Mitch Way Breaks Through With Big Modified Win at Maquoketa Speedway

 

By: Jerry Mackey

 

Maquoketa,Iowa 9July 6, 2024) – Saturday nights race program at the Maquoketa Speedway was hosted by our friends at Downtown Nutrition and the kids club hosted Christmas in July at the races. Kids were greeted by Mr. & Mrs Claus plus the Grinch was also in attendance. Travis Denning driver of the IMCA Late Model number 56D presented all the youngsters with glowing wristbands and checkered flags.

The IMCA Modified feature on Saturday night treated the fans with outstanding racing on a wide and smooth fast track. Mitch Way took control of the race early from his second row start and appeared to be on his way to his first Maquoketa Speedway win. A caution brought the field to his rear bumper just past the Midway point of the main event. On the restart the battle was on, Scott Lemke took over the top spot and led for several laps before Jeff Larson took over. Way used his never give up attitude and used several sliders as Larson and Way swapped the lead back and forth in the waning laps. Way was able to get the win by a narrow margin over Larson with Ryan Maitland using a late race charge to come home third after starting in the 11th position. Way raced in Eastern Iowa for a few years before moving to North Carolina, working for a NASCAR team. Way returned to the Quad Cities a few years ago and decided to get back into Modified racing. His Saturday night win was his first at Maquoketa since his return.

The IMCA Late Model feature looked to be a Saturday night cruise for Silvis, Illinois driver Jesse Bodin. The 2JR of Bodin took command early as was in route to a flag to flag victory when misfortune struck as he was about to take the white flag. Bodin spun entering turn four setting up a 2 lap dash to the finish. Denning in the 56D held the fast line the last two laps and scored his second win in a row at the Maquoketa Speedway taking the checkers ahead of Steve Johnson and Kelly Pestka.

Gage Neal was also a repeat winner on Saturday night as he scored the win in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Neal raced to the front from his outside third row start and went on to score a comfortable win. The race behind Neal for second was hotly contested and was in doubt right to the finish line. Kodey Miles subbing for his father Jerry in the familiar 4K Stock Car ran a near perfect race in taking second by a nose ahead of Jacob Ellithorpe.

23 drivers took the initial green flag in the IMCA Sportmod main event on Saturday night. Pole sitter Jared Staver led the first few laps before Tyler Soppe was able to take the lead racing the middle groove. Soppe went on to record the win as he held off a fast closing Jarrett Franzen at the checkers. The winning margin was less than a car length. Staver crossed under the checkers in third.

The racing in the IMCA Hobby Stocks has been nothing short of outstanding the last few weeks. Saturday night was certainly more of the same as the the race to the checkers saw a pack of three drivers race off of turn four with the winner very much in doubt. Sheldon Hunter scored the win by a bumper over Lukas Short with Jordan Miles in third just a couple of feet behind Short.

Michael Weber held off a fast closing Jeff Schmidt for the feature win in he INEX Legends on Saturday night. Weber put his number 8W way up on the high line on Saturday night and found a very fast line in scoring the win. Dave Eberle followed Schmidt across the finish line in third.
Cyle Hawkins continued his mastery of the Maquoketa Speedway in the 4 Stock class. Hawkins took the checkers just ahead of Dustin Forbes and Mitch Bielenberg.

There will be no racing at the Maquoketa Speedway on Saturday, July 13th as the Jackson County Fairgrounds will be the site of a large Dog Show. Regular IMCA Weekly racing will return on Saturday, July 20th with hot laps taking to the track at 6 pm.

10 entries
IMCA LATE MODELS – KINION AUTO SALES
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 56D-Travis Denning[8]; 2. 77J-Steve Johnson[5]; 3. 19-Kelly Pestka[3]; 4. 12-Don Pataska[2]; 5. 5M-Mike Fryer[7]; 6. 63-Luke Pestka[9]; 7. 91-Mike Guldenpfennig[10]; 8. 2JR-Jesse Bodin[6]; 9. 72-Dave Hammond[4]; 10. 89-Tom Pestka[1]

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (10 Laps): 1. 5M-Mike Fryer[4]; 2. 19-Kelly Pestka[2]; 3. 77J-Steve Johnson[3]; 4. 63-Luke Pestka[5]; 5. 89-Tom Pestka[1]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (10 Laps): 1. 2JR-Jesse Bodin[3]; 2. 56D-Travis Denning[4]; 3. 12-Don Pataska[1]; 4. 72-Dave Hammond[2]; 5. 91-Mike Guldenpfennig[5]

16 entries
IMCA MODIFIEDS – VEACH SEPTIC & SEWER
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 01M-Mitch Way[3]; 2. B1-Jeff Larson[6]; 3. 4-Ryan Maitland[11]; 4. D55-Scotte Lemke[5]; 5. 3-Jason Schueller[7]; 6. 27M-Mark Schulte[4]; 7. 99M-Charlie Mohr[8]; 8. 12T-Travis Denning[14]; 9. 31A-Kory Meyer[2]; 10. 99-Brandon Jewell[13]; 11. 11-Ray Cox Jr[1]; 12. 65-Brian Meiners[16]; 13. 28C-Joel Crowbridge[9]; 14. 2X-Patrick Moore[12]; 15. 19-Mike Wittenburg[10]; 16. (DNS) 32K-Kyle Montgomery

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (8 Laps): 1. B1-Jeff Larson[5]; 2. 27M-Mark Schulte[3]; 3. 99M-Charlie Mohr[6]; 4. 11-Ray Cox Jr[1]; 5. 19-Mike Wittenburg[7]; 6. 4-Ryan Maitland[8]; 7. 99-Brandon Jewell[4]; 8. 32K-Kyle Montgomery[2]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (8 Laps): 1. 01M-Mitch Way[2]; 2. D55-Scotte Lemke[4]; 3. 31A-Kory Meyer[1]; 4. 3-Jason Schueller[5]; 5. 28C-Joel Crowbridge[6]; 6. 2X-Patrick Moore[3]; 7. 12T-Travis Denning[7]; 8. 65-Brian Meiners[8]

15 entries
IMCA STOCK CARS – QCJEEPS.COM
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 12N-Gage Neal[6]; 2. 4K-Kodey Miles[7]; 3. 72-Jacob Ellithorpe[9]; 4. 22-Tanner Allen[10]; 5. 27Z-Chase Zaruba[3]; 6. 20V-Dustin Vis[5]; 7. 7D-Dakoda Sellers[11]; 8. 17-Andrew Chelf[4]; 9. 83-James Comins[2]; 10. 28-Rhett Ehmen[13]; 11. B78-Brandon Vorbeck[15]; 12. 76-Shawn Flagel[1]; 13. A78-Austin Vorbeck[14]; 14. 89-Cameron Exline[12]; 15. 14C-Leah Wroten[8]

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 12N-Gage Neal[5]; 2. 17-Andrew Chelf[3]; 3. 72-Jacob Ellithorpe[7]; 4. 83-James Comins[2]; 5. 76-Shawn Flagel[1]; 6. 7D-Dakoda Sellers[6]; 7. 28-Rhett Ehmen[8]; 8. A78-Austin Vorbeck[4]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 20V-Dustin Vis[4]; 2. 4K-Kodey Miles[5]; 3. 27Z-Chase Zaruba[2]; 4. 22-Tanner Allen[7]; 5. 14C-Leah Wroten[6]; 6. 89-Cameron Exline[1]; 7. (DNS) B78-Brandon Vorbeck

23 entries
IMCA SPORTMODS – AMHOF TRUCKING
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 3T-Tyler Soppe[6]; 2. 33-Jarett Franzen[10]; 3. 7-Jered Staver[1]; 4. 118-Austin Stamm[11]; 5. 13-Mason McNett[12]; 6. 777-Rayce Mullen[7]; 7. 8S-Josh Starr[15]; 8. 9H-Levi Heath[8]; 9. 444-Patric Conner[5]; 10. 47-Corey Kuntzelman[18]; 11. 15T-Tim McNett[17]; 12. X14-Randy Farrell[14]; 13. 71J-Justin Schroeder[16]; 14. 21J-Jaron Groshans[21]; 15. 74-Mike Evans[3]; 16. 11C-Daniel Carpenter[2]; 17. 4P-Phoenix Blakely[22]; 18. 75-Bob Silaggi[9]; 19. 11J-Trey Jacobs[13]; 20. 4J-Jared Miles[4]; 21. 03-TJ Harms[19]; 22. 99A-Parker Brookman[23]; 23. 24W-Andrew Lameyer[20]

Heat 1 – Top 4 Make Invert (8 Laps): 1. 3T-Tyler Soppe[4]; 2. 11C-Daniel Carpenter[2]; 3. 118-Austin Stamm[7]; 4. 9H-Levi Heath[5]; 5. 11J-Trey Jacobs[3]; 6. 71J-Justin Schroeder[6]; 7. 03-TJ Harms[8]; 8. 4P-Phoenix Blakely[1]

Heat 2 – Top 4 Make Invert (8 Laps): 1. 75-Bob Silaggi[5]; 2. 33-Jarett Franzen[6]; 3. 4J-Jared Miles[3]; 4. 74-Mike Evans[2]; 5. X14-Randy Farrell[4]; 6. 15T-Tim McNett[7]; 7. 24W-Andrew Lameyer[1]; 8. 99A-Parker Brookman[8]

Heat 3 – Top 4 Make Invert (8 Laps): 1. 7-Jered Staver[1]; 2. 444-Patric Conner[3]; 3. 13-Mason McNett[7]; 4. 777-Rayce Mullen[4]; 5. 8S-Josh Starr[6]; 6. 47-Corey Kuntzelman[5]; 7. 21J-Jaron Groshans[2]

13 entries
INEX LEGENDS – LEGENDS.DIRECT
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 8W-Michael Weber[4]; 2. 19-Jeff Schmidt[10]; 3. 5-Dave Eberle[7]; 4. 88-Cohen Henze[5]; 5. 25-Cole O’Brien[8]; 6. 02W-Brycen Wilson[3]; 7. 13-Eric Blumer[9]; 8. 04-Adam Meyer[2]; 9. 80-Craig Peekenschneider[6]; 10. 53-Keith Meyer[13]; 11. 13K-Dallas Kibbe[11]; 12. N8-Nate Wolbers[1]; 13. 14-Dylan Manning[12]

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 5-Dave Eberle[5]; 2. 13-Eric Blumer[6]; 3. 88-Cohen Henze[4]; 4. 02W-Brycen Wilson[2]; 5. N8-Nate Wolbers[1]; 6. 13K-Dallas Kibbe[7]; 7. 53-Keith Meyer[3]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 8W-Michael Weber[3]; 2. 25-Cole O’Brien[5]; 3. 19-Jeff Schmidt[6]; 4. 04-Adam Meyer[1]; 5. 80-Craig Peekenschneider[4]; 6. 14-Dylan Manning[2]

16 entries
IMCA HOBBY STOCKS – HAWKINS TRUCKING AND CONSTRUCT
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 28-Sheldon Hunter[2]; 2. 8L-Lukas Short[9]; 3. 4-Jordan Miles[7]; 4. 1X-Kile Vohringer[10]; 5. 51-Brett Hahlen[1]; 6. 3B-Brandon White[14]; 7. 58-Corey Cullen[3]; 8. 3F-Dakotah Schilling[11]; 9. 4M-Karter Miles[8]; 10. 7Z-Jack Hockaday[12]; 11. 31B-James Bearer[15]; 12. 59-Roger Winkers[16]; 13. 1-Lane Vohringer[5]; 14. 23T-Todd Van Tassel[4]; 15. 3-Dalton Weepie[13]; 16. 78-Steven Shady[6]

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 51-Brett Hahlen[2]; 2. 23T-Todd Van Tassel[4]; 3. 4-Jordan Miles[7]; 4. 8L-Lukas Short[8]; 5. 28-Sheldon Hunter[3]; 6. 3F-Dakotah Schilling[5]; 7. 3-Dalton Weepie[6]; 8. 31B-James Bearer[1]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 58-Corey Cullen[3]; 2. 1-Lane Vohringer[4]; 3. 78-Steven Shady[6]; 4. 1X-Kile Vohringer[8]; 5. 4M-Karter Miles[7]; 6. 7Z-Jack Hockaday[2]; 7. 3B-Brandon White[5]; 8. 59-Roger Winkers[1]

12 entries
4-STOCKS – TRI-CITY CONSTRUCTION
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 28-Cyle Hawkins[9]; 2. 815-Dustin Forbes[8]; 3. 12-Mitch Bielenberg[7]; 4. 26-Jacob Welter[6]; 5. 33B-Zach Brenner[5]; 6. 5-Derrick Dean[1]; 7. 13X-Logan Jones[10]; 8. 07-Gracie Hempstead[4]; 9. 18-Dalton Said[11]; 10. 1Z-Branden Fuglsang[3]; 11. 57-Jerramy Vasquez[2]; 12. (DNS) 07K-Thomas Kennedy

Heat 1 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 28-Cyle Hawkins[5]; 2. 12-Mitch Bielenberg[4]; 3. 1Z-Branden Fuglsang[2]; 4. 5-Derrick Dean[1]; 5. 33B-Zach Brenner[3]; 6. 18-Dalton Said[6]

Heat 2 – Top 5 Make Invert (6 Laps): 1. 815-Dustin Forbes[4]; 2. 57-Jerramy Vasquez[1]; 3. 26-Jacob Welter[3]; 4. 13X-Logan Jones[5]; 5. 07-Gracie Hempstead[2]; 6. 07K-Thomas Kennedy[6]

Category: Iowa