I was supposed to start. When the green flew it was Roach to the lead for the first laps but soon an overheating issue would force him off.
Vern Brown, Kyle Lynn, Jason Dull and Josh Felder put on an incredible show for the fans with close exciting racing
Dull was impressive jumping into the Lindeman car with no seat time and finishing third. Jason is a former FIRA driver who has recently been racing midgets but as tonight showed, if it has wheels, he will drive the heck out of it.

The combined feature had each group inverted but still separated with the Rascal cars out front followed by the Mini Mods. The starts of this division are always exciting with the groups separating but with passing and close racing everywhere. Out front it Roach  on point but not for long. The Kid Kyle Lynn was on a mission and was soon to pass. The moisture in 3 and 4 was always in play and made for some excitement as the cars tried to avoid this area. As the 4, 38 and 17 raced hard lap traffic brought the group together again but the 4 was too fast tonight and would not relinquish the lead. As Brown and Roach dueled contact was made out of 4 as Roach got into the wet and started to come around. Brown had no where to go and the contact sent Roach to the pits with major damage and Brown was slowed with alignment issues.
The racing in the Mini Mods division was just as exciting with wheel to wheel racing all over. My results show the 97 of Guiliano leading the group at the checker but I apologize as I did not see it from the track. I am sure Gerry and 2nd put on the typical great lead and pleased the crowd

Special notes
Nobody works harder that Rob Pollock and Dennis Lynn in the pits helping out other crews and working with the line up.
The whole Mini Mod group works just as hard helping each out whether it be unloading or setting up the cars or even fine tuning the body work with a sledge hammer.

Thanks to all who raced
See you at the Sunday Aug 1 Lions Club Race
 

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A hot and crazy night at the
Dells Raceway Park

 

Saturday was a great night to race but just getting there was difficult for three of the drivers.

Mark Findley and Tim Roach both suffered trailer tire failures just south of the Dells while the Ohio drivers Dale Aikman and Mick Guiher (YES!!!! they drove 9 hours to compete with some of Wisconsin's fastest cars) had injector issues. Everyone was safe and able to get to the track on time.

The Dells Raceway Park run a great program and Saturday was no exception. Two Looonnggg practice sessions allowed the drivers to make sure their rides were ready. The heat in the track was incredible and the track was slick but you would never know it by the qualifying times. Vern Brown led the field with an incredible 14.008 second lap, a tenth of a second quicker than the late models.

Time Trails

38    Vern Brown        14.008

4      Kyle Lynn           14.211

43    Mark Findley        14.361

17    Tim Roach            14.520

48    Josh Felder            15.533

88    Mike Guiher            16.270

3      Mike Findley            17.604

73    Dale Aikman              no time

 

With the threat of rain the program was going to move fast. A four car inversion had Roach on the pole for the 8 lap heat sprint, Rookie's, in status only, Mike Findley and Josh Felder fell in behind the fast four. The Ohio invaders rounded out the field as we went to the green. A couple of hot laps to scrub and heat tires (not really needed since it was 95 degrees out) and we were ready. The 17 of Roach strategically held back and as Findley eased up on the throttle, Roach was quick to hammer it hard and the white log was off to a quick start. The racing was tight and fast. Check out the race videos from the Dells and from the in car camera of Findley on the Video page of this site. You could throw an umbrella over the front four and they would have appreciated the shade but it was race time. Brown Lynn and Findley were wheel to wheel and fighting hard for every inch. Brown was able to work his way to the front and waged war with Roach for the lead. Side by side the racing was incredible. Brown drove deeper and deeper into the corner and took the lead from Roach but the racing was still on. With two laps remaining Brown under pressure from Roach went too deep and pushed up into the corner leaving the door open. Side by side racing was on again. The last lap had Roach and Brown side by side exiting 2 and coming up on lap traffic. THREEEEEEEE WIDE into 3 and it was Roach out front for the heat win.

Close racing was all over. Lynn and Findley fought hard for third and fourth with Findley ahead by inches The rookies of Mike Findley and Josh Felder ran great races as did Aikman and Guiher maintaining lines and getting faster every lap

heat finish is Roach, Brown, Findley Lynn, Felder, Findley, Aikman and Guiher

 

Up next in the feature showed how much the Ohio invaders want to race. Battery issues had the team stumped but ingenious thinking and hard work had them back on track. A tow vehicle battery and a driver switch in the cars had them on track again up front was an invert of the front four from the heat with Lynn and the older of the Findley brothers (a lot older) on the front row. A fast start and the race was on. Wheel to wheel action for the whole race. Brown was the class of the field moving from his third starting position to the lead and never looking back. Brown stretched the lead but the second third and fourth positions were nose to tail. Felder and the young gun Findley ran strong and fast. The smiles on their faces after the race showed just how much fun this racing is. Aikman had a shocking finish as the shade tree mechanic solution came up short with the battery shorting to the seat. More duct tape!!!!!!! Guiher was behind the wheel of the 88 mini spring and piloted the ride safely to the finish, first night out in the car and it was impressive.

Check out the video on this and you will see for yourself.

Feature finish was Brown, Mark Findley, Lynn, Roach, Mike Findley, Felder. Guiher and Aikman

 

SPECIAL NOTE

Even with a bounty on his head in the form of cold hard cash, Mark Findley silenced all the trash talkers as they hid at home afraid of a whooping. Mark was all action racing hard and finishing up front.

 

UP NEXT

Friday July 23 at Columbus

See you there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!