Webb and Fullenkamp Claim First Wins of the Season at Lee County

Donnellson, IA (Friday, July 22, 2011) - Friday night was another action packed night of racing at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. At the end of the night there were two new winners and three repeat winners in victory lane.

The first feature of the night was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Jim Kuhlmeier and Jacob Smith leading the field to the green. But it was third place starter Dean Kratzer who edged out Rod Staats at the line to lead lap 1. Kratzer was able to hold back Staats over the next 2 laps, before Jeff Mueller, who started 8th, over took Staats for second. Mueller then went to work on Kratzer for the lead, until the first caution of the event slowed the action down on lap 8. Staats, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kuhlmeier came to a stop in turn 3 to bring the caution light back on. Kratzer grabbed the lead on the restart, with Mueller holding back Jim Gillenwater, who started 9th, for second. Gillenwater would jump to the bottom of the track coming out of turn four to grab the top spot on lap 10. Gillenwater then pulled away over the final 5 laps to claim his 5th win of the season at the track. Kratzer held on for 2nd, Mueller was 3rd, Rodger Dresden came home 4th, with Kevin Cale edging out 5th at the line by inches.

Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Bob Cowman and Dugan Thye making up the front row. But just like the SportMod feature, third place starter Jake Wenig jumping out front on lap 1 over Dane Fenton. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, as Nathan Anders spun in turn 1. On the restart Wenig grabbed the lead, with Fenton holding off Dan Wenig, who started 7th, for second. Jake Wenig started to pull away from the battle for second, when the second caution of the event came out on lap 10. This time Michael Wenke spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow light. Once again Jake Wenig moved back out front, with Fenton challenging him for the top spot. Just as Fenton went under Jake Wenig to take over the top spot, Wenke would spin in turn 4 on lap 14 to bring out the final caution. This would set up a green-white-checkered overtime finish. On the restart Fenton slipped under Jake Wenig to grab the top spot away on lap 15. But Jake Wenig would come back on the top of the track coming out of turn 2 to take back the lead. Jake Wenig, was up top, Fenton, in the middle, and Dan Wenig, down low, would come off of turn four three wide for the win. But it was Jake Wenig who went on to claim his 6th win of the season at the track. Fenton held on for 2nd, Dan Wenig was 3rd, Jim Lynch was 4th, with Ray Raker rounding out the top 5.

Connie Justice and Sierra Bueker were suppose to lead the field to the green in the 12 lap Wild Things feature, but both would scratch from the event. That would move the second row of Craig Bangert and Kimborly Abbott up to the front row. Bangert would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Chuck Fullenkamp, who started 5th. Fullenkamp would slip under Bangert on lap 3 to take over the top spot, with Nick Wilkerson, who started 6th and David Helenthal, who started 7th, moving up to challenge. Wilkerson and Helenthal both tried the low side to get around Fullenmkap. But Fullenkamp would hold them back for the final 9 laps to claim his frist win of the season at the speedway. Wilkerson settled for 2nd, Helenthal was 3rd, Bangert held on for 4th, with Abbott coming home in 5th.

The 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature was up next, with Jeremy Pundt and Derek St. Clair on the front row for the event. Pundt would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Corey Strothman. But Pundt would only lead 1 lap, as Chris Webb, who started 5th, slipped under him to grab the top spot on lap 2. On the completion of the lap Ryan Cook would spin to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the race. On the restart Webb moved back out front with Pundt working to hold back Strothman for 2nd. Just as Webb started to pull away, the final caution of the event would appear on lap 11. This time Pundt would come to a stop up against the guardrail in turn 3 to end his run up front. Webb once again jumped back out front on the restart, with Jason Cook, who started 7th, moving up to challenge him. Cook would make a last lap challenge on Webb coming off four, but Webb was able to hold him back to claim his first win of the season at the track. Matt Greiner came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Temeyer started 12th and passed 8 cars to finish in 4th, with Jeff Mueller coming from 9th to round out the top 5.

The final feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with Bill Seyb and Rob Kirchner leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Kirchner would grab the lead on lap 1 over Dustin Crear and Adam Birck. Tyler Cale, who started 8th, quickly moved to the front to grab the top spot away from Kirchner on lap 5. Just as the lap was completed, Birck, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the first caution. On the restart Cale jumped back out front, with Wyatt Lantz, who started 6th, moving in to challenge. The battle up front was slowed again on lap 9. Once again Birck would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out his second solo spin to end his night. Lantz would jumped to the outside of Cale on the restart to grab the top spot on lap 10. Lantz then started to pull away from the battle for second between Cale, Jeff Waterman, who started 7th, and Josh Foster, who started 9th. The final caution of the event would come out on lap 15 to bring the field back to Lantz's back bumper. This time the yellow would be displayed for Bill Roberts who spun off of 4 and Chadwick Giberson who spun in turn 4. Once again Lantz moved back out front on the restart, with Cale holding back Waterman and Foster for 2nd. Foster would make his move into second on lap 18 and then went to work on Lantz for the lead. But Lantz had built up to big of a lead to hold on to claim his 2nd win of the season at the speedway. Foster settled for 2nd, Cale was 3rd, Waterman was 4th, with Kirchner holding on for a 5th place finish.

Notes from LCS: In 77 laps of feature racing, there were only 10 cautions on the night. With the Wild Things going caution FREE!!!......Patrick Profeta started the SportMod feature in 12th and passed 5 cars to finish in 7th....Rick Barlow Jr. also passed 5 cars from his 13th place starting spot to take home 8th....Rod Staats would recover from his lap 8 spin to come back to finish in 9th......Jake Wenig claim his 6th Hobby Stock feature in 11 started at the Lee County Speedway for 2011. Wenig's all 6 wins came in features he would finish, his other 5 starts were races he wasn't around at the finish....Bobby Anders drove Wesley Mayfield's Hobby Stock to a 6th place finish after starting 9th......Mike Fisher started the Wild Things feature in 9th and passed 3 cars to finish in 6th....Ben Reschke passed 9 cars from his 16th place starting spot to take home a 7th place finish....Bradley Stevenson came from 14th to take home 8th....Darin Smith, who was the points leader going into the night, started the feature in 8th and had worked his way to 3rd by lap 5. But a right front flat on lap 6 would end his run to the front to give him a 13th place finish......Ryan Cook recovered from his lap 2 spin in the Stock Car feature to come back up to finish in 6th....Cale Samberg was suppose to start 4th in the feature, but motor troubles after his heat would make him scratch from the event......Brandon Banks started the Modified feature in 13th and passed 7 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Derek Hamm came from 12th to finish in 7th....Dustin Crear was running 2, when he got off the track in turn 1 and fell back to 12th. He would recover to take home a 8th place run....Rayn Cook was suppose to start the feature in 10th, but elected to tag the tail. He would come up to claim 9th at the finish.

"Hershel Roberts Memorial" Goes to Guss Jr.

Ray Guss Jr. drove the #58 Roberts Motorsports IMCA Late Model to the 1st Annual Hershel Roberts Memorial Deery Brothers Summer Series win on Wednesday, July 20th at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline, IL. Photo courtesy of Tri-State Speed Review - Dewain Hulett.

East Moline, IL (Wednesday, July 20, 2011) - The 1st Annual "Hershel Roberts Memorial" featuring the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models took place on Wednesday, July 20th at the Quad City Speedway in East Moline, IL. Despite the hot and humid night the fans would pack the grandstand to honor the late Hershel Roberts. In action on the night, during the Rock Island County Fair, was the IMCA Late Models, Street Stocks and Mod Lites.

The first feature on the night was the 25 lap Street Stocks, with $1,500 going to the winner. Ron Marks Jr. and Cary Brown drew the front row for the event, with Brown grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution would appear on the completion of the lap, as Randy Exline spun in turn 4. On the restart Brown jumped back out front, with Jason Bahrs and Ron Marks Jr. battling close behind. Chuck Fox would spin his machine in turn 4 on lap 5 to bring the action to stop. Brown again grabbed the lead on the restart, only to be slowed again on lap 6. This time Justin Veloz, who was running 8th, would spin in turn 4 to bring out the caution. On the restart Nick Lawrence and Tyler Soppe got together in turn 1 to bring the yellow light back on. Bahrs would take advantage of the restart, as he jumped to the outside of Brown coming out of turn 4 to grab the top spot on lap 7. The three car battle up front was slowed on lap 8, as Joe Wagner spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Then on lap 10 Veloz would spin in turn 2 and collected Jimmie Simpson to slow the action. Bahrs would grabbed the lead on the restarts, with Tim Current, who started 5th, challenging him. But Current would drift to high in turn 4 on lap 12 and got into the wall to fall from 2nd to 4th. Then on the next lap, lap 13, Bahrs' had a right front brake line break going into turn 3 which caused him to hit the wall and bring out the caution. On the restart Wayne Hora, who started 7th, inherited the lead, with Current close behind. Hora could only hold back Current for 1 lap, as he slipped under Hora coming out of turn 4 on lap 15 to grab the top spot. The only thing to slow Current down over the final 10 laps was two more cautions. The first was on lap 19 when Phil Anderson spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. The final caution of the event came out on the restart, when Wagner hit the turn 1 wall hard. On both restarts Current moved out into a lead in which he held to the checkered flag to claim the $1,500 top prize. Hora held on for 2nd, Brown settled for 3rd, Soppe, who started 15th, recovered from the lap 6 crash to come back to take home 4th, with Chris Hambright coming from 11th to round out the top 5.

Charlie McKenna and Mike Murphy Jr. led the field to the green in the 40 lap "Hershel Roberts Memorial" Deery Brothers Summer Series IMCA Late Models feature. Murphy Jr. took advantage of his draw to move out front on lap 1 over McKenna, Tyler Bruening and Mike Garland. Murphy Jr. set a fast pace early, as he started to come up on lap traffic on lap 10. The lapped cars would slow Murphy Jr. down enough to allow McKenna, Terry Neal, who started 7th, and Ray Guss Jr., who started 9th, to close in to make it a four car battle. The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 13, when Jon Passick spun in turn 4. On the restart Murphy Jr. jumped back out into the lead, with Neal and Guss Jr. battling for 2nd. Guss Jr. was able to get by Neal for 2nd on lap 20 and then went to work on chasing down Murphy Jr. for the lead. Another caution on lap 26, for Bruening who spun in turn 3 while running 5th, would close the gap. The yellow light would come back out on lap 27 when Todd Mahlstrom spun his machine in turn 4 to slow the field down. On both restarts Murphy Jr. grabbed the top spot, with Guss Jr. close behind. Murphy Jr., who was working the top of the speedway, and Guss Jr., who was down low, would battle side-by-side on laps 33 and 34, with Guss Jr. getting the advantage on lap 35. On the completion of the lap, Colby Springsteen would spin in turn 1 and collected Gary Webb, Jon Passick and Sam Halstead to bring out the final caution of the event. On the restart Guss Jr. moved out front, with Nate Beuseling, who started 11th, battle Murphy Jr. for 2nd. Beuseling would try to get under Guss Jr. over the final 2 laps, but Guss Jr. would hold on to claim the win. Beuseling settled for 2nd, Murphy Jr. was 3rd, McKenna held on for 4th, with Neal coming home in 5th.

The final feature on the night was the 15 lap Mod Lites, with Cody Brown and David Norton leading the field to the green. Norton would take advantage of his start to grab the lead on lap 1. But the first caution of the event would come out on the completion of the lap, as Brown spun in turn 1. On the restart Andrew Smith, who started 5th, slipped under Norton to take over the top spot. Smith then held the lead until lap 6, when Jason Masengarb, who started 9th, slipped under him for the top spot. Masengarb then started to pull away, when the final caution came out on lap 13. Gary Snyder would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Masengarb again jumped out into the lead, but now had Greg Rossell, who started 10th, close behind in 2nd. Rossell tried the top side to get around Masengarb over the final 2 laps, but Masengarb was able to hold on to pick up the win. Rossell settled for 2nd, Dustin Masolini came from 6th to claim 3rd, Smith held on for 4th, with Shon Sanders coming from 8th to round out the top 5.

Notes from QCS: 24 Late Models, 22 Street Stocks and 17 Mod Lites signed in for competition on the hot night......Before the start of the Street Stock feature the top 4 starters, which included Ron Marks Jr., Cary Brown, Jason Bahrs and Emily Gade, were offered a $400 bonus to go to the rear. If they could win from the rear that would mean they would win $1,900, but all turned it down....Chuck Fox, who started 16th, spun on lap 5 and recovered to take home a 6th place finish....Nick Lawrence, who started 14th, would spin on lap 1 and came back from the rear to claim 9th....Randy Exline recovered from his spin on lap 1 to come back to take home 11th....Joe Beal drove Matt Marshall's car from a 17th place starting spot to finish in 12th....Phil Anderson came from 21st to finish 13th....Jamie Balensiefen came from 12th and was running 4th, when he had a flat tire on the lap 19 caution to end his run in 14th......The 1st Annual "Hershel Roberts Memorial" was held to honor the late Hershel Roberts. Hershel who raced Modifieds and Late Models for many years in the Quad City area passed early this year after a battle with cancer. Hershel, who along with his son Ken, hired Ray Guss Jr. to drive the #58 Late Model in late 2009 when Hershel decided to hang up the helmet. The team would have an awesome 2010, as they won the IMCA National Championship, Deery Brothers Summer Series Title and 3 track titles. The win on this night was very emotional for the team, which debuted a new body on the car to honor Hershel....Justin Reed started 16th and passed 10 cars to take home a 6th place finish in the Late Model feature....Mike Zemo Jr., who has won the last 2 Late Model features at the speedway, started 23rd. He would pass 14 cars, which gave him the hard charger award, to take home a 9th place finish....Andy Eckrich passed 10 cars from his 20th place starting spot to take home a 10th place. Eckrich now holds a 2 point lead over Terry Neal and a 4 point lead over Ray Guss Jr. in the chase for the 2011 Deery Brothers Summer Series title....Matt Ryan came from 17th to finish in 11th....Jay Johnson passed 8 cars from his 21st starting spot to finish in 13th....Darrel DeFrance arrived late and had to start in the back of his heat, which he finished 8th in. DeFrance then started the feature in 22nd and passed 7 cars to finish in 15th....Sam Halstead, who started 24th, recovered from the lap 35 crash to finish in 18th......Jonathan Huston started the Mod Lite feature in 15th and then went on to pass 9 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Evan Epperson passed 10 cars from his 17th place starting spot to finish in 10th....Dan Guss came from 16th to take home 9th.