ROC heats completed on opening night of RaceSaver Nationals

Feature

By Greg Soukup

EAGLE, Neb. – The first day of the seventh annual IMCA RaceSaver Nationals at Eagle Raceway kicked off Thursday afternoon with a press conference featuring past Nationals champions Kevin Ramey and Jason Martin as well as 2019 track champion Trevor Grossenbacher. 

Also in attendance was this year’s grand marshall, Dr. Danger who helped put on a small demonstration of the spectacular feats he will be performing throughout the weekend.

Then the Sprint Car teams that had made the trek to Eagle Raceway got a chance to jump on the track to either get familiar with the surface again or, for those who had never had the good fortune to participate in the event, learn its intricacies.

Qualifying heats for the Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions were held later that evening to set the starting grid for the Saturday event. The line-up for that race are as follows:

Trevor Grossenbacher, Bennet                        Mike Moore, Des Moines, Iowa

Bradley Sterrett, Bloomington, Ind.                 Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Adam Gullion, Lincoln                                    Brooklyn Holland, Fresno, Calif.

Jake Martens, Fairview, Okla.                           Jason Martin, Lincoln

Andy Shouse, Oklahoma City, Okla.                Blake Mallory, Joshua, Texas

Jake Bubak, Arvada, Colo.                               Kevin Ramey, Fort Worth, Texas

Ethan Barrow, Bloomington, Ind.                     Jacob Gomola, Seneca, Pa.

Jack Potter, Lees Summit, Mo.                        Tyler Drueke, Eagle

Trey Burke, League City, Texas                       Claud Estes III, Godley, Texas

Jeremy Schultz, Stewart, Minn.                       Jerald Harris, Dayton, Va.

Heat Results

1st ROC heat – 1. Sterrett; 2. Martin; 3. Barrow; 4. Schultz; 5. Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, S.D.; 6. Robert Vetter, Wolfe City, Texas; 7. Tyler Harris, Vidor, Texas; 8. Luke Cranston, Holcomb, Kan.

2nd ROC heat – 1. Grossenbacher; 2. Shouse; 3. Bubak; 4. Drueke; 5. Stuart Snyder, Lincoln; 6. Clint Benson, Papillion; 7. Jason Howell, Fort Worth, Texas.

3rd ROC heat – 1. Gullion; 2. Martens; 3. Potter; 4. Burke; 5. Doug Lovegrove, Waverly; 6. Chad Wilson, North Richland Hills, Texas; 7. Ryan Hall Midlothian, Texas.

4th ROC heat – 1. Johnson; 2. Holland; 3. Ramey; 4. Jerald Harris; 5. Johnny Brown Jr., Orange, Texas; 6. Jacob Harris, Vidor, Texas; 7. Dwight Carter, Lincoln.

5th ROC heat – 1. Moore; 2. Mallory; 3. Gomola; 4. Estes; 5. Daren Bolac, Moyock, N.C.; 6. Charlie Ware, Hallieford, Va.; 7. Chase Brewer, Waxahachie, Texas.  

Friday’s action will kick off with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m. Heats and features will be run to determine who will grab the first three rows for the Big Show on Sunday when the top 27 racers will take off three-wide for 35 laps.

Also on tonight’s racing card will be the ATV Motorsports IMCA Sport Compacts. Pit gates open at 3 p.m. and pit passes are $30.

The front gates will open at 4:30 p.m. Adult admission is $15, children ages 6-12 are $5 and children five and under are free.

RaceSaver Nationals will be broadcast by IMCA.TV.

Related Articles

Feature

Drivers from across the country, up the road heading to Eagle for IMCA RaceSaver Nationals

EAGLE, Neb. – IMCA Sprint Car teams from across the country and from up the road are already arriving at Eagle Raceway for the Sept. 2-5 RaceSaver Nationals powered by Sunbelt Rentals. “We’ve got all sorts of stuff going on,” Promoter Roger Hadan said this morning. “We’ve already got cars here from North Carolina and Virginia, and we’ve got a car rolling through tech now that’s from a mile up the road. We’ve got cars from a mile away and we’ve got cars from more than a thousand miles away.”  More than 100 drivers from 16 states coast to coast and border to border are pre-entered for the ninth annual Sprint Car spectacular, to be broadcast by IMCA.TV.  Precise Racing Products, sponsor of the Race of Champions, gives a fuel jug to the first 80 drivers through tech. Hadan also promised there’d be “plenty of tires and plenty of fuel” available throughout the event.  Qualifying starts on Friday with the winner main event winner on Sunday taking home $3,000 plus a $1,500 bonus from IMCA [Read More]

Feature

Guaranteed to be a “10,” IMCA RaceSaver Nationals kick off at Eagle

EAGLE, Neb. (Sept. 1, 2022) – An event that’s guaranteed to be a “10” kicks off tonight at Eagle Raceway. More than 100 IMCA Sprint Car drivers from 13 states and New Zealand are in town for the Thursday practice session and race of champions qualifying that set the stage for the 10th annual RaceSaver Nationals. They’ll race for $3,000 to win and a minimum of $1,500 to start the Sunday, Sept. 4 main event, with IMCA adding a $1,500 bonus to the winning driver provided they had made at least one 2022 sanctioned start coming into the weekend. Another $2,500 bonus will be paid to the highest finishing driver who has competed at each of the first nine RaceSaver Nationals.  Miss Eagle Raceway will be crowned during intermission on Sunday and 27 cars start the main event three-wide.  Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3 qualifying features both pay $700 to win. RaceSaver Enterprises pays $100 to heat winners both nights while Precise Racing Products sponsors Saturday’s $1,000 to win, $200 to start race of champions. [Read More]

Feature

Eagle is RaceSaver Nationals destination Aug. 31-Sept. 3

EAGLE, Neb. (June 29, 2023) – IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car drivers from across the country are already replying to the invitation to Sprint on in to Nebraska’s Racing Vacation Destination Aug. 31-Sept. 3. Eagle Raceway rolls out the red carpet for the RaceSaver Nationals over the Labor Day Weekend, concluding the 11th annual special with a main event that pays a guaranteed $3,000 to win and a minimum of $1,500 to start. The winner pocketing a $1,500 bonus from IMCA as well if they’ve made at least one previous sanctioned start in 2023. “A lot of drivers are focused on weekly or series racing now but some of them have already looked ahead and called about RaceSaver Nationals. They can go to the track website (eagleraceway.com) now and register for just $20,” said promoter Roger Hadan. “This should be another good year. We’ve really been able to bounce back from the pandemic,” he continued, noting the popular addition of elevated seating for 1,200 fans off turn four in time for last year’s Nationals. “Our crowds have been super and [Read More]