MCCOOK, Neb. -- No rain in the area meant the races were on at McCook Speedway on May 22. The action was like a storm on the track, and in the pits at times. David Murray of Oberlin, Kan., Shane Stout of North Platte, Leland Stute of Benkelman, Loren Pollmann of Trenton, and Bryan Herrick of Curtis stormed the fields of their classes to win the five A Features.

John Fabrizius of Colby, Kan. was leading the IMCA Modified A Feature when a caution on lap one grouped the field together. On the restart, another car made contact with the car of Fabrizius, caused him to spin in front of the field, and resulted in a four car pileup on the backstretch. Fellow Colby driver Nick Tubbs inherited the lead and had hopes of redeeming himself after the spin while leading last week. It was not to be, as heat winner David Murray was able to find a way by Tubbs on lap ten and drove away for the win. Tubbs thought at one time the caution came out, but got back on the throttle to finish ahead of Jay Steffens of North Platte, Brandon Hagan of McCook, and Robby Haines of Benkelman. The other IMCA Modified heat race was won by Don Hagan, Jr. of McCook.

Shane Stout had been racing IMCA Stock Cars at McCook Speedway on and off since 2003, but had never taken an A Feature victory. Stout won his heat race and qualified to start in the second row of the A Feature. Larry Pollmann of McCook paced the early part of the race until the race was slowed by debris on lap three. Stout used the high line to work his way by Pollmann a couple of laps later. That did not mean he was out of the woods. Lloyd Meeske of Champion came to the forefront and applied serious pressure with around five laps to go. Meeske about got his car alongside the car of Stout’s at one point, but the North Platte driver had his car tighter than it was the previous week, and was able to steer it across the finish line in first. Dave Plowman of Gretna finished in third place. Aaron Koch of Cambridge got by Pollmann for the fourth place spot.

With annual IMCA Hobby Stock national points contender Jim Buss of Blue Hill on the front row, it appeared everyone else would race for second place. What Buss, and many other drivers did not know early on, was that the high groove was the good groove for the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Todd Pankonin of Benkelman, found it early, and with the aid of a caution, was able to pass Buss for the lead. Not to be outdone, Leland Stute, who started in eleventh, used the groove to catch up to his fellow Benkelman driver and take the lead on lap eight. That woke up Todd, and he then squeezed back by for the lead on lap ten. On the next lap, Stute kept his car “high, wide, and handsome”, got by for the fourth and final lead change of the night. It was his first A Feature win at McCook Speedway. Austin Davis of Benkelman came back from a tire change to finish ahead of fellow heat race winner Jim Buss for third place. Richard Boon of Benkelman rounded out the top five.

McCook driver Billy Aeby continued his quest for a Classic Modified A Feature win on May 22, and had the pole position. On the second lap, he spun, handing the lead to Loren Pollmann. Loren survived a late charge by his son Max to hold on for his first win of the year, matching his total from last year. Loren’s other son Alex finished in third. Aeby finish in fourth place. Matt Matson of McCook was credited with fifth place after breaking a belt under the hood.

The SportMod A Feature started much like the IMCA Modified A Feature the week before, with the drivers just trying to get one lap completed. After one completed lap and three cautions, the remainder of the field got down to business. Bryan Herrick made it two wins in a row after he got by Duke Ebert of Culbertson on lap four and maintained the spot to the end. Ebert finished in second. Bill Matson of McCook was the only other car to finish on the lead lap in third place. Mark Kinne of McCook was credited with fourth place after another driver was penalized for not following official instructions on the last restart.

McCook Speedway’s next night of racing will be Friday night, May 29. The gates open at 6 PM, and the races will start at 8 PM, Central Time.

RESULTS

May 22 results
IMCA Modifieds
Heat 1
94H-Don Hagan, Jr.
12J-Jay Steffens
42-John Fabrizius

Heat 2
97M-David Murray, Jr.
737-Nick Tubbs
9R-Robby Haines

A Feature
97M-David Murray, Jr.
737-Nick Tubbs
12J-Jay Steffens
121-Brandon Hagan
9R-Robby Haines
3-John Huffman
94H-Don Hagan, Jr.
20K-Kyle Clough
25H-Bryan Hagan
23-Royce Clapp (DNF)
42-John Fabrizius (DNF)
17J-Jeremy Frenier (DNF)
07S-Jay Schilling (DNF)

IMCA Stock Cars
Heat
5S-Shane Stout
413-Larry Pollmann
P42-Dave Plowman

A Feature
5S-Shane Stout
32-Lloyd Meeske
P42-Dave Plowman
70KO-Aaron Koch
413-Larry Pollmann
42W-Kyle Werkmeister
09H-Bob Hoing
74KO-Jason Koch (DNF)
20B-Brandon Clough (DNF)

IMCA Hobby Stocks
Heat 1
12-Jim Buss
10-Litton Stute
16D-Todd Pankonin

Heat 2
22-Austin Davis
33-Richard Boon
4J-Jason Stephens

A Feature
3L-Leland Stute
16D-Todd Pankonin
22-Austin Davis
12-Jim Buss
33-Richard Boon
20K-Cody DeWester
10-Litton Stute
4J-Jason Stephens
3D-Dalton Dolan
34-Josh Bopp
8C-Corey Cruzan (DNF)

Clasic Modifieds
Heat
98-Matt Matson
P82-Max Pollmann
711-Billy Aeby

A Feature
P84-Loren Pollmann
P82-Max Pollmann
P83-Alex Pollmann
711-Billy Aeby
98-Matt Matson (DNF)

SportMods
Heat
0-Bryan Herrick
56E-Duke Ebert
1EA-Trevor Gray

A Feature
0-Bryan Herrick
56E-Duke Ebert
0?-Bill Matson
93-Mark Kinne (DNF)
737-Josh Bopp (DNF)
22-Austin Davis (DNF)
1EA-Trevor Gray (DNF)
77H-Mitch Hamilton (DNF)
23-Royce Clapp (DNF)
18-Jimmy Wiegel