Harris and Marolf Pick Up First Wins at Donnellson

 Despite threatening skies, rain, and storms in the area, the Lee County Speedway crew persevered to present weekly racing on Friday night. Sixty five cars in five classes signed in to race in front of a more than decent crowd considering the uncertainty of the weather.
 With the 3/8 mile oval having received excess moisture, it took the track crew along with packing help from the drivers extra time to get the surface in racing shape. The heat races clicked off in timely fashion, then feature racing began with no intermission.
 IMCA sport mods kicked off the five main events, fifteen cars for eighteen laps. Brandon Lambert paced the opening pair of laps before eighth starting Austen Becerra moved to the lead. Tenth starting Daniel Fellows was also on the move, advancing to third, then snatching the runner up spot on lap four. The yellow flag technically sent Fellows back to third, but he used the Delaware restart to again take second and pulled alongside Becerra as lap five was scored. As the front duo continued to battle side by side, they began to put distance on the field. Fellows finally nosed ahead on lap nine, then began to stretch his advantage. Just as he moved in on slower traffic, with six laps remaining on the scoreboard, the caution waved again. Two more restarts, one following a hard crash by Steven Berry, and Adam Birck cracked the top three with two laps to go. But it was all Fellows on this night, as he scored another win over Becerra, Birck, Ron Kibbe, and Brandon Dale.
  The twenty lap IMCA late model main event was next, with fifteen cars taking the green flag. The draw, redraw format in effect for the night saw Stacy Griffis and Brian Harris lined up in row one. Harris shot to the lead, quickly pulling away from Jay Johnson and Matt Strassheim, who came from sixth in the Barton Racing #7. The yellow came out when one of the traffic cones was knocked on the track, not once, but twice! Tegan Evans retired to the pits as Harris again grabbed the lead. On lap three, seventh starting Tommy Elston nudged his way under Griffis in turns three and four, but ran into the mud on the low line and spun, collecting Sam Halstead. After the two contenders recovered, their cars were literally covered with mud, to the point that Halstead quite possibly could not see or grip the steering wheel! With those two restarting at the tail, fifth starting Nick Marolf charged to second. By lap six, he was challenging Harris as the two broke away from the pack. Soon Harris pulled ahead, but by the mid point of the race, Marolf was once again closing in. The leaders caught slower traffic with seven laps to go, and Harris found Griffis and Halstead in a side by side battle for position. He was able to clear both cars and looked to be on his way to an easy win. However, more traffic on the final lap allowed Marolf one final shot as they came to the checkers. Harris used momentum off the high line to beat Marolf to the line. It was the first win of 2019 for Harris and the Richard Racing #15R. Marolf came home second over Johnson, with Strassheim easing past Ron Boyse for fourth on the final lap. Elston recovered to run sixth, besting Dalton Simonsen, Brandon Queen, Ray Raker, and Jared Miller. Simonsen and Miller are rookies in the late model division, making their first appearances in the late model class at LCS.
  Twelve stock cars lined up for eighteen laps. A six car melee in turn one as the green flag waved created a very lengthy delay for clean up. Polesitter Les Blakely, Abe Huls, and Todd Reitzler pulled away in a three car pack before a caution on lap three saw Brandon Savage and Pete Stodgell exchange pleasantries. Back under green, Cody McClure and Craig Bangert got together in turn four, with Bangerts' #66 winding up on its top. With only six cars still on the track, David Brandies joined the top three as they ran under a blanket. Brandies was second on lap five, then took the top spot two circuits later. As he opened a sizable lead, Reitzler eventually won his side by side duel with Blakely, taking second with six laps to go. By now, Brandies had nearly a straightaway lead, and he cruised to his second win of the season at LCS. Reitzler followed, ahead of Blakely, Jeremy Pundt, and Dean Kratzer. Huls, the last car running, fell to sixth as he broke a spring on his #30C machine.
  The IMCA modified count was a bit short, with nine cars on hand after Dean McGee suddenly left the pit area before hot laps began. Marolf was doing double duty in his #33 modified, and he jumped out from his pole start before Craig Spegal lost a wheel coming through turns three and four on lap one. Back to racing, Marolf was off like a shot, ahead of Bill Roberts Jr. and Jeff Waterman. Meanwhile, John Oliver Jr. and Dennis Laveine wowed the crowd running side by side, lap after lap in a battle for fourth. With no more cautions, Marolf secured his first mod win at the track in 2019 to go along with a late model win a few weeks back. At the checkers, he topped Roberts Jr., Waterman, Oliver Jr., and Laveine.
  Finally, it was fourteen sport compacts for fifteen laps as the finale. Dylan Schantz started in row two, and led the opening laps. Jason Ash and Trent Orwig were on the move, Ash coming from row four to second, and Orwig from fifth to third on lap four. As the top three battled, Orwig moved from third to first on lap seven. As he gained control, Chuck Fullenkamp joined Schantz and Ash in a battle for second. The only caution of the event came for a slowing Kody Bowman with six circuits left. On the final restart, Barry Taft came from fifth to third, and two laps later, he was challenging Fullenkamp for the runner up spot. At the checkers, Orwig collected win number two at the track this season, followed by Fullenkamp, Taft, Schantz, and Ash.
  With fireworks still to be viewed, we headed to the car, as the clock had ticked past 11:00. On a personal note, I was surprised to be entertained by nine of my wifes' cousins who came to watch late model driver Brandon Queen, whose wife Denise is one of those cousins. And a special shout out to cousin Danny and wife Sally, who were on hand from Pensacola, Florida. Not only is Danny one of my readers, he and Sally are awesome hosts during family vacations!