By Jason D Searcy
September 9, 2017 – Elko, MN
An impressive field of Twenty-six Late Models raced double features Saturday night during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway presented by Wings Financial Credit Union.
Jacob Goede #72 from Carver (MN) won the first NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model 30 lap feature event, it was his sixth feature win of the year at ELKO. Kyle Kirberger #2 and Grant Brown #14 mixed it up for the lead early in the race, then Brown raced with #18 Michael Ostdiek for the top spot. Ostdiek took over the race lead on lap eight until he and #54 Dylan Moore collided on lap fifteen, both cars sustained serious damage and neither of them returned to racing. Goede grabbed the top spot after that and he won by .417 seconds over a hard charging Joe Neisius #75 who came up from his thirteenth starting position to finish second. Derek Lemke #71 finished third, nine-time Elko Speedway Champion #41 Donny Reuvers was fourth and #3 Chris Marek rounded out the TOP 5 finishers.
Nick Panitzke #22 from Sauk Centre (MN) won the second Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model feature, it was his first at Elko Speedway in 2017. Panitzke is the current point leader at LaCrosse (WI) Speedway and also is TOP 5 in the National NASCAR Hometrack points for Division I. Panitzke started up front and jumped out to a big lead until a late caution with six laps to go bunched up the field. Jacob Goede made the big move in this race, he started thirteenth and moved up to challenge for the lead late, Panitzke won by .856 seconds over Goede, then Justin Neisius #51 finished a strong third, #52 Chad Walen was fourth and #3 Chris Marek scored another TOP 5 finish at ELKO.
Jacob Goede now has a commanding lead in the Elko Speedway point standings, he is 234 points ahead of #14 Grant Brown. The win also helps Goede in the NASCAR National Hometrack standings, he was just outside of the TOP 5 coming into the weekend. Next Saturday (9/16/17) is the Late Model Championship night at Elko Speedway and it is the final opportunity for all local NASCAR drivers to score National points.
Mike Homan #28 from South St Paul (MN) won the first Genz-Ryan Thunder Car feature event during Eve of Destruction. Homan raced side by side with #7 Brandon Peterson for the first few laps, then after a lap three caution he spared with #09 Matt Wiebusch until finally taking over for good on lap eight of twenty. Jeremy Wolff #32 drove up from his tenth starting position to finish second, he was just .200 second behind Homan at the finish line. “This is the first time I’ve gotten two wins in a season since I started racing in 2009, it’s great to get one win, so two is really awesome,” said Homan. Dillon Sellner #07 finished a strong third, Conrad Jorgenson #3 was fourth and #8 Ted Reuvers finished fifth, the TOP 5 cars all finished within one second of the leader.
Dusty Mann #10 from Farmington (MN) was the winner in the second eighteen car Thunder Car feature. He and #99 Brent Kane battled for the lead early, they swapped the top spot until Conrad Jorgenson and Jeremy Wolff joined the fray. Jorgenson ended up second place, he was only .326 behind Mann at the finish line, Wolff finished third, Kane was fourth and Wiebusch placed fifth. This was the first win of the season for Mann in a Thunder Car, he has seven wins this year in the Pepsi Power Stock division.
Conrad Jorgenson now has a 43 point lead over Jeremy Wolff in the Thunder Car standings, their points championship will conclude over Thunderstruck weekend (9/23/17) at ELKO.
The Eternity Homes Great North Legends feature winner was #71 Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN), it was his eighth win of the season at Elko Speedway. Devyn Stocker #6 led the early laps until #3 Dirk Henry grabbed the top spot, Lemke then moved up from his fourth row starting spot to challenge for the lead and finally take the lead just past the half-way point in the twenty lap main event.
Lemke beat Henry to the finish line by .319 seconds, young Tristan Swanson #91 scored a career best third, #8 Cole Klein drove a damaged race car up to fourth and #75 Baiden Heskett finished fifth out of the sixteen cars entered at ELKO.
Derek Lemke now has a commanding 259 point lead over Cole Klein in the Legends 2017 Elko Speedway standings, their Championship night will be during the final Eve of Destruction (9/30/17) at ELKO.
Alex Vincent #36v from Owatonna (MN) won the 15 lap Hornets feature during Eve of Destruction. Vincent had to battle #55 Brandon Plekkenpol for the lead the first half of the race and then #14 Justin Schelitzche tried to catch him late in the race. Vincent won by .780 seconds over Schelitzche with #36b Brandon Olson taking home third, Plekkenpol fourth and #3 Michael Wachs Jr in fifth. This was the fifth win of the season for Vincent.
Wachs retains a fourteen point advantage in the Hornets standings over the defending Champ Schelitzche, their final race will be during Eve of Destruction (9/30/17) at ELKO.
All race results and points are unofficial at press time, official stats will be released mid-week at ElkoSpeedway.com
The large Eve of Destruction crowd was treated to great entertainment from Flippenout Trampoline Stunts, Tailgator and Thunder 4×4 Monster Trucks, Spectator Drags, Figure 8 Bus races and JJ Romans Freestyle Motocross.
The next event at ELKO is the Late Model Championship night on Saturday September 16th, gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm.
Get more information on social media by searching Elko Speedway, download the free Elko Racing app, go to ElkoSpeedway.com or by calling (952) 461-7223.
Elko Speedway is a 3/8th mile asphalt oval NASCAR sanctioned track with stadium seating located thirty minutes South of Minneapolis just off of I-35 and County Road 2 in Elko (MN).