Lee County Speedway was our destination for Saturday night racing. The regular six classes were on the card on this Fathers' Day weekend. It was a warm evening, and when the sun broke through late, the track became hard and slick, adding a challenging dimension to handling a race car! A couple late arrivals raised the final count to seventy five entrants in the six divisions.
Hot laps kicked off a few minutes past the 6:00 target, but the first heat race hit the track at about 6:34, and fifty five minutes later, the eleven qualifiers were in the books.
Following about a twenty minute intermission the slow to staging Sport Mods lined up, all but two of the seventeen on hand racing for fifteen laps. As Kevin Eggleston waved the green flag he quickly replaced it with a yellow for a multi car scrum on the front stretch. Nicholas Profeta shot to the lead on the original restart while Patrick Phillips and Tyler Heckart raced side by side for second. Heckart fell back a bit on lap two as Phillips grabbed the position and Dylan VanWyk advanced from his sixth starting spot to third. As Profeta continued to race around the very bottom of the three eighths mile oval, VanWyk used the high line to take second on lap four. Another caution came with five laps scored and when racing resumed, VanWyk continued his top side drive to the front. Dakota Girard found extra speed and charged to third with the caution again displayed. A final caution came when Dakota was involved in a stoppage that sent both him and brother Kyler to the tail for a last restart. When the green flag waved Profeta got shuffled back in the scramble for positions.. At the checkers it was VanWyk with the win followed by Phillips, Brandon Dale, Profeta, and eleventh starting Grinnell, Iowa visitor Will Wolf.
Sport Compacts were next to the grid with all ten entries making the call. This one was never in doubt as Brandon Reu charged from row two to lead all fifteen laps. Luke Fraise gave up the runner up spot to Barry Taft on lap two. Following the only yellow flag stoppage, Kimberly Abbott, starting eighth, moved up to challenge Taft, who was piloting a #26 machine. As those two did battle, Reu drove off, cruising to the win. Taft won the duel for second over Abbott, while Fraise topped Ethan Prim to round out the first five.
The late appearance of C.J. Horn swelled the Pro Late Model count to sixteen, and all but Sam Halstead lined up for twenty five laps. The chatter on this night concerned the plain black car with a pair of "twos" hastily applied to the drivers door. Modified ace Austen Becerra was the surprise pilot, and after a heat race win, he redrew the pole position alongside rookie Spencer Havermale. While Austen rocketed to the lead, third starting Tommy Elston followed in second. Along with Havermale, they quickly put distance on the field, themselves well spread apart and running the preferred inside groove. With slower traffic coming into play as the race neared the halfway mark, Elston began to swiftly close the gap on the leader. With thirteen in the books, Tommy put his #54 out front and began to stretch his advantage. With the laps winding down to four to go in what proved to be a non stop event, Becerra was having problems clearing a lapped car, and soon Havermale was on his rear bumper. Elston sailed to the victory as Becerra edged Havermale for the runner up honors. Havermales' teammate, Vance Wilson slipped around Darn Weisinger Jr. for fourth. Second generation driver Clay Simpson made his first visit to LCS in 2024 and wheeled his #25Jr from a row seven start to sixth, besting rookie Jackson Frankel, Denny Woodworth, his teammate Jason Oenning, and Jeremy Pundt. The win marked perhaps four in a row for Elston at LCS?
Blaine Bryant would be the lone Stock Car missing from the twelve as they prepared for twenty laps of action. Veteran Johnny Spaw sat on the pole, and quickly pulled well out front ahead of Casen Keller and double duty Dustin Griffiths. As Griffiths took over the second spot with four laps scored, an intense four car battle developed for third. By the time Derrick Agee broke out from that pack, Spaw was nearly out of sight. But with eight circuits counted, Tom Cannon got crossed up in turn four, sliding into the infield, then drove back to the apron to bring out a yellow flag. Back to green flag racing, Griffiths made a rare mistake, spinning in turn two to bring another caution. Again Spaw pulled well ahead, but a final stoppage came with seven laps to go. And this time Agee was able to find traction on the bottom of the speedway. Soon the high riding Spaw dropped down to try and protect his lead, but Agee managed to nose ahead with just three laps remaining. The Missouri driver then held on for a hard fought win over Spaw. Nicholas Profeta picked up his second top five of the night in third, while Griffiths worked his way back to out gun Keegan Wells for fourth.
As has been the case whenever tried, Hobby Stocks continue to struggle with car counts anywhere close to the Mississippi River, and only six signed in for the night. Pole sitter Tucker Richardson and third starting Griffiths drove off from the rest ahead of a single caution period three laps in. Back to racing, Griffiths used a low side move on lap four to take the lead, then stayed out front for the final eleven circuits. Richardson stayed close, waiting for a mistake that never came. Meanwhile Austin Stalder and James Pilkington had a see saw battle for third, crossing the line in that order. Darin DeZwarte was the only other car running as the checkers waved.
Fourteen Modifieds would put a wrap on the action, going at it for twenty laps. Denny Eckrich sat on the pole, and was determined to use that advantage to the fullest. As he paced the field, Dustin Kroening and Las Vegas, Nevada visitor Jonathon Mawhinney duked it out for second. Jonathon is apparently one of several drivers traveling the mid west to try his luck at some new and different tracks. Six laps in, he took command of the runner up spot but was well behind Eckrich. At the same time, Kurt Kile and Blaine Webster dueled back and forth behind the top three. With the race staying green, the front runners soon found themselves fighting slower traffic. But both Eckrich and Mawhinney had built a nice cushion when four cars fighting for the third spot came upon a lapped one exiting turn two. With nowhere to go, the slower car spun onto the apron, triggering the yellow flag. With the final wave of the green, Mawhinney was shuffled back while Kile found a hole, charging from sixth to second behind Eckrich at the checkers. Kroening followed, Jadin Fuller came home in fourth, and Mawhinney held off Webster for fifth.
The well paced program came to a close about 9:30, allowing even those with youngsters to stay until the end! Thanks as always to Neal, Patrick, and their crew for a fun Saturday night.
Adams County, Il. Speedway will be idle on this Fathers' Day to prepare for the UMP Summer National Hell Tour invasion on Wednesday, as both the traveling Late Models and Summit Modifieds will come to town, supported by IMCA Sport Mods and their fledgling Crown Vic division. Hope to see you there!
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