By Greg Soukup
It was a hot one for Junior Fan Club Night, sponsored by Colby Ridge on Saturday evening, with sunny skies and a strong southerly breeze. The crowd who braved the heat was treated to a great racing surface, thanks to Mother Nature having stopped blessing the facility with her liquid sunshine. The car count was down slightly this week; only 123 teams pulled into the pits, but the racing was great from start to finish, with three and four-wide action the rule, rather than the exception.
The only significant happening in the preliminary action came when Boyd Peterson flipped the #57B Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car in hot laps. He was not seriously hurt, but the team was unable to repair the car to run the B Feature.
Jimmy Grasso’s 8G, the 52 of Nick Bryan, Gene Ackland’s 14G and the 03 of Shayle Bade were the leaders of lap 1 for the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars. Bade moved up one spot on each of the next 2 laps. Ackland took over the third spot after another circuit. Lap 5 saw Bade snag the lead as Adam Gullion put the #91 into fourth. Gullion took the third spot on lap 7 and moved to second after 2 more laps were in the books. Clint Benson moved the #100 into fourth the next time around as Grasso spun at the bottom of turn 4. Ackland passed Gullion on the restart, but relinquished the spot back to him the next time around.
The following circuit saw Jason Martin jump all of the way into third in his 5X as Ackland retained fourth. Benson passed Ackland the next lap however and held fourth. Shon Pointer looped the 20P on the back stretch with 8 to go. Bade got sideways on the restart, but kept going. The yellow lights had been lit however, and Bade was sent to the rear. That made the top 4 Gullion, Martin, Benson and the #12 of Tyler Drueke. Drueke passed Benson on the restart for third. Grasso again spun with 3 to go, this time on the back stretch. Martin and Drueke exchanged second on the restart lap, with Martin holding it eventually as Ackland moved back into fourth. The final top 4 were Gullion, Martin, Drueke and Ackland.
This was Gullion’s third victory in a row, and came from starting in 8th. “I can’t believe it!! If you told me back when we started this class that I’d win just 2 in a row, I wouldn’t have believed it; let alone 3!!! After the way the year started, I wasn’t sure we could ever get a win. I decided to try the top in turns 1 & 2, because so many were running the bottom. When I got behind Shayle I decided to mimic her line until the yellow. I really felt bad for Shayle. I even went down and told her that she had the fastest car; I don’t think I could have passed her. Then Jason got up to second, and he ran me as clean as anybody ever did. I tell you; the competition in the Racesavers this year is just awesome. It’s hard to believe how far the class has come in just a few years” said Gullion. Gullion’s sponsors include Precise Roofing, Liquid Nitro, Pro Roloffs, Filley Custom Powder Coating, Pro Shocks, Engler, Fuel Safe and Sardeson Racing.
Next weekend is Mustache Madness-Dad’s Tribute presented by WOW FM 105.3 and Pepsi; so Keep Calm and Get Your Mustache On. Happy D Klown will be on hand from 5:30 to 7:30. There will be a Keep Calm and Keep Dad Happy Challenge during intermission. Also, there will be Budweiser/Bud Light and Rack of Rib specials all evening. Front gates open at 5:15 with racing starting at 6:30. Front gate admission is $10 for adults, youths 6-12 are $5 and children 5 and under are free.
Pit gates open at 4 PM with pit passes costing $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint 06/11/2016
A Feature:
1. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 2. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 3. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 4. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 5. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 6. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 7. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 8. Tim Hilfiker (Greenwood, NE), 9. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 10. Trevor Grossenbacher (Hickman, NE), 11. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 12. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 13. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 14. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 15. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 16. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 17. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 18. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 19. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 20. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE)
B Feature:
1. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 2. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 3. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 4. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 5. Tim Hilfiker (Greenwood, NE), 6. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 7. Justin Hanson (Platte Center , NE), 8. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA), 9. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE)
Heat 1:
1. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 2. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 3. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 4. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE), 5. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 6. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 7. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 8. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA)
Heat 2:
1. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 2. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 3. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 4. Trevor Grossenbacher (Hickman, NE), 5. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 6. Tim Hilfiker (Greenwood, NE), 7. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 8. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE)
Heat 3:
1. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 2. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 3. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 4. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 5. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 6. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 7. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 8. Justin Hanson (Platte Center , NE)