Two caution-free features highlighted a great night of racing at Independence Motor Speedway. Despite rainy weather throughout the region that forced a number of tracks to cancel their programs, 114 race teams signed in and provided fans with exciting action on the 3/8-mile oval. The program, which saw 19 events completed in just under three hours, combined with the opening of the new grandstands and a smooth, tacky, fast racing surface, all made for a terrific night of racing at the speedway.
First to the track was the 26-car I.M.C.A. SportMod feature. Kurt Hogan assumed command at the drop of the green from his outside front row starting position. Hogan held the point for the first six circuits while Danny Dvorak worked through the field from a fourth row start. He snagged the lead on lap seven. A lapped car tangled with Hogan just after Dvorak took command causing rearend damage to his ride, ending his night.
When racing resumed, Dvorak held the point, but was quickly challenged by Chris Luloff who made his way through traffic after starting 11th. Working the high groove, Luloff made his way into the lead with only five laps remaining. A short time later, Dvorak retired to the pits with mechanical problems.
Points leader Kyle Bentley settled into second with only four laps to go and mounted a charge, but his efforts came up short as Luloff drove to the win, his second in a row. Jason Niedert, Jim Buhlman and Kaleb Bentley completed the top five.
Josh Steere paced the 17-car field for the first two laps of the I.M.C.A. Stock Car feature. Fellow front row starter Justin Temeyer worked past the leader on the third circuit as the field battled two and three-wide behind them. Jarod Weepie, Shane Manson, Damon Murty and Norman Chesmore entered the mix to create a wild wheel-to-wheel, side-by-side six-car battle throughout much of the 20-lapper.
As Temeyer led, his competitors jockeyed for position behind him on the multi-groove surface. Weepie and Murty swapped the runner-up spot until Temeyer drifted high coming out of turn four to complete lap 13. Murty was working the high side of the race leader, forcing both drivers off the high side of the front straightaway. This allowed Weepie and Manson to sneak by. Murty regrouped and settled into fifth, however Temeyer was forced to the pits with mechanical problems.
Weepie led the remaining seven laps to score the exciting win in the caution-free event. Manson ran second ahead of Murty, Chesmore and Phil Holtz.
Cory Bauer and Justin O'Brien put some early distance on the rest of the 26-car I.M.C.A. Modified field in their scheduled 20-lapper. O'Brien paced the field through a trio of cautions that littered the first half of the event.
While the leaders continued to dominate out front, Max Corporon was working through the field from a seventh row start. Running the low groove, Corporon settled into third on the 15th circuit following two more stoppages just past the midway point.
Corporon pulled to the inside of Bauer with only two laps to go, mere inches behind the leader on the last completed lap before the yellow flag waved again. With the minute per lap time limit having expired, Corporon mounted one last challenge when racing resumed. Unable to get another lap in the books before one more caution flag waved, Bauer took his first victory at the speedway in the division. Corporon finished second ahead of O'Brien. Points leader Darin Duffy and Jerry Luloff completed the top five.
Perhaps the most impressive run of the night belonged to I.M.C.A. Late Model driver Terry Neal. Making his first appearance of the season at the speedway, Neal qualified through his heat race and settled into the 12th starting position when the 23-car field went green.
Out front, Darin Burco took the early lead with fellow front row starter Drew Johnson in tow. The leaders quickly pulled away from the field, a straightaway margin ahead of third-running Greg Kastli by the time they entered lapped traffic on the seventh circuit. As the leaders hit the backmarkers, Neal motored into seventh place, a third of a speedway behind them.
Burco encountered heavier lapped cars on the 12th lap, but maintained his edge over Johnson. By this time, Neal was sitting in fourth, seemingly mired in traffic as the race approached its midway point.
Neal worked around Kastli for third just three laps later and set his sights on Johnson. Neal then worked around Johnson with only five laps remaining and quickly ran down Burco. As the white flag was displayed, Neal made his bid for the lead, driving to the incredible victory in the caution-free event that took just under eight minutes to complete. Burco, Johnson, Kastli and Darren Ackerman rounded out the top five.
Twenty-two I.M.C.A. Hobby Stocks served as the nightcap on the evening for their 15-lap feature. Second row starter Joe Sprague quickly worked his way into the lead. Sprague held the point until Jeremiah Wilson made a pass on the high side to secure the top spot three laps into the event.
Matt Brown entered the battle out front a short time later and he took over six laps into the event. Brown paced the field for the final nine circuits to score his first win of the year. Justin Hanson edged Wilson at the line for second. Josh Irvine and Eric Larson ran fourth and fifth.
The threat of rain in the area led officials to start the program a few minutes earlier than the normal 6:30 starting time. Qualifying began at 6:17 with heat races completed just after 7:30. The first feature made its way to the speedway at 7:39 and the final checkered flag of the night waved at 9:10.
Although the weather was sketchy at best for much of the afternoon, the attendance was good. Those on-hand were able to take advantage of the new grandstands. Even though they are still a work in progress, around 90% of the new seating was available for use.
I had a chance to check out the new grandstands prior to racing and, I must admit, I don't think there will be a bad seat in the house once the construction is complete. A new concession area, located directly below the new seating area, is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
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