By Greg Soukup
Despite drenching rains both Thursday and Friday that would have most racetracks cancelling, Roger Hadan and the crack track prep crew gave the racers a great racing surface Saturday night as Avid Realty and Empire Fence presented Destination Eagle at America’s Home Track.
There was just one serious incident in the preliminary action occurred in the second heat for the Nebraska Septic IMCA Racesaver Sprint Cars. On the final lap of the heat Tige Jensen’s 24 got very high in turns 3 and 4, bicycled up onto the Armco barrier, came down hard on the right front tire. The tire broke off, allowing the front end to dig into the dirt and sending him into a slow rollover. Tige was not seriously injured, but his car received too much damage to continue.
The Nebraska Septic IMCA Racesaver Sprint Cars were the last on the track for their finale. Chad Koch got his #11 sideways going into turn 1 on the start, ending up backing his mount into the wall and bringing out a caution. When lap 1 was official it was Ty Ledger’s 53L, the 20 of Tim Hilfiker, Shayle Bade in the 03 and the 77 of Bret Klabunde out front. Bade passed Hilfiker for the second spot on lap 2. Jack Thomas got past Klabunde the next lap to put the 63 into fourth. The next lap saw Bade take the lead away from Ledger. Hilfiker spun to the infield on lap 5 after contact with Ledger. Hilfiker managed to keep going and rejoined the field near the rear. That moved the 14G of Gene Ackland into the fourth position. Thomas advanced to second on lap 7 and Ackland followed him into third the next lap. Cody Ledger put the #47 into fourth after another lap was in the books. Thomas grabbed the lead away from Bade on lap 15. There were 5 to go when Cole Wayman’s 18W spun in turn 4 negating Thomas’ lead. Cody Ledger moved up to third on the restart. The final change in the top 4 came with 4 to go as Brandon Horton put the 1B into fourth. Your final top 4 were Thomas, Bade Ledger and Horton.
Thomas tows up to Eagle Raceway from Bates City, Missouri weekly and got his first ever Eagle Raceway win. This marked just his 20th race in a sprint car. He said “We did what we needed to do and got it done tonight. I can’t thank everybody who helps us out enough; my Mom and Dad, my crew who did a phenomenal job on the car. To get this win at a place like this is really great! I’m just glad that I got it done”. Jack’s sponsors include Morgan’s Towing, Advanced Tech Dyno Services, Speedway Motors and Diamond Plumbing.
This coming Tuesday, June 11th marks the much anticipated return of the Eagle Nationals presented by K&B Promotions, featuring the Kubota High Limit 410 Sprint Cars. The $50,000 top prize is attracting not only the series regulars including NASCAR Champion Kyle Larson, but also other hard hitters like Brian Brown and several local teams who want to battle it out on the high banked 1/3 mile of Eagle Raceway. This is definitely going to be one of the most thrilling races of the 2024 season. Last year there was a near sell-out crowd on hand to see Kyle Larson take home the win.
Front gates open at 4:00 with adult admission $45, youths 6-12 are $20 and children 5 and under are free. Hot laps begin at 6:30 with racing kicking off at 7:15.
Pit gates open at 2:00 with pit passes costing $50.
You won’t want to miss this night of high intensity 410 sprint car racing featuring the best drivers around.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Jack Thomas Bates City, Mo. 2. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 3. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 4. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 7. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 8. Gunnar Pike South Bend,
Ne. 9. Levi Hinck(r) Sweet Springs, Mo. 10. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 11. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 12. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 13. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 14. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 15. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 16. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 17. Ty Ledger Omaha, Ne. 18. Tyler Hendrickson(r) Lincoln, Ne. 19. Nate Thompson Fremont, Ne. 20. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Tyler Hendrickson(r) Lincoln, Ne. 2. Levi Hinck(r) Sweet Springs, Mo. 3. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 6. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. DNS. Tige Jensen Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 2. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 3. Jack Thomas Bates City, Mo. 4. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 5. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 6. Levi Hinck(r) Sweet Springs, Mo. 7. Tyler Hendrickson(r) Lincoln, Ne. 8. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 9. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Ty Ledger Omaha, Ne. 2. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 3. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 4. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 5. Nate Thompson Fremont, Ne. 6. Tige Jensen Lincoln, Ne. 7. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 8. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne
.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Chad Koch Murdock, Ne. 2. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 3. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 4. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 5. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 6. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 8. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne.