Open Wheel Racing At Illiana
By: RacerRich (Rich Boteler)
Schererville, IN (July 14, 2010) - We enjoyed
another great night of midget racing last night at Illiana. What
made the
night
even
better was getting to watch a
new class of cars that I’ve never seen before. Sharing
some time with some old friends and making some new ones always
highlights
my night.
Putting some words together with some great
pictures by Mr. Gary
Gasper is also a special ending to a good night of racing. Gary
started my night by introducing me to Rhonda who is the Operations
Manager for Illiana. Being given the opportunity to witness and
write up these stories at Illiana for a number of years now,
there has been one major thing missing and last night the missing
part
came together when Gary and Rhonda introduced me to Mike Mikuly,
owner of Illiana, for the first time. Always thanking Mike and
his staff in the write ups was good but it was especially great
to thank him in person last night.
Don Kenyon is now the sole promoter of a group of racers that
are flying high under the United States Speed Assn. banner. The
group includes Kenyon Cars, also well represented by his legendary
brother Mel, USSA Midgets and Thunder Roadsters. Don leases the
track and gives the racers a place to showcase their talents. Before
coming to Illiana they have put on shows at Plymouth, Anderson,
Mount Lawn Speedways in Indiana as well as Grundy County Speedway
in Morris, Illinois. DK Promotions can be contacted at Kenyon@Indy.Net or by phone at 765-482-4273 for more information.
While I’ve enjoyed midget racing since 1961, it is still
a very pleasurable time to continue enjoying them every chance
I get these days. Taking nothing away from their racing, I must
admit that seeing the Thunder Roadsters was a special event for
me. I’ve heard many veteran race fans, me included, saying
it would be great to see the old Roadsters return to popularity.
Don and his group are trying to make this happen.
 These Roadsters look much like to old Indy Roadsters from the
50’s and early 60’s. They are equipped with 1250 cc
Yamaha water cooled engines and they have self starters like the
Kenyon Cars have. They run the same Hoosier tire in all four positions.
A brand new car can be bought for around $16-17,000 and there are
some used ones available today for between $8-10,000.
As for their racing last night it was fast and competitive. James
Edsall, lll from Fishers, Indiana had the competitors covered.
He set fast time in qualifying with a fast lap of 22.406 on the
half mile oval and then took half of the 10 lap heat race to take
command for the win. In the feature he lined up in the 8th spot
and on lap four of the 30 lapper he took the lead and eventually
won the race. This did not happen easily as Al Renner applied pressure
throughout the last half of the race and not too far behind them
were Chris Weddle, Tony Holden and Darrell Brown racing hard and
completing the top five finishers. Talking to Tony during the night,
he told that his son Aaron drives the #91 in this series as well
as driving a Legend Car in the Indianapolis area. These guys reside
in Greenfield, Indiana. While Don was in hopes of having about
16 cars at Illiana there were 10 that ventured the long trip north.
The Kenyon Cars started the night with their 6 car heat race.
Eleven year old Justin Peck went to the lead from his 4th starting
position and held off a hard charging James Edsall, lll who was
doing double duty in the two classes. Halen Shafer, Nick Hamilton,
Isaac Chapple and Max McGhee rounded out the finishing order. For
their 30 lap feature on the ¼ mile track, Halen Shafer took
control and the lead around the half way point and stretched out
to a convincing win. The battle for 2nd was won narrowly by young
Mr. Peck over James Edsall, lll and rounding out the top five were
Max McGhee and Isaac Chapple.
During the USSA Midget qualifying, Mario Marietta set fast time
with a lap of 19.065 around the ½ mile track. Mario would
keep his hot shoe on by winning the first heat over Ali Jackson,
who comes to the series from Ireland and Brad Greenup. The 2nd
heat saw Kyle Hamilton take his #33 mount to the lead from his
4th starting position and won the ten lap race over Nick Wagner
and Mike Wallace.
These two heat winners would put on a terrific show in their 30
lap feature. While they were making their way to the front, Jim
Anderson and Nick Wagner were in a heated battle for the lead.
Mario made his move to the point on lap eight and Kyle moved to
the 2nd spot on the next lap. Mario had opened a good lead but
Kyle started cutting into that lead and he got a break when Greenup
spun coming out of four with eleven laps to go. With the nose to
tail restart it was a battle royal for the remainder of the race.
Mario kept the lead but coming out of four going for the checkered
flag, trying a pass on the inside, Kyle spun and Mario charged
to the finish line for a super win. Taylor Ferns finished 2nd just
ahead of Ali Jackson, Brad Greenup who fought back for a fine 4th
place finish and Jim Anderson rounding out the top five.
After stopping for his victory picture at the finish line, Mario
walked back to his good friend Kyle, who was parked on the track
just out of turn four, they met and gave each other a big hug.
What a show of sportsmanship! These two young drivers put on a
show for the fans and the fans were all standing and applauding
in appreciation for the deluxe race they had just witnessed.
There were periods of time where it looked like the weatherman
was going to take control but every race was run and the last lap
was completed just before 10:30. Hoping to catch up with James
Edsall, who had given me a lot of information about the Roadsters
earlier in the evening, wasn’t to happen. He had packed up
and left, giving me the thought that probably he had to work today.
These races happening on a Wednesday night and a long trip home
makes for a short night for him. Getting in a word with Kyle, he
told me “I gave it everything I had” and no one could
deny that thought. When I asked Taylor how long she had been driving
race cars she told me eight years. I believe I heard she is only
14 years old now!
Getting to watch a few of the races with Rhonda who was sitting
with a friend I met a few years ago, I learned that Dave Alger
is Rhonda’s dad. As usual, Stan Kalwasinski was around for
some chats. He spent his night in the infield taking pictures with
Gary.
During the whole night, Mel and Don were gracious with their time
answering questions and giving information about their USSA adventures
and plans. Having met these legends in my first year of midget
racing experiences, it’s still great to see them in good
health and still enjoying the sport that we as fans still love.
In print, I will say again, thanks to Mike and his staff for allowing
us the pleasure to be in attendance for another great night of
open wheel racing at Illiana.
I’ll close this by telling that these same three classes
of cars return for another Illiana appearance on Wednesday night
August 4th. If you missed them last night, you need to get out
and watch their next exciting night of racing in Schererville.
You won’t be disappointed!
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