Story by Kelly Ninas
Looking to outrun the storm were the competitors that challenged for top honors at Dawson County Raceway in Lexington, Nebraska on Sunday evening. Earning rave reviews for their performances were the feature winners that included Rece Vaught, Anthony Roth, Jacob Olmstead, Mike Nichols and Luke Wassom.
Driving with gumption, Rece Vaught of Aurora, Nebraska wasted no time at all to garner the lead and as a result was able to power his way to the NeSmith Late Model Feature victory. Vaught started on the inside of the second row and was able to ride the momentum to the front by taking the shortest route, the bottom groove around Dawson County Raceway. Hitting his stride during the final laps and applying great amounts of pressure on Vaught during the waning circuits was Josh Leonard of Gibbon, Nebraska. Leonard was rewarded greatly for his efforts to climb onto the podium and earn runner-up honors. Piloting the family hot rod, Denton Duncan of Ravenna was able to earn third place accolades in the feature race.
Benefitting greatly from a restart near the midway point of the feature, Stone Cold Anthony Roth was able to score the victory in the IMCA Modified feature. Roth of Columbus, Nebraska started his climb to the front of the field from the outside of the second row. No stranger to Dawson County Raceway, veteran wheelman David Murray Jr of Oberlin, Kansas was able to pilot his rocketship around the oval with authority to earn runner-up honors. Working the bottom groove with great success, Cale Osborn of Cozad was able to showcase great consistency to take home third place accolades after starting on the inside of row two when the green flag dropped.
Putting on a dominating performance to start off the feature lineup on Sunday evening was Jacob Olmstead of Overton in the IMCA Northern Sport Modified feature event. Olmstead started on the outside of the second row and was able to ride ‘high, wide and handsome’ to the front of the field and never look back to claim his third straight feature victory. Continuing to flourish in his new hot rod, Jacob Wolsleben of Cozad was the runner-up in the feature. Wolsleben started the feature on the pole and was able to stay among the leaders throughout the feature event. Scoring valuable points in the season points chase, Jacob Slough of Doniphan was the third place finisher in the main event. Slough started the feature on the inside of the third row.
Working his magic, the Harlan Hustler Mike Nichols was the victor in the IMCA Stock Car feature. Nichols of Harlan, Iowa had to come from deep in the field to score the victory, as he started on the inside of the fifth row when the green flag dropped. Nichols was able to work the low groove along with riding the cushion with great success. Working his way through traffic with great success, Mikey Dancer attempted to reel in Nichols during the final laps, only to be forced to settle with second place accolades. Early leader James Sheldon of Kearney, Nebraska was able to pilot his Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme to a third place finish after leading the feature during the initial laps.
On cruise control after gaining the lead, Awesome Luke Wassom was able to notch the victory in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Wassom of Broken Bow started the feature on the inside of the third row when the green flag was waved. Coming home in second place overall was Caleb Hetrick of Grand Island. Hetrick was able to put some pressure on Wassom during the waning laps after the final restart of the feature event. Scoring big in the feature event, Tanner Jones of North Platte finished third overall. Jones started on the outside of the front row and cashed in on the superb starting position.
(Unofficial Results)
–NeSmith Late Model Feature: 1. 20v-Rece Vaught; 2. 85-Josh Leonard; 3. 83d-Denton Duncan; 4. 23-Jacob Kubicka.
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 60iv-Anthony Roth; 97m-David Murray Jr; 3. 6c-Cale Osborn; 4. XII-Jay Steffens; 5. 50-Scott Smith; 6. 50c-Colton Osborn; 7. 19-Chuck Stryker; 8. 50s-Kale Smith; 9. 0hp-Bryan Herrick.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 2. 01-Jacob Wolsleben; 3. 15d-Jacob Slough; 4. 68-Craig Howard; 5. 8-Andrew Rayburn; 6. 24j-Dennis Price Jr.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 45-Mikey Dancer; 3. 84-James Sheldon; 4. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 5. 2x-Travis Kernick; 6. 24-Bob Chalupa; 7. 83z-Allen Zimmerman; 8. 19-Dana Morgan; 9. 53e-Tyler Easterday; 10. 57x-Scott Stoll.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 2w-Luke Wassom; 2. 44-Caleb Hetrick; 3. 12t-Tanner Jones; 4. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 5. 88m-TC McKain; 6. 88-Morgan Olmstead; 7. 20b-Brady Henderson; 8. 99m-Allyn Myers.
