Chris Luloff took one more step toward reaching the top of the all-time wins list of the Hobby Stock division at Independence Motor Speedway. He led all 15 laps of the feature Saturday night to score his 20th career win in the division. He is now tied with Chris Wessner at the top of the list. A brief recap and statistical overview of that race, along with the rest of Saturday night's program, is outlined below.
HOBBY STOCK
Luloff took off at the drop of the green and never looked back to score the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Lapped traffic allowed Jeremiah Wilson to close late, however Luloff held on to win his second straight feature in the division. It was the fourth time Luloff earned back-to-back Hobby Stock wins at the speedway. The other times he won in consecutive weeks included June 19 and June 26, 2004, when he earned the first two wins of his career. He followed that up with a third straight win on July 10, following a July 3 rainout. Luloff also won consecutive features on July 8 and July 15, 2006, along with August 6 and August 13 of 2011. Luloff also won consecutive IMCA SportMod features on May 30 and June 6, 2009. It was the fifth career Hobby Stock win for Luloff in the month of June.
All 20 of Luloff's wins are under the IMCA sanction. Brian Irvine is second in IMCA Hobby Stock wins at the speedway with 16. Of Wessner's 20 Hobby Stock wins at Independence, only three were IMCA sanctioned. His last win came on season championship night, August 24, 1996. Saturday marked the first time since July 8, 1995, that someone shared the top spot with Wessner on the wins list.
The 23rd overall win in his Independence career, Luloff now sits tied with Justin Temeyer (wins in the Hobby Stock and Stock Car divisions) and Roger Ciesielski (Hobby Stock and Pro Stock) for 16th on the speedway's all-time wins list.
MODIFIED
Adam Johnson held off late pressure from Ronn Lauritzen to earn his ninth career IMCA Modified win at the speedway. The win moved Johnson into a tie with Timm Jensen on the division's all-time wins list at Indee. He now sits two wins behind Scott Hogan for ninth in that category.
Johnson has now made at least one trip to the winner's circle in each of the last three seasons. He is the only Modified driver with wins at the speedway in five of the last six years. It was the first time he made his way to victory lane in the month of June in a Modified. He has also won Modified features in May, July and August.
STOCK CAR
John Emerson earned his first career win in the IMCA Stock Car division. He took charge at the drop of the green, then held off Phil Holtz to earn the milestone win. With his win, Emerson became the third different first-time winner in the last four weeks in the Stock Car division at Indee.
Overall, Emerson is the 43rd different driver to win a feature in the division in weekly racing history at the speedway. Since the start of the 1967 season, he became the 436th different driver to win a feature in weekly racing at Independence.
LATE MODEL
After five straight different IMCA Late Model winners opened the season, Dean Wagner became the first to repeat. Wagner worked the low side of the speedway into the lead from a second row start, then checked out on the field to score his seventh career win in the division on the Independence oval. He is now 24th on the all-time list, one win behind Dan Nesteby and Joe Schaefer.
While it marked the sixth season in his career with at least one Late Model win, it is the first time Wagner has won multiple features in a single season at Independence. Like Johnson in the Modifieds, Wagner had previously earned wins in the months of May, July and August, however it was his first trip to victory lane in the month of June.
SPORTMOD
Tyler Droste came from a fifth row start and quickly made his way to the front in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature. Droste held the lead on lap two, then drove away from the field to score his ninth career win at Independence. Droste remains third on the all-time list, two wins behind Danny Dvorak.
It was a great night at the track, which was smooth, dry and fast all night. Following heavy rains two weeks ago and a little too much water last week, the surface was much-improved Saturday night. Thanks to Todd Summers, Darin Burco and Don Burkey for providing a great track for the racers.
Also, special thanks to Curt and Deb Martin of RE/MAX Independence Realty for sponsoring the program. They offered a ton of giveaways during intermission, and offered three lucky kids the chance to ride in the pace car prior to the Late Model feature.
A few fans were grumbling about the length of the intermission, during which time all of the prizes were awarded to lucky ticket holders while the track crew added water to the track. There are two things those fans need to realize: The support of sponsors is vital for many tracks. Rather than complaining about the intermission, take the time to thank track sponsors for their support and the sacrifices they make to help support the show. In addition, the prizes are a way to give back to the fans and to keep the kids involved. Besides, the show was running along quite well, which allowed us the extra time to acknowledge RE/MAX. Thanks again, Curt and Deb! Your support is very much appreciated.
Tonight, I'm heading to Benton County Speedway here in Vinton where another great sponsor is planning a terrific night for both fans and drivers. Albert Auto of Cedar Rapids will be giving away numerous prizes, along with providing purse money for all heat race winners. It promises to be a great night in Vinton.
Speaking of Benton County Speedway, I have now collected every feature winner in weekly racing history from Vinton. As time allows, I'll continue to crunch some numbers and hope to have many of those stats right here at Positively Racing. In the mean time, I'll provide BCS track announcer Bucky Doren with some teasers for race nights at the speedway.
Hope to see you tonight!
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