Auringer holds off Gustin for back-to-back Hogan Memorial wins

VINTON - In the first 20 years of the Hogan Memorial at Benton County Speedway, only one driver had ever gone back-to-back in the headlining IMCA Modified A-main.

In year 21, J.D. Auringer joined Scott Hogan - of whose parents the event is run in memory - as the second driver to accomplish the feat. In front of a sold-out, standing room only crowd in Vinton on Sunday night, Auringer kept an already successful season rolling with a $3,000 winner's check in a race that means a lot to all who enter.

'It just means a lot to me,” Auringer said. 'To win the Hogan (Memorial) means a ton with that family - I've been friends with them since I started racing and I watched Scott before I even started racing. They've always been a good group of people and good friends to us, and it feels good to win.”

Auringer drove to the top five right from the start of the two-segment, 50-lap main event and battled with Hunter Marriott, Kyle Brown, Richie Gustin and Zach Less for much of the first 25-lap segment.

Marriott led most of the opening half, holding a half-straightaway advantage under green flag conditions. The way Marriott's car handled in those first 25 laps, Auringer wasn't sure his car would have enough to get past him. He even joked about wishing he had Marriott's gear during the break in an interview with the track announcer.

But among other small adjustments, Auringer and his crew added fuel, which put more rear weight in the car. That helped put power to the rear wheels and ended up being the difference.

'I didn't think I was going to be able to do it,” Auringer said. 'Hunter had a good drive off of 2, and I didn't think I was going to be able to pull him out of there. But we put the extra fuel in at the stop and I think that was enough to give me a little extra drive coming off the corner.

'He pushed coming off the corner (after the restart for the second segment) and luckily I was right there at the right time.”

Auringer took the lead with more than 20 laps to go, but it was no cakewalk from there.

As Marriott faded to eighth at the finish, Gustin and Brown rose to the top. Track conditions shifted and drivers were forced to the low lane if they wanted to either keep up or advance any positions.

Gustin was so focused on working his way forward and trying to juggle attacking the leader with saving his tires for a final push, he missed the flagman's signals that the laps were winding down. That resulted in a too-little-too-late effort to get underneath Auringer and left Gustin wondering what might have been.

'Honestly, I had a little too much tape up here in front of me, and I didn't even know that we were too the end. I could've pressed it a little harder,” Gustin said. 'I've raced J.D. a long time and I wouldn't have roughed him up, but there were a few opportunities (where) I think I could've gotten a tire to his door and at least moved him up off the tires (in the low lane).

'This is a great race, but the pay from first to second is a big drop, so there's a little (disappointment) added. We race around here for so long, for so many years. It's hard to do anything blatant. You try to do things clean because you know you're going to race that guy at the same race again next year. J.D. has always done me good and I paid it forward, didn't rough him up.”

Auringer and Gustin spent a good five minutes rehashing the race, with Gustin reaffirming to Auringer he felt like he had the better car but ran out of time.

He said he didn't know it was Gustin in those final laps, but knew someone was closing in on him by the hand signals his dad was giving him from the infield. The need to be perfect in the final laps of a long feature event is a skill Auringer has learned over his now three Hogan Memorial victories.

The uniqueness of this race - similar in format to the Aftermarket Nationals at Farley Speedway, in which Auringer finished eighth - presents racers with plenty of options to either improve their car or outthink themselves. Balancing that line is what it takes to win in the special events.

'We've outthought ourselves before, made a change on the car and right after went out and spun it out and got wrecked,” Auringer said. 'The break is good here because you can change tires and do anything you want. The one at Farley, if you're up front see a tire with chunks missing, you can't change it or you go to the back and forfeit a big-paying spot. But it makes guys think a little more and be easy on their stuff.

'It's a strategy game and I like both ways. But I like this way better.”

In other racing action, Kyle Olson took the win in IMCA Sport Mod, and got $750 for his efforts. Brett Vanous won IMCA Hobby Stock by a bumper ahead of Nathan Ballard and also got a $750 winner's check. John Oliver Jr. took home $1,000 for his win in IMCA Stock Car. Don Erger won the BCS MicroMod main event.

HOGAN MEMORIAL

IMCA MODIFIED RESULTS

1. 00j JD Auringer, Waterloo; 2. 19g Richie Gustin, Gilman; 3. 21k Kyle Brown, State Center; 4. 10c Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa; 5. 64 Vern Jackson, Waterloo; 6. 19d Darin Duffy, Urbana; 7. 33d Scott Hogan, Vinton; 8. 62 Hunter Marriott, Brookfield, Mo.; 9. 83g Josh Gilman, Earlham; 10. 71w Jeff Waterman, Quincy, Ill.; 11. 80 Jerry Dedrick, Vinton; 12. 26j Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 13. 20l Zach Less, Manchester; 14. 01 Ed Thomas, Waterloo; 15. 25 Jake Bowman, Maquoketa; 16. 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo; 17. 12d Joe Docekal, Dysart; 18. 12h Dakota Hayden, Wilton; 19. 71c Troy Cordes, Dunkerton; 20. 5r Bill Roberts, Burlington; 21. 57b Dennis Betzer, Central City; 22. 4 Ryan Maitland, Denver; 23. 8 Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, N.C.; 24. F7 Patrick Flannagan, Marion; 25. 5d Devon Havlik, Iowa Falls; 26. 1$ Dan Chapman, Clarence.

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