Burlington, IA (Saturday, April 28, 2012) - After heavy rain showers moved thru the area over night many thought there was little to no hope that 34 Raceway would get there 2012 season points opener in. But with alot of hard work done by the staff at the track all doubters were wrong, as the night was completed despite some cool temps and a brisk wind.
The night started off with the regular 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Jason Cook and Alex Buffington drawing the front row for the event. Cook edged out Buffington by inches at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. Buffington's early run up front would come to a halt on lap 4, when he came to a stop in turn 4 with mechanical troubles to bring out the first caution of the event. On the restart Cook jumped back out front, with John Oliver Jr. and Brett Timmerman following him in 2nd and 3rd. Cook continued to hold the lead over Oliver Jr., when the second caution of the event came out on lap 7. This time Chris Webb came to a stop in the entrance to pit road. On the restart Blaine Dopler went for a spin in turn four to bring the yellow light back on. Once again Cook grabbed the top spot on the following restart, with Oliver Jr. and Timmerman battling for 2nd. Cook would go on to lead all 20 laps to pick up the win. Oliver Jr. settled for 2nd, Timmerman was 3rd, Matt Greiner was 4th, with Abe Huls coming from 11th to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, with Mitch Morris and Kevin Goben leading the field to the drop of the green flag. But before that could happen Jeff Waterman, who was suppose to start 4th, came to to a stop down the backstretch. He was pushed to the pits with no power to end his night before the green was even dropped. Morris would take advantage of his front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Goben and Josh Foster. While Morris continued to lead the field, Goben had to work to hold back Foster and Scott Hogan for the battle for 2nd. Foster was able to over take Goben for 2nd on lap 8, while Hogan move into 3rd 2 laps later, to set there sits on Morris for the lead. Foster would close the gap between himself and Morris on lap 14, as Morris entered lapped traffic. Morris would go high going into turn 1 on lap 15, while Foster went to the bottom. Foster would come out of turn 2 with the lead, as Morris got hung up behind lapped traffic. Foster then went on to lead the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Morris held on for 2nd, Hogan was 3rd, Milo Veloz came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Goben hanging on for 5th.
Eric Rowley and Loyd Duffie made up the front row for the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Rowley jumping out front on lap 1. Rowley would hold the lead until the red flag came out on lap 2 to stop the action. Josh Tripp, who was running 3rd after lap 1 and almost spun in turn 4 and fell back to 10th, came off of turn 2 and then got upside down and rolled 2 or 3 times to bring the red light on. He would climb from his car ok, but done for the night. On the restart Jake Wenig jumped to the outside of Rowley to take over the top spot, with Dan Wenig following in second. Jake then led the final 13 laps to claim the win. Dan Wenig would settle for 2nd, Dane Fenton came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Matt Gavin was 4th, with Victor Hastings coming from 9th to round out the top 5.
The 25 lap IMCA Late Model was the next event to take to the track, with Tom Bowling Jr. and Mark Burgtorf drawing the front row. Burgtorf took advantage of his front row start to move out into the lead on lap 1 over Colby Springsteen and Matt Bailey. Burgtorf started to put some distance on Springsteen until lap 5, when Tommy Elston and Clint Kirkham got tied up in turn 4 to bring out the first caution. On the restart Bowling Jr. got sideways in turn 4 and collected Bailey, who was running 4th, Todd Malmstrom, Tim Simpson and Kirkham to bring the yellow light back on. Burgtorf again jumped out front on the restart, with Springsteen and Lonnie Bailey following in 2nd and 3rd. Burgtorf and Springsteen had a great battle for the lead going when disaster almost struck Springsteen on lap 14. Just as Springsteen went under Simpson to put a lap on him, Simpson would spin down off of turn 4 to almost clip Springsteen and brought out the caution. On the restart Burgtorf again grabbed the lead with Springsteen close behind. Burgtorf, who was up top, and Springsteen, who was on the bottom, ran laps 17-20 side-by-side with Burgtorf egding out Springsteen at the line each time. The side-by-side battle up front came to a stop on lap 20, when Malmstrom, who was running 8th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the final caution of the event. Once again Burgtorf jumped out front on the restart and then held it for the final 5 laps to pick up the win. Springsteen settled for 2nd, Tom Darbyshire came from 7th to finish in 3rd, Matt Strassheim started 8th and came home in 4th, with Lonnie Bailey coming home in 5th.
Daniel Bergquist and Nick Guernsey led the field to the drop of the green in the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature, with Bergquist moving out front on lap 1. Bergquist started to put some distance between himself and the second place battle with Guernsey and Donnie Steward, when he entered lap traffic by lap 8. Steward then was able to reel in Bergquist and took advantage of a lapped car to jump to the outside of Bergquist on lap 11 to take over the top spot. Steward would then go on to lead the final 9 laps to claim the win. Jayson Ditsworth came from 5th to finish in 2nd, Bergquist settled for 3rd, Guernsey held on for 4th, with Shawn Whiting rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 12 lap 4 Cylinder feature, with Casey Mehaffy and Michael Grossman drawing the front row. Grossman took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Nick Wilkerson. Grossman then held off Wilkerson until he started to enter lapped traffic by lap 8. Wilkerson would take advantage of Grossman getting trapped behind a lapped car on lap 8, to slip under him and grab the top spot. Wilkerson then led the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Bill Whalen Jr. came from 7th to finish in 2nd, Grossman was 3rd, Bradley Stevenson was 4th, with Jerrod Nichols who started 13th rounding out the top 5.
The final event on the night was the make-up IMCA Stock Car feature, which was rained out from April 21st. John Brockway and Jim Lynch led the field to the drop of the green flag, with Lynch moving out front on lap 1. Lynch, who was running the top, and Shane Watts, who was running the bottom, had a great battle up front going until lap 13. The first and only caution of the event came out for debris in turn 4. On the restart Lynch and Watts continued there great battle up front when the white flag came out. Watts would go into turn 1 on the bottom and then tried to drift up in front of Lynch. But Lynch would climb the backstretch wall to keep his momentum going into turn 3. Watts tried the same move coming off turn 4, as Lynch came across the finish line with his rear wheels off the ground to claim his first career Stock Car feature win. Jason Cook slipped under Watts at the line to finish in 2nd, Watts settled for 3rd, Matt Greiner came from 11th to finish in 4th, with John Oliver Jr. coming home in 5th.
Notes from 34: 19 Stock Cars, 19 4 Cylinders, 18 305 Sprints, 17 Late Models, 17 Modifieds and 15 Hobby Stocks made up the 105 cars signed in for the first night of points in 2012......Shane Watts came from 16th in the first Stock Car feature to finish in 7th....Cale Samberg started 15th and passed 6 cars to finish in 9th....Blaine Dopler started 17th and brought out the caution on lap 4 when he spun in turn 4. He would recover from that spin to climb back up to finish in 10th....Jeremy Pundt came from 19th and passed 8 cars to take home 11th....Derek St. Clair came from the rear after pitting on lap 4 with a flat to finish in 12th......The 20 lap Modified feature went CAUTION FREE!!!....Bill Roberts came from 12th to finish in 9th....Andy Krieger started 16th and passed 6 cars to finish in 10th....Defending track champion Brandon Rothzen had troubles in his heat which caused him to scratch from the feature, he was credited with 17th......Dugan Thye started the Hobby Stock feature in 14th and would come home in 10th......Tom Goble came from 14th in the Late Model feature to finish in 9th......The 20 lap 305 Sprint feature went CAUTION FREE!!!....Justin Newberry came from 13th to finish in 8th....Harold Pohren started 16th to finish in 11th....Tony Burk rolled his car in the heat to scratch from the feature....Brett Timmerman had motor troubles in his heat to scratch from the feature....Dave Getchell rolled in his heat to scratch from the feature......The 12 lap 4 Cylinder feature went CAUTION FREE!!!....Geoffrey Theobald came from 16th and passed 9 cars to finish in 7th....Dustin Ravelin passed 7 cars from his 19th place starting spot to come home in 12th......Alex Buffington started the make-up Stock Car feature in 17th and passed 11 cars to finish in 6th....Derek St. Clair came from 12th to finish in 7th....Blaine Dopler was running 4th when he went to the pits on the lap 13 yellow to end his night in 11th....Jeff Mueller, who was running 5th, pulled off the track on lap 8 with mechanical troubles and was credited with 13th....Abe Huls and Jake Wenig decided not to take the green flag in the make-up feature....Tanner Thomann, Gabe Harrison, Travis Hartman and Troy Greiner all didn't return to run the event.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Third Time Is A Charm For Lee County Speedway
Donnellson, IA (Friday, April 27, 2012) - Finally after two straight weeks of rain outs new owners Dave and Yvonne Sapp, with promoter Dwain Hulett, were finally able to get the 2012 season started on Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA. Despite mother natures attempts before and during the night to rain on the season opening points night, all events were able to be completed with the final checkered flag being waved at 10:05pm.
The IMCA Modifieds 20 lap feature was the first one to take to the track, with Tyler Cale and Brandon Savage drawing the front row for the event. Cale took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Brandon Banks and Ryan Cook. The first and only caution of the event came out on the completion of lap 2, as Derek Hamm spun his machine in turn 2. On the restart Cale moved back out into the lead, with Cook and Josh Foster, who started 9th, battling for second. Cale would go on to lead all 20 laps to take the win. Foster would come home in 2nd, Cook was 3rd, Banks was 4th, with Jeff Waterman coming home in 5th.
Up next was the 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with John Oliver Jr. and Jake Wenig leading the field to the green. Wenig would edge out Oliver Jr. at the line to grab the lead on lap 1, with Jeff Mueller close behind in 3rd. The first of four cautions in the event would come out after the completion of lap 1, as Jim Lynch spun off turn 4. On the restart Wenig got to high in turn 3 which allowed Oliver Jr. to slip under to take over the top spot and Mueller getting by for 2nd. After the completion of lap 2 Wenig would slow in turn 2 with a right rear flat and Tenny Sammons spun in turn 3 to bring out the second caution. On the restart Abe Huls would get into Corey Strothman, which resulted in Strothman spinning in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. Huls was penalized to the back, with Strothman getting his spot back. Oliver Jr. moved back out front on the next restart, with Mueller pressuring him for the lead. Mueller would jump to the outside of Oliver Jr. to take over the top spot on lap 4. The two would run the next 4 laps side-by-side, with Oliver Jr. leading lap 8 on the bottom. But Mueller wouldn't give up as they ran the next 3 laps side-by-side, before the final caution came out on lap 11. This time Strothman would spin his machine in turn 2 to slow the great battle up front. Mueller would exit to the pits under the caution with mechanical troubles, which put an end to his great battle up front for the lead. Once again Oliver Jr. would jump back out front for the restart, with Jim Redmann now battling him for the lead. Redmann would try the same middle grove as Mueller to get by Oliver Jr. for the lead over the final 3 laps. But Oliver Jr. held off all challenges to grab the win. Redmann settled for 2nd, Jason Cook came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Jeremy Pundt was 4th, with Chris Webb rounding out the top 5.
Scott Smith and Brandon Lambert drew the front row for the 12 lap IMCA Sport Compact feature. But it was fifth place starter Chuck Fullenkamp who quickly moved to the front to grab the lead on lap 1. The first of two cautions of the event would come out on lap 2, when Austen Becerra spun in turn 3. On the restart Fullenkamp jumped back out front, with Darin Smith, who started 7th, moving up 2nd. The only thing to slow Fullenkamp down over the next 6 laps, was another caution on lap 8. This time a tire was clipped and thrown out onto the track in turn 1 to slow the action down for the final time in the event. Fullenkamp again grabbed the lead on the restart and then held it over the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Smith came home in 2nd, Kimberly Abbott started 8th and took home 3rd, Robert Thompson finished 4th after starting in 9th, Lambert was fifth but was disqualified for illegal tires, moving Mike Hornung Jr. up to take home 5th.
The IMCA SportMod 15 lap feature was the next event to take to the speedway, with Rick Barlow Jr. and Tony Dunker drawing the front row. Barlow Jr. would take advantage of his front row start to edge out Dunker at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. But Dunker would jump to the outside of Barlow Jr. to take over the top spot on lap 2. Dunker then started to pull away, leaving Barlow Jr, Phillip Cossel and Chris Larson battling it out for second, when the first caution came out on lap 6. Dean Kratzer, who was running 7th, spun down the backstretch to bring out the yellow. On the restart Dunker jumped back out front, with Cossel getting by Barlow Jr. to move into 2nd. The action up front was slowed for the final time on lap 8, as Derek Coleman, who was running 7th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Once again Dunker grabbed the lead on the restart, with Cossel trying to hold off Jim Gillenwater, who started 20th, for 2nd. Dunker would go on to lead the final 7 laps unchallenged to claim the win. Cossel would hold on to finish in 2nd, Larson edged out Gillenwater to take home 3rd and Gillenwater settling for 4th, with John Oliver Jr. rounding out the top 5.
Despite only 3 cars taking the green in the 10 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature, the two car battle up front was one of the best on the night. Andrew Hustead and Dustin Griffiths made up the front row for the event, with Hustead grabbing the lead on lap 1. Hustead would hold off Griffiths until lap 4, when Griffiths jumped to his outside to take over the top spot. Griffiths then had to work to hold back Hustead over the final 6 laps, as Hustead tried him down low on ever lap. But Griffiths was able to hold back all of Hustead's challenges to pick up the win. Hustead had to settle for 2nd, with Michael Wenke finishing in 3rd.
Notes from LCS: Despite the 25 minute rain delay after the 2nd SportMod heat, the track was able to be packed back in and the remainder of the nights events were completed by 10:05pm......Bill Roberts started the Modified feature in 11th and took home a 8th place finish....Todd Hansen came from 12th to finish in 9th....Derek Hamm, who started 14th, an spun on lap 2 to bring out the only caution of the event came back up to finish in 11th....Mike VanGendern, who started 10th and had worked his way up to sixth by lap 17, pulled off on lap 18 with mechanical troubles to end his night in 13th....Rich Smith was running 5th when left front damaged ended his night on lap 9......Jake Wenig grabbed the lead on lap 1 of the Stock Car feature and then held it until lap 2, when he got into the turn 3 and 4 guardrail. As a result he cut down a right rear tire. He would go to the hot pit area to get it changed and then rejoined the back of the field for the restart. Jake would recover to come back to finish 6th....Derek St. Clair came from 12th and passed 5 cars to take home 7th....Abe Huls, who started 11th, was credited with a caution on a lap 2 restart to have to go to the back for the next restart. He would recover to come back to finish in 8th....Defending track champion Matt Greiner struggled all night with mechanical troubles and exited on lap 2 of the feature to end his night in 14th......Dakota Anderson and Laine VanZandt had troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from both the heat race and feature in the Sport Compacts......Bobby Anders, who is in his first full year behind the wheel of a SportMod, started the feature in 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 8th....Brandon Dale came from 12th to finish in 9th....Brandon Ruffcorn was running 11th, when he had to go to the hot pit area on the lap 6 caution with a flat. He would rejoin the back of the field for the restart and then drove back up to a 10th place finish in the 15 lap feature....Levi Smith passed 8 cars from his 19th place starting spot to take home 11th....Dean Kratzer was running 7th when he spun down the backstretch to bring out the first caution on lap 6. He would go to the rear and then climbed his way back to 13th at the finish....Derek Coleman was running 9th, when he spun on lap 8 to bring out the final caution of the event. He would rejoin the field at the rear and then was able to get back to 14th at the finish....Scott VanBuskirk had troubles in hot laps and scratched from both his heat and the feature......The first year under the IMCA sanctioning in the Hobby Stock division would result in only 4 cars showing up on night 1. Despite the low car count the top 2 cars would put on one of the best battles for the win in all of the other 4 feature events.....John Oliver Sr., driving for Jim Oliver Jr., would have troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from both the heat and feature.
The IMCA Modifieds 20 lap feature was the first one to take to the track, with Tyler Cale and Brandon Savage drawing the front row for the event. Cale took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Brandon Banks and Ryan Cook. The first and only caution of the event came out on the completion of lap 2, as Derek Hamm spun his machine in turn 2. On the restart Cale moved back out into the lead, with Cook and Josh Foster, who started 9th, battling for second. Cale would go on to lead all 20 laps to take the win. Foster would come home in 2nd, Cook was 3rd, Banks was 4th, with Jeff Waterman coming home in 5th.
Up next was the 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with John Oliver Jr. and Jake Wenig leading the field to the green. Wenig would edge out Oliver Jr. at the line to grab the lead on lap 1, with Jeff Mueller close behind in 3rd. The first of four cautions in the event would come out after the completion of lap 1, as Jim Lynch spun off turn 4. On the restart Wenig got to high in turn 3 which allowed Oliver Jr. to slip under to take over the top spot and Mueller getting by for 2nd. After the completion of lap 2 Wenig would slow in turn 2 with a right rear flat and Tenny Sammons spun in turn 3 to bring out the second caution. On the restart Abe Huls would get into Corey Strothman, which resulted in Strothman spinning in turn 2 to bring the yellow light back on. Huls was penalized to the back, with Strothman getting his spot back. Oliver Jr. moved back out front on the next restart, with Mueller pressuring him for the lead. Mueller would jump to the outside of Oliver Jr. to take over the top spot on lap 4. The two would run the next 4 laps side-by-side, with Oliver Jr. leading lap 8 on the bottom. But Mueller wouldn't give up as they ran the next 3 laps side-by-side, before the final caution came out on lap 11. This time Strothman would spin his machine in turn 2 to slow the great battle up front. Mueller would exit to the pits under the caution with mechanical troubles, which put an end to his great battle up front for the lead. Once again Oliver Jr. would jump back out front for the restart, with Jim Redmann now battling him for the lead. Redmann would try the same middle grove as Mueller to get by Oliver Jr. for the lead over the final 3 laps. But Oliver Jr. held off all challenges to grab the win. Redmann settled for 2nd, Jason Cook came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Jeremy Pundt was 4th, with Chris Webb rounding out the top 5.
Scott Smith and Brandon Lambert drew the front row for the 12 lap IMCA Sport Compact feature. But it was fifth place starter Chuck Fullenkamp who quickly moved to the front to grab the lead on lap 1. The first of two cautions of the event would come out on lap 2, when Austen Becerra spun in turn 3. On the restart Fullenkamp jumped back out front, with Darin Smith, who started 7th, moving up 2nd. The only thing to slow Fullenkamp down over the next 6 laps, was another caution on lap 8. This time a tire was clipped and thrown out onto the track in turn 1 to slow the action down for the final time in the event. Fullenkamp again grabbed the lead on the restart and then held it over the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Smith came home in 2nd, Kimberly Abbott started 8th and took home 3rd, Robert Thompson finished 4th after starting in 9th, Lambert was fifth but was disqualified for illegal tires, moving Mike Hornung Jr. up to take home 5th.
The IMCA SportMod 15 lap feature was the next event to take to the speedway, with Rick Barlow Jr. and Tony Dunker drawing the front row. Barlow Jr. would take advantage of his front row start to edge out Dunker at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. But Dunker would jump to the outside of Barlow Jr. to take over the top spot on lap 2. Dunker then started to pull away, leaving Barlow Jr, Phillip Cossel and Chris Larson battling it out for second, when the first caution came out on lap 6. Dean Kratzer, who was running 7th, spun down the backstretch to bring out the yellow. On the restart Dunker jumped back out front, with Cossel getting by Barlow Jr. to move into 2nd. The action up front was slowed for the final time on lap 8, as Derek Coleman, who was running 7th, spun in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Once again Dunker grabbed the lead on the restart, with Cossel trying to hold off Jim Gillenwater, who started 20th, for 2nd. Dunker would go on to lead the final 7 laps unchallenged to claim the win. Cossel would hold on to finish in 2nd, Larson edged out Gillenwater to take home 3rd and Gillenwater settling for 4th, with John Oliver Jr. rounding out the top 5.
Despite only 3 cars taking the green in the 10 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature, the two car battle up front was one of the best on the night. Andrew Hustead and Dustin Griffiths made up the front row for the event, with Hustead grabbing the lead on lap 1. Hustead would hold off Griffiths until lap 4, when Griffiths jumped to his outside to take over the top spot. Griffiths then had to work to hold back Hustead over the final 6 laps, as Hustead tried him down low on ever lap. But Griffiths was able to hold back all of Hustead's challenges to pick up the win. Hustead had to settle for 2nd, with Michael Wenke finishing in 3rd.
Notes from LCS: Despite the 25 minute rain delay after the 2nd SportMod heat, the track was able to be packed back in and the remainder of the nights events were completed by 10:05pm......Bill Roberts started the Modified feature in 11th and took home a 8th place finish....Todd Hansen came from 12th to finish in 9th....Derek Hamm, who started 14th, an spun on lap 2 to bring out the only caution of the event came back up to finish in 11th....Mike VanGendern, who started 10th and had worked his way up to sixth by lap 17, pulled off on lap 18 with mechanical troubles to end his night in 13th....Rich Smith was running 5th when left front damaged ended his night on lap 9......Jake Wenig grabbed the lead on lap 1 of the Stock Car feature and then held it until lap 2, when he got into the turn 3 and 4 guardrail. As a result he cut down a right rear tire. He would go to the hot pit area to get it changed and then rejoined the back of the field for the restart. Jake would recover to come back to finish 6th....Derek St. Clair came from 12th and passed 5 cars to take home 7th....Abe Huls, who started 11th, was credited with a caution on a lap 2 restart to have to go to the back for the next restart. He would recover to come back to finish in 8th....Defending track champion Matt Greiner struggled all night with mechanical troubles and exited on lap 2 of the feature to end his night in 14th......Dakota Anderson and Laine VanZandt had troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from both the heat race and feature in the Sport Compacts......Bobby Anders, who is in his first full year behind the wheel of a SportMod, started the feature in 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 8th....Brandon Dale came from 12th to finish in 9th....Brandon Ruffcorn was running 11th, when he had to go to the hot pit area on the lap 6 caution with a flat. He would rejoin the back of the field for the restart and then drove back up to a 10th place finish in the 15 lap feature....Levi Smith passed 8 cars from his 19th place starting spot to take home 11th....Dean Kratzer was running 7th when he spun down the backstretch to bring out the first caution on lap 6. He would go to the rear and then climbed his way back to 13th at the finish....Derek Coleman was running 9th, when he spun on lap 8 to bring out the final caution of the event. He would rejoin the field at the rear and then was able to get back to 14th at the finish....Scott VanBuskirk had troubles in hot laps and scratched from both his heat and the feature......The first year under the IMCA sanctioning in the Hobby Stock division would result in only 4 cars showing up on night 1. Despite the low car count the top 2 cars would put on one of the best battles for the win in all of the other 4 feature events.....John Oliver Sr., driving for Jim Oliver Jr., would have troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from both the heat and feature.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
34 Raceway Gets Seven of Eight Features In Before Mother Nature Takes Over
Burlington, IA (Saturday, April 21, 2012) - Despite the overcast skies all day and evening plus the cool temps, 34 Raceway was able to get all three make-up features and four out of the five regular features in. Just past the halfway point of the Modified feature mother nature decided to open the skies with enough rain showers to put a halt to the remainder of the Modified feature and the Stock Car feature. Which means the Stock Cars will try once again to get there double features in next Saturday (April 28th).
The make-up Hobby Stock feature from April 14th was the first event to take to the track, with Skyler Troutman and Mike Amenell drawing the front row for the 15 lap event. Amenell would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Jake Wenig. But Jake went to the top of the track coming out of turn four on lap 2 to take over the top spot from Amenell. Jake Wenig would only hold the lead for 1 lap when Victor Hastings, who started 7th, slipped under Jake going down the backstretch as Wenig got held up on the high side behind the lapped car of Troutman. The first caution of the race would appear on lap 4, when Dan Wenig and Adam Scott spun in turn 2. On the restart Hastings moved back out front, with Jake Wenig and Amenell close behind. Hastings would work the bottom of the speedway to perfection for the next 9 laps to hold back Jake Wenig, who was up top. The final caution came out on lap 13, this time for Dane Fenton and Dan Wenig who collided coming off 4 while battling for 5th. Fenton would spin to a stop in turn 1 as a result of the contact to bring out the yellow and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Hastings jumped back out front on the restart, but Jake Wenig would get a great run off of four to get the white flag and the lead. While Hastings went into turn 1 to hard to try and get the lead back, which resulted in him spinning his machine into the infield, which allowed Jake Wenig to go on to pick up the win. Matt Gavin came from 5th to finish in 2nd, Amenell held on for 3rd, Josh Tripp charged from 12th to take home home 4th, with Dan Wenig recovering from his two cautions to come back to 5th.
Up next was the 25 lap IMCA Modified make-up feature, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Jeff Gerhardt and A.J. Fike drew the front row, with Fike grabbing the lead on the drop of the green flag. Fike was working to hold back Scott Hogan and Tyler Cale, who tried to go three wide several times, before the first caution of the event came out on lap 8. Josh Foster, who was running 7th, spun his machine in turn 2 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Fike again moved back out front, with Hogan and Cale following. Cale would make it three wide coming off turn four on lap 13 to go from third to first. Cale then pulled away to lead the final 12 laps and taking home the $1,000 top prize. Hogan came home in 2nd, Brandon Rothzen started 8th and came home in 3rd, Rich Smith passed 7 cars from his 11th place starting spot to finish 4th, with Jeff Waterman charging from 13th to round out the top 5.
The final make-up feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Blaine Dopler and John Oliver Jr. leading the field to green. Oliver Jr. would grab the lead over Dopler and Jason Cook on lap 1, when the caution came out on the completion of the lap. Travis Hartman would spin off of turn 1 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Oliver Jr. again jumped back out into the lead over Cook. Cook would slip under Oliver Jr. coming off turn 4 on lap 3 to edge out into the lead, but Oliver Jr. would come back on the top to grab the top spot back on lap 4. But Cook would come back on the bottom to take the lead back on lap 5, only to loose it to Oliver Jr. on lap 6. As Cook and Oliver Jr. battled side-by-side for the lead, Matt Greiner came from 6th to join in the battle. Greiner would use the same move as Tyler Cale did in the Modified feature, as he came out of turn four on the bottom to go three wide to grab the top spot on lap 10. But Oliver Jr. wouldn't give up as he came back on the top to grab the lead back on lap 13. Greiner continued to work the bottom of the speedway, as he took the lead back on lap 15. Greiner then led the final 5 laps to claim the win. Cook edged out Oliver Jr. for 2nd, Oliver Jr. settled for 3rd, Jeff Mueller came from 8th to finish 4th, with Dopler rounding out the top 5.
After 12 heat races were ran in the 305 Sprints, 4 Cylinders, Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars, that nights feature events were set to take to the track.
The first feature up was the 25 lap 305 Sprint Shootout, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Brandyn Martin and Daniel Bergquist led the field to the drop of the green flag, with Martin edging out Bergquist to lead lap 1. Just as Martin started to put some distance between him and Bergquist, the first caution of the race would come out on lap 8. Corey Timmerman would spin in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Martin jumped back out front, with Jayson Ditsworth, who starting 6th, getting by Bergquist for second. The red flag came out on lap 9 to slow the battle up front. Ryan Jamison, who as battling for 4th, spun his machine in turn 1, while Kenneth Bragg took a nasty roll in turn 3. Bragg would climb from his machine ok, but finished for the night. Bergquist got a good restart, as he slipped past Martin and Ditsworth to take over the top spot. He then had to work to hold back several challenges from Ditsworth to hold onto the lead for the next 9 laps. When the final caution of the event came out on lap 18, this time Dave Getchell would spin to a stop in turn 4. Bergquist grabbed the lead on the restart the then went on to lead the final 7 laps to claim his first career 305 Sprint win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Ditsworth settled for 2nd, Justin Parrish came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Newberry started 9th and finished 4th, with Tony Crank coming home in 5th.
Billy Stanford and Jerrod Nichols drew the front row for the 10 lap 4 Cylinder feature, but it was 5th place starter Nick Wilkerson grabbing the lead on lap 1. Wilkerson would pull away over the caution free event to pick up the win. Bradley Stevenson came from 6th to finish in 2nd, Chuck Fullenkamp started 10th and passed 7 cars to take home 3rd, Travis DeMint was 4th, with Daytona Fenton rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Dan Wenig and Victor Hastings leading the field to the drop of the green. Dan Wenig would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Matt Gavin. Dan worked to hold back Gavin, when the first caution appeared on lap 4. Chad Krogmeier and Eric Rowley spun in turn 3 to bring out the first of two yellows. On the restart Dan Wenig again held back Gavin, with Hastings close behind them in 3rd. Dan once again had to hold back Gavin over the next 5 laps, when the final caution came out on lap 9. This time Josh Tripp, who started 10th and was running 5th, spun with a right rear flat in turn 2 to bring out the final yellow. Once again Dan Wenig held back Gavin on the restart, with Jake Wenig coming from 6th to follow in 3rd. Dan would lead the final 6 laps to claim the win. Jake Wenig edged out Gavin for 2nd, Gavin settled for 3rd, Dane Fenton was 4th, with Rowley recovering from the lap 4 spin to come back to take home 5th.
Derek Hamm and Rich Smith drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature. But A.J. Fike would spin in turn 4 on the drop of the green flag to bring out the first caution, setting up an original restart. On the restart Smith would jump out front, with Scott Hogan and Jeff Waterman close behind. The battle up front was slowed on lap 3 when Dustan Fenton spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart somebody lost a deck lid in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Smith grabbed the lead on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still battling for second. Just as Smith was pulling away, the caution appeared on the speedway on lap 9. This time rookie driver Mitchell Boles would spin in turn 3. On the restart Brandon Rothzen, who was running 6th, spun in turn 2 and collected Dennis LaVeine to bring the yellow light back on. The next restart resulted in another yellow, as Tyler Cale, who was running 5th, spun in turn 2 and collected Hamm. Smith again moved out front on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still following in 2nd and 3rd. But the battle up front was slowed once again on lap 10. This time Rothzen spun in turn 4 to bring the caution back out. On the restart Smith moved back out front, with Hogan in 2nd and now Josh Foster, who started 9th, moving into 3rd. Smith was working to hold back Hogan and Foster, when another caution slowed the field on lap 13. Hamm would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kyle Hill got into the front stretch wall and rolled once to bring out the red. Just as the wreck was cleaned up and the field was set to go back to green, the skies opened up and started to rain. Since the time limit was up and the race was past the half way point the race was checkered giving the win to Smith. Hogan settled for 2nd, Foster was 3rd, Waterman took home 4th, with Jeff Gerhardt rounding out the top 5.
The 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, for the second week in a row, was rained out. They will try again next Saturday, April 28th to get there double features made-up. With next week being the first night of points, there make-up feature will be the last event to be ran on the night.
Notes from 34: 20 Modifieds, 19 Stock Cars, 15 305 Sprints, 15 4 Cylinders and 14 Hobby Stocks made up the 83 cars signed in on the night......The make-up Hobby Stock feature saw Chad Krogmeier come from 9th to finish 6th....Adam Scott recovered from his lap 4 spin to come back up to take home 7th....Victor Hastings settled for 10th, after leading most of the race and spinning on the last lap, while trying to battle back for the lead......Josh Foster spun on lap 8 while running 7th in the make-up IMCA Modified feature and battled his way back up to 8th....Dennis LaVeine started 16th and passed 6 cars to take home 10th....Mike VanGendren was the only car not to make it back from last weeks rain out......John Brockway had troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from the make-up IMCA Stock Car feature....Corey Strothman didn't return and was a scratch from the event......Dave Getchell recovered from his lap 18 spin in the 305 Sprint Shootout, to come back up to finish 7th....Corey Timmerman came back from his lap 8 spin to take home 8th....Nick Guernsey came from 12th to finish in 9th....Tony Bundy, a rookie 305 Sprint driver, started 13th and stayed out of troubles to claim 11th......Casey Mehaffy came from 8th in the 4 Cylinder feature to finish in 6th....Dustin Ravelin started 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 9th......Adam Scott came from 9th in the regular Hobby Stock feature to take home 6th....Chad Krogmeier recovered from his lap 4 crash to come back up to 7th....Loyd Duffie started 12th and finished in 8th....Skyler Troutman finished 9th after starting in 13th....Mark Bowman claimed 11th after starting in 14th......Dennis LaVeine, who started the regular IMCA Modified feature in 19th, came back from the rear after a lap 9 crash to take home 6th....Dustan Fenton recovered from his lap 2 spin to come back to finish in 7th....Brad Tyler came from 14th to take home 8th....Brandon Rothzen was 9th, after his lap 9 crash and lap 10 spin....Mitchell Boles settled for 10th, after his lap 9 spin......John Brockway and Jim Lynch will lead the field to the green in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car make-up feature at the end of the night next Saturday.
The make-up Hobby Stock feature from April 14th was the first event to take to the track, with Skyler Troutman and Mike Amenell drawing the front row for the 15 lap event. Amenell would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Jake Wenig. But Jake went to the top of the track coming out of turn four on lap 2 to take over the top spot from Amenell. Jake Wenig would only hold the lead for 1 lap when Victor Hastings, who started 7th, slipped under Jake going down the backstretch as Wenig got held up on the high side behind the lapped car of Troutman. The first caution of the race would appear on lap 4, when Dan Wenig and Adam Scott spun in turn 2. On the restart Hastings moved back out front, with Jake Wenig and Amenell close behind. Hastings would work the bottom of the speedway to perfection for the next 9 laps to hold back Jake Wenig, who was up top. The final caution came out on lap 13, this time for Dane Fenton and Dan Wenig who collided coming off 4 while battling for 5th. Fenton would spin to a stop in turn 1 as a result of the contact to bring out the yellow and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Hastings jumped back out front on the restart, but Jake Wenig would get a great run off of four to get the white flag and the lead. While Hastings went into turn 1 to hard to try and get the lead back, which resulted in him spinning his machine into the infield, which allowed Jake Wenig to go on to pick up the win. Matt Gavin came from 5th to finish in 2nd, Amenell held on for 3rd, Josh Tripp charged from 12th to take home home 4th, with Dan Wenig recovering from his two cautions to come back to 5th.
Up next was the 25 lap IMCA Modified make-up feature, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Jeff Gerhardt and A.J. Fike drew the front row, with Fike grabbing the lead on the drop of the green flag. Fike was working to hold back Scott Hogan and Tyler Cale, who tried to go three wide several times, before the first caution of the event came out on lap 8. Josh Foster, who was running 7th, spun his machine in turn 2 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Fike again moved back out front, with Hogan and Cale following. Cale would make it three wide coming off turn four on lap 13 to go from third to first. Cale then pulled away to lead the final 12 laps and taking home the $1,000 top prize. Hogan came home in 2nd, Brandon Rothzen started 8th and came home in 3rd, Rich Smith passed 7 cars from his 11th place starting spot to finish 4th, with Jeff Waterman charging from 13th to round out the top 5.
The final make-up feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Blaine Dopler and John Oliver Jr. leading the field to green. Oliver Jr. would grab the lead over Dopler and Jason Cook on lap 1, when the caution came out on the completion of the lap. Travis Hartman would spin off of turn 1 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Oliver Jr. again jumped back out into the lead over Cook. Cook would slip under Oliver Jr. coming off turn 4 on lap 3 to edge out into the lead, but Oliver Jr. would come back on the top to grab the top spot back on lap 4. But Cook would come back on the bottom to take the lead back on lap 5, only to loose it to Oliver Jr. on lap 6. As Cook and Oliver Jr. battled side-by-side for the lead, Matt Greiner came from 6th to join in the battle. Greiner would use the same move as Tyler Cale did in the Modified feature, as he came out of turn four on the bottom to go three wide to grab the top spot on lap 10. But Oliver Jr. wouldn't give up as he came back on the top to grab the lead back on lap 13. Greiner continued to work the bottom of the speedway, as he took the lead back on lap 15. Greiner then led the final 5 laps to claim the win. Cook edged out Oliver Jr. for 2nd, Oliver Jr. settled for 3rd, Jeff Mueller came from 8th to finish 4th, with Dopler rounding out the top 5.
After 12 heat races were ran in the 305 Sprints, 4 Cylinders, Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars, that nights feature events were set to take to the track.
The first feature up was the 25 lap 305 Sprint Shootout, with the winner taking home a $1,000 top prize. Brandyn Martin and Daniel Bergquist led the field to the drop of the green flag, with Martin edging out Bergquist to lead lap 1. Just as Martin started to put some distance between him and Bergquist, the first caution of the race would come out on lap 8. Corey Timmerman would spin in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Martin jumped back out front, with Jayson Ditsworth, who starting 6th, getting by Bergquist for second. The red flag came out on lap 9 to slow the battle up front. Ryan Jamison, who as battling for 4th, spun his machine in turn 1, while Kenneth Bragg took a nasty roll in turn 3. Bragg would climb from his machine ok, but finished for the night. Bergquist got a good restart, as he slipped past Martin and Ditsworth to take over the top spot. He then had to work to hold back several challenges from Ditsworth to hold onto the lead for the next 9 laps. When the final caution of the event came out on lap 18, this time Dave Getchell would spin to a stop in turn 4. Bergquist grabbed the lead on the restart the then went on to lead the final 7 laps to claim his first career 305 Sprint win and the $1,000 top prize to go with it. Ditsworth settled for 2nd, Justin Parrish came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Newberry started 9th and finished 4th, with Tony Crank coming home in 5th.
Billy Stanford and Jerrod Nichols drew the front row for the 10 lap 4 Cylinder feature, but it was 5th place starter Nick Wilkerson grabbing the lead on lap 1. Wilkerson would pull away over the caution free event to pick up the win. Bradley Stevenson came from 6th to finish in 2nd, Chuck Fullenkamp started 10th and passed 7 cars to take home 3rd, Travis DeMint was 4th, with Daytona Fenton rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Dan Wenig and Victor Hastings leading the field to the drop of the green. Dan Wenig would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Matt Gavin. Dan worked to hold back Gavin, when the first caution appeared on lap 4. Chad Krogmeier and Eric Rowley spun in turn 3 to bring out the first of two yellows. On the restart Dan Wenig again held back Gavin, with Hastings close behind them in 3rd. Dan once again had to hold back Gavin over the next 5 laps, when the final caution came out on lap 9. This time Josh Tripp, who started 10th and was running 5th, spun with a right rear flat in turn 2 to bring out the final yellow. Once again Dan Wenig held back Gavin on the restart, with Jake Wenig coming from 6th to follow in 3rd. Dan would lead the final 6 laps to claim the win. Jake Wenig edged out Gavin for 2nd, Gavin settled for 3rd, Dane Fenton was 4th, with Rowley recovering from the lap 4 spin to come back to take home 5th.
Derek Hamm and Rich Smith drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature. But A.J. Fike would spin in turn 4 on the drop of the green flag to bring out the first caution, setting up an original restart. On the restart Smith would jump out front, with Scott Hogan and Jeff Waterman close behind. The battle up front was slowed on lap 3 when Dustan Fenton spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart somebody lost a deck lid in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Smith grabbed the lead on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still battling for second. Just as Smith was pulling away, the caution appeared on the speedway on lap 9. This time rookie driver Mitchell Boles would spin in turn 3. On the restart Brandon Rothzen, who was running 6th, spun in turn 2 and collected Dennis LaVeine to bring the yellow light back on. The next restart resulted in another yellow, as Tyler Cale, who was running 5th, spun in turn 2 and collected Hamm. Smith again moved out front on the restart, with Hogan and Waterman still following in 2nd and 3rd. But the battle up front was slowed once again on lap 10. This time Rothzen spun in turn 4 to bring the caution back out. On the restart Smith moved back out front, with Hogan in 2nd and now Josh Foster, who started 9th, moving into 3rd. Smith was working to hold back Hogan and Foster, when another caution slowed the field on lap 13. Hamm would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kyle Hill got into the front stretch wall and rolled once to bring out the red. Just as the wreck was cleaned up and the field was set to go back to green, the skies opened up and started to rain. Since the time limit was up and the race was past the half way point the race was checkered giving the win to Smith. Hogan settled for 2nd, Foster was 3rd, Waterman took home 4th, with Jeff Gerhardt rounding out the top 5.
The 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, for the second week in a row, was rained out. They will try again next Saturday, April 28th to get there double features made-up. With next week being the first night of points, there make-up feature will be the last event to be ran on the night.
Notes from 34: 20 Modifieds, 19 Stock Cars, 15 305 Sprints, 15 4 Cylinders and 14 Hobby Stocks made up the 83 cars signed in on the night......The make-up Hobby Stock feature saw Chad Krogmeier come from 9th to finish 6th....Adam Scott recovered from his lap 4 spin to come back up to take home 7th....Victor Hastings settled for 10th, after leading most of the race and spinning on the last lap, while trying to battle back for the lead......Josh Foster spun on lap 8 while running 7th in the make-up IMCA Modified feature and battled his way back up to 8th....Dennis LaVeine started 16th and passed 6 cars to take home 10th....Mike VanGendren was the only car not to make it back from last weeks rain out......John Brockway had troubles in hot laps and had to scratch from the make-up IMCA Stock Car feature....Corey Strothman didn't return and was a scratch from the event......Dave Getchell recovered from his lap 18 spin in the 305 Sprint Shootout, to come back up to finish 7th....Corey Timmerman came back from his lap 8 spin to take home 8th....Nick Guernsey came from 12th to finish in 9th....Tony Bundy, a rookie 305 Sprint driver, started 13th and stayed out of troubles to claim 11th......Casey Mehaffy came from 8th in the 4 Cylinder feature to finish in 6th....Dustin Ravelin started 14th and passed 5 cars to finish in 9th......Adam Scott came from 9th in the regular Hobby Stock feature to take home 6th....Chad Krogmeier recovered from his lap 4 crash to come back up to 7th....Loyd Duffie started 12th and finished in 8th....Skyler Troutman finished 9th after starting in 13th....Mark Bowman claimed 11th after starting in 14th......Dennis LaVeine, who started the regular IMCA Modified feature in 19th, came back from the rear after a lap 9 crash to take home 6th....Dustan Fenton recovered from his lap 2 spin to come back to finish in 7th....Brad Tyler came from 14th to take home 8th....Brandon Rothzen was 9th, after his lap 9 crash and lap 10 spin....Mitchell Boles settled for 10th, after his lap 9 spin......John Brockway and Jim Lynch will lead the field to the green in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car make-up feature at the end of the night next Saturday.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Murphy Blisters the Field to Win the "Slocum 50"
Burlington, IA (Saturday, April 7, 2012) - 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA opened there 2012 season with the 4th Annual "Slocum 50", featuring the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. This race was put together to honor the late Brent Slocum, who was killed in a freakish accident in the pits during the 2005 season. At the end of the night Mike Murphy Jr. (IMCA Late Models), Jayson Ditsworth (305 Sprints), Mike Morrill (Mod Lites) and Adam Gates (4 Cylinders) all took home feature wins in there respective divisions.
The first feature to take to the track was the 10 lap 4 Cylinders, with John Whalen and Billy Stanford drawing the front row for the event. But it was fourth place starter Adam Gates who edged out Stanford at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. Gates, Whalen and Nick Wilkerson, who started 5th, had a great three car battle for the lead until lap 8. Wilkerson who was trying to go around the outside of Gates for the lead, suddenly came to a stop on the high side of turn 2 to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart Gates would jump back out into the lead and then held on for the final 2 laps to claim the win. Whalen settled for 2nd, Bradley Stevenson was 3rd, Daytona Fenton was 4th, with Casey Mehaffy coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature, with Brandyn Martin and Jayson Ditsworth drawing the front row for the event. Ditsworth would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag, only to be slowed before the lap was complete. Harold Pohren got into the turn 3 wall to bring out the first of two cautions. On the restart Ditsworth again jumped out into the lead, with Donnie Steward and Josh Schneiderman close behind. Schneiderman would come off of turn 2 on lap 8 to get up beside Ditsworth going down the backstretch. But the two would come up on the lapped car of rookie driver Chase Wanner, which allowed Ditsworth to hold the lead. Just as Schneiderman regrouped to challenge Ditsworth for the lead, the final caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 9. This time Shane Quam got into the turn 4 wall to end his night. Ditsworth moved back out front on the restart and then pulled away to pick up the win. Donnie Steward used the final restart to get by Schneiderman to finish in 2nd, Schneiderman settled for 3rd, Alan Ambers passed 6 cars from his 10th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Daniel Bergquist coming from 8th to finish in 5th.
Mike Morrill and Brad Wheeler led the field to the green in the 15 lap Mod Lite feature, but just as the green was waved the red flag would come out to halt the action. Todd Cramer, who started 6th, would roll just under the flag stand to bring out the red. He would climb from his car ok. On the restart Morrill moved out front to grab the lead on lap 1, only to be slowed on the completion of the lap. Cody Lam would get into the front stretch wall to come to a stop, bringing out the caution. Morrill once again moved out front on the restart, with Josh May close behind in second. Just as Morrill started to put some distance on the second place car, the caution would appear on the track once again on lap 2. This time Justin Buchholz, who started 10th, was trying to work under Jim Neal for the battle for 5th when they touched. Buchholz would come to a stop in turn 2 with a broke right rear, while Neal pulled off on the back with a broken left front. On the restart Morrill again jumped out into the lead, with May and Greg Rossell, who started 9th, battling it out for second. Once again Morrill started to put some distance on the battle for second, when he was slowed for the final time on lap 4. Joe Huggins, who started 26th, had worked his way up to 12th when he spun his machine in turn 3 to bring out the final caution of the event. Morrill again grabbed the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 11 laps to claim the win. May settled for 2nd, Randy Bryan came from 15th to finish in 3rd, Rossell would finish in 4th, with Evan Epperson rounding out the top 5.
The final feature of the night was the 50 lap "Slocum 50" for the IMCA Late Models. Jay Johnson and Tyler Bruening would draw the front row to lead the field to the drop of the green, with Johnson taking the lead on lap 1. The action was slowed for the one and only time on lap 3, when Sam Halstead spun his machine in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Johnson jumped back out into the lead, with Bruening close behind in second. While Johnson and Bruening battled for the lead, Mike Murphy Jr., who started 8th, was quickly working his way to the front. Johnson would slip coming off turn 2 on lap 8, which allowed Murphy to slip past for the lead. Murphy would then start to pull away from the field, even as he entered lapped traffic on lap 17. Murphy would work the high and low side to get by the lapped cars and never was slowed over the final 42 laps to cruise to an easy win and the $3,000 top prize. Bruening held on for 3rd, Joel Callahan came from 11th to finish in 3rd, Ray Guss Jr. passed 12 cars from his 16th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Andy Eckrich coming from 15th to round out the top 5.
Notes from 34: 37 IMCA Late Models, 27 Mod Lites, 17 305 Sprints and 12 4 Cylinders made up the 93 cars signed in on the 2012 season opener....Nick Wilkerson who was battling for the lead in the 4 Cylinder feature, when he slowed to a stop in turn 2 on lap 8 to bring out the caution. He would restart 9th for the green-white-checkered finish and could only move up to finish 6th....Jerrod Nichols came from 11th to finish in 7th....Dustin Ravelin started 12th and came home in 8th......Corey Timmerman started the 305 Sprint feature in 17th and passed 10 cars to take home a 7th place finish....Ryan Jamison came from 11th to finish in 8th....Dave Getchell finished 9th after starting in 12th....Kyle Peterson came from 15th to finish in 10th....Jerrod Schneiderman lost an engine in his heat to scratch from the feature......Adam Davis started the Mod Lite feature in 11th and came home in 6th....Shon Sanders passed 10 cars from his 17th place starting spot to finish in 7th....Andrew Smith came from 18th to come home in 8th....Dusty Masolini passed 11 cars from his 20th starting spot to take home 9th....Jason Whitehead came from 14th to finish in 10th....Huggins came from 26th to 12th before spinning out on lap 4 to bring out the caution. He would go to the tail for the restart and once again moved up to finish 11th at the checkered....Brian Woodruff came from 23rd to finish in 13th....Todd Thornburg started 21st and passed 7 cars to finish in 14th....Gary Snyder came from 22nd to take home 17th....Danny Foster started 24th and took home an 18th place finish......The 37 Late Models were broken down into four heat races, with the top 3 in each getting the chance to redraw for the first 6 rows of the feature. A new twist for the redraw that was added for the 2012 season, was that all the drivers would come over to the frontstretch during intermission to be lined up in front of 12 cards. Those cards started with an ace, representing the pole, and going up to the queen, which was 12th. Then they started with the 3rd place finisher in the 4th heat and worked there way to the winner of heat 1. The drivers then had a choice to keep there card or swap it with any other driver, none of the drivers knew where they started until all the drivers had a chance to swap. Once all drivers got the chance to swap or keep there card, then the cards where turned over to determine where they would start the 50 lap feature. The biggest swap was Matt Strassheim swapping cards with Jay Johnson, which moved Johnson to the pole and Strassheim back to 12th....Mike Murphy Jr. took home the 4th Annual "Slocum 50" win, which was a top prize of $3,000. He would also take home a $100 bonus for leading at lap 38, which was in memory of a crew member for Colby Springsteen who was killed in an accident earlier in the year.....Jeff Aikey started the 50 lap event in 20th place and then passed 14 cars to finish in 6th to earn the hard charger award....Tom Darbyshire came from 13th to finish in 9th....Darrel DeFrance started 17th and took home 11th....Colby Springsteen finished 12th after starting 14th....Sam Halstead came from 21st and recovered from his lap 3 spin to finish in 13th.
The first feature to take to the track was the 10 lap 4 Cylinders, with John Whalen and Billy Stanford drawing the front row for the event. But it was fourth place starter Adam Gates who edged out Stanford at the line to grab the lead on lap 1. Gates, Whalen and Nick Wilkerson, who started 5th, had a great three car battle for the lead until lap 8. Wilkerson who was trying to go around the outside of Gates for the lead, suddenly came to a stop on the high side of turn 2 to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart Gates would jump back out into the lead and then held on for the final 2 laps to claim the win. Whalen settled for 2nd, Bradley Stevenson was 3rd, Daytona Fenton was 4th, with Casey Mehaffy coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 20 lap 305 Sprint feature, with Brandyn Martin and Jayson Ditsworth drawing the front row for the event. Ditsworth would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag, only to be slowed before the lap was complete. Harold Pohren got into the turn 3 wall to bring out the first of two cautions. On the restart Ditsworth again jumped out into the lead, with Donnie Steward and Josh Schneiderman close behind. Schneiderman would come off of turn 2 on lap 8 to get up beside Ditsworth going down the backstretch. But the two would come up on the lapped car of rookie driver Chase Wanner, which allowed Ditsworth to hold the lead. Just as Schneiderman regrouped to challenge Ditsworth for the lead, the final caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 9. This time Shane Quam got into the turn 4 wall to end his night. Ditsworth moved back out front on the restart and then pulled away to pick up the win. Donnie Steward used the final restart to get by Schneiderman to finish in 2nd, Schneiderman settled for 3rd, Alan Ambers passed 6 cars from his 10th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Daniel Bergquist coming from 8th to finish in 5th.
Mike Morrill and Brad Wheeler led the field to the green in the 15 lap Mod Lite feature, but just as the green was waved the red flag would come out to halt the action. Todd Cramer, who started 6th, would roll just under the flag stand to bring out the red. He would climb from his car ok. On the restart Morrill moved out front to grab the lead on lap 1, only to be slowed on the completion of the lap. Cody Lam would get into the front stretch wall to come to a stop, bringing out the caution. Morrill once again moved out front on the restart, with Josh May close behind in second. Just as Morrill started to put some distance on the second place car, the caution would appear on the track once again on lap 2. This time Justin Buchholz, who started 10th, was trying to work under Jim Neal for the battle for 5th when they touched. Buchholz would come to a stop in turn 2 with a broke right rear, while Neal pulled off on the back with a broken left front. On the restart Morrill again jumped out into the lead, with May and Greg Rossell, who started 9th, battling it out for second. Once again Morrill started to put some distance on the battle for second, when he was slowed for the final time on lap 4. Joe Huggins, who started 26th, had worked his way up to 12th when he spun his machine in turn 3 to bring out the final caution of the event. Morrill again grabbed the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 11 laps to claim the win. May settled for 2nd, Randy Bryan came from 15th to finish in 3rd, Rossell would finish in 4th, with Evan Epperson rounding out the top 5.
The final feature of the night was the 50 lap "Slocum 50" for the IMCA Late Models. Jay Johnson and Tyler Bruening would draw the front row to lead the field to the drop of the green, with Johnson taking the lead on lap 1. The action was slowed for the one and only time on lap 3, when Sam Halstead spun his machine in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Johnson jumped back out into the lead, with Bruening close behind in second. While Johnson and Bruening battled for the lead, Mike Murphy Jr., who started 8th, was quickly working his way to the front. Johnson would slip coming off turn 2 on lap 8, which allowed Murphy to slip past for the lead. Murphy would then start to pull away from the field, even as he entered lapped traffic on lap 17. Murphy would work the high and low side to get by the lapped cars and never was slowed over the final 42 laps to cruise to an easy win and the $3,000 top prize. Bruening held on for 3rd, Joel Callahan came from 11th to finish in 3rd, Ray Guss Jr. passed 12 cars from his 16th place starting spot to finish in 4th, with Andy Eckrich coming from 15th to round out the top 5.
Notes from 34: 37 IMCA Late Models, 27 Mod Lites, 17 305 Sprints and 12 4 Cylinders made up the 93 cars signed in on the 2012 season opener....Nick Wilkerson who was battling for the lead in the 4 Cylinder feature, when he slowed to a stop in turn 2 on lap 8 to bring out the caution. He would restart 9th for the green-white-checkered finish and could only move up to finish 6th....Jerrod Nichols came from 11th to finish in 7th....Dustin Ravelin started 12th and came home in 8th......Corey Timmerman started the 305 Sprint feature in 17th and passed 10 cars to take home a 7th place finish....Ryan Jamison came from 11th to finish in 8th....Dave Getchell finished 9th after starting in 12th....Kyle Peterson came from 15th to finish in 10th....Jerrod Schneiderman lost an engine in his heat to scratch from the feature......Adam Davis started the Mod Lite feature in 11th and came home in 6th....Shon Sanders passed 10 cars from his 17th place starting spot to finish in 7th....Andrew Smith came from 18th to come home in 8th....Dusty Masolini passed 11 cars from his 20th starting spot to take home 9th....Jason Whitehead came from 14th to finish in 10th....Huggins came from 26th to 12th before spinning out on lap 4 to bring out the caution. He would go to the tail for the restart and once again moved up to finish 11th at the checkered....Brian Woodruff came from 23rd to finish in 13th....Todd Thornburg started 21st and passed 7 cars to finish in 14th....Gary Snyder came from 22nd to take home 17th....Danny Foster started 24th and took home an 18th place finish......The 37 Late Models were broken down into four heat races, with the top 3 in each getting the chance to redraw for the first 6 rows of the feature. A new twist for the redraw that was added for the 2012 season, was that all the drivers would come over to the frontstretch during intermission to be lined up in front of 12 cards. Those cards started with an ace, representing the pole, and going up to the queen, which was 12th. Then they started with the 3rd place finisher in the 4th heat and worked there way to the winner of heat 1. The drivers then had a choice to keep there card or swap it with any other driver, none of the drivers knew where they started until all the drivers had a chance to swap. Once all drivers got the chance to swap or keep there card, then the cards where turned over to determine where they would start the 50 lap feature. The biggest swap was Matt Strassheim swapping cards with Jay Johnson, which moved Johnson to the pole and Strassheim back to 12th....Mike Murphy Jr. took home the 4th Annual "Slocum 50" win, which was a top prize of $3,000. He would also take home a $100 bonus for leading at lap 38, which was in memory of a crew member for Colby Springsteen who was killed in an accident earlier in the year.....Jeff Aikey started the 50 lap event in 20th place and then passed 14 cars to finish in 6th to earn the hard charger award....Tom Darbyshire came from 13th to finish in 9th....Darrel DeFrance started 17th and took home 11th....Colby Springsteen finished 12th after starting 14th....Sam Halstead came from 21st and recovered from his lap 3 spin to finish in 13th.
Monday, April 2, 2012
First UMP Late Model Feature in Quincy Raceways History Goes to Reed
Quincy, IL (Sunday, April 1, 2012) - It was no April Fools Day on Sunday, April 1st, as the sun and temps reached in the mid 80's for the season opener for 2012 at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL. For the first time in track history the Late Models went from the IMCA spec motor to the UMP open Late Model rule. Justin Reed (UMP Late Models), Steven DeLonjay (UMP Modifieds), Abe Huls (IMCA Stock Cars), Tony Dunker (IMCA SportMods), Jake Powers (Hobby Stocks), and Chuck Fullenkamp (IMCA Sport Compacts) all took home opening night wins.
The first feature of the night was the 25 lap UMP Modifieds, with Michael Long and Jake Griffin drawing the front row for the event. Long jumped out front on the drop of the green flag, but was slowed for the first caution of the race before the lap was completed. Dave Wietholder, who started 8th, spun his machine in turn one and collected Danny Lake and Robert Thompson to bring out the caution. On the restart Long again grabbed the lead on the drop of the green over Troy Grotz and Griffin. Just as Long started to pull away from the field the second yellow appeared on the speedway on lap 12. This time Derrick Bangert would spin in turn 1 and collected Tony Dunker. Once again Long moved out into the lead on the restart, with a three way battle for second going on behind him. Disaster would strike Troy Grotz, who was running second, on the restart. Donovan Lodge, who was on the bottom, Steven DeLonjay, who was in the middle after coming from 12th, and Grotz, up top, went into turn 1 three wide. Some contact between the three resulted in Grotz spinning in front of the field. He would also collect the cars of Griffin, who was running 6th, Shawn Deering, Steve Grotz and Bangert. The five car spin rule would be in effect, with all the cars involved getting there spots back if able to continue. But Troy Grotz had a left rear flat and Steve Grotz had front end damaged to end both there nights. Long would grab the lead on the restart, with DeLonjay following close behind. The two car battle would be slowed for the final time on lap 13 for debris in turn 3. Once again Long jumped out into the lead on the restart, with DeLonjay close behind. DeLonjay would make his move into the lead on lap 21, as Long drifted off the bottom of 4 enough to allow DeLonjay to slip by for the top spot. DeLonjay held off the challenges of Long over the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Robbie Reed would finish 3rd, Lodge was 4th, with James Leffew coming from 9th to finish in 5th.
Michael Long (18L) and Steven DeLonjay (35) battled side-by-side in the heat and feature on opening night of 2012 at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL. At the end of the night DeLonjay would pull off the win in the 25 lap UMP Modified feature over Long.
Jeremy Pundt and Jerry Jansen drew the front row for the 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Pundt grabbing the lead on lap 1. Coming out of turn 4 for the second lap the battle for the lead went 4 wide, with Jansen edging out, Terry Houston, Abe Huls and Pundt to lead lap 2. On the completion of lap 2 Andrew Griffin would spin in turn 1 to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart Jansen jumped back out front, but now had Huls on his back bumper. Huls used the same move as DeLonjay used in the Modified feature to get to the front, as he slipped under Jansen on lap 6 to take over the top spot. Huls would then lead the final 9 laps to claim the win. Houston settled for 2nd, Jansen held on for 3rd, Jeff Mueller came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Ty Hill coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Abe Huls drove his beautiful pink and green IMCA Stock Car to the season opening win at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL.
The much anticipated 30 lap UMP Late Model feature was up next, with Brandon Sheppard and Michael Long making up the front row for the event. Sheppard would take advantage of his front row starting spot to edge Long out to lead lap 1. Sheppard looked in control of the race until he entered lapped traffic on lap 9, which allowed Justin Reed to close in on him. Sheppard choose to come off the bottom to go to the top to get by Jake Griffin and Ron Elbe, who were racing side-by-side to stay on the lead lap. Which gave Reed the chance to go to the bottom to grab the lead away from Sheppard on lap 14. But Sheppard would come back on the top side to take the lead back on lap 15. Reed wouldn't give up, as he come off turn 4 to take the top spot back on lap 16. The great battle up front was slowed for the one and only time on lap 18, when the yellow light appeared on the speedway. Disaster would strike Jason Perry, who was running 6th, as he tried to put a lap on Joey Gower and made contact in turn 1 which caused both cars to spin. Perry was sent to the back for the restart. Reed moved back out front on the restart, with Mark Burgtorf moving into second by using the middle grove. By lap 25 the middle grove would go away, which allowed Sheppard to gain the second spot back. But Reed had build up to big of a lead for Sheppard to move into challenge him for the lead. The defending IMCA Late Model track champion would start off 2012 with his first UMP Late Model feature win and the $1,000 weekly top prize to go with it. Sheppard settled for second, Burgtorf was 3rd, Matt Bailey came from 11th to finish in 4th, with Long holding on for 5th.
Charles VanZandt and Bradley Holtmeyer, both rookie competitors in the class, drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA SportMod feature. Holtmeyer would spin in front of the field in turn 1 on the drop of the green and collected Chris Larson and Jim Gillenwater to bring the caution out. For the restart VanZandt and Dean Kratzer would lead the field to the green only to be slowed again, as Brandon Dale spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Kratzer would move out front on the next restart, with Bobby Anders, another rookie in the class, following behind in second. On the completion of lap 1 the caution would appear on the speedway, this time Michael Joe Bliven and Larson would collided in turn 1. On the restart the backstretch lights would go out to bring the field to red. After a 30 minute delay to get the lights back on, the action would pick back up. Tony Dunker, who started 10th, jumped to the top of the track on the restart to grab the top spot away from Kratzer on lap 2. The yellow lights would appear on the track on lap 7, when VanZandt spun in turn 1. On the restart Larson would spin his machine in turn 1 to bring the caution back out. Dunker once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Kratzer working to hold back Anders for the battle for second. Just as Dunker had built up a full straight-away lead the final caution of the event came out on lap 18, as VanZandt spun in turn 2 to set up a gren-white-checkered battle for the win. On the restart Dunker was able to move back out front to lead the final 2 laps and pick up the win. Tanner Klingele, another rookie driver in the class, came from 7th to slip under Kratzer on the final lap to finish 2nd, Kratzer settled for 3rd, Anders was 4th, with Bliven coming back from the rear to take home a fifth place finish.
Jim Powell and Brian Hoener led the field to green in the 20 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Powell grabbing the lead on lap 1. After the completion of lap 1 Nathan Anders would come to a stop on the front stretch to bring out the first caution. On the restart contact up front caused Hoener, who was running 2nd, to spin in front of the field to bring the caution back out. Powell moved back out front on the restart but was slowed on the completion of lap 2, as Travis Booher spun in turn 1 to bring the yellow out. On the restart Tanner Klingele would jump to the bottom of the speedway to take the top spot away from Powell on lap 3. But disaster would strike Klingele going into turn 1 on the completion of lap 3. Contact from Powell caused Klingele to spin in turn 1 and collected Powell, Jaime Bevill, and Jeff DeLonjay to bring out the caution. All drivers involved were sent to the back for the restart. The yellow would appear for the final time on the restart, as DeLonjay spun in turn 2. Jake Powers, who started 6th, jumped out front on the next restart, with Jeremy Buss, who started 7th, following close behind in second. Powers would hold back Buss over the final 17 laps to claim the win. Booher recovered from his lap 2 spin to come back up to finish 3rd, Nathan Hayes came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Jaime Bevill recovering from the lap 3 crash to take home 5th.
The final feature of the night was the 12 lap Sport Compacts, with Mike Hornung Jr. and Craig Bangert drawing the front row. Hornung Jr. would come to a stop on the top side of turn 2 on the drop of the green to bring out the only caution of the event. On the restart Wesley Rensch, came from 5th, to grab the lead on lap 1 by inches over Bangert. Rensch looked to be heading for the win, when he pulled off on lap 5 with mechanical troubles. Chuck Fullenkamp, who started 9th, inherited the lead and then went on to lead the final 7 laps to claim the win. Seith Woodruff came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Andrew Davis came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Brandon Lambert was 4th, with Kimberly Abbott rounding out the top 5.
Notes from QR: 21 UMP Late Models, 19 UMP Modifieds, 14 SportMods, 13 Hobby Stocks, 12 Stock Cars and Sport Compacts made up the 91 cars signed in for opening night......Shawn Deering started the UMP Modified feature in 15th and passed 8 cars to take home a 7th place finish....Todd Reed came from 18th to finish 8th....Steve Grotz, who was suppose to start 7th, elected to go to the back. Not sure if the move worked out for him, as he was collected up in the lap 12 crash to end his night......After several years of the Late Models going under the IMCA sanctioning and using the spec motor, the 2012 season welcomed in the UMP open motor sanctioning with 21 cars. Justin Reed, the defending IMCA track champion, didn't look as if the change would slow him down, as he made history by claiming the first UMP win....Matt Baily used his IMCA spec legal motor to come from 11th to finish 4th in the feature....Long was driving the 56J car driven by Justin Jennings in 2011. But when Jennings went off to school in North Carolina, the Jennings family put Long behind the wheel for 2012. Long would come home 5th in the final run down....Rickey Frankel came from 13th to finish 9th....Jake Meier made the long pull down from Tipton, IA to get the car ready for the season opening Corn Belt Clash event coming up in a few weeks. He would take home an 11th place finish....Denny Woodworth, who was tabbed as the odds on favorite to win the 2012 track title, struggled on opening night. He would started the feature from 17th and passed 5 cars to finish in 12th....Clint Kirkham had troubles in hot laps which caused him to scratch for the night......Rick Barlow Jr. started the IMCA SportMod feature from 14th and passed 8 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Brandon Ruffcorn came from 13th to finish in 7th....Brandon Dale recovered from his lap 1 spin to finish in 7th.
The first feature of the night was the 25 lap UMP Modifieds, with Michael Long and Jake Griffin drawing the front row for the event. Long jumped out front on the drop of the green flag, but was slowed for the first caution of the race before the lap was completed. Dave Wietholder, who started 8th, spun his machine in turn one and collected Danny Lake and Robert Thompson to bring out the caution. On the restart Long again grabbed the lead on the drop of the green over Troy Grotz and Griffin. Just as Long started to pull away from the field the second yellow appeared on the speedway on lap 12. This time Derrick Bangert would spin in turn 1 and collected Tony Dunker. Once again Long moved out into the lead on the restart, with a three way battle for second going on behind him. Disaster would strike Troy Grotz, who was running second, on the restart. Donovan Lodge, who was on the bottom, Steven DeLonjay, who was in the middle after coming from 12th, and Grotz, up top, went into turn 1 three wide. Some contact between the three resulted in Grotz spinning in front of the field. He would also collect the cars of Griffin, who was running 6th, Shawn Deering, Steve Grotz and Bangert. The five car spin rule would be in effect, with all the cars involved getting there spots back if able to continue. But Troy Grotz had a left rear flat and Steve Grotz had front end damaged to end both there nights. Long would grab the lead on the restart, with DeLonjay following close behind. The two car battle would be slowed for the final time on lap 13 for debris in turn 3. Once again Long jumped out into the lead on the restart, with DeLonjay close behind. DeLonjay would make his move into the lead on lap 21, as Long drifted off the bottom of 4 enough to allow DeLonjay to slip by for the top spot. DeLonjay held off the challenges of Long over the final 4 laps to pick up the win. Robbie Reed would finish 3rd, Lodge was 4th, with James Leffew coming from 9th to finish in 5th.
Michael Long (18L) and Steven DeLonjay (35) battled side-by-side in the heat and feature on opening night of 2012 at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL. At the end of the night DeLonjay would pull off the win in the 25 lap UMP Modified feature over Long.
Jeremy Pundt and Jerry Jansen drew the front row for the 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature, with Pundt grabbing the lead on lap 1. Coming out of turn 4 for the second lap the battle for the lead went 4 wide, with Jansen edging out, Terry Houston, Abe Huls and Pundt to lead lap 2. On the completion of lap 2 Andrew Griffin would spin in turn 1 to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart Jansen jumped back out front, but now had Huls on his back bumper. Huls used the same move as DeLonjay used in the Modified feature to get to the front, as he slipped under Jansen on lap 6 to take over the top spot. Huls would then lead the final 9 laps to claim the win. Houston settled for 2nd, Jansen held on for 3rd, Jeff Mueller came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Ty Hill coming from 8th to round out the top 5.
Abe Huls drove his beautiful pink and green IMCA Stock Car to the season opening win at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, IL.
The much anticipated 30 lap UMP Late Model feature was up next, with Brandon Sheppard and Michael Long making up the front row for the event. Sheppard would take advantage of his front row starting spot to edge Long out to lead lap 1. Sheppard looked in control of the race until he entered lapped traffic on lap 9, which allowed Justin Reed to close in on him. Sheppard choose to come off the bottom to go to the top to get by Jake Griffin and Ron Elbe, who were racing side-by-side to stay on the lead lap. Which gave Reed the chance to go to the bottom to grab the lead away from Sheppard on lap 14. But Sheppard would come back on the top side to take the lead back on lap 15. Reed wouldn't give up, as he come off turn 4 to take the top spot back on lap 16. The great battle up front was slowed for the one and only time on lap 18, when the yellow light appeared on the speedway. Disaster would strike Jason Perry, who was running 6th, as he tried to put a lap on Joey Gower and made contact in turn 1 which caused both cars to spin. Perry was sent to the back for the restart. Reed moved back out front on the restart, with Mark Burgtorf moving into second by using the middle grove. By lap 25 the middle grove would go away, which allowed Sheppard to gain the second spot back. But Reed had build up to big of a lead for Sheppard to move into challenge him for the lead. The defending IMCA Late Model track champion would start off 2012 with his first UMP Late Model feature win and the $1,000 weekly top prize to go with it. Sheppard settled for second, Burgtorf was 3rd, Matt Bailey came from 11th to finish in 4th, with Long holding on for 5th.
Charles VanZandt and Bradley Holtmeyer, both rookie competitors in the class, drew the front row for the 20 lap IMCA SportMod feature. Holtmeyer would spin in front of the field in turn 1 on the drop of the green and collected Chris Larson and Jim Gillenwater to bring the caution out. For the restart VanZandt and Dean Kratzer would lead the field to the green only to be slowed again, as Brandon Dale spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. Kratzer would move out front on the next restart, with Bobby Anders, another rookie in the class, following behind in second. On the completion of lap 1 the caution would appear on the speedway, this time Michael Joe Bliven and Larson would collided in turn 1. On the restart the backstretch lights would go out to bring the field to red. After a 30 minute delay to get the lights back on, the action would pick back up. Tony Dunker, who started 10th, jumped to the top of the track on the restart to grab the top spot away from Kratzer on lap 2. The yellow lights would appear on the track on lap 7, when VanZandt spun in turn 1. On the restart Larson would spin his machine in turn 1 to bring the caution back out. Dunker once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Kratzer working to hold back Anders for the battle for second. Just as Dunker had built up a full straight-away lead the final caution of the event came out on lap 18, as VanZandt spun in turn 2 to set up a gren-white-checkered battle for the win. On the restart Dunker was able to move back out front to lead the final 2 laps and pick up the win. Tanner Klingele, another rookie driver in the class, came from 7th to slip under Kratzer on the final lap to finish 2nd, Kratzer settled for 3rd, Anders was 4th, with Bliven coming back from the rear to take home a fifth place finish.
Jim Powell and Brian Hoener led the field to green in the 20 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Powell grabbing the lead on lap 1. After the completion of lap 1 Nathan Anders would come to a stop on the front stretch to bring out the first caution. On the restart contact up front caused Hoener, who was running 2nd, to spin in front of the field to bring the caution back out. Powell moved back out front on the restart but was slowed on the completion of lap 2, as Travis Booher spun in turn 1 to bring the yellow out. On the restart Tanner Klingele would jump to the bottom of the speedway to take the top spot away from Powell on lap 3. But disaster would strike Klingele going into turn 1 on the completion of lap 3. Contact from Powell caused Klingele to spin in turn 1 and collected Powell, Jaime Bevill, and Jeff DeLonjay to bring out the caution. All drivers involved were sent to the back for the restart. The yellow would appear for the final time on the restart, as DeLonjay spun in turn 2. Jake Powers, who started 6th, jumped out front on the next restart, with Jeremy Buss, who started 7th, following close behind in second. Powers would hold back Buss over the final 17 laps to claim the win. Booher recovered from his lap 2 spin to come back up to finish 3rd, Nathan Hayes came from 9th to finish in 4th, with Jaime Bevill recovering from the lap 3 crash to take home 5th.
The final feature of the night was the 12 lap Sport Compacts, with Mike Hornung Jr. and Craig Bangert drawing the front row. Hornung Jr. would come to a stop on the top side of turn 2 on the drop of the green to bring out the only caution of the event. On the restart Wesley Rensch, came from 5th, to grab the lead on lap 1 by inches over Bangert. Rensch looked to be heading for the win, when he pulled off on lap 5 with mechanical troubles. Chuck Fullenkamp, who started 9th, inherited the lead and then went on to lead the final 7 laps to claim the win. Seith Woodruff came from 8th to finish in 2nd, Andrew Davis came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Brandon Lambert was 4th, with Kimberly Abbott rounding out the top 5.
Notes from QR: 21 UMP Late Models, 19 UMP Modifieds, 14 SportMods, 13 Hobby Stocks, 12 Stock Cars and Sport Compacts made up the 91 cars signed in for opening night......Shawn Deering started the UMP Modified feature in 15th and passed 8 cars to take home a 7th place finish....Todd Reed came from 18th to finish 8th....Steve Grotz, who was suppose to start 7th, elected to go to the back. Not sure if the move worked out for him, as he was collected up in the lap 12 crash to end his night......After several years of the Late Models going under the IMCA sanctioning and using the spec motor, the 2012 season welcomed in the UMP open motor sanctioning with 21 cars. Justin Reed, the defending IMCA track champion, didn't look as if the change would slow him down, as he made history by claiming the first UMP win....Matt Baily used his IMCA spec legal motor to come from 11th to finish 4th in the feature....Long was driving the 56J car driven by Justin Jennings in 2011. But when Jennings went off to school in North Carolina, the Jennings family put Long behind the wheel for 2012. Long would come home 5th in the final run down....Rickey Frankel came from 13th to finish 9th....Jake Meier made the long pull down from Tipton, IA to get the car ready for the season opening Corn Belt Clash event coming up in a few weeks. He would take home an 11th place finish....Denny Woodworth, who was tabbed as the odds on favorite to win the 2012 track title, struggled on opening night. He would started the feature from 17th and passed 5 cars to finish in 12th....Clint Kirkham had troubles in hot laps which caused him to scratch for the night......Rick Barlow Jr. started the IMCA SportMod feature from 14th and passed 8 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Brandon Ruffcorn came from 13th to finish in 7th....Brandon Dale recovered from his lap 1 spin to finish in 7th.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Dlouhy / DeVore Memorial Wins Go To Elston and Stewart
Tipton, IA (Sunday, October 2, 2011) - The Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, IA played host to the 3rd Annual Dlouhy / DeVore Memorial Race on Sunday, October 2nd, and what a beautiful afternoon and evening to have a race. One Hundred forty-one race cars in six classes packed themselves into the pits in hopes of taking home the top prizes in each division.
After 17 heat races and 4 semi features, the main events were set. The first one to take to the track was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Randy Butterbrodt and Joe Grant drawing the front row. Butterbrodt would take advantage of his front row start by jumping out into the lead on lap 1. Butterbrodt then held the top spot until lap 4, when Joe Grant jumped to his outside to take over the lead. But Butterbrodt didn't give up, as he came back on the bottom to grab the lead back on lap 6. While Butterbrodt and Grant battled for the top spot, Matt Short, who started 4th, and Jeremy Campbell, who started 6th after showing up after the heat was run, were working there way into the battle. Short moved to the top of the track on lap 11 and took over the top spot from Butterbrodt. Short then held off a charging Campbell over the final 4 laps to claim the win. Butterbrodt settled for 3rd, Nate Yoerger was 4th, with Grant holding on for a top five.
Roy Pestka and Brant Hubler led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 15 lap B-Modified feature, with Pestka moving out front on lap 1. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, as Keith Keltner spun in turn 2. On the restart Pestka moved back out front, with Hubler still in second. The action was slowed one more time on lap 3, when Jason Hall and Ben Chapman collided in turn 3 to bring out the caution. Pestka again grabbed the lead on the restart, only to be slowed on lap 4. This time Brad Iverson came to a stop in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. Once again Pestka jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Hubler working to hold back Jarrett Franzen for second. Pestka started to pull away from the field, when the caution came back out on lap 7. Chris Case would spin his machine in turn 4 to bring the field back to Pestka's back bumper. On the restart Pestka again moved back out into the lead, with Hubler holding back Franzen. Pestka again pulled away from the field over the next 7 laps, when David Imming spun his machine in turn 2 on the white flag lap to bring out the yellow and checkers. Pestka would claim the win, Hubler held on for 2nd, Franzen was 3rd, Dakota Hayden came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Kevin Schroeder passing 9 cars from his 14th starting spot to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap 4 Cylinder feature, with Jeffrey Vislisel and Jordan Walker drawing the front row for the event. Walker took advantage of his front row draw to grab the lead on lap 1, only to be slowed on the completion of the lap for the first caution. Andy Wagner and Art Schott would spin in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Justin Kay grabbed the lead away from Walker, with Chuck Fullenkamp following him into second. Fullenkamp would slip under Kay on lap 3 to grab the top spot, only to have Kay come back on the top to lead lap 4. But Fullenkamp didn't give up as he slipped under Kay on lap 5 to take the top spot back. With Fullenkamp and Kay battling for the lead, Jacob Ellithorpe, who started 11th, was working his way into the battle. Ellithorpe jumped the outside of Fullenkamp and Kay to go three wide for the lead on lap 7, with Ellithorpe coming out on top. The three way battle up front was slowed for the final time on lap 8, when Jason Blocker spun in turn 3. On the restart Ellithorpe moved back out into the lead, with Fullenkamp and Kay going back to the battle for second. Ellithorpe would go on to lead the final 7 laps to pick up the win. Shane Evans came from 13th to edge Fullenkamp at the line to finish 2nd, Fullenkamp was 3rd, Gene Potter passed 12 cars from his 16th place starting spot to finish 4th, with Bryce Bailey charging from 19th to claim fifth.
The 15 lap Stock Car feature was the next event to take to the speedway, with Matt Picray and Terry Rittmer leading the field to the green. Rittmer took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1. But he was slowed on the completion of lap 1, when Jamie Figg came to a stop in the middle of the backstretch to bring out the first caution. On the restart Rittmer moved back out front, with Joe Bonney and Tim Current, who started 6th, battling for second. The battle up front was slowed on lap 3 when Dwaine Hasson got into Donnie Louck while battle for sixth, which caused Louck to spin in turn 3 and collected the cars of Wayne Hora and Figg. Once again Rittmer grabbed the lead on the restart and then held it until lap 5, when Current over took him on the top side of the speedway. Current then started to pull away from the rest of the field, when another yellow came out on lap 12. This time Rob Henry, who started 20th and had worked his way to 7th, spun in turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Hora, who came from the rear after a lap 3 crash and was running 9th, spun his machine in turn 4 and collected the machines of Dan Mohr and Josh Starr. Once again Current moved back out front on the restart, but now had Matt Greiner, who started 12th, battling him for the lead. Just as the front runners took the white flag, Figg would spin his machine in turn four to bring out the yellow and checkers. Current would hold on for the win, Greiner settled for 2nd, Mike Schmidtz started 10th and came home in 3rd, Bonney held on for 4th, with Jeremy Marquette passing 14 cars from his 19th place starting spot to finish in fifth.
Tommy Elston and Jake Meier led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap Late Model feature, but it was third place starter Ray Guss Jr. grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution of the event came out on lap 2, when Chad Patch and Mike Cothron spun in turn 1. On the restart Bryan Klein, Stephen Kammerer, Rick Dralle and Cothron collided in turn 1. Guss Jr. would jumped out front on the next restart, with Elston and Meier battling for second. But another caution on lap 4 would slow the action once again. This time Kammerer would spin in turn 2 to bring the yellow back out. Once again Guss Jr. grabbed the lead on the restart, with Elston in 2nd and Matt Ryan, who started 7th, grabbing third. Guss Jr. started to pull away from the field and looked to be heading for the win. But disaster would strike him on lap 22 when two lapped cars got together in front of him in turn 4. Guss Jr. would get on the binders to avoid them, but somebody got into the back of Guss Jr. who did a 360 and kept going. But the caution was waved and the flagmen made the call that Guss Jr. was involved, sending him to the back. Nate Beuseling and Doug Nigh, who were battling for 6th, were also piled up in the caution, ending both there nights. Elston would inherit the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 8 laps to pick up the $1,500 top prize. Ryan was 2nd, Meier settled for 3rd, Kevin Kile came from 15th to finish in 4th, with Gary Webb passing 12 cars from his 17th place starting spot to take home fifth.
The last feature of the night was the 35 lap Modifieds, with Brian Webb and Brandon Durbin leading the field to the green. Webb would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, when Justin Speers and Brad Tyler collided in turn 3. On the restart Webb moved back out front, with Brandon Durbin close behind in second. Durbin would slip under Webb on lap 3 to grab the top spot and then held it until lap 6. Steve Stewart was able to get under Durbin to grab the lead and then started to pull away from the field. But a caution on lap 16 for Wade Lee who spun in turn 4 would help bring the field back to his back bumper. Another caution would come out on lap 17, when Speers spun his machine in turn 1. Then on the restart 11 cars would pile up in turn four to bring out the red. Those involved were Brad Dierks, Bob Dominacki, Bruce Hanford, Nick Dains, Tyler, Ray Cox Jr., Lee, Ryan DeShaw, Johnny Spaw, Speers and Mike Shrope. Only the cars of Dominacki, Hanford, Cox Jr., Lee and Speers were able to continue. Stewart would jump back out front once the event went back green, with Ryan Dolan, who started 8th, and Mark Schulte, who started 10th, battling for second. Stewart was working to fight off Dolan on every lap, when the caution came out once again on lap 29. This time Chris Zogg would slow to a stop in turn 3 to bring the yellow on. On the restart Noah Coppess, who came from 19th and had worked his way to 5th, spun his machine in turn 2 to bring the yellow back on. Stewart again held off Dolan on the restart and then held him at bay over the final 6 laps to claim the $2,000 top prize. Dolan settled for 2nd, Schulte was 3rd, Kevin Kile was 4th, with John Bull coming home in 5th.
Notes from Tipton: 38 Modifieds, 29 4 Cylinders, 26 Late Models, 22 B-Modifieds, 20 Stock Cars and 6 Hobby Stocks made up the 141 cars signed in on the day......Darrin Plett started the B-Modified feature in 13th and came up to take home 6th....Jason Hall recovered from his lap 3 crash to come back to finish in 8th....Dan Kessler passed 7 cars from his 16th place starting spot to come home in 9th....Ben Chapman also recovered from the lap 3 crash to come back up to 11th....Brian Wendel, who started his heat race in 6th, had quickly worked his way to the lead only to blow a motor with 2 laps to go to end his night....Bryce Bailey showed up at the track just as the 4 Cylinder heats were running, which caused him to start 13th in the semi. He would pass 9 cars to finish in 4th, which put him 19th in the feature. Once again he would pass 14 cars by the end of the race to take home a 5th place finish....Kyle Volinger came from 12th to finish in 8th....Lucas Short started 18th and finished in 13th....Art Schott started 23rd and was in the lap 1 crash, but was able to recover to finish in 15th......Jeremy Marquette would come from 7th in his heat race and crossed the line in 2nd. But was DQ in tech for adjustable trailing arms. That would put him in the 19th starting spot for the feature. Jeremy would pass 14 cars to take home a 5th place finish....Nathan Hall was driving the 00 car that Rob Henry drove all year. He would take the green in the feature in 9th and settled for a 6th place finish....Donnie Louck recovered from the lap 3 crash to come back to finish in 7th....Wayne Hora also recovered from his lap 3 and lap 12 crashes to take home an 11th place finish....Ron Henry drove a #73 machine on the night and started 5th in his heat and crossed the line in 4th. But he was also DQ in tech for trailing arms and had to start 20th in the feature. He had worked his way up to 7th when he spun on lap 12 to finish in 14th....Dwaine Hasson was in the #40 driven much of the year by Nathan Hall. He would take the green in the feature in 8th and was battling for 6th, when he was involved in a yellow on lap 3 to end his night in 15th....RJ Gonzales had troubles in his heat race to cause him to scratch from the feature......Jake Meier jumped behind the wheel of the #87 Late Model driven by Jon Merfeld. He would pick up the win in heat race 1 to earn a spot in the dash, where he started 3rd and finished 2nd. Jake then took the green on the outside of the front row for the feature and held on to take home a 3rd place finish....Travis Denning took the Late Model feature from his 21st place starting spot. He would pass 15 cars by the end of the 30 lap race to take home a nice 6th place finish....Joe Zrostlik was behind the wheel of the 21H machine in which Brian Harris drove for much of 2011. He would start 11th in the feature and came home in 10th....Chad Patch recovered from his lap 2 crash to come back up to 11th....Bart Miller came from 22nd to finish 13th in his first year behind a Late Model......Jason Schueller passed 14 cars from his 20th place starting spot in the Modified feature to claim a 6th place finish....Bruce Hanford recovered from the lap 17 pile up to come back to finish in 7th....Noah Coppess recovered from his lap 29 spin, while running 5th after starting 19th, to come back to take home 9th....Dan Chapman was running 4th after starting 11th, when he pulled into the pits on the lap 29 caution. He would return to come back to finish in 10th....Wade Lee recovered from his lap 16 spin and being involved in the lap 17 pile up to finish in 11th after starting 17th....Shaune Lewis came from 18th to finish in 12th....Justin Speers started 24th and was involved in the lap 3 crash, lap 17 spin and lap 17 pile up to come back to take home a 13th place finish....Chris Zogg drove his dads, Mike Zogg's #9z, car on the night and was running up front when he was involved in the lap 17 pile up and then came to a stop on lap 29 to end his run in 15th....Ray Cox Jr. started 26th and was involved in the lap 17 pile up to end his night in 16th.
After 17 heat races and 4 semi features, the main events were set. The first one to take to the track was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Randy Butterbrodt and Joe Grant drawing the front row. Butterbrodt would take advantage of his front row start by jumping out into the lead on lap 1. Butterbrodt then held the top spot until lap 4, when Joe Grant jumped to his outside to take over the lead. But Butterbrodt didn't give up, as he came back on the bottom to grab the lead back on lap 6. While Butterbrodt and Grant battled for the top spot, Matt Short, who started 4th, and Jeremy Campbell, who started 6th after showing up after the heat was run, were working there way into the battle. Short moved to the top of the track on lap 11 and took over the top spot from Butterbrodt. Short then held off a charging Campbell over the final 4 laps to claim the win. Butterbrodt settled for 3rd, Nate Yoerger was 4th, with Grant holding on for a top five.
Roy Pestka and Brant Hubler led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 15 lap B-Modified feature, with Pestka moving out front on lap 1. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, as Keith Keltner spun in turn 2. On the restart Pestka moved back out front, with Hubler still in second. The action was slowed one more time on lap 3, when Jason Hall and Ben Chapman collided in turn 3 to bring out the caution. Pestka again grabbed the lead on the restart, only to be slowed on lap 4. This time Brad Iverson came to a stop in turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. Once again Pestka jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Hubler working to hold back Jarrett Franzen for second. Pestka started to pull away from the field, when the caution came back out on lap 7. Chris Case would spin his machine in turn 4 to bring the field back to Pestka's back bumper. On the restart Pestka again moved back out into the lead, with Hubler holding back Franzen. Pestka again pulled away from the field over the next 7 laps, when David Imming spun his machine in turn 2 on the white flag lap to bring out the yellow and checkers. Pestka would claim the win, Hubler held on for 2nd, Franzen was 3rd, Dakota Hayden came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Kevin Schroeder passing 9 cars from his 14th starting spot to round out the top 5.
Up next was the 15 lap 4 Cylinder feature, with Jeffrey Vislisel and Jordan Walker drawing the front row for the event. Walker took advantage of his front row draw to grab the lead on lap 1, only to be slowed on the completion of the lap for the first caution. Andy Wagner and Art Schott would spin in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Justin Kay grabbed the lead away from Walker, with Chuck Fullenkamp following him into second. Fullenkamp would slip under Kay on lap 3 to grab the top spot, only to have Kay come back on the top to lead lap 4. But Fullenkamp didn't give up as he slipped under Kay on lap 5 to take the top spot back. With Fullenkamp and Kay battling for the lead, Jacob Ellithorpe, who started 11th, was working his way into the battle. Ellithorpe jumped the outside of Fullenkamp and Kay to go three wide for the lead on lap 7, with Ellithorpe coming out on top. The three way battle up front was slowed for the final time on lap 8, when Jason Blocker spun in turn 3. On the restart Ellithorpe moved back out into the lead, with Fullenkamp and Kay going back to the battle for second. Ellithorpe would go on to lead the final 7 laps to pick up the win. Shane Evans came from 13th to edge Fullenkamp at the line to finish 2nd, Fullenkamp was 3rd, Gene Potter passed 12 cars from his 16th place starting spot to finish 4th, with Bryce Bailey charging from 19th to claim fifth.
The 15 lap Stock Car feature was the next event to take to the speedway, with Matt Picray and Terry Rittmer leading the field to the green. Rittmer took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1. But he was slowed on the completion of lap 1, when Jamie Figg came to a stop in the middle of the backstretch to bring out the first caution. On the restart Rittmer moved back out front, with Joe Bonney and Tim Current, who started 6th, battling for second. The battle up front was slowed on lap 3 when Dwaine Hasson got into Donnie Louck while battle for sixth, which caused Louck to spin in turn 3 and collected the cars of Wayne Hora and Figg. Once again Rittmer grabbed the lead on the restart and then held it until lap 5, when Current over took him on the top side of the speedway. Current then started to pull away from the rest of the field, when another yellow came out on lap 12. This time Rob Henry, who started 20th and had worked his way to 7th, spun in turn 1 to bring out the caution. On the restart Hora, who came from the rear after a lap 3 crash and was running 9th, spun his machine in turn 4 and collected the machines of Dan Mohr and Josh Starr. Once again Current moved back out front on the restart, but now had Matt Greiner, who started 12th, battling him for the lead. Just as the front runners took the white flag, Figg would spin his machine in turn four to bring out the yellow and checkers. Current would hold on for the win, Greiner settled for 2nd, Mike Schmidtz started 10th and came home in 3rd, Bonney held on for 4th, with Jeremy Marquette passing 14 cars from his 19th place starting spot to finish in fifth.
Tommy Elston and Jake Meier led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 30 lap Late Model feature, but it was third place starter Ray Guss Jr. grabbing the lead on lap 1. The first caution of the event came out on lap 2, when Chad Patch and Mike Cothron spun in turn 1. On the restart Bryan Klein, Stephen Kammerer, Rick Dralle and Cothron collided in turn 1. Guss Jr. would jumped out front on the next restart, with Elston and Meier battling for second. But another caution on lap 4 would slow the action once again. This time Kammerer would spin in turn 2 to bring the yellow back out. Once again Guss Jr. grabbed the lead on the restart, with Elston in 2nd and Matt Ryan, who started 7th, grabbing third. Guss Jr. started to pull away from the field and looked to be heading for the win. But disaster would strike him on lap 22 when two lapped cars got together in front of him in turn 4. Guss Jr. would get on the binders to avoid them, but somebody got into the back of Guss Jr. who did a 360 and kept going. But the caution was waved and the flagmen made the call that Guss Jr. was involved, sending him to the back. Nate Beuseling and Doug Nigh, who were battling for 6th, were also piled up in the caution, ending both there nights. Elston would inherit the lead on the restart and then pulled away over the final 8 laps to pick up the $1,500 top prize. Ryan was 2nd, Meier settled for 3rd, Kevin Kile came from 15th to finish in 4th, with Gary Webb passing 12 cars from his 17th place starting spot to take home fifth.
The last feature of the night was the 35 lap Modifieds, with Brian Webb and Brandon Durbin leading the field to the green. Webb would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, when Justin Speers and Brad Tyler collided in turn 3. On the restart Webb moved back out front, with Brandon Durbin close behind in second. Durbin would slip under Webb on lap 3 to grab the top spot and then held it until lap 6. Steve Stewart was able to get under Durbin to grab the lead and then started to pull away from the field. But a caution on lap 16 for Wade Lee who spun in turn 4 would help bring the field back to his back bumper. Another caution would come out on lap 17, when Speers spun his machine in turn 1. Then on the restart 11 cars would pile up in turn four to bring out the red. Those involved were Brad Dierks, Bob Dominacki, Bruce Hanford, Nick Dains, Tyler, Ray Cox Jr., Lee, Ryan DeShaw, Johnny Spaw, Speers and Mike Shrope. Only the cars of Dominacki, Hanford, Cox Jr., Lee and Speers were able to continue. Stewart would jump back out front once the event went back green, with Ryan Dolan, who started 8th, and Mark Schulte, who started 10th, battling for second. Stewart was working to fight off Dolan on every lap, when the caution came out once again on lap 29. This time Chris Zogg would slow to a stop in turn 3 to bring the yellow on. On the restart Noah Coppess, who came from 19th and had worked his way to 5th, spun his machine in turn 2 to bring the yellow back on. Stewart again held off Dolan on the restart and then held him at bay over the final 6 laps to claim the $2,000 top prize. Dolan settled for 2nd, Schulte was 3rd, Kevin Kile was 4th, with John Bull coming home in 5th.
Notes from Tipton: 38 Modifieds, 29 4 Cylinders, 26 Late Models, 22 B-Modifieds, 20 Stock Cars and 6 Hobby Stocks made up the 141 cars signed in on the day......Darrin Plett started the B-Modified feature in 13th and came up to take home 6th....Jason Hall recovered from his lap 3 crash to come back to finish in 8th....Dan Kessler passed 7 cars from his 16th place starting spot to come home in 9th....Ben Chapman also recovered from the lap 3 crash to come back up to 11th....Brian Wendel, who started his heat race in 6th, had quickly worked his way to the lead only to blow a motor with 2 laps to go to end his night....Bryce Bailey showed up at the track just as the 4 Cylinder heats were running, which caused him to start 13th in the semi. He would pass 9 cars to finish in 4th, which put him 19th in the feature. Once again he would pass 14 cars by the end of the race to take home a 5th place finish....Kyle Volinger came from 12th to finish in 8th....Lucas Short started 18th and finished in 13th....Art Schott started 23rd and was in the lap 1 crash, but was able to recover to finish in 15th......Jeremy Marquette would come from 7th in his heat race and crossed the line in 2nd. But was DQ in tech for adjustable trailing arms. That would put him in the 19th starting spot for the feature. Jeremy would pass 14 cars to take home a 5th place finish....Nathan Hall was driving the 00 car that Rob Henry drove all year. He would take the green in the feature in 9th and settled for a 6th place finish....Donnie Louck recovered from the lap 3 crash to come back to finish in 7th....Wayne Hora also recovered from his lap 3 and lap 12 crashes to take home an 11th place finish....Ron Henry drove a #73 machine on the night and started 5th in his heat and crossed the line in 4th. But he was also DQ in tech for trailing arms and had to start 20th in the feature. He had worked his way up to 7th when he spun on lap 12 to finish in 14th....Dwaine Hasson was in the #40 driven much of the year by Nathan Hall. He would take the green in the feature in 8th and was battling for 6th, when he was involved in a yellow on lap 3 to end his night in 15th....RJ Gonzales had troubles in his heat race to cause him to scratch from the feature......Jake Meier jumped behind the wheel of the #87 Late Model driven by Jon Merfeld. He would pick up the win in heat race 1 to earn a spot in the dash, where he started 3rd and finished 2nd. Jake then took the green on the outside of the front row for the feature and held on to take home a 3rd place finish....Travis Denning took the Late Model feature from his 21st place starting spot. He would pass 15 cars by the end of the 30 lap race to take home a nice 6th place finish....Joe Zrostlik was behind the wheel of the 21H machine in which Brian Harris drove for much of 2011. He would start 11th in the feature and came home in 10th....Chad Patch recovered from his lap 2 crash to come back up to 11th....Bart Miller came from 22nd to finish 13th in his first year behind a Late Model......Jason Schueller passed 14 cars from his 20th place starting spot in the Modified feature to claim a 6th place finish....Bruce Hanford recovered from the lap 17 pile up to come back to finish in 7th....Noah Coppess recovered from his lap 29 spin, while running 5th after starting 19th, to come back to take home 9th....Dan Chapman was running 4th after starting 11th, when he pulled into the pits on the lap 29 caution. He would return to come back to finish in 10th....Wade Lee recovered from his lap 16 spin and being involved in the lap 17 pile up to finish in 11th after starting 17th....Shaune Lewis came from 18th to finish in 12th....Justin Speers started 24th and was involved in the lap 3 crash, lap 17 spin and lap 17 pile up to come back to take home a 13th place finish....Chris Zogg drove his dads, Mike Zogg's #9z, car on the night and was running up front when he was involved in the lap 17 pile up and then came to a stop on lap 29 to end his run in 15th....Ray Cox Jr. started 26th and was involved in the lap 17 pile up to end his night in 16th.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Webb and Fullenkamp Claim First Wins of the Season at Lee County
Donnellson, IA (Friday, July 22, 2011) - Friday night was another action packed night of racing at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. At the end of the night there were two new winners and three repeat winners in victory lane.
The first feature of the night was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Jim Kuhlmeier and Jacob Smith leading the field to the green. But it was third place starter Dean Kratzer who edged out Rod Staats at the line to lead lap 1. Kratzer was able to hold back Staats over the next 2 laps, before Jeff Mueller, who started 8th, over took Staats for second. Mueller then went to work on Kratzer for the lead, until the first caution of the event slowed the action down on lap 8. Staats, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kuhlmeier came to a stop in turn 3 to bring the caution light back on. Kratzer grabbed the lead on the restart, with Mueller holding back Jim Gillenwater, who started 9th, for second. Gillenwater would jump to the bottom of the track coming out of turn four to grab the top spot on lap 10. Gillenwater then pulled away over the final 5 laps to claim his 5th win of the season at the track. Kratzer held on for 2nd, Mueller was 3rd, Rodger Dresden came home 4th, with Kevin Cale edging out 5th at the line by inches.
Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Bob Cowman and Dugan Thye making up the front row. But just like the SportMod feature, third place starter Jake Wenig jumping out front on lap 1 over Dane Fenton. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, as Nathan Anders spun in turn 1. On the restart Wenig grabbed the lead, with Fenton holding off Dan Wenig, who started 7th, for second. Jake Wenig started to pull away from the battle for second, when the second caution of the event came out on lap 10. This time Michael Wenke spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow light. Once again Jake Wenig moved back out front, with Fenton challenging him for the top spot. Just as Fenton went under Jake Wenig to take over the top spot, Wenke would spin in turn 4 on lap 14 to bring out the final caution. This would set up a green-white-checkered overtime finish. On the restart Fenton slipped under Jake Wenig to grab the top spot away on lap 15. But Jake Wenig would come back on the top of the track coming out of turn 2 to take back the lead. Jake Wenig, was up top, Fenton, in the middle, and Dan Wenig, down low, would come off of turn four three wide for the win. But it was Jake Wenig who went on to claim his 6th win of the season at the track. Fenton held on for 2nd, Dan Wenig was 3rd, Jim Lynch was 4th, with Ray Raker rounding out the top 5.
Connie Justice and Sierra Bueker were suppose to lead the field to the green in the 12 lap Wild Things feature, but both would scratch from the event. That would move the second row of Craig Bangert and Kimborly Abbott up to the front row. Bangert would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Chuck Fullenkamp, who started 5th. Fullenkamp would slip under Bangert on lap 3 to take over the top spot, with Nick Wilkerson, who started 6th and David Helenthal, who started 7th, moving up to challenge. Wilkerson and Helenthal both tried the low side to get around Fullenmkap. But Fullenkamp would hold them back for the final 9 laps to claim his frist win of the season at the speedway. Wilkerson settled for 2nd, Helenthal was 3rd, Bangert held on for 4th, with Abbott coming home in 5th.
The 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature was up next, with Jeremy Pundt and Derek St. Clair on the front row for the event. Pundt would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Corey Strothman. But Pundt would only lead 1 lap, as Chris Webb, who started 5th, slipped under him to grab the top spot on lap 2. On the completion of the lap Ryan Cook would spin to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the race. On the restart Webb moved back out front with Pundt working to hold back Strothman for 2nd. Just as Webb started to pull away, the final caution of the event would appear on lap 11. This time Pundt would come to a stop up against the guardrail in turn 3 to end his run up front. Webb once again jumped back out front on the restart, with Jason Cook, who started 7th, moving up to challenge him. Cook would make a last lap challenge on Webb coming off four, but Webb was able to hold him back to claim his first win of the season at the track. Matt Greiner came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Temeyer started 12th and passed 8 cars to finish in 4th, with Jeff Mueller coming from 9th to round out the top 5.
The final feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with Bill Seyb and Rob Kirchner leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Kirchner would grab the lead on lap 1 over Dustin Crear and Adam Birck. Tyler Cale, who started 8th, quickly moved to the front to grab the top spot away from Kirchner on lap 5. Just as the lap was completed, Birck, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the first caution. On the restart Cale jumped back out front, with Wyatt Lantz, who started 6th, moving in to challenge. The battle up front was slowed again on lap 9. Once again Birck would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out his second solo spin to end his night. Lantz would jumped to the outside of Cale on the restart to grab the top spot on lap 10. Lantz then started to pull away from the battle for second between Cale, Jeff Waterman, who started 7th, and Josh Foster, who started 9th. The final caution of the event would come out on lap 15 to bring the field back to Lantz's back bumper. This time the yellow would be displayed for Bill Roberts who spun off of 4 and Chadwick Giberson who spun in turn 4. Once again Lantz moved back out front on the restart, with Cale holding back Waterman and Foster for 2nd. Foster would make his move into second on lap 18 and then went to work on Lantz for the lead. But Lantz had built up to big of a lead to hold on to claim his 2nd win of the season at the speedway. Foster settled for 2nd, Cale was 3rd, Waterman was 4th, with Kirchner holding on for a 5th place finish.
Notes from LCS: In 77 laps of feature racing, there were only 10 cautions on the night. With the Wild Things going caution FREE!!!......Patrick Profeta started the SportMod feature in 12th and passed 5 cars to finish in 7th....Rick Barlow Jr. also passed 5 cars from his 13th place starting spot to take home 8th....Rod Staats would recover from his lap 8 spin to come back to finish in 9th......Jake Wenig claim his 6th Hobby Stock feature in 11 started at the Lee County Speedway for 2011. Wenig's all 6 wins came in features he would finish, his other 5 starts were races he wasn't around at the finish....Bobby Anders drove Wesley Mayfield's Hobby Stock to a 6th place finish after starting 9th......Mike Fisher started the Wild Things feature in 9th and passed 3 cars to finish in 6th....Ben Reschke passed 9 cars from his 16th place starting spot to take home a 7th place finish....Bradley Stevenson came from 14th to take home 8th....Darin Smith, who was the points leader going into the night, started the feature in 8th and had worked his way to 3rd by lap 5. But a right front flat on lap 6 would end his run to the front to give him a 13th place finish......Ryan Cook recovered from his lap 2 spin in the Stock Car feature to come back up to finish in 6th....Cale Samberg was suppose to start 4th in the feature, but motor troubles after his heat would make him scratch from the event......Brandon Banks started the Modified feature in 13th and passed 7 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Derek Hamm came from 12th to finish in 7th....Dustin Crear was running 2, when he got off the track in turn 1 and fell back to 12th. He would recover to take home a 8th place run....Rayn Cook was suppose to start the feature in 10th, but elected to tag the tail. He would come up to claim 9th at the finish.
The first feature of the night was the 15 lap IMCA SportMods, with Jim Kuhlmeier and Jacob Smith leading the field to the green. But it was third place starter Dean Kratzer who edged out Rod Staats at the line to lead lap 1. Kratzer was able to hold back Staats over the next 2 laps, before Jeff Mueller, who started 8th, over took Staats for second. Mueller then went to work on Kratzer for the lead, until the first caution of the event slowed the action down on lap 8. Staats, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Kuhlmeier came to a stop in turn 3 to bring the caution light back on. Kratzer grabbed the lead on the restart, with Mueller holding back Jim Gillenwater, who started 9th, for second. Gillenwater would jump to the bottom of the track coming out of turn four to grab the top spot on lap 10. Gillenwater then pulled away over the final 5 laps to claim his 5th win of the season at the track. Kratzer held on for 2nd, Mueller was 3rd, Rodger Dresden came home 4th, with Kevin Cale edging out 5th at the line by inches.
Up next was the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Bob Cowman and Dugan Thye making up the front row. But just like the SportMod feature, third place starter Jake Wenig jumping out front on lap 1 over Dane Fenton. The first caution of the event would come out on the completion of lap 1, as Nathan Anders spun in turn 1. On the restart Wenig grabbed the lead, with Fenton holding off Dan Wenig, who started 7th, for second. Jake Wenig started to pull away from the battle for second, when the second caution of the event came out on lap 10. This time Michael Wenke spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow light. Once again Jake Wenig moved back out front, with Fenton challenging him for the top spot. Just as Fenton went under Jake Wenig to take over the top spot, Wenke would spin in turn 4 on lap 14 to bring out the final caution. This would set up a green-white-checkered overtime finish. On the restart Fenton slipped under Jake Wenig to grab the top spot away on lap 15. But Jake Wenig would come back on the top of the track coming out of turn 2 to take back the lead. Jake Wenig, was up top, Fenton, in the middle, and Dan Wenig, down low, would come off of turn four three wide for the win. But it was Jake Wenig who went on to claim his 6th win of the season at the track. Fenton held on for 2nd, Dan Wenig was 3rd, Jim Lynch was 4th, with Ray Raker rounding out the top 5.
Connie Justice and Sierra Bueker were suppose to lead the field to the green in the 12 lap Wild Things feature, but both would scratch from the event. That would move the second row of Craig Bangert and Kimborly Abbott up to the front row. Bangert would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Chuck Fullenkamp, who started 5th. Fullenkamp would slip under Bangert on lap 3 to take over the top spot, with Nick Wilkerson, who started 6th and David Helenthal, who started 7th, moving up to challenge. Wilkerson and Helenthal both tried the low side to get around Fullenmkap. But Fullenkamp would hold them back for the final 9 laps to claim his frist win of the season at the speedway. Wilkerson settled for 2nd, Helenthal was 3rd, Bangert held on for 4th, with Abbott coming home in 5th.
The 15 lap IMCA Stock Car feature was up next, with Jeremy Pundt and Derek St. Clair on the front row for the event. Pundt would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Corey Strothman. But Pundt would only lead 1 lap, as Chris Webb, who started 5th, slipped under him to grab the top spot on lap 2. On the completion of the lap Ryan Cook would spin to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the race. On the restart Webb moved back out front with Pundt working to hold back Strothman for 2nd. Just as Webb started to pull away, the final caution of the event would appear on lap 11. This time Pundt would come to a stop up against the guardrail in turn 3 to end his run up front. Webb once again jumped back out front on the restart, with Jason Cook, who started 7th, moving up to challenge him. Cook would make a last lap challenge on Webb coming off four, but Webb was able to hold him back to claim his first win of the season at the track. Matt Greiner came from 8th to finish in 3rd, Justin Temeyer started 12th and passed 8 cars to finish in 4th, with Jeff Mueller coming from 9th to round out the top 5.
The final feature on the night was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds, with Bill Seyb and Rob Kirchner leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Kirchner would grab the lead on lap 1 over Dustin Crear and Adam Birck. Tyler Cale, who started 8th, quickly moved to the front to grab the top spot away from Kirchner on lap 5. Just as the lap was completed, Birck, who was running 3rd, spun to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the first caution. On the restart Cale jumped back out front, with Wyatt Lantz, who started 6th, moving in to challenge. The battle up front was slowed again on lap 9. Once again Birck would spin his machine in turn 2 to bring out his second solo spin to end his night. Lantz would jumped to the outside of Cale on the restart to grab the top spot on lap 10. Lantz then started to pull away from the battle for second between Cale, Jeff Waterman, who started 7th, and Josh Foster, who started 9th. The final caution of the event would come out on lap 15 to bring the field back to Lantz's back bumper. This time the yellow would be displayed for Bill Roberts who spun off of 4 and Chadwick Giberson who spun in turn 4. Once again Lantz moved back out front on the restart, with Cale holding back Waterman and Foster for 2nd. Foster would make his move into second on lap 18 and then went to work on Lantz for the lead. But Lantz had built up to big of a lead to hold on to claim his 2nd win of the season at the speedway. Foster settled for 2nd, Cale was 3rd, Waterman was 4th, with Kirchner holding on for a 5th place finish.
Notes from LCS: In 77 laps of feature racing, there were only 10 cautions on the night. With the Wild Things going caution FREE!!!......Patrick Profeta started the SportMod feature in 12th and passed 5 cars to finish in 7th....Rick Barlow Jr. also passed 5 cars from his 13th place starting spot to take home 8th....Rod Staats would recover from his lap 8 spin to come back to finish in 9th......Jake Wenig claim his 6th Hobby Stock feature in 11 started at the Lee County Speedway for 2011. Wenig's all 6 wins came in features he would finish, his other 5 starts were races he wasn't around at the finish....Bobby Anders drove Wesley Mayfield's Hobby Stock to a 6th place finish after starting 9th......Mike Fisher started the Wild Things feature in 9th and passed 3 cars to finish in 6th....Ben Reschke passed 9 cars from his 16th place starting spot to take home a 7th place finish....Bradley Stevenson came from 14th to take home 8th....Darin Smith, who was the points leader going into the night, started the feature in 8th and had worked his way to 3rd by lap 5. But a right front flat on lap 6 would end his run to the front to give him a 13th place finish......Ryan Cook recovered from his lap 2 spin in the Stock Car feature to come back up to finish in 6th....Cale Samberg was suppose to start 4th in the feature, but motor troubles after his heat would make him scratch from the event......Brandon Banks started the Modified feature in 13th and passed 7 cars to take home a 6th place finish....Derek Hamm came from 12th to finish in 7th....Dustin Crear was running 2, when he got off the track in turn 1 and fell back to 12th. He would recover to take home a 8th place run....Rayn Cook was suppose to start the feature in 10th, but elected to tag the tail. He would come up to claim 9th at the finish.
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