College Kids and SLMR at the Junction

By Anthony Ainslie

6/15/13

                Parents always encourage kids to stay in school. On Saturday at Junction Motor Speedway, the students of Southeast Community College of Milford, Nebraska showed what can happen if students dedicate themselves to study hard and to keep working hard in their fields of study. A group of automotive technology students came out from Milford to the Junction to show off one of the most interesting competitions in the automobile industry. Two groups went head to head to build and start up an engine. In just under fifteen minutes, both teams built their engines completely and fired them up right in front of a great crowd. It was a spectacular show for a very great race day at JMS.

SCC was not the only special guests in the house on Saturday. The fans of the Junction got to witness the SLMR super late models. It was their first show of 2013 on Saturday, and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly classes were in action as well. It was the best weather of the season. With barely any wind blowing, and the heat cooling off before the features, it was an absolutely gorgeous night for slinging dirt around the Junction.  It was also a night to honor all fathers in the audience.  Speedway Motors helped out with four gift certificates that were handed out through out the night.

It was another double-feature night for the NASCAR 4-cylinder division. Race number one saw Ed Huxoll and former track champion, Dalton Siebke, battle it out for the race lead. Huxoll fought off Siebke all he could, but the 12D of Siebke got past the 14 of Huxoll with four laps left in the race. Siebke lead the rest of the distance to capture his third feature win of the season.

In race number two, it was all about the reigning track champion, the 12 of Steve Moock. Dalton Siebke was in a good battle with David Dembowski for second, but neither Dembowski nor Siebke had anything for Steve Moock. Moock lead flag to flag to pick up his third win of the season.

The NASCAR hobby stocks also had double features. On Saturday, it was all about the drivers from Iowa.  Three hobby stock drivers came over from Iowa because racing at the Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa was rained out, and they showed up in a big way. The Iowa drivers decided the wins in both features. In race number one, Clarinda, Iowa’s Andy Davidson and Kiel Britain battled it out for the win. Earlier in the race, Shane Schneider tried to show the Iowa drivers a thing or two as he lead the opening laps, but he spun out with five laps to go. Kiel Britain took the lead on the restart, and the battle between he and Andy Davidson escalated in the final laps. On the last lap, Britain and Davidson were side-by-side coming down to the checkered flag. Davidson found the power when he needed it the most and was able to just edge out Britain at the line. It was an exciting way for Andy Davidson to capture his first hobby stock victory at JMS.

Race number two for the hobby stocks saw Andy Davidson in the hunt for his second win in one night. Early on, JMS regulars, Troy Paxton and Shane Schneider lead the first few laps, but the two ended up spinning in turns three and four while running at the front of the pack. Terry Tritt inherited the lead from that incident, and it looked like it was Tritt that was going to get his first win of the season, but he got into an incident with Troy Paxton on the backstretch with 8 laps remaining, hitting the wall for a second time this season. On the restart, it was Kiel Britain from Clarinda, Iowa in the race lead. Two laps after the restart, the 21D of Andy Davidson took the lead from Britain and led the rest of the way to capture his second win in one night. Davidson and Britain finished first and second in both main events. The other driver from Iowa, Luke Ramsey from Bedford, finished fourth in the first feature and fifth in the second.

The NASCAR late models took to the track for a 25 lap main event after the hobby stocks. Marc Peters lead the first lap in his number 1M, but the very next lap, the lead was taken by the 77 of Cory Dumpert. Brian Kosiski caused the only caution in the feature when he spun on the sixth lap. One of the stories of the day in the late models was Alex Humphrey. Humphrey borrowed Bill Kubik’s 14 car after he had a scary crash in his SLMR heat race that totaled his number 16H car. Humphrey finished eighth in the main event, but out front, it was all Cory Dumpert. The former stock car track champion picked up his fourth win of the season. We are now in the middle of June, and Cory Dumpert already is looking like he will have a record season. It has been a huge improvement after picking up one win in his rookie season in the late model division.

The Bmods took center stage for 18 laps around JMS in their main event, and early on, Benedict, Nebraska’s Tyler Mark was in control. Only two caution flags held up the main event as Travis Thelander spun with 11 laps to go, and Preston Gigax broke down on the track six laps later. During the green flag laps, as Mark was turning laps around JMS as the leader, Kevin Betzen was on the move up to the top spot. Betzen started ninth at the drop of the green flag, and he was able to pass Mark for the race lead one lap before Gigax had problems. Tony Rost also started mid-field, and he powered his way through the pack to finish second, but David City’s Kevin Betzen was flying on all cylinders. Dusty Blake tried to challenge for the win, but Betzen had the track figured out. Betzen took his second checkered flag of the 2013 season.

The next race was a 15-lap shootout for the NASCAR modifieds. Scott Eaton lead the first few laps, but he had challenges coming from all sides. With 13 laps to go, Bob Lawson took over and led his first laps of the season, but it was not long before York, Nebraska’s Andy Wilkinson took the lead. One man on a mission was the 33Z of Marquette, Nebraska’s Kyle Berck. Wilkinson and Berck went side-by-side lap after lap, but with six laps left in the race, Kyle Berck took over the race lead for good. Kyle Berck has one modified main events at JMS before, and he looked very good in the modifieds as he took the checkered flag. This was Berck’s first win of 2013.

The stars and the cars of the SLMR super late model series closed out the night with a big 25-lap finale. Just like in the modifieds, Kyle Berck charged through the field, but he would only get up to second place. Tad Pospisil had a great race as he started from the pole, but he fell back to finish fourth. Bill Leighton Jr. was the only caution victim of the race as he stalled the number 24 car in turn two with six laps remaining. While there was a ton of action happening throughout the field, everyone was chasing the familiar orange number 6 of Giltner, Nebraska’s Al Humphrey. Humphrey had not been to victory lane at JMS since the late model main event at the Cool McCool 100 back in 2009, but he dominated the SLMR feature. He led flag to flag and won the race. It was a spectacular performance by the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame driver.

On behalf of Delmar Friesen and the entire JMS staff, we want to thank everyone for coming out for an exciting night of dirt track racing on a gorgeous Saturday night. Our thanks also go out to Southeast Community College of Milford for presenting the racing action and for bringing the engine build challenge back to JMS. Junction Motor Speedway would also like to thank the SLMR super late models for putting on a great show. Of course, we wish all fathers a wonderful Father’s Day.  Thanks for every competitor that came out and raced. The racing action continues throughout the month of June including an appearance by the Nebraska 360 Sprint Car series. We hope to see all the great race fans again as the 2013 season heats up into the summer months at Junction Motor Speedway.

Fan Appreciation Night, brought to you by Friesen Chevrolet and GM Performance Parts!  Adults-get half off your grandstand admission by wearing any JMS shirt! That’s right, only $5 admission to see the Midwest’s best of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing at JMS! Races start at 7pm with pits opening at 4pm, grandstands at 5pm and hotlaps at 6:30. Don’t miss out on all the action Saturday June 22!

Adults $10 (1/2 price with JMS shirt), Kids 6-12 $5, Kids 5 & under FREE

If you would like to honor/pay tribute to a loved one in the program, email track manager Mandi with your loved one’s name at jmsmanager@junctionmotorspeedway.com

Intermission will see a contest between the teams to see who can SPEED past cancer!

Racing begins at 7Pm with pits opening at 4pm, grandstands at 5pm and hotlaps at 6:15

Adults $12, Kids 6-12 $5, Kids 5 & under FREE

Racing begins at 7pm with pits opening at 4pm, grandstands at 5pm and hotlaps at 6:30pm

Adults $10, Kids 6-12 $5, Kids 5 & under FREE

More details to follow as the event draws near. Tickets are on sale now and can be picked up locally at Junction Motor Speedway, the JMS office at Friesen Chevrolet in Sutton, Kerry’s Restaurant in McCool, Western Edge stores in York and Grand Island.

Adults $11 in advance $13 at the gate

Kids ages 6-12 $7

Kids 5 & under FREE

AFTER PARTY PROUDLY LOCATED AT KERRY’S IN MCCOOL! DJ both nights:)

Click on link below for full color poster!

mccool poster high res

This Saturday night we welcome Certified Truck and Trailer Repair Inc to the track. They are your local NAPA Authorized Truck Repair Center!

Double features will be ran in the NASCAR Late model and Modified classes to make up for the rain out from May 18th.

Pits open at 4, grandstands open at 5, hotlaps at 6:30 and racing begins at 7! See you at the Junction!

Water     blankets     flashlights     aspirin     non-perishable food items     diapers     baby formula     baby food     toothbrushes     feminine products     bandages     soap     deodorant     underwear     socks

By Anthony Ainslie

5/11/13

It was the eve of Mother’s Day, and Junction Motor Speedway was ready to have its second race of the 2013 season. The weather was not exactly what the fans wanted, but it was still clear enough to do some racing. The wind was terribly strong, and it continued to get colder and colder throughout the night. On the track, the surface was extremely dry and made for a very slippery racing surface. Drivers had a tough time keeping their cars in the right direction, and it made for a wild night of racing. With roses going to our favorite moms in the crowd, it was a special night for mothers of race fans, officials, and drivers.

The Moock Auto Sales-NASCAR 4-cylinders had two feature events for the night. This rule was put into effect for the first time tonight. The rule is if a class has 10 cars or less for the night, the class will run two main events. Points and money are split between the two races. Without further ado, let’s get to the racing action. For 4-cylinder feature number one, Ed Huxoll had early control of the race. With six laps remaining in the race, the reigning track champion, Steve Moock took the race lead. The race was not finished there because Moock had a challenge coming from Dalton Siebke. Both drivers have track titles to their credits, and the win was decided between the two of them. With four laps to go, Siebke caught and passed Moock for the lead. Siebke kept the lead the rest of the way to score his first win of the season. The track champion from 2011 showed he can still get around the Junction at a break-neck pace.

In 4-cylinder main event number two, the leader was Joe Baker out of Omaha. The second main event did not go well for Ed Huxoll and Clint John. They got into each other and tagged the wall in turn two to bring out the yellow flag. When racing resumed, it was a wild dogfight for second between Steve Moock, Dalton Siebke, and David Dembowski. Meanwhile, they could not catch the 9X of Joe Baker. Baker won a main event at I-80 Speedway the night before, and he showed no signs of slowing down. Baker drove his converted Chevy Cavalier to his first victory of 2013 at JMS.

Like the 4-cylinders, the Rev Honey-NASCAR hobby stocks had two main events. In main event number one, the early lead went to Zack Gimpel in the 75Z out of Giltner, Nebraska. His lead was short lived. With 9 laps to go, Gimpel tagged the wall in turn one while leading. That gave the number one spot to Shane Schneider. Schneider was out in front for good, but there was a good race for second between Terry Tritt and Derek Fralin. However, no one could catch Shane Schneider. The Fairmont native had them covered and picked up another feature win. This was Schneider’s second win in two races for 2013.

In the second main event, it was tough to get the race going. On the opening lap, Katie Renschler’s 8R broke and slammed hard into the turn two wall. When the race got back under way, the early lead went once again to Zack Gimpel. Gimpel eventually lost the lead, and then the lead was between Derek Fralin and Shane Schneider. Back and forth the two battle for the top spot. With 7 to go, Schneider took over for good. Despite a late caution by Jeff Timmermans, Schneider held on for back-to-back feature wins. Schneider fell short of winning the title last year when he and Travis Thelander battled it out for supremacy, but now he looks like a prime candidate for the 2013 hobby stock track championship.

The NAPA-NASCAR modifieds always put on amazing shows, and this night was no different. Early on, former Bmod driver, Scott Eaton, was in control. Andy Wilkinson, who won the main event on opening night, did not have a good run. He pulled off three laps into the 20-lap feature. He would return, but he pulled off later in the race. After Wilkinson’s caution, Stacy Stava took the race lead. The young lady from Lincoln, Nebraska already is a multiple feature winner, and she does relatively well on dry slick tracks. Stava led over half of the race, but on a restart after a pile up with 7 laps remaining, Tyler Iverson took over the race lead. Tyler Iverson almost won the main event on opening night, and before that, he won the 2012 Cool McCool 100 main event against a field that included NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Ken Schrader. Iverson did not give up the lead after taking over, and he picked up his first win of the season. Hopefully, JMS will continue to see more great performances from the 98T of Iverson from Albion, Nebraska.

The NAPA NASCAR b-mods took center stage for their main event. This one got scary right off the start. Kyle Kalkuarf drove Mark Leiting’s 20M in the main event on this night, and the car tagged the turn one wall and flipped over two times. Kalkuarf got out of the car and was okay, but the car was totaled. When the race was started back up, Tony Rost was in the early lead. With 12 laps to go in the race, Dusty Blake got around the 69 of Rost for the lead. However, on the restart after a Tyler Mark spin, Rost took the lead back over. After a great win on opening night, Kevin Betzen was driving like he was on the way to a second win. However, second place was as high as he was going to get. Tony Rost was firing on all cylinders. The reigning track champion from Utica, Nebraska took the checkered flag for the first time in 2013. Rost is off to a good start at possibly a second b-mod track championship.

To finish out this Mother’s Day celebration, the GM Performance-NASCAR late models took to the track for a 25-lap showdown. The race was dominated by one man. The 77 of York, Nebraska’s Cory Dumpert was a man on a mission. Dumpert’s car was hooked up and was rocketing around the racetrack. Three laps into the main event, Brian Kosiski was involved in a scary incident. His car was put into the wall and flipped over. The red flag came out with Kosiski on his roof, and the car was crumpled up and destroyed. Thankfully, Brian Kosisiki was uninjured. When racing started back up, still no one had a thing for Cory Dumpert. Jase Kaser and Alex Humphrey fought hard for second with Kaser winning that battle. This race was all about Cory Dumpert. He picked up the checkered flag for the second time at JMS in the late model series.

On behalf of the entire staff, we thank all the fans and their mothers for coming out for the Mother’s Day celebration at Junction Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Whelen All-American series will continue to bring weekly racing action. We are halfway into the month of May. This means Memorial Day will be in a few weeks, and Junction Motor Speedway always has great racing on Memorial Day weekend. Be sure to join us next weekend Saturday May 18^th for an “Armed Forces Day tribute with ½ off for current military ID holders as well as other tickets specials sponsored by Scott Eaton, Andy Wilkinson-Extreme Automotive, Belleville Motorsports and Afterhours Grafix.

The ASCS sprint cars will be in action soon, and so will a few super late model groups. We hope that the weather continues to warm up, and the racing action will surely heat up. We hope to continue to see all of the great fans come out and enjoy the races at the Junction. The racing season is already intense, but we have barely begun.

By Anthony Ainslie

4/27/13

            The 2013 season officially kicked off Saturday at Junction Motor Speedway. Sam’s Club was on board and provided a great feature to the night of racing with the kids candy dash at intermission. On the track, no one held back. New drivers came to race, and a few local faces brought in fresh new looks with new paint schemes on their cars. After four cold and bitter months of winter, it was finally time to kick off the new year with some great racing.

To get things kicked off, the NASCAR 4-cylinders took center stage for a 12-lap main event. At the start of the race, reigning champion, Steve Moock took the race lead, but he had a challenge coming from the 52 car driven by David Dembowski. The two drivers drove side by side for almost the entire distance. They proved to the rest of the field that the win would be decided by the two of them. Dalton Siebke did come up to challenge Moock and Dembowski, but Siebke was not able to keep up with the duo. In the closing laps, Moock took the lead coming down to the white flag. Dembowski fought all he could, but Steve Moock was able to hold him off for the win. The reigning 4-cylinder track champion started off the new year well with his first win of the season.

The next group on the docket was the NASCAR hobby stock division. During the land rush into turn one at the start of the race, a familiar face jumped to the lead. Shane Schneider snuck under the pack on the bottom to take the hole shot. Schneider led the opening laps, and it looked like another victory for the driver of the 15X machine. Not if Neleigh, Nebraska’s Jason Wilkinson had something to say about it. Wilkinson battled Schneider for the race lead, and with 10 laps left in the race Jason Wilkinson took over the race lead for good. Schneider’s night got worse when he cut a tire with 9 laps remaining. Schneider’s crew was able to get the tire fixed and got him back out onto the track. At the drop of the checkered flag, Schneider came back to finish second. Meanwhile, the race belonged to the 52 of Jason Wilkinson. The man who won both the hobby stock and stock car track titles in the same year returned to JMS and picked up another feature win. It truly was a warm welcome back to the Junction for Jason Wilkinson.

The NASCAR Bmods always put on good shows, and the way the Bmods started off the 2013 season was one of the best races they have put on since their innaugural season. Early on, it was the 777 of Cody Olson in control of the lead. As the race progressed, Olson’s lead was challenged by Justin Bell. Bell and Olson weaved in and out of each other and even used lapped traffic to each other’s advantage. While this was going on, one man was charging through the pack in a quick manner. The 42 of Kevin Betzen was on a mission. He picked off each driver ahead of him, and with five laps to go, the dual between Cody Olson and Justin Bell became a triple threat battle when Betzen charged for the lead. In the final laps, in lapped traffic, Betzen caught and passed Olson for the lead. Betzen was able to fend off Olson and escaped opening night with a win. The Betzen fan club was well in attendance, and they went crazy, as did the rest of the fans after an absolutely spectacular performance. It was going to be a party all the way back to David City for the 42 team.

From the Bmods the show went into the Amods. The NASCAR modifieds were up next. This race took a very long time to complete. It all started with a bad start on the original green flag. That led to five caution flags that took out at least six cars. This all happened before even three laps could be completed. When racing really got under way, Andy Wilkinson was head of the class. While Wilkinson was knocking off the laps, Albion, Nebraska’s Tyler Iverson was on the hunt for the lead. Iverson fought through the pack with authority, but he needed a yellow in order to catch Wilkinson. He got that chance when Scott Eaton spun in turn two on the last lap. This set up a green, white, checkered dash to the finish between Andy Wilkinson and Tyler Iverson. On the restart, Wilkinson and Iverson stormed into turn one. Iverson slipped under and slammed the door on Wilkinson when the two exited turn two. In turn three, Wilkinson dove low and got under Iverson when the two came down to the white flag. Into turn one on the final lap, Iverson once again tried to dive and slide up in front of Wilkinson, but it was unsuccessful. Wilkinson held off Iverson to take the checkered flag in a breath-taking finish. Wilkinson is a familiar face to JMS, and he is also a familiar face in Junction’s victory lane. It was a wild race for the 2010 JMS modified track champion.

Finally, the night was closed out with a 25-lap main event by the NASCAR late models. The race was dominated by one man, the 15 of Jase Kaser. He was untouchable in this one. There was a good race behind Kaser, however. Billy Murphy and Eddie Moore duked it out for the second position. Murphy, who was debuting a brand new look, fought valiantly, and he was able to muscle out a second place finish. Another notable driver was Brian Kosiski. Brian made his late model debut at JMS, and he finished off his night with a top five finish. Meanwhile, no one could come close to catching Jase Kaser. Kaser had nine feature wins last year prior to winning the track championship, and he continued where he left off from the previous season. Kaser demonstrated outstanding performance.

On behalf of the entire JMS staff, we thank all of the fans for coming out for the 2013 season opener at Junction Motor Speedway. We also thank Sam’s Club for providing candy for the kids’ candy dash. It was fun and a great success. Next week will be Quatro de Mayo. The NASCAR 4-cylinder class will have a chance at some extra money, and the other four classes will also be in action.  It is official. The 2013 season at JMS is under way. We hope to see all the fans back in the grandstand as we begin the journey to crowning five new track champions. The racing season is here, and we are going full throttle from here on out at Junction Motor Speedway.

Saturday May 25, 2013, Scott Eaton and crew return once again to display the American Pride car during pre-race and intermission.*

On May 18, 2013, Scott Eaton, driver of the #39 modified teamed up with Brandon Blochlinger of Belleville Motor Sports, Troy Hofmann of After Hours Grafix and Andy Wilkinson, driver of the #15 modified and Extreme Automotive, to pay tribute to our Armed Forces.

They covered 1/2 the admission for all veterans!

Say thank you to these fine individuals and NEVER forget to thank a vet!