(Bill W) July 9, 2009 – "The Gas Man" Jack Dover lived up to his nickname on Thursday night at the Cedar County Speedway in Tipton, Iowa. The Springfield, Nebraska native took the 25-lap Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders feature held in conjunction with the Cedar County Fair. It was his first career win with the series.
Dover raced to the point immediately in the main event, and was followed by Washingtonian, Seth Bergman. Both entered lapped traffic on lap five, but Mark Tischer got over the turn one berm a lap later, slowing things. By that time, series' point leader, Matt Rogerson, had moved into third.
On the restart, Rogerson ducked under Bergman and slid in front of him for second as the two began to race back and forth. Meanwhile, Dover built up a huge margin. "I just had to concentrate and hit my marks," he said. "Going through traffic was a little hairy at times, but we got through there."
By lap twelve, Bergman had worked back by Rogerson for second. "I think he's about twenty years younger than I am," said Rogerson of Bergman. "I think he was seeing the corners a lot better than I was. Just to finish in the top five is good for me at this place."
Lap twelve meant the final caution of the race. Kaley Gharst battled power steering problems all night long, and came to a stop on the backstretch. Bergman lined up behind Dover, and tried to seize the opportunity at the leader. "I had to do it," he said of a slider attempt for the lead in turn one. "It was my only shot. (Dover) was good on top. That was our shot at him. The middle was pretty good in one and two, but he got through traffic a little better."
Dover ducked back under Bergman out of turn two and cruised to the win. "I knew he was coming," he said of Bergman's move. "I just had to get myself ready for it."
Bergman came home second as the lead pair put almost a half lap between themselves and the third place car of Rogerson, who held onto his point series' point lead. Bobby Mincer and 16 year old Washingtonian Austen Wheatley rounded out the top five. Matt Sutton, Ryan Jamison, Mike Houseman Jr., Russ Hall and Josh Higday completed the top ten.
Rogerson, Bergman and Sutton won heats, while Dover won the Boubin Tire of Independence, Iowa Shake-Up Dash. The Sprint Invaders hit the Lee County Speedway on Friday, July 10.
Results
Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders 25-lap A main Finish (started): 1. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (1) 2. 23, Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA (3) 3. 29, Matt Rogerson, West Burlington, IA (4) 4. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (8) 5. 44w, Austen Wheatley, Lake Stevens, WA (5) 6. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (2) 7. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (6) 8. Y2, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (7) 9. 29x, Russ Hall, Des Moines, IA (11) 10. 10, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (12) 11. 80x, CJ Houseman, Norwalk, IA (17) 12. 00, Brad Foster, Melbourne, VIC, Aust. (19) 13. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (18) 14. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (10) 15. 4m, Mark Tischer, Hannibal, MO (16) 16. 53H, Matt Harms, Morton, IL (20) 17. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (14) 18. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (15) 19. 4J, Justin Parrish, Oquawka, IL (13) 20. 14P, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (9) Lap Leader: Dover 1-25. Hard Charger: Foster.
Golden Eagle Distributors/Budweiser Heat Race #1 (started, Top Two to the Shake-Up Dash): 1. Matt Rogerson (1) 2. Ryan Jamison (4) 3. Mike Houseman Jr. (2) 4. Ben Wagoner (3) 5. Justin Parrish (7) 6. Mark Tischer (5) 7. Brad Foster (6)
Cole Implement Heat Race #2 (started, Top Two to Shake-Up Dash): 1. Seth Bergman (2) 2. Austin Wheatley (3) 3. Bobby Mincer (4) 4. Russ Hall (6) 5. Andy Huston (1) 6. CJ Houseman (5)
Huston Land Improvement Heat Race #3 (started, Top Two to Shake-Up Dash): 1. Matt Sutton (1) 2. Jack Dover (5) 3. Kaley Gharst (6) 4. Josh Higday (2) 5. Jimmy Davies (3) 6. Jordan Goldesberry (7) 7. Matt Harms (5)
Boubin Tire of Independence, Iowa Shake-Up Dash: 1. Jack Dover (3) 2. Matt Sutton (2) 3. Seth Bergman (1) 4. Matt Rogerson (4) 5. Austen Wheatley (5) 6. Ryan Jamison (6)
Contingency Awards
Rod End Supply – Jimmy Davies, Kaley Gharst
Saldana Racing Products – Matt Harms
Diversified Machine, Inc. – Ben Wagoner
Hepfner Racing Products – Brad Foster
Brake Man – Josh Higday