On a night when all five division points leaders had their share of problems, including three who lost their positions atop the standings, Vern Jackson added another victory to a remarkable career at Independence Motor Speedway.
Dating back to his first feature win in weekly racing in the Roadrunner division in 1979, Jackson's IMCA Modified win on Saturday night gave him 93 career wins at Independence in weekly competition, more than any other driver in track history.
At the start of the 20-lap Modified feature, pole-sitter Leon Wilson jumped to a big early advantage. He quickly put a handful of car-lengths on the field while Jackson made his way from a third row start and into second place after just two laps. Jackson then went to work on running down the race leader while Jerry King and Mike Burbridge pursued.
As Wilson battled lapped traffic midway through the event, Jackson closed the gap and appeared set to challenge for the lead when the race's first caution flag waved on lap 10 for King, who slid off the high side of the front straightaway. By this time, Jerry Luloff and Troy Cordes, both working from fifth row starts, made their way into contention.
On the restart, Jackson again dropped in behind Wilson, but had difficulty making a bid for the lead. The field closed once again when the caution flag waved on lap 16. By this time, Johnson made his way beneath Luloff for second, putting him in the second row when racing resumed. For that restart, Wilson still held the point, but a loaded field of veterans was close behind. Along with points leader Johnson, four of the top five in career wins in the division completed the top six, including Jackson, Luloff, Cordes and Darin Duffy.
When the green waved again, Johnson shot beneath Wilson off of turn four as the field attempted to complete lap 17. After Johnson made his way past Wilson for the lead, he slid to the top side and Wilson shot to the bottom to try to regain the top spot. Halfway down the front straightaway, Wilson and Johnson made contact with Johnson slipping off the high side of the front stretch to bring out the final caution. With Johnson stopped on the track, he was sent to the rear of the pack for the final restart, as was Wilson for his involvement in the incident. This set up a two-wide restart out front when racing resumed with the bevy of career wins leaders making up the front two rows.
When racing resumed the final time, Jackson took control and held off Luloff to score the wild victory. Duffy ran third ahead of Burbridge and Kellen Chadwick. Cordes faded to a 14th place finish. If hard charger points had any cash value, Tony Olson would be swimming in the green stuff following his last three outings at Independence and Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Last Saturday in Independence, Olson gained 12 positions to finish third after starting 15th, then worked from a sixth row start to finish fourth in Vinton last Sunday. He did it again on Saturday night by finishing sixth after starting last in the 27-car starting field. I would say advancing 40 positions in three nights of racing is a job well done. Now we just need to work on getting you qualified for the invert out of the heats so you don't have to work so hard in the feature, Tony!
For Jackson, the 93rd win of his career now places him ahead of Curt Martin by two victories. All of Martin's victories have come in a stellar Late Model career while Jackson's have come in a track-high six different divisions. Along with his wins in the Roadrunners and Modifieds, Jackson also had wins in the Sportsman, Late Model, Street Stock and Pro Stock divisions.
Johnson, the points leader entering the night, finished 20th as he lost the lead in the division to Jerry Luloff. Luloff, who qualified for his 201st consecutive Modified feature on Saturday, moved to the top of the standings for the first time since August 18, 2007.
In the IMCA SportMod division, Jim Aschenbrenner took command on the first lap after starting in the second row. He paced the field through a myriad of early cautions while Josh Sherbon made his way through traffic and into second from a fourth row start after just three laps.
Following a lap nine restart, Sherbon went to work on the high side of Aschenbrenner to assume command. He led the remaining six laps to drive to the win ahead of Aschenbrenner and Jim Buhlman. Austin Lucas, who made his first appearance of the season, made a stout run to finish third after starting 19th. Curt Hilmer and Dave Schulze completed the top five.
The win was the 11th of Sherbon's career in the division at Independence, best among all drivers. He is also now the only driver to have won a feature in each of the four seasons the SportMods have competed at Independence. Since no other driver had won features in each of the first three years in the division at the track, he is guaranteed to hold that honor by himself as long as he continues to win.
Additionally, points leader Danny Dvorak held onto a 10th place finish (the best finish for all points leaders on the night), but gave up the lead to Sherbon, who moved to the top of the standings for the first time since May 23, 2009. Sherbon was fifth in the standings entering the night, giving him a four spot boost in the points to take the top spot. It is the biggest jump in position in one night to take over a points lead at Independence since a pair of drivers did it in 2009. Darren Ackerman moved from fifth to first in one week on June 27, 2009, while Jason Hocken also advanced from fifth to first in one week on June 20 of that same year.
Defending IMCA Hobby Stock track champion Rod Grother led the entire 15-laps in that main event to take the victory. From his outside front row starting spot, Grother took charge and never looked back to score the win, his first at the speedway since April 22, 2006. He remained the car to beat throughout a trio of cautions during the first half of the event to see the checkers first ahead of Quinton Miller, Jamie Whitaker, Justin Stander and Vince Buchholz. The sixth win of his career at Indee, Grother now sits tied for 12th on the division's all-time wins list.
Entering the night, August Bach held the points lead, however he left the race early after he and Chris Luloff engaged in some extra-curriculars while the race was under caution. By virtue of his 18th place finish and Buchholz' fifth place finish, Buchholz took over the points lead. Coincidentally, Buchholz is the only driver at the speedway to record top-five finishes in each of the first four nights this season. Also, his 10-point edge in the standings is the largest point lead of any of the five divisions at this point in the season.
Sean Johnson drove to his second win of the season in the IMCA Stock Car division. Johnson motored into the lead from his second row start after just one lap, leaving Roger Ciesielski and Tim Helle to do battle behind him. Brian Irvine entered that battle just past the midway point and moved into second with a handful of laps remaining. His progress, however, stopped there as Johnson powered to the victory ahead of Irvine, Ciesielski, Tim Helle and Jarod Weepie. Just like his win on opening night, Johnson led the event in its entirety. He also started in fourth during both of his wins.
Although Dave Stricker was one of only two drivers to not give up his lead in the standings, his 10th place finish did nothing to help his position. He now sits just three points ahead of Norman Chesmore in the standings, four ahead of Weepie and nine ahead of Johnson.
The last time Luke Merfeld was in victory lane at Independence was on July 4, 1998, after he earned the win in the Pro Stock division. Nearly 13 years later, Merfeld made a return trip to the winner's circle after taking top honors in the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature.
Starting on the pole, Merfeld shot into the lead with Bryan Klein in pursuit. Despite a trio of cautions early in the event, the leaders built nearly a straightaway lead on the field by the time the caution waved again on lap 13. By that time, Greg Kastli worked from a fifth row starting spot and into the top three.
On the restart, Merfeld again took command and held the point through a pair of cautions for debris late in the race. Darren Ackerman, who started in row six, made his way through traffic and past Kastli on lap 20. His attempts to sneak beneath Merfeld came up short, however, as Merfeld drove to the milestone win. Ackerman finished second ahead of Kastli, Jon Passick and Dirk Hamilton. Through 20 feature events at the speedway this season, Merfeld became the first driver to win from the pole position.
Points leader Tyler Bruening suffered engine problems early in the event, forcing him to a 20th place finish. This allowed Ackerman to take the points lead by eight markers ahead of him in the division standings.
Tonight, it's back to Benton County Speedway in Vinton for another night of weekly racing, then on Tuesday I'm going to try something a little different and maybe a little more laidback. I'm heading to Cedar County Raceway in Tipton on Tuesday night for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds. If you want to stop by and say hi, I'll be helping tour director Bucky Doren by working souvenir sales on the grandstand side. It should be an interesting change of pace, but I hope to be done by feature time so I can provide a report on the night's action here at Positively Racing. Have a great week!
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