ASA Midwest Tour Keith Fleck Miller 100

CEDAR RAPIDS - Steve Carlson was in seventh heaven last night.

Of course, winning anything seven times will take you there.

Carlson continued his success at Hawkeye Downs Speedway with his performance in the American Speed Association Midwest Tour's 38th Keith Fleck Miller 100 last night at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Carlson mastered the track and the field once again, capturing his fourth straight and seventh overall victory in the annual race. Both are records.

The race has special meaning as Carlson has been a friend to the Fleck family.

"It sure was great," Carlson said of the win.

Carlson, who started 12th, wasted no time maneuvering through the 26-car field. He made up five spots in the first two laps. By the sixth lap, Carlson was in fifth place, climbing to third on lap 15.

"I just wanted to get going," said Carlson, who said the heat and humidity were factors for the drivers. "If you can get all your passing done early it's a lot easier, because the tires are cooler and it just works a little better."

Early leader Travis Sauter pulled to the side, allowing Jeff Storm and Carlson to pass him on lap 18. Two laps later, Carlson pulled even with Storm on the back straightaway and then took the lead by the time they came out of the third turn.

"Storm was actually pretty quick," said Carlson, the defending season points champion from West Salem, Wis. "He was quick into the turn but was real tight off the turn. I could see that so I just ducked my car low and I just made the pass on him underneath."

Carlson again showed his mastery of the Hawkeye Downs track. He stayed in his groove on the track and it was hard for the rest to challenge him, even when he approached lapped traffic about 1/3 of the way through the race. The preferred line on the track is low but carlson and his car were versatile Friday night.

"May car works just as good on the top," Carlson said. "It doesn't matter to me. I passed a bunch up top tonight."

The race was under a green flag for the first 75 laps. The field was able to close the gap when debris on the track forced a yellow flag to come out with 25 laps to go and again when Justin Jennings, Brad Dvorak, of Lisbon, and Jonathan Eilen were involved in a pileup out of the second turn with four laps left, causing the red flag to come out. An extensive delay was created as staff had to separate and remove Dvorak's ride, which came to rest on top of Jennings' car. No injuries were reported.

Carlson was able to stay in front, even with both late restarts and held off Dan Fredrickson, who controlled the second spot most of the race. Tour points leader Chris Wimmer, who battled Storm for third for much of the latter part of the race, and came in third.

John Wood is a man of his word. After he had the fastest qualifying lap, he told the crowd at Hawkeye Downs that he was going to beat his brother, Jerry, who had won the ASA Midwest Trucks Tour's first two races. John Wood held off Tom McClintock to make that prediction true. Jerry Wood was third.

"It's unbelievable," John Wood said. "Believe it or not, I'm a little choked up."

The truck was dialed in for John Wood. He was able to keep McClintock at bay most of the way, even pulling away during longer stretches of green-flag racing. His job was made tougher by a series of cautions that riddled the race.

The last came with three laps to go. McClintock got a great start for the final green flag and even took a brief lead, but John Wood reclaimed the lead quickly and then stayed in front for the win.

"Tom, I tell ya," John Wood said. "On that restart, he was right there."

Chris Marek recorded the fastest lap in sportsman qualifying and when it was all said and done he was the fastest overall in the sportsman division. Marek claimed his second race win and third top-five finish this season with a victory in the 35-lap sportsman race.

"The car was real good today," Marek said. "Got a bunch of great guys to race against and a beautiful place to race at."

Marek showed patience, making his way through the field and capturing the lead after starting in the back.

"I sat back a little bit and let everything sort out," Marek said. "Then go from there."

Griffin McGrath finished third in his heat race, coming in behind winner Jeff Storm of East Troy, Wis., and runner-up Andrew Morrissey of De Forest, Wis.

Nick Murgic, of Rosemount, Minn., won the first fast heat for the late models. Joey Gase, a junior at Cedar Rapids Xavier and the youngest season points champion at Hawkeye Downs, was second. Chris Wimmer, a veteran from Wausau, Wis., was third.

Dudley Fleck, who has never won the Miller 100, won the last-chance qualifier race.

The local Hornets class competed in regular points races. Season points lead Bryce Bailey won the opening heat race with brothers, brad and Dallas Chandler, grabbing victories in the second and third heat, respectively.

Bailey has been at the track for four years and hadn't won a feature until this season. Bailey, who leads the season points standings, has visited victory lane for a third straight week.

"Three weeks ago was my first win out here," Bailey said. "I'm finally getting the hang of it."

Bailey led from start to finish. The Chandler brothers finished 2-3-4. Nathan Chandler was second followed by Dallas Chandler, and Brad Chandler was fourth.