Story by Kelly Ninas
The racing was very competitive throughout the night as action heated up and the temperature simmered down at Lincoln County Raceway on Saturday evening in North Platte. Earning the bragging rights to walk away as victors with their trip to the winners circle was David Murray Jr, Jamey Kennicutt, Casey Woken, Nate Refior and Kaden Dady.
The Iceman David Murray Jr of Oberlin, Kansas got to the front on the sixth lap after jousting with Dave Pedersen for a couple laps, once Murray was able to find his preferred line, he was able to run away and hide for the IMCA Modified feature victory. Murray started the feature in the fourth row and was able to work his way into contention for the lead in the first five laps. Runner-up finisher Dave Pedersen of Brady was able to take advantage of starting in the second row at the onset to get his hot rod to work well with the oval in the early going to drive his way to the lead on lap five. Pedersen was able to continue to get stronger and stronger as the feature went on to earn the second place accolades. Brandon Clough of Wallace was able to charge forward with authority during the waning laps to earn the third place honors after starting the feature on the inside of the third row.
Leading the laps that mattered the most, veteran wheelman Jamey Kennicutt of Gothenburg was able to lead the final two laps to win the IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature. Kennicutt started the feature deep in the field and was able to weather the storm of early caution flags to be among the leaders at the end. Starting up front and staying among the leaders, Zach Buesing of Cozad was the leader for much of the feature. Buesing was able to grab the lead after a lap two caution and he led the field until relinquishing the lead on lap 13 to Kennicutt. Consistency and avoiding trouble was the name of the game for Adam Kackmeister of North Platte to earn third place accolades. Kackmeister showcased great consistency lap after lap to be rewarded with the podium finish.
Displaying great skill and ability, Casey Woken came from deep in the field twice to finally get up front and stay up front and win the IMCA Stock Car feature. Woken of Norton, Kansas started the feature in the fifth row and it took the hotshoe until just the second lap to be among the top three, only to be forced to the rear of the field after making a quick pit stop. Woken rolled up his sleeves and went to work in weaving through traffic to finally regain the lead on lap eight. Woken never trailed again to claim the victory. Setting himself up to be among the leaders in the final laps, Travis Demilt of Ogallala was able to make his game plan work to near perfection on his way to a runner-up finish from his fourth row starting position. Dan Eller of North Platte was able to drive his way to third place after starting on the outside of the third row when the green flag was dropped.
Reaching a cherished milestone, Nate Refior of Sutton was ‘en fuego’ from beginning to end of the IMCA Hobby Stock Feature. Refior led every lap of the feature to earn his first career IMCA Feature victory, after starting the feature on the inside of row two at the onset. Tanner Jones of North Platte was able to earn a runner-up finish for his efforts during the final laps that he was able to find his groove. Making a great first time appearance, Cody Green of Fairbury was the third place finisher. Green came from deep in the field, as he started in the fifth row as the green flag was waved.
Confidence is at an all-time high for Kaden Dady, as he claimed the IMCA Sport Compact feature victory. Dady of North Platte has been gaining valuable experience behind the wheel of his hot rod and his efforts paid off big time as he led the final five laps after gaining the lead from Lonnie Lenser Jr of Valentine, who had a mechanical issue pop up after he had led the first 10 laps of the feature. Dady would be the leader on the restart and he fully took advantage of the situation to claim the victory. Starting on the front row, Marcus Florom of Curtis was able to stay among the leaders for the whole feature to cross the finish line in second place overall. Season points leader Quincy Eggleston of Gothenburg was able to drive with a sense of urgency in the final laps to earn a podium finish in third place overall.
(Unofficial results)
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 97m-David Murray Jr; 2. 4p-Dave Pedersen; 3. 20b-Brandon Clough; 4. 34jw-Cole Hodges; 5. 28-John Burrow Jr; 6. 11f-Luke Frosh; 7. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 8. 99-Lance Lewis; 9. 93h-Klancy Honeycutt; 10. 50c-Colton Osborn.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 2. 511-Zach Buesing; 3. 69-Adam Kackmeister; 4. 01-Jacob Wolsleben; 5. 69z-Zane Turner; 6. 63-Troy Bayne; 7. 12j-Kerry Jones; 8. 91y-Lance Yoxsimer; 9. 4-Colton Aspenleiter; 10. 55-Tony Schultz.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 35jw-Casey Woken; 2. 5d-Travis Demilt; 3. 75-Dan Eller; 4. 117s-Josh Schweitzer; 5. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 6. 4-Mike Earll; 7. 72h-Jim Hagan; 8. 47-Russ Small Jr; 9. 11k-Kyle Clough; 10. 71-Andrew Dillenburg.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. R89-Nate Refior; 2. 12t-Tanner Jones; 3. 4x-Cody Green; 4. 72b-Jacob Hagan; 5. 45cj-Chad Baney; 6. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 7. 1-Tanner Clough; 8. 20b-Brady Henderson; 9. 5t-Cody Topinka; 10. 98z-Zach Olmstead.
–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 84d-Kaden Dady; 2. 26-Marcus Florom; 3. 7e-Quincy Eggleston; 4. 07-Merle Johnson; 5. 71c-Christian Destefano; 6. 4k-Kyle Filyaw; 7. L2-Lonnie Lenser Jr; 8. 74-Robert Clanton.
