Rauen comes out on top in wild Deery Bros A-main

MARSHALLTOWN - IMCA Late Models only race at Marshalltown Speedway once a year.

And invariably, that once a year is always one of the best races of the year for the Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models in its annual stop. The 2015 edition of the Miller Lite 50 lived up to that billing, with the A-main event going the final 46 laps without a caution.

Farley driver Jason Rauen scored his first Summer Series victory after passing Waterloo's Tyler Droste with less than 10 to go - and with third place Jeff Aikey, fourth place Scott Fitzpatrick and fifth place Justin Kay all right behind them.

'The 31 (Droste) and I traded a little paint with slide jobs, but that's racing. And we came out on top,” Rauen said in Victory Lane after pocketing $3,500. 'Everybody's out here for blood. We want to win. At the end of the day, this is very competitive with these spec engines and tires we have. Everybody tries to be as good as they can be and roll on.”

The 'slide job” Rauen mentioned is a move in dirt racing where a car accelerates into the corner more than they typically would, shoots past the car in front of them and slides up in front. If it's successful, the driver being passed has to slow quickly to prevent from slamming into the back of the passing car.

It's a move that produced mixed reactions from racers and fans, but it was the only move Rauen said was going to get it done. And what's more, he wasn't the only one who pulled the move. When Droste saw the first slide job made, he made one himself.

But it was the last one that stuck.

'I couldn't get by him. I could get alongside him, but I just couldn't capitalize on it,” Rauen said. 'It was clean, and he did one right back. After my next one, we were gone. That's how it works and that makes it exciting for the fans.”

Droste was smiling after the race, even if it was amid a large portion of disappointment. The second-year Late Model racer led the first 42 laps of the race and had checked out from the field in the first half of the race.

The danger with leading right away in a long race, though, is potentially wasting tires and allowing cars behind to experiment with different racing lines.

Ultimately, that's what caught up with Droste, and forced him to settle for second - but a second he's more than happy to take against the guys he was racing.

'I just kind of used the tires up too much at the beginning. With who was starting up there, I knew I was going to have to get out quick,” Droste said. 'I'm still happy with a second in this field.

'It's upsetting knowing you led 40 laps or whatever it was. But when I'm racing with people like Aikey, Kay and Rauen who have been at this game for years, they know what they're doing. They're the best of the best. I can't complain about a second-place finish to these guys.”

Rauen rode in second for much of the first ¾ of the race, saving his tires. All it took was Aikey showing his nose on the inside for Rauen to push harder and go after Droste for the lead.

Aikey started ninth in the 24-car field, and had to slowly work his way forward on a surface that allowed cars to race in all three grooves of the racetrack - top, middle and bottom. He was searching for a repeat and every bit of the potential $5,000 (with bonuses) check for winning - like he did a year ago in this event.

'I gave ‘er hell,” Aikey said after finishing third. 'I think I used my right rear up a little too early, and when we got there at the end, I didn't have much left. But you had to get there fast.

'It wasn't fun until I was going to take the lead. No, I'm kidding. That was a great time.”

All of the top five finishers were on the same straightaway at the finish, an unusually close race. Typically it's only the top two or three that close to the lead.

It was a race all five - Rauen, Droste, Aikey, Fitzpatrick and Kay - were raving about after the finish. It certainly left them wishing the Summer Series made more than one stop at the track that hosted the first Summer Series event in 1987.

'Man, it's a beautiful track. I mean, that's damn fun,” Aikey said. 'Track's smooth, no holes. You can go high, low, wherever you want to go. That's racing.”

MARSHALLTOWN SPEEDWAY RESULTS

IMCA DEERY BROTHERS LATE MODELS

1. 98 Jason Rauen (Farley); 2. 31 Tyler Droste (Waterloo); 3. 77 Jeff Aikey (Cedar Falls); 4. 24 Scott Fitzpatrick (Wheatland); 5. 15K Justin Kay (Wheatland); 6. 56 Andy Eckrich (Oxford); 7. 7 Andy Nezworski (Buffalo); 8. 19G Richie Gustin (Gilman): 9. 30 Todd Cooney (Des Moines); 10. 58 Ray Guss Jr. (Milan, IL); 11. Z50 Joe Zrostlik (Long Grove); 12. 51 Ryan Dolan (Lisbon); 13. 40 Joel Callahan (Dubuque); 14. 16 Tyler Bruening (Decorah); 15. 43 Jeremy Grady (Story City); 16. 99D Darrel DeFrance (Marshalltown); 17. 87 John Emerson (Waterloo); 18. 15R Brian Harris (Davenport); 19. 15 Kyle Hinrichs (Swisher); 20. 75M Todd Malmstrom (Silvis, IL); 21. 22 Charlie McKenna (Clear Lake); 22. 45 Curt Martin (Independence); 23. 44 Luke Goedert (Guttenberg); 24. 88 Kevin Kile (West Liberty).

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