Cooney gets IMCA Late Model Sunday Series win at Benton County Speedway

VINTON – Part of the fun of the IMCA Late Model Sunday Series at Benton County Speedway is the relative novelty of it all. Late Models don't run weekly in Vinton, so it makes for a busy pit area and adds something extra for the fans.

But more than just being there, the Late Model drivers love racing on the tight quarter-mile, and that typically means a good show.

Sunday's kickoff to the 2016 Sunday Series was the epitome of the latter, and main event winner Todd Cooney said as much after the race. He made the drive from Des Moines as he has nearly every other time a Sunday Series race was held, and was rewarded for the trip with the win ahead of John Emerson and Ryan Dolan.

'I love these small tracks. Here and Stuart are my two favorite places to race. I really enjoy both of them, because they almost always give you multiple grooves – pretty much wherever you want to go,' Cooney said. 'We've been struggling the last couple nights, and my crew chief Jake Murray was with me tonight, and boy, that made a world of difference. I definitely need him around. It was great. The car was good. The driver is getting older. Johnny (Emerson) makes me feel old, because he probably got out without breaking a sweat, and I'm worn out.'

Cooney and Emerson, both of whom are regulars at the Sunday Series races every year, gave the fans a treat on a late restart in the main event.

The veteran Cooney had gapped the field by about a straightaway, and Emerson knew his best chance at stealing the win would be on the restart. The pair traded slide jobs – diving in underneath and sliding up in front of the other car – three laps in a row before Cooney eventually retook and held the lead.

Both laughed about the exchange after the race. Cooney gave Emerson a lot of credit and said, 'Johnny's probably one of the cleanest racers around. I watched him back when he raced go-karts, and he's a really good kid. I knew if anybody would race me clean on slide jobs, it would be him.'

Emerson's competitive side still stung a bit finishing second, but he was happy with second – both because of what it means for his progress in car setup and performance, as well as the simple fact that he got to have fun at a track on which he loves to race.

'Todd's got the experience, and you've got to try to out-smart him, but we just didn't quite get him enough. He was a lot better coming off 4; he had a lot more drive,' Emerson said. 'We like Benton County Speedway quite a bit. We've had pretty good success here.

'I wish they raced Late Models weekly here. It's probably one of the funnest tracks to race on. It's always racy, multiple grooves and it's always nice and smooth. I love it.'

Cooney's win marked a sharp turnaround from what he said were pretty bad struggles at Davenport Speedway on Friday night and Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City on Saturday night, so the win was satisfying on several levels.

Even those struggles didn't make Cooney hesitate in making the drive, he said. He's a racer, and if they're having races, he wants to be there.

And it didn't hurt Benton County Speedway was the place to end the weekend.

'I enjoy racing the guys we race with (weekly in the Des Moines area), but I like to race new blood every once in a while. (Promoter) Mick (Trier) is a friend of the family, so we like to support him as well,' Cooney said. 'And we just enjoy racing. Heck, I drove to Davenport Friday night, then Webster City Saturday night and all the way up here tonight. It was a great weekend. We're real happy.'

OLSON GOES BACK TO BACK

Kyle Olson has the No. K3 rolling.

For the second straight night, the Cedar Rapids driver got the win in IMCA Sport Mod, backing up his win on Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway with another at Benton County Speedway in Vinton.

After a hairy start with two wrecks in the first two attempts at the green flag, Olson jumped to the high lane – also for the second night in a row – and rode it to victory.

'That was awesome. This car is just working,' Olson said. 'I had some brake troubles, but man, as soon as I got it to turn, this thing was fast.

'I knew that start was going to be hairy. I was watching it, keeping my distance and I knew something was going to happen. Once all that got sorted out, I made my move. I went to the high side, felt it biting and that's where I stayed.'

It looked for a bit like the Sport Mod main event was going to be a repeat of Saturday in more ways than one for a bit. Kyle led his cousin Tony Olson – who was caught up in one of the two wrecks on the original starts and had to restart last – for nearly half the race.

Unfortunately for Team Olson, Tony jumped the cushion in Turns 3 and 4, dropping him back. But while it lasted, Kyle said he enjoyed the repeat of racing his cousin for the win.

'I saw that blue and green nose,' Kyle said with a smile. 'I love racing tough competition and racing side-by-side with him. It makes it that much more exciting.'

BENTON COUNTY SPEEDWAY RESULTS

IMCA LATE MODEL

1. 30 Todd Cooney; 2. 87 John Emerson; 3. 1d Ryan Dolan; 4. Z50 Joe Zrostlik; 5. 53 Darren Ackerman

IMCA MODIFIED

1. 11x Tom Berry Jr.; 2. 00j JD Auringer; 3. 33d Scott Hogan; 4. 10k Ronn Lauritzen; 5. F7 Patrick Flannagan

IMCA STOCK CAR

1. 6x Bob Ahrendsen; 2. 15 Norman Chesmore; 3. 22d Jared Daggett; 4. 3t Scooter Dulin; 5. 67 Justin Stander

IMCA SPORT MOD

1. K3 Kyle Olson; 2. 21d Dan Drury; 3. 3r Danny Dvorak; 4. 1m Mitch Manternack; 5. 2x Joey Schaeffer

IMCA HOBBY STOCK

1. 29 Nathan Ballard; 2. 19x August Back; 3. 45 Justin Wacha; 4. 09 Daniel Wauters; 5. 357 Brett Vanous

BCS MICRO MOD

1. 6 Don Erger; 2. 99d Dallon Murty; 3. 51 Cole McNeal; 4. 64 Matt Post; 5. 18 Jeff Davis