Despite rain during the week and what continues to be a swamp in the infield of the 1/4 mile track at Marshalltown Speedway, racing action was in full force on Friday night. Two new drivers went to Victory Lane....one visiting for the first time in his career at the track.
Point leader, Josh May took home another win in the Mod Lite division. May had the lead by lap two and from there, never looked back on his way to win #6 at the speedway. Travis Stensland peeked under May most of the race, but was never able to find a way around him, and had to be content with the runner up spot. Third was Mike Morrill, fourth was Bryan Zehm and Charlie Brown was fifth. May, who will be getting married next Saturday, (but may still be racing that night at Boone.....we shall see) padded his point lead with the win. Announcer Jerry Vansickel asked Josh how his father was doing after his earlier season accident at the track, and all were pleased to hear he was sitting in the stands watching!
The 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod feature found veteran racer Bill Hildreth at the helm immediately from his second row starting spot. Hildreth had a lot of company pressuring him however, and on lap six, one of those, Sam Wieben, had made the move into the top spot. Jared VanDeest, meanwhile, had swung his car to the topside, and was slowly reeling in the leader at each lap. He made it work with three laps remaining, taking the lead. He would hold it to the checkers and the win. Travis Peterson, started tenth, and made it as far as second, but had to settle for that, Wieben fell back a bit to finish third, fourth went to another driver who was in the mix all night for a top spot; Brandon Williams, and early leader Bill Hildreth rounded out the top five. VanDeest also stretched his point lead with the victory, his fourth of the year.
It's always nice to see a driver get his first win at a track, and that is just what Garrett Eilander did last night in the Hobby Stock class. Eilander came from starting in row four up to challenge then leader Tim Barber at lap three. After a bit of pestering, Eilander was able to make the pass coming out of turn four as lap six was being scored. Austin Luellen had started alongside Eilander in row four, and reeled in the leader, getting to second place. He gave it a shot as the checkers were displayed, but fell short and finished as the runner up. Third went to last week's winner Gary Pfantz, Tim Barber was fourth and Gene Nicklas was fifth.
The IMCA Stock Cars always provide the crowd with close racing, and their 18-lap feature didn't disappoint. Tyler Pickett snapped up the immediate lead from his outside pole starting spot, and appeared to be on a mission. Pickett, who suffered a lot of damage after being involved in a melee at the track last week, had veteran Robert Stofer to contend with almost immediately. The competition didn't end there however, as last week's winner Michael Jaennette, Steve Meyer and Donavon Smith were all close behind. Just before lap four, Stofer pulled off of the track with an apparent problem, out of the game, putting Jaennette in second place; Smith running third. Smith continued his drive on the lower part of the track, and slowly worked his way to the lead on lap seven. He would keep that top spot the remainder of the way to the checkers and the win. There was a lot of jockeying behind him for position, the outcome being determined at the finish line. Jaennette was able to hold off a hard charging Jay Schmidt as they finished second and third respectively. Fourth was Steve Meyer and early leader Tyler Pickett finished fifth. This was Smith's sixth win at Marshalltown this season. He also stretched his point lead with the win.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature went to Jon Snyder. Snyder, who finally found his way back to the winner's circle after more than a year's absence, did it in pretty convincing fashion. Snyder led all 20 laps, and but for a couple moments of second place finisher Brian Irvine's peeks, he ended up with a comfortable win as the checkers flew. Irvine earned his second place finish after starting tenth, third went to Jake Strayer, seventh place starter Ronn Laurtizen finished fourth and Jimmy Gustin started eighth and earned a fifth place finish. The point lead in this division is tightening up....if my calculations are correct. Jimmy Gustin is now the leader with 507 points, Josh Gilman fell to second place with 504 points after a ninth place finish last night, and Ronn Lauritzen is third with 503 points.
The Open Quads also ran last night on the high banks. George Hood, who we use to see piloting an IMCA Hobby Stock a few years ago, won both his heat and the feature.
Next Friday night, the Marshalltown Speedway will be back in action once again when it will be J & V Napa night at the track. Hot laps are 6:50 and racing at 7:30. Be sure and mark your calendar for the following two weeks, as the IMCA Late Models will be running on August 14 and 21. Thanks for reading!
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