(Racing Every Friday Night)
Race Results
April 27, 2001
By Shawn Neisteadt
Rapid Speedway added two new historical facts to its history book as the season opened. For the first time in the long history of Rapid Speedway, cars would take to the raceway in April. It was also the first night that NMRA would sanction the racing on the speedway.
Shawn Van Wyhe would show everyone that he is no April fool by taking the season-opening victory. Brent Vande Weerd would run from the pole position of the 360 sprint main and pull out to the early lead, but took his car down pit road during caution after lap four. Vande Weerd’s “pit stop” would hand the lead to Randy Droescher. On the following restart, Van Wyhe would get a run on Droescher off turn two and pull into the lead on the backstretch.
The season opener was the first time Van Wyhe has competed at Rapid Speedway since he took a violent ride in last fall’s Rapid Nationals. “They’re were a lot of rumors about me being scared. I wanted to show them up,” he said. And show them up he did by piloting his brand new Eagle Chassis to the checkers. Dusty Ballenger, the defending track champion, would come home second with Vande Weerd coming back for third and Droescher in fourth.
Van Wyhe also won his heat race and Dusty Ballenger claimed the second.
Darrin Korthals would shake off the winter cobwebs and win the first NMRA street stock “A” main of the season. Defending track champion Mark DeBoer would take the lead from pole sitter Doug Brinkhouse on lap two. The hole also allowed Korthals to overtake Brinkhouse and move into second.
DeBoer and Korthals, who were also the heat race winners, would run door to door until Korthals would pilot his Arrow Chassis into the lead on lap five. DeBoer would mount several charges, but wouldn’t be able to pull past the two-time track champion.
Randy Brands, Chad Overgaard and Gus Clark followed Korthals and DeBoer to the stripe.
Caution flags plagued the sportsmen main event, but when all was said and done, Rick Vander Weide would go home with the trophy.
Mel Elsberry would have the lead coming off turn four to complete lap one, but looped the car around and introduced it to the inside berm of the speedway. Racing would resume after a couple of unsuccessful restarts, but the caution would again come out over the speedway as Brad Haas would relinquish the second position by spinning out coming off turn two.
The race had eight laps to go when Brad Klaason would send Vander Weide’s machine for a spin. Klaason would have to restart from the back with Vander Weide reclaiming his second position.
Vander Weide would take the lead from Glenn Wynia on the restart and the “King of the Meadows” would hold on for the win. Elsberry would charge back up to second followed by Rick Goth, Gary Mulder, and Klaason.
Sportsmen heat wins went to Goth and Wynia.
Mike Deutsch would take the lead of the NMRA Hobby Stock “A” on lap nine and drive the DeBoer racing 21X to victory lane. After losing the first position to Deutsch, Mark Vanden Top would slide high on lap 10 allowing James Slawson to move past him and into second place. The top three would finish in that order with Anthony Mann finishing fourth and Marlo DeJager rounding out the top five.
Deutsch followed Vanden Top from the drop of the green flag until making his move on lap nine. “I was telling myself to calm down,” commented Deutsch. “Patience is more less all it is.”
NMRA 360 Sprints
FEATURE: 1. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe; 2. 2D-Dusty Ballenger; 3. 47-Brent Vande Weerd; 4. 24-Randy Droescher
NMRA Late Model Stock Cars
FEATURE: 1. 1K-Darrin Korthals; 2. 23-Mark DeBoer; 3. 27-Randy Brands; 4. 42-Chad Overgaard; 5. 17G-Gus Clark; 6. 44-Jason DeBoer; 7. 17-Doug Brinkhouse; 8. 00-Dale Furby
NMRA Sportsmen
FEATURE: 1. 6-Rick Vander Weide; 2. 5-Mel Elsberry; 3. 90-Rick Goth; 4. 00-Gary Mulder; 5. 45K-Brad Klaason
NMRA Hobby Stocks
FEATURE: 1. 21X-Mike Deutsch; 2. 17S-James Slawson; 3. 81-Mark Vanden Top; 4. 20-Anthony Mann; 5. 33-Marlo DeJager; 6. 9B-Bob DeBoer; 7. 17K-Kermit Rose; 8. 42-Steve Eliason