Happel, Chandler win by inches at Benton County Speedway

Last week, Brian Happel was upside down in turn number three. This Sunday, he was standing in victory lane after winning the IMCA Hobby Stock feature in a photo finish at Benton County Speedway. (Complete results listed at the end of this entry.)

Happel, who started on the pole of the 15-lapper, was quickly shuffled back to fifth while fellow front row starter Garrett Eilander took the lead. Eilander's stay out front was short-lived as Matt Brown powered beneath the leader to take command one lap later.

Justin Stander also applied pressure to the leaders as the top three ran nose-to-tail and door-to-door throughout much of the event. While the front-runners swapped positions, Happel worked the top side back into contention and snuck past Brown for third with three laps to go. He made his way around Stander one lap later as the flying green waved.

With Eilander pacing the field and Happel closing fast, the leaders came upon lapped traffic. Happel took to the high side coming off turn four on the final lap and pulled alongside the leader. After he came off the corner, the right front of Happel's nose inched across the line ahead of Eilander's bumper as Happel took the win in thrilling fashion.

The win was Happel's fourth in his career in weekly racing in Vinton. It moved him into a tie with Dan Higdon, David Rice, J.R. Kahler, Justin Stander and Roger Ciesielski for 28th on the division's all-time list at the speedway.

The IMCA Sport Compact feature finished in similar fashion as Brad Chandler nosed ahead of Travis Losenicky at the line to take the win.

Chandler, who was driving the car normally piloted by his brother, Nathan, started the 12-lapper from the third row. He worked into fourth on the third lap while Losenicky was enjoying a five car-length lead. Losenicky, Merv Chandler, Bill Whalen Jr., and Brad Chandler ran in the same order for much of the event.

Losenicky's three pursuers closed the gap as a group until the front four were nose-to-tail in the waning laps. Brad Chandler worked past Whalen with two to go, then swept around Merv Chandler and Losenicky at the stripe to take the exciting victory. It was Chandler's ninth career win in weekly racing in the division in Vinton, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list.

The IMCA Stock Car feature also went down to the final moments before Norman Chesmore emerged victorious at the end of that 15-lapper. In the early going, it was front row starter Curtis Roster who held the lead while Jarod Weepie and Scott Pippert gave chase. Roster held the lead when a pair of mid-race cautions slowed the event.

When racing resumed the final time on lap nine, Chesmore, who restarted fourth, powered to the low side of the speedway to challenge John Emerson and Weepie for position. When Roster drifted high in turn four on lap 11, both Weepie and Chesmore took advantage and shot to the inside of the leader. Both made it past Roster with Weepie leading at the stripe.

Chesmore continued to apply pressure to Weepie and made his bid for the lead one lap later. Chesmore went on to lead the remainder of the event to take the win ahead of a hard-charging Emerson.

With the win, Chesmore has earned 15 career trips to victory lane in the division in Vinton. He sits fifth on the all-time wins list and has now earned at least one Stock Car win in 10 different calendar years on the Vinton oval.

It was Chesmore's first win in Vinton during the month of April, so he has now earned at least one win in every month from April through September. He joined Damon Murty, Roster and Dan Trimble as the only Stock Car drivers in track history to accomplish that feat.

Mike Burbridge took the lead from Tony Olson on the second lap of the IMCA Modified feature, then led the rest of the way to take his first win of the year.

Burbridge, who remained glued to the tires on the low side of the speedway, received constant pressure from Ronn Lauritzen, who also ran the low side, and Kyle Brown, who was running a groove higher. While his counterparts were able to reel in the leader through each set of turns, Burbridge proved too strong off the corners as he drove to victory. Brown came home second ahead of J.D. Auringer, who made a strong run from the fifth row.

Burbridge has now earned nine IMCA Modified wins in weekly racing history in Vinton, all of them coming in the last three seasons. In fact, 693 calendar days span all nine of his victories, meaning Burbridge's wins have all come in under two years. He now sits alone in 17th on the all-time wins list.

The dry slick conditions made it a slow-go for the IMCA Northern SportMod feature. Newer drivers to the division had a difficult time managing the racing surface, which led to a few more stoppages than normal.

Although the race timed out after 12 laps, opening night winner Nick Roberts had just enough time to make his way around Jim Buhlman to steal his second win of the year. Buhlman, who took command from Colby Heishman on the fourth circuit, gave up the lead when Roberts made a pass on the low groove on the 11th lap. Roberts was declared the winner when the race was called following a lap 12 caution.

The win was Roberts' second of the year and the third of his career in Vinton. He ended the night tied with Chris Luloff, Damon Murty and Ken Kositzky for 13th on the speedway's all-time list for SportMod wins.

Racing action continues next Sunday before a quick turnaround for a mid-week special. On Tuesday, May 7, the Karl Performance Hawkeye Dirt Tour presented by XSAN will hold its first event of the season on the Benton County quarter-mile. Details for that event are posted at the top of this page.

The photo finishes created quite a stir in the grandstands on Sunday night. While the passion for the sport is extremely intense in Vinton, a certain level of disappointment takes away from it when the crowd boos a driver in victory lane for, well, racing.

Both the Sport Compact and Hobby Stock features were down to the wire and, regardless who is declared the winner, somebody is bound to be disappointed or upset. The fact of the matter is, there is only one person who scores the race and that exact vantage point is the only one from which a race is scored. In the end, his view is the only one that warrants any consideration.

Even race fans who claim to be sitting in the stands directly in line with the scorer and start/finish line have a different view of the track. Unless you're seated in the scorer's chair, your point of view is not the same. In fact, the point of view of any incident on the race track can be different even between people sitting right next to each other. Don't tell me you've never disagreed with your grandstand neighbor about the finish of a race. Tonight's finishes were just that close.

A number of people have taken to facebook with their outcry of unjust officiating and are turning to photos that were shot from the infield as their basis of support. Kyle Ealy of www.autoracingindependent.com does a fantastic job covering races throughout the region and often includes photos from many of the events he attends, including Sunday's show in Vinton. I'm sure even he would tell you, the finish of Sunday night's feature can not be determined from the still shots he took.

As I mentioned earlier, unless you're sitting in the scorer's chair, you're not going to have the exact same view of the finish line as the scorer. I can assure you, Kyle was not in the scorer's lap during tonight's feature.

The photos Kyle took, which are of great quality I might add, were taken both prior to and after the drivers crossed the finish line. To use in your defense two-dimensional photos taken not at the precise angle from the scorer's chair nor at the precise moment the cars crossed the finish line is completely without merit.

There is no video, no photograph and no opinion that matters other than that of the scorer during any given race. I mentioned tonight that from where I was standing in the tower a few feet away from the scorer it looked like Brian Happel won the Hobby Stock feature by a nose. But, guess what? My opinion didn't and continues not to matter. If the race had been scored the other way, I'd have understood it because it's the scorer's view and his view alone that matters. One foot or a hundred feet difference, it does not matter. All that matters is the scorer's view and he was confident the moment the leaders crossed the line who got there first based on where he was sitting. You can look for pictures, videotape or the opinions of others, but not a single one of those things will give you the exact same view of the finish line as where the scorer sits.

There were three things that disappointed me the most about tonight's show. As I mentioned earlier, it's sad to hear a driver booed in victory lane when all he did was race. Win or lose, to boo a driver lacks any appreciation for the work each and every one of them puts forth week in and week out to put on a show for, you guessed it, those same fans.

The second? There were some good, and I mean damned good races in Vinton Sunday night and nobody seems to be talking about that. If you walked away from tonight's show feeling cheated, robbed or angry, instead of questioning a photo finish, you should probably question your understanding, passion and love for the sport. No, not every night is going to be your best or favorite night at the track, but it also isn't often race fans are treated to a show like they saw tonight.

If your disappointment outweighs the adrenaline rush from the great racing during Sunday's show, it's going to be a long season for you.

My final disappointment deals with the track itself. For the last few weeks, it seems a lot of people have chosen to spend a lot of their time bitching about track conditions. We have had a wet spring/late winter and Don Burkey has put countless hours into preparing the track since before the first race car tire even hit the speedway.

Those efforts have not been assisted by Mother Nature, but he has remained committed to getting the track in shape week after week. Despite what weather conditions he has been provided, Don has worked his tail off to prepare a quality track for drivers and fans. I think he did a damned good job for this week's show. It was smooth and racy all night long, but not once have I seen or heard anyone mention the incredible progress he's made.

No, instead, people assume that the track prepares itself and it should be smooth as silk regardless of the elements. Now that the track is coming around, people seem more intent on finding something else to piss and moan about rather than thanking Don for all the work he's put into the race track. With the forecast calling for more rain and colder temperatures this week, I'm sure it will require as much work as he's able to give it. I just hope people can spare the time to stop taking on the role of a victim long enough to appreciate it and thank him for the tremendous job he does week in and week out.

That's all for this weekend. Complete results from Sunday's show are listed below. I'll post a Stats Blitz sometime this week for all weekly racing through the month of April at Benton County Speedway.

My next race won't be until next weekend. Until then, I'll turn another year older and enjoy some quiet time watching the NBA playoffs. To celebrate my 39th birthday Tuesday, I'm going to completely avoid the negativity of the message boards and any facebook "friends" who would rather complain about life rather than appreciate the fact that they're able to live it.

Smile and have a great week! Thanks for reading.

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 11B Mike Burbridge (Delhi); 2. 21K Kyle Brown (Kellogg); 3. 00J J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 4. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (Jesup); 5. 64 Vern Jackson (Waterloo); 6. 18 Jerry Luloff (Independence); 7. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids); 8. 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart); 9. 22 Brandon Banks (Washington); 10. 33D Scott Hogan (Vinton); 11. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 12. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Cedar Rapids); 13. 7 Todd Jensen (Waterloo); 14. 14B Shane Burbridge (Manchester); 15. 80 Jerry Dedrick (Vinton); 16. 15D Dustin Johnson (Marion).
Heat one: 1. M. Burbridge; 2. Auringer: 3. Docekal; 4. Cordes; 5. Brown; 6. Banks; 7. Jensen; 8. Johnson.
Heat two: 1. Olson; 2. Lauritzen; 3. Luloff; 4. Hogan; 5. Jackson; 6. Flannagan; 7. S. Burbridge; 8. Dedrick.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 15 Norman Chesmore (Rowley); 2. 87 John Emerson (Waterloo); 3. 8 Curtis Roster (Vinton); 4. 3 Jarod Weepie (Dunkerton); 5. 47 Scott Pippert (Elberon): 6. 76 Mike Galli (Urbana); 7. 8B Scott Beauregard (Center Point); DNS 6X Bob Ahrendsen (Cedar Rapids).
Heat: 1. Pippert; 2. Weepie; 3. Galli; 4. Chesmore; 5. Roster; 6. Beauregard; 7. Emerson; DNS Ahrendsen.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 23JR Nick Roberts (Des Moines); 2. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 3. J2 Dave Schulze (Keystone); 4. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 5. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 6. 3R Danny Dvorak (Vinton); 7. 3B Brian Anderson (Garrison); 8. 10S John Schaefer (La Porte City); 9. 57R Ryan King (Marshalltown); 10. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 11. T17 Tom Rawlins (Kellogg); 12. 43 Creston Williams (Atkins); 13. CH19 Colby Heishman (Brooklyn); 14. 7D Dakoda Sellers (Vinton); 15. 57K Ross Kitner (Dysart); 16. 93 Josh Burrell (Dysart); 17. 198 Sam Wieben (Dysart); 18. 11 Al Sweerin (Waterloo); 19. 95 Mike McDonald (Cedar Rapids); 20. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 21. 35C Casey Heil (Cedar Rapids); 22. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 23. 1X Steven Streeter (Vinton).
First heat: 1. Rust; 2. Heishman; 3. Sellers; 4. Schulze; 5. Wieben; 6. Rawlins; 7. Maitland; 8. King.
Second heat: 1. McDonald; 2. Dvorak; 3. Hilmer; 4. Buhlman; 5. King; 6. Hogencamp; 7. Streeter; DNS Sweerin.
Third heat: 1. Olson; 2. Anderson; 3. Roberts; 4. Burrell; 5. Schaefer; 6. Williams; 7. Heil.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel (Cedar Rapids); 2. 500 Garrett Eilander (Newton); 3. 67 Justin Stander (Vinton); 4. 78 Matt Brown (Dysart); 5. 18 Chris Luloff (Independence); 6. 05 Paul Nagle (Nevada); 7. 07 Jacob Keiser (Marengo); 8. 45 Justin Wacha (Vinton); 9. 14C Leah Wroten (Independence); 10. 17K Kyle Parizek (Belle Plaine).
Heat: 1. Happel; 2. Nagle; 3. Stander; 4. Eilander; 5. Brown; 6. Keiser; 7. Parizek; 8. Wacha; 9. Wroten; 10. Luloff.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 22X Brad Chandler (Norway); 2. 22T Travis Losenicky (Garrison); 3. 2 Merv Chandler (Urbana); 4. 00W Bill Whalen Jr. (Riverside); 5. 99J Jeremy Lerch (Vinton); 6. 23 Corbin McCombs (Urbana); 7. 30 Shawn Cooney (Des Moines); 8. 111 A.J. Witten (Cedar Rapids); DNS 9 Toby Denning (Mt. Auburn).
Heat: 1. B. Chandler; 2. Cooney; 3. Lerch; 4. Losenicky; 5. M. Chandler; 6. Whalen; 7. McCombs; 8. Witten; 9. Denning.