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Opening Night at Shelby County Speedway
By Shannon Lowe
HARLAN, IA (May 5) - Racing at the Shelby County Speedway was off to a
glorious start with beautiful weather, fan filled stands and an infield
flooded with talented racers on May 1st.
KNOD Kool Gold Compacts kicked off the feature racing at Shelby County
Speedway with the field taking the first green flag seriously and driving
past the flag stand 3 and four wide. Cain Mahlberg drove away with the early
lead but trouble on lap 3 left him high and dry in turn 2. Local Favorite
Taylor Griffen took over the lead and charged around the track reeling in
the back of the pack as he looked to move into lap traffic. A caution for
debris brought Brandon Claussen onto Griffon’s rear bumper and Claussen took
the lead on the restart driving hard to a healthy lead before a rollover
brought the race to a stop under the red flag. With 2 laps to go and Sport
Compact racers looking at a green white checkered finish, Griffen takes the
run on Claussen to race side by side, but Claussen was able to hold on with
Griffen second, Corey Flanigan in third, David Archibald in fourth and Frank
Rolfe finishing fifth.
Twenty one Country Tire Hobby Stocks took the track, charged the green flag,
and after several caution laden laps the race came down to a 2 car race with
Corey Madden and Shannon Anderson racing side by side during the final four
laps with inches calling the leader on each lap. Both drivers went for the
win in the final lap, and both tried to muscle his way past the other with
sheer force of will and track momentum. The cars came together a final time
as they left turn four with the checkered flag in sight.
Shannon Anderson was able to hold on to the win as he fishtailed past the
flag stand just ahead of Madden with Joel Tiggs in third, Jason Fusselman
finished fourth and Kurt Hansen rounded out the top five.
New names and faces behind the wheel of Wam Performance Parts Sport Mods
brought a new thrill to the class as the green flag dropped on the sport mod
feature. Tanner Powers took the early lead and cruised out front by himself
leaving the rest of the pack to battle for second. Jesse Sobbing worked his
way around traffic looking for some open ground to challenge Powers. A
timely caution with 11 to go set Sobbing on Power’s rear push bar and
Sobbing looked to the high side for an edge. But Tyler Gross on the bottom
of the track edged Sobbing on the restart giving Powers a jump start on the
stretch. David Hulsebus raced into second and set his sights on Powers with
9 to go. Powers left the chase pulled up and drove into the pits handing the
lead over to David Hulsebus who lead the pack to the checkered flag with
Sobbing in second, Steve Reetz in third, Tyler Gross in fourth and Chad
Dills in fifth.
The Pizza Ranch Stock Cars hit the dirt with the same old flair and a nearly
full field. Tim Bengard worked his way through traffic to nab the top spot
as Dustin Smith worked in behind him. Smith jockeyed for the best position
on the track to get past Bengard, but was unable to get it done as Bengard
took a firm hold on his runaway lead. Behind him the class spread out with
the only challenges on the track deep in the field. The race for second
heats up in the final two laps with four cars challenging. Smith takes
second behind Bengard with Keith Knop in third , Bill Reetz in fourth and
Jason Rold finishing out the top five.
The unmistakable rumble of the Budweiser Late Models brought the racing
action up a notch as Al Zeitner powered out to the lead and Barry Sorensen
and Jeff Segebart drove hard to challenge. Josh Most nosed into the top five
with Mel Zeitner right behind him. Sorensen took the lead and flew around
the track unchallenged until Most raced his way clear of the pack and moved
in on Sorensen. Most took the lead and cruised around the track uncontested
as the final laps ticked by with Sorensen finishing second, Al Zeitner, Mel
Zeitner and Jeff Segebart rounding out the top five.
Racing in the Pitts Chiropractic Modifieds hit a whole new level on opening
night at Shelby County Speedway as newcomers to the class jumped into the
competition will all cylinders firing. Luke Wanniger, dug in early to plant
himself in the top five and raced Jeff Stephans for the top spot before
Stephans opened up a lead between them. Wanniger was not easily shaken and
he held to the second spot as the front of the pack began to work into lap
traffic. With a scorer’s nightmare on the track, and cars covering every
section of the competition oval, the checkered flag fell on Jeff Stephans
who landed in O’Reilly Victory after leading from green to checkered. Luke
Wanniger finished 2nd, Nick Deal in third, and Ryan Webb and Chad Pruel
rounded out the leaders board.
For complete results and more racing information, go to
www.racescs.com .
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