West Liberty Speedway - Muscatine County Fairgrounds

Excited Fans and Teams Turn Out for the WL Raceway Season Opener

Low Temps Fail to Deter Racers and Fans from Attending First Race of the Year

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While the cold temperatures and wind made for less than ideal racing weather, the covered grandstands of the historic West Liberty Raceway were nearly full of race fans to see 2022 season opening event. Kile Motorsports Racing Events hosted six classes of race cars competing for a payout of over $23K for the first of eight scheduled races being held this season.

A total of 74 race cars signed in and began the show with hot laps, followed by qualifying heat races, and ending the night with feature events for the six classes.

The first of the features was a 15-lap race for the Ag Services & Products Stock Cars. At the drop of the green flag, the competitors took the first corner with three-wide racing at the front of the field. Bristol Dirt Nationals Stock Car feature winner, Dustin Vis of Martell, IA took the lead on the first lap in the 20V car and never looked back. The 72H driven by Miciah Hidlebaugh of Manlo, IA got loose and spun in turn 4 on lap 4, resulting in a restart with the field of cars lined up side by side and the 20V of Vis in a row by himself to set the pace. The 20V took to the middle line around the track while the 00 of Johnny Spaw took advantage of the top side, gaining ground. Spaw, from Cedar Rapids, continued to pick off the competition gaining a total of six positions and taking over second position behind Vis. As the laps turned to double digits, Spaw continued to close the gap on the race leader, but Vis held off his competitor to take the checkers. Spaw was followed by the 72H of Hidlebaugh taking third, the 27 of Matt Picray finishing fourth, and the 32 of Tom Cannon rounding out the top five.

The Chown Appliance Sport Compacts came next with a lower car count due to several cars scratched from the event. Despite the lower number of competitors, this feature event started off with side by side racing throughout the field on their first lap. Pole sitter Alex Hayes in the 23H stayed vigilant in retaining the top spot throughout the race and created a cushion of space between himself and the competition. An exciting tug-of-war for third position went on for third position between the 19L of Trent Lebarge and the 24A of Ashton Blain midway through the 10 lap feature. Hayes maintained the lead and took the checkered followed by Michael Lundeen in the 27, Lebarge in the 19L, 65C of Colton Stewart, and the 24A of Blain.

With the highest car count of the show, the Aupp Automotive Sport Modifieds took to the track with their 15-lap feature event. The line-up set defending All Iowa Points Champion Logan Anderson as the pole sitter in his 53 sport modified, which is designed to replicate the Hollywood automotive film character Herby the Love Bug. Under green with Anderson leading the way, a three-way battle took place for fourth position between the 9W of Ryan Walker, the 17C of Shane Paris, and the 32X of Skylar Woods. Lapped traffic became an obstacle for the front-runners by lap 10, but the 53 of Anderson weaved his way through without losing position. After Anderson took the white flag, the 71J of Justin Schroeder coasted down the front stretch causing thea yellow, which ended

the race. Anderson took the win in the 53 followed by the 17C of Paris, the 00 of Shawn Slaughter, the 9W of Ryan Walker, and the 32X of Woods.

Auto Parts CarQuest Hobby Stocks came next with their 10-lap feature event. The 4R of Randy LaMar set the pace and led the first lap, but the 0 car of Ryan Havel quickly took over the top spot, leading the field for the remainder of the race. There was some three-wide racing action for third between David Crimmins in the 16C, the 14J of Jacob Floyd, and the 55 of Cody Staley midway through the race. Lapped traffic threatened our leader’s position to pace setter LaMar on lap 7, but Havel held onto the top spot and took the checkered flag and the win. He was followed by LaMar in the 4R, Crimmins in the 16C, Staley in the 55, and James Pilkington in the 22.

The 83 car of Jake Bridge set the pace for the Pit Crew BBW Late Models. Heat winner Andy Eckrich in the 56 took over the lead and continued to hold that position throughout the race. Nick Marolf in the 33 ran in third with sparks coming from his brakes as he went into turn 1. The 07 of Matt Ryan took over third from Marolf, and by lap 11 Marolf came off the pace, pulling into the infield pit area. A late race battle for fourth took place between the 74 of Ron Boyse and the 10 of Jacob Waterman with Waterman coming out on top. Eckrich took the checkers in the lead followed the 83 of Bridge, the 07 of Ryan, the 10 of Waterman, and the 74 of Boyse.

The night closed out with a 20-lap feature for the JR’s Car & Truck Repair Modifieds. Ray Cox, Jr in the 11 car set the pace alongside another Bristol Dirt Nationals feature (Sport Modifieds) in the 30M, Maguire DeJong. With two scratches, the field of 15 modifieds took the green and the teenage DeJong took a generous lead away from his competition. Chris Zogg racing the 9Z worked his way from his 11th place starting position through the field to challenge the 99 of Charlie Mohr for third position. Mohr spun on lap 12, which brought tough competition to start right behind DeJong. The race leader took to the cushion at the restart. The 21T of Mike McKinney battled Zogg for second until the white flag was shown. McKinney went too high in the final turn and over-corrected, coming down and causing himself and the 9Z of Zogg to spin. DeJong took the win in his first race in a modified, followed by the 20 of Brandon Schmitt, the 77 of Kurt Kile, the 33x of Dan Roedl, and the 11 of Ray Cox, Jr.

Kile Motorsports Racing Events with the help of the Lil’ Racer Car Club randomly selected a trophy presenter to give feature winners 3-foot tall red and gold trophies generously sponsored by MidWest One Bank in West Liberty. Saturday night’s trophy presenter was 12-year-old Gage Moore from West Branch, who also took home his very own trophy to keep.

Kile Motorsports Racing Events would like to thank the fans, race teams, and workers for making this a successful show. They would also like to give a special thanks to the West Liberty Fire Department and the Speedway Fire Rescue for their work keeping all race team members, attendees, and staff safe. Lastly, they want to thank the Muscatine County Fair Board and all sponsors for their support in this show.

Photos of the night’s events can be viewed and are available for purchase at www.KohltonKoberPhotography.com.

FULL RESULTS

AG SERVICES & PRODUCTS STOCK CARS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 20V Dustin Vis Martell, IA 1

2 00 Johnny Spaw * Cedar Rapids, IA 6

3 72H Miciah Hidlebaugh Menlo, IA -2

4 27 Matt Picray West Liberty, IA 2

5 32 Tom Cannon* West Branch, IA -2

6 23S Seth Dickey Hedrick, IA -2

7 83 Stan O’Brien Muscatine, IA 0

8 75OZ Austin Kemper Wapello, IA 2

9 8 Braxton Franks Cedar Rapids, IA 0

10 74 Brock Haines Fairfield, IA -5

11 18H Michael Heister Andrew, IA 0

DNS 31 Josh Woods West Liberty, IA -

CHOWN APPLIANCE SPORT COMPACTS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 23H Alex Hayes Lone Tree, IA 0

2 27 Michael Lundeen Rock Island, IL 3

3 19L Trent Lebarge Davenport, IA 3

4 65C Colton Stewart Vinton, IA 6

5 24A Ashton Blain Burlington, IA -2

6 12J Shawn Kraft Decorah, IA -4

DNS 87C Jay Crabill* Cedar Rapids, IA -

DNS 630 Dustin Munn Davenport, IA -

DNS 6 Jacob Smith West Liberty, IA -

DNS 53 Cody Van Dusen Atalissa, IA -

AUPP AUTOMOTIVE SPORT MODIFIEDS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 53 Logan Anderson Eddyville, IA 0

2 17C Shane Paris* Muscatine, IA 1

3 00 Shawn Slaughter* Iowa City, IA 5

4 9W Ryan Walker Wilton, IA 0

5 32X Skyler Woods Beaver Dam 2

6 17L Levi Laymon Muscatine, IA -4

7 7V Carter VanDenBerg Oskaloosa, IA -1

8 B21 Brandon Tharp Vinton, IA -3

9 5A Nick Aupperle Iowa City, IA 2

10 9H Levi Heath Wilton, IA -1

11 71J Justin Schroeder Low Moor, IA 2

12 16 Joel Payne Muscatine, IA 2

13 X14 Randy Farrell East Moline, IL 2

14 16M Nick Mosier Columbus Jct, IA 4

15 15 Michael Bear Lone Tree, IA 1

16 23M Matt Speiss Jefferson City, MO -6

17 13S Jared Miller Bloomfield, IA 0

DNS 7T Trey Rock New Boston, IL -

WEST LIBERTY AUTO PARTS CAR QUEST HOBBY STOCKS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 0 Ryan Havel Lone Tree, IA 3

2 4R Randy LaMar Buffalo, IA -1

3 16C David Crimmins* Dubuque, IA 0

4 55 Cody Staley Muscatine, IA 2

5 22 James Pilkington Hedrick, IA 0

6 12 Austin Stalder Washington, IA 1

7 14J Jacob Floyd* Cedar Rapids, IA -5

DNS 17M Jared Miller Bloomfield, IA -

DNS 51X Cody Weih Durant, IA -

DNS 72H Jimmy Keasling Sigorney, IA -

PIT CREW BBQ LATE MODELS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 56 Andy Eckrich* Oxford, IA 1

2 83 Jake Bridge Waverly, NE -1

3 07 Matt Ryan Davenport, IA 2

4 10 Jacob Waterman Colona, IL -1

5 74 Ron Boyse Kalona, IA 1

6 33X Kurt Stewart Ainsworth, IA 1

7 33 Nick Marolf Moscow, IA -3

JR’S CAR & TRUCK REPAIR MODIFIEDS

Finish Car # Competitor Hometown Positions +/-

1 30M Maguire DeJong Montezuma, IA 1

2 20 Brandon Schmitt Beaver Dam, WI 5

3 77 Kurt Kile Nichols, IA 3

4 33X Dan Roedl Beaver Dam, WI 9

5 11 Ray Cox, Jr. Maquoketa, IA -4

6 3W Garrett Wilson Carlisle, IA 4

7 77J Steve Johnson Camanche, IA 5

8 G1 Mike Garland Morrison, IL 6

9 99 Charlie Mohr Bettendorf, IA -5

10 38 Josh Geigle Walcott, IA -1

11 IB25 Shane Richardson Wapello, IA 6

12 21T Mike McKinney Plainfield, IL -4

13 9Z Chris Zogg New Liberty, IA -2

14 32K Kyle Montgomery* Tipton, IA -11

15 32 Kyle Madden Oxford, IA 0

DNS 88 Jarrett Brown* Ainsworth, IA -11

DNS 50 Denny Eckrich Tiffin, IA -1

* heat winner

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