MILLS DELIVERS MESSAGE TO HDT FOES WITH HAMILTON CO. WIN
WEBSTER CITY, IA (June 5, 2012) – Jeremy Mills delivered a message to his JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour foes Tuesday night at Hamilton County Speedway: He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in the race for the IMCA Modified series title.
Mills led all 30 circuits around the ½-mile Webster City dirt oval, earning $1,500 for a convincing victory in an event that doubled as the inaugural Wayne Redmond Memorial Rumble.
Tour point leader Richie Gustin was eight car lengths off the pace in second and took home $1,250. Mark Schulte banked $1,000 for his third place showing.
Rounding out the top five were “B” feature qualifiers Jay Noteboom and Kevin Pittman.
The first 10 laps were slowed by cautions. Mills started from the pole, and denied Schulte’s bid to take over the lead on each of those early restarts. Mills eventually checked out during a lengthy green flag session.
Mills caught up with the back of the pack with 10 to go and both Schulte and Gustin made up ground while the leader was running with lapped traffic.
Five laps were left when the final caution came out. Mills pulled ahead again while Gustin slipped past Schulte for second with three to go.
Noteboom scored hard charger honors, passing 10 cars. He was running in the top five by lap six; Pittman made his way from 13th starting and was in the top five for good by midway.
Mills’ Webster City win was the second of his tour career. His first came in August of 2010 at Hancock County Speedway. He was already on the All-Star ballot.
The fourth installment of the 2012 JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour is Tuesday, June 12 at Cedar County Raceway. Filiming for Fuel The Thunder 2 documentary segments will continue at Tipton.
The Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models is also on the program that evening. Pit gates and the grandstand both open at 5 p.m. Hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m.
Gustin will have a two point advantage over Mills and Schulte going into the next HDT event.
Feature results –
1. Jeremy Mills, Garner; 2. Richie Gustin, Gilman; 3. Mark Schulte, Delhi; 4. Jay Noteboom, Hinton; 5. Kevin Pittman, Waterloo; 6. Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 7. Rich Smith, Davenport; 8. Darin Duffy, Hazleton; 9. Mark Elliott, Webster City; 10. Scott Olson, Blairsburg; 11. Ryan Dolan, Lisbon; 12. Jeff Ignaszewski, Wells, Minn.; 13. Shawn Ryan, Waterloo; 14. Kelly Meyer, Big Rock; 15. Jeff Waterman, Quincy, Ill.; 16. Kyle Brown, Kellogg; 17. Greg Elliott, Webster City; 18. Jacob Murray, Hartford; 19. Corey Dripps, Waterloo; 20. David Brown, Kellogg; 21. Jason Schoenberger, Russell, Kan.; 22. Josh Most, Red Oak; 23. Jimmy Gustin, Marshalltown; 24. Mike Van Genderen, Newton.
1st heat (top three qualify) – 1. Most; 2. Schulte; 3. Olson; 4. Pittman; 5. Smith; 6. Meyer; 7. Kyle Brown; 8. Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa.
2nd heat – 1. Ignaszewski; 2. Mark Elliott; 3. Dripps; 4. Dan Klatt, Wheatland; 5. Waterman; 6. Ryan; 7. Murray.
3rd heat – 1. David Brown; 2. Lauritzen; 3. Mills; 4. Dolan; 5. Duffy; 6. Ray Cox Jr., Maquoketa; 7. Schoenberger.
4th heat – 1. Van Genderen; 2. Richie Gustin; 3. Jimmy Gustin; 4. Noteboom; 5. Jeff Conner, Panora; 6. Rick Speck, Garwin; 7. Greg Elliott.
1st “B” feature (top five qualify) – 1. Pittman; 2. Smith; 3. Dolan; 4. Duffy; 5. Kyle Brown; 6. Meyer; 7. Carter; 8. Cox; 9. Schoenberger.
2nd “B” feature – 1. Noteboom; 2. Waterman; 3. Murray; 4. Ryan; 5. Greg Elliott; 6. Klatt; 7. Conner; 8. Speck.
Provisionals – Meyer and Schoenberger.
