Championship night was better than advertised as the lineup of racing action overflowed with great competition in front of a packed house of avid fans at Lincoln County Raceway on Saturday evening in North Platte, Nebraska.
The Winners Circle was jam packed with eight different divisions competing for their right to stand tall. Punching their tickets to the Winners Circle on Saturday was Cory Dumpert, Devin Breese, Scott Naggatz, Cole Hodges, Jacob Olmstead, Casey Woken, Zach Olmstead and Lonnie Lenser Jr.
Making a great first impression at Lincoln County Raceway paid off for Cory Dumpert of York as he won the High Plains Late Model Series Feature. Dumpert started the feature event on the outside of the second row and spent many of the early laps looking for the best racing groove for his hot rod. Dumpert was able to go to the top shelf and run high, wide and handsome to garner the lead on the tenth lap to hold onto the lead until the checkered flags were waved to claim the victory. Leading the way in the early laps of the feature was Casey Skyberg of Rapid City, South Dakota. Skyberg won the feature on Friday evening and was hoping for the double, until Dumpert made the pass for the lead. Skyberg was able to stay in the lead group and hold off any and all challenges to finish was the runner-up. Zach Zentner of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska was able to use his second row starting position to his advantage to stay in contention throughout the feature to cross the finish line in third place when the race concluded. Rounding out the top five in the feature were Garrett Sporhase of Holyoke, Colorado and Dan Henrickson of Rapid City, South Dakota in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Finishing the feature strong, Devin Breese of Colorado Springs was the victor in the Rocky Mountain Dwarf Car Racing Association (RMDCRA) highlighted race. Breese was able to ‘bob and weave’ his way through the traffic to garner the lead for the final five laps after starting the feature in the fifth row when the green flag was dropped. Coming home in second place overall was Tyler Trengove of Hudson, Colorado. Trengove set a blistering pace, leading the way for the first 10 laps of the feature until Breese took the lead. Trengove recovered quite nicely to finish second. Starting near the front, second row starter Keith Welch of Greeley, Colorado was able to keep up with the fast pace of the leaders to finish third overall.
Contining to rule the roost for the Mod Lites at Lincoln County Raceway, Scott Naggatz of Carter Lake, Iowa swept the features on both Friday and Saturday evenings. Naggatz would start the feature on the inside of the third row and lead every lap on Saturday to claim top honors. Veteran wheelman Doug Pollock had one of his best showings at North Platte in earning the second place accolades on Saturday evening. Pollock of Tekamah, Nebraska started on the pole and was able to be consistent throughout the feature and be rewarded for his efforts. Doug’s son Taylor Pollock tried his best to make a move a step higher onto the podium, but it was easier said than done as he was forced to settle with third place honors. Taylor Pollock of Prague, Nebraska started the feature on the outside of the third row.
Doing his best to hold off any and all challenges, an exuberant Cole Hodges of Ogallala, Nebraska was able to claim the checkered flag in the Modified Feature event on Saturday evening. Hodges was able to demonstrate great patience in working his way into contention from his fifth row starting position to take the lead with just five laps remaining, as former leader Colton Osborn of Cozad slowed on the track, which allowed Hodges to become the new leader, where he would stay for the remainder of the feature. Chasing down the leader, dirt track legend David Murray Jr., of Oberlin, Kansas put forth a valiant attempt during the final laps to make a move to take over the lead, but each time it was Hodges that was able to hold off all challenges. Murray Jr crossed the finish line in second place overall. First time visitor to North Platte, Casey Skyberg of Rapid City, South Dakota had a stellar showing on Saturday evening in finishing third in the feature event after starting on the inside of the second row.
For the second straight evening, Jacob Olmstead of Overton was able to avoid incidents and persevere through the caution flags to win back-to-back IMCA Northern Sport Modified feature events. Olmstead started the feature in the second row and led all but the first lap of the feature on Saturday. Making his initial visit to North Platte a great one, Robbie Thome of Albion was the second place finisher after he started the feature in the fifth row and was able to avoid early lap incidents. Blasting onto the scene like he never left, Brady Weinman of Arnold made a remarkable return to Lincoln County Raceway to finish third overall in the feature. Weinman was making his first appearance of the 2019 season, as he dusted off the rust and prospered with a stellar finish.
Riding the wave of momentum and confidence that he has driven with lately in North Platte, Casey Woken of Norton, Kansas was the victor in the IMCA Stock Car Feature. Putting on a dominating performance, Woken led all but the first lap to earn the hard-fought victory with many heavy hitters trying to catch up with the Norton Nightmare throughout the feature. Cross the finish line in second place overall was Cale Osborn of Cozad. Osborn started the feature on the outside of the third row and spent much of the feature trying to find the groove that best suited his hot rod to make a run on the leader. Travis Demilt of Ogallala was on the move in the final laps of the feature to drive his way onto the podium in third place after starting in the fourth row.
Starting up front and staying up front, Zach Olmstead of Overton won the IMCA Hobby Stock feature in fine fashion. Stalking Olmstead for much of the feature event was runner-up Awesome Luke Wassom of Broken Bow. Wassom started the feature in the third row when the green flag waved. Past season points champion Jeromy Wagner of Kensington, Kansas was the third place finisher after winning an earlier in the evening heat race and starting in the fourth row.
Picking up the victory in a bittersweet situation, Lonnie Lenser Jr. of Valentine was deemed the winner of the IMCA Sport Compact feature after the top two finishers were disqualified in the tech area at the conclusion of the feature. Lenser started the feature in the third row. Earning runner up honors was Merle Johnson of Bertrand in second place. Taking hope the show accolades for his efforts was Robert Clanton of Oxford.
(Unofficial Results)
–High Plains Late Models Feature: 1. 77x-Cory Dumpert; 2. 6-Casey Skyberg; 3. 22z-Zach Zentner; 4. 11s-Garrett Sporhase; 5. 97-Dan Henrickson; 6. 11b-Justin Bussell; 7. 112-Tyler Smith; 8. 5s-Dylan Schmer; 9. 65-Greg Sharpe; 10. 21-Tyler Reagle.
–RMDCRA Feature: 1. 2c-Devin Breese; 2. 5r-Tyler Trengove; 3. 88r-Keith Welch; 4. 85r-Cameron Misegadis; 5. 3r-Brad Bayne; 6. 46r-Alex Amen; 7. 55r-Andy Rogers; 8. 16r-Jerry Hunter; 9. 54-Steven Rosenbaum; 10. 89r-Dale Welch.
–Mod Lites Feature: 1. 54n-Scott Naggatz; 2. 4d-Doug Pollock; 3. 14-Taylor Pollock; 4. 00-Troy Reeves; 5. 88c-Steve Paul; 6. 73t-Ted Jensen.
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 34jw-Cole Hodges; 2. 97m-David Murray Jr; 3. 6-Casey Skyberg; 4. 16-Austin Svoboda; 5. 95-Mike Kress; 6. 20b-Brandon Clough; 7. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 8. 50-Scott Smith; 9. 848-Troy Douglas; 10. 50s-Kale Smith.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 2. 1t-Robbie Thome; 3. 22w-Brady Weinman; 4. 01-Jacob Wolsleben; 5. 4d-Patrick Donovan; 6. 1-Paul Donovan; 7. 99h-Nick Hankins; 8. 69-Adam Kackmeister; 9. 34-Matt Caudillo; 10. 59-Tyler Rajdl.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 35jw-Casey Woken; 2. 6c-Cale Osborn; 3. 5d-Travis Demilt; 4. 11k-Kyle Clough; 5. 24w-Casey Werkmeister; 6. 05-Jesse Taylor; 7. 20k-Cody DeWester; 8. 75-Dan Eller; 9. 24-Bob Chalupa; 10. 4-Mike Earll.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 98z-Zach Olmstead; 2. 2w-Luke Wassom; 3. 29-Jeromy Wagner; 4. 72b-Jacob Hagan; 5. 1-Tanner Clough; 6. 7d7-David Norquest; 7. 20b-Brady Henderson; 8. R89-Nate Refior; 9. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 10. 12r-Brooke Russell.
–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. L2-Lonnie Lenser Jr; 2. 07-Merle Johnson; 3. 74-Robert Clanton; 4. 71c-Christian Destefano; 5. 84d-Kaden Dady; 6. 96k-Sean Miller.
