Hurst wins Hawkeye Dirt Tour A-main in photo finish

MAQUOKETA - With three laps to go, Jeremiah Hurst figured it was time.

He'd started ninth in the IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modified A-main at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, and had driven to second by hugging the bottom lane - as nearly every other driver on the track had done. But knowing his only chance to win would be if he moved up the track, he pulled the trigger with three to go.

The result? He passed Ryan Maitland off Turn 4 to take the win - by about a foot at the line.

'I don't know, man,” Hurst said through a laugh when asked how he pulled off the pass. 'Saturday night I did the same thing, went to the top. I didn't want to move up too early because (lapped cars) were there. I thought I'd wait until I had a moment to go. And it worked, I guess.

'I was hoping I had it. I didn't really know. I kept racing another lap because I wasn't sure.”

As elated and excited as Hurst was to get his first Hawkeye Dirt Tour win, the emotions were at the complete opposite end of the spectrum for Maitland, whose heartbreak was etched into his face as he sat in his car after the race.

Maitland was running his line on the bottom, unaware Hurst had changed his and moved up.

'I can't even describe it right now,” Maitland said. 'I didn't know he was there until it was too late. I was in the grass (running low). This is one of the most dry-slick tracks in my life.

'I've never been in this spot yet. I don't know what to do with it.”

Track conditions were such that essentially the only place drivers could run was on the bottom, where all the moisture and grip lived.

A dry-slick track is often the telltale sign of which drivers are most talented, as it takes tremendous skill to navigate such slick conditions. Hurst, who races at Jackson County Speedway weekly, said he'd never seen the ¼-mile track quite like it was.

'It was pretty bad up off the corner; it was pretty dusty and hard to stay on the track,” Hurst said. 'The straightaways were very, very slick tonight. That's odd for here, but usually it's just the corners. They had a lot of cars tonight, that's probably why.”

Hurst and Maitland were followed by Wheatland driver Justin Kay, who is much better known as a Late Model racer. Kay drove from 16th starting position to finish third, then hopped into his IMCA Late Model for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models main event.

Starting from the front row, it took 10 or so laps for him to gather his car from a slow start in the slick upper groove to get back to the lead. From there he set sail to his third Summer Series victory of the year.

'It was a long night. Just trying different things in the Modified and playing around,” Kay said. 'And the Late Model is still right there at the top of its game. I was worried about tearing the car up at the start there, and I was hoping a groove up would work. It took a while to get it clean, but once we got it clean it was the way to be.”

The win marked the fourth of the race weekend in five A-mains for Kay, starting Friday at Davenport Speedway and ending Tuesday night at Jackson County Speedway. His other finish? A second place in his IMCA Modified

It was a rebound from a week in which - by his standards - he had fallen way off with finishes of fourth, seventh and fifth before a win at Dubuque on May 31. He reaffirmed to everyone he's not going anywhere anytime soon as the top Late Model racer in the area.

'You don't want to start slacking, because then you'll never get it back,” Kay said. '(Crew chief) Tyson (Gheer) put in the hours, got the car back in top shape again and came back to a track I know, too. This last weekend was one of the best we've ever had. It's always fun to go about it that way.”

RESULTS

IMCA HAWKEYE DIRT TOUR MODIFIEDS

1. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque; 2. Ryan Maitland, Waterloo; 3. Justin Kay, Wheatland; 4. Ben Chapman, Clarence; 5. Mike Van Genderen, Newton; 6. Mitchell Morris, Eldridge; 7. Steve Johnson, Clarence; 8. Jeff Waterman, Quincy, Ill.; 9. Chris Zogg, New Liberty; 10. Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup; 11. Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 12. Kyle Brown, Kellogg; 13. Nick Roberts, Des Moines; 14. David Brown, Kellogg; 15. Tyler Madigan, Peosta; 16. Joel Rust, Grundy Center; 17. Ray Cox Jr., Maquoketa; 18. Andrew Schroeder, Clive; 19. Dennis Betzer, Central City; 20. Thomas Patz, East Moline, Ill.; 21. Bob Dominacki, Bettendorf; 22. Jarod Struss, Davenport; 23. Jake Bowman, Maquoketa; 24. Kenny Kostenbader, Freeport, Ill.

IMCA DEERY BROTHERS SUMMER SERIES LATE MODELS

1. Justin Kay, Wheatland; 2. Don Shelliam, Hazel Green, Wis.; 3. Tyler Droste, Waterloo; 4. Joe Drostlik, Long Grove; 5. Jeff Aikey, Cedar Falls; 6. Andy Nezworski, Buffalo; 7. Jason Rauen, Farley; 8. Don Pataska, Miles; 9. Ryan Dolan, Lisbon; 10. Todd Malmstrom, Silvis, Ill.; 11. Kyle Hinrichs, Swisher; 12. Jeremy Grady, Story City; 13. Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 14. Joel Callahan, Dubuque; 15. Stephan Kammerer, Blue Grass; 16. Sam Halstead, New London; 17. Scott Fitzpatrick, Wheatland; 18. Jon Merfeld, Waterloo; 19. Luke Merfeld, Dubuque; 20. Andy Eckrich, Oxford; 21. Matt Ryan, Davenport; 22. Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake; Ray Guss Jr., Milan, Ill.

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