The Pace Lap - Friday May 12, 2006

Great stuff going on this weekend in what should be a series of beautiful nights, weather wise. I apologize if TPL is Eagle-centric this week.

• Lots of specials going on for Moms this week in celebration of Mother's Day. Eagle Raceway is offering free admission to mothers with their children on Saturday night, Wavelink Raceway Park has FREE admission for ladies on Sunday, while Junction Motor Speedway is putting all moms in the drawing for the "best seat in the house" weekly promotion.
• As mentioned previously, Dave Trauernicht is likely going to take on the IMCA Modified gang at Eagle Raceway this weekend, after a confrontation at Beatrice Speedway on May 6 that resulted in him being barred from the track for one week. When Dave's been at Eagle, there always seems to be a race around him. Last year he won perhaps the closest modified race EVER at Eagle Raceway a bumper ahead of Mike Meyer. From the stands, many thought Meyer won, but the transponders in use showed Trauernicht slipped past just 12 thousandths of a second ahead.
  
• Speaking of transponders, Eagle is going to put them back into use Saturday night to provide some relief for the scorers and to help get race results updated quickly - something that has been a little troublesome for the new crew. The office promises some new features and more updates now that the track is back online with hi-speed Internet.
• Also, Eagle Raceway has added live FM to the announcers so you can listen with your radios on 92.1 FM at the racetrack. That will be great news to people who like to hear the announcers during the races, something that can't be done reliably to the whole track even with Eagle's powerful sound system.
  
• Like NASCAR? I don't, but I hear it's big with a lot of folks... (hee, hee) But either way it's worth it when you get a chance to see NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers take on the top guns atI-80 on Sunday night as Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace battle against the Super Late Model drivers. It's always fun to see the drivers get back to their roots. The duo will also make an appearance at Little Sunset Speedway during the IKF event this weekend.
• Lincoln's Matt Richards knocked off his first win of the season at I-80 in the Modified division, while fellow Lincolnite Dave Cook topped the Grand National field that night for the first time this year as well.
  
• The I-80 Crate Late Models are now eligible to run with the Limited Late Model division at Butler County Motorplex. The 'crates can also run with the LLM's at I-80 on Sundays where they're given a weight limit break.
• Is this the year for the Dennis Parker-owned #3 sprint car piloted by Jeff Griffis? After two weeks, with a third-place finish on the opening night and a second-place last Saturday, he now sits atop the Eagle Raceway point standings. There's a lot of season to go but this is a good start for the Council Bluffs, IA duo.
• It was a rough night for Roger Sluka who took a hard ride down the Eagle backstretch after contact with Terry Holliman at the start of the A feature. The car was totaled, but Sluka plans on returning this season. Also, Don Droud Jr took a hard ride (click for photo) in the heat race, with Brad Koehn rolling his modified in the A feature.
  
• HEADS UP! 'khumpal' reports on DirtDrivers that he had a rear-end stolen from his driveway. It seems that the parts theives are out now that race car parts and trailers full of parts and tools are being left out. Last year, Matt Richards had his trailer stolen only to have someone come across it parked behind a rural house north of Lincoln. Lock your stuff up folks. The meth epidemic is making crooks steal anything someone will give even a few bucks for.