ACTION PACKED IOWA MID-AMERICAN GO FALLS TO SPOONMORE

Eric Huenefeld
Mid American Stock Car Series
May 19, 2014

Those Iowa race fans who braved the October-like temperatures Friday night at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa were treated to an outstanding racing show by Mid-American Stock Car Series teams representing five states.

Numerous lead changes, double-file racing and a little unpredictability filled the 46 lap feature event. When the dust settled, 2012 Mid-American Stock Car Series Champion Jeremy Spoonmore stood tall above the rest and claimed his first victory of 2014.

Spoonmore's task was far from easy, starting in tenth position as a result of a large invert following qualifying. Veteran racer Scott Null led the 17-car field to green and immediately was under assault from outside pole sitter Erik Pierce. Pierce swooped past Null from the outside groove, a maneuver several racers perfected by races end. After storming to the lead, Pierce enabled himself to slip away from the remainder of the field, which included several hard fought battles for position. By lap ten, Pierce built a ten car length lead on the balance of the field and it appeared as if the Crystal Lake, Illinois driver was ready to cruise to his first series win.

Just four laps later, the race's first yellow flag flew following an incident in turn three between local favorite Ben Glasscock and Wisconsin's Brian Holtz. The stoppage set up the first of three double-file restarts, with 2010 Mid-American Series Champion Lyle Nowak lining up next to leader Pierce on the first restart. When the green flag flew, Nowak jumped past Pierce from the second groove, claiming the race lead. However, two laps after the restart, Pierce was able to get back to the bumper of Nowak, quickly reclaiming the top spot.

Soon after Pierce jumped back to the lead, the second yellow flag flew after Scott Null made impact with the turn three wall and collected Brian Holtz along the way. On the ensuing restart, Nowak opted to restart on the preferred bottom line of the half-mile, with Scott Dunning jumping to the outside to challenge Pierce. Again on the restart, the outside proved superior, with Dunning jumping ahead of Pierce and claiming the lead. Unlike the previous restart, Pierce was unable to move back into the lead and settled into second with Spoonmore closing behind him. Spoonmore had company though, as young hard charger Kevin Gentile followed the former series champion step-by-step through the field.

Spoonmore and Gentile worked into the top five by lap 25 and soon were the beneficiaries of the final caution of the night on lap 29. This caution was particularly odd, being brought out after the crossover door at the start/finish line became unhinged, making conditions unsafe on the front stretch. After the door was locked, the race resumed, with Spoonmore and Gentile the first two drivers to jump to the outside on the restart. Dunning fought Spoonmore for three laps following the restart, finally relinquishing the lead on lap 33. Spoonmore again brought Gentile along for the ride and the two drivers settled into first and second. Pierce was able to track down Dunning with ten to go and put himself back into third.

As the race neared it's conclusion, Spoonmore felt some pressure from Gentile but was able to keep a steady lead in the late laps on his way to the victory. Gentile finished second, officially his best ever Mid-American Series finish. Pierce also pocketed his best finish in the series with a third place run completing an Illinois driver top three sweep. Dunning came home in fourth, collecting his second straight top five. Spring Classic winner Jeff Holtz rounded out the top five.

In what is shaping up to be an extremely competitive season, Hawkeye Downs has brought the top two point spots of Holtz and Spoonmore within a point of each other as well as third and fourth spots of Nowak and Mark Pluer within two points of each other. With the caliber of competition this season with eight races to go, you'd have to go pretty deep in the points standings to rule out any possible champion.

'First Lady 46' Finishing Order- 1. Jeremy Spoonmore 2. Kevin Gentile 3. Erik Pierce 4. Scott Dunning 5. Jeff Holtz 6. Rick Tackman Jr 7. Dan Gilster 8. Lyle Nowak 9. Mark Pluer 10. Adam Bendzick 11. Brian Holtz 12. Ben Glasscock 13. Greg Beebe 14. Kenny Joosten 15. Scott Null 16. Dave McCalla 17. David Slack

Heat Winners: Joosten & Pierce

Fast Qualifer: Dan Gilster (20.302 seconds)