Keeping an eye on the radar, we once again headed to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for another installment of the "Drive for Five" for IMCA late models and IMCA modifieds, along with a "Drive for Three" for IMCA sport mods. The other two IMCA classes that compete at the track regularly, stock cars and sport compacts would also be joined this night by the Mini Hauler trucks.
A quality field of ninety two teams in the regular five classes plus seven trucks checked in in front of a nice crowd on what turned into a beautiful evening. And to top things off, the track was as smooth as it could be, fast and "hammer down!"
With the nearly perfect track conditions, caution flags were at a minimum, and the qualifying races rolled off quickly, including a B main to pare down the twenty nine car sport mod field to twenty four for the feature.
Sport compacts were the first feature, with all but one of the fourteen signed in doing battle for fifteen laps. Following the initial start being called back, the race ran caution free. Kimberly Abbott and Chevy Barnes completed lap one side by side, with Chevy pulling ahead on lap two as the pack bunched up behind him. Josh Barnes powered to second on lap three, and the father son duo raced side by side with father Josh finally taking over the lead about lap six. Along with Brandon Reu, the top three broke from the field, and lap ten saw Reu in second by a nose. At the checkers, it was Josh, Reu, Chevy, Abbott, and Jason Ash rounding out the first five.
All but one of the fifteen stock cars were next for eighteen circuits, although Dustan Fenton needed a push to the pits on the parade lap. Visiting Dustin Griffiths charged to first on the opening lap, taking along Dustin Vis in second. Vis then grabbed the spot on lap two, and two time winner Josh Foster followed in second. Six laps in, with the top two locked in a battle, David Brandies broke a fan blade which went through the radiator, creating a jam up that saw Beau Taylor with heavy body damage. Taylor was able to restart in his position, and again the race stayed green until the end. Vis held off Foster for the win. Taylor cleared Griffiths late for third. Out in his new #05 for the first time this season, John Oliver Jr. came from row six to fifth.
All fifteen modifieds lined up for twenty two laps. Front row starters Mark Burgtorf and Denny Eckrich, both legends for sure, paced lap one, with rising star Austen Becerra looking for an opening. Eckrich took command on the next trip around, two more laps and Becerra cleared Burgtorf for second. Eckrich opened a big lead and Becerra likewise put distance on the remainder of the field ahead of a lap thirteen caution. Following the Delaware style restart, visiting Jarrett Brown cleared Chris Zogg for third as Eckrich again disappeared in the distance. Denny cruised to his second $1,000 payday in a row, with Becerra holding off a late challenge by Brown. Zogg came home fourth, and Burgtorf held off Dennis Laveine for fifth.
A dozen late models saw Nick Marolf and Jeff Guengerich pace the twenty five lap headliner. As lap one was about to be scored, Ed Hollenbeck appeared to lose his steering, slamming the turn four guardrail, bringing out the red flag. Following the original restart Marolf charged ahead, followed by C. J. Horn. One more stop came at lap three for debris, then Marolf and Horn battle side by side until lap six, when Nick began to pull away. Horn was likewise all alone in second as the pack chose the inside line around the three eighths mile, with passing at a premium. Like Eckrich before him, Marolf made it back to back Drive for Five wins. Horn followed, while Darin Weisinger Jr. was strong in third. Independence, Iowa hot shoe Sean Johnson held off Guengerich for fifth. Denny Woodworth ran sixth, while the smoking #54 of Tommy Elston was next. Dalton Simonsen, Sam Halstead, Ray Raker, and Jeremy Pundt rounded out the field.
With twenty four cars qualified, twenty three sport mods came to the track for twenty laps. Outside pole sitter Dylan VanWyk grabbed the lead over Kyler Girard then Logan Anderson moved to second on lap three. A turn three pile up on lap four saw the red flag out for clean up, and back to racing Girard moved to the lead. About lap seven (the scoreboard was on vacation for the night!), VanWyk regained the top spot. Anderson followed in second on the next lap, and those two broke away as the race continued. Just after the halfway mark, Anderson drifted high in turns three and four, grazing the guardrail, which allowed VanWyk to widen his advantage. Brayton Carter had redrawn the twelve chip, and was slowly but steadily working his way forward, entering the top five on lap eleven. The leader found himself in slower traffic at lap fifteen, but he quickly put three cars between himself and Anderson. Cruising around in third, veteran Jim Gillenwater moved up to challenge Anderson for second with three laps to go. Logan was able to hold off the #10G , and on the white flag lap, Carter edged past Gillenwater for third. Girard, another visitor to the speedway completed the top five.
As the trucks lined up for their twelve lap feature, we headed for the parking lot. Reports show Tucker Richardson taking the win. We were on the road home shortly after 10:00, with another top notch show in the books. Thanks as always to Brian and Marcie for their hospitality and for keeping racing strong in southeast Iowa!
Family time will keep me from the rescheduled MLRA sanctioned Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington for the first time, but I hope all my racing friends will take in a show somewhere, sometime during this holiday weekend!
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