August 1st, 2015 – 50 Years of Racing Celebration

By Jason D Searcy

August 1, 2015 – Elko, MN

It was a night to celebrate 50 continuous years of racing at Elko Speedway, the fans were encouraged to remember the racers of the past, but they couldn’t help but to appreciate the racing taking place right now.

Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) won his 8th feature event in the MN Corn Growers Super Late Model division, Goede has now won over half of the feature events so far in 2015.

Goede led the field of 20 cars the entire 40 lap main event in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series, he was challenged though by his brother Matt Goede who finished right on his back bumper only .129 seconds behind.

Jacob Goede is now 81 points ahead of Matt in the standings with Paul Paine in third and Billy Mohn in fourth.

Eric Campbell from Lonsdale (MN) started the race 7th on the grid but found a way to best all 20 cars to win the Genz-Ryan Thundercar main event, he was emotional in victory lane since this is the first feature he has won at Elko Speedway since 2010.

Adam Wiebusch led the 25 lap race early but he was overtaken by Ted Reuvers and Conrad Jorgenson who both were sent to the back of the pack on a caution with 13 laps to go. Jeremy Wolff then took the top spot, Campbell fought Wolff side by side and was just slightly ahead when another caution came out with 4 laps remaining, meaning Campbell would start on the point for the single file restart as they raced to the finish.

“When the green flew (on the final restart) I didn’t even look back, I don’t know where anybody else was, I was just focused on hitting my marks, I knew Jeremy (Wolff) was really fast, so I had to figure out a way to get away from him,” said Campbell who ended up winning by .851 seconds over Wolff.

Five time winner and point leader Brent Kane finished fourth and holds onto a slight advantage in points, he now has a 1 point lead over Wolff in the standings.

The day for Jake Ryan from Farmington (MN) did not start off well thanks to some ill tempered bee’s, but it ended perfectly as he won the Hiway Federal Credit Union BIG 8 feature event.

Jake had the race car loaded and was about ready to come to the track when he accidentally disturbed a bee hive and was stung nearly a dozen times in the face and head. The stings quickly swelled up as he arrived at Elko Speedway causing a very challenging situation during the prerace practice sessions. He talked to the paramedics, took some antihistamine and proceeded to have his best night of racing in years.

“I won the Championship in the BIG 8 division in 2012 and never won a race, so I haven’t won since I raced Super Late Models back in 2010, so it was a lot of fun.”

Ryan passed Ryan Kamish early in the 25 lap race and then held on to win by 1.174 seconds in the caution-less race. Ryan was happy to take the good-natured ribbing about his bee stings just as long as it ends with a trophy at the end of the night.

Point leader and 8 time winner Chris Marek finished fifth in the feature, he still holds a 45 point lead over Kamish in the point standings.

Grant Brown from Prior Lake (MN) won his fifth Pepsi Power Stock feature of the season. Cole Neisus led early in the 20 lap race but Brown quickly moved up to the top spot followed closely by Tim Hollen. Hollen never let up and pressured Brown the entire feature but was never able to take the top spot. Brown won the race even though smoke poured from his car through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap, he won by .355 seconds over Hollen.

Point leader Tom Doten finished 12th in the 20 car field and dropped back into a tie for the lead, he is now tied with Brown as they both have 858 points on the season. Last year Brown tied for the Championship and lost on the tie breaker because he had no wins. The situation is much different this year because Brown has more wins (5) than any other driver, Tom Doten is one of three drivers with two wins on the season.

2009 Champion Jaycen Brockhouse from Savage (MN) won the Great North Legends feature at Elko Speedway. Brockhouse edged out Matt Allen by .707 seconds to win his second feature of the year. Point Leader Derek Lemke had a rough night, he had to pit during the race to fix some damage to his front bumper causing him to lose a lap to the leaders, he finished 17th in the 19 car field.

Lemke still holds the point lead but it is now much closer, Brockhouse is now in second only 31 points out of the top spot.

After two years of trying, Matt Suhl from Richfield (MN) won his first ever Hornets feature event at Elko Speedway. Suhl said “patience” and “not wrecking” were the keys to him winning, he finished on top of the 16 car field by .626 seconds over Justin Schelitzche with Michael Wachs Jr in third.

Schelitzche now has a 26 point lead over Ashley Bell in the race for the Championship.

Luke Allen from Chanhassen (MN) won the Bandoleros main event for his fourth win of the year. Point leader Owin Giles was caught up in a wreck and did not finish the race. Giles still leads in points by 13 over Allen in the standings.

For full results and point standings go to ElkoSpeedway.com and click RESULTS.

During this 50th Anniversary night Elko Speedway was proud to unveil a series of vintage photos now framed on the wall in Champions Event Center, vintage race footage was shown on monitors, and lots of memorabilia was on display for the crowd to enjoy. Three vintage race cars were showcased, the Kamish family brought a Dick Trickle 99 Purple Knight tribute car, Bob Heine brought a #39 Dan Ryan ’69 Chevelle race car and Skip Pollack brought his 1955 Ford Sportsman race car. Long time entertainer Johnny Holm capped off the night with a performance. For more information on the history of the track, go to ElkoSpeedway.com/history

Up next a Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction on August 8th featuring the Thunder 4X4 Monster Truck, the Drifters, Burn-out contest, School Bus Figure 8 race, spectator drags, Double features of racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American series and a special performance by the Olate’ Dogs animal act, winners of America’s got Talent.

Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm at Elko Speedway located 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 and County Road 2. Get more information by calling (952) 461-7223 or by following us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.