Corey Conquers Harlan

After nearly a month off from points racing with the cancellations of I-35 and Junction the previous weekends, the Malvern Bank SLMR Series returned to action at the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa for a $2,000 to-win show. This show was the make-up date from May 18^th’s rainout at Harlan.

The night got under way with time trials where Kyle Berck and Josh Krug posted quick time in their respective groups, Berck led the way with the overall quick time posting a lap of 18.255; Brian Kosiski, Justin Zeitner, Josh Krug, and Ben Schaller, were the rest of the top 5 in overall qualifying lap times. The heat race winners were Josh Leonard, Jason O’Brien, Kyle Berck, and Zach Zeitner. Meanwhile, Curt Schroeder and Jake Hobscheidt won the B-Features.

Corey Zeitner and Brian Kosiski led the field to the green flag in what would soon show would be a wild 25-lap feature. Zeitner jumped out to the early lead while the field battled for position behind him. 4 laps in the first of seven yellow flags would slow the field as Brett Hopp had come to a stop in turn 2. After the restart, the second yellow would be shown on lap 6 as John Anderson went for a spin down the front stretch. Another restart and quick yellow on lap 7 as Curt Schroeder had significant contact with the outside wall down the front stretch and come to a stop. On that restart before the third yellow, Kyle Berck who restarted 4^th shot past Ben Schaller and Brian Kosiski to move up to the 2^nd running position.

Corey Zeitner would yet again bring the field back to green. Brian Kosiski surrendered the fourth and fifth spots on the restart, dropping those spots to the 98 of Ben Schaller and the 80 of Allan Hopp. Justin Zeitner quickly came through the field from his ninth place starting spot to overtake Hopp for fifth just a few laps later. The fourth yellow flag, soon displayed as a red, would wave on lap 13 as Robbie Andersen had hit the front stretch wall and jumped the guardrail in turn 1 nearly leaving the track and rolling. Andersen would manage to land on all four wheels without going over. In the opening 13 laps Charlie McKenna and Bill Leighton Jr had advanced well through the field; McKenna moving from 18^th to 8^th and Leighton going from 22^nd to 13^th. Leighton driving the second 52 car, that Jake Hobscheidt had driven all night, after Leighton blew an engine in time trials.

The top 5 shown on the leaderboard for the restart were Corey Zeitner, Kyle Berck, Ben Schaller, Jason Rauen, and Justin Zeitner. Zeitner blew by the 98R of Rauen on the restart and set his sights on the other 98 of Schaller.  The fifth and sixth yellow flags would fly on lap 16 and on the ensuing restart. The fifth yellow being for Jason O’Brien after he spun down the backstretch after making contact with another car. The yellow on the restart was for Brian Kosiski who pulled to the high side with a left rear flat while the field raced into turn 1.

Corey Zeitner brought the field back to green for the sixth time, Justin Zeitner drove it in deep into turn 1 and was able to throw a slider to briefly grab the lead. Corey crossed him over and drove back by him on the bottom to retain the top spot. Corey soon opened up distance between himself and Justin and the field. Meanwhile, Kyle Berck had run down Justin Zeitner to pursue the 2^nd spot. On lap 19 as Berck and Zeitner came out of four, contact was made between the two sending the 62 into the wall bringing out the final yellow of the race. Berck was sent to the rear for the involvement in the incident. Berck and Zeitner finished 18th and 22nd in the final order.

Corey Zeitner, Ben Schaller, and Allan Hopp would lead the field back to green. Hopp pulled to the high side as the field made the dive for the initial green flag of the restart. Hopp having electrical and battery issues being forced to retire from the event. Corey Zeitner rocketed out to another sizeable lead and ran away with the six-lap dash for the checkers. Zeitner claimed his 7^th career MBSLMR victory, Ben Schaller brought home a second-place finish, Chargin’ Charlie McKenna came from 18^th to finish 3^rd, Jason Rauen 4^th, and Josh Leonard came from 10^th to round out the top 5.

Results:

Qualifying Group A: 1. Josh Krug, 2. Ben Schaller, 3. Jason Rauen, 4. Mike Collins, 5. Allan Hopp, 6. Chris Spieker, 7. Charlie McKenna, 8. Paul Conrad, 9. Josh Leonard, 10. Jason O’Brien, 11. Brett Hopp, 12. Andrew Kosiski, 13. John Anderson, 14. Kale Kosiski, 15. Jeff Segebart, 16. Andy Claiborne, 17. Brad Perdue

Qualifying Group B: 1. Kyle Berck, 2. Brian Kosiski, 3. Justin Zeitner, 4. Darrel DeFrance, 5. Corey Zeitner, 6. Robbie Andersen, 7. Jacob Hobscheidt, 8. Robbie Jorgensen, 9. Curt Schroeder, 10. Troy Daly, 11. Tyler Smith, 12. Zach Zeitner, 13. Jason Wallace, 14. Don Beckstrom, 15. Gatlin Leytham, 16. Brian Barrett, 17. Bill Leighton Jr

Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: 1. Josh Leonard, 2. Allan Hopp, 3. Jason Rauen, 4. Brett Hopp, 5. Charlie McKenna, 6. Josh Krug, 7. John Anderson, 8. Jeff Segebart, 9. Brad Perdue

Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: 1. Jason O’Brien, 2. Chris Spieker, 3. Andrew Kosiski, 4. Ben Schaller, 5. Paul Conrad, 6. Mike Collins, 7. Kale Kosiski, 8. Andy Claiborne

Roth Racing Heat Race #3: 1. Kyle Berck, 2. Corey Zeitner, 3. Curt Schroeder, 4. Justin Zeitner, 5. Jacob Hobscheidt, 6. Jason Wallace, 7. Tyler Smith, 8. Gatlin Leytham, 9. Bill Leighton Jr

Kosiski Auto Parts Heat Race #4: 1. Zach Zeitner, 2. Robbie Andersen, 3. Brian Kosiski, 4. AJ Jorgensen, 5. Darrel DeFrance, 6. Troy Daly, 7. Don Beckstrom, 8. Brian Barrett

B-Feature #1: 1. Curt Schroeder, 2. Andrew Kosiski, 3. Charlie McKenna, 4. AJ Jorgensen, 5. Troy Daly, 6. Don Beckstrom, 7. Jason Wallace, 8. Brian Barrett, 9. Gatlin Leytham, 10. Bill Leighton Jr

B-Feature #2: 1. Jacob Hobscheidt, 2. Mike Collins, 3. Brett Hopp, 4. John Anderson, 5. Jeff Segebart, 6. Paul Conrad, 7. Kale Kosiski, 8. Brad Perdue, 9. Andy Claiborne, 10. Tyler Smith

A-Feature: 1. Corey Zeitner, 2. Ben Schaller, 3. Charlie McKenna, 4. Jason Rauen, 5. Josh Leonard, 6. Josh Leonard, 7. Bill Leighton Jr., 8. Andrew Kosiski, 9. Chris Spieker, 10. Brian Kosiski, 11. Zach Zeitner, 12. Brett Hopp, 13. Jason O’Brien, 14. Mike Collins, 15. Paul Conrad, 16. Brad Perdue, 17. AJ Jorgensen, 18. Kyle Berck, 19. Darrel DeFrance, 20. Allan Hopp, 21. Justin Zeitner, 22. Robbie Andersen, 23. Jason Wallace, 24. Curt Schroeder, 25. John Anderson

Contingency Awards:

Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: Josh Leonard

Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: Jason O’Brien

Roth Racing Heat Race #3: Kyle Berck

Kosiski Auto Parts Heat Race #4: Zach Zeitner

Hoosier Tire Hard Charger: Paul Conrad

VP Fuels Top Qualifier: Kyle Berck

Dynamic Drivelines Hard Luck Award: Allan Hopp

Sardeson Racing Worst Draw: Bill Leighton Jr

Speedway Motors Back-Up Award: Kyle Berck

Keizer Wheels Last Man In: Zach Zeitner

Wehrs Machine A Feature Pole Sitter: Corey Zeitner

Predator Trailers B Feature King: Bill Leighton Jr

Hooker Harness 5^th Place: Josh Leonard

Out Pace Products 7^th Place: Bill Leighton Jr

Simpson Performance Products 8^th Place: Andrew Kosiski

Braswell Carburetion 10^th Place: Brian Kosiski

Brinn Transmission 12^th Place: Zach Zeitner

Penske Top 3 Finishers: Corey Zeitner, Ben Schaller, Josh Leonard

Rod End Supply Lap Leaders: Corey Zeitner

Top 10 in Series Standings following Shelby County Speedway on August 31^st:

Series Sponsors: Beyea Headers, Braswell Carburetion, Brinn Transmissions, Dynamic Drivelines, Helmet Head Design, Hooker Harness, Hoosier Tire, JE Pistons, Keizer Wheels, Keyser Manufacturing, Kosiski Auto Parts, Malvern Bank, My Race Pass, N&W Transfer, Out-Pace Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies, Predator Trailers, Real Wheels, Rod End Supply, Roth Racing, Sardeson Racing, Simpson Performance Products, Speedway Motors, Storm Solution Specialists, Swartz Chassis, VP Fuels, Wehrs Machine, and Zeitner and Sons Trucking.