Benton County Speedway Produces Some Hot Racing Action

Vinton, IA (Sunday, May 20, 2018) - When I got into my car on Sunday to make the 2.5 hour drive northeast to the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa the temperature in my car read 72. But with every mile I got closer to Vinton the temperature would drop. When I finally arrived to the fairgrounds the temperature in the car had dropped to 59, and it was overcast.

The combination of the overcast skies and cool temperatures helped to keep the track fast all night. Which helped to produced some hot racing action, with two and three wide action in many of the seven feature events contested on the night.

After the 14 heat race events and the huge candy dash was completed, it was time to go feature racing. The 12 lap Micro Mods were up first, with Russ Olson and Cole McNeal leading the field to the green flag. McNeal would take advantage of his starting spot to jump out into the lead over Don Erger and Shawn Fisher. The fast pace that McNeal was setting allowed him to pull away from the rest of the field. And without a caution to bunch the field up, McNeal would cruise to his first win of the season at the track. Erger was 2nd, Fisher was 3rd, Matt Post was 4th, with Erick Knutsen rounding out the top 5.

Up next was the 12 lap Sport Compact feature, with Austin Reuman and Jamie Wood making up the front row. Reuman used his front row starting spot to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Adam Gates, who started 5th, and Travis Losenicky, who started 7th. The battle for the lead went three wide coming off turn 2 to complete lap 7, as Nathan Chandler, who started 8th and was running the low line, Jake Benischek, who started 6th and was running the middle groove, and Reuman, who was up top, raced for the lead. Benischek would emerge down the backstretch to grab the top spot, with Chandler close behind. Chandler would look under Benischek over the final 5 laps. But Benischek was able to hold him off to claim his 3rd win of the season at the track. Chandler settled for 2nd, Reuman was 3rd, Gates was 4th, with Bill Whalen Jr. finishing 5th.

Lonnie Mercer and Shane Ebaugh led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 18 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Mercer edging out Scooter Dulin and Ebaugh to lead lap 1. The lead for Mercer only lasted for 1 lap, as Dulin shot by on lap 2 to take over the top spot. Just like the Sport Compacts, the Stock Cars would race three wide coming off turn 2 to complete lap 3. John Oliver Jr., who started 6th and was working the bottom of the track, Damon Murty, who started 7th and was working the middle, and Dulin, who was up top, raced out of two for the top spot. Murty would emerge from the three wide battle to come around to lead lap 3. But Oliver Jr. would use the low groove to edge Murty out at the line on lap 4 to grab the top spot. While Oliver Jr. worked the bottom, Murty went to the top of the track to try and get the lead back. The two would race side-by-side over the next 5 laps, with Oliver Jr. holding the lead at the line each lap. Then coming off turn 4 to complete lap 10 Murty was able to use the momentum off the top to take over the top spot. This would force Oliver Jr. to move to the top of the track to try and get the lead back. Murty was able to hold him off, that was until the white flag lap. Coming out of turn 2 Murty suddenly started to slow, which allowed Oliver Jr. to go by to pick up his second win of the season at the track. By the time Murty got back up to speed Dulin went by. Duling then edged out Murty at the line by inches to finish 2nd, Murty settled for 3rd, Norman Chesmore was 4th, with Ebaugh coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 16 lap IMCA SportMod feature, with Kyle Bentley and Curt Hilmer making up the front row. Bentley took advantage of his starting spot to jump out front on lap 1 over Chase Rudolf and Hilmer. The lead for Bentley lasted until lap 3, when Rudolf shot under him coming off turn 2 to take over the top spot. Two laps later, lap 5, Hilmer would spin off the top of the track in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Rudolf moved back out front, with Bentley working to hold off Tony Olson for the runner up spot. With Bentley and Olson battling for second, this allowed Joe Docekal, who started 10th, to join the battle. Docekal would worked under both Bentley and Olson to take over the second spot on lap 7. Then just after the lap was scored complete the second caution of the race appeared, as Brady Hilmer spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart the #50H lost a left rear tire coming off turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Rudolf move back out front, with Docekal and Olson close behind. Docekal would look under Rudolf over the next 5 laps, when another caution on lap 13 slowed the battle.

Bradly Hilmer would spin in turn 4 to bring out his second caution to end his night. Rudolf grabbed the lead on the restart, with Docekal and Kyle Olson, who started 8th, over taking Tony Olson for 3rd. Another lap scored complete produced another yellow, as #80 spun in turn 4 to set up a green-white-checkered finish. Once again Rudolf grabbed the lead on the restart, with Docekal and Kyle Olson glued to his back bumper. But Jamie Huff would spin in turn 4 after the lapped was scored complete to bring out the yellow. This would set up a two lap overtime shoot out to the checkered. On the restart Docekal drove it hard down low into turn 1 and slid up in front of Rudolf coming off turn 2 to take over the top spot. Docekal then held off Rudolf on the final lap to claim his second win of the season at the track. Rudolf settled for 2nd, Tony Olson got by Kyle Olson to finish 3rd, Kyle Olson was 4th, with Ryan King finishing 5th.

The 20 lap IMCA Late Model feature took to the track next, with Curtis Glover and Sean Johnson drawing the front row for the event. Glover used his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Curt Schroeder and Ryan Dolan, who started 6th.  By lap 5 Dolan had worked his way into second, while Todd Cooney, who started 8th, worked himself into 3rd. Dolan then tried to work under Glover over the next couple of laps, but Glover was able to hold him off each lap. That was until lap 8 when he pushed coming off turn 4, which allowed Dolan to shoot by for the top spot. Two laps later, lap 10, Cooney got by Glover to take over the runner up spot. Then disaster would strike Glover on lap 12, as he got off the track in turn 3 and rolled several times to bring out the red. He would climb from the car okay. On the restart Dolan moved back out front, with Cooney and Luke Pestka, who started 5th, close behind. Cooney was able to follow in Dolan's tire tracks over the final 7 laps, but wasn't able to mount a challenge for the lead. As Dolan went on to pick up the win. Cooney was 2nd, Pestka was 3rd, Curran Beckler started 9th and finished 4th, with Schroeder rounding out the top 5.

Dennis Betzer and Zach Less led the field to green in the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Less jumping out front to lead lap 1 over Betzer and Patrick Flannagan. The action was slowed for the first time of the race on lap 5, as Griffin McGrath spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Less jumped back out front, with Corey Dripps, who started 6th, and Jeff Aikey, who started 10th, racing two and three wide to work themselves into 2nd and 3rd. Just when it looked like Less was going to pull away for an easy win, the second and final caution of the race appeared on lap 11. Debris in turn 2 would bring out the yellow, and the rest of the field back to Less' back bumper. Once again on the restart Less moved out front, with Aikey, Dripps and Joel Rust, who started 11th, battling for the runner up spot. While the battle for second was going on, this would allow Less to pull away. He would go on to lead the final laps to claim his first win of the season at the track. Rust slipped under Aikey coming off turn 2 on the final lap to finish 2nd, Aikey was 3rd, Dripps was 4th, with Scott Hogan coming home in 5th.

The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 15 lap IMCA Hobby Stocks, with Jacob Floyd and Jeremiah Andrews on the front row. Andrews took advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Floyd and Kyle Parizek.  Floyd, who was running the bottom of the track, Parizek, who was in the middle, and Andrews, who was up top, raced three wide off turn 2 to complete lap 3 for the top spot. With Parizek emerging out of the pack to lead the lap. Then just after the lap was scored complete, Bradly Graham went over the track in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Parizek moved back out front, with Justin Wacha, who started 6th, and Nathan Ballard, who started 9th, taking over 2nd and 3rd. Wacha would work the bottom of the track to take the top spot away from Parizek on lap 5, with Leah Wroten, who started 7th, joining Ballard in the battle for second. Coming off turn 2 to complete lap 6, Wroten worked under Wacha, while Ballard went to the top of the track to make it three wide. Wroten would come out with the lead going down the backstretch. But when Andrews spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow, this would hand the lead back over to Wacha for the restart. On that restart Ballard used the momentum off the top of turn 4 to edge Wacha and Wroten out at the line for the top spot. Ballard then led the final 9 laps to pick up his second win of the season at the track. Wroten over took Wacha late for 2nd, Wacha was 3rd, Brett Vanous passed 10 cars from his fourteenth place starting spot to come home in 4th, with Parizek finishing in 5th.

Notes from Vinton: Close to 100 cars signed in on the night, which included 19 Modifieds, 19 SportMods, 14 Hobby Stocks, 13 Micro Mods, 13 Sport Compacts, 10 Late Models, and 10 Stock Cars...Despite having to take time to pack the top side of the track in before all seven features, the final checkered flag still waved at 9:25 PM. Of course that is helped with starting on the scheduled time......Darrick Knutsen started the Micro Mod feature in 8th and finished 6th....Dallon Murty finished 7th after starting in 10th......Luke Benischek finished the Sport Compact feature in 6th after starting in 10th......Corey Brown had troubles in his heat that forced him to scratch from the Stock Car feature......Brandon Tharp finished the SportMod feature in 15th and then passed 9 cars to come home in 6th....Curt Hilmer came back thru the field after spinning over the track in turn 4 on lap 5 to finish in 10th....Tom Rawlins finished 11th after starting in 13th....Mike McDonald started 16th and finished 13th....Chuck Lewis finished 14th after starting in 17th....Jamie Huff started 19th and finished 15th....Tyler Soppe had troubles on the drop of the green flag that forced him into the infield with a 19th place finish......Scotty Welsh had troubles in his heat race that forced him to scratch from the Late Model feature......Ronn Lauritzen finished 6th in the Modified feature after starting in 8th....Tyler Madigan started 14th and finished 9th....Kip Siems finished 10th after starting in 16th....Griffin McGrath, who started 18th, recovered from his spin on lap 5 to come back up to finish 13th....Jesse Belez had troubles in his heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature......Daniel Wauters started the Hobby Stock feature in 10th and finished 6th....Bradly Graham recovered from going over the track in turn 3 on lap 3 to come back up to finish 7th....Breydon Forbes finished 10th after starting in 13th.