Hocken, McCahen record first Independence wins

While every driver in victory lane Saturday night was there for the first time this season, two of them were enjoying their first-ever trips to the winner's circle at Independence Motor Speedway. 

STOCK CAR
Jason Hocken took command just shy of the midway point to take his first career win in the IMCA Stock Car division at the speedway. After Roger Ciesielski, Dave Stricker and Sean Johnson all shared time at the front of the pack, Hocken motored to the front on lap seven en route to the win.

Hocken became the 42nd different Stock Car winner in weekly racing history at the track, joining Tim Helle as first-time winners through the first five weeks of the season. Hocken is the 11th Stock Car driver in track history to earn his first career win in the month of June. 

SPORTMOD
Matt McCahen had been close a number of times, but sealed the deal Saturday night with his first IMCA SportMod win at Independence. McCahen led the entire 15-lap distance, frequently by large margins, on his way to the milestone victory.

McCahen became the 16th different SportMod winner in Independence history, joining his teammate, Kip Siems, as new winners this season. The 21 day span between Siems' and McCahen's wins is the shortest span between new SportMod winners since Lucas Lundry and Austin Kaplan earned their first Independence wins over the same time span during the 2009 season.

LATE MODEL
Bryan Klein took the lead from Greg Hunter on the sixth of 25 laps to earn his second IMCA Late Model win on the Independence oval. Klein held off a late surge from Luke Pestka to take the victory, his first since July 12, 2008. Klein is now one of 64 Late Model drivers with multiple wins in the division since 1967.

HOBBY STOCK
Chris Luloff led from the drop of the green to drive to the win in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Following four consecutive DNFs to start the season, Luloff took advantage of his pole position start to drive to the convincing win.

His first win since August 13 of last year, Luloff now has 19 career wins in the division at Independence. He sits a single win behind Chris Wessner atop the division's all-time wins list, a position Wessner has held since July 8, 1995. Tied at that time with Ken Irvine and Rick Johnson, Wessner broke the tie three weeks later and has been in sole possession of the career wins lead for the Hobby Stocks since July 29, 1995.

When also considering his three SportMod wins during the 2009 season, Luloff now has 22 career wins to his credit in weekly racing at Independence. Following Saturday's win, he is now tied with Keith Knox and Jarod Weepie for 18th on the all-time overall list.

MODIFIED
After a great battle with Jerry Luloff in lapped traffic, Ronn Lauritzen emerged with his third career IMCA Modified win on the Independence oval. Lauritzen, who last won during the Dick Frye Memorial on August 6, 2011, now ranks tied for 37th on the division's all-time list at the speedway. Owen Grube, Travis Heyer and Randy Trefz share that spot with him.

For another take on last night's show, check out fellow Positively Racing blogger Brian Neal's recap at Midwest Racing News as he made his first-ever visit to Independence on Saturday. Thanks for coming up, Brian! I hope you can make it again this season!

Quick Facts
A number of odd coincidences regarding finishing spots have emerged through the first five weeks of the season. Among them...
LATE MODEL
Drew Johnson has finished 8th three times in five weeks while Tysus Pattee has four 9th place feature finishes.
MODIFIED
Mark Schulte has earned three 3rd place finishes in the last four weeks, while Patrick Flannagan has finished seventh the last three weeks in a row. In five weeks, Ronn Lauritzen has finished in each of the top five positions once. Lauritzen's feature finishes, in order, are 5, 2, 4, 3 and 1.
STOCK CAR
No Stock Car driver has finished in the same top-10 spot more than twice.
SPORTMOD
No SportMod driver has finished in the same top-10 spot more than twice. In fact, only three drivers have finished in the same top-10 finish more than once. They include, Danny Dvorak (two wins), Jim Buhlman (two 2nds) and Sean Vogt (two 7ths).
HOBBY STOCK
Points leader Justin Stander has earned three eighth place finishes this year, while Benji Irvine has finished third every week for the last three weeks.

A number of concerns were expressed last night concerning the track conditions. Not just by drivers, but by the track crew, as well. The simple fact is, as everyone knows, there was too much water on it. While many were frustrated, I can assure you that the track crew will make every effort to improve on track conditions every week.

Yes, the guys working on the track this year are new to the game, but they are also very willing to put in the time and effort to correct any problems. Some have said that a former driver is promoting the track and should be able to prepare a track for the drivers, however the two do not go hand-in-hand. Regardless what new venture you decide to take on in life, there is always a learning curve. Quite frankly, the work ethic, determination and willingness to improve put the current promoters ahead of that curve. The new crew has five races under its belt and I can guarantee you that the track has been better than anyone would have imagined prior to the season. No, these aren't excuses. They're facts. The track will get better, you can be assured of that.

As everyone knows, every person who attends a race has "the best" idea to prepare a race track and I have yet to meet anyone unwilling to share his/her ideas. Some like the sheeps foot, others do not. Some prefer dry slick, others prefer tacky. And, of course, everyone has their own idea how to make a track a certain way to fit their personal preference. If the current team in place has a single fault, I'd have to say it's probably the willingness to listen to everyone's concerns. No, we don't want a heavy, wet, rough track for the drivers, but at the same time, we don't want a slick, dusty track for the fans. Yes, without drivers, there would be no races for the fans to watch. At the same time, without fans, there would be no need for drivers to own a race car. Our best efforts will be to provide the best solution for all involved. Does this mean the track will be ideal to your own personal preferences night in and night out? More than likely not. We have a grandstand full of fans and a pit area full of drivers to consider with every decision we make. The best interest of all involved will be the basis of the decisions we make at Independence, as is the case at any race track.

Following last night's show, the annual awards banquet from this past January came to mind. The new promoters were introduced and they indicated plans for great improvements at the facility this season. Among them were the improvements to be made to the track. While it was stated at the time that it may take a little while to get things ironed in, those in attendance were thrilled that someone was stepping in to take on the task of turning things around. Everyone was willing to concede that new people working in new clay was likely to take some time. The crew is still new and still willing to take on that task, however change and improvement don't come with the snap of the fingers or a colorful array of curse words. We continue to thank you for the patience you indicated at the banquet.

Along with a well-groomed track, a pet peeve of mine has always been starting on time. Along with last night's delay and the weather delay a week ago, we have admittedly struggled getting the show started on time. I personally assure you that will improve in the very near future.

Next up for me is the weekly trip across town to Benton County Speedway in Vinton where I'll be filling in for track announcer Bucky Doren tonight. Bucky is enjoying some family time this weekend, taking in his son's baseball tournament over in Des Moines, but he will return next weekend! Hope to see everyone in Vinton tonight!