By Greg Soukup
The scorching heat at Eagle Raceway Saturday night may have kept the crowd size down, but there were still 128 cars in the pits as Stumpy’s Custom Creations and A1 Iron presented Conquer the High Banks.
It was a rather nostalgic evening as the intermission entertainment was a frozen t-shirt contest and after the races concluded the annual Hillbilly Slip ‘N Slide was held in turns 1 and 2.
There were no serious incidents in the preliminary racing.
Bret Klabunde’s 77 made contact with the 1B of Brandon Horton on lap 1 of the Nebraska Septic IMCA Racesaver A Feature, causing him to hit the backstretch wall, then catch the implement tire guarding the rear pit entrance and send him flipping. Mike Houseman’s 4L got caught up in Klabunde’s flip and likewise went for a nasty ride. Shayle Bade in the 03 got involved when her right rear was caught up in Houseman’s flip. Bade headed to the pits for repairs including both top and front wings, the front axle and other damage. Both Klabunde’s and Houseman’s rides were seriously damaged and went to the pits on the hook, but happily neither driver was seriously injured. Numerous crews from other teams gathered at the push off area to assist getting Bade back on the track and she managed to restart at the tail of the field. Cade Richards grabbed the lead on the restart in the 11B with the 12 of Troy Sanford second, Tige Jensen’s 24 third and Dusty Ballenger fourth in the 2D. Jensen moved to second on lap 2 when Sanford slipped and fell back to sixth with Jensen second, Ballenger third and Dan Nekolite fourth in the 22D. Nekolite went flipping through turns 1 and 2 on lap 11 after bicycling up onto the Armco wall, moving the 1B of Brandon Horton into fourth. Nekolite was not seriously injured. A lap after the restart Cody Ledger put the #47 into fourth and moved up to third the next time around. Another lap was in the books when Jason Danley advanced to fourth in the 4X before taking over third the following circuit moving Jensen back to fourth. Ledger passed Richards with 9 circuits left for the lead with Danley following him into second the next lap. Danley passed Ledger for the top spot with just 2 to go and held on for the win. Ledger was second, Richards third and Ballenger fourth.
This was Jason’s second win this season after starting twelfth. He said “I got a good start and then I stayed on the bottom of 3 and 4 for too long because there was water down there after the red on the first lap. I lost about 4 or 5 spots, falling back to eighth or ninth. After the red came out again I was able to slowly pick them off one at a time. Once the rubber came in, if the 11R and 47 don’t slip up out of it one time then I don’t get by them. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time”. Jason’s sponsors include Speedway Racing Engines, Speedway Shocks, Climatech Heating and Air, Neff Towing and Sunkist.
As hard as it may seem to be, there are just 3 nights of regular season competition left this year. Next Saturday is Work Hard, Play Hard Night at Eagle Raceway presented by Southeast Community College, Nebraska Septic and the Lincoln Stars.
Front gates open at 5 PM with adult admission being $35, youths 6-12 are $15 with children 5 and under free. Hot laps start at 5:30 with racing kicking off at 6:30 with racing at 6:30.
Pit gates open at 2:00 with pit passes costing $50.
In addition to the regular racing action, there will be Hooptie Hockey afterwards. You won’t want to miss that.
RESULTS:
Sprint-IMCA A-Feature
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 3. Cade Richards Lincoln, Ne. 4. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 5. Tige Jensen Lincoln, Ne. 6. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 7. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 8. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne. 9. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 10. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 11. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 12. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 13. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 14. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 15. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 16. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 17. Troy Sanford Lincoln, Ne. 18. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 19. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. DNS. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA B-Feature
1. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 2. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 3. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne. 4. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 5. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 6. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 7. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne. 8. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 9. Tyler Hendrickson(r) Lincoln, Ne. 10. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 11. Billy Alley Bennet, Ne. DNS. Bayley Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 1
1. Troy Sanford Lincoln, Ne. 2. Tige Jensen Lincoln, Ne. 3. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 4. Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 5. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 6. John Klabunde Fort Calhoun, Ne. 7. Josh Riggins Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 2
1. Cade Richards Lincoln, Ne. 2. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 3. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 4. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 5. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 6. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 7. Tyler Hendrickson(r) Lincoln, Ne.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 3
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 4. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 5. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 6. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 7. Bayley Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd.
Sprint-IMCA Heat 4
1. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 2. Bret Klabunde Omaha, Ne. 3. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 4. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 5. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 6. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 7. Billy Alley Bennet, Ne.