A great night of racing at the Stuart Speedway
It was a picture perfect summer evening at the Stuart Speedway on June 28 with temps in the low 80's and a cloudless sky.
The IMCA Hobby Stocks treated the fans to two heat races, with current point leader Shannon Anderson of Atlantic taking heat 1 and Nyle Godwin of Redfield claiming heat 2. The top 3 from each heat then competed in the Casey's General Store Trophy Dash, with Brandon Pruitt of Dexter taking home the hardware. The A Main was a tightly contested battle for the entire 15 laps. Curt Ganoe of Stuart took advantage of his front-row starting position to grab the lead at the green with veteran Larry Embrey of Granger on his tail. Nyle Godwin of Redfield joined the duo on lap 5 to contend for the lead. The 3-car battle ensued until lap 11 when mechanical problems forced Embrey to retire. A late race yellow allowed Anderson to duck underneath Ganoe on the restart to take the lead, and he padded his point lead with another trip to victory lane. Ganoe came home second, with nice runs by Eric Stanton of Hartford and Godwin to round out the top four.
Terry Romick of Exira made it a perfect night as he piloted his IMCA Sport Compact to victory in both the heat race and the A Main. Ramick led from start to finish, for a convincing win over Colton Nelson of Osceola, Devan Stuve of Des Moines and Garrett Nelson of Osceola.
Josh May of DeSoto overcame Johnny Mordack of Creston on lap 7 of the 12-lap A Main to pick up the Dwarf Car victory. Mordack home home second, Jimmy May of DeSoto third, and Bob Morgan of Madrid was fourth. Mike Morrill, the point leader heading into the night, was forced from the race on lap 4, opening the door for Josh May to take the point lead.
The IMCA Sport Mods had two heats of competion, with Mike Pruitt of Redfield and Kevin Sather of Ankeny the winners. Kent Croskey of Polk City paced the field for the entire 15-lap main event despite constant pressure from Pruitt and Sather. Two and three-wide racing saw Pruitt on the bottom, Croskey in the middle, and Sather on the outside. At the checkers it was Croskey with the win, Pruitt second, Sather third, and a nice run from the tail by Jeremy Embrey to take fourth.
The IMCA Stock Cars put on a driving clinic for the fans in the A Main as they endured slick track conditions for a caution-free 20-lap main. Jeremy Gettler of Adair held off multiple challenges from Josh Daniels of Des Moines and Marcus Fagan of Adair for the win. Gettler was claimed by Gary Bass, and they exchanged. Daniels, Fagan, and Corey Bushnell of Madrid finished second through fourth. Daniels and Jason Day of Stuart picked up heat race wins.
Terry Pruitt of Dexter and Nick Deal of Walnut won their respective heats in the IMCA Modifieds. Pruitt made a quick move to the front in the A Main, with Josh Gilman of Earlham, Scott Bash of Creston and Randy Havlik of Waukee in purusit. Gilman was forced from competition on lap 9 with a flat tire, opening the door for Nick "The Real Deal" Deal. Deal, trolling the bottom of the track, did all he could to get around Pruitt, but to no avail as Terry Pruitt made his second trip to Stuart Speedway Victory Lane in 2009. Randy Havlik came home third, and Carl Allbee was fourth.
- Story by Debbie Sweeney
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