By Ben Deatherage
BEATRICE, Neb. (Mar. 22, 2025) — For the third time since 2021, Jordan Grabouski left Beatrice Speedway’s Spring Nationals with two trophies in hand. The hometown standout scored victories in both the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars at the 32nd edition of the prestigious event.
The 30-lap Modified feature began with California’s Troy Morris III setting a fast pace. The 2024 Arizona IMCA Tour champion controlled the early stages while Iowa’s Izac Mallicoat and Grabouski battled for second. The five-time National Modified titlist and nine-time reigning points leader at Beatrice eventually secured second began reeling in Morris by the halfway mark.
Hitting traffic just past the midpoint, Morris started to struggle with a lapped car which allowed for Grabouski to put pressure on him by lap 18. The two would both be bottled behind traffic a few circuits later before the challenger got an advantage on lap 23 only for Morris to come back on the inside of him to regain the lead two laps later.
A caution with three laps to go gave Grabouski one final shot, and he capitalized, passing Morris on the outside and pulling away for the win. It marked his fourth Modified victory at Spring Nationals since 2018 and earned him a $5,000 payday and his first Jet Racing Central Region win of 2025.
Morris finished second, followed by reigning Dakota Classic Mod Tour champion Ethan Braaksma in third, piloting the Rage Chassis house car.
Another hometown hot shoe, Jaxon Saathoff, was strong early in the IMCA Stock Car main, holding steady despite three early cautions. Behind him, Grabouski and four-time Stock Car track champ Kyle Vanover dueled for second.
On lap 11, all three frontrunners went three-wide exiting turn four, with Vanover edging ahead at the stripe. Grabouski — a two-time Beatrice Stock Car track titleholder and 2019 National champion — kept the pressure on, but a caution temporarily halted the fight.
When racing resumed, Vanover bobbled in turn two on lap 17, opening the door for Grabouski and fellow 2019 National crown winner Jeff Ware — who earned his title in the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks — to close in. On the very next lap, Grabouski built momentum on the high side and executed a bold double pass, overtaking both Vanover and Ware to take command of the race.
Grabouski held on through the final laps to secure his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region win of the year.
Vanover finished second, while five-time and reigning Beatrice Stock Car champion Lance Borgman made a late push to claim third, giving the home crowd a Beatrice-based podium sweep.
Noonan Nets First SportMod Sprint Nationals Win
The Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod main event opened with two-time Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact track champion Drake Bohlmeyer grabbing the early lead. That didn’t last long, as defending Nebraska State SportMod titleholder Trevor Noonan powered by on the backstretch during the opening lap.
Noonan was perfect on a pair of restarts and built a strong lead during a long green flag stretch. Behind him, 2023 Nebraska SportMod title earner Brandon Spanjer and Kansas’ Taylor Metz engaged in a heated battle for second.
Spanjer eventually secured the runner-up spot on lap 13 and made an effort to track down the leader, but Noonan’s early advantage proved decisive. Navigating lapped traffic smoothly, Noonan held on to score his first win of 2025 and his first-ever Spring Nationals triumph.
Spanjer placed second, while reigning Beatrice Speedway SportMod champ Tyler Nerud finished third.
Huss Hustles to Hobby Stock Victory in Final Laps
In the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, Junction Motor Speedway’s defending track champ Chad Wulf led early. He had to fend off strong attacks from three-time Beatrice titlist Brendon Stigge and 2022 National Hobby Stock champion Dillon Richards.
Richards made a move to take the lead on lap 6, but a caution bunched the field. On the restart, Stigge regained the top spot before contact with Wulf triggered a yellow — Stigger came to a stop, Wulf was black-flagged, and Richards exited with a flat tire. Iowa’s Tyler Smith inherited the lead.
Smith soon had company as two-time Beatrice Hobby Stock crown winner Taylor Huss and Kansas’ Nicholas Ronnebaum — the two-time and defending Concordia Raceway champ — entered the mix. Huss, who started seventh, overtook Ronnebaum on lap 15 and began working the bottom groove beneath Smith.
With just a few laps remaining, Huss completed the pass for the lead and never looked back. It marked his first B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the season and first Spring Nationals win since 2018.
Smith finished second, followed by Ronnebaum in third.
Martinez Returns to Victory Lane in Sport Compact Feature
John Martinez started up front in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact finale with defending Beatrice champ Johnny Thomas close behind. Thomas soon had to defend second from Dylan Crannell, allowing Martinez to build a small gap.
That lead evaporated with a lap 4 caution. Martinez nailed the restart, but as the race stayed green, Thomas closed the gap once he cleared traffic. The pair went toe-to-toe in the closing circuits, but Martinez — the 2018 Beatrice Sport Compact title winner — held off the defending champion to score an emotional victory after recently taking time off to welcome his newborn daughter.
Thomas was a close second with Crannell earning third to make it an all-Beatrice podium as well.
The event was streamed live on IMCA.TV.
