Story by Kelly Ninas
The competitors all had goals of mowing down the field and being the last one standing in the Winners Circle during the Holbein Lawn Service/KLawn of Lexington Night at the Races that was held at Dawson County Raceway in Lexington, Nebraska on Sunday evening.
Spotlighted for their efforts to win the cherished features by earning the privilege to celebrate in the Winners Circle were: Jordan Grabouski, Jacob Olmstead, Mike Nichols, Jeff Ware and Terry Tritt.
The Holbein Lawn Service/KLawn of Lexington IMCA Modified Feature was a heated battle for position throughout the event. The hotshoe Jordan Grabouski of Beatrice was up to the task of weaving in and out of lap traffic to not even miss a beat and pull away with the victory. Grabouski started the feature on the outside of the fifth row and methodically worked his way into contention to become the leader on the 11 lap and then he never looked back. Grabouski was able to pass runner-up finisher Jeremy Frenier on lap 11, after Frenier of Ft. Morgan, Colorado was able to lead for much of the first half of the race, as he garnered the lead on the second circuit and then put his best foot forward in hopes of running away and hiding from the field until he relinquished the lead to Grabouski. Frenier recovered quite nicely as he continued to flourish on his way to a runner-up finish from his third row starting position. Cozad’s Colton Osborn was on the move from the onset as well, as he started in the fifth row with Grabouski. Osborn was able to find his momentum and rhythm to work his way into the top five early on and then prosper with a third place finish when the checkered flag was waved.
Persevering through the early cautions, Jacob Olmstead of Overton was able to weather the storm and cruise to a convincing victory in the Platte Valley Auto Mart IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature. Olmstead started the feature on the inside of the fourth row and wasted no time in finding the traction on the bottom of the oval and taking advantage of the situation to the tune on a feature victory. One row back of Olmstead at the start was Tyler Andreasen of Grand Island, who wasted no time at all getting into the lead group and avoiding incidents. Andreasen was able to stay among the lead group and earn a podium spot in second place. Staying consistent throughout the feature event was the name of the game for Dillon Schultz of North Platte to come home in third place overall. Schultz piloted the family owned hot rod to a third place finish after starting the feature in the fourth row.
Back to his old habits, the Harlan Hustler Mike Nichols was able to claim the Levanders Body Shop IMCA Stock Car Feature despite the many drivers chomping at the bit to put their name in lights. Nichols of Harlan, Iowa was able to slingshot his way into contention during the early laps of the feature and then make the pass for the lead on the fifth lap, as Nichols passed Jeff Whiting of Gothenburg for the lead. Nichols was able to stay up front in the clean air and prosper with a hard-fought victory from his third row starting position. Getting up on the wheel early paid off dearly for Cozad’s Cale Osborn as he was able to cross the finish line second overall after he started deep in the field specifically in the sixth row. Osborn was able to work the top and bottom grooves to his advantage working his way forward during the feature. Running high, wide and handsome for much of the feature event was Kyle Pfiefer of Hills City, Kansas. Pfiefer’s efforts paid off as he rode the cushion to a third place finish overall after starting the feature in the fourth row.
In one of the most competitive features of the evening, the lead was exchanged six different times before the checkered flag was waved with Jeff Ware of Columbus being the first one across the finish line by the slimmest margins when all the smoke cleared in the Overton Sand and Gravel IMCA Hobby Stock Feature. Ware started the feature on the inside of the fifth row and exchanged the lead several times with runner-up finisher Zach Olmstead of Overton throughout the highlighted event. Ware first took the lead on the fourth lap and then relinquished the lead two laps later when Olmstead beat Ware to the finish line, despite the two dueling for position door-to-door for many laps. Ware was then able to return the favor, one lap later as he regained the lead for three laps before Olmstead took a run to finish strong and was well on his way to earning the victory, but it was Ware that was first to the finish line by less than the length of a fender. Olmstead was forced to settle with runner-up honors. Right behind the top two finishers for much of the feature was Awesome Luke Wassom of Broken Bow. Wassom started the feature on the outside of the sixth row and was able to drive his way into contention early on and then put the pressure on the top two for the waning laps to earn third place honors.
Continuing to flourish at Dawson County Raceway is Terry Tritt of York, as he won his second straight Plum Creek Motors IMCA Sport Compact Feature. Tritt started the feature event on the inside of the third row and was able to take the lead on the fourth lap and never look back. Leading early on was Rileigh Flohrs of Blue Hill, as he started on the outside of the front row and was able to lead the first three laps before relinquishing his position to Tritt. Flohrs recovered quite nicely to stay near the back bumper of Tritt to be within striking distance for much of the feature and earn runner-up accolades. Marcus Florom of Curtis was able to showcase his consistency throughout the feature to earn a podium finish in third place overall.
Racing action returns to Dawson County Raceway on Sunday evening, June 23rd with the green flag slated for 6 p.m. In attendance will be Grand Marshall Clayton Peterson Jr, former Dawson County Raceway Champion, Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee and third place finisher at the Daytona 500. Peterson Jr, will be joined by his Racing team from 1979 during Overton Sand and Gravel Night at the Races.
(Unofficial Results)
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 30-Jordan Grabouski; 2. 17j -Jeremy Frenier; 3. 50c-Colton Osborn; 4. 60iv-Anthony Roth; 5. 50-Scott Smith; 6. 97m-David Murray Jr; 7. 20b-Brandon Clough; 8. 19-Chuck Stryker; 9. 34jw-Cole Hodges; 10. 16j-Austin Svoboda.
Heat Races: 60iv-Roth; 255-Zach Schultz.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 2. 13t-Tyler Andreasen; 3. 554-Dillon Schultz; 4. 97-David Johnson; 5. 16j-Justin Svoboda; 6. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 7. 59-Tyler Rajdl; 8. 63-Troy Bayne; 9. 69-Adam Kackmeister; 10. 8-Andrew Rayburn.
Heat Races: 97-Johnson; 16j-Svoboda.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 6c-Cale Osborn; 3. 54p-Kyle Pfiefer; 4. 10a-Austin Brauner; 5. 30-Jordan Grabouski; 6. 11k-Kyle Clough; 7. 71-Andrew Dillenburg; 8. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 9. 77-Jed Williams; 10. 2x-Travis Kernick.
Heat Races: 16w-Whiting; 54p-Pfiefer; 11k-Clough.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 83-Jeff Ware; 2. 98z-Zach Olmstead; 3. 2w-Luke Wassom; 4. 14jr-Tyler Barribo; 5. 72b-Jacob Hagan; 6. 5m-Frank Mladek; 7. 7d7-David Norquest; 8. 03-Josh Lester; 9. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 10. 68-Bob Potter.
Heat Races: 2w-Wassom; 14jr-Barribo; 83-Jeff Ware.
–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 5x-Terry Tritt; 2. 14r-Rileigh Flohrs; 3. 26-Marcus Florom; 4. 07-Merle Johnson; 5. 74-Robert Clanton; 6. 48j-Holly Beaslin; 7. 85-Justin Smallcomb.
Heat Race: 14r-Rileigh Flohrs.
