September 13, 2014 – Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) won his first Championship and Bryan Syer-Keske from Lakeville (MN) won his first MN Corn Growers Super Late Model feature of the year on Championship night at Elko Speedway.
Jason Schneider lead the majority of the 40 lap race but with 13 laps remaining Bryan Syer-Keske took the lead and then held off Steve Anderson by .156 seconds for the win. ARCA Midwest Tour star Ty Majeski from Seymour (WI) started 17th and worked his way up to finish third.
Jacob Goede beat Paul Paine by 34 points and was crowned the SLM champion in the NASCAR Whelen All American series at his home track. “I had a lot of fun this year,” said Goede “seven wins is great and my family is here every week and that is pretty cool.”
Dusty Mann from Farmington (MN) passed Tom Quade, took the lead on lap six, beat out 23 other cars and won the 20 lap Pepsi Power Stock main event. Two Rookie drivers Nick Oxborough from Savage (MN) and Grant Brown from Prior Lake (MN) stole the show with a Championship battle fans won’t soon forget.
Oxborough and Brown tied with 922 points after a full season of racing, Oxborough was awarded the Championship on the first tie-breaker, he had three race wins and Brown had none.
Going into the final race night Oxborough lead by 4 points, Brown gained two points by finishing just ahead of Oxborough in the heat race. In the feature event 14 year old Grant Brown passed Oxborough who finished fifth, Brown moved up to the third position in the race to tie for the points lead. Brown was challenging Cole Neisius for second as Neisius bobbled coming out of turn four on the final lap but Neusius beat Brown to the line and Oxborough got the Championship on the tie-breaker by the most slim margin imaginable.
“What a great feeling, the thing is, he had to beat me tonight by a few cars to take it so, it was tough,” said Oxoborough. “I want to thank my Dad and my crew and the unbelievable fan support.” Oxborough said he will be back next year to defend his points Championship.
Michael Haggar from Greenfield (MN) had a big lead and looked on his way to winning the Big 8 Main event on Saturday night but a caution came out with 11 laps to go. Michael Beamish from Eagan (MN) shot to the lead off the restart and didn’t look back, he held off Jon Lemke and became the 9th different winner in the Big 8 division this year at Elko Speedway.
Chris Marek from Lakeville (MN) finished third and locked up his second consecutive Big 8 Championship. That makes five total Championships for his career and he also scored his 50th career win in 2014. Marek got off to a hot start by winning the first three races of the year and stayed consistent through out the season. “We try to finish every lap of every race, when times get tough just salvage the best you can, don’t make any enemies on the track,” said Marek “that’s what Championships are built off of.”
Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) won again in the Genz-Ryan Thunder Car main event, he held off Dillon Sellner from Farmington (MN) by .273 seconds for his 8th win of the year.
Conrad Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN) won the Championship by 52 points over Jeremy Wolff from Chaska (MN). This is the fourth title at Elko Speedway for Jorgenson, he first one was twenty year ago. “It feels great,” said Jorgenson “it’s really hard to get one of these deals done, a great bunch of competitors, it’s been a fun year.”
Brady Fox-Rhode from Loretto (MN) won his first feature event at Elko Speedway in the 1250cc Great North Legends division. He started fourth and moved to the lead, then he held off Derek Lemke for the win by .825 seconds.
Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN) still leads in the standings, he has a 20 point lead over Fox-Rhode in the race for the Championship. Final points night in the Legends division is September 27th.
Ridge Oien from Bloomington (MN) had the early lead but Brandon Olson from Minneapolis (MN) took the lead half way through the 15 lap race and then held off Ashley Bell by 1.733 seconds to win his first ever Mini Stock feature.
Brian Adams from Shakopee (MN) finished 6th but holds onto a commanding 54 point lead over Michael Wachs Jr in the standings. The 4cyl Mini-Stocks will race for points until the final race night September 27th.
Brody Wulf from Lakeville (MN) won his third Bandoleros feature of the year at Elko Speedway. Wulf held off Luke Allen and Owen Giles for the win. Giles had trouble in the heat race and did not finish. That dropped him in the standings to second, Brody Wulf now is the leader by 7 points with only one race night left, September 27th.
For full race results and point standings go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com and click RESULTS. For interviews with our Champions go to Facebook or YouTube and search Elko Speedway.
Up next at Elko Speedway located just 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities is the 6th annual #ThunderStruck93 event in memory of Dan Ryan, benefiting ALS and presented by NAPA Auto Parts on Saturday September 20th. The ARCA Midwest tour will race 125 laps, Big 8 Touring series will race 58 laps, the 11th annual Thunder Car Nationals will race 50 laps and the Mid Am Stock Car series will race along with the Great North Legends and Mini-Stocks.
Gates open at 3pm, Qualifying begins at 4pm and Feature events begin at 7pm with HUGE Fireworks show to follow. Get more information at www.ElkoSpeedway.com or call (952) 461-RACE.
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