The DART Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series, presented by Cen-Pe-Co Lubricants, made its only appearance of the season at Independence Motor Speedway as part of the Buchanan County Fair on Thursday night. Twenty-four Late Models signed in to compete in the third of this season's five series events. After a few unexpected twists and turns unfolded during the feature event, Chris Simpson stood in victory lane celebrating his first series win.
At the start of the 40-lapper, pole-sitter Rick Wendling held the lead until Keith Foss took charge on lap two. Foss, the winner of the series opener earlier this spring, held the point and quickly pulled away from the field until a flat tire sidelined him just four laps into the event, bringing out the caution flag.
Jason Rauen restarted the event outside of the front row and quickly assumed command when racing resumed. Rauen distanced himself from his competitors while Chad Simpson worked through traffic from a fourth row start.
Running the low groove, Simpson powered into third just two laps later, then made his way under second-running Justin Mitchell at the 10-lap mark. By that time, Rauen held nearly a straightaway advantage as Simpson slowly chipped away at the lead.
On lap 15, the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic at which time Simpson narrowed the margin. His deficit was completely erased when the caution flag waved on lap 18. On the restart, Rauen again rocketed ahead of the field as he and Simpson broke away from the field. A pivotal caution flag waved on lap 25, bunching the field once more.
On the restart, Simpson stayed close to Rauen working the bottom groove. He pulled even with the race leader on lap 31 and attempted to pass on the low side in turns one and two when he pushed high and into Rauen's ride, sending Rauen into a spin on the high side of turn two. After the yellow flag waved again, both cars were penalized for their involvement in the caution.
Chris Simpson realigned on the pole of the two-wide restart with Jason Utter alongside. Simpson shot into the lead leaving Utter to battle with Travis Smock for second. Smock made his way under Utter with only five laps to go and then quickly chased down Simpson.
Smock maneuvered under Simpson's ride in a challenge for the lead when the caution flag waved again with only four laps to go. Simpson restarted out front with Smock and Utter in tow. When the green flag waved, Simpson again took command, leaving Smock to do battle once more with Utter. Simpson pulled away to score the exciting win and Smock edged Utter at the line for runner-up honors. Curt Martin, who started the event in 12th but was involved in an early caution that forced him to restart at the rear, worked through traffic to an impressive fourth place finish. Chad Simpson was able to work through traffic following the lap 31 caution to secure an 11th place finish. By virtue of that finish, he will hold a slim two point lead over Martin entering the next event.
Corn Belt Clash Late Models (starting positions in parentheses)
1. (5) 32 Chris Simpson, Marion;
2. (10) 98 Travis Smock, Independence;
3. (11) 31X Jason Utter, Columbus Junction;
4. (12) 45 Curt Martin, Independence;
5. (17) 28C Terry Neal, Ely;
6. (2) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.;
7. (1) 78W Rick Wendling, Hazleton;
8. (6) 28X Justin Mitchell, Cedar Rapids;
9. (16) 77X Kurt Kile, Nichols;
10. (22) 35 Jerry Bloom, Rochester, Minn.;
11. (8) 25 Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon;
12. (3) 33 Kevin Kirkpatrick, Waterloo;
13. (24) 10 Gary Crawford, Independence;
14. (7) 88 Kevin Kile, West Liberty;
15. (23) 15C Curt Schroeder, Des Moines;
16. (21) 8 Randy Wheeler, Cedar Falls;
17. (15) 9 Bobby Hansen, Center Point;
18. (9) 25S Chris Smyser, Lancaster, Mo.;
19. (4) 98X Jason Rauen, Farley;
20. (20) 3C Chris Schroeder, Des Moines;
21. (13) C10 Darin Burco, Independence;
22. (14) 4D Rick Dralle, Waterloo;
23. (18) 1X Curt Hansen, Dike;
24. (19) 3T Jim Aschenbrenner, Aplington.
Series Standings (after 3 of 5 events)
1. 25 Chad Simpson, 154 points
2. 45 Curt Martin, 152
3. 77X Kurt Kile, 134
4. 98X Jason Rauen, 122
5. 88 Kevin Kile, 120
6. 77 Jeff Aikey, 116
T7. 95 Keith Foss, 110
T7. 32 Chris Simpson, 110
T9. 98 Travis Smock, 100
T9. 28C Terry Neal, 100
In the 25-lap I.M.C.A. Modified feature, pole-sitter Justin O'Brien enjoyed the early advantage. As O'Brien settled into the lead, eighth-starting Darin Duffy powered to the inside in the first set of turns on the initial lap and swept beneath his competitors. He entered turn three in third place, behind O'Brien and Johnathan Thimmesch. Duffy made his way into second just one lap later and set his sights on O'Brien.
Just six laps later, Duffy dropped to the inside of O'Brien to steal the lead until a lap 11 caution slowed the event. By that time, Joey Schaefer worked his way into second. On the restart, Schaefer attempted to work the low side of Duffy in the corners, but Duffy remained too strong for most of the event.
The lead pair battled back and forth for a number of laps, with Duffy holding the advantage until Schaefer worked past him with just three laps to go. Duffy rocketed back to the inside of Schaefer to regain the lead just prior to a lap 23 caution.
When racing resumed for the final time, Duffy closed the door on Schaefer, remaining glued to the low side of the speedway to score the thrilling win.
I.M.C.A. Modifieds (starting positions in parentheses)
1. (8) 19D Darin Duffy, Hazleton;
2. (6) 2 Joey Schaefer, Waterloo;
3. (10) 3C Max Corporon, Marion;
4. (11) 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence;
5. (4) 22 Cory Bauer, Monticello;
6. (13) 24R Adam Johnson, Independence;
7. (1) 12J Justin O'Brien, Volga;
8. (23) 30 Mark Massey, Worthington;
9. (16) 00 J.D. Auringer, Evansdale;
10. (5) 96 Ray Lundry, Maynard;
11. (14) 98 Jason Snyder, Dunkerton;
12. (18) 32 Chris Snyder, Readlyn;
13. (2) 64 Vern Jackson, Waterloo;
14. (15) 97 Shawn Ryan, Waterloo;
15. (19) 7L Landon Cassill, Fairfax;
16. (17) 17J Jason Seegmiller, Dubuque;
17. (9) T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids;
18. (22) 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup;
19. (12) 41P Keith Pittman, Waterloo;
20. (3) 85 Johnathan Thimmesch, Aurora;
21. (21) 71 Troy Cordes, Raymond;
22. (7) 111 Buster Pate, Hiawatha;
23. (20) 8S Andy Snyder, Readlyn.
Wheel-to-wheel action also highlighted the I.M.C.A. SportMod feature. Kurt Moeding and Chris Luloff engaged in a thrilling side-by-side battle throughout the first half of the event as the lead pair swapped the top spot numerous times. Luloff settled into the lead following a mid-race caution and held off the challenges of Kaleb Bentley to score the hard fought victory.
I.M.C.A. SportMod (starting positions in parentheses)
1. (3) 18 Chris Luloff, Independence;
2. (8) 10 Kaleb Bentley, Fairbank;
3. (6) 35 Kyle Bentley, Independence;
4. (4) 83 Russell Hesse, Waterloo;
5. (10) 86 Rod McDonald, Manchester;
6. (5) MR09 Kurt Hogan, Vinton;
7. (14) 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center;
8. (2) 7M Kurt Moeding, Vinton;
9. (13) J2 Dave Schulze, Keystone;
10. (7) 54 Wayne Hesse, Waterloo;
11. (9) 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart;
12. (16) 08 Bryan Rodman, Dysart;
13. (15) C45 Clint Chamberlain, Waterloo;
14. (17) 23 Jeremiah Boynton, Waterloo;
15. (11) 3D Drew Fish, Vinton;
16. (18) 40J Jason Doyle, Cedar Rapids;
17. (1) 87 Aric Becker, Cedar Rapids;
18. (12) 96K Brian Kunkle, Oelwein.
It was a fun night at the track as all three divisions provided close battles throughout the entirety of their events. It was also nice to see Curt Hansen back behind the wheel of a race car. When signing in, he stated it was his first race since the 2000 season when he piloted a Late Model at Farley and Dubuque.
While you never know what to expect at a draw-redraw event, a bit of irony worked itself into the starting lineups for a number of heat races. The father and son team of Russell and Wayne Hesse comprised the front row of their heat race while brothers Kyle and Kaleb Bentley started right behind them in row two. Brothers-in-law J.D. Auringer and Darin Duffy started next to each other at the back of their heat and even Curt Hansen drew the same heat as his son, Bobby. The senior member of the Hansen family spotted Bobby two rows on that start. While Chad and Chris Simpson didn't run in the same heat, the irony continued when Chad gave up the lead during the late race caution of the Late Model feature, allowing his brother to drive to victory.
Two events remain on the DART Corn Belt Clash schedule. The next stop is at Fayette County Raceway in West Union during the Fayette County Fair on Tuesday, July 28. The series wraps up in West Union for the series finale on Wednesday, August 12. The best four of five finishes for the Late Model drivers will account for the final series standings toward the series point fund.
The Buchanan County Fair continues this week at Independence. On Friday, July 17, the annual demolition derby will take place. A special demo car will be auctioned off by veteran Late Model driver Greg Kastli. Proceeds raised from the sale of that car will go to Wendy Irvine, the wife of I.M.C.A. Stock Car driver Brian Irvine, who is battling cancer. According to auction car organizer Jim Rasmussen, the machine is a must-see. On Saturday, July 18, weekly racing resumes at the speedway for the annual Dick Frye Memorial, honoring the memory of the long-time fairboard president.
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