Oskaloosa, IA (Friday, October 3, 2014) - Despite the temps hoovering around the mid 40's, with wind chills around the upper 30's, night one of the 28th Annual MUSCO Lighting Fall Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa went off without a hitch. Mother Nature tried everything to stop this event from getting kicked off, as over an inch of rain fell on the grounds on Thursday. But Mike VanGenderen and his crew worked hard to get the racing surface prepared, which paid off with a fast and smooth track from top to bottom.
The first feature to take to the track was the 10 lap Sport Compacts, with Matt Moore and Matt Girdley leading the field to the green flag. Moore and Girdley came around to complete lap 1 side-by-side, with Girdley edging out Moore by inches to grab the lead. But Moore didn't give up as he slipped past Girdley on lap 2 to take over the top spot. While Moore and Girdley battled for the top spot, Cody Thompson, who started 6th, worked his way into the battle on lap 2. Thompson made a three wide pass on Moore and Girdley coming off turn four on lap 3 to take over the lead. Thompson then pulled away over the final 7 laps of a caution free race to pick up the $250 top prize. Moore was 2nd, Girdley was 3rd, Steven Struck was 4th, with Levi Heath rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 20 lap Stock Car feature, with Jerry Pilcher and Alan VaGorp drawing the front row for the event. But just as the green flag was waved the caution light would come on, as Corey Stout and Darrin Adamy, who made the long pull over from David City, Nebraska, spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart VanGorp led lap 1 over Pilcher and David Brandies. With VanGorp out front, the battle behind him was two and even three wide at times. Damon Murty, who started 8th, used the low groove of the half mile to edge VanGorp at the line to take over the top spot on lap 6. Meanwhile Brandies, who was running 3rd, spun off turn four with a broken right front to bring out the caution. Murty jumped back out front on the restart, with Donovan Nunnikhoven working to hold off Shay Curtin, who started 10th, in the battle for second. The action up front was slowed for the third time on lap 8, as Adamy spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Joe Zadina, who started 15th, used the top of the track to grab the top spot away from Murty and Nathan Wood, who started 8th. Zadina paced the field out front, while Mike Hughes, who started 18th, moved in to challenge Murty and Wood for the second spot. Hughes run to the front came to an end on lap 12, as he was going for second in turn 1 and got in to hot and spun in front of the field to bring out the final caution of the race. On the restart Murty would use the bottom of the track to edge Zadina at the line to grab the lead back and then pulled away over the final 7 laps to claim the win and the $1,000 top prize. Wood finished in 2nd, Zadina was 3rd, Derrick Agee came from 16th to finish in 4th, with Pilcher rounding out the top 5.
Tony Johnson and Brett Lowry led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 18 lap SportMod feature, with Lowry grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Logan Anderson and Johnson. While Lowry paced the field out front, Matt Lettow, who started 6th, found the top of the track to his liking. Lettow would use that groove to slip past Lowry on lap 5 to grab the top spot and then started to pull away. But when John Anderson slowed in turn 4 on lap 6 to bring out the first and only caution of the race, it would bring the field back to his back bumper. On the restart Lettow held off Curtis Van Der Wal, who started 9th and went from 5th to 2nd on the restart, at the line to hold the lead. Van Der Wal tried the low groove on the restart and wasn't able to make the pass, so he jumped to the top of the track coming off turn 4 on lap 8 to grab the lead away. Van Der Wal, who swept the Grand Nationals last weekend down at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, MO, went on to lead the final 10 laps to claim the $1,000 top prize and go three for three in fall specials so far in 2014. Lettow settled for 2nd, Brayton Carter came from 11th to finish in 3rd, Luke Wanninger drove Ty Luellen's 32L machine to a 4th place finish, with Carter VanDenBerg coming from 12th to finish in 5th.
Up next was the 16 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Bill Bonnett and Nick Ulin drawing the front row for the event. Bonnett would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Mike Hughes and Ulin. Hughes jumped to the top of the track on lap 2 to over take Bonnett for the top spot and then started to put some distance on the field. Until the first and only caution of the race appeared on lap 8, as Bobby Greene, who was running 6th, slowed to a stop in turn 4 with a right rear flat to bring out the yellow. On the restart Hughes moved back out front, with Danny Thrasher, who started 5th, and Dustin Griffiths, who started 9th, glued to his back bumper. Thrasher tried to stay in Hughes' tracks over the final 8 laps, but Hughes would hold on to pick up the win and the $1,000 top prize. Thrasher settled for 2nd, Bonnett was 3rd, Craig Brown started 7th and finished 4th, with Andrew Hustead coming home in 5th.
The final feature to take to the track was the 20 lap Modifieds, with Tyler Droste and Ryan Peckham leading the field to the green. Droste took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Scott Dickey and Peckham. But Dickey would jump to the top of the track on lap 2 to over take Droste for the top spot. While Dickey set a very fast pace out front, Jesse Dennis, who started 5th, and Cayden Carter, who started 7th, were working their way towards the front. At the midway point of the race, lap 10, Dennis would move into 2nd, with Carter following him into 3rd. But by then Dickey had built up a straight-away lead. Dennis and Carter tried to chase down Dickey over the final laps, but Dickey was to far out front as he claimed the win and the $1,000 top prize in a caution free race. Carter over took Dennis late to finish in 2nd, Dennis was 3rd, Jacob Murray started 10th and finished 4th, with Peckham holding on to finish in 5th.
Night 2 of the 28th Annual MUSCO Lighting Fall Challenge concludes tonight, Saturday, October 4th. The Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, and Hobby Stocks will once again battle for a $1,000 top prize, while the Sport Compacts battle for $250 to win. Hot laps start at 6 pm, with racing to follow. So bundle up and take in the final night of racing for 2014 at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, IA!
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