Eagle Nationals finale victories taken by Ableson, Zeitner and Bacon

By Greg Soukup

The finale for the Eagle Nationals, featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars sponsored by MavTV and presented by TBJ Promotions lived up to all of its hype. The strong winds helped keep the very large crowd comfortable in the sunny, hot weather.

Bryan Gossel went up and over in the 6G during the ASCS Sprint B Feature for the only serious incident in the preliminary events.

The Nebraska Drive Shaft & Radiator IMCA Modifieds were the first A Feature for the evening. Nathan Landauer in the 11N was first back to the flag stand with Chris Ableson’s 1X, the 13 of Doug Deterding and Scott Bivens’ S56 hot on his rear bumper. Dylan Smith moved the #95 into fourth on lap 2 as Bivens moved to third and Ableson grabbed the lead, relegating Landauer to second. Smith got past Bivens the next lap. Roger Hadan spun the #4 into the infield the next lap for the first caution of the race. Smith moved to second on the restart and Aaron Pella cracked the top 4 in his 3A. Pella moved to third on lap 8 and Smith passed Ableson the same circuit, only to lose the spot back to Ableson before the lap was complete. Lap 15 saw Tim Ward move to fourth in the 4TW. At the completion of the race it was Ableson winning, Smith second, Pella third and Ward rounding out the top 4.

“That was a good time, but it’s always fun racing Dylan” said Ableson. He finished by stating “I actually owe the win to DSR racing. I broke my flywheel during my heat, so they loaned me a flywheel and starter”. Ableson’s sponsors include Razor Chassis, Bilstein and the Klub Lisa Girls.

The next Main event was for the Exhaust Pros IMCA Sport Compacts. There was a red flag on the first lap after Shannon Wulf struck the implement tire that guards the back stretch pit entrance. Wulf was uninjured and drove back to the pits. When the first official lap finished Erica Cronin’s 30, the 63L of her father Larry Cronin, Michelle Nicholson’s 88 and Kevin Zeitner’s 60 headed the field. Zeitner passed Nicholson for third on lap #2 and then jumped all the way to first the next circuit as Larry Cronin held third and Brian Haller advanced to fourth in the 2CS. Haller suffered a flat tire and hit Larry Cronin on lap 5, spinning them both. That made the running order Zeitner, Barry Kinnersley’s 00, Erica Cronin and Nicholson. Erica Cronin slowed on the restart with a flat right front tire and headed to the pits, moving Matt Moyer’s 29 into fourth. Nicholson spun to the infield on lap 8 and Kevin Fearing took third with Chad Bassinger’s 4X moving to fourth. The final top 4 were Zeitner, Kinnersley, Fearing and Bassinger.

Zeitner said of his first Eagle Raceway win “The track was a little rough, and it was tricky in turns 3 & 4”. He finished his interview by stating “I just tried to keep Barry behind me. It was just a matter of will. I wasn’t going to finish 2nd to him two weeks in a row”. Zeitner’s sponsors include ZBT International, Chalek’s Auto Body and Zeitner and Sons.

The wrap-up to the evening’s events was the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car A Feature. Jack Dover in the 53 and Brady Bacon piloting the 99 took advantage of their front row starting positions to hold the top 2 spots at the end of the first circuit with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s #6 and the Wayne Johnson in the 77X rounding out the top 4. Stenhouse bicycled his mount in turn 1 on lap 2 and ended up flipping in turn 2. Stenhouse was uninjured and walked back to his pit. That moved Brad Loyet to fourth in the 05. Johnson moved to third on the restart and Trevor Grossenbacher took the fourth spot in the 35. Bacon passed Dover on lap 11, but was moved back to second when Ryan Roberts looped the #18 in turn 4 a couple of laps later. Lap 17 saw Bacon get past Dover again and Jason Johnson took fourth in the 41. Wayne Johnson moved to second on lap 22 but Dover retook the spot the next time around. Jason Johnson moved to third on lap 27 and 2 laps later Mark Pace spun the #31 in turn 4. At that time the running order was Bacon, Dover, Jason Johnson and Wayne Johnson. Jason Johnson got past Dover on the restart and Wayne Johnson also got around Dover the next lap. With 8 laps left Johnny Herrera moved his #45X into third and moved to the runner-up spot with 2 to go. At the checkers it was Bacon besting the field by over half a lap, Herrera, Jason Johnson and Wayne Johnson.

“We got the car right tonight. After I locked into the feature last night I got the front row start” Bacon related. His concluding statement was “The car held the bottom well, so I just had to work through the lapped traffic and get it in hard”. Bacon’s sponsors include Oilfield Equipment and Manufacturing, Fatheadz Eyewear, Infinity Shocks, XXX Race Company and Telstar Communications.

Next weekend at Eagle is the Super Dad’s Tribute presented by The Ticket 93.7 FM. The “Write something great about your Dad Challenge” will be held in the courtyard from 5:30 to 6:30 and the winning Dads will get a ride in the Accelerated Graphx 2-seater modified. Miller Lite Happy Hour will be held from 6 until 7 and there will be a Monster sampling from 5:30-7:30. The courtyard also will host Velcro Wall Fun from 5:30 to 7.

Front gates open at 5:30, hot laps start at 5:30 with racing at 6:30. Front gate admission is $10 for adults, but you can get $2 off by donating 1 new baby item to Lydia House. Youth admission is just $5 for those 6-12 and children 5 and under are free.

Pit gates open at 4 P.M. and pit passes are $20.

RESULTS:

ASCS Sprint 6/9/2012

A Feature:1. Brady Bacon (Sopulpa, OK), 2. Johnny Herrerra (Albuquerque, NM), 3. Jason Johnson (Greenville, TX), 4. Wayne Johnson (Knoxville, IA), 5. Brad Loyet, 6. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 7. Jack DOVER (Springfield, NE), 8. Danny Wood (Norman, OK), 9. Trevor Grossenbacher (Lincoln, NE), 10. Logan Forler (Snohomish, WA), 11. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 12. Tony Bruce Jr. (Liberal, OK), 13. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 14. Jordan BOSTON (Lincoln, NE), 15. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 16. Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE), 17. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 18. Jake Martens (Jetmore, KS), 19. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 20. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 21. Taylor Valasquez, 22. Ricky Stenhouse JR, 23. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD)

B Feature:1. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 2. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 3. Jordan BOSTON (Lincoln, NE), 4. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 5. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 6. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 7. Taylor Valasquez, 8. Adam GULLION (Beatrice, NE), 9. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 10. Bryan GOSSEL (Ft. Collins, CO)

Heat 1:1. Ricky Stenhouse JR, 2. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 3. Jason Johnson (Greenville, TX), 4. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 5. Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE), 6. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 7. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 8. Taylor Valasquez

Heat 2:1. Danny Wood (Norman, OK), 2. Jake Martens (Jetmore, KS), 3. Logan Forler (Snohomish, WA), 4. Tony Bruce Jr. (Liberal, OK), 5. Bryan GOSSEL (Ft. Collins, CO), 6. Jordan BOSTON (Lincoln, NE), 7. Ken Klabunde (Omaha, NE), 8. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE)

Heat 3:1. Terry Holliman (Hamburg, IA), 2. Jack DOVER (Springfield, NE), 3. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 4. Johnny Herrerra (Albuquerque, NM), 5. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 6. Randy HIBBS (Savannah, MO), 7. Adam GULLION (Beatrice, NE), 8. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE)