Saturday night I decided to make my first trip of the year to the Boone Speedway. It was definitely a different atmosphere as I couldn't recall many driver names and car numbers. With all the cars in attendance (announcer Bucky Doren stated 150 were in the pits), I definitely give the 4D Fan Report duo credit for keeping driver names correct in their results and blog. Speaking of the 4D Fan Report, they took tonight off and took in the NASCAR Nationwide race at Newton Saturday night. So although I guess one could say I was "filling in" for them, though that was not my reason for going.
The Mod-Lite/dwarf car feature was first to hit the track after the farming session. Even after given a few laps to work the track in, the track was still a bit on the slimy side. James May grabbed the top spot after starting in the fourth row after the front three rows tip-toed their way around the first circuit. Ed Zehm was on the charge as well as he slid into the second spot after passing David Schmalzried on the low side. Zehm would later make the move on May to snare the lead away with five laps remaining thanks in part to a lapped car on the front stretch. Zehm picked the right line and never looked back as he picked up the win. James May finished second, Tim Hennigar was third, David Schmalzried fourth, and pole-sitter Cliff Barber rounded out the top five. Twenty-four cars were on hand with all cars starting the feature.
1. 41z Ed Zehm
2. 88 James May
3. 57 Tim Hennigar
4. 01 David Schmalzried
5. 4 Cliff Barber
6. 64 Randy Bryan
7. 99 Josh May
8. 8 Dusty Masolini
9. 66F Eric Hendrickson
(sorry, all I was able to get)
Next up would be the IMCA sportmods. After narrowing the starting field down to twenty-four, Jake Strayer would lead the pack to the green flag. Rick Ringgenberg quickly moved into the second position as he dove to the inside of Stacy Clark. Clark would give way to Clint Luellen a lap later before a caution waved on lap four. A single file restart would be used (something I rarely get to see with the tracks I attend), but the battled for second through fifth would shape up between Ringgenberg, Luellen, Harris Clash winner Jared Timmerman, and Eric Elliott. Luellen would win that battle as he used the outside line to get by Ringgenberg at the halfway point. A lap later he made the same line work again as he passed Strayer for the lead. Another caution came out on lap twelve, but the top five positions remained unchanged from that point on. Clint Luellen picked up the win ahead of Jake Strayer, Rick Ringgenberg, Eric Elliott, and Scott Davis.
1. 3L Clint Luellen
2. 18J Jake Strayer
3. 72 Rick Ringgenberg
4. 9E Eric Elliott
5. 81D Scott Davis
6. 41 Jeremy Embrey
7. 2 Bill Wears
8. 57 Lynn Brockett
9. 3R Randy Roberts
10. 35 Bruce Egeland
11. 22J Jeff Blume
12. 19J Jenae Gustin
13. 1TX Bobby Davis III
14. 29B Ben Wilson
(again, all I could get)
Twenty IMCA modifieds made the call for their feature event that saw the yellow flag came out before a lap could be completed. Scott Baker would lose a motor seemingly seconds after taking the green flag as the field entered turn one. The outside front row starter somehow managed to get to the top side of the banking and exit the track without anybody else making contact. That moved Jon Snyder up to the front row alongside Bill Davis Jr. Snyder would take advantage of the situation as he rocketed to the lead. Jimmy Gustin would get the better of younger brother Richie for the third spot early on as Snyder continued to build an increasingly bigger lead with each lap. Gustin would sneak to the inside of Davis Jr for the runner up spot with five laps to go. Richie would jump the cushion in turns three and four and lose a couple spots before retiring to the infield. Jon Snyder would power his way to the victory ahead of Jimmy Gustin, Bill Davis Jr, Kelly Lyons, and Cale Sponsler.
1. 69x Jon Snyder
2. 19 Jimmy Gustin
3. 1 Bill Davis Jr
4. 27 Kelly Lyons
5. 93 Cale Sponsler
6. 18 Jake Durbin
7. 5 Todd Shute
8. 87 Joel Bushore
9. 28R Russ Dickerson
10. 2L Adam Larson
11. K1 Kyle Krampe
12. 58 Dennis Pittman
13. 32 Rick Speck
14. 12c Kent Croskey
DNF
19G Richie Gustin
24 Robert Avery
83G Josh Gilman
49T Tim Stevens
94 Fred Schimmels
15x Scott Baker
DNS
36x Russ Gladson
02 Brian Law
A b-main was used to dwindle the IMCA stock cars down to a field of twenty-four, but three of those cars failed to make the call. Pole-sitter Jeff Harkrider paced the field from the start with Josh Brauckman giving chase. Brauckman would put some serious pressure on Harkrider, but the leader would not fold. Point leader Donavon Smith was slicing his way through the field as he passed Josh Daniels and Andy Bryant to move into the third spot on lap ten. On lap fourteen Brauckman drove in a little too deep and made significant contact with Harkrider at the front of the pack. While both cars were trying to straighten each other out, that allowed Smith to take the top spot away. That was all Donavon Smith would need as he went on to take the win. Josh Brauckman rebounded for a solid second place finish, Andy Bryant was third, Alan VanGorp was fourth, and Wayne Gifford rouned out the top five. Harkrider crossed the line in fourth, but was black flagged for having a flat tire.
1. 35 Donavon Smith
2. 22x Josh Brauckman
3. 77 Andy Bryant
4. 19A Alan VanGorp
5. 22 Wayne Gifford
6. 25J Josh Daniels
7. 55 Cory Bushnell
8. 26K Butch Bass
9. 9 Jerry Gifford
(again, all I could get)
Two IMCA hobby stock features were next on the schedule to cap off the night. Tim Barber would grab the lead early on in the first feature as Austin Luellen took over the second spot by utilizing the inside line when Clint Rothfus suffered a flat tire and sent the field scattering. Luellen would later lose the handle on his machine and collect Chris Hupp, allowing four competitors to slip past. Matt McDonald would take the second position away from Pat Mather with two laps to go, but he was unable to track down Tim Barber as Barber put his machine in victory lane. McDonald was second, Mather third, Mark Hidlebaugh fourth, and Tony Cox rounded out the top five.
1. T10 Tim Barber
2. 12M Matt McDonald
3. M15 Pat Mather
4. 96 Mark Hidlebaugh
5. 1BC Tony Cox
6. 83 Chris Hupp
7. 3L Austin Luellen
8. 14 Matt Wahlert
9. T15 Jacob Thompson
10. 20 Donnie Gustoff
11. 23 Cody Gustoff
12. 1x Michael Peterson
13. 4wx ??
The second IMCA hobby stock feature saw Darin Rothfus grabbing the early lead with Jesse Hopkins just behind in second. Those two would make contact on lap two following a restart that scattered the field. When the chaos settled down, it was Michael Murphy out front followed by Richard Yaw II, Ed Mahlstedt, and Matt Hudspeth. Hudspeth disposed of Mahlstedt for the third spot before Mahlstedt exited the track with a flat tire. Up front it was all Michael Murphy as he took home the win. Richard Yaw II came home second, Tim Hadley was third, Matt Hudspeth fourth, and Scott Lograsso completed the top five.
1. 25M Michael Murphy
2. 20T Richard Yaw II
3. 78 Tim Hadley
4. 9R Matt Hudspeth
5. 83s Scott Lograsso
6. 911 Darin Rothfus
7. 51 Matt Webb
8. 38R Aaron Rudolph
9. 5A Tyler Pickett
10. 16B Jay Arends
11. 10 Travis Fenton
12. 24B Brandon Britton
It was definitely nice getting back to the Boone Speedway. It won't be long before I make my way back as I hope to attend the Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals coming up in early September. For complete results from tonight, be sure to log on to www.raceboone.com.
I realize I didn't have a full field rundown of results like the 4D Fan Report, but hopefully I won't get criticized too much. *Smiles*
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Guss Jr Collects 4th Deery Series Win at Knoxville
Wednesday evening saw a return trip back to the Knoxville Raceway as the second part of the Harris Clash was back in action after being delayed for a couple weeks. IMCA sportmods along with the Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models were on the card for the night.
Once the qualifying events were in the books, it was time to go feature racing. Pole sitter Jared Timmerman paced the field of IMCA sportmods to the green flag with twenty-three other competitors lined up with him. The field had been dwindled down from over seventy entries. An early caution on lap two saw Cayden Carter take advantage of the double-file restart as he jumped to the outside and blasted his way to the second position after passing four cars. Two laps later Carter's machine would begin to show smoke, but that didn't slow the youngster down as he used the top side to power by Timmerman for the lead on lap six. Timmerman would regain the lead five laps later and appeared to be on his way to picking up perhaps the biggest win of his career, until the yellow flag came out as the field was coming to the checkered flag. Cayden Carter lost the handle of his machine in turn three and spun to a stop before getting run in to by Adam Ackerman a few seconds later. Both cars would be done for the event.
That meant a two-lap shootout to decide the winner. Timmerman was out front ahead of Nate Chodur and Dylan Book on the restart. Timmerman was able to hit his marks the final couple laps while the rest of the field struggled with the handling in the corners. Jared Timmerman would pick up the top prize and trophy with the win. Dylan Book got by Nate Chodur at the end for second and third, respectively. Jeremy Embrey finished in fourth after starting 21st on the grid, and Jim Gillenwater rounded out the top five competitors.
The thirty-five lap IMCA late model event would cap off the evening as Tyler Bruening and Jay Stewart sat on the front row. The race had a hard time getting started as three restarts were needed before getting a lap completed. The action wasn't up to speed long until another caution waved on lap two when Jeremiah Hurst spun sideways on the front stretch. Yet another caution flag was displayed when T.J. Criss spun his machine and Kevin Blum had nowhere to go and slammed into the stopped car. After the violent hit, it was good to see both drivers were okay.
When racing resumed, Jay Stewart held down the top spot ahead of Bruening and Jeff Guengerich, who was piloting the defending champion car. Last year Tommy Elston drove the #15 to the win. After restarting fourth, Ray Guss Jr quickly dove to the inside of Bruening and took the third spot away. Guengerich would drive to the inside of Stewart to take the lead away while Guss followed to second. Behind them a couple of crafty veteran late model drivers were on the prowl as Darren Miller and Brian Harris were now both in the top five just five laps into the race. Both Miller and Harris may be better known for their open late model reputation, but they were out to prove that they can wheel any type of machine put in front of them.
Miller snuck inside of Stewart to take away the third spot. At that point I noticed Jeff Aikey had already made his way into the top ten. After failing to finish his heat race and narrowly securing a transfer spot in the "B-main", Aikey started nineteenth on the grid. He had taken over the seventh spot on lap six before getting by Andy Eckrich for sixth a lap later. Aikey cracked the top five with a pass on Jay Stewart on lap ten, which also happened to be the circuit that Ray Guss Jr powered his machine around the cushion to snare the lead away from Jeff Guengerich. Guss would instantly put distance between he and Guengerich before a caution bunched the field back up around the midpoint of the race.
The fast pace was short-lived, however, as Charlie McKenna clipped the inside berm entering turn one and went for a wild ride. I counted at least six barrel rolls before the car sat back down on all four tires. Fortunately McKenna got out of the car under his own power and walked back to his trailer. Restarting in fourth, Jeff Aikey ducked to the inside lane and passed Guengerich and Darren Miller to advance to the runner up spot. It seemed Aikey was set to challenge Guss for the win, but he apparently used up his tires in getting to the front as Miller was able to get back by him for second. Ray Guss again would pull away from the field as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Darren Miller took home a solid second place finish in his first start of the season. Jeff Aikey, Jeremiah Hurst, and Brian Harris rounded out of the top five. Hurst rebounded nicely after that lap one spin and was definitely a fast car on the inside lane.
Despite only having two classes of cars, the program seemed to drag on throughout the night. Tow trucks were slow in hooking up cars on the track, something I have not had the misfortunes of witnessing much this year. But then again, I was at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World". After stopping down to chat with a couple drivers, I made my way home and walked in the door right around 2AM.
I'd like to thank Bob Harris for putting on this terrific event each year. It seems the weather is always a factor in the originally scheduled date, and I've been around long enough to know that the crowd base and perhaps car counts taper off if an event is forced to reschedule. But Bob Harris was determined to put on a great show for the fans, and he definitely made me feel welcome for both events of the Harris Clash this year.
For complete results, be sure to check out www.harrisclash.com or www.imca.com. As of right now, I'm unsure of my weekend plans. I was going to hit up Marshalltown Friday, but they have postponed their modified gambler race to next week to help out with the time factor. They have a couple makeup features to run Friday night as a result of the rains that came last week. I have also been thinking of going to Boone on Saturday. For some reason or another, I have yet to make it to that track yet this year, which is definitely different for me. One race I do know I'll be at will be Tuesday night as the USMTS invades Algona during the Kossuth County Fair.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Once the qualifying events were in the books, it was time to go feature racing. Pole sitter Jared Timmerman paced the field of IMCA sportmods to the green flag with twenty-three other competitors lined up with him. The field had been dwindled down from over seventy entries. An early caution on lap two saw Cayden Carter take advantage of the double-file restart as he jumped to the outside and blasted his way to the second position after passing four cars. Two laps later Carter's machine would begin to show smoke, but that didn't slow the youngster down as he used the top side to power by Timmerman for the lead on lap six. Timmerman would regain the lead five laps later and appeared to be on his way to picking up perhaps the biggest win of his career, until the yellow flag came out as the field was coming to the checkered flag. Cayden Carter lost the handle of his machine in turn three and spun to a stop before getting run in to by Adam Ackerman a few seconds later. Both cars would be done for the event.
That meant a two-lap shootout to decide the winner. Timmerman was out front ahead of Nate Chodur and Dylan Book on the restart. Timmerman was able to hit his marks the final couple laps while the rest of the field struggled with the handling in the corners. Jared Timmerman would pick up the top prize and trophy with the win. Dylan Book got by Nate Chodur at the end for second and third, respectively. Jeremy Embrey finished in fourth after starting 21st on the grid, and Jim Gillenwater rounded out the top five competitors.
The thirty-five lap IMCA late model event would cap off the evening as Tyler Bruening and Jay Stewart sat on the front row. The race had a hard time getting started as three restarts were needed before getting a lap completed. The action wasn't up to speed long until another caution waved on lap two when Jeremiah Hurst spun sideways on the front stretch. Yet another caution flag was displayed when T.J. Criss spun his machine and Kevin Blum had nowhere to go and slammed into the stopped car. After the violent hit, it was good to see both drivers were okay.
When racing resumed, Jay Stewart held down the top spot ahead of Bruening and Jeff Guengerich, who was piloting the defending champion car. Last year Tommy Elston drove the #15 to the win. After restarting fourth, Ray Guss Jr quickly dove to the inside of Bruening and took the third spot away. Guengerich would drive to the inside of Stewart to take the lead away while Guss followed to second. Behind them a couple of crafty veteran late model drivers were on the prowl as Darren Miller and Brian Harris were now both in the top five just five laps into the race. Both Miller and Harris may be better known for their open late model reputation, but they were out to prove that they can wheel any type of machine put in front of them.
Miller snuck inside of Stewart to take away the third spot. At that point I noticed Jeff Aikey had already made his way into the top ten. After failing to finish his heat race and narrowly securing a transfer spot in the "B-main", Aikey started nineteenth on the grid. He had taken over the seventh spot on lap six before getting by Andy Eckrich for sixth a lap later. Aikey cracked the top five with a pass on Jay Stewart on lap ten, which also happened to be the circuit that Ray Guss Jr powered his machine around the cushion to snare the lead away from Jeff Guengerich. Guss would instantly put distance between he and Guengerich before a caution bunched the field back up around the midpoint of the race.
The fast pace was short-lived, however, as Charlie McKenna clipped the inside berm entering turn one and went for a wild ride. I counted at least six barrel rolls before the car sat back down on all four tires. Fortunately McKenna got out of the car under his own power and walked back to his trailer. Restarting in fourth, Jeff Aikey ducked to the inside lane and passed Guengerich and Darren Miller to advance to the runner up spot. It seemed Aikey was set to challenge Guss for the win, but he apparently used up his tires in getting to the front as Miller was able to get back by him for second. Ray Guss again would pull away from the field as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Darren Miller took home a solid second place finish in his first start of the season. Jeff Aikey, Jeremiah Hurst, and Brian Harris rounded out of the top five. Hurst rebounded nicely after that lap one spin and was definitely a fast car on the inside lane.
Despite only having two classes of cars, the program seemed to drag on throughout the night. Tow trucks were slow in hooking up cars on the track, something I have not had the misfortunes of witnessing much this year. But then again, I was at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World". After stopping down to chat with a couple drivers, I made my way home and walked in the door right around 2AM.
I'd like to thank Bob Harris for putting on this terrific event each year. It seems the weather is always a factor in the originally scheduled date, and I've been around long enough to know that the crowd base and perhaps car counts taper off if an event is forced to reschedule. But Bob Harris was determined to put on a great show for the fans, and he definitely made me feel welcome for both events of the Harris Clash this year.
For complete results, be sure to check out www.harrisclash.com or www.imca.com. As of right now, I'm unsure of my weekend plans. I was going to hit up Marshalltown Friday, but they have postponed their modified gambler race to next week to help out with the time factor. They have a couple makeup features to run Friday night as a result of the rains that came last week. I have also been thinking of going to Boone on Saturday. For some reason or another, I have yet to make it to that track yet this year, which is definitely different for me. One race I do know I'll be at will be Tuesday night as the USMTS invades Algona during the Kossuth County Fair.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wise, Schroeder Score Two in a Row
Another warm day on Sunday prompted me to get out of the house and head to another race. Today's destination would be the I-35 Speedway in Mason City. A fair amount of cars were checked into the back gate for tonight's action.
Taylor Frerichs would lead flag to flag and take home a dominating win in the junior hornet feature. Alan Aird picked up his second win of the season as he did the same in the "pro" hornet feature.
A field of twenty IMCA hobby stocks made their way to the track. Kory Adams held down the top spot after starting on the point, but Chad Gentz was on the move early as he climbed into the third spot after passing Bernie Adams on the high side. Scott Dobel would dart to the inside exiting turn four to take the lead away from Kory Adams on lap four. Gentz would look to the inside of Dobel and made contact, but both competitors were able to keep their cars straight and continue on with Gentz taking over the lead. Last week's feature winner Stac Schroeder was on the charge as well as he passed Dobel on the inside to snare the runner up spot away. With three laps remaining, the leaders encountered lapped traffic on the backstretch. Gentz went low while Schroeder went high, and Schroeder took advantage and powered his way to the lead. Stac Schroeder would go on to take the win ahead of Chad Gentz, Scott Dobel, Mick Meyers, and Heath Tulp.
Twenty-two IMCA sportmods took the green flag as three cars were unable to make the call. Corey Klouse took advantage of starting on the pole and raced to the early lead with Nate Whitehurst sitting just behind him. Klouse would lose the handle in turn four which allowed Whitehurst to slip under him and take over the race lead. Nick West was making a run on Klouse on the front straight when the two cars got together, sending West's car sideways on the front bumper of Klouse's machine. West's car would then make contact with the outside wall before coming to a stop. This caution would set up a double file restart behind the leader Whitehurst as Klouse and Shane Swanson made up the first row. However, Swanson would stop on the backstretch and need the assistance of a tow truck to the pits to end his night early. More on what happened next later.
Adam Ackerman took advantage of that restart to jump to the outside of Whitehurst and power his machine to the lead. Dan Tenold and Alex Zwanziger held down the third and fourth positions, respectively, while Ackerman cruised to the win. Nate Whitehurst finished second, Zwanziger got by Tenold on the final circuit for third, and Corey Klouse completed the top five.
Next up would be the IMCA stock cars. Twelve drivers were on the starting grid with pole sitter Brad Broers getting the early nod up front. Joe Willier found the top side to his liking as he passed Calvin Lange for third. Lange would give up the fourth spot a short time later to Merlyn Hegland as the battle up front heated up. Kevin Paca used the inside line to squeeze by Broers with Willier just a few feet behind, but Willier was able to make a run of his own on the inside and get by both front runners to snag the lead for himself. Joe Willier would go on to take the feature win ahead of Kevin Paca, Calvin Lange, Brad Broers, and Chris Adams. Paca was able to fend off Lange and Broers at the end as his car was smoking heavily when it exited turn four for the final time.
Eleven IMCA modifieds hit the track for the final event of the night. Levi Nielsen jumped out front early with Jeremy Brogaard settled in behind. JJ Wise ducked to the inside of Brogaard on lap two to take the second position away. Levi Nielsen appeared to be leaking fuel while running a quick pace, but no black flag was thrown. He would eventually come to a stop in turn four to bring out a caution as some pondered if he ran out of fuel.
Wise would inherit the race lead, but the battle behind him was starting to get good. Curt Badker restarted in second, but Shane Monson got by Brogaard for third to set up a battle of racing grooves. Badker used the inside groove while Monson rode the cushion and made the pass for second. Monson would later swap the lead with Wise before a caution came out again with five laps remaining. Monson bobbled just enough entering turn one that allowed JJ Wise to dart under him and scoot away for the race win. Shane Monson would settle for second, Curt Badker was third, Alex Yohn fourth, and Jeremy Brogaard in fifth.
Now, back to that restart in the IMCA sportmod feature. I'm not sure what the track or IMCA rules state, but the end result seem to be a little unfair in my eyes. With Nate Whitehurst out front by himself, Corey Klouse and Shane Swanson made up the first row with John Warrington and Adam Ackerman behind them. Let me see if I can illustrate this a little better:
49 Whitehurst
8 Klouse 55 Swanson
64 Warrington 5 Ackerman
When Swanson stopped and was taken off the track, Ackerman and the rest of the outside line moved directly ahead. Now I know IMCA rules say on the initial start that they don't criss-cross, but I haven't heard of any rule regarding restarts. So while Ackerman was in fifth place prior to Swanson leaving, he should have been realigned in fourth. Instead, he was placed outside of Klouse and therefore was in third on the ensuing restart.
This just prompted another thought into my head. I've been to several tracks that use the double-file restarts. It seems that each track is a little bit different. One track may let the second place decide where he/she wants to be, and another may require the second place car go to the inside. Some tracks have the fourth place car always go to the inside, and some have them on the outside if the second place car chooses the outside. I personally think all tracks, or IMCA, need to get together and mandate a specific rule for restarts. As a fan it gets a little confusing figuring out what's going on unless the track announcer informs you.
Ok, off my soap box for the night. The races were run in swift order tonight as they were completed by 8:30pm. For more results, be sure to check out www.i-35speedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
Taylor Frerichs would lead flag to flag and take home a dominating win in the junior hornet feature. Alan Aird picked up his second win of the season as he did the same in the "pro" hornet feature.
A field of twenty IMCA hobby stocks made their way to the track. Kory Adams held down the top spot after starting on the point, but Chad Gentz was on the move early as he climbed into the third spot after passing Bernie Adams on the high side. Scott Dobel would dart to the inside exiting turn four to take the lead away from Kory Adams on lap four. Gentz would look to the inside of Dobel and made contact, but both competitors were able to keep their cars straight and continue on with Gentz taking over the lead. Last week's feature winner Stac Schroeder was on the charge as well as he passed Dobel on the inside to snare the runner up spot away. With three laps remaining, the leaders encountered lapped traffic on the backstretch. Gentz went low while Schroeder went high, and Schroeder took advantage and powered his way to the lead. Stac Schroeder would go on to take the win ahead of Chad Gentz, Scott Dobel, Mick Meyers, and Heath Tulp.
Twenty-two IMCA sportmods took the green flag as three cars were unable to make the call. Corey Klouse took advantage of starting on the pole and raced to the early lead with Nate Whitehurst sitting just behind him. Klouse would lose the handle in turn four which allowed Whitehurst to slip under him and take over the race lead. Nick West was making a run on Klouse on the front straight when the two cars got together, sending West's car sideways on the front bumper of Klouse's machine. West's car would then make contact with the outside wall before coming to a stop. This caution would set up a double file restart behind the leader Whitehurst as Klouse and Shane Swanson made up the first row. However, Swanson would stop on the backstretch and need the assistance of a tow truck to the pits to end his night early. More on what happened next later.
Adam Ackerman took advantage of that restart to jump to the outside of Whitehurst and power his machine to the lead. Dan Tenold and Alex Zwanziger held down the third and fourth positions, respectively, while Ackerman cruised to the win. Nate Whitehurst finished second, Zwanziger got by Tenold on the final circuit for third, and Corey Klouse completed the top five.
Next up would be the IMCA stock cars. Twelve drivers were on the starting grid with pole sitter Brad Broers getting the early nod up front. Joe Willier found the top side to his liking as he passed Calvin Lange for third. Lange would give up the fourth spot a short time later to Merlyn Hegland as the battle up front heated up. Kevin Paca used the inside line to squeeze by Broers with Willier just a few feet behind, but Willier was able to make a run of his own on the inside and get by both front runners to snag the lead for himself. Joe Willier would go on to take the feature win ahead of Kevin Paca, Calvin Lange, Brad Broers, and Chris Adams. Paca was able to fend off Lange and Broers at the end as his car was smoking heavily when it exited turn four for the final time.
Eleven IMCA modifieds hit the track for the final event of the night. Levi Nielsen jumped out front early with Jeremy Brogaard settled in behind. JJ Wise ducked to the inside of Brogaard on lap two to take the second position away. Levi Nielsen appeared to be leaking fuel while running a quick pace, but no black flag was thrown. He would eventually come to a stop in turn four to bring out a caution as some pondered if he ran out of fuel.
Wise would inherit the race lead, but the battle behind him was starting to get good. Curt Badker restarted in second, but Shane Monson got by Brogaard for third to set up a battle of racing grooves. Badker used the inside groove while Monson rode the cushion and made the pass for second. Monson would later swap the lead with Wise before a caution came out again with five laps remaining. Monson bobbled just enough entering turn one that allowed JJ Wise to dart under him and scoot away for the race win. Shane Monson would settle for second, Curt Badker was third, Alex Yohn fourth, and Jeremy Brogaard in fifth.
Now, back to that restart in the IMCA sportmod feature. I'm not sure what the track or IMCA rules state, but the end result seem to be a little unfair in my eyes. With Nate Whitehurst out front by himself, Corey Klouse and Shane Swanson made up the first row with John Warrington and Adam Ackerman behind them. Let me see if I can illustrate this a little better:
49 Whitehurst
8 Klouse 55 Swanson
64 Warrington 5 Ackerman
When Swanson stopped and was taken off the track, Ackerman and the rest of the outside line moved directly ahead. Now I know IMCA rules say on the initial start that they don't criss-cross, but I haven't heard of any rule regarding restarts. So while Ackerman was in fifth place prior to Swanson leaving, he should have been realigned in fourth. Instead, he was placed outside of Klouse and therefore was in third on the ensuing restart.
This just prompted another thought into my head. I've been to several tracks that use the double-file restarts. It seems that each track is a little bit different. One track may let the second place decide where he/she wants to be, and another may require the second place car go to the inside. Some tracks have the fourth place car always go to the inside, and some have them on the outside if the second place car chooses the outside. I personally think all tracks, or IMCA, need to get together and mandate a specific rule for restarts. As a fan it gets a little confusing figuring out what's going on unless the track announcer informs you.
Ok, off my soap box for the night. The races were run in swift order tonight as they were completed by 8:30pm. For more results, be sure to check out www.i-35speedway.com.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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