Wayman, Andersen, Shiveley, Cronin, & Drueke win Blazin’ Dads Night

Wayman, Andersen, Shiveley, Cronin, & Drueke win Blazin’ Dads Night

By Greg Soukup

Extremely heavy rains Friday night led to extra work for the Eagle Raceway track prep crew Saturday in order to get the racing surface ready for the action at Blazin’ Dads Night, presented by Pepsi, Kaplan University and The Blaze.

The crew’s challenge was kept going as intermittent light rain and drizzle kept occurring during the event; even causing an hour rain delay with 3 laps remaining in the C Feature for the Hoosier Tire IMCA Modifieds. Their efforts were rewarded with an extremely fast track for the main events.

Dana Deeke’s 36X, the 35 of Kevin Kloke, Scott Bivens in the S56 and the 18T of Cole Wayman were there first four back to the flag stand in the Hoosier Tire IMCA Sport Modified A Feature. Wayman jumped all of the way up to second on lap 3. Gunnar Pike in the 25 and the 14T of Trent Roth took over the third and fourth spots the next time around. Wayman grabbed the lead with 8 to go. The #3J of Jeremy Baker went up in a cloud of smoke with 3 laps remaining, bringing out the yellow flag. Pike used the restart to move up to second with Roth and the 27 of Anthony Kobus rounding out the top 4.

Wayman said “This was my first ever win! The track was pretty good. There was a nice lane around the top, and just hold it to the floor all of the way around. I was getting kind of worried, because you don’t know how close they are to you. Once that caution came out I was sure that I was going to get passed, but I held my own land and got the win. I need to thank my Dad and Mom and everyone else who helps out on the car”. Wayman’s sponsors include Independent Equipment Company, Elite Welding and Fabrication and Jet Racing.

Tyler Jackson’s 13T held the lead after the first lap of the Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stock Feature with the 11B of Brett Saathoff, Tim LaPointe in the 18 and Allyn Shiveley’s 01 rounding out the top 4. Shively moved to third on lap 3 and then took the second spot the next lap. It took Shiveley just 2 more circuits to grab the lead from Jackson. Dave Carter cracked the top 4 in his 2C the next circuit. Jeff Ware’s 83 came to a halt on the front stretch with 10 to go. Austin Brauner moved to fourth in the 10A with 9 laps remaining. 2 laps later saw the 17T of Troy Dowty come to a halt on the back stretch. Brauner advanced to third with 6 to go and moved up to second the next time around. The final top 4 were Shiveley, Brauner, Jackson and Saathoff.

“This was my first win here. It’s a challenge; there’s hard racers here. It’s a hard track to win at day in and day out. I’ve been here three year’s racing, and got Rookie of the Year my first year. I finally put it together. I want to thank my Dad; Happy Father’s Day. I also want to thank Nick Beckman, The Havelock Crew, Don Hall, my boy Jason Hiatt, Schuyler, the Bade Family and Spider Racing Chassis, Performance 66, Jason Applebee for putting together a strong motor for me to win tonight. It definitely was a motor track and I just was able to go hammer down and just stick it in the groove” he stated.

Next was the Kaplan University IMCA Modified A. Dustin Andersen used his outside pole position on the start to put the 8A into first on lap 1 followed by the 19XX of Brandon Spanjer, Clint Homan in the 27 and the 8C of Chad Andersen. Rik Gropp passed Chad Andersen on lap 2, putting the V45 into fourth. Homan moved past Spanjer on lap 5 for second and began battling with Dustin Andersen for the lead. There were 9 laps remaining when Roger “Chevy” Hadan put the #4 into fourth. The only caution period of the race came with just 4 to go when Aaron Pella stopped in turn 2. The last 5 laps saw Homan make attempt after attempt to get past Dustin Andersen, and his hard work was rewarded when an all-or-nothing slide job in turn 4 of the final circuit saw him win by just 8 thousandths of a second. However, he was put back 1 position for aggressive driving. That made Dustin Andersen the winner with Homan second, Spanjer third and Hadan fourth.

This was Andersen’s first win at Eagle Raceway this year. “This was interesting, to say the least. We didn’t need that caution with 3 to go, but that’s racing and we’ll take it with this kind of track. Clint’s slide job is just one of those deals. He gave it his all, and that’s what he had to do. The track was bad fast; hammer down and just lay the wood to it! It was a good open motor night, which that’s what we all run; so I’ll take it. I want to thank my crew for all that they do” stated Andersen. Andersen’s sponsors include Nebraska’s Best, Lawnsmith, Southern Transport, Flat Foot Trucking, Precise Racing and BSB.

The Mountain Dew Kick Start IMCA Sport Compact A Feature slowed before it got started when the 27W of Allie Hover stopped at the bottom of turns 1 & 2 on the initial start. The first official lap saw Melissa Cronin’s 5M, the 17 of Steffen Oaks, Sarah Cronin in the 8 and the 88K of RJ Maas the top 4. Larry Cronin passed Maas on lap 2 to take over fourth, moved to third the next time around and then to

second after 1 more lap. Cole Krichau took over fourth in his 30K with 10 to go. Larry Cronin slowed with 7 to go, heading to the pits. Krichau snagged second with 6 to go and Jeremy Bohlen advanced to fourth. The final top 4 were Melissa Cronin, Krichau, Oaks and Bohlen.

“I’m extremely grateful that Roger was able to continue with the show after the rain after intermission. He really worked in the track. I told our whole team that it was my night, the way the track conditions were because I LOVE playing in the mud. I really don’t care for a dry slick track, and neither does my car. I enjoy this wet stuff. I want to thank my team for all of the help they give me, especially my husband who keeps our cars running every week. Also everybody else who is able to make it out here and help us all. I have to thank our sponsors, Larry’s Auto Recyclers and Moonlight Ranch. I really got this win for my daughter Erica who is in the hospital after a motorcycle accident.

Keith Dragoo’s 44, the 4W of Nate Weiler, Brandon Horton’s 1B and the 77D of Chad Fegley led the pack after lap 1 of the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Car finale. Lap 2 saw Ron Love pass Fegley for fourth, only to give the spot up to the 03 of Shayle Bade the next lap. Bade moved up to third the next time around and Mike Boston put the 51 into fourth. Bade continued her march to the front, taking over second on lap 7 as Tyler Drueke advanced to fourth in the 12. Drueke gained the third position after 1 more lap. The next circuit saw Terry Richards’ 18 stop in turns 1 and 2. Bade snagged the lead 2 laps after the restart. Weiler got too high in turn 1 the next time around, catching the wall and ended up flipping in turn 2. He was not seriously injured. That made the top 4 Bade, Drueke, Horton and the 14 of Joey Danley. 1 lap after the restart Dragoo and the 20 of Tim Hilfiker got together with Dragoo flipping. He also was not seriously hurt. Hilfiker continued while Dragoo’s sprint went to the pits on the hook. Danley moved up to third on the restart. Clint Benson put the #100 into fourth with 8 laps remaining, but gave the spot up to Adam Gullion’s 91 the next lap. Drueke grabbed the lead with 3 to go and Benson again took fourth the next time around. The final top 4 were Drueke, Bade, Danley and Benson.

“The track turned out basically the way that I thought it would after the rain delay. I knew it would be heavy, and we needed to be free. So, basically it was the same as in the heat races. I knew how the car felt in the heat race, so we just

made adjustments from there. We started 16th after winning the B. We ran up into lapped traffic, and there was a whole bunch of cars. I didn’t even know who was the leader. I just saw cars and knew that I had to get by them. I didn’t know if they were lapped cars or in position, because I had lost track at that point. So, then we had the yellow and I found out that we were in third. I thought to myself ‘That isn’t too bad. Now, just try to not mess it up’. A big thanks to Danner Spray Foam, Drueke Trucking, Zoz Farms, Jeffres Trucking, Picadilly Rosehill Ranches, Angel Energy Services and all of the other sponsors who help us get down the road every week. I also want to thank Matt, Dustin, my Dad and Mom, my girlfriend and my brother for getting everything ready to go racing. It’s all a big team effort, and I can’t do it by myself” Drueke related.

Next Saturday sees Colby Ridge present Junior Fan Club Night. There will be a $1000 kids Money Dash at intermission. Twinky the Clown will be there from 5:30 to 7:30. The Racesaver IMCA Sprints, Kaplan University IMCA Modifieds, Hoosier Tire IMCA Sport Modifieds, Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks and Mountain Dew Kick Start IMCA Sport Compacts will all be in action.

Front gates open at 5:15. Adult admission is just $10, youths 6-12 are only $5 and children 5 and under are free. Hot laps start at 5:30 with racing beginning at 6:30.

Pit gates open at 4 PM, with pit passes costing $25.

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