Second place finisher, Chad Terwillger was one of the driver's we had the chance to talk to this evening. Chad races with us from Avon, Illinois. His #29 E-mod is sponsored by MRE Racecars, and Terwillger Trucking. His pit crew consists of himself and Bernie Terwillger. Chad says his biggest fans are his Mom and his girlfriend. When we asked Chad how his car was running, he said "good", which was easy to see from the great driving he did in his heat race. Chad's goals for this year are simple …….. WIN! One of the drivers that Chad looks up to the most is Dale Munson, because Dale has helped him out so much. What Chad likes most about racing at Spoon River is the track itself. "It's FAST, and the only 3/8 mile track around". What Chad likes the least is the lighting and the speakers. Chad's final comments, "We're hoping for a good, safe season". Our thanks to Chad for spending some time talking to us, and we certainly wish him & his team a great season.

Rob Bauman, #30, may have started in the 2nd position in E-mod Heat #3, but by turn #1 he was in the lead, and he was there to stay, dominating the entire heat race. There was a lot of great door to door racing going on for 2nd place between the #2 of Don Taylor, the #7W of Mark Branch, and the #6 of TJ Bolen. Taylor was able to hold onto his position for a 2nd place finish, followed by Branch in 3rd, and Bolen in 4th.

Modified Heat #2 saw the #31 of Mark Anderson get out to an early lead. Casey Lappin, #48, moved into 2nd spot with a great move in turns 3 & 4 in between the #22B of Richie Biswell and the #79 of Mike Shockency. Anderson found himself WAY out front when he came to the checkered flag in first place, and Lappin finished 2nd. Several cars got together coming out of turn 4 on the last lap, but Biswell was able to avoid the mayhem and finished 3rd, followed by Shockency in 4th.

The #97P of Phil Johns started Modified heat #4 on the pole, and out front is where he stayed. Johns got a good jump on the start and moved out to a comfortable lead, but the #26 of JD Beal was coming up fast, putting the pressure on Johns by lap #3. Johns was able to hold onto the lead, finishing 1st. Beal came in 2nd, followed by the #23S of Flip Shickle in 3rd, and the C40 of Mike Chasteen in 4th.

The #711 of Kelly Pritchard started Hobo Heat #2 from the 5th spot, but by lap #2, Pritchard had already maneuvered his way to the front. The #77T of Willie Heinz, who started 4th, was closing in, having moved himself into 2nd place. Heinz almost got turned around trying to make a move under Pritchard in turns 1 & 2, and opened the door for the #8 car of Eric Wisher. Pritchard hung on for the win, followed by the Wisher in 2nd and Heinz finishing 3rd.

Late Model Heat #1 saw an early caution flag when the #59 of Morey Denney and the #29J of Lindell Jewell got together in turn 2. There was a lot of sheet metal damage to Denney, forcing him to pull into the pits. The #19 of Tim Morris got a good restart, but by the 2nd lap, the M1 of Dale Munson was putting the pressure on. Munson tried to get under Morris on lap #2, but couldn't complete the pass. On lap #5, Munson tried the high side of turn #4, and was able to take the lead. Munson held the lead to finish first, with Morris right behind in 2nd. The F13 of Dawn Mennel had a 3rd place finish, followed by Jewel in 4th.

Late Model Heat #3 saw the #10M of Chad Pratt quickly move up from a 5th to 3rd on the first lap, but Pratt spins on lap #2 trying to get a run on the #11 of Brad Denney. The #14 of Brett Nelson, who started in the 4th spot, quickly moved his way up to the front, and was able to hold on to the lead for the win. There was a lot of good racing for 2nd between Denney and the #68 of Lance Alcorn, but Alcorn was able to capture 2nd place. Denney finished 3rd, followed by Pratt in 4th.

Pro Street Heat #2 saw the #37 of Greg Arnett start on the pole. Arnett got a good start and jumped out to a BIG lead. A great race was shaping up for 2nd place between the #18 of Terry Pratt, the 31K of Ken Gresham, and #C90 of John Farris. There was a lot of shuffling back and forth between the drivers, but Farris was able to get a great run through turns 3 & 4 to beat the others to the flag. Pratt finished 3rd, followed by Gresham in 4th.

Ken Gresham, the driver of the #31K Pro Street, was another one of the drivers we had the opportunity to meet this week. Ken races with us from Metamora, Illinois. Pit members on the #31K team include Chris Mitchell, Butch McLeary, and Ken Gresham, and the team is sponsored by Armature Motor & Pump and K B Motor Specialist. Ken's biggest fans are Alyssa, and his Mom, Lucy. When asked how his car was running, Ken said not too bad, but it was pushing and they were going to try a new set up. It looked like they hit the set up right, because Ken's car was handling GREAT in the heat race. Ken's goals for the season include a heat race win, and a top 5 feature finish. The driver he looks up to the most is Mike Chasteen, because Mike has helped him on his car and has always been open with him about strategies. Ken likes Spoon River Speedway because it's big, smooth, and roomy, and the thing he likes the least in the payouts. If he could change anything, Ken would like to see more people come to the races to cheer the driver on. Our thanks to Ken for taking the time to talk to us. We wish him & his team GREAT success this season.

Thunder Tuck Heat race #1 was next on the schedule. The #28 of Ron Wilson and the #28W of Eric Wisher were out front by lap #2 after starting in the 2nd and 3rd positions. A good battle for 3rd place was going on between the #88 of Dave Collins and the #8 of Dave Collins, but it only allowed the Wilson & Wisher to move further ahead of the rest of the pack. Ron Wilson held on the win, followed by Eric Wisher in 2nd, Dave Collins #88 in 3rd, and Dave Collins #8 in 4th. I sure hope they split these guys up into different heats next week; this one got confusing trying to keep track of who was who!!

There were so many modified in attendance tonight that there had to be 2 Semi-Features, with the top 2 finishers in each race advancing to the feature. Modified Semi #1 saw the #25 of Butch Weisser, who started in the 3rd position, move into the lead around the #17 of Rick Scott, Jr. by turn #4. Weisser "checked out" from there, with no real challenged for the lead. Caution came out on lap #8 when the #67 car lost a spring. Only three cars finished the semi, with Weisser in 1st, followed by Rick Scott in 2nd, and the #69 of Randy Stuber in 3rd.

The driver of the #4T modified, Tony Hibser, was able to take some time between races to talk to us. Tony comes from Bartonville to race at Spoon River Speedway. The pit crew for the #4T includes Jeff, Gary, and Bobby, and the team is sponsored by A & A Heating, All Type Heating, Madison Theater, Monroe Properties, Dave's Body Shop, Modgulin Wallboard, and Hibbard Electric. Tony's biggest fans are his wife, Tammy, and his daughters, Jenelle and Jordan. When we asked Tony how his car was running, he said "good". Tony's goal for the evening was a good finish. The driver he looks up to the most is his brother, Jim Hibser. Jim's a great modified driver, and they help each other out all the time. The thing Tony likes the most about Spoon River Speedway is that the track is so fast, and the thing he likes the least is the dust. Tony wanted to wish all the other drivers "Good Luck" this season. Our thanks to Tony for taking the time to talk to us. We'd like to add our names to his "biggest fans" list, and we wish him a safe & successful racing season.

Modified Feature vent was next on the agenda. The 331 of Mark Anderson, who started on the pole, jumped out to a good lead, but something went away on the car going down the backstretch and he pulled off the track. The #72 of Brian Lynn took the lead on the restart, with the #M21 of Dale Munson right behind. A big group of cars got together in turn #2, and Lynn was also forced to leave the race due to mechanical problems, so Munson assumed the lead, followed by the #23S of Flip Shickle and the #97P of Phil Johns. The "Man on a Mission" was the #25 of Butch Weisser. Weisser came from a 16th place starting position all the way up to 4th place by the 6th lap. Something went away on the #22B of Richie Biswell, and the caution came out again when he couldn't get his car off the track. While under caution, the race leader, Dale Munson, gets sent to the pits with a broken traction bar, which moves Johns to the lead. Johns had a good restart, but couldn't hold the lead for long. Weisser does some pretty impressive driving in turns 3 & 4 to take the lead. Weisser easily pulls away from the rest of the pack and gets his first checkered flag of the season. The #26 of JD Beal had another strong finish coming in 2nd, followed by Johns in 3rd, and the #192 of Brian Allen in 4th.

The Hobo Feature winner, Willie Heinz in the #77T, was nice enough to take time out of his busy night and talk to us earlier in the evening. Willie comes from Peoria to race at Spoon River Speedway. Willie is his own pit crew, doing all the work on his car himself. His biggest fan is Jim. When we asked Willie how his car is running, he replied "hot", which explains his goal for the evening - not to overheat. I don't know what the temperature gauge was reading in his car, but Willie was "BURNIN' UP" the track during his feature!! The driver he looks up to the most is Dawn Mennel because she's a good driver. The thing he likes the most about SRS is that it's so BIG, and there's lots of room to race. When asked what he liked the least, he answered "Nothin'". Congratulation to Willie on a great feature win, and we wish you the best of luck throughout the rest of the season.

The Pro Street Feature saw the #18 of Terry Pratt, who started on the pole, jump out front for an early lead. The race was plagued by cautions, at least 5 yellow flags came out before the race was over. The #C90 of John Farris got a great run and took the lead on the 2nd lap, with the #27 of Greg Arnett quickly moving into 3rd. A caution came out on lap #3 for the #69 of Tim Faulkenberry getting turned around. Farris had a good restart, with Pratt and Arnett trading paint down the straightaway fighting for 2nd. Caution came out again on lap #6, and the #81K of Mark Ross was having a strong run, finding himself all the up to 2nd place on the restart. Another yellow came out when the Gresham gets into the front stretch mine tires after some contact with the #51 of Don Cooley. On the restart, Ross was able to get around Farris for the lead coming out of turn #2, bringing Pratt along with him. The #81K of Mark Ross held onto the lead for the win, and the #C90 of John Farris worked his way back up to a 2nd place finish. The #101 of Richard Cozad finished 3rd, followed by the Pratt in 4th.