HARLAN, Iowa (July 13) – He only led one lap, but it was the most important one.
Jacob Hobscheidt caught Chaz Baca for the front spot on the 20th and final circuit Tuesday night, then took the checkers a quarter of a second ahead of the Arizona visitor to win the IMCA Modified feature at Shelby County Speedway’s Dale Swanson Memorial.
The win, good for $2,500, was Hobscheidt’s third in as many starts at Harlan this season.
“I kept being patient,” said Hobscheidt, who needed just eight laps to race from the ninth starting spot to second. “I knew we needed to wait until the right time, and we did it.”
Bub Lerette led the first lap from the pole before giving way to Brad Bergren.
The third and final caution of the contest waved on lap 12. Hobscheidt steadily made up ground on the leader and was just half a car length off the pace when lap 19 was scored.
Jesse Sobbing rallied from an early spin for third. Bergren and Mike Albertsen completed the top five while hard charger Ethan Braaksma motored from 18th starting to sixth.
Already a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational candidate, Hobscheidt had won April 24 and May 22 starts at Shelby County.
Jason Bass led start to finish in the $2,000 to win Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature while Sobbing’s IMCA Sunoco Stock Car win was good for $1,500.
Braden Richards’ IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock win paid $1,000.
After drawing the pole start, Bass was pulling away from his SportMod foes before cautions on lap seven and again late in the race.
His advantage before the green, white, checkered finish was up to three seconds. Eighth starting Jared Boumeester and Devyn Peterson were next across the stripe.
“I started on the pole and that makes it easier,” Bass said. “That was probably the biggest race we’ve won so far.”
Sobbing had his hands full with a broken shock and a pretty fast field behind him. The B & B Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifier won ahead of Mike Nichols and Buck Schafroth.
And Richards got the best of tenacious Jason Fusselman in another race that ended green, white, checkered. The two ran side by side and bumper to bumper before Richards sealed the win.
Third went to Zach Hemmingsen, who’d started inside row six.
