by: Bill Freis
Morris, IL Dalton Armstrong of New Castle, Indiana will go down in history as the last driver to ever win a feature event at the Joliet Memorial Stadium. Armstrong, who’s big brother Dakoda won in the preliminary feature event on Friday, drove his Motor City Auto Transport, Bunge N.A./Beast/Mopar to the historic win on Saturday night at the Last Stand at the Stadium 50-lap Main event. Joe Liguori, Taylor Ferns, Tom Schnabel, Brad Schieber, Tyler Kramer and Bill Sainsbury will all go down in history as feature winners at the final event ever held at the Joliet Memorial Stadium.
Armstrong, who was locked into the event on Friday when he was third quick in qualifying, started sixth in the 50-lap main event. Minooka’s Patrick Wilda Jr., who started on the second row, took the lead from Plainfield’s Bob Shreffler on the first lap. Behind Wilda, Dalton Armstrong was fighting to keep big brother Dakoda and Joliet’s Jimmy Anderson behind him for several laps. Anderson took a couple of shots at getting by Dakoda Armstrong, but began to lose ground as the laps clicked off. Finally on a lap 16 restart, Anderson got a bumper to the inside of Dakoda and drove under him for the third spot and at the same time, Dolton drove under Wilda through turn four. Wilda bounced his car off of the front stretch wall and then the turn one wall trying to hold his lead. Wilda sustained just enough damage to his car that he was not able to continue.
Anderson would challenge Armstrong again after a mid-race caution, but Dalton’s car was too strong for Anderson and Dalton would go on to lead the remaining laps of the Bud Light Last Stand at the Stadium 50-lap feature. Jimmy Anderson, Dakoda Armstrong, Scott Shilkuski and David Gough, Grant Galloway, Doug Dietsch, Johnny Heydenreich, Wes Carner and Bob Shreffler rounded out the top ten. Billy Hulbert was Saturday’s UMARA National midget fast qualifier.
Dolton Armstrong also won the Suburban Bank and Trust Trophy Dash and Patrick Wilda won the Farm Bureau 6-lap Last Dash.
In the UMARA Rod Baker Ford Focus midget feature event, Joe Liguori led all 30 laps to take the win ahead of Jimmy Simpson, Johnny Heydenreich, Jake Blackhurst and Tyler Trainor.
2009 UMARA Sportsman midget champion Taylor Ferns won the 30-lap Rod Baker Ford UMARA Sportsman midget feature ahead of Grant Galloway, Mike Schenker, Dave Fuhrman, Jimmy Simpson, Reid Ceponis and Eric Potter.
Tom Schnabel took the lead at the start and waged a spirited battle with Mike Anderson in the Tessone Motors UMARA Dwarf Car feature. Anderson would take the lead from Schnabel on lap nine and hold a narrow margin over Schnabel until tangling with a lapped car on lap 15. Anderson would have to go to the tail of the field on the restart, handing the lead back to Schnabel were he would stay unchallenged for the remaining laps. Following Schnabel at the line were, Greg Ihrke, Jeff Slayton, Joe Mox, Mike Anderson, Jim Maher, Jeep Leiker, Scott Struthers and Ernie McGeorge. Schnabel was also the evenings fast qualifier.
In the go-karts, Bill Sainsbury won the Urbasek Insurance Dash for Cash and the 20-lap feature in the Sr. Animal class. In the Senior Heavy Briggs class, Tyler Kramer made it a sweep winning both the GP Cycle Sports Dash for Cash and the Urbasek Insurance 20-lap feature. In the Senior Champ Karts, Brad Shieber won the Jules Raceway Dash for Cash and the Urbasek Insurance 20-lap feature.
On Friday night crowd of nearly 4,000 watched Dakota Armstrong of New Castle, Indiana lead all 20-laps of the UMARA National midget preliminary feature in his Bunge N.A., ILMOR/Beast/Mopar on opening night of The Last Stand at the Stadium at the Joliet Memorial Stadium. Armstrong finished ahead of Zach Daum, Patrick Wilda, Dolton Armstrong and Jimmy Anderson.
Armstrong was also the fast qualifier with a time of 14.399.
Fridays heat race winners were Billy Hulbert, Zach Daum and Patrick Wilda.
Joe Liguori won the UMARA Ford Focus midget heat race, Grant Galloway won the UMARA Sportsman midget heat and Tom Schnabel won the UMARA Dwarf Car heat race. Tyler Kramer won the Senior Heavy Briggs go-kart heat race, while Dustin Heath won both the Senior Animal and the Senior Champ kart heats.
Racing began at the ¼-mile Joliet Memorial Stadium with Walt Weineke winning the inaugural event on June 7, 1952 and The Last Stand at the Stadium event was not a points paying event, so Dennis Devea will still hold the title of the last driver to win a feature in a points paying event at the stadium on August 30, 1986. But Dolton Armstrong will go into the record books as the last driver to win a feature event at the “Jewel on Jefferson Street” on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at the Joliet Memorial Stadium.
END
UMARA NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 – Joliet, Illinois – Joliet Memorial Stadium – The Last Stand at the Stadium
Top 8 qualifiers from Friday were locked in to Saturday’s feature; everyone else had to re-qualify on Saturday.
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Billy Hulbert, 88, Hulbert – 14.564; 2. Scott Shilkuski, 75, Shilkuski-14.622; 3. David Gough, 11, Gough-14.707; 4. David Budres, 11D, Gough – 14.893; 5. John Heydenreich,25,Estep – 14.983, 6. Grant Galloway, 84, Galloway – 15.096, 7. Doug Dietsch, 0, Dietsch- 15.143; 8. Steve Thinnes, 84T, Galloway – 15.327; 9. Klaus Wever,38, Wever – 15.15.417; 10. Wes Carner,6, Carner – 15.646; 11. Mike Schenker, 32S, Fuhrman – 15.787;
TROPHY DASH: (4 laps) 1. Dolton Armstrong, 2. Jimmy Anderson, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Dakoda Armstrong
LAST DASH: (6 laps) 1. Patrick Wilda, 2. Bob Shreffler, 3. Billy Hulbert, 4. David Gough, 5. David Budres, 6. Scott Shilkuski
FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Dolton Armstrong, 2. Jimmy Anderson, 3. Dakoda Armstrong, 4. Scott Shilkuski 5. David Gough, 6. Grant Galloway, 7. Doug Dietsch, 8. Johnny Heydenreich 9. Wes Carner, 10. Bob Shreffler, 11. Steve Thinnes, 12. Terry Ahern, 13. Zach Daum, 14. Klaus Wever, 15. Patrick Wilda, 16. Billy Hulbert, 17. David Budres, 18. Mike Schenker, 19. Dave Fuhrman