On Friday Night, I made the short drive across town for the Safelite Auto Glass Showdown in Motown. One Hundred Fourty One Cars signed in to tame the high banked quarter mile Marshalltown Speedway including for one night only, the IMCA Sport Compacts.
Sport Compacts had 40 cars for their top prize of $1,100 to win. IMCA Modifieds ran for a top prize of $1,000 to win and had 31 cars signed in. Twenty-Three IMCA Stock Cars and Twenty-Two IMCA Sports Mods ran for $500 to win. IMCA Hobby Stocks ran for $300 to win top prize and Twenty-five cars checked in.
First feautre of the night was 20 lap IMCA Sport Mods feature event but before a single lap was scored the caution came out twice, first for John Rebstock in turn two and then on the restart for Lee Rouse, Brian Baker and Jared Dew in turn four. Somerton, Arizona's Ty Rogers grab the race lead on lap one but shortly after the caution came out again when Jordan Braaten spun on the front stretch. "The Bobcat" Johnathon Logue took the top spot away on the restart and start to get a little seperation until the caution came out again on lap five when Scott Foster went off the top of turn two. Again the caution came out after lap six was scored when Fred Leytham spun in turn two. Logue held off Brian Osantowski and Brayton Carter on the restarts.
However the caution came out again on lap 11 when Bo Partain stopped in turn two and then two laps later agai when Leytham came to a stop in turn two. Logue and the field saw the caution one more time on lap 15 for Cullen Thompson and Dennis Stewart in turn four. This caution also meant the time limit was up so the field was told that if another caution came out it would be a green-white-checkered finish, that never came in play as they finish the remaining five laps. Logue went on to take the feature win just like has done four other times this season in Motown. Carter came across the line in second ahead of Osantowski. Osantowski and Cody Thompson came across in third and fourth, however in post race tech inspection was disqualified. That moved up thirteenth place starter Travis Peterson to third, eleventh place starter Austin Kaplan to fourth and Antioch, California racer Guy Ahlwardt to fifth.
After five heats and two b-features twindle the field of fourty IMCA Sport Compacts down to twenty-five for their 15 lap feature event. It was go time thanks to several sponsors the purse was increased to $1,100 to win top prize. Kolby Sabin and Hunter Patrick led the field to the green flag, however before the end of lap one it was fifth place starter Jake Benischek in the top spot. The only caution came out on lap three when Cody Pontious and Kevin Bolte drove off the top side of turn two. Benischek held of Patrick and Sabin on the restart and pulled away with only lap traffic slowing him down in the end. Benischek took the feature win, Patrick ran second but was disqualified in post race tech so that moved Jade Lange to second. Twelfth place starter Mitchell Bunch, Sabin and eleventh place starter Curtis Masterson rounded out the top five.
Jeremiah Andrews led the first lap of the IMCA Hobby Stocks 20 lap feature event before a caution came out when Gary Ollendieck spun in turn four. Andrews also lap two but tenth place starter Eric Stanton wrestled the lead away from Andrews on lap three. Stanton began to pull away and looked to be heading on to the easy win until the caution came out on lap fourteen, Colby Christensen and Mike Kincaid got together in turn two. The caution came out again on lap 17 when Tanner Uehling hit the front stretch wall before coming to a stop in turn one. Stanton held off Eric Knutson and Carter Koop on the restart, Stanton went on to claim his 100th Career IMCA Hobby Stock Feature win. Fifteenth place starter Knutson finished second, Tyler Ollendieck was third, Lance Mielke was fourth and seventeenth place starter Aaron Martin finished fifth.
The Class Too Tough Too Tame, IMCA Stock Cars was up next for their 20 lap feature event. Jared Daggett has not race much this year at his hometown track but you would have never known that as he grabbed the early race lead from fellow front starter AJ Dancer from Texas. Daggett held off Donavon Smith and Scott Rice until the caution came out on lap two for Cameron Exline in turn two. Daggett still manage to fiend off Smith and Rice but "Game Changer" Dallon Murty worked his way from ninth to the race lead on lap five. Murty and the field saw the caution come out again for Exline on lap six. The caution came out again on lap thirteen when Daggett spun in turn four and then on the restart when Dancer and Nathan Robbins got together in turn four. Murty held off Todd Reitzler, who worked his way to second and Smith but the caution came out again on lap 16 for Bo Partain stopping in turn four. Murty went on to take the feature win just as Partain rolled off the top side of turn two. For Murty, it was win number four in Motown. Reitzler came across in second but was disqualifed in post race tech so that moved twenty-first place starter Steve Meyer to second. Smith, Michael Jaennette and fourteenth place starter Chase Alves from Arizona finished third through fifth respectively.
Final feature of the night was the IMCA Modifieds 25 lap feature event. Pacifica, California's Shane DeVolder led the first lap before a trio of cautions. The first two cautions after the completion of lap one was for Jared Spalding in turn two. Third caution for "Sioux City Excitement" Chris Abelson rolled off the top side of turn two. DeVolder led lap two but Tom Berry muscled is way from seventh to race lead on lap three. Berry and the field saw the caution come out just after lap three was scored when Mike Goodson spun in turn four. Berry got a great restart and pulled away an appeared to take the easy win just as he has all season in Motown but the caution came out on lap 13 for debris in turn four. The debris was when the infield tire was kicked out on to the racing surface. Berry pulled away again and only lap traffic slowed him down but twelfth place starter Tim Ward got within a second behind Berry but lap traffic slowed him just bit. Berry took his ninth win in Motown and appears to have locked up the National Championship with a few weeks left to go. Ward finished second ahead of "Cinnamon Sticks" Riley Simmons from California, California's Cody Laney and Texas' Chris Elliott.
I took 928 pictures last night during hot laps and heat races and you can find all the pictures in a photo album called Motown Safelite Auto Glass Showdown in MoTown 9-4-20 on the Trackside Report by Foxman Facebook Page.
Marshalltown Speedway
Safelite Auto Glass Showdown in MoTown
Friday September 4th, 2020
B-Feature (10 laps) : 1. Lauritzen; 2. Webb; 3. Clement; 4. Bodendorfer; 5. 11K Mark Griffin (Canton, Pa.); 6. 35L Charles Luttmer (Myra, Texas); 7. 18K Jacob Pace (Kearny, Ariz.); 8. 26A Paris Archie (Sparks, Nev.); 9. 87X Ryan Williams (Waxahachie, Texas); 10. 38T Michael Thing (Campo, Calif.); DNS 10RM Ryan McDaniel (Olivehurst, Calif.)
Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Skyberg; 2. Laney; 3. Anderson; 4. Fettinger; 5. Noteboom; 6. Bodendrofer; 7. Griffin; 8. Archie
Heat 3 (8 laps) : 1. Berry; 2. Elliott; 3. Barnes; 4. Morgan; 5. Chris Luttmer; 6. Thing; 7. Charles Luttmer; 9. Pace
IMCA Stock Cars
Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Murty; 2. Jaennette; 3. Reitzler; 4. Temeyer; 5. Wollam; 6. Russell; 7. Robbins; 8. Meyer
Heat 3 (8 laps) : 1. Logue; 2. Osantowski; 3. Rogers; 4. Webster; 5. Dew; 6. Hildreth; DNS Cody Thompson
Heat 1 (8 laps) : 1. Mielke; 2. Schluetter; 3. Weepie; 4. LeBeau; 5. Ellis; 6. Kimmel; 7. Merical; DQ Kincaid
Feature (15 laps) : 1. 3 Jake Benischek (Durant); 2. 43 Jade Lange (Humboldt); 3. 83B Mitchell Bunch (Des Moines); 4. 9 Kolby Sabin (Des Moines); 5. 16 Curtis Masterson (New Virginia); 6. 27 Darin Smith (Wapello); 7. 2H James Haring (Oskaloosa); 8. 02 John Gill (Marshalltown); 9. 440 Jaedon Erickson (Welcome, Minn.); 10. 81B Brandon Hartmann (Fairmont, Minn.); 11. 0 Michael Grossman (Keokuk); 12. 4R Ashley Reuman (Hills); 13. 33 Diego Diaz (Des Moines); 14. 88 Tyler Haring (Oskaloosa); 15. 14A Brandon Allison (Oskaloosa); 16. 62 Lewie Winkleman (Beacon); 17. 29X Jason Bolte (Odin, Minn.); 18. 69JX William Michel (Columbus Junction); 19. 15 Cody Pontious (Sac City); 20. 101K Kevin Bolte (Odin, Minn.); 21. 38 Des Sells (Fort Dodge); 22. 85 Lucas Rick (Urbana); 23. 12 Bryton Benhart (Clarence); 24. 63X Grayson Pratt (Dayton, Minn.); DQ 33H Hunter Patrick (St Charles)
B-Feature 2 (10 laps) : 1. Grossman; 2. Michel; 3. Reuman; 4. Diaz; 5. Winkleman; 6. 7X Max Heimbuch (Mason City); 7. 7C Chad Larson (Brooklyn); 8. 5D Mark Downing (Adel); 9. 22R Danny Robinson (Tama); 10. 92 Brandon Schneider (Mechanicsville); 11. 11A Bubba Brown (Jackson, Minn.); 12. 33B Rodney Brown (Des Moines)
Heat 1 (6 laps) : 1. Patrick; 2. James Haring; 3. Masterson; 4. Allison; 5. Heimbuch; 6. Sells; 7. Winkleman; 8. Gates
Heat 4 (6 laps) : 1. Erickson; 2. Pontious; 3. Kevin Bolte; 4. Bubba Brown; 5. Pratt; 6. Grossman; 7. Werning; 8. Downing
