By Greg Soukup
EAGLE, Neb. (Aug. 29. 2026) — Saturday was the Championship Showdown at Eagle Raceway, presented by Avid Realty and the Lincoln Stars. The night could only be described as “Jam Packed” as the largest crowd of the season showed up to see 147 cars compete in 28 races to determine who would leave America’s Home Track with the honor of being a 2026 points champion.
Dan Nekolite led the opening circuit of the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car feature before Brandon Horton took command on lap six. The championship battle took a dramatic turn on lap 11 when points leader Cole Wayman stopped in turn four with a broken left rear heim and went off on the hook. Horton continued to lead while Gene Ackland, Cole Vanderheiden and Tyler Drueke worked their way forward.
Horton jumped the cushion and hit the turn two wall with just four laps left, moving Drueke into the lead. After starting 13th, Drueke held them off to win by nearly two seconds. It was the Eagle driver’s fifth victory of 2026 and fourth at America’s Home Track. Vanderheiden was second, Nekolite third, Ackland fourth, and Adam Gullion fifth.
Gullion’s fifth-place finish was enough to earn his second Eagle Raceway IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car championship. His previous championship came in 2020.
Vanover Wins Wild Stock Car Finale by .125 Seconds
Jameson Pella led the opening lap of the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature before Scott Carlson took command. Pella regained the lead the following circuit before Dillon Richards worked his way to the front with seven laps remaining. Kyle Vanover cracked the top four and was lurking when Brenden Bruce hit the turn two wall hard with four laps to go.
Vanover used the high line following the restart to take the lead, with Adam Vrbka following him into second. Vanover maintained the advantage to the checkers, winning by just .125 of a second. It was the Beatrice driver’s 13th EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season and fourth at Eagle. Vrbka finished second, Richards third, Chad Andersen fourth and Pella fifth.
The victory also cemented Vanover’s season points championship and put the “Big Man on Campus” into Stumpy’s Custom Creations Victory Lane to close out the regular season.
Harker Takes Modified Win; Wasserman Secures Championship
Hunter Weber led the opening lap of the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature before getting loose in turns one and two, allowing Nate Thompson and Cameron Thompson to move into the top two spots. Cameron took the lead from his father on lap seven before Jaxon Saathoff used a huge run to pass both Shawn Harker and Thompson for the top spot.
Harker eventually worked his way to the lead, and the late cautions couldn’t keep him from taking the checkers. Saathoff crossed the line second but was found 15 pounds light at the scales and disqualified. That moved Bob Zoubek to second, Adam Wasserman to third, Chad Andersen to fourth and Clint Homan to fifth. Harker, of Nebraska City, collected his sixth Jet Racing Central Region victory of 2026, with all six coming at Eagle.
Wasserman’s third-place finish was enough to crown him the 2026 Eagle Raceway Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified track champion.
Wayman Rallies From 12th for Win and Championship
Braxton Schmid grabbed the early lead in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature before Josh Pfeifer got underneath him with 10 laps remaining. Cole Wayman, who started 12th, steadily worked his way forward and took advantage of a restart to snag the lead before beginning to pull away.
A pair of late cautions erased Wayman’s advantage and eventually set up a green-white-checkered finish, but neither could keep him out of victory lane. Wayman held on for his 11th victory of the season and seventh at Eagle. Pfeifer finished second, Mary Hahn third, Luke Williams fourth and Aiden Floyd fifth.
The victory put an exclamation point on Wayman’s regular season as he also secured his third Eagle Raceway track championship.
Roschewski Breaks Through; Pella Takes Hobby Stock Crown
Ryan Roschewski moved to the front early in the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature, while the championship battle changed dramatically when Trenton Dowty spun in turn four on lap two. Neil Pella steadily worked his way forward, cracking the top three on lap five before advancing to second with 10 laps remaining.
Roschewski kept Pella behind him the rest of the way to add his name to the list of B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region winners in 2026. Pella was second, Dan Markham third, Lee Kracht fourth and Hunter Wergin fifth.
Pella’s runner-up finish was enough to earn his third Eagle Raceway track championship.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Advantage Racing TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
