Swenson Holds Off Humston to Win Mid-Nebr NCRA 360

From Randy Fisher: DONIPHAN, Neb. -- It took three times but Chuck Swenson found out it was a charm as he lead all 25 laps to the checker Thursday at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in the O’Reilly NCRA 360 Sprint Car Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol.

Swenson started on the outside of the first row and jumped into high gear when the green flag fell. He roared by pole sitter J.D. Johnson to take the lead going into turn one. But it was all for naught as series point leader Garry Lee Maier spun exiting turn two, which brought out the caution and sent him to the back of the field on the restart.

On the second try, Swenson again jumped into the lead. Track officials thought he jumped too quickly and the field regrouped on the false start.

But the Watertown, S.D., driver was not to be denied on the third try to get this race underway. Just as he had twice before – but this time without any cautions – Swenson powered by Johnson and into the lead, as J.D. settled into second.

Chad Humston was a fan favorite all night, hailing from nearby Giltner, Neb. He started fifth in the feature and moved up two spots on the first lap.

Rounding out the early top five were Brian Brown and Toby Chapman.

Swenson continued to pull away from Johnson and by lap five, lead by a half-straightaway.

Johnson suddenly had his hands full keeping Humston at bay for second. Humston looked low a couple of times and finally made the pass stick the following lap.

While Humston was pushing Johnson back to third, Dustin Lindquist has moved up a couple of spots into fourth ahead of Brown.

The running order stayed the same with about the same distance between the top five drivers when Swenson encountered lapped traffic on lap 12. That gave Humston a chance to move up behind the leader.

For several laps, Humston tried to slip to the inside going into the turns. But each time, Swenson would pull away exiting the turns and maintain his lead.

On the 23rd lap, Humston used the traffic to his advantage as he went by Swenson on the high side exiting turn four, or so it seemed at the time.

Just before Humston got to the start stand, the caution came out for one of the back markers, Rick Ideus, who had spun in the middle of turn four.

With the caution, scoring reverted to the last completed lap, which moved Swenson back in front of Humston for the lead on the restart.

The restart came with just three laps left around the 3/8ths-mile oval. And Swenson once again got the job done, streaking away from Humston with the green.

No one could catch Swenson the final three laps to the checker as he won for the second time this year in the NCRA 360 Sprint Car Series.

Humston held on to finish second amidst a round of applause from his fans who were present. Johnson finished third, followed by Lindquist and Brown.

“I knew Chad was there when he caught me,” Swenson said in the winner’s circle. “I was worried about that last restart.”

Humston was beaming afterwards, despite finishing second.

“Chuck showed me the door a couple of times,” he said. “I tried to jump in there but just didn’t have anything for him.”

Maier, the season point leader and defending series champion, rebounded from his first lap spin to finish ninth. Johnson, second in points, has two wins, a second, and a third in his last three races as he continues to cut into Maier’s lead with just a few races to go in the season.

Heat # 1: 1. Toby Chapman, Lincoln, Neb.; 2. Dustin Lindquist, Floodwood, Minn.; 3. Marc Robe, Wichita, Kan.; 4. Gavin Punch, Collinsville, Okla.; 5. Mike Chadd, Lincoln, Neb.; 6. Mike Peters, Wichita, Kan.; 7. Kevin Hulse, Grand Island, Neb.; 8. Roger Sundquist, Lewis, Neb.

Heat # 2: 1. Brian Brown, Higginsville, Mo.; 2. J.D. Johnson, Goddard, Kan.; 3. Seth Brahmer, Wisner, Neb.; 4. Brian Herbert, Dodge City, Kan.; 5. Jason Danley, Lincoln, Neb.; 6. Jake Martens, Fairview, Okla.; 7. Preston Pebbles II, Lubbock, Texas.

Heat # 3: 1. Chuck Swenson, Watertown, S.D., 2. Chad Humston, Giltner, Neb.; 3. Garry Lee Maier, Cimarron, Kan.; 4. Jon Freeman, Salina, Kan.; 5. Rick Ideus, Silver City, Iowa; 6. Billy Alley, Lincoln, Neb.; 7. Luke Cranston, Ness City, Kan.

B feature (all finishers transferred to A): 1. Jon Freeman, 2. Brian Herbert, 3. Rick Ideus, 4. Mike Chadd, 5. Jason Danley, 6. Billy Alley, 7. Kevin Hulse, 8. Luke Cranston, 9. Roger Sundquist, 10. Mike Peters, 11. Jake Martens, DNS – Preston Peebles.

A feature: 1. Chuck Swenson, 2. Chad Humston, 3. J.D. Johnson, 4. Dustin Lindquist, 5. Brian Brown, 6. Toby Chapman, 7. Seth Brahmer, 8. Marc Robe, 9. Garry Lee Maier, 10. Gavin Punch, 11. Mike Chadd, 12. Jon Freeman, 13. Mike Peters, 14. Jason Danley, 15. Brian Herbert, 16. Kevin Hulse, 17. Rick Ideus, 18. Jake Martens, 19. Roger Sundquist, 20. Billy Alley, 21. Luke Cranston.