Despite a shortened season and two rain outs, the Hamilton County Speedway enjoyed a successful season in 2011. With increased payouts came more race teams, which in turn brought more fans in the stands every Saturday night. With the final regular season night the car counts dropped to a season-low, but that should not take away from the numbers the track achieved throughout the course of the season.
Going in to last night's finale, there were still a couple point titles up for grabs. One that wasn't, however, was the hornet division. Adam Strunk held a commanding lead over Daniel Ayers as Ayers missed last week, thus earning the track championship upon taking the green flag. Strunk would start on the pole and lead in the early going, but a caution flag came out on lap two. When racing resumed newcomer Duane Ferguson dove to the inside of Daniel Ayers to claim the third spot after starting seventh. With two laps remaining Lyle Oberhelman swung to the outside of Strunk in turn one and made the pass for the lead. Oberhelman would hold on to pick up the win ahead of Adam Strunk. Daniel Ayers made a last lap pass back on Duane Ferguson for third and fourth, respectively, while Keaton Graffunder completed the top five. Nathan Miller and Dennis Graffunder completed the starting field while Chris Friesth was unable to make the call.
The IMCA hobby stock crown was up for grabs as Brad Ratcliff held a slim four point advantage over Kevin Fee. Fee would get the better start and take command while Cory Roe made his way to second ahead of Ratcliff. Bobby Dilley worked his way around Ty Griffith for fourth just four laps in as he closed in on the top three. Ratcliff took his machine to the top side and made his way by Roe for second on lap eight, but Fee had already checked out. A late caution set up a green/white/checkered restart to make things a little more interesting. Randy Embrey took full advantage as he advanced a couple positions on the inside down the back stretch to fourth. When the checkered flag waved it was Kevin Fee reaching it first for his third win of the season. Brad Ratcliff finished second and secured the points championship. Randy Embrey finished third, Bobby Dilley was fourth, and David Rieks finished fifth. Corey Roe crossed the line in third, but apparently was disqualified in post-race tech.
Next up would be the stock car division. Mark Elliott has dominate this class all year and didn't even have to show up to earn his track championship, but he did and started from the pole position in the eleven car field. Elliott rocketed to the lead with defending track champion Mark Haglund behind him. An early caution on lap three slowed the pace as Jason Wagoner jumped the cushion entering turn one and tattooed the outside wall, ending his night. Following the restart Steve Jackson ducked inside of Jim Mitchell for fourth while Mark Haglund pulled even with Elliott for the lead. Haglund held the top spot for a moment, but pushed high exiting turn four allowing Elliott to regain the lead. On lap six Reid Keller squeezed inside of Haglund for second, but he was unable to track down the leader as Mark Elliott picked up his tenth win of the season and the track championship. Reid Keller finished second, Steve Jackson was third, Adam Silvey fourth, and Scott Bloemke rounded out the top ten.
IMCA sportmods made their way to the track next with sixteen cars taking the green flag. Point leader Joel Rust enjoyed a twelve-point lead over Brandon Leeman, meaning a lot of things had to happen for the title to change hands. Rust would hold down the lead with Rocky Caudle following in second when the yellow came out for the first time on lap two. Four more cautions would plague the event as the track rubbered down on the low side and became a one-lane track. Joel Rust would go on to pick up the win and the track championship as the tender age of seventeen. Rocky Caudle finished second, Brandon Leeman was third, Jeremy Embrey fourth, and Kyle Brown rebounded from an early spin to finish fifth.
Another close points race was in the IMCA modified class. Richie Gustin held a four-point lead over Mark Elliott as the two started on the front row. Gustin was able to beat Elliott to turn one and secure the preferred low groove as Elliott settled in behind. Jon Snyder and Adam Larson raced side by side for the third spot as Larson tried to work in another lane of racing. Elliott would challenge Gustin around the midpoint of the race and got alongside the leader in turn two. Track conditions in turns three and four didn't allow Elliott to capitalize, however, and Gustin began to steadily pull away in the closing laps to pick up his third win of the season and his first track championship. Mark Elliott settled for second, Jon Snyder was third, Adam Larson fourth, and David Brown rounded out the top five.
Once again the IMCA late models closed the curtain on the evening, and by taking the green flag Todd Cooney would be crowned the track champion. Cooney went out with a bang as he led flag to flag in picking up his fourth win of the season. Jeff Aikey finished second, Darrel DeFrance was third, Al Johnson fourth, and Chad Cooney edged out Jason Hahne in the final couple laps to get fifth.
As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, the Hamilton County fair board's main focus on the year was to attract more cars. I'd say overall they achieved that goal as the average car count for the year, including the Thursday night fair race, was 101.93. Obviously the most noticeable increase was seen in the IMCA modified division as the nightly average was just under twenty. Hopefully the Hamilton County fair board can continue their efforts into the off season and attract even more cars for next year.
Just because the regular season is over already doesn't mean the schedule is complete. The United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) will invade the historic half-mile on August 20 as part of The Hunt for their national championship. A fall special in October also remains on the schedule as well, so if you haven't had a chance to check out the action at the Hamilton County Speedway you still have a few more chances in 2011. Be sure to check out the website for schedule information and to also see the final point standings.
I'd like to thank the Hamilton County fair board and Larry Flaws for their continued hospitality throughout the course of the year. It was refreshing to receive a handshake and thank you from Larry last night after the races. I'd like to thank him and his crew for their huge efforts this season to make it successful.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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