With storms already saturating the area earlier in the weekend and more bad weather in the area, officials did a great job getting the Hogan Memorial Mid-Season Championships in the books at Benton County Speedway on Sunday.
Torrential downpours and 90mph-plus winds on Friday made it impossible for the track crew to get on the speedway over the weekend. Even approaching race time on Sunday, it looked as though things may have been questionable whether the show would go on as planned.
While the track did produce a couple of nasty rough spots in turn one due to all of the moisture, the show itself ran off smoothly as the track somehow managed to dodge the elements. Those in attendance, however, were provided with quite a lightning show to the south. On the track, I.M.C.A. Modified driver Michael Long provided his own storm as he hauled $2,450 back to Quincy, Illinois, by picking up the win in the Hogan Memorial headliner.
Forty-eight Modifieds signed in to compete in what has become a big annual attraction on the schedule. The race, held in honor of the parents of I.M.C.A. Modified driver Scott Hogan, drew competitors from central and southeast Iowa, along with those who travel weekly to the 1/4-mile birthplace of the I.M.C.A. Modified.
After six qualifying events, from which 12 drivers qualified for the 25-lap feature, four B features were run. Two qualifiers came from each of those second-chance races. The top two in weekly points who were not already qualified were given provisionals. Provisionals were also awarded to the two most recent Hogan Memorial winners who were not already qualified through heats and Bs. Nationwide Series driver and Cedar Rapids-area native Landon Cassill was also present for the event. He was guaranteed a start in the feature, as 25 cars took the green for the 25-lapper.
The redraw was held on the front stretch just prior to green flag action. Long drew the No. 1 pill and J.D. Auringer started alongside him. Long assumed command when the race began and, although a few early cautions slowed the action, he held the point throughout. Hogan made his way through the field from a sixth row start running the high groove and made it as far as second, however Long proved too strong, leading the event in its entirety, adding his name to the list of winners.
An increased purse guaranteed $1,200 to the winner of the event. That money, combined with $50 for each lap led, meant Long made it a clean sweep as he earned the entire $1,250 in lap money for a $2,450 paycheck. It was his first win on the 1/4-mile oval. Hogan, Kevin Pittman, Auringer and Darin Duffy completed the top five. Ed Thomas, who earned a past champions provisional, earned hard charger honors as he advanced 13 positions in the event.
While the Modifieds were lined up based on a draw-redraw format, the remaining five weekly divisions were running for track points and lined straight-up by total points for the mid-season special.
In the I.M.C.A. Stock Cars, it appeared as though Justin Temeyer and Damon Murty were going to put on a show for the fans as those two started the event up front. A broken rotor on Temeyer's car, however, forced his No. 56T up into Murty as the two battled for the lead. That incident brought about an unfortunate premature end to the night for both drivers.
When racing resumed, Jason Deshaw held the point, but received quick heavy pressure from the field. Phil Holtz, in his first year in the division, worked his way into the lead late to score the win, the first of his career. Paul Shepherd, Deshaw, Dave Sires and Rod Grother rounded out the top five.
In the I.M.C.A. SportMods, points leader Austin Kaplan checked out early from his pole position start. He masterfully worked his No. 1 through lapped traffic en route to the victory ahead of Jim Buhlman and Drew Fish. Danny Dvorak and Kyle Bentley ran fourth and fifth, respectively.
Bill Bonnett worked his way into the lead early in the I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock feature. Bonnett paced the field for the first three circuits until mechanical problems sidelined him. Points leader Scott Pippert took charge from that point on to drive to the victory. He held off the challenges from Vince Buchholz to take the win. Jeremiah Wilson, Quinton Miller and Adam Streeter rounded out the top five.
With only a handful of laps to go, I.M.C.A. Sport Compact driver and division points leader Steve Miedke took the lead of that feature. Justin Wacha, who held the point throughout the first dozen laps, slowed with five laps remaining, allowing Miedke and Nathan Chandler to sneak by. Miedke held off Chandler late in the race to take the victory. Gary Peiffer beat Wacha to the line for fourth. Bill Whalen Jr. ran fifth.
In the cruiser feature, the team of Miller and McDonald scored the victory ahead of Steggall and Lewis for the mid-season victory.
In all, 117 cars were on-hand to honor the memory of Dick and Janet Hogan. The crew at BCS did a great job of getting the races in despite bad weather in the area. They remained in direct contact with the National Weather Service throughout the night, as well, in case the approaching storms changed course. Thank you to the track crew for their efforts and to the Hogan family for making this annual event bigger and better every year.
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