by Greg Soukup
Saturday night saw a near capacity crowd fill the stands for the Memorial Day Party-Ganza presented by Duros Dent Works and Great Clips. They were treated to 18 heats, 5 B Features and 5 A Features with some of the best battles seen on the high banks of Eagle Raceway in a long, long time. From the drop of the green flag to the final checkers there were slide jobs, side-by-side racing and just plain fierce racing in all classes.
There were no serious incidents in the preliminary action.
The last race was for the Duros Dent Works Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars. Brandon Horton put the 1B out front of lap 1 with Trevor Grossenbacher’s 35, the 91 of Adam Gullion and Chase Weiler’s 0 close behind. Grossenbacher and Gullion both got past Horton on lap 2. Gullion took over the top spot the next time around as Tim Hilfiker put the 20 into fourth. Grossenbacher hung on Gullion’s push bar and showed him his nose wing but remained in second for the time being. Mike
Boston jumped to third in his 51 with 10 laps left as Hilfiker remained in fourth. Grossenbacher and Gullion traded slide jobs for a few laps until Grossenbacher snagged the lead with 3 to go as Toby Chapman put the 40X into fourth. Gullion fought until the end, throwing sliders at Grossenbacher and pulling almost even as they came to the finish line with Grossenbacher retaining the lead for the win with Gullion second, Boston third and Chapman fourth.
This year marked Grossenbacher’s return to racing after over a year off due to serious injuries in 2017. “That was probably one of the most fun races I’ve had since I’ve raced here, and that’s 11 years! That was fun. I don’t know how many times Adam and I passed each other, but it had to have been a lot. Coming to the checkered I didn’t see him until we were coming out of four. I caught a little bit of moisture and barely edged him out, so it was fun. I was beginning to worry at the beginning of the year because I was struggling. I was sure it was just in my head, so I really needed the win tonight. This race really got me going again. Now we need to just keep rolling and keep the rain away. I want to thank my parents, because I could never do this without them” related Grossenbacher. Grossenbacher’s sponsors include Rick Forbes Motorsports Stop ‘N Shop, True North Construction, Skytop Towers, WC’s South and Restore A Muscle Car.
Next up is the School’s Out Summer Shootout, presented by Hoosier Tire and the Lincoln Saltdogs. All 5 classes will be competing including the Duros Dent Works Racesaver IMCA Sprints, Hoosier Tire IMCA Modifieds, Sam’s Club IMCA Sport Modifieds, Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and ATV Motorsports IMCA Sport Compacts.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Adult admission is just $10, youths 6-12 are $5 and children 5 and under are free.
Pit gates open at 4:00 with pit passes being $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint A-Feature 1. Trevor Grossenbacher Bennet, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 5. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 6. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 8. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 9. Trey Gropp Lincoln, Ne. 10. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 11. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 12. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 13. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 14. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 15. Chad Koch Lincoln, Ne. 16. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 17. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 18. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 19. Monty Ferriera Fresno, Ca. 20. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature 1. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 2. Monty Ferriera Fresno, Ca. 3. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 4. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 5. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 6. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 7. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 8. Mark Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 9. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 10. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 11. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 12. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 13. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. DNS. Paul Hendrickson Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1 1. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 2. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 3. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 4. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 5. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 6. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 7. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 8. Austin McLean Loveland, Co.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2 1. Trevor Grossenbacher Bennet, Ne. 2. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 3. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 4. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 5. Monty Ferriera Fresno, Ca. 6. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 7. Mark Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 8. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3 1. Chad Koch Lincoln, Ne. 2. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 4. Trey Gropp Lincoln, Ne. 5. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 6. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 7. Paul Hendrickson Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 4 1. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 2. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 3. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 4. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 5. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 6. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 7. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne.