An unseasonably cool Saturday in late June had me a bit unsure as to if racing would happen at the Hamilton County Speedway. Rain showers throughout much of the morning at home also led me to doubt, but apparently no rain had fallen at the half-mile speed plant in Webster City. So with that I was off to my Saturday night home away from home for some great racing action.
101 race teams checked in to the pits that included 22 IMCA modifieds, 23 IMCA sportmods, 18 IMCA late models, 19 IMCA hobby stocks, 14 stock cars, and 5 hornets. As hot laps got underway the dust quickly started to fly as negative thoughts began to fill my mind. While the drivers meeting was underway trucks took to the top side to pack in the loose crumbs and the dust would be minimal come heat race time. The track seemed to go one lane on the bottom side, prompting track officials to get the water truck out and splurge the top side. After ironing it back in, feature action would get started.
First up would be the hornet division. Lyle Oberhelman got a great jump and appeared to have the lead as the field went into turn one, but Adam Strunk quickly caught him down the back stretch and made the pass. Strunk would slow as smoke started to bellow from his machine, giving the lead over to Dan Ayers. Strunk would fall back to the fourth spot, but he quickly regained momentum and found himself back up to second. Dan Ayers would go on to pick up the win and break Adam Strunk's five-race winning streak. Strunk finished second, Keaton Graffunder was third, Lyle Oberhelman fourth, and Mark McCoy rounded out the field.
Next up would be the IMCA hobby stock main event. The caution flag would fly before the completion of lap one, but when racing resumed it was pole sitter David Rieks leading the pack of seventeen cars. Cory Roe would slide into second while points leader Kevin Fee was on the march. Fee, who started tenth, worked his way to fourth with Brad Ratcliff following in fifth on just the second circuit. Third place runner Al Dixon got too high exiting turn four, opening the door for Fee and Ratcliff to drive on by and advance a position. Another caution came out that bunched the field back up, and Randy Embrey would take advantage this time as he used the top side to get by Adam Hagen and Dixon to climb into fifth. Rieks would enjoy an eight car length advantage up front while the battle for second heated up among Roe, Fee, Ratcliff, and Embrey. Positions seemed to swap in each corner as they raced side by side in rows of two. David Rieks would go on to pick up his second win of the season. Cory Roe held on for second with Kevin Fee finishing third, Brad Ratcliff fourth, and Randy Embrey in fifth.
Jim Mitchell would take the lead from his inside second row starting spot in the stock car feature, but his time would be cut short as his car popped and slowed down the back stretch on lap three to bring out the caution. Mark Haglund would inherit the lead with Scott Bloemke just behind. On the restart Bloemke got shuffled back as Jason Wagoner and Jason Minnehan both set sail on the cushion and powered by him. Haglund was the only car using the inside line, and as a result Wagoner would make the pass for the lead. Minnehan and points leader Mark Elliott also made their way by Haglund and began to reel in Wagoner. Elliott ducked to the inside of Minnehan and made it stick as he climbed to second at the white flag. Elliott would close in on the rear bumper of Wagoner going into turn three before turning down the banking in turn four to pull to the inside. It would be a drag race to the line with Elliott edging out Wagoner for the win. Reid Keller finished third, Mark Haglund was fourth, and Scott Bloemke rounded out the top five. Minnehan made contact with the wall on the final lap and did not finish.
Bob Sutherland used his outside front row starting spot to rocket out to a commanding lead in the IMCA sportmod feature. After three laps he quickly built up nearly a straight away advantage over Travis Woodbeck, but it would get erased a lap later as the caution flag waved. Following a couple more quick yellows, Bryon Weyer and Jeremy Embrey made passes on both sides of Dane Larson to move into third and fourth, respectively. Weyer would continue his march to the front after passing Woodbeck using the cushion on lap eight. Weyer would look to the low side of Sutherland exiting turn four for the lead, but the caution flag negated the pass. After possibly showing his hand a bit early, Weyer would use the same maneuver on the restart and the pass would stick as Weyer took command late in the race. Jeremy Embrey used the low groove to also get by Sutherland before the final caution came with three laps remaining. Sutherland and fourth-place running Woodbeck both pushed high in turn two on the restart, opening the door for Brandon Leeman to skate under and take the third position. Back up front Bryon Weyer would maintain a comfortable lead and become the seventh different winner in eight weeks of racing. Jeremy Embrey finished second, Brandon Leeman was third, Travis Woodbeck fourth, and Bob Sutherland held on for fifth.
The time was now set for the twenty-one car field of IMCA modifieds to hit the track. Daniel Hilsabeck took command from his outside front row start, but following a restart he would lose it to Scott Williams who was fast on the low side. After restarting in tenth, Jay Noteboom quickly found the top side to his liking and motored by JJ Wise for third. He used the same line to power by Hilsabeck and brought Adam Larson with him to fourth. It wasn't long after before Noteboom took the lead with Larson behind him in second and Williams shuffled back to third still running the low side. Larson would try a couple slide jobs to get the lead away from Noteboom, but the crafty veteran countered every move to maintain the lead. Larson would pull up slow on the front stretch after his right rear tire gave way and brought out the caution. Larson would go to the trailer to end his night. From that point on most of the drivers took to the top side and not much passing would go on as Jay Noteboom picked up the win ahead of JJ Wise, Scott Williams finished third, Daniel Hilsabeck fourth, and Mark Elliott rounded out the top five.
The IMCA late model feature would be the finale of the evening as the field of eighteen were ready to rumble. Curt Schroeder set the early pace after starting on the pole. Row two starters Ben Nading and Ryan Griffith raced side by side for a couple laps as they tried settling the second position. The caution would come out when Kyle Wahlert spun out in turn one after he had a great run going in fifth. When racing resumed Griffith would work the top side and get by Nading for second as Jeff Aikey seemingly came out of nowhere to take over third. Griffith would look to the inside of Schroeder and take over the lead, but his time out front was short-lived. Entering turn three with Griffith on the inside and Schroeder on the outside, Aikey would drive deep into the corner and split the two as he took command of the race. With Aikey pulling away from the field, Todd Cooney and Darrel DeFrance both made their way by Schroeder to move into third and fourth, respectively. A restart with ten laps to go bunched the field up, allowing both Cooney and DeFrance to advance another position as they both worked under Ryan Griffith. Jeff Aikey would take home his third win of the season as he finished ahead of Todd Cooney, Darrel DeFrance, Ryan Griffith, and Curt Schroeder.
It was another exciting night at the historic Hamilton County Speedway. A thrilling finish in the stock car feature followed up by Jay Noteboom's run on the top side and Jeff Aikey's maneuver for the lead in the late model finale surely made fans cheer and perhaps left them speechless at the same time. For a full field rundown of every division, as well as upcoming schedule and updated point standings, be sure to log on to the Hamilton County Speedway website. REMEMBER - next Saturday night is the second Fan Appreciation Night in which adult tickets are just $5!!
The next week or so has the potential to be a very busy time for me, but I think I'm going to pick and choose which specials I go to. For a list of the specials in the coming weeks, be sure to check out the Positivelyracing calendar of events.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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