Hahne and Ruter make it a clean sweep at The Hamilton County Speedway

By: Ryan Bergeson

This Saturday night at The Hamilton County Speedway offered high flying racing action and double features in three classes. The night was started off with the completion of the program last Saturday night which saw the rain come just after the Limtied Modified feature. The final three races, which included Stock Cars, Modifieds, and Late Models would be completed at the start of the night.
The first makeup feature for the night would be the 15-lap Neighbors Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing Stock Cars. Dennis Plain would grab the lead right from the start as he was chased by Ryan Leeman. Leeman would later be challenged by Rod Richards and Scott Bloemke. Richards would hold on to second but could not run down Plain. Dennis Plain would take the win followed by Richards, Bloemke, and Ryan Leeman.
The Modifieds were next out for their makeup feature. Ryan Ruter would take the lead right from the start and lead all 15 laps on his way to the feature win. Dave Doughty would run in the second position for the entire race but could not find the right combination to run down the race leader. Ruter would be the winner followed by Doughty, Joe McBirnie, and Nate Caruth.
The Motor INN of Webster City IMCA Late Model feature would conclude the makeup action and this one would have the fans on the edge of their seat. Clint Wendel would grab the early lead as Jason Hahne would make his way to second. Hahne and Wendel would then put on a wild show for the fans as Hahne raced low and Wendel raced high. Finally, Hahne was able to make the pass on wendel and hold on to pick up his second feature win of the season. Wendel, Jeremy Grady, and Todd Cooney would round out the top four.
After the features were completed from the previous Saturday, the fans would see a complete program for night #10. Jena Barthelmus would do what she does best by leading the entire race in the IMCA Sport Compact division and pick up the feature win. Barthelmus would be followed by Jennifer Frank, Gary Carlson, and Les Houser.
The Performance Electric Hobby Stocks would come out for their 12 lap feature. Kyle Schmauss would take the lead from the drop of the green flag. He would lead the race until he would be challenged by Kevin schmauss. Travis Prochaska would eventually work his car into the second spot but could not run down Schmauss. Kevin Schmauss would find himself in the winners circle for the third straight week. Prochaska, Brandon Toftee, and Justin Ades would round out the top four.
The Conleys Trucking Limited Modifieds were on the speedway next for their 12 lap feature. Mike Depping would take the lead right from the start of the race. The lead would not last long as Matt Lettow would power his way through the field and take the lead away. It would look like Lettow would run away from the field until Mike Giles would start working the topside. Giles would use his right rear against the cushion to run down the leader and gas up his machine one final time in the turn but Lettow would be too strong on this night. Matt Lettow would be the feature winner followed by Giles, Brett Moffitt, and Terrence Prochaska.
The Neighbors Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing Stock Cars would take center stage on the track and this one would go down to the final turn. Rusty Fister would take the lead early and lead his machine for the first 14 laps. On the final lap things would get interesting. Although Fister would lead the entire race, he would have company. The top eight cars would all run together the entire race and on the final lap, the fans would be on their feet cheering. Fister would lead down the backstretch as Scott Bloemke and jason Minnehan would look under him. As that transpired, Mitchell Griffith would find an extra lane on the top and they would be four wide through the turn. Coming off the final turn, Mitchell Griffith would find the right combination and take the lead and be the first to the checkered flag. Scott Bleomke, Rusty Fister, and Lance Deal would round out the top four.
The Modified feature would also go down to the wire as it appeared that Joe McBirnie would pick up his first win of the season. McBirnie would dominate most of the15 lap event until things would get interesting through the final turn. Ryan Ruter, Nate Caruth, and Rich Lewerke would all look to make a run at the top spot and McBirnie would have his hands full. Ruter would make the last lap pass and win his second feature of the night. Rich Lewerke would finish second and Nate Caruth would finish third. Joe McBirnie would have to settle for the fourth position on this night.
The final feature of the action packed night would be the 25 lap Motor Inn of Webster City IMCA Late Models. Riley Larson would take the lead early in the race and lead the first several laps until a caution would realign the field on lap seven. On the restart, Larson would steer his car high on the track and there was Jason Hahne ready pounce on the chance to make the pass. Hahne would take the lead but would have Todd Cooney all over his rear bumper. Hahne would see what used to be a 10 car length advantage shrink to about two cars as the laps counted off. As the front two cars worked through lapped traffic, Cooney was able to take the lead in turn one, but to lose it coming through turn 4. At the flag stand the caution would come out making it a two lap shootout to the finish. On the restart, Hahne would lead the field to the line and take off on the rest of the field. Hahne would not even be close to being challeneged on his way to his second feature win of the night and third on the season. Cooney, Jeremy Grady, and Darrel DeFrance would round out the top four.
This Saturday night was a truly spectacular night of racing at The Hamilton County Speedway. Several features came down to the final lap and left the fans thirsting for more. Hot laps begin every Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. with racing to follow. You won't want to miss any of the action on Saturday nights at The Hamilton County Speedway.