By Greg Soukup
EAGLE, Neb. (Sept. 1) – Jason Martin won his second RaceSaver Nationals crown in three years with another impressive run to the $2,500 checkers Sunday night at Eagle Raceway.
The 2017 champion and 2018 runner-up topped the pinnacle event for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars ahead of Trevor Grossenbacher and pole starter Jake Bubak.
“I’m super proud to do this. We finally got a second one,” Martin said. “Last year we just didn’t get the job done last year and that really kind of ticked me off all year. I kind of had a chip on my shoulder. “I’m really, really proud to get this second win at RaceSaver Nationals.”
Kaleb Johnson and defending race winner Kevin Ramey rounded out the top five. Teams from 14 states competed at the seventh annual event and nine states were represented in the 27-car main event field.
Californian Brooklyn Holland raced her way onto the starting grid by winning the “C” feature, finished eighth in the “B” and ended the main event in 10th.
After a multi-car tangle at the start of the race, Martin took advantage of his starting spot in the middle of the front row to grab the lead when the first lap was officially in the books. Johnson, Grossenbacher and Bubak, winner of the Friday qualifier and Saturday’s Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions, rounded out the top four.
After a lap two yellow, the next 18 circuits saw non-stop racing as the leaders dealt with lapped traffic every inch of the way. Jake Martens passed Bubak on lap seven to grab fourth, then moved up to third on lap 11.
Bubak passed Martens and Grossenbacher on lap 17 to move into third with Martens holding fourth; Martens spun out with 11 to go, moving Grossenbacher into fourth.
Grossenbacher moved to third on the restart and advanced to second two laps later. The last change in the top four came with seven to go as Bubak moved back to third.
“I knew the start was going to be crucial because Jake sets a pretty torrid pace. I knew there was water on the bottom of three and four, so I kind of pushed Kaleb up a little bit, held my line and made sure that I was out of the water and that maybe Jake was going to stay in it,” said Martin, who also took home the lion’s share of contingency awards.
“That really was the key for me to get a good start. That was a long race and the track changed a lot,” he added. “Early on it was pretty good and then it got pretty slick there towards the end, getting into turn three, especially.”
Martin became the second two-time RaceSaver Nationals champion, joining Jack Dover (2014 and 2016) in the accomplishment.
David Carter’s IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock victory was his first at Eagle since the 2017 season.
Feature Results
RaceSaver Sprint Cars – 1. Jason Martin, Lincoln; 2. Trevor Grossenbacher, Bennet; 3. Jake Bubak, Arvada, Colo. 4. Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D. 5. Kevin Ramey, Fort Worth, Texas; 6. Tyler Drueke, Eagle; 7. Ethan Barrow Bloomington, Ind.; 8. Bradley Sterrett, Bloomington, Ind.; 9. Anton Hernandez, Arlington, Texas; 10. Brooklyn Holland, Fresno, Calif.; 11. Joey Danley, Lincoln; 12. Andy Shouse, Oklahoma City, Okla.; 13. Jake Martens, Fairview, Okla.; 14. Michelle Melton, Flower Mound, Texas; 15. Stuart Snyder, Lincoln; 16. Dustin Stroup, Fremont, Ohio; 17. Justin Clark, Hamersville, Ohio; 18. Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, S.D. 19. Luke Cranston, Holcomb, Kan.; 20. Mike Boston Lincoln; 21. Mike Moore, Des Moines, Iowa; 22. Keith Martin, Burleson, Texas; 23. Adam Gullion, Lincoln; 24. Ryan King, Bennet; 25. Shon Pointer, Grand Island; 26. Toby Chapman, Panama; 27. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Texas.
Hobby Stocks – 1. David Carter; 2. Jeff Ware; 3. Jeff Watts; 4. Ryan Sutter; 5. Ben Becher; 6. Adam Wasserman; 7. Jeremy Brandt; 8. Chantel Bade; 9. Brett Saathoff; 10. Ryan Gilland; 11. Dylan Lauenstein; 12. Roy Armstrong; 13. Daniel Jackson; 14. Khrysta Stransky; 15. Shaughn Hendrix; 16. Spencer Galaway; 17. Michael Hansen; 18. Tyler Saathoff.