On March 13th and 14th, the thirty third annual Spring Nationals was held at the Beatrice Speedway at the Gage County Fairgrounds in Beatrice Nebraska. I had been trying to attend this race for at least the last couple years but they have been plagued by bad Spring weather, having to reschedule the race seemingly every year and that has not worked to my benefit.
However, 2026 would break the mold on that difficulty as relatively great weather would be the case in the weeks and days leading up to the event and there would be no question this year that the race would be held.
A reverse problem was in effect this year with a "red flag" warning for the entire area as bone dry conditions and of course, the strong Spring winds in Nebraska have left a very serious fire threat to most of the state. In fact, folks arriving from the North on Thursday for practice night had to be detoured because a large grass fire very near Beatrice caused highway 77, the route off the interstate to Beatrice, to be closed. The blackened remnants of the fire could be seen on Friday but no such repeat occurrences happened, even though it was another breezy day with the wind finally abating after sunset.
One hundred and ninety seven drivers signed in to race on the opening night in the standard five classes that IMCA typically offers. One nice thing for me is that this race brings a mix of familiar names and teams plus many from the Nebraska and Kansas area that I don't regularly get to see in action. Plus there are always some early season drivers anxious to travel with other drivers on hand from North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin plus a few other areas also.
J VAN is the promoter for this race and that provides the comforting feeling that this show will be moved along as fast as humanly possible. This year the Race Committee at Beatrice, along with Jerry, have set up two full shows of racing and while that is the fairest and most attractive way of attracting drivers, it is also a strain to get two big shows completed in a reasonable length of time and not be racing until the wee hours of the morning.
The format used was a bit different for the area drivers but one that was used by Brad Whitfield at the IMCA TV Winter Nationals in Casa Grande in January and is the most fair way of administering the program with such large fields of drivers in each class. Passing points, a rare commodity for IMCA racing, was used plus all heat winners were guaranteed starting spots in the main. The heat winners redrew for their starting spots with the rest of the sixteen from the heats using passing points to line up their starting spots. B Features filled out the rest of the fields and twenty four drivers started each feature. The one spin rule was used for the heats and it would have helped move things along if it were used for the B Features also as they were the trouble spot all night. Still, the show moved along at a brisk clip all night and there were no complaints in that regard.
With any event at Beatrice, Jordan Grabouski is always the favorite to win one and perhaps two of the feature races. After having bad luck end his challenging run in the Stock Cars, he came back to make a late race pass and win the Modified feature which was the final event on the program. Other winners included Jesse Sobbing in the Stock Cars, Tyler Nerud in the Sport Mods, Branden Stigge in the Hobby Stocks and Carson Black in the Sport Compacts as local competitors did very well indeed in all divisions.
The only class that didn't require at least one B Feature was the Sport Compacts with all entering the main event. Other classes saw a pair of B Features to determine the twenty four starters for each main with no provisional starters on this night as everyone had to race their way into the show.
The Modified feature was very close to providing the biggest upset of the night in what was the only nonstop main to be run. And even though Grabouski started on the pole, he got beat into the first corner by Kaylin Lopez who then took the early lead.
Lopez was very fast, pulling away from Grabo and the rest of the field and for the longest time it appeared that he might pull off the win. However, the hot pace that he set might have been his undoing though, as he was running the middle groove and we had not seen that line work much for the features with the majority of the drivers running right on the hub against the inside wall while a few were still pounding the cushion against the outside wall.
By the halfway point of the race, Grabouski was starting to reel in Lopez, who had built up a nice sized lead. Tyler Inman was having a great run in third with Jeremy Mills and Shawn Harker next in line. Lopez started to visibly slow in the corners as the higher line was likely burning off his tires and Grabo knew how to save his rubber.
Lopez started to slip higher and higher and on lap twelve, Grabouski drove under him in turn four and took over the lead. After that, Jordan gradually pulled away as Lopez struggled to stay with him. The icy slick track threw many of the drivers off but not Grabouski who drove home for the win with room to spare. Lopez did wrap up a fine run in second nevertheless and Inman, who I believe is a Modified rookie, drove a smooth race to finish third ahead of Mills and Harker.
Grabouski was also a favorite to win the Stock Car feature until some late race bad luck ended his run during an event that saw some wild goings on. Jesse Sobbing started on the pole and took the early lead as of course, Sobbing was one of the few pounding the cushion as he likes to do and he was making it work. Grabouski had started fourth and by the halfway point of the race that saw the first yellow for a spin, he had moved up to second. Kyle Vanover had moved into fourth behind Damon Murty with Kolby Stegman rounding out the top five.
As often happens, the restart proved to have a big effect on the race. Grabouski jumped into the lead as the cushion slowed down Sobbing for the restart and Murty tried to get a run off the top side in turn four and that cost him several positions. Sobbing continued to try the outside but it wasn't working and he had to settle back in line behind Grabo with Dillon Richards, who started ninth, showing much speed as he cracked the top five.
Sobbing went for broke after a lap twelve yellow for a spinner, pounding off the cushion in turns one and two and then diving to the low side in three and four where there was nothing up top to work off of. He was able to gain some momentum using that line and he got a great run down the back chute on lap sixteen and squeezed inside of Grabouski. They were very tight together in turn three but Sobbing got the edge and moved into the lead.
One lap later Grabouski had a right front tire go flat and he pulled off. A late yellow set up a two lap sprint to conclude the race and things got mighty physical at this point. While Sobbing was able to slip away as the leader, Vanover, Richards, Murty and others were all over each other for position with lots of banging and squeezing going on.
Richards was the big loser as he got shuffled to the back with Vanover taking second and Murty climbing back up to third ahead of Johnny Yutterman and Doug Holzmeister as things really got shuffled up at the end.
The Sport Mod field was the largest of the five divisions with forty eight of them on hand. Their main event saw Tyler Nerud make the move of the race on the opening lap and then establish that he was indeed the fastest car on this night.
Nerud started on the outside of row two, but he used the cushion in turns one and two to blow past front row starters Taylor Metz and Steve Swartout and take the lead down the back chute on lap one. And after that, he would lead the final nineteen laps to score the win.
This race had only one yellow flag and that was just before the halfway point. Brayton Carter, still in the Six car, had worked his way up to second after a good battle with Metz and on the restart, he tried to get a big run on the outside of turn four but his fate was much like that of Murty in the following race as he lost much ground and dropped out of the top five.
that moved Cam Reimers into second but he had nothing for the leader as Nerud pulled away from him and drove away from the field, not being challenged the rest of the event. Reimers settled for second with Cole Wayman moving up from the fourth row to get third. Carter fought his way back up to fourth and Adam Armstrong came from the seventh row to round out the top five. Only two drivers failed to finish this race and all were still on the lead lap at the checkers.
The Hobby Stock feature was a tight contest with the top four drivers running in tight formation. Brandon Stigge led from start to finish in the twenty lapper but he was pursued closely the whole event. Stigge started in row two but was able to squeeze past both Anthony Davis and Nick Ronnebaum to take the top spot and he then guarded the inside line for the rest of the race.
Hobby Stock drivers were not able to make the outside work so they lined up in formation, working the inside line and Stigge was smart in not giving any inside openings. By the halfway point of the race, Austin Jahnz had worked his way up to third as he seemed to be one of the few drivers able to make the second lane work. Yellow flags, back to back with eleven laps complete, bunched the field and Jahnz tried to steal away the race by moving up the track. He was ever so close to doing so as he raced side by side with Ronnebaum for a couple laps but the second lane just didn't work for him and he got shuffled back in the pack.
Stigge was very careful at the end, shutting down early in the corners to not give anyone a shot at the inside and to his credit, on a night when many were using the "chrome horn" aggressively, Ronnebaum played it clean. He rode the rear bumper of Stigge but didn't do any banging and at the finish, he was glued to it to finish second with Stigge taking the win.
Dan Nelson had as much success as anyone using the second lane as late in the race he drove up to third one lane above the pack. Tyler Huss finished fourth with Jahnz salvaging fifth.
The Sport Compact feature was a patience tester for many, including me. All twenty eight drivers on hand started the feature and that was trouble right from the start. In all, the yellow flew seven times and the race was cut short by one lap after the second flip of the event on the final tour.
When they were racing, there was an excellent battle for the lead but there was not nearly as much racing as there was circling the track under caution. Brooke Osler started on the outside pole and she took the early lead. She was battling with Brandon Carmichael, Carson and Jackson Black and Gilbert Aldape early.
The race started crazy with Gage Barton going over the wall in turn three and then returning to the track as if nothing had happened. It occurred so fast that I and many in the crowd totally missed it but the yellow was required.
While Osler was scored the leader of the first seven laps, she was engaged in a real battle with Carmichael and the Blacks. On lap eight, Carson Black got past Osler, but she returned the favor one lap later. The yellow flew again and on the restart she got too high in turn one and Jackson Black got past her for the lead and after that, things would go downhill for her.
A hard flip on the front chute by Konnor Moore stopped the action with twelve laps completed with Jackson still in front with Johnny Thomas and Carson trailing as Carmichael had retired to the pit with front end damage.
The final restart saw another scrum take place as Carson got a very good restart, perhaps a bit too good, but in any case, he was able to pass both Thomas and Jackson Black to take over the lead. On the back chute, Justin Best went for a flip of his own and the race was checkered at this point, rather than backing up to run the final two laps.
Carson Black was awarded the win over his brother Jackson, Tobey VanLaningham, Thomas and Levi Volkert. Exactly half the starting field was still running at the finish and there will be many with some substantial repair work necessary to return on Saturday. The win was Carson Black's first ever feature win and he picked a big race to accomplish this feat.
Thirty three races were run off on Friday night in five and a third hours and it would have been even quicker if a little more restraint had been shown by a few of the competitors. With impending weather expected, the start time for Saturday's show has been moved up by an hour with brief hot laps scheduled for 3:20 pm and racing to follow immediately.
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