Being a Vinton, Iowa, native, it was great to head home to take in the action at Benton County Speedway on Sunday night. A packed grandstand and a pit area loaded with 115 cars made for a fantastic night at the fairgrounds. My first trip to Vinton this season, it was the latest "first visit of the year" to my hometown track since it re-opened some 20 years ago.
The first feature out of the gate was for the I.M.C.A. Hobby Stocks during which Jason Stringer took the early lead from his pole position start. With Stringer out front, Bill Bonnett and points leader Scott Pippert quickly worked through traffic from respective fifth and sixth row starting positions. By the time the field completed the third lap, both drivers found themselves in the top three, a couple of car-lengths behind Stringer.
Working the high side, Pippert pulled even with Bonnett the fifth time around the fast, smooth 1/4-mile oval. He swept around both Bonnett and Stringer by the time the field completed lap six.
By the ninth lap, Pippert pulled ahead of his nearest followers by half of a straightaway before entering lapped traffic one lap later. While dodging the backmarkers, Pippert extended his lead to a full straightaway by the time the checkers flew. The points leader drove to the impressive victory ahead of Bonnett, who currently sits second in the standings. Vince Buchholz came home in third followed by Stringer.
Fourth row starter Brad Chandler snagged the lead of the 12-lap I.M.C.A. Sport Compact feature after only three laps. Nathan Chandler, who started right behind him, ran the high groove and followed him into second.
The leaders pulled away from the field and made it a two-car race midway through the event. Staying committed to the high groove, Nathan Chandler made his bid for the lead following a lap six caution. He went untouched over the final half of the event to score the victory. A straightaway behind when the checkers flew, Bill Whalen crossed the line in third. Gary Peiffer and Justin Wacha completed the top five.
Ryan Coleman led the early stages of the 15-lap I.M.C.A. SportMod feature. Starting in the front row, Coleman held a comfortable early advantage until a pair of slower cars impeded his progress just four laps into the event.
Danny Dvorak and Kurt Hogan, who both started the event from row three, quickly closed the gap. With Dvorak running high and Hogan low, the three front-runners engaged in a brief wheel-to-wheel battle before Hogan spun in turn four to bring out the caution.
When racing resumed, Dvorak went back to work on the high side and made a pass for the lead one lap later. He built his lead to half of a straightaway as Chris Luloff, Kyle Bentley and Rod McDonald made their way to the front of the pack in an exciting five-car battle with Coleman and Kyle Olson.
Luloff settled into second just past the midway point and attempted to run down the race leader. With lapped cars and a straightaway margin ahead of him, Luloff settled for second as Dvorak drove to the win, his second in as many nights. Bentley finished third ahead of McDonald and points leader Austin Kaplan.
A photo finish thrilled the crowd in the I.M.C.A. Stock Car feature, but first it was Steve Meyer who made the move of the night at the start of the 15-lap event. From his fourth row start, Meyer shot to the inside of his competitors when the green flag waved, cruising into second place by the completion of the first lap. He assumed the lead one lap later, just prior to the race's first caution.
On the restart, Meyer held his line at the bottom of the speedway while Jason DeShaw tried to nose under him. DeShaw's efforts were denied as Meyer mastered the low groove. As the leaders battled, Damon Murty was making his way through traffic after starting 10th. He settled into second after a lap six caution slowed the race one final time.
When racing resumed, Meyer continued to hug the tires on the low side with Murty glued to his rear bumper. Numerous attempts by Murty to edge under Meyer's No. 94 were unsuccessful as the lead pair pulled away from the field by a near-straightaway margin.
On the final lap, Murty attempted one last time to stick his No. 99D under the left rear of Meyer. He was able to make the move stick as he pulled even with the leader as they navigated turns three and four.
Side-by-side at the checkers, Murty edged ahead at the line to steal the win by mere inches. DeShaw held onto third ahead of Bob Ahrendsen and Justin Temeyer.
While numerous caution periods generally take away from the excitement of any race, that wasn't the case in the 20-lap I.M.C.A. Modified feature. At the drop of the green, Chris Stein took command and paced the field for the first five circuits until a series of stoppages slowed the event.
When the field got settled, Stein maintained his position out front while Scott Hogan and Troy Cordes made their way through traffic. With Hogan running high and Cordes on the low side, both drivers worked into the top three just prior to the midway point.
Cordes worked under Hogan, who saw the top groove go away, on lap 10. Cordes tried to stick his nose under Stein's machine, but could not pull even with the leader, allowing Stein to drive to the win. A front-runner at both Davenport Speedway and Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, it was Stein's first win at the speedway in his second visit.
Cordes and Brian Krall completed the top three. Shawn Fisher, who made an impressive run late, came home fourth. Hogan was fifth.
The team of Steggall and Lewis led wire-to-wire to take the victory in the Cruiser feature.
As always, it was a great night of racing at BCS. Despite the struggles the Modifieds had early, 26 events were completed in just under four hours as the final checkered flag waved at 9:45.
Thanks to announcers Jim Roper and Bucky Doren for allowing me to join them in the new scoring/announcing tower in the infield. Special thanks go out to Jim for giving me a little air time on the mic to promote http://www.positivelyracing.com/!
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