by Greg Soukup
Just as night 2 of the 2018 Racesaver Sprint Nationals began, that fictional deity Mother Nature came calling again. Evidently, since she couldn’t wipe out night one, she made a stronger try. After the third heat started the rains came; and they stayed! All together Saturday the track received 5 inches of liquid sunshine, and then another 2 inches on Sunday morning!!
Again, how many dirt tracks would have just packed it in and gone to the last possible rain date of Monday? I would venture to guess darned near every single one. But, like the Friday event, the show had to go on. So; as always occurs at Eagle Raceway, Roger Hadan and the track prep crew busted out the pumps and got rid of the lake that should be the track. At noon turns 3 and 4 were still deeply submerged, but two hours later night 2 restarted.
In the E Feature, John Webster’s #9 suffered a stuck throttle and jumped the wall in turns 1 and 2 without flipping. The C Feature saw the 20 of Chad Wilson and Chris Kelly’s 32K got sideways on the back stretch. Tyler Drueke unfortunately could not avoid them and ended up flipping over the back-stretch wall. None of them were seriously injured.
Just before the A Feature the skies opened up again, and the track prep crew was forced back into action. But, the resulting track surface was the best of the entire weekend.
In the A Feature Nate Weiler’s 4W, the 2J of Zach Blurton, Ryan Kitchen in the 21K and the 16S of Steven Shebester were the top 4 back to the flag stand after lap 1. Blurton passed Weiler for the lead on lap 14. 2 laps later Shebester moved up to third and took over the 2nd spot after another 2 circuits. Kitchen passed Weiler for third the next time around. There were 7 laps remaining when Jason Danley cracked the top 4 in his 4X. Shebester got past Blurton for the win in the closing laps with Blurton hanging on for second, Kitchen third and Danley fourth.
Due to the imminent rain in the area, and the need to complete the Sunday portion of the event before the rain arrived, no interview was completed.
Also, in consideration of the impending rain, the Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions was moved to the Sunday portion of the event.
RESULTS:
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint A-Feature 1. Steven Shebester 2. Zach Blurton Quinter, Ks. 3. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 4. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 5. Jake Bubak Arvada, Co. 6. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Tyler Thompson Des Moines, Ia. 8. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 9. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 10. Ryan Hall Midlothian, Tx. 11. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 12. Anton Hernandez 13. Andy Shouse Oklahoma City, Ok. 14. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 15. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 16. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 17. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 18. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 19. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. DNS. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint B-Feature 1. Jake Bubak Arvada, Co. 2. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 3. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 4. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 5. Anton Hernandez 6. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 7. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 8. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 9. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 10. Colby Estes Mansfield, Tx. 11. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 12. Justin Melton Lewisville, Tx. 13. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 14. Monty Ferriera Fresno, Ca. 15. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 16. David Luckie Lubbock, Tx. 17. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint C-Feature 1. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 2. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 3. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 4. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 5. Justin Melton Lewisville, Tx. 6. Anton Hernandez 7. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Tx. 8. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 9. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 10. Michelle Melton Flower Mound, Tx. 11. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. 12. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 13. Dustin Welch Bryan, Tx. 14. Daniel Estes Jr. Burleson, Tx. 15. Chris Kelly Moore, Ok. 16. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint D-Feature 1. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 2. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 3. Michelle Melton Flower Mound, Tx. 4. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. 5. Brandon Bosma Round Lake, Mn. 6. Logan Scherb Bowie, Tx. 7. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 8. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 9. Robert Vetter Wolfe City, Tx. 10. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 11. Scott Lutz Jonestown, Pa. 12. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 13. Samantha Lieberman South Hampton, Pa. 14. Lucas Scherb Decatur, Tx. 15. Dan Satriano Papillion, Ne. 16. Gary Floyd San Angelo, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint E-Feature 1. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 2. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. 3. Robert Vetter Wolfe City, Tx. 4. Scott Lutz Jonestown, Pa. 5. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 6. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 7. John Ricketts Burleson, Tx. 8. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. 9. Colin Smith Sheldon, Ia. 10. Charlie McDonald Jefferson, Tx. 11. Junior Jenkins Greenville, Tx. 12. Charlie Ware Hallieford, Va. 13. John Webster North Platte, Ne. 14. Rod Henning Middleton, Oh. 15. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 16. Frank Rodgers Lucas, Ia.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint F-Feature 1. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. 2. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 3. Colin Smith Sheldon, Ia. 4. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 5. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 6. Blake Dacus Fletcher, Ok. 7. Brandon Horton Omaha, Ne. 8. Brett Becker Odessa, Tx. 9. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 10. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 11. Randy Sterling Morrisdale, Pa. 12. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 13. Tom Belsky North Platte, Ne. 14. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 15. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint G-Feature 1. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. 2. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 3. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 4. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 5. Ben Woods Newton, Ia. 6. Bruce Allen Mankato, Mn. DNS. Jeff Pendergast Norfolk, Ne. DNS. Clayton Christensen Spencer, Ia. DNS. Trevor Serbus Olivia, Mn. DNS. Jerald Harris Harrisonburg, Va. DNS. Bob Hildreth Iowa Falls, Ia. DNS. Ryan Voss Spirit Lake, Ia. DNS. Mark Klis Jr Waxahachie, Tx. DNS. Michael Day Greenville, Tx. DNS. Blake Scott Pauls Valley, Ok. DNS. Jeremy Schultz Stewart, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 1 1. Ryan Hall Midlothian, Tx. 2. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 3. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Tx. 4. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 5. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 6. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 7. Jeff Pendergast Norfolk, Ne. 8. Bruce Allen Mankato, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 10 1. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Colby Estes Mansfield, Tx. 3. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 4. Michelle Melton Flower Mound, Tx. 5. Scott Lutz Jonestown, Pa. 6. Randy Sterling Morrisdale, Pa. 7. John Carney Lubbock, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 11 1. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 2. Jake Bubak Arvada, Co. 3. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 4. Dan Satriano Papillion, Ne. 5. Robert Vetter Wolfe City, Tx. 6. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Blake Scott Pauls Valley, Ok.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 12 1. Steven Shebester 2. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 3. Anton Hernandez 4. Gary Floyd San Angelo, Tx. 5. Frank Rodgers Lucas, Ia. 6. Blake Dacus Fletcher, Ok. DNS. Jeremy Schultz Stewart, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 2 1. Tyler Thompson Des Moines, Ia. 2. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 4. Samantha Lieberman South Hampton, Pa. 5. John Webster North Platte, Ne. 6. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 7. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 8. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 3 1. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 2. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 3. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 4. Brandon Bosma Round Lake, Mn. 5. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. 6. Colin Smith Sheldon, Ia. 7. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. DNS. Clayton Christensen Spencer, Ia.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 4 1. Andy Shouse Oklahoma City, Ok. 2. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 3. Justin Melton Lewisville, Tx. 4. Lucas Scherb Decatur, Tx. 5. Rod Henning Middleton, Oh. 6. Brett Becker Odessa, Tx. DNS. Trevor Serbus Olivia, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 5 1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. David Luckie Lubbock, Tx. 3. Chris Kelly Moore, Ok. 4. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 5. Charlie McDonald Jefferson, Tx. 6. Tom Belsky North Platte, Ne. DNS. Jerald Harris Harrisonburg, Va.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 6 1. Zach Blurton Quinter, Ks. 2. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 3. Daniel Estes Jr. Burleson, Tx. 4. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 5. Charlie Ware Hallieford, Va. DNS. Ryan Voss Spirit Lake, Ia. DNS. Bob Hildreth Iowa Falls, Ia.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 7 1. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 4. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 7. Ben Woods Newton, Ia.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Heat 8 1. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 2. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 3. Dustin Welch Bryan, Tx. 4. Logan Scherb Bowie, Tx. 5. John Ricketts Burleson, Tx. 6. Brandon Horton Omaha, Ne. DNS. Mark Klis Jr Waxahachie, Tx.