Donnellson, IA (Friday, August 3, 2012) - Another great night of racing action was put into the books on Friday at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA, as it was KILJ and Coor's Light Night at the races. Also it was Family Motors Fan Appreciation Night, with many fans stopping by there used dealership in West Burlington to pick up FREE tickets. Abe Huls (IMCA Stock Cars), Jim Gillenwater (IMCA SportMods) and Jake Wenig (LCS Hobby Stocks) extended there winning streaks with feature wins in there respective classes, while Wyatt Lantz (IMCA Modifieds) and Rob Hammel (IMCA Sport Compacts) also visited victory lane on the night.
The first feature of the night was the 12 lap IMCA Sport Compacts, with Casey Lambert and Craig Bangert leading the field to the green. Bangert would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Brandon Lambert. Bangert then held the lead until lap 5, when Rob Hammel, who started 6th, slipped under him to take over the top spot. On the completion of lap 5, the first caution of the event would come out for debris in turn 3. On the restart Hammel moved back out front, with Brandon Lambert close behind in second. Hammel would go on to lead the final 7 laps to pick up the win, his third of the season at the track. Brandon Lambert settled for 2nd, Austen Beccera was 3rd, Scott Smith came from 7th to finish in 4th, with Chuck Fullenkamp coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods feature, with Tom Elsen and Jack Evans on the front row. Elsen grabbed the lead from the drop of the green flag and then held it until lap 2, when Phillip Cossel slipped under him to take over the top spot. But Cossel's run out front only lasted for 2 laps, as Jim Gillenwater, who started 8th, jumped to his outside to grab the lead away on lap 4. The action up front was slowed for the first time on lap 6, as Jay Kirchner spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Gillenwater moved back out front, with Tony Dunker, who started 9th, now close behind in second. Gillenwater worked to hold back Dunker, who was fighting to keep Cossel back in the battle for second when the red flag came out on lap 10. Levi Smith would get into the back of Derek St. Clair, who started 12th and was up to 5th, causing him to spin in turn 1 and collect the car of Sean Wyett. Wyett, who started 14th and was running 10th, ended up rolling over the top of St. Clair's car to bring out the red. Wyett and St. Clair would climb from there cars ok, but done for the night. Gillenwater jumped back out front on the restart, with Dunker working to hold back Brandon Ruffcorn in the battle for second. Gillenwater would go on to lead the final 4 laps to claim his third win in a row and sixth of the season at the speedway. Dunker settled for 2nd, Ruffcorn was 3rd, Bobby Anders came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Scott VanBuskirk coming from 11th to take home a fifth place finish.
Brian Hoener and Ethan Thompson drew the front row for the 15 lap LCS Hobby Stock feature, with Hoener grabbing the lead on lap 1. While Hoener was leading the field, Jake Wenig, who started 7th, quickly worked his way to second by lap 2. Wenig then went to work on Hoener for the lead, as he slipped under him on lap 8 to take over the top spot. The first caution of the race would come out on lap 9, when Dan Wenig spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Jake moved back out front, with Hoener working to hold back Victor Hastings in the battle for second. But Hastings' run up front would come to an end on lap 12, as he stopped in turn 2 with a right rear flat to bring out the second caution of the race. Jake Wenig once again grabbed the lead on the restart and then held it for the final 3 laps to pick up his sixth win in a row at the track. Tim Pettibone came from 5th to finish in 2nd, Hoener was 3rd, Dan Wenig recovered from his lap 9 spin to finish in 4th, with Hastings recovering from his lap 12 flat to come home in 5th.
The 20 lap IMCA Modified feature was next, with Adam Birck and Derek Hamm leading the field to the green. Hamm would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Birck and Wyatt Lantz. Hamm then worked to hold the lead until the first caution of the race appeared on the speedway on lap 8. Dustin Crear, who was running 5th, spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Lonnie Heap, who started 7th and was running 4th, clipped a tire in turn 4 and collected the car of Cayden Carter, who started 12th and was running 8th, to bring the yellow light back on. Lantz would slip under Hamm on the next restart to take over the top spot on lap 9, with Hamm working to hold back Jeff Waterman, who started 10th, in the battle for second. Lantz would hold off the challenges from Hamm over the final 11 laps to claim his first win of the season at the track. Hamm held on for 2nd, Waterman was 3rd, Ryan Cook was 4th, with Tyler Cale coming from 9th to round out the top 5.
The final feature of the night was the 15 lap IMCA Stock Cars, with Jim Lynch and Derek St. Clair on the front row. But just as the green flag was waved the caution would come out, as Cale Samberg spun in turn 2. On the restart Lynch grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Corey Strothman. While Lynch held the top spot for the first 2 laps, Abe Huls, who started 9th, quickly worked his way to the front. Huls would jump to the outside of Lynch to grab the lead away on lap 3, with Jason Cook, who started 6th, moving up to make it a three car battle. The battle up front was slowed for the first time on lap 11, as Brett Timmerman spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart the yellow once again waved, as debris on the backstretch slowed the action. The next restart saw Huls move back out front, with Cook working to hold back Matt Greiner, who started 7th, in the battle for second. Huls was able to hold back all challenges over the final laps to pick up his second win in a row and fourth overall at the speedway. Cook held on in the battle for 2nd, Greiner settled for 3rd, Samberg recovered from his lap 1 spin to come back up to finish in 4th, with Lynch holding on for 5th.
Notes from LCS: Skipp Dunker started the Sport Compact feature in 13th and passed 6 cars to come home in 7th....Mike Hornung Jr. came from 14th to finish in 11th....Craig Bangert, who led the first 4 laps, pulled off under the lap 5 caution with troubles to end his night in 14th......A season high 24 cars signed in on the night in the SportMod division....John Oliver Jr. started 19th in the SportMod feature and came up to finish 6th....Michael Joe Bliven passed 14 cars from his 22nd place starting spot to take home 7th....Jacob Smith came from 15th to finish 9th....Bradley Holtmeyer came from 17th to finish in 11th....Derek Coleman started 18th and took home 14th....Bob Cowman started 21st and finished in 16th....Phillip Cossel, who was battling for the lead until the red came out on lap 11, retired when his car wouldn't start back up and was credited with 19th....Derek St. Clair was doing double duty on the night, as he made his debut in the SportMod division, plus still running his Stock Car. St. Clair would start the feature in 12th and had climbed his way up to 5th by lap 11. When Levi Smith drove into the back of him down the front stretch and all the way into turn 1, causing him to spin his machine. In the process, Sean Wyett, who started 14th and climbed his way to 10th, was collected in the wreck. He would roll over the top of St. Clair's car to end both there nights......Lonnie Heap recovered from his lap 8 spin to come back to finish 7th in the Modified feature......Brett Timmerman made his first visit of the season to LCS and started the feature in 10th. He would spin in turn 3 on lap 11 to bring out the caution, but would recover over the final 4 laps to take home a 7th place finish.
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