A bad couple of nights, a sad couple of weeks

Well, the last 2 nights at Eagle haven't been the greatest. We got to the track a little after 3 on Friday, and went to the office to pick up the money drawers and bands to put on the people coming into the pits. While we were standing outside waiting it decided to rain; and I DO mean rain!! It came down for about an hour, long enough that the night couldn't be salvaged. After a very long and very intense discussion between the owner and Jason from USAC, it was decided that there was no way to make it work. They also discussed a possible make-up at a later date, but it just couldn't be worked out.

We headed home around 5:30 and went to the drug store to pick something up. We came out to more rain and got into the car to sit it out. After 10 minutes of a downpour, I said "The heck with this, I'm heading home". Not the smartest move on my part as it rained even harder!! I could barely see the road and the gutters were running full. Guess USAC and Roger made the right call, huh??

Such a shame!! The first time EVER for USAC's 410 wingless sprints in the state and the only appreciable rain in a couple of weeks has to happen!! There were people from all over camped at the track specifically to catch this show, and I can't remember all of the people who called to find out if the races were still on. Most of them said "AHHH NO!! Oh well, we'll be back next year". Throw in all of the racers who towed in for the show; USAC, SLMR, the mod lites and 600cc mini-sprints, and you have an awful lot of disappointed people. I would be right up there at the top of the list, followed closely by the owner. He said to me that this was the show that he was most excited to watch all year!! One of the drivers even told Jason that he had been looking forward to running the high banks with his 410 ever since he did it in a midget! Oh well, we will all just have to start planning our vactions, sick days, etc. for next year in August.

So, on to Saturday night. Another typical August day in Nebraska. Hot and muggy as all get out!! Lots of people in the stands, track was VERY fast but had a few holes due to all of the rain the night before. There was some really good racing in the heats for all 5 classes, with the only real problem being when Gene Ackland caught the hole in turn 1 and went from wheels, to air, to wheels, to air and back to wheels. He dinged the wing just slightly, but I saw on his Facebook page that the frame was junked.

At intermission the drivers gave all of the kids in the crowd rides around the track in some of the cars that were competing that night. Sport compacts, hobby stocks and modifieds had youngsters getting a thrill that they won't soon forget.

So, as I looked around the sky which had been showing lightning in a 270 degree arc around the track, I hear them telling people to get out of the high-rise grandstand. Well, it didn't take long for the wind to shift and the monsoon began!! The lightning flashed, the thunder crashed and the rain came down SIDEWAYS!! So, we sat in the Pit Shack and watched the procession of haulers and half-drowned spectators slowly pass by the windows. After quite awhile it began to let up and lo and behold, there was clear sky out west. We headed up front to check out and went to the car to try and get out of the parking lot. It only took about 10 minutes; a lot shorter than the folks who left right away. I was told that some of them had spent an HOUR waiting for their turn to hit the highway.

2 nights, 2 rain-outs. The bright spot in it is that I and the fans will be treated to double features during Junior Fan Club Night on the 20th. Hope to see you all there.

Now that I've discussed the couple of bad nights, I'll touch on the sad couple of weeks. 2 weeks ago Saturday Gary Grossenbacher passed away at the young age of 65. This was a great loss to our racing family, to say the least. Gary was the crew chief for the "Black Bandit", Lonnie Jensen, and then took on the role for Lonnie's son Tige who is an Eagle regular in the 360 Sprints.

Equally sad for the local racing scene, and even more sorrowful for me personally was the loss of Frank "Zook" Scdoris. Zook raced at all kinds of local tracks from Capitol Beach, to Beatrice where he is enshrined in their Hall of Fame, to Midwest Speedway where he ended his driving career and took up the reigns as flagman. After he stopped racing his daughter Rhonda took over the seat in the 52 sprinter. And now, his grandson Nick races a 360 at Eagle. The Scdoris (and now Bryan) families are in our thoughts and prayers. They are some of the greatest people I've ever met and I'm very VERY proud to call them friends. I knew Frank for what seems like forever, and I'll miss him terribly, but I know that he's in a better place now.

God obviously needed a couple of great guys who knew their way around a sprinter, because he got 2 of the very best. Our loss is his gain, and I know that the 3 of them are bench racing right now and having a whale of a time!! That would be a conversation worth hearing. Lord, please keep these 2 close to you, and hold their families in your heart as they travel through these rough times.

So, there you have it. 2 lost nights of racing, and MUCH more importantly, 2 horrible losses to our racing family. It's life, and sometimes life is hard. The rest of us just have to pick up the slack for our 2 lost friends and carry on the racing tradition that they were such a large part of.

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Under 240 hours, Eagle racers success, Homer

With the up and down weather that we in eastern Nebraska have been enduring, it's hard to believe that Eagle Raceway will open it's doors for the first time this season just 2 weeks from today. Granted, it's only a Practice Night, but it seems like it's been forever since I've seen cars running on the high banks!!!

Thursday April 14th is the first Practice Night for Eagle, followed by the 2-night Icebreaker Challenge. I've written about this before, so I'll refrain from doing it again. But, suffice it to say that I and a LOT of other racing fans (not to mention the racers themselves) are chomping at the bit!!

Local racing actually started on March 18th & 19th at Beatrice Speedway. Familiar faces from the pits at Eagle Raceway made a good showing with past track champion Jordan Grabouski winning the IMCA A-Modified features both nights. Bob Zoubek was 2nd Friday and Johnny Saathoff took the runner-up position Saturday with Zoubek taking the remaining podium step. Friday night saw another past track champion from Eagle take the top prize in the Hobby Stock division when Roy Armstrong won. Chad Fegley brought home the third-place money. Way to go guys!!!

Another track opened their 2011 season last weekend with I-80's Spring Meltdown. Eagle regulars made a good showing on Saturday evening. Kyle Prauner (B-Mods) as well as Johnny Saathoff and Jordan Grabouski (A-Mods) had podium finishes. RJ Macku won the A Feature for the Hobby Stocks, with Keith Dragoo also finishing in the top 10. Again, congratulations to the guys from Eagle!! Although I couldn't attend, I understand that the racing was VERY good; the crowd was lacking on Friday night however, and I have heard no reports on Saturday's fan count.

Although my 'home track' is also "America's Home Track", I hope that I-80 can find some way to keep going. I'm not sure about their sudden affinity (both last year and this year) with so many sprint car shows, as I-80 has always been known as a fendered car track, but if it keeps the doors open, I say go for it!!!

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And now, back to our regularly schedule blog.

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