VINTON, Iowa (May 19, 2024) – Rain may have caused a delay, but it didn’t put a damper on Sunday’s racing program at Benton County Speedway.
A rain shower that started as the first heat of the night hit the track forced a delay of more than an hour. When the skies cleared, it was business as usual at The Bullring.
Sean Johnson appeared to be the man to beat in the second appearance of the season for the Pro Late Model Tour. Johnson held a 3.5 second lead before caution slowed action 10 laps into that 25-lapper and then built another sizable lead when racing resumed.
Nick Marolf, who pursued the leader following the final caution, initially chased Johnson around the top side of the smooth, fast, quarter-mile, until slower traffic forced him low.
It was then when Marolf found traction on the low side of the track and was able to power past the leader to drive to victory. Johnson ran second ahead of Matt Ryan, who started ninth. Jeff Aikey completed the top four.
Aikey found success in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds. From his pole position start, Aikey powered away from the field in the Wright Way Trailers 20-lapper and then withstood challenges on a couple restarts to race to victory. Chris Zogg, Brennen Chipp and Troy Morris III completed the top four.
Tony Olson made a dazzling move following a caution midway through the 15-lapper for Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods to score his second win of the season.
Running fourth at the time racing resumed, Olson found on opening on the low side of the speedway in turn two and had the lead by the time he hit the back stretch. From there, he powered to the win.
Dylan Van Wyk made an impressive run from the sixth row to finish second ahead of Kyle Olson and Rayce Mullen.
John Oliver Jr. led the distance in the 20-lapper for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars presented by Christie Door Company. From a row three start, Oliver quickly made his way to the front and then held off late pressure from Norman Chesmore to secure the win. Jeff Wollam and Chad Krogmeier rounded out the top five.
It took Nathan Ballard little more than one lap to race from the fifth row and into the lead of the 14-lap feature for IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks presented by iHeart Radio. Ballard ran away and hid to remain a perfect three-for-three on the season.
Joren Fisher, who was mired in the back of the pack following an early race incident, made an impressive run on the high side of the speedway to take runner-up honors. Matt Brown was third and Justin Wacha ran fourth.
Lukas Rick earned his second win of the season in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. From a fifth row start, Rick powered through the middle and won a hard-fought battle with Robert Rundle to take the win. Spencer Roggentien and Stephen Randall ran third and fourth, respectively.