Close Finishes at Lee County

 Friday night, grandson Peyton joined me for our first trip of the 2018 season to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The 3/8 mile fairgrounds oval has a solid reputation for offering up a smooth, fast racing surface, however the late winter addition of some new dirt in turns one and two coupled with less than desirable weather following created some less than ideal track conditions for the opening race of the season. However, that was a distant memory tonight, as the track was smooth and tacky, making for super fast action.
  A total of 69 cars checked in to do battle in six classes, with the IMCA stock cars leading the way with 20 entries. Fellow Positively Racing blogger Brian Neal added money to the feature payout in four of the weekly classes as an added bonus.
  The eleven heat races clicked off in good time, followed by a late model meet and greet on the front straightaway, with all drivers signing autographs in front of their cars. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the night for Jeff Guengerich, as he saw his #15R Lynn Richard ride go up in smoke during hot laps.
  The first feature of the night was for the IMCA sport compacts. All but one of eleven made the call. Mike Hornung Jr. had to watch his heat race from the infield when he came to the track without his racing gloves, but he was properly attired for the feature behind the wheel of the #35 normally driver by Jeffrey Delonjay. Jake Dietrich gave up his front row start, lining up at the tail of the field and making only one lap before heading to the pits. Mike Reu jumped to the early lead over Barry Taft, as the front five separated themselves from the rest of the pack. With those five running in close formation, Taft grabbed the lead on lap six, and Kimberly Abbott cleared Brandon Reu and Chuck Fullenkamp for third. The only caution came on lap eight when Ashton Blain lost a wheel in turn four. On the Delaware restart Abbott took over the second spot, with Mike Reu dropping to fourth. Kimberly then set her sights on Taft, but her last lap charge fell just short in a photo finish. It was the third win at LCS in 2018 for Taft. Brandon Reu came home third ahead of Mike Reu and Fullenkamp.
  The crate late models were next to the grid. Ten cars took the green flag for 20 laps. Gunner Frank had checked out in the first heat, but the second ten lapper had been a three car battle, with Jay Johnson leading early before Brandon Savage took over. Then on the final circuit, Jay and Tommy Elston slipped around Savage. The feature redraw found the son-father duo of Gunner and Todd Frank on the front row. Todd had told me during the meet and greet that his car was not quite right, but he was working on it. Well, there was not much wrong with it early on. The Franks stayed close early, with Todd leading. The caution waved on lap six for Brandon Queen, and on the restart Sam Halstead took the third spot from Johnson. Halstead and the younger Frank swapped the runner up spot on laps nine and ten, while Todd opened a commanding lead. But disaster struck with six laps to go, as the #21 dropped fluid on the track and rolled to a stop in turn two. Gunner inherited the top spot, and Halstead chose the inside line for the restart, then powered to the lead as the next lap was scored. He then opened a nice lead as Johnson rallied to challenge for second. Jay grabbed the spot as the white flag waved, and veteran Ron Boyse followed him through to take third. Gunner settled for fourth, with Tommy Elston completing the top five. Aric Becker made his season debut in sixth, ahead of Savage. Darin Weisinger Jr. made his late model debut in eighth, just ahead of Queen. In victory lane, Halstead reiterated what he had told me earlier, that the track was a little too tacky for his liking, but it all worked out in his favor.
  The IMCA sport mod count was down a bit, with a few competitors in both mod classes heading north for the high dollar show in Farley, Iowa. Ten cars took the green, with Austen Becerra on the pole. He took off to a nice lead ahead of Brandon Dale, Brandon Lennox, and Sean Wyatt. Following a caution period with 14 laps to go, Dale and Lennox found their way around the leader. Three circuits later, Lennox crossed the line inches ahead of Dale. As the laps clicked off and slower traffic came into play, Dale again challenged for the lead using the low line around the track. Lennox used the traffic to open some breathing room, and with three laps remaining, Becerra was stalking Dale. As the white flag was displayed, Becerra slid in front of Dale for second, but Brandon returned the favor in turns one and two. At the finish, it was Lennox, Dale, Becerra, and Wyatt.
  Only five hobby stocks signed in, but they staged a three car side by side, nose to tail battle early. With eight laps to go, Brok Hopwood suffered a flat tire, ending his run. It was then a two car duel between Nathan Ballard and Aaron Martin. With four laps left, Ballard, who pulled a nifty slider two laps earlier, also suffered a flat. When the checkers waved, it was Martin in victory lane. Gene Nicklas claimed second.
  It took the IMCA stock cars a while to find their rhythm, with four yellow flags in the first three laps. From there, it was an edge of your seat affair. Jeremy Pundt had been involved in a great battle with Dean Kratzer and David Brandies in his heat race, and he used his pole position to jump to the feature lead. Meanwhile, John Oliver Jr. and Jason Cook ran side by side for second. Pundt and Cook ran the inside line, while Oliver worked a high groove. Just before halfway through the 20 lapper, Oliver charged to second, and Brandies took the inside line to third, while Abe Huls grabbed fourth. At the ten lap mark, Oliver took the lead, Pundt, Brandies, and Huls ran three wide for second, and Cook and Todd Reitzler made it a six car pack. Two laps later Brandies moved to second, on the next circuit, Oliver, Brandies, and Huls ran side by side. One more lap saw Reitzler nose ahead, then it was Huls on top as they ran side by side. Abe ran a low line, while Reitzler searched the middle of the track. With two laps left, Reitzler used a high to low diamond move, but came up short. Huls sounded thrilled but out of breath as he did the winners interview, praising his fellow competitors. Reitzler, Oliver, Pundt, Cook, and Brandies crossed the line in that order.
  It would have been hard to top the stock cars, and the modified finale was a snoozer in comparison. All 12 cars took the green flag, with front row starters Blake Woodruff and Craig Spegal setting the pace early. After a lap three yellow, seventh starting Jeff Waterman charged to third, and one more lap found him in second. On the fifth trip around, the veteran from Quincy,Il. grabbed the lead, quickly opening a sizable advantage. Meanwhile, Spegal had distance between himself and Woodruff, who was doing battle with Dakota Simmons. Bill Roberts began his drive to the front, gaining fourth on lap eleven, then closing on Woodruff. He took over the third spot at the flagstand with a pair of laps remaining, but ran out of time, settling for third behind Waterman and Spegal, and ahead of Woodruff and Simmons.
  We were on the road home at 9:56, another outstanding night of racing in the books.
  Next up for me will be a Mothers Day Sunday night visit to Quincy Raceways, where the UMP Pro Crate late models will make their season debut.
   Thanks for reading!