The top 10 in the final standings of each division were presented trophies at the Independence Motor Speedway awards banquet. Rookies of the year were also honored and other season-long accomplishments were recognized during the November 14 ceremony at the Buchanan County Fairgrounds.
The first season with Cam and Jodi Granger of CJ Promotions at the helm was a successful one as a large number of race fans and drivers turned out to support the season-ending event. The number of I.M.C.A. Modified drivers was a bit low due to racing in Las Vegas over the weekend, however all champions and many other drivers were present for the festivities. Jason Snyder, who jokingly sent me a text today asking if I shared any negative thoughts during the banquet about those not in attendance, can rest assured I didn't say a bad word about his absence to race in Vegas. Snyder, Troy Cordes, Vern Jackson and Justin O'Brien all reportedly tried their luck in Vegas with Jackson making the show and earning a 14th place finish among 262 Modifieds. I did pass word along to Jackson, though, that I planned to drink his share of adult beverages at the banquet in Indee. More on that later...
I.M.C.A. HOBBY STOCK
Josh Irvine was presented his second track championship trophy. Irvine joined exclusive company as he became only the second driver in the last 20 seasons at the speedway to earn multiple track titles in the Hobby Stock division. His first title came in 2007. Patrick Stansbery, the only other multi-time Hobby champ of the last 20 seasons, earned titles in 2002 and 2005. The breakdown of the top 10, along with other stats, went as follows:
1. Josh Irvine: 11 top-10s in 14 nights of racing, 10 top-5s, 9 top-3s and 7 wins. Irvine led the points for 9 weeks, picked up 7 heat race wins and led 59 laps of feature competition to lead all drivers in the division.
2. Quinton Miller: 13 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 2 top-3s and 1 win. Miller led the points for 2 weeks during the season, earned 2 heat wins and led 4 laps of feature competition.
3. Wes Stanek Jr.: 11 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 6 top-3s and 2 wins. Stanek picked up 1 heat win and led 22 feature laps.
4. Justin Lichty: 10 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 3 top-3s and 1 win. Lichty earned 3 heat wins and led 14 feature laps.
5. Matt Brown: 9 top-10s, 6 top-5s, 4 top-3s and 1 win. Brown earned 5 heat wins and led 21 feature laps.
6. Justin Hanson: 9 top-10s, 7 top-5s and 5 top-3s. Hanson picked up 1 heat win and led 10 laps of feature action.
7. Jeremiah Wilson: 7 top-10s, 6 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Wilson led 4 laps of feature competition.
8. Joe Sprague: 6 top-10s and led 10 laps of feature action.
9. Vince Buchholz: 10 top-10s, 5 top-5s and 3 top-3s. Buchholz led the points for 4 weeks and earned 2 heat wins.
10. Don Arnold: 6 top-10s, 2 top-5s and 1 top-3. Arnold scored 3 heat wins and led 10 feature laps.
I.M.C.A. SPORTMOD
Kyle Bentley was presented the championship hardware in the I.M.C.A. SportMod division. Bentley became the sixth different titlist in the SportMod/B Mod division in the six years the division(s) has competed at Independence. This year also marked the closest battle in division history (as well as the closest battle of the five divisions at the speedway in 2009) as only a single point separated Bentley and Jim Buhlman in the final standings.
1. Kyle Bentley: 11 top-10s, 7 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Bentley led the points for 10 weeks, scored 1 heat win and led 9 laps of feature action.
2. Jim Buhlman: 12 top-10s, 5 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Buhlman held the points lead for 1 week during the season and also picked up 1 heat win.
3. Joel Rust: 10 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 6 top-3s and 2 wins. Rust earned 1 heat race win and led 22 laps of feature action.
4. Danny Dvorak: 9 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 6 top-3s and led the division with 4 feature wins. Dvorak earned 6 heat wins and topped the division by leading 35 laps of feature competition.
5. Kaleb Bentley: 8 top-10s, 5 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Bentley also scored 1 heat win.
6. Josh Sherbon: 9 top-10s, 5 top-5s, 4 top-3s and 1 win. Sherbon led the points for 2 weeks, earned 3 heat wins and led 11 laps of feature action.
7. Chris Luloff: 6 top-10s, 5 top-5s, 4 top-3s and 3 wins. Luloff led the points for 2 weeks, earned 4 heat wins and led 28 laps of feature racing.
8. Mary Handberg: 6 top-10s, 3 top-5s and 1 top-3.
9. Kevin Robinson: 5 top-10s, 1 top-5 and 1 top-3. Robinson took 1 heat win.
10. Lucas Lundry: 5 top-10s, 2 top-5s, 1 top-3 and 1 win. Lundry scored 3 heat wins and led 32 laps of feature action.
I.M.C.A. STOCK CAR
Brian Irvine earned his first track championship in the Stock Car division to add to his 2004 crown in the Hobby Stock division at Indee. Since entering the Stock Car ranks at the start of the 2005 season, Irvine has amassed 28 feature wins in weekly competition in just 68 nights of racing in the division. That's a winning percentage of 41% over the last five seasons. It also gives him an average of 5.5 wins a year over that span. Coincidentally, Irvine thanked his crew and, most notably his wife, for their support this season. As reported earlier, Wendy Irvine has been battling cancer and I'm happy to say she was in attendance at the banquet. With only one or two more doctor appointments remaining, she has remained head-strong to defeat the cancer and is expecting a much happier and healthier 2010!
I hopped into the "way-back machine" to compare this season's final standings to previous years in the Stock Car division. The Stock Cars have raced weekly at Independence since the 1993 season and there has been only one other year that the top five were separated by a smaller margin. This season, the top five were separated by a mere 20 points at season's end. The only other top-5 battle that finished with a narrower margin was during Jerry Schipper's championship run in 1996. That season, only 14 points separated the top five in the final points. Over the course of the division's 17-year run at the speedway, the average margin from first through fifth has been 75 points.
1. Brian Irvine: 12 top-10s, 10 top-5s, 10 top-3s and 9 wins. Irvine led the points for 9 weeks, earned 2 heat wins and topped all drivers at the speedway by leading 106 laps of feature racing.
2. Jarod Weepie: 12 top-10s, 9 top-5s, 6 top-3s and 1 win. Weepie led the points for 1 week and led 7 laps of feature racing.
3. Dan Trimble: 12 top-10s, 10 top-5s, 7 top-3s and 1 win. Trimble earned 7 heat wins and led 35 laps of feature racing.
4. Phil Holtz: 12 top-10s, 11 top-5s, 3 top-3s and 1 win. Holtz was atop the standings for 2 weeks, earned 3 heat wins and led 11 laps of feature racing.
5. Norman Chesmore: 12 top-10s, 10 top-5s and 3 top-3s. Chesmore led the points for 1 week, scored 3 heat wins and led 15 feature laps.
6. Jason Hocken: 12 top-10s, 3 top-5s and 1 top-3. Hocken was the points leader for 1 week and led 7 laps of feature racing.
7. Kevin Rose: 11 top-10s, 1 top-5 and 1 top-3. Rose led 3 laps of feature action.
8. Justin Temeyer: 8 top-10s, 8 top-5s, 7 top-3s and 2 wins. Temeyer led the division with 8 heat wins and was out front for 84 laps of feature racing.
9. Mike Mauer: 8 top-10s, 1 top-5 and 1 top-3.
10. Austin Evens: 5 top-10s.
I.M.C.A. MODIFIED
Dominant was the only way to describe Darin Duffy's success in the Modified division in 2009. Not only did he blister the field by finishing in the top-5 every night this season, his margin of victory was far from the norm. I stayed in the "way-back machine" to compare his accomplishment to those of past Modified champs. Not only was his 50-point margin over second-place Troy Cordes the largest in 16 years, close battles atop the Modified division have been the norm in recent years. Other Modified champs and their margins of victory are as follows:
2008: Troy Cordes won the division by 3 points
2007: J.D. Auringer by 1
2006: Jerry Luloff by 5
2005: Jerry Luloff by 4
2004: Vern Jackson by 15 (the last double-digit margin of victory)
2003: Scott Hogan by 13
2002: Troy Cordes by 10
2001: Darin Duffy and Jerry Luloff tied (co-champions)
2000: Jerry Luloff by 21 (last win by 20+ points)
1999: Jerry Luloff by 20
1998: Scott Hogan by 10
1997: Scott Hogan by 43
1996: Steve Droste by 9
1995: Steve Droste by 18
1994: Steve Droste by 40
1993: Owen Grube by 56 (the last margin of victory larger than Duffy's 50-point margin this season)
1. Darin Duffy: 14 top-10s, 14 top-5s, 11 top-3s and 7 wins to lead the division. Duffy led the points for 13 weeks, earned 6 heat wins and led the division by running out front for 78 feature laps.
2. Troy Cordes: 12 top-10s, 8 top-5s, 7 top-3s and 1 win. Cordes led 6 laps of feature racing.
3. Jerry Luloff: 8 top-10s, 5 top-5s, 3 top-3s and 1 win. Luloff led 1 lap of feature racing and scored 4 heat wins.
4. Justin O'Brien: 8 top-10s, 4 top-5s and 2 top-3s. O'Brien picked up 1 heat win.
5. Max Corporon: 8 top-10s, 7 top-5s, 5 top-3s and 1 win. Corporon led the points for 1 night, earned 4 heat wins and led the points for one week (following his opening night win).
6. Johnathan Thimmesch: 8 top-10s, 4 top-5s and 1 top-3. Thimmesch earned 4 heat wins and led 1 lap of feature racing.
7. Ronn Lauritzen: 6 top-10s, 4 top-5s, 2 top-3s and 1 win. Lauritzen led 16 laps of feature action and earned 3 heat wins.
8. Ray Lundry: 6 top-10s.
9. Jason Snyder: 4 top-10s, 4 top-5s, 2 top-3s and 1 win. Snyder scored 2 heat wins and led 18 laps of feature competition.
10. Tony Olson: 6 top-10s.
I.M.C.A. LATE MODEL
Darren Ackerman claimed his third division title in the Late Model division and second outright championship. Ackerman also earned title honors in 2007 and shared the championship with Curt Martin in 2004. Ackerman was also the only driver in the top-10 in the division's final standings to earn a feature win. I wasn't able to find an accomplishment similar to that in the last 20-plus seasons at the speedway. Although the points remained close throughout the season, Ackerman pulled away to a 24-point margin in the final standings for the largest margin of victory since Martin earned Late Model title honors in 2005.
On a side note, while feature wins were rare among the final top-10, the Late Model division was the only division this season to have every driver in the top-10 earn at least one heat win. In addition to that, every driver in the top-10 in Late Models earned at least one top-3 feature finish. The SportMod division was the only other division to boast that stat in 2009.
1. Darren Ackerman: 10 top-10s, 8 top-5s, 4 top-3s and 3 wins. Ackerman led the points for 10 weeks, scored 3 heat wins and led 73 laps of feature racing.
2. Travis Smock: 10 top-10s, 6 top-5s and 4 top-3s. Smock led the points for 1 week and earned one heat win.
3. Curt Martin: 10 top-10s, 6 top-5s and 4 top-3s. Martin led the points for 2 weeks, scored 1 heat win and led 3 laps of feature racing.
4. Darin Burco: 8 top-10s, 6 top-5s and 3 top-3s. Burco earned 2 heat wins and led 24 laps of feature competition.
5. Brian Hunter: 9 top-10s, 3 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Hunter scored 1 heat win.
6. Greg Kastli: 8 top-10s, 5 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Kastli earned 2 heat wins.
7. Jon Passick: 6 top-10s, 4 top-5s and 2 top-3s. Passick led 11 feature laps and earned 4 heat wins.
8. Dale Hackwell Jr.: 5 top-10s, 2 top-5s and 1 top-3. Hackwell led 14 laps of feature racing and picked up 2 heat wins.
9. Drew Johnson: 5 top-10s, 1 top-5 and 1 top-3. Johnson scored 2 heat wins.
10. Tyler Bruening: 8 top-10s, 4 top-5s and 1 top-3. Bruening earned 4 heat wins.
ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
Rookie awards were also presented to the highest finishing first-year drivers in each division. While some drivers may have had time behind the wheel in similar divisions, drivers were awarded based on their first season of competition in their respective divisions at Independence. Rookies of the Year awards were presented as follows:
Justin Hanson: I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock
Joel Rust: I.M.C.A. SportMod
Phil Holtz: I.M.C.A. Stock Car (also National I.M.C.A. Rookie of the Year)
Justin O'Brien: I.M.C.A. Modified
Jared Fuller: I.M.C.A. Late Model
HARD LUCK AWARD
Joel Brasch was the recipient of the Hard Luck Award for the season. Brasch, who has been a faithful competitor at the speedway in the I.M.C.A. Late Model division in recent years, suffered incredibly bad luck during the opening stages of the season. His struggles were so tough that he didn't make it past hot laps the first month of the season. Mechanical problems kept Brasch from earning any points despite his perfect attendance during those first few weeks. The bad luck followed him through to the end of the season when he failed to make the season championship feature event in the division.
As part of their awards, all Rookies of the Year and the Hard Luck Award winner were given free track registrations for 2010, along with free pit stalls, a value of $80 for each driver. In a random drawing that included all drivers in attendance, I.M.C.A. Late Model veteran Rick Wendling won a free 2010 I.M.C.A. membership, courtesy of I.M.C.A.
Final Notes
It was great to get the chance to hang out and chat with drivers and fans "out of their element" throughout the evening. With no line-ups to write down or strategy to put into place, visiting with everyone made for an enjoyable evening. The band Blue Skyy from West Union also provided the night's entertainment. Thanks to those guys for coming down and joining the party.
The one regret I do have is consuming all of those beverages I should have left behind the bar in Jackson's absence, as mentioned above. Someone, who shall remain nameless, revealed that I stepped out of character in Burlington to take a couple of drinks while standing on my head during the July 4 rain-out earlier this summer. For those who left early this Saturday, I revisited that moment and proved the story to be true. Thanks to Janet Luloff for her support of my bad decision and to Cam and Jodi for not laughing... too hard.
Next up for me will be the end of my three banquet stretch in as many weeks. I'll be down in Burlington next Saturday for the 34 Raceway banquet. Jeff and Amy, just so you know, I have no intention of doing any head-stands next weekend, with or without a drink in my hand. See you there!
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