Boston, Wilhelm, Keaton and Rhiley Win Christmas in July Night

By Greg Soukup

"Christmas in July" Fan Appreciation Night, sponsored by Colby Ridge and The
Brew 96.1 saw a great turnout. Around 300 of the best fans anywhere took the
opportunity to help out the Toys for Tots campaign by donating a toy and
received a discount on their admission. Many, many toys were also donated by
drivers in the pits. The action on the track matched the enthusiasm of the
fans with three and four wide racing throughout the evening.

In the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compact A Feature Larry Cronin's #5 was
in the lead at the completion of the first lap. Cronin was followed closely
by the #33 of Jeremy Noonan, the 28H of Jeremy Conkel and Dan Rhiley's #2.
On lap #2 Rhiley passed Conkel for third and the next lap Matt Moyer's #29
and Jason Miller's 77 also got around Conkel to take over fourth and fifth.
On the same lap Rhiley overtook Cronin and Noonan to snare the lead. The
very next lap Miller ran hard into the front stretch wall after contact with
Moyer. Miller was unable to continue. At that time, the order was Rhiley,
Cronin, Noonan and the #14 of Joey Danley. Cronin was forced to the pits
when he suffered a flat right front tire with 14 laps remaining. This
allowed the #51 of Amanda Rhiley to advance up to the fourth position. Three
laps later Amanda got around Danley for the third spot. At the completion of
the race it was Dan Rhiley, Jeremy Noonan, Amanda Rhiley and the #62 of
Justin Busboom.

"Well, we got the Ray's Quality Towing/2 Men and a Shop car up front this
time" Rhiley said. "The track was better for the tuners tonight than it's
been in quite awhile. It worked real well for us, and the Honda ran great
against some really tough competition. Fortunately for us some really good
cars had to drop out" he stated. "After last week when I didn't make the A
Feature for the first time in three years, this feels really good" he
continued. "We won last night in Alta, Iowa and now we're in first place in
Nebraska IMCA points and second in the national rankings" he finished.

The Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stock Feature saw Dan Jackson's #98 first back to
the flag stand with Rick Bradley's 28B in second, the #33 of Eric Hanson in
third and the #14 of Ron Novak in fourth. Unfortunately Bradley suffered a
flat left rear tire shortly into the race and was forced to retire to the
pits. It took Jerry Keaton's #3K until 13 to go to move up to the third
spot. He was followed by Nick Beckman's 22 who grabbed fourth. With just 8
to go Beckman spun in turns 1 & 2. That put the #92 of Don Hall Jr. in the
fourth spot, with Jackson in first, Noonan in second and Keaton in third.
With 5 laps left Kevin Anderson moved up to fourth, and on the next circuit
Keaton advanced to 2nd. With only 3 laps left Noonan spun on the front
stretch due to a flat tire, sending him to the pits also. On the restart,
Keaton got around Jackson for the lead. Justin Wulf made a spectacular move
in his #86 to get all the way up to second the next lap followed by Anderson
who took over third. At the finish, it was Keaton, Wulf, Anderson and Lee
Kracht's 10K. Anderson was penalized two positions however for rough
driving. That put Kracht in third and Jackson in fourth.

"It's about time!!! With all the bad luck I've had this year, starting with
rolling the car at the start of the season, we really needed this win"
Keaton stated. "I'm going to have a HUGE cell phone bill, because my wife
Carla has been calling everybody; and I mean EVERYBODY!!!" he continued. "I
need to thank so many people who have given me so much help this season.
Marty Steinbach who runs the #5 Modified for all he's done, my pit
crew-which is Tanner Steinbach and my wife Carla who puts up with so much
when I'm working on the car all of the time, Joe Rupert and Lee Kracht for
all they do on the car, Jay's Tire & Complete Auto Care and especially Jack
Golder of Jack's Automotive Machine. Of course, I don't want to leave out
Lee (a.k.a. Nacho) for the AMSoil. And most of all I want to thank Roger
Hadan for buying Eagle Raceway and making it the great place to race that it
is," he finished.

When the Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds reached the end of the first
lap the leader was the 21T of Tracy Harr with Brian Cudly's 57 in second,
Steve Devitt's 11X in third and the #7 of Bob Ruisinger in fourth. It took
Justin Jurgens only 1 lap to get his #22J around Ruisinger however and on
the next lap Stacey Wilhelm's 3W also passed Ruisinger. Devitt dropped to
third on lap 6 when Wilhelm moved all the way to the second spot. Devitt was
passed by Cudly for third on the subsequent circuit with Dylan Smith
following him into fourth in the #95. Smith got around Cudly for third on
lap #12. On the next lap Chris Alcorn moved up to fourth past Cudly. Over
the last 3 laps the lead changed hands numerous times with Harr passing
Wilhelm, then Wilhelm repassing Cudly with four to go followed by Alcorn who
moved up to second. From there to the checkers it was a fierce battle
between Wilhelm and Alcorn with Wilhelm coming home victorious.

Wilhelm was unavailable to be interviewed as he left for the long trek to
North Dakota where he will be running 6 tracks in 6 nights.

The last A Main to be run was the Budweiser Championship 360 Sprint cars.
Jeff Griffis took the lead in his #3 followed by Kevin Danley in the #7X,
Tige Jensen's 71 and the #82 of Jason Danley. Soon after the race began, Jay
Russell and Chris Roseland made contact in turn #1 sending both cars
flipping. Thankfully neither driver was seriously injured. This brought
about a single-file restart. The action stopped again on lap 3 when Gage
Dorr spun his #17 at the top of turns 3 & 4, bringing out another yellow
flag. On that restart, Adam Gullion's #96KX and Mike Gabelhouse's 7G made
contact coming out of turn #2 with Gabelhouse coming to a halt on the
backstretch. Unfortunately for Gabelhouse, the damage was too severe to
continue and he was taken to the pits. By lap #5 Mike Boston had advanced to
the fourth spot in his #51 and then to third on the next circuit. Two laps
later he moved around the outside of Danley to take second. At that time the
running order was Griffis, Boston, Jensen and Jason Danley. The next
stoppage was for Nick Bryan who spun his #6 in turn two. That gave Boston
the opportunity to take the lead from Griffis. Jason Danley slowed to a stop
with just 7 laps left. This let Mark Pace move his #31 into the fourth spot.
Pace got around Jensen for third four laps later and then around Griffis for
second on the very last lap. Boston was not to be headed on this night
though as he crossed the finish line first.

"I owe all of my wins to my car owners Rick and Michelle Bowers, all of my
sponsors and my crew. They give me a fantastic car each and every night, and
all I have to do is sit in it and drive. They're the real heroes of this
team" Boston stated. "My guys didn't get home last night until 3 a.m. and
they still had to wash and set up the car for tonight. Honestly, I feel bad
because I don't do much" he continued. "The track was really great tonight,
it was easy to race. The new prep method and the weather gave us a top and
bottom groove to work with. We could run anywhere, but the top groove was so
great that I didn't leave it unless I had to" he finished. Boston's sponsors
include Eckley Racing Engines, Moock Trucking, Select Auto Body, Jones
Automotive, Vision Sports, Trade Center Automotive E & K, CMart of Crete,
Big John's Autoglass, One-Eyed Dog Saloon, Johnson Farms Rains Hardwood
Floors and Lincoln Drywall.

Next weekend is Musical Mini Night presented by Round the Bend Steakhouse
and the Blaze. All four classes of cars will be featured, and there will be
mini-van races after the A Features are finished.

Don't forget that good seats are still available for the Bootleggers Run
Race of Champions, presented by Jack Daniels. Current Sprint Cup stars such
as Kenny Schrader, Matt Kenseth, Sterling Marlin and Clint Bowyer will run
two Late Model races in addition to the regular card of Monster Energy Drink
IMCA Modifieds and Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks. There will be a VIP "Meet
'n Greet" session, autograph sessions and exclusive autographed "Bootleggers
Run" body panels. Two lucky fans will even have their dreams come true when
they become "Flagmen of Champions" and you could find yourself hitching a
ride from the airport to the track with your favorite driver. Order your
tickets and programs now by calling 402-238-2595.

Race Results for 7-5-08-

Budweiser 360 Sprints:
A Feature-
1) 51 Mike Boston
2) 31 Mark Pace
3) 3 Jeff Griffis
4) 71 Tige Jensen
5) 96kx Adam Gullion
6) 77 John Klabunde
7) 23 Terry Holliman
8) 27 Brad Wright
9) 82 Jason Danley
10) 7x Kevin Danley
11) 99c Nick Clifford
12) 14g Gene Ackland
13) 8b Bobby Becker
14) 6 Nick Bryan
15) 24b Frank Galusha
16) 7g Mike Gablehouse
17) 17 Gage Dorr
18) 28 Ken Klabunde
19) 76 Jay Russell
20) 32 Chris Roseland

B Feature-
1) 7g Mike Gablehouse
2) 28 Ken Klabunde
3) 96kx Adam Gullion
4) 99c Nick Clifford
5) 6 Nick Bryan
6) x29 Roger Sluka
7) 23r Tadd Holliman
8) 95 Mike Oliver
9) 57 Jayson Bogue
10) 33 Terry Cadwallader
11) 9j Mark Schmidt
12) 14 Josh Riggins (DNS)

Monster IMCA Modifieds:
A Feature-
1) 3w Stacey Wilhelm
2) 3 Chris Alcorn
3) 21t Tracy Harr
4) 95 Dylan Smith
5) 22j Justin Jurgens
6) 57 Brian Cudly
7) 3a Aaron Pella
8) v45 Rik Gropp
9) 4 Chevy Hadan
10) 11x Steve Devitt
11) 81 Mike Densberger
12) 11n Nathan Landauer
13) 7 Bob Ruisinger
14) 5st Dan Wayman
15) 5 Marty Steinbach
16) 11aa Ed Raines
17) 12x George Haney
18) 5p Bob Philipps
19) 00 Tim Pickens
20) 8c Chad Andersen

B Feature #1-
1) 5 Marty Steinbach
2) 11aa Ed Raines
3) 4jr David Jewett Jr
4) 42k Jan Korth
5) 24x Darren Hosick
6) 13 Doug Deterding
7) 41 Clint Hummer
8) 29 Jeff Mazza
9) 51 Cliff Turner
10) 48b Don Chilen (DNS)

B Feature #2-
1) 5st Dan Wayman
2) 00 Tim Pickens
3) 1m Mannix Winningham
4) 95r Lucas Robinson
5) 19 Scott Anderson
6) 56 Ron Tilley
7) 10 Kenny Danley
8) s56 Scott Bivens (DNS)
9) 95x Jimmy Judd (DNS)

Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks:
A Feature-
1) 3k Jerry Keaton
2) 86 Justin Wulf
3) 10k Lee Kracht
4) 98 Dan Jackson
5) 22k Kevin Anderson
6) 14 Ron Novak
7) 92 Don Hall Jr
8) 21 Derick Noonan
9) 21h Shane Hiatt
10) 42 Rob Brown
11) 12 Dan Noonan
12) 38c Casey Moyer
13) 53 Don Kros
14) 71k Josh Kennell
15) 9er Charlie Bartels
16) 20t Steve Shepard
17) 22 Nick Beckman
18) 33 Eric Hanson
19) 94 Mike Hansen
20) 28b Rick Bradley

B Feature-
1) 94 Mike Hansen
2) 20t Steve Shepard
3) 38c Casey Moyer
4) 71k Josh Kennell
5) 9er Charlie Bartels
6) 52 Roger Timperley
7) 32h Harold Silvey
8) b4 Ben Becher
9) 99 Jason Tadlock
10) 47k Kevin Hansen

Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts:
A Feature-
1) 2 Dan Rhiley
2) 33 Jeremy Noonan
3) 51 Amanda Rhiley
4) 62 Justin Busboom
5) 24 Mike Rice
6) 72 Ben Simpson
7) 18r Ron Frank
8) 44 Jack Prall III
9) 95c Bob Cigelman
10) 31 Chris LaChapelle
11) 22 Elliott Halvorsen
12) 14 Kevin Danley
13) 21t Brandon Thorton
14) 00 Barry Kinnersley
15) 28h Jeremy Conkel
16) 5 Larry Cronin
17) 29 Matt Moyer
18) 77 Jason Miller
19) 45 Jack Prall IV
20) 39 Eric Kline

B Feature-
1) 24 Mike Rice
2) 51 Amanda Rhiley
3) 31 Chris LaChapelle
4) 22 Elliott Halvorsen
5) 29g Todd Smiley
6) 55 Garrett Rech
7) 16t Tyler Saathoff
8) 88m Meloney McVicker
9) 32r Ray Harrington
10) 33s Andrew Smith
11) 10st Kevin Staack
12) 4u James Snelling (DNS)
13) 18 Maynard Kinnersley (DNS)
14) 63 Mike Simpson (DNS)
15) 21 Jake Sells (DNS)