By Greg Soukup
If there is a better way to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend than coming out to Eagle Raceway for Freedom Fest, presented by A1Iron and Twin Rivers I can’t imagine what it would be!!!! It just doesn’t get more American than that. Wait! Yes it DOES!! A HUGE fireworks show after the races are over.
144 Cars filled the pits as a huge crowd packed the stands, waiting for the action to begin, and the fans were NOT disappointed in the least.
A change in the running order had the Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver Sprint Cars take to the high banks for their A Main first. The initial attempt at a start had to be waved off as Alex Davenport spun his 25A in turn 2, collecting the 4W of Nate Weiler. Jason Danley’s 4X, the 14G of Gene Ackland, Cole Vanderheiden in the 15V and the 15 of Jack Potter were the initial 4 back to the flag stand on the restart. Brandon Horton moved his #1B up to fourth on lap 3 and advanced to third on lap 4. Lap 8 saw Toby Chapman’s 11 take over the fourth position.
The next circuit saw Trevor Grossenbacher make contact with the turn 2 wall and come to a halt. Horton took over second on the restart and Mike Boston put the 51 into fourth. Lap 5 saw contact between the 14J of Josh Riggins and Chase Weiler’s 0 causing them both to spin in turn 4. Horton passed Danley for the lead on the restart with Boston moving up to third, putting Ackland into fourth. Boston got past Danley for second with 8 circuits remaining. There were 5 laps left when Clint Benson took over the fourth position in the 100. 2 laps later Adam Gullion passed Benson for fourth. The final top 4 were Horton, Boston, Danley and Gullion.
I told Brandon that he made a heck of a run to the front and he said “In 8 or 9 years now I think we’ve finished in every single spot in the feature except winning it, so this feels really good finally. I liked the track tonight. I think that running the sprint cars first kind of set in a nice groove that everyone else ran as the night went on. It ended being nice and smooth with a nice cushion to run on and it was pretty fast”. Brandon’s sponsors include Dave’s Auto Body, Omaha Barbell, Duros Dent Works, Little Smoky Barbecue, West Omaha Jet Ski and Camping World.
The annual fantastic fireworks show followed the final race and was even bigger and better than previous years.
Next Saturday is Platte Valley Equipment and High Noon Sun Sips present the Grass Roots Shootout. There will be a free kid’s color run during intermission.
All 5 classes will be in competition including the Twin Rivers Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Avid Realty SportMods, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks & A1 Iron Stock Cars.
Front gates open at 5:15 with adult admission being $15, kids 6-12 are just $5 and those 5 and under are free.
Pit gates open at 3:30 with pit passes costing $30. Hot laps begin at 5:30.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 2. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 3. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 4. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 5. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 6. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 7. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 8. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 9. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 10. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 11. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 12. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 13. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 14. Cole Vanderheiden(r) Papillion, Ne. 15. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 16. Jack Potter Kansas City, Ks. 17. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 18. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 19. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 20. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 2. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 3. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 4. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 5. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 6. Daniel Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 7. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 8. Derek Kral(r) York, Ne. 9. Joe Miller Vail, Ia. 10. Ty Ledger(r) Omaha, Ne. 11. Steve Hurst(r) Ames, Ne. 12. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 13. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 14. James Reed Holodrege, Ne. DNS. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jack Potter Kansas City, Ks. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 5. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 6. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 7. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 8. Joe Miller Vail, Ia.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 2. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 3. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 4. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 5. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 6. Daniel Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 7. Ty Ledger(r) Omaha, Ne. 8. James Reed Holodrege, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 2. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 4. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Derek Kral(r) York, Ne. 6. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 7. Steve Hurst(r) Ames, Ne. 8. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 4
1. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 2. Cole Vanderheiden(r) Papillion, Ne. 3. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 4. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 5. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 6. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 7. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne.