The competition came from far and wide to compete in the opening night of the Platte Valley Mod Mania at Lincoln County Raceway in North Platte, Nebraska on Saturday evening.
Ronnie Wallace and Bryan Herrick earned valuable points in the Mod Mania two-day special by winning the feature events. Kyle Clough, Brady Weinman and Jordan Biere joined the open-wheel standouts in the Winners Circle. Jumping into the lead on the opening lap and setting a blistering pace throughout, McCook’s Rockin’ Ronnie Wallace took the checkered flag in the IMCA Modified feature. Getting up on the wheel and rallying through traffic from his fifth row starting position to put the pressure on Wallace in the waning laps was runner-up finisher Mike Densberger of Lincoln. Jeremy Frenier of Ft. Morgan, Colorado started on the pole for the feature event and was able to stay among the leaders to earn a podium finish in third place overall. Wallace and fifth place finisher Charley Brown of Maxwell were the heat race winners in the division.
In one of the closest finishes of the 2015 season, Bryan Herrick of Curtis was able to edge Jamey Kennicutt of Gothenburg at the finish line to win the IMCA Northern Sport Modified feature event. Herrick piloted his Rubber Duck into the lead position on the opening lap and he never trailed with his closest challenge coming on the final circuit. Kennicutt had a strong finish going for him, as he rolled into the top five during the second half of the race and stormed to be in a podium finish during the last few laps to earn the runner-up accolades. Kearney’s Denny Egge finished third overall in the feature event. Kennicutt was joined by Chad Dolan and Josh Leonard, both of Gibbon in winning heat races.
Working his way into the lead on lap five was all that Flyin’ Farmer Kyle Clough of Wallace needed, as he led the final 15 laps of the IMCA Stock Car feature to earn the victory. Finishing second overall with a strong drive was Maywood’s Kyle Werkmeister. Leading laps in the early going, Bob Hoing of Overton stayed among the lead pack to earn a third place finish. Casey Werkmeister of Maywood and Wallace’s Kurt Trusty were heat races winners in the division. Displaying a no-quit driving style, Brady Weinman of Arnold led early in the feature and then stormed through lap traffic to pass for the lead and earn the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock division. Weinman led laps two through 12 before dropping back to second place. During the final laps, Weinman was able to work swiftly through traffic to earn the lead again and earn the victory. Zach Olmstead of Overton also had a strong finish by crossing the finish line in second place overall. Leading the way during the final laps before Weinman passed for the lead was Jacob Olmsted of Overton, who earned third place accolades. Weinman and Tanner Jones of North Platte won their heat races in earlier in the evening competition.
Starting out on top with a new racecar was Jordan Biere of North Platte as he earned the IMCA Sport Compact feature in his first night out in a new car. Biere snared the lead on the ninth lap and led the final three circuits. Erik Nelson of Central City was the early leader for the initial laps and he was able to stay in contention for the win to earn runner-up honors. Gothenburg’s Andrew McClellen had a strong run to earn third place honors in the feature event. Andrew Baumgardner of North Platte and Cozad’s Devin Bjorklund were heat race winners in the division.
(Unofficial Results):
–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 3rw-Ronnie Wallace; 2. 81-Mike Densberger; 3. 17j-Jeremy Frenier; 4. 2-Jeremy Herbst; 5. 4c-Charley Brown; 6. 18a-Jacob Adler; 7. XII-Jay Steffens; 8. 34jw-Cole Hodges; 9. 28-John Burrow Jr; 10. 23s-Josh Sabin.
Heat Race Winners: 3rw-Wallace; 4c-Brown.
–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 2. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 3. 1x-Denny Egge; 4. 55d-Dillon Schultz; 5. 40-Danny Concelman; 6. 85-Josh Leonard; 7. 87d-Chad Dolan; 8. 3-Gary Long; 9. 13-Terry Dressel; 10. 190-Steve Kempt.
Heat Race Winners: 85-Leonard; 87d-Dolan; 15k-Kennicutt.
–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 11k-Kyle Clough; 2. 42w-Kyle Werkmeister; 3. 09h-Bob Hoing; 4. 45-Mikey Dancer; 5. 24-Bob Chalupa; 6. 00-Sara Klein; 7. 47-Russ Small Jr; 8. 75-Dan Eller; 9. 20-Les Brogdon; 10. 31-Darin Racek.
Heat Race Winners: 561-Kurt Trusty; 24w-Casey Werkmeister.
–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 22w-Brady Weinman; 2. 98z-Zach Olmstead; 3. 88j-Jacob Olmstead; 4. 01-Jacob Wolsleben; 5. 22-Austin Davis; 6. 1-Tanner Clough; 7. 12t-Tanner Jones; 8. 65-Rick Eller; 9. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 10. 7s-Scott Gibson.
Heat Race Winners: 12t-Jones; 22w-Weinman.
–IMCA Sport Compact Feature: 1. 19b-Jordan Biere; 2. 7-Erik Nelson; 3. 33-Andrew McClellen; 4. 28d-Devin Bjorklund; 5. 74b-Tristian Barnhill; 6. 67-Alex Fletcher; 7. 44u-Andrew Baumgardner; 8. h0t-Hunter Hoatson; 9. 67x-Blake Fletcher.
Heat Race Winners: 28d-Bjorklund; 44u-Baumgardner.