Drivers will typically say their first wins are among the most memorable. It's safe to say Tyler Droste's first win at Independence Motor Speedway Saturday night will be long remembered for the first-year IMCA Modified driver. Droste, who won a Modified feature earlier in the year at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, became the 81st driver in track history to take the IMCA Modified checkers at Independence Motor Speedway.
Scott Hogan led the 21-car starting field to green and was joined at the front with Darin Duffy in a two-car breakaway from the pack. Droste worked from an 11th place starting spot and was assisted by a pair of cautions on his march to the front.
Hogan, Droste and Duffy entertained the crowd in a three-car battle for the lead in the waning laps, with Droste and Hogan swapping the lead in the late stages. A late push by Duffy made it three-wide on the final lap before Droste broke free on the low groove to score the thrilling win.
His first win in the Modifieds in Independence, Droste became the first first-time Modified winner at the speedway in nearly a year. Prior to Droste, the most recent first-time winner, was Shawn Ryan on June 23, 2012 - 350 days ago.
Droste became the 19th different first-time Modified winner during the month of June at the speedway, second only to 23 first-timers in during the month of May. It is the 13th straight season in Independence there has been at least one new winner in the division.
When adding his 14 Northern SportMod victories at the speedway, Droste has 15 wins in his career in Independence. That places him in a tie for 34th on the all-time list with Denny Osborn, Norman Chesmore (more on Chesmore shortly), Tom Hanson, Tom Schmitt and Tyler Bruening.
Droste became the fourth different Modified winner in five events this season. Through five weeks of racing, no driver has held the points lead for consecutive weeks. In fact, no driver has even repeated time atop the standings. There have been five different drivers leading the points following each week of the season. With his win Saturday, Droste took over the top spot in the standings.
Norman Chesmore earned his 15th career win in the Stock Car division by taking his first victory at the speedway since June 21, 2008. Chesmore took command just prior to a lap four caution, then raced the low groove to victory, holding off John Emerson and Sean Johnson to take the win.
With his 15th Stock Car win in Independence, Chesmore is now tied for seventh with Tom Schmitt on the division's all-time list. On the over-all wins list, he matched Droste and sits tied for 34th on the track's overall wins list.
Chesmore's sixth win during the month of June at the speedway, his win on Saturday came nearly 20 years to the day of his first win in Independence. That first win came on June 12, 1993. Chesmore is the only Stock Car driver in track history with wins spanning all 21 seasons the division has competed at the speedway.
Luke Merfeld set sail early, then methodically made his way through heavy lapped traffic to lead all 25 laps in the IMCA Late Model feature. Merfeld, who took a big lead early, built a straightaway advantage by the time Tyler Bruening raced into second place from a sixth row start. Bruening closed late, but trailed Merfeld by half of a straightaway by the time the checkers flew.
The first win for Merfeld this season, he now has three career Late Model wins in weekly racing history in Independence. He is tied for 37th on that list with Dave Bentley, Dave Gerner, Dave Thorsten, Gary Henderson, LaVern Carey, Luke Pestka, Tom Fitspatrick, Tysus Pattee and Wes Merritt.
It was Merfeld's second win during the month of June, which came nearly two years to the day of his first Late Model win in Independence - June 11, 2011.
Chris Luloff continued to add to his all-time leading Hobby Stock wins mark at the speedway. Luloff pursued Nathan Ballard over the last half of that 15-lapper, then slid beneath Ballard in the waning laps to secure his second win of the season and the 24th of his career in Independence.
Like Chesmore and Merfeld, Luloff's most recent win nearly fell on the anniversary of his first at the speedway. His first Hobby Stock win was nearly nine years ago, on June 19, 2004. It was his eighth win during the month of June.
All-time (Northern SportMod wins included), Luloff now has 27 career wins in Independence, moving him into sole possession of 13th on the track's all-time list.
Kip Siems made his way to the front early, then survived a trio of caution flags to secure his first win of the season in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Siems also won a feature last season, giving him two for his career in weekly racing history at the speedway. He is now one of 10 drivers with multiple career SportMod wins in Independence.
Adam Gates continued his domination in the IMCA Sport Compact division. After making his way to the front on the first lap, Gates rolled to his fourth win in as many appearances this season. The victory moved him past Steve Miedke for the most Sport Compact wins all-time in Independence.
It was another fantastic night of racing in Independence, and was made even better through the sponsorships of Ferguson Enterprises, Superior Cleaning Services and Independence Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.
Doug Cue from Superior Cleaning Services provided an incredible amount of candy for the first candy dash at the speedway in a few years. He dumped 26,000 Tootsie Rolls alone on the front stretch for the nearly 200 kids in attendance.
The kids also had an extra bonus Saturday during Scout Night activities. All Scouts in uniform were admitted free and were able to take part in the program. Many joined flagman John Huff in the flag stand to wave the flags throughout heat race qualifying and every Scout had an opportunity to ride in the pace car and present victory lane trophies.
All of this was also made possible by talking former grandstand announcer Marc Magers out of retirement for the night. Marc joined us to help get the kids involved in the program and to entertain those in attendance, as he has been known to do for many years. Many thanks, Marc! Anytime you want to join us, please let me know. It was a pleasure to have you back in Independence!
Next Saturday in Independence will be sponsored by Tournier Recycling. The folks from Tournier plan to give away hats and T-shirts, plus hand out can koozies to the first 500 people through the gate.
We were able to dodge the predicted rain in Independence last night and it looks like we may do the same tonight in Vinton. I'll be back at the Benton County quarter-mile tonight for Cassill Motors Emergency Services Appreciation Night. I hope to see you there!
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