2012 Eagle Raceway Schedule

There will be plenty of racing action on the high banks of America's Home Track this season as Eagle Raceway brings you a complete field of action each and every Saturday night with lots of specials thrown in to boot!! Weekly racing action will feature the IMCA A Modifieds, IMCA Northern Sport Modifieds, IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts in addition to the 360 Winged Sprints.

The ASCS Sprints kick off the year headlining the Ice Breaker Challenge Friday and Saturday April 19th & 20th.

The World of Outlaws 410 Winged Sprints come to town for the first time in 3 years on Friday April 27th.

Friday and Saturday, June 8th and 9th will see the ASCS Sprint National Tour invade Eagle to take on the locals during the Eagle Nationals.

USAC brings their non-winged 410 sprinter cars to Nebraska for the first time in history on Friday August 3rd.

The ASCS Sprints return to Eagle on Sunday September 9th to help close out the season.

Here's the tentative schedule for the year:

■Thursday, Apr 19 2012 - Open House Practice Night


■Friday, Apr 20 2012 - Ice Breaker Challenge* -Fri. April 20, 2012

■Saturday, Apr 21 2012 - Ice Breaker Challenge* -Sat. April 21, 2012

■Friday, Apr 27 2012 - SLS presents World of Outlaw Sprints* -Fri. April 27, 2012

■Saturday, Apr 28 2012 - Season Opener -April 28th, 2012

■Saturday, May 5 2012 - Jr Fan Club Night -May 5th, 2012

■Saturday, May 12 2012 - Super Mother's Day Tribute -May 12th, 2012

■Saturday, May 19 2012 - Armed Forces Day -May 19th, 2012

■Saturday, May 26 2012 - Memorial Day Extravaganza -May 26th, 2012

■Saturday, Jun 2 2012 - Student Breakout Night -June 2nd, 2012

■Friday, Jun 8 2012 - TBJ presents Eagle Nationals* -Fri. June 8th, 2012

■Saturday, Jun 9 2012 - TBJ presents Eagle Nationals* -June 9th, 2012

■Saturday, Jun 16 2012 - Father's Day Tribute -June 16th, 2012

■Saturday, Jun 23 2012 - Super Mania 12 -June 23rd, 2012

■Saturday, Jun 30 2012 - Freedom Fest* Fireworks Extravaganza -June 30th, 2012

■Saturday, Jul 7 2012 - Christmas in July -July 7th, 2012

■Saturday, Jul 14 2012 - Super Mania 12 -July 14th, 2012

■Saturday, Jul 21 2012 - Kid's Night Super Bike Giveaway -July 21st, 2012

■Saturday, Jul 28 2012 - Super Mania 12 and Kid's Bike Races -July 28th, 2012

■Friday, Aug 3 2012 - Rumble in the Bull Ring* -Fri. August 3rd, 2012

■Saturday, Aug 4 2012 - Scout Night and Kid's Car Rides -August 4th, 2012

■Saturday, Aug 18 2012 - Jr Fan Club Night -August 18th, 2012

■Saturday, Aug 25 2012 - Season Finale -August 25th, 2012

■Sunday, Sep 2 2012 - Eagle Shootout* -Sun. September 2nd,2012

■Sunday, Sep 9 2012 - Nebraska Cup* -Sun. September 9th, 2012


S-Budweiser Sprints, M-RevHoney IMCA Modifieds, B-NAPA IMCA Sport Modifieds, H-Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks, T-Exhaust Pro’s IMCA Sport Compacts.

For further information, stop by Eagle's website at http://www.eagleraceway.com/

I look forward to seeing you all out there. If you get a chance, stop by the Pit Shack and say hello!!!

Stu Snyder article for Flat Out Magazine

It's been over 5 months since my last blog, but my mother's health concerns have been my only priority in that time. She's back home with us now, and doing fairly well so it's time to let a little of my mind think about racing.

I know that not everyone subscribes to Flat Out Magazine, and I've had requests from those who don't to post my last article online. Well, to those of you who don't subscribe, you should!! But, I want everyone to read about Stu Snyder. Stu was the 2011 points champion in the 360 Sprint Car division at Eagle Raceway, and a nicer young man you could never hope to meet.

So. here it is; my latest article. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It appeared in the lastest issue of Flat Out Magazine. Please, click on the ads beside the blog to help support those who allow me to have my blog on here.

I and a lot of other well-seasoned fans remember fondly the days before the huge trailers with plenty of spares; when even the best of the best pulled into a dirt track with a sprinter on an open trailer behind a pickup and a few extra tires. That was all that they needed to win wherever they raced.

Stu Snyder is proof that you can still do it that way and be successful. He won the 2011 Eagle Raceway Sprint Car points championship, and did it old school! “The trucks and trailers don’t win races; cars, crews and drivers win races” is how Stu puts it. “Would it be nice? Oh yeah it would; but when you don’t have the money for it, you spend the money where it matters. And we’ve proved that a 10 thousand dollar motor can beat anyone out there; we HAVE beaten the best with one”.

Stu started out racing a go kart for the Manleys when he was spotted by Ron Love who gave him the chance to run his 600 mini-sprint at a practice night at Wave-Link Park. After 25 laps Ron told Stu’s father “It’s time to get him into racing full time”. “My career basically began because of the Love family. I started driving for mom and dad; we ran as many 360 shows as we could, and even got to run a 410 show with the Outlaws”. Stu’s dad Joe had worked on mini-sprints quite a lot, but when he started helping out Jeff Lowery (past Eagle Raceway champion), Stu told himself “I want to do that, and I want to be as good as him, if not better!.  Dad brought home Jeff’s 1997 Jenkins when I was 13. Mom wasn’t too happy about the purchase, but after a year of seeing my school work take a turn for the better, she said okay. That was the deal my dad made with me; work your butt off in school and pull good grades, try and get sponsors and work on the car, they would do what they could to get me in a race car”.

Being named the 2003 ESTS and 2004 NCRA Rookie of the Year heralded great things to come, and Stu’s first feature victory came in 2005 while driving for Reagan Kitchen (a previous Eagle champion). The next 4 years saw 3 different teams, plus a ride at the 2009 Belleville Midget Nationals for AJ Felker where he made the A Main both nights. He also had a few nights at the end of that year with his current car owners Eldon and Paula Rhoten. The Rhotens gave him the seat full-time in 2010 and Stu, in turn, gave them their first points win in a long time in 2011.

“I have helped some other drivers win races and championships, including 2 USAC Western States Midget titles with Cruz Pedregon, but I can say now that we won Eldon and Paula something they have wanted for so many years. I only wish I could have driven for them years ago and had my whole career with them. Who knows what more we could have accomplished??”. They managed 4 wins and an 89% top 5 percentage in 2011 at Eagle. “That’s what it takes to be the champ. Wins are nice, but you also have to be smart; make sure you keep finishing in the top 5 and not have any DNF’s. We might have won the title in 2010, but had a few DNF’s that cost us. This year I wasn’t letting anything take it away”.

When asked where he wanted to be 10 years from now in racing, Stu said “I would like to be able to move on to racing with the big dogs in NASCAR or even running some Indy cars”. Stu’s early idols were Doug Wolfgang, Keith Hightshoe, Jeff Lowery, John Gerloff and Jan Opperman. And now, he looks up to former dirt trackers Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon. “I always wanted to follow in their footsteps because they started out doing what I’m doing and made it to the big leagues. That’s what I want to do with my career. But, the Rhotens are the most amazing people I’ve ever driven for, and I hope we can continue this relationship on down the road”.

Stu has great passion for the sport and wants nothing more than to give back to it. “I spend every night in the shop, and every day trying to learn and get better as a driver and as a teacher. The people that come down after the races with their families give every one of us the chance to do something we love to do”. That is the sign of a true champion; paying it forward.e T