Boston, Smith, Keaton and Simpson Ruled the Jr. Fan Club Night!

By Greg Soukup

EAGLE, Neb (August 23, 2008) - Cool temperatures, a very fast track and some hot racing action were the rule tonight as “America’s Home Track” Eagle Raceway hosted Junior Fan Club Night, presented by McDonalds. The track conditions had some of the classes running within 2 ½ tenths of the track record in the heats and into the B Features, and provided 3 and 4 wide racing throughout the event.

At intermission there was a $1000 money grab for all of the kids on the front stretch and after the racing was concluded DJ’s from The Brew and The Kat ran a mini-van obstacle course race.

The first A Feature was for the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts, and saw Mike Simpson grab the lead in his #63 with the 95C of Bob Cigelman, the #16T of Tyler Saathoff and Matt Moyer’s 29. After the leaders passed the flag stand on the first lap there was a multi-car melee in turn 2. Among the casualties was Cigelman who lost and bumper and went to the pits. On the restart Simpson held his lead with Moyer in second, the 21 of Jake Sells in third and the 21T of Brandon Thornton in fourth. Three and sometimes four-wide racing was the norm throughout the race with numerous passes back and forth between the competitors. At the finish it was Simpson, Moyer, Sells and Thornton.

“After losing by maybe 3 inches to Jeremy Noonan at Butler County last night I can’t even tell you how good this win feels. It was GREAT!! I’m so happy that we came through with a win tonight” Simpson said. “The track was a little rough tonight, but good and tacky. I just worked the car and worked the corners and brought it home” he continued. “I was to say thanks to my wife Krista and my daughters Krissy & Shelby for working on the car with me. They’re my pit crew. And I don’t want to forget Rusty, Kim and Kyle Schamp” he concluded. Simpson’s sponsors include Hawkeye Foods and The Look Hair Salon.

The Valentino’s IMCAA Hobby Stocks were next out on the high banks. The early lead went to the B4 of Ben Becher with the 71K of Josh Kennell in second, Dan Jackson’s 98 in third, Dan Noonan’s 12 in fourth and “Chevy Jerry” Keaton in fifth in the #3K. Keaton wasted little time, moving up to fourth on lap #2. Lap 3 saw Noonan get very loose coming through turn 4 and dropping several positions. That same lap saw Kennell move past Becher for the lead, Keaton advancing to third and Lee Kracht’s 10K coming up to fifth. With 8 laps left Keaton moved up to second. 2 laps later Shane Hiatt cracked the top four in his #21H. The very next lap Jackson and Kracht got together on the front stretch, bringing out the yellow flag. At that time the running order was Kennell, Keaton, Becher and Hiatt. Hiatt took advantage of the restart moving up to third with the 86 of Justin Wulf grabbing fourth. Kennell dropped out with just four laps remaining after suffering a flat right rear tire. At that time it was Keaton, Hiatt, Wulf and Becher. On the restart Kevin Anderson moved up to the fourth position in his #22K. At the checkers it was Keaton, Hiatt, Wulf and Becher. Hiatt was disqualified after failing to pass the IMCA tech inspection when it was found that his engine had ported heads.

“Even though the track was rough, it was super raceable. I hit my setup tonight and the car handled perfectly” Keaton stated. “I’ll be honest; I was really nervous about finishing in the top four and then making tech, with all of the talk about claims and all. But, I said the heck with it and just drove” he continued. “I want to send out special thanks to several people. First, to Ed for helping me pull my intake manifold in the tech area, to Dylan Smith’s wife for escorting me down to pick up my check and most of all to Justin Wulf for all of his help. I also want to thank my friends Lee Kracht and “Nacho Libre” and of course all of my sponsors who help me out” he finished. Jerry’s sponsors include Jack’s Automotive Machine, Big Daddy Chassis, Team G Spot, Ron & Sons, Scribner & Lyons and Jay’s Tire & Complete Auto Care out of North Bend.

The A Main for the Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds was a testament to how fast and racy the track really was tonight. The early lead was held by Ryan Fuchser in the #49. Close behind him was the 4T of Jerry Trejo, the 5ST of Dan Wayman and Doug Deterding’s 13. Deterding remained in fourth only until lap 2 when he passed Wayman for third. The next lap Aaron Pella moved his 3A past Wayman also to snare fourth. Lap #4 saw Pella advance to third around Trejo and Deterding leap-frogging both Fuchser and Trejo for the lead. But, the two fastest cars on the track were the #95 of Dylan Smith who jumped all the way up to second on lap #5 and Chris Alcorn who was also rapidly advancing through the pack. With 6 laps down Smith moved past Deterding and took over the lead. The next lap saw Alcorn jump all the way up to the third spot. Alcorn wasn’t through however, as he took over second with 10 laps to go. Four laps later a caution flag was displayed for debris on the track. That allowed Alcorn to move right up to Smith’s rear bumper. Try as he might, he couldn’t quite get the better of Smith however. At the finish it was Smith by less than a car length, Alcorn, Deterding and Pella.

“I got through the pack so fast in the beginning that I was afraid I had too many laps to lead and too many chances to make a mistake. I’m ALWAYS nervous about leading to be honest. You never know how fast you need to go into and through the corners, or who’s coming up behind you. I nearly spun out with 3 laps left, so I started easing through the corners. The whole time until the finish I was worried about Chris because I knew he was right behind me and a lot of times beside me. Luckily I edged him out” Smith said. “I want to thank Grandma and Grandpa, my mom and dad, Mike & Lisa Goecke my car owners, and Damion Joni and the girls” he added. Smith’s sponsors include Active Life Family Chiropractic, Marquardt Plumbing, Jet Racing, Star-Lite Machine. Vrbka Ag Solutions, Augustin Electric and Team Heavy.

The final A Feature of the night turned out to be a marathon. Lasting nearly an hour the race saw numerous spins, flips and other stoppages. Trevor Grossenbacher’s 35 was the initial leader, followed by the 27 of Brad Wright, the 9J of Mark Schmidt and Bobby Becker’s 8B. The first red flag flew shortly after the leaders passed the flag stand on the initial lap. Austin McCarl got his #17A over another racers tire, launching him high into the air and causing several end-over-end flips. Luckily, McCarl was uninjured. Terry Holliman moved his #23 past Becker on the restart for fourth. The next lap the yellow flag came out when Jeff Lowery spun his #45 in turn two. Holliman again used the restart to advance into third as he passed Schmidt. The same lap Becker made contact with another racer, resulting in numerous flips in turn 3 for the 8B. The running order for the restart showed Grossenbacher in the lead with Wright, Holliman and the 17 of Gage Dorr. After another lap was in the books Jay Russell’s 76 and the 51 of Mike Boston moved up to fourth and fifth. Boston got around Russell on the next lap and then sling-shotted all the way to second on the next circuit. Boston grabbed the lead for good on lap #8, with Russell moving to third on lap #9. Three laps later the yellow flag again was waved as Frank Galusha brought the 24B to a halt on the front stretch. On the restart Russell spun in turn #4, having had his nose wing flip over several laps before. The same lap saw Dorr spin in turn 3. Jeff Griffis moved into the third spot as the race resumed. The race was red flagged on lap 14 when Russell flipped in turns 3 & 4. The running order was Boston, Grossenbacher, Griffis and Wright. Griffis did pass Grossenbacher, only to have his pass negated by an inadvertent yellow. Griffis was a man on a mission, but unfortunately jumped the cushion in turn 2 and struck the wall. This moved the 14 of Josh Riggins into fourth. From there to the finish Boston, Grossenbacher, Wright and Riggins maintained their positions.

“The car was absolutely awesome tonight. It was definitely one of the best I’ve ever had out here” Boston said. “I can’t thank my car owners, the Bowers, enough for the great equipment that they give me week in and week out. They are the greatest” he finished.

You won’t want to miss next SUNDAY’s racing as Eagle’s Points Championships are decided on the final night of racing. Jack Daniels and The Brew will be presenting the Season Finale and Man Cave Night and the racing will be fast and furious. During intermission, the Re-start raffle pace car giveaway will take place. Who will be the lucky winner? Also after the features will be the first Tennessee Shuffle race. It only happens here at Eagle Raceway…America’s Home Track!

Also we want to be sure that everyone comes to Eagle Raceway’s Finest on SUNDAY, September 7th. The Nebraska Cup event will feature the ASCS 360 Sprint Cars, the Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds, the Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts. The front gate opens at 4:30 with hot laps at 5 and racing at 6. Pit gates will open at 3.

Eagle Raceway Results for 8-23-08:

Budweiser 360 Sprints:
A Feature-
1) 51 Mike Boston
2) 35 Trevor Grossenbacher
3) 27 Brad Wright
4) 14 Josh Riggins
5) 28 Ken Klabunde
6) 45 Jeff Lowery
7) 82 Jason Danley
8) 23 Terry Holliman
9) 77 John Klabunde
10) 3 Jeff Griffis
11) 23r Tadd Holliman
12) 24j Jeff Reiman
13) 6 Nick Bryan
14) 76 Jay Russell
15) 17 Gage Dorr
16) 24b Frank Galusha
17) 9j Mark Schmidt
18) 8b Bobby Becker
19) 71 Tige Jensen
20) 17a Austin McCarl

B Feature-
1) 71 Tige Jensen
2) 28 Ken Klabunde
3) 45 Jeff Lowery
4) 24j Jeff Reiman
5) 6 Nick Bryan
6) x29 Roger Sluka
7) 17b Jason Becker
8) 14g Gene Ackland
9) 57 Jayson Bogue
10) 20d Dan Nekolite
11) 96kx Adam Gullion

Monster IMCA Modifieds:
A Feature-
1) 95 Dylan Smith
2) 3 Chris Alcorn
3) 13 Doug Deterding
4) 3a Aaron Pella
5) 5st Dan Wayman
6) 3w Stacey Wilhelm
7) b9 Sean Burkland
8) v45 Rik Gropp
9) 12x George Haney
10) 42k Jan Korth
11) 21j Jeremy Leiting
12) 49 Ryan Fuchser
13) 8c Chad Andersen
14) 57 Brian Cudly
15) 00 Tim Pickens
16) 4t Jerry Trejo
17) 1m Mannix Winningham
18) 19 Scott Anderson
19) 44 Tom Lenz
20) 4 Chevy Hadan

B Feature-
1) 3w Stacey Wilhelm
2) 57 Brian Cudly
3) 00 Tim Pickens
4) 1m Mannix Winningham
5) 44 Tom Lenz
6) 8r Nick Kepler
7) 11aa Ed Raines
8) 29 Jeff Mazza
9) 41 Clint Hummer
10) 7 Bob Ruisinger
11) 11x Steve Devitt
12) 2k Kyle Schamp (DNS)

Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks:
A Feature-
1) 3k Jerry Keaton
2) 86 Justin Wulf
3) 22k Kevin Anderson
4) b4 Ben Becher
5) 38c Casey Moyer
6) 12 Dan Noonan
7) 92 Don Hall Jr
8) 14 Ron Novak
9) 94 Mike Hansen
10) 93 Thom Marsh
11) 53 Don Kros
12) 32 Jim Ryan
13) 32h Harold Silvey
14) 22 Nick Beckman
15) 71k Josh Kennell
16) 10k Lee Kracht
17) 28b Rick Bradley
18) 99 Jason Tadlock
19) 20t Steve Shepard
20) 98 Dan Jackson
21) 1j Jason Edwards
22) 13 James Oliver Jr (DNS)
23) 21h Shane Hiatt (DQ)

Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts:
A Feature-
1) 63 Mike Simpson
2) 29 Matt Moyer
3) 21 Jake Sells
4) 21t Brandon Thorton
5) 22 Elliott Halvorsen
6) 00 Barry Kinnersley
7) 45 Jack Prall IV
8) 55 Garrett Rech
9) 62 Justin Busboom
10) 18r Ron Frank
11) 5 Larry Cronin
12) 33 Jeremy Noonan
13) 24 Mike Rice
14) 32M Ray Harrington
15) 95c Bob Cigelman
16) 15 Jake Schneider
17) 10st Kevin Staack
18) 88m Meloney McVicker
19) 16t Tyler Saathoff
20) 16 Hailey Jackson

B Feature-
1) 33 Jeremy Noonan
2) 55 Garrett Rech
3) 10st Kevin Staack
4) 16 Hailey Jackson
5) 88 Everett Watkins
6) 31 Chris LaChapelle (DNS)
7) 77 Jason Miller (DNS)
8) 28h Jeremy Conkel (DNS)
9) 14 Joey Danley (DNS)
10) 18 Maynard Kinnersley (DNS)
11) 2 Dan Rhiley (DNS)
12) 72 Ben Simpson (DNS)
13) 44 Jack Prall III (DNS)
14) b32 Brian Haller (DNS)
15) 29g Todd Smiley (DNS)