August 4, 2018 – Elko, MN

By Jason D Searcy

Even though the skies were dark and rain was in the forecast NASCAR Whelen All American series racing continued at Elko Speedway Saturday night presented by Safety Kleen Performance Plus Motor Oil. Roberto Reyes from NASCAR weekly racing operations was on hand at ELKO to meet our local drivers and fans.

The first Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model feature had #31 Ryan Varner take the early lead, the rookie Late Model driver Varner battled side by side with #50 Steve Anderson and even after a couple caution periods he held onto the lead. Four-time Champion #72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) was the fast qualifier and with the inversion he started the race from the sixth row inside, Goede slipped his way through the field and finally moved up to the second position on lap 21 of 30. Goede then ran down the leader and passed Varner on the outside coming to the white flag and holding on to win by .302 seconds denying Varner of his first career win. Varner was second, Steve Anderson was third, #6 Owin Giles finished fourth and #3 Chris Marek was fifth of the 17 cars entered in the race. It was the fifth win of the season in the Late Model division for Goede.

The second Late Model feature was won by #13 Bryan Wrolstad from Faribault (MN) he battled with #14 Devyn Stocker for the lead early in the race and then jumped out to a 10 car length lead before the caution came out on lap 22 of 30 bunching up the field. After the restart #3 Chris Marek and #72 Jacob Goede battled side by side for second and Wrolstad continued up front to the checkers for the win by .455 seconds over Marek. Goede finished third, Owin Giles #6 was fourth and #21 Adam Bendzick finished fifth. It was the third win of the season for Wrolstad.

The unofficial updated standings now has Jacob Goede leading Owin Giles by 131 points and Chris Marek is 149 points behind in third.

The Genz-Ryan Thunder Car first 20 lap feature had #19 Michael Hanson lead early until #9 Adam Wiebusch took over the top spot on lap four. Brent Kane #99 from Lonsdale (MN) moved up from his fifth starting position and battled side by side with Wiebusch before taking the lead on lap nine. Bryce Blohm #37 then caught up to Kane but was not able to pass him, Kane won by .361 seconds over Blohm. Eric Campbell #25 finished third, Adam Wiebusch was fourth and fast qualifier #07 Dillon Sellner was fifth of the seventeen cars entered.

The second Thunder Car feature had #23 Steve Schultz lead the pack early until a caution period at lap seven reset the field. Off the restart Schultz was challenged by five-time Champion #3 Conrad Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN), after another caution on lap fourteen Jorgenson was able to secure the top spot on the restart. Jorgenson felt a lot of pressure but held on for the win by .625 seconds over #25 Eric Campbell, #37 Bryce Blohm was third, Steve Schultz drove a great race but was shuffled back late in the race to finish fourth and point leader #32 Jeremy Wolff finished fifth. It was the second win of the year for the defending Champion Jorgenson.

The unofficial updated standings have Jeremy Wolff leading, Eric Campbell is 49 points behind in second, Bryce Blohm is 58 points behind in third and #07 Dillon Sellner is 66 points behind in fourth.

The Pepsi Power Stocks had a great battle between #41 Jason Michaud from Otsego (MN) and #83 Julie Jorgenson, those two swapped the lead twice early in the race. A caution came out on lap fourteen for fast qualifier #88 Nick Oxborough who was having problems with a faulty transmission line, after the restart Michaud grabbed the lead and Jorgenson dropped back with mechanical problems. It was an exciting scene with numerous cars racing three-wide throughout the field. Michaud ended up winning by .401 seconds over #66 Joe Prusak, #08 Michael Stoer finished third, #8 Taylor Goldman was fourth and #6 Joey Prusak finished fifth of the sixteen cars entered.

The second Power Stock feature had #19 James Tich lead early until #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN) took the lead on lap three. Tich brought out the red flag after contact with the wall in corner two on lap four. On the restart Oxborough regained the lead and never looked back, he won by 1.402 seconds over #8 Taylor Goldman, #56 Paul Hamilton was third, #6 Joey Prusak fourth and #41 Jason Michaud moved up to finish fifth. It was the second win of the season for 2014 Champion Nick Oxborough.

The unofficial standings now have Taylor Goldman leading Jason Michaud by 92 points, Nick Oxborough is 96 points behind in third and Michael Stoer is 120 behind in fourth.

The Eternity Homes Great North Legends first 20 lap feature had #20 Alex Braseth lead early until a caution on lap three, on the restart fourteen year old #12 Sammy Smith from Johnston (IA) took the lead, he was then challenged by veteran driver and fast qualifier #13 Tim Brockhouse who was racing one of the new liquid cooled three cylinder 850cc motors for the first time at Elko Speedway. Smith stuck to the bottom of the track, Brockhouse raced alongside of him and they bumped a few times but Brockhouse was not able to pass the young gun. Smith, who was racing one of the traditional 1250cc air cooled motors, crossed the finish line .286 seconds ahead of Brockhouse for the first win of his career at Elko Speedway. Smith has spent the summer racing INEX Legends cars in Charlotte (NC) and Atlanta (GA) during the week before making the trip back here to Minnesota on Saturday nights racing at ELKO. Tim Brockhouse finished second, #75 Baiden Heskett was third, #91 Tristan Swanson fourth and #16 Matt Allen, also racing one of the new motors, was fifth of the seventeen cars entered in the race.

The second Great North Legends feature had #26 Will McCully lead the first portion of the race, Tim Brockhouse #13 had mechanical problems and dropped out on lap 8 of 20. Sammy Smith #12 passed on the inside on lap thirteen to take the lead but then #75 Baiden Heskett grabbed the top spot on lap fifteen and never looked back. Heskett won by .951 seconds over Smith, #16 Matt Allen was third, #26 Will McCully finished fourth and Cole Klein driving the #44 car finished fifth. It was the seventh win of the season at Elko Speedway for Baiden Heskett who is originally from Fort Worth (TX) but now living in Shakopee (MN).

The updated unofficial standings now have Baiden Heskett leading #03 Robby Carter by 150 points with Matt Allen now 158 points behind in third.

The Brock’s Flooring Bandolero feature had a couple cautions before an official lap was registered, when the fourteen car field was up to speed #901 of Alex Hartwig from Portage (WI) took lead and weaved his way through traffic to win his second feature of the year at Elko Speedway, he won by an impressive 4.612 seconds. Max Mabee #99 avoided all the trouble and finished second, #07 Teddy Kottschade was third, defending Champion #8 Colin Stocker finished fourth and #14 Kody King came back from a spin to finish in fifth.

The updated unofficial standings now have Max Mabee leading #06 Adam Ratliff by 3 points in second, Collin Stocker is 12 points behind in third, Kody King is 14 points behind in fourth and Teddy Kottschade is 16 points behind in fifth.

All results are unofficial until posted at ElkoSpeedway.com mid-week.

Up next at Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction event on Saturday August 11th featuring racing in the Late Model, Power Stocks and Legends divisions plus the famous Steel Wall Bus Crash, Spectator Drags, a performance by Stunt Dogs, Drifters, School Bus Races, the Wildman Clay Gallagher and much more including music by the Mallrats. Gates open at 5pm, action begins at 6pm, opening ceremony at 7pm.

Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 in Elko-New Market (MN).

Get more information by following Elko Speedway on Social media, download our free app by searing Elko Racing or go to ElkoSpeedway.com