Oliver Snakebit Twice As Birck And Agee Snare Late Race Wins At Lee County

With a last minute opportunity to go racing on Friday I made the short trip south to the Lee County Speedway for some IMCA weekly racing action at one of my favorite tracks in nearby Donnellson. One of the things that I love about an IMCA weekly show is the average point invert lineup procedures used by most tracks as it is seldom that you will see a feature race where the winner leads from green to checkers and that was definitely the case on this night. Even the non-sanctioned Mini Haulers who used a draw and redraw format produced a good back and forth battle making for a very entertaining night of racing.

A solid field of eighteen Late Models signed in and their twenty-five lap main event would be first on the card. Hometown driver Jeremy Pundt has had a rough start to 2026 and that is why he would start near the front and after an impressive heat race victory he would move from third to first on the opening lap. Jackson Frankel and Jake Griffin would fall in behind him and that lead trio would break away from the rest of the field until the first caution waved on lap fifteen for debris in turn two.

Jake Griffin - MF Photography

Pundt had been able to keep about a five car length advantage over his chasers prior to the caution, but on the restart Frankel went to the top and sailed around the leader to take the point on lap sixteen and Griffin soon dropped Pundt to third. Now it was the young Quincy driver that looked in control until Christian Miles slowed and drew a caution with just two laps remaining. Again the restart would write the story of this one as Griffin found a bite on the bottom of turns one and two to drive past Frankel and then cruised to his first win of the season as he has returned to dirt late model racing for the first time in twelve years in the Warner Racing #79. You may remember Jake as the driver who once turned heads as a twelve year old racing Late Models for a few years before moving on to pavement racing and more recently he was wheeling a Winged Sprint Car around the Midwest. One of his more notable victories in my book was a pavement Late Model win in Alaska I believe in 2019. 

Frankel would settle for the second spot, Pundt fought off the ninth starting Spencer Havermale for third while the defending track champion Darin Weisinger Jr. came from eleventh to finish fifth.

The Northern Sport Mods would be up next for twenty trips around the D-shaped 3/8th-mile with front row starter Brandon Lambert leading lap one before yielding to John Oliver Jr. in the Goble Racing #55 car. Oliver would stretch the lead over the next few laps until Cole Gillenwater made his way to second after starting eighth and he would then quickly eat away at the margin,

Coming to score lap eleven, Gillenwater would make a nifty high to low move exiting turn four to squeeze under Oliver as they entered turns one and two. Gillenwater would take the lead down the back stretch but then he nearly slapped the guard rail after going too high in turn three. A quick recovery would find his high side momentum enough to edge out Oliver for the lead on lap twelve and on the next visit to turns three and four that same scenario would play out as again Gillenwater nearly grabbed some iron.

After leading lap thirteen he would then take the low line into one and two where he slid sideways at the apex nearly collecting Oliver before coming to a halt and drawing the caution with seven laps remaining. As Oliver brought the field back to green for the restart the back half of the field jumbled up with Olivia Hofmann and Chevy Barnes getting the worst of it as they got tangled up against the front stretch wall. With just one wrecker on hand it took a crowbar and some ingenuity to finally separate the two Sport Mods creating a long delay in what had been a quick moving show.

Once back to green Oliver would lead the field as Cody Agee and Adam Birck battled for second behind him and once Birck cleared Agee he would set his sights on the leader. Adam would make his move in turns one and two to take the lead at the white flag and he would then ease away for his first victory over two abbreviated seasons. Oliver would take the second spot, Agee was close behind in third, Brandon Dale who earlier in the evening made a thrilling high side charge on the opening lap of his heat race to go from sixth to first exiting turn two would take fourth in the finale while Gillenwater was the fastest car on the track making his way back up to fifth.

Caleb Ealey - MF Photography

Nick Wilkerson had won in his last two outings here at Lee County so when he drew the pole position for the twelve lap Mini Hauler main event, the smart money would have been on him. Caleb Ealey had other ideas though and after starting fourth he would put the challenge on Wilkerson making a pass for the lead on lap six. Nick would battle back though and regain the advantage on lap seven only to have Ealey drive back by him on the following lap. This time Caleb would put some distance on him as the final four laps clicked away with Ealey taking the entertaining victory over Wilkerson. Dawson Tipps was not too far behind them in third while Tate Kronfeldt and Austin Meeker closed out the top five.

It is sad that the track that introduced the Four Cylinder division to this area with the "Wild Things" over twenty-five years ago now has such a struggle to draw a double digit field of Sport Compacts anymore, but what was once dubbed as a class that weren't "race cars", but rather "cars that race" has been anything but that in this area with the rules bouncing back and forth between IMCA and the more open UMP rules the past several years.

Only six drivers signed in on this night and when Luke Fraise broke during the Australian Pursuit in honor of the late, great Ramo Stott, only five would start the twelve lap main event. Kimberly Abbott would lead them on lap one before Brandon Reu sailed past and then drove away to another feature victory here at his hometown track. Abbott was second followed by the Prims, David and Ethan, while Bill Bennett was fifth.

Twenty laps for the Stock Cars would follow with third starting Beau Taylor nosing ahead of pole-sitter Rusty Zook at the stripe to lead lap one. The caution would fly after lap two when Jathan Fuller spun in turn three and the restart would see John Oliver Jr. make a thrilling move to be the third car from the bottom in a four-wide stack heading down the back stretch to pick up several positions after starting from ninth.

Derrick Agee - MF Photography

The two-time and defending All Iowa Points Stock Car champion, Oliver would soon make his way to second and he would drive past Taylor to take the lead on lap seven. Already with ten wins on the season, and a big lead at the Memorial Day weekend in the All Iowa Points, John looked like a sure bet to get win number eleven as he pulled away from the field, but in the closing laps Derrick Agee who had worked his way up from eighth was now closing quickly in second. A slower car ahead of him entering turn one on the final lap required the leader to check up a bit and now Agee would have a big run down the back stretch where he went straight to the cushion in turn three.

Oliver may have heard him up there as he would drift up the track exiting turn four to take away the high line, but Derrick had already aimed his car for the bottom and he would nip Oliver at the line by a nose in a thrilling finish! Taylor would hold down the third spot at the checkers with Jason See and Casen Keller who has been making the long trip down from Indianola weekly closing out the top five. 

The Modifieds would close out the evening with twenty laps with Jace Whitt leading the first four circuits before Austen Becerra blew by him. A three-time All Iowa Points champion himself, once in the Four Cylinders and twice in the Modifieds, Becerra was in a class of his own tonight as he would drive away to a dominating victory. The race to watch was for second as Whitt, Jared Eckrich and Mark Burgtorf waged battle and in the closing laps Whitt had to make a sudden move to the outside while passing a slower car allowing Eckrich to grab the runner-up spot. Whitt was third, Burgtorf fourth and Bill Roberts Jr. closed out the top five.

It is good to have Lee County back to Friday night racing and with the IMCA sanction as new promoter Darin Weisnger and his family are pouring their hearts into this effort. If you are in the area make sure the check it out as there needs to be some more butts in the seats to keep this historic track healthy for years to come! 

Heat race action at LCS - Special thanks to Micheil Farr and MF Photogrpahy for the us of his fine work!

Next up for me will be four nights in Independence starting Sunday with the IMCA Summer Nationals that has a banger list of pre-entries in all five divisions. Then I hope to make at least one of the MLRA Late Model shows at Davenport and Burlington on Friday and Saturday followed by a night on the microphone at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday the 7th.

Hope to see you again soon on the Back Stretch! 

All Iowa Points Through Memorial Day

The 2026 racing season got off to a slow start in and around Iowa due to another cool and wet Spring, but it looks like Mother Nature has finally decided to be a race fan again with some near perfect weather in the forecast over the next couple of weeks. This is great news for the IMCA Summer Nationals that moves to the Independence Motor Speedway this year and I look forward to working with Jeff Kropf and Tony Paris as practice and optional qualifying will take place on Sunday May 31st before three nights of racing in five divisions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday June 1st through the 3rd. The entry list is solid in every class and if you can't be at the track make sure to dial us up on IMCA.tv.

I mentioned that it was "another cool and wet Spring" because it seems like with every year we see better weather for racing in the Fall than we do in March, April and May. In 2025 there were 155 events completed across the All Iowa Points paying tracks through May 25th, while this year that count dropped slightly to 150 race nights. In this day and age where promoters can use social media to hype an event without spending any money and then cancel days ahead of the event if the weather does not look good, hopefully they will continue to put those March and April races on the calendar because if you do get a couple of nice days it can get your season off to a great start on the balance sheet!

With the passing of the Memorial Day weekend it is time to take a look at who is off to a good start in the All Iowa Points and, since I am going back to 2025 for some stats as well, let's see how the early season leaders last year fared in the final standings to see how that might apply to our current leaders.

In the Late Models the 2025 champion Zach Zeitner was not in the top twelve at this point while then leader Curtis Glover finished ninth in the final standings. This year the defending champion Zeitner is off to a quick start with the 2023 champion Tommy Elston chasing him in second. Glover is off to another good start as he ranks third while Nick Marolf and Chad Simpson are looking for their first title filling out the top five. 

All Iowa Points

Late Model

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Zach Zeitner Bellevue NE 35

2 . Tommy Elston Keokuk 29

3 . Curtis Glover Knoxville 26

4 . Nick Marolf Moscow 23

5 . Chad Simpson Mount Vernon 20

6 . Jordan Krug Council Bluffs 20

7 . Spencer Havermale Quincy IL 19

8 . Jesse Sobbing Malvern 18

9 . Logan Veloz Colona IL 17

10 . Andy Nezworski Buffalo 16

11 . Drew Baker Omaha NE 16

12 . Dustin Smith Long Grove 16

13 . Troy Morris III Bakersfield CA 16

Young Izac Mallicoat was the Modified pace setter through Memorial Day in 2025 and he would go on to rank sixth in the final standings while the eventual champion Jeremy Mills ranked fourth. It would be the second All Iowa Points Modified championship for Mills with his first one coming in 2009. This year Todd Shute looks to return to glory as the 2008 AIP Modified champ currently holds a nineteen point advantage over two-time Modified champion Austen Becerra. The 2014 AIP champion in the Four Cylinders as well, Becerra is in search of his fourth overall title. Three drivers are currently tied for third including Mills, two-time champion Jeff Larson and Jed Freiburger who has been consistently in the top ten the last few seasons. 

All Iowa Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Todd Shute Des Moines 53

2 . Austen Becerra Carthage IL 34

3 . Jed Freiburger Dubuque 33

4 . Jeff Larson Freeport IL 33

5 . Jeremy Mills Clear Lake 33

6 . Spencer Diercks Davenport 30

7 . Kollin Hibdon Waterloo 29

8 . Tom Berry Jr. Des Moines 28

9 . Chaz Baca Mesa AZ 27

10 . Ethan Braaksma Newton 26

John Oliver Jr. got off to quick start in 2025 and went on to post his second All Iowa Points Stock Car championship and he looking to repeat that this season with a stout 26 point advantage over the 2023 champion Derek Green through Memorial Day weekend. Kodey Miles and the 2017 champion Nathan Wood are tied for third with Mike Albertson holding down fifth. 

All Iowa Points

Stock Car

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . John Oliver Jr. Danville 61

2 . Derek Green Granada MN 35

3 . Kodey Miles Bernard 34

4 . Nathan Wood Sigourney 34

5 . Mike Albertsen Audubon 33

6 . Braden Richards Madrid 30

7 . Jimmy Gustin Marshalltown 30

8 . Derrick Agee Huntsville MO 27

9 . Jordan Miles Bernard 27

10 . Buck Schafroth Orient 26

Brayton Carter had already scored 99 points through Memorial Day as he walked off to his third straight and fourth overall Limited Modified All Iowa Points championship in 2025. "Speedy Bray" is off to a slower start comparatively this season, but his 67 points is still enough to hold a twenty point bulge over last year's runner-up Dylan Van Wyk. Jake Sachau is in the third spot after finishing tenth last year, while Colton Livezy and the third ranked driver from 2025 Jarrett Franzen are tied for fourth. Will Wolf and Taylor Skauge are a couple of new faces in the top ten. 

All Iowa Points

Limited Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Brayton Carter Oskaloosa 67

2 . Dylan VanWyk Oskaloosa 47

3 . Jake Sachau Denison 44

4 . Colton Livezy New Sharon 39

5 . Jarrett Franzen Maquoketa 39

6 . Will Wolf Lynnville 35

7 . Dan Hovden Decorah 33

8 . Ben Moudry Hastings MN 30

9 . Taylor Skauge Caledonia MN 29

10 . Matt Avila Boone 28

The Hobby Stock division is looking ripe at this point for a first-time All Iowa Points champion with only one previous winner in the top twenty through Memorial Day. Last year Dillon Richards was setting a quick pace, but when he parked his Hobby Stock after Super Nationals and raced his Four Cylinder through the Fall that allowed Brandon Neilsen to make a late run and earn his first AIP title. Nielsen was not in the top ten at this point last year.

Here in 2026 it is Tom Killen Jr. leading the way, already with fourteen top fives including two wins and seven runner-up finishes. Briar Kriegel who was ninth at this juncture in 2025 before fading to thirty-sixth currently ranks second. Karter Miles who ended up fourteenth last season is third, last year's runner-up Joshua Monson is fourth and he was not in the top ten early last year and the 2022 champion Randy Lamar is fifth. 

All Iowa Points

Hobby Stock

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Tom Killen Jr. Des Moines 50

2 . Briar Kriegel Brooklyn 42

3 . Karter Miles Bernard 41

4 . Joshua Monson Clear Lake 37

5 . Randy Lamar Buffalo 30

6 . Braden Gifford Boone 29

7 . Keaton Gorden Ottumwa 28

8 . Daniel Wauters Tipton 25

9 . Steven Taylor Sioux City 25

10 . Eric Knutson Slater 24

After finishing as the runner-up in 2024, Michael Gardner got of to a quick start last season on his way to the 2025 All Iowa Points championship for the Four Cylinders and while he has not been as dominant in the early stages of 2026, the defending champ currently ranks fifth. Tyler Fiebelkorn who was thirty-first in the final standings last year, leads the way through Memorial Day, but it is just a one point advantage over Levi Volkert who finished in a tie for twelfth last year. Gilbert Aldape, who ranked sixth on the 2025 final list, and southeast Nebraska driver Johnny Thomas are currently tied for third. Brooke Osler who currently ranks eighth and Katelynn Watts in tenth are looking to become the second female All Iowa Points champion through sixty years matching Kimberly Abbott's Four Cylinder title in 2016.

All Iowa Points

Four Cylinder

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Tyler Fiebelkorn Stuart 47

2 . Levi Volkert Correctionville 46

3 . Gilbert Aldape Sioux City 27

4 . Johnny Thomas Beatrice NE 27

5 . Michael Gardner Des Moines 25

6 . Blake Fineran Norwalk 24

7 . Cristian Grady Cedar Rapids 21

8 . Brooke Osler Milford 20

9 . Dyllan Bonk Hannibal MO 18

10 . Katelynn Watts Oskaloosa 18

In the 410 Sprint Cars Ryan Timms quick start in 2025 was a precursor to a Knoxville Nationals title and his first AIP championship and the young driver from Oklahoma is on top of the list below once again. The 2022 champ Austin McCarl is just one point behind in second while World of Outlaws champion David Gravel is just two points behind the leader. 

All Iowa Points

410 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Ryan Timms Oklahoma City OK 15

2 . Austin McCarl Altoona 14

3 . David Gravel Waterford CT 13

4 . Brad Sweet Grass Valley CA 9

5 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 8

6 . Sheldon Haudenschild Wooster OH 7

7 . Carson Macedo Lemoore CA 6

8 . Buddy Kofoid Penngrove CA 5

9 . Christopher Thram Sanborn MN 5

10 . Corey Day Clovis CA 5

11 . Donny Schatz Fargo ND 5

Chris Martin has doubled up on his points through Memorial Day last season to set the early pace in the All Iowa Points chase for the 360 division. His brother Cam and defending AIP champion Tasker Phillips are just one point back in a tie for second with Kade Higday and Sawyer Phillips next in line.

All Iowa Points

360 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Chris Martin Ankeny 14

2 . Cam Martin Ankeny 13

3 . Tasker Phillips Pleasantville 13

4 . Kade Higday Knoxville 12

5 . Sawyer Phillips Pleasantville 8

6 . Cam Sorrels Hallsville MO 7

7 . Josh Schneiderman West Burlington 7

8 . Cody Wehrle Burlington 5

9 . Terry McCarl Altoona 5

10 . Austin McCarl Altoona 4

11 . Sam Hafertepe Jr. Sunnyvale TX 4

12 . Sean McClelland Tulsa OK 4

Lee Goos Jr. ranked second at this stage last year before storming to his fourth straight All Iowa Points title in the 305 division and his quest for number five is on track as he is the leader through Memorial Day weekend. Jeff Wilke and the 2021 AIP champion Stuart Snyder are tied for second. Andrew Sullivan currently ranks fourth while Shayle Bade is off to a good start after taking time off to have a baby currently holding down fifth. 

All Iowa Points

305 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Lee Goos Jr. Hartford SD 18

2 . Jeff Wilke Knoxville 15

3 . Stuart Snyder Lincoln NE 15

4 . Andrew Sullivan Arnolds Park 14

5 . Shayle Bade Lincoln NE 11

6 . Devin Friedrichsen Arthur 10

7 . J Kinder Iberia MO 10

8 . Jason Gorman New Hampton 9

9 . Ryan Bickett Ramona SD 9

10 . Gunnar Pike South Bend NE 8

11 . McCain Richards Burlington 8

12 . Tanner Gebhardt Burlington 8

13 . Tyler Drueke Eagle NE 8

This is the 60th year for the All Iowa Points and you can get the history of how it started, why I do it and how by clicking here, and you can find weekly updates of the full standings for all nine divisions at the All Iowa Points page at Positively Racing.

Hope to see you at the track soon!

Kollin Hibdon and John Oliver Jr. Headline Tuesday Action At Independence

Pick a night, any night at this point where the weather forecast calls for sunny skies, temps in the eighties with light winds and declare "We Are Racing!" That's exactly what promoters Dana Benning and Mike Van Genderen did on Tuesday at the Independence Motor Speedway and not only did the pit area swell with 137 entries in six divisions, but there was also a very solid crowd for a weeknight show that was not even on the schedule until the past seven days. And finally, the first race of 2026 in eastern Iowa went into the books on a beautiful night where shirt sleeves were the order until a sweatshirt was needed come feature time.

Always the innovator, Van Genderen also introduced a new qualifying procedure for the Modifieds and Stock Cars on this night where no more than eight cars at a time would take to the track for hot laps that would also serve as two laps of qualifying. The three heat races were then lined up with a six car invert where, for example, quick qualifier Casey Shelliam would start sixth in heat one and he would then need to finish in the top four to "earn" his qualifying spot for the feature. That he did by finishing second, thus putting him on the pole position for the twenty lap main event.

This definitely produced more action in the heat races and I would have to think that drivers found it to be fair as it definitely placed more of their fate in their own hands rather than the draw/redraw process. Sure a few of the fast guys will always lobby to qualify and then start straight up while the rest of the group will act like that is what they want even though you know that secretly they would like to see some type of a handicapping process that starts the faster cars farther back in order to give them a fighting chance. Just goes to show that the minority rules when it comes to setting the qualifying process in the major touring series. Or as the line says "money talks", and I do not see that changing anytime soon despite the fan-unfriendly-follow-the-leader heat races that so often comes from that.

That wasn't the case on this night in Independence though and it made good use of the technological advances that nearly all tracks now have with MyRacePass.

The penultimate event of the night, the Stock Car feature was a good one with Kodey Miles using the high line to take the lead over Shelliam at the drop of the green and when Miles slipped high off turn two the second time around, Shelliam went back to the front just as Adam Streeter's car went for a couple of rollovers in turn one. Miles would retain the lead for the restart and second row starters Tom Schmitt and John Oliver Jr. would take up the chase until lap fourteen when Jack Hockaday spun in turn one just ahead of the trio. All three would take evasive action wile two of the soon to be lapped cars were collected in the mishap.

As the cars were retrieved by the tow trucks, drivers were forced to go above the cushion in turns one and two to give them room, so on the restart the wily veteran Schmitt used that now even higher line to get a big run off of turn two and then drive to the bottom of turns three and four. Kodey was able to ward off each challenge though before the red flag waved with three laps to go when Vern Jackson tumbled off the top of turns one and two.

As they lined up for the restart I was surprised to see that Schmitt had chosen the inside of the first double row and, having only seen him to his inside in turns three and four, Miles went straight to the bottom at the return of the green to try to take away the line of his primary challenger. This was like a gift to John Oliver Jr. who had been consistently using a more middle groove approach to stay in contention and he would now use that line to take second away from Schmitt and then drive by Miles coming to the white flag to take the lead by inches. Then, in a drag race to the checkers, the two-time and defending All Iowa Points champion would edge out Miles by .051 seconds to take win! Schmitt was right there in third as well while Gage Neal finished fourth and Tanner Allen came from row eight to take fifth.

With thirty-one Modifieds on hand, four heats were run with the six car invert meaning that a driver had to get in the top three to earn their qualifying spot while the top five finishers all advanced to the feature. This was great in that just one eleven-car B-Main would then be needed to qualify the final four starters because if you are new to the Back Stretch, multiple B-Mains suck......imho.

Kollin Hibdon was on a rail from qualifying, to his heat race where he was the first driver to really get the bite off the bottom, to the feature where the Pahrump, Nevada, native who is now based in Waterloo went green to checkers to take the win. It wasn't a walk in the park though as Joel Rust kept him within striking distance throughout the twenty lap distance and, once lapped traffic was involved, Ethan Braaksma closed quickly to make it a three car chase. Hibdon would post the win while Braaksma slipped by Rust in the final set of turns to steal second. Spencer Diercks and Troy Morris III filled out the top five.

Once again the experimental qualifying procedure produced some great heat race action and while there were some glitches as the scoring staff tired to sort things out, it was not that noticeable to the crowd, other than when the Crown Vic feature was called to the track ahead of the Modified heats.

This would be the first ever Crown Vic main event at Independence and it would be a runaway for Derrick Dean who at one point enjoyed a half lap advantage over the drivers racing for second and he would lap all but the second, third and fourth place finishers in the thirteen car field. Michael Lamer held off Rob Culbertson to finish second, David Culbertson was fourth and Jacob Tuttle took fifth.

Zach McNeese would lead the first ten laps of the Hobby Stock feature until he slipped wide in turn two and that allowed Karter Miles to take the point and bring along his teammate Carson Butt into second. Things went from bad to worse for McNeese as he would limp to the infield with a flat tire a few laps later just before the checkers waved over Miles and Butt. Briar Kriegel drew the twelve after winning his heat race and he would race his way up to third. Joren Fisher came out of nowhere in the closing laps to finish fourth after a DNF in his heat dropped him to the back of the twenty-five car field and Leah Wroten closed out the top five.

Will Wolf set a quick pace in the Sport Mod feature, so quick that he slowed on lap thirteen and then ducked to the infield to the water hose to cool his engine before rejoining the field at the back for the restart. Cole Suckow would assume the lead from there and he would hold back Ben Chapman to take the victory in the twenty lapper. Tony Olson slipped off the back stretch while running third on the final lap allowing Austin Kemp to join the podium after starting from nineteenth, Jackson Carey finished in fourth while Olson recovered to salvage a top five. 

Traveler Tyler Fiebelkorn would pace the first two of fourteen laps for the Sport Compacts before Dyllan Bonk slipped by on lap three. Fiebelkorn would now stay close in second even though he was being challenged by Mike Peyton and contact between the two would leave Peyton's front bumper cover on the racing surface with four laps remaining. On the restart Bonk, who made the 210 mile tow from Hannibal, Missouri, would maintain his lead and take the win while contact again from Peyton in turn three of the final lap would loosen up Fiebelkorn enough to allow Drew Stanek to come from fourth to second at the checkers. Fiebelkorn would hold off Peyton for third while Devin Coghlan finished out the top five.

It was a great night of racing that was enjoyed with good friends Gary Lee and my Positively Racing colleague Ed Reichert, and it was also good to see another of our favorite Super Fans through all these years Bob Litton in attendance as well. Thanks to Dana, Mike and the entire Race Indee staff for their hospitality and remember that they will be in action next Tuesday night as well, April 28th, with the World of Outlaws Late Models headlining. While I may return for that show as well, I am definitely looking forward to working with my goof friend Jeff Kropf when the IMCA Summer Nationals comes to Independence on May 31st, June 1st, 2nd and 3rd!

Thanks for visiting the Back Stretch and we hope to see you at season openers at both Quincy and Oskaloosa in the week ahead.

Chris Martin Continues Early Season Success With Winged Sprint Car Win at Stuart

When I was at the Scotland County Speedway back on Friday March 20th, I told a friend that over the past several years we have had better weather to go racing in March than we we have had in April and, unfortunately, that trend has continued here in 2026. In fact there has not been a single race in Iowa east of Interstate 35 yet this season and it is going to take a "look, there is a good weather forecast on a Tuesday" event at Independence tomorrow night to break that goose egg. In the meantime though we made the trip west to the Stuart Speedway on Sunday for the annual visit from the Winged Sprint Cars that is becoming a must-see event.

With this co-sanctioned event now being the season opener for both the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders and the newly re-titled Malvern Bank ASCS Midwest Region, a stellar field of 41 360 Sprints signed in along with 118 drivers in the five IMCA Sanctioned divisions that race regularly at Stuart bringing the total to a whopping 159 cars for the Sunday night program.

With the co-sanction I had the night off from my announcing duties for the Invaders, giving me the opportunity to write about an evening where the Sprint Invaders were in action. The night got off to a bit of a rough start when it came time to simultaneously hot lap/qualify the cars by the four heat race groups as the ASCS format would prevail on this night with their officials taking the lead. Cars were slow coming to the track and slow pushing off creating a delay that set back the show from the beginning despite the 5:30 p.m. start of hot laps. Then, to make matters worse, it was later determined that some of the qualifying times could not be verified due to transponder issues, so the whole qualifying process was later scrapped and the heats would be lined up by the pill draw with passing points only from the heats determining who would make the show. However, I'm not quite sure how that all shook out either evidenced by the fact that Mason Heimbaugh, the grandson of Mackie Heimbaugh who was making his Winged Sprint Car debut tonight started tenth and finished tenth in the fourth heat and Austin Wood started seventh and finished seventh in that same heat race. Yet Wood, the 2025 Sprint Car Challenge Tour champion from Sacramento who flew to Iowa from California on Sunday after racing the night before at Placerville, later found himself starting sixth in the C-Main while Heimbaugh made his way into the B-Main to start sixteenth. But I digress.....

Once they got to racing the Sprint Cars offered up plenty of speed and action and outside of a couple of minor incidents during the heat races, everybody stayed clean and green on the quick quarter-mile. With signs of the track starting to take rubber in the middle groove during the B-Main, promoter Mike Van Genderen took the time needed to groom the surface prior to the twenty-five lap feature and that gave the bundled up crowd the show that they deserved on this cool April evening. 

Colton Fisher would set a quick early pace and just as he was beginning to work lapped traffic he slowed suddenly after leading lap nine to draw the only caution of the race. It was another tough break for the young speedster from Danville who we had hoped had used up his share of bad luck in 2025 when incidents would take him out of the lead on three occasions. Once back to green the defending Malvern Bank series champion Chase Brown would assume the point, but he would soon be stalked by the two-time Sprint Invaders champion Chris Martin. A winner on the ASCS National Tour in Salina, Oklahoma, eight days earlier, Martin and his crew chief Danny Lasoski have the #44 dialed in and he drive by Brown with six laps remaining on his way to victory, his second here at Stuart in just the three times that the winged warriors started racing here in 2023.

Austin McCarl, who started alongside Martin in row two would be the runner-up with Brown holding down the final step on the podium. Seth Bergman would finish in the fourth spot while the winner's younger brother, Cameron Martin would be the hard charger on the night coming from seventeenth to fifth. Next up for the Sprint Invaders will be a long awaited Friday May 1st appearance at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction and then on May 8th these two regional series will collaborate for a second time on the Super Half Mile at the Eldon Raceway.

The Sport Compacts would start the evening with fourteen laps of two and three wide action with defending All Iowa Points champion Michael Gardner leading the way until the caution waved for a stalled Joseph Carolus in turn four. On the restart Gardner was swallowed up by both Carson Hayes and Tyler Fiebelkorn with Hayes now setting the pace. Colbin Funke, who had started seventh soon joined the battle and he would use the inside line to grab the lead on lap nine and he would hold off Fiebelkorn over the final six laps to take the win. Hayes would finish third followed by the opening night winner Johnny Thomas while Daniel Clayton filled out the top five.

With Brayton Carter, Jake Sachau and Dylan VanWyk lined up ninth, tenth and eleventh respectively we knew that the twenty lap Sport Mod headliner would be interesting, just not in the manner that we had hoped for. Josalyn Elmquist would lead the first three laps before it was ruled that Brayden Shepherd had turn Kaden Rice in turn three and that is where things would go downhill. Six more cautions would wave over the next eight laps and the drivers were then told that they could either go five more laps under green, or the race would be complete with one more caution flag.

That elite trio had already made their way to the front and when the race was under green flag conditions we were being treated to quite a battle with Sachau doing his best to hold off the duo from Oskaloosa. The final caution would come with two laps still remaining on the scoreboard when it was determined that Dayton Swatek was at fault for turning Elmquist in turn one as they were racing for fourth and the checkers would finally wave over Sachau. VanWyk would take second over Carter while Elmquist was scored fourth and fifth went to Will Wolf.

Twenty-one of the twenty-three IMCA Stock Cars on hand took the green for their twenty lap main event with Miciah Hidelbaugh doing his back to hold off several challengers. A flat tire would sideline Todd VanEaton mid-race and Florida native had his challenge end with six laps remaining when smoke billowed from his exhaust while running second. The third and final caution of the race would fly when Brad Derry sat sideways on the front stretch. During the caution it looked like Hidelbaugh was having some steering issues with the two front wheels seemingly headed in different directions and when the race restarted he was no match for Buck Schafroth who powered by for the victory. The winner had started the race from seventh. Hidelbaugh would hold on for second, Dillon Richards advanced from twelfth to third, Austin Meiners came from tenth to fourth and Mike Albertson closed out the top five.

It was now 10:30 and we made the tough decision to head home as the Hobby Stock feature took to the track. Braden Gifford would take the win in that won and, from watching some highlights online today, we missed an interesting battle between Tyler Inman and Tom Berry Jr. where Berry wound up spinning late in the race. Todd Shute would then make the move on Inman to take the win. For more details on these two races as well as his full report on the evening, check out the report from my Positively Racing colleague Ed Reichert. 

Thanks to Mike Van Genderen for the hospitality as I was able to introduce my good friend Bruce Trautman to some good ol' Iowa short track action in style. My current plan is to follow MVG to Independence on Tuesday for that rescheduled event mentioned earlier and then on Sunday I hope to catch the season opener at the Quincy Raceways. Thanks for taking a look at the Back Stretch and I hope to see you at the track soon!

Becerra Puts On A Show, Murty, Livezy, Griffiths and Fullenkamp Are Winners At Memphis

The great thing about life is that no matter what age you get to, you are still going to come across a "first time" experience and my most recent example of this came on Friday afternoon as I left Mount Pleasant to make the sixty-five mile drive to Memphis, Missouri. I recall going to a late March NKF Tour race in Webster City and seeing snow drifts slowly melting in the ditches along highway 20 and when I was just eighteen my friends and I loaded up the LeMans and drove through some snow flurries on our way to the NSCA Frostbuster at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia. In both instances we had to bundle up and use every blanket we had to stay warm during the races. This, however, was the first time that I left my neighborhood with piles of snow still visible to drive just a tick over one hour from home to watch races with just a sweatshirt after the sun went down!

Seriously? From blizzard warnings on Sunday and Monday to a dirt track race on Friday? Incredible, and a tip of the hat to Mike Van Genderen, Jerad Fuller, Kevin Eggleston and everybody at the Scotland County Speedway who were able to get the facility into a condition where it could take advantage of this wild weather swing and present this weekend's Spring Nationals. It was a phenomenal effort and race fans ready to kick off the 2026 season were entertained by 94 drivers in five divisions who traveled near and far to compete and the track held up quite well with some choppiness only at the apex of turns one and two.

The Sport Compacts would be the first of the five features on this night and they would provide a very entertaining non-stop twelve lapper. Defending All Iowa Points champion Michael Gardner would come from the inside of row two to take the lead on the opening lap and it would soon be a three car breakaway with Chuck Fullenkamp and Brandon Reu in hot pursuit. Fullenkamp would draw right up to the leader's rear bumper entering the turns until lap six when he was able to slip under Gardner in turn two bringing Reu with him into second.

With lapped traffic now coming into play, Luke Fraise made it a four car battle for the lead after starting eighth and he would soon drop Gardner back one more position. As the laps wound down though this would be decided between two southeast Iowa drivers who have been racing, and winning in this division for a long time as Reu was able to pull even with Fullenkamp twice. Chuck would hold his line and maintain his momentum to hold him off and take an exciting victory with Brandon and Fraise close behind. Gardner would follow them in for fourth as young Katelyn Watts finished fifth.

With thirty-one B-Mods on hand four heats and a B-Main would set the field for the twenty lap feature with Cam Reimers snagging the early lead from his pole position. Austen Becerra was behind the wheel of the #6 owned by Bobby Six on this night and on the opening lap he hit that hole in turns one and two the wrong way putting him up on two wheels and after racing in third for the first two laps he would then slow with a flat right front tire.

The crew would make the quick tire change under caution and Austen would rejoin the back of the field just as the green flag waved with Colton Livezy making the move on Reimers to take the lead. As Livezy started to pull away, all eyes were on Becerra who was quickly making his way back to the front. Brayton Carter was racing in the top three when he slipped high in turn four on lap six losing several positions and then two laps later the 2025 IMCA Northern Spot Mod National Champion slowed and pulled into the infield.

With five laps remaining Becerra had made his way back to fifth, but his charge would not end there and you can bet that if another caution had waved he might have been able to challenge for the lead. With just two laps to go Becerra was now third behind his friend Adam Birck who was wheeling a car formerly owned by Austen and when contact was made in that final pass for second, any other driver might have been more upset in victory lane as the podium drivers received their hardware. Livezy was an impressive winner in the debut of his new Vanderbilt Sport Mod and while Birck and Becerra had plenty of gesturing during their post race conversation, all was well come photo time. Reimers would finish fourth while Lonnie Hibner filled out the top five.

The first try at starting the twenty lap Stock Car feature would see a four car scramble on the back stretch with Ty Hill getting the worst of it coming to a sudden stop on the big clods of dirt that had been scraped down to the infield earlier in the week. As the race went back to green one of the perennial favorites here at Memphis, John Oliver Jr. would suffer a flat tire and instead of drawing a caution he would let the field clear and then pull to the infield.

Michael Jaennette who inherited the pole when Wisconsin's Pressley Harrington did not come to the track would set the early pace with some of the best in the business close behind including Dallon Murty who just spent the month of February racing a Super Late Model against the best in the country. Murty would look low, then high only to have Jaennette hold him off until lap nine when Dallon was able to take the lead.

Young Rowdee Van Genderen followed him into second and then mounted his own challenge for the lead pulling even with Murty with seven laps remaining. Dallon would hold him off and Van Genderen stayed close until lap eighteen when he slowed suddenly on the front stretch with mechanical issues. On the restart Derrick Agee would move to second and size up the leader, but there would be no stopping Murty from taking the win back in the familiar seat of his Stock Car. Agee was second followed the winner's father Damon Murty with Todd Reitzler and Jaennette completing the top five. 

A short field of ten Modifieds lost one car during the heat races when Preston Dawson showed smoke while running second so it would be nine cars taking the green for twenty laps. Jadin Fuller would race out to an impressive lead until lap five when he slowed suddenly and pulled to the infield, while just behind him Jon Melloway also slowed and Blaine Bryant came to a stop in turn two to bring out the caution. This would take out 33% of the field in what I believe were unrelated circumstances.

Once back to green Kurt Kile would assume the lead until lap nine when Austen Becerra, driving his own #22, cruised past and then drove away to a convincing victory. Kyle Brown slipped by Kile in the final turns to finish second, Robbie Reed was fourth and Brian Reed closed out the top five.

The fourteen lap Hobby Stock finale got off to a rugged start as the red flag was needed for an incident on the back stretch. I did not see what happened, but the car of Tony Strable was upside down with sheet metal strewn across the track ahead of him. Soon it became evident that those parts were not just from the 3T car of Strable as Dylan Hill slowly drove by the grandstand headed for the pit area with the entire right side body work ripped from his car. Thankfully all drivers were okay and we were soon back to action.

Coming off of a dominant 2025 season in his Hobby Stock, it was a good bet that Dustin Griffiths would win this one from the front row, but not without a mid-race challenge from Keaton Gordon. As the two raced side-by-side in turns three and four coming to score lap eight, contact would cut down the right front tire on Gordon's car ending his night.

One final caution would wave on lap ten when Kael Koch found himself sideways on the back stretch and after the restart Brad Graham kept him honest, but there would be no stopping Griffiths from taking the win. Graham was second with Des Moines driver Tom Killen Jr. joining the podium. Daniel Wauters would wheel Jared Miller's #17M in for fourth as Briar Kriegel filled out the top five.

I always enjoy my visits to the Scotland County Speedway considering it to be one of those hidden gems in our sport with a great race track, a rustic facility and one of the best cheeseburgers that you will find anywhere! Thank you to the fair board and promoter Mike Van Genderen for the hospitality. The Spring Nationals continue this evening with hot laps scheduled for shortly after 5:00 p.m. and while I will not be able to attend, my Positively Racing colleague Danny Rosencrans will be on hand to give the story from night number two in Racin' Down The Road.

Next up for me will be all three nights of the annual King of America event at the Lucas Oil Speedway featuring the USMTS Modifieds along with the Ironman series openers for the B-Mods and Stock Cars. Perhaps I will see you there!