Sunday, June 20, 2010

Mid-season champions crowned at Benton County Speedway

Mid-season championships were held Sunday night at Benton County Speedway as 103 cars signed in to compete in front of a packed house. Straying from its usual format of running only features lined straight-up by total points, this year's program offered a regular night of heat races with qualifiers lined up for features based on inverted season-long point averages. One other switch to the show at Vinton this year was the move of the Dick Hogan Memorial from the mid-season date to later this summer in July. As that special event has grown over the years, many one-time visitors vie for the Memorial honors, so moving the date to its "own" night allows the weekly warriors at Vinton the chance to race for mid-season accolades.

With regular scorer Kevin Kemp on vacation, I filled in to score for the first time in a couple of years. Due to that, I'll recap the event as best I can since I didn't actually get to "watch" much of the racing. It is possible (probable?) that some of the details aren't perfectly accurate, however the finishing orders listed below are official.

First up were the Hobby Stocks as 19 drivers signed in to compete in that 15-lapper. August Bach led early until a flat tire sidelined him, allowing Matt Brown to take over the lead. Brown led throughout the second half of the event to score the victory. Michael Peterson made his first-ever visit to Vinton and came home with runner-up honors ahead of division points leader Scott Pippert, who started deep in the field. Russell Damme Jr., who is running in the top 20 in the Northern Region for the IMCA Hobby Stocks, came home fourth ahead of Brad Forbes.

Matt Brown scored the mid-season IMCA Hobby Stock win at Benton County Speedway on June 20. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Eighteen IMCA Sport Compacts were on-hand to do battle in that 12-lap event. Bill Whalen Jr. took over midway through the event from his second row start and survived a pair of late cautions to drive to the win. Points leader Merv Chandler crossed the line in second ahead of Gary Peiffer, the mid-season event sponsor on the night. Dallas Chandler and Bryce Bailey completed the top five.

Riverside's Bill Whalen Jr. took top honors in the IMCA Sport Compacts. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Since 32 IMCA SportMods signed in, two 16-car features were run in that division. In the first 15-lapper, Kent Kositzky blistered the field on his way to victory. Although his machine was puffing smoke throughout that event, Kositzky withstood one caution period to drive to the win by a straightaway ahead of Dave Schulze. Danny Dvorak came home third, a couple of car-lengths behind Schulze. Kurt Hogan battled Dvorak throughout much of the event and settled for fourth at the line. Jason Doyle finished fifth.

Kent Kositzky and team celebrate in IMCA SportMod victory lane. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

In the second SportMod feature, a handful of cautions throughout the first four laps held the event to a snail's pace. When the dust cleared, division points leader Austin Kaplan held off a hard-charging Joel Rust to take an exciting victory. Jared Van Deest finished third ahead of Drew Fish and Tim Swope.

Division points leader Austin Kaplan (#1) drove to victory in the second SportMod feature of the evening. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Fourteen IMCA Stock Cars were on-hand to do battle in a thrilling 15-lap feature. John Schaefer held the early lead until Jason Deshaw was able to work under him a few laps into the event. Meanwhile, points leader Justin Temeyer went to work on the high side to take over the lead later on in the race. Temeyer then raced to victory ahead of Deshaw. Damon Murty battled high and low throughout the event to come home third ahead of Dave Stricker. After being involved in an early altercation, Scooter Dulin made an impressive run to inch ahead of Schaefer at the line for fifth.

Justin Temeyer (#56T) battles Jason Deshaw for the lead in the IMCA Stock Car feature. Temeyer extended his points lead in the division with a trip to the winner's circle. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Max Corporon topped a field of 20 IMCA Modifieds in the nightcap. Early in the event, pole-sitter Johnathan Thimmesch engaged in a three-car battle for the lead with Richie Gustin and Jerry Luloff. That trio battled two and even three-wide out front throughout the first half of the event. All three of those drivers exited to the pits with flat tires during a mid-race yellow. All of them returned prior to the next green flag run.

On the restart, Corporon battled J.D. Auringer out front as that pair briefly swapped the lead until Corporon settled into the top spot. Auringer and Scott Hogan eventually started to reel in the race leader, however both came up short at the line allowing Corporon to take the win. Auringer slid in front of Hogan at the line for second. Tony Olson and Mark Schulte completed the top five.

Max Corporon (#3C) works the low side past J.D. Auringer (#00) in the IMCA Modified feature. Corporon held off Auringer and Scott Hogan to take the mid-season win. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

The track did get rough as the night progressed, however after the substantial rainfall the area received late in the week, it's amazing the track held up for as long as it did. Over three inches of precipitation fell within a 24 hour period late last week and that moisture made it's presence felt late in Sunday's program. Great job by Mick, Dana and crew for getting the show in. Amazingly, despite all of the wet weather throughout the Midwest this season, Sunday's races marked the ninth successful show on the Vinton oval in 11 scheduled nights.

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