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Zack VanderBeek and the 33z Racing team stayed close to home this past weekend to compete in the 28th Annual MUSCO Lighting Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. On Friday, VanderBeek started 16th after transmission troubles knocked him out of his heat race, and wound up seventh in the main event. On Saturday, 'The Z-Man' made a late-race charge to the front after starting sixth and eventually wound up third in the $1,000-to-win feature race.
Van Der Wal, Hughes, Thompson sweep Fall Challenge features
By Brian Neal
OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Oct. 4) -- Saturday night was the final night of the 28th Annual MUSCO Lighting Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, which also put a close on the 2014 racing season at the 1/2 mile track. Mother nature once again wasn't to kind, as temps hovered around the high 40's by race time. But what helped make Saturday's show more bearable then Friday nights was the winds, which by race time had diminished considerably.
The final feature to take to the track was the 20 lap Modifieds, with Cayden Carter and Todd Shute leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Shute would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Carter and Tyler Droste. Carter, who was working the bottom of the track, tried to slip past Shute, who was working the top, over the next 10 laps. But Shute was able to hold him off each lap at the line to keep the lead. The duo started to work lapped traffic on lap 11, which allowed Zack VanderBeek, who started 6th, to close in to make it a three car battle out front. Despite Carter getting up beside Shute over the final three laps, Shute was able to hold on to claim the win and the $1,000 top prize. Carter settled for 2nd, VanderBeek was 3rd, Andrew Schroeder was 4th, with Droste holding on for 5th.
Exciting racing on a cool night in Oskaloosa helps heat up fans
By Brian Neal
OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Oct. 3) -- Despite the temps hovering around the mid 40's, with wind chills around the upper 30's, night one of the 28th Annual MUSCO Lighting Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa went off without a hitch. Mother Nature tried everything to stop this event from getting kicked off, as over an inch of rain fell on the grounds on Thursday. But Mike VanGenderen and his crew worked hard to get the racing surface prepared, which paid off with a fast and smooth track from top to bottom.
The final feature to take to the track was the 20 lap Modifieds, with Tyler Droste and Ryan Peckham leading the field to the green. Droste took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Scott Dickey and Peckham. But Dickey would jump to the top of the track on lap 2 to over take Droste for the top spot. While Dickey set a very fast pace out front, Jesse Dennis, who started 5th, and Cayden Carter, who started 7th, were working their way towards the front. At the midway point of the race, lap 10, Dennis would move into 2nd, with Carter following him into 3rd. But by then Dickey had built up a straight-away lead. Dennis and Carter tried to chase down Dickey over the final laps, but Dickey was to far out front as he claimed the win and the $1,000 top prize in a caution free race. Carter over took Dennis late to finish in 2nd, Dennis was 3rd, Jacob Murray started 10th and finished 4th, with Peckham holding on to finish in 5th.
