Rain had washed out my last five attempts at attending a race over the past twelve days so I had to make the trek to southeast Nebraska to finally see a show as the ASCS Midwest Region Sprint Cars headlined a Thursday night program at I-80 Speedway between Omaha and Lincoln. The fact that it was one year ago this night that Jesse Hockett lost his life while preparing his hauler for a trip to I-80 made this a sentimental night for drivers and fans as memories of "The Rocket" were shared prior to the start of the show.
Thirty-two winged sprints were on hand and after four heats and a B-Main it was Brian Brown and Danny Lasoski lined up on the front row for the twenty-five lap main event. During a pre-race interview Brown admitted that I-80 was probably his favorite track, even more so than Knoxville, and his history here would back that up as he has won several events on the 4/10th-mile oval. On the start Brown got the jump coming off turn four and ran for the cushion into turns one and two while Lasoski dove low trying to put the slider on his nephew in turn two. As Lasoski drifted up the track in turn two Brown was not intimidated and rocketed to the lead down the back stretch. With Brown and Lasoski pulling away, the racing in the middle of the field was intense as drivers mid-pack used every inch of the speedway swapping sliders each and every lap. Back up front Brown worked traffic like a master and maintained a comfortable advantage while Lee Grosz closed in on The Dude for second.
The only caution of the race flew on lap fifteen when Ryan Anderson did a 360 in turn four and by this time the track had taken rubber from top to bottom so everybody was now fast. On the restart Brown again pulled out to a big lead while it took two laps for Lasoski to dispose of the lapped car of Logan Forler. By the time that he did, Brown was gone and with no lapped traffic to deal with over the final laps there was no stopping "Blackjack" from taking the $2,000 victory. Lasoski held off Grosz to take runner-up money and Jack Dover was fourth meaning that the top four finished exactly where they started. Shane Stewart was the mover coming from the inside of row six to take fifth. For a race that saw no positions change up front, it was definitely entertaining to watch prior to the lap fifteen caution.
The NASCAR weekly Late Models were one of three "support" classes racing for track points this evening with cousins Courtney and Andrew Kosiski starting from the front row. Andrew grabbed the lead and soon had to deal with a challenge from third row starter Matt Buller. Buller used the inside line to ease past Kosiski on lap seven, but Andrew fought back and stayed virtually even with Buller over the next three laps. Midway through the 25-lapper Buller finally put some distance on Kosiski and closed it out for his first win of the season here. Kosiski ran a nice race to take second, Billy Leighton made a late charge using the high line to finish third after starting eleventh, Todd Hipnar came from row four to take fouth and Josh Krug took fifth after starting ninth.
The Pro Am feature was a treat to watch from the drop of the green as the leaders came out of turn four on the first lap in a five-wide formation. Nick Steier would lead that first lap by a nose and Brad Derry would then pick up the point on lap three. Shawn Buhlman worked the bottom groove to perfection to take the lead on lap seven just before the only caution of the eighteen-lap event flew when Tim Podraza spun in turn two. On the restart row six starter Scotty Hartman completed his run to the front on lap ten and he then pulled away over the final eight circuits for the victory.Rick Negrete came from the fifth row to finish second, Buhlman was third, Derry took fourth and Terry Cleveland completed the top five.
The B-Mods were the first feature of the night and they set a good tone for the evening with a tight battle to the checkers. Jeremy Longmire started from the pole and held the lead until lap ten of fifteen when Jim Hendricks Jr. drove by him on the inside. Just ahead though Larry Robinson Jr. had just come back on the track after changing a flat tire and he had not yet come up to speed. This slowed Hendricks enough to allow Longmire to regain the lead with four laps to go, but once Hendricks cleared the lapped traffic he came right back to take the lead and three laps later the win, his first ever at I-80. Longmire took second, Joe Feyen was third and Laini Schwartz took fourth. Current All Iowa Points leader Jesse Sobbing had moved from eleventh to fourth in eight laps before his engine went up in smoke.
This was my second visit to I-80, the first being about seven years ago, and I was again impressed with the racing action at this nice facility. Not only do they offer a solid Sunday night weekly show here, but the 2011 schedule is dotted with several special events including the "Alphabet Soup" Late Model show (MLRA, NCRA, CBC) coming up this Sunday night May 29th.
No more racing for me this weekend, but I do hope that you are able to get out and take in the show at your favorite tracks. My next event will be on Wednesday June 1st when the Dart Corn Belt Clash Late Models converge on the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton. Hope to see you there!
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