Although there have been special events over the last few weeks, nothing compares to my passion for weekly racing. If Sunday night's season points opener at Benton County Speedway was any indication, it's going to be an incredible season on the Vinton quarter-mile.
An impressive 100 cars entered the pit area for the first night of weekly racing and all five divisions provided great entertainment for those in attendance. In short, Sunday night had it all - Thrilling finishes, spectacular roll-overs, an impressive fundraiser and a controversial finish that resulted in an embarrassing display of poor sportsmanship on the part of many fans in the stands. (Complete results follow below.)
The 12-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature was the first out of the gate and it was pole sitter Brett Vanous showing the way for the first lap. Nathan Chandler pressured on the low side from his second row starting spot and worked beneath the race leader by the completion of lap two. He survived a mid-race caution and late-race challenges from Merv Chandler to take the win. Gary Peiffer followed across the stripe in third, a full straightaway behind the leaders.
Outside front row starter Nathan Ballard assumed the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. While Ballard was receiving pressure from Matt Brown, defending track champion Scott Pippert was making his way through traffic from a fifth row start. Pippert rapidly advanced through the field and was running in the top three after just four laps.
Working the low side of Brown one lap later, Pippert made it a three-car battle for the lead, sweeping beneath Brown on lap six and inching closer to Ballard. He continued to work the low groove and escaped with the lead on the 10th lap.
On lap 12, while exiting turn four, Pippert momentarily lost control of his #47 and hit a tractor tire on the low side of the turn, forcing it onto the track to bring out the caution. For the ensuing restart, Pippert was granted the lead since he was not stopped when the caution waved - the correct call by track officials. More on that later. Pippert held off Ballard over the final three circuits to score the victory.
Matt McCahen appeared positioned to earn his first career win the IMCA SportMod division until Danny Dvorak worked past him late in that 15-lap feature. Like a rocket, McCahen shot to the front after just one lap from his third row starting spot. He quickly started to pull away from the field, putting a straightaway between himself and his nearest competitor by the time the caution flag waved on lap eight.
When the field was aligned for the restart, defending track champion Danny Dvorak started on McCahen's rear bumper and appeared poised to steal the lead until a quick yellow waved one lap later. McCahen had a strong restart when racing resumed following the second caution and quickly pulled away from traffic.
Dvorak, however, closed when McCahen lost fuel pressure in the waning laps. Dvorak slid beneath McCahen's #63 on the final lap to steal the opening night victory. Nick Roberts came home third.
Sean Johnson redrew the #1 pill and started on the pole of the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car main event. He paced the field while Damon Murty pursued from a second row starting spot. Working the low side, Murty chased the race leader until Johnson left a little breathing room for Murty to slip through on the sixth lap.
Murty went on to survive a trio of cautions and late pressure from Johnson to take the checkers. Michael Jaenette came home third in his first appearance at the speedway.
Ronn Lauritzen led a field of 24 IMCA Modifieds to green in the evening's nightcap. Lauritzen ran strong out front, entering lapped traffic after only five laps when the first caution flag waved. He held the point on the restart and was pressured by Shawn Ryan, who was in search of his first-ever IMCA-sanctioned Modified win.
Another pair of cautions prior to the midway point slowed the event with Lauritzen maintaining the point until he unexpectedly went to the pit area with suspension problems during a lap nine stoppage.
Ryan inherited the lead and worked to hold off Adam Johnson when racing resumed. As the leaders tussled, defending track champion Scott Hogan and Joe Docekal were making their way through the field from respective fourth and fifth row starts.
Hogan went to work on the low side and advanced as far as second in a great four car battle at the front. Contact between Docekal and Hogan resulted in a flat left rear tire on Hogan's ride, forcing him to an early exit. Meanwhile, Johnson's attempt to work the low side of Ryan came up short at the line as Ryan drove to the milestone win. Johnson held off Docekal for third.
Don Burkey put together another great race track for tonight's show. The racing was excellent in all five divisions with multiple grooves throughout the night. He's one of the best in the business! Job well done, Don!
While the results immediately follow, there's plenty more to talk about from Sunday night and all of that may be found below...
IMCA MODIFIED (28 cars)
First heat (top 4 redraw): 1. 71 Troy Cordes; 2. 70 Jerry King; 3. 22 Brandon Banks; 4. 91 Shawn Ryan; 5. 19 Jimmy Gustin; 6. 27 Jamie Johnson; 7. 96 Eric Tuttle; 8. 26P Kevin Pittman; 9. 15D Dustin Johnson.
Second heat: 1. 12D Joe Docekal; 2. 18 Jerry Luloff; 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen; 4. 1J Jeff Streeter; 5. 14B Shane Burbridge; 6. 7T Tim McBride; 7. 171 Buck Swanson; 8. 1X Steve Streeter; 9. F7 Patrick Flannagan.
Third heat: 1. 19G Richie Gustin; 2. 33D Scott Hogan; 3. 11B Mike Burbridge; 4. 24R Adam Johnson; 5. T23 Tony Olson; 6. 17 Dawn Krall; 7. 2Z Zach Rawlins; 8. 5 Jason Morehouse; 9. 14 Dustin Morgan; 10. 80 Jerry Dedrick.
B Feature (top 12 transfer to A): 1. J. Gustin; 2. S. Burbridge; 3. J. Johnson; 4. Pittman; 5. Olson; 6. McBride; 7. S. Streeter; 8. Swanson; 9. Flannagan; 10. D. Johnson; 11. Morehouse; 12. Krall; 13. Tuttle; DNS Rawlins, Morgan, Dedrick.
Feature: 1. Shawn Ryan; 2. Adam Johnson; 3. Joe Docekal; 4. Jerry Luloff; 5. Brandon Banks; 6. Jerry King; 7. Kevin Pittman; 8. Mike Burbridge; 9. Tony Olson; 10. Patrick Flannagan; 11. Jamie Johnson; 12. Jeff Streeter; 13. Buck Swanson; 14. Tim McBride; 15. Shane Burbridge; 16. Jason Morehouse; 17. Dustin Johnson; 18. Scott Hogan; 19. Dawn Krall; 20. Jimmy Gustin; 21. Ronn Lauritzen; 22. Steve Streeter; 23. Troy Cordes; 24. Richie Gustin.
IMCA STOCK CAR (18 cars)
First heat (top 5 redraw): 1. 93 Michael Jaenette; 2. 8R Sean Johnson; 3. 7H Phil Holtz; 4. 19J Jay Schmidt; 5. 52J Jeremy Pundt; 6. 20B Andrew Burke; 7. 60 Clayton Deppe; 8. 87 John Emerson; 9. 9E Austin Evens.
Second heat: 1. 99D Damon Murty; 2. 3T Scooter Dulin; 3. 52 Nathan Wood; 4. 31S Paul Shepherd; 5. 15 Norman Chesmore; 6. 76 Mike Galli; 7. 05 Seth Bowen; 8. 21DE Jason Deshaw; 9. 4JR Russell Damme Jr.
Feature: 1. Damon Murty; 2. Sean Johnson; 3. Michael Jaenette; 4. Nathan Wood; 5. Scooter Dulin; 6. Jay Schmidt; 7. Andrew Burke; 8. Norman Chesmore; 9. Jason Deshaw; 10. Jeremy Pundt; 11. John Emerson; 12. Phil Holtz; 13. Mike Galli; 14. Austin Evens; 15. Clayton Deppe; 16. Paul Shepherd; 17. Seth Bowen; 18. Russell Damme Jr.
IMCA SPORTMOD (20 cars)
First heat (top 4 redraw): 1. S16 Kip Siems; 2. 3B Brian Anderson; 3. T17 Tom Rawlins; 4. 00C John Van Wechel; 5. 10 Mike Knapp; 6. 11 Al Sweerin; 7. 11M Jody Mitchell.
Second heat: 1. 23JR Nick Roberts; 2. K3 Kyle Olson; 3. 777 Jamie Duinink; 4. J2 Dave Schulze; 5. 28P Rick Paulson; 6. 42L Lonnie Mercer; 7. 95 Mike McDonald.
Third heat: 1. 3R Danny Dvorak; 2. 80 Duane Van Deest; 3. 63 Matt McCahen; 4. 19J Levi Smith; 5. 00 Jim Buhlman; 6. 22H Curt Hilmer.
Feature: 1. Danny Dvorak; 2. Matt McCahen; 3. Nick Roberts; 4. Tom Rawlins; 5. Jamie Duinink; 6. Levi Smith; 7. Kyle Olson; 8. Dave Schulze; 9. Kip Siems; 10. Mike Knapp; 11. Brian Anderson; 12. Al Sweerin; 13. Rick Paulson; 14. Lonnie Mercer; 15. John Van Wechel; 16. Jody Mitchell; 17. Duane Van Deest; 18. Curt Hilmer; 19. Jim Buhlman; 20. Mike McDonald.
IMCA HOBBY STOCK (20 cars)
First heat (top 4 redraw): 1. 29 Nathan Ballard; 2. 67 Justin Stander; 3. 55 Vince Buchholz; 4. 77 Rod Grother; 5. 07 Jacob Keiser; 6. 2P Cale Petersen; 7. 1S Greg Sweerin.
Second heat: 1. 78 Matt Brown; 2. 27 Clint Nelson; 3. 500 Garrett Eilander; 4. 166 Justin Lichty; 5. 64 Jerome Wilson; 6. 09 Brayden Forbes; 7. 51D Dustin Filloon.
Third heat: 1. 47 Scott Pippert; 2. 25 Doug Laughridge; 3. 76S Adam Streeter; 4. 26 Nathan Christie; 5. 64JR Jeremiah Wilson; 6. 45 Justin Wacha.
Feature: 1. Scott Pippert; 2. Nathan Ballard; 3. Matt Brown; 4. Vince Buchholz; 5. Clint Nelson; 6. Doug Laughridge; 7. Nathan Christie; 8. Garrett Eilander; 9. Cale Petersen; 10. Justin Lichty; 11. Greg Sweerin; 12. Justin Wacha; 13. Rod Grother; 14. Justin Stander; 15. Jerome Wilson; 16. Brayden Forbes; 17. Dustin Filloon; 18. Adam Streeter; 19. Jacob Keiser; 20. Jeremiah Wilson.
IMCA SPORT COMPACT (14 cars)
First heat (top 5 redraw): 1. 2 Merv Chandler; 2. 11 Steve Miedke; 3. 22 Nathan Chandler; 4. 00W Bill Whalen Jr.; 5. 36DD Gary Peiffer; 6. 75 Louis Trachta; DNS 007 Adam Gates.
Second heat: 1. 8M Jacob McVay; 2. 35 Brett Vanous; 3. 18J Jaycee Floyd; 4. 22T Travis Losenicky; 5. 03 Neil Nabholz; 6. 9L Jeremy Lerch; 7. 83 Travis Ross.
Feature: 1. Nathan Chandler; 2. Merv Chandler; 3. Gary Peiffer; 4. Brett Vanous; 5. Travis Losenicky; 6. Bill Whalen Jr.; 7. Neil Nabholz; 8. Jeremy Lerch; 9. Steve Miedke; 10. Jacob McVay; 11. Louis Trachta; 12. Jaycee Floyd; 13. Travis Ross (DNS); 14. Adam Gates (DNS).
The most impressive thing about Sunday night had nothing to do with what happened on the race track - it was the generosity of those who gave money to support North Benton Ambulance. While one of North Benton's two ambulances has equipment known as the Lucas Device, which provides automatic CPR, the ambulance on-hand at the speedway on race nights does not have that equipment. A 50/50 raffle was held during the course of the program and donations were taken in to help pay for the Lucas Device for North Benton Ambulance. Incredibly, nearly half of the $12,000 needed was raised in just a few short hours on Sunday. Along with individual donations, the 50/50 raffle alone raised $1,215 to go toward the purchase of the equipment. In total, $5,060 was raised for North Benton Ambulance. It was a humbling experience to see so many people willing to help support the local emergency team.
A pair of spectacular roll-overs slowed action as Adam Streeter suffered a wicked barrel roll in turn one on the opening lap of the Hobby Stock feature. Contact from Mike Knapp sent Brian Anderson into a scary rollover on the front stretch just after the start/finish line at the end of the SportMod feature. All drivers walked away uninjured. Steve Miedke took a wild ride of his own in IMCA Sport compact action. Contact from a competitor sent Miedke up on two wheels in three different directions before coming to rest in the front stretch barriers just off of turn four. Miedke, too, was uninjured.
The biggest talk on the night appeared to be the call late in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature when Scott Pippert hit the tractor tire while leading that feature. Although the crowd was very willing to donate to the North Benton Ambulance fundraiser earlier in the evening, many must have felt that entitled them to behave in a childish and disrespectful manner during Pippert's victory lane speech.
The problem people appeared to be having with the call was that Pippert was awarded his spot back following the caution. As I mentioned before, however, the correct call was made. As has been reiterated to drivers over the past few years at the speedway, the caution rule is as follows: If you are still moving when the caution flag waves, you get your spot back for the ensuing restart. The only exception to that is if you are deemed guilty of rough driving. I fail to see why people were so upset when Pippert was put back in the lead for the restart.
Reading the rule above, the proper call was made. Aside from that, the crowd was completely out of line by booing Pippert in victory lane. He did not make the call and he won the race. If you don't like the call, then why would you boo the winner of the race as if it was his call to make? And, if people were booing the call and not Pippert, why would you boo the call when the call clearly was correctly made based on the rule?
Fans at many tracks cry foul when they see a call that doesn't go a certain way. They call an injustice for inconsistent officiating and demand change, they demand answers, they demand the right to be pissed just because they can. Well, the rule in question has been in place at Vinton for many years. If you have an issue with it, do not take it out on the driver in his victory lane interview. Do not take it out on the call. If you have an issue with a rule, I'm certain those in the position to make or change the rules would be happy to listen to your concerns. I repeat, "Happy to listen to your concerns," not happy to listen to a foul-mouthed tirade or temper tantrum because you simply want things done your way. It's amazing, all race fans and drivers want consistency, but when that's what they get, it just doesn't always seem fair, does it?
I guarantee that tonight's incident drew attention only because the call in question involved the leader of the race. Had it been a driver in any other position on the track, nobody would have argued the call. If any other driver had been given his/her spot back, it would have gone unmentioned. No, not because it was Pippert, but because it was the race leader. I'm not sure about you, but leader or not, I think we all want the same rules for everyone on the track. That's what you got tonight, so be happy the BCS officials held their ground and made the correct call.
I've been a track official at Independence for a number of years and have always been more than willing to listen to ideas or suggestions people are wanting to share. I'm eager to engage in a conversation with them if they want to propose something that they think will improve a race program. If we disagree, I am willing to share why I think those ideas won't work and why I think a policy already in place works better. I'd venture to guess most race track officials feel the same way. Either way, a healthy conversation, thought and discussion are not only the best, but the only means to make improvements in anything in life. The problem is that most people have no desire to do it in a respectful manner and the behaviors of the fans in Vinton tonight were downright embarrassing.
Just a couple weeks ago I was talking to a few people about Pippert's success in Vinton in recent years. He's probably been the most dominant driver in any division at Vinton since Randy Patten and Scott McLaughlin won nearly every week back in the days of the Thunder Mods. Pippert is probably the most dominant Hobby Stock driver since Jerry Luloff won nearly every night out in the early 1990s before moving into the Modified division. Yet, I had never seen such a popular winner until Pippert. Generally, in racing circles, for whatever reason, race fans don't like winners. They want to see different drivers succeed and different drivers win. Pippert, who is generally known as one of the nice guys, hasn't had to suffer through all the negativity from fans because he wins a lot. Tonight was a different story and simply uncalled for.
I spoke with Pippert in the infield following his feature and we discussed his popularity and how the booing tonight was different territory for him. When I questioned what the coming weeks will bring, he seemed disappointed in assuming they're likely to do it again. It's sad to expect it, but unfortunately, he's probably right.
Don't boo the driver when he wins by the rules. Don't condemn the call when the call was properly made based on the rule. If you have a question about a rule or its intention, ask questions, offer feedback, start a respectful discussion. Or, like the fans in Vinton tonight, you can react with an overly immature display of unsportsmanlike behavior. I guess that's your call.
That's all for this weekend. Up next for me, we'll try for the third time to get in the season opener at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on Friday. After two special events were rained out the last two Fridays, the weekly racing program is set to go green this Friday night. IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts comprise the weekly racing menu in Donnellson. I'm looking forward to a fun season in southeast Iowa!
Then, on Saturday night, the weekly wars start at Independence Motor Speedway with the Burco Sales Season Opener. IMCA sanctioned Late Models, Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks will see their first action of the season on the newly-surfaced 3/8-mile oval at the Buchanan County Fairgrounds. I hope to see you there!
Just to clarify regarding Independence, I am returning to Independence this season. One of the wacky rumors I heard recently came from a fairboard member in Independence. She was informed that they "wouldn't be seeing Ryan in Independence this season because he's going to promote Donnellson." Wrong and, uh, wrong. Be careful where you get your information! I guess that "informant" isn't a reader of my blog to know we've been busy preparing for the upcoming season. Speaking of which (how's that for a segue?)...
On a side note, this marks my 200th blog entry since Jeff Broeg asked me to be a part of his writing family at Positively Racing in May of 2009. When Jeff told me he had started this site a few months earlier, I thought it was a neat concept. With all of the negativity on message boards and the bad light so many people unintentionally(?) create on our sport, the idea of a web site promoting all things positive relating to grassroots racing sounded like a unique and much-needed idea.
Looking back through the last couple years and how much this site has grown, it's truly humbling to read the hit meter on my page and to know that we have faithful readers who share the passion for stock car racing and not necessarily all the drama that comes with it. I guess you can call it a bit ironic that tonight's display in Vinton offered hints from both sides of that spectrum. The generosity of the fans was truly remarkable when it came to supporting the North Benton Ambulance. In these tough and uncertain economic times, it's refreshing to see people willing to give to such a worthy cause. At the same time, the negativity from the aftermath of the Hobby Stock feature left me shaking my head.
I'm not sure we'll ever have a fan base that truly understands how important it is to keep stock car racing in a positive light. It's no guarantee that there will be a race track down the road from you to visit every weekend during the summer and we should all keep that in mind when we attend our local tracks. Keep a positive light shining on our sport and give a reason for potential new fans to bring their kids to the races so we can keep our fan base strong. Leave the negativity at home and don't teach your kids it's ok to behave the way the fans did tonight.
With that said, it's been an incredible ride over the past three years and I look forward to many more. Jeff, Sue and the gang have been great to work with, although it's been more fun than work every step of the way.
If you do happen to be a loyal reader of In Staging and haven't checked out the other blogs on the site, I strongly encourage you to do so. Even if other writers cover tracks that you don't normally attend, they are always worth the read. Who knows? Maybe taking a look at their blogs will give you the urge to attend one of the tracks they attend on a regular basis.
As always, thanks for reading.
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