Sunday, July 28, 2013

Droste tops IMCA Modifieds on Dan Snyder Night at Independence

Dan Snyder was reminded Saturday night how racing family comes together during times of need. The area engine builder and friend to many racers was honored during the weekly racing program at Independence Motor Speedway as Snyder continues to fight Metastatic Esophageal cancer.

A number of special activities were included during the program, plus bonus money was offered to drivers in the IMCA Modified and IMCA Northern SportMod divisions. A complete sponsor list follows below.

Tyler Droste earned his second win of the season in the IMCA Modified division to extend his points lead. Tony Snyder, Mike Burbridge and Shawn Ryan spent time at the front of the 27-car field before Droste made his way beneath Ryan for the lead at the midway point.

Droste led the final 10 laps to secure the win ahead of Ryan and Ronn Lauritzen, who started 26th. Darin Duffy raced from a 20th place start to come home fourth. Chris Snyder was the top-finishing Snyder on the night as he raced to a season-best fifth place finish.

It was Droste's second career Modified win in Independence for the first-year division driver. He is one of 53 Modified drivers with multiple wins in Independence and was the fourth straight different Modified winner at the speedway.

Curt Hilmer took the most bonus money in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Hilmer led all 15 laps of that event and held off Kevin Hurst in traffic to collect his first career win on the Independence oval. Hilmer is the 23rd different SportMod winner in track history.

Hilmer's win established three new records for the division at the speedway. He became the sixth different first-time winner in the SportMods this season, eclipsing the old mark of five first-timers, which was set in 2008 and matched in 2009. He also became the ninth different SportMod feature winner in Independence this year. The previous record of eight different winners was set last year.

With the victory, Hilmer also became the seventh straight different winner in the division at the speedway. That broke the old record of six straight different winners which was established in August of 2009.

Rory Metcalf not only earned his first Independence win, but the first win of his career in the IMCA Late Model division. The 20-year old took the lead at the drop of the green, then held off Greg Kastli in lapped traffic to take the victory. Metcalf became the sixth straight different Late Model winner in Indee.

With the victory, Metcalf became the 98th different Late Model winner in weekly racing in Independence since the start of the 1967 season. He is the most recent first-time winner since Jon Passick on July 16, 2011. That span of 742 days is the longest between new Late Model winners since first-time victories by Randy Wheeler (July 26, 2003) and Josh McGowan (August 13, 2005) spanned 749 days.

Jarod Weepie took control with four laps to go to drive to his second win of the year in the IMCA Stock Car division. Weepie made his way around Jesse Brown to drive to his 20th career win in the division at the speedway.

All-time, Weepie's 20 wins rank fourth in the Stock Car division in Independence. Remarkably, it was his first win during the month of July. Weepie also became the fourth straight different winner in the division.

Chris Luloff drove to his sixth win of the year in a thriller of an IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Luloff entered a four-car breakaway with Vince Buchholz, Justin Stander and Benji Irvine. Luloff powered to the low side to sneak by his competitors to drive to the win a short distance ahead of Stander.

The all-time leading Hobby Stock feature winner in Independence, Luloff now owns 28 trips to the winner's circle. His six wins this season are a personal best for Luloff, who topped the five wins he earned in 2004. The last driver to have more Hobby Stock wins in a season was Josh Irvine - he had seven wins in 2009.

Adam Gates marched to his 10th win of the year in the IMCA Sport Compact division. Gates took charge on lap one, then beat Steve Miedke to the checkers in that 12-lapper.

Gates' 10-win season ties Jack Mitchell (IMCA Modifieds, 1983) and Larry Portis (IMCA Stock Cars, 1995) for the most wins in a season at the speedway.

From beginning to end, it was a great evening to pay tribute to Dan Snyder for all he's meant to area racers. During the national anthem, Snyder's four sons - Andy, Chris, Jason and Tony - followed Dan in the pace car while he presented the nation's colors. Without being prompted, all of the Modified drivers in attendance made their way to the top of turn four to honor Snyder as the pace car made its way around the track.

Signed Frisbees from the Modified and SportMod drivers were also thrown into the stands for the kids during intermission. Those catching the Frisbees of the winners of those features were awarded $25 gift cards to Toys-R-Us.

Chris, Jason and Tony, who compete in the IMCA Modified division, and their brother Andy, who borrowed the car of family friend Troy Cordes, took part in an All-Snyder Shootout during intermission. Jason won the five-lapper as the four raised $1,000 simply by starting the event. A family photo with all four race cars was taken in victory lane following the event.

Performance Bodies and Waterloo Auto Parts offered $500 in prize money for the dash, which will go to the Dan Snyder Benefit on August 9 in the 4-H Building on the Bremer County Fairgrounds in Waverly.

Along with the dash money, a number of folks stepped up to offer additional prize money for Saturday night's show. Those donations included:

IMCA Modified
$150 - Feature Winner - Andy Snyder & Family, Happel Farms
$100 - Highest Finishing Non-Crate - Chris Snyder / Snyder Auto Glass
$100 - Hard Charger - Tony Snyder Masonry
$50 - 2nd Place - Joe Docekal
$50 each - 2nd thru 5th Place - Rage Chassis
$50 each - Random finishing positions (drawn by Dan Snyder) - Jason Snyder (2), Keith Pittman (2), Ed Thomas Racing, Grant & Amanda Harkrader, Kazzbuilt Chassis
$50 - 17th Place Finisher - Buck & Chris Swanson
$50 - 10th Place Finisher - Tommy Belmer
Hoosier Tire - Top Finishing Non-Crate - Troy Cordes
$25 - Driver Running 3rd on Lap 3 - Jason Hocken
$25 - 3rd Place Finisher - Jason Hocken

IMCA Northern SportMod
$100 - Hard Charger - Chris Snyder / Snyder Auto Glass
$50 - Feature Winner - Verne Card
$25 - Feature Winner - Joe Wright
$25 - Feature Winner - Casey Albright
$25 - Feature Winner - Cory Tharp
$25 - 15th Place Finisher - Troy Burkhart
$2 - Driver causing first feature caution - Joe Wright (this award was not presented because the SportMods went flag-to-flag following an initial no-start!)

Thanks to everyone who made their way to the races Saturday night to pay tribute to a great friend of racing. Dan was smiling all night long, however was very short on words throughout the evening. He's as genuine a man as he is humble and was deserving of the support Saturday night. If you haven't already, make plans to attend his benefit in Waverly on August 9. It promises to be a fantastic event.

As I close out this blog, I realize it's the end of July. That means a monthly Stats Blitz for the speedway will be coming this week. Check back for all the numbers through July as we enter our final month of the season.

Tonight, IMCA Late Models return to Benton County Speedway as they join the weekly racing program during the final night of the 2013 Benton County Fair. I've heard a couple of new names will be making their way to the Vinton quarter-mile to compete tonight. It should be another great night of racing. I hope to see you there!

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