As a part of the state softball festivities this week in Fort Dodge, the Hall of Fame will be inducting four new members, including Kelly Uhde from Ottumwa. Uhde was a part of four state qualifying teams from 1991 through 1994. She hit 31 career home runs for the Bulldogs and was a two-time first-team All-American for Indian Hills Community College.
Uhde and the other inductees will be honored just before the Class 5A Championship at 4:45 PM at the Harlan Rogers Sports Complex.
This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 23-25, the Best of the Best dirt modified drivers on the planet will converge on the Deer Creek Speedway for the 5th Annual World Modified Dirt Track Championship presented by Red Tail Tackle.
There will be an open practice for all drivers on Wednesday from 6-9 p.m. with free admission to the grandstands for early bird race fans.
Race fans will witness a complete program of qualifying and main events for the USMTS Modifieds each day, with Saturday’s show featuring an “alphabet soup” of main events as drivers try to claw their way into the big dance.
In addition to the USMTS Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and WISSOTA Midwest Mods will also share the spotlight with a complete program of heat races and main events each day.
USMTS drivers will qualify on Thursday and Friday with last-chance races and the $20,00-to-win finale on Saturday. Points will be awarded for time trials, heat races and qualifying features on Thursday and Friday with each driver’s total combined points for the first two days determining the main event line-ups on Saturday.
Saturday will feature an “alphabet soup” of main events and last-chance races with the top 12 points-earners locked into the championship main event. The 13th-highest points-earner from the first two days will be on the pole of the “B” Main and the lowest points-earner starts last in the lowest feature race.
Unlike the last four years, Saturday’s main event will have a new twist this year as Saturday’s championship race will be divided into two segments. The first segment will be 25 laps and pay a minimum of $5,000 to win and $500 to start.
At the conclusion of the first segment, competitors will have a maximum of ten minutes to make any needed changes to the racecar.
The second segment will be 40 laps, start heads-up by the finishing order of the first segment and pay a minimum of $15,000 to win and $1,000 to start.
Two-time defending USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders is also the defending champion of the World Modified Dirt Track Championship. Jason Hughes conquered the 2014 event while Ryan Gustin blistered the field in 2012. The inaugural event in 2011 went to Brad Waits.
USRA Stock Cars will battle for $500 to win Thursday, $600 to win Friday and $750 to win Saturday. WISSOTA Midwest Mods will be racing for $400 to win Thursday, $500 to win Friday and $600 to win Saturday.
Racing starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Saturday’s show gets started at 6 p.m.
Thursday and Friday reserved seats are $25 and general admission tickets are $20 each day. On Saturday, reserved seats are $30 and general admission is $25. A three-day reserved seat is $70. Kids get in for $10 each day. Pit passes are $40 each day or $110 for a three-day pit pass. Pit passes are $20 for Wednesday’s practice.
For race fans unable to attend the event, every lap of every race all three nights will be broadcast via pay-per-view by RacinDirt. Single-day broadcasts are just $21.95 on Thursday, $24.95 on Friday and $29.95 on Saturday. Visit www.racindirt.com today to order your three-day package for just $59.95 and save.
On this day in 2001, Lonestar’s “I’m Already There” was strolling through an amazing six week stay on top of the Billboard Country Singles Chart. The song was the band’s seventh number one, and was certified Gold.
Thomas Rhett’s “Crash And Burn” single has been RIAA-Certified Gold for selling of 500,000 copies. Thomas says, “It seriously blows my mind to think half a million people have already bought ‘Crash’, being out on the road with our fans all summer and getting to see them react to this song live has been incredible, and it’s making me even more excited to get new music in their hands.”
The state softball tournament’s first round concluded last night in Fort Dodge, and Pella is the only area team left to battle for a state title.
Lynnville-Sully played a very competitive game in the Class 1A Quarterfinals, but fell to River Valley, 3-2. That game was tight throughout, but River Valley took the lead in the bottom of the 4th with a two-run homer and held onto it for the win.
Lynnville-Sully now has two consolation games that they will try to win to finish as high as fifth place in the state. Their first consolation game will be today at 10 AM against Marquette Catholic, who fell to AGWSR 6-5. The other winner’s bracket semifinal is New London against Logan-Magnolia.
The Holley Iron Man Series invaded the Rapid Speedway Tuesday night during the Lyon County Fair with one new first-time winner and a frequent visitor to victory lane.
In the USRA B-Mod main event, Nick Barger of Madison, S.D., withstood a barrage of would-be winners throughout the first half of the race before taking command for good with eight laps to go and driving to his career-first Holley Iron Man Series win.
After leading the first lap from the pole, Barger swapped the top spot with Cody Ahrendt four times during the first seven laps, and then it was Dakota Foster taking over for three laps before Barger could wrestle the lead back for good.
The win was worth $600 to Barger while Thor Anderson slipped past Foster on the white flag lap to score the runner-up paycheck.
After Foster was disqualified during post-race technical inspections, Kevin Joachim moved up to the third-place finishing position with Cullen DeRuyter fourth and Cole Denner fifth.
In USRA Stock Car action, Ocheyedan, Iowa’s Elijah Zevenbergen remained perfect in Holley Iron Man Series competition as he racked up his third win in three tries.
Polesitter Justin Regnerus put up a good fight, but could not keep Zevenbergen from completing the ‘hat trick’ and pocketing another $750 winner’s share of the purse.
Tom Schmitt finished third, Rich Gregoire was fourth and Chad Overgaard rounded out the top five at the checkered flag.
Last night, several Class 1A and 2A baseball teams looked to punch their ticket to the state tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines. Among those who succeeded were the Davis County Mustangs.
Davis County got a 5-1 win over Des Moines Christian to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2012, which was the senior season for a class of ten contributors including Iowa Hawkeye pitchers Calvin Mathews and Josh Martsching.
The Mustangs were awarded the #2 seed in the eight team bracket, so there is a legitimate chance they could make a deep run to a state title. The lone championship in school history was claimed in 2011.
DC’s first opponent will be Roland-Story, who sits at 25-14 on the year. That game will be at 7:30 next Monday at Principal Park in Des Moines. The top seed in Class 2A is 37-3 Cascade of Western Dubuque.
The Iowa State Softball Tournament began yesterday, and a couple of area Class 4A teams were in action.
Pella was a team that took everyone by surprise. The Lady Dutch qualified for state after finishing in fifth place in the Little Hawkeye Conference with a 4-7 conference record. But they slipped by Knoxville, upset #2 Indianola and dominated upset-minded Marion in the regional final to make state.
Their miraculous run will continue, as they knocked off #6 Fort Dodge, 3-2. Their next game will not be an easy one, as they take on the two-time defending state champion Fillies from Dallas Center-Grimes. DCG is #9 in the final rankings, but has played better of late with a healthy Rachel Lowary leading the way.
The Lady Dutch did have two conference games with the Fillies this year, and split the pair. In Pella on June 3rd, DCG got an 8-4 win, and in Dallas Center on June 18th, Pella pulled off a 10-8 win. The rubber match will determine who will play for a state championship, and will begin at 7:30 PM Thursday at the Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
Dallas Center-Grimes punched their ticket to the semifinals by knocking off Fairfield in a thrilling 1-0 game in 12 innings. DCG scored an unearned run off an error in the bottom of the 12th to get the win, and send Fairfield home in heartbreaking fashion.
We’ll keep posting updates from the state softball tournament as the week moves on KBOE and KMZN.
On this day in 1956, Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” went to #1. This was Cash’s very first record to top the charts. The single remained on the record charts for over 43 weeks, and sold over 2 million copies.
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