Docekal, Happel get back-to-back wins for first time in Vinton

Although Joe Docekal and Brian Happel have won numerous features at Benton County Speedway, they both earned back-to-back wins for the first time in their careers Sunday night in Vinton.

Tony Olson took the lead at the drop of the green in the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. Olson paced the field on the low groove while Mike Burbridge pursued. Burbridge slid beneath the leader on lap six, just before Olson spun in turn two to bring out the caution.

Burbridge led the field through another caution one lap later while Docekal ran second. Docekal followed Burbridge on the low side before moving to the top at the midway point. He worked around the outside of the leader on the 12th circuit before returning to the low groove on the way to his second straight victory.

With 10 Modified wins in weekly racing history in Vinton, Docekal is now tied for 15th on the all-time list with Darin Duffy, Don Erger and Jeff Barkdoll. He has won at least three features in three of the last four seasons.

All three of Docekal's wins this season have come in the last four events, making him the 13th member of that club. Other Modified drivers who have won a minimum of three features in a four week span in speedway history include:

Arlo Becker - 1979 (three straight wins);
Dave Venenga - 1980 (three straight wins);
Jack Mitchell - 1981 (four straight wins), 1982 (three straight wins), 1983 (one streak of four straight wins and another separate streak of five straight wins, the track record for Modifieds);
Kevin Pittman - 1990 (four straight wins and a separate streaks of three straight wins);
Dave Burrell - 1993 (three wins in four weeks);
Scott Hogan - 1995 (three wins in four weeks), 1996 (three wins in four weeks), 2005 (three wins in four weeks); 2010 (three straight wins);
Robbie Schmuecker - 1999 (three wins in four weeks), 2000 (three wins in four weeks);
Darin Duffy - 2000 (three straight wins);
Vern Jackson - 2001 (three straight wins), 2004 (three straight wins);
Troy Cordes - 2003 (three wins in four weeks), 2007 (four wins in five weeks);
J.D. Auringer - 2007 (three wins in four weeks and another separate streak of three straight wins);
Mike Burbridge - 2012 (three wins in four weeks).

Happel survived a wildly entertaining IMCA Hobby Stock feature that was slowed six times for caution. Although he started last in the 12-car field, Happel quickly found himself in the front half of the field following a first lap caution that involved numerous cars.

Following the fourth stoppage with two laps in the books, Happel made his way into the top five and raced his way into the top three on lap four. He chased Kyle Parizek and Justin Wacha at the front of the pack as the lead pair battled in side-by-side formation.

Happel went to the top side and followed Parizek past Wacha before the caution flag waved again on lap nine. On the restart, Parizek left the track with engine problems as Happel took command. He led the remainder of the event to score the victory, his second straight and sixth of the season.

With nine career Hobby Stock wins in Vinton, Happel tied Todd Temeyer for 14th on the all-time list. His sixth win of the year broke the tie with Chris Luloff as the most in the division. By virtue of his win and Luloff's DNF following the first lap mishap, Happel took the points lead. Unofficially, he will enter the final two nights of racing with a 10 point advantage.

Shane Ebaugh made his first visit to victory lane in over five years in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. Ebaugh took command from Colby Heishman midway through that 15-lapper, then held off heavy pressure from Jim Buhlman on the low side of the speedway to score the win, his first since May 11, 2008.

The span of 1,932 days (five years, three months and 14 days) between victories is the largest in division history in Vinton. Ebaugh's first win came on August 12, 2007, giving him the second longest span between first and most recent wins in SportMod history at the speedway. Danny Dvorak holds the record in that category.

Ebaugh's three career SportMod wins in Vinton place him in a tie for 15th on the all-time list with Chris Luloff, Damon Murty and Ken Kositzky.

Speaking of Murty, he was also victorious Sunday night and reached a milestone in the IMCA Stock Car division. Murty worked the high side around leader Scott Pippert to assume command at the midway point of that 15-lapper to drive to his division-leading 60th Stock Car win in weekly racing history at the speedway.

With the win, his fifth of the season, Murty has won at least five features in each of the last five seasons in Vinton. Of his 60 wins, 14 have come in the month of August.

Nathan Chandler picked up his ninth win of the year in the IMCA Sport Compact division. From his second row starting spot, Chandler worked past A.J. Witten on the fifth of 12 laps to drive to the win, the 44th of his weekly racing career in Vinton. The all-time leader in Sport Compact wins in Vinton, Chandler has now won eight times in the month of August.

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 2. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 4. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 5. 71 Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 6. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 7. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 8. 14B Shane Burbridge, Manchester; 9. 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence; 10. 17S Alex Schmuecker, Vinton; 11. 11B Mike Burbridge, Delhi.
Heat one: 1. Dedrick; 2. Luloff; 3. Flanngan; 4. Lauritzen; 5. Schmuecker; 6. S. Burbridge.
Heat two: 1. M. Burbridge; 2. Auringer; 3. Docekal; 4. Cordes; 5. Olson.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 99D Damon Murty, Chelsea; 2. 47 Scott Pippert, Elberon; 3. 87 John Emerson, Waterloo; 4. 8B Scott Beauregard, Center Point; 5. 15 Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 6. 8 Curtis Roster, Vinton; 7. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 8. 22D Jared Daggett, Marshalltown; 9. 22K Kevin Rose, Waterloo; 10. 4JR Russell Damme Jr., Waterloo; 11. 9E Mitch Evens, Independence; 12. 56T Justin Temeyer, Independence.
Heat one: 1. Damme; 2. Beauregard; 3. Chesmore; 4. Emerson; 5. Rose; 6. Evens.
Heat two: 1. Daggett; 2. Pippert; 3. Murty; 4. Roster; 5. Galli; 6. Temeyer.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 14 Shane Ebaugh, Evansdale; 2. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 3. 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 4. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 5. CH19 Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 6. 95 Mike McDonald, Cedar Rapids; 7. 7D Dakoda Sellers, Vinton; 8. 57R Ryan King, Montour; 9. 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 10. 4 Ryan Maitland, Vinton; 11. 44G Brady Graham, Brooklyn; 12. 10S John Schaefer, La Porte City; 13. T17 Tom Rawlins, Kellogg; 14. 11M Mike Mitchell, Cedar Rapids; 15. 3B Brian Anderson, Garrison; 16. 93 Josh Burrell, Dysart; DNS/17. J2 Dave Schulze, Keystone; DNS/18. 72 Mike Hogencamp, Waterloo.
Heat one: 1. Heishman; 2. Buhlman; 3. McDonald; 4. Rawlins; 5. Burrell; 6. Schulze.
Heat two: 1. Maitland; 2. Ebaugh; 3. Dvorak; 4. King; 5. Graham; 6. Mitchell.
Heat three: 1. Sellers; 2. Rust; 3. Anderson; 4. Hilmer; 5. Schaefer; 6. Hogencamp.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton/Van Horne/Newhall/somewhere in Benton County; 2. 23 Andrew Torkelson, Lisbon; 3. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton; 4. 2 Nick Welch, Cedar Falls; 5. 4P Matt Pohlman, Kesytone; 6. 21J Jason Williams, Belle Plaine; 7. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 8. 07 Jacob Keiser, Marengo; 9. 88 C.J. Dall, Marshalltown; 10. 19B Jim Sheldon, Marion; 11. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 12. 18 Chris Luloff, Independence.
Heat one: 1. Luloff; 2. Wacha; 3. Parizek; 4. Torkelson; 5. Dall; 6. Williams.
Heat two: 1. Brown; 2. Keiser; 3. Welch; 4. Pohlman; 5. Sheldon; 6. Happel.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 22 Nathan Chandler, Norway; 2. 00W Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 3. 2 Merv Chandler, Urbana; 4. 3S Craig Streeter, Vinton; 5. 99J Jeremy Lerch, Vinton; 6. 44 Troy Scott, Fairfax; 7. 111 A.J. Witten, Cedar Rapids; 8. 9 Toby Denning, Mt. Auburn.
Heat: 1. Witten; 2. N. Chandler; 3. Whalen; 4. M. Chandler; 5. Scott; 6. Lerch; 7. Streeter; DNS Denning.

Champions crowned during season championships at Independence

Brennen Chipp completed the hat trick Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway.

The IMCA Northern SportMod driver wrapped up his first career track championship after piloting his #21 to victory lane in the 20-lap feature during Budweiser Season Championships. He was also the winner during Budweiser Mid-Season Championships in late June.

Saturday night's championship program included only features, which were lined up straight-up based on season point totals. The format allowed top points earners through the first 15 weeks of the season the rare opportunity to start at the front of their respective feature fields.

Points leader Chipp took the lead at the drop of the green and held off pressure from Alex Zwanziger early, then late charges from Kip Siems and Joel Rust to take the victory. It was Chipp's fifth win of the season in Independence and his fourth in weekly points racing at the speedway. Rust, in only his fourth start this season, raced from 22nd to finish second ahead of Zwanziger, who finished second in the standings, five points behind Chipp.

With four wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, Chipp finished the season tied with Siems for seventh on the all-time list. He is the fifth different SportMod champion in the division's six-year history in Independence.

Chipp's sweep of mid-season, season and track title honors was the 25th such accomplishment in the last 25 years at the speedway. Others to pull off the hat trick since 1989 include:

Late Model: Curt Martin (1990, 1991), Gary Crawford (1993), Darren Ackerman (2007);
Modified: Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1991), Darin Duffy (2009);
Stock Car: Dan Trimble (1994, 1999, 2000), Larry Portis (1995), Brian Irvine (2009), Sean Johnson (2012);
SportMod: Danny Dvorak (2012);
Hobby Stock: Forrest Frost (1992), Chris Wessner (1995), Doug Otto (1999), Josh Irvine (1997, 1999), Justin Stander (2012);
Pro Stock: Alan Wessels (1989), Vern Jackson (1990, 1992, 1993).

Sean Johnson made history of his own in the IMCA Stock Car division. The two-time defending champion dominated that 23-lapper to earn his third win of the season, his third straight win on championship night and his third straight track championship. Johnson became the first driver to win three straight points titles in Indee since Dan Trimble won seven straight stock car championships from 1998-2004. Prior to Johnson, only eight drivers had ever won three straight points championships in Indee. They include:

Late Model: Gary Crawford (1976-1979), Curt Martin (1984-1986, 2004-2006), Greg Kastli (2001-2003);
Modified: Tom Bartholomew (1989-1992), Steve Droste (1994-1996), Jerry Luloff (1999-2001);
Stock Car: Dan Trimble (1998-2004);
Pro Stock: Vern Jackson (1991-1996).

With 28 Stock Car wins in weekly racing history in Independence, Johnson sits third on the all-time list - and that is likely where he will stay. He plans to move to the IMCA Late Model division next season. His 28 career wins place Johnson 14th on the track's all-time list.

Darren Ackerman led all 30 laps on his way to a dominant win in the IMCA Late Model feature. The win was Ackerman's second of the season and the third of his career on championship night (2007, 2009).

With the victory, Ackerman has 18 Late Model wins in weekly racing history at the speedway. That places him alone in ninth on the all-time list.

Tyler Bruening earned his third Late Model points title in the last four years after finishing fifth in Saturday night's feature. Bruening joined Ed Sanger, Gary Crawford, Curt Martin and Greg Kastli as the only drivers to win at least three Late Model titles in a four-year span.

Ronn Lauritzen drove to his fifth Performance Bodies IMCA Modified win of the season and the first of his career on championship night in Independence. After a thrilling battle for the lead with defending track champion Mark Schulte and newly crowned titlist Tyler Droste, Lauritzen pulled away to score the victory. It was the 17th time in track history a Modified driver won at least five features in a single season.

With eight career Modified wins in Independence, Lauritzen ended the season tied with Greg Kastli, Joey Schaefer and Kevin Pittman for 13th on the all-time list. Lauritzen joined Mark Noble (1987), Tom Bartholomew (1990, 1991), Troy Cordes (2000) and Darin Duffy (2009, 2010) as the only Modified drivers in track history to sweep mid-season and season championship feature wins in the same year.

Droste, a first-year IMCA Modified driver, became the fifth straight different track champion in the division at the speedway and the 17th different titlist in the division's 31-year history in Independence. 

Chris Luloff earned his 30th, and perhaps final, win in the Hobby Stock division. Luloff took control on the second lap, then held off a furious late charge from Quinton Miller to score the victory, his seventh win of the season.

Luloff's 30 career Hobby Stock wins in weekly racing history in Independence ranks as the best all-time. He plans to move to the Stock Car division in 2014.

When also considering his three SportMod wins from 2009, Luloff's 33 career wins at the speedway place him alone in 10th on the all-time list.

Luloff, also the mid-season winner in late June, joined Ken Irvine (1989), Forrest Frost (1992), Rick Johnson (1993), Chris Wessner (1995), Tim Bartholomew (1997), Doug Otto (1998), Josh Irvine (2007, 2009) and Justin Stander (2012) on the list of drivers to sweep the events in the same season.

Benji Irvine, who entered the night with no finish worse than fourth in Hobby Stock competition this year, was scored 18th Saturday night after experiencing engine problems early in the 20-lap feature. Despite his struggles Saturday night, Irvine's consistency through the season lifted him to his first track championship. He became the sixth straight different Hobby Stock points champion and the 22nd different titlist in the division's 25-year history at the speedway.

Merv Chandler wrapped up his second straight IMCA Sport Compact track title a week ago, but he put the icing on the cake by also winning Saturday night's championship feature. Chandler took command from A.J. Witten on the second of 12 laps to drive to the win, his fourth of the year. With six career wins in the division in Independence, Chandler sits second to Adam Gates on the all-time list.

While the 2013 weekly racing season has come to a close in Independence, one event remains on this year's schedule. The Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models makes its second appearance of the year on Friday, September 20. Increased prize money for a special non-qualifiers feature that night for the Late Models should make it an even greater show. Add to that $2,000-to-win Stock Cars and the season finale should be huge.

Since the weekly points season is over in Independence, that means one final Stats Blitz is in store to recap all things numbers-wise for the 16-week season. This week will be busy preparing for next week's IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey's at Boone Speedway so, although I'll try to get it done, the final Stats Blitz may have to wait until the week after Super Nationals. I won't be able to talk after returning home from Boone anyway, so what else is there to do aside from crunching a few numbers?

Tonight, weekly racing continues at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Although the temps are hot, the points battles in all five divisions are even hotter so make plans to come to Vinton tonight! I hope to see you there!

School can wait: Maitland, Witten pick up first wins in Vinton

Youth prevailed in a big way as two 14-year-olds earned the first wins of their careers Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. (complete results follow)

IMCA Northern SportMod driver Ryan Maitland, who turns 15 next month, and IMCA Sport Compact driver A.J. Witten, who turned 14 in April, had both been very close to their first wins in recent weeks. They brought down the house by earning their first trips to the winner's circle during a memorable night on the Vinton quarter-mile.

Dakoda Sellers took the lead at the drop of the green in the 15-lap SportMod main. Working the high side from his second row starting spot, Maitland quickly made his way into second by the completion of the first lap.

Maitland pursued Sellers before sweeping to his outside to assume command on the fourth circuit and then quickly pulled away from the field. Maitland distanced himself from the pack while Dave Schulze worked into a battle with Sellers for the runner-up spot until the caution flag waved with nine laps scored complete.

When racing resumed, Maitland again built a comfortable lead while Curt Hilmer and Danny Dvorak raced their way into contention. Three more stoppages kept the field close before the final caution on lap 13 set up a green, white, checkered finish. On the restart, Dvorak was able to work past Hilmer for second, however Maitland pulled away to drive to the milestone win.

The number four played an eerily recurring role in Maitland's first win. Not only does the #4 adorn the side of his race car, but Maitland started in the fourth position and took the lead on lap four of a feature that was stopped four times for caution. Maitland also became the 44th different SportMod winner in weekly racing history at the speedway.

One of 19 SportMod drivers in track history with a single SportMod win, Maitland enters the Benton County Speedway record books tied for 26th on the division's all-time list.

Speaking of the number 26 (yes, the number coincidences continue)...

Witten became the 26th different IMCA Sport Compact winner in weekly racing history in Vinton. From his outside front row starting spot, Witten assumed command with points leader Bill Whalen Jr. in tow. The front-runners pulled away from the pack while Witten continued to extend his advantage.

Witten enjoyed a big lead throughout the race as he led the 12-lapper in its entirety to score his first win in the caution-free event. Witten, who drives the #111 is one of 11 (1 of 11? 111?) drivers in division history in Vinton with a single win in the division. That places him in a tie for 16th on the all-time list.

With the victory, Witten became the first new Sport Compact winner in nearly two years in Vinton. It had been 721 days since the last first-timer, Jacob McVay, won on August 28, 2011. The 721 day span is the longest between first-time Sport Compact winners in track history.

Joe Docekal drove to his second win of the year in the IMCA Modified division. Following a restart before the completion of the first lap, third row starting Docekal raced into the lead by the time the first lap was scored.

Driving the low groove, Docekal maintained the point while Patrick Flannagan worked the high side into contention and Ronn Lauritzen ran down low. Flannagan closed in on the leader before a miscue in turns three and four on the fourth lap allowed Lauritzen to sneak by.

Docekal continued to show the way while Flannagan regrouped and closed in on the leader. With Docekal down low and Flannagan in the top groove, the leaders came upon lapped traffic in the late stages of the 20-lapper.

A car-length separated the front-runners as they made their way past the slower traffic exiting turn four to the checkers. Docekal was able to sneak beneath the backmarker to score the win, his second in three weeks.

Docekal has now earned nine Modified wins in his weekly racing career in Vinton, which places him in sole possession of 18th on the all-time list. He is one win shy of tying three other drivers for 15th on the Modified wins list. Four of Docekal's nine wins have come during the month of August. 

The eerie number coincidences didn't end with Maitland and Witten. In fact, they became even more interesting with Docekal's win. Aside from the fact that Docekal, 28, is the same age as Maitland and Witten combined (now that's just plain funny stuff, old man), the pattern in which Docekal wins Modified features in Vinton is just as interesting.

On four other occasions Docekal has won a Modified feature in Vinton, he has followed up with another win exactly two events later. Docekal's first win in Vinton came on Sunday, July 18, 2010. Although he won the following Sunday, July 25, he did not win the Modified points race held between those events that year during the Benton County Fair on Thursday, July 22.

Docekal's third win came on August 22, 2010. His fourth? You guessed it, two events later on September 5. Docekal also won on July 31, 2011. His next win? Yep, two events later on August 14.

Fast forward to 2013 (because it had been such a loooong time since he last won) when Docekal won August 4. Yep, two weeks ago.

The only time Docekal won a Modified feature in Vinton and didn't follow it up with a win two events later was after his win May 15, 2011. I did a little digging and discovered Docekal finished third to J.D. Auringer and Troy Cordes two weeks later on May 29. Couldn't even muster a runner-up finish that night, Joe?

Norman Chesmore reached a milestone of his own in the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. After stealing the lead from Scott Pippert following a lap seven restart, Chesmore drove to his sixth win of the year and the 20th of his career in Vinton.

Mike Galli and Kevin Rose split time at the front of the 15-lapper before Pippert made his way between the front-runners to snag the lead. He took over just before caution slowed action on lap three. Pippert worked the top side on the restart while Chesmore raced the low groove into second on lap six. He was running second when the caution waved one lap later.

Chesmore powered to the low side of Pippert when racing resumed and took control the following time by the flagstand. He survived one more stoppage to take the victory.

Chesmore's sixth victory this season doubled his previous best mark - three wins in 2008. His 20 career wins place Chesmore alone in fourth on the division's all-time list. His six career wins in the month of August in Vinton are more than any other calendar month for Chesmore.

Brian Happel earned his fifth win of the year in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Happel chased Justin Wacha for the first two circuits before working the outside lane past the leader to assume command. Happel survived a mid-race caution, then pulled away from traffic to score the victory.

With eight Hobby Stocks wins in his weekly racing career in Vinton, Happel is now tied with Jerry Dedrick for 15th on the all-time list. Three of those eight wins have come during the month of August. Sunday's win came just four days after the eighth anniversary of Happel's first Hobby Stock win in Vinton (August 14, 2005).

Happel joined Chris Luloff as five-time Hobby Stock winners in Vinton this season. Only two other times have multiple Hobby Stock drivers won at least five features in the same season in Vinton. In 2001, Scooter Dulin won six times while Vince Buchholz was a five-time winner and, in 2009, Scott Pippert was a nine-time winner while Brad Forbes won five times. If two-time winners Matt Brown, Jacob Keiser or Kyle Parizek could sweep the final three events of the season, the track will have three five-time Hobby Stock winners in the same season for the first time in history.

IMCA Late Models joined the weekly program for the fourth time this season. Although short in number, the eight-car field provided plenty of excitement for the fans in attendance.

Darren Ackerman worked past early leader Luke Pestka to take command just prior to a lap two caution. Ackerman showed the way until the caution flag waved one lap later when Todd Cooney spun to the top of turn four.

On the restart, Ackerman pulled away from the pack while Cooney raced the low groove back into contention. Conney slipped beneath Pestka for the runner-up spot on the 13th of 20 laps, then worked to reel in Ackerman before caution bunched the field on laps 15 and 19.

The lap 19 caution set up a green, white, checkered finish with Ackerman leading the field back to action. Cooney, who traded slidejobs with Ackerman throughout the late stages on the event, powered to the low side of Ackerman exiting turn four on the final lap. When the dust settled, Cooney emerged with the win, his first at the speedway.

Only three weeks of racing remain in Vinton this season. After weekly racing programs the next two Sundays (August 25 and September 1), the speedway takes a week off for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals, then returns for championship night on Sunday, September 15. If you haven't been to Vinton in a while, be sure to visit over the final three nights. I have never seen points battles this close in so many divisions at one track this late in the season.

The points at the top of four of the five weekly divisions are paper thin. Consider, three drivers are separated by five points at the top of the IMCA Modified standings. J.D. Auringer holds a slim two point edge over Ronn Lauritzen and a five point advantage over Joe Docekal.

In the IMCA Stock Car division, John Emerson leads Scott Pippert by a mere four points and Norman Chesmore by 19. Keep in mind, Chesmore missed opening night and has finished no worse than fourth in his 16 appearances this season. That three-car battle is far from over.

Chris Luloff holds a one point lead over Brian Happel after 19 nights of points racing for the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Bill Whalen Jr. is just eight points ahead of Merv Chandler in the IMCA Sport Compacts.

Even the largest lead remains undecided. Danny Dvorak is ahead of Joel Rust by 16 points in the IMCA Northern SportMods. With three weeks remaining and the SportMods averaging nearly 22 cars a night, that race is far from over, either.

It's crazy to think that the points can remain so close in every division despite the fact that 2,801 laps have been completed in 276 events this season. The racing is only bound to get more intense and entertaining as we enter the final three weeks of the season in Vinton. Make plans to be there!

RESULTS
IMCA LATE MODEL
Feature: 1. 30 Todd Cooney, Des Moines; 2. 53 Darren Ackerman, Readlyn; 3. 15C Curt Schroeder, Ames; 4. 73 Greg Kastli, Waterloo; 5. 60 Dean Wagner, Evansdale; 6. 99 Luke Pestka, Robins; 7. 68 Tysus Pattee, Vinton; 8. 31 Chad Cooney, Des Moines.
Heat: 1. T. Cooney; 2. Pestka; 3. Ackerman; 4. Kastli; 5. Schroeder; 6. Wagner; 7. C. Cooney; DNS Pattee.

IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 2. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 3. 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 4. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 5. 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence; 6. 11B Mike Burbridge, Delhi; 7. 21K Kyle Brown, Kellogg; 8. 8 Tony Snyder, Readlyn; 9. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 10. 7S Robbie Schmuecker, Vinton; 11. 71 Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 12. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 13. 98X Jason Snyder, Dunkerton; 14. 81 Jesse Belez, Marengo; 15. 14B Shane Burbridge, Manchester.
Heat one: 1. Flannagan; 2. Olson; 3. Cordes; 4. Luloff; 5. Auringer; 6. S. Burbridge; 7. T. Snyder; 8. Schmuecker.
Heat two: 1. Docekal; 2. M. Burbridge; 3. Lauritzen; 4. Brown; 5. J. Snyder; 6. Dedrick; 7. Belez.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 15 Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 2. 47 Scott Pippert, Elberon; 3. 56T Justin Temeyer, Independence; 4. 87 John Emerson, Waterloo; 5. 22K Kevin Rose, Waterloo; 6. 8 Curtis Roster, Vinton; 7. 8B Scott Beauregard, Center Point; 8. 87A Aaron Matthias, Fairbank; 9. 4JR Russell Damme, Waterloo; 10. 22D Jared Daggett, Marshalltown; 11. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 12. 9E Mitch Evens, Independence.
Heat one: 1. Emerson; 2. Rose; 3. Pippert; 4. Galli; 5. Daggett; 6. Evens.
Heat two: 1. Temeyer; 2. Chesmore; 3. Roster; 4. Beauregard; 5. Damme; 6. Matthias.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 4 Ryan Maitland, Waterloo; 2. 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 3. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 4. T17 Tom Rawlins, Kellogg; 5. 10S John Schaefer, La Porte City; 6. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 7. 19J Jenae Gustin, Marshalltown; 8. CH19 Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 9. 14 Shane Ebaugh, Evansdale; 10. 11M Mike Mitchell, Cedar Rapids; 11. 15B Troy Burkhart, Urbana; 12. 7D Dakoda Sellers, Vinton; 13. 57R Ryan King, Montour; 14. 3B Brian Anderson, Garrison; 15. 12 Kendall Arp, Brooklyn; 16. J2 Dave Schulze, Keystone; 17. 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 18. 93 Josh Burrell, Dysart; 19. 72 Mike Hogencamp, Waterloo.
Heat one: 1. Schulze; 2. Burrell; 3. Maitland; 4. Buhlman; 5. King; 6. Burkhart.
Heat two: 1. Sellers; 2. Dvorak; 3. Hilmer; 4. Gustin; 5. Mitchell; 6. Rawlins.
Heat three: 1. Rust; 2. Schaefer; 3. Ebaugh; 4. Anderson; 5. Arp; 6. Heishman; 7. Hogencamp.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton; 2. 18 Chris Luloff, Independence; 3. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 4. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 5. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton; 6. 23 Andrew Torkelson, Lisbon; 7. 90 Chris Moore, Fairfax; 8. 88 C.J. Dall, Marshalltown; 9. 19B Jim Sheldon, Marion; 10. 4P Matt Pohlman, Keystone; 11. 07 Jacob Keiser, Marengo.
Heat one: 1. Parizek; 2. Luloff; 3. Wacha; 4. Dall; 5. Torkelson; 6. Sheldon.
Heat two: 1. Keiser; 2. Happel; 3. Brown; 4. Moore; 5. Pohlman.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 111 A.J. Witten, Cedar Rapids; 2. 00W Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 3. 22 Nathan Chandler, Norway; 4. 11 Steve Miedke, Shellsburg; 5. 2 Merv Chandler, Urbana; 6. 9 Toby Denning, Mt. Auburn; 7. 99J Jeremy Lerch, Vinton.
Heat: 1. Witten; 2. N. Chandler; 3. Miedke; 4. Lerch; 5. Whalen; 6. M. Chandler; DNS Denning.

Jackson gets 96th Independence Motor Speedway win

Vern Jackson has earned many trips to victory lane in his career at Independence Motor Speedway. In fact, he is the all-time leading feature winner in track history and he added another win to his stellar career Saturday night.

Jackson's 40th career IMCA Modified win in weekly racing history at the speedway was the 96th of his career on the Independence oval. He took the lead from Jeff Kriz following a lap five restart, then held off pressure late from Tyler Droste to earn the win, his first victory in Independence since July 16, 2011.

The career numbers for Jackson in Independence are impressive. Not only has he won 96 features (in weekly points racing alone), he's done it in five different decades. His breakdown of wins per decade are two wins during the 1970s, 11 in the 1980s, 49 in the 1990s, 26 in the 2000s and eight since 2010.

Jackson's first win came on August 11, 1979. That span of 34 years and six days (12,425) is the longest stretch between first and most recent wins by a single driver in track history.

He has also won in more divisions than any other driver in track history. In addition to his 40 Modified wins, which ranks second only to Darin Duffy, Jackson earned 37 wins in the Pro Stock division, 10 in Street Stocks, six in Sportsmen, two in Roadrunners and one in Late Models.

Jackson has won at least one feature in 27 of the last 35 calendar years in Independence. That, too, is a track record. Only Curt Martin (wins in 25 different seasons) and Greg Kastli (wins in 23 seasons)
have wins in 20-plus different calendar years at the speedway.

The 11th Modified win of his career to come during the month of August, 28 of Jackson's 96 wins have come during that month.

Jason Hocken and his wife, Molly, announced Saturday night that they are expecting their second child. To celebrate, Hocken made his second trip of the year to victory lane in the IMCA Stock Car division. Hocken took the lead at the drop of the green, then held off constant pressure from Justin Temeyer to score the win, his second of the year.

With three career Stock Car wins in Independence, Hocken is now tied for 18th on the division's all-time list with Brad Holtkamp, Dale Hackwell Jr., Forrest Frost, Jerry Schipper and Phil Holtz. Hocken became the fourth Stock Car driver this season with multiple wins. The record is five Stock Car drivers with multiple wins in a single season, which was set in 2004.

Joel Rust has made only three appearances in weekly racing this season in Independence, but has made two trips to the winner's circle with his victory Saturday night.

Brian Hilbert led the early stages of the IMCA Northern SportMod feature while Rust raced from a sixth row start. Rust ran the high side in a three-wide battle for second exiting turn four on lap eight, then swept past those drivers and the leader to assume command at the flagstand. Rust pulled away to score the win, his second of the year.

All-time, Rust has earned five SportMod wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, which ties him with Lucas Lundry for fifth on the all-time list. Three of his five wins have come during the month of August.

Luke Pestka held a big early lead, then led Darren Ackerman to the checkers in the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature. Pestka built a straightaway lead by the time a lap-10 caution slowed action. Ackerman made his way into second late, but was unable to reel in the leader by the time the checkers waved.

The win was Pestka's first of the season and the fourth of his career in Independence. He is tied for 33rd on the track's Late Model wins list with Bill Beckman, Cal Swanson, Dennis Dugan and Karl Sanger. Pestka has now won one feature in each of the last three seasons in Independence. Two of his four wins have come in August.

Quinton Miller earned his second straight win in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Miller, who took the lead following a mid-race restart, has now won back-to-back Hobby Stock features for the second time in his career at the speedway.

Miller's 11 Hobby Stock wins tie him with Patrick Stansbery and Vince Buchholz for fifth on the all-time list. Saturday's win was his sixth during the month of August.

Merv Chandler became the first driver to lock up his division's points title. He did it with his third trip to victory lane in the IMCA Sport Compact division. Chandler took the lead from A.J. Witten on lap three, then led the remainder of the 12-lapper to score the victory, the fifth of his career in the division in Independence. He ranks second all-time at the speedway in Sport Compact wins.

Next Saturday is the final night of weekly points racing in Independence as Budweiser Season Championships will close out the Saturday racing program for 2013. Heat races will not be run next Saturday and features for all six divisions will be lined up straight-up based on season point totals. Weather permitting, out of car introductions will be done on the front stretch and the Indee Challenge will be offered to the top four in points in the Late Model, Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock divisions. Those drivers will be eligible to double their money if they can win the feature from the tail of their respective starting fields.

Tonight, IMCA Late Models make their fourth visit of the year to Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Along with increasing car counts in the five weekly divisions, plus clear skies and fantastic temperatures, it should be a great night of action on the Vinton quarter-mile. I'll see you there!

Burbridge, Temeyer among winners during Halloween program in Vinton

The 17th Sunday of weekly points racing at Benton County Speedway was dubbed Halloween Night at the Races. A few folks were in costume and the kids were invited to the pit area for trick-or-treating after the program. You'll have to check out facebook to search for the gruesome pictures.

After battling Patrick Flannagan for most of 20 laps, Mike Burbridge survived a late caution and a surging Joe Docekal to score the IMCA Modified win. (complete results follow)

From a second row starting spot, Burbridge took the early lead and pulled away on the bottom of the fast quarter-mile while Flannagan took to the top side. Burbridge enjoyed a few car-lengths in front of the pack while Flannagan worked the top groove in a battle with Jerry Dedrick for second.

Flannagan pulled ahead of Dedrick at the five lap mark, then remained committed to the high side to reel in Burbridge. Flannagan pulled alongside the leader a short time later as the front-runners engaged in a side-by-side battle throughout much of the event. Flanngan held the lead each time across the line from lap seven through 13 before Burbridge inched ahead on the 14th circuit. Burbridge held a slim lead when the caution flag waved with four laps to go.

Burbridge led the field back to green with Flannagan on his rear bumper. Joe Docekal, who started last in the 13-car field, made his way into third prior to the caution and quickly went to work on the low side of Flannagan. Docekal made his way by for second one lap later, but ran out of laps as Burbridge drove to victory, his third of the season.

Burbridge now owns 11 Modified wins in weekly racing history at the speedway, placing him in sole possession of 14th on the all-time list. He joined Jack Mitchell (1981-1983), Corey Dripps (1996-1998), Troy Cordes (2003-2005, 2007-2009) and Scott Hogan (2004-2006, 2008-2011) as the only Modified drivers in track history with three consecutive seasons of at least three wins per year. Mitchell and Cordes are the only drivers in the division with three straight seasons of at least four wins per year. Burbridge can match that mark with one more win this season - he won four times in each of the previous two years.

All 11 of Burbridge's wins have come since June 5, 2011 - a span of 798 days. Sunday's victory was Burbridge's fourth career win in Vinton during the month of August.

In only his fourth appearance of the season, Justin Temeyer earned his first win of the year in the IMCA Stock Car division. Temeyer made his way past Cory Tharp on the third circuit while his pursuers battled in three-wide formation two rows deep behind him.

Slowed only once for caution, Temeyer held off pressure from Scott Pippert to take the win, his first in Vinton since the July 10, 2011 Hogan Memorial. That span of 763 days between wins is the longest in track history for Temeyer. His second longest stretch without a victory was 672 days from July of 2005 to May of 2007. Temeyer has won at least one feature every year the Stock Cars have competed in the weekly program in Vinton except 2006 and 2012.

For his career, Temeyer has 38 Stock Car wins in Vinton, which ranks second to Damon Murty's 59. Curtis Roster sits third with 27 victories. Temeyer's win Sunday was the eighth of his career in Vinton during the month of August.

Joel Rust rallied from a flat tire early in the IMCA Northern SportMod feature to drive to his third win of the year in that 15-lapper.

Dakoda Sellers held the lead at the drop of the green with Ryan Maitland close behind. A pair of cautions prior to the completion of the third lap included a quick tire change for Rust. After racing resumed, Sellers got sideways in turns three and four on the fourth lap, which allowed Maitland to sneak around him for the lead.

Once out front, Maitland quickly pulled away from traffic while Rust was advancing through the field. Three key stoppages throughout the middle stages of the event prevented Maitland from driving away to his first career win. The final yellow with five laps to go allowed Rust to finish off the comeback.

Rust restarted in third and quickly worked past Jim Buhlman for second before driving the low groove alongside Maitland on the back stretch. Rust took the lead off turn four as the flying green was displayed, then led the final two times around to secure his third win of the season.

With four career SportMod wins on the Vinton oval, Rust is now tied with Buhlman, Frankie Dulin and Troy Burkhart for 11th on the all-time list. Sunday's victory was his first in August at the speedway.

Last Sunday, Jacob Keiser protected the low groove to drive to victory in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. He was doing the same thing on the top side Sunday night when his #07 went up in a cloud of smoke late in that 15-lapper.

After taking the lead at the drop of the green, Keiser paced the field and held off the furious challenges of Matt Brown, Chris Luloff and Brian Happel. He was successful in his run at the front until his machine slowed in the waning laps, allowing Luloff to sneak by.

Keiser faded to fifth before pulling his smoky ride off the track as the white flag waved. Luloff led the remainder of the event to score his fifth win of the season ahead of Happel and Brown.

Luloff's 22 career Hobby Stock wins in Vinton leave him comfortably in third on the all-time list. He now owns five career wins at the speedway during the month of August.

Merv Chandler made his way around Steve Miedke on the third of 12 laps to take his second straight win in the IMCA Sport Compact division. Chandler has won back-to-back weekly events in the division for the first time in his career in Vinton.

All-time, Chandler owns 11 Sport Compact wins in weekly racing history at the speedway. That mark ties him with Bill Whalen Jr. and Brad Chandler for fourth on that list. Three of his 11 wins have come during the month of August.

Tomorrow, I plan to make the trip to Des Moines for the annual Iowa State Fair race. The Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models will be joined by Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Dirt Trucks. It's the last race in Des Moines this season, so make plans to head to the capital for racing and something on a stick.

I plan to leave my notebook at home and take the time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Iowa State Fair. I hope to see you there!

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 11B Mike Burbridge, Delhi; 2. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 3. 33D Scott Hogan, Vinton; 4. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 5. 71 Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 6. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 7. 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence; 8. 10K Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 9. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 10. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 11. 12T Ty Glass, Cedar Rapids; 12. 14B Shane Burbridge, Manchester; 13. 81 Jesse Belez, Marengo.
Heat one: 1. M. Burbridge; 2. Lauritzen; 3. Luloff; 4. Glass; 5. S. Burbridge; 6. Olson; 7. Docekal.
Heat two: 1. Flannagan; 2. Hogan; 3. Auringer; 4. Dedrick; 5. Cordes; 6. Belez.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 56T Justin Temeyer, Independence; 2. 47 Scott Pippert, Elberon; 3. 15 Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 4. 87 John Emerson, Waterloo; 5. 22K Kevin Rose, Waterloo; 6. 4JR Russell Damme, Waterloo; 7. 8 Curtis Roster, Vinton; 8. 9 Austin Evens, Independence; 9. 76 Mike Galli, Urbana; 10. 76X Chad Siems, Shellsburg; 11. 8B Scott Beauregard, Center Point; 12. 4X Cory Tharp, Waterloo.
Heat one: 1. Damme; 2. Rose; 3. Pippert; 4. Chesmore; 5. Beauregard; 6. Galli.
Heat two: 1. Temeyer; 2. Roster; 3. Emerson; 4. Tharp; 5. Galli; 6. Evens.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 26J Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 2. 4 Ryan Maitland, Waterloo; 3. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 4. 3R Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 5. 10S John Schaefer, La Porte City; 6. 72 Mike Hogencamp, Waterloo; 7. 44G Brady Graham, Brooklyn; 8. K3 Kyle Olson, Cedar Rapids; 9. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 10. 14 Shane Ebaugh, Evansdale; 11. 57R Ryan King, Montour; 12. 3 Dave McCalla, Cedar Rapids; 13. 7D Dakoda Sellers, Vinton; 14. 11M Mike Mitchell, Cedar Rapids; 15. 3B Brian Anderson, Garrison; 16. 05 Paul Nagle, Nevada; 17. 7P Jordan Peters, Des Moines; 18. 24B Brandon Brinton, Nevada; 19. 93 Josh Burrell, Dysart; 20. CH19 Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 21. 57K Ross Kitner, Dysart; 22. 35X Jake Veenestra, Pella.
Heat one: 1. Heishman; 2. Schaefer; 3. Ebaugh; 4. Buhlman; 5. Graham; 6. Mitchell; 7. Peters; DNS Nagle.
Heat two: 1. Sellers; 2. Maitland; 3. Dvorak; 4. McCalla; 5. Anderson; 6. Kitner; DNS Veenestra.
Heat three: 1. Rust; 2. Olson; 3. Hilmer; 4. Hogencamp; 5. Burrell; 6. King; DNS Brinton.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 18 Chris Luloff, Independence; 2. 46 Brian Happel, Vinton; 3. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 4. 79 Benji Irvine, Cedar Falls; 5. 29 Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 6. 17K Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 7. 45 Justin Wacha, Vinton; 8. 21J Jason Williams, Belle Plaine; 9. 4P Matt Pohlman, Keystone; 10. 07 Jacob Keiser, Marengo; 11. M35 Tyler Mannion, Waterloo; 12. 75D Dale Kite, Keystone; 13. 88 C.J. Dall, Marshalltown.
Heat one: 1. Luloff; 2. Parizek; 3. Wacha; 4. Dall; 5. Williams; 6. Mannion; DNS Irvine.
Heat two: 1. Keiser; 2. Happel; 3. Brown; 4. Ballard; 5. Pohlman; DQ Kite.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 2 Merv Chandler, Urbana; 2. 11 Steve Miedke, Shellsburg; 3. 111 A.J. Witten, Cedar Rapids; 4. 22T Travis Losenicky, Garrison; 5. 99J Jeremy Lerch, Vinton; 6. 00W Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 7. 9 Toby Denning, Mt. Auburn.
Heat: 1. Chandler; 2. Witten; 3. Whalen; 4. Miedke; 5. Lerch; 6. Losenicky; 7. Denning.

Rose's win from the pole far from textbook at Independence

Kevin Rose had to like the starting lineup of the IMCA Stock Car feature Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway. What he probably didn't like was running fourth for 11 laps of the scheduled 18-lapper.

Rose, who started on the pole and paced the field for the first two laps, was shuffled back to fourth when Jesse Brown, John Emerson and Sean Johnson made their way around him at the front of the pack. Brown took command on lap three and was the front-runner while Johnson and Emerson challenged.

Johnson and Emerson chased the leader for numerous laps and were contending for the lead before a flat tire sent Johnson to the pits and mechanical problems forced Emerson off the track on lap 15.

Re-enter Kevin Rose.

Rose restarted the event on Brown's rear bumper and was presented a golden opportunity when Brown pushed to the high side of turns one and two when racing resumed. Rose slipped beneath Brown and drove away to the victory. Yeah, not quite how you'd expect to win from the pole.

Remarkably, it was Rose's first career Stock Car win in Independence. The veteran driver became the 44th different winner in weekly racing history in the division in Independence. Rose is the first first-time Stock Car winner in Indee since John Emerson, 427 days ago. That stretch between new winners is the longest since a span of 693 days between first wins by Steve Meyer (August 12, 2006) and Bob Ahrendsen (July 5, 2008). Of the 44 different Stock Car winners, Rose became the ninth to earn his first win during the month of August.

Rose became the seventh different Stock Car winner this season, matching 2006 and 2010 as the most winners in a season in the division since nine different winners graced victory lane in 2005. That mark of nine Stock Car winners in a season is the most all-time at the speedway. There were eight different winners in 1997 and 2002.

Rod McDonald was another first-time Independence winner. He took the lead from Ryan Maitland following a lap five restart to drive to his first IMCA Northern SportMod win on the Independence oval ahead of Maitland and Matt McCahen.

The 24th different SportMod winner in weekly racing history in Independence, McDonald became the seventh first-time winner this season and the 10th different winner through 14 weeks. There have been four first-time winners in the last six weeks. McDonald is the sixth SportMod driver in track history to earn his first win during the month of August.

With 13 other drivers owning one career SportMod win at the speedway, McDonald is tied for 11th on the division's wins list.

Mitch Balik rounded out the list of first-time winners Saturday night. From a second row start, Balik made his way to the front of the IMCA Sport Compact feature in quick fashion, then held off a hard-charging Merv Chandler to earn the first feature win of his career in that 12-lapper.

Balik became the fourth different feature winner in the division this season and the sixth different winner in the two years the Sport Compacts have competed in Independence. He is the first driver to earn his first Sport Compact win during the month of August.

Two weeks ago, Rory Metcalf celebrated his 20th birthday in victory lane for the first time in his career. The IMCA Late Model driver earned his second career win Saturday night.

After chasing pole sitter Curran Beckler for the first four circuits, Metcalf swept past the leader to assume command on lap five. He pulled away from traffic while Jon Passick and Darren Ackerman raced through the pack.

Metcalf entered lapped traffic as early as lap 11 while Passick cut into his advantage. A restart on lap 13 of the 25-lapper bunched the field, however Metcalf again assumed command when the green flag waved.

Metcalf powered away from the pack while Ackerman worked the high side around Passick as the flying green waved. Ackerman ran out of laps to mount a charge on the leader as Metcalf drove to victory.

With his second career win, Metcalf is one of 65 drivers all-time with multiple Late Model wins at the speedway and is tied for 48th on the all-time list with 17 other drivers.

Throughout a handful of cautions over the the first five laps of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature, Ronn Lauritzen raced into contention from a sixth row starting spot. Three laps into the race's first long green flag run following a lap five restart, Lauritzen worked past Mike Burbridge to assume command. He then held off pressure from Shawn Ryan to collect his fourth win of the year.

Lauritzen's four Modified wins this season leads the division and brought his total to seven for his career in Independence. He is now tied for 16th on that list with Deon Turner, Ed Thomas, John Light, Mark Noble, Max Corporon, Mike Sampson, Ron Barker and Tim McBride. Three of Lauritzen's seven wins in Independence have come during the month of August.

Milo Matthias was the early leader in the IMCA Hobby Stock 15-lapper. Matthias set the pace while Quinton Miller made his way into second at the six lap mark. Miller raced past Matthias two laps later on his way to victory in the caution-free event.

Points leader Benji Irvine and Chris Luloff came from fifth row starts to challenge late, however they came up short to finish second and third, respectively.

His second win of the year, Miller has won multiple Hobby Stock features in three separate seasons in Independence (2007, 2010). With 10 wins in his career, Miller tied Ken Irvine, Nick Wroten and Rick Johnson for seventh on the division's all-time wins list at the speedway. Five of Miller's 10 wins have come during the month of August.

Saturday night's feature winners have a combined 22 feature wins in their careers in Independence. In the last 25 seasons, there have been only three other occasions when the collective wins on the 14th night of weekly racing was fewer than 22 - There were 19 combined career wins for the winners on the 14th night of weekly racing in 1989, 13 in 2005 and 21 in 2007.

Since the start of the 1967 season, there have been 695 weekly racing programs at Independence Motor Speedway. Saturday night marked just the 17th time that three drivers earned the first Independence wins of their careers on the same night.

The last time there were three first-time winners on the same night was June 26, 2010, when Jason Rauen (Late Model), Justin O'Brien (Modified) and Dave Stricker (Stock Car) all earned their first weekly points wins in track history.

Only once in track history have four first-time winners made it to victory lane on the same night - May 29, 1993. That night, Jamie Aikey (Modified), Bernard Reinking (Stock Car), Vince Buchholz (Hobby Stock) and Ray Lundry (Pro Stock) were first-time winners.

Tonight, it's a return to Benton County Speedway for another night on the Vinton quarter-mile. I'll have the report and complete results later tonight. I hope to see you there!

Lanigan, Duffy beat Mother Nature's odds at Independence Motor Speedway

"I wish I could race at a track like this every week. These people care."

Those were the words of World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature winner Darrell Lanigan following his triumph in the 50-lapper Monday night at Independence Motor Speedway after two inches of rain that morning forced track workers to spend the entire day getting the 3/8-mile oval ready for the evening's show.

"If you have to deal with complaints on Saturdays from drivers about racing on a track like this, tell them to stay home," Lanigan told track promoter Todd Summers about the weekly program at Indee.

Granted, Lanigan won Monday night and it's uncommon for negative comments to come from a race winner anyway - especially a $10,000 race winner - but the words he spoke were spot-on and runner-up finisher Shane Clanton agreed.

"We love this type of track," said Clanton. "We don't like racing on those dry tracks. Tonight's track was awesome."

The rainfall was early and steady Monday morning, leaving the track prep crew to question its ability to get the surface prepared for the biggest event in track history. And it wasn't just the racing surface that was saturated. While the pit area absorbed the moisture very well, the infield and the walkway behind the grandstands forced people to watch their step throughout the afternoon.

When I arrived at the track early in the afternoon, I made the comment to fellow official Jim Roper that folks who watched the races from the grandstands may feel like they bought a pit pass by the time the night was over. Muddy shoes were probably going to be a common theme by night's end. By the time the gates opened, however, a lot of the moisture had soaked in and various pathways around the mushy spots made life a bit easier for pedestrian traffic.

The infield was a bit more difficult to predict. Standing water and deep muddy areas forced us to question what to do with the slew of photographers and media members on-hand. The track prep crew, however, along with its attention to the track itself, made time to roll in the infield in order to accommodate the visiting media members and others in attendance.

Mike Ruefer and John Vass, photographers at many special events in Independence, were pleasantly surprised that the infield dried out as well as it did and were grateful the track crew took the time to give them more room with which to work.

Darin Duffy was the other "happiest man of the night" after topping a field of 31 IMCA Modifieds to win his second Karl Performance Hawkeye Dirt Tour event of 2013. With the win, Duffy became the first repeat winner in eight tour events this season.

No stranger to victory lane in Independence, the all-time IMCA Modified wins leader at the speedway entered a terrific battle for the lead with Indee regular Troy Cordes before pulling away in the late stages of the 30-lapper.

What started out as doubtful before eventually being upgraded to questionable turned out to be a fantastic night of racing in Independence. Likely the best part of the night was that the weather didn't keep people away. The grandstands were packed and very few people left following the Late Model feature as many stuck around to watch the Modified finale.

A huge pat on the back needs to go to track prep master Don Burkey, along with promoters Darin Burco and Todd Summers for their unrelenting determination to get the track ready despite the extremely wet conditions.

If you're looking for complete results and race recaps, the official press releases from the World of Outlaws and IMCA are available at www.independencemotorspeedway.com. Many of my cohorts from Positively Racing were also on-hand. Be sure to check out Jeff Broeg's thoughts on the Back Stretch, plus the 4dfan Report from Dick and Joyce Eisele and Midwest Racing News by Brian Neal.

No more racing for me this week. I have some catching up to do on paperwork from the past weekend's weekly shows in Independence and Vinton before Friday night's Dan Snyder Benefit in Waverly.

I will see you back in Independence this Saturday for night number 13 of weekly racing. Have a great week!

The Trophy Hunter fills his tag at Benton County Speedway

(Thanks to Dana Benning for the headline!) 

After five runner-up finishes through the first 14 nights, IMCA Modified driver Joe Docekal earned his first win of the season Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. (complete results follow)

Known as the Trophy Hunter, Docekal earned top honors after taking the lead five laps into the 20-lap feature and then surviving a pair of late-race stoppages on his way to victory. Ronn Lauritzen raced from the fifth row to finish second ahead of Jerry Luloff.

The win was Docekal's first in Vinton since August 14, 2011. In the last two seasons alone, Docekal earned 19 top-five finishes in 31 events prior to Sunday's victory. It's about damn time, Joe. Now I can finally write about something else. You must admit, though, JoeDoNoNo was kinda catchy. Maybe NoMoJoeDoNoNo?

For his career, Docekal has eight Modified wins to his credit in Vinton. He is now tied for 18th on the all-time list with Joey Schaefer, Kevin Pittman and Mike Sampson. Entering the night, he was tied in career BCS Modified wins with fellow Dysart drivers Rich Krafka and Dave Burrell. Docekal is now the top Dysart driver in Modified wins in Vinton history unless, of course, Burrell gets the crazy notion to come out of retirement and attempt to challenge Docekal...

Three of Docekal's eight wins have come during the month of August, his most successful calendar month. Apparently, hunting season is officially open.

Just a week after rolling his car off turn three, Jacob Keiser protected the low groove and fought off heavy pressure from multiple drivers to earn his second win of the season in the IMCA Hobby Stock division.

Keiser raced the low side into the lead on the first lap as a handful of drivers were battling two and three-wide shortly after the drop of the green. He emerged with the lead at the flagstand and quickly went to work protecting the bottom groove.

Justin Stander was the first to challenge the leader while Chris Luloff and Brian Happel raced into contention. Keiser remained committed to the low side while his pursuers jockeyed for position and swapped racing grooves in attempt to get a run on the leader.

Happel proved to be the most successful as he moved to the top side in the waning laps while Keiser ran down low. Happel pulled alongside the leader and took away the top spot when the white flag waved, however Keiser powered to the low side in both sets of turns on the final circuit to edge Happel by inches for the win.

His second win of the season, Keiser has now won multiple features in two consecutive years in Vinton. In his weekly racing career, Keiser has seven Hobby Stock wins at the speedway, which ties him with Happel, Brad Anders, Kyle Parizek and Steve Kesl for 16th on the all-time list.

Keiser's win Sunday night came two days after the four year anniversary of his first Hobby Stock win in Vinton - August 2, 2009. Those two victories are his only August wins at the speedway.

Danny Dvorak took advantage of a late caution to drive to his sixth IMCA Northern SportMod win of the season. Colby Heishman held the early advantage in that 15-lapper before Jim Buhlman made the pass for the lead on lap four.

Buhlman pulled away from the field while Dvorak was making his way through traffic from a fifth row start. Dvorak settled into the runner-up position just before the caution flag waved with four laps to go.

Buhlman pushed coming off turn four when the green flag waved, allowing Dvorak to pull even at the flagstand. Buhlman pushed again in the first set of turns as Dvorak squeezed by and drove away to victory.

The win was Dvorak's 52nd in weekly racing history in SportMod racing in Vinton. Only five of those wins have come during the month of August - the fewest of any calendar month for the track's all-time leading SportMod winner.

After Kevin Rose and Scott Pippert shared time at the front of the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature, Norman Chesmore worked the low side into the lead off turn two on lap four. Just like his previous wins in Vinton this season, Chesmore protected the low groove while Pippert and John Emerson pursued.

Both of his followers attempted to make a run in the middle and high grooves, however Chesmore held on for the victory. Emerson slipped past Pippert late to take second.

With five wins on the season, Chesmore now has 19 Stock Car wins in weekly racing history in Vinton. He has moved into a tie for fourth on the all-time list with Dan Trimble. He has eight wins to go before catching Curtis Roster in third.

Merv Chandler won an entertaining IMCA Sport Compact main event. From his outside front row starting spot, Chandler battled Steve Miedke for the lead. Miedke held the point for the first three circuits before Chandler took command.

Miedke remained within striking distance while Nathan Chandler, who survived mid-race contact from another driver, was making his way to the front. Nathan reeled in the leaders in the late stages of the 12-lapper and was able to make his way past Miedke with a lap to go. His efforts to reel in his father came up a couple car-lengths short as Merv raced to his second win of the year.

Merv has now won multiple features for the third year in a row in Vinton. His 10 career wins on the quarter-mile tie him with Miedke for sixth on the all-time list.

One interesting note (or maybe not), Sunday was the first night this season that every feature winner had at least six career wins in Vinton in their respective divisions entering the racing program.

That's all for the weekend, but Monday will be huge at Independence Motor Speedway. World of Outlaws Late Models and Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modifieds will be appearing together for the first time in history. It promises to be an electric night on the 3/8-mile oval. Join us for history in the making! Gates open at 4, hot laps at 6:45 and qualifying to follow!

RESULTS
IMCA MODIFIED
Feature: 1. 12D Joe Docekal (Dysart); 2. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (Jesup); 3. 18 Jerry Luloff (Independence); 4. 33D Scott Hogan (Vinton); 5. 81 Jesse Belez (Marengo); 6. 80 Jerry Dedrick (Vinton); 7. F7 Patrick Flannagan (Cedar Rapids); 8. 71 Troy Cordes (Dunkerton); 9. 00 J.D. Auringer (Waterloo); 10. 7 Todd Jensen (Waterloo); 11. 14B Shane Burbridge (Manchester); 12. D27 Dave Pries (Medaryville, Ind.); 13. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids); 14. 77 Tim McBride (Denver).
Heat one: 1. Auringer; 2. Flannagan; 3. Hogan; 4. Cordes; 5. Olson; 6. Burbridge; 7. Pries.
Heat two: 1. Docekal; 2. Lauritzen; 3. Luloff; 4. Belez; 5. Dedrick; 6. Jensen; 7. McBride.

IMCA STOCK CAR
Feature: 1. 15 Norman Chesmore (Rowley); 2. 87 John Emerson (Waterloo); 3. 47 Scott Pippert (Elberon); 4. 7H Phil Holtz (Manchester); 5. 56T Justin Temeyer (Independence); 6. 22K Kevin Rose (Waterloo); 7. 8 Curtis Roster (Vinton); 8. 4JR Russell Damme (Waterloo); 9. 8B Scott Beauregard (Center Point); 10. 76 Mike Galli (Urbana); 11. 77X Tim Schneider (Muscoda, Wis.); 12. 4X Cory Tharp (Waterloo).
Heat one: 1. Emerson; 2. Rose; 3. Damme; 4. Roster; 5. Tharp; 6. Holtz.
Heat two: 1. Temeyer; 2. Chesmore; 3. Pippert; 4. Galli; 5. Beauregard; 6. Schneider.

IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Feature: 1. 3R Danny Dvorak (Vinton); 2. 00 Jim Buhlman (Cedar Falls); 3. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 4. 3T Tyler Soppe (Sherrill); 5. 21 Brennen Chipp (Waterloo); 6. CH19 Colby Heishman (Brooklyn); 7. 44G Brady Graham (Brooklyn); 8. 10S John Schaefer (La Porte City); 9. J2 Dave Schulze (Keystone); 10. 3 Dave McCalla (Cedar Rapids); 11. 7D Dakoda Sellers (Vinton); 12. 22H Curt Hilmer (Dysart); 13. T17 Tom Rawlins (Kellogg); 14. 72 Mike Hogencamp (Waterloo); 15. 11M Mike Mitchell (Cedar Rapids); 16. 57R Ryan King (Montour); 17. 4 Ryan Maitland (Waterloo); 18. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 19. 3B Brian Anderson (Garrison); 20. 35C Casey Heil (Cedar Rapids); 21. 28P Rick Paulson (Tripoli); 22. 35 Josh Miller (Lisbon); 23. 95 Mike McDonald (Cedar Rapids); 24. 49 Brandon Smith (Waterloo).
Heat one: 1. Chipp; 2. Anderson; 3. Maitland; 4. Hilmer; 5. Hogencamp; 6. Rawlins; 7. Mitchell; 8. Miller.
Heat two: 1. Dvorak; 2. King; 3. McDonald; 4. Soppe; 5. Schulze; 6. Schaefer; 7. Paulson; 8. Heil.
Heat three: 1. Sellers; 2. Heishman; 3. Rust; 4. Buhlman; 5. Olson; 6. McCalla; 7. Smith; 8. Graham.

IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Feature: 1. 07 Jacob Keiser (Marengo); 2. 46 Brian Happel (Vinton); 3. 67 Justin Stander (Shellsburg); 4. 23 Andrew Torkelson (Lisbon); 5. 18 Chris Luloff (Independence); 6. 45 Justin Wacha (Vinton); 7. 78 Matt Brown (Dysart); 8. 17K Kyle Parizek (Belle Plaine); 9. 14J Jacob Floyd (Cedar Rapids); 10. 21J Jason Williams (Belle Plaine); 11. 14C Leah Wroten (Independence); 12. 58B Randy Byerly (Tipton); 13. 12J Jeremy Floyd (Cedar Rapids); 14. 75D Dale Kite (Keystone).
Heat one: 1. Wacha; 2. Happel; 3. Parizek; 4. Wroten; 5. Jacob Floyd; 6. Jeremy Floyd; 7. Kite.
Heat two: 1. Brown; 2. Keiser; 3. Torkelson; 4. Stander; 5. Williams; 6. Luloff; 7. Byerly.

IMCA SPORT COMPACT
Feature: 1. 2 Merv Chandler (Urbana); 2. 22 Nathan Chandler (Norway); 3. 11 Steve Miedke (Shellsburg); 4. 00W Bill Whalen Jr. (Riverside); 5. 3S Craig Streeter (Vinton); 6. 9 Toby Denning (Mt. Auburn); 7. 99J Jeremy Lerch (Vinton).

Passick takes IMCA Late Model win at Independence Motor Speedway

Jon Passick took advantage of a late restart to drive to his first IMCA Late Model win of the year at Independence Motor Speedway.

Passick, who started in the fourth row, worked himself into third place and was closing in on leaders Rick Dralle and Luke Pestka when the caution flag waved on lap 21 of 25. On the restart, Passick worked to the outside of the leaders, who had a terrific battle for the top spot prior to the yellow, to challenged for the lead.

Dralle and Pestka swapped the lead when racing resumed before Passick drove the low side to the front as the white flag waved. Passick went on to score the win, the third of his career and his first since locking up the 2011 points title during the August 27, 2011 season championship program.

Passick was the seventh straight different Late Model winner Saturday night in Independence and now sits tied for 37th on the speedway's Late Model wins list with Dave Bentley, Dave Gerner, Dave Thorsten, Gary Henderson, LaVern Carey, Luke Merfeld, Luke Pestka, Tom Fitzpatrick, Tysus Pattee and Wes Merritt.

Troy Cordes scored his third win of the year in the Performance Bodies IMCA Modified division. Cordes took the lead from Mike Burbridge following a lap two restart to drive to victory. Mark Schulte powered into second from a fourth row start to come home second. Cordes was the fifth straight different winner in the division.

The three wins for Cordes this year are his most since a six-win 2006 season. He remains third on the all-time IMCA Modified wins list in Independence with 31 trips to the winner's circle. It was his ninth career win at the speedway during the month of August.

When including his Hobby Stock win from 1994, his 32 career wins tie Cordes for 10th all-time in Independence with Jim Burbridge and Chris Luloff.

Luloff earned his 32nd all-time win in Independence in the IMCA Hobby Stock division Saturday night. Luloff took the lead from Matt Lundry in the waning laps of that 15-lapper to drive to his seventh win of the year.

Luloff's 29 Hobby Stock wins are best all-time in Independence. His second straight win in the division, Luloff now owns seven streaks of at least two wins at the speedway. Saturday's win was his career eighth during the month of August. His 32 career wins also include three SportMod wins during the 2009 season.

Jason Hocken took his first win of the year in a caution-free IMCA Stock Car feature. Hocken took control from Kevin Rose on the fourth lap and led the remainder of the 18-lapper to take his second career win. Hocken is now one 25 Stock Car drivers all-time with multiple wins in Independence. He is tied with David Adams and Roberts Walters for 23rd on the career list. Hocken was the fifth straight different Stock Car feature winner at the speedway.

Kip Siems drove to his third win of the year in the IMCA Northern SportMod headliner. Siems worked beneath Kevin Hurst in turn two on the seventh circuit to drive to the victory.

With four SportMod wins in his career, Siems sits tied with Joel Rust for sixth on the all-time list. He owns one win each during the months of May, June, July and August.

Merv Chandler raced to the early lead, then held off Adam Gates to win his second IMCA Sport Compact feature of the year. Chandler has now won two Sport Compact features in each of the two years the division has competed in Independence. He remains the only drive to win a feature both years. Chandler's four division wins in Independence place him second on the all-time list.

Tonight, it's back to Benton County Speedway in Vinton for the weekly racing program before heading back to Independence tomorrow for what is being considered the biggest event in track history. A few World of Outlaws Late Model Series drivers have already rolled into town for tomorrow's show. They will be joined by the Karl Performance Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds. Event details are at www.independencemotorspeedway.com.

Have a great Sunday and I hope to see you in Vinton and Indee!