Seventeen years of Stock Cars at Independence

The length of the off-season, combined with the recent 20-degree heat wave, has had me craving the sights, sounds and smells of a new racing season. Since the real thing is still a couple of months away in this part of the country, I let my love for numbers and local history overtake me as I continue to compile complete results for the history of Independence Motor Speedway.

I've made some progress in my pursuit of 45 years of racing results and, while there are still some seasons that have eluded me, I do have complete results for a few of the more recent divisions that have competed at the speedway. Specials aside, I have amassed results from nearly 400 weekly programs from the past 30 years.

I need to send special thanks to former IMS stats guy Les Houser for his help. A mainstay at the track during much of Jerry Blue's reign, Les has provided me with a lot of results I was missing from the 1980s and 1990s. Also, Kyle Ealy has been of great assistance providing me with results from as far back as the '60s and '70s. Their help has been and will continue to be greatly appreciated!

One division of which I have compiled complete results is the I.M.C.A. Stock Cars. The Stock Car division, which started competing weekly in Independence in 1993, will be entering its 18th consecutive season of action at Independence when the first green flag flies later this spring. That first season the division was not I.M.C.A. sanctioned, however it has been sanctioned every season since 1994. If you don't like Stock Cars, I advise you to click elsewhere. If you like reading about them, well, settle in. I now present you with the entire year-by-year history of the I.M.C.A. Stock Car division's weekly battles at Independence Motor Speedway. At the end, as always, are some statistics to put it all into perspective.

1993
The Stock Cars started competing at Independence in 1993 and have been a part of its weekly show since Lon Gadow earned the division's first win during the April 24th season opener that year. A total of five cars were in attendance for the milestone event. Milo Matthias of Fairbank ran second. Forrest Frost of Independence, who made the jump to the division after earning the track title in the Hobby Stocks in 1992, was third. Mark Lewis of Riceville was fourth and Norman Chesmore, who remains a strong competitor in the division to this day, ran fifth.

Not only did Gadow win that historic first feature, he scored the win in week two, as well, when the car count jumped to nine. Bernard Reinking broke Gadow's two race win streak by scoring his only career victory in the division at Independence during the season's third week. Other winners that season included Frost (three wins) and Chesmore (two wins). Gadow reeled off three straight wins to end the season, earning five overall, en route to the first Stock Car track championship at the speedway. Gadow earned the title by an impressive 70 points over second place finisher Chesmore. Frost, Randy Coghlan and Reinking completed the top five in the final standings. Gary Kacena, Loren Kuennen, Matthias, Mike Stanek and Bob Snyder completed the top 10.

By season's end, the car count increased to 14-15 and a total of 30 drivers competed in the division at least once. The last half of the season saw an average of around a dozen cars per night. Considering the Stock Cars weren't common in the northeast part of the state at the time, it was a positive sign for its first year.

1994
The 1994 season brought with it the introduction of the most dominant driver the division has seen in its 17 seasons at Independence. Dan Trimble (more on his dominance later) scored the opening night win, along with eight other victories, including mid-season and season championships, to take nine checkered flags on the season. Those wins paved the way for his first (of many) division titles.

Chesmore claimed runner-up honors in the 1994 standings while Gadow slipped to third. Dale Hackwell Jr., a new arrival from the Hobby Stock ranks, finished fourth and Kacena fifth. Darrin Treptow, Robert "Ponch" Walters, Walt Stout, Aaron Matthias and Tom Adams completed the top 10.

Along with Trimble's nine wins, Todd Suhr scored his lone win in the division that season and Hackwell picked up his first two wins. Chesmore scored another pair of wins and former Hobby Stock great Ken Irvine got his first Stock Car victory. In all, five drivers found victory lane over the course of the 15 week season, which was highlighted by a six week winning streak by Trimble during the middle of the season.

The average car count that season approached 15, with the pits seeing a high of 18 Stock Cars on-hand for a pair of nights.

1995
In just its third year, Independence boasted its first I.M.C.A. Stock Car national champion. Larry Portis towed his Hardee's-sponsored #59 from Nora Springs every Saturday to compete on the 3/8-mile oval. Following four wins throughout the first half of the season, Portis went undefeated from mid-season championship night on, scoring six straight wins to end the season. In all, Portis earned 10 wins in the 13-week season. Only Trimble (2 wins) and Jerry Schipper (once) made it to Stock Car victory lane. His success at Independence launched him to the I.M.C.A. national championship in the division in 1995.

Portis held an astounding 50-point lead over second-place Trimble in the final standings, and a 100-point margin over Hackwell, who finished third. Walters and Treptow ran fourth and fifth. Irvine, Schipper, Chesmore, Stout and Doug Walker ran sixth through 10th in the final standings.

1996
While Portis defended his national title in 1996, he did not defend his title at Independence. Portis did lead the way with six wins that season, however he missed two nights during the 14-week season and ended up ninth in the final standings.

Dike's Jerry Schipper earned title honors after making only one trip to the winner's circle that year. Consistency paved the way as Schipper held off Trimble by less than a handful of points to score the championship in the division's closest points battle at the time. Trimble kept Schipper within his sights by virtue of five wins during the year, including championship night, but was unable to overcome Schipper's consistency in the end.

Coincidentally, 1996 was also the year I.M.C.A. moved to its current points structure, awarding 40 points for a feature win, then dropping by one point for every feature position, with drivers earning a minimum of 17 points for qualifying for the feature. Prior to 1996, winners earned 40 points, however each position dropped by two points, back to 16 points. Drivers finishing 13th or worse in feature competition were awarded the same number of points prior to 1996. B feature points also changed in 1996. Prior to '96, all feature non-qualifiers who made an attempt to qualify earned 16 points, while 10 show-up points were awarded to those who signed in, made an attempt, but did not compete at all. Starting in 1997, the first B feature non-qualifer earned 16 points and each position back dropped by a point per position. The minimum number of points a non-qualifier made was 11, as long as they made an attempt. Drivers who made an attempt, but did not compete in the program were awarded five show-up points. Show-up points were eliminated altogether a few years later when drivers abused the "privilege" and used it to their advantage to improve their starting positions the following week. And now, back to the show...

1997
Schipper earned his second straight title in 1997, another nailbiter, by 11 markers ahead of Hackwell. Schipper won the championship despite earning no feature wins. Trimble led the way with six trips to victory lane, two more than Irvine. Those two drivers earned 10 wins in the 19 week season, which miraculously dodged the rain all season, as no rain-outs were recorded that year.

David Adams ran third in the final points and Bret Dage, a former Hobby Stock titlist at the track, finished fourth. Curtis Roster rounded out the top five. Treptow, Chesmore, Trimble, Jeff Franck and LaVern Carey completed the top 10 in the final points.

1998
Everyone touted the New England Patriots in the early 2000s for their strong run in the NFL. With three Super Bowl titles in an age when free agency played as much of a role in the game as game-planning actually did, an unexpected dynasty was born. Prior to the Patriots, however, Dan Trimble was simply dominant in the Stock Car ranks at Independence. Despite the increasing car counts (10 drivers had perfect attendance in the division in 1998, and 28 different drivers competed during the 17 week season), Trimble scored a 39 point victory over Curtis Roster in the final tally, the first of seven straight track championships for the Fairbank hotshoe. Schipper, Treptow and Walters completed the top five in the standings. Chesmore, Walker, Dan Brandt, Jamie Johnson and Chris Henry rounded out the top 10.

Entering the 1998 season, Trimble earned 22 wins in the division, Over the course of his seven consecutive titles, he added another 35 triumphs, an average of five per year.

1999
At the time, there was little evidence that Trimble would be as dominant as he has since proven. Yes, he was one of the most consistent and successful drivers in the division, but another driver made some noise in 1999 in just his first full year in the division. Although Trimble started the season out at the front of the pack by earning the first two wins of the season, he was never able to put the field away and, in fact, dropped to third in the standings by mid-season.

After Chesmore broke into the winner's circle in the third week of the season, Chris Wessner found his groove and reeled off five straight wins as mid-season arrived. Wessner, the 1995 Hobby Stock track champion, joined the Stock Car ranks mid-way through the 1998 season after some time away from the sport. Wessner did reel off three wins in a four week span in 1998, perhaps foreshadowing what was to happen in 1999.

Eighteen points behind Trimble and sitting in fifth place following the third week, Wessner went on his tear. Following wins on May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12 and June 19, he vaulted into the lead in the standings. Despite his success on the track, Wessner's margin at the top was slim following that eighth week. He sat five points ahead of Tom Schmitt and just seven ahead of Trimble, who managed to stay close with five top-10 finishes during that span, two of which were top-threes.

Wessner did manage to get one more win over the final weeks of the season, but Trimble scored four victories during that time to secure his second straight championship ahead of Schmitt. The wheels fell off of Wessner's season as he struggled to a top-five finish in the standings, more than 40 points out of the lead.

Coincidentally, Trimble was the driver to end Wessner's five-race winning streak as he scored the win on June 26. Trimble's final three wins that year came during a three-race winning streak to end the season.

2000
The 2000 season marked the eighth for the Stock Cars at Independence and the first under the direction of the Buchanan County Fair Association and race director Dana Benning after Jerry Blue stepped aside following the 1999 season. While leadership changed, Trimble's dominance in the division did not. Following his three wins to end 1999, Trimble reeled off four victories to start his 2000 campaign.

Due to his successes, Benning placed a bounty on Trimble. Veteran Curtis Roster, who later became known as the Bounty Hunter, earned the extra coin as he took home the checkers in week five. Following Chad Albert's lone career win one week later, Trimble again scored three straight victories only to have another bounty placed on him. Roster again rose to the challenge and grabbed the win to end Trimble's streak.

One week later, another up and coming driver earned his first Stock Car win on Independence soil as Jarod Weepie made the trip to victory lane. The following week, one week before championship night, Tony Schimmels provided fans with one of the most memorable victory lane celebrations at the speedway as he scored his first career win in the division.

Trimble went on to wrap up his third straight title with a win on the final night of the season. In the standings, Trimble's nearest competitor was Roster, who sat 72 points behind him. Cliff Gray, Chesmore and Weepie completed the top five. Schipper, Nick Wroten, Albert, Kurt Kastli and Quail completed the top 10.

2001
Trimble won his fourth straight title in 2001 in relatively quiet fashion. That year he earned only three feature wins, his lowest total since 1995, his second year in the division. Despite those "struggles," Trimble extended his points lead with his third and final win during mid-season championships, en route to the crown. He edged Weepie by 10 markers in the final standings to secure the title. Chesmore, Roster and Doug Otto ran third through fifth, while Gray, Justin Temeyer, Wroten, Schimmels and Quail completed the top 10.

Temeyer, who moved from the Hobby Stock division in 2001, caught fire late in his rookie season. He earned four wins in a span of five weeks to close the season. The season also marked the highest average car count in division history at the track as just over 27 cars signed in weekly to compete. That record still stands today.

2002
Another three-win season didn't slow down Trimble in 2002. While he earned all his wins during the first half of the 2001 season, Trimble caught fire late to score his three wins over the final five weeks of the 2002 season, including championship night. It was his fifth straight title.

A variety of winners highlighted the year, including six straight different winners during the middle of the season. Along with Trimble, winners during 2002 included Fabian Seitz, Max Leonard and Quail, who scored their first wins in the division. Brad Holtkamp, Weepie, Schmitt and Schimmels also earned wins as eight different drivers earned wins in the 15-week season.

2003
Five straight different winners opened the 2003 season, which was pretty remarkable considering only six different drivers found victory lane over the course of the 16 week season. After Schmitt, Trimble, Weepie and Temeyer won during the first four weeks, Scooter Dulin made it five different winners in as many weeks when he scored his first and only Stock Car win at Independence. The only "new" winner for the duration of the season was Chesmore when he won back-to-back features in July.

Trimble tallied five wins overall to drive to title number six-in-a-row and seventh overall. He bested Weepie, the winner of three features, including season championship night, by 18 points. Temeyer, Chesmore and Franck completed the top five. Otto, Dulin, Schimmels, Wroten and Wes Stanek Jr. rounded out the top 10.

2004
Weepie inched closer to Trimble in 2004, but came up seven points short at season's-end as Trimble earned the final of his seven straight track titles at Independence.

Weepie kept the gap close throughout the season by leading the division with 14 top-10 finishes in 15 nights of racing, including two feature wins. Trimble matched Weepie's two feature wins (matching Trimble's lowest win total in his 11 years in the division at Independence), with back-to-back victories during the midle of the season.

Following his worst finish of the season (19th) on June 26, Trimble put the championship out of Weepie's reach by reeling off six straight top-three finishes prior to championship night. Despite Weepie's second place finish in the finale, Trimble's 13th place finish (his only other finish outside the top 10) was good enough as he took the title by seven points. Schmitt, Franck, Chesmore, Otto, Jeff Kennett, Wroten, Jeff Roete and Sean Johnson completed the top 10.

2005
The 16-week 2005 season produced the most feature winners in the division's 13 year run at Independence. The record of nine different winners during one season still stands today. It also marked the end of the stranglehold Trimble had on the division as Weepie finally broke through to earn his first division title.

Consistency was again the key to Weepie's run. Although he had only one feature win on the season, Weepie was the only Stock Car driver to earn top-10 finishes in all 16 nights of points racing. Of those 16 top-10s, 11 were top-five runs. Trimble, who scored three victories, finished just five points short of his eighth straight division crown.

Among the other seven winners of 2005 was division rookie Brian Irvine, who earned four victories in his first year removed from the Hobby Stock ranks. Temeyer and Johnson were also among the winners, while Eric Weber, Roger Samec and Dain Sires all scored their first career wins in the division in '05. Former national champion Damon Murty made Independence a regular stop in 2005 and he took three wins home to Chelsea.

Franck had his career best finish in the division's points race, coming home third. Brian Irvine and Temeyer rounded out the top five. Schimmels, Chesmore, Otto, Wessner and Johnson ran sixth through 10th.

2006
Weepie and Trimble again made it a two-horse race at the top of the points in 2006. Each picked up a trio of feature wins during the 15-week season and were by far the class of the division. Trimble and Weepie had 14 and 13 top-10 finishes, respectively, while their nearest competitors had just 10. The pair pulled away from the field throughout the course of the season with Trimble edging Weepie for the title by a mere six points. Third place finisher Sean Johnson finished a distant third, 46 points behind Weepie. Chesmore, Brian Irvine, Weber, Shane Manson, Wroten, Schimmels and Jeff Adams finished fourth through 10th.

Brian Irvine led the way with five feature wins, giving him nine in just two seasons in the division. Temeyer, Murty, Schimmels and Steve Meyer also scored wins during the season. It marked the first (and to-date the only) time that the Stock Car division did not see any back-to-back winners throughout the entire season.

2007
It was feast or famine for Brian Irvine in 2007. While the driver earned eight feature wins during the 15-week season, six finishes of eighth or worse prevented him from taking the division title (his other finish that season was a second place showing). Irvine managed a second place finish in the final standings, 37 points behind Weepie who scored his second title in three years. Weepie's four feature wins, along with top-10s in all 11 other points races, launched him to the title. It also marked the second time in three seasons that Weepie scored top-10 finishes in all events, the only driver to do so in either season. In fact, Weepie's worst finish in 2007 was seventh.

Meyer, Schimmels, Johnson, Manson, Jason Niedert, Jason Hocken Lon Mercer and Quail completed the top 10 in the final points. Temeyer scored two wins before an injury cut his season short. Johnson also scored a win, that being during mid-season championships. As a result of Irvine's dominance, only four drivers reached victory lane in 2007, the fewest since 1995 when there were three different winners.

2008
Severe weather in the spring of 2008 resulted in the destruction of the grandstands and a shortened, nine-week racing season. Despite the short schedule, five different drivers found the winner's circle, including veteran asphalt driver Bob Ahrendsen who nabbed his first win on the Independence dirt oval. The season started with four straight different winners. Along with Ahrendsen's first win, Chesmore, Johnson and Trimble earned victories early in the season.

Three drivers battled for title honors with Weepie edging Chesmore and Irvine to earn his third title in four years. Weepie ran third on championship night to hold onto a one point margin of victory over Chesmore, who ran second in the finale. Irvine, who won the season championship feature, finished five points behind Weepie.

2009
After many trips to victory lane in just a few, short years, Brian Irvine won that elusive track championship in 2009. Irvine added nine more wins to his tally in the process and edged Weepie by nine points in the final standings.

The points battle was up for grabs throughout the season as a handful of drivers remained within a dozen points of the lead. Six different drivers held the points lead during the season, including five straight weeks of changes at the top during the middle of the year.

While Irvine was one of six drivers to tie with 12 top-10 finishes during the 14 week season, the difference came in victory lane; only one other driver, Temeyer, had multiple wins (2). Trimble and Weepie also scored victories while Phil Holtz, the 2009 I.M.C.A. Stock Car National Rookie of the Year, also picked up a win.

Beyond
Well, there you have it - the Stock Cars at Independence Motor Speedway. As a side note, 2010 will bring with it somewhat of a milestone for the division at Independence. The second night of competition in 2010 will mark the 250th weekly Stock Car feature event. With that in mind, you may be wondering who has won the most Stock Car features at Independence since the division started in 1993. Fear not, those stats, along with a few others, follow:

1993-2009 Capsule
Career Wins (includes only weekly points races for Stock Car division: includes results from 1993 when division was not I.M.C.A.-sanctioned)
1. Dan Trimble - 66
2. Brian Irvine - 28
3. Jarod Weepie - 17
T4. Larry Portis - 16
T4. Justin Temeyer - 16
6. Tom Schmitt - 15
7. Norman Chesmore - 14
8. Chris Wessner - 9
9. Ken Irvine - 7
T10. Lon Gadow - 5
T10. Curtis Roster - 5
T10. Darrin Treptow - 5

Most consecutive seasons with a win: 13 - Dan Trimble (1994-2006)
Most consecutive seasons with a win (active): 5 - Brian Irvine (2005-?)
Longest win streak (within one season): 6 - Dan Trimble - 7/22/94-8/6/94 (Norman Chesmore on 8/13/94); 6 - Larry Portis - 7/8/95-8/26/95 (end of season)
Longest win streak (over course of two seasons): 7 - Larry Portis - 7/8/95-4/27/96 (Jerry Schipper on 5/4/96); 7 - Dan Trimble - 8/14/99-6/3/00 (Curtis Roster on 6/10/00)
Most wins in single season: 10 - Larry Portis (1995)
Most number of different feature winners in a season: 9 (2005, in 16 night season)
Most career track championships: 9 - Dan Trimble; 3 - Jarod Weepie; 2 - Jerry Schipper
Most consecutive different feature winners (same season): 7 - 2005 (5/28-7/16)
Most consecutive different feature winners to start season: 5 - 2003
Most consecutive different feature winners to end season: 6 - 2006
Most season championship feature wins: 7 -Dan Trimble (Note: 2 of 17 season championships were rained out)

While I do have complete results for the SportMod (pretty youthful run at this point in time) and now defunct B Mod, I am missing only a few results from the Pro Stocks of the '90s-'00s. My Hobby Stock results are nearly complete and I hope to have those to share in the near future, as well.

As for the Modifieds and Late Models, well, believe it or not, I have almost everything from the past 26 years. There are a few holes here and there, but I hope to have those completed (at least since the start of the 1984 season) in the relatively near future. Results for races pre-1984 may be a little more difficult to collect, but I already have a good jump start. If I don't get a complete history by the time the 2010 season starts, I'll try to provide a look back at the last 25 years or so, as time allows.

Highs in the 30s tomorrow, it's only a matter of time before we can start adding more numbers to the archives...