LEXINGTON, NE- To say the competition was highly contested would be an understatement to everybody that was in attendance at the smoking hot, actioned packed Downey Drilling Night at the Races that was held at Dawson County Raceway in Lexington, Nebraska on Sunday evening. Taking advantage of a near perfectly manicured playground, the quintet of Brandon Clough, Jacob Olmstead, Mike Nichols, Nate Refior and Rileigh Flohrs all were crowned the ‘Kings’ of the rings as they punched their tickets in their respective divisions to the Chesterman’s Coca Cola Winners Circle.
Starting on the outside of the third row Brandon Clough of Wallace, Nebraska was able to get off to a great start and then finish strong after leading all but the first lap to earn the IMCA Modified Feature victory. Clough was able to hold off any and all late challenges to claim the victory. Coming from the outside of the fourth row, Brandon Conkwright of Wamego, Kansas put the pressure on Clough, as he was within striking distance for much of the second half of the feature event but he wasn’t able to work past the hotshoe from Wallace and forced to settle with runner-up accolades. Up on the wheel to catch the leaders, after getting caught in some early traffic, Colton Osborn of Cozad was able to drive his way onto the podium from his fourth row starting position to finish third overall. Dave Pedersen of Brady and Ayden Steffens of North Platte rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth overall.
Taking to the oval with gumption, Jacob Olmstead was able to take the ‘fast track’ to the front of the field to avoid any incidents and snare the lead on the second lap and never look back in claiming the IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature victory. Olmstead started the feature in the fifth row and was able to maneuver his way through traffic swiftly to garner the lead. Working methodically through traffic with grace, Cade Richards of Lincoln was able to set his sights on Olmstead down the stretch in the final laps, but he wasn’t able to move past Olmstead and crossed the finish line in second place overall. Hitting his stride when it mattered the most, Paul Donovan of McCook was able to finish with a fury to the tune of a third place finish after starting in the fifth row at the onset of the feature. Gothenburg’s Jamey Kennicutt and Adam Kackmeister of North Platte were able to earn accolades for their fourth and fifth place finishes.
Continuing to have great success at Dawson County Raceway, Harlan Hustler Mike Nichols of Harlan, Iowa was the victor yet again in the IMCA Stock Car Feature. Nichols had his work cut out for him coming from the sixth row at the onset. Nichols was able to use the “drive where they aren’t” motivation to get within striking distance of the leaders in the early laps. Nichols was finally able to slip underneath early leader Robert Leonard of Gibbon on the 10th lap to garner the lead and cruise to the victory. Coming from deep within the field himself, it took a little longer for Casey Woken to get within the top five, but once he was there, the Norton, Kansas hotshoe was on the move to run down Nichols. Woken was within striking distance multiple times but wasn’t able to get past Nichols and was forced to settled with runner-up accolades. Early leader Robert Leonard of Gibbon started on the inside of the third row and was able to gain the early lead and lead the way for nine laps during the first half of the feature event. Leonard was able to stay up on the wheel and his efforts were rewarded with a third place finish. Bo Egge of Kearney and Cozad’s Cale Osborn were fourth and fifth overall in the highly contested feature event.
Starting up front and staying in the lead while avoiding the first lap incident was the recipe for success for Nate Refior of Sutton to win the IMCA Hobby Stock Feature. Refior was able to build up a big lead for much of the feature that was extinguished when the yellow flag was waved in the waning laps of the feature. In the final corners, Leader Nate Refior battled door-to-door with Overton’s Zach Olmstead to hold onto the lead but it allowed Tyler Barribo of Grand Island to get into the mix for the lead as well. At the finish line, the top three were separated by less than the length of a fender. Refior was the victor with Olmstead in second place and Barribo coming home in third place. Olmstead started in the fifth row and Barribo followed suit from his fourth row starting position. Close behind those top three was Luke Wassom of Broken Bow and Braxton Berry of Colby, Kansas as they crossed the finish line in fourth and fifth place overall.
Keeping his streak alive and well, Rileigh Flohrs was able to claim another IMCA Sport Compact feature victory. Flohrs of Blue Hill started the feature in the fourth row and wasn’t able to garner the lead until the fourth lap after early leader Justin Smallcomb of Gibbon slowed on the race surface. Flohrs was able to hold onto the lead throughout the rest of the feature to notch the victory. Justin Schmidt of Grand Island did quite well in his new hotrod as he drove his way to a runner-up finish after starting in the sixth row when the feature event started. Continuing to flourish in the final laps, Steve Moock of Grand Island was up to his old tricks of being among the lead group when it counted the most as he was rewarded with a third place finish. Jordan Encinger of Grand Island and Oxford’s Robert Clanton rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Racing action returns to Dawson County Raceway with Nascar veteran Kenny Schrader set to compete with the IMCA Modified’s during the Annual Connie Jewett Memorial Race that will be held this Sunday, August 30th. Gates will open at 3:30 p.m. and the racing action is slated to start at 6 p.m.
(Unofficial Results)
--IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 20b-Brandon Clough; 2. 24c-Brandon Conkwright; 3. 50c-Colton Osborn; 4. 4p-Dave Pedersen; 5. 12a-Ayden Steffens; 6. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 7. 19-Chuck Stryker; 8. 848-Troy Douglas.
--IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 2. 1R-Cade Richards; 3. 1-Paul Donovan; 4. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 5. 69-Adam Kackmeister; 6. 59-Tyler Rajdl; 7. 68-Craig Howard; 8. 69z-Zane Turner; 9. 26-Marcus Florom; 10. 20b-Brady Henderson.
--IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols; 2. 35jw-Casey Woken; 3. 85-Robert Leonard; 4. 1x-Bo Egge; 5. 6c-Cale Osborn; 6. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 7. 71-Andrew Dillenburg; 8. 5d-Travis Demilt; 9. 19-Dana Morgan; 10. 12az-Rick Maier.
--IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. R89-Nate Refior; 2. 98z-Zach Olmstead; 3. 14jr-Tyler Barribo; 4. 2w-Luke Wassom; 5. 15b-Braxton Berry; 6. 04-Sal Hernandez; 7. 72b-Jacob Hagan; 8. 20-Tanner Clough; 9. 5m-Frank Mladek; 10. 12t-Tanner Jones.
--IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 14-Rileigh Flohrs; 2. 29e-Justin Schmidt; 3. 56-Steve Moock; 4. 23en-Jordan Encinger; 5. 74x-Robert Clanton; 6. 7c-Chad Carlson; 7. 47L-John Lee; 8. 11x-Angela Witherwax; 9. 07-Merle Johnsen; 10. 85-Justin Smallcomb.