By Greg Soukup
The pits were full with 140 teams, the stands were jammed with fans, and the weather was perfect. The rains of the last 2 Saturdays were forgotten as Freedom Fest, presented by Coors Light was held Saturday at Eagle Raceway.
There were 3 major incidents in the preliminary action, all occurring in the Racesaver IMCA Sprint cars.
In the first heat, the 8G of Jimmy Grasso spun in front of the field at the start and ended up rolling over, landing on its wheels. In heat 2, Adam Gullion’s #91 bicycled in turns 3 and 4 and went flying up and over the Armco, coming to rest against the catch fence at the exit to turn 4. In the B Feature, Jason Becker’s 17B flipped in turn 1. None of the 3 drivers suffered serious injuries, and only Becker was unable to make repairs in time to continue.
Ryan King’s #93, the 03 of Shayle Bade, Shon Pointer in the 20P and Boyd Peterson’s 57B led the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car A Feature. Gene Ackland passed Peterson on lap 2 to put the 14G into fourth. Pointer took second the next lap and lap 4 saw the yellow flag fly for debris in turn 3. Toby Chapman put the 7KX into fourth on the restart, but Ackland got back to fourth the next lap and took over third the following circuit. Joey Danley’s #14 got sideways in turn3 on lap 10 and the caution lights were lit again. Jack Dover used the restart to put the 84 into third. Peterson looped in turn four however, putting Dover back to fourth. Dover got back into third on the restart. With 8 to go Pointer got past King to take the lead as Dover moved to second. The next time around Dover took over the lead, moving Pointer to second. At the checkers, the first four were Dover, Pointer, King and Ackland. However; in post-race tech inspection Pointer’s wing was found to be too far forward, resulting in him being disqualified. The official top four were Dover, King, Ackland and the 5X of Jason Martin.
Dover made a fantastic run, having come through the B Feature and moving from his 16th starting spot to 6 by the first caution flag. Dover’s only previous Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car victory came 2 years previous when he took home the crown for the Sprint Nationals. Dover said “I have to thank Chris Roseland for letting me drive his car and giving me a great piece tonight, and Steve for helping me get the car ready. It was really good tonight, and it feels so good to get a win after all of the bad luck we’ve been having”. Dover’s sponsors include Backlund Plumbing and Omaha WinWater Company.
Next Saturday is Fan Appreciation Night at Eagle Raceway. Front gate tickets for all fans 6 years old and up are just $5, with children 5 and under free. Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30.
Pit gates open at 4 P.M. with pit passes costing $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Sprint 07/09/2016
A Feature: 1. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 2. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 3. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 4. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 5. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 6. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 7. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 8. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 9. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 10. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 11. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 12. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 13. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 14. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 15. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 16. Tim Hilfiker (Greenwood, NE), 17. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 18. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 19. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE), 20. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE) B Feature: 1. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 2. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 3. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 4. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 5. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 6. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA), 7. Brandon Horton (Omaha, NE), 8. Daniel Nekolite (Lincoln, NE), 9. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE), 10. Dwight Carter (Lincoln, NE), 11. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 12. Jason Becker (Lincoln, NE)
Heat 1: 1. Ryan King (Bennet, NE), 2. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 3. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 4. Shon Pointer (Grand Island, NE), 5. Nate Weiler (Omaha, NE), 6. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 7. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 8. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 9. Jimmy Grasso (Omaha, NE)
Heat 2: 1. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 2. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 3. Boyd Peterson (Ithaca, NE), 4. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 5. Tim Hilfiker (Greenwood, NE), 6. Dwight Carter (Lincoln, NE), 7. Blain Petersen (Essex, IA), 8. Jason Becker (Lincoln, NE), 9. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE)
Heat 3: 1. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 2. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 3. Mike Boston (Lincoln, NE), 4. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 5. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 6. Ron Love (Lincoln, NE), 7. Brandon Horton (Omaha, NE), 8. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 9. Daniel Nekolite (Lincoln, NE)