There was not a full moon over Lee County Speedway Friday night, but you could be forgiven for thinking so. Following hot laps, the track crew decided to put a generous dose of water on the 3/8 mile. By the time the extra moisture was worked in, we were about twenty five minutes getting to the first green flag, a rare occurrence at the fairgrounds facility. Thankfully, the twelve heat races ran off quickly with the only caution coming on a false start during late model heat one.
After a brief unscheduled intermission, all but two of the twenty five IMCA sport mods lined up for eighteen laps of action. Outside pole sitter Brandon Lambert shot to the early lead. Eighth starting Jim Gillenwater climbed to second on lap two, then grabbed the lead just ahead of a lap three caution. Two more quick yellow flags followed, and back under green, ninth starting Austen Becerra jumped to third as his row five mate Sean Wyett took the lead. Gillenwater regained the top spot ahead of a lap seven caution, but Becerra used the Delaware restart to move out front. As Becerra began to pull away, Gillenwater slowly distanced himself from a battle with Wyett for second. Becerra was about to put the #13A of Austin Poage a lap down, when Poage spun in turn two, causing Becerra to take evasive action and bringing out a final caution. Gillenwater and Wyett again battled for the second position as Becerra made it three for three in features this season at the track. Gillenwater came home second followed by Wyett, Ron Kibbe, and Jadin Fuller.
A bakers dozen IMCA modifieds were up next, with Levi Smith pacing lap one. Kory Meyer took the top spot for the next few circuits as Michael Long worked his way forward from row five. Brandon Dale had a nose in front of Meyer as lap five was scored, with Long now in third. Two more laps, the yellow flag flew, and the second running Long blasted off the cushion to grab the lead. He quickly checked out on the field, but a second and final caution brought him back to the pack with eight laps remaining. On the restart, Dale was shuffled from second to fourth as Jeff Waterman took up the chase. Again Long built a commanding lead, scoring a decisive win. Waterman, Dale, Meyer, and Dennis Laveine completed the top five.
It is not uncommon for the IMCA sport compacts to run a caution free feature, but not on this night! The strange turn of events began when defending track champion Brandon Reu was disqualified after his heat race win. He then lined up in row eight of the fifteen lapper in a backup (?) #27. The caution came out on lap one for debris, with David Prim then leading lap one. Following a second lap caution, Chevy Barnes took over. Prim stayed close, Kimberly Abbott joined the front duo, and Reu charged through the pack to fifth as lap five was scored. Abbott took the runner up spot on a restart just after the halfway mark, with Reu moving to fourth. With four laps left on the scoreboard, Abbott was battling with Barnes coming through turn four when both got sideways, collecting the third running Reu, ending the night for the three leaders. Prim was the new leader, the caution came again one lap later. When yet another caution came as the white flag was displayed, the race was called complete, and Prim had a win on his birthday. BUT... he was also disqualified in post race tech, turning the victory over to Ashton Blain. Kyle Hamilton moved to the runner up spot, while Jared Huele was third in the #7H normally driven by Michael Hornung Jr. Patrick McKasson and David Judd also scored top five finishes.
All eleven IMCA stock cars took the feature green. Chris Wibbell paced the opening circuit, with Jason Cook taking control the next trip past the flag stand. As Cook stretched his advantage, Abe Huls powered from row five to second. Huls was able to close the gap a bit as the laps wound down, but it was Cook winning the caution free event. Abe held off John Oliver Jr. for third while Wibbell nosed Beau Taylor for fifth.
Eleven IMCA late models closed out the program in a twenty lap finale. Jay Johnson drove to the front to lead lap one, but he came to a stop just off turn two on the next circuit. He left the track behind the wrecker, ending his night early. Mark Burgtorf assumed the top spot, and he drove a masterful race, hugging the inside line in turns one and two while hitting the cushion at the other end of the track. Week one winner Denny Woodworth kept Mark in his sights, but settled for a runner up finish. Dustin Griffin and Tommy Elston staged an entertaining battle for third, with Elston taking the spot. Nick Marolf started fifth and finished there. Matt Strassheim out dueled Sam Halstead, out for the first time in 2021 in a new black machine with an "X" taped to the unadorned body. Ron Boyse was the last car on the track, as Darin Weisinger Jr. and Logan Duffy watched the final laps from the infield.
Although it was anything but a typical night at Lee County, there was still plenty of good racing and more than the usual amount of controversy! Thanks to Brian, Marcie, and the crew for another fun Friday night.
With rain in the forecast, be sure and check with your track of choice if you are planning on a Saturday night race. 34 Raceway, for one, has cancelled their racing for tonight, probably wisely so. Happy Mothers Day, and we will hopefully see you next week!
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