Earning your first career feature win is always special, but doing it in front of a packed house on a holiday weekend makes it a little bit better; just ask IMCA SportMod driver Justin Zimmerman, who earned his first-ever feature win on Sunday night at Benton County Speedway.
Zimmerman, who lives in Cedar Rapids, but normally makes the long tow to Algona Raceway on Sunday nights due to obligations at the north central Iowa facility, recently decided to "try his luck" on the 1/4-mile Vinton oval. That "luck" paid off as he led all 15 times around the smooth, fast oval on Sunday night.
A trio of cautions slowed the first couple laps of the SportMod main and Zimmerman, who started on the pole in his second night ever at the speedway, maintained his composure on each restart to hold the point. When racing resumed for the final time following a lap three stoppage, Zimmerman kept his #11Z glued to the bottom of the track while Racer Hulin worked the low side of Dave McCalla for second.
The low groove was the preferred line for most of the field as the slick, fast oval was a "driver's track" on this night. The leaders remained committed to the bottom side, each looking to take advantage of a driver error in front of him to gain position.
With Hulin chasing Zimmerman, Kyle Brown made a strong run through the field from his fifth row starting spot before settling into third after just four laps. Likewise, Ken Kositzky, who started behind Brown, worked through the field and into fourth.
The top four ran nose-to-tail throughout much of the event, pulling away from the field as Danny Dvorak broke free from traffic late in the race to move into fifth after starting 12th. With laps winding down, Dvorak joined the group of leaders, nearly a straightaway ahead of the field.
Zimmerman ran the perfect line to lead the event in its entirety to take the milestone win in just his second year in the division. Brown made a late push beneath Hulin to take second at the line.
1. 11X Justin Zimmerman
2. 21X Kyle Brown
3. 505 Racer Hulin
4. K0 Ken Kositzky
5. 3R Danny Dvorak
6. 00 Jim Buhlman
7. K3 Kyle Olson
8. 3 Dave McCalla
9. J2 Dave Schulze
10. 22H Curt Hilmer
Patrick Flannagan earned his first win of the season in dramatic fashion in the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. A late pass of Troy Cordes left the fans on their feet as the division had one final week to prepare for next week's Hogan Memorial at the speedway.
Buck Swanson took the early lead from his pole position starting spot. Swanson ran the low groove while Mike Burbridge and Flannagan pursued him on the low-line. Meanwhile, Troy Cordes ventured to the middle-to-high side of the speedway and quickly made his way to the front. Cordes nipped Flannagan for third on lap three, then swept around the outside of both Burbridge and Swanson to secure the lead just prior to the race's first caution on lap four.
When racing resumed, Cordes ran the middle groove of the track and quickly extended his advantage over the field. The top four remained unchanged until Swanson spun to bring out the second caution three laps later.
On the restart, Cordes again dominated while Flannagan went to work on the low side of Burbridge. He squeezed beneath the 11B at the midway point of the event and attempted to cut into the big lead Cordes built. Those efforts were assisted when the third and final caution waved for Swanson, whose engine went south with eight laps to go.
Flannagan remained glued to Cordes' rear bumper for the final restart as those two pulled away from the field. Working the low groove, Flannagan pulled even with Cordes with only two laps remaining. Running side-by-side, Flannagan proved the low groove to be just a tad faster as he inched ahead on the final lap. He made his way past Cordes in the final corner to come away with the thrilling win. Burbridge ran third, nearly a straightaway behind the leaders.
1. F7 Patrick Flannagan
2. 71 Troy Cordes
3. 11B Mike Burbridge
4. 19G Richie Gustin
5. 33D Scott Hogan
6. 22 Brandon Banks
7. 12D Joe Docekal
8. 01 Ed Thomas
9. 25 Shawn Fisher
10. 2AC Dustin Crear
Justin Wacha held the early lead in the IMCA Hobby Stock headliner. Wacha ran the high groove out front until Jacob Keiser was able to work the low side into the lead on lap two. As Keiser made his way to the front, fellow third row starter Brad Forbes followed him through traffic and settled into second on lap three.
Following the event's only cautions on lap three, Keiser again took charge. Forbes remained glued to his bumper as Rod Grother and Scott Pippert joined the fray out front a short time later. With five laps to go, Pippert made his way around Grother for third, just a couple of laps before the leaders entered lapped traffic.
Forbes remained close to Keiser as the leaders dodged lapped cars, with Keiser showing the way until the leaders worked their way through turns one and two on the final lap. In the middle of the corner, contact from Forbes sent Keiser spinning to the infield. Forbes took over the lead and Keiser scrambled to hold his position. Coming off turn four, Forbes raced to the win with Scott Pippert behind him. Keiser salvaged a third place finish ahead of Grother.
1. 09 Brad Forbes
2. 47 Scott Pippert
3. 07 Jacob Keiser
4. 77 Rod Grother
5. 2P Cale Peterson
6. 12J Jeremy Floyd
7. 25 Doug Laughridge
8. 17K Kyle Parizek
9. 45 Justin Wacha
10. 67 Justin Stander
Justin Temeyer made his third straight trip to victory lane in the IMCA Stock Car division. From his fifth row starting spot, Temeyer worked the low groove into contention as the field ran two, three and four-wide over the first few laps before things got sorted out.
A quick mover to the front, Temeyer started 10th, was in seventh after one lap, in sixth on lap two, third on lap three and held the lead just prior to the race's only caution on lap four. When racing resumed, Temeyer checked out on the field, building nearly a straightaway advantage by the halfway point of the 15-lapper. He continued to extend that lead, winning by over a straightaway ahead of Bob Ahrendesen, who made a nifty pass for second with only a handful of laps to go.
Points leader Norman Chesmore was running fourth on the white flag lap, however he spun in turns one and two on that final lap, relegating him to a 10th place finish. Despite missing a night earlier in the year, by virtue of his hot streak, Temeyer sits just six points behind Chesmore at the top of the standings. Likewise, Ahrendsen's strong second place run leaves him now just two points out of the lead as six points separate the top three in the division.
1. 56T Justin Temeyer
2. 6X Bob Ahrendsen
3. 3T Scooter Dulin
4. 7H Phil Holtz
5. 99D Damon Murty
6. 10 John Schaefer
7. 8 Curtis Roster
8. 77 Andy Bryant
9. 46 Leremy LaPlant
10. 15 Norman Chesmore
A horrifying rollover at the start of the IMCA Sport Compact main event briefly delayed the program. As the field was running three-wide at the line to complete lap one, Travis Ross was tagged when he was running the extreme low groove. This sent him sideways in front of the field. His car dug in and entered a barrel roll that took him into the front stretch catch fence before landing on his roof on the straightaway. He walked away uninjured.
When racing resumed, it was the Chandler Express making noise as Nathan Chandler took the lead and Merv and Brad Chandler worked through the field from mid-pack starts. Brett Vanous tried to break up the Chandler parade as he snuck into second after just four laps, but Merv and Brad were able to make their way around him following a lap six caution.
Nathan held the point throughout the 12-lap event with Merv and Brad in tow. Those three remained unchanged over the final half of the event, leaving the Chandlers with a 1-2-3 finish on the night.
1. 22 Nathan Chandler
2. 2 (1) Merv Chandler
3. 2ND Brad Chandler
4. 35 Brett Vanous
5. 51 Bryce Bailey
6. 1 (07X) Tyler Whalen
7. 8M Jacob McVay
8. 22T Travis Losenicky
9. 12 Duayne Herb
10. 57K Ross Kitner
Despite the Sport Compact delay, a kids' candy dash and an unexpected 30 minute intermission when the ambulance had to leave for a call, the program was completed before the 9 o'clock hour. Next on my schedule is a trip to 34 Raceway tonight for the UMP Summernationals Hell Tour. As I write this, I'm sitting about two miles from the track in Middletown, getting ready to head to the speedway to help prepare for tonight's show. I'm leaving my pen and notebook home tonight, however, as I plan to enjoy the holiday, catch up with some long-time friends and just enjoy the show. Wherever your travels take you this July 4th, please have a safe and enjoyable holiday! I'll see you at the races!
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