DES MOINES, Iowa (August 18) - Jeff Aikey dominated to score his fourth win of the season during the annual Iowa State Fair stop for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for I.M.C.A. Late Models. Forty-one Late Models signed in to compete, along with 115 cars in the other four divisions competing for an impressive car count of 156.
At the start of the 35-lap Late Model feature, front row starters Todd Cooney and Ray Guss engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle. The duo led the field in an exciting door-to-door fight during the first few laps before Guss inched ahead running the low groove. As Guss extended his advantage, Aikey was also working the low groove through traffic, making his way past Cooney for second on lap seven.
With Aikey running low, Guss went to work on the high side in attempt to pull away. Instead, Aikey quickly narrowed the margin and took the lead on lap 10. Aikey put some distance on the field as Terry Neal worked his way into a second place battle with Guss. Aikey was entering lapped traffic on lap 17 just as Neal's efforts were dashed when a flat tire on his #28C brought out the caution and sending him to the pits for a tire change.
Following the race's only other caution on lap 19, Aikey again pulled away from the field. By lap 25 he built up nearly a straightaway lead over Guss and found himself tailing backmarkers once more by the 31st circuit. He went on to score the victory by a straightaway ahead of Guss and Jay Johnson.
Results
1. Jeff Aikey, Waterloo;
2. Ray Guss Jr., Milan, Ill.;
3. Jay Johnson, West Burlington;
4. Tommy Elston, Keokuk;
5. Jason Frankel, Quincy, Ill.;
6. Rob Toland, Davenport;
7. Jason Hahne, Webster City;
8. Craig Jacobs, Des Moines;
9. Fred Remley, Blue Grass;
10. Colby Springsteen, Morning Sun;
11. Brett Diercks, Bettendorf;
12. Todd Cooney, Des Moines;
13. Terry Neal, Ely;
14. Al Johnson, Story City;
15. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown;
16. Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake;
17. Ryan Griffith, Webster City;
18. Greg Kastli, Waterloo;
19. Chad Cooney, Des Moines;
20. T.J. Criss, Oskaloosa;
21. Ryan Giles, West Des Moines;
22. Josh Most, Red Oak;
23. Justin Kay, Wheatland;
24. Sam Halstead, New London.
In other action, Donovan Smith scored an exciting win in the I.M.C.A. Stock Car 15-lapper. Early on it was front row starter Steve Jackson pacing the field. Running the high groove, Jackson held the point, but was receiving constant, heavy pressure from a number of cars, including Smith. At times, the lead six cars ran two and three-wide, nose-to-tail, swapping positions each lap. Smith inched ahead on the low groove of the speedway to nip Jackson at the line for the checkers. Donnie Bown, who gave Jackson fits earlier in the event in a battle out front, crossed the line third ahead of Dustin Smith and Justin Temeyer.
Kevin Sather scored an impressive win in the I.M.C.A. SportMod division. Sather took command from race leader Jesse Sobbing just prior to a lap three caution and never looked back to top the 15-lap event. He took the checkers a straightaway ahead of Sobbing and Dalton Dingman. Rick Gladson and Bryon Weyer completed the top five.
A pair of close finishes highlighted two I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock features. In the first 12-lapper, Nick Murty made a late race pass on the high side to score the win. He edged Daniel Hilsabeck and Steve Jones in a three-wide finish at the checkers to take the victory. In the second feature, Kris Walker took command on lap eight from race leader Kenny Hanson when the leaders encountered lapped traffic. Walker made his way through traffic and past Hanson to lead the final five laps on his way to victory.
Brett Moyer made his bid for the lead on lap 19 of the 25 lap Truck feature to take top honors. Moyer worked under Ed Nelson to drive to the win. Bob Murray ran third.
It was a great night of racing and my first return to the State Fair special in five years. It was nice to chat with a number of folks in the pits prior to the action, as well as fellow blogger Kevin Trittien of Tapfan's Tours of positivelyracing.com. For his take on the event, be sure to check out his blog, as well as more results from Joyce and Dick Eisele's 4dfan Report. Thanks to Bucky Doren, who was working the mic tonight, for letting the fans know positivelyracing.com was on-hand to cover the action.
Other Notes: I had a chance to catch up with former I.M.C.A. Stock Car driver Jerry Schipper prior to the races while walking through the fair. Schipper, who was a regular competitor in Independence through the late '90s and a two-time track champion, said he does miss the weekly wars even though he hasn't piloted his #89J in nine years. It's hard to believe it's been that long, Jerry!
Also, the qualifying format came up while I was making my rounds in the pits prior to the races. The draw-redraw format has a way of being unpredictable, however it seems the fairest way to conduct a touring series such as the Deery Series. There were some drivers talking about a passing points system being their preference, but I like the Deery Series the way it is. If, for no other reason, because it's a system all can understand, especially the fans. Knowing how many qualifiers come out of each heat makes the races much more enjoyable than trying to guess how many passing points a driver has earned and how it will affect who qualifies. Besides that, although I've never met a driver who thinks they have the "talent" to draw well, I.M.C.A. Marketing Director Kevin Yoder has actually kept statistics on the Deery Series draws over the years. Not surprised by his findings, Yoder said the average draws for most drivers over time is right around the 40-50 mark out of 100. I guess some tend to forget the nights the draw wasn't too detrimental. Besides that, just because you may draw one of the "worse" or "higher" numbers doesn't always mean everyone else is going to draw any better... it's all relative. Some nights, pulling out that 65 pill may not be that bad of a deal afterall!
It's a quick turnaround for the Deery Series as its next stop is Wednesday night at Marshalltown Speedway for its annual visit. Although I don't think I'm going to make it back-to-back nights, the Series on the highbanks is always a treat so if you can make it to the fast 1/4-mile, be sure to check it out.
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