5/4/2015
Malvern Bank 360 Sprints
Cody Ledger wins Speedway Motors A feature @I-80
The Carpetland Nebraska 360 Sprints recently had an action packed weekend scheduled with racing Friday May 1st at I-80 Speedway and Saturday May 2nd at Butler County Speedway co-sanctioned with the NCRA Sprints.
On Friday at I-80 there were only 16-360 sprints signed in. The low car count was the result of the potential of rain that kept several teams to race at another race closer to home. Even though we only had 16 cars, all were good quality of cars with numerous cars in the hunt for the win. The winner of Heat #1 was Billy Alley starting from the outside of row #1 beat the pole position starter Tyler Drueke to the point and lead the entire way to victory. In Heat #2 Jack Dover starting from his inside 4th row starting position passed the field into the 2nd position prior to the completion of lap one and proceeded to march forward to challenge Jordan Boston for the point position. Dover got by Boston on the 3rd lap and held on the final 5 laps for the victory with Jordan following Jack under the checkered flag.
With all 16 cars transferring to the Speedway Motors A Main was certainly setting things up for an exciting and a historical evening of racing. Jordan Boston and Jay Russell pulled the front row of the Main from the redraw of the top 8 in points from the 2 Heats. As the field took the green flag Dover raced to the front from his outside row 2 starting position and looked like he had the car to beat, however Cody "Grasshoppa" Ledger had other ideas as he raced forward from his outside 4th row starting spot as Dover and Boston resumed their battle from the 2nd Heat race.Dover maintained his lead for the first 9 laps of the race, but "Grasshoppa" continued his drive toward the front with some tremendous forward bite until he passed Boston for the 2nd position with his friend and mentor Dover in his site. On lap 10 Dover got a touch loose coming out of turn 2 allowing the young Ledger the opportunity he was looking for as he passed Dover going down the backstretch. Ledger not only held on to the point he was pulling away from Dover to win in convincing fashion for his first win in a 360 sprint car since making the move up from mini-sprints 4 years ago. Cody's first victory was very well received by the fans in the stands. Jordan Boston, Billy Alley , Jay Russell finished top 5 .
After the race, Dover was very gracious as he congratulated his pupil and good friend, but also told "Grasshoppa" he was done helping him from now on. While in Speedway Motors Victory Lane Ledger also found that not only did he use up his tires but also broke both front end shocks making his victory even more surprising.
On Saturday, the 360's were scheduled to race at Butler County Speedway with our friends from Kansas, the NCRA Sprints. On a day that had rained all around but not at the Speedway found 26 sprinters in the pits. After completing the first heat of hot laps the ambulance was called to a fatal car accident on Hwy 92 by Rising City, bring the hot laps and racing to a halt until another ambulance could arrive. While waiting for the ambulance, the clouds began to grow and become more ominous until it started to rain. It didn't rain much or for very long allowing the BCS track crew to again prepping the race surface for the nights activities. With the clouds becoming more ominous and increased lightning in the area, it was decided by the track owner to postpone the race as there was a report of hail in the area. The race has not yet been rescheduled.
Next up for the Carpetland Nebraska 360 Sprints is Park Jefferson Speedway near Sioux City on Saturday, May 16th. We hope to see you all there!
Submitted By: Dennis Parker
