Oskaloosa, IA - Rob Chaney of Wooster, Ohio, emerged victorious in the $5,000 to win Front Row Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Monday, August 6. He made his winning pass of Bronson Maeschen on a lap fifteen restart after an improbable chain of events, starting with an afternoon deluge of rain and hours of preparation. A 20-minute afternoon downpour caused a four hour delay in order to prep the racing surface and pit areas. Even with the hard work involved, cars pitted in all corners of the Mahaska County fairgrounds and heats didn't shove off until 11:30 p.m. local time.
The hearty crowd saw an entertaining feature. With an option of going to the back of the 25-lap event, World of Outlaws champion, Donny Schatz, was encouraged by the fans, and chose to start at the back and take a shot at the $50,000 to win challenge. Daryn Pittman had other ideas, and the pole-sitter flew out to the early lead before a lap five caution for the stopped cars of Brian Brown and driver/promoter, Terry McCarl.
Schatz had passed twelve cars in the first five laps, moving into twelfth and he looked poised to take a shot at the big loot on the restart. Pittman again paced the field for the next five laps, and Schatz picked up four more spots before the red flag came out for Tony Shilling.who flipped his sprinter in turn four. He was uninjured, but done for the night.
On lap fifteen, disaster struck for both the leader and Schatz, as both slowed to a stop. Schatz was victim of a broken torsion arm and ended his charge from 25th in seventh. Also bowing out of competition was Kaley Gharst, who had charged from 14th to fourth. Maeschen had inherited the lead ahead of Chaney, but yielded to the Buckeye State native when the green flag dropped.
"This is awesome!" said the driver of the Randy Hammer #24H. "I thought we may run out of fuel there with all those cautions. This gives us some momentum heading into the Knoxville Nationals!"
JEI, Schnee, J&J and Eagle chassis were awarded to drivers over the course of the night. Those lucky drivers awarded new cars included heat winners Shilling, Jesse Hockett and Kaley Gharst. 2006 King of California, Jonathan Allard set quick time on the half-mile at 15.620 seconds.
Front Row Challenge finish (started), 25 laps: 1. Rob Chaney 24H (4) 2. Bronson Maeschen 96 (2) 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (7) 4. Ryan Farrell 3s (20) 5. Chad Hillier 5c (9) 6. Jesse Hockett 75 (11) 7. Tayler Malsam 26 (17) 8. Tyler Spath KR14 (15) 9. Larry Pinegar II 71R (10) 10. Mike Moore 69 (19) 11. Bob Weuve (16) 12. Brooke Tatnell 2 (18) 13. Rager Phillips 9P (22) 14. Daryn Pittman 21 (1) 15. Kaley Gharst 3 (14) 16. Donny Schatz 15 (25) 17. Tony Shilling 47T (12) 18. Jonathan Allard 0 (5) 19. Bruce White 96au (24) 20. Ray Allen Kulhanek 41 (21) 21. Terry McCarl 24 (3) 22. Brian Brown 21x (6) 23. Neil Shepherd 4N (23) 24. Eric Baldaccini B4 (13) 25. Dusty Zomer 1z (8) DNS - Lynton Jeffrey 12J, Skip Jackson 2AU