I-80 Dirt Classic Qualifier NSL Results and Stories

I-80 Speedway 5/6/16
 
I-80 Speedway
Greenwood, NE
 
Dirt Classic Qualifier
 
NSL
 
20 cars
 
Danny Lasoski (18th car out to time) set quick time on the 4/10-mile at 14.700 seconds.  Davey Heskin (5th car out) was second quick, followed by Ian Madsen (7th), Austin McCarl (12th), Brian Brown (13th), Craig Dollansky (3rd), Dale Blaney (19th), Bill Balog (11th), Lynton Jeffrey (2nd) and Sam Hafertepe Jr. (10th).  Kevin Ingle failed to get a time in.
 
Two sets of 8-lap heats were run.  The first heats were lined straight up by time.  The second group of heats saw a total invert.  Points were earned in time trials and by heat finish, with the feature lined straight up by points.

Kevin Ingle First group of heats
 
Heat one (started): 1. A. McCarl 17A (2) 2. Lasoski 2 (1) 3. Blaney 1 (3) 4. Tim Kaeding 3 (6) 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (4) 6. Jake Bubak 1B (7) 7. Josh Baughman 17 (5)
 
Austin led the distance ahead of Lasoski and Blaney.  Kaeding won a good battle with Hafertepe for fourth.
 
Heat two (started): 1. Brown 21 (2) 2. Heskin 56N (1) 3. Terry McCarl (4) 4. Balog 17B (3) 5. Logan Forler 2L (5) 6. Tasker Phillips 7w (6) 7. Kevin Ingle 2K (7)
 
Brown led a mostly single-file affair for the duration. 
 
Heat three (started): 1. Madsen 18 (1) 2. Dollansky 2KS (2) 3. Jeffrey 12 (3) 4. Matt Juhl 09 (5) 5. Brooke Tatnell 55 (4) 6. Dakota Hendrickson 10 (6)
 
Madsen led throughout.  Juhl was the first driver to really make the bottom work, which influenced a lot of drivers in the second set of heats.
 
Second group of heats
 
Heat one (started): 1. Kaeding (2) 2. Bubak (1) 3. Blaney (5) 4. Lasoski (7) 5. Baughman (3) 6. Hafertepe (4) 7. A. McCarl (6)
 
Kaeding shot out on the high side to an early lead over Bubak and Baughman.  Bubak utilized the low line to challenge the leader and briefly took the point for two laps on the fifth go-around while Blaney shot into third.  Coming for the white flag, Kaeding would slingshot back into the lead for the win.
 
Heat two (started): 1. Brown (5) 2. T. McCarl (3) 3. Phillips (1) 4. Balog (4) 5. Forler (2) 6. Heskin (6) 7. Ingle (7)
 
Phillips led early over Forler and a charging Brown from row three.  On lap two, Brown moved into second, followed by T. McCarl.  Brown would take the lead a lap later.  Phillips would run a strong race before losing second to T. McCarl on the white flag lap.
 
Heat three (started): 1. Hendrickson (1) 2. Tatnell (3) 3. Madsen (6) 4. Dollansky (5) 5. Juhl (2) 6. Jeffrey (4)
 
Hendrickson led wire to wire.  Dollansky surged to third on the first lap, but Madsen would claim the show position from the tail on lap two.

Terry McCarl A main (started): 1. T. McCarl (7) 2. Brown (1) 3. Dollansky (4) 4. Lasoski (3) 5. Blaney (6) 6. A. McCarl (8) 7. Kaeding (10) 8. Jeffrey (12) 9. Tatnell (11) 10. Baughman (19) 11. Juhl (15) 12. Hafertepe (14) 13. Phillips (18) 14. Heskin (5) 15. Hendrickson (13) 16. Bubak (17) 17. Madsen (2) 18. Forler (16) 19. Balog (9) DNS – Ingle
 
While Heskin did a complete 360 amongst the field in turn two on the first lap, Brown took the lead on the cushion ahead of Madsen and Lasoski.  A Baughman spin brought the caution with two laps down.  The restart saw Brown leading Madsen, McCarl (who had taken third on the second lap), Dollansky (who had also gotten by Lasoski) and Lasoski.  T. McCarl was a rocket and blew by Madsen and Brown on the cushion like they were standing still.  Madsen worked his way by Brown for second, while T. McCarl pulled away, entering heavy lap traffic by lap nine.  Dollansky slid by Brown for third on lap 13 in some great racing.  Behind him, Blaney was on the charge in traffic and worked by both Brown and Dollansky to move into third on lap 14.  At that point, Hendrickson slowed to a stop, bringing another caution.  A huge lead was erased for T. McCarl over Madsen, Blaney, Dollansky, Brown and Lasoski.  Unfortunately, Madsen’s night would come to an end under caution with a flat right rear tire.  Another lap got in before an inadvertent red brought cars to a halt.  When the green fell again, Brown shot by both Dollansky and Blaney to take second.  Dollansky would follow him into third on lap 18.  Meanwhile, up front, T. McCarl was decimating everyone.  His second win of the week and his fourth of the season earned him $10,000 and guaranteed him a spot in Lincoln (PA) Speedway’s Dirt Classic in September.