Karl Auto Group of Marshalltown Speedway did not disappoint, as fans in attendance and watching at home were left clinging on to the edge of their seats on EMW Trucking Military Memorial Night. There were plenty of two- and three-wide races throughout the night, and sometimes I tried four-wide. All that great racing action led to some exciting finishes. A total of one hundred-four cars signed in to tame the high-banked quarter mile, with the final checkered flag waiving at 9:55 p.m.
Thanks to EMW Trucking, the military veterans were able to get free access to the races. They even had some Iowa Army National Guard soldiers come out and present the nation's colors and sing the National Anthem. EMW Trucking Military Memorial was originally supposed to be Memorial Day Weekend, but Mother Nature did not play nice then, so it was rescheduled.
EMW Trucking LLC is a trucking company based out of DeSoto, Missouri. They cover cargo and freight trucking needs, so give them a call at 636-209-3170 or check them out on Facebook. They have trucking terminals in Clearwater, Minnesota; San Francisco, California; and Starke, Florida, as well.
The first feature of the night was the Rugged Radios IMCA Friesen Performance Northern Sport Mods 16-lap feature event. Kyle Olson out-wrestled Chris Burke and Jake Sachau for the race lead early. Burke will grab second before exiting on lap seven. Sachau was second but now received pressure from Jenae Gustin and Brayton Carter until a caution came out on lap 15 for Sierra Rose Gary spun in turn two, forcing a green-white-checkered finish. Gustin took the lead away from Olson on the restart and went on to take her second win in as many weeks. Olson finished second, thirteenth-place starter Will Wolf came home in third, Carter fell back to fourth, and twelfth-place starter Zander Keeland was fifth.
Jon Padilla from Silvis, Illinois, grabbed the top spot from the drop of the green flag in the Knight Sanitation IMCA STARS Mod Lites 15-lap feature. Padilla pulled away from the rest of the field to go on and take his second win of the season, while the battle behind him heated up for second on back. Fellow Illinois racer Jason Masengarb from Colona finished second. Ben George was able to out-duel Josh May for third. May took fourth, and Alex Eischeid took fifth.
Up next was the "Class Too Tough Too Tame" Drury Automotive & Truck Repair IMCA Stock Cars 20-lap feature event. Jerry Gifford took the early lead, fending off Dave Atcher and Steve Meyer. Gifford pulled away as Jimmy Gustin, Austin Kaplan, and Kaden Reynolds worked their way through the field. The only caution came out when Reynolds spun Kaplan in turn four. Reynolds received the black flag for rough driving, and Kaplan exited a lap later with a flat tire and heavy front-end damage. Gifford held off Gustin and Meyer on the restart and appeared to be heading on to his first win in Motown, but Gustin had a different idea. Gustin made the last lap pass and out-dueled Gifford to the finish line to claim his first win in the Stock Car. Gifford, fourteenth-place starter Maguire DeJong, Meyer, and sixteenth-place starter Michael Jaennette rounded out the top five.
In the Tire Demon by Love Tap IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds 20-lap feature event, Cody Laney took the early lead after out-wrestling Johnathon Logue. Laney led until the first caution on lap 11, when Rod Clement came to a stop in turn three. Tom Berry Jr. took the top spot away on the restart from Laney and pulled away. The red flag came out on lap 15 when Trevor Fitz flipped off the top of turn four. Fitz climbed out okay. Berry fended off Dylan Thornton and Laney on the restart. Two more cautions came out on lap 18 when Todd Shute slid off the top of turns one and two, and on lap 19 when David Brown spun in turn one. Berry held off all challenges on the restart to capture the win. Thornton finished second, Tripp Gaylord was third, Laney was fourth, and thirteenth-place starter Tim Ward was fifth.
Mitchell Bunch took the early lead in the Hy-Vee of Marshalltown IMCA Sport Compacts 15-lap feature event, but just after 1 lap was completed, Henry Dieleman came to a stop at the top of turn one. Bunch led until he lost power on lap nine, giving the lead over to Cristian Grady, who was running second the entire distance to that point. Grady went on to take his fourth win in Motown this season. Spencer Roggentien finished second, David Kimmel was third, James Haring was fourth, and eleventh-place starter Mark Smith was fifth.
The final feature of the night was the Cappy's Big 8 Tyre Center IMCA Hobby Stocks 16-lap feature event. Solomon Bennett took the top spot, fending off Calvin Dhondt, but short after lap one was scored, the caution came out when Braden Gifford spun on the front stretch. Bennett got a great restart and fended off Dustin Filloon, Dhondt, and Eric Knutson, but the caution came out on lap 3 when Sam West hit the traffic cones exiting turn three. Bennett remained strong out front and held the lead through the cautions on lap seven for Aidan Lamasters in turn two and lap eight for Derrick McNeece on the front stretch. Bennett fended off challenges from Knutson and Dhondt and appeared to be heading on to take the feature win. Bennett got slowed up by a lap car exiting turn two, allowing Dhondt and Knutson to use the high side to get by. They were able to manage the next lap car exiting turn four, and Dhondt went on to take his fifth win of the season. Bennett was able to edge out Knutson for second. Knutson, Bradly Graham, and Filloon rounded out the top five.
Next Friday, August 9th, will be VESSCO Inc., RBF Electric and BHE Night, featuring $1,000 to win IMCA Mod Lites, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA Sport Mods. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, and IMCA Sport Compacts complete the card. Grandstands open at 5:30 p.m., Hot Laps at 6:45 p.m., and Racing at 7:30 p.m. Grandstands will be $15 for adults, seniors, and veterans $10; for kids (ages 11–17) $10; for children (10 and under) free. Pits will be $30 for Adults, Kids (3-12) $15 and Children (2 and Under) Free.
Then the following week will be the annual Larry Wollam North 3rd Ave. Larry Wollam Season Championships on August 16th. The rain date for season championship night, if needed, is August 23rd. If we get them in on August 16th, then there will be no racing that week. The speedway wraps up August with the Karl Auto Group Showdown at Motown on Friday, August 30th.
MARSHALLLTOWN SPEEDWAY 2024 TRACK SPONSORS: Karl Auto Group of Marshalltown (Buick, GMC, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram Dealer), Tire Demon by Love Tap, Drury Automotive & Truck Repair, Rugged Radios, Cappy's Big 8 Tyre Center, Knight Sanitation, Hy-Vee of Marshalltown, Fertilizer Equipment Specialists, Brian Doyle Farms, H&H Tiling Dozing & Excavating, Competition Motorsport, BeMobile / Verizon Wireless, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Schaeffer's Oil / Arnold Motor Supply, Availa Bank, Central State Bank, Coors Light/Miller Lite (H&F Distributing), Fisher Trucking, Spot On Calibration & Repair, Local UAW 893 of Marshalltown, Independent Auto, RBF Electric, Mid-State Boring, KFJB 1230 AM-93.9 FM / KIX 101.1 (Trending Media), ELH Professional Power Washing, Velocita, Karl Chevrolet, Karl Kustoms, The Joie of Seating, Tom Cat Performance / Carolina Racing Supply, Elmquist Towing Co., Fast Shafts, Quick Performance, Victory Fuel, Your Life Iowa 1-800 BETS OFF, P&D Welding LLC, Untied Rentals, Martin Maretta, Grasshopper Kellogg Lawn & Snow, Stealth Racing, Quick Car Racing Products, J&M Fabrication, BW Outdoors / CAMP CHEF, La Carreta Mexican Grill, Performance Bodies & Parts, Xtream by Mediacom, Hogeland Auto Plaza, Precision Ink Signs & Graphics, Toby K's Hideaway, North 3rd Ave Dairy Queen, Longacre Scales, Chevrolet Performance, Friesen Performance, Capital Signs, American Family Insurance - Ryan Timm, SUNOCO Race Fuels, Minute Man Printing, Abilene Race Rads, 25 Club Members, D&E Outdoor Services, VESSCO Inc., Dirt Defender.
EMW Trucking LLC Military Memorial
Friday August 2nd, 2024
IMCA MODIFIEDS
presented by Tire Demon by Love Tap & Friesen Performance
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Eckrich; 2. Logue; 3. Fuller; 4. Rust; 5. Thornton; 6. Shute; 7. Kroening; 8. Clement.
presented by Drury Automotive & Truck Repair
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Albertsen; 2. Daggett; 3. Anderson; 4. Ayers; 5. DeJong; 6. Goldsberry; 7. Meiners; 8. Landheer.
presented by Rugged Radios & Friesen Performance
Heat 2 (7 Laps) : 1. Carney; 2. Burke; 3. Olson; 4. Sachau; 5. Weimer; 6. Keeland.
presented by Cappy's Big 8 Tyre Center
Heat 2 (7 Laps) : 1. Barnes; 2. Bennett; 3. McNeece; 4. Weepie; 5. Miller; 6. Hemsley; 7. Brad Graham; 8. Lamasters; 9. Robinson; 10. Peck.
presented by Knight Sanitation
Heat 2 (6 Laps) : 1. Padilla. 2. Masengarb; 3. Eischeid; 4. Brittani Dominguez; 5. Brown; 6. Tiffani Dominguez; DNS Foster.
presented by Hy-Vee of Marshalltown
Heat 2 (6 Laps) : 1. Haring; 2. Gardner; 3. Roggentien; 4. Masterson; 5. Dieleman; 6. Gosselink; 7. Pollock.
