For nearly a year now the thought of a $10,000 to win Modified race at Marshalltown Speedway has had a lot of buzz. I’ve always thought that Marshalltown would be the perfect spot for a big race like that (other than Knoxville).
The highest paying races of the season typically pay $1,000 or $2,000 to win, so $10,000 is huge! The twist for this event was that it was for built (open) engines, no crate engines were allowed. The event itself went well as I expected, Toby Kruse is one of the best promoters in the business so I had no doubts about the event. There were 60 Modifieds entered, which is a great car count considering the rules. The crowd drew well and the stands were filled nearly to capacity with what I estimated was 1,500 fans, and probably a few hundred more in the pits to get close to 2,000 total combined.
The race itself was 50 laps in length and it was slowed by only two cautions. Adam Larson was on the pole and led the first few laps but was soon challenged by second row starter Jacob Murray. They exchanged the lead a few times before Murray eventually took the lead for good and led the last 30 or so laps of the race. The track was nice and wide and at first the race was around the tires on the bottom at both ends of the track. As the race progressed Murray found a middle groove working for him and pulled away from the field winning easily. Jeremy Mills drove from the fifth row up to a second place finish and Darrin Duffey charged up from row seven to finish third. Jay Noteboom drove from dead last to a sixth place finish.
The teams that had the chassis set up for the last half of the race shined at the end. I think a lot of teams out-guessed themselves and thought it would be a race around the bottom, but the track changed during the race and opened up multiple grooves. Cars that drove the thin cushion the long way around the rim were able to keep up with the cars on the bottom. It was a good race within the top ten spots the last half of the race, but no one challenged Murray. “This is the biggest win of my career, what else can I say!” said an excited Jacob Murray in victory lane. Murray was driving a car he had built himself and is normally driven by Casey Greubel.
World Nationals Finish (started) : 1. 64 Jacob Murray (3); 2. 10M Jeremy Mills (10); 3. 19D Darin Duffy (14); 4. 72M Brian Mullen (7); 5. 2L Adam Larson (1); 6. 7N Jay Noteboom (24); 7. 90K Shawn Kilgore (6); 8. 1X Chris Abelson (13); 9. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (13); 10. 62 Hunter Marriott (5); 11. 99M Mike Mullen (2); 12. 00J JD Auringer (16); 13. 19G Richie Gustin (9); 14. 21K Kyle Brown (8); 15. 30 Jordan Grabouski (11); 16. 83G Josh Gilman (17); 18. 12J Justin O’Brien (18); 19. 21X Brandon Rothzen (12); 20. 10C Cayden Carter (21); 21. 20 Luke Wanninger (20); 22. J41 Ryan Ruter (4); 23. 77B Joe Beal (23); 24. 3Z Randy Havlik (19).
The format was good. There were ten cars locked in from Friday night where teams raced two sets of heats and accumulated points. Everyone else was then divided up into five last chance races that took the top two to the A-Main, and then a B-Main (called the Final Four) that took the top four that would start at the tail.
The payout was outstanding down through the field, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $2,000 for fourth, $1,750 for fifth, $1,000 for tenth, 13-24 paid $500 for a total of $34,700 in the championship feature alone. Congrats to Toby Kruse and his marketing partners to pull that off!
Engine Debate:
IMCA normally tries to police costs along with the purses. They want to promote that this is the “working man’s” sport and a hobby, but when you have teams that race 2, 3, or more nights a week in central Iowa I don’t know how you can consider this sport a hobby. It’s an obsession, or addiction for these people. The crate engine has certainly created some debate the last couple of years and for good reason. There is a split within the premier IMCA division, and at some point it could become a full blown SPLIT unless someone can come up with a solution. With events like the World Nationals and the Farley Aftermarket Nationals sprouting up, this just adds fuel to the fire (debate).
The crate engine is a cheaper option for race teams, so I can see why IMCA, promoters, and some competitors are in favor of that. On some tracks the crate has a clear advantage because they don’t turn as many RPM’s and the driver can keep his foot down without lifting in the corners. It basically has a built in traction control and has made some “average” drivers look better than they really are. But those teams are doing what they need to do to win races with the budget they have, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.
With the open engine you have to have a little more skill and know how to work the throttle. It puts more of the race back into the driver’s hands and feet. I’m not sure what the solution is, but I’m pretty sure IMCA gets kick back’s on the sales of crate engines so if you follow the dollars I think we know what direction they are going. It always comes down to money.
Now we have engine shops who are working together trying to protect their business and are willing to put up money for an event like the World Nationals. Oh the politics of racing. I’m not sure how we come up with a solution to unify the Modified division and that will make everyone happy. IMCA has already opened the door for crates, so they can’t close it now.
I think what happens is that IMCA sticks with the current rules and allows both types of engines in the Modified division. If you want to race you can pick the type of engine you want with the budget you have. If you want to spend more money on a more expensive engine, you can. And some teams will have both types of engines and will swap them out depending on what track they are racing at to give them the best chance to win. No one is forcing anyone to do that, but the teams that have the money at their disposal and want to win at all costs will do this. (Note: swapping engines will also cost more in the gears an ignition boxes it sounds like.)
Another solution is that IMCA could go with two separate divisions but I think that is a horrible idea. If you really want to race with an open engine, you can move to USMTS. The problem is there isn’t a local track sanctioning under USMTS.
Although I think it’s great that these no-crate shows are popping up, I don’t see more of these types of shows coming in the future. Who has the money to put up the purse? What promoter is willing to chance risking the loss in car count? Marshalltown had a great show with lots of money up for grabs, and yes a solid car count of 60 cars were there but that is a far cry from the 240 Modifieds at the Boone Super Nationals that pays way less money. Either way as a race fan, I just enjoy the racing from my point of view in the stands. I know this engine debate is going to keep going, but it’s a shame that the debate takes away from things on the track at times.
Congratulations to Jacob Murray on the big win! And congrats to Marshalltown Speedway and Toby Kruse for putting on a great event for the fans!
