April 19, 2025 | By Greg Soukup

Tyler Drueke, Bob Zoubek headline Eagle Raceway Icebreaker

EAGLE, Nebr. — Night 1 of the 2025 Icebreaker Challenge, presented by Auto Trans Matic and Stop ‘N Shop was held last night at Eagle Raceway. There was a chill in the air but the action on the high banked 1/3 mile kept the crowd on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the spectacular finishes throughout the heats, preliminary features and A Mains for the 4 classes.

I hadn’t thought about it until later in the evening, but last night marked the beginning of my 28th year of being associated with Eagle Raceway. What better way to mark the occasion than seeing some great racing at America’s Home Track? And great racing is exactly what we all saw!!

There were no serious incidents during the preliminary racing.

First up for their A Main were the A1 Iron IMCA Stock Cars. Jordan Grabouski took advantage of starting on the front row and grabbed the lead on lap 1 in the #30, followed closely by the 5B of Matt Boucher, Chad Andersen in the 8C and the 44X of Cash Beckman. Andersen got past Boucher on lap 2 for second as Ryan Gilland’s 46 took over fourth after contact with Beckman got Beckman loose. Lap 3 saw Beckman come to a stop just inside the infield on the front stretch. Kyle Vanover put the #19 into fourth the next time around. The yellow flag flew on lap 5 as Beckman’s car was deemed to be too close to the racing surface. Boucher and Vanover made contact on the restart, sending Boucher to the infield and moving Vanover into third and Gilland back up to fourth. The next restart saw Zach Bohlmeyer’s 24Z come to a halt at the bottom of turns 1 and 2. The top 4 then began a breakaway from the balance of the field, stretching it to a full straightaway with 3 to go. From there to the finish the top 4 remained unchanged with Grabouski winning by over 3 seconds over Andersen with Vanover third and Gilland fourth.

Grabouski is no stranger to Eagle Raceway’s stock car class, having won the championship in 2022. “I had a great stock car tonight. It’s fun when you’re clicking like this. We just need to keep making little changes to try and make it faster. The modified feature is going to be intense later on. The track is going to be a little treacherous and we’ll hopefully out on a heck of a show for the fans”. I inquired as to whether we were going to see him more at Eagle this season and he said “Yeah!  We’re going to race a little bit more here and see what we can do”. Jordan’s sponsors include Brand X Racecars, Friesen Chevrolet, CPD Racing Shocks, Twin Rivers Auto Group, Hergott Farms, Schmidt’s Inc., Wehr’s Machine, Stone Oilfield Service, Nelson Tree Service, Mook Trucking, WoJo Painting, Big Worm’s, Keyser, BP Race Fuels and Chad Smith Carburetors.

Next up were the Avid Realty IMCA Sportmods. The initial start saw Derek Hall’s 44D spin in turns 1 and 2, collecting the 76 of Lance Borgman. Tyler Nerud used his
front row starting spot to end lap 1 in first in the 5T with 31R of James Hines second, Arie Schouten third in his 24RE and Gary Saathoff fourth in the 96. Schouten got past Hines for second on lap 2. Mason Richards cracked the top 4 on lap 3, taking over fourth from Saathoff before advancing to third the following circuit. Adam Vrbka put the 7V into fourth on lap 5. Cole Wayman’s V18W slowed dramatically on lap 7, bringing out a caution. Vrbka moved up to third on lap 10. The final change in the top 4 came with 8 to go as Matt Andrews took over the fourth spot in his #22. The final top 4 were Nerud, Schouten, Vrbka and Andrews.
“I hadn’t been here for a couple of years, so it felt great to get the win. We were lucky enough to draw at the front, so we didn’t have to deal with all of the chaos mid-pack. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky I guess. I didn’t really know if anyone was close to me. My Dad was giving me signals up in turn 1 but I stopped looking with 5 or 6 to go because nothing was changing. I had less than a straightaway lead so I just kept driving it like they were on my bumper because if I started backing off I started screwing up. So, I kept the hammer down and it ended well for me”.

The Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stock Feature’s start saw Tyler Ramsey loop the 72T in front of the whole field in turns 1 and 2. Luckily, there was just a mad scramble to miss him and Dillon Richards hitting him hard with his front bumper, bending it badly. The first official lap lead was held by the 19H of Colin Hein, with Dave Carter’s 2C second, Brandon Bombardo third in the 51B with Richards holding fourth in the 24R. Richards passed Bombardo on lap 2. The next lap saw Carter get loose after a bump by Hein. Richards grabbed the lead moving Hein to second with Neil Pella putting the 3N into third with Bombardo fourth. Roy Armstrong passed Bombardo the next time around, putting the 6R into fourth. There were just 11 laps left when the red flag flew for a very dangerous incident. Tanner Dowty’s 7T nearly flipped coming to the flag stand but not quite, hitting the front stretch wall and coming to a halt on all 4 tires. Tanner was not seriously injured. Dan Markham’s 6 and the 7S of Nick Shannon spun  in turns 3 and 4 but kept going, avoiding a caution. Cody Williams passed Armstrong with 7 to go, putting the #77 into fourth place and moved up to third the next lap. Williams and Pella both passed Hein on the final lap, making the top 4 Richards, Williams, Pella and Hein.

Dillon was the points champion in the Valentino’s IMCA Hobby Stocks last year and picked up right where he left off after starting in fifth. I asked him about the first lap incident and he said “I don’t know what happened. That guy spun out on his own and I had nowhere to go. It helps starting towards the front and the track was really racey so that was awesome. I’ll take the win, especially without being able to turn left after the bumper started rubbing the tires. I need to let everyone know that I owe a big thanks to Mom and Dad and my crew Drake, Bud, Ed and Ben. Also, my wife Kaylee and my daughter Paisley”. Dillon’s sponsors include Koozer Painting, Fester’s Bait and Tackle, Swift Racing Springs, S & L Trenching, Noonan Industries LLC, Multi Fire Plug Wires, Aero Wheels, Integra Shocks, Backspin Entertainment, Van’s Waterproofing, Toy Scout, Nelson Tree Service, Cat’s Fireworks, Seven2Carts, Epp Farms, Wiring Solutions, Precision Auto Tune Inc., Neapco, In Memory of Jr Craig, In Memory of Tom Miller, Troy Cepak, Jet Racing, Extreme Motorsports, Schafer’s Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, Inline Healing, 4G’s Powder Coating and Freese Farms.

The finale for the night was the A Feature for the Nebraska’s Best Lawn and Landscape IMCA Modifieds. Jaxon Saathoff’s 96, the 11 of Izac Mallicoat, Norm

Ziegenbein in the 1Z and the 62 of Justin Zeitner led the initial circuit. Zeitner moved up to third on lap 2 and Jordan Grabouski put the #30 into fourth. Grabouski got around Draper for third the next lap as Mallicoat took over the top spot from Saathoff. Grabouski continued his march to the front on lap 12, moving to second and then taking the lead from Mallicoat 2 laps later. Zeitner got back up to third the next time around. The stage was set for one of the most intense battles I’ve seen in a long time. Grabouski barely held off Mallicoat for the lead until 5 to go when Mallicoat took the top spot. Despite a furious challenge by Grabouski, including a last-ditch effort slide job out of turn 4 on the last lap Mallicoat held him off, winning by a scant .029 seconds. Your top 4 were Mallicoat, Grabouski, Zeitner and Saathoff.

This wasn’t the first time Mallicoat visited Eagle Raceway. His first visit was his first time ever to compete in a full modified at the Icebreaker Challenge 2 years ago. “I was running the bottom and couldn’t see anyone running the bottom so I expected to be good there, but I expected Jordan to be coming. He passed me but then made a few mistakes so I got back by him. It’s amazing to be able to pass him because he’s one of the best. We were lucky enough to get the win after a lucky draw”. Izak and Jordan ran the Texas Showdown earlier this year with Izaz taking home the preliminary win and Jordan winning the $10,000 finale. “The first night was almost the same scenario as tonight. I passed him back in the qualifier and won with him right on my bumper. Normally he just beats me (Laughing). Then the second night he beat me in the finale. Jordan is one of the toughest guys to race against because he’s so good and has so much experience. He’s one of the best! It boosts my confidence any time I’m able to pass him, that’s for sure. I want to thank my Dad and my Grandpa and Lance for all that they do. I asked him if he thought he could win again Saturday and he said “Hopefully! I guess we’ll see”.

Izak’s sponsors include Brand X Racecars, Aspen Aire, Excel Floor Covering, Maxim Trucking, TK Concrete, Keyser Manufacturing, Pave Craft, Omaha Steak House, Ross Coin and Gun, CPD Shocks, My Place, Wehr’s Machine, Farley’s, Josh Houseman, NAPA, Capitol Signs, Speedworks, FMC Masonry, DSR and A1B.
Next up is Night 2 of the 2025 Icebreaker Challenge. The following classes will be competing for the amounts mentioned:
Nebraska's Best Modifieds: $2,000 to win, $270 to start

Avid Realty SportMods: $800 to win, $150 to start

A1 Iron Stock Cars: $1,000 to win, $150 to start

Nebraska Septic Sprint Cars: $2,000 to win, $400 to start

If a Stock Car, Modified or SportMod driver can win both Friday and Saturday's 'A' Feature, they win a "cool" $1,000 bonus sponsored by Auto Trans Matic.

Order of events:
Pits Open: 3PM
Driver Check-in ends: 5PM
Grandstands open: 4:45PM
Hot Laps: 5PM
Racing kicks off at 6:00.
Adult front gate admission is $18. Youths 6-12 are $5 with children 5 and under free.


RESULTS:

IMCA Sprints

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 12-Tyler Drueke[3]; 2. 17X-Lee Goos Jr[16]; 3. 25-Gunnar Pike[2]; 4. 1B-Brandon Horton[1]; 5. 76-Jay Russell[4]; 6. 63-Jack Thomas; 7. 23-Brandon Bosma[17]; 8. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[12]; 9. 18W-Cole Wayman[13]; 10. 35-Trevor Grossenbacher[7]; 11. 03-Shayle Bade[8]; 12. 32-Trefer Waller[20]; 13. 5-Stuart Snyder[18]; 14. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[19]; 15. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[11]; 16. 77-Bret Klabunde[5]; 17. 2A-Alex Salzman[14]; 18. 4X-Jason Danley[10]; 19. 100-Clint Benson[15]; 20. 14-Joey Danley[9]; 21. 31-Koby Werkmeister[6]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 17X-Lee Goos Jr[7]; 2. 23-Brandon Bosma[5]; 3. 5-Stuart Snyder[6]; 4. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[1]; 5. 32-Trefer Waller[11]; 6. 53L-Ty Ledger[3]; 7. 4W-Nathan Weiler[10]; 8. 14G-Gene Ackland[14]; 9. 25A-Alex Davenport[13]; 10. 11D-Dominic White[12]; 11. 63-Jack Thomas[2]; 12. 14N-Nick Barger[8]; 13. 45C-Mike Boston[4]; 14. 30-Matt Johnson[9]

C Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 32-Trefer Waller[4]; 2. 11D-Dominic White[2]; 3. 25A-Alex Davenport[1]; 4. 14G-Gene Ackland[5]; 5. 14T-Tyler Hendrickson[6]; 6. 98-Nate Barger[12]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[9]; 8. 2T-Cameron Thompson[3]; 9. 6B-Bayley Ballenger[7]; 10. 23V-Michalob Voeltz[11]; 11. 56-Bill Johnson[10]; 12. 6-Mason Day[8]

D Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 23V-Michalob Voeltz[2]; 2. 98-Nate Barger[4]; 3. 20T-Travis Christensen[1]; 4. 3G-Dylon Knudson[5]; 5. (DNS) 3T-Dan Satriano; 6. (DNS) 47-Kyra Weber; 7. (DNS) 8R-Roman Mason; 8. (DNS) 77X-John Klabunde; 9. (DNS) 11-Jaxon Brenning

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 1B-Brandon Horton[1]; 2. 31-Koby Werkmeister[3]; 3. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[4]; 4. 22D-Daniel Nekolite[2]; 5. 5-Stuart Snyder[5]; 6. 25A-Alex Davenport[6]; 7. 14T-Tyler Hendrickson[8]; 8. (DNS) 77X-John Klabunde; 9. (DNS) 47-Kyra Weber

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 12-Tyler Drueke[2]; 2. 03-Shayle Bade[1]; 3. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden[5]; 4. 63-Jack Thomas[7]; 5. 17X-Lee Goos Jr[9]; 6. 11D-Dominic White[6]; 7. 6B-Bayley Ballenger[8]; 8. 20T-Travis Christensen[4]; 9. 98-Nate Barger[3]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 4X-Jason Danley[2]; 2. 76-Jay Russell[4]; 3. 18W-Cole Wayman[5]; 4. 53L-Ty Ledger[6]; 5. 14N-Nick Barger[7]; 6. 2T-Cameron Thompson[8]; 7. 6-Mason Day[1]; 8. (DNS) 11-Jaxon Brenning; 9. (DNS) 8R-Roman Mason

Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 25-Gunnar Pike[1]; 2. 77-Bret Klabunde[4]; 3. 2A-Alex Salzman[2]; 4. 45C-Mike Boston[6]; 5. 30-Matt Johnson[5]; 6. 32-Trefer Waller[3]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[8]; 8. 23V-Michalob Voeltz[7]; 9. 3G-Dylon Knudson[9]

Heat 5 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Trevor Grossenbacher[2]; 2. 14-Joey Danley[7]; 3. 100-Clint Benson[6]; 4. 23-Brandon Bosma[8]; 5. 4W-Nathan Weiler[3]; 6. 14G-Gene Ackland[4]; 7. 56-Bill Johnson[5]; 8. 3T-Dan Satriano[1]


IMCA Modifieds

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 5S-Bob Zoubek[2]; 2. 11-Izac Mallicoat[11]; 3. 30-Jordan Grabouski[6]; 4. 40-Shawn Harker[4]; 5. 8C-Chad Andersen[10]; 6. 60-Adam Armstrong[13]; 7. 96J-Johnny Saathoff[9]; 8. 96-Jaxon Saathoff[15]; 9. 27-Clint Homan[12]; 10. 12-Reed Payne[18]; 11. 41-Adam Wasserman[19]; 12. 81-Mike Densberger[7]; 13. 88-Sean Barragan[1]; 14. 3T-Nate Thompson[3]; 15. 25-Ricky Stephan[16]; 16. 4B-Brandon Verbeek[8]; 17. 2T-Cameron Thompson[20]; 18. 99W-Hunter Weber[5]; 19. 3A-Aaron Pella[14]; 20. (DNS) 16-Austin Svoboda

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 25-Ricky Stephan[3]; 2. 16-Austin Svoboda[7]; 3. 12-Reed Payne[2]; 4. 41-Adam Wasserman[5]; 5. 2T-Cameron Thompson[10]; 6. 3J-Jeremy Baker[1]; 7. 5H-Shawn Hein[6]; 8. 13J-Jared Deterding[9]; 9. 1Z-Norm Ziegenbein[8]; 10. 21T-Tyler Harr[4]; 11. 21-Tracy Harr[11]; 12. 3-Dan Jackson[12]; 13. 62-Justin Zeitner[13]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 40-Shawn Harker[2]; 2. 8C-Chad Andersen[6]; 3. 99W-Hunter Weber[1]; 4. 81-Mike Densberger[10]; 5. 60-Adam Armstrong[5]; 6. 3J-Jeremy Baker[8]; 7. 21T-Tyler Harr[7]; 8. 16-Austin Svoboda[4]; 9. 2T-Cameron Thompson[3]; 10. 3-Dan Jackson[9]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 96J-Johnny Saathoff[2]; 2. 30-Jordan Grabouski[8]; 3. 4B-Brandon Verbeek[1]; 4. 3T-Nate Thompson[6]; 5. 3A-Aaron Pella[3]; 6. 12-Reed Payne[5]; 7. 41-Adam Wasserman[4]; 8. 1Z-Norm Ziegenbein[9]; 9. (DNS) 62-Justin Zeitner

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 27-Clint Homan[2]; 2. 11-Izac Mallicoat[6]; 3. 5S-Bob Zoubek[5]; 4. 88-Sean Barragan[1]; 5. 96-Jaxon Saathoff[3]; 6. 25-Ricky Stephan[8]; 7. 5H-Shawn Hein[9]; 8. 13J-Jared Deterding[7]; 9. 21-Tracy Harr[4]


IMCA SportMods

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 5T-Tyler Nerud[11]; 2. 7V-Adam Vrbka[2]; 3. V18W-Cole Wayman[8]; 4. 24-Drake Bohlmeyer[7]; 5. 24RE-Arie Schouten[10]; 6. 76L-Lance Borgman[4]; 7. 22-Matthew Andrews[16]; 8. 31S-Jacob Swanson[6]; 9. 44D-Derek Hall[1]; 10. 18M-Mason Richards[3]; 11. 29-Gregg Hamman[19]; 12. 6SJ-Shawn Pospisil[13]; 13. 62-Robert Draper[15]; 14. 25X-Joe Feyen[12]; 15. 0-Michael Sherwood[20]; 16. 53-Brady Papineau[14]; 17. 5D-Devyn Peterson[18]; 18. 73Z-Zane Woodman[9]; 19. 58-Hunter Poston[5]; 20. (DNS) 66-Trevor Noonan

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 66-Trevor Noonan[3]; 2. 5D-Devyn Peterson[1]; 3. 29-Gregg Hamman[8]; 4. 0-Michael Sherwood[4]; 5. 2A-Theron Ahlman[9]; 6. 31R-James Hines[7]; 7. 14M-Dan Latture[11]; 8. 70-Ray Harrington[10]; 9. 75-Luke Williams[5]; 10. 0NA-Ahnna Schouten[2]; 11. 83J-Clay Jones[6]; 12. (DNS) 89-Colter Imes

C Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 2A-Theron Ahlman[5]; 2. 70-Ray Harrington[1]; 3. 14M-Dan Latture[6]; 4. 89-Colter Imes[4]; 5. 32X-Nathan Wahlstrom[2]; 6. 16L-Brayden Lockling[3]; 7. (DNS) 14K-Melissa Latture; 8. (DNS) 19XX-Brandon Spanjer; 9. (DNS) 27W-Noah Williams; 10. (DNS) 24R-Dillon Richards

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24RE-Arie Schouten[4]; 2. 44D-Derek Hall[3]; 3. 73Z-Zane Woodman[8]; 4. 6SJ-Shawn Pospisil[5]; 5. 5D-Devyn Peterson[7]; 6. 75-Luke Williams[9]; 7. 70-Ray Harrington[2]; 8. 24R-Dillon Richards[1]; 9. (DNS) 27W-Noah Williams

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7V-Adam Vrbka[1]; 2. 58-Hunter Poston[6]; 3. 25X-Joe Feyen[8]; 4. 53-Brady Papineau[4]; 5. 0NA-Ahnna Schouten[7]; 6. 83J-Clay Jones[3]; 7. 32X-Nathan Wahlstrom[9]; 8. 89-Colter Imes[2]; 9. 14M-Dan Latture[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18M-Mason Richards[2]; 2. 5T-Tyler Nerud[5]; 3. 31S-Jacob Swanson[1]; 4. 62-Robert Draper[4]; 5. 66-Trevor Noonan[6]; 6. 31R-James Hines[7]; 7. 19XX-Brandon Spanjer[8]; 8. 2A-Theron Ahlman[3]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. V18W-Cole Wayman[3]; 2. 76L-Lance Borgman[1]; 3. 24-Drake Bohlmeyer[4]; 4. 22-Matthew Andrews[7]; 5. 0-Michael Sherwood[5]; 6. 29-Gregg Hamman[8]; 7. 16L-Brayden Lockling[2]; 8. (DNS) 14K-Melissa Latture


IMCA Stock Car

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 19-Kyle Vanover[4]; 2. 84-Benji Legg[10]; 3. 22S-Shane Stutzman[7]; 4. 72-Mike Lineberry[3]; 5. 66-Jeff Watts[2]; 6. 3-Dan Jackson[1]; 7. 22-Nick Beckman[8]; 8. 46-Ryan Gilland[19]; 9. 13T-Tyler Jackson[18]; 10. 18M-Mason Richards[17]; 11. 12X-Dylan Haney[5]; 12. 8C-Chad Andersen[16]; 13. 55X-Tim Drake[15]; 14. 5B-Matt Boucher[9]; 15. 6-Jeremy Down[11]; 16. 44X-Cash Beckman[13]; 17. 5J-Jakob Boucher[14]; 18. 30-Jordan Grabouski[6]; 19. 5ELI-Marty Steinbach[20]; 20. 51-Mike Scheinost[12]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 8C-Chad Andersen[1]; 2. 18M-Mason Richards[4]; 3. 13T-Tyler Jackson[6]; 4. 46-Ryan Gilland[5]; 5. 5ELI-Marty Steinbach[3]; 6. 24T-Thomas Etherton[7]; 7. 19R-Dustin Reeh[10]; 8. 17TK-Travis Patterson[2]; 9. 22TK-James Patterson[8]; 10. 24Z-Zach Bohlmeyer[11]; 11. 29B-Brenden Bruce[14]; 12. 3T-Nate Thompson[9]; 13. 7-Riley Ruisinger[13]; 14. (DNS) 4A-Brian Seibold

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 30-Jordan Grabouski[6]; 2. 51-Mike Scheinost[2]; 3. 72-Mike Lineberry[3]; 4. 12X-Dylan Haney[1]; 5. 44X-Cash Beckman[7]; 6. 8C-Chad Andersen[8]; 7. 18M-Mason Richards[10]; 8. 24T-Thomas Etherton[9]; 9. 19R-Dustin Reeh[4]; 10. 7-Riley Ruisinger[5]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 19-Kyle Vanover[6]; 2. 22-Nick Beckman[4]; 3. 3-Dan Jackson[9]; 4. 22S-Shane Stutzman[8]; 5. 5J-Jakob Boucher[2]; 6. 17TK-Travis Patterson[3]; 7. 46-Ryan Gilland[7]; 8. 22TK-James Patterson[5]; 9. 24Z-Zach Bohlmeyer[1]; 10. 29B-Brenden Bruce[10]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 5B-Matt Boucher[2]; 2. 84-Benji Legg[5]; 3. 66-Jeff Watts[1]; 4. 6-Jeremy Down[4]; 5. 55X-Tim Drake[6]; 6. 5ELI-Marty Steinbach[9]; 7. 13T-Tyler Jackson[7]; 8. 3T-Nate Thompson[3]; 9. 4A-Brian Seibold[8]