By Greg Soukup
A gorgeous spring late afternoon greeted the fans in the stands and the 143 teams that filled the pits Saturday at Eagle Raceway for Junior Fan Club Night presented by Avid Realty. The younger fans had a blast at intermission as they sought their fortunes in the Sam’s Club Kid’s Money Grab.
There were no serious incidents in the preliminary races.
The finale for the evening was the main event for the Twin Rivers IMCA Racesaver Sprints. Andrew Jackson held the lap 1 lead with Jake Galusha’s 8B, the 15V of Cole Vanderheiden and Tim Hilfiker’s 20 close behind. Jason Danley passed Hilfiker on lap 2 to put the 4X into fourth place. Lap 5 saw Joey Danley’s 14 and the 1B of Brandon Horton get together in turn 4 but keep on going. However, the yellow flag had flown to slow the action. Trevor Grossenbacher jumped up to third in the 35 on lap 8. Galusha moved to the lead the next time around with Jason Danley in third and Jackson fourth. Clint Benson then joined the fray the next time around to put 100 into fourth. Jason Danley vaulted up to the lead shortly after.
Bret Klabunde spun in turns 1 & 2 with 7 laps remaining for another caution period.
Grossenbacher moved up to second on the restart but lost the spot to Galusha with 2 laps left. 1 circuit remained when Maxwell Roseland’s 84 and Klabunde stopped at the bottom of turn 4, setting up a Green/White/Checkered finish to the race. The final 2 laps saw no change in the top 4 with Jason Danley first, Galusha second, Grossenbacher third and Benson fourth.
Jason’s win came from the 9th spot on the starting grid. He stated “Third night out you know, a win is great. Especially after last week! We just weren’t any good then. We don’t know why; it was just one of those nights. I got a really good start tonight. We got lucky and started on the bottom. We got up to fourth on the second lap. The 5A was setting a good pace and I couldn’t get a good run on him. I was afraid that we’d get bottlenecked and someone would go sailing by. Trevor did on the high side, but about that time I got back into third and back by Trevor. I didn’t know where to go, but I didn’t see him again so I stayed down on the bottom. I have to give Jake credit because I kind of squeezed him a little bit getting into three but he was setting such a good pace that I couldn’t get around him in the corners. He went in there a little wide and didn’t try to drive down on me. I really appreciate that. He’s a great racer and I had to take my one chance when I got it because I don’t think I could have gotten by him otherwise. I want to send out a big thank you to my family. My brother and Joey both help me out. Mom and Dad have both supported me for 35 plus years. Now my wife and daughter help me out and support me. It’s just a family thing”. Jason’s sponsors include Speedway Engines, Speedway Shocks and Climatech Heating and Air.
Next Saturday is Moms Rule Night, presented by Nebraska Lottery and High Noon. The first moms through the front gate will receive a gift! All 5 classes will be competing including the Twin Rivers Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Avid Realty SportMods, A1 Iron Stock Cars & Valentino’s Hobby Stocks. Track, State, Regional & National Points for all classes.
Front gates open at 5:15 with adult admission being $15, kids 12 and under are free.
Hot laps kick off at 5:30 with racing at 6:30.
Pit gates open at 3:45 with pit admission being $30.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 4. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 6. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 7. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 8. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 9. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 10. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 11. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 12. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 13. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 14. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 15. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 16. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 17. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 18. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 19. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 20. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 2. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 3. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 4. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 5. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 6. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 7. Jeremy Snow Princton, Mn. 8. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 9. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 10. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 11. Mitchell Dvorak Stuart, Ne. 12. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA C-Feature
1. Jeremy Snow Princton, Mn. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 4. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 5. Justin Bolte(r) Fremont, Ne. 6. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 7. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne. 8. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 9. Madison Miller Vail, Ia. DNS. Steve Hurst Ames, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 2. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 3. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 4. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 5. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 6. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 7. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 8. Jeremy Snow Princton, Mn. 9. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Shayle Bade Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 4. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 6. Mitchell Dvorak Stuart, Ne. 7. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 8. Justin Bolte(r) Fremont, Ne. 9. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 2. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 3. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 4. Maxwell Roseland Carter Lake, Ia. 5. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 6. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 7. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 8. Nate Johnson Hastings, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 4
1. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 2. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 3. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 7. Madison Miller Vail, Ia. 8. Steve Hurst Ames, Ne.