The season at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa officially got things kicked off last night (Wednesday) with their season opener. Roughly seventy-five cars checked into the pit area among the six classes to weather the windy and chilly conditions. However, promoter Jeff Herrig and his great staff had a perfectly prepped race track in store for all competitors.
The return of the BVR bombers was the first feature of the night. Only five cars were present with Jess Bieret taking the lead away from Nick Smith with three laps remaining as he went on to score the win. Cory Flanigan used his pole-position start to cruise to the lead early on in the IMCA sport compact feature before Kyle Hill made a late race charge. Flanigan had just enough to hold back Hill at the line for the win.
Twenty IMCA hobby stocks were then set to duke it out for the season opening checkers. Devin Smith charged to the lead from the outside front row, but defending IMCA National Champion Shannon Anderson was following close behind. A bit further back John Briggs and Drew Barglof raced side by side momentarily for the fifth spot before Briggs would snatch it away. Anderson would duck to the inside of Smith and slide up the banking, making contact with Smith's left door panel. The action was getting fierce for the lead when the caution flag on lap seven seemed to ease the tension. After showing Smith the inside groove, Smith would change his line entering turn one on the restart and hug the tires. Anderson saw this and darted to the outside, inching out front exiting turn two for the lead. Smith tried to return the bump from earlier, but was unable to keep pace with the leader as Anderson took home the win. Smith settled for second, Briggs maneuvered his way to third, Michael Murphy fourth, and Justin Nehring fifth.
After the dogfight for the lead in that one, the IMCA sportmods hit the track with fifteen cars. Chris Grothe shot to the lead from the pole, but fellow front row starter Zach Norgaard powered his machine on the cushion to hold the advantage on lap two. Those two were followed closely by Tim Rupp and Brett Moffitt before Moffitt made his move around Rupp and Grothe for second. While the action up front was going on, Doug Smith was making his way to the front. Smith, who spun out in his heat race and went to the pits, started twelfth on the grid and found himself in the top five by lap four. Moffitt would get by Norgaard for the lead just prior to the midpoint of the race while Smith advanced another position around Grothe. But the night belonged to youngster Brett Moffitt, as he scored the win in his first-ever appearance at the track. Norgaard settled for second, Tim Rupp was third, Doug Smith fourth, and Chris Grothe rounded out the top five.
One of the biggest reasons I enjoy going to BVR is the IMCA stock car class. Last year the stock cars put on some of the best races I was able to see all year. While only twelve cars saw the green flag, the battle at the front more then made up for it. Second row starter Dustin Smith took control early on while brother David settled in behind. Brian Blessington, Chris Ullrich, and Stefan Sybesma raced three-wide briefly for the third spot with Blessington getting the position. Donavon Smith put his name into the mix as he climbed to fourth place on the third circuit. The field was running single file primarily at the halfway point of the race when Blessington began to challenge David Smith for the runner up spot. A late restart doubled up the field, allowing Blessington to gas it up on the outside to inch in front of David Smith. Smith would not back down, however, as he would make contact with Blessington's door panel for a couple laps in turn four. That fierce battle for second allowed Dustin Smith to take the checkered flag and the win. Blessington edged out David Smith for second, Donavon Smith was fourth, and Trent Murphy completed the top five.
The final event of the night saw twelve IMCA modifieds take the green flag. Outside front row starter Justin Sackett pedaled to the early lead. After an early restart, Luke Wanninger looked to be a serious contender for Sackett's lead as the two separated from the field. The battle for third was up for grabs as Jim Thies and Chris Abelson raced side by side for several laps. Thies appeared to have it secured, but Abelson was able to get by late in the race. Wanninger closed in on Sackett in the closing laps, but Sackett was able to fend him off for the win. Ableson was third, Thies fourth, and Bob Moore rounded out the top five.
Another thing I enjoy about my trips to Alta is the concession food. I purchased my "traditional" supper: hamburger, cheese balls, and a drink. Man I LOVE those cheese balls!!
It was also nice to see some friends I hadn't seen yet this year. While I don't plan to make many trips to Alta, I will try my best to get up there once a month or so.
Speaking of friends, two of my buddies that happen to be photographers were in attendance last night. For photos from last night's action, check out Jim Zimmerline's photos at www.zippsphotos.com or check out Chad Ebel's www.racedayprints.com website.
While the racing was good, the trip home took a lot out of me. The 2 1/2 hour drive home saw me pull in the driveway at 2am. Rather then writing my blog when I got home (like I usually do), I opted for the bed.
For more information and complete results from last night's races, check out www.buenavistaraceway.net. I'd like to thank Jeff Herrig and his friendly staff for their hospitality last night and I can't wait to make another trip up to "The Beaver"!!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tulp, Caudle, and Green Snag First Features of Year
The I-35 Speedway in Mason City was once again my destination for Sunday night racing action. With a few sprinkles and a light shower before the show got underway, the show was run without a hitch. A solid field of cars were on hand to cap off their weekend.
Dan Potts made the lengthy trip from Spencer pay off as he visited victory lane in the junior hornets. He beat eleven other cars to the line. Kelly Miller picked up where he left off a couple weeks ago as he again found the checkered flags first in the "pro" hornet feature.
A good field of twenty IMCA hobby stocks hit the track next for their feature event. Pole sitter Chad Gentz got the early advantage as Kory and Bernie Adams battled it out for second. After an early restart, Mick Meyers would dive his machine under Bernie Adams to take over the third spot. Another caution would soon wave as Jeremy Solberg hit an implement tire and then made contact with Cory Gansen, ending both of their nights. Gansen was the point leader entering the night. Meyers again used the restart to pick off another position, scooting by Kory Adams for second. However, Meyers would suffer a flat tire and retired to the pits.
Heath Tulp was on the charge from deeper in the field. After starting eighth, he ducked to the inside of Bernie and Kory Adams to snare the second position. As Tulp slowly closed the gap to race leader Gentz, Gentz would pull to the infield on the backstretch after his motor began to pop. Tulp would go on to take the win, despite breaking a left rear shock. He was followed across the line by Bernie Adams, Jake Jacobs, Zac Smith, and Cody Knecht.
1. 50 Heath Tulp
2. 101 Bernie Adams
3. 78 Jake Jacobs
4. 18z Zac Smith
5. 49 Cody Knecht
6. 32 Robert Black
7. 83 Scott Dobel
8. 65 Gary Fransiscus
9. 65x Ted Fransiscus
10. 1R Adam Rodamaker
11. 01 Kory Adams
12. 68 Jonathan Trunkhill
13. 15 Chad Gentz
14. 6JR Mick Meyers
15. 51 Stac Schroeder
16. 71c Cory Gansen
17. 20 Jeremy Solberg
18. 06 Kyle Schmauss
19. 69 Chris Wiltse
20. 53 Andy Spellmeyer
Next up would be the twenty-three car field of IMCA sportmods. Rocky Caudle blasted into the lead from the pole, leaving the rest of the field to play catch up. Parker Brumm and George Nordman were side by side for the runner up spot at the line on lap two before Brumm would secure the spot. Just three laps into the race, point leader Nate Chodur had charged his way to sixth after starting twelfth. When the caution flag waved for Bob Sutherland's hard contact with the turn three wall, it was noticed that second place running Parker Brumm had left the track. Not sure what happened, but I heard someone say he had damage on the front end of his machine when he pulled in. When racing resumed, Chodur powered his car to the outside of Kyle Germundson to take over the second position with two laps to go. But Rocky Caudle had built up a comfortable lead and went on to take the checkered flag. Chodur would finish second while Adam Ackerman nipped Kyle Germundson at the line for third.
1. 99 Rocky Caudle
2. 88 Nate Chodur
3. 5 Adam Ackerman
4. 69 Kyle Germundson
5. 2 Nick West
6. 20 Chad Louk
7. 21R Tony Ranes
8. 9 Matt Looft
9. 8 Corey Klouse
10. 32z Alex Zwanziger
11. 86 Dan Tenold
12. 74 Ben Schultze
13. 17 Tyler Heetland
14. 4 Travis Greenfield
15. 64x Brandon Leeman
16. 55 Shane Swanson
17. 7M Kurt Moeding
18. 2H Dan Hanselman
19. 18J Mike Jaeger
20. 13 Parker Brumm
21. 4ord Bob Sutherland
22. 49 Nate Whitehurst
23. 90 George Nordman
Twelve IMCA stock cars were now set to do battle. Derek Green charged to the lead from his outside front row starting spot ahead of Travis Prochaska and Merlyn Hegland. Chris Adams would slide under Andrew Inman for fourth on lap two as the field utilized the inside groove for much of the race, even though it was plenty rough down there. Prochaska and Hegland used every inch of their cars as they beat and banged each other several times throughout the middle part of the race. Hegland would finally secure the spot as the white flag was thrown, but he didn't quite have enough to catch a slowing Derek Green at the line. Green would hold him off for the win, Hegland second, Prochaska third, Chris Adams fourth, and Kevin Opheim completed the top five. Green mentioned several things that had contributed to his slowing car in the interview after the race.
1. 32 Derek Green
2. 37 Merlyn Hegland
3. 21T Travis Prochaska
4. 14A Chris Adams
5. 44K Kevin Opheim
6. 87 Travis Shipman
7. 7I Andrew Inman
8. 96 Joe Willier
9. 59 Larry Portis
10. 4 Mike Weiman
11. 15 Brad Broers
12. R31 Ryan Leeman
A great field of twenty-one IMCA modifieds were on hand Sunday night. Before the first lap could get completed, the caution waved as six cars were involved in one way or another in two separate incidents. Tyler Prochaska used his pole starting spot to jump to the early lead. That lead didn't last long, however, as Levi Nielsen cut low and took it away on lap two. Prochaska later pushed high in turn two, allowing Eric Dailey and Curt Badker to sneak under for second and third, respectively. A couple of cautions would plague the next several laps, with only Badker getting by Dailey being the movement up front.
Double-file restarts were used, and Jeremy Mills took advantage as he improved to fourth before ducking inside of Terrance Prochaska for the third spot. Nielsen, Badker, and Mills were all bunched together when Mills shot to the outside in turns one and two to rocket past for the lead. Mills, who was involved in the first yellow of the race and presumably had to change a flat tire, distanced himself to a half-lap advantage when the checkered flag waved. Curt Badker would finish second, Ryan Ruter third (also suffered a flat early), Terrance Prochaska fourth, and Shane Monson completed the top five.
1. 10 Jeremy Mills
2. 58 Curt Badker
3. 555 Ryan Ruter
4. 20 Terrance Prochaska
5. 25$ Shane Monson
6. 123 Rob Rose
7. 45 Levi Nielsen
8. 65D Dustin Brown
9. 9 Roger Nielsen
10. 10A Andrew Timm
11. 60 Kurt Krauskopf
12. 68 JJ Wise
13. 7 Eric Dailey
14. 82K Dave Kuykendall
15. 11x Alex Yohn
16. 22T Tyler Prochaska
17. 47 Christian Wagler
18. 4 Dustin Philipp
19. 75 Garry Hall
20. 72 Austin Wolf
21. 73 Troy Swearingen
There were quite a few yellow flags displayed tonight, but the racing action was still completed by 9:00. Thanks to Joe Ringsdorf and his staff once again for their hospitality. For upcoming events, such as the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds during the Memorial Day weekend, check out www.i-35speedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Dan Potts made the lengthy trip from Spencer pay off as he visited victory lane in the junior hornets. He beat eleven other cars to the line. Kelly Miller picked up where he left off a couple weeks ago as he again found the checkered flags first in the "pro" hornet feature.
A good field of twenty IMCA hobby stocks hit the track next for their feature event. Pole sitter Chad Gentz got the early advantage as Kory and Bernie Adams battled it out for second. After an early restart, Mick Meyers would dive his machine under Bernie Adams to take over the third spot. Another caution would soon wave as Jeremy Solberg hit an implement tire and then made contact with Cory Gansen, ending both of their nights. Gansen was the point leader entering the night. Meyers again used the restart to pick off another position, scooting by Kory Adams for second. However, Meyers would suffer a flat tire and retired to the pits.
Heath Tulp was on the charge from deeper in the field. After starting eighth, he ducked to the inside of Bernie and Kory Adams to snare the second position. As Tulp slowly closed the gap to race leader Gentz, Gentz would pull to the infield on the backstretch after his motor began to pop. Tulp would go on to take the win, despite breaking a left rear shock. He was followed across the line by Bernie Adams, Jake Jacobs, Zac Smith, and Cody Knecht.
1. 50 Heath Tulp
2. 101 Bernie Adams
3. 78 Jake Jacobs
4. 18z Zac Smith
5. 49 Cody Knecht
6. 32 Robert Black
7. 83 Scott Dobel
8. 65 Gary Fransiscus
9. 65x Ted Fransiscus
10. 1R Adam Rodamaker
11. 01 Kory Adams
12. 68 Jonathan Trunkhill
13. 15 Chad Gentz
14. 6JR Mick Meyers
15. 51 Stac Schroeder
16. 71c Cory Gansen
17. 20 Jeremy Solberg
18. 06 Kyle Schmauss
19. 69 Chris Wiltse
20. 53 Andy Spellmeyer
Next up would be the twenty-three car field of IMCA sportmods. Rocky Caudle blasted into the lead from the pole, leaving the rest of the field to play catch up. Parker Brumm and George Nordman were side by side for the runner up spot at the line on lap two before Brumm would secure the spot. Just three laps into the race, point leader Nate Chodur had charged his way to sixth after starting twelfth. When the caution flag waved for Bob Sutherland's hard contact with the turn three wall, it was noticed that second place running Parker Brumm had left the track. Not sure what happened, but I heard someone say he had damage on the front end of his machine when he pulled in. When racing resumed, Chodur powered his car to the outside of Kyle Germundson to take over the second position with two laps to go. But Rocky Caudle had built up a comfortable lead and went on to take the checkered flag. Chodur would finish second while Adam Ackerman nipped Kyle Germundson at the line for third.
1. 99 Rocky Caudle
2. 88 Nate Chodur
3. 5 Adam Ackerman
4. 69 Kyle Germundson
5. 2 Nick West
6. 20 Chad Louk
7. 21R Tony Ranes
8. 9 Matt Looft
9. 8 Corey Klouse
10. 32z Alex Zwanziger
11. 86 Dan Tenold
12. 74 Ben Schultze
13. 17 Tyler Heetland
14. 4 Travis Greenfield
15. 64x Brandon Leeman
16. 55 Shane Swanson
17. 7M Kurt Moeding
18. 2H Dan Hanselman
19. 18J Mike Jaeger
20. 13 Parker Brumm
21. 4ord Bob Sutherland
22. 49 Nate Whitehurst
23. 90 George Nordman
Twelve IMCA stock cars were now set to do battle. Derek Green charged to the lead from his outside front row starting spot ahead of Travis Prochaska and Merlyn Hegland. Chris Adams would slide under Andrew Inman for fourth on lap two as the field utilized the inside groove for much of the race, even though it was plenty rough down there. Prochaska and Hegland used every inch of their cars as they beat and banged each other several times throughout the middle part of the race. Hegland would finally secure the spot as the white flag was thrown, but he didn't quite have enough to catch a slowing Derek Green at the line. Green would hold him off for the win, Hegland second, Prochaska third, Chris Adams fourth, and Kevin Opheim completed the top five. Green mentioned several things that had contributed to his slowing car in the interview after the race.
1. 32 Derek Green
2. 37 Merlyn Hegland
3. 21T Travis Prochaska
4. 14A Chris Adams
5. 44K Kevin Opheim
6. 87 Travis Shipman
7. 7I Andrew Inman
8. 96 Joe Willier
9. 59 Larry Portis
10. 4 Mike Weiman
11. 15 Brad Broers
12. R31 Ryan Leeman
A great field of twenty-one IMCA modifieds were on hand Sunday night. Before the first lap could get completed, the caution waved as six cars were involved in one way or another in two separate incidents. Tyler Prochaska used his pole starting spot to jump to the early lead. That lead didn't last long, however, as Levi Nielsen cut low and took it away on lap two. Prochaska later pushed high in turn two, allowing Eric Dailey and Curt Badker to sneak under for second and third, respectively. A couple of cautions would plague the next several laps, with only Badker getting by Dailey being the movement up front.
Double-file restarts were used, and Jeremy Mills took advantage as he improved to fourth before ducking inside of Terrance Prochaska for the third spot. Nielsen, Badker, and Mills were all bunched together when Mills shot to the outside in turns one and two to rocket past for the lead. Mills, who was involved in the first yellow of the race and presumably had to change a flat tire, distanced himself to a half-lap advantage when the checkered flag waved. Curt Badker would finish second, Ryan Ruter third (also suffered a flat early), Terrance Prochaska fourth, and Shane Monson completed the top five.
1. 10 Jeremy Mills
2. 58 Curt Badker
3. 555 Ryan Ruter
4. 20 Terrance Prochaska
5. 25$ Shane Monson
6. 123 Rob Rose
7. 45 Levi Nielsen
8. 65D Dustin Brown
9. 9 Roger Nielsen
10. 10A Andrew Timm
11. 60 Kurt Krauskopf
12. 68 JJ Wise
13. 7 Eric Dailey
14. 82K Dave Kuykendall
15. 11x Alex Yohn
16. 22T Tyler Prochaska
17. 47 Christian Wagler
18. 4 Dustin Philipp
19. 75 Garry Hall
20. 72 Austin Wolf
21. 73 Troy Swearingen
There were quite a few yellow flags displayed tonight, but the racing action was still completed by 9:00. Thanks to Joe Ringsdorf and his staff once again for their hospitality. For upcoming events, such as the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA modifieds during the Memorial Day weekend, check out www.i-35speedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Closes Finishes and Noble in Victory Lane Highlight Algona Trip
After dodging raindrops on Friday night in Marshalltown, Saturday turned out to be a sunny and windy day for racing. That meant a lot of drying for tracks, so much that Algona Raceway promoter took a couple times to water the track throughout the evening Saturday night.
It proved to be a great thing early in the night as the racing was fantastic in the early classes of features. Joe Devries led every lap of the junior hornet feature to take the win while Jay Devries took the "pro" hornet feature in the same fashion. The tandem of Troy Krug and Kyle Sidles took the cruisers checkers.
The IMCA hobby stocks were set for their finale with eighteen cars making the call. Alan Ricke would grab the top spot in the early going, but the caution waved on lap three to set up a restart. Cory Weishaar would jump to the outside and hammer down on the throttle to snare the lead away from Ricke. A bit further back, Nick Meyer was dissecting the field as he advanced to third after starting eighth. Another driver on the move was Devin Smith. Smith, by way of the IMCA invert system and being the point leader, started twelfth and climbed into the top five. A few laps later Smith used the inside groove to third at the halfway point of the twelve lap race. Smith continued his march towards the front, picking off Ricke on the low side and quickly closing the gap on Weishaar. Smith drew even with Weishaar down the backstretch on the final lap, but Weishaar had enough momentun on the cushion to narrowly take the win. Smith settled for second, Alan Ricke third, Nick Meyer fourth, and Drew Barglof was fifth.
After that exciting finish, the IMCA sportmods took to the track. Sixteen cars took the green flag, but the caution quickly came out as Tyler Heetland lost his driveshaft in turn one. On the restart it would be outside front row starter Justin Schuder taking the point. Brett Meyer sliced and diced through the field at a rapid pace, securing the second position by lap two after starting twelfth. He was able to use the outside lane as Scott Cook lost the handle on the inside and a couple cars had to check up to avoid contact. Matt Hoeft was another one on the move as a result, finding the third spot just behind Meyer. Meyer would shoot to the inside of Schuder entering turn three and exited the corner with the advantage five laps into the race. A caution bunched the field back up, giving Hoeft the opportunity to slip under Schuder for the runner up spot two laps after the restart. Mike Carlson, who started alongside Meyer in row six, made his way to the third spot by Schuder. As the laps were winding down, Hoeft began to reel in Meyer for the lead. The two front runners would catch a lapped car exiting turn four, and when the lapped car turned to the inside, Meyer had to check up just enough to allow Hoeft to snare the lead at the white flag. Meyer gased it up and pulled to the inside down the backstretch, but Hoeft was able to hold him off for the exciting win. Meyer settled for second, Mike Carlson third, Jake Simpson fourth, and Denny Penning fifth.
A solid field of seventeen IMCA stock cars were on hand for the night, but unfortunately three were unable to make repairs from heat race action to take the green. Cory Oftedahl rocketed to the lead from his front row starting spot. Josh Hohensee dove to the inside of Kevin Opheim to take the third spot away, at which point Opheim's car began to slow. Opheim would exit the track and not return. Oftedahl enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the race while Andrew Inman settled into the runner up position. A majority of the field was single file as the race went green to checkered, with Cory Oftedahl picking up the win. He was followed across the line by Inman, Hohensee in third, Bruce Wickman fourth, and Travis Shipman fifth. Shipman and Hohensee are now tied for the point lead, with six competitors within ten points of each other at the top of the standings.
Mark Noble sped to the early lead in the IMCA modified feature that boasted seventeen cars in the field. Several cautions plagued the event in the early going. The top five cars remained unchanged until the lap six restart in which Jeremy Mills used the double file restart to get by two competitors to advance to fourth. The low side proved to be the preferred groove as the entire field was hugging the tires. Mills would sneak inside of JJ Wise's machine entering turn three, taking the third spot away from him. With every lap Noble extended his lead and when the checkers waved, he had built up a straightaway advantage. Stacey Mills, Jeremy Mills, JJ Wise, and Eric Dailey completed the top five. Noble is driving a Harris car owned by Stacey Mills.
While the modified feature provided a lot of cautions, the entire evening was run through at a quick pace. The finishes in the hobby stocks and sportmod features were incredible! For complete results, check out the track website at www.algonaraceway.com. I'd also like to thank Joe Ringsdorf for his hospitality and his staff for greeting me at the gate. Definitely a great group of people at his facilities!!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!
It proved to be a great thing early in the night as the racing was fantastic in the early classes of features. Joe Devries led every lap of the junior hornet feature to take the win while Jay Devries took the "pro" hornet feature in the same fashion. The tandem of Troy Krug and Kyle Sidles took the cruisers checkers.
The IMCA hobby stocks were set for their finale with eighteen cars making the call. Alan Ricke would grab the top spot in the early going, but the caution waved on lap three to set up a restart. Cory Weishaar would jump to the outside and hammer down on the throttle to snare the lead away from Ricke. A bit further back, Nick Meyer was dissecting the field as he advanced to third after starting eighth. Another driver on the move was Devin Smith. Smith, by way of the IMCA invert system and being the point leader, started twelfth and climbed into the top five. A few laps later Smith used the inside groove to third at the halfway point of the twelve lap race. Smith continued his march towards the front, picking off Ricke on the low side and quickly closing the gap on Weishaar. Smith drew even with Weishaar down the backstretch on the final lap, but Weishaar had enough momentun on the cushion to narrowly take the win. Smith settled for second, Alan Ricke third, Nick Meyer fourth, and Drew Barglof was fifth.
After that exciting finish, the IMCA sportmods took to the track. Sixteen cars took the green flag, but the caution quickly came out as Tyler Heetland lost his driveshaft in turn one. On the restart it would be outside front row starter Justin Schuder taking the point. Brett Meyer sliced and diced through the field at a rapid pace, securing the second position by lap two after starting twelfth. He was able to use the outside lane as Scott Cook lost the handle on the inside and a couple cars had to check up to avoid contact. Matt Hoeft was another one on the move as a result, finding the third spot just behind Meyer. Meyer would shoot to the inside of Schuder entering turn three and exited the corner with the advantage five laps into the race. A caution bunched the field back up, giving Hoeft the opportunity to slip under Schuder for the runner up spot two laps after the restart. Mike Carlson, who started alongside Meyer in row six, made his way to the third spot by Schuder. As the laps were winding down, Hoeft began to reel in Meyer for the lead. The two front runners would catch a lapped car exiting turn four, and when the lapped car turned to the inside, Meyer had to check up just enough to allow Hoeft to snare the lead at the white flag. Meyer gased it up and pulled to the inside down the backstretch, but Hoeft was able to hold him off for the exciting win. Meyer settled for second, Mike Carlson third, Jake Simpson fourth, and Denny Penning fifth.
A solid field of seventeen IMCA stock cars were on hand for the night, but unfortunately three were unable to make repairs from heat race action to take the green. Cory Oftedahl rocketed to the lead from his front row starting spot. Josh Hohensee dove to the inside of Kevin Opheim to take the third spot away, at which point Opheim's car began to slow. Opheim would exit the track and not return. Oftedahl enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the race while Andrew Inman settled into the runner up position. A majority of the field was single file as the race went green to checkered, with Cory Oftedahl picking up the win. He was followed across the line by Inman, Hohensee in third, Bruce Wickman fourth, and Travis Shipman fifth. Shipman and Hohensee are now tied for the point lead, with six competitors within ten points of each other at the top of the standings.
Mark Noble sped to the early lead in the IMCA modified feature that boasted seventeen cars in the field. Several cautions plagued the event in the early going. The top five cars remained unchanged until the lap six restart in which Jeremy Mills used the double file restart to get by two competitors to advance to fourth. The low side proved to be the preferred groove as the entire field was hugging the tires. Mills would sneak inside of JJ Wise's machine entering turn three, taking the third spot away from him. With every lap Noble extended his lead and when the checkers waved, he had built up a straightaway advantage. Stacey Mills, Jeremy Mills, JJ Wise, and Eric Dailey completed the top five. Noble is driving a Harris car owned by Stacey Mills.
While the modified feature provided a lot of cautions, the entire evening was run through at a quick pace. The finishes in the hobby stocks and sportmod features were incredible! For complete results, check out the track website at www.algonaraceway.com. I'd also like to thank Joe Ringsdorf for his hospitality and his staff for greeting me at the gate. Definitely a great group of people at his facilities!!
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!
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