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Racing with him was the People's Choice winner at the pre-season car show Dean Roe. Dean is driving a Mazda in the Hornet class and last raced 30 years ago.

Another driver I checked with was Mike Stearns. He had just the Modified on hand on Sunday, finding that running two race cars three nights a week is just too much to handle. Reporting that his Modified was feeling really good after some adjustments recently, he later settled for fourth in the main event.

The track did get a bit bumpy but not untolerable as the evening progressed. They worked on it, packing the cushion after nearly every race and doing a bit of blade work following the heats. While it wasn't perfect, it was more than raceable with multiple grooves and the high side really picking up at the end.

It was a special night as the track honored the memory of Midwest Modified driver Danny Hall, who passed away this week after a battle with cancer. Hall was a longtime competitor at the track and from Watertown, so he was known by many. The track and Midwest Mod drivers honored him with the Missing Man salute for their main event.

I did not know Hall well but remember talking to him a few times in the pits when I was visiting Casino. Back in the day before the new pits were built and everyone was pitting on the very uneven ground behind the back chute, I remember joking with him about how he could park his race car and trailer on such a uneven piece of ground.

The Mid Mod feature winner seemed almost destined, as veteran driver Terry Reilly led from start to finish to win the main event, fighting off considerable challenges from Todd Stark to get the win. And when Reilly announced in victory lane that he had Ford power under the hood, it’s like it was just meant to be — Hall was a staunch Ford backer and always ran Ford motors in his cars, having Blue Oval stickers plastered on his race cars.

Reilly is a story too. Having raced Sprint Cars for decades when he and Lonnie Nichols towed all over the Midwest running every fair and track, he has returned in recent years to race locally in the Mid Mod class and seems to have his best car ever this year.

Hess’s win in the Street Stock feature was a good one, having chased Maria Broksieck from the drop of the green flag until lap 18 when he got by with just two laps to go. He tried both high and low and finally found a run where he could sneak inside Maria and grab the lead just near the end.

It was an excellent night for Tyler Peterson, who won both the Modified and Late Model main events. He started on the pole in the Mod feature, found the high line to be working well and simply walked away from the pack, winning by nearly a full straightaway over Joseph Thomas.

The Late Model win was much tougher. He trailed Ryan Engels for the first 13 laps before getting up on the wheel and driving around Engels for the lead. Engels had driven a good race, fighting off challenges for a number of laps before TPO got some “elbows up” and was able to make the pass. Engels continued his strong run, finishing second with Jayson Good third.

Jeff Rohner looks like he will be very strong in the Hornet class once again in 2025. He started on the pole and led the entire distance to win the final race of the night. However, he was challenged hard by Bobie Arnes right up until the time that Arnes rolled a right front tire off the rim and then was forced to just limp around to the finish. Adam VanDerostyne then took over second and finished there.

The field of drivers was not a large one on Sunday, but when a quick show is the hope, two heats and a main event in each class worked out nicely.

A regular show is scheduled for the coming week during the Memorial Day weekend holiday and then the Structural Buildings Challenge Series runs at the track the following week.

Although he was somewhere on the grounds I'm sure, I never did run into promoter Todd Good but thanks anyway to him and his staff for prevailing and getting the show in under certainly less than ideal conditions.