Fifty-three IMCA Open Wheel Modifieds registered for Friday night's opener, which was highlighted by double heat races. Ben finished second in the first heat, and advanced from seventh to finish fifth in the second heat race. His efforts positioned him starting third in a last chance heat race on Saturday evening.

Ben finished fourth in Saturday's last chance heat race, leaving him one spot short of locking into the $10,000-to-win finale. Full results from the event are available at www.MarshalltownSpeedway.com

The team made a last minute decision to enter a $1,000-to-win Open Wheel Modified program at Stuart Speedway (Stuart, Iowa) on Sunday evening. Twenty-one entries were on hand for the event, and Ben raced to a heat race win to lock into the seventh starting spot for the feature. In the feature, Kates was battling for the sixth position when he suffered a right-front flat tire, sending him pit-side to a disappointing fifteenth place finish. Full results from the event can be found at www.StuartSpeedway.net

A stout field of nearly 180 IMCA SportMods converged on the oval for Monday night's qualifier. Kates topped the field as he piloted his #23k Kates Motorsports/Harris Sport Mod to the win over Tim Love, Randy Roberts, Johnathon Logue, and Kaid Calhoon.

As a result, he’ll start on the pole in the Saturday main event at Boone Speedway.

In Saturday's IMCA SportMod finale, Kates was battling for the lead when he suffered a flat tire on lap three. He retired from the remainder of the event to a disappointing 29th place finish in the final rundown.

Full results from the week are available at www.RaceBoone.com