Anderson Wins Wetzel Memorial Stuart Speedway
Story by Josh Reynolds
Stuart, IA (July 14) – After a crazy, exciting night a week ago, fans and drivers returned to Stuart Speedway for more excitement and they did not leave disappointed! Shawn Cooney, Jeff Joldersma, Cole Ferguson, Luke Wanninger, Andy Forcht and Shannon Anderson were the winners on NAPA Auto Parts Night at the Races.
First up on the night was the IMCA Sport Compacts with Jason Montes and Shawn Cooney on the front row. Cooney took the lead and never looked back in picking up the feature win. Brian Haller and Montes rounded out the top three. Cooney made it a clean sweep with the heat race win.
IMCA Stock Cars were up next with Michael Walrod and Bryan Snell at the front of the field. Snell led right away with Jamie Schirm and Jeff Joldersma in second and third. Joldersma made it to second on lap seven and took over the lead two laps later. Schirm passed Snell on lap thirteen and set out for his third win in a row, but it was not to be as Joldersma took the win. Schirm finished second with Marcus Fagan third, Snell fourth and Bob Daniels fifth. Snell and Schirm were the heat race winners.
Arie Schouten and Colby Oberembt brought out the IMCA Northern SportMods next for their fifteen lap feature. Oberembt led the first two laps with Clint Luellen taking over on lap three. Luellen held the top spot with Cole Ferguson and Matt Webb giving chase. Ferguson closed the gap lap after lap and made the pass on the high side on lap twelve. Luellen threw all he had at the win, but Ferguson was too strong and went on to the win. Luellen finished in second with Webb third, Schouten fourth and Peters fifth. Oberembt was the heat race winner.
IMCA Modifieds were up next with Ed Seibert and Rex Parkison on the front row. Luke Wanninger took the lead on lap one with Josh Gilman giving chase. A spin by Tony Hilgenberg on lap nine was the only thing slowing the #20 down on this night as Wanninger shot out to the lead on the restart and cruised to the feature win. Gilman finished second with Scott Bash third, Parkison fourth and Hilgenberg fifth. Wanninger was also the heat race winner.
Justin McKinney and Cory Sauerman led the 6 Cylinder FWD’s to the line next with Sauerman taking the lead. Andy Forcht got to second on lap two and began to work on Sauerman for the lead. Sauerman held strong until the white flag lap when Forcht made his move on the bottom side. As the two came out of turn four, Forcht got the run he needed and took the win at the flagstand. Sauerman finished a close second with Brian Haller third, Shawn Cooney fourth and McKinney fifth. Sauerman was the heat race winner.
Last up on the night was the IMCA Hobby Stocks and the John Wetzel Memorial. John was a veteran of the Hobby Stocks and passed away a few years back. His family honors his memory with this race and all of us at Stuart Speedway are honored to help out. After Eric Stanton and Brandon Pruitt won the heat races and the redraw was completed, Riley Songer and Stanton made up the front row. Promoter Chuck Vanderheiden stopped the field on the frontstretch and asked Songer and Stanton if they’d like to go to the back to double their money if they could make it back to the front and win. Songer said no, but Stanton was up to the challenge and went to the tail! So once the field was rearranged the front row was now Songer and Shannon Anderson. As the race started, Anderson took the lead with Brandon Pruitt and Austin Luellen close behind. Anderson and Pruitt distanced themselves from the pack, and just past midway began to catch lap traffic. The leaders took the five-to-go signal from the flagman, and coming out of turn two Songer went for a spin. In the chaos, Anderson and Pruitt came through turns 3-4 with Pruitt on the bottom side. As the two came out of turn 4 they made contact with Pruitt getting the worst end of the deal and ended up against the front stretch wall, his night over. Once the track was cleared, Anderson remained the leader with Luellen, Andrew Burg and Stanton directly behind. Anderson held the top spot with the three cars behind locked in a battle for second. With those three fighting for the runner up spot, Anderson sailed to the win. Luellen came out of the group second with Stanton making it from fourteenth to third, Burg fourth and Aaron Rudolph fifth from thirteenth.
We’d like to thank all who came out to support the race track last night. We will be taking a week off next week and will return on July 28th for Adair Lumber Night at the Races with the return of the Micro Sprints. Remember, there are no number fees for the rest of the season at Stuart so tell your friends and bring a car for some great side by side racing! See you then!
Category: Iowa, Stuart Speedway
