Sunday, May 31, 2009

Familiar Faces in Victory Lane at I-35

Sunday night marked another 90-minute trip to the north as I once again visited the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Tonight's races would conclude with familiar races in victory lane.

Ken Winkowitsch captured the lead at the start of the junior hornet feature and never looked back as he once again took home the checkers. Patrick Barrett appeared to have won the pro hornet feature, but he was docked a couple spots for jumping. This handed the win over to Jesse Harang.

Terry Litwiler would jump out to the early lead of the hobby stock main event, but Chad Gentz quickly took it away on the second lap. While Gentz had a tight grip on the lead, Stac Schroeder moved his machine to the runner up spot at the halfway point of the race. On the next circuit, Schroeder would be contend with two other cars as they went three-wide down the front stretch. Schroeder got stuck on the outside groove and his car slid up the banking in turn two, costing him two spots. After the final caution of the race, Mick Meyers made his way to second, but he didn't have anything for Chad Gentz as Gentz motored to the win. Meyers was second, Nathan Solberg was third, Cory Gansen battled back from an early wreck to finish fourth, and Stac Schroeder was fifth. Schroeder actually crossed the line third, but was docked two positions for jumping on a restart.

Up next would be the 360 (bmods) feature. John Warrington led the first couple of laps before giving it up to Dan Tenold on lap three. Nate Chodur quickly moved to the front of the pack as he found himself in second on lap four. Adam Ackerman was also on the move as he started 11th and made his way to fourth at the midpoint of the race. Bob Sutherland was also in the mix for the lead as he and Chodur hounded Tenold for the top spot. Sutherland would take command of the second spot late in the race and give it one last effort on the top side for the lead, but Tenold's car was too strong as he went on to take home the trophy. Sutherland finished a close second, Chodur third, Adam Ackerman fourth, and Matt Hoeft rounded out the top five.

Only twelve IMCA stock cars were on hand tonight for their fifteen lap main event. Larry Portis jumped out front early on while Brad Broers slid in behind for second. Both drivers distanced themselves from the pack until a caution on lap six bunched the field back up again. After the restart, Portis began to pull away from Broers until Broers went pitside with only two laps remaining. Speculation has it that the right rear tire was flat on the backstretch for him. No caution flag came out as he made it off the track, allowing Portis to take home the easy win. Ryan Hiscocks held off several challenges from Kevin Opheim for second and third, respectively, while Bert McDaniel and Joe Willier rounded out the top five.

The finale of the night would be the twenty lap IMCA modified feature. Levi Nielsen took the lead early after starting on the pole, but during a caution flag it was determined that he was leaking fuel. Officials stopped him on the track and found that he was missing the gas cap, forcing him to the pits to get one put on. He would rejoin the field, but had to play catch up from the tail. This handed the lead over to Terrance Prochaska with Rich Lewerke right behind him. The two battled for a couple laps before Prochaska went into turn one a little hot and slid up the track, allowing Lewerke to dart by on the bottom groove for the lead. Lewerke would pull away from the field as Jeremy Mills began his challenge on Prochaska. During a caution period, Mills stopped to tell officials his helmet visor was filled with oil from race leader Lewerke's car. Lewerke stayed out front that time, but another caution immediately followed and Lewerke pulled off the backstretch to avoid further damage. After the races it was determined that it was the rear end that sidelined Lewerke. With Lewerke out of the picture, Mills inherited the lead and would take home the win. Rob Rose finished second, but his motor blew just before crossing the finish line. Todd Stinehart, Alex Hanson, and Shane Monson completed the top five.

After the races I introduced myself to stock car driver Travis Shipman. Travis has been out of action the last couple of weeks due to a blown motor, but had things back in place for tonight. While things didn't go his way tonight, he was very friendly and took the time to chat.

As some may know, I'm "in charge" of the Mason City fantasy league. Wendy Wood is a participant in the league. When she emailed me her picks on Sunday, she included an invitation to visit the trailer and introduce myself. She mentioned that she and her husband read my blog here at positivelyracing.com. For those that may not know, Wendy Wood and her husband Dan are the owners of Rich Lewerke's car. I chatted with them for several minutes about the blog and upcoming races. Both were very friendly and gave me compliments of my writing skills.

It was nice meeting both Travis Shipman and the Wood family. For those of you that attend the I-35 Speedway in Mason City and take the time to visit drivers afterwards, I encourage you to stop by both trailers and visit with them.

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

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