A pair of IMCA Hobby Stock features awaited race fans Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. Severe weather cut the July 6 program short, leaving the Hobby Stock division to make up the remaining 12 laps of its 15-lapper Sunday night. A complete show in all six weekly divisions was also part of Sunday's schedule. (complete results follow)
Nathan Ballard picked up right where he left off July 6. He held the point when rain cut action short and took command when the event resumed Sunday night. Ballard held off pressure from Brian Happel and Justin Wacha to score the victory, his division-leading fourth of the season in Vinton.
All-time, Ballard has 10 Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history at the speedway. He sits tied with Danny Dvorak and Frankie Dulin for 13th on that list. Ballard now owns two wins each during the months of May, June, July and August, along with a win in April and one in September.
In the regular 15-lapper, a half dozen drivers were poised to take home top honors, however Brian Happel broke free from traffic late to drive to victory.
Outside front row starter Shawn Kuennen held the early advantage with Vince Buchholz and Wacha in tow. As that trio battled, Happel, Benji Irvine and Ballard made their way into contention as the front-runners ran in two and three-wide formation throughout the event.
Running the low and middle grooves, Irvine unseated Kuennen out front on lap seven with Ballard and Happel making their way into second and third a short time later.
Happel swept to the high side as the leaders ran in three-wide formation off turn two with one lap to go. Happel surged ahead down the back stretch and held off pressure and contact from his nearest pursuers to score the thrilling win.
The victory was Happel's third of the season in Vinton and 12th of his weekly racing career at the speedway. He finished the night tied with Paul Shepherd for seventh on the all-time list. With four wins all-time during the month of July, this month matches August as the most successful months of Happel's career at the speedway.
A pair of drivers who have seen a lot of success through the years in Vinton found victory lane Sunday night. For each of them, it was one day shy of the 12th anniversary of their first career wins at the speedway.
Damon Murty earned his first IMCA Stock Car win at the speedway July 21, 2002 and Troy Cordes got his first Vinton win in the IMCA Modified division that same night nearly 12 years ago. Murty drove to his 65th Vinton Stock Car win Sunday night and Cordes earned his 43rd Vinton Modified win a short time later.
Second row starter Kaleb Bentley enjoyed the early lead in the Modified 20-lapper. He set the pace while Patrick Flannagan and Ronn Lauritzen gave chase.
Both drivers worked past Bentley on the third circuit and then battled for the lead for numerous laps while Cordes, J.D. Auringer, Joe Docekal and Scott Hogan worked their way into contention.
Running the low groove, Flannagan held Lauritzen at bay until Lauritzen worked around him on the fourth circuit. Lauritzen started to extend his advantage until Flannagan fought back down low to regain control on lap eight.
While the leaders continued to wage war out front, Cordes was running the middle and high grooves in a battle with Auringer for third while Docekal and Hogan shared a similar fight for fifth.
Meantime, Flannagan regained the point with five laps to go. Cordes broke free from Auringer long enough to sneak to the inside of Lauritzen for second. Once he secured that position, Cordes returned to the top side to challenge Flannagan.
Cordes pulled even with the leader as the white flag waved and rocketed ahead of the field down the back stretch. Cordes sped to victory in lapped traffic to earn his fourth win of the season. Hogan surged around Flannagan to steal second at the line in the exciting finish.
The 43 wins of his weekly racing career in Vinton place Cordes just one win shy of all-time leader Hogan. He has earned 12 of those 43 wins in the month of July.
Adam Gebel and Paul Shepherd shared time at the front of the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature before Murty powered into the lead on lap three.
Murty pulled away from the field to score the dominant win, his fourth of the season. Murty has now won a minimum of four Stock Car features in each of the last 10 seasons in Vinton. His 65 career Stock Car wins at the speedway leads all drivers.
Tony Olson continued his hot streak in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Olson, who returned to racing weekly in Vinton June 15, has competed only five nights and has won three times, including Sunday night. He has finished no worse than fourth in those five events.
Pole-sitter Travis Peterson took the lead at the drop of the green in that 15-lapper and quickly pulled away from traffic. Peterson showed the way while Olson was running the low side through the pack after starting in row six.
Peterson built a sizable advantage by the time Olson made his way into the runner-up spot after only five laps. Olson quickly went to work and reeled in the leader just past the midway point of the event. With five laps to go, Olson worked the low side off turn two to steal the lead from Peterson on his way to victory.
His 12 career SportMod wins in weekly racing in Vinton is third-best in the division. All but five of those wins have come in the month of July.
Brody Willett used a last lap pass to earn his second win of the year in the BCS Micro Mod division. Buster Pate held the point throughout that 10-lapper until Willett closed the gap in the waning moments. He worked around Pate on the final circuit to steal the victory.
Bill Whalen Jr. dominated the eight-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature to earn his second straight win and seventh of the year. Whalen has now won a minimum of two straight races four separate times in his career in Vinton.
With five wins during the month of July, Whalen has 18 in his career in Vinton, placing him third on the all-time Sport Compact list.
My weekend travels took me to the Green Bay area for two nights of dirt track racing. If time allows, tomorrow I'll post some thoughts on my travels and trip to northeast Wisconsin.
I plan to head to Buena Vista Raceway in Alta this Wednesday to fill in on the mic and then return to Independence Motor Speedway Thursday for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series/XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds double dip. All of that is before double features in three divisions Saturday night in Independence.
It's a busy time of year all over the region so be sure to get out and support your local track. Have a great week!
JULY 6 MAKE-UP RESULTS
IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature (made up July 20): 1. 29 Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 2. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton; 3. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton; 4. 79 Benji Irvine, Stanley; 5. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 6. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 7. 1 Scott Siems, Cedar Rapids; 8. 357 Brett Vanous, Quasqueton; 9. 07 Jacob Keiser, Marengo; 10. 91 Chris Moore, Fairfax.
Heat one (completed July 6): 1. Happel; 2. Wacha; 3. Irvine; 4. Brown; 5. Siems.
Heat two (completed July 6): 1. Ballard; 2. Keiser; 3. Parizek; 4. Moore; 5. Vanous.
JULY 20 RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 71 Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 2. 33D Scott Hogan, Vinton; 3. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 4. 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 5. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 6. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 7. 10 Kaleb Bentley, Fairbank; 8. 4 Ryan Maitland, Waterloo; 9. 57B Dennis Betzer, Central City; 10. 415 Josh Barta, Cedar Falls; 11. 14 Tom Hanson, Vinton; 12. 23 J.J. Scott, Iowa City; 13. 7 Todd Jensen, Waterloo; 14. 17 Devin Trumbley, Dunkerton; DNS/15. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton.
Heat one: 1. Cordes; 2. Hogan; 3. Lauritzen; 4. Bentley; 5. Barta; 6. Betzer; 7. Trumbley.
Heat two: 1. Auringer; 2. Docekal; 3. Flannagan; 4. Jensen; 5. Maitland; 6. Hanson; 7. Scott; 8. Dedrick.
IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 99D Damon Murty, Chelsea; 2. 67 Justin Stander, Vinton; 3. 99 Erick Knutsen, Cedar Rapids; 4. 15 Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 5. 47 Scott Pippert, Elberon; 6. 8 Curtis Roster, Vinton; 7. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 8. 14 Shane Ebaugh, Evansdale; 9. 8B Scott Beauregard, Brandon; 10. 62G Adam Gebel, Cedar Falls; 11. 31S Paul Shepherd, Marengo; 12. 3 Ryan Coleman, Vinton; 13. 76X Chad Siems, Shellsburg; 14. 18 Heath Evens, Independence.
Heat one: 1. Pippert; 2. Beauregard; 3. Roster; 4. Stander; 5. Knutsen; 6. Siems; DQ Coleman.
Heat two: 1. Chesmore; 2. Murty; 3. Shepherd; 4. Gebel; 5. Ebaugh; 6. Evens; 7. Galli.
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 2. 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 3. 25T Travis Peterson, Gladbrook; 4. 72 Brett Lowry, Montezuma; 5. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 6. 7SR Shawn Ritter, Keystone; 7. 17 Dawn Krall, Evansdale; 8. 95 Mike McDonald, Cedar Rapids; 9. J2 Dave Schulze, Keystone; 10. 40J Jason Doyle, Cedar Rapids; 11. MR09 Kurt Hogan, Vinton; 12. 10S John Schaefer, La Porte City; 13. 57R Ryan King, Montour; 14. 339 Kevin Hurst, Janesville; 15. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 16. 199 Dave Burrell, Dysart; 17. 22 Matt Petrzelka, Norway; 18. K3 Kyle Olson, Cedar Rapids; 19. 15B Troy Burkhart, Urbana; 20. T17 Tom Rawlins, Kellogg; 21. 7D Dakoda Sellers, Vinton; 22. CH19 Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 23. 19J Jenae Gustin, Marshalltown; 24. 6K Lee Rouse, Atkins.
Heat one: 1. Peterson; 2. Sellers; 3. Krall; 4. Ritter; 5. Dvorak; 6. Burrell; 7. Heishman; 8. Rawlins.
Heat two: 1. K. Olson; 2. Gustin; 3. Lowry; 4. Burkhart; 5. Hogan; 6. Buhlman; 7. Schulze; 8. Hurst.
Heat three: 1. T. Olson; 2. McDonald; 3. Doyle; 4. Hilmer; 5. Schaefer; 6. King; 7. Petrzelka; 8. Rouse.
IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton; 2. 29 Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 3. 79 Benji Irvine, Stanley; 4. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton; 5. 23X Chad Albert, Cedar Rapids; 6. 55 Vince Buchholz, Tama; 7. 35B Shawn Kuennen, Hazleton; 8. 58B Randy Byerly, Tipton; 9. 81M Travis Merical, Marshalltown; 10. 1 Scott Siems, Cedar Rapids; 11. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 12. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 13. 20B Matt Burmeister, Dunkerton; DNS/14. 53 Ray Fish, Oelwein; DNS/15. 19B Jim Sheldon, Marion.
Heat one: 1. Irvine; 2. Parizek; 3. Brown; 4. Burmeister; 5. Kuennen; 6. Albert; 7. Siems; 8. Merical.
Heat two: 1. Happel; 2. Ballard; 3. Wacha; 4. Buchholz; 5. Byerly; 6. Fish; 7. Sheldon.
IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 00W Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 2. 36 Dave Reed; 3. 3S Craig Streeter, Vinton; DNS/4. 07 Joe Goodenbour, Garrison.
Heat: 1. Whalen; 2. Reed; 3. Streeter; 4. Goodenbour.
BCS MICRO MOD
Feature: 1. 00 Brody Willett, Alburnett; 2. 111 Buster Pate, Hiawatha; 3. 2 Brandon Maitland, Waterloo; 4. 71 Tristan Cordes, Dunkerton; 5. 18 Jeff Davis, La Porte City; 6. 6E Don Erger, Brandon; 7. 35 Jason Gorman, New Hampton; 8. 111A A.J. Witten, Cedar Rapids.
Heat: 1. Erger; 2. Pate; 3. Cordes; 4. Willett; 5. Gorman; 6. Maitland; 7. Davis; DNS Witten.
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