A picture-perfect afternoon made me decide to venture back north to the I-35 Speedway in Mason City Sunday afternoon. Other then the USMTS race held there in June, I hadn't been to Mason City since Memorial Day weekend. It felt a little awkward walking into the facility and taking my usual seat.
Feature action got kicked off with the junior hornets. Nine cars were on the starting grid as Sam Winkowitsch grabbed the early lead. She would get passed on the outside by Coby Winters, who would go on to take the win. Winkowitsch settled for second, Harold Stinnett third, and Ben Nordskog was fourth. The "pro" hornets saw ten cars make the call. This race would include a family feud as Scott Schlichting grabbed the top spot early, but brother Jared dove to the inside in turn three and took the lead away. Jared would take the win ahead of Scott while Blake Cole and Jesse Harang rounded out the top four.
Fifteen IMCA hobby stocks then took to the track for their feature. Bernie Adams held a narrow lead at the completion of lap one before Cory Gansen took it away using the inside line. An early caution set up a double file restart behind Gansen, which allowed Stac Schroeder to power to the outside and briefly hold the captain's chair. Gansen would battle back and regain the lead as the top four cars (Gansen, Schroeder, Bernie Adams, and Heath Tulp) had separated from the field. Schroeder again would take the lead from Gansen, but a caution for Bernie Adams spinning to a stop inside of turn three on the final lap would negate the pass and set up a two lap shootout to the checkers. Schroeder got a good jump on the restart and pulled alongside Gansen on the inside entering turn one. Gansen would slide high, allowing Heath Tulp to also get by for the runner up spot as Stac Schroeder went on to take the win. Tulp finished second, Bernie Adams third, Jeremy Solberg fourth, and Gansen completed the top five.
Nate Whitehurt darted to the lead in the IMCA sportmod feature that saw an early caution for debris on lap two. George Nordman used the restart to get by Parker Brumm for the runner up spot before Brumm and Nick West engaged in a fierce battle for third. The two drivers swapped positions seemingly every lap before West gained the upperhand. Meanwhile Nordman ducked to the inside of Whitehurst for the lead. Positions two, three, and four were up for grabs the final handful of laps as Dan Tenold slid high in turn four to relinquish the third spot. Whitehurst and Brumm scooted by and tried to chase down Nordman and West, but on the final lap Whitehurst spun to the inside of turn four. George Nordman captured the win ahead of Nick West, Dan Tenold, Adam Ackerman, and Parker Brumm.
Pole sitter Brad Broers paced the field of twelve IMCA stock cars to the green flag while Derek Green and Kevin Paca settled in behind. Chris Adams would power around Paca to take over the third spot while visiting driver Mel Elsberry charged to fourth from the rear of the field. Elsberry drifted too high, however, and allowed Kevin Opheim to sneak by. Opheim would later get by Adams on the outside for third as Broers maintained a comfortable lead up front. Derek Green would slide high in turn four, leaving the door open for Opheim and Adams to make their way past to move into second and third, respectively. Broers would lead flag to flag as he picked up the feature win. He was followed across the line by Kevin Opheim, Chris Adams, Merlyn Hegland, and Derek Green.
The finale of the night would be the twelve-car field of IMCA modifieds. Alex Yohn would lead lap one ahead of J.J. Wise and Shane Monson. Yohn would get the car a bit sideways in the corner, forcing Wise to hit the brakes and opening the door for Monson to power by on the outside for the lead. Yohn would battle back and regain the top spot while Wise would later get his machine sideways and lose a couple positions. Yohn would lose the handle and bring out a caution as he was running second, giving that position to Rob Rose. Rose would try the inside line and pull even with Monson in the corners, but Monson's momentum off the cushion allowed him to pull ahead by the slimmest of margins down the straight aways. The two frontrunners would make contact, however, and both cars were sitting when the caution flag waved. That handed the race lead over to J.J. Wise. Wise was able to maintain a steady lead over Curt Badker as Wise took the checkers first. Badker finished second ahead of Rob Rose, Shane Monson, and Terrance Prochaska.
It was good getting back up to the I-35 Speedway. Saw a lot of friends I hadn't seen in quite awhile. Be sure to click on www.i-35speedway.com for complete results, point standings, and the upcoming schedule.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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