Saturday
night at Eagle Raceway saw Rotella’s present High Stakes Showdown. Beautiful
weather, a great crowd and lots of racing on the high banks made for a great
evening. With just 2 weeks left in the regular season, the points races are
heating up and that became even more obvious after racing finished for the
night.
All racing
leading up to the features went by without significant problems.
The Hoosier
Racing Tire IMCA Sportmod feature’s first circuit had Jason Harms’ 6H, the 10
of Bradley Schreiner, Bobby Draper in the 62 and Dion Kovar’s 18 out
front. Draper moved to second on lap 2
with Kovar also passing Schreiner for third. Gunnar Pike put the #25 into
fourth the next time around. Joe Schidler’s K00 jumped into third after another
lap with Pike holding fourth. Pike passed Schidler the next lap and moved to
second on lap 8. With 6 circuits remaining Schreiner and the 66 of Trevor
Noonan spun in turn 4. Gary Saathoff moved his #96 into fourth on the restart.
Shawn Davis’ 88X went up in smoke with just 2 laps left. Pike snagged the lead
on the restart. Saathoff took over third the next lap and the final circuit saw
Joe Feyen’s 25X take the fourth spot. The final top 4 were Pike, Harms,
Saathoff and Feyen.
This was
Pike’s second victory on the season in 2018. “That was interesting. I started
fifth row inside and just rolled the bottom. This is just the second night on
this car and I wasn’t expecting much. We got it set up just right and it’s a
rocket right now. After that big wreck we had I was just planning on running my
A Mod in specials, but we got an opportunity with a guy; this is his whole
set-up. So, we went from a bare frame to winning in just 3 days. It’s just
really fast, so I can’t complain. I want to thank my Mom and Dad, my girlfriend
and my pit guy Anthony” said Pike. Pike’s sponsors include Larson Motors,
Prevention Health Care, Speedway Shocks and Afco.
The Valentino’s
IMCA Hobby Stock Feature saw Brint Lemke lead lap 1 in the 26L with Ryan Gilland
in the 46, Tyler Jackson’s 13T and Brooke Fluckiger in the 2B rounding out the
top 4. The yellow lights came on in the corners on lap 2 for debris on the
track. David Carter passed Fluckiger on lap 5 to put the 2C into fourth. Carter
got past Jackson for third the next time around. Roy Armstrong put the 6R into
fourth with 8 to go. Gilland passed Lemke with 2 laps remaining but lost the
spot back to Lemke the last time around making the top 4 Lemke, Gilland, Carter
and Armstrong.
This was Lemke’s
first victory at Eagle Raceway in this, his tenth year in racing. The feature saw him take off from the fourth
spot on the starting grid. “I love Eagle Raceway. We tried racing a Sportmod
last year and we just decided to go back to racing a hobby stock. We got to the
front pretty fast and then the 12 lost it. We just tried to hold our line and
it worked out tonight. I want to than my wife and kids for their support and my
brother has helped me out more than I can thank him for. Nick Beckman, Don Hall
and Tyler Jackson have all also helped me a lot this yea” related Lemke. Lemke’s
sponsors include Marget Motorsports, Jet Racing, Extreme Decals and Shawn
Slezak Carburetors.
The first lap
of the Runner Freight IMCA Modified Feature saw 2 cars spin out in turns 3 and
4, collecting another racer who could not avoid the mess. The yellow flag was
brought out slowing the action. Bob Ruisinger’s 7, the 21H of Shane Hiatt, Trevor
Baker’s 25! And the 96 of Jaxon Saathoff were the top 4 when a lap was officially
in the books. Aaron Pella’s 3A and the 1Z of Norm Ziegenbein got together in
turns 1 and 2 on lap 2 for another caution. On the restart Baker and Ruisinger
got tangled together with Baker ending up on top of Ruisinger. A long time was
taken to separate the two racers. That made the top 4 Hiatt, Saathoff, Jordan
Grabouski in the 30 an the 5S of Bob Zoubek. At that time the racers and the
crowd were advised that due to the time limit of 20 minutes per lap in the
feature that the next yellow or red flag would conclude the action. Grabouski
took over second on the restart. Zoubek passed Saathoff 2 laps later but
Brandon Verbeek’s 4B stopped on the front stretch. That caused the race to be called
on time with the top 4 being Hiatt, Grabouski, Saathoff and Zoubek.
This was #2
on the year for Shane. Hiatt stated “I hate to win a feature like that, but I
felt like we had a good car. I think that Jordan and I were the two fastest
cars, and I would have liked to have found out how it would have turned out.
Whatever would have happened, I feel like we would have been right up there. I
have to say hats off to Roger Hadan for an awesome track! This is probably the
best track that we’ve had all year. I know that he’s been trying really hard to
make it better for us and he hit a home run tonight!”. Hiatt’s sponsors include
BSB Manufacturing, Knuth Farms, Anderson North Collision Center, Mad Max
Motorsports, Speedway Crate Engines, Dynamic Drivelines, CPD Shocks, D-Sign
Shoppe, Billy’s Bar, Shelby Hotel, J & J Motorsports, Mook Trucking, Skytop
Towers, Dominator Race Products and Rerucha Ag and Auto Supply.
Brad
Gallagher’s 26X, the 23 of Tyler Masek, Michelle Nicholson in the 88 and the 55
of Adam Reifler led the field after the first circuit in the ATV Motorsports
IMCA Sport Compact A Feature. Fred Johnson’s 69 stopped on the front stretch on
lap 2 for a caution period. Nicholson went to the pits during the slowing of
the action, putting the 52D of Devin Bruce in fourth and moving Reifler to
third. Justin Callender put his 13BS into fourth on the restart and moved to
third the next time around and took over second after another circuit with Reifler
third and Steffen Oaks fourth in the 17. There were 10 laps left when Oaks
moved to third. 2 laps later Oaks moved up to second with Josh Young’s 13J
advancing to fourth. Oaks slowed with 6 to go. Bruce made hard contact with the
front stretch wall as the field slowed to avoid Oaks and the caution flag flew
again. At that point it was Gallagher, Callender, Young and Reifler. Callender
and Young both passed Gallagher on the restart. The next circuit saw Shawn Hein’s
5H move up to fourth, but Hein went extremely high the next lap and hit the
turn 4 wall. The caution period put RJ Maas’ 88K fourth. Maas slowed on the
restart, moving Tim Horsham’s 3 into fourth, making the final top 4 Callender,
Young, Gallagher and Horsham.
Callender could
not be located for an interview.
Austin
McLean’s 83 led the initial circuit of the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car A Main
with Chase Weiler’s 0, the 62 of Tim Fricke and the21 of Ryan Kitchen hot on
his tail tank. Kitchen jumped up to second on lap 2. Mike Boston moved the 51
into fourth on lap 3 and advanced to third the next lap. Kitchen passed McLean
after another circuit to take the lead, but Matt Richards’ 1R spun in turns 1
and 2. Adam Gullion moved the 91 into fourth on the restart and took over third
on lap 7. Gullion passed Kitchen for second on lap 14 but was put back to third
when the red lights were lit for a crash in turn 3. Shon Pointer had made
extremely hard contact with the large implement tire that guards the back pit
entrance. Pointer was finally extracted and walked to the ambulance to be examined.
Josh Riggins’ 14J was caught up in the mess and was towed to the pits. At that time,
it was McLean, Kitchen, Gullion and Boston the top 4. Jason Danley took the
fourth position on the restart in the 4X. Boston and Danley made contact the
next lap and both spun out. That put the 93 of Ryan King into fourth. Doug Lovegrove
passed King a lap after the restart in the #1. Gullion snagged the lead the
next lap when McLean hit the wall in turns 3 and 4 and brought out another caution.
At that time, it was Gullion, Kitchen, Lovegrove and King. On the restart Joey
Danley put the 14 into fourth and took over the third position the next lap.
The final top 4 were Gullion, Kitchen, Lovegrove and the 100 of Clint Benson
who moved to fourth in the last 2 laps.
This victory, after starting
11th, made Gullion just the third multi-time winner on the 2018
regular season at Eagle Raceway. He said “Austin was really running good.
Honestly, I think he was better than us. He could roll the top in 1 and 2
better than we could. We were having an issue trying to get through there. I
was trying to cowboy up too much. I was really costing myself a lot of speed in
the middle of the apex, because it was pushing the front end. Later in the race
I moved down a little bit and that really helped me through. There was some left
rear rubber getting laid down late in the race in 3 and 4, and that made me
able to make some speed through there. The stars lined up for us tonight. The
last 6 or 7 weeks we’ve had a really, really good run wherever we’ve gone. We’ve
had to do very little to the race car because we’ve found a sweet spot and we’re
not very far off from that lately. Any time you can give me a cushion up on the
wall I’m a happy guy. I love running the cushion at this place. It’s near and
dear to my heart because I’ve been doing it for a long time. Sometimes I just LOVE watching people shake their heads
in disbelief when we do that. I still get my adrenalin going running the top.
It’s just a fine art. You’ve got to be brave and bold, but you have to be meticulous
too” stated Gullion. Gullion’s sponsors include Walker
Performance, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Maxim, Weld Wheels, Filley
Custom Powder Coating, Cheetah Racing Engines, Pro Shocks, Speedway Shock
Technology, Butler, Simpson and PT Steering Gear Service.
Next weekend
is the regular season finale at Eagle Raceway when the Nebraska Lottery
presents Fold ‘Em Finale and Prelude to the RaceSaver IMCA Nationals. All of
the points champions will be crowned. There are hotly contested battles in each
of the classes, so you won’t want to miss a minute of the action.
Blinky the
Clown will be there from 5:30 to 7:30 for the young fans. The evening’s 50/50
raffle will benefit Blue Star Moms.
Front gates
open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing at 6:30. Adult and youths 6-12
are just $5 and children 5 and under are free. Those 55 and older receive free
front gate admission.
The
Racesaver Sprint Cars, Runner Freight Modifieds, Hoosier Racing Tire Sport
Modifieds, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks and ATV Motorsports Sport Compacts will all
be in competition.
Pit gates
open at 4 P.M. with pit passes costing $25.
RESULTS:
IMCA Hobby Stock A-Feature 1. Brint Lemke
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Ryan Gilland Sterling, Ne. 3. David Carter Fremont, Ne. 4. Roy
Armstrong Beatrice, Ne. 5. Jeff Ware Columbus, Ne. 6. Tyler Jackson Lincoln,
Ne. 7. Brooke Fluckiger(r) Columbus, Ne. 8. Albert Kiihne Lincoln, Ne. 9. Tyler
Saathoff Holland, Ne. 10. Mark McKinney Omaha, Ne. 11. Brett Saathoff Lincoln,
Ne. 12. Casey Moyer Auburn, Ne. 13. Nick Beckman Lincoln, Ne. 14. Michael Wade
Dorchester, Ne. 15. Khrysta Stransky Lincoln, Ne. 16. Tanner Dowty Fremont, Ne.
17. Jeff Watts Beatrice, Ne. 18. Anthony Petersen Brock, Ne. 19. Chantel Bade
Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Hobby Stock Heat 1 1. Jeff Watts
Beatrice, Ne. 2. Ryan Gilland Sterling, Ne. 3. Jeff Ware Columbus, Ne. 4.
Brooke Fluckiger(r) Columbus, Ne. 5. Brett Saathoff Lincoln, Ne. 6. Khrysta Stransky
Lincoln, Ne. 7. Chantel Bade Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Hobby Stock Heat 2 1. Tyler Jackson
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Nick Beckman Lincoln, Ne. 3. Brint Lemke Lincoln, Ne. 4. Mark
McKinney Omaha, Ne. 5. Tanner Dowty Fremont, Ne. 6. Casey Moyer Auburn, Ne.
IMCA Hobby Stock Heat 3 1. David Carter
Fremont, Ne. 2. Michael Wade Dorchester, Ne. 3. Roy Armstrong Beatrice, Ne. 4.
Albert Kiihne Lincoln, Ne. 5. Tyler Saathoff Holland, Ne. 6. Anthony Petersen
Brock, Ne.
IMCA Modified A-Feature 1. Shane Hiatt
Rising City, Ne. 2. Jordan Grabouski Beatrice, Ne. 3. Jaxon Saathoff Beatrice,
Ne. 4. Bob Zoubek Dorchester, Ne. 5. Mike Densberger Lincoln, Ne. 6. Justin
Wulf Arlington, Ne. 7. Jan Korth Lincoln, Ne. 8. Rik Gropp Lincoln, Ne. 9.
Jared Deterding Lincoln, Ne. 10. Norm Ziegenbein Lincoln, Ne. 11. Johnny
Saathoff Beatrice, Ne. 12. Trevor Baker Omaha, Ne. 13. Aaron Pella Lincoln, Ne.
14. Nate Thompson Fremont, Ne. 15. Brandon Verbeek Hickman, Ne. 16. Bob
Ruisinger Bennet, Ne.
IMCA Modified Heat 1 1. Shane Hiatt Rising
City, Ne. 2. Jordan Grabouski Beatrice, Ne. 3. Bob Ruisinger Bennet, Ne. 4.
Nate Thompson Fremont, Ne. 5. Brandon Verbeek Hickman, Ne. 6. Norm Ziegenbein
Lincoln, Ne. 7. Justin Wulf Arlington, Ne. DNS. Aaron Pella Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Modified Heat 2 1. Trevor Baker Omaha,
Ne. 2. Rik Gropp Lincoln, Ne. 3. Bob Zoubek Dorchester, Ne. 4. Mike Densberger
Lincoln, Ne. 5. Jaxon Saathoff Beatrice, Ne. 6. Jan Korth Lincoln, Ne. 7.
Johnny Saathoff Beatrice, Ne. 8. Jared Deterding Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sport Compact A-Feature 1. Justin
Callender Lincoln, Ne. 2. Josh Young Beatrice, Ne. 3. Brad Gallagher
Plattsmouth, Ne. 4. Tim Horsham Raymond, Ne. 5. Noah Boller Beatrice, Ne. 6.
Tyler Masek Raymond, Ne. 7. Bryce Walker(r) Omaha, Ne. 8. Jared Jackson Crete,
Ne. 9. Josh Johnson Lincoln, Ne. 10. Mark Lamer Carter Lake, Ia. 11. Louis
Pavey Douglas, Ne. 12. Kasha Hall Lincoln, Ne. 13. Rj Maas Wilber, Ne. 14.
Shawn Hein Beatrice, Ne. 15. Adam Reifler Lincoln, Ne. 16. Steffen Oaks
Lincoln, Ne. 17. Devin Bruce Bennet, Ne. 18. Michelle Nicholson Ashland, Ne.
19. Fred Johnson Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Bryan Vannausdle Nebraska City, Ne.
IMCA Sport Compact B-Feature 1. Bryce
Walker(r) Omaha, Ne. 2. Josh Johnson Lincoln, Ne. 3. Jared Jackson Crete, Ne.
4. Mark Lamer Carter Lake, Ia. 5. Kasha Hall Lincoln, Ne. 6. Robert Greser
Fremont, Ne. 7. Billy Roberts(r) Lincoln, Ne. 8. Justin Myre Carter Lake, Ia.
9. Lucas Kaffenberger(r) Plattsmouth, Ne. DNS. Kyle Grobeck(r) Omaha, Ne.
IMCA Sport Compact Heat 1 1. Rj Maas
Wilber, Ne. 2. Justin Callender Lincoln, Ne. 3. Brad Gallagher Plattsmouth, Ne.
4. Tyler Masek Raymond, Ne. 5. Bryan Vannausdle Nebraska City, Ne. 6. Bryce
Walker(r) Omaha, Ne. 7. Josh Johnson Lincoln, Ne. 8. Lucas Kaffenberger(r)
Plattsmouth, Ne. 9. Justin Myre Carter Lake, Ia.
IMCA Sport Compact Heat 2 1. Steffen Oaks
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Josh Young Beatrice, Ne. 3. Devin Bruce Bennet, Ne. 4. Fred
Johnson Lincoln, Ne. 5. Michelle Nicholson Ashland, Ne. 6. Jared Jackson Crete,
Ne. 7. Kasha Hall Lincoln, Ne. 8. Robert Greser Fremont, Ne.
IMCA Sport Compact Heat 3 1. Adam Reifler
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Shawn Hein Beatrice, Ne. 3. Tim Horsham Raymond, Ne. 4. Noah
Boller Beatrice, Ne. 5. Louis Pavey Douglas, Ne. 6. Mark Lamer Carter Lake, Ia.
7. Billy Roberts(r) Lincoln, Ne. 8. Kyle Grobeck(r) Omaha, Ne.
IMCA SportMod A-Feature 1. Gunnar Pike
South Bend, Ne. 2. Jason Harms David City, Ne. 3. Gary Saathoff Beatrice, Ne.
4. Joe Feyen Plattsmouth, Ne. 5. Shawn Harker Nebraska City, Ne. 6. Joe
Schidler Omaha, Ne. 7. Matthew Andrews Malcolm, Ne. 8. Bobby Draper Valparaiso,
Ne. 9. Arie Schouten Blair, Ne. 10. Dion Kovar Rising City, Ne. 11. Cole Wayman
Lincoln, Ne. 12. Adam Vrbka Eagle, Ne. 13. Mike Scheinost Ceresco, Ne. 14. Rich
Flock Malcolm, Ne. 15. Jeremy Baker Nebraska City, Ne. 16. Trevor Noonan
Dorchester, Ne. 17. Ahnna Schouten Blair, Ne. 18. Bradley Schreiner(r) Weeping
Water, Ne. 19. Hunter Weber Council Bluffs, Ne. 20. Shawn Davis(r) Burr, Ne.
IMCA SportMod B-Feature 1. Trevor Noonan
Dorchester, Ne. 2. Jeremy Baker Nebraska City, Ne. 3. Hunter Weber Council
Bluffs, Ne. 4. Rich Flock Malcolm, Ne. 5. Shawn Davis(r) Burr, Ne. 6. Cole
Nadrchal(r) Springfield, Ne. 7. Kyle Trout Bellevue, Ne. 8. Amber Cook Lincoln,
Ne. 9. Nick Morris Bellevue, Ne. 10. Jason Heaps Lincoln, Ne. 11. Terry
Callender Lincoln, Ne. 12. Braydon Latture Omaha, Ne. 13. Alex Donovan
Sterling, Ne. 14. Randy Fox Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA SportMod Heat 1 1. Arie Schouten
Blair, Ne. 2. Joe Schidler Omaha, Ne. 3. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 4. Jason
Harms David City, Ne. 5. Mike Scheinost Ceresco, Ne. 6. Braydon Latture Omaha,
Ne. 7. Randy Fox Lincoln, Ne. 8. Jason Heaps Lincoln, Ne. 9. Alex Donovan
Sterling, Ne. 10. Kyle Trout Bellevue, Ne.
IMCA SportMod Heat 2 1. Matthew Andrews
Malcolm, Ne. 2. Shawn Harker Nebraska City, Ne. 3. Bradley Schreiner(r) Weeping
Water, Ne. 4. Joe Feyen Plattsmouth, Ne. 5. Adam Vrbka Eagle, Ne. 6. Jeremy
Baker Nebraska City, Ne. 7. Trevor Noonan Dorchester, Ne. 8. Amber Cook
Lincoln, Ne. 9. Rich Flock Malcolm, Ne. 10. Cole Nadrchal(r) Springfield, Ne.
IMCA SportMod Heat 3 1. Gary Saathoff
Beatrice, Ne. 2. Bobby Draper Valparaiso, Ne. 3. Dion Kovar Rising City, Ne. 4.
Cole Wayman Lincoln, Ne. 5. Ahnna Schouten Blair, Ne. 6. Terry Callender
Lincoln, Ne. 7. Hunter Weber Council Bluffs, Ne. 8. Shawn Davis(r) Burr, Ne. 9.
Nick Morris Bellevue, Ne.
IMCA Sprint A-Feature 1. Adam Gullion
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 4.
Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 6. Tyler Drueke
Eagle, Ne. 7. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 8. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 9.
Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 10. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 11. Tim Fricke
Lincoln, Ne. 12. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 13. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 14.
Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 15. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 16. Josh Riggins(r)
Lincoln, Ne. 17. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 18. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 19.
Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 20. Ryan King Bennet, Ne.
IMCA Sprint B-Feature 1. Neil Nickolite
Bellwood, Ne. 2. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 3. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls,
Sd. 4. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 5. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 6. Mike
Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 7. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 8. Trey Gropp(r)
Lincoln, Ne. 9. Frank Rodgers Lucas, Ia. 10. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 11.
Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 12. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 13. Paul Hendrickson
Lincoln, Ne. 14. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. DNS. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 1 1. Matt Richards
Lincoln, Ne. 2. Tim Fricke Lincoln, Ne. 3. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 4. Joey
Danley Lincoln, Ne. 5. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 6. Nathan Weiler Lavista,
Ne. 7. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 8. Frank Rodgers Lucas, Ia.
IMCA Sprint Heat 2 1. Jimmy Grasso Omaha,
Ne. 2. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 3. Josh Riggins(r) Lincoln, Ne. 4. Tyler
Drueke Eagle, Ne. 5. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 6. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne.
7. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 8. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 3 1. Austin McLean
Loveland, Co. 2. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 3. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 4. Doug
Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 5. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 6. Stuart Snyder
Lincoln, Ne. 7. Paul Hendrickson Lincoln, Ne. 8. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Sprint Heat 4 1. Mike Boston Lincoln,
Ne. 2. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 3. Danny Nekolite O'neill, Ne. 4. Tim
Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 5. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 6. Bill Garrow Lincoln,
Ne. DQ. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia.
