Ackerman drives the high side to mid-season I.M.C.A. late model win at Independence
by Ryan Clark

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (June 30) – Although delayed one week by rain, Budweiser mid-season championships were worth the wait at Independence Motor Speedway.

In all five divisions, the cars were lined straight-up based on total points. The top four in each class were given the opportunity to start from the rear of their event with the chance to double their winnings with a feature win.

Although no I.M.C.A. late model drivers elected to take that challenge, points leader Darren Ackerman opted to start on the outside of the front row. Although that move appeared to be costly at first, Ackerman took advantage of the high side to drive to an impressive victory.

For the start of the 25-lapper, Luke Goedert inherited the pole position start. He took advantage at the drop of the green and rocketed into the early lead. He quickly pulled away from the pack as Ackerman and Darin Burco battled side-by side behind him.

Ackerman staved off the challenges of Burco and settled into second running the bottom groove as he attempted to reel in Goedert. Meanwhile, Jeff Aikey was working through traffic from a fifth row start and settled into fourth on lap six.

One lap later, Ackerman started to reel in the leader as the field encountered lapped traffic. The top four remained unchanged as they maneuvered through the backmarkers until debris brought out the race’s only caution on lap 13.

When racing resumed, it took Aikey only one lap to work around Burco. Aikey quickly entered into a battle with Ackerman while Goedert continued to lead the field.

At that time, Ackerman moved from the bottom groove and went to work on the high side of the fast 3/8-mile oval. He immediately pulled away from Aikey and quickly ran down the race leader.

Ackerman moved to the outside of Goedert and made the winning pass with only six laps remaining. Ackerman pulled away from his competitors to score the win in impressive fashion by nearly a straightaway margin. Goedert and Aikey completed the top three.

In the I.M.C.A. modified division, points leader Jerry Luloff elected to start the event from the rear on one condition – if Troy Cordes went with him. Both drivers sent the crowd into a frenzy by starting the 25-lap event from the back of the pack.

As a result, J.D. Auringer inherited the pole position start, however he opted to start on the outside of the front row, leaving Vern Jackson on the pole when the race went green.

Jackson took advantage of his good fortune and immediately shot into the lead. Auringer, Max Corporon and Adam Johnson chased the leader early.

As the leaders battled, Luloff and Cordes quickly worked through the pack and settled into seventh and 11th, respectively, after just 10 laps. One lap later, the field was realigned following the race’s first caution.

Jackson brought the field to the green flag for the restart, however a broken axle exiting turn four when racing resumed ended his night early. This allowed Auringer to take command until the yellow flag was displayed for Johnson’s spinning No. 24R one lap later.

With Jackson and Johnson now gone from the event and Corporon, who pulled to the in field with mechanical problems, also eliminated, Auringer restarted in the lead with Luloff on his rear bumper. Cordes had worked his way into fifth.

When racing resumed, Auringer continued to lead as Cordes worked his way into third and ultimately a challenge with Luloff. The pair battled side-by-side for a couple of laps until Cordes stole the position in the late stages of the event.

With laps winding down, Auringer remained strong out front and drove to the victory. Cordes and Luloff ran second and third.

Health problems sidelined I.M.C.A. stock car points leader Justin Temeyer, leaving Jarod Weepie and Steve Meyer on the front row for the mid-season feature. Weepie paced the field to green, but it was Sean Johnson on a mission in the No. 8R.

Johnson quickly powered past his competitors from a second row start to secure the lead by the end of the first lap.

Following an early caution, Johnson made quick work of the field and extended his lead to a over a straightaway margin by the time the race’s only other caution was displayed with just two laps remaining.

Although he lost his sizeable lead, Johnson was not phased on the restart as he drove to the dominant win ahead of Weepie and Norman Chesmore.

Points leader Josh Irvine took advantage of his pole position start in the I.M.C.A. hobby stock main event. From the drop of the green, Irvine assumed command and never looked back as he drove to the victory, his third of the season. Chris Luloff and Rod Grother chased Irvine to the checkers.

B modified points leader Tony Olson was the man to beat in that division’s 15-lap feature. Olson assumed the early command as the field battled behind him.

From a fourth row start, Joe Docekal worked through the pack and settled into second place with three laps remaining. Docekal attempted to run down Olson, however Olson held off his challenges to extend his points lead with his third victory of the season. Docekal and Jim Buhlman completed the top three.



RESULTS

I.M.C.A. LATE MODEL

Feature – 1. 53 Darren Ackerman, Waterloo; 2. 44 Luke Goedert, Holy Cross; 3. 77 Jeff Aikey, Waterloo; 4. C10 Darin Burco, Independence; 5. 45 Curt Martin, Independence; 6. 145 Dale Hackwell Jr., Washburn; 7. 14B Levi Benn, Dyersville; 8. 16 Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 9. 27B Travis Smock, Independence; 10. 4D Rick Dralle, Waterloo; 11. 9 Bobby Hansen, Center Point; 12. 2P Jon Passick, Waterloo; 13. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 14. 70 Dirk Hamilton, Jesup; 15. 68 Tysus Pattee, Vinton; 16. 4J Darin Duffy, Hazleton; 17. 8 Randy Wheeler, Cedar Falls; 18. 21B Joel Brasch, Dunkerton; 19. 88 Drew Johnson, Belle Plaine; 20. 4 Leon Thomsen, Waverly; 21. 22 Jill George, Cedar Falls.


I.M.C.A. MODIFIED

B feature – 1. 14H Tom Hanson, Vinton; 2. 4S Garry Stuber, Waterloo; 3. 38 Dain Sires, Cedar Falls; 4. 12T Ty Glass, Cedar Rapids; 5. 22 Chris Moore, Walkerton, Va.; 6. 23W Robert Whalen, Nashua; 7. 007 Dan Arp, Traer; 8. 35 Rob Olson, Cedar Rapids.

A feature – 1. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 2. 71 Troy Cordes, Raymond; 3. 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence; 4. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 5. 14 Randy Trefz, Vinton; 6. 83C Todd Conrad, Cedar Rapids; 7. 85 Johnathan Thimmesch, Aurora; 8. 78 Adam Bolin, Waterloo; 9. 57B Dennis Betzer, Central City; 10. 93 Craig Haupt, Sumner; 11. 93K Jeff Kriz, Waterloo; 12. 8 Tony Snyder, Sumner; 13. 11 Timm Jensen, Dunkerton; 14. 98 Jason Snyder, Dunkerton; 15. 24R Adam Johnson, Independence; 16. 3 Max Corporon, Marion; 17. 64 Vern Jackson, Waterloo; 18. Hanson; 19. 8G George Cunha, Evansdale; 20. 33D Scott Hogan, Vinton.


I.M.C.A. STOCK CAR

Feature – 1. 8R Sean Johnson, Independence; 2. 3 Jarod Weepie, Dunkerton; 3. 15 Norman Chesmore, Quasqueton; 4. 56 Troy Cordes, Raymond; 5. 94 Steve Meyer, Grundy Center; 6. 58 Dave Stricker, Waterloo; 7. 00 Tony Schimmels, Readlyn; 8. JR3 Jason Hocken, Independence; 9. 17 Jason Niedert, Fairbank; 10. 26 Brian Irvine, Oelwein; 11. 21 Shane Manson, Manchester.


I.M.C.A. HOBBY STOCK

B feature – 1. 09 Brad Forbes, Waterloo; 2. 86H Steve Higham, Cedar Rapids; 3. 78.1 Dave Brissette, Dike; 4. 4 Russell Damme Jr., Waterloo; 5. 6 Keven Gonzales, Fairbank; 6. 166 Justin Lichty, Waterloo.

A feature – 1. 35 Josh Irvine, Oelwein; 2. 18 Chris Luloff, Independence; 3. 77 Rod Grother, Cedar Rapids; 4. 8 Bill Meyer, Sumner; 5. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 6. 55 Vince Buchholz, Cedar Falls; 7. 1S Greg Sweerin, Evansdale; 8. 25 Jamie Whitaker, Nevada; 9. 64JR Jeremiah Wilson, Waterloo; 10. B62 Brandon Davis, Cedar Rapids; 11. 62G Adam Gebel, Dysart; 12. Forbes; 13. 73 Quinton Miller, Independence; 14. 8W Dave Wheeler, Fairbank; 15. 88S Joe Sprague, Independence; 16. 20W Bruce Fraser, Manchester; 17. 20 Wes Stanek Jr., Cedar Falls; 18. 20B Matt Burmeister, Waterloo; 19. 7B Jim Ball, Independence; 20. 22H Curt Hilmer, Dysart.


B MODIFIED

Feature – 1. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 2. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 3. 00 Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 4. 25 Alan Wessels, Strawberry Point; 5. 32 Chris Snyder, Evansdale; 6. 52R Marty Rouse, Grundy Center; 7. 95H Mary Handberg, Waterloo; 8. 75 Josh Sherbon, Cedar Falls; 9. 7 Tim Swope, Waterloo; 10. 22 Dan Wiley, Vinton; 11. 83 Russell Hesse, Waterloo; 12. 14 Robbie Butikofer, Tripoli; 13. 2C Rob Coleman, Urbana; 14. 24 Travis Brown, Cedar Rapids; 15. 57 Josh Steere, New Hartford; 16. 93 Craig Cordes, Cedar Falls; DNS 35 Kyle Bentley, Fairbank; DNS 49 Brandon Smith, Cedar Falls.