Elko 50 Years of Racing

By Jason D Searcy

October 3, 2015 – Elko, MN

The 50th season of racing ended with a bang at Elko Speedway on Saturday night with a Rock n Roll fireworks show after the final Eve of Destruction event presented by Leo’s South.

It was a night where the Hornets, Bandos and Great North Legends divisions get to shine and take center stage. Tim Brockhouse from Webster (MN) beat out 20 other drivers to win his second feature of the year at Elko Speedway, it is his 137th career win and he had to hold off the Track Champion by .177 seconds to do it.

Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN) finished second in the race and that won him his second consecutive Great North Legends title. Lemke celebrated with his Father Jon with both drivers doing a burnout near the flagstand.

Derek thanked his family, sponsors and crew for the incredible support they have shown him this season. He had four feature wins and he finished 24 points ahead of 2009 Champion Jaycen Brockhouse for the title, Robby Carter got third in points, Matt Allen fourth and Brady Fox-Rhode had mechanical problems on Championship night causing him to drop to 5th in points even though he had six feature wins.

Alex Vincent from Owatonna (MN) won his 5th Hornets main event of 2015, he won by only .145 seconds and had a great battle with Thunderstruck93 winner Matt Suhl for the top spot. Vincent had more wins than any other driver in the Hornets division this year.

Justin Schelitzche from Lester Prairie (MN) finished 5th in the feature and he secured his first Hornets Championship at Elko Speedway. He finished just ahead of his two teammates in the point standings. Ashley Bell was 53 points behind and Brandon Plekkenpol was 79 points back. Alex Vincent finished 4th in points and Michael Wachs Jr was fifth.

Schelitzche said that consistency was the key to his success this year, he had 18 “top 5” finishes in his 19 starts at Elko Speedway. He also did well in the NASCAR Home tracks standings, he finished 2nd in the Nation in Division 5. This is the seventh title in less than 5 years for Schelitzche who races at numerous different tracks during the season, but on Saturday nights he and his crew are always at Elko Speedway. “There are 10+ cars who could win on any given night at Elko Speedway, and that is one of the most fun parts of this class, it is so competitive” said Schelitzche.

Luke Allen from Chanhassen (MN) won an exciting Bandoleros main event, it was his 7th win of the season, the most of any Bando driver this year at Elko Speedway. Allen finished just ahead of his rival Owin Giles from New Market who won his first Bando Championship. Giles finished with 6 wins and 20 points ahead of Allen in the race for the points Title. These two young men showed great sportsmanship battling each other for race wins and the Championship during the year. Lennon Watkins ended up third in points, Coy Wulf won a race and finished fourth in points and Tristan Swanson fifth.

Bob Heine won the crowd favorite spectator drags portion of the race program. The big crowd also liked the burnout contest, vertical mischief and Figure 8 bus races.

Brandon Olson from Minneapolis showed his off his merging and shifting skills by winning the Flag Pole race and Justin Schelitzche was declared the winner during the World Famous Figure 8 trailer race. A race in which the object is to knock the trailer off your competitors vehicle, debris was scattered all around the 3/8th mile track at Elko Speedway.

Doug Rose in his 12 time National Champion Jet Car named the Green Mamba melted a Jeep as the on-track finale for the 2015 season.

For full results and final point standings go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com/results

Up next is the season ending Championship Banquet on Saturday evening October 17th in Champions Event Center at Elko Speedway, Johnny Holm will entertain after the ceremony.

Elko Speedway wants to say a big THANK YOU to all it’s fans, drivers and sponsors for an entertaining and successful 2015 season. During the off season check www.ElkoSpeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for updates.