Martin breaks 10-year IMCA Deery Bros win drought at Farley Speedway

FARLEY – A little more than a week ago, IMCA Late Model driver Curt Martin was looking at a few weeks of work ahead before his racecar would be ready to hit the track for the 2016 season.

The Independence driver didn't originally have intentions of running in the first handful of IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series races, either. But a phone call from Doug Cue and a trip to Farley Speedway later, Martin had career Summer Series win No. 26 and the $2,000 winner's check in hand.

It's funny how things work out, and Martin had a laugh in celebration piloting the No. 31m – not his usual No. 45 – to Victory Lane on Friday night in the second race of the Summer Series season.

'They had asked me if I'd run this car (Saturday) night, and we got to talking and said, 'Heck, maybe we can run it both nights and work on it.' Doug texted me Monday and said we're in if I wanted to do it,' Martin said. 'We didn't know what we'd have coming in, but we made some adjustments, and man, it was great. The heat and the feature, that was fun.

'We've been good friends for years. Sometimes things like that work. We could've come here and been junk. Nobody knew. It worked out.'

Cue and Gene Budzine, who field the No. 31 IMCA Late Model for Tyler Droste, bought the second car Martin drove Friday night in the offseason with the intentions of running Droste it weekly at Independence Motor Speedway.

The longtime friends linked up to make Friday night happen, and Martin joked he's fielding offers to team up full-time to keep these results coming. Martin sits tied for third on the all-time Summer Series wins list with those 26 wins, but hadn't won a Summer Series main event in 10 years – his last coming in May 2006 at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, a track that no longer exists.

'It makes you have a little more confidence in yourself again, and that's the biggest thing when you struggle for a few years like we had,' Martin said. 'It makes you question things. Even tonight out there, I had to keep telling myself, 'Do what you know you can do, hit your marks and drive like you should.''

Martin took over the lead on Lap 17 and never looked back, but in those opening circuits, was chasing Jeremiah Hurst, who looked dominant from the pole. Hurst pulled off just after a restart after losing a bolt in the bird cage – a rear suspension component – and ceded the lead to Martin.

Hurst, who was understandably dejected after the race, said, 'it's pretty disappointing. I hate to lose them like that. I know I had a good car, and I doubt they could've got me, but that's racing.'

As disappointed as Hurst was, that was mirrored in the excitement of both Martin and second place finisher Joe Zrostlik, who got his career-best Summer Series finish. In fact, it was harder to tell who was happier with their finish in the race, Zrostlik or Martin.

Zrostlik started 13th and took second with an aggressive move in the final restart. He went to congratulate Martin on his long-awaited return to the winner's circle, and left pointing at the trophy and said, 'I want to get me one of those someday.'

'That was a hoot,' Zrostlik said through a wide grin. 'I found a line no one else was running. It was risky, but it paid off. I didn't have anything for Curt. I raced as hard as I know how to race.

'To do this in this car is really special. It's a major confidence booster.'

Friday night's trophy belonged to Martin, and it's one the Independence driver said carries plenty of meaning because of how long it had been and what it does for his confidence inside the car.

He's not going to change course and run the rest of the Summer Series, but maybe, he said, the red and white No. 45 will be a little stronger when he gets back behind the wheel.

'We've been doing this a long time and have a lot of fans who've waited for this, and have a lot of sponsors who've helped me for years,' Martin said. 'I just had to stay smart (tonight), and never driving it before, it takes adjusting.

'It's fun to do. It's nice to drive somebody else's stuff, and I might've learned something for myself.'

ZOGG TAKES IMCA MODIFIED WIN

When Chris Zogg climbed from his car in Victory Lane at Farley Speedway on Friday night, he jumped up on the door and celebrated like it was his first win.

It was, in a way, for the New Liberty driver. He got his first win at Farley Speedway in the IMCA Modified main event – which served as the primer for the headlining IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series Late Models – and did so by holding off Troy Cordes – a guy who's won a whole lot more than one race on that 3/8-mile track.

The emphatic celebration was all about appreciation, Zogg said. Wins aren't easy to come by.

'I led the non-qualifier Aftermarket National race last year, and let that one get away. We don't come up here very much, but I wanted a win here bad,' Zogg said. 'And I'm excited every time I win. You never know when the next one's coming. You've got to be excited.'

Zogg led flag to flag in the 25-lap main event, but Cordes was never far behind.

The pair broke away from the field and did their best to settle it among the two of them. Knowing Cordes was there, waiting for any slip-up, Zogg said he knew the pressure was high. He searched for the right line early, and settled on one that worked.

With just a few laps to go, he had to take Cordes' line in Turns 1 and 2, which slowed the Dunkerton driver, and gave Zogg the breathing room he needed for the win.

'I saw him early in the race getting under him in 3 and 4, and changed my line,' Zogg said. 'Coming to 2 or 3 to go, I saw him outside of me and that shocked me. I didn't expect him to be there. I was just hoping it would be enough to last the last couple laps. It worked out.'

Cordes fought the balance of the car as the race went, but even despite that, had a chance to take the lead late. He pulled even before the aforementioned lapped car served as a pick for Zogg.

Ultimately Cordes said he'll take second after his last couple of races ended poorly.

'We had a lapped car in the way, and I got a little tight down in (Turns) 1 and 2 at the end,' Cordes said. 'Everything I gained on him I lost. He ran good, and I'm happy. We struggled the last couple of nights. We'll take it.

'We've got to get a little better. We'll see. We'll go back (to Independence) and try again (Saturday).'

Cordes gave Zogg a congratulatory handshake in the tech area after the race, and it put a period on a night to remember for Zogg.

He knows not only how strong Cordes is at Farley, but also how good he's been everywhere for the last several years. Getting his first win there and against Cordes made it all the sweeter.

'Knowing and seeing he was on me from the beginning, that meant more,' Zogg said. 'The last few years, that 71 car, he's been lights out at a lot of places. That was a boost right there.'

IMCA DEERY BROTHERS SUMMER SERIES

FARLEY SPEEDWAY RESULTS

1. 31m Curt Martin; 2. Z50 Joe Zrostlik; 3. 98 Jason Rauen; 4. 16 Tyler Bruening; 5. 1d Ryan Rolan; 6. 07 Matt Ryan; 7. 87 John Emerson; 8. 77 Jeff Aikey; 9. 24 Scott Fitzpatrick; 10. 7 Andy Nezworski; 11. 99d Darrel DeFrance; 12. 16s Dan Shelliam; 13. 43 Jeremy Grady; 14. 39 Rob Toland; 15. 31 Tyler Droste; 16. 12 Ron Klein; 17. 65 Chuck Hanna; 18. 56 Andy Eckrich; 19. 40 Joel Callahan; 20. 41 Jeremiah Hurst; 21. 81 Jon Merfeld; 22. 19g Richie Gustin; 23. 33 Nick Marolf; 24. 50 Denny Eckrich.

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