Dover Scores 100th Win at I-80
By Anthony Ainslie
8/29/15
The “Gas Man,” Jack Dover returned to victory lane on Friday night in front of a packed grandstand at I-80 Speedway.
The Nebraska 360 Sprint series was in action as part of the inaugural Speedy Bill Memorial to honor the founder and former owner of Speedway Motors, Bill Smith. Twenty-one sprint cars made the trip out to I-80 for the show, and they did not disappoint.
Jack Dover started on the pole of the 24-lap main event with Jason Danley on the outside of the front row. Dover jumped out in front on the opening lap, and from there, Dover rode the top of I-80 Speedway.
Don Droud Jr. and Stu Snyder gave Dover a run for the lead in the early stages of the feature. The three battled it out in the opening five laps.
The first caution of the race came out for debris in turn three along with a spin by Jason Becker. That bunched up the field, but Dover was up to the challenge and executed the restart with no problems.
Stu Snyder’s run at a possible feature win came to an end when he lost power and slowed down exiting turn four while running in the third position with 16 laps to go. Snyder pulled into the pit area and did not return to the racing surface.
From there, the race had its longest green flag stretch until the caution came out again, this time for the 24H driven by Trevor Grossenbacher. The defending Nebraska 360 Sprint series points champion spun out exiting turn four with three laps remaining.
Dover was once again flawless on the restart, and despite a second spin with two laps to go by Grossenbacher, Dover led flag-to-flag and won the Speedy Bill Memorial for the Nebraska 360 Sprint series.
It was Dover’s eighth win of the season with the series, his 12th win overall in the 2015 season, and it was his 100th career sprint car feature win.
Don Droud Jr. finished in the second position and one the podium draw for some extra cash at the end of the night. Jordan Boston placed third, Jake Bubak finished fourth, and Jason Danley rounded out the top five.
The Nebraska 360 Sprint series are back at the I-80 Speedway on Sunday September 6 for the running of the Bobby Parker Memorial. That will be followed up by a trip to the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska on September 12.
- Dennis Parker on Aug 29, 2015
- Article Date: 8/29/2015 by Anthony Ainslee