Six track champions crowned at Marshalltown Speedway

By Joyce Eisele

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Aug. 16, 2024) – It was the N 3rd Avenue Dairy Queen Larry Wollam Season Championship night Friday at Marshalltown Speedway and six track champions were crowned. 

Out-of-car introductions were made for all features. The point leader in each division drew for the way the feature would be lined up …4, 6, 8 or the complete field inverted.  

First to the track were the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods. The draw was for the field to be inverted. Six extra laps were added making it a 22-lap main event and putting point leader Brayton Carter to start at the rear.

When the race went green, it was outside front row starter Ryan Leeman taking the lead.  A yellow flew on lap three when Will Wolf lost a wheel and by this time Carter had already made his way up to third place.

When the race picked back up, Carter wasted no time in moving forward again and had the lead when lap five went in the books. It was all Carter’s race from there on out as he took the checkers and the win, as well as the track championship for 2024. Leeman held on to take the runner-up spot and Colton Livezey was third. 

The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites had point leader Jon Padilla, who already had the track title wrapped up, make the call without even drawing. He opted to invert the entire field of cars, putting him to start tail end Charlie. The feature went 23 laps.

Mike Pershing and Michael Mann were the lucky front row starters due to the field being inverted for the start. Mann led lap one, Pershing took over on lap two, and Jason Masengarb took over on lap three.

Masengarb pulled his lead to a full straight away when a yellow flew on lap 16.  By this time, Padilla was up to second and battling with Josh May, who was running third.

When the race returned to action, Masengarb briefly lost the lead to Padilla on lap eighteen, but then came right back to reclaim the top spot. He never gave it up the remaining distance to the finish and sealed the win. Padilla started 20th and ended in second while 19th place starter May came home in third.

Point leader in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars was Jimmy Gustin – who had the title all wrapped up before the green fell – drew a six, to invert for the 20-lap feature.  

Steve Meyer took the lead when the race went green, Scott Rice fell in to run second and Gustin was already up to third at lap one.

A yellow flew on lap four when Rice had the misfortune of an incident that left him stopped at the top of turn four, ending his good run. When racing picked back up, Meyer continued to hold down the top spot with Gustin on his tail in second place.

Michael Jaennette tossed his hat into the ring and was throwing challenges at Gustin.  He got to the second spot and then with an attempt at a slide on leader Meyer got a bit too high in turn four and ƒslipped off the edge. He gathered it back in but was now running a distant third,

Gustin looked to challenge Meyer. The final circuits, however, saw no change in the front running order, as Meyer went home to the flying checkers and the win, Gustin having to settle for second. Meyer held the third-place position.

The luck, or in some cases, the bad luck of the draw for the starting line up in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature, saw point leader Tripp Gaylord draw six to invert. Lucky recipient of the pole then went to Kyle Brown, with visiting Bates City, Mo., driver Cody Brill sitting alongside for the start of the 26-lap feature.

Brown grabbed the lead when the green flag flew with Brill giving chase. Brown continued his run at the front, but just before lap 16 went into the books, he drove off of the track on the backstretch and into the pits, his night ended.

This put Brill to the point position and soon he had a pair 77’s attempting to reel him in. Austin Kuehl and Tripp Gaylord duked it out for second and put on a spirited battle. Brill never gave up his lead of the pack spot, however, and went home to score the win, his first time at the Marshalltown Speedway. Gaylord finished second and sealed his track championship while third went to Kuehl.   

Mach-1 IMCA Compacts saw point leader Cristian Grady pull an eight to invert for their 15-lap feature. Corwyn Whisler got to start on the pole and Mark Smith sat alongside. 

Whisler held down the lead for two laps until last week’s winner, Michael Gardner, who had started fifth, took command. Gardner was never threatened from there on out as he sailed home to a comfortable win.

Grady, who took the track championship, was second. Third went to early leader Whisler.  

Feature racing concluded with the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Point leader Calvin Dhondt pulled a 4 to invert on the start of their 16-lap feature.  

The race did not get one lap in before it went red flagged when Derrick McNeece spit out his driveshaft and went for a spectacular tumble at the top of turn three.  Thankfully, he was not hurt, but the car was not as fortunate.

Eric Knutson took advantage of his outside row starting spot, thanks to the four car invert, and immediately took the lead. It would be a lead he would never relinquish as he went home to the flying checkers and the win. Bradly Graham took the runner-up spot after getting around Solomon Bennett, who was third. Dhondt secured his track championship with a fifth place finish. 

At the conclusion of the feature racing, Powder Puff racing entertained the fans.  Kathryn Jenkins won in the SportMod division, racing Boe Jenkin’s car.  The Stock Car winner was Rylea Kriegel piloting Kylie Rawlins’ ride, Addy Stevens won the Hobby Stock class racing Brad Graham’s car, Natalie Barber piloted Cliff Barber’s Mod Lite to take checkers, and Nikole Kimmel won the Sport Compact contest in David Kimmel’s car.  

The next race at the Marshalltown Speedway will be on Aug., the Showdown at MoTown. Hot laps are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. with racing at 7 p.m.