Independence Motor Speedway successfully got its season opener in the books Saturday night, one week after being delayed by weather. A nice crowd and a pit area filled with 124 race teams opened the season in great fashion.
Since I'm writing the race night story for the track, I won't get into details of each race on my blog this season. That information can be found at www.independencemotorspeedway.com. Instead, I plan to talk about other things In Staging, while hitting just a few items that may have been mentioned in the weekly story.
Heading into the night, many people had the same questions in mind. With all of the work done to the track, including all the clay that was added, what would the racing surface be like? Would it hold together? Would it be rough? Would there be good side-by-side racing or would it be one groove, follow the leader?
You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who assumed the track would be in as good of shape as it was last night. I spoke with a few drivers prior to Saturday's opener who assumed it would be rough, but were going to support the track anyway as new promoters Darin Burco and Todd Summers have gone to great lengths to improve the surface. Not only did the track start off good last night, but it stayed in good shape throughout the evening. Generally, when the track has offered multi-groove racing in the past, it's lasted for only part of the night. Last night, there were multiple racing grooves throughout the entire program. Granted, last night was just one night, but if it's any indication of the potential for the season, Burco and Summers are on the right track.
The racing was good and efficient right out of the gate last night, taking around just an hour to complete the 16 qualifying heat races. Only three caution flags slowed those qualifiers. The Modified B took a little longer than expected, but it didn't have much of an effect on the show as a whole due to the time that was saved during the heats.
Many have expressed concerns about the amount of time it takes the open wheel cars to complete their part of the program, but the IMCA SportMods started the night's features with a great race. Few caution flags delayed that event and, quite frankly, it was one of the best races of the night.
You never know what look the starting lineups will have on a draw/redraw show, and there were probably a few groans in the crowd when former IMCA National SportMod champion Austin Kaplan rolled onto the track in the pole position and defending track champion Tyler Droste drew outside row two. Once the green waved, all of those doubts were forgotten.
Kaplan and Droste put on a great race at the front of the pack until Droste's misfortune due to lapped traffic late in the race. In the end, Kaplan won for the sixth time in his career at Independence and for the first time since June 26, 2010. Kaplan became the fourth different opening night winner in the five seasons the SportMods have competed at Independence.
After he won the national championship in 2010, Kaplan didn't race anywhere weekly in 2011 and didn't pursue another national title. He echoed those same thoughts for 2012 in victory lane last night, saying he was going to do more traveling and not commit to any weekly racing.
The IMCA Stock Car feature was arguably the best of the night as Dave Stricker, Jason Hocken and Phil Holtz provided an entertaining battle for the lead for all 18 laps. Defending track champion Sean Johnson challenged that trio late, as well, as the Stock Cars kicked off their 20th season of competition at Independence.
The leaders again were able to run all over the race track and were two and three-wide all race long. Holtz' win was the third of his career at Indee, and first since July 3, 2010. He now sits tied for 17th on the all-time wins list for the Stock Cars at the speedway.
The IMCA Modifieds had a little more trouble than the other divisions last night. Although a number of cautions slowed that event, there was great racing throughout the field. Although Mark Schulte proved to be the dominant car all night, Jerry King and Troy Cordes put on a great show in their battle for second. Those guys raced side-by-side for many laps, swapping positions much of the time before King came out with the runner-up spot.
For Schulte, who won an Indee Open Modified feature at Independence on August 2, 2006, it was his first-ever win in weekly racing at Independence. He became the 79th different Modified winner in track history and the 27th different opening night winner in the division's 30 year history at Indee.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks provided another great race for the fans, despite some of the heavy hitters drawing good starting spots. Nathan Ballard, who has raced at Independence only a handful of times in his career, and Scott Pippert, who seems to win every week at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, put on another terrific show for the lead. In the end, Ballard won for the first-time ever at Independence, holding off last season's opening night winner. He became the 22nd different opening night winner in 24 years of Hobby stock racing at the track.
Benji Irvine, yes, I said Irvine, offered a little more proof that racing is in the Irvine family blood line. He drove a hell of a race and came home second at the line by inching out Pippert. Irvine, who I believe is the cousin of IMCA Stock Car great Brian Irvine, was in his first night of weekly racing at Independence last night. I know he's spent some time behind the wheel of a go-kart, but last night was his first venture in Saturday night racing at Independence.
Curt Martin played the role of numerologist with his win in the IMCA Late Model feature. Not only was it his 93rd career Late Model win in weekly racing at Independence, Martin's win on Saturday fell on the anniversary of his father's first career Late Model win (1967) and Curt's own first win in weekly racing at Indee (1984). Of course, it was the 45th anniversary of Glen Martin's first win, also the number that adorns the side of Curt's Late Model. Curt knew the anniversary going into the night and made mention of it in his victory lane interview. Curt leads all drivers at the speedway with 14 career wins on opening night, his last coming in 2007.
Overall, it was a great night of racing. There were some hiccups, as there are bound to be regardless how well-prepared anyone hopes to be. The car count was probably a bit higher than expected, although a record number of 70-plus drivers registered early this year. The extra time taken to register drivers, plus the longer than normal drivers meeting for opening night did cause a brief delay to the start of the show, however the first green flag fell at approximately 6:15. The final checkered waved around four hours later, which was pretty good for the 22 events scheduled.
Burco Sales sponsored the opening night event and awarded bicycles to six kids. Six free grandstand passes for future Saturday night races were also awarded.
During intermission, I walked through the grandstands to talk to a couple people, including IMCA SportMod driver Aric Becker and Late Model legend Ed Sanger. It was great to hear Sanger tell the crowd about his racing days and how much the sport has changed through the years. I hope we can talk to Sanger more throughout the season, along with other drivers who may be on-hand. I'm looking to make the down time/intermission more interactive this season. As time allows, I'll be milling through the grandstands, so be prepared, I may be coming to talk to you!
Next Saturday, all starting times will be the same, however the pits will open at the normal time of 4 p.m.
Up next for me is a trip across town to Benton County Speedway here in Vinton for tonight's weekly show. Although a light shower just came through the area (which included a brief power outage and caused a delay in getting this blog written!), only 1/10 of an inch of rain fell at the speedway so things are a go for tonight! Gates in Vinton open at 4, with hot laps at 5:30 and racing to follow. I hope to see you there!
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