Pippert pilots to Ron Tharp Memorial win at Benton County Speedway

A terrific night of racing in all five divisions Sunday night closed the 2012 edition of the Benton County Fair. The event was highlighted by the Ron Tharp Memorial, held in honor of the Vinton native and former competitor at Benton County Speedway who unexpectedly passed away late last year.

While increased prize money was up for grabs in all divisions, the showcase event of the evening was in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Tharp spent most of his career driving the #75 Hobby Stock on Sundays, earning 13 career wins in the division.

The draw/redraw format was used for the 20 entries and it was pole-sitter Brian Happel who held the early advantage for the 20-lap feature. Running the top side, Happel took charge at the drop of the green while points leader Scott Pippert quickly challenged from a second row start. After running three-wide with Jacob Keiser and Doug Laughridge for the runner-up spot, Pippert broke free into second after two laps.

While Happel continued to run the high groove, Pippert challenged low, but was able to do little more than pull to within half a car-length of the lead. Pippert then went to work on the top groove, chasing Happel on the fast, smooth, quarter-mile.

Jacob Keiser and Chris Luloff joined the leaders in a four-car breakaway at the front of the pack as Pippert again changed lanes before the caution flag waved on lap 10.

Pippert went to work on the low side when racing resumed and got a good run on the leader exiting turn four on the following lap. At the line, Pippert nosed ahead of Happel by mere inches to take the lead before the yellow flag waved again for an incident in turn one on lap 11.

Although Happel remained within striking distance over the final stages of the race, Pippert held on to win his second straight feature and fifth in the last six events. Happel crossed the line in second with Keiser close behind.

It was Pippert's eighth straight top-three finish and his 13th top-three in 15 events this season. It also marked the ninth time in his career in Vinton that Pippert has strung together consecutive wins. For his career, Pippert now owns 44 Hobby Stock wins. He continues to close the gap on all-time leader Vince Buchholz, who tops the list with 48.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature - 1. 47 Scott Pippert; 2. 46 Brian Happel; 3. 07 Jacob Keiser; 4. 19X August Bach; 5. 55 Vince Buchholz; 6. 09X Brad Forbes; 7. 45 Justin Wacha; 8. 67 Justin Stander; 9. 78 Matt Brown; 10. 14J Jacob Floyd; 11. 7 Steve Kesl; 12. 20JN Justin Ginther; 13. 500 Garrett Eilander; 14. 12J Jeremy Floyd; 15. 18 Chris Luloff; 16. 26 Nathan Christie; 17. 2P Cale Petersen; 18. 25 Doug Laughridge; 19. 77 Rod Grother; DNS 75D Dale Kite.
First heat - 1. Pippert; 2. Happel; 3. Bach; 4. Forbes; 5. Ginther; 6. Kesl; DNS Kite.
Second heat - 1. Brown; 2. Eilander; 3. Stander; 4. Laughridge; 5. Buchholz; 6. Jacob Floyd; 7. Jeremy Floyd.
Third heat - 1. Luloff; 2. Grother; 3. Christie; 4. Kesl; 5. Petersen; 6. Wacha.

In IMCA SportMod action, Mike McDonald was in search of his first career win in the division in Vinton. McDonald paced the field from his outside front row starting spot and quickly pulled away from the pack until action was slowed for caution on lap five. By that time, last Sunday's winner, Curt Hilmer, made his way into second from a third row start.

When racing resumed, McDonald ran the top side while Hilmer ran down low. Hilmer was able to close the gap at various points and was able to pull alongside the leader briefly, but was unable to make the pass for the lead until the waning laps.

Exiting turn four on the 13th circuit, Hilmer feathered the throttle on the slick surface, rocketed off the corner to sneak beneath McDonald and took advantage at the line. While Hilmer led, Brennen Chipp was also making his way to the front. After starting in the sixth row, Chipp pulled to the inside of McDonald on the white flag lap, a car-length behind Hilmer.

Exiting turn four, McDonald shot to the high side with Chipp down low as they each tried to find a faster groove around the leader. Hilmer proved to be too strong out front as he drove to the exciting victory. Chipp edged McDonald for second at the line.

His second win of the season, Hilmer now owns five career SportMod wins in Vinton. That ties him with Kyle Bentley and Kyle Olson for seventh on the all-time list.

IMCA SPORTMOD
Feature - 1. 22H Curt Hilmer; 2. 21 Brennen Chipp; 3. 95 Mike McDonald; 4. 3R Danny Dvorak; 5. K3 Kyle Olson; 6. 00 Jim Buhlman; 7. T17 Tom Rawlins; 8. 3B Brian Anderson; 9. 28P Rick Paulson; 10. CH19 Colby Heishman; 11. 57R Ryan King; 12. 7D Dakoda Sellers; 13. 22 Brett Thomsen; 14. 93 Josh Burrell; 15. J2 Dave Schulze; 16. 505 Racer Hulin; 17. 7B Cliff Beauregard; DNS 10S John Schaefer; DNS 81 Jesse Belez.
First heat - 1. Buhlman; 2. Hilmer; 3. Hulin; 4. Anderson; 5. Heishman; 6. King; DNS Sellers.
Second heat - 1. McDonald; 2. Rawlins; 3. Paulson; 4. Schulze; 5. Burrell; 6. Beauregard.
Third heat - 1. Olson; 2. Dvorak; 3. Chipp; 4. Schaefer; 5. Belez; 6. Thomsen.

You often hear the old saying, "Nice guys finish last." That saying went out the window when one of the "good guys" made his first-ever trip to Benton County Speedway victory lane in the IMCA Stock Car division. Jay Schmidt, one of the true gentlemen of the sport, has been in the points hunt all season. In fact, he was the only Stock Car driver entering Sunday night with top-10 finishes in all 13 events this season. Schmidt added his first feature win of 2012 to that glowing record in Sunday's 16-lapper.

In the early going, Curtis Roster held the lead until Andy Bryant worked beneath him for the top spot on lap two. Bryant paced the field with Roster on his rear bumper while Schmidt was patiently working through traffic from a fourth row start.

Following the race's only caution on lap nine, Schmidt restarted in the fourth spot, then quickly went to work on Norman Chesmore for third. Running the high side, Schmidt swept past Chesmore with six laps remaining, then challenged Roster for second. With Bryant still within his sights, Schmidt raced past Roster with three laps to go, then shot to the inside of Bryant as the leader drifted high in turn two on lap 14.

Schmidt took charge down the back stretch, then led the final two-and-a-half laps to secure the win. Bryant ran second ahead of Roster. Schmidt became the 31st different Stock Car winner in track history, joining John Emerson as the only first-time winners this season. The win pulled Schmidt to within three points of Phil Holtz atop the division standings.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature - 1. 19J Jay Schmidt; 2. 77 Andy Bryant; 3. 8 Curtis Roster; 4. 15 Norman Chesmore; 5. 52 Nathan Wood; 6. 87 John Emerson; 7. 7H Phil Holtz; 8. 76 Mike Galli; 9. 4JR Russell Damme; 10. 21DE Jason Deshaw; 11. 8B Scott Beauregard; 12. 09X Cole Mather; 13. 89B Dave Stricker; 14. 36 Trevor Titus.
First heat - 1. Roster; 2. Deshaw; 3. Stricker; 4. Bryant; 5. Beauregard; 6. Mather; 7. Damme.
Second heat - 1. Chesmore; 2. Wood; 3. Schmidt; 4. Emerson; 5. Galli; 6. Titus; 7. Holtz.

Tony Olson has suffered more than his share of mechanical problems this season, but it looked as though his fortunes were about to change when the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature went green. Olson, who started outside of the front row, used the high side to race away from the pack until a handful of cautions slowed action over the first seven laps.

By the time the green flag waved a final time following the lap seven yellow, Mike Burbridge found himself in third place and within striking distance. Burbridge followed Jeff Streeter for a handful of laps, eventually making his bid for second on the low groove at the completion of lap 12. By that time, Olson had already built another sizable lead.

Burbridge chipped away at the deficit as Olson remained committed to the top side with Burbridge staying glued to the infield tires. In just four laps, Burbridge reeled in the leader as the top pair raced side-by-side at the start/finish line to complete lap 16. Exiting turn two, Burbridge slipped past Olson to assume command as Ronn Lauritzen closed the gap on the leaders.

The top three ran in close formation over the final few laps with Lauritzen joining Burbridge on the low side with Olson up top. Burbridge fought off all challenges to drive to the thrilling win ahead of Olson and Lauritzen.

With the finish, Burbridge became the first Modified driver with three victories this season. The win guarantees at least one Modified driver with at least three wins in every season the Modifieds have competed in Vinton. The division has been included on the weekly racing schedule in Vinton for 28 different seasons, dating back to 1979. Only twice in track history (1980 and 1993) have the Modifieds gone an entire season without at least one four-time feature winner.

If you're counting, Burbridge's three wins in Vinton this season have all come in the last six points races. For his career, Burbridge now owns seven Modified wins in Vinton. Sunday's win moved him into a tie for 20th on the all-time list. He is tied with Dave Burrell (how he got seven wins is anybody's guess, let alone three straight track championships from 1992-1994... joking, Dave!), Joe Docekal and Rich Krafka.

IMCA MODIFIED
Feature - 1. 11B Mike Burbridge; 2. T23 Tony Olson; 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen; 4. 33D Scott Hogan; 5. 12D Joe Docekal; 6. 18 Jerry Luloff; 7. 21K Kyle Brown; 8. F7 Patrick Flannagan; 9. 1J Jeff Streeter; 10. 26P Kevin Pittman; 11. 8 Tony Snyder; 12. 57B Dennis Betzer; 13. 80 Jerry Dedrick; 14. 1XX Tom Hanson; 15. 14B Shane Burbridge; 16. 17 Dawn Krall; 17. 7S Robbie Schmuecker; 18. 14 Dustin Marlon; 19. 7T Tim McBride; 20. 92 Shawn Bistline; 21. 01 Ed Thomas; 22. 15D Dustin Johnson; 23. 96 Eric Tuttle.
First heat - 1. Thomas; 2. Brown; 3. Betzer; 4. Pittman; 5. Schmuecker; 6. Snyder; 7. McBride; 8. Tuttle.
Second heat - 1. Olson; 2. Docekal; 3. Lauritzen; 4. Streeter; 5. Krall; 6. Flannagan; 7. Johnson; 8. Dedrick.
Third heat - 1. Hogan; 2. S. Burbridge; 3. M. Burbridge; 4. Luloff; 5. Hanson; 6. Bistline; 7. Marlon.

Nathan Chandler appeared to be on his way to win number nine in the IMCA Sport Compact division until a scary accident ended his run late in that 12-lapper. Chandler, who had around 10 car-lengths over his nearest pursuer with just four laps to go, went high entering turn three and barrel-rolled off the corner to bring action to a halt. Chandler was okay (more on that later), but done for the night.

The incident left Nathan's father, Merv, in the lead for the ensuing restart. When the green flag returned, Merv held off heavy pressure from Travis Ross to score his second win this season in weekly points racing. The eighth weekly win of his career in Vinton, he is now tied with Brad Chandler for fifth on the all-time list.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature - 1. 2 Merv Chandler; 2. 83 Travis Ross; 3. 22T Travis Losenicky; 4. 03 Neil Nabholz; 5. 3S Craig Streeter; 6. 111 A.J. Witten; 7. 35 Brett Vanous; 8. 22 Nathan Chandler; 9. 57 Duayne Herb; 10. DNS 11 Steve Miedke.
Heat - 1. N. Chandler; 2. Ross; 3. Nabholz; 4. M. Chandler; 5. Streeter; 6. Vanous; 7. Witten; 8. Losenicky; 9. Herb; 10. Miedke.

As always, a ton of credit goes to Don Burkey as he put together another incredible racing surface Sunday night. There was plenty of side-by-side and three-wide racing throughout the entire show and all five features offered great finishes ... A tip of the hat also goes to the Tharp family and their group for a great job with the memorial event. A lot of time and effort went into making Sunday night's show a success and it went off without a hitch... As I mentioned earlier, Nathan Chandler took a nasty roll off turn three in the Sport Compact feature. Although he had a comfortable lead, he was unaware that his nearest threat was around half a straightaway behind him. After emerging from his mangled #22, Chandler laughed by saying he thought his dad was challenging a little bit closer. Added Chandler, "I just started pushing it harder." It was a tough break for the younger Chandler, who was clearly the class of the field on Sunday... Always entertaining, track announcer Bucky Doren was in rare form. It's fun to change things up on occasion to keep the race commentary fresh and unique. Bucky, however, was even second-guessing himself after a comment he made during the second Stock Car heat. As Nathan Wood pressured Norman Chesmore for the lead late in that event, Doren commented that Chesmore "had a back pocket full of Wood." Yup, sometimes the filter works a little slower than we'd prefer and things juuuuust don't come out the way we expect. That's also what makes it fun though, right, Bucky?

There are no mid-week races on my schedule for this week. Instead, I plan to process the monthly stats for both Independence and Vinton. The July Stats Blitz for Indee should be posted sometime tomorrow night and the Vinton Blitz should be available Tuesday. While the stats are fun to put together, this time around means only one month of weekly racing remains before the post-season specials flood the calendar. Many area tracks end their points seasons at the end of August or the early part of September, so if you haven't made it to your local track as often as you'd hoped this year, make plans to support a track near you as we enter the stretch run! Have a great week!