2018’s RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car Nationals Champion is Kevin Ramey!
By Greg Soukup
After the grandstands were emptied of the fans who watched the postponed Saturday portion of the 6th Annual Racesaver Sprint Nationals, the Sunday events kicked off with the Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions. Andy Shouse used his pole position starting spot to hold off all challengers on a lightning fast track.
Once again, due to the rush to complete the entire program before the rain returned, no interview was completed as the cars rushed to get ready to compete.
In the E Feature Ben Woods’ 11B began wheel hopping and ended up flipping in turns 1 and 2, collecting the 12N of Neil Nickolite.
Prior to the A Main for the Racesaver sprints, the Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stock Feature was run. Brett Saathoff’s 11B, the 6R of Roy Armstrong, Khrysta Stransky in the 39 and the 38C of Casey Moyer led lap 1. Lap 2 saw Dave Carter pass Moyer to take over the fourth spot. Moyer regained fourth 2 laps later. With 2 laps remaining Carter stopped in turn 1. From there to the finish the top 4 remained unchanged with Saathoff, Armstrong, Stransky and Moyer the top 4.
No interview was done.
That brought out the fastest 27 Racesaver Sprint Car drivers in the world to the high banks of Eagle Raceway to compete for the top prize of $2500. The spectacle of seeing 9 rows of sprint cars lined up 3-wide on the fastest 1/3-mile dirt track in the world is something to behold. The roar when they all take off from the green flag goes deep into your soul.
A light rain began to fall as the cars were pushed out for the A Feature and would continue throughout. Jason Martin took off from his spot outside row 1, putting the 5X out front. Kevin Ramey who started on the pole fell to second and Casey Burkham’s 45B settled into third with the 14S of Ethan Barrow fourth. Barrow moved up to third on lap 6 with Luke Cranston also passing Burkham to put the 45C into fourth 2 laps later. Joey Danley joined the battle for the front the next time around, putting the 14 into fourth. Tyler Thompson lost the right rear from his #48 in turns 1 and 2 on lap 13, slowing the action. Burkham moved back to fourth on the restart. Barrow advanced to second the next time around. Jake Bubak’s 74B cracked the top 4 with 11 to go. The next lap Danley stopped with a broken right rear shock and flat right rear tire. That erased the large lead that Martin had amassed and put Barrow, Ramey and Bubak on his tail tank. Bubak passed Ramey for third with 9 to go but was put back when Nate Weiler’s 4W spun in turn 4. Ramey again took the second spot with 5 circuits remaining and Bubak followed him into third the next time around. The action slowed again with 3 to go when Burkham looped it in turn 1. That set up a 4-lap battle to the finish. Kevin Ramey used the bottom of the track to pull alongside Martin coming out of turn 2 on the restart, making contact as they entered the back stretch. Ramey pulled ahead of Martin and held him off for the win. The top 4 were Ramey, Martin, Bubak and Burrow.
Ramey had also won Friday night’s preliminary A Feature and currently is leading the IMCA national points chase. Unfortunately, due to the rain, no interview was done.
RESULTS:
IMCA Hobby Stock A-Feature 1. Brett Saathoff Lincoln, Ne. 2. Roy Armstrong Beatrice, Ne. 3. Khrysta Stransky Lincoln, Ne. 4. Casey Moyer Auburn, Ne. 5. Tyler Saathoff Holland, Ne. 6. Albert Kiihne Lincoln, Ne. 7. Tanner Dowty Fremont, Ne. 8. David Carter Fremont, Ne. 9. Lance Todd Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Michael Hansen Weeping Water, Ne. DNS. Don Hall Jr Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Hobby Stock Heat 1 1. Tyler Saathoff Holland, Ne. 2. Lance Todd Lincoln, Ne. 3. Brett Saathoff Lincoln, Ne. 4. Tanner Dowty Fremont, Ne. 5. Michael Hansen Weeping Water, Ne. DNS. Don Hall Jr Lincoln, Ne.
IMCA Hobby Stock Heat 2 1. Albert Kiihne Lincoln, Ne. 2. Roy Armstrong Beatrice, Ne. 3. David Carter Fremont, Ne. 4. Khrysta Stransky Lincoln, Ne. 5. Casey Moyer Auburn, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint A-Feature
1. Kevin Ramey Fort Worth, Tx. 2. Jason Martin Lincoln, Ne. 3. Jake Bubak Arvada, Co. 4. Ethan Barrow Bloomington, In. 5. Luke Cranston Holcomb, Ks. 6. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 7. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 8. Claud Estes Godley, Tx. 9. Steven Shebester 10. Anton Hernandez 11. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 12. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 13. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 14. Ryan Kitchen(r) Lincoln, Ne. 15. Zach Blurton Quinter, Ks. 16. Casey Burkham Combine, Tx. 17. Zachary Newlin Millerstown, Pa. 18. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 19. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 20. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 21. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 22. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 23. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 24. Nathan Weiler Lavista, Ne. 25. Joey Danley Lincoln, Ne. 26. Tyler Thompson Des Moines, Ia. 27. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint B-Feature 1. Cody Ledger Omaha, Ne. 2. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 3. Justin Fifield Mesquite, Tx. 4. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 5. Anton Hernandez 6. Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls, Sd. 7. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 8. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Tx. 9. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 10. Ryan Hall Midlothian, Tx. 11. Colby Estes Mansfield, Tx. 12. Michelle Melton Flower Mound, Tx. 13. Andy Shouse Oklahoma City, Ok. 14. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 15. Robert Vetter Wolfe City, Tx. 16. Toby Chapman Panama, Ne. 17. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 18. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 19. John Carney Lubbock, Tx. DNS. Tyler Drueke Eagle,
Ne. RaceSaver Nationals Sprint C-Feature 1. Jason Howell Fort Worth, Tx. 2. Ryan Hall Midlothian, Tx. 3. Michelle Melton Flower Mound, Tx. 4. Shon Pointer Grand Island, Ne. 5. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 6. Matt Richards Lincoln, Ne. 7. Brandon Bosma Round Lake, Mn. 8. Colin Smith Sheldon, Ia. 9. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 10. Monty Ferriera Fresno, Ca. 11. Ryan King Bennet, Ne. 12. Scott Lutz Jonestown, Pa. 13. Danny Nekolite O’neill, Ne. 14. John Ricketts Burleson, Tx. 15. Justin Melton Lewisville, Tx. 16. Daniel Estes Jr. Burleson, Tx. 17. Rod Henning Middleton, Oh. 18. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. DNS. Dustin Welch Bryan, Tx. DNS. David Luckie Lubbock, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint D-Feature 1. Mark Pace Lincoln, Ne. 2. Rod Henning Middleton, Oh. 3. Justin Melton Lewisville, Tx. 4. Danny Nekolite O’neill, Ne. 5. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. 6. Brandon Horton Omaha, Ne. 7. Austin McLean Loveland, Co. 8. Trey Gropp(r) Lincoln, Ne. 9. Blake Dacus Fletcher, Ok. 10. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 11. Jimmy Grasso Omaha, Ne. 12. Samantha Lieberman South Hampton, Pa. 13. Nick Bryan Lincoln, Ne. 14. Boyd Peterson Ithaca, Ne. 15. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 16. Logan Scherb Bowie, Tx. 17. Doug Lovegrove Waverly, Ne. 18. Dan Satriano Papillion, Ne. 19. Brett Becker Odessa, Tx. 20. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint E-Feature 1. Dan Satriano Papillion, Ne. 2. Samantha Lieberman South Hampton, Pa. 3. Tim Hilfiker Greenwood, Ne. 4. Keith Dragoo Greenwood, Ne. 5. Dwight Carter Lincoln, Ne. 6. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 7. Randy Sterling Morrisdale, Pa. 8. Charlie McDonald Jefferson, Tx. 9. Tom Belsky North Platte, Ne. 10. Ben Woods Newton, Ia. 11. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 12. Frank Rodgers Lucas, Ia. 13. Neil Nickolite Bellwood, Ne. 14. Junior Jenkins Greenville, Tx. 15. Lucas Scherb Decatur, Tx. DNS. Charlie Ware Hallieford, Va. DNS. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Tige Jensen(r) Lincoln, Ne. DNS. Gary Floyd San Angelo, Tx. DNS. Chris Kelly Moore, Ok.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint F-Feature 1. Randy Sterling Morrisdale, Pa. 2. Ben Woods Newton, Ia. 3. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 4. Jason Miller Omaha, Ne. 5. Charlie Ware Hallieford, Va. 6. Bruce Allen Mankato, Mn. 7. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. DNS. John Webster North Platte, Ne.