Eagle 8-31-08: Droud, Smith, Kennell and Cronin Win the Season Finale

By Greg Soukup

EAGLE, Neb. (August 31, 2008) - The season finale at "America's Home Track"
Eagle Raceway, sponsored by Jack Daniels and The Kat was everything a race
fan could want and much more. Warm temperatures were made bearable by a good
breeze all day and evening, and a smooth track gave the racers the
opportunity to decide the point races on a great surface.

Before the Main Events began, a drawing was held in the infield to determine
the winner of the 2008 Pontiac Sunfire Pace Car. 12 keys were placed into a
bucket and the qualifiers, who had participated in the "Restart Raffle",
each drew one. They then took turns trying the key that they had chosen. The
winner of the car was Cheryl Dittmer of Lincoln, NE. Evidently this was an
omen, as Cheryl is Larry Cronin's mother-in-law.

In the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compact A Feature the first lap was led
by Larry Cronin's #5, followed by the 77 of Jason Miller, Garrett Rech's 55
and the 29 of Matt Moyer. After the leaders passed the flag stand the first
time Mike Simpson's #63 and the B32 of Brian Haller got together in turns 3
& 4 resulting in Haller's racer ending up on its side and Simpson's mount
running hard into the turn 4 wall. Simpson's ride was towed into the pits,
but Haller was able to drive his racer into the pits after it was righted.
With 4 laps remaining, a yellow flag was thrown as the 32MW of John
Sedlachek stopped in turn #4. On the restart lap Miller slowed and pulled
into the infield and on the next lap Mike Rice pulled around Rech for the
third spot. At the finish it was Cronin, Moyer, Rice and Rech.

"It's about time. Every week it was something, blown tires, getting shoved
into the wall, rolling the car; it all happened to us. I was so afraid of
the motor because I thought it was weak that I almost pulled it and replaced
it this week, but decided not to" Cronin stated. "I race in honor of my
father-in-law Dana Dittmer, so I had to keep at it" he continued. "I need to
thank my wife Melissa and my kids, my crew Thomas Cronin, Tommie Greenfield
& Jeff Ireland for helping every week" he concluded. Cronin's sponsors are
Cheryl Dittmer, Lincoln Laminating, Troy's Automotive and T's Flooring.

The next Feature was for the Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks. Eric Hanson
grabbed the lead in his #33 with the 71K of Josh Kennell and the B4 of Ben
Becher hot on his heels. On the 2nd lap Dan Jackson moved his #98 into the
third spot and Ron Novak pushed his #14 into fourth. 2 laps later Adam
Armstrong, who had won the Hobby Stock race at the Nebraska State Fair
Grounds the evening before jumped all the way to third in his 6A. It took
Adam only 2 more laps to grab the lead. At that point it was Armstrong,
Hanson, Kennell and the 3K of Jerry Keaton. Armstrong then began to pull
away from the rest of the field and moved to over a straightaway lead. As
the racers approached the checkers the #32 car lost his entire rear end and
driveline going into turn #1, causing a green/white/checkered finish. At the
end it was Armstrong coming home first. Crossing the line behind him were
Kennell, the 22 of Nick Beckman, Keaton and Hanson. After going through
tech, it was discovered that Armstrong had non-O.E.M. rear end mounts and he
was disqualified, giving the win to Kennell.

"This is just my first year racing, and getting a win after the season we've
had is more than we hoped for" Kennell said. "I want to thank my family,
friends and my crew for being here with me all year. We started off really
bad, and got slowly better thanks to the advice of a lot of guys in the
class. We improved every week, but it was always something like a blown tire
that took us out" he continued. "We basically raced all year on no money and
a bunch of used parts. My front tires are 2 years old in fact" he added. "I
need to thank all of the fans for their support. I couldn't believe the fan
base that I built. Thanks to everyone for coming out to watch us, because
without them there would be no racing" he finished. Josh's lone sponsor is
College View Auto Sales.

The Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds were next on the track. This was the
most closely contested points race of the year, with Chris Alcorn holding a
slim 4 point lead over second place Dylan Smith. Dan Wayman's 5ST lead the
first go-around followed by Mike Densberger's 81, the 13 of Doug Deterding
and the 3A of Aaron Pella. Pella wasn't sitting still though, as he moved
under Deterding on the second lap to take third. Two laps later Smith got
his #95 under Deterding also and took over fourth. The next lap saw the
yellow flag fly as Jerry Trejo's 4T stopped in turn #1. On the restart lap
Smith jumped past both Pella and Densberger to grab second. Alcorn was on
the move also however as he took over fourth with 11 to go. The next lap
Smith overtook Wayman for the lead and Alcorn advanced into third behind
Wayman. Two more laps were in the books when Alcorn got up to second,
passing Wayman. Stacey Wilhelm advanced to the third position with just 4
laps left, moving Densberger to fourth. Try as he might, Alcorn could not
quite pass Smith for the win. At the completion of the race it was Smith,
Alcorn, Wilhelm and Densberger.

"I knew coming in that I was 4 points down to Chris, but all I could do was
win and let him worry about where he finished. We may have come up 3 points
short, but finishing behind Chris at what seems to have become 'his track'
over the last three years is not too bad. After I got the lead we had that
yellow, and I knew Chris was right behind me. I tried to pick it up, and was
just happy with the win. Congratulations to Chris on his third straight
Eagle Raceway points championship" Smith said. He concluded by saying "I owe
it all to the people who are here for me every week. Grandma and Grandpa,
Mom and Dad, Mike and Lisa Goecke, Damion and of course Joni and the girls".
Smith's sponsors include Active Life Family Chiropractic, Jet Racing,
Star-Lite Machine out of Grand Island, Hot Rods by Todd, Marquardt Plumbing,
Augustin Electric, Vrbka Ag Solutions and Burke Show Cattle.

Bobby Becker led the pack of Budweiser 360 Championship Sprints at the end
of the first circuit in his 8B. He had Terry Holliman's 23, Gene Acklund's
14 and the 99C of Nick Clifford close behind him though. Clifford made a
huge move, passing both Acklund and Holliman on lap 4, but slowed 5 laps
later dropping back to fourth again. Mike Boston was flying rapidly through
the field in his #51, taking over the second spot on lap #10. At that time
the order was Becker, Boston, Acklund and the 96KX of Adam Gullion. The next
lap Tige Jensen's 71 went flipping past the flag stand, bringing out the red
flag. Gullion passed Acklund for third shortly after the restart. Don Droud
Jr. raced his 1X up to the fourth spot with 11 laps remaining. The next lap
the yellow flag flew as Jeff Griffis' #3 came to a stop in turns 3 & 4 and
he was pushed into the pits. Gullion got a big run with just 7 laps left,
moving into second behind Boston who had passed Becker for the lead. Droud
moved into second past Gullion on the next lap. With just 5 laps left
Boston's sprinter drove straight into the turn 1 wall at full speed. Boston
was unhurt, but stated that the front axle that they had replaced after his
numerous end-over-end flips in hot laps had simply broken right in the
middle. That put Gullion into the lead with Droud Jr. in second, Becker in
third and Clifford in fourth. On the restart Droud Jr. wasted no time,
grabbing the lead from Gullion as Jason Danley drove his #82 into fourth.
The top four at the finish were Droud Jr., Gullion, Becker and Danley.

"First of all, I want to thank God for a safe race and not letting anyone
get hurt. Then, I need to say thanks to my brother Rodney and my dad Don Sr.
for making me come out tonight. I raced at Knoxville last night and I was
really tired. I didn't feel like racing tonight, but between them and Scott
Deines they convinced me to make the trip" Droud Jr. stated. "The track was
really good tonight; I was really pleased" he finished. Droud Jr.'s sponsors
are Schmieding Concrete, A.S. Inc. and Lincoln Drywall.

After the main racing was completed, the fans were treated to a "Tennessee
Pass-Out" race. 18 Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts opted to participate
in the event. The rules were simple; at the drop of the green flag, if you
get passed, you are eliminated. The eventual winner was Mike Rice's #24.
Mike's prize was $400 in $1 dollar bills.

Next Sunday will be the final evening of the 2008 race season at Eagle
Raceway. The Nebraska Cup featuring A.S.C.S. sprint cars, IMCA Modifieds,
IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport compacts will finish out what has been a
great year of racing at "America's Home Track".

The front gate opens at 4:30 P.M. Admission is Adults-$15, Youth (6-13)-$5
and children under 6 are free. The pit gates will open at 3:00 P.M. Pit
passes will be $25. "Be our guest" passes, and "Buy one get one free"
coupons are not valid for this event.

Drivers; remember that this is an ASCS sanctioned race and the top 5
finishers in the sprint A Feature must comply with ASCS rules. Please have
all paperwork ready ahead of time and turned in to the pit shack personnel
before race time.

Eagle Raceway Results for 8-31-08:

Budweiser 360 Sprints:
A Feature-
1) 1x Don Droud
2) 96kx Adam Gullion
3) 8b Bobby Becker
4) 82 Jason Danley
5) 99c Nick Clifford
6) 24b Frank Galusha
7) 14g Gene Ackland
8) 1m Chad Humston
9) 35 Trevor Grossenbacher
10) 14 Josh Riggins
11) 31 Mark Pace
12) 23 Terry Holliman
13) 76 Jay Russell
14) 77 John Klabunde
15) 17 Gage Dorr
16) 28 Ken Klabunde
17) 51 Mike Boston
18) 3 Jeff Griffis
19) 71x Toby Chapman
20) 71 Tige Jensen

B Feature-
1) 14 Josh Riggins
2) 51 Mike Boston
3) 24b Frank Galusha
4) 71x Toby Chapman
5) 77 John Klabunde
6) 27 Brad Wright
7) 6 Nick Bryan
8) x29 Roger Sluka
9) 9j Mark Schmidt
10) 20d Dan Nekolite
11) 57 Jayson Bogue
12) 23r Tadd Holliman
13) 95 Dan Satriano
14) 17b Jason Becker
15) 24j Jeff Reiman (DNS)

Monster IMCA Modifieds:
A Feature-
1) 95 Dylan Smith
2) 3 Chris Alcorn
3) 3w Stacy Wilhelm
4) 81 Mike Densberger
5) 3a Aaron Pella
6) 5st Dan Wayman
7) b9 Sean Burklund
8) s56 Scott Bivens
9) 18 Terry Richards
10) 13 Doug Deterding
11) 11n Nathan Landauer
12) 11aa Ed Raines
13) v45 Rik Gropp
14) 11x Steve Devitt
15) 8c Chad Andersen
16) 21v Phil Penney
17) 19 Scott Anderson
18) 00 Tim Pickens
19) 12x George Haney
20) 4t Jerry Trejo

B Feature#1-
1) 8c Chad Andersen
2) 00 Tim Pickens
3) 41 Clint Hummer
4) 50 Scott Smith
5) 24x Darren Hosick
6) 21 JJ Fritz
7) 1m Mannix Winningham
8) 7 Bob Ruisinger
9) 0 Jim Krupicka
10) 51 Cliff Turner
11) 2k Kyle Schamp (DNS)

B Feature#2-
1) 4t Jerry Trejo
2) 11x Steve Devitt
3) 42k Jan Korth
4) 49 Ryan Fuchser
5) 44 Tom Lenz
6) 29 Jeff Mazza
7) 8r Nick Kepler
8) 57 Brian Cudly
9) 72 Mike Lineberry
10) 4 Chevy Hadan (DNS)

Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks:
A Feature-
1) 71k Josh Kennell
2) 22 Nick Beckman
3) 3k Jerry Keaton
4) 33 Eric Hanson
5) 14 Ron Novak
6) 86 Justin Wulf
7) 10k Lee Kracht
8) 9er Charlie Bartels
9) 8 Murray Haugen II
10) 38c Casey Moyer
11) b4 Ben Becher
12) 20t Steve Shepard
13) 86j Jerod Weston
14) 77 Keith Dragoo
15) 22k Kevin Anderson
16) 92 Don Hall Jr
17) 12 Dan Noonan
18) 98 Dan Jackson
19) 53 Don Kros
20) 6a Adam Armstrong (DQ)

B Feature-
1) 92 Don Hall Jr
2) 9er Charlie Bartels
3) 38c Casey Moyer
4) 12 Dan Noonan
5) 77 Keith Dragoo
6) 94 Mike Hansen
7) 32 Jim Ryan
8) 32h Harold Silvey
9) 1j Jason Edwards
10) 17h Craig Huffless (DNS)

Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts:
A Feature-
1) 5 Larry Cronin
2) 29 Matt Moyer
3) 24 Mike Rice
4) 55 Garrett Rech
5) 22 Elliott Halvorsen
6) 45 Jack Prall IV
7) 33 Jeremy Noonan
8) 21 Jake Sells
9) 11 Nic Hitz
10) 44 Jack Prall III
11) 62 Justin Busboom
12) 21t Brandon Thorton
13) 18r Ron Frank
14) 16t Tyler Saathoff
15) b32 Brian Haller
16) 77 Jason Miller
17) 32m Ray Harrington
18) 32mw John Sedlachek
19) 10st Kevin Staack
20) 63 Mike Simpson

B Feature-
1) b32 Brian Haller
2) 32mw John Sedlachek
3) 32m Ray Harrington
4) 16t Tyler Saathoff
5) 15 Jake Schneider
6) 24k Carla Keaton
7) 33c Mary Lenz
8) 00 Barry Kinnersley
9) 72 Ben Simpson (DNS)
10) 16 Hailey Jackson (DNS)
11) 95c Bob Cigelman (DNS)
12) 29j Josh Trail (DNS)
13) 18 Maynard Kinnersley (DNS)

Congratulations to the 2008 Track Champions!
Budweiser 360 Sprints: 51 Mike Boston
Monster IMCA Modifieds: 3 Chris Alcorn
Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks: 22k Kevin Anderson
Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts: 62 Justin Busboom