What can you say about this dang Iowa weather we have been having. We thought the heat wave was suppose to end on Thursday, but it was still sweltering on Friday when we made our trip back to the Marshalltown Speedway. It was double feature night after last week's features had been rained out, so we were looking forward to seeing a lot of racing. Little did we know that before the night ended, we would not only be experiencing exciting racing but Mother Nature would show her hand as well for a little "extra" fun!
The night started a bit early with the make-up features immediately on the track.
The Dwarf/Mod Lites started it off. Mike Morrill powered around leader Jeff Stensland early. Meanwhile, Josh May had gotten into second and was trying to reel in Morrill who had a lengthy lead. That would end when Morrill went up in smoke.
May would then go on to take the win, Stensland retaining the runner up spot, third was Dusty Masolini, fourth Joel Huggins, and fifth went to James May.
In the IMCA Northern SportMod make-up feature, D.J. Robinson took the lead on the start, but it was soon Jenae Gustin making a strong move to power around him and into the lead. Gustin looked strong in taking the feature win over Scott Davis, Cayden Carter, Robinson, and Jared VanDeest in the 21J car.
The make-up feature for the IMCA stock cars saw Tracy Gienger get another win, his second on the year. He fended off the close challenges of Steve Meyer, Curt Hook, Damon Murty and Trent Murphy who were dicing it out behind him. Murty would draw close with a lap to go, but Gienger took the checkers, Murty finished second, Murphy was third, Meyer fourth and Donavon Smith was fifth as he got around Hook who ended up in sixth.
The IMCA modfied make-up feature came next. Adam Larson checked out on this one, taking the easy win, his second time visiting victory lane at Marshalltown this year.
Jimmy Gustin finished a distant second, Jon Snyder was third, Ronn Lauritzen took fourth and Scott Simatovich was fifth. We noted four "new" cars tagging the field, but since they were not "on scene" last week, they were not scored. Those were the #66 of Jared Siefert out of Wisconsin, #78 Adam Bolen, #5D Devin Havlik--son of former racer Jeff Havlik-- and the #85 of Dustin Smith. This was also the case in the other classes, with cars that were not there last week, tagging and not being scored.
The final make-up feature was the IMCA hobby stocks. Michael Murphy scored another win, his third of the year. He outdistanced Kevin Fee who finished second. Third was Brice Udelhoven, fourth Eric Larson and Calvin Dhondt was fifth.
By this time, there were changing weather conditions and the heat racing was put into high gear. At one point, the temps dropped drastically, almost as though someone had opened the fridge door! The black clouds loomed to the north and all were hoping "it" would avoid the Speedway. The raindops did fall when the final heats of the night--the IMCA modifieds ran. Fans ran for shelter, some to never return, but some of us remained to wait out the shower. Thankfully, it was only about a 15-minute delay and then we were back in action and the final modified heat was completed.
The first A feature was quickly brought to the track, the Dwarf/Mod Lite 15-lapper.
Josh May would repeat his earlier make-up feature win. He won easily over second place finisher, Mike Morrill. Morrill had to use a borrowed car, that of Jeff Stensland, in scoring his second place finish. Third was Andy Hennigar, followed closely by Joel Huggins in fourth, and Travis Stensland rounded out the top five.
The hobby stock featue went to Lake City's visiting driver on the night, Devin Smith. Smith is currently leading IMCA national points in the hobby stock division, and his performance showed just how strong he is. Kevin Fee finished in second place, Michael Murphy was third, Newton's Josh Saunders was fourth and Eric Larson was fifth.
The IMCA stock car's 18-lap feature saw a new driver visit victory lane. Grinnell's Todd Reitzler took his first ever win in the stock car division, after moving up from the hobby stock ranks. Two hard-chargers, Damon Murty and Donavon Smith were coming fast behind him, but as they duked it out, Reitzler took the checkers first.
Donavon Smith finished second ahead of Murty in third. Fourth was Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette rounded out the top five positions.
Jenae Gustin made it two-for-two tonight, winning her second feature of the night in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. The crowd had shown its pleasure in her first win, and with this win, they were even more demonstrative, with the cheers coming from all over the stands! She had also won her heat race earlier, making it a clean sweep for the night. Doug Smith challenged her a bit, but in the dwindling laps, Gustin pulled away for the easy win. Racer Hulin finished third, Tyler Droste fourth, and Cayden Carter was fifth.
The finale was the 20-lap IMCA modified feature. Ronn Lauritzen charged to the lead, and looked poised for a possible win. Enter the 69X car of Jon Snyder, who was coming hard and fast on the topside of the track. Snyder took the lead and then the eventual win. Meanwhile, Adam Larson had caught Lauritzen and made the late pass to snatch second place away. Lauritzen finished third, Jimmy Gustin was fourth and Scott Simatovich was fifth.
The program ended about 10:15, escaping Mother Nature's little antics. We all tasted the heat, winds, rains, cooling, and back to heat again. We know some friends in Las Vegas, who would have savored it all! Not so much us locals!
The full results can be found at the track's website, www.marshalltownspeedway.com.
The season is quickly winding down, so get out and enjoy a race somewhere,whether back at the Marshalltown Speedway or otherwise. We all need to support the sport we love. Happy racing!
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