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Bill Martin
DES MOINES, Iowa (August 16) - Nine years to the day he last won a Deery Brothers Summer Series feature, Darren Miller raced his way back to victory lane in the tour for IMCA Late Models.
Miller topped the Monday night main event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moines, taking the lead away from Ray Guss Jr. following an early restart and running in front to the end of the 35-lapper.
Guss pulled to within three car lengths chasing Miller in lapped traffic, but once clear of the back runners Miller pulled away again and took the $2,000 checkers comfortably ahead of Guss. "B" winner Todd Cooney, Tom Darbyshire and Jeremiah Hurst rounded out the top five.
Series point leader Guss drew the pole for the state fair feature and led the first circuit. Miller used a lap two restart to his advantage to pass Guss for the point, setting sail after the second and final caution of the contest came out when Kevin Blum got into the wall on lap seven.
Cooney had advanced nine spots and into the top four by midway. Four laps later, Miller was negotiating lapped traffic.
Guss made up ground before Miller got through the pack with five laps to go and edged ahead again.
The victory was Miller's Deery career third and first since Aug. 16 of 2001, when he won the Pepsi USA Nationals at 34 Raceway in West Burlington.
He'd run second in his one previous series start this season, on July 28 at Knoxville.
T.J. Criss won the drawing for the $250 bonus from Sunoco.
Next up on the Deery schedule is the rescheduled Friday, Sept. 3 Titan Tire and Wheel Shootout at Quincy, Ill., Raceway, which pays $3,000 to win and a minimum of $300 to start. Night two of the weekend doubleheader is Saturday, Sept. 4 at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson.
The Late Model tour takes top billing on the Monday, Sept. 6 opening night program at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals at Boone Speedway and concludes Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17-18, when 34 Raceway hosts the $10,000 to win Pepsi USA Nationals.
Feature results -
1. Darren Miller, Chadwick, Ill.;
2. Ray Guss Jr., Milan, Ill.;
3. Todd Cooney, Bondurant;
4. Tom Darbyshire, Morning Sun;
5. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque;
6. Josh Most, Red Oak;
7. Jay Johnson, West Burlington;
8. Jeff Aikey, Waterloo;
9. Terry Neal, Ely;
10. T.J. Criss, Oskaloosa;
11. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown;
12. Colby Springsteen, Morning Sun;
13. Andy Eckrich, Iowa City;
14. Kevin Sather, Ankeny;
15. Craig Jacobs, Urbandale;
16. Tyler Bruening, Decorah;
17. Boone McLaughlin, Mediapolis;
18. Ben Nading, Ankeny;
19. Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake;
20. Mark Preston, Port Byron, Ill.;
21. Sam Halstead, New London;
22. Todd Johnson, Mitchellville;
23. Kevin Blum, Colona, Ill.;
24. Jeff Guengerich, Washington.
1st heat (top three) - 1. Springsteen; 2. Guss; 3. Hurst.
2nd heat - 1. Jay Johnson; 2. Eckrich; 3. Guengerich.
3rd heat - 1. Miller; 2. Preston; 3. Criss.
4th heat - 1. Darbyshire; 2. Sather; 3. Most.
1st B feature (top four) - 1. Cooney; 2. Aikey; 3. Neal; 4. Jacobs.
2nd B feature - 1. Nading; 2. DeFrance; 3. McKenna; 4. Halstead.
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