Simpson, Schaefer score Indee Open Series wins at Independence Motor Speedway
by Ryan Clark

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (Aug. 1) - After two battles for the lead, Chad Simpson pulled away from the field and then survived a wild finish to earn his second Climate Seal Insulation Indee Open Series late model win of the season at Independence Motor Speedway.

At the start of the 40-lap feature, pole-sitter Tyler Bruening took command. He held the point for three circuits around the fast, smooth 3/8-mile oval until fellow front row starter Chad Simpson moved under him for the lead on lap four.

Simpson proceeded to pull away from the field while Bruening worked on holding off Terry Neal and Cam Granger. Simpson extended his lead to a straightaway margin and was navigating through lapped traffic when Neal moved into second on lap 12. Simpson's margin remained the same until the caution flag waved on lap 18.

On the restart, Simpson again went to work on the bottom groove of the speedway as Bruening dialed in his No. 16 machine one groove higher. Bruening edged ahead on lap 26 until Simpson powered back underneath him on lap 29.

By this time, Jason Utter worked into third and Curt Martin, who started 17th, settled into fourth. On the final lap, the caution flag was displayed for a pair of spinning cars in turn four which set up a two-lap dash to the checkers.

One lap after the green flag replaced the yellow, Utter slid off the high side of turn four and then, in an attempt to regain his lost ground, returned to the track on the front stretch. As a result, the field behind him ran out of racing room forcing a multi-car pile-up on the straightaway to force another caution.

On the final restart, Simpson held off Martin's challenges to score the exciting victory. Bruening crossed the line in third.

In the modified division, Joey Schaefer took the early advantage from his pole position start. Running the low groove, Schaefer quickly distanced himself from the field as he held a straightaway advantage over Ron Barker.

With most of the field running the bottom groove, Kevin Pittman took to the high side and started making his way around traffic after starting from the fifth row. With seven laps to go, Pittman charged around Barker for second and went to work on cutting into Schaefer's straightaway advantage.

Pittman pulled up to the leader's rear bumper as the white flag was displayed and was able to pull alongside Schaefer exiting turn four on the final lap. Pittman's efforts came up just a few feet short as Schaefer held on for the victory. Barker finished third.

Tony Olson held the lead throughout much of the B modified feature as Joe Docekal worked the high groove in second. With laps winding down, Docekal moved to the low groove and reeled in the leader. Exiting turn four on the final lap, Docekal shot underneath Olson to steal the win by a few feet. Travis Brown finished third.

The Climate Seal Insulation Indee Open Series concludes its 2007 schedule with the Indee Series Finale on Wednesday, August 15, in Independence. Late models, modifieds, stock cars and B modifieds will compete in the event. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps slated for 6:30 and racing to begin at 7.

RESULTS
LATE MODEL
First heat - 1. 77 Jeff Aikey, Cedar Falls; 2. 43 Jeremy Grady, Story City; 3. 145 Dale Hackwell Jr., Washburn; 4. 22C Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake; 5. 45 Curt Martin, Independence; 6. 77C Mitch Current, Maquoketa; 7. C10 Darin Burco, Independence; 8. 4D Rick Dralle, Waterloo.
Second heat - 1. 99D Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown; 2. 0 Jeff Bair, Solon; 3. 58 Hershel Roberts, East Moline, Ill.; 4. 5M Todd Shute, Des Moines; 5. 19 Darin Duffy, Hazleton; 6. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 7. 77X Kurt Kile, Nichols; 8. 4BX Dan Bohr, Decorah.
Third heat - 1. 28C Terry Neal, Ely; 2. 16 Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 3. 15G Cam Granger, West Union; 4. 88 Kevin Kile, West Liberty; 5. 78 Dale Stolte, Springville; 6. 15M Jacob Murray, Hartford; 7. 53 Darren Ackerman, Waterloo; 8. 22 Jill George, Cedar Falls.
Fourth heat - 1. 25 Chad Simpson, Mt. Vernon; 2. 31 Jason Utter, Columbus Junction; 3. 27B Travis Smock, Independence; 4. 14B Levi Benn, Dyersville; 5. 17A Jamie Aikey, Cedar Falls; 6. 4 Leon Thomsen, Waverly; 7. M2 Scott Megonigle, Cedar Rapids; 8. 37 Roger Ciesielski, Waterloo.
First B feature - 1. Martin; 2. Duffy; 3. Kurt Kile; 4. Burco; 5. Current; 6. Dedrick; 7. Bohr; 8. Dralle.
Second B feature - 1. Megonigle; 2. Ackerman; 3. Stolte; 4. Jamie Aikey; 5. George; 6. Thomsen; 7. Murray (DNS); 8. Ciesielski (DNS).
A feature - 1. Simpson; 2. Martin; 3. Bruening; 4. Neal; 5. Stolte; 6. Bair; 7. Duffy; 8. Megonigle; 9. Kevin Kile; 10. DeFrance; 11. McKenna; 12. Roberts; 13. Granger; 14. Grady; 15. Kurt Kile; 16. Burco; 17. Ackerman; 18. Benn; 19. Hackwell; 20. Jeff Aikey; 21. Smock; 22. Jamie Aikey; 23. Murray; DQ Utter.

MODIFIED
First heat - 1. 26P Kevin Pittman, Waterloo; 2. 86 Jeff Morris, Long Grove; 3. 70 Jerry King, Waterloo; 4. 18L Jerry Luloff, Independence; 5. 2 Joey Schaefer, Waterloo; 6. 30 Mark Massey, Worthington; 7. 35 Rob Olson, Cedar Rapids; 8. 14B John Burbridge, Manchester.
Second heat - 1. 37B Ron Barker, Dubuque; 2. 33 Steve Wetter, Platteville, Wis.; 3. 27M Mark Schulte, Delhi; 4. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 5. 41P Troy Cordes, Raymond; 6. 37X Mike Weidemann, Dubuque; 7. 57B Dennis Betzer, Central City; 8. 9 Leon Wilson, Hopkinton.
Feature - 1. Schaefer; 2. Pittman; 3. Barker; 4. King; 5. Schulte; 6. Auringer; 7. Cordes; 8. Weidemann; 9. Morris; 10. Luloff; 11. Wetter; 12. Wilson; 13. Betzer; 14. Massey; 15. Burbridge; 16. Olson.

B MODIFIED
Heat - 1. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 2. 12D Joe Docekal. Cedar Rapids; 3. 25 Alan Wessels, Strawberry Point; 4. 32 Chris Snyder, Evansdale; 5. 24 Travis Brown, Cedar Rapids. Feature - 1. Docekal; 2. Olson; 3. Brown; 4. Wessels; 5. Snyder.