I-80 Speedway Greenwood, Nebraska (August 23, 2019)—A gorgeous clear evening made for exciting racing at I-80 Speedway for the “Speedy” Bill Smith Memorial. This race paid tribute to one of the most influential people in the automotive industry and founder of Speedway Motors in Lincoln, Nebraska. Twenty-seven 360ci sprints made their presence at the 4/10 mile speedway south of Omaha, Nebraska.
It was South Dakota’s, Lee Grosz, who blew away the field during the caution free A feature picking up his first ever win at the high banked 4/10 mile. “I’ve never gotten a win here and we’ve run decent here a few times and ran third and this is one track I’ve always wanted to get a win at. The track and facility is awesome and they treat us like family here. It feels good to finally get a win here. I just want to thank my grandpa who owns this deal and my mom and dad. I just moved here this summer and live 2 hours from the shop and my dad works his butt off to keep this going and makes my job easier. My mom keeps us organized and Austin, who is on my crew, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be out here. I have to thank my Jimco Enterprises, Hi-10 Sports Center, Fischer Auto Body, Moyle Race Engines, J&J Chassis, Penske Shocks, and Vegan Farms. Lastly, the fan who if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be out here doing this."
The front row starters of Lee Grosz and the Saldana Racing Products pole winner of Don Droud Jr. led the field to the green flag for the 25 lap A feature. Lee Grosz got a huge run coming out of turn two to lead the first lap. Droud remained in second followed by Chris Martin Matt Juhl and Jamie Ball. By lap 3, Grosz grew a monster front stretch lead over second running Droud. By lap 6, lapped traffic engulfed Grosz and he began manuring through slower cars as he continued his dominance over the rest of the field. With 10 laps down, Grosz still led followed by Don Droud Jr, Chris Martin, Matt Juhl, and Jamie Ball. Jack Dover, who started 11 made his way to 7th with 12 laps to go. Matt Juhl took to the low side of turn 2 to get by 4th running Chris Martin to take over third. With 8 laps to go, Lee Grosz found himself in a completely different zip code as he led second running Droud by almost a half a lap. Stuart Snyder made a daring move getting by Jamie Ball with 5 laps togo to take over fifth. On the last lap, Lee Grosz sustained his lead by almost 7 seconds to take the win and the $1504 payday! Second was Don Droud Jr, Matt Juhl, Chris Martin, and Stu Snyder.
Heat Race #1 Results (8 Laps)
Stuart Snyder
Jamie Ball
Mason Daniel
Shayle Bade
Luke Cochran
Adam Gullion
David Kubart
Heat Race #2 Results (8 Laps)
Matt Juhl
Chris Martin
Brian Brown
Jack Dover
John Klabunde
Ryan King
Tim Fricke
Heat Race #3 Results (8 Laps)
Don Droud Jr
Jason Martin
Tasker Phillips
Ryan Roberts
Seth Brahmer
Tony Rost
Rich Cerveny
Heat Race #4 Results (8 Laps)
Lee Grosz
Cody Ledger
Jake Bubak
Zach Blurton
Jody Rosenboom
Dylan Opdahl
B Feature (12 Laps)
Seth Brahmer
Jody Rosenboom
Shayle Bade
John Klabunde
Tony Rost
Ryan King
Adam Gullion
Dylan Opdahl
David Kubart
Rich Cerveny
Tim Fricke
A Feature Results (25 Laps)
Lee Grosz
Don Droud Jr
Matt Juhl
Chris Martin
Stuart Snyder
Jamie Ball
Jack Dover
Ryan Roberts
Mason Daniel
Jason Martin
Jake Bubak
Brian Brown
Cody Ledger
John Klabunde
Tasker Phillips
Shayle Bade
Jody Rosenboom
Zach Blurton
Seth Brahmer
Luke Cochran
Contingency Awards
Saldana Racing Products Pole Award- Don Droud Jr
Speedway Motors Hard Charger $200- Ryan Roberts
Electrical Systems Inc Podium Draw $300- Stuart Snyder
Hard Charger 3D Auto Transport Tire Award- Ryan Roberts
Points (As of August 23, 2019)
Pos Driver Points Gap
1 Jack Dover 1525 -
2 Jason Martin 1508 17
3 Cody Ledger 1330 285
4 John Klabunde 1240 312
5 Seth Brahmer 1213 387
6 Ryan Roberts 1138 459
7 Shayle Bade 1066 529
8 Rich Cerveny 996 576
9 Jody Rosenboom 949 815
10 Tyler Drueke 710 835
Tomorrow night we head to northeast Nebraska to the racy short track known as Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, Nebraska. Tomorrow’s show is co-sanctioned with the Property Solutions of America Midwest Sprint Touring Series. Hot laps are at 6:15 and racing at 7:00. Adult tickets are $20, kids 5-12 are $6, and 4 and under are free. For more information, please visit www.offroadspeedway.com.
To stay up to date on news and information with the series, please visit our website or find on us on Facebook at “Carpetland Nebraska 360 Sprint Series presented by Malvern Bank.
- Travis Johnson on Aug 24, 2019
- Article Date: 8/24/2019 by Travis Johnson