Stats Blitz! Benton County Speedway by the numbers through May

Below is the first installment of the 2012 Benton County Speedway Stats Blitz! The statistics included here are through five nights of weekly racing. This includes weekly points races only and does not include the Spring Shakedown or Frostbuster specials in April.

I have been in the process of collecting every weekly feature winner in the history of the track, but haven't assembled all of them quite yet. Until then, I will include monthly statistical updates of the 2012 season in Vinton. Check back at the end of every month for updated numbers.

All photos included here are courtesy of Scott Tjabring of Action Track Photography, the official track photographer of the speedway.

A new Blitz will be posted at the end of each calendar month.

Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Modified – 21.2 - 28 - 18
Stock Car – 14.6 - 18 - 11
SportMod – 17.0 - 20 - 15
Hobby Stock – 14.2 - 20 -11
Sport Compact – 12.8 - 16 - 11
TOTAL – 79.8 - 100 -73

Points
* 139 drivers have earned points this season.
* No driver has led the points of his division after all five weeks, however three drivers have held points leads following four of five nights. Joe Docekal (Modified) has led the points the last four weeks, while Danny Dvorak (SportMod) and Scott Pippert (Hobby Stock) led the points following nights 1, 3, 4 and 5. Nathan Chandler (Sport Compact) has led the points following weeks 1, 4 and 5, while Phil Holtz and Jason Deshaw (Stock Car) took over the points lead following the May 27 show and are tied at the top entering June.

DEFASTEST - With his win on May 27, Jason Deshaw (shown here) climbed into a tie with Phil Holtz atop the IMCA Stock Car standings.

IN THE HUNT
* 24 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:
Modified (4): Brandon Banks, Joe Docekal, Patrick Flannagan, Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (4): Norman Chesmore, Jason Deshaw, Scooter Dulin, Jay Schmidt;
SportMod (3): Danny Dvorak, Kyle Olson, Dave Schulze;
Hobby Stock (5): Nathan Ballard, Matt, Doug Laughridge, Cale Petersen, Scott Pippert.
Sport Compact (8): Merv Chandler, Nathan Chandler, Travis Losenicky, Jacob McVay, Steve Miedke, Gary Peiffer, Brett Vanous, Bill Whalen Jr.

* 6 drivers have remained in the top-5 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:
Modified (2): Joe Docekal, Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (0): No Stock Car driver has spent every week in the top-5 in points.
SportMod (1): Danny Dvorak;
Hobby Stock (2): Scott Pippert, Matt Brown; 
Sport Compact (1): Brett Vanous.

PIP SHOW - Scott Pippert has led the IMCA Hobby Stock points for four weeks this season and has not fallen below second in the standings. He and SportMod driver Danny Dvorak are the only two drivers who can make that claim this season.

Feature Winners

* There have been 15 different feature winners in 25 feature events this season.
* Current points leaders account for 12 of the 25 feature wins.
* Joe Docekal (Modified) is the only current points leader without a feature win.
* Every division has seen one repeat winner: Scott Pippert (Hobby Stock, 4 wins); Nathan Chandler (Sport Compact, 4 wins); Damon Murty (Stock Car, 3 wins); Richie Gustin (Modified, 2 wins); Danny Dvorak (SportMod, 2 wins).

JO DO NO-NO - Joe Docekal has led the IMCA Modified points the last four weeks, despite no trips to victory lane

Top-10s
* 103 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season. The top-10 leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (23 drivers with at least one top-10): Joe Docekal, Patrick Flannagan, Jerry Luloff (5 each);
Stock Car (20): Jay Schmidt (5); Norman Chesmore, Jason Deshaw, Phil Holtz, Damon Murty (3 each);
SportMod (22): Danny Dvorak, Kyle Olson (5 each); Jim Buhlman, Curt Hilmer, Dave Schulze (4 each);
Hobby Stock (20): Cale Petersen, Scott Pippert (5 each); Vince Buchholz, Rod Grother, Jacob Keiser, Doug Laughridge (4 each);
Sport Compact (18): Jacob McVay, Steve Miedke (5 each); Merv Chandler, Nathan Chandler, Gary Peiffer, Travis Ross, Brett Vanous, Bill Whalen Jr. (4 each).

Top-5s
* 57 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season. The top-5 leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (10 drivers with at least one top-5): Joe Docekal (5); Patrick Flannagan, Scott Hogan, Jerry Luloff (4 each); 
Stock Car (14): Damon Murty (4); Jason Deshaw, Phil Holtz, Jay Schmidt (3 each);
SportMod (11): Danny Dvorak (5); Jim Buhlman, Kyle Olson (4 each); Curt Hilmer (3);
Hobby Stock (12): Vince Buchholz, Scott Pippert (4 each); Matt Brown, Rod Grother (3 each);
Sport Compact (10): Merv Chandler, Nathan Chandler, Steve Miedke, Brett Vanous (4 each).

FAB FIVE - Danny Dvorak is the only IMCA SportMod driver with top-5 finishes every night this season.

Top-3s
* 40 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season. The top-3 leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (9 drivers with at least one top-3): Richue Gustin, Scott Hogan (3 each); Joe Docekal, Patrick Flannagan (2 each);
Stock Car (8): Damon Murty (4); Jason Deshaw, Phil Holtz (3 each);
SportMod (7): Jim Buhlman (4); Danny Dvorak (3); Curt Hilmer, Nick Roberts, Duane Van Deest (2 each);
Hobby Stock (9): Scott Pippert (4); Nathan Ballard, Matt Brown, Rod Grother (2 each);
Sport Compact (7): Nathan Chandler (4); Merv Chandler, Steve Miedke (3 each); Bill Whalen Jr. (2).

DA MAN - Damon Murty has made four appearances in weekly racing in Vinton this season and has finished no worse than second

Feature Lap Leaders
* 35 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders include:
Modified (7 different lap leaders): Richie Gustin (30 laps led), Kyle Brown (19), Patrick Flannagan (18), Troy Cordes (12), Shawn Ryan (11);
Stock Car (9): Paul Shepherd (23 laps led), Damon Murty (22), Jason Deshaw (13), Sean Johnson (6);
SportMod (4): Duane Van Deest (31 laps led); Matt McCahen (14); Jim Buhlman, Kyle Olson (11 laps each);
Hobby Stock (8): Scott Pippert (28 laps led), Nathan Ballard (17), Rod Grother (11), Erick Knutsen (7);
Sport Compact (8): Nathan Chandler (36 laps led), Steve Miedke (11), Adam Gates (6), Merv Chandler (4).

SUNDAY DRIVER - IMCA Sport Compact driver Nathan Chandler has led more feature laps, 36, than any other driver in Vinton this season.

Heat Races

* There have been 36 different heat race winners in 58 heat races.
* 16 drivers have won multiple heat races this season.
* The heat race wins leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (8 winners in 15 heats): Ronn Lauritzen, Troy Cordes (3 each); Kyle Brown, Joe Docekal, Scott Hogan (2 each);
Stock Car (7 winners in 10 heats): Paul Shepherd (3), Damon Murty (2), Five drivers tied with (1 each);
SportMod (7 winners in 12 heats): Danny Dvorak (3); Jim Buhlman, Curt Hilmer, Duane Van Deest (2 each);
Hobby Stock (8 winners in 11 heats): Rod Grother, Jacob Keiser, Doug Laughridge (2 each).
Sport Compact (6 winners in 10 heats): Merv Chandler (4), Steve Miedke (2).

DON'T SWEAT THE HEAT - Merv Chandler's four IMCA Sport Compact heat race wins are the best among all drivers this season.

Efficiency Stats
* 83 races have been run this season.
* 824 green flag laps have been completed.
* 86 caution flags have been thrown (an overall average of 1.04 per race).
Cautions Per Race Ratio
Sport Compact: 5 cautions in 15 races (0.33 cautions per race)
Hobby Stock: 9 / 16 (0.56)
Stock Car: 16 / 15 (1.07)
SportMod: 21 / 17 (1.24)
Modified: 35 / 20 (1.75)
Race Laps Per Caution Ratio
Sport Compact: 120 laps with 5 cautions (average of 24.00 green flag laps between cautions)
Hobby Stock: 163 / 9 (18.11)
Stock Car: 160 / 16 (10.00)
SportMod: 163/ 21 (7.76)
Modified: 218 / 35 (6.23)
Races with No Caution Flags
Hobby Stock:  12 of 16 races have run green to checkers without a caution (75.00%)
Sport Compact: 11 / 15 (73.33%)
SportMod: 10 / 17 (58.82%)
Stock Car:  8 / 15 (53.33%)
Modified: 6 / 20 (30.00%)
47 of 83 races have gone green to checkers without a caution
Feature Cautions
Modified: 20 of 35 total cautions were thrown in feature races (57.14%)
Sport Compact: 3 / 5 (60.00%)
Stock Car: 13 / 16 (81.25%)
SportMod: 19 / 21 (90.48%)
Hobby Stock: 9 / 9 (100.00%)
64 of 86 total cautions have been thrown during feature racing
Average Lap of First Feature Caution
Sport Compact: 10.00
Hobby Stock: 6.20
Stock Car: 4.60
SportMod: 3.00
Modified: 2.60 

Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* Of the 25 feature winners, 10 have come from inside starting spots and 15 from the outside.
* Each of the Stock Car winners have come from different starting positions (1, 3, 4, 6, 9). The same is true for the Sport Compacts (1, 3, 4, 6, 8).
* All five Modified winners have come from an outside row start.
* There have been four straight different SportMod feature winners (Nick Roberts, Kyle Olson, Danny Dvorak, Duane Van Deest).
* Hobby Stock feature winners have come from only two different starting positions: Outside row four (2 times) and inside row five (3 times).
* Dating back to last July, Scott Pippert has won 11 of the last 13 weekly points features for the Hobby Stocks.
* Eight different starting positions have produced feature winners so far this season.
* Danny Dvorak and Kyle Olson (SportMod) and Nathan Chander and Brett Vanous (Sport Compact) are the only drivers to finish in the top-3 of all of their heat races.
* 79 different drivers have cracked the top-10 in his division’s points for at least one week this season.
* 15 different drivers have held or shared their division's points lead at some point during the season.
* Scott Hogan has finished second in the Modified feature three weeks in a row.

THREE TWOS FOR TWO THREES AND A "D" - Scott Hogan (33D) has finished second the last three weeks in IMCA Modified feature competition, twice to Richie Gustin and once to Kyle Brown.

Stuff To Tell Your Friends That Makes Them Think You've Lost It...
* Although Cale Petersen (Hobby Stock) has finished in the top-10 every week, he has yet to finish in the top-5. His consistency has led to finishes of 9, 8, 7, 6 and 7 this season.
* Jay Schmidt (Stock Car) has been in Vinton all five weeks, but has finished in only two different finishing positions. He has three 5th place finishes and two 6th place finishes.

JAY'S WAY - Jay Schmidt has been the most consistent driver at the speedway this season. His finishes haven't been more than a single position apart week-to-week all year. Schmidt has earned three 5ths and two 6ths in IMCA Stock Car feature racing.

* Patrick Flannagan (Modified) and Jacob McVay (Sport Compact) are the only two drivers with five top-10 finishes through five weeks, but have yet to finish in the same position twice. Flannagan's finishes, in chronological order, are 10, 1, 4, 3, 5. McVay's are 10, 7, 5, 3, 8.
* Ronn Lauritzen (Modified) is the only driver to win his heat race three consecutive weeks (May 6, 13 and 20).
* Twice this season the Sport Compacts have completed an entire program without a single caution flag. The Hobby Stocks have gone caution-free for an entire program one time. Other division lows include... Stock Cars (1 caution May 6), SportMods (2 cautions May 13), Modifieds (3 cautions May 20).
* The starting position to produce the most number of feature winners is outside row four. Six of 25 winners have come from that starting spot. The starting position to produce the fewest feature winners toward the front of the field is inside row three. No driver has won from that starting position yet this season.
* A car with a 3 or a 0 in its number has led every lap of SportMod feature racing (75 laps). The car numbers of SportMod feature lap leaders through five weeks include 00, K3, 3R, 23JR, 63 and 80.
* A car with a letter in its number has not led a single Hobby Stock feature lap (75 laps total).
* Of 76 laps of Stock Car feature racing, the feature winners have led only 28 laps of the features they went on to win.
* Of 75 laps of SportMod feature racing, the feature winners have led only 34 laps of the features they went on to win.
* Of 75 laps of Hobby Stock feature racing, the feature winners have led only 37 laps of the features they went on to win.

That's it for the month of May for Benton County Speedway. I'll be back at the end of next month with post-June numbers.

Thanks for reading!

Stats Blitz! Numbers through May for Independence Motor Speedway

Below is the first installment of the 2012 Independence Motor Speedway Stats Blitz! The statistics included here are through four nights of weekly racing. There are some all-time statistics included at the end, dating back to 1967. While the track opened in 1965, my records date back to the beginning of the 1967 season. All of the statistics include races from only the five divisions that currently compete. For those wondering, Modifieds started competing in 1983, Hobby Stocks in 1989, Stock Cars in 1993 and SportMods in 2008. The information included for the Late Models dates back to 1967.

All photos included here are courtesy of Scott Tjabring of Action Track Photography, the official track photographer of the speedway.

A new Blitz will be posted at the end of each calendar month.

Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Late Model - 20.5 - 22 - 19
Modified – 21.8 - 29 - 18
Stock Car – 19.5 - 25 - 17
SportMod – 18.3 - 24 - 16
Hobby Stock – 25.3 - 27 - 23
TOTAL – 105.3 - 124 - 95

Points
* 147 drivers have earned points this season.
* Among those 147 drivers, 50 different hometowns have been represented.
* Only Mark Schulte (Modified) has held the points lead all four weeks this season. Tyler Bruening (Late Model) led for two weeks, following the season opener and again following the May 26 program; Sean Johnson (Stock Car) has led the last three weeks; Danny Dvorak (SportMod) took over the points lead following the May 26 show: and Justin Stander (Hobby Stock) has led for the last two weeks.

 TO THE POINT: Mark Schulte is the only driver to lead the points after all four weeks of the season.

IN THE HUNT
* 27 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:
Late Model (7): Joel Brasch, Tyler Bruening, Drew Johnson, Bryan Klein, Curt Martin, Jon Passick, Tysus Pattee;
Modified (6): Troy Cordes, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Adam Johnson, Ronn Lauritzen, Mark Schulte;
Stock Car (6): Norman Chesmore, Phil Holtz, Sean Johnson, Steve Meyer, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (6): Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Matt McCahen, Rick Paulson, Dave Schulze, Sam Wieben;
Hobby Stock (2): Nathan Christie, Justin Stander.

* 11 drivers have remained in the top-5 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:
Late Model (2): Tyler Bruening, Curt Martin;
Modified (3): Troy Cordes, Ronn Lauritzen, Mark Schulte;
Stock Car (3): Norman Chesmore, Sean Johnson, Dave Stricker;
SportMod (3): Danny Dvorak, Matt McCahen, Sam Wieben;
Hobby Stock (0): No Hobby Stock driver has spent every week in the top-5 in points.

FRONT-RUNNER: Danny Dvorak's consistent finishes have carried him to the top of the standings in the IMCA SportMod division.

Feature Winners

* There have been 16 different feature winners in 20 feature events this season.
* Current points leaders account for only six of the 20 feature wins.
* For the eighth time in the last 10 seasons, four different drivers raced to victory lane in the first four weeks of the season in the IMCA Late Model division.
* For the third time in his career, Darin Duffy won at least two of the first four IMCA Modified features in a season (2001, 2002, 2012)
* For the second consecutive season, Sean Johnson won two of the first four IMCA Stock Car features of the season.
* There were no first-time Late Model feature winners in the first four weeks for the first time since 2007.
* For the seventh straight year there was a first-time Modified feature winner in the first four weeks of the season.* Danny Dvorak earned back-to-back IMCA SportMod victories to close out the month of May. He joined Chris Luloff, Austin Kaplan, Josh Sherbon and Tyler Droste as the only drivers in division history at Independence to win in consecutive weeks.
* Nathan Ballard became the first repeat winner in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. The fourth week was the earliest to see a repeat winner within a season since Wes Stanek won consecutive features early in the 2009 season.

S'WAG': Dean Wagner became the fourth different IMCA Late Model feature winner of the season on May 26. It marked his second straight season with at least one trip to the winner's circle.

MAY WINNERS: Where they rank all-time
Late Model: Curt Martin (May 5 winner) has earned 93 career wins in weekly racing history at Independence, placing him first all-time... Jeff Aikey (May 12) owns nine wins in weekly racing history. He now sits tied for 20th all-time in the division... Luke Pestka (May 19) earned his third career Late Model win at Independence, placing him in a tie for 35th all-time... Dean Wagner (May 26) has earned six trips to victory lane in weekly racing, leaving him tied for 25th on the all-time list.

TOP SHELF: Curt Martin opened the 2012 season in victory lane for the 93rd time in his weekly racing career at Independence. Shown here, Martin is making his way past the north bleachers off turn four.

Modified: Mark Schulte (May 5) became the 79th different Modified winner in weekly racing history at Independence. His was the 27th different opening night winner in 30 years of IMCA Modifieds at the speedway... Patrick Flannagan (May 12) earned his second career win at Indee, becoming the 51st driver with multiple Modified wins in track history... Darin Duffy (May 19, May 26) earned his 38th and 39th career Modified wins in weekly racing at Independence. His 39th win put him into a tie with Vern Jackson atop the all-time list for the division at Independence. Duffy has now owned or shared the all-time Modified wins lead at Indee three separate times in his career.

FLASH: Patrick Flannagan (F7) earned his first win since 2008 on May 12.

Stock Car: Phil Holtz (May 5) became the fifth straight different opening night Stock Car winner. His third win at Independence, Holtz now sits tied for 16th on the all-time list... Sean Johnson (May 12, May 26) now owns 19 career Stock Car wins at the speedway. His May 26 win moved him past Jarod Weepie and Justin Temeyer into sole possession of third on the all-time list. Dating back to July of last season, Johnson has won eight of the last 11 Stock Car features... Tim Helle (May 19) became the 41st different Stock Car winner in track history.

MORE TO COME: Tim Helle picked up the Stock Car win on May 19, his first-ever win in the division.

SportMod: Austin Kaplan (May 5) became the fourth straight different opening night winner in the SportMods. His six career wins at Indee place him fourth on the division's all-time list... Kip Siems (May 12) became the 15th different SportMod winner in track history... Danny Dvorak (May 19, May 26) now owns 11 SportMod wins in his career at Independence. He sits one win shy of Josh Sherbon at the top of the all-time list.

Hobby Stock: Nathan Ballard (May 5, May 26) became the 17th consecutive different opening night Hobby Stock winner and the 22nd different opening night winner in 24 years of Hobby Stock racing at the track. A first-time winner in Indee on May 5, Ballard became the 87th different driver to win a Hobby Stock feature at the track. With his win on May 26, Ballard became the 58th driver at Independence with multiple Hobby Stock wins... Scott Pippert (May 12) earned his second career Hobby Stock win at the track, making him the 57th driver in the division with multiple victories... Justin Stander (May 19) earned his first career win at Indee, the 88th different driver in track history with a Hobby Stock win.

TWICE AS NICE: Nathan Ballard (29) works the low side of Benji Irvine on May 26 on the way to his second win in the month of May at the speedway. Ballard's win three weeks earlier was the first of his career at Independence.

Top-10s
* 83 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season. The top-10 leaders in each division are as follows:
Late Model (18 drivers with at least one top-10): Tyler Bruening, Curt Martin, Tysus Pattee (4 each); Joel Brasch, Dale Hackwell Jr., Jon Passick, (3 each);
Modified (16): Troy Cordes, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Ronn Lauritzen, Mark Schulte (4 each); Todd Conrad, Jerry Luloff, Jeff Streeter (3 each);
Stock Car (16): Norman Chesmore, Sean Johnson, Steve Meyer, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie (4 each); John Emerson, Phil Holtz, Thomas Thompson (3 each);
SportMod (16): Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Matt McCahen, Dave Schulze (4 each); Kip Siems, Brandon Smith, Sean Vogt, Sam Wieben (3 each);
Hobby Stock (17): Nathan Christie, Justin Stander (4 each); Jim Ball Jr., Curt Graham, Benji Irvine, Marcus Wayne, Jamie Whitaker (3 each).

STAND ON IT: One of only two IMCA Hobby Stock drivers with top-10 finishes all four nights this season, Justin Stander's consistency has carried him to the top of the division's standings.

Top-5s
* 57 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season. The top-5 leaders in each division are as follows:
Late Model (14 drivers with at least one top-5): Tyler Bruening, Curt Martin (3 each); Luke Pestka, Dean Wagner (2 each);
Modified (9): Ronn Lauritzen, Mark Schulte (4 each); Troy Cordes, Vern Jackson (3 each);
Stock Car (10): Sean Johnson (4); Norman Chesmore (3); John Emerson, Jason Hocken, Phil Holtz, Steve Meyer, Jarod Weepie (2 each);
SportMod (12): Danny Dvorak, Sam Wieben (3 each); Jim Buhlman, Matt McCahen, Dave Schulze, Kip Siems (2 each);
Hobby Stock (12): Benji Irvine (3); Nathan Ballard, Rod Grother, Scott Pippert, Justin Stander, Marcus Wayne, Jamie Whitaker (2 each).

10-4: Ronn Lauritzen is one of only two IMCA Modified drivers with four top-5 feature finishes this season.

Top-3s
* 37 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season. The top-3 leaders in each division are as follows:
Late Model (8 drivers with at least one top-3): Curt Martin, Luke Pestka (2 each);
Modified (6): Mark Schulte (3); Troy Cordes, Darin Duffy (2 each);
Stock Car (8): Sean Johnson (4);
SportMod (8): Sam Wieben (2);
Hobby Stock (7): Benji Irvine, Scott Pippert, Justin Stander (2 each).

WIN, PLACE, SHOW: Not only is Sean Johnson the only driver at the track with top-3 feature finishes all four nights, he's the only IMCA Stock Car driver with more than one top-3 finish this season.

Feature Lap Leaders
* 34 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders include:
Late Model (7 different lap leaders): Luke Pestka (25 laps led), Bryan Klein (22), Dean Wagner (18), Jeff Aikey (15);
Modified (6): Darin Duffy (29 laps led), Mark Schulte (19), Patrick Flannagan (18), Mike Burbridge (11);
Stock Car (9): Tim Helle (17 laps led), Norman Chesmore (15), Sean Johnson (12), Dave Stricker (10);
SportMod (4): Kip Siems (23 laps led), Danny Dvorak (19), Austin Kaplan (15), Shane Ebaugh (3);
Hobby Stock (8): Nathan Ballard (16 laps led); Chris Luloff (11); Jim Ball Jr. (9); Justin Stander, Scott Pippert (5 laps each).

LAP COUNTER: Darin Duffy leads all drivers at the track this season with 29 laps led during feature competition.

Heat Races

* There have been 37 different heat race winners in 52 heat races.
* 12 drivers have won multiple heat races this season.
* The heat race wins leaders in each division are as follows:
Late Model (8 winners in 12 heats): Dean Wagner (3); Tyler Bruening, Jon Passick (2 each);
Modified (9 winners in 10 heats): Mike Burbridge (2); Eight drivers tied with (1 each);
Stock Car (6 winners in 9 heats): John Emerson (3); Jason Hocken (2);
SportMod (5 winners in 9 heats): Kip Siems (3); Danny Dvorak, Shane Ebaugh (2 each);
Hobby Stock (9 winners in 12 heats): Nathan Ballard, Chris Luloff, Justin Stander (2 each).

CAN'T BEAT THE HEAT: Kip Siems closed the month of May with three straight heat race wins in IMCA SportMod competition.

Efficiency Stats
* 73 races have been run this season.
* 791 green flag laps have been completed.
* 73 caution flags have been thrown (an overall average of one per race).
Cautions Per Race Ratio
Stock Car: 12 cautions in 13 races (0.92 cautions per race)
SportMod: 12 / 13 (0.92)
Hobby Stock: 15 / 16 (0.94)
Modified: 15 / 15 (1.00)
Late Model: 19 / 16 (1.19)
Race Laps Per Caution Ratio
Stock Car: 144 laps with 12 cautions (average of 12.00 green flag laps between cautions)
SportMod: 132 / 12 (11.00)
Modified: 163 / 15 (10.87)
Hobby Stock: 156 / 15 (10.40)
Late Model: 196 / 19 (10.32)
Races with No Caution Flags
SportMod: 8 of 13 races have had gone flag-to-flag without a caution (61.54%)
Late Model: 8 / 16  (50.00%)
Hobby Stock: 8 / 16 (50.00%)
Stock Car:  7 / 13 (53.85%)
Modified: 7 / 15 (46.67%)
38 of 73 races have gone green to checkers without a caution
Feature Cautions
Modified: 11 of 15 total cautions were thrown in feature races (73.33%)
Hobby Stock: 11/ 15 (73.33%)
Late Model: 14 / 19 (73.68%)
Stock Car: 10 / 12 (83.33%)
SportMod: 11 / 12 (91.67%)
57 of 73 total cautions have been thrown during feature racing
Average Lap of First Feature Caution
Late Model: 8.00
Hobby Stock: 4.50
Stock Car: 4.00
SportMod: 2.25
Modified: 2.00

RISING STOCK: The Stock Cars have averaged the fewest caution flags per race, as well as the fewest cautions per laps raced in 2012. Shown here, Dave Stricker (89B) works high, Jarod Weepie (3) works low and a third driver is looking for racing room between them. Despite the low number of cautions, the Stock Cars have provided some of the most competitive racing at Independence.

Since the year 1967...
* 662 Late Model feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 97 different winners. On average, a new Late Model winner visits victory lane every 6.8 events.
* 432 Modified feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 79 different winners. On average, a new Modified winner visits victory lane every 5.5 events.
* 280 Stock Car feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 41 different winners. On average, a new Stock Car winner visits victory lane every 6.8 events.
* 55 SportMod feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 15 different winners. On average, a new SportMod winner visits victory lane every 3.7 events.
* 341 Hobby Stock feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 88 different winners. On average, a new Hobby Stock winner visits victory lane every 3.9 events.
* Overall, in the last 46-plus seasons, 1,770 features have been completed in the five divisions that currently compete at the speedway.

Qualifying Streaks
* The longest currently active feature qualifying streaks for weekly competition in each division include:
Late Model: Drew Johnson has qualified for 39 consecutive features. His last miss was July 11, 2009.
Modified: Jerry Luloff has qualified for 215 consecutive features. His last miss was July 5, 1997.
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie has qualified for 154 consecutive features. His last miss was June 9, 2001.
Hobby Stock: Rod Grother has qualified for 33 consecutive features. His last miss was August 22, 2009.
SportMod: Jim Buhlman has qualified for all 55 features dating back to the first one at the speedway on June 21, 2008.

THE BEAT GOES ON: Dating back to July of 1997, Jerry Luloff has qualified for 215 consecutive IMCA Modified features at Independence.

Weather Trends
* The 2012 season marked the first time since 1999 that every weekly program scheduled for the month of May was completed. It was only the eighth time in 46 years that weekly racing did not suffer a single rainout in May. Four of the previous rain-free Mays contained five Saturday programs (1981, 1992, 1997, 1999). The other three rain-free Mays contained four Saturdays (1967, 1979 and 1985).
* For just the third time in the last 10 seasons, Mother Nature was agreeable enough to allow for four nights of weekly racing in the month of May at Independence Motor Speedway. It was only the 13th time in the last 46 years that a minimum of four programs were successfully completed during the month of May.
* It was only the seventh time in track history that four consecutive nights of racing were held following the rainout of that season's scheduled opener (1971, 1972, 1975, 1992, 1998, 1999).
* Prior to 2012, three of six weekly shows scheduled for May 26 were rained out, including the last two (2001, 2007).
* In track history, 38.7% of all rainouts (67/173) have occurred in the month of May. Historically, it is the wettest month of the season on the track's race calendar. In the last 46 years, seasons that produced a minimum of four successful programs by the end of May averaged only 1.7 rainouts for the rest of the season.
* The last five seasons when there were no rainouts in the month of May, there were also no rainouts during the month of June. Ironically, during those five seasons, the month of July had at least one rainout per season, despite the fact that July has produced the fewest rainouts overall (27) in track history.
* The longest a season has gone without a rainout after the season opener was canceled was in 1992. That year, the April 25 opener was rained out, however there was not another cancellation that season until 11 weeks later on July 11,
* Dating back to last season, there have been five consecutive successful weekly programs run in the month of May. The last May rainout was May 21, 2011. It is the longest stretch of successfully completed weekly programs during the month of May since a span of six weeks over the course of the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
* Following the cancellation of this year's season opener, the 1997 season remains the only year in track history that weekly racing did not suffer a single rainout. Coincidentally, only one other time in track history has there been a season with fewer than two rainouts; the only program lost during the 1985 season was on July 13.


Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* Of the 20 feature winners, 12 have come from inside starting spots and 8 from the outside.
* Sean Johnson (Stock Car) came from the 16th starting spot (outside row 8) to win the feature on May 26. No driver has come from a deeper starting spot to win this season.
* For three consecutive weeks, three different winners have come from a row six starting position in the Hobby Stock division.
* All four Modified winners have come from an inside row start.
* The Late Models have produced four different feature winners, each from a different starting position.
* Nine different starting positions have produced feature winners so far this season.
* Tyler Bruening (Late Model) and Danny Dvorak (SportMod) are the only two drivers who have finished in the top-3 in all of their heat races. In fact, Dvorak hasn't finished worse than second in a heat race this season.
* 73 different drivers have cracked the top-10 in his division’s points for at least one week this season.
* 11 different drivers have held or shared their division's points lead at some point during the season.
* Troy Cordes has two runner-up Modified feature finishes, each time finishing second to Darin Duffy.

Stuff To Tell Your Friends That Makes Them Think You've Lost It...
* Every feature winner who started on the outside also started in an even numbered row. There have been winners from outside rows 2, 4, 6 and 8, but no winners from the outside in rows 1, 3, 5 or 7.
* A car with a letter in its number has led every single lap (80 total) of Modified feature racing (83C, 27M, 93K, F7, 19D, 11B).
* A car with a letter in its number led only 3 of 55 total Hobby Stock feature laps (20JN on May 26).
* Through four weeks this season, none of the Hobby Stock feature winners have more than two career wins in Independence. That hasn't happened in that division since 1997 when, in the first four weeks, Jason Rohde, Nick Wroten and Zac Boehmer each earned their first career wins, while Jeff Roete earned his second win in the division.
* The last three times weekly racing in Independence has been scheduled for June 2 (1990, 2001 and 2007) the races were rained out. The last time Independence raced a weekly program on June 2 was in 1984. Who won that night? Find out this Saturday night at the track (although someone may have to remind me to mention it). Below are the divisions that competed in 1984 and a clue (or two) for each to help you figure them out...
Late Model: This driver is retired from racing, but still attends the races at Independence on a regular basis. (Don't think too hard, this one's pretty easy.)
Modified: This driver is also retired from racing, but has been at the races numerous times in the years since his retirement. He won the track's first two Modified titles in 1983 and 1984. (Another easy one. Save the thinking for the last two.)
Street Stock: This driver no longer races and spent his final years behind the wheel in the Pro Stock division. Rumor is his old #44 is still sitting somewhere around his hometown of West Union. (Think orange.)
Sportsman: This driver still races in Independence and has competed weekly in the same division since moving out of the Sportsman class in the 1980s. (Think orange. Hey, didn't I already say that?)
If you really can't wait until Saturday to find out the answers, e-mail me at indeeracing@yahoo.com and I'll let you know how many you have right. Not that I'll tell you which ones, but I'll tell you how many...

That will take care of the month of May for Independence Motor Speedway. I'll be back at the end of next month with mid-season stats. Readers who are also fans of Benton County Speedway will get their own Stats Blitz through the month of May in tomorrow's blog. It will be a bit shorter of a read as I'm still working on compiling and processing a couple more years of all-time winners.

Thanks for reading!

Murphy takes Boone checkers, earns third Deery win of 2012

Mike Murphy Jr. took the lead at the drop of the green flag, then held off pressure from Tyler Bruening and Jeff Aikey in lapped traffic to take the win in the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models feature at Boone Speedway. The traditional Memorial Day special at Boone drew over 125 cars in five divisions, including 23 IMCA Late Models.

Murphy, who started outside of the front row alongside Bruening, pulled away from Bruening early in the 40-lapper. He continued to lengthen his advantage until lapped traffic slowed his progress on lap 10. The traffic allowed Bruening to stay within a couple of car-lengths of Murphy as the leaders raced through backmarkers for most of the event.

In the meantime, Jeff Aikey was working the low side of Dale Hackwell Jr. for the third spot as the lead pair pulled to a straightaway lead. Aikey eventually slipped past Hackwell, then went to work on reeling in the leaders, who remained mired in lapped traffic. Aikey cut the deficit to half of a straightaway with 15 laps to go and continued to close in on the leaders in the waning laps.

Bruening, who chased Murphy throughout the event, remained within striking distance as Aikey closed on Bruening's rear bumper. The race took on a different look when Jason Hahne's car came to a stop on the low side of turns three and four with only two laps to go for the race's first caution. The incident led to an expected green, white, checker finish on the ensuing restart. That, however, didn't go as planned.

On the initial restart, cars in the lead pack spun exiting turn two, collecting a handful of drivers, shaking up the order and forcing another restart. That restart made it to the white flag lap, but a spinning car in turn four bottled up the pack and forced one final caution, leading to another attempt at a green, white, checker finish.

When racing resumed a final time, Murphy pulled away once again to take the win, his series leading third of the season. Aikey tried both high and low to get around Bruening in the final laps. Although he had brief success making his way to second, Bruening fought back beneath him to hold onto second at the line. Aikey ran third ahead of Ray Guss Jr. and Luke Goedert.

The "Mike Murphy" theme continued in the IMCA Stock Car division as Michael Murphy scored his first-ever win in the division. The former Hobby Stock track champion, in his first year in the Stock Cars, came from a third row starting spot to earn the milestone win.

Pole-sitter Eric Brown jumped (literally) to the early lead before Murphy made his way into contention in less than a lap in the 20-lapper. Murphy worked into a side-by-side battle with Brown for a few laps before finally breaking free on around the fifth circuit. He held the point until the caution flag waved a few lap later, at which time Brown was penalized two spots for jumping the initial start.

On the restart, Michael Jaennette, who was running fifth at the time, shot to the inside of his competitors and into third place by the time they returned to the start/finish line on the following lap. He then went to work on Dean Wray for second as Murphy started to pull away from the field. Jeanette made a nice run to second, but his progress ended there as Murphy drove away to victory. Wray ran third ahead of David Smith.

Darren Huntley held the early lead in the 20-lap IMCA SportMod main event. He paced the field while Scott Davis, Daniel Tasler and Eric Elliott gave chase. The leaders ran in single file formation down the straightaways, but tried to better their positions by running the low groove through the corners.

With just five laps to go, Tasler tried his luck on the top side and swept past Davis, then set his sights on Huntley. The leader slowed to the infield coming off turn four on the white flag lap, leaving Tasler to take the win, his first of the season. Davis came home second ahead of Elliott, Casey Greubel and Joel Rust.

John Watson drove to another Boone win in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. The points leader, who started on the pole of the draw/redraw program, received pressure from Andy Mahlstedt before he was able to pull away to score the victory. Mahlstedt ran second ahead of a hard-charging Tyler Pickett. Dustin Filloon and Robert Smith completed the top five.

Mod Lite points leader Josh May raced away from the pack from his pole position start, then held off a late surge from Ed Zehm in lapped traffic to take the win in the 18-lap feature. May, who rolled his car just a few days ago at Boone, had everything properly restored to drive to the impressive win. A straightaway behind the leaders, Joel Keenan ran third ahead of Randy Bryan and Jason Whitehead.

It was my first trip to Boone for a non-Super Nationals show in 10 years and I was as impressed with the crew's efficiency tonight as I am during the week in September. When I looked at my watch with three features to go, it showed approximately 8:30. I knew better than to question a late night as the final three races were in the books at around 9:15. Thanks to Lawty and IMCA for asking me to fill in on the mic tonight. I look forward to returning to Boone for Super Nationals week in September.

While the Mike Murphy wins were coincidental tonight, another oddity (of absolutely no relevance) hit me on the way home. When I left the gas station in Vinton this morning, the clock showed 11:31 a.m. I pulled back in town tonight (and was driving past the same station), you guessed it, at 11:31 p.m.

That takes care of a fun four days of racing over the weekend. This week I'll post the Stats Blitzes for Independence Motor Speedway and Benton County Speedway. While I already have the Blitz done for Indee, I may add a couple things before I post it sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening. I'll put together the Vinton stats tomorrow night and post it sometime on Wednesday.

I hope everyone was able to make it to a race or two over their holiday weekend! As always, thanks for reading.

Chandler, Van Deest among winners at Benton County Speedway

By the look of the weather Sunday afternoon, I wasn't sure what was going to be the bigger frustration Sunday night - the warm temperatures or the steady winds. By the end of the evening, I had forgotten about both after a fun night of racing at Benton County Speedway.

A strong field of 74 cars passed through the pit gate to perform for a full house on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Late race drama made for one memorable feature while a first career win made the night extra special for another driver.

The first feature out of the gate was the 12-lapper for the IMCA Sport Compacts with Adam Gates taking the early lead from his pole position start. Gates shot into the lead and pulled away by a few car-lengths while third row starter Steve Miedke charged to the front. Miedke wasted no time and settled into second by the completion of the first lap.

Miedke was working on reeling in the leader while Nathan Chandler was also making a run to the front from his fourth row starting spot. Miedke and Chandler caught Gates at around the same time as the leaders exited turn two on lap six. Gates got sideways coming off the corner with his pursuers close behind. Gates was able to collect his ride, but the shake-up allowed Chandler and Miedke to pull even in three-wide formation by the time they made it to turn four.

Running the low groove, Chandler swept beneath his competitors and escaped with the lead at the start/finish line. Chandler extended his advantage to half of a straightaway as he entered lapped traffic just after he saw the flying green. Chandler hid in lapped traffic to score the win in the caution-free event, his fifth victory of the season in Vinton and fourth in weekly points racing.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature - 1. 22 Nathan Chandler; 2. 11 Steve Miedke; 3. 007 Adam Gates; 4. 2 Merv Chandler; 5. 35 Brett Vanous; 6. 00W Bill Whalen Jr.; 7. 3S Craig Streeter; 8. 8M Jacob McVay; 9. 83 Travis Ross; 10. 07 Joe Goodenbauer; 11. 75S Dustin Sondag.
First heat - 1. Vanous; 2. Miedke; 3. N. Chandler; 4. Gates; 5. Streeter; 6. Sondag.
Second heat - 1. M. Chandler; 2. Whalen; 3. Miedke; 4. Goodenbauer; DNS Ross.

Erick Knutsen paced the field to the green flag in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Knutsen took charge while Rod Grother battled Jacob Keiser for second. Running the low side, Grother reeled in the leader as they encountered lapped traffic on the seventh circuit. He then nosed ahead of Knutsen at the start/finish line just before the yellow flag waved.

Grother led the field to green on the restart while Scott Pippert, who started in row five, ran fourth. Pippert snuck beneath both August Bach and Knutsen to steal second on lap nine, then, like clockwork, ran the high line around Grother for the lead one lap later to cruise to his fourth straight win on the Vinton oval. It was Pippert's fourth win in five points nights this season and his seventh win overall in Vinton this year.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature - 1. 47 Scott Pippert; 2. 77 Rod Grother; 3. 19X August Bach; 4. 99 Erick Knutsen; 5. 55 Vince Buchholz; 6. 25 Doug Laughridge; 7. 2P Cale Petersen; 8. 45 Justin Wacha; 9. 07 Jacob Keiser; 10. 500 Garrett Eilander; 11. 20W Bruce Fraser; 12. 58B Randy Byerly; 13. 76S Adam Streeter; 14. 78 Matt Brown.
First heat - 1. Knutsen; 2. Grother; 3. Keiser; 4. Brown; 5. Bach; 6. Fraser; 7. Streeter.
Second heat - 1. Laughridge; 2. Petersen; 3. Pippert; 4. Buchholz; 5. Eilander; 6. Wacha; 7. Byerly.

Duane Van Deest quickly made his way to the lead from a second row start in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature. Van Deest held the point while Curt Hilmer worked his way into a battle for the lead after starting in the third row. Hilmer was pressuring for the top spot when three caution periods on laps seven and eight slowed action.

Although the cars were under caution, the strong winds that were present throughout the day and early evening hour continued to gust. When the race eventually returned to green, you could notice a change in the track right in the middle of the race as it became extremely slick in a matter of moments.

Hilmer, who was mounting a charge prior to the caution, tucked in behind Van Deest when the green flag waved. He tried numerous times to make his way beneath the #80, but Van Deest held his line on the slick, smooth quarter-mile to secure the win.

IMCA SPORTMOD
Feature - 1. 80 Duane Van Deest; 2. 22H Curt Hilmer; 3. 00 Jim Buhlman; 4. 3R Danny Dvorak; 5. K3 Kyle Olson; 6. T17 Tom Rawlins; 7. 81 Jesse Belez; 8. 40J Jason Doyle; 9. 3B Brian Anderson; 10. 28P Rick Paulson; 11. 10 Mike Knapp; 12. 7D Dakota Sellers; 13. J2 Dave Schulze; 14. 11S Bob Ebaugh; 15. 3 Dave McCalla; 16. 93 Josh Burrell; 17. 11M Jody Mitchell; 18. 95 Mike McDonald; 19. 42L Lonnie Mercer; DNS 10S John Schaefer.
First heat - 1. Dvorak; 2. McDonald; 3. Paulson; 4. Buhlman; 5. Sellers; 6. Ebaugh; 7. Mitchell.
Second heat - 1. Hilmer; 2. Belez; 3. Anderson; 4. Burrell; 5. Knapp; 6. McCalla.
Third heat - 1. Dedrick; 2. Olson; 3. Schulze; 4. Doyle; 5. Rawlins; 6. Mercer; DNS Schaefer.

Paul Shepherd ran the low groove past front row starter Curtis Roster to take the lead on lap two of the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Shepherd paced the field while Norman Chesmore chased the leader. Chesmore tried repeatedly to sneak beneath Shepherd, who remained glued to the tires on the low side of the speedway. Although he remained close, Chesmore was unable to find room to make the pass. The lead pair broke away by nearly a straightaway margin when the caution flag waved on lap nine.

That's when things got interesting.

On the restart, Chesmore shot to the inside of Shepherd as the leaders entered turn one. Contact from Chesmore forced Shepherd off the bottom, allowing Chesmore to take the lead off turn two. As they made their way into turn three, Shepherd nosed to the inside of Chesmore, again resulting in contact between the leaders. In the end, both drivers were forced to an early exit with flat tires.

That altercation allowed Jason Deshaw to inherit the lead for the ensuing restart, with Damon Murty on his rear bumper. Deshaw, like Shepherd, remained committed to the low groove, leaving no room for Murty to pass. Murty tried numerous times over the final laps to get Deshaw out of his groove, however Deshaw ran the low side to perfection to take the exciting win.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature - 1. 21DE Jason Deshaw; 2. 99D Damon Murty; 3. 7H Phil Holtz; 4. 8 Curtis Roster; 5. 19J Jay Schmidt; 6. 76 Mike Galli; 7. 87 John Emerson; 8. 4JR Russell Damme Jr.; 9. 31S Paul Shepherd; 10. 15 Norman Chesmore; 11. 17 Jason Niedert.
First heat - 1. Chesmore; 2. Murty; 3. Galli; 4. Deshaw; DNS Niedert.
Second heat - 1. Shepherd; 2. Holtz; 3. Schmidt; 4. Emerson; 5. Roster; 6. Damme.

Kyle Brown worked the high side around pole-sitter Jerry Dedrick to take the lead on the second lap of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. Brown pulled away from the field while Scott Hogan, who started seventh, ran the top groove to reel in Dedrick. Hogan caught Dedrick on lap six and made his way past for second as they exited turn two.

Hogan, who was over half of a straightaway behind the leader by the time he made it into second, was assisted when the yellow flag waved on lap nine.

When racing resumed, Hogan again went to work on the high side, but was unable to gain any ground prior to the final caution one lap later. On that restart, Hogan worked the high side in turns one and two, and the low side in three and four, but was unable to reel in the leader as Brown drove to the victory, his first-ever in the Modified division.

IMCA MODIFIED
Feature - 1. 21K Kyle Brown; 2. 33D Scott Hogan; 3. 18 Jerry Luloff; 4. 12D Joe Docekal; 5. F7 Patrick Flannagan; 6. 80 Jerry Dedrick; 7. 8 Tony Snyder; 8. 1J Jeff Streeter; 9. 32 Chris Snyder; 10. 17 Dawn Krall; 11. 7T Tim McBride; 12. 24 Travis Brown; 13. 57B Dennis Betzer; 14. 1XX Tom Hanson; 15. 15D Dustin Johnson; 16. 11B Mike Burbridge; 17. 171 Buck Swanson; 18. 49 Mike Manson.
First heat - 1. Hogan; 2. Dedrick; 3. Manson; 4. Docekal; 5. McBride; 6. C. Snyder.
Second heat - 1. Luloff; 2. Burbridge; 3. Streeter; 4. T. Snyder; 5. Betzer; 6. Johnson.
Third heat - 1. K. Brown; 2. Hanson; 3. Krall; 4. Swanson; 5. T. Brown; 6. Flannagan.

Race Notes: As warm and windy as the day was, it was just a matter of time before the moisture disappeared from the track. Although it got slick during the features, it was a fast, smooth surface that provided excellent racing all night... Randy Byerly took a nasty roll off the high side of turn two, just after the leaders took the checkers in the Hobby Stock feature. Although his car appeared to be a little worse for wear, Byerly was not injured. In fact, he was quickly out of his car waving to the fans... It was nice to see Tom Hanson get back behind the wheel. The former Pro Stock champion and Modified driver ran the #1X Modified normally driven by Steven Streeter... Former B Mod and SportMod driver Travis Brown also returned to the track tonight after a couple year absence. Brown, one of the owners of Wrap'd Up Designs, is piloting an IMCA Modified (apparently on a part-time basis) this year. The ever-mobile Brown, a Solon native, splits time between his full-time job in Cedar Rapids, the sign shop in rural Dysart and his home in Waterloo. Track announcer Bucky Doren, uncertain which hometown Travis wanted to list (triggered by Brown's puzzled look when signing in... a look that resembles his face at any other time of day, now that I mention it), took a humorous route and offered Butte, Montana, as one of his many towns of interest. Just so you know, Travis, Bucky will be gone next Sunday and he asked me to fill in for him. If you thought Montana was bad, I have an entire week to come up with something to say!

There were a number of impressive runs tonight by a variety of drivers... Danny Dvorak, who slipped off the high side of turns three and four on lap nine of the SportMod feature, made a great run from the back of the pack to finish fourth... Likewise, Kyle Olson slid off the top of turn four in the middle of the same feature. He made his way back through the pack to finish fifth... Patrick Flannagan broke a J bar during his Modified heat race qualifier, which left him dead last on the 18-car starting grid for the feature. His quick repair paid off as he drove a great race to finish fifth... Murty, who started the Stock Car feature in the ninth spot, advanced no farther than seventh by the midway point. He made up his ground in the final few laps to pressure Deshaw late at the line.

Despite the half hour later starting time, the final checkered flag waved at 8:17. This allowed plenty of time for the folks in the pit area to enjoy their extended holiday weekend. While I don't normally hang out too long after the races on Sunday night, I visited with quite a few people this week, which is the reason (excuse?) my blog is so late tonight. I had some entertaining visits with Curt "Mr. Congeniality" Hilmer, Travis "Pocatello, Idaho" Brown, Joe Docekal (at least his girlfriend; she's the smart one), Justin Stander (who actually held the same beer in his hand for MINUTES on end), Tom Hanson (who remains one of the nicest people you'll ever meet at or away from a race track), Patrick Flannagan (Superman underwear and all) and, dare I say it, Jerry Luloff. (Note: Words can't define Jerry and everyone already knows him, so a nickname isn't required. If it wasn't for that Seinfeld guy, I doubt Luloff would even need to go by his own last name.)

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow, I'm off to Boone Speedway for the annual Deery Series event. Pit gates open at 2, grandstands at 3, hot laps at 4 and racing at 5. Although I haven't been to a non-Super Nationals event at Boone in nearly 10 years, I'm certain tomorrow's show will include a ton of cars and some great racing. If you won't be in the Boone area tomorrow, don't forget the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour will be at I-35 Speedway in Mason City. I understand there were 37 Mods on-hand in Mason City on Sunday night for a $1,000-to-win special leading up to tomorrow's HDT event. I-35 announcer Jerry Vansickle called on his way home to let me know they had a terrific show. All of the top four finishers started deep in the field, with Jeremy Mills taking the win. Look for another good night of racing on Monday in Mason City.

Regardless what your plans are for Monday, please remember to take the time to remember the loved ones you've lost and to honor those who fight every day for our freedom. While we enjoy an extra day of racing this time of year, we need to take the time to express our appreciation for all of the people in our lives who are more important than the cars we enjoy seeing go in circles.

Have a great holiday!

Duffy catches Jackson atop Mod wins list at Independence

After two and-a-half inches of rain fell overnight Friday into Saturday morning, it was anyone's guess if the races would go on as scheduled Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway. Anyone's guess, unless you were Todd Summers and Darin Burco. The promoters surveyed the moisture early Saturday and were confident they could get the track in shape for that night's program. Following the help of the drivers, who assisted in track packing efforts prior to the show, fans were treated to a great night of racing Saturday.

MODIFIED
Darin Duffy took command of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature after leader Mike Burbridge stopped due to rearend problems midway through the race. Duffy then held off a hard-charging Troy Cordes to earn the victory, his second in as many weeks.

For Duffy, it was his 39th career Modified win in weekly racing history at Independence, tying him with Vern Jackson atop that list. Saturday marked the first time Duffy led or shared that position since June 4, 2011. It was also the seventh time in his career that he earned back-to-back wins in the division, the most all-time in the Mods at the speedway. He has also had three additional stretches of three straight wins in his career at Indee.

The win was Duffy's 49th career trip to the winner's circle in weekly racing at Independence, moving him to within a single victory of Greg Kastli for fourth on the overall all-time wins list at the speedway.

SPORTMOD
Danny Dvorak also won for the second straight week, taking the lead following a lap eight caution in the IMCA SportMod feature. For Dvorak, it was his 11th career SportMod win at Indee, one shy of Josh Sherbon atop the all-time list.

It was the first time in Dvorak's SportMod career at Indee that he won in consecutive weeks, becoming just the fifth driver in division history to win back-to-back features. The last time Dvorak won two straight features at the speedway was in May of 1998 in the Hobby Stock division.

Combined with his three Hobby Stock wins at Independence, Dvorak moved into a tie for 35th on the all-time wins list at the speedway, with 14 career feature wins.

STOCK CAR
Sean Johnson earned his second win of the season in the IMCA Stock Car division. He worked around the high side of Norman Chesmore in turn four on the final lap to drive to the victory, the 19th of his career at Independence. The win moved him into sole possession of third place all-time in the division. He now sits 12 wins behind Brian Irvine for second in that category.

It was the third career win in the month of May for Johnson, who has now won multiple Stock Car features in a season for the fourth time in his career.

The win moved Johnson into a tie for 24th on the all-time wins list at Independence. He now sits two wins behind Chris Luloff, Greg Hunter, Kevin Pittman and Red Dralle, who are tied for 20th in all-time weekly wins at Indee.

LATE MODEL
Dean Wagner drove to his sixth career victory in the Late Model division at Independence, holding off a furious challenge from Greg Hunter at the end of that 25-lapper. Wagner, whose wins span nearly 23 years, moved into a tie with Dale Stolte for 28th in career Late Model wins at the speedway.

It was Wagner's second career win in the month of May, his first victory this early in the season since he won on opening night (May 1) in 2004. 

HOBBY STOCK
Nathan Ballard passed Jim Ball Jr. late to score the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock 15-lapper. It was Ballard's second win of the season at Independence, his first coming on opening night. Ballard became the 58th Hobby Stock driver to earn multiple career wins at the speedway and just the 23rd driver to win multiple features the same year of his first win in the division.

The month of May has come to a close at Independence, which means the first installment of the monthly Stats Blitz will be posted in the near future. After a trip to Benton County Speedway in Vinton tonight, I'm heading to Boone Speedway tomorrow for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models special. I plan to work through the numbers Tuesday evening and post the Indee Stats Blitz that night. On Wednesday, I hope to post the first Stats Blitz of the season for Benton County Speedway.

Just a reminder, starting next Saturday night the race program at Independence will start one half hour later. Gates will still open at 4 p.m., however hot laps will be pushed back to 6 p.m. with racing at 6:30 for the remainder of the season.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend! See you at the races!

Parrish drives to Hetrick Memorial win at Lee County Speedway

Justin Parrish passed race leader Larry Ball Jr. a few laps into the 25-lap 305 Sprint feature to take the win in the Brian Hetrick Memorial 25 for 35 at Lee County Speedway on Friday.

By virtue of his win in the six-lap dash, Ball started the event from the pole position and paced the field through its early stages. Parrish, who started a row behind Ball, quickly worked into a challenge for the lead. The pair swapped the top spot before Parrish broke free a few laps into the event.

Parrish then held off a late charge from Ryan Jamison to take the win ahead of Jamison and John Schultz, who came from a fourth row starting spot. Daniel Bergquist and Jarrod Schneidermann, who started in row seven, completed the top five.

Outside front row starter Levi Smith took the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature. He paced the field while receiving heavy pressure from John Oliver Jr. Smith held the point through a myriad of cautions while Scott VanBuskirk was making his way through traffic.

VanBuskirk worked his way into contention late in the event and made his bid for the lead exiting turn four on the white flag lap. Smith tried to hold his position and shot in behind VanBuskirk on the front chute, squeezing between the new leader and Oliver. That move resulted in Smith spinning to the infield to bring out the final caution.

On the restart, VanBuskirk drove away from Oliver to score the win. Tony Dunker came from the fifth row to finish third ahead of Kevin Cale and Phillip Cossel.

Cale Samberg took the lead at the drop of the green in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. From his pole position start, Samberg built a few car-length lead while Jeff Mueller was running the low side to the front from his fourth row start.

With Mueller down low and Samberg up top, the leaders engaged in a terrific side-by-side battle for the lead throughout much of the event. Samberg held the edge each time the leaders exited turn two, but Mueller took command each time off turn four.

The lower groove proved to be faster for Mueller as he eventually assumed full command while Abe Huls was racing through the field. Huls pulled even with Mueller in the waning stages, but came up short at the line as Mueller escaped with the win. Samberg, Corey Strothman and Matt Greiner completed the top five.

Victor Hastings took the lead with five laps to go to score his second Hobby Stock feature win of the season at the speedway.

Jake Wenig, Dan Wenig and Luke McLaughlin waged a great three-car battle for the lead while Hastings was making a run from the fifth row. Jake Wenig, who led throughout the first half of the event, slowed to the infield prior to a mid-race caution. Dan Wenig took over the top spot for the restart, but Hastings ran him down to make the late winning pass. Dan Wenig ran second ahead of Nathan Anders, Kevin Cheney and McLaughlin.

Chuck Fullenkamp took charge on the first lap of the 12-lap IMCA Sport Compact main event. He raced to his second win of the season ahead of a hard-charging Nick Wilkerson, who came up just short at the checkers. Darin Smith, Scott Smith and Kimberly Abbott rounded out the top five.

Tonight, it's back to Independence Motor Speedway for Maverick Powersports Night at the Races. Things are a go as of now, providing the track doesn't see anymore rain. Over two-and-a-half inches fell at the fairgrounds overnight, but the track crew has been diligently working to prepare the track for tonight's event. Gates open at 4 p.m., with hot laps at 5:30 and racing to follow. Hope to see you there!

Denny Eckrich takes Deery checkers at Marshalltown

Denny Eckrich worked past the low side of younger brother Andy at the completion of the 15th lap to drive to the win in the 50-lap Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models feature at Marshalltown Speedway. It was Eckrich's first career win on the tour, making him the 85th different winner in series history.

Andy Eckrich shot into the lead at the drop of the green from his outside front row starting spot. He quickly pulled away from the pack while Bryan Klein, Jeff Aikey and Denny Eckrich pursued. Denny, working the low groove in turn two, shot beneath Aikey to steal third on the third lap, then took over second one lap later in the same set of turns. By the time Denny made his way to second, Andy was already leading by a straightaway.

Andy maintained his lead while Denny pulled away from third running Klein. The margins between the leaders remained the same until Andy encountered lapped traffic at the start/finish line to complete lap eight. It took just two more laps for Denny to reel in the younger Eckrich as he pulled to within a couple car-lengths of the leader, a straightaway ahead of Aikey who was then sitting in third.

Denny chased Andy through the backmarkers for a handful of laps, trying both the high and low grooves to keep pace while maneuvering through slower traffic. Denny saw his chance and shot to the inside of the leader in turn three and inched ahead at the line to complete lap 15. While the leaders traded spots up front, they also swapped racing grooves as they continued to make their way through lapped cars.

Meanwhile, Aikey, who was still running in third, led a three-car pack that included Tyler Bruening and Ray Guss Jr. After running just a few car-lengths apart over the course of a dozen laps, Aikey eventually broke free from that group on lap 22. By that time, both Eckriches encountered heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Aikey to keep them in his sights on the straightaways.

Out front, Andy closed in on Denny and briefly ducked beneath the leader in turns one and two, however Denny eventually pulled away and built a straightaway advantage with 15 laps to go. By that time, Aikey closed to within half of a straightaway of Andy.

Lapped traffic again allowed Andy to close late as he put the nose of his #56 to the inside of the leader exiting turn two on both the flying green and white flag laps. Denny proved to be too strong off the corners and drove to the exciting win in an event that ran caution-free in under 14 minutes. The charge Aikey mounted ran out of steam as he settled for third, nearly a straightaway behind the leaders. Tyler Bruening ran fourth. Series points leader Mike Murphy Jr. came from the 12th starting spot to finish fifth. Nate Beuseling, Kurt Kile and Darrel DeFrance completed the top eight, the only cars remaining on the lead lap when the checkers waved.

FEATURE - 1. 50 Denny Eckrich; 2. 56 Andy Eckrich; 3. 77 Jeff Aikey; 4. 16 Tyler Bruening; 5. 14 Mike Murphy Jr.; 6. 46 Nate Beuseling; 7. 77K Kurt Kile; 8. 99D Darrel DeFrance; 9. 19G Richie Gustin; 10. 93 Jay Johnson; 11. 25 Bryan Klein; 12. 56W Gary Webb; 13. 15 Justin Kay; 14. 38 Colby Springsteen; 15. 40 Joel Callahan; 16. 58 Ray Guss Jr.; 17. 84 Sam Halstead; 18. 72 Doug Yates; 19. 60 Dean Wagner; 20. 9 Ryan Giles; 21. 30 Todd Cooney; 22. 145 Dale Hackwell Jr.; 23. 73 Greg Kastli; 24. 76 Jason Hahne.
First heat (top 5 qualify) - 1. Guss; 2. DeFrance; 3. D. Eckrich; 4. Beuseling; 5. Cooney; 6. Kile; 7. Kay; 8. 5J Jeff Mitrisin; 9. Callahan.
Second heat - 1. Murphy; 2. Aikey; 3. Bruening; 4. J. Johnson; 5. Webb; 6. 45 Curt Martin; 7. 8 Al Johnson; 8. Hahne; 9. Giles.
Third heat - 1. Gustin; 2. A. Eckrich; 3. Wagner; 4. Klein; 5. Kastli; 6. Yates; 7. Halstead; 8. Hackwell; 9. Springsteen.
B Feature (top 6 transfer) - 1. Kay; 2. Kile; 3. Halstead; 4. Giles; 5. Hackwell; 6. Springsteen; 7. Callahan; 8. Yates; 9. Mitrisin; 10. A. Johnson; 11. Hahne; 12. Martin.
* Callahan, Yates and Hahne were points provisionals.

In other action, Jenae Gustin remained on her hot streak in the IMCA SportMod division. Gustin took command on the third lap of that 20-lapper, then held off a hard-charging Racer Hulin to take the thrilling win.

Outside front row starter Andy Tiernan paced the field for the first two laps before Gustin ran the high side into contention from her second row starting spot. She swept past Tiernan to lead three laps before the race's first caution on lap five.

When racing resumed, Eric Elliott worked past Sam Wieben to take second while Hulin was making his way through the field from a sixth row start. Gustin built a near-straightaway advantage by the time Hulin and Carter Vandenberg reeled in second running Elliott. That trio of drivers waged a terrific battle for position, going three-wide in turns three and four at the midway point. Elliott held onto the position until the final yellow flag waved with just five laps to go, just as it appeared Gustin was about to be slowed by a cluster of lapped cars.

On the restart, Gustin again took charge while Hulin slipped past Elliott for the second spot. Hulin remained glued to Gustin's rear bumper, then dove to the bottom of turn four on the final lap. Gustin, however, powered off the top side to drive to the popular win. Austin Kaplan made a nice run from the fifth row to come home third ahead of Elliott.

FEATURE - 1.  19J Jenae Gustin; 2. 505 Racer Hulin; 3. 1 Austin Kaplan; 4. 9E Eric Elliott; 5. 26J Joel Rust; 6. 7 Carter Vandenberg; 7. 198 Sam Wieben; 8. 10H Jack Housley; 9. 321 Andy Tiernan; 10. 23JR Nick Roberts; 11. S16 Kip Siems; 12. 25T Travis Peterson; 13. 33R D.J. Robinson; 14. 02A Cody Albers; 15. 22A Shawn Albers; 16. 777 Jamie Duinink; 17. 7R Ryan Ashton; 18. 93 Josh Burrell; 19. 3 Stacy Clark; 20. T17 Tom Rawlins; 21. 80 Jared Van Deest
First heat - 1. Tiernan; 2. Ashton; 3. Duinink; 4. Burrell; 5. Clark; 6. S. Albers; 7. Rawlins.
Second heat - 1. Gustin; 2. Vandenberg; 3. Rust; 4. Wieben; 5. Roberts; 6. Siems; 7. Robinson.
Third heat - 1. Elliott; 2. Kaplan; 3. Hulin; 4. Peterson; 5. Housley; 6. C. Albers; 7. Van Deest.

In Mod Lite action, Mike Morrill took the lead just past the midway point of that 14-lapper to take the win ahead of Andy Hennigar. I think 95% of every Mod Lite feature I've witnessed involving Morrill has resulted in him visiting victory lane. It was a terrific run around the top once again for the #6. Dusty Masolini ran third.

FEATURE - 1.  6 Mike Morrill; 2. 15 Andy Hennigar; 3. 8 Dusty Masolini; 4. 99 Josh May; 5. 46Z Bryan Zehm; 6. 0B Colby Oberempt; 7. 11R Jason Whitehead; 8. 20 Jeff Stensland; 9. 19JR Danny Foster; 10. 64 Randy Bryan.
First heat - 1. May; 2. Hennigar; 3. Oberempt; 4. Foster; 5. Bryan.
Second heat - 1. Morrill; 2. Zehm; 3. Stensland; 4. Whitehead; 5. Masolini.

Race Notes:
During the first heat of the night, Stacy Clark took an early left turn in his SportMod and went through victory lane before plowing through a billboard just beneath the scoring tower. In the process, he took out a flower planter, the bottom half of the billboard and, oh yeah, all of the trophies to be awarded to the feature winners. Clark was okay, however I'm sure his pride took a wallop... A pair of rollovers slowed down action in the Late Model B feature. First, Curt Martin got crossed up in traffic before spinning and facing the wrong direction. It was early in the event so the field was running very close, which resulted in another car plowing into the side of Martin and sending him on his top right on the front stretch. Although Martin walked away, his car appeared to sustain heavy damage. Hopefully, he'll be able to get it back in shape to defend his points lead at Independence on Saturday... A few laps later, Jeff Mitrisin took a vicious roll off the high side of turn two. Again, Mitrisin was okay, but his car was not. I took a couple of pictures from the tower with my phone. Although they're not the best of quality, you can still make out the damage. They are posted at the end of the blog... Ray Guss Jr. was having a solid run in the top six before he was pinched into the wall coming off turn four after encountering lapped cars. He immediately took his machine to the pits.

It was a great show and, despite the fact that Marshalltown has seen no rain in the last 15 days, the track held up well. Yes, it got dusty as would be expected, however it stayed smooth with multiple grooves of racing all night long. I spoke with promoter Toby Kruse before the show started and he indicated there was no lack of effort in getting moisture in the track. It became a matter of watering the track for the last couple of days until it was too soggy for the water truck to make it around the high banks, let it dry out enough to put more water on it, then go back at it again. Terrific job to Toby and crew for a great night!

Also, thanks to Jeremy Fox for the Positively Racing mention and thanks to Jerry Vansickle for giving me a few moments on the mic. How are those S'mores and weenies, Jerry?

After a couple days away from the track, the busy Memorial Day weekend awaits. After my weekly travels to Donnellson, Independence and Vinton this weekend, I'm heading to Boone Speedway on Monday for their annual Memorial Day special.

Have a great rest of the week and, as always, thanks for reading!

Curt Martin's night came to a rough, early end during the B feature.

 

 Martin and the track crew survey the damage after getting his car back on all fours.

 

You can partially see the damage to the right side of Martin's car as it is loaded onto a flatbed trailer.

Jeff Mitrisin's #5J getting assisted back to the pits from every angle after a wild ride off turn two.

Murty scores Marion Cottrell Memorial win at Benton County Speedway

It's not often you see Damon Murty start on the pole at Benton County Speedway. It's even less frequent to see him drive to a hard fought win from that position, but that's exactly what took place during the Marion Cottrell Memorial event for the IMCA Stock Cars at Benton County Speedway on Sunday night.

The draw/redraw points race for the Stock Car division is held annually to honor the late Vinton resident who had a lifelong involvement with local racing. The special event did not disappoint those in attendance.

Sixteen Stock Cars signed in to compete on the night and it was second heat winner Murty drawing the #1 chip for the 20-lap feature. Murty was pressured early by fellow front row starter John Emerson before Murty assumed command.

Norman Chesmore, who started inside of row two, challenged to the inside of the leader when Murty went to work on the top groove. That pair worked side-by-side while Phil Holtz was running the bottom groove into contention from his third row start. Those three ran in that order until the first caution of the event waved on lap five.

On the restart, Holtz worked the low side past Chesmore, then shot to the inside of Murty to engage in a wheel-to-wheel battle at the front of the pack. Holtz inched ahead of Murty at the line to lead lap seven, then settled into the top spot while Murty remained glued to his rear bumper.

Murty tried to make a move on the outside of Holtz before dropping to the inside of the leader in turn two on lap 11. He snuck past Holtz until Holtz came back on the low side. Holtz inched ahead of Murty at the line on lap 14, however the caution flag waved, negating the pass.

On the final restart, Murty remained glued to the tires on the low side of the speedway. He held off Holtz to take the exciting win. Holtz ran second ahead of a hard-charging Jason Deshaw, who started in the fifth row. Scooter Dulin, who deserves much of the credit for putting together the event in honor of his late grandfather, made a terrific run from the sixth row to come home fourth.

The IMCA Modified division has provided thriller after thriller every week in Vinton. Sunday night was no exception.

Pole-sitter Troy Cordes took the lead at the drop of the green with Ronn Lauritzen and Richie Gustin in tow. Through three early cautions, Cordes maintained the point while Gustin worked both high and low to make a pass on Lauritzen. Gustin shot to the inside of Lauritzen and made his pass for second just prior to a lap seven caution.

Cordes led the field back to green with Gustin in pursuit. Gustin worked the low side while Cordes worked up top. Gustin made his way under the leader on lap nine and took over the top spot shortly before Cordes slipped off the high side of turns three and four, ending his run.

While Gustin took charge, Scott Hogan came charging through traffic from his fourth row starting spot to take second a short time later. He quickly reeled in the leader, pressuring Gustin from the low side.

Gustin held the point as the leaders worked their way through a myriad of lapped cars. Hogan chased Gustin through the backmarkers to the finish, but was unable to mount a charge as Gustin escaped with the win, his second straight in Vinton. Patrick Flannagan made a late pass to steal third from Jerry Luloff.

Danny Dvorak earned his second win in as many days in the IMCA SportMod division. Following his Saturday night win at Independence, Dvorak passed Duane Van Deest as the flying green waved to take his third win of the season on the Vinton quarter-mile.

Pole-sitter Van Deest took the lead at the drop of the green while Dvorak weaved through traffic from a fourth row starting spot. Dvorak was challenging for the lead on the high side of Van Deest when the third and final yellow flag of the event waved on lap three.

Following the restart, Dvorak remained glued to Van Deest's rear bumper and tried both high and low to make his bid for the lead. Not wanting to show his nose and reveal his line, Dvorak sat in waiting until the flying green waved to work his way around Van Deest. Dvorak led the final two laps on his way to victory.

Scott Pippert rolled to his third straight IMCA Hobby Stock victory in Vinton and his sixth overall at the speedway this season.

Pippert came from a fourth row start before settling into the top three in just four laps. He ran past Jacob Keiser on the low side to steal second before setting his sights on race-long leader Rod Grother.

Running side-by-side for a number of laps, Pippert escaped with the lead on the 10th lap to drive to the win. He put a lapped car between himself and Grother at the line to ensure the victory. Keiser ran third.

Nathan Chandler chased Merv Chandler for the first four laps of the IMCA Sport Compact feature before putting his #22 at the front of the pack on lap five. Nathan led the remainder of that 12-lapper to take the win. Merv Chandler ran second, nearly a straightaway ahead of Steve Miedke.

It was another smooth, efficient program in Vinton. While the first green flag waved shortly before the 6 o'clock hour, the final checkered flag waved at 7:53. Reminder to BCS fans: the starting times will be pushed back 30 minutes for the rest of the season, starting next week. Gates will open at 4:30, hot laps at 6, with racing to follow.

Track photographer Scott Tjabring was absent tonight due to other engagements, however (by chance) Kyle Ealy (with Ealy, we'll just call it "dumb luck") was on-hand to take some photos. You can check out his work at www.autoracingindependent.com. Thanks to Kyle for providing the pics included in the results listed below! Does this mean I owe you, Kyle?

Up next for me is a trip to Marshalltown Speedway on Tuesday night for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. Hope to see you there!

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature - 1. 19G Richie Gustin; 2. 33D Scott Hogan; 3. F7 Patrick Flannagan; 4. 18 Jerry Luloff; 5. 12D Joe Docekal; 6. 91 Shawn Ryan; 7. 21K Kyle Brown; 8. 22 Brandon Banks; 9. 01 Ed Thomas; 10. 1J Jeff Streeter; 11. 80 Jerry Dedrick; 12. 10K Ronn Lauritzen; 13. 171 Buck Swanson; 14. 14B Shane Burbridge; 15. 17 Dawn Krall; 16. 1X Stephen Streeter; 17. 7T Tim McBride; 18. 96 Eric Tuttle; 19. 71 Troy Cordes; 20. T23 Tony Olson.
First heat - 1. Brown; 2. McBride; 3. Docekal; 4. Hogan; 5. Banks; 6. Burbridge; DNS Dedrick.
Second heat - 1. Cordes; 2. J. Streeter; 3. Luloff; 4. Olson; 5. Swanson; 6. S. Streeter; 7. Tuttle.
Third heat - 1. Lauritzen; 2. Gustin; 3. Flannagan; 4. Ryan; 5. Thomas; 6. Krall.

Joe Docekal (12D) runs the low groove while Tim McBride runs the top side in IMCA Modified heat race action. 
(Kyle "Typos Make Me Giggle" Ealy photo)

Even the family dog was on-hand to celebrate Richie Gustin's win in the IMCA Modified feature. 
(Kyle "It Ain't Easy Bein' Me" Ealy photo)

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature - 1. 99D Damon Murty; 2. 7H Phil Holtz; 3. 21DE Jason Deshaw; 4. 3T Scooter Dulin; 5. 31S Paul Shepherd; 6. 19J Jay Schmidt; 7. 15 Norman Chesmore; 8. 9E Austin Evens; 9. 8 Curtis Roster; 10. 87 John Emerson; 11. 76 Mike Galli; 12. 4JR Russell Damme Jr.; 13. 20B Andrew Burke; 14. 83E Thomas Thompson; 15. G1 Mike Padden; 16. 17 Jason Niedert.
First heat - 1. Shepherd; 2. Emerson; 3. Schmidt; 4. Roster; 5. Deshaw; 6. Dulin; 7. Niedert; 8. Galli.
Second heat - 1. Murty; 2. Chesmore; 3. Burke; 4. Holtz; 5. Thompson; 6. Evens; 7. Damme; 8. Padden.

Andrew Burke (20B) and Damon Murty (99D) race for position in IMCA Stock Car heat race action. 
(Kyle "It's Shake 'N Bake and I Helped" Ealy photo)

Damon Murty celebrates his Marion Cottrell Memorial IMCA Stock Car feature win.
(Kyle "Because Socks with Sandals Just Looks Cool" Ealy photo).

IMCA SPORTMOD
Feature - 1. 3R Danny Dvorak; 2. 80 Duane Van Deest; 3. 00 Jim Buhlman; 4. K3 Kyle Olson; 5. 95 Mike McDonald; 6. J2 Dave Schulze; 7. 22H Curt Hilmer; 8. 16K Brandon Morris; 9. 777 Jamie Duinink; 10. 28P Rick Paulson; 11. 35C Casey Heil; 12. 93 Josh Burrell; 13. 42L Lonnie Mercer; 14. 11M Jody Mitchell; 15. 3B Brian Anderson.
First heat - 1. Van Deest; 2. McDonald; 3. Olson; 4. Buhlman; 5. Duinink; 6. Morris; 7. Anderson; 8. Mitchell.
Second heat - 1. Dvorak; 2. Schulze; 3. Paulson; 4. Burrell; 5. Heil; 6. Hilmer; 7. Mercer.

Danny Dvorak earned his second IMCA SportMod win of the weekend. 
(Kyle "Make Love, Not War" Ealy photo)

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature - 1. 47 Scott Pippert; 2. 77 Rod Grother; 3. 07 Jacob Keiser; 4. 78 Matt Brown; 5. 55 Vince Buchholz; 6. 2P Cale Petersen; 7. 25 Doug Laughridge; 8. 1S Greg Sweerin; 9. 09 Brayden Forbes; 10. 99 Erick Knutsen; 11. 45 Justin Wacha.
First heat - 1. Keiser; 2. Buchholz; 3. Brown; 4. Wacha; 5. Knutsen; 6. Sweerin.
Second heat - 1. Grother; 2. Pippert; 3. Petersen; 4. Laughridge; 5. Forbes.

Bucky Doren interviews "unbeatable" IMCA Hobby Stock driver Scott Pippert for the sixth time in victory lane this season.  
(Kyle "I'll Show You Who 'Dat" Ealy photo)

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature - 1. 22 Nathan Chandler; 2. 2 Merv Chandler; 3. 8M Jacob McVay; 4. 11 Steve Miedke; 5. 57C Brad Chandler; 6. 36DD Gary Peiffer; 7. 83 Travis Ross; 8. 9D Dan Schmidt; 9. 75S Dustin Sondag; 10. 111 A.J. Witten; 11. 35 Brett Vanous.
First heat - 1. Miedke; 2. Peiffer; 3. McVay; 4. Ross; 5. Schmidt; 6. Witten.
Second heat - 1. M. Chandler; 2. N. Chandler; 3. Vanous; 4. B. Chandler; 5. Sondag.