By Joyce Eisele
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Aug. 23) – It was the Larry Wollam Season Championship night on Friday at the Marshalltown Speedway where family, friends, and fans celebrated the man who was such an inspiration to the track and racing in general. It was the 20th anniversary of the passing of Wollam, who had been a racer, promoter, and big supporter of the speedway.
Leah Wroten had the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock track title wrapped up before the race began, leading by 40 points. It also appeared that she won the 15-lap feature race, but that was not the case. Wroten led all laps but when she got into Kaden Reynolds as they approached the checkers, spinning him out, she was penalized for the contact and the victory was awarded to Jacob Floyd. This was Floyd’s first time ever to win at the Marshalltown Speedway.
Jake McBirnie kept his point lead in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature, winning the track crown and also added to his quest in the hunt for the national title in the division with a feature win. McBirnie spanked the field, leading all 18 laps and winning by more than half a lap.
Steve Meyer was crowned the 2019 track champion in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car class. Meyer had a 22-point lead over Todd Reitzler going into the night. Meyer led the field to green and shot to the lead in the 18-lap main event. Reitzler gained the top spot on lap two and then set sail on a quest for the checkers.
Reitzler’s vision of a victory evaporated on lap 12 when he found himself in spin mode, bringing out a yellow, and sending him to tag the field. This returned Meyer as captain of the ship which he held to the checkers.
A slight bobble in turn four nearly cost Meyer the win, but he regained control and flew under the checkers first. Damon Murty, who uncharacteristically lost control on lap 10 and went over the top of turn four, rejoined the field at the tail, and recovered to finish in second place. Jeff Wollam, whose late father was honored earlier, finished third.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified main was the nightcap of the evening’s racing. Only four points separated Tim Ward and Joel Rust for the track title. Rust led all of those 20 laps on his way to the win. Ward trailed as distant runner-up. Ward is the 2019 track champion.
