By Greg Soukup
A beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the high ‘80s and a slight breeze greeted the large crowd that showed up for Grass Roots Shootout, presented by Platte Valley Equipment and High Noon Sun Sips Saturday at Eagle Raceway. By Feature time it was down to the mid-70s; perfect for watching the action on the high banks.
129 teams put on a fabulous show with 3 and even 4-wide racing throughout the night.
There were 2 serious incidents in the preliminary racing, both occurring in the Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver Sprint B main. On the initial start Derek Kral had the rear end break on his #85 in turn 3, causing him to spin and collect the 25D of Jacob Dye who flipped. On the restart, Gunnar Pike’s 25G bicycled in turn 1 after contact with the 15V of Cole Vanderheiden, causing him to flip. No drivers were seriously injured.
At intermission, the kids were brought to the infield for a Color Run around Mini E Speedway.
The Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver Sprints were up first for their A Main. Cody Ledger in the 35L, the 97 of Nate Johnson, Chase Weiler in the 0 and Toby Chapman’s 11 were the top 4 on lap 1. Lap 3 saw contact between Stu Snyder’s 5 and the 14J of Josh Riggins, ending with Snyder flipping in turns 3 & 4. Johnson took over the top spot on lap 6 passing Ledger. Chapman moved up to third the next time around and advanced to second on lap 12 as Mike Boston took over fourth in the 51. Jason Danley jumped up to third in the 4Xthe following lap with Boston holding down fourth. Boston passed Danley for third with 10 to go. There were just 6 circuits remaining when Boston and Danley both moved up a spot to second and third. The following lap Joey Danley took over fourth place in the 14. Jason Danley passed Boston to snag the second spot the next time around. The battle continued, but the top 4 remained unchanged with Chapman winning, Jason Danley second Boston third and Joey Danley fourth.
Chapman started seventh for the feature. Toby said “We’ve been kind of stinking here lately, but tonight we kind of figured something out so hopefully we can continue that. I definitely want to thank Jeff Stefonick for giving me the chance to race for him. Also, Rich Miller, Bill Wosnik and my son Cody for their help”. Toby’s sponsors include Lincoln Auto Body, Buda Concrete and J & K Trucking.
Next week Avid Realty and Pepsi present Fan Appreciation Night. Adults and youths 6-12 are just $5 to get into the grandstand!!!
All 5 classes will be in competition including the Twin Rivers Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Avid Realty SportMods, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks & A1 Iron Stock Cars.
Front gates open at 5:15.
Pit gates open at 3:30 with pit passes costing $30. Hot laps begin at 5:30.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 2. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 5. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 8. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 9. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 10. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 11. Ty Ledger(r) Omaha, Ne. 12. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 13. Cole Vanderheiden(r) Papillion, Ne. 14. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 15. Curtis Evans(r) 16. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 17. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 18. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 19. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 20. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 2. Cole Vanderheiden(r) Papillion, Ne. 3. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 4. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 5. Curtis Evans(r) 6. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 7. Daniel Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 8. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 9. Steve Hurst(r) Ames, Ne. 10. Derek Kral(r) York, Ne. 11. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 12. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 13. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Ty Ledger(r) Omaha, Ne. 2. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 3. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 4. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 7. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 8. Curtis Evans(r) 9. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 10. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 4. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 5. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 6. Cole Vanderheiden(r) Papillion, Ne. 7. Steve Hurst(r) Ames, Ne. 8. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 9. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 2. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 5. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 6. Derek Kral(r) York, Ne. 7. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 8. Daniel Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 9. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne