Cordes takes Modified win in final corner at Benton County Speedway

VINTON - Through five feature races last night at Benton County Speedway, it seemed that the drivers who were able to get out front early stood the best chance of winning.

In three of the six feature races, the winner led every lap en route to victory.

The trend looked like it would continue in the IMCA Modified feature to close the night, but the best - as the cliché goes - was saved for last.

Mike Burbridge led 19 3/4 of the 20 laps in the main event, but it was Troy Cordes who got by him on the high side to lead the final 100 yards and take the win.

'We were trying to get the dust blown off the top, and everybody was down (on the bottom) racing, and I thought we might have a shot,” Cordes said. 'If you want to pass somebody, that's what you've got to do. We got lucky and led the last lap. That's pretty cool.”

The track surface at the beginning of the night dried out in a hurry due to steady winds from the south, and prevented moisture from taking hold.

Track officials made the decision to put water on the track in between heat races and the feature, which changed conditions considerably. The result was different cars up front for the features than were in the heats, and a high degree of difficulty in trying to pass.

It also put the onus on the crews to make the right guess on the setup for the car.

'At the beginning, when they watered it because of the dust and wind, it made it kind of slimy,” Cordes said. 'We thought we overguessed ourselves on the setup of the car because we set up for extremely slick. We watched as (the slimy dirt) started blowing off, and we were going to change it back, but we didn't. I'm kind of happy we didn't.”

Cordes was the only car who could make the top line work well throughout the Modified main event - 'You've got to go where they aren't,” he said - but it took extra finesse to get it done. The Dunkerton native was worn out after the race after working so hard for the lead.

The other racer who worked hard - just in a different way - was Burbridge, who held off Scott Hogan for much of the race, then Cordes for six of the final seven laps.

Burbridge, a Delhi native who doesn't have the dominant crate motor that many others in the field have, worked the bottom lane and did what he had to do to keep the lead. But over the final laps, as Cordes inched closer to the lead in the top lane, Burbridge said he got too conservative.

'There was some good bite down (on the bottom),” Burbridge said. 'I was just running a pace. I probably could've run harder, but I would've slipped more. I should've put some brake on towards the end of the race, but I didn't want to push the nose.

'It cost me the race.”

Ultimately, Burbridge was happy with second since he's down on power, but obviously was still a bit frustrated at letting a win slip away.

For Cordes, it was a win he felt he had coming, as he'd given a few away earlier this year himself.

He laughed and said he felt a little bad for Burbridge, because he knew the feeling. But not too bad - he was out there to win, after all.

'I worked my butt off (for the win),” Cordes said. 'We've won a couple, lost a couple this year.

'(The win) kind of reverses the situation for us. I kind of feel bad for Burbridge, but we're not out here to make friends like that. We just go out and give our all every week and hope we can come out with a win.”

RESULTS

IMCA Modified

Feature – 1. Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 2. Mike Burbridge, Delhi; 3. Scott Hogan, Vinton; 4. Joe Dockral, Dysart; 5. J.D. Auringer, Waterloo; 6. Zach Less, Hopkinton; 7. Jesse Belez, Marengo; 8. Kurt Moeding, Mason City; 9. Dennis Betzer, Central City; 10. Todd Jensen, Waterloo; 11. Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 12. Josh Barta, Cedar Falls; 13. Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 14. Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup.

IMCA Stock Cars

Feature – 1. Norman Chesmore, Rowley; 2. Paul Shepherd, Marengo; 3. Scott Pippert, Elberon; 4. Justin Temeyer, Independence; 5. Jay Schmidt, Tama; 6. Justin Stander, Shellsburg; 7. Mike Galli, Urbana; 8. Duayne Herb, Cedar Rapids; 9. Damon Murty, Chelsea; 10. Curtis Roster, Vinton; 11. Adam Gebel, Cedar Falls; 12. Scott Beauregard, Brandon.

IMCA Sport Mod

Feature – 1. Ryan Maitland, Denver; 2. Curt Hilmer, Dysart; 3. Danny Dvorak, Vinton; 4. Matt Petrzelka, Norway; 5. Mike McDonald, Cedar Rapids; 6. Ryan King, Montourl 7. Dave Burrell, Dysart; 8. Dave Schulze, Keystone; 9. Brett Lowry, Montezuma; 10. Jim Buhlman, Cedar Falls; 11. Dakoda Sellers, Vinton; 12. Jake Salisbury, Dunkerton; 13. Brian Anderson, Garrison; 14. John Shaefer, La Porte City; 15. Colby Heishman, Brooklyn; 16. Lonnie Mercer, Urbana.

IMCA Hobby Stock

Feature – 1. Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 2. Matt Brown, Dysart; 3. Jacob Keiser, Marengo; 4. Kyle Parizek, Belle Plaine; 5. Brian Happel, Vinton; 6. Matt Pohlman, Keystone; 7. Benji Irvine, Cedar Falls; 8. Jim Sheldon, Marion; 9. Justin Wacha, Vinton; 10. Brett Vanous, Quasqueton.

IMCA Sport Compact

Feature – 1. Bill Whalen Jr., Riverside; 2. Jeremy Lerch, Vinton; 3. Craig Streeter, Vinton; 4. Gary Peiffer, Troy Mills; 5. John Gill, Marshalltown; 6. Aaron Miller, Marshalltown; 7. Joe Goodenbauer, Garrison.

Micro Mods

Feature – 1. Buster Pate, Hiawatha; 2. Don Erger, Brandon; 3. Brody Willett, Cedar Rapids; 4. Brandon Maitland, Waterloo; 5. Tristan Cordes, Dunkerton.

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