Blum brothers shine at Davenport Mid-Season
by Mike McGuire
DAVENPORT, Ia. (June 24, 2016) – As the Davenport Speedway readies for next week’s Iowa Governor’s Cup, there was still one more night of point racing action to get in the books. Friday was Mid-Season night at the Davenport track.
A draw-redraw format was used in all classes and the point leader in each class was given the option of the Back Row Challenge, where winning from the tail would earn double the money. Unfortunately no one accepted the challenge.
Rob Toland stretched out his point lead in the Petersen Plumbing and Heating IMCA Late Model class. Toland started his feature on the outside pole and led all of the twenty-five laps. Andy Nezworski came from ninth starting spot and used the low groove to finish second. Matt Ryan took third, finishing ahead of Kevin Kile and Chuck Hanna.
Toland, Ryan, and Joe Zrostlik won the late model heats.
Mitch Morris came from somewhere in the pack to win the Eriksen’s IMCA Modified main. Ray Cox Jr. jumped out to the early lead and was able to hold the advantage for the first fourteen laps. On lap fifteen, Morris forced his way under Cox to take the lead and his third point win of the season at Davenport.
Cox held on to take second, with Doug Crampton third. Bruce Hanford and Rick Ratliff rounded out the top five. Thirty-three modifieds were on hand Friday. Heat race wins went to Morris, Cox, Ratliff, and Jake Waterman. Bob Dominacki and Terry Rentfro won the consi’s.
Keith Blum took advantage of the Mid-Season format and won the Koehler Electric Street Stock feature on his first visit to Davenport this season. Jesse Owen and Jeremy Gustaf each had a turn at the lead before Blum took control on lap eight. Gustaf would finish second in a race that saw more than its share of caution flags. Justin Yarolem, Cary Brown, and Randy Lamar would finish third through fifth in that order.
The Hawkeye Auto IMCA SportMods saw another dominating performance by Tony Olson. The Cedar Rapids racer captured his fourth point victory of the season. Olson led all fifteen laps of the race. Andrew Burk finished in the runner-up position, while Tyler Soppe raced from the tail of the field to finish third. Jake Morris and Nathan Ballard finished fourth and fifth respectively.
The Mod Lites put on a wild show in their feature. After the third roll-over of the race, the feature the race was called with Kevin Blum the winner. Jason Bahrs led a handful of laps early in the race, before finishing second. Dave Nelson took third, finishing ahead of Bob Miller and Mike Morrow.
The next event at the Davenport Speedway will be he Iowa Governor’s Cup, the official stock car championship of the State of Iowa. Thursday, June 30th, racing will be on the historic half-mile track and on Friday, July 1st, the racing action moves over to the quarter-mile oval. More information can be found on the Davenport Speedway facebook page or at “davenportspeedway.com “.
Results:
Davenport Speedway
June 24, 2016 –
IMCA Late Models
Heat #1: 1. Matt Ryan; 2. Spencer Diercks; 3. Jay Johnson; 4. Stephan Kammerer; 5. Ryan Claeys;
Heat #2: 1. Rob Toland; 2. Brunson Behning; 3. Ray Guss Jr.; 4. Mike Zemo Jr.; 5. Thad Wilson;
Heat #3: 1. Joe Zrostlik; 2. Andy Nezworski; 3. Chuck Hanna; 4. Kevin Kile; 5. Jonathon Brauns;
Feature: 1. Rob Toland; 2. Andy Nezworski; 3. Matt Ryan; 4. Kevin Kile; 5. Chuck Hanna; 6. Ray Guss Jr.; 7. Brunson Behning; 8. Jay Johnson; 9. Thad Wilson; 10. Mike Zemo Jr.; 11. Joe Zrostlik; 12. Jonathon Brauns; 13. Stephan Kammerer; 14. Eric Sanders; 15. Ryan Claeys; 16. Jeff Johnson; 17. Jon Coombs; 18. Spencer Diercks; 19. Jay Chenoweth; 20. Gary Webb;
IMCA Modifieds
Heat #1: 1. Mitch Morris; 2. Doug Crampton; 3. Bruce Hanford; 4. Todd Dykema; 5. Terry Rentfro;
Heat #2: 1. Jake Waterman; 2. Brian Webb; 3. Jordan Hicks; 4. Jarrod Struss; 5. Bob Dominacki;
Heat #3: 1. Ray Cox Jr.; 2. Kurt Kile; 3. Chris Lawrence; 4. Jake Bowman; 5. Brandon Durbin;
Heat #4: 1. Rick Ratliff; 2. Jason Pershy; 3. Joe Beal; 4. Josh Starr; 5. Greg Durbin;
Semi #1: 1. Terry Rentfro; 2. Brandon Durbin; 3. Eric Barnes; 4. George Spence III; 5. Craig Crawford;
Semi #2: 1. Bob Dominacki; 2. Matt Werner; 3. Greg Durbin; 4. Todd Hansen; 5. Bryce Garnhart;
Feature: 1. Mitch Morris; 2. Ray Cox Jr.; 3. Doug Crampton; 4. Bruce Hanford; 5. Rick Ratliff; 6. Jake Waterman; 7. BrianWebb; 8. Jake Bowman; 9. Jason Pershy; 10. Matt Werner; 11. Brandon Durbin; 12. Greg Durbin; 13. Terry Rentfro; 14. Jordan Hicks; 15. Eric Barnes; 16. Todd Hansen; 17. Chris Lawrence; 18. Bob Dominacki; 19. Jarrod Struss; 20. Todd Dykema; 21. Josh Starr; 22. Kurt Kile; 23. Joe Beal; 24. George Spence III. (33 cars)
Street Stocks
Heat #1: 1. Jesse Owen; 2. Dwayne Smith Jr.; 3. Justin Yarolem; 4. Nick Claussen; 5. Bryan Ritter;
Heat #2: 1. Kevin Dickey; 2. Jeremy Gustaf; 3. Erick Turner; 4. Cord Williams; 5. Austin Riggs;
Heat #3: 1. Randy Lamar; 2. Keith Blum; 3. Gene Ehlers; 4. Brandon Delles; 5. Jeff Struck Jr.;
Feature: 1. Keith Blum; 2. Jeremy Gustaf; 3. Justin Yarolem; 4. Cary Brown; 5. Randy Lamar; 6. Cord Williams; 7. Kevin Dickey; 8. Nick Claussen; 9. Dwayne Smith Jr.; 10. Gene Ehlers; 11. Jesse Owen; 12. Bryan Ritter; 13. Erick Turner; 14. Jeff Struck Jr.; 15. Austin Riggs; 16. Brandon Delles; 17. Robert Mueller; 18. Justin Ashby;
IMCA SportMods
Heat #1: 1. Joe Grant; 2. Andrew Burk; 3. Jacob Arp; 4. Aaron Hitt; 5. Mike Haines;
Heat #2: 1. Tony Olson; 2. Nathan Ballard; 3. Jake Morris; 4. Jarrett Franzen; 5. Mike Goben;
Feature: 1. Tony Olson; 2. Andrew Burk; 3. Tyler Soppe; 4. Jake Morris; 5. Nathan Ballard; 6. Aaron Hitt; 7. Henry Carson; 8. Mike Goben; 9. Jacob Arp; 10. Mike Haines; 11. Gary Rentfro; 12. Joe Grant; 13. Ron Cook; 14. Darrell Ward; (1-DQ, 1-DNS);
Mod Lites
Heat #1: 1. RJ Gonzales; 2. Jason Bahrs; 3. Mike Morrow; 4. Buck Harmening; 5. Bob Miller;
Heat #2: 1. Kevin Blum; 2. Andrew Smith; 3. Dave Nelson; 4. Jon Padilla; 5. Guy Morse;
Feature: 1. Kevin Blum; 2. Jason Bahrs; 3. Dave Nelson; 4. Bob Miller; 5. Mike Morrow; 6. Jeffery Peterson; 7. Jason Masengarb; 8. Mike Kennedy; 9. RJ Gonzales; 10. Buck Harmening; 11. Andrew Smith; 12. Guy Morse; 13. Jon Padilla;
Category: Davenport Speedway, Iowa
