Boyse Tops at Donnellson

 After a long awaited vacation where I acquired a first class sunburn, we made it home in time for me to hitch a ride to the Lee County Speedway for Friday night racing action.
  Mercifully, the hobby stocks have been dropped from the weekly card, but the remaining five classes turned out 59 cars and delivered excellent racing action.
 Nine heat races clicked off in about 40 minutes with zero caution periods on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile D shaped track.
 The IMCA sport compacts then lined up for their 14 lap main event. The first caution of the night was on the opening lap for debris. Jake Dietrich set the pace early, but heat one winner Josh Barnes came from row two to the front on lap two. Meanwhile, a second Barnes entry driven by former late model pilot Brandon Ruffcorn, was on the move from the back of the pack. Following a heat race win of his own, Ruffcorn charged to third on lap four, then took the runner up slot two laps later. Just after the halfway mark, Kimberly Abbott slowed with a flat tire. Fortunately for her, she shed debris from her #71, bringing out the caution flag, which gave her a chance to rejoin the field. Back to racing, Ruffcorn and Barnes made it a two car race for first. Barnes held off the charge, picking up the win, with Ruffcorn settling for second. Brandon Reu held off Barry Taft for third, and Dietrich came home in fifth. Abbott was able to recover to finish sixth.
  The IMCA sport mods got off to a rough start, as contact at the green sent Sean Wyatt for a spin. Back to action, Ron Kibbe led Daniel Fellows as the duo put some distance on the field. Brandon Lennox advanced from row four to claim third on lap six, and one circuit later Austin Howes moved up to challenge Lennox. On lap ten, Kibbe drifted a bit high in turn one, and Fellows took advantage to grab the lead. Lennox found his way around Kibbe on the next circuit, just before the yellow flag was displayed. When racing resumed, Fellows and Lennox made it a two car scrum. On laps 14 and 15, Lennox tried the low line under Fellows, each time pulling within a half car length. At the two to go wave of the flag, Lennox tried the high line, but still could not make the pass. Fellows scored a half car length victory over Lennox. Howes took third, last weeks winner Brandon Dale was fourth, and Kibbe completed the top five.
  The IMCA stock car count was light, with eight entries, but they clearly offered up the race of the night. Jeremy Pundt held the pole position, flanked by John Oliver Jr. Twice the start was called back, as Pundt was on the gas too early for starter Kevin Eggleston. On the third try, Pundt still grabbed the lead, with Oliver in tow. Heat winner David Brandies crossed the line fourth, then moved to third on lap three. Lap four saw Pundt and Oliver side by side, with Brandies and Abe Huls also side by side for third. Oliver powered to first on the fifth lap, and three circuits later Brandies was scored second, although Pundt and Huls made it three wide for the runner up spot.  One more lap, and Brandies used the high line to take the lead, taking Huls along in second, with Pundt shuffled back to fifth behind Oliver and Jason Cook. Huls moved to the high line, pressuring Brandies for laps eleven and twelve, and Oliver made it three wide on lap 13. Huls gained the top spot on lap 14, but Oliver crossed the stripe in first as the lap was scored. Lap 15, it was again three wide for first, Huls now running the high line. On the next trip around, Brandies went high to take second, and with three laps remaining, it was Huls on the inside, Oliver in the middle, and Brandies up top. Huls was out front with two to go, but Brandies used a turn one move on the final lap to take the lead for good. Huls came in second and Cook was third. Oliver held off Pundt for fourth, and even after 20 laps, you could have covered the top five with a homemade quilt!
   Before we could digest the action, 14 IMCA modifieds were lined up for 20 laps of racing. Third starting Dean McGee paced lap one, with seventh starting Jeff Waterman already in second. Waterman then took the lead on lap three. Colby Springsteen paid a visit to Lee County on Friday, starting tenth in the feature, but entering the top five on lap five. By then, however, Waterman had a commanding lead. Logan Anderson charged to second just prior to halfway, and Springsteen took third as the crossed flags signaled ten laps to go. With Waterman holding a straightaway advantage, Springsteen began to stalk Anderson in the closing laps. As the white flag waved, the two ran side by side across the line. Anderson held the spot as the duo entered turn three for the final time, but he slipped out of the groove in turn four, giving Springsteen the runner up slot to Waterman in the non stop event. McGee had a solid run in fourth, while Bill Roberts Jr. rounded out the first five.
  Once again, the crate late models were the final race on the card, with ten cars entered. Pole sitter Todd Frank led lap one followed by veteran Ron Boyse and Brandon Savage. Boyse found his way to the lead on lap two as fifth starting Tommy Elston powered to fourth. Elston gained a spot each of the next two laps, setting sail after Boyse. Darin Weisinger Jr. looped his ride on lap six, bringing out the only caution of the race. Frank took advantage of the Delaware restart to grab second, and Sam Halstead moved to fourth. Elston retook second on the next lap, and Halstead charged to third on lap eight. Elston pressured Boyse throughout the remaining laps, but never got close enough to mount a challenge. He would close the gap in turns three and four, but Boyse had a clear advantage coming off turn two. Boyse held on for his first win of the season at LCS, becoming I believe the sixth different late model winner of 2018. Elston took runner up honors, followed by Halstead, Todd Frank, and the only two time winner of the season, Gunner Frank. Savage may have made contact with the guardrail, losing a spot to run sixth. Aric Becker was back and ran seventh, while Chris Richard made an appearance in the Lynn Richard # 15R in eighth. Weisinger was ninth, and first time visitor for 2018, Russ Schoonover was tenth.
  There is rarely a late night at Lee County, but running 14 races and being done at 9:23 could be a record that was much appreciated by this weary traveler!
  A few notes of interest, Brandon Savage has put his #47S up for sale. Although it is a good car and Brandon has a feature win this season, he has a lot of irons in the fire, and not enough time for late model racing right now. So if you are looking to go late model racing, contact him on Facebook. Also, Quincy Raceways has cancelled their race program for this Sunday, June 10. The return of the Grand Prix of Karting to Quincy has created some scheduling conflicts, but racing will return on Sunday, June 17, with the UMP crate late models added to the card in a make up from this Sunday. Also, there will be no racing next Friday at Lee County, as Mike and his team will be at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. It is my understanding that the Sprint Invaders will top the card, along with modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, and sport compacts. More info should be available on Facebook in the coming days. As I type, it seems as though Mother Nature is taking the checkers at several Saturday night tracks, so be sure and call or check websites before heading out tonight.
  We are hoping to take in night number one of the UMP late model Summernationals this Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, as there should be a nice field of the open lates on hand. Until next time, thanks for reading.