Like Son, Like Father at LCS

  Friday, my grandson Keagan and his fiance Megan came in to town for the weekend, and joined me for a night of racing at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Keagan was my racing companion from the age of about six or seven, but Megan had only attended two races previously.  Ironically, those two races were at tracks we have not been to, Double XX Speedway in California, Missouri, and the Missouri State Fairgrounds Speedway in Sedalia. Both had been sprint car shows, so she was somewhat on familiar ground, as the Sprint Invaders joined five weekly classes on Friday night.
  A solid total of 84 cars checked in, led by 19 of the sprinters.
  Following 13 heat races, the Invaders Shake Up Dash, and a brief intermission, it was time to go feature racing.
  The 18 lap main event for the IMCA sport mods lined up first. While I believe we had only one yellow flag in the preliminary races, the sport mod main turned into a caution fest. Much improved Ron Kibbe took off from the outside pole to lead the opening lap, with Kibbe and Austen Becerra swapping sliders in turn four. As lap two was scored, Brandon Lennox charged from row four to the runner up spot to battle with Kibbe.  Following a lap four caution, Lennox was in command, and now it was Lennox and Becerra exchanging slide jobs. Eighth starting Adam Birck and Brandon Dale made it a four car battle for second by lap six, joining Kibbe and Becerra. Kibbe went spinning on lap eight, and was tagged by Adam Niekamp. Back under green, Becerra again tried a slide move in turns three and four, this time making contact with the leader, gaining the advantage. But Lennox returned the favor in turn two, retaking the lead. Another pair of cautions, and Dale charged to the runner up position. Another caution with five laps to go, and the field was now realligned single file. Dale was moving around the track, looking for a way to the front. Lennox was able to open a lead before a final caution on the final circuit set up a green, white, checkers finish. Lennox held on for the win, with Dale in the second spot. Birck grabbed third, Becerra fourth, and Tyler Burton completed the top five.
  The 15 IMCA stock cars came up next for 20 laps. Ray Raker came from row two to the first lap lead, a nose ahead of Dean Kratzer. Kratzer edged ahead on lap two before the yellow waved. Racing again, Jeremy Pundt took second, while John Oliver Jr. shot to third after a row four start. Pundt took over the lead on lap four, and Oliver moved to second one lap later. Oliver began to pressure Pundt, using the high line to take first in turn three on lap seven. Abe Huls now came to third, and at the halfway mark, Jason Cook joined Pundt and Huls in the battle for second. Cook charged to second on lap twelve, but could not mount a serious challenge to Oliver, as the two took the checkers in that order. Huls held off Pundt and Raker to round out the top five.
  Levi Smith used a pole position start to lead lap one of the 14 car modified feature, with Kelly Buckalew bringing out the caution on lap two. When racing resumed, ninth starting Bill Roberts Jr., the nights' sponsor, used the high line to move to third, while Jeff Waterman took fourth running the bottom groove. Roberts challenged Smith on lap four, taking the lead on lap five. Following a lap six restart, Waterman took second, and twelfth starting Larry Herring entered the top five. Herring gained fourth on lap seven, then took third following a yellow for early contender Austin Emry. Contact between Emry and Smith ended the night for Levi. Waterman ran a low line in turns one and two, high in three and four, but could never get close enough to Roberts to make a serious challenge. Herring scored third, with Carter Vandenbergh fourth, while Logan Anderson rebounded from early troubles to run fifth.
  To the delight of the large crowd, the female phenom McKenna Haase ran off with her heat and the dash, but she pulled a five on the redraw, lining up in row three for the 25 lap main event, and was never a factor. Jon Agan held the early lead before a lap two yellow. John Schulz charged to the lead on the restart, with Agan fighting back. Hasse brought out a lap six caution, heading for the hot pit, then the trailer. After a lap eight caution, it became a two car battle between Agan and Schulz. Schulz used a slider on lap ten, taking the lead for good in turn two. From there, the veteran in the Jimmy Davies ride stayed in command. Bill Balog took second on lap 21 as Agan fell back. The only red of the night came with three laps to go, as Agan took an easy roll in turn two. Schulz pulled away for the win, Balog came from row nine to second. Jamie Ball ran third, young Mason Daniel took fourth, and Brayden Gaylord completed the top five.
  Jake Dietrich held the lead early in the IMCA sport compact 14 lapper. On the third circuit, Mike Reu took second, with Kimberly Abbott following in third. As Reu and Abbott ran side by side, Dietrich opened a large lead, before slowing on lap five, pulling to the infield. Abbott was now in front, with Brandon Reu taking second. Point leader Barry Taft spent the early laps trying to move through traffic, and he took third on lap eight. He then ran side by side with Reu, moving to the runner up spot on lap ten. He was able to cut into Abbotts lead, but Kimberly stayed in control to break Tafts victory string. Barry ran second ahead of Brandon Reu, Mike Reu, and Craig Bangert in the #04.
  The final event of the night was the 20 lap crate late model feature. Last weeks winner, Gunner Frank, was a no show, as he had contact with Dalton Lynch in their heat race. But Dad Todd Frank took off from outside row one to the lead, taking Lynch along in second. The caution waved on lap two when Brandon Queen spun in turn two, collecting Darin Weisinger Jr. Jeff Guengerich took up the chase as racing resumed., but Sam Halstead slipped around Guengerich one lap later. Tommy Elston started eighth, moving to third on lap five. Todd Frank built a sizable advantage as Elston worked to overtake Halstead by the halfway point. With just a pair of laps remaining, Elston powered to second in turn four, but the elder Frank continued to hit his marks over the final laps, joining his son while becoming the fifth different feature winner in five nights of racing. Elston came home in the runner up spot, with Halstead third. Heat two winner Ron Boyse ran fourth, and Guengerich was fifth. Lynch, Brandon Savage, Weisinger Jr., and Queen completed the running order.
  It looks like Friday night will be my only night of racing this weekend, but there is plenty of events going on this holiday weekend, so try to get to a track somewhere!