By Kelly Ninas
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (April 28) – Perseverance was tested but it was worth the wait for the 2018 Lincoln County Raceway season opener in North Platte on Saturday evening. The heated action was highlighted with the pits being jam packed with competitors looking to start their season off on the right foot in front of a large crowd.
Earning IMCA feature wins were David Murray Jr., Danny Concelman, Mikey Dancer, Jeromy Wagner and Andrew Baumgarder.
No stranger to the winner’s circle, Murray weathered a storm restarts to earn his career 550th IMCA Modified feature victory. Coming from the middle of the pack, Cale Osborn pressured Murray on the final restart, only to be forced to settle for runner-up accolades.
Wasting no time to get to the front, Dancer cruised to the feature win in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car division. Dancer started on the outside of the second row, took the lead on the second lap and never looked back.
Grabbing the lead near the halfway point and winning the sprint to the finish was Concelman in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature.
Starting on the pole was a great foundation for success for Jeromy Wagner to earn the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature victory. Wagner paced the field after garnering the point position on the third lap.
It was like a movie story line for Baumgardner in the Mach-1 Sport Compact feature. Baumgardner started on the front row and led the first three laps before relinquishing the lead as a result of a flat tire.
After restarting at the rear, Baumgardner zigzagged through traffic to chase down leader Daryl Cauffman on the 12th lap and drive his way to the winner’s circle.