Following his second place showing Wednesday night at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Chad Simpson left little doubt early on that he wasn’t going to settle for first runner-up honors Thursday night when the Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series invaded Fayette County Speedway in West Union.
From his outside second row starting spot, Simpson took just two laps to dispose of front row starters Tim Isenberg and Kurt Kile to drive to a convincing win in the 35-lap Late Model headliner.
Simpson quickly snuck past Isenberg shortly after the green flag waved, then shot beneath Kile exiting turn four on the second lap to take command. He then pulled away from the pack, leaving Kile and Isenberg to battle for second until the caution flag waved on lap seven.
On the restart, Simpson resumed his run out front while Isenberg made his way around Kile for second on lap nine. Simpson, who built his lead to a straightaway margin, approached lapped traffic by the time the field was shown the crossed flags at the halfway point.
Simpson pulled away from the field as he strategically maneuvered through the backmarkers, winning by over a straightaway ahead of Isenberg.
1. 25 Chad Simpson
2. 9I Tim Isenberg
3. 77 Kurt Kile
4. 20 Jake Meier
5. 31 Jason Utter
6. 32 Chris Simpson
7. 50 Denny Eckrich
8. 88 Kevin Kile
9. 28X Justin Mitchell
10. 16 Tyler Bruening
11. 3 Kevin Sather
12. 78 Rick Wendling
13. 5M Mike Fryer
14. 90 Lance Matthees
15. 58 Dave Eckrich
16. 71 Andrew McKay
17. 18 Dustin Hapka
18. 22 Jill George
19. 61 Jon Rogers
20. 45H Todd Hansen
21. 33L Joe Ludemann
22. 1M Rob Moss
23. 98 Jason Rauen
In other action, Junior Boyer made a late race pass of Troy Hovey to take the win in the 15-lap B Mod feature. Brandon Hare built a big lead early in the event from his starting spot at the front of the pack. His lead was half of a straightaway by the time Hovey worked into the second position. Hare’s lead disappeared, however, when the caution flag waved on lap nine.
Following another restart one lap later, Boyer took the lead running the high groove of the speedway to take the win over Hovey. Hare, Brian Mahlstedt and Curtis Engen completed the top five.
Steve Larson may have started outside of the front row of the 15-lap Hobby Stock feature, but he had to work every step of the way to earn the win in that event. Running the middle to high groove for much of that race, Larson received persistent pressure from a number of drivers all race long. By the waning laps, Dan Hovden, Chris Hovden, Scott Spilde and Steve Holthaus were all within striking distance of the leader.
Chris Hovden was working the low groove while Dan Hovden worked the middle and Spilde ran the extreme high side with Holthaus following down below. Over the final three laps, it appeared that Larson was having problems getting off the corners, which allowed his competitors to stay close. Larson was able to hold off a high-side charging Spilde at the line for the victory. Chris Hovden, Dan Hovden and Holthaus completed the top five.
Second row starter Brian Irvine shot to the inside at the drop of the green and immediately challenged for the lead in the 15-lap Stock Car feature. Irvine swept beneath Dan Jones exiting turn four in the very early stages of that event to assume command. He then pulled away from the field to take the win ahead of Jones, Dan Trimble, Lynn Panos and Dan Cole Jr.
Pole-sitter Mike Burbridge pulled out to an early lead in the Modified main and never looked back to take the win in that 20-lapper. Burbridge built half of a straightaway lead and maintained that advantage throughout the event to take the win ahead of Dan Bohr. Mike Darnall, Darin Duffy and Kurt Kroskopf completed the top five.
Up next is the final of three straight nights of Corn Belt Clash action when the series heads to Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wisconsin, tonight. Then, tomorrow is Pink Night at Independence Motor Speedway during the third weekly points night of the season. Everyone is invited to Independence tomorrow night to show your support of cancer awareness!
No comments:
Post a Comment