Special Fund Created to Help Holliman Heal

(Jason: I want to keep this up at the top for a while - check below for updated content)

Jetmore, Kan. (November 11, 2009) - On July 25,2009 Tadd Holliman, driver
of the #23R 360 Series Sprint Car was involved in a devastating racing
accident at Eagle Raceway in Lincoln, Neb. Holliman, of Beaver Lake, Neb.,
suffered six broken ribs, a bruised lung, concussion, and a broken right
upper arm.

Since the accident, Holliman has been undergoing multiple medical treatments
as well as extensive physical therapy and has been unable to return to work.

To help defray his medical expenses a special fund has been established
within the Steve King Foundation. Any funds donated to the foundation and
earmarked for Holliman will be provided directly to him and his family.

Donations are being accepted through the Steve King Foundation to help the
Holliman family cover the medical expenses. All contributions are
tax-deductible.

Donations can be made online at
www.SteveKingFoundation.org or mailed
to

Steve King Foundation
24583 NW 208 Rd
Jetmore, KS 67854

Please note Holliman on the check.

About Tadd Holliman
Holliman is a third generation driver and was often seen competing against
his father, Terry, at Eagle Raceway, his home track. He was voted the "most
improved driver" at Eagle Raceway in the mid 1990s. His all time favorite
race is the Chili Bowl, each January in Tulsa, Okla. Tadd and his wife
Darla have four children, ranging from 7 to 20 years old.

About The Steve King Foundation
The Steve King Foundation was formed to help individuals involved in dirt
track racing across the country by providing financial assistance to
drivers, pit crew members, racing officials, track operations personnel or
the immediate families of those individuals who are injured, struggling with
a severe illness or die. The foundation, a 501(c)3 will also contribute to
organizations and facilities dedicated to improving the safety of the sport
when additional funds are available.

More information can be found at
www.SteveKingFoundation.org

2010 Thoughts, Pt. II

- Longtime sprint car owner/sponsor Ivan Tracy floated the idea of a limited, 'bare-bones' 360(ish) wingless sprint class, with the idea of complementing existing racing and keeping costs low to promoters and teams. It was promoted in the spirit of the creation of the original "Modified" sprint at Midwest Speedway in the 1980's. For more on the birth of the 360 Sprint, visit Ryan Tunks' Midwest Speedway Preservation Society website.

As nice as it may seem, I'll borrow from the words of the late firearms Guru, Marine Colonel and Historian Jeff Cooper: it's an "ingenious solution to a non-existent problem." Cooper was not talking about racing but rather semi-automatic pistol development, feeling that there was no need for complex modifications of an existing design when with proper use, and mindset, the existing design worked just fine.

But I see the development of yet another class as the same thing. Here's why:

- I don't see any pent-up demand for limited, limited wingless sprint car racing. There have been plenty of calls across the grandstands, pits and message boards for wingless sprint cars but they have all centered on the "real deal:" wingless 410 racing as you see at I-80 each August, and across the Midwest on the USAC trail. The 2007 experiment of wingless 360 racing at Eagle was certainly a 'no harm, no foul' deal, but nobody seemed to care there were no shows in 2008 save for a less than noteworthy WDRL support show. Remember, when the 360's started at Midwest, there was no real sprint racing on a weekly basis. Most of the Nebraska crews were running Knoxville regularly. This filled a niche, and if you've read any of Bob Mays' books, a hole in the SE Nebraska racing community, where sprints/supermodifieds were not just popular, but a part of local culture.

- Again, while it's not designed to compete with the winged 360 class, why wouldn't it? I still feel that these sub-classes draw from the "upper" class, creating mediocre fields in both and experience shows this especially in late models and modifieds. Why, with sprint counts being at a 10-year low, would we want to fracture the class now?

By the way - 305's anyone?

The silence is deafening.

Look, I recognize costs are escalating in 360 racing. A top of the line 360 motor can run as much as a top of the line 410 motor did ten years ago. I get it. But this isn't the solution.

- To that point: If as Ivan said, there are cars sitting idle, why can't they be raced now? Really, since Gambler brought out the downtube car in the late 80's how much has the sprint car really changed? Why, couldn't one get one of these frames and start adding to it? If the car is too old, why race it now under any rules? I don't know how many times I have to say this, but why do people confuse "affordable" with "being able to afford the point champ's equipment?" I have tremendous respect for a guy like Josh LaPage, who, scrounged, scrimped and put a car on the track and ran it against "the big boys." Yeah, he's still green and finding his way, but damn...racing around here could use more of him. This is going to come off as confrontational and maybe it is, especially if the question isn't being answered honestly: how much of the effort to contain cost is a true concern about saving money and how much of it is really just an effort to bring costs to a level where once top ten teams can NOW afford to be able to outspend/outequip everyone else? I'm dead serious about that. Maybe it's my cynical nature, but I rarely believe this is a campaign for the greater good but instead to lower the bar and make the good "great."

- To THAT point: the existent problem in my opinion is not so much money, it's that the field isn't being replenished. In the 80's and 90's the typical path was often race mini sprints at Waverly or Hastings, then get in the big car at Midwest and Eagle. I'm going to miss a TON of names, but here's a few: Divis, Boston, Lowery, Alley, Dover, etc., etc., etc. I'm not even CLOSE to naming half. But you get the point. But consider, especially in the case of Billy Alley and Jack Dover. They didn't stick around long. Enough time to get the feel of the bigger car and then moving on to potentially greener pastures. Before that, the upgrade generally meant they became the permanent veterans of the local field. But in this age of making the big time before 25, most talent doesn't see weekly racing as a long term goal. Many are looking to become the professional racer, not a weekend warrior. Contrary to the time after Jeff Gordon, the dirt track was an acceptable settling point as it was for many names. Champ cars, sprint cars, midgets were perfectly fine ways to "race to live." In a MotorSport magazine (the BEST racing magazine out there) article, Mario Andretti recalls his dirt car days with fondness, even racing them as late as 1974, where he won the USAC championship - five years AFTER his Indy 500 victory, three years after winning the '71 South African Grand Prix for Ferrari, and only one year before departing full time to Formula One!  But it's not that way anymore, and the success of dirt track stars in NASCAR has made it arguably worse for dirt track racing as its stars depart quickly, which in turn, leaves fields smaller and smaller as veterans retire. (Sound familiar, local sprint fans?)

The thing is, I don't see the "farm system" of the 80's and 90's coming back. So for that, we head to the "Everything old is new again" department

- I believe with about 70% certainty that given the economy we'll see the 360 class go the way of the Super Late Models at I-80. While I have NOTHING to back this up, my gut says that most of the sprint races future teams will compete in will be run under the ASCS banner at regional tracks, with - like the SLMR series, several stops at the old "home" track. But, I believe that ASCS purses have to go up (particularly at the back end), and instead of the state fair races of old, there are more big money shows like the $5000 to win Nebraska Cup and $2000 to win 9/11 Tribute at Butler County mixed in. My other feeling is that supply and demand will take over, with less of a supply of sprint races, demand increases with potentially bigger crowds (and bigger front gate takes to build up the purse).

- I forsee, like the late models have been for quite some time, the growth of the 'semi-professional' racer: the person or teams not necessarily racing to eat - but can make time to essentially race at will, at least locally. I'm thinking currently of Billy Alley, Chad Humston, Ryan Roberts and Jack Dover as examples, but many race teams can do that already. Look at how many modified teams hit 2, 3 nights a week regularly? It's not out of the question for many of the race teams out there. If not a personal career, one could certainly make a decent "racing career" as a so-called regional outlaw.

- And as much as I used to say that the ASCS regional series was irrelevant with Eagle's strong show back in the early 2000's (and I still think I was right then), I think the times have changed such that the regional series is the future, with the increase in number of shows rumored for 2010. I believe it so much, that I'm hitching my wagon to that and will devote most of my time to it next year. And before anyone I debated with in the early 2000's says "I told you so," take it easy. You had nothing to back it up and the reason I think this has more to do with the Bear-Stearns collapse or closer to home the collapse of local 410 racing than your insight. I could say Nebraska will win the Big XII this year, and if I lucked into being right, that doesn't entitle me to a place on ESPN, OK?

Having just spent the last page discounting the wingless idea, I'm not writing it off completely.

Part III - coming soon.

Saathoff wins Vegas Duel in the Desert

Saathoff hits jackpot with IMCA Modified checkers
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Duel In The Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 14) – He’s had a lot of big wins during his
IMCA Modified career, but none of them paid better than the one on
Saturday night.

Johnny Saathoff passed Ricky Alvarado on the 36th of 40 laps Saturday
night at Las Vegas Motor Speed way, then held off Terry Phillps to
take the $7,777 Duel In The Desert checkers.

An event record 262 Modifieds, representing 23 states and three
Canadian provinces, were on hand for the IMCA season-ending special
at the half-mile dirt oval. Alvarado, Dominic Ursetta and Scott Drake
rounded out the top five.

Chris Abelson started on the pole but slid high and watched Alvarado
take the lead away on just the sec ond lap. Saathoff, the 2004 race
winner, was quickly in contention from his eight starting spot and
locked onto Alvarado’s back bumper in lap 15.

Bob Moore and Phillps did their best to stay in the chase, but
Alvarado and Saathoff made it a two-car race. The feature passed
midway before the first yellow came out, when Kellen Chadwick rolled
to a stop on lap 21, but the rest of the pack couldn’t take advantage
of the restart.

A spin by Steve Arpin with six to go resulted in a pile-up that
knocked out Brad Pounds, national champion Dylan Smith and Zane
DeVilbiss.

Alvarado got out of line following the ensuing restart, giving both
Saathoff and Phillips the opportunity they were looking for to get
by. Saathoff crossed the stripe three car lengths ahead of Phillips.

Winners of 12 last chance races on Saturday joined top four finishers
from two qualifying features both Thursday and Friday in the 28-car
starting grid. The previous event record of 221 Modifieds had been
set last year.

Alvarado took charge on the third circuit and led to the finish of
the Wild West Shootout. That field included top 20 point drivers from
the EQ Cylinder Heads Wild West Northern Tour and Rotating Right Wild
West Southern Tour.

Paul Stone advanced nine spots but ran out of time to reel Alvarado
in and settled for second in the 20 lapper. Lance Mari ran in front
the first two circuits and ended in third. Tyrone Yazzie and Jimmy
Reeves rounded out the top five.

Two drivers kayoed by an early crash when the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars
made their first-ever appear ance at LVMS last year went at it again
Saturday, and a last-lap pass gave Trent Murphy the $777 win over
Kevin Opheim.

Robby Rosselli set the fast pace before giving way to Murphy
following a lap eight restart. Opheim buzzed by on the next lap and
ran at the front while Murphy, Rosselli, Joe Flory and Cary White
jostled back and forth.

Murphy finally got the best of the battle and caught Opheim on lap
19. Rosselli, Flory and White were scored in that order behind the
front pair.

Stephenville Starter Southern Region champion Rex Higgins was sixth.

Feature Results
Modifieds
1. Johnny Saathoff, Beatrice, Neb.;
2. Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.;
3. Ricky Alvarado, Delta, Colo.;
4. Dominic Ursetta, Arvada, Colo.;
5. Scott Drake, Webb City, Mo.;
6. Eddie Belec, Lakewood, Colo.;
7. Bobby Hogge IV, Salinas, Calif.;
8. Jeremy Mills, Garner, Iowa;
9. Paul Stone, Winton, Calif.;
10. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa;
11. Will Brack, Mead, Colo.;
12. Shane Stutzman, Milford, Neb.;
13. Darrick Klima, Belleville, Kan.;
14. Vern Jackson, Waterloo, Iowa;
15. Jason Brees, Strasburg, Colo.;
16. Brandon Carley, Farmington, N.M.;
17. Bob Moore, Sioux City, Iowa;
18. Steve Arpin, Cornelius, N.C.;
19. Brad Pounds, Bakersfield, Calif.;
20. Dylan Smith, Osceola, Neb.;
21. Zane DeVilbiss, Farmington, N.M.;
22. Sonny Wahl, Mohave Valley, Ariz.;
23. Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.;
24. Jay Steffens, North Platte, Neb.;
25. Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.;
26. Kellen Chadwick, Oakley, Calif.;
27. Justen Yeager, Green River, Wyo.;
28. Jay Noteboom, Hinton, Iowa.

Fourth annual Holiday Horsepower Drive

The fourth annual Holiday Horsepower Drive to provide Christmas presents to the Children at Children’s Hospital in Omaha kicked off on Sunday, November 1 with the “Second Annual Racing with the Stars” karting event at Velocity Indoor Karting in Omaha. This year’s event saw some drivers traveling great distances to participate in the event.

Drivers who participated in the event included: Brian Birkhofer, Kyle Berck, Josh Most, Andrew Kosiski, Bill Leighton Jr., Jake Kaser, Bryant Goldsmith, Jack Dover, Stu Snyder, Tad Holliman, Ryan Kitchen, Dylan Smith, Jake Neal, Mark Noble, Corey Dripps, Al Hejna, Jeremy Tibben, Rick “the Racer” Stephan, Brian Blessington, Chad Fegley, Nate Weiler and NASCAR development driver Kendell Lopez.

The event gave local fans and kart drivers a chance to race against local and regal area drivers. At the end of the night 4 fans and the fastest 4 drivers along with defending race champion Jack Dover would race in a 25 lap feature. That event turned out to be quite exciting with Dover coming from his ninth and last starting position to pass Jake Neal for the win just a couple laps from the checkers.

The drive will continue to raise money and acquire gifts for their annual gift wrapping at Quaker Steak and Lube in Council Bluffs followed by the always heartwarming trip to the hospital which will take place on Saturday, December 19. In three years the Holiday Horsepower Drive has raised over $63,000 for Christmas gifts for the patients at the hospital plus purchasing much needed equipment for the hospital.

If you would like to support the Holiday Horsepower Drive and help make sure the patients at Children’s Hospital have a wonderful Christmas, please call Buddy Ray Jones at (712)-256-5876, (712)-256-5278 or (402)-517-8144. Donations can be dropped off at:

Holiday Horsepower Drive
c/o Joe’s Karting
2121 South 32nd Street
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

Tickets On Sale Now For Belleville 100

BELLEVILLE, Kan. (Nov. 4) - The ticket window has swung open and race fans
can now purchase their seat for the Belleville 100 and be a part of history
at a one-of-a-kind event at a one-of-a-kind venue.

Race fans and competitors alike are already looking forward to next year
when the nation's top Modified drivers on dirt converge on the famed
Belleville High Banks for the inaugural running of the Belleville 100.

A century in the making, the three-day celebration of speed and skill will
be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 2-4, 2010, at the "World's
Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track."

Tickets for next year's blockbuster event officially went on sale Sunday,
and judging from the response from both competitors and fans since the
format of the event was revealed in September, Belleville 100 officials
expect a lot of seats to be "gobbled up" prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Next year on Friday, July 2, the Modifieds take on the Belleville High Banks
with heat races, "B" mains and a 40-lap "A" main carrying a $5,000 top prize
and $500 to start. The top-10 finishers will be locked into Saturday night's
thrilling finale.

Saturday, July 3, will feature another round of qualifying events, followed
by a 15-lap non-qualifiers "A" main with drivers racing for $2,000 to win
and $300 to start. The thrilling conclusion will be the 60-lap championship
"A" main with 30 cars starting three-wide on the big half-mile clay oval
with $10,000 earmarked for the winner and a minimum of $1,000 for each of
the starters.

But that's not all ... the pole sitter for Saturday's championship "A" main
will have the option of starting dead last in the field and a whopping
$100,000 paycheck if he/she can win from the 30th starting position.

Dozens of contingency prizes will also be awarded during the event, plus a
Halfway Leader Award, Hard Charger Award, Hard Luck Award and more.
Attendees can also look forward to a gigantic fireworks display to round out
the Independence Day celebration.

Sunday, July 4, will include a dazzling auto thrill show and other
entertainment suitable for a 100-year celebration of auto racing, including
the Pig 100 - a not-so-light-hearted special event featuring real live pigs
and a shot at $500 for one lucky participant. The Sunday date is also being
held in reserve as a rain date for Friday or Saturday.

Only reserved seat tickets will be offered for the Belleville 100. Tickets
are $33 per night in lots of three nights (single day tickets are not
available). Family/Group ticket packages will also be available to the first
60 groups that order. Fans and/or businesses that purchase at least 10
tickets will be named a lap sponsor for Saturday's 60-lapper, be listed in
the souvenir program, receive mentions by the p.a. announcer and also get
VIP access to drivers and infield prior to Saturday's finale.

As if that wasn't enough, one name will be drawn from the first 1,000 ticket
buyers to win a new high-definition big screen television.

Belleville 100 tickets make a nice Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for
that racing friend or family member.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 402-761-3676 or by checking out the
"Downloads" section at www.belleville100.com on the World Wide Web. Entry
forms, rules and additional information can also be found on the Official
Website of the Belleville 100.

For more information about the Belleville 100, contact Wayne Dake via email
at wayne@belleville100.com or call 402-440-3977.

2010 Thoughts, Pt. I

Thank goodness I'm a football fan or I'd be bored during the off-season. Come February, I'm in a sporting funk. NBA basketball doesn't do it for me, and I quit watching NASCAR after they threw Bill Simpson under the bus following Earnhardt's death. I never felt any need to return to a series that has less flavor and is tougher to digest than a piece of microwaved butt steak. I laughed when NASCAR's bogus "Chase for the championship" registered a colossal FAIL this year for the same reason it was created in the first place - the fact that the other teams can't compete with one driver.

(insert sound of grinding gears here)

While I am born and bred to bleed Husker Red, I'm not as big a college football fan. My interests in college football extend to how it affects Nebraska. Outside of that, it's good for when nothing else is on and the worst college football beats the best of baseball any time. My football interest actually lies with the NFL. I'm a fool for the NFL (though I'm not a fantasy football guy) I read the wires daily; "Every day is like Sunday" and while I'm sure Morrissey had no visions of the pigskin when he penned the song, he seemed to have no problem cashing the check for the NFL Network commercial.

Speaking of money, don't give me any bullsh*t about college football being for the "love of the game." It's about money. Just stand next to Tom's palace at the terminus of Vine Street in Lincoln and tell me it isn't about money. When you see college teams with better facilities than the pros (save for Jerry's World in Dallas), you're damn right it's about money.

Update: the WAC hired a PR firm to make the case for a Boise State BCS trip. I'm sure it was all about school pride...

But I have no beef with that. Just admit what it is. So, it doesn't mean I'm not a Husker fan, it's just I don't buy the NCAA's "amateur" whitewash. At least the NFL admits its cash DNA. You want love-of-the game football? Then go watch a Div III or NAIA game.

But this isn't a rant about college athletics, or the merit of one sport over another. But let me draw some parallels.

Money. Racing wouldn't exist without it.

And, money is the reason the promoters are in the business of even putting these events on.

I'm not the only one to decry back gate promoting. Back gate promoting gave birth to the "support class." And it gave birth to more classes. Pretty soon, a track owner found out it was easier to just add more classes to the program than try to get an increasingly picky audience to come in to the grandstand. Sanctioning bodies found that if their own rules failed to control costs to where there wasn't growth in a class, just add another class, with just a little more restriction. You've created infinite growth, right? Something for everyone!

And hey, it's a hell of a lot easier to just add another class than to take the grief of drivers and owners bitching, much less having to actually drum up fan support, right?

Enough already. I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to remember two classes of stock car: the late model - looking more like today's Pro-Am and the "Street Stock" - like the hobby stocks of today. I'm all for creating classes out of necessity: the 360's and 410 sprints are a good example. The costs between the two were just TOO far apart. I'd argue the same about "Super" and "Limited" or "Grand National" late models. Same reason.

But the one that gets me is the SportMod. The IMCA SportMod, and you know they'll never admit it, is the IMCA's answer to its failure to control costs with the original plan for the IMCA Modified's creation in the 1970's.

Let's go back to the original plan. Wasn't the paltry out of pocket expense of a motor claim supposed to keep other teams from building up motors? Weren't the draconian limits on tires/chassis/suspension supposed to keep those motors from hooking up to the track, if the claim failed, or wasn't enforced due to fears of retribution?  Problem is, that's precisely what happened. 

It didn't work, and IMCA recognized that they might as well make the class more of a race car than a car that raced (to explain the difference, look up the Sport Compact rules) and opened up the rulebook to make the class more like "late model lite" than the original design. Personally, I LIKE the 'new' modified - far from the original creations that took to Eagle in 1985 that often resembled dogs scurrying on linoleum more than racing.

However, now came the inevitable escalation in costs. The SportMod is an attempt to get the cost containment plan right. Instead of a claim, racers can opt to install a claim-free crate motor instead. Other rules keep things in check. It's a good idea.

But...

My first experience with SportMods was as a support class at I-80. I have to confess, I found them, well, tedious. The sound of a pegging rev-limiter just doesn't do it for me. Worse than restrictor plate racing. But that was the big track. Seeing them this year on the 1/3 miles of Butler County and Eagle changed my opinion. Especially the Eagle go-round where a full field of 30+ took the track. These guys moved, throwing it into the corners, sliding out, just like the big brothers that followed them later.

"Which ones are these?" came the question from one of the Eagle officials after the SportMods finished their warmups and the "A" Mods came to the track. The answer back was that one could tell the difference because the SportMods had a spoiler.

The spoiler. That's the difference. SportMod drivers should take that as a compliment. Now, obviously there's a lot more, and the seasoned fan/observer will be able to tell the difference. But the casual fan? It's just more modifieds. That could be good or bad, depending on your preferences.

I've said before, I don't like similar classes running on the same card. I'll summarize:
- it dilutes the field, taking from the "A" group
- one could get into an "A" level modified, for the costs of buying a sport mod (I DIDN'T say you could buy Dylan Smith's or Jordan Grabouski's Modified, I said you could buy a legal A-mod)
- disincentive to move up into the classes, that, in the end are what draws fans that are more than friends and family of drivers. I have yet to see a flow upward to the A mod ranks.
- fan confusion: those few casual fans can't / don't care about the differences as they're too subtle on the outside. Even diehards don't care.

It seems, that Eagle will be running SportMods in 2010 as part of its Saturday night show. I'm not keen on that for the reasons I've listed above, especially as I feel it may dilute what is arguably the most competitive Modified show in the country.

RUMOR has it, from a credible source, that IMCA offered Eagle a monetary incentive to run the "fastest growing class." Even without incentive, 20-25 sport mods at $20/crew person are a quick way to make money...a lot more than the $20 per sprint car crew with a lot more purse payout.

Eagle, which makes concerted effort to speed the program along, has enough time trying to make the 10:30 end time goal as is. The Sprint drivers and fans (and I) have complained that starting first and ending last leaves too much time in the middle. This won't help. So...what's the reasoning here if there's no incentive or if it isn't about money?

Or...is some other change is coming? Maybe I'll figure out why I started talking about the NFL later.

What's Up

Nothing much right now - but I've had issues with email lately. LOTS of spam for some reason. Trying to get the filter tweaked has been a mess.


Bear with me. I've got a few things, mostly just some off-season thoughts.

Monster Bash this weekend at Lancaster Event Center

The track is looking great for this weekends go-kart races! It is going to
be a fun time! Remember, the pit stalls are first-come first-serve so make
sure you are there early. Registration is from 9-10. Hotlaps are at 11.
Racing starts at 12. We hope to see everyone there! For any questions feel
free to contact the track office.

track office: 342-3453
track cell phone: 659-3301
www.neracewaypark.com

Unique Format Revealed For Inaugural Belleville 100

BELLEVILLE, Kan. (Oct. 12) - A one-of-a-kind event at a one-of-a-kind venue
is what race fans and competitors alike can look forward to next year when
the nation's top dirt modified drivers converge on the famed Belleville High
Banks for the inaugural running of the Belleville 100.

A century in the making, the three-day celebration of speed and skill will
be held on Friday-Sunday, July 2-4, 2010, at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile
Dirt Track" located in Belleville, Kan.

The first documented auto race held in Belleville was July 4, 1910. While
other locations may have staged an auto race on a dirt oval prior to 1910,
Belleville is the only venue to have sustained 100 calendar years of auto
racing.

"This is a remarkable achievement which deserves to be celebrated by any one
who wishes to participate," said event promoter Wayne Dake, whose passion
for the history of racing in Belleville is shared by many others in the
racing community. "Passion and drama will be strikingly evident at the
Belleville 100."

On Friday, July 2, the Modifieds take on the Belleville High Banks with heat
races, "B" mains and a 40-lap "A" main carrying a $5,000 top prize and $500
to start. The top-10 finishers will be locked into Saturday night's
thrilling finale.

Saturday, July 3, will feature another round of qualifying events, followed
by a 15-lap non-qualifiers main with drivers racing for $2,000 to win and
$300 to start. The thrilling conclusion will be Saturday's 60-lap "A" main
with 30 cars starting three-wide on the big half-mile clay oval with $10,000
earmarked for the winner and a minimum of $1,000 for each of the starters.

But that's not all ... the pole sitter for Saturday's "A" main will have the
option of starting dead last in the field and a whopping $100,000 paycheck
if he/she can win from the 30th starting position.

Dozens of contingency prizes will also be awarded during the event, plus a
Halfway Leader Award, Hard Charger Award, Hard Luck Award and more.

Attendees can also look forward to a gigantic fireworks display to round out
the Independence Day celebration.

Sunday, July 4, will see the running of the Pig 100 (details forthcoming), a
dazzling auto thrill show and other entertainment suitable for a 100-year
celebration of auto racing. The Sunday date is also being held in reserve as
a rain date for Friday or Saturday.

Only reserved seat tickets will be offered for the Belleville 100. Tickets
are $33 per night in lots of three nights (single day tickets are not
available). Family/Group ticket packages will be available to the first 60
groups that order. Fans and/or businesses that purchase at least 10 tickets
will be named a Lap Sponsor for Saturday's "A" main, plus be listed in the
souvenir program and receive mentions by the p.a. announcer.

From the first 1,000 ticket buyers, one name will be drawn to win a new
high-definition big screen television.

Tickets for grandstand reserved seating go on sale Nov. 1. Officials are
expecting a sold-out grandstand by late January, so get your tickets ordered
early. Belleville 100 tickets make a nice Christmas gift or stocking stuffer
for that racing friend or family member.

The entry fee for competitors is $150 if received or postmarked by Nov. 30,
and includes car, driver and two crew members. After Nov. 30, the entry fee
will be 240. Pit Passes for each night are $40.

One driver's name among the first 100 pre-entered teams will be randomly
drawn to win a 2010 BMS Modified chassis. Furthermore, fuel vouchers will be
presented to team that arrive with an "open" trailer and a Belleville 100
decal on the rear body panel.

Three members of the first-, second- and third-place finishers will each
receive hand-crafted Belleville 100 awards.

Entry forms and grandstand tickets will be available Nov. 1 by calling
402-761-3676 or at www.belleville100.com online.

For more information about the Belleville 100, contact Wayne Dake via email
at wayne@belleville100.com or call 402-440-3977.

Guest Editorial: A Special Bootleggers Run

Gary Dominguez wrote this piece that's a great example of getting and
keeping the fans involved, and the lessons that could be learned on the
local level.

- - - - -

A Special Bootleggers Run

By Gary Dominguez

First and Foremost, I would like to thank Roger and Michelle Hadan or Eagle
Raceway for putting on this event, and for giving me the opportunity to meet
NASCAR greats Casey Mears, Bobby LaBonte, Jimmie Spencer, Michael Waltrip,
and of course the King: Richard Petty.

While admittedly, I am not a huge NASCAR fan, and don't usually get "star
struck", the impression these five gentlemen left may convert me. When I met
their plane at the airport, I was greeted with a huge smile, handshake, and
a "Nice meeting you, A'hm Richard Petty". The others followed suit.

I also got the honor of being "chewed out" by Michael Waltrip when my friend
Amie asked him for a picture, and I balked because we were running a little
behind, and needed to go. Mr. Waltrip said "sure, come over here". Amie
turned to me and said "see Gary, I told you so". Waltrip looked at me and
said "Ya Gary, What's the matter with you!?" He followed that with a big
grin.

While we were greeting on the airport tarmac, Mr. Waltrip noticed about 4
airport employees standing at the edge trying to get a look at the
celebrities. He pointed, and yelled over to them "Hey! What do you think you
are doing over there? Come on over here and be sociable!" The employees
eagerly made haste. The smiles they left with were immeasurable.

Once we got to the track, I didn't see them again until after their last
race to give them a ride back to their bus. Waltrip and Spencer rode with
me, and were elated about how neat the track was, and the facility was one
of the best they had ever seen. They were just as enamored with the
experience of being there, as we were to have them.

This brings me to the whole point of this article. These 5 gentlemen are
true ambassadors to their sponsors and their sport. It was not so much
meeting them as it was the feeling you got when you left. They actually made
you feel like you mattered to them. I left with a huge "warm fuzzy" from the
pleasure of meeting them. My point? These guys fly private planes like you
and I drive to work every day, and they still have time for the fans that
make them who they are. I would love to see that happen on a local level.

Too many times I see cars loaded up and heading for the pit gate before the
features are over. Too many times have I seen drivers giving autographs like
they are doing the fans a big favor. Most memorably was July 4th when a
certain once mighty traveling sprint series that made a stop at Eagle
Raceway. They have no room to be prima donnas when they make people pay $35
to see 14 cars. We need to make time for our fans, and take examples from
these five legends who have more right to arrogance than we will ever have,
but choose not to.

Some shining stars that come to mind are the Bryan Race Team, Billy Alley,
Dylan Smith, and Rik Gropp. Whether you love them or not, an example should
be taken from them on how to treat or most important commodity, our fans. If
everyone followed their example, we could end up with a lot more local race
fans. I could spend a lot more time telling you how they do it, but that
would make a long article even longer.

If these 5 legends can make the fans feel good about seeing them, then why
can't we as a local racing family do the same? I welcome your comments on
how to make local racing grow. Please email me at
gary.dominguez@woodsbros.com.

About Gary: Gary Dominguez is a long time ambassador for racing in the SE
Nebraska area. Gary is the founder of Midwest Racers Autograph Day, the
largest annual pre-season gathering of racers and fans in Nebraska, and
presents annual seminars to racers on gathering and keeping sponsorships.
For 2009, Gary sponsored and drove the official Eagle Raceway pace car.

Post #1,501 - An unabashed, unashamed sprint car fan

Well, finally I've gotten around to writing another editorial, and it will be a personal "letting out;" a more frank, biased and perhaps pointed.

Let's get to the point: I like sprint car racing more than any other form of dirt track racing. And, I'm not ashamed to admit it.

It's the trendy thing to do to slam sprints and their fans. Some try to do it from the lofty perch of extended bleacher time while claiming “they like every class.” Some of it is deserved, some of it is just lame piling on or worse, some attempt to grandstand their way to status as the champion of “the common man.”

The fact is I've met VERY few people who say that don't have a bias toward or against one class, and of those...I can count on one hand the number of people that aren't full of it. We all have our biases, our likes and dislikes – it's what makes us human.

I started going to races as a kid in the late 70's being a fan of the late models – not the wedges on wheels of today, but real late model cars, vehicles that would be “pro-ams” or open street stocks today.

When I moved to Lincoln in 1980, the following summer I was introduced to the class of cars that grew to be a big part of my life: sprint cars. Midwest Speedway birthed what was to become the dominant class of sprint racing: the 360 cubic-inch sprinter. The “modified sprints” as they were known were in ways, similar to the sport mods of today: limited motors, limited suspensions, often they were second and third-hand cars. Indeed, some cars had bolt on roll cages.

My dad hooked up with Dennis Diekmann's bunch and painted, worked on then later became part owner of the team. A few years later, he followed in the footsteps of his father, owning a race team for the next 16 seasons. During that time he also served as president of the Nebraska Sprint Car Association, briefly ran a sprint-oriented parts business, ran a true 410 “Outlaw” team and later joined Craig Cormack in the purchase/operation of Eagle Raceway. I was along for that time, and even later after he left Eagle in 1999.

So reason one: Sprint cars have been a major part of my life, and I'm not going to make any concessions or apologies for them. Fact is, sprints are the fastest thing on dirt, and that's been told time and again. But speed is not all of it. They are much more than that to me.

Reason two: sprint cars are and always were pure race cars. They NEVER started their lives as a grocery getter, the family hauler, and certainly not as an “econobox.” A street legal sprint car is a novelty – street legality is a stock car's heritage, hence the name! Yes, I realize that there is nothing stock about today's NASCAR racers, today's late models, and very little even for the modern day “spec” racer: the IMCA modified.

Reason three: I enjoy the simplicity of a sprint car. Suspensions are simpler, and at the upper echelon, the tricks are known to everyone. It's the driver, it's the crew chief, and it's that simple four wheels, frame and a motor. Yes, I'm oversimplifying, small deviations and errors show up big when everyone's matched up. But a lot of what you see is what you get. Tire choice and bar choice aside, there aren't many secrets. No need to cover up the back suspensions, hide the motor, it's all out there.

That brings me to reason four. You see the driver. Wingless fans will point to that as one of their favorite parts of that niche. I would agree that lack of the hunk of metal makes it much more a human vs. machine experience. That said, I don't see its presence that much of a deterrent. But either way, you SEE the person behind the wheel. I guess that's why I have a soft spot for topless mods, too. Go look at some of the old pictures, especially in the pre-cage days. Like a bucking cowboy, these guys are wrestling their own mechanical bulls, and for a lot longer than eight seconds.

Five: if tires lasted, the fastest way around a corner is by drifting it. Even asphalt cars drift slightly, the goal to be just enough not to oversteer. Long before The Fast and the Furious, dirt trackers, especially sprint cars and midgets were drifting without style points and judges. The only judge was the checkered flag. A sprint car in a slide is a hell of a sight, much more than the front wheels turned in, bank-off-the-other-guy understeer of a stock car or worse – the left rear end floating of a compact as the front end is digging into the ground. Sorry – it's not my thing. And by the way – I DO enjoy today's modified and late model as they do much the same thing. That, to me is what real race cars do. The car goes its fastest because it was made to, not in spite of what it was made to do.

Six: history. Hell, I could write pages about that. Bob Mays wrote entire books . They hit me emotionally, and that's all I need to say.

That's but a few of the reasons – not to mention the personal relationships and experiences I've had while being part of the sprint car community.

You could have your own opinions: you could point out how sprints have annoying tendencies to flip, spin out and take so long to push start. You could say sprint car guys bitch a lot (but I could argue the other side as well – need I do a dirtdrivers.com message board tally)?

You could probably write as much against sprints as I did for them. That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. If you drive one of the cars I spoke against, I don't dislike you – in fact I've made several friends outside the sprint ranks. I don't even hate your form of racing. In fact I'll tell you that IMCA “A” Modifieds are my second favorite cars on dirt tracks.

But I do have a favorite, a clear favorite and I refuse to make apologies.

Photos

Well, during a server change with my web host, a lot of my photo galleries
were affected by the rebuild. The links should be the same, some of the work
done on each album was lost - but what do you do?

Maybe it's the impetus to start the launch of the new site....

Interestingly, this is my 1,500th post to the site.

IMCA Modifieds headline October Fest at Beatrice

BEATRICE, Neb. (Oct. 5) – IMCA Modifieds headline the big late-season
show at Beatrice Speedway this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10.

Both October Fest features for the open wheeled division pay $1,500
to win and are qualifying events for the 2010 Fast Shafts All-Star
Invitational ballot.

Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks both
run for $400 to win each night. Friday’s Mach-1 Sport Compact feature
will pay $150 to win.

An open practice session for all classes will be held from 6-9 p.m.
on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps are at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 6
p.m. on Friday. Gates open at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with hot laps at
5:30 p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m.

Pit passes are $25 each day. Grandstand admission is $14 for adults
and $5 for kids $10 and under.

More information about October Fest is available by calling promoter
Toby Kruse at 515 231-5444, the track hotline at 402 228-2264 or the
track office at 402 223-3158.

Rain date is Oct. 11.

Dylan Smith wins IMCA Modified Nat'l. Title, Rech Takes Compact Crown

VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 2) - A division-best 28 feature wins and bonus
points from three local track titles paved the way for Dylan Smith's
first national IMCA Modified championship.

The Osceola, Neb., driver edged Garner's Jeremy Mills by five points
for the title. Mills won 25 features and was the only driver in the
division with four track crowns to his credit this season.

Smith's banner season also included the championship in the
ButlerBuilt Central Region and Boone County Raceway, I-80 Speedway
and US 30 Speedway crowns.

Also capturing national titles were Dustin Smith of Lake City in the
Sunoco Stock Cars, Neil Stevens of Bing ham Lake, Minn., in the KSE
Racing Products Sprint Cars, Jesse Sobbing of Glenwood in the Karl
Chevrolet Northern SportMods, Garrett Rech of Davey, Neb., in the
Mach-1 Sport Compacts and John McNeil of Denton, Texas, in the GM
Performance Crate Models.

Shannon Anderson of Atlantic and Keith White of Little River Academy,
Texas, defended their titles in the Sunoco Hobby Stock and Southwest
Racing Specialties Southern SportMod divisions, respectively.

The point season for all eight classes ended on Sept. 27. Standings
become official at noon on Monday, Oct. 26.

Dustin Smith became the third driver to win national IMCA crowns in
different divisions. The 2004 Hobby Stock king bested three-time
champion Mike Nichols of Harlan and defending champ Rod Snellenberger
of Pulaski, Wis., in the drive for this year's prize.

The track champion at Buena Vista Raceway, Marshalltown Speedway and
Shelby County Speedway, Smith won 23 features. Nichols was tops in
point standings at Dawson County Raceway and I-35 Speedway LLC and
had 26 wins; Snellenberger was track champion at Shawano Speedway and
won 25 times.

A dozen feature wins gave Stevens the inside track toward his second
career national title in the winged class. Also the 2005 champion,
Stevens was first in points at both Arlington Raceway and Redwood
Speedway.

Sobbing is the third straight driver to earn both the national title
and rookie of the year honors in the Northern SportMod division in
the same season. He won 20 features and raked in the maximum 60 bonus
points for track titles at I-80, Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway and
Shelby County.

Runner-up Tyler Frye of Belleville, Kan., had 27 wins and was first
in the standings at Beatrice Speedway and Minneapolis Raceway. Kevin
Sather of Ankeny was third after winning 26 times and leading point
races at Marshalltown and Stuart.

Anderson won an IMCA single division season record 43 features this
season, a title difference-making dozen more than runner-up B.J.
Dauer of Marquette, Kan. Both won four track crowns and earned the
maximum number of bonus points.

The son of five-time national Stock Car champion Jeff Anderson,
Shannon topped point standings at Buena Vista, the Iowa State
Fairgrounds, Shelby County and Stuart Speedway in repeating as Jet
Racing Northern Region king.

White's fourth career Southern SportMod prize came by virtue of his
20-9 advantage over Chris Meyers of Eunice, N.M., in feature wins.

While White was champion at Heart O' Texas, Meyers topped points at
both Cardinal Motor Speedway and Lady Luck Speedway. Jeff Turner was
third with 18 wins and the Boyd Raceway title to his credit.

Rech won nine Sport Compact features this season and was the only
national champion not to have won a local track title as well this
season. He was runner-up at Eagle Raceway and at Butler County
Motorplex.

McNeil topped a pair of Crate Model main events and also won the
track championship at Kennedale Speed way Park.

All five Modified drivers winning ButlerBuilt regional titles did so
for the first time.

Mills scooped up the North Central Region prize. The 1998 national
Hobby Stock champ, Mills earned track titles at Algona Raceway, Buena
Vista Raceway, Hancock County Speedway and I-35 Speedway.

White did double-division duty, capturing the South Central Region
trophy. He was track champion at Heart O' Texas Speedway and
Kennedale Speedway Park.

Eastern Region king Kevan Cook of Constantia, N.Y., ruled at
Brewerton Speedway and Skyline Raceway.

Justen Yeager of Green River, Wyo., reigned in the Western Region.
He'd also won the EQ Cylinder Heads Wild West Northern Tour.

White collected 25 Modified checkers for a total of 45 multi-division
sanctioned wins in 2009.

Cook was a 17-time winner this season. Yeager won 14 features.

Bloomfield, N.M.'s Rex Higgins is champion of the Stephenville
Starter Southern Region for Stock Cars. He won 11 features and was
first in the point race at Fairgrounds Speedway.

Charles Cosper of Belton, Texas, repeated as champion of the
Stephenville Starter Southern Region for Hobby Stocks. The 281
Speedway and Heart O' Texas king won 14 features.

Dauer paced the points at Minneapolis Raceway, RPM Speedway, Thomas
County Speedway and WaKeeney Speedway.

Joining Sobbing as national rookies of the year are Gabe Tucker of
Carbon, Texas, Modified; Phil Holtz of Manchester, Stock Car; Dylan
Book of Adel, Hobby Stock; Dustin Sargent of Cleveland, Minn., Sprint
Car; Steven Abbey of Comanche, Texas, Southern SportMod; and Jeff
Davis of Lincoln, Neb., Sport Compact.

Top ButlerBuilt Modified regional rookies are Tucker in the South
Central; Tim Ward of Mesa, Ariz., in the West; Shane Hiatt of Rising
City, Neb., in the Central; Chris Stein of Davenport in the North
Central; and How ard Jones of Freeville, N.Y., in the East.

Steffan Carey of Bloomfield, N.M., is Stock Car ROY and Joe Williams
of Waco, Texas, is the Hobby Stock ROY in the Southern Region.

David Murray Jr. of Oberlin, Kan., had set the previous single-season
record with 41 Modified wins in 2004. The single-season multi-
division feature win mark is 47, established by Dave Trauernicht of
Beatrice, Neb., in 2001.

Kevin Blum of Colona, Ill., was national champion and Ryan Giles of
West Des Moines the top rookie in the IMCA Late Model division. Final
point races for that class were Aug. 30.

All IMCA champions and rookies of the year will be honored during the
national awards banquet on Saturday, Nov. 28 in Lincoln, Neb.

UNOFFICIAL Top 10 Standings

Modifieds - 1. Dylan Smith, Osceola, Neb., 1,248; 2. Jeremy Mills,
Garner, Iowa, 1,243; 3. Keith White, Little River Academy, Texas,
1,235; 4. Kevan Cook, Constantia, N.Y., 1,221; 5. Jordan Grabouski,
Beatrice, Neb., 1,206; 6. David Murray Jr., Oberlin, Kan., 1,192; 7.
Justen Yeager, Green River, Wyo., 1,189; 8. Max Cor poron, Marion,
Iowa, 1,185; 9. Corey Lagroon, Salina, Kan., 1,185; 10. Scott Hogan,
Vinton, Iowa, 1,185.

Sprint Cars - 1. Neil Stevens, Bingham Lake, Minn., 790; 2. Keith
Beckler, Litchfield, Minn., 720; 3. Dwain Wilmes, Kasota, Minn., 710;
4. Bruce Allen, Mankato, Minn., 709; 5. Chris Graf, Glencoe, Minn.,
686; 6. A.J. Stevens, Bingham Lake, Minn., 679; 7. Brandon Allen, St.
Peter, Minn., 668; 8. Brad Lund, Fairfax, Minn., 653; 9. Curt Lund,
Redwood Falls, Minn., 615; 10. Richard Smith, Mankato, Minn., 608.

Stock Cars - 1. Dustin Smith, Lake City, Iowa, 1,247; 2. Mike
Nichols, Harlan, Iowa, 1,228; 3. Rod Snellen berger, Pulaski, Wis.,
1,218; 4. Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa, 1,206; 5. Cory Struckhoff,
Kensington, Kan., 1,202; 6. Abe Huls, Carthage, Ill., 1,193; 7. Trent
Murphy, Jefferson, Iowa, 1,183; 8. Mike Jergens, Plover, Iowa, 1,180;
9. Damon Murty, Chelsea, Iowa, 1,170; 10. Kelly Henderson, Minot,
N.D., 1,164.

Hobby Stocks - 1. Shannon Anderson, Atlantic, Iowa, 1,260; 2. B.J.
Dauer, Marquette, Kan., 1,260; 3. Charles Cosper, Belton, Texas,
1,206; 4. Allen Montgomery, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,198; 5. Devin Smith,
Lake City, Iowa, 1,197; 6. Austin Davis, Benkelman, Neb., 1,189; 7.
Eric Stanton, Hartford, Iowa, 1,180; 8. Michael Mur phy, Jefferson,
Iowa, 1,162; 9. Frank Paul, Kewaunee, Wis., 1,133; 10. Matthew
Crowell, Clearwater, Kan., 1,133.

Northern SportMods - 1. Jesse Sobbing, Glenwood, Iowa, 1,243; 2.
Tyler Frye, Belleville, Kan., 1,238; 3. Kevin Sather, Ankeny, Iowa,
1,237; 4. Austin Kaplan, Ankeny, Iowa, 1,202; 5. Scott Davis, Madrid,
Iowa, 1,197; 6. Tim Jorgenson, Seymour, Wis., 1,183; 7. Travis Van
Straten, Hortonville, Wis., 1,182; 8. Eric Arne son, Oconto Falls,
Wis., 1,160; 9. Luke Wanninger, Jefferson, Iowa, 1,134; 10. Jim
Hendricks, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1,126.

Southern SportMods - 1. Keith White, Little River Academy, Texas,
1,205; 2. Chris Meyers, Eunice, N.M., 1,205; 3. Jeff Turner, Kaufman,
Texas, 1,199; 4. Ronnie Welborn, Princeton, Texas, 1,179; 5. Zach
Hamilton, Farmington, N.M., 1,164; 6. Steven Abbey, Comanche, Texas,
1,158; 7. Gabe Tucker, Carbon, Texas, 1,157; 8. Robert Black, Waco,
Texas, 1,118; 9. Matt Winnett, Colbert, Okla., 1,104; 10. T.J. Green,
Robinson, Texas, 1,088.

Sport Compacts - 1. Garrett Rech, Davey, Neb., 1,156; 2. Gary
Peiffer, Troy Mills, Iowa, 1,140; 3. John Sed lachek, Eagle, Neb.,
1,130; 4. Allen Rice, Minneapolis, Kan., 1,100; 5. Justin Wacha,
Vinton, Iowa, 1,086; 6. Jeremy Noonan, Lincoln, Neb., 1,072; 7. Jeff
Davis, Lincoln, Neb., 998; 8. Mike Simpson, Ashland, Neb., 978; 9.
Nicholas Hintz, Lincoln, Neb., 915; 10. John Irvine, Omaha, Neb., 831.

Crate Models - 1. John McNeil, Denton, Texas, 818; 2. Jay Bransom
Jr., Burleson, Texas, 787; 3. Damon Hammond, Burleson, Texas, 759; 4.
Charlie Wilson, Sanger, Texas, 737; 5. Ronnie Davis, Hurst, Texas,
556; 6. Darryl Campbell, Everman, Texas, 488; 7. Eric Winnett, Fort
Worth, Texas, 467; 8. Ronnie Pennington, Saginaw, Texas, 401; 9.
Steven Saunders, Bellevue, Neb., 319; 10. Robert Ferron, Venus,
Texas, 315.

A Site For all Race Fans

If you haven't been there yet, check out this great site with articles and photos from racing's past.

Former Hawkeye Racing News editor Kyle Ealy and Omaha World Herald writer Lee Ackerman have put together a collection of articles from 10, 20, even 50 years ago, presented as a "this week in history" format, along with commentary about racing's past, so it's regularly updated with "fresh" material. It's a great approach to historical information.

Just go there:

Midwest Racing Archives

Eagle Bootlegger's Run Oct. 3

The final event of 2009 at "America's Home Track" Eagle Raceway, the Bootleggers Run Race of Champions, will be held on Saturday October 3rd.

The fastest 1/3 mile dirt track in the country will host NASCAR icons Casey Mears, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Labonte and Jimmy Spencer competing in two eight-lap Late Model races.

As a bonus attraction, "The King" Richard Petty will also be in attendance. Mr. Petty does only a handful of appearances each year, so this is very possibly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see him.

The support classes for the evening will be IMCA Modifieds, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks. There will be a draw for starting positions.

Reserved seating is available at just $20 for those 6 and up, but will be limited to the first 3962 requests.

General admission seating will be only $15 for those 6 and older.

Tickets can be ordered by calling the office at (402) 238-2595 (a $2 processing fee will apply) or by visiting participating NAPA stores. Prices for "day-of" tickets are $25 for reserved seating and $20 for general admission seating.

Children 5 and under are free with a paid admission (1 child per paid admission).

Autograph vouchers will also be sold for $5 each, but will be limited to 1200 total autographs and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Purchaser will be guaranteed one of five driver autographs per voucher using a lottery based system. The autograph session will run from 5:30 to 6:30 (rain or shine).

Pit gates open at 2:30. Pit passes are just $20.

The front gates will open at 3:00. There will be live music from 3:00 until 5:00.

A press conference will be held from 4:30 until 5:30 (rain or shine).

Hot laps for the IMCA Modifieds, Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks will begin at 5:30 with heat races for those classes starting at 6:30.

Hot laps for the Race of Champions will be at 6:55 and the feature races start at 7:00. Post race interviews, photos and etc. will be done immediately following them.

Feature races for the IMCA Modifieds, Sport Mods and Hobby stocks are scheduled to take the green flag at 7:15.

Drivers and times are subject to change due to NASCAR scheduling or flight delays.

Come out and see how the NASCAR boys handle the dirt high-banks!!!!

Greg Cooper Benefit

Follow up:

There will be a fund raiser at I-80 this weekend for the Cornhusker Classic. You can make donations and/or purchase window decals in honor of Greg. If you are unable to attend, you can still make contributions to the Greg Cooper Benefit Fund at TierOne Bank. If you are interested in purchasing window decals, please email: s.biltoft@yahoo.com

* * *

On Friday, September 4th, while at the car races at State Fair Park,
Greg lost his balance while leaning on the top rail and fell backwards
off of the bleachers. He was taken to BryanLGH West with critical head
injuries.

According to the carepages.com site set up for him, he passed away recently.

A benefit fund has been set up at TierOne Bank and deposits may be
made at any branch or mailed to:

Greg Cooper Benefit Fund

TierOne Bank
P O Box 83009
Lincoln NE 68508-2083

Greg was the car owner/driver of #37 ProAm and raced primarily at I-80
Speedway. He began racing a Friday Night Flyer at Eagle, Columbus and
Beatrice. After several years of being just a race fan, he started
back up in the ProAm division at I-80, winning the Rookie of the Year
Award in 2002, Cornhusker Classic in 2004 and finishing the 2009 ProAm
Season 8th in points.

Look back at a big weekend

I'm going to kick off a run of editorials here. Well, maybe a "few" more than a run. I'm starting with a look back at what was one of the biggest weekends for sprint car racing in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, the 9/11 tribute race at Butler County Motorplex got off to a wet start. I, along with several others read the message boards in disbelief when the track reported only recieving sprinkles after a line of storms went through the vicinity. But, upon arriving at the track the reports were true as we kicked up dust in the pits. The news wasn't good, as I and others stared at their smart-phones watching the impending storm moving closer. The sky darkened, drizzle, then a slow soaking rain fell on the track. BCM promoter Jacy Todd was adamant about outlasting the storm, but practicality set in and the race was postponed to Sunday afternoon.

The $5000 to win Nebraska Cup greeted 52 sprinters, with a stellar field. To give an idea of the competition: the A feature was stocked with at least 15 A feature winners/championship winners/series winners in 2009 that I could name off the top of my head. Despite the actual number being iffy - the fact that the field was packed with talent is not. Here's another tidbit, ASCS N. Plains (and soon Midwest) champion Jason Danley, four-time track champ Mike Boston, former ASCS 360 Nationals, Eagle and Knoxville track champ Billy Alley and ASCS National Tour winner and 2008 NE Cup champ Jack Dover all had to qualify through B features! Nobody "lucked" into the A.

What I love about 360's, especially the likes of Eagle and BCM is that a dry track doesn't mean lock-down to the bottom. The surface was very racy and the slide-fest back and forth battle between eventual winner Tony Bruce, Jr. and Jesse Hockett left fans agape at the action. There was plenty of action throughout the field. Like this, and this, and this, and...well, as Bruce said, "What a race, if anybody here didn't like that one, then you're not gonna like any kind of racing."

THIS event showcased what 360's are capable of on the short track and harkened back to the halcyon days of the early 2000's with 40 cars and a dozen feature winners. Yes Virgina, Santa can run a wing. More on this later.

Let it be known, I'm not just sprint-centric. The Modified feature, as it usually is at Eagle, was pretty darn good too.

Butler County didn't disappoint. A PERFECT day greeted fans and racers, a 180 from Friday. A somber tribute to 9/11 victims and first responders was brightened by the "Husker Copter" owned by Midwest Medical Transport bringing in the trophies, and a flyover by vintage aircraft. Twenty-nine strong sprints were on hand. A dry track remained racy with the sprint heats coming off without major incident.

Topless Modifieds were on hand for a $911 winner's share. I like today's IMCA Modified. But I wish they'd always run without the lid, though according to some, the setup is quite different.

Unfortunately, things were delayed after a NASTY crash in turn four when a chain of sport compacts crashed into a stopped car on the track. The wreckage took some time to clear up.

Kyle Berck took out most of the front runners at Eagle Saturday with a rare mistake, he made up for it by pulling away to take the modified feature.

The A once again, saw a dry but racy track. Much like Saturday the action was furious throughout. Chad Humston dueled pole-sitter Brian Brown briefly until establishing a comfortable lead. The show was watching Brown and Mike Boston put slide after slide on each other dueling for the runner up spot. Tony Bruce, Jr. had to qualify from the B but worked his way up the field and finished fifth.

It was some of the most intense action I'd witnessed all season.

Thumbs up:

- Roger Hadan and Jacy Todd, let's not forget: without their willingness to "go big" this weekend wouldn't have happened. Both were willing to take a risk.

- The Nebraska Cup committee, headed by Lori Dover who worked hard to generate interest in the two shows. A bounty of contingency prizes awaited drivers, many of whom came as a result of committee encouragement. The first "Miss Nebraska Cup" contest elicited huge response from the fans.

- The BCM tribute to the soldiers, fallen, and first-responders was very fitting and well done.

- The drivers and teams who decided to forgo races closer to home to make the trip up to Eagle and face the competition. Tony and Chad took the money, but the fans were the winners this week.

- Well, the fans - a late arriving crowd turned an iffy count into a respectable one at Eagle, with a solid group making the trip to the cornfields of Butler County on a Sunday night. Good attendance both nights.

- The quick-responding Butler County safety crew. They were quite literally, on top of every incident within seconds of it happening.

- Jason Danley - claiming the Midwest Region championship along with his Northern Plains title. What's impressive is that unlike a lot of "touring" series, the Midwest region had 13 of 15 scheduled events. That's a full season at some tracks.

- The push trucks. Getting a 52-car show rolling like it did is no small feat. BCM races were kicked off in no time. The bunch that pushes off in Nebraska is one of the best anywhere and they do it with only a handful of trucks.

- The decision to go topless with the Modifieds. I really like those things. Each track running mods needs to do it once. It's great to see the driver work.

- What can be done with good competition. I tire of criticism of winged sprint cars. Yes, you can get lock-down nights like the World of Outlaws. But, seeing what a strong field can do on a multi-groove track like this weekend and the earlier races at I-80 should remind fans what these are capable of, and they race like NO other class on dirt. It also confirms my preference for a dry track come feature time.

- Tony Bruce Jr. just seems like one of the most amiable, friendly but tough as nails behind the wheel kind of guys out there. Count me as a fan.

- Chad Humston and Mark Burch putting the Banana Wagon at the forefront of 360 racing again.

Thumbs down (oh come on, you expect me to be nothing but sunshine?):

- Unnecessary delays. The Miss NE Cup competition was the chunk of a 47-minute Eagle intermission. The 40+ minute Butler County break was unnecessarily long, especially since the show got started late and was started early due to the Sunday night reschedule. I understand the unforeseen delays with the opening ceremony, and the compact wreck afterward was certainly beyond control. But, the intermission was something that should have been cut given the circumstances - 10 minutes to water the track then get going. While listening to the radio I could tell 26 compacts in the A at Butler were too much and it seemed to overwhelm the scorers at times causing delays. Maybe I care too much about that stuff - but it's my site.

- Accusations of "fixing" the aforementioned pageant. The bellyaching afterward was just silly and doesn't merit any further comm....

- Sprint drivers demanding tow money. I'm sorry, but NO 360 driver merits tow money.

Butler County 9/11 Tribute Race Photos

Photos from the Butler County 9/11 tribute race are online. Sprints and Modifieds.

Butler County 9/11 Tribute Race Photos

Eagle Nebraska Cup Photos

Photos are online from Saturday's Nebraska Cup. Sprints and Modifieds.

Eagle Nebraska Cup 9-12-09 Photos

I-80 Cornhusker Classic

Shelby County's Tiny Lund Memorial sports six IMCA divisions

HARLAN, Iowa (Sept. 14) - Six IMCA divisions fill the card for the
Tiny Lund Memorial Nationals at Shelby County Speedway.

Total purse for the 18th annual special this Friday and Saturday,
Sept. 18-19 at Harlan tops $50,000. The Modified feature pays $3,000
to win and is a quali fying event for the 2010 Fast Shafts All-Star
Invitational ballot.

Late Models race for $2,500 to win, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars for $2,000
to win, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby
Stocks both for $1,000 and the Mach-1 Sport Compacts for $500.

National, regional and Smiley's Racing Products State points will be
awarded to Modified, Stock Car and Hobby Stock drivers. National and
state points are at stake in the Northern SportMod and Sport Compact
divisions.

Tow money will be paid to drivers who compete both days but don't
make their feature. Modified and Late Model non-qualifiers will get
$100, Stock Car non-qualifiers get $75 and Hobby Stock, SportMod and
Sport Compact non-qualifiers each get $50 tow.

Feature winners from the track's Dwight Wrich Memorial held Aug. 1
who don't qualify through their heat or "B" races will receive
provisional starts.

A Thursday, Sept. 17 practice session starts at 7 p.m. and will be
followed by a free supper served to purchasers of $10 pit admission.

Friday's race program begins at 7 p.m. and includes heat races for
all divisions and pole dashes for Modifieds, Late Models and Stock
Cars. Pit passes are $25 and grandstand admission is $10 for adults
and $6 for students.

The Saturday program starts at 6 p.m. and sports "B" features and all
main events. Pit passes are $30. Grandstand admission is $15 for
adults and $10 for students. Kids 10 and under get in free both nights.

Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 20. Camping and shower facilities are
available on the fairgrounds.

More information is available at the www.racescs.com website.

What's Up - What's Coming Up

OK, when Lee Ackerman of the Omaha World Herald asks why I haven't updated
much lately, then I need to explain myself.

Obviously, this site isn't my day job. My day job involves a lot of sitting
in front of a computer, and it's related to colleges. So, I've been very
busy with the ramp up of fall semester. When I get home, about the last
thing I've wanted to do is stare at a computer screen.

But, things are settling down, and I've got plenty of stuff on my mind,
including a look back at what was arguably the biggest weekend for Nebraska
sprint car racing and a piece that details some other issues I've had
regarding updates.

I'm also going to ask for some input on the future of this site.

So stay tuned.
 

Butler County ASCS Postponed

Evening rain forced the postponement of Friday's 9/11 Race to Remember featuring ASCS Sprints, Topless Modifieds and Sport Compacts. The race has been rescheduled for Sunday Sept. 13, with racing starting at 5:00PM.

Holliman Cleared to Race, Looking for Ride

Tadd Holliman, who suffered a broken arm this season in a sprint car accident at Eagle Raceway is healed, cleared to race and is looking for someone who has a sprint ride open for the Nebraska Cup Saturday September 12.

He is willing to help out on the car as much as possible, whether it's a tire or perhaps fuel.

Anyone with an opportunity please call him at 402-297-2740.

Two Great Nights of Racing

From Eagle Raceway

This is going to be a fabulous weekend for dirt track racing in our area.

Friday the two-night ASCS weekend kicks off with racing at Butler County
Motorplex outside of Rising City. The ASCS 360 sprints are racing for a top
prize of $2001 and will be joined by the topless modifieds competing for
$911. The sport compacts will be racing to put the topping to the action.
Racing starts at 8 p.m. Front gate admission is only $15 and pit passes are
$25. The Miss Nebraska Cup contestants will be in attendance, so come out
for a look at these lovely young ladies.

Saturday night is The Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway. The ASCS 360 sprints
will be racing for $5000 to win, the topless modifieds will be trying for
the winner's share of the purse which is $1000. The IMCA Sport Compacts will
also race. The 1st Annual Miss Nebraska Cup will be crowned by a vote of the
fans Saturday night. Be sure to cheer for your favorite. Front gates open at
5 with racing at 7. The pit gates will open to competitors at 2 o'clock with
fans being allowed to come in from 3 until 5 to mingle with the race teams.

Some of the best drivers from around the country will be competing with the
best that our area has, so these 2 shows are going to be great.

You won't want to miss a minute of the action, so come out for both
evenings.

ASCS Midwest Season Closes with a Bang This Weekend!

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (September 8, 2009) – The American Sprint Car Series Midwest Region brings the curtain down on the 2009 season on a high note with a pair of events in Nebraska this weekend, with a potential weekend sweep worth $7,001.

On Friday night, the ASCS Midwest forces invade Rising City's Butler County Motorplex for the $2,001-to-win Tribute to 9/11 "Race to Remember". Then, on Saturday night, the ASCS Midwest season championship finale takes place at Eagle Raceway's $5,000-to-win Nebraska Cup.

The lone ASCS Midwest stop of the year at both tracks, it marks the series return to the Butler County Motorplex for the first time since 2007 after a pair of tries last year were washed out. Springfield, Nebraska's Jack Dover topped last year's edition of Eagle Raceway's Nebraska Cup to put the wraps on the 2008 series title.

While a stellar field of competitors is expected for this weekend's pair of events in Cornhusker territory, Lincoln, Nebraska's Jason Danley will try to put the finishing touches on a second ASCS Regional championship for the 2009 season.

Danley finished off the ASCS Northern Plains slate at the end of July with a 33-point cushion over Sioux Falls racer Eric Lutz and carries a 100-point advantage over Giltner, Nebraska's Chad Humston into the Midwest season-ender.

Danley can safely put away the Midwest title by simply making the feature cut on both nights. However, any stumble against the stout field could open the door for Humston, who celebrates his 23rd birthday this week.

While Danley has built his advantage on the strength of seven top-ten feature runs in eleven events, Humston is one of just two drivers to post two Midwest feature wins this season along with Missouri's Brian Brown.

Humston picked off series wins at Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway (May 21) and South Dakota's I-90 Speedway (June 26), while Brown added a win in the series most recent event at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway (August 23) to an earlier score at I-80 (July 2).

While Danley and Humston settle the top spot this weekend, Lutz enters the weekend ranked third in Midwest points with Lucas Oil Sprint Car Rookie of the Year contender Jack Dover in fourth. Two-time ASCS Northern Plains champion Lee Grosz of Harwood, ND, rounds out the current top five in ASCS Midwest points.

Friday's racing action at Butler County Motorplex goes green at 8:00 p.m., while Saturday's Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway fires off at 7:00 p.m.

The high-banked, 3/8-mile Butler County Motorplex clay oval is located near Rising City, NE, eight miles south of U.S. 30 on U.S. 81, then two miles east on CR 38, then 0.7 mile south on CR C, then east. For more information, contact the track at 308-940-1970.

The high-banked, 1/3-mile Eagle Raceway clay oval is located in Eagle, NE, off I-80 Exit 420, then eleven miles south on SR 63, then west. For more information, contact the track at 402-781-2243.

This weekend's Nebraska double completes a slate of 15 nights of competition for the ASCS Midwest Region at eight tracks throughout Nebraska and the surrounding areas of Missouri and South Dakota.

Thus far, 125 drivers have competed in at least one ASCS Midwest event in 2009 with nine different drivers reaching victory lane in eleven completed events. While Humston and Brown have each posted two triumphs, single wins have been recorded by Lutz, Jonathan Cornell, Billy Alley, Jesse Hockett, Shane Stewart, Bronson Maeschen and Gary Wright. Two events were rained out.

Past ASCS Midwest Winners at Butler County Motorplex:
6/15/07 – Mike Boston
7/28/06 – Garry Lee Maier

Past ASCS Midwest Winners at Eagle Raceway:
9/7/09 – Jack Dover
7/21/08 – Mike Boston


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.

Eagle 9-6-09 Photos

Here's a panorama shot of the crowd at Eagle Raceway. Click on the image for the full pic.






Photos from Saturday's action are here:

Eagle 9-6-09 Photos

Poessenecker, Grabouski, Vrbka and Jordan win A Features at The Eagle Shootout

September 7th, 2009

by Greg Soukup

The largest crowd in Eagle Raceway history was present for The Eagle
Shootout presented by Oriental Trading Company Saturday evening. A throng of
fans estimated at WELL over 10,000 filed through the gates of "America's
Home Track" to witness some of the best racing of the season. A beautiful
afternoon turned into an even better evening for racing as the track surface
improved throughout the card.

Before the races the fans were allowed to visit the pit area to obtain
autographs from the drivers, including NASCAR's Ken Schrader. They also were
treated to the sounds of "Booby Trap" who performed in the pits before and
after the races.

Heat races in all classes were run without serious incident.

After the Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stock heats were run the crowd in the
stands helped in setting a new world's record for the most whoopie cushions
sat on at one time. 8500 folks participated in the effort.

Shortly after 9:00 the first A Feature cars came out onto the high banks as
the Valentino's IMCA Hobby Stocks were the first feature. Lonnie Greten in
the 9X was the first one back to the flag stand, followed by Don Hall Jr. in
the #92, Mike Hansen's 94 and the 22JR of Dusty Poessenecker. Poessenecker
moved past Hansen on lap #2 followed by Nick Beckman who took over 4th in
the #22. Greten slowed the next time around with a flat tire, allowing Kevin
Anderson's 22K to grab the 4th position. 2 laps later Poessenecker jumped
all the way into the lead. On lap #8 Anderson advanced into the 3rd spot.
With 5 to go Anderson moved up another position to take 2nd. Hall Jr. spun
in turn 4 the next lap, allowing Anderson to take fourth and Beckman to come
up to third. Shortly after that Anderson got past Beckman and at the finish
it was Poessenecker, Anderson, Beckman and Hansen.

"First I want to thank Roger Hadan for a great night of racing. This was the
first time I've ever raced here at Eagle and I can't say enough about the
place" Dusty said. "I also need to thank my pit crew, Big Daddy Race Cars
and my wife because I couldn't win without them" he stated. Dusty's sponsors
include Dorcey Inc . Big Daddy Race Cars, D & J Machine and Jono's Race
Engines.

Dustin Andersen's 8A was in the lead at the end of the first A Main lap for
the Monster Energy Drink IMCA Modifieds. He was followed by the 8C of Chad
Andersen, Brian Cuddly in the 57 and Clint Homan's 27. Chad Andersen grabbed
the lead on the 2nd lap and the V45 of Rik Gropp vaulted all the way up to
third. Gropp took only 2 more laps to take over 2nd from Dustin, but the
yellow flag flew when Scott Bivens' S56 stopped between turns 3 & 4. That
made the running order Chad Andersen, Dustin Andersen, Gropp and Cuddly.
Homan regained the 4th spot on lap 7 and 3 laps later Gropp again got past
Dustin for 2nd. Track modified point champion Jordan Grabouski moved around
Homan the same lap to snare the fourth position. There were 8 laps remaining
when Shane Stutzman's #22S spun in turn 4, causing the yellow to come out
again. Grabouski took advantage of the restart to get around Dustin. The
next time around Chad went very high, giving Grabouski the opening he needed
to take the lead and Gropp followed his lead by also passing Chad to grab
second. On the next circuit Doug Deterding moved up to 4th in the 13. The
final caution of the race came with 5 laps to go when Tyler Snyder's #20
spun out in turn four. The top four racers as the checkered flag flew were
Grabouski, Gropp, Chad Anderson and Doug Deterding.

Grabouski started the interview by saying "This is without a doubt the
hugest crowd that I've ever raced in front of and won in front of. I think
it made me race a little harder in fact." He continued by relating "We
downgraded in the engine department when we had to change after we lost our
main motor in the heat race, but it didn't seem to hurt us much." He
concluded by stating "We're going to be out here next week for The Nebraska
Cup to see if we can do it again". Grabouski's sponsors are Belleville
Motorsports,Twin Rivers Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge, Reedy Machine & Fab, Beatrice
Motor Mart, Redline Grafix, Sasse Farms, Vision Sports, Friend Freightways,
Novotny Construction, Booth Feed & Supply, Schmidt Machine, Side Trek Bar &
Grill, Filley Customer Powder Coating and FX Suspension.

The Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts first lap was red flagged as a mess
was created between turns 3 & 4 after one of the cars lost a tire. Those
coming to a stop included Mary Lenz's #17, the A1 of Joe Jura, Jack Prall
IV's 45, and the 21P of Jeremy Peckham. After a complete restart Larry
Cronin's #5 led with the 95C of Bob Cigelman, Mike Simpson's 63 and the 7V
of Adam Vrbka behind him. Vrbka moved into the 3rd spot on lap #4 and the
lead changed the next circuit when Cigelman moved inside of Cronin. The
lineup was juggled again on lap 5 when Cronin again regained the lead and
Vrbka followed him into second, Simpson moved to 3rd and John Sedlachek
advanced the #93 to fourth. Simpson passed Vrbka with 4 to go, only to lose
the spot again 2 laps later when Vrbka got back around him and Sedlachek
again took over fourth. Cronin suffered a flat tire going into turn #4 on
the final lap and fell to fifth as Vrbka won, Simpson finished second,
Sedlachek took third and Cigelman settled for fourth.

"It was cool to get my third win of the season tonight. The track was really
good and it turned out just the way I like it in the feature" Adam said.
Adam's sponsors include Eagle Automotive, Big Dan's Auto Body & Paint and
Low Budget Customs.

The Budweiser 360 Sprints were the final A Main of the evening. Two
second-generation drivers help the top two position at the conclusion of the
first circuit. Jordan Boston, son of the 4-time track points champion Mike
Boston was in the lead in the #57 with Tige Jensen who is the son of sprint
racing legend Lonnie Jensen in second in the #71, John Klabunde's 77 third
and Jason Danley's 82 in fourth. Billy Alley had advanced his #22 all the
way to 13th after starting dead last, but his first time at Eagle Raceway in
quite awhile ended on lap #3 when he flipped in turn 4 after contact with
the wall. He was unhurt, but his racer was damaged too severely to continue
competing. Jensen used a slide job as the cars went into turns 1 & 2 on the
restart to momentarily snare the lead, but Boston used a crossover move to
regain the spot. The next time around Jensen made the slide job stick to put
Boston in second. The first caution of the race came out when Bobby Becker's
8B came to a stop between 3 & 4. Boston regained the lead with 12 down but
the yellow caution light was turned on when Adam Gullion's 96KX sprinter
slowed to a stop in turn 1. With 11 laps left Nick Bryan's #6 spun coming
out of turn #4 and he was sent off after he spun again in turn #4 with 10 to
go. Boston again got past Jensen on the restart but Jensen relegated him
back to second the same lap. Gullion's racer stopped again the next time
around for the final caution of the evening. With just 8 to go Boston took
the lead for good. Terry Holliman moved his #23 up to 4th with 7 laps
remaining setting up a fierce battle between his #23 and Danley. Holliman
and Danley fought tooth and nail right up to the checkered flag as Holliman
nipped him at the finish. The results showed Boston winning, Jensen second,
Klabunde third and Holliman rounding out the top 4.

Boston related "This is only my 4th time ever in a 360 sprint, but I've been
racing 600 mini-sprints for quite awhile now. In fact, I'm battling for the
track championship elsewhere and there's only 2 point separating me and
another racer. We heard that the Bogues had a car they weren't racing, so we
rented a motor for 3 nights to see if we could turn this into something for
next year". He finished by saying "I want to give a big thanks to Jeff and
Jay Bogue. I need to thank my dad, my mom and my whole family. Also my pit
crew and of course all of the fans in the stands".

Eagle Raceway's season continues Saturday September 12th as Budweiser and
Auto Trans Matic present The Nebraska Cup. Drivers from several states will
be on hand as the ASCS 360 sprints compete for $5000 to take home the A
Feature win and the non-sanctioned modifieds try to grab the winners share
of a purse that has a $1000 winner's share. The support class for the
evening will be the Auto Trans Matic IMCA Sport Compacts. The pit gate will
open to the racers at 2:00 and fans will be allowed through the front gate
at 5. Fans who show up early will be allowed into the pits from 3 until 5 to
get autographs, take pictures and even buy merchandise from the racers.
Front gate prices for adults are just $15, youngsters 6-12 are only $5 and
those 5 and under are free with an accompanying adult. Pit passes are only
$25. Come out and see some of the countries finest racers compete on the
high banks.

October 3rd will be the rescheduled Bootleggers Run Race of Champions as
several drivers from both NASCAR and Indy racing compete in Late Models.
Among those in attendance will be Casey & Roger Mears, Michael Waltrip,
Jimmy Spencer and there's rumors that a NASCAR superstar may show up also.

Results:

360 Sprint 9/6/2009

A Feature:1. Jordon Boston (Crete, NE), 2. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 3.
John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 4. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 5. Jason
Danley (Lincoln, NE), 6. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 7. Gene Ackland (Lincoln,
NE), 8. Roger Sluka (Lincoln, NE), 9. Rick Hansen (Norfold, NE), 10. Bobby
Jr Becker (Denton, NE), 11. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 12. Joshua LaPage
(Bennett, NE), 13. Adam Gullion (Beatrice, NE), 14. Nicholas Bryan (Lincoln,
NE), 15. Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE), 16. Trevor Grossenbacher (Holland, NE),
17. Mark Schmidt (Lincoln, NE)

IMCA Hobby Stock 9/6/2009

A Feature:1. Dustin Poessnecker (Atkinson, NE), 2. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln,
NE), 3. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 4. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 5.
Don Kros (Weston, NE), 6. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE), 7. Ron Novak (Blair,
NE), 8. Eric Hanson (Scribner, NE), 9. Jim Buss (Blue Hill, NE), 10. Justin
Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 11. Troy Mencke (Blair, NE), 12. Joe Ryan (Lincoln,
NE), 13. Mike Barton (Nebraska City, NE), 14. Jacques Smit (Wynore, NE), 15.
Greg Post (Blue Springs, NE), 16. Don Jr Hall (Lincoln, NE), 17. Kevin
Jochum (Roca, NE), 18. Lonnie Greten (Grand Island, NE), 19. EARL SCHMITT
(Omaha, NE), 20. THOM MARSH (Lincoln, NE)

B Feature:1. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 2. Jim Buss (Blue Hill, NE), 3.
Troy Mencke (Blair, NE), 4. EARL SCHMITT (Omaha, NE), 5. Mike Barton
(Nebraska City, NE), 6. Scott Santee (Omaha, NE), 7. Josh Kennell (Bennet,
NE), 8. DAVID CARTER (Fremont, NE), 9. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 10. Matt
Draeger (Dunbar, NE), 11. Jason Edwards (Lincoln, NE), 12. ROGER ELLIOT JR
(Omaha, NE), 13. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE)

IMCA Modified 9/6/2009

A Feature:1. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, NE), 2. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 3.
Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 4. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 5. Clint Homan
(Bellevue, NE), 6. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 7. Brian Cudly (Lincoln,
NE), 8. Scott Bivens (Ceresco, NE), 9. Joe Borer (Lincoln, ne), 10. Sean
Manning (Firth, NE), 11. Dan Bohlmeyer (Blue Springs, NE), 12. Tim Pickens
(Omaha, NE), 13. Tyler Snyder (Beatrice, NE), 14. Dustin Andersen (Omaha,
NE), 15. Shane Stutzman (Milford, ne), 16. Lucas Robinson (Missouri Valley,
IA), 17. STEVE DEVITT (Lincoln, NE), 18. Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO), 19. Jan
Korth (Lincoln, NE), 20. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE)

B Feature 1:1. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 2. Tim Pickens (Omaha, NE), 3.
Scott Anderson (Omaha, NE), 4. Patrick Donovan (Sterling, NE), 5. Lowell
Holland (Omaha, NE), 6. Darren Hosick (Lincoln, NE), 7. George Haney
(Fremont, NE), 8. Jay Schilling (McCook, NE), 9. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE)

B Feature 2:1. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 2. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice,
NE), 3. Dan Rhiley (Bennington, NE), 4. Darren Meinke (Crete, NE), 5. Justin
Wulf (Arlington, NE), 6. CLINT HUMMER (Western, NE), 7. James Oaks (Lincoln,
NE), 8. Jarrod Herfel (Diller, NE), 9. Ethan Christiansen (Nebraska City,
NE)

IMCA Sport Compact 9/6/2009

A Feature:1. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 2. Mike Simpson (Ashland, NE), 3. John
Sedlachek (Eagle, NE), 4. Bob Cigelman (Lincoln, NE), 5. Larry Cronin
(Lincoln, NE), 6. Elliott Halvorsen (Eagle, NE), 7. Amanda Rhiley
(Bennington, NE), 8. SCOTT LEE (Lincoln, NE), 9. Tyler Saathoff (Lincoln,
NE), 10. David Tadlock (LaVista, NE), 11. KYLE GANNON (Lincoln, NE), 12. Joe
Jura (Bellevue, NE), 13. Jack Prall III (Union, NE), 14. Garrett Rech
(Davey, NE), 15. BRANDON BOLIN (Lincoln, NE), 16. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE),
17. Jack Prall IV (Union, NE), 18. Joe Johnson (Ashland, NE), 19. Jeremy
Peckham (Lincoln, NE), 20. Brandon Thornton (Nebraska City, NE)

B Feature:1. SCOTT LEE (Lincoln, NE), 2. Tyler Saathoff (Lincoln, NE), 3.
Joe Jura (Bellevue, NE), 4. BRANDON BOLIN (Lincoln, NE), 5. Mary Lenz
(Elmwood, NE), 6. Ole Olsen (Carter Lake, IA), 7. Jessie Fuller (Beatrice,
NE), 8. Ray Harrington (Eagle, NE), 9. Kevin Staack (Lincoln, NE), 10. Brian
Haller (Lincoln, NE), 11. Jeff Davis (Lincoln, NE), 12. Jeremy Noonan
(Lincoln, NE), 13. Nick Focken (Douglas, NE), 14. Melissa Cronin (Lincoln,
NE), 15. Skylair Johnson (Ashland, NE)

I-80 Season Championship Results

Jim Brennan

Greenwood, Ne., 09/06/09 It was Season Championship night at I-80 Speedway
on Sunday night with Mike Wallace winning the NASCAR Whelan Racing Series
Late Model feature, Rick Negrete winning the Pro-ams, Dylan Smith winning
the IMCA Modified feature, Jesse Sobbing winning the IMCA Sports Mod
feature, Steven Saunders winning the Crate Late Model feature and Joe Baker
winning toe Sports Compact feature. "Lightning Leon" Zeitner took the
checkers first in the Ed's SLMR class.

All championship features were started heads up by the point standings. Bill
Leighton and Mike Wallace started the Late Model feature on the front row
and Leighton jumped out front at the start. But on the back stretch Wallace
took the lead and never looked back in winning his first feature of the
year. Leighton kept going backwards and ended up in 7th place. This dealt a
huge blow to his outside chances for the NASCAR National Championship. Les
Siebert, who finished 2nd, never had a chance to close in on Wallace. Andrew
Kosiski, Todd Hipnar and Brad Soll rounded out the top 5.

The Pro-am Feature was all Rick Negrete who led wire to wire for the win and
also was crowned the track champion for 2009. Shawn Bulin won a hard fought
2nd place from Matt Boucher. Dr. Nick Steier and Chad Sanders rounded out
the top 5.

The IMCA Modified feature saw point leader Dylan Smith wire the field of 11
race cars. Jeff Jones came on to challenge Smith but was unable to pass him
using the low side of the track. Now Smith has to sit back and wait to see
how his competition does for the National Championship. Smith also won
Friday night at the Nebraska State Fair Championships and has 3 track title
at I-80, US30 and Albion.

Once again in the Sports Mod feature Jesse Sobbing was too hot to handle as
he won going away over Robert Tippery. Jim Hendricks Jr., Dennis Cook and
Joe Feyen rounded out the top 5. Sobbing also won 3 track championships at
I-80, Harlan and Des Moines, so he should be in good shape for a National
title. Hendricks is the Nebraska State Champion for IMCA.

The Crate Late Models came down to a last lap pass by Steven Saunders over
Tyler Zander. And with that win Saunders also took the track championship.
Saunders was in a borrowed car after wrecking his the week before. Lindsey
Yost, Shawn Lee and Steven Powell rounded out the top 5.

Track Point leader Pete Fink Jr. did not even compete in the season
championship Sports Compact feature which gave Jake McCloud an opening to
tie Fink for the points lead. But McCloud's early lead after the green flag
did not last long as Justin Soule passed him for the lead. And then Joe
Baker came on to challenge Soule. Baker took the lead on lap 9 and went on
to record his 1st feature win of the season.

Then it was time for the big boys in the Ed's Super Late Model Racing
Association. Veteran driver Al Humphrey took the eary lead only to lose it
on lap 2 to Jase Kaser. Kaser stayed out front til lap 13 when "Lightning
Leon" Zeitner passed him for the lead. Zeitner who said, "my car was dialed
in just right tonight" lead the rest of the way with a hard charging Mike
Wiarda taking 2nd over Kaser, Humphrey and Travis Dickes. Zeitner said now
he's even with his son Justin, who won a SLMRA race earlier in the year.
Zeitner, Robbie Andersen and Dickes won the heat races while Craig Preble
won the B-Feature.


I-80 Speedway Results for 9/06/09


NASCAR Whelen Racing Series

Late Models: 1) 1w Mike Wallace, 2) 51 Les Siebert, 3) 2x Andrew Kosiski, 4)
12 Tod Hipnar, 5) 50 Brad Soll, 6) 17v Rick Vanderheiden, 7) 28 Bill
Leighton Jr., 8) 97d Dave Doll, 9) 43 Matt Buller, 10) 00 Clint Benson, 11)
Dave Cook, 12) Micah Brown, 13) Josh Krug, 14) Al Humphrey, 15) Jacob Brown,
16) Gary Joens Jr, 17) Jason Longmeyer, 18) Tom Svoboda, 19) Kent Schimenti,
20) Dwane Pospisil, 21) Mike Morton Jr., 22) Brent Baker, 23) Kortney
Kosiski, 24) Mollee Collins

Pro-ams: 1) 72 Rick Negrete, 2) 36 Shawn Bulin, 3) 5B Matt Boucher, 4) 8
Nick Steier, 5) 49x Chad Sanders, 6) 55 Ray Dessel, 7) 3T Tim Podraza, 8) 12
Terry Cleveland, 9) 28 Casey Cleveland, 10) 24 Don Mohr, 11) Dana Deeke, 12)
Herb Slough, 13) Justin Bertschinger, 14) Frank Timperly, 15) Don Atkins, 16
Jeff Atkins

IMCA Modifieds

1) 95 Dylan Smith, 2) 19j Jeff Jones, 3) 1s Scott Carlson, 4) 21h Shane
Hiatt, 5) 16b Randy Brown, 6) 8 Larry Goertz, 7) Z00 Lacey Tuttle, 8) 48
Larry Robinson Jr., 9) 69 Bill Bader Jr., 10) 12 Tyler Smith, 11) Nick
Sagamiller

SportMods: 1) Jesse Sobbing, 2) 121 Robert Tippery, 3) 33 Jim Hendricks Jr.,
4) 45 Dennis Cook, 5) 25x Joe Feyen, 6) 6 Denny Berghahn Jr., 7) 2 Mike
Brown, 8) 56 Jeremy Longmeyer, 9) 239 Stave Swarthout, 10) 10d Dustin
Thayer, 11) Brian Kosiski, 12) Cory Hutchison, 13) Nick Hermsen, 14) Nathan
Kobus, 15) Buddy Ray Jones, 16) Kyle Harpster, 17) Joe Thomas, 18) John
Riggleman, 19) Phil Brown, 20) Brian Florian, 21) David Nicholson, 22) Marty
Steinbach, 23) Ron Allen

Crate Late Model: 1) 44 Steven Saunders, 2) 2 Tyler Zander, 3) 20 Lindsey
Yost, 4) 40 Shawn Lee, 5) 14 Michael Powell, 6) 34 Michalea Kosiski, 7) 5c
Shevi Collins, 8) 33m Stephen McConnell

Sport Compacts

A-Feature: 1) 9x Joe Baker, 2) 16j Justin Soule, 3) Alex Fink, 4) 40 Jake
McCloud, 5) 6 Dan Markham, 6) 7 Kennin Colestock, 7) 97 John Irvine, 8) 74c
Dave Christensen, 9) 15 Jamie Spanel, 10) 18 Will McConnell, 11) Amanda
Christensen, 12) Brett Smith, 13) Skip Brown, 14) Andrew Cuva, 15) Tim
Cortney, 16) Wayne Stricklett, 17) David Neesen, 18) Preston Gigax, 19)
Trisha Hultgren, 20) Tammy Clark, 21) Kevin Zeitner, 22) Steve Niederhaus

SLMR Late Models

A-Feature: 1) 62 Leon Zeitner, 2) 1w Mike Wiarda, 3) 15x Jase Kaser, 4) 6 Al
Humphrey, 5) 21h Travis Dickes, 6) z62 Justin Zeitner, 7) 26jr Corey
Zeitner, 8) 53 Joe Kosiski, 9) 76 Al Zeitner, 10) 5x Mike Marushak, 11)
Jason Hobscheidt, 12) Curt Drake, 13) Keith Mander Jr., 14) Steve Kempt, 15)
Troy Daly, 16) Craig Preble, 17) John Nicholson, 18) Robbie Andersen, 19)
Dan Jackson, 20) Mel Zeitner, 21) Micah Brown, 22) Todd Bell

State Fair Races

Well, at least somebody is putting some advance press out there.

grumble, grumble, grumble.

Lincoln Journal Star: Neb. Championships may be final auto races at State Fair Park