Finally, the I-35 Speedway in Mason City was back in action. After two consecutive weeks off, the cars roared to life once again in north Iowa. A bigger car count in the IMCA sportmods and IMCA stock cars was a welcome sight as the two classes boasted 33 and 22, respectively.
Harold Stinnett took command of the junior hornet division and led every lap on his way to victory lane. He finished ahead of Wesley Steward, Colton Kessler, and Taylor Frerichs the top four of the eight-car field.
Fourteen senior hornets were on hand. Kelly Miller seemed to have things well in control from the drop of the green flag. Nate Coopman decided he had other ideas as he made the pass in turns one and two for the lead and went on to capture the win. Miller finished second, Andrew Lokenvitz was third, and Adam Rodamaker rounded out the top four.
The IMCA sportmods were next up on the slate. As mentioned above, the field of 33 cars were dwindled down to a starting grid of twenty-four after two b-mains were run. Pole-sitter Dan Hanselman took advantage on the start to grab the reigns early with Ed Green right behind. Green has been away from the sport for four years, but seems to have figured things out quickly once again. Opening night winner Tad Reutzel quickly made his way towards the front as he sliced his way to third by the second circuit after starting tenth. Green would dart to the inside of Hanselman on lap four to take the lead away. Reutzel tried to follow Green and made the pass, but the caution flag waved before the lap was completed. A handful of cautions would follow before the halfway point in the race. Reutzel and Hanselman seemed to seasaw positions on each restart until Reutzel finally made the pass on Hanselman stick for second. A lap later he ducked low in turn one and pass Green for the lead and never looked back as he picked up another feature win. Ed Green finished second, George Nordman inherited the third position after Nate Chodur went up in smoke on the final lap, and Brandon Toftee charged his way through the field to fourth after transferring out of a bmain.
All but one of the IMCA stock cars made the call for their feature. John Campbell took command of the race in the early going, but Joe Willier and Larry Portis stayed within striking distance as the front three cars broke away from the pack until a caution waved. Following the yellow flag, the top five cars would break away with Jim Larson and Ryan Goergen put their cards into the pot. Portis would sneak to the inside of Willier as the two made contact, with Portis coming out on the better end and moving up a spot. Willier slid back to fourth before another caution flag waved. When the green flag waved again on lap nine, Kevin Opheim was on the prowl after starting deep in the field. Opheim moved to the inside of Willier to snare the fifth spot away while Portis made contact with the leader Campbell and overtook the top spot. The yellow flag waved as a result of another car (I believe it was the 6L machine) made contact with Campbell as well, causing Campbell to come to a stop in turn two.
With the green flag displayed again, Opheim had moved up to third. However, he miscalculated the exit of turn two and found himself off the backstretch with three laps remaining. Portis would go on to collect his 121st career IMCA stock car win. He was followed across the line by Joe Willier, Merlyn Hegland, Damon Murty, and Adam Silvey.
Up next would be the sixteen-car starting field of IMCA modifieds. Curt Badker got the edge at the start to get by pole-sitter Vern Jackson for the lead. Badker almost immediately began to drive away from everybody, but the caution came out when Jackson lost his driveshaft. That put Alex Yohn and rookie Jamie Anderson on Badker's rear bumper, but again Badker would drive away from the field. A few cautions later, J.J. Wise found himself up to third and battling for the second position with Yohn. As the two duked it out, Badker was able to maintain a solid lead and go on to pick up the win. Yohn would finish second, Wise third, Shane Monson charged up to fourth after starting shotgun on the field, and Jamie Anderson rounded out the top five. Monson changed motors after his heat race.
The final race of the night would be the IMCA hobby stock feature. Only eleven cars made the call. Kory Adams rocketed to the lead from the pole with Zac Smith following in his tire marks. The field seemed to spread out single file, but pretty much nose to tail keeping things exciting. Rex Hammerschmidt challenged Smith for the runner-up position, but the two got tangled up on the front stretch that led to Smith hitting the wall and ending his night. Hammerschmidt was able to continue on after only losing his trunk lid. On the restart Hammerschmidt dove to the inside of Adams to take the lead away. Chad Gentz would also make the same move, but that move soon was irrelevant as Gentz slowed down on the final lap. Rex Hammerschmidt took the checkered flag ahead of Cody Knecht, Kory Adams, Heath Tulp, and Scott Dobel.
Racing action was completed by 9:15. The track was a bit rough and took its toll on the cars. But a group of drivers were being overly aggressive as well, contributing to the amount of torn up sheet metal throughout the pits. Hopefully some warmer and dryer weather will help the track crew iron in the rough patches for next Sunday night's races. For more complete results, be sure to check out www.i-35speedway.com, or you can check out the local newspaper website link at www.globegazette.com/sports/lead_lap.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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