Saturday, June 14, 2014

Moyer Tops SportMod Challenge at the Davenport Speedway

Davenport, IA (Friday, June 13, 2013) - Friday the 13th with a full moon didn't effect the racing action at the Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA. As they held there 2nd Annual SportMod Challenge, with $2,000 going to the feature winner. Also in action on the night was the IMCA Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Street Stocks and 4 Stocks.

The first feature to take to the track on the night was the 15 lap Street Stocks, with Kevin Schloemer and Randy Lamar leading the field to the green flag. Lamar would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Schloemer and Cary Brown, who started 5th. Brown worked the bottom of the speedway to take over the top spot from Lamar on lap 3, but Lamar used the top of the track to grab the lead back on lap 4. While Lamar and Brown battle up front, Perry Gellerstedt, who started 9th, was working his way to the front. Gellerstedt worked under Brown on lap 10 to move into the runner up spot and then used the same groove to take over the top spot on lap 11. Gellerstedt then pulled away over the final 4 laps of a caution free race to pick up the win. Lamar held on for 2nd, Brown was 3rd, Cord Williams was 4th, with Donnie Louck coming from 15th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 25 lap IMCA Late Model feature, with LeRoy Brenner and Gary Webb making up the front row for the event. Webb used his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Rob Toland and Brenner. But just as lap 1 was complete the caution would come out, as Joe Lowder spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Webb moved back out front, with Toland and Brenner close behind. While Webb and Toland used the top of the track, Matt Ryan used the bottom to grab the lead away from Webb on lap 7. Lowder would spin in turn 2 on lap 10 to bring out his second solo caution to end his night. Ryan grabbed the lead on the restart, with Toland and Mike Zemo Jr. battling for second. While Ryan and Toland battled fro the lead, Justin Kay, who started 12th was working his way to the front. Toland would use the top of the track to edge out Ryan at the line to lead lap 16. One lap later, lap 17, Kay slipped under Ryan to move into the runner up spot. The following lap, lap 18, he used the same groove to take the top spot away from Toland. Just after the completion of lap 24, the white flag lap, the yellow and checkered flag was waved. As Marty Diercks spun off turn 1 to bring out the yellow and checkers. Kay was scored the winner. Toland was 2nd, Ryan was 3rd, Ray Guss Jr. came from 11th to finish in 4th, with Zemo Jr. coming home in 5th.

Wade Dahl and Allen Morris led the field to green in the 12 lap 4 Stock feature, with Wade Dahl grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Luke Benischek and Brandon Dahl, who started 8th. Wade Dahl's lead only last for one lap, as Benischek slipped by on lap 2 to take over the top spot. One lap later, lap 3, Brandon Dahl slipped by Benischek to grab the lead, while Andrew Fitzgerald, who started 9th, worked his way into the battle up front. Fitzgerald tried to slip under Brandon Dahl over the next 5 laps, until he finally got the job done on lap 9 to take over the lead. Fitzgerald then held him off over the final 3 laps of a caution free race to claim the win. Brandon Dahl was 2nd, Luke Benischek was 3rd, Jake Benischek started 7th and finished 4th, with Wade Dahl holding on for 5th.

Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Jarod Struss and Jason Pershy on the front row for the event. Pershy would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Struss and Chris Zogg, who started 6th. Zogg used the top of the track to take the top spot away from Pershy on lap 3, leaving Pershy to battle Bob Dominacki, Matt Werner, who started 5th, and Joe Beal, who started 8th, for the runner up spot. There was no stopping Zogg tonight, as he led the final 17 laps of a caution free race to pick up the win. Werner won the battle for 2nd, Brandon Durbin came from 7th to finish in 3rd, Mitch Morris started 9th and finished in 4th, with Dominacki rounding out the top 5.

The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 50 lap IMCA SportMod Challenge, with Greg Wichman and Jake Morris drawing the front row for the event. Wichman would use his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Carter VanDenBerg and Austin Moyer, who started 5th. Wichman worked the next 9 laps to hold off Moyer for the lead, while VanDenBerg tried to hold off Jenae Gustin in the battle for third. Moyer would slip under Wichman on lap 10 to take over the top spot, with the  first caution coming out after the completion of the lap. Jacob Arp lost a rear spring in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Moyer moved back out front, with VanDenBerg, Wichman, Gustin and Dan Mohr, who started 7th battling for second. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 13, as Dustin Crear, who started 19th, got into the back of Morris while battling for 12th. With Morris spinning to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Moyer once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Mohr close behind in second. Mohr, who was three wheeling his machine around the top of the speedway, tried to work around Moyer over the next 11 laps. But Moyer was able to hold him off, until the third and final caution appeared on lap 24 to slow the action down. This time Matt Short came to stop down the front stretch with a right front flat to bring out the yellow. On the restart Moyer jumped back out front, with Mohr still glued to his back bumper. Moyer used lapped traffic over the final 26 laps to pull away to claim the win and the $2,000 top prize. Mohr settled for 2nd, VanDenBerg was 3rd, Tony Olson came from 18th to finish in 4th, with Gustin coming home in 5th.

Notes from Davenport: 26 Modifieds, 21 SportMods, 19 Late Models, 15 Street Stocks, and 15 4 Stocks made up the 96 cars signed in on the night....What made the night amazing was in 122 laps of feature racing in the 5 features, only six cautions slowed the action....The 15 lap Street Stocks went caution free, the 25 lap Late Model feature had three cautions, 12 laps in the 4 Stocks was caution free, as was the 20 lap Modifieds, with the 50 lap SportMods only having three cautions!......Nick Claussen started the Street Stock feature in 8th and finished in 6th....Andrew Burk came from 10th to finish in 7th....Zach Huston, Rick Schriner and Jake Whittington all had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature......Todd Malmstrom started the Late Model feature in 9th and finished in 7th....Mike Murphy Jr. came from 10th to finish in 8th....Chad Holladay started 13th and finished 10th....Duane Christisen came from 17th to finish in 11th....Andy Nezworski was running 7th, when heavy smoke from his car sent him to the pits on lap 24 to end his night in 12th......Zach Dahl came from 12th in the 4 Stock feature to finish in 8th....Todd Sibley finished 9th after starting in 14th....Richard Dearborn, Justin Schroeder and Lucas Short all had troubles in there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature......Doug Crampton came from 12th in the Modified feature to finish in 6th....Dean McGee started 10th and finished in 7th....Brian Mullen made the pull down from Seymour, Wisconsin and had to come from the B Main to start the feature in 16th. He passed 8 cars to bring home an 8th place finish....Tim Current won the B Main and started 13th. He passed 3 cars to finish in 10th....Brian Bushong started 17th and finished 14th....Mike Fluegel came from 18th to finish in 15th....Joe Beal's run up front came to an end on lap 15, when he pulled off the track while running 4th with troubles to end his night in 16th......Bryce Garnhart started the SportMod feature in 10th and finished in 6th....Jake Waterman drove Jacob Beal's #96 machine to a 7th place finish after starting in 9th....Brett Lowry came from 12th to finish in 8th....Jacob Ellithorpe started 16th and finished in 10th....Dustin Crear recovered from his involvement in the lap 13 caution to come back up to finish in 11th....Doug Burkhead started 17th and finished in 12th....David Norton came from 21st to finish in 15th.

I would like to thank Bob Wagoner and the entire staff at the Davenport Speedway for the nice warm welcome last night. As I was invited to come up to meet the crew and see how they did things before next weeks action, when I will fill in as assistant scorer. It was a fun night to be invited down to score the features on the 1/4 mile track!

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