DAVENPORT, Iowa — The racing season kicked off Friday night at Davenport Speedway with 160 cars in the pits and 250 laps of green-flag racing.
The Petersen Plumbing & Heating IMCA Late Models put on a great show in their feature, with pole sitter Nick Marolf taking an early lead. Aided by a couple of caution flags, Brian Harris and Justin Kay kept close to the leader. Kay was able to take the lead briefly on lap 16, but Marolf came right back to lead the next lap and the rest of the way to the checkered flag.
Chuck Hanna made a late surge to finish second. Kay held on for a third-place finish. Andy Nezworski and Matt Ryan completed the top five.
Justin Kay won the Eriksen Chevrolet IMCA Modified feature. Chris Zogg had dominated much of the twenty lap main. But Justin was able to pass for the lead after a late-race restart. Zogg held on to finish second. Timmy Current took third, just ahead of Tyler Madigan. Brandon Durbin came from the B-Main to round out the top five.
The IMCA SportMods saw Wisconsin’s Jason Roth lead most of the feature. Roth would eventually yield the lead to Gage Neal and Austen Becerra who had a fierce battle going on for the spot. Neal won the battle, the war, and the race. Becerra would have to settle for second, with Roth holding on for third. Tony Olson and Chance Huston finished fourth and fifth respectively.
The Koehler Electric Street Stocks started their feature out with a bang. A four-car crash slowed the action before a lap was completed. After the restart, Jesse Owen jumped out to the early lead. However, it would be short-lived. Lap three would see Jeff Struck Jr. roar into the lead. Struck would lead the rest of the way to the checkers. Indiana racer, Justin VanDrunen drove from sixteenth starting spot to finish second, with Owen taking third. Fourth went to Frank Waters, while Cord Williams took fifth after starting 19th.
The most entertaining race of the evening may have been the QCjeeps.com Sport Compacts feature. Twenty-six cars made the call in a race that saw several lead changes. Late in the race, it came down to a battle between Adam Christy and Mitch Bielenberg. Christy cut down a tire late and Bielenberg drove away with the win. Christy took second, followed by Ashley Reuman, Shawn McDermott and Travis Hawkins.