It was Disco Fever Night at Eagle Raceway Saturday, presented by Speedway Motors and Southeast Community College as we threw it back to the 70’s. It also ended as a night of ‘Not the usual winners’. For the most part, it was a normal race night at America’s Home Track. A huge crowd filled the stands in anticipation of great racing with the fantastic fireworks show that was pushed back a week due to a lot of rain starting the week before. Other than the winners, the other thing that was out of the ordinary for a July night was that it wasn’t a scorcher; in fact, it turned out to be quite chilly by the time the A Features concluded. At intermission, the younger fans got to participate in the annual Color Run.
Despite some beatin’ and bangin’ throughout the preliminary action there were no serious incidents until the Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver A Main.
Andrew Jackson took advantage of his pole position starting spot to put the 5A out front of the first lap of the Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver Sprint Car A Feature. Hot on his push bumper were the 20 of Tim Hilfiker, Cole Wayman’s 18W and Alex Salzman’s 2A. Shon Pointer passed Salzman on lap 2 to put his 20P in fourth. Wayman slowed dramatically the next time around and headed to the pits. That allowed Jason Danley to advance to fourth in the 4X. On the restart there was a jumble for position, ending up with Tyler Drueke’s 12 and the 8B of Jake Galusha flipping near the pit entrance. Neither was seriously hurt but both cars went to the pits on the hook. Mike Boston had been slowly working his way forward, taking over 4th place from Danley on lap 13 and moving up to third with 11 to go. Hilfiker passed Jackson for the lead 3 laps later. Boston continued his march to the front, taking over second place the next lap and grabbing the lead with 3 to go. From there to the checkers Boston extended his lead and took home the victory. Hilfiker was second, Pointer third and Jackson fourth.
The victory came from 10th on the starting grid. I asked Mike what the heck had gotten into him. He replied “I have no idea!! We’ve had some bad luck most of the
year, mostly mechanical problems but we finally had a night that went decently for a change. We were pretty good. We kind of got bottled up in that little melee on the front stretch. Unfortunately, it took out some good cars. I think it may have started with me because the car in front of me got loose, and you can’t pass anybody until the cone.. I kind of checked up so that I wouldn’t run into him and then it started. I feel really bad about the torn up cars but there wasn’t anything that I could do”. I asked Mike if he was going to just win one race every year, to which he replied “These dang races get tougher every year! It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are, when you win a race here at Eagle Raceway you’ve earned the dang thing. Roger Hadan is always saying that we’ve got some of the best drivers in the nation. Winning a weekly race here is like winning a national race anywhere else. We’ve had several guys who have won the IMCA Racesaver Nationals so you know it’s tough. I want to thank my crew, especially Nick Bryan for all of the leg work that he’s put in this year and everybody else for their help every week. Also my girlfriend Amber that owns Boss Cleaning. Zach Woods for fantastic engines. I’ve been with him for 30 years, since he worked for Jay Eckley. I followed him when he started Wood Racing and now to Speedway Motors”. Mike’s sponsors include Eagle Motorsports LLC, Boss Cleaning, Speedway Motors Race Engines, Speedway Shocks, 93.7 The Ticket, Nebraska Auto Detail, Schulz Logistics, Smokin Meats BBQ Treats, Sarah Chadd at Remax Realty, Rock Hopper Brewing Company and Mike Melbye at the Finish Line.
Next Saturday is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Avid Realty and Empire Fence. Grandstand admission is just $5 for adults and youths 6-12. Children 5 and under are free as always. Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing beginning at 6:30.
Pit gates open at 3:45 with pit admission being $30. All 5 classes will be competing including the Twin Rivers Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Avid Realty SportMods, A1 Iron Stock Cars & Valentino’s Hobby Stocks. Track, State, Regional & National Points for all classes.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 2. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 3. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 4. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 5. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 6. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 7. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 8. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 9. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 10. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 11. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 12. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 13. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 14. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 15. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 16. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 17. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 18. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 19. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 20. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 3. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 4. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne. 7. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 8. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 9. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 10. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 11. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 12. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA C-Feature
1. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 2. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne. 3. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 4. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 5. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 6. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Jake Neal DNS. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 2. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 3. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 4. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 5. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 8. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 2. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 3. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 4. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 5. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 6. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 7. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 8. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 2. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 4. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 5. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 6. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 7. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 8. Jake Neal
Sprint-IMCA Heat 4
1. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 2. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 3. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 4. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 5. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 6. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 7. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne. 8. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.