by Brian Neal

Donnellson, IA (Sunday, October 21, 2012) – Mother nature provided a perfect evening for the final night, night two, of the 1st Annual Fall Extravaganza presented by Discount Tire and Service at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA. At the end of the night Josh Foster (Budweiser Modifieds), Jason Cook (Donnellton Tire Stock Cars), Cayden Carter (Shottenkirk Parts Express SportMods), Jake Wenig (Coor’s Light LCS Hobby Stocks), Dustin Griffiths (IMCA Hobby Stocks), and Adam Gates (Sunline Auto Parts Sport Compacts) took home the big checks in there respective feature events.

With 126 cars signed in on the final night of the Fall Extravaganza there were 12 heat races and 2 semis ran to help set the features in all six classes. After all qualifying events were ran, it was time for the features to take to the speedway.

The first feature up on the night was the 15 lap Sunline Auto Parts Sport Compacts, with Adam Gates and Skipp Dunker leading the field to the drop of the green flag. Gates would take advantage of his front row start to jump out into the lead on lap 1 over Dunker and Michael Grossman. Just like he did in Saturday’s qualifying feature, Gates started to pull away from the battle for second when the field was slowed for the firs time on lap 8. Mike Hornung Jr. would spin in turn 4 to bring out the first caution of the event. On the restart Gates moved back out front, with Merv Chandler, who started 8th, slipping past Dunker for 2nd. But the action up front was slowed on lap 9, as Randy Foor spun coming off turn 4 to bring the yellow light back on. Gates once again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Chandler, Dunker and John Whalen battling it out for 2nd. Gates would pull away from the field over the final laps to pick up the win and the $400 top prize. Chandler won the battle for 2nd, Dunker was 3rd, Whalen was 4th, with Josh Barnes coming from 14th to round out the top 5.

Up next was the 16 lap Coor’s Light LCS Hobby Stock feature, with Dan Wenig and Brandon Symmonds on the front row. Symmonds would get the jump on the drop of the green flag to lead lap 1 over John Oliver Jr. and Dan Wenig. Dan Wenig would slip past Oliver Jr. for second on lap 2 and then went to work on Symmonds for the lead. But disaster would strike Dan Wenig on lap 11, as he spun in turn 2 to bring out the one and only caution of the race. On the restart Symmonds moved back out front, but now had Jake Wenig, who started 12th, on his back bumper. Jake Wenig would slip under Symmonds coming off turn 4 coming to the white flag, as the two went down the backstretch and into turn 3 side-by-side. Jake Wenig was able to get the run off turn four on the bottom to edge out Symmonds at the line for the $500 win. Symmonds settled for 2nd, Brian Hoener came from 7th to finish in 3rd, Oliver Jr. was 4th, with Jeff DeLonjay coming home in 5th.

Cayden Carter and Carter VanDenBerg led the field to the drop of the green in the 25 lap Shottenkirk Parts Express SportMod feature, with Carter grabbing the lead on lap 1. The action up front was slowed for the first time on the completion of lap 1, as Michael Joe Bliven spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Carter moved back out front, with Eric Flander, Tony Dunker and Jim Gillenwater, who started 8th, battling it out for 2nd. Carter started to pull away from the battle for second, as he entered lapped traffic by lap 8. But the second caution of the event would appear on lap 15, when Bobby Anders spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Gillenwater, who was running 3rd, spun in turn 2 and collected Curtis VanDerWal, who was running 8th, to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Carter jump back out front, with Dunker and Flander battling for 2nd. Carter would pull away from the field over the final 10 laps to pick up the win and the $1,200 top prize. Derek St. Clair slipped past Dunker on the final lap to claim 2nd, Dunker settled for 3rd, Flander held on for 4th, with Tom Elsen coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 16 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature, with Dustin Griffiths and Dane Blozovich making up the front row. Griffiths would take advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over Bill Bonnett, who started 7th. Griffiths then pulled away from the field to lead all 16 caution free laps to claim the $500 check and win. Bonnett was 2nd, Jacob Keiser came from 6th to finish in 3rd, Tim Pettibone started 8th and came home in 4th, with Blozovich holding on for 5th.

Jason Cook and Nathan Wood led the field to green in the 30 lap Donnellson Tire Stock Car feature, with Cook grabbing the lead on lap 1 over John Oliver Jr. and Wood. Cook worked to hold back Wood and Oliver Jr. over the next 4 laps, when the first caution of the event appeared on the completion of the lap. Alex Buffington would spin in turn 4 to bring out the first yellow. On the restart Cook jumped back out front, with Wood, Abe Huls and Oliver Jr. battling for 2nd. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 6, as Shane Paris and Jeremy Pundt collided down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. Once again Cook moved back out front on the restart, with Oliver Jr. and Wood following. Cook again worked to hold back Oliver Jr., Huls and Wood when another caution waved on lap 17. This time Shane Richardson would spin his machine in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Cook moved back out front, with Oliver Jr., Huls and Wood continuing there battle for 2nd. While Cook worked the bottom of the speedway over the next 3 laps, Andy Altenburg, who started 20th, found a grove to his liking up top and used it to work his way to 2nd by lap 20. Altenburg’s run to the front was slowed for the final time on lap 23, as Michael Larsen spun in turn 3 to bring out the caution. Cook once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Altenburg working the top to get side-by-side with Cook. But Altenburg would clip the guardrail in turn 3 to end his run to the front, as he fell back to 4th. Cook would go on on to lead all 30 laps to claim the win and the $1,200 top prize. Oliver Jr. won the battle for 2nd, Wood held on for 3rd, Altenburg settled for 4th, with Huls holding on for 5th.

The final feature of the night was the 30 lap Budweiser Modifieds, with Josh Foster and Wyatt Lantz making up the front row. Just as the green flag was waved the caution light would come on, as Lantz spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the original restart Foster moved out front over Bruce Hanford and Kurt Kile. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 4, as debris on the front stretch brought out the yellow. Foster once again jumped out into the lead on the restart, with Kile over taking Hanford in the battle for 2nd. While Foster started to pull away from the field, the battle for 2nd was heating up between Hanford, Steven DeLonjay, who started 6th, and Kile. But the action up front was slowed for the third time on lap 14, as Derek Hamm spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart a tire was clipped in turn 1 and moved out onto the track to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Foster jump back out front, with Hanford, DeLonjay and Tyler Cale, who started 7th, battling for 2nd. Just as Foster started to pull away from the field, the final caution of the event would come out on lap 18. This time Jared Schlipman, who was running 10th, spun in turn 4 and collected the car of Lantz to bring out the yellow. On the restart Foster moved back out front and held on over the final 12 laps to claim the $1,500 top prize, plus Foster was awarded a $200 bonus from Discount Tire and Service for being the highest finishing 100% IMCA legal car. DeLonjay would come home in 2nd, Brandon Banks came from 11th to finish in 3rd, Kile held on for 4th, with Cale coming home in 5th.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Lee County Speedway, Donnellson, IA Sunday, October 21, 2012 – Night 2 of the Discount Tire and Service Fall Extravaganza