How long am I going to have to keep saying, it was cold at the races again? But it sure was at the Marshalltown High Banks on Friday night. The crowd was sparse, but those that were there got their money's worth! There was some great racing and on the best track of the season in my opinion. Three racers sealed the deal on back-to-back wins, a visitor from just down the road made his night pay off with a win, and there was a new winner in the Mod Lite division.
The three Sport Compact competitors ran 8-lap feature first. John Gill grabbed the lead immediately and led all eight laps on the way to his victory, scoring his second win in as many weeks. Aaron Miller and Dave Moorman fought it out in the first couple of laps until Moorman took over second place. The race continued in the same order the rest of the way to the checkers----Gill first, Moorman second and Miller taking third.
The Mod Lite 15-lap feature went flag-to-flag, pleasing the chilly crowd. Josh May got to the front by lap two, never to look back. The brother's Brown in their "spooky clown cars" (maybe I have coulrophobia...the fear of clowns) chased May all the way to the checkers. May won for the first time at Marshalltown this year, while Charlie Brown's two-race win streak ended with a second place finish. Terry Brown was a distant third. Joe Glick had a good run and finished fourth over Travis Brandt in fifth.
The Hobby Stocks ran next. Matt Pohlman led the opening laps but Eric Stanton moved quickly to the front from starting eighth; taking over the lead by lap five. A lap later, a caution came out for Jason See sitting in between corners three and four, which is no doubt, what second place runner Austin Luellen was looking for. Luellen had started along side Stanton in row four, and was ready to challenge the leader when the race restarted. Those two front runners went at it the ensuing circuits, with Luellen finally taking command with a couple of laps remaining. At the checkers, Luellen took the win by a comfortable margin, scoring back-to-back victories at the track. Eric Stanton finished as the runner up over Pohlman in third. Brice Udelhoven was fourth and it was a close one at the checkers for John Watson and Gary Pfantz as they went fifth and sixth.
The 18-lap SportMod feature came next.....and it was a marathon. Not what the shivering crowd wanted. They didn't get the first lap in before the start was called back. When it did get underway, Neil Follett led the charge. The yellow came out at lap four, Follett still leading with Carter VanDenBerg chomping at the bit in second, ready for the restart. Also eagerly awaiting that restart was Clint Luellen. Luellen had charged through the pack from starting twelfth, up into the third spot. It was but a lap after the restart until Luellen got the advantage and flew to the lead. Another caution flew at lap nine, and again at lap thirteen. Thirteen was it's unlucky self as on the second try for a restart, corner one became a parking lot. Lap fourteen also brought out the yellow rag, the last one of the race. Luellen calmly remained at the point during all of the interruptions and restarts, and took the checkers for the first time at Marshalltown in 2014. Travis Peterson slipped around VanDenBerg in the closing laps as they finished second and third. Jared VanDeest and Ryan Ashton completed the top five.
The Stock Cars had another good one. It was hard to keep track of who was leading in the opening laps as they came across the finish line in a near photo finish. By lap five things were sorted out a bit and it was Michael Jaennette in his "Pink Panther" hot rod, staying just ahead of Steve Meyer. A couple of laps later, new daddy, Brian Irvine had made the pass into second around Meyer and was giving chase. Irvine, who had started back in row six, was on the hunt and challenging Jaennette for the lead every lap. A yellow flew at lap nine, leading up to a restart of hard runners behind Jaennette. There was a pack of cars at the front that gave way to some awesome racing after the restart, position changes at each lap. Donavon Smith made a spectacular move to get into first at lap thirteen, and then charged off with clear air in front of him the rest of the way to the checkers. Steve Meyer snatched second away from Irvine in third, at the line. Trent Murphy came from seventh to capture a fourth, and Scott Pippert came from starting in row eight to get a top five finish. Early leader Jaennette fell to seventh with all of the jostling, finishing behind Jay Schmidt in sixth.
The IMCA Modified A main followed up the great Stock Car feature with their own exciting race. Racer Hulin took the lead away from Jake Strayer at lap three, and pulled away. Hulin was racing along untouched at the front of the pack until that dreaded yellow flew at lap nine. There had been much challenging going on behind Hulin as Luke Wanninger had gotten to second, running just ahead of visiting Richie Gustin in third. Gustin, who had started twelfth, had worked his way into contention, running just ahead of Adam Larson. On the restart, Gustin took advantage and snatched the lead from Hulin. A couple of laps later, Wanninger made the pass into second, only to have Hulin grab it back. The rest of the way home was all Gustin, as he raced to the checkers flying first. Racer Hulin took the runner up spot, and Adam Larson just beat Wanninger to the finish line as they went third and fourth. Joel Rust had a good run to round out the top five.
Due to the chilly temps, it was decided to have the victory lane photos done after all the racing was completed, also forgoing the interviews. More than a few fans in the stands gave thumbs up to that decision. Next week, the regular season continues at Marshalltown Speedway where it will be "Salute to Military Night" at the races.
No comments:
Post a Comment