Cedar
Rapids, IA – Ceasing operations on a weekly program or locking the gates on a
facility is never a good thing for auto racing.
West Liberty
Raceway announced in early 2018 that there would be no weekly racing program at
the historic half-mile. That stunning announcement was met with at first,
confusion. Then, with anger, outrage, and yes, a few tears.
But instead
of a whole summer of dormancy, Bud Kile and his family, who have been involved
with the racing scene at West Liberty for God knows how long, decided to knock
the dust off the bleachers, throw some water on the track and have themselves a
race. What madness…
The
Mid-Summer Madness was originally scheduled for July 14 but due to conflictions
with an event at Tipton, it was rescheduled for Saturday, August 11. The
postponement worked out favorably in many ways. The original card on July 14
had Modifieds, SportMods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts but with the date
shifting forward, Late Models joined the fray. And what’s a race at West Liberty
without Late Models?
Upon my
arrival that Saturday evening, the line of cars trying to find a parking spot
matched the line of trailers attempting to get into the pits. The line to check
in at the pit barn seemed even longer. Apparently, racing at West Liberty had
been missed…
As I waited
in line to check in and get my pit pass, a gentleman, I presume who was associated with the
Muscatine County Fairboard, stopped by with a survey. He asked if West Liberty
Raceway should be changed to a different size circumference. The choices were; 1/4-mile, 3/8-mile,
or keep it at its current size, half-mile. I voted to keep it the same (if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?). I asked
the gentleman what the majority had voted for. “Oh, definitely half-mile,” he
responded. “Some have said the 3/8-mile and but hardly anyone wants it a quarter.”
I found it
refreshing that they were asking the opinions of drivers (and one half-ass
photographer) what they wanted. It certainly gave me and others the impression that the decision makers weren't going to nail the coffin shut quite yet. I felt that this was a step in the right
direction in keeping racing active, whatever capacity that was, at West Liberty.
As I entered
the pit area, I ran into Mike Ruefer, as many of you know, an ARI contributor.
As we shook hands, I asked him what brought him out that evening. “I came out
to support Bud (Kile) but I also wanted to be here in case this is the last
race. I would never forgive myself if this was it and I didn’t show up.” I think
Mike summed up what a lot of people were thinking.
Chad Holladay #32C and Kyle Krampe #K1 race down the backstretch at West Liberty Raceway. - Kyle Ealy Photo
Before the
racing commenced, we stood underneath the old trees that stand in turn #2 and looked
everything over. The pit area and infield were packed full of cars. The stands
were filling in quickly - it appeared that it was going to be a sell-out.
Mike brought
up (and I agreed) that while West Liberty may never be a successful weekly enterprise
again, why not make it a specials only-type track, with three or four different
racing events throughout the summer?
Mike also
added, “Wait until everyone else has their schedules posted and then pick and
choose a few dates that doesn’t conflict with anybody else. They could have a
Modified special one month and maybe a Sprint Car spectacular the next month
and then throw in an Open Late Model show another month. Why not bring back the
Liberty 100 in the Fall? The possibilities were endless...
The more Mike
talked, I kept shaking my head (in a up/down motion as opposed to a
side-to-side motion) in agreement. Looking at the mass of cars and people scattered
all over creation, you could envision that Field of Dream philosophy – If you
build it, they will come.
After the
races, you heard a few bitching and moaning; the concession lines were too long,
and they ran out of food early; the caution lights had a glitch; the program
didn’t run as smooth as it should of.
But the
majority who were there couldn’t have cared less. The important thing was; they
were there and a part of what was happening. What made this night so special
was the spirit of unity.
Many, many
thanks to the Kile family for bring racing (and unity) back to West Liberty
Raceway. Let's do it again at least a couple of times in 2019.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks stood out on Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway. - Kyle Ealy Photo
In my line
of work, Saturdays are money making days, so having one off is a rarity. That
also means that going to Independence for racing is few and far between. I had
tried twice this summer (once in June and once in July) and had been rained out
both times. This would probably be my last attempt to get a night in.
The third time
would be the charm as ideal weather greeted me and others this night. As
always, it was nice to walk in the pit area at Independence and be greeted by
old friends. I chatted with quite a few people I hadn’t seen since last season.
They, of course, had wondered about my whereabouts and I had to explain to them
that, “It ain’t easy bein’ cheesy”.
The long wait
would pay off handsomely as 90+ cars filled the pit area and the track
conditions were near-perfect throughout the evening. Standing over in my normal
spot in turn #3, I took literally hundreds of two and three-wide shots, so many
I lost count.
The Stock
Cars and Hobby Stocks, whether it be sanctioned by IMCA, USRA, or any of those
other outlaw outfits, are still and will always be, the underappreciated divisions
of grass roots racing.
Late Models,
Modifieds, and sadly too, SportMods, get all the headlines at weekly and
special events, but it’s the fendered underbelly that consistently give
competitive performances.
Saturday
night was proof in the pudding…
You could
have thrown a blanket over both the Stock Cars and Hobbies during their
respective heat races and the feature events were more of the same.
Jarod Weepie’s
win in the IMCA Stock Car main event was as hard-fought as they come. Starting
on the third row, Weepie had to fight and claw his way past Paul Shepard, Tony
Schimmels, points leader Norman Chesmore and finally race-long leader Justin
Temeyer. Even after he secured the top spot, Weepie had to fend off numerous advances
from both Temeyer and Chesmore before taking the checkered.
The Hobby
Stock feature would be one for the ages. It was truly one of the best races and
most emotional finishes I had witnessed in a long time.
Seventeen-year-old
Kaden Reynolds of Cedar Rapids, IA, in only his second time behind the wheel of
a Hobby Stock, started 17th, made his way to fifth with only a few laps left,
and somehow, miraculously, slithered his way past four cars on the final
restart to score the victory.
The photo
below only tells half the story. As confident as he looks in the photo with his
arms raised and the #1 sign, when it came time for his victory lane interview with
Ryan Clark, more tears than words came from the young man…He was simply
speechless.
Kaden Reynolds celebrates his first IMCA Hobby Stock win. - Photo by Kyle Ealy
The only words
he could muster was, “All I was hoping for was a top-10 finish.”
As Ryan said
to me afterwards, “Those are the best interviews; when they’re so full of
emotion they can’t spit out the words, but they don’t need to; the look on
their face tells the story.”
That, folks,
is what makes racing so special and I can only feel privileged to be apart of
rare moments like that; it’s what keep me coming back.
A special thanks
goes out to the Independence Motor Speedway crew and officials who make that
track something truly special. It was good to be home.
Thanks for
reading,
Kyle
