By Greg Soukup
What a beautiful night Saturday as Avid Realty, Nebraska Lottery and Pepsi-Cola of Lincoln presented Fan Appreciation Night at Eagle Raceway! Occasional clouds and a strong southerly breeze set the stage for a battle on the high banks.
There was one serious incident in the preliminary action, coming in the B Feature for the Nebraska Septic IMCA Racesaver Sprints.
The intermission entertainment was another fan favorite as everyone had the chance to purchase a water balloon and chuck them at the Eagle Raceway officials, staff and even owner Roger Hadan. All proceeds went to the non-qualifiers fund for the IMCA Racesaver Nationals. Cole Cloud flipped his #11Cin turn 2. He was not seriously injured.
Dan Nekolite’s 22d led lap 1 of the Nebraska Septic IMCA Racesaver A. Close on his push bumper were Cody Ledger in the 47, Doug Lovegrove’s 44 and Bret Klabunde’s 77. Klabunde passed Lovegrove for second on lap 2. Brandon Horton also got past Lovegrove the next time around to put 1B into fourth as Ledger moved to the lead. Lovegrove got under both Ledger and Klabunde on lap 4 to advance to third. Horton passed Lovegrove on lap 10 for third place. At that point Ledger had a ½ lap lead over the rest of the field. Joey Danly got around Lovegrove for fourth on lap 13 as Horton moved up to second. Danley advanced to third on lap 15 with Stu Snyder putting his #5 into fourth. 11 laps were remaining when Klabunde got sideways in turn 4, making contact with Ledger causing Ledger to spin. That made the top 4 Horton, Danley, Snyder and Nekolite. Snyder advanced to second place with 10 to go as Gunnar Pike put the 25into fourth. Pike got past Danley for third the next lap. Danley regained the third position with 6 to go. Horton held on for his 3rd win of the year with Snyder second, Danley third and Pike fourth.
He related “It felt really good. This is the kind of track that I really like to drive, way up high and fairly slick. So, luckily, we were able to start towards the front of the pack right off the bat and I was able to get to the front fairly quick. Lapped traffic started to become a little concerning there with a couple of laps to go. I didn’t know whether to change my line and move down or just keep following Ackland and hope that we could get to the checkered flag first. I knew that somebody would be coming around the bottom at some point, but we pulled it off.” Brandon’s sponsors include Lazy Days RV, TSC Tax Solutions Group, Little Smokey Barbecue, West Omaha Boat and Jet ski and Omaha Barbell.
Next Saturday is Conquer the High Banks Night at Eagle Raceway, presented by Stumpy’s Custom Creations and A1 Iron.
Gates open at 5:45. Hot laps are at 6:00 with racing at 7:00. Adult admission is $15, youths 6-12 are just $5 and children 5 and under are free.
Pit gates open at 3:45 with pit admission being $30.
All 5 classes will be in action, including Nebraska Septic Sprint Cars, Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, Avid Realty SportMods, A1 Iron Stock Cars & Valentino’s Hobby Stocks.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 2. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 3. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 4. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 5. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 6. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 7. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 8. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 9. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 10. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 11. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 12. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 13. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 14. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 15. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 16. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne. 17. Michalob Voeltz Madison, Sd. 18. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 19. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 20. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Michalob Voeltz Madison, Sd. 4. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne. 5. Ty Ledger Omaha, Ne. 6. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 7. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 8. Cade Richards Lincoln, Ne. 9. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 10. Rick Hansen Omaha, Ne. 11. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 12. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 13. Cole Cloud Fairbury, Ne. DNS. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. DNS. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 2. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 3. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 4. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 5. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 6. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 7. Rick Hansen Omaha, Ne. 8. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 2. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 3. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 4. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 5. Michalob Voeltz Madison, Sd. 6. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 7. Cole Cloud Fairbury, Ne. 8. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 2. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 3. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 4. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 5. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 6. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 7. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 8. Cade Richards Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 4
1. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 2. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 3. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 4. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 5. Ty Ledger Omaha, Ne. 6. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 7. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne.