Sobbing, Noteboom and Gharst take home wins on Icebreaker Challenge Night 1

By Greg Soukup
The ice was definitely broken Friday night, but that didn’t mean that the temperatures were warm at Eagle Raceway. The 2012 Icebreaker Challenge ran under cloudy skies and with very cool temperatures that held the crowd size down. Those who braved the elements were treated to 12 heats, 3 A Features, 3 B Features and even a C Feature.

The only serious incident in the preliminary events came in the third ASCS Sprint Car heat when Tige Jensen’s #71 made contact with the 21K of Lou Kennedy Jr. Both cars ended up flipping with Jensen ending up over the turn 4 wall. Both drivers walked away.

The first A Feature was for the NAPA IMCA Sport Modifieds. Joey Danley led the pack at the end of the first lap in his #14 with Jeff Brussen’s 00X, Karl Brewer in the 13 and the 999 of Jesse Sobbing rounding out the top 4. Sobbing wasted no time in vaulting to the point as he took first on lap #2 with Brussen taking 3rd and Gary Saathoff moving the #96 to fourth. Max Harder took the #34 past Saathoff on lap 3. The next lap saw Matt Richards in the 1R and Denny Berghahn Jr.’s 6 spin in turns 1 & 2 to bring out the yellow flag. Harder went to the pits during the slow-down, putting Saathoff back into fourth. Saathoff moved past Brussen on the restart and moved up to second when he overtook Danley on lap 7. Brussen also passed Danley 2 laps later as did Shawn Harker in the #40. Todd Boulware moved his #14T into the fourth spot on the very last lap. The final top 4 were Sobbing, Saathoff, Harker and Boulware.

‘I told Roger that if the track was like this all of the time I’d be here every week!! The track was awesome and my car was great too” Sobbing stated. He continued by saying “I’m just glad that my wife lets me go racing all of the time. This was a great present for my daughter’s birthday this week for sure”. Sobbing’s sponsors include Razor Chassis, Shocked by DSR, Karl Chevrolet and Protek Electric.

The Nebraska Drive Shaft and Radiator IMCA Modified were next on the high banks. There were 3 past IMCA Modified National Champions in the field; Johnny Saathoff, Dylan Smith and Jordan Grabouski . Jay Noteboom was the pole sitter and was first back to the flag stand on lap #1 in his 7N followed by Johnny Saathoff in the 96J, Jordan Grabouski’s 94 and the 5S of Bob Zoubek. Grabouski passed Saathoff for second on lap #2. Matt Bonine spun the 144 in turn 2 on lap 3. Zoubek used the restart to grab third. Jay Goosman cracked the top 4 the next circuit in the 34 but was overtaken by the 95 of Dylan Smith the next time round. Zoubek passed Saathoff for second on lap 12 and Smith also got past Grabouski the next time around. The top 4 remained unchanged until the checkered flag. Noteboom was first followed by Zoubek, Smith and Grabouski.

Noteboom left before being interviewed.

The final A Main was for the Lucas Oil ASCS 360 Sprint Cars. At the completion of the first lap the top 4 were Mike Boston’s 51, the 6X of Kaley Gharst, Eric Lutz in the 57 and the 31 of Mark Pace. Ryan Roberts in the 18 passed Pace for fourth on lap #3 and advanced to second on lap 8. The next time around Logan Forler moved the 5H past Roberts. Gharst took the lead the next lap. Forler moved up 1 more position on lap 14. The only caution of the race came on lap 18 when Gage Dorr spun his #17 to the front stretch infield. The top 4 remained unchanged to the finish with Gharst taking the win, Boston second, Forler third and Roberts fourth.

“The track was great tonight, but tricky” stated Gharst. “First the bottom was the best, then the top. It ended up that the low line was best; it was SO good on the bottom”. He then said “I took advantage of Mike getting held up in the traffic and having to move up a line. I got past him and then all I had to do was to protect the bottom”. He concluded the interview by stating “I want to thank all of the fans who showed up tonight. It was cool out for sure. Hopefully we have a really big crowd tomorrow night”. Gharst’s sponsors include Adrenaline Sports Bar in Brandon South Dakota, CNS Homes, Singer Engines, Jeremy Scadden Construction and J & J Chassis.

The action continues tonight as the Icebreaker Challenge concludes. The field will consist of the Nebraska Drive Shaft and Radiator IMCA Modifieds, Lucas Oil ASCS 360 Sprints, Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and Exhaust Pros IMCA Sport Compacts. Competing with the ASCS Sprints will be defending NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart. All seats are general admission and are on a first come, first served basis. Please note: Due to the time limits and with Tony Stewart participating in the event, there will NOT be an autograph session.
Front gates open at 5:00. Adult admission is just $15, youths 6-12 are only $5 and children 5 and under are free. The front ticket booth will open at 3 P.M. for early sales. The pit gates open at 4 and pit passes are $25.

Results:

ASCS Sprint 4/20/2012

A Feature:1. Kaley GHARST (Valley Spring, SD), 2. Mike BOSTON (Alvo, NE), 3. Logan Forler (Lake Havasu City, AZ), 4. Ryan ROBERTS (Aurora, NE), 5. Jordan Boston (Lincoln, NE), 6. Jody ROSENBOOM (Rock Rapids, IA), 7. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 8. Trevor GROSSENBACHER (Lincoln, NE), 9. Randy HIBBS (Savannah, MO), 10. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 11. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 12. Lee GROSZ (Harwood, ND), 13. Jason DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 14. Robby WOLFGANG (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 16. Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE), 17. Adam GULLION (Lincoln, NE), 18. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 19. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 20. Jay RUSSELL (Elwood, KS),

B Feature:1. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 2. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 3. Jason DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 4. Trevor GROSSENBACHER (Lincoln, NE), 5. Doug LOVEGROVE (Waverly, NE), 6. Jack DOVER (Springfield, NE), 7. Dylan PETERSON (Sioux Falls, ), 8. Jeff Osborn (Savannah, MO), 9. Bryan GOSSEL (Ft. Collins, CO), 10. Dave GLENNON (Casselton, ND), 11. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE), 12. Chad Ely, 13. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE), 14. Lou Kennedy Jr. (Winnepeg, AB), 15. Thomas Kennedy (Winnepeg, AB),

Heat 1:1. Mark Pace (Lincoln, NE), 2. Randy HIBBS (Savannah, MO), 3. Kaley GHARST (Valley Spring, SD), 4. Gene Ackland (Lincoln, NE), 5. John Klabunde (Fort Calhoun, NE), 6. Doug LOVEGROVE (Waverly, NE), 7. Dylan PETERSON (Sioux Falls, ), 8. Jack DOVER (Springfield, NE),

Heat 2:1. Jordan Boston (Lincoln, NE), 2. Logan Forler (Lake Havasu City, AZ), 3. Jody ROSENBOOM (Rock Rapids, IA), 4. Robby WOLFGANG (Sioux Falls, SD), 5. Trevor GROSSENBACHER (Lincoln, NE), 6. Jason DANLEY (Lincoln, NE), 7. Bryan GOSSEL (Ft. Collins, CO), 8. Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE),

Heat 3:1. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 2. Jay RUSSELL (Elwood, KS), 3. Gage Dorr (Elmwood, NE), 4. Lee GROSZ (Harwood, ND), 5. Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE), 6. Dave GLENNON (Casselton, ND), 7. Lou Kennedy Jr. (Winnepeg, AB), 8. Tige Jensen (Lincoln, NE),

Heat 4:1. Mike BOSTON (Alvo, NE), 2. Ryan ROBERTS (Aurora, NE), 3. Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE), 4. Adam GULLION (Lincoln, NE), 5. Chad Ely (Adelaide, South Australia), 6. Jeff Osborn (Savannah, MO), 7. Thomas Kennedy (Winnepeg, AB),

IMCA Modified 4/20/2012

A Feature:1. Jay Noteboom (Hinton, IA), 2. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 3. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 4. Jordan GRABOUSKI (Beatrice, NE), 5. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 6. Ricky Stephen (South Sioux City, NE), 7. Jay Goosman (Hinton, IA), 8. Chris ALCORN (Lincoln, NE), 9. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 10. Chris Ableson (Sioux City, IA), 11. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 12. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 13. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 14. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 15. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 16. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 17. Jim KRUPICKA (Denton, NE), 18. James Morin (Glenwood, IA), 19. Scott BIVENS (Ceresco, NE), 20. Matt BONINE (Onawa, IA),

B Feature:1. Chris ALCORN (Lincoln, NE), 2. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 3. Scott BIVENS (Ceresco, NE), 4. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 5. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE), 6. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jason BRIESE (Cleghorn, IA), 8. Lowell Holland (Omaha, NE), 9. Matt Stevens (Waverly, NE), 10. Patrick DONOVAN (Sterling, NE), 11. Dustin Gray (Omaha, NE), 12. Andrew HILLE (Hickman, NE), 13. Jake NEAL (Omaha, NE), 14. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 15. Dustin Andersen (Omaha, NE),

Heat 1:1. Jay Goosman (Hinton, IA), 2. Doug Deterding (Lincoln, NE), 3. Justin Wulf (Arlington, NE), 4. Jim KRUPICKA (Denton, NE), 5. James Morin (Glenwood, IA), 6. Matt Stevens (Waverly, NE), 7. Patrick DONOVAN (Sterling, NE), 8. Lacey Tuttle (Elmwood, NE), 9. Dustin Andersen (Omaha, NE), 10. Lowell Holland (Omaha, NE),

Heat 2:1. Mike Densberger (Malcolm, NE), 2. Jay Noteboom (Hinton, IA), 3. Chris Ableson (Sioux City, IA), 4. Chad Andersen (Omaha, NE), 5. Ricky Stephen (South Sioux City, NE), 6. Scott BIVENS (Ceresco, NE), 7. Chris ALCORN (Lincoln, NE), 8. Jason BRIESE (Cleghorn, IA), 9. Nick Beckman (Lincoln, NE), 10. Nathan Landauer (Lincoln, NE),

Heat 3:1. Jordan GRABOUSKI (Beatrice, NE), 2. Dylan Smith (Osceola, NE), 3. Bob Zoubek (Dorchester, NE), 4. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 5. Matt BONINE (Onawa, IA), 6. Rik Gropp (Lincoln, NE), 7. Jake NEAL (Omaha, NE), 8. Shane Hiatt (Rising City, NE), 9. Dustin Gray (Omaha, NE), 10. Andrew HILLE (Hickman, NE),

IMCA Sport Modified 4/20/2012

A Feature:1. Jesse SOBBING (Glenwood, IA), 2. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 3. Shawn HARKER (Nebraska City, NE), 4. Todd BOULWARE (Jefferson, SD), 5. Laini Schwartz (Omaha, NE), 6. Karl BREWER (Vermillion, NE), 7. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 8. Max HARDER (Blue Springs, ne), 9. Jared HANSEN (Audubon, IA), 10. Chad Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 11. Kyle Prauner (Norfolk, NE), 12. Denny Berghahn Jr. (Plattsmouth, NE), 13. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 14. Greg Metz (Washington, KS), 15. Buddy Ray Jones (Council Bluffs, IA), 16. Kevin JOCHUM (Roca, NE), 17. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 18. Anthony Kobus (David City, NE), 19. Jeff BRUSSEN (Lemars, IA), 20. Matt RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE),

B Feature:1. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 2. Kyle Prauner (Norfolk, NE), 3. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 4. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 5. Denny Berghahn Jr. (Plattsmouth, NE), 6. Chad TEN NAPEL (Sioux City, IA), 7. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 8. Dan BOHLMEYER (Blue Springs, NE), 9. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE), 10. Nick HERMSEN (Omaha, NE), 11. Jerad LITTLE (Malcom , NE), 12. Shelly Andersen (Lincoln, NE), 13. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 14. Lindsey YOST (Nebraska City, NE), 15. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 16. Jeremy Peckham (Lincoln, NE), 17. Geoff Olson (Sioux City , NE), 18. Tyler GREENE (Rock Port, MO), 19. Tadd HOLLIMAN (Beaver Lake, NE), 20. Ken ECKHOFF (Hooper, NE), 21. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 22. Kyle DRISKELL (Rock Port, MO),

C Feature:1. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 2. Lindsey YOST (Nebraska City, NE), 3. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 4. Matthew MARQUARDT (Tekamah, NE), 5. Nathan KOBUS (Lincoln, NE), 6. Kendell VERHAGE (Elkhorn, NE), 7. James Hines (Omaha, NE), 8. Tyler RINGLE (Omaha, NE), 9. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE), 10. Jesse OSMON (Alvo, NE), 11. Joe RYAN (Lincoln, NE), 12. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 13. Dustin THAYER (Bellevue, NE), 14. Nate THOMPSON (Fremont, NE), 15. Dave Tadlock (LaVista, NE), 16. Jason Harms (David City, NE), 17. Jason Trent (Omaha, NE), 18. Derek Hall (Lincoln, NE), 19. Doug WILSON (Council Bluffs, IA),

Heat 1:1. Buddy Ray Jones (Council Bluffs, IA), 2. Todd BOULWARE (Jefferson, SD), 3. Laini Schwartz (Omaha, NE), 4. Geoff Olson (Sioux City , NE), 5. Joey Danley (Lincoln, NE), 6. Tyler GREENE (Rock Port, MO), 7. Dan Jackson (Crete, NE), 8. Nathan KOBUS (Lincoln, NE), 9. Adam Vrbka (Eagle, NE), 10. Joe RYAN (Lincoln, NE), 11. Jason Harms (David City, NE),

Heat 2:1. Karl BREWER (Vermillion, NE), 2. Jeff BRUSSEN (Lemars, IA), 3. Kevin JOCHUM (Roca, NE), 4. Matt Boucher (Murdock, ne), 5. Ken ECKHOFF (Hooper, NE), 6. Nick HERMSEN (Omaha, NE), 7. Shelly Andersen (Lincoln, NE), 8. Bob Ruisinger (Bennet, NE), 9. Tyler RINGLE (Omaha, NE), 10. Jason Trent (Omaha, NE), 11. Derek Hall (Lincoln, NE),

Heat 3:1. Jesse SOBBING (Glenwood, IA), 2. Jared HANSEN (Audubon, IA), 3. Shawn HARKER (Nebraska City, NE), 4. Denny Berghahn Jr. (Plattsmouth, NE), 5. Chad TEN NAPEL (Sioux City, IA), 6. Jerad LITTLE (Malcom , NE), 7. Dan BOHLMEYER (Blue Springs, NE), 8. Jared Cote (Lincoln, NE), 9. Nate THOMPSON (Fremont, NE), 10. Jesse OSMON (Alvo, NE),

Heat 4:1. Matt RICHARDS (Lincoln, NE), 2. Gary Saathoff (Beatrice, NE), 3. Anthony Kobus (David City, NE), 4. Nelson Vollbrecht (Stanton, NE), 5. Kevin Anderson (Lincoln, NE), 6. Don Rinke (Lincoln, NE), 7. Tadd HOLLIMAN (Beaver Lake, NE), 8. Dustin THAYER (Bellevue, NE), 9. Joe Schidler (Lincoln, NE), 10. Dave Tadlock (LaVista, NE), 11. Doug WILSON (Council Bluffs, IA),

Heat 5:1. Max HARDER (Blue Springs, ne), 2. Greg Metz (Washington, KS), 3. Chad Borgman (Beatrice, NE), 4. Kyle Prauner (Norfolk, NE), 5. Kyle DRISKELL (Rock Port, MO), 6. Mary Lenz (Elmwood, NE), 7. Jeremy Peckham (Lincoln, NE), 8. Matthew MARQUARDT (Tekamah, NE), 9. Lindsey YOST (Nebraska City, NE), 10. Kendell VERHAGE (Elkhorn, NE), 11. James Hines (Omaha, NE),