Tipton, IA (Wednesday, June 2, 2011) - On a picture perfect night for racing, the Corn Belt Clash Series race number 2 of the 2011 season invaded the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa on Wednesday. Chris Simpson would get redemption from his let down after leading 47 of the 50 laps at the season opener on Sunday in Nebraska, before loosing an engine. He would pass brother Chad on the white flag lap to claim the win and the $2,000 top prize.
But the first feature on the night was the 20 lap Legends, with Hal Russell and Mike Mueller drawing the front row for the event. Russell would take advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Dominic Bates. Russel then worked to hold back Bates, until the first caution of the race came out on lap 4. Tyler Kelly and Keith Meyer spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Ron Boyse, who was running 7th, spun in turn four as a result from contact from Craig Peekenschneider, who was running 9th, to bring the caution back out. Both drivers were sent to the rear for the restart. Russell moved out front on the restart, with Brett Diercks, who started 10th, quickly moving up to challenge Bates for 2nd. Diercks would clear Bates for the runner up spot on lap 8 and then went to work on Russell for the top spot. On lap 10 Diercks jumped to the top of the speedway to grab the lead away from Russell. Russell tried to get back by Diercks going into 1, but ended up doing a 360 and kept going to fall back to 11th. Diercks would lead the final 10 laps to pick up the win. Adam Bell came from 11th to finish in 2nd, Bates held on for 3rd, Mueller was 4th, with Adrianne Russell coming home in 5th.
Scott Fridley and Ryan Dolan led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 25 lap Modified feature, with Dolan edging out Fridley to grab the lead on lap 1. But Fridley's great run up front only lasted 1 lap, as he spun in turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the event. On the restart Dolan jumped back out into the lead, with Mike Burbridge close behind in 2nd. The final caution of the race would come out on lap 4, when Mike Schump spun in turn 3. Dolan again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Burbridge trying to hold back Bruce Hanford, who started 7th, and Brad Diercks, who started 8th. Dierck would use the bottom of the speedway and the top to work his way into 2nd and then went to work on Dolan for the lead. Diercks, running the bottom, and Dolan, who was up top, would race side by side over the final 9 laps to make for an exciting finish to the Modified feature. Diercks grabbed the lead on lap 16, but was caught behind some lapped cars on lap 19 to give the lead back to Dolan. Diercks didn't give up the bottom grove to get back by Dolan on lap 21. Both Diercks and Dolan fought to the checkered, with Diercks edging out the win coming out of turn 4. Dolan settled for 2nd, Burbridge held on for 3rd, Hanford was 4th, with Chris Zogg rounding out the top 5.
The final event on the night was the 35 lap Late Model feature, with Chad Simpson and brother Chris Simpson leading the field to the green. Chad would edge out Chris at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. After Chad got out front he set a fast pace and had pulled out to a straight away lead over Chris when the 1 and only caution came out on lap 14. Jason Jaggers, who was running 8th, drifted to high in four and went off the track to bring out the yellow. On the restart Chad jumped back out front, with Denny Eckrich getting by Chris for 2nd. Eckrich would work the bottom to get even with Chad on laps 25 and 26. But as the two went into turn 3 on lap 28, they came up on lapped traffic. Eckrich would almost spin to avoid contact and fell back to 3rd, with Chris closing in on brother Chad for the lead. On lap 32, Chris jumped to the top to draw even with Chad. The two came to the white flag side by side, as lapped traffic held up Chad in turn 2 Chris was able to pull away in turns 3 and 4 to claim the win. Chad settled for 2nd, Denny Eckrich was 3rd, Jason Rauen was 4th, with Dave Eckrich coming home in 5th.
Notes from Tipton: 31 Late Models, 24 Modifieds and 17 Legends made up the 72 cars signed in to do battle in front of a packed house......Jeremy Meyer started 14th in the Legend feature and passed 8 cars to finish in 6th....Greg Hartlaub came from 12th to finish in 8th....Warren Ropp started 13th and finished in 9th....Tim Simpson passed 5 cars from his 15th place starting spot to finish in 10th......Noah Coppess won the Modified B Main and started the feature in 15th. He would pass 9 cars to take home a 6th place finish......Johnny Spaw came from 11th to finish in 8th....John Ahlers started 14th and finished 10th....Dan Chapman finished 2nd in heat 3, but heavy smoke after the checkered scratched him from the feature....Mike Zogg, who was running 2nd in the B Main, but spun in 4 on the last lap to hope for an alternate for the feature. He would get the call when Chapman scratched. Zogg would make a few laps to retire in 20th....Donovan Lodge had troubles after hot laps and loaded his car to end his night early......Kurt Kile came from 10th in the Late Model feature to finish in 6th....Andy Eckrich started 14th and passed 7 cars to finish in 7th....Justin Mitchell picked up the hard charger award as he started 19th, after finishing 2nd in B Main 1. He would then pass 10 cars to take home a 9th place finish....Tim Isenberg came from 22nd to claim 14th....Andrew McKay, who edged Gary Webb at the line to take the final transfer spot in B Main 2, had transmission troubles before the start of the feature. The crew would get it repaired in time to take the green flag. He would pass 8 cars to take home 16th.
I would like to thank Al and Kathy Dlouhy for a great night of racing. The track was in awesome shape the entire night, which provided a close finish in both the Modified and Late Model features. The surface allowed two and three wide racing from the bottom to the top. I would encourage anybody who hasn't taken a night in at the Cedar County Raceway, should plan a trip.
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