I decided last night that this weekend would be a little different for me. I was going to break away from my "routine" a bit. That being said, I took a break from my usual Friday night stop in Marshalltown to head west to Fort Dodge. It would be my second trip to the Mineral City Speedway this year.
The hornets would be the first feature to hit the track. Duane Ferguson would sail to the lead early on before being black flagged for leaking fuel. That handed the reigns over to Nick Hogan momentarily before Lyle Oberhelman and Mike McFarland powered by on the outside. McFarland would motor on to take the win ahead of Nick Hogan, Mick Evans, Jarid Kuchenreuther, and Adam Strunk.
Six econo stocks then made their way to the track with Jess Bieret jumping to the early lead. Bieret would push high exiting turn four, allowing Zachary Angstrom and Austin Reicks to slip past. With Angstrom leading and Reicks just behind, they caught a lapped car that broke their momentum. That allowed Bieret to reclaim the lead while Colby Davis followed to second. Bieret would take home the win ahead of Davis, Angstrom, and Reicks.
Merle Bass would take the lead early on in the hobby stock feature that saw fourteen cars on hand. Justin Nehring, who had to restart at the tail following an incident with Austin Wolfgram on the first lap, quickly made his way back through the field and found himself in fourth place after a couple laps. As Nehring got by Paul Toms for third, the race up front was getting closer as Todd Hillman began to reel in Bass. Unable to make a move on Bass, Hillman would then receive pressure from Nehring with two laps to go. In the end it would be Merle Bass picking up his first career win! Hillman would finish second, Nehring third, TJ Mortenson fourth, and Cody Nielsen completed the top five.
Brian Miller raced to the early lead in the limited modified feature. While he stretched his lead up front, Bill Hoover and Brett Meyer were working their way through the field as they climbed to fourth and fifth, respectively, by the second circuit. Matt Pittman used the outside line to zoom past Miller for the lead while Hoover and Meyer advanced another position. A caution came out just after the midpoint of the race, allowing Meyer to get a great restart to get by Hoover for third. Late in the race Meyer would duck under Miller for second, but the night belonged to Matt Pittman as he picked up the win. Meyer settled for second, Miller third, Hoover fourth, and Jim Lampe rounded out the top five after starting at the tail (13th).
Only nine stock cars made the call for the feature as Jason Minnehan blew up in his heat race. Dave Hubbard secured the top spot early on, but it didn't take long for Malcolm Teachout to snare the lead away using the inside groove on lap two. After starting at the rear, Wayne Crimmins was slicing and dicing his way forward as he climbed to fourth in just four laps. With Teachout remaining out front, Greg Elliott slipped under Hubbard for second and later lost third to Crimmins. Moments after Crimmins made his pass, he spun in turn one and brought out the caution. The top two positions remained unchanged, but Jeff Deal bobbled in turn four to allow Dave Hubbard to sneak by for third. Teachout would pick up the win followed by Elliott, Hubbard, Deal, and Wayne Crimmins raced back to fifth.
Eleven modifieds would then take to the track for the final event of the night. Outside front row starter Dave Doughty shot to the lead while tenth-place starter Mark Elliott charged to fifth at the completion of the first lap. Elliott then made his way by Jeff Conner for fourth, but gave up the spot to Brad Williams. The lone caution came out when Mark Elliott appeared to jump the cushion in turn two and his car came to a stop. That bunched up the field and allowed Jay Noteboom to sneak under Brad Williams for third. That didn't last long, however, as Williams worked under Noteboom on the next set of corners and pushed up the track to secure the third position. Noteboom had to get out of the throttle to avoid the contact, making his lose several spots back to eighth. Late in the race Ryan Watnem and Joe Paullin made contact with each other, allowing Noteboom to squeeze by to pick up the fourth position. But up front it was all Dave Doughty as he pocketed the win. Rod Scheuermann ran a solid second place the whole race, Brad Williams was third, Noteboom fourth, and Ryan Watnem rounded out the top five.
Races were concluded by 9:30 last night. Few cautions and a bit lower car count then I expected helped keep the show moving. While the track seemed to have some rough spots, I have to give the track crew props for their hard work. They continuously tried to pack in the track between races as the night progressed. For complete results, check out www.fdspeed.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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