Saturday night was the final night of racing for 2014 at Independence Motor Speedway and four track champions went out in style during Budweiser Season Championships.
Curt Martin, Troy Cordes, Alex Zwanziger and Benji Irvine celebrated 2014 track championship honors in victory lane after earning feature wins.
Five laps were added to all five features, which were lined up straight-up based on season point totals. As has been the case for the last 15 seasons, the top four in each division's standings were given the chance to double their money if they could win their feature after starting at the tail.
Martin took the lead at the drop of the green in the 30-lapper for the IMCA Late Models. A pair of cautions didn't slow him down as Martin simply dominated the field to take the win by half of a lap ahead of Sean Johnson.
Martin has now won 95 times in weekly racing history in the Late Model division in Independence, the most all-time. Twenty of those wins have come in August. He has won in 26 different calendar years at the speedway, including one win in each of the last four seasons.
The win propelled Martin to his 11th Late Model track title in Independence, also the most all-time. Prior to this season, Martin's most recent championship run came in 2006. His first title came 30 years ago.
Cordes held off Tyler Droste to earn his fifth win of the season in the Performance Bodies IMCA Modified 25-lapper.
Cordes and Droste pulled away from the field following a mid-race restart and Cordes was able to hold Droste at bay to score the win en route to his fourth Modified title in Independence. Cordes was also the Mod champ in Indee in 2002, 2008 and 2010.
Cordes is now tied with Tom Bartholomew for second on the list of Modified championships in Independence. Jerry Luloff leads all drivers in the division with five titles.
All-time, Cordes has earned 36 Modified wins in weekly racing history at the speedway and sits third on the division's wins list. Cordes has won a dozen times in the month of August. All five of his wins this season came in the last eight weeks, including victories in three of the last four weeks.
Zwanziger drove to the win and track championship in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Zwanziger set the pace at the drop of the green in that 20-lapper while Jenae Gustin, who accepted the challenge and started at the tail, quickly made her way through traffic.
After starting 18th, Gustin raced her way into the top five in just six laps and then into second with three laps remaining. Although Gustin closed late, Zwanziger held on for his second win of the year in the caution-free event.
The win wrapped up Zwanziger his first career track championship. He became the sixth different SportMod champion in seven seasons the division has competed in Independence.
It was Zwanziger's second win in weekly racing history at the speedway. He is one of 14 drivers with multiple wins in the division and is tied with Matt McCahen and Rod McDonald for 12th on the all-time list.
Irvine became the first driver in track history to earn back-to-back track titles in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. He led all 20 laps of that event and held off Justin Wacha in lapped traffic to score the victory.
With 12 Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history in Independence, Irvine sits alone in fifth on the all-time list. Three of those wins have come in the month of August.
He is just the fourth driver in track history with multiple Hobby Stock titles. The division has been part of the weekly racing program in Independence for 26 years.
After all four drivers eligible for the challenge opted to start at the back of the 25-lap IMCA Stock Car feature, Jason Hocken found himself on the pole.
Hocken led the first 15 laps before Roger Ciesielski raced past him on the 16th circuit. Ciesielski led the remainder of the event to score his first Independence win in the division.
With the win, Ciesielski became the 49th different Stock Car winner in weekly racing history at the speedway, but the first to earn his first win on season championship night.
By virtue of taking the green flag in the feature, Norman Chesmore wrapped up his first career track championship in the division. Chesmore, who is the only driver remaining in the division from its inaugural season in 1993, beat Jarod Weepie by 17 points in the final standings.
Chesmore became the eighth different Stock Car champion in track history.
Saturday was my last night working on a regular basis at Independence and I am truly grateful for all the kind words people shared throughout the course of the program.
I planned early this season to make this year my last working weekly at the track, but I didn't expect the kind gestures and gifts last night.
When I made the decision to be done at the end of the season, I only told a few close friends because I didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. When word got out that Darin Burco and Todd Summers of S&B Promotions were also in their final year at Independence, word started spreading that I was going to become the new promoter.
That's when I started telling people that simply wasn't the case and that I wouldn't be returning after this season. A number of people didn't believe me at the time (a few still don't, even after last night), but I wanted to put out that fire before it spread even more.
I wasn't expecting anything Saturday night except to grill with friends in the pits and maybe have a few drinks. The response I received when word got out that last night was, in fact, my last night, was unbelievable. I'm not often left speechless, but I was at a loss for words on more than one occasion last night.
From what I understand, so many people were involved that I don't even know who all to thank. It's truly humbling.
A few people who I know were involved include Bucky Doren, Linda Hall, Bobbie Emerson, Troy Cordes and his entire crew, Gary and Karen Crawford, Andy and Jessica Miller, Darin Burco and Todd Summers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Not just for last night, but thank you for being part of an incredible racing family.
I'll still be in Independence on a fairly regular basis next season and I look forward to spending time with friends in the stands as a race fan. I'll fill in if and when they need me, but I won't be at any track on a weekly basis next year. I plan to visit other tracks, as well, and enjoy racing as a fan.
I'll still be in Boone to announce Super Nationals next week and for as long as IMCA and Boone Speedway will have me. I'll also continue to keep all the stats on Independence and Benton County Speedway. I live for that stuff and it's great to see so many fans with an appreciation for the numbers and history, as well.
There are three people above all else who I need to thank. The first is my dad. His passion for racing was instilled in me at a very young age. Although he's been gone for over three years, I still carry his passion within me and I have no intention of leaving the sport of racing. The sport and the people simply mean too much to me and he is the reason I've been blessed with such a special racing family.
The second is Dana Benning. After keeping stats in the stands as a kid, I was on Dale Hackwell Jr.'s crew for a number of years before I received a call from Dana prior to the start of the 2000 season when he took the reigns in Independence. He offered me a job despite the fact that we'd never met and had never even had a conversation prior to that phone call. Thanks, Dana. That single phone call means more to me than you'll ever know.
The third person is Jim Roper. As a kid, I watched Jim flag in Independence before he became the voice of the speedway. I idolized him as a young race fan and through the years I came to respect him as a peer. Today I love him as a friend.
When I receive compliments on my announcing, a lot of that credit goes right back to Jim. Yeah, I probably talk a little more than Jim used to, but he was the first to teach me, above all else, the job of an announcer is to inform the race fans. If you can't get the car number, driver and hometown over the mic and if you can't explain race procedure, then you aren't doing your job. Yes, you can entertain along the way, but to let people know what's going on is why you're there. Thank you, Jim.
The fans and drivers in Independence are a special group of people. Yeah, I grew up going there so some may say I'm biased, but I've been to a lot of tracks over the years and there's a special feeling driving onto the Buchanan County Fairgrounds on a Saturday afternoon.
The fans who are committed to racing in Independence are second-to-none. They show that through their passion and in the way they fill the stands every Saturday night.
The accomplishments of the drivers speak for themselves. Our drivers have not only succeeded locally, but on the regional and national levels throughout their careers, as well. I am honored to have worked with them and to call many of them my friends.
Like I said last night, the racing is what draws us to the track the first time we go, but it is the people we meet and the friends we make who keep us coming back.
Thank you to everyone and I'll see you at the races!
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