Randy Martin Takes Invader Win at LCS

  One sure way to assure a big Friday night crowd at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson is to schedule sprint cars. Last night was no exception, as one of the larger gatherings of 2018 witnessed a solid field of 27 Sprint Invaders highlight the six division show. It took three heat races, a B main and Shake Up dash to set the twenty car field for 25 laps around the D shaped 3/8 mile oval. The track was super fast all night, with a couple of dips in the surface, just enough to add an element of "character." 
  Jon Agan picked up the win in the six lap dash, then picked the number two can to set the front three rows of the feature, putting himself outside of Dustin Clark in row one. Randy Martin jumped from inside row two to lead the opening laps over Agan, as Paul Nienhiser charged to the third spot on lap two after starting in row four. The first yellow flag then waved for first heat winner Damien Getchell, as smoke poured from his ride. Back under green, Nienhiser powered to second, and on lap five, series points leader Cody Wehrle cleared Agan for third. Lap seven saw Agan spin, making contact with hard charging McKenna Haase, who had worked her way into the top five after starting ninth. As racing resumed, Haase powered to third, but bicycled her car in turn four, possibly damaging the suspension in the #55. Wehrle then retook the third position as Martin stretched his advantage. As the leaders caught slower traffic on lap ten, Nienhiser closed the gap on Martin. Nienhiser shot to the lead about lap 13, just ahead of another caution with eleven laps to go as Haase rolled to a stop. It was all Nienhiser and Martin as the laps clicked off, with the next yellow coming with six laps remaining. One more stoppage came, setting up a four lap dash, and now the veteran Martin found a line around Nienhiser. He stayed in command to the checkers, picking up the $1500 top prize. Nienhiser finished in the runner up spot, while Wehrle held third. Jared Schneiderman and Clark completed the top five.
  Feature racing had kicked off with 14 IMCA sport compacts lining up for 14 laps. The 4 cylinder machines may be best known for their ability to run non stop events, but it was not to be on Friday, as the caution waved on three occasions. Jacob Houston and Jake Dietrich ran side by side for the first pair of laps ahead of a lap three yellow. With Dietrich lining up out front on the Delaware restart, Brandon Reu took over the runner up spot. Dietrich and Reu ran side by side before Dietrich edged ahead as another caution came at lap six. Kimberly Abbott and point leader Barry Taft entered the top four as racing resumed, with Houston heading to the pits with a smoking car. As Abbott moved up to challenge Reu, the yellow waved again as the fire crew was needed in the pits for Houstons #14D. One more restart saw Taft move from fifth to third, and as flagman Kevin Eggleston displayed the two to go sign, Reu took one more run at the leader. Dietrich was up to the task, however, crossing the line about 1/2 car length ahead of Reu for his first feature win. Taft came home third ahead of Abbott and Mike Reu.
  Most nights at LCS the IMCA sport mods offer up really good racing, but Friday night it was not to be. Fourth starting Daniel Fellows led fifth starting Austen Becerra as racing began, but a yellow flag meant an original restart. A multi car pile up in turn four saw Brandon Dale , Steven Berry, Brandon Symmonds, and Adam Birck all receive damage. Birck changed a tire and rejoined the field, but could never get up to speed with obvious suspension damage. Fellows again grabbed the top spot on the restart, with Jeff Frana and Sean Wyett trailing. The laps clicked off until lap seven, and Becerra took over second on the restart. Two more yellows slowed slowed the action, the final one coming as the leaders came to the white flag. Fellows held on for a flag to flag victory, topping Becerra and Wyett. Bob Cowman slipped around Frana for fourth.
  Following the sprint car finale, the IMCA stock cars were on tap. John Oliver Jr. came from outside row two to lead lap one of twenty. As he opened a sizable advantage, fifth starting Abe Huls grabbed second on lap five. Huls began to make up ground, and soon it was a two car duel up front. The pair swapped the lead on lap eleven before Huls took over for good one lap later. Oliver stayed glued to the #30C as four cars staged an entertaining battle for third. The race went non stop, with Huls taking the checkers for his 100th IMCA sanctioned feature win. Oliver settled for second, while Jeremy Pundt won the race for third, nipping Beau Taylor and Chad Krogmeier.
  The IMCA modifieds were up next, also for twenty laps. Ageless Dean McGee jumped from the pole to lead lap one. Bill Roberts Jr. had struggled in the heat race, but he took over the top spot one lap later. However the only caution of the race negated the pass. Not to be denied, Roberts again took the lead on the restart, with Dennis Laveine also sneaking past McGee for second. Laveine was the leader as lap six was scored, but Roberts was back in front at lap seven. Jeff Waterman had fallen back a bit at the start, but he found his way to third on the eighth circuit. Roberts opened a comfortable lead as the pair of #71s, Laveine and Waterman battled for second. At the checkers, it was Roberts with the win, while Laveine held off Waterman for second. McGee ran fourth, as Larry Herring nipped Dakota Simmons by an eyelash for fifth.
  The crowd had thinned considerably, the clock passed 11:00, and the late models lined up for the twenty lap finale. The invert lineup found Darin Weisinger Jr. and Brandon Queen in row one, but it was third starting Jeff Guengerich who shot to the early lead. Sam Halstead was said to be nursing a bee sting near his eye, and it obviously hampered his performance. Although he followed Guengerich in second, he quickly gave way to Tommy Elston and Ron Boyse. Car owner Lynn Richard had taken his #15R machine to Nebraska last weekend while LCS had the night off, where super late model driver Tad Pospisil had turned in I believe a second place finish. Not to be outdone, Guengerich opened a commanding lead, and Elston was unable to run him down in another non stop event. For Guengerich, it was his first feature win of 2018. Elston took runner up honors, while Boyse ran third. Halstead held off Queen for fourth, while Weisinger was sixth in what was the smallest late model count of the season.
  Special thanks to Midwest Performance and Wilson Brothers BBQ for helping to bring the Spring Invaders to the track, and thanks to the Lee County Fairboard for their hospitality. The Invaders will headline the show, tonight, Saturday, at 34 Raceway in West Burlington. Next up at LCS will be season championship night next Friday for the regular five classes, with $3.00 adult admission for throwback night! Then on Friday, August 31, the much anticipated rescheduled visit of the MLRA super late models highlights the action, with other classes competing to be announced. With non racing plans for tonight, my next racing action will be weekly racing Sunday at Quincy Raceways.
  As always, thanks for reading.