Lee County Waits Out The Rain

 Stubborn light showers made their way through the Midwest on Friday, playing havoc with several race programs. Light sprinkles greeted me as I made my way to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, but it was not until intermission that the rain began to come down harder. Following the candy dash the track became a shiny, glazed surface, but the officials with help from the drivers kept wheels on the track, and soon the rain stopped and we went feature racing. The track had been smooth and fast before the rain, now it was simply a hammer down 3/8 mile speed bowl.
  The IMCA sport compacts ran first, with all but one of the 16 cars signed in taking the green flag for 14 laps. Josh Barnes jumped from row three to lead the opening lap, quickly opening a big lead over David Prim and Brandon Reu. On the second circuit, Barry Taft powered to the runner up spot from his row four start. One lap later, Barnes had a nearly straightaway lead. Soon Mike Reu entered the fray, and four cars ran side by side and nose to tail for second through fifth positions. Barnes seemed to be slowing each lap off of turn two, and on lap ten his car died, with what he seemed to think was an ignition problem. Prim then took over the lead as the others raced side by side behind him. Lap twelve saw Taft take over the top spot, with Brandon Reu heading to the infield. Taft then built a sizable lead over the final two laps, picking up another win. Mike Reu won the battle for second over Prim, while Kimberly Abbott slipped past Allyssa Steele in her brand new ride to complete the top five.
   The vintage cars were on hand on this night, and they ran in an open wheel division and a " fender car " class. For the heat races, there were nine and five respectively, with one midget car joining the coupes. I don't know if several headed for home during the rain, but only four open wheel and two coupes ran their features. I apologize for not having more info, I believe the open wheel winner may have been Andy Sims, but only " car #47 " is what was passed along in the coupe class.
  A dozen IMCA sport mods took the feature green. Lap one saw fourth starting Daniel Fellows and sixth starting Austen Becerra make contact while going for the lead in turn four. Fellows won the battle, with Becerra detouring through the infield, falling to seventh. Fellows open a nice lead, but the caution waved on lap three. On the Delaware restart, Ron Kibbe jumped to second. Again Fellows stretched his lead, while Becerra rejoined the top five on lap five, moving to fourth one lap later. With four of the 18 laps remaining, Becerra appeared to slow, but at the same time the yellow flew for a pair of spinning cars on the front stretch. Becerra regained his mojo when racing resumed, but it was now Brandon Dale, sporting a new look, taking over second. However, there was no catching Fellows, as the youngster cruised to his first win at LCS in his sport mod #11. Dale came home second, Becerra overtook Kibbe for third, and Jeffrey Delonjay stayed in the hunt all race long, coming home fifth.
  A season high 13 crate late models checked in, but Todd Frank saw his night end in hot laps in a puff of smoke. Jef Guengerich had suffered a similar fate the week before, but now he charged from row three to lead lap one. Sixth starting Jay Johnson powered to second on the next lap, with the caution waving on lap four, when Brandon Queen and Aric Becker got together, with Becker coming to a stop. On the restart, Gunner Frank, who started in row two, rebounded to take second, and began to pressure Guengerich. On lap nine, Becker apparently broke a strut coming through turns three and four while running seventh, slamming the turn four guardrail, ending his night. Back under green, the front cars jammed up a bit, and seventh starting Tommy Elston was able to power to third. The top three then separated themselves a bit, Guengerich running a middle line, Frank diving down in each corner, and Elston looking for an opening. With five of twenty laps remaining, Frank was able to slide by Guengerich, with the lap scored just as the caution flag waved. Elston took second on the restart, with another pair of yellows in the closing laps, one for a tire, and one for a spin by Dayton Lynch. But Frank was able to hold on, scoring his first Lee County win after picking up I believe his first ever feature Sunday at Quincy Raceways. Elston took runnerup honors ahead of Johnson, Sam Halstead, and Guengerich, who faded in the closing laps. Vance Wilson ran sixth, with Queen and Lynch following.
  The IMCA stock cars turned out a disappointing count of eight cars, but what a race! Heat winner Dustin Griffith held the top spot over a tight six pack, with Jason Cook grabbing second on lap six. He than ran side by side with Griffith, finally taking command on lap eight. It was now John Oliver Jr. taking up the chase as the front duo pulled away, leaving a tight pack of four close behind. Griffith headed to the pits on lap 13, one lap later Oliver tried a slider on Cook, now they ran side by side. Oliver used another slide move to take the lead but Cook fought back, as the pair crossed the stripe side by side with five circuits remaining. Oliver held the edge at lap 16, but it was a dead heat on 17. With only two laps left, Cook took over, holding off Oliver for the win. Jeremy Pundt stayed close, coming home third, followed by Abe Huls, and Chad Krogmeier.
  The final event on the card was ten IMCA modifieds for 20 laps. Kelly Buckelew lead Mitch Boles as the first lap was scored, with Bill Roberts Jr. pushing hard. Roberts took over the top spot on lap three, with Jeff Waterman moving to second, while Boles fell out. The yellow then waved, as Jerry Reese, out with a sharp looking #2R, failed to clear the speedway. The restart quickly became a two car scrum, but with seven laps to go, Waterman suffered a flat tire, ending his attempt at back to back wins. Roberts then cruised to the win. Buckelew scored the runner up spot, Jesse Belez made the long pull from Marengo, Iowa to take third. Craig Spegal and Dakota Simmons completed the top five.
   Even with the delay, I was in my car at 10:19, another good job by the LCS crew!
   Tonight, weather permitting, we are headed to Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Mn. for the Lucas Oil late models.