A light steady rain shower put a halt on the season points opener while the third of five feature events was underway at Benton County Speedway.
The IMCA Hobby Stock division had just completed the fifth of 15 laps when the caution flag waved for a rain delay. Although the shower briefly stopped, a heavier band of showers fell before racing resumed, putting the kibosh on the remainder of the program.
Prior to the rainfall, the IMCA Northern SportMods and IMCA Sport Compacts completed their portion of the program.
Nick Roberts took the drop of the green in the 15-lap Northern SportMod main and quickly pulled away from the pack. He led the event in its entirety to take the opening night win.
Danny Dvorak came from a fourth row starting spot and ran the low groove to second shortly after the green flag waved. He remained nearly a straightaway behind Roberts throughout the event to come home second. Joel Rust rocketed from a fifth row starting spot and chased Dvorak across the checkers to take third.
In the Sport Compact 12-lapper, Mike Barten challenged all-time BCS Sport Compact wins leader Nathan Chandler at the front of the pack. The leaders swapped the lead in an entertaining event before Chandler pulled away for his 36th career win in weekly points racing at BCS.
Prior to the stoppage in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature, Frostbuster winner Shannon Anderson came from the fifth row to take the lead from front row starter Matt Brown. Anderson was leading when action was suspended.
Complete results of the finished events were not available at the end of the rain-shortened program, but will be included in next week's wrap-up. You can also check speednetdirect.com later this week for results of the completed events.
As for next week, the program will start right where Sunday night's show left off. The final 10 laps of the Hobby Stock feature will be completed followed by make-up features in both the IMCA Modified and IMCA Stock Car divisions. Following those events, a complete show for all five divisions will round out the program.
If you were there Sunday night, rain checks will not be honored since qualifying was completed, however if you return next week, you'll certainly get your money's worth. If you weren't in attendance Sunday night, be sure to make plans to visit Vinton next weekend for double features in the Modifieds and Stock Cars, plus nearly two full features for the Hobby Stocks. It promises to be a great night of racing!
A big thank you to Don Burkey for working all day on preparing the track. Although the recent weather has been far from helpful when it comes to track prep, Don worked his tail off to get the track race ready for Sunday's show. Despite the negative Internet postings from those claiming to be race fans, Don dedicates himself week in and week out to provide a track for drivers and fans. He puts his heart and soul into the track and doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
My next event will be this coming Friday for the Sprint Invaders at Independence Motor Speedway. If Mother Nature cooperates, we'll have 360 Sprints at the speedway for the first time since the 1990s, along with Modifieds and SportMods for our season opener.
The weather forecast isn't looking the greatest for the week, but the track crew will do what it can to get the show in. Should the weather force us to cancel, you can rest assured we've already been looking at possible make-up dates.
Have a great week!
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