Sunday, April 19, 2015

Schroeder, Huls, and Gower Become New Winners at the Lee County Speedway

Donnellson, IA (Friday, April 17, 2015) - What a beautiful night for racing on a Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. After the final checkered fell on the night there would be three new winners standing in victory lane, and two repeat winners.

The first feature to take to the track was the 15 lap IMCA Sport Compacts, with William Michel and Matt Moore leading the twenty-two car field to the green flag. Michel would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Trent Orwig, and Josh Barnes, who quickly moved up from his 9th place starting spot. Barnes would over take Orwig for second on lap 2 and then went to work on Michel for the top spot. Michel, who was running the top of the track, and Barnes, who was working the bottom, came off turn 4 on lap 7 side-by-side, with Barnes coming out on top on lap 8 to grab the lead. After the completion of lap 9 the red flag was thrown, as Kenny Smith who was sitting in the infield in turn 2 needed medical attention. On the restart Barnes jumped back out front, but now had Travis DeMint, who started 11th, and Michael Grossman, who started 8th, glued to his back bumper. DeMint tried to work under Barnes over the next 4 laps, when the caution light came on on lap 13. Colton Keck would loose a right front tire in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Brandon Lambert would loose a right front tire in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart had Barnes grab the lead, with DeMint looking under him for the lead going into turn 1. But Barnes would hold off DeMint over the final 2 laps to pick up his second win in a row at the track. DeMint settled for 2nd, Michel was 3rd, Chuck Fullenkamp came from 12th to finish in 4th, with Orwig rounding out the top 5.

Up next was the 14 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature, with Nick Ulin and Dustin Griffiths making up the front row. Griffiths used his starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Ulin and Brandon Symmonds. Just like last weeks feature, Ulin looked under Griffiths several time over the 14 lap event. But he had Symmonds breathing down his back if he made any mistakes trying to get around Griffiths for the lead. Griffiths wouldn't make any mistakes, as he held on to claim his second win in a row at the track. Ulin was 2nd, Symmonds was 3rd, Leah Wroten was 4th, with John Irwin coming home in 5th.

Austen Becerra was scheduled to start on the pole of the 20 lap IMCA SportMod feature, but had motor troubles that forced his to scratch from the event. This would move Robert Gould to the pole, with Nathan Bringer to his outside. On the drop of the green flag fifth place starter Brandon Dale moved to the front to grab the lead on lap 1 over Bringer and Gould, who crossed the line side-by-side. Bringer's run up front came to an end on lap 2, as he spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Dale jumped back out front, with Joey Gower, who started 7th, over taking Gould for the second spot. Gower, who was working the bottom of the track, would slip under Dale on lap 4 to take over the top spot and then started to pull away. But debris down the backstretch on lap 8 would slow Gower's pace down and bring the field back to his back bumper. On the restart Gower moved back out front, with Dale working to hold back Adam Birck, who started 9th, for the runner up spot. Gower would pull away over the final 12 laps to pick up his first win of the season at the track. Birck was 2nd, Gould would cross the line in 3rd but was disqualified for being 10 pounds light at the scales, Tom Lathrop, who started 11th would cross the line in 4th and was also disqualified for being 10 pounds light on the scales, this would move Bob Cowman, who started 10th up to finish in 3rd, Dale, who was running 2 on lap 15 and pulled off with over heating troubles was moved up to 4th, with Bobby Anders, who was running 4th on lap 15 and pulled off with over heating troubles, was moved up to a 5th place finish.

Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Ryan Fullenkamp and Jason Cook leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Cook, Fullenkamp, and Abe Huls went into turn 3 three wide, with Cook using the momentum off the top of the track to grab the lead on lap 1. Cook, who was running the top of the track, and Abe Huls, who was running the bottom, crossed the line on laps 6 and 7 side-by-side for the lead, with Cook edging Huls at the line each lap to keep the lead. But Huls was able to slip under Cook coming off turn 4 on lap 8 to grab the top spot away. While Huls and Cook battled for the top spot, Nathan Wood, who started 9th, Michael Peterson, Jeremy Pundt, John Oliver Jr., Corey Strothman, Jim Redmann, and Zack VanDerBeek raced two and three wide for spots three thru ninth. Pundt's run up in the top 5 would come to an end on lap 16 when he clipped a tire in turn 2 and pushed it onto the track to bring out the yellow. The damage to Pundt's front end would force him to the pits. On the restart Huls moved back out front, with Cook working to hold back Wood for the second spot. While Cook and Wood battled side-by-side for second, Huls would pull away over the final 4 laps to claim his first win of the season at the track. Wood won the battle for 2nd, Cook was 3rd, Peterson was 4th, with Strothman rounding out the top 5.

The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with AJ Johnson and Bill Roberts Jr. making up the front row. But it was third place starter Andrew Schroeder who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Roberts Jr. and Jeff Waterman. Schroeder would set a fast pace out front, while Waterman, Brandon Rothzen, who started 7th, Roberts Jr., and Scott Hogan, who started 9th, battled two wide for the second spot. Hogan, who was running the bottom, slipped under Waterman for the runner up spot on lap 18 and would look to chase down Schroeder for the top spot. But without the help of a caution and Schroeder a straight-away ahead, there was no catching Schroeder who would claim his first win of the season at the track. Hogan settled for 2nd, Waterman was 3rd, Rothzen was 4th, with Carter VanDenBerg coming home in 5th.

Notes from LCS: Kimberly Abbott finished 7th in the Sport Compact feature after starting in 14th....Mike Reu came from 18th to finish in 8th....John Girdley started 17th and finished 10th....Kevin Garrett came from 16th to finish in 12th....Barry Taft, who was running 8th, pulled off on the restart on lap 13 with motor troubles to end his night in 14th....Michael Grossman, who started 8th and had worked his way to 3rd by lap 10, pulled off under the lap 13 caution with troubles to end his night in 16th....Colton Keck, who started 21st, lost a right front wheel on lap 13 to end his night in 17th....John Whalen, who was suppose to start 3rd, was forced to scratch from the event after troubles in his heat race....Jeffrey DeLonjay also had troubles after his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature......Colton Bowman started the SportMod feature in 12th and finished 6th....Kyle Hill, who started 13th, was running 5th when he pulled off on lap 11 with over heating troubles to end his night in 7th....Both Austen Becerra and Phillip Cossel has troubles after there heat races that forced them to scratch from the feature......John Oliver Jr. started the Stock Car feature in 10th and would finished 6th....Zack VanderBeek came from 12th to finish in 7th....Jake Wenig started 15th and finished 11th......Rich Smith started the Modified feature in 11th and would finish 8th....Steve Stewart came from 16th to finish in 10th....Dugan Thye started 17th and finished 14th.

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