(Lexington, Nebr.--May 1) The temperature was cooler than most had hoped for the opening night of races at Dawson County Raceway, but the racing kept the fan’s mind off of it. There were many new cars and new drivers at the track, with some of them finding victory lane. “Old-timer” Colton Osborn of Cozad and newcomers Dylan Smith of Osceola, , Tyler Frye of Belleville, Kansas, and Jason Wilkinson of Neligh had the hot shoes that toed their way to wins.

The last time Jesse Taylor of Fort Morgan raced an IMCA Stock Car at Dawson County Raceway, it was loaded on the trailer in parts. He was trying to reverse that fortune in the A Feature, leading the first eight laps. A caution bunched up the field, and after the restart, everyone went for the lead. Coming out of corner four for lap ten, the top five tried to go five wide, which ended up crashing Taylor and others on the front straight. Taylor went to the back, which handed the lead to Brandon Clough of Wallace. Clough was pressed by Colton Osborn, and was passed by him, only to have the caution come out again and getting him back out front. Osborn wasted little time after the restart and regained the lead. Two more cautions while trying to complete the final lap called for the checkered flag to be waved, handing the Cozad driver the win. Clough held on to second place, while Taylor worked his way back into third place. Heat winner Casey Woken of Ogallala finished in fourth place, and Brendan Eilts of Grand Island finished in fifth place. Cale Osborn of Cozad won the other Stock Car heat race.

2009 IMCA Modified National Champion Dylan Smith lost his former Sunday night race track and opted to give Dawson County Raceway a try. After winning his heat race, he started on the second row of the Modified A Feature. On lap three, he passed leader Jim Mlady of North Platte and had a big lead on fellow heat winner Ronnie Wallace of McCook when a caution period happened on lap twelve after a single car spin. Wallace applied pressure on Smith for a couple of laps when he became embroiled in a battle for second with Cole Hodges of Ogallala. That allowed Smith to cruise on for his first feature win at the track. Wallace lost, then regained second place from Hodges by the end of the race. Wade Cross of Phillips and Jay Steffens of North Platte rounded out the top five.

Seventeen of the twenty-one IMCA Northern SportMods started that A Feature, but none of them seemed to be able to complete lap one. It took four tries to get a lap in, and it was a charm, as the race went the twenty laps without another stoppage. Tyler Frye, a perennial contender for the Northern SportMod National Championship, showed the crowd why he is that, taking the lead on the second lap and lapping several cars on the way to victory on his first appearance at Dawson County Raceway. Colton Osborn started a couple of rows behind Frye and for a while, was nearly a straightaway behind. He greatly closed the gap on his way to second place. Jamey Kennicutt of Gothenburg started near the rear of the field, and looked strong as he finished in third place. Denny Egge of Kearney and James Libra of Elm Creek held things steady to finish in fourth and fifth place. Osborn, Bryan Herrick of Curtis, and Ted Kutsch of Kearney each won a SportMod heat race.

The IMCA Hobby Stock A Feature was paced by Jason Wilkinson, who has raced and won for many years, but was making his first appearance at Dawson County Raceway. Jim Rayburn of Gibbon started on the pole, but spent most of the race in the rear-view mirror of Wilkinson. Tyler Andreasen of Grand Island finished in third place, ahead of Tiffany Bittner of Norfolk, also making her first run in Lexington a good one. Kevin Hagan of Eddyville was involved in a wreck in his heat race, but ran well enough to garner fifth place in the Hobby Stock main event. Wilkinson and Rayburn were not only first and second, they were also the heat race victors in the class.

Dawson County Raceway will take a couple of weeks off and return to action on Sunday, May 22. On that night, the United Rebel Sprint Series will make their first of two appearances, joining the other four classes. The gates will open at 5 p.m., and the races will start at 6:30 p.m. Grandstand admission prices will be $13 for adults and $5 for children 6 - 12 for the special event.