Legg, Fegley, Martin and Smith win Night 2 of the Icebreaker Challenge

By Greg Soukup
Night two of the Icebreaker Challenge at Eagle Raceway Saturday saw warmer temperatures and even better racing than the previous evening. Nearly 150 cars went through the pit gates to put on a great show for the fans in attendance.

Joe Miller lost the left front wheel from his racer in the first heat for the Mud In America IMCA Racesaver Sprint Cars and went flipping through turn 4. Miller was unhurt, but his car was too badly damaged to continue. That was the only major damage in the heats and preliminary features.

Greg Metz’s #30 led the field at the end of the first lap for the NAPA IMCA Sport Modifieds. Shawn Harker’s #40, the 25B of Benji Legg and Bob Ruisinger in the 7 rounded out the top 4. Legg got past Metz on lap 2 to for the lead. Adam Vrbka moved his 7V into fourth the next time around. Metz slowed and went pit side 2 laps later with a flat right front tire. Gary Saathoff vaulted the 96 into third on lap 11, and then moved up to second with 8 to go. The final change in the top 4 came with 2 circuits remaining when Rick Rohr got his #74 into fourth. Legg, Saathoff, Harker and Rohr were the lead 4 at the checkers.

Legg related “That is a fast track!! I kind of redeemed myself after running over that tire in the feature last night. I think I could have won before that. This is one of the best cars I’ve driven. It’s an old one, but it’s a good one. I knew I was fast, so I just had to be patient”. Legg’s sponsors include Jet Racing and Toobey’s Lumber.

The Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stock A Feature saw Chad Fegley’s 13F out front of lap 1 with the 93M of Thom Marsh second, Tim LaPointe’s 18 third and the B4 of Ben Becher fourth. Jamie Sanger’s 96R, John Buegman’s 64 and the 17T of Troy Dowty stopped in turn 4 on the second lap. RJ Macku moved the 93 into fourth on the restart but Dowty again stopped to bring out the yellow flag. Marsh spun on the restart and Macku jumped into third as the 72V of Jesse VanLaningham grabbed fourth. Lap 5 saw VanLaningham and Macku both move up another spot. Mark McKinney put the #23 into fourth on lap 9. For the next several laps Macku did his best to get around Fegley, even getting a nose out front a couple of times, but at the finish the top 4 were Fegley, Macku, VanLaningham and McKinney.

“I want to thank Keith Dragoo and his family, Aaron, my wife and kids and all of my friends who support my racing. This was a good way to start the year after going winless for a couple of years” Fegley said. Fegley’s sponsors include The Shop Inc., Sapp Brothers, FRE Engines and Friesen Crates.

Jason Martin put the 5X out front of the Mud In America IMCA Racesaver Sprint Main followed by Jake Bubak’s 9X, the 03 of Shayle Bade and Brian Herbert in the 97. Herbert passed Bade on lap 3 for third. Bubak dropped to the infield on lap 7, putting the 30 of Adam Gullion in fourth. 2 laps later Lee Bowes’ 74 vaulted up to third with Gullion remaining fourth. Bowes and Gullion moved up another spot 2 laps later. Bowes dropped to the infield on lap 14 after contact with Gullion, but came back to finish in the 9th spot. His spot was filled as Joey Danley put his #14 into third and Herbert again took fourth. Doug Lovegrove put his #1 into fourth the next time around. The top 4 at the end were Martin, Gullion, Danley and Lovegrove. Gullion was put back to fourth for rough driving.

Martin stated “A lot of people think that you always win when you start out front, but believe me, that’s not true. There are so many things that can happen beyond your control. I want to thank Roger. Not just for giving us a track to race on, but for building this motor for me this week. Also, I want to send out a big thanks to Midwest Riggings and Trucks Plus for coming on board as a sponsor. It’s taken a lot of financial pressure off of me”.

Next was not only the finale for the evening’s events, but arguably the best race of the weekend as the Kaplan University IMCA Modifieds took to the high banks. Chris Ableson in the 1X jumped out to the early lead with Mike Mullen’s 99M, the 81 of Mike Densberger and Brian Mullen in the 72 rounding out the top 4 on lap 1. Brian Mullen passed Densberger on lap 3 before giving the spot back to him the next lap. Shane Hiatt spun the 21H in turns 1 & 2 on lap 5 to light the caution lights. Densberger passed Mike Mullen on the restart to take 2nd. Lap 7 saw Dylan Smith in the 95 crack the top four and then move to third the next lap. Jesse Sobbing moved the #99 to fourth on lap 10. Brian Mullen regained fourth on lap 13 but gave the spot back to Sobbing the next time around. Matthew Kiner’s 14 stopped on the front stretch on lap 15. Sobbing got past Smith on lap 17, putting Sobbing third and Smith fourth. The next time around Brian Cudley’s 57 stopped at the bottom of turns 1 & 2. Sobbing used the restart to take over the 2nd position with Mike Mullen getting back to fourth. Smith again took the fourth position with 7 laps remaining. Densberger grabbed second and Smith moved up to third as Sobbing fell to fourth with 6 left. Bob Zoubek topped at the top of turn 2 with 3 to go. Smith took over second on the restart, setting up the run to the finish. Smith came home with the win in turns 3 & 4 of the final lap as Ableson went high. Ableson held on for second, Mike Mullen was third and Densberger came home fourth.

Smith said “That was pretty good after starting 12th. I made some good passes early and kept pushing. I’m sure glad that the sprints widened out the track for our feature. With all of the beating and banging I decided to move up top. I wasn’t sure I could hang up there for the last 3 laps, but it worked”. Smith’s sponsors include Friesen Chevrolet, Jet Racing, Woods Machine and Active Life Chiropractic.

Next Thursday NAPA Auto Parts is holding a car show at their location at 6160 Grover Street in Omaha. Please come out and show support for one of Eagle’s sponsors.

Saturday, April 26 is the season points opener at America’s Home Track as Mud In America and the Nebraska Lottery present “In the beginning…there was DIRT!”. Front gates open at 5:30pm with adult admission being $10, youths 6-12 are only $5 with children 5 and under free. Pit gates open at 4 P.M. and pit pass is $25.

RESULTS:

IMCA Hobby Stock 4/19/2014

A Feature:1. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 2. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 3. Jesse VanLaningham (Beatrice, NE), 4. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 5. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 6. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA), 7. Corey Madden123 (Avoca, NE), 8. Jason Kohl (Missouri Valley, IA), 9. Jay Poessnecker (Ames, NE), 10. Tim LaPointe (Lincoln, NE), 11. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE), 12. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 13. Nick Lindblad (Beatrice, NE), 14. Brandon Wergin (Milford, NE), 15. John Bruegman (Elkhorn, NE), 16. James Hadorn (Beatrice, NE), 17. Joe Copeland (Omaha, NE), 18. Thom Marsh (Lincoln, NE), 19. Troy Dowty (Fremont, NE), 20. Jamie Songer (Ankeny, IA)

B Feature:1. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA), 2. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 3. Brandon Wergin (Milford, NE), 4. Nick Lindblad (Beatrice, NE), 5. Jay Poessnecker (Ames, NE), 6. Jason Fusselman123 (Shelby, IA), 7. Adam Armstrong (Beatrice, NE), 8. Mark Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 9. Tiffany Bittner123 (Norfolk, NE), 10. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 11. Ryan Roschewski (Beatrice, NE), 12. Matt Draeger (Lincoln, NE), 13. Tyler Easterday (Lexington, NE), 14. Charlie Bartels (Lincoln, NE), 15. Brandon Baker (Omaha, NE), 16. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 17. Jeremy Conkel (Lincoln, NE), 18. Sydney Yost (Nebraska City, NE), 19. Zach Bales (Merrill, IA), 20. David Carter (Fremont, NE), 21. Denny Berghahn Sr. (Plattsmouth, NE), 22. Aaron Johnston (Lincoln, NE)

C Feature:1. Adam Armstrong (Beatrice, NE), 2. Jason Fusselman123 (Shelby, IA), 3. Jeremy Brandt (Wilber, NE), 4. Jason Harms (David City, NE), 5. Kenny Roberts (Lincoln, NE), 6. Tyler Saathoff123 (Holland, NE), 7. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 8. Michael Rice (Elmwood, NE), 9. James Sisk (Council Bluffs, IA), 10. Kevin Zeitner (Bellevue, NE), 11. Andrew Lewis (Martell, NE), 12. Paul Stellato123 (Walton, NE), 13. Shelby Barnard (Beatrice, NE), 14. Justin Rezabek (Wilber, NE), 15. Matt Beckner (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 1:1. Thom Marsh (Lincoln, NE), 2. Tim LaPointe (Lincoln, NE), 3. Jesse VanLaningham (Beatrice, NE), 4. Charlie Bartels (Lincoln, NE), 5. Nick Lindblad (Beatrice, NE), 6. Jeremy Conkel (Lincoln, NE), 7. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 8. Shelby Barnard (Beatrice, NE), 9. Jeremy Brandt (Wilber, NE), 10. Paul Stellato123 (Walton, NE)

Heat 2:1. James Hadorn (Beatrice, NE), 2. Chad Fegley (Eagle, NE), 3. Mike Hansen (Weeping Water, NE), 4. Joe Wollenhaupt (Neola, IA), 5. Brandon Wergin (Milford, NE), 6. Jay Poessnecker (Ames, NE), 7. Brandon Baker (Omaha, NE), 8. Andrew Lewis (Martell, NE), 9. Jason Fusselman123 (Shelby, IA), 10. Jason Harms (David City, NE)

Heat 3:1. Corey Madden123 (Avoca, NE), 2. Randall Macku (Lincoln, NE), 3. Jason Kohl (Missouri Valley, IA), 4. Mark McKinney (Omaha, NE), 5. Tiffany Bittner123 (Norfolk, NE), 6. Rob Brown (Nebraska City, NE), 7. Ryan Roschewski (Beatrice, NE), 8. James Sisk (Council Bluffs, IA), 9. Justin Busboom (Lincoln, NE), 10. Kevin Zeitner (Bellevue, NE), 11. Matt Beckner (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 4:1. Joe Copeland (Omaha, NE), 2. John Bruegman (Elkhorn, NE), 3. Troy Dowty (Fremont, NE), 4. Zach Bales (Merrill, IA), 5. Tyler Easterday (Lexington, NE), 6. David Carter (Fremont, NE), 7. Denny Berghahn Sr. (Plattsmouth, NE), 8. Kenny Roberts (Lincoln, NE), 9. Tyler Saathoff123 (Holland, NE), 10. Michael Rice (Elmwood, NE)

Heat 5:1. Jamie Songer (Ankeny, IA), 2. Ben Becher (Lincoln, NE), 3. Dan Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 4. Matt Draeger (Lincoln, NE), 5. Sydney Yost (Nebraska City, NE), 6. Aaron Johnston (Lincoln, NE), 7. Mark Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 8. Justin Rezabek (Wilber, NE), 9. Adam Armstrong (Beatrice, NE)

IMCA Modified 4/19/2014

A Feature:1. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 2. Chris Abelson (Sioux City, IA), 3. Mike Mullen (Seymour, WI), 4. Mike Densberger (Lincoln, NE), 5. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 6. Jeff Joldersma (McClelland, IA), 7. Eddie Belec (Lakewood, CO), 8. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 9. Chris Alcorn (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jay Noteboom (Hinton, IA), 11. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 12. Clint Homan (Bellevue, NE), 13. Jesse Sobbing (Glenwood, IA), 14. Ricky STEPHAN (South Sioux City, NE), 15. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 16. Josh Blumer (Marysville, KS), 17. Brian Mullen (Seymour, WI), 18. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 19. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 20. Matthew Kiner (Aurora, NE)

B Feature:1. Chris Alcorn (Lincoln, NE), 2. Josh Blumer (Marysville, KS), 3. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 4. Matthew Kiner (Aurora, NE), 5. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 6. Dustin Gray (Omaha, NE), 7. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 8. Trevor Baker (Lincoln, NE), 9. Jared Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 10. Matt Boucher (Murdock, NE), 11. Jim Mathieson (Sioux City, IA), 12. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 13. Phillip Byfield (Auburn, NE)

Heat 1:1. Jesse Sobbing (Glenwood, IA), 2. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 3. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 4. Mike Mullen (Seymour, WI), 5. Jeff Joldersma (McClelland, IA), 6. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 7. Matthew Kiner (Aurora, NE), 8. Dustin Gray (Omaha, NE), 9. Matt Boucher (Murdock, NE), 10. Josh Blumer (Marysville, KS)

Heat 2:1. Chris Abelson (Sioux City, IA), 2. Brian Mullen (Seymour, WI), 3. Ricky STEPHAN (South Sioux City, NE), 4. Clint Homan (Bellevue, NE), 5. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 6. Aaron Pella (Lincoln, NE), 7. Brian Cudly (Lincoln, NE), 8. Trevor Baker (Lincoln, NE), 9. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE)

Heat 3:1. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 2. Jay Noteboom (Hinton, IA), 3. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 4. Mike Densberger (Lincoln, NE), 5. Eddie Belec (Lakewood, CO), 6. Chris Alcorn (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jim Mathieson (Sioux City, IA), 8. Jared Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 9. Phillip Byfield (Auburn, NE)

IMCA Sport Modified 4/19/2014

A Feature:1. Benji Legg (Beatrice, NE), 2. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 3. Shawn Harker (Nebraska City, NE), 4. Rick Rohr (Pickrell, NE), 5. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 6. Jeff Brunssen (Lemars, IA), 7. Mike Morton, Jr (Waterloo, NE), 8. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 9. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 10. Josh Pfeifer (Spencer, ne), 11. Cameron Meyer (Ohiowa, NE), 12. Joe Feyen (Plattsmouth, NE), 13. Eddie Schwope Jr. (St. Joseph, MO), 14. Nate Thompson (Fremont, NE), 15. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE), 16. Sean Manning (Firth, NE), 17. Chris Langdale (Beatrice, NE), 18. Eddie Schwope III (St Joseph, MO), 19. Jason Trent (Omaha, NE), 20. Greg Metz (Washington, KS)

B Feature:1. Rick Rohr (Pickrell, NE), 2. Eddie Schwope III (St Joseph, MO), 3. Mike Morton, Jr (Waterloo, NE), 4. Nate Thompson (Fremont, NE), 5. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 6. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 7. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 8. Dion Kovar (Rising City, NE), 9. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 10. Blake Haas (Eagle, NE), 11. Ken Eckhoff (Hooper, NE), 12. Gary Joens Jr. (Elkhorn, NE), 13. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 14. Joe Baker (Omaha, NE), 15. Derek Hall (Lincoln, NE), 16. Shane Adams (Nebraska City, NE), 17. James Hines (Bellevue, NE), 18. Gunnar Pike (South Bend, NE)

C Feature:1. Dion Kovar (Rising City, NE), 2. Gunnar Pike (South Bend, NE), 3. Bryan Adams (Nebraska City, NE), 4. Terry Callendar (Lincoln, NE), 5. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE), 6. Jamie Bruce (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 1:1. Shawn Harker (Nebraska City, NE), 2. Eddie Schwope Jr. (St. Joseph, MO), 3. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 4. Cameron Meyer (Ohiowa, NE), 5. Rick Rohr (Pickrell, NE), 6. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 7. Jeremy Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 8. James Hines (Bellevue, NE), 9. Dion Kovar (Rising City, NE), 10. Terry Callendar (Lincoln, NE)

Heat 2:1. Benji Legg (Beatrice, NE), 2. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 3. Chris Langdale (Beatrice, NE), 4. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE), 5. Eddie Schwope III (St Joseph, MO), 6. Derek Hall (Lincoln, NE), 7. Mike Morton, Jr (Waterloo, NE), 8. Joe Baker (Omaha, NE), 9. Jamie Bruce (Lincoln, NE), 10. Bryan Adams (Nebraska City, NE)

Heat 3:1. Greg Metz (Washington, KS), 2. Josh Pfeifer (Spencer, ne), 3. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 4. Joe Feyen (Plattsmouth, NE), 5. Nate Thompson (Fremont, NE), 6. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 7. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 8. Gary Joens Jr. (Elkhorn, NE), 9. Gunnar Pike (South Bend, NE), 10. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE)

Heat 4:1. Jeff Brunssen (Lemars, IA), 2. Jason Trent (Omaha, NE), 3. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 4. Sean Manning (Firth, NE), 5. Blake Haas (Eagle, NE), 6. Shane Adams (Nebraska City, NE), 7. Derick Noonan (Lincoln, NE), 8. Ken Eckhoff (Hooper, NE)

IMCA Sprint 4/19/2014

A Feature:1. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 2. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 3. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 4. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 5. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 6. Brian Herbert (Dodge City, KS), 7. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 8. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 9. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE), 10. Tony Rost (Utica, NE), 11. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 12. Gregg Bolte (Fremont, NE), 13. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 14. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 15. Eric Reichwaldt (Plattsmouth, NE), 16. Doug Roth (Axtell, NE), 17. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 18. Mark Vanderheiden (Papillion, NE), 19. TJ Artz (Lincoln, NE), 20. Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO)

B Feature:1. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 2. Tony Rost (Utica, NE), 3. TJ Artz (Lincoln, NE), 4. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 5. Kyle Flodman (Hickman, NE), 6. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 7. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 8. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 9. Lacey Tuttle (Omaha, NE), 10. Shon Pointer123 (Grand Island, NE), 11. Chad Jarrett (Savannah, MO), 12. Joe Miller (Bail, IA), 13. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 14. Steve Hurst (Fremont, NE), 15. Mike Boston (Alvo, NE), 16. Brandon Horton (Omaha, NE), 17. Dwight Carter (Lincoln, NE), 18. Justin Hanson (Platte Center , NE)

Heat 1:1. Jason Martin (Lincoln, NE), 2. Dan Satriano (Papillion, NE), 3. Gregg Bolte (Fremont, NE), 4. Doug Lovegrove (Waverly, NE), 5. Tony Rost (Utica, NE), 6. Matt Richards (Lincoln, NE), 7. Brandon Horton (Omaha, NE), 8. Joe Miller (Bail, IA)

Heat 2:1. Shayle Bade (Lincoln, ne), 2. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 3. Eric Reichwaldt (Plattsmouth, NE), 4. Doug Roth (Axtell, NE), 5. TJ Artz (Lincoln, NE), 6. Shon Pointer123 (Grand Island, NE), 7. Chad Jarrett (Savannah, MO), 8. Mike Boston (Alvo, NE), 9. Gene Ackland (Martell, NE), 10. Justin Hanson (Platte Center , NE)

Heat 3:1. Clint Benson (Papillion, NE), 2. Bill Garrow (Lincoln, NE), 3. Lee Bowes (Lincoln, NE), 4. Mark Vanderheiden (Papillion, NE), 5. Chase Weiler (Lincoln, NE), 6. Keith Dragoo (Lincoln, NE), 7. Dwight Carter (Lincoln, NE), 8. Steve Hurst (Fremont, NE)

Heat 4:1. Brian Herbert (Dodge City, KS), 2. Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO), 3. Terry Richards (Denton, NE), 4. Adam Gullion (Lincoln, NE), 5. Toby Chapman (Panama, NE), 6. Nick Bryan (Lincoln, NE), 7. Kyle Flodman (Hickman, NE), 8. Lacey Tuttle (Omaha, NE