By Jason D Searcy

July 28, 2018 – Elko, MN

It was a great night of racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series during Eve of Destruction presented by the Minnesota Professional Towing Association at Elko Speedway on Saturday night.

The Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model division had #13 Bryan Wrolstad from Faribault (MN) and #14 Devyn Stocker battle door to door for the lead until Wrolstad established the top spot on lap 4 of 30. Wrolstad never relinquished the lead and won by .732 seconds over #21 Adam Bendzick, sixteen year old Owin Giles #6 finished third, Steve Anderson #50 was fourth and four-time defending Champion #72 Jacob Goede finished fifth of the sixteen cars entered in the race. It was the second win of the season for Bryan Wrolstad.

The second Late Model feature was and exciting race as fast-qualifier #52 Chad Walen grabbed the early lead from #18 Michael Ostdiek. As we were dodging raindrops a caution came out on lap 12 and reset the field, Jon Lemke #17 from Savage (MN) had a great restart and took the top spot. On lap 22 Jacob Goede #72 worked his way up to challenge Lemke for the lead, the two veteran drivers raced hard for the win with Goede diving in low trying to get the lead. Lemke fought back every challenge and won the drag race to the finish line by .319 seconds for his first Late Model win at Elko Speedway this year. Lemke is a two-time former Late Model Champion at ELKO (1991, 2004) and is racing a part-time schedule this year. Jacob Goede finished second, #6 Owin Giles was third, Chad Walen fourth and #21 Adam Bendzick finished fifth.

The updated unofficial point standings has Jacob Goede now leading Owin Giles by 99 points, Chris Marek #3 is third 117 points behind and Chad Walen is 119 points out in fourth place.
The Genz-Ryan Thunder Cars first 20 lap feature saw #7 Brandon Petersen and #9 Adam Wiebusch race side by side for the lead for the first half of the race. Wiebusch then established the top position until #37 Bryce Blohm from Lakeville (MN) charged up from his third row starting position to challenge for the lead on lap fourteen. Blohm had his car working perfectly, he passed Wiebusch and went on to win the race by .427 seconds. Wiebusch finished second, #32 Jeremy Wolff was third, #07 Dillon Sellner fourth and #2 Dusty Mann raced for the first time this year in the Thunder Car division and he finished fifth of the sixteen cars entered.

The second Thunder Car main event was a thriller as #7 Brandon Petersen again took an early lead until a wreck on lap two involving fast-qualifier #25 Eric Campbell reset the field. Conrad Jorgenson #3 took the lead off the restart and that usually means a win for the five-time ELKO Champion, but not this time as he was in a great three-way battle for the win the last few laps. Jeremy Wolff #32 drove low in corner one as the white flag flew, Jorgenson went down to block and fourth row starter #37 Bryce Blohm took advantage on the high side and passed both cars on the last lap to win by just .201 seconds at the finish line. Jorgenson finished second, Brent Kane #99 started the race in the seventh row and moved up to finish third, Jeremy Wolff dropped to fourth and Brandon Petersen finished fifth. Blohm won both feature events on the night making it a clean sweep in the Thunder Car division, it was his fourth win of the season.

The updated unofficial standings now have Jeremy Wolff leading by 75 points over Eric Campbell with Dillon Sellner 77 points behind in third and Bryce Blohm now 82 points behind in fourth.

The Pepsi Power Stock features brought the large Eve of Destruction crowd to its feet with two thrilling finishes. In the first 20 lap main event #6 Joey Prusak grabbed an early lead and looked to be cruising for another victory until the #88 car of Nick Oxborough had a flat tire and brought out a yellow flag with five laps remaining in the race. The caution period bunched up the field and set up a great battle to the finish, Taylor Goldman #8 from Minnetonka (MN) was the fast qualifier and due to the inversion, she started the race in the tenth position, after the restart she had the opportunity to challenge Prusak for the win. With two laps to go the Joey Prusak car got loose in corner two, Goldman’s car then had some slight contact with the Joey Prusak car and he spun down into the infield, the race continued under green with Goldman in the lead but getting heavy pressure by both #66 of Joe Prusak (Joey’s dad) and now defending Champion #10 Dusty Mann as they raced to the white flag. Goldman had her hands full holding off Joe Prusak on the last lap but then to add to the chaos the Joey Prusak car continued onto the track and was just getting up to speed as the leaders were racing to the line. It was a wild situation as Goldman narrowly edged Joe Prusak at the finish by .204 seconds and then had to dramatically swerve around the Joey Prusak car and narrowly avoid a huge wreck just across the finish line. Joe Prusak finished second, Dusty Mann was third, #27 Darin Patnode fourth and #08 Michael Stoer finished fifth of the seventeen cars entered.

It was a drama filled night for #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN), he and his crew had to fix a broken torque converter after practice and then had a flat tire as a result of contact in the first feature. That put him on the pole for the second feature event. At the beginning of the race he and #83 Julie Jorgenson raced side by side for the top spot. Oxborough finally established the lead halfway through the race but then Jorgenson again drove up again and challenged him lap after lap. Jason Michaud #41m then took advantage and drove up behind Oxborough with three laps to go, tapping his back bumper numerous times but couldn’t make Oxborough move up from the white line at the bottom of the track. Oxborough held off the heavy pressure and won by .218 seconds over Michaud at the finish line. Jorgenson finished third, Michael Stoer #08 was fourth and #8 Taylor Goldman finished fifth of the seventeen cars entered in the race. This was the first Power Stock win of the year for Nick Oxborough.

The unofficial standings now have Taylor Goldman with a 74 point lead over Jason Michaud with Nick Oxborough in third 84 points behind and Michael Stoer fourth 94 points behind in the race for the Championship.

The Spectator drags were even more entertaining than usual as members of the Minnesota Professional Towing Association raced each other round after round. The winner was Karra Halland from Anoka (MN) representing North Star Towing and Service Center, she was driving an Audi A8. Ryan Kamish from Farmington (MN) was the other Spectator Drag winner driving a souped up 1991 Mazda RX327.

The large Eve of Destruction crowd was thrilled by Motocross stunts performed by JJ Romans and Ryder Wolfcale, the School Bus races are always a crowd favorite. Also, Larry and Shannon Quick smashed cars with their Monster Trucks named Ghost Ryder and Girl Power. Flippenout trampoline stunts entertained the crowd at on the concourse during intermission and Crankshaft Alex Larson played music in Champions Bar after the races.

Up Next at Elko Speedway is a NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing night on August 4th with racing in the Late Model, Thunder Car, Power Stock, Great North Legends and Bandolero divisions. Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on social media.

Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned ⅜ mile asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market (MN)