Getting the 2015 campaign started off on top at Lincoln County Raceway in North Platte, Nebraska were Mike Densberger, Chad Dolan, Mike Nichols, Brady Weinman and Erik Nelson in front of a capacity crowd on Saturday evening.

Starting on the pole and never looking back, Mike Densberger of Lincoln cruised to a dominating win in the IMCA Modified Feature event. Densberger had a straightaway lead over the rest of the field as the heat race winner cruised under the checkered flag in the main event. Veteran wheelman Chuck Stryker of Eddyville started on the outside of the front row and was able to stay within the top five through the 20 lap feature to finish second overall. Charley Brown of Maxwell worked his magic on the high banks to earn a third place showing. Along with Densberger, Cozad’s Colton Osborn was a heat race winner in the Modified division.

Battling to the front from a third row starting position during the early laps that were plagued with cautions paid off for Chad Dolan of Gibbon, as he cruised to an IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature victory. Dolan was able to win his heat race and then snare the lead in the feature on the fourth lap and never relinquish the lead again. Engaged in a see-saw skirmish during the first three laps of the feature was front row starters Henry Henderson of Sutherland and North Platte’s Kerry Jones. Henderson led the first lap before Jones took the lead for the second and third circuits. The duo of Henderson and Jones stayed near the front for the duration and scored second and third place honors, respectively. Along with Dolan, Paul Donavan of McCook and Gothenburg’s Jamey Kennicutt won early in the evening heat races.

Leading the lap that means the most, Mike Nichols took the lead after the white flag was thrown and raced back around the high banks to the checkered flag to score an IMCA Stock Car Feature victory for the Harlan, Iowa hotshoe. Finishing second overall, just getting edged at the finish line by Nichols was Casey Woken of Ogallala. Woken took the lead on the eighth lap from Casey Werkmeister of Maywood and set a blistering pace from the front of the field. Starting in the third row and staying inside the top five throughout the feature was the ‘Flyin Farmer’ Kyle Clough of Wallace, as he finished third overall when the checkered flag flew. Woken along with Dash for Cash winner Mikey Dancer of North Platte won the heat races in the division.

Seeking the fastest groove, it took until the seventh lap before Brady Weinman was able to carry the momentum on the cushion to score the lead and then storm his way to an IMCA Hobby Stock Feature victory. Weinman of Arnold was on cruise control in front of the field for much of the feature event. The Benkelman Bullet Austin Davis led the first six laps and then spent the remainder of the main event trying to reel in Weinman. Davis was forced to settle with runner-up honors. Lexington speedster Jacob Wolsleben won a heat race and carried the momentum into the feature where he finished third overall. Along with Wolsleben, Tyson Canas of Cozad was a heat race winner.

Hitting the loud pedal with authority was Erik Nelson of Central City in storming into the lead on lap three and never again trailing scored the wheelman a IMCA Sport Compact victory. Nelson started in the second row and was able to avoid skirmishes early on to roll to a victory. Coming from the fourth row, Andrew Baumgardner of North Platte was able to pull into the runner-up position in the waning laps but that is as far as he could advance, as he settled for second place. Early leader Devin Bjorklund was able to stay among the front runners and score a third place finish.

Unofficial Results:

–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 81-Mike Densberger, 2. 19-Chuck Stryker, 3. 4c-Charley Brown, 4. 97m-David Murray Jr., 5. 17j-Jeremy Frenier, 6. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace, 7. XII-Jay Steffens, 8. 50c-Colton Osborn, 9. 34jw-Cole Hodges, 10. 4p-Dave Pedersen.

Heat race winners: 50c-Osborn, 81-Densberger.

–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 87d-Chad Dolan, 2. 11h-Henry Henderson, 3. 12j-Kerry Jones, 4. 1-Paul Donavan, 5. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt, 6. 7a-Steve Aitken, 7. 55d-Dillon Schultz, 8. 13-Terry Dressel, 9. 9-RC Heil, 10. 41g-Justin Gibbens.

Heat race winners: 87d-Dolan, 1-Paul Donavan, 15k-Kennicutt.

–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 63-Mike Nichols, 2. 35jw-Casey Woken, 3. 11k-Kyle Clough, 4. 45-Mikey Dancer, 5. 42w-Kyle Werkmeister, 6. 00-Sara Klein, 7. 561-Kurt Trusty, 8. 24-Bob Chalupa, 9. 09h-Bob Hoing, 10. 47-Russ Small Jr.

Heat race winners: 45-Dancer, 35jw-Woken.

–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 22w-Brady Weinman, 2. 22-Austin Davis, 3. 01-Jacob Wolsleben, 4. 88j-Jacob Olmstead, 5. 5-Chuck Ledbetter, 6. 98z-Zach Olmstead, 7. 2c-Tyson Canas, 8. 72b-Jacob Hagan, 9. 1-Tanner Clough, 10. 7s-Scott Gibson.

Heat race winners: 01-Wolsleben, 2c-Canas.

–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 7-Erik Nelson, 2. 44u-Andrew Baumgardner, 3. 28d-Devin Bjorklund, 4. 67-Alex Fletcher, 5. 33-Andrew McClellen, 6. 67x-Blake Fletcher, 7. 74b-Tristan Barnhill, 8. 057-Cody Schimmer, 9. 19b-Jordan Biere, 10. h0t-Hunter Hoatson.

Heat race winners: 28d-Bjorklund, 44u-Baumgardner.