STUART, IA (August 26) – Fagan and Roberts First Time Champs
Fagan and Roberts First Time Champs
Story by Josh Reynolds
STUART, IA (August 26) – Rain. Something we haven’t had to contend with since the first of the year, but 1 ½” of the wet stuff fell on Saturday evening, and with a muggy, overcast Sunday morning the chances of racing were slim. But with the sun coming out around noon and a very determined track prep crew led by Curt Ganoe on the grader, the pits filled up for Season Championship at Stuart Speedway! Nick Roberts, Brian Blessington, Bill Whalen, Brandon Pruitt, Josh Gilman and Colton Nelson were feature winners on Plowman & Stanley Trenching Night at the Races. Roberts, Marcus Fagan, Jordan Peters, Pruitt, Gilman and Andy Forcht were named the Stuart Speedway Track Champions for 2012.
After hot laps the features kicked off the racing with no heat races being run. All races began with the drivers in each class pulling out on the track and being introduced to the crowd. IMCA Northern Sportmods started off the action, and with the cars lining up by points Nick Roberts and Mike Pruitt brought the field to life from the front row. Roberts led lap one with Pruitt and Clint Luellen close behind. Luellen moved past Pruitt on lap two and began trying to chase down Roberts. A couple of yellows slowed the field, but nothing slowed down Roberts as he capped his first track title with the win. Luellen came in second with Cole Ferguson third, Ty Luellen fourth and David Schlicht fifth. Roberts ended the year with 4 wins, 13 top 5’s and 15 top 10’s. Congratulations Nick!
Next up was the IMCA Stock Cars with Marcus Fagan and Jeff Joldersma on the front row. Fagan started off strong, leading the first five laps. Lap six, however, belonged to Brian Blessington. Blessington would stretch his lead, leaving the battle for second to Fagan and Joldersma. The two would put on quite a race for second with Joldersma finally winning out on lap sixteen. A caution flag was the only thing that would’ve made this race close, but that would not happen as this race ran twenty caution-free laps with Blessington winning by a large margin, his second win of the year. Joldersma crossed in second with Fagan third, Jeff Anderson fourth and Bryan Snell fifth. Fagan ended the season with 3 wins, 14 top 5’s and 14 top 10’s to pick up his first track title. Congratulations Marcus!
Jordan Peters and Scott Brown brought out the IMCA Sport Compacts next with Peters leading the first two laps. Bill Whalen Jr. took over on lap three and went on to take the win, his first of the season. Brown finished second with Cody Bristow third, Peters fourth and Nash Coe fifth. Peters ended the year with 6 wins, 12 top 5’s and 12 top 10’s to take his second track title. Congratulations Jordan!
IMCA Hobby Stocks were up next with Brandon Pruitt and John Watson showing the way. Watson led lap one with Pruitt taking over on lap two. Pruitt held on to the top spot while Watson battled with Jason Kohl for second. Kohl took second on lap eight and roared past Pruitt on lap nine. Kohl looked to be the strongest car on the track until a flat tire ruined his night on lap twelve, handing back the lead to Pruitt. Watson stayed close, but Pruitt stayed smooth and fast to take the win. Austin Luellen moved past Watson to take second on the last lap with Watson finishing third, Jamie Songer fourth, and Andy Mahlstedt fifth. Pruitt ended the season with 8 wins, 14 top 5’s and 14 top 10’s to take home his second track title. Congratulations Brandon!
Next up was the IMCA Modifieds with Josh Gilman and Alison Davidson on the front row. Gilman took command from the drop of the green, stretching the lead to almost a straightaway over first Davidson and then Luke Wanninger. As Gilman continued to lead, somewhere around lap ten Wanninger began to reel in the leader, and pulled alongside on lap sixteen. Gilman led lap seventeen and as lap traffic became an issue, Wanninger spun out Tony Hilgenberg to bring out the caution. Wanninger was sent to the pits for rough driving, bringing Davidson and Randy Havlik up to Gilman’s back bumper. That would be as close as anyone would get as Gilman took off like a rocket and grabbed the feature win. Davidson finished second with Bub LeRette third, Kyle Brown fourth and Devon Havlik fifth. Gilman finished the year with 6 wins, 13 top 5’s and 15 top 10’s to pick up his fourth track championship. Congratulations Josh!
Last up for regular features was the 6 Cylinder FWD’s with Jordan Peters and Scott Brown on the front row. Colton Nelson, in Andy Forcht’s car, moved from sixth on the grid to the lead on lap one and went on lead all eight laps to pick up his first win of the year. Wade King finished second with Riley Songer third, Cody Bristow fourth and Peters fifth. Forcht ended the year with 9 wins, tops for all divisions at the track, 14 top 5’s and 14 top 10’s to pick up his first track title. Congratulations Andy!
To end the night, there were gamblers races set up for four classes with the drivers each throwing in $10 and the winner of the 12 lap race taking all the cash. After the gamblers we had mechanics races and powder puff races. Following are the winners:
Gambler Races
Hobby Stocks – Casey Greubel
Stock Cars – Brian Blessington
Sportmods – Nick Roberts
Modifieds – Luke Wanninger
Mechanics Races
Hobby Stocks – Jimmy Keenan
Stock Cars – Bill Carrick
Sportmods – Drew Belgarde
Modifieds – Aaron Hilgenberg
Powder Puff Races
Hobby Stocks – Shannon Hines
Stock Cars – Tina Godwin
Sportmods – Whitney Huntley
Modifieds – Carol Bash
We’d like to thank all who came out to support the race track on a gorgeous Sunday evening. Join us next week for the ZippsPhotos.com Night Before the Nationals special. This race will pay $1300 to win Stock Cars, $1200 for Modifieds, $400 for Mod Lites/Dwarf Cars and $300 for 6 Cylinder FWD’s. The show will be a draw/redraw format and will be our final event of the 2012 season. See you there!
Modifieds – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 1 83G Josh Gilman Earlham , Ia 40.00
2 2 37 Alison Davidson Redding , Ia 39.00
3 14 3L Bub Lerette Council Bluffs, Ia 38.00
4 11 21K Kyle Brown Kellogg , Ia 37.00
5 4 5D Devon Havlik Iowa Falls, Ia 36.00
6 6 14B Scott Bash Windsor Heights, Ia 35.00
7 3 31R Rex Parkison Earlham , Ia 34.00
8 5 131S Ed Seibert Dexter , Ia 33.00
9 9 4 Tony Hilgenberg Waukee , Ia 32.00
10 7 3z Randy Havlik Madrid , Ia 31.00
11 8 20 Luke Wanninger Jefferson , Ia 30.00
12 13 21 Dave Brown Kellog , Ia 29.00
13 10 20W Shay Woods Humeston , Ia 28.00
14 12 71 Jeff James Stanton , Ia 27.00
Stock Cars – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 3 92B Brian Blessington Breda , Ia 40.00
2 2 66 Jeff Joldersma Mcclelland , Ia 39.00
3 1 1F Marcus Fagan Adair , Ia 38.00
4 4 78 Jeff Anderson Atlantic , Ia 37.00
5 5 3S Bryan Snell Coon Rapids, Ia 36.00
6 14 27S Doug Seidl Des Moines, Ia 35.00
7 10 4 Ron Godwin Earlham , Ia 34.00
8 7 711 Michael Walrod Desoto , Ia 33.00
9 12 98 Derrick Rohe Audubon , Ia 32.00
10 13 64X Aaron Parmer Humeston , Ia 31.00
11 9 23H Rick Houseman Winterset , Ia 30.00
12 8 76 Norman Belew Granger , Ia 29.00
13 11 6 Adam Hilgenberg Waukee , Ia 28.00
14 15 4L Sid Larson , Ia 27.00
15 6 11G Nyle Godwin Redfield , Ia 26.00
SportMods – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 1 23JR Nick Roberts Des Moines, Ia 40.00
2 3 3L Clinton Luellen Minburn , Ia 39.00
3 5 3F Cole Ferguson Dexter , Ia 38.00
4 7 32L Ty Luellen Minburn , Ia 37.00
5 4 19 David Schlicht Grand Junction, Ia 36.00
6 6 A5 Austin Paul Monroe , Ia 35.00
7 8 42 Matt Hays Panora , Ia 34.00
8 12 14J Michael Johnston Des Moines, Ia 33.00
9 10 10J Josh Cooper Corning , Ia 32.00
10 9 11J Darrin Hardisty Cumberland , Ia 31.00
11 2 92P Michael Pruitt Redfield , Ia 30.00
12 11 J7B Jon Braathen Story City, Ia 29.00
Hobby Stocks – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 1 10B Brandon Pruitt Dexter , Ia 40.00
2 6 3A Austin Luellen Minburn , Ia 39.00
3 2 4W John Watson Des Moines, Ia 38.00
4 8 96R Jamie Songer Ankeny , Ia 37.00
5 9 66 Andy Mahlstedt Bagley , Ia 36.00
6 13 33D Ed Delong Cleghorn , Ia 35.00
7 5 7C Chad Legere Des Moines, Ia 34.00
8 11 67 Ed Mahlstedt Bagley , Ia 33.00
9 7 224 Gina Greubel Lacona , Ia 32.00
10 14 01F Jeff Fink Denison , Ia 31.00
11 3 27 Jason Kohl Missouri Valley, Ia 30.00
12 4 17 Nathan Lange Dexter , Ia 29.00
13 10 78B Andrew Burg Adel , Ia 28.00
14 12 22R Bill Richards Coon Rapids, Ia 27.00
Spt Compact – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 5 00W Bill Whalen Jr Riverside , Ia 35.00
2 2 619J Scott Brown Omaha , Ne 34.00
3 4 69X Cody Bristow Creston , Ia 33.00
4 1 18 Jordan Peters Des Moines, Ia 32.00
5 3 3 Nash Coe Stuart , Ia 31.00
6 cyl. FWD – Feature
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Points
1 6 93N Colton Nelson Osceola , Ia 37.00
2 4 43 Wade King Pleasantville , Ia 36.00
3 3 42 Riley Songer Lorimor , Ia 35.00
4 5 69X Cody Bristow Creston , Ia 34.00
5 1 18 Jordan Peters Des Moines, Ia 33.00
6 2 619J Scott Brown Omaha , Ne 32.00
7 7 00W Bill Whalen Jr Riverside , Ia 31.00
Category: Iowa, News, Stuart Speedway
