Honoring a former racer and die-hard fan, the competitors at Dawson County Raceway challenged tooth and nail to earn the privilege of driving into the winners circle on Fred Beardsley Memorial Night on Sunday evening in Lexington, Nebraska.
Standing atop of the podium were some returners as well as several newcomers on Sunday evening at Dawson County Raceway. Ruling the roost were the fivesome of Colton Osborn, Brandon Spanjer, Mike Nichols, Tyler Barribo and Justin Schmidt.
Working through traffic and using a hot rod that was as fast as a rocketship, Colton Osborn of Cozad was able to walk away with the victory in the IMCA Modified Feature. Osborn started on the outside of the second row and was fifth overall at the end of the first lap when he started his climb to the front. It was during the eighth lap that Osborn of Cozad was able to power his way into the lead and never look back to earn the victory. Blasting onto the scene and earning rave reviews for his efforts was Chaz Baca of Mesa, Arizona, the current IMCA National Points leader, during his initial visit to Dawson County Raceway. Baca was able showcase great consistency throughout the feature event as he was able to move up from his third row starting position to be among the leaders from the onset and remain near the front to earn second place accolades. Early leader Dillon Schultz of North Platte started on the inside of the second row and was able to lead the first lap as well as the following seven laps before he relinquished the lead. Schultz was able to stay among the lead group and be rewarded for his efforts with a third place finish. Jacob Wolsleben of Cozad was able to move up from eighth to fourth and Bryan Herrick was able to increase his position two spots from the start to finish fifth overall.
In the right spot at the right time paid off dearly for Brandon Spanjer of Crete, Nebraska. Spanjer was able to ride the cushion for all it was worth to gain an early lead and cruise to the victory in the IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature. Spanjer was able to avoid the lap one incidents and then prosper greatly on the re-start by riding the cushion into the lead, a position that he held throughout the feature. Starting on the outside of the fourth row, it took the first few laps for Jacob Olmstead of Overton to maneuver through traffic into second place. Olmstead would stay in second place as he ran out of real estate, trying to reel in the leader and was forced to settle with second place honors. Looking to return to the podium, Robbie Thome of Spalding was able to work through traffic with ease after he started in the fifth row when the green flag was dropped. Thome was fifth for the first four laps before he was able to expertly weave through traffic into fourth place and one lap later into third place where he was gaining on the leaders but the laps dwindled down and he crossed the finish line in third place. Dane Martindale of Lincoln and Hershey’s Troy Bayne were able to earn fourth and fifth place accolades in the feature.
Coming from deep in the field, Mike Nichols of Harlan, Iowa was able to weather the storm of heavy hitters to earn the checkered flag at the end of the IMCA Stock Car Feature. Nichols started in the fourth row and was testing the waters on the bottom of the race track as well as using the cushion to his advantage to be among the lead group during the first five laps. He exchanged the lead a couple times during the five laps prior to the halfway point, where the Harlan Hustler was able to score the lead for good and roll to a victory. Being in the right place at the right time, Cale Osborn of Cozad was able to drive his way onto the podium by taken over the second place position on the white flag lap and finish as the runner-up. Osborn started his feature trek in the fourth row and was able to use the cushion to his advantage. Early leader Jeff Whiting of Gothenburg was able to lead the way for the first five laps as he set a blistering pace for fellow racers to chase. Whiting relinquished the lead soon thereafter but he was able to stay among the podium finishers to earn a bronze medal finish. Veteran wheelmen Bo Egge of Kearney and Stone Cold Steve Aitken of Cozad were credited with fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Starting up front and staying up front was the formula for success for Tyler Barribo of Grand Island to earn the victory in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature event. Barribo was able to start the feature on the outside of the front row and never trail to earn the win. Hot on his tail after work through heavy traffic quickly was Zach Olmstead of Overton. Olmstead started the feature on the outside of the fifth row when the green flag was dropped and was up to second place by the end of the second lap. Olmstead tried his best to work his magic to take out the lead but with no luck on those magic moves, he was forced to settle with second place overall. Coming from the outside of the fourth row when the green flag was dropped Tanner Jones of Cairo, saw his hard work pay off dearly when he was able to earn a third place finish for his consistency and perseverance. Dillon Thompson of Campbell and Wallace’s Tanner Clough were able to see their efforts pay off in finishing fourth and fifth overall.
Rocking and rolling from the onset, Justin Schmidt of Grand Island was a force to be reckoned with in cruising to victory lane at the end of the IMCA Sport Compact feature. Schmidt was able to rocket to the front from his third row starting position in the early going and walk away the winner. Having a stellar night, Jordan Encinger of Grand Island was able to see his efforts pay off after he was able to start on the front row and stay among the leaders throughout the feature event to finish second overall. After winning the feature this past week, Kaden Dady of North Platte was able to stay up on the wheel and build on the momentum to earn a podium finish in third place overall. Making his debut at Dawson County Raceway, Merle Johnsen of Bertrand was able to earn a great finish in fourth place. Close behind Johnsen was Robert Clanton of Oxford in fifth place overall.
Racing action returns to Dawson County Raceway on Sunday, June 27th with the gates opening at 3:30 p.m. and the green flag slated to be thrown at 6 p.m.
(Unofficial Results)
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 50c-Colton Osborn; 2. 75jr-Chaz Baca; 3. 54d-Dillon Schultz; 4. 01-Jacob Wolsleben; 5. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 6. 50-Scott Smith; 7. 85-Brandon Leonard; 8. 12a-Ayden Steffens; 9. 71-Andrew Dillenburg.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 19xx-Brandon Spanjer; 2. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 3. 1t-Robbie Thome; 4. 27-Dane Martindale; 5. 2-Troy Bayne; 6. 14-Tony Acierno; 7. 69z-Zane Turner; 8. Z28-Ty Weidner; 9. 20b-Brady Henderson; 10. 68-Craig Howard.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 6c-Cale Osborn; 3. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 4. 1x-Bo Egge; 5. 7a-Steve Aitken; 6. 11-Kyle Clough; 7. 50-Scott Smith; 8. 97x-Ondre Rexford; 9. 45-Mikey Dancer; 10. 24-Bob Chalupa.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 14jr-Tyler Barribo; 2. 98z-Zach Olmstead; 3. 12t-Tanner Jones; 4. 11-Dillon Thompson; 5. 20-Tanner Clough; 6. 45r-Riley Kort; 7. 14j-Jordan Barribo; 8. 7w-Will Doudney; 9. 46-Josh Weekley; 10. 1s-Hunter Smith.
–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 29e-Justin Schmidt; 2. 23en-Jordan Encinger; 3. 84d-Kaden Dady; 4. 07-Merle Johnsen; 5. 74x-Robert Clanton; 6. 12-Steve Moock; 7. 7c-Chad Carlson; 8. 11x-Angela Witherwax; 9. 47L-John Lee.
