BEATRICE, Neb. (March 20) – The leader in Spring Nationals career wins raced to a new Spring Nationals accomplishment Saturday at Beatrice Speedway.
Jordan Grabouski won the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car for the first time at his hometown track’s season-opening special, then topped the IMCA Modified headliner for the record 11th occasion .
“It was unbelievable. It just sets the tone for the whole year,” said Grabouski, a former national champion in both divisions and three-time defending king in the Jet Racing Central Region for Modifieds. “We’ve had an unbelievable start to the year already.”
Entries again topped 200 for the 28th annual event, shortened to a single day due to weather. Grabouski beat Todd Shute and Ethan Braaksma to the $2,500 Modified checkers and outran Cody Nielson and Dan Nelson to the $1,000 Stock Car victory.
He led the last 19 of 20 laps after starting seventh in the Stock Car feature and then every circuit after starting outside the front row in the Modified main.
“The bottom groove worked for me better in the Stock Car feature and I was able to get through lapped traffic late in the race,” said Grabouski. “I ran the top in (turns) one and two and the bottom in three and four in the Modified feature. Shute challenged early but after a caution with about eight laps left I was able to pull away.”
Troy Cordes races from 16th starting and Kelly Shryock from 15th to complete the top five in the Modified main. Chad Clancy was fourth, Curt Lund fifth in the Stock Car feature.
Grabouski’s first Spring Nationals crown came in 2008. He is already on the ballot for the upcoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational.
First-time Spring Nationals winners this year were Cole Wayman in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods, Zach Olmstead in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Jacob Schwab in the Mach-1 Sport Compacts.
Wayman’s $1,000 checkers came ahead of Adam Armstrong and Jake Sachau. Olmstead collected $500 after beating 21st starting Dillon Richards and Jason Kohl to the stripe. Schwab’s $200 win came in front of Drake Bohlmeyer and David Kappel.