By Greg Soukup
EAGLE, Neb. (Apr. 19, 2025) — Tyler Nerud had his work cut out for him if he hoped to double up at Eagle Raceway’s Ice Breaker Challenge and collect the extra $1,000 bonus offered for a repeat win in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods, as he was starting deeper in the field from inside the sixth row.
The first official lap saw Adam Vrbka showing the way. Vrbka continued to show the way, but Nerud effectively moved his way forward getting into third after a triple overtake on lap 7 and got into second around the midway mark.
Nerud closed the gap steadily until he flew high and wide through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap and passed Vrbka just before the flag stand. Despite having to begin the race eleventh it did not deter the Dorchester driver’s path to the winner’s circle for his second feature win of 2025.
Vrbka was second while Cole Wayman finished third.
Vanover Fends Off Grabouski in Intense Stock Car Feature
In the main event for the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Jordan Grabouski started outside of the third row in his quest to go back-to-back and grab the bonus cash. When a lap was finally in the books, Kyle Vanover put his mount out front with Dan Jackson, Jeff Watts, and Grabouski in hot pursuit. Grabouski jumped past Watts and Jackson on lap 5 for second.
Vanover caught the tail end of the field on lap 9 and began lapping cars. Grabouski kept cutting into Vanover’s lead, catching up to him with 5 to go. They ran nose to tail, and at times, door handle to door handle, fighting desperately for the lead. With just two laps remaining, Grabouski attempted to pass under Vanover in turn 1, but ended up contacting the no. 19 and cutting down his right front tire and dashing his hopes for the victory.
Vanover held on to win his first race of the season in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Benji Legg moved up to second and Shane Stutzman got third.
Zoubek Scores $2,000 Modified Victory
Nate Thompson’s car was first back to the flag stand on lap 1 of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. Bob Zoubek vaulted up to second on lap 3 with Jordan Grabouski following him into third. Grabouski passed Zoubek for second on the fifth circuit but lost the spot back to him the next time around.
Zoubek grabbed the lead away from Thompson on lap 13 and Grabouski also got past Thompson the next circuit to take over second. Cameron Thompson brought out the yellow flag on lap 15 when he spun out at the bottom of turn four. Izac Mallicoat used the restart to advance to third, after beginning the race eleventh.
Mallicoat got under and around Grabouski with just six to go but the pass was negated due to a pileup in turn three. Mallicoat passed Grabouski for second place on the restart. Mallicoat went extremely high in turns 3 and 4 with three laps left, allowing Grabouski to slip by him at the flag stand but Mallicoat got back to second the next time around when Grabouski bobbled. Zoubek had checked out and held on for the victory, his first win in the Jet Racing Central Region.
Mallicoat was second and Grabouski got third.
The event paid $2,000 to win and was a qualifier for the 2025 Fast Shaft All-Star Modified Invitational to be ran at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. With the triumph Zoubek is eligible to qualify for the race.
Drueke Dominates for Sprint Car Payday at Eagle
Brandon Horton led the opening lap of the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car feature. Jay Russell passed Gunnar Pike for second on lap 2, while Tyler Drueke passed Pike on lap 3 for third, and got past Russell for the runner-up spot a few laps later. Drueke then took over the top spot from Horton on lap 9.
As the race stayed green, Jason Danley spun to a stop along the wall coming out of turn 4 with two to go and the yellow flag was displayed, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. The running order remained unchanged as Drueke collected the $2,000 payday, his first win of 2025.
South Dakota’s Lee Goos Jr. and Pike were the rest of the podium in second and third.
The entire event was streamed live on IMCA TV affiliate Advantage Racing TV. Full replays are available now through the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, just $24.99/month. Already subscribed? Don’t miss the highly anticipated Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively to the IMCA TV Replay platform.
