After an opening night cancellation due to a saturated racing surface, it would be race night Friday at Lee County Speedway. And it would be the first night for the new promoters at the fairgrounds three eighths mile oval in Donnellson, Iowa. The Weisinger family has seen several generations compete on Tri State area tracks for many decades and it has always been a true family affair. So when the fair board found themselves searching for a new promoter for 2026 it was patriarch Darin taking the plunge. And as might be expected it soon became a group effort. While Darin will be the "face" of the operation, it will be daughter Lee Ann Lambert - of National Anthem and numerous local bands fame - handling race director chores.
The most obvious change to the program is the return to Friday night racing and along with that comes a return to IMCA sanctioning in five of the six classes. Late Models, Modifieds, Sport Mods, Stock Cars and Sport Compacts will again be on the weekly card, with unsanctioned Mini Hauler Trucks replacing Hobby Stocks in an attempt to increase car counts. This would also be the first points paying night at the track.
Seventy three race teams checked in on what turned into a very chilly evening, and there were even a couple of rain showers in the area before race time. All things considered, it seemed like a decent opening night crowd. As might be expected, the program was a bit late getting started, but the races clicked off in good fashion, with the final checkers just past 10:30 on a near perfect racing surface.
It was a memorable beginning for the new promotion team, as in the very first heat race of the night contact on the backstretch sent the #11E of Ethan Prim for a wild ride as his flipping Sport Compact might have cleared the wall were it not for the catch fence. Fortunately he was able to walk away from the accident although his car did not fare as well. It would be the first of two roll overs on the night, as Dylan VanWyk would also take a tumble in the Sport Mod feature even as the yellow flag came out for a spin at the other end of the track. He was running in second place at the time, and I am not sure what happened as I was focused on the spinner in turn four as Dylan did a complete roll over off turn two.
Feature racing began with the Sport Compacts, and although only five of the seven cars on hand took the green flag, this may have been the race of the night. Chuck Fullenkamp paced the opening lap before Brandon Reu took over one lap later. Soon it was Josh Barnes applying pressure to the leader, and he was out front by inches as lap four of ten was scored. The frontrunners then ran side by side lap after lap with Reu leading as lap eight went in the books. But when Kevin Eggleston waved the checkers it was Barnes again ahead by a nose, picking up the win over Reu. Heat winner Kimberly Abbott was third in front of David Prim and Fullenkamp.
All fourteen Stock Cars lined up next for twenty laps. David Brandies led the opening circuit over Chad Krogmeier. John Oliver Jr. started inside row two, and by lap four he was the new leader. With Brandies now second, Krogmeier and Jason See locked in a battle for third. Just past the halfway mark, See spun in turn three while running in third. Derrick Agee moved to third following the Delaware restart, but was soon overtaken by Leremy Jackson. As Oliver built a commanding lead, the next six cars ran in tight formation. On the white flag lap Agee was able to regain third, but it was Oliver Jr. and Brandies first across the line. Jackson barely held off a charging See for fourth.
Twenty laps would be the distance for the Modifieds. Austen Becerra redrew the pole position, jumped quickly out front and stayed there in the second caution free feature. Jared Eckrich moved around birthday boy Bill Roberts Jr. for the runner up spot on lap two and while Becerra built a half track lead Eckrich also put distance on the rest of the field. Becerra would cruise to the win, followed by Eckrich, Roberts and Blaine Webster. Mark Burgtorf used a late race pass of Jace Whitt to climb to fifth.
A strong field of seventeen Late Models signed in for the night. Jason Oenning finished fifth in heat one while Tommy Elston could do no better than fourth in heat two, but the opening night redraw found those two sharing row one for the twenty five lap feature. And much like the Modified main event, the redraw told the tale. Elston blasted out to a lead he would never relinquish. Third starting Spencer Havermale soon powered to second, and even as Elston moved to a different time zone, Havermale also pulled away from the pack. However behind those two the action was intense. Oenning held on to third before suddenly ducking to the infield. Meanwhile Darin Weisinger Jr., Sam Halstead and Denny Woodworth were locked in a tight scrum for fourth. With just seven laps remaining, Woodworth and Halstead went synchronized spinning in turn four to trigger the first yellow of the race. Halstead retired to the pits and Woodworth was allowed to keep his position in the running order. Eighth starting Curtis Glover used the Delaware restart to power around Havermale for second but there would be no catching Elston. Havermale would hold third, chased by Woodworth and Weisinger Jr. Like Woodworth, Jackson Frankel advanced five spots to finish six, topping Ron Boyse, Jake Griffin, Jeremy Pundt and Jayden Johnson.
The largest field of the night was eighteen Sport Mods, and they all came to the track for twenty laps of action. And once more the redraw told the story. Cole Gillenwater lined up on the pole position and shot to the lead, pulling away from the pack with double duty John Oliver Jr. in tow. Soon it was a charging VanWyk clearing Oliver for second. The first caution came five laps in, and VanWyk was soon challenging Gillenwater for the lead as they ran side by side until the yellow flag waved at the lap eight mark. That is when disaster struck, ending VanWyks' night. Twice more the caution would wave, and on the final restart Brandon Dale cleared Oliver for second before John drove to the infield, his charge finished. Gillenwater would pull away to a comfortable lead, then drive off to his first ever feature win. Dale came home second besting young Bryson Eckrich, Charlie Rindom and Jason Van Zomeren.
With an early call Saturday morning I will confess to heading to the parking lot as the Mini Haulers lined up for the finale of the night. Congrats to Caleb Ealy on his win over Colton Meeker and Nick Wilkerson.
A big thanks to Darin and the Weisinger family for their hospitality. Remember, 2026 is once again Friday night racing at Lee County Speedway!
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