Sunday, February 26, 2012

Daytona 500 Rained Out on Sunday But Here is Some Fun Facts!

Well normally i don't write a blog about the Daytona 500 but i thought i would give some interesting stats on the Daytona 500 that you may or may not find interesting. I did post most of these stats on my personal facebook page earlier today.

9 times the daytona 500 has been won from the pole:
Fireball Roberts 1962, Richard Petty 1966, Cale Yarborough 1968, Buddy Baker 1980, Yarborough 1984, Bill Elliott 1985, Elliott 1987, Jeff Gordon 1999, Dale Jarrett 2000

8 times has a Gatorade Duel winner gone on to the Daytona 500 and won:
Fireball Roberts 1962, Cale Yarborough 1977, Yarborough 1984, Bill Elliott 1985, Bobby Allison 1988, Sterling Marlin 1995, Dale Earnhardt 1998, Dale Earnhardt Jr 2004

Drivers who won the championship the year before and then start the following year off with the Daytona 500 win:
Lee Petty 1959, Richard Petty 1973, Cale Yarborough 1977, Yarborough 1978, Jeff Gordon 1999, Dale Jarrett 2000

Driver to win the Daytona 500 and Championship in the same year:
Lee Petty 1959, Richard Petty 1964, Richard Petty 1971, Richard Petty 1974, Cale Yarborough 1977, Richard Petty 1979, Jeff Gordon 1997, Jimmie Johnson 2006

Drivers to win the Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 in the same year:
Fireball Roberts 1962, Cale Yarborough 1968, LeeRoy Yarborough 1969, Bobby Allison 1982

Drivers to win the Daytona 500 and All-Star Race the same year:
Davey Allison 1992, Jeff Gordon 1997, Jimmie Johnson 2006, Kevin Harvick 2007

Drivers to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year:
Dale Jarrett 1996, Jimmie Johnson 2006, Jamie McMurray 2010

Drivers to win the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same year:
Fred Lorenzen 1965, LeeRoy Yarborough 1969, David Pearson 1976, Darrell Waltrip 1989, Dale Jarrett 1996, Jeff Gordon 1997

Dale Jarrett is the only driver to win the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

8 different manufacturers have won the Daytona 500:
Oldsmobile: 1959, 1979, 1980
Chevrolet: 1960, 1975, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010
Pontiac: 1961, 1962, 1983
Ford: 1963, 196, 1967, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2009, 2011
Plymouth: 1964, 1966, 1970, 1971
Mercury: 1968, 1972, 1976
Dodge: 1973, 1974, 2002, 2008
Buick: 1981, 1982, 1988

Toyota's are still looking for their first Daytona 500 win.

For the first time in the 54 year history of the Daytona 500 was it rained out and postponed until monday thats an amazing feat to have lol

The next time you will get any stats from me will be season ending numbers from the Thunder Dome or stats in the early part of the season at the Marshalltown Speedway.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Exciting Finishes inside the Thunder Dome

Thunder Dome race returned to the Central Iowa Fairgrounds in Marshalltown for race number six of the winter indoor racing season. The car count was up a little from two weeks ago but still down from the first four shows this year. The competitors that signed in certainly brought a lot of excitement.

First feature up was the Kid Karts which saw Gage Stratton from Amana leading the entire 10 lap feature but he would have to hold off several challenges from Connor Kriegel through out the feature. Kriegel would come home second, Kennedy Davenport was third and Keagan Thompson was fourth.

The Junior 2 Pro Heavy go-kart class would see Tyler Havens from Polk City lead the entire 12 laps and take the win. Mackenze Smith would finish 2nd and Cole Nicoletto was 3rd.

Up next was the Rookies Advanced go-kart class with Brady Kohrs from Independence taking the early race lead. Kohrs would hold on to the lead until Kadence Davenport would make the move and make the pass for the lead on lap 6. Davenport would lead the remaining laps and go on to take the win with Kohrs taking second. Logan Duffy, McKenzie Culbertson and Keegan Havens finished third through fifth. Logan Schmidt and Landon Duffy would round out the the field.

Junior Quads would see four competitors but they would split them up into two features based on experience. In Feature #1, Bryce Paulson from Emmetsburg would take the lead a lead it look like he would hold on too but on lap 9 it was Tristian Rethmeier taking over the lead. Rethmeier would take the win with Paulson in second.

In Feature #2 of the Junior Quads it was Brody Paulson leading the first 11 laps of the 12 lap feature but coming off of turn 4 on the last lap, Paulson was side by side with Hunter Murphy and Murphy would win by a nose at the line over Paulson.

Junior Bikes would see Noah Hovell dominate and take the win with Brandon Hovell finishing 2nd. Brandon Webster and Clayton Moyer would finish third and fourth respectively.

In the Mad Dogg Bikes it was Jayson Beal leading all 15 laps. Brandon Simon and Wade Wessels would finish second and third.

The Amateur Singles saw Clayton Webster get the whole shot victory over Raymond Cross,  Brandon Simon and Brad Brickman.

For the Amateur Quads, Justin Sutherlin took the lead and look to be going on to the win even though Rick Reeves was trying to chase him down. Reeves would go on to take the lead from Sutherlin on lap 9, that would be the winning move as Reeves would take the win. Sutherlin finished second and  Mark Johnson would finish third. DJ Robinson and Jeff Robinson would not make call for the feature.

Junior 1 Pro Heavy go-kart class would see Nick Rose lead the entire 12 lap feature with Madison Clark taking second.

In the Clone Heavy go-kart class it was Casey Luke taking the early lead. Luke would hold on to the lead until lap 7 when Albert Wolfgram would take the lead, however Wolfgram would experience some trouble and exit the race track shortly after giving the lead back over to Luke. Luke would then have to worry about Chris Burke. Burke would make the move and pass Luke coming off of turn 4. Burke would take the win, Luke, Tony Wolfgram, Clair Messor and Dustin Panos would round out the top 5. Albert Wolfgram, Brandon Sohl and Greg Shimek would round out the field.

Pro Singles feature would see Aaron King from Waterloo taking the whole shot victory. Darren Carter, Brandon Simon, Justin Reed, Clayton Webster and Jayson Beal round out the field.

The final feature was the Pro Quads feature and it was Mark Johnson taking the lead and not looking back as he would take the win. Rick Reeves would try to chase him down but fall short and end up 2nd, DJ Robinson would finish 3rd.

The next Thunder Dome race is on Saturday March 17th. The gates open at 9 AM, hot laps at noon and racing to follow. Admission is $10 which includes a Pit Pass. For more information contact Brian Kauffman at (319) 551-0077 or log on to http://www.thunderdomeiowa.com/

Results
Kid Karts 
Round 1 Heat #1 - 44K Connor Kriegel

Round 2 Heat #1 - 44K Connor Kriegel

Feature - 1. 1 Gage Stratton (Amana, IA); 2. 44K Connor Kriegel (Marshalltown, IA); 3. 5 Kennedy Davenport (Madrid, IA); 4. 60 Keagan Thompson (Runnells, IA)

Junior 2 Pro Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1-  97 Cole Nicoletto

Round 2 Heat #1 - 14 Tyler Havens

Feature - 1. 14 Tyler Havens (Polk City, IA); 2. 9 Mackenze Smith (Tama, IA); 3. 97 Cole Nicoletto (Des Moines, IA)

Rookies Advanced
Round 1 Heat #1 - 8 Kadence Davenport
Round 1 Heat #2 - 17 Brady Kohrs

Round 2 Heat #1 - 11 Keegan Havens
Round 2 Heat #2 - 17 Brady Kohrs

Feature - 1. 8 Kadence Davenport (Madrid, IA); 2. 17 Brady Kohrs (Independence, IA); 3.C10 Logan Duffy (Independence, IA); 4. 18 McKenzie Culbertson (Dubuque, IA); 5. 11 Keegan Havens (Polk City, IA); 6. 19 Logan Schmidt (Tama, IA); 7. Landon Duffy (Independence, IA)

Junior Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 48 Tristian Rethmeier
Round 1 Heat #2 - 27 Hunter Murphy

Round 2 Heat #1 - 48 Tristian Rethmeier
Round 2 Heat #2 - 8 Brody Paulson

Feature  #1 - 1. 48 Tristian Rethmeier (Newton, IA); 2. 5B Bryce Paulson (Emmetsburg, IA)
Feature #2 - 1. 27 Hunter Murphy (Emmetsburg, IA); 2. 8 Brody Paulson (Emmetsburg, IA)

Junior Bikes
Round 1 Heat #1 -  22o Noah Hovell

Round 2 Heat #1 - 22o Noah Hovell

Feature - 1. 22o Noah Hovell (Pella, IA); 2. 117 Brandon Hovell (Pella, IA); 3. 22 Brandon Webster (Ottumwa, IA); 4. 25 Clayton Moyer (Indianola, IA)

Mad Dogg Bikes
Round 1 Heat #1 - 17 Jayson Beal

Round 2 Heat #1 - 17 Jayson Beal

Feature - 1. 17 Jayson Beal (Waterloo, IA); 2. 74 Brandon Simon (Waterloo, IA); 3. 93 Wade Wessels (Richfield, MN)

Amateur Singles
Round 1 Heat #1- 155 Clayton Webster

Round 2 Heat #1- 155 Clayton Webster

Feature - 1. 155 Clayton Webster (Ottumwa, IA); 2. 43 Raymond Cross (Bloomington, IL); 3. 93 Brad Brickman (Richfield, MN)

Amateur Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 19 Rick Reeves

Round 2 Heat #1 - 19 Rick Reeves

Feature - 1. 19 Rick Reeves (Des Moines, IA); 2. 8Y Justin Sutherlin (Des Moines, IA); 3. 16 Mark Johnson (Des Moines, IA); DNS- 33 DJ Robinson (Des Moines, IA), Jeff Robinson (Des Moines, IA)

Junior 1 Pro Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1 - 0 Nick Rose

Round 2 Heat #1 - 0 Nick Rose

Feature - 1. 0 Nick Rose (Boone, IA); 2. 31 Madison Clark (Laurel, IA)

Clone Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1 - 48 Casey Luke
Round 1 Heat #2 - 17 Brandon Sohl

Round 2 Heat #1 - 48 Casey Luke
Round 2 Heat #2 - 25 Chris Burke

Feature - 1. 25 Chris Burke (Boone, IA); 2. 48 Casey Luke (Cedar Rapids, IA); 3. 32 Tony Wolfgram (Boone, IA); 4. 92 Clair Messor (Marshalltown, IA); 5. 77 Dustin Panos (Protivin, IA); 6. 78 Albert Wolfgram (Boone, IA); 7. 17 Brandon Sohl (Corwith, IA); 8. 22 Greg Shimek (New Hampton, IA)

Pro Singles
Round 1 Heat #1 - 40 Aaron King

Round 2 Heat #1 - 40 Aaron King

Feature - 1. 40 Aaron King (Waterloo, IA); 2. 43 Darren Carter (Bloomington, IL); 3. 774 Brandon Simon (Waterloo, IA); 4. 53 Justin Reed (Waterloo, IA); 5. 155 Clayton Webster (Ottumwa, IA); 6. 17 Jayson Beal (Waterloo, IA)

Pro Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 16 Mark Johnson

Round 2 Heat #1 - 16 Mark Johnson

Feature - 1. 16 Mark Johnson (Des Moines, IA); 2. 19 Rick Reeves (Des Moines, IA); 3. 33 DJ Robinson (Des Moines, IA)

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Car Counts and Temperatures Down, Thunder Dome Brought Excitement

After a week off the Thunder Dome returned to the Central Iowa Fairgrounds for the fifth race of the season on February 11th. The crowd and car  count was down and many of that could be contributed to the frigid cold temperatures and that northwest wind. The ones that showed up to race on the lightning fast 1/10 mile track or just to watch the races didn't go home disappointed.

First up was the Unlimited All-Stars go-kart class which saw "Turbo" Tim Bontrager from Oxford leading the entire 15 lap feature from start to finish. Mike Jones from Lone Tree was also there but experienced some trouble earlier in the day to force him to not start.

The Kid Karts would see Dayton Filloon from Toledo dominate by winning both sets of heats and then the 10 lap feature. Filloon would lead all of the laps in the feature, Keagan Thompson of Runnells would finish 2nd.

Up next was the Junior 2 Pro Heavy go-kart class with Jamison Hampton and Tyler Havens battle lap after lap. Hampton would lead the first 4 laps before Havens took the lead on lap 5. Havens lead was short lived as Hampton would take it back on lap 7. Hampton would then spin out and that allowed Havens to sneak by and go on to the win as Hampton settled for 2nd.

Rookie Beginner go-kart class would see Keaton Woosley lead from start to finish, Brant Murray would finish 2nd and Gavin Murray would not make the call for the feature because he experienced some trouble earlier in the day.

Rookie Advanced go-kart class were again split up into 2 features. In feature #1, Dallon Murty would take advantage of the pole position and would end up leading all 10 laps and take home the win. Finishing 2nd behind Murty was Kadence Davenport followed by Blake Dullard and Keegan Havens.

In feature #2 of the Rookie Advanced go-kart class it was McKinzie Culbertson leading the first 4 laps, but she would be passed by Logan Duffy on lap 5. Duffy lead the remaining laps to take the win with Culbertson finishing 2nd. Brady Kohrs and Landon Duffy would finish 3rd and 4th respectively.

Junior Bikes would see Brandon Webster dominate and take the win with Brandon Hovell finishing 2nd.

In the Junior Quads it was Dallon Murty leading all 12 laps and take home the win, Dalton Hampton would finish in 2nd.

The Amateur Quads would see only one entry on the day and it was Scott Brown from Des Moines.

For the Junior 1 Pro Heavy go-kart class, Brooke Havens took the early lead but would lose the handle which allowed Nick Rose to get by and take the lead. Rose started to pull away but then a caution came out on lap 8 when Madison Clark would lose the chain off of her car ending her race with just a couple of laps to go. Rose would cruise on to the win though and Havens would finish 2nd. Landon Murray would take home 3rd and Clark would finish 4th.

The Clone Heavy go-kart class would see Kody Havens lead the entire 15 lap feature with only a couple of cautions this time around. Finishing behind Havens was Casey Luke, Albert Wolfgram, Brandon Sohl, Scott Jones, Chris Burke, Josh Banzhaf, Clair Messor and Ryan Gustin.

In the Pro Singles there was only one actual entry and that was Brandon Webster, however Webster would race against both the Junior Bike competitors and promotor Brian Kauffman just so he had somebody to race against.

The final feature on the day was Pro Quads and there was also only one entry on the day and that was Zack Myers. Myers would have fun and he would start the race backwards before doing a 180. Myers was happy even though there was only one pro quad on the day.

The next Thunder Dome race is on Saturday February 25th. The gates open at 9 AM, hot laps at noon and racing at 1 PM. Admission is $10 which includes a Pit Pass. For more information contact Brian Kauffman at (319) 551-0077 or log on to http://www.thunderdomeiowa.com/

Results
Unlimited All-Stars
Round 1 Heat #1 - 78 Tim Bontrager
Round 2 Heat #1 - Didn't Race

Feature - 1. 78 Tim Bontrager (Oxford, IA); 2. 00 Mike Jones (Lone Tree, IA)

Kid Karts
Round 1 Heat #1 - 51D Dayton Filloon
Round 2 Heat #1 - 51D Dayton Filloon

Feature - 1. 51 Dayton Filloon (Toledo, IA); 2. 60 Keagan Thompson (Runnells, IA)

JR 2 Pro Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1 - 97 Jamison Hampton
Round 2 Heat #2 - 97 Jamison Hampton

Feature - 1. 14 Tyler Havens (Polk City, IA); 2. 97 Jamison Hampton (Cedar Falls, IA)

Rookie Beginner
Round 1 Heat #1 - 22 Brant Murray
Round 2 Heat #1 - 14 Keaton Woosley

Feature - 1. 14 Keaton Woosley (Conrad, IA); 2. 22 Brant Murray (Hartford, IA); DNS- 8 Gavin Murray (Hartford, IA)

Rookie Advanced
Round 1 Heat #1 - 11 Keegan Havens
Round 1 Heat #2 - 99 Dallon Murty
Round 2 Heat #1 - 11 Keegan Havens
Round 2 Heat #2 - 99 Dallon Murty

Feature #1 - 1. 99 Dallon Murty (Chelsea, IA); 2. 8 Kadence Davenport (Madrid, IA); 3. 71 Blake Dullard (Van Meter, IA); 4. 11 Keegan Havens (Polk City, IA)

Feature #2 - 1. C10 Logan Duffy (Independence, IA); 2. 18 McKinzie Culbertson (Dubuque, IA); 3. 17 Brady Kohrs (Independence, IA); 4. 10 Landon Duffy (Independence, IA)

JR Bike
Round 1 Heat #1 - 22 Brandon Webster
Round 2 Heat #1 - 22 Brandon Webster

Feature - 1. 22 Brandon Webster (Ottumwa, IA); 2. 117 Zach Hovell (Pella, IA)

JR Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 99 Dallon Murty
Round 2 Heat #2 - 99 Dallon Murty

Feature - 1. 99 Dallon Murty (Chelsea, IA); 2. 4 Dalton Hampton (Cedar Falls, IA)

Amateur Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 11g Scott Brown
Round 2 Heat #1 - 11g Scott Brown

Feature - 1. 11g Scott Brown (Des Moines, IA)

Jr 1 Pro Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1 - 11 Brooke Havens
Round 2 Heat #1 - 0 Nick Rose

Feature - 1. 0 Nick Rose (Boone, IA); 2. 11 Brooke Havens (Polk City, IA); 3. 22 Landon Murray (Hartford, IA); 4. 31 Madison Clark (Laurel, IA)

Clone Heavy
Round 1 Heat #1 - 17 Brandon Sohl
Round 1 Heat #2 - 99 Kody Havens
Round 2 Heat #1 - 17 Brandon Sohl
Round 2 Heat #2 - 99 Kody Havens

Feature - 1. 99 Kody Havens (Wiota, IA); 2. 48 Casey Luke (Cedar Rapids, IA); 3. 78 Albert Wolfgram (Boone, IA); 4. 17 Brandon Sohl (Corwith, IA); 5. 45 Scott Jones (Lone Tree, IA); 6. 25 Chris Burke (Boone, IA); 7. 24 Josh Banzhaf (Marshalltown, IA); 8. 92 Clair Messor (Marshalltown, IA); 9. 91 Ryan Gustin (Marshalltown, IA)

Pro Singles
Round 1 Heat #1 - 155 Clayton Webster
Round 2 Heat #1 - 155 Clayton Webster

Feature - 1. 155 Clayton Webster (Ottumwa, IA)

Pro Quads
Round 1 Heat #1 - 11p Zack Myers
Round 2 Heat #1 - 11p Zack Myers

Feature - 1. 11p Zack Myers (Des Moines, IA)