Independence Motor Speedway caps successful season

INDEPENDENCE - When Dana Benning took over as promoter for Independence Motor Speedway, many were skeptical of his decision to focus solely on the weekly racing program and remove and traveling series or big money racing events from the schedule.

Conventional wisdom has long been that's what draws big crowds.

But Benning doubled down on what he called 'the best thing going in Eastern Iowa” on Saturday night during the season championships. His track averaged more than 100 cars and had a full main grandstand every race night of the season.

He felt more than vindicated in his decision.

'Overall I'm very satisfied with (Year 1). We've got great car count and our competition week-in and week-out is second to none,” Benning said. 'I feel like I have (been validated). When you've got such a strong weekly program, you put all you've got into it. That's what the fans want to see are their local heroes. Our racers are local. Yeah, you get people asking to see the big show come in, but at the end of the day, if I'm going to put on a show - and I'm not saying I'd never do (a big show) - my focus is to promote local heroes and the product we've got.”

Independence crowned its six track champions in Late Model, Modified, Stock Car, Sport Mod, Hobby Stock and Indee Cars (also called MicroMods) on a track that wasn't in its usual shape.

Rainstorms that swept through the area Friday night - and canceled much of the first week of high school football - poured four inches on the 3/8-mile track.

The rough conditions led to unpredictable racing, as drivers had to negotiate holes and ruts as well as other cars. Specifically in Late Model, Sean Johnson held the lead from the start until three to go, with track champion Tyler Droste trailing. Droste would catch Johnson when he was in lapped traffic, but couldn't get by until a late mistake. Johnson, trying to get around a lapped car, hit a hole in Turns 1 and 2 and jumped the cushion, forcing him to back way out of the throttle and allowed Droste to slip past.

Droste held on for his third Late Model win at Independence and fifth overall this season. His win not only put an exclamation point on his championship, it also came five years to the day from when he won his first IMCA feature - at Independence.

'It was one of the most complicated tracks I've been on this year - whether it be the Late Model or the Modified,” Droste said. 'The holes and the bumps, you had to stay out of those enough that it wouldn't upset your car. I did that a couple times and he got away from me. Sean was definitely the faster car tonight. … It just so happened the one time he went in and slid up, he hit the cushion wrong and bounced and bobbled a little bit. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, I guess.

'It's pretty cool to match the dates like that, and the other thing that was so cool about it was five years ago today was my grandpa's last race and he got to see me win. This one was for him.”

All the rain had turned the infield into a lake, and the conditions Droste talked about would've canceled racing on a regular week.

But because so many racers and fans rewarded Benning's commitment to weekly racing, he wanted to pay them back by running the season championships no matter what. That meant getting to the track in the morning to drain the infield, then starting track work as quick as possible.

It certainly wasn't up to his normal standards, but sometimes, he said, you have to play the hand you're dealt.

'I had knee boots on today to make sure the drainage tiles weren't clogging up. We had to get that water moving. We had a lake; our entire infield was under water, so you had to get that gone,” Benning said. 'It was about noon when we finally got on it, but if it's just slime, you're not going to do any good. We were hoping for sun today and never got it. It's a challenge - just like racecar drivers setting up a car, we're trying to set up the racetrack. Sometimes you just don't have a lot to work with.”

Droste (Late Model), J.D. Auringer (Modified), Jarod Weepie (Stock Car), Tony Olson (Sport Mod), Benji Irvine (Hobby Stock) and Don Erger were crowned champions Saturday night. Auringer, Olson, Irvine and Erger each also capped championship seasons with feature wins. Weepie was second to Chris Luloff in Stock Cars.

And while there was no drama in the points, Benning pointed more to the elite-level seasons the champions had everywhere - not just Independence - more than a lack of competition.

'You look at Sport Mod, and Alex Zwanziger is a top-notch driver with top-notch equipment, but Tony (Olson) has just had a magical season. When you look at the Late Model division, look at how many different winners we've had. Droste just had everything click for him,” Benning said. 'You're either a hero or a zero and that's where a lot of these guys are probably looking forward to the end of the season. They want to regroup.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com