July typically yields lots of heat and humidity, and Saturday would be no different. I made my way west once again to the Hamilton County Speedway for night #10. Fortunately a breeze picked up a little during the night to keep things somewhat bearable as the racing action heated up on the track.
After heat races and a b-main for the IMCA sportmods were concluded along with a little packing of the track during intermission, it was time to get into feature action starting with the hornets. Chris Friesth used his pole starting position to jump out front, but the yellow quickly came out when Adam Strunk and Keaton Graffunder spun to a stop in turn one. Two more caution flags would come out before another lap could be completed, but when racing resumed Friesth would have to fend off the challenges of Lyle Oberhelman as he picked up the win. Oberhelman finished second, Adam Strunk rebounded to finish third, Daniel Ayers was fourth, and Keaton Graffunder rounded out the top five.
Next onto the track would be the IMCA hobby stocks as sixteen cars took the green flag. Outside front row starter David Rieks took command early on as Allen Dixon and Randy Embrey gave chase. Fifth row starters Kevin Fee and Brad Ratcliff were on the charge further back in the field as they advanced into the fourth and fifth positions on lap two. Embrey would make the pass on Dixon for second while Fee and Ratcliff later got by Dixon as well using the low line. Embrey would overtake Rieks at the front of the field as he motored by on the top side prior to a caution flag coming out. Following the restart Rieks would push high in turn four and open the door for Ratcliff to race by under him to take over the second position. Ratcliff tried to chase down Embrey, but it was not to be as Randy Embrey picked up his second feature win of the season at the speedway. Brad Ratliff finished second, Bobby Dilley was third, Kevin Fee fourth, and Corey Roe rounded out the top five.
Eleven stock cars would take the green flag next with outside front row starter Jim Mitchell leading the opening lap before Scott Bloemke used the inside line to scoot by. After starting ninth on the grid, Mark Elliott quickly worked his way into third on the third circuit while Jason Wagoner looked to hunt down Bloemke from second. Wagoner found the top side to his liking as he made the pass on Bloemke for the lead. Elliott would soon follow to second before the only caution of the race came out. Soon after the restart Elliott would again go to the top side and make the pass on Wagoner for the lead. Reid Keller would use the high groove to get by Bloemke for third, but he would advance another position late in the race when Wagoner's machine went up in smoke with just one lap remaining. Mark Elliott would cruise to the victory while Curt Hook got by Reid Keller for second. Scott Bloemke and Adam Silvey rounded out the top five.
Twenty-eight IMCA sportmods were narrowed down to a starting field of twenty-four for their feature event of the night. Outside front row starter Dane Larson took the lead when the green flag dropped, but Matt Lettow was on the move early as he got around pole sitter Paul Price for second. Lettow ducked to the inside of Larson to take over the lead while Jeremy Embrey later used the high line to get by Larson for second prior to a caution flag coming out. Joel Rust would take advantage of the restart as he moved to the bottom of the raceway to sneak by Cayden Carter and Bob Sutherland to advance to the fourth position. Another caution came out late in the race, allowing Rust to use the restart to his advantage again by ducking to the inside of Dane Larson for third with two laps remaining. Rust dove to the inside of Lettow and Embrey on the final lap and appeared to be on his way to victory, but Lettow hooked Rust's rear bumper and slowed both of their momentum enough to allow Jeremy Embrey to sneak by on the outside to take the thrilling win. Rust finished second, Lettow third, Larson was fourth, and Cayden Carter rounded out the top five.
Up next would be the IMCA modified finale as seventeen cars took the green flag. Again the outside front row would be the place to start as Greg Elliott took command early. Adam Larson was on the prowl early as he moved into fifth on lap two and quickly advanced to third after passing pole sitter Jeremy Brogaard. Larson would continue moving forward as he passed Scott Williams on the inside for second while Mark Elliott got by Brogaard for fourth. Following Elliott into fifth, Jon Snyder made a move to get by both Mark Elliott and Williams to advance to third. Larson would close in on Greg Elliott for the lead, but the two touched ever so slightly in turn four that sent Larson into a spin to bring out the caution flag. That put Snyder on Greg Elliott's rear bumper on the restart, and Snyder would try a few moves to get by but was unsuccessful. Greg Elliott would go on to pick up the win ahead of Jon Snyder, Scott Williams, Mark Elliott, and Richie Gustin.
The final event of the night would be the sixteen-car field of IMCA late models. Kelly Tapper took command early in this one while Jason Hahne and Todd Cooney quickly worked their way around Nick Pederson for second and third, respectively. Cooney would work past Hahne for second before making the pass on Tapper on the inside line for the lead. Hahne used the same line as Cooney to get by Tapper for second as Tapper began to fade. Ryan Griffith and Al Johnson would also get by to advance to third and fourth, respectively. Griffith would run down Hahne and take over the runner up position, but up front it was Todd Cooney taking the checkered flag first. Griffith settled for second, Hahne third, Jeff Aikey was fourth and Al Johnson rounded out the top five.
It was a good night of racing all around at the Hamilton County Speedway. The track didn't appear to rut up and provided a couple different racing lanes. For a full-field rundown, a look at upcoming events, and updated point standings be sure to check out the Hamilton County Speedway website.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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