By Greg Soukup
The threat of precipitation kept some fans and teams away from the 1/3 Mile Smackdown at Eagle Raceway Saturday night, but those who showed up were treated to a truly great show. The action was moved along quickly, ending at 8:45 but that didn’t take away from the fantastic racing one bit.
There were no serious incidents in the preliminary action.
Tim Hilfiker’s 20, the 5A of Andrew Jackson, Chase Weiler in the 0 and Mark Pace in the 57 were out front of lap 1 for the Duros Dent Works IMCA Racesaver Sprints. Weiler moved past Jackson for second on lap 2 with Pace and the 4X of Jason Danley taking over third and fourth respectively. Danley moved up to second the next time around. Joey Danley put the 14 into fourth on lap 6. 3 laps later Jason Danley grabbed the lead from Hilfiker. Gunnar Pike’s 25G stopped at the top of turn 4 on lap 10. He went to the pits. Doug Lovegrove used the restart to put the 55 into fourth as Joey Danley advanced to third. 9 circuits remained when Jay Russell put the 76 into fourth. Joey Danley moved up to second with 5 laps left with Russell following him into third. The top 4 remained unchanged to the finish with Jason Danley winning, Joey Danley second, Russell third and Hilfiker fourth.
With severe weather headed towards the track both the fans and teams headed out as quickly as possible, so it was not possible to obtain interviews with the winning drivers.
Next weekend is Junior Fan Club Night at Eagle Raceway, presented by Colby Ridge and Duros Dent Works. Front gates open at 5:00. Adult admission is $12. Youths 12 and under are free. There will be free race car rides for the kids at intermission.
Pit gates open at 3:30 with pit admission being $30.
Hot laps begin at 5:30 with racing kicking off at 6:30. All 5 classes will be in action, including the Duros Dent Works Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, A1 Iron/Sany Stock Cars, Modern Real Estate SportMods & Valentino’s Hobby Stocks.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 4. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 5. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 6. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 7. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 8. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 9. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 10. Dan Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 11. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 12. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 13. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 14. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 15. Marcus Thomas 16. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 17. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 3. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Marcus Thomas 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Dan Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 8. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 9. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 2. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 3. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 4. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 5. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 6. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 8. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne.