By Greg Soukup
Roll the Dice 55-Junior Fan Club Night, presented by Colby Ridge at Eagle Raceway Saturday saw a large crowd and exciting action under sunny skies with a great breeze to keep the fans cooled off.
No serious incidents occurred in the preliminary racing.
Mike Houseman Jr. jumped to the lap 1 lead in his #4L followed by Ryan King’s 93, the 97 of Nate Johnson and Tim Hilfiker in the 20. Mike Boston jumped up to third on lap 2 in the 51 with the 21 of Ryan Kitchen taking over fourth. Johnson looped his sprint in turn 2 the next time around, collecting the 5 of Stu Snyder. Boston moved up to second on the restart. He advanced to the lead the next time around as Kitchen took over the third position. Lap 6 saw Shon Pointer move the 20P into fourth. Johnson did a 360-degree spin in turn 2 the next lap, causing another caution. Boston began to slow shortly after that, having suffered a broken power steering line and allowing the field to erase a straightaway lead. Houseman Jr. took over the lead with 5 to go as Adam Gullion put the 91 into fourth. Kitchen and Gullion both passed Boston the next circuit. Boston continued to fall back with Pointer again taking over fourth to make the final top 4 Houseman Jr., Kitchen, Gullion and Pointer.
This was win #1 at Eagle Raceway for Houseman Jr. after starting outside of the front row in the feature. “We’ve been here a few times this year and were here last week. With the IMCA points I knew we’d be starting in the back, and there’s a LOT of tough cars here, so we knew we’d have our hands full last week. But, we knew we were going to be starting up front this week. When you start up front of the heat race like we did you have to take advantage of it, especially with the caliber of cars here. I kind of just paced myself there at the beginning because I really didn’t want to push it too hard. Then Mike showed me the top and I decided to move up there. He was setting a pretty good pace up top, but I still didn’t want to push it too much. When he started fading for whatever reason at the end, that’s when I really started pouring it on. This is just my third year in the Racesaver sprints. I started racing a 360 back in about 2004 with one 410 race in there. The Racesaver class saved my career basically. My last year in a 360 was 2014 and we just couldn’t afford it any more. I have a wife and 4 kids and like a lot of us here I have a house payment. This is just a hobby for me. The Racesaver class kept me in the sport that I love and that I grew up with. I’m third generation in this racing deal. It kept us involved! I’ve never had a year like this before. I had 4 wins in my career before this year and this is 9 just this year I think. It’s been a dream come true, really. Thanks to Mike Waddell, my car owner for this chance. He’s spending his retirement funding this operation and you have to respect a guy like that” stated Houseman. Houseman Jr.’s sponsors include Briar King Construction, Mike and Dean Drywall, Prep Kings from Prepkings.com, Phoenix Metals, Nothing But Custom and Infinite Color Works.
Next weekend is High Stakes Showdown, presented by Rotellas. Twinky the Clown will be there from 5:30 to 7:30 for the younger fans.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Adult and youths 6-12 are just $5 and children 5 and under are free. Those 55 and older receive free front gate admission.
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. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 2. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 4. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 5. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 6. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 7. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 8. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 9. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 10. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 11. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 12. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 13. Brandon Horton Omaha, Ne. 14. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 15. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 16. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 17. Lee Bowes Lincoln, Ne. 18. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 19. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 20. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature 1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 3. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 6. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 7. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 8. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 9. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 10. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 11. Jeff Pendergast Norfolk, Ne. 12. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 13. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 14. Dustin Reeh(r) Council Bluffs, Ia.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1 1. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 2. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 3. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 4. Lee Bowes Lincoln, Ne. 5. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 6. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 7. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 8. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2 1. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 2. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 3. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 4. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 5. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 6. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 7. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 8. Jeff Pendergast Norfolk, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3 1. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 2. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 4. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 5. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 6. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 7. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 4 1. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 2. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Brandon Horton Omaha, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Dustin Reeh(r) Council Bluffs, Ia. 7. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne.