Sunday, April 18, 2010

Portis and Ackerman Repeat Winners at I-35

Familiar faces in familiar places was the unofficial slogan for Sunday night's action at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. Four drivers scored a repeat visit to victory lane while two other drivers found it for the first time this season.

Tyler Trappe made it two-for-two on the young season as he picked up the win in the junior hornet feature. Kelly Miller backed up his performance from last week by winning the hornet feature again Sunday night.

IMCA hobby stocks were up next for their main event. Fifteen cars made the call with Kory Adams setting the early pace. The battle for second heated up as Zac Smith held it until Cody Knecht and Mick Meyers both slipped by on the low side. Knecht then took over the race lead from Adams using the same line while Cory Gansen was quickly making his way to the front. Gansen climbed inside the top five and within a couple laps advanced to second before using the inside groove to snare the lead away from Knecht with two laps to go. Cory Gansen would go on to take the win ahead of Cody Knecht, Kory Adams, Mick Meyers, and Heath Tulp.

A few things to note with the IMCA hobby stock race. I believe Cory Gansen's car slowed in hot laps and perhaps lost a drive shaft, so he started eleventh on the grid before slicing through traffic. Many who may follow my blog may wonder how Heath Tulp was able to race after refusing a motor claim last week. It was determined that Stac Schroeder's claim attempt last week was "null in void" due to him refusing a claim from Tulp dating back to last year. While Mason City did not sanction the hobby stocks last year, the track rule states that upon refusing a claim that driver cannot claim for twelve calendar months. Therefore, Tulp was back in action Sunday night while Schroeder never took to the track.

Rocky Caudle set the tone early on in the IMCA sportmod feature as he raced from his outside front row starting spot. Unfortunately his great run would not last as his car slowed exiting turn four, handing the lead over to Bob Sutherland on lap four. A caution flag bunched the field back up, which gave runner up Adam Ackerman the opportunity to make a move on Sutherland for the lead. Ackerman sped to the outside and made it stick to secure the lead while Nate Chodur moved into the third spot. Following another yellow, Chodur snuck under Sutherland for the runner up spot, but Adam Ackerman found his way to victory lane for a second consecutive week. Chodur finished second, Sutherland third, John Warrington fourth, and Shane Swanson rounded out the top five.

In a rare turn of events, the IMCA modifieds would be next onto the track for their twenty lap feature. Seventeen cars graced the racing surface and JJ Wise assumed command from the drop of the green flag. Nate Caruth set sail on the outside and made the pass for the lead on lap two. Meanwhile defending track champion Jeremy Mills was marching his way through the field as he ducked low of Shane Monson to grab fourth. Dave Kuykendall, who had been running third at the time, lost the handle on his machine and lost six spots in the running order. That allowed Mills to close the gap and eventually get under Wise for the runner up spot on the sixth circuit before the caution came out. Caruth and Mills separated themselves from the rest of the field with Mills on Caruth's rear bumper. Mills tried everything within his power to rattle the youngster, but Caruth did not falter as he found his way to victory lane. Mills settled for second, Ryan Ruter finished third, JJ Wise fourth, and Alex Yohn capped off the top five.

Twelve IMCA stock cars were ready to close out the night's action. It was a three-way battle up front at the completion of the first lap as Larry Portis, Andrew Inman, and Chris Adams crossed the line three abreast. Portis would get the advantage entering turn one. Merlyn Hegland lost the handle on his machine and Laura Curry had nowhere to go, slamming into Hegland hard. Curry just got her car repaired from another incident a couple weeks ago in Algona. Hopefully her luck will turn around sooner rather then later.

Travis Shipman used the double file restart to his advantage as he advanced two spots to settle into second place. Chris Adams and Kevin Opheim then engaged in a battle for third, swapping the position several times throughout the next handful of laps. Larry Portis would find his way to victory lane for the second consecutive week as he finished ahead of Travis Shipman, Kevin Opheim, Chris Adams, and Joe Willier. Portis seems to have figured out his new Adams Racing Chassis already early in the season, which could be trouble for the rest of the competition.

The races were completed right around the 8:45 mark once again. Promoter Joe Ringsdorf and his staff provided a great racing surface for the drivers to put on a good show for the fans. I also appreciate the scorers printing me off a copy of the results!! Be sure to be on hand next week as hot laps get underway at 6pm with races to follow. For more information, check out www.i-35speedway.com.

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

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