Back on the Trail at Vinton

 After rain and family time kept me on the sidelines for eleven days, it was time to head back to the track on Sunday. Wet weather again claimed the UMP Summernationals at Brownstown, Illinois, and the Iowa Sprint League event at Quincy Raceways, but racing was still on at the Benton County Fairgrounds Speedway in Vinton, Iowa. The action would be billed as Fisher Towing mid season championship night, and it does seem like BCS has been able to run a few more races than most other tracks in this rainy 2019 season. Perhaps partly because of the excessive cancellations around the mid west, the pit area swelled into the infield to accommodate the 129 teams that signed in to compete in the seven divisions on the card. Before I move on to recap the action, I have to offer a shout out to promoter Mick Trier, race director Mike Van Genderen, the track wrecker drivers, announcer Jeff Kropf, the flagman who's name I did not catch, and the rest of the BCS crew on an incredible job! And this includes the drivers, who willingly helped to roll in the track ahead of hot laps. I am not sure exactly how close to the advertised 5:45 time hot laps began, but the first heat race hit the 1/4 mile at 6:05. Eighteen heat races, perhaps a five minute intermission for track prep, and feature racing began about 7:25. When we headed to the car at 9:00, the final feature was heading to the track. The promotion crew at Vinton should hire themselves out as consultants on how to run a racing program!
  The first feature of the night was twelve laps for the nine micro mods. Heat winner ( one heat, not two!) Russ Olson was a flag to flag winner. The second place car of Matt Post began bellowing smoke mid race, but he held on for runner up honors.
  IMCA stock cars lined up next for twenty laps. Fellow Positively Racing blogger Jeff Broeg commented that several of the nights features should be action packed, as several front runners failed to qualify for the invert ( redraw? ) for the money race. The stock car finale was an obvious example, as Damon Murty pulled out of his heat race, meaning he lined up in row ten of the feature. Cory Brown jumped to the front from his row two starting spot, leading Jerry Luloff until lap four, when Luloff claimed the top spot. At the same time, Les Blakely powered to second, and one lap later, Blakely took the lead. Lap nine saw Murty enter the top five, but the first caution of the race sent him back to sixth for the restart. It took two more green flag laps for Murty to reenter the top five, he grabbed fourth on lap twelve, then used a top side move to take second one lap later.  Sticking with the high line, he charged to the lead out of turn four as lap fourteen was scored. Three caution periods in the final five laps slowed the action, with the second running Blakely getting sideways in turn two on lap eighteen,  jamming up the field, with Brown and Dallon Murty suffering race ending damage, Blakely then stopped in turn three, his good run over,  and it appeared front end issues with his ride had been the culprit. Damon Murty pulled away on the final restart, collecting his one hundredth career win at Vinton. Luloff took runner up honors ahead of Jay Schmidt, Scooter Dulin, and Neil Miller.
  IMCA mods led the way with twenty four entrants, and they all came to the track next for twenty laps. Following a lap one caution, John Oliver Jr. charged to the lead  after restarting inside row two. Racing his first season in the modified class, Oliver stayed out front through yellows on laps five and eight. Up front he was engaged in a battle with fifteen year old Kollin Hibdon, The youngster from Pahrump, Nevada, who is spending his summer staying in the Jeff Aikey household while he perfects his craft was following in the tire tracks of the #05. Meanwhile, row six, seven and eight starters Joel Rust, Aikey, and Justin Kay were picking their way through the field. Seemingly in command, Oliver suddenly slowed going down the backstretch on lap eighteen, his run over due to losing a fuel pump belt. Hibdon inherited the lead for the three lap shootout, holding off Rust, Aikey, Mike Burbridge, and Kay, who came from eighth to fifth after the final caution. It was the second ever modified win for the youngster, in marked contrast to the accomplishment moments earlier of the veteran Murty.
  As Hibdon celebrated in victory lane, the IMCA sport mods hit the oval for sixteen laps. Daniel Fellows snatched the lead from his row two start as the field hit the first set of turns. The Keokuk, Iowa hot shoe stayed out front through caution periods on laps four, six, ten, and twelve. Meanwhile Ben Chapman and Danny Dvorak staged an entertaining side by side duel for the second spot. Following a final yellow with three laps remaining, the field was realigned single file. In the closing laps, the top four separated themselves from the pack, but Fellows was never seriously challenged, picking up his seventh feature win of the season. Chapman took runner up honors ahead of Dvorak and Tony Olson.
  All eighteen sport compacts now took the spotlight. Andrew Steepleton was the early leader, with a couple early cautions slowing the action. Twelfth starting Barry Taft, a force wherever he goes, was slowly picking his way to the front, joining the back of a hot four car battle by lap four. Adam Gates put his #007 out front on lap six, with Taft following him through in second. With Taft looking for a way around Gates, he now had to contend with third running Korey Lana. Taft for the most part stayed in the tire tracks of the leader, reluctant to move out of line with Lana breathing down his neck. The leaders came upon a slower car in the final set of turns, but Gates was able to negotiate the lapped machine, claiming the win. Taft ran second, with Lana settling for third.
  Continuing the rapid fire action, all seventeen IMCA late models came to the track. Jill George had come one lap short of a heat race win, and she lined up on the pole of the late model headliner. She jumped to the early lead ahead of row two starters Curtis Glover and late model rookie Dalton Simonsen. Eighth starting Jeff Aikey, with his Rick Dralle owned machine now sporting his familiar #77, powered to third on lap three, while his row four mate Nick Marolf entered the top five. One more lap saw the two heat winners advance to second and fourth, with Aikey taking the lead five laps in. Around the eighth circuit, Marolf moved to second, but by now Aikey had a sizable lead. Meanwhile, Marolf had his hands full with Darren Ackerman challenging for the second spot. Finally able to clear Ackerman, Marolf began to quickly run down the leader as lapped cars began to factor in. Just as a race for the lead was taking shape, Marolf went too high off turn two, slipping off the track, bringing out the first yellow with four laps to go. Ninth starting Justin Kay was now in the runner up spot, and Todd Cooney was now on the move, charging to third. Luke Pestka brought out a final caution as he went over the top of turns three and four, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. Aikey was not to be denied, however, picking up the win ahead of Kay, Cooney, Glover, and Ben Seeman. Ackerman led the second five, besting Simonsen, George, Mark Hurst, and Marolf.
  As the hobby stocks prepared to run the final race of the evening, with the sun setting in the west, we decided to head for the car. The clock read 9:05 as we exited the fairgrounds, putting me home just ahead of the midnight hour.
  Thanks to Mick, Mike and the gang for a great Sunday night of racing!
  We hope to catch up with the three times postponed Summer nationals tour this week, and then return to Vinton next Thursday, July 27 as the IMCA Deery Brothers late models invade the quick 1/4 mile.