Entering Saturday night, only one time in track history (1982) had the first three weeks of the season at Independence seen different drivers visit victory lane following every event. By night's end, Brian Irvine and Austin Kaplan ensured that record would stay in tact as each picked up his second win of the season during the third weekly points race of 2010.
The I.M.C.A. Stock Cars opened feature action and it was outside front row starter Dave Stricker setting the early pace in that 20-lapper. Stricker's lead was short-lived, however, as Dan Trimble moved quickly through the field from a fourth row start. Running the high side, Trimble swept past his competitors and into second place after just two circuits of the multi-groove oval. One lap later, Trimble made his bid for the lead.
While Trimble led, Brian Irvine was making his own way through traffic from a sixth row start. The points leader entering the night, Irvine made his way into third after just six laps as he powered past his competitors on the low side of the speedway. A caution just after Irvine made his way into third bunched the field for the restart.
When racing resumed, Irvine worked past both Stricker and Trimble, then proceeded to pull away from the field to score his second consecutive win. Trimble ran second at the line ahead of Stricker. Jason Hocken and Jarod Weepie completed the top five. For Irvine, it was his 30th career sanctioned Stock Car victory at Independence in weekly competition.
Kaplan followed suit in the next event as he made his second straight trip to the winner's circle in the I.M.C.A. SportMod feature. Pole-sitter Creston Williams led the first lap before first-year driver Matthew McCahen motored under him for the lead on lap two. While McCahen took the lead, Kaplan moved into third place after starting seventh. Kaplan then worked past Williams just prior to a lap four caution.
On the restart, Kaplan wasted little time in his quest for the lead, taking over the top spot just two laps later. With Kaplan out front, Josh Sherbon worked from a third row start and into the runner-up spot on lap seven. Despite a pair of caution periods during the second half of the event, Kaplan continued his strong run to score the win ahead of Sherbon. Tyler Droste came home third ahead of Danny Dvorak and Joel Rust.
Dennis Betzer held the early lead in the 20-lap I.M.C.A. Modified feature. From his second row start, Betzer worked past pole-sitter Ed Thomas to secure the lead on lap two. While those two battled, Adam Johnson was working the bottom line to perfection from his third row starting spot. He made his way into the lead a couple laps later and paced the field through a handful of cautions over the next nine laps.
While Johnson led, points leader Troy Cordes was running the high groove around his foes, picking them off left and right after starting the event in 12th. Cordes passed second-running Ronn Lauritzen with only a lap to go, but was unable to reel in Johnson as Johnson drove to the win. Cordes, Lauritzen, Clint Wendel and Darin Duffy completed the top five.
Bad luck plagued Jeff Aikey through the first two weeks of the season. Although that misfortune left him near the bottom of the points sheet, it put him on the pole for the 25-lap I.M.C.A. Late Model feature. Aikey wasted little time and rocketed into the lead at the drop of the green. He built over a straightaway lead by the time the yellow flag waved on lap 12.
Despite the stoppage, Aikey dominated once more when the green flag replaced the yellow. He again built a lead of over a straightaway while Darren Ackerman and Tyler Bruening navigated their way through traffic from mid-pack starts. That pair of drivers worked the bottom groove into second and third place, respectively, by the time the final yellow flag waved with just six laps to go.
On the final restart, Ackerman applied pressure early, but Aikey pulled away in the end to score the victory. Ackerman and Bruening ran second and third at the checkers while Jason Rauen and Tom Struve rounded out the top five.
The final event of the evening was perhaps the most entertaining and closely contested as 26 I.M.C.A. Hobby Stocks took the green flag. Early on it was pole-sitter Chris Wiltse at the front of the pack. He held the point throughout most of the event while Rod Grother and Jamie Whitaker made their way through the field.
From his third row start, Grother made his way into second after only two laps and set his sights on the race leader. Meanwhile, Whitaker came from a fifth row starting spot and made himself a factor during the late stages of the event.
Following a mid-race caution, Grother maintained heavy pressure on Wiltse until he made his bid for the lead with only a couple of laps remaining. As Grother made his move, Whitaker followed suit as he, too, passed Wiltse to set up a two-car shootout over the final laps. The lead pair raced door-to-door in the final stages of the race with Whitaker inching ahead at the line to steal the victory. Grother ran second and Wiltse crossed the line in third. Josh Irvine came home fourth to vault into the points lead and Eric Larson finished fifth.
Notes: It was a great night of racing at IMS. A nice field of 123 cars signed in to compete on a track that was not only smooth and fast, but provided multiple grooves... Although he came up a whisker short at the line, Grother was happy about his performance in the Hobby Stock feature. He was even more impressed with Wiltse's performance. In the pits afterwards, Grother wanted me to make sure I let everyone know it was only Wiltse's fourth night behind the wheel of a race car... Just as happy as Whitaker was of his Hobby Stock win, his mother, Fran, was also smiling ear-to-ear. When congratulated in the pits, Fran stated she was thrilled when he remembered to mention "mom" in the victory lane interview... Jason Rauen wheeled his own #98X Late Model on this night after filling in to drive Darin Burco's #27 a week ago... Scott Hogan, who normally competes at 34 Raceway in Burlington on Saturday nights, made the trip to Independence since racing was not scheduled at 34. He entered the night with four straight wins overall, however had that streak snapped tonight. He will, however, have a target on his back Sunday as he looks to win his fourth in-a-row in Sunday competition at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. A $100 bounty has been placed on him for tomorrow's event... A scary crash brought the action to a halt in the SportMod B feature. Mary Handberg and Jason Doyle's cars became hooked together on the back stretch during that event and the two launched off the back straightaway, hitting the retaining wall head-on at full speed. While Doyle walked away, Handberg was transported to the local hospital for precautionary measures. There were no additional reports on Handberg's condition by the end of the program. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery, Mary!
Assuming I finish up a story for Dirt Modified Magazine by early afternoon tomorrow, I hope to make the trip to 34 Raceway in Burlington for tomorrow night's Lucas Oil Late Model special. I was able to attend the last hour or so of the meet and greet at Casa Fiesta in Burlington last Thursday, but rain all day Thursday into Friday morning postponed that show to Sunday. Later this week, I'll be helping out with announcing duties at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison. USMTS Modifieds will be on-hand Thursday, May 27, and I'll be there to help call the action of the support classes. I hope to have reports from both of those shows later this week.
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