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Courtesy of Arlington Raceway
ARLINGTON -- Young rookie drivers finding victory lane for the first time always make for exciting races for the fans in the stands, as was the case Saturday at Arlington Raceway.
A first-lap crash during the Coors Light IMCA Sport Compact saw rookie driver Mason Berger get a little too close to the infield pond when contact was made at the start and cars went scattering everywhere. Unfortunately, he was out of the race. On the restart, Jerry Coopman took the lead, with the 54A of Gavin Allen behind him, lap by lap, Allen zoned in on the top spot and by Lap 7 he was able to get around Coopman to take the lead and work around lapped traffic to gain distance and win the race. Coopman took second and Alan Lahr took third.
The Jack Pines Resort IMCA Hobby feature saw three different leaders with Wes Jahnz the early leader and then on Lap 5 Chad Volk had moved up to challenge him and he moved into first place. Soon Cory Probst was knocking on his door and then he got by to take the lead and Volk could not regain it although he tried several times as the two went back and forth for a close finish.
Fred Heidecker was the early leader in the Olson Snowplowing & Lawn Care Outlaw feature taking off from his front row start. Then a series of caution flags were thrown, first for the No. 8 car spinning out, then the following lap the No. 96 car of Aaron Simons got a right rear flat tire causing a yellow flag. Heidecker was able to maintain the lead after each restart but Jesse Anderson was hot on his tail and by the 10th lap he took over the top spot. At the same time, Mike Vogt was putting pressure on Heidecker and was able to get around him with only three laps left in the race. At the finish, Anderson was the leader and Vogt claimed second place just ahead of Heidecker.
Cole Hesse was the one to beat in the Arlington State Bank IMCA No Sport Modified feature as he led from start to finish in the caution free race taking off at the start and never looking back. The battles in the race were for the second place position as three different drivers held it during the race. Jessie Johnson had the spot for the first six laps then Ben Reierson and Eric Larson raced side by side for several laps to and finally on the white flag lap Larson was able to get a bit distance to be ahead of Reierson comfortably for the second place.
Brandon Allen was the driver up front in the Rice Company IMCA Sprint feature but after a caution came out for a car spun in Turn 4 Brett Allen took the lead on the restart. The following lap there was again a series of yellow flags for two cars spinning. Then on the backstretch the #30 and #66 were racing hard and the 66's Right Rear made contact with the 30 car causing him to roll over. Both drivers were OK but out of the race. Brett Allen then maintained the lead on the restart and put distance between him and the 55 of Brandon to win the race, Brandon took second and Mike Stien had worked his way to third from his ninth-place start.
Zachary Schultz had a great start to the Ottomotive Tire & Repair IMCA Modified feature leading the first 5 laps until there was two yellow flags in Laps 3 and 4 which slowed him down. After the second restart, Clint Hatlestad who had started seventh was able to maneuver to the front when Schultz got too high and lost five spots. The contenders now were Hatlestad, Matt Looft and Trent Loverude each racing side by side for the remaining laps. Hatlestad was out front as the white flag came out with Looft in second, and Dan Menk made a last lap pass to get around Loverude to capture third place.
The B&B Racing Chassis Stock Car feature saw 3- and 4-wide racing throughout the entire race with four different leaders. Jed Trebelhorn led the field around the track but got too high in turns 3 and 4 and slipped off the track with three laps down, then Dave Moriarty inherited the lead. Ryan Bjerkeset and Brent Uecker along with Moriarty raced side by side for eight laps with all the cars inches from each other. A caution was thrown when Bjerkeset fell off the track and went into the pit after running in second for several laps. On the restart, Uecker Moriarty, and now Tim Pessek all raced side by side for the remaining laps with Trent Loverude, Dan Eckblad and Matt Speckman all in the mix. The last three laps it was Pessek that was scored in the lead with Loverude in second and Mackenthun had moved up into third place from his 11th-place start. On the last lap, Moriarty went into the pit and Uecker fell back to fifth place. Pessek won for the first time in three years and was a happy driver, while Loverude took second.
Brian Alsleben led the first lap of the EZ Wash & Storage Truck Cross feature. After one lap, Mitchell Penaz commanded the race, with Alsleben in second. They drove around lapped traffic in the caution fee event to remain in the first and second spot until the end. The 01 of Levi Wegner finished third.
The Jerry's HQ Foods Auto Cross feature was fun to watch, it too went caution free and saw two different leaders. Gaylord drivers Aaron Brinkman and Cole Salisbury challenged each other throughout the race. The first leader was Brinkman taking the lead from the pole. Salisbury stuck right behind him for the first five laps but by Lap 6 it was Salisbury who managed to pull ahead of Brinkman and take over the race. Salisbury got around lapped traffic to gain distance on the rest of the field and went onto win his first event ever. Hannah Buskey took second and Nick McConnell drove from eighth to third at the finish.