Saturday, July 23, 2011

"Outsiders" Enjoy Victory Lane for Thursday Night Thunder

Thursday rolled around and following a quick visit to the dentist, I was off to the Thursday Night Thunder fair races in Webster City. Upon arrival it didn't even appear as I was standing atop a race track as 3 Terragators were pacing the oval along with a grader and a couple skid loaders. Rain earlier in the day through a curve ball at track officials and they were frantically doing their best to get the track whipped back into racing condition. They got things ironed in and racing would start late as could be expected.

With the rain and all the track work, one would expect the track to be filled with ruts and bumps. That was not the case, however, as it appeared to stay smooth all night. A big cushion did develop in turns one and two, but otherwise racers were able to use multiple lines of racing around the half-mile oval.

The first feature of the night would be the hornets. Following the caution for a bad start, the race went green to checkered with Adam Strunk taking the early lead. Jarid Kuchenreuther would keep pace with the leader and pull even with him with two laps remaining. Kuchenreuther edged forward to steal the lead away and go on to pick up the fair win. Adam Strunk settled for second, Chris Friesth was third, Daniel Ayers fourth, and Keaton Graffunder rounded out the top five.

Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. The field was full of heavy hitters as the top prize of $1,000 must have attracted them. Two attempts at a start failed, but the third time was the charm as pole-sitter Ty Griffith took command with outside front row starter David Rieks settling in behind. Randy Embrey, who started third, ducked to the inside of Rieks and made the pass for second. A caution for a bumper on the track slowed the pace, but when the green flag was displayed again Andy Boeckman was on the charge. Boeckman passed Brad Ratcliff for fourth upon the exit of turn two and would later use the same line to get by Randy Embrey for second exiting turn four. Meanwhile, the hottest hobby stock driver this year in Iowa was on the charge as Devin Smith quickly made his way to fourth after starting ninth. Boeckamn would use the cushion to make his way by Griffith for the lead on lap four while Smith looked low and passed Embrey for third before swinging to the outside to get by Griffith for second. A caution with five laps to go set up a great battle between Boeckman and Smith, one that fans of the Buena Vista Racewy in Alta get to see nearly every Wednesday night. The two drivers put on a heck of a show for the fans as Smith looked low and drew even with Boeckman. Smith emerged with the lead and changed lanes to the top of the track, which prompted Boeckman to shoot back to the inside. At the line it was Smith emerging victorious in his first visit of the year. Andy Boeckman finished second, Ty Griffith was third, Randy Embrey fourth, and Kevin Fee rounded out the top five.

IMCA sportmods provided some more great racing for the fans as thirty-three cars checked in for action. Pole-sitter and former track champion Beau Kaplan paced the field with youngster Tyler Droste following in his tire tracks. The caution waved on lap three when Cayden Carter jumped the cushion in turn four and had apparent rearend complications end his night. Another lap later the yellow came out again when Jeremy Embrey spun in turn two. Restarting in ninth, Scott Davis found that nobody else was using the top side and quickly went to work up there. Davis passed former IMCA Supernationals champion Mike Pruitt for fifth prior to another yellow flag. Davis again went to work on the cushion and got by Austin Lucas and Kyle Brown for third. On lap ten the lead changed hands as Droste worked under Kaplan for the lead. Those two along with Davis went three-wide momentarily in the corner, but it was Davis emerging with the lead. He would quickly open up his lead and take home the win rather easily in his first visit this year. Tyler Droste finished second, Beau Kaplan settled for third, Kyle Brown was fourth, and Mike Pruitt rounded out the top five.

The stock car feature saw another non-regular take control early on as Wayne Crimmins took the early lead from his outside front row start. Following an early caution, Jason Wagoner passed Ryan Leeman on the outside to take over the second position. Wagoner then went to work on Crimmins and made the pass on the inside on lap six to take the top spot. Crimmins would regain the lead and Leeman would battle back to challenge Wagoner for second. Wagoner's night ended abruptly as smoke appeared as he coasted down the front stretch. Leeman would challenge Crimmins as the two raced side by side for several of the closing laps. Crimmins was able to keep him momentum up on the cushion and allowed him to take home the narrow win. Ryan Leeman finished second, Greg Elliott finished third in the car normally driven by brother Mark, Adam Silvey fourth, and Tory Reicks completed the top five.

Pole sitter Todd Shute took command early in the IMCA modified feature. Wisconsin hotshoe Jared Siefert made the trip down and gave the fans quite the excitement as he drove the cushion in his heat race, and more of that was to come in the feature. Siefert started ninth on the grid, but stormed towards the front as he passed Luke Wanninger and Tyler Prochaska on the top side to move into third. He would jump the cushion a bit later, allowing Wanninger to get back by. Richie Gustin also found the top side to his liking during the middle parts of the race as he motored by Prochaska for fifth. A caution on lap twelve bunched the field up, and that allowed Siefert and Gustin to sneak by David Brown to advance to second and third, respectively. Mark Elliott, who showed up late due to racing in Britt, started at the pack but was on the charge as well. He got by Brown on the inside and later got by Gustin for third. Elliott would jump the cushion and allow Gustin back around. Gustin used the top side to get by Siefert for second as he closed in on Shute, but he would run out of laps as Todd Shute picked up the win. Richie Gustin was second, Mark Elliott third, Jared Siefert fourth, and Tyler Prochaska fifth.

The final event of the night would be the IMCA late models. After two failed attempts to make a lap, Ben Nading would lead the opening laps with Charlie McKenna in toe. Jeff Aikey quickly worked to the inside of McKenna to wrestle the second spot away. Aikey then went to the top side of the speedway and closed in on Nading. The two raced side by side for awhile before Nading gave way to Aikey on lap six. Jason Hahne was charging through the field and moved around Darrel DeFrance for fourth before darting to the inside of McKenna for third. Todd Cooney also had a great run as he passed McKenna on lap fourteen to settle into fourth. A caution with seven laps to go allowed the field to catch up to Aikey. Hahne took advantage of starting on the outside as he passed Nading for second. Aikey would open up a lead once again and sail to the checkered flag for the win. Hahne bobbled on the final lap to allow Nading to get second. Hahne was third, Todd Cooney fourth, and Charlie McKenna completed the top five.

It was a late night as the races got over around 12:30. Part of it was due to the late start, but there was a bigger intermission held on this night. Hopefully things will be better Saturday night as the Hamilton County Fair will still be going on when racing resumes again.

Check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for more results.

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!

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