One hundred twenty-six drivers signed in to compete for the third night of weekly racing at Independence Motor Speedway. Twenty-five events were run in just under four hours as the final checkered flag waved at 10:25. One driver earned his first career win in his division while another picked up his second win in as many weeks.
In the I.M.C.A. Late Models, 24 cars were on-hand and Jill George looked to run and hide at the drop of the green in the 25-lap headliner. From her pole position start, George quickly shot into the lead and began to distance herself from fellow front row starter Scott Welsh.
George built up a straightaway lead by the time she entered heavy lapped traffic a dozen laps into the event. As she was making her way through the backmarkers, she collided with Jared Fuller's ride, who had spun in turns one and two and was sitting sideways when George entered the set of turns. The heavy impact left both drivers unable to continue, an unfortunate premature end to George's run.
The two-wide restart left Welsh on the pole alongside Brian Hunter. Travis Smock and Dale Hackwell Jr. completed row two. When racing resumed, Welsh quickly jumped into the lead while Smock shot to the inside of Hunter to snag second place.
Smock remained glued to Welsh's rear bumper as the leaders stayed committed to the low groove of the speedway. Smock's numerous attempts to gain the edge on the low side were denied as Welsh drove to his first-ever win in the division. Hunter and Hackwell completed the top four.
Justin Ginther held the early lead in the 15-lap I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock feature. Ginther paced the 22-car field while Joe Sprague challenged for the top spot. Contact between the two on the third lap sent both cars into a spin, ending both of their bids for the win.
On the restart, Jeremy Floyd and Josh Irvine inherited the front row. Floyd took charge and received pressure from Irvine until he spun two laps later ending his chances for his second win of the season. Justin Hanson, who started in the fifth row, worked his way into second by the fifth lap and motored around the outside of Floyd one lap later to assume command.
One lap after Hanson took the lead, Wes Stanek followed him to the front of the pack and into second place. Stanek ran second for a handful of laps before sweeping under Hanson for the lead with only three laps to go. He went on to take the win, his second in a row, ahead of a hard-charging Vince Buchholz and Justin Lichty.
Chris Luloff came from the fourth row to score the victory in the 15-lap I.M.C.A. SportMod main event. Following a lap one caution, Luloff made his way around Russell Hesse and Curt Hilmer on just the second lap to take the lead.
Kyle Bentley, meanwhile, charged through the field from a fifth row start and settled into second place on lap five. He pressured Luloff throughout the remainder of the event, trying both the high and low grooves. All of Bentley's attempts to draw even with the leader were unsuccessful until the pair navigated the final set of turns on the final lap. Bentley pulled along the outside of Luloff exiting turn four, but Luloff held the advantage by a few feet at the line to score the exciting win. Hilmer finished third and Scott Thomas, who started deep in the field in row 10, came home fourth.
Dan Trimble left little doubt he was the man to beat at the start of the 20-lap I.M.C.A. Stock Car feature. From his outside front row start, the multi-time track champion rocketed into the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back on his way to a wire-to-wire win in the caution-free event. Phil Holtz and Shane Manson ran second and third.
Don Erger held the early advantage in the I.M.C.A. Modified feature. In an event that was slowed numerous times for caution, the minute per lap time limit was enforced with Erger taking the win ahead of Max Corporon and Darin Duffy.
It was a good night of racing at Independence as the show was smooth and efficient, despite the dry and dusty conditions. Twenty and thirty mile per hour winds throughout the course of the day made it hard for the track crew to keep moisture in the speedway, however the smooth, fast surface was to the liking of most drivers.
It was also great to see long-time promoters Jerry and Donna Blue in attendance tonight. The Blues, who promoted the speedway throughout the '80s and '90s toured the pits throughout qualifying events to catch up with drivers prior to taking in the feature events from the infield.
In addition, over $1,500 was raised for cancer research on Cancer Awareness Night.
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