Royle tops Behrens Memorial at Elko Speedway

Lonsdale’s Adam Royle made an early charge into the top three after starting sixth in the 22 car starting grid, then chased down Donny Reuvers to take the lead on lap 32 of 40, enroute to earning to earn his 3^rd Dwain Behrens Memorial victory Saturday August 11, 2012 at Elko Speedway.

As the green flew to begin the NASCAR Super Late Model main, Jason Schneider roared around pole sitter Derek Lemke to take the early lead, with Reuvers and Royle continuing Lemke’s slide with successive passes on laps three and four. With Schneider setting the early pace, it was Reuvers who showed impressive power in quickly closing to the rear deck of the leader by lap six, then getting a big run off of turn two on lap seven to take the lead.  Once in the lead, Reuvers charged out to a five car length advantage as Royle was reeling in Schneider, ducking to the inside as the tandem entered turn three to move to second on lap 10.

With Reuvers continuing to carry a five car length advantage over Royle and Schneider, a pair of “Nicks” came calling as Nick Panitzke and Nick Murgic carried great momentum to join the top five as the field reached the midpoint. As Reuvers continued to set a torrid pace, lapped traffic started to come into play and Royle used it to his advantage, closing to within two car lengths with 10 to go. As the lead tandem reached lap 32 in the caution free event, Royle ducked inside of Reuvers entering turn three and with the lapped car of Bryan Syer-Keske slowing Reuvers momentum, Royle marched to the lead. Once at the point, Royle’s mount came to life as he pulled away to a six car length win over Reuvers, with Murgic bypassing Schneider for third and Dan Fredrickson making a late race charge to earn a top five.

In the Big 8’s, rising talents Mike Pederson and Nick Beaver chased each other high and low in an entertaining early battle for the lead, which Beaver was able to take on lap three of 25, with Travis Stanley ducking under Pederson for second on lap four. As Beaver continued to show the way, Stanley used the outside groove to close to within a car length before the first of two cautions flew on lap 13 as Pederson and Jon Lemke locked horns entering turn one in a battle for third to force a restart. As the green flew to resume the action, Lemke was still steaming from the incident and gave Pederson the “ol’ chrome horn”, turning him to force a second restart. When the green flew again, Stanley didn’t waste anytime in charging by Beaver to take the lead and with the final 12 laps “caution free”, rolled to an impressive win, with Doug Brown making a late race charge to edge Beaver for second with Chris Marek and Lawrence Berthiaume earning top fives.

The Thunder Cars again featured a 20 car starting field, but were missing three time defending champion Brent Kane who was sidelined with back issues after an early week work related mishap. As the green flew to start the 25 lap main, veterans Scott King and Dustin Mann raced side by side for the opening four laps in sizzling duel, with Mann taking the lead on lap five. As Mann began to stretch his advantage, Steve Anderson pulled even with King battling for second as Michael Gilomen and Conrad Jorgenson joined the top five. As the crossed flags marked the midpoint in the action, Anderson got a huge run off of turn two and moved by King to second. Once in second, Anderson would quickly close on Mann, taking the lead on lap 15 and leading until the caution flew on lap 22 for a solo spin by King. On the restart, Anderson returned to the point and marched home to the win, with Mann second, Jorgenson third, Gilomen fourth and Dillon Sellner fifth.

The Great North Legends were also in action and Rookie of the Year challenger James Wenzel drove his “Petty Blue” machine to the point, with Michael Ostdiek making an early charge to second with Derek Lemke also on the move. Wenzel continued to ride the point, leading an impressive eight of 20 laps before Lemke slid under Ostdiek and then Wenzel to take the lead on lap nine before a spinning Benny VanCleve brought out the caution on lap 10. On the restart, Lemke got a big run and charged away from Wenzel who was in a battle with Kyle Hansen for second before a second caution flew on lap 18 as Alex Akey lost the handle in turn four to force a final restart. When the green flew, Lemke darted away to take the lead and the win, with Hansen edging Wenzel for second with Ostdiek and Brandon Elmer earning top fives. For Wenzel, the night included his first career win in a Heat and the first career top Five in a feature to earn the MONSTER ENERGY Performance of the Week.

Topping off the action packed NASCAR Whelen All American Series action were the Power Stocks and the early portion of the racing was definitely “full contact” as David “the Legend” Goldman took the lead as pole sitter Dan Bohnsack was slipping and sliding down the front straightaway. Goldman’s advantage would be short lived as Tom Doten punted him out of the way entering turn three to take the lead on lap two of 20, with Paul Hamilton also sliding under Goldman to second. The battles continued until lap five when Mike Mezaros tagged Taylor Goldman exiting turn two, sending both cars spinning to force a caution. On the restart, Doten and Hamilton began to check out until a second caution flew on lap nine as Mark Berg lost the handle entering turn three to force a final restart. When the green flew, Hamilton charged by Doten on the outside to take the lead and then pulled away to the win with Doten, John Lebens, David Goldman and Bryan Wrolstad earning top fives.

Elko Speedway returns to action on Saturday August 11, 2012 when the ASA Midwest Tour invades for the GOVERNORS CUP 125. Joining the “Stars and Cars” will be Elko’s Thunder Cars, Power Stocks and Legends for a full night of racing action! Action will begin with Qualifying at 5p, an On Track Fan Autograph session at 6p and green flag action at 7p sharp! Ticket prices begin at just $20 for adults and are available by contacting the Racing Office at (952) 461-7223 or visit www.elkospeedway.com