Beating the heat by racing their way to the promised land were a foursome of competitors that did their best in taming the dirt at Lincoln County Raceway on Saturday evening, as the High Plains Late Model Series invaded North Platte, Nebraska along with the IMCA Modified’s, Northern Sport Modified’s and Stock Cars.
Spotlighted in the coveted Winners Circle at Lincoln County Raceway included: Dylan Schmer, Ronnie Wallace, Paul Donovan and Mike Earll.
Grabbing the lead on the fifth lap and never looking back as he worked through traffic with ease, was Dylan Schmer of Aurora, Nebraska on his way to winning the High Plains Late Model Feature. Schmer started on the outside of the second row when the green flag was dropped and was able to make the pass for the lead on the fifth lap and then weathered the storm of cautions to earn the victory. Coming from the third row to put the pressure on Schmer during the waning laps was Rob Mayea of Bend, Oregon. Mayea was able to stay up on the wheel and earn runner-up accolades for his efforts. After drawing the pole for the feature, Tyler Smith of Gibbon, Nebraska took the challenge of going to the back of the pack of the feature for an extra $500 if he were to win. Smith had an opportunity to cash in on the challenge, but fell two positions short in finishing third overall. Early leader Scott Cimfl of Arvada, Colorado recovered quite nicely from losing the lead after starting on the outside of the front row and then leading the initial four laps. Cimfl was among the lead group for much of the feature to earn fourth place honors. Pole sitter Bryan Molt of Genoa, Nebraska was fifth overall by staying out of trouble and cashing in on his consistency.
No stranger to the winners circle at all, famed and legendary racer Rockin’ Ronnie Wallace of McCook started on the pole and never trailed in winning the IMCA Modified Feature. Wallace was able to flex his muscles of his hot rod to earn the victory and was back to his old habits despite the long layoff. Starting right behind Wallace in the second row when the green flag was dropped, Andrew Dillenburg of North Platte was able to follow Wallace from the onset, putting some pressure on him during the early going of the feature. Coming from the back, Greg Sharpe of Commerce City, Colorado was rewarded for his efforts with a third place finish. The Brady Bullet Dave Pedersen of Brady, Nebraska and Andy Keifer of Strasburg, Colorado crossed the finish line in fourth and fifth place overall.
Heavy discussion ensued as the IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature event was a battle of attrition that ended in controversy. When all the smoke cleared, it was Paul Donovan’s last corner pass that held and resulted in Donovan earning the victory. Donovan started on the outside of the second row and he was able to pilot his hot rod to clean air away from incidents from the onset to be in a position to clash for the lead in the final corners. All the cards were falling into place until the final corner for Gothenburg’s Jamey Kennicutt, who started on the pole and led every lap until the last lap incident that dropped him back to the runner-up position. Having one of his best finishes since joining the open wheel division, Brady Henderson of Curtis cashed in on his second row starting position to avoid all early lap incidents. Henderson started the season in a hobby stock and has finished strongly in an open wheel car, as he earned third place accolades. Zane Turner and Adam Kackmeister, both of North Platte were fourth and fifth overall, respectively.
Starting up front and staying up front was the formula for success for veteran wheelman Mike Earll of Gothenburg to pick up his first ever IMCA Stock Car Feature victory. Earll was able to set a blistering pace from the drop of the green flag as he started on the front row and grabbed the lead on the fifth lap and never looked back to earn a joyous feature victory. Earll was able to slip past early leader Rick Maier of Cozad who led the first four laps of the feature to garner the point position. Putting the pressure on Earll during the waning laps was Travis Demilt of Keystone, Nebraska. Demilt was up on the wheel for much of the feature trying his best to move past Earll, but with no avail, he was forced to settle with a runner-up finish. Billy Aeby of Imperial was able to work his way through traffic after starting in the third row to earn a podium finish in third place overall. Early leader Rick Maier of Cozad and Dana Morgan of Kearney were fourth and fifth overall in the feature event.
(Unofficial Results)
–High Plains Late Models Series Feature: 1. 5s-Dylan Schmer; 2. 37-Rob Mayea; 3. 112-Tyler Smith; 4. 77-Scott Cimfl; 5. 11b-Bryan Molt; 6. 21-Tyler Reagle; 7. 55-Bubba Alvarado; 8. 65-Greg Sharpe; 9. 44-Scott Lewis; 10. 21m-Aaron Mooney.
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace; 2. 71-Andrew Dillenburg; 3. 65-Greg Sharpe; 4. 4p-Dave Pedersen; 5. 81-Andy Keifer; 6. 83s-Tucker Stevens; 7. 2ba-Bob Aspenleiter; 8. 0hp-Bryan Herrick.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 1-Paul Donovan; 2. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 3. 20b-Brady Henderson; 4. 69z-Zane Turner; 5. 69-Adam Kackmeister; 6. 12j-Kerry Jones; 7. X-Devon Meixner; 8. 26t-Alex Donovan; 9. 59-Tyler Rajdl; 10. 29-Chris Turango.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 4-Mike Earll; 2.5d-Travis Demilt; 3. 711-Billy Aeby; 4. 12az-Rick Maier; 5. 19-Dana Morgan; 6. 75-Dan Eller; 7. 20-Les Brogdon; 8. 23z-Zac Burkert.
