(PETERSEN MEDIA- Merced, CA)- Thursday night Merced Speedway played host to the fourth round of IMCA CA Speedweek pres. By Hoppes Motorsports. An overflowing pit area produced a great night of action that saw Robby Sawyer take top honors with the IMCA Modifieds, Garrett Jernagan keep his perfect week alive as he charged from 10th to pick up his fourth win of Speedwek, and Cody Johnson ride the cushion to score the season opening event for the IMCA Stock Cars.
A total of 53 IMCA Modifieds checked in for the fourth installment of Speedweek, and leading the field to green was Justin Dunn and Kellen Chadwick.
The slick Merced Speedway saw much of the field use the low line of the speedway as Dunn jumped out to the early lead with third starting Robby Sawyer moving into second as Kellen Chadwick ran in third and tried to make the high side work.
With Sawyer keep pace with Dunn, he was able to sneak under the early leader as the field exited turn two on the seventh lap, and pulled ahead in turns three and four to officially take over the top spot on the eight circuit.
Out in front, Sawyer was oh so strong on the bottom side of the speedway as Speedweek point leader Bobby Hogge soon moved into second, with Troy Foulger taking over third.
As the laps clicked off, Hogge would challenge Sawyer for the stop spot, but Sawyer was having none of it as he continued to lead the way. A late race yellow set up a two-lap shootout, and it proved to be exciting.
With Sawyer nailing the bottom, fourth running Shane DeVolder would get the top working as he was able to race his way into second and challenge Sawyer on the top spot. While DeVolder’s efforts were noteworthy, it was deemed he got off to an early start on the final restart, and Hogge would be credited with second, Foulger third, DeVolder fourth, and Justin Dunn would round out the Top-5.
Heat race wins would go to Nick DeCarlo, Troy Morris, Kellen Chadwick, Collen Winebarger, Jerry Flippo, and Shane DeVolder.
B Main wins went to Jake Pike, Danny Lauer, Bryan Clark, and Jim Pettit.
The story all week long in IMCA Sport Mod action has been Garrett Jernagan. Winning the first three events heading into Merced Speedway, Jernagan would again have his work cut out for himself as he would line up 10th in what would be a wild 25-lap feature event.
Up front, Dave Pearson and Jarrod Mounce would lead the field to green as Pearson would get the early jump.
Leading the first three circuits, Pearson would lose the handle on his machine on the third lap, and Cory Hemphill would take over the top spot.
While caution flags plagued this one, Hemphill would continue to nail his restarts and lead the way, but deep in the field Jernagan was working his way forward.
Patiently working the bottom of the speedway, Jernagan would make his race winning move on the 20th circuit. Once out front, Jernagan would begin pulling away from the field as he would lead the final five laps, and take home his fourth win of the week.
Hemphill would hang on to finish second as Chuck Weir finished third, Fred Ryland fourth, and Nick Spainhoward rallied from an early incident to round at the Top-Five.
Heat race wins went to Ryland, Spainhoward, Ethan Killingsworth, and Hemphill.
B Main wins went to Sheyne Bradley, and Andrew Pearce.
A total of 36 IMCA Sport Mods checked in on Thursday night.
Making their season debut on Thursday night, the IMCA Stock Car division saw 18 drivers check in.
Leading the field to green, Cody Johnson would flex his muscle early in this one as he would go to work on the high side of the speedway and ride the Merced Speedway cushion.
Out front Johnson would fend off challenges from Garrett Corn during the feature event, as Corn would work the low side of the speedway the boasted a ton of moisture.
Late in the race, Corn would fall back as Johnson’s father, Chad, moved into second and put the pressure on in the final laps.
Stayin committed to the top, Cody Johnson would go on to pick up the win over Chad Johnson, Jeff Streeter, Troy Patee, and Kris Broucaret.
Heat race win went to Corn and Cody Johnson.
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Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Drive Merced, CA 95341.
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