Saturday saw my bi-weekly visit to the Algona Raceway. As many of you know, I have been splitting my Saturdays between Algona and Webster City. While there was a cool soft breeze in the air, the racing heated things up for the many fans that packed the Kossuth County Fairgrounds.
The novice hornets kicked feature action off with Joe Devries taking the win. The "pro" hornets saw Jay Devries in victory lane. Peg Lewis and Heather Pesicka once again found their way to victory lane in the cruiser feature.
Twenty IMCA hobby stocks were on the starting grid that saw Derrick Barglof take command from the start. Barglof remained out front for the duration of the race while the rest of the field jockeyed for position. Alan Ricke took runner-up honors followed by Chad Gentz, Cody Knecht, and Pat Cross.
Scott Cook used his outside front row start to rocket to the lead in the IMCA sportmod feature. The top five of Cook, George Nordman, Gerald Curry, Doug Cook, and Mike Carlson broke away from the pack and ran single file on the outside just before the halfway point. A caution later bunched the field back up, allowing Doug Cook to slide under Curry for third place. Curry would later lose another spot to Carlson, but up front the night belonged to Scott Cook as he took home the win. Doug Cook pulled off an impressive move to sneak by George Nordman for second (and third, respectively). Mike Carlson and Gerald Curry completed the top five.
The exciting IMCA stock car feature was next on the slate. Sixteen cars made the start with John Wiemann taking the early lead. Calvin Lange would soon take over the lead from Wiemann by powering his machine around the outside. Jared Dirks used the inside line to scoot by Wiemann before giving that spot up to Kevin Opheim. Opheim would assume the captain of the ship when Lange pushed high. David Smith also saw an opening and used the inside line to get by Lange for the runner up spot. Opheim and Smith raced side by side without touching each other for the remainder of the year, swapping the lead a couple times. With four laps remaining, Smith would take the lead for good when Opheim drifted a little too high in turn four. Smith would take the checkered flag first ahead of Opheim, David Wickman, Bruce Wickman, and Chad Palmer.
The nightcap of the evening belonged to the IMCA modifieds. Denny Anderson darted to the early lead, but Austin Wolf quickly began to track him down as he moved by Gary Pesicka for second on lap two. Following an early caution, Wolf made his move on the outside to motor by Anderson for the lead. Jeremy Mills was on the charge as well, finding himself in the second position before the halfway point after starting tenth. Wolf and Mills distanced themselves from the field before Mills later fell off the pace and pulled to the infield with a broken belt. When racing resumed after the Mills' caution, Mike Jergens tried to run down Wolf. He was unable to do so, however, as Wolf took the win. Jergens finished second, Ricky Stephan was third, Rob Hughes was fourth, and Clayton Christensen rounded out the field.
The IMCA stock car feature was definitely worth the trip Saturday night! Good close action among the entire field is one of the reasons I keep going back. If you get the chance, be sure to check out the Algona Raceway on a given Saturday. For a schedule of events and a full rundown, check out www.algonaraceway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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