Richards and Murty Cash in on Balmer Racing Night

It was a beautiful hot summer night of racing on the high banked quarter mile of the Marshalltown Speedway. IMCA Stock Cars ran for the top prize of $1,000 to win and the IMCA Hobby Stocks had a $350 bounty thanks to anonymous sponsor on Balmer Racing Night. There was fantastic two, three and four wide racing on the night and some wild incidents mixed in on the night. First green flag took the track straight up 7:30pm and the final checkered flag was displayed at 10:43pm.

One Hundred Twenty Eight Cars signed in to tame the 1/4 mile on Friday Night. Braden Richards claimed the bounty in the IMCA Hobby Stocks and Damon Murty claimed the $1,000 prize in the IMCA Stock Cars. Tanner Gannon (Mod Lites), Brayton Carter (Sport Mods), Logan Duffy (Late Models) and Tom Berry Jr (Modifieds) also took feature wins.

First feature of the night was the 15 lap MADCRA Mod Lites feature event. Jeff Stensland wrestled the early lead from son Travis Stensland. Jeff Stensland led until the caution came out just after lap two was scored when Bryan Wonick spun in turn two. Tanner Gannon got by Jeff and Travis Stensland on the restart to take over the race lead. Gannnon held off Jeff Stensland, Cory Sonner and Randy Bryan to take the feature win. Cory Sonner finished second. Points Leader Randy Bryan finished third, Jeff Stensland fell back to fourth and Bryan Zehm was fifth.

Ryan King grabbed the early lead in the 18 lap IMCA Sport Mods feature fending off Beau Kaplan and Brayton Carter early. The caution came out on lap four when Beau Kaplan spun and collected Brian Lepa and Austin Kaplan on the front stretch. On the restart, the caution came out when a driveshaft was sitting in turn one after going back to the green. King held off Carter and Johnathon Logue on the restart only to see the caution come out again after the completion of lap five when Michael Miller went off the top of turn two. Carter managed to get by King on lap seven just before another race caution came out when Chris Burke rolled off the top side of turn two. Carter held off Logue and Kyle Olson to take the feature win. Logue, Kyle Olson, twenty-first place starter Austin Schrage and thirteenth place starter Jenae Gustin rounded out the top five.

IMCA Hobby Stocks had anonymous sponsor place a $350 bounty on Kaden Reynolds, who remained perfect after last week's feature so there was a good field of "bounty hunters" on Friday Night. Braden Richards started outside row one and he jumped to the race lead early fending off Scott Ellis. Richards look smooth riding the top side until the caution came out on lap seven when Nathan Ballard spun Kaden Reynolds in turn one. Richards was not fazed fending off challenges on the restart from Tom Killen and Aaron Rudolph. The caution came out again on lap ten, Mike Kincaid spun in turn four. Two more cautions came out before a lap was scored again, first one was when Travis Merical got a shot in the rear by Reynolds going down the back stretch launching him Dukes of Hazzard style off the back stretch. Then again on the restart for debris in turn one. Richards slipped up allowing Brett Vanous to get by on lap fourteen before a caution came out for Rudolph going off turn two. Vanous appeared to fend off but Richards did not go away as he pulled the perfectly excuted slider exiting turn four. Richards won the drag race back to the line to take the win. Richards claimed the bounty and his first career win. Vanous finished a close second, finishing behind Vanous in third through fifth was nineteeth place starter Bill Bonnett, fifteenth place starter Solomon Bennett and Reynolds.

Before a lap was scored in the IMCA Late Models 15 lap feature event came out when Darrel DeFrance spun on the front stretch after trying to avoid other race cars in front of him. Jill George grabbed the early lead when the race got going and held off challenges from Curt Schroeder until the caution came out on lap six when Thomas Stevens flipped upside down in turn one. Stevens was okay but it ended his night meanwile George had to deal with Logan Duffy and Schroeder on the restart and it was Duffy grabbed the race lead on lap eight. Duffy went on to take the feature win allowing him to take the points lead by himself. Dalton Simonsen got by George on the last lap to take second putting George in third. DeFrance came back to finish fourth and Schroeder slipped back to fifth.

Normally they are the final feature of the night but up next was the 20 lap IMCA Modifieds feature event. Zack Rawlins grabbed the early lead fending off Ronnie Hults and Scott Simatovich. Rawlins led until Jeff Aikey worked his way through the field and took over the top spot on lap six. Aikey lead until lap 12 when points leader Tom Berry Jr worked his way from tenth place to take over the race lead on lap twelve. Berry pulled away and went to take his fourth win in Motown. Aikey finished second, Paul Nagle was third, thirteenth place starter Tim Ward was fourth and twelfth place starter Kollin Hibdon was fifth.

Final feature of the night was the IMCA Stock Cars $1,000 to win 20 lap feature. Robert Stofer grabbed the early race lead but just after lap two was in the books, the caution came out for Kyle Everts, Jeff Mueller, Anthony Goldsberry and Leah Wroten got together in turn two. Stofer held off Damon Murty and Scott Rice initial but Murty found his way by on lap four. The caution came out on lap six for debris in turn two. Dallon Murty, Everts, Jason Hall and Russell Damme Jr got together in turn four on lap seven. Damon Murty held off Stofer and Dustin Vis on the restarts but the caution came out again on lap nine when Shane Stoneburner and Jami Ritter got together on the front stretch. Murty looked to be heading on to the easy win after fending off Stofer and Dustin Vis but the caution came out on lap 17 for debris on the back stretch. Murty held on to cash in the prize and take the feature win. Dustin Vis, Steve Meyer, Kenzie Ritter and David Brandies rounded out the top five.

Next Friday Night will be Casey's General Stores, Rumours Bar & Grill, Salute to Marshalltown Law Enforcement and Late Model Season Championship Night. IMCA Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Mods, IMCA Hobby Stocks and MADCRA Mod Lites are all racing. Hot Laps at 6:50pm and Racing at 7:30pm.

For more information about Marshalltown Speedway checked out marshalltownspeedway.com or like the Facebook page Marshalltown Speedway or contact promoter Toby Kruse at toby@marshalltownspeedway.com.

I took pictures during hot laps and they can be found on the Trackside Report by Foxman Facebook Page or the direct link to the photos Marshalltown Balmer Racing Night 7-17-20. All the photos are unedited and free to use as long you give me a shout out and remember I do not take pictures full time, I take pictures because I love the sport of racing.

Marshalltown Speedway
Balmer Racing Night
Friday July 17th, 2020

IMCA Late Models

Feature (15 laps) : 1. 14 Logan Duffy (Independence); 2. 60 Dalton Simonsen (Fairfax); 3. 22 Jill George (Cedar Falls); 4. 99D Darrel DeFrance (Marshalltown); 5. 15C Curt Schroeder (Newton); 6. 31 Corey Dripps (Reinbeck); 7. 301 Shawn Cooney (Des Moines); 8. 11 Randy Faux (Earlham); 9. 66 Todd Johnson (Mitchellville); 10. 13JR Colton Leal (Pacific Junction); 11. 13 Michael Leal (Pacific Junction); 12. 3D Thomas Stevens (Guernsey); 13. 32 Curtis Glover (Knoxville)

Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Schroeder; 2. George; 3. Simonsen; 4. DeFrance; 5. Colton Leal; 6. Johnson; 7. Stevens

Heat 2 (8 laps) : 1. Cooney; 2. Glover; 3. Duffy; 4. Faux; 5. Michael Leal; 6. Dripps

IMCA Modifieds

Feature (20 laps) : 1. 11X Tom Berry Jr (Des Moines); 2. 77 Jeff Aikey (Cedar Falls); 3. 05 Paul Nagle (Nevada); 4. 4TW Tim Ward (Chandler, Ariz.); 5. 48K Kollin Hibdon (Pahrump, Nev.); 6. S Collen Winebarger (Corbett, Ore.); 7. 2Z Zack Rawlins (Kellogg); 8. 43S Scott Simatovich (State Center); 9. 198 Sam Wieben (Dysart); 10. 3W Garrett Wilson (Carlisle); 11. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (La Porte City); 12. 13 Anthony Hofbauer (Huxley); 13. 5G Gatlin Leytham (Toledo); 14. V13 Grey Ferrando (Stayton, Ore.); 15. 14J Justin Dunn (Riverside, Calif.); 16. 223 Jake Pike (Pahrump, Nev.); 17. 02 John Davis (Altoona); 18. 42RH Ronnie Hults (Truro); 19. 81 Jesse Belez (Marengo)

Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Hults; 2. Simatovich; 3. Pike; 4. Aikey; 5. Lauritzen; 6. Winebarger; 7. Ward; 8. Wieben; 9. Dunn; 10. Belez

Heat 2 (8 laps) : 1. Berry; 2. Rawlins; 3. Nagle; 4. Wilson; 5. Hofbauer; 6. Hibdon; 7. Leytham; 8. Ferrando; 9. Davis

IMCA Stock Cars

Feature (20 laps) : 1. 99D Damon Murty (Chelsea); 2. 20V Dustin Vis (Cedar Rapids); 3. 94 Steve Meyer (Grundy Center); 4. 121 Kenzie Ritter (Keystone); 5. 71 David Brandies (Wilton); 6. 2 David Atcher (Laurel); 7. 5A Tyler Pickett (Boxholm); 8. 4 Scott Rice (Marshalltown); 9. 22K Kevin Rose (Waterloo); 10. 1X Michael Peterson (Montezuma); 11. 64H Mark Hidlebaugh (Ames); 12. 5JR Jami Ritter (Keystone); 13. 4JR Russell Damme Jr (Waterloo); 14. 50 Robert Stofer (Jefferson); 15. 23HR Rod Richards (Madrid); 16. 14C Leah Wroten (Independence); 17. 22R Todd Reitzler (Grinnell): 18. 57 Shane Stoneburner (Boone); 19. 99 Dallon Murty (Chelsea); 20. 95J Jason Hall (Grinnell); 21. 2K Kyle Everts (Holland); 22. 20J Josh Vis (Cedar Rapids); 23. 18 Anthony Goldsberry (Runnells); 24. 77M Jeff Mueller (Albion)

B-Feature (10 laps) : 1. Mueller; 2. Wroten; 3. Richards; 4. Stoneburner; 5. 3X Josh Capalla (Marshalltown); 6. 48G Austin Gray (Story City); 7. 8E Mitchell Evens (Independence); 8. 13 Kelton Everts (Holland); DNS 50X Kevin Balmer (Garwin); DNS 7SR Shawn Ritter (Keystone)

Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Reitzler; 2. Brandies; 3. Rice; 4. Dallon Murty; 5. Peterson; 6. Stoneburner; 7. Evens; 8. Capalla

Heat 2 (8 laps) : 1. Stofer; 2. Atcher; 3. Pickett; 4. Goldsberry;  5. Jami Ritter; 6. Gray; 7. Balmer; 8. Kelton Everts

Heat 3 (8 laps) : 1. Kyle Everts; 2. Dustin Vis; 3. Hidlebaugh; 4. Damme; 5. Josh Vis; 6. Shawn Ritter; DNS Richards

Heat 4 (8 laps) : 1. Damon Murty; 2. Kenzie Ritter; 3. Meyer; 4. Hall; 5. Rose; 6. Mueller; 7. Wroten

IMCA Sport Mods

Feature (18 laps) : 1. 01 Brayton Carter (Oskaloosa); 2. 69JR Johnathon Logue (Logansport); 3. K3 Kyle Olson (Cedar Rapids); 4. 14X Austin Schrage (Cresco); 5. 44 Jenae Gustin (Marshalltown); 6. T23 Tony Olson (Cedar Rapids); 7. K9 Brian Kauffman (Reinbeck); 8. 14 Brian Schrage (Cresco); 9. 33J Joesph Luethje (Nevada); 10. 4 Chance Titus (Baxter); 11. 22JR Brady Hilmer (Dysart); 12. 14A Brandon Allison (Oskaloosa); 13. 57R Ryan King (Tama); 14. CB25 Chris Burke (Altoona); 15. 25K Kevin Yearington (Des Moines); 16. 79M Michael Miller (Des Moines); 17. 98X Bill Hildreth (Iowa Falls); 18. 98S Dennis Stewart (Marshalltown); 19. 2I Beau Kaplan (Ankeny); 20. 7L Brian Lepa (Waterloo); 21. 146 Austin Kaplan (Collins); DNS 117 Zach Hovell (Pella); DNS 25 Travis Peterson (Gladbrook)

Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Burke; 2. Tony Olson; 3. Lepa; 4. Hilmer; 5. Gustin; 6. Austin Kaplan; 7. Hildreth; 8. Allison

Heat 2 (8 laps) : 1.Carter; 2. Logue; 3. Beau Kaplan; 4. Kauffman; 5. Peterson; 6. Luethje; 7. Yearington; 8. Stewart

Heat 3 (8 laps) : 1. Brian Schrage; 2. Kyle Olson; 3. King; 4. Hovell; 5. Titus; 6. Miller; 7. Austin Schrage

IMCA Hobby Stocks

Feature (20 laps) : 1. 11R Braden Richards (Madrid); 2. 357 Brett Vanous (Quasqueton); 3. 19 Bill Bonnett (Knoxville); 4. 11B Solomon Bennett (Minburn); 5. 1 Kaden Reynolds (Cedar Rapids); 6. 1K Tom Killen Jr (Des Moines); 7. 11K William Klosterman (Ackley); 8. 12 Mike Kincaid (Cincinnati); 9. 24T Tyler Ollendeick (Tripoli); 10. 4X Gary Pfantz (State Center); 11. 18S Gary Ollendieck (Sumner); 12. 73 Aaron Martin (Richland); 13. 47 Ray Fees (Des Moines); 14. 37G Jeremiah Andrews (Union); 15. 43 Kevin LeBeau (Dallas Center); 16. 40SE Scott Ellis (Marshalltown); 17. 38R Aaron Rudolph (Grand Junction); 18. 21P Shane Palmer (Huxley); 19. 12K Eric Knutson (Slater); 20. 81M Travis Merical (Marshalltown); 21. 17X Ben Newhouse (State Center); 22. 72H Miciah Hidlebaugh (Adel); 23. 14J Jacob Floyd (Cedar Rapids); 24. 29 Nathan Ballard (Marengo)

B-Feature (10 laps) : 1. Travis Merical; 2. Pfantz; 3. Fees; 4. Palmer; 5. 17 Andy Peck (Newton); 6. 75M Preston Merical (State Center); 7. 57C Cory Ogden (Cedar Rapids); 8. 20A Steven Crees (Des Moines); 9. 28 Josh Killen (Des Moines)

Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Ellis; 2. Newhouse; 3. Klosterman; 4. Martin; 5. Tyler Ollendieck; 6. Peck; 7. Crees; 8. Preston Merical

Heat 2 (8 laps) : 1. Knutson; 2. Andrews; 3. Hidlebaugh; 4. Kincaid; 5. LeBeau; 6. Josh Killen; 7. Fees

Heat 3 (8 laps) : 1. Richards; 2. Ballard; 3. Vanous; 4. Bennett; 5. Bonnett; 6. Pfantz; 8. Travis Merical
Heat 4 (8 laps) : 1. Reynolds; 2. Tom Killen; 3. Rudolph; 4. Floyd; 5. Gary Ollendieck; 6. Palmer; 7. Ogden

MADCRA Mod Lites

Feature (15 laps) : 1. 3T Tanner Gannon (Des Moines); 2. 47 Cory Sonner (Huxley); 3. 64 Randy Bryan (Story City); 4. 20 Jeff Stensland (Nevada); 5. 46Z Bryan Zehm (Ames); 6. 89 Travis Stensland (Nevada); 7. 4G Ben George (Altoona); 8. 4 Matt Sorenson (Bondurant); 9. 4B Douglas Byers (Grinnell); 10. 17S Chris Weir (Colo); 11. 96 Jonathan Braathun (Story City); 12. 3G Joe Glick (Madrid); 13. 131 Bryan Wonick (Iowa City); DNS 31K Cliff Barber (Nevada)

Heat 1 (6 laps) : 1. Jeff Stensland; 2. Glick; 3. Zehm; 4. George; 5. Byers; 6. Weir; 7. Barber

Heat 2 (6 laps) : 1. Travis Stensland; 2. Braathun; 3. Bryan; 4. Gannon; 5. Sonner; 6. Sorenson; 7. Wonick