Sunday, April 22, 2012

34 Raceway Gets Seven of Eight Features In Before Mother Nature Takes Over

Burlington, IA (Saturday, April 21, 2012) - Despite the overcast skies all day and evening plus the cool temps, 34 Raceway was able to get all three make-up features and four out of the five regular features in. Just past the halfway point of the Modified feature mother nature decided to open the skies with enough rain showers to put a halt to the remainder of the Modified feature and the Stock Car feature. Which means the Stock Cars will try once again to get there double features in next Saturday (April 28th).

The make-up Hobby Stock feature from April 14th was the first event to take to the track, with Skyler Troutman and Mike Amenell drawing the front row for the 15 lap event. Amenell would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Jake Wenig. But Jake went to the top of the track coming out of turn four on lap 2 to take over the top spot from Amenell. Jake Wenig would only hold the lead for 1 lap when Victor Hastings, who started 7th, slipped under Jake going down the backstretch as Wenig got held up on the high side behind the lapped car of Troutman. The first caution of the race would appear on lap 4, when Dan Wenig and Adam Scott spun in turn 2. On the restart Hastings moved back out front, with Jake Wenig and Amenell close behind. Hastings would work the bottom of the speedway to perfection for the next 9 laps to hold back Jake Wenig, who was up top. The final caution came out on lap 13, this time for Dane Fenton and Dan Wenig who collided coming off 4 while battling for 5th. Fenton would spin to a stop in turn 1 as a result of the contact to bring out the yellow and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Hastings jumped back out front on the restart, but Jake Wenig would get a great run off of four to get the white flag and the lead. While Hastings went into turn 1 to hard to try and get the lead back, which resulted in him spinning his machine into the infield, which allowed Jake Wenig to go on to pick up the win. Matt Gavin came from 5th to finish in 2nd, Amenell held on for 3rd, Josh Tripp charged from 12th to take home home 4th, with Dan Wenig recovering from his two cautions to come back to 5th.

Up next was the 25 lap IMCA Modified make-up feature, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Jeff Gerhardt and A.J. Fike drew the front row, with Fike grabbing the lead on the drop of the green flag. Fike was working to hold back Scott Hogan and Tyler Cale, who tried to go three wide several times, before the first caution of the event came out on lap 8. Josh Foster, who was running 7th, spun his machine in turn 2 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Fike again moved back out front, with Hogan and Cale following. Cale would make it three wide coming off turn four on lap 13 to go from third to first. Cale then pulled away to lead the final 12 laps and taking home the $1,000 top prize. Hogan came home in 2nd, Brandon Rothzen started 8th and came home in 3rd, Rich Smith passed 7 cars from his 11th place starting spot to finish 4th, with Jeff Waterman charging from 13th to round out the top 5.

The final make-up feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Blaine Dopler and John Oliver Jr. leading the field to green. Oliver Jr. would grab the lead over Dopler and Jason Cook on lap 1, when the caution came out on the completion of the lap. Travis Hartman would spin off of turn 1 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Oliver Jr. again jumped back out into the lead over Cook. Cook would slip under Oliver Jr. coming off turn 4 on lap 3 to edge out into the lead, but Oliver Jr. would come back on the top to grab the top spot back on lap 4. But Cook would come back on the bottom to take the lead back on lap 5, only to loose it to Oliver Jr. on lap 6. As Cook and Oliver Jr. battled side-by-side for the lead, Matt Greiner came from 6th to join in the battle. Greiner would use the same move as Tyler Cale did in the Modified feature, as he came out of turn four on the bottom to go three wide to grab the top spot on lap 10. But Oliver Jr. wouldn't give up as he came back on the top to grab the lead back on lap 13. Greiner continued to work the bottom of the speedway, as he took the lead back on lap 15. Greiner then led the final 5 laps to claim the win. Cook edged out Oliver Jr. for 2nd, Oliver Jr. settled for 3rd, Jeff Mueller came from 8th to finish 4th, with Dopler rounding out the top 5.

After 12 heat races were ran in the 305 Sprints, 4 Cylinders, Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars, that nights feature events were set to take to the track.

The first feature up was the 25 lap 305 Sprint Shootout, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Brandyn Martin and Daniel Bergquist led the field to the drop of the green flag, with Martin edging out Bergquist to lead lap 1. Just as Martin started to put some distance between him and Bergquist, the first caution of the race would come out on lap 8. Corey Timmerman would spin in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Martin jumped back out front, with Jayson Ditsworth, who starting 6th, getting by Bergquist for second. The red flag came out on lap 9 to slow the battle up front. Ryan Jamison, who as battling for 4th, spun his machine in turn 1, while Kenneth Bragg took a nasty roll in turn 3. Bragg would climb from his machine ok, but finished for the night. Bergquist got a good restart, as he slipped past Martin and Ditsworth to take over the top spot. He then had to work to hold back several challenges from Ditsworth to hold onto the lead for the next 9 laps. When the final caution of the event came out on lap 18, this time Dave Getchell would spin to a stop in turn 4. Bergquist grabbed the lead on the restart the then went on to lead the final 7 laps to claim his first career 305 Sprint win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Ditsworth settled for 2nd, Justin Parrish came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Newberry started 9th and finished 4th, with Tony Crank coming home in 5th.

Billy Stanford and Jerrod Nichols drew the front row for the 10 lap 4 Cylinder feature, but it was 5th place starter Nick Wilkerson grabbing the lead on lap 1. Wilkerson would pull away over the caution free event to pick up the win. Bradley Stevenson came from 6th to finish in 2nd, Chuck Fullenkamp started 10th and passed 7 cars to take home 3rd, Travis DeMint was 4th, with Daytona Fenton rounding out the top 5.

Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Dan Wenig and Victor Hastings leading the field to the drop of the green. Dan Wenig would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Matt Gavin. Dan worked to hold back Gavin, when the first caution appeared on lap 4. Chad Krogmeier and Eric Rowley spun in turn 3 to bring out the first of two yellows. On the restart Dan Wenig again held back Gavin, with Hastings close behind them in 3rd. Dan once again had to hold back Gavin over the next 5 laps, when the final caution came out on lap 9. This time Josh Tripp, who started 10th and was running 5th, spun with a right rear flat in turn 2 to bring out the final yellow. Once again Dan Wenig held back Gavin on the restart, with Jake Wenig coming from 6th to follow in 3rd. Dan would lead the final 6 laps to claim the win. Jake Wenig edged out Gavin for 2nd, Gavin settled for 3rd, Dane Fenton was 4th, with Rowley recovering from the lap 4 spin to come back to take home 5th.

Derek Hamm and Rich Smith drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature. But A.J. Fike would spin in turn 4 on the drop of the green flag to bring out the first caution, setting up an original restart. On the restart Smith would jump out front, with Scott Hogan and Jeff Waterman close behind. The battle up front was slowed on lap 3 when Dustan Fenton spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart somebody lost a deck lid in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Smith grabbed the lead on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still battling for second. Just as Smith was pulling away, the caution appeared on the speedway on lap 9. This time rookie driver Mitchell Boles would spin in turn 3. On the restart Brandon Rothzen, who was running 6th, spun in turn 2 and collected Dennis LaVeine to bring the yellow light back on. The next restart resulted in another yellow, as Tyler Cale, who was running 5th, spun in turn 2 and collected Hamm. Smith again moved out front on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still following in 2nd and 3rd. But the battle up front was slowed once again on lap 10. This time Rothzen spun in turn 4 to bring the caution back out. On the restart Smith moved back out front, with Hogan in 2nd and now Josh Foster, who started 9th, moving into 3rd. Smith was working to hold back Hogan and Foster, when another caution slowed the field on lap 13. Hamm would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kyle Hill got into the front stretch wall and rolled once to bring out the red. Just as the wreck was cleaned up and the field was set to go back to green, the skies opened up and started to rain. Since the time limit was up and the race was past the half way point the race was checkered giving the win to Smith. Hogan settled for 2nd, Foster was 3rd, Waterman took home 4th, with Jeff Gerhardt rounding out the top 5.

The 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, for the second week in a row, was rained out. They will try again next Saturday, April 28th to get there double features made-up. With next week being the first night of points, there make-up feature will be the last event to be ran on the night.

Notes from 34: 20 Modifieds, 19 Stock Cars, 15 305 Sprints, 15 4 Cylinders and 14 Hobby Stocks made up the 83 cars signed in on the night......The make-up Hobby Stock feature saw Chad Krogmeier come from 9th to finish 6th....Adam Scott recovered from his lap 4 spin to come back up to take home 7th....Victor Hastings settled for 10th, after leading most of the race and spinning on the last lap, while trying to battle back for the lead......Josh Foster spun on lap 8 while running 7th in the make-up IMCA Modified feature and battled his way back up to 8th....Dennis LaVeine started 16th and passed 6 cars to take home 10th....Mike VanGendren was the only car not to make it back from last weeks rain out......John Brockway had troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from the make-up IMCA Stock Car feature....Corey Strothman didn't return and was a scratch from the event......Dave Getchell recovered from his lap 18 spin in the 305 Sprint Shootout, to come back up to finish 7th....Corey Timmerman came back from his lap 8 spin to take home 8th....Nick Guernsey came from 12th to finish in 9th....Tony Bundy, a rookie 305 Sprint driver, started 13th and stayed out of troubles to claim 11th......Casey Mehaffy came from 8th in the 4 Cylinder feature to finish in 6th....Dustin Ravelin started 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 9th......Adam Scott came from 9th in the regular Hobby Stock feature to take home 6th....Chad Krogmeier recovered from his lap 4 crash to come back up to 7th....Loyd Duffie started 12th and finished in 8th....Skyler Troutman finished 9th after starting in 13th....Mark Bowman claimed 11th after starting in 14th......Dennis LaVeine, who started the regular IMCA Modified feature in 19th, came back from the rear after a lap 9 crash to take home 6th....Dustan Fenton recovered from his lap 2 spin to come back to finish in 7th....Brad Tyler came from 14th to take home 8th....Brandon Rothzen was 9th, after his lap 9 crash and lap 10 spin....Mitchell Boles settled for 10th, after his lap 9 spin......John Brockway and Jim Lynch will lead the field to the green in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car make-up feature at the end of the night next Saturday.

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