Well after enjoying the first Thunder Dome race back on October 30th, i decided to make the trek back out to the Central Iowa Fairgrounds for Race #2. I was instore for a nice Iowa fall (more like winter) like day inside Thunder Dome to enjoy some lightining fast go-karts, quads and pit bikes.
Outside pitting wasn't quite as full as the first race because everybody wanting to pit inside instead of outside but they still managed to get around 85 entries, that is more than the first.
Anyways in the first session the order of events would be Jr 1 Flathead Heavy & Jr 1 2 Cycle, Animal Heavy, Jr 2 Flathead Heavy, Kid Karts, Stock Heavy, Putt Putts, Clone Heavy, Iowa Outlaws, Pee Wee Quads, Jr Pit Bikes, Mad Dog Bikes and Jr Quads. Mad Dog Bikes and Jr Pit Bikes switched for features, Putt Putts were split in to 2 features.
Just like the first race, the first set of heats would be run then there would be some track maintenance then the second set of heats would be run then more track maintenance and the first session features.
Heat race winners in the first set of heats in the first session were: Michael DeJong in Jr 1 Flathead Heavy & Jr 1 2 Cycle, Kevin Hurst in Animal Heavy, Austin Schrage in Jr 2 Flathead Heavy, Dalton Murty in Kid Karts, Josh Most in Stock Heavy, Ashton Gein in Putt Putts A, Walker Ashton in Putt Putts B, Brian Eppert in Clone Heavy, Ryan Humphry in Iowa Outlaws, Jenna Retterath in Pee Wee Quads, Noah Hovell in Jr Pit Bikes, Trent Meimann in Mad Dog Bikes and Noah Hovell in Jr Quads.
2nd set of heats would go to Morgan Schrage in Jr 1 Flathead Heavy & Jr 1 2 Cycle, Ashlee Becker in Animal Heavy, Austin Schrage in Jr 2 Flathead Heavy, Dalton Murty in Kid Karts, Josh Most in Stock Heavy, Maguire DeJong in Putt Putts A, Madison Clark in Putt Putts B, Jake Veenstra in Clone Heavy, Ryan Humphry in Iowa Outlaws, Jenna Retterath in Pee Wee Quads, Noah Hovell in Jr Pit Bikes, Trent Meimann in Mad Dog Bikes and Noah Hovell in Jr Quads.
Up first in features in the first session was the Jr 1 Flathead Heavy & Jr 1 2 Cycle feature. Morgan Schrage from Cresco took the win, Michael De Jong from Montezuma was 2nd, Logan Gunderson was 3rd in the Jr 1 Flathead Heavy part meanwhile Seth Kilborn won the Jr 1 2 Cycle part.
In the Animal Heavy class it was Kevin Hurst of Janesville taking the win, Aaron Burkey of Vinton was 2nd, Ashlee Becker was 3rd and Mark Hurst of Denver was 4th.
Jr 2 Heavy feature would go to Austin Schrage from Cresco, Jamison Hampton from Cedar Falls was 2nd and Kade Higday was 3rd.
In the Kid Karts which is a trophy class which means everybody is a winner it was Young Dalton Murty from Chelsea coming home in first and Gaige Straton of Amana was 2nd.
Stock Heavy feature would go to Josh Most from Red Oak in a car owned by Clint Wendel, Justin Meinders from New Sharon was 2nd, Thor Anderson from Bondurant was 3rd, Brian Allen from Van Meter was 4th and AJ Johnson from Oskaloosa was 5th.
The Putt Putts were up next and they were split up in to 2 features but keep in mind that all the drivers are winners in this class since its a trophy class as well. In Putt Putts Feature A it was Ashton Gein from Hiawatha crossing in first, Logan Schmidt from Tama was 2nd, Walker Ashton from Beamon was 3rd and Maguire DeJong from Montezuma was 4th. In Putt Putts Feature B it was Madison Clark from Laurel crossing in first, Landon Murray from Hartford in 2nd, Lucas Gunderson from Liscomb in 3rd and Hailee Wendel from Mason City in 4th.
In the Clone Heavy feature it was Brian Eppert from Boone taking the win with Jake Veenstra from Pella in 2nd. Jim Hughes from Beacon was 3rd, Dean Hughes from Rose Hill was 4th, Kelly Lyons from Boone was 5th and Jason Audas from Des Moines was 6th.
Iowa Outlaws would go to Ryan Humphry from Oskaloosa making it a complete sweep in the the Iowa Outlaws Class. Jon Lejeune from Cresco was 2nd, Jerry Smith from Oskaloosa was 3rd and Don Baker from Marshalltown was 4th.
The Pee Wee Quads are also a Trophy Class like the Kid Karts and Putt Putts this class is a trophy class as well. It was Jenna Retterath from Mason City beating her sister Rayna Retterath to the finish line.
Up next was the Mad Dog Bikes and take the win was Tim Bontrager from Oxford and Trent Meimann from Ankeny was 2nd.
In the Jr Pit Bikes it was Noah Hovell from Pella coming home in first, Brandon Webster from Ottumwa in 2nd, Kade Higday from Des Moines in 3rd, Clayton Moyer from Indianola was 4th, Stevey Johnson from West Des Moines was 5th and Chase Johnson from West Des Moines was 6th. In this class everybody was technically a winner since its a trophy class as well.
The last class to run their feature in the first session was the Jr Quads which is another trophy class it was Noah Hovell from Pella taking the win with Mason Mefreld from Milo in 2nd.
After the first session was over, registeration for the 2nd session began and pay win for the first session was open as well. Meanwhile on the race track it was time for more track maintenance. Once all of this was completed the it was time for session number 2.
The order of events for session 2 would be Open 4 Cycle, Jr 1 & 2 Flathead Medium/Jr 2 Animal Heavy, Golf Karts, Pit Bikes, Amateur Quads, Pro Singles and Pro Quads.
1st set of heat race winners in session 2 were Ashlee Becker in Open 4 Cycle A, Jake Veenstra in Open 4 Cycle B, Austin Schrage in Jr 1 & 2 Flathead Medium/Jr 2 Animal Heavy, Kevin Kirkpatrick in Golf Karts, Trent Mimann in Pit Bikes, Jeff Robinson in Amateur Quads, Dustin Klein in Pro Singles and Tyler Hammons in Pro Quads.
2nd set of heat race winners in session 2 were Josh Most in Open 4 Cycle A, Jake Veenstra in Open 4 Cycle B, Austin Schrage in Jr 1 & 2 Flathead Medium/Jr 2 Animal Heavy, Brian Rodman in Golf Karts, Justin Lichty in Pit Bikes, Jeff Robinson in Amateur Quads, Chad Stewart in Pro Singles and Jordan Wright in Pro Quads.
In the first feature of the 2nd session was the Open 4 Cycle Class, the largest class of all classes on the day. It was Josh Most from Red Oak taking the win. Jake Veenstra from Pella was 2nd, Ashlee Becker from Cresco was 3rd, Cale Hurst from Cedar Falls was 4th, Mark Hurst from Denver was 5th, Justin Meinders from New Sharon was 6th, Thor Anderson from Bondurant was 7th, AJ Johnson from Oskaloosa was 8th and John Leonard from Vinton was 9th.
The next feature was the Jr 1 & 2 Flathead Medium/Jr 2 Animal Heavy class. Austin Schrage from Cresco would win the Jr 2 Animal Heavy part of the feature. Morgan Schrage from Cresco won the Jr 1 Flathead Medium part of the feature and Jamison Hampton won the Jr 2 Flathead Medium part.
In the Outlaw Golf Karts Class it was Justin Kirkpatrick from Dysart taking the win in the late model looking golf kart. Brian Rodman from Dysart was 2nd, Craig Dunlap from Dysart was 3rd, Russ Haefener from Dysart was 4th, Daryl Ingamells from Hudson was 5th and Kevin Kirkpatrick from Dysart was 6th.
Pit Bike Class saw Justin Lichty from Waterloo lose the lead in the final corner as Trent Meimann from Ankeny getting by to take the win, Dain Sires from Cedar Falls would also get by and take 2nd, Lichty would come in 3rd. Ben Van Wyk from Pella was 4th, Travis McCombs from Center Point was 5th, Tyler Eash from Carlisle was 6th and Tyler Hammons from Fremont, Nebraska was 7th.
In the Amateur Quad, this time it would be DJ Robinson from Des Moines taking the win. Ron Cratty from Ankeny in 2nd, Zach Hovell from Pella in 3rd, Tyler Ringle from Omaha, Nebraska in 4th and Jeff Robinson from Des Moines in 5th.
Pro Single Class would go to Dustin Klein from Waterloo, Chad Stewart from Norwalk was 2nd, Jordan Baber from Carlisle was 3rd and Tony McCarthy from Lacona was 4th.
The final class to run a feature on the day was the Pro Quads and it was Tyler Hammons from Fremont, Nebraska taking the win, Jordan Wright from Richland in 2nd and Ben Van Wyk from Pella in 3rd.
The first session came to an end at 3:41p and the 2nd session came to an end at 9:05p. I can say i was impressed again.
You can check out pictures from the show that i took at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=307271&id=502511214&ref=mf or you can check out the photos from the official photographer of the Thunder Dome Kart Races, Motorsports Photography and Bruce Badgley at http://www.moto.photoreflect.com/.
Again Special thanks goes out to Brian Kauffman, Randy Nielsen, Kristy Palmer Schweer and the entire crew for putting on another great show inside the Thunder Dome.
There are 6 races remaining on the schedule for the Thunder Dome Series. The next race is on December 11th. After that it will have races on January 8th and 29th, February 26th and March 5th. So get on out and see the Lightining Fast Indoor Dirt Racing of Thunder Dome Karting Series.
Also don't forget the 3rd Annual Battle at the Barn will take place Friday & Saturday January 21st and 22nd at the Richard O. Jacobson Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Best part is free parking! For more information is available at http://www.battleatthebarn.com/
Until Next Time, Stay Warm and think about all of the military members that are serving our country or have served. Also be thankful for the freedom we are giving like racing and other sports.
