Sunday, February 25, 2018

Shane Hiatt. 2017 Eagle Raceway Modified Champion

33-year old Shane Hiatt from Rising City is your 2017 IMCA Modified Champion at Eagle Raceway.  

Although he did not start racing until 2006 when he strapped into a Hobby Stock, he was no stranger to dirt track racing. "Ever since I was a kid I wanted to drive a race car. When we were growing up my Dad helped Tom Svoboda, and that's how I got hooked on it; going to Tom's shop with Dad, watching them work on stuff. Then going to the races with them all over heck. The funny thing is that it was kind of a secret when I got my first car. I used to race 4-wheelers with my buddies. I heard that a guy was wanting to trade his turn-key Hobby Stock for a 4-wheeler. So, my buddy and I went over there to Iowa and traded my 4-wheeler for his race car. I brought it home and my parents freaked out! 'What are you doing?? This is going to be expensive!! You shouldn't be doing this!!!'. But; it didn't take long for them to get hooked on it too. It seemed like after my first couple of races they were asking 'Where are we going next? When are you going to race next?? Let's go here; let's go there!!!'. At the beginning they didn't really like the idea, because they knew that it was going to cost a lot of money and it was going to take a lot of time. But now they're really hooked on it and it's been a family deal ever since. Ever since then my mom and dad and my wife and kids are at the races. I don't think that my parents ever missed a race of mine". 

"I started out racing a Hobby Stock at Eagle Raceway, and raced that until 2008. That was the first thing I ever drove competitively. We were pretty successful in the Hobby Stock class. We decided that we wanted to win a championship in the Hobby Stock before we moved up a class. We finally did that at US 30 Speedway, so we decided to make the jump to a modified. We might have gone to a B Mod, but there weren't a lot of B Mods around at that time. So, we decided to go with the modified and try that out". 

I asked if he were enjoying the modified more than the hobby stock. "Oh yeah. When we first started in the modified there was a lot to learn for sure. We struggled at the beginning, because the thing was that nobody in my family had ever raced before".  

How about racing at Eagle Raceway. "I love it! See, that's the thing; going to watch Tom Svoboda, that was my favorite track. I've been going to Eagle ever since I could walk. Mom would take my brother and I up into the stands and Dad would go help Tom in the pits. When I first started racing I told myself 'If I could just win a feature there, that would be awesome!!! If I could just get a win there it would be great'. We grew up at Eagle. The history behind it and all of the great racers who raced there. I started winning a few in the Hobby Stock and then some in the modified. We came close a few years to winning the track points, but just came up short. But, it was always our goal to win a track championship there. That would top it all off for us. It was what we always wanted to do; to be able to win the championship at Eagle has been a life-long dream of mine. I feel very humble to just be able to finally get it done; especially after all of the work put out by my family, my crew guys and all of those other people who help out. It was just a really awesome deal". 
I then questioned him about what was different this year that led to him finally getting his dream fulfilled. "I think the biggest thing was that we've always been consistent, but this year it didn't seem like we had the bad luck at the end of the season like we did in the past. There were times in the past where we had a 10 point lead or so. We'd end up breaking a gear and lose the points on the last night, or in 2016 we got caught up in a wreck and couldn't finish the feature and ended up losing the points that way. It seemed like the last 2 nights of the season we would have bad luck and come up just short. We've always been right there and been consistent. I think that the last 3 years we led the points up until the last week or so, but then had bad luck or something until this year". 

As for his plans for this coming season, he said "We'll be doing pretty much the same thing. We'll definitely be at Eagle weekly, just like we've always done. This year we have a sponsor who wants us to run another track on Fridays, so we decided that we'll be doing that also. We'll try to hit some of the local specials that don't interfere with us racing at Eagle too". 

He finished by saying "I've got to thank all of my sponsors that have helped us out through the years. We couldn't have done this without them. Also, I want to thank my parents, my wife and my brother. Of course, all of my crew guys. I couldn't be successful without all of them. It just wouldn't work". 

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Your 2017 Eagle Raceway Racesaver IMCA Sprint Champion

By Greg Soukup 

Having started out running a what he called a "yard kart" at a very young age, it is no big surprise that 24-year old Tyler Drueke from Eagle, Nebraska went on to win his second championship in a row in the Racesaver IMCA Sprints at Eagle Raceway last season. From that early beginning he moved into junior sprints at 11, the restrictor class go-karts and up to the outlaw mini-sprints. His first full-sized sprint experience was in a 360 in 2010. He made the switch to the Racesaver sprints full-time in 2016 after testing the waters in 2015 and has taken the points win the last 2 seasons. 
"I think that running the higher horsepower 360's was an advantage when you start running the Racesavers over the drivers who haven't had that experience. Racing a sprint car is all about experience. As much as you can get on the race track the better off you're going to be". 

I asked if he planned to top Mike Boston's record of 7 points championships in the sprints at Eagle, and he replied "I don't know about that! We've got a long way to go to do that. We've got to think about 3 before we ever start thinking about 7 or 8. We'll put things together and see where that takes us". 

I then questioned what he thought brought about last season's championship. "Perseverance is probably the #1 thing. After we did it in 2016 I didn't want to get stagnant and do the same things again. If you go to Eagle every week sometimes you can fall into a rut where you just do the same thing week in and week out. Even though you might be having success, if you're not stepping outside of your comfort zone somebody else is going to find something, catch up to you and pass you on by before you even know it. We started out last year trying a lot of different stuff. It worked when we hit it right and it was wicked fast. The first night of the Icebreaker Challenge we were about as good as we could have been I think. Right up until I got into the wall that is. I hit it and broke the Jacobs Ladder. So, then about mid-season we just weren't consistent with what we were trying. We talked it over and decided that 'If we're going to win this deal we've got to stop that right now'. We went back to what we did in 2016. When we did that our results came right back and started finishing in the top 5 every week. It wouldn't be right if I didn't say that some other guys had some bad luck, but we got all of our bad luck out of the way at the beginning of the year and that led to a very good second half of the year". 

"I need to thank Matt Zoz. He pretty much does all of the work on the car. Being a truck driver, I don't get home too early at night and I leave really early in the morning. He takes a big load off of my shoulders, and I know 100 percent that I could not do it without him. Also, Dustin Gerdes drives up from Auburn ever week. My Dad and my little brother; just like a lot of other families we started racing as a family when I was 11 or 12 years old and we've been doing it that way ever since. Plus, there's my fiancĂ© Brandy. She likes to come to the races and her favorite part is the interaction with the young fans. She's going to school to be a teacher, so she enjoys when I and the other drivers have their interactions with the fans". 

What does the 12 team have in store for next year? "Well; my parents think I'm crazy, but I've been looking at the schedules and I've put about 70 races on my schedule. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it to all of them, but as of right now we'll be at Eagle Raceway every weekend. I think we'll go to Cameron, Missouri every Friday with the Racesaver. I've kind of centered the schedule around the highest paying shows with the least amount of travel. We'll definitely be at the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Nationals". 

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Eagle Raceway's 2017 IMCA Sport Modified Champion

When I originally tried to arrange my interview with the 2017 Eagle Raceway IMCA Sport Modified points champion, I was advised that he was going to be busy getting ready for a science competition where he was going to be a moderator. That may not sound like your typical dirt track racer's down-time activity, but this young man isn't typical. 

The 20-year old from Columbus, Nebraska began racing go-karts at the age of 7. He stayed in them until he was 11. After a couple of years off, he started again in the IMCA Sport Modified class after reaching the minimum IMCA age of 14. In just his fifth year he managed a class championship; something many drivers with decades of experience have yet to achieve. 

I asked what he thought of his points victory. "I'm really enjoying it! There's a lot of heavy hitters at Eagle Raceway. They used to race other classes and they're kind of dropping down. They aren't ready to get out of the sport, and they're still really hard to beat. Then there's those other guys who are just getting into the sport. They're really fast as well". 

Trent comes from a racing family with a rich and deep background in the sport. "I'm a fourth generation racer. My great-grandpa Dale started racing, then grandpa Reggie ran Late Models until about 2000 or 2002. My Dad raced Late Models from the mid-90's until my brother Anthony who runs IMCA Modifieds and I started to race". 

Trent and his brother pretty much do all of the work on both of their cars. "Anthony and I do most of it. Dad will come and check up on us; making sure that the set-up sheet looks good and that's about all. I couldn't do this without my dad and my crew chief Kenny though. Kenny comes and checks all of the bolts and helps out throughout the week". 

Asked about competing at Eagle, Trent said "Eagle is a great atmosphere. The fans are fantastic! There's nowhere else that I've raced that is even comparable to the atmosphere at Eagle. The track is really racy; I've got to thank Roger for that, and everyone else at Eagle". 

"I want to thank my brother Anthony, my family, my friends, the fans and everyone else who helps to make it possible for me to do this. My sponsors of course. Race season is right around the corner and I can't wait to get 2018 going strong!!". 

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Your 2017 Sprint Series of Nebraska Champion

By Greg Soukup 
This week, I spoke to your 2017 Sprint Series of Nebraska champion, Adam Gullion. The 32-year old pilot from Lincoln, Nebraska began racing at a very early age. 
"I started racing when I was 11. My Dad bought me a mini-sprint when I was 10, but it sat for a year because he owned a modified down at Beatrice. A family friend was going to buy it, but they couldn't get the deal done. So, my Dad ended up buying a Chevy dually pickup from him, and in the deal also got the mini-sprint with it. I began racing it at Greenwood Speedway, and then moved up to a 600 restricted for about 7 or 8 races. We were competitive, but we kind of struggled. After those races were over we'd take the restrictors out and go race. The increased horsepower and speed seemed to help me out. You had to be 14 at the time in order to race the open class, but we were able to get me grandfathered in. That let us run the rest of the year in the open class. We actually picked up a feature win at the end of the year. The following 2 years we won the championship both years, along with rookie of the year the first year. I kind of progressed through the ranks, from micros to 360 sprints and now the Racesaver sprints. It's been a fun time". 
When asked about his time in the Racesaver class, Adam said "I ran the first Racesaver Nationals held at Eagle Raceway. I had just gotten married that summer. My wife and I had pretty much put everything we had into my 360 operation, spending just an astronomical amount of money on it; but all it did was blow up!! We honestly got tired of it, and I was on the verge of selling out. But, my crew chief got together with a couple of people and rented an Assasin Racing Racesaver engine from Roger Hadan just to run that first Racesaver Nationals, and I think we finished third or fourth! We had a really, really good time that weekend. So, that winter they talked me into getting rid of my 360 stuff. I sold my 360 engine for a complete Racesaver sprint; motor and all. That's all I've been racing ever since for the past 4 years. Don't get me wrong, every class of racing has its own challenges. The Racesavers have their challenges with the lower horsepower and torque, but it's a level playing field. Honestly, this class makes me appreciate championships and feature wins even more. Because now it doesn't come down to the best motor, but it's about the set-up and the driver. It makes winning harder, but it also makes it more important. Now, if you can win a race or a championship, overall it means that you had the best team and best driver for that season".  
Having created the Sprint Series of Nebraska to allow the local drivers more opportunities to race and accumulate points for the national IMCA championship pace, Roger Hadan has decided to not schedule races for the series this year due to 2 additional tracks in the area competing. This gives area competitors 2 additional nights to race. 
I asked Adam if he would miss the chase. "Yeah, I will. I'm older now and I have a little boy with another child on the way. Racing for my family is the same way it is for most families I would think. It's very family oriented! We've always made sure that the whole family is included. My mother-in-law goes, my parents go, and of course my wife and son. All of the people involved we spend a lot of time with; we do Christmases together. It's all family oriented. Travelling for me is a time that you get to set in the back of the toter home, watch movies, tell stories and laugh with each other. I really enjoyed that part of the Sprint Series of Nebraska. Racing at different venues gives you new challenges and chances to learn new things. That part was fun, but I'm going to miss travelling with my families and friends. I'd really like to see Roger bring the series back some time, but if not we'll try to do some travelling anyway. We'll still be at Eagle Raceway weekly, but we'll go somewhere when we're not at Eagle. My nephew is going to start racing a micro-sprint on Fridays. He's going to run in the restrictor class and I'm going to run in the non-winged class. My racing has always been family oriented, so if we're going to race it's going to be as a family; that's one of the biggest reasons that I enjoy racing". 
He concluded the interview by relating "I want to thank everyone for all of their help and support. Races are won in the shop, and championships are won because of the dedication of multiple people. The driver gets all of the accolades, but it shouldn't be that way. It's definitely the pit crew who makes it possible. I wouldn't be able to even race if it wasn't for them and all of my sponsors".