Saturday at Eagle Raceway there were a total of 34 Racesaver IMCA Sprint Cars on hand, and as always, the competition was tough with a capital T!!
Shayle Bade, or “Diminutive Dynamite” as I call her, and her pit crew had the MDR, Helget Construction, Onyx Wraps, Chix Gear Race Wear, Fremont Roofing, Rowe Graphics, TJT Photography, Good Life Fitness and 905 Inc. #03 set on kill. She was hunting for a victory to celebrate her father’s birthday.
Heat race action saw her finish in the second spot behind Jason Danley, setting her up to start on the outside of the second row in the A Feature. A spin by Clint Benson, who was running third in front of Shayle on lap 2 moved her up to the third spot. After the caution lights were turned off, Shayle started her march to the front.
The restart lap saw her move up to second, then she took the lead on lap 4; passing Greg Bolte. 2 more caution periods slowed the action after that, bunching up the field and erasing Shayle’s lead. “After Shon Pointer and Terry Richards had their wreck, I coasted around the track thinking ‘Oh GOD! Here we go again’. I looked at the scoreboard and saw Stu and Jason Martin were right behind me. I saw Stu’s nose once, and told myself ‘I’ve got to be smooth, I’ve got to be perfect and I’ve got to be straight and fast. Straight, fast, smooth and calm; like I’ve got 99 laps to go’” she said. And, she did exactly that! Running a lower line in turns 1 and 2 and taking the high route in turns 3 and 4 she made sure to hold Snyder and Jason Martin at bay.
Not to be denied, she held her foot to the floor, hit her marks and held on to take home the checkers to the thunderous cheers of the crowd.
“The track was really great last night. It was perfectly tacky in spots, and perfectly dry in some spots; I definitely wouldn’t have changed it for the world. I ended up going really high in 3 & 4, which for me is kind of scary. Dad said ‘Go high’, and I thought ‘Oh god! You know what happens when I go high! But, if you say so’. But, it worked. I can’t thank my dad enough” she said.
This was Shayle’s first win of the 2016 season. “I should have had 2 more, but I ended up eating the wall. This win was a long time coming; it feels like forever. It’s always nice to win at your home track, and when it’s a track famous for sprint car racing like Eagle is, that’s all the more exciting. There’s nothing better than this” she said.
“It was great getting the win on my dad’s birthday. I can't explain how much I appreciate him and I'm so glad we could bring home the win for him today! I am so overwhelmed with happiness seeing all of my fans out there today. I want to say thank you to everyone that has been by my side since the beginning, it means so much” she continued.
“Today’s win was not only for the Bade team, but for Bryan Clauson, I am so glad we could park it on the straight away for him today. ?#?ParkedIt It’s kind of strange, but after looking at all of the checks I have around the shop from my wins, it seems like we always win between June and August. I’ll take one whenever it comes” stated Shayle.
When reminded that she picked a good time to get a W, right before the Sprint Nationals she related “I think that’s what I did in 2014 too. This is the time to peak up, I guess”.
She concluded by saying “I want to thank my sisters, my Mom and Dad for all that they do to help me do what I love. Of course, Chris Helget who is not only a sponsor but my boyfriend. Jeremy Crowther my tire guy who didn’t get to see my win last night is a big help; when I called and told him he started freaking out! Also, Rick Bogenrief and Varga; Dick Shiveley and the rest of my family. I need to let my sponsors know how much they mean to me and how much they’ve helped out. MDR, Helget Construction, Onyx Wraps, Chix Gear Race Wear, Fremont Roofing, Rowe Graphics, TJT Photography, Good Life Fitness and 905 Inc.”.
Shayle will be in action next weekend again at Eagle Raceway, trying to repeat this week’s win. Then, again from September 2nd through the 4 she’ll be running the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Nationals. In addition, she will be competing at the Nebraska Cup on September 9th. Come see her in action at Eagle Raceway.
- administrator on Mar 29, 2017
- Article Date: 8/22/2016 by Greg Soukup