After a rain out last Friday at Marshalltown, sunshine, blue skies and a nice southerly breeze greeted the fans this week. Who would have thought that before the night had ended, we would again be watching approaching thunderstorms! All features were completed and an extra added attraction of a "Spectator Elimination" contest closed out the action at the track.
The Dwarf/Mod Lite feature was the first to pull onto the track. A red flag would fly before even the first lap was completed when the 46 of Kevin Grisham rolled on the backstretch. I believe this was the second time he has put it on the top at Marshalltown this season. He was okay. When racing resumed, Joel Huggins put his bright yellow x50 to the front of the pack with Jimmy May tailing him. Meanwhile, Tim Hennigar, Josh May and Mike Morrill were making headway; all from starting well back in the field. With thirteen laps down, Josh May made the pass into the top spot and went home to another win. Joel Huggins settled for the bridesmaid's spot, Tim Hennigar took third, fourth went to Mike Morrill and fifth was Jimmy May.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had to run a B to fill out their 24-car starting line-up. Tom Rawlins was leading with six laps down, when he was suddenly off power and out of the race. This would then put the second-place car of Fred Leytham to the point position and son Gaitlin Leytham, to the runner-up position. Several caution flags would fly, but those two would hold on to their positions until the checkers. Father Fred Leytham would take his first win of the season at Marshalltown, and Gaitlin would follow in second. Third went to the 21 of Kyle Brown who had started well back in the starting line-up as he held off Carter VandenBerg who was scored in fourth. Rounding out the top five, was the 2Z of Zach Rawlins.
The stock car feature was quickly brought to the track as the storm front to the north was approaching rapidly. Jeff Wollam led the troops through halfway of the 18-lap feature. Yellow flags would bunch the field and on a restart, point leader Dustin Smith (who had started in 12th spot) shot around Wollam on the backstretch. Not to be outdone, Trent Murphy, second in points, followed Smith through the pack and would take over second as he also got around Wollam. On a subsequent restart after yet another caution, Smith would pull high in turns three and four, with what we believe was a flat tire. With only two laps left, that would end his chances of a win even though he would rejoin the pack as the race restarted. The green-white-checkered finish saw Trent Murphy with the win which appears to have put him into the point lead, second went to Jeff Wollam, third to veteran Tommy Thompson, fourth to Tracy Gienger and fifth to Dave Atcher.
All nineteen IMCA modifieds took the green flag for their feature event. Scott Simatovich led the pack up front for a short time until the 12X of Brett Ladehoff made the pass into the lead after a restart. The lead was short lived however, when Ladehoff experienced problems and went into the infield. Richie Gustin had been coming through the pack and had made it into the second position as he ran high on the track, while Simatovich clung to the bottom groove. With just two laps to go, Gustin seemed to be loosing power and would fall back drastically. When the double checkers flew, Scott Simatovich would take his second win of the year at the Marshalltown Speedway as he had also won the track's opening night feature. Josh "Happy" Gilman kept his car toward the front most of the race, and came home in second. Jon Snyder was scored in third, fourth went to Mike O'Lear and rounding out the top five, was Adam Larson.
By the time the last feature, the IMCA hobby stock class, pulled onto the track, we were now watching a light show to our north. This was not a good night for leaders of the race, as Devin Smith in his 81 machine had come quickly to the front from starting 10th, only to drop out with a flat. This occurred after a restart when a situation on the front chute involving several cars stopped the action. Todd Reitzler now took over the point position, which he kept for the final laps. Reitzler was the winner followed by Tyler Pickett, a front runner all night, third went to Eric Knutson, fourth to Gary Pfantz and fifth to Newton's Josh Saunders.
Since the weather was still not causing a problem, a special event -- a "Spectator Elimination" went on as planned. Twenty-two entrance brought their licensed and driven-to-the-track vehicles to go up against an opponent. They would run a green-white-checkered from a standing start --with the winner advancing to the next round. Unfortunately, one entrant ended up on the roll-back after rolling in turn two! The winner of this unusual event, was Dwarf/Mod Lite driver, Ivan Guerra, as he was the last man standing. His opponent was a sharp looking newer Camero, but Guerra's little VW Turbo charged ride, was the winner on the night. This proved to be a popular attraction and promoter Toby Kruse already announced that they would be doing it all over again on July 23rd.
Shortly after the action was all completed, the winds shifted and the approaching storm seemed to be getting a bit too close for comfort. We headed the vehicle south and avoided any rain but had only been home a short time, when it began. Check out http://www.marshalltownspeedway.com/ for the complete results and all other information. Mark your calendars for this coming Monday, as the Great American Stock Car Shoot Out is on tap. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:15 with races at 7 p.m. Happy racing!
It was a fun night of racing!
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