By Greg Soukup
Mother Nature evidently felt guilty about forcing so many area tracks to cancel last weekend, so she gave the large crowd and the 171 race teams that came to Eagle Raceway on Saturday night what can only be described as a near-perfect day for racing.
The only major incident in the preliminary races came when Nate Weiler’s 4w and the 18 of Terry Richards went flipping in turn 4 during the 4th heat for the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars.
The Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car Feature was the finale for the evening. Trevor Grossenbacher took off from the front row to put the #35 out front of lap one with Tim Fricke’s 62, the 5 of Ron Love and Ryan King in the 93 hot on his push bumper. Love took over second on lap 2. The next lap saw Toby Chapman jump all of the way up to third in the 7KX. Love took the lead after another circuit as Gene Ackland moved his 14G into fourth. King retook fourth on lap 8. The first yellow flag of the race came on lap 12 when debris was found on the track. Love slipped coming off of turn 2 with 13 to go, allowing Grossenbacher and Chapman to both pass him. However, Boyd Peterson’s 57B and the 4X of Jason Danley spun in turns 3 and four, putting Love back out front. Chapman overtook Grossenbacher on the restart. Chapman then passed Love the following lap as King also got past Grossenbacher to grab third. King passed Love for second the next circuit then grabbed the lead with 9 to go. Chapman took the lead momentarily the next lap, but King held the lead at the flag stand. Jason Martin cracked the top 4 with 6 laps left, putting his #36 in fourth. Grossenbacher regained third with 2 to go but was passed by Joey Danley’s 14. The final top 4 were King, Chapman, Joey Danley and Grossenbacher.
This was King’s first ever win in the Racesaver Sprints after being named the 2015 Rookie of the Year, and came from the third starting position. He was all smiles as he related “The monkey is off of my back! The car was awesome. The crew really helped me this week and the car was the easiest to drive that I’ve ever had. I fell back after the start, because my car wasn’t quite there early. I was running out of gear going into three, so I started moving down the track off of the cushion. The car would stick so I kept doing it”.
When told that he was pulling away after getting the lead he stated “I wish I had a mirror so that I could see that, because I was driving 100% the whole time!! I love the track the way it was tonight. It kind of slows everybody down, and I’d rather replace tires than Jacobs ladders and bars and all of that. I like the track this way because tires are cheaper than cars. I want to thank Richards Machine who builds a hell of a motor. Home and Farm Insurance really helped us out a few times when we needed it. Sardeson Racing helps us out every single week. Big Deal Auto Care is another big one for us. My crew is awesome. They gave me a great car that was easy to drive. I’m going to take the car home and write down every single thing that we did because half of us don’t’ remember a single thing that we just did; we’re so excited. We had a great car in the heat, we had a great car in the feature. The crew makes my job easy. My birthday is Tuesday; I’ll be 32, so this was a great birthday present. I want to give a really big thanks to my dad for helping me with this interview too”.
Next Saturday weekly racing continues as Pepsi presents Hot Mama’s Night-Eagle’s Mother’s Day Tribute. The first 100 mothers through the front gates will receive a gift from the Diva Dash booth in the courtyard. The Pepsi Challenge will be held during intermission. Blinky the Clown will be available from 5:30 to 7:30. 50/50 drawing proceeds will benefit Cause for Paws.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing starting at 6:30. All 5 classes will be on hand; Racesaver Sprints, Kaplan University Modifieds, Hoosier Tire Sport Modifirds, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks and Mountain Dew Kick Start Sport Compacts.
Pit Gates open at 4:00 with pit passes costing $25.
Eagle Raceway
Jr Fan Club Night 5/6/2017
Results
IMCA Sprint A-Feature
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Ryan King 93
Bennet, Ne
2. Toby Chapman 7KX
Panama, Ne
3. Joey Danley 14
Lincoln, Ne
4. Trevor Grossenbacher 35
Hickman, Ne
5. Jason Martin 36
Lincoln, Ne
6. Ron Love 5
Lincoln, Ne
7. Stu Snyder 23S
Waverly, Ne
8. Adam Gullion 91
Lincoln, Ne
9. Tyler Drueke 12
Eagle, Ne
10. Shon Pointer 20P
Grand Island, Ne
11. Gene Ackland 14G
Martell, Ne
12. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
13. Jason Danley 4X
Lincoln, Ne
14. Tim Fricke 62
Lincoln, Ne
15. Clint Benson 100
Papillion, Ne
16. Nick Bryan 52
Lincoln, Ne
17. Austin McLean 83
Loveland, Co
18. Neil Nickolite 12N
Bellwood, Ne
19. Boyd Peterson 57B
Ithaca, Ne
20. Matt Richards 1R
Lincoln, Ne
IMCA Sprint B-Feature
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Jason Martin 36
Lincoln, Ne
2. Shon Pointer 20P
Grand Island, Ne
3. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
4. Austin McLean 83
Loveland, Co
5. Mike Boston 51
Lincoln, Ne
6. Dan Satriano 17
Papillion, Ne
7. Chase Weiler 0
Lincoln, Ne
8. Jimmy Grasso 8G
Omaha, Ne
9. Richard Weers 55
Lincoln, Ne
10. Brandon Horton 1B
Omaha, Ne
11. Bill Garrow 3G
Lincoln, Ne
12. Keith Dragoo 77D
Lincoln, Ne
13. Jason Miller 77
Omaha, Ne
14. Nathan Weiler 4W
Lavista, Ne
15. Justin Hanson 29
Platte Center, Ne
16. John Webster 9
North Platte, Ne
17. Dwight Carter 4U
Lincoln, Ne
DNS Doug Lovegrove 44
Waverly, Ne
DNS Chevy Hadan 4
Bennington, Ne
DNS Tim Hilfiker 20
Greenwood, Ne
DNS Terry Richards 18
Denton, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 1
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Trevor Grossenbacher 35
Hickman, Ne
2. Jason Danley 4X
Lincoln, Ne
3. Ron Love 5
Lincoln, Ne
4. Matt Richards 1R
Lincoln, Ne
5. Jason Martin 36
Lincoln, Ne
6. Dan Satriano 17
Papillion, Ne
7. Jimmy Grasso 8G
Omaha, Ne
8. Bill Garrow 3G
Lincoln, Ne
9. Brandon Horton 1B
Omaha, Ne
10. Jason Miller 77
Omaha, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 2
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Adam Gullion 91
Lincoln, Ne
2. Toby Chapman 7KX
Panama, Ne
3. Tim Fricke 62
Lincoln, Ne
4. Nick Bryan 52
Lincoln, Ne
5. Shon Pointer 20P
Grand Island, Ne
6. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
7. Mike Boston 51
Lincoln, Ne
8. Keith Dragoo 77D
Lincoln, Ne
9. Tim Hilfiker 20
Greenwood, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 3
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Ryan King 93
Bennet, Ne
2. Tyler Drueke 12
Eagle, Ne
3. Joey Danley 14
Lincoln, Ne
4. Clint Benson 100
Papillion, Ne
5. Doug Lovegrove 44
Waverly, Ne
6. Chase Weiler 0
Lincoln, Ne
7. Austin McLean 83
Loveland, Co
8. Dwight Carter 4U
Lincoln, Ne
9. Justin Hanson 29
Platte Center, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 4
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Stu Snyder 23S
Waverly, Ne
2. Neil Nickolite 12N
Bellwood, Ne
3. Gene Ackland 14G
Martell, Ne
4. Boyd Peterson 57B
Ithaca, Ne
5. Richard Weers 55
Lincoln, Ne
6. John Webster 9
North Platte, Ne
7. Nathan Weiler 4W
Lavista, Ne
8. Chevy Hadan 4
Bennington, Ne
9. Terry Richards 18
Denton, Ne