Racing on a very tacky track in North Platte

NORTH PLATTE, NE (June 2, 2012) – Racing on a very tacky track in North Platte, Nebraska; the IMCA divisions were joined by the Nebraska Modified Lites to put on a sensational performance on Saturday night. Dave Pedersen, Mike Nichols, Jose Sabala, Anthony Martin, Dillon Schultz and Mike Martin all crossed the finish line first to earn the double checkered flag salute for their efforts.

Finding the cushion early on in the Feature of the IMCA Modified’s was Brady, Nebraska’s Dave Pedersen from his outside second row starting position. Pedersen was in the top three racers, until he got a great run off the corner and sped into the lead on lap six and ran away from the field and was able to hold off all challengers as the laps dwindled down to notch the victory. Starting up front and holding ship as one of the top finishers was the runner-up rocketship piloted by Jason Gallentine of North Platte, Nebraska. McCook, Nebraska hotshoe Ronnie Wallace who also won the ‘Cash Dash’ was heavy on the loud pedal to finish in the show position in the Feature race, coming near the leaders to challenge for the lead, all the way from the back of the field. Heat race winner Charley Brown of Maxwell, Nebraska was on the money in posting consistent laps throughout the Feature to finish fourth overall. Capping off the top five in the feature event of the IMCA Modified division was Andrew Dillenburg of North Platte.

Wasting no time to get to the front of the field and avoiding all issues was Harlan, Iowa’s Mike Nichols as he picked up the Feature win in the IMCA Stock Car division. Nichols took the lead on lap two and was able to hold off the hard charging Casey Werkmeister of Maywood, Nebraska for the win. Werkmeister was on Nichols back bumper for much of the race, as the duo put on a whale of a show for the fans in the stands. Werkmeister and Nichols also paced the field during their heat races to earn the victory. North Platte’s very own Mikey Dancer was on the money in running high and low through the traffic to finish in third place overall. Rounding out your top five finishers and displaying great driving skill and prowess, were showstoppers Casey Woken of Ogallala, Nebraska and Maywood’s Kyle Werkmeister. Woken and Werkmeister battled hard throughout the 20-lap affair.

Leading all but one of the laps after lap three powered Dillon Schultz of North Platte to the Feature win in the Northern Sport Mod division. Grabbing an early lead almost wasn’t enough for Schultz, as he had to hold off the late charges by Curtis, Nebraska’s Bryan Herrick. Heat race winner Herrick led the white flag lap; until Schultz did everything he could through corners three and four to get side-by-side with Herrick to make it a drag race to the finish on the checkered flag lap. Schultz edged Herrick at the line and Herrick had to settle with runner-up honors from his fifth row starting position. Earning a spot on the podium in third place was North Platte’s Rodger Morash. Heat race victor Shane Stout of North Platte showcased great prowess behind the wheel to avoid incidents for twenty laps and cross the finish line in fourth place, just ahead of the hard charging Corey Cruzan of North Platte, who finished fifth overall.

It was a battle of heat race winners for the top honors in the IMCA Hobby Stock Feature with Wilcox, Nebraska’s Anthony Martin and Ron Edge of Holyoke, Colorado going toe-to-toe. When all the smoke cleared, making his way through the traffic the best, Anthony Martin continued his hot streak of picking up checkered flags by winning the Feature at Lincoln County Raceway, ahead of second place finisher Ron Edge. Martin and Edge climbed to the front of the field from deep in the lineup. Edge led lap six, with Martin soon taking over the lead on lap seven from Edge. Recovering nicely from a low tire in his heat race to finish third overall in the Feature was Chuck Ledbetter of Loomis, Nebraska. Rounding out your top five in the Hobby Stock division was Brady Weinman of Arnold, Nebraska and Benkelman wheelman Austin Davis.

North Platte’s Jose Sabala continued his streak of winning Features in the IMCA Sport Compact division, as he has swept each checkered flag this season in the division at Lincoln County Raceway. Les Brogdon of North Platte was second overall in his Chevy Cavalier. Representing the blue oval crowd, Josh Williams of North Platte was third overall.

The visiting Nebraska Modified Lites were 19 cars strong and put on an impressive performance for the capacity crowd in North Platte. Leading the last lap is the most important and that is just what Phoenix, Arizona’s Mike Martin did, as he went to the low side through lap traffic to notch the win, just ahead of runner-up finisher  and heat race winner Nick Gann of Phoenix, Arizona, who led from lap five through the white flag lap. Leoti, Kansas wheelman Bryan Harkness and Warren Harkness of Scott City, Kansas battled for third place honors, with Bryan Harkness getting the nod for the show position, with Warren Harkness settling for fourth place honors. The hard charging pursuit of Terry Vantine of Crete, Nebraska finished fifth overall. Robert Mros of Phoenix, Arizona was a heat race winner that got caught in a mishap during the feature and wasn’t able to stay within contention for a top five position.

 

Modified Feature: 1. 4p-Dave Pedersen; 2. 14-Jason Gallentine; 3. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace; 4. 4c-Charley Brown; 5. 71-Andrew Dillenburg; 6. 4kj-Terry Houchin; 7. 83c-Chris Stevens (DNF); 8. 23s-Josh Sabin (DNS).

Heat: 1. 4c-Charley Brown; 2. 23s-Josh Sabin; 3. 4kj-Terry Houchin; 4. 4p-Dave Pedersen; 5. 14-Jason Gallentine.

 

Stock Cars Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 24w-Casey Werkmeister; 3. 45-Mikey Dancer; 4. 42w-Kyle Werkmeister; 5. 35jw-Casey Woken; 6. 4k-Kent Lower; 7. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace; 8. 09h-Bob Hoing; 9. 75-Dan Eller; 10. 24-Bob Chalupa; 11. 51b-Brett Gartrell; 12. 29e-Brendan Eilts; 13. 46-Scotty White (DNF).

Heat 1: 2. 24w-Casey Werkmeister; 2. 45-Mikey Dancer; 3. 09h-Bob Hoing; 4. 75-Dan Eller; 5. 29e-Brendan Eilts.

Heat 2: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 4k-Kent Lower; 3. 35jw-Casey Woken; 4. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace; 5. 51b-Brett Gartrell.

 

Northern Sport Mods Feature: 1. 55d-Dillon Schultz; 2. 0-Bryan Herrick; 3. 17-Rodger Morash; 4. 5s-Shane Stout; 5. 8c-Corey Cruzan; 6. ak47-Jeremy Halouska; 7. 11h-Henry Henderson; 8. 12j-Russ Jones; 9. 3-Gary Long; 10. 15-Tanner Winberg; 11. 58x-Jerry Cox; 12. 87f-Donnie Fair (DNF); 13. 34-Matt Caudillo (DNF); 14. 15kos-Robby Kosmacek (DNF).

Heat 1: 1. 0-Bryan Herrick; 2. 11h-Henry Henderson; 3. 87f-Donnie Fair; 4. 58x-Jerry Cox; 5. 3-Gary Long.

Heat 2: 1. 5s-Shane Stout; 2. 55d-Dillon Schultz; 3. 15kos-Robby Kosmacek; 4. 17-Rodger Morash.

 

Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 9a-Anthony Martin; 2. 3r-Ron Edge; 3. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 4. 22w-Brady Weinman; 5. 22-Austin Davis; 6. 65-Rick Eller; 7. 44u-Andrew Baumgardner; 8. 7s-Scott Gibson (DNS); 9. 25-Chris Taylor (DNF).

Heat 1: 1. 9a-Anthony Martin; 2. 22-Austin Davis; 3. 22w-Brady Weinman; 4. 65-Rick Eller; 5. 7s-Scott Gibson.

Heat 2: 1. 3r-Ron Edge; 2. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 3. 44u-Andrew Baumgardner.

 

Sport Compact Feature: 1. 40j-Jose Sabala; 2. 20-Les Brogdon; 3. 359-Josh Williams.

Heat: 1. 40j-Jose Sabala; 2. 20-Les Brogdon; 3. 359-Josh Williams.

 

NML Feature: 1. 24-Mike Martin; 2. 55-Nick Gann; 3. 19x-Bryan Harkness; 4. 9-Warren Harkness; 5. 5-0-Terry Vantine; 6. 3b-Brad Baune; 7. 52-Clayton Hogie; 8. 19-Brandon Vantine; 9. 12s-Doug Pollack; 10. 8-Ryan Colin; 11. 2-Tyler Wilson; 12. 19L-Heather Leimkuhler; 13. 88-Ray Porter; 14. 88d-Dennis Porter; 15. 15-Brandon Spanjer (DNF); 16. 6-Jeff Wilson (DNF); 17. 26-Robert Mros (DNF); 18. 21t-Taylor Pollack (DNF); 19. 51-Mark Bruder (DNF).

Heat 1: 1. 19x-Bryan Harkness; 2. 52-Clayton Hogie; 3. 51-Mark Bruder; 4. 19-Brandon Vantine; 5. 12s-Doug Pollack.

Heat 2: 1. 26-Robert Mros; 2. 9-Warren Harkness; 3. 15-Brandon Spanjer; 4. 6-Jeff Wilson; 5. 8-Ryan Colin.

Heat 3: 1. 55-Nick Gann; 2. 3b-Brad Baune; 3. 24-Mike Martin; 4. 2-Tyler Wilson; 5. 5-0-Terry Vantine.

Category: Kansas / Nebraska, News