By Lonnie Wheatley
DODGE CITY, Kan. (May 19) – Brendon Gemmill made a dramatic, late move to take the $750 winner’s share in Saturday’s 25-lap IMCA Modified Stampede at Dodge City Raceway Park.
Following a caution with five laps to go, Gemmill slipped under R.C. Whitwell on the 23rd round and held on to post his 14th IMCA Modified feature win at Dodge City Raceway Park since the 2012 season.
“I really don’t know if I needed that caution or not, but it definitely played into our hands,” said Gemmill, who spent most of the 25-lapper chasing the duo of his father Troy Gemmill and Arizona’s Whitwell as they swapped the point three times along the way in an entertaining battle.
Whitwell gunned into the lead from the pole position at the outset and paced the opening three rounds before Troy Gemmill raced into the lead while Brendon Gemmill needed just three laps to climb to third from his sixth starting position.
With Brendon Gemmill pursuing the lead pair, Whitwell closed back in on Troy Gemmill at the midway point and recaptured the lead on the 16th circuit with Brendon Gemmill relegating his father to third by the 18th lap.
After a lap 20 caution, Gemmill pressured Whitwell and pounced on the lead in turns three and four on the 23rd lap. Gemmill kept Whitwell at bay over the final pair of rounds with 12th-starter Clay Sellard making a late surge to third. Troy Gemmill settled for fourth with Tanner Black rounding out the top five from the 14th starting position.
While Gemmill scored his second career Modified Stampede win, other Saturday night winners included Robert Elliot in the IMCA SportMods, Landon Maddox in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Duane Wahrman in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks as 91 cars filled the pit area.
