By the time the rain stopped at around lunchtime Sunday, an inch-and-a-half of precipitation had fallen in Vinton. After two straight weeks of rain outs, area fans wouldn't need to worry about the first-ever stretch of three cancellations on the quarter-mile. Don and Aaron Burkey went to work rolling in the track to prepare for 79 entries on Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. Complete results follow below.
Mike McDonald held the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod feature until the red flag waved for Russ Olson, who rolled on the front straightaway. Traffic became congested when Brandon Smith slowed after blowing an engine, which bunched the field. With no where to go, Olson launched over the #43 of Creston Williams, then rolled before coming to a rest on its wheels. Olson was uninjured.
When racing resumed, McDonald again set the pace with Ben Chapman in pursuit and Joel Rust making his way through the pack from a sixth row starting spot. Chapman ran on McDonald's rear bumper and unsuccessfully made bids for the lead on the low side while Rust raced his way into third on lap eight.
The leaders were running in tight formation when they came upon slower traffic exiting turn four on the 12th circuit. McDonald spun while navigating the backmarkers bringing an end to his strong run.
With 11 laps complete, Chapman inherited the point with Rust running second. Rust chased the leader over the final four circuits, however Chapman held on to score his first-ever win in Vinton. Rust came home a close second ahead of Rick Paulson. With the win, Chapman became the fourth first-time SportMod winner in Vinton this season and the 41st in track history.
Norman Chesmore led all 15 laps in the IMCA Stock Car feature, but not without a fight. From his outside front row starting spot, Chesmore assumed command at the drop of the green with second row starter John Emerson following him to the front.
Following an early caution, Curtis Roster joined the battle out front as he and Emerson put on a terrific show for second right behind the leader. Emerson eventually broke free in that battle and tried numerous times to work the low side of Chesmore for the lead.
Chesmore held off all challenges to score the win, his second of the season, ahead of Emerson and Roster. Chesmore has now won multiple Stock Car features four different years in his career in Vinton and has 14 career wins to his credit at the speedway. He sits fifth on the all-time list, five wins behind Dan Trimble.
Nathan Chandler became the first driver in track history to earn 10 IMCA Sport Compact wins in a season. Chandler chased his father, Merv, for three laps before working the low groove into the lead in turn two on lap four. Nathan pulled away from the pack to take the victory, the 34th of his career in weekly action in Vinton. Steve Miedke raced through the pack to take second ahead of Duayne Herb.
Scott Pippert continued his winning ways in the IMCA Hobby Stock division, however that outcome was very much up in the air until the final lap. Jacob Keiser assumed command at the drop of the green and extended his advantage to a straightaway margin in just five laps when the pace setter entered slower traffic. As Keiser encountered the lapped cars, Pippert made his way into the runner-up spot after starting in the fourth row.
Three laps later, Pippert cut his deficit to a single car-length as the leaders ran nose-to-tail through more traffic. Pippert tried numerous times to work the low groove past Keiser, but Keiser proved to be too fast off the corner each time.
Pippert continued to pressure the leader when Keiser went high in turn two on the final circuit, allowing Pippert to sneak by for the lead. Pippert led the final 1/8-mile to take the victory, his fourth straight and 11th of the season. For his career, Pippert now owns 46 Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, two victories shy of the all-time record held by Vince Buchholz.
A number of cautions, including another rollover, cut the IMCA Modified feature short. On a lap one restart, Todd Jensen barrel-rolled into turn three and landed on his top. He walked away uninjured.
Tony Olson, who has struggled with mechanical problems all season, led the entire distance and survived the many stoppages to earn his first win in Vinton since June 12, 2011. Olson now owns six career Modified wins in Vinton, tying him for 24th on the all-time list. He shares that spot with Dave Venenga, Garry Stuber, Jim Schmuecker and Mike Krall. Olson now owns at least one Modified win in four of the last five seasons in Vinton. Troy Cordes, Scott Hogan and Jerry Luloff are the only other drivers who can boast that honor.
Due to the recent rainouts, a number of activities were part of tonight's program that were not originally intended to fall on the same night. Among them was a silent auction for the Alzheimer's Association, along with bike and backpack giveaways for the kids. There was a great outpouring for the cause as over $1,200 was raised for the Alzheimer's Association.
It was also Halloween Night which featured trick or treating for the kids on the front stretch with the drivers after the races. As part of the festivities, fans were invited to dress up in the costume of their choosing. (Here comes the explanation of a few facebook photos that popped up on my page Sunday night.) One fan in costume was Leslie Toothman, who sported a tutu, and asked during intermission if I'd try it on. Being the good sport I am, I briefly put on her tutu (a first for me, I promise you) and am now one of a select group who can utter the words, "I wore a tutu in August on Halloween Night at the Races." Thanks to Leslie and Cody Tharp for the laughs tonight!
Although the night did run a little longer than normal, props to Don and Aaron, along with promoter Mick Trier for their work in getting the track ready. While it had its rough spots, it was one of the fastest tracks all season and provided for some great entertainment.
My 70th race of the season will likely be Saturday night at Independence for the make-up of this weekend's rained out Season Championships.
Have a great week!
RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature - 1. T23 Tony Olson; 2. F7 Patrick Flannagan; 3. 91 Shawn Ryan; 4. 33D Scott Hogan; 5. 12D Joe Docekal; 6. 8 Tony Snyder; 7. 1XX Tom Hanson; 8. 18L Jerry Luloff; 9. 1J Jeff Streeter; 10. 15D Dustin Johnson; 11. 11B Mike Burbridge; 12. 22 Brandon Banks; 13. 80 Jerry Dedrick; 14. 7T Tim McBride; 15. 98 Jason Snyder; 16. 10K Ronn Lauritzen; 17. 7 Todd Jensen; 18. 96 Eric Tuttle; 19. 92 Shawn Bistline; DNS 17 Dawn Krall.
First heat - 1. McBride; 2. Luloff; 3. Docekal; 4. Olson; 5. T. Snyder; 6. Banks; 7. Tuttle.
Second heat - 1. Bistline; 2. 10K Lauritzen; 3. Burbridge; 4. Hanson; 5. Jensen; 6. Dedrick.
Third heat - 1. Flannagan; 2. Streeter; 3. Ryan; 4. J. Snyder; 5. Johnson; 6. Hogan; 7. Krall.
IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature - 1. 15 Norman Chesmore; 2. 87 John Emerson; 3. 8 Curtis Roster; 4. 99D Damon Murty; 5. 7H Phil Holtz; 6. 19J Jay Schmidt; 7. 4 Cory Tharp; 8. K17 Rick Kriegel; 9. 3T Scooter Dulin; 10. 4JR Russell Damme Jr.; 11. 76 Mike Galli; 12. 09X Cole Mather; 13. G1 Mike Padden; 14. 21DE Jason Deshaw; 15. 77 Andy Bryant; 16. 76X Chad Siems.
First heat - 1. Roster; 2. Murty; 3. Deshaw; 4. Holtz; 5. Tharp; 6. Kriegel; 7. Siems; DNS Damme.
Second heat - 1. Chesmore; 2. Bryant; 3. Schmidt; 4. Emerson; 5. Galli; 6. Padden; 7. Dulin; 8. Mather.
IMCA SPORTMOD
Feature - 1. 1JR Ben Chapman; 2. 26J Joel Rust; 3. 28P Rick Paulson; 4. K3 Kyle Olson; 5. S16 Kip Siems; 6. 81 Jesse Belez; 7. 3R Danny Dvorak; 8. 21 Brennen Chipp; 9. 00 Jim Buhlman; 10. J2 Dave Schulze; 11. 72 Mike Hogencamp; 12. 7D Dakoda Sellers; 13. 93 Josh Burrell; 14. 198 Sam Wieben; 15. 22H Curt Hilmer; 16. 57R Ryan King; 17. CH19 Colby Heishman; 18. 95 Mike McDonald; 19. 3B Brian Anderson; 20. 43 Creston Williams; 21. 11 Al Sweerin; 22. B3 Russ Olson; 23. 49 Brandon Smith.
First heat - 1. McDonald; 2. Siems; 3. Dvorak; 4. King; 5. Schulze; 6. Williams; 7. Wieben; 8. R. Olson.
Second heat - 1. Sellers; 2. Rust; 3. Belez; 4. Buhlman; 5. Smith; 6. Sweerin; 7. Hilmer; 8. Anderson.
Third heat - 1. Chapman; 2. Chipp; 3. K. Olson; 4. Paulson; 5. Burrell; 6. Hogencamp; 7. Heishman.
IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature - 1. 47 Scott Pippert; 2. 07 Jacob Keiser; 3. 78 Matt Brown; 4. 45 Justin Wacha; 5. 99 Erick Knutsen; 6. 25 Doug Laughridge; 7. 77 Rod Grother; 8. 09 Brayden Forbes; 9. 2 Nick Welch; 10. 21 Jonathan Jewett; 11. 46 Brian Happel.
First heat - 1. Keiser; 2. Knutsen; 3. Laughridge; 4. Welch; 5. Happel; 6. Jewett.
Second heat - 1. Grother; 2. Brown; 3. Wacha; 4. Pippert; 5. Forbes.
IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature -1. 22 Nathan Chandler; 2. 11 Steve Miedke; 3. 2 Merv Chandler; 4. 41 Dallas Chandler; 5. 83 Travis Ross; 6. 57 Duayne Herb; 7. 111 A.J. Witten; 8. 2S Craig Streeter; 9. 07 Joe Goodenbour.
Heat - 1. N. Chandler; 2. S. Miedke; 3. Herb; 4. D. Chandler; 5. M. Chandler; 6. Ross; 7. Streeter; 8. Goodenbour; 9. Witten.
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