The Hamilton County Speedway hosted its second Fan Appreciation night of the year on Saturday night. The weather was picture perfect as temperatures were a bit cooler from Thursday and Friday. Fans were treated to $5 tickets along with a plethora of giveaway items for the kids during intermission. The stands were completely packed, something I usually only see for a fair race at the famed half-mile.
After the lengthy intermission for the big assortment of giveaway items, the hornets would pull out from the staging area for their feature event. Seven of the eight cars on hand would make the call as points leader Adam Strunk's machine had heavy smoke come out of the right front in the heat race that ended his night. Lyle Oberhelman got turned sideways down the back stretch on the opening lap to bring out the caution, and while the cars were lining up Dan Ayers darted to the work area for some extra help. When the green flag came back out it would be Chris Friesth in charge up front, but Oberhelman worked his way back through the field and used the inside line to pass Friesth for the lead. Oberhelman's lead didn't last long as Nick Hogan used the same bottom groove to slip by Oberhelman on his way to victory lane. Oberhelman finished second, Keaton Graffunder was third, Jason Clark fourth, and Dan Ayers rounded out the top five.
Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. On the opening lap Blake Miller would spin in turn one and get collected by Ty Griffith, ending both of their nights. Under yellow Brad Ratcliff went to the work area and had to restart from the tail of the field. When green flag racing resumed it was Bobby Dilley out front setting the pace, but a formidable challenge was brewing as visiting TJ Mortenson was already up to third after starting twelfth. Mortenson, a former resident of Kamrar who now makes his home in Devils Lake, North Dakota, set his right rear up on the cushion following another yellow flag to pass David Rieks for second. A few laps later the battle was for third as Nate Bonin, Randy Embrey, and Rieks went three-wide. Embrey would get the nod for third finally with five laps remaining while Mortenson caught Dilley and made the winning pass with four laps remaining. Mortenson would go on to pick up the win ahead of Bobby Dilley, Randy Embrey, Brad Ratcliff, and Kevin Fee.
The order of classes changed a bit last night as the stock cars followed the hobby stocks. Pole sitter Jason Minnehan darted to the lead. Mark Haglund would work under Ryan Leeman to take the third position away as Mark Elliott paced himself towards the front of the field from the ninth starting position. Elliott used both the top and the bottom to work his way to the front one lap at a time. After passing Curt Hook, Ryan Leeman, and Mark Haglund to climb into the third position, he battled with Jim Mitchell for the runner up position. Using the high side Elliott made his way by and started chasing down Minnehan for the lead. As the laps counted off Elliott would make the high side work once again and he overtook the lead with three laps to go en route to his seventh win of the season. Mark Haglund worked his way by Jim Mitchell and Jason Minnehan for second, Jason Minnehan held on for third with Jim Mitchell and Ryan Leeman rounding out the top five.
A field of twenty-six IMCA sportmods were scheduled to start their feature and pole sitter Mitch Frakes led the opening few laps. Bob Sutherland found the top side to his liking as he motored into the second position before passing Frakes for the lead. Matt Northrop, making just his third visit to the speedway, would challenge Sutherland for the lead and take the spot using the inside line. As Northrop and Sutherland swapped the lead four cars would duking it out for the third spot. Frakes was being hounded by Cayden Carter, Carter Vandenberg, and Jared Timmerman. Carter would get the advantage and secure the third spot as Northrop opened up a good lead up front. A caution with five laps remaining allowed Vandenberg to swing to the outside of his cousin Carter to climb to third as the lead changed hands again with Sutherland pacing the field. Joel Rust was working the inside line as he passed Cayden Carter for fourth as Sutherland pushed up the track exiting turn four to allow Northrop to regain the lead prior to another caution. Vandenberg made a daring move to split Northrop and Sutherland entering turn three that allowed him to get by Sutherland for second, but that was as far as he could push it as Matt Northrop became the eighth different winner in nine weeks in the IMCA sportmod division. Carter Vandenberg finished second, Joel Rust was third, Bob Sutherland fourth, and Cayden Carter was fifth. According to the internet sites and various tidbits, this snapped Cayden Carter's six-race winning streak.
Up next would be the IMCA late model finale with pole sitter Scott Badker racing to the lead. Jason Hahne would look under Richie Gustin for the second position before using the same line to get by Badker for the lead. Al Johnson and Ryan Griffith both made passes on Badker as he became the meat in the sandwich and fading to fourth. Johnson would secure the second spot, but Griffith challenged to the inside and took the spot away. Gustin, DeFrance, and Cooney would all make their way by Badker while Cooney used the top side to pass DeFrance for fourth. Hahne would open up a comfortable lead before the caution came out with three laps remaining for Al Johnson. Johnson chased his car up the hill exiting turn four before slapping the outside wall a few times down the front straight away, ending his solid third-place run thus far. Despite the restart Hahne was again able to drive away from his competitors as he became the seventh different winner in nine nights of racing. Ryan Griffith followed in second, Todd Cooney was third, Darrel DeFrance finished fourth, and Jeff Aikey rounded out the top five.
The finale of the evening would be the IMCA modifieds. A bit light on numbers, the sixteen-car field offered plenty of excitement throughout as pole sitter Luke Wanninger held down the captain's chair early on. Adam Larson was a rocket out of the gates, however, as he passed four cars to move into the fourth spot on the first lap. He got by David Brown and ducked to the inside of Scott Williams to climb into the second position as he tried to chase down Wanninger. Following a lap four caution, Richie Gustin had worked his way towards the front as he passed Jacob Murray for fifth. Gustin started at the rear after suffering problems in his heat and pulling in. Murray, however, didn't like getting passed as he set sail on the cushion and grabbed the spot back along with passing David Brown for fourth. Up front Larson would draw even with Wanninger entering turn three, but Wanninger would get the traction he needed to maintain the lead at the stripe. After battling for several laps Larson would finally make his line stick as he took over the lead. Scott Williams ducked to the inside of Wanninger and made the pass for second. Adam Larson would go on to pick up his first win of the season at the speedway, the sixth different winner of the year.
A huge fireworks display just outside of turns three and four followed the racing action, and the fans in attendance went home with a big smile on their face after what they had witnessed. The racing was extremely competitive throughout the night including the fans getting on their feet for the final lap of the IMCA sportmod feature. Hats off to the Hamilton County fairboard for their efforts in getting the track ready to race and for the Fan Appreciation night. Hopefully a high percentage of those there last night will return at some point in the final weeks of the season.
And speaking of which, there are only FOUR regular season Saturday night shows left on the schedule. That also means the Hamilton County Fair is right around the corner, which means the 6th annual Thursday Night Thunder special is coming up July 21. For more info on the upcoming schedule, full rundown of results, and updated point standings be sure to log on to the Hamilton County Speedway website!
As of right now my next scheduled race will be the Harris Clash for IMCA modifieds at the famed Knoxville Raceway on Tuesday night.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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