ABILENE, Texas (Feb. 16, 2024) – Toby Herring used to come to Abilene Speedway hoping to make the show.
On Friday night, the veteran from Hobbs, N.M., was the show.
Herring led all 20 laps of the Ice Breaker feature for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, getting the jump on Tyler Iverson to get the lead at the start and getting the best of up and coming Kade Ogle in what proved to be a hotly contested last time around the oval.
“I had never won a race here. I had never won a race of any kind, heat or feature at Abilene so this is huge,” said Herring, $1,000 richer and newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “The best I’ve done was third at the Southern Challenge so this feels pretty good.”
Ogle, 14th starting William Gould, Iverson and Tim Hamilton completed the top five in the headlined event of the 30th annual season opener at Abilene.
“I knew Tyler would get a good jump,” Herring said. “We held our own on the bottom and after I got tapped a couple times I started driving a little harder.”
The front pair were side-by-side when they made contact at the white flag. Herring was able to pull ahead on the last lap, taking the checkers in a 2014 GRT.
“This was huge. Usually when we go to a big race like this, we hope to make the show,” said Herring, half of a two-man team with his father and travel partner Tommy. “I never thought I’d bring home one of the big checks.”
“I’ve been racing for a long time, so this felt pretty good.”
Lorena High School senior Thomas Hall Jr. was the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winner in his Ice Breaker debut while Bradley Poor won for the seventh time in his Ice Breaker career.
Hall, 17 years old and starting his third season in the class, led the distance in the Stock Car main, collecting $750 and becoming eligible to qualify for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational.
“This was definitely my biggest win so far, especially with so many big names here,” he said, after beating Gould, Iverson, 15thstarting Tanner Coz and Jack Miles across the stripe.
Poor, most recently an Ice Breaker winner in 2020, got the best of another who’s who field for Southern SportMod career win number 80.
”I’m not a huge fan of starting on the front. The only direction you can go is back, but tonight it worked out for us,” he said. “We had kind of an off-year last year so it was important for us to start this season with a win.”
Runner-up was defending national champion and ninth starting David Phillips with Tyler Fain, Gavin Faulks and Jerrett Bransom next.
Steven Bevills’ career 40th Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature win paid $250 and came ahead of Keagan Haralson, 2023 national champ Randy Martin, Kelly VanDriel and Chase Martin.
Ice Breaker presenting sponsor IMCA.TV broadcast the Friday night race program at Abilene; inclement weather was the only winner on Saturday night.
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