Tapper holds off a late charge by Cooney to grab his first win of the racing season.

By: Ryan Bergeson

An exciting, action packed night of racing was in store this Saturday night at The Hamilton County Speedway. The 2007 Hamilton County Fair will be here starting this coming Tuesday night and race teams are showcasing their talents leading into a big week of racing. Thursday Night Thunder and Hy-Vee Kids will be the hot tickets coming up this week.

The night was started off with Jena Barthelmus finding victory lane in the IMCA Sport Compact division. Jena was able to take the lead on lap three and she would not look back. Jennifer Frank, Andy Williams, and Dan Ayers would round out the top four.

Mark Haglund would showcase his skills on this night as he power his car to the front of the field in the Performance Electric Hobby Stock feature. Haglund was able to take the lead from Roger Haupt Jr. on lap six and there was no catching him. Haglund would motor to the feature win followed by Haupt, Justin Ades, and Brandon Tofftee.
The Conleys Trucking Limited Modifieds were next on the speedway. Ryan Caquelin would take the early lead but that would not last long. Bugs Vincent would move along side to challenge and take the lead going down the back shute. Vincent would pace the field as Paul Nagle would move to second. Nagle would try his best to run down Bugs but would be out of time. Vincent would become the feature winner followed by Nagle, Northrop, and Levi Neilson.
The Neighbors Stock Cars would grace the speedway next. Reid Keller immediately would charge his machine to the front as jeremy Ades came to second. Ades would work his car behind Keller until Keller would bobble in turn four allowing Ades to make the pass. Ades would hug his right against the cushion and take off on the rest of the field on his way to the feature win. Keller, Todd Foster, and Jason Wagoner would round out the top four.

Joe McBirnie would flex his muscle in the 15 lap Modified feature. McBirnie would grab the lead at the start of the race and lead all fifteen laps on his way to the feature win. Nate Caruth would put on one of the best shows of the night as he came from the tail of the field all the way to second place. Caruth would settle for second as Joe Paullin and Mark Elliott would finish third and fourth.

The final race of the night would prove to be the thriller that would go down to the wire. Jason Vansickel would have his car working against the topside of the racetrack and took the lead at the start. Vansickel would have his 37E machine working right against the outside wall as Kelly Tapper looked low. Tapper and Vansickel would go wheel to wheel swaping the number one spot. Finally, Tapper would take the lead as Todd Cooney would make the charge to second. Cooney and Tapper would literally trade the lead through every turn as Tapper ran high and Cooney catfished the bottom. On the final lap, Tapper banged the right rear off the cushion one final time and was the first to see the checkered flag. Tapper would become the eighth different feature winner of the season in the Motor Inn of Webster City IMCA Late Model division. Cooney, Darrel DeFrance, and Ryan Griffith would round out the top four.
Race fans would not be left with any dissapointments on this night as several races would go down to the final lap. We thank and appreciate all the sponsors, drivers, and race fans that were in attendance this Saturday night. The 2007 Hamilton County Fair is right around the corner and there is a lot in store for race fans of any age. We hope to see you this Thursday and Saturday nights for hot laps at 6:00 p.m. with racing to follow.