Luloff scores Dick Frye Memorial win at Independence

One day shy of his 45th birthday, IMCA Modified driver Jerry Luloff gave himself an early birthday present by winning the feature during the Dick Frye Memorial at Independence Motor Speedway. The win marked his 21st in Independence history and moved him to within a single victory of being tied for third with Tom Bartholomew on the all-time wins list at the speedway.

While it was Luloff standing in victory lane at night's end, it was Darin Duffy and Joe Docekal who put on a show for the fans throughout much of the 20-lapper.

At the start of the event, Docekal powered into the lead from his outside front row start. He paced the field while Duffy worked through traffic from a fourth row start. He made his way into fifth by the time the race's first yellow flag waved and into third just prior to the second caution one lap later.

On the lap four restart, Duffy, who realigned outside of the second row,quickly pressured Docekal out front while Luloff was battling Vern Jackson for fourth. Just shy of the midway point, Duffy and Docekal entered an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle out front as the two exchanged the top spot over numerous laps.

With Duffy out front, Luloff made his way into the top three with only three laps to go. Two laps later, just after the white flag was displayed, Duffy suffered a flat tire in turn two, setting up a thrilling three-car race to the checkers between Duffy, Docekal and Luloff.

Running the low side, Luloff swept beneath his foes and onto the thrilling victory. Duffy held on for second ahead of Docekal and Jackson. Patrick Flannagan completed the top five.

The first win of the season for Luloff, 2010 marks the 14th different season at Independence during which he has won at least one Modified feature. He is ahead of Jackson by two in that category. It also means Luloff has won at least one feature in half of the 28 seasons the division has competed at Independence.

Jerry Luloff (18) drove to his first IMCA Modified win of the season. The win, one day shy of his 45th birthday, was the 21st of Luloff's Modified career at Independence. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Russel Damme Jr. added his name to the record books as he earned his first career victory in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Pole-sitter Don Arnold held the early advantage in that 15-lapper while Damme and Jim Ball pressured. Ball ran the high side around the leaders to the front at the midway point of the event, but bobbled which allowed Arnold and Damme to steal back their positions just prior to a caution with five laps to go.

On the restart, Arnold failed to get up to speed when the green flag waved, which allowed Damme to sneak past for the lead. Damme held off a hard-charging Wes Stanek Jr. to score the milestone win. Stanek and Ball chased Damme to the checkers. Josh Irvine and Chris Wiltse completed the top five. Damme became the 83rd different Hobby Stock winner in the division's 22-year history at the speedway.

Russel Damme Jr. (4JR) scored the first IMCA Hobby Stock win of his career. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Rick Suckow led the early stages of the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. As Suckow led, Dave Stricker worked his way into second by the third lap after starting outside of the third row. He assumed the lead one lap later, but bobbled a short time later to allow Suckow to regain the lead just prior to a lap six caution.

When racing resumed, Stricker took just two laps to work back around Suckow to assume the lead once more. He then held off the challenges of Norman Chesmore and Jarod Weepie to drive to victory, his second of the season. Chesmore ran second and Weepie, who finished third, took over the points lead. Dan Trimble and Thomas Thompson completed the top five.

Dave Stricker (89B) picked up his second IMCA Stock Car win of the season. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Despite being involved in a first lap yellow that required him to restart from the tail, IMCA Late Model points leader Tyler Bruening piloted to the win in the 25-lap feature.

Rick Wendling held the early lead and attempted to pull away from the field, however Jeremiah Hurst kept him within his sights throughout much of the event. Meanwhile, Bruening was running the low groove through traffic and into the top five by lap nine.

Bruening then methodically worked his way past his competitors. He first made his way below Dale Hackwell Jr. for fourth on lap 15, then around Darren Ackerman for third two laps later and Hurst for second on lap 19. With the white flag in the air, Bruening ducked under Wendling for the lead and powered to the front en route to the victory, his first of the season. Wendling, Hurst, Ackerman and Hackwell rounded out the top five.

IMCA Late Model points leader Tyler Bruening added to his lead by scoring the feature win, his first of 2010. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Josh Sherbon scored his third win of the season in the IMCA SportMod division. A number of cautions slowed the event early which put the event in peril of the time limit with only one lap in the books.

At that time, Curt Hilmer was leading the way while Sherbon was running the high groove to perfection after starting in the fifth row. Sherbon motored into second after just four laps and proceeded to chase down the leader. Sherbon made his bid for the lead on lap nine, just prior to the final caution of the event at which point the race timed out. Hilmer finished a close second ahead of Chris Luloff, Ray Lundry and Joel Rust.

Josh Sherbon earned his third IMCA SportMod win of the season and the seventh of his career at Independence. (photo courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography)

Race Night Numbers: Jerry Luloff qualified for his 192nd consecutive Modified feature, his last miss coming on July 5, 1997. He has won at least one Modified feature each of the last four seasons and has at least one win in 14 of the last 15 years... Tyler Bruening moved into a tie for 23rd on the all-time wins list for the Late Models at Independence. His victory made it six straight different winners in the Late Model division this year. It was also Bruening's second win in the last three Dick Frye Memorial events... Four Hobby Stock drivers ended the night separated by a mere five points at the top of that division's standings. After nine nights of racing, Vince Buchholz and Rod Grother are tied for the lead while Justin Hanson sits just three points back and Jamie Whitaker is five out of the lead... Three-time Stock Car track champions Jarod Weepie took over that division's points lead for the first time in 2010. He will enter next week with a slim four point lead over Sean Johnson and a seven point edge over Norman Chesmore... Josh Sherbon became the fourth straight different winner in SportMod competition. His win, the seventh in his career at the speedway in the division, tied Sherbon with Danny Dvorak at the top of the all-time wins list for the division at Indee.

My next report will come following the Hawkeye Dirt Tour's visit to Fayette County Speedway in West Union on Tuesday night. Series announcer Blake Anderson will be out of state so I'll be filling in for him behind the mic. While I do have a few years on you and am not quite as enthusiastic, I'll do my best to keep 'em on their feet, Blake!

The county fair season is in full swing so there will be many more specials in the coming weeks. Be sure to check the race schedule at http://www.positivelyracing.com/ for a fair special near you!