I hit my first two races of the 2010 season over the Easter weekend. I traveled south for the Brian Hetrick Memorial season-opening event at 34 Raceway in Burlington on Saturday, then stopped by my old stomping grounds in Vinton for Benton County Speedway's season-opening Frostbuster on Sunday afternoon.
It was questionable Friday night if racing would be an option on Saturday as southeast Iowa was pounded with an inch and-a-half of rain during the evening and overnight hours. Jeff Laue and the crew spent much of Saturday working the 3/8-mile oval to ensure area race fans that the racing season would get underway as scheduled.
The 25-lap Brian Hetrick Memorial 305 Sprint feature was the highlight of the Saturday night program and the highlights started at the drop of the green flag. Andy Huston took a wild ride in the middle of turns one and two on the first lap as his sprinter went end-over-end a number of times before coming to a rest on the high side of the speedway. Huston walked away uninjured, however his night came to an unfortunate, premature end. Collected in the mishap was Bobby Mincer, who set a track record during qualifying earlier in the night, blasting the 3/8-mile surface in under 14 seconds. Mincer suffered only a flat tire and was able to rejoin the race at the tail of the field before racing resumed.
When the green flag waved once more, John Draper assumed command with Justin Newberry, the winner of the night's fast dash, settling into second. Matt Krieger worked his way through traffic and into a challenge for the lead just prior to the 10-lap mark while Kevin Hetrick was also battling for position, reaching as high as third place.
While the leaders battled, the forgotten Mincer was busy maneuvering through traffic. Combined with a couple more stoppages, Mincer was able to keep the leaders in his sights. With only three laps to go, Mincer made his bid for the lead to drive away to the win. Draper and Hetrick completed the top three, while Jarrod Schneiderman and Newberry ran fourth and fifth.
I.M.C.A. Stock Cars also joined the opening night festivites as 19 drivers signed in to the pits. Defending track champion Abe Huls held the early lead in the 20-lap feature event. From his front row start, Huls took the lead while Jeff Mueller, who unluckily drew the 12th starting spot, raced through the field. Only a handful of laps into the event, Mueller found himself in the top five and quickly reeled in the leader. Just past the midway point, Mueller stuck the nose of his #77M to the inside of Huls to steal the lead. Mueller led the remainder of the event to score the win in his first night out in a new race car. Jim Redmann survived a series of mishaps in front of him to sneak through the pack and finish second. Dave Warth, Kirk Kinsley and Jason Cook completed the top five.
Josh May started the mod lite feature on the front row, led much of the event, then had to make an exciting pass to regain the lead after a late restart to score the thrilling win. May led the event early and started distancing himself from the field when a number of stoppages tightened the field. During this time, Mike Morrill was making his way through the field from a sixth row start and into a challenge for the lead with only a few laps left.
Morrill assumed command just prior to the race's final caution with only a couple of laps left. Despite being hurt by the previous cautions, May took advantage of the final restart and made the pass for the lead entering the final lap. May held off a charging Morrill to score the win. Eric Hendrickson, Johnny Mordock and A.J. Fike rounded out the top five.
Although the track did become choppy throughout the night, hats off to Jeff Laue and the gang for making opening night a success. Up next at 34 is the Slocum 50 when the Deery Brothers Summer Series for I.M.C.A. Late Models opens its season next Saturday night. Modifieds and Hobby Stocks join the Late Models on the ticket.
Sunday afternoon marked the final day for the originally scheduled three-day Frostbuster swing in Iowa. Friday night's program at Marshalltown Speedway fell to rain forcing the weekend trifecta to be turned into a double-header. Races were held at Boone Speedway on Saturday before closing the holiday weekend in Vinton on Sunday. An impressive 105 cars were on-hand for the Easter Sunday program.
The I.M.C.A. Stock Cars opened feature action as 19 cars took the green flag for the 15-lapper. Damon Murty took advantage of his second row start to sweep past front row starters Paul Shepherd and Bob Ahrendsen to grab the early lead. Justin Temeyer, after starting in row three, followed Murty and settled into second prior to the race's first caution on lap two.
When racing resumed, Murty remained glued to the bottom of the speedway as Temeyer tried both high and low to get the advantage. Temeyer and Scooter Dulin remained glued to the leader while Mueller, looking for a repeat performance from Saturday night, raced through traffic from a fifth row start. Mueller motored into the top five in just seven laps and underneath Shepherd for fourth one lap later.
With only a handful of laps to go, Temeyer moved to the outside, allowing Dulin to sneak under him for second. Mueller followed suit and not only made his way by Temeyer, but also Dulin for second. As Mueller pressured for the lead, Murty slowed in turns one and two on the smooth, slick track, causing the field to bottle up. Both Murty and Mueller, along with Brian Irvine, who made his way into the top three after starting 11th, were collected, bringing out the race's final caution. As the result of all three being involved, all three were sent to the rear, allowing Dulin to take control for the final restart. Dulin held of Temeyer's challenges to score the exciting victory. Ahrendsen, Jason DeShaw and Shepherd completed the top five.
Eighteen I.M.C.A. Modifieds took the green flag in the $1,000-to-win 20-lapper. After three unsuccessful attempts to get a lap in, the field was aligned in single file formation. Pole-sitter Adam Johnson held the point early before Richie Gustin powered to his inside just two laps into the event. Gustin pulled away from the field and led the remainder of the event to take home the impressive win. Mark Elliott ran second, nearly a straightaway behind the leader, and Troy Cordes finished third. After suffering a blown engine (his second in as many weeks) during hot laps, Scott Hogan started last in the feature and made an impressive run to come home fourth ahead of Jeff Waterman. Jerry Luloff, Ronn Lauritzen, Darin Duffy, Tony Olson and Joe Docekal completed the top 10.
Defending I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock track champion Scottie Pippert blistered the field to take the win in that 15-lapper. From his outside front row start, Pippert led from green to checkers to take the opening night win. Nick Murty ran the high line to a runner-up finish after a hard-fought battle for second. Wes Stanek, Jerome Wilson and Matt Brown completed the top five.
From his outside second row starting spot, Chris Luloff vaulted into the lead at the drop of the green in the I.M.C.A. SportMod feature. Pole-sitter Danny Dvorak settled into second, but applied heavy pressure to the leader throughout the first half of the event. Following a mid-race caution, Dvorak went to work on the low side of Luloff to secure the lead. Dvorak held on to win the time-shortened event ahead of John Whitman and Joel Rust. Luloff and Drew Fish rounded out the top five.
Justin Wacha was the fourth and final leader in the 12-lap I.M.C.A. Sport Compact feature. Wacha took command with only four laps to go when he passed Brett Vanous for the top spot in an exciting three-car battle out front. Brad Chandler edged Vanous at the line for second after Wacha took the checkers. Steve Miedke and Jerry Ostby completed the top five.
It was a good night at BCS. Due to the cool spring temperatures, promoter Mick Trier scheduled an early start to the event; hot laps were at 4 p.m. with racing at 4:30. The show was completed just prior to the 8 p.m. hour which made for an early night. It also greatly accommodated all of the out-of-state drivers who came to Iowa for the Frostbuster events. Great job, as always, to Mick and the crew for running a very efficient program. The regular points season gets underway next Sunday. Although it won't start quite as early as this weekend's program, starting times are a little earlier than normal. Hot laps will start at 4:30 with racing to follow.
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