Sports : View from the Grandstands

Welcome to another Views from the Grandstand. The only reason I was able to do this is because my little guy was sick so he didn't play t-ball tonight. Tonight light rain hung out in the area and actually caused the track to be very racy. Since the last time I was at the track it appeared like they widened the racing groove substantially. Anyway onto the show.

The first feature tonight was the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Sixteen cars were on hand. Russell Damme Jr took the early lead from his inside second row start and would lead flag-to-flag. The races only caution flew on the white flag lap when 3rd place running Justin Stander spun on the backstretch. Jacob Keisor finished second with Vince Bucholz, Matt Brown and Cale Peterson the top 5. Heat races were won by Brown and Kyle Parizek.

Next up was the always excitable IMCA Sport Compacts. 15 cars were on hand tonight. Pole sitter Ross Kitner took the early lead. On lap 2 Nate Chandler passed Kitner and would go on to score the victory. Similar to the Hobby Stocks, this class also only had one caution when Gary Peiffer spun out Merv Chandler on lap 8 in turns 3 and 4. Peiffer was black-flagged for rough driving. Brad Chandler was making his way towards the front also, but could not catch his brother as the checkers flew. Brett Vanous finished second with Bryce Bailey and Tyler Whalen rounding out the top 5. Heat races were won by Jake McVey and Merv Chandler.

The sport mods were next in line with 21 cars on hand to do battle. Curt Hilmer took the early lead from the outside pole, but was soon passed by Race Hulin on the second lap. Three separate cautions would fly during the feature, but none of the other competitors had anything for Hulin, as he took his second feature woin of the season at Vinton. Ken Kositsky finished second with Hilmer, Josh Modde, and Dave Schulze the unofficial top 5. Heat races were won by Danny Dvorak, Hilmer, and Modde.

Next up was the "Class Too Tough to Tame", IMCA Stock Cars. Tonight we only had 10 cars, but these 10 drivers put on one heck of a show running three and four wide around the track for the first few laps. Due to the close racing contact between the cars of Norman Chesmore, Bob Ahrendson, and Phil Holtz sent all three cars spinning into the infield on the front stretch. Typically you would see at least one car stopped to "pull a caution", but to each man's credit they all three kept going even though they were a half a lap behind the field. Scooter Dulin was the early leader, but was then passed by eventual winner Damon Murty on lap 5. Dulin finished second with Paul Shepherd, Randy Killen, and John Schaefer the top 5. Heat races were won by Holtz and Chesmore. Interesting to note that points leader, Justin Temeyer was not here tonight.

The final feature was the "Knights of Thunder" IMCA Modifieds. 16 cars were on hand tonight, with Ronn Lauritzen being scratched for the night. (not sure what was going on there) Two cautions would slow this event down, but would not deter Tony Olson from picking up the win. Tony has a few cars lengths lead throughout the event, but had some problems on the white flag lap that allowed Troy Cordes and Joe Docekal to catch up with him. This resulted in a 3-wide finish at the stripe and the crowd had to wait for the official word before figuring out who won. Olsen was the winner with Cordes second and Docekal third. Brandon Banks and Scott Hogan rounded out the top 5. Heat races were won by Dustin Creer and Olson.

The final checkered flew at 7:33. All-in-all, a great night of racing with alot of exciting action in all of the divisions. Vinton is one track where if you like side-by-side action thoughout all classes, this is the track to be at. Also they are usually very good at running a fast paced show with not alot of downtime. Hats off to Mick Trier and his crew. Until next time, we'll see you in the Grandstands.