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After being rained out in what was supposed to be the season opener, Galesburg Speedway was able to get in their first 5-1 show of the season.  The car count for each division was above average.  Opening night would prove to be an explosive night to kick off the 2009 season.  The crowd on hand stuck it out in the cold weather to see some great racing.

The Street Stock division started the night’s dash racing with 2007 Street Stock division champion Matt Elsey No. 36x making his way to the front.  Bryon Noble No.37 lead, but couldn't hold off Elsey for the win.  In heat 1, Lance Gary No. 21 and Travis Loop No.27 fought their way from the tail to battle for the win.  Loop went on to the victory with Gary holding off Mark Lang, Jr's No.17 for 2nd place.  Heat 2 had some action as well, as Chuck Wilhelm No.3 made his way from the 7th starting position beating out Bill Rabidau No.12r. for first place.  The Street Stocks 25 lap feature had all 20 competitors battling it out.  Travis Loop No. 27 had made his way to the front in the first seven laps, and was running very strong.  Mid-way through the race Mark Lang, Jr’s night ended as his motor in his No.14 blew going into turn one. This was one of many mishaps for the street stock division drivers as earlier in the feature Michael Kerber No.83 was pushed off the backstretch onto the backstretch barriers.  Later in the feature Crissy Bresett spun out of turn four into the wall to end her night.  Meanwhile, Loop couldn't hold off the hard charging John Foote Jr. No.11 Kevin England No.13, and Matt Elsey No.36. Problems continued to ensue as England had over heating issues.  With just 5 laps remaining the No.36 Elsey machine went up in smoke with a transmission issue only to return to the track before clean up had finished.  Elsey managed to finish 6th in the closing laps.  Up front, there was no contest for first as John Foote never looked back after reaching the lead.  Travis Loop, due to the problems with the before mentioned Elsey, and England, hung on for 2nd with Bryon Noble No.37 Finishing third Michael Kerber No. 83 fought his way back to a strong 4th place after his early incident on the back stretch.  Rick Deskins No. 69 rounded out the top five.

"My Dad deserves the credit.  He's been around racing so long.  The car felt unbeatable.  We worked all winter to get here," said Foote, Jr.  "I'd like to thank R.J., Kevin, and Rodney for all their hard work," he added.

The Sportsman division was the most explosive division of the night with a host of first timers.  In the dash Adam Drobney No.98, after a 3year absence from racing due to back problems, started on the pole of his first ever dash.  Lap 2 problems ensued for Simmie Hicks Jr. No. 10 as control problems took Hicks over the turn 3 embankment. On the restart Drobney would take the green and go on to win his first ever Sportsman dash.  First time Sportsman driver Chris Garrett No.31 would hold off Bill Hartman No.2 for the 2nd place finish.

Heat 1 had Matt Frazier No.97 showing dominance from the start of the race.  Frazier started 6th but quickly maneuvered his way to the lead in a few laps.  Once reaching the front, Frazier checked out.  Josh Trammell No.82 who started 5th couldn't reel in the No.97 rocket as he had to settle for 2nd with Brent Webster No.88xl rounding out the top 3.
Dominating fashion continued in heat 2. This time the outside pole sitter Alan Reaume No.3 checked out on the drop of the green flag.  Reaume led all 8 laps of the heat race for his 1st win of the season.  5th place starter Russell Richter No. 396 made his way to 2nd but ran out of time to catch Reaume.

The Sportsman Feature delivered the fire works that got the crowd on their feet.  When the 17 car field got the green, the action began.  Early heat winner Alan Reaume No.3 jumped out to an early lead that was short lived.  Matt Frazier, who dominated the 1st heat race earlier in the night, put on a racing clinic. Just missing the dash by a tenth of a second, Frazier motored through the field quickly. Webster, No. 88xl tangled with Josh Trammell No.82 and Chris Garrett No. 31. in a nasty crash right in the middle of the front straight away wall a third of the way through the 35 lap feature.
"31 got loose, 82 tried to avoid it I had no where to go", said Webster. “It was just one of those racing deals, no body wants to wreck.” he added.
"Its just one of those racing incidents." said Trammell, fighting back disappointment.

"I got high into the wall, into the loose stuff.  I took two cars with me.”, said Chris Garrett. “I tried to apologize,” he added admitting fault.  None of the three were able to continue the race.
After the restart, Frazier continued to lead as fast qualifier and 2008 Sportsman Champion Jim Wooden made his way up to 2nd.  Wooden tried high and low to pass Frazier for the lead.  As the laps started to run out on the feature so did the chances for Wooden.  Frazier and Wooden put on a great show for the frozen fans in attendance, ultimately Frazier pulled off the biggest win of the night and his first ever Sportsman A feature win.

"Matt ran a good race tonight,” Said Wooden. “I couldn't get around him. The outside was no good tonight," added Woodin.

"We were tight all night long.  We'll change things and get ready for next week,” said a modest Matt Frazier.

The Late Model division had a car count of 15 just three shy of the eighteen car field that Galesburg normally starts as their A feature. In the dash, Chuck Greer No.84 held off Jesse Vanavery No.38 on the green flag start to take the lead.  Greer the inside pole sitter then kept Jeff Vochaska at bay to hold on to the 6 lap dash victory.  Todd Foote No.10 held off fast qualifier, John "Torch" Osterhouse No.27 to finish 3rd.  In the Heat race, Don Jenkins No.V7 had a little opening day rust spinning twice at the beginning of the race. On the third restart of the race, Jeff Bozell No.63 took his Hudson Racing Late model to the front.  Ken Kirby No.00 tried to chase down Bozell but fell short, as Bozell went on to win the eight lap race.  Otis Jenning No. 11 fought back after an early race spin to capture 3rd.

The Late Model feature brought the fans attention.  2008 track Champion Scott Rugg No. 49 started on the pole for the main event with Marty Crawford No. X starting along side the pole sitter.  After qualifying eighth quick, and not finishing the heat race, Scott Rugg was all business in the feature.  The green flag dropped and the pole sitters raced side by side for a few laps until Rugg pulled ahead.  This was all he would need.  "There was a lot of oil on the track before our race.  The car was real good.  I knew I needed to protect the bottom," said Rugg.  That is what he did, as Crawford bumped and banged trying all but going to the outside to get around Rugg.  There wasn't a whole lot of movement in the lineups as passing was scarce.  Rugg held on for his first feature win of the season.  Crawford held off 3rd place finisher Chuck Greer No.84 to finish 2nd.  Jeff Vochaska No. 45 finished 4th from his 5th starting position, followed John "Torch" Osterhouse No.27 finishing 5th from his 8th place starting position.

The Mini-Stock division was running with a short car count, as only 12 Mini’s were on hand.  The dash saw fast qualifier Mike Govier No.46 creeping up through the field to the 2nd place position.  Govier ran out of laps as pole sitter Ken Taylor No.27 edged him out for the victory.  Shane Clark No.02 finished 3rd after starting on the outside pole. In the heat race 6th place starter Jeff Presock No.10 beat Scott Hitt No.03 to the front to take home the win.  Joe Gonzales No. 29 kept the lead spot warm until Presock was able to get there.  Gonzales finished 3rd.

In the 20 lap Mini-Stock feature, it didn't take long for the No. 27 of Ken Taylor and the No. 02 of Shane Clark to make their way through traffic, starting 6th and 7th respectively.  Near the half way point of the race, Scotty Hitt No.03 and fast qualifier Mike Govier No.46 split sides of a lapped car that just caught the rear of Govier’s No. 46 machine.  This sent Govier sliding sideways into the wall.  Also caught up in the incident was the No. 03 of Hitt.  Both cars had damage although Govier’s was too damaged to continue. After going back green, the No. 0 of Rick Gale quietly made his way to the front to contend against Clark and Taylor for the lead.  Taylor would hold off Gale for the victory.  Clark while having some issue on the track would hold off Rick Mann Sr. for fourth.  Thomas Wildsmith, Jr. No.54 would finish 3rd after starting on the pole.

In the new Burgstock division Greg Lapierre No.88 would draw the pole position for the heat and feature. This was an advantage that Lapierre didn't really need, as he dominated both races, leading every lap in the Burgstock division.  Robert Mason No.01 finished 2nd in the heat, followed by Gary Wade No.2. The feature had Wade finishing a distant second, with Travis Goodwin No.17 rounding out the top three. The Burgstock division had only 6 cars entered in the racing venue as other will be joining in weeks to come.

With week one finally in the books, one can only guess how things will shape up for the championships.  Come check out MICHIGAN'S only 5 division venue.  See what happens next....