By Jason D Searcy

September 8, 2018 – Elko, MN

A big crowd enjoyed NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing and much more with another Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway on Saturday night.

The first Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model 30 lap feature had #17 Jon Lemke leading and rookie #14 Devyn Stocker following right in his tracks. Fast Qualifier #72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) started the race 8th on the grid and slowly worked his way to the front, he passed Lemke for the lead on lap 20. Goede won the race by .766 seconds with Lemke finishing second, Stocker in third, Owin Giles #6 was fourth and #13 Bryan Wrolstad fifth of the 15 cars entered. Championship contender #3 Chris Marek dropped out of the race on lap three with mechanical problems and did not finish. This was the ninth win of the season for Jacob Goede, no other driver in his division has more than four wins.

The second Late Model feature had Lawrence Berthiaume #26 from Plymouth (MN) take the early lead and he never looked back. Berthiaume dominated the race and won by an impressive 3.25 seconds, it was the first win of the season for Berthiaume. Jacob Goede #72 started the race 10th on the grid and worked his way up to second place but the race was cautionless and he could not catch the leader. Steve Anderson #50 finished third, #6 Owin Giles was fourth and #31 Ryan Varner finished fifth out of the 15 cars entered.

Jacob Goede now has a commanding lead in the race for the Late Model Championship, unofficially he leads Owin giles by 306 points going into Championship night on Saturday September 15th essentially clinching his fifth consecutive premiere division Championship at ELKO.

The Genz-Ryan Thunder Car first 20 lap feature had #65 Jim Kulseth lead the early laps in his 1957 Chevrolet Classic body style race car. A caution happened on lap 3 and point leader #32 Jeremy Wolff had to pit for a flat tire, he returned to the race at the back of the 15 car field. Norm Grabinger #92 from Faribault (MN) took the lead off the restart and never let it go. Grabinger won by .184 seconds “I knew I had to keep that lead because the fast guys were coming so, no mistakes and keep it going” said Grabinger “I saw the 37 coming and I was not going to let him get the bottom.” The 37 car driven by Bryce Blohm finished in second place, #15 Colin Neisius was third, #9 Adam Wiebusch fourth and #32 Jeremy Wolff rebounded to finish fifth. It was the first career Thunder Car win for veteran driver Norm Grabinger.

The second Thunder Car feature had #7 Brandon Petersen lead the first lap and #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) lead the rest of the laps. Kane held back the rest of the field even through a couple different caution periods. Bryce Blohm #37 started 12th on the grid and worked his way all the way up to second place at the checkers. Adam Wiebusch #9 was third, #07 Dillon Sellner finished fourth and #32 Jeremy Wolff rounded out the Top 5 finishers. Fast qualifier Eric Campbell finished 7th in both of the feature events. It was the 4th win of the season for Brent Kane and the 111th in his storied career.

With the pair of second place finishes and lots of passing points Bryce Blohm took over the unofficial point lead, he now is ahead of Jeremy Wolff by 3 points and Eric Campbell is 35 points behind in third. Only two more points paying race nights remain in the Thunder Car division, the Championship will be determined at the Thunderstruck93 event on September 22nd.

The Pepsi Power Stock first 20 lap feature had #6 Joey Prusak from Minnetonka (MN) take the lead off the start, he won the race but it was anything but easy. Defending Power Stock Champion Dusty Mann was behind the wheel of the #83 car normally driven by Julie Jorgenson and he challenged Prusak throughout the race, Mann attempted a pass on the high side numerous times and raced side by side with Prusak for many laps. With two laps remaining the #83 car dropped off and Prusak took home the win by .395 seconds, his third feature win at ELKO this year. Michael Stoer #08 charged up late to finish second, Dusty Mann was third at the stripe, #66 Joe Prusak finished fourth and fast qualifier Taylor Goldman #8 finished fifth of the 13 cars entered.

The second Power Stock feature had #40 Josh Gernentz take the early lead until #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN) grabbed the lead on lap six and had to fight back many challenges by #8 Taylor Goldman. Oxborough protected the bottom line and held on to win by .264 seconds, it was his third win of the season at Elko Speedway. Taylor Goldman finished second, #6 Joey Prusak was third, #08 Michael Stoer fourth and #66 Joe Prusak finished fifth.

Taylor Goldman continues to lead in the Power Stock standings, she now has a 109 point lead over Michael Stoer and a 121 point lead over Nick Oxborough. Three more points paying race nights remain for the Power Stocks at Elko Speedway, their finale will be on the Eve of Destruction on September 29th.

All results and points are unofficial until posted midweek on ElkoSpeedway.com

The Eve of Destruction crowd at Elko Speedway was entertained by two impressive Monster Truck freestyle performances from Jim Bendzick in Thunder 4×4 and Doug Noelke in Tailgator.

The Spectator drags winner was Ryan Riet from Chaska in an 2003 Honda Acura TL as his finals competitor tagged the wall.

The LumberJacks put on an entertaining show as always at Elko Speedway and the School Bus races capped a great night at Eve of Destruction.

Up next at Elko Speedway is a customer appreciation night at ELKO with $5 adult admission. NASCAR Racing Sponsored by Safety Kleen: Performance Plus Motor Oil and presented by K&N Engineering on Saturday September 15th. Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm.

Elko Speedway is a NASCAR Sanctioned 3/8th mile asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market (MN). Get more information by following Elko Speedway on social media, download our free app or go to ElkoSpeedway.com