Donnellson, IA (Friday, May 28, 2010) - It was finally back to Friday Night Thunder in the Heartland at the Lee County Speedway, as it was the second night for points in 2010. Jeff Aikey (IMCA Late Models), Michael Long (IMCA Modifieds), Jeff Mueller (IMCA Stock Cars), Jason Cook (IMCA SportMods), Dan Wenig (Hobby Stocks) and Gabe Harrison (Wild Things) took home feature wins in there respective classes.
The first feature to take to the speedway was the 15 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Corey Strothman and Dave Warth leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Strothman would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1, with Warth battling Jim Redmann and Chris Webb for second. Jeff Mueller, who started 9th, quickly worked the bottom of the speedway to move under Strothman on lap 3 to take over the top spot. Mueller then started to pull away from the field, when the first of 2 cautions would appear on lap 5. Chris Webb would spin in turn 3. On the restart Mueller moved back out front, with Redmann working to hold off Matt Greiner, who started 7th, and Jason Cook, who started 10th. The final caution of the race would come out on lap 14 when a tire was clipped and thrown out onto the racing surface in turn four. Mueller again jumped out into the lead on the restart and then held on over the final 2 laps to pick up his first win of 2010 at the speedway. Greiner was credited with 2nd, Redmann was giving 3rd, Cook crossed the checkered in 2nd but was docked 2 spots for jumping the final restart to get 4th, with Abe Huls coming home in 5th.
Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Rob Kirchner and Dean McGee on the front row. Kirchner would grab the lead on the drop of the green flag and then held it until lap 4 when Jeff Waterman, who started 7th, slipped by for the top spot. Waterman had the lead for one lap, as Michael Long, who started 9th, jumped to his outside to grab the top spot. After the completion of lap 5 the first of 2 cautions would come out, as Dustin Crear spun in turn 2. On the restart Long moved out into the lead, with Waterman, Rich Smith and Brandon Rothzen, who started 10th, battling it out for second. Long started to pull away and lap cars until the final caution came out on lap 10 when Kirk Hopkins spun in turn 2. Once again Long grabbed the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 10 lap to pick up his third win of 2010 at the track. Rothzen won the battle for 2nd, Smith was 3rd, Josh Foster came from 11th to finish in 4th, with Waterman holding on for 5th.
T.J. Criss and Boone McLaughlin drew the front row for the 25 lap IMCA Late Model feature, with McLaughlin grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution of the event would come out on lap 4 when Rob Toland came to a stop on the backstretch. On the restart McLaughlin jumped back out into the lead. While McLaughlin started to pull away from the field Jeff Aikey, who started 5th, and Mark Burgtorf, who started 7th, were battling there way to the front. Aikey would slip under McLaughlin on lap 15 to take over the top spot, but was slowed one lap later as a caution would come out for Lynn Monroe who slowed down the backstretch. Aikey moved out front on the restart, with Burgtorf getting by McLaughlin for second. Burgtorf started to put pressure on Aikey for the lead, when the final caution came out on lap 21 when Tommy Elston spun in turn 4. Once again Aikey jumped out front on the restart and then held off a last lap challenge from Burgtorf to claim the win. McLaughlin held on for 3rd, Denny Woodworth came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Lonnie Bailey rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Jeremiah Fry and Rick Barlow Jr. on the front row. Fry would get sideways going down the front stretch on the drop of the green and collected Mike Shelton to bring the caution out. On the restart Jacob Smith grabbed the top spot, with Jason Cook following him into second. Cook would slip under Smith on lap 2 to take over the lead. Another caution would come out on lap 8 when Nathan Murders came to a stop in turn 4. On the restart Cook again grabbed the lead, but was quickly slowed for another caution on lap 9 when a tire was knocked out into the groove in turn 4. Cook again jumped out front on the restart, with Phillip Cossel close behind in second. The final caution of the event came out on lap 12 when Steve Hodson spun in turn 3. Once again Cook moved out front on the restart and then led the final 3 laps to pick up his first win of 2010 in the SportMod class. Rodger Dresden came from 9th to finish in 2nd, Cossel held on for 3rd, Rod Staats started 13th and passed 9 cars to finish in 4th, with Shelton recovering from the lap 1 crash to take home a 5th place finish.
Gabe Harrison and Rex Smart led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 12 lap Wild Thing feature. A caution for debris on the start would set up a complete restart. On the restart Harrison took advantage of his front row start to grab the top spot on lap 1. Another caution would come out after the completion of the lap, as a bumper was dropped on the front stretch. Dakota Fenton would get around Harrison on the restart to take over the lead on lap 2. But another caution after the completion of the lap 2 would slow the field again. This time it was for a crash in turn 2 involving Kimberly Abbott, Matt Marshall and John Friedhoff. On the restart Chuck Fullenkamp would loose a tire in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Harrison would get back by Fenton on the restart to take the lead back. Harrison then had to work to hold off Jerry Ostby over the final laps in order to claim the win. But a caution on lap 10 for a tire would put an end to the battle up front, as the time limit had expired on the event. Harrison took the win, Michael Grossman came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Fenton held on for 3rd, William Michel was 4th, with Don DeMint coming home in 5th.
The final feature of the night was the 15 lap Hobby Stocks, with Dan Wenig and Bob Cowman on the front row for the event. Wenig would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1. Wenig then pulled away from the field to pick up the win in a caution free event. Tanner Thomann came home in 2nd, Jeremy Pundt was 3rd, Jim Lynch was 4th, with Victor Hastings rounding out the top 5.
LCS Notes: 24 Late Models, 20 Modifeds, 20 Wild Things, 19 SportMods, 18 Hobby Stocks and 15 Stock Cars made up the 116 cars signed for competition......Cale Samberg came from 13th to finish 7th in the Stock Car feature....Luke McLaughlin came from 14th and passed 6 cars to finish in 8th in his first Stock Car start in 2010....Strothman's bad luck continued, as he pulled in on the lap 5 caution with mechanical troubles while running 2nd......Adam Birck passed 8 cars from his 15th starting spot to take home a 7th place finish in the Modified feature......Justin Reed started 15th in the Late Model feature and had worked his way up to 5th by lap 21. But he would get sideways going into turn 3 on the restart and fell back to finish in 11th......Rich Uppinghouse came from 16th in the SportMod feature and passed 7 cars to take home a 9th place finish....Mitch Higdon and Thad Gaylord would watch the feature from the trailers. After the checkered flag in the heat race both cars spun down the front stretch, with both drivers getting out of there cars and throwing punches. As a result both drivers were disqualified for the remainder of the night......Derek Randall started 12th in the Wild Thing feature and passed 6 cars to finish in 6th....Chris Loring Jr. came from 19th to finish in 7th....Seth Woodruff finished 8th after starting in 14th....Jerry Ostby was put to last for his acitons after the checkered was waved. He and Harrison were battling for the lead on lap 10, when Ostby tried to get under Harrison going into turn 3. He would clip a tire to bring out the caution and fell back to 5th. But he would come up to spin Harrison out on the front stretch after the race was over to be put to last in the finishing order......Andy Coleman started 12th and passed 6 cars to finish in 6th in the Hobby Stock feature....Jim Oliver Jr. came from 15th to finish in 8th....You sure could tell the full moon was out in full force on the night, LOL!
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