Tipton, IA (Friday, October 2, 2020) - Not much changed as far as the weather on night two of the Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, as the night started with temperatures in the mid 50's. Perhaps the biggest difference were the lighter winds, which helped make things more tolerable to handle. And once again the on track racing action should have helped to keep you warm.
Two Hundred thirty-six cars, up twenty-four from the night before, signed in for competition on night two. With one more state added to the five states represented from the previous night. Twenty-four heat races and seven B-Main's were ran to help set the starting line-ups for the six feature events.
The first feature to take to the track on this night was the 15 lap Mod Lites / Micro Mods, with Cole McNeal and Jon Padilla drawing the front row. Just after the green flag was waved the caution light would come on, as Cliff Barber slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the original restart McNeal jumped out front to lead lap 1 over Chad Dugan and Padilla. The lead for McNeal only lasted for 1 lap, as Dugan got under him coming off turn 2 to take over the top spot on lap 2. From there Dugan started to pull away and looked to be cruising to an easy win, when the second caution of the event appeared on lap 7. Dillon Letts would spin in turn 3 to bring the yellow out. On the restart Letts, Dale Schwamman and Logan Takes spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Dugan jump back out front, with Kaden Reynolds, who started 12th, and McNeal close behind. While Dugan and McNeal used the bottom of the track, Reynolds and RJ Gonzales, who started 16th, were using the top. Despite Reynolds pulling even with Dugan going into the corners over the final few laps, Dugan was able to come off the bottom to pull away down the straight-aways. Dugan would hold on to claim his second Mod Lites / Micro Mods Fall Bash win in back-to-back years. Reynolds was 2nd, Gonzales broke the strangle hold on the Micro Mods completing the top 5 sweep, as he finished 3rd, McNeal was 4th, with John Griffin making the pull down from Caledonia, Minnesota pay off with a top 5 finish.
Up next was the 12 lap 4 Stock feature, with Luke Benischek and Chuck Fullenkamp leading the field of twenty-eight to the wave of the green flag. Benischek took advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Fullenkamp and Josh Starr. Both Benischek and Fullenkamp worked the bottom of the track, while Starr tried to work the top to get past both of them. The lead trio started to pull away from the rest of the field, when the first caution brought the rest of the field back to their back bumpers on lap 6. Michael Lundeen slowed to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Matt Speiss slowed to a stop in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Benischek move back out front, with Starr over taking Fullenkamp for the runner up spot. With Starr using the top of the track to try and get past Benischek for the top spot, Benischek would move up to the middle groove to try and slow down Starr's momentum. But Starr was able to use the momentum off the top to final clear Benischek for the lead on lap 10. From there Starr held off Benischek to pick up the win. Fullenkamp was 3rd, Travis Hawkins was 4th, with Tommy Staggs finishing 5th after starting in 9th.
The Hobby Stocks had troubles getting their 15 lap feature going, as 5 cautions in the first 9 laps slowed the action. And rather then dwelling on those first 9 laps, I will write about the final 6 laps that turned out to be a barn burner. Kaden Reynolds, who used the top of the track to grab the lead on lap 2, jumped out front on the final restart, with Jake Benischek, who started 6th, and Daniel Wauters, who started outside the front row, challenging him. When Benischek, who worked the bottom, was able to pull even with Reynolds down the straight-aways, Reynolds would move to the bottom to force Benischek to use a different groove to get around him for the top spot. What Reynolds didn't know was that Wauters continued to work the top and he would use the momentum off the top to pull even with Reynolds. Then going into turn 3 on the final lap Reynolds on the bottom, Benischek in the middle and Wauters up top, enter the corner three wide. Reynolds would emerge off turn 4 with the lead and edged out Wauters for the win. Benischek was a close 3rd, Quinton Miller, who started on the pole, finished 4th, with Randy LaMar finishing 5th after starting in 11th.
Reece Norton and Johnny Spaw drew the front row for the 20 lap Stock Car feature, with Spaw jumping out front to lead lap 1 over David Brandies and John Oliver Jr. After the lap was scored complete the yellow light came on, as Chase Zaruba went off the track in turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Spaw jumped back out front, with Oliver Jr and Brandies glued to his back bumper. One more lap scored complete produced another caution, as Jeff Valentine spun in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. Spaw once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Oliver Jr. and Brandies still following him. When Oliver Jr. got under Spaw coming off the corners, Spaw decided to move down to the bottom of the track to slow Oliver Jr.'s momentum. Spaw was able to hold him back, when the third caution of the race slowed the pace on lap 14. Gene Ehlers slowed to a stop in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Spaw moved back out front, with Joel Rust, driving Jay Schmidt's back up car, over taking Oliver Jr. for the runner up spot. One more lap was scored complete before the yellow waved again, as Joe Zrostlik, who was running 8th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. On the restart Dustin Vis spun in turn 2 and collected Tom Schmitt to bring the yellow light back on. The final restart saw Spaw jump back out front, with Rust and Damon Murty, who started 12th, moving into third. Rust, who was working the top, used the momentum off the top of turn 4 to edge out Spaw at the line to lead lap 18. But when Rust bobbled in turn 4 coming to the white flag, Spaw would work under him to grab the lead back. Disaster would strike Rust going into turn 3 on the final lap, as Damon Murty looked under Rust to try and make it a three car battle for the win. The right front of Damon Murty's car made contact with Rust's left rear, which sent Rust rolling several times off the track in turn 4 to bring out the red. Rust would emerge from the car okay. The race was declared finished, with Spaw claiming the win. Oliver Jr. was credited with 2nd, Dallon Murty was credited with 3rd after starting in 7th, Kyle Merkes was credited with 4th after starting in 10th, with Brandies credited with 5th.
Up next was the 20 lap SportMod feature, and with the reputation the SportMods have everyone thought this would be a caution plagued event. But instead it would go 20 laps caution free, with a great finish. Gage Neal and Jarett Franzen lead the field to green, with Neal leading lap 1 over Tyler Soppe and Shane Paris. With Neal working the bottom of the track, Soppe worked the top, and Soppe used the momentum off the top to grab the top spot on lap 4. The fast pace that Soppe was setting put him into lapped traffic on lap 13. With the lap traffic racing two and three wide in front of him, this allowed Paris and Brayton Carter to quickly close to his back bumper. Coming to the white flag Carter was able to clear Paris for the runner up spot, and then set his sights on Soppe for the win. Carter would look under Soppe coming off turn 4, but lapped traffic allowed Soppe to hold him off at the line by half a car length to pick up the win. Paris was 3rd, Justin Becker came from 10th to finish 4th, with Neal holding on for 5th.
The final feature to take to the track was the 30 lap Modifieds, with Eric Barnes and Spencer Diercks drawing the front row. Barnes took advantage of his draw to grab the lead on lap 1 over Diercks and Tyler Droste. The lead for Barnes only lasted for 1 lap, as Droste got under him coming off turn 4 to take over the top spot. While Droste worked the bottom of the track, Diercks worked the top to try and get the lead away from him. But Droste was able to hold him off each lap, when the first and only caution of the race appeared on lap 10. Tyler Madigan would spin in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Droste jumped back out front, with Diercks and Chris Simpson close behind. Again Droste stayed committed to the bottom, while Diercks worked the top to get past Droste. On lap 26 Droste would enter lapped traffic, which gave Diercks a chance to use the momentum off the top to get the lead. But when Diercks dropped his right rear off the top of the track in turns 1 and 2, this allowed Droste to pull away for the win. Diercks was 2nd, Simpson was 3rd, Joel Rust was 4th, with Cody Laney coming home in 5th.
It's ironic how last nights events mirrored Thursday night, as hot laps began shortly after 6 PM and the first feature rolled to the track at 9:50 PM and the final checkered flag waved just seconds before midnight. The third and final night of the Fall Bash concluded tonight, with hot laps set for 5:30 PM. The Street Stocks and A.I.R.S. replace the Mod Lites / Micro Mods and 4 Stocks on the card tonight.
Once again I would like to say THANK YOU to Ryan Duhme and Timmy Current and their entire staff for the hospitality. If you can't make it out for the final night, you can catch the action on pay-per-view at www.doneright.tv.
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