Race fans filled the grandstands at Independence Motor Speedway on Wednesday night for the Red Dralle Memorial as the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models made its annaul visit to the Buchanan County Fairgrounds. A track record-tying 50 Late Models signed in to compete in the event, which honored Red Dralle, a veteran Late Model driver at the speedway who passed away last October. By the end of the 84-lap feature, a distance recognizing Dralle's first car number, Jeff Aikey took home the $5,004 winner's share in a thrilling event that left fans on the edges of their seats until the checkers waved.
At the drop of the green, pole-sitter Joe Zrostlik paced the field with fellow front row starter Nate Beuseling in tow. Third row starter Colby Springsteen made it a three-car break-out at the front of the pack as he joined the lead pair following the first lap.
The leaders remained unchanged, but within striking distance of each other until Beuseling was able to make his way around Zrostlik just prior to the race's first caution on lap 17. Just prior to the caution, Zrostlik fell back to fourth as Justin Reed, who started in the third row outside of Springsteen, and Ray Guss Jr advanced positions. Reed then began to reel in the leaders when the caution waved.
When racing resumed, Reed motored around the high side of Springsteen and chased Beuseling for a number of laps. The leaders briefly ran in three-wide formation with Reed holding the point before a pair of stoppages on laps 35 and 37. Stephan Kammerer and Aikey, who started in rows four and five, worked into the top five a few laps prior to the pair of cautions and restarted in row three behind the leaders.
On the lap 37 restart, Aikey swept past Kammerer, Springsteen and Beuseling in just a couple of laps to settle into second as the race reached its midway point. Aikey chased down the leader as those two battled for the lead, entering lapped traffic on lap 49. Aikey was able to take advantage of the backmarkers and slipped beneath Reed on the 55th circuit. He never looked back as drove to the exciting win. Reed ran second at the line. Springsteen and Kammerer were able to close late as the leaders raced through traffic, running a close third and fourth, respectively. Beuseling completed the top five.
A trio of drivers advanced 12 positions from thier starting spots, however Bryan Klein earned the best finish among those drivers by moving from 19th to seventh. As a result, he earned a $504 bonus as the race's hard charger. All purse money ended in "4" on the night in recognition of the car number Dralle drove at the end of his career.
Feature (starting positions in parentheses)
1. (10) 77 Jeff Aikey, Waterloo
2. (6) 1ST Justin Reed, Collinsville, IL
3. (5) 38 Colby Springsteen, Morning Sun
4. (8) 77K Stephan Kammerer, Blue Grass
5. (2) 46 Nate Beuseling, Silvis, IL
6. (4) 58 Ray Guss Jr., Milan, IL
7. (19) 25 Bryan Klein, Cedar Rapids, IA
8. (16) 28C Terry Neal, Ely
9. (9) 56 Andy Eckrich, Iowa City
10. (22) 33 Nick Marolf, Moscow (hard charger provisional)
11. (23) 16 Tyler Bruening, Decorah (points provisional)
12. (11) 73 Greg Kastli, Waterloo
13. (24) 42 Tom Darbyshire, Morning Sun (points provisional)
14. (20) 22 Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake
15. (1) 50 Joe Zrostlik, Long Grove
16. (7) 2P Jon Passick, Waterloo
17. (14) 12J T.J. Criss, Oskaloosa
18. (13) 21B Joel Brasch, Dunkerton
19. (12) 145 Dale Hackwell Jr., Washburn
20. (17) 14M Mike Murphy Jr., Colona, IL
21. (3) 16S Dan Shelliam, Hazel Green, WI
22. (18) 07 Matt Ryan, Davenport
23. (21) 7B Mark Burgtorf, Quincy, IL
24. (15) 45 Curt Martin, Independence
First heat (3 qualify, 2 redraw) - 1. Eckrich; 2. Reed; 3. Kastli; 4. Neal; 5. Murphy; 6. G1 Mike Garland, Morrison, IL; 7. 53 Darren Ackerman, Readlyn; 8. 98 Travis Smock, Independence; 9. Sam Halstead, New London; 10. 21 Ryan Duhme, Lamotte.
Second heat - 1. Kammerer; 2. Beuseling; 3. Hackwell; 4. Klein; 5. McKenna; 6. 99 Luke Pestka, Robins; 7. Darbyshire; 8. 40 Joel Callahan, Dubuque; 9. 60 Dean Wagner, Evansdale; 10. 4 Leon Thomsen, Waverly.
Third heat - 1. Shelliam; 2. Aikey; 3. Brasch; 4. Ryan; 5. Bruening; 6. 42S Matt Strassheim, Morning Sun; 7. 76 Jason Hahne, Webster City; 8. 21M Luke Merfeld, Dubuque; 9. 14 Boone McLaughlin, Mediapolis; 10. 88 Drew Johnson, Belle Plaine.
Fourth heat - 1. Zrostlik; 2. Springsteen; 3. Criss; 4. 38S Dain Sires, Cedar Falls; 5. 4D Rick Dralle, Waterloo; 6. 78 Rick Wendling, Hazleton; 7. 15K Justin Kay, Wheatland; 8. 777 Dirk Hamilton, Jesup; 9. 95 Eric Sanders, Coal Valley, IL; 10. 68 Tysus Pattee, Vinton.
Fifth heat - 1. Passick; 2. Guss; 3. Martin; 4. 44 Luke Goedert, Holy Cross; 5. Burgtorf; 6. 99D Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown; 7. 93 Jay Johnson, West Burlington; 8. 3 Kevin Sather, Ankeny; 9. Marolf; 10. 2V Vic Lovejoy, Manilla.
First B feature (top 3 transfer) - 1. Neal; 2. Ryan; 3. McKenna; 4. Goedert; 5. Garland; 6. Strassheim; 7. Dralle; 8. DeFrance; 9. Darbyshire; 10. Merfeld; 11. Sather; 12. Duhme; 13. Kay; 14. Smock; 15. Lovejoy; 16. Sanders; 17. D. Johnson; 18. Wagner.
Second B feature - 1. Murphy; 2. Klein; 3. Burgtorf; 4. J. Johnson; 5. Marolf; 6. Sires; 7. Pestka; 8. McLaughlin; 9. Callahan; 10. Ackerman; 11. Wendling; 12. Pattee; 13. Bruening; 14. Hahne; 15. Halstead; 16. Thomsen; DNS Pattee.
Along with the Late Models, 35 IMCA Stock Cars signed in for the second night of the Great American Stock Car Series. After being rained out at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta on Monday, the the three-day series was shortened to two days with the first night of action taking place on Tuesday at Marshalltown Speedway.
At the start of the 30-lapper at Independence, Justin Temeyer took the lead. He paced the field until an early caution following lap one. On the restart, Sean Johnson shot to the inside of both Temeyer and second-running Damon Murty to take command by lap two until the second of three caution flags waved on lap three.
On the restart, Johnson set sail, leaving Temeyer to battle with pole-sitter Murty for second. Murty quickly worked beneath Temeyer and then attempted to reel in Johnson, who was pulling away from the field on the high groove. As Johnson led, Tuesday night's winner, Donavon Smith, was making his way through traffic from a fourth row start. Smith snuck past Temeyer for third on lap seven, then went to work on cutting into his sizable deficit. Johnson, Murty and Smith ran 1-2-3 until the third and final caution waved on lap 21, just as the leaders entered lapped traffic.
When racing resumed and with a clear track in front of him, Johnson again showed the way despite having defending series champion Murty and current series points leader Smith hot on his heels. He led the remaining nine circuits to score the first series win of his career, earning $1,004 in the process. Murty and Smith followed. By virtue of his first and third place finishes, I believe Smith clinched the series title by a single point over Johnson, who finished fourth at Marshalltown on Tuesday. Trent Murphy, who earned one of the final qualifying spots from a B feature, made an impressive run through the field to finish fourth after starting 21st.
Feature
1. (3) 8R Sean Johnson, Independence
2. (1) 99D Damon Murty, Chelsea
3. (7) 35 Donavon Smith, Lake City
4. (21) 25 Trent Murphy, Jefferson
5. (9) 21X Devin Snellenberger, Pulaski, WI
6. (2) 56T Justin Temeyer, Independence
7. (10) 36 Larry Karcz, Pulaski, WI
8. (14) 3W Jeff Wollam, Marshalltown
9. (11) 19J Jay Schmidt, Tama
10. (8) 57 John Heinz, Green Bay, WI
11. (18) 3 Jarod Weepie, Dunkerton
12. (16) 32 Derek Green, Granada, MN
13. (4) 1330 Justin Jacobsen, Black Creek, Wi
14. (24) 17 Kenny Hansen, Audubon
15. (22) 22K Kevin Rose, Waterloo
16. (20) 27J Jason Cook, Mt. Pleasant
17. (6) 09M Brett Mather, Lamont
18. (19) 24 Eric Brown, Boone
19. (15) 89B Dave Stricker, Waterloo
20. (13) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland
21. (23) 1SW Tony Ritterbush, Dunlap
22. (12) 20M Perry Misner, Garden City, KS
23. (5) 75 Curt Hook, Ackley
24. (17) Steve Meyer, Grundy Center
First heat (top 4 qualify, 3 redraw) - 1. Karcz; 2. Hook; 3. Misner; 4. Leeman; 5. Meyer; 6. 69 Jake Ludeking, Decorah; 7. 10 John Schaefer, La Porte City; 8. Ritterbush; 9. Murphy.
Second heat - 1. Smith; 2. Temeyer; 3. Murty; 4. Wollam; 5. Brown; 6. 321 Dan Feltus, Allison; 7. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 8. 20L Lauren Vis, LeGrand; 9. 18 Tom Schmitt, Independence.
Third heat - 1. Jacobsen; 2. Snellenberger; 3. Heinz; 4. Stricker; 5. 83E Thomas Thompson, Hopkinton; 6. 9E Austin Evens, Independence; 7. 92 Dan Mackenthun, Hamburg, MN; 8. Weepie; 9. 37C Roger Ciesielski, Waterloo.
Fourth heat - 1. Johnson; 2. Schmidt; 3. Mather; 4. Green; 5. J. Cook; 6. Rose; 7. Hansen; 8. 27R Ryan Cook, New London.
First B feature (top 4 transfer) - 1. Meyer; 2. Brown; 3. Murphy; 4. Ritterbush; 5. Schaefer; 6. Ludeking; 7. Galli; 8. Vis; 9. Feltus; DNS Schmitt.
Second B feature - 1. Weepie; 2. J. Cook; 3. Rose; 4. Hansen; 5. Evens; 6. Mackenthun; 7. Thompson; 8. R. Cook; 9. Ciesielski.
The IMCA SportMods were also on-hand as 18 open wheel machines signed in to compete. In that 20-lap feature, Brad Lautenbach made his first-ever visit to the speedway pay off as the Wisconsin driver took the $504 winner's share back to the Badger state.
Racer Hulin, also making his first-ever visit to Independence, took the early lead as Tyler Droste and Ken Kositzky gave chase. Meanwhile, Lautenbach, who did not qualify for the redraw and started the feature in 11th, quickly worked through the field. He sped past Kositzky for third just four laps into the event, then reeled in Droste for second just prior to the midway point on lap nine.
The lone caution of the race came on lap 12, bunching the field for the restart. When racing resumed, Lautenbach took just two laps to dispose of Hulin as he drove to the impressive victory.
SPORTMOD
Feature
1. (11) 21L Brad Lautenbach, New Franken, WI
2. (2) 505 Racer Hulin, Laurel
3. (4) 92 Tyler Droste, Waterloo
4. (3) 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton
5. (12) 25 Tyler Hackett, Algoma, WI
6. (8) 3D Drew Fish, Vinton
7. (7) 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center
8. (14) 96 Lucas Lundry, Maynard
9. (9) 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls
10. (13) Kip Siems, Cedar Falls
11. (5) Ray Lundry, Maynard
12. (18) 86 Rod McDonald, Manchester
13. (1) K0 Ken Kositzky, Cedar Rapids
14. (15) 36 Matt Pittman, Jefferson
15. (17) 66E Cory Evans, Independence
16. (16) 28P Rick Paulson, Tripoli
17. (6) T17 Tom Rawlins, Kellogg
18. (10) 24B Kyle Bentley, Independence
First heat (top 5 redraw) - 1. Dvorak; 2. Rust; 3. Rawlins; 4. Kositzky; 5. Hulin; 6. Lautenbach; 7. Siems; 8. Pittman; 9. Evans.
Second heat - 1. Buhlman; 2. R. Lundry; 3. Fish; 4. Droste; 5. Bentley; 6. Hackett; 7. L. Lundry; 8. Paulson; 9. McDonald.
It was a beautiful night to honor Red Dralle and a number of Late Model veterans were also on-hand to take in the show. Among those in attendance were Late Model veterans Ed Sanger, Gary Crawford, Bill Zwanziger, Bob Hilmer, Gary Henderson, Larry Wasserfort and Tom Fitzpatrick. Combined, those seven drivers alone account for 112 weekly Late Model wins in the 650+ Late Model features in track history. With Sanger and Crawford being in attendance and Curt Martin, Greg Kastli and Rick Wendling competing in the event, all of the top five in career Late Model wins in speedway history were on-hand. Those five drivers account for 254 career wins in weekly Late Model racing alone at Independence.
Special thank you to Rick Dralle and his crew for all the hard work they did to make last night a success. It definitely paid off as the tribute to his father was undoubtedly a showcase event. After a couple days off, my next race will be the seventh weekly points race of the season at Independence this Saturday night. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Stats Blitz! Facts and Figures through June at Independence Motor Speedway
Welcome to the second installment of the 2011 Stats Blitz! Throughout the year, I’ll offer month-by-month updates of all things statistical at Independence Motor Speedway. The statistics included here are through six weeks of weekly racing (the end of June).
There are some all-time statistics included, dating back to 1967. While the track was believed to have opened in 1965, my records date back to the beginning of the 1967 season. All of the “all-time” statistics here include races from only the five divisions that currently compete today. Modifieds started competing in 1983, Hobby Stocks in 1989, Stock Cars in 1993 and SportMods in 2008. The information included for the Late Models dates back to 1967.
As always, special thanks to track photographer Scott Tjabring of Action Track Photography for allowing me to use his photos. Check out his excellent work at www.actiontrackphotos.com
Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Late Model – 21.8 - 29 - 18
Modified – 25.3 - 29 - 20
Stock Car – 15.5 - 18 - 13
SportMod – 19.5 - 24 - 14
Hobby Stock – 21.3 - 23 - 19
TOTAL – 103.5 - 111 - 97
Points
* 162 drivers have earned points so far this season.
* 55 different hometowns are represented on the points sheet.
* Points leaders account for five of the 30 total feature wins through six weeks. Jerry Luloff (Modifieds), Ray Lundry (SportMods) and Vince Buchholz (Hobby Stocks) lead the standings in their respective divisions, but have yet to record a feature win in 2011.
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IN THE HUNT
* 29 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points following all six weeks of the season. Those drivers include:
Late Model (5): Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening, Dirk Hamilton, Jon Passick, Travis Smock;
Modified (6): Mike Burbridge, Troy Cordes, Patrick Flannagan, Adam Johnson, Jerry Luloff, Tony Olson;
Stock Car (6): Norman Chesmore, Austin Evens, Tim Helle, Sean Johnson, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (6): Jim Buhlman, Tyler Droste, Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry, Ray Lundry, Josh Sherbon;
Hobby Stock (6): August Bach, Vince Buchholz, Nathan Christie, Russell Damme Jr., Chris Wiltse, Steve Wiltse.
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Making history…
Late Model: With his win on June 25, Tyler Bruening guaranteed that there will be at least one three-time winner in the Late Models this season. Only four times in the last 45 years has there not been at least one Late Model driver with three feature wins (1975, 1989, 2008 and 2010). Bruening is looking to become the first Late Model driver since Curt Martin in 2004 to earn three consecutive trips to Late Model victory lane. On June 25, he became the 21st Late Model driver since 1967 to earn back-to-back wins. The record of three straight Late Model wins at Independence is shared by four drivers – Ed Sanger, Gary Crawford, Curt Martin and Rick Wendling.
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Stock Car: With his June 18 feature win, Sean Johnson became the first three-time winner in the Stock Car division this season. Every year since the Stock Cars joined the weekly program at Independence (1993), there has been at least one three-time winner. Johnson became the 13th Stock Car driver to earn back-to-back wins in the division by virtue of his victories on June 11 and June 18. The others include Dan Trimble (14 streaks of at least two consecutive wins), Brian Irvine (7), Larry Portis (4), Justin Temeyer (3), Lon Gadow (2), Chris Wessner (2), Tom Schmitt (2), Jarod Weepie (1), Norman Chesmore (1), Darrin Treptow (1), Damon Murty (1), Brad Holtkamp (1).
SportMod: Josh Sherbon is the only SportMod driver to earn at least one feature win in every season the division has competed at Independence (since 2008). Lucas Lundry is the only other driver in the division to record at least one win in three straight seasons (2009-current). Tyler Droste is currently the only driver in the division with multiple wins this season. In its brief history, the SportMods have never had fewer than two multi-race winners at Independence.
Hobby Stock: On June 18, Justin Lichty earned the Hobby Stock win, bringing his current streak to five straight seasons with at least one feature win. That mark ties Chris Luloff as the second longest such streak for the Hobby Stocks in track history. Only Patrick Stansbery (1998-2003) won a feature in each of six consecutive seasons. Quinton Miller, who has four straight seasons with at least one win, will match Lichty and Luloff if he can make it to the winner’s circle in 2011.
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Top-10s
* 111 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season.
* 10 drivers have earned top-10 finishes in all six features:
Late Model (2): Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening;
Modified (1): Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (3): Norman Chesmore, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (3): Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry, Ray Lundry;
Hobby Stock (1): Vince Buchholz.
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Top-5s
* 67 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season.
* No drivers have earned top-5 finishes in all features this season. The drivers with the most top-5 feature finishes in each division are as follows:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening, Jon Passick (4 each);
Modified: Mike Burbridge, Vern Jackson (4 each);
Stock Car: Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie (5 each);
SportMod: Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Ray Lundry, Josh Sherbon (4 each);
Hobby Stock: August Bach, Vince Buchholz, Justin Lichty (4 each).
GOING STREAKING
The longest current top-5 streak in each division includes:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman (3 straight top-5s);
Modified: Vern Jackson (4);
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie (3);
SportMod: Jim Buhlman (4);
Hobby Stock: Jim Ball, Justin Lichty, Chris Luloff (2 each).
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Top-3s
* 49 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season.
* While nobody has finished in the top three every week, exactly one driver in each of the five divisions has earned four top-3 finishes this season. They include Tyler Bruening (Late Models), Vern Jackson (Modifieds); Dave Stricker (Stock Cars), Ray Lundry (SportMods) and August Bach (Hobby Stocks).
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Feature Lap Leaders
* 46 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders include:
Late Model (10 total different lap leaders): Tyler Bruening (45 laps led); Luke Merfeld and Rob Toland (25 each); Dain Sires (14); Darren Ackerman (13);
Modified (10): Vern Jackson (40 laps led), Leon Wilson (16), Mike Burbridge (12), Tony Snyder (10), Jerry King (9);
Stock Car (8): Sean Johnson (54 laps led), Dave Stricker (26), Thomas Thompson (6), Mike Padden (3), Justin Temeyer (2);
SportMod (9): Tyler Droste (23 laps led), Danny Dvorak (18), Lucas Lundry (13), Josh Sherbon (12), Jim Aschenbrenner (9);
Hobby Stock (9): Jamie Whitaker (17 laps led); Justin Stander (16); Rod Grother (15); Scott Pippert (14); Chris Luloff and August Bach (8 each).
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Heat Races
* There have been 44 different winners in 80 heat races.
* Vern Jackson (Modifieds) leads all drivers with five heat wins through six weeks. Those five wins have come in the last five weeks.
* Four-time heat winners include Tyler Bruening (Late Models), Justin Lichty (Hobby Stocks) and Jamie Whitaker (Hobby Stocks)
* Three-time heat winners include Bryan Klein (Late Models), Mike Burbridge (Modifieds); Johnathan Thimmesch (Modifieds), Norman Chesmore (Stock Cars), Sean Johnson (Stock Cars) and Lucas Lundry (SportMods).
* Only four drivers have finished in the top three of all six of their heats this season. They include Late Model drivers Tyler Bruening and Jon Passick, and Hobby Stock drivers August Bach and Jamie Whitaker.
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Efficiency Stats
* A total of 115 races have been run this season.
* A total of 1,216 laps have been completed.
* A total of 142 caution flags have been thrown.
* Of the 42 races this season, 78 have been caution-free.
* 101 of the 142 cautions have occurred during features.
* The Hobby Stock division (20 cautions in 23 total events) has had the best caution per race ratio by averaging .87 cautions for every race.
* The Hobby Stock division (20 cautions in 227 total laps) has had the best caution per race lap ratio by averaging 11.35 laps of green flag racing between caution flags.
* There has been a total of only one caution flag in 17 heat races for the Hobby Stocks this season.
* The Late Model division leads the way by averaging 9.83 completed laps of feature racing before the first yellow flag. The last two Late Model features have been caution-free. Overall, the last 56 laps of Late Model feature racing have been completed without a single caution.
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Since the year 1967...
* 650 Late Model feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 96 different winners. On average, a new Late Model winner visits victory lane every 6.8 events.
* 420 Modified feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 78 different winners. On average, a new Modified winner visits victory lane every 5.4 events.
* 268 Stock Car feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 39 different winners. On average, a new Stock Car winner visits victory lane every 6.9 events.
* 43 SportMod feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 13 different winners. On average, a new SportMod winner visits victory lane every 3.3 events.
* 329 Hobby Stock feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 85 different winners. On average, a new Hobby Stock winner visits victory lane every 3.9 events.
* Overall, in the last 44-plus seasons, there have been 1,710 features completed in the five divisions that currently compete at the speedway.
Qualifying Streaks
* The longest currently active feature qualifying streaks for weekly competition in each division include:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman has qualified for 65 consecutive features. His last miss was June 3, 2006.
Modified: Jerry Luloff has qualified for 203 consecutive features. His last miss was July 5, 1997.
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie has qualified for 142 consecutive features. His last miss was June 9, 2001.
Hobby Stock: Russell Damme Jr. has qualified for 25 consecutive features. His last miss was July 25, 2009.
SportMod: Jim Buhlman has qualified for all 43 features dating back to the first one at the speedway on June 21, 2008.
Rainout Trends
* The month of June was successfully completed without a single rainout. It marked the 74th time in 45 seasons that a calendar month during a single season saw no rainouts. Although the month of June has gone without a single rainout 20 times in the last 45 years, 2011 was the first time since 2004 that June did not have at least one rained out program. The last time any month went without a single rainout was August of 2010.
THE FORECAST
* There are five dates scheduled for weekly racing in the month of July this season (2, 9, 16, 23, 30). Of those, the only date to see a rainout in weekly racing history at Independence was July 9, 1988. All other 24 combined shows scheduled for those dates were successfully completed. The last time the month of July did not have a single rainout was 2008. The last time a July with five Saturdays didn’t have a rainout was 2006.
* Since 1967, there have been 20 months with five Saturdays that were completed without a single rainout at Independence. The most recent was August 2009.
* Since 1967, there have been 171 rainouts in 803 total weekly races scheduled. The month of July has had the best race-to-rainout ratio as only 26 events have been rained out of the 195 scheduled. That means 86.7% of all weekly shows scheduled for the month of July have been successfully completed.
* When breaking down the season into halves where May and June comprise the first half of the season (not including any April dates) and July and August comprise the second half, historically, there are nearly half as many rainouts during the second half of the season than there are in the first half. Entering 2011, there were 102 rainouts (now at 104 – remember, don’t count this April’s rainout for this) during the first half of the season and only 55 rainouts during the months of July and August.
Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* All six Late Model feature winners have come from different starting positions (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10). Coincidentally, Luke Merfeld’s feature win from the pole position on June 11 is the only pole-sitter to finish the night in victory lane. In the first six weeks of each of the previous six seasons, there were 17 feature winners who started on the pole.
* The starting spot to produce the largest number of feature winners is outside row four. That position has produced six winners overall this season. The inside fifth row starting spot has produced five feature winners.
* The starting spots in the first five rows to produce the fewest number of feature winners include the pole position and inside row three (one winner each).
* No feature winners have come from the front row in the Modified, Stock Car and SportMod divisions. Only three front row starters have won this season, twice in Late Models and once in Hobby Stocks.
* Danny Dvorak and Lucas Lundry (SportMods) have finished in the top 10 all six nights, however neither has finished in the same position twice. Dvorak’s finishes, in order so far this season, are 5, 3, 1, 10, 4, 7. Lundry has had finishes of 2, 9, 3, 8, 1, 6. Likewise, in the Modifieds, Jerry Luloff has had six non-duplicated top-10 finishes of 7, 6, 9, 2, 5, 3. In the Late Models? Darren Ackerman has had six top-10 finishes of 4, 9, 1, 2, 6, 5. It may sound insignificant (and I’m sure it is), but it’s very uncommon, especially for four different drivers to have done it through six weeks of the same season.
* Aside from the four three-time feature winners this season (Tyler Bruening, Vern Jackson, Sean Johnson and Tyler Droste), only two other drivers have finished in the same top-10 finishing position on three separate occasions. Ray Lundry (SportMods) has had three third place finishes and Tony Schimmels (Stock Cars) has had three fifth place finishes. No Hobby Stock driver has finished in the same top-10 finishing position more than twice.
* Jamie Whitaker (Hobby Stocks) has the dubious distinction of leading the most feature laps through six weeks without a feature win. He has led 17 laps over the course of two separate features.
* Two drivers share the “honor” of leading the fewest laps this season, but still earning a win. Justin Temeyer (Stock Cars) has led a total of two laps this season - the final two laps of his feature win on June 4. Justin Lichty (Hobby Stocks) led only the final lap during his feature win on June 18, however he also led the very first lap of the opening night Hobby Stock feature on May 7.
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* Vern Jackson (Modifieds) has led at least one lap in each of the last five Modified features. In fact, he has led a minimum of four laps in each of those events. He seems to be most dominant in the middle of feature racing as he has led laps 9-12 in four of the last five weeks this season.
* Sean Johnson (Stock Cars) led all 15 laps in each of the three features he has won. He has held the lead in four of the six features so far this season, 54 of the 94 total Stock Car feature laps. While Johnson has led 45 laps during features he has won, the winners of the other three features in the division (Justin Temeyer and Dave Stricker) led for a combined 15 laps during their victory runs.
* On June 25, Jim Ball (#7B) became the first Hobby Stock driver with a letter in his car number to lead a lap of feature action. In the other divisions’ 24 combined features, a lettered number has led in 16 events.
* No driver has held the points lead following every week of the season. This will guarantee that, for the fifth consecutive year, there will be no wire-to-wire track champion. The last to do it? Brian Kunkle in the B Mod division in the 14-week 2006 season.
* Since the 1989 season, 87 track champions have been crowned among the five divisions that currently compete at Independence. Of those track champions, 49 were leading the points in their respective division at the end of June. The breakdown is as follows:
Late Model: 15 of 22 Late Model track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Curt Martin (1991, 1999, 2006), Greg Hunter (1992), Gary Crawford (1993), Greg Kastli (1994, 2002, 2003), Rick Wendling (1995, 1996), Darren Ackerman (2004, 2007, 2009), Dale Hackwell Jr. (2008) and Tyler Bruening (2010).
Modified: 11 of 22 Modified track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1992), Owen Grube (1993), Scott Hogan (1997, 2003), Jerry Luloff (1999, 2000, 2001), Troy Cordes (2002, 2010) and Darin Duffy (2009).
Stock Car: 10 of 18 Stock Car track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Dan Trimble (1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), Larry Portis (1995), Jarod Weepie (2005, 2007).
Hobby Stock: 12 of 22 Hobby Stock track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Steve Holthaus (1989), Lon Gadow (1990), Forrest Frost (1992), Chris Wessner (1995), Doug Otto (1999), Jeff Roete (2000), Scooter Dulin (2001), Patrick Stansbery (2002, 2005), Brian Irvine (2004), Josh Irvine (2007) and Chris Luloff (2008).
SportMod: Austin Kaplan in 2010 is the only SportMod track champion to lead the points at the end of June the season he won a title. No SportMod driver has led the points at the end of every month during a championship season.
There are some all-time statistics included, dating back to 1967. While the track was believed to have opened in 1965, my records date back to the beginning of the 1967 season. All of the “all-time” statistics here include races from only the five divisions that currently compete today. Modifieds started competing in 1983, Hobby Stocks in 1989, Stock Cars in 1993 and SportMods in 2008. The information included for the Late Models dates back to 1967.
As always, special thanks to track photographer Scott Tjabring of Action Track Photography for allowing me to use his photos. Check out his excellent work at www.actiontrackphotos.com
Car Count
Division - Average - High - Low
Late Model – 21.8 - 29 - 18
Modified – 25.3 - 29 - 20
Stock Car – 15.5 - 18 - 13
SportMod – 19.5 - 24 - 14
Hobby Stock – 21.3 - 23 - 19
TOTAL – 103.5 - 111 - 97
Points
* 162 drivers have earned points so far this season.
* 55 different hometowns are represented on the points sheet.
* Points leaders account for five of the 30 total feature wins through six weeks. Jerry Luloff (Modifieds), Ray Lundry (SportMods) and Vince Buchholz (Hobby Stocks) lead the standings in their respective divisions, but have yet to record a feature win in 2011.
CONSISTENCY THE KEY - IMCA Modified driver Jerry Luloff sits atop the division's standings despite no victories through six weeks of the 2011 season. Although he'd rather pick up a win or two along the way, Luloff is one of four Modified champions in track history to win a title without a win (2006).
IN THE HUNT
* 29 drivers have remained in the top-10 in the points following all six weeks of the season. Those drivers include:
Late Model (5): Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening, Dirk Hamilton, Jon Passick, Travis Smock;
Modified (6): Mike Burbridge, Troy Cordes, Patrick Flannagan, Adam Johnson, Jerry Luloff, Tony Olson;
Stock Car (6): Norman Chesmore, Austin Evens, Tim Helle, Sean Johnson, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (6): Jim Buhlman, Tyler Droste, Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry, Ray Lundry, Josh Sherbon;
Hobby Stock (6): August Bach, Vince Buchholz, Nathan Christie, Russell Damme Jr., Chris Wiltse, Steve Wiltse.
TOP DOG - Dave Stricker has been on top of the IMCA Stock Car standings for five consecutive weeks. That's the longest stretch for any current points leader at the speedway.
Feature Winners
* There have been 20 different feature winners in 30 feature events this season.
* There have been four different winners the last four weeks in both the SportMod and Hobby Stock divisions.Making history…
Late Model: With his win on June 25, Tyler Bruening guaranteed that there will be at least one three-time winner in the Late Models this season. Only four times in the last 45 years has there not been at least one Late Model driver with three feature wins (1975, 1989, 2008 and 2010). Bruening is looking to become the first Late Model driver since Curt Martin in 2004 to earn three consecutive trips to Late Model victory lane. On June 25, he became the 21st Late Model driver since 1967 to earn back-to-back wins. The record of three straight Late Model wins at Independence is shared by four drivers – Ed Sanger, Gary Crawford, Curt Martin and Rick Wendling.
A SHOT AT HISTORY - IMCA Late Model driver Tyler Bruening is looking to become only the fifth driver in 45 years to string together three consecutive feature wins in the division.
Modified: On June 18, Vern Jackson became only the seventh Modified driver in track history to win three consecutive features. He joined Darin Duffy (three 3-race win streaks), Jack Mitchell (2), Troy Cordes (1), Greg Kastli (1), Mark Noble (1) and Duane Van Deest (1) as the only drivers on that list. By virtue of his third win of the season, Jackson guaranteed that there will be at least one three-time Modified winner this season. In the 29 years the Modifieds have competed at Independence, all but three times has there been at least one three-time winner. The only years there wasn’t at least one three-timer included 1993, 1994 and 2008. With his victory on June 25, Darin Duffy’s feature wins in the Modifieds now span just over 18 years. His first win came on June 5, 1993, meaning his first win to his most recent win spans 6,594 days. He is 14 days shy of tying Timm Jensen for the all-time mark at Independence for “win span” in the Mods.
OLD MAN ON THE BLOCK - Darin Duffy has the second longest span between his first and most recent wins in the IMCA Modified division. At 18 years and 20 days between those wins, he is 14 days shy of Timm Jensen on the all-time list for the division. A win on July 9 will tie him with Jensen and any win after that date will give him the outright lead in that caregory.
Stock Car: With his June 18 feature win, Sean Johnson became the first three-time winner in the Stock Car division this season. Every year since the Stock Cars joined the weekly program at Independence (1993), there has been at least one three-time winner. Johnson became the 13th Stock Car driver to earn back-to-back wins in the division by virtue of his victories on June 11 and June 18. The others include Dan Trimble (14 streaks of at least two consecutive wins), Brian Irvine (7), Larry Portis (4), Justin Temeyer (3), Lon Gadow (2), Chris Wessner (2), Tom Schmitt (2), Jarod Weepie (1), Norman Chesmore (1), Darrin Treptow (1), Damon Murty (1), Brad Holtkamp (1).
SportMod: Josh Sherbon is the only SportMod driver to earn at least one feature win in every season the division has competed at Independence (since 2008). Lucas Lundry is the only other driver in the division to record at least one win in three straight seasons (2009-current). Tyler Droste is currently the only driver in the division with multiple wins this season. In its brief history, the SportMods have never had fewer than two multi-race winners at Independence.
Hobby Stock: On June 18, Justin Lichty earned the Hobby Stock win, bringing his current streak to five straight seasons with at least one feature win. That mark ties Chris Luloff as the second longest such streak for the Hobby Stocks in track history. Only Patrick Stansbery (1998-2003) won a feature in each of six consecutive seasons. Quinton Miller, who has four straight seasons with at least one win, will match Lichty and Luloff if he can make it to the winner’s circle in 2011.
DRIVE FOR FIVE - Justin Lichty earned the seventh IMCA Hobby Stock win of his career at Independence on June 18, giving him at least one win in each of the last five seasons. His first win at Independence came exactly 50 weekly race nights ago. He sits 12th on the all-time list at Independence.
Top-10s
* 111 drivers have earned at least one top-10 finish this season.
* 10 drivers have earned top-10 finishes in all six features:
Late Model (2): Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening;
Modified (1): Jerry Luloff;
Stock Car (3): Norman Chesmore, Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie;
SportMod (3): Danny Dvorak, Lucas Lundry, Ray Lundry;
Hobby Stock (1): Vince Buchholz.
COUNT TO TEN - Darren Ackerman has opened the 2011 season with six straight top-10 finishes in the IMCA Late Model division. Dating back to the start of the 2009 season, Ackerman has earned 28 top-10s in 34 nights of racing.
Top-5s
* 67 drivers have earned at least one top-5 finish this season.
* No drivers have earned top-5 finishes in all features this season. The drivers with the most top-5 feature finishes in each division are as follows:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman, Tyler Bruening, Jon Passick (4 each);
Modified: Mike Burbridge, Vern Jackson (4 each);
Stock Car: Dave Stricker, Jarod Weepie (5 each);
SportMod: Jim Buhlman, Danny Dvorak, Ray Lundry, Josh Sherbon (4 each);
Hobby Stock: August Bach, Vince Buchholz, Justin Lichty (4 each).
GOING STREAKING
The longest current top-5 streak in each division includes:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman (3 straight top-5s);
Modified: Vern Jackson (4);
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie (3);
SportMod: Jim Buhlman (4);
Hobby Stock: Jim Ball, Justin Lichty, Chris Luloff (2 each).
GIMME FIVE - IMCA SportMod driver Jim Buhlman has earned four consecutive top-5 finishes, the longest such streak in the division this season.
Top-3s
* 49 drivers have earned at least one top-3 finish this season.
* While nobody has finished in the top three every week, exactly one driver in each of the five divisions has earned four top-3 finishes this season. They include Tyler Bruening (Late Models), Vern Jackson (Modifieds); Dave Stricker (Stock Cars), Ray Lundry (SportMods) and August Bach (Hobby Stocks).
THREE'S NO CROWD - Ray Lundry has recorded four top-3 finishes this season, including back-to-back third place finishes to close out the month of June. His consistency has propelled him to the top of the IMCA SportMod points at Independence for the first time in his career.
Feature Lap Leaders
* 46 drivers have led at least one lap of feature competition.
* Division lap leaders include:
Late Model (10 total different lap leaders): Tyler Bruening (45 laps led); Luke Merfeld and Rob Toland (25 each); Dain Sires (14); Darren Ackerman (13);
Modified (10): Vern Jackson (40 laps led), Leon Wilson (16), Mike Burbridge (12), Tony Snyder (10), Jerry King (9);
Stock Car (8): Sean Johnson (54 laps led), Dave Stricker (26), Thomas Thompson (6), Mike Padden (3), Justin Temeyer (2);
SportMod (9): Tyler Droste (23 laps led), Danny Dvorak (18), Lucas Lundry (13), Josh Sherbon (12), Jim Aschenbrenner (9);
Hobby Stock (9): Jamie Whitaker (17 laps led); Justin Stander (16); Rod Grother (15); Scott Pippert (14); Chris Luloff and August Bach (8 each).
LEADER OF THE PACK - IMCA Stock Car driver Sean Johnson has led 54 laps of feature competition this season, the most of any driver at the speedway. Included in his time out front are three feature wins, all of which he led from green to checkers.
Heat Races
* There have been 44 different winners in 80 heat races.
* Vern Jackson (Modifieds) leads all drivers with five heat wins through six weeks. Those five wins have come in the last five weeks.
* Four-time heat winners include Tyler Bruening (Late Models), Justin Lichty (Hobby Stocks) and Jamie Whitaker (Hobby Stocks)
* Three-time heat winners include Bryan Klein (Late Models), Mike Burbridge (Modifieds); Johnathan Thimmesch (Modifieds), Norman Chesmore (Stock Cars), Sean Johnson (Stock Cars) and Lucas Lundry (SportMods).
* Only four drivers have finished in the top three of all six of their heats this season. They include Late Model drivers Tyler Bruening and Jon Passick, and Hobby Stock drivers August Bach and Jamie Whitaker.
FEELING THE HEAT - Vern Jackson has been dominating in IMCA Modified qualifiers this season. He has won five straight heat races entering July
Efficiency Stats
* A total of 115 races have been run this season.
* A total of 1,216 laps have been completed.
* A total of 142 caution flags have been thrown.
* Of the 42 races this season, 78 have been caution-free.
* 101 of the 142 cautions have occurred during features.
* The Hobby Stock division (20 cautions in 23 total events) has had the best caution per race ratio by averaging .87 cautions for every race.
* The Hobby Stock division (20 cautions in 227 total laps) has had the best caution per race lap ratio by averaging 11.35 laps of green flag racing between caution flags.
* There has been a total of only one caution flag in 17 heat races for the Hobby Stocks this season.
* The Late Model division leads the way by averaging 9.83 completed laps of feature racing before the first yellow flag. The last two Late Model features have been caution-free. Overall, the last 56 laps of Late Model feature racing have been completed without a single caution.
BEST OF CLASS - The IMCA Hobby Stocks may be considered an entry-level division, but they have put on the cleanest and most competitive shows week in and week out in 2011. The caution flag gets a breather when the Hobby Stocks go green as they have been slowed only 20 times all season. Of the 23 total Hobby Stock races this season, 16 have gone caution-free.
Since the year 1967...
* 650 Late Model feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 96 different winners. On average, a new Late Model winner visits victory lane every 6.8 events.
* 420 Modified feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 78 different winners. On average, a new Modified winner visits victory lane every 5.4 events.
* 268 Stock Car feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 39 different winners. On average, a new Stock Car winner visits victory lane every 6.9 events.
* 43 SportMod feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 13 different winners. On average, a new SportMod winner visits victory lane every 3.3 events.
* 329 Hobby Stock feature events have been completed in weekly competition with 85 different winners. On average, a new Hobby Stock winner visits victory lane every 3.9 events.
* Overall, in the last 44-plus seasons, there have been 1,710 features completed in the five divisions that currently compete at the speedway.
Qualifying Streaks
* The longest currently active feature qualifying streaks for weekly competition in each division include:
Late Model: Darren Ackerman has qualified for 65 consecutive features. His last miss was June 3, 2006.
Modified: Jerry Luloff has qualified for 203 consecutive features. His last miss was July 5, 1997.
Stock Car: Jarod Weepie has qualified for 142 consecutive features. His last miss was June 9, 2001.
Hobby Stock: Russell Damme Jr. has qualified for 25 consecutive features. His last miss was July 25, 2009.
SportMod: Jim Buhlman has qualified for all 43 features dating back to the first one at the speedway on June 21, 2008.
Rainout Trends
* The month of June was successfully completed without a single rainout. It marked the 74th time in 45 seasons that a calendar month during a single season saw no rainouts. Although the month of June has gone without a single rainout 20 times in the last 45 years, 2011 was the first time since 2004 that June did not have at least one rained out program. The last time any month went without a single rainout was August of 2010.
THE FORECAST
* There are five dates scheduled for weekly racing in the month of July this season (2, 9, 16, 23, 30). Of those, the only date to see a rainout in weekly racing history at Independence was July 9, 1988. All other 24 combined shows scheduled for those dates were successfully completed. The last time the month of July did not have a single rainout was 2008. The last time a July with five Saturdays didn’t have a rainout was 2006.
* Since 1967, there have been 20 months with five Saturdays that were completed without a single rainout at Independence. The most recent was August 2009.
* Since 1967, there have been 171 rainouts in 803 total weekly races scheduled. The month of July has had the best race-to-rainout ratio as only 26 events have been rained out of the 195 scheduled. That means 86.7% of all weekly shows scheduled for the month of July have been successfully completed.
* When breaking down the season into halves where May and June comprise the first half of the season (not including any April dates) and July and August comprise the second half, historically, there are nearly half as many rainouts during the second half of the season than there are in the first half. Entering 2011, there were 102 rainouts (now at 104 – remember, don’t count this April’s rainout for this) during the first half of the season and only 55 rainouts during the months of July and August.
Stuff Nobody Should Know…
* All six Late Model feature winners have come from different starting positions (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10). Coincidentally, Luke Merfeld’s feature win from the pole position on June 11 is the only pole-sitter to finish the night in victory lane. In the first six weeks of each of the previous six seasons, there were 17 feature winners who started on the pole.
* The starting spot to produce the largest number of feature winners is outside row four. That position has produced six winners overall this season. The inside fifth row starting spot has produced five feature winners.
* The starting spots in the first five rows to produce the fewest number of feature winners include the pole position and inside row three (one winner each).
* No feature winners have come from the front row in the Modified, Stock Car and SportMod divisions. Only three front row starters have won this season, twice in Late Models and once in Hobby Stocks.
* Danny Dvorak and Lucas Lundry (SportMods) have finished in the top 10 all six nights, however neither has finished in the same position twice. Dvorak’s finishes, in order so far this season, are 5, 3, 1, 10, 4, 7. Lundry has had finishes of 2, 9, 3, 8, 1, 6. Likewise, in the Modifieds, Jerry Luloff has had six non-duplicated top-10 finishes of 7, 6, 9, 2, 5, 3. In the Late Models? Darren Ackerman has had six top-10 finishes of 4, 9, 1, 2, 6, 5. It may sound insignificant (and I’m sure it is), but it’s very uncommon, especially for four different drivers to have done it through six weeks of the same season.
* Aside from the four three-time feature winners this season (Tyler Bruening, Vern Jackson, Sean Johnson and Tyler Droste), only two other drivers have finished in the same top-10 finishing position on three separate occasions. Ray Lundry (SportMods) has had three third place finishes and Tony Schimmels (Stock Cars) has had three fifth place finishes. No Hobby Stock driver has finished in the same top-10 finishing position more than twice.
* Jamie Whitaker (Hobby Stocks) has the dubious distinction of leading the most feature laps through six weeks without a feature win. He has led 17 laps over the course of two separate features.
* Two drivers share the “honor” of leading the fewest laps this season, but still earning a win. Justin Temeyer (Stock Cars) has led a total of two laps this season - the final two laps of his feature win on June 4. Justin Lichty (Hobby Stocks) led only the final lap during his feature win on June 18, however he also led the very first lap of the opening night Hobby Stock feature on May 7.
WHEN IT COUNTS - Justin Temeyer has led only two laps of IMCA Stock Car action this year, but he did it when it mattered most. He led the final two laps on June 4 to make the trip to victory lane.
* Vern Jackson (Modifieds) has led at least one lap in each of the last five Modified features. In fact, he has led a minimum of four laps in each of those events. He seems to be most dominant in the middle of feature racing as he has led laps 9-12 in four of the last five weeks this season.
* Sean Johnson (Stock Cars) led all 15 laps in each of the three features he has won. He has held the lead in four of the six features so far this season, 54 of the 94 total Stock Car feature laps. While Johnson has led 45 laps during features he has won, the winners of the other three features in the division (Justin Temeyer and Dave Stricker) led for a combined 15 laps during their victory runs.
* On June 25, Jim Ball (#7B) became the first Hobby Stock driver with a letter in his car number to lead a lap of feature action. In the other divisions’ 24 combined features, a lettered number has led in 16 events.
* No driver has held the points lead following every week of the season. This will guarantee that, for the fifth consecutive year, there will be no wire-to-wire track champion. The last to do it? Brian Kunkle in the B Mod division in the 14-week 2006 season.
* Since the 1989 season, 87 track champions have been crowned among the five divisions that currently compete at Independence. Of those track champions, 49 were leading the points in their respective division at the end of June. The breakdown is as follows:
Late Model: 15 of 22 Late Model track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Curt Martin (1991, 1999, 2006), Greg Hunter (1992), Gary Crawford (1993), Greg Kastli (1994, 2002, 2003), Rick Wendling (1995, 1996), Darren Ackerman (2004, 2007, 2009), Dale Hackwell Jr. (2008) and Tyler Bruening (2010).
Modified: 11 of 22 Modified track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1992), Owen Grube (1993), Scott Hogan (1997, 2003), Jerry Luloff (1999, 2000, 2001), Troy Cordes (2002, 2010) and Darin Duffy (2009).
Stock Car: 10 of 18 Stock Car track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Dan Trimble (1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), Larry Portis (1995), Jarod Weepie (2005, 2007).
Hobby Stock: 12 of 22 Hobby Stock track champions held the points lead at the end of June, including Steve Holthaus (1989), Lon Gadow (1990), Forrest Frost (1992), Chris Wessner (1995), Doug Otto (1999), Jeff Roete (2000), Scooter Dulin (2001), Patrick Stansbery (2002, 2005), Brian Irvine (2004), Josh Irvine (2007) and Chris Luloff (2008).
SportMod: Austin Kaplan in 2010 is the only SportMod track champion to lead the points at the end of June the season he won a title. No SportMod driver has led the points at the end of every month during a championship season.
That will take care of this month. Check back at the end of July for the third Blitz of the summer! Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Hogan, Dvorak, Pippert extend points leads at Benton County Speedway
A trio of points leaders added a little more cushion atop the standings on another exciting night at Benton County Speedway. IMCA Modified driver Scott Hogan and IMCA SportMod driver Danny Dvorak, along with Scott Pippert in the IMCA Hobby Stocks, all extended their leads by winning their respective features.
Track announcer Bucky Doren spent the weekend in Des Moines at his son's baseball tournament so he asked me to fill in for him Sunday night. While I've called a few races in Vinton over the years, this was my first time behind the mic there for a weekly show. It was a lot of fun, but that did take away from my note taking, so the following recap may lack just a bit in the accuracy (and substance?) department.
Outside front row starter Jerry Dedrick was looking for his second career win in the IMCA Modified feature just one week after his first trip to the winner's circle. He took command at the drop of the green and paced the field for the first two laps until the caution flag waved. A pileup that collected Scott Hogan and Brandon Banks forced those two to the tail for the following restart.
When racing resumed, Dedrick again took charge running the low groove of the speedway. That's when the deja vu settled in... Mike Burbridge and Patrick Flannagan pursued the leader by also running the low groove of the speedway. In nose-to-tail formation, those three drivers led the parade in the same fashion as they did one week ago.
Flannagan eventually worked beneath Burbridge to steal second, just a lap before Burbridge slowed and came to a stop with mechanical problems a short time later. By this time, Hogan worked back through traffic and found himself in fifth for the ensuing restart.
On the restart, Hogan motored around Ronn Lauritzen and Chris Snyder, then challenged Flannagan for second. He made the pass for second and then sped past Dedrick with only a few laps to go. Hogan then pulled away to score the victory, his fourth of the year. Dedrick, Joe Docekal and Lauritzen completed the top four. Banks made a great run through the field to come home fifth.
1. 33D Scott Hogan
2. 5 Jerry Dedrick
3. 12D Joe Docekal
4. 10K Ronn Lauritzen
5. 22 Brandon Banks
6. 25 Shawn Fisher
7. 32 Chris Snyder
8. 7 Todd Jensen
9. F7 Patrick Flannagan
10. 8 Tony Snyder
Danny Dvorak scored his sixth win of the season in the IMCA SportMod division after taking command from leader Racer Hullin midway through the 15-lapper.
At the drop of the green, Hullin went to work on front row starters Brian Anderson and Rick Paulson to take the early advantage. As Hullin led, Dvorak and Drew Fish worked through the field from midpack starts. Dvorak worked his way into contention on the low side as Fish ran the high groove. Around the midway point of the event, Dvorak worked around Hullin, then sped away to victory. Fish finished a close third.
1. 3R Danny Dvorak
2. 505 Racer Hullin
3. 3D Drew Fish
4. K0 Ken Kositzky
5. 00 Jim Buhlman
6. 80V Duane Van Deest
7. J2 Dave Schulze
8. K3 Kyle Olson
9. 22H Curt Hilmer
10. 3B Brian Anderson
From a fifth row starting spot, IMCA Hobby Stock points leader Scott Pippert made quick work of the field and broke into the top four just prior to a caution following the completion of the first lap. Only a couple of laps after the restart, he powered beneath Justin Wacha, Adam Streeter and Cale Peterson to assume command. Pippert never looked back as he drove to the dominating win.
1. 47 Scott Pippert
2. 2P Cale Peterson
3. 45 Justin Wacha
4. 25 Doug Laughridge
5. 67 Justin Stander
6. 55 Vince Buchholz
7. 09 Brad Forbes
8. 07 Jacob Keiser
9. 4X Gary Pfantz
10. 12J Jeremy Floyd
Brett Mather held the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. He paced the field until the caution flag waved just a couple of laps into the event. By that time, fourth row starter Justin Temeyer worked into the second position. Temeyer quickly challenged when racing resumed as he put his #56T to the inside of Mather's machine. Temeyer came away with the lead on the following lap as he drove away from the field to score the win. Damon Murty followed Temeyer to the front, but couldn't reel in the leader as he finished second.
1. 56T Justin Temeyer
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 7H Phil Holtz
4. 09M Brett Mather
5. 6X Bob Ahrendsen
6. 8 Curtis Roster
7. 77 Andy Bryant
8. 3T Scooter Dulin
9. 46 Jeremy LaPlant
10. 76 Mike Galli
Bill Whalen Jr. took advantage of his outside front row starting spot to drive to his first win of the season in the 12-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature. Whalen extended his advantage to over half of a straightaway and maintained that lead throughout the event while Merv Chandler and Nathan Chandler battled for second behind him. Merv eventually edged Nathan for second in that race-long tussle.
1. 00W Bill Whalen Jr.
2. 1 Merv Chandler
3. 22 Nathan Chandler
4. 2ND Brad Chandler
5. 8M Jacob McVay
6. 35 Brett Vanous
7. 51 Bryce Bailey
8. 07X Tyler Whalen
9. 22T Travis Losenicky
10. 57K Ross Kitner
It was another excellent night of racing on the smooth 1/4-mile. There was plenty of two, three and sometimes four-wide racing throughout the night that offered fans a great show. Thanks again to Bucky Doren for asking me to fill in tonight and to Mick Trier and Dana Benning for being okay with his evening's substitute!
Up next for me is the Deery Brothers Summers Series Red Dralle Memorial this Wednesday night at Independence Motor Speedway. Along with the $5,004-to-win 84-lap feature for the Late Models, the three-day Great American Stock Car Series will wrap up in Independence that evening for a $1,000 winner's share. Also competing will be IMCA SportMods for $500-to-win. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7.
Prior to Wednesday's big race, I'll be compiling another Stats Blitz for Independence Motor Speedway. I hope to have that posted sometime tomorrow night. In addition, if you're friends with Independence Motor Speedway on facebook, I've made it a routine to post feature win milestones every Monday from that week in track history. Tomorrow will be no different as a whopping 50 milestone wins occurred this week in Independence Motor Speedway history. All 50 of those will be posted sometime Monday night.
That's all for tonight! I hope to see you Wednesday night at the Red Dralle Memorial!
Track announcer Bucky Doren spent the weekend in Des Moines at his son's baseball tournament so he asked me to fill in for him Sunday night. While I've called a few races in Vinton over the years, this was my first time behind the mic there for a weekly show. It was a lot of fun, but that did take away from my note taking, so the following recap may lack just a bit in the accuracy (and substance?) department.
Outside front row starter Jerry Dedrick was looking for his second career win in the IMCA Modified feature just one week after his first trip to the winner's circle. He took command at the drop of the green and paced the field for the first two laps until the caution flag waved. A pileup that collected Scott Hogan and Brandon Banks forced those two to the tail for the following restart.
When racing resumed, Dedrick again took charge running the low groove of the speedway. That's when the deja vu settled in... Mike Burbridge and Patrick Flannagan pursued the leader by also running the low groove of the speedway. In nose-to-tail formation, those three drivers led the parade in the same fashion as they did one week ago.
Flannagan eventually worked beneath Burbridge to steal second, just a lap before Burbridge slowed and came to a stop with mechanical problems a short time later. By this time, Hogan worked back through traffic and found himself in fifth for the ensuing restart.
On the restart, Hogan motored around Ronn Lauritzen and Chris Snyder, then challenged Flannagan for second. He made the pass for second and then sped past Dedrick with only a few laps to go. Hogan then pulled away to score the victory, his fourth of the year. Dedrick, Joe Docekal and Lauritzen completed the top four. Banks made a great run through the field to come home fifth.
1. 33D Scott Hogan
2. 5 Jerry Dedrick
3. 12D Joe Docekal
4. 10K Ronn Lauritzen
5. 22 Brandon Banks
6. 25 Shawn Fisher
7. 32 Chris Snyder
8. 7 Todd Jensen
9. F7 Patrick Flannagan
10. 8 Tony Snyder
Danny Dvorak scored his sixth win of the season in the IMCA SportMod division after taking command from leader Racer Hullin midway through the 15-lapper.
At the drop of the green, Hullin went to work on front row starters Brian Anderson and Rick Paulson to take the early advantage. As Hullin led, Dvorak and Drew Fish worked through the field from midpack starts. Dvorak worked his way into contention on the low side as Fish ran the high groove. Around the midway point of the event, Dvorak worked around Hullin, then sped away to victory. Fish finished a close third.
1. 3R Danny Dvorak
2. 505 Racer Hullin
3. 3D Drew Fish
4. K0 Ken Kositzky
5. 00 Jim Buhlman
6. 80V Duane Van Deest
7. J2 Dave Schulze
8. K3 Kyle Olson
9. 22H Curt Hilmer
10. 3B Brian Anderson
From a fifth row starting spot, IMCA Hobby Stock points leader Scott Pippert made quick work of the field and broke into the top four just prior to a caution following the completion of the first lap. Only a couple of laps after the restart, he powered beneath Justin Wacha, Adam Streeter and Cale Peterson to assume command. Pippert never looked back as he drove to the dominating win.
1. 47 Scott Pippert
2. 2P Cale Peterson
3. 45 Justin Wacha
4. 25 Doug Laughridge
5. 67 Justin Stander
6. 55 Vince Buchholz
7. 09 Brad Forbes
8. 07 Jacob Keiser
9. 4X Gary Pfantz
10. 12J Jeremy Floyd
Brett Mather held the early lead in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. He paced the field until the caution flag waved just a couple of laps into the event. By that time, fourth row starter Justin Temeyer worked into the second position. Temeyer quickly challenged when racing resumed as he put his #56T to the inside of Mather's machine. Temeyer came away with the lead on the following lap as he drove away from the field to score the win. Damon Murty followed Temeyer to the front, but couldn't reel in the leader as he finished second.
1. 56T Justin Temeyer
2. 99D Damon Murty
3. 7H Phil Holtz
4. 09M Brett Mather
5. 6X Bob Ahrendsen
6. 8 Curtis Roster
7. 77 Andy Bryant
8. 3T Scooter Dulin
9. 46 Jeremy LaPlant
10. 76 Mike Galli
Bill Whalen Jr. took advantage of his outside front row starting spot to drive to his first win of the season in the 12-lap IMCA Sport Compact feature. Whalen extended his advantage to over half of a straightaway and maintained that lead throughout the event while Merv Chandler and Nathan Chandler battled for second behind him. Merv eventually edged Nathan for second in that race-long tussle.
1. 00W Bill Whalen Jr.
2. 1 Merv Chandler
3. 22 Nathan Chandler
4. 2ND Brad Chandler
5. 8M Jacob McVay
6. 35 Brett Vanous
7. 51 Bryce Bailey
8. 07X Tyler Whalen
9. 22T Travis Losenicky
10. 57K Ross Kitner
It was another excellent night of racing on the smooth 1/4-mile. There was plenty of two, three and sometimes four-wide racing throughout the night that offered fans a great show. Thanks again to Bucky Doren for asking me to fill in tonight and to Mick Trier and Dana Benning for being okay with his evening's substitute!
Up next for me is the Deery Brothers Summers Series Red Dralle Memorial this Wednesday night at Independence Motor Speedway. Along with the $5,004-to-win 84-lap feature for the Late Models, the three-day Great American Stock Car Series will wrap up in Independence that evening for a $1,000 winner's share. Also competing will be IMCA SportMods for $500-to-win. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7.
Prior to Wednesday's big race, I'll be compiling another Stats Blitz for Independence Motor Speedway. I hope to have that posted sometime tomorrow night. In addition, if you're friends with Independence Motor Speedway on facebook, I've made it a routine to post feature win milestones every Monday from that week in track history. Tomorrow will be no different as a whopping 50 milestone wins occurred this week in Independence Motor Speedway history. All 50 of those will be posted sometime Monday night.
That's all for tonight! I hope to see you Wednesday night at the Red Dralle Memorial!
Bruening tops stellar Late Model field at Independence Motor Speedway
On a night when rain forced the cancellation of a number of racing programs in eastern Iowa, only a few pesky showers and occasional sprinkles fell at Independence Motor Speedway. This allowed for a stellar field of Late Models to converge on the 3/8-mile oval in preparation for the Deery Brothers Summer Series Red Dralle Memorial this Wednesday. Including seven new entries on Saturday, an outstanding field of 29 Late Models were on-hand to compete.
After the field was pared down to 24 for the feature, outside front row starter and division rookie Dain Sires took command at the drop of the green for the 25-lapper. Sires set a torrid pace as he put a few car-lengths on second-running Jon Passick. Passick, who started in the fourth row, made his way into second after just one lap and attempted to reel in the leader.
As Passick pursued Sires, Tyler Bruening was making his way through traffic from a fifth row start. Running the low groove, Bruening powered into third after three laps and started to chase down Bruening. That pair battled for the runner-up spot as, together, they closed in on Sires. Bruening made his way beneath Passick for second on the 11th circuit, then slipped beneath Sires for the lead four laps later.
While Bruening made his way to the front, Ray Guss Jr. was making noise of his own as he raced through the field from his sixth row starting spot. He made his way past Dale Hackwell Jr. at the same time Bruening took the lead, then worked into a battle with Passick for third. While Bruening was trying to run away in lapped traffic with a handful of laps to go, Guss battled Passick and Sires for position.
Guss made his way past Sires for third as Bruening navigated through the backmarkers with six laps to go, then made his bid for second with only two laps remaining. Bruening's advantage, however, was too much to overcome as he drove to the win, his second straight and third of the season. Guss ran second ahead of Passick, Sires and Darren Ackerman in a feature that saw no cautions for the second straight week, taking just over seven minutes to complete. It was Bruening's 10th career win at Independence.
Vern Jackson was looking to become the first IMCA Modified driver at Independence in 27 years to win four consecutive features. Midway through the 20-lapper it appeared that victory for him was all but a certainty.
After a number of cautions prior to the completion of the first lap, Jackson, who started inside of row six, quickly made a charge to the front. He settled into third after only three laps, then made his way around Mike Burbridge for second just prior to a lap seven caution.
Jerry King, who held the lead throughout those first seven laps, took charge when racing resumed. Jackson took just two laps to make his way to the front and quickly pulled away from the field. As Jackson led, Darin Duffy was running the high groove and into contention. He worked into second on the 12th lap, then quickly went to work on chasing down the leader.
With just six laps to go, Duffy swept to the outside of Jackson to take command. He then pulled away from the field to score the win by nearly a staightaway advantage. Jackson ran second ahead of points leader Jerry Luloff, King and Burbridge. It was Duffy's first win of the season, but the 37th of his career at Independence in the Modifieds. He is now back to within a single win of Jackson atop the all-time list.
Just a week after winning the IMCA Hobby Stock feature in a three-wide photo finish at the line, Justin Lichty came up just short of his second consecutive thrilling win at the speedway. Jim Ball set the early pace as he worked the high side into the lead on the first lap after starting in the second row. Ball held the point while Jamie Whitaker worked through the field from the fourth row. He challenged Ball for the lead following a lap three caution, then took over the top spot three laps later.
Meanwhile, August Bach was charging on the low side of the speedway and into the top three just prior to the midway point of the 15-lapper. Bach snuck past Lichty on lap eight, then worked his way below Whitaker for the lead on lap 12. A short time later, Whitaker spun to the low side of turns three and four to bring out the final caution.
On the restart, Lichty remained glued to Bach's rear bumper as that pair ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side over the final three laps. Lichty motored to the outside of the leader exiting turn four on the final lap, but Bach proved to be too strong down low as he held on to win by mere inches. Chris Luloff, Steve Wiltse and Ball completed the top five.
Tyler Droste took the lead from Matt McCahen on the third lap of the 15-lap IMCA SportMod main event. Droste held the top spot while Josh Sherbon made his way into contention during a pair of mid-race cautions. Sherbon, running third following a lap seven caution, swept around Ray Lundry and Droste to take charge just one lap later.
After a final caution slowed the event on lap 11, Droste worked the low groove to stay close to Sherbon when racing resumed. On the final lap, Droste powered to the low side of Sherbon in turn three and slid in front of the leader as they exited turn four. Droste shut the door to drive to his third win of the season and fourth of his career. Sherbon, Lundry, Jim Buhlman and Rod McDonald rounded out the top five.
Sean Johnson took the lead on the third lap of the IMCA Stock Car feature as points leaer Dave Stricker was making noise from a mid-pack start. Stricker made his way into second on the sixth lap of the 15-lapper, then pressured Johnson for the lead. After contact between the two on lap 12, Stricker found himself out front with Johnson slowing to a crawl and headed toward the pits. Stricker went on to extend his points lead by winning his second feature of the year. Norman Chesmore, Jarod Weepie, Justin Temeyer and Tony Schimmels completed the top five. Johnson, who made quick repairs to his machine, rejoined the field following a late restart to salvage an eighth place finish.
Despite the gloomy morning and afternoon, it turned out to be a beautiful night at the speedway and those in attendance were provided their money's worth. Aside from newcomer Guss, Late Model drivers Nate Bueseling, Stephan Kammerer, Luke Goedert, Luke Pestka and Justin Kay also made their first appearances of the season. Iowa City's Todd Davis also made his first visit of the year, wheeling Rick Dralle's backup machine. In the Stock Cars, Perry Misner made the long haul from Garden City, Kansas, to compete as he plans to run this week's three-day Great American Stock Car Series that concludes at Independence during this Wednesday's Deery Brothers Summer Series event.
With the Deery Series coming to town on Wednesday, Saturday night was a great primer for the 84-lap Red Dralle Memorial Late Model headliner. Prior to that, however, I'm heading back to Benton County Speedway in Vinton tonight. Track announcer Bucky Doren is enjoying some family time this weekend and he asked me to fill in for him. I'm looking forward to calling the races at my hometown track. Hope to see you there!
After the field was pared down to 24 for the feature, outside front row starter and division rookie Dain Sires took command at the drop of the green for the 25-lapper. Sires set a torrid pace as he put a few car-lengths on second-running Jon Passick. Passick, who started in the fourth row, made his way into second after just one lap and attempted to reel in the leader.
As Passick pursued Sires, Tyler Bruening was making his way through traffic from a fifth row start. Running the low groove, Bruening powered into third after three laps and started to chase down Bruening. That pair battled for the runner-up spot as, together, they closed in on Sires. Bruening made his way beneath Passick for second on the 11th circuit, then slipped beneath Sires for the lead four laps later.
While Bruening made his way to the front, Ray Guss Jr. was making noise of his own as he raced through the field from his sixth row starting spot. He made his way past Dale Hackwell Jr. at the same time Bruening took the lead, then worked into a battle with Passick for third. While Bruening was trying to run away in lapped traffic with a handful of laps to go, Guss battled Passick and Sires for position.
Guss made his way past Sires for third as Bruening navigated through the backmarkers with six laps to go, then made his bid for second with only two laps remaining. Bruening's advantage, however, was too much to overcome as he drove to the win, his second straight and third of the season. Guss ran second ahead of Passick, Sires and Darren Ackerman in a feature that saw no cautions for the second straight week, taking just over seven minutes to complete. It was Bruening's 10th career win at Independence.
Vern Jackson was looking to become the first IMCA Modified driver at Independence in 27 years to win four consecutive features. Midway through the 20-lapper it appeared that victory for him was all but a certainty.
After a number of cautions prior to the completion of the first lap, Jackson, who started inside of row six, quickly made a charge to the front. He settled into third after only three laps, then made his way around Mike Burbridge for second just prior to a lap seven caution.
Jerry King, who held the lead throughout those first seven laps, took charge when racing resumed. Jackson took just two laps to make his way to the front and quickly pulled away from the field. As Jackson led, Darin Duffy was running the high groove and into contention. He worked into second on the 12th lap, then quickly went to work on chasing down the leader.
With just six laps to go, Duffy swept to the outside of Jackson to take command. He then pulled away from the field to score the win by nearly a staightaway advantage. Jackson ran second ahead of points leader Jerry Luloff, King and Burbridge. It was Duffy's first win of the season, but the 37th of his career at Independence in the Modifieds. He is now back to within a single win of Jackson atop the all-time list.
Just a week after winning the IMCA Hobby Stock feature in a three-wide photo finish at the line, Justin Lichty came up just short of his second consecutive thrilling win at the speedway. Jim Ball set the early pace as he worked the high side into the lead on the first lap after starting in the second row. Ball held the point while Jamie Whitaker worked through the field from the fourth row. He challenged Ball for the lead following a lap three caution, then took over the top spot three laps later.
Meanwhile, August Bach was charging on the low side of the speedway and into the top three just prior to the midway point of the 15-lapper. Bach snuck past Lichty on lap eight, then worked his way below Whitaker for the lead on lap 12. A short time later, Whitaker spun to the low side of turns three and four to bring out the final caution.
On the restart, Lichty remained glued to Bach's rear bumper as that pair ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side over the final three laps. Lichty motored to the outside of the leader exiting turn four on the final lap, but Bach proved to be too strong down low as he held on to win by mere inches. Chris Luloff, Steve Wiltse and Ball completed the top five.
Tyler Droste took the lead from Matt McCahen on the third lap of the 15-lap IMCA SportMod main event. Droste held the top spot while Josh Sherbon made his way into contention during a pair of mid-race cautions. Sherbon, running third following a lap seven caution, swept around Ray Lundry and Droste to take charge just one lap later.
After a final caution slowed the event on lap 11, Droste worked the low groove to stay close to Sherbon when racing resumed. On the final lap, Droste powered to the low side of Sherbon in turn three and slid in front of the leader as they exited turn four. Droste shut the door to drive to his third win of the season and fourth of his career. Sherbon, Lundry, Jim Buhlman and Rod McDonald rounded out the top five.
Sean Johnson took the lead on the third lap of the IMCA Stock Car feature as points leaer Dave Stricker was making noise from a mid-pack start. Stricker made his way into second on the sixth lap of the 15-lapper, then pressured Johnson for the lead. After contact between the two on lap 12, Stricker found himself out front with Johnson slowing to a crawl and headed toward the pits. Stricker went on to extend his points lead by winning his second feature of the year. Norman Chesmore, Jarod Weepie, Justin Temeyer and Tony Schimmels completed the top five. Johnson, who made quick repairs to his machine, rejoined the field following a late restart to salvage an eighth place finish.
Despite the gloomy morning and afternoon, it turned out to be a beautiful night at the speedway and those in attendance were provided their money's worth. Aside from newcomer Guss, Late Model drivers Nate Bueseling, Stephan Kammerer, Luke Goedert, Luke Pestka and Justin Kay also made their first appearances of the season. Iowa City's Todd Davis also made his first visit of the year, wheeling Rick Dralle's backup machine. In the Stock Cars, Perry Misner made the long haul from Garden City, Kansas, to compete as he plans to run this week's three-day Great American Stock Car Series that concludes at Independence during this Wednesday's Deery Brothers Summer Series event.
With the Deery Series coming to town on Wednesday, Saturday night was a great primer for the 84-lap Red Dralle Memorial Late Model headliner. Prior to that, however, I'm heading back to Benton County Speedway in Vinton tonight. Track announcer Bucky Doren is enjoying some family time this weekend and he asked me to fill in for him. I'm looking forward to calling the races at my hometown track. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Highway 3 Raceway fair races rained out, but busy Butler County Fair schedule awaits
After it appeared that Highway 3 Raceway would dodge the weather Tuesday night when a dark storm cloud slid past the northwest side of Allison, a smaller, but persistent cell washed out the racing program. The special event, which was scheduled to kick off the 2011 Butler County Fair and included USRA Stock Cars, B Mods and Hobby Stocks, along with 4-Cylinder Hornets, was called off just following hot laps as the heavy rains began to fall. The event is expected to be rescheduled, however a rain date has yet to be announced. Check www.highway3raceway.com in the coming days for the make-up date.
Although the Tuesday night portion of the fair schedule was canceled, a loaded schedule is on tap for fairgoers for the remainder of the week and through the weekend. Included is a packed grandstand schedule that resumes tomorrow night at 7 p.m. with a Demolition Derby. On Thursday, two days of music kicks off with Richie Lee and the Fabulous 50s performing at 7 p.m. Country group Gloriana headlines Friday's schedule at 7:30 p.m. following the opening act of Katie Armiger. A pair of grandstand events highlights the Saturday portion of the fair schedule as Chuckwagon races will be held at 1 p.m. with Scrambles set for 7 p.m. Figure 8 races close out grandstand entertainment for this year's fair at 6 p.m. Sunday night. For a detailed list of fair events, be sure to check out www.butlercountyfair.com.
Although I originally planned to head north to Cresco Speedway on Thursday night for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, I don't believe I'll be able to make it to that event. If you haven't been to Cresco and are looking for some great racing, make the trip to the Howard County Fairgrounds on Thursday night as Tom Barnes and his crew always put on a great show!
Although the Tuesday night portion of the fair schedule was canceled, a loaded schedule is on tap for fairgoers for the remainder of the week and through the weekend. Included is a packed grandstand schedule that resumes tomorrow night at 7 p.m. with a Demolition Derby. On Thursday, two days of music kicks off with Richie Lee and the Fabulous 50s performing at 7 p.m. Country group Gloriana headlines Friday's schedule at 7:30 p.m. following the opening act of Katie Armiger. A pair of grandstand events highlights the Saturday portion of the fair schedule as Chuckwagon races will be held at 1 p.m. with Scrambles set for 7 p.m. Figure 8 races close out grandstand entertainment for this year's fair at 6 p.m. Sunday night. For a detailed list of fair events, be sure to check out www.butlercountyfair.com.
Although I originally planned to head north to Cresco Speedway on Thursday night for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, I don't believe I'll be able to make it to that event. If you haven't been to Cresco and are looking for some great racing, make the trip to the Howard County Fairgrounds on Thursday night as Tom Barnes and his crew always put on a great show!
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