Today we celebrate the anniversay of the signing of the Declaration of Independance; the document that told the world that we were through belonging to any nation, and that we were a force to be reckoned with. To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield in 'Back to School': "We don't take crap from anybody!!.
Lately, unfortunately, that really hasn't held true. Not only are we still helping out every country that can't take care of themselves, our own government can't even take care of it's own. We spend BILLIONS of dollars on non-citizens and freeloaders, but don't do anything to right the problems that plague the hard-working folks who supply the money to do so.
I'll step off of my "Our government needs to get it's head out of it's lower orifice" soapbox and get back to our regularly scheduled blog. Yes, it's a sore subject with me; but I don't want to get myself started or we'll be here all day.
With only 11 weeks left in Eagle's schedule, I think the place has been doing REALLY well. VERY good crowds weekly, and great racing every night makes this old fan a happy man!! I would venture a guess that it also puts a smile on the faces of the owners/promoters of the facility. Sadly, the same can't be said for a lot of dirt track facilities around the country, and we lose more every year. That is bad for every true dirt track fan; no matter what class is your favorite. Go out and spend an evening at your local track; and while you're at it, take 2 friends who've never been. We need new blood out there, because the die-hard fans are getting fewer and fewer all the time.
This last Saturday's events were no exception. 5 classes of cars racing on what was arguably the best racing surface of the year so far (thanks to no rain on Friday night), and still done early; can't beat that with a stick. The A Modified feature was one of the best races I've witnessed in a long time. From the battle for the lead between Dustin Andersen and Justin Wulf, to the back-and forth at the end with Justin getting the win over multi-time IMCA Champion Johnny Saathoff after Johnny passed him, had the crowd rockin' and rollin' with excitement. Justin was his usual, very quiet self during the interview, but you could see that he was jumping for joy inside. He has a true racer's mentality; evidenced by his quote in his interview "I am NOT going to let Johnny beat me!!!". His first A Mod win was a long time coming, but I highly doubt it will be long before he sees victory lane again.
We're lucky to have what has been called the strongest field of A Mods in the country, and the other classes are no slouches either. A great field in every class makes for fantastic competition in each. If you are a dirt track fan, this is the place to be on summer Saturdays!!
Kevin Anderson got his first win in a Sport Mod, and was really happy to get that monkey off of his back. I kidded him that Roger finally gave him a track that fitted his set-up, but he corrected me by telling that they had finally gotten the car dialed in. All that was thanks to his crew, plus Randy Flodman and Todd Sanford as well as Ed Wooge. Salute to the people who make it possible for all of the racers to get to do what they love!!
RJ Macku got #6 in the hobby stocks Saturday night, after falling out and suffering a DNF the 2 previous weeks. If he can keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble, I just don't see anyone overcoming him for the points win this year. If he didn't hang around with that "Handsome" guy, I'd root for him (sorry Chad; I had to!).
Matt Moyer won his second on the year in the Sport Compacts. A lot of people look down on this class, but when you see the smiles on the face of a winner in ANY class, you just have to love it. Sure, it's an entry-level class, but if you think it's any easier to win because of that you have another think coming. They work all week long at their regular jobs, then go to work on their race cars. They sweat and bleed just as much as any other class, and most do it on their own dime with minimal sponsorship.
Trevor Grossenbacher was on his way to a win over Jack Dover in the 360 sprints, only to catch the Armco in turn 3; snagging the victory from his grasp for the second week in a row. He had been running low, but with all of the lapped traffic he had no choice but to move to the top. His racer ended up riding up onto the wall and finally rolling over. According to the announcer he had been running 1/10th of a second faster than Dover and most likely would not have been caught. Jack mentioned to me in his interview that Trevor needs to slow down just a bit, and he'll be great. I also spoke with Trevor's dad, Steve, after the racing and he referenced a time that he personally took out a tree after clearing that same wall when he ran a sprinter at Eagle. Trevor has the drive, the equipment and the talent to be not just a winner wherever he runs but a champion. Keep your chin up Trevor; it's coming. Mike Boston made it a contest after that, but just couldn't get past Jack. It appeared that the bottom was the place to be, and Jack held on for the win.
I wish that I could get to other tracks, but with our money situation I just don't see that happening. What really bothers me is the fact that I won't get to see the World of Outlaws this year (barring a strange occurence like the one that made it possible for me to attend my one and only Knoxville Nationals a few years ago). This really sucks, because there are SO many people that I only get to see once a year. I'll especially miss our time with Dana and Stevie Kinser. Those are 2 of our favorite members of our extended racing family. I truly think that seeing our friends is more important than the racing itself; both at a WoO event and any other dirt track race. Don't get me wrong, because any and all dirt track racing is something to not be missed; and the WoO is the cream of the crop when it comes to cruising around the clay!!
Coming up next weekend is Christmas in July, where we try to help out the Toys for Tots campaign by giving $5 off an adult admission for the donation of a new toy to the cause. The following week anyone in uniform or with a current ID showing that they are a volunteer fire or rescue member gets in the front gate free. Saturday July 23rd is our annual Kids Night/Bike Giveaway. Can a new record be set after having over 340 bicycles given away last year? Come out and see for yourself, but you'd better get there early if you want a good seat because the place will be packed!!!
The show that I'm really jazzed about is coming August 5th. USAC will be bringing their wingless 410 sprint cars to Nebraska for the first time EVER!! The very thought of this event hearkens my heart back to the old IMCA State Fair sprint car shows of yesteryear. I cannot wait to see those fire-breathers on the high banks!!
Please, click on the ads on the right side of the page. We need to help support the people who make it possible for yahoos like myself to have a place to blog at. Thanks for taking the time out from your busy lives to read my blog.
Here are last Saturday's results:
360 Sprint 7/2/2011
A Main:1. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 2. Mike Boston (Crete, NE), 3. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 4. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 5. Tyler Drueke (Omaha, NE), 6. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jeff Osborn (Savannah, MO), 8. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 9. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 10. Jason DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 11. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 12. Mitchell Moore (Edgerton, KS), 13. Josh Riggins (Lincoln, NE), 14. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 15. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 16. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE), 17. Trevor Grossenbacher (Lincoln, NE), 18. Frank Sheridan (Lincoln, NE), 19. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 20. Terry Cadwallader (Lincoln, NE), 21. Dave Glennon, 22. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 1:1. Tyler Drueke (Omaha, NE), 2. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 3. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 4. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 5. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 6. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 7. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 8. Frank Sheridan (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 2:1. Mike Boston (Crete, NE), 2. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 3. Jason DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 4. Jeff Osborn (Savannah, MO), 5. Josh Riggins (Lincoln, NE), 6. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE), 7. Mitchell Moore (Edgerton, KS), 8. Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE),
Heat 3:1. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 2. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 3. Trevor Grossenbacher (Lincoln, NE), 4. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 5. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 6. Dave Glennon, 7. Terry Cadwallader (Lincoln, NE),
IMCA Hobby Stock 7/2/2011
A Feature:1. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 2. Roy Armstrong (Beatrice, NE), 3. Robbie Hobus (Council Bluffs, IA), 4. Don Hall Jr (Lincoln, NE), 5. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 6. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 7. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 8. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 9. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE), 10. Eric Cerny (Rogers, NE), 11. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 12. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 13. Tim LaPointe (Lincoln, NE), 14. David Carter (Fremont, NE), 15. Kyle Hein (Columbus, NE), 16. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 17. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 18. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 19. Andrew Lewis (Martell, NE), 20. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA),
B Feature:1. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA), 2. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 3. Kyle Hein (Columbus, NE), 4. Tim LaPointe (Lincoln, NE), 5. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 6. Scott Santee (Omaha, NE), 7. Luke Nicholson (Ashland, NE), 8. Khrysta Stransky (Lincoln, NE), 9. Dale Hoyle (Nebraska City, NE), 10. Jeremy Conkel (Lincoln, NE), 11. Jared Flodman (Lincoln, NE), 12. Danny Patrick (Wilbur, NE), 13. Jason Tadlock (Omaha, NE), 14. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 15. Jacob Waldron (Beatrice, NE),
Heat 1:1. Don Hall Jr (Lincoln, NE), 2. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 3. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 4. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 5. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 6. Jason Tadlock (Omaha, NE), 7. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 8. Danny Patrick (Wilbur, NE), 9. Jared Flodman (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jeremy Conkel (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 2:1. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 2. Robbie Hobus (Council Bluffs, IA), 3. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 4. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 5. Eric Cerny (Rogers, NE), 6. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 7. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA), 8. Tim LaPointe (Lincoln, NE), 9. Luke Nicholson (Ashland, NE), 10. Scott Santee (Omaha, NE),
Heat 3:1. David Carter (Fremont, NE), 2. Roy Armstrong (Beatrice, NE), 3. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 4. Andrew Lewis (Martell, NE), 5. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE), 6. Kyle Hein (Columbus, NE), 7. Khrysta Stransky (Lincoln, NE), 8. Dale Hoyle (Nebraska City, NE), 9. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jacob Waldron (Beatrice, NE),
IMCA Modified 7/2/2011
A Feature:1. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 2. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 3. Matt Brack (Mead, CO), 4. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 5. Dustin Andersen (Omaha, NE), 6. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 7. Chris Ableson (Sioux City, IA), 8. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 9. Ed RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 10. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 11. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 12. Scott Bivens (Ceresco, NE), 13. Jerry Trejo (Lincoln, NE), 14. Jan Korth (Lincoln, NE), 15. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 16. Roger Hadan (Bennington, NE), 17. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 18. Lance Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 19. Will Brack (Mead, co), 20. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE),
B Feature 1:1. Jan Korth (Lincoln, NE), 2. Ed RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 3. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 4. Jarrod Wiechert (Lincoln, NE), 5. Matt Stevens (Waverly, NE), 6. Jace Wikoff (Lincoln, NE), 7. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 8. Jim KRUPICKA (Denton, NE), 9. Mike Scheinost (Lincoln, NE),
B Feature 2:1. Will Brack (Mead, co), 2. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 3. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 4. Andrew Hille (Hickman, NE), 5. Tyler GREENE (Rock Port, MO), 6. Patrick DONOVAN (Sterling, NE), 7. Brian Olson (Lincoln, NE), 8. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 9. Matt TEMPLIN (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 1:1. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 2. Matt Brack (Mead, CO), 3. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 4. Scott Bivens (Ceresco, NE), 5. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 6. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jan Korth (Lincoln, NE), 8. Matt Stevens (Waverly, NE), 9. Mike Scheinost (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 2:1. Chris Ableson (Sioux City, IA), 2. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 3. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 4. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 5. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 6. Andrew Hille (Hickman, NE), 7. Matt TEMPLIN (Lincoln, NE), 8. Will Brack (Mead, co), 9. Brian Olson (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 3:1. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 2. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 3. Dustin Andersen (Omaha, NE), 4. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 5. Jim KRUPICKA (Denton, NE), 6. Ed RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jarrod Wiechert (Lincoln, NE), 8. Jace Wikoff (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 4:1. Lance Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 2. Jerry Trejo (Lincoln, NE), 3. Roger Hadan (Bennington, NE), 4. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 5. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 6. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 7. Patrick DONOVAN (Sterling, NE), 8. Tyler GREENE (Rock Port, MO),
IMCA Sport Compact 7/2/2011
A Feature:1. Matt Moyer (Gretna, NE), 2. Nick Lindblad (Beatrice, NE), 3. Fred Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 4. Kenny Roberts (Lincoln, NE), 5. Chad Bassinger (Nebraska City, NE), 6. Ole Olsen (Carter Lake, IA), 7. Kyle Gannon (Lincoln, NE), 8. Josh Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 9. Trevor Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 10. Brian Haller (Lincoln, NE), 11. Troy Knoell (Omaha, NE), 12. Travis Schellpeper (Douglas, NE), 13. Michelle Nicholson (Ashland, NE), 14. Brandon Bolin (Lincoln, NE), 15. Kevin Staack (Lincoln, NE), 16. Jesse Osmon (Alvo, NE), 17. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 18. Amanda Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 19. Barry Kinnersley (LaVista, NE), 20. Nic Hitz (Lincoln, NE),
B Feature:1. Josh Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 2. Brandon Bolin (Lincoln, NE), 3. Michelle Nicholson (Ashland, NE), 4. Troy Knoell (Omaha, NE), 5. Nic Hitz (Lincoln, NE), 6. David Knoell (Omaha, NE), 7. Kevin Fearing (Lincoln, NE), 8. Mike Simpson (Ashland, NE), 9. John Sedlachek (Eagle, NE), 10. Sara Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 11. Rick Hollandsworth (Lincoln, NE), 12. David Knoell Sr, 13. Samantha Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 14. Amanda Triplette (Lincoln, NE), 15. Erica Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 16. Lindsay Nicewonger (Lincoln, NE), 17. Blake HAAS (Eagle, NE), 18. Larry Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 19. Shannon Wulf (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 1:1. Fred Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 2. Matt Moyer (Gretna, NE), 3. Ole Olsen (Carter Lake, IA), 4. Jesse Osmon (Alvo, NE), 5. Kyle Gannon (Lincoln, NE), 6. Erica Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 7. Brandon Bolin (Lincoln, NE), 8. Michelle Nicholson (Ashland, NE), 9. Samantha Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 10. Shannon Wulf (Lincoln, NE), 11. Blake HAAS (Eagle, NE),
Heat 2:1. Barry Kinnersley (LaVista, NE), 2. Nick Lindblad (Beatrice, NE), 3. Kevin Staack (Lincoln, NE), 4. Kenny Roberts (Lincoln, NE), 5. Travis Schellpeper (Douglas, NE), 6. Kevin Fearing (Lincoln, NE), 7. Mike Simpson (Ashland, NE), 8. Rick Hollandsworth (Lincoln, NE), 9. David Knoell (Omaha, NE), 10. David Knoell Sr, 11. Amanda Triplette (Lincoln, NE), 12. Nic Hitz (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 3:1. Trevor Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 3. Amanda Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 4. Brian Haller (Lincoln, NE), 5. Chad Bassinger (Nebraska City, NE), 6. Josh Johnson (Lincoln, NE), 7. Larry Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 8. Troy Knoell (Omaha, NE), 9. Sara Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 10. Lindsay Nicewonger (Lincoln, NE), 11. John Sedlachek (Eagle, NE),
IMCA Sport Modified 7/2/2011
A Feature:1. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 2. Marty Steinbach (Fremont, NE), 3. Todd Sanford (Lincoln, NE), 4. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 5. Joey DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 6. Kyle Prauner (Norfolk, NE), 7. Benji Legg (Beatrice, NE), 8. Anthony Kobus (David City, NE), 9. Larry Robinson Sr (Omaha, NE), 10. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 11. Ryan Munhall (Plattsmouth, NE), 12. Laini Schwartz (Omaha, NE), 13. Steve Swarthout (Beatrice, NE), 14. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 15. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 16. Kyle Driskell (Rock Port, MO), 17. Nathan Kobus (Lincoln, NE), 18. Max Harder (Blue Springs, ne), 19. Dan JACKSON (Crete, NE), 20. Shelly Andersen (Lincoln, NE),
B Feature:1. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 2. Benji Legg (Beatrice, NE), 3. Shelly Andersen (Lincoln, NE), 4. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 5. Larry Robinson Sr (Omaha, NE), 6. Denny BERGHAHN JR (Plattsmouth, NE), 7. Nate Thompson (Fremont, NE), 8. Buddy Ray Jones (Council Bluffs, IA), 9. Lindsey Yost (Nebraska City, NE), 10. Roger Harpster (Omaha, NE), 11. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE), 12. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 13. Steven Saunders (Bellevue, NE), 14. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 15. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 1:1. Kyle Prauner (Norfolk, NE), 2. Nathan Kobus (Lincoln, NE), 3. Ryan Munhall (Plattsmouth, NE), 4. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 5. Laini Schwartz (Omaha, NE), 6. Shelly Andersen (Lincoln, NE), 7. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 8. Larry Robinson Sr (Omaha, NE), 9. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 10. Buddy Ray Jones (Council Bluffs, IA),
Heat 2:1. Kyle Driskell (Rock Port, MO), 2. Max Harder (Blue Springs, ne), 3. Todd Sanford (Lincoln, NE), 4. Anthony Kobus (David City, NE), 5. Dan JACKSON (Crete, NE), 6. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 7. Denny BERGHAHN JR (Plattsmouth, NE), 8. Nate Thompson (Fremont, NE), 9. Steven Saunders (Bellevue, NE), 10. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE),
Heat 3:1. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 2. Joey DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 3. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 4. Marty Steinbach (Fremont, NE), 5. Steve Swarthout (Beatrice, NE), 6. Benji Legg (Beatrice, NE), 7. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 8. Lindsey Yost (Nebraska City, NE), 9. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 10. Roger Harpster (Omaha, NE),
