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!
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