By Greg Soukup
Saturday night at Eagle Raceway the word was “Swell”! Party On Night, presented by Budweiser saw ‘swell’ weather; in fact, it was nearly a perfect evening for racing. The large crowd ‘swelled’ the stands with eager race fans and 149 cars ‘swelled’ the pits with anxious race teams, eager to hit the high banks.
There were 2 significant events in the action leading up to the A Features. Michelle Nicholson’s 88 ended up rolling over going into turn 1 at the start of the ATV Motorsports IMCA Sport Compact heat #1. Jason Miller did an easy roll-over in turn 2 during the Duros Dent Works IMCA Racesaver Sprint B Feature. Neither driver was seriously hurt.
Nate Weiler put the 4W out front on the first lap of the Duros Dent Works Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car A Feature. Nick Bryan in the 52, Dan Neckolite’s 22D and the 12N of Neil Nickolite rounded out the top 4. Nickolite did a 360-degree spin in turn 2 on the second lap, giving the fourth spot to Toby Chapman’s 40X. Adam Gullion used the restart to fly around the top and put the 91JV into second with Chapman third and Bryan fourth. Chapman passed Gullion for second on lap 4 as Mike Boston put the 51 into fourth. Mike Houseman’s 4L came to a halt in turn 4 on lap 6 to light the yellow lamps in the corners. Joey Danley took advantage of the restart to put the 14 into 4 as Gullion passed Chapman for second. Chapman got back past Gullion the next lap and took over the lead on lap 11. Danley moved up to second the next lap. Danley got around Chapman with 10 to go at Gullion again moved up to third. Weiler looped his racer in turn 1 with 8 to go, collecting Jason Danley’s 4X and the 12 of Tyler Drueke and the action slowed again. That put Boston back into fourth. Boston took over third with 8 to go but lost the spot back to Gullion the next time around. Chapman slowed with a flat right rear tire with 5 laps left, giving the fourth spot to Trevor Grossenbacher’s 35. Grossenbacher moved to third on the restart making the final top 4 Danley, Gullion, Grossenbacher and Boston.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle this year, but we righted the ship tonight I think. The yellows helped a ton! I got up to fifth pretty quick. The leaders were really battling each other, and I managed to squirt by there and kind of took off from them after that. It was a blast watching the leaders race, and when I got to them it was even more fun being able to drive by them. I’m not quite used to that this year” he related. I asked if tonight was a good tune-up for the IMCA Sprint Car Racesaver Nationals in 2 weeks and he said, “I think we’re ready to go now, hopefully”. Danley’s sponsors include Empire Fencing, Russell Shoulders Race Engines, Nissen Hardwood Floors and Automotive Services.
Next weekend is Last Call! Season finale presented by the Nebraska Lottery and Coors light. It is the final regular season race for 2019 and will decide the points champions in all classes.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Grandstand admission is just $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. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Bennet, Ne. 4. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 5. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 6. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 7. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 8. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 9. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 10. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 11. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 12. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 13. Dan Satriano Omaha, Ne. 14. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 15. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 16. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 17. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 18. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 19. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 20. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature 1. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 2. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 3. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 4. Dan Satriano Omaha, Ne. 5. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 6. Chad Koch Lincoln, Ne. 7. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 8. Rich Cerveny Omaha, Ne. 9. Richard Weers Lincoln, Ne. 10. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 11. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 12. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 13. Joe Miller Vail, Ia. 14. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. DNS. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1 1. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 2. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 5. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 8. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2 1. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 2. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 3. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 4. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 5. Joe Miller Vail, Ia. 6. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 7. Richard Weers Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3 1. Trevor Grossenbacher Bennet, Ne. 2. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 3. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 4. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 5. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 6. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 7. Chad Koch Lincoln, Ne. 8. Rich Cerveny Omaha, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 4 1. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 2. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 4. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 5. Dan Satriano Omaha, Ne. 6. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 7. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne.