By Greg Soukup
Freedom Fest, presented by Great Clips was held Saturday under beautiful sunny skies and warm temperatures. The large crowd saw some really great racing and were treated to the annual fabulous fireworks extravaganza after the last feature.
There were no major incidents during the preliminary racing action.
Nate Weiler’s 4W was the first car back to the flag stand on the first lap of the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car A Feature, followed by Doug Lovegrove’s 1, the 51 of Mike Boston and Richard Weers in the 55. Weiler moved out to a straightaway lead. Lap 5 saw Boston pass Lovegrove for second, and set his sights on Weiler; closing the gap with each lap flying around the cushion. Tyler Drueke moved his #12 into fourth on lap 12 but lost the spot 2 laps later to Joey Danley’s 14. Boston took over the top spot the next lap. Lovegrove regained second with 7 to go as Danley moved up to third. Drueke again moved to fourth with 5 laps remaining, making the top 4 Boston, Lovegrove, Danley and Drueke.
“I couldn’t get a win last year and now 1 win 2 in a row! I caught Nate running the top while he was running on the bottom. When we hit lapped traffic I had to switch to running both the top and bottom at different ends of the track. This is a really great opportunity to get the Matt Talbot Kitchen’s name out there and raise awareness for their cause” Boston stated. Boston has no sponsors this year, insisting instead that any money offered goes to the Matt Talbot Kitchen as donations.
Next weekend the Lincoln Saltdogs present Combustion Chamber Night. Happy D Klown will be there from 5:30 to 7:30. The 50/50 Raffle will benefit the Lincoln Junior Pool and Darts Team, and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce members will be present. The Racesaver IMCA Sprints, Kaplan University IMCA Modifieds, Hoosier Tire IMCA Sport Modifieds, Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and Mountain Dew Kick Start IMCA Sport Compacts will be racing. Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps starting at 5:30 and racing at 6:30.
Front gates open at 5:15. Adult admission is just $15, youths 6-12 are only $5 and children 5 and under are free. Hot laps start at 5:30 with racing beginning at 6:30.
Pit gates open at 4 PM, with pit passes costing $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint A-Feature
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Mike Boston 51
Lincoln, Ne
2. Doug Lovegrove 1
Waverly, Ne
3. Joey Danley 14
Lincoln, Ne
4. Tyler Drueke 12
Eagle, Ne
5. Jason Danley 4X
Lincoln, Ne
6. Adam Gullion 91
Lincoln, Ne
7. Toby Chapman 7KX
Panama, Ne
8. Shon Pointer 20P
Grand Island, Ne
9. Nathan Weiler 4W
Lavista, Ne
10. Gene Ackland 14G
Martell, Ne
11. Richard Weers 55
Lincoln, Ne
12. Clint Benson 100
Papillion, Ne
13. Matt Richards 1R
Lincoln, Ne
14. Trevor Grossenbacher 35
Hickman, Ne
15. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
16. Keith Dragoo 44
Lincoln, Ne
17. Dan Satriano 17
Papillion, Ne
18. Brandon Horton 1B
Omaha, Ne
19. Ron Love 5
Lincoln, Ne
20. Ryan King 93
Bennet, Ne
IMCA Sprint B-Feature
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Brandon Horton 1B
Omaha, Ne
2. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
3. Matt Richards 1R
Lincoln, Ne
4. Dan Satriano 17
Papillion, Ne
5. Chase Weiler 0
Lincoln, Ne
6. Dwight Carter 4U
Lincoln, Ne
7. Jimmy Grasso 8G
Omaha, Ne
8. Terry Richards 18
Denton, Ne
9. Tim Hilfiker 20
Greenwood, Ne
10. Danny Nekolite 22D
O'neill, Ne
11. Neil Nickolite 12N
Bellwood, Ne
12. Nick Bryan 52
Lincoln, Ne
13. Austin McLean 83
Loveland, Co
14. Chad Fegley 77D
Eagle, Ne
15. Bill Garrow 3G
Lincoln, Ne
DNS Jason Miller 77
Omaha, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 1
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Trevor Grossenbacher 35
Hickman, Ne
2. Gene Ackland 14G
Martell, Ne
3. Jason Danley 4X
Lincoln, Ne
4. Keith Dragoo 44
Lincoln, Ne
5. Dwight Carter 4U
Lincoln, Ne
6. Chase Weiler 0
Lincoln, Ne
7. Dan Satriano 17
Papillion, Ne
8. Terry Richards 18
Denton, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 2
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Doug Lovegrove 1
Waverly, Ne
2. Shon Pointer 20P
Grand Island, Ne
3. Joey Danley 14
Lincoln, Ne
4. Ryan King 93
Bennet, Ne
5. Jimmy Grasso 8G
Omaha, Ne
6. Shayle Bade 03
Lincoln, Ne
7. Chad Fegley 77D
Eagle, Ne
8. Jason Miller 77
Omaha, Ne
IMCA Sprint Heat 3
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Toby Chapman 7KX
Panama, Ne
2. Mike Boston 51
Lincoln, Ne
3. Nathan Weiler 4W
Lavista, Ne
4. Clint Benson 100
Papillion, Ne
5. Brandon Horton 1B
Omaha, Ne
6. Tim Hilfiker 20
Greenwood, Ne
7. Bill Garrow 3G
Lincoln, Ne
8. Austin McLean 83
Loveland, Co
IMCA Sprint Heat 4
Driver Nbr
------------------------------ -----
1. Tyler Drueke 12
Eagle, Ne
2. Richard Weers 55
Lincoln, Ne
3. Adam Gullion 91
Lincoln, Ne
4. Ron Love 5
Lincoln, Ne
5. Matt Richards 1R
Lincoln, Ne
6. Neil Nickolite 12N
Bellwood, Ne
7. Nick Bryan 52
Lincoln, Ne
8. Danny Nekolite 22D
O'neill, Ne