The Marshalltown Speedway sprung to life again on Friday night, with racing in all six classes and a good field of 126 cars. It was also the Cliff Chambers Memorial race, honoring the former promoter and longtime supporter of racing.
Ben Seeman took his first win ever at the Marshalltown track in the IMCA Late Model contest, while Tim Ward outlasted stout competition to take the IMCA Modified victory. Jeff Mueller motored around the top of the track and sailed home to the IMCA Stock Car win, Ethan Braaksma saw the checkers first in the IMCA Northern SportMod A main, the IMCA Hobby Stock winner was Dylan Nelson, and Randy Bryan repeated his Mod Lite win from last week.
Randy Bryan started tenth, overtook Joel Huggins at lap fourteen of the 15-lap Mod Lite feature, and matched his win from last Friday night. Huggins held on to second place, third went to Joe Glick, fourth to Bryan Zehm and Charlie Brown completed the top five. Mike Morrill, who started fourth on the field, had his night end at lap two in a cloud of smoke.
Travis Peterson led the early portion of the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod main event, only to have it snatched away by Ethan Braaksma at lap ten. Braaksma motored his way to the lead by running the topside of the fast track, and after gaining that lead, never looked back on his march to victory, winning by a healthy margin. Jared VanDeest got by Doug Smith in the closing laps as they went second and third in that order. Fourth went to Austin Luellen, who made a late race pass on early leader Travis Peterson, who came home in fifth spot. Braaksma's last win at the track was the 2017 Frostbuster, but look for more visits to Victory Lane as he's looking like a strong contender this season. Thirty IMCA SportMods came to play on the High Banks.
Dylan Nelson from Adel, Iowa stamped his name in the record books as a first time winner in the IMCA Hobby Stock class at Marshalltown. Nelson led from the drop of the green, and held off Eric Knutson in the runner up spot. David Rieks started fourteenth and flew through the field to finish third, fourth place Gene Nicklas started twelfth and Leah Wroten was fifth. Last year's track champion, Shannon Anderson got crossed up, and popped the bead on a tire with just two laps in, ending his night's fun run.
Jeff Mueller made a run on the high side of the Marshalltown high banks and took home the trophy in the IMCA Stock Car 20-lap feature. Mueller started eighth and ran down then leader Todd Inman at lap seven. He set his car to the high line and outran Damon Murty who had to settle this week for second after two wins last week at the track. Tyler Pickett finished third, Paul Shepard was fourth, and Todd Reitzler rounded out the top five. Mueller, the southern Iowa native who moved to Albion last year, is finding his niche at the High Banks.
Ben Seeman, the IMCA Late Model driver from Waterloo, snagged his first ever win at the Marshalltown track, leading all 20-laps of the the A Main. Seeman finished well ahead of second place Todd Cooney, who made a late race pass on Darrel DeFrance in third. Richie Gustin took fourth place, and Kyle Krampe was fifth. Ten of the mighty wide-bodies tested the track last night.
The evening concluded with an exciting IMCA Modified 20-lap feature. The action was fast and furious throughout the entire race. Former Mod Lite racer, Josh May looked strong leading the early portion of the race, but he had big time company chasing him down. One of those was Nick Roberts who came calling first and took the top spot away. He was soon fending off the likes of Joel Rust and Tim Ward as he dug in to keep his lead. Lap fourteen saw that lead disappear as Ward managed the pass to become the leader of the pack, but the competition was not going away. In the waning moments, Ward held the lead and took the checkers first, with Roberts finishing a close second. Joel Rust outlasted Ricky Thornton in a close battle as they went third and fourth respectively, and Josh May finished in fifth. There were 28 Modifieds checked into the track, but it was decided to allow all cars a spot in the A Main, eliminating the need for a B Main.
It was a MUCH more pleasant night to be sitting in the grandstand. The temperature was much warmer and a relief not to have the strong winds! Let's hope that our nice weather is here to stay so we can all get our racing fix in without having to fight Mother Nature.
In place of the regular Friday night racing, the Marshalltown Speedway will be holding the inaugural Dale DeFrance Memorial race next Thursday night, May 10. The racing format will be draw/redraw in all classes. The Late Model winner will receive $1,500 and Modifieds will be racing for $1,000 to win, $500 for the Stock Cars and SportMods, and the Hobby Stocks, $300, plus many contingencies. There will be no racing at the track on Friday, and the Iowa High School Rodeo can have the grounds. Thursday's starting times are hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Check the track's website at www.marshalltownspeedway.com or their Facebook page for more details and any updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment