After last week's racing action got cut prematurely by weather, the Hamilton County Speedway again hosted a great night of racing at the "historic half-mile" with a terrific crowd on hand for $5 admission fan appreciation night. With three makeup features yet to be run, action got started a little earlier to accommodate for time.
First up on the slate would be the stock car makeup feature. Ten cars made the call with Reid Keller getting the jump on the field and leading the first lap. Mark Elliott, who started in eighth, quickly sliced his way to second on the first lap with Jason Wagoner following in his tire tracks. The three separated from the rest of the pack and Elliott was able to power his machine around the top side of Keller to take over the lead. Keller would receive heavy pressure from Wagoner for the second position throughout the rest of the race, but taking the win would be Elliott. Keller held on for second with Wagoner in third, Scott Bloemke was fourth, and Jim Mitchell rounded out the top five.
The IMCA modified makeup feature was next up on the track with a twenty-car field. Pole sitter Mike Jergens held the top spot in the early going, but many eyes were focused on the middle of the pack as Richie Gustin worked his way to the front. After starting twelfth, Gustin quickly maneuvered his machine to fifth at the completion of lap four. With Jergens out front by himself, Gustin continued to click off positions as he passed Duane Peterson, Levi Nielsen, and Jacob Murray to settle in to second on lap seven. In four laps Gustin used the inside groove to scoot by Jergens and take control at the front of the field. A caution flag waved shortly after Gustin took the lead, allowing the pack to bunch back up. A few laps later Justin Sackett climbed into the top five after passing Ron Lauritzen on the inside. With Gustin out front by himself, Sackett chased down Jergens for second and took advantage when Jergens bobbled in turn four. Richie Gustin went on to win his second feature at the Hamilton County Speedway. Justin Sackett finished second after starting nineteenth, Mike Jergens was third, Ron Lauritzen fourth, and Jon Snyder rounded out the top five.
Nineteen of the twenty-one IMCA late models that were checked in last week made the return trip for the makeup feature. Craig Jacobs rocketed to the lead from the pole with Ryan Griffith keeping pace right behind him. Following an early yellow, Darrel DeFrance made a great move on the restart to click off a few positions as he went from seventh to third within two laps of green flag racing. Jeff Aikey, who had started at the rear of the field, was on the charge deep in the field as he moved up to the sixth position by lap five. The caution flag waved once again on lap twelve when Griffith's motor went up in smoke on the front stretch. Despite the caution, Jacobs was still able to keep the field at bay as he went on to take the checkered flag. DeFrance settled for second, Kyle Wahlert finished third, Al Johnson was fourth, and Jason Hahne completed the top five.
The regular program then got kicked off with heat races and a b-main for the IMCA sportmods. Track announcer Ryan Bergeson mentioned that 122 race teams were in attendance in front of a packed grandstand that was estimated at around 1,300 people.
The hornet feature took to the track for their feature with nine of the eleven cars making the call. Pole sitter Nick Hogan was credited with leading the first lap while Jarid Kuchenreuther was at his door panel at the line. Kuchenreuther used that outside line to wrestle the lead away on the next lap, but Adam Strunk was closing in behind with Mike McFarland just behind him. Strunk used the inside line to take the lead and then held off McFarland to take the win. McFarland was second, Kuchenreuther was third, Daniel Ayers was fourth, and Devin Collins rounded out the top five.
Twenty-two IMCA hobby stocks were next up and pole sitter Blake Miller took control up front. Craig Graham quickly changed that as he ducked to the inside to take the lead away. Point leader Kevin Fee, who started in twelfth, quickly charged to third on lap three prior to the first of five cautions coming out a lap later. That wouldn't distract Fee, as he got by Miller on the inside to click off another spot before setting his sights on Graham. Fee had got around Graham for the lead, but the caution came out and negated the pass. A lap six pass by Fee did stand, however, and the Knoxville driver took control out front. Another caution flag waved when Blake Miller spun as a result of drivers attempting to go four-wide exiting turn two. Robert See was penalized for questionable driving and tagged the tail of the field. Two more cautions would come out, but the name at the front of the field remained the same as Kevin Fee extended his points lead with the win. Brad Ratcliff would finish second, Robert See rebounded nicely to get third, Craig Graham was fourth, and Cory Roe completed the top five.
Attention then turned towards the IMCA sportmods with twenty-four starters on the track. Pole sitter Cayden Carter wasted no time in taking command of the field. Carter would begin to pull away, but a caution on lap five erased his growing lead. Jeremy Embrey used the restart to his advantage as he began to click off positions, climbing into the second position after making passes on Carter VanDenBerg and Matt Lettow. Another caution on lap nine slowed the action once again, but Cayden Carter would again pull away from the field on his way to victory lane. Jeremy Embrey wound finish second, Carter VanDenBerg was third, Matt Lettow finished fourth, and Brandon Toftee rounded out the top five.
Ten of the twelve stock cars that were checked in made the call for their second feature of the night. Dennis Plain would lead the first lap, but the rest of the field were three and four-wide behind him. Mark Elliott again showed his prowess on the half-mile speedplant as he got by Jim Mitchell for second early on. Elliott would capitalize when Plain got too high in turn four, handing the reigns over to Elliott. Jason Wagoner and Travis Prochaska would both get by Mitchell using the bottom groove, but neither had anything for the leader as Mark Elliott continued his domination in the stock car ranks and picked up his fourth win in as many races. Jason Wagoner finished second, Travis Prochaska third, Jim Mitchell fourth, and Dennis Plain finished fifth.
It would then be time for the twenty-four car starting field of IMCA modifieds. Pole sitter Jeremy Mills rocketed to the lead with opening night winner JD Auringer chasing him down in second. Richie Gustin was on the move quickly again in this feature as he climbed into the top five on lap six. A lap later he used the bumpy cushion to pass Clint Wendel and David Brown to secure the third position. Mills would pull away from Auringer until the caution came out with three laps to go. However the top three cars would remain unchanged as Jeremy Mills picked up the win ahead of JD Auringer, Richie Gustin, Adam Larson, and Todd Shute.
Five caution flags would plague the seventeen-car IMCA late model feature. Ben Nading used the pole to his advantage as he blasted into the lead. Jason Hahne made a great move on the first set of corners to pass five cars in advancing to the second position. Todd Cooney and Ryan Giles quickly made their way to third and fourth, respectively, after starting in row five together. Following a lap five restart, Cooney used the top groove to wrestle the second position away from Hahne. Then a period of three caution flags within two laps slowed the pace, but Cooney jumped on the throttle on the restart on lap nine to power by Nading for the lead. Cooney would begin to put distance between him and Nading as he held a straight away advantage when he crossed the line for the win. Ben Nading would finish second, Ryan Giles was third, Craig Jacobs finished fourth, and Darrel DeFrance completed the top five.
Despite the track being on the rough side in the corners, drivers were able to use multiple lanes throughout the night to keep the huge crowd entertained. Mills used the extreme low groove to dominate the IMCA modified feature in leading all twenty laps while Todd Cooney used the high side to capture his win. For a complete rundown of results and updated point standings, be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website. I'd like to thank the Hamilton County Speedway fairboard for their hospitality and Ryan Bergeson for the Positivelyracing plug.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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