Independence Motor Speedway

Aikey triumphant in Indee Open Series opener

Cordes drives to modified win

Wed, May 4, 2005 -- INDEE OPEN SERIES #1
Written by: Ryan Clark

Late model driver Jeff Aikey drove to an impressive victory at Independence Motor Speedway as the fifth annual Indee Open Series got underway with its first of seven events.

Aikey, who started outside the front row, took charge early as he paced the field at the drop of the green of the 50-lapper. He immediately shot out to a sizeable lead, leaving Dale Stolte, Andy Eckrich, Tyler Bruening and Brian Harris to do battle behind him.

Aikey stretched his lead to over a straightaway margin as the pack swapped positions behind him looking for a fast lane to chase down the leader. The field had its chance when the caution flag was displayed on the 18th lap around the fast 3/8-mile oval.

When the race resumed, Terry Neal joined Stolte and Bruening in the battle for second until Jeremiah Hurst joined the mix just two laps later. With Aikey nearly a straightaway ahead of the field once more, Bruening made the pass for second on lap 32. He made up minimal ground, however, as Aikey maintained his huge lead even as he entered lapped traffic on lap 36.

A miscue by Bruening on the 40th circuit allowed Hurst and Neal to move into second and third. Chris Simpson and Darin Duffy, who started 16th and 20th respectively, worked their way into the top five as the laps wound down.

A lap 48 caution set up a two-lap dash to the finish with Aikey out front on the restart and Hurst and Duffy leading the doublewide formation behind him. Aikey held on to lead all 50 laps, scoring the third Indee Open Series victory of his career. Hurst crossed the line in second and Simpson made a late pass to take home third. Duffy finished fourth, advancing 16 spots from the drop of the green. Only Dale Hackwell, who started at the tail of the field in 24th, matched his efforts by finishing eighth.

In modified action, Bob Dominacki used a strong start from his outside second row position to shoot around Troy Cordes and take the early advantage. Running the high side, Dominacki paced the field for the first half of the 25-lapper while Cordes went to work in a lower groove.

Cordes managed to steal away the top spot just past the midway point, and the two swapped the lead over the course of the next seven laps. With just five laps to go, Cordes assumed the lead for good to drive to the win in the caution-free event. Steve Wetter made a late race charge to finish second and Jeremiah Hurst, who pulled double-duty on the night, came home third. Dominacki held on for fourth at the checkers.

Veteran Ken Irvine was the early leader in the 20-lap stock car feature. Irvine took command from his pole position start while Tom Schmitt worked through the field from the fifth row. Schmitt sliced and diced his way through the pack, moving past Shay Curtin for second on the 10th lap. Just two laps later, Schmitt took command to drive to the victory ahead of Irvine and Jake Ludeking.

RESULTS
LATE MODEL
First heat – 1. Gary Webb, Blue Grass; 2. Darren Ackerman, Waterloo; 3. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown; 4. Randy Wheeler, Cedar Falls; 5. Josh Omans, Garner; 6. Rick Dralle, Waterloo; 7. Bobby Hansen, Center Point; 8. Dave Stricker, Waterloo; 9. Lee Herman, Fairbank; 10. Tom Pestka, Delhi.
Second heat – 1. Dale Stolte, Springville; 2. Jeff Aikey, Waterloo; 3. Ed Sanger, Postville; 4. Tommy Elston, Keokuk; 5. Ron Barker, Dubuque; 6. Matt Ryan, Davenport; 7. Dirk Hamilton, Jesup; 8. Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 9. John Reidy, Winthrop.
Third heat – 1. Terry Neal, Ely; 2. Curt Martin, Independence; 3. Dean Wagner, Evansdale; 4. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque; 5. Rob Toland, Hillsdale, Ill.; 6. Darin Duffy, Hazleton; 7. Dale Hackwell Jr., Washburn; 8. Josh McGowan, Vinton; 9. Ben Schaefer, Raymond.
Fourth heat – 1. Brian Harris, Davenport; 2. Andy Eckrich, Iowa City; 3. Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 4. Chris Simpson, Marion; 5. Ace Ihm, Hazel Green, Wis.; 6. Jamie Aikey, Cedar Falls; 7. Dave Thorsten, Decorah; 8. Joel Brasch, Dunkerton; 9. Nate Hartzell, Cedar Falls.
First B feature – 1. Barker; 2. Dralle; 3. Hansen; 4. Ryan; 5. Hamilton; 6. Stricker; 7. Omans; 8. Herman; 9. Reidy; 10. Pestka; 11. Dedrick.
Second B feature – 1. Toland; 2. Duffy; 3. Jamie Aikey; 4. Hackwell; 5. McGowan; 6. Ihm; 7. Thorsten; 8. Brasch; 9. Hartzell; 10. Schaefer.
A feature – 1. Jeff Aikey; 2. Hurst; 3. Simpson; 4. Duffy; 5. Neal; 6. Webb; 7. DeFrance; 8. Hackwell; 9. Martin; 10. Hansen; 11. Harris; 12. Dralle; 13. Bruening; 14. Sanger; 15. Wheeler; 16. Elston; 17. Stolte; 18. Wagner; 19. Eckrich; 20. Barker; 21. Ackerman; 22. Ryan; 23. Jamie Aikey; 24. Toland.

MODIFIED
First heat – 1. Mark Massey, Worthington; 2. Troy Cordes, Raymond; 3. Jason Schueller, Dubuque; 4. Chad Knipp, Raymond; 5. Jon Passick, Waterloo; 6. Justin O’Brien, Volga; 7. Ron Barker, Dubuque; DNS Skip Culbertson, Dubuque.
Second heat – 1. Steve Wetter, Platteville, Wis.; 2. Mark Schulte, Delhi; 3. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque; 4. Clayton Thomas, Waterloo; 5. Jeff Mason, Sumner; 6. J.D. Auringer, Evansdale; 7. Jeff Morris, Long Grove.
Third heat – 1. Kevin Pittman, Waterloo; 2. Jerry King, Waterloo; 3. Jason Snyder, Dunkerton; 4. Keith Schmitz, Swaledale; 5. Scott Hogan, Vinton; 6. Brian Krall, Readlyn; 7. Shane Burbridge, Manchester; 8. Jamie Johnson, Waterloo.
Fourth heat – 1. Bob Dominacki, Bettendorf; 2. Dennis Betzer, Central City; 3. Sean Rupp, Dubuque; 4. Garry Stuber, Waterloo; 5. Leon Wilson, Hopkinton; 6. Dam Bolin, Waterloo; DNS Jacob Seegmiller, Dubuque.
First B feature – 1. Barker; 2. Morris; 3. O’Brien; 4. Auringer; 5. Mason; DNS Passick; DNS Culbertson.
Second B feature – 1. Hogan; 2. Krall; 3. Wilson; 4. Bolin; 5. Burbridge; 6. Johnson; DNS Seegmiller.
A feature – 1. Cordes; 2. Wetter; 3. Hurst; 4. Dominacki; 5. Schueller; 6. Schulte; 7. Pittman; 8. Betzer; 9. Snyder; 10. Rupp; 11. Schmitz; 12. Thomas; 13. O’Brien; 14. Barker; 15. Hogan; 16. King; 17. Stuber; 18. Krall; 19. Auringer; 20. Massey; 21. Knipp; 22. Wilson; 23. Bolin; 24. Morris.

STOCK CAR
First heat – 1. Jake Ludeking, Decorah; 2. Ken Irvine, Oelwein; 3. Jason Bakkum, Waukon; 4. Jeff Roete, Oelwein; 5. Shay Curtin, Waukon; 6. Chad Halverson, Decorah; 7. Scooter Dulin, Cedar Rapids; 8. Kenny Taylor, Strawberry Point.
Second heat – 1. Jarod Weepie, Dunkerton; 2. Tom Schmitt, Independence; 3. Tom Hovey, Decorah; 4. Kevin Rose, Waterloo; 5. Eric Weber, Jesup; 6. Chip Kohl, Marion.
Feature – 1. Schmitt; 2. Irvine; 3. Ludeking; 4. Weepie; 5. Curtin; 6. Temeyer; 7. Hovey; 8. Halverson; 9. Rose; 10. Weber; 11. Kohl; 12. Roete; 13. Bakkum; 14. Dulin; DNS Taylor.