The annual "Saturday night at the fair" proved to be one a couple drivers won't soon forget. A rather hot and sticky afternoon with no breeze continued into the evening hours, but that didn't stop the race teams from putting on a great show for the fans.
During intermission the Hamilton County fair board handed out prizes and awards to people before handing the microphone over to Todd Foster of the Hamilton County Speedway Racing Association. Foster announced the five new members into the HCSRA Hall of Fame.
Upon conclusion of those ceremonies, the hornets would take to the track for their feature event. Nine cars were on hand, but two of them were unable to take the green flag. Adam Strunk would get a great start and take command, but Chris Friesth would keep pace. Lyle Oberhelman worked his way to third and swapped the second position with Friesth a couple times. Strunk would go on to take the checkered flag for the seventh time on the year. Oberhelman finished second, Friesth third, Rich Ayers fourth, and Nathan Miller completed the top five. I do believe with Dan Ayers not showing up Saturday night, that Adam Strunk is the 2011 track champion.
Next up would be the IMCA hobby stocks. Ty Griffith grabbed the lead when the green flag dropped while Roger Haupt Jr settled in to second. Bobby Dilley soon took his machine to the cushion and motored by Haupt Jr for second. A newcomer to the track, Myles Michehl, proved to be a strong contender as he worked his way around David Rieks for fourth after starting eleventh. A caution flag waved on lap four, and on the restart a trio of drivers would make their way past Haupt Jr in the next few laps. Dilley moved up to second, Michehl third, and points leader Brad Ratcliff to fourth. Dilley tried to challenge Griffith as the rookie leader stayed glued to the bottom side, but Dilley was unable to use the cushion to build up enough momentum as Ty Griffith picked up his first ever feature win. Bobby Dilley finished second, Myles Michehl was third, Brad Ratcliff fourth, and Kevin Fee rounded out the top five. Ratcliff will take a slim four point advantage over Kevin Fee going in to next week's season championship night.
Eleven stock cars were on hand Saturday night and fans were greeted to a new winner. Mark Haglund would leap to the front of the field after starting inside row three. Scott Bloemke and Jason Wagoner followed behind while Reid Keller ducked low of Adam Silvey to take over the fourth position. Keller would slow as a corner of his hood popped up, but he would benefit from the caution coming out for Mark Elliott. Elliott slowed and came to a rest in turn three, and when he limped his machine around to the work area the right front suspension was noticeably defective. That damage would end his night along with his streak of five consecutive wins at the track. Scott Bloemke found the high side to his liking as he battled ahead of Haglund at the line at the halfway point in the race. Haglund continued to catfish on the bottom while Bloemke and Wagoner used the cushion. Haglund would regain the lead while Ryan Leeman followed in his tire tracks to second. Mark Haglund would go on to pick up his first career win in the stock car class. Scott Bloemke finished second, Ryan Leeman third, Jason Wagoner fourth, and Malcolm Teachout finished fifth.
A full field of twenty-four IMCA sportmods were up next and pole-sitter Paul Price took command early. Nick Roberts settled into second while a quick yellow on lap three slowed the pace. Roberts maneuvered his machine to the top side and made the pass on Price following the restart as Bob Sutherland got by Brandon Toftee for third prior to another caution. Jeremy Embrey used the restart to his advantage as he got by Duane VanDeest for fifth before later scooting under Sutherland for fourth. Toftee would push up and opened the door for Embrey to slide into the third spot. Roberts was riding the high line the whole way around the half-mile oval, but he pushed too high in turn three and smacked the outside wall to end his night a couple laps early. With two laps remaining, Price again was out front with Embrey tucked in behind. Sutherland would sneak under Toftee for third at the white flag while Embrey was mounting a challenge on the top side for the lead. As the leaders exited turn two it appeared Price was on his way to victory, but Embrey powered his machine off the cushion and pulled even at the line. Paul Price was able to hold off Jeremy Embrey to notch his first career win. Embrey settled for second, Sutherland was third, Duane VanDeest finished fourth, and Brandon Toftee rounded out the top five. Joel Rust will take an 11-point lead over Brandon Leeman into next Saturday's season finale.
Pole-sitter David Brown grabbed the lead in the IMCA modified feature while Adam Larson raced his way to second. With Brown running the low groove, Larson quickly took to the high side and made the pass for the lead. The caution flag came out, however, and Brown went back to the front. Seeing the run Larson got, Brown changed his line and rode the cushion when the green came back out. JD Auringer, Scott Olson, and Mark Elliott each made their way around Bill Crimmins in consecutive laps to advance up positions before Elliott pulled a slide job on Olson for fourth. The caution came out when Jon Snyder tapped the rear end of Luke Wanninger and sent him into a spin. Following the restart Auringer ducked to the inside of Larson to secure the second position while Richie Gustin powered his machine up on the cushion to drive by Olson for fifth. Another caution came out on lap fourteen, and the restart saw the leaders take a somewhat lower line on the top as the cushion was pushed way up near the wall. With a lane in between the wall and the leaders, Mark Elliott opted to use that space and make the pass on Larson for third. A lap later he tried the same line on Auringer but upon exit of turn four the two made contact and Auringer went around to bring out the caution. Elliott continued using his line after the restart and made the pass on Brown for the lead before pulling away late to pick up his second win of the season. David Brown came home second, Adam Larson was third, Richie Gustin fourth, and Luke Wanninger rebounded nicely for a fifth place finish. Gustin leads Elliott by four points entering next week's finale.
IMCA late models were once again the closing feature of the night. Pole-sitter Clint Wendel would lead the opening lap, but Scott Badker found the inside line and made the pass for the lead. An early yellow slowed the pace, and Ben Nading and Al Johnson took advantage of the restart as they powered by Wendel on the top side. Johnson then ducked to the inside of Nading to take over the second position while the battle for fifth went three-wide momentarily among Darrel DeFrance, Jeff Aikey, and Jason Hahne. Three caution periods kept the field close throughout the remainder of the race, with the first one being really helpful for Todd Cooney. Restarting seventh, he rocketed his machine to the outside line and worked his way up to third after passing Ryan Griffith. Following the second yellow he again worked his magic on the top and passed Johnson for second before taking over the lead with five laps remaining. Cooney would continue on to pick up his third win of the season. Darrel DeFrance made a late charge to finish second, Al Johnson was third, Scott Badker finished fourth, and Jeff Aikey rounded out the top five. Cooney holds a 19-point advantage over Darrel DeFrance going into the final night of the season and appears to be all but a lock for the championship.
After Thursday night's heavy track thanks in large part to rain earlier in the day, Saturday night's track was completely the opposite as it provided a dryslick and wide surface. Unfortunately I noticed a few inconsistencies with some of the calls made throughout the night. One driver spun out another and got sent to the tail while another did the same and got by with it. Drivers showed their displeasure to officials and the officials stuck up for the other driver. The season is winding down obviously and the temperatures are rising along with some tempers. But the end of the season sometimes dictates whether or not drivers will make the journey back the following season. Following last night I have to wonder how many guys may make the trip to Webster City in 2012. Hopefully I'm wrong as the track has made huge strides to make things better this year.
As always you can check out the Hamilton County Speedway website for a complete rundown of results and updated point standings. My next race will be Tuesday night as the second installment of the Harris Clash visits the Knoxville Raceway. The IMCA Deery Brothers late models along with the Karl Chevrolet IMCA sportmods will invade the famed half-mile in hopes of etching their names into the record books.
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