By Greg Soukup
What a beautiful afternoon and evening! Mid-80’s and sunny gave way to a starry night as Colby Ridge presented Jackpot Junior Fan Club Night at Eagle Raceway Saturday. After lots of rain during the week the track prep crew gave the 133 teams on site a tacky, fast racing surface to compete on and the large crowd was treated to lots of furious action on the high banks.
The IMCA Sprint Racesaver A Feature’s initial circuit saw Dwight Carter’s 4U, the 19JR of Paul Hendrickson, Joey Danley in the 14 and the 22D of Danny Nekolite the top 4. Trevor Grossenbacher vaulted the 35 up to third on lap 2. Grossenbacher moved up to second the next lap with Danley following him into third and Ryan Kitchen putting the 21 into fourth. Grossenbacher passed Carter for the lead on lap 5 and Danley followed suit the next lap. Kitchen advanced to third on lap 8. Hendrickson went tumbling through turns 1 and 2 the next time around, causing a red flag condition. Hendrickson was not seriously hurt, but his mount was destroyed. Mike Boston put the #51 into the fourth spot on the restart. Danley snagged the lead the next lap and started to pull away from the field. Boston made the final change in the top 4 when he moved up to third after 2 more laps. The final top 4 were Danley, Grossenbacher, Boston and Kitchen.
Danley became the first repeat winner in the Racesaver class at the track this year. He stated “After 2 rough weeks there we got it done again, and that felt pretty good. The track was tacky and rough; it was a “Cowboy Up” track, and that’s what we like; it puts the race in the hands of the driver. We started eighth and ran up to the front quick, but a couple of cars got crossed up there and Trevor got by me. I thought we were going to have to settle for second, but we were able to track him down there and I guess we kind of ran off from him after that. Sometimes it’s better to run second on a track like this. I mean, he was going a little too high, and getting into the rough spots and that allowed me to catch him”. Danley’s sponsors include Heiserman Flooring, Nissen Hardwood Floors, Automotive Services, Russell Shoulders Racing Engines, CleanRite Sweeping and Empire Fencing.
Next weekend sees Hotsy and Froggy 98 sponsor Freedom Fest 55. Twinky the Clown will be there from 5:30 to 7:30 for the kids. It is also Service Appreciation Night with Police, Fire and Rescue and Military getting free grandstand admission with current service ID or being in uniform. The yearly gigantic fireworks extravaganza will be held following the last feature race.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Adult admission is $12, youths 6-12 are just $5 and children 5 and under are free.
The Racesaver Sprint Cars, Runner Freight Modifieds, Hoosier Racing Tire Sport Modifieds, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks and ATV Motorsports Sport Compacts will all be in competition.
Pit gates open at 4 P.M. with pit passes costing $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint A-Feature 1. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Trevor Grossenbacher Hickman, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 5. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 6. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 7. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 8. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 9. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 10. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 11. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 12. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 13. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 14. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 15. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 16. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 17. Paul Hendrickson Lincoln, Ne. 18. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 19. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. DNS. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature 1. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 2. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 3. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 4. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 5. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 6. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 7. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 8. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 9. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 10. Jd Hommes Rock Rapids, Ia. 11. Tim Fricke Lincoln, Ne. 12. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. DNS. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1 1. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Trevor Grossenbacher Hickman, Ne. 3. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 4. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 5. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 6. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 7. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 8. Jd Hommes Rock Rapids, Ia. 9. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 10. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2 1. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 2. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 3. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 4. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 5. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 6. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 7. Tim Fricke Lincoln, Ne. 8. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 9. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3 1. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 2. Paul Hendrickson Lincoln, Ne. 3. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 4. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 5. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 8. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne.