Tipton, IA (Saturday, September 8, 2012) - With the 4th Annual Dlouhy/DeVore Memorial Race on the cards at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, IA, I decided to make one of my rare visits to the track. This was the final race of the 2012 season at the speedway, along with Al and Kathy Dlouhy's final event as the promoters of the track after seven years.
On the card for the night was the Open Modifieds racing for $2,000 to win, Late Models for $1,500 to win and IMCA type Modifieds going for a top prize of $1,000. After three IMCA type Modified heats, two Late Model heats and three Open Modified heats, in which the top 18 in passing points were locked into the features. They then ran a semi in the IMCA type Modifieds and Open Modifieds, where the top 6 moved into the feature, to help set the 24 car starting field in both classes. Then the top 6 in passing points in all three divisions ran a dash to determine the first three rows of there features.
The first feature to take to the track on the night was the 25 lap IMCA type Modifieds, with Ryan Dolan and Milo Veloz leading the field to the drop of the green. But just as the green flag was waved the caution light came on, as Derek Walker spun in turn 1. On the original restart Dolan edged Veloz and Mark Schulte at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. Dolan then started to pull away from the battle for second and was starting to enter lapped traffic on lap 9, when another caution came out. This time Tom Patz spun his machine in turn 2 to slow the action down. Dolan once again jumped out into the lead on the restart, only to be slowed 1 lap later for another yellow. Roy Pestka would spin in turn 1 and collected the cars of Dave Hammond, George Spence Jr. and Derek Walker to bring out the caution on lap 10. On the restart Dolan grabbed the lead, with Veloz and Schulte moving in to make it a three car battle for the lead. Dolan, who was working the top, and Veloz, who was on the bottom, ran the next several laps side-by-side only to be slowed for the final time on lap 17. This time Johnny Walker would spin in turn 3 to bring out caution. Just as the field was set to go back to green the ambulance was called over to the grandstands to give medical assistance for somebody. They had to transport the person to the hospital, which caused a 15 minute delay to resume racing. Once back to green flag racing Dolan pulled away from the field over the final 8 laps to pcik up the win and the $1,000 top prize. Veloz settled for 2nd, Schulte was 3rd, Brain Webb climbed from his 11th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Mike Burbridge rounding out the top 5.
Doug Nigh and Chad Lerch led the field to the green in the 30 lap Late Model feature, with Nigh grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Matt Ryan and Lerch. Nigh's lead was short lived, as the first of four cautions waved on the track on lap 2. Rob Toland, who was running 6th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Toland tried to jump pass several cars on the top side of the track, but another caution was thrown to warn Toland of his start. The following restart saw Nigh move back out front, with Ryan working to hold back Justin Kay, who started 5th. The battle up front turned into a two car battle on lap 11, as Kay jumped to the top of the track to race side-by-side with Nigh, who worked the bottom. Kay was credited with leading lap 12, but Nigh wouldn't give up as he was scored the leader on lap 15. Kay would come back on the top side to lead lap 18 and then held back Nigh until the next caution came out on lap 22. Tanner Allen would spin in turn 3 to bring the yellow light on. Kay jumped back out front on the restart, with Ryan and Nigh battling for second. Just as Nigh reeled Kay back in to make it a two car battle for the lead, the final caution of the race came out on lap 27. Allen spun his machine off turn 4 for his second solo yellow to end his night. On the restart Kay grabbed the lead and then held on to claim the $1,500 top prize. Nigh settled for 2nd, Andy Eckrich came from 11th and mad a bold top side move on the final lap to go from 5th to 3rd, Ryan held on for 4th, with Kyle Hinrichs coming from 10th to finish in 5th.
The final feature on the night was the 35 lap Open Modifieds, with Chris Zogg and Noah Coppess on the front row. Coppess would take advantage of his starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Zogg and Dan Chapman. While Coppess and Zogg battled for the top spot, Brad Dierks, who started 6th, used the bottom of the track to make it a three car battle on lap 10. Dierks would use the low grove to grab the lead away from Coppess on lap 13 and then started to pull away from the battle for second. But a caution on lap 27 would slow the action for the first time. Tanner Allen, who was running 8th, spun in turn 3 and collected the car of Justin Speers to bring out the yellow. On the restart Dierks grabbed the lead, with Coppess and Zogg battling for second. While Bruce Hanford, Chapman and Ryan Dolan, who started 9th, battling three wide for 4th, 5th and 6th. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 29, as Mark Schulte, who started 17th and had worked his way to 8th, slowed to a stop on the front stretch with a left rear flat. On the restart Hanford tried to work under Coppess for second, but ran out of track going into turn 1 and spun his machine to avoid contact with Coppess. Hanford would also collect the cars of Chapman and Allen to bring the yellow light back on. The follwoing restart saw Dierks pull away from the field over the final 6 laps to claim the win and the $2,000 check. Dolan used the same top side move that Eckrich did in the Late Model feature to go from 4th to 2nd on the final lap, with Coppess settling for 3rd, Dusty Kraklio came from 18th to finish in 4th, with Zogg holding on to take home a 5th place finish.
Notes from Tipton: 28 IMCA type Modifeds, 25 Open Modifieds and 19 Late Models made up the 72 cars signed in on the night....Ryan Dolan, Milo Veloz, Mark Schulte, Mike Burbridge and Steve Stewart pulled double duty in the Modifieds....While Tanner Allen did double duty in the Late Models and Open Modifieds......Scott Powell was running 4th in the IMCA type Modified semi, when he spun off turn 4 and looked to cross the line sideways in 4th. But it turned out the caution was waved for him, which put him last in the running and missing a transfer spot into the feature......Greg Durbin came from 13th in the IMCA type Modified feature to finish in 8th....Steve Stewart started 16th and passed 7 cars to finish in 9th....Brian Bushong came from 18th to finish in 13th....Derek Walker, who started 20th, spun on lap 1 and was invlolved in the lap 10 crash came back up to finish in 16th....Matt Fulton came from 21st to finish in 17th......Mike Garland started the Late Model feature in 13th and passed 6 cars to finish in 7th....Gary Webb, who drove the #11 that Jeff Stephens piloted all season, came from 16th to finish in 10th....Toland worked his way back to 12th after his lap 2 spin....Bart Miller came from 18th to finish in 14th......Matt Werner started the Open Modified feature in 15th and passed 9 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Steve Stewart came from 12th to finish in 9th....Johnny Spaw started 14th and finished in 10th....Dan Chapman recovered from the lap 29 crash to come back up to finish in 12th....Tanner Allen came from the rear twice, after his lap 27 spin and 29 crash, to finish in 13th....Scott Fridley came from 20th to finish in 14th....John Fellman started 21st and finished 15th....Curran Beckler came from 22nd to finish in 16th....Brad Tyler started 24th and took home a 17th place finish....Shawne Lewis came from 23rd to finish in 18th.
I would like to take this time to thank Al and Kathy Dlouhy for allowing me to come up to the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, IA over the past seven years to cover some of there special events for Positively Racing. The few times I made the trip there the racing surface was always smooth, which provided some great two and even three wide racing throught the night. I wish them the best of luck in there future lives and only wish who ever takes over the track continues the tradition that Al and Kathy set for the track.
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