Saturday night, April 3rd was night number two for the Spring Meltdown at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood Nebraska. On Saturday the big feature races would be held for both the Malvern Bank series, the SLMR Late Models and the 360 Sprints. Replacing the Sport Mods from Friday night would be a complete show for the Modifieds.
The Meltdown was a good name for this event as literally, the weather was warm enough to create that very meltdown. It would have been a spectacular day and evening for racing if this was mid July but being that it was just the third day of April it was off the charts fantastic. Surely when reality sets in and we get more normal weather it will truly seem really miserable compared to this spectacular Easter weekend. But don't we deserve it after all we have gone through the last twelve months or so? I think so too.
The seemed to be a bit of one hand not knowing what the other was going to do on Saturday in terms of the race format. I did not know that Friday night's show was playing any part in how the qualifying was done for the Late Models on Saturday but clearly it did. However, series announcer Anthony Ainslie didn't know any better than I as he was calling for time trials when the posted format didn't show any time trials to be held.
As it turns out, the top four in each of last night's mini feature races were locked in to the thirty five lap main on Saturday with the finishing order of those two races then setting the running order for the rest of qualifying. Most series and events will find the announcer telling the crowd just how qualifying would work but we got none of that here this weekend including not letting the fans know that both the Mods and Sprints would be working for passing points. It is kind of nice to know just how things are working and I think that many in the crowd appreciate that. If they had run two separate shows for the Late Models they might have gotten more different cars here on Saturday for those not able to make it on Friday for the whole weekend. As it turns out, the only new Late Model was one a lot of people were waiting to see and that was Kyle Berck. He didn't arrive until late and missed his heat and missed by one spot of making the main in the B Feature. Then something changed and everyone was allowed to start the main and Berck was then in the show.
The Late Model feature turned out to be one of total domination by Andrew Kosiski. By the luck of the draw with the top eight redrawing for the main, he started on the pole and that would be all the advantage he would need. He would take the green to start the race and never be seriously challenged during the thirty five laps as he drove to a resounding win and collected the four grand top prize.
His only tense moments were getting through lapped traffic but he did that seamlessly and never let anyone get near him in a challenge for the lead. It also helped him that the race went off nonstop with thirty five green flag laps and not a single yellow flag. At one point I thought that if a yellow flew, he might be in trouble because Bill Leighton Jr had made a determined drive through the field after starting sixth and he worked his way to second just past the halfway point of the race.
He appeared to be making time on Kosiski after the halfway point for awhile but then Andrew seemed to pull away again. It became a moot point when Leighton Jr went up in smoke with only four laps to go but was able to maneuver his way off the track without triggering a yellow and Andrew's last concern was not to be.
Kosiski crossed the line comfortably in front for a strong win at the family track. Josh Leonard ran a consistent race and came home second with Tad Pospisil third. Jesse Sobbing and "Charging" Charlie McKenna would complete the top five with twenty of the the twenty five starters still running with twelve still on the lead lap.
The other butt thumping was performed in the Modified class where Jordan Grabouski also led all laps to win that main event. He started in the second row but had the lead before the field hit turn two with a bold inside move that stuck and once in front, he checked out on the field.
There was one quick yellow with four laps complete when outside front row starter Travis Hatcher hammered the wall in turn one but after that it was green to checkered and Grabo often had a full straightaway on the field from that point on. The only thing that could have messed him up was lapped traffic and he did have a couple of close calls as he tried to split slower cars but all went well for him and he drove home for another dominating win.
He took the checkered flag and was already out of his car before the second place car passed under the starter and that is only a minor exaggeration as he had everyone covered. Mike Densberger would finish second after starting fourth and would be followed by Shane Hiatt, Justin Gregg and Shane DeMey.
There was however, one feature race that would be a nail biter and that was the 360 Sprint main. And again on Saturday, Terry McCarl was right in the middle of things and for the second straight night he came out on the short end of the results.
Chris Martin wasted no time taking the green as he moved from the second row to take the first lap lead with McCarl moving from row three to second. Those two took off with Jason Martin joining the group for a three car battle for the lead. Two early yellows and a red for a Joey Danley flip kept the field bunched and on lap nine, McCarl got a great restart and blew past Chris Martin to take over the lead.
Terry then stretched his margin as the last sixteen laps would run off nonstop. However, as McCarl caught lapped traffic, he was having a dickens of a time getting by a couple of the slower cars and both Martins took advantage of this to close the gap in big chunks quickly. It became apparent that if McCarl didn't get by the lapped cars, he might be in trouble.
Well, that's exactly what happened as Terry got pinned low and both Chris and Jason Martin blew past a chagrinned McCarl with only two laps to go. Jason made a late attempt to claim the win for himself but came up short and had to settle for second as Chris Martin claimed the exciting victory, one that got the I-80 crowd up on their feet. Cody Ledger and Matt Juhl would complete the top five.
I am so impressed with the way that the I-80 crew barreled through the program on Saturday. They started an hour earlier than Friday night and for many tracks that would just be a sign that they had more time to mill around and take their sweet time. Not here though. They were screaming for the drivers to hustle and line up for their races just like they only had one hour before a tornado was coming through. They saved the victory lane interviews for after the last feature race and the final checkered flag flew just after 9 pm. Wow! If I was a regular fan of this track, I would love that. Time after the races to visit the pits, get the kids home at a reasonable hour or head to the local gin mill for pizza and milk. You can't beat it.
Thanks to the entire I-80 crew for a well produced couple of nights of racing at a top notch facility. I was glad that I made the trip. The crowd, by the way, was very good again for the second straight night and there are clearly elements of the crowd that prefer the Sprints and some that prefer the Late Models and Mods. But they all managed to co exist nicely this weekend.
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