The Independence Motor Speedway was host to the American Stock Car Shootout series along with the Deery Brothers late model series on Wednesday night, June 30th. The event was the third of four stops on the stock car series schedule and the eighth late model series race. This event saw eighty laps of feature action last year that was only slowed by two cautions combined, so I was looking forward to seeing what this year's showing would be like.
The total number of IMCA stock cars was down a bit from previous nights but still boasted a field of thirty-five or so along with forty-eight late models. Qualifying events were run to set up a pair of twenty-four car starting fields for feature action.
First up would be the IMCA stock cars with Chris Ullrich and Brett Mather setting the pace. Ullrich would take command once the green flag fell with Sean Johnson quickly settling into the runner up position. Jerod Weepie would sling his machine to the inside of Kyle Frederick to take the third spot away as Johnson and Ullrich battled it out for the race lead. Johnson took control on lap four, but just behind them Brian Irvine was lurking as he passed Weepie for third. Ullrich continued to keep the pressure on Johnson up front as he made the pass for the lead once again before the caution waved on lap eight. Johnson would take advantage of the restart as he again moved past Ullrich to snare the lead away. Weepie dove to the inside of Ullrich to take the runner up position away as Brian Irvine gave chase as well, following Weepie to third.
Two more caution periods would keep the field close, allowing Irvine to power by Weepie on the top side for the second spot. Weepie's good run would come up short as he got his car sideways in the corner and several more cars would get caught up in the mess. Irvine took advantage of the late race caution to move out front of the field and never look back as Brian Irvine picked up his second American Stock Car Shootout series win in three days. Sean Johnson would settle for second, Damon Murty was third, Norman Chesmore was fourth after starting fifteenth, and Chris Ullrich rounded out the top five. Nineteenth starter Phil Holtz wound up sixth.
The IMCA Deery Brothers late models headliner was next as the field got set for fifty laps around the fast oval. When the cars made their way to the track, the group I was sitting with had already written off the race as Mark Burgtorf redrew the pole with Rob Toland outside of him. Burgtorf wasted no time in getting out front while Kevin Blum and Toland engaged in a battle for second. The two would seesaw throughout the race while Burgtorf opened up a decent advantage ahead of the field. Terry Neal was on the charge as he dipped to the inside of Jeremiah Hurst for fourth. The caution waved when Jeff Aikey got his machine sideways and a couple other cars made contact, including race leader Mark Burgtorf who had just encountered the tail end of the field. Burgtorf was forced to retire from the event as one can only assume due to radiator issues.
Toland and Blum would then battle side by side for the top spot with each driver leading a handful of laps at a time. Terry Neal continued his quest for the lead as he moved past Kevin Blum for second, but he was unable to track down race leader Rob Toland as the laps clicked away. Toland would capture the win ahead of Terry Neal, Kevin Blum, Dan Shelliam, and Ray Guss Jr.
The doubleheader was concluded before the 10:00 hour. That allowed fans to venture to the pits to talk to their favorite drivers or for people to get home and get some sleep before work the next morning. I used the time to chat with Brett Root and Jim Zimmerline in the pits for a bit. For photos of Wednesday night's action, check out www.zippsphotos.com.
The American Stock Car Shootout series concludes their week with their final stop at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on Thursday night. Also in action will be the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds along with the hobby stocks. For more information, check out www.imca.com, www.independencemotorspeedway.com, or www.leecountyspeedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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