It was back to the Southern Iowa Speedway last evening for the Caleb Hammond Memorial fair race. This race was in honor of the local young race fan who lost his battle with cancer a couple of years ago. The Modifieds were also in the house, and there was more money on the line across the board.
Ten Non-Wing Sprints were on hand for their ten lap main event, and a $350 was still hanging over Jonathan Hughes if someone could beat him. This looked to be the night as Newton, Iowa's Ben Woods made a first time appearance at the track, and immediately took the lead. Wood, who started fifth, would lead the entire race to take the checkers. Jonathan Hughes chased him much of the race to finish as the runner up. Third went to Mike Mayberry, Doug Sylvester was fourth, and Tyler Graves finished fifth. In the post race interview with announcer Jerry Mackey, Woods said it was only the second time he had raced as a Non-Wing. However, we heard later that Woods was disqualified for an infraction, thus the win going to second place finisher Jonathan Hughes! Hughes keeps his streak going, and the bounty is still in place!
There were ten Sport Compacts in the house last evening and it was a first timer at the track standing in Victory Lane at the conclusion of their ten lap main event. Winner Ryan Bryant came down from Mason City, Iowa to try his hand on the "Monster", and walked away with a cool $500. Bryant started sixth and took the lead at lap four, never to look back on his way to the checkers. He finished well ahead of second place finisher William Michel. Robbie Wilson made a last lap surge, going from fifth position, to finish third. Nathan Chandler was fourth, and Billy Cain rounded out the top five.
Fourteen laps of Hobby Stock racing followed next. Veteran racer Brad Stephens held the top spot early on with Dustin Griffiths and Aaron Martin pressuring the leader. A yellow at lap six and the resulting restart found Griffiths taking over the lead. Marengo, Iowa's Nathan Ballard finished in the runner up spot. Third place went to early leader Brad Stephens, Blake Henry and Aaron Martin completed the top five. Griffiths, has won five times at the speedway this year.
Fifteen year old Maguire DeJong got his second win of his career under his belt when he led the 16-lap SportMod feature wire to wire. The race, which went caution free, saw DeJong finish nearly a half-lap ahead of second place Logan Anderson. Curtis VanDerWal took third, Carter VanDenBerg finished fourth, and Colton Livezey was fifth. It was just back on June 24 when DeJong got his first win. Look for this youngster to have many more wins in his future.
It was great to have the Modifieds back at the big old half-mile last night. It was a redraw for the top finishers of the heats, and when Cayden Carter drew that lucky pill to start on the pole, most of us were thinking who would finish second. That was the case, as Carter would lead immediately and take the win in the flag-to-flag twenty-lap race. Trailing a distant second was Brandon Banks, Austin Paul took third, Garrett Brown was fourth, and Sam Wieben was fifth.
The Stock Cars were the night cap for the evening's racing. The Stock Cars, who are notorious for putting on a good show, had a good field of twenty-three cars in the house. Jason See started on the pole and held that top spot until lap five, when Derrick Agee took command. Agee's lead only lasted a few more laps, when he was suddenly off power and coasting into the infield. This handed the lead back to See. Meanwhile, the "Orange Crush" machine piloted by Cayden Carter was slicing through the field and reeling in the front runners. Lap fourteen would be when Carter made his persistence pay off, taking over the lead and keeping it the remaining distance to the flying checkers. Carter made it a two-fer night, capturing win number two on the night after his earlier Modified victory. See held the runner up position, Jason McDaniel finished third, Cedar Rapids, Iowa's Johnny Spaw came from row six to finish fourth, and Howard Gordon, Jr. was fifth.
There was a bit of a delay in the program last evening, when during the third heat of the Stock Cars, most of the lights went out! The only lights remaining on were on the west end of the track. The issue was soon discovered, and after about twenty-two minutes, the Musco Lights fired back up, and racing continued.
Next Wednesday night, July 29, is season championship night. It will also be Hall of Fame induction night to end the regular season racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. However, mark your calendars for the Musco Lighting Fall Challenge scheduled for a two-night show on October 16-17.
Check the Positively Racing calendar for a race you may wish to attend. We all need to do our part in supporting the tracks, and the sport we all love....dirt track racing.
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