Eating a little dirt from the north wind at Marshalltown last night, was well worth it! The racing was multi-grooved and the drivers put on a show for the fans. A couple of drivers that are on a hot streak lately, continued their winning ways, and two drivers saw the checkers at Marshalltown for the first time in 2013.
Adam Gates dominated in the Sport Compact feature, repeating his win from last week. Gates led all laps in taking the win over second place Merv Chandler. John Gill finished third, Travis Losenicky was fourth and Chad Larson fifth. Gates and Chandler are the only two drivers to score wins in this division at the track this year.....each with four wins apiece.
The MADCRA Mod Lites were up next for their A main event. Dusty Masolini led the troops the first couple of laps, then Mike Morrill took the helm and then it was Andy Hennigar taking his turn. Josh May got into the fight as well but there was no catching Hennigar as he took the checkers and the win. He held off Mike Morrill in second and finishing a close third was May. Fourth went to Randy Bryan and Mike Kennedy rounded out the top five.
Veteran racer Bill Hildreth led the opening laps of the IMCA Northern SportMod feature, withstanding two yellows in those early laps. Brandon Williams, a driver who is new on the scene in our neck of the woods this year, having moved to Iowa from the St. Joe, Missouri area, took the lead before a handful of laps were scored. There was no catching Williams as he scored the victory. Ben Kates had a good run and finished second over Ryan Ashton in third. Geoff Olson came from starting mid-pack to take fourth over Jared VanDeest in fifth. This was Williams' first win at the track this year. When we first saw him race this year, we could tell that he was no newbie to the sport as he had skills right from the get go. We also saw him take a win at Boone earlier this year.
It was an exciting finish to the IMCA Hobby Stock 12-lap feature. Eric Stanton, who had scored a win just a week ago, grabbed the lead by lap one. Nick Murty and Eric Larson were dueling it out behind for position and then Garrett Eilander joined them. It was fast and furious racing for the top spots, Stanton still in command. As the white flew, Murty was seeking a way around the leader and on the final corner as they came to the checkers, the outside move was the ticket! Murty made the pass and beat Stanton to the checkers. Third was Eilander, Larson took fourth and Austin Luellen came from starting near the tail, to take fifth.
18-laps of Stock Car racing came next. These guys (and gals, as Lauren Vis raced last night) always provide a lot of action wherever we see them. Derek Reimer looked strong in the early laps, as he pulled the pack with a nice lead. A caution flew at lap seven, bunched the field for the restart, and Jay Schmidt was chomping at the bit in second. Schmidt made the pass by the next lap only to have the yellow wave at lap ten, again bunching the field. This time it was Reimer breathing down the leader's rear for the restart, but at the drop of the green, Schmidt drove off. Things started to look interesting when Steve Meyer, last week's winner who had snatched a win away from Schmidt in the final moments, got to second and made his run at the leader. A green-white-checker situation presented itself, much like last week's scenario between the two drivers, but this time, Schmidt was able to keep that lead, scoring the win, his second of the season. Meyer, had to settle for the runner up spot, third went to Derek Reimer, who just held off Tracy Gienger in fourth. Eric Knutson completed the top five. Schmidt has been on a winning streak lately after debuting his new Harris Terminator Stock Car this month....having won two at Marshalltown and two at Boone.
A tad short on Modifieds last night, eleven cars on hand, made for no less an exciting race. Scott Simatovich held the helm the first few laps, taking the point over Zach Rawlins. Shortly, it was the Angry Bird car of Ronn Lauritzen taking flight as he swooped to the lead by lap six. A yellow bunched the field at lap seven, but did not deter the leader as he maintained his lead with little trouble. Racer Hulin was making good progress and took over the runner up spot on lap eight after passing Rawlins. Lauritzen took the win, his second of the season at the track, Hulin finished as the runner up, and Rawlins held third. Fourth went to "Downtown" Kyle Brown who made a late race run passing two cars and Jon Snyder hung around the front, to take fifth. Lauritzen is a driver on a hot streak lately, taking wins at Independence, Vinton and now Marshalltown in his last outings.
As a few notations from last night, we saw Damon Murty sporting a brand new ride, which looked great in the heat race, but had trouble in the feature, taking it to the infield early. A few new drivers showed up in the Stock Car class, perhaps testing the waters for Tuesday's Stock Car Shoot Out. Veteran Robert Stofer made an appearance, as did Lonnie Hodges and Norm Chesmore. Speaking of that Shoot Out coming up on Tuesday, mark your calendars as this is always a fun show. SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts are also on the docket. Hot laps are scheduled for 7 p.m. with racing to follow.
Cohort, (or partner in crime as it may be) Ryan Clark was in the house last night too, so check his thoughts at Positively Racing at www.instaging.blogspot.com. as well. Everyone always has a different prospective it seems.
Get out and find a race to attend. There is no lack of them in this busy season. Happy racing!
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