By Greg Soukup
Saturday’s Student Breakout-Driver Appreciation Night at Eagle Raceway, presented by NAPA and Coors Light, saw an overflow crowd in the stands and 157 teams filled the pits at on a warm, sunny day with a strong northerly breeze.
Heat race action saw 2 racers get up and over as Ashley Schaaf took a wild ride in the #95 Kaplan University IMCA Modified second heat race and Richard Weers’ #55 Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car flipped in turn 2 after contact with another racer. Neither driver was badly injured.
One C Feature and 5 B Features set the final lineups for the A Mains.
Dan Satriano’s 77X was the first back to the flag stand after a lap in the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car A Main with Toby Chapman in the 7KX, the 52 of Nick Bryan and Keith Dragoo’s 77D hot on his push bumper. Chapman took the lead on lap 3 while Adam Gullion put the 91 into fourth. Jason Martin’s 5X and the 12 of Tyler Drueke spun in turn 2 the next lap for a caution period. Martin’s racer was towed back to the pits, but Drueke was able to continue. Gullion passed Bryan on the restart for third and advanced to second the next time around. Bryan passed Chapman on lap 8 and Chapman also lost fourth to the 35 of Trevor Grossenbacher the next time around. Grossenbacher moved up to third after another circuit. Lap 12 saw Gullion move to the lead as Mike Boston moved up to fourth in his #51. Grossenbacher advanced to second with 5 to go and Boston followed him into third 2 laps later. Grossenbacher temporarily moved to the lead on the final lap, but Gullion went to the bottom in the final 2 corners as Grossenbacher went high. The two banged wheels coming out of 4 and Gullion took the win by just 6 thousandths of a second. The top four were Gullion, Grossenbacher, Boston and the 20P of Shon Pointer who took over fourth at the end.
This was Gullion’s second win in a row. “I was going good running the bottom, but the lapped cars were running there, so I had to make a decision. I moved up to the top late and got sideways. But, Trevor left the bottom open coming to the finish. We got together at the end, but it was just a racing deal. It wasn’t on purpose; it just happened. My crew chief just got out of the burn unit, so I was glad to get the win for him. In fact, I called him a bunch today to talk things over with him. I didn’t think we’d be able to turn our year around the way we have, and getting 2 wins in a row is really shocking to me. We decided to not run for points this year, just wins” said Gullion. Gullion’s sponsors include Precise Roofing, Liquid Nitro, Pro Roloffs, Filley Custom Powder Coating, Pro Shocks, Engler, Fuel Safe and Sardeson Racing.
Next Saturday at Eagle Raceway is Junior Fan Club Night. There will be a kid’s money grab at intermission. Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Adult admission is just $10, youths 6-12 are $5 and children 5 and under are free. Pits open at 4:00 with pit admission being $25.
The Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars, Kaplan University IMCA Modifieds, NAPA IMCA Sport Modifieds, Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and Mountain Dew IMCA Sport Compacts will all be in action.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint 06/04/2016
A Feature:
1. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 2. Trevor Grossenbacher (Hickman, NE), 3. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 4. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 5. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 6. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 7. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 8. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 9. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 10. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 11. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 12. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 13. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 14. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 15. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 16. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA), 17. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 18. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 19. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 20. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE)
B Feature:
1. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 2. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 3. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 4. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 5. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 6. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 7. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 8. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 9. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE), 10. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE), 11. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 12. Jason Becker (Lincoln, NE), 13. Richard Weers (Lincoln, NE), 14. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE)
Heat 1:
1. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 3. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 4. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 5. Trevor Grossenbacher (Hickman, NE), 6. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 7. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 8. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE), 9. Richard Weers (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jason Becker (Lincoln, NE)
Heat 2:
1. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 2. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 3. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 4. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 5. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 6. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 7. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 8. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 9. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE)
Heat 3:
1. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 2. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA), 3. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 4. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 5. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 6. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 7. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 8. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE), 9. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE)