On a night when storm cells littered eastern Iowa, only a few sprinkles of rain fell at Independence Motor Speedway, allowing for a great night of racing on the smooth, fast 3/8-mile oval. By night's end, a pair of drivers continued their hot streaks at the speedway while another pair earned their first wins of the season.
In the IMCA Modified division, Vern Jackson joined an elite group of drivers as he drove to his third consecutive feature win in the division, becoming only the seventh Modified driver in speedway history to record three straight victories.
Outside front row starter Jason Snyder held the early advantage while Jackson worked into contention after starting in the fifth row. Following a pair of cautions on laps one and three that kept the field bunched together, Jackson worked into a battle for the lead a handful of laps into the event. He made his way past Snyder for the lead on lap six and then set sail.
Adam Johnson made his way through traffic and settled into second on lap 14, then went to work on closing in on Jackson. Although he made up ground late in the event when the leader encountered lapped traffic, Jackson's margin was too large to overcome as he drove to the win. Johnson finished second ahead of Troy Cordes, Mike Burbridge and points leader Jerry Luloff.
For Jackson, it was his division-leading 38th career Modified win at the speedway and 94th overall at Independence. He joined Darin Duffy, Jack Mitchell, Troy Cordes, Duane Van Deest, Greg Kastli and Mark Noble as the only drivers in track history to earn three straight wins in the division. Jackson also moved atop another category in the Modified ranks. He now has seven seasons with three-plus wins, the most of any Modified driver in track history.
Sean Johnson also earned his third win of the year as he topped the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car main event. From an inside third row starting spot, Johnson shot to the inside at the drop of the green and came away with the lead by the completion of the first lap. A pair of early cautions allowed Damon Murty, who made his first appearance of the season, to stay close with the leaders. Murty swept around the outside of his competitors to steal third after just two laps from a fifth row starting spot. He closed on Johnson and pulled alongside of the leader just as the final caution waved on lap four.
On the restart, Johnson led the field to green and fought off a couple more challenges from Murty. He then pulled away to score the victory, his second straight and third of the season. Murty ran second ahead of Justin Temeyer, Jarod Weepie and points leader Dave Stricker.
It was Johnson's 11th career trip to the winner's circle in the Stock Car division at Independence and his fifth win in the last eight Stock Car features at the speedway. He remains eighth on the division's all-time wins list and now sits within three victories of Norman Chesmore for seventh.
Pole-sitter Rick Wendling paced the field at the start of the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature. Wendling held the point while Rick Dralle gave chase and Tyler Bruening worked through the field from a fifth row start.
As Bruening made his way through traffic, Dralle closed the gap out front and slid past Wendling for the lead at the 10-lap mark. As Dralle made his bid for the lead, Bruening closed the gap on the leaders, working below Wendling one lap later. Bruening then snuck past Dralle for the lead on lap 12.
Bruening came upon lapped traffic just two laps later while Jon Passick was charging through the field. Running the high groove, Passick chased Bruening through the backmarkers as he tried to cut into the straightaway advantage Bruening held out front. Passick closed the gap late in the race, but remained a few car-lengths back at the line. This allowed Bruening to take his second win of the season, and first since opening night, in the caution-free event. Dralle ran third ahead of Curt Martin and Greg Kastli, who both started in the sixth row. Darren Ackerman came from a 17th starting spot to finish sixth.
The win was Bruening's ninth career at Independence, moving him into a tie with Bill Barthelmes for 19th on the all-time list. Bruening's win propelled him back into a tie atop the division's standings with Ackerman. Passick's good run kept him within two points of the division leaders.
A three-wide finish wowed the crowd as the IMCA Hobby Stocks arguably put on the best show of the night. At the drop of the green, Chris Luloff held the point from his pole-position start. Luloff extended his advantage throughout the first few laps of the 15-lapper while Jim Ball and Steve Wiltse battled for position.
With Luloff nearly half of a straightaway ahead of the field, Justin Stander worked into contention from a fifth row starting spot as he drove the high groove into third on lap seven. Stander's progress was assisted when the caution flag waved on lap eight.
On the restart, Stander quickly challenged Luloff for the lead and came away with the top spot on the following lap. Stander held the point until the race's final caution waved on lap 11. When racing resumed one last time, Luloff, Justin Lichty and Jamie Whitaker challenged Stander for the lead as the quartet went four-wide down the front stretch to complete lap 12. Stander still held the advantage a lap later, but Lichty and Whitaker remained wheel-to-wheel with the leader as Luloff faded to fourth.
The leaders ran three-wide throughout the remainder of the event with Stander holding a slight edge in turn four on the final lap. Lichty, however, went to the high side and had a great run off the corner. He surged ahead by a bumper at the line to earn the thrilling win. Stander finished second with Whitaker third as that trio ran in three-wide formation to the end. Luloff and Ball completed the top five.
It was Lichty's seventh career win in the division at Independence, moving him into sole possession of 12th on the all-time Hobby Stock wins list at the speedway. It was also Lichty's first win of the season, which extends his streak to five consecutive years at Independence with at least one Hobby Stock win. That ties him with Chris Luloff for second all-time in that category. Patrick Stansbery, who won at least one Hobby Stock feature for six consecutive years (1998-2003), is at the top of that list.
Cory Evans held the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature while Matt McCahen and Tyler Droste gave chase. Evans worked the high line while Droste, who made his way past McCahen on lap three, ran the low groove. Droste pulled even with Evans as the caution flag waved on lap five.
Following the restart, Droste worked past Evans on the low side, however contact between the two brought out another stoppage a short time later, sending both to the back for the ensuing restart. For that restart, Lucas Lundry inherited the pole as he led the remainder of the event to take his first win of the season. Jim Buhlman finished second ahead of Ray Lundry, Danny Dvorak and Drew Fish.
The third SportMod win of his career at Independence, Lucas Lundry is now tied for fourth with Chris Luloff and Tyler Droste on the all-time list. Lundry now has one win in each of the last three seasons, the second longest streak in the division.
With the threat of rain in the area, track officials made every attempt to keep the show moving. After getting underway just past the 6 p.m. hour, the 102 cars on-hand competed in 19 events in a program that ended at 9:10. Great job to promoter Cam Granger and his track crew for nailing the track prep on Saturday!
After a return to Vinton tonight (weather permitting), I'll head to Highway 3 Raceway in Allison this Tuesday for the Butler County Fair race program, then (tentatively) I'm planning a trip to Cresco Speedway for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt tour event on Thursday.
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