The annual IMCA Frostbuster weekend, delayed one week by weather, got off to a good start on a comfortable Thursday night at the southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and it was a very good night for defending All Iowa Points champions who picked up right where they left off in 2013. Returning champs took three of the four feature wins on the night while in the fourth main event last year's titlist was the runner-up.
The IMCA Hobby Stock headliner was first on the docket and with defending and three-time All Iowa Points champion Shannon Anderson drawing the pole position it looked like this 16-lap affair would be a race for second. As expected Anderson outdragged fellow front row starter Dustin Griffiths to turn one at the drop of the green, but he was not able to pull away. Griffiths kept the pressure on even putting his nose under the leader on a few occasions until the caution waved on lap ten when Jason See went for a spin in turn two. On the restart Eric Stanton was able to outrun Griffiths and take over the second spot and it was now his turn to keep Anderson honest over the final six laps. With two remaining Stanton nearly pulled even with the leader in turn two, but Anderson stayed steady in his line and fought off the challenge to take the victory. Stanton and Griffiths were close behind in second and third, Danny Thrasher came from ninth to fourth while John Watson started in the seventh row and finished fifth.
Twenty-three IMCA Sport Mods lined up for their 18-lap main event next, but five cars were eliminated in a first lap pile up in turn four. Ryan Fullenkamp was racing in third when he got sideways down low at the exit of turn four and when he slid up the track the chain reaction accident was unavoidable. Along with Fullenkamp, the cars of Brayton Carter, Jason Hall, Gatlin Leytham and Omaha driver Cody Olsen were through for the event.
On the restart Jenae Gustin raced to the lead and when her fellow front row starter Brandon Williams suffered a flat right rear tire on the opening lap, the field stacked up behind him in turns three and four. This allowed Jenae to open up nearly a full straightaway lead early and if the race would have gone green the rest of the way I don't think that anybody would have caught her. We'll never know though as the caution waved on lap five after Dustin Morgan of Williston, North Dakota, spun at the back of the pack in turn four. Gustin was able to hold off her challengers following the restart and one of the top contenders, Curtis VanDerWal, went by the wayside when he slapped the guardrail in turn one while running fourth.
Issues for Colton Livezy on lap ten slowed the field once again and on the restart Carter VanDenBerg blew past Gustin on the high side of turns one and two to take the lead. There would be not catching the 2013 All Iowa Points champion from there as VanDenBerg pulled away for the convincing win at his hometown track. Jason McDaniel worked his way into second ahead of Gustin who had the ladies in the crowd cheering her in for third. Minot, North Dakota, driver Justin Medler started tenth and finished fourth while Clint Luellen completed the top five.
The IMCA Stock Cars were up next for twenty laps with Cayden Carter driving Roger Kelderman's #10cc to the lead at the drop of the green. Only one caution waved in the event when Corey Stout was punted into the guardrail in turn four on the second lap, and that would be the only thing that would slow "The Gasman" in this one. With Carter setting a fast pace the 2013 All Iowa Points Stock Car champion Damon Murty was picking his way through the field after starting tenth. Murty was able to work past Brad Pinkerton for second with five laps to go and while he was cutting into the lead a bit there would be no catching Cayden Carter who scored the flag-to-flag win. Pinkerton followed Murty home for third, Todd Reitzler was fourth with Donovan Nunnikhoven fifth.
As Carter wrapped up his victory lane interview and then hustled to buckle into his IMCA Modified for the night's 22-lap finale, the starting field pulled onto the racetrack and it was vvery noticeable from the loud popping noises that scheduled front row starter Luke Wanninger was having motor issues. Wanninger's crew tried to make adjustments to solve the issue during the extra parade laps before Carter joined the field, but they could not solve the issue before the race was ready to go green. This moved Carter up a row from his original fourth starting position and the young driver took full advantage snaring the race lead from pole-starter Richie Gustin at the drop of the green. Defending All Iowa Points champion Jesse Sobbing was not about to let Carter pull off the double on this night though as he found traction on the bottom of turns three and four to power by the leader on lap nine. And from there it was just a matter of counting laps as Sobbing continues to prove that he is a power to be reckoned with in the Modified ranks posting the convincing win over the 28-car Modified field. It was still a good night for Cayden Carter as he was a solid second, Richie prevailed in the battle of the Gustin brothers finishing third ahead of Jimmy while Jacob Murray started fourteenth and finished fifth.
SIS Frostbuster Notes......Sobbing has won four straight All Iowa Points championships. Three in the Limited Mod (Sport Mod) division and of course last year, his rookie season in the Modifieds......The car counts were not huge, but they were solid with 28 Modifieds, 16 Stock Cars, 23 Sport Mods and 22 Hobby Stocks. My theory is that the one week delay not only changed some vacation plans for long distance travelers, but it also likely put the Frostbuster weekend up against some openers at their home tracks......Besides the travelers that were mentioned above you had Wisconsin drivers Jared Siefert, Tony Wedelstadt and Johnny Whitman along with North Dakota's Jason Wolla in the Modifieds. The "Minot Mafia" was well represented with Darren Medler in the Sport Mods along with Brock Beeter and Andrew Sebastion in the Hobby Stocks while in the Stock Cars you had Sterling and Brendon LaBatte from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Brendon LaBatte is a 6'4" and 304 pound rock of a man who plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. In fact he was voted the league's most outstanding offensive lineman during the 2013 season and while he raced at the back of the sixteen car field, I doubt that anybody gave him any grief about it afterwards......The Modifieds were the second division to run their heat races and it appeared to catch some drivers off guard, especially those who were pitted outside the track on the back stretch. Jared Siefert missed the call for the first heat, Johnny Whitman went from the pole to the back of the lineup when he was not in staging for the second heat and Zach Less was wandering through the infield pit area as his third heat race was taking the green. Siefert made the best recovery of the that group qualifying out of the B-Main and then racing from 20th to tenth in the feature......2009 IMCA Modified Super Nationals champion Randy Havlik had something break in his car sending him hard into the guardrail in turn two during the second heat......Kyle Brown drove Brett Lowry's #72 Modified on the night running a strong second in his heat before dropping out of the feature. Of course by sanctioning body rules Lowry cannot compete in the Modified at an IMCA sanctioned event and still continue to race his Sport Mod in the same season. Brett started 18th and finished sixth in tonight's Sport Mod feature.....the Frostbuster weekend continues Friday night at Marshalltown, Saturday at Boone and Sunday in Vinton.....Weekly points action gets underway at the Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, next Wednesday night with the five weekly IMCA divisions to be joined by the Brockway Mechanical and Roofing Sprint Invaders. Hope to see you there!
Along with the Frostbusters there are plenty of other great events in our region this weekend that I hope that you will get out and attend one or more of your choice. Due to other commitments I will not get back to the track until Sunday where the weather will likely dictate where I go between, Vinton, East Moline, Rockford or Quincy. Honestly, we could use the rain right now, but let's hope that we can still get our racing in around it.
Have a great weekend!
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