By Greg Soukup
Night three of the 2026 IMCA Sprint Car Racesaver Nationals at Eagle Raceway Saturday again saw a great crowd in the stands and plenty of cars in the pits to make for a fabulous night of racing action.
The sky was clear and the heat was slightly less oppressive with the heat index falling from Fridays 106 degrees to 102. YES; it dropped a whopping 4 degrees!!!
There were several serious incidents in the preliminary action. Heat 3 for the IMCA Racesaver sprints saw the right front of Adam Gullion’s #91 make contact with the left rear of the 77X of John Klabunde in turn 4. That caused Gullion to spin out. Trefer Waller went high to try and avoid Gullion but ended up hitting the front stretch wall, sending him flipping. Waller was not seriously injured but the #32 was too severely damaged to continue, ending his night on the hook. Then, still in heat 3, Gullion attempted a slide job that failed in turn 4, sending him up and into the 56 of Bill Johnson who went flipping. Luckily, Johnson was not seriously injured but he would have to try again on Sunday. In heat #9 Taylor Velasquez’s 11 went flipping in turn one, ending up on all 4’s in turn 2. Likewise, he was not injured but again, his night was over.
After 12 heats, 2 D Features, 2 C Features and 2 B Features the IMCA Racesaver Sprints were brought out for their Main Event of the evening. This would decide the 2nd nine cars transferring to the Big Show on Sunday. The first attempt at a start saw Ryan Padgett’s #98P spin in turn 4, sending him up and into the wall, tipping over and coming to a halt on his left side. He was not injured, but disappointed that he would have to wait until Sunday to try and run the alphabet soup to make it to the A Main. Your first official lap was led by the 31W of Landon Thompson. Brandon Horton was second in the 1B with Hunter Hanson’s 9A third and the 91D of Michael Day in fourth. The top 4 remained unchanged until there were just 4 circuits remaining when Trevor Grossenbacher passed Day to put the #35 into fourth place. 2 laps later Grossenbacher got around Hanson to move up to third. Except for the mishap on the first start, the race was run straight through with Thompson winning, Horton second, Grossenbacher third and Hanson fourth.
Landon was all smiles when I spoke to him (Who wouldn’t be??) and said “I’m very blessed to have the people that I have working with me. A huge thanks to the Weaver family!” Landon’s sponsors include Friend Equipment in Fort Worth Texas, Momentum Suspensions, Aquairsolutions, Shannon Performance and Fireman’s Day Off.
The nightcap for the evening was the Race Jugs Race of Champions where track champions past and present, past and present IMCA National Champions and past IMCA Sprint Car Nationals winners competed. Jake Bubak took off from outside the front row to take the lead on lap 1 in the 74B with Gunnar Pike’s 25, the 14N of Nick Barger and Jacob Gomola’s 4J close behind. Jason Danley got past Gomola on lap 3 to put the 4X into fourth, but jumped up to third on lap 5, sending Barger to fourth. Danley repassed Gomola for third place on lap 8. Cole Vanderheiden got past Gomola on lap 15 to put the 15V into fourth. Bubak started to encounter heavy lapped traffic at that time, allowing Pike to slowly close in on him, reduce Bubak’s lead from a straightaway to a few car lengths. 3 laps were left when Vanderheiden got under and past Danley to move up to third. Bubak held on for the win, Pike was second, Vanderheiden third and Danley fourth.
It was just 1 more case of Jake Bubak doing Jake Bubak things, having won the A Feature on Friday and the Race of Champions Saturday. As usual, I kidded Jake a little before his interview, asking him “Don’t you get tired of seeing me??” and he said “Never!” I congratulated him on another great run in the A Main. He related “Our car was really good again tonight. Honestly, with Jason Martin’s experience here at Eagle Raceway, he basically laid out the whole race for me before we started. He predicted the rubber and the rubber came down pretty quick and pretty hard. We just got into the rubber and made some laps.” I told him that Pike had begun to catch him in the late stages of the race, to which he replied
“Our car was pretty good” and I told him “You always say that! But what about the driver?” He replied, “When our car is that nice, anyone could drive it.” As always, Jake was his usual self; smiling and understated.
Sunday is the final day of the 2026 IMCA Sprint Car Racesaver Nationals. The AM Contracting IMCA Stock Cars are the support class for the evening, All of the drivers who aren’t yet qualified for the Big Dance to win their spot in the final 9 spots. They will have to make the run through 2 D mains, 2 C mains and 1 B Feature to accomplish it. Those who qualified Friday or Saturday will compete in a series of dashes to determine their spot on the final starting grid.
Front gates open at 4:30 with adult admission being $30. Youths 6-12 are just $10 and children 5 and under are free.
There will be Meet ‘N Greet, Car Show and autograph session in the Courtyard/Fan Zone from 4:30 to 5:30.
Pits open at 3:00 with pit passes costing $35.
Hot laps kick off at 5:30 with the first race at 6:30.
The Melon Bar will open after the completion of racing with live entertainment by Platinum Pearls.
RESULTS:
IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car
85 Entries
A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:11:40.985 1. 31W-Landon Thompson[1]; 2. 1B-Brandon Horton[3]; 3. 35-Trevor Grossenbacher[9]; 4. 9A-Hunter Hanson[2]; 5. 91D Michael Day[7]; 6. 18W-Cole Wayman[11]; 7. 31BW-Braxton Weger[6]; 8. 26-Jacob Harris[10]; 9. 23-Brandon Bosma[15]; 10. 71-Channin Tankersley[13]; 11. 5-Stuart Snyder[16]; 12. 11J-Joey Starnes[17]; 13. 49A-Ace Moore[19]; 14. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[14]; 15. 33S-Jeremy Schultz[4]; 16. 14G-Gene Ackland[12]; 17. 3B-Blake Ba lenger[8]; 18. 17XX-Lee Goos Jr[18]; 19. 14N-Nick Barger[21]; 20. 72C-Kayden Cole[23]; 21. 28B-Braden Ockenga[20]; 22. 14J-Josh Riggins[22]; 23. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[24]; 24. 98P-Ryan Padgett[5]
B Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:03:40.126 1. 71-Channin Tankersley[1]; 2. 23-Brandon Bosma[3]; 3. 11J-Joey Starnes[2]; 4. 49A-Ace Moore[4]; 5. 14N-Nick Barger[6]; 6. 72C-Kayden Cole[7]; 7. 14S-Ethan Barrow[13]; 8. 2T-Cameron Thompson[5]; 9. 7M-Kevin Ramey[14]; 10. 25-Chase Brewer[8]; 11. 03-Shayle Bade[15]; 12. 18-Corbin Erickson[10]; 13. 74-Daniel Estes Jr[16]; 14. 63-Jack Thomas[11]; 15. 9 Kevin Rutherford[9]; 16. 4-Gavin Gregory[12]
B Feature 2 15 Laps | 00:07:56.492 1. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[1]; 2. 5-Stuart Snyder[8]; 3. 17XX-Lee Goos Jr[6]; 4. 28B-Braden Ockenga[3]; 5. 14J-Josh Riggins[4]; 6. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[10]; 7. 4J-Jacob Gomola[2]; 8. 9X-Laney Moore[13]; 9. 11D-Dominic White[14]; 10. 3 Charlie Harmon I[9]; 11. 0M-Steven Richardson[16]; 12. 74E-Claud Estes I[5]; 13. 23F-Cole Parker[15]; 14. 14T-Tyler Hendrickson[7]; 15. 11A-Toby Chapman[12]; 16. 6-Logan Moore[11]
C Feature 1 14 Laps | 00:03:20.605 1. 14S-Ethan Barrow[3]; 2. 7M-Kevin Ramey[4]; 3. 03-Shayle Bade[6]; 4. 74-Daniel Estes Jr[2]; 5. 3D-Dan Griep[5]; 6. 91 Adam Gulion[15]; 7. O7-Owen Carlson[10]; 8. 71E-Colby Estes[14]; 9. 30-Matt Johnson[1]; 10. 7C-Chris Morgan[8]; 11. 77 Bret Klabunde[13]; 12. 17X-Conner Thomas[16]; 13. 4W-Nathan Weiler[9]; 14. 44V-Daren Bolac[12]; 15. 49Z-Zak Moore[11]; 16. (DNS) 56-Bil Johnson
C Feature 2 14 Laps | 00:05:11.018 1. 9X-Laney Moore[1]; 2. 11D-Dominic White[8]; 3. 23F-Cole Parker[4]; 4. 0M-Steven Richardson[2]; 5. 77X-John Klabunde[10]; 6. 1O-Michael Oliver[3]; 7. 24-Tyler Harris[6]; 8. 6B-Bayley Ba lenger[14]; 9. 17-Justin Bolte[7]; 10. 11K-Tyler Knight[5]; 11. 88-Jordan Knight[9]; 12. 24B-Johnny Boos[15]; 13. 27-Mike White[16]; 14. 61-Jackson Geragi[11]; 15. 0 Chase Weiler[12]; 16. 2A-Alex Salzman[13]
D Feature 1 12 Laps | 00:02:42.974 1. 77-Bret Klabunde[1]; 2. 71E-Colby Estes[2]; 3. 91-Adam Gu lion[4]; 4. 17X-Conner Thomas[5]; 5. 11-Taylor Velasquez[7]; 6. 08-Chase Koeliker[6]; 7. 59-Kenny Venable[3]; 8. 172-Dakota Marsha l[10]; 9. 69-Mike Moore[9]; 10. 18T-Taelynne Roberts[8]; 11. 23X-Jacob Schoeberl[11]; 12. 72-Daniel Estes Sr[12]; 13. (DNS) B2-Carson Bolden
D Feature 2 12 Laps | 00:02:51.842 1. 2A-Alex Salzman[2]; 2. 6B-Bayley Ba lenger[4]; 3. 24B-Johnny Boos[1]; 4. 27-Mike White[3]; 5. 8B-Kaedon Thurman[5]; 6. 23V-Michalob Voeltz[7]; 7. 92-Josh Most[9]; 8. 3V-Len Vermeulen[8]; 9. 86-Jordan Rupe[11]; 10. 20T-Travis Christensen[12]; 11. 32-Trefer Wa ler[6]; 12. (DNS) 10-Brad Schreiner
Heat 1 10 Laps | 00:02:16.089 1. 9A-Hunter Hanson[2]; 2. 14N-Nick Barger[3]; 3. 5-Stuart Snyder[5]; 4. 30-Matt Johnson[6]; 5. 88-Jordan Knight[4]; 6. 77 Bret Klabunde[8]; 7. 08-Chase Koe liker[7]; 8. B2-Carson Bolden[1]
Heat 2 10 Laps | 00:02:09.891 1. 1B-Brandon Horton[2]; 2. 63-Jack Thomas[1]; 3. 49A-Ace Moore[6]; 4. 7C-Chris Morgan[3]; 5. 1O-Michael Oliver[7]; 6. 27-Mike White[5]; 7. 69-Mike Moore[4]
Heat 3 10 Laps | 00:09:04.786 1. 33S-Jeremy Schultz[2]; 2. 17XX-Lee Goos Jr[3]; 3. 18-Corbin Erickson[4]; 4. 77X-John Klabunde[1]; 5. 56-Bil Johnson[6]; 6. 91-Adam Gulion[5]; 7. 32-Trefer Wa ler[7]
Heat 4 10 Laps | 00:02:15.449 1. 31W-Landon Thompson[4]; 2. 72C-Kayden Cole[3]; 3. 14J-Josh Riggins[6]; 4. 0M-Steven Richardson[5]; 5. 0-Chase Weiler[1]; 6. 24B-Johnny Boos[7]; 7. 20T-Travis Christensen[2]
Heat 5 10 Laps | 00:02:15.710 1. 98P-Ryan Padgett[2]; 2. 28B-Braden Ockenga[4]; 3. 4J-Jacob Gomola[7]; 4. 9X-Laney Moore[6]; 5. 4W-Nathan Weiler[5]; 6. 92-Josh Most[1]; 7. 172-Dakota Marsha l[3]
Heat 6 10 Laps | 00:02:18.878 1. 3B-Blake Balenger[1]; 2. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[5]; 3. 2T-Cameron Thompson[6]; 4. 3D-Dan Griep[4]; 5. 49Z-Zak Moore[2]; 6. 71E-Colby Estes[7]; 7. 10-Brad Schreiner[3]
Heat 7 10 Laps | 00:03:40.269 1. 35-Trevor Grossenbacher[1]; 2. 71-Channin Tankersley[7]; 3. 74E-Claud Estes I[6]; 4. 11K-Tyler Knight[4]; 5. 61 Jackson Geragi[2]; 6. 6B-Bayley Ba lenger[5]; 7. 23X-Jacob Schoeberl[3]
Heat 8 10 Laps | 00:02:21.868 1. 31BW-Braxton Weger[2]; 2. 6-Logan Moore[1]; 3. 23-Brandon Bosma[7]; 4. 11D-Dominic White[3]; 5. O7-Owen Carlson[4]; 6. 17X-Conner Thomas[5]; 7. 18T-Taelynne Roberts[6]
Heat 9 10 Laps | 00:07:07.414 1. 91D-Michael Day[2]; 2. 14T-Tyler Hendrickson[3]; 3. 11A-Toby Chapman[1]; 4. 03-Shayle Bade[4]; 5. 17-Justin Bolte[6]; 6. 8B-Kaedon Thurman[5]; 7. 11-Taylor Velasquez[7]
Heat 10 10 Laps | 00:02:30.000 1. 26-Jacob Harris[1]; 2. 25-Chase Brewer[3]; 3. 9-Kevin Rutherford[5]; 4. 24-Tyler Harris[4]; 5. 44V-Daren Bolac[2]; 6. 2A Alex Salzman[7]; 7. 3V-Len Vermeulen[6]
Heat 11 10 Laps | 00:02:25.000 1. 18W-Cole Wayman[1]; 2. 3-Charlie Harmon I[2]; 3. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[4]; 4. 14S-Ethan Barrow[5]; 5. 7M-Kevin Ramey[7]; 6. 59-Kenny Venable[6]; 7. 86-Jordan Rupe[3]
Heat 12 10 Laps | 00:02:23.484 1. 14G-Gene Ackland[1]; 2. 11J-Joey Starnes[5]; 3. 4-Gavin Gregory[2]; 4. 74-Daniel Estes Jr[6]; 5. 23F-Cole Parker[7]; 6. 23V-Michalob Voeltz[4]; 7. 72-Daniel Estes Sr[3]
NE RACE OF CHAMPS Sprints 24 Entries A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:06:12.853 1. 74B-Jake Bubak[2]; 2. 25-Gunnar Pike[1]; 3. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[9]; 4. 4X-Jason Danley[5]; 5. 17-Lee Goos Jr[8]; 6. 4J-Jacob Gomola[4]; 7. 7M-Kevin Ramey[22]; 8. 14N-Nick Barger[3]; 9. 12-Tyler Drueke[13]; 10. 26-Jacob Harris[11]; 11. 74E-Claud Estes I[7]; 12. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[14]; 13. 0X-Steven Richardson[21]; 14. X-Dylan Waxdahl[16]; 15. 9-Kevin Rutherford[17]; 16. 18-Corbin Erickson[10]; 17. 69-Mike Moore[24]; 18. 23F-Cole Parker[23]; 19. 24-Tyler Harris[18]; 20. 14-Joey Danley[15]; 21. 32-Trefer Wa ler[6]; 22. 23-Brandon Bosma[19]; 23. (DNS) 14S-Ethan Barrow; 24. (DNS) 56-Bil Johnson Powered by