Murray, Nichols sweep at Sandhills Shootout

By Darin Racek

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (July 19-20) – Two travelers with their eyes on IMCA national championships were double winners at Lincoln County Raceway’s Sandhills Shootout.

David Murray Jr. swept the Monday and Tuesday night main events for IMCA Modifieds while Mike Nichols doubled up in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car features. Their respective sweeps obviously made them overall champions of the 12th annual Shootout.

David Murray Jr. won both features and the overall IMCA Modified title at the Sandhills Shootout. (Photos by Tamie Thurn)

Jeff Meeker jumped out to the lead in Monday’s Modified main, of the twenty-one car, twenty-five lap event at the start, only to relinquish it to Will Brack on lap four. Murray started in the third row but by lap five had moved into second and was looking for a way around Brack.

Murray made his move on lap 10, but the pass was nullified when the caution came out. Brack got his place back briefly, as Murray found his way by again when the race restarted.

The race was interrupted a couple more times for cautions, but Murray pulled away from Brack on each occa sion and drove on for the win. John Hansen, New Mexico visitor Zane DeVilbiss and 12th starting Ronnie Wallace rounded out the top five.

Murray, who has won or tied for the Sandhills Shootout championship the previous three years and four times in all, won the pole dash to start inside row one on Tuesday.

The main event started inauspiciously, with three cautions during the first three laps, one of them a red flag so the cars of Wallace, Josh Sabin and Josh Leonard could be pulled apart.

When the green flag came back out, the remaining 22 laps ran without stoppage. Murray took the lead at the restart and had nearly a half-lap lead on fourth place at the finish line. Matt Brack’s 21st birthday wish of a featue win didn’t come true and his night got even worse after he did not stop in the claim area after the race and was disqualified.

Jeremy Frenier was promoted to second, Texan Chris Bragg to third and Wallace to fourth. Charley Brown completed the top five.

Nichols fought off Brown for the Monday pole dash win and was running ahead of the multi-car pileup before halfway that logjammed turn four. Most of the cars drove away and that incident proved to be the most ex treme of the three cautions during the 25-lapper.

After topping the opening night pole dash, Mike Nichols sped to two feature victories and the Sandhills Shootout IMCA Sunoco Stock Car crown.

Nichols led all the way, with eventual second place finisher Casey Werkmeister right behind for much of that distance. Nichols eventually got some breathing room after the final caution with six laps to go.

Josh Grape stayed and got by Brown late for third. Colton Osborn raced to fifth place finish.

Luck of the draw put Nichols on the pole again Tuesday, for a contest that would be interrupted by seven cau tions before the checkers flew.

Nichols and Brown stayed out ahead of the field for the bulk of the race, with Casey Woken not too far behind in third. Woken caught and snuck underneath Brown to take second.

Nichols had previously won the IMCA Stock Car portion of the Sandhills Shootout in 2006.

July 19 Results
Modifieds – 1. David Murray Jr.; 2. Will Brack; 3. John Hansen; 4. Zane DeVilbiss; 5. Ronnie Wallace; 6. Jeff Meeker; 7. Jeremy Frenier; 8. Dylan Smith; 9. Josh Leonard; 10. Mike Saathoff; 11. Jim Mlady; 12. Brandon Hagan; 13. Charley Brown; 14. Dave Pedersen; 15. Cole Hodges; 16. Dan Carl; 17. Matt Brack; 18. Chris Bragg; 19. Zach Hilzer; 20. Jason Gallentine; 21. Jay Steffens.

Heat winners were Wallace, Murray and Hansen.

Stock Cars – 1. Mike Nichols; 2. Casey Werkmeister; 3. Josh Grape; 4. Charley Brown; 5. Colton Osborn; 6. Kyle Clough; 7. Casey Woken; 8. Brandon Clough; 9. Cale Osborn; 10. Travis Tilford; 11. Jim Hagan; 12. Gerald Halouska; 13. Mikey Dancer; 14. Jeff Joldersma; 15. Jay Hachmeister; 16, Bob Hoing; 17. Earl Wood ward; 18. Eric Hasenauer.

Heat winners were Nichols, Colton Osborn, and Brown.

July 20 Results
Modifieds – 1. Murray; 2. Frenier; 3. Bragg; 4. Wallace; 5. Brown; 6. Hagan; 7. Hansen; 8. DeVilbiss; 9. Hodges; 10. Mlady; 11. Carl; 12. Gallentine; 13. Josh Sabin; 14. Jeff Meeker; 15. Saathoff; 16. Smith; 17. Leonard; 18. Hilzer; 19. Will Brack; 20. Jay Steffens.

Heat winners were Brown, Murray and Matt Brack.

Stock Cars – 1. Nichols; 2. Woken; 3. Brown; 4. Colton Osborn; 5. Cale Osborn; 6. Kyle Clough; 7. Tilford; 8. Brandon Clough; 9. Grape; 10. Jesse Taylor; 11. Woodward; 12. Hoing; 13. Hachmeister; 14. Halouska; 15. Brett Gartrell; 16. Joldersma; 17. Hagan; 18. Werkmeister.

Heat winners were Nichols, Brown and Hachmeister.