Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Stats Blitz! One final statistical look back at 2010 at Independence Motor Speedway

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of the 2010 Stats Blitz! The statistics included here are through all 14 nights of weekly racing at Independence Motor Speedway. There are some all-time statistics included at the end, dating back to 1967. While the track opened in 1965, my records date back to the beginning of the 1967 season. All of the “all-time” statistics include races from only the five divisions that currently compete today. For those wondering, Modifieds started competing in 1983, Hobby Stocks in 1989, Stock Cars in 1993 and SportMods in 2008. The information included for the Late Models dates back to 1967.

All photos included here are courtesy of Scott Tjabring of Action Track Photography, the official track photographer of the speedway. Some shots are strategically placed throughout this blog, while others are randomly dropped in to break up the monotony of my 10,000-plus word rant. That's right, settle in, it's a long one. In fact, it covered 36 pages of a Microsoft Word document... not including the pictures.

IMCA Modified driver Jason Snyder stopped by earlier this week to help me with a home improvement project of sorts. I let him take a look at the old point sheets I have on file, along with my computer files of endless records from Independence. He left me with the impression that he thought they were cool and that I wasn't a geek. I'll have to check back with him next week at Boone to see if his opinion has changed after he gets through this blog. I may think better of it and decide not to ask at all...
Since he endured me talking for over an hour about statistics and other trivial stuff, this is the least I could do - here's Jason Snyder in his IMCA Modified in competition at Independence in 2010.

Following the numbers from 2010, which are directly below, I added the season's totals to the all-time statistics. New records and other interesting all-time marks are listed at the end of this blog. Grab a drink and settle in, this Blitz is the longest (and most informative!) yet. Without further delay, here is the Blitz! Enjoy!

Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Late Model - 21.4 - 27 - 17
Modified – 25.8 - 34 - 19
Stock Car – 17.0 - 27 - 14
SportMod – 29.9 - 42 - 21
Hobby Stock – 22.9 - 27 - 19
TOTAL – 117.0 - 152 - 98

For those who cried foul during the latter half of the season, saying car counts were down and the track was going to disappear into the night, consider that the average car count at Independence in 2009 was 117.4. I will personally shoulder the blame for the loss of four-tenths of a car in 2010 due to one too many Tiger Woods and American Idol jokes on the microphone. If that's what it takes, I'll put the target on my back myself. While I was "retired" in 2008, I don't have the weekly averages for that season, however I can tell you that the average 2007 car count was 103. The highest car count that season was 114. Yes, that's three cars below our average car count in 2010. Yes, our car counts the first two weeks of 2010 were abnormally high. Even so, if you removed those two dates and averaged the rest of the season... 112. Not too shabby.  Remember that 103 in 2007? The 2006 average car count? 109.8 with a high car count of 121 that season.
Shown here on opening night, Sean Johnson (8R) battles Jason Cook (27J), Brian Irvine (26) and I believe Phil Holtz in IMCA Stock Car action.

Points
* 236 drivers earned points this season.
* Among those 236 drivers, 91 different hometowns were represented.
* Only three of five track champions won features: Tyler Bruening (Late Model), Austin Kaplan (SportMod) and Jarod Weepie (Stock Car). Track champions without victories included Troy Cordes (Modified) and Rod Grother (Hobby Stock).
* No driver held the points lead all 14 weeks. Cordes was atop the standings for the last 13 weeks, Bruening for the last 12 weeks and Kaplan for the last eight weeks. Weepie led for the final six weeks of the season while Grother led for the final four weeks and six of the last seven.

IN THE HUNT
* 15 drivers remained in the top-10 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:
Late Model (3): Tyler Bruening, Greg Kastli, Curt Martin;
Modified (3): Troy Cordes, Darin Duffy, Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (4): Norman Chesmore, Sean Johnson, Dan Trimble, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (2): Danny Dvorak, Joel Rust;
Hobby Stock (3): August Bach, Vince Buchholz, Justin Lichty.
J.D. Auringer (00) works the low side of Patrick Flannagan (F7) in IMCA Modified action.

Feature Winners
* There were 39 different feature winners in 70 feature events this season.
* In August alone, there were 16 different winners in 20 events. Only Darin Duffy (Modified), Sean Johnson (Stock Car), Josh Sherbon (SportMods) and Don Arnold (Hobby Stock) won multiple features during the month.
* Despite having 39 different winners, incredibly, 19 drivers managed to earn multiple feature wins. They included: Josh Sherbon (SportMod, 6 wins), Sean Johnson (Stock Car, 4), Austin Kaplan (SportMod, 3), Brian Irvine (Stock Car, 3), Justin O'Brien (Modified, 3), Vern Jackson (Modified, 3), Darin Duffy (Modified, 3), Jamie Whitaker (Hobby Stock, 3), Jeff Aikey (Late Model, 2), Tyler Bruening (Late Model, 2), Greg Kastli (Late Model, 2), Dale Hackwell Jr. (Late Model, 2), Max Corporon (Modified, 2), Dave Stricker (Stock Car, 2), Dan Trimble (Stock Car, 2), Ray Lundry (SportMod, 2), Vince Buchholz (Hobby Stock, 2), Justin Lichty (Hobby Stock, 2), Don Arnold (Hobby Stock, 2).
* The five track champions in 2010 accounted for the fewest number ever of composite wins for the points champions as those drivers won a total of only six features. Even the storm-shortened nine-week 2008 season boasted seven wins among the five champions.
A quartet of IMCA Hobby Stocks do battle, including George Wayne (31W), Mark Butler (28B), Russel Damme Jr. (4JR) and Wes Stanek Jr. (I think).

Top-10s
* 156 drivers earned at least one top-10 finish this season.
* Tyler Bruening (Late Model), Troy Cordes (Modified), Jarod Weepie (Stock Car) and Austin Kaplan (SportMod) led the way with 13 top-10s in 14 nights of racing. That consistency propelled those drivers to track championships in ther respective divisions. Not to be outdone, Rod Grother led the Hobby Stocks with 12 top-10s on his way to the points title.
* Kaplan closed the season with the longest top-10 streak as his 13 top-10s came in the final 13 weeks of the season.
Late Model driver Tysus Pattee (101) changed car numbers in 2010 in honor of fallen friend and crew member Roy Sturtz, who owned and operated 101 Welding in Vinton. Shown here, Pattee works the low side of Greg Kastli (73).

Top-5s
* 109 drivers earned at least one top-5 finish this season.
* Jarod Weepie (Stock Car) led all drivers with an incredible 12 top-5s in 14 weeks of racing. Tyler Bruening (Late Model) had 11, while Sean Johnson (Stock Car), Austin Kaplan (SportMod) and Rod Grother (Hobby Stock) each had 10. Vern Jackson led the Modifieds with nine top-5s in that division.
* Weepie closed the season with nine straight top-5s to lead all drivers. Jackson finished the season with six straight.
Travis Smock earned his first career IMCA Late Model victory in 2010.

Top-3s
* 81 drivers earned at least one top-3 finish this season.
* Jarod Weepie (Stock Car) and Josh Sherbon (SportMod) led the way with nine top-3 finishes apiece. Sean Johnson (Stock Cars) had eight while Tyler Bruening (Late Model) and Darin Duffy (Modified) had seven apiece. Rod Grother, Jamie Whitaker and Vince Buchholz led the Hobby Stock division with five top-3 finishes apiece.
Lucas Lundry gets his IMCA SportMod on three wheels during the early part of the 2010 season.

Feature Lap Leaders
* 75 drivers led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders included:
Late Model (17 total different lap leaders): Dale Hackwell Jr. (48 laps led), Joel Brasch (40), Jeff Aikey (39), Rick Wendling (36), Travis Smock (35), Jason Rauen (35), Tyler Bruening (32);
Modified (16): Vern Jackson (56 laps led), Justin O’Brien (50), Darin Duffy (50), Joe Docekal (23), Adam Johnson (23), Richie Gustin (19);
Stock Car (12): Dave Stricker (59 laps led), Brian Irvine (42), Sean Johnson (33), Rick Suckow (23), Phil Holtz (21), Dan Trimble (21), Justin Temeyer (20);
SportMod (14): Josh Sherbon (61 laps led), Ray Lundry (30), Austin Kaplan (25), Lucas Lundry (19), Austin Lucas (18), Matt McCahen (9);
Hobby Stock (16): Don Arnold (41 laps led), Chris Wiltse (27), Jim Ball (24), Justin Lichty (22), Jamie Whitaker (19), Max Leonard (15), Josh Irvine (14), Mark Butler (14).
Justin O'Brien (12J) runs down on the tires while Jerry Luloff (18) works high in IMCA Modified action.

Heat Races
* There were 93 different heat race winners in exactly 200 heat races.
* 53 drivers won multiple heat races this season.
* Greg Kastli (Late Model) led all drivers with nine heat race wins in 13 weeks of qualifying events. Josh Sherbon (SportMod) and Jim Ball (Hobby Stock) each won seven heats while Don Arnold (Hobby Stock) won six. Dave Stricker (Stock Cars) and Danny Dvorak (SportMods) had five heat wins apiece. Topping the Modified division with four heat wins each were Troy Cordes and Darin Duffy.
Norman Chesmore (15) is the only driver to race in the Stock Car division all 18 years it has competed at Independence. Shown here, Chesmore works the low groove in a three-wide battle.

Efficiency Stats
* A total of 287 races were run this season.
* A total of 2,992 laps were completed.
* A total of 298 caution flags were thrown.
* The Hobby Stock division (42 cautions in 55 total events) had the best caution per race ratio by averaging .76 cautions for every race.
* The Late Models (44 cautions in 643 total laps) had the best race lap per caution ratio by averaging 14.61 laps of competition completed between caution flags.
* The Modifieds had the most cautions per race, averaging 1.26 cautions per event with 78 caution flags thrown during their 62 races. A close second was the SportMod division, with only a .01 caution flag better per race average. They had 91 caution flags in 73 total events.
* The SportMods had the worst average when it came to laps completed between cautions. They averaged 7.25 laps between yellows. Their 91 cautions came during 660 laps of competition.
Stackin' 'em four-deep in the IMCA Hobby Stock division are Justin Hanson (23), Kyle Anderson (98), Jim Ball (7) and Jerome Wilson (64).

Since the year 1967...
* 644 Late Model feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 96 different winners. On average, a new Late Model winner visits victory lane every 6.7 events.
* 414 Modified feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 77 different winners. On average, a new Modified winner visits victory lane every 5.4 events.
* 262 Stock Car feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 39 different winners. On average, a new Stock Car winner visits victory lane every 6.7 events.
* 37 SportMod feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 12 different winners. On average, a new SportMod winner visits victory lane every 3.1 events.
* 323 Hobby Stock feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 84 different winners. On average, a new Hobby Stock winner visits victory lane every 3.8 events.
* Overall, in the last 44 seasons, 1,680 features have been completed in the five divisions that currently compete at the speedway.
Justin Temeyer (56T) and Sean Johnson (8R) battle for position in IMCA Stock Car competition.

Qualifying Streaks
* The longest currently active feature qualifying streaks for weekly competition in each division include:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman has qualified for 59 consecutive features. His last miss was June 3, 2006.
Modified: Jerry Luloff has qualified for 197 consecutive features. His last miss was July 5, 1997.
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie has qualified for 136 consecutive features. His last miss was June 9, 2001.
Hobby Stock: Justin Hanson has qualified for 27 consecutive features. His last miss was May 2, 2009.
SportMod: Jim Buhlman has qualified for all 37 features dating back to the first one at the speedway on June 21, 2008.
Russel Damme Jr. (4JR), Justin Stander (67), Chris Wiltse (69), August Bach (19) and Wes Stanek Jr. (16) look for a way to the front in IMCA Hobby Stock action.


Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* Of the 70 feature winners, 37 came from inside starting spots and 33 from the outside.
* No driver in the Late Model, Modified or Hobby Stock divisions finished in the same feature position more than three times. It may not sound like that big of a deal, but it is very rare for that to occur in one division, let alone three times in the same season.
* Jerry Luloff (Modified) and Tyler Droste (SportMod) were the only two drivers to lead just a single lap of feature racing and earn wins.
* 90 different drivers cracked the top-10 in his or her division’s points for at least one week this season.
* 21 different drivers held or shared their division's points lead at some point during the season, including four different Late Models, two Modifieds, four Stock Cars, five SportMods and six Hobby Stocks.
* All three of Justin O'Brien's Modifed wins came from the outside second row starting spot.
* No drivers won from the pole in either the Modifieds or SportMods. In fact, nobody won from the entire front row in the SportMod division.
* Three drivers won features after failing to qualify for the invert of their heat races: Brian Irvine (Stock Car) came from the 17th starting spot to win on May 15, Dan Trimble (Stock Car) came from the 13th starting spot to win on August 7 and Darin Duffy (Modified) came from the 21st starting spot to win on August 14.
Shown here on season championship night, 14-year-old Tyler Droste drove to his first career IMCA SportMod win in the season finale and brought the capacity crowd to its feet.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING...
Okay, here it is, the impact 2010 had on the grand scheme of things - the track history of the speedway. I'll break down each division with a few new records and highlights from 2010, then include updated all-time stats at the end of each division. While some of the information below is the same as I posted this past January and February, everything listed is current through the 2010 season. Updates were made where necessary. I am also making this information available to those of you who may not have been a reader of Positively Racing prior to the start of the season.

Oh yeah, and one other reason I'm posting this information again is to get Dominator Chassis owner Nick Wroten out of retirement. You see, I know him being tied with Chris Wessner for the longest winning streak in Hobby Stock division history at Independence really irritates him. It isn't Wessner that bothers him, it's that whole being tied bit that gets under his skin. I figure the more he sees it, the more likely he'll suit up next year and see what he can show the youth movement in the division.

Again, the numbers listed below relate to weekly points races only. Special events are not included in any statistics provided in the Stats Blitz.

LATE MODEL (1965-2010, 46 seasons)
NOTE: My records go back to the start of the 1967 season. The 1965 and 1966 seasons are not included in any of the statistics listed below.
• 2010 was just the fifth time in 44 years that no Late Model driver won more than two features.
• The 10 different Late Model winners in 2010 tied for the third most for a single season in track history. The record was 12 in the 16-week 1975 season. In 1970 there were 11 different winners in that 14-week season. Other seasons with exactly 10 different Late Model winners included 1976, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1999 and 2007.
• Four different Late Model drivers won multiple features. That ties for the most since 1997, when six different drivers won more than one feature that season. Coincidentally, the six different multi-race winners of that year stands as the all-time record. Since then, there have been four multi-race Late Model winners in a season in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2007.
• Of the 644 feature wins since 1967, 210 belong to drivers who were single-race winners in a season... 86 times a driver won two features in a single season, 23 times has a single season produced a three-race winner, 16 times has there been a four-race winner, 11 times there has been a five-race winner, five times a six-race winner, four times a seven-race winner and twice an eight-race winner.
• Three of the four Late Model winners of the Dick Frye Memorial race during the fair have gone on to win the season championship feature, as well as wrap up the points title. Darren Ackerman did it in 2007 and 2009, while Tyler Bruening did it in 2010. Coincidentally, all four Dick Frye Memorial winners went on to win the championship night feature as Curt Martin did it in 2008.

Feature Wins (96 drivers)
1. Curt Martin 91
2. Gary Crawford 46
3. Ed Sanger 43
4. Greg Kastli 40
5. Rick Wendling 34
6. Jim Burbridge 32
7. Red Dralle 21
8. Greg Hunter 20
9. Chub Liebe 16
T10. Darren Ackerman 15
T10. Denny Osborn 15
T12. Bill Zwanziger 14
T12. Darin Burco 14
T14. Glen Martin 13
T14. Kevin Pittman 13
T16. Al "Doc" Mayner 10
T16. Darin Duffy 10
T16. Red Droste 10
19. Bill Barthelmes 9
T20. Jeff Aikey 8
T20. Joe Schaefer 8
Curt Hansen 7
Tyler Bruening 7
Arthur Nesteby 6
Dale Stolte 6
Dale Hackwell Jr. 5
Les Verly 5
Rick Dralle 5
Terry Neal 5
Bill Beckman 4
Cal Swanson 4
Dean Wagner 4
Dennis Dugan 4
Karl Sanger 4
Chad Lerch 3
Dave Bentley 3
Dave Gerner 3
Dave Thorsten 3
Gary Henderson 3
LaVern Carey 3
Tom Fitzpatrick 3
Tysus Pattee 3
Wes Merritt 3
Bob Hesse 2
Bob Hilmer 2
Dan Forsyth 2
Dan Nesteby 2
Dick Schiltz 2
Gary Tigges 2
Jack Mitchell 2
John Connolly 2
Larry Schmidt 2
Layne Meyer 2
Levi Benn 2
Luke Goedert 2
Lynn Idler 2
Paul Fitzpatrick 2
Randy Wheeler 2
Ty Burger 2
Bernard Reinking 1
Blaine Blessing 1
Brad Osborn 1
Bryan Klein 1
Darrell Sells 1
Dave Bedard 1
Dave Merfeld 1
Dave Noble 1
Dave Plum 1
Dave Stricker 1
Dave Trower 1
Dennis Schwake 1
Dick Heiden 1
Drew Johnson 1
Em Fretheim 1
Greg Bruening 1
Jason Rauen 1
Jim Burger 1
Jim Decker 1
Jim Gallery 1
Joel Brasch 1
John Weers 1
Josh McGowan 1
Ken Kennedy 1
Klaus Stricker 1
Larry Wasserfort 1
Luke Pestka 1
Randy Frush 1
Rich Picha 1
Rob Toland 1
Roger Bruggeman 1
Roger Klingfus 1
Scott Welsh 1
Steve Auringer 1
Tom Hughes 1
Travis Smock 1
Vern Jackson 1

All-time Late Model wins leader Curt Martin (45)

Track Champions
NOTE: I have incomplete track champion records for a few years prior to 1981 in the Late Model division so I chose not to include any of them here. Below are the last 30 Late Model track champions.
1981 Greg Kastli
1982 Jim Burbridge
1983 Greg Kastli
1984 Curt Martin
1985 Curt Martin
1986 Curt Martin
1987 Rick Wendling
1988 Greg Hunter
1989 Denny Osborn
1990 Curt Martin
1991 Curt Martin
1992 Greg Hunter
1993 Gary Crawford
1994 Greg Kastli
1995 Rick Wendling
1996 Rick Wendling
1997 Curt Martin
1998 Kevin Pittman
1999 Curt Martin
2000 Darin Burco
2001 Greg Kastli
2002 Greg Kastli
2003 Greg Kastli
2004 C. Martin / D. Ackerman
2005 Curt Martin
2006 Curt Martin
2007 Darren Ackerman
2008 Dale Hackwell Jr.
2009 Darren Ackerman
2010 Tyler Bruening

2010 IMCA Late Model Track Champion Tyler Bruening (16)

Most consecutive seasons with win (includes 3+ seasons)
18 - Curt Martin (1990-2007)
9 - Gary Crawford (1974-1982)
8 - Greg Kastli (1996-2003)
8 - Glen Martin (1973-1980)
7 - Darren Ackerman (2004-2010)
7 - Jim Burbridge (1986-1992)
7 - Ed Sanger (1968-1974)
6 - Darin Burco (1996-2001)
6 - Chub Liebe (1967-1972)
5 - Red Dralle (1982-1986)
5 - Red Dralle (1974-1980)
5 - Greg Hunter (1997-2001)
5 - Curt Hansen (1969-1973)
4 - Rick Wendling (1987-1990)
4 - Rick Dralle (2007-2010)
4 - Red Droste (1967-1970)
4 - Jim Burbridge (1980-1983)
4 - Greg Hunter (1986-1989)
4 - Gary Crawford (1984-1987)
4 - Al "Doc" Mayner (1970-1973)
3 - Tyler Bruening (2006-2008)
3 - Rick Wendling (1982-1984)
3 - Kevin Pittman (1996-1998)
3 - Jeff Aikey (2005-2007)
3 - Greg Kastli (1981-1983)
3 - Greg Hunter (1993-1995)
3 - Ed Sanger (1984-1986)
3 - Ed Sanger (1980-1982)
3 - Denny Osborn (1996-1998)
3 - Darin Duffy (2003-2005)
3 - Bill Zwanziger (1968-1970)
3 - Bill Barthelmes (1974-1976)
3 - Arthur Nesteby (1974-1976)
Most consecutive seasons with win (active)
7 - Darren Ackerman (2004-?)
4 - Rick Dralle (2007-?)
2 - Rick Wendling (2009-?)
First-time winners per month
26 - June
23 - August
23 - July
22 - May
1 - April
1 - September
Longest win streak (same season)
3 - Gary Crawford (1977, 1979, 1985, 1993)
3 - Ed Sanger (1972, 1973, 1973)
3 - Curt Martin (1992, 1999, 2004)
3 - Rick Wendling (1996, 1996)
Longest win streak (over two seasons)
4 - Ed Sanger (1973-1974)
Most wins in single season
8 - Ed Sanger (1973)
8 - Curt Martin (2002)
Most number of different winners in a season
12 - 1975
11 - 1970
10 - 1976, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1999, 2007, 2010
Most consec. different winners (same season)
9 - 1975
Most consec. diff. winners (two seasons)
9 - 1975-1976, 1979-1980
Most consec. diff. winners to start season
8 - 1970, 1985
Most consec. diff. winners to end season
9 - 1975
Most opening night feature wins
13 - Curt Martin (1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007)
4 - Ed Sanger (1971, 1974, 1978, 1981)
3 - Glen Martin (1967, 1973, 1975)
3 - Bill Barthelmes (1969, 1970, 1976)
3 - Rick Wendling (1982, 1995, 1996)
2 - Gary Crawford (1987, 2003)
2 - Greg Hunter (1993, 1997)
2 - Greg Kastli (2001, 2005)
1 - Red Droste (1968)
1 - Chub Liebe (1972)
1 - Dave Trower (1977)
1 - Tom Fitzpatrick (1979)
1 - Al "Doc" Mayner (1980)
1 - Gary Henderson (1983)
1 - Jeff Aikey (1988)
1 - Red Dralle (1989)
1 - Dean Wagner (2004)
1 - Darren Ackerman (2008)
1 - Rob Toland (2009)
1 - Travis Smock (2010)
Most season championship feature wins
8 - Curt Martin (1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005)
5 - Ed Sanger (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1981)
4 - Rick Wendling (1982, 1987, 1995, 1996)
3 - Gary Crawford (1977, 1978, 1993)
2 - Red Droste (1967, 1969)
2 - Joe Schaefer (1974, 1975)
2 - Darren Ackerman (2007, 2009)
2 - Tyler Bruening (2008, 2010)
1 - Red Dralle (1985)
1 - Paul Fitzpatrick (1968)
1 - Kevin Pittman (1994)
1 - Jim Burbridge (1980)
1 - Greg Kastli (1999)
1 - Greg Hunter (1988)
1 - Glen Martin (1979)
1 - Denny Osborn (1989)
1 - Dennis Dugan (1992)
1 - Darin Duffy (2004)
1 - Darin Burco (2000)
1 - Dale Hackwell Jr. (2006)
1 - Bill Zwanziger (1983)
1 - Bill Beckman (1976)
Rained out twice (2001, 2003)
Most points nights (season)
19 (1997)
Fewest points night (season)
9 (2008)
Most 2 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
14 - Curt Martin
4 - Ed Sanger
4 - Jim Burbridge
3 - Rick Wendling
3 - Bill Zwanziger
2 - Gary Crawford
2 - Greg Kastli
2 - Chub Liebe
2 - Darin Duffy
1 - Red Dralle
1 - Greg Hunter
1 - Darin Burco
1 - Glen Martin
1 - Kevin Pittman
1 - Darren Ackerman
1 - Red Droste
1 - Bill Barthelmes
1 - Arthur Nesteby
1 - Rick Dralle
1 - Jeff Aikey
Most 3 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
4 - Gary Crawford
3 - Ed Sanger
3 - Curt Martin
2 - Rick Wendling
Seasons with no back-to-back feature winners
1980, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2007
Bookend wins (won opener and championship features in same season)
6 - Curt Martin (1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1998, 2002)
3 - Rick Wendling (1982, 1995, 1996)
2 - Ed Sanger (1971, 1981)
Most days between first and most recent/last feature wins
11732 - Red Dralle (32 years, 1 month, 14 days)
11361 - Greg Kastli (31 years, 1 month, 8 days)
11004 - Rick Wendling (30 years, 1 month, 17 days)
10584 - Gary Crawford (28 years, 11 months, 22 days)
9912 - Denny Osborn (27 years, 1 month, 20 days)
9114 - Jeff Aikey (24 years, 11 months, 14 days)
8386 - Curt Martin (22 years, 11 months, 16 days)
8330 - Ed Sanger (22 years, 9 months, 21 days)
7728 - Jim Burbridge (21 years, 1 month, 26 days)
6587 - Bill Zwanziger (18 years, 13 days)
Average number of different winners per season
8.11
Average number of race nights per season
14.64

MODIFIED (1983-2010, 28 seasons)
• For just the third time in the 28-year history of the Modifieds at Independence, three separate drivers won at least three features in the same season. Darin Duffy, Vern Jackson and Justin O’Brien each won three features in 2010. In the 19-week, rainout-free 1997 season, Vern Jackson and Keith Pittman each won four times and Travis Heyer won three times to establish that mark. In the 16-week 2005 season, Jackson won five times, while Troy Cordes and Joey Schaefer each won three times. The 2010 season marked the first time that three drivers finished with exactly three wins apiece in the division.
• With his win on the final night of the 2010 season, Darin Duffy has won four season championship features in the Modified division. He now has sole possession of the lead in that category. Tom Bartholomew and Jerry Luloff each have three championship night wins. In the process, Duffy became the first driver since Bartholomew in 1991 and 1992 to sweep mid-season and season championship feature wins in back-to-back seasons.
• Troy Cordes became the first driver in track history to win multiple track championships without a feature win. He first accomplished that feat in 2008 before winning the 2010 track title without a trip to victory lane. During his 2002 title run, Cordes earned three wins. Twenty-three of his career Modified wins at Indee have come during non-championship years. The only other Modified drivers to earn a track championship at Independence without earning a feature win along the way include Scott Hogan in 1998 and Jerry Luloff in 2006. That means the last three Modified champions on even numbered years (2006, 2008, 2010) did not win a feature.
• For the fourth time in the last six years, there were exactly seven different Modified feature winners. The other two seasons of the last six there were eight different winners. In fact, only one time in the 28-year history of the Mods in Independence has there been a season with fewer than six different winners. That was in 1984, the division's second year, when there were four.
• Of the 414 all-time feature wins since 1983, 124 belong to drivers who were single-race winners in a season... 54 times a driver won two features in a single season, 16 times has a single season produced a three-race winner, 10 times has there been a four-race winner, six times there has been a five-race winner, four times a six-race winner, two times a seven-race winner, twice an eight-race winner and once a 10-time winner.

Feature Wins (77 drivers)
1. Darin Duffy 36
2. Vern Jackson 35
3. Troy Cordes 26
4. Tom Bartholomew 22
5. Jerry Luloff 21
6. Jack Mitchell 19
T7. Duane Van Deest 13
T7. Steve Droste 13
9. Scott Hogan 11
10. Timm Jensen 9
T11. Greg Kastli 8
T11. Joey Schaefer 8
T11. Kevin Pittman 8
T14. Deon Turner 7
T14. Ed Thomas 7
T14. John Light 7
T14. Mark Noble 7
T14. Max Corporon 7
T14. Mike Sampson 7
T14. Ron Barker 7
T14. Tim McBride 7
Corey Dripps 6
Craig Haupt 6
Garry Stuber 6
J.D. Auringer 6
Todd Jensen 6
Keith Pittman 5
Larry Schmidt 5
Tom Fitzpatrick 5
Adam Johnson 4
Dan Bohr 4
Don Erger 4
Jason Snyder 4
Jeff Barkdoll 4
Mike Krall 4
Justin O'Brien 3
Owen Grube 3
Randy Trefz 3
Travis Heyer 3
Adam Bolin 2
Dave Bentley 2
Dennis Fink 2
Jamie Aikey 2
Jerry King 2
Jim Abben 2
Johnathan Thimmesch 2
Kevin Peverill 2
Merlin Benning 2
Mike Schulte 2
Arlo Becker 1
Ben Metcalf 1
Brett Ladehoff 1
Buck Swanson 1
Cory Bauer 1
Dean Mahlstedt 1
Dennis Betzer 1
Denny Ansel 1
Dick Feckers 1
Doug Hillson 1
John Irwin 1
Ken Irvine 1
Kenny Hoeppner 1
Kevin Schroeder 1
Larry Engen 1
Merv Chandler 1
Patrick Flannagan 1
Richard Von Krog 1
Richie Gustin 1
Ron Becker 1
Ron Hurst 1
Ron Little 1
Ronn Lauritzen 1
Shawn Fisher 1
Tim Donlinger 1
Todd McCombs 1
Tom Hanson 1
Tony Olson 1

All-time Modified wins leader Darin Duffy (19D)

Track Champions
1983 Jack Mitchell
1984 Jack Mitchell
1985 Duane Van Deest
1986 Greg Kastli
1987 Mark Noble
1988 Craig Haupt
1989 Tom Bartholomew
1990 Tom Bartholomew
1991 Tom Bartholomew
1992 Tom Bartholomew
1993 Owen Grube
1994 Steve Droste
1995 Steve Droste
1996 Steve Droste
1997 Scott Hogan
1998 Scott Hogan
1999 Jerry Luloff
2000 Jerry Luloff
2001 D. Duffy / J. Luloff
2002 Troy Cordes
2003 Scott Hogan
2004 Vern Jackson
2005 Jerry Luloff
2006 Jerry Luloff
2007 J.D. Auringer
2008 Troy Cordes
2009 Darin Duffy
2010 Troy Cordes

2010 IMCA Modified Track Champion Troy Cordes (71)

Most consecutive seasons with win
10 - Jerry Luloff
9 - Vern Jackson
6 - Troy Cordes
6 - Tom Bartholomew
6 - Darin Duffy
5 - Duane Van Deest
4 - Steve Droste
4 - Scott Hogan
4 - Max Corporon
4 - Jerry Luloff
4 - Deon Turner
3 - Scott Hogan
3 - Ron Barker
3 - Owen Grube
3 - Corey Dripps
Most consecutive seasons with win (active)
4 - Jerry Luloff
4 - Max Corporon
First-time winners per month
24 - May
17 - August
17 - June
14 - July
5 - April
Total features
414
Total winners
77
Longest win streak (same season)
6 - Jack Mitchell (1984)
Longest win streak (over seasons)
4 - Steve Droste (1995-1996)
Most wins in single season
10 - Jack Mitchell (1984)
Most number of different winners in a season
11 (1994, 15-week season)
Career track championships
5 - Jerry Luloff (1999, 2000, co-2001, 2005, 2006)
4 - Tom Bartholomew (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992)
3 - Steve Droste (1994, 1995, 1996)
3 - Scott Hogan (1997, 1998, 2003)
3 - Troy Cordes (2002, 2008, 2010)
2 - Jack Mitchell (1983, 1984)
2 - Darin Duffy (co-2001, 2009)
1 - Vern Jackson (2004)
1 - Owen Grube (1993)
1 - Mark Noble (1987)
1 - J.D. Auringer (2007)
1 - Greg Kastli (1986)
1 - Duane Van Deest (1985)
1 - Craig Haupt (1988)
Most consec. different winners (same season)
8 - 1992, 1993 (3 separate times within 1993 season)
Most consec. diff. winners (two seasons)
9 - 1992-1993; 1993-1994
Most consec. diff. winners to start season
8 - 1993
Most consec. diff. winners to end season
8 - 1993
Most opening night feature wins
3 - Vern Jackson (2001, 2003, 2008)
2 - Steve Droste (1995, 1996)
1 - Jack Mitchell (1983)
1 - Mike Krall (1984)
1 - Tom Fitzpatrick (1985)
1 - Greg Kastli (1986)
1 - Todd Jensen (1987)
1 - Craig Haupt (1988)
1 - Kevin Pittman (1989)
1 - John Irwin (1990)
1 - Larry Schmidt (1991)
1 - Deon Turner (1992)
1 - Tim Donlinger (1993)
1 - Duane Van Deest (1994)
1 - Travis Heyer (1997)
1 - Jerry Luloff (1998)
1 - Garry Stuber (1999)
1 - Troy Cordes (2000)
1 - Jerry King (2002)
1 - Scott Hogan (2004)
1 - Joey Schaefer (2005)
1 - Jason Snyder (2006)
1 - J.D. Auringer (2007)
1 - Max Corporon (2009)
1 - Richie Gustin (2010)
Note: It took 14 years before a driver won his second opening night feature. Prior to 1996, there were 13 different opening night winners.
Most season championship feature wins
4 - Darin Duffy (1997, 1998, 2009, 2010)
3 - Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1991, 1992)
3 - Jerry Luloff (1999, 2002, 2004)
2 - Vern Jackson (2005, 2007)
2 - Troy Cordes (2000, 2006)
2 - Steve Droste (1994, 1995)
2 - Jack Mitchell (1983, 1984)
2 - Duane Van Deest (1985, 1986)
1 - Scott Hogan (1996)
1 - Ron Barker (1989)
1 - Owen Grube (1993)
1 - Mark Noble (1987)
1 - Johnathan Thimmesch (2008)
1 - Craig Haupt (1988)
Rained out twice (2001, 2003)
Track champion with fewest feature wins
0 - Scott Hogan (1998), Jerry Luloff (2006), Troy Cordes (2008, 2010)
Most points nights (season)
19 - 1997
Fewest points night (season)
7 - 1986
Most 2 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
6 - Darin Duffy
Most 3 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
3 - Darin Duffy
Most 6 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Jack Mtchell
Season championship winners/points champion (same season)
Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1991, 1992)
Jack Mitchell (1983, 1984)
Steve Droste (1994, 1995)
Duane Van Deest (1985)
Mark Noble (1987)
Craig Haupt (1988)
Owen Grube (1993)
Jerry Luloff (1999)
Darin Duffy (2009)
Seasons with no back-to-back feature winners
1993, 1994, 2003, 2010
Bookend wins (won opener and championship features in same season)
Jack Mitchell (1983)
Craig Haupt (1988)
Steve Droste (1995)
Troy Cordes (2000)
Most days between first and most recent feature wins
6608 - Timm Jensen (18 years, 1 month, 4 days)
6552 - Ed Thomas (17 years, 11 months, 9 days)
6293 - Darin Duffy (17 years, 2 months, 23 days)
5089 - Jerry Luloff (13 years, 11 months, 7 days)
5054 - Deon Turner (13 years, 10 months, 2 days)
4837 - Vern Jackson (13 years, 2 months, 28 days)
4774 - Troy Cordes (13 years, 26 days)
4326 - Garry Stuber (11 years, 10 months, 4 days)
4081 - Jack Mitchell (11 years, 2 months, 2 days)
3633 - Mike Sampson (9 years, 11 months, 12 days)
Average number of different winners per season
7.82
Average number of race nights per season
14.79
1st feature winner in division history
Jack Mitchell (5/21/83)
50th feature winner in division history
John Light (6/28/86)
100th feature winner in division history
Deon Turner (7/1/89)
150th feature winner in division history
Timm Jensen (8/15/92)
200th feature winner in division history
Steve Droste (7/6/96)
250th feature winner in division history
Darin Duffy (7/19/99)
300th feature winner in division history
Ben Metcalf (8/17/02)
350th feature winner in division history
J.D. Auringer (5/6/06)
400th feature winner in division history
Darin Duffy (8/29/09)
Monthly sweeps (minimum of 3 races run that month)
June 1984 - Jack Mitchell (3 races)
August 1984 - Jack Mitchell (4 races)
May 1987 - Mark Noble (3 races)

STOCK CAR (1993-2010, 18 seasons)
• Jarod Weepie has won four of the last six IMCA Stock Car track championships (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010)
• Jarod Weepie became the ninth IMCA Stock Car track champion in 18 years to win both the season championship feature and the division points title.
• The seven different feature winners in 2010 ties 2006 with the most in the last five seasons. The year before, in 2005, a record nine different drivers won features.
• Of the 262 all-time feature wins since 1993, 48 belong to drivers who were single-race winners in a season... 22 times a driver won two features in a single season, 15 times has a single season produced a three-race winner, seven times has there been a four-race winner, three times there has been a five-race winner, five times a six-race winner, one time a seven-race winner, once an eight-race winner, three times a nine-time winner and once a 10-time winner.

Feature Wins (39 drivers)
1. Dan Trimble 68
2. Brian Irvine 31
3. Jarod Weepie 18
4. Justin Temeyer 17
5. Larry Portis 16
6. Tom Schmitt 15
7. Norman Chesmore 14
8. Chris Wessner 9
9. Sean Johnson 8
10. Ken Irvine 7
T11. Curtis Roster 5
T11. Darrin Treptow 5
T11. Lon Gadow 5
T14. Damon Murty 4
T14. Tony Schimmels 4
T16. Brad Holtkamp 3
T16. Dale Hackwell Jr. 3
T16. Forrest Frost 3
T16. Jerry Schipper 3
T20. Dave Stricker 2
T20. David Adams 2
T20. Phil Holtz 2
T20. Robert Walters 2
Bernard Reinking 1
Bob Ahrendsen 1
Chad Albert 1
Cliff Gray 1
Dain Sires 1
Doug Walker 1
Eric Weber 1
Fabian Seitz 1
Jeff Franck 1
LaVern Carey 1
Max Leonard 1
Richard Quail 1
Roger Samec 1
Scooter Dulin 1
Steve Meyer 1
Todd Suhr 1

All-time Stock Car wins leader Dan Trimble (20)

Track Champions
1993 Lon Gadow
1994 Dan Trimble
1995 Larry Portis
1996 Jerry Schipper
1997 Jerry Schipper
1998 Dan Trimble
1999 Dan Trimble
2000 Dan Trimble
2001 Dan Trimble
2002 Dan Trimble
2003 Dan Trimble
2004 Dan Trimble
2005 Jarod Weepie
2006 Dan Trimble
2007 Jarod Weepie
2008 Jarod Weepie
2009 Brian Irvine
2010 Jarod Weepie

2010 IMCA Stock Car Track Champion Jarod Weepie (3)

Most consecutive seasons with win
13 - Dan Trimble (1994-2006)
8 - Jarod Weepie (2000-2007)
Most consecutive seasons with win (active)
6 - Brian Irvine (2005-?)
First-time winners per month
10 - May
10 - June
9 - July
8 - August
2 - April
Total features
262
Total winners
39
Longest win streak (same season)
6 - Dan Trimble - 7/2/94 to 8/6/94 (Norman Chesmore on 8/13/94)
6 - Larry Portis - 7/8/95 to 8/26/95
Longest win streak (over seasons)
7 - Larry Portis - 7/8/95 to 4/27/96 (Jerry Schipper on 5/4/96)
7 - Dan Trimble - 8/14/99 to 6/3/00 (Curtis Roster on 6/10/00)
Most wins in single season
10 - Larry Portis (1995)
Most number of different winners in a season
9 - 2005 (in 16 nights)
Career track championships
9 - Dan Trimble (1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006)
4 - Jarod Weepie (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010)
2 - Jerry Schipper (1996, 1997)
1 - Lon Gadow (1993)
1 - Larry Portis (1995)
1 - Brian Irvine (2009)
Most consec. different winners (same season)
7 - 5/28/05 to 7/16/05
Most consec. diff. winners (two seasons)
NA (not as long as streak directly above)
Most consec. diff. winners to start season
5 - 2003 season
Most consec. diff. winners to end season
6 - 2006 season
Most opening night feature wins
5 - Dan Trimble
3 - Brian Irvine
2 - Larry Portis
2 - Tom Schmitt
1 - Lon Gadow
1 - Ken Irvine
1 - Jarod Weepie
1 - Fabian Seitz
1 - Norman Chesmore
1 - Justin Temeyer
Most season championship feature wins
7 - Dan Trimble
3 - Brian Irvine
2 - Jarod Weepie
1 - Tom Schmitt
1 - Lon Gadow
1 - Larry Portis
1 - Darrin Treptow
(Rained out twice - 2001, 2003)
Track champion with fewest feature wins
0 - Jerry Schipper (1997), Jarod Weepie (2008)
Most points nights (season)
19 - 1997 (only season on record with no rainouts)
Fewest points night (season)
9 - 2008 (Wind storm destroyed grandstands in spring)
Most 2 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
9 - Dan Trimble (13 drivers with 2 race win streak)
Most 3 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
3 - Dan Trimble (6 drivers with 3 race win streak)
Most 4 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
2 - Brian Irvine (2 drivers with 4 race win streak)
Most 5 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Chris Wessner (only driver with 5 race win streak)
Most 6 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Larry Portis and Dan Trimble (2 drivers with 6 race win streak)
Season championship winners/points champion (same season)
Lon Gadow (1993)
Dan Trimble (1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002)
Larry Portis (1995)
Brian Irvine (2009)
Jarod Weepie (2010)
Seasons with no back-to-back feature winners
2006
Bookend wins (won opener and championship features in same season)
4 - Dan Trimble (1994, 1998, 1999, 2000)
2 - Brian Irvine (2007, 2009)
1 - Lon Gadow (1993)
1 - Larry Portis (1995)
1 - Tom Schmitt (2004)
Most days between first and most recent feature wins
5922 - Dan Trimble (16 years, 2 months, 8 days))
5488 - Norman Chesmore (15 years, 9 days)
3668 - Jarod Weepie (10 years, 16 days)
3213 - Justin Temeyer (8 years, 9 months, 17 days)
2163 - Tony Schimmels (5 years, 11 months, 3 days)
1898 - Tom Schmitt (5 years, 2 months, 9 days)
1855 - Brian Irvine (5 years, 29 days)
1834 - Sean Johnson (5 years, 8 days)
1435 - Curtis Roster (3 years, 11 months, 5 days)
1393 - Ken Irvine (3 years, 9 months, 24 days)
Average number of different winners per season
5.89
Average number of race nights per season
14.56
1st feature winner in division history
Lon Gadow (4/24/93)
50th feature winner in division history
Larry Portis (7/20/96)
100th feature winner in division history
Tom Schmitt (7/10/99)
150th feature winner in division history
Tom Schmitt (4/26/03)
200th feature winner in division history
Jarod Weepie (5/27/06)
250th feature winner in division history
Brian Irvine (5/15/10)
Monthly sweeps (minimum of 3 races run that month)
August 1993 - Lon Gadow (3 races)
July 1994 - Dan Trimble (5 races)
August 1995 - Larry Portis (4 races)
July 2007 - Brian Irvine (4 races)

SPORTMOD (2008-2010, 3 seasons)
• Josh Sherbon became the first-ever 6-time winner in the IMCA SportMod division. Danny Dvorak held the previous mark of four wins in a single season, those coming in 2009. Sherbon is the only driver to win a feature in each of the first three years of the division at Independence.
• Josh Sherbon also accomplished a very rare feat in 2010 becoming just the seventh driver in track history to have a minimum of two straight wins three separate times during a single season. Sherbon won back-to-back features on May 29 and June 19 (around rainouts), July 17 and July 31 (around a rainout) and August 14 and August 21. The six drivers to do it before Sherbon? Vern Jackson (Pro Stock, 1992); Chris Wessner (Hobby Stock, 1996); Darin Duffy (Modified, 1999); Brian Irvine (Hobby Stock, 2003); Curt Martin (Late Model, 2004) and Brian Irvine again, this time in the Stock Cars in 2009.
• Of the 37 all-time feature wins since 2008, nine belong to drivers who were single-race winners in a season... three times a driver won two features in a single season, four times has a single season produced a three-race winner, once has there been a four-race winner and once has there been a six-race winner.

Feature Wins (13 drivers)
1. Josh Sherbon 10
2. Danny Dvorak 7
3. Austin Kaplan 5
4. Chris Luloff 3
T5. Joel Rust 2
T5. Lucas Lundry 2
T5. Ray Lundry 2
T8. Austin Lucas 1
T8. Jim Buhlman 1
T8. Joe Docekal 1
T8. Kurt Hogan 1
T8. Kyle Bentley 1
T8. Tyler Droste 1

All-time SportMod wins leader Josh Sherbon

Track Champions
2008 Danny Dvorak
2009 Kyle Bentley
2010 Austin Kaplan

2010 IMCA SportMod Track Champion Austin Kaplan (1)

Most consecutive seasons with win
3 - Josh Sherbon (2008-?)
2 - Danny Dvorak (2008-2009)
2 - Austin Kaplan (2009-?)
2 - Lucas Lundry (2009-?)
Most consecutive seasons with win (active)
3 - Josh Sherbon (2008-?)
2 - Austin Kaplan (2009-?)
2 - Lucas Lundry (2009-?)
First-time winners per month
5 - July
4 - August
2 - June
2 - May
0 - April
Total features
37
Total winners
13
Longest win streak (same season)
2 - Chris Luloff - 5/30/09 to 6/6/09 (Danny Dvorak on 6/20/09)
2 - Austin Kaplan - 5/15/10 to 5/22/10 (Josh Sherbon on 5/29/10)
2 - Josh Sherbon - 5/29/10 to 6/19/10 (Austin Kaplan on 6/26/10)
2 - Josh Sherbon - 7/17/10 to 7/31/10 (Ray Lundry on 8/7/10)
2 - Josh Sherbon - 8/14/10 to 8/21/10 (Tyler Droste on 8/28/10)
Longest win streak (over seasons)
NA
Most wins in single season
6 - Josh Sherbon (2010)
4 - Danny Dvorak (2009)
Most number of different winners in a season
7 - 2009 (in 14 nights)
Career track championships
1 - Danny Dvorak (2008)
1 - Kyle Bentley (2009)
1 - Austin Kaplan (2010)
Most consec. different winners (same season)
6 - 6/27/09 to 8/8/09
Most consec. diff. winners (two seasons)
NA (not as long as streak directly above)
Most consec. diff. winners to start season
3 - 2009 season
Most consec. diff. winners to end season
5 - 2008 season
Most opening night feature wins
2 - Josh Sherbon (2008, 2009)
1 - Austin Lucas (2010)
Most season championship feature wins
1 - Jim Buhlman (2008)
1 - Joel Rust (2009)
1 - Tyler Droste (2010)
Track champion with fewest feature wins
0 - Kyle Bentley (2009)
Most points nights (season)
14 - 2009, 2010
Fewest points night (season)
9 - 2008
Most 2 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
3 - Josh Sherbon (all in 2010 season)
1 - Chris Luloff (2009)
1 - Austin Kaplan (2010)
Most 3 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
None
Most 4 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
None
Season championship winners/points champion (same season)
None
Seasons with no back-to-back feature winners
2008
Bookend wins (won opener and championship features in same season)
None
Most days between first and most recent feature wins
791 - Josh Sherbon (2 years, 2 months)
406 - Danny Dvorak (1 year, 1 month, 10 days)
357 - Lucas Lundry (11 months, 12 days)
322 - Austin Kaplan (10 months, 18 days)
Average number of different winners per season
6.00
Average number of race nights per season
12.33
1st feature winner in division history
Josh Sherbon (6/21/08)
Monthly sweeps (minimum of 3 races run that month)
None

HOBBY STOCK (1989-2010, 22 seasons)
• Four different drivers won multiple features in the Hobby Stock division. That tied the all-time high, which was set in 1992, then matched in 1998. The four multi-race winners for a single season was the most since five drivers came away with multiple wins in 2005. Coincidentally, five multi-race winners is the record for a single season in the Hobby Stocks. That was initially set in 1997 before being matched in 2005.
• Never before had three different drivers ended the season with exactly two Hobby Stock wins apiece. Vince Buchholz, Justin Lichty and Don Arnold were all two-time winners in 2010. Only 15 times in division history has a driver earned more than two wins in a single season at Independence.
• Only once in the last six seasons has a Hobby Stock driver earned more than three wins in a single season. That was last accomplished by track champion Josh Irvine in 2007.
• Of the 323 all-time feature wins since 1989, 102 belong to drivers who were single-race winners in a season... eight times a driver won two features in a single season, six times has a single season produced a three-race winner, once has there been a four-race winner, three times there has been a five-race winner, once a six-race winner, twice a seven-race winner, once an eight-race winner and once a nine-time winner.

Feature Wins (84 drivers)
1. Chris Wessner 20
2. Brian Irvine 16
3. Chris Luloff 15
4. Josh Irvine 13
5. Patrick Stansbery 11
T6. Ken Irvine 10
T6. Nick Wroten 10
T6. Rick Johnson 10
T6. Vince Buchholz 10
T10. Forrest Frost 9
T10. Jeff Roete 9
T12. Chris Schares 6
T12. Justin Lichty 6
T12. Steve Holthaus 6
T12. Tim Bartholomew 6
T12. Todd Temeyer 6
T17. Bret Dage 5
T17. David Rice 5
T17. Doug Otto 5
T17. Jerry Luloff 5
T17. Justin Temeyer 5
T17. Kevin Hoehne 5
T17. Lon Gadow 5
T17. Quinton Miller 5
T17. Rick Suckow 5
T17. Rod Grother 5
J.R. Kahler 4
Jamie Whitaker 4
Jarod Weepie 4
Paul Shepherd 4
Scooter Dulin 4
Tim Meeker 4
Adam Johnson 3
Chad Clubine 3
Danny Dvorak 3
Derek Reisner 3
Don Arnold 3
Jason Goedken 3
John Meyer 3
Matt Brown 3
Milo Matthias 3
Quinton Reinking 3
Zac Boehmer 3
August Bach 2
Bill Meyer 2
Brandon Davis 2
Butch Reid 2
Dwan Waddell 2
Jeff Wedemeier 2
Jim Achenbrenner 2
Joel Brasch 2
John Roete 2
Josh Steere 2
Shane Ebaugh 2
Wes Stanek Jr. 2
Brad Forbes 1
Brian Happel 1
Chris Wiltse 1
Cliff Tharp 1
Craig Coventry 1
Dale Hackwell Jr. 1
Duane Duffy 1
Greg Sweerin 1
Guy Stacy 1
Jason Rohde 1
Jeremiah Wilson 1
Jim Ball Jr. 1
Joe Sprague 1
Kevin Robinson 1
Kyle Scheel 1
Lloyd Bacon 1
Mark Butler 1
Max Leonard 1
Micheal Smith 1
Mike Ihde 1
Perry Thomsen 1
Randy Wheeler 1
Roger Ciesielski 1
Ron Hufford 1
Russel Damme Jr. 1
Ryan Bochmann 1
Steve Farr 1
Travis Michels 1
Troy Cordes 1

The active leader in wins in the Hobby Stock division, Josh Irvine is fourth on the all-time wins list for the division at Independence.

Track Champions
1989 Steve Holthaus
1990 Lon Gadow
1991 Jerry Luloff
1992 Forrest Frost
1993 Bret Dage
1994 Kevin Hoehne
1995 Chris Wessner
1996 Todd Temeyer
1997 Adam Johnson
1998 Nick Wroten
1999 Doug Otto
2000 Jeff Roete
2001 Scooter Dulin
2002 Patrick Stansbery
2003 Vince Buchholz
2004 Brian Irvine
2005 Patrick Stansbery
2006 Paul Shepherd
2007 Josh Irvine
2008 Chris Luloff
2009 Josh Irvine
2010 Rod Grother

2010 IMCA Hobby Stock Track Champion Rod Grother (77)

Most consecutive seasons with win
6 - Patrick Stansbery (1998-2003)
Most consecutive seasons with win (active)
4 - Justin Lichty (2007-?)
4 - Quinton Miller (2007-?)
2 - August Bach (2009-?)
First-time winners per month
24 - July
19 - June
19 - August
18 - May
4 - April
Total features
323
Total winners
84
Longest win streak (same season)
5 - Chris Wessner (1995), Nick Wroten (1998)
Longest win streak (over seasons)
7 - Brian Irvine (2003-2004)
Most wins in single season
9 - Chris Wessner (1995)
Most number of different winners in a season
11 (2006, in 14 nights)
Career track championships
2 - Patrick Stansbery (2002, 2005)
2 - Josh Irvine (2007, 2009)
1 - Steve Holthaus (1989)
1 - Lon Gadow (1990)
1 - Jerry Luloff (1991)
1 - Forrest Frost (1992)
1 - Bret Dage (1993)
1 - Kevin Hoehne (1994)
1 - Chris Wessner (1995)
1 - Todd Temeyer (1996)
1 - Adam Johnson (1997)
1 - Nick Wroten (1998)
1 - Doug Otto (1999)
1 - Jeff Roete (2000)
1 - Scooter Dulin (2001)
1 - Vince Buchholz (2003)
1 - Brian Irvine (2004)
1 - Paul Shepherd (2006)
1 - Chris Luloff (2008)
1 - Rod Grother (2010)
Most consec. different winners (same season)
8 (2005)
Most consec. diff. winners (two seasons)
7 (1990-1991, 2001-2002)
Most consec. diff. winners to start season
6 (2002, 2010)
Most consec. diff. winners to end season
8 (2005)
Most opening night feature wins
2 - Lon Gadow
2 - Chris Wessner
1 - Ken Irvine
1 - Forrest Frost
1 - Rick Johnson
1 - Kevin Hoehne
1 - Jason Rohde
1 - Danny Dvorak
1 - Doug Otto
1 - Jeff Roete
1 - Patrick Stansbery
1 - John Meyer
1 - J.R. Kahler
1 - Brian Irvine
1 - Josh Steere
1 - Rod Grother
1 - Micheal Smith
1 - Chris Luloff
1 - Josh Irvine
1 - August Bach
Most season championship feature wins
3 - Chris Wessner
2 - Brian Irvine
2 - Chris Luloff
2 - Josh Irvine
1 - Ken Irvine
1 - Rick Suckow
1 - Derek Reisner
1 - Forrest Frost
1 - Rick Johnson
1 - Tim Bartholomew
1 - Nick Wroten
1 - Doug Otto
1 - Patrick Stansbery
1 - Jeff Wedemeier
1 - Rod Grother
1 - Jamie Whitaker
Track champion with fewest feature wins
0 - Patrick Stansbery (2005)
0 - Rod Grother (2010)
Most points nights (season)
19 (1997)
Fewest points night (season)
9 (2008)
Most 2 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
4 - Chris Wessner
Most 3 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Chris Wessner, Brian Irvine, Chris Luloff, Vince Buchholz, Kevin Hoehne, J.R. Kahler
Most 4 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Brian Irvine, Josh Irvine
Most 5 race win streaks (each streak within same season)
1 - Chris Wessner, Nick Wroten
Season championship winners/points champion (same season)
Josh Irvine (2007, 2009)
Forrest Frost (1992)
Chris Wessner (1995)
Nick Wroten (1998)
Doug Otto (1999)
Brian Irvine (2004)
Chris Luloff (2008)
Seasons with no back-to-back feature winners
1993, 2005, 2008
Bookend wins (won opener and SC features in same season)
Chris Wessner (1995, 1996)
Ken Irvine (1989)
Forrest Frost (1992)
Rick Johnson (1993)
Doug Otto (1999)
Brian Irvine (2004)
Chris Luloff (2008)
Josh Irvine (2009)
Most days between first and most recent feature wins
6251 - Vince Buchholz (12 years, 11 months, 8 days)
2919 - Todd Temeyer (5 years, 11 months, 30 days)
2170 - John Meyer (5 years, 11 months, 9 days)
2107 - Derek Reisner (5 years, 9 months, 7 days)
1904 - Jeff Roete (5 years, 2 months, 16 days)
1848 - Patrick Stansbery (5 years, 22 days)
1526 - Chris Luloff (4 years, 2 months, 2 days)
1491 - Rick Johnson (4 years, 30 days)
1484 - Don Arnold (4 years, 23 days)
1127 - Lon Gadow (3 years, 1 month)
Average number of different winners per season
7.55
Average number of race nights per season
14.68
1st feature winner in division history
Ken Irvine (4/29/89)
50th feature winner in division history
Rick Suckow (6/6/92)
100th feature winner in division history
Chris Wessner (8/26/95)
150th feature winner in division history
Jarod Weepie (8/22/98)
200th feature winner in division history
Guy Stacy (6/8/02)
250th feature winner in division history
Bill Meyer (7/9/05)
300th feature winner in division history
Josh Irvine (6/20/09)
Monthly sweeps (minimum of 3 races run that month)
July 1995 - Chris Wessner (3 races)
July 2002 - J.R. Kahler (3 races)
May 2004 - Brian Irvine (3 races)

RAINOUT TRENDS
Since 1967, there have been a total of 795 weekly events scheduled at Independence. Of those 795 race nights, 168 were canceled. The monthly breakdown is as follows:
April: 11 rainouts in 25 events for a 56% success rate
May: 65 rainouts in 196 events for a 66.8% success rate
June: 37 rainouts in 188 events for an 80.3% success rate
July: 26 rainouts in 195 events for an 86.7% success rate
August: 29 events in 191 events for an 84.8% success rate

April: 6.5% of all rainouts
May: 38.7% of all rainouts
June: 22% of all rainouts
July: 15.5% of all rainouts
August: 17.3% of all rainouts

When considering the season is separate halves, where May  and June comprise the first half of the season and July and August are the second half (I omitted April since it accounts for so few of the overall events), there have been 102 rainouts in 384 events scheduled for the first half of the season, whereas there have only been 55 rainouts in 386 events scheduled for the second half of the season. That means, historically, 65% of all rainouts have come during the first half of the season, nearly twice as many as in the second half.

The earliest date the track has scheduled for a weekly points race has been April 24, while the latest date in August has been August 31. When you consider those dates and all dates in between, at least one race has been held at the speedway on all of those dates over the past 44 years. The most rainouts for a single date in the last 44 years is four. Just four dates - May 7, May 17, May 22 and June 2 - hold that dubious distinction. While no date has rained out every year, there are 33 dates that have never rained out at all.

Here is a look back at the dates that comprised the 2010 schedule, along with the rainout trends as we entered the past season. The status of the 2010 program for each date follows:
April 24: 1 successful shows in 3 attempts (33.3% success rate) / Rained out in 2010
May 1: 3 for 6 (50%) / Completed program in 2010
May 8: 6 for 6 (100%) / Rained out for the first time in track history
May 15: 4 for 6 (66.7%) / Completed
May 22: 2 for 6 (33.3%) / Completed
May 29: 3 for 6 (50%) / Completed
June 5: 6 for 6 (100%) / Rained out for the first time in track history
June 12: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Rained out
June 19: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Completed
June 26: 6 for 6 (100%) / Completed
July 3: 4 for 6 (66.6%) / Completed
July 10: 3 for 6 (50%) / Completed
July 17: 4 for 6 (66.6%) / Completed
July 24: 6 for 6 (100%) / Rained out for the first time in track history
July 31: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Completed
August 7: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Completed
August 14: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Completed
August 21: 6 for 6 (100%) / Completed
August 28: 5 for 6 (83.3%) / Completed

A view of the infield on July 24 after persistent torrential rainfall caused record flooding in the area. This marked the fifth and final rainout of 2010.

If the 2011 reflects the same scheduling pattern as previous years, the following dates will be scheduled next season. Listed with those dates below are their rainout trends over the last 44 years:
April 30: 2 successful shows in 3 attempts (66.6% success rate)
May 7: 1 for 5 (20%)
May 14: 3 for 5 (60%)
May 21: 3 for 5 (60%)
May 28: 5 for 5 (100%)
June 4: 5 for 5 (100%)
June 11: 5 for 5 (100%)
June 18: 4 for 5 (80%)
June 25: 4 for 5 (80%)
July 2: 5 for 5 (100%)
July 9: 4 for 5 (80%)
July 16: 5 for 5 (100%)
July 23: 5 for 5 (100%)
July 30: 5 for 5 (100%)
August 6: 4 for 5 (80%)
August 13: 5 for 5 (100%)
August 20: 4 for 5 (80%)
August 27: 5 for 5 (100%)

Years when the above dates have fallen on the schedule, the track averages just 2.6 rainouts for an entire season, meaning 2011 could be a very busy season. Afterall, the average number of weekly races run per season over the last 44 years is 14.64 out of an average of 18.06 scheduled. That means the dates that may fall on the schedule in 2011 result in one fewer rainout than average. However, if you look back at 2010, five dates had never been rained out entering 2010 and three of them ended the season with their first rainouts in track history. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine, but it's fun (at least for me?) to think about.

With that, I'm Blitzed out for 2010. Thank you to everyone for your support of the speedway this season. While there will be no more Blitzes until next spring, I do hope to throw out some random facts and other oddities throughout the course of the off-season. Also, if you have old photos from Independence and want to share them with other race fans from the area, I will gladly post them on here and/or the Independence facebook page. If you haven't already checked out the facebook page, there are a number of old driver photos, points sheets and souvenir programs on there in the Days Gone By album.

Since I'm working on this tonight and finishing up some other odds and ends in preparation for my week-long visit to Boone Speedway for next week's IMCA Super Nationals, I didn't make the trip to Marshalltown tonight. There are still a lot of specials on the calendar in the coming weeks, along with a few weekly shows remaining in 2010. After my trip to Highway 3 Raceway in Allison this Thursday night, I will be heading south for the weekend. While I hope to hit the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on Saturday, I'll be detoured on Friday night to announce a different type of social gathering at a race track. Trust me, I'll have all sorts of details to blog about that little event... See you at the races!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Tomorrow's heroes today - a night-by-night recap of 2010 at Independence Motor Speedway

Whether it's your first trip to victory lane or your 101st, every win means something. It may be a first career win or a final one. It may have happened with mom and dad in the crowd or long-lost relatives visiting from out of state. It may fall on a birthday or anniversary or may serve as a tribute to a fallen loved one. It may be memorable to a new father or even the newly married, as we experienced in 2010 at Independence Motor Speedway.

Those wins also mean something when it comes to building on the rich history of a race track that boasts local and regional heroes. We know how important the likes of individuals such as Ed Sanger and Jack Mitchell are to this part of the country because we watched them growing up or we heard about them from previous generations. The thing is, we probably didn't realize it when we were watching it happen. Years later, we've come to understand a better appreciation for just what those names and the many others mean to area racing.

A week-by-week, race night-by-race night overview follows below. It highlights each and every feature winner in 2010 at Independence Motor Speedway. Included are what it meant to those drivers from a personal or historical standpoint when future generations look back on today's history of the speedway. Also included are those pesky rainouts and the trends and patterns they have formed as they weave themselves into every race season (except 1997, of course).

While this is a nightly overview, the season-ending Stats Blitz is still in the works as I've spent parts of each of the last two days adding 2010's totals to the all-time numbers. The Stats Blitz, which will be a collection of statistical records and milestones of the recently concluded season along with the all-time numbers at Independence, follows later this week.

Settle in, two words shy of 5,000 follow below. While it's lengthy, each winner deserves his due. And now, here's your list of today's winners and, perhaps, tomorrow's legends...

Saturday, April 24
• For the fourth time in five years and sixth time in the last nine seasons, the program scheduled for the final weekend in April was rained out. In track history, it was the 11th rainout in 25 scheduled races for the last Saturday in April.

Saturday, May 1
• Travis Smock earned his first-ever IMCA Late Model win. Doing so, he became the 20th different driver in 43 years to score an opening night victory. He became the 94th different Late Model winner in track history and 50th under the IMCA banner at Independence.
• Richie Gustin became the 25th different IMCA Modified driver to win on opening night in the 28 years the division has competed at the speedway. His first-ever win at Independence, Gustin became the 76th different winner all-time.
• His 17th career IMCA Stock Car win at Independence, Justin Temeyer earned his first-ever opening night win at Independence.
• Austin Lucas won on opening night in the IMCA SportMod division in his first-ever visit to the speedway.
• August Bach earned his second career trip to Hobby Stock victory lane at Independence. Doing so, he became the 20th different opening night winner in the division’s 22-year history at the speedway.

Saturday, May 8
• For the third straight season races scheduled for the second Saturday in May were rained out, however it was the first time in track history that a weekly program scheduled on May 8 fell to the weather. It was the seventh scheduled weekly event on that date in track history.

Saturday, May 15
• Dale Hackwell Jr. earned his first IMCA Late Model victory since his win on season championship night on August 26, 2006.
• Max Corporon won the IMCA Modified feature, giving him at least one win in the division each of the last four seasons.
• Brian Irvine won the IMCA Stock Car feature, giving him at least one win in the division each of the last six seasons.
• Justin Lichty won the IMCA Hobby Stock feature, giving him at least one win in the division each of the last four seasons.

Wednesday, May 19
• Southeast Iowa’s Josh Foster topped a field of 59 IMCA Modifieds in the first-ever JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour Event. Kurt Hogan came out victorious in the SportMod portion of the event while August Bach earned top honors in the Hobby Stocks.

Saturday, May 22
• Jeff Aikey won the IMCA Late Model feature, his first win at Independence since June 16, 2007.
• Adam Johnson became the sixth straight different IMCA Modified winner, dating back to August 15, 2009.
• Brian Irvine won his second straight Stock Car feature and the 30th of his career at Independence. It marked his sixth separate streak of at least two straight wins or more.
• Austin Kaplan won his second straight IMCA SportMod feature. He joined Chris Luloff as the only drivers in track history to win two straight in the division.
• Jamie Whitaker earned his third career IMCA Hobby Stock feature win at Independence, his first since July 26, 2008.

Saturday, May 29
• Jeff Aikey became the 20th Late Model driver in track history to win back-to-back features.
• Max Corporon won his second IMCA Modified feature in three weeks. His seventh career win at the speedway, the victory moved him into a tie for 14th on the track’s all-time wins list. He became the 19th Modified driver in track history to possess a winning streak of two races or more.
• Brian Irvine scored his third straight IMCA Stock Car feature win. Prior to May 29, he was already one of seven Stock Car drivers in track history to earn at least two separate winning streaks of three races or more.
• Max Leonard earned his first-ever Independence Hobby Stock win. His only other trip to the winner’s circle at Independence prior to the night was an IMCA Stock Car win on July 6, 2002.
• Josh Sherbon won the IMCA SportMod feature and became the first driver in track history to win a feature in each of the first three years the division competed at Independence.

Saturday, June 5
• The third rainout of the 2010 season, it was the first time in the history of the track that a weekly event scheduled for June 5 rained out. It was the seventh scheduled race night on June 5 in track history. The rainout also marked just the ninth cancellation in 44 events scheduled for the first weekend in June in track history.

Saturday, June 12
• The fourth rainout of the season, it was only the second time in the history of the track that a weekly event scheduled for June 12 rained out. It was only the third time in track history that back-to-back weekly points races in June rained out. The only other June 12 rainout was in 1971. With the June 12 rainout, 2010 matched 1968, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1984 and 1995 with only four completed events recorded through the second Saturday in June. Not counting the storm-delayed 2008 season, the record low of having only three successful programs by the second Saturday in June occurred in 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1990. The back-to-back rainouts on June 5 and 12 marked the 29th time consecutive weekly races were rained out at Independence. Only twice in track history have three straight been rained out – May 15, 22 and 29 of 1976 and June 10, 17 and 24 of 2006. June 12 was the 167th rainout in the last 44 years at the speedway.

Saturday, June 19
• Newlywed Darren Ackerman, who got married the day before, won his third mid-season championship feature in seven years in the IMCA Late Models.
• Three new fathers visited victory lane on Father’s Day weekend. Among them, defending IMCA Modified track champion and all-time wins leader in the division at the speedway Darin Duffy, who notched his first win of the season and 34th of his career at Independence. It was his second straight mid-season Modified win. In victory lane, Duffy attributed his longevity to “good, clean living…”
• New dad Sean Johnson won his first IMCA Stock Car feature since July 26, 2008. It was his fifth career win at Independence; all coming in the last six seasons.
• Quinton Miller, the third of the new dads, won the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. The fifth win of his career, Miller tied Justin Lichty with the longest current active win streak – he has won at least one feature each of the last four years.
• Josh Sherbon became just the third driver in the three-year history of the IMCA SportMods at Independence to win consecutive features. Chris Luloff set the mark in 2009 and Austin Kaplan matched it the two weeks right before Sherbon accomplished the feat.

Saturday, June 26
• Jason Rauen became the 95th different Late Model winner in Independence history in weekly competition. He was the 51st IMCA-sanctioned Late Model winner at the speedway.
• Justin O’Brien scored his first-ever Independence win in the IMCA Modifieds. He became the 77th different Modified winner in the 28-year history of the division at the speedway.
• Dave Stricker earned his first-ever IMCA Stock Car win, making him the 39th different Stock Car winner in the 18-year history of the division at Independence. In his career, Stricker had previously earned a win in the Late Model division. He also had Modified wins to his credit, but none came at Independence.
o After running consistently in the top-5 in points all season, Sean Johnson took over the IMCA Stock Car points lead.
• Vince Buchholz won the IMCA Hobby Stock feature, his first since May 6, 2006. Buchholz earned his first win in the division at the speedway on May 29, 1993 – over the span of 6,237 days – the largest such span in division history at Independence.
• Austin Kaplan won his third IMCA SportMod feature of the season. He matched Danny Dvorak ‘s feat in 2008 by winning three of the division’s first six features of the season.

Wednesday, June 30
• Rob Toland topped a field of 47 IMCA Late Models when the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models made its annual appearance. Early leader Mark Burgtorf, who started to check out early on the field, was forced to the pits after making contact with two spinning lapped cars on the 13th of 50 laps.
• Brian Irvine won the IMCA Great American Stock Car Series event. It was his second straight win in the series at Independence as he was victorious during the series’ inaugural appearance in 2009. Irvine also won this season’s opening night series event at Marshalltown Speedway two days earlier. Thirty-five competitors signed in at Independence on June 30.

Saturday, July 3
• Rick Dralle earned his fifth career Late Model feature win at Independence. The victory placed him in a tie for 25th on the all-time wins list in the division at Independence.
o Darren Ackerman and Tyler Bruening ended the night tied atop the IMCA Late Model points, although Ackerman held the tie-breaker, by virtue of feature wins, if the season would have ended following that show. Bruening had been in sole possession of the points lead the previous four weeks.
• Vern Jackson scored his 33rd career IMCA Modified feature win at Independence, placing him one shy of Darin Duffy on the track’s all-time wins list in the division. It was his first win at the track since June 21, 2008; during the storm-delayed season’s opening event.
o IMCA Modified points leader Troy Cordes opened up the largest points lead at the speedway. Following the July 3 show, Cordes sat 36 markers ahead of Jerry Luloff. Luloff, coincidentally, qualified for his 190th consecutive Modified feature of the season on July 3, dating back to July of 1997.
• Phil Holtz picked up his second IMCA Stock Car feature win on Independence soil. The win made him the 22nd different multi-time winner in the division in its 18-year history at the speedway.
• Ray Lundry earned his first career IMCA SportMod feature win. He became the division’s 12th different winner in track history. Lundry had previously won four times in the Street Stock division from 1989-1990 and six times in the Pro Stock division during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
o After starting the season out of the top-20 in points (23rd), Austin Kaplan worked his way into the IMCA SportMod points lead for the first time in 2010.
• Jamie Whitaker became the first Hobby Stock driver to win his second feature in 2010. That left 2010 tied with 2003 as having the longest streak to start the season with different winners (six). It was Whitaker’s third career win at Independence, placing him in a tie for 32nd on the all-time wins list.

Saturday, July 10
• Greg Kastli drove to his 39th career Late Model win at Independence, his first at the speedway since August 12, 2006.
o Tyler Bruening regained the points lead by virtue of his fourth place finish.
• Justin O’Brien scored his second IMCA Modified win in three weeks, also the second of his career. O’Brien became the 49th Modified driver in track history to earn multiple wins.
• Sean Johnson earned his second IMCA Stock Car win of the season. The sixth of his career at Indee, Johnson moved into sole possession of 10th place on the division’s all-time wins list at the speedway.
• Lucas Lundry earned his second career IMCA SportMod feature win, almost a year to the day after his first victory. That first win came on July 18 of last year.
• IMCA Hobby Stock driver Vince Buchholz matched O’Brien’s efforts in the Modifieds by winning his second feature in three weeks. The 10th win of his career at Indee, Buchholz moved into a four-way tie for sixth on the all-time wins list for the division at the speedway. He finished the night tied with Ken Irvine, Nick Wroten and Rick Johnson.
o Rod Grother ended his streak of top-5 finishes at five after finishing the night in seventh. He did, however, take over the points lead in the division for the first time this season.

Wednesday, July 14
• The 2010 Buchanan County Fair kicked off with the Dart Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series on-hand. Jason Rauen topped a field of 22 Late Models to take his first series win. Dan Trimble won the Stock Car feature while Austin Kaplan topped the IMCA SportMods.

Saturday, July 17
• Tyler Bruening drove to his first Late Model win of the season. The sixth of his career at Indee, Bruening moved into a tie for 23rd on the all-time wins list at the speedway. Bruening became the sixth straight different driver to win a Late Model feature.
o Bruening extended his points lead to 10 markers ahead of Darren Ackerman.
• Jerry Luloff scored the 21st Modified win of his career at Independence, placing him just one win behind Tom Bartholomew for third on the all-time wins list at the speedway. This season marked the 14th year in his career that he has won at least one feature in the division at Indee. He is better than Vern Jackson by two years in that category.
• Dave Stricker earned his second IMCA Stock Car win of the season. Stricker became just the 23rd driver in track history with multiple Stock Car wins.
o Jarod Weepie took over the points lead for the first time in 2010. Weepie became the fourth different driver atop the division’s standings through nine weeks of racing.
• Josh Sherbon scored his third IMCA SportMod win of the season and the seventh of his career. It moved him into a tie with Danny Dvorak atop the all-time wins list in the division at Independence.
• Russel Damme Jr. made his first-ever trip to the winner’s circle in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Damme became the 83rd different Hobby Stock winner in track history. It was the 150th IMCA sanctioned Hobby Stock feature during weekly racing in track history.
o Vince Buchholz and Rod Grother ended the night tied atop the Hobby Stock standings. Justin Hanson sat just three points out at night’s end and Jamie Whitaker was five points behind the leaders.

Saturday, July 24
• For the fifth time this season, the races were rained out after substantial amounts of rain led to record flood levels in eastern Iowa. It was reported that 14 inches of rain fell in Independence over a 36 hour span at the end of the week into the weekend. It was the first time in seven scheduled weekly events in track history that the July 24 program fell to weather.
• Not counting the storm-shortened 2008 season when nine shows were lost, the fifth rainout of this season ties 2004, 2006 and 2009 with the most rainouts since 2001. Six race nights were canceled in each of those seasons. Again, not counting 2008, the record number of rainouts for a single season is eight. That dubious record was reached in 1969, 1990 and 1993.
• It was only the second July rainout in weekly racing in the last 30 events scheduled for July at the track. That dates back over six years. The only other cancellation during that span came on July 4, 2009. In fact, it was only the 26th rain out of a weekly points race for the month of July in 195 attempts at Independence since 1967. Despite the July 24 rainout, July still has the greatest success rate as 86.7% of July shows have been successful. The month of July accounts for only 15.5% of all rainouts at Independence in 44 seasons, the lowest percentage of any calendar month.

Saturday, July 31
• For the 20th time in the last 44 years, the month of July contained five Saturdays. For the 19th time out of those 20 scheduled race nights, races went on as scheduled. The 1993 season remains the only year in that span that the fifth Saturday in July was rained out at the speedway.
• Joel Brasch earned his first-ever win in the IMCA Late Model division. He became the 96th different Late Model winner at the track in the last 44 years and the 52nd in weekly IMCA-sanctioned competition. Brasch also became the seventh consecutive different Late Model winner at the speedway this season, the fourth to come from a pole position start.
o Tyler Bruening extended his points lead to 16 ahead of defending track champion Darren Ackerman.
• Vern Jackson scored his second win of the season in the IMCA Modifieds and the 34th of his career at Independence. His 34 wins tied him Darin Duffy atop the all-time list at the speedway.
o Troy Cordes earned his 10th top 10 finish in as many weeks, giving him a 31-point lead over Jerry Luloff heading into the final month of the season.
• Dan Trimble earned his first IMCA Stock Car win since May of 2009. His 67th win in weekly competition in the division at Independence, Trimble ended the night 36 wins ahead of second place Brian Irvine in that category.
o Jarod Weepie added a couple more points to his lead in the division. He ended the night 12 points ahead of Sean Johnson and 14 ahead of both Trimble and Norman Chesmore.
• Josh Sherbon earned his second straight win in the IMCA SportMods and his fourth of the season to lead all drivers at the speedway. The win placed him atop the list of all-time SportMods wins at the speedway with eight. Sherbon also became the first driver in the three-year history of the division at the track to possess multiple winning streaks. Sherbon also had a two-race win streak earlier this year.
o Austin Kaplan extended his points lead over Joel Rust, taking a 28-point lead into the final month of the season.
• Justin Lichty won his second IMCA Hobby Stock feature of the year, giving him six for his career.
o By virtue of a second place finish, Vince Buchholz broke the tie atop the division’s standings and took a two point lead over Rod Grother into the final month of competition.

Saturday, August 7
• Greg Kastli earned his second IMCA Late Model win of the season and the 40th Late Model win of his career at Independence.
o Although he lost one point to Darren Ackerman in the standings, Tyler Bruening ended the night with a 15-point edge in the division entering the final three nights of racing.
• Justin O’Brien earned his third IMCA Modified win of the season at Independence and his third win in the previous 24 hours. O’Brien won both the regular and make-up Modified features at Fayette County Speedway on the previous night. All three of O’Brien’s wins at Independence came from outside second row starting spots.
o Troy Cordes added to his already huge lead in the division. Entering the final three nights, Cordes carried a 34-point lead over Jerry Luloff.
• Dan Trimble won his second straight IMCA Stock Car feature. It marked the eighth time in track history that Trimble won back-to-back features, but his first time since June of 2003. It was the 68th win of his career at the speedway.
o Jarod Weepie finished second and held a 13-point lead in the standings over Trimble and Sean Johnson entering the final three nights of racing.
• Ray Lundry picked up his second IMCA SportMod win of the season and of his career at the speedway. He became only the seventh driver in the division’s history at the speedway to earn multiple wins.
o Austin Kaplan’s lead in the standings sat at 29 points following the evening’s program.
• Don Arnold earned his first IMCA Hobby Stock win of the year and the second of his career at the speedway. His first win in the division came on July 22, 2006.
o By virtue of his third place finish and Vince Buchholz’ sixth place finish, Rod Grother assumed the points lead entering the final three nights. Grother sat one point ahead of Buchholz at night’s end. Jamie Whitaker was a close third, only 10 points back.

Saturday, August 14
• Rick Wendling scored his first IMCA Late Model win of the season. The 34th weekly Late Model win in his career at Independence, Wendling sat fifth on the division’s all-time list at the speedway. He became the 10th different driver to win in the division in 2010, tying it for the third most number of Late Model winners in a single season. In 1970, there were 11 winners and in 1975 there were 12.
o Tyler Bruening inched closer to his first career track championship. By virtue of his top-five finish, Bruening opened up an 18-point lead over Darren Ackerman with only two weeks remaining in the season.
• Darin Duffy came from the 21st, and last, starting spot on the IMCA Modified feature grid to drive to his second win of the season. The 35th Modified win of his career at Indee, Duffy once again moved into sole possession of the lead on the all-time Modified wins list at the speedway.
o Troy Cordes all but wrapped up his third Modified title at Independence. He ended the night 36 points head of his nearest competitor, Jerry Luloff.
• Sean Johnson piloted to his third IMCA Stock Car win of the season, giving him seven for his career at the speedway. The win moved him into a tie with Ken Irvine for ninth on the all-time list.
o Although Johnson cut into his points lead, Jarod Weepie ended the night still nine points ahead of him in the division standings. Dan Trimble sat 15 points back at night’s end.
• Josh Sherbon earned his third IMCA SportMod win in a four-week span. His fifth win of the season, Sherbon broke Danny Dvorak’s mark of four wins in a season in the division, a record Dvorak set just last year.
o Austin Kaplan extended his points lead to 30 ahead of Joel Rust and 31 over Sherbon entering the final two weeks.
• Don Arnold became the first IMCA Hobby Stock driver to earn back-to-back wins this season. His consecutive wins both came from outside front row starting spots. Prior to August 14, all 11 winners came from different starting spots in the first six rows.
o Rod Grother built on his lead in the standings, taking a 12 point lead over Jamie Whitaker into the final two weeks. Vince Buchholz, who entered the night just a single point back, failed to finish the feature, leaving him 13 points out of the lead.

Saturday, August 21
• Independence Motor Speedway continued its perfect mark of races scheduled for August 21, going 7-for-7 without a rainout after the completion of the 2010 program. The program also guaranteed no more than one rainout in August for the season. Only once in the last 29 years has there been a season with multiple rainouts in August, that being 2001 when the final two shows fell to rain. Coincidentally, that marked the first time in track history that season championship night was rained out and not rescheduled. Ironically, in 2001, promoter Dana Benning scheduled season championship night one week earlier than normal to allow for a potential rainout. Needless to say, it was surprising to everyone when both August 18 and 25 rained out that year. Multiple August rainouts were more common in the early days of the speedway as a number of seasons rained out twice in the month of August. Those years were 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1980 and 1981 bringing the total to seven total seasons when the month of August has seen two rainouts. Never have three shows been canceled in the month of August at Independence. If the rain stays away on championship night on August 28, August would become the first month without a rainout at the track since August of 2009.
• Dale Hackwell Jr. earned his second IMCA Late Model win of the year, bringing his career total at Independence to five. It marked the first season in his career that he won multiple Late Model features at the track.
o Tyler Bruening held onto a 12 point lead over Darren Ackerman heading into the final night of racing.
• Vern Jackson scored his third IMCA Modified win of the season, bringing his career total to 35. He once again entered into a tie with Darin Duffy atop the division’s all-time leading feature winners in the Modifieds at Independence.
o Despite his first finish outside the top 10 all season, Troy Cordes held a 25-point edge over Jerry Luloff in the points heading into the final week. Cordes would only need to take the green flag on championship night to secure his third points title at Independence.
• Sean Johnson won back-to-back IMCA Stock Car features for the first time in his career. His fourth win of the season and the eighth of his career, Johnson moved into ninth on the all-time wins list for the division at Independence.
o Although Johnson won the feature, Jarod Weepie held onto a seven point lead in the Stock Car standings entering championship night. A finish of seventh or better on the final night would give Weepie his fourth career track championship at Independence.
• Josh Sherbon continued his roll in the IMCA SportMods. Taking his second straight win and fourth in five weeks, Sherbon picked up his sixth win of the season and 10th of his career.
o Austin Kaplan held a 25-point lead over Sherbon in the division standings entering championship night. Kaplan would only need to take the green flag in the championship night feature to earn his first-ever track title at Independence.
• First-year driver Chris Wiltse earned his first career IMCA Hobby Stock with a last lap pass of Mark Butler at the line as the checkers waved. Wiltse became the third first-time winner in the division in 2010 and the 84th different career winner in the Hobby Stocks at Independence.
o At night’s end, Rod Grother held a nine point lead in the standings over Jamie Whitaker. A finish of ninth or better on championship night would guarantee Grother his first track championship at Independence.

Saturday, August 28
• August marked the 72nd month in track history that there were no rainouts and the fifth time in the last six years that August was rainout-free.
• Tyler Droste earned his first career IMCA SportMod feature win, becoming the 13th different driver to win a feature in the division at the speedway.
o By virtue of starting the feature, Austin Kaplan became the third different SportMod track champion in as many years at the speedway.
• Jarod Weepie won the IMCA Stock Car feature, his first of the season and the 18th of his career. The win moved him into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list at Independence, knocking Justin Temeyer down to fourth. The win also locked up Weepie’s fourth career track championship at the speedway, second only to Dan Trimble. Weepie became the first driver in over 30 years to win a track title at Independence after winning only the season championship feature that season. Coincidentally, it was the first time in four titles at Independence that Weepie won on the final night of racing. It was the second season championship feature victory of his career.
• Jamie Whitaker led wire-to-wire to earn his third IMCA Hobby Stock win of the year, the fourth of his career.
o By virtue of his third place finish in the feature, Rod Grother earned the track title, the first of his career at Independence. In 22 years the Hobby Stocks have competed at Independence, Grother became the 20th different track champion in the division. He became the 11th driver in the past 25 years to win a track championship at Independence without a feature win. Grother joined Patrick Stansbery (2005) as the only other Hobby Stock driver in track history to accomplish that feat.
• Darin Duffy led all 25 laps of the IMCA Modified feature to drive to the season championship victory, the 36th of his career at the speedway and his second straight on championship night. He ended the season right where he started it, atop the all-time wins list for the division at Independence.
o By taking the green flag in the feature, Troy Cordes earned his third division title in the Modifieds. He became the 12th track champion at Independence in the last 25 years to win a track championship without a trip to victory lane. Doing so, Cordes became the first champion in track history to win points championships in two seasons that he did not win a feature. He first accomplished the feat in 2008.
• Tyler Bruening scored the IMCA Late Model feature win to wrap up his first career track championship. His second feature win of the season, it was Bruening’s sixth win of his career.
• With the five champions crowned, a couple of records were approached or set in 2010. The five division champions accounted for only six wins in the 70 features that were held throughout the season; that’s the fewest number of collective wins earned by track champions in a single season in track history. Since the Stock Cars started competing in 1993, the largest number of different feature winners in a season among the Late Models, Modifieds, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks was 34 in 2006. This season, 33 different winners scored victories in those four divisions, tying it for second with 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2005.

That concludes the “capsule” view of 2010. Coming up later this week, however, will be the season-ending Stats Blitz. The Blitz will not only include final numbers from the 2010 season, but all-time numbers, as well.

Thanks for reading!