Monday, June 17, 2013

What can Brown do for you? Win and win in Vinton

Not only do Kyle Brown and Matt Brown share the same last name, they shared the same plans Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. Kyle in the IMCA Modifieds and Matt in the IMCA Hobby Stocks drove to feature wins on a great night of racing on the Vinton quarter-mile. (updated stats, a few bonus numbers, a trip back to 1982 and complete results follow below.)

Jerry Dedrick led the charge at the drop of the green in the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. He paced the field from his outside front row starting spot while Kyle Brown pursued after starting directly behind the leader.

Brown made his way past Dedrick for the lead on lap four, then put a few car-lengths over the field while Ronn Lauritzen and Joe Docekal followed past Dedrick. Brown held the point while Docekal slowly reeled in Lauritzen on the slick, smooth quarter-mile. Docekal pulled even on the low side of Lauritzen and made the pass for second on the white flag lap, but Brown made his way to the checkers for his second win of the season before Docekal had time to mount a challenge.

Matt Brown took advantage of his outside front row starting spot to take the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Chris Luloff quickly challenged from his third row start and chased Brown for much of the event. 

Although Luloff was able to stick the nose of his #18 to the inside of Brown's machine in the late stages, Brown held on for the exciting win, his first of the season.

Bob Ahrendsen led a close-knit pack of IMCA Stock Cars for the first four laps of that 15-lapper. Ahrendsen was joined by Norman Chesmore, John Emerson, Curtis Roster and Scott Pippert in a multi-car battle for position at the front of the pack before Chesmore worked the low side into the lead on lap five.

Much like last week, Chesmore protected the low groove of the speedway while Emerson and Pippert battled for second. Pippert, the lone leader running the top side, made his way around Emerson with three laps to go, but Chesmore was too fast down low as he raced to his second straight win in Vinton and his third of the year at BCS

Mike McDonald took the lead from Colby Heishman on the second lap of the IMCA Northern SportMod main event. McDonald raced the low side at the front of the field while Nick Roberts, Joel Rust and Danny Dvorak made their way through traffic from mid-pack starts.

A slew of cautions slowed action during the middle of the event, which bunched the field and allowed Roberts to race the top groove into the lead following a lap nine restart. Roberts led the remainder of the event, which timed out after 14 of 15 scheduled laps, to take his fourth win of the season. 

Rust, who had a rough night Saturday at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, was driving a loaner courtesy of Coty Albers. Rust made an impressive run in his short time in that car to cross the line in second.

In IMCA Sport Compact victory lane, Merv Chandler thanked his son, Nathan, for taking the night off. The younger Chandler was on vacation, which brought an end to his four-race winning streak at the speedway. The elder Chandler set sail at the drop of the green and cruised to the win, his first of the season, ahead of Bill Whalen Jr.

It was great to have a perfect night weather-wise for racing. Without a threat of inclement weather, it was nice to enjoy the show without fear of getting rained out. Props again to track prep man Don Burkey for providing a smooth surface for the evening.

In case you weren't in Vinton Sunday evening, you may want to make plans to be there next week. In addition to Gary's Auto Mid-Season Championships on June 23, IMCA Late Models will be making a special appearance at the speedway. A number of drivers have been contacted and there is already quite a bit of interest in the show. Drivers from central Iowa, as well as a number who race weekly in Independence, plan to bring their Late Models for a fun night on the quarter-mile. The show will be sanctioned for State and National points.

By the Numbers
* Kyle Brown - Brown earned his second win of the season in the IMCA Modifieds, the third of his career in Vinton and his first during the month of June. He is now tied for 38th on the division's all-time list at the speedway with Brian Krall, Dave Stricker, Steve Droste and Tom Bartholomew. Through nine nights of weekly racing this season, Brown joined Richie Gustin as the only Modified drivers with multiple wins.

* Norman Chesmore - For the first time in his career, Chesmore won back-to-back IMCA Stock Car features in Vinton. With 17 wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, Chesmore remains fifth on the all-time list, two wins behind Dan Trimble. Chesmore has now won five times during the month of June, more than any other calendar month in Vinton. With three wins overall in 2013, Chesmore matched his personal best at the speedway, which he set in 2008. Coincidentally, all three of Chesmore's wins this season have come after starting inside of row three. Not only have all of his wins come from that starting spot, he is the only Stock Car driver to win from that starting position this season. Chesmore's 17 career wins in Vinton span 4,361 days (11 years, 11 months, 8 days), the longest such span in the division. Chesmore has won at least one feature in 10 of the 13 seasons the Stock Cars have competed weekly at the speedway.

* Nick Roberts - Roberts won for the fourth time in the IMCA Northern SportMod division, bringing his career total to five wins in weekly racing history at the speedway. That puts him in a tie for eighth all-time with Kyle Bentley and Kyle Olson. It was Roberts' first career win past the month of May at the speedway. Roberts, who started eighth Sunday night, continued the streak of SportMod feature winners coming from eighth, ninth and tenth on the starting grid. The last eight winners have come from those three spots and Roberts has won once each time from those starting positions. He also won from the pole during the season points opener on April 14.

* Matt Brown - Brown earned his first win of the season in IMCA Hobby Stock action, giving him at least one feature win in six of the last seven seasons at the speedway. With 10 wins for his career, Brown moved into a tie with Danny Dvorak and Frankie Dulin for 11th on the all-time Hobby Stock wins list at the speedway. Half of his 10 wins have come during the month of June. Aside from his win on June 7, 2009, Sunday night's win was the earliest win during any season for Brown in Vinton.

* Merv Chandler - Chandler earned his first win of the year in the IMCA Sport Compacts, giving him at least one win in each of the last three seasons. He also won three times in 2008. In weekly racing alone, Chandler now has nine career Sport Compact wins at the speedway, which ties him with Bill Whalen Jr. and Brad Chandler for fifth all-time.

Similar to last night while I was working on the stats for Independence, I noticed a few interesting tidbits while updating the BCS stats Sunday night. Below are a few bonus numbers for Vinton through June 16:
* IMCA Modified driver JD Auringer has finished in the top 10 all nine nights so far this season. Of those finishes, six have been in the top five.
* Similar to Auringer, IMCA Stock Car driver John Emerson has collected top-10 finishes all nine nights this season, including five straight top-threes.
* Norman Chesmore has finished in the top four every night for the last eight nights in the IMCA Stock Cars. He'd likely have nine, but he wasn't in attendance on opening night back in April.
* A guy was actually yelling in the stands in Vinton Sunday night when the crew took time to prep the track during a 20-minute intermission, then gave the Sport Compacts the chance to hot lap before giving their feature the green flag. The numbers say you've hit your limit at the beer stand, sir. Slow the pace a little next time, buddy. When the clock says 7:15 p.m. and the weather is nice, enjoy the fact that you're not sitting home in a thunder storm complaining that the races were canceled.
* Joel Rust continues to amaze in the IMCA Northern SportMods. Rust drove to his ninth top-10 finish in as many nights Sunday night (in a borrowed car, no less). He is the only driver in the division to finish in the top-10 every night. In fact, eight of those finishes were top-five finishes. His only finish not in the top five? A sixth place finish on June 2. There should be no wondering why he has a 17-point lead in the standings. Rust is clearly the class of the field in the SportMods this season.
* IMCA Hobby Stock points leader Chris Luloff has driven to six straight top-three feature finishes and a total of seven top-threes in nine weeks. 
* Bill Whalen Jr. has been in the top three all but one night in the IMCA Sport Compact division. His lone finish outside the top three was a fourth place finish April 28.
* The track was very smooth and slick Sunday night and provided for some great racing. For those complaining about that on message boards and facebook, get a clue. Be honest. As much as you bitch, you've never prepped a track, have you? You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you? Statistics indicate you're probably the same guy posting that you're going to the "Derry" Brothers race when the series is in your area and it's likely you've had trouble finding enough "sponcers" to be able to put your car on the track. 
* Four of the last five IMCA Stock Car features have gone caution-free. Over the course of those 75 laps, the caution flag has flown only two times.
* Twelve of 45 feature events this season have been caution-free, including five total in the Stock Car division. There has been at least one caution-free feature every week this season except for week two (April 21). When considering all 45 feature events in the five divisions, each feature averages seven laps of green flag racing prior to the first caution.
* Historically, the number of caution flags and the total number of races run very close to the same. So far this season, there have been 120 caution flags in a total of 126 races, which is slightly fewer the number of cautions than normal.
* Are people still asking questions about track prep? One week it's too rough, the next it's too dry and slick. Statistics show, if you habitually complain, finding a new hobby should be taken into consideration. You're obnoxious and do nothing to positively promote the sport. Tracks have been damn good over the past few weeks at every race I've attended. That includes a handful of tracks for numerous weekly shows and specials. Maybe a trip to Cedar Rapids some Friday night would be right up your alley.

Don't forget, IMCA Late Models are in Vinton next Sunday, June 23, during Gary's Auto Mid-Season Championships. Unless I've missed something the last few years (which is entirely possible, if not probable), I believe Late Models most recently competed in Vinton the last time the Deery (not "Derry") Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models paid a visit July 21, 2005. Twenty-four touring Late Models signed in that night with Rob Toland taking the checkers. I remember that evening quite well because I scored that race and I think I'm just now adjusting to the carpal tunnel. Late Models are fast and fun in Vinton so, if you can, make plans to attend.

The last time Late Models ran for track points as part of the weekly program in Vinton was September 19, 1982. To put it into context, Tim Swope was the Late Model winner that night during the track’s season championship program, Mike Schulte (#99, anyone?) earned his third career Modified win on the Vinton oval, Scott Yerkes won the figure 8 (he and Bruce Ary dominated that fun class) and Merv Chandler (yes, younger readers, the same Merv Chandler) was the Street Stock feature winner.

If that isn’t enough context for you, in 1982, the Commodore 64 was released, Sony released its first CD player, TIME Magazine named The Computer its person of the year, John Belushi died, Prince William was born, the Tylenol scare gripped the country and it was the year of the dedication for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The top music hits were from Michael Jackson (Thriller), Olivia Newton John (Physical), Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll), Survivor (Eye of the Tiger), J Geils Band (Centerfold), Toto (Rosanna), Toni Basil (Mickey), Laura Branigan (Gloria), Journey (Open Arms), Hall & Oates (Maneater) and Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (Up Where We Belong).

You preferred TV to music back in 1982? Then you were probably watching new hits Cheers, Knight Rider, Fame, Family Ties and Cagney & Lacey. Movies more your thing? ET hit theaters, as did Tootsie, An Officer and a Gentleman, Poltergeist, 48 Hours, Conan the Barbarian, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and who can forget Porky’s?

Yeah, it’s been a while. Damn, I love Google.

My next event is tentatively planned for this Tuesday at West Liberty Raceway for the DEERY Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models. As always, it promises to be a great show at West Liberty. I hope to see you there!

JUNE 16 RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature:
1. 21K Kyle Brown (Kellogg); 2. 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart); 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (Jesup); 4. 00 J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 5. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 6. 18 Jerry Luloff (Independence); 7. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Cedar Rapids); 8. 80 Jerry Dedrick (Vinton); 9. 11B Mike Burbridge (Delhi); 10. 171 Buck Swanson (Waterloo); 11. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids).
Heat one: 1. Dedrick; 2. Brown; 3. Lauritzen; 4. Auringer; 5. Cordes; 6. Swanson.
Heat two: 1. Docekal; 2. Luloff; 3. Olson; 4. Flannagan; 5. Burbridge.

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

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 23JR Nick Roberts (Des Moines); 2. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 3. 3R Danny Dvorak (Vinton); 4. T17 Tom Rawlins (Kellogg); 5. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 6. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 7. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 8. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 9. 44G Brady Graham (Brooklyn); 10. 72L Brett Lowry (Montezuma); 11. K0 Ken Kositzky (Cedar Rapids); 12. 57R Ryan King (Montour); 13. J2 Dave Schulze (Keystone); 14. CH19 Colby Heishman (Brooklyn); 15. 11 Al Sweerin (Waterloo); 16. 10S John Schaefer (La Porte City); 17. 93 Josh Burrell (Dysart); 18. 95 Mike McDonald (Cedar Rapids); 19. 7D Dakoda Sellers (Vinton); 20. 3B Brian Anderson (Garrison); 21. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 22. 4X Cory Tharp (Waterloo); 23. 57K Ross Kitner (Dysart).
Heat one: 1. Roberts; 2. Rawlins; 3. Heishman; 4. Buhlman; 5. King; 6. Tharp; 7. Sweerin; DNS Kitner.
Heat two: 1. McDonald; 2. Dvorak; 3. Hogencamp; 4. Kositzky; 5. Olson; 6. Graham; 7. Anderson; 8. Schulze.
Heat three: 1. Lowry; 2. Rust; 3. Schaefer; 4. Hilmer; 5. Maitland; 6. Sellers; 7. Burrell.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 78 Matt Brown (Dysart); 2. 79 Benji Irvine (Cedar Falls); 3. 18 Chris Luloff (Independence); 4. 17K Kyle Parizek (Belle Plaine); 5. 46 Brian Happel (Vinton); 6. 45 Justin Wacha (Vinton); 7. 67 Justin Stander (Vinton); 8. 25 Doug Laughridge (Vinton); 9. 12J Jeremy Floyd (Cedar Rapids); 10. 09 Brayden Forbes (Waterloo); 11. 21 Jonathan Juett (Belle Plaine); 12. 14J Jacob Floyd (Cedar Rapids).
Heat one: 1. Luloff; 2. Irvine; 3. Happel; 4. Laughridge; 5. Jeremy Floyd; 6. Parizek.
Heat two: 1. Stander; 2. Wacha; 3. Juett; 4. Forbes; 5. Brown; 6. Jacob Floyd.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 2 Merv Chandler (Urbana); 2. 00W Bill Whalen Jr. (Riverside); 3. 111 A.J. Witten (Cedar Rapids); 4. 8 Jacob McVay (Palo); 5. 22T Travis Losenicky (Garrison); 6. 99J Jeremy Lerch (Vinton); 7. 9 Toby Denning (Mt. Auburn); 8. 1A Jeff Ash (Center Point); 9. 36DD Gary Peiffer (Troy Mills).
Heat: 1. Witten; 2. Chandler; 3. Losenicky; 4. Whalen; 5. Peiffer; 6. McVay; 7. Lerch, 8. Denning; DNS Ash.

No comments:

Post a Comment