8/31/2024
Arlington Raceway
Pepsi Night
Brett McConnell led 12 laps of the Jack Pines Resort IMCA Hobby feature until a series of yellow flags occurred. At the start of the race, a yellow flag was thrown for the 15 car of Scott Porter which Carter Holmquist and Jordan Robinson both went to the work area but was able to regain the race at the tail of the field. Porter went into the pit area and was done for the night. On lap 5, Cory Probst had moved up to 4th place from his 10th place start but he and Taylor Manderfield got collected and Probst went to the tail. McConnell had the advantage on the race with Dan Probst following him. On lap 12 two yellow flags occurred for the 17b of Blake Foesch and 7c of Tyler Domeier which ended their nights. This enabled Probst to get around McConnell and stay in the lead for the remaining 3 laps to w in the race. McConnell took 2nd and Ben Davis took 3rd.
The Coors Light IMCA Sport Compact feature saw two leaders trading spots throughout the race. Eric Stocker was the first leader after a first lap restart when the Emily Christensen got into Dale Gatton. Christensen exited the track. On the restart, Stocker who was able to know start in the 2nd row took over the race but a couple laps later Gary Schumacher had the lead when the 54 of Alan Lahr spun in turn #4 bringing out a yellow. On the restart, Stocker once again powered around the outside to reclaim the lead and led the next four laps but as the two were coming for the checkered flag, Schumacher edged ahead to win the race. Stocker took 2nd and Justin Dose took 3rd.
There were four different leaders in the eXmark Outlaw feature. A first lap yellow once again came out when the 3k of Karl Hewitt was a little anxious to get to the front from his 8th place start and got called for a jump start. When the race restarted, Jessie Johnson took the lead but for only one lap as Craig Groebner had the top spot by the second lap. Soon Rod Manthey was the frontrunner but that only lasted for 3 laps as Dan Eckblad who had started 9th was vying for the lead with him. By the 7th time around, Eckblad had moved to the front. Both Eckblad and Manthey raced each other hard but in the end, Eckblad took the checkers first to win. Manthey took 2nd ahead of Mark Oestreich.
There were three different leaders in the Arlington State Bank IMCA Sport Modified feature with Joey Reimers leading the first lap from his second row start ahead of Chris Neisen. Neisen pulled out ahead and the two raced side by side until Neisen took over the race. It only took a few laps and both Eric Larsen and Matt Looft were at the front of the pack looking for a way to get around Neisen. Half way into the race, Looft got the job done as he dived past him to take the lead and Larsen followed Looft. Zach Davis was on the move as he started right next to Looft and had moved thru the pack with him. With only 3 laps left, Davis got around Larsen and his sights on Looft but had to settle for 2nd as Looft took the checkered flag first. Larsen held on for 3rd and Broddy Enter took 4th.
Twenty two cars started the B&B Racing Chassis IMCA Stock Car feature. The two sponsors of Kent’s Auto Body and B&B Racing Chassis put extra money in the feature so the drivers were racing for $1000 to win. There was only one yellow flag in the 20 lap race when Matt Schauer got too high going into turn #3 on the 2nd lap and it looked as if his car was going to go over but he got it corrected so it stayed on its wheels but he was out of the race. When the race resumed, Daniel Eckblad had total command of the front spot starting in pole position. He was not letting anyone overcome him. Behind him the 71 of Josh Larsen, Matt Looft, Ryan Bjerkeset and Dan Mackenthun were all racing hard to gain the lead in the sometimes four wide race for the extra money that was on the line. Eckblad led every lap and in the end, Larsen took 2nd with Mackenthun getting around Looft on the last lap to take 3rd place. Eckblad also picked up an extra $100 for leading the most laps from K&M Wellington Farms and secured a spot in the B&B Racing Chassis All Star Race and AJ Zimmerman won an extra $100 for advancing the most positions in the feature from Luke Sathoff.
Chad Porter and Trent Loverude challenged each other the entire 20 lap distance of the Ottomotive Tire & Repair IMCA Modified feature. There was only one yellow flag and that occurred late in the race when Jason Schroeder had troubles, he was able to restart but on the restart. Half way through the race, Clint Hatlestad who had started alongside Porter got around him and was looking for the opportunity to get around Loverude but it never came as Loverude was fast. He took the win with Hatlestad in 2nd and Porter held on for 3rd.
Submitted By: Susan Allen