By Tony Baranek
The sky was alive all around her. But Makayla Hall was faster than lightning Friday night at Grundy County Speedway.
Most important, she was faster than the rest of the Super Cups field in capturing the first feature race of her career.
The 13-year-old from Custer Park led wire-to-wire in the second of two main events. Her closest challenge on the oval was Mak Regnerus, but she also had distractions with intermittent rain and distant lightning.
"I was seeing the raindrops on my windshield and then I was seeing the lightning," Hall said. "I was just thinking, 'What if they stop the race?' But I just kept going, kept my mind on doing what I needed to do.
"I didn't know I was going to be able to do it. I had a rough first feature where I got stopped by some slow traffic. But in the second race, everything went right. That final lap was terrifying ... but it was fun!"
Hall is in her fifth season of racing.
My cousin Colten Alexander, he raced pure stocks," Hall said. "So we were out here every single weekend watching him. When they said you could race these cars if you were eight or older, I started begging my dad until he eventually got me into one.
"It was pretty scary the first time. I was a wuss," Hall added, laughing. "I barely did anything out there."
Hall would become a regular competitor in the Super Cups. She has had her fair share of time running near the front, but victory lane proved elusive.
"Oh, it was so frustrating," Hall said. "Time after time I was almost there, and I just fell down. It has definitely been a learning experience."
Friday night she left no doubt, beating Regnerus by 1.029 seconds. Camden Grommes was third, followed by Evander Peterson, Zak Chanda and. Ken Slavicek,
In the first Super Cups feature, Grommes came from the third row starting spot to win. He shot from fifth to first in just three laps, and cruised the rest of the way. Regnerus had a solid run to finish second, followed by Richard Bischof III, Evander Peterson, Ken Slavicek and Zak Chanda.
"We stuck it on the outside, and I caught a brief moment where they went high and I went low," Grommes said. "It worked out good for me."
The Big 8 late models had their biggest field of the season, with Clayton Storey and Jake Gille coming away victorious.
Storey, a Wisconsin native, jumped in front early in the first race and looked to be in charge, before being challenged with 10 laps remaining by Franc Beldowski. Storey protected his line, and then eased away at the finish to win by 1.040 seconds. Jake Gille was third, followed by Carter Nilson, fast qualifier Eddie Hoffman, and Landry Potter.
"Yeah, Franc tracked me down," Storey said. "My spotter kept saying that he was a half-a-tenth faster than me. I know that Franc is one heck of a driver. I just needed to stay consistent, and make sure I could keep hooked up and not fall off."
The win was Storey's first at Grundy.
"My second time ever racing here and third time for our group," Storey said. "My dad came here in 2014 with the Mid-Am cars. When I came here about three weeks ago I thought, 'Man, this place is fun. Why not come back?'
This is actually the first win by a Storey ever in Illinois. It's pretty cool for us."
In the second feature, Hoffman led most of the way before being passed in traffic by Gille with just three laps remaining. Gille went on to beat Beldowski. Hoffman finished third, with Adam Hebb, Steve Rubeck and Joshua Lundy completing the top six.
"I was already catching him, but the lapped car definitely made it easier to pounce on it," Gille said. "Honestly, my car just got better as it went. I think the long green run probably helped us.
"On the pass, I was there. (Hoffman) didn't think I was, and we made contact. I tried let him save it, but at some point you've gotta go. So I went and got the win. I'm excited. I'm just happy the rain held off."
In the Mid-Am class, a wild first feature saw Ricky Mathis Jr., and Cameron Preisler swap the lead before the two collided with just two laps remaining. Dean Patterson was in the right place at the right time, taking over the top spot and staying there the rest of the way.
"I saw those guys battling," Patterson said. "I thought it was some pretty good racing. They were bouncing off of each other, but they held it for a little bit.
"I was just waiting for the opportunity, and there it was. My car's toe is knocked out already. I had kind of a cranky car, but it held on. It was some fun racing."
Landon Hocking gave Patterson a good run at the finish, but Patterson prevailed by 0.248 seconds. Cameron Vandermeir was third, followed by Matt Chester, Matt Clemens and Gavin Slusarczyk.
In the second feature, Preisler bounced back strong, leading from start to finish. Hocking once again finished a competitive second, ahead of James Dean, Slusarczyk, Chester and Peyton Craig.
"Oh man, I was worried after that first feature," Preisler said. "Toward the end, the car did not drive anywhere near good. Luckily we got a good start in the second feature.
"I usually don't want to win from the first row. But after the night we had, I'll take it. My guys worked their tails off to get this thing back together, and we got it done just in time."
Jakob Slusarczyk and Mason Meister were the winners in the two features held in the pure stocks class.
In the first race, Slusarczyk came from the third row and methodically worked his way up. He finally caught leader Jeremia Rychecky with eight laps remaining. The two had contact, before Slusarczyk made the pass.
Meister came on strong late to claim second, ahead of Dominic Matts, Dan Schmeissing, Matt Ciara and Dustin Massolle.
"I was rolling my line and he kind of backed up on me," Slusarczyk said. "I didn't think I was going to get him that loose, but he must have tried to correct it or something. It almost ended bad, but we got through it."
Meister followed up his good run in the first race by flipping the script with Slusarczyk. This time it was Meister making the winning pass with just three laps left. Slusarczyk claimed the runnerup spot ahead of Colten Williams, Dylan Roberts, Garrett Evans and Todd Snow.
"Oh, it was a hot one and I'll take it," Meister said. "You know, we went 1-2 in the previous race, and we kind of joked about it. Jakob said, 'In the next race we're running 1-2 again. I got mine, and it's time for you to get yours.'
"I know he let me have that one. He's a great guy, not selfish."
SUMMARY
Big 8 Late Models
Fast time: Eddie Hoffman (15.718)
1st 25-lap feature: 1. Clayton Storey, 2. Franc Beldowski, 3. Jake Gille, 4. Carter Nilson, 5. Eddie Hoffman, 6. Landry Potter, 7. Steve Rubeck, 8. Joshua Lundy, 9. Adam Hebb, 10. Keith Pierce, 11. Mike Dimand, 12. Kevin Anderson, 13. Nolan Woods, 14. Wesley Dennis.
2nd 25-lap feature: 1. Jake Gille, 2. Franc Beldowski, 3. Eddie Hoffman, 4. Adam Hebb, 5. Steve Rubeck, 6. Joshua Lundy, 7. Keith Pierce, 8. Mike Dimand, 9. Kevin Anderson, 10. Nolan Woods, 11. Wesley Dennis.
Mid-Ams
Fast time: Cameron Preisler (16.027)
1st 25-lap feature: 1. Dean Patterson, 2. Landon Hocking, 3. Cameron Vandermeir, 4. Matt Chester, 5. Matt Clemens, 6. Gavin Slusarczyk, 7. James Dean, 8. Cameron Preisler, 9. Timmy Spatz, 10. Aric Vandermeir, 11. Peyton Craig, 12. Phil Speciale, 13. Rickey Mathis Jr., 14. Kevin Murphy, 15. John Ventrello.
2nd 25-lap feature: 1. Cameron Preisler, 2. Landon Hocking, 3. James Dean, 4. Gavin Slusarczyk, 5. Matt Chester, 6. Peyton Craig, 7. Rickey Mathis Jr., 8. Dean Patterson, 9. Matt Clemens, 10. Timmy Spatz, 11. Aric Vandermeir, 12. John Ventrello, 13. Phil Speciale, 14. Cameron Vandermeir.
Pure Stocks
Fast time: Dylan Roberts (19.200)
1st 25-lap feature: 1. Jakob Slusarczk, 2. Mason Meister, 3. Dominic Matts, 4. Dan Schmeissing, 5. Matt Ciara, 6. Dustin Massole, 7. Jeremia Rychecky, 8. Garrett Evans, 9. Aiden Schultz, 10. Colten Williams, 11. Mike Glenn, 12. Matthew Arnold, 13. Joe Norton, 14. Christy Zegar, 15. Edward Davies, 16. Phillip Arnold, 17. Connor Madigan, 18. Aaron Vines, 19. Jeffrey Turner, 20. Andrew Randall, 21. Jackson Martindale, 22. Jason Turner, DQ: Todd Snow, Dylan Roberts.
2nd 25-lap feature: 1. Mason Meister, 2. Jakob Slusarczyk, 3. Colten Williams, 4. Dylan Roberts, 5. Garrett Evans, 6. Todd Snow, 7. Matthew Arnold, 8. Aiden Schultz, 9. Dan Schmeissing, 10. Andrew Randall, 11. Christy Zegar, 12. Phillip Arnold, 13. Edward Davies, 14. Joe Norton, 15. Connor Madigan, 16. Jeremia Rychecky, 17. Mike Glenn, 18. Dustin Massole, 19. Jeffery Turner, 20. Dominic Matts, 21. Jackson Martindale, 22. Jason Turner, DQ: Matt Ciara.
Super Cups
Fast time: Camden Grommes (19.510)
1st 15-lap feature: 1. Camden Grommes, 2. Mak Regnerus, 3. Richard Bischof III, 4. Evander Peterson, 5. Ken Slavicek, 6. Zak Chanda, 7. Makayla Hall, 8. Michael Sikord.
2nd 15-lap feature: 1. Makayla Hall, 2. Mak Regnerus, 3. Camden Grommes, 4. Evander Peterson, 5. Zak Chanda, 6. Ken Slavicek, 7. Richard Bischof III, 8. Michael Sikord