Friday, July 31, 2009

Area tracks have insurance to help drivers if they get hurt

By CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star

John Hampel was racing as hard as he could to try and qualify for the
late-model A feature during the Midwest Trifecta Challenge at I-80 Speedway
on July 2.

The next thing the Omaha driver knew, he was on a wild barrel roll down the
backstretch in an accident so violent that it left him temporarily
unconscious for the first time in 26 years of racing and requiring that his
next ride be in an ambulance headed to the hospital.

All drivers who show up at any of the 800-some dirt tracks around the
country understand the potential always exists for such a scenario. And yet,
most of them take that risk with no personal health insurance policy that
would cover major medical expenses from a racing incident.

Full text is here at the LJS website:

http://tinyurl.com/n8bl5h

Thursday, July 30, 2009

JMS Cornhusker Midget National Challenge Finale

O'Reilly POWRi Cornhusker Midget National Challenge
POWRi Midget A Main
 
1) 17b  Brad Kuhn                   Avon , Il
2) 99  Brady Bacon                 Broken Arrow , Ok
3) 75  Josh Wise                     Riverside , Ca
4) 9  Dave Darland                  Lincoln , In
5) 39  Bryan Clauson              Noblesville, In 
6) 11  Jerry Coons Jr              Tucson , Az
7) 13  Matt Smith                     New Castle , Australia
8) 44  Don Droud,Jr                Lincoln, Ne
9) 24  Tracy Hines                  New Castle, In
10) 37  Daniel Robinson         Wayne City, Il
11) 7b  Austin Brown              Milstabt , Il
12) 05  Brad Loyet                  Sunset Hills, Mo
13) 11a  Andrew Felker           Carl Junction, Mo
14) 19  Cody Swanson           Kingsburg, Ca
15) 3  Julee Jamison               Littleton , Co
16) 401k  Daniel Adler Columbus , Il
17) 26  Shane Golobic            Freemount, Ca
18) f5  Ryan Cole                    Porter, Ok
19) 2g  Terry Goodwin            Phoenix , Az
20) 50  Tim Siner                    Dupo, Il
21) 11h  Garett Hood              Concordia, Ks
22) 38n  Kyle Neal                   Ewing , Il
23) 22rm  Braian Postle          Keensburg, Ca
24) 7a  Caleb Armstrong        New Castle, In
 
POWRi Midget B Main
 
 
1) 7a  Caleb Armstrong                      New Castle, In
2) 26  Shane Golobie                          Freemount, Ca
2) 50  Tim Siner                                  Dupo, Il
4) 401k  Daniel Adler                           Columbus , Il
5) 38n  Kyle Neal                                 Ewing , Il
6) 11h  Garrett Hood                           Concordia, Ks
7) 3 Julee Jamison                              Littleton , Co
8) 22  Brian Postle                              Keensburg, Co
9) 6m  Justin Mallo                              Cheyenne , Wy  
 
NASCAR Late Models by GM Performance Parts
A Main
 
1) 43 Matt Buller
2) 51 Lester Siebert
3) 2x Andrew Kosiski
4) 28 Bill Leighton
5) 1 Mike Wallace
6) 61 Donald Gimpel
7) 24 Randy Hall
8) 15 Andy Wilkinson
9) 22a Allen Primrose
10) 16 Tom Svoboda
11) 15w Sam Wiarda
12) 57jr Micah Veleba
13) 105 Denton Buller
14) m0 Mollee Collins
15) 5j Bren Johnson
16) 99 Ryan Pedersen
17) 6 Allen "Al" Humphrey
18) 90 Taylor Caldwell

ASCS Schedule Adjustments

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (July 30, 2009) - Several ASCS scheduling
adjustments have taken place in recent days, including the addition of a
pair of Regional dates, a pair of date changes and a pair of weekend
cancellations.

Added to the slate is an ASCS Midwest weekend including a $2,001-to-win
Tribute to 9/11 at Rising City, Nebraska's Butler County Motorplex on
September 11 and then the $5,000-to-win Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway on
September 12. That weekend double will bring the curtain down on a 2009
ASCS Midwest slate of 15 events at eight different tracks.

The ASCS Rocky Mountain weekend double at South Dakota's Black Hills
Speedway and Wyoming's Gillette Thunder Speedway originally scheduled for
August 7-8 has been reset for August 28-29, with a tentative Thursday Black
Hills date of August 27 making for a possible three-day weekend. Next up
for the Rocky Mountain Region is Wyoming's Casper Speedway on Friday, August
21, before moving on to Sweetwater Speedway in Rock Springs, WY, the
following night, August 22.

With track renovations at Indiana's Chandler Motor Speedway running behind
schedule, the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
event set for Presleyland Motorsports Park on September 4-5 has been
cancelled and will not be rescheduled for this year.

Also, the ASCS Gulf South Labor Day weekend pair of events at Corpus
Christi's South Texas Speedway (September 5) and Goliad's Shady Oaks
Speedway (September 6) has been cancelled. South Texas Speedway will return
to the 2010 ASCS Gulf South schedule on a weekend with Edna's Texana Raceway
Park.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car
racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different
tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil
ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of
a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available
at www.ascsracing.com .

This weekend at I-80

From I-80 Speedway

**Friday: A regular points night for our go-karters! Except, we will have
double features for every class with shortened laps!

**Sunday: We will be honoring 2 men who helped the racing community for over
30 years: Larry Protasky and Don Murcek. The classes that will be racing
are: NASCAR Late Models (double features), Pro Ams, Sport Mods, Sport
Compacts and IMCA Crate Late Models.

Grandstand gates open at 4. Pit Gates open at 2:30. Hot laps start at 5:30.
Racing starts at 5:55.

**And finally, this TUESDAY is 2 BUCK TUESDAY!
We will be having IMCA Mods, IMCA Sport Mods, IMCA Sport Compacts Hobby
Stocks and IMCA Crates!

Grandstand Gates 5:30. Pit Gates open at 4. Hot Laps are at 7. Racing starts
at 7:30.

We hope to see everyone out there!

www.neracewaypark.com
(402)342-3453-office
(402)659-3301-track
donnie@neracewaypark.com

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

JMS Cornhusker Midget Challenge Prelim Results

USAC/SMRS/POWRi GREAT PLAINS MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

July 28, 2009 – McCool Junction, Nebraska – Junction Motor Speedway –
"Cornhusker Midget Challenge" Preliminary

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Dave Darland (#9 Nine Racing), 2. Bryan Clauson (#39
Tucker), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (#11 Wilke-Pak), 4. Brad Kuhn (#17B RW), 5. Ryan
Cole (#5F Cole), 6. Nick Knepper (#50 Adler), 7. Kyle Neal (#38N Neal), 8
Brian Postle (#22 Postle). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Brad Loyet (#05 Loyet), 2. Brady Bacon (#99 Bacon),
3. Chad Boat (#30 Boat), 4. Matt Smith (#13 Smith), 5. Shane Golobic (#26
Bock), 6. Daniel Adler (#401k Adler), 7. Bob Harr (#2 Harr), 8. Tracy Hines
(#24 Parker). NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kody Swanson (#19k Team6R/TK), 2. Daniel Robinson
(#37 Robinson), 3. Cody Brewer (#96 Brewer), 4. Josh Wise (#75 Pedregon), 5.
Terry Goodwin (#2G Goodwin), 6. Tony Rossi (#14 Rossi), 7. Justin Mallo (#6m
Mallo), 8. Matt Sherrell (#35 Sherrell). NT

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Don Droud Jr. (#44 Smith), 2. Keith Rauch (#71
Henry), 3. Austin Brown (#7x Brown), 4. Garrett Hood (#11H, Two Hoods), 5.
Julee Jamison (#3 Jamison), 6. Channing Zierolf (#05x Zierolf), 7. Andrew
Felker (#11a Felker), 8. Tim Siner (#15 Siner). NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Goodwin, 2. Felker, 3. Cole, 4. Knepper, 5. Adler, 6.
Neal, 7. Zierolf, 8. Jamison, 9. Postle, 10. Golobic, 11. Sherrell, 12.
Mallo, 13. Rossi, 14. Siner, 15. Steve Newman (#11x Newman). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Brad Loyet, 3. Brad Kuhn, 4. Josh
Wise, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Don Droud Jr., 8. Dave
Darland, 9. Matt Smith, 10. Ryan Cole, 11. Andrew Felker, 12. Cody Brewer,
13. Daniel Adler, 14. Terry Goodwin, 15. Daniel Robinson, 16. Julee Jamison,
17. Nick Knepper, 18. Austin Brown, 19. Kyle Neal, 20. Bryan Clauson, 21.
Chad Boat, 22. Garrett Hood, 23. Channing Zierolf, 24. Keith Rauch. NT
------------------------------------------------------------

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Loyet, Laps 19-25 Bacon.

NEW USAC/SMRS MIDGET POINTS: 1-Sherrell-1,354; 2-Loyet-1,336;
3-England-1,116; 4-Brewer-1,092; 5-Will Pierce-1,020; 6-Andrew Deal-1,010;
7-Chad McDaniel-1,002; 8-Cole-899; 9-Evan Pardo-884; 10-Bacon-765.

NEXT USAC/SMRS MIDGET RACES: July 29 – McCool Junction, NE – Junction Motor
Speedway 
 

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Twin Cornhusker Crystal and Chrome Awards up for grabs at JMS

Who will win them? Drivers, Teams and Fans from around the nation will soon
converge on Junction Motor Speedway. JMS and the 5th Annual Cornhusker
Midget Challenge is stop Number 3 and Number 4 of seven nights in a row
during Midget Money Week. Midget Money Week represents the nation's largest
single week pay out of nearly $180,000.00! A considerable amount of that
enticing figure will be offered at Junction Motor Speedway this coming
Tuesday and Wednesday-the 28th and 29th of July.

In addition to the cash, drivers will be the chasing a quest to become
owners of the 'Cornhusker Crystal and Chrome'. Only two are available-one to
the Wednesday night Champion & one to the Wednesday Championship Car Owner!

The twin awards are not just another plastic trophy. The 2009 twin awards
are handcrafted by Nebraskans. In charge of the wood base and laser
engraving of the highly polished stainless steel is Schweitzer Customs
Woodworking & Engraving of rural Milford, Nebraska. Set on the picturesque
north banks of the Big Blue River-west branch is a very unique firm which
offers home construction, cabinetry, remodels, trim work, furniture,
mantels, awards and plaques, photo engraving, business gifts, memorials and
so much more.

Schweitzer Customs Woodworking & Engraving is located at; 2871 Rokeby Road,
Milford, NE 68405. They can be reached at 402-761-2727 or
www.schweitzerscustomengraving.com

The handcrafted 'Cornhusker Crystal and Chrome' features a hardwood base
upon which is left mounted, an ornate crystal setting. To the right-a
sparkling stainless steel racing wheel insert which engraved reads;
Cornhusker Midget Challenge 2009 and features the laser imprinted Junction
Motor Speedway logo. Mounted to the center of the insert is another Nebraska
handcrafted piece by Calvin's Garage. This refinished fabrication from metal
and copper, duplicates an ear of corn partially covered by its copper husks.

Race Fans can inspect one of the awards at the JMS Gift Store on Tuesday and
Wednesday, while the twin is on display in the JMS pit area cafe.

www.JunctionMotorSpeedway.com

Home of the Cornhusker Midget Challenge.

A Special Kids Night

I'd like to welcome Gary Dominguez to the Heartland RaceNews.com contributors. Gary, who you see behind the Woods Bros Realty "Screamin' Eagle" pace car at Eagle Raceway each weekend, is also the founder of Midwest Racer's Autograph Day as well as a long time supporter of and fixture in the racing community.

Gary wrote this piece that exemplifies the spirit of Kid's Night in the racing community.

* * *
A Special Kids Night

By Gary Dominguez

July 25th, 2009 marked another annual “Kids Night” at Eagle Raceway. Over 350 bikes were given away to lucky kids, another record breaker over the previous year. Thousands of fans flocked in to enjoy a night of racing and fun with kids in mind.

Over 1,700 eligible children were hoping to win bikes.

One such child was 10 year old “Dylan”. Young Dylan has been a loyal race fan for the last few years, and comes to Eagle Raceway every week with his mom to cheer his favorite driver Dylan Smith and his #95 IMCA Modified race car. After every race, young Dylan would run back to talk to his hero, get t-shirts, and get autographs from him. The 21 year old Smith always made time to talk to his young fan. One night earlier this summer, Smith asked young Dylan if he was coming out for “Kids Night”. Of course, that was met with a huge nod. Young Dylan remarked he had been hoping to win a bike for the last three years and hadn’t won one, but was hoping to this year. Smith smiled at his young fan.

Alas, on the July 25th event, Young Dylan came up short again. No bike this year again. Undaunted, he still cheered for his favorite driver Dylan Smith. Unfortunately Smith’s car was damaged in the A feature and was forced to end his evening without finishing. It appeared both had come up short that night.

After the races, Young Dylan as always went back to visit with Smith. When asked by Smith if he won a bike, young Dylan sadly said “No, not this year”. With that, Smith said “wait here”. Out from Dylan Smith’s trailer came a brand new bicycle. “Here ya go, Dylan. Thanks for being a good fan”. Young Dylan’s eyes were as big as saucers. He could not believe it. Dylan Smith, and his team actually spent their own money and bought a bike for his number 1 fan! Young Dylan’s mother was in tears and thanked and hugged everyone for their act of kindness. There wasn’t a dry eye in the pit that night. The young boy rode his bike throughout the pits. The smile on his face defied description.

So July 25th 2009 was a night of victories both on and off the track. A young boy was blessed with a memory he will treasure his whole life (as well as a bicycle), and a racer won a victory no checkered flag could equal. Even after a losing night, they both emerged champions.

ASCS Midwest vs. Northern Plains Challenge Shifts to Crawford County Speedway

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (July 28, 2009) – The first American Sprint Car Series champion of 2009 will be determined this weekend, as the sixth and final round of the ASCS Midwest vs. Northern Plains Challenge Series takes place at Crawford County Speedway in Denison, IA, this Friday night.

Also atop the ASCS Midwest point charts, Lincoln, Nebraska's Jason Danley is in the driver's seat for the ASCS Northern Plains title as he carries a 19-point advantage over ASCS Northern Plains Iron-Man Eric Lutz into Friday's card.

Lutz knocked 16 markers off of Danley's advantage by snaring his third career ASCS Northern Plains win this past Friday at South Dakota's I-90 Speedway. However, Danley can secure the Northern Plains title by simply finishing ninth or better this Friday night at Crawford County Speedway. Robby Wolfgang, Chad Humston and two-time Northern Plains champ Lee Grosz round out the current top five in Northern Plains points.

Danley holds a healthier advantage in the Midwest championship chase with a 104-point advantage over Humston as four events remain after Friday night's card. Lutz is third in Midwest points, with Grosz and Mike Boston rounding out the top five.

Friday's racing action goes green at 7:00 p.m.

The semi-banked, 5/8-mile Crawford County Speedway dirt oval is located in Denison, IA, 0.6 miles north of US 30 on US 59, then 0.6 miles northeast on SR 39. For more information, contact the track at 712-263-2033 or 712-263-5306.

The ASCS Midwest Region is slated for 15 nights of competition at eight tracks throughout Nebraska and the surrounding areas of Missouri and South Dakota. The ASCS Northern Plains Region takes on the Midwest in six of those events.

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Crawford County Speedway:
7/18/08 – Jack Dover (Midwest vs. Northern Plains)
7/20/07 – Brian Brown (Midwest vs. Northern Plains)
6/16/07 – Jason Johnson (National vs. Midwest)
7/21/06 – Wade Nygaard (Midwest vs. Northern Plains)
6/16/06 – Brian Brown (Midwest vs. Northern Plains)

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Eagle 7-25-09 Photos

Here's photos from Saturday's racing at Eagle. I need to give big thanks to Joe Orth who loaned me his spare flash pack after mine went south just before intermission.

Eagle 7-25-09 Photos

JMS Midget Ticket Deals at Moses Motor Company in York

Stop by Moses Motor Company tomorrow afternoon from 1pm-3pm in York for an
exclusive POWRi Cornhusker Midget Challenge ticket offer! We're offering
coupon good for 1 FREE ticket when you buy 2 for tomorrow night's Cornhusker
Midget Challenge finale. Moses Motor Company is the ONLY location you can
get this special ticket coupon.

While you're there, meet Dave Darland, driver of the Moses Motor Company #9
midget. Check out the car and get an autograph or photo with one of open
wheel racing's premier drivers.

Moses Motor Company is located at 2605 S. Lincoln Ave. in York, just 10
minutes North of Junction Motor Speedway on Highway 81. Coupons are
redeemable at the Junction Motor Speedway ticket office.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

NCRA/MLRA Late Models This Sunday at I-80

From Nebraska Raceway Park

This Friday is a regular points night for our Go-karts! Gates open at 5:30.
Hotlaps start at 7. Racing starts at 7:30.

This Sunday, we will have the MLRA/NCRA Late Models back for another great
show!

The support classes will be double features for the NASCAR Late Models and
Pro Ams with NO HEAT RACES for either of them! Prices for the grandstands
will be $18.

Grandstand gates open at 4. Pit gates open at 2:30. Hotlaps start at 5:15.
Races start at 5:55.

We hope to see everyone out there! www.neracewaypark.com

$1000 to Win Topless Modifieds & Sunday Events for 2009 Gage County Fair

Beatrice Speedway would like to announce that we will be running Topless
Modifieds, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks during the 2009 Gage County Fair
Saturday July 25th. IMCA rules will apply in all classes except the
Modifieds will remove the roof and be able to run a rear spoiler 6' inch
max.

Sunday July 26th we will be running Outlaw Factory Stocks, Outlaw Vintage
Lites, IMCA Sport Compacts and "Eve of Destruction Trailer Races and Roll
Over Derby ". These races will NOT be Sanctioned or for Track Points.

There will be NO Claim in any of the classes Sat or Sun. Other than running
spoiler and no roof IMCA rules will apply.

Modifieds $1000 to Win
Sport Mods $325 to Win
Hobby Stocks $225 to Win
Factory Stocks $175 to Win
Sport Compacts $75 to Win
Trailer Race $250 to win only plus Trophy

Saturday Hot Laps 7:00pm
Racing 7:30pm
Sunday Hot Laps 6:00pm
Racing 6:30pm
 

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Locked and Loaded: USMTS Begins "Countdown To The Hunt"

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (July 20) - Fans, drivers and officials alike are gearing
up for high-caliber action as the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour
dives roars back to life this weekend after a three-week summertime hiatus.
Ten events remain in the "Countdown to The Hunt" and will produce the
crowning of four regional champions over the next three weeks.

Countdown to The Hunt (10 events):
Thu Jul 23 . Fayette County Speedway, West Union, IA ($2,000 to win) -
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region
Fri Jul 24 . Elko Speedway, Elko, MN ($2,000 to win) - Yeager Machine Upper
Midwest Region
Sat Jul 25 . Elko Speedway, Elko, MN ($3,000 to win) - Yeager Machine Upper
Midwest Region
Sun Jul 26 . Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, MN ($2,000 to win) - Great
Plains Region
Mon Aug 3 . Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, IA ($2,000 to win) - Central
States Region
Tue Aug 4 . Cresco Speedway, Cresco, IA ($2,000 to win) - Yeager Machine
Upper Midwest Region
Wed Aug 5 . Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($2,000 to win) - Central
States Region
Thu Aug 6 . Knox County Fairgrounds, Knoxville, IL ($2,000 to win) - Central
States Region
Fri Aug 7 . Midway Speedway, Lebanon, MO ($2,000 to win) - Bear Tire Mo-Kan
Region
Sat Aug 8 . 24 Raceway Park, Moberly, MO ($2,000 to win) - Bear Tire Mo-Kan
Region

At this point, drivers ranked among the top-10 in points in any region, plus
any other driver with perfect attendance in a region, will be qualified for
the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship.

Currently, Jon Tesch leads the rankings in three of the four regions, while
Jason Hughes sits atop the Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region standings.

Tim Donlinger is the defending titleist in the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest
Region, while eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock captured the
other three regional crowns in 2008. Donlinger went on to upset Shryock in
the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship, sealing
the deal with a thrilling victory on the final night of the Featherlite Fall
Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.

The Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship will be
comprised of the final 18 races of the season, with more than $300,000 in
prize money up for grabs during the campaign. 'The Hunt' will start on
Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the LA Raceway in La Monte, Mo., and wrap up back at
Deer Creek with the 11th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26, where the 2009 USMTS National Champion
will be crowned.

The Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship (18
events):
Tue Aug 11 . LA Raceway, La Monte, MO ($3,000 to win)
Wed Aug 12 . Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($3,000 to win)
Thu Aug 13 . Springfield Raceway, Springfield, MO ($3,000 to win)
Fri Aug 14 . Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, KS ($3,000 to win)
Sat Aug 15 . Caney Valley Speedway, Caney, KS ($3,000 to win)
Thu Aug 20 . Steele County Speedway, Owatonna, MN ($3,000 to win)
Fri Aug 21 . Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($3,000 to win)
Sat Aug 22 . Upper Iowa Speedway, Decorah, IA ($3,000 to win)
Wed Sep 2 . Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($3,000 to win)
Thu Sep 3 . Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, IA ($3,000 to win)
Fri Sep 4 . Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($3,000 to win)
Sat Sep 5 . Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($3,000 to win)
Sun Sep 6 . Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, MN ($3,000 to win)
Fri Sep 18 . North Central Speedway, Brainerd, MN ($2,000 to win)
Sat Sep 19 . North Central Speedway, Brainerd, MN ($3,000 to win)
Thu Sep 24 . Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win) - 11th
Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree
Fri Sep 25 . Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($4,000 to win) - 11th
Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree
Sat Sep 26 . Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($6,000 to win) - 11th
Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree

The USMTS points system is used at all regional events, with the top-10 in
the final standings for each of the four regions earning a spot in 'The
Hunt.' In addition, any driver who has perfect attendance in a region will
also be qualified. After the completion of the regional schedule and base
points have been established, the USMTS points system will be used at the
remaining events to determine the 2009 USMTS National Champion.

Drivers ranked among the top-10 and/or with perfect attendance in either of
the two regions in the USMTS Southern Series are also qualified to compete
for the USMTS National Championship crown.

For the fans, the 'The Hunt' serves as a "playoff" for the ultimate prize in
Modified racing. While handicapping gives a slight advantage to the drivers
that compete on the entire USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour
circuit, any of the qualified drivers have a legitimate shot at capturing
the crown.

Past USMTS National Champions include Kelly Shryock (1999-2006), Jason Krohn
(2007) and Tim Donlinger (2008).

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the
headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest
news and information from the USMTS.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Eagle 7-18-09 Photos

Photos from July 18 at Eagle. I tried some different things - some worked, some didn't (especially with the hobbies and compacts). I also wanted to get a few more of the people at the track. There are other things I'm trying in the coming weeks.

Eagle 7-18-09 Photos

(FYI - there are problems with the Zenfolio gallery that are beyond my control. Scroll down for the pics).

Butler County Motorplex 7-17-09

From www.ButlerCountyMotorplex.com

The cool evening got off to an exciting start as the IMCA Sport Mods first
heat began. Bret Sheppard got the win after leading the entire distance.
Chris Nolan was second, Anthony Kobus third and Denny Berghahn Jr. was
fourth. Jim Hendricks won the second heat after taking the lead on lap two.
Brandon Poessnecker was second, Nathan Kobus third and Matthew Marqhard
fourth. Heat three fans watched Robert Tippery take the lead from Nick
Topil on lap two. Tippery continued his lead for the win as Topil
challenged in second. Ron Allen was third and Larry Robinson fourth.

Jason Harms led the first of four IMCA Modied heat races from start to
finish for the win. Shane Stutzman moved up to take second followed by Dave
Thome and Shane Hiatt. Scott Bivens led the first six laps in heat number
two but lost an engine and was finished for the night. Chris Alcorn took
the win followed by Tom Svoboda, Jared Hoefelman and Bob Phillips. Ross
Afrank led the first two laps in the third heat but Terry Richards took
control at that point and went on to victory. Afrank was second, Brian
Levander third and Lucas Robinson fourth. J. J. Fritz took the early lead
in the fourth heat but Jeff Jones took control on lap three and continued
for a win. Scott Styskal moved up for second, Jim Krupicka third and Mark
Kaspar fourth.

The "Outlaw Street Stocks" were an added part of the program for the night.
Roger Eaton grabbed the early lead in the first heat race. Eaton lost
traction later in the race bringing out the caution flag. Joe Zadina had
the lead as the race resumed and continued for the win. Second went to Doug
Adam as Jeremy Smith was third and Cody Werner fourth. Shawn Primrose took
the win in the second heat race. Brent Drohman moved up to finish second
followed by Darrin Adamy and Joe Runquist.

IMCA Sport Compact driver John Sedlachek controlled their first heat from
start to finish. Ricky Harris took second after getting around Jeremy
Noonan and Jeff Davis was fourth. Garrett Rech won the second heat after
passing Hunter Wergin on lap number two. Darick Lamberson moved up to
finish second followed by Trevor Noonan and Rodney Nosker.

Marcu Sehi led the first two laps in the first of three IMCA Hobby Stock
heat races. Brandon Kresha led lap three but then Dusty Poessnecker took
the lead and continued for the win. Kresha finished second with Marcus Sehi
in third and Eric Hanson was fourth. Tiffany Bittner led the second heat
race from start to finish. Brady Fernau took second followed by Nelson
Vollbrecht and Kyle Hein. Damon Richards led the first three laps in heat
number one but Mike GOldfuss took the lead at that point of the race and
went on for the win. Josh Kennell was second, Jeremy Hoskinson third and
Shane Schneider moved into fourth.

Todd Topil moved into the lead as the IMCA Modified B-feature began. James
Kleinheksel got the lead on lap three and continued for the win and one of
four transfer positions to the main event. Dan Rhiley was second, Chad
Anderson third and Mike Stearns fourth.

John Sedlachek led the IMCA Sport Compact for the duration of the race.
Darick Lamberson moved up to finish second. Garrett Rech was third and
Tyler Leicy fourth.

Joe Runquist led the first three laps of the Outlaw Street Stock feature
race. Doug Adamy got the lead on lap three but Joe Zadina took the lead on
lap seven. Zadina continued to lead and took the win. Doug Adamy was
second with Brent Drohman third and Darrin Adamy fourth.

The IMCA Hobby Stock feature was plaqued with yellow flags. In an effort to
keep the program the feature was cut to seven laps in length as over forty
minutes had passed. Dusty Poessnecker edged out Eric Hanson on the final
lap for another win. Hanson was second with Jeremy Hoskinson third and Josh
Kennell fourth.

Nick Topil grabbed the lead in the IMCA Sport Mod feature after winning last
week. Topil maintained his lead until lap nine as Jim Hendricks took
control and continued for the win. Robert Tippery moved up to finish second
with Topil third and Kevin Kloke was fourth.

Ross Afrank led the field as the IMCA Mod A-feature began. Afrank continued
his lead after a caution came out with only five laps completed. Terry
Richards set fast time in the race and that gave him the opportunity to pass
for the lead on lap thirteen. Richards continued from that point to take
the win. Ross Afrank held on for second with Scott Styskal in third and
Shane Stutzman fourth.

RaceDay Prints IMCA Sport Compact

A-Feature: 93 John Sedlachek, 31 Darick Lamberson, 55 Garrett Rech, 58 Tyler
Leicy, 32J Jeff Davis, 00 Rodney Nosker, 21D Amanda Davis, 3H Levi Stoakes,
3S Ricky Harris, 66 Trevor Noonan, 33 Jeremy Noonan, 2 Hunter Wergin

KEXL Radio IMCA Hobby Stocks

A-Feature: 22Jr. Dusty Poessnecker, 33 Eric Hanson, 26 Jeremy Hoskinson, 71K
Josh Kennell, 21 Brandon Kresha, 3H Kyle Hein, 15x Shane Schneider, 17 Paul
Albracht, 11x Rich Small, 07 Mike Goldfuss, 10K Lee Kracht, 68 Damon
Richards, 9J Jerrid Becker, 15 Anthony Melcher, 79s Quinten Spragg, 10 Josh
Gembica, 16s Marcus Sehi, 95B Tiffany Bittner, 61B Branden Wergin, 25 Brady
Fernau, 11V Nelson Vollbracht

O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Mods

A-Feature: 33 Jim Hendricks, 121 Robert Tippery, 7T Nick Topil, 35 Kevin
Kloke, 6 Denny Berghahn Jr., 16 Chris Nolan, 1B Brad Brabec, 98 Bret
Sheppard, 15K Anthony Kobus, 96C Kyle Chalek, 03K Kenny Layton, 48 Kyle
Harpster, 52P Brandon Poessnecker, 73 Matthew Marqhard, 26x Ron Allen, 53
Larry Robinson, 15 Nathan Kobus, 27 Kyle Becker

Rehmer CarQuest IMCA Modifieds

B-Feature: 7w James Kleinheksel, 2R Dan Rhiley, 8C Chad Anderson, 2x Mike
Stearns, B18 Jason Gaver, 86 Greg Johns, 5x Dana Dankert, 74 Jarrod
Wiechert, 33J Josh Pfeifer, 21 J.J. Fritz, 12 Todd Topil, 33R Tim Richmond,
86x Justin Wulf, 56s Scott Bivens

A-Feature: 18 Terry Richards, 11A Ross Afrank, 26 Scott Styskal, 22s Shane
Stutzman, 19J Jeff Jones, 0 Jim Krupicka, 15H Jared Hoefelman, 3 Chris
Alcorn, 7w James Kleinheksel, 1s Dave Thome, 2EZ Mark Kaspar, 2x Mike
Stearns, 8C Chad Andersen, 2R Dan Rhiley, 21H Shane Hiatt, 3x Brian
Levander, 16 Tom Svoboda, 66 Jason Harms, 5P Bob Phillips, 95J Lucas
Robinson

Outlaw Street Stocks

A-Feature: 3 Joe Zadina, 93 Doug Adamy 33 Brent Drohman, 92 Darrin Adamy,
Y90 Jeremy Smith, 5B Matt Borcher, 48 Cody Werner, M36 Clay Mercer, 25x
Roger Eaton, 64 Nick Hermsen, 24K Kyle Korus, 1 Shawn Primrose, 60 Joe
Runquist, 00 Eric Cereny, not completing any laps were 6x Denny Berghahn
Sr., 5 Marty Steinbeck

Eagle Raceway 7-18-09

By Greg Soukup

It was an unseasonably cool afternoon and evening at "America's Home Track"
Eagle Raceway as regular season points racing continued, sponsored by Jack
Daniels.

The Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks were the first A Feature to be run. Chad
Fegley's 77F led the field as they reached the flag stand on the first lap.
The next three cars in line were the 17J of Danny Lane in second, third
place went to Dan Jackson in the 98 with the 71K of Josh Kennell in fourth.
The running order remained the same as RJ Macku lost the engine in his #1R
and came to a halt in turns 3 & 4 with 8 laps remaining, bringing out a red
flag. As the field was being lined up for the restart both Kennell and
Fegley headed to the pits, Fegley having suffered a flat tire during the
hold-up. That put Lane in first, Jackson second, the 22 of Nick Beckman
third and the 2C of Dave Carter fourth. On the restart lap Rob Brown moved
his 42 into fourth and Carter hit the wall, eventually dropping out. The
yellow flag flew again with 5 to go as Mike Hansen's 94 made contact with
the 92 of Don Hall Jr. and spun to the infield in turn 4. Beckman managed to
get past Jackson on the last lap. Lane held on for the win, Jackson finished
third and although Brown got turned sideways coming to the checkers, he
still managed to cross the line in fourth. Brown's racer rode up onto the
wall and both Hall Jr. and the 6R of Roy Armstrong made hard contact with
him as they finished the race. Brown's car had to be towed to the tech area.

"This was only my third night out here this year, and I was so happy to get
the win. My last win here was last July I think" Lane said. "I wasn't sure I
was going to be here, because we broke a whole bunch of stuff on the front
end last week. I really appreciate Thom Marsh and a lot of other people for
helping me rebuild it this week. Also, a big thanks to all of the fans for
coming out every week, supporting us and rooting us on" he finished. Lane's
sponsors include Casey's Auto Body and Detailing, Speedy Steve's High
Performance, Slechta Drywall, werungame.com, Athey's Painting and Huskers
Poker.

The Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds then rolled onto the track. Justin
Wulf's 86 spun into the pit entrance on the first lap, causing a complete
restart. The 11AA of Ed "Doc" Raines went into the pits to have a flat tire
changed. As the field completed a lap Phil Penney's 21 was in the lead,
followed by Jan Korth in the 42K, Dan Nelson's 94 and the Z00 of Lacey
Tuttle. Nelson moved up to second before they came back to the flag stand,
but Justin Jurgens' 22J stopped in turn 2 with a flat right front tire.
Again Nelson advanced into second on the restart and the next lap Jordan
Grabouski vaulted all the way up into third. Nelson grabbed the point on the
net lap as Johnny Saathoff came up to fourth after transferring from the B
Feature. Saathoff moved to third and Grabouski to second the next time
around. George Haney spun his #12X out in turn two shortly after that,
causing the yellow flag to be displayed. Grabouski went very high in turns 3
& 4 on the restart lap, allowing Saathoff to move up a spot to second. Dylan
Smith snared the fourth position in his #95 with 7 laps to go. As the
leaders encountered lapped traffic with 5 left Nelson still held the lead,
Saathoff was second, Grabouski was third with Smith in fourth. Despite
numerous attempts by Saathoff, Grabouski and Smith the top four remained
unchanged to the finish line.

Nelson stated "I've been so close lately. And with the competition at a heck
of a level here every week it's tough. But it finally paid off; you just
have to keep trying". Nelson's sponsors include BMS Mods, Trauernicht
Drywall and Nebraska Machine & Tool.

The first lap of the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compact A Main saw Joey
Danley's #14 roll in turns 3 & 4. His racer was pushed to the pits as the
remaining cars lined up for a complete restart. The second attempt at a
green flag lap was halted when Larry Cronin's #5 spun on the backstretch.
The racers fell into two rows as the restart finally held. The 16T of Tyler
Saathoff held the point at the conclusion of the first lap with Mary Lenz's
17 in second, Maynard Kinnersley's 18 third and Garrett Rech holding fourth
in the 55. Trevor Noonan's #66 lost the right front tire and he came to a
stop at the top of turns 3 & 4, eventually causing a red flag after the
leaders finished the first circuit. Rech moved into third on the second
official lap and then into second the next time around. Jack Prall III moved
into fourth on lap 5 and then with 8 to go into third. Rech took the lead
from Saathoff with 7 laps left as Saathoff began to fall back. The last
caution of the race came with 2 to go as a piece of debris had to be picked
up from turn 3. During the stoppage Saathoff retired to the pits with a flat
right front tire. Prall III, Lenz and the 21T of Brandon Thornton finished
behind Rech who garnered his second win of the season at Eagle Raceway and
fifth overall on the year.

Rech was his usual quiet self when his only comment was "It was a good clean
race". Rech's sponsors include Advanced Auto Glass, Pro Drywall, Davey
Tavern, Chrome Envy and Low Budget Customs.

The finale of the night's racing was the Budweiser 360 Sprint A Feature. A
bad start to the race saw the 9J of Mark Schmidt make contact with Bill
Garrow's 3G in turn 1 of the first lap, sending Garrow hard into the rail in
turn 2. Roger Sluka's X29 could not avoid Garrow and slid into him. Both
cars were taken to the pits. The 21 of Ryan Kitchen was sent back 1 row as
the racers tried again. Doug Lovegrove led the first complete lap in the 44
as Adam Gullion's 96KX, the 23 of Terry Holliman and Kitchen fell in behind
him. Gullion got around Lovegrove on lap 2. The 28 of Ken Klabunde came to a
rest against one of the infield tires on lap 4 after spinning. Holliman got
past Lovegrove on the fourth circuit and the next time around Trevor
Grossenbacher grabbed fourth in his 35AB. Grossenbacher's night came to an
end on lap 7 as he hooked a rut in turn 1 and flipped, coming to a rest on
his wheels in turn 2. Mike Boston's 88 also received damage after contact
with the 99C of Nick Clifford. Both Boston and Clifford headed to the pits
with only Clifford being able to make repairs and return to the track after
the red was turned off. As racing resumed Gullion was leading followed by
Holliman, Lovegrove and Kitchen.Tige Jensen had found something on the
bottom groove of the track in his #71 and was advancing quickly down there,
jumping into third with 13 laps left with the 4J of Josh Riggins following
him into the fourth spot as Lovegrove pulled to the infield. Holliman moved
around Gullion on the next lap. With 3 more laps completed Jensen also
passed Gullion, but the 17 of Gage Dorr stopped in turns 3 & 4. That made
the running order Holliman, Gullion, Jensen and Riggins. On the restart lap
John Klabunde passed Riggins for fourth. With 8 to go Jensen continued
running the bottom of the track and moved under Holliman for the lead. From
there to the checkers it was a battle of 2 different grooves. Jensen hugging
the bottom and Holliman continuing to try and make the cushion work to his
advantage. Jensen maintained his lead for the win with Holliman, Gullion and
Riggins rounding out the top four after Riggins overtook Klabunde at the
end.

Jensen was beaming as he started the interview by saying "I've been waiting
SO long to have you interview me for my first win". Prior to tonight,
Jensen's highest finish was second place, which he managed 4 times since he
started racing in 2002. He continued by stating "I'm so glad that we put
this new car together after totaling our other one when the World of Outlaws
was here two weeks ago. It was a bare frame Monday in fact". When asked
about advancing so well in the bottom groove, Jensen related "We planned on
running the top, and set up for that. But, I tried the bottom and it was so
good I just stayed there. It was a good thing that I ran so well there,
because I lost my brakes after that last red". He concluded the interview by
saying "A big thanks to my car owners; Brian Bailey, and Gary and Adam
Grossenbacher and to Richards Machine for the great horsepower". Tige's
other sponsors include Horizon Bank, Accent Landscapes, Knight Plumbing and
JB Lawn & Sod.

Next week at Eagle Raceway is the annual "Kid's Night", presented by
McDonalds. Children are invited to register for the huge bike giveaway,
sponsored by the Bryan Racing Team. Registration for the giveaway will be
right inside the main gate. Last year a record 350 bicycles were handed out.
Pit gates open at 4 o'clock and the front gate swings open at 5:30 with
racing at 7. Our regular show will be run featuring the Budweiser 360
sprints, Monster IMCA Modifieds, Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks and Auto
Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts.

Saturday August 1st will be another "Fan Appreciation Night" featuring $5
front gate admission. There will be kid's bike races during intermission and
Happy D. Klown will be at the track too.

Eagle Raceway

360 Sprint 7/18/2009

A Feature:1. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 2. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 3.
Adam Gullion (Beatrice, NE), 4. Josh Riggins (Lincoln, NE), 5. John Klabunde
(Fort Calhoun, NE), 6. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 7. Ryan Kitchen
(Weston, NE), 8. Jeff Lowery (Lincoln, NE), 9. Mikey Gablehouse (Lincoln,
NE), 10. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 11. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 12. Mark
Schmidt (Lincoln, NE), 13. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 14. Nick Clifford
(Elkhorn, NE), 15. Doug Lovegrove Racing Inc (Waverly, NE), 16. Trevor
Grossenbacher (Holland, NE), 17. MIKE BOSTON (Crete, NE), 18. Bill Garrow
(Lincoln, NE), 19. Roger Sluka (Lincoln, NE), 20. Bobby Jr Becker (Denton,
NE)

B Feature:1. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 2. Mikey Gablehouse (Lincoln, NE), 3.
Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 4. MIKE BOSTON (Crete, NE), 5. Gene Ackland
(Lincoln, NE), 6. Ian Eastman (Omaha, NE), 7. Mark Finnell (Osage Beach,
MO), 8. Terry Cadwallader (Lincoln, NE), 9. Jason Danley (Lincoln, NE)

IMCA Hobby Stock 7/18/2009

A Feature:1. Danny Lane, 2. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 3. Dan Jackson
(Crete, NE), 4. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 5. Roy Armstrong (Beatirce,
NE), 6. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 7. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 8. Ben
Becher (Lincoln, NE), 9. Travis Burger (Tecumseh, NE), 10. EARL SCHMITT
(Omaha, NE), 11. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 12. Don Jr Hall (Lincoln,
NE), 13. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 14. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE),
15. Michael Elliot (Omaha, NE), 16. Jeff Reed (Lincoln, NE), 17. Chad Fegley
(Eagle, NE), 18. Dave Carter (Scribner, NE), 19. Josh Kennell (Bennet, NE),
20. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE)

B Feature:1. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 3.
Travis Burger (Tecumseh, NE), 4. EARL SCHMITT (Omaha, NE), 5. Jeff Reed
(Lincoln, NE), 6. Troy Mencke (Blair, NE), 7. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 8.
Joe Ryan (Lincoln, NE), 9. Matt Draeger (Dunbar, NE), 10. Chris LaChapelle
(Omaha, NE), 11. KHRYSTA STRANSKY (Lincoln, NE), 12. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln,
NE), 13. Charlie Bartels (Lincoln, NE), 14. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 15.
Jason Edwards (Lincoln, NE), 16. Aaron Pearson, 17. Kevin Hansen


IMCA Modified 7/18/2009

A Feature:1. Dan Nelson (Beatrice, NE), 2. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE),
3. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, NE), 4. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 5. Bob
Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 6. MATT RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE), 7. PHIL PENNY
(Percival, IA), 8. Dustin Andersen (Omaha, NE), 9. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE),
10. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 11. ED RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 12. Stacey
Wilhelm (Martell, NE), 13. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 14. Nathan Landauer
(Lincoln, NE), 15. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 16. Justin Wulf (Arlington,
NE), 17. George Haney (Fremont, NE), 18. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 19. Jan
Korth (Lincoln, NE), 20. Justin Jurgens (Beatrice, NE)

B Feature:1. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 2. Stacey Wilhelm (Martell,
NE), 3. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 4. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 5.
Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 6. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 7. Aaron Pella
(Lincoln, NE), 8. Lowell Holland (Omaha, NE), 9. James Oaks (Lincoln, NE),
10. Patrick Donovan (Sterling, NE), 11. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 12. Roger
Hadan (Waterloo, NE), 13. Andrew Hille (Hickman, NE), 14. Sean Burklund
(Ceresco, NE), 15. CLIFF TURNER (Ashland, NE), 16. Jake Neal (Omaha, NE),
17. Mike Boston (Crete, NE)


IMCA Sport Compact 7/18/2009

A Feature:1. Garrett Rech (Davey, NE), 2. Jack Prall III (Union, NE), 3.
Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 4. Brandon Thornton (Nebraska City, NE), 5. Amanda
Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 6. Mike Simpson (Ashland, NE), 7. John Irvine
(Omaha, NE), 8. Maynard Kinnersley (Gretna, NE), 9. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE),
10. Jeff Davis (Lincoln, NE), 11. Chad Bassinger (Nebraska City, NE), 12.
Tyler Saathoff (Lincoln, NE), 13. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 14. Jeremy
Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 15. Elliott Halvorsen (Eagle, NE), 16. Mike Wilson
(Lincoln, NE), 17. Trevor Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 18. Larry Cronin (Lincoln,
NE), 19. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 20. Jessie Fuller (Beatrice, NE)

B Feature:1. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 2. Elliott Halvorsen (Eagle, NE), 3.
Jessie Fuller (Beatrice, NE), 4. Chad Bassinger (Nebraska City, NE), 5. Mike
Wilson (Lincoln, NE), 6. Ricky Harris (Omaha, NE), 7. CODY HARRINGTON
(Eagle, NE), 8. Justin Davis (Lincoln, NE), 9. ROGER ELLIOT JR (Omaha, NE),
10. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 11. NIC HITZ (Lincoln, NE), 12. Matt Moyer
(Gretna, NE)

Justin Zeitner Collects Bounty For Beating Kyle Berck At I-80 Speedway

Jim Brennan

(Greenwood, Ne., 07/19/09) Spec Late Model Racing invaded I-80 Speedway on
Sunday night and there was a bounty of $500 for the driver who could beat
Kyle Berck. Berck had been a perfect 6 for 6 in races he competed in. Berck
also was offered a $1,000 bonus if he could win from the 20th starting
position. Berck took that challenge.

17 year old Jase Kaser took the lead at the drop of the green for the 25 lap
main event. But 19 year old Justin Zeitner, after starting 7th in the field,
charged to 2nd by lap 5 and we had a battle between the 2 young racers until
lap 12 when Zeitner took command. His cousin Corey followed him in 2nd.
Meanwhile Berck was working his way through the pack. Justin's dad Leon took
over 2nd on lap 16. But by lap 17 Berck was in 3rd. It was a 3 car battle
from there and several yellow flags set up a 2 lap dash to the finish. With
1 lap left Berck passed Leon and set his sights on Justin. While Justin was
working the low side of the track Berck had a slight advantage up high.
Berck tried to get around Zeitner on the last lap, but the young Zeitner
held off the veteran. Leon Zeitner finished 3rd ahead of his nephew Corey
and Dave Livingston. For Justin it was the biggest win of his young career.

The IMCA Modified Feature saw Larry Robinson Jr. take the early lead over
Dustin Andersen. But Central Region point leader Dylan Smith was on the move
and into 2nd on lap 8. On lap 9 he grabbed the lead and went on to win over
Andersen, Robinson, Nick Carlson and Scott Carlson. Smith and Andersen were
heat race winners.

The IMCA Sports Mod feature saw Dustin Thayer take the early lead over Jason
Fusselman. Steve Swarthout took over 2nd on lap 3. But Harlan's Chad Dills
was hard charging from his 11th starting position and took the lead on lap
4. Jesse Sobbing moved up to challenge Dills on lap 8 and the 2 ran side by
side for several laps. But Dills was able to hold off Sobbing for his 2nd
win of the year. Cory Hutchison, Kyle Harpster and Swarthout rounded out the
top 5.

The Sport Compacts only ran about 4 laps of their feature due to many yellow
flags and a time limit. But winning this feature was point leader Pete Fink
Jr. in a borrowed car. Joe Baker finished a close 2nd ahead of Brett Smith,
Jake McCloud and Jamie Spanel.

Next Sunday the MLRA/NCRA Late Models will come calling once again along
with the NASCAR Late Models and Pro-ams. The Late Models and Pro-ams will
run double features.

Hot laps are at 5:30 with racing getting underway at 5:55.

Spec Late Model Racing Series

A-Feature: 1) z62 Justin Zeitner, 2) 14 Kyle Berck, 3) 62 Leon Zeitner, 4)
26jr Corey Zeitner, 5) 17 Dave Livingston, 6) 15 Jase Kaser, 7) 10 Jay
Stewart, 8) 53 Joe Kosiski, 9) 1j Jason Hobscheidt, 10) 1W Mike Wiarda, 11)
John Nicholson, 12) Andrew Kosiski, 13) Al Zeitner, 14) RobbieAndersen, 15)
Jerry Warner, 16) Craig Preble, 17) Mike Marushak, 18) Brian Kenkel, 19)
Mike Collins, 20) Travis Dickes, 21) Todd Bell, 22) Mike Wallace

B-Feature: 1) Marushak, 2) Hobscheidt, 3) Kenkel, 4) Warner

IMCA Modifieds:

A-Feature: 1) 95 Dylan Smith, 2) 8a Dustin Andersen, 3) 48 Larry Robinson
Jr., 4) 1c Nick Carlson, 5) 1s Scott Carlson, 6) 25 Ricky Stephan, 7) 21p
Phil Penney, 8) 3w Stacey Wilhelm, 9) 26 Scott Styskal, 10) 21h Shane Hiatt,
11) Lacey Tuttle, 12) Larry Goertz, 13) Terry Hurt, 14) Jesse Cowles, 15)
Chris Andersen, 16) Johnny Saathoff, 17) Bill Bader Jr., 18) Kyle Berck, 19)
Ethan Christiansen, 20) Denny Johnson

IMCA SportMods

A-Feature: 1) 11 Chad Dills, 2) 99 Jesse Sobbing, 3) 96c Cory Hutchison, 4)
48 Kyle Harpster, 5) 239 Steve Swarthout, 6) 2 Mike Brown, 7) 121 Robert
Tippery, 8) 33 Jim Hendricks Jr., 9) 45 Dennis Cook, 10) 55 Jason Fusselman,
11) Jeremy Longmeyer, 12) Denny Berghahn Jr., 13) Bret Daringer, 14) Denny
Nielsen Jr., 15) Sean Conaway, 16) Mark Hunzinger, 17) Dustin Thayer, 18)
Laini Schwartz, 19) Nick Hermsen, 20) John Riggleman, 21) Brian Florian, 22)
Joe Feyen, 23) Buddy Ray Jones

IMCA Sport Compacts

A-Feature: 1) 13 Pete Fink Jr., 2) 9x Joe Baker, 3) 50 Bret Smith. 4) 40
Jake McCloud, 5) 15 Jamie Spanel, 6) 16j Justin Soule, 7) 93x John
Sedlachek, 8) 89 Andrew Cuva, 9) 94 David Neesen, 10) 93 Preston Gigax, 11)
Wayne Stricklett, 12) Skip Brown, 13) Dan Markham, 14) Jordan Walker, 15)
Will McConnell, 16) Trisha Hultgren, 17) Tammy Clark, 18) Amanda
Christensen, 19) Kevin Zeitner, 20) John Irvine, 21) Ole Olsen, 22) Steve
Niederhaus, 23) Rocky Harris, 24) Brandon Hammons

Friday, July 17, 2009

Mike Boston on Speed Secrets Radio

Mike Boston shares some thoughts at 9:30 am this Saturday on York's KAWL
1370 AM. Mini Sprints, Motorcycles, Sprint Cars, Modifieds, Midgets,
Dragsters, Crew, Sponsors and Family...Mike takes time to talk about each of
the above. Please tune in to the thirty minute program and lend an ear to
Eagle Raceway's current point leader.

www.SpeedSecrets.info
www.kawlam.com  

I-80 Two Dollar Tuesday August 4

From I-80 Speedway

Tuesday August 4th we're going to have a Two Dollar Tuesday. Racing will
include the IMCA modifieds, IMCA sportmods, IMCA crates, IMCA Sport
Compacts, and for the first time this season the IMCA Hobby Stocks!

This night will be track, regional, and national points for all classes
except the hobby's who will only be running for regional and national
points.

Admission to the grandstands will be $2
Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Pop, and Domestic Beers will also be $2 as well.

Fundraiser for Tony Linner

From Karen Geist 

I'm inviting everyone to the Linner family benefit fundraiser Saturday July 18th, starting at 10am, located on Central Avenue in Kearney, Neb. in front of Morris Press. There will be a bake sale, candy sale, raffle, t-shirts, popcorn, hotdogs, drinks, and other refreshments. Also look for the Tropical Snow cone trailer located in front of Central Applemarket, who has offered to donate portion of earnings. Please come join us!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Midget Money Week/Cornhusker Midget Challenge

Midget Money Week
Prize money is in excess of $180,000.00

The O'Reilly POWRi, USAC/SMRS & RMMRA kicks off Midget Money week presented
by SPEEDWAY Motors on Sunday, July 26th at US 36 Raceway in Cameron MO. The
event will pay $5000 to WIN and $400 to start. Monday, July 27th event will
be held at Butler County Motorplex in Rising City Nebraska for the Ron Hughs
Jr. and Sr. Memorial paying $2000 to WIN. The 5th Annual Cornhusker Midget
Challenge sponsored by the Nebraska Corn Growers and Applebee's will be held
on Tuesday and Wednesday July 28th & 29th at McCool Junction. Tuesday's
event will include, heats, semis, and a 25 lap A-main paying $3000 to WIN.
The top four competitors from Tuesdays A-main will be locked into the
Wednesday, July 29th A-main. The balance of the field will start again on
Wednesday with heats, semis, and a 40 lap A-main paying $5000 to WIN.
Applebee's will be providing an all you can eat buffet Tuesday evening after
the races for all teams competitors and race fans that purchased a pit pass.
For questions or concerns please contact Kenny Brown (POWRi), John Stewart
(SMRS) and Boysen Loesch (RMMRA)

The Belleville Midget Nationals will be held on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday July 30th, 31st and August 1st with a rain date on Sunday August
2nd. Competing Thursday will be the All star circuit of champions' race plus
12 USAC drivers determined by USAC. Belleville will be offering $1,000 to
start the Championship Feature and a $700 Guarantee if the green flag is
taken in qualifying event two nights. For questions or concerns please
contact Jason McCord (USAC) at jmccord@usacracing.com or 765-623-0068.

On Monday, July 27th from 11:00am to 2:00pm Speedway Motors will be
providing an all you can eat catered BBQ lunch at their facility. Tours of
the Speedway plant and museum will be offered to race teams and fans. The
facility is located approx 2.5 hours from US 36 and 1 hour from Butler
Raceway. Overnight camping in the Speedway parking lot is available after
the US 36 race.

Speedway Motors will be giving away gift cards and prizes to the teams
supporting these events.

Information on pit gate, driver sign in, and drivers meeting can be found
under SCHEDULE - MORE INFO for your division (Midgets / Micros). Printable
schedules, rules, contingencies, and payouts can be found under the
DOWNLOADS link located at the top of POWRi web site.

McCool Junction
Racers Rate - $75.00
Holiday Inn (York I-80)
4619 South Lincoln Ave.
York, NE. 68467
402-362-6661
1-800-934-5695

Berck Bounty at I-80

From I-80 Speedway

This Sunday our track will feature the SLMR series, support classes will be
the IMCA Modifieds, Sport Mods, and Sport Compacts. And of course Ed (Kosiski) is
adding a little twist.

Kyle Berck has won every SLMR show he has attended so a $500 bounty has been
set, beware Kyle they're really going to chase you down Sunday! But that's
not all, if Kyle makes it through the heats in passing points he will give
up his earned position and will start 18th. Kyle's not crazy, the tracks
going to give him a $1,000 bonus if he wins from that position again!

Also, Crazy Ed is offering a special discount to the fans that come out to
see our SLMR show this weekend. A separate window will be open where you can
buy tickets for two shows, the SLMR show on July 19th and the MLRA/NCRA show
scheduled for July 26th. The tickets will be for sale for only $25. That's a
$5 discount just for coming to see another night of Late Model Racing!

Pit gates open at 2:30 p.m.
Grandstand Gates open at 4 p.m.
Hot laps start at 5:15
Racing starts at 5:55.

www.neracewaypark.com
(402)342-3453
donnie@neracewaypark.com

MLRA/NCRA Return to I-80 with A Feature Start Time Guarantee

From I-80 Speedway:

When the remainder of the MLRA/NCRA Race to Freedom Tour originally
scheduled for the July 4th weekend was canceled due to rain, they
rescheduled the races in Park Jefferson and Corning for Friday July 24th and
Saturday July 25th. The point fund for the Freedom Tour is still in effect
along with the 5 bonus drawings for attending Park Jefferson.

Since the series will be so close to I-80 Speedway we will be hosting the
MLRA/NCRA series at I-80 Speedway on Sunday July 26th. Along with them will
be the NASCAR Late Models and the Pro-ams, both of these classes have double
features that night without heats so the schedule will follow as listed
below (with maybe a couple of tweaks):

NASCAR Late Model last chance qualifier(s)
MLRA/NCRA Heat Races
Pro Am A Feature #1
NASCAR Late Model A Feature #1
MLRA/NCRA B features
Pro-Am A Feature #2
NASCAR Late Model last chance qualifier(s) for second feature
MLRA/NCRA A Feature
NASCAR Late Model A Feature #2

We like to pack the action and we like to do it fast so we are guaranteeing
the fans that the MLRA/NCRA feature will roll out onto the track by 9 p.m.
or everyone in attendance in the grandstands will get a pass to get into the
races the following week for free! (unless an unforeseen circumstance arises
beyond our control, i.e. mother nature, or leave of ambulance, etc)

There will also be a chance for one lucky fan to win $1,000 at the July 26th
NCRA/MLRA special, this time you must pick the top 3 finishers in order for
the MLRA/NCRA feature.

We hear from numerous drivers and series how good our track has been. They
enjoy the facility, fans, and the car count so we look forward to another
great turnout with a jam packed night of Late Model racing!

Pit Gates open at 2:30 p.m.
Grandstand Gates open at 4 p.m.
Hot laps start at 5:15
Racing starts at 5:55

Prices:
$18 for Adults (16+)
$5 for Juniors (6-15)
5 year olds and younger are free

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Two ASCS Additions - BCM 9/11 Tribute + Nebraska Cup $5K to Win

From Chuck Zitterich / ASCS

7/15/09
* 2 Big ASCS Midwest Race Additions *
___________________________________
Friday September 11th
Butler County Motorplex
Rising City, NE
* ASCS Midwest Points Race * 9/11/2001 Tribute Race *
$2001 to win!
* $250 to start * No Mufflers * ASCS Spec RR Tire *
___________________________________

Saturday September 12th
Eagle Raceway – Eagle, NE
* ASCS Midwest Points Race * Nebraska Cup *
$5000 to win!
* No Mufflers * ASCS Spec RR Tire *

Eagle Raceway Kid's Night Bike Giveaway - The Bryans Need Your Help

This weekend is the last night to donate bikes for the annual Eagle Raceway
Kid's Night bike giveaway on July 25. Rhonda and Bernie Bryan have been
doing this for a number of years, and the event has grown to where three
semi-trailer loads of bikes were given out to lucky kids last year.

Over 300 bikes went out to lucky fans in 2008, and many potential new ones
last year. Each year, many people come out for their first time - what a
great memory it is for a kid to come home after a fun night of races with a
brand new bicycle? It's a great way to invest in the future of your sport.

But the down economy has hurt - Rhonda Bryan has told me that the bike count
is noticeably down from last season. But there's still time to make more
kids happy and any help you can give is appreciated.

Eagle Raceway's Roger Hadan has again offered to buy a bike for every two
raised by Rhonda's team.

If you would like to sponsor a bike for $42.80 or make ANY donation in any
amount:

Final Deadline:
July 18th, 2009

Rhonda will be available @ the track, sitting outside the pit gate before
the races. You may also contact her @

Dirdrivers.com (username: Rhonda)
Send email: rascal60@windstream.net
Cell: 402-450-7992 or Home: 402-476-7336

I-80: Sobbing, McCloud And Soule Take IMCA Features On Monday

Jim Brennan

(Greenwood, Ne., 07/13/09) While MTV's Nitro Circus took center stage at I-80 on Monday night, racing also went on with Jesse Sobbing, Jake McCloud and Justin Soule winning the IMCA Sports Mod and Sport Compact features.

26 cars took the track in the Sports Mod feature and Jesse Sobbing, who is leading the Northern Region points, came from a 9th place starting position to win another feature in his rookie year in the Sport Mod class. Harlan's Chad Dills started 11th and came home second ahead of Brian Kosiski, Steve Swarthout and Denny Berghahn Jr. Sobbing is now just one point out of first place in track points.

The 1st Sports Compact feature saw Justin Soule pick up the win over Ole Olsen, Brandon Hammons, Brett Smith and Dan Markham.
The 2nd Sports Compact feature had 19 cars starting and 2nd generation driver Jake McCloud pick up the win over Kennin Colestock, Jamie Spanel, John Sedlachek and point leader Pete Fink Jr.

The Nitro Circus gang really had the crowd of 3500 on their feet most of the night.

Results

IMCA Sports Mods

A-Feature: 1) 99 Jesse Sobbing, 2) 11 Chad Dills, 3) 52k Brian Kosiski, 4) 239 Steve Swarthout, 5) 6 Denny Berghahn Jr., 6) 45 Dennis Cook, 7) 33 Jim Hendricks Jr., 8) 48 Kyle Harpster, 9) 98 Brett Sheppard, 10) 56 Jeremy Longmeyer, 11) Robert Tippery, 12) Nick Hermsen, 13) Joe Feyen, 14) Kyle Chalek, 15) Laini Schwartz, 16) Brian Florian, 17) Jason Fusselman, 18) Brad Tuttle, 19) Mike Brown, 20) Chris Weatherton, 21) Josh Blumer, 22) Joe Thomas, 23) Matthew Marquardt, 24) Hank Dewild, 25) Sean Conaway, 26) Cory Hutchison

IMCA Sports Compacts

1st A-Feature: 1) 16j Justin Soule, 2) 23 Ole Olsen, 3) 26h Brandon Hammons, 4) 50 Brett Smith, 5) 6 Dan Markham, 6) 55 Garrett Rech, 7) 18 Will McConnell, 8) 11 Nic Hitz, 9) 60 Kevin Zeitner, 10) 32j Jeff Davis, 11) Jeremy Ehlers, 12) Steve Niederhaus, 13) Preston Gigax, 14) David Neesen, 15) Tammy Clark, 16) Stoales Levi, 17) Amanda Christensen, 18) Tyler Saathoff, 19) Ryan Munhall, 20) Kevin Staack

2nd A-Feature: 1) 40 Jake McCloud, 2) 7 Kennin Colestock, 3) 15 Jamie Spanel, 4) 93x John Sedlachek, 5) 13 Pete Fink Jr., 6) 97 John Irvine, 7) 16 Brett Saathoff, 8) 58 Tyler Leicy, 9) 84 Willy Muhr, 10) 89 Andew Cuva, 11) Justin Davis, 12) Skip Brown, 13) Mike Wallace Jr., 14) Wayne Stricklett, 15) Jordan Walker, 16) Lindsey Yost, 17) Rocky Harris, 18) Joseph Juva, 19) Austin Kurtzer

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I-80: Leighton & Hobscheidt Take NASCAR Features On Carl Edwards Night

Jim Brennan

(Greenwood, Ne. 07/13/09) On Carl Edwards night at the races Billy Leighton
Jr. and Jason Hobscheidt were winners of the dual NASCAR Late Model
features.

In the first feature Marc Peters won the battle for the early lead with
Jacob Brown. But Billy Leighton Jr. was on the move and took over the lead
on lap 7. From there on out it was all Leighton as the battle continued
behind him for 2nd thru 5th. Track point leader Matt Buller won this 3 car
battle for 2nd over Micah Brown, Todd Hipnar and Peters. Heat race winners
were Leighton, Buller and Clint Benson while Brad Soll won the B-Feature.
The top 12 were inverted for the start of the 2nd feature.

The 2nd 25 lap feature saw Kenny Edwards grab the early lead. But he became
involved in a 5 car battle for that lead with Dave Doll, Andrew Kosiski,
Jason Hobscheidt and Tom Svoboda. Doll took the lead on lap 3 and stayed
there til lap 8 when Kosiski grabbed the lead. From there on out it was a 3
car battle for the lead between Kosiski, Hobscheidt and Doll. Hobscheidt
took the lead on lap 12 and held off Kosiski and Doll the rest of the way
for his 1st feature win of the season. Leighton was involved in a accident
with Todd Hipnar early in the race and had to restart at the back of the
field. But he charged through the field and got 4th at the finish ahead of
Edwards.

Carl Edwards did not race on this visit to I-80, but gave rides to some
lucky fans in the 2 seater car. And afterwards signed autographs for the
crowd.

The IMCA Modified feature was a heck of a race. Larry Robinson Jr. took the
early lead from the pole starting position and stayed there til lap 3 when
Stacey Wilhelm passed him. Dylan Smith took the lead on lap 4. Ricky "The
Racer" Stephan moved into 2nd on lap 8 and did his best to chase Smith. Both
drivers were staying close to the guard rail on the track and Stephan could
not get past Smith and had to settle for 2nd. Point leader Johnny Saathoff
went to the pits on a lap 7 yellow with a flat tire and had to restart at
the rear. And then he proceeded to show why he is nicknamed "The Jet" making
his way back to 6th at the finish.

The Crate Late Model feature had Carl Edwards Sr. driving the #96 car of
Tony Leonardo. He started 6th in the 6 car field and could not catch early
leader Steven Saunders. Saunders started 3rd in the field and quickly found
his way to the front. This was a 12 lap feature and with no restarts Edwards
could not reel Saunders in.

The Pro-am feature had Terry Cleveland taking the lead at the drop of the
green flag with Ray Dessel and Greg Cooper following him. Dessel took the
lead on lap 6. But point leader Rick Negrete was making his move up from the
12th starting spot grabbing the lead on lap 10. Jeff Joldersma and Scotty
Hartman kept things close. Joldersma suffered mechanical woes with 1 lap
left and Hartman came home 2nd ahead of Cooper, Dessel and Shawn Bulin.

Results:

Whelen NASCAR Late Models

1st A-Feature: 1) 28 Billy Leighton Jr., 2) 43 Matt Buller, 3) 24x Micah
Brown, 4) 12 Todd Hipnar, 5) 1M Marc Peters, 6) 1W Mike Wallace, 7) 1J Jason
Hobscheidt, 8) 92 Jacob Brown, 9) 51 Les Siebert, 10) 2x Andrew Kosiski, 11)
Tom Svoboda, 12) Dave Doll, 13) Kenny Edwards, 14) Brad Soll, 15) Jase
Kaser, 16) Dave Cook, 17) Glenn Robey, 18) Kent Schimenti, 19) Gary Joens
Jr., 20) Michael Svagera Jr., 21) Mollee Collins, 22) Clint Benson, 23) Ryan
Joens, 24) Kortney Kosiski

1st B-Feature: 1) Brad Soll, 2) Kenny Edwards, 3) Kent Schimenti, 4) Michael
Svagera Jr., 5) Kortney Kosiski

2nd A-Feature: 1) 1J Jason Hobscheidt, 2) 2x Andrew Kosiski, 3) 97d Dave
Doll, 4) 28 Billy Leighton Jr., 5) 25 Kenny Edwards, 6) 1w Mike Wallace, 7)
51 Les Siebert, 8) 15x Jase Kaser, 9) 92 Jacob Brown, 10) 24X Micah Brown,
11) Marc Peters, 12) Tom Svoboda, 13) Brad Soll, 14) Dave Cook, 15) Clint
Benson, 16) Steve Farnsworth, 17) Gary Joens Jr., 18)
Glenn Robey, 19) Todd Hipnar, 20) Kent Schimenti, 21) Scott Green, 22)
Michael Svagera Jr., 23 Mollee Collins, 24) Kortney Kosisiki

2nd B-Feature: 1) Steve Farnsworth, 2) Clint Benson, 3) Kent Schimenti, 4)
Gary Joens Jr., 5) Michael Svagera Jr.

IMCA Modifieds

A-Feature: 1) 95 Dylan Smith, 2) 25 Ricky Stephan, 3) 3w Stacey Wilhelm, 4)
37f Randy Foote, 5) 83 Jesse Cowles, 6) 96j Johnny Saathoff, 7) 1S Scott
Carlson, 8) 98 Denny Johnson, 9) 48 Larry Robinson Jr., 10) 21H Shane Hiatt,
11) Lacey Tuttle, 12) Nick Carlson, 13) Bill Bader Jr., 14) Darren Meinke,
15) Jim Fritz, 16) H1 Lowell Holland, 17) Paul Tindal, 18) Brad Bergren, 19)
Harry Nixon,

IMCA Crate Late Models

A-Feature: 1) 44 Steven Saunders, 2) 96 Carl Edwards Sr., 3) 2 Tyler Zander,
4) 14 Michael Powell, 5) 34 Michalea Kosiski, 6) 5C Shevi Collins

Pro-Ams

A-Feature: 1) 72 Rick Negrete, 2) 88 Scotty Hartman, 3) 37 Greg Peters, 4)
55 Ray Dessel, 5) 36 Shawn Bulin, 6) 5b Matt Boucher, 7) 68 Jeremy Swanson,
8) 25 , 9) 8 Nick Steier, 10) 80 Jeff Bonney, 11) Alan Schmitt, 12) Denny
Berghahn, 13) Terry Cleveland, 14) Jeff Joldersma, 15) Chad Sanders, 16)
Erik Cunningham, 17) Don Atkins, 18) Don Mohr

Monday, July 13, 2009

22 Short Observations about racing, part 2 (11-22)

Part one is here

- Two words: Time Limits
No reason to run an hour-long feature. Just because it isn't late to you, doesn't mean they haven't been there for too long. Why are movies less than 3 hours whether it starts at 5PM or 9PM? The seat's a hell of a lot more comfortable, too. If the logic that "it's only 10 o'clock, what's the rush" were true, then afternoon matinee movies would run four hours, and the 9PM showing would only be two. It doesn't work that way. Boring is boring. Too long is too long.

- Tacky tracks are for time trials
They tear up race cars after that. One look at the WoO show at Eagle tells you that, and it's happened more times at more tracks than I care to count. Speed kills, so to speak.

- If people aren't paying $8-10 to see your show, ask yourself why they won't even pay that much?
Is $5 that much of a difference? Really, is $10 a big deal once a week? I know plenty of people in that demographic that will spend far more than that in a bar tab or for a concert, on crap like fast food, or just junk. The question is: is $10 the barrier or...is 3, 4 or more hours of someone's time for not much entertainment the true barrier?

- Too many racers confuse "being able to afford to race" with "being able to afford the big dog's shiny, expensive and new parts."
That mentality, along with the realization that promoters and sanctioning bodies can quickly raise money with pit fees, sanction and registration fees has led to the creation of nearly infinite subclasses. In politics, they call it "balkanization", where a large body is divided into smaller and smaller, competing subgroups, none of them able to stand well on their own. What's wrong with buying used parts as long as they're safe? What happened to earning your stripes? Need money, get sponsors. Race with what you got.

- The fan of the weekly show is an endangered species
Your diehards won't sustain you and are too small of a group to pay the bills on these big facilities and they aren't growing. I've seen too many marquee, "big time" shows with a few hundred in the stands, and 4, 5 or more support classes, required to run for points, and paying more to get in on top of that making up the money difference. Because of this and lack of concern for the casual fans and putting on a SHOW, not just a race, short track racing on a weekly level is moving the way of SCCA Club Racing. A dozen or more different classes, neither with enough to sustain a full show - racing alone in front of friends, family and a few people who camp out on the berm. Pay your way, race for nothing. I knew a person who did this racing Porsches. Beautiful, race-prepped 911's. We're talking more than sprint or super late model money. What did he race for? Trophies and coffee cups. Seriously. But like the endangered species in the wild, there' s hope for recovery.

- The reason your class pays the same pit fees and races for less purse is because there aren't enough fans at the front gate.
But if there were enough front gate - you wouldn't be there. Fans are high profit margin items - there's no purse or insurance (well a lot cheaper insurance) to pay on a fan. And the fan can be encouraged to give MORE money over the course of the night. There's a reason for the term "support" class; they support the promoter's pocket. And, instead of trying to bring in more fans up front, it's easier to just add another class. I am NOT saying any one class is bad, doesn't have a right to be there, etc. Yes, there's the argument that the class brings the fan. But I can guarantee every promoter runs only the amount of classes they HAVE to to meet a goal - profitability.

- Sanctioning bodies whose money comes from sanction and license fees often do not care about their show. They should, it's good for their business.
Some have found out that if their show sucks, they don't get rescheduled and thus no sanctioning fee. Many others haven't. Want to see a sanction up the quality of its program? Make their take dependent on ticket sales. Put on a show with only concern for the teams (and their pit gate money) or where your employees do nothing but tech inspections and enforce regulations then the only people there will be race teams and officials - and nobody in the stands.

- All that said, a track owner making money is a good thing.
It's needed to update the facility, hire and pay employees, pay more purse, bring in more shows. No promoter who "breaks even" or worse will be there for long, I don't care how much money they made in whatever other business they have. They didn't make that money by breaking even. If they really have that racing bug, they'll learn they can just go to the show for a lot cheaper than promoting it.

- Because one track puts on a good show doesn't mean the other one puts on a bad one. They can both be good - or both bad.
July 4 weekend had two potentially great shows that flubbed (in my opinion, yours may differ) because of different reasons. Sorry, but 21 Outlaws on a one-lane track, with the support features getting called isn't much more fun to watch than 67 late models battling between yellow flag after yellow flag after yellow flag. But it happens. It doesn't mean the track sucks as a whole it doesn't mean the promoter sucks, the teams suck and all the fans suck. It just means that show on that night wasn't so good. That's it. All tracks have them and they will continue to have them, it's part of the game. They'll have great shows too.

- Racers are responsible for their own safety.
Racers, especially part-timers (99% of you) with families need to ask yourselves...what happens if I crash? The track has responsibility, but most will only go as far as the law/their lawyer/their insurance company requires them to. If their insurance is poor (if it even exists), or their knowledge of the law sucks, then it's your responsibility to pack up and go. Think of the rest of your life and those who depend on you.

- Racing was better back then. Racing is better now.
It's just different. 20,000 fans aren't going to pack a state fair grandstand for 18 cars, 3 heats and a feature anymore - but what a group of 18 it was! The only way you pull that off is something like the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora. On the other hand, there's probably more racers in about any class you could want. There are MANY ways to get into racing these days - probably more than ever. For the racefan or the aspiring racer, there's no better time to get into the program and something for everyone.

Eagle: Acklund, Richards, Thornton, Ryan, Saathoff & Boston winners during “Christmas in July”

360 Sprint Make-up Feature from 7/4/2009

A Feature:1. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 2. Adam Gullion (Beatrice, NE), 3. MIKE BOSTON (Crete, NE), 4. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 5. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 6. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 7. Nick Clifford (Elkhorn, NE), 8. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 9. Jeff Lowery (Lincoln, NE), 10. Bobby Jr Becker (Denton, NE), 11. Doug Lovegrove Racing Inc (Waverly, NE), 12. Ian Eastman (Omaha, NE), 13. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 14. Russ Hall (Pleasant Hill, IA), 15. Mikey Gablehouse (Lincoln, NE), 16. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 17. Jeff Griffis (Council Bluffs, IA), 18. Julee Jamison (Highland Ranch, CO), 19. Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA), 20. Zach Davis (Savannah, MO), 21. Joshua LaPage (Bennett, NE), 22. Trevor Grossenbacher (Holland, NE), 23. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 24. Mark Schmidt (Lincoln, NE)

IMCA Modified Make-up Feature from 7/4/2009

A Feature:1. MATT RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE), 2. Dan Nelson (Beatrice, NE), 3. ED RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 4. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 5. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 6. Lance Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 7. Sean Burklund (Ceresco, NE), 8. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 9. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 10. Roger Hadan (Waterloo, NE), 11. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 12. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, NE), 13. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 14. Jerry Trejo (Lincoln, NE), 15. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 16. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 17. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 18. Justin Jurgens (Beatrice, NE), 19. JIMMY GUSTIN (Marshalltown, IA), 20. Randy Brown (Chowchilla, CA)

Eagle Raceway Results

360 Sprint 7/11/2009

A Feature:1. MIKE BOSTON (Crete, NE), 2. Trevor Grossenbacher (Holland, NE), 3. Adam Gullion (Beatrice, NE), 4. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 5. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 6. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 7. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 8. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 9. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 10. Nick Clifford (Elkhorn, NE), 11. Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE), 12. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 13. Roger Sluka (Lincoln, NE), 14. Jeff Lowery (Lincoln, NE), 15. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 16. Doug Lovegrove Racing Inc (Waverly, NE), 17. Tyler Blank (California, MI), 18. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 19. Mark Schmidt (Lincoln, NE), 20. Michael Beckerman (Wichita, KS)

B Feature:1. Roger Sluka (Lincoln, NE), 2. Tyler Blank (California, MI), 3. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 4. Michael Beckerman (Wichita, KS), 5. Nick Clifford (Elkhorn, NE), 6. Terry Cadwallader (Lincoln, NE), 7. Ian Eastman (Omaha, NE), 8. Joshua LaPage (Bennett, NE), 9. Bobby Jr Becker (Denton, NE)

Heat 1:1. Adam Gullion (Beatrice, NE), 2. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 3. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 4. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 5. Doug Lovegrove Racing Inc (Waverly, NE), 6. Roger Sluka (Lincoln, NE), 7. Tyler Blank (California, MI), 8. Terry Cadwallader (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 2:1. Jeff Lowery (Lincoln, NE), 2. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 3. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 4. Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE), 5. Mark Schmidt (Lincoln, NE), 6. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 7. Joshua LaPage (Bennett, NE), 8. Nick Clifford (Elkhorn, NE)

Heat 3:1. MIKE BOSTON (Crete, NE), 2. Trevor Grossenbacher (Holland, NE), 3. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 4. Tadd Holliman (Beaver Lake, NE), 5. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 6. Ian Eastman (Omaha, NE), 7. Bobby Jr Becker (Denton, NE), 8. Michael Beckerman (Wichita, KS)

IMCA Hobby Stock 7/11/2009

A Feature:1. Joe Ryan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Don Jr Hall (Lincoln, NE), 3. Josh Kennell (Bennet, NE), 4. Roy Armstrong (Beatirce, NE), 5. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 6. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 7. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 8. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 9. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 10. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 11. Troy Mencke (Blair, NE), 12. Dave Carter (Scribner, NE), 13. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 14. Charlie Bartels (Lincoln, NE), 15. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 16. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE), 17. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 18. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 19. Scott Santee (Omaha, NE), 20. Eric Hanson (Scribner, NE)

B Feature:1. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 2. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 3. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 4. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 5. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 6. Matt Draeger (Dunbar, NE), 7. Chris LaChapelle (Omaha, NE), 8. KHRYSTA STRANSKY (Lincoln, NE), 9. Jason Edwards (Lincoln, NE), 10. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 11. EARL SCHMITT (Omaha, NE), 12. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 13. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 14. Kevin Hansen, 15. Michael Elliot (Omaha, NE), 16. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 1:1. Eric Hanson (Scribner, NE), 2. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 3. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE), 4. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 5. Scott Santee (Omaha, NE), 6. Matt Draeger (Dunbar, NE), 7. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 8. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 9. Chris LaChapelle (Omaha, NE), 10. Michael Elliot (Omaha, NE), 11. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 2:1. Troy Mencke (Blair, NE), 2. Don Jr Hall (Lincoln, NE), 3. Roy Armstrong (Beatirce, NE), 4. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 5. Dave Carter (Scribner, NE), 6. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 7. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 8. KHRYSTA STRANSKY (Lincoln, NE), 9. Jason Edwards (Lincoln, NE), 10. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 3:1. Joe Ryan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Josh Kennell (Bennet, NE), 3. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 4. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 5. Charlie Bartels (Lincoln, NE), 6. Don Kros (Weston, NE), 7. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 8. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 9. Kevin Hansen, 10. EARL SCHMITT (Omaha, NE)

IMCA Modified 7/11/2009

A Feature:1. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 2. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 3. Dan Nelson (Beatrice, NE), 4. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, NE), 5. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 6. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 7. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 8. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 9. Stacey Wilhelm (Martell, NE), 10. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 11. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 12. MATT RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE), 13. ED RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 14. George Haney (Fremont, NE), 15. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 16. Roger Hadan (Waterloo, NE), 17. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 18. Scott Bivens (Ceresco, NE), 19. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 20. Jerry Trejo (Lincoln, NE)

B Feature 1:1. Roger Hadan (Waterloo, NE), 2. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 3. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 4. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 5. Patrick Donovan (Sterling, NE), 6. James Oaks (Lincoln, NE), 7. CLIFF TURNER (Ashland, NE), 8. Tyler Snyder (Beatrice, NE), 9. Paul Tindal (Eaglehawk, IA), 10. Sean Burklund (Ceresco, NE), 11. Justin Jurgens (Beatrice, NE)

B Feature 2:1. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 2. Stacey Wilhelm (Martell, NE), 3. Jan Korth (Lincoln, NE), 4. PHIL PENNY (Percival, IA), 5. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 6. Andrew Hille (Hickman, NE), 7. Nick Kepler (Omaha, NE), 8. Scott Anderson (Omaha, NE), 9. Ethan Christiansen (Nebraska City, NE), 10. Lance Borgman (Beatrice, NE)

Heat 1:1. MATT RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE), 2. ED RAINES (Lincoln, NE), 3. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 4. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 5. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 6. Paul Tindal (Eaglehawk, IA), 7. Tyler Snyder (Beatrice, NE), 8. Patrick Donovan (Sterling, NE), 9. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE)

Heat 2:1. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 2. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 3. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 4. Scott Bivens (Ceresco, NE), 5. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 6. Ethan Christiansen (Nebraska City, NE), 7. Lance Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 8. Scott Anderson (Omaha, NE), 9. Andrew Hille (Hickman, NE)

Heat 3:1. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 2. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 3. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 4. Jerry Trejo (Lincoln, NE), 5. Sean Burklund (Ceresco, NE), 6. CLIFF TURNER (Ashland, NE), 7. James Oaks (Lincoln, NE), 8. Roger Hadan (Waterloo, NE), 9. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 4:1. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 2. Dan Nelson (Beatrice, NE), 3. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, NE), 4. George Haney (Fremont, NE), 5. Jan Korth (Lincoln, NE), 6. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 7. Stacey Wilhelm (Martell, NE), 8. PHIL PENNY (Percival, IA), 9. Nick Kepler (Omaha, NE), 10. Justin Jurgens (Beatrice, NE)

IMCA Sport Compact 7/11/2009

A Feature:1. Brandon Thornton (Nebraska City, NE), 2. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 3. Tyler Saathoff (Lincoln, NE), 4. Elliott Halvorsen (Eagle, NE), 5. Jessie Fuller (Beatrice, NE), 6. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 7. Matt Moyer (Gretna, NE), 8. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 9. Garrett Rech (Davey, NE), 10. Maynard Kinnersley (Gretna, NE), 11. NIC HITZ (Lincoln, NE), 12. Jack Prall III (Union, NE), 13. Amanda Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 14. John Sedlachek (Eagle, NE), 15. Ricky Harris (Omaha, NE), 16. Larry Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 17. Jeff Davis (Lincoln, NE), 18. John Irvine (Omaha, NE), 19. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 20. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE)

B Feature:1. Jeff Davis (Lincoln, NE), 2. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 3. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 4. Jack Prall III (Union, NE), 5. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 6. Kevin Staack (Lincoln, NE), 7. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 8. Joe Johnson (Ashland, NE), 9. Jeremy Peckham (Lincoln, NE), 10. Trevor Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 11. Rod Schreiner (Weeping Water, NE), 12. ROGER ELLIOT JR (Omaha, NE), 13. Brian Haller (Lincoln, NE), 14. Ryan Munhall (Beaver Lake, NE)

Heat 1:1. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 2. Matt Moyer (Gretna, NE), 3. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 4. NIC HITZ (Lincoln, NE), 5. John Irvine (Omaha, NE), 6. Jeff Davis (Lincoln, NE), 7. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 8. Rod Schreiner (Weeping Water, NE), 9. Ryan Munhall (Beaver Lake, NE), 10. Joe Johnson (Ashland, NE)

Heat 2:1. Larry Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 2. Amanda Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 3. Brandon Thornton (Nebraska City, NE), 4. Tyler Saathoff (Lincoln, NE), 5. John Sedlachek (Eagle, NE), 6. Kevin Staack (Lincoln, NE), 7. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln, NE), 8. Jack Prall III (Union, NE), 9. Jeremy Peckham (Lincoln, NE), 10. Brian Haller (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 3:1. Garrett Rech (Davey, NE), 2. Jessie Fuller (Beatrice, NE), 3. Maynard Kinnersley (Gretna, NE), 4. Elliott Halvorsen (Eagle, NE), 5. Ricky Harris (Omaha, NE), 6. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 7. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 8. Trevor Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 9. ROGER ELLIOT JR (Omaha, NE)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Friday, July 10, 2009

Editorial: 22 Short Observations about racing (1-11)

The other day I watched an episode of The Simpsons, called "22 Short Films about Springfield,*" a collection of random snippets about the town, not focused on the main characters. It gave me the idea for this. I'll start with 1-11, and post 12-22 later.

Before anyone takes this too literally, this isn't true in every single case, it isn't an attack on any person, track, group, class, anything. Just general opinions - some just gut feelings, and like they say - everyone's got one. Here's mine. That's it. I don't expect you to agree nor do I expect anyone to do anything about it nor do they have to.

- Your opinion is not shared by the majority of the racing community, and they don't share my opinion either.
There's an incredible choice for the race fan. But, with that we've become incredibly fractured. Niches within niches. Not racing forums, but Sprint, Late Model, Track...we're all isolated in our little niche, our specific allegiance, and not one niche alone represents the majority of fans in the stands. There's roughly half a dozen types of late models, more types of sprints (if you don't just include 'full size' cars). There's DIRT modifieds, IMCA Mods, SportMods... Who, 20 years ago in the age of Camaros, Chevelles and Novas would've thought we'd be racing "Gutless" Cutlasses, Monte Carlos and Buick Regals? Racing a four cylinder - who would have seen that coming?!? But look at where we are. It's becoming a tougher job for the promoter to please them all.

- I'd love to see pit stops/tire changes/work areas banished completely.

- Proper equipment and training for the safety crew should come before the first hot dog is ever bought.
If you can't afford this for safety, you can't afford to open the gate. There's no excuse whatsoever.


- More cars does not mean a better show. There's a balance between show quality vs. just freakin' monotonous. Here's my take:


- The class costing the promoter the most money is the "feature" class, regardless of what's on the sign.

- There is no such thing as the "racing business"
You provide goods or services. The racers, the promoters, are a subset of the entertainment business, a service. You are the same as pro athletes and movie actors. You compete with the theme park, the DVD, the Xbox, HDTV, the iPod and the Movie Theater.

- In this era of nearly infinite methods of communication, tracks are putting out less and less information about themselves - and it's hurting them.
My feeling is despite all these new methods of communication: web sites, MySpace/Facebook, Twitter, message boards, text, etc. etc. there is less and less information. What people don't realize is that all these new media are BLANK canvases. You still have to put something on them, and the goal is not to be "present" but the one and only goal: GET MORE CUSTOMERS TO YOUR BUSINESS. That said, seeing some of these track websites (from all over the country) in the past few years - I wouldn't want to send people to them either. Yikes... When I hear about the paper not reporting - well, did you tell them anything? The newspaper industry is in SERIOUS peril. Most papers can barely put a warm body on the local teams, much less follow what's up at your track (especially when you don't say anything about it). Your track should be doing a WEEKLY, text, press release - web, paper, TV, radio - email, social networks, etc. etc.

- Why is it that I see "ads" that are just a copy and paste from the track schedule on local, niche-oriented message boards and the promoter thinks it's "advertising?"

If you want an online presence, there is one very important thing: content needs to be FRESH and UPDATED OFTEN. Your interview with people you know is good that week - where's the next one and what if you have to work to chase people down? The quick cut generation demands to be constantly stimulated. New content, new information. But I think the problem is this: nobody's paying for someone to do this for them, or think it's worth it, or can't fit it in to their part-time running of the track. In this era of tight budgets, the one thing that's always cut (foolishly) is advertising. And, the person doing it, for free, will only give you the work they're willing to put in - what's the motive? You get what you pay for.

- Reduced admission is a marketing tool, not a gift and certainly not the weekly solution. You don't "make it up on hot dogs and beer"
As I said in a previous editorial. A promoter told me during his giveaway nights, the average fan spent $3/person, LESS than a previous, regular-priced night of $4.00/person! That doesn't make up for the discount. People who are too cheap to go to your show are too cheap to buy more beer.

- He who lives by the back gate dies by the back gate.
He who lives by the front gate has the back gate to fall back on. Giving away a barren front gate is like skin off the nose (to a point). I'm reminded of the quote: "It doesn't cost anything to give away an empty seat." Giving away back gate is like losing a limb because that seat (or pit stall) wasn't empty. You certainly can't do both for long, but given skin or a limb which one will die first?

- There is often hidden information about your program if you take the time to read between the lines.
A message board discussion recently is a great example of this. The initial reaction is to dismiss it out of hand as "just more bitching." But read closer - you have DIE HARD race fans and racers (who else is posting?) give some between the lines insights: races are too long for their tastes, lineups are slow coming, something needed to be done about spinouts, the track isn't ready on time. BUT the track was wise and saw that as well, and accounts afterward showed they moved the show along and got over at a reasonable hour.The seasoned promoter can filter the BS from the valuable information. Sometimes, the people give you what you need.

*which was borrowed from the film, "Thirty-two Short Films about Glenn Gould." I have no interest in the film, but unlike the Simpsons episode, I actually have 22 observations.

Schedule change helps competition at races

BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Jul 10, 2009 - 08:38:32 am CDT
There have been some impressive streaks over the years at Eagle Raceway, but
the one IMCA modified driver Dylan Smith is on might stand up to any.

Smith has won the last four A features at the one-third mile track, which
thanks to the foresight of owner Roger Hadan can boast one of the toughest
lineups in the country.

It was Hadan who approached members of the Gage County fair board with the
thought that Eagle and Beatrice Speedway could enjoy significant growth if
the two tracks would stop competing against each other on Saturday nights.

Was he ever right about that.

Rest of the article (and a nice rundown of recent/future events) is here:

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2009/07/10/sports/doc4a56927f1ac3c323823
041.txt

Tony Linner fund/auction announcement

From a post on dirtdrivers.com

Fellow Drivers, Race Fans, Concerned Individuals,

A site has been established for Tony Linner, and is now on-line. Tony was
injured at Kam Raceway on 6/26/09. His car caught fire, and he has extensive
burns. An auction has been organized, and will take place on August, 28th
2009. If you have items you would be willing to donate for the auction or
you would like to make a donation, please go to
http://home.windstream.net/pdlakota/ for more information 
 

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Wright Back on Top as Lucas Oil ASCS Returns to I-90 Speedway

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (July 6, 2009) – The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car
Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters continues a five-weekend spate of
activity with its third annual stop at Hartford, South Dakota's I-90
Speedway this Saturday night.

And, with the series en route to the Northwest for its inaugural events in
Washington and Oregon over the ensuing two weekends, it's a familiar face
atop the championship point charts as four-time series champion Gary Wright
of Hooks, TX, has climbed to the top spot following this past weekend's Rock
'N Roll 50.

While denied victory lane in the seven points-paying events thus far, "The
Texan" has finished no lower than sixth and claimed a slim points lead after
recording finishes of fifth and fourth this past weekend.

Wright, who finished second to Tony Bruce, Jr., at I-90 Speedway last year,
carries a slim six-point lead over Louisiana's Jason Johnson and Oklahoma
native Shane Stewart into Saturday's tilt atop the high-banked, 3/8-mile
Hartford, SD, dirt oval. Johnson topped the series stop at I-90 in 2007
after taking a Regional win a year earlier, while Shane Stewart earned a
Regional win at I-90 in 2007.

The lead trio of Wright, Johnson and Stewart has established themselves as
the early favorites for the $60,000 Lucas Oil Sprint Car championship as
$250,000 will be distributed to the top 15 in final points as season's end.

While the battle for the top spot is an intense one with just six points
separating the top three, every position among the top ten is being heavily
contested. While 97 points out of the lead, Travis Rilat of Forney, TX, is
just seven points ahead of California native Paul McMahan, with Arkansas
shoe Tim Crawley one more point back after sweeping the weekend's Rock 'N
Roll 50 in West Memphis.

Just nine points behind Crawley in seventh is Oklahoma's Danny Wood with
single-point increments between each driver from seventh to tenth including
Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) and Tony Bruce,
Jr. (Liberal, KS).

Missouri's Jesse Hockett is just outside the top ten, with other series
contenders expected to make the trip to South Dakota and then to the
Northwest including Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK), Gary Taylor (Snohomish,
WA), Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK),
Darren Long (Elida, OH), Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK), Chad Corken
(Highlands Ranch, CO), Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA), Ricky Logan (Little
Rock, AR) and Kathyrne Minter (Bedford, TX).

In addition to being a critical step to the Lucas Oil title, Saturday's card
at I-90 Speedway will also award ASCS Midwest and ASCS Northern Plains
points. Chad Humston holds the current Midwest lead over Jason Danley and
Mike Boston, while Danley holds the edge over Humston and Jody Rosenboom in
Northern Plains points.

Averaging 53.1 cars per event thus far in 2009, this weekend marks the third
of five consecutive weekends of series competition. Following Saturday's
stop at I-90 Speedway, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented
by K&N Filters moves on Washington's Grays Harbor Raceway Park on July 17-18
and then Oregon's Cottage Grove Speedway on July 24-25.

The Series:

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters

When & Where:

Saturday night, July 11 at 8:00 p.m. – I-90 Speedway

Track Information:

I-90 Speedway (Hartford, SD) – 3/8-mile, high-banked dirt oval located three
miles west of Hartford on SR 38. For more information, contact the track at
605-528-6380.

Lucas Oil ASCS I-90 Speedway History:

The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series took to the I-90 Speedway oval last for the
first time in 2007 and it was Jason Johnson awarded the victory after
apparent winner Sam Hafertepe, Jr., came up light at the scales. Last year,
Tony Bruce, Jr., held off Gary Wright for his second career series win.

I-90 Speedway ASCS National winners include: Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Jason
Johnson 1.

I-90 Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Jason Johnson (6/19/07),
Tony Bruce, Jr. (6/24/08).

Current Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Points:

Top Twenty: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 996, 2. (tie) Shane Stewart (Bixby,
OK) and Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 990, 4. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 899, 5.
Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 882, 6. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 881, 7.
Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 872, 8. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 871, 9. Nick
Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 870, 10. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 869, 11.
Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 785, 12. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 752, 13.
Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 728, 14. Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 666, 15.
Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 644, 16. Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) 632, 17.
(tie) Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) and Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
625, 19. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 607, 20. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK)
599.