Three and four-wide racing has been common this season at Independence Motor Speedway, but the IMCA Northern SportMods took it to a whole new level Saturday night. (season championship scenarios follow below)
After a two-car battle at the front of the pack throughout the 15-lap feature, the field closed on the final lap as the front-runners crossed the line four-wide at the checkers.
Brian Hilbert took the lead at the drop of the green until a flat tire on his machine brought out the caution flag on lap nine, which left Lucas Lundry and Kip Siems on the front row for the ensuing restart.
Lundry took charge when racing resumed with Siems applying pressure. Jared VanDeest and Jenae Gustin had a two-car battle of their own for third place a short distance behind the lead pair.
While Siems challenged Lundry, Van Deest and Gustin reeled in the leaders and dropped to the low side of the front stretch off turn four on the final lap.
The top-four cars fell into four-wide formation at the stripe with Siems taking the thrilling win ahead of Lundry.
The win was the first of the year for Siems, who has won five times in weekly racing history in the SportMod division in Independence. He is now tied with Lundry and Joel Rust for sixth on the all-time list.
Siems has won at least one feature in each of the last three seasons at the speedway. That is currently the longest active streak in the division. He has won twice in his career during the month of August.
Darren Ackerman drove away from the field to score a dominant victory in the 25-lap IMCA Late Model feature.
After starting in row five, Ackerman took the lead from Rory Metcalf on the ninth lap and pulled away from traffic to win the caution-free event by half of a lap.
With the win, Ackerman took over the points lead in the division. He ended the night tied with Curt Martin at the top of the standings, however Ackerman holds the tiebreaker by virtue of his four feature wins this season.
This year marks the first time in his impressive career that Ackerman has won four times in a single season. His 22 career Late Model wins in weekly racing history in Independence tie him with Red Dralle for seventh on the all-time list. He has a little work to do to reach the top six - Jim Burbridge sits in that position with 32 wins.
When considering all divisions in weekly racing history at the speedway, Ackerman's 22 wins tie him with Dralle and Keith Knox for 21st on the track's wins list. Ackerman has won five times during the month of August.
Vern Jackson drove the high side to victory in the 20-lap Performance Bodies IMCA Modified feature. Jackson raced past Adam Johnson on the eighth circuit on the way to his first win of the season.
In his weekly racing career, Jackson's 41 Modified wins in Independence put him second on the all-time list. He is one win shy of Darin Duffy at the top of the list.
Dating back to 1979, Jackson has won in six different divisions in weekly racing at the speedway - in the Roadrunner, Sportsman, Late Model, Street Stock, Pro Stock and Modified divisions - a total of 97 times. No other driver has won in more divisions and no other driver has more wins. Jackson has won at least one feature in 28 different calendar years in Independence - also a track record.
Prior to Saturday night, Jackson's most recent win came on the same weekend last year - August 17, 2013. Twelve of his 41 Modified wins have come in the month of August.
Justin Wacha made his way past Shawn Kuennen to drive to his second win of the year in the IMCA Hobby Stock division.
Randy Byerly and Kuennen shared time at the front of the 15-lapper before Wacha took control on lap 12. He survived a late restart and pressure from Brian Happel to earn the hard-fought victory.
With the win, Wacha became the 65th driver in weekly racing history to earn multiple Hobby Stock wins in Independence. He is tied with 17 other drivers for 48th on the division's wins list.
Scott Pippert also drove to his second win Saturday night. Pippert raced the low side past Jarod Weepie with two laps to go in the 18-lap IMCA Stock Car feature and then held off pressure from Weepie to earn his second straight win.
Pippert became the 28th Stock Car driver in weekly racing history in Independence to earn multiple wins. He finished the night tied with four other drivers for 24th on the all-time wins list.
Before taking a look at season championship scenarios for next Saturday's season finale, a number of folks should be recognized for making Saturday night's Kids' Night a huge success. Doug Cue of Superior Cleaning Services in Independence spearheaded the candy dash and collection of prizes for the show. He, along with Tarpy Trucking, RE/MAX Independence Realty, Independence Plumbing & Heating, Independence Pizza Hut, Performance Bodies, Tyler Droste Racing and Ed Thomas Racing all offered candy or other prizes to support the program.
Thank you also to 10-year-old Cole Snyder for joining me behind the microphone to call the action throughout the show. At first, Cole was hesitant to talk about more than the Modifieds and then he was unsure if he wanted to do more than read Modified lineups. Very quickly, he became comfortable on the microphone and did a fantastic job informing and entertaining the crowd throughout the entire program. Thanks for a fun night, Cole! You were awesome!
It was also great to see Grant Oskvig in attendance Saturday night. Grant, who flags at various tracks throughout central Iowa during the summer, is also the official flagman for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models and is one of two who flag the action at Boone Speedway for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals. I'm glad you were able to get a night off to enjoy the races as a fan, Grant! My calendar will be a little more open next summer and I can't wait to take in a few shows with you!
Now, onto next Saturday's scenarios...
Before each division's breakdown, here's a breakdown of the points structure and next Saturday's format. Each feature winner is awarded 40 points, with each subsequent finishing position earning one less point. A second place finish earns a driver 39 points, third place 38, etc. The fewest number of points a driver can earn by taking the green flag in a feature is 17. Should more than 24 cars start a feature, all drivers who finish 24th or worse receive 17 points. This means the largest number of points a driver can make-up or lose to a fellow competitor who starts the feature is 23. All ties in the point standings are broken by the number of feature wins. If drivers have the same number of wins, most second place finishes breaks the tie. If still tied, most third place finishes, etc. until the tie is broken.
The Late Model division is the only division that awards points for heat race finishes. Heat races award three points for a win, two points for second place and one point for third place. Since next Saturday's feature will be lined up straight-up based on season point totals, there will be no heat races held in any division, including Late Models. Qualifying is not necessary since feature lineups will be determined upon driver check-in.
We typically start 24 cars in feature events, but will start up to 26 if no more than 26 cars sign into a division. In the event that more than 26 cars sign in, the top 20 in points in attendance will be locked into a starting spot in the feature. The remaining drivers will be lined up based on season point totals for a B feature with transfer spots to the feature awarded to the top four finishers.
The Indee Challenge will be offered to the top four drivers in each division's standings. Each of those drivers will be given the chance to double their money if they can win the feature after starting at the tail. Additional laps will be scheduled in the features.
IMCA LATE MODEL
Darren Ackerman and Curt Martin are tied at the top of the standings, however Ackerman holds the tiebreaker with four feature wins. Dean Wagner sits in third place, 17 points behind the leaders. Jerry King is 24 points back in fourth and Jon Passick sits fifth, 26 points out of the lead. They are the only five drivers mathematically alive to win the track championship.
By either Ackerman or Martin simply taking the green flag in next week's championship feature, King and Passick will be eliminated. Assuming the odds of that is very likely, here are the scenarios for the remaining three drivers still alive to win the championship:
Darren Ackerman: To win his fourth track championship, Ackerman must beat Martin and finish within 17 spots of Wagner in the feature. Ackerman also hold the tie-breaker with Wagner (number of feature wins).
Curt Martin: The scenario is almost the same for Martin to win his 11th track championship. He must beat Ackerman and finish within 17 spots of Wagner unless Wagner wins the feature. In the instance that Wagner wins the feature, Martin would need to finish within 16 spots of Wagner because Wagner would hold the feature wins tiebreaker.
Dean Wagner: Wagner must beat both Ackerman and Martin by 18 positions to earn his first track championship. If Wagner wins the feature, he would need to finish ahead of Martin by 17 positions.
IMCA MODIFIED
Troy Cordes leads the Modified points with a 27 point advantage over J. D. Auringer and Scott Hogan. He is 31 points ahead of Tyler Droste and 32 ahead of Ronn Lauritzen.
By simply taking the green flag in next Saturday's feature, Cordes would lock up his fourth Modified track championship at Independence. For some reason, if Cordes does not take the green flag in the feature, all other drivers in the top five are mathematically alive to win the title. Since all five of those drivers are within five points of each other, it would set up a thrilling (although unlikely) scenario. Use the point structure listed above to determine what those four drivers would need to do to win the title if Cordes doesn't start the feature.
Auringer is officially in second place in the standings and will start in the front row of the championship feature. He is tied in total points with Hogan, however the third tiebreaker is where Auringer gets the nod. Both he and Hogan have one win entering the final night and each have two second place finishes. Auringer's three third place finishes to Hogan's two third place finishes breaks the tie and puts Auringer on the front row.
IMCA STOCK CAR
Norman Chesmore is looking for the first track championship of his career and is very close to locking it up. Chesmore sits 18 points ahead of Jarod Weepie and 37 points ahead of Jesse Brown in the standings. They are the only three Stock Car drivers who are mathematically alive to win the title. By virtue of taking the green flag in the feature, Chesmore would eliminate Brown from title contention.
Norman Chesmore: To lock up the title, Chesmore must finish within 17 positions of Weepie in the final running order.
Jarod Weepie: Weepie must beat Chesmore by 18 positions to earn his fifth Stock Car crown. In the event of a tie in the standings, Weepie holds all tie-breaker by virtue of his feature win.
Jesse Brown: Should Chesmore not take the green flag, depending on car count, Brown would still be alive to win the track championship. In that scenario, Brown would need to finish no worse than fourth in the feature AND beat Weepie by 20 positions. Brown holds the tiebreaker over Chesmore (feature wins), but Weepie holds the tiebreaker over Brown unless Brown wins the feature. If Chesmore doesn't start and Brown wins the feature, beating Weepie by 19 positions would earn the title for Brown. (See why I didn't give a detailed breakdown of the Modifieds in the event Cordes doesn't take the green flag?)
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMOD
Alex Zwanziger holds a five point lead over Danny Dvorak and an 11 point lead over Jenae Gustin entering championship night. They are the only three drivers still alive to win the track championship.
Alex Zwanziger: A top five finish will earn Zwanziger his first Independence track championship. Actually, he can finish sixth and win the tiebreaker over Dvorak unless Dvorak wins the feature. In the event of a Dvorak win, Zwanziger must finish in the top five to lock up the title. As it stands, Zwanziger has one feature win and Dvorak has none, however if Dvorak wins and Zwanziger finishes sixth, the second tiebreaker would be in effect and Dvorak would win based on his three runner-up finishes to Zwanziger's two.
If Zwanziger finishes outside the top five and Dvorak doesn't win, Zwanziger must finish within five spots of Dvorak and 10 spots of Gustin to earn the title.
Danny Dvorak: Dvorak can earn his third SportMod title if he beats Zwanziger by six positions (only five positions if Dvorak wins the feature) and finishes within five spots of Gustin.
Jenae Gustin: Gustin must beat Zwanziger by 11 spots AND Dvorak by six spots to earn her first track championship. Her seven feature wins awards her the tiebreaker against both drivers.
IMCA HOBBY STOCK
Benji Irvine leads the standings by five points over Justin Wacha and nine points over Shawn Kuennen. Both Jamie Whitaker (28 points back) and Jeremiah Wilson (33 points back) are mathematically alive, however both Whitaker and Wilson will be eliminated if either Irvine or Wacha take the green flag in the feature.
Benji Irvine: A top-five finish would lock up Irvine's second straight Hobby Stock title. Coincidentally, he would be the first Hobby Stock driver in the 26-year history of the division in Independence to win back-to-back championships.
Should Irvine not finish in the top five, he would need to finish within five spots of Wacha and nine spots of Kuennen to win the points championship. Irvine holds the tiebreaker with both drivers by virtue of his six feature wins.
Justin Wacha: To win his first track championship, Wacha must beat Irvine by six spots and finish within three spots of Keunnen. Kuennen holds the tiebreaker with Wacha. Both have two wins and one runner-up finish, however Kuennen has three third place finishes to none for Wacha.
Shawn Kuennen: Also in search of his first track championship, Kuennen can win the title if he beats Irvine by 10 positions and Wacha by four spots.
There you have it, unofficial championship scenarios at-a-glance as we enter the final night of racing in Independence.
Tonight, it's off to Benton County Speedway here in Vinton for the first of two straight nights of racing. Weekly action gets underway at 6 p.m. tonight and tomorrow is the make-up date for the XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds.
Tuesday, I'm planning to head to Cedar County Raceway in Tipton for the Deery Brothers Summer Series/Hawkeye Dirt Tour double-header. Those two divisions will be joined by IMCA sanctioned Stock Cars this year and, as always, promises to be a great show.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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