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Speedweek: New track, better racing
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FarkRAPID CITY — The newly reconfigured oval at Heartland Speedway is resulting in better racing for both the Dakota Kart Racers and Badlands Mini-Sprint Association.
That’s the consensus of both groups after last Saturday night’s successful twinbill at the 1/5-mile dirt oval south of Rapid City.
Looking to give both the mini-sprinters and kart racers more racing room, Heartland Speedway operator Mitch Morris, DKR president Jamie Gerlach and BMSA president Delos
Hibbard redesigned the layout, lengthening and widening the track from roughly an eighth-mile standard oval to a fifth-mile “D” shaped track.
The wet spring and early summer weather played havoc with getting any real track time on the rebuilt oval. Finally, 47 karters and 19 mini-sprint drivers signed in for last Saturday’s race card.
The mini-sprinters and karters put on a racing clinic for a good crowd of spectators. The 70-inch wheelbase mini-sprints, powered by 600cc motorcycle engines, are best suited for smaller tracks, quarter-mile or smaller.
“It’s just going to get better,” said Hibbard. “This was just our third night on this new track and we’re finally getting it figured out.”
Travis McDonnell, of Wall, started last in the field and carved his way through heavy traffic. He worked his way to third by lap 10 of the scheduled 25-lap main event, then put a deft move on leaders Jess Island and Jeff Mount just before the midway point of the 25-lap feature, then was able to put some distance on the field over the final frantic laps.
The karters also benefited from the larger mini-sprint cars laying down a wide swath of rubber, giving the karters more passing lanes all the way around the track.
“It was a wider racing track and a wider groove, definitely more passing,” said Todd LaCroix, whose son Dylan races in the Junior 2 Stock class. “It was awesome.”
Kart winners included Dylan Pudwill, Levi Brown, Chelsea Oines, Jacee Gerlach, Darin Hauff, Mackenzie VonColln, Heath Keffler and Jess Gikling.
Three- and four-wide racing was more the rule than the exception.
“Last year, it was more follow-the-leader,” LaCroix said. “The rubber put down by the mini-sprints really helps the go-carts.
“This year, there are so many more grooves and passing lines. If you know how to use them, you can really go through the traffic,” he said.
Heartland doesn’t have much in the way of bleacher capacity, but the seats were all full Saturday night.
“I really hope we can get more people out here and build this up,” said McDonnell. “This really is a good place to race.”
Then maybe the next challenge will be to increase the number of seats.
“That’d be a good problem to have,” said Hibbard.
Racing continues Saturday with a doubleheader points race for both the karts and mini-sprints at the track three-miles south of Rapid City on Highway 79. The first race starts at 3 p.m., with the nightcap set to begin at 7 p.m.
Drivers in the Junior 1 Sport class battle in a side-by-side pack during last Saturday’s Dakota Kart Racers card at Heartland Speedway. Leader Tyler Liebig (55) contends with eventual winner Levi Brown (28), Trevor Plambeck (8), Derek Knodel (127), Steven Michelson (57) and Kyler Bruce (26). (Jim Holland/Journal staff)
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