The XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds will have a tough act to follow Monday night.
As I sat watching the IMCA Modified main Sunday night at Benton County Speedway, I was trying to think back to the last time any race had me on the edge of my seat as much as that race had me there.
The answer? The Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational at the 2013 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey's.
Yes, Sunday night's feature in Vinton was just that good. There may not have been the same prestige on the line, but there was no telling that to the four drivers within striking distance of victory Sunday night.
The 20-lapper started with pole-sitter Jerry Dedrick leading the first circuit before Zach Less, who started outside of row two, challenged to his outside. Less took command on the second circuit until caution slowed action on lap five.
On the restart, Less again held the point while Scott Hogan, who started seventh, made it a three-car battle with Less and Dedrick for the lead. The front-runners ran three-wide for multiple laps before Dedrick slowed to the low side of turns three and four with mechanical problems on lap nine. That brought out what would be the second and final yellow.
Less led the field back to green with Hogan in tow while J. D. Auringer and Troy Cordes raced into contention from fifth row starting spots.
While Cordes was trying to break free from traffic, Auringer chased down the leaders. Hogan was working the low side of Less as the top two battled side-by-side for the lead. As Auringer considered his options, Cordes reeled them in to make it a four-car breakaway at the front of the pack.
Hogan and Auringer battled down low while Less worked the top side with Cordes close behind. Less eventually pulled alongside Hogan, who found the middle groove, and Auringer, who was running the low side, in three-wide formation.
Hogan inched ahead each time across the stripe while Less fell back into a battle with Cordes for third. Auringer, meanwhile, stayed even with Hogan on the low side and surged ahead at the line to score the thrilling victory.
Auringer, whose last win in Vinton came during the Hogan Memorial, has won three times in weekly racing this season. He has earned 15 Modified wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, placing him alone in eighth on the all-time list.
The first Vinton win of his career during the month of August, this is the latest in the season Auringer has made his way to victory lane on the quarter-mile.
Damon Murty continued his winning ways in the IMCA Stock Car division. He took the lead from Nathan Wood with five laps remaining to score his fourth win in the last five weeks and his seventh of the year.
Scott Beauregard held the early lead before Wood worked past the leader just prior to a lap five caution.
On the restart, Murty, who restarted fifth, quickly worked through traffic and settled into third before another stoppage on lap eight.
Murty swept past Curtis Roster on the restart and then shot to the low side of Wood exiting turn two on lap 10 to drive to victory.
Murty's all-time leading Stock Car wins total in Vinton is now at 68. He has won 16 times in the month of August, which is more than any other driver in any month in any division in track history.
Murty has won the last two Stock Car features at the speedway, giving him 10 separate streaks of multiple wins in his career in Vinton. He has won at least seven features in four separate seasons in his career at the speedway (2005, 2006, 2009, 2014).
To his surprise, Tony Olson had one stud holding his left rear wheel on at the end of the 15-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature. To his relief, he discovered it in victory lane after being interviewed for the win.
Dawn Krall led throughout most of the event while Olson worked through the pack from a sixth row starting spot.
Krall was enjoying a sizable lead by the time Olson made his way into second just shy of the midway point on lap seven. Olson reeled in the leader and worked the top side off turn two to steal the lead on lap 11.
Krall remained close over the final laps, however Olson led to the checkers and scored his fourth win of the season. All four of his wins have come in the last eight points races for the division.
His 13 career Northern SportMod wins in Vinton place Olson third on the all-time list. It was his second career win during the month of August.
Brian Happel got to the high side early and that's where he stayed en route to his fourth win of the year in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature.
Happel, who was pressured throughout the 15-lapper by points leader Benji Irvine, held Irvine at bay to score the victory.
With 13 career Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history in Vinton, Happel finished the night tied with Ron Tharp for sixth on the all-time list.
Happel's win Sunday night nearly fell on the anniversary of his first career win in Vinton. That victory came just over nine years ago on August 14, 2005. Five of Happel's 13 wins have come during the month of August.
Adam Gates checked out early in the 10-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature. Gates dominated the field to score his second straight victory and third of the year in Vinton.
Gates has four career Sport Compact wins in Vinton, tying him with Brett Vanous for ninth on the all-time list. He became the eighth driver in division history to string together consecutive wins at the speedway.
Like Gates, Don Erger made it look easy in the 10-lap BCS Micro Mod main. Erger led the entire distance to earn his fifth win of the season.
There have been four different Micro Mod winners in the division's inaugural season in Vinton and three of them have won in the last three weeks.
Incredible job on track prep Sunday by BCS dirt man Don Burkey. From top to bottom, beginning to end, the track was smooth and multi-grooved. The Modified feature Sunday night was, hands down, the best race I've seen all year.
It promises to be an awesome show when the HDT comes to town Monday night (tonight)!
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 00J J. D. Auringer, Waterloo; 2. 33D Scott Hogan, Vinton; 3. 71 Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 4. 20L Zach Less, Hopkinton; 5. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 6. 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 7. 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 8. 57B Dennis Betzer, Central City; 9. 12T Ty Glass, Cedar Rapids; 10. 81 Jesse Belez, Marengo; 11. 4 Ryan Maitland, Waterloo; 12. 7 Todd Jensen, Waterloo; 13. 8 Tony Snyder, Readlyn; 14. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 15. 11B Mike Burbridge, Delhi; 16. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 17. 77 Tim McBride, Denver.
Heat one: 1. Dedrick; 2. Less; 3. Docekal; 4. Lauritzen; 5. Betzer; 6. Rust; 7. Snyder; 8. Glass; 9. Jensen.
Heat two: 1. Auringer; 2. Belez; 3. Flannagan; 4. Cordes; 5. Hogan; 6. Burbridge; 7. Maitland; 8. McBride.
IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 99D Damon Murty, Chelsea; 2. 52 Nathan Wood, Sigourney; 3. 8 Curtis Roster, Vinton; 4. 15 Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 5. 47 Scott Pippert, Elberon; 6. 67 Justin Stander, Shellsburg; 7. 62G Adam Gebel, Cedar Falls; 8. 8B Scott Beauregard, Brandon; 9. 3 Ryan Coleman, Vinton; 10. 25 Shawn Fisher, Vinton; 11. 76X Chad Siems, Shellsburg; 12. 99 Erik Knutsen, Cedar Rapids; 13. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 14. 115 Hannah Chesmore, Rowley; 15. 171 Buck Swanson, Waterloo; 16. 8E Mitchell Evens, Independence.
Heat one: 1. Wood; 2. Murty; 3. Pippert; 4. Galli; 5. Knutsen; 6. Coleman; 7. Fisher; DNS Swanson.
Heat two: 1. Gebel; 2. Roster; 3. Stander; 4. Beauregard; 5. N. Chesmore; 6. Siems; 7. Evens; 8. H. Chesmore.
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 2. 17 Dawn Krall, Evansdale; 3. CH19 Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 4. 72 Brett Lowry, Montezuma; 5. 199 Dave Burrell, Dysart; 6. MR09 Kurt Hogan, Vinton; 7. 34Z Cory Van Zante, Sully; 8. 1 Austin Kaplan, Ankeny; 9. 15B Troy Burkhart, Urbana; 10. 22 Matt Petrzelka, Norway; 11. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 12. 95 Mike McDonald, Cedar Rapids; 13. J2 Dave Schulze, Keystone; 14. 10S John Schaefer, La Porte City; 15. 6K Lee Rouse, Atkins; 16. 57R Ryan King, Montour; 17. K3 Kyle Olson, Cedar Rapids; 18. 3B Brian Anderson, Garrison; 19. 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 20. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls.
Heat one: 1. K. Olson; 2. Burrell; 3. Petrzelka; 4. Lowry; 5. Buhlman; 6. Burkhart; 7. Rouse.
Heat two: 1. Anderson; 2. Schaefer; 3. King; 4. Hilmer; 5. Van Zante; 6. Heishman; 7. Kaplan.
Heat three: 1. Hogan; 2. T. Olson; 3. Krall; 4. Dvorak; 5. McDonald; 6. Schulze.
IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton; 2. 79 Benji Irvine, Stanley; 3. 07 Jacob Keiser, Marengo; 4. 55 Vince Buchholz, Tama; 5. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 6. 5 Marcus Wayne, Independence; 7. 88 C. J. Dall, Marshalltown; 8. 29 Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 9. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; DNS/10. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton.
Heat: 1. Brown; 2. Irvine; 3. Happel; 4. Keiser; 5. Dall; 6. Wayne; 7. Buchholz; 8. Ballard; 9. Parizek; 10. Wacha.
IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 007 Adam Gates, Marion; 2. 22 Nathan Chandler, Norway; 3. 36 Dave Reed, Cedar Rapids; 4. 00W Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 5. 3S Craig Streeter, Vinton; 6. 321 Drew Nickell, Cedar Rapids.
Heat: 1. Chandler; 2. Gates; 3. Reed; 4. Whalen; 5. Streeter; 6. Nickell.
BCS MICRO MOD
Feature: 1. 6E Don Erger, Brandon; 2. 2 Brandon Maitland, Waterloo; 3. 71 Tristan Cordes, Dunkerton; 4. 18 Jeff Davis, La Porte City; 5. 75 Cole McNeal, Dysart; 6. 111A A. J. Witten, Cedar Rapids; 7. 111 Buster Pate, Hiawatha.
Heat: 1. Erger; 2. Maitland; 3. Davis; 4. Cordes; 5. McNeal; 6. Pate; 7. Witten.
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