The IMCA Late Models returned to the high banks of the Marshalltown Speedway on Friday evening for the running of the Kevin Sharp Shooter Miller Lite "Dirty 30". When the dust had settled and the final checkers flew, it was Tyler Bruening taking home the $1,500. Other winners on the night were Joel Rust, in the IMCA Modifieds, Jay Schmidt was the winner in the IMCA Stock Cars, Tony Olson won a hard fought battle to snag the IMCA Northern SportMod feature win, Kayden Reynolds went home the victor in the IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Travis Stensland out ran his father to capture the Mod Lite feature. It was also a bit of a throw back night too, as the former "voice of the Marshalltown Speedway", Denny Grabenbauer was the man behind the mic.
Feature racing kicked off with the 15-lap Mod Lite main event. Jeff Stensland quickly moved from his seventh starting position to snag the lead away from Charlie Brown, taking command on lap three. Travis Stensland then tagged on to his dad's bumper and the chase was on. The father/son duo ran in that order lap after lap, often side by side down the backstretch, until lap twelve when Travis Stensland made his persistence pay off, and took over the top spot. He held off his dad the final three laps to take the checkers, Jeff Stensland having to settle for the runner up spot. Mike Morrill came from tenth starting spot to finish in third, fourth went to Randy Bryan, and Joel Huggins rounded out the top five. This marked Travis Stensland first trip to victory lane at Marshalltown this season.
Kayden Reynolds put it in the winner's circle for the second time by winning the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Reynolds has had a string of bad luck this year, having his car damaged in incidents at the track, but it appears he is back at top form again. Reynolds came from eighth starting position and had the lead by lap two. Ninth place starter, Leah Wroten, the last two week's winner, followed the leader through the field to give Reynolds a run for his money, but had to be content with second place. Jamie Coady and Ray Fees went third and fourth respectively, and hard charger of the race was Jacob Floyd who had a top five finish after starting in fifteenth place.
It was an epic battle between cousins for much of the 18-lap IMCA Northern SportMod A main. Kyle Olson held the top spot with Tony Olson giving chase. The #T23 of Tony Olson made the pass to take over at lap six, with Austin Schrage joining in the battle for a top spot. As the laps wore down, Tony Olson continued to lead with Schrage settling into the number two spot, content to let Kyle Olson and Cory VanZante duke it out for third and fourth. When the checkers flew, it was Tony Olson claiming the win and Austin Schrage was the runner up. Travis Peterson made a last lap surge after a green-white-checkered to finish third in the dash to the finish line, with Cory VanZante taking fourth over Kyle Olson in fifth. Tony Olson scored his first win at the speedway for 2019.
It was another first time winner in the 2019 season with Jay Schmidt capturing the win in the "Class too Tough to Tame", the IMCA Stock Cars in a race that went green to checkered. Schmidt started sixth, and quickly caught then leader Jared Daggett. The two drivers then went to battle as Schmidt took peeks under the leader lap after lap, looking for a way around. Then just after lap fifteen had been scored, Schmidt made it work, making the pass in turn two to take over the top spot. He kept hold of that lead the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Dave Atcher finished as the runner up, Steve Meyer came from tenth to finish third, Scott Rice and Todd Reitzler completed the top five. Daggett suffered mechanical issues in the final lap and dropped out. Schmidt said in his post race interview that he was ready to "load it up" after his heat race, but with the help of his crew and fellow racers, they got it race ready. Ya gotta love racing camaraderie!
Joel Rust took his ride from the eight starting spot and into the lead in just four laps. He never relinquished it the remaining distance to the checkers, taking the win in the IMCA Modified 20-lap main event. Hot shoe Todd Shute made a guest appearance at the track and finished as the runner up. Point leader Tim Ward came from tenth starting position, and finished third, Sam Wieben was fourth and D.J. Shannon from Merced, California rounded out the top five.
The featured event of the evening put a night cap on the racing with the running of the IMCA Late Model 30 lap Miller "Dirty 30". Darin Duffy, piloting the usual ride of Jeff Aikey, led the cars to the green flag. Tyler Bruening was soon on the hustle, moving his hot rod from eighth place to fall in behind leader Duffy.
At the halfway mark of the race, Bruening was leading, holding John Emerson at bay, then the two began swapping the top spot back and forth. Then the nemesis...in this case, a tire in turn one, got the best of John Emerson, and sent him for a tumble. The race was red flagged but thankfully Emerson was okay. When the race returned to green, Bruening was holding down the top spot which he held the final circuits to the checkers and the win. Hometown favorite, Darrel DeFrance finished in second place, Curtis Glover was third, fourth went to tenth place starter Jeremiah Hurst, the 2019 track champion, and Darin Duffy was fifth.
There were racers in attendance from across the country last night, with the states of Arizona, California, Missouri, and Wisconsin as well as Iowa, trying their hand at the High Banks. Out of state racers seem to flock to our state to test and tune, and with so many race tracks to choose from, we often get to see a diversified gathering of racers from parts beyond our borders.
Next Friday, August 16 will be a $1,000 to win for the IMCA Northern SportMods on Speed Shift TV Night. The XL600s have also been added to the show.
Get to a track and help support dirt track racing!
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