7/26/2015
Park Jefferson International Speedway
Abelson Tops Stout Modified Field on Liberty National Bank Night
Eighty one race cars signed in for Liberty National Bank Night at Park Jefferson Speedway on July 25th. Midafternoon rain showers dodged the 4/10 mile speedway, allowing the following drivers to win their feature: Tyler Thompson in the Sport Compacts, Andy Hoffman in the Hobby Stocks, Trent Roth in the Pederson Machine Sport Mods, Paul Wenzlaff in the J&J Fitting Stock Cars, and Chris Abelson in the Sign Masters Modifieds.
Aaron Edwardson took early command of the Sport Compact feature, but 9th place starter Cody Thompson would pass Edwardson on a restart. Edwardson would have his hands full for 2nd as Tyler Thompson pressured heavily. A mechanical issue for leader Cody Thompson with 2 laps remaining caused his car to temporarily slow, allowing Edwardson and Tyler Thompson to pass by. Coming to the white flag, Tyler Thompson passed Edwardson for the lead. Tyler Thompson’s late race pass gave him the victory, with Edwardson taking second, and Cody Thompson salvaged third after mechanical issues cost him the lead.
Andy Hoffman jumped to an early lead in the Hobby Stock feature while Aaron Shearn and David Miller jockeyed for 2nd place. Shearn jumped into second and worked hard to pass race long leader Hoffman. Hoffman flirted with disaster multiple times in turn four, as he stuck his right rear tire over the banking, but he kept control while Shearn used the bottom of the speedway to challenge for the lead. The race for third was highly contested between Miller, Mike Hanson, and Craig Clift as they went three wide multiple times in the final three laps. Hoffman was able to hold off 2nd place finisher Shearn for the win, while Miller edged Hanson and Clift in a photo finish for third place.
Front row starters Trent Roth and Todd Boulware dueled for the top spot in the first two laps of Pederson Machine Sport Mod feature action. Roth would drive out to a comfortable lead after each and every restart. Karl Brewer completed a last lap pass on the inside of Boulware to take the second position. In his first visit to Park Jefferson, Roth won, Brewer took 2nd, and Boulware took 3rd.
J&J Fitting Stock Cars got off to a wild start as Casey Jones took the early lead. After a few laps, Jones continued to lead but 4 others drivers were applying heavy pressure for the lead. In turn 4, Harris pulled even with Jones on the high side, while Chris Mills tried to make it 3 wide by going on the bottom of Jones. Contact with Mills and Jones sent Jones spinning down the front stretch, sending both to the rear on the restart. Harris took over the lead on the restart, but 5th row starter Paul Wenzlaff took the lead on lap 9 as Wenzlaff’s machine worked very well on the bottom. Mills charged his way back up to the front, moving into 2nd place with 4 laps remaining. Wenzlaff was too strong up front allowing him to pick up his first win at Park Jefferson. Mills settled for 2nd after an early race incident, and Ryan Harris held off Max Hoffer to take the 3rd position.
Sign Masters Modifieds took to the track for the last feature of the night. 21 Modifieds took to Park Jefferson Speedway as they raced for a higher purse courtesy of Liberty National Bank. Jim Thies would take the lead from Ricky Stephan on lap two and go on to lead the first portion of the race. An accident involving top 5 runners Nick Deal and Jake Neal caused both to retire from the race, allowing hard charging Chris Abelson to move into 3rd on the restart. Second place runner Stephan also suffered mechanical issues on a restart, causing him to retire. With 9 to go, Abelson used the high side to fly by Thies on the back stretch to take the lead. Thies kept Abelson close, but was never able to challenge back for the lead. Abelson went on to win coming from 9th place, Thies finished 2nd, and Travis Hatcher finished an impressive third after starting deep in the field.
Park Jefferson Speedway will take the next few weeks off, with racing scheduled to continue on August 22nd. Bekins Fire & Safety will present the North/South Sprint Shootout with Nebraska 360 Sprints vs. MSTS set to battle. Sign Masters Modifieds, J&J Fitting Stock Cars, Pederson Machine Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, and Sport Compacts will also be racing. For full results, point standings, and more, check out www.parkjeff.com, visit https://www.facebook.com/ParkJeffersonSD, or call 712-202-5540.
Submitted By: Michael Lund
