Mueller Improves By One, Long Dominates at Donnellson's Liberty Cup

One year ago, and one night after he lost a motor to a claim at Marshalltown, Jeff Mueller accepted a challenge that would have paid him an extra one thousand dollars on top of the one thousand dollar winner's check if he could start from the tail and win the inaugural IMCA Stock Car Liberty Cup at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Mueller thrilled the crowd with his charge to the front only to come up just short on the final lap as Abe Huls captured the victory. On this night his "challenge" came in the form of a larger and tougher field of cars than a year before and with a quick move to the front, there was no stopping Mueller from sitting in victory lane at the 2009 Liberty Cup.

Mueller started eighth in the main event and within three laps he was up to third watching Missouri visitor Rick Girard and Stock Car rookie Aaron Brocksieck swap the lead in front of him. On lap six Mueller stuck his nose under Brocksieck to take the lead and while Aaron made several attempts to regain that lead over the next ten laps, Mueller would not flinch or give up that bottom groove. With three laps remaining Mike VanGenderen moved into the second spot and looked like he might be able to mount a challenge over the final laps, but there was no stopping Mueller from taking that $1,000 top prize tonight as he pounded on his roof in celebration in victory lane. VanGenderen and Brocksieck were next in line while the defending champion Abe Huls used the high groove to move from row nine to finish fourth and Darin Thye completed the top five. Huls was caught up in a first lap accident in his heat race that forced him to his pits and he then started ninth before winning the first B-Main as the thirty-three car field was whittled down to twenty-four starters.

Jeff Mueller, shown here the night before at Independence, picked up the $1, 000 top prize at the second annual Liberty Cup - Scott Tjabring, Action Track Photography photo

Although the track appeared to be locking down a bit on the bottom groove during the final laps of the Stock Car feature, several drivers made big runs to the front in the twenty-five lap finale for the IMCA Modifieds. Wyatt Lantz, Troy Cordes and Shawn Fisher crossed the stripe in a virtual dead heat for the lead on lap number one before Cordes, who started fourth, established himself as the leader on lap number two. Michael Long had started fifth and followed Cordes quickly to the front taking the lead on lap number five, a lead that he would build to over a full straightaway during the final twenty laps. As Long checked out the racing behind him was very entertaining. The 2008 track champion at Lee County, Josh Foster found himself starting seventeenth after winning the first B-Main and if someone would have had a camera on him tonight they would have had a twenty-five lap highlight reel as he went high, low and anywhere he needed to be to race his way through the field and finish a distant second to Long. After starting twelfth Dusty Kraklio's advancement to the front was a little more methodical and he was closing on Foster in the final laps before settling for third. Cordes and Nate Caruth, who moved quickly from sixth to second on lap number two, rounded out the top five. It was the ninth victory of the season for Long over a stellar field of forty-four that paid a handsome $1,500.
Michael Long also picked up a big money win a few week's ago at the Dick Hogan Memorial in Vinton - Scott Tjabring, Action Track Photography photo

Despite having a $500 winner's check on the line there were no "visitors" in the IMCA SportMod division and some of the track regulars even stayed home since there were no track points on the line. The ten drivers who did show up though put on some good racing action and at the end of the fifteen-lap main even it was Jason Cook in victory lane. Cook is the defending track champion in the Stock Car class at Lee County and this year he is doing double duty by driving Donnie Fenton's #3D Sport Mod. Although he is currently ranked second in the track's current point standings, this was Cook's first-ever Sport Mod feature win and he celebrated accordingly with his crew in victory lane. Jacob Smith would be tonight's runner-up followed by Rodger Dresden and Paul Underwood. The division's current point leader Phillip Cossell left his ride at home tonight and instead drove Lonnie McCarty's #64 to a fifth place finish.

With the strong car counts in the two headline classes, including some drivers who were quite a distance from home, the second annual Liberty Cup goes into the book as another big success. The longest pull of the night belonged to Robby Rosselli who had raced his Stock Car in the Hawkeye state the past two nights after leaving his home base in Minot, North Dakota.

The Lee County Speedway returns to action tonight, Friday July 3rd, with a program that features four different classes than were in action at the Liberty Cup. The IMCA Late Models will be the headliners along with the Mid America 305 Sprint Cars, Hobby Stocks and the Four Cylinder "Wild Things". For more info on the remaining schedule at the track that concludes with the 11th Annual "Shiverfest" on October 24th, go to http://www.leecountyspeedway.com/.