Rogerson wins Sprint Invaders stop at CJ Speedway

The weather finally cooperated on a Friday night in southeast Iowa as CJ Speedway managed to get its second race in the books for the 2009 season. Prior to Friday night's Sprint Invader special, the only complete show the speedway has seen this year was the season opener earlier this month.

The Sprint Invaders were joined by the Mod Lites and 4 Cylnders to kick off the Memorial Day holiday weekend on the 4/10-mile oval.

Twenty-three Sprints signed in to compete for the second series event of the season. Following three qualifying heat races in which the top two from each event earned a starting position in the six-lap Shake-Up Pole Dash, Ben Wagoner earned his first-ever pole position start in series competition by virtue of the Dash win.

Wagoner started the Dash outside of the first row and walked away from the field to score the victory. Following the event, he rolled the dice, literally, on the front straightaway to determine his starting spot in the 20-lap A-Main. Rolling a "one," Wagoner preserved his pole start for the feature.

At the start of the 20-lapper, Wagoner assumed command, chased by Dash runner-up finisher Matt Rogerson and Bobby Mincer. Only a couple of laps into the event, series points leader Kaley Gharst went for a wild ride down the back straightaway, rolling his No. 14P numerous times to bring out the red.

When racing resumed, Rogerson dove to the inside of the race leader to take over the lead. Rogerson led the field into lapped traffic just five laps later as he built his lead to half of a straightaway.

Methodically working his way through the backmarkers, Rogerson extended his advantage to a straightaway margin just past the midway point. Rogerson then cruised to the victory in impressive fashion.

Starting toward the back of the pack, Joey Mohahn made an impressive run through the field to nip Wagoner at the line for second.

In the 12-lap Mod Lite feature, pole-sitter Darrin Norton held the early advantage. His time out front was limited, however, as Justin Buchholz dove to the inside of him for the lead following a lap one restart.

The pair battled for the lead throughout a quartet of early cautions before Buchholz pulled away to the impressive win. Norton ran second, a dozen car-lengths behind the race winner, and Todd Hansen came home third.

A missed shift couldn't slow down T.J. Garrison as he scored the victory in the 4-Cylinder feature. A trio of cautions in the early stages of the 12-lap event kept the field close together and made for a good battle between Garrison and Wayne Noble. Garrison held the point following a lap three restart, however he missed a shift when racing resumed, allowing a half-dozen cars to pass him before getting back up to speed.

Garrison quickly rebounded and worked his way back into second, behind Noble, after only one circuit. Working the low groove, Garrison made his way past Noble two laps later en route to the win. Noble and Travis Yakle completed the top three.

Although this was only my second-ever visit to the speedway (both this season), I've heard nothing but good things about the time and effort the new promoters have put into the facility in Columbus Junction, not to mention the money that has gone into improvements. Don and Sharon Wood and Brian and Amanda Tipps have done a remarkable job thus far and have dedicated themselves to their duties as promoters.

While you hear of some tracks that simply "put on races," the folks at CJ are definitely into the promoting business as evidenced by their desire to get kids involved in the fun at the speedway. Last night, for instance, the Lil' Racer Car Club had a number of activities for the young race fans to enjoy. Along with being offered free rides around the track before the races with the 4 Cylinder drivers, gunny sack races were held during intermission and free ice cream was available in the concession area.

Last night's events did run a little long due to the time taken to water in attempt to keep the dust down on the dry surface. A couple of wild flips in the Sprint races also slowed down the show a little bit, however that tends to happen when the cars are going at speeds they were seeing last night. Despite those delays, I'm certain things will come together a little more smoothly as the season continues on. One positive note, the track, aside from being dry, was in excellent shape.

It was also nice to chat with I.M.C.A. Stock Car driver Travis Finke, who was in attendance last night. Since the Stock Cars had the night off, Travis was watching from the grandstands with family and friends. He also had a lot of good things to say about the speedway under the direction of the new promoters. There was some excitement in his voice as we talked about the potential of his hometown track.

Tonight, weather permitting, we hope to be back in action at Independence Motor Speedway after two weeks off. As I write this blog at home in Waterloo, a pretty decent rain shower just passed through the area. I did, however, receive a message from promoter Cam Granger who said the track (20 miles due east of Waterloo) has yet to see any rainfall today.