Sunday, May 10, 2009

Ackerman Repeats on a Cold Night in Mason City

A cold May night was up next for "Tapfan's Tours" as I came back to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City for Sunday night, May 10th. A great field of cars were checked into the pits as several drivers were unable to race earlier in the weekend due to the weather not cooperating.

Ken Winkowitsch took home the novice hornet feature win. He was black flagged for questionable driving in the heat race, started in the fourth row and took home the victory ahead of seven other cars. Jesse Harang would prevail in the senior hornets that had a field of eight cars.

Up next would be the hobby stocks. Twenty cars checked into the pits for action on the big half-mile track tonight. Mick Meyers quickly jumped out front while the action heated up behind him as there were two rows of 3 cars wide trying to chase him down. One of those cars was Cory Gansen, would caught Meyers and ran door to door with him for a few laps before finally taking the top spot away and racing on to the victory. Robert Black barely edged out Meyers for the runner up spot and Meyers slipped back to third, Heath Tulp was fourth, and Stac Schroeder rounded out the top five.

Twenty-seven bmods were scheduled to start their feature tonight, but unfortunately two drivers were unable to make the call for the twelve-lap race. Nick West took the lead early on until Adam Ackerman caught and passed him on the second circuit of the race. Ackerman would cruise to the easy win, followed by Dustin Brown in second, third went to Nick West, Mike Jaeger was fourth, and Matt Hoeft completed the top five.

The IMCA stock cars were up next. Outside front row starter Jared Dirks proved the front was the place to start as he took the lead on lap two and would never relinquish it as he went on to the win. Pole sitter Merlyn Hegland finished second, Kevin Opheim came home third after starting ninth, Travis Prochaska was fourth, and Joe Willier rounded out the top five.

The final event of the night would be the IMCA modifieds. Terrance Prochaska used his second starting spot to capture the lead early on as Rich Lewerke gave chase. Lewerke tried to catch Prochaska, but his car pushed up the track in turn three and made contact with the outside wall and ending his night. Prochaska would then receive pressure from J.J. Wise before surrendering the spot. Prochaska would later pull off the track with motor problems. Alex Yohn got by Monson for second and set his sights on Wise, but it wasn't enough as Wise took home the trophy. Shane Monson finished third, and in a very close finish Ty Mennenga edged out TJ Stalker for fourth.

Another good night of racing at Mason City. The track was a little bit on the choppy side as a result of 5+ inches of rain on Friday, but the drivers were still able to put on a show for the fans. It was nice to see J.J. Wise get the win after his bad luck with the tractor tire last week. And it was nice to finally make it home after a good weekend of races that included two new tracks for me.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!

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