Notebook: Justin Kay breaks new IMCA ground at Davenport Speedway

With what Wheatland racer Justin Kay has done in the last three-plus seasons, it's hard for him to do something unique in an IMCA car.

He's won pretty much everything there is to win, but Friday night at Davenport Speedway saw him accomplish something for the first time again: he won both the IMCA Modified and IMCA Late Model main events on the same night.

Even after nearly 90 wins since 2013, accomplishing something new still left the two-time Deery Brothers Summer Series and IMCA Late Model national champion grinning like a first-time winner.

'When we bring both cars to the track, I don't think we've lost when we've had both cars — we've won one or the other, so to get one, we'd done that,' Kay said. 'To get them both is so cool, and the guys in the shop took care of that.

'Every night, no matter what, if I'm just racing one car, these guys are still so good. All the different things we've thrown at it to make it better, this is just so awesome.'

The feat was impressive enough given how competitive IMCA Modified is at Davenport, especially. But what made the night even more so was how Kay managed to pull off both wins.

He started in the back or near the back every time he rolled out of the pits in both cars, and drove forward in every race. He ran the Late Model and Modified main events back-to-back, hopping out of his winning Late Model, walking 10 feet to his waiting Modified, strapped in and joined the field mid-pace laps.

Oh, and in those two main events, not only did he win, but he ran away from everyone. In Late Model, he won by ¾ of a lap, and was about to lap fifth-place finisher Stephan Kammerer when he took the checkers. In Modified, he won by more than a straightaway.

'We started in the back of both heat races, and started in the back of both features. There was a lot of passing that happened tonight,' Kay said. 'That's pretty cool.

'I saw my opportunity (in the high lane) because nobody went up there (in Modified). I just held her to the floor and hoped for the best.

Not only did Kay sweep the night at Davenport, but he followed that up with a last-lap pass of Andy Eckrich on Saturday night to take the win off the final corner at West Liberty Raceway. It made three wins for the weekend, and five straight in IMCA cars — four in a Late Model, plus the Modified win — overall.

As he and so many other area racers get ready for the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models and IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour for Modifieds combo race Tuesday night at West Liberty (see below), Kay said he's still learning things in both cars.

'I'm still not quite sure where to put the Modified, honestly. I don't know exactly how to drive it,' Kay said. 'After the Late Model feature, I think I've got some ideas to make the car even better. We're not done yet. I heard somebody say after he won a race, 'Yeah, it was good, but I had to lift.' So it could be better.'

SIMPSON HAS STRONG RUN AT THE DREAM

Oxford driver Chris Simpson has had a strong 2016 season so far, and the results showed it again in his trip to Rossburg, Ohio and Eldora Speedway for the 22nd Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora.

After transferring into the $100,000-to-win, 100-lap main event on Saturday via the final B-main, and passing Late Model legend Scott Bloomquist to do so, Simpson raced from the back of the starting grid to finish sixth. Running that well against the caliber of racers — and passing the guys he had to pass — at The Dream left Simpson and his team on a high from the weekend.

'To come from as deep as we did in the feature, there, and get a top six finish, we were pretty happy with it,' Simpson said. 'To be able to make the top 28 out of 73 cars was pretty cool, and to be able to pass the cars that we did — and we passed all those cars when they were still out there racing. We feel really good about what we did.

'For the caliber guys you were passing, it's awesome. I drove up and passed Brandon Sheppard, who'd won the two nights before, and in the B-main, passing Scott (Bloomquist), and guys like Shannon Babb and Jimmy Owens, it's really cool.'

What's enabled his success this season, Simpson said, has been keeping things simple.

Simpson has two wins on the MLRA tour — at Davenport Speedway on May 7 and Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on June 4 — and has three more top fives in MLRA and Lucas Oil Late Model Series racing so far this season.

No matter who he's run against — the regional open guys of MLRA or the national touring guys from the Lucas Oil Series — Simpson said focusing on car first and competition second has been the key. Not getting caught up in who he's racing helps mentally.

'You try not to change a whole lot,' Simpson said. 'If you're winning races around here against MLRA — beating guys like Jimmy Mars and (Jesse) Stovall and (Terry) Phillips, as long as the car feels good you don't change your mentality at all. You go with confidence in your package and knowing you can run with anyone. We knew we had a good piece, we just had to get through the 100-lapper.'

Simpson was one of three Iowa drivers who made the trip to Eldora to chase the $100,000 and run in the three nights of racing.

Decorah's Tyler Bruening made the trip as well. Bruening finished 18th in his A-main on Thursday night and 20th in his A-main on Friday night. Bruening finished one spot from a transfer directly to the main event in his heat race Saturday night, and started on the pole in his B-main before an incident sent him to the pits, ending his night early.

West Burlington driver Jay Johnson also made the trip, but did not make an A-main event while he was there.

DEERY BROS, HAWKEYE DIRT TOUR COMBO RACE WEST LIBERTY

IMCA's pair of traveling series continues its combo event streak on Tuesday night, marking the second such pairing in a week when they invade West Liberty Raceway.

Both the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models and the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for Modifieds are in West Liberty Tuesday night. It's the first time West Liberty has been on the HDT schedule.

The Summer Series feature pays $2,000 to win and minimum $300 to start while the HDT pays $1,000 to win and a minimum of $150 to take the main event green.

Pit gates open at 5 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 5:30. Hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. with racing to follow.

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