HARLAN, Ia (July 21). What a night of action packed racing at the Shelby County Speedway on Saturday. While a little low on car count, the racing under the IMCA banner was at its best and closest.

The Hobby Stock feature started with Mike Hansen grabbing the lead from his pole starting position at the drop of the green. Tanner Powers started in the 7th position but by the end of lap 1 he was in 2nd. Hansen and Powers ran side by side for a lap before Hansen regained an advantage. But on lap 5 Powers blew past Hansen into the lead. But the Smith brothers were on the move with Doug leading the way. Doug took over 2nd on lap 8 and Devin took 3rd on lap 9. With 2 laps left Doug was side-by-side with Powers. When the white flag flew, Doug had the lead and went on to win. Devin, the current point leader, took 2nd at the checkers with Powers in 3rd. Kenneth Hansen and Dale Towne rounded out the top 5.

The Stock Car feature saw Bill Reetz take the lead at the drop of the green. Ryan Webb, who started 5th, was in 2nd by lap 2. Tim Bengard, who started 10th, was on the move and took 2nd on lap 4. But once again a pair of Smith brothers, Donavon and Dustin, was on the move. Donavon was in 4th by lap 5 and Dustin moved to 5th on lap 7. Bengard grabbed the lead on a lap 10 restart, but Donavon and Dustin were breathing down his neck in 2nd and 3rd . Donavon took a slight lead on lap 13, but Bengard stayed right with him. On lap 14, Bengard got loose in turn 1 and spun out. Keith Knop, who had nowhere to go, hit him head-on bringing out the only red flag of the night. Both drivers were ok, but their cars were not so lucky. On the restart it was Donavon and Dustin Smith, but the yellow flag flew one more time. Dustin Smith was set back 2 spots for jumping on the start. From there, Donavon won without a challenge. Reetz finished 2nd ahead of Josh Filmer, Dustin Smith and “Flyin Brian” Blessington.

The Sports Compact feature saw Tim Cass take the early lead. But on lap 2, Tom Summerfield took the lead and went on to win. Vince Trometer was his only challenger, but he could not get past Summerfield. The 22x of Colby McIntosh was black flagged for rough driving when he hit the 44 of Dylan Petersen causing him to spin. The 3c car of Cody Klein was black flagged for leaking fuel. At the finish, it was Summerfield, Trometer, Taylor Griffin, Randy Cass and Andrew Hicks. Point leader Terry Romick was set back 4 spots for Jumping on the start and finished 11th.

The Sports Mod feature saw Scott Plantz and Rod Bronson challenge for the early lead from their front row starting spots. But Mick King charged from his 6th place start to pass both drivers in turn 1 of the opening lap. Points leader Chad Dills moved to 2nd on lap 2. But try as he might, Dills could not pass King on this night and settled for 2nd at the finish. For King it was his 2nd win of the year. Jeff Brunsen, in his first trip to Harlan this season, finished 3rd. Bronson brought his 54r home in 4th place ahead of Chris Grothe.

The Late Model feature saw Vance Tonack take the early lead over Randy Faux. But on lap 2, Faux took the lead. The man on the move though was Deery Brothers points leader Jeremy Grady . Grady started the feature in the 9th position but was clearly the fastest car on the track. By lap 8, he was in 2nd and challenging Faux. Faux held him off for his first feature win of the year. Grady said his car started fading at the end. Don Becktrom, Freddie Miller and Dave Jorgennsen rounded out the top 5.

Only 9 cars took the green flag in the Modified feature, but it was far and away the best race of the night. Dale Ransom took the early lead followed by Dave Hulsebus. Hulsebus took the lead on lap 3, but Craig Reetz and Jeff Stephens were closing in, being in 3rd and 4th place by lap 3. On lap 6, Stephens took the lead. In doing so, Stephens tangled with Ransom and had his driver side door flapping in the wind the rest of the race. While Stephens and Reetz were running the high side of the track, Hulsebus and Jeff Jones started hooking up on the bottom side. After a late restart, Hulsebus scooted past Reetz for second. For Stephens it was his 1st win of the year at Harlan in a brand new Jet Chassis that he was only racing for the 2nd night. Stephens said the flapping door panel was an issue, but he was okay as long as he didn’t get into traffic. Hulsebus, Reetz, Jones and Ransom rounded out the top 5.

Next week Pizza Ranch will be sponsoring the races and will add an extra $50 to each feature winner of the each class. Pizza Ranch is also putting a $50 bounty on Chad Dills. Anyone beating Dills will get an extra $50.