Lee Vernoy: Speedway season winds down

Dan Mann says this weekend should be “a party to remember.”

The 21st annual Montana Roundup and ASCS Frontier Shootout this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Electric City Speedway signals the end of the 2015 stock car racing season. And while things will once again be silent on what is affectionately called “Thunder Hill,” the owner and manager of the venerable race track says it has been a great season … even in spite of Mother Nature.

The ultimate weather forecaster got the best of the racetrack on a couple of occasions this season, forcing the rescheduling of sprint car racing from May 15-16 to June 5. But Mann says it happens to everyone.

“The rain falls on the good and the bad everywhere in the world,” Mann, who is wrapping up his 26th season as track owner, said. “It was just our turn this season. But we still had a lot of good racing up here, and we’re all looking forward to next year.”

But before we throw a blanket over the racetrack and put it to bed for the winter, there’s a little unfinished business to take care of: the track championships.

“There won’t be any racing going on in Billings this weekend, and we’ll be the only racetrack going Saturday and Sunday,” Mann said, noting that the track in Belgrade will also be quiet. “So we’ll have racers from all over the state coming here this weekend.”

And it won’t just be the IMCA and Midwest Modified, the Streets and the Supers, either. There’ll be three nights of Sprints in the ASCS Frontier Region Shootout. Gates open at 6, racing at 7:30 all three nights.

The Midwest Modifieds (also known as the ‘B’ Mods) will settle things Friday and Saturday, and if Ron Sasek has his way, there won’t be anything to settle except for second place down. Sasek leads the field by 92 points over fellow Great Falls driver Greg Tacke, while he’s 105 points ahead of Tim McCune.

The Street Stocks, who will race on Saturday and Sunday, is a much tighter race. Taylor Faulkenhagen leads William Handel by 27 points, and only 33 points first place from fourth as Brad Norris (-32) and Bruce Miesmer (-33) occupy third and fourth. Teenager Kelan Kropp is fifth, 83 points in back of Faulkenhgaen.

The Super Stocks, who also race Saturday and Sunday, is a two-car battle between leader leader Casey Steffenson and Patrick LaMere, separated by just 41 points in the standings.

In the IMCA ‘A’ Modifieds, the gap between first and sixth is just 65 points, and a father-and-son battle at the top. Rookie Kory Wermling leads his dad, Mark, by only 26 points. Jody Kropp is third, 56 points behind, while Gary Hill of Black Eagle and Great Falls’ John Price are knotted in fourth, just 58 points behind. Patrick Wallace of Fairfield is the number six man. And they’ll have three days — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — to decide the champ.

The ASCS Sprint Cars has the tightest battle yet. JJ Hickle of Quilcene, Wash., leads Billings driver Phil Dietz by a single point, with Edmonton’s Kelly Miller just nine points off the pace. In fact, the difference between first and 20th place is just 66 points.

“It will be a tremendous time, with all of these racers gathered in one spot at the same time” Mann said. “You can’t do this at the start of the season; that’s a feeling-out process where you get to knock some of the rust off from the winter.

“But by the end of the year, everyone has had some seat time behind the wheel. They’re all revved up and ready to go. It should be a party to remember.”

THIS, OF COURSE, DOES not mean there won’t be any racing between Labor Day and New Year’s, not by a long shot. But it does means that this columnist gets to switch gears (no pun intended) and get ready for bowling. The Ten Pin Talk column will be in this slot next Monday (Labor Day).

And, like I said, racing will go on in other venues. The Electric City Dirt Riders motocross group will hold their Fall Grand Prix Sunday, September 20. You can call James Hendershot at (406) 781-7891 or Keith Nelson at 868-9956 for more details.

And the Lewistown Drag Racing Association’s final weekend at the dragstrip three miles west of town will be Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4. There won’t be a “run what you brung” session, but ET Class Brackets, the Land of the Leaders and the King of the Track will all take place that weekend. The gates will open at 8 a.m. Time trials are at 9 a.m. will elimination racing starting at 1 both days.

Tribune Sports Writer Lee Vernoy writes both the local racing and bowling columns. Follow him on Twitter (@GFTrib_LVernoy), email him at lvernoy@greatfallstribune.com, or call him at (406) 791-6569.