by Brian Neal

Donnellson, IA (Saturday, October 26, 2013) – The 2013 season at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, IA came to a close with the running of the Farmington Tax & Accounting SHIVERFEST. Even though the temperatures were on the cool side, there were 127 drivers signed in on the night to help put an end to the 2013 season. At the end of the night Jimmy Gustin (Budweiser Modifieds), Jim Lynch (Donnellson Tire Stock Cars), Curtis Van Der Wal (Shottenkirk Parts Express SportMods), Dustin Griffiths (Coor’s Light Hobby Stocks), and William Michel (Sunline Auto Parts Sport Compacts) were standing in victory lane.

The first feature up on the night was the 14 lap Sunline Auto Parts Sport Compacts, with Austen Becerra and Laine VanZandt drawing the front row for the event. Becerra took advantage of his front row start to grab the lead on lap 1 over VanZandt and Mike Hornung Jr. The action was slowed for the first time on lap 2, as Kyle Hamelton came to a stop in turn 2 with troubles to bring out the caution. On the restart Scott Smith, Merv Chandler and Seith Woodruff collided to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Becerra jump back out front, with Darin Smith and William Michel, who started 10th, battling for the second spot. While Smith and Michel swapped the second spot, Becerra enjoyed the lead out front. Coming to the white flag Michel moved under Becerra to run the last lap side-by-side. Michel would edge Becerra at the line by a half a car length to pick up the win. Becerra settled for 2nd, Chandler recovered from the lap 3 crash to come back up to 3rd, Kimberly Abbott was 4th after starting in 8th, with John Whalen coming from 7th to round out the top 5.

Jason See and Cody Cleghorn led the field to the drop of the green flag in the 15 lap Coor’s Light Hobby Stock feature. But just as the green was waved the red flag would appear, as Dane Blozovich got sideways off turn four and was drill in the door by Rick Barlow Jr. Both drivers climbed from there cars ok. On the restart Cleghron jumped out front on lap 1, with See working to hold back Dustin Griffiths, who started 8th, in the battle for second. Griffiths wasn’t satisfied with battling for second, as he jumped to the top of the track in a three wide move to grab the lead away on lap 3. But Griffiths’ paced was slowed one lap later, lap 4, when Casey Greubel and Nathan Ballard collided at the end of the backstretch to bring out the yellow. Griffiths again grabbed the lead on the restart only to be slowed on lap 5, as Rick Barlow Sr. slowed to a stopped in turn 1 to bring the caution out. Once again Griffiths grabbed the lead on the restart and once again was slowed on lap 7, as Ballard spun in turn 3 to bring the yellow out. Griffiths again jumped out front on the restart, with Mike Hughes, who came from the rear after a lap 1 flat, over taking Cleghorn for second. Griffiths and Hughes would pull away from the battle for third over the final 8 laps, to set up a two car battle for the lead. Hughes would try to get under Griffiths coming off turn four on the final two laps, but Griffiths would hold him off each time to claim the win. Hughes was 2nd, Jacob Keiser was 3rd, Cleghorn held on for 4th, with See coming home in 5th.

Up next was the 20 lap Shottenkirk Parts Express SportMod feature, with Logan Anderson and Sean Wyett leading the field to the green. But just as the green flag was dropped the yellow light would come on, as Tony Johnson spun in turn 1 and collects Rodger Dresden to bring out the caution. On the restart Anderson jumped out front on lap 1 over Curtis Van Der Wal and Wyett. Anderson then held the lead until lap 4, when Van Der Wal slipped under him to take over the top spot. Van Der Wal then set a fast pace over then next 13 laps even as he entered heavy lapped traffic on lap 12, leaving Anderson, Carter VanDenBerg, who started 7th, and Brian Mahlstedt, who started 10th, battling for second. Van Der Wal’s big lead was evaporated on lap 17, as Anderson, who was running 3rd, spun in turn 1 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Van Der Wal moved back out front, with Mahlstedt over taking VanDenBerg for second, but the caution would appear on the completion on lap 18 to slow the action down. This time Jeff DeLonjay spun down the backstretch to bring out the yellow. Once again Van Der Wal grabbed the lead on the restart and then held on over the final 2 laps to pick up the win. VanDenBerg won the battle for 2nd, Mahlstedt was 3rd, Brett Lowry came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Derek St. Clair passing 12 cars from his 17th place starting spot to round out the top 5.

Lane Kauffman and Jim Lynch led the field to the green in the 20 lap Donnellson Tire Stock Car feature, with Kauffman grabbing the lead on lap 1 over Cayden Carter and Corey Stout. Kauffman then held the lead until lap 3, when Carter slipped past to grab the top spot. But disaster would strike Carter in turn 3 coming to lap 4, when he spun in front of the field to bring out the caution. Stout would inherit the lead on the restart, with Kirk Kinsley and Lynch battling for the second spot. Lynch would jump to the top side of turn three and four to grab the lead away from Stout on lap 6, leaving Stout to hold back Abe Huls, who started 9th, for second. The action up front was slowed on lap 8, as Casey Greubel spun into the wall in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Les Blakley spun in turn 1 and collected Dean Kratzer to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Lynch jump back out front, with Huls, Stout, John Oliver Jr, who started 10th, Mincer and Jason Cook, who started 12th, battling for second thru sixth. The only thing to slow Lynch down was a tire in turn 2, as he clipped in on lap 12 and threw it onto the track to bring out the caution. Ron Henry would spin in turn 4 on lap 13 to bring the yellow light back on. Lynch again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Stout, Cook and Huls close behind. Once again Lynch clipped the tire in turn 2 and threw it onto the track on lap 18 to bring out the yellow to set up a green-white-checkered finish. Lynch again grabbed the lead on the restart and held on to claim the win. Stout won the battle for 2nd, Cook finished in 3rd, Huls held on for 4th, with Oliver Jr. rounding out the top 5.

The final feature up on the night was the 20 lap Budweiser Modifieds, with Jimmy Gustin and Tyler Glass drawing the front row for the event. Gustin would take advantage of his front row start to jump out front on lap 1 over Kyle Brown, who used the bottom groove to come from 5th to 2nd. Brown used that same groove to edge out Gustin at the line on lap 3 to grab the top spot. But Gustin would come back on the top side of lap 4 to get the lead back. Those two drivers ran the next 4 laps side-by-side, before encountering lapped traffic. The heavy lapped traffic allowed Jeff Waterman to close in on the top two to make it a three car battle for the lead. Brown would use a lapped car to slip under Gustin on lap 11 to take over the top spot. But Gustin charged back on the top of the track to take the lead back on lap 13. While Gustin lead the field, Waterman and Brown would swap the second spot on lap 15. But heavy lapped traffic wouldn’t allow Waterman to get close enough to challenge Gustin for the win, as he held on for his first win at the track. Waterman settled for 2nd, Brown was 3rd, Cayden Carter came from 8th to finish in 4th, with Ronn Lauritzen coming home in 5th.

Stay tuned to the tracks website at www.leecountyspeedway.com for the 2014 season plans!

OFFICIAL RESULTS