Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway turned into "throwback" night as a trio of drivers returned to victory lane after lengthy absences.
Topping that list was IMCA Late Model veteran Curt Martin, who earned his 92nd career Late Model win in weekly competition at the speedway. Prior to Saturday, Martin's most recent win came on April 21, 2007. That win over four years ago wasn't even a points race as it fell one week prior to the opening weekend of IMCA Late Model points racing that season. You'd have to look back to July 29, 2006, when Martin won his last feature in weekly points racing at the speedway.
At the start of the 25-lapper, a trio of cautions slowed the action. Inside second row starter Babby Hansen paced the field before the race's first long green flag run following the third restart on lap two. By that time, Martin, who started inside the fourth row, made his way into third.
Martin quickly worked past Russell Hesse and Hansen to secure the lead on the third circuit, then proceeded to pull away from the field. As Martin led, Greg Kastli, who started outside of row four, made his own charge through the field. He worked past Hansen for second just three laps later, then attempted to cut into Martin's huge advantage.
Kastli's efforts were assisted when the leader encountered lapped traffic midway through the event, allowing Kastli to pull to within a few car-lengths of the leader. Unable to gain significant ground, Kastli was given one final shot when the final caution waved with just five laps to go. By that time, Tyler Bruening, who made an early pit stop, worked from the back of the pack and into third for the final restart.
When racing resumed, Bruening used the top side to settle into second. The defending track champion, current points leader and leader in feature wins over the past two seasons, Bruening then tried to reel in the leader. Martin proved he was still the man to beat at the Independence oval as he drove to the convincing win. Kastli ran third ahead of Jon Passick and Joel Brasch. The 92nd weekly Late Model win in his career at Independence, Martin now has exactly twice as many feature wins as the man who sits second on that list - Gary Crawford with 46 victories.
Although he is the defending track champion in the IMCA Modified division, Troy Cordes hadn't visited the winner's circle at Independence since July 25, 2009. He updated his résumé as Cordes drove to the convincing win in the 20-lap feature.
Pole-sitter Jeff Kriz held the point at the drop of the green while Cordes slowly marched through the field. By the time the first caution waved on lap four, Cordes advanced two positions, then went to work when racing resumed.
On the restart, Johnathan Thimmesch worked the low side of Kriz to steal the lead as Cordes advanced two more positions just prior to a lap six caution. Following that restart, Cordes quickly worked the high groove of the speedway and into second on the following lap. He made his way around Thimmesch one lap later to take command. He survived one more caution to drive to the dominating victory ahead of Thimmesch and Adam Johnson. Ed Thomas and Tony Olson completed the top five. Although it was his first win in nearly two years at Indee, it was the 27th Modified win in Cordes' career at the speedway. He sits third on the all-time list.
After a brief stint in the IMCA SportMod division the past two years, Chris Luloff returned to the IMCA Hobby Stock ranks partway into the 2011 season. In just his fifth night back in the division, Luloff made his way to victory lane in the 15-lap feature.
Dave Wheeler and Jeremiah Wilson swapped the lead during the first two laps while Luloff made his move to the front from a third row start. Luloff worked past the leaders on the third lap to take the top spot. As Luloff led, Quinton Miller was charging through the field from a sixth row starting spot. He was able to reel in the leader with only a handful of laps remaining.
Luloff and Miller swapped the lead over the final few laps, but Luloff was able to take the reins in the waning moments to score the victory in the caution-free event that took five minutes to complete. Following the leaders to the checkers were Jamie Whitaker, points leader Vince Buchholz and Steve Wiltse. His first Hobby Stock win at Independence since August 23, 2008, it was the 16th career win in the division for Luloff. The victory moved him into a tie for second on the all-time list with Brian Irvine. Chris Wessner holds the mark in the division with 20 career wins.
Sean Johnson made his fourth trip to victory lane this season in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. After Austin Evens and Paul Fauser shared time at the front of the pack over the first two laps, Johnson swept past the leaders on the third circuit to take control. He held the point for the remainder of the event to take the victory ahead of Evens and Roger Ciesielski. John Emerson and Dave Stricker completed the top five.
It was Johnson's 12th career Stock Car win at the speedway. While he remains eighth on the all-time list, Johnson pulled to within two wins of Norman Chesmore for seventh in that category. Johnson also became the first driver since Brian Irvine (2006 and 2007) to record back-to-back seasons with at least four wins.
Josh Sherbon took the lead on the fourth lap of the IMCA SportMod 15-lapper to drive to his second win of the season. Slowed only once for caution, Sherbon set sail to take the impressive win ahead of points leader Ray Lundry. Tyler Droste, who won back-to-back features entering the night, had his streak snapped with a third place finish. Jim Buhlman recorded his sixth straight top-five finish as he came home fourth. Kim Siems completed the top five. It was Sherbon's career-leading 12th win in the division at Indee.
My next stop will be at Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday for the annual Hogan Memorial. Always a great event, which honors the memory of Dick and Janet Hogan, the Modified winner at Sunday's show has the opportunity to take home $3,500.
Following a trip to Vinton on Sunday, it's back to Independence for the first-ever appearance of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Tuesday night. Accompanying the Late Models will be a $1,000-to-win event for the IMCA Modifieds. It promises to be a great event as the best Late Model drivers in the country will converge on the Buchanan County Fairgrounds. I hope to see you there!
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