by Greg Soukup
We all know that July in Nebraska can mean a scorcher of a day, and that is exactly what we got Saturday night at Eagle Raceway as Pepsi, Coors Light and Great Clips presented Stars and Stripes Shootout. High temperatures usually mean a dry, dusty racing surface but thanks to a LOT of hours by the track prep crew and thousands of gallons of water there were 2 and sometimes 3 racing lines right up through the final lap of the last race.
There were 3 serious incidents in the preliminary racing, all of them in the Duros Dent Works Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car heats. In heat #1 Alex Davenport flipped the #25A in turns 1 and 2. Heat 3 saw Andrew Jackson roll the 5A in turn 1 and later Chad Koch went for a wild ride in turns 1 and 2. Something broke in the front end, sending him straight into the wall and then sending him flipping the 22C. Koch was helped to the ambulance for observation. No further information was available at the time of this story.
The A Feature for the Duros Dent Works Racesaver IMCA saw Mike Boston’s 51 come to a halt in turns 1 and 2 with a broken front end. When the race finally got started it became a series of ‘It looked like’ sessions. Chase Weiler led the first official lap in the 0 with Mark Vanderheiden’s 15V, the 30 of Jordan Grabouski and Gunnar Pike in the 25. It looked like Weiler was going to go on to win as he started to stretch out his advantage. Grabouski moved to second on lap 3. Troy Sanford put the 12K into fourth the next lap and advanced to third on lap 7. Pike moved back to fourth on lap 9. Pike dropped to the infield with 8 to go, moving Adam Gullion’s 91 into fourth. Boyd Peterson’s 57B slowed on the front stretch with 6 to go to slow the action. Grabouski took over the lead on the restart as Sanford moved to second. Jason Danley jumped to third the following lap in the 4X with Gullion holding onto fourth. Gullion advanced to third in the closing laps. It looked like Grabouski would have his second victory on the night as he banged the cushion lap after lap, but Danley moved up to second and grabbed the lead on the final lap. The final top 4 were Danley, Grabouski, Gullion and Sanford.
Next weekend is Junior Fan Club Salute, presented by Colby Ridge. All fans 12 and under receive free front gate admission. Front gates open at 5:00 with adult admission being $12. Hot laps start at 5:45 with racing at 6:30.
All 5 classes will be in action with Duros Dent Works Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Coors Light SportMods, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks & ATV Motor Sports Sport Compacts.
Pit gates open at 3:30 with pit admission costing $30.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint A-Feature
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jordan Grabouski(r) Beatrice, Ne. 3. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 4. Troy Sanford(r) Lincoln, Ne. 5. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 6. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 7. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 8. Josh Riggins(r) Lincoln, Ne. 9. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 10. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 11. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 12. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 13. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 14. Mark Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 15. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 16. Shayle Helget Lincoln, Ne. 17. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 18. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 19. Gunnar Pike(r) South Bend, Ne. 20. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature
1. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 2. Shayle Helget Lincoln, Ne. 3. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 4. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 5. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 6. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 7. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 8. Tim Fricke Lincoln, Ne. 9. Alan Cunningham 10. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 11. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. DNS. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne. DNS. Alex Davenport(r) Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1
1. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 2. Jordan Grabouski(r) Beatrice, Ne. 3. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 4. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Josh Riggins(r) Lincoln, Ne. 6. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 7. Shayle Helget Lincoln, Ne. 8. Tim Fricke Lincoln, Ne. 9. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 10. Alex Davenport(r) Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2
1. Gunnar Pike(r) South Bend, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Mark Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 4. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 5. Jason Danley
Lincoln, Ne. 6. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 7. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 8. Alan Cunningham 9. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3
1. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 2. Troy Sanford(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 8. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 9. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne.