Friday would be the opening night of the 9th annual Fall Extravaganza at the Pepsi Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The two night show would feature the five regular weekly classes with expansion of the rules to accommodate cars outside of the IMCA rules package, including UMP, USRA, and others. All classes would be running for extra money each night, with bonuses available for drivers racing both nights. The Saturday headliner will be a $3,000 to win feature event for the 4 cylinder cars.
Led by thirty seven sport mods, a total of one hundred and forty two cars signed in to race on a beautiful evening which felt like an August day and a cool but pleasant September night. As might be expected, things got off to a bit of a late start, with cars coming from far and wide on a "work" day. Extra hot laps were also ran, as many of those in the pits had not previously tackled the 3/8 mile D shaped oval. Soon, however, we were racing, and it took eighteen qualifying heats and three B mains, to set the feature fields. Those preliminary events ran off in quick time, as the well prepared surface yielded only a couple of caution periods until the always challenging sport mod B mains.
Stock cars lined up first for a twenty lap feature. Three of the twenty five cars signed in did not make the call. Jeff Mueller and Beau Taylor, with his recently minted #122 sat on row one, and it was Taylor leading lap one, with fourth starting track champion John Oliver Jr. in tow. That pair swapped positions on the next circuit, with Abe Huls in third. Huntsville, Missouri hot shoe Derrick Agee started eighth and jumped to third on lap three. Mueller, who had issues from the start, fell out on the next lap, and the first caution came at lap five for a spinning Brock Haines. It was Agee now restarting in second, having grabbed the spot just ahead of the caution, and as lap six registered on the new infield scoreboard, he was on top. Oliver Jr. charged back to lead lap seven as the duo raced side by side. A final yellow flag came at lap eight as a tractor tire was kicked out on the racing surface. Michael Jaenette had fired off from row five, and he now made it a three car race for the lead. Dustin Griffiths was late to the party, but was running with the leaders by lap twelve. Jaenette nosed ahead one lap later, as he ran the inside line around the track, while Oliver Jr. pounded the cushion, trying to regain the top spot. Jaenette continued to hit his marks, becoming the first feature winner of the weekend, collecting a cool $1,000. Oliver Jr. settled for second. Agee jumped the cushion as the pack came through the final set of turns, turning third place over to Griffiths, and Jason Cook rounded out the top five.
Sport compacts would be racing fifteen laps on this night in preparation for the big prize on Saturday. Twenty four of the thirty car field made the show, with Josh Barnes and Brandon Crawley pacing the field. Barnes pulled out to a big lead, with the first caution at lap five involving row nine starter Shannon Welp, who made the long trip from North Vernon, Indiana to LCS. Back to racing, there was a tight three car battle for second between Chuck Fullenkamp, track champion Brandon Reu, and co winner of the long haul award, Jack Pflum, all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio. But Barnes had the field covered until five laps to go when the all too familiar mechanical gremlins struck the #13B, ending his run and bringing out the caution. Fullenkamp was now in front, but he ducked to the infield on the restart with an apparent flat tire. Kimberly Abbott had started ninth and was challenging in third when the engine let go in her #71, exploding in a ball of flames. The fire was out quickly, as Kimberly exited the car with the red flag displayed. Meanwhile, it was Reu out front, and he was able to withstand a strong challenge from Pflum, who came from row eight to finish second and put himself in the conversation for the big check on Saturday. Just as remarkable, Welp, recovered from the early spin to claim third. Billy Cain rolled off in row ten and finished fourth, and the second Cincinnati entry, Joe Pflum came from seventeenth to fifth at the checkers. The stage is set for a classic barnburner on night two!
All twenty three late models made the call for twenty five laps and a chance at a $1,000 prize. Wisconsin driver Darren Mish and track runner up Denny Woodworth redrew the front row, with Mish jumping out to lead lap one. Third starting Darin Duffy took over on the next circuit, dragging along fifth starting Joel Callahan. The yellow waved as Sam Halstead was forced to the infield, then stopped at the turn one apron. Back under green, Duffy and Callahan battled up front before Duffy began to pull away. A classic five car scrum developed behind the top two, as Jay Johnson, Mish, Mark Burgtorf, Jeff Aikey, and track champ Tommy Elston ran side by side and nose to tail. The next stop came just before halfway, as Ron Klein sat facing the wrong way on the backstretch. As the green flag waved, it was Johnson on the move, pounding the cushion, taking over the second spot with ten laps to go. Meanwhile Burgtorf used the inside line to grab the third slot. Johnson continued to power around the high line, and with just five circuits left, he charged around Duffy for the lead. The veteran rolled his #93 into victory lane for the first time this season at LCS. Burgtorf took the bridesmaid spot and Duffy held off Callahan and Woodworth for third. Elston had challenged mid race, but was forced to a hard brake, finally rebounding to sixth. Aikey, Gary Webb, Dustin Griffin, and Chuck Hanna completed the top ten.
Some folks headed to the exits as the sport mods had a tough time getting going. The caution flag waved three times before a lap was scored, then Blaine Webster paced the first completed lap. Brayton Carter had drawn the number ten pill, but by the time racing started he was lined up fourth. He was in the runner up spot by lap three, then charged to the point one lap later. Immediately he began to stretch his advantage. The only other yellow came at lap eight for a mishap involving Sean Wyett. Again Carter pulled away as eleventh starting Kyle Olson and Webster fought for the runner up position. Olson won that battle, and track champion Adam Birck soon took over third. Carter spent the second half of the race in heavy traffic, where he was flawless, cruising to the $1,000 payday. Olson and Birck followed, while Tyler Soppe edged Webster for fourth on the final half lap.
Before the modified twenty two lapper was finished, the clock struck midnight, but at this point, what is a few more minutes? The caution waved at the start as row seven starter Kory Meyer was slow on the gas. Pole sitter Burgtorf put his Bill Baker #03B out front at the green, with row one mate Jarrett Brown in second. Burgtorf missed his mark on lap four, with Brown grabbing the lead. However the yellow flag came out putting Burgtorf back out front. Brown regained the point on lap seven with another double duty driver, Aikey moving to the runner up spot. Aikey then snagged the lead at lap nine while Burgtorf, Brown, and seventh starting Michael Long battled hard for second. Cayden Carter joined the festivities up front as Brown faded back a bit. Derrick Stewart clipped a tire barrier at lap ten, bringing out the caution. On the restart, Carter used the high line to take second, and Long followed in third two laps later. The yellow waved at this point for a slowing Mitch Boles. Long went back to his preferred high line on the restart, powering to the lead with six laps to go, while Carter followed along. A final stoppage came with only four laps left when Daniel Fellows gave up a hard fought fifth place run, his night over. Aikey had seemed to be out of contention, but as the green waved a final time, he used the bottom of the track to move back to second. But there would be no catching Long, who held on for the early morning win. Aikey, Carter, Burgtorf, and Ryan Maitland in a #71C made up the top five.
The track prep was top notch, giving us smooth, fast action all night long. If you missed Friday, don't make that mistake again, as it is a great chance to see cars from all over the mid west in side by side battles. Hope to see you tonight, with hot laps kicking off one hour earlier, at 6:00 PM.
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