No lead guaranteed in wild Indee Outlaw season finale at Independence Motor Speedway
by Ryan Clark

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (Oct. 6) - Being in the right place at the right time was everything for a pair of drivers during the Indee Outlaw special at Independence Motor Speedway. The rules-free event served as the final race at the speedway for the 2007 season and it did not fail to entertain the full grandstand of spectators in attendance.

In the 20-lap stock car feature, it appeared as though Jerry Merkes was going to drive away from the field from his front row start. At the drop of the green, Merkes quickly distanced himself from the pack. He built a straightaway lead over his competitors as Loren Kuennen and Cory Bauer battled side-by-side for second.

Kuennen was sidelined with mechanical problems on the ninth lap, leaving Bauer alone in second. Merkes maintained his advantage until the white flag was displayed when he lost power on his No. 8K. As Merkes was coasting around the 3/8-mile oval, Bauer quickly swallowed his lead and made the winning pass on the back chute.

Bauer led the field to the checkers to earn his third straight victory in the event's four year history. Tracy Gienger, who started last, made an impressive run through the field to score runner-up honors ahead of Gary Rotenberger.

Wayne Hora suffered a fate similar to that of Merkes in the 15-lap hobby stock feature. From a fifth row start, Hora quickly worked through traffic and settled into the top five after just four laps. Following a lap six caution, he assumed command from race leader Quinton Miller.

From that point, Hora pulled away from the field on his way to the apparent victory until mechanical problems ended his run with only three laps remaining. Terry Shaffar, who started the event from the 17th position, had worked his way through the field and settled into second when Hora retired to the pits.

Shaffar led the remaining three laps to score the victory ahead of Josh Irvine and Miller.

In the B modified division, Troy Burkhart shot from a fourth row start at the drop of the green and into the lead after only two laps. He paced the field while Jason Seegmiller rocketed through traffic from a fifth row start and into second place on lap four.

Burkhart entered lapped traffic on the sixth circuit, allowing Seegmiller to close the gap. With only three laps remaining, Seegmiller stuck his nose under the low side of the leader as they exited turn two. Seegmiller made contact with the leader, sending both cars into a spin and bringing the race to caution.

Burkhart restarted at the point with Seegmiller sent to the rear for bringing out the yellow flag. Burkhart led the final three laps to score the win. Seegmiller made an impressive run through the pack to steal second at the line ahead of Tony Olson.

J.D. Auringer shot into the early lead at the start of the 20-lap modified feature. From his pole position start, Auringer took control with Dennis Dugan running second.

A restart on the sixth lap allowed Dugan to restart on the leader's rear bumper. The duo ran nose-to-tail until mechanical problems sidelined Dugan just past the midway point. Auringer then held off the challenges of Craig Prussman to score the win. Richie Gustin finished third.

Curt Martin dominated the 20-lap late model headliner. From his outside front row start, Martin immediately pulled away from the field to drive to victory by over half of a track. Darin Duffy and Jill George, the only other cars to finish on the lead lap, ran second and third.

Mark David led the entire 12-lap distance to score the win in the vintage coupes. Dan Osborn and Bruce Lund completed the top three.

RESULTS
LATE MODEL
Heat - 1. 45 Curt Martin, Independence; 2. 19 Darin Duffy, Hazleton; 3. 22 Jill George, Cedar Falls; 4. B1 Jeff Larson, Freeport, Ill.; 5. 4D Rick Dralle, Waterloo; 6. 2V Vic Lovejoy, Harlan; 7. 14B Levi Benn, Dyersville; 8. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 9. 70 Jerry King, Waterloo.
Feature - 1. Martin; 2. Duffy; 3. George; 4. Benn; 5. Dralle; 6. Lovejoy; 7. Larson; 8. King; DNS Dedrick.

MODIFIED
First heat - 1. 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 2. 11C Craig Prussman, Brookings, S.D.; 3. 22P Dave Plum, Waterloo; 4. 069 Mike Krall, Waterloo; 5. 23W Robert Whalen, Nashua; 6. 13 Jim Schaefer, Waterloo; 7. 6E Don Erger, Brandon.
Second heat - 1. 41 Dennis Dugan, Colesburg; 2. 19G Richie Gustin, Gilman; 3. 1D Mel Saffran, Farley; 4. 41P Keith Pittman, Waterloo; 5. 7 Todd Jensen, Waterloo; 6. 64 Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; DNS 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence.
Feature - 1. Auringer; 2. Prussman; 3. Gustin; 4. Pittman; 5. Plum; 6. Jensen; 7. Saffran; 8. Krall; 9. Flannagan; 10. Whalen; 11. Schaefer; 12. Dugan; 13. Erger; DNS Luloff.

STOCK CAR
First heat - 1. 8K Jerry Merkes, Farley; 2. 000 Tony Von Diesky, Colona, Ill.; 3. 69 Jake Ludeking, Decorah; 4. 24 Matt Bennett, Shullsburg, Wis.; 5. 20R Gary Rotenberger, Calmar; 6. 6X Bob Ahrendsen, Cedar Rapids; 7. 89R Dennis Hundley, Center Point; 8. 4Q Richard Quail, Waterloo; 9. 28 Craig Stepanek, Vinton.
Second heat - 1. 9 Patty Fosaaen, Waukon; 2. 00 Rob Henry, Colona, Ill.; 3. Z06 Loren Kuennen, Ossian; 4. 22 Cory Bauer, Monticello; 5. 42 Ben Jones; 6. 47 Mike Mauer, Cedar Falls; 7. 7S Toby Spicer, Rock Island, Ill.; 8. 22K Kevin Rose, Waterloo; DNS 59 Tracy Gienger, Newton.
Feature - 1. Bauer; 2. Gienger; 3. Rotenberger; 4. Henry; 5. Fosaaen; 6. Merkes; 7. Mauer; 8. Von Diesky; 9. Ahrendsen; 10. Rose; 11. Bennett; 12. Jones; 13. Spicer; 14. Stepanek; 15. Kuennen; 16. Ludeking; 17. Hundley; DNS Quail.

HOBBY STOCK
First heat - 1. 32J Wayne Hora, Anamosa; 2. 35J Josh Irvine, Oelwein; 3. 64JR Jeremiah Wilson, Waterloo; 4. 28 Sheldon Hunter, Wyoming; 5. 2Q Robert Quail, Waterloo; 6. 2 Amanda Lovejoy, Avoca; 7. B62 Brandon Davis, Cedar Rapids; DNS 34 Cory Hanson, Greely Lake.
Second heat - 1. 73 Quinton Miller, Independence; 2. 78 Matt Brown, Dysart; 3. 20J Jeremy Grantham, Allison; 4. 09 Brad Forbes, Waterloo; 5. 11 Al Sweerin, Waterloo; 6. 21 Jake Blumer, Manchester; 7. 36DD Gary Peiffer, Troy Mills; 8. 35 Terry Shaffar, State Center; 9. 115 Nathan Sweerin, Waterloo.
Third heat - 1. 29X Paul Fauser, Elgin; 2. 181 Dan Homeister, Allison; 3. R23 Corey Rupp, Monticello; 4. 18 Marcus Wayne, Fairbank; 5. 6 Keven Gonzales, Fairbank; 6. 48 Dustin Shay, Oelwein; 7. 062 Alan Zumbach, Anamosa; 8. 1S Greg Sweerin, Evansdale.
Feature - 1. Shaffar; 2. Irvine; 3. Miller; 4. Fauser; 5. Forbes; 6. Hunter; 7. Wilson; 8. Homeister; 9. Davis; 10. N. Sweerin; 11. Zumbach; 12. Peiffer; 13. Shay; 14. Blumer; 15. Hora; 16. Wayne; 17. A. Sweerin; 18. Gonzales; 19. Brown; 20. Rupp; 21. Grantham; 22. Lovejoy; 23. Hanson; 24. G. Sweerin; DNS Quail.

B MODIFIED
First heat - 1. 20 Brian Kunkle, Oelwein; 2. 15B Troy Burkhart, Center Point; 3. 18 Doug Smith, Center Point; 4. 32 Chris Snyder, Evansdale; 5. 69 John Dumer, Cedar Falls; 6. 35B Kaleb Bentley, Fairbank; 7. 00B Shelby Buhlman, Evansdale.
Second heat - 1. 17J Jason Seegmiller, Dubuque; 2. T23 Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids; 3. 21 Ryan Schilling, Bernard; 4. 12D Joe Docekal, Dysart; 5. 95H Mary Handberg, Waterloo; 6. 34 Jeremy Schaufenbuel, New Hampton.
Third heat - 1. 02 Bill Campbell, Dubuque; 2. 25 Alan Wessels, Strawberry Point; 3. 99 Erick Knutsen, Center Point; 4. 1L Max Leonard, Ladora; 5. 74 Clint Bodensteiner, Castalia; 6. 52R Marty Rouse, Grundy Center.
Feature - 1. Burkhart; 2. Seegmiller; 3. Olson; 4. Kunkle; 5. Docekal; 6. Smith; 7. Schilling; 8. Campbell; 9. Rouse; 10. Leonard; 11. Buhlman; 12. Snyder; 13. Handberg; 14. Knutsen; 15. Bentley; 16. Schaufenbuel; 17. Dumer; 18. Bodensteiner; 19. Wessels.

VINTAGE COUPE
Heat - 1. 2 Mark David, Indianola; 2. 59 Dan Osborn, Cedar Rapids; 3. 39C Ron Coon, Omaha, Neb.; 4. 2X Walt Ryan, Arlington, Neb.; 5. 44 Bruce Lund, Brandon, S.D.; 6. 39 James Coon, Holly Springs; 7. 23K Jim Klipping, Dike; 8. 2L Verne Schumann, Blue Grass; 9. 33 Wayde Russell, Dunkerton; DNS 6H Rod Foster, Cedar Falls.
Feature - 1. David; 2. Osborn; 3. Lund; 4. R. Coon; 5. Ryan; 6. Klipping; 7. Foster; 8. J. Coon; 9. Schumann; DNS Russell.