Entering this weekend's program, Brian Irvine had 51 career wins at Independence Motor Speedway and Benji Irvine had 10 in the last three seasons alone, but the cousins shared the spotlight in victory lane on the same night for the first time in their careers Saturday night. And they got there in dominant fashion.
Brian, who remained a perfect five-for-five in IMCA Stock Car features this year in Independence, quickly raced from a fourth row start to take the lead on lap two of the 18-lapper. He pulled away to score the convincing win, his 36th in weekly racing history at the speedway.
Irvine has won a minimum of five Stock Car features in three separate years at the speedway and ranks second on the all-time Stock Car wins list in Independence. Ten of his 34 wins have come during the month of August.
When combined with his 16 Hobby Stock wins, his 52 career wins in weekly racing history in Independence tie him with Darin Duffy for fourth all-time.
Benji also started in row four of the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature and realigned in row two following a first lap caution. He took command by the completion of lap one to drive away to victory, his sixth of the season.
With 11 career Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history, Irvine is now tied with Patrick Stansbery, Quinton Miller and Vince Buchholz for fifth on the division's wins list. It was his second career win during the month of August.
His 11 wins in weekly racing history at the speedway place Irvine in a tie with Stansbery, Miller, Dave Myers, Duane Bentley, Kevin Vorwald, Mike Krall and Todd Temeyer for 60th on the all-time wins list in Independence.
Troy Cordes has won a lot of races this season, but perhaps none were more exciting than his win Saturday night. The IMCA Modified points leader started in row six and found himself a straightaway behind race leader Adam Johnson by the time he made his way into second on lap 10 of the 20-lap feature.
Cordes chased down Johnson and raced the low side past Johnson in traffic to take the victory at the line. It was the third win of the season for Cordes, who has now won three Modified features in back-to-back seasons at the speedway. In his career, Cordes has won at least three Modified features in seven different years (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014).
With 34 career Modified wins in weekly racing history in Independence, Cordes is third on the all-time wins list. He is six wins behind Vern Jackson for second. Ten of his 34 wins have come in the month of August.
When including his Hobby Stock win from 1994, Cordes has won 35 times in weekly racing history in Independence. He is alone in ninth on the track's overall wins list.
IMCA Northern SportMod points leader Alex Zwanziger earned his first win of the season in that division's 15-lapper and, much like Cordes, he brought the fans to their feet in the process.
Danny Dvorak led much of the feature until caution slowed action late, which set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Zwanziger, who restarted outside of row two, raced the high line alongside Dvorak on the white flag lap and then took the lead off turn four on the final circuit to score the thrilling win.
Zwanziger, who won a non-track points special last season, visited victory lane for the first time in weekly racing history Saturday night. He became the 29th different SportMod winner in Independence and the seventh to earn that first win during the month of August.
Jerry King raced to his first Independence IMCA Late Model victory. King, who won earlier this season at Farley, raced past the outside of leader Brian Hunter following a lap 15 restart in the 25-lapper.
He pulled away from the pack to record the victory and become the 102nd different Late Model winner since the start of the 1967 season. King last won in Independence on May 4, 2002 in the IMCA Modified division.
Saturday's program was fantastic all the way around - minimal cautions, exciting racing, a great track and the final checkered flag waved right as the clock struck 9:30 p.m.
Next up in Independence is the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models this Wednesday, August 6. Northern SportMods and Hobby Stocks will also be competing for IMCA State and National points. Track points will not be awarded in the draw/redraw special. More information is available at www.independencemotorspeedway.com.
Only three nights of weekly racing remain at the speedway - August 9 and August 16 before season championship night Saturday, August 23. If you haven't been to Independence yet this season, make plans to visit before the season comes to an end!
Tonight, it's back to Benton County Speedway for another night of action on the Vinton quarter-mile. I hope to see you there!
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