BEATRICE, Neb. — The setting proved perfect for Jordan Grabouski’s latest Friesen Performance IMCA Modified accomplishment.
Grabouski raced to his career 300th feature win in the division Friday night, during the Gage County Fair show at hometown track Beatrice Speedway.
“A lot of family and friends were there. We grew up showing cattle at the fair before I was even racing so winning my 300th at the Gage County Fair was really sweet. The grandstands were full and that was cool, too,” he said.
That his latest milestone win would come at Beatrice should be no surprise: Grabouski got his 100th there in May of 2014 and 200th at the same locale in August of 2018.
“This is another win that means a lot – Beatrice Speedway feels like home to me, which it is. It’s my hometown race track,” he explained. “I grew up here and it was just neat.”
A five-time Modified national champion during his career and the only IMCA driver to win national crowns in two divisions the same season – Modifieds and Sunoco Stock Cars, in 2019 – Grabouski turned his first sanctioned laps in 2006.
He has since totaled a single-season best 33 modified feature wins on two occasions, collected 21 modified and six Stock Car career track titles, and earned a single-season record 69 checkers and eight track championships combined between the Mods and Stocks, in that banner 2019 campaign.
Grabouski is the sixth IMCA driver with 300 career wins, joining David Murray Jr. (557) and Johnny Saathoff (360), who finished third Friday at Beatrice, as modified members of that club.
“I don’t think I ever really believed it was possible to win 300 IMCA Modified features but we’ve had a lot of success here the last few years and rattled off some pretty quick,” Grabouski acknowledged. “I never told myself ‘Man, I could win 300 Mod races’ like the guys I idolized growing up, Jet (Saathoff) and David Murray Jr. did.”
“Johnny and I were talking about it last night. He had to grind a little bit harder for it when he did it back in the day but it’s still cool,” he added. “It’s a huge accomplishment for me, my team, my family, everybody involved. I don’t think it’s really set in yet. You’ll have to ask me in about 10 years how it compares.”
“Johnny and I actually ended up having a beer in the beer garden at the fairgrounds at the races. It was cool.”
Grabouski also topped Friday’s Stock Car feature at Beatrice, his career 84th victory in The Class Too Tough To Tame, making 100 wins in that division a logical next goal.
Stock Car drivers Mike Nichols – IMCA’s all-time wins leader at 645 and counting – and Damon Murty (308) and Hobby Stock driver Shannon Anderson (361) complete the IMCA modern era career 300 win fraternity.
Friday’s Gage County Fair program was broadcast by SPEED SPORT.TV affiliate IMCA.TV.