Stats Blitz! Benton County Speedway by the numbers through May

Since Sunday's races were rained out at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, the month of May is now complete for the track this season. Below is the second Stats Blitz of 2013 for Benton County Speedway. The statistics here include the six track points races through the month of May. This does not include the Frosbuster special in April or the Hawkeye Dirt Tour event in May.

By the way, if you were planning on heading to the track for Albert Auto Night, although the races are canceled, the live music that was scheduled to follow tonight's program will go on as scheduled! The band 8 Hours South will still perform, rain or shine. Details will be available on the track's facebook page for those who still wish to spend their holiday weekend at the track.

Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Modified – 15.3 - 17 - 12
Stock Car – 10.5 - 16 - 8
SportMod – 21.5 - 25 - 17
Hobby Stock – 12.0 - 16 - 9
Sport Compact – 8.3 - 11 - 7
TOTAL – 67.7 - 82 - 54

Points
* 119 drivers have earned points this season.
* No driver has led the points of his division after all three weeks. J.D. Auringer (Modified) has led the standings every week since week 2, John Emerson (Stock Cars) has led following weeks 3, 5 and 6, Joel Rust (SportMod) has led following weeks 4 and 6, Chris Luloff has led following opening night and week 6, and Bill Whalen Jr. (Sport Compact) has led since week 3.

IN THE HUNT
* 33 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points every night of the season. Those drivers include:
Modified (6): J.D. Auringer, Troy Cordes, Joe Docekal, Patrick Flannagan, Ronn Lauritzen, Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (8): Bob Ahrendsen, Scott Beauregard, John Emerson, Mike Galli, Rick Kriegel, Jerry Miles, Damon Murty, Scott Pippert;
SportMod (7): Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Curt Hilmer, Nick Roberts, Joel Rust, John Schaefer, Dave Schulze;
Hobby Stock (6): Matt Brown, Jacob Keiser, Chris Luloff, Kyle Parizek, Justin Stander, Justin Wacha;
Sport Compact (6): Mike Barten, Merv Chandler, Nathan Chandler, Shawn Cooney, Jeremy Lerch, Bill Whalen Jr.

* 12 drivers have remained in the top-5 in the points every night of the season. Those drivers include:
Modified (1): J.D. Auringer;
Stock Car (2): John Emerson, Scott Pippert;
SportMod (3): Nick Roberts, Joel Rust, Dave Schulze;
Hobby Stock (3): Matt Brown, Kyle Parizek, Justin Stander; 
Sport Compact (3): Nathan Chandler, Shawn Cooney, Bill Whalen Jr.

Feature Winners

* There have been 21 different feature winners in 30 feature events this season.
* Current points leaders account for only 6 of the 30 feature wins.
* For only the third time in track history, there have been six straight different Modified winners to start the season. The record, seven, was set in 1994 and matched in 2003.
* Of the 21 feature winners so far this season, 10 have five wins or fewer in their careers in Vinton. By contrast, only six of the 21 drivers have earned at least 15 wins all-time at the speedway.

Top-10s
* 95 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season. The top-10 leaders in each division are as follows:

Modified (19 drivers with at least one top-10): J.D. Auringer, Jerry Luloff (6 each); Kyle Brown, Mike Burbridge, Troy Cordes, Joe Docekal, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Ronn Lauritzen (4 each); Brandon Banks, Jerry Dedrick, Scott Hogan, Tony Olson (3 each); Tyler Droste, Richie Gustin (2 each), Todd Jensen, Mike Krall, Mark Schulte, Buck Swanson (1 each);

Stock Car (18): Bob Ahrendsen, John Emerson, Mike Galli, Scott Pippert (6 each); Scott Beauregard, Norman Chesmore (5 each); Damon Murty, Curtis Roster (4 each); Rick Kriegel, Jerry Miles, Jay Schmidt (2 each); Bob Daniels, Trent Jeanes, Shane Richardson, Thomas Thompson, Ben Walding, John Watson, Jarod Weepie (1 each);

SportMod (20): Jim Buhlman, Joel Rust (6 each); Danny Dvorak, Curt Hilmer, Nick Roberts, John Schaefer, Dave Schulze (5 each); Colby Heishman, Ryan King, Kyle Olson (3 each); Brian Anderson, Brennen Chipp, Ryan Maitland, Dakoda Sellers (2 each); Brady Graham, Brad Iverson, Brett Lowry, Kurt Moeding, Tom Rawlins, Kip Siems (1 each);

Hobby Stock (21): Jacob Keiser, Kyle Parizek, Justin Stander, Justin Wacha (6 each); Matt Brown, Chris Luloff (5 each); Brian Happel (4); Paul Nagle (3); Jim Ball, Garrett Eilander, Nick Murty, Andrew Torkelson, Leah Wroten (2 each); Shannon Anderson, Andrew Burg, Andy Coffman, Brayden Forbes, Benji Irvine, Gabe Phelps, Jamie Songer, Brett Vanous (1 each);

Sport Compact (17): Merv Chandler, Bill Whalen Jr. (6 each); Nathan Chandler, Shawn Cooney, Jeremy Lerch (5 each); Travis Losenicky (4); Toby Denning, A.J. Witten (3 each); Mike Barten, Brad Chandler (2 each); Corbin McCombs, Steve Miedke, Matthew Moore, Buster Pate, Gary Peiffer, Craig Streeter, Tyler Whalen (1 each).

Top-5s
* 64 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season. The top-5 leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (14 drivers with at least one top-5): J.D. Auringer, Ronn Lauritzen (4 each); Troy Cordes (3); Kyle Brown, Mike Burbridge, Joe Docekal, Tyler Droste, Richie Gustin, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Jerry Luloff (2 each); Brandon Banks, Jerry Dedrick, Scott Hogan (1 each);

Stock Car (13): Norman Chesmore, Scott Pippert (5 each); John Emerson, Damon Murty (4 each); Bob Ahrendsen, Jerry Miles, Curtis Roster (2 each); Bob Daniels, Rick Kriegel, Shane Richardson, Jay Schmidt, John Watson, Jarod Weepie (1 each);

SportMod (13): Joel Rust (6); Nick Roberts (4); Danny Dvorak, Kyle Olson, Dave Schulze (3 each); Jim Buhlman, Curt Hilmer, John Schaefer (2 each); Brennen Chipp, Brad Iverson, Brett Lowry, Kurt Moeding, Tom Rawlins (1 each);

Hobby Stock (13): Chris Luloff, Justin Stander (5 each); Kyle Parizek (4); Matt Brown, Brian Happel, Justin Wacha (3 each); Shannon Anderson, Andrew Burg, Andy Coffman, Garrett Eilander, Benji Irvine, Nick Murty, Paul Nagle (1 each);

Sport Compact (11): Bill Whalen Jr. (6); Merv Chandler (5); Nathan Chandler, Jeremy Lerch, Travis Losenicky (4 each); Shawn Cooney (2); Mike Barten, Brad Chandler, Steve Miedke, Tyler Whalen, A.J. Witten (1 each).

Top-3s
* 46 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season. The top-3 leaders in each division are as follows:
Modified (12 drivers with at least one top-3): J.D. Auringer (3); Kyle Brown, Mike Burbridge, Richie Gustin, Ronn Lauritzen (2 each); Brandon Banks, Troy Cordes, Joe Docekal, Tyler Droste, Patrick Flannagan, Scott Hogan, Jerry Luloff;

Stock Car (7): Norman Chesmore (5); John Emerson, Damon Murty (4 each); Scott Pippert, Curtis Roster (2 each); Rick Kriegel, Jerry Miles (1 each);

SportMod (10): Nick Roberts, Joel Rust (4 each); Danny Dvorak (3); Jim Buhlman, Brennen Chipp, Brett Lowry, Kurt Moeding, Kyle Olson, John Schaefer, Dave Schulze (1 each);

Hobby Stock (10): Chris Luloff (4); Brian Happel, Kyle Parizek (3 each); Justin Stander (2); Shannon Anderson, Matt Brown, Andy Coffman, Garrett Eilander, Paul Nagle, Justin Wacha (1 each);

Sport Compact (7): Bill Whalen Jr. (5); Merv Chandler, Nathan Chandler (4 each); Travis Losenicky (2); Mike Barten, Brad Chandler, Tyler Whalen (1 each).

Feature Lap Leaders
* 43 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders include:
 
Modified (10 different lap leaders): Mike Burbridge (24 laps led), Richie Gustin (18), Jerry Luloff (17), Kyle Brown (15), Ronn Lauritzen (13), Troy Cordes (12), Tony Olson (9), Joe Docekal (8), Brandon Banks (3), Tyler Droste (2);

Stock Car (8): Damon Murty (36 laps led); John Emerson (29); Curtis Roster (14); Norman Chesmore, Scott Pippert (4 each); Bob Ahrendsen, Mike Galli, Jarod Weepie (1 each);

SportMod (9): Danny Dvorak (27 laps led); Nick Roberts (20); Joel Rust (10); Jim Buhlman, Colby Heishman (7 each); Tom Rawlins (6); Brady Graham (5); Mike McDonald (4); Kyle Olson (3);

Hobby Stock (9): Brian Happel (23 laps led), Paul Nagle (15), Shannon Anderson (13), Andy Coffman (12), Kyle Parizek (11), Matt Brown (8), Garrett Eilander (7), Jacob Keiser (3), Chris Luloff (2);

Sport Compact (7): Nathan Chandler (38 laps led); Bill Whalen Jr. (16); Travis Losenicky (11); Mike Barten (3), A.J. Witten (2); Brad Chandler, Merv Chandler (1 each).

Heat Races

* There have been 30 different heat race winners in 53 heat races.
* 13 drivers have won multiple heat races this season.
* The heat race wins leaders in each division are as follows:

Modified (8 winners in 12 heats): Kyle Brown, Mike Burbridge, Troy Cordes, Tony Olson (2 each); J.D. Auringer, Richie Gustin, Ronn Lauritzen, Jerry Luloff (1 each);

Stock Car (5 winners in 8 heats): Damon Murty (3); Scott Pippert (2); Norman Chesmore, Jerry Miles, Curtis Roster (1 each);

SportMod (8 winners in 17 heats): Nick Roberts, Joel Rust (4 each); Danny Dvorak (3); Mike McDonald (2); Ryan King, Kyle Olson, John Schaefer, Dave Schulze (1 each); 

Hobby Stock (6 winners in 9 heats): Brian Happel (4); Shannon Anderson, Matt Brown, Chris Luloff, Paul Nagle, Kyle Parizek (1 each);

Sport Compact (3 winners in 7 heats): Merv Chandler (4), Nathan Chandler (2), Brad Chandler (1).

Efficiency Stats
* 83 races have been run this season.
* 859 green flag laps have been completed.
* 83 caution flags have been thrown (an overall average of 1.00 per race).
Cautions Per Race Ratio
Sport Compact: 8 cautions in 13 races (0.62 cautions per race)
Stock Car: 12 / 14 (0.86)
Hobby Stock: 14 / 15 (0.93)
Modified: 19 / 18 (1.06)
SportMod: 30 / 23 (1.30)
Race Laps Per Caution Ratio
Sport Compact: 114 laps with 8 cautions (average of 14.25 green flag laps between cautions)
Stock Car: 154 / 12 (12.83)
Hobby Stock: 163 / 14 (11.64)
Modified: 211 / 19 (11.11)
SportMod: 217 / 30 (7.23)
Races with No Caution Flags
Stock Car: 9 of 14 races have run green to checkers without a caution (64.29%)
Hobby Stock: 9 / 15 (60.00%)
Sport Compact: 7 / 13 (53.85%)
SportMod: 12 / 23 (52.17%)
Modified: 8 / 18 (44.44%)
45 of 83 (54.21%) races have gone green to checkers without a caution
Feature Cautions
Sport Compact: 7 of 8 total cautions have been thrown in feature races (87.50%)
Stock Car: 10 / 12 (83.33%)
Hobby Stock: 11 / 14 (78.57%)
SportMod: 22 / 30 (73.33%)
Modified: 11 / 19 (57.89%) 
61 of 83 (73.49%) total cautions have been thrown during feature racing
Average Lap of First Feature Caution
Stock Car: 9.33
Modified: 8.50
Hobby Stock: 6.50
SportMod: 4.50
Sport Compact: 3.50

Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* Of the 30 feature winners, 14 have come from inside starting spots and 16 from the outside.
* The starting positions to produce the most feature winners are inside front row, outside front row, outside second row and outside fourth row (4 times each); and inside second row, inside third row and outside third row (3 times each).
* Each of the six Sport Compact winners have come from different starting spots. There has been one feature winner in the division from each of the first seven starting spots, except from the pole position.
* The deepest any feature winner has started this season is inside sixth row: Tyler Droste (Modified) on May 5.
* No Modified, Stock Car or Sport Compact driver has won a feature from the pole position.
* Chris Luloff (Hobby Stock) has finished second three weeks in a row to three different drivers.
* 65 different drivers have cracked the top-10 in his division’s points for at least one week this season.
* 14 different drivers have held or shared their division's points lead at some point during the season.
* J.D. Auringer (Modified), John Emerson (Stock Car), Nick Roberts (SportMod), Joel Rust (SportMod), Bill Whalen Jr. (Sport Compact) are the only drivers to remain in the top three in points all year. 

Stuff To Tell Your Friends That Makes Them Think You've Lost It...
* Of 30 feature events, only seven winners led those races in their entirety. The Modifieds have not produced a wire-to-wire winner yet this season.
* Each of the last five SportMod feature winners have come from the fourth or fifth rows.
* Every position in the first 11 spots on the starting grid have produced at least one feature winner.
* Cars with the number "22" have led in five of six Sport Compact features.
* Danny Dvorak (SportMod) has won his last three heat races, the longest currently active streak at the track. The longest heat race win streak this season is four straight, held by Joel Rust (SportMod), who won his first four heat races of the season.
* Eight of the 30 feature events have gone caution-free this season while in five features the caution flag has flown before the completion of the first lap.
* Dating back to May 5, the Stock Cars have run 42 consecutive feature laps without a single caution. That caution on the third lap of the May 5 feature was the last yellow flag in the division. Overall, that's 58 straight laps of Stock Car racing without a caution.

That's it for the month of May for Benton County Speedway. I'll be back at the end of June to wrap up numbers through the first three months of racing.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the holiday!

Stats Blitz! Numbers through May at Independence Motor Speedway

Welcome to the first installment of the 2013 Stats Blitz for Independence Motor Speedway. The statistics included here are through the first three nights of weekly points racing and do not include the May 24 Open Wheel Shootout.

Car Count

Division - Average - High - Low

Late Model - 22.0 - 26 - 19

Modified – 21.7 - 24 - 18

Stock Car – 11.7 - 14 - 10

SportMod – 24.3 - 27 - 22

Hobby Stock – 21.3 - 23 - 18

Sport Compact – 11.7 - 15 - 8

TOTAL – 112.7 - 116 - 109

Points

* 161 drivers have earned points this season.

* Among those 161 drivers, 63 different hometowns have been represented.

* Tyler Bruening (Late Model), John Emerson (Stock Car) and Benji Irvine (Hobby Stock) have led their division's standings following each night this season.

IN THE HUNT

* 46 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:

Late Model (8): Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening, Dale Hackwell Jr., Dirk Hamilton, Greg Kastli, Curt Martin, Jon Passick, Dean Wagner;

Modified (6): Darin Duffy, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Adam Johnson, Ronn Lauritzen, Jason Snyder;

Stock Car (9): Jesse Brown, Norman Chesmore, Blake Cole, John Emerson, Tim Helle, Jason Hocken, Jerome Jacoby, Sean Johnson, Jarod Weepie;

SportMod (7): Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Shane Ebaugh, Curt Hilmer, Lucas Lundry, Dakoda Sellers, Sean Vogt;

Hobby Stock (8): Jim Ball, Nathan Ballard, Vince Buchholz, Benji Irvine, Justin Lichty, Chris Luloff, Justin Stander, Jamie Whitaker;

Sport Compact (8): Merv Chandler, Dylan Clinton, Adam Gates, Zach Marmann, Mike Tedesco, Justin Vargason, Jeffrey Vislisel, A.J. Witten

* 17 drivers have remained in the top-5 in the points every week of the season. Those drivers include:

Late Model (4): Tyler Bruening, Greg Kastli, Curt Martin, Jon Passick;

Modified (0): None;

Stock Car (4): Norman Chesmore, John Emerson, Sean Johnson, Jarod Weepie;

SportMod (3): Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry;

Hobby Stock (3): Nathan Ballard, Benji Irvine, Chris Luloff;

Sport Compact (3): Merv Chandler, Adam Gates, A.J. Witten.

Feature Winners

* There have been 13 different feature winners in 18 feature events this season.

* The points leaders account for just 7 of the 18 total feature wins.
* For the 10th straight season and for the 25th time in the division's 31-year history at the speedway, there were three different winners the first three weeks in the IMCA Modified division.
* John Emerson became the second Stock Car driver in track history to win the first three features of the season. The record is four straight Stock Car wins to start the season, set by Dan Trimble in 2000.
* For the second straight year and for the third time in the division's six-year history at Independence, there were three different SportMod winners to start the season. 

Top-10s

* 97 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season. The number of top-10 finishes per drivers in each division are as follows:

Late Model (15 drivers with at least one top 10): Tyler Bruening, Dale Hackwell Jr., Greg Kastli, Curt Martin, Jon Passick (3 each); Darren Ackerman, Jeff Aikey, Dirk Hamilton, Chad Lerch, Dean Wagner (2 each); Rick Dralle, Luke Goedert, Luke Pestka, Dain Sires, Travis Smock (1 each);

Modified (18): Adam Johnson, Ronn Lauritzen (3 each); J.D. Auringer, Troy Cordes, Tyler Droste, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson, Keith Pittman, Kevin Pittman, Jason Snyder (2 each); Mike Burbridge, Joe Docekal, Darin Duffy, Scott Hogan, Justin O'Brien, Shawn Ryan, Mark Schulte, Ed Thomas (1 each);

Stock Car (15): Norman Chesmore, John Emerson, Tim Helle, Jerome Jacoby, Sean Johnson, Jarod Weepie (3 each); Jesse Brown, Blake Cole, Ken Taylor (2 each); Austin Evens, Jason Hocken, Phil Holtz, Stefan Klym, Cole Mather, Chris Wiltse (1 each);

SportMod (17): Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry, Sean Vogt (3 each); Jim Buhlman, Brennan Chipp, Shane Ebaugh, Curt Hilmer, Dakoda Sellers, Kip Siems, Alex Zwanziger (2 each); Colby Heishman, Lee Kinsella, Matt McCahen, Brandon Smith, Steve Streeter, Scott Thomas, Sam Wieben (1 each).

Hobby Stock (15): Jim Ball, Nathan Ballard, Benji Irvine, Chris Luloff, Justin Stander, Jamie Whitaker (3 each); Shawn Kuennen, Justin Lichty, Quinton Miller (2 each); Vince Buchholz, Curt Graham, Josh Irvine, T.J. Mortenson, Justin Wacha, Jeremiah Wilson;

Sport Compact (17): Merv Chandler, Jeffrey Vislisel (3 each); Dylan Clinton, Adam Gates, Derek Ihde, Travis Ross, Mike Tedesco, Justin Vargason, A.J. Witten (2 each); Mitchell Balik, Brad Chandler, Travis Losenicky, Zach Marmann, Reggie Rema, Will Schott, Dakota Schroyer, Nick West.

Top-5s 

* 54 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season. The number of top-5 finishes per driver in each division are as follows:

Late Model (10): Tyler Bruening, Greg Kastli (3 each); Curt Martin (2); Jeff Aikey, Rick Dralle, Dale Hackwell Jr., Dirk Hamilton, Jon Passick, Luke Pestka, Travis Smock (1 each);

Modified (10): J.D. Auringer, Troy Cordes, Vern Jackson, Adam Johnson, Kevin Pittman (2 each); Tyler Droste, Darin Duffy, Patrick Flannagan, Mark Schulte, Jason Snyder (1 each);

Stock Car (7): Norman Chesmore, John Emerson, Sean Johnson, Jarod Weepie (3 each); Jesse Brown, Tim Helle, Jason Hocken (1 each);

SportMod (9): Jim Buhlman, Brennen Chipp, Danny Dvorak, Shane Ebaugh, Lucas Lundry, Kip Siems (2 each); Dakoda Sellers, Sam Wieben, Alex Zwanziger (1 each);

Hobby Stock (8): Nathan Ballard, Benji Irvine, Chris Luloff (3 each); Justin Stander (2); Vince Buchholz, Shawn Kuennen, T.J. Mortenson, Justin Wacha (1 each);

Sport Compact (10): Merv Chandler (3); Dylan Clinton, Adam Gates, A.J. Witten (2 each); Mitchell Balik, Brad Chandler, Reggie Rema, Travis Ross, Will Schott, Justin Vargason (1 each);

Top-3s 

* 32 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season. The number of top-3 finishes per driver in each division are as follows:

Late Model (6): Tyler Bruening (3); Greg Kastli (2); Jeff Aikey, Rick Dralle, Dale Hackwell Jr., Jon Passick (1 each);

Modified (6): J.D. Auringer, Troy Cordes, Kevin Pittman (2 each); Darin Duffy, Patrick Flannagan, Vern Jackson (1 each);

Stock Car (5): John Emerson, Sean Johnson (3 each); Norman Chesmore, Jason Hocken, Jarod Weepie (1 each);

SportMod (6): Brennen Chipp, Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry (2 each); Shane Ebaugh, Kip Siems, Sam Wieben (1 each);

Hobby Stock (3): Nathan Ballard, Benji Irvine, Chris Luloff (3 each);

Sport Compact (6): Merv Chandler (3); Adam Gates (2); Brad Chandler, Dylan Clinton, Reggie Rema, Justin Vargason (1 each).

Feature Lap Leaders

* 24 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.

* Division lap leaders include:

Late Model (3 total different lap leaders): Tyler Bruening (36 laps led), Rick Dralle (25), Jon Passick (14);

Modified (5): Troy Cordes (28 laps led); J.D. Auringer (18); Darin Duffy (12); Mike Burbridge, Patrick Flannagan (1 each);

Stock Car (3): John Emerson (42 laps led), Sean Johnson (6), Tim Helle (3);

SportMod (4): Brennen Chipp (16 laps led), Sam Wieben (15), Lucas Lundry (9), Shane Ebaugh (6);

Hobby Stock (7): Benji Irvine (17 laps led), Chris Luloff (9), Nathan Ballard (6), Quinton Miller (5), Vince Buchholz (4), Justin Wacha (3), Shawn Kuennen (1);

Sport Compact (2): Adam Gates (24 laps led), Dylan Clinton (12).

Heat Races

* There have been 30 different heat race winners in 43 heat races.

* 12 drivers have won multiple heat races this season.

* The heat race winners in each division are as follows:

Late Model (7 winners in 9 heats): Luke Pestka, Tyler Bruening (2 each); Rick Dralle, Dirk Hamilton, Chad Lerch, Dean Wagner, Rick Wendling (1 each);

Modified (6 winners in 8 heats): Troy Cordes, Vern Jackson (2 each); J.D. Auringer, Mike Burbridge, Ronn Lauritzen, Shawn Ryan (1 each);

Stock Car (4 winners in 4 heats): Norman Chesmore, John Emerson, Tim Helle, Sean Johnson (1 each);

SportMod (6 winners in 9 heats): Brennen Chipp, Danny Dvorak, Kevin Hurst (2 each); Kip Siems, Brandon Smith, Sam Wieben (1 each);

Hobby Stock (4 winners in 8 heats): Benji Irvine (3); Nathan Ballard, Chris Luloff (2 each); Shawn Kuennen (1);

Sport Compact (3 winners in 5 heats): Dylan Clinton, Adam Gates (2 each); Justin Vargason (1).

Efficiency Stats

* A total of 61 races have been run this season.

* A total of 642 laps have been completed.

* A total of 51 caution flags have been thrown.

Cautions Per Race Ratio

Sport Compact: 2 cautions in 8 races (0.25 cautions per race)

Hobby Stock: 5 / 11 (0.45)

Stock Car: 5 / 7 (0.71)

Modified: 11 / 11 (1.00)

SportMod: 13 / 12 (1.08)
Late Model: 15 / 12 (1.25)

Race Laps Per Caution Ratio

Sport Compact: 65 laps with 2 cautions (average of 32.50 green flag laps between cautions)

Hobby Stock: 109 / 5 (21.80)
Stock Car: 83 / 5 (16.60)

Modified: 124 / 11 (11.27)

Late Model: 144 / 15 (9.60)

SportMod: 117 / 13 (9.00)

Races with No Caution Flags

Sport Compact: 6 of 8 races have gone flag-to-flag without a caution (75.00%)

Hobby Stock: 7 / 11 (63.63%)

Modified: 7 / 11 (63.63%)

Stock Car: 4 / 7 (57.14%)

SportMod: 6 / 12 (50.00%)
Late Model: 6 / 12 (50.00%)

36 of 61 races have gone green to checkers without a caution.

Feature Cautions

Sport Compact: 2 of 2 total cautions have been thrown in feature races (100.00%)
Modified: 9 / 11 (81.81%) 
Stock Car: 4 / 5 (80.00%)

SportMod: 10 / 13 (76.92%)
Late Model: 10 / 15 (66.66%)
Hobby Stock: 3 / 5 (60.00%) 

38 of 51 total cautions have been thrown during feature racing.

Average Lap of First Feature Caution 
Sport Compact: 8.33

Stock Car: 8.00 
Hobby Stock: 7.00
Modified: 2.67

Late Model: 2.33 
SportMod: 1.33

Since the year 1967...

* 676 Late Model feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 97 different winners. On average, a new Late Model winner visits victory lane every 6.9 events.

* 446 Modified feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 80 different winners. On average, a new Modified winner visits victory lane every 5.5 events.

* 294 Stock Car feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 43 different winners. On average, a new Stock Car winner visits victory lane every 6.8 events.

* 69 SportMod feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 19 different winners. On average, a new SportMod winner visits victory lane every 3.6 events.

* 355 Hobby Stock feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 90 different winners. On average, a new Hobby Stock winner visits victory lane every 3.9 events.

* 9 Sport Compact feature events have been complete in weekly competition with 5 different winners. On average, a new Sport Compact winner visits victory lane every 1.8 events.

* Overall, in the last 47 seasons, 1,849 features have been completed in the six divisions that currently compete at the speedway.

Qualifying Streaks

* The longest currently active feature qualifying streaks for weekly competition in each division include:

Late Model: Drew Johnson has qualified for 52 consecutive features. His last miss was July 11, 2009.

Modified: Patrick Flannagan has qualified for 49 consecutive features. His last miss was August 8, 2009.

Stock Car: Norman Chesmore has qualified for 105 consecutive features. His last miss was July 9, 2005.

Hobby Stock: Vince Buchholz and Nathan Christie have qualified for 46 consecutive features. Their last miss was August 29, 2009.

SportMod: Jim Buhlman has qualified for all 69 features dating back to the first one at the speedway on June 21, 2008.

Sport Compact: Merv Chandler, Travis Ross and A.J. Witten have qualified for all nine features dating back to the first one at the speedway on July 7, 2012.

Stuff Nobody Should Know…

* Of the 18 feature winners this season, 14 came from inside starting spots and 4 from the outside.

* Every inside starting position throughout the first five rows have produced at least one feature winner this season. The only outside starting positions to produce a feature winner are outside of the first and third rows. Two winners each have come from those outside starting spots.

* No feature winners in the Hobby Stock and Sport Compact divisions have come from the front row. In fact, every Hobby Stock winner has come from the fourth or fifth row.

* 77 different drivers have cracked the top-10 in his division’s points for at least one week this season.

* 10 different drivers have held or shared their division's points lead at some point during the season.

* Nathan Chandler, Benji Irvine and Chris Luloff are the only Hobby Stock drivers with top-three feature finishes this season. They have each finished in the top three every night through three weeks.
* Through three weeks of the season, in the Hobby Stock division, Benji Irvine has earned two wins, Nathan Ballard has earned two second place finishes, Chris Luloff has earned two third place finishes and Justin Stander has finished fourth twice.

* Benji Irvine (Hobby Stock) is the only driver at the speedway to remain perfect by winning his first three heat races this season.
* Three of 18 feature events have gone flag-to-flag without a single caution. Seven features have seen their first caution with one lap or fewer scored complete.
* During the May 18 Hobby Stock feature, four different drivers held the lead over the course of five lead changes. Both numbers are season highs in all divisions this season.
* All three of John Emerson's Stock Car wins have come from different starting positions (2, 7, 5).

And finally...
* In chronological order, Greg Kastli's Late Model feature finishes through the first three weeks of the season are 3, 3 and 4. That is also the telephone prefix (334) for the city of Independence. Following his upcoming feature finishes at the speedway, the phone number he "completes" will be called and the person who answers the phone will be offered a pair of free tickets to a Saturday night race of their choice this season.

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That will take care of the first Stats Blitz of 2013 for Independence Motor Speedway. I'll be back during the week to provide numbers through May for Benton County Speedway. Hopefully, the weather improves tomorrow so race fans in the area can spend part of their Memorial Day weekend at the track. All Saturday tracks in eastern Iowa were rained out for tonight.

Be safe this weekend, have fun and we'll see you at the races!

McCarl tops Sprint Invaders at Independence Motor Speedway

Prior to Friday night, the last time winged Sprint Cars saw action at Independence Motor Speedway was in 1997 when Donnie Goeden was the winner in an IRA special. Non-wing sprints made an appearance as recently as 2000 when Chad DeSelle won the MARA event.
Terry McCarl added his name to that short list of recent Sprint Car winners Friday night at Independence when he topped a field of 24 entries in the Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Sprint Invaders Series' first-ever visit to the speedway. (complete results follow at the end of this entry)

Jamie Ball led the field to green and set the pace for the first five laps. McCarl, who started inside of row four, raced his way into contention and took charge on lap five.

Following a trio of cautions (more on those later) with just eight laps in the books, the field ran the final 17 circuits caution-free.

On the final restart on lap eight, McCarl set the pace with Lucas Wolfe in pursuit. Wolfe watched as McCarl extended his lead to nearly a straightaway margin until the final few laps when the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. That allowed Wolfe to briefly close to within a few car-lengths, however McCarl cleared traffic over the final lap to drive to the victory. 

T-MAC - Terry McCarl drove to Sprint Invaders victory lane Friday night at Independence Motor Speedway. (photos courtesy of Dennis Krieger)

Modifieds and SportMods joined the 360 Sprints for a special open wheel themed night of racing. Unsanctioned, those divisions competed in a draw/redraw format.

Troy Cordes ran the low side of the speedway and positioned himself to challenge race-long leader Adam Johnson on the ninth lap of that 20-lapper. Exiting turn two, Cordes ran the low side past Johnson to assume command, then survived a late restart to take the win.

In similar fashion, Brennen Chipp worked the low side past Shane Ebaugh midway through the 15-lap SportMod main event to drive to victory.

Not only were their paths to victory lane similar, but Cordes and Chipp each earned their last feature wins in Independence on May 11 of this year.

*
Two of the three cautions in the Sprint Invaders feature were red flag situations that involved rollovers. John Greenwood ran high exiting turn two to roll off the high side of the back stretch to bring out the first stoppage. The second red flag was a spectacular one when Matt Krieger entered a series of rolls on the high side of turn one before his ride came to a rest hanging (yes, hanging) from the protective fence outside the guard rail. Both drivers walked away uninjured.

HANGIN' AROUND - Matt Krieger's 360 Sprint dangles from the turn one fence. Remarkably, Krieger not only walked away unhurt, but with a smile on his face. (photo courtesy of Dennis Krieger)

**
Track photographer Jim Wittke had a prior commitment and was unable to attend Friday's make-up event from last month's rainout. Photographers Dennis Krieger and John Vass were in attendance Friday night and took pictures throughout the evening. Thanks to Dennis for providing the pics shown above!

***
A number of drivers in the Modified and SportMod divisions made their first appearances of the season in Independence... Jerry King, driving the 92X machine with a wrap identical to that of Tyler Droste's ride, drove to a fifth place finish in the Modified feature... Likewise, Kim Siems in a SportMod designed similarly to his brother Kip's car, ran fifth... Creston Williams piloted the #42 SportMod for the first time in Independence this season. After a strong second place run in his heat race, Williams lost his drive shaft early in the feature... Troy Burkhart made his first appearance in a couple years in his SportMod and Mike Hogencamp was also a first-time visitor this season on Friday night.

****
Special thanks to Amy and Jeff Laue, the entire Sprint Invaders crew and all of the drivers for making the trip north to Independence! Based in southeast Iowa and western Illinois, the two-plus hour drive for the crew and many of their drivers was farther than they normally travel for a series event. Everyone involved in the series is a top-notch group of professionals and it was a thrill to have them in Independence. We hope to have them back in the future!

*****
Weather permitting, the second of two straight days of racing in Independence will take place Saturday night. Points racing is scheduled for all six weekly divisions. Then, on Sunday, it's Albert Auto Night at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Along with extra cash for heat race winners, "MONSTER" trophies and T-shirt giveaways, the folks at Albert Auto have arranged for live music following the races. The group Eight Hours South is scheduled to perform in the pit area following the racing program. On Monday, it's off to Boone Speedway for the annual Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models event. Following a busy weekend at area tracks, it's the end of the month, which means Stats Blitzes for both Independence and Vinton will be coming sometime next week.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!


RESULTS

SPRINT INVADERS

Feature – 1. 24 Terry McCarl (Altoona); 2. 82 Lucas Wolfe (Mechanicsburg, Pa.); 3. 45C Russ Hall (Pleasant Hill); 4. 4 Jon Agan (Knoxville); 5. 2 Josh Schneiderman (West Burlington); 6. 9 Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.); 7. 51J Ryan Jamison (Mediapolis); 8. 99 Jim Davies (Oquawka, Ill.); 9. 10T Tim Moore (Rock Island, Ill.); 10. 2X Pat Moore (Moline, Ill.); 11. 9X Daniel Bergquist (Burlington); 12. 73X Dustin Whiting (Burlington); 13. 83 Dave Getchell (Sperry); 14. 85 Chase Wanner (Agency); 15. 68 Mike Houseman Jr. (Des Moines); 16. 88 Jarrod Schneiderman (West Burlington); 17. 73 Dustin Selvage (Indianola); 18. 56 Matt Krieger (Burlington); 19. 92C Cody Ambers (Knoxville); 20. 5J Jamie Ball (Knoxville); 21. 1^ST John Greenwood (Woodward); DNS 6 Kaley Gharst (Decatur, Ill.); DNS 50 Harold Pohren (Lowell); DNS 7H John Hall (Marion).

First heat – 1. Gharst: 2. R. Hall; 3. McCarl; 4. T. Moore; 5. P. Moore; 6. Jamison; 7. Jarrod Schneiderman; 8. Ambers.

Second heat – 1. Selvage; 2. Josh Schniederman; 3. Houseman; 4. Nienhiser; 5. Greenwood; 6. Bergquist; 7. Whiting; 8. Getchell.

Third heat – 1. Wolfe; 2. Ball; 3. Agan; 4. Davies; 5. Wanner; 6. Pohren; 7. Krieger; 8. J. Hall.

Shake-Up Dash – 1. R. Hall; 2. Wolfe; 3. Ball; 4. Selvage; 5. Josh Schneiderman; 6. Gharst.

MODIFIED

Feature – 1. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 2. 92 Tyler Droste (Waterloo); 3. 00J J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 4. 98 Jason Snyder (Dunkerton); 5. 92X Jerry King (Waterloo); 6. 26P Kevin Pittman (Waterloo); 7. 32 Chris Snyder (Raymond); 8. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Waterloo); 9. 24R Adam Johnson (Independence); 10. 41P Keith Pittman (Waterloo); 11. 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart); 12. 33D Scott Hogan (Vinton); 13. 64 Vern Jackson (Waterloo).

First heat – 1. King; 2. Docekal; 3. J. Snyder; 4. Droste; 5. Flannagan; 6. Keith Pittman.

Second heat – 1. Johnson; 2. Cordes; 3. Auringer; 4. Jackson; 5. Kevin Pittman; 6. Hogan; 7. C. Snyder.

SPORTMOD

Feature – 1. 21 Brennen Chipp (Waterloo); 2. 14 Shane Ebaugh (Evansdale); 3. S16 Kip Siems (Cedar Falls); 4. 32Z Alex Zwanziger (Nashua); 5. 16 Kim Siems (Cedar Falls); 6. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 7. 29 Sean Vogt (Watkins); 8. 20T Scott Thomas (Waterloo); 9. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 10. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 11. 15B Troy Burkhart (Urbana); 12. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 13. 50H Steve Wimer (Toddville); 14. 115 Bob Ebaugh (Raymond); 15. 49 Brandon Smith (Waterloo); 16. 43 Creston Williams (Atkins).

First heat – 1. Zwanziger; 2. Williams; 3. Kim Siems; 4. Hogencamp; 5. Thomas; 6. Burkhart; 7. Smith; 8. Wimer.

Second heat – 1. Vogt; 2. Kip Siems; 3. S. Ebaugh; 4. Buhlman; 5. Chipp; 6. Hilmer; 7. Maitland; 8. B. Ebaugh.

Emerson sweeps the weekend, extends points lead in Vinton

John Emerson has been enjoying his recent weekend getaways. Apparently, the IMCA Stock Car driver has standing reservations for one in victory lane.

For the second straight weekend, Emerson won the Stock Car feature in Vinton after taking the win at Independence Motor Speedway the night before. Doing so, he became the first driver in history to earn weekend sweeps at the two tracks in back-to-back weeks.

Emerson’s drive to the front Sunday night was similar to that of his previous wins – by getting out front early. From a second row start, Emerson powered into second by the completion of the first lap, then made his way around Curtis Roster to assume the lead by the end of lap two. Emerson proceeded to drive away from the field to notch the victory, a straightaway ahead of Roster.

The third Stock Car win of his career in Vinton, Emerson is now tied for 12th on the all-time list with Doug Otto, Richard Quail, Sean Johnson, Steve Meyer and Tom Schmitt. Emerson joined Damon Murty, Justin Temeyer, Curtis Roster, Dan Trimble, Phil Holtz, Brian Irvine and Steve Meyer as the only Stock Car drivers to win features in consecutive weeks in Vinton.

With the win, Emerson added to his lead in the standings and now sits seven points ahead of Scott Pippert.

Danny Dvorak also earned his second win of the season in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Dvorak started outside of the fourth row and made his way into fourth by the time the caution flag waved on lap two.

Tom Rawlins led the field back to green while Dvorak raced past Ryan King for third and settled in behind Mike McDonald. Dvorak followed McDonald until the sixth circuit, then worked around Rawlins for the lead one lap later.

Dvorak survived a pair of late cautions to take the win ahead of a hard-charging Joel Rust. Rust, who started 19th, drove a terrific race through traffic to earn his third straight top-two finish. He remains the only driver in the division with top-five finishes every night this season.

The win was Dvorak's 48th in weekly racing history in the division in Vinton, the most all-time. He has now won at least two features in each of the nine seasons the SportMods have competed at the speedway. It was his 10th win during the month of May.

Another all-time feature wins leader in his division, Nathan Chandler earned his second straight IMCA Sport Compact victory and his third of the season. Chandler quickly worked to the front from his second row starting spot to win that 12-lapper going away.

The 38th win of his career in weekly racing in Vinton, Chandler now owns six separate strings of at least two straight wins. It was his 10th win during the month of May.

Richie Gustin took command on the third lap of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature to drive to victory. Gustin held off the repeated challenges of Mike Burbridge to take the win, his first of the season in Vinton.

The victory was the fifth of Gustin's weekly racing career on the quarter-mile. He now ranks tied for 30th with Ed Thomas and Shawn Fisher on the division's all-time list. Four of his five wins have come during the month of May. While Gustin won the non-points Frostbuster event in early April, his win Sunday night was one day shy of a year after his most recent weekly points win in Vinton (May 20, 2012).

Gustin's victory also kept alive the streak of different winners to start the season. In six nights of racing, there have been six different winners in the division. That mark is one shy of the record, which was set in 1994 and matched in 2003.

Brandon Banks got upside down in the Modified feature when his #22 slipped off the high side of turn three. It was an unusual looking rollover as it seemed to float off the top of the corner, then came to rest on its top. Reports from the pits after the races indicated the damage was primarily involved sheet metal. Banks walked away uninjured.

Brian Happel broke the streak of different winners in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Entering the night, five different drivers had made their way to victory lane in as many nights. Happel changed that trend by leading all 15 laps of Sunday night's feature.

The win was the fifth for Happel in Vinton, tying him for 23rd on the division's all-time list with Brian Irvine, Chad Koch, Jacob Keiser, Nathan Ballard and Nick Murty.

A lot of specials are planned for next weekend's Memorial Day holiday. I will be in Independence Friday night for the Open Wheel Shootout, featuring the first-ever visit of the Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Sprint Invaders Series. The event will also host Modifieds and SportMods. Saturday, it will be back to Independence for the fourth night of points racing in all six weekly divisions

On Sunday, it's back to Benton County Speedway for Albert Auto Night. Like last year, the folks from Albert Auto are ponying up extra cash for all heat race winners that night, along with what are billed MONSTER trophies for the feature winners. In addition, the T-shirt cannon will be kept busy as an estimated 200 shirts will be launched into the stands. Following Sunday's races, the band Eight Hours South will be performing a live concert in the pit area, all courtesy of Albert Auto.

Monday, I'm scheduled to head to Boone Speedway for the annual Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models event. I'll provide recaps from those events so keep your browser open and ready next weekend. Better yet, make the time to get out and spend some of your holiday weekend supporting a local track!

Have a great week!

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 19G Richie Gustin (Marshalltown); 2. 11B Mike Burbridge (Delhi); 3. 00J J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 4. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (Jesup); 5. 80 Jerry Dedrick (Vinton); 6. 18 Jerry Luloff (Independence); 7. 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart); 8. 7 Todd Jensen (Waterloo); 9. 171 Buck Swanson (Waterloo); 10. 33D Scott Hogan (Vinton); 11. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Cedar Rapids); 12. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids); 13. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 14. 21K Kyle Brown (Kellogg); 15/DNS. 22 Brandon Banks (Washington).
Heat one: 1. Gustin; 2. Hogan; 3. Auringer; 4. Docekal; 5. Dedrick; 6. Swanson; 7. Banks; 8. Cordes.
Heat two: 1. Olson; 2. Flannagan; 3. Burbridge; 4. Luloff; 5. Brown; 6. Lauritzen; 7. Jensen.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 87 John Emerson (Waterloo); 2. 8 Curtis Roster (Vinton); 3. 47 Scott Pippert (Elberon); 4. 15 Norman Chesmore (Rowley); 5. B25 Shane Richardson (Morning Sun); 6. 6X Bob Ahrendsen (Cedar Rapids); 7. 8B Scott Beauregard (Center Point); 8. 76 Mike Galli (Urbana); 9. 19J Jay Schmidt (Tama).
Heat: 1. Pippert; 2. Emerson; 3. Chesmore; 4. Galli; 5. Roster; 6. Richardson; 7. Beauregard; 8. Ahrendsen; 9. Schmidt.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 3R Danny Dvorak (Vinton); 2. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 3. 21 Brennen Chipp (Waterloo); 4. T17 Tom Rawlins (Kellogg); 5. 10S John Schaefer (La Porte City); 6. 57R Ryan King (Marshalltown); 7. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 8. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 9. J2 Dave Schulze (Keystone); 10. 7D Dakoda Sellers (Vinton); 11. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 12. 3B Brian Anderson (Garrison); 13. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 14. 7P Jordan Peters (Des Moines); 15. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 16. 19J Jenae Gustin (Marshalltown); 17. 95 Mike McDonald (Cedar Rapids); 18. CH19 Colby Heishman (Brooklyn); 19. 57K Ross Kitner (Dysart); 20. 23JR Nick Roberts (Des Moines); 21. 44G Brady Graham (Brooklyn).
Heat one: 1. Dvorak; 2. Gustin; 3. Olson; 4. Rawlins; 5. Anderson; 6. Hogencamp; 7. Rust.
Heat two: 1. Schaefer; 2. Roberts; 3. Schulze; 4. King; 5. Chipp; 6. Graham; 7. Kitner.
Heat three: 1. McDonald; 2. Hilmer; 3. Sellers; 4. Buhlman; 5. Heishman; 6. Peters; 7. Maitland.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel (Vinton); 2. 18 Chris Luloff (Independence); 3. 45 Justin Wacha (Vinton); 4. 67 Justin Stander (Vinton); 5. 17K Kyle Parizek (Belle Plaine); 6. 07 Jacob Keiser (Marengo); 7. 78 Matt Brown (Dysart); 8. 23 Andrew Torkelson (Lisbon); 9. 09 Brayden Forbes (Waterloo); DNS. 10J Gabe Phelps (Vinton).
Heat: 1. Happel; 2. Wacha; 3. Stander; 4. Parizek; 5. Brown; 6. Keiser; 7. Luloff; 8. Torkelson; 9. Forbes; DNS Phelps.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 22 Nathan Chandler (Norway); 2. 2 Merv Chandler (Urbana); 3. 00W Bill Whalen Jr. (Riverside); 4. 30 Shawn Cooney (Des Moines); 5. 99J Jeremy Lerch (Vinton); 6. 36DD Gary Peiffer (Troy Mills); 7. 9 Toby Denning (Mt. Auburn). 
Heat: 1. N. Chandler; 2. Whalen; 3. Peiffer; 4. M. Chandler; 5. Cooney; 6. Lerch; 7. Denning.

Emerson, Irvine, Gates among winners at Independence Motor Speedway

When you look at the list of Saturday's winners at Independence Motor Speedway, you'll see a number of milestones were reached that crossed a very broad spectrum. Consider, one of the drivers kept his perfect streak alive this season by winning his third feature in as many weeks and two more earned their second wins of the season. On the flip side, two drivers got their first wins in quite some time Saturday night, while another made his first-ever trip to the winner's circle in Independence.

John Emerson continued his hot streak in the IMCA Stock Car division. After starting in row three, Emerson raced the low side into the lead on the second lap, then pulled away to score the convincing win. It was his third win in three nights this season.

Emerson became the first Stock Car driver since Dan Trimble in 2000 to win the first three events of a season. Trimble won the first four Stock Car features that year, so Emerson can match history with a win next week.

Emerson became the ninth driver in division history at the speedway to put together a winning streak of at least three races. He joined Trimble, Brian Irvine, Sean Johnson, Justin Temeyer, Larry Portis, Tom Schmitt, Chris Wessner and Lon Gadow on that list.

It was the seventh Stock Car win of Emerson's career in Independence, which moved him into a tie with Ken Irvine for 10th all-time at the speedway.

Benji Irvine took command when leaders Nathan Ballard and Chris Luloff made contact late in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Irvine motored around the leaders to take charge on the 11th of 15 laps to secure his second win of the season.

The fourth Hobby Stock victory of his career in Independence, Irvine is now tied with numerous drivers for for 27th on the division's wins list. Tied with him at four wins apiece are August Bach, J.R. Kahler, Jamie Whitaker, Jarod Weepie, Paul Shepherd, Scooter Dulin and Tim Meeker.

Irvine's four wins have each come in different calendar months - April, May, July and August.

Adam Gates was the other driver to make a return trip to victory lane this season. Gates topped the 12-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature to earn his second flag-to-flag triumph of 2013. With the win, the second of his career in Independence, Gates moved into a tie with Merv Chandler for second on the division's all-time wins list at the speedway.

J.D. Auringer earned his first IMCA Modified win in nearly six years. After racing through the pack to put himself into contention, Auringer broke free from Troy Cordes following a mid-race caution to drive to his first win since August 11, 2007.

That span of 2,107 days between wins is the fourth longest in Modified history at the speedway. The three longest spans between wins at Independence in the Modified division belong to Darin Duffy, Jack Mitchell and Ed Thomas. Duffy went 2,548 days between wins from June 1, 2002 to May 23, 2009, the longest such span in division history at the speedway. Mitchell went 2,212 days between wins from July 2, 1988 to July 23, 1994. Thomas was one week shy of tying Mitchell's mark as he went 2,205 days between wins from July 15, 2000 to July 29, 2006.

The seventh Modified win of his career in weekly racing history at the speedway, Auringer now sits tied for 15th on the all-time list with Deon Turner, Ed Thomas, John Light, Mark Noble, Max Corporon, Mike Sampson, Ron Barker and Tim McBride.

Coincidentally, the last time Auringer won a Modified feature in Independence was also the year of his track championship there.

Rick Dralle held off Tyler Bruening in a thrilling IMCA Late Model feature. After building a huge early lead, Dralle was unable to run away and hide when a handful of cautions slowed action in the 25-lapper. Dralle, however, was able to hold the lead for all 25 laps by fending off Bruening by a few feet at the checkers.

The win was Dralle's first since July 3, 2010 and was the sixth of his career in Independence. The win moved him into a tie with Dale Stolte for 26th on the division's wins list.

Sam Wieben earned his first-ever trip to victory lane in Independence in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Wieben led at the drop of the green, then fought off pressure from Brennen Chipp and Alex Zwanziger to become the division's 19th winner all-time at the speedway. For Wieben, who picked up a win at Marshalltown last season, it was his second career SportMod win.

Wieben is one of 11 drivers with a single SportMod win at the track, placing him in a tie for ninth on that list.

Next weekend will be a busy one at Independence. The first-ever appearance of the Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Sprint Invaders Series will headline the Open Wheel Shootout on Friday, May 24. That event will include unsanctioned Modifieds and SportMods. Details of that event are located in the flyer posted at the top of this page.

Weekly racing will return the following night, Saturday, May 25.

For a complete list of special events during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, be sure to visit the calendar page at Positively Racing.

The wet weather has held off so far today, so I hope to see everyone at Benton County Speedway in Vinton tonight for another night of weekly racing!

Carter sails to IMCA Modified win at Marshalltown Speedway

Cayden Carter took charge at the drop of the green and was never seriously challenged on his way to the winner's circle in IMCA Modified action Friday night at Marshalltown Speedway.

From his pole position start, Carter put his #10C into the top spot at the drop of the green while Zach Rawlins and Kyle Brown pursued. The leaders ran in that order until the race's only stoppage came after the completion of the first lap.

The early yellow was displayed when Richie Gustin and Luke Wanninger stopped in the middle of turns one and two. The caution was extended when Gustin got out of his car, walked over to Wanninger's ride and attempted to extract the driver from his car. Track personnel quickly restored order, however both machines were unable to continue.

Although I didn't see the contact that sent Gustin spinning, the passenger side of his car, at the very least, was left with significant sheet metal damage before Wanninger came upon his sideways ride. With multiple cars battling for position at the time, it appeared Gustin was mistakenly under the impression that it was Wanninger who carelessly trucked through the pack to leave his #19G looking like a mangled patio set in the clearance section of Crate and Barrel.

When racing resumed, Carter took to the high side and drove away from an exciting battle for the runner-up spot. Brown worked the top side while Jimmy Gustin and Jon Snyder ran low. Gustin kept pace with Brown and eventually made his way into second just past the midway point of the 20-lapper. By that time, however, Carter extended his advantage to a near-straightaway margin.

With Carter comfortably out front and Gustin in second, Brown went to work on the low side with Snyder and Adam Larson in pursuit. Carter held serve for the remainder of the event to take the impressive win with Gustin a straightaway behind in second. Kyle Brown went back to the top side and held off Jon Snyder for third. Larson was a close fifth.

Jay Schmidt inherited the pole position of the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature when Nate Thelen scratched from the event. Schmidt took advantage of his good fortune by leading the first two laps while Tracy Gienger and Michael Jaenette gave chase.

Gienger worked the low side past Schmidt in turn two on the second lap to take charge until caution slowed action on lap five. By that time, fifth row starting Steve Meyer worked his way into the top four and positioned himself to challenge.

On the restart, Meyer went to work on the top side and made his way around Jaenette for third and then was poised to challenge Schmidt for second when the caution flag waved again on lap nine. The top three ran in the same formation until Schmidt got sideways to bring out a final yellow with four laps to go.

When racing resumed a final time, Meyer again went to work upstairs. He kept the leader within his sights, however Meyer was unable to make the pass as Gienger drove to the win. Meyer ran second ahead of Jaenette, Jeff Wollam and Eric Knutson.

Jamie Duinink paced the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature for the first four circuits. Duinink showed the way while third row starting Ty Luellen raced the low groove into contention. Luellen drove the bottom side past Duinink just before the yellow flag waved on lap six.

Luellen survived three more mid-race cautions while Jenae Gustin and Ben Kates battled for second. Gustin raced the top side around Kates for good at the nine lap mark, however Luellen was too strong out front as he drove to the win by a strtaightaway. Gustin ran second ahead of Kates, Eric Elliott and Joel Rust.

Brandon Pruitt led the entire 12-lap distance to score the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Pruitt built his lead to over half of a straightaway by the time he encountered lapped traffic on the eighth circuit. Bill Bonnett closed the gap late, but came up a couple car-lengths short at the line to finish second. Brice Udelhoven, Eric Stanton and Austin Luellen completed the top five.

From his second row starting spot, Josh May quickly made his way into the lead of the 15-lap Mod Lite main event. Once out front, May set sail on the top side of the fast quarter-mile to take the win ahead of Mike Morrill and a hard-charging Andy Hennigar. Charlie Brown ran fourth ahead of Dusty Masolini.

Four IMCA Sport Compacts signed in for action, however only three were able to start the feature after Jim Alday rolled his machine in the heat race. He was not injured.

David Moormann led the first four times around for the eight-lap feature before Merv Chandler worked the low side into the lead just past the midway point. Chandler cruised to the win ahead of John Gill.

It was nice to see fellow Positively Racing bloggers Dick and Joyce Eisele in Marshalltown. More complete results and their take on the night will be available at the 4dfan Report.

Saturday, it's Armed Forces/Veterans Night at Independence Motor Speedway. In honor of Armed Forces Day, all past and present service men and women will be admitted free to the grandstands by presenting their military IDs. I also received word late today that Karsyn's Krusaders will be on-hand selling shirts. It promises to be another exciting night at Indee. I hope to see you there!

Roberts, Chandler repeat at Benton County Speedway

A trio of drivers made their first visits to victory lane this season, while another pair made return trips to center stage Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. (complete results listed below)

At the start of the 15-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature, it was front row starter Colby Heishman in control. In search of his first win in Vinton, Heishman led the field while points leaders Danny Dvorak and Nick Roberts were making their way through traffic from mid-pack starts.

Dvorak drove into second on the third lap, then Roberts followed him into third one lap later. Just as the leaders were making their way through the first set of turns on the following lap, Heishman was collected with a lapped car which resulted in a caution. Since Heishman was stopped on the track, he was sent to the tail of the pack for the ensuing restart with the points leaders left to battle for the lead.

Dvorak brought the field back to green running the low side with Roberts up top. The front-runners remained in that order until the final restart on lap 12. When racing resumed, Roberts worked the low side to keep pace with Dvorak. He shot to the inside of the leader in turns one and two where they made contact fighting for the same groove, resulting in a flat left rear on Dvorak's ride.

Dvorak attempted to keep pace with Roberts, however Roberts pulled away to take the win, his third of the season. Joel Rust made another impressive run from a fifth row start to finish second and remain the only driver in the division with top-five finishes in all five points races in Vinton this season. Dvorak limped across the line in eighth.

Roberts seems to like the odd numbered race nights as he has now won on the first, third and fifth nights of the season. His fourth Northern SportMod win all-time in weekly racing in Vinton, Roberts is now tied for 10th on that list with Frankie Dulin, Jim Buhlman and Troy Burkhart.

Nathan Chandler picked up his first win since opening night in the IMCA Sport Compact division. Chandler chased points leader Bill Whalen Jr. for a pair of laps before ducking beneath the race leader on the third circuit. He pulled away to take the win half of a straightaway ahead of Whalen.

It was the 37th victory in Vinton for the track's all-time wins leader in the division. His nine wins in the month of May are more than any other calendar month for Chandler. He has now won multiple Sport Compact features in a season for the sixth straight year. The fewest number of features Chandler has won in a single season in Vinton is four, which came in 2008, the year of his first win.

John Emerson put his #87 to the front early in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. From his second row start, Emerson worked the low side past front row starters Curtis Roster and Bob Ahrendsen by the time the field reached the flag stand to complete the first lap. Emerson drove away from the field to take his first win of the season by a straightaway ahead of Norman Chesmore.

His first win this season, Emerson now has two in his career in Vinton, making him the 21st Stock Car driver in track history with multiple wins. He ranks tied for 17th with Frankie Dulin (the same Frankie Dulin who Roberts tied on the SportMod list Sunday), Jeremy Miller (of Batavia, Iowa, and not Ben Seaver from Growing Pains), Kevin Rose (not the Internet entrepreneur) and Jason Deshaw (not the country singer). Whew.

Emerson also won the IMCA Stock Car feature Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway. He, Dan Trimble, Justin Temeyer, Tom Schmitt, Damon Murty and Phil Holtz are the only drivers in history to sweep weekend features at the two tracks and they have done it a combined 17 times. Emerson was also the last to do it (July 7-8, 2012) and joined Trimble, Temeyer and Murty as the only four drivers to sweep the weekend multiple times. Temeyer holds the record with six weekend Stock Car sweeps at the two tracks.

Brandon Banks led at the on-set of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. Running the low groove on the fast, slick quarter-mile, Banks paced the field while Jerry Luloff ran a groove higher in his #18. From his third row start, Luloff quickly raced into the top three, then worked around the outside of Patrick Flannagan for second on lap three. One lap later, Luloff used the same line to sneak by Banks before pulling away to the convincing win.

His first win of the season, Luloff has now won at least one Modified feature in six of the last seven years in Vinton. It was his third during the month of May. All-time, Luloff has earned 15 Modified wins in weekly racing history in Vinton, placing him seventh on that list. He currently sits one shy of Vern Jackson for sixth.

Luloff also became the fifth different Modified winner in the first five points races of the season. That mark ties 1980, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 as the second-most consecutive winners to start a season. The all-time record for the Modifieds in Vinton is seven straight different winners to start a season, which occurred in 2003. J.D. Auringer, Joe Docekal, Troy Cordes, Patrick Flannagan, Brandon Banks, Tony Olson and Jerry Dedrick are all weekly competitors in Vinton who have all won in Vinton during their careers and hope to keep that string alive next week. Vern Jackson and Scott Hogan are among the list of others who have made multiple trips to Vinton this season, but have yet to break through to victory lane in 2013. We'll see next week if the trend of different winners continues.

Another division that has produced a variety of winners is the IMCA Hobby Stocks. That trend continued Sunday night, as well, as Kyle Parizek became the fifth different Hobby Stock winner in as many weeks.

Parizek ran second to Brian Happel for the first four laps of that 15-lapper before he challenged the low side of the leader in turn two on lap five. After making his way to the front, Parizek drove the high side to victory while holding off the furious challenges of Chris Luloff, Happel and Justin Wacha.

After taking off the 2012 season, the win was Parizek's first since August 28, 2011 and the sixth of his career. He is now tied for 18th on the division's all-time weekly Hobby Stock wins list with Bill Bonnett, Curt Hilmer, Curtis Roster and Rick Johnson.

Parizek's win nearly fell on the anniversary of his first win three years ago, which he earned May 16, 2010. With Sunday's victory, Parizek joined Scott Pippert and Jacob Keiser as the only Hobby Stock drivers in Vinton to earn at least one Hobby Stock win in three of the last four seasons.

Five different Hobby Stock winners to start a season has happened before - twice, in fact - but no season in Vinton has ever started with six straight different winners in the division. This year joins 2004 and 2006 as those with five different Hobby Stock winners to start a season.

Notable Hobby Stock weeklies who have yet to win a feature include Justin Stander, Matt Brown, Jacob Keiser and Justin Wacha. Like the Modifieds, we'll see next week if the trend continues in the Hobby Stocks.

Have a great week! 

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 18 Jerry Luloff (Independence); 2. 22 Brandon Banks (Washington); 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (Jesup); 4. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Cedar Rapids); 5. 00J J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 6. 11B Mike Burbridge (Delhi); 7. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids); 8. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 9. 80 Jerry Dedrick (Vinton); 10. 21K Kyle Brown (Kellogg); 11. 20L Zach Less (Hopkinton); 12/DNS 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart).
Heat one: 1. Brown; 2. Auringer; 3. Lauritzen; 4. Olson; 5. Docekal; 6. Dedrick.
Heat two: 1. Cordes; 2. Flannagan; 3. Banks; 4. Burbridge; 5. Luloff; 6. Less.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 87 John Emerson (Waterloo); 2. 15 Norman Chesmore (Rowley); 3. 99D Damon Murty (Chelsea); 4. 19J Jay Schmidt (Tama); 5. 6X Bob Ahrendsen (Cedar Rapids); 6. 8 Curtis Roster (Vinton); 7. 47 Scott Pippert (Elberon); 8. 76 Mike Galli (Urbana); 9. 8B Scott Beauregard (Center Point).
Heat: 1. Roster; 2. Emerson; 3. Chesmore; 4. Murty; 5. Ahrendsen; 6. Schmidt; 7. Galli; 8. Pippert; 9. Beauregard.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 23JR Nick Roberts (Des Moines); 2. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 3. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 4. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 5. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 6. J2 Dave Schulze (Keystone); 7. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 8. 3R Danny Dvorak (Vinton); 9. 57R Ryan King (Marshalltown); 10. CH19 Colby Heishman (Brooklyn); 11. 3B Brian Anderson (Garrison); 12. 35C Casey Heil (Cedar Rapids); 13. 115 Bob Ebaugh (Raymond); 14. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 15. 57K Ross Kitner (Dysart); 16. 7D Dakoda Sellers (Vinton); 17/DNS. 10S John Schaefer (La Porte City).
Heat one: 1. Roberts; 2. Olson; 3. Anderson; 4. Hilmer; 5. Schulze; 6. Ebaugh; 7. Schaefer; DNS Kitner.
Heat two: 1. Dvorak; 2. Rust; 3. Hogencamp; 4. Heishman; 5. Sellers; 6. Maitland; 7. King; 8. Heil; 9. Buhlman.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 17K Kyle Parizek (Belle Plaine); 2. 18 Chris Luloff (Independence); 3. 46 Brian Happel (Vinton); 4. 45 Justin Wacha (Vinton); 5. 67 Justin Stander (Vinton); 6. 78 Matt Brown (Dysart); 7. 07 Jacob Keiser (Marengo); 8. 14C Leah Wroten (Independence); 9/DNS. 23 Andrew Torkelson (Lisbon).
Heat: 1. Happel; 2. Parizek; 3. Wacha; 4. Stander; 5. Luloff; 6. Brown; 7. Torkelson; 8. Keiser; 9. Wroten.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 22 Nathan Chandler (Norway); 2. 00W Bill Whalen Jr. (Riverside); 3. 2 Merv Chandler (Urbana); 4. 22T Travis Losenicky (Garrison); 5. 99J Jeremy Lerch (Vinton); 6. 9 Toby Denning (Mt. Auburn); 7. 111 A.J. Witten (Cedar Rapids).
Heat: 1. M. Chandler; 2. Whalen; 3. Witten; 4. Losenicky; 5. Lerch; 6. Denning; 7. N. Chandler.