Jr Fan Club Night wins go to King, Harker, Bohlmeyer, Ware & Hiatt
By Greg Soukup
Mother Nature evidently felt guilty about forcing so many area tracks to cancel last weekend, so she gave the large crowd and the 171 race teams that came to Eagle Raceway on Saturday night what can only be described as a near-perfect day for racing.
The only major incident in the preliminary races came when Nate Weiler’s 4w and the 18 of Terry Richards went flipping in turn 4 during the 4th heat for the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars.
The Hoosier Tire IMCA Sport Modified A Feature saw Robert Draper’s 62, the 12 of Troy Sanford, Dana Deeke in the 36X and Roger Sluka’s 5S out front at the end of the first lap. Lap 2 saw the 9T of Logan Thompsen hit the turn 1 wall hard, bringing out the yellow flag. Sluka used the restart to move to third and the next lap saw Deeke go extremely high into turn 1 and come to a halt. That moved the 40 of Shawn Harker into the fourth spot. Dion Kovar looped the 18 in turn 1 for another slowing on the restart. Lap 9 saw a caution for debris on the track. Harker advanced 1 spot on the restart and the moved to second the following lap. 1 more circuit was in the books when Harker took over the lead. Gunnar Pike jumped up to third with 5 to go in his #25 with Draper holding fourth. Pike advanced to second the next lap and Draper took over the third spot with 2 to go. The final top 4 were Harker, Pike, Draper and Derek Hall’s 44D after Sanford was disqualified.
Harker’s victory came from the 8th starting spot. “The track wasn’t great, but we all have to race on the same track; so, we just go out there and do what we have to do. I want to thank Zach Woods of Speedway Racing Engines, Kevin Larkins, Johnny Saathoff from Jet Racing, Kyle Vanouver of Speedway Shocks, my dad Alan Harker, my wife Amy and my kids for supporting me” said Harker. Harker’s sponsors include Tex Cattle, Jet Racing and Speedway.
The Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stock main event saw a top 4 of Ryan Roschewski in the 2R, Dave Carter’s 2C, the 24X of Cody Leifeld and the 69 of Kenny Roberts lead the pack after 1 lap. Jeff Ware vaulted his #83 past both Leifeld and Roberts on lap 2 with Roberts retaining fourth. It took just 1 more lap for Ware to take over second. Lap 10 saw RJ Macku in the 13R and the 6J of Jake Harms make contact with Harms spinning. Luke Nicholson’s 55N spun with 8 to go in turn 3. Carter
spun to the infield in turns 3 & 4 on the restart, moving Roy Armstrong’s 6R into fourth. Armstrong moved up to third the next time around. Ware tried numerous times to get past Roschewski, but had no luck until with 4 to go Ware grabbed the lead and Damon Richards put the #67 into fourth. That made the final top 4 Ware, Roschewski, Armstrong and Richards.
Ware began the race in the ninth position. This was his second Eagle Raceway victory of the year, having been victorious the week before during the season opener. “We ran on the bottom there for a little bit, and I figured we might have something down there. But, it was kind of rutty down on the bottom of 1 so I thought it might be better to follow him and wait for him to mess up. When he messed up I took advantage and drove down below him. I want to thank Charger Chassis, Demon Decals, T&R Auto Repair. This car is fast this year; it’s probably the fastest cars I’ve ever had. This is my dad’s birthday today, so I want to say happy birthday to him” stated Ware.
Next was the A for the Kaplan University IMCA Modifieds. Justin Wulf’s 86, the 007 of Jeff Schroyer, Tracy Harr’s 5T and the 8C of Chad Andersen led lap 1. Lap 2 saw the 5S of Bob Zoubek loop it in turns 2 and 3. Schroyer used the restart to grab the lead as Trevor Baker moved to fourth before moving up to third the next time around. The next lap saw Clint Homan’s 27 and the 77G of Dustin Gray get together and stop. Baker stopped on the front stretch as well, and headed to the pits. That put the 96J of Johnny Saathoff into fourth. Saathoff advanced to third the next time around as Shane Hiatt put the 21H into fourth. Hiatt moved up to third and Saathoff went to second the next time around. 1 more circuit was done when Saathoff grabbed first, Hiatt grabbed second and Anthony Roth put the 60IV into fourth. Roth passed Troyer the next time around with Schroyer taking fourth. Chevy Hadan put the #4 into fourth with 8 to go and took third with 5 to go. Hiatt tried going around Saathoff for several laps before falling in behind him and hammering his rear bumper as both clung to the bottom line. Hiatt finally made the pass coming to the checkered flag and bested Saathoff by just 64/1000’s of a second at the line!! Hiatt won, Saathoff settled for second, Roth got back past Hadan for third and Hadan held on for fourth.
Hiatt said “It’s been a while coming I guess, but it was a really exciting race. Johnny and I were working the bottom, and he slipped up just a little bit. I got
beside him going into three, and I decided to not lift coming off of four and just nipped him at the line. We started 6th row inside, so we had quite a ways coming up there. But, our GRT chassis was working good, it was awesome. The track really had a lot of character tonight. There was a little bit of a rut in one, but if you held it down low enough, you could get around it just fine. That’s what John and I were doing. Roger does a great job every week. He busts his balls all of the time giving us a decent track to run on, and so far this year I think he’s done great. I want to send out a special thanks to my mom and dad and my brother Sean, Kyle Schamp, Jared Adkins, Max Mirouski and Preston Smith for all that they do for me. I have to thank Jason Harms too for helping me out, and I want to thank Mike Gocke for giving me advice throughout the year”.
Hiatt’s sponsors include BSB Manufacturing, Moock Trucking, Wojo Painting, CPD Racing Shocks, Baker Boys Racing, Carquest, Rerucha Ag and Auto Supply, J & K Motorsports, Dylan Smith Racing, Billy’s Bar and Grill, Rosco Racing Parts, Over the Edge Motosports, and Knuth Farms. .
Next were the Mountain Dew Kick Start IMCA Sport Compacts. Tim Horsham put the #3 out front of lap 1 with the 35 of Brian Cronin, Melissa Cronin in the 5M and RJ Maas in the 88K rounding out the top 4. Melissa Cronin moved to second on lap 3 and Maas followed her into third. 2 laps later the 17 of Steffen Oaks took over the fourth spot as Maas moved up to second. Maas got loose with 10 to go and Brian Cronin moved back to second with Zach Bohlmeyer’s 24Z advancing to third and Cole Krichau in the 30K taking over fourth. The next time around Bohlmeyer took over second. There were 7 to go when Jeremy Byfield’s 10B spun in turn 3. Krichau came up to third with 6 to go and Kyle Owen moved up to fourth in the 10KB as Bohlmeyer moved to the lead. A restart after a caution with 4 laps remaining allowed Krichau to move up to second, making the final top 4 Bohlmeyer, Krichau, Horsham and Owen.
This was Zach’s second win at Eagle Raceway in this, just his second year racing. “I think I started about 6th row inside. It was tough, because everyone was scattering. I had to just make every move that I could just to get in there, try to not hit anyone and do my best. The track was a little bit rough, but it was a very good track. I really enjoy coming out to Eagle because every time that I’m out here it’s a heckuva show that they put on. All of the fans, all of the cars, it’s a
good time. This wouldn’t be possible without my grandpa Bohlmeyer and my sponsors. Of course my Mom and Dad, Justin, the crew and everybody else. You can’t thank the fans enough for coming out, they make this show happen” he stated. Bohlmeyer’s sponsors include Morris Used Cars and Fester’s Bait and Tackle.
The Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car Feature was the finale for the evening. Trevor Grossenbacher took off from the front row to put the #35 out front of lap one with Tim Fricke’s 62, the 5 of Ron Love and Ryan King in the 93 hot on his push bumper. Love took over second on lap 2. The next lap saw Toby Chapman jump all of the way up to third in the 7KX. Love took the lead after another circuit as Gene Ackland moved his 14G into fourth. King retook fourth on lap 8. The first yellow flag of the race came on lap 12 when debris was found on the track. Love slipped coming off of turn 2 with 13 to go, allowing Grossenbacher and Chapman to both pass him. However, Boyd Peterson’s 57B and the 4X of Jason Danley spun in turns 3 and four, putting Love back out front. Chapman overtook Grossenbacher on the restart. Chapman then passed Love the following lap as King also got past Grossenbacher to grab third. King passed Love for second the next circuit then grabbed the lead with 9 to go. Chapman took the lead momentarily the next lap, but King held the lead at the flag stand. Jason Martin cracked the top 4 with 6 laps left, putting his #36 in fourth. Grossenbacher regained third with 2 to go but was passed by Joey Danley’s 14. The final top 4 were King, Chapman, Joey Danley and Grossenbacher.
This was King’s first ever win in the Racesaver Sprints after being named the 2015 Rookie of the Year, and came from the third starting position. He was all smiles as he related “The monkey is off of my back! The car was awesome. The crew really helped me this week and the car was the easiest to drive that I’ve ever had. I fell back after the start, because my car wasn’t quite there early. I was running out of gear going into three, so I started moving down the track off of the cushion. The car would stick so I kept doing it”. When told that he was pulling away after getting the lead he stated “I wish I had a mirror so that I could see that, because I was driving 100% the whole time!! I love the track the way it was tonight. It kind of slows everybody down, and I’d rather replace tires than Jacobs ladders and bars and all of that. I like the track this way because tires are cheaper than cars. I want to thank Richards Machine who builds a hell of a motor. Home and Farm
Insurance really helped us out a few times when we needed it. Sardeson Racing helps us out every single week. Big Deal Auto Care is another big one for us. My crew is awesome. They gave me a great car that was easy to drive. I’m going to take the car home and write down every single thing that we did because half of us don’t’ remember a single thing that we just did; we’re so excited. We had a great car in the heat, we had a great car in the feature. The crew makes my job easy. My birthday is Tuesday; I’ll be 32, so this was a great birthday present. I want to give a really big thanks to my dad for helping me with this interview too”.
Next Saturday weekly racing continues as Pepsi presents Hot Mama’s Night-Eagle’s Mother’s Day Tribute. The first 100 mothers through the front gates will receive a gift from the Diva Dash booth in the courtyard. The Pepsi Challenge will be held during intermission. Blinky the Clown will be available from 5:30 to 7:30. 50/50 drawing proceeds will benefit Cause for Paws.
Front gates open at 5:15 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing starting at 6:30. All 5 classes will be on hand; Racesaver Sprints, Kaplan University Modifieds, Hoosier Tire Sport Modifirds, Valentino’s Hobby Stocks and Mountain Dew Kick Start Sport Compacts.
Pit Gates open at 4:00 with pit passes costing $25.
For Full Results please click the link : http://www.eagleraceway.com/EagleRaceway/results/
