Friday night saw the Marshalltown Speedway back in action for another round of weekly racing action at the fast quarter-mile. Little did I know beforehand that a little history lesson would be in the works later on in the evening.
Things got kicked off with the first appearance of the micro sprints. I believe twelve or so were checked in, but I did not catch any names. In fact, and this will sound bad, I didn't pay as much attention to them as I probably should. I will admit, however, that they put on a good show for the fans. They raced side-by-side and at one point was four-wide in a corner.
The Mod Lites / dwarf cars were next onto the track. A good field of seventeen machines checked in with Travis Stensland setting the early pace. Mike Kennedy would work under Stensland to take over the race lead on lap three before a caution slowed things down three laps later. Mike Morrill and Tim Hennigar were both on the move from midpack with both drivers securing spots in the top five. Hennigar would use the high groove to power by Morrill for fourth before completing a last lap pass on Eric Hendrickson for third. But the night belonged to Mike Kennedy as he picked up the win followed by Josh May, Hennigar, Hendrickson, and Morrill.
The IMCA sportmods saw another big field of cars get dwindled down to twenty-four for feature action. Kyle Brown shot to the lead early on, but rookie Dylan Book stayed right with him and challenged him on the inside. Eric Elliott quickly closed in on the two front runners as he climbed to third after starting tenth. Following a restart, Book would slow exiting turn two and exit the track. The red light would come on when Jenae Gustin and Adam Shelman got tangled up. Both drivers I believe were okay. Elliott would use the restart to dive to the inside of Brown to steal the lead away with six laps remaining. Eric Flander also used the restart to his advantage by using the low groove and sliding into fourth. Elliott would take the win followed by Kyle Brown, Eric Flander, Cayden Carter, and Brett Moffitt.
Nathan Wood jumped out front of a field of eighteen IMCA stock cars to assume command early on in the race. Following an early caution, Wood would extend his lead while the action heated up behind him. The top two drivers in the point standings, Dustin Smith and Trent Murphy, were trying to slice their way through the field. Murphy appeared to be having the better luck as he powered by Michael Jaennette for fifth before a lap nine caution. Murphy would then slip by two cars to climb to third, but Dustin Smith was making progress as well. Smith passed three cars in a matter of two corners to take over the fourth position. Murphy and Smith would later get by Tracy Gienger with Smith's pass coming on the last set of corners. But the night belonged to Nathan Wood as he picked up his first career IMCA victory. Trent Murphy was second, Dustin Smith third, Tracy Gienger fourth, and Jeff Wollam rounded out the top five.
Richie Gustin maneuvered his machine around the front row starters of Denny Rosenberg and Adam Larson to take command of the IMCA modified feature in the early stages. Larson would power by Rosenberg for second while rookie contender Luke Wanninger was on the charge to take over fourth from Ronn Lauritzen on lap four. Larson would close in on Gustin's back bumper at the halfway point, but was unable to make the pass. Following a caution, Wanninger used the inside groove to slip into the runner up spot with just two laps to go. Gustin would go on to take the win followed by Wanninger, Larson, Rosenberg, and Mike O'Lear.
The IMCA hobby stocks closed the night's activities with their feature event. Jeff Gunderson paced the field early on, but there were plenty of contenders chomping at his heels. The action was close behind him and things got even wilder on the last couple of laps. Eric Larson dove to the inside of Gunderson and Todd Reitzler, but lost momentum on corner exit. Michael Murphy tried to diamond off the corner to get a run for the win, but came up short as well. In the end it was Jeff Gunderson holding them off to pick up what may have been his first career win. Eric Larson came home second by a matter of inches it appeared with Michael Murphy third, Todd Reitzler fourth, and Devin Smith fifth.
Racing action was completed by 10:30 once again Friday night. All in all it was a pretty good show. I did have a scary incident during the modified feature however. What people have described as a plug for a rearend came up into the stands and hit me in the left arm. It left a big bruise that will no doubt get bigger as the impact was severe. I'm just glad it was my arm and not my head that was struck.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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