The Beatrice Spring Nationals were anything but boring. In fact anybody that says they were is lying. by my count a record 356 Total cars from 16 States and Canada jammed the pit area for 2 days of racing. Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Oregon, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Arkansas and Saskatchewan Canada all represented.
Here are the results broke down by Class...
Hobby (Friday Night)
20 Laps went up onto the board as the field of 56 was narrowed down to 24. 117L Chad Lonneman and Cody Nielsen made up the front row. Chad Borgman who started inside row 3 wasted no time going to the lead and led the opening lap but that was it as Cody Nielsen led lap 2. During all this they were 3,4 and 5 wide at times the first couple laps out of the gate. On lap 3 the 33c of Eric Chab would bring out a yellow. On the ensuing restart the 6a driven by Shawn Slezak made his presences known as he got a great jump and made a charge to the front however it was short lived as pole sitter Chad Lonneman lost the handle in 1 and 2 and brought out the yellow as well as Dave Riley in the 56 who was stuck on the guardrail on the back stretch. After re racking and re stacking the field it was Cody Nielsen again on point with 3 in the books and 17 to go. On the lap 3 restart Shawn Slezak made another strong case for the lead and took it in turn 1 but looped the car in turn 2 and collected a few cars to bring out the yellow. As the race went on one guy to never count is Roy Armstrong who put on a show. He charged his way from 21st up thru the field on the top side of the race track. By lap 6 Roy was up to 3rd but would not prevail any further as Cody Nielsen would go on to win while John Watson would finish 2nd. Roy Armstrong 3rd, 88j Jacob Olmstead 4th and Garrett Eilander rounded out the top 5.
Hobby (Saturday Night)
After losing a few but gaining a few new ones 50 hobbies were narrowed down to 24 again and 20 laps were back on the scoreboard. John Watson and Roy Armstrong made up the front row and it was Watson who would lead lap 1. The feature however would only just begin to get good. Friday night winner Cody Nielsen who started inside row 5 wasted no time charging to front. At one point there were 8 cars in contention to lead that you could have thrown a blanket over them they were even 4 wide for the lead. A yellow for Rick Bradley on lap 8 slowed things down. On the restart something you rarely ever see was Roy Armstrong slipping up and allowing Watson and Nielsen to get by and saw Nielsen pick up where he left the night before by taking over as captain of the ship. At the halfway mark it was Armstrong, Watson and Nielsen putting a clinic for the lead as they were 3 wide. Justin Wacha and Jeff Watts got together in turn 1 on lap 12 for a yellow. Watson would restart as the leader. It was de ja vu all over again as Armstrong, Nielsen and Watson battled it out with 4 to go they were 3 wide for lead. Contact between Nielsen and Watson resulted in yellow and a flat
right rear tire for Nielsen. Armstrong would inherit lead and go on to record the W. Brandon Stigge who started in 17th would finish 2nd, 20th starter Chad Borgman finished 3rd, Mark Sathoff 4th and Tyler Sathoff rounded out the top 5.
Sport Mod (Friday Night) 75 checked in and 24 started the feature for 20 laps. Carter Vandenberg and Greg Metz made up the front row. Metz would lead opening lap. Brenden Damon and Colby Langenberg would bring out a yellow on lap 4. On the restart it was Greg Metz who would lead the field back to life. Adam Armstrong who started 18th on the field was working his way up thru the field also making a charge to the front were the Luellen brothers. As the race went on Metz continued to lead the cars around. Adam Armstrong would peek to the inside of Metz a few times but it was not enough and would have to settle for bridesmaid spot as Greg Metz would go on to win. Lance Borgman would finish 3rd, Clint Luellen and pole-sitter Carter Vandenberg completed the top 5.
Sport Mod (Saturday) 71 would be the number tonight. 25 started the feature tonight as 5k Kyle Prauner was awarded a spot after a B main incident involving Jonathan Logue and Lee Horky. I didn't catch the reason he was awarded the spot but he made the best of it by charging his way to the front right off the bat. Justin Addison would lead the opening lap but a yellow on lap 2 halted the field as 4 cars got collected in turn 4. The restart wasn't much better as a few guys got shuffled around resulting in 7 cars getting caught up on front stretch. Last nights winner Greg Metz was hungry for another as he glued himself to the back bumper of the youngster Justin Addison. Nitro Nick Meyer would make his presences known as he charged his way to 3rd. The top 3 broke themselves away from the rest of the field. A red flag on lap 8 for a 4 car pile-up in turn 3 which resulted in a small fire on the machine of Tom Schneider from Wisconsin. Addison would continue to lead after the restart. On lap 11 Austin Heacock went around and brought a yellow. On restart Metz, Addison and Meyer were 3 wide for lead. Metz would inherit lead and Meyer would end up getting shuffled back thru the field while Lance Borgman who started 22nd found himself in 3rd. Addison would reclaim the top spot as Metz pushed like a dump truck in 4. On the white flag lap. Darren Roepke would bring out a yellow setting up what would be an epic finish. Addison would however hang on to win while Lance Borgman who started 22nd finished 2nd and all the way from dead last saw Kyle Prauner 3rd, Greg Metz and Nick Meyer rounded out the top 5.
Stock Car (Friday) 53 cars to tough to tame would put on a Jim Dandy all nigh long. 24 started the feature. Scott Granzella and Tyler Phelps were on the front row and it was Phelps who led the opening lap. On lap 5 there was a stoppage as the 69 of Dustin Schmidt caught the wall in turn 1 and went for a nasty ride. He walked away un harmed but the car was a different story. On lap 6 contact between Randy Killen and Bryan Rigsby would bring out a yellow as Rigsby was stopped on front stretch. Cory Dumpert who started 17th made his presences felt as he put on a show by making his car look like a rocket ship as he worked his thru the field. With 10 to go local boy Kyle Vanover would take the lead and go on to win by 1/2 a straight over Casey Woken while Minnesota drivers Derek Green and Dan Mackenthun finished 3rd and 4th and Randy Brands completed the top 5.
Stock Car (Saturday) 50 Stock cars signed in for action for night #2. On the first start Clay Mercer, Jay Schmidt and Damon Murty who got stuck on the wall brought out the first yellow of the race. All were unable to continue and penciled in as DNF. On the restart it was Dustin Larson fresh off his 2015 Super Nationals win was looking to start off 2016 with a win at Beatrice as he took advantage of his pole starting spot and led the opening laps. Cory Dumpert who put a show last night did the same again as he started 20th and worked his way thru the field again on the top side. a few yellows would slow field down but Larson was able to find his way to victory lane. Derek Green would better his positon from the night before by 1 finishing 2nd, Lamar Colorado driver Angel Munoz ended up 3rd while Corey Dumpert and Elijah Zevenbergen who both came from back of field rounded out the top 5.
Modified (Friday) A staggering 118 Modifieds signed into the pit area. That number was narrowed down to 24 cars for 30 laps and a $2,000 dollar check. Jordan Grabouski would lead the opening lap and open a sizeable lead in fact the top 4 kinda strung themselves out in the early stages. At the halfway point it was still Grabouski on point but lap traffic allowed Sobbing and Phillips to close in and resulted in Phillips taking over the top spot. On lap 19 Jason Krohn and Mike Mullen brought out a yellow. Under the yellow Grabouski pulled off but I didn't see why. On the restart it was Terry Phillips who led the cars to green. Rookie Tyler Frye was working his way up nicely from 15th also. On lap 21 Kelly Shryock lost the handle on his car and spun resulting in a yellow. Phillips would go on to record the victory while Jesse Sobbing, Justin Zeitner, Hunter Marriott and Mike Mashl rounded out the top 5.
Modified (Saturday) 1 new driver signed in but a few left from night before however 113 mods were on hand for night #2 for a race that will everybody talking about for years to come. Jordan Grabouski would again lead lap 1 on lap 2 contact between 3 cars resulted in RC Whitwell leaving on a hook and David Murray and Mike Mullen rejoining at tail of field. As the race went on they were 3 and 4 wide. On lap 14 Mike Mullen brought out the yellow. On lap 19 Jason Snyder brought a yellow. With 10 to go Dylan Smith who started 13th would take over lead and start to pull away. with 4 to go Jay Noteboom who started 15th had worked his way to 2nd running the top side of the track. It looked as if Dylan Smith would go on to win. This would setup what would be an amazing finish. On the restart Grabouski would get underneath Smith but contact was made resulting in Grabouski going around he would pull off meanwhile it was Jay Noteboom to the lead at the stripe for white flag lap. Noteboom, Phillips and Smith were 3 wide on final lap down the back stretch. Noteboom thru the middle drove the car deep into 3 and slid up in 4 and put a slider on Phillips this opened up door for Smith and they were 3 wide at finish with Noteboom squeezing thru the middle to record the feature win in what is the best feature finish I have ever witnessed.
Sport Compacts (Saturday only) 43 Compacts signed in on there only appearance of the weekend. Tyler Thompson would be the early leader. Early on a red flag came out for Devon Davidson as he got upside down in turn 3. Later in the race they were 3 wide for the top spot as Cody Thompson would inherit the lead but would end up settling for the 2nd spot as Scott Spellmeier would record the win. Ramsey Meyer, Tyler Thompson and Larry Cronin were the top 5.
A few side notes on the weekend... 1st- Hats off to Toby and the entire crew for a great weekend of racing that I will be telling my grandkids about someday. 2nd- Thanks to Chet Christner for saving me the lineup sheets for me each night to help type this up. 3rd- Thanks to SpeedshiftTv for broadcasting for all the race fans who couldn't make it out to see a spectacular weekend of racing. 4th- My girlfriend who came out with me for her first ever race and also helped keep track of cars and helped me take notes.
And lastly it was sad to hear about the passing of Grant Junghans who was truly a fierce competitor on the track and great personality off the track. I was privileged like many others to meet the young man and know what kind of person he was. RIP Grant and God Speed buddy!!!
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