Race Speical 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

HUMBOLDT SPEEDWAY 2013 Race Preview

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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2 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Rhenda Whitworth and son Ryan have ensured the Humboldt Speedway remains in top shape. The Whitworths are in their first year of operating the race track after the death of Ron Whitworth, Rhenda’s husband and Ryan’s father.

Minus family patriarch, legacy remains Perhaps the greatest testament to Ron Whitworth’s legacy at the Humboldt Speedway is clearest now that he’s gone.

Whitworth and wife Rhenda took over the speedway 24 years ago, to find a dilapidated facility.

“It was a dump,” son Ryan admitted. “It wasn’t in good shape at all.”

But with Ron’s perseverance, the speedway slowly

but surely became one of southeast Kansas’ most popular racing destinations.

The stands eventually were rebuilt, as were the concession, souvenir and pit areas.

But the centerpiece was the three-eighths mile clay track.

Preparing the track’s surface for the weekly races became an art as Whitworth was able to prescribe the

exact amounts of water and compaction to create a clean, lightning fast, racing surface.

But Ron’s death at 49 in December could have changed all that.

In stepped Ryan to take over many of his father’s responsibilities.

“And what you have to remember is most of the rest of the workers out there have been there since the be-

ginning,” track announcer Scott Stewart said. “These people have been there for so long they know what to do to create a good show.”

“Everybody knew what Ron wanted and what Ron expected,” Rhenda said.

“They’ve continued to work that way now that Ron isn’t here, and they’ve continued to do a great job.”

The man in the middle is Ryan, 29, who also assumed

his father’s administrative duties with Whitworth Construction.

His career path took a couple of unexpected turns.

Despite racing at his track, starting as a teenager, Ryan “wanted nothing to do” with running the speedway.

That changed about three years ago when Ryan gave up his driving to help around the track.

See FAMILY | Page 20

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

We are a proud supporter of the Humboldt community!

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4 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Long-time driver continues winning ways It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that if you cut Jeremy Chambers’ finger, you might get motor oil instead of blood.

That’s because racing has been a part of Chambers’ life since he was born — even before then, in fact.

His grandparents, Bud and Bertie Chambers, built the Yates Center Raceway track in 1971 about three years before there was a Jeremy Chambers.

“I grew up around that track,” he recalled.

By 17, Chambers found himself behind the wheel of his first street stock racer.

By a stroke of luck, his first race was at Humboldt Speedway, and not at his grandparents’ track. In another stroke of fate, one of his fellow competitors that night was none other than Ron Whitworth, who later acquired the Humboldt track.

“I don’t remember how that race went,” he said. “All I remember is I weighed all of 110 pounds, and my car didn’t have any power steering. That car worked me over by the time the race was over.”

Chambers, now living in Parsons, continued to race with occasional success, winning his share of features and points championships at the street stock level. He later advanced to the modi-

Jeremy Chambers’ B-mod racecar has a few dings and dents, but it’s still plenty fast. He’s already won this season at Humboldt Speedway. fied series, again claiming his share of checkered flags.

Then life happened.

“With three kids, racing

wasn’t as high on my list,” he said.

With 16- and 6-year-old daughters, Chambers was able to maintain his busy schedule (he also owns his own steel fabrication company out of Oswego).

But when his twin sons were born five years ago, “that put a kink in the race calendar,” Chambers said.

Now, 39, Chambers is in his third year once again as a full-time driver, this time racing in the B-modified series.

“The way these cars have advanced, these B-mods are

about as fast as the modifieds were when I first raced them,” he noted.

Now, Chambers has found a happy medium.

He devotes plenty of time to home and business, and if his schedule accommodates, races a night or two on weekends.

“I’m not that concerned about points,” he said. “I like taking a weekend off now and then.”

He also has the freedom to pick and choose which races he attends.

For example, he raced at

Humboldt last week, then trekked to Topeka for races Saturday night.

His children attend as well. Chambers’ 16-year-old was on hand to keep an eye on one of the twins, while Chambers raced to the B-mod feature win at Humboldt.

“The B-modified series is a good one,” he said. “There’s a lot of good competition, here and elsewhere.”

Chambers also appreciates the Humboldt Speedway.

“This track is excellent,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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6 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Brothers competitive in modified series They’re more than 100 miles from their respective residences in Wichita, but Cody and Bryce Schniepp feel right at home at Humboldt Speedway.

The Schniepp brothers have taken the local racing scene by storm, each aboard his modified racer.

Of course, winning has become something of a family tradition. Their father, Jason Schniepp, and grandfather, Terry Schniepp, are long-revered racers in central Kansas. Jason Schniepp is a twotime NCRA points champion in the modified series.

Now the baton is being passed to Cody, 20, and Bryce, 17, in the most competitive racing series at Humboldt.

That’s just the way they like it.

Cody raced a year in a mini stock series at 81 Speedway before adding the Humboldt Speedway to his weekly racing itinerary. He also went up in class to the modified series.

Bryce’s first full year of racing was in 2012.

“That’s what I like, because the competition is hard,” Cody said.

Hard, but fair, and invariably with clean racers.

“When you’re in the modifieds, you’re going up against

Cody, left, and Bryce Schniepp have gained acclaim for their prowess in the modified series at Humboldt Speedway.

Cody’s car is at bottom left. At bottom right is Bryce’s. drivers like Whitey Folk and Johnny Allen and Scott Daniels, drivers who know what they’re doing. They’ll race you hard, but they’ll race you

clean.”

Add that level of competition to Humboldt’s renowned lightning-fast racing surface, and each week is a memora-

ble one.

“That’s what makes this track so good,” Bryce said.

“You can run pretty much anywhere, top to bottom, and

keep your speed. It makes for some fun, side-by-side racing.”

The Schniepps also have more family to contend with each week. Jerry Schniepp, while helping his grandsons in the pits, also is a fixture in the modified series.

Racing against your brother, as predicted, can lead to a highly competitive atmosphere.

“It’s different,” Cody said, with Bryce nodding in agreement.

“You find yourself trying 10 times harder to win if it’s against your brother,” Bryce added.

See BROTHERS | Page 14

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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8 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

‘Old man’ becomes ‘young pup’ in 2013 CHANUTE — At 45, Ken Colston calls himself “the old man of the pit crew.”

As a member of Todd and Tyler Kidwell’s entourage at Skid 2 Motorsports out of Chanute, Colston has spent much of his life as a fan of dirt track racing.

“Tyler and Todd’s dad, Mike Kidwell, and Ron Whitworth were my two idols,” Colston said. “I loved watching them race.”

He worked with the Kidwells off and on over the past 15 years, both in the garage and in the pits on race days.

What Colston hadn’t done — until last year — was get behind the wheel.

That changed late last summer, when Colston took the wheel on Tyler Kidwell’s pure stock racecar on a couple of races at Humboldt Speedway, and at Nevada, Mo., and Caney tracks.

The stint was transformative — and addictive.

“I was shaking the first time I got out of the car,” Colston recalled. “It was a lot of fun.”

Now, with Tyler Kidwell moving up in the ranks to the B-modified racing series, Colston has a full-time ride.

Colston races Kidwell’s old pure stock car full time, with a few modifications.

The car’s old Cutlass body

Ken Colston, 45, is a newcomer to the racing scene this year in his pure stock series at Humboldt Speedway. has been replaced by a Monte Carlo one, and it has a new paint scheme.

But the car still has the same .355-cubic motor that Kidwell used to win a pure stock points championship at Humboldt.

The revamped auto has a handful of decals, with a prominent logo for Bikers Against Child Abuse. He’s the president of the Chanute BACA chapter.

“I only put on decals I believe in,” he noted. “And I believe in that.”

Now that the “old man” in his pit crew is the “young pup” on the track, Colston is

striving for more success.

He still helps with minor modifications and repairs.

“We just have a pit crew of one — Todd,” Colston said. “He works on both cars, mine and Tyler’s.”

Still, Colston is game to do some of the automotive work himself, gleaning from his years behind the scenes and in the garage.

“If I can’t get it figured out, Todd and Tyler can do it,” he said.

Also on hand for his racing ventures is wife Melissa,

who also is a BACA member and self-confessed racing fan.

“It’s a bit different with Ken behind the wheel,” she said.

Colston admits he’s still learning on the track.

“That track is so fast, and it has a bank to it,” which allows drivers to go even faster than they otherwise would on a flat surface.

Is it nerve-wracking?

Nope.

“This is just the way I like it,” he said with a laugh.

The Iola Register Racing Special

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10 Saturday, April 2, 2013

The Iola Register Spring Sports Special

Racing a family affair for Chanute driver

Michael Kay is a fixture in his No. 16 factory stock racer at Humboldt Speedway. Kay, 21, is in his fifth year of racing at the speedway.

“If I break it, we’ve got to fix it,” he said, “and fixing things ain’t cheap.”

Clean racing also draws

another valuable commodity at Humboldt Speedway — respect.

“You definitely have to

earn your respect around here,” he said. “I’ve never really gotten into the racing that’s so hard that it hurts other drivers.”

Kay has become so attuned to his factory stock race car that quick adjustments between races can be done at the track.

He also relies heavily upon Thurman’s handiwork with the wrench.

“J.T. is the man,” Kay exclaimed. “He’s done a good job.”

Kay also appreciates the Humboldt Speedway facilities, “which are better than 99 percent of the tracks around here,” he said.

Kay offers up some occasional guidance of his own for younger brother, Matthew, who at 14 is a fledgling driver.

“We’re getting him start-

“ You

definitely have to earn your respect around here.

— Matthew Kay, factory stock pilot about racing at Humboldt Speedway

“

Racing has always been a family affair for Patrick Kay. The Chanute driver grew up amid racing enthusiasts.

Vacations tended to wind up at racing meccas such as Talladega and Texas Motor Speedway.

Now 21, Kay continues to whet his racing appetite behind the wheel.

Kay has started his fifth year in the factory stock division at Humboldt Speedway.

He’s achieved moderate success, sprinkling in an occasional win while threatening for the points championship in 2012 (he finished third).

“The pure stock was the cheapest class at the time I got started, and they’re full body cars,” Kay said. “And you can make these cars look pretty good.”

Kay’s racing got a considerable boost from Chanute’s Jason Thurman, who sold him his first racecar.

The car has effectively been rebuilt through the years, just to Kay’s liking.

It’s also why Kay stresses clean racing.

ed,” he said. “Actually, we got him started when he was 12.”

Kay also remains content in factory stock, still a step below the considerably more expensive A- and B-modified racers.

“It’s a fun way to spend a weekend,” said Kay, who also races at Nevada, Mo., and Caney on a regular basis, usually on Saturdays.

Especially for families, just like Kay’s.

The Iola Register Racing Special

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11

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12 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

13

Humboldt Speedway 2013 Schedule of Events April 26 — Midwest Outlaw Vintage Cars May 3 — Daisy Dukes and Cowboy Boots Night May 10 — Factory Stock Challenge May 17 — Kids Night (Bicycle Races) May 24 — Regular Races May 26 — Whitworth Memorial Special — NCRA Sport Mod, B-Mod Challenge ($2,000 to win)

May 31 — Regular Races June 7 — Regular Races June 14 — 5th Annual Old-Timers Reunion June 21 — MLRA Late Models and All Classes June 28 — Midseason Champ’s Red Dirt at The Dirt Track. Travis Martin Band playing after races

July 3 — NCRA Mods Vs. USRA Mods ($2,000 to win) July 12 — Midwest Outlaw Vintage Cars July 19 — Shriners Shine at The Hummer ($1 per person donated to Shriners).

July 26 — Pure Stock Showdown Aug. 2 — Kids Night (Autographs) Aug. 9 — USMTS Modified Special

Aug. 16 — Regular Races Aug. 23 — Regular Races Aug. 30 — Mechanic Races Sept. 6 — Powder Puff and Last Points Night Sept. 21 — Mirza Shrine Combine Derby and Demo Derby Stories and photos by Richard Luken

14 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Above, spacious grounds surrounding Humboldt Speedway provide ample space for hundreds of cars a week in the speedway’s expanded pit area.

Below, Tony Morgan waves the checkered flag during a recent race night.

H Brothers Continued from 6

But only to a point.

One memorable race last year was cut short when the brothers collided.

“He hit me in the left front,” Bryce noted.

Such occurrences are a product of racing, but avoided if at all possible.

After all, the Schniepps also are responsible for repairs.

DEDICATING their Fridays to modified racing at Humboldt already is a fulltime job. While Bryce is still in high school, Cody works full time for the family business, Blue Water Products of Wichita.

“I’ll get off work about 5,

head to the garage, and work until about 11 or so,” Cody said.

Bryce’s hours are similar, unless school duties dictate otherwise.

The Schniepps wouldn’t want it any other way, particularly if it means becoming fixtures at Humboldt for the foreseeable future.

“The thing about racing at Humboldt is they put on a great show each week,” Cody said. “The racing is good, and it’s so organized, the drivers can get in and out quickly.

We still get home from Humboldt about the same time as we do from other tracks, even though the others are closer. It’s because Humboldt is so well run.”

The Iola Register Racing Special

Now is the perfect time to make the move to

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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16 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Bob Johnson’s Flying Red 1 is in the middle of the pack early in a race on the quarter-mile dirt track on West Main Street in Chanute in July 1965.

Register scribe remembers racing roots here

By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com

Today’s flock of high-profile builders and drivers attest to this area’s tradition of being a hotbed of dirt track racing. The sport got its Iola area start in the 1950s with Lapland, a track in Gas that made Al Weiland a household name.

Weiland soon graduated to loftier venues, such as Tulsa and Muskogee where lightning-quick racers churned up tracks every weekend.

Meanwhile, Weiland gave newcomers a hand, with advice and occasional tweaking of a carburetor that starved for fuel when a driver threw his car into a banked corner.

I joined the crowd quite by accident, and before I’d ever heard of Weiland.

I was a student at Pittsburg State in the early 1960s and fell into friendship with Bob Radford, who had experience with dirt track racing in Topeka. Together we attempted to build a track-worthy vehicle.

We threw roll bars into an old second-hand car, replaced exhaust manifold with some straight pipes and thought we had a racer. The unmuffled sound was throaty and

powerful — we found out just how much so in our first race in Fort Scott.

We finished third in the feature — by virtue of there being just three cars finishing, though we conveniently left out that fact when asked how we did.

We muddled around for a year or so before I came to the Register in the summer of 1964.

Weiland entered the picture when I needed something done to the family car.

While he corrected a minor flaw, I became enamored with his familiar No. 37 supermodified, the one that always finished in the money and often won races on the Oklahoma circuit.

That rekindled thoughts of those college racing days and led to a decision, now that I was gainfully employed, to get back in the game.

My first stop was Weiland’s garage. He probably thought I had a screw loose when I brought up the thought of building a race car.

But, as it is with friends, Weiland was accommodating and over a good many cups of coffee, we decided I should do as Weiland did in the 1950s and build up an old

Pronouncements Al Weiland made about race cars rank right up there with the Ten Commandments. If he said it, it was true; ask anyone who’s been around racing in the Iola area.

flathead Ford engine. I think his motivation was that he really wanted another go at the older, and more simple, racing.

The body I settled on was unlikely looking, a 1940s four-door sedan, with a straight axle on the front end that Weiland assured me would make cornering much easier.

Let me interject that pronouncements Weiland made about race cars rank right up there with the Ten Commandments. If he said it, it was true; ask anyone who’s been around racing in the Iola area.

Weiland dug out an old four-barrel aluminum manifold from the loft over his shop, along with an aluminum flywheel, both designed to fit a flathead block. He also had a pair of Canadian aluminum heads that increased compression while reducing

weight. The four-barrel Holley he provided was trackready.

With his help, I had pistons ground to wider dimensions and the crank shaft stroke lengthened to increase the engine’s displacement to 296 cubic inches.

Ray Chard, another friend interested in race cars, helped get the body ready, which included mounting the driver’s seat over the rear end.

The final piece of the puzzle was talking Bill Hillbrant into driving. I never was too bold behind the wheel and knew a veteran such as Hillbrant, improved our chances of doing well.

OUR FIRST race was at the old track on West Main in Chanute.

The evening we pulled in, the old hump-back Ford sedan got a lot of funny looks

from those with newer and sleeker looking cars. Some probably were making book on how long it would take my racer, which did look top heavy, to roll.

Their tune changed by evening’s end, after Bill won his heat and placed close to the front in the A feature in what we called the Flying Red 1.

The Weiland-prepped flathead performed flawlessly, peaking at about 7,000 rpm at the end of each straight and with the stabilizing front axle it flew through corners; cars with coil springs didn’t get around curves nearly as well.

We had a couple of good years, including one wonderful evening on Nevada’s short-quarter track. The old Ford absolutely was built for that oval. We started at the rear of the feature, and won it going away. All other cars were powered by overhead V-8s.

By 1969, I got away from the sport other than in an occasional advisory capacity. Soon thereafter, too many were getting too serious and spending more on engines and cars than I could afford.

But, it was fun while it lasted.

1

The Iola Register Racing Special

#

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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18 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

Humboldt Speedway 2012 points champions

John Allen, Chanute (Modifieds)

Jimmie Davis (B-Mods)

Scott Stuart (Factory Stock)

Tyler Kidwell (Pure Stock)

Photos courtesy of Dayton Sutterby/FinishLine Photography

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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The Iola Register Racing Special

H Family Continued from 2

The decision was precipitated by his father’s decision to expand and improve the facilities surrounding the track.

“The key was we were able to get the track paid off,” Rhenda said. “Up until then, a lot of our money was going into payments. Finally, we were able to start putting money back into improving the facilities.”

In addition, the Whitworths acquired several acres of land immediately south of the track, allowing for a much larger pit area.

The more spacious pits triggered a number of prominent changes, most notably the introduction of the King of America races, starting in 2011, which featured 100 cars or more.

“I knew Dad was going to need help with the track at that point,” Ryan said.

“That’s when I gave up driving to help around the track.”

Three years later, he’s the man in charge.

He has handled potential adversity with a skill set his father would have admired.

Prior to this year’s King of America races in late March — an event delayed a week because of rain — Ryan was responsible for getting the track ready for racing.

Doing so was easier said than done. More than 6 inches of snow covered the track the Monday before the races.

With the ground frozen, Whitworth plowed off the snow, allowing it to melt elsewhere, “which really helped us get the track dry.”

Mother Nature wasn’t done yet. While none of the races were run under rainfall, a series of storms through the week continued to dump moisture onto the

Manning the booth at Humboldt Speedway each week are, from foreground, Karen Clounch, Rhenda Whitworth, Gregg Hutton, Roxanne Hutton and Scott Stewart. track.

“I probably put about 70 or 80 hours on the tractor that week,” he said. “With everybody else’s help, we probably had 100 man hours just in track preparation. And that didn’t even count the work in the pits.

“It was probably the most challenging thing I’ve done in my life,” he said.

Mission accomplished.

Drivers raved repeatedly at the pristine racing surface, which allowed the cars

to maneuver capably along several grooves. The races ran off without a hitch over the three-day event, capped

by Ryan Gustin’s thrilling 100-lap feature win.

“If drivers wanted to run high or low, they were able to,” Rhenda said. “A lot of tracks might have one good groove.”

The King of America competition was the largest dirt-track racing event in the country that weekend.

The stands were near full

and hundreds more watched via live webcast.

THE SPEEDWAY will feature a number of special events over the next 4½ months, including the return of the USMTS modified series Aug. 9.

But it’s the regular racing series, week in and week out, that most fans have come to appreciate.

“That’s what Ron always stressed: to make sure things ran on time and to put on a

good show,” Rhenda said.

“If the races are supposed to start at 8, they start at 8.”

Another new feature has been added to the speedway in 2013.

Humboldt Speedway’s “Party Barn” offers drivers, pit crews and fans alike some free entertainment upon the end of each week’s round of racing action.

“We’ve added a lot over the past few years,” Ryan said.

“Now it’s a matter of maintaining what we have.”

Fast-Lane Smarts

The Iola Register Racing Special

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Good Luck Drivers! Have A Great Season!

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The Iola Register Racing Special

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24 Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Iola Register Racing Special

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